Ambition vs Fantasy

I received a call from Ameer's kindy Teacher today, just some updates on this & that.

BUT ...... ( there's always a but somewhere, or else why would I want to blog about it?)

She lodged her concern about Ameer's response on "what do you want to be when you grow up". Curiously enough, I asked, what was Ameer's response that she was so concern about? In my heart, nothing psychotic I hope!

Apparently, Ameer told her, he wanted to be a NINJA !!!! Oh la la.

I laughed & laughed my hearts out, leaving no airtime in between for her to continue because honestly, I thought it was so damn funny. I just couldn't help it and so indulge myself in laughing out loud (alone) for quite a while. I thought that was such a brave enough an attempt by Ameer and an honest one at it too. How many kids would actually be open enough to share their personal vision such as that. At most, it would be the well rehearsed answers as practiced at home - I want to be a teacher, police, ustazah, lawyer, accountant, doctor, architect, etc. Rarely ever - celebrity chef, hairstylist, pro footballer or Akademi Fantasia winner. And a Ninja from Rawang? Wow! That must be the first for the Teacher.

The feeling obviously was not mutual - at all! The Teacher said, even after showing pictures of various occupations to the class and what these people do, yet when she asked Ameer again, Ameer still asked how come there's no photo of a Ninja.

Suffice to say, Teacher was not happy. Teacher was concerned. Teacher was afraid that Ameer could not differentiate between reality & fantasy. Teacher wanted me (this Ibu)to help Ameer to have a better grasp of what's real and what's not.

Oh oh.... I'm in trouble. Not about Ameer's ambition. But in dealing with the expectation of the Teacher.

Hello..... Ameer just turned 5 last November. Technically therefore, he's only 5 years & 4 months young OK?. I see nothing seriously flawed with him sharing that kind of 'personal vision'. Having 3 boys of my own and several nephews & nieces of various ages, I've indeed heard of many others too that are quite not so ordinary, namely rock star, hairstylist, makeup artist, antique cars collector, professional footballer, professional boxer, F1 driver, CSI, pest controller, locksmith, Jimmy Neutron, President, Hannah Montana and Ariel (the little mermaid) to name a few. So shall I just say... heh... this types of childhood ambitions kind of 'run in the family'? hahahah..... I think that will scare the Teacher even more.

Or is it quite obvious that I am not as kiasu as some other parents ke? That's besides the point.

Seriously, I think what should interest the Teacher more was to explore & find out WHY my little Ameer wants to become a NINJA and what about NINJA that excites or inspires him? The standard questions of 4 Wives, 1 Waitress & 1 husband (Who, What, Where, When, Why and How) would have done the trick, I think. KAN?

When Ameer got home from school and I asked him about the NINJA episode, of course his immediate response was to DENY. "Eh! No! Ameer dah tukar balik macam last week - Ameer nak jadi Doktor lah, tak nak jadi Ninja. Sebab Teacher kata, in gheal world, mana ada NINJA".

Sad... there is NINJA in the real world la Teacher! May be in our culture not something that we want to lure our children into BUT the fact remains, NINJAs do exist okay Teacher? Because the under world is part of the real world. But that would be too complicated to explain to Ameer right? Or you seriously don't think NINJA exist in the real world? Sigh.....

So Q & A between Ameer & Ibu ensued:

Ibu: Why do you think becoming a NINJA is exciting, Ameer?

Ameer: Because NINJA helps fight off evil people and dia protect the not so strong people tau Ibu.

Ibu: Oh.... ye ker? Macam mana dia protect other people tu?

Ameer: NINJA tu kan Ibu, dia kena practice ghajin-ghajin sampai dia kuat tau, then dia can protect other people la. And he must eat well, macam Naruto tu.

(I have no idea what Naruto eats okay?)

Ibu: Ye ker? Kenapa NINJA kena protect other people tu?

Ameer: Ibu tak tau ker? Kan ada ghamai oghang jahat kat luar. Evil. Macam kena bully ker.... So NINJA akan rescue la oghang yang kena kacau tu.

(So who says cartoon is all that bad?)

Ibu: Ohhhhh.....

Ameer: Ha! Ibu dah faham?

Yikes!!!

Ibu: Ah... yes! So, Ameer nak jadi NINJA, sebab Ameer nak protect orang baik dari orang jahat eh?

Ameer: Ya. Tapi kalau nak jadi NINJA, kena practice rajin-rajin dulu (sambil buka langkah ala-ala martial arts macam dalam Naruto tu) baru la kuat. Lepas tu baru la boleh protect orang lain.

Ibu: Ah... betul....

Ameer: Tapi sekarang Ameer dah tukar la Ibu. Cikgu kata takde sekolah ajar jadi NINJA. So now Ameer nak jadi Doktor. Macam last week yang Ameer ada cakap kat Ibu tu. Tukar jadi Doktor balik lah.

And he hurried off upstairs to change his school uniform. Quickly did his homework without being asked. So that he can have uninterrupted time to watch his latest favourite cartoon, the Tom & Jerry show. That's Ameer for you. Business first, leisure ensues. Straight A's in his monthly tests thus far, except for lukisan.



Yes... Ameer's short lived ambition involves fantasy, no doubt. But based on noble hopes & desires, isn't it? The one thing that the Teacher could have done then, had she enquired that bit further, was to help translate & guide my child to similar "peace keeping" & "protect others" kind of occupations which are more common and real (to her) than NINJA. Polis ke, askar ke, FRU ke, lawyer ke, martial arts instructor ke, Menteri Pertahanan ke, NGO activist ke, UN Envoy peace keeper ke .... whatever la... whatever "REAL" to her la kan? That would still be a better attempt than simply pouring cold water to such a noble heart desire from an innocent child.

I grew up at an era when most parents & teachers similarly expected their kids to choose the standard occupation. Careers in arts, culinary, music, literature, professional sports for example, were not only unheard of, but almost a taboo especially if they are considered "ishhh.... tak boleh, kita orang Malaysia/Melayu/Islam" or simply if it's "non-money makers".

Somehow, as a child and up till form 5, I managed to 'stray'. I always came up with the not so standard answer, from the very-very low on approval rating (perempuan joget, no kidding!) to the neutral ones (welfare officer, lawyer, lecturer, engineer - boring stuff?) and right up to the ironic ones (nuclear physicst, air stewardess - ironic because I'm not that great in maths at all for the former and bukan ler lawa, tinggi lampai & sopan santun bebeno for the latter.... hahaha). During the interview for scholarship (at age 17), I made the interviewers fell off their chair - laughing, as I told them I wanted to go to US simply because I wanted so much to go to Disneyland, nothing else. Interestingly enough, the interviewers said, I've got "personal vision", and they like.....

What I ended up as today? A career totally unheard of by my kindergarten teacher back then.

So adakah ini satu fenomena Bapak Borek, Anak Rintik? Or more appropriately, Ibu bintik-bintik, Anak polka dot?

Not quite.

I think the world today offers a lot more than the standard occupations - unimaginable years ago. And who knows what the future holds?

The challenge I offer to teachers out there; please.....

ASK MORE THAN TELL

For without exploring further what's on their mind, you would hastily reach at a conclusion that is only based on half of the picture. The half that is in your mind and yours only. NOT in the mind of the person that you should be exploring further - the child, the student.

I don't mean to be overly protective - but I think a child deserves some extra time to be heard first, rather than simply to be told off.

To anak-anak Ibu, BE WHAT YOU WANT TO BE so long you are happy with your choices and do your best in your chosen field (subject always to 'di jalan yang benar, halal dan baik). Bertebaran lah dimuka bumiNYA, rezeki itu ada di mana-mana, InsyaALLAH... I will pray that you will be guided, be protected, be reminded and be successful always, dunia & akhirat.


Salam,
Ibu

p/s

To Abang Idin, if you indeed choose that route, I don't mind getting complimentary pass to sit with the Man U players in their designated bench. Seriously.

To Hafiz, if you are still undecided which car to spare one for me from amongst all those in your future collection - berbuih dah mulut ibu cakap, I will easily settle for the Volkswagen Van okay? The ori version. Nothing more expensive.

To Ameer, the options are plenty still. No worries my boy.

BORED

I'm supposed to 'rest in bed'.

(Hmmm.... Shana, if you are reading this, for me, that is such a tall order, okay?!)

By right, there's so many things that I can do with this loooooonnnnggg forgiven period of being away from office. Plenty of time to finish off story books while I put up my feet & rest, plenty of opportunities to craft quiz papers for Hafiz & Ameer, plenty of minutes for blogging & facebooking, plenty of hours for unnecessary rearranging the can-no-longer-fit blouses & dresses in my wardrobe. Yup! plenty of things to do. (Unfortunately, flicking thru recipe books & trying those recipes out SHALL not (yet) become one possibilities... sigh.... mana boleh diri lama2? akakaka...excuse, excuse, excuse....)

But by left (vs right? got it? aiya... never mind...), I choose to feel bored.

We all have to choose our attitude. And today ... I choose to feel bored.

Other than the ever-so-challenging Bahasa Arab Tahun 2 homework that I've been helplessly helping Hafiz to finish ( do u know 'mirwahaton' means kipas/fan, 'suraton' means gambar/photo & 'dulabon' means almari/cupboard? now you know.... ), nothing around the house inspires or excites me this very minute.

And the fact that I can't face the notebook too long - because sitting up right is not equivalent to the 'resting in bed' kind of posture therefore not good for my lower abdomen - render me even more helpless.

AHhh... let it be. Let me see how long I will last with this attitude that I want to choose today - feeling bored.

Shortly, Ameer should be back from Kindy. And I am very sure I have another daunting task at hand - to copy & draw a few more transformer robots ( mak oiii!! didn't realise there are so many of them!). At least, there's an opportunity for me to be given a double or triple star for my drawing that are considered so out of this world by Ameer. He even complimented me yesterday, U r so HEBAT Ibu! ( Ameer actually used the word HEBAT!!! Funny eh?! I did't ask if he knew the meaning. It's not often you get a compliment from a 6 year old these days. So it didn't matter whether he knew the meaning or not. hehehe.... )

So what do I know. My feeling bored attitude helps me fill another page of a boring entry. That's quite an achievement for someone who's feeling bored.

I soooo wanna grab that gingerbread cookies and dunk 'em in nescafe tarik. But at this hour? Hmmmm....




E-boo

p/s Ayah... if you are reading this, beras dah (nak) habis, telur (memang) dah habis. Even if I want to find alternative food - cat food pun dah habis daaa.... and as I'm strictly to rest in bed, hehehe.... nampak gaya, balik nanti Abang kena singgah Tesco la ya?

Al-Fatihah : Dr Haliza Shafie

I was almost dozing off to sleep out of boredom yesterday afternoon at the ward, when I was snapped out of it by the sheer mention of the name "Dr Haliza Shafie" over TV3 6-something news.

My heart sank. I managed to mumble, " Innalillah hi wa inna ilayhi rojiun ..."

It was only last Monday when Ayah & I passed by her clinic en route to the surau at APSH that I told Ayah we'd better call her nurse to check on Ameer's vaccination schedule. I was quite sure there must be one due for 6 year old. I felt like dropping by her clinic there & then but it was quite late and I didn't want to bother the nurse whom I supposed would already be tired by that hour of the day and would probably be ready to call it a day anytime.

Little that I knew that THAT was my own version of a hazy premonition of some sort. Of course, it might just be a coincidence. But I do get a lot of this kind of coincidences, and I sometimes wonder if I should work harder to sharpen my 6th sense.

The news left my jaw dropped for a long while - shocked, denial, sad - all emotions jumbled up at the same time. I called Ayah but no answer. I had no clue who else to call to share the gruesome news I just overheard from the tube.

When Ayah arrived with the two musketeers later that night, I shared with him the news. He was speechless. We accessed Star online and the news on the "Missing Doctors" was already uploaded.

This morning, when Dr Ashar came for his morning rounds, he asked if I've heard the news. I told him that she was our 3 children's Paed and he nodded in silence. As he removed the IV needle from my hand, he calmly confirmed the news about the discovery of the body and shared some insights into the initial search that had started a few days back in which he was also involved. I had to bite my lips to control my tears.

At this juncture, images of Dr Haliza - in her oh-so-familiar professional yet very calm, caring, feminine, motherly gentle voice & gesture, giving both Ayah & I the much needed advise and assurance that it's okay to learn about caring for babies & toddlers as we go along and not to be too scared about learning it from real life experience - kept flashing in and out of my mind uncontrollably.

Allahyarhammah Dr Haliza was first recommended to me by Dr Jem (my gynae, who's also Dr Ashar's wife) to be my first born Paediatrician way back in 1996 . I've not heard of Dr Haliza before, but how could I refuse a sound recommendation from Dr Jem? Since then, Dr Haliza has been all of our 3 boys' Paed, right from Abang Idin, then to Hafiz, then to Ameer.

She was the one who gave all our 3 boys their vaccinations & inoculation, the jabs, the tickles and also the stern warnings not to consume too much ice cream & lollies. She was the one who attended to Abang Idin when he had pneumonia when he was barely 4 months old. She was the one who attended to Hafiz with all the common baby illnesses as listed in Johnson & Johnson's baby book (from jaundice to cradle cap to pink eye to colic to diarrhea, you name it, Hafiz got it). She also talent spotted Ameer as 'one tough cookie' as he hardly ever cried each time she injected those needles into his cute little butt or arm - so unlike his two elder brothers who cried the whole Ulu Klang river.

I had no doubt before this that if I were fated to have another one, insyaAllah, it would surely still be her to summarise the Apgar scores, to hold and cuddle the little fingers, hands & butt of my newborn in the same loving and caring way that she had done for all my 3 boys.

But of course, we could only plan. We are all still subject to the Master Plan.

To the family of the late Dr Haliza Shafie, our sincere takziah and condolence. May Allah bless her soul. Semuga Allahyarhammah ditempatkan bersama orang-orang yang beriman dan beramal soleh, insyaAllah....

AL-FATIHAH .....


:(
Ibu

p/s To Dr Jem, if by a miracle of chance you do drop by this humble blog entry, I must thank you from the bottom of my heart (long overdue) for introducing Allahyarhammah Dr Haliza to our family. We shall miss her dearly....

A quickie

I'm referring to this update ( what did you have in mind? aiyerrrrrr...... )

Some good news really.....

1. Abang Idin got accepted into boarding school, syukur alhamdulillah.

2. The 'tax man' had reconciled my account & sent another letter saying it is LHDN that owe me some money.... and actually ... they don't owe me anymore, because I received the check in the mail already yesterday .... yabedabedooooo.....
(p/s Abang, sorry darling ... I'm not giving up any sum for your car repair, okay?)

So ... nanti lah...senang2 I'll write more. Right now, busy maaaaa.....


E-boo

Love Is In The Air

We've stopped celebrating Valentine's Day loooooonnnng ago.

But I hope Ayah will read this in time, because I don't mind getting a box of Ferraro Rocher tomorrow, really ..... hehehehe...... I'm sure the boys would enjoy them too.

AYAH!!!!! Bring 'em on Ayah..... you don't have to worry about my weight control regime because it has gone awry anyway! LOL!!!

Home away from home

Abang Idin asked me not so long ago, "Are you trying to send me away?".

This question was in response to my never ending propaganda (who, what, where, when, why & how) to encourage him to go to boarding school for his secondary level education. Suffice to say, both Ayah & I are convinced boarding school is a good option, if given the opportunity.

My answer, or defense really, was quite simple & straight forward.

"I am not TRYING to send you away Abang. I AM SENDING YOU AWAY!!! "

Hahahaha.... how cruel.

Unfortunately, as expected, he has not been accepted in the first round of placement. My friends have already alerted me on some of the key criteria for first priority of selection. While he qualifies as from sekolah luar bandar ( RAWANG kan???!!!), somehow he falls just outside the category of "kurang mampu" from household income perspective. If only we can attach records of all the loans payable to the payslips as well. Aiya....

There was another way I was told. Alumni quota for parents for entrance into former schools subject to certain requirements. I swear I could easily fulfill all the criteria (being kaki menyebok from time to time in the alumni committees & various alumni activities). Unfortunately, I hailed from ALL-GIRLS boarding school. And sex-change is out of the question!

Ayah .... he was from sekolah tembak menembak yg berpagar duri tapi tidak berasrama. PULAK!!! So no alumni quota from Ayah's alma mater.

Another way, they say, is to appeal.

And so we wrote an appeal letter - addressed to a nearby school jer lah..... hehehe.... one new sekolah berasrama penuh kat Rawang ni hah.

He was indeed called for an interview. And he did go for the interview albeit like dalam keterpaksaan. Kesian anak ibu....

Results were supposed to be sent via post by end of January. As I am typing this, we haven't received it in the mail yet. And so the waiting game continues....

But before I pen off, let me share with you one of the interview questions and how Abang Idin said he answered it.

Cikgu asked: "Kalau awak kena buli, apa awak akan buat?"

(He's considered small size for his age, so I suppose the question reflected a valid concern)

Idin answered: "Saya buli dia balik!"

Cikgu: "Eh! Tak boleh.... kalau buli-buli, nanti kena buang sekolah!"

*************************

Idin's justification later to Ayah was: "Sapa suruh dia start buli dulu?!!"

I bet you the cikgu must have been shell-shocked with such gutsy answer coming from such a small size boy! I hope he noticed Idin's red belt taekwondo certificate and that response was supposed to be translated as "I will retaliate for self defense purpose only, cikgu" instead of "Saya tak takut dan boleh buli orang jugak cikgu!!"

Alahai.... what do you think? Will he get the placement?


Salam
E-boo

p/s I have yet to pull any cable. Sebab tak de cable pun! hahaha. Anyone with strong enough cable to help me out?

p/s I do think Abang Idin's answer was honest & quite original though. Very unpretentious. Reminds me of my answer during the interview for scholarship last time, why do you want to go US and not UK? I said because I wanted so much to go to Disneyland! hehehe.... I got the scholarship. But that was yearsssss ago. Maybe creativity & innocence in responses was much more appreciated then. We'll just have to wait & see if history will repeat itself. If not repeating, pls see previous p/s above. LOL !!!!

Let the strumming begin ....

Text message exchanges with Abang Idin today :

3.46 pm (Idin)
Boleh beli gitar hero punya controller usb? Abg bayar

3.46 pm (Ibu)
Apa tu?

3.47 pm (Idin)
Gitar hero punya controller.

3.50 pm (Idin)
Usb compatible

*****************

I have no idea what he is asking for. He's willing to pay for it though, quite a twist!

He's been asking to resume his guitar lessons. Classical, he said. Can't recall what I registered him for before this.

Frankly, not sure if it's a genuine interest OR an excuse to escape "being sent away" to boarding school.

I think - regardless (genuinely interested vs escape from boarding school), I can still make arrangement for him to pursue the guitar lessons while still going (or being "sent away" as he puts it) to boarding school. If there is a will, there is a way.

Yes, I am a mean Ibu with a very strong will. You don't have a choice, do you Abang Idin? You can't choose your mother. HAHAHAHAHAH .......

p/s Some girls will surely fall weak on their knees with your strumming, Abang Idin. I mean, after you can strum bebetol la.... a song that people can decipher!

Undecided

I can't decide what to blabber on; amongst the bloody vicious attack on Gaza or Anugerah Juara Lagu or Crispy Chicken Chop.

The first filled with repressed spiteful anger, the next with high spirits & jubilant and the last, a slight dent caused to the weak heart of an Ibu.

I don't know which one to start first.

Or maybe it's my usual antic to defer (or rather procrastinate) .... until the density and intensity of the feelings associated with each topic dissipate.

I guess at this hour..... that shall be it. Defer until later.

Memendam rasa.



Salam
Ibu

Tax

Yes, tax ... not tags just yet.

I thought I received a Datukship award via a letter recently. On the envelope it was printed "Urusan Seri Paduka Baginda". If Shah Rukh Khan can get it, why can't I?

It turned out to be a letter from the inland revenue board - the 'tax man', alleging that I owe them money, insufficient schedular tax deduction remitted for income from taksiran 2007.

Not 100. Not 200. Not 1,000. Not even 2,000. BUT close to 20,000 okay!!!! And yes, RM, not rupiah.

I stood frozen reading the penyata. Can't be right. Can't be. Cannot be.

I am very sure I do not have any other source of income other than the meagre monthly income from selling groceries, seafood & poultry at the kedai runcit where I work.

I don't do direct selling. Nor have I made any fortune from skim cepat kaya coz I have not joined any (yet).

I don't think my collection of handbags, shoes. scarves, lipsticks, makeups & Jeffrey Archer novels can be considered as revenue generating assets (just yet).

And I swear I do not have any siblings or relatives residing in Sicily doing laundry business.

And no....my cats & kittens ( now totalling 14 altogether ) do not offer me any protection money whatsoever.

And yes.... all that was due as monthly schedular tax has been dutifully deducted from my monthly income & remitted. And as far as I can recall according to my taksiran for the year under question, the tax authorities were supposed to refund to me RM200. Not me owing them, oi.

RM20,000 !!! Mana nak cari? Even if I got it stashed somewhere (where? tell me if you know) or receive rezeki terpijak (kot2 la Shah Rukh Khan got winds that I mention his name here & hence wanted to reward me? ) - you think I should depart with that much money & surrender to IRB without any challenge & defense?

Hishhh... membazir tenaga & waktu tengok TV jer tau si IRB ni.

But somehow I can't blame them for eagerly wanting to do their job, can I? But they really should go after those rumah urut operators instead of me la.... shouldn't they? After all I just sell vegies, chicken, fish & maggie mee maaaa...... don't have any other additional income whatsoever pun. Haiyerr...

Never mind la. To memendekkan cerita rather than memendekkan nyawa, I will simply ask our Finance Dept to provide official verification that all monthly schedular tax has been remitted on timely basis. They said they have copies of receipts as proof or payment. Well & good. It should set the record straight that it is IRB records that needs correction. I hope.

Do you think, after that, they would refund me the RM200? Is that enough to buy me PGL ticket?


E-boo

Salam Maal Hijrah & Happy New Year

I typed the title of this entry on the eve of maal hijrah, so as to lock the date.

New year's resolution moving forward into Ma'al Hijrah?

Read more
Learn more
Recite more
Pray more
Practice more
Help others more
Exercise more
Talk (of nonsense & merapu) less

Simple eh? But non committal enough you think?

By right any objectives must be SMART i.e. specific, measurable, achievable/agreed, realistic & timebound, isn't it?

But it's ok ( to me ) - because the standards of achievement will not be based on worldly desires rather really towards getting closer to Allah swt. So I must say, every little helps for me. It would be meaningless if I achieve the specified standards that I set for myself but which carries no credit towards the ultimate objective of getting closer to my creator.

And so I shall uphold my new year's resolution as above.

Help me God.



Salam,
E-boo

Tagged - 16 random facts

16 only? Alah..... kacang la Shana oiiii.... hehehe... I know, I have a series of tags that I haven't answered yet. Most of them from Shana by the way.

Anyway, before I begin, about this tag thing - it reminds me of one of my childhood games in Kg Pasir, Johor Bahru dolu-dolu, it's called RAM-RAM-RIT. It was quite close to 'police & thieves' (which masa kecik2 dulu sounded like 'police century' to me, hahahaha!!!)- whereby the 'police' would run after the 'thieves' , 'cuit' one of the thieves & that particular thief in turn became the police and must then run to catch the next thief. Except that this RAM-RAM-RIT - there's no police no thief, but still with one running after a few others with the intention to 'cuit' one target and the target would in turn become the one to catch the next target.

How did the initial person got chosen to be the chaser or the catcher in RAM RAM RIT? Easy..... All players, boys & girls alike, gathered around. Someone would volunteer to held out his or her palm, and everyone then touched the center of the palm with everyone's index fingers. And then we all sang our hearts out:

RAM RAM RIT
ANAK UDANG KENA SEPIT
NAK KAWIN TAKDE DUIT
CARI BINI ATAS BUKIT

(No...I don't think Pak Malim, kucing ray yg alim crafted this pantun... hehe!)

Immediately at the end of the pantun, we would all pull back our index fingers. And the one whose finger got caught ( yakni di cekup!) by the palm extender would automatically be considered the first catcher. I.e. He or she would have to run after the rest of the gang who have to run helter skelter bertempiaran tunggang terbalik pusing pokok, balik reban, belakang garage; with the intention to cuit someone. Then that someone (yang dicuit) would be the next catcher. And so on, and so forth. Until today, I have no clue what the rationale behind this game is, but it sure was a lot of fun. And besides, as kids, who said there is any need to rationalise to have fun? What I can still remember, it sure looked like a good scene for MILO to sponsor: "Minum Milo Anda Jadi Sihat & Kuat!". It was a damn good aerobic exercise for us kids.

Zaman dolu - dolu.... Senangkan? No software to be downloaded, no battery to be re-charged and no worries of being limited to 2 or 3 players only. Mainlah seramai mana, and sampai bila suka - which always ended up sampai sweaty & smelly, sampai petang hari or sampai Mak sapa2 jerit, "Oiiii!! Balik mandi!!! Dah nak masuk maghrib ni!!!! "

But of course, RAM RAM RIT being an outdoor game, it was surely subject to inclement weather.

Hmmm... tu lah dia.... tags... always remind me of RAM RAM RIT. Dolu dolu physically have to cuit a friend who then will have to chase and cuit another friend. Today, we can still do this through the cyber world, through cyber touch. RAM RAM RIT di alam maya!

Woiitt! Bukan Maya Karin yerk! Cehhh....

Eh! Wahhhh.... Jauhnya digressed. What was it that I have to do just now? Tag eh? What kind of tag this time? 16 random facts about myself?

Alah..... dah pukul 3 pagi dah ni.... tak kuasaaaaaaa la pulak nak jawab tag! Esok je lah Shana ek? InsyaAllah, before tahun hijrah yg baru.

hehehe...Jgn marah Shana, nanti kena jual over the counter, AS IS basis. hehe...

Ta-ta.... LOL!!!!

Makcik Bloggers Meet

Huh.... nak kena update jugak ker?

For immediate dosage, hop on to WanShana's or MrsNordin's blog. You'll catch some glimpses of us makcik2 and you'll also be linked to other blogs' update on the same.

As for the same story but from my perspective.... uhuhu... nanti sat kompol idea, no?

hehehe... i have to keep up with my reputation maaa... bagi blog bersawang sikit before bagi update. hehehe...

Salam...
Ibu

p/s dah tak jadi cinderella dah.... yeayyyy!!!

Missing much

Ameer: Ibu.... Do you miss Bibi?

Ibu: Oh yes.... very much! Indeed! (while wiping off the sweat on my forehead so that it didn't drop onto the dinner place mat that i've just wiped clean. penat woi lap place mat... hehehe)

Ameer: Ameer pun miss Bibi....

Ibu: Ye ker?

Ameer: Hmmmmm ....

Ibu: Shian Ameer. So.... what are you going to do?

Ameer: Nanti, bila Bibi dah 'balik' ke Ghawang, Ameer nak makan aeghoplane dia!

Ibu: HUH? Makan aeroplane Bibi?

Ameer: Ha'ah... ya!

Ibu: Why?

Ameer: So that aeghoplane Bibi ghosak!

Ibu: Kenapa pulak nak rosakkan aeroplane Bibi?

Ameer: So that dia tak boleh pergi Indonesia lagi. Duduk sini jer dengan Ameer kat Ghawang!

Fuiyooo.... sampai begitu sekali Ameer miss Bibi.

And heh.... sebut2 pasal makan... macam nak perli Ibu jer Ameer tak cukup makan in Bibi's absence? Ishhh......


Salam,
Ibu
who's still sweating much, tak menang tangan.

Lapuran lintas langsung dari Kuantan

Hari ini masuk hari ketiga semenjak bibi meninggalkan Malaysia untuk pulang bercuti ke kampung halamannya di Demak, Semarang, Indonesia.

'Pemergian' beliau .... sebenarnya.... masih belum terasa.

Mengapa?

Kerana kami anak beranak sekarang sedang melepak di MS Garden Hotel di Kuantan, mengekori Ayah yang terpaksa bertugas di luar kawasan musim raya qurban ni. Atas dasar keperihatinan seorang isteri mithali (konon....), Ibu sanggup berkorban sama, maka tak lah 'balik kampung' untuk raya tahun ni. Sebaliknya kami semua melepak di Kuantan.

Pagi semalam selepas Ayah selesai solat Aidul Adha, kami anak beranak bertolak ke rumah Mak Uda yang cuma sepelaung saja dari hotel ni. Merasalah juga juadah hari raya seperti rendang, lontong, kuah kacang dan segala. Tok (ibu Ayah, ibu mertua Ibu) juga sebenarnya masih di rumah Mak Uda. Jadi suasana hari raya masih dapat dinikmati sedikit sebanyak walau tidak sehiruk pikuk suasana raya yang lazimnya di rumah Mak Long di Damansara. Petang semalam, Ibu membawa empat orang anak-anak Mak Uda (semuanya perempuan la pula!!! Alangkah bahagia nya....) dengan tiga orang anak-anak ibu pergi menonton cerita animasi Bolt. Seronok rasanya.

Hari ini, di saat menulis lintas langsung ini pula, anak-anakku yang bertiga itu sedang terkinja2 dan menjerit2 sesama sendiri, dilamun 'terlebih perasan' menjadi juara lumba kereta atau wira Jepun yang terulung. Bahana bermain PS2 di bilik hotel.

Pagi tadi, tidak seperti hari hari yang terdahulu, cuaca cerah - memberi peluang kepada mereka bertiga bersuka ria di kolam renang hotel, tak ubah seperti itik jumpa air. Bezanya cuma itik pandai berenang. Ibu mengambil peluang mengemaskini sedikit polisi dan menghantar email melalui akses internet tanpa wayar di tepi kolam - sambil menjeling-jeling "anak-anak itik" itu.

Kedudukan hotel ni memang strategik, hanya beberapa langkah saja jaraknya dari Berjaya Mall. Ada restoran makanan segera, ada panggungwayang, ada spa, ada Parkson, dan macam-macam lagi. Jadi tak gusarlah Ayah meninggalkan Ibu dan anak-anaknya di sini, kerana beliau sudah sedia maklum dengan Ibu yang boleh 'survive' dengan cemerlang kalau ditinggalkan berdekatan pusat membeli-belah. Alangkah bagusnya kalau Ayah berbuat demikian sambil meninggalkan kad kredit 'supplementary' sekali? Tapi itu lah... dia memang sudah sedia maklum kepandaian isterinya. Jadi mungkin dia harus berwaspada atas kewibawaan dan kecemerlangan Ibu dalam acara membeli-belah.

Dengan gambaran di atas, tidak hairanlah kalau pemergian bibi setakat ini masih belum terasa.

Apakah panas akan terus berpanjangan hingga ke petang? Oh tak mungkin.... kan musim tengkujuh ni! Gerimis dan hujan lebat pasti menyusul tak lama lagi.

Kita nanti kan saja lah ulasan berita mutakhir bagaimana Ibu menangani pemergian bibi pulang bercuti.

Buat masa sekarang ..... kita enjoyyyyy dulu..... muahahahahaha......

Home Science 101

I was up till almost 3 am last nite (eh, morning?) helping Bibi to pack her luggage. Yes - she's going home for her biannual vacation this afternoon for 2 months.

Temp maid service has been arranged but she'll only be available from 20th Dec onwards though. I'll be on leave the whole week next week, so I reckon - no problemo. The week after, I'll most probably drop the kids at Kak Long's house, so no prob too I hope.

After the packing and after I taught Bibi how to lock & unlock the suitcase, it was Bibi's turn to give me a few pointers on this and that. Baju itu di laci ini, seluar itu di almari sana. Sabun2 dan 'pewangi' (softener) di tepi situ. Rempah2 nya di sini, bawang2 & kentang2 nya di situ, minyak masaknya di bawah ni. 'Kompor'nya, kalau di cuci, hati-hati jangan sentuh di situ. Singkinya begitu begini.

Half way through, it hit me........

OH MY GOD!

Bibi is going home in less than 24 hours. And I've just officially discovered where the rempah-ratus and the onions are kept?

And OH MY GOD!!

We started using the new washing machine since we moved in a few months back. I don't even know how to operate THIS washing machine!

And heck! When was the last time I ironed Ayah's shirt?

OH MY GOD!!!

Tu baru in the kitchen. I already felt my head spinning. I pictured one of those big colourful tops from the east coast from Awang Goneng stories. My head vs the top, I wondered which one spinned faster. All I could think of was that my head was 'lagi terror' because it could spin that violently even without the help of any manly hurlings, so violent that it could potentially cause the first ever earth tremor in Rawang!

Oh Oh...... I'm in trouble, big time.

Some more perasan can cope with 2 weeks maid free?

You can bet McDonald's, Pizza Hut's & Ali Maju's sales would be up a few % the next few weeks. And so would Ah Lin's laundry shop.

All in the name of precaution against home hazards.

Say a prayer or two for Ibu pls?





Salam :C

Of motivation & rewards

Some intrinsic, some extrinsic.

So, are we less worthy of a human being if what propelled us to elevate to greater heights tend to be motivated by extrinsic material rewards?

Cannot be la, hoh? At least not in all circumstances.

For example - how can you say your child is less worthy of a child if what motivates him to study hard and obtain good grades in his exam is a Sony Ericsson handphone, with a camera & web access function in it?

To cut the long intro short, that was what Abang Idin had been eyeing for. And eyeing so for one good year, he had.

Of course I had a part to play in it. Being the not so generous Ibu that I am, no way would I just senang lenang buy a handphone for a 12 year old who most of the time cannot even remember where he last placed his wallet (which, in the first place, should have been easier kept in his pocket, shouldn't it?!!) So I said, if you want it, you go get your 5As for UPSR.

So, yeah... my Abang Idin was deprived of a handphone. And we kept dangling it as an invisible carrot. Handphone? UPSR! Handphone? 5As! Muahahaha....

Come to think of it, I'm sure he must have been wanting it since umpteenth years ago.

When he was barely 6 months old, we registered him for a baby crawling contest (at Jusco Wangsa Maju that time). It started off as just for fun. When we saw the other babies & their kiasu parents, Ayah & I looked at each other and thought...opps! Would we be exposing our child to the concept of failure & frustration too fast too soon? But then we thought ... hehh... he was just a baby lah! He wouldn't understand. So we thought. When the race was about to start, we noticed the other parents were all geared up, ready with teddy bears, teethers, pacifiers and other toys to be used as motivation for their babies to crawl forward! Alamak... we brought nothing at all (other than his milk bottle!). And sure enough, when the whistle was blown, all the other parents started to motivate their not-as-cute-as- ours babies(hehehe) and most of the babies started to crawl towards their toys instantly. Abang Idin? He just woke up from his afternoon slumber and he just sat there at the starting point, heavenly sucking his thumb, oblivious to the fuss of the cheering crowd around. Alamak anak aku nih, tengah mamai lagi la agaknya? Thinking on his feet, Ayah reached into his pockets and pulled out his wallet from one pocket and one heavy as a sepatu Nokia handphone from another pocket (imagine macam hero cowboy pulling out his guns ready for a showdown... hehehe...). He started to dangle the wallet & handphone in front of Abang Idin's eyes and voila!! Abang Idin instantly moved his diapered butt, got down on his knees and started crawling. Ayah moved one step faster. Abang Idin followed. A few more steps even faster. And ... you wouldn't believe this, Abang Idin lifted his knees and started crawling like a bear! Two arms, two feet, no knees at all and yeah!! He was fast!! He started to catch up with the other babies and even got to the leading top three crawlers in no time at all. The crowd was cheering loud. I thought... Oh yes! He could be winning this. Oh yes... Oh dunia! Lihat lah.. That's my boy!

But then suddenly, he stopped midway. Eh? Apasal?! Oh dear! He stopped midway sebab 'dok' looking at a cute chinese baby girl trailing slightly behind in the next lane. We tried calling him a few times, yet he ignored us and just kept looking (drooling?) at the girl. Oh my, what a sight! Aiyaya.... kecik2 dah pandai distracted by a girl? The crowd actually laughed at the scene. I'm sure at that minute it was ayah's turn to be cheeky; claiming 'That's my boy!'

Apalah Abang Idin!!

After a few good laughs, I nudged Ayah and he came right back on to his senses and started to dangle his wallet and phone in front of Abang Idin again. Thank goodness Abang Idin came back to his senses too. He dashed forward with his bearish style crawl and managed to catch up again. As soon as he reached the finishing line, Ayah rewarded him by letting him 'play' with his handphone. Hmmpphh!! Habis dia gobbled up the phone! (Would you use a hand phone covered all over with a 6 months old baby's saliva? Euwwwwww..... exactly!) But oh well! He deserved it. He finished off as a runner up, the only 'boy' winning. Not bad at all, considering his late start. Won himself RM200 Jusco vouchers and a big hamper (jimat sikit poket Ayah masa tu, no need to buy diaper for 2 weeks or so). I think we have a photo of it. I'll try dig his baby years album and post the photo later (tahun depan boley?).

Much later when he started primary school, he wanted a hand phone still. By then, he could come with some creative reasons for the need of it, I tell ya.

Once, he said he's too short to reach the public phone at school. So he argued we should buy him a handphone so that he could easily call us in case there was an emergency at school. Yeaaahhhh right!

Our rebuttals: Who ask you to skip your lunch & dinner too often and be too choosy of your food? You eat a lot more laaaaa so that you grow taller faster! Besides, if there was an emergency at school, just run to the teacher, pakcik canteen, makcik cleaner, gardener, jaga or bus driver and shout for HELP - whether they have teeth or not, it should not matter! That's what you called emergency. (Mean parents, no? hehehe)

But what about if it's emergency outside school? He tried still.

Our rebuttals: What outside school? After school, you come right back home, straight home, in Mrs Jaya's van, you hear?!! (Mean still, yes? yes, yes, yes....)

Another time, after coming home from a school trip, he related the incident of his friend who lost his handphone during that trip. His friend called his parent using another friend's phone and then related to Abang Idin, "Mak aku kata tak per lah... nak buat cam mana? Nanti dia ganti lain." And so Abang Idin questioned, why was it that other parents could easily provide their children with handphone and his parents could not?

Our answers: Oh! If you want parents that could easily provide you with a handphone, you could easily change your parents! Just go la try ask if they want to easily adopt you. Then maybe you can easily move to their house and after that easily ask if they could easily buy you a handphone. (Meaner? definitely, hehehe)

Not so generous maybe. But mean? Actually, no, I don't think so.

To Abang Idin,

It's not that we could not afford one. I'm sure there are plenty of 'under water' handphones somewhere kat Pekan Rawang tu. We know but we don't care if others can easily provide their children with material rewards without demanding some kind of efforts & achievement. And even if they do, we don't want to and we choose not to understand why the bar is not raised as high as what we've set for you. One thing you can't change - you are our son. Tough luck! And as our son, you've got to start learning from now on, boy;

No pain, No gain!

And we want you to learn this, not because both your parents were not born into this world with silver spoons. Our childhood is our childhood. Yours is yours. Eating roti canai outside once in a blue moon was already a great childhood reward for us . You? You got to eat McDonald's every so often without much Q&A. Be thankful. We've come a long way.

But one thing you've got to learn early, the world out there is not one holy charitable organisation. And since you may not be sheltering under our roof forever & ever, you've got to knock this into your head, heart & mind: You want something? Work hard for it, dear! Earn it with your own sweat & tears. Your own stripes & strides. You will then truly appreciate the reward. It tastes much sweeter that way, you'll savour the after taste.

The intrinsic part of it would come naturally indeed, I would think. That you would challenge yourself to proof that you can do it, that you have what it takes, that you are not easily susceptible to negative influence and distraction for short term gratification. There is always light at the end of the tunnel, provided you move towards the end of the tunnel!

Having said that, the ends does not justify the means.

Don't go cracking your head overtime strategising to rob a bank to get the money to buy a handphone!!! Duhhh....

If the ends is a much longed Sony Ericsson handphone with camera & web access function, and the means is by way of you scoring 5As in UPSR - then I must say, you've earned it very well my boy!

Congratulations on a job well done! You deserve the reward. We're proud of you, Abang Idin.

Don't forget to say Alhamdulillah, thank you Allah.

Let me say one thing; THIS is just the beginning!


Luv,
Ibu


p/s I heard next is Manchester University? So that you can watch live Man U football match every so often? ( Hmmm... that's not that far from my wanting to study in US so that I could go to Disneyland? hehehe....mana la nak tumpah nya kuah kalau tak ke nasi? ) So I would say, GO FOR IT, BOY! You've got 5 years to prepare. Muahaha....

p/s If you haven't, you should thank Ayah ok? I invoked the motivation & dangled the invisible reward. He's the one paying for the tangible one. hehehe... pandai Ibu kan?

Another live show tonite....

But this time, teater bangsawan "Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup".

Nak ikut? Jom beramai-ramai ke Panggung Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur.

Malam ni, malam esok, malam lusa.

Of blonde bombshells, dish washing & waiting

"Is office attire ok?"
Ayah's email message was as short & straight to the point as his verbal conversation.

I had to match - coz I was in a hurry :), so I replied,
"Dress code: lounge suit, so office attire's ok. Grab your blazer".

That was last Thursday, when he relented to accompany me to the british musical commedy playing in town. He said he's not much into this kind of thing, opposite moi - who just love stage shows, both performing and watching others perform. Especially if the tickets are complimentary. hehehh...

Besides, we missed to catch one when we had abundance of such opportunities just last month. I left the 'city' drooling over the posters, adverts & pamphlets of all sorts. Sigh....

So indeed that evening, we finally went to watch the Blonde Bombshells of 1943, the musical play by Alan Plater.

It was scheduled to start at 7pm. But a 'higher calling' tasked me to text the host as a sign of courtesy, who graciously indulged my excuse to join the party slightly later. I was least worried about joining the pre-dinner cocktail late actually. I don't fancy lingering around people sipping reds or whites (with me sipping coke or orange juice) for the sake of small talks. It's not the reds or whites that bothers me really - I'm just not genuinely interested to put up fake smiles while engaging in skin deep small talks with people I barely know. I would lose terribly if I were to stand for any political election I know. hehehhh....

Digressed.

Anyway... I met Ayah at the lobby after Maghrib. With his blazer on and his unmistakable silver highlights , I thought he was quite a sight for sore eyes. I hope only my eyes lah kan? We marched up to the ballroom foyer and was saved by the bell (they were really ringing the bell as a signal for guests to make their entrance & be seated), which means we skipped the entire lingering around, much to my relief... hehehe.... (I am soooo not suitable for a PR job, I could read your mind!)

I requested to be directed to our designated table which happened to be right in front of the stage. Wahhh!! Above expectation. And thankfully, the other fellow guests around the table were a bunch of easy going & friendly lot too - which made us settled in pretty fast actually, exchanging topics ranging from serious but still skin deep corporate updates to what we did last summer.

And what we shared about what we did last summer prompted me to write this entry.

When I said 'summer' - it was not about last week's hot scorching sun on our local soil, rather really about the hot & sunny season, except that the 'last' was referring to the good old college days.

It turned out one of the guests also went to the same college in the godforsaken midwest redneck county GMT minus 5 away from here (had it not been for the college town itself, we Asians would've probably succumbed to the bullies and ended up as their shooting practice targets!) The mere mentioning of the "home away from home" was enough to stir an instant bond amongst us.

We were relating those crazy things we did during summer breaks. My definition of crazy things to do during summer was about taking additional credit hours for 300 & 400 level Psychology courses (so that I could secure a minor in Psychology) and at the same time working my butts out waiting tables to pay for the additional text books for the courses. Fun & crazy indeed, no? But hey... I had my fair share of some adventurous trips made using whatever left overs saved from the same job of waiting tables.

Ayah shared his experience of the minimum wage dish washing job he secured on campus.

Waitress at fine dining restaurant on campus VS dish washer at the college cafetaria. So NOT the same class, I tell you! hahaha.....

The host and another couple also started to join & chip in their college days working experiences too. From as manual as waiting tables, washing dishes and delivering newspaper, to the more decent ones like book keeping assistance and researching books & articles for PhD students.

One of them asked if we met on campus. I said yes, but Ayah said not quite. He said we sort of knew one another before. I rebutted that technically we never met before, so it has to be 'on campus'.

By this time dinner has arrived. Our companies happily carved their steaks away while continuing to enjoy the acts of the two of us trying to defend each others' stand. I thought it was more of my verbal sparring against Ayah's merely raising of his eyebrow and shaking his head in disagreement.

Then suddenly Ayah blurted, "I even had to survive just on washing dishes, waiting for her!"

I could instantly hear the "Ahhhh....", "Ohhhhh...." & "How sweeeeeeeet...." in response to that.

Oh wow myself! That was quite a statement my darling! One hell of a curve ball I must say. And one bomb in its own form.

In a nano of a second, all those memories came flashing back to me in fragments. Him washing dishes on minimum wage at the college cafetaria, and me waiting tables at the on-campus Marriot Hotel's Tudor Room fine dining restaurant (read: lots of tips!)

That was when it suddenly hit me hard like a ricochet of a bomb shell. After 20 years of knowing him, it suddenly dawned upon me that I may have inadvertently taken Ayah's perseverance of me a bit too lightly - I think.

You see, Ayah is a feeler and a natural introvert. Put those two personalities together, you get one silent lover.

So how do you suppose I could read his mind why he stayed on surviving on minimum wage washing dishes while I happily scurried away to Washington DC as the first (ever) international college intern, rubbing shoulders with other interns at the White House two decades ago?

A mild extrovert thinker - I could not bring myself to 'feeeeeeeel' it was JUST to wait for a girl. I had to rationalise and it was around him buying time - waiting for arising opportunity as IT Lab consultant, to start building his fresh grad experience. After all, he made quite some earnings doing part time IT work before - finishing Masters & PhD students' project at very reasonable fees. hehehhhh... enterprising indeed.

People said (then) either I was in denial or simply a heart breaker. Some were diplomatic enough, acknowledging the possibility of not ready to commit and that I have the rights to still browse through the options on the menu. I must have just laughed & brushed them all off. That was a not a problem of the world that was worth me putting on my serious thinking cap. That was 20 years ago.

Now? With 3 kids, we are more than attached to our hips, I think.

The images of him "waiting for me" started to swirl in my mind though. Him washing dishes on campus waiting for me to return from my internship. Then when we were back in Msia? Him dozing off in his Proton Saga in front of my office waiting for me to finish my never ending work so that he could send me home safely right to my aunt's front door (thus marking his territory and cordoned off others away from me). After we got engaged? Him waiting for me to conclude the definite period of engagement. After we got married? Him waiting for me to be ready to start a family. After we got our first child? Him patiently reminding me to consider wearing the hijab and be willing to don it on my own accord. After the hijab? Him patiently inspiring me to perform our hajj early while we were still able bodied.

Today? He still have to wait for me to come home from my never ending work almost every night, so that we can have our dinner at the kitchen or dining table together with our kids (okay lah... sometimes he ate first). He still have to wait for me to choose at least 2 or 3 pair of blouses and pants, and then decide on matching scarve before we leave the house to go anywhere (used to be for fashion & color coordination, now more of which ones I can fit into comfortably...aiyaaaa!!). He still have to wait for me at a bench or game shop somewhere while I go berserk over the items on sales. Pendek cerita, he's still waiting for me on a lot of things lah.

I thought I was the one who was the "waitress". Looks like he's the real "waiter" after all. Except that when lovingly voiced out, it sounds like this, "Abaaaaang.....WAIT ARRR! Sikit lagi nak siap... tunggu ......"

Yes. He had to wait for me then. He still have to wait for me now. And a bit more waiting still in the foreseable future. He's doing it ever so patiently too, I must say. Sesuai dengan nama dia.

So what do I know really?

An evening to watch the blondies, but it's the silver haired that dropped the bomb on me - after almost 20 years!

Still loving him though.


And oh! The musical? Quite a swing indeed.

:)

Selingan : BRA

Last night Hafiz & Ameer quizzed each other on "Animals of The Land" (Haiwan Darat).

Animal 1
Hafiz : Dia black & white, ada empat kaki, dia ada BRA. Apa dia?

Ameer : IBUUUUU !!!

Ibu : Huh? (looking at myself - kebetulan I was wearing a black top. I take it that my kids consider me as fair, hence 'black & white'. hehehe...)

Hafiz: Bukanlah... Ibu ada dua kaki jer lah! And Ibu bukan animal. Apa lah Ameer ni.

Ameer : Habis tu?

Hafiz : ZEBRA !


Animal 2
Ameer : Dia ada ekor, tak ada kaki, dia pun ada BRA. Apa dia?

Hafiz : Ameer tipu lah! Mana ada animal lain yang ada BRA?

Ameer : Ada.... eleh... dia yang tak tau ....

Hafiz : Hah! Apa dia?

Ameer : COBRA !

***********

Tu lah anak-anak Ibu. Kecik-kecik pun dah ada inclination towards BRA... hmmmm alahai!

:)

Raya quickie...

It's been a while ... finally...

Thank you all for the well wishes for Abang Idin.

We waited nervously for his chest x-ray result that Raya eve. When the doctor was satisfied that there was no lung infection, she finally signed the discharged sheet. 9pm malam raya! Pheww........ :)

I still did manage to weave some ketupat (at the ward!) and so dapat lah a few. Boleh jadi tak sah kalau Raya tak de ketupat ni :)

Managed to grab songkok for the boys at Mydin too. One funny discovery, among the 3 boys, si 5 year old Ameer's songkok size is the biggest :)

Managed to find a barber that was still open at the 11th hour and Ameer had his hair trimmed - last customer :)

Arrived home, Bibi had started the ball rolling in the kitchen, legaaa.... I joined her in the frenzy. Tak sempat dah nak call 'Mak Ngah' to reconfirm berapa banyak halia and berapa banyak lengkuas to throw in (I have this ritual of final checking with my sis every raya eve for the rendang campak-campak, except this time around x sempat!) So bedal jer lah Bik. Sure jadi jer rendang tu. I went on to prepare the paste for ketam, lodeh and sambal udang. Standy to simmer & fry ... not just yet ... but in time before subuh :)

Meanwhile I set the table. Just like ketupat, table setting is another must have for Raya too :)

Shortly after, found sampin anak-anak in one of the boxes :)

Then I prepared the baskets for the Raya dishes for the neighbours :)

I didn't sleep. OH! Maybe lelapkan mata for a while just after Subuh. Then went on a duet with Bibi to prepare the Raya dish :)

In the end, we still managed to have a decent Raya in our new house after all. Alhamdulillah :)

We took our own sweet time for Raya breakfast this time instead of rushing to Mak Long's house - knowing that she would have known that Abang Idin just got discharged the night before. It was almost 1pm by the time we got to Dmnsara, much to the relief of the in laws, nieces & nephews - as they had indeed been waiting, but for the crab lahh! Not us. hahaha :)

Big smilessss :) :) :)

Photos? Coming soon..... Awaiting Ayah to upload the slides (saja ler nak manja, suruh dia buat kan.... :D)

Manusia hanya merancang .....

Have you heard this before?

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail"

So for Raya this year, I've got it all planned out, I tell ya.

1. Holiday planner - updated CEO's secretary (early this year!) on how many days of leave I plan to take, before & after raya
2. Block a tentative date in personal calendar for post raya BBQ gathering with uni mates
3. Block a tentative date in personal calendar - possibly for makan-makan session for my team & other colleagues from office
4. Purchased air ticket on line for my work/conference trip immediately post raya
5. Purchased air ticket on line for Ayah to join me a week later post work/conference - to merayap-rayap somewhere
6. Influenced ayah (successfully) to purchase on line the 'train' ticket & hotel for the merayap-rayap trip
7. Dusted off my luggage & have it on standby - ready for packing
8. 'Tempah' new cushion covers for the AV room & collected them just a week before puasa
9. Bought baju raya (both baju 'Melayu' & baju 'berbilang bangsa', hehe) for the kids & Ayah
10. Bought my own baju raya too .... phewittt!! Jangan tak beli....
11. Bought baju raya for Bibi too..... triple phewittt!!! Bling-bling you.... suka dia!
12. Bought the 10 pcs of 'pelita Raya' (the bamboo ones) & went to get a bottle of kerosene from Mak Long's house (her stock from last year! can't find any shops in Rawang town that sell kerosene any more)
13. Ordered some kuih raya - the usual ones; London Almond, Suji, Pineapple Tart, some kerepek & rempeyek, etc, etc
14. Bought some flat basket trays for ketupat & ketam Raya for breaking the ice with our new neighbours ( we just moved here a couple of months back remember? )
15. Last weekend bought daun kelapa for ketupat, ayam, daging, kerisik segala
16. Also ordered our big size ketam (jantan only!) - 40 pcs please, to be de-shelled and washed before collection
17. Bought a dozen of new clear goblets & placemats for pagi raya breakfast (table setting a high priority for me somehow)
18. And..... you'd better believe what come next : Blue key baking flour, custard flour, vanilla essence, butter, chocolate rice, castor sugar, the cute colourful cups, weighing scale, the measuring cups, the baking trays ..... my spirit to bake my own biskut sarang semut soaring sky high this Ramadhan.....muahahaha!!! Siap googled up & printed out the recipe for it!
19. Change 'duit raya' for the green packets - Ayah's department ni.
20. Transfer some money to Nenek & Atok for their raya preps

And I can happily tick off all the above from my checklist.

The only ones remaining for final execution on my checklist :

21. Buy one or two new pair of pants & comfortable moccasin for the trip
22. Pack for balik kampung & for the trip
23. Bake the sarang semut cookies
24. Pasang pelita
25. Anyam sarung ketupat
26. Prepare the dishes on Raya eve - earlier please; not malam-malam buta hingga ke dinihari like last year (nanti pagi2 raya pegi rumah in laws with eye bag segala? hmpphh... tak ayu la kan?)
27. Pagi raya, deliver the ketupat & ketam to our new neighbours (I'm visioning my boys tagging along, complete with their baju Melayu, songkok & sampin carrying the baskets, going ding-dong-bell to our multi racial neighbours' front doors ...ohhhh......comelnya....)
28. Wait for Ayah to come home from Solat and we'll all have our extended breakfast
29. Then salam2 & photo session
30. Pack the dishes, luggages, not forgetting leaving lots of food & water for Blackie & the kittens

Then we can all skip along to Damansara (Ayah's family) and by petang, off to JB (Ibu's family). Yeayyy!!

So that is the grand plan.

20 out of 30 completed, that's 66.66%. Not bad isn't it? Just another one third to go.

YET, guess what? Where do you think I am at this very minute?

Hmmm...... at Damansara Specialist Hospital, tending to Abang Idin who has been warded since Sunday night, for prolonged high fever and bacterial infection. He's been on the drip eversince.

As at noon today, i.e. a day before Raya, he still cannot be discharged just yet. That means, Ibu also cannot discharge the remaining duties as planned above. Pelita ke mana, biskut sarang semut ke mana....

So you see...... I've got plans for the immediate future - for Raya this year that is.

And yet the naked truth about the future is that it still comes one day at a time.

Itulah yang kita namakan,

"Manusia hanya merancang, Allah jua yang menentukan"

The remaining of the plans are shelved for the time being and let's just hope & pray Abang Idin will be back bouncing on his feet again soon.

Salam Aidilfitri and Maaf Zahir Batin.


p/s Messages from Abang Idin :
Thank you Auntie Shana & the clan for the visit. And the doughnuts of course!
Thank you Auntie Onair, Auntie Abid & Auntie Joe for the well wishes.
Ameer & Hafiz .... Sorry Abang Idin has to keep Ibu away from you two for a while, lil' bros.
And Ayah..... errr... dah jumpa bunga api ke belum?

Hafiz's Finger Story

I was busy 'maybanking2them' when Hafiz approached me.

"Hi Ibu, please say hi to Finger."

I noticed the smiley face drawn on his index finger. How cute! That was so Hafiz. The creative one amongst my boys, the Da Vinci junior - Rawang version.

"Oh.... Hi Finger!! How do you do?"

"He's not happy la Ibu..."

"Really? Why?"

"He wants to go the fun fair...."

"Hishh... bulan2 puasa ni nak pegi fun fair buat hapa?"

"Entah lah dia... but he really wants to go there (pointing with 'that' finger to the direction of the fun fair from afar). Maybe just for fun I guess?"

"Bulan puasa laa...... And it's a Finger. It can't go there, can it?"

"Of course it can!"

"How?"

"This Finger is stuck on my hand la Ibu? So how DO YOU THINK Finger can go there?"

Ek eleh budak 7 tahun ni! Ceghedik nak mengenakan ibu dia .... bertuah betul.



;)

What matters most

My dear boys....

As far back as I can recall - zaman dolu-dolu, Ibu would never miss to get my baju raya. Those baju raya were 'new' to Ibu, but not necessarily brand new. Somehow, it didn't matter at all to Ibu whether they were brand new or not for Ibu knew Ibu Noi would carefully select among the best of her frocks/dresses/baju kurung that she had outgrown and reserve them for Ibu, specially for Hari Raya. Similary, Ibu Noi would get her share of the best reserved for her for Hari Raya by Mak Ngah. And it didn't matter to Ibu Noi either. I cannot recall where Mak Ngah got her baju raya from. It didn't seem to matter to Mak Ngah at all too.

There was one year when all of us girls got a pair of brand new baju kurung each for Hari Raya. What a treat! We found out years later that Nenek had bought a par of cloth, supposedly meant to be as a present for her sister-in-law to-be. She had offered to sew the curtains for the bridal room. Unfortunately, her sister-in-law to-be totally rejected the present and simply returned the whole par to Nenek - she said she didn't like the colour. So waste not want not - all 3 of us girls got a pair of brand new baju kurung for Hari Raya that year - same colour, same design, same material - all handmade by Nenek.

It didn't matter to us at all.

We saw them working hard day & night to raise us 6 siblings. What mattered to us girls then, was not to make Nenek & Atok worry too much over expenses of baju raya for their daughters. For we know there were other expenses that deserved higher priorities.

That - as far back as I can recall ......... zaman dolu-dolu.

And since 'zaman dolu-dolu', we've definitely come a long way, my boys. All because Nenek & Atok set the right priorities on what matters most for their growing up children then.

Matters that could not be sacrificed for immediate gratification.

Matters that could not be achieved without sacrifice.

Today?

I know Ibu Noi or Mak Ngah would buy at least a pair of 'baju' for Nenek & Atok every Hari Raya. And they would also ask Nenek not to worry about preparing Raya dishes as they would do that part and send one periuk or one kuali over to Nenek's house by eve of Raya.

Ibu? Even if we live next door to Nenek & Atok, you know Ibu can't offer to cook anything safe, healthy and edible for them. So Ibu would transfer some money to Nenek & Atok instead, for their discretionary disposal for some other expenses that may become a priority for Raya preparation.

This despite their assurance from the other end of the phone line that "There is nothing to worry about, my children. Just don't forget to balik kampung for Hari Raya, you hear? That's what matters most to us".

I know sooner or later, I may be echoing that very same line to you, my boys.


Salam,
Ibu

Politics 101

How truly democratic is it for a country to see a transition of power - not from the people's votes & confidence in its true sense - but from pledges of defecting MPs crossing over to different alliances?

How repulsive !!

So much for the hailed transparency, check & balance. Everything oso "what's in it for me" !!

Sudah lahhhh....... Menangguk di air keruh. Cakap tak serupa bikin. Cehhh.....

Moments of homely glory for Ibu

Oh! Oh! Oh! Second posting in one day? If I write fast enough, I may make it before 12 midnight.

So here goes....

I have made known how I am with cooking. But I have also said somehow, when some opportunities arise, I'd like to grab them - better late than never. Most of the times though, kurang menjadi of course. But sometimes, boleh tahan.....

And TODAY - I must savour one of those glorious moments that are hard to come by for Ibu.

All these jazzy feeling only because of ..... jeng!jeng!jeng! my home-made Roti John!!!

Inspired by none other than the frequent mentioning of it by Wan Shana. Hehehe.... She said Hanna really liked it - I thought hmmm... this must be 'good' for growing up kids.

I thought, why would people call it 'John' - not Jonas, Obama, Hugh, Nicholson, Nadal.... not even Clooney.

Just 'John'. Simply 'John'. Surely it must be simple?! I must try...

So I thought.... hahaha...

I recalled my colleague brought Roti John during our last dept pot luck before puasa, and I texted her on Sunday for the ingredients. Kot2 la.... cuti Sunday, I could try kan??? That request must have sent shockwaves to her, she replied with much zest, not just on what the ingredients should be but how to do it too. That was where I stumbled. Alamak.... minced meat di goreng and ditos kan until kering and then yadayadayadaya....... God bless her! Berpinar mata baca her reply. So I cancelled the plan . Firstly, because I didn't have minced meat. Secondly, the preparation of the minced meat sounded very labourious to me (what did I say about me & cooking?!). The spirit willing, the flesh sokmo weak...

But then this morning, Hafiz asked me if he could have Pizza for berbuka. He showed me the leaflet and told me, "We can just call for delivery Ibu.... you don't have to drive there!" . Bila dah pandai membaca... tu ler pulak masaalah nya. I asked how much, and he said "Murah jer, RM4.70". Eh!!! Biar betul?? Tak betul. Actually, it was RM24 ++, a savings of RM4.70 compared to regular menu deal. Rupanya..... Hmmmm.......

Somehow it popped out of my mouth, "Forget pizza. Ibu will make Roti John special for Hafiz today!" .

Too fast too soon. Terlajak perahu boleh di tarik. Hafiz was already jumping up & down excited ya amat upon hearing "IBU WILL MAKE " - a rare occassion indeed, as rare as the chance of finding a Panda that knows Kung Fu.

And so at about 5.00 pm, after Hafiz reminded me of Roti John special, I went into the kitchen & ducked my head into the fridge to look for what could be modified as Roti John's ingredients.

Found chicken breast and some other boneless parts in the freezer. Red bell pepper. Onion. Garlic. Tomato. Timun susu. Outside - Tesco Choice chicken eggs abundant. Safe for the timun & the eggs, I diced everything else. Stir fried them with sprinkles of Tesco Choice chicken seasoning, with salt & sugar sesedap jari menabur. I called upon my little food taster (yg puasa sambung-sambung tu) to taste and comment. After tasting it, he asked if he could eat it straightaway then. Ohhh....sedap lah tu maknanya.... hahaha.... Gumbiranya hati ku.

Beat 2 eggs and fried them. And sliced the timun thinly (this I know how to do excellently!) . I put them aside first and went on do some other things. At about 5 mins to 7, I sliced the buns, 'buttered and grilled' them, reheated the chix mix and cut the telur dada into 6 stripes. I stuffed the chix mix inside the buns, put 2 layers of telur dada and laid the excellently sliced timun on top of the eggs. 3 buns, cut into two, dapat berapa? Just nice eh.... One each (including bibik).

Come Azan, and the verdict?

Clap...clap....clap...... I was verbally awarded "Best Mom In The World" by Hafiz.

And Abang Idin asked for "it" - again soon, he said. An ENCORE!? Can you believe it?

So there you go... some rare moments of homely glory for Ibu!

True what U.Lee last commented;
"And there is no spectacle on earth more appealing than that of a beautiful woman by the name of Ibu in the act of cooking for someone she loves"

Beautiful kah Ibu? Ohhh...regardless..... I'm looking at this moment from my spek-mata and enjoying every second of it. An effort that was "sweating yet rewarding"! ehehehehe.....

(I'm sure Ayah is smiling reading this. Oiiii bang.... bagi chan lah darling you nak perasan jap, tak bley kerrrr? Jeles pulak!! )

Salams ....

2nd week Ramadhan Overview

Today, 8th day of Ramadhan for Muslims, insyaAllah. The 2nd week commencing.

1. Latih tubi

Hafiz woke up, looked at his alarm clock, looked outside the window and asked me, "Ibu .... dah pukul 7.00. Dah nak dekat berbuka ke? ".

Ibu jawab, "Belum.... Ni baru pukul 7.00 pagi, Hafiz."

"Oh.... ", Hafiz jawab selamba, tapi mata kelat terkebil2.

2. Of puasa & its rewards

Last night, Ameer tried out his yellow shirt we bought for him at Jusco on Saturday. He would typically wear such a shirt as an 'outer shell' on top of another t-shirt. Then he looked inside Abang Idin's shopping bag and starting counting the contents. Then he switched to Abang Hafiz bag and did the same thing.

The anticipated question popped out shortly, "Ibu... kenapa baju ghaya Abang Idin & baju Abang Hafiz lagi banyak?"

"Lebih banyak dari apa?", saja Ibu nak mengusik.

"Lebih banyak dari Ameer punya lah. Kenapa bu?"

"Abang Idin & Abang Hafiz kan puasa? So bila dah habis puasa, boleh celebrate raya. Boleh pakai baju raya." I tried explaining in very simple sentences.

"Habis, Ameer?"

"Ameer puasa?"

"Puasa.... lepas minum susu jer Ameer sambung puasa!"

"Hmmm... kalau puasa sambung-sambung, boleh celebrate raya jugak. Tapi baju raya tak banyak lah, ok?

"Kenapa?"

"Sebab puasa tak penuh."

"Nanti tahun depan, Ameer puasa terus jer sampai petang, Ibu belikan baju ghaya banyak-banyak untuk Ameer?"

"Hmmm.... insyaAllah...."

"InsyaAllah tu .... boleh ke tak boleh?"

"Kalau Ameer puasa terus sampai petang, insyaAllah boleh.... tahun depan."

"Yeah, yeah....Thank you Ibu!"

Hopefully he heard the word 'tahun depan' !

3. UPSR looming

Tomorrow starting.

Other than frantically searching for his full length 2B pencils last weekend, Abang Idin seemed to look cool & calm.

Membawa maksud, hey anak ibu ni .... tak buat revision pun?!

Is it too late to drill him at this juncture?

4. UPSR leave

Mengalahkan anaknya, Ibu siap apply annual leave for this week because of Abang Idin's exam. Atas nasihat Mrs Engineer - show moral support for anak yg nak berjuang.

Tapi pagi ni Ibu dulu berjuang berpeluh-peluh after sahur.

Sakit perut memulas-mulas daaa..... entah berapa kali keluar masuk toilet, I lost count. Cabaran.... cabaran....



Salam...

Early Ramadhan Overview

Just some notes for anak2 Ibu - hopefully they will smile when they read this in the future.

1. Our 7 year old Hafiz - belajar puasa this year. Full day. Ohhh.... kesiannya....... First day, pukul 2.00 lebih dah tanya, dah boleh makan ke? Tak boleh..... sikit lagi.... And he finally made it through. 2nd day was a breeze. Alhamdulillah.

2. Our 5 year old Ameer - "puasa sambung-sambung". Lepas minum susu, Ameer sambung puasa. Lepas breakfast, Ameer sambung puasa. Lepas lunch, Ameer sambung puasa. Hmmm... iye lah tu....

3. Our 12 year old Abang Idin, puasa & solat fully on your own account this year bro. What upah2? Tak puasa & tak solat kalu, berat lah buku kat bahu kiri. Sendiri mau ingat

4. Ibu - balik cepat sikit la ibu oiii..... Kalau nak beli food, call Bibik first and check what is she cooking. Tak de lah jadi pelbagai resipi nasi ayam terhidang atas meja. Hahaha..... DAN..... kalau beli kuih, lepas bayar, jgn lupa bawak balik kuih tu. Hampeh!!

5. Ayah - jgn laju sangat.... tunggu kaum kerabat sat. Para makmum (especially si kecik tu) ada yang belum habis mengunyah! Kami semua pun nak 70 kali ganda jugak......

6. Bibik - iye lah bik, berbuka waktu Malaysia. Bukan waktu Indonesia.... Waduhhhh..... kan sudah 10 tahun di sini bik? Emmm... alahai......

Salam Ramadhan,
Ibu

Merdeka oh Merdeka!

I caught a glimpse of YB Shafie Afdal ( betul ke spelling?) commenting on TV, scolding rather, the public for their apathy for not flagging up the Jalur Gemilang. Why only wait for the government to do that, he asked? Alahai .....dato...dato...... Malas lah nak komen dato sorang ni. Tak de faedah satu sen pun.

I feel so sayu for this year's merdeka. Whoever is the appointed Public Relations advisor/consultant for the govt , aiyaaa... you all so lowsy one lah. You think banal patriotism is intrinsic mehhhhh? Aiya..... where got?!

Instill, instill, instill .....
Brainwash, brainwash, brainwash ....
Propagate, propagate, propagate .........
Visually, auditory, legibly, symbolically...... and heh! Let's do it the M'sian way - gastronomically even .....

And YOU let it slipped away. Distracted by the by-election lah eh? Tu lah.... Padan muka.

Oh... how I miss him. Him who? Guess who?

God, I miss him. I really do.


Sighhhhh.......

Cross-posting: Of Laksa Asam & A Good Friend

Recommended pre-read: the epilogue; Wanshana/2008/08/Laksa-asam-and-friend

My home science teacher (God bless you Cik Kalthum) would not have believed this phenomenon for a micro second I would think. But iye Cikgu, haritu saya masak Laksa Asam!!! (And I hear a thunderous applaud from all those reading this entry - clap! clap! clap! Thank you, thank you.....)

I have never been very good at cooking. Full stop.

As the youngest of six, I was often chased out of the kitchen - I was more of a nuisance than a helping hand whenever I lingered around in that department. My mother and 3 elder sisters would be happier for me to be lounging in front of our (then) black & white TV watching Sesame Street & Popeye The Sailor Man than to be wandering about in 'their' kitchen. So you see.... this notion that I can do no good in the kitchen has long been instilled in my subconscious mind. To further entrench this notion, I was whisked away to a boarding school at the tender age of 12. The school was only 5 'miles' away from home though. But distance did not matter. With no access to a 'live' kitchen (other than the school canteen and dining hall which access were also equally denied to budding female adults) , how can you expect one to bloom into a good cook?

Later when in college, I learned about this concept of "self fulfilling prophecy" in Psychology 101. Simply, the self-fulfilling prophecy is, in the beginning, a statement, a prediction or a false definition, of a certain situation. The person believing this prophecy then evokes certain behaviours or alters his or her actions which makes the original false conception to become 'true'.

So this notion of me being a lousy cook is a self fulfilling prophecy, you think? Yeah... I think so lah! No doubt about it.

Rationalising my incompetency is indeed one of my competencies :)

But it's never too late, right? Better late than never.

So when the Ah So at Pasar Rawang offered me a few packs of laksa at half price (because the customer who ordered for them did not turn up as promised), I thought - hmmm.... this could be a window of opportunity for me to hone my culinary skills. Honestly, at that point, I only thought of boiling the laksa and mix them with Prego spaghetti sauce. A suggestion by Aso though, helped pushed me to a new frontier altogether. She "directed" me to buy asam keping, bunga kantan, daun 'punina' ( trust me, she meant 'daun pudina' or mint leaves, and nothing else), etc, etc, etc. And so I snaked myself through the crowds at the wet market looking for those ingredients.

As fate has it, that same week, I had also been clearing up some boxes of books to "restore" our mini library. The last few books that remained untouchable were a few good but dusty cooking/recipe books. GOOD because they fill up the shelves, DUSTY because they really are..... they have never been put to good use other than for ogling and salivating over the pictures of elaborately garnished dishes. And one of these dust collectors was none other than a special recipe book entitled "Dari Srikandi Untuk Srikandi". I suppose, I am not alone ..... especially amongst those who hailed from the same alma mater.

I flicked through to the mee & pasta section and voila!!! Two pages caught my eyes; on Assam Laksa & Laksa Johor.

Both are my favourites.

Both have never been served home-cooked in my kitchen.

Could this be my next fear factor challenge?!

In times like this, when faced with daunting tasks that could bring tears to my eyes ( because onions would be involved) - who did I call?

WAN SHANA !!!!!!

- to be continued -

Pet safari - not yet ....

Ameer has been nagging me for a new pet since the past one week.

We've already got 3 cats; a mommy, 'Blackie' and her two not so little kittens, 'Tompok' and 'Burnt' (you can imagine what colors their furs are). They are not that 'manja', can't cuddle them too long. But Mommy Blackie is good at catching rats (from the main road gutter I hope!) . And the 2 not so little kittens are good at playing with the their mommy's catch.

We also have some fish - of all colors - but which remain nameless. They don't do much at all, just swim all day long. If they were humans, they would have broad muscular shoulders by now. But they are fish. Their fins stay just the same so far.

Of late, we discovered we also have some toads. Or are they frogs? I suppose they are the grown up tadpoles which must have survived in the water cabbage petals that we transferred from the old house pond. And these toads (or frogs?) I tell you.... we've never seen them, but heard enough of them. They are very good at serenading us at night. Each time when they start the orchestra - which unfortunately usually happens when we are just about ready to fly into dreamland, we would be forced to lie helplessly staring at the ceiling feeling like being strapped to our seats in philharmonic auditorium and tortured to listen to some tone deaf idols wannabes trying very hard perfecting their falsettos. Yeah.... we are not quite the "cultured" type. Sorry. With the haze in the air, hopefully the rain will respond to their calling soon.

Occasionally, we spotted one or two lizards sneaking and scurrying from behind the cabinets. Not many (yet) dare to stride into sight though. Maybe they suspect one of my boys could be Professor Klon's alliance? Hide away is a better alternative.

So you see..... we don't need a new pet - I think.

But my view is not shared by Ameer. He insists (still) on a new pet.

And Ameer being Ameer, he would stop at nothing until he gets his demands. From asking politely, to sulking, to begging, to crying and ...... threatening.

***********************************************

"What kind of pet do you want?"

"Ameer nak ghabbit la Ibu!!

"RABBITTTT???!!"

"Ha... boleh la, Ibu? Ghabbit kan cute?"

"Yes... of course it's cute. But who's going to jaga the rabbit?"

"Ameer la. I will feed them and give them water everyday, I promise!"

"THEMMMM???? You said rabbit, NOT rabbitS! So why "THEM"?

"Alah... tak pe lah... nanti ghabbit tak de kawan, kesian...."

"Tapi susah lah nak jaga rabbit, Ameer. Who's going to clean them and their cage and all?"

"AMEER! AMEER! Ameer can do that!"

( Yeah right..... istinja' pun with adult's assistance).

"Hmm.... I don't know la Ameer, I am not sure. I think you have to ask Ayah."

"But I am very sure. I want GHABBIT!!"

"So you just have to wait & ask Ayah, ok?"

"Bila Ayah balik? Lagi berapa kali tidur?"

(This was yesterday, Ayah had not returned from Umrah yet. So at least one more pet-tactic day to defer dealing with Ameer and his pet demand).

*************************************************

We went to KL Sentral this morning to fetch Ayah. I asked the boys what would be the first thing they would do or say to Ayah upon his arrival.

Hafiz wanted to salam, kiss Ayah and touch Ayah's botak head.

Ameer wanted to salam & kiss Ayah too. AND YES!! OF COURSE!!! Ameer wanted to ask Ayah if he could have a ghabbit as a new pet.

He had not forgotten, why was I kidding myself?

"Kalau Ayah tak bagi, Ameer nak buat apa?"

"Ameer panggil dinosaur, suruh dinosaur destroy ghumah kita!"

Fuiyoooooo ........

"Kalau rumah kita dah destroy, kita nak tinggal kat mana?"

"Kita beli la cage macam ghabbit's house tu!"

Hahaha.... But hey.... it's not a laughing matter to Ameer okay? He sulked all the way to KL Sentral thereafter.

****************************************

"AYAH!! Can I have ghabbit, please, please, please Ayah!! "

No need to guess who was pleading and showing all good manners to Ayah.

"Rabbit? Why... we already have three cats?"

"Yahhhhh... Blackie tu nanti scratch Ameer. I want a new pet la Ayah. Ameer nak ghabbit, please?"

"Susah lah nak jaga rabbit, Ameer. Nanti kalau Ameer tak jaga betul2, nanti rabbit tu sakit, lepas tu mati.... kesian dia. Kalau Ameer nak new pet, ikan boleh."

"Alah.... Ikan pun boleh mati jugak!"

Hmm.. apa nak jawab?

"Tapi ikan senang nak ganti. Ameer pun boleh choose banyak-banyak color! Ameer nak ikan apa pun boleh", Ayah trying to spin off some tricks.

That left Ameer quiet for a while. Gone into his thinking mode.

"Betul? Ayah tak tipu?"

"Betul...... Kita beli ikan jer ok?", pujuk Ayah lagi.

"OKAY LAH!!!" ( sulking mode setting in again).

*********************************************

"Ameer nak ikan apa?"

"Ikan yang panjang, yang mulut dia tajam"

"Uishh... ikan apa tuh? Electric Eel ker?"

"No!"

"Then?"

"DOLPHIN!!"

Dia jawab selamba jer.

Alamak..... Mana nak cari dolphin? Hah!!! Jawab......

Ameer.... Oh Ameer.....