WINNER TAKES IT ALL

I was having a flu,... been drugged by the medication... i slept the entire morning after a light breakfast and of course the medication. I woke up around half-past noon, checked my messages on my cell, then I grab my laptop by the bedside and checked my emails... responding to few emails and comments on photos I posted on Facebook...  My stomach grumble lightly... I went to the kitchen  to grab a bite and saw a few DVDs on the coffee table. Owh, yes!  I bought some DVDs last night. While waiting for my baked potatoes done, I decided to watch Mamamia.

It was indeed a great musical. Perhaps because I love the songs.. I literally cried watching the movie. Maybe its because I'm being too emotional ( lately) or maybe I'm too attached to the songs which I practically grew up with. These songs took me back to the long journey of balik kampong with me and siblings cramping in the car singing, the journey of our short holidays to  Port Dickson, Malacca, Morib and Desaru...via jalan kampong (those were the days when we had no highways and tolls).  We memorised the songs by heart due to the repeatable audio that has been programmed un-intensionally to our brains. Besides ABBA gold greatest hits, mom's Benjamin S java songs and Kenny Roggers  greatest hits songs were also been memorised my heart. We didn't realised that until one day Dad decided to rent a van for a trip to kampong for raya holidays. We had grown bigger and all of us couldn't fit in a sedan car. The rented MPV had no cassette player. So after a while, we got bored and started singing. We end up singing the songs from the cassette that we used to listen while we were in the car. Abba, Benjamin.S, Kenny Rogers, and Sound of the Music soundtrack...

I love Meryl Streep and Colin Firth. Meryl was so full of energy in this movie. My favourite song among all is no other than "Dancing Queen"!!! Thats the song that could make me run to the dance floor and boogie! Same goes to my karaoke routine. It will not be a complete event if I didn't sing that song, mostly terribly.. 

I laughed at Colin Firth's dance... at the end of the movie. He was terribly cute! And nevertheless, my high school crush, Pierce Brosnan... has never failed to amazed me. I had a crush on him since his debut in Remington Steel. I used to have his poster in my room back then, and some were at the back of my text books and files..

ANCIPATING

I'm doing my last minute baking... raya biscuits... I'm going off to Batu Pahat tomorow. According to Dad, we will be leaving by noon... but i know it'll always be late afternoon...

I still haven't finished my laundry, so don't ask me about packing yet... Owh I hate packing erghhh... I always end up bringing extra luggage because I couldn't decide on clothes... Luckly I'll be driving my own car...

Looking forward to see the glowing face of my grandma... My mamadah ( she stays at Kelantan, thus I saw her only once a year), Mak Long, Mak Ndak, Mak Uda.. owh i can't mention all of them coz my mom has 13 siblings... haahaha! I miss my cousins... i have about 60 of them..

And I'm looking forward to breathe the kampong air...

I wish all my moslem brothers and sisters.. Eid Mubarak... Hope all of you have a good one... Maaf Zahir dan Batin..

THRILL AND SUSPENSE

Bukit Kutu, Kuala Kubu Bharu...It was indeed an adventure. Especially to the beginners. I thought the "bukit" was not so challenging. I googled some info about the trip. A lot of people been there. Some of them managed to the top, some couldn't find the trail. I heard about several river crossing. And some did mention how steep the trail was.

I was eager to know how true is that. plus there were remains of 2 bungalows on the top of the hill. Used to be the weekend getaway for the British...

Of course my worries was my stamina.. can I really make it to the top? And 2nd was the leeches... I had never bitten by any. Don't know whether it will freak me out...

So we started lil bit late, 10:30. After just about 200-300M of trekking up d hill, I was already panting.... I successfully throwed out my nasi lemak I had for breakfast... lol

Actually felt much better after that...

Indeed, it was steep. According to the Renjer, macam "lemang sandar"...

We managed to get to the summit at 5p.m. I wouldn't recommend it to beginners. we've been told that the journey was considered medium level, but the raining had make it tougher.

At some point the trail were barely visible, some are dangerously steep, some were very edgy, some were slippery. We did had to crawl at certain places, slides at muddy steep tracks.It was suppose to be a day trip, not involving moonlighting. But we were delayed, the weather played a part, plus we were exhausted.

It was getting dark, luckly I had brought a head torch and a torch light. And there were other 2 torch lights in the team. We climbed down... sometimes slides down. We were in a hurry,.. to get out before dark. but the trail were confusing. The Renjer couldn't put it together. Though he's been climbiing up and down Bukit Kutu for nearly 13 years of his life. But nite trekking was different.

Due to the rain, some branches, trees were blocking the trail beside the darkness in the forest. It was tough, walking thru the jungle, without the trail, to be extra careful in the dark.

We managed to get to the trail for several yards then off trail again... At last we found another trail, barely used.. just by the orang asli maybe... and I didn't care, as long as it was leading us out... it was already midnite. My hp been ringing non stop. Occay, f.y.i there's quite good phone reception in the forest! Thank god!

Any way,.. we managed to get out and reach our car at 3a.m. My parents were so worried! My mom was on her sejaddah reading surah Yassin non-stop. Of coz my whole body aches but that was still tolerable! my toes were swollen and d nails wer all blue black. Weeks later,.. I end up losing 5 of my toe nails. Ni belum naik Everest lagi beb! LOL!

Well,.. that's a hell of an adventure for a beginner!!!

Ojet, Dboy and Aida... Hope this will not stop you from going trekking again...

Gadafi has been to Gunung Tahan b4, so I bet this one doesn't kill ya...

Faizal, mana best dari diving?

Hahaha!

CHERISH

I may not be the richest woman on earth, I may not be the prettiest either, nor the smartest or the luckiest person that could have it all. But I'm blessed to have a bunch of good friends. Friends that brings joy to my life, who make me laugh my heart out, who I ran to for advise, who chat with me online, who sms  me every now and then, who talked to me, whom I ran to when I needed a shoulder to cry on, who make fun of me, who were there when I had blind dates, (urghh don't remind me the details), who lend me their cars, who used to share clothes, make-ups, even their plate of maggi, who attended my wedding, who cried with me, who laugh at me, who were there partying with me, who introduce me to more circle of friends and foremost, who doesn't judge me.

To all my friends out there, I'm so glad out path crossed. Though maybe we are not as close as before, we cannot hang out as often as we used to but I'll never forget what we had and will always cherish what we shared... 

'MISSY' IN A MISSION

1st Aug, friday 2008. Girl is not feeling very well at Melbourne. Since Amyn just finished her final semester and doing nothing at the moment, she's been requested to care for Girl. In such short notice, the flying arrangements were successfully done. Amyn will be there for 3 months. So, Raya ni Girl and Jay akan lebih meriah dengan kehadiran Amyn yang suka memasak iteww... hahaha!

Dian was there during previous Raya Haji. Oh yes, mentioning about Dian. She's getting married this November. So, Amyn, Girl and Jay will be flying back to tanah air early November. I'm so excited to have all of us around. Hubby will be around too, he'll be on 3 months leave starting middle of September. I can imagine the joy on my parents face, and Girl will be jumping happily and fill with laughter being around relatives and friends she had not seen for over 3 years...

These are a few photos taken sending Amyn off to Melbourne. Amyn, kirim salam Girl and Jay. Girl, we all wish you well. Jangan lompat-lompat occay...hihihi..

TO SURVIVE

Happy 5th Bday, Adam Faiz!

Rasa mcm baru smlm I had sleepovers at Rina's hse... borak sampai pagi... hangout at modesto's, uptown, dome... we shared a lot of things... My family was in JB, so everytime i craved for home cooked meal, Rina's mom was whom I ran to...

Rina married Faizal somewhere around 2003. Faizal was the sweetest guy!!! I was so happy for her. I went to the weddings on the both side of the family. I cried during the nikah. Occay,.. rephrase... I cried in all nikah ceremony except mine..occay?.... ironic..

Well,.. we did keep in touch. Tapi susah nak jumpa and hangout. I moved to ampang and she stayed with her mother-inlaw at Puchong. We met at my wedding on Dec1st, 2005. I was having my make-up done in the room and I heard her voice on the door.. I couldnt respond. I just had a glimpsed of her,smilling at me... with his son, Adam Faiz in her arms...

I didn't managed to talk to her... I remember waving at her from my meja pengantin... Few months later, she called and invited me to her son's Aqiqah at her parents... I went with my mom. Adam was so adorable... I saw that Faizal is a good father, he's doing great as a father... Rina too... I was so glad..

We did spoke on the phone,.. untill I was away with Ray, sailing for 8 months. Everytime I was around Malaysia's coast, I send her sms, but it was never delivered. I thought maybe she changed her number. Well, I knew back then that I can just go to her parents place and ask for her number when I got back... So , I did... but there were nobody home. So I sent her an email. I keyed in "urgent" at the top of the message... i told her that I was away for 8 months and asked whether she changed her number. Yup, I received a quick reply, but it was not good news...

They went to London because Faizal was assigned to work over there for at least 6 months. She just wrote that Faizal had passed away, there. Two months before I sent her that email. Her new mobile number was stated at the end of the email. I called her that instant! I was glad to hear her voice,.. I learned that Faizal was just merely having a fever. But after a few days, they went to see a doctor and he was admitted to the hospital. After a several tests... he was diagnosed with leukemia. He passed away a few days later. I tried to control my voice, because tears was running down my face.. I wouldn't want her to know... She was already so sad...

I asked her out a few times, but she seemed not to respond. I understand... she was still in grief. I did send her sms saying that I'll always be there if she needed anything or someone to talk to. We finally met one fine day.. had lunch at secret recipe, alpha angle... Adam tagged along... we had a long talk...

That night I received a sms from her. She said that she was glad we talked, and she was sorry that sometimes she just didnt have the mood to see or talk with anyone... She still didn't go to some places that she used to go with Fazal. She still couldn't do it yet...

We met again fews months later at KLCC for a buka puasa buffet. Adam was thrilled to see that they served sushi. erm.. me too... I SO love sushi!!! Rina was quiet for a moment. She looked at me. "Faizal and Adam loved sushi. I don't. Faizal will take Adam for sushi at least twice a month. And,... Adam did not have any since Faizal passed away..." Tears was in her eyes...

Last week was Adam's 5th Birthday. I attended his bday bash at Kidsport, great eastern mall. He was so happy. He's friends from school were there... Gosh... aku pulak yang sentimental, berair mata masa tu...

LOOKING BACK

One late afternoon, mom was cravings for bubur pengat pisang. Kedai kat blakang rumah ada jual, tapi mom like her pengat pisang sweet and not salty. So, she asked me to take her to a restaurant at Tmn Melati. We went there, but unfortunately, they didn't have it that day. So we end up having satay at Hj Samuri Satay Kajang... sunggoh jauh tersimpang dari category bubur and pengat...

The interior ada banyak gambar2 satay hawkers dari era 60's. Where it was carried in a kandar... orang yang makan biasanyer kena mencangkung. Mom cakap memang lah macam tu. Masa dulu kedai tak banyak. Itu pun kat bandar aje... Kat kampong mom tak ada pun...

I still remember when I was around 5 plus,.. 1980... my family just got back from sydney. Dad dah habis buat his Masters Degree. We settled at Jalan B2, Taman Melawati. Melawati masa tu baru sangat. Kedai pun baru nak siap. Yang ada pun mini market pernama.Sungguh sunyi bila malam. Boleh dengar bunyi harimau mengaum dari zoo kalau duduk kat luar pagi2 buta. Mana taknya, masa tu siaran tv dahlah start lambat, petang rasanya, pukul 5 ker 6. Habis siaran pun awal.. tak mcm skrg ni.. 24 jam...

Malam-malam, selalu ada orang naik motor jual putu mayam, ada yang jual sate... Me and girl melompat-lompat bila Dad kata boley beli sate... Selalunya bila ada relative datang. Dulu rumah tu memang meriah, ada ajer orang datang. Among the regulars were Pak Lang, Wak Talleh, Pak Ep, and of course our grandma's... X sabar rasanya tunggu pakcik jual sate tu... bila dia lalu jer, apalagi jerit2 lar panggil... Then the pakcik will stop... He will bbq the sate on his motor... normally jiran2 pon kluar jgk nak beli... Mom will chat with the neighbours with d plate in her hand for the sate...Me and adik2 will take the opportunity to run around, main kejar2 -police and thief ( masa tu sebut police and three) hahaha!!! "police and three, 1,2, jaga... polis mati, pencuri jaga"

huh,.. I miss that... masa tu asal dapat berlari main kat luar rasa hidup dah bahagia sangat... tak payah lar hiburan apa-apa... cartoon pun tak banyak lagi...

myself with mom and girl back then

TREASURE OF LIFE

HAPPY 34TH ANNIVESARRY MOM and DAD!

1st of July 1974

Yesterday was my parents 34th wedding annivesarry. They asked me to suggest where to go for dinner. Dad preferred somewhere near. Mom said, any where will do as long as its ala carte coz she wouldn't want to have buffet dinner. Dian will drive them. Several places been suggested. Fine dinning restaurants, Steak house, Hotels.

I dropped by at Mom's before I went to Bangsar to get something. I offered to drive them there, incase they wanted to have dinner around there. Turned up they decided to go to Armada, PJ.

To cut it short, they end up having dinner at Concorde, KL. hihihi... I was there at Mom's when they got back. Mom was in such good mood! And was rushing into the house and asked Anna to help her to unhook her outfit. We asked her how was the dinner. She answered,"Penat!" What? apa tu? penat? Then she explained, penat makan. Both of them wanted to have ala carte, but the buffet dinner was so tempting. So, they end up having buffet....Hahaha! Tu yang penat! hihihi Chomel jer...

Mom and Dad! Congratulations!!! May Allah bless you with good health, love and more happy moments together! We all love you! -aida, girl, dian ,amin, anna, dboy plus menantu2....

On their wedding day with Mom's siblings except Pak Hak and Pak Ngah

Their favourite R& R spot, Nilai

Goofying around at titiwangsa

Visiting Girl and Jay at Melbourne

Gelato....

Mom's 60th Bday, Melbourne

At Kunang-kunang on Father's Day

WHERE ARE THE RAINBOWS?

Demam... huhu... during the weekend pulak tu... Macam2 dah planning nak buat. Tapi end up duduk kt rumah ajewww... Tempreture badan x lar panas sangat..( x ingat pun ada check x)... tp kt mata rasa panas, sore throat sikit, sakit kepala yang amat sangat and yang paling teruk sakit giler kt bahu and tangan sampai ker tapak tangan and jari jemari ku ini... Apa lar agaknyer yang aku buat sampai lenguh giler ni... Tengah tido pon boley terbangun.. sakit betul! Giler stiff shoulder back...

Ameen x tido lagi masa tu,.. dia amik lar losyen mustajab halia... and urut... lega sikit.. Tak sangka plak Ameen pandai gak urut... after half an hour nak tido tapi x boley pulak baring.. kena tiarap pulak... Nangis2 jgk aku malam tu... migrane pulak tiba2... aduhh...

Satu botol jgk losyen "mustajab" tu aku sapu... memag sedap and lega lar jgk.. rasa panas... and bau halia... The next day baru boley tido...

And tido,.. phone bunyi pun x sedar. Pagi tadi Anna tengok final Euro,.. I was sleeping upstairs... terjerit2 adik aku tu tengok bola sorang2... Sorang2 pon boley jd excited... So, dah terbangun, I decided turun minum air... Tengok dia melompat2 sorang2... hihihi..

Wanted to join her tapi rasa kepala ni berat lagi and nak baring... so I went upstairs and check email kejap. Baru nak baring balik,.. Anna bising lagi kat bawah... apa lagi tu...

And after the match habis, (and Anna was so happy sebab team dia menang) we drove to Mc D drive thru... beli happy meal pulak tu sbb nak corn cup,... Masa tgh kt counter tu and bayar dengar bunyi crash kt tepi jalan.. ada accident kot.. Coz memang ada perasan a car passed by laju giler... tau lar MRRII ni... blom pkl 6 lg... around 10 mins to 6 kot..

From our view, tak nampak apa2.. So ingat xder lah... dah dapat our Happy Meal, Anna yang memang tgh Happy pon asyik buat lawak jer... Sebelah Mc D tu, ada petronas, Mc D ni pon kt Shell,... so when I drove passes by Petronas nampak kreta putih ,.. satria kot... dah terbabas masuk petronas and langgar pagar yang dekat tempat isi air and angin... Fuhhh!!! Nasib baik tak langgar tempat petrol.... ada jugak meletop terbakar! Ternganga Anna...

We decided tak berhenti.. baru sangat jadi, orang tak ramai lagi. Tapi orang kat petronas semua kluar tolong... tak tau apa jadi to the driver... depan jer sikit, kt MRRII tu ada lg kreta yg terbabas, langgar tembok tepi bus stop... I got the feeling they all ni was racing... and memang terlanggar and both terbabas... ni mesti jam teruk kejap lagi...

Budak2 tu baru balik tgk bola kot... tapi memang laju giler...Tak tau lah racing ker or the other car baru keluar petronas and terlanggar ker... Apa2 pon,.. jangan lah bawak laju sangat... Tengok benda2 macam ni yang buat aku takut nak makan kat gerai tepi jalan, (selain prone kena ragut macam dat day), takut tunggu bus or cab tepi MRRII and any jalan besar.. jadi paranoid pulak...

JOY

Last month banyak betul wedding invitation. From my friends, friends of Dad and Mom, kawan-kawan geng marhaban and berzanji mom, relative sebelah dad... I remember when I was a teenager, I always have to be forced to follow my parents to wedding. Especially yang from distance family. Because I don't know them. They are not my parent's siblings. Why the hell do they look so glad to see Dad or Mom. I didn't get it at that time. And during those days I dunno how to appreciate Nasi Minyak yet... The whole journey back home they'll be talking bout the ceremony, and the people they were really happy to see and how they should meet more. And I was either daydreaming or singing with my siblings..So, the whole wedding thing was BOW... RING... Unless! The wedding was my parents' siblings or my cousins'. Then I'll be really happy enjoying the event because I knew so many people there, besides the bride or groom must have been close to me.

As I grew up, and was busy with studies,then work, then social activities. I always failed to join them at weddings. Or sometimes came out with lame excuses such as tired and wanted to rest for the weekend. But lately when I reach my 30's, (oopss... dah nak 33 pun) Dad and Mom are not as that energetic as before. They always ask me to drive them to places and weddings. 

I still saw the joy on their faces. The same joy. But better, I knew now. How important are those people to them. Probably because they had shared so many things in the past. They grew up together. But what most important to me is that meeting them brings joy to Dad and Mom. That is priceless. U know,.. to see that look on your parents face. 

Dad, mom, I hope I'll make more effort to spend more time with both of you,  in more related events and see that you'll have more joyful moments.  These are a few photos taken on a wedding at Pantai, Negeri Sembilan. Dad was so happy. Met his relatives, former schoolmates from King George V, a makcik (was a kakak to him) whom save him from drowning when he was a kid and also his grandma's youngest brother who did came to my wedding 3 years ago. Like the old days,... Dad and Mom will talk about how happy they were meeting those people all the way back to KL. And we stopped at the R&R because Dad was really hungry, he was too excited meeting people he forgot to finish his food that he left when he went to greet a former schoolmate.

Dad greeting his former school mate at King George V

Dad with his Atuk ( my great grandma's youngest brother)

owh,... this look is priceless

Non-stop talking and laughing, that nite Dad's voice turns really husky

the center of attention