The Month We Both Turned 33...

My apologies... I know a bunch of people out there who are ready to kill me for not updating. How long has it been? A month you say? Ahhh yes... my bad. First culprit would be the continuous orders of cakes and cupcakes (Alhamdulillah...), then the school holidays that saw me enjoying island life at Tioman for a week and recovering period for the kids and I the next. Then it was my birthday weekend and yesterday was B's.

I'll just make this a pictorial post since I am having a writer's block at the moment. Enjoy!

My take of the sunset at Tioman on our first day of arrival.


Despite having just traveled for six hours, these kids instantaneously hit the beach. Talk about beach bums!


We went snorkeling the next day. We hired a speed boat to take us to three snorkeling spots. We went to Tioman's Marine Park which I dare say is almost non-existent, the corals that is. All dead! What a disappointment!!


Then we went here which was totally awesome! Deep, deep blue water with lots of healthy, beautiful corals and friendly fishes to boot!! Hehehheh... I felt like I was in being attacked left, right and center by these hungry fishes.

I did my Discovery Scuba Diving (DSD) the next day. It's certainly one of the MUST-DO things before you die :). Totally amazing!!!!

Off to my DSD with my divemaster, Alfian. Cool dude who resigned from being a lawyer for his passion in diving and all things underwater :D. The tank weighted 20kg! Berat nak mampos but I persevered. However, it felt nothing underwater but after all the fun and joy of diving, it felt like a dead weight with every single step that I took exiting the waters towards the dive center. Malam tu terus demam!!!


The chalets that my family booked, the whole row of them. It's called Salang Indah Resort. Basic clean room with hot water and AC that suits me well. It's all about roughing it out.


Zara fed the fishes with bread. You can see how crystal clear the water is.


My cheeky monkey :D


Zareef doing his jump, terjun style from the jetty. He was well inspired by the local kids who could swim faster than the fishes, dive head on better than those synchronized divers and were only 6-7 years old! I was totally impressed!!!


My boy after several jumps. He totally enjoyed it!


Abah with his cucus during one of their bonding times.

After a week at Tioman, we went home, all supertanned and covered with sandflies' bites. Zareef, my mom and I semua demam. Tak tau la demam terkejut ke, penat ke or what. The next weekend was my birthday and B had arranged for a surprise getaway. I told him, "Please... no long distance. Tak larat dah".

I was pleasantly surprised when he brought us to Impiana KLCC for a revisit (we came here for our Sevenmoon :D). Oh such joy!!

Our room for the weekend.

B booked the Marine Escapade package which included a family package visit to the Aquaria. The kids were ecstatic! And it firmly reinforced my desire to do my PADI open water.

My birthday dinner at The Loaf. They've come up with a new and better menu which I must say, looked yummier than the last.


My main entree which was the beef shank with soba noodles. Delicious! The slices of medium cooked beef were tender, juicy and oh so yummy!!!


B ordered Beef Ribs for his entree. Hands down, this is THE BEST ribs that I've ever tasted!! Eat your heart out Tony Roma's! Every bite sent us to heaven :D

While we were busy tucking in, this cheeky monkey jumped around and ran about the restaurant. Nasib baik, it was just us.


The next night, we went to Swensen's at Subang Parade for dinner again (Mommy malas nak masak coz was still in birthday celebratory mood hehh).


I've always loved this place for its quintessential all-American food plus this is the only place where I can feast on a plethora of lip-smacking ice-cream sundaes at reasonable prices. This place is kinda sentimental to me too as I've been coming here since I was 13 (I used to frequent the one at Federal Bowl), hence the returned visits :)


This time, cheeky monkey slept all the way through. She was totally KOed.


As a finale to my wonderful birthday weekend, B bought for us an icecream cake, something which he said I can't do. He got that right!

Happy Birthday to the both of us! May we live long and prosper, jodoh berkekalan hingga ke akhir hayat and still be in love with each other till the end of time. Aminnnn...

My New Walls...

After 2.5 years of staring at plain boring cream walls tainted with drawings of little Picasso and a multitude of food stains, I have decided to give my walls a makeover :D

I bought the package at HomeDec in November last year but only now do I have the resources to do them up.

Installation at the dining area. This guy was very skillful and quick. I couldn't help but be amazed...

Installation at Zareef's room

Tadaaaa... dining area.

TV area

Zareef's room. Please excuse the mess. High time to do a garage sale. Seriously!

Finally, my bedroom.

I just can't stop staring at my walls. They are simply mesmerizing. I love them! :D

Chili Crab Craving...

If you're on my Facebook friends list, then you'll know that I have been craving for chili crabs for quite some time. Yesterday was a free day (no cake orders and no car pool), so I decided to cook the chili crabs myself.

Nothing beats a homemade meal especially when it's cooked with love and fresh crabs that were just wriggling out of the tank just a mere hour before that. The taste? Totally outta this world! Here's the recipe if you crave for chili crabs like I did... Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 flower crabs, cleaned and cut into half
1 sprig of coriander (chopped for garnishing only) - I didn't have any so I made do without it
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoons of tamarind juice
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
1/4 cup of water

Spice Paste:

8 dried red chilies (soaked in hot water and deseeded)
1 tablespoon of taucheo (fermented yellow bean sauce)
3 cloves of garlic
1 inch of fresh ginger
2 inches of lemon grass (the white part only)

Tamarind Juice:

5 seeds of tamarind
Water

Method:

1. Clean the crab and chop it into pieces. Save the green and juicy stuff inside the shell and set aside.
2. Pound the spice paste with a mortar and pestle or grind them using a food processor. Make sure that the spice paste is finely blended or pounded.
3. Soak the tamarind seeds in some warm water for 15 minutes. Extract the juice and discard the seeds.
4. Heat up your wok and add cooking oil.
5. Stir fry the spice paste until fragant and spicy.
6. Add the crab and 1/4 cup of water and do a quick stir. Cover the wok with its cover for 3 minutes.
7. Add the green and juicy stuff from the shell and stir well.
8. Add in sugar, tamarind juice, a little salt to taste and continue stirring for about 2 minutes or until all crab pieces turned red.
9. Dish up, garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot.

Zareef, Oh Zareef...

We were eating lunch one day about a month ago when Zareef started talking about his classmates of both schools (he goes to SKPU2 in the morning and KAFA in the evenings). I always cherish this private moment that I have with him where he and I would chat and eat, then chat and eat again with Zara diverting our attentions intermittently.

Back to the topic of his classmates, he would tell me that si A doesn't know how to spell or si B would always be late for school (yeah right, he talks as if he's always early :P), or how si C have to go to a daycare center in a van for a transit before proceeding to the same KAFA as he is.

I explained that his friends had to go to various daycare centers by vans after school for a transit because their parents were not able to pick them up from school due to work commitments.

That made him moved on to the next topic which was his friends' parents' occupation. After regaling me with half of his classmates' parents' occupation, I asked him, "What did you tell your friends about Daddy and Mummy?"

He said, he told everyone (rather proudly I might add) that Daddy is an Engineering Doctor while Mummy works at A*IA and P*roton. That answer made me went 'Huhh?'. I asked him why did he tell his friends that I worked at these organizations when he knows fully well that I've stopped working with them and that I am now a SAHM with a cake business on the side.

He just kept quiet. His plain and honest reply was "Friends Zareef punya Mummy yang lain semuanya kerja. Kalau Zareef cakap Mummy tak kerja, tak best la".

I was taken aback with his reply. "Zareef cakap tak kat your friends that Mummy bakes cakes? Tu pun kerja jugak" to which he nodded but not before adding "Kadang-kadang je".

That statement hit me hard right in the face. Now I've realized that my son secretly wishes that I work, just like other moms. He is in fact, quite ashame to admit to his friends that his Mummy doesn't work.

Truthfully, I'm quite shock that he feels that way. I would be lying if I were to say that it didn't hurt. Kids will be kids but you can count on them to be the most honest to goodness creatures on Earth and you can always rely on them for truths from the heart. Now I know how he feels.

Hmmmpphhh... this conversation took place over a month ago but it has always bothered me eversince. I'm so sorry you fell that way Zareef. I truly am...

What's On My Fridge?

These...

Front view


Left door...


Right door...


Right side... Zareef's art work included :D

So now I guess, you know what to get for me as souvenirs eh?! *wink*

Delectable...

Two weekends ago while on a jalan-jalan carik pasal excursion with B and the kids, I chanced upon this yet to be opened store.


I immediately clapped my hands and shouted gleefully. Terkejut badak B and the kids. Yes, I was THAT excited!

Imagine being a follower of the said owner's blog for a couple of years and reading her accomplishments and salivating and marveling over her magic touch on each and every cakes that she has designed and now to see that her dreams coming true right here, at The Gardens, is best put as simply AMAZING!!

Congratulations Su Yin! You've done it! Brilliantly, I might add.

Oh boy... I can hardly wait!!

Chicken Ala Carte

Something for us to ponder...

Please click here http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/1081/Chicken-a-la-Carte

Enjoy...

How Would You Feel?

In my line of business *chewahhh*, I've come across plentiful of characters. The majority are simply wonderful kind souls, a handful are errr... choosy and hard to please and there's one that's downright awful.

Okay la... I wouldn't call that person awful. Maybe that person is having a bad day but hey... don't we all?

For simplicity sake, I'm going to call this person Dr. A.

Dr. A is a friend's sister. She called me up to book a cake for her daughter's birthday well in advance. Come the week when the cake is due, I got to know that we'll be out of town for the weekend and rightfully so, I called Dr. A to let her know that can I please deliver the cake on Friday evening instead of Saturday afternoon seeing that I won't be around. She wasn't too please nor happy about it but she finally relented without first saying "There's nothing I can do about it, can I?". I apologized profusely but all I got was a disgruntled 'huh'. Okay... whateverrr...

Come Thursday night, I baked Dr. A's cake. Prior to that, I had a full week of baking, so much so, by this time, my energy level was so low that the only thing that kept me going was my strong will that I hope wouldn't break down on me. Mengantuk and penat punya pasal (it was 2 in the morning), I forgot that Dr. A wanted her butter cake to be pink. Yes, I didn't add pink coloring to the batter. Only when it was half-way baked in the oven did I remember. Ya Allah! Takkan nak keluarkan tang tu jugak kan.

The next day, just before delivering the finished cake to Dr. A's MIL's house, I texted her to apologize for my blunder in forgetting to color the cake pink but mind you, the whole cake was well covered in pink icing just as instructed.

Me: Salam Dr. A, I accidentally forgot to tint the butter cake pink. So I'll reduce the price to RM 75. Sorry for the mistake.

She replied a few minutes later.
Dr. A: I am utterly disappointed! Double blow!!!

Me: Sorry, my bad.

Then again, she texted.
Dr. A: I am gonna b truthful. No more orders fr me n won't recommend others.

I was stunned. I was driving during this time but my mind was racing elsewhere. Nak nangis pun ye. Nak ketawa pun ye. Apalah minah ni pikir agaknye. But I've set my mind. I decided to just give the cake FOC. Yeah! You heard my right. FOC! I've always held strongly that customers are always right, even when they are proven dead wrong. Aku malas nak ambik duit dari customer yang tak puas hati kan.

When I reached Dr. A's MIL's house, I only asked for RM 25, which was the delivery charge. Her MIL was stunned. I said the cake was FOC.

So she gave me RM 25 but not without insisting that I take the whole lot. I flatly declined. Takde hati dah nak ambik duit orang yang marah kat kita, kan?! The MIL asked why was the cake FOC. I just said that I made a mistake of not coloring the cake pink and by so, did not adhere to the customer's request.

"Mana yang tak pink nye? Makcik tengok penuh je satu kek ni kaler pink!"

"Dalam dia tu makcik. Tak pink"

"Laaa... dalam je. Karang dah potong and makan, tak sedar pun.."

Yes, thank God the MIL was sane but I insisted.

"At least, ambik la harga cost kek ye. Susah2 buat".

Well, since she was dead serious and I didn't want to hurt the wonderful lady's heart, I took the cost price of the cake.

As I was driving home, Dr. A called twice. Ceiittt... jangan harap aku nak jawab your calls kay.

A text message came in.

Dr. A: Salam. Now it is my turn to apologise. I was told the cake looks great. Silap faham sikit, thought the icing wasn't pink. You should've taken d whole amt. Anyway thx and halalkan. I am someone who can't take so many blows. A thousand apologies again for any words.

A penny for my thoughts?

1. Lain kali, baca la betul2 text message tu. Jangan la terus jump to conclusion and nak meletup je.

2. Apa.. ingat ko sorang je boleh blow? Orang lain tak boleh blow??

3. I forgive you but I will never forget. For a doctor who has been trained to be thorough, patient and careful, you sure contradict yourself. Words have been exchanged and you can't take it back. It hurts as hell! I will never take any orders from you, ever!

From now on, mana-mana customers yang buat palat ngan aku, will be blacklisted and banned from BakingWithPassion. Apa... ingat customers je ke boleh blacklist and ban kedai and products. Aku pun boleh la...

Dahhh... I'm cool now.

The cake in question. Not pink enough?

Hammer Away...

It was a dreadful day, yesterday. Zareef locked me out of my bedroom in his attempt to change clothes after getting back from school. Of all the days and of all the things that he does, he has never locked my bedroom door while changing but yesterday was one of the days and one of the things that he did out of the norm.


What made me even more fcuking furious and mad was the fact that ALL, yes ALL spare keys were in my bedroom placed safely in drawers courtesy of B. Apa motif dia alihkan the spare keys which I previously placed in the dvd drawer in our tv room pun aku tak tau. But he sure does know now :P.

Anyways, I tried several methods to open the door. First was just jiggling the door in every way that I know. Didn't work. Next I tried the credit card and driver's license method of slipping it in between like the picture above. Sampai bengkok2 card and license aku kerjakan. Tak jalan jugak.


By this time, I was angry and frustrated, which was well reflected in my FB status. Minutes after, help came in various form of advises and recommendations. Thank you my dear friends! You guys are total gems!!

Ana suggested trying to cut a strip of plastic from a plastic drinking bottle like the picture above. I emptied a 1.5L of mineral bottle and cut off the top and bottom, leaving me with a cylindrical shape. Then, cut it lengthwise into a large piece of plastic strip like the pic above. Since the plastic strip was bendy and flexible, it could go through all the way in between but it wasn't strong enough to go through the latch.


My last resort.... taking a hammer to the knob. By this time, I was at wit's end. I could have called the locksmith like a friend suggested by I was too pissed and feeling slightly scroogey (ada ke this word?) to fork out even RM 50 seeing that it was B's fault of keeping the keys in the bedroom.


And so, I swung the hammer with all my might, venting away my anger and frustration all at several blows. Within two minutes, I got it done. According to Tun, it's a job well done seeing that I did a clean break hehehhe... I found it to be very therapeutic, swinging a hammer to a locked door, that is :)


B got an earful from me and he's footing the bill for the repair and sooo much more.

Lessons learnt: 1) Dengarla cakap bini ye
2) Never ever put your spare keys behind a lockable door
3) Have a hammer in the house
4) Keep a locksmith's number on your fridge

Sekian, terima kasih.

I Know It's Stale But How Did Your Earth Hour Go?

From what I read and saw on the news, most of the iconic buildings in the city center where switched off in the spirit of Earth Hour. I applaud the effort put in to vote for Earth.

I was in PD at that time waiting for dinner at one of the restaurants while patiently explaining to Zareef what Earth Hour is really all about, its importance, its effect on Earth, what can we do to help Earth etc.

Zareef was excited at the prospect of eating in the dark accompanied by candles. Come 8.30 pm, business went on as usual with the lights ON! I was disappointed that NONE of the restaurateurs participated in Earth Hour. How ignorant can they be?!

After chomping up dinner which wasn't that nice, we cruised through PD town only to find that all lights were ON save for a few dark rooms which I presumed voted for Earth. It was lights galore in PD town. Upon arriving at Avillion, I was even more disappointed to see them so brightly lit. For a 5* resort, they should have been the major participant given that they are the more environment conscious compared to others (this is what I gather from the leaflets I read in the room).

I even asked the supervisor on duty at the reception desk as to why aren't they switching off non-essential lights during Earth Hour? His response, "Nanti takut guests marah". Pfftttt.... that is a lame excuse given that the management had distributed flyers regarding switching off room lights during Earth Hour. I'm pretty sure, guests wouldn't even mind one bit. In fact, they would have cheered on and join in. Sheeesshhh...

So yes, Earth Hour in PD was a total failure. Next year, I'll make sure to stay home during this occasion. I might even invite close friends for candlelight dinner just to make it more meaningful :) . Wanna join?

Eighth Familymoon...

As a surprise for his lovely wife *ehem*, B treated us to a 3D2N getaway at Avillion Port Dickson. I wasn't told of the location of our holiday till we exited the PLUS highway enroute to PD. Ahah!

I was over the moon when he turned into the junction heading towards Avillion. I had hoped for it but dare not say it out loud as the place was quite pricey but as B puts it, it only happens once a year.

I have nothing but praises for this place. It's romantic if you're here for a honeymoon but it's also great if you bring your children along as they have loads of activities and facilities for the young and the young at heart.

I highly recommend going to this place if you haven't been here. Memang best! I'll let the pictures do the talking ya...

Eight Years...

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST:

After seven years of courtship, we finally decided to get hitched. Or was it my Dad who decided it for us?! Oh well, B did the nudging and Dad did the shoving :)

Just 10 months fresh from graduation, we got married. March 25th, 2001 became the sacred date and we were solemnized by Abah dearest who wouldn't have it any other way. B however, was quite jittery and couldn't remember my name the first time and so had to repeat the akad. Thank God he didn't say some other chick's name else I'd shoo him from the house with the broomstick myself :P.

The event was best put as simple but very meaningful. It was nikah in the morning and lunch reception at 2 pm attended by almost 3000 people; 200 were our friends (lucky us to have the same set of friends) while the rest were relatives from far and wide and my parents' friends whom I barely know.

The first year of marriage was more of couplehood reinforcement of sorts. The good thing is, we got to go out and about together anywhere, whenever and wherever we want. Coming home in the wee hours of morning was a norm on weekends, weekdays even and having friends over at our humble abode was a bonus given my flair for entertaining (eh chewahhh...).

We decided to put off having children for awhile. We just couldn't get enough of each other plus I wasn't ready to have kids, financially and emotionally. Relatives asked but I just shrugged it off.

After a year of being a couple, I decided that I was ready and B just went along with me. Being pregnant was tough especially when I was sick like a dog for the first five months of pregnancy. By the time I was feeling a wee bit dandy, it was time for us to drag our asses off to Loughborough. The rest of our stories in Loughborough is well written in my much earlier previous posts.

When I woke up today, I just couldn't believe that we've been married for eight years. I am forever thankful and indebted to Allah for giving me a good husband, an almost perfect marriage (nak kata perfect, gaduh2 tu biasa la kan...) and two beautiful children . I couldn't ask for more.

My darling husband,

I thank God everyday for pairing us up. It's fate, I always say and I wouldn't have it any other way...

I think of you often and always with love...

I think about how hard you work and how much you do for our family...

I remember the time you've encouraged me and I see how your wisdom and caring have helped me through...

I look back on favorite memories that remind me how much we've always meant to each other and always will...

There are so many times when I think of you and feel proud and thankful and very lucky that you're my husband...

Happy Eighth Anniversary Aling!! May Allah bless us with love, care and happiness.

Love you till the power of infinity,
Wifey...

15 Years Ago, How It All Started...

AT HOME:

"Tahniah! Awak telah ditawarkan biasiswa TM untuk melanjutkan pelajaran ke Jepun untuk kursus kejuruteraan telekomunikasi"

"Huhh??!! Jepun?? Tapi saya tak mintak pun pergi Jepun masa interview!"

"Takde ke? Rasanye ada, kalau tak, kami takde la masukkan nama awak dalam senarai pelajar2 ke Jepun"

Damnit!! When did I ever mention Japan during the interview? That would be the last place I'd ever want to go. Kalau UK or US tu, logik la jugak. Hmm... hentam la labu. Maybe it'll be a start of a new adventure? I hope so.

***
AT TTC MARANG:

Good God! All these talks and lectures are such a bore!! Bla bla bla... I hear nothing. Hmm... let's see how others are faring. OMG... that guy is literally sleeping with his head bobbing to and fro! Hahahhaha... Woww... didn't realize that there are soooo many eye candies among us. Must check them out :P

***

I'm so bored, I could die! Alamak... my specs are blurry. Must ask Farah for her specs' wipes. Camna pulak nak cakap when she's way behind me. Ohh... I'll pass a note to her.

"Farah, can I please have one of your specs' wipes? My stinky breath just won't do it. By the way, the guy on your right is MIGHTY cute! Any idea what's his name?"

Neatly folded with Farah's name written on it, the note was passed to her. I turned around and smiled at her nudging for her wipes that was clearly laying on the table. To my ultimate horror, she passed the note that was meant for her to the guy across the aisle on her rightafter reading it! FCUK!! Die la like this!!!... Eh wait, why is that guy smiling macam kerang busuk je?

***

"Farah!!! Giler kau pass note to that mamat! Malu aku okay!"

"Alahh... takpe. Kau kan nak tau nama dia. Nanti I'm sure dia bagitau kat kau. Sure dia syok ada orang kata dia cute hehehhe"

Pengsan!!!....

***

"Liza... kau dah stock up gula2 tak? Karang gerenti boring and ngantuk punye lecture. Dah la malam2 camni, perut kenyang pulak tuh"

"Dah..."

"Eh Nora... that cute guy is alone over there la. Pegi la say hie ;)", nudged Farah.

"Hahhh! Crazy!! I don't even know his name"

"His name is Bard", winked Amani.

Aiseyy... must I? Okay la. No harm in saying hie, I suppose...

***

"Hie Bard... Makan sweets sorang2 je?"

"Eh hie! Oh you nak ke?"

Errr... apalah mamat nih... lagi mau tanya.

"Here you go"

"Thanks! Banyak stock sweets you. Mesti tak larat nak dengar lecture banyak2 nih."

"Yupp... I makan sweets tak nak bagi mengantuk. You Nora right?!"

"Err... yes (by this time, my face was so red, I could feel it burning). Eh okay la. Gotta go. My friends tengah tunggu I. Talk to you later".

"Okay... "

Ya Allah... Malunya aku!! Tuhan saja yang tahu. But why am I humming and skipping?? hehheheh...

***

It's obligatory for all scholars to exercise in the evening. Most guys would opt to play soccer while the gals would play netball. Very secular like that. However, for the rest of us who doesn't mind mixing and matching, we'd play volleyball, tennis or ping pong, whichever tickles our fancies.

"Hie Bard... didn't know you play tennis. Dah lama ke main?"

"Boleh la. I dulu selalu main kat sekolah"

"Ohhh... wakil sekolah la nih? :)"

"Takde lah. Main for fun je. I heard you dulu main basketball".

"Yupp. But now I'm taking a break. Penat la dulu main non-stop masa kat sekolah. Now I main sumer games for fun. Eh jom ambik gambar".

"Okay. Jap, I carik orang to take our picture".

What started out as a picture of just the two of us, ended up as a group ;P Haiiyaaa... kacau daun betul la...


***

AT UTMKL:

"Nora, birthday you kan hari ni?!"

"Yes (sambil senyum2 kambing, wakakakka...), camna you tahu?"

"I pasang spy ;). Anyway, here's something for you. Hope you'll like it. Malam ni kita keluar dinner kay. I belanja"(Oh wow... is this a date?)

"Ohh okay but lambat sikit boleh tak? I dah promise nak belanja my classmates makan cake. Kita go out after that ye for supper :)"

"No prob. Nanti I tunggu. Eh wait, can I snap a picture with you?"

"Oh okay. Let me get my camera first ya..." (Hatiku sudah berbunga2 lalalalal... hehehhe...)

***

I guess, if it was meant to be, it was meant to be. From that day onwards, we were inseparable except when it comes to sleeping arrangements, of course. We were put in the same watch at Outward Bound School, Lumut where we started being serious with each other. We just sort of click and the chemistry that passed between us was undeniable. I fell hard for this guy, really hard eventhough I knew we were going to face a long distance relationship for two years but I persevered.

The day he flew off to UK was the hardest and saddest day of my life (then :P). It was pretty hard maintaining a long distance relationship at that time. There were no internet so I had to rely heavily on the snail mail. I was a regular at the post office, sending off scores of letters, tapes, pictures and gifts of sorts. Once in a blue moon would I give him a call when missing him would become unbearable, with every call lasting not more than five minutes as they were mighty costly.

B came back for summer hols a year later. I was esctatic. I couldn't wait to see him but when I met him at the airport, I got the cold shoulder treatment. Why? Why is he doing this to me?

Turns out, he wanted to break off with me. I was shattered. My world came crumbling down. The main reason; he just couldn't bear with the long distance thingy. Whenever he misses me, it hurts him badly. He doesn't know how to deal with it.

Despite the many, many pleas and pleading, he wouldn't change his mind. He never even asked how I felt about it but I finally caved in. And so we broke it off.

That was the bleakest night, ever. I went back to my room all bawled out. I couldn't stop crying. In fact, I cried myself to sleep. Despite the many consolations from my roomies Along, Liza and Lin, nothing could mend this broken heart of mine. At that time, Cake's 'I Will Survive' became my best friend, played on a death loop.

For ten days, I was miserable and they say, misery loves company. It was a weekend, the weekend that we were supposed to go on a date but instead was spent cooped up in my room at my parents'. I was in no mood at all to even get out of my room let alone go out with friends despite the many invites that I got, all in the name of cheering me up.

"Noresh, jom aa keluar tengok wayang", Arai called.

"Malas la. Not in the mood".

"Jom la. Buat apa kau dok berkurung dalam bilik. Not good. Kau tengah sedih2, entah Bard tengah seronok2 dengan orang lain".

"Yeah... whatever. I don't care. Biar la dia nak buat apa pun. Kitorang kan dah BO".

"Alaahhh... jom la Noresh. Aku belanja kau. Tak bagus la kau monyok nangis sorang2 dalam bilik".

"Sape lagi pegi?"

"Aku, Hamdi, Along, Mail etc."

After much delibaration my part and persuading on Arai's part, I agreed. Who knows, a good laugh with friends might do me some good.

Half an hour later, I got a phone call from of all the person, it had to be B!

"Are you going out?"

"Why?"

"Saje tanya. Are you?"

Truthfully, I was so relieved to hear his voice. I missed him so much.

"Yes. Are you?"

"Yes. Can we meet?"

"Why? I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore??"

"Well, I was wrong. Forgive me? I miss you..."

Okay... by this time I was a mush. I cried and cried and said things that weren't really comprehensible to him. All I remembered was saying, okay. I'll meet you.

Fast forward, I went the extra mile to make our relationship really work. He had another year to go at Scotland while I was still stuck at home. We wrote, called, wrote, called till it was time for him to finally come home.

A-Level results came out and both of us got unexpected results. Instead of flying off to UK, we were sent to different colleges locally. I, on the other hand, opted to quit TM and joined B and the others in the ADP program in Shah Alam privately.

From there onwards, I made sure that we were always together. I wasn't going to take any chances. No way, after what had happened. I was tired of long distance relationship and so did he. We applied to all the same universities in the States. Alhamdulillah, we got admitted into all the Unis that we chose. We finally picked Purdue as our final destination and I am glad we did. I had the best time of my life there spent with the person whom I love most.

TO BE CONTINUED...

I Have, Have You?

Don't forget to switch off your lights on 28th March 2009, 8.30-9.30 pm.


Let's save Earth.

Please go to http://www.earthhour.org/malaysia to sign up.

How True...

I found this on Along's blog and was intrigued to try it. You can try it too...

Your view on yourself:
You are intelligent, honest and sweet. You are friendly to everybody and don't like conflict. Because you're so cheerful and fun people are naturally attracted to you and like to talk to you.
Intelligent, check! Honest, check! Sweet? hahahhaha... I'm not so sure about this but I do know that I'm friendly so much so that I'd be friends with the oddest person when most people would shy away.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:
You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.
This is soooo true! Heck, I'd even kill for B, kill a cockroach laa... What were you guys thinking?

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:
You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.
I knew it the moment I met B. That's why, I went to all the trouble to maintain a long-distance relationship for two years and then made sure that we were together till the end. I do not want to lose him yet again (I did lose him once).

The seriousness of your love:
You like to flirt and behave seductively. The opposite sex finds this very attractive, and that's why you'll always have admirers hanging off your arms. But how serious are you about choosing someone to be in a relationship with?
Hmmm... before B, I did flirt, a lot heheheh... but now, it's limited to eye batting and smiling just to get extra discounts from salesmen :P

Your views on education
Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.
Well, isn't learning a lifelong process?

The right job for you:
You have plenty of dream jobs but have little chance of doing any of them if you don't focus on something in particular. You need to choose something and go for it to be happy and achieve success.
I used to dream of a high-profiled career but that didn't materialized. However, I'm happy with my job now but some added bonus doesn't hurt *winks at B*

How do you view success:
You are confident that you will be successful in your chosen career and nothing will stop you from trying.
Hear! Hear!...

What are you most afraid of:
You are afraid of things that you cannot control. Sometimes you show your anger to cover up how you feel.
Come to think of it, yes, I do but not all the time. Most of the time, I would take the "I don't give a damn or rat's ass" attitute. And no, I'm not a control freak.

Who is your true self:
You are full of energy and confidence. You are unpredictable, with moods changing as quickly as an ocean. You might occasionally be calm and still, but never for long.
I HAVE to be full of energy right?! I'm a mom! Mothers cannot afford to be sick nor can we afford to slack it off even a tiny wee bit. As for the moods, I blame it on PMS hihihi...

That Feeling...

Butterflies in the tummy, heart palpitations, silly smile on the face, unsettling, feel-good tingling feeling.

Suddenly I miss all these feelings. I wish I could just rewind the days back to where it all started. I think I will, just to relive those feelings, in three days time. Sighhh...

Say A Little Prayer....

Recently, I got a text message from a close friend of ours. I was floored when I read it. Her son has just been diagnosed with brain tumor. I'm not sure which son (she has three) but all three are under the age of seven. She asked that we pray for her son's condition and that it is not as serious as it sounds.

I feel really sad for her. I've known her for almost 15 years (with a few years gap in between) and she has always come across as a persistent, jovial and positive person. She would always be laughing and smiling even if she's not feeling that way deep inside.

Somehow, things didn't quite go as planned for her. It's her fate, I always tell myself and the others, but one that I personally think, can be avoided.

Now, with one problem after another come knocking on her door, I don't know how she faces it when they come hitting straight to her face. One thing for sure, she's really being strong about it. I have never heard her once complaint about her predicament. All she asked was for my doa so that whatever shit that she's going through and her son's ailment will pass.

Y, I don't know if you read my blog but you have my prayers. Please don't keep it to yourself. I know you're strong, but in the face of adversity, even the strongest man will crumble one time or another. The other thing is, it's important that you get your parents' blessing. Without it, you'll go nowhere.

And my dear friends out there who thinks you know who I am talking about, please say a doa for her son's well-being ya. It will mean a lot to her. Thank you.