The Road Not Taken

Finally I managed to have a break but no rest after quite a tiring day. Though I’m supposed to be at my husband’s kampung right now, but here I am checking on Ammar’s temperature every 10 minutes. He was feverish this morning and my husband and I took turn sponging him from 5.30 – 7.00 a.m. That has prompted me to take EL today after spending tormenting hours of choosing between work and a day off.I don’t know which one is worse, feeling guilty of taking leave or guilty of thinking about work over you sick child. Though I’m feeling bad to have to stain the name of my department once again, and I bet my Kp was having a rough day today due the addition of the gundalan, I’m glad that I chose to take care of my son. This evening his temperature has soared to 39˚C and we had to take him to the doctor once again by motorbike since the car will only be out of workshop next week. When I look at Ammar’s sick face, the more guilty I feel about having the thought of leaving him and going to work especially when he had a bad cough and threw out. He refused to eat and he’s not as active which is so unlikely of Ammar. It show’s that he’s really, really sick sebab kalau demam sikit-sikit tu selera makan dan tahap keaktifan tetap sama. It’s really terrible of me to think of other’s over my son’s health. When I told this to my husband he only gave a short reply…mana lebih penting, anak atau apa orang cakap? Kalau jadi apa-apa dengan anak, orang boleh tolong ke? He’s right…now that my son is very ill, and I’m all alone figuring out what to do. There’s no one to turn to, not even family.

Balik Kampung

I’m glad that Friday has finally come. Unlike the weeks before, this time Friday is not much anticipated cause I have lots of works to be done since we’re going back to my husband’s hometown Friday evening. Bukannya tak suka atau tak nak balik kampung dia, but the thought of the long tiring journey is really disheartening. Dengan keadaan Ammar yang tengah demam dan hidung yang berhingus tu memang tak rasa nak pergi mana-mana pun. Kesian kat dia nak travel jauh, dan yang paling kesian mamanya la. Unfortunately I have to agree with my husband bila dia ajak balik kampung tengok mak ngan ayah. It has been quite sometimes since the last time we visited them. If I opposed the plan, it would look like I’ve discriminate his parents and his kampung…ye la asyik dok balik my kampung je walaupun selalu balik berdua je ngan Ammar naik bas, jarang husband dapat ikut. Penat minggu lepas punya pun belum hilang lagi rasanya, tapi minggu ni je la yang boleh balik pun since both of us will be really busy after this. So I have to brace myself physically and mentally for this coming encounter, and keep thinking that it’s going to be a ‘great’, ‘great’ weekends.

C'est la vie

I just put Ammar to sleep and he turn in without protest may be it's due to the effect of the medicine. He's having a temprature since I picked him from the nursery - 38.5 which is quite high. My husband told me to give him the fever medicine and see the progress at least until he finishes work before we take him to the doctor partly because we don't have a car at the moment. I was quite worried seeing his conditions - puffy eyes and he has started coughing though the level of the activeness was very well maintained and undisturbed, so I insisted that we take him to the clinic. We took him to the clinic by motorbike and it really tore my heart to see Ammar clinging to his dad, shivering and coughing. This experience made me realize that to own a car is no longer considered as luxury, it's a needs that one can't afford to live without. Now I understand the feeling of the needy who can't afford to have a car and have to rely on motorbike or public transportation. It is such a heart break to think that ones have to take their child out on a motorbike on a searing hot day to get treatment. I think we've learned our lesson well and this experience has actually made my husband to get into action. He finally ordered a second car, a smaller car for me after a long delayed and thousands of excuses. Still this doesn't stop me from leaving Ammar in the care of his dad tomorrow since the doctor advises not to take him to the nursery until he is fully recovered. Reading friend's stories about difficult people at workplace makes me uneasy about taking leave. I don't want to add more problems to my friends or give the gossip mongers a field day to talk about my absent or to give them pleasure to add on the 'gundalan'.

The Monday Blues

Last weekend was quite tiring since I had to make a quick travel to and fro, Kl -Kangar . Even though I was saved from the long hours of driving, having Ammar in a 7 hours bus ride was really a trying experience. To make things worse, I had to attend a small barbeque at my husband's friend's right after I arrived. So I had to make pleasant conversations with people I scarcely meet or know when all I really wanted to do was go home and sleep. I managed to survive though and spent a short hour according to kudin's clock there before heading home. It was really frusrating to think that I had to work on the next day and had to forgo sleep since there were still chores to be done and things to be prepared for tomorrow. Just when I thought that I could finally retire for the day, I remembered that my friends are having potluck and I didn't have a single thing to bring. Some how this morning I managed to drag myself out of bed and went to work. I also managed to get some kuih for the potluck curtesy to en. kudin who kindly got that for me from the nearby stall. It's only Monday... and to think that I'm now counting for the next Friday...Thinking about the pay day at least help to lift the mood though...;op

The cooking venture

I’m still in the spirit of realizing my new ‘cooking’ resolution this week. Since my husband suka sangat makan asam pedas, I guess almost all johorian did so I decided to experiment the newly acquired recipe from k.shida, asam pedas johor. With full determination I set off the cooking venture with hubby popping at the kitchen now and then, think he’s anxious or terrified actually to see the outcome of the cooking. Since k.shidah only gave me the ingredients minus the measurement, so I practically used my amateur instinct nak masuk berapa banyak bahan-bahan tu. Masa tengah masak nampak macam ok, rupa pun not bad…rasanya ada la iras-iras asam pedas yang kudin selalu makan kat Uptown tu. I remembered kak.shidah told me to taste and fix everything before turning off the fire, so I tried rasa sikit…erkk…ye ke asam pedas rasa macam ni? Untuk menyedapkan perasaan I asked kudin to taste it and comment. He did as he was told and his comment was curt …MASIN. All the excitements were crashed, dah tu nak buat macam mana? So chef kudin took over and gave instructions on what to add and so on. Masa makan I dare not try the asam pedas, takut nak bayangkan rasanya. Tapi kudin selamba je makan…I braced myself to ask ‘how was it’? Boleh la… ada gak rasa asam pedas tu, tapi lain kali kena kurang masin, pastu bagi pedas sikit.. He..he…kira edible jugak la. Just wait until 'demam masak' ni hilang, asam pedas uptown la pas ni...heh..heh..;op

ni la asam pedas my version...

Nightmare on The Elm Street

Nothing makes life look brighter than a stroke of good luck immediately following a stroke of bad luck.

Having all the time for my self is sheer heaven and since my husband is going out and I still have a few hours left before fetching Ammar from the nursery, I decided to bask myself in leisure .Upon taking leave to his workplace, my husband told me to come downstairs because we’re going to have visitors coming…his friend NR and his wife. It was really a nightmare to have visitors coming unexpectedly and their timing couldn’t have been better. Biasala balik kerja lepak-lepak dulu, kerja nanti-nanti baru buat, dan waktu ni dress code pun bawah category 18sx. So I hastily get dressed and hurried downstairs to do a quick tidying up with maximum speed. The news took me by surprise since they only called kudin to inform of their visit on their way here. After dropping the bomb shell, and it took less than 2 minutes before they actually appeared in my doorway. I was nearly hysterical when NR’s wife June announced the real purpose of their visit… they would like to have a ‘glimpse’ of the layout of the house . “Kita nak tengok-tengok rumah awak boleh tak?” Since they’re going to stay nearby it would be nice if they can get a vision of how their house will look like. Mengenangkan keadaan rumah yang mungkin layak menang dalam Décor Bersama Eric, badan tiba-tiba jadi seram sejuk, rasa macam nafas tersekat kat hidung …Belum pun sempat nak bernyawa tanpa membuang masa suamiku tercinta dengan ramah mesranya terus invited his friends in for a quick tour of our house. I was horrified…. to think of the two visitors catching sight of every single room with it superb condition! I buat-buat excuse pergi fetch Ammar kat nursery sebab tak sanggup nak join acara lawatan. Maka terbantutlah usaha nak masak asam pedas kak shidah. Esok je la, malam ni makan roti sudah!

New Resolution

The recent fuel hike has affected the life of most people in various ways...me included. Today between completing our endless chores and feeding the current updates of anybody and everybody, one of my colleagues showed us her clever plan to cut cost on food. She has come out with an organized table on the menus for the entire month on weekly basis. She said that way would help her to shop for groceries which she thought would be essential. That inspired me make a distinguish change in my spending especially for food which I think I could save a lot if I cook so I started forming my own so called menu planning. Anxious to get things started right away, I told my husband of the brilliant plan only to hear him said…”bukan dah dari dulu-dulu dok dengar cerita nak masak ni”?. However I managed to convince him that this time bukan hangat-hangat taik ayam, finally he agreed to take me to Tesco shopping for groceries konon-konon for one week. Seperi biasa, every time we shop for groceries mesti ada terbeli benda yang bukan-bukan sebab konon nak guna dan harga tengah murah. Punya la nak save budget I ended up spending overbudget yang menyebabkan keluarnya kata-kata hikmat seterusnya dari Prof. Kudin... “tu ikan ngan barang barang tu boleh tahan berapa lama? Kalau agak-agak boleh tahan lebih 1 minggu ok la, kalau tak I kenala habiskan sebelum jadi bahan arkib” seems like he can predict what’s to come…he..he…;op

Happy Father's Day

Since today is a father's day, I decided to treat my husband with a special dinner at a restaurant of his choice.After going through endless lists of possibly nice places, he finally settled for a Moroccan restaurant al -Maghreb. He wanted to try the food and the place looks great though initially ammar refused to dine there because he thought it was a mosque. The reastaurant has such a nice ambience and it's really cozy. Kudin ordered couscous with lamb and turkish coffee, so much for the adventure of trying various kind of food huh...;op as for me I've learned my lesson well so I chose chicken and mango juice eventhough the manager himself reccommended moroccan cocktail...better stay away from the word cocktail this time ;op! While waiting for our food I asked Ammar to wish happy father's day to his dad. Instead he wish "happy birthday dadad...!".I told him it's a fther's day not birthday but he refused to believe me. After the third time convincing him, he finally spit out "happy day dadad...!".As if to support his thinking a group of foreign students next to our table were actually celebrating their friend's birthday and they started to sing a birthday song. Guess what...my beloved son merrily joined them singing. When that was done he sang a happy birthday song on top of his lung to his beloved dad. So there goes the father's day special dinner....:o)

Family Hour

Today is fully dedicated to family...since i've finally done with the school works ( yah right!). So I decided to do a spring cleaning and also the other unfinished chores which I've abandoned for quite sometimes. It's the first time ever that there's no outing on Saturday, not even for breakfast or lunch (the tremendous effect of the fuel hike) Today I'm the most dedicated wife and mother since I cooked lunch and dinner for my beloved family and it has prompted a comment from my beloved husband 'wah...isteri mithali la hari ni, boleh dapat syurga dah nih"...heh..heh...:o) Kudin decided to handle the entertainment part, so right after lunch he started the karaoke session...non stop till dusk. I took the opportutiny lepas gian n lepas geram melalak sampai petang, tak dapat pergi red box kat umah pun jadi la...;op Dah penat sangat agaknya Ammar sleeps early tonight, so bolehla mama spend time kat pc pulak...dan yang paling penting tanpa gangguan so I'm really gonna spoil myself rotten hih..hih...;op. Hmm...it feels good not to have to do anything once in a while huh...:o)

we need to party...

It's good to be back after the 'short break'...finally hubby bubby is tired of my ongoing whining and complaining of him conquering the pc ( he finally gave in ;o) I'm so anxious to update my blog especially a friend has taught me how to edit pictures. She also taught me about fotopages, so lagi berkobar-kobar la teman... :o) So i grabbed this golden opportunity to browse through my friends' blog to cath up what i've missed. Seems like everybody is so engrossed in this marking bussiness that most of them don't have time to write, except for KS who is sooo happy with her recent accomplishment of getting rid of the exam papers...;o) Well I understand the feelings since i know how it felt to be possed by the 'marking demon'. Hmmm... i guess a little celebration is in order...a girls' day out won't cause any harm right???

Congratulation, celebration...

Finally...I've finished marking the exam papers! Now I can really breathe after the horrendous hours of reading and marking outrageous scripts. I'm glad that the nightmare is over. It was such a terrifying and heart wrenching moments when you were 'rewarded' with almost nonsense pieces of writing by your students. Why... I was nearly hysterical to see the various versions of informal letters my 'beloved' students wrote in the exam. After all these while I've been teaching them, can you believe that they got nothing in their head? Aku ke yang tak pandai mengajar? When I showed my amazing discoveries to my friends one of them said "ye la dik...mungkin kau yang tak pandai mengajar.." Even though she said that in a joking manner, I have this strange feeling that she could be right! Hmm...Nevertheless I'm glad that the ordeal has passed. My colleague KS is willing to pay RM50 per class to any of us who's willing to mark for her...and A has marked up to RM150 for her class. Well exam really does wonder to people...heheh..heheh...

The ticking hours

My marking has not shown so much progress though I'm supposed to speed things up since tomorrow is the dateline. In fact I'm taking my own sweet time, and of course managed to squeeze in 'few minutes' for blogging...:o) Guess i need a break (yah right...)It's not my fault i guess, it's just that the bad handwritings or it could also be the bad writings are really eating me up.Well perhaps everything related to marking is just BAD heh..heh..in this case i think i'm not alone. I have frinds calling asking about this marking thing since these last few days. Just this afternoon my friend A called frantically asking for answer schemes since she has misplaced hers. Hmmm...what should i say? Welcome to the club bebe! All i know is i'm going to be in hell for the next coming hours madly trying to get the marking done ( i doubt i really can make it, but let put it this way...i'll try to get it done as many scripts as possibe...just to be positive:op) well as my friend usually says "my life is such a beserk..." :op

Procrastinating is the Essence of Virtue...

I’m supposed to get my marking done but instead of working on the papers I’m now glued to the computers. This thing is really addictive…:o) Actually I’ve been trying so hard or may be not hard enough to get it done and over with. In fact I did go to school but ended up in a friend’s house, happily chatting and wowing her new house and made a quick stop at Ikea before heading home. So there goes my marking of the day…and guess what when I reached home my beloved and understanding husband suggested that we eat out. How could I say no, especially when he suggested that we try the middle-east restaurant the one that my friend Syakirah recommended? We managed to find the restaurant ar-Rausha. Kudin ordered his favorite-lamb of course dan dia berbaik hati tolong order tabouleh for me. I decided to order something extraordinary, the ar-Rausha cocktail, tea is so common after all. It was so special indeed, once air tu dah sampai I just took one sip and that’s it…tak lalu. It was a mixture of bananas, mint and tah apa-apa fruits lagi. Kudin cakap jangan pikir rasa, pikir harga…rm 10 tu, baik minum! Bila food sampai again I was speechless …it was a mixed salad actually! Since I am ‘allergic’ to green and most other veggies, terkebil-kebil la I nengokkan rupenye. Lagi sekali kudin mengeluarkan kata-kata hikmatnya…jangan pikirkan tekak, pikirkan khasiat dia! Ya right! Kesian punya pasal, kudin suruh I order another food, this time I made sure ada perkataan chicken and I ordered mineral water…the safest drink of all. So dapat jugakla I makan…:op Sampai rumah dah kul 11 lebih, ingat nak bagi ammar tido baru nak mark, tapi biasala…mama tidur dulu. Arini pun I only managed to mark 1 class, and I’m thinking of calling it a day. Nampaknya kenala bertungkus lumus hingga ke ari terakhir before the school reopen. I’m quoting ayat favorite iza…kejikah saya?

Walking Down Memory Lane

When I was scouring through my things at my mom’s I accidentally found these old photos…Actually I found three album full of my childhood photos but I only managed to kidnapped only these. Well those photos bring me to a journey of my childhood memories. Even though it was 30 years ago (gosh…the number seems very ancient and suddenly I just realized how old I am really…;op) it happened as if it was only yesterday. All the happy moments- birthday parties, hari raya , trips, toys and the people I love- my grandparents are all in mind. Well being the first child 9 and also first granddaughter and niece) is a big advantage. You become the center of attention. I remember that I used to have a play room stuffed with toys a child ever dream of, you name it. Well being and only child was not all bed of roses. My grandmother was very possessive, I hardly had a playmate or friends. She would ask only the ‘approved’ girls to come and play with for a couple of hours and only at My HOUSE WITH HER SUPERVISION.

Welcome Little One...

Hmm..it has been quite sometimes since the last time I wrote something here...Actually I went back to my hometown and I've dedicated all my times for my beloved family...;op (yang sebenarnya takde internet connection at my mom's). Finally I got a chance to meet the latest member of our family...Ahmad Aidib Farshiq was born on 4th May 2008 at 2.2 kg. Same case like Ammar, he was born premature at 35 weeks. Now I got a nephew and Ammar got a new cousin. Well, he's a bit jealous of the baby..with the attention and all. When the novelty of having a new family member wears off, here comes another concern. What else?? When am I going to add another baby? Why so late? My sister now has 2 kids and I only have one! So I have to face these never ending questions every time people come visit the baby. Wish I could tape the answer and replay it every time people ask me the same question.