Updates...

I know... I know... I haven't been diligent in updating my blog. In fact, I was this close in abandoning it but nahhh... not yet...

Wokay... here goes

1. It has been a month of whirlwind sports for the Malay community here in Loughborough as a run-up for our annual family day which has been fast-forwarded to June instead of the usual August. I participated in volleyball, badminton, netball, bowling and pingpong. I won badminton and netball, came second for volleyball, third for pingpong and just had a jolly good time for bowling.

And ohhh... I dislocated my left pinkie while playing netball. The ball hit so hard and fast that I didn't realized that I've dislocated my pinkie until I was trying to shoot the ball into the goal. I raised my hands and saw that my left pinkie looked extremely weird and felt even weirder. The middle bone went underneath the the third bone near the palm. Luckily B was there to pull my pinkie in order. He gave a sharp jerk and pulled it back in shape. After that, it swelled to double the original size and bruised into a royal blue.

2. The season of car-boot sale has started and I simply can't recall how much B and I have spent on second-hand stuffs. Well, as they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure. In my case, it's one hell of a cheap treasure! Some of the stuffs that I got were just too good to be true like 10p for a Ladybird storybook and there were 11 of them so I wiped clean all of it, £2 for an FP ride n stride, £4 for a Little Tikes Police Car Coupe, several original DVDs for a measly £2-£3 each and the list goes on. This is what I call guilt-free shopping. The problem now is I have no idea where to put all the stuffs that I've accumulated. Maybe I might have to do a yard sale myself to get rid of some of the stuffs that I've picked here and there before shipping the rest home. Or... I might bring everything back home and have a car boot of my own and let everyone browse through my junk. What say you???

3. OHHHHHH... Royal Doulton at Stoke had a half-price sale on ALL of the range during the last May Bank Holiday Weekend. I got to know about it from a friend and I immediately dragged a very reluctant B to Stoke. I went on Saturday and the sale ended on Monday. I stocked up on my Old Country Roses and added the quantity to eight-place setting instead of six. I was in pure heaven but at a price. B made me swear that I shall NEVER, EVER under any circumstances set my foot at my beloved Wedgwood, Portmeirion and Royal Doulton before allowing me to make a purchase. And swore I did. Very, very sad..... but what the heck... I've completed my fine china collection. That's the most important part.

4. The Best Part... we're leaving for Disneyland Paris tomorrow in the wee morning hours or 5 am to be exact. A friend is sending us to London and we'll be catching the Eurostar from Waterloo at 9.39 am. It's a direct ride to Disneyland Marnee Le Vallee station and we're reaching there at 1.30 pm. After that it's pure fun, fun, fun for us especially for Zareef because he's been asking and wanting to go there since forever. Will be back on Saturday 18th June at 8.30 pm. So... it's Viva Disney for us.

5. I'll be 29 tomorrow. Yes, I was borned on 14th June, 29 years ago. I've had a few early b'day gifts from B and Zareef. Yesterday, B bought for me the first season DVD of The O.C seeing that I'm soooooo obsess with the show. Then today, Zareef presented me with a very, very cute birthday card which he drew his hand (with help from his daddy of course) and some graffiti on it. I was sooooo touched!!! Just 10 minutes prior to writing this post, I walked into our bedroom and was surprised with a huge card and a charming gift box. I shouted in glee, opened the card and the present. Oh boy!!! I had the shock of my life. It was an extremely gorgeous bracelet from H. Samuel (B calls them Haji Samuel). 9 carat white gold diamond bracelet to be exact!!! I was rendered speechless!!!!!! I hugged, kissed and thanked my darling husband profusely for getting me something that I've wanted sooo much but never thought I would be getting it now. I was hinting on a Baby Blue Blenheim Mulberry bag but this is much, much better! And now, it will end with a huge bang with us celebrating the finale at Disneyland Paris. This is the best birthday bash EVER!!!

Thank you so much darling for your thoughtfulness, kindness and the love and care that you've showered me with. I can never repay it. I just pray to God that this feeling will last till the end of time and grow stronger with each year. Amin!

6. The news just came in. After a 16-weeks trial, Michael Jackson is found not guilty on all counts. He is a free man. Let's just hope that he learns his lesson and not open Neverland to any more lewd acts involving underage children.

I'm a Romance-Sci-Fci Freak!

These are the reason as to why I haven't been blogging for almost a month apart from Zareef and I succumbing to cough, cold and eye infection.

I bought the second and third season thinking that I could make do without the first because I managed to catch it when I was in the States 5 years back. I even recorded some of the episodes on VHS. Stupid idiot!! When I watched the first episode of the second season, I was lost and clueless. Oh no!! I have to go to Meadowhall again to buy the first season then only shall my curiousity rest in peace.

A Despicable Act

A few nights back, while we were watching tv in the living room, we heard a loud bang like something hit our patio door and the curtains swayed a bit maybe from the force of the hit.

I looked at B and him, me. Zareef looked at us both as asked "What's that Mummy?"

I in return, asked B "What's that Daddy?"

To which, B nonchalantly replied "Must be the wind. It's freaking howling out there."

So, we left it there.

The next morning, after returning from work, B told me not to allow Zareef to play in the garden. "Why?" , I asked.

Instead of answering, he showed me through the patio glass. This is what I saw...



The loud bang that we heard last night was actually a brick being thrown at our patio door and with it was a plastic full of shit!! I don't know what shit it was but I have a strong feeling that it was dog's shit.

I am absofcukinglutely mad at the person who did this loathsome act. B and I have a strong hunch that it must have been the job of yobs. I don't care that they tarnished my patio door but what if Zareef was playing outside at that moment and the brick hit him instead of the door?

So whoever you are who threw the brick at my patio door, may you have stinking dog shit coming out from your nostrils and your hands grew bricks so heavy that you are unable to wipe them off!!

B took a few pictures of the incident for record purposes. If it happens again, we'll lodge a police report with enough evidence to incriminate the wrongdoers.

Mee Jawa

Some have asked me for my famous Mee Jawa recipe(muahahaha... I'm such a vain pot!). So, I would like to share with you this delicious noodle recipe handed down by my arwah grandma (abah's side) to mak and now to me. Hope you'll love it as much as I do.

MEE JAWA

Ingredients:

3 onions (bawang besar) - blended
3 tbs blended chilli
30g dried prawn - blended
2 tbs salted soya beans (tauchu) - blended
2 tins of coconut milk ( santan from 2 biji kelapa)
2 mugs of water
1 packet of egg noodle (mee kuning)
cucumber
eggs
beansprouts
beancurd (tauhu)
potatoes
fried shallots (bawang goreng)
salt and sugar

Method:

1. Fry the onions and chilli till fragrant (pecah minyak).
2. Add the dried prawns and stir till well-mixed.
3. Then add the salted soya beans (tauchu) and still till well mixed.
4. When everything is well fried up (must yield a dark red color mix), pour in the coconut milk and water.
5. Don't forget to stir often as you don't want the coconut milk to curdle.
6. Once the gravy starts to boil, turn the heat to medium and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. It it's too thick, add more water. If it's too watery, simmer till it becomes quite thick.
7. Add salt and sugar to taste. It should taste salty and sweet all at once.
8. While the gravy is simmering, boil the eggs and potatoes, celur (what's celur in English?) the beansprouts, fry the beancurds and cut the cucumber into the size of match sticks. Cut the boiled eggs into wedges or slice it (which ever way you prefer, doesn't matter), dice the boiled potates and slice the friend beancurd.
9. To eat, pour the gravy over your noodle and garnish it with the eggs, potatoes, beansprouts, cucumber, beancurd and fried shallot.
10. Slurrrppppp all the way. Ahhhhhh... sungguh nikmat rasanye, hehehhe...

Happy cooking!

Beauty or Vanity?

I had the chance to read through a woman's magazine from back home recently thanks to a friend. As I was leafing through the first 20 pages or so, I couldn't help but notice that it was dominated by beauty adverts concentrating mainly on how one can get a perfect white skin free from any markings with the aid of whitening beauty products.

What made me wonder was why the sudden surge of whitening products instead of the usual parfum, accessories and makeup line-up? Why have the magazine allowed such aggressive advertising of the same products repetitively throughout the whole magazine? Are they trying to ingrain our brain cells with the message that white is beautiful or are they desperate to achieve their monthly target sales? Have we Malaysians become ashamed of our distinctive color? Are we doing it for the sake of achieving timeless beauty or just pure vain vanity?

Our skin tone has never allowed us to be the color of pure snow (as one ad puts it) due to our genetic composition, weather, climate, geographical location and not forgetting our long ancestral lineage. We Malaysians come from a melting pot of skin colors consisting of ivory, beige, almond, mocha, cappuchino and espresso. We can never be pale like the Japanese or Koreans nor can we be white like the Caucasians.

Yes, some of us are lucky enough to have inherited beautiful fair flawless skin thanks to some super mix-ups from our ancestors. I've even heard some ridiculous notion that such skin represents wealth, stature and bloodline. What a crap!

So does that make those who are unfortunate enough to have the skin tones to the likes of mocha, cappuchino or even espresso are poor, bottomless citizens and pariahs? Are they doomed to life by having to live through the day by slathering their faces and bodies with all these whitening lotions and creams just to achieve such said conjecture? Sheesssshhh... who ever made that notion should be shot!

To me, beauty is purely skin deep. Cake yourself with all the whitening products in this world but if you have an attitude problem, you are a nobody.

I'd be lying if I say that I am not concern about beauty. I do but not to the point of it taking over my life. I want to make a good first impression with my appearance but I want to attract people more with my personality, brains, wit and humor.

I am content on being a beautiful warm mocha not needing any whitening products and not a bitchy cold white who have to slobber themselves with a paraphernalia of whitening aids everytime they go out. What about you??

The Art of Cooking

I've never been a fan of cooking until.... I came here.

In fact I hated cooking, so much so Mak never forced me into the kitchen. There was the occasional helping hand given in the form of chopping up the onions or blending the dried chillies which upon completion will see me disappearing from the kitchen. Mak got so used to my disappearing acts from the kitchen that she gave up on teaching her only daughter to cook.

One day she said "Nora, nanti dah kawin kalau tak reti masak nak makan apa?"

To which I slyly replied "Aiii Mak... kedai kan banyak. Order saje la. I think I can manage that quite well, thank you very much"

With that as my answer, Mak glared at me exasperatingly and said "What if you had to cook if your mother in law came?"

To which I replied "Ahhh... I'll just go out and buy something and popped it into the pyrex when I get home. Then, I'll present it to her like I had been slaving myself at the stove for the whole day, hehehhe"

Mak simply gave up and I was a happy lass thinking myself so bright and clever for being able to think such ingenius solutions.

But the smirk on my face didn't last long. The day I stepped my foot on white snowy Purdue Airport, I knew I couldn't rely on takeouts and there weren't any mamaks and apeks at my beck and call. The nearest Malaysian food available was in Chicago, some 2 hours drive away.

People say, necessity is the mother of invention and invented I did. I invented myself to be an amateur cook. The first time that I cooked was at Nong's apartment. I stayed at her pad for a week while waiting for Hawkin's to open up. Having stayed there and contributed nothing to the daily cooking rota, I was feeling a bit embarrassed of myself for imposing on Nong and her housemates. They didn't really expect me to cook with the jet lag and acclimatization to the weather and all but common courtesy ingrained by Mak in me was constantly making me guilty and I didn't want Nong and her housemates to judge me as freeloader and not welcome me into their house anymore.

So, I called Mak. I asked her what was the simplest dish that I could cook which will guarantee a success upon the first attempt? Before Mak bestowed her life-saving recipes, she nagged at me for not learning to cook. Why do moms always do that? It drives me crazy but since I was at her mercy, I just listened with ooo and ahh and ye lah in between.

After she had released all her fury (nahhh... I'm just kidding. She's just scared that her only daughter will starve to death for not being able to cook because she was too stubborn to learn), Mak taught me on the phone 2 simple dishes that she said "Even a blind man can cook" to which I jokingly add "Yeahh... now I'm not just blind, add dumb and deaf as well. So how?". I can hear Mak snorting across the transatlantic line. So, wise Mak dispense upon me the way to cook Instant Tom Yam and Ayam Masak Kicap.

I opted for Tom Yam since I wasn't confident enough to cook the Ayam Masak Kicap plus I had with me cubes after cubes of Tom Yam pastes. I made a one pot dish complete with chicken and veggies consisting of carrots, cauliflower and peppers. Nasib baik tau masak nasik. Kalau tak... ralat jugak. I was happy to see Nong and Co. slurping away happily my first ever Tom Yam.

What tickles me most was when I was chopping the carrots. These US carrots are darn hard! And since it was my first time, it didn't help either. I was making this very loud banging noise in the kitchen when Emi came in and said "Weih... bawak bersabar sket dgn carrot tu. Dari bawah aku boleh dengar" Aduhhhssss!!! Malunya tak tau nak cakap!!!!

A lesson well learnt indeed. Ever since then, I tirelessly called Mak every weekend and asked her for more recipes especially on my favorite sambal tumis udang. I learn to brace myself in the kitchen and try out one recipe after another, always correcting my mistakes along the way. Well, I truly learnt from my mistakes.

Then came the impending doom. It was Raya time and B and housemates wanted to hold an open house. Me being B's girlfriend at that time and the only one who can make passable dishes was given the responsibility of cooking the main dish. I was like "ARE YOU GUYS CRAZY??!!!" I accepted the challenge and faced it head on. I called Mak, again, and asked for my favorite noodle dish, Mee Jawa.

The day came and I was in the kitchen from the day before preparing ingredients for the Mee Jawa. Guests came around noon and tasted it. They have never heard of Mee Jawa nor have they ever tasted it but suffice to say, Alhamdulillah, they liked it and before I knew it, the pot was empty to the point of being spotlessly clean.

Unfortunately, the cooking rendezvous stopped when I came back home after graduating. Either Mak cooks or I eat out. Even after marrying B, I seldom cook. I didn't see the point of cooking when there's only the two of us. Weekends would be spent either in Klang or Subang where Mak or Mama would cook up a storm.

When I was pregnant with Zareef, things got from bad to worse. I had terrible all-day sickness and one of the allergies was not being able to stand the smell of cooking. Even the tiniest whiff of frying would see me dousing my head in the toilet bowl. So, it was off to restaurants, stalls, Mak's or Mama's with the condition that they cook in advance prior to my arrival.

I came here when I was 6 months pregnant. By that time, the sickness was over. There were no Mak or Mama to cook for me so I had to cook or else we'd starve to death. So, I cooked. I looked up recipes from the internet. I enquired from friends whenever I was invited to their house for dinner. I was not afraid to ask nor was I afraid to learn. Suddenly I realized that I like cooking. I like to try out dishes. I like seeing B's satisfied face when he tastes my dishes of labor. B is glad to be my guinea pig and taste the good, bad and ugly dishes that I concocted in my kitchen.

Now, I'm proud to say, I've moved from being an amateur to an intermediate borderline expert. In fact, I have this group of friends who meet up ever so often during the week just to learn to cook and taste each other's specialities. Just yesterday I learned to make Pasembor Penang. Fuhhh... terangkat sehh!!!

So to lasses and mommies out there who thinks that they suck at cooking, please do not despair. There is always hope of becoming a cook. A fine example would be me.

ps: here is an excellent site to turn to when you're short of recipes. Tried and tested, they never fail to make me drool. Go on... take a peek at Yummy Recipes from Mommies.

Wedding Anniversary

Last Friday, 25th March 2005 marked our 4th Wedding Anniversary. It was a quiet celebration for just the three of us. We spent the day at Bullring, Birmingham weaving in and out of shops and boutiques with me drooling all over myself at Christian Dior, Jimmy Choo, a Dolce & Gabbana watch, Morphy Richards espresso maker, Sony Ericsson's S700i, a trip to Andalucia and Jordan (I really, really want to see the city of Petra and dip myself in the Dead Sea) and other countless things that will remain in my birthday and anniversary wish list for the next... say lifetime???

B gave me a KitchenAid Artisan Mixer in red (they have all kinds of rainbow colors) while I gave him an authentic Subaru World Rally Team shirt (B is absofcukinglutely nuts about motorsports). Eventhough I've ordered the shirt online for ages, it only came in today through the Royal Mail Special Delivery at 7.45 am while we were sleeping. It gave me a deep satisfaction upon seeing B's face when he opened the unassumed box. Hehehhehe... I hope you love it Aling and you're not disappointed eventhough the shirt came 5 days late.

Here are some pixs. Enjoy....

In front of the Bullring Center in Birmingham. What kicks me with building is it's unique glowing sphere discs surrounding the building where Selfridges is.

Zareef is trying to take a pix with my phone while I take a pix of him and my brand spanking new KitchenAid Artisan Mixer in racy red.

My beautiful red KitchenAid Artisan Mixer. I love it!! Now I can start baking up a storm with it...

The Subaru World Rally Team shirt. B will look dashing in this.

The back of the Subaru World Rally Team shirt. Beautifully done!

If you're looking for authenticity, this is it.

Of Idiocy, Carelessness and Forgetfulness

I am mad at myself for being such a careless, forgetful idiot! I might as well kick myself in the shin and bang my head against the wall for it.

I left the car keys hanging at the front passenger's door and someone nicked it!!!!

ARGGHHHHH!!!

I'm such an idiot!!!!

It happened yesterday when I took Zareef to the park. In my attempts to catch hold of Zareef before he crosses the street towards the park in one hand (he was so excited and couldn't contain himself and was jumping up and down) while holding his bottle of water in the other and trying to lock the car all at the same time; my hands were full and my mind was focused elsewhere, I entirely forgot about the car keys at the door.

I went straight to the park and let Zareef have the time of his life climbing, sliding and running all over the playground.

When we walked back towards the car, a friend called out (I parked in front of his house) saying that a mat salleh came over his house and asked the whereabouts of the owner of the car (which happens to be me) moments ago. My friend informed him that the car belonged to a friend and asked why? The mat salleh just said "I want to see the owner" and went off.

Now, how did I come to the conclusion that my car keys were nicked? Because...

1) It wasn't in any of my pockets be it the jacket or my pants but my mobile and house key were.
2) I scoured the entire park and playground area THRICE!, retraced my steps THRICE! combing every square inch of grass that I stepped and found nothing.
3) I have a history of leaving the car keys at the door.
4) The mat salleh said that he wanted to see the owner of the car.

The fourth reason made me start to think...

1) Why would he want to see the owner?
2) If he wanted to see me, why didn't he wait near the car?
3) If he wanted to see me but couldn't wait for me, why didn't he leave a number with my friend so that I could contact him? (It so happens that the mat salleh lives nearby because my friend recognizes him but doesn't know which house is it)
4) If my friend said that the owner of the car is his friend, why didn't the mat salleh state his reasons of wanting to see me?
5) Why didn't the mat salleh just leave the car keys hanging at the door and save me all the trouble and worries?

With all that swishing in my mind back and forth, B and I made the conclusion that the mat salleh took our car keys from the door when he was passing by for some obvious reason unknown to us. Maybe he was just being a good samaritan by taking the keys to prevent my car from being stolen but if he did that, why oh why didn't he leave a contact number or let my friend know where he's living so that I could get hold of him??

ARGGGHHHHH!!!! I'm so mad at myself for being so careless and forgetful!!!!

ARGGGHHHHH!!!! I'm even madder at that mat salleh for taking my car keys but not leaving any information behind.

Thank God that we have a spare key at home. So B had to walk home from the university, wait for my friend to come and pick him up, take him back to our friend's house to get Zareef and I and drive us home in our car. Isn't that tiresome?! And I thank God that B wasn't mad at me. In fact, he was all calm, cool and collected unlike me who was reduced to a shaken, nerve-wrecked woman. Thank you so much Aling for not being mad at me and thank you also for understanding that your wife is a forgetful, careless old git. All he said was "Dah benda nak jadi, nak buat camna. Just accept and deal with it". Very wisely spoken and I couldn't agree more.

Now, all that we have to do is to make another spare key which will be a problem because the key cannot be duplicated easily at any keymaker. According to my friend who also had to duplicate his key because he broke it, we have to go to the respective dealership, bring along certain documents to verify ownership, have our key sent to Germany and the Germans will send us the duplicate. Oh dear!!! Satu hal la pulak. But I told B, regardless how hassling it may be, we have to have a duplicate key because of old forgetful me.

So now if you'll excuse me, I'll continue to kick myself in the butt pulak and knock my head silly.

Now... what shall I do??....

The friend who was supposed to be kind enough to babysit Zareef for our Anniversary date suddenly said that she can't. Oh well, yes I'm a bit disappointed but I'll make some changes. Looks like my plans to watch Hitch in the cinema will not materialize after all plus a romantic twosome dinner will now be a cozy threesome.

*****

I've finally completed collecting tokens for 2-for-1 entry tickets to Alton Towers. It took me almost a week to complete all five tokens. It was almost declared incomplete because idiot me forgot to buy the newspaper on Thursday but luckily my super buys the newspaper religiously everyday. So, I get to nick the last token from her, with her permission of course.

Not only are the tokens valid for Alton Towers, they can also get me into Chessington Park and Thorpe Park as well. And me being the adrenaline junky, plans to go to all three that is if time and money permit.

*****

Out of boredom and necessity, Zareef and I went to town to buy some crucial stuffs, some not so important stuffs and some because it was on sale.

The best part was, Osh Kosh is having a half-price sale at Boots on some of their selected lines only. I got to snatch some good bargains on tops for Zareef. The worst part was most of Zareef's size are gone leaving only some which are either too small or too big. So, what did I do? I bought t-shirt and shirts 2 and 3 years ahead seeing that I won't be here by that time and not forgetting that OKBG in Malaysia is ridiculously and exorbitantly priced.

I-ntra U-terine D-evice

I've been contemplating on fitting in an IUD as a contraceptive for quite a while now but I've been procrastinating on it. All this while I've been sticking to rubber but now it's getting to be quite tiresome; you know the foreplay part, then getting the packet, tearing it, slipping it on and then only you get to the juicy stuffs. With the IUD fitted it, it's a direct wham-bam-thank you mam.

So yesterday, after months of dilly-dally, B drove me to the Family Planning Clinic in Coalville so that I could be fitted with one. It was a walk-in service, so when I arrived, there were quite a number of people waiting to be seen.

I reported myself to the receptionist and was given a form to be filled in. I did as was told and then seated myself at the waiting area. I wasn't feeling scared or anxious. In fact, I didn't felt anything. All that while, Zareef was busy running around having the time of his life with B close on his tail.

A male doctor called out my name. I was like 'Oh man!! Dapat laki pulak'. Oh what the heck... they are supposed to be the best in their field. It's just that I'd be more comfortable with a female doctor. So in I went.

He asked a few background questions and what is it that I want. After telling him that I wanted to be fitted with an IUD, he went on explaining what IUD is, the effects and the procedures that he'll be performing. But what he didn't tell me was the pain that I had to go through to have it fitted inside me.

And boy did it hurt. A LOT!! I cried out loud when the doc inserted an instrument to measure the depth of my womb. It went in all the way from the vagina right into the womb. The pain that I felt was one like the birth contractions. Then the second pain came when he inserted the IUD itself. He said 'I'm sorry for having to hurt you but I have to. It'll only be for a few seconds. Hold on kay!'. You betcha!! I was holding on to dear life! And then it was done. He even said 'Well done! You were very brave. You did great!' Cehhhh... macam la aku ni budak umor 3 tahun.

The procedure was done in lest than 2 minutes but I was in great pain especially in the lower abdomen area where the womb is. Doc was reassuring me that the pain 'will not last long'. 'Just for a few hours' he said. 'A couple of paracetamols will make it go away'. A few hours my ass!!

4 paracetamols and the whole night and day later, I'm still in pain except now it's just a dull throbbing compared to the birth contractions that I felt last night. I was moaning and groaning and writhing on the bed unable to do anything except curl myself up in a tight ball willing the pain to go away. I didn't remember when or how I slept except to be awoken by the sound of my alarm clock. Time to go to work but I couldn't because I was still in pain so I called and left a message saying that I'm taking emergency leave instead of calling in sick because I've run out of sick leaves.

When I was in great pain last night, I told B that if I knew that the pain would be this great, I wouldn't have opted for IUD. I'd have just stuck to the old rubber but nak cepat punya pasal... Sekarang sendiri mahu tanggung. All B could do was just rubbed my back and gave me words of comfort.

Before deciding with IUD, I did do some research on it. I even asked around some friends who had it done. They said it was a simple procedure and didn't hurt one bit except when the doc inserted the coil into the womb. Plus it will last for 5 years and if I ever decide to get pregnant within the 5 years, then it's easily taken out by pulling at a string located at the end of the IUD. I didn't want to take any pills (I did for a year but I didn't like it because the hormones in pill tend to clash with my hormones leaving me a mess for the first few months) nor did I want any injections or implants (they still deal with hormones administrated into the body). So after hearing so many good words about the IUD, I decided to go for one.

Well, now that I've done it, I think it'll be a very long, long time before I go for it again. If I ever decide to have it fitted in again, I'll ask for a local anaesthetic or douse myself with enough painkillers to numb my senses beforehand.

*****

On a brighter note, Boots is having an offer on Pampers nappies. Instead of the usual 2 for £16 on all economy packs, they're offering 2 for £13.50 and you can mix it. So what did I do?? I bought 4 packs. They ran out of the Baby Dry, so I bought 3 packs of Active Fit and 1 Easy Up. Since I spent more than £25 on baby stuffs, I got a 500 points bonus on my Boots card. Hehehhehe... more for me to redeem it on Osh Kosh. I have 1000 points now and I'm eyeing the OKBG jeans and t-shirt to go with it.

So mummies in UK... go to your nearest Boots and borong segala Pampers yg ada kat situ. HEhehehe... macam buat iklan free pulak utk Boots. Takpe... nak dapat points punye pasal...

*****

Starting from next week, I'll be on a very long holiday. It'll be Easter then plus I took extra leave up till 1 April just to finish off my leave balance before the new financial year starts. Hmmm... it'll be 10 long fulfilling days of leave. What shall I do?? Let me list it down.

1. Start packing up our stuffs to bring home. But if I pack them now into boxes, where shall I put them? Rumah dah la sekangkang kera. If I put them in the hall, then there'll be no space left for us to sit and breathe.

2. A week from today will be our 4th wedding anniversary (Lagi sekali ye. Hari tu was according to Hijrah years. This time ikut Gregorian calendar pulak). I've already found a friend who is willing to babysit Zareef. So I'm going to leave him with her and her kids and that'll leave us free for a movice date. Yeay!!! It's been approximately 3 years since I last stepped foot into the cinema. It doesn't matter what movie we watch as long as we have an alone time just the two of us to rekindle our love and say and do mushy stuffs without any interruptions. Then it's off for a dinner at La Tasca. Yeap... I've been itching to try that restaurant eversince Rini and Jue has been gushing on and on about their delicious food.

3. On Saturday, I'm going to Milton Keynes with a friend to a Noritake factory shop. Yeah baby!! Tanduk sudah tumbuh... I can see B rolling his eyes now. Don't worry Aling... I'll only buy the cheap ones... if there's any la. Then we'll go jalan2 around the town center. Lepas tu balik.

4. Hmmm... I'm wondering if I can convince B to go to Manchester. First, I've been dying to go to Jati since last year. Secondly, dah lama tak jalan2 kat Trafford Centre. Thirdly, teringin pulak nak visit Rini sefamily. Amacam Rini?? Boleh datang rumah tak???

Well... that's it. Now I'm going to see what is Zareef up to in the garden. Senyap je... mesti ada la tu dia tengah berproject. Have a good weekend people!

When I was just a little boy...

I was going through some old picture files today, when I stumbled upon Zareef's baby pictures. Comparing Zareef then all wrinkly and tiny and now when he can leap and bound made me realized how fast he has grown. It seems like it was just yesterday that I held Zareef close to my heart never wanting to let him go after an ardous 30-hours labor. I shall not dwell on my miserable giving birth experience as not to scare off the would be mothers out there. Maybe when it's Zareef's 3rd birthday, then I shall dive into it. For now, I'm going to reminisce the times when my boy was just 2.89 kg, docile and does whatever I want him to instead of now when he has become a smart ass and sometimes answers me back by saying the darndest things.

A close-up of Zareef when he was 2 months old.

I'm A-Okay

I know, I know... I've not been updating for quite some time. Firstly, I was not in the right state of mind to do so (I was pissed at someone). Secondly, after the pissed period was over, kemalasan maha dewa telah melanda so I just did blog hopping for a while instead of furnishing my abode with posts worth writing.

To my friends who have enquired, I'm okay now. Thank you so much for your concern. It touches me right to the core to know that I have friends who really, really care and willing to help me even without ever know what's going on.

I'm too lazy to ponder or write anything that requires mind-boggling thoughts, so I'm just gonna update on what I've been up to for the past two weeks or so.

1) B has been terribly busy and will continue to be in that state until the day he submits his thesis. He plans to submit it sometime mid-April, hence now he's sticking his nose to the grind only coming back from the office around 8 pm or so for dinner, rest and sleep. Can't do his work at home because most of his stuffs are too big to lug home plus there's the Zareef factor. Being a daddy's boy, he'll be hanging on to B for dear life from the moment B stepped into the house till Zareef closes his eyes to sleep. That's how attached Zareef is to B.

2) For Mother's Day, B and Zareef wished me well and the best gift came when B said "Tak payah masak la hari nih. It's Mother's Day. We'll eat out". Wahhhh... music to my ears!! And to top it off, he even washed the dishes, hovered the whole house, cooked pizza for lunch and folded the laundry. My oh my!! Don't I have the best hubby or what?!! We had lamb briyani, chicken tikka masala and 2 mango lassies (Zareef telah menghabiskan satu setengah cawan besar!) at a cosy restaurand called Zaytoun in Leicester. Very yummylicious I must say. Ahhhh... it's great to be treated like a queen even if it's just for a day.

3) Of late, Zareef's nose has been bleeding especially when he's sleeping. He'll start to rub his nose, then coughed and cry for help. Luckily the bleed only lasted for a minute or two. Any remedies for this, anyone??

4) We went to a friend's daughter's 3rd birthday party yesterday. Pijat made grilled chicken Nando's style (she used the Nando's marinade) complete with side dishes. I lost count of the number of pisces I had. I just stuffed myself crazy. Why is it that food always tastes better at other people's houses? This happens all the time to Zareef. He'll eat and eat at our friend's houses but when I cooked the same dishes at home, he wouldn't even bat an eye at it. Huhh... sungguh frustrating especially after slaving myself cooking it for nearly two hours.

5) We went to an Italian Furniture shop on Saturday at Birmingham. Mampu tengok je la. Harga beribu-riban sehhh.... I wanted to see what's the fuss all about because it's been causing a mad wave here in Loughborough. Some of the houses I visited is sure to be furnished with these avantgarde furniture. They didn't buy it new, instead they bid it on eBay. Sanggup tu sewa van and pegi beratus batu to collect it. Some who has extra dough to spare bought them brand spanking new from the shop which costs a bomb! Hmmm... and us??
Nahhhh... too fancy and elaborate for our taste. Maybe when we're older and the kids have grown up and we have extra cash to boot, then we'll consider it but not now. Rumah pun tak beli lagi. Karang dah beli banyak2, balik nanti nak letak mana?

6) Zareef is all psyched up to go to Disneyland Paris. He'll say "Besok Mummy bawak Zareef go to Disneyland kay?!" or "Mummy nak go Disneyland ke?" or even "Jom jalan2 Disneyland, Mummy". We kept saying not yet or in 3 month's time or nanti kita pegi masa Happy Birthday Mummy, alright?! But Zareef being just a kid and all with no sense of time, he'll keep on asking and I'm just happy to accommodate him.

All in all, I'm back to my jolly old self. No more sulking. No more merajuk sessions. So, here's to more happy and brighter posts...

I HATE YOU!!!

Enough said.

Snow Day

Zareef refuses to come inside eventhough his hands are freezing, nose is becoming all red and oompa wompas is coming from his nose.

It has been snowing on and off for the past 3 days here on the Island but the worst hit areas would be the whole eastern stretch of England and Scotland. About 100+ schools were closed due to heavy snow. Hehehheh... lucky kids! I had to scrape of the bloody snow off the windscreen of my car despite B putting a bedsheet on it the night before going to work.

I skidded my car twice on the first day. The ground was covered with fresh soft fluffy snow. It would be fun if I had the time to roll around and flap my hands making angel pictures but no such thing. I was already late. Fresh snow and icy road is a recipe for disaster when it comes to driving. I wasn't going fast at all but my tyres won't grip hence the skidding incidents. Once when I was turning a corner and I almost ran into a friend's car but missed it by mere inches.
The other one was when I tried to reverse park. When I turned, the tyres skidded again and I almost knocked into a parked car. I press the brakes with all my might, praying that I don't hit the car. God answered my prayers and my car again stopped just in time. Phewwww.... very, very close calls there.

And to top if off, I was deducted 15 minutes from my paycheck for arriving late eventhough it wasn't my fault. Seriously! It wasn't. How was I suppose to know that it was going to snow heavily when I was sleeping and my car decided to dance on the snow for that matter. It was all nature's fault. Sheessshh... so not fair!

But the snow in Loughborough didn't last long. As soon as the sun came out, everything melted. The temperature wasn't freezing enough. So, my plans to take Zareef for good whizz on the sledge at Beacon Hill didn't materialize. It it did, it would have been a perfect snow day with us having a blast for the last time.

Zareef with just a few of his many, many outdoor toys. Most of it Mummy and Daddy dah pack and store safely in the shed. If not, nak run around the garden pun susah.

The snow has melted but it's enough for my boy to be bouncing up and down all over the garden while screaming in delight 'It's snowing Mummy! It's snowing!!'

A pose for the over-excited mom

Same Old, Same Old

Last weekend, I tried my hands on Dilla's tiramisu. Whalllauuu... terangkat sehhhh!! Sedap giloss!! There were plentiful to go around, so I invited some friends to come over and we had a mini buffet going. To top it off, I cooked Seafood Spaghetti. It was simple and delicious albeit cair sket. All was done in an hour's time. Here's the recipe...

SEAFOOD PASTA

Ingredients:
4 tbs olive oil
1 tps cili boh
6 cloves garlic (crushed and chopped)
2 cans chopped tomatoes (blend for a coarse texture)
6 sprigs of fresh parsley
1 tps oregano (kalau ada yg fresh lagi bagus)
2 packs frozen mixed seafood
1 pack spaghetti
salt and sugar to taste

Method:
1. Boil spaghetti with 1 tbs of veggie oil till al dente.
2.Heat olive oil and add chilli. Tumis sampai garing.
3. Add garlic and fry for a minute then add chopped tomatoes. Stir.
4. Put in fresh parsley and oregano. Stir.
5. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes on medium heat sampai pekat.
6. Bila dah pekat, campur mixed seafood and stir until they are cooked but not too long because you don't want them to be tough like rubber.
7. Add salt and sugar to taste. It should have a spicy taste just enough to tickle your taste buds, seafood sweet, sour but nottoo salty to complement the spaghetti.
8. Serve with warm spaghetti with just enough sauce to coat the strands (jangan banjir ye), fresh parsley and finished with two or three dashes of olive oil.
9. Apa lagi... makan la... slurppp slurppp slurppp.

Adding garlic bread and fresh salad would certainly take the dish to the high heavens. Sorry, I didn't have enough hands to snap a picture or two.

Bon Appetito!

*****

Yeay!! It has been confirmed and booked. We're off to Disneyland Paris on 14th-18th June. Yes! Yes! Yes!

I've just booked and paid for the package i.e. returned Eurostar, unlimited park passes to both Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios for the whole duration of 5 days and 4 nights and hotel with continental buffet breakfast all for the price of £335 per person. Cheapo, eh?! Zareef goes everywhere free of charge because he is below 3 years old. Ahhhh... all the better.

Now... if only I can persuade B to pay for a dinner birthday party with the Disney characters on the 14th. When else can I get to celebrate my 29th birthday amidst all the pomp, fun and grandeur of Disney?! It's a celebration of a lifetime!! Hey, I may be 29, but I still am a kid at heart just like Zareef when it comes to Disney and the likes of it.

Aling... if you're reading this... PLEASE, PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE......

*****

I had a very, very long chat with Zoowra today. It felt really good talking to her. I get to hear all the latest scoops, bear my soul and catching up with her. It felt like opening a can of whoopass!!

Zoow, I hope I didn't bother you while you were busy working. Believe it or not, it was very therapeutic. We should do it again.

Man I miss my friends back home! I can't wait to get back this September, InsyaAllah. It all depends on B's completion of his PhD. I pray and pray that he will sail through it with ease.

Mind Your Ps and Qs

Bagi tu

Pass tu

Tepi sikit

Nak yang tu

Try saying the above sentences in loud, sharp voice to me and you'll see me not doing anything, not even moving my butt an inch. Why? Because it annoys the hell out of me when people asks me to do something without saying PLEASE and THANK YOU. Even if B were to ask me without so much as saying please, I'll just ignore him. That's how far I'll go just to teach my family to be polite especially when it comes to asking for help or favors, even to my own husband.

The funny thing is, I've noticed it mainly in our people, the Malays. Granted that we are rich in old traditions and adat but we still lack the certain basic finesse when asking for help. This is particularly obvious nowadays, especially in young Malay children and some adults, I might add. I'm saying this based on my observation during a Raya Haji gathering held here. The food were laid out buffet style and everyone had to queue up.

Bagi pinggan

I remained quiet

Bagi pinggan tu makcik

Dlm hati rasa nak piat2 je telinga dia firstly for not saying tolong and secondly for calling me makcik which is a big NO NO.

I turned to her and said

Tolong bagi pinggan, auntie.

She stared at me as if I've said something alien to her and ironically, her mom was beside her (who happens to be much older than me) too stared at me. Her mom got her the plate and glared at me. I just kept quiet because I didn't want to cause a situation, so I moved up the line queueing patiently to get my food. It's unbelievable how clueless of them when it comes to saying TOLONG. I mean, is it so hard to say please and thank you?

I know if it was me and someone said "Nora, tolong bla bla bla", I'd do it in an instant without any hesitation. It'll certainly make my day if that person then said "Thank you". You see how these two magic words certainly makes a world of difference between someone wanting to do your bidding and someone ignoring you completely.

The Mat Sallehs have no problem in this department, that I give credit to them. The Ps and Qs are ever ready at the tip of their tongue, so much so that they over use them and sometimes without even meaning it. Like when I reach the till to pay for my stuffs, the cashier would say thank you when I put the stuffs on the counter but with a sullen face. After ringing everything up, she'd look at me and say the amount ending with a blank-thank you-face. When I handed her my cash, she'd say it with a deadpan-thank you-face. She'll then hand me the balance and the receipt and say it with a stiff-thank you-face. See what I mean?! That's four thank yous but not even one did she mean it. I'm not saying all are like her. Just one or two who must be having a bad hair day.

When I was small, my mom and dad would teach me the Ps and Qs relentlessly. Their way was not to give me anything or do any of my biddings if I didn't include any tolong or please with it. They'll just ignore me and continue to do their activities. This happened a lot especially during meal times. I'd ask them to pass me the rice or chicken or anything on the table. They'd say "Say please and thank you dulu baru Abah bagi" and so the teaching began. Over time, I got so used to saying the Ps and Qs that it has become part of my daily conversation and believe it or not, sometimes I over use it too. Like the other day, I said to Zareef "Tolong tidy up your toys please". But I think it turned out to be good because it kinda rubbed on Zareef. Now I'm proud to say that my son knows his Ps and Qs darn well. At least he won't be snubbed by other makciks or pakciks for not knowing how to say please and thank you.

I know it's such a small matter, but when it comes to dealing with people, what you say or don't say will certainly reflect on your upbringing. In my case, when the girl did not say please, what immediately crossed my mind was "Parents dia tak ajar ke cakap please? Parents educated bukan main". That was very quick of me to judge but hey, aren't we all?

As for me, saying please and thank you brings nothing other than good and well-fortune. I got to go to Allders and buy my KitchenAid, didn't I (hehehhe... thanks to B for relenting after countless of pleases from me... )

Awal Muharram

I'd like to wish everyone a very good Awal Muharram. May this year be filled with love, joy, prosperity and blessings from Allah AlMighty.

Today also marks our 4th wedding anniversary according to Hijrah years. Yes, B and I got married 4 years ago on Awal Muharram. We chose that date because we wanted to start our new lives together as husband and wife on a fresh new slate at the beginning of a new year.

Darling,
I may not be the perfect wife
Nor the perfect mom
But I am who I am that you met 11 years ago
Whom you fell in love with.

Like wine, we get better with age
I learn from my past mistakes
I learn to love you more and more with each passing day
I learn to accept my faults and yours
I learn to be the wife that you want me to be
But please be patient with me
For I am still learning.

Yes, we've had our fair share of squabbles
Yes, we've had our fair share of merajuk sessions
Yes, we've had our fair share of disagreements
And yes, we've managed to make up for it each and every time with renewed passion.

I am lost for words when it comes to describing my love for you
I can look up in thesaurus.com and come up with infinite words
But they all mean the same
LOVE
That's what I feel for you
Neverending, rock solid, unshaken by the mother of all tsunamis.

I pray that Allah will bless our marriage till the end of our life
I pray that we'll be together till death do us part
And I pray we'll never, ever fall out of love.

Aling.... I love you till the power of infinity!!

A Prayer for the Stressed

Got this at work today...

A Prayer for the Stressed

Grant me the serenity for the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I cannot accept,

And the wisdom to hide the bodies of those I had to kill today

because they got on my nerves.

Help me to be careful of the toes I step on today

as they maybe connected to feet I may have to kiss tomorrow.

Help me to always give 100% at work...

12% on Monday,

23% on Tuesday,

40% on Wednesday,

20% on Thursday and

5% on Friday.

And help me to remember

When I'm having a bad day and it seems people are trying to wind me up,

It takes 42 muscles to frown, 28 to smile

but only 4 to extend my arm and smack someone in the mouth.

On Smelly Old Fart and Potty Training

Yesterday, while changing Zareef's nappy, he gave one long loud stinky fart.

PROTTTTTTT

I laughed. Kuatnya Zareef kentot!

Heheheh... Zareef kentot busuk macam Mummy la...

Halamak!! Terkena balik kat aku. Ceitttt!!!

*****

I haven't started potty training Zareef yet because

1) I'm not sure whether he's up for it, yet.
2) I'm quite lazy to tend and assist him in his ardous task.
3) My rented house is wall-to-wall carpeted hence the reluctant attitude in me on the idea if he were to accidentally spill his guts or kidney out.

So, it came as a surprise to both of us, yesterday when

Zareef nak go upstairs kejap ek. Nak kencing.

I looked at B and him me in disbelief.

Betul ke Zareef?

Haaa! Zareef nak kencing. And he started to take off his PJs and undoing his nappy.

Wait! Wait! Lets go upstairs kay.

We went upstairs and he truly peed in the toilet bowl.

Nak flush jap Mummy

Wait. Mummy wash first your k**e.

Ok. Lepas tu Zareef flush, alright?!

Alright.

I am so proud of my son. I didn't even teach him how to pee in the toilet bowl and yet he can do it without even a blink! And he did it twice!! Phewwww... Lega. One milestone has been conquered. Now, if only I can get him to poo in the toilet bowl as well.

Monster Mummy

I am absofcukinglutely mad with Zareef. ARGGGHHHH!!!! Chicken pox tak chicken pox. Tak kira aaa. Tak tahan dah. He's driving me insane at this moment. I am not speaking to him sampai daddy dia balik. I'm giving him the silent treatment.

I need time out! I need a personal time for myself so that I don't go on hating my son! I need to be alone for awhile! I want to shout at the top of my lungs and I did and it felt good! Rasa nak lempang2 je sampai dia berhenti menjerit macam orang giler but I didn't!

But why oh why did I feel so wretched and horrible after that? Why did I regret yelling and shouting at him? Why did I cry and kissed him like there's no tomorrow when he cried himself to sleep? Why did I apologize profusely to him when he woke up?

It's a tough job being a full time mom but I have to do it whether I like it or not. But for now, I don't.

Attack of the Chicken Pox

Zareef was diagnosed with chicken pox by his mommy and daddy 2 days ago. It started out with tiny red dots but now is growing plentifold. He's itchy and keeps on scratching at his poxes. How do I say to a 2-year old not to scratch coz if he does, he'll be scarred for life?? Kesian little kiddo nih... one whole body is covered but still managed to pose for the camera.

I've given him Calpol for his high temperature (dia demam sekali), calomine lotion for his poxes and Piriton to help ease the itchiness. He's weak and feeling very floppy, miserable, whingeing, clingy and whinny, the works. What else can I do to ease his suffering, anyone?

Luckily both of us are immune as we've already gotten the miserable chicken pox when we were in our teens. Now, our house it out of bounds to everyone and I'm quarantining him until this ordeal is over.

Attack of the chicken pox

Is the first always the best?

I have had plentiful of firsts in life. First love, first job, first apartment, first car, first toy, first lust, first sex, first shoe, first vacation, first bag, first suit and first blog. The question now that I've always wondered and pondered upon is... Is the first always the best?

Let's see... my first love come at a very young age. I was seven. Haaa... I can see everyone's disbelief faces. He was my classmate. At seven, it was love at first sight. Ala-ala citer My Girl gitu except that neither him nor I die from bee stings. I didn't tell him and him me for six years. When we went to our respective boarding schools and came back for school holidays did we discover our feelings for each other. What I thought was a simple crush became a relationship. It lasted for 4 years before I found out from his friends that he was cheating on me with another girl. Well, that answers the long and dry season of missing letters and phone calls. Bah Humbug!

My first job was as a housekeeper at The Union Hotel. I needed extra money for my lavish spendings and the obligatory end of semester road trips. The job?? Clean up hotel rooms after the guests have left. It was a hard work for me considering that I seldom tidy up my bed or clean the bathroom or vacuum the floor. The supervisor taught me the art of putting up clean sheets and folding them at their corners before tucking neatly under the mattress. Thank God for that for to this very day, it became a habit which I'm rather proud of.

My first apartment was on Ross Ade Drive, just a stone's throw away from the Ross Ade Stadium. It was an on-campus studio apartment which I would have dearly loved except for the roomie that comes with it. She was decent apart from her weird habits which were listening to loud deafening punk music as a lullaby, lighting up funny smelling incense that blocks my nose up to the nines and her sleeping partner grinding away in the wee hours of the night waking me up from lala land.

My first car... hmmm... I don't own a car, yet. But the first car that I drove was my dad's Nissan Sunny 130Y. Despite it being old, it did its fair share of ferrying me around all over Peninsular Malaysia. The first time I drove it was right after passing my driving test. My dad put me straight to the test of driving from Klang to Batu Pahat. Man! That was a first and was I excited. It felt great putting my foot down on the accelerator and felt the car pushing itself to its limits under my control.

There are too many firsts that I want to write but with Zareef sleeping on my lap, I'll just stop. Period.

But the question still and will remain... is the first always the best? To my best recollection, some of it were and some of it weren't. Some are best forgotten and shoved into the deepest, darkest closet available while some I find it worthwhile putting on display for the rest of the world to see. Some are best shared with family and closest friends when some are ideal as arsenals for the worst of enemies. For me, one of it kept making an appearance in my dreams at least once a week. Hmm... kenapa ekk??

Big and Small Boys Toys

B is passionate, no let me rephrase that, is stir crazy when it comes to cars. The big ones, the small ones, the real ones and the collectible ones. And now, the trait has proudly been passed to the next generation, his son.

B would buy for his little boy all kinds of cars almost everytime we go out. Most of it were bought at the carboot for mere pennies. Zareef would line them up bumper to bumper like the traffic jam or side by side like in the parking lot. Sometimes I would find Zareef lying on the floor and roll the cars about while talking to himself.

"Ni car parking."

"Ni car Mummy" (that'll be my miniature Porsche Cayenne)

"Ni car Daddy" (B's would be a yellow Evo)

"Daddy drive car then BUSSSSHHH" (Zareef's version of two cars colliding into each other)

"Nak tido with car Jaguar" (Zareef even bring his cars to sleep with him at night. That's how passionate he is with cars).

Mind you, Zareef can name cars when we go for a drive. He'll be naming Jaguars, Mercs, Beemers etc. but he can recognize a Merc a mile away. Must be the 'tiga bintang' logo that he's so familiar with.

Did I tell you the story about the first time that B bought his first RC? Of all the places, he found his first love (sadly I've taken second pole position when it comes to cars) at a car boot last year. It was a Nikko 1:15 battery operated 27 MHz Mitsubishi Evolution VII. The man who sold the car had only played it once indoors and wasn't keen on it. So he sold the brand spanking new car for 60 quids. B came home bearing his RC, all giggly and wuzzy, like a child who have just gotten his first Action Man.

Ever since then, every spare minute was spent caressing, tweaking and transfiguring his new car. I was given the chance to test the car at the university car park. That was before I crashed it into a bush and nearly gave B a coronary attack. Thereafter, it was off limits to me.

Later, after lamenting how slow his car was and how everyone else in the RC group played with nitro powered cars and he even come up with the reason 'nanti kita boleh main and race sama2' he bought a nitro RC off eBay. At first I thought the car uses petrol like normal car does but no.... it had to be a special one bought at the RC shop. Haiyaaa... banyak betul cekadak. Sometimes I do grumble and mumble, but most of the time I just give in and let him have fun. Truth to be told, I do enjoy playing the RC which is why the battery operated Evo is now mine. Hehehhe...

B has not played his RC for months now. It's well kept in a box in the study room and quite forgotten. But come summer, B and his gang would be bringing out their beaus and ram their hearts out at the university's car park. Me?? I'll be watching from the sidelines with Zareef, not interfering with the overgrown boys and their toys.

Overgrown boys and their toys

The small boy's toys

Friends

I am blessed with many, many friends. So many that sometimes I forget about them or rather they me. The chronicles of my friends ranged from as early as kindergarten right up till the present. If I were to list them down, which I actually did when I got wed, would come up to the hundreds.

When I first landed my feet in Loughborough, I was so bored, I almost died. I had jetlag. I was 5 and half months pregnant. I had no friends. All forms of communication ceased to exist within the first two weeks of our arrival. I had no phone, internet nor TV and it drove me mad. I was damn lonely. When B had to drag his sorry ass to the campus to start his Phd life, I would cry and cry and bawl my eyes out. Maybe it was the intolerable loneliness that swept me. Maybe it was the unstable hormones raging inside me. Or maybe, I just missed my family and great friends back home.

To me, friends are everything. They make me laugh. They make me cry. They make me do the right honorable thing but they sometimes make me do the wildest unimaginable. They become the essence of my livelihood. Sometimes, they even replace the brothers I've already had and the sisters I've never had. They become the shoulders I cry on. They are the pillars of my strength.

When I was in SSP for five solid years, my friends were my family. We studied, prayed, ate, sleep, played, pranked and partied together. I shamefully admit that during this period, family came in second after my friends. Don't get me wrong. I love my parents and brothers dearly but I couldn't possible tell them about certain things like why I LOOOOVE Chad Allen so much or why my pet sis was acting strangely towards me or even my strange liking towards nasi kawah and ayam karbon. It's just that spending 24-7 of 5 years of my crucial adolescent teenage life made me closer to them than my family.

Then it was on to college life starting with the preparation course by T*L*K*M (where I met and fell in love with B which is another whole story that I will blog on later), then MSM Cheras, proceeded to Sunway College, continued fresh at PPP/ITM and ended with Purdue. Gosh! Now it's starting to dawn on me how long it was for me to complete my tertiary education. Actually it was. 6 fcuking long years but I've never regretted it one bit because along the way, I managed to amass two different styles of education, a boyfriend who later became my lifelong partner, rekindle and strengthen parents-daughter relationship, one huuuuuge debt, precious moments, invaluable experiences, painful wake-up call and perennial friendships.

Now that I'm here, away from it all, I've had the pleasure of meeting new friends and establishing a second family from it. Through the discovery of blogs, I've even made firm friends who reads through my mumbo jumbos and yet still accept me for who I am eventhough we've never met face to face.

To all my friends out there, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for enriching my life with your exquisite and warm personalities, encouraging words of wisdom, quirky quips, and enchanting stories. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

He Bids FArewell

It was adios munchachos to Zareef's nursery last Friday. But now that I've stopped sending him, he has been asking when is his next visit to the nursery. Aittt... dulu mummy hantar, meraung2 tak mo pi. La nih dah stop, tak sabar2 lak nak pi.

They were watching Barney when I came to pick him up. Lupa pulak nak tarik botol Fimbles when taking this picture.

With Zareef's teacher in the background, the ever wonderful Liz, who did a great job in caring after my teary little boy.

Last time getting his jacket off the coat peg

The Holiday In A Nutshell

Be warned! It's a very long post.

I've been neglecting my blog for quite sometime now. It's not that I have nothing to write. It's just that I've been preoccupied during the last two weeks holiday starting from Christmas Eve right up till New Year. It'll be a stale story to some but I've been itching to reminisce it so allow me.

Before I babble non-stop, I'd like to wish everyone a very happy New Year. May it be more prosperous, joyful, filled with love, peaceful and fruitful in some ways.

How did I spend my two weeks holiday?? That used to be a favorite essay title among my BM and English teachers during my primary school heydays. The normal response would be
1) Went to the seaside.
2) Went back to kampung to meet grandpa and grandma
3) Got chicken pox (or some other miserable disease for the unfortunate ones)
4) Stayed at home and do nothing

But now... I can say that my holiday was spent by roaming England from top to bottom in search of a good Boxing Day sale. Yupp... you read me right folks! My boxing day sale hunt did not stop at 2359 hrs on 26/12/04. Instead, it went on and on and on for two whole weeks with a break or two in between.

Righteo...

26/12/04:
After the phone call to my brother, I had a moment of silence (sedekahkan Al-Fatihah actually and say thank you to God because my family was well okay). Then, it was off to Meadowhall in Sheffield. It's a huge shopping mall but nothing compared to Trafford Centre la kan (Rini is SOOOOOO lucky for she has this shopping mecca at her beck and call). We hit Debenhams in my quest to find the Kitchenaid Chef Mixer at a low cut price but to no avail. It's still at £299. I wonder how much is it in Malaysia?? I spotted and tried some pants and got a lovely pair but the queue to the till was utterly horrendous! So I ditched the pants somewhere along Jasper Conran and Warehouse for I couldn't bear to queue for half an hour just for a pair of pants. Forget it!

Zareef was getting cranky so that was the end of Debenhams for me. It was too damn crowded. We mad a beeline for Gap and got Zareef a couple of turtlenecks. Then it was on to Mothercare which btw had a huge sale. B went totally crazy in there and bought like 8 bajus for his son. There were all little kiddo's favorite; Bob, Little Robots, Noddy and Thomas. I added a swimming trunk for Zareef.

Then we just went in and out from one store to another. Most of the good stuffs were gone. I was there at 11 am. What time did these people get here? 5?? Osh Kosh at Boots were on half price but the famous sizes ceased to exist. Damn these people are quick!!

At 5 pm we left Meadowhall because the place was about to close. That's another crappy thing about shopping during winter time. All stores close early.

27/12/04:
We hit Bicester Village in Oxfordshire. It's a factory outlet designed for the rich, super rich and filthy rich. The brands range from Clarks, Timberland, Wedgwood for the rich; Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Villeroy and Boch for the super rich; and last but not least Salvatorre Ferragamo, Bally, Versace, Charles Jourdan, Penhaligon and La Perla for the filthy rich. Us??? We're the country bumpkins who perasan themselves to be filthy rich.

My main aim was to get a handbag at Ferragamo. I went in and saw a sea of people mainly consisting of Asians. Yupp... there were Japanese, Hongites, Indians and Melayus!! Yes people. Half of Ferragamo was filled with melayu. They were grabbing bags and shoes like nobody's business. Damn these people are rich for they did not only buy one bag or a pair of shoes. Instead, they borong all the available bags, shoes and clothes available in the store and left me with none! Whallau!! Gila babi datin2 nih shopping. B siap cakap "Kita datang some other time la when it's out of season. At least you don't have to settle for their saki-bakis".

I was sooo tak puas hati. I badly wanted a handbag. So I went in to the less famous stores like DKNY and Ck. A bag in Ck caught my eye. Price wasn't too bad compared to Ferragamo. It was down to £75 from £200. So what the heck. Paid for it and came out from the store with a broad smile on my face. B said he could see it (the smile and the carrier bag) a mile away.

Timberland's sale was outrageous. Pants and shoes were were 50% off. I took the liberty of adding Zareef's shoe collection by buying him two pairs (£12 from £55) and myself a pair (£20 from £60). Alas for B, it wasn't his lucky day. Timberland is his all time favorite but all of his sizes were gone be it pants or shoes. It's either too big or too small. His must be the popular size of half of the population of Great Britain.

Zareef didn't take it too well to shopping. He was strapped to the stroller but he didn't want to go in to any of the stores. He'll shout and cry "Nak keluar! Nak keluar!" at the top his voice which is kinda embarassing. Luckily B was such a gem and took Zareef for a stroll while I shop. At 4, I called it quits as it was freezing and daylight bailed out. I went home a very happy woman.

27/12/04:
Stayed home for a breather. B took the opportunity to finish up his work at the office.

28/12/04:
We went to MacArthur Glen in York. Thank God it was indoors so we could make do without our jackets. They had Nine West, Giorgio Armani and Guess. GA and Guess were still expensive even after discounts although there were £10 Guess jeans for stick thin people. Very depressing indeed! But I went stir crazy in Nine West. I bought 3 pairs of shoes for £5 each!!! Imagine that! I fell in love with a kitten heels, a pump and a mule. Hihihi... funny names they have there. On top of that, I bought two more shoes for Zareef (they were £5 from £50) and a pair for myself.

29-31/12/04:
Spent it resting at home. My credit card took a hard beating from my spending. I didn't even go to the NEXT sale. Amazing, eh?!

New Year's eve was spent quietly at home with Zareef in my arms and I in B's. We waited (or it's more of B coz I was already asleep by then) for the countdown on the telly. I kissed both Zareef and B with hope for a lovely future together.

1/1/05:
A friend had a gathering at her house. It was good spending New Year Day with friends. She had a potluck thing going on. I made cheesecake. We stuffed ourselves full with nasi beriani, laksam, apple pie, jellies, banana cake, carrot cake and fruits.

2/1/05:
A long break is not complete without a visit to Stoke. Yiehaaa... my all time favorite!! First we went to Portmeirion. I wanted to complete my Amabel Rose and Amabel Tartan. Bought 8 dessert plates and 16 coffee cups and saucers. I have always loved their jams so this time I bought 3 flavors; raspberry, strawberry and peach.

B forbid me from going to Wedgwood because he said that I've just spent a fortune there. True. So we just drove past Wedgy (nih ikut Nong's nickname) with me looking forlornly but it wasn't for long. As soon as we reached the Doulton Superstore, all woefullness were gone. It was very uplifting to see rows after rows of chinas arranged on shelves, tables and even on the floor (that's your Rose Garland, Nong).

I had always wanted the Old Country Roses (OCR) from the start but they were too expensive plus B said it was more of an old lady's kinda taste. His was the Frivolous Blue and we did buy a supper set of 6. So, I suppressed my longing for OCR for three years before I finally made my stand with an extra cash to boot to buy it. I bought a large teapot, 6 teacups and saucers, a 2-tier cake stand and two 1-tier cake stands. It made me £115 poorer but I was a million times euphoric.

3/1/05:
It was back to work.

It's all back to normal now. Trying to save every penny that I earn for the next shopping trip in Easter plus we're planning a trip to Paris (again! I can never get enough of this enchanting city) and EuroDisney in May. So I'll be make do with tightening my purse for now.

Al-Fatihah...

I was up early on boxing day. Yeah! What else if not for shopping that is. While waiting for B to finish showering, I decided to call all my SILs (I have 4 of them) and asked what they'd like. I can be thoughtful you know! One wanted a working Clarks shoes. One was still in Egypt with bro. One wanted a crystal cake stand with a cover and one I couldn't get hold of. Instead it was my eldest brother who answered.

"Yes Nora. What's up?"

"Everything's good. What about you and K. N?

"We're good. I'm very busy now. Did you just call to chit chat?"

"Sort of. Today's Boxing Day and I'm going to shop crazy. Nak pesan apa2?"

"That's okay. Anyway pound is too expensive. I have to cut short la. I'm stormed with news. An earthquake just happened in Sumatra and it caused a tsunami 10m high. Coastal areas of S.E.A are badly affected. I'm sending all my reporters out to scoop news. Penang was badly hit. As of now dah 8 org mati"

"MasyaAllah! That's really bad!!"

"Yupp!!! So gotta go kay. Happy shopping and take care!"

"Yeah... you too. Bye!"

I was too shocked for words.

May Allah bless the souls of those dimished and wiped out by the sea and menempatkan mereka dikalangan org2 soleh and solehah. Amin...

Al-Fatihah.

Phlattt On His Face

It started out as a horse play but ended with a swollen nose for Zareef.

I was cooking yesterday when...

"Nak Mummy go in front"

"Why darling?"

"Nak Mummy charge Monster Inc." (charge is Zareef's vocab for switching on the dvd player and loading any dvd of his choice)

"Okay"

And so I did as requested and decided to sit down for a breather. Zareef sat on his car and started to push towards me. I pushed him away with my foot. He pushed again and I pushed him away... again. This happened for a few times with him laughing and trying to charge me with his car when suddenly he tipped over and fell flat on his face. I heard a resounding crack and he started to cry in agony.

When I lifted him, his nose was bleeding profusely. Oh My God!! What have I done?!!

"Sakit Mummy! Sakit!!"

I tried to wipe away his blood but it kept streaming out. I was in a state of panic. Zareef held to me for dear life while bawling away. I know he is in great pain because if he wasn't he wouldn't utter the word sakit. Ye lah... kita yg dah besar ni pun kalau kena tumbuk kat hidung sampai berdarah pun rasa macam nak berpinar dunia, ni kan lagi budak kecik...

I did everything that I could remember from reading and hearing old folks tale; pinching his nose to stop the bleeding, held a cold towel against his nose to ease the pain, tipped his head et. al... thankfully his bleeding stopped after a good 5 minutes but that was the longest, torturous 5 minutes ever! Par none!! He cried and he cried and he cried himself to sleep on my shoulders for a good 45 minutes. I tried putting him down so that he could sleep properly but he wouldn't let me. I called B and demanded that he come back and take a look at his son. By this time, Zareef's nose bridge has grown and swelled up. I was so worried that he broke his nose.

Woke Zareef up.

"Zareef hungry"

"Zareef nak fried rice?"

"Nak"

He ate and ate like there's no tomorrow. He drank all of his juice. Thereafter, he was his usual self. Laughing, jumping and playing about.

"Nose Zareef sakit tak?"

"Tak sakit pun"

"Tadi Zareef cry. Nose Zareef ada darah. Nose Zareef sakit tak?"

"Zareef tak cry pun. Nose Zareef tak sakit pun" and the little kid touched his nose.

But to play it safe, we took him to the NHS Walk-In. The triage nurse assessed him. I voiced out my concerns of a broken nose. So she said another nurse will be with us to assess further. We waited for almost 45 minutes and all that while, Zareef was happily running about looking at other people as if nothing had happen to him just a couple of hours ago. It was a relief to see Zareef so happy that we even doubted that anything was wrong with his nose.

We were called in and a different nurse took a look at Zareef. She said that since Zareef was only two, there are hardly any bones in his nose yet. It's still filled with cartilages. So his nose can't be broken unlike if the same thing were to happen to an adult. The swelling will subside in 5 to 6 days time but she told us to take Zareef to the Royal Infirmary if his nose were to get out of shape. A slight turn, and we have to take him to the hospital. Oh dear! Tak mancung dah hidung anak aku nih...

As you can see from the pictures, Zareef's nose is a bit penyek. I pray that it'll return to normal once the swelling is gone. Not for vanity sake but for the sake of my son needing unnecessary operations, alterations or prodding to his nose.

I've learnt my lesson. No more horseplaying with my son. What we see harmless as adults are extremely dangerous to our child. It was the scariest moment in my life. Sometimes I forget that Zareef is only a two year old boy and not a 28 year old kid from the way I treat him.

Motherhood is a bliss but sometimes it brings out the beast in us.


Eating with a swollen nose

My poor son with his swollen nose

Coronary Angioplasty

Got news from home that MIL is in SMC recovering from the above procedure. Apparently, she complained of chest pains and it wasn't the first time. So, my BIL decided to send her to SMC for further checkups. The doctor did several tests- urine, blood, the works. The result; MIL's cholesterol level was skyhigh. Her's was 15 treble that of the average 5. They did a scan and found that one of her arteries was blocked and so a coronary angioplasty was deemed necessary. Alhamdulillah the procedure went well and she's out of the woods. Right now she's recovering at home under the care of my two younger BILs. Luckily both of them are home. One just finished his studies at UTP and the other is on semester break.

Hearing the news was a shock to both B and I. MIL is only 49 but she has suffered high blood pressure eversince her second child was born and it has not gone down ever since. This is certainly an eye opener for me.

You see, I weigh in at the end of the scale or nearly, so I'm quite concern with how I fare in the health department. From now on, it's a change of lifestyle for me. Eat less, exercise more and have happy thoughts. No more stressing out. It's all or nothing now.

Growing Up, You Say??

Zareef is taking his afternoon nap now. So, I'm going to write really, really fast before he wakes up and spoils the ideas that I have for blogging today.

Talking about the little kiddo, B and I have decided (well, it's the former mainly) to pull out Zareef from his current nursery. Reason being, he's not happy going there. So, when the son is unhappy, so is the dad.

"Zareef nak pegi Balamory nursery today?"

"No! Zayeef tak nak"

"Kenapa Zareef tak nak? Zareef can play with friends. Zareef can play with Liz and Vicky"

"Zayeef nak play with mommy. Zayeef nak Harry Potter. Zayeef nak car flying"

And so the scene repeats itself every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I would send him right up to the door of his Blue room while B waits in the background because he can't bear to see his son crying and wailing his heart out everytime we leave him there. It would always be me to hand Zareef over to his teachers. At this point, Zareef would be screaming "Nak Mummy! Nak Mummy!" and bawling and struggling to get free. Usually, it'll take him about 5 to 10 minutes to cool down and play about. At 4.30, when we pick him up, he'll be crying again when he sees us. According to Vicky, he was fine for the whole session except at the beginning when I left him and in the end when he sees other parents picking up their children.

So, to end all his sufferings, we (it's more of B) opted to stop sending him to the nursery. Darn it! There goes my precious personal time but hey... I get to save £90 a month and spend it on ... shopping??

*****

Yesterday was a day of DVD marathon. I managed to watch Princess Diaries 2, The Stepford Wives and Dodgeball. I know, I know... they're all old stories but I didn't get to see them when they were released in the theaters. Having a two year old has stopped B and I from frequenting the cinemas for more than that period. We've missed countless premieres and I have lost tracked of all the latest movies to-date.

I admit it. I'm a sucker for teenage, sappy, happy ending, funny romantic stories. Grow up you tell me? Well, age wise I am but deep in my heart of hearts, I'm still a young kid. Heck! I'd rather watch O.C (Benjamin Mackenzie's rolling eyes is something that I have yet to achieve)and One Tree Hill (Chad Michael Murray is simply delicious!) reruns any time of day rather than... the news?? My all time favorites would be Dawson's Creek, Gilmore Girls, Beverly Hills 90210 (I watched all the reruns repeatedly having it recorded on VHS when I was in the States) and Roswell. I don't know why but maybe, just maybe I'm not quite ready to admit to myself that I'm a wife and a mom or another maybe, I'm not ready to grow up, just yet.

But for now, I'm happy watching a stockful of DVDs courtesy of my pet sis and her hubby who kindly loaned us their hundred pounds worth of DVDs. Yeay!!

*****

The year 2004 is coming to an end in 18 days time and I have yet to list down my 2005 resolutions which in my case never materialized. This time around, I'm going to list down in this blog of mine as a constant reminder to myself and for others to motivate me (hopefully ada yg sudi jadi motivator) to accomplish.

1. Lose weight. This has been at the top of my list since... forever!
2. Learn to be grateful to God for what I have.
3. Buy a house preferably a semi-detached or a bungalow when I come home next year.
4. Be a faithful Muslim.
5. Make life easier for B and Zareef.
6. Spend more time with family.
7. Contribute to a charity be it money, time, energy or knowledge.
8. Get a new hunky-dory job.
9. Make more new friends and less enemies.
10. Repay my parents for everything that they have done for me.

Well, that's about it. I have learnt from the past to make it small at first and build it up from there. That said, I'm starting my baby steps now, hoping that I'll be able to leap and bound not long after that.

Is it time to let the traditions go?

Zareef had his first ever Christmas party yesterday. Unfortunately, he didn't have such a good time according to his teacher, Liz. She said that Zareef was feeling a bit scared of the crowd and loud music plus it was pretty dark in there. Or just maybe Zareef wasn't ready for the night life yet, so it seem.

When B and I came to pick him up, he was crying his heart out. He was definitely ready to leave. Despite not enjoying the party, Zareef managed to sit on Santa's lap and got a box of Lego Duplo as his Christmas gift.


All dressed up for his party

Eyeing the crowd... his small friends

Not quite ready for the dance floor yet

*****

While on break during work today, I had the chance to read The Sun left by John Doe. Apparently, Britons are freaking out because some of their Christmas traditions are being banned by their respective local councils in fear of offending the minorities of this country.

In Luton, the city council gave directives of naming their Christmas Lights as Luminous Lights in apprehensiveness of disrespecting 20,000 odd Muslims in Bedfordshire. The phrase 'Merry Christmas' was slashed out of Christmas cards coming from No. 10. Instead, it was replaced with just 'Have a Happy New Year' and signed by Tony Blair himself! In some big stores in London, Santa's grotto were not seen in view of recent paedophile events and to protect both the Santa and children from abuse allegations.

All this are done by the bureaucrats themselves! The killjoys of Christmas. The meddlers of all muddles. The sole reason given was not to offend people of different religions. Well... that is total BULL!!!

I'm a Muslim and I do not condemn Christmas celebrations. In fact, I have never condemn any religious celebrations be it Deepavali, Chinese New Year, Hanukkah or Easter. I believe that each and everyone of us has the right to celebrate the festivals of their professed faith. Even Islam teaches us to respect others even if it means respecting their different beliefs and religious teachings.

It is absurd that some officials in this country use health and safety reasons to account for the ban of Christmas traditions. It's like saying that we can't have ketupat for our Raya, the Chinese can't give angpow to children and singletons, the Indians can't draw their 'kolam' on their driveways and no bunnies for Easter.

I don't mind at all that Zareef went for his Christmas party. Veritably, I'm glad that Zareef got to experience Christmas as part of his due course in enriching his life. I wouldn't want to raise my child to lead a recluse life. Instead, I want his to be one embellished with different cultures, traditions and values.

With that, I rest my case.

It's the season to be jolly... tra la la la la la la la la...

It's the time of year again when every kid wishes to be on Santa's good list, parents dash madly to complete their shopping list and run huge credit bills and shopping establishments run joyously to the bank to deposit their healthy revenues.

Yupp people... it's Christmas time...

Fact of the matter is, I actually, truly love Christmas! Not as much as I embrace Raya but I welcome the thought of hearing Christmas songs blasting its way in shopping malls, the tall handsome tree beautifully decorated making it's presence felt and outrageous sales happening all at once everywhere all over the nation.

Don't get me wrong. I'm just celebrating the festive side of Christmas not the Nativity side. In fact, I not only celebrate Christmas, I usher in Chinese New Year (red angpows, mandarin oranges and the blasted crackers), Deepavali (homemade authentic thosais), Easter (bless the sinful but delicious Easter eggs) and Thanksgiving (turkey anyone?) just to name a few. Must be because I'm from a multi-racial country that welcomes diversity of all sorts that resulted me in being a heterogeneous person.

I love hearing Christmas songs rendered by the evergreen singers like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Aretha Franklin. It's like hearing the persona gratas of Sanisah Huri, Sudirman, P. Ramlee during Raya. The Christmas tree never ceased to amaze me with it's many yet distinctive ornaments and lights lip-lapping (ada ka such word?) all the way. Mince pies so sweet that they'll numb your brain out if you have too much.

And talk about the sales!! It's total madness! Everywhere I turn, it's huge banners all over the shop windows bearing the letters S.A.L.E. B would say that the shops have been on sale for the whole year but the prices are so ridiculously low that I kid you not. The day before, I was sauntering down Loughborough's High Street with Zareef and saw that Clarks had a 50% sale. Went in and browsed through for I wasn't really expecting them to sell anything less than 50%. But lo and behold, I saw Jue's handbag at a bargain price of £5. I snorted in amazement. Damn! Kalau Jue tau beg yg dia dok berebut ngan minah salleh mana ntah dah jadik £5 mesti pengsan.

Anyhoo, we will be having our own Christmas parties to attend to. Zareef's nursery is holding their party tomorrow at Cognito complete with a visit from the great man himself... HO HO HO... with a disco thrown in and various drinks and food included. Whallau! Kecik2 lagi anak aku dah pandai berparty! But never mind... he's still too small to understand anything. B's party is on the 16th and mine will be on the 23rd.

So... to fellow readers and friends who do really celebrate Christmas, I wish you a Merry Christmas. May the season be filled with endless joys and happiness. To the rest, enjoy the holidays and have a very wonderful New Year!

I Love...

I love.....

1. kissing and 'gomoling' Zareef.
2. kissing B.
3. the smell of rain.
4. to see old couples holding hands when walking.
5. SHOPPING!!!
6. reading blogs.
7. watching Zareef when he's fast asleep.
8. eating Japanese food.
9. my Murakami Speedy 30 bag.
10. talking and catching up on things with B.
11. the smell of fresh cut grass.
12. getting snail mails.
13. the touch of Zareef's baby soft skin.
14. daydreaming.
15. going on holidays
16. facial treatments.
17. surprising people when they're the least surprised.
18. my alma maters - SSP and Purdue.
19. getting to know B's unknown quirkiness as the years go by.
20. eating out.
21. to chill out with close friends.
22. to try new acquired tastes.
23. adrenaline rushes.
24. setting my foot on foreign land.
25. the smell of B's Acqua di Gio.

I can go on and on and on... but I'll stop here for now.

*****

My cousin's daughter is taking up medicine in Moscow and she's only into her first year. Last night, she YM'ed me asking the definition of wave propagation. Heck... I know what it is at the top of my head but trying to put it in layman's terms for a freshy to really comprehend is just not in my expertise (that's why I make a lousy teacher). So what does a net freak like me do when I need to know something immediately? You betcha! I googled up 'Wave Propagation'. Voila!! Hundreds return my desperate cry for help but one truly did a good job in making it crystal clear complete with diagrams and what not. Thank God for the Superhighway and Thank God that she had me for her ever reachable techy aunt (hihihii... kes masuk lif tekan butang).