The SingaporeTrip

Ok Ok I know...other people go to further and more exotic place pun tak jakun...I pi Singapore pun excited. I have a friend who jetset everywhere and if only she keeps a blog , You know who you are !!.

Singapore - the Land of the Making the Most of What they Have - Basically it was good. It was great! Diarrhoea- shopping- upgrade hotel room: If youwant to summarise it!

ROAD TO SINGAPORE

Started out not so great- missed the 8 am flight on account of both of us waking up at 7 - a fact totally to be blamed on his karaoke session the night before with "Da Guys". Unfair but hey, Im a woman. It's in my hormones. Hahahaha. Rushed like HELL and got the 9 am flight - they said it was full but they squeezed me in anyways but when I finally went in there were loads of seats. .

Singapore was damn clean ok- was impressed with the humongous trees that lined the streets - hey don't they have tropical storms too? We cut OUR trees in the name of safety in times of tropical storms- how come they don't lah. Anyway coming into Singapore is nice- it's very pleasant to the eyes.

LE UPGRADE

Hotel ah- waaaah very posh lar. Peranakan style - no pics because have left the handphone at home and the camera too. Happiness as got upgraded to Club Room which means can enjoy the facilities of the Club lounge (free internet, coffee and tea round the clock, fitness centre 24hours etc). Room mega nice- bed very big (I slept perched on one edge , so not used to sleeping alone). Very the jakuns as the bathstuff was L'Occitane - woohooo!Pranced around the room until I noticed that there was a big OFFICE BUILDING across - at which time I dropped to the floor and crawled to the curtains to close them!

TALKTALKTALK

Conference was impressive- the BIGWIGS in the industry came. Verry technical . Jargon galore. People were there to learn about everyone else's industry but they did not start from ground 0. Felt verry ignorant and small. Know enough to talk to people lah but here's the lesson I have learnt abt networking:

a. Know your subject well
b. Know the industry well
c. Read about the guests with whom you will be seeking to mingle- know their industry a bit also
d. brush up on current events
e. if all else fails- Ask them about themselves!!

Hence I made a few friends that way- heee hee e- one from the Phillipines who has 6 kids,split from his father's business after dispute between his 13 siblings, eldest now 19 etc etc etc. He's 58 . There were a few lawyers in the industry from the island who asked me about our deal- which is good.

SHOPPING

I had changed quite a bit of cash- as I know I had to pay for the hotel first - conference rate was SGD300!! Anyways its ALL Gone ok - Bugis junction had a BHG mall which was having its last day of SALE and the kids clothes were all halved - all except CAR*TO*ONNETWORK and DIS*NEY stuff which were full priced. I went looking for my handbag and shoes and officewear (thanks to MadamTaiTai, MrsNordin and Channel 11point 5) but I could not find styles that would suit anyone above the age of 14. Semua style cute-cute. But the kids dapat a few clothes lar. Come to think of it , takda lah murah sangat. about RM20 per teeshirt. Takpalah haven't bought them clothes for a long time....

KIDS

Ok we are NOT sending them to horseriding- it cost a bomb - not just the fee but the jodphurs lah, the equipment lah. And we were thinking , if left to us we would never have thought of horseriding as a core activity for the kids right, so takpayahlah yet. But we are replacing that with public speaking- Nadine is groaning - booooring. And culture - which hubby thinks will mean nasyid in that school . I think those skills are more important. Already they have swimming and taekwondo (Nadine has no swimming). Had to go buy the muslimah swimming suit- which is fine but its polkadot!! Hee hee

Semalam we sent them to tennis - from 8 to 9.30. They seem to enjoy it , although it is interesting to see who has the aptitude for it and who has not- Dahlia and Johan seem to be naturals, Nadine is ok and Sara is very competitive. Sophia has unfortunately inherited my lack of co-ordination. hahahaha. But hopefully she can improve. The coach is a kindly man - he is good with kids and can talk to them. Mr Chow, is his name.

ok have to golah. Happy to be back and talk to you soon.

Ramblings.......

Just got a list of extracurricular activities that the kids must and can enrol in.

Nak dengar tak..

Ahem * clears throat*

Dahlia will have compulsory Taekwondo and swimming- Tue and Wed.

Sara, Sophia and Nadine will have Taekwondo, Shabab and Kabbab (I STILL Dont know what it is) and one optional extracurricular activity- you can choose from archery, horseriding, futsal, badminton, netball, table tennis, public speaking, etc.. Adni is rather like AirAsia- you have to pay for the extra curricular activities....ranging from RM60 for the netball to RM1050 for the Archery!(RM300 plus archery equipment of RM700) . If I had the one kid I would just enrol that kid in everything. From cultural to table tennis to archery. As it is one extra curricular activity is the max.

Of course the kids chose horseriding. Dad's rationale- choose something that you won't be doing otherwise. Takat table tennis bapak dia boleh ajar..kata dia lah..I tak lak perasan that we taught the kids anything. So its horseriding then....Only thing is horseriding is 3 hours long and at the SelangorTurfClub.

The thing I notice about the kids' activities is that , they will be back at different times every day. . Who is going to pick them up?? I can't rely on the van driver as he picks normal regular schoolkids as well.

Times like this that the prospect of staying at home or flexihours is beginning to look mighty attractive.... Waiting for that idyllic post to fall on my lap where I can do my running around, and still work - let me know ok.

Johan just came up to me telling me he has "farting issues". Hahahah..Farting? Issues?
Today the house is full of kids' laughter- I have an extra daughter- my niece. She is amazingly well behaved in my house- she gets kissed as the rest of them and she gets told off as well and nooooooo tantrum in my house young lady!!! Hee hee

I'm trying to put them to sleep. They told me casually this morning that they have their monthly tests today. Hah?? Dahlia later asked me whether its ok to get 98 marks or , say, 80, as long as it is A right?? I said that if you get 80 it means you do not understand or remember 20% of the lesson .

Ok Johan is eating my teeshirt sleeve (don't ask) - I have to go and put them to bed lah. I mean, physically. If not they won't fall asleep. Dahlia must be tired, she's off without the usual demand for my "belly" .

Wednesday I will be flying off to Singapore for a conference. Balik Thursday. I'm going to missssss them.

Karaoke Tak Ok

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADIE AND AISHAH

Yesterday went to Redbox Pav - to celebrate the birthday of two friends. I lied to my kids and told them I had "dinner" to go to- because "karaoke" just sounds too sinful. Plus Nadine had Qiyam - so while the daughter stayed up doing good holy stuff, the parents are singing their tonsils out. It just felt so WRONG don't you think? :-)

Must say that I had fun!It was a night of the 80s- songs I listened to during A Levels (and for some of them- during their Secondary school!) - Walau pun ke-shy-shyan mula mula, after a while taknak give up the mike heh heh. As one of the birthday girls put it- "syok sendiri". Regardless of how we (ie me) sound, nyanyi je. There were a few stars though- One of the husbands can really sing! Ever thought about joining AF? Hee hee.- !

OMEGA LAUNCH

Because Karaoke started at 8, I had a few hours to kill after work so I pun meronda with a friend - this friend is such a long suffering friend- I always have to remind her that conversation is a two way thing- she indulges me in listening to all the boring stuff I tell her hee hee. Anyways there was an Omega event there. From the level that we were on (level 4?) we could only see the tops of their heads (it was done in the lobby I think) - the only person remotely famous we saw was a famous beauty from Sarawak and her auntie. Both were holding wine/champagne glasses and both downed them faster than those to whom alcohol is NOT prohibited! Both stayed very close to where the bar was. Tsk tsk...malu is really the 50% of iman kan. No one gives a toss nowadays.
Someone emailed me some sexy pics of the grandaughter of a former premier and I tell you...these kids are berani! And I read about Edison chen and his naughty pictures with the artists? Sigh...dahlah naughty go and take pictures for what...seriously . Even in the non muslim world its not something you can shrug off- heard that Edison is quitting showbusiness. Yeah I know. Edison who?? Girls out there- don't be so stupid!

KIDS

I notice if we come back late too often they start to distance themselves- ie they act like you are not there, not obviously, but they won't do what you ask them to. Like mandi or clean room. I think its because they get used to not having sargeant mummy around. what do you think?

Now I'm making up for the yelling hee hee. Dad is NOT on call but he has gone to his hospitals. Things are getting busier even though he has a grand total of ONE patient in the new paying hospital. One is keeping him busy enough as he goes to the non paying hospital every day too. Now I have patients turning up at the house!! Neighbours, etc. I mean, helping people is one thing but coming to the house ?? Errr.......

LOVE STORY

I'm watching a friendship develop between a person I care about a lot , and a person I thought was nice but certainly not marriage material until a few weeks ago. . At the moment she insists she likes him JUST as a funny friend - they do sound like they are getting on like a house on fire (words used by Husband's best friend on us when he first came around to meet me- the best friend I mean) - you know the initial stage of a relationship when they flirt like mad - both of course are NOT ready for anything serious. I just hope she does not get hurt darling, and take care of yourself.

Though I know the guy I never knew he was half as likable as she makes him sound.Maybe he is different with her. Matey, if I were you I won't sell myself so expensive..you might never find another girl who will treat you this way heheheh...( If he reads this blog then I am screwed and I am NOT talking about you, whoever you are! Heh heh...)

The world has changed indeed. HE is the shy one. Hahahaha! Nowadays girls have to be the pushy one. I have been foaming at the mouth telling my friends to go make the first move for guys that they would like to know more. What do you think? On one hand you don't want to be desperate on the other hand if you don't go for what you want you only have yourself to blame if you don't get it ,right....the Malay guys who would go for you so obviously and flamboyantly , are usually (a) married and (b) creeps. Heh heh.

(I've got a cute client (guy) who calls me now and then about work and then manage to add nonwork stuff. If I were single and he was single I'm sure he would have asked to meet outside work soon(chehwah perasan...!) ..Hee hee but then I always keep the small talk small as I don't really know the guy. My men friends are all my husband's friends too. To have a male friend that my husband does not know of , seems illicit to me. But this client guy is cute, ok. BUT !!! MY HUSBAND IS WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY HOTTER. So there. )

Ok I digress- I mean, girls have to take charge sometimes lah. The guy is not under ANY pressure. I mean, f I did not tell my husband that we were officially dating and we were now a couple, he would probably not have realised it and would keep going out with me with not a word said about feelings . Tsk I had NO time for wondering whether he liked me or not. The minute it became rather obvous that we dig each other I sorted that out. It was a calculated gamble. Hee hee hee. Seriously I think I pressed the "fast forward" button many times in our relationship but let me tell you this, he has a way of digging in his heels while appearing to go along with me. Hence we had the long courtship of three years before we tied the knot instead of the say, one , or two. Taurus (him) meet Aries (me). Immovable force - when he has made up his mind!

Sigh..to that friend of mine- I will get you married even if it KILLS me!!!

Eh ok lah- I better stop rambling...got to check on the kids- they are awfully quiet upstairs....

Happy Birthday Mak!

My mother in law is 67 today!

Mak is a very cool lady- blunt, direct, stays true to her beliefs, sticks firmly to her principles, makes a mean mi bandung, is my role model for the kids (together with you , mummy. (Phew!)) . Never misses a prayer if she can help it, very generous, very kind. She is also , definitely NOT a hypocrite

Happy Birthday Mak! (thank you for your son)

Kids' Adni Sports Day

Kids had their first ever sports day at MSN Bukit Jalil yesterday. Had to be there before 7. Went with Dad of Five , his wife the Kitchen Goddess, Khadijah and Ibraheem. Panas sangat. Habis pukul 2 kot. A lot of events. Higher quality tents! Uhud house, the red house to which 3 of 4 kids belong to, came in last! But its all fun right. The good thing about this school is, everyone gets a prize! Nadine, Sara, Sophia and Dahlia all won something. They made sure everyone was appreciated heh heh. The tents under which the houses sat. Blue, Yellow. Green and Red (Badar, Khandaq, Hunain and Uhud- all the battles)
The Uhud tent. Uhud's theme was the rose- petal's beauty , thorn's strength . (padanlah kalah dek oi...bunga mana kuat...harapkan duri tu..against the wolf of khandaq.. he'-eleh) My daughters and my niece (niece is holding waterbottle on the right)
Poor Johan he was so bored and restless that we took him to the field. Parents all sit behind him.

My kids and moi. Dahlia menang food.(the real prize)
Cik Sophia terperasan that her dad was taking her picture, hence the grin. This was under the Badar tent.

Remembering Opah. (A LONG post)

I thought today I would share some thoughts about my maternal grandparents with you, if you don't mind...

I was their eldest grandchild. My dad being in the armed forces, my childhood involved us moving everywhere but what was constant was my Atok and Opah's kampung house- in front of a river in the then, suburb. Next to Lee Rubber. Ada je cuti, we'd go back to visit Opah and Atok. Sometimes, mom would leave me there for a day while she sorted her errands.. Opah would fry me my kentang goreng and telor goren, Makan with tomato sos. Opah would give me tea everyday. I was Sophia basically, when I was small. I would look forward to spending the night with Opah and Atok..they had to put up mosquito net- kelambu ..eh where can I get that now eh? It was really really thick- you could barely see outside. It was great when you were 10! When I was going through the rebellious teens (yes, me) I would run to my OPah and Atok's place. (that, and Opah Gemok's house- ok I was very mengada)

...ATOK ....

Opah lived for 82 years- the last 8, as a widow. My Atok was to me, a very wise, calm, practical man and, towards the end, totally harrassed by Opah. We were in Kluang for Hari Raya, and we had gone 4 days and when we came back my parents called us at home at about 1 in the morning, with my mom sounding very casual like (on purpose- she did not want us to worry!) to ask the Dr menantu to come and see Atok..he was "sakit".... Of course Hubby sent Atok to GH..he was coughing blood and was bleeding and had been doing so for 2 days! . He went knowing full well he was not going to come back alive, he informed my mom, the eldest daughter, & the other daughters , where things were and what he wants done with them, etc. The next day he was in a coma, and came home unconscious. I remember sitting in front of him in the middle of the living room - the very living room where my atok witnessed my engagement- watching him die. His last breath was so painful, he puckered his whole face up as he was breathing in and I thought -Ya Allah, I bertobat! I repent! Such a pious man pun sakit like that. NO breath out.

My memories of Atok include... Atok cycling to OngTaiKim (when it was run by old Mr Ong, and there was a buku 555) ; Atok washing the house after banjir in Taman IbuKota, Atok sembelih ayam (I watched), Atok advising me to work (during my housewife days in the UK) , Atok advising me on loads of stuff, Atok was remarkably like my mom in character. Full of advice!

COOL OPAH

Opah was totally cool. No tears, really. I'm sure she was lonely , after how many years together and , later she told me, everytime she sees my hubby, she is reminded of my Atok - my Atok was also hands on with kids and housework. My Atok used to wash the clothes! ( I never made hubby do that, though). They had 4 girls, then a son finally, then another girl. Hence, I am positive if I get another child, after my 4 girls and a son, I would definitely have a girl.

Opah stayed alone in the kampung house (kampung amende...smacked in the middle of KL- Taman IbuKota) with my Auntie D - her youngest daughter and son in law. I think she would leter at her daughter. Sebab Auntie D always tension. Opah was a perfectionist ok. Verrry clean. Her goodmorning towels were bleached white! Her drains were free from any moss! If she lived with me she'd have a heart attack long ago..!

Every Raya we would get together. Except for Auntie Y , who would not be around for the first raya usually as she would have to go back to her In laws, we would all come and have the first raya meal there. (Auntie Y would cook rendang though) .Before anything, must go to Rumah Opah- Opah's house.

OPAH AND CANCER:

7 years ago , she developed cancer of the colon,hubby's team operated on her- 3 times ! She had a bag in (stoma) , then another operation to remove the bag. Another one to correct an obstruction of the bowel. The nurses in the ward were amazed at her strength. She rarely complained! If only we all can be like that. She was pretty advanced but she survived it for 7 years.! Only thing was she could not eat spicy food and she had to water down her food a LOT. The simplest thing would give her stomach pains. It must have been torture for her, she so loved her sambal. But again..she was stoic about it.

If there was a word to describe Opah- that would be it. Stoic in the face of adversity. (Ok that was 6 words)

OPAH'S JOURNEY

Other than being careful with what she ate, she was generally healthy. She was very bent - but she could walk (slowly) and she was mentally alert - to her dying days ok! She still cooked until about 10 months ago- (AIDA am I correct??) . She has explained to me about her many siblings and the family tree..maybe I should do something abt that.

About 6 months ago..she developed 3 types of pain- her ribs would hurt her, then her heartburn and what was the other one?? Her head, I think. So hubby would come with different prescriptions of pain- sometimes, one would trigger other pains, then how? Only when she had her pains was she bedbound.

Gradually the pains came more often. Her grandchildren try to pop in occassionally with our busy lives. Hubby came more often with more medicine. Mom berleter about her children and nieces and nephews not going to see Opah more . And her brother, Opah's only son. Mom was not happy about the infrequency of his visit, no matter what the excuse. Basically I better lay it out to Johan that he is not moving out ok.

When the pains increased, we took her to GH and it was found out that her cancer had returned and she was not going to survive very long . You knew that...

OPAH'S LAST DAYS....

She was discharged in the first week of January.Auntie Y wanted Opah to go back to her house and she would take care of her there. Of course, all the other sisters spent time there too . Personally I think it would have been better for Opah if she was able to go home to her own house. However, that would have been difficult as Auntie D was working and there would be a time lag between Auntie D leaving and Auntie Y coming and Opah would be alone. We should have insisted on getting a maid! But everyone dragged their feet over that! Susah nye nak make a decision! Sigh. no point lah to think about that. .

Anyway her youngest brother passed away on 17th Jan. Did she know that she would follow him exactly one month after?? (She died on 16th Feb, .funny tak..)

THE LAST NIGHT

We visited Opah last on Valentine's Day. She was not talking by then and she was not eating much. Her condition worsened over the weekend. She was only bones ! Hubby slept once we arrived there. Dont know why - but he could not keep his eyes open. I of course was NOT happy. I wanted to get her a nurse, Auntie Y was still very much against it but I made Hubby tell her haha. She was telling us about how hard it is to look after Opah so we want to help her, naturally. She was tired but stubborn. It's not easy to care for the elderly, I know. As well as being worried about her, if she is tired she cannot give the best care . I want her to do it properly with medical assistance. I wish I was more of a bully ..

Sigh.. I hope when its my turn to look after my mom and dad I would be able to do so with a smile and not begrudge them anything. . For heaven's sake . I was really angry with myself for not forcing her to take an assistant. My mom came everyday as often as she can . Cousin Aida nangis tengok OPah so kurus.. but I was just angry. at myself. At the world. At my mom. At my aunties. We all could be doing so much, I thought.

We gave Opah the morphine patch but it was not working much. (We were going to get another additional stronger patch the next day) Every few minutes she'd curl up in pain. The next day we started to call for a nurse. We were trying to get one, rather. Then we went to get the patch for her bedsore! Then we went home to see the kids . then Hubby slept and did not wake up. I remembered thinking I have to go wake him up no matter what the time is , so that we can go see Opah. It also crossed my mind that if she were to leave us, I did not want to be there.

And you know what? I was not there. Got a call at 3 30 in the morning, from Aida, asking hubby to come to confirm the death. They did try to call earlier but no response. This , when usually hubby jumps at every call. We went immediately. Aida was right. Opah was gone. My parents, my aunties, my uncle all were there. So were my Opah Chu, Opah's sister.

Opah died in mom's arms.. Mom said the pains came more and more frequently rather like contractions. Every 30 mins, then, 15 mins, then 10 mins. My mom taught my grandmother to recite the syahadah..the affirmation that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad pbuh is his messenger. Opah followed softly three times. My aunties were bonetired and had dozed off. My cousin Aida was also there. Then Opah took a last (so thought my mom) breath. She hugged my mom and looked straight into my mom's eyes. Darn it I wish I was there, now. My mom, thinking that she had lost her mom, cried out "MAK!". Everyone rushed to her side. She then suddenly took a couple of calm breath (acahje tue, maybe) and then she just breathed out..and she went.

My mom, Aida's mom, and Uncle Nuar the only son, were there at her last moments.

So..Opah is now a memory ..her influence in my life..is immeasurable. I took a (small ) part in her bathing- for the first time involved in the process. first time I prayed the special prayers . First visit to the burial ground, ever. For my Opah.

She was bathed, and buried soon after Zohr prayers..I pray that her soul would be placed with those of the good and blessed by Allah swt...

Opah, you went the way you lived, you did not want to trouble people, you went during weekend, and early morning, so that by noon, everything was done. Did you plan this??!!!

My daughter Sophia is the most affected. She kept telling me she felt so sad ...My son pulak, asked my mom..how old are you again Opah? (Just checking, I guess)

We will always remember you Opah.

(2004? picture)

INALILLAH WA INALILLAHIRAJIUN

Opah has left us.

She passed away 2 and a half hours ago, at 3.25 a.m. Did not see her at all last night.

INALILLAH WA INALILLAHIRAJIUN ....

No more tales of her childhood no more lessons in cooking, no more opah at hari raya gathering....

Verdict- Message from God

I just got back from IJN.

They took the holter off, what a relief. It was starting to get itchy! Then they sent me to the stress test. I went on the treadmill, and watched a big movie of a view of paddy field , lakes , and other nature related scenes, as I walked. I said to them, wah terror ada projector ..lain kali put lah sitcom ke or what heheheh.

Again, the technician who put the rods on me was a man. I said eh cannot have a girl ah. He said "Its ok, that's why we have a chaperone". Heleh, kalau ko doctor takpa lah, ni your job is just to put on the ECG , tu pun cannot ask your girl assistant to do ke?. Doctor takpa lah... nurse takda his expertise (maybe lah) therefore it's justifiable that he has to do the thingy himself.

Anyway lepas tu kena lari- I had to walk on the treadmill - various speed and various slopes. Ada 5 stages. I told him , stop the minute you can , ok ie, the barest minimum sahaja. He said I only have to complete 8 minutes. Thank GOD ok. Because by 5 minutes I was huffing and puffing and my legs were falling off ..hee hee. I had to do up to Stage 5, I stopped at Stage 3. Heh, ok lah tu.

Funny thing is, apparently my ectopics disappeared the minute I started exercising , you!! At rest, I was missing a beat after every say, third, then after exercise ie during recovery, every other beat. but DURING the torture- er, the stress test, it disappeared, heart was pumping regularly.

What is that, if not a message from God ? That I need more EXERCISE! hehehehehe.

The doc later confirmed that he's happy with the results of the ecocardiogramme, the holter and the stress test. He said although my holter showed that, for 24 hours, I had 23,000 missed beats, he is not worried. If I were to experience serious discomfort, then he may consider giving "betablockers"

So off we went and here I am , at home. Hubby needs to go off again. He came along to say hello to the doctor on whose father he operated yonks ago. He is not happy with the 23,000 missed beats thingy considering that a person normally has about 100 missed beats in a day.

So ok lah. MC today . (Office got no half days) Today will be my Valentine's Day. The symbol of which, is appropriately, a heart!

Thanks friends for the smses and well wishes. I told hubby- no need to look for replacement wife yet ok hahahahah

IJN Holter Day

This is what my heartbeat rhythm look like apparently. Normally you would not have the spikes . It would be seragam the whole time.

I went to IJN today, was told to do an ecocardiogramme- bayar Rm100 dulu sebelum pasang "Holter".Hee hee funnynye walking around with wires on you.

The ecocardiowatsit gramme is actually an ultrasound of your heart. You have to take off your top and undergarment, and lie on your left, and left hand under head (ie "the Superman position" which I adopt when I sleep) . They run this thing over you, and then they get to see your heart- well to them its a heart, to me its just shadowy images with a moving part that keeps beating regularly (apparently the valve).. Tonite I plan to raid the kids' library on "How my Body works"..tu lah beli je tau...bacanye tak.

Then have to put on the Holter which looks like this:

Credit goes to the website: http://www.heartsite.com/html/holter.html

Did you know that Holter is named after its inventor, Dr. Norman J. Holter, and is a portable device for continuously monitoring the electrical activity of the heart for 24 hours or more.

The Holter room is very small, and is in front of the ecowatsit room. It seemed to be manned by 2 men and a woman. The man (or boy should I say) asked me to fill in the consent form to say I will take care of the Holter during its loan to me, - do you know, it costs RM8,300! And after that he asked me to lift up my baju for him to put the holter on.

Is he MAD??. I asked for a lady lah to do it. Are these people allright? How could that boy put on the thingy, the wires are on my breasts lah. Blur or saje blur?

Anyway I have to watch my activities today - it will all be reflected in the Holter. Therefore, all Valentine related activities are cancelled for the day. Hahahahahahaha...

Other news:

I have to go see my Opah anyways.....she is really poorly. We have given her the patch that is supposed to take away her pain but apparently she is still feeling the pain. Lately I have not been able to see her because of hubby being so busy-running from one hospital to the other. Baru on call with one and the next week to the other. Ok I am not complaining. Scratch that. I seriously am.

Kids- They are all preparing for sports day which means that they wear sports clothes everyday. JOhan is excluded as he is in kindi. My boy is going swimming with his class today. He has been saying he does not want to go as he is scared he may drown. Normally he loves swimming, I wonder what is the story behind this. He now wants to go if his father comes. His father is on the way.

Manja? I asked the father to slowtalk with his son - find out the reason why.Ada lah tu orang cakap apa.

Valentine: Had a valentine lunch wi bosses. Of course during the lunch they are friends. At work they are still my bosses for whom I have the utmost respect just in case they read this blog. Which I have written long time back boss, by the way.

Ok have a good day !

Dr Celebrity

Hahahahha sorry about the title misleading kan

Hubby got an invite late yesterday to appear as a guest in the Malaysia Hari Ini Show this morning.(talk about last minute notice!). I did not even have the time to announce this to the world!

So anyway member with his grey suit , and his personal assistant (ie me) left the house at crack of dawn , heading towards Sripentas. We arrived and were shown to a little waiting room. There was a mamak guy there who introduced himself as the manager of the group "Girls". His card said he was Nasir Datuk Ahmad Nawab.

Then we were shown into the studio. I almost walked on to the set, haha. Hubby's turn came up soon. I asked a few questions as in - please do not quote where my husband is attached to now in case he offends either one of his workplace. Tu lah, bermadu tempat kerja lagi- kan dah pening kepala he hehehehe.

Anyways...his turn came up, I cringed and could not look at him live in the beginning. He was relaxed although he said he was very nervous. He had a few calls and I was told the phone lines are jammed - his topic was HEMORRHOIDS or buasir- never knew this was such a hot topic!

After that, Datuk Fadhillah kamsah came on- eeeh jakunnya I...nak je mintak otograp..tapi we are no longer 15, kan. And everyone calls me Kakak (big sister) now. But, As a good friend said, at least they don't call you "Auntie"!

On the way to work , hubby was cringing. He felt he performed very badly. He received many smses that said he said the word "berak" Hahahahahaha..I played it down..he felt bad allready. But I bet he was sooooo nervous. Even the word "Dubur" (anus) he was not sure whether he can say , so Im surprised he said B**ak - hahahahha dahlah tu..end of his tv career? If Mak B has her way, maybe not!

Mak B aka Atok Atikah to the kids. mentioned her plans for shows in the future. I am all for hubby to have a higher profile. Marketing beb...

Anyway we finally went to visit Uncle M (I lah, Hubby sees him everyday) and he is a bit jaundiced today therefore he cannot go back this week. So Zu, you have time to visit him this weekend. He appeared cheerful though. And fit.

Talking about fit. Lusa is the stresstest at IJN. So far I have stopped coffee (but this morning had half cup of tea at tv3) and the missed beats have not been too obvious (as in now only 1 missed beat every say, 10 beats, rather than 1 in 3 as per yesterday) . But what the heck is stresstest - I heard its very tiring. I get pancit- tired out - just climbing stairs ok. I hope I pass the stress test!

Ok time to resume work.

Ramblings

Groan...I miss my coffee.....I have a headache.....groan groan

Went to Pavillion ..went to the supermarket Mercato..had to go get decaffeinated coffee . There is only 2 brand. One is Nescafe goldblend. One is Kenco. Nescafe is RM14. Kenco is RM62.50!! Wow...Anyway yes the taste is the same but the buzz is not there. What is caffeine alternative ye?

How can I lose weight with Pavillion there. Semalam makan eggtart, Milk tart, durian tart, milo dinosaur and peanut butter toast. Masa munching munching, mulut penuh dengan egg tart, tapi keluh about diet. Har har har...camana tu?? We were there looking for my dad's present. Typical, my dad said bagi duit je lagi bagus.

Kids tak belajar this week. No studies- this entire week , Sports Day. DadofFive, please verify, as this could be my kids conspiring to temberang or con us. hahhhaha. Today every one came to us with a form and pen asking us to fill in the order for school sport tshirts.

Dahlia, Sara, Nadine are in UHUD House (ie Red). Sophia is BADAR (Blue). Daddy cracked a joke that everytime we cough we cheer for UHUD. Geddit? UHUK UHUK hahahhahahahaha. Harini pay again for the school sport tshirt - each is RM17-RM22. I think ADNI is shortform for INEEDYOURMONEY. What do you think hahahahahaha

Tak sempat lagi nak visit Uncle M ...we think about you Uncle, if that counts for anything. Uncle M has Cholecystitis - Cholecystitis is defined as inflammation of the gallbladder . He will be discharged by end of this week. We will get there Uncle.

Semalam we went from Pavillion (we saw Omar Mr. Ning btw , tengah beli computer- orang puteh boleh lah beli yang mahal hahahaha) to Opah's house. Kesian Opah dah tinggal tulang she is sooo thin. She does not want to eat much. Hubby said have to feed her through a tube if want her to eat but who has the heart to do that??

I was so angry with self as I just realised that we should have taken a nurse for my grandmother. My auntie is running ragged and she thinks she is superwoman but she is not , and she was nodding off when we came, sigh a part of me wish Opah is back at her own place rather than her daughter's house where she is now. When we go to Auntie Y's house, she will insist on feeding us , etc etc. Making her more tired. At least if Opah is back at her own place, we can put 2 nurses there etc etc. Takpalah, yang lepas tu lepaskan. But now am googling (I do have work by the way, ye, not just googling je) about nurses.

Ok- now I have to go draft some documents (in an attempt to restore some credibility heheheheheh)

Firstly, Uncle M (Mak B's husband) has been admitted to HKL for sakit perut which bears investigation. We all hope you get well and get out of hospital soon, Uncle. Insyallah we will see you today.

Semalam wanted to go off, but we had a do for Jojo. We've had this rough idea of having my bro, hubby's bro and family, a few close friends, come over for a half day at the zoo to celebrate his 6th birthday lah. Unfortunately, the zoo people said they'd be too busy to entertain a party so they suggested we just go on a "free and easy" package ie lantaklah kau kau nak buat apa.

So we thought , after a couple of hours at the zoo going around ,everyone comes back to the house for lunch and games.

We don't MEAN for things to be done at the very last minute, but due to hubby being on call, and due to his call being particularly heavy, this meant that we could not do most things party related. Ie shop for food, or party packs etc. Plus I sent the maid for a 3 day break at her agent's house where she gets to meet all her friends. It's good once in a while to do that because you really appreciate having a maid once she is not there. I was the ibu tunggal lah duduk rumah, basuh kain, jemur kain, masak, sapu rumah, mop milo jatuh , kutip baju kotor from various spots in the house (anywhere BUT in the basket- WHY???) and backbreakingwork of raking leaves outside! Note to self- tell maid to clean the drain. and throw the old broken pots and what the heck ARE those tyres doing kat belakang???

Back to the party. Check out myvanillapod.com for the cake that Johan got (spiderman lar apalagi)

Shopping for food - Saturday night. Siap episod tension husband and wife as both of us hate shopping under stress (tapi selalu buat).

Pick up cake, Saturday night 12 midnite.
Pack party packs.- up to 2 a.m.
Got up again to cook - 6.30 a.m -
everything ready- 11.
Hubby and kids go to zoo to buy tickets for everyone- 9 a.m
i go to the zoo with my brother - 11.30 a.m
everyone balik makan- 1.00p.m
party over - about 6??

Thank you everyone for coming:

Thank you for the Batman and Joker , ma'am!(and cupcakes)
Thank you for the Hobbs tiger which Johan takes to bed, Zu!
Thank you for the remote car, MrsN!
Thank you for the robot transformer lookalike- who gave this? I tak tau, but thank you anyway
Thank you for the skate board , dad!

Oh yes, Happy Birthday to My Dad!

cat

Haiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....

what to do with the cat ah

allready gave birth. Despite the many cushions and boxes we lay out in various places for her to choose, she chose to give birth in...

Nadine's closet. In her room. Lowest drawer

We moved cat and kitties down.

She moved them back up again.

We moved the box and family down into the guest room.

Guest room ok

She moved them out of the box -to... under the guest bed.

We just moved them out into the box

I guess she is moving them out again under the bed.

We will leave her alone lah!!

And if she pees???

The Scare

Well by now my closest friends and my parents and basically all to whom I had sent panic messages to, know that I went to IJN yesterday, as a patient.

From the looks of the waiting room at IJN, everyone in the world and his wife goes to IJN so its no big deal lah kan. I've been to IJN loads of time, as their lawyer, as a visitor, but never as a patient. Im only 38 mah....

What's wrong with me? You know the expression "My heart skipped a beat?" ..well my heart has been doing that a lot since a week ago. I'd get an annoying ripple sensation , which I noticed after a coffee, coke or tea.

Of COURSE i've been telling my husband. But you know lah own husband...he tells me I need an "ECG" done but in between his work and mine etc who has the time? I joked that I have to sms him my IC and name before he will take action (ie that's what happens to everyone else who wants a referral letter from him- must sms name and IC)

ANYWAY, yesterday early morning, he dragged me to have an ecg done. I've never had it done. They clip lead wires like you are a car, to your legs, and then mini clips to your bra, Boy was I glad I was wearing the nice bra heheheheh.

Once done, with me apologising to all the staff nurses etc for disturbing their otherwise calm lives, hubby dragged me here there everywhere so that he can get his heart specialist friend to make a referral to IJN. IJN ? A bit drastic eh wot? He said "I don't want to lose you"

Waaaa?? Lagi lah suspense..I was thinking ..God I want to be around to see my children's children, ok? I was allready writing letters in my mind to my kids. Mood was definitely not so good by the time I reached IJN.

BUT! IJN is very clever! They know that all patients going there are bound to be nervous, so they devised this deliberate scheme to make you forget your worry - called the numbering system. I take a number, then I wait 30 mins until my number is called, then I go register myself, 15 mins later I go to wait in front of the doctor's room.

TWO HOURS Later, I am called. I am no longer worried or scared or what have you. I have a "Star"paper which this Indian gentleman gave me, and I was ok lah. I called the office though.

Doctor Razali is very nice. He acted as if I was his first and only patient and that he DOESN'T have thousands of patients waiting outside. He said I had "ventricular ectopic beats" and he thinks its normal. Until I showed him the HKL ECG thingy. Then he asked me whether I had any sudden deaths in my family.

!!!!
Er, no not that I know of but you know, I have a BIG family- it could have happened and I would not know. He asked whether I take any extra medication. I have not taken any jamu etc at all (don't tell my mom) so I can say - no. I do drink coffee a lot - I said to him 4 cups a day. I recently changed to a stronger brand. I JUST had a Cuban coffee the night before at Westin (sounds so decadent) - HAH! It's all YOUR fault "INI"!! hehehehehehhe.. Could that be it??

Well...he said to come back next week for him to fit a "holter" thingy on me, ie to monitor my heartbeat for 24 hours. Then on Friday got stresstest etc etc. Basically he said it could be nothing but the frequency of the missed beats - 8 in a minute, warrants further checks lah.

He said my husband operated on his dad. I asked him "oh how is he?"
"He's passed away"
"Not through the surgery right???!!!"
He laughed. ( BJ, he's Osman from my old workplace's brother rupanye. )

And by the time I had to pay (another queing up) it was 1. RM80 for consultation.

Lama giler....but tu lah ceritanye..

So whole day went without me drinking coffee. Now pun I'm not taking coffee and I have a headache and I feel ill..Caffeine withdrawal?? Milo je lah ....

This morning

This is the scene this morning

Sophia was at the computer. Head wiht hairband, no tudung. Sara was lounging around drinking her Milo, head pun tak bertudung, No sign of Daya, no sign of Nadine.

"PAKCIK IS COMING LAH!!" Mummy jerit "Pakai tudung!!"

Buat dono...although everyone said "ok.." Pakcik is late pulak today.

"Pakcik is HERE!!" Mummy lied . Sophia got up, looked for her tudung. Sara got ready

"Hish kenaaapa lah basah rambut pagi pagi ni???? Keringkan lain kali ok?"" Mummy lah tu.

"mummy, you tipoooo"! Said Sophia. The pace slowed a bit. Seing this, I told them"Put on your shoes! Wait outsidelah!"

The bus really came this time. Everyone scrambled outside. Dalia shot out of the maid's room, all dressed but no shoes. She hopped bare footed, into the van. Sara , allready in the van, asked for her uniform (she was wearing her sports clothes). Mummy ran up to get it, maid got the plastic bag ready, shoved it to Sara to put her clothes in. Nadine ran down from her room (ie her house) and quick kiss

Babai babai babai. Dahlia ran back in sebab lupa her something something. Ran back out.

BaBAI!!!!! Sigh...Ningseh, nanti awak ingat kan diaorang - everything must be READY ok!

Tuesday Thots of Totally No Sense

Listening to "Hampir Ke Situ" by Mendua- if I just knew how , I'd upload this song. Love the melody. One comment though- Hampir ke situ- almost there?? Is this song translated from english? It has that feeling.

On the subject of songs. Terlalu istimewa"-really nice song. But I don't like the words" Ku pasti kau bahagia , duduk disamping nya, mendengar cerita, segala rahsia, " - she is talking about where she thinks the dead girl is now, ie next to God listening to his stories - which is an unheard of concept in MY religion. It sits uncomfortably with me.

Ok. Prude kan? Lagupun salah.

Johan is counting down the days to his birthday. I had better do something on the day itself.....he is expecting it man!! Maybe take him to midvalley or the "arcade"???

Sophia - found her essay on her "family" yesterday in her school books. Her favourite sister is Dahlia although they do quarrel when they are at home. Nadine is nice but can be bossy. Mommy has a computer. "We use it for internet but it is soooo.. SLOW!" (tell me about it Soph). "Johan likes my mummy so much he acts cute and cries to get her attention." (wah ye ke??)

keh keh keh..kelakar

The cat is pregnant again. BULAT nak mati. We are so anxious for her to deliver as Kak Ning tak suka kuching. Dulu Kak MInah semua beres je about cats.

Ok lah back to work

TheGreatEscape

I joined the Hilton premium club, did I mention that before? This guy called me and said my friend had recommended me. It was actually my cousin. The package was one person eats free at all Hiltonrestaurants, in kl, pj, kuching and batang ai. One night stay foc. One free hightea. One free cake. Discounts at their hotels (kl, pj, kuching batang ai). Maybe phuket also.

So earliest opp, and being the hoteljunkie that we are, we "redeemed" the freebie yesterday, sans kiddoes. After of course, getting my brother no 2 and wife and their 3 kids, to spend the night with my kids and the maid. Thanks Pol. And after cooking dinner.

(I did get a surprise when I came home the next day to find my maid looking after 7 kids and no sight of bro and wife! They went shopping! I sort of got a leetle mad -had I known you wanted to go out I would have come back earlier - the idea is for more adults looking after the kids and not my maid alone with my kids AND their kids- budak tu kelam kabut gak I tengok, sorang nak yak yak lah etc)

Back to the hotel- its worth the joining fee alone.. The room was small, but the view from the 23rd floor , was lovely! We've been before , but with the kids, so did not really have time to appreciate those small niceties like the quality of their stuff. With 7 in a bed, hanging for dear life at night in case your child kicks you off the bed, who had the time to notice small stuff? But it was good. No besi karat here! The view was of Lakegardens. We overlooked all those puny cars going about their business and NOT staying in KLHilton, nyeh nyeh nyeh .hehehehehe.

(this was next morning when our floor got caught in clouds)


It was not a true lomentik time , as we had to go to a friend's house for a back-from-haji do- hampeh tak dapat candelight dinner. Tapi ok lah , met with the friend and other friends, makan laksa, rojak kuey teow..konyang gak lah den! Came back, tempted nak balik rumah tengok kids but koreh kan hati, go back to the hilton. Wahduh it was buzzing - with music lah, jazz lah , orang dancing lah. Husband kemaruk ke apa, dia nak pergi. But I got under the steaming hot rain shower, into my comfy jammies, under the luxurious white downy duvet, re-arranged the nice huge fat white down pillows,stretched my legs and before you could say another word, left for Dreamland...I mean, sleep is the dearest luxury sometimes....I love my kids dearly but once in a while its nice to sleep without little'uns (and not so little'uns) wanting to sleep next to you or coming in at 2 a.m from their rooms.

This morning we had breakfast at Sudu (with the "dining privelege" or in our lingo, freemeal, our breakkiebuffet for 2 was RM70 which for Hilton was reasonable ler). Make sure you don't eat food like roticanai or nasilemak that can make you feel "eleh i can buy this at pelita for half this price" .

(Drinking kiwi yoghurt juice...)

So ....we had a pretty nice relaxing remainder of the weekend.Husband spent most of the time at the hotel, sleeping!-Must be tired out from the events before, my Atok mamak, my Auntie yang masuk hospital , my opah, his mom and dad, commuting between GH and princecourt- the man deserves his rest, man! I had a whodunit to finish. I tried to finish it in the "bubble bath" but had to go out as it was making my head ache plus i had no patience to sit in the water for so long. Plus it was making my book sodding wet. What the heck IS the appeal of bubble baths huh?
We left soon after breakfast, to find that my Johan tak mandi lagi. The whole time I was away I was thinking about them, then as soon as we saw them, I started to be the Mummy again!

Totally looking forward to trying out other restaurants of hilton- anyone want to join me??

Family Day Come and Gone

Hi, just got back from Family Day!

ARRIVAL
On our way up, saw a car which had obviously just had an accident- driver slumped over the steering wheel, the bonnet was smoking. It was raining and we could not stop as we were on the wrong side of the Karak highway. Call 999 je lah. 999 put me through to Plus, they said they were sending an ambulance.

Sampai je Selesa Hillhomes, nyaris tak miss lunch. We all sans hubby went to the makan place - buffet just for us. Hubby went for Friday prayers. A couple of muslim guys stayed on during the prayer times- I yang feel segan - they all selamba je...

Lunch was rice, chicken curry, fish in some gravy, mixed veg, pecal jawa, jelly and fruits. Kids ate - although Daya targetted just the jelly. After that, we went to the playground , while waiting for hubby to come back. I had "tapau"ed food for him, against the restaurant's policy. (I had to argue as it was for my husband who was doing his Friday prayers.) Then the kids and I went to the apartment.

THE APARTMENT

Ok lah , the apartment. Selesa HIllhomes is not new, it's rather run down but then its clean, and its adequate. Ada working kettle, ada working tv , has astro, has aircond and water heater, 6 beds with beddings, ok lah tu kan. So what that the tv punye control control panel dah tercabut, or that the besi-besi dah karat. Ok lah for one night, kan- free pulak tu. And if the Sudin clan ever get our act together to organise another family day, I would not mind staying there.

Dad came back and it seems he has eaten- cis what a waste of me arguing with the manager of the restaurant.

THE TELEMATCH

At 3.45,it was telematch. Ok it was actually 3.30 but of course , our family ran 15 mins late for EVERY event.

Telematch was fun! Rolling tyres with a ball in middle, trying to fill up 2 bottles with water using a cocunut shell with 3 holes in them , group race using giant slipper, running with bamboo sticks, etc etc. I had so much fun! The kids had their event too- scrambling for sweets- I am proud to say that my Johan grabbed the most -167 sweets! Yelah, dia ada 4 other siblings right.

The hotel people provided enough assistance and things were quite well organised.

THE DINNER

Barbecue, interspersed with lucky draw. I got a rice cooker! I could do with another one, actually.There was a malay entertainer who was quite good and a rather talented singer- he could belt out malay, indian and chinese songs.

Then it was karaoke. Oh dear, I can no longer sing. Especially the Dayang Nurfaizah's song yang tinggi tinggi. Still , one has to try. I truly enjoyed my massacre of good songs last night like Dua Insan, etc etc.

THE LEPAK SESSION

Some girl friends wanted to stay on and chat, so with hubby's ok, I joined them. We "hung out" at the local cafe and stayed on after the staff left (we switched off the lights for them). I guess this is what guys do when they sit at kedai kopi eh.

Sekali sekala ok lah- otherwise, I have no time ler.

THE END

That was basically it. We left at 12.30 after swimming- the kids had a good time, dad had a good time, and now I am with Johan doing his writing...he has a lot of catching up to do. He won't hold his pencil the way I am trying to teach him to lah. Both him and Daya hold their pencils oddly.

Oh yeah, hubby and I are going to KLhilton sans kiddoes today. Our belated anniversary cum early valentine treat lah tu...Byeee

GRrrr

Grrr...

Today is Family Day for my office. At Bukit Tinggi, We have been ready since morning, except for me who have not packed . We were supposed to leave by 11.

Hubby left the house suddenly at 9...and came back at 12.oo. He swore he told me but I didn't hear. Not his fault innit?? Anyways what is getting my blood pressure up is that he left his phone. Never mind lah, I packed in the meantime. But I had to go to the zoo to meet with this lady about Jojo's party. (they cannot organise it btw because its CNY weekend but I'm welcome to come and have a free and easy time) So with car gone, hubby gone, I had to cancel this apptment. And office also calling me as they wandered where I was lah.

Anyway he came back with LOADS of clothes for the kiddies--he went shopping. NOW? You went shopping NOW?

My husband is the most wonderful person in the world of course, but maybe not so good at time management.

Is it ok to rant abt this here for the world to see?