Random

"Makan.. selagi selera", said a friend ;p

Just sharing some random pics from my phone of what the family's been consuming.  without doubt, we're a family united by food lol.

 @ An eatery in istanbul

Iskender kebab

Doner kebab








With salad & lentil soup.

Kunefe - very sweet turkish dessert.








@ Pasta de gohan, sunway

Squid ink pasta

Salad with raw salmon

 Seafood pizza

@ Japanese restaurant, shah alam mall.

Shashimi moriawase

Edamame.
Unagi Donburi (in background)

 Tempura & gyoza

Gyu Katsu with rice

Gyuniku soba










@ williams, pj

 Chicken ravioli swamped in creamy gravy

 Nasi goreng softshell crab







  Dory or cordon bleu?








@ A stall in k. lipis
Pulut sambal daging

Cikgu's fav








@ home sweet home ;p

Clockwise.. marinated:

beef 
fish
lamb
chicken

Sizzling hot..
tastes better berebut2 lol

Chipsmore cookies

Sekejap ada..

 

 Sekejap tak ada.





 

Such is the similarity between the advert & the hubs.

But he's back... before he pulls another chipsmore act on us  ;p

(for the record i prefer AH's choc chip cookies, tons better than chipsmore lol)

Respite

Bila serabut tahap gaban & demons lurk in the shadows, you know you just hafta hit the pavements.

  Plod on.

With the pounding comes peace.. the sweat, cleansing.. the zikir, acceptance.

And respite is yours, however fleeting.

Workout.

60 min. aerobics/DSA
3k/ neighbourhood route.

De-stressing

Finally some me time :D

Knowing that the kids would be waking up late after an all nite long gaming session, i took my own sweet time this morning. after my usual weekend run of 2 loops, i briskwalked for another 4km back & forth along the shady track beside the masjid (its pretty cool there).

Heh.. puas.

Cooling down, i even managed a little reminiscing.

Part of the tasik, museum, library & wisma mbsa.

  

Back in the early 80's the consulting firm i worked for landed themselves the shah alam core project, mainly the museum & library. i remember staying back for overtime till the wee hours untill we got all the documents out.. and during those days of minimum commitment, working hard meant more rm's to splurge on lol.

Yours truly circa 80's

Ironically only after more than 10 years of civil service was i able to match whatever it was that i took home then lol.  but of course you had to be willing to put in the long hours and me, i was never an ambituous career woman..family always came first.

But really.. those were the days lol.

Workout.

8km weekend run/TSA

4km briskwalk/TSA

Jump ship

What do you do when your boss turns into an inconsiderate, childish and vindictive 10 year old, one who constantly shouts & screams regardless of people, place or time and for some unknown reason seem to be having a beef with you?

You leave.

Do what you have to do babe. we'll stand by you..as always.

 

Sama tapi tak serupa

Public speaking scares the hell outta me.  give me the floor and my brain freezes over like a pond in winter. whatever grey matter that i have between my ears will instantly crystalize into a solid unyielding mass.  i have yet to escape looking nothing less than a moron.

The only exception is when someone hands me a script or some form of prepared text.  in the event of which i would then gleefully deliver the speech.. like a pro, with all the right pauses, inflection & intonation. BUT dont ever expect me to deviate from whats been given OR heaven forbid, ad-lib. bcos its back to the frozen pond for me then. i'd much rather sing lol.

Which is in complete contrast to AH who welcomes the opportunity to express her views & opinion.  she not only steers clear of any notes, she actually thrives on spontaneity!! which makes her a fun speaker i suppose, the sort that usually wins over the crowd (but not the judges la). 

Enjoying the differences

So its of no surprise that she sailed thru her interviews pleased as punch, leaving me the nervous wreck lol.

Yesterday she was amongst the many hopefuls trying their luck for the mara sponsorship, under the spc programme.  this time i didnt have to leave shah alam. anggerik mall is the home of mara selangor and similar to its counterpart in kl, offers a myriad of mara related services and is also the venue of several bumiputera businesses.  i havent really had the opportunity to check the shops out other than bak tailor, reknown for its huge selection of baju melayu.

Registration at the lobby area.

Seated are the parents/family.

She was in the 4pm group and surprisingly was done by 5.10pm, which gave me a good reason not to stay back after work.  its been some time since i last left at 5.30

"Jom lepak2 kat sacc yang.." said i.

She'd gone to work, rushed thru lunch...  and attended the interview. surely she'd be all strung up by now.

Something must have showed on my face.  maybe it was the concern over her wellbeing or the stress of running around. or both.

"Ma... interviews dont faze me la, dun worry, i'm ok" said she.

And she proceeded to fill me in on the details. 

Heh.  she had a fun time alright lol. i should've known better than to worry over daddy's lil giant ;p

Abe - remember that area where they had the raya sale? 2 of the panels were around there while 4 more were on the 3rd floor. it wasnt as packed as i expected, thank god :)
AF - yay yay esok aie balik!!
AI - dude you've been working sooo hard la, ma nampak. like i said fret not what you cant change but then pulun habis2an what you can ;p
AH - you've done ur best, now doa je banyak2 k.

Crazeee Sunday

There's actually no words to describe the state i was in last sunday. a crazy concoction of serabut, sedih, teruja & seriau all mixed together to form a volatile cocktail of emotion.

Earlier in the week we had news that golfman was to attend a meeting in ashgabat and would be leaving on sunday; its only been a couple of days since he got back (rindu pun tak lepas lagi). later on friday we received a call informing us that AH had been shortlisted for petronas sponsorship & was to attend a 2-day eduquest camp held in UTP seri iskandar starting sunday; the same sunday that her abah was leaving.

Golfman leaving meant not only getting all his things ready but also fulfilling the requests made by his friends in ashgabat...  usually foodstuff & other goodies.

AH eduquest camp meant getting all her documents in order and everything necessary for the 2 day 'ordeal'.

Coincidentally AF & AI were both involved in activities related to anak yatims that weekend.

So what that all meant to me was to be in my best, top-most form.

But when you find yourself having to divide both time & energy between 2 equally important people, it becomes a little hard-going. and there's also the matter of my datelines at the office.  taking monday off at a crucial time like this would take some explaining. but unless they're willing to take over my responsibilities of an  'almost' single parent, they'd better let me take my leave.

So sunday saw us all up in the wee hours of the morning.. i was to accompany AH to seri iskandar and AI was to drop golfman off at KLIA. each with our own mission, each going our separate ways. i couldnt help but feel a little lump in my throat as we moved off bcos there was nothing i wanted more than to be with my husband, but there was also nothing i wouldnt do for my kids.

Tersepit. oleh keadaan. but thats life.

We made our way to seri iskandar without mishap & arrived at UTP around 8.15am.  although it was our 1st time, there were enough pak guards to show us the way and registration when quite smoothly. later at the briefing (attended by both students & parents) we were told that there was in total about 1000 plus students shortlisted and broken down into 4 sessions. ours was the first.

 Registration of Eduquest Camp at the hostel area.

Kompleks Canselor - hall on the left, library on the right.

The Rector's opening speech.

Rapt attention of students & parents alike.

After getting our bearings right, we could then appreciate our surroundings & the spacious uni grounds.  there were man-made lakes incorporated into the landscape and the area was ideal for morning (or evening for that matter) jogs,  notwithstanding the 'hot spells' & the extreme humidity that we're having right now, especially up north.

Parents left after lunch but instead of going back, i made my way to my aunty's in seri manjung.  it's been a while since i've been back that-a-way.  and since mak came to live with us, her house has fallen to a sad & sorry state of disrepair.  nak disewakan dia tak nak. she'd been very abdamant about it, "kalau aku nak balik takkan aku nak halau orang keluar kot".  that was about 20 years ago.

 Pak Ngah & Mak Ngah

 Mak's house

It's rather embarassing for me to admit that i had a pretty hard time trying to find my aunty's house.. everything looked so different!! the development in sitiawan/lumut has been in leaps and bounds and its now a bustling township with rows upon rows of shops. but pakngah & makngah assured me that even locals who'd been away have been known to lose their bearings so i didnt feel too bad la lol.

And lets not talk about the heat & humidity. i stayed the nite but in the short time that i was there, i was taking showers every couple of hours and was mostly in a state of berkemban lol. of course that made me the target of my aunty's constant ribbing, "laa camni ni rupanye orang shah alam balik kampung!".

Kampung la sangat lol. its just as much a concrete jungle here as it is in the city!!

We went over to mak's house for a look-see and to also bring back her favourite mempelam epal.  i dont actually feel any ties to the house bcos mak had acquired it when i was already in my teens and away in a boarding school. mak now wants me to take over the property and looking at it, i know something should and could be done. sayang.. it could easily be turned into a holiday home or retreat, with enough land left over for a couple of fruit trees.
 

 Mempelam Epal.

We'll see.

AH completed her session by 4pm, monday and we left UTP around 6pm. with everything now behind us, it was a pleasant ride back. and its also worth mentioning that i found the tapah rest area an interesting stop. it not only boast of clean & spacious toilets, its suraus are nice & cosy and theres also a wide variety of food available - from the usual food stalls to airconditioned cafes (a godsend in this humid weather), dunkin donuts, baskin-robbins etc. a great place to stretch your legs & take a break :D

Mak was eagerly waiting for the latest news of her kampung.  and why didnt she come along with us you might ask? i dont really know why but these days she just refuses to go anywhere, prefering to stay home with the cats, the gagaks & the tupais.  they're almost like her babies.

 The ever curious Miso, mak's latest companion.

When chaos reigns..

The office is still a madhouse.

Sigh.

But when things start spinning out of control and barely make sense, i recall with clarity what a close friend once shared with me..

"Pah, when all else fails just go back to basics...  buat apa pun start with ikhlas and end with redha. work within this 2 parameters and just forget the rest"

Pretty sound advice i must say.

And in the spirit of Oldstock's Berdua-duaan post, i thought this pic that i took on my way to work rather appropriate heheh ;p

Workout Log

AM maintenance run - 3k/Sek9

Anjal

To survive one must remain 'anjal'.. able & willing to make adjustments to suit the current conditions. and like an old elastic band, i find myself not as flexi as i used to be no matter how hard i try. and theres also the need to exercise some caution bcos typical of old and worn plastic, theres always a tendency to just snap.

Which means we not only must be attuned to our surroundings, we must also know our limits.

And where am i going with this?

I honestly dont know lol. but i've been bogged down with work for weeks now and have been trying to maneuvre my way around temperamental bosses and unyielding datelines.  and although we know that the path of least resistance is the easiest and that rolling with the punches help, there are days when, whatever we do, we still get bruised anyway.

Then theres also the matter of having to be the vivacious vamp with the man around.  dah la balik sekali sekala, surely i cant just let him come home to another tired & listless face now can i?  so the stress build-up has to be dealt with. and the balance restored.

To feel good, I need my workouts and to have my workouts, i need the time, something thats in limited supply lately.

Which brings us back full circle to the subject of 'anjal'.

Since i cant leave early for the tasik bcos AH goes to work at 8am, i've started running round the neighbourhood again.  i stopped doing so mainly bcos i dont enjoy being barked at by guarddogs.. it disturbs me & makes me feel somewhat vulnerable (being attacked scares me shitless lol).  i've also identified a workable route of about 1.5km per loop and the good thing about it is..no barking dogs yay. number of loops = time available which means by starting out earlier i get to run more.

For now i can forget about my aerobic classes.  the extra hours at the office sees me going back well after 7pm leaving not much else  but enough time to fix the man his dinner.. he's obviously had enough of his own cooking, lol.

So thats the plan for now. until the next 'anjal' time that is ;p

New teacher on the block

Today is AH's 4th day as a temp at a nearby tadika.  she's now the new 'teacher' and she's pretty excited about it.

For now.

Before the novelty of 'working' wears off.

Or before the tantrums & yellings of the terrible twos & naughty fives start getting on her nerves.  maklum la tak biasa, anak bongsu.

But she loves children.  she had a nose bleed the 1st day when a kid accidentally 'face-butted' her but she didnt complain.  hazards of the job, she said. and she already has her little favourites, ones that she hasnt stop talking about since day one lol.  so maybe this will actually turn out to be a good experience for her.

"Teacher, teacher.. i saw a black cat eat a white cat yesterday teacher"

"Teacher, teacher.. i want that pencil.. THAT pencil teacher!!"

"Teacher, teacher.. can i sit on your lap?"

Sports Day @ SMK Clifford

We missed cikgu on his birthday and was finding excuses to go see him.. and what could be better than the opportunity to  spend a day with him & ALL of his students lol.

Last saturday SMK Clifford had their sports day.  and it was actually a little different from what we're used to here.

We left for Lipis friday after work.  again the car overheated as we went up to genting sempah (so its confirmed that something IS wrong) but this time we were prepared and made a couple of stopovers to compensate for the overheating.  we made it to a late supper in Lipis Club (aaaahhh the cool & creamy air kelapa float was just as yummy as i remembered).

We spent the nite @ Lipis Plaza Hotel and the place was very clean & roomy.  it was also within walking distance to the Clifford field.

I woke up pretty excited bcos theres nothing i love more than watching people in motion, especially if its running.  but i was surprised to see an empty field, almost devoid of activity (i could see the whole school complex from the hotel balcony) and it was already 7.30am.  here in shah alam, the students & teachers would already be bustling madly about.

 SMK Clifford from the hotel balcony.

So we made our way down to breakfast and not wanting to miss anything,  i reminded cikgu to keep us updated on the progress.

"Ma, we do things differently here.  theres no rush la" said the cikgu.

Hmmmm... 'but the sun would be up soon and the poor kids would be roasted in the field', thought his mama.

But the weather cooperated and it was a fine day to be outdoors. there was a constant breeze and clouds to filter out the sun. when we finally sat ourselves down at the podium it was about 8.30am and true enough, things really were done differently in Lipis - there really was NO rush.  the time between events were quite far apart and there was lots of time to mingle and enjoy the day.  oh, all the events that make up a sports day were there and the students were in top form...but everything was done in a laid back manner.  and we found out from cikgu that there was also going to be a closing ceremony on sunday nite.  wow, thats 2 days in a row!!

 Cikgu with his F5 students.

The sport's day food stalls

Putting our thinking caps on while we watched, Missy & i finally concuded that there wasnt any need to rush things bcos they were using their own field and the close proximity to their hostels also lend it a carnival air. whereas here in shah alam, the school usually utilise the matsushita stadium as their sports venue so there is a need to stick to a certain schedule. another factor is probably the stressful city mindset of always rushing thru things... rush rush rush!! sometimes i wander where it is that we're rushing to?!!

Golfman even had the time to squeeze in a ride around the town on cikgu's bike lol.

 Within the compounds of Clifford.

Unfortunately we couldnt stay another day bcos Missy had a gathering with her classmates that nite.  oh and my bongsu drove all the way up the long & winding road to bentong (well, maybe not so winding la lol). and as you can see, we survived lol !!

Waaah, can drive long distance now aah ;p

* AI had his own mass comm. trip to Cherating and couldnt make it to Lipis.  he still owes his bro a birthday hug :D

Trala-la-la-la

Heh. the man's back.

..where he belongs ;D

Workout

AM - 8k/TSA

He's 25 today

I was guilty of being a stressed out-no nonsence-first time momma who was garang to a fault. and he was just a happy lil kid, running about with nothing but fun in his mind and not a single mean bone in his body.

Being the first, he was the one to suffer the brunt of my ignorance & inexperience.

Wasnt his fault he was born with a hole in his heart.

Wasnt his fault he also had adhd.

And me, i nearly squashed out the one, most remarkable thing he still had in abundance even through all the hardship & pain.... thank god that, no thanks to me, he still held on fast to his sense of humour.

Bcos i've come to realise that it is our sense of humour that gets us through our longest days. and its our sense of humour that helps keep it all together, and our sense of humour that eventually saves us.

 

The Boy - 1989

 

The Man - 2010

Happy birthday my darling.. our very best wishes to you forever & always, dunia & akhirat.