31 March 2011

Khairin & tawaran2

Khairin received many pamphlets offering places to continue her studies even while she was in Camp. I preferred not to inform her and up till today, she doesn't know what came in through the post for her.


Bermula dengan "Tawaran Biasiswa Utusan-YPC" bagi program pengajian di Kolej Teknologi YPC-iTWEB yang diterima pada 27-1-2011. Kampus baru yang belum pun di rasmikan lagi, terletak di Taman Maluri, Cheras. Yuran permohonan is RM120. Program yang ditawarkan, memang bukan yang KA minat pun.


Tiga hari selepas itu, KA terima invitation to attend sesi taklimat dan temuduga program diploma kemahiran malaysia. Pra pendaftaran minimum RM450. Tidak disebut pun apa kursus yang ditawarkan. I guess kena attend taklimat baru tahu kot.


1 mac 2011 surat tawaran bersyarat dari Kolej Unikop pulak datang. Kolej Unikop terletak di Batu Caves (mana tu ek?). Sesi pengajian bermula Mei 2011. (Ehh..bukan semua tempat pengajian nak 'streamline' tarikh mula pengajian ke?). Yuran semester pertama RM800 and consecutive semester RM550. Tidak ada kursus yang KA minat.


Segi college, subang jaya pulak offered her diploma in nursing, teknologi makmal perubatan or pendidikan awal kanak-kanak. Yuran pendaftaran RM100. I don't see KA in that line of work.


The next one had us all in stitches. It was a one year tawaran mengikuti latihan sijil kemahiran sebagai JURUKECANTIKAN at Mizumi Beauty Academy. Yuran proses is RM1000. I guess the cosmetics did not come free after all. I hid this from KA. Hahaha..


Segi College invited her (again) for a "Pengambilan Khas Tahun 2011". Yuran pendaftaran varies from RM100-RM350.


Kolej Teknologi Antarabangsa Cybernetics together with UPM, sent in a bundle of brochure. Not much choice of engineering courses.


A letter of "Conditional offer" of admission into KL Infrastructure U/College was next. But I don't think I can afford to put KA into an IPTS. Processing fee (non refundable) saja dah RM50.


This sunday ada sesi taklimat, temuduga dan pendaftaran from Yayasan Pelajaran Johor.. program bersama UiTM and UTM. Bukan nak sombong, tapi dia offer diploma levels saja. Hmm.. Pra pendaftaran is RM300.


After getting advice from her brothers, we leave the offer letters in the file..


..

30 March 2011

Latest from Nursery Schools

                    A:   APPLE

                   B:   BLUETOOTH

                 C:   CHAT

                D:  DOWNLOAD

            E:  E  MAIL

            F:   FACEBOOK

   G:   GOOGLE

                H:  HEWLETT  PACKARD

          I:      iPHONE

               J:   JAVA

                  K:   KINGSTON

             L:    LAPTOP

             M:   MESSENGER

              N:   NERO

    O:   ORKUT

                 P:   PICASSA

                 Q:  QUICK  HEAL

            R:   RAM

       S:   SERVER

           T:   TWITTER

          U:   USB

        V:   VISTA

           W:   WiFi

              X:    Xp

    Y:  YOU  TUBE

              Z:   ZORPIA 

Thank God .... A is still Apple


Words of Wisdom (II)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**   Talk is cheap because supply exceeds demand. 

**   Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. 


**   Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly and for the same reason (they are full of shit !).


**   An optimist thinks that this is the best possible world. A pessimist fears that this is true. 


**   There will always be death and taxes; however, death doesn't get worse every year. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

29 March 2011

Re-prioritize?

I was hanging out the washing in the garden, when the neighbor asked what Khairin got for her SPM. I also took the opportunity to ask after her daughter. Then we started talking about the activities the girls should (in our opinion) be doing. Her daughter has got her driving licence, Khairin has not. Khairin is working, her daughter is not. 

1.  Both of us is not too happy about the girls being too absorb in the internet. First thing to do upon waking up is to check on the status in FB. Then take her bath. Still wrap in her towel, update blog. Mother starts tirade, stop to dress and get ready for work. While waiting for mother to be ready, check FB again.. and that goes on and on.

2.  Both of us thinks the girls should be more hands on in the kitchen (Read: cooking simple dishes). Haish...

Called Khairin just before her lunch break. Told her to get suhun. She said ok (wahhh confident anak haku!). Half an hour later, she called back, asking if it was mee suah that I wanted or mee hoon.  Hahaha..kan dah kata, nasib baik ada handphone, boleh dia call before making the purchase. I said suhun, not mee suah, not mee hoon. Anyway, she said she can't see any suhun, although I have a suspicion she doesn't know what is suhun.

Seriously, I have to get her to cook simple dishes that she cant live on when she is on her own. I went upstairs and found the books "perfect pasta" and "fast kids food". I will start by leaving the books near her bed. See if she notice it and picks it up...


Quya-Quyi..meh tolong ajar Kero masak..

Mya Humayra binti Mohammad Hatta

My nephew "Foursquare-ed" his presence at PPUM-Wad bersalin in the wee hours (3.10am to be exact) of 26 March 2011.  By 8.01am, he reported a 2cm opening. It looks like its gonna be a long wait, as most first born are likely to be. 


We are all anxiously waiting for the first grandchild for my elder sister. Baby was due on Monday 21st March but looks like she wants to wait for grandma and grandpa to come back from Umrah! Pandai baby! But when my sister arrived safely from Umrah, little one still shows no indication for coming out. 


Angah has already flown in from Sabah and his leave is already coming to an end. Baby has better make a move or mummy might end up being C-sec! Tension rose as time goes by. Baby's daddy sempat complain about the bad condition of the toilets and beds. 


Quote: "hampeh...toilet kat dlm ward rosak.nk lift kepale katil kne tenage 2org (katil lame),doktor on call ntah kemane, mintak plastik utk muntah pun tada" 


"haha..bab doc oncall leh tolerate ah.byk ward die cover.bg cooperation ble die dtg..tp bab toilet rosak, xleh tolerate.ksian patient weh.jln jauh g toilet lain"


Sabar je lah Angah. Hospital tengah undergo renovation. Bila dah siap mesti takde masaalah tu semua. 


That night, Angah's wife moved into the labour room. Wahh..one day in hospital already. Early the next morning I called Angah for the latest news. Manalah tahu kot I miss the good news in my deep sleep. Nope..still not made an appearance. After more than 10 hours in the labour room, I think the hospital was ready to name the room after Wati..hahaha. 


Finally, the long awaited news came in at 11.00am, baby girl was born to the proud parents Muhammad Hatta and Zulawati. 


Only today did they announce baby's name.. MYA HUMAYRA.
~~~~~~~
Fatin kata: "Baby, baby tido"




26 March 2011

25-3-2011... Ziarah n Sekinchan ikan Bakar

Had been planning to visit my friends in Hulu Langat, but had to wait for Faizal to be on leave so that I ada teman. Faizal was well known in the housing area I used to live in.


First stop was the cake house. Got some cheesecake as buah tangan. Not a well known shop like Secret but the cheese cake here is still the melt-in-my-mouth kind. Faizal grabbed some buns for him and Faiz. Khairin couldn't tag along as she was working.


Arrived at Kak Yam's house. She greeted us and asked us in. I asked about Uwan (Kak Yam's mother) and she said, "you tak tahu ke? Uwan passed away on wednesday. I thought you know, hence the visit!". Oh dear, it seems that we were 3 days late. Uwan was a heavy smoker and only stopped smoking a few years back. The clogged up lungs couldn't hold up anymore.


Anyway, caught up with news around there. Whose kids have married. Who has granchildren now.. that sort of thing. Shocking news was, a friend of the same age has just recovered from a mild stroke. Gagaga..


Next we went to Puan R's house. I still call her Puan R, not kak.. Hehe.. She was working with the same company but she opt out due to her bad health. I used to pool rides with her since I didn't know how to drive then. Puan R suffers from rheumatoid athritis. In those days, she could hardly grasp the steering wheel or make sharp turns. Her fingers would swell up after steroid treatments at the hospital. Relief was only temporary and she had to make regular visits to the hospital. It was alright when all medical bills were covered by the company but when she quit, she decided to go for cheaper alternative treatments. Detoxing took some time and she lost alot of weight too. It got quite bad and soon she could hardly walk anymore. Then, it got worse when she too got a mild stroke and had to be admitted to hospital. Now she is bedridden. Hands and feet look like gnarled bits of tree branches. She has to start therapy soon. She has to sleep with some contraption strapped to her hands in an effort to straighten them. But her mind is still alive and active and she was chatting animatedly. I just sat there rubbing her arms and let her talk.


But, I had to run back as I had to fetch Khairin back from the shop, so we took leave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Took a short rest and we were off to the much hyped Sekinchan Ikan Bakar. I saw where the Bangi branch is, on my way to Kajang the other day and after reading about it in the papers as well as watching JJCM (Jalan jalan cari makan), I decided to test out the food. If it any better, I dont need to go all the way to Melaka or JB for my ikan bakar fix.


Parking is a challenge as "downtown" is close by. Downtown is the equivalent of a flea market and it is only open at night into the early morning. After going around 3 times, I managed to squeeze into a spot near a hydrant. Strange that a car was parked in the parking lot in front of the hydrant. Isnt that illegal? There was very strong winds and I was afraid it was going to rain, so I made Faiz move the car nearer to the shop, while I stood guard in the new spot! (aci tak...bole main booking parking spot! Hahaha..)


We walked into the shop at the right time as there was still many empty tables. Sat down and was presented with a menu. The eager waiter helped with the order. Not much choices in the drinks department, I thought. They have the normal size, to the Super and up to the Super Duper sized glasses. Super being tankard size and super duper, the jug size. We were informed that only the Ulam and chicken soup was available. Belum apa2, banyak dah tak ada! So there is no kailan ikan masin or kangkung goreng belacan that we normally order with our ikan bakar. Hmm..said I wanted the nasi lemak WITH the ikan bakar. I also ordered some keropok to munch while waiting for the 'actual' food to arrive. I went to select the fish.


They were out of lala, and I am afraid to order the clams, so I chose a sotong (adalah panjang sejengkal) but it was so limp, that suddenly I understand why effeminated people are nicknamed 'sotong'. I dont take ikan pari anymore and I dislike ikan kembong (or ikan temenong as the northerners call them), so I avoided that too. We ended up selecting an ikan siakap and an ikan grot(?). Never had grot before! Never heard of it either! So off the fishes and sotong went, into the kitchen to be prepared and grilled. They only have grilled seafood, not cooked any other way. (Read: no crispy sotong salut tepung, no ikan 3 rasa, no sweet sour!). Their speciality being in the sauce they use to coat the fish before grilling.


Went back to the table and the keropok was already there. Keropok is nice (tak gatal bila di makan) but they gave the 'normal' chili sauce from the bottle. Laaa...they should at least provide the 'real' keropok sauce (of the east coast kind). The drinks came, and since I ordered laici kurang manis, it was just right.


And so the waiting started... People started coming in by the droves and soon all tables were taken up. The place was so very crowded. Hardly any space to move. A big family sat next to our table, and they ordered the nasi, NOT together with the fish. So the nasi was long gone and the fish hadn't arrive yet! They had to order more rice when the fish finally arrive later on. 


Waaa...soon it was like sitting in the fish market. It was so so noisy. Kids running around in the already sesak shop. Babies wailing away. Irritated kids making alot of noise. Food still hasn't reached the table! My kids were happy with the free wifi.


When it finally arrived..hmm..the nasi lemak is minuscule but they charge rm2.50. What comes in mind was Farid Kamil saying "nasi lemak 50sen" in the movie cuti-cuti cinta. Gamaknyer, ini lah size yang di maksudkan!! The limp sotong translated into shrunken size sotong rings! Rather rubbery. The ikan grot was tasteless even with the much touted sambal. Only the ikan siakap came out tops. They forgot to give us the dips and we had to ask from the busy busy waiters. There was kicap and lada potong, sambal belacan (watery version) and air asam. 


Finished the food quickly as we saw many people hovering around waiting for empty tables. Quite an uncomfortable feeling, having people watching you eat.


All that dented my pocket to the amount of RM96.20. They do take cards there. 
The limp sotong cost RM10.00, 
both the fishes was RM66.50 i.e. RM70 per kg (mahal kan?)
the nasi lemak was RM10.00 (RM2.50 each)
keropok was RM3.00 /basket
drinks totaled RM6.70 for laicy (sic!) ais, barli ais, horlick ais and teh 'o' ais.


Verdict:
Looks like I still have to go to malacca for ikan bakar. The sotong bakar and siakap bakar at Ayong in JB (Kg.Mohd Amin) is way way wayyyyy lagi sedap.  The sambal, tastier and spicier there too. 


I DON'T THINK I SHOULD RECOMMEND SIB TO ANYONE.. (Jules..takyah pergi k..)

24 March 2011

24-3-2011 - what I did today

It was late evening, I promised my doter that I will take her to the nearby shoe shop to get her sandals. Went straight up to the 1st floor to her favorite shoe outlet. She couldn't get the sandals in her size (big feet runs in this family), so we went to another outlet on the same floor. While she was looking for the sandals, Faiz and I browsed through the other shelves. I went to the rather expensive selection of shoes and saw this sign. My mind boggles at what they were trying to tell their customers. What do you think? What can you visualize from the sentence?  Hehehe..

Next stop is.. something to stop the growling stomach. We popped into a pizza shop and was greeted by a loud reverberating  "S.e.l.a.m.a.t...D.a.t.a.n.g". Feeling rather embarrassed, we quickly slipped into a cubicle. One third of the eatery was filled by a group of people celebrating 'something'. In another corner, was a team of Managers holding their meeting. Haiyah, why lah hold meetings during meal times. Don't you know that you take up space and people can overhear what is being discussed. Ooooo maybe that is why the staff is so enthusiastic in their greetings. Our orders arrived at our table fast and the food was still piping hot. This is indeed a very impressive change. The cheese and pepperoni was plentiful and when I picked up a slice, the cheese was in long strings. I loike, I loike!!

My pet peeve is still the hair style of the waiters and waitresses. Hair almost covering their eyes, I wonder if they don't feel irritated. I know I did. Don't they realize that that is how acne is formed on their forehead and the boys look effeminate pushing the hair out of their eyes. However the staff behind the counter uses a hair net and that is good.

While we were eating, a boy (about 6-7 years old) walked passed our table, on his way to the wash basin and pressed on the "Call" button on our table. WTH? We all kept our eyes on him and when he walked back, all 3 of us glared at him and that stopped him from placing his naughty fingers on the call button. Tak pasal2, staff ingat kita nak 'something' pulak!  I wish parents make sure their children behave while in public areas. At a nearby table, another kid was having fun time, clanging the cutlery on the plates. I was waiting for an accident to happen!

~~
My palm is itching again.  Good sign, eh?

SPM is out..

It is finally the DAY to get her SPM results, but Khairin relax jer. She took the day off work and so after our usual breakfast at Mamak Fariz Maju, I sent Khairin off to school. Dropped her in front of school, and saw her friends in matching baju kurungs! Huh ada uniform ke? My doter was in her usual jeans and long blouse..comfort clothes.

I went home as I knew the kids wants to let their hair down when they get their results. And so the waiting begins..

In the Hall, the kids from 5 Amanah didn't know where to head since their class teacher had been transferred out. In the end, they were the last to get their results...tension budak2 nie. Hahaha.. Iye lah tengok orang lain dah terjerit2, dah menangis (nie budak pompuan lah!) berpeluk2an bagai.

Then baru lah another teacher walked in with their results. Upon getting the slip, the first thing she looked for was her Add Maths results (ada kes lah ni!)..whoaaa hoaaaaa... she got A+ for Add Maths. Caya lah babe! She cried. She also cried because she got B for Sejarah. Hahaha..sepanjang form 4 and 5, dok dapat G saje untuk sejarah. (Read: G=Gagal). She cried because the results was beyond expectations. Alhamdulillah..

So all in all, this was what she got..

A+ = mathematics and additional mathematics

A  = engineering drawings , physics , bahasa melayu and english language

B+ = pendidikan agama islam and chemistry

B = SEJARAH and engineering technology

This is extracted from Khairin's blog

saya carik cikgu HANIPAH , takde sorok2 dah ,

k ; cikgu , saya dapat A+
h ; baguslah , belanja saya dua pizza
k ; kenapa lak ?
h ; sbb saya ajar awak dulu , kalau tak awak tak dapat A+
k ; (sakit hati) papepun terima kasih jela , cikgu tuduh2 saya dulu mcm2 apela sangat kan .
h ; eh saya tuduh2 awak tula upkan lagi semangat awak nak dapat A+
k ; (wthhhhhhh) saya down kot tym tu cikgu !

and i walk away babaiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ! Oh ya , before i went to meet the teacher, i texted my mom , then she called me

"HAAA very good my dear, padan muka cikgu tu hahahahhaa"

I had to text everyone who had called me earlier asking for Khairin's results..including the wuzband who was unaware that his daughter sat for SPM, duhh!!

Next step..what to do.. matriculation or diploma (definitely not STPM). Which line..interest vs strong points vs marketability. Ar? Sr? Ir?

21 March 2011

Words of Wisdom.. (I)

~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~.
**   Love is grand; Divorce is a hundred grand. 
**   I am in shape. Round is a shape. 
**   Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician. 
**   Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic. 
**   Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels so good. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

20 March 2011

Sundays..

13-3-2011
Woke up early, sunday morning.  Got ready (managed to squeeze in a washing as I am expecting Khairin to bring back a HUGE load of washing) and off we went to Tanjong Malim.. ehh.. to Kpg Air Panas, Kerling. Hehehe..

Grabbed my usual pile of sunday papers and went to MekDee at 'old' bangi.  Not many people there compared to the MekDee Drive Thru.  Have this "FREE 2 Big Breakfast on a RM5 purchase" voucher to utilise.  Was attended by "Paris", a male MekDee staff.  I guess his name must be Mohd Paris but his friends call him by the english pronunciation.  Apa2 lah.. What I dislike about him was this long strand oh hair falling over his right eye.  Ala-ala anime cartoon gitu..  Must remember to put in a complain to the Management.

After breakfast, we (Faiz and I) were off to bring Khairin home.  She does not want to join the others on the bus as she has 3 times the luggage that she brought there.  Trip there was a bit "blaaah..", no tickets, no jam.. in fact it was a breeze.

Registered at the guard house for the last time.  Then drove in to the second layer of security.  Send Khairin a message to say that I have arrived.  Waited and waited.. ooooo.. there she was pulling the trolley luggage bag, another luggage bag on top, her cloth bag AND a pail full of other things..  Haaa.. tu dia!

Logged her out of camp and walked off to the car.  Huhuhu.. nasib baik tak bawak kawan2 dia. Tak muat dah.  Drove out of Camp... Adieu PLKN.

Our next stop is of course, the Pau House in Tanjong Malim.  Ordered frozen pau (kari daging) as well as the already steamed ones as take-away.  Then we ordered food for our lunch.  We had yong tau foo in soup each.  Different from the ones we usually have at the pasar malam.  This was much2 nicer.  Also had the mee kari.  After lunch, we drove home.

Upon reaching home, the first thing we did was to unpack and start the laundry.  So glad the sun was shining brightly and I managed to clear off one round of washing.  Whilst sitting and watching tv, Faiz opened his wallet and discovered that his driving licence has expired the previous week.  There he was happily driving to and back from Tanjong Malim.  Alhamdulillah the police did not stop him, else he would be in deep s**t.  Hahaha..

By evening, Khairin (and everyone else) was itching to see Fatin.  Made immediate plans to go over.  Called Quya to see if she wants to join us.  She finished working and would be available after 6.30pm.  Picked her up at her house in Hulu Langat and went to Ampang.  

10 meters from the house, I could hear Fatin calling out "Omaaa, Chu Eeeenn".  Hola cucu haku!!  Played with her awhile and Quya was smitten by Fatin's antics.  Had dinner at the food court at Bukit Indah.  What I enjoyed most was the mango juice.  It was pureed mango and was so thick, the straw could stand upright!!  Fatin only had the keropok cicah sos yang teramat pedas.

Dropped off Quya at her house and we went home.  I had to drive seeing that Faiz has no licence.  So tired.. Have an early date at the JPJ with Faiz in the morning..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
20-3-2011
Grabbed my stack of newspapers plus my monthly magazine.  Then I went to get the FREE Family breakfast (the perks of being in a MekDee Family).  Set includes one hot cake set, one big breakfast set, one egg mekmuffin and one sausage mekmuffin, 3 hash browns and 3 hot drinks.  Unfortunately the hot drinks cannot be converted.  O well..


Oh yes, Paris was there again.  And this time, the strand of hair was tucked behind his ear and not falling over his eye (and my food, probably).  After the last visit, I did put in an informal complaint and the feed back was that, I wasnt the only person complaining about it.  Actually I was reluctant to complain because I noticed that he was elected "Crew of the month" for the month of January.  He must be a good worker, only the hair was 'out of place'.

Finished breakfast and waited and waited for the boys to wake up.  We had a date to go visit a sick friend in Hulu Langat.  Finally they got up but it was way past 2pm.  By late evening, I was so hungry and planned to have a heavy dinner.  

Decided to go to Saba'.  Saw the hot air balloons on the way there.  Would you believe it, that there were people who actually stopped their car by the roadside to enjoy the view of the balloons, not caring about the traffic at all.  Went to Saba' but the place was packed.  So we decided to order takeaway.  Hanith chicken to be shared and baklava for dessert.

15 March 2011

Sharing: Should I really join Facebook (Priceless)

When I bought my Blackberry, I thought about the 30-year business I ran with 1800 employees, all without a cell phone that plays music, takes videos, pictures and communicates with Facebook and Twitter. I signed up under duress for Twitter and Facebook, so my seven kids, their spouses, 13 grandkids and 2 great grand kids could communicate with me in the modern way. I figured I could handle something as simple as Twitter with only 140 characters of space.

That was before one of my grandkids hooked me up for Tweeter, Tweetree, Twhirl, Twitterfon, Tweetie and Twittererific Tweetdeck, Twitpix and something that sends every message to my cell phone and every other program within the texting world.

My phone was beeping every three minutes with the details of everything except the bowel movements of the entire next generation. I am not ready to live like this so I keep my cell phone in the garage in my golf bag.

The kids bought me a GPS for my last birthday because they say I get lost every now and then going over to the grocery store or library. I keep that in a box under my tool bench with the Blue tooth [it's red] phone I am supposed to use when I drive. I wore it once and was standing in line at Barnes and Noble talking to my wife and everyone in the nearest 50 yards was glaring at me. I had to take my hearing aid out to use it, and I got a little loud.

I mean the GPS looked pretty smart on my dash board, but the lady inside that gadget was the most annoying, rudest person I had run into in a long time. Every 10 minutes, she would sarcastically say, "Re-calc-u-lating."  You would think that she could be nicer. It was like she could barely tolerate me. She would let go with a deep sigh and then tell me to make a U-turn at the next light. Then if I made a right turn instead... Well, it was not a good relationship.


When I get really lost now, I call my wife and tell her the name of the cross streets and while she is starting to develop the same tone as Gypsy, the GPS lady, at least she loves me.

To be perfectly frank, I am still trying to learn how to use the cordless phones in our house. We have had them for 4 years, but I still haven't figured out how I can lose three phones all at once and have to run around digging under chair cushions and checking bathrooms and the dirty laundry baskets when the phone rings.

The world is just getting too complex for me. They even mess me up every time I go to the grocery store. You would think they could settle on something themselves but this sudden "Paper or Plastic?" every time I check out just knocks me for a loop. I bought some of those cloth reusable bags to avoid looking confused, but I never remember to take them in with me.

Now I toss it back to them. When they ask me, "Paper or Plastic?" I just say, "Doesn't matter to me. I am bi-sacksual."  Then it's their turn to stare at me with a blank look. I was recently asked if I tweet. I answered, No, but I do toot a lot."


P.S. 
I know some of you are not over 50.  I sent it to you to allow you to forward it to those who are. Us senior citizens don't need anymore gadgets.  The tv remote and the garage door remote are about all we can handle.

12 March 2011

The Scrooge

My son Azri is thrifty on the verge of being a scrooge.

He heard how his older brother 'ikat perut' to pay up for his wedding, so likewise he wants to be as thrifty to be wealthy by the time he is old.  He budgets only RM5 (3xmeals) daily.  He only have rice with vegetables.  He reckons if the vegetarians can survive on that and still be healthy, why not him!  Any surplus monies, he will put aside and when he has enough, he will 'hadiahkan' himself with fried fish or chicken. 

Recently he found out that the mamak will charge him 20sen for his warm water if he spend less than rm4 for the meal.  He ate 2 roti canai that morning and was charged 20sen for his warm water.  Sometimes he has nasi goreng kampung and gets his air suam free.  Funny though, he doesnt mind paying 20sen for plain water with ice cubes!  A bit mind boggling but that is how my Azri works.

After ranting at the mamak-cashier that day and leaving most unsatisfied (more like he felt cheated), he sat down and makes a plan so that at the end of the day, he comes out as the winner.

So now he goes for his meals at the warong/restaurants with a bottle of drinking water.  He just orders food.  Wait.. if you think that is all.. no, that is not the end.  That drinking water, he brings it home from the water cooler from office.  Daily, he will top up the drinking water at home.

...sigh..  I hope he will not forget his mother when he is older and rich.

11 March 2011

A bit of cheer on an otherwise gloomy rainy day

Woke up this morning and started the washing.  Quite unsure if the day was going to be hot.  Got back into bed and watched another episode of "Lie To Me". 

Faiz got out of bed and got ready to go to 'school'.  Said he has a meeting with his team mates about the FYP (final year project).  He has been feeling a bit down since my 'present' was not delivered yesterday.  Hahaha.. whole day, the status has been "at the delivery facility".  This morning he was still moaning about the fact.

When the washing was ready, I started to hang it out in the garden.  Half way through, I felt water dropping on my face.  Oh no.. quickly grabbed all the laundry and dumped it back into the laundry basket. Ho hum.. no choice but to send it to 'DryClean2U'.

Road was clear, not much traffic.  Got myself a parking space and heaved the bag of laundry.  Told Azhar I just need to dry the clothes and re-launder Faiz's college shirt/jacket.  Noticed the 'vacancy' notice and offered the girls (read: Quya and Khairin).  Hahaha... I dont like ironing but I know Khairin likes that.

After breakfast, came home (noted on the traffic lights - which are 'behaving' this morning) and saw that Faiz was already home.  He went on and on about the late delivery and the status that has not changed since yesterday.  Decided to sit out in the lounge with him.

Every now and then, I would peep out of the windows to see if there were any delivery vans passing by.  At about noon, Faiz saw a red wira stopped in front of the house and asked me.. "Are you expecting anyone?".  I just looked out and said, "Nope.  But I think it is the delivery boy."  To which Faiz retorted, "Cant be.. it must be delivered in a D*HL van or something like that.."  What he didnt know was, I saw the guy in the car flipped open a file.  I knew it was the delivery boy, though I have no idea why he was in a red wira and not a van.

True enough, the guy came out with a box.  MY PRESENT!!  Faiz was so excited.  He know for the next few hours at least, it will be his toy as he downloads and preps it for his Mama.

Pssstt... one hour has passed and not a peep from Faiz.  he is so engrossed with my new ipad.
~~~
Thanks to Sweetheart for the advanced birthday present.

10 March 2011

Khairin @ PLKN

Khairin is in her final/last week at Camp.  She asked me to bring her favorite socks. 
Quote: Yang sama macam Fatin punya, kaler hijau. 
The Mama has no idea which one she meant and just grabbed the first green socks I saw.

As Khairin was unpacking/packing the things I brought her last weekend (in the car), she pounced on the socks and gave a groan..  "Bukan yang ini tapi tak pe lah".  Dalam hati Mama, "Ada aku kisah, hehe..".  She put the socks on (Yes she didnt have any socks on at the time).  Shoes look 'tired' although still shiny!

..
Note: One time, the girls (KA and cousins), were into mismatched socks.  They purposely bought 2 pairs of sock of different colour but with the same design.  Then they will switch sides when using them.  That is how she ended with an apple green sock on one foot and a turquoise on the other. 

09 March 2011

Pesanan Buat Anak-anak Lelaki ku.. ~ dari blog KakcikNurseroja

Bila suatu hari nanti kamu beristeri
Ingatlah bahawa isterimu bukan abdi
Padanya kasih wajib kau beri
Nafkah zahir dan batin jangan sesekali kau pandang sepi

Walau telah banyak wang kau keluarkan
Isterimu sama sekali bukan hamba tebusan
Bila langkah tidak seiringan
Bukan bermakna kau harus mencari persimpangan

Isterimu mungkin bukan pilihan hati
Tapi dia jodohmu yang ditentukan Ilahi
Belajarlah untuk saling mencintai
Bukan kesalahan yang sengaja dicari-cari

Kalau dia memang yang kau pilih
Janganlah suatu hari nanti kau mula berdalih-dalih
Rawatlah segala luka dan pedih
Mekarkan kasih sehingga pulih

Bila sudah hidup bersama
Kongsikan segala suka dan duka
Jalankan tanggungjawab besama-sama
Bukan hanya tahu mengarah sahaja

Kalau kalian sama bekerja
Jangan kau cuba menjadi raja
Bantulah tugasan di rumah sepenuh rela
Agar isterimu boleh merawat dirinya

Jangan nanti kau mencebik-cebik
Kononnya isterimu tidak lagi cantik
Sedang penatnya tak pernah kau telek
Hanya yang kau tahu memekik-mekik....

Ingatlah isteri itu amanah Allah swt pada mu..

08 March 2011

Fatin And I ~ Das Auto

Mama Fatin cerita.. Fatin tahu apa kereta semua orang pakai.  Oma nak testing.

Oma:  Ayah pakai kereta apa?
Fatin:  Alza
Oma:  Mama pakai kereta apa?
Fatin:  Kancil

Oma:  Atuk pakai kereta apa?
Fatin:  Pesona
Oma:  Nenek pakai kereta apa?
Fatin:  Wira

Oma:  Oma pakai kereta apa?
Fatin:  MyVi
Oma:  Fatin nak pakai kereta apa?
Fatin:  Das Auto..

Cayaaaa lah Fatin..

07 March 2011

New Toy


I am getting an advance birthday gift. 

I know my birthday is months away but Sweetheart is sweet enough to get me a new toy as an advance birthday gift.  Right now, the toy is still in Chengdu..

Faiz was in Low Yat and he got my toy a case.

Anytime this week, my toy should arrive in the post.  Am waiting in full anticipation and excitement.

Fatin And I ~ Download

Bersembang dalam kereta semasa hendak ke MyDin.
Cerita berkenaan Fatin's favorite cartoon.
Rupa2nya dia gemar SpongeBob (dia sebut PonchBob)
dan WonderPets versi melayu (apa yang penting? kerjasamaa..)


Oma menanya: What about other cartoons.
Mama: Hmm.. nasib baik dia tak minat Teletubbies.
Ayah: Limited vocab..
Oma: Sekarang takde dah kot..

Fatin: Download Ayah..
Fatin: Torrents

Semua dalam kereta gelak besar.
Nah amek kau.. anak alaf baru.
Kalau dulu anak2 Oma akan meminta belikan CD
(atau masa anak sulung dulu- beli tapes),
cucu Oma mintak ayah dia download je..

Hahahaha
~~~~~~~~~~~
Rupa2nya Uncle Faiz yang dok cucuk Fatin..

06 March 2011

Fatin and I ~ Hutang

Tengah sikat rambut Fatin selepas dia mandi.

Fatin mendongak memandang muka O'ma.


O'ma: Apa tengok2?

Fatin: Hah?

O'ma: Ada hutang ke?

Fatin: Takde

Hahaha.. Fatin, Fatin...
Spontan je jawapan dia.

05 March 2011

Azri dan TN*B

My son Azri lives in a 5 bedroom/3 bathroom bungalow with a friend.  He is a scrooge (haha.. open the dictionary, Azri).  He is determine to get the free electricity usage from TN*B. 

The meter Reader cannot read the meter from the gate.  So, starting 1st of the month, Azri will put up the meter readings on the front gate.  He replaces the notice daily until he gets the bill in the letter box.

He was at the food stall in front of the house, one day, when he saw a car stopped and the driver stepped out of the car and walked up to the gate... to read the notice!  Then the driver got back in and drove off.  The owner of the restaurant told Azri that that happens quite frequently.  People will even drive past, park further up and walk back to check on the notice.  They think it is a "To Let" or "For Sale" sign.

Since they were on the topic - TN*B, the stall owner asked Azri why he got the April bill already.  Huh?  Azri asked to see the bill.  Owner went in and came back with the bill.  Ooo.. what the stall owner saw was the Pay by date.  That month's bill is misaligned.. so the information wasn't in the correct column/row. 

Another pakcik at the next table was watching what went on at Azri's table and asked his friend to 'lookout' for his food, while he went back home.  He came back with HIS bill and he asked Azri to explain why he had to pay extra rm50.  Azri looked at the bill and saw that Pakcik had a rm50 penalty.  (Bill was similarly misaligned).  Azri told the Pakcik to go to TN*B and ask the officers there on that matter.

Azri finished his food and walked back to the house.  Thus, closing the temporary TN*B, 'sesi soal dan saya jawab' 

Hahahahahahahahahaha.. Azri, Azri.. ada2 aje ko nie.

Fatin and I ~ along ilang

Fatin: Along Ilang 
(in a high pitch voice)

O'ma: Hah? Tanglung hilang?

Fatin: Alor ilang
(points to top of cupboard)

O'ma looks and saw.... JALUR GEMILANG..

Haish cucu haku nie.

04 March 2011

Dinner di mana?

Malam ni dah setting hendak makan nasi dengan kari ayam di Hailam Kopi*tiam. 

Semasa nak drive into the parking area, terserempak dengan sebiji kereta yang di pandu dari arah lawan.. memang sah kena horn.  Ish.. tak tahu lah, samada tak tahu atau sengaja buat2 tak tahu.

Masuk kedai dan duduk di port biasa, berhampiran dengan kaunter buat minuman.  Bila di aju menu, terus selak ke mukasurat berkenaan.. hehe di sini, kebanyakan pelayan adalah dari Myanmar.. ada masaalah bahasa sikit.  Untuk memudahkan pesanan, kita cuma perlu tunjuk gambar dan sebut nombor nya sahaja.  Faiz and Mama nya, laju sahaja membuat pesanan sebab selalu sangat ke mari, tapi Faizal terkial2 lah jugak. Agaknya menu nya lain dari yang dia biasa lihat..di MekDee.. hahaha..

Habis2 Faiz dan mama memesan nasi dengan kari ayam dan telur ayam omega separuh masak.  Minuman biasa Faiz, lemon tea-cold (mengikut apa yang tertera di menu) dan mama, nescafe-cold (alamat lambat lah tidor malam nie!!). 

Faizal pula memesan nasi lemak special, telur ayam omega dan sambal sandwich special.  Faizal mintak "palm lime juice"...begitu lah sebutan dia.  Rupa2nya dia mintak air limau dengan asam boi.  Plum bukan palm.

Cepat pesanan sampai ke meja.  Very efficient!!  Makanan di hidang dalam pinggan/mangkuk dan juga sudu yang di perbuat dari porselin.  Tak lama selepas kami mendapat hidangan, kami mendengar bunyi kaca berderai di meja sebelah.  Adoi.. apa lak bagi bayi kecil main dengan sudu porselin tu.  Dah budak tu hempaskkan ke lantai.. ish ish ish...

Pulang rumah kekenyangan.  Faiz siap tapau kari ayam.  3 orang makan nasi, telur seteng, sandwich dan minuman manis.. kopak rm50.  Rasa berbaloi gak.. sebab kenyang.  Alhamdulillah..

01 March 2011

Sharing : A Story of Appreciation

One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.  He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made the last decision.

The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?"
The youth answered, "none".

The director asked, "Was it your father who paid for your school fees?"
The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees".

The director asked, "Where did your mother work?"
The youth answered, "My mother worked as clothes cleaner".

The director requested the youth to show his hands.  The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked, "Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?"
The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning".

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high.  When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands.  His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly.  His tear fell as he did that.  It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands.  Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee.  The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.  That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: "Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"
The youth answered, "I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'

The Director asked, " please tell me your feelings."
The youth said, "Number 1, I know now what is appreciation. Without my mother, there would not the successful me today.  Number 2, by working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done.  Number 3, I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship".

The director said, " This is what I am looking for to be my manager.  I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired".

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team.  The company's performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first.  He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts.  When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others.  For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement.  He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more.  If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?

You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV.  But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it.  After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters.  It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way.  You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person.  The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.