Neglected Page

Dear Blog,

I'm so sorry for this neglected page.. I've been extremely busy these past few months. Has it been 4 months since I last wrote? Time really flies this year! Can't believe we are coming to the end of October..

I will write a summary of July, August & September soon.. But for now, let's just say that I've been thoroughly blessed by Allah the All Mighty, Syukur Alhamdulillah..

Apabila Allah menurunkan rezeki kepada hambaNya, kadang kala ianya datang dengan berbagai jenis dugaan dan cabaran. Ianya untuk menguatkan dan memantapkan semangat. Supaya kita belajar dan lebih matang dalam menghadapi kehidupan yang penuh rintangan ini. Insya Allah.

Signing off for now. Will be back soon..

(^_^)

1st Quarter of 2011

Whatever happened to the first quarter of the year? Suddenly it's April 2011!! To say the cliched "Time Flies" is truly an understatement!

Well, looking back on the last 3 months, so much has happened this year. On a personal note, it's been quite hectic for me & AZ- was in Paris in January and performed our Umrah the second half of February. The whole of March was a chaos of back to back meetings and assisting clients with Contract negotiations - some ended well whilst others didn't. Met some good people, and some not so good people. Juggling deadlines & appointments.

The past week has been quite an emotional one for the family. Apak was hospitalized and a biopsy was recommended. Mak was in US with Kak Long at that time and we had to make some difficult desicions which turned out to be blessings from Allah. Alhamdulillah we received the result of Apak's biopsy yesterday and he is clear of cancer. Syukur, syukur Alhamdulillah.

Japan was hit by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake, then a destructive tsunami which unfortunately resulted in further chaos in a nuclear plant in Fukushima. I have been closely following this catastrophic events and can only pray that Allah will give them mercy. After watching news reports & documentaries on CNN and BBC News, reading newspapers & magazines, looking at extremely sad pictures and finally speaking to Azam who just came back from Japan after 10 days of mission with MERCY, I can only conclude that there are no other race on earth like the Japanese. Their resilience, true grit and strength is commendable. Despite the chaos and trauma, they face their day to day life in perfect order and stability. Azam said that what he saw in Japan is Islam and everything that is taught in Islam although the Japanese are not Muslims.

I wonder how Malaysians would react if a disaster ever hit our country. Nauzubillah.. Ya Allah, jauhkanlah negaraku ini dari berlakunya gempa bumi, tsunami dan malapetaka alam yang membinasakan..

Looking forward to the next 3 quarters of 2011 in anticipation.. (^_^)

10.10.10

A very special date today. 3 years ago, Adlan fell & broke his kneecap. We were in Pantai Hospital after his operation when we saw Sheikh Muzaffar's launch into space, live on TV. And now 3 years later, I'm watching the Astronaut's wedding live on TV3. 10,000 guests! Wow! Seems quite overwhelming! Wishing them both a life full of love and understanding..

For me, the Sunday of 10.10.10 was spent in the best way ever which was lazing around doing nothing with my kids, eating dinner together and having a nice quiet chat with AZ..

Have a good week people (^_^)

After the Carnival 2010

Ever had SO MUCH to do that you don't have the time to get sick? Then, when everything is over, the flu comes on to you at double dose?

Well, the Carnival is over. Happy to report that it was a BLAST! Everyone had LOADS of FUN and we raised more money than we targeted. Alhamdulillah.. The Wall Climb was a real hit - more than 600 people went on it! The queues to the pony rides, paintball and haunted houses were endless up to the end of the Carnival. The PTA Kopitiam alone raised more than RM5,000! There were 64 food stalls and 10 games stalls - but this clearly wasn't enough to cater for the thousands of guests who came as most of the food were wiped out by 2pm! Wow! What a Fantastic day we had. God is Great and made it such a wonderful day with such good weather (it rained for about 10 minutes at about 10am and it stopped and cooled down the whole day!).

Then the flu came, full blast! (I've been staving it off the whole week last week - no time to get sick then!). My whole body ached the whole of Sunday (yep, getting old, definitely). Followed by an excruciating sore throat (voice is still scratchy) and a very heavy head. Had double dose of Vitamin C, been taking Actifast and lots of fluids. Feeling a bit better today.. phew!

But above all, we now have more money for the School Building fund and that's awesome! Alhamdulillah.. (^_^)

Lost Palm

I lost my phone yesterday. With it went over 2 years of special text messages that I have saved from AZ and encouraging words from friends and family. These are messages that I read again and again whenever I feel a little bit down. Now they are gone. It's heartbreaking.

Getting Old & Sensitive

It's true what they say. As you get older, you become more and more sensitive.

I didn't give much thought about this before. Until recently. When I started feeling so sensitive and emotional about little things. I guess it's a clear sign of me getting old! Sigh...

Adlina and Anas stayed over at Mak's house for 2 nights over last weekend as their cousins from KL were around. They must have been having so much fun that they didn't bother to call home (read: Me!). I felt so emotional about this and started to think that it would come to this eventually when they leave home to go to college or university. Is this an indication of how it would be like? No calls to Mama when the children are away? Sedihnya!! Ok, ok, they are only 11 and 8 now and won't be going away until they are 18. But it hurts to think that they are no longer dependant on me and didn't need my daily hugs and kisses.. Double Sigh...

I AM getting old & over-sensitive!! Aiyoh..

Well, that explains why all 4 of them have been camping in our room on the floor the past 2 nights. The excuse of wanting to watch World Cup together is such a farce. The truth is, I just love having my kids close to me.. It's just so hard to let go...

Now I can imagine what it must have been like for Mak to let 8 of us go. Note to Self: Must make a point to call Mak more often.

Call up your mom today, folks (^_^)

Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time

Saw this movie yesterday evening with my kids. In one word: It was AWESOME. I would even go as far as saying that this is the best movie that I've seen in the last 5 years. Great story, Beautiful settings, Terrific adventures, Thrilling fighting scenes, Fantastic Special Effects, And a Dashing Hero ;) (Reese Witherspoon must be nuts to let this guy go!).

3 other things that I love about this movie:-

1. The Heroin was smart & courageous. Not a wimpy-damsel-in-distress stereotype. A great character and a good role model for young ladies;

2. The ending was soooo unpredictable! I couldn't believe how good the ending was! It could not have ended better.

3. The movie stressed on the importance of family staying close. The King said to Dastan: "The Bond of Brothers is the sword that will save the Empire". Wow.

For those who haven't seen this movie yet, may I suggest that you make it a family outing during this school holiday? Your kids will love it!

Have fun (^_^)

Facebook vs. Blog

There is another HUGE reason why I haven't been updating my Blog as frequently as I should. It's called: FACEBOOK. Somehow Facebook has won over Blogger in my case..

Facebook: Quick & Easy Status Updates
Blog: Need time to think of new Posting

Facebook: Many friends linked directly to daily updates
Blog: Friends need to type in your Blog URL

Facebook: Immediate link through Blackberry & iPhone
Blog: Need to type in your Blog URL

Facebook: You can check many friends' status daily by opening just 1 window
Blog: Must open many windows

Facebook: Easy to upload photos & albums
Blog: Not as easy as FB

Facebook: Many games directly linked
Blog: What games?

Alamak! So many reasons la!! Facebook wins!

So, please don't blame me for not updating regularly.. (^_^)

Reading Chick Lit - Part II

For me, reading is a way for me to wind down after a stressful day at work. I love to dive into the pages, to learn about people, real or fictional; to feel the love, excitement, anguish and frustration, the emotional highs and lows of each character; to learn about different places and cultures; to understand how different people react or respond to diverse situations in life. Some books are so well written that they touch your heart!

I love books that are positive and uplifting. Books that encourage you to do more in life, to appreciate your friends and family, to never take anything you have for granted. Books that make you understand yourself even better!

Reading chick lit for the past 2 months have been quite interesting for me. I feel I understand people and their reactions better! I love books by Lisa Kleypas and Nora Roberts. They are so special and real. Rachel Gibson books are so light and easy to read - they are perfect after a real hard day. You can read these books over and over again..

BUT, there are books which should have come with WARNING Labels on them. I just can't appreciate books written by Cecelia Ahern. I read 2 books by her over the last weekend and regretted reading them: If You Could See Me Now and Love, Rosie. 'If You Could See Me Now' is written in the perspective of the heroin's nephew's Imaginary Friend (can you beat how weird this is?). It is rather bizarre! 'Love, Rosie' is just so infuriating - it's about 2 people who had been best friends ever since they were 5 years old and began to realize that they love each other when they were 18 but only finally confessed to each other of their love when they were 50 at the very last page!! I hated the book mainly because the heroin kept on subotaging her own life and happiness throughout the book and wasted more than 30 years of her life denying her love and feelings!! It is so against what I believe in - people should seize every opportunity they have, and seize the day! They should be with the ones they love, and love unconditionally. I was so angry reading the book and wanted to burn it midway! It was definitely NOT uplifting and I felt depressed after reading it.

Which is why I am swearing off Chick Lit for the moment and moving on to Motivational Books for the next few weeks. I should start with ESQ which was given to me by my friend Raha early last year. Never got round to reading it.. Better start now (^_^)

PS: Ladies, any of you have any words to say about Marian Keyes books? I got 2 of her books from Borders yesterday but I'm a bit wary of reading any books which could pull me down..

From Apple to Dell

I just changed my notebook a couple of days ago. After using a Macbook for the past 2 years, the Dell is such a refreshing change! There is so much to un-learn and re-learn! The latest Microsoft Office is just wonderful. Drafting agreements have been a pleasure with easy icons accessible on a single click. I love my new Dell notebook!

PS: I'm actually really quite sad to part with my Apple.. it was AZ's valentine's day present to me 2 years ago.. sigh..

Emotional

Why are we women so emotional? Don't you just wish that you don't care so much sometimes because somehow little things mean a lot and before you know it we start feeling hurt. We cry, sulk and wait for those 2 little magic words: "I'm sorry". The problem (and the sulking) is somehow enhanced when those words are not forthcoming from our men. The thing is most of the time men are just clueless about what they did (or didn't do) to hurt their other (better) half. And sometimes I don't blame them! We women somehow feel that there is no need for explanation as we always think: "If he loves me, he will know what went wrong!" Hallloooo??? Not only do we expect our men to be loving, romantic and attentive, we also expect them to be mind-readers!! Tsk, tsk, tsk...


Well, I used to be guilty of all that too. Don't blame me, I'm a woman! So, I'm entitled to be unreasonable when it comes to matters of the heart. But you know, I've somehow changed my perception of things (mainly because I just turned 40 and it gets rather tiring to wait for my man to somehow guess when something went wrong). So, I feel it's best to just be upfront, tell him and make him understand why it hurts. And it's working so much better! Why didn't I think of this earlier and save myself all those pain & hurt? Now we understand each other even better (read: he now knows that I get stressed over little things!). Aiyoh! A little bit embarassing sometimes, but at least he knows that he should say sorry and I will feel a lot better :)


Ladies, for the sake of sanity and self-preservation, when something goes wrong (as it often does in a relationship between 2 people who are far from perfect) please just tell your man what went wrong. And when he asks: "What's wrong, dear?", don't you dare say "Nothing's wrong..." although you just cried your eyeballs out in the bathroom!


Good luck, gals (^_^)

Reading Chick-Lit

I've been seriously neglecting my Blog and my Scrabble games in FB due to the fact that I've been reading books at every possible free time. All chick-lits at that! I haven't read these much fiction since my days in secondary school! Seriously..

The problem is this: once I start reading, I just get obsessive about finishing the book & neglect everything else. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), my eldest sista Kak Long has thousands of books in her library (I'm not exaggerating: she can open up a 2nd-hand bookstore) and she has been supplying books to Eda, Win & me. Before I knew it, I got sucked in :-0

I started with the 4 Twillight saga books (Eda's evil influence!) and since then, I've been reading non-stop. Just for fun, I made a list of all the books that I've read and was shocked to note that I've read a total of 23 books in the past 30 days!! Aiyoh! Must tone down la... My scrabble mates have already abandoned me for the past month (ok, ok.. my games were all neglected for weeks!). Before my friends (and family) start boycotting me and before Blogger close down this Blog due to neglect, I better phase out this new hobby! But Eda just passed me a few books by Judith McNaught and she swears that the books are good reads.. Sigh..

Anyway, I really recommend these authors to all ladies out there: Nora Roberts, Jennifer Crusie and Lisa Kleypas. You will cry and laugh at the same time! Enjoy reading gals (^_^)

This and That

This posting is a summary of my past week. I will keep it short and sweet:-

1. It's official: My camera is lost. I must have misplaced it somewhere! So, for now, there won't be any pictures accompanying my postings (yawn..);

2. I've been spending some time this week wearing my PTA Chairman's hat! Adlan's school is celebrating its 50th Anniversary and St David High School PTA is organizing a Fund-raising Dinner on 5/12/2009. It's quite exciting. Last Tuesday, our committee members were called to meet up with the Chief Minister at his office. It was great of CM to re-arrange his schedule to ensure that he'll be able to grace our event! Thank you, Datuk Seri :)

3. We ordered Hakim's reward for doing well in his UPSR. He wanted an iPod Touch. We ordered it online so that his name can be engraved on it. Hoping that the package will arrive by next Monday;

4. Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha to everyone! The day was spent mostly at my sister Eda's home. Adlina & Anas decided to stay the night at Mak's home so that they can spend more time with their cousins.. Adlan & Hakim decided to stay home - Note: Rumah Mak takde computer ;)

5. This morning I spent a wonderful time with Kak Long, Kak Mas & Eda at Spa Village.. It was so relaxing.. Destressing with a good massage is a MUST for all working mothers! Heavenly..

Tomorrow's Sunday! Yay (^_^)

Occupational Hazard

Have been having too much on my plate these past 2 weeks. Too many meetings & deadlines. Having to solve problems faced by others, some of which were too complicated for words. Been spending some time in KL High Court & Melaka High Court for Hearings. Clients pressing for Agreements, one of which is a mind-numbing Shareholders Agreement of unfriendly parties. 

Why do people get themselves into such complicated business relationships and situations? Then they look for lawyers who have too think of how best to solve their predicament! It's been affecting me quite badly this time that I find myself awake in the middle of the night not being able to go back to sleep. I guess this comes with the job.. Sigh.. 

I just feel I need a holiday REALLY badly.. Just need to get away..

Raya Hazard

My sistas & I @ Eda's Openhouse

The month of Syawal is filled with Openhouses! Good for strengthening relationships BUT so BAD for the waistline. I summoned some courage to step on the weighing scale this morning & was so shocked to see the result. Yikes!! Dah makan banyak pun boleh terperanjat tengok the kgs coming on konon! Should be expecting the outcome kan? After all, since 1st Syawal, we have gone to about 12 Openhouses!! This is truly the hazard of Raya :-0

Happy last few days of Syawal everyone (^_^)

The Neglected Page

It's been a while since I last wrote. Life has been packed with activities the past 2 weeks. Our legal assistant resigned & I've had to re-organize our Litigation team which means that I have to cover some of the Court cases for the next month or so.. Weekends have been filled with Raya Openhouses & I haven't had the time to update this neglected page.. There is so much to write about but I'm either too busy working, or too full to write after all those Openhouses...

See you soon (^_^)

Our Oldest Koi

Dragon 

Our Koi Pond was infected by bacteria last week!! Yikes.. The kois looked so dizzy, grouping together at the corner, mostly gasping for oxygen. A few were already swimming sideways! Literally Nyawa-Nyawa Ikan :( 

Dragon, our oldest Koi succumbed to the disease last Thursday when I was in Kuching. It's so sad because we had it for 5 years & it had survived many-many Pond-Mishaps like when the pump broke down 3 years ago & almost all our kois died (about 25 of them). Adlina was really sad but I told her that Dragon is in a better place now..

Dragon saying goodbye to Brownie (Adlina's favourite soft toy)

AZ intervened on Saturday & poured in the Ubat to kill the bacteria & the water is all luminous green now. But it looks like the ubat is working well. All the fish swimming sideways suddenly dah tegak balik! Phew!

Really hope that the rest of the fish will survive this trauma..

The Familiarity of Home

It's been a whole week of rush, rush, rush for me. Had to fly in to Kuching & then Sibu in the middle of the week to get 5 sets of Agreements signed by 4 different clients. It's been utterly stressful. This was especially painful for me because it's fasting month and I just hate to be away from home. I missed the sahur, berbuka and solat Maghrib berjemaah with AZ and the kids..

Being away from my family for just a couple of days was enough to make me really appreciate being home more, even if it's just doing nothing particularly special. The familiarity of home, the love and acceptance, precious moments with the kids and the comfort of being with AZ, all adds up. I guess I'm not cut out to be one of those high flying people who live in a suitcase, going for business trips from country to country. I think I was born to be a housewife :)

I sound so sappy here.. please excuse the ramblings (^_^)

H1N1

Adlan was down with a very bad flu last night. Very high fever at 39 degrees celcius & terrible coughs. I started getting really worried when he started to feel lethargic and refused to eat his dinner (this is very unusual!). 2 days ago 18 students from his class were absent from school due to severe flu. So, I knew we had to take him to the hospital immediately.

Putra Hospital A & E was packed with people, mostly down with flu! It didn't look good. I was informed that the night before, 70 students from a college were brought into the hospital with flu symptoms & it was chaotic. When the doctor examined Adlan, he said that it was possible that Adlan might be having the dreaded H1N1 as the virus is just everywhere now, plus the fact that St David High School had a few suspected cases. I felt so weak when he said that. But he reassured us that complications only happen in 1 of 500 cases. In most cases, the virus will stay & die off after 5-7 days. He prescribed Adlan with some medication, some strong antibiotics & requested that he be quarantined at home. He finally said that if Adlan starts vomiting, we have to immediately send him to the General Hospital.

Apparently the swab test to determine whether or not one has H1N1 is only available in government hospitals. The test kit is expensive, costing about RM1,250 per person and it takes 3 days before the result can be confirmed. I guess this means that the numbers of people infected with virus in Malaysia must be so much higher than the 1,400+ as published by the government. I'm sure there are many more people who must have been infected but didn't get the chance to undergo the swab test to confirm their status! This is so worrying..

Well, at home, Alhamdulillah Adlan is feeling so much better today. His fever has reduced to 38.2. He is still coughing with some runny nose, but no vomiting. He has started eating again at lunch time, although much lesser than normal, at least he is eating. I hope he will completely recover soon..

Just pray that the rest will be spared from the flu.. Shoo, Shoo H1N1!!

In Sickness

It's been a little quiet the past one week, mainly because I had the flu. Adlina got the flu bug about 10 days ago, passed it on to papa last week & then mama. Adlan & Hakim caught it 2 days ago & finally Anas this morning.. Of all the residents of Danau Kaseh, Mama got the worst of the flu - the whole works - fever, completely blocked nose, extremely sore throat & excruciating coughs! Finally feeling a bit better today after 2 days of antibiotics. 

Having said all that, I know I have a lot to thank for. This is nothing compared to the news that I just received about the passing of a senior in school who was just 2 years older than me. Kak Angah passed away yesterday after suffering from breast cancer for just 4 months. I just cannot imagine how her children would cope without their beloved mother.. It's so painful. I don't really remember Kak Angah who was our Blue House captain in 1984, and I feel so terrible that I can't really have a clear image of how she looked like. It has been more than 25 years after all.. Semoga rohnya ditempatkan dengan orang-orang yang beriman & I pray that Allah will protect her children and give them the strength to move on in life. Al-Fatihah.

In Malaysia, for every 5 women, 1 will suffer from cancer - breast & cervical cancer top the list. This means that I could be one of the 5 - the statistics is so staggering. Why is it so prevalent? Is it the food we are taking? Is it the stress? Is it the environment? Could it be our lifestyle? Takut rasanya nak fikirkan.. Doa Allah jauhkan penyakit ini dari kesemua ahli keluargaku dan kawan-kawanku. Amin.