A New Dawn (Insya Allah)

Tajuk entry auntie ni bunyinya ala ala tajuk buku2 Mills and Boon yang auntie suka baca masa masa muda-muda dulu. Pada kawan2 and adik beradik auntie dan juga AH yg kurang arif pasai buku ni, ia adalah buku cintan-cintun omputih. Kat situ lah phrase "tall, dark and handsome" dan sewaktu dengannya boleh kita jumpa in almost every other page. It described the hero la, of course, not the heroine (kalau describe the heroine, parah la).

So, buku2 ni suka dibaca oleh young nubile girls sambil2 bermimpi depa akan dapat partner macam dalam buku tu. Tapi auntie tak pernah terpikir macam tu pun. Auntie baca buku2 tu untuk upgrade auntie punya English jek sambil dok imagine tempat2 yg auntie akan pergi bila study kat England nanti (nasib baik dapat pergi UK to study). Of course, the reality is jauh panggang dari api. I never get to stay even in a cosy, self-contained London flat macam pompuan2 dalam buku tu. In fact kena duduk bilik sewa dalam rumah buruk kepunyaan second generation migrants of UK. And sometimes kena ikat perut (walau pun tak jugak kurus) kerana cost of living yg tinggil. In any case, auntie memang tak dapat 'tall, dark and handsome' for life partner. Instead auntie dapat 'medium-height, tubby, fair but ala ala hensem la jugak', which suits auntie jes fine coz auntie rasa auntie lebih sesuai hidup dalam shrek kingdom daripada posh, fine-dining lifestyles sold in the books.

Contoh buku Mills and Boon zaman sekarang.

Eh, panjang pulak auntie merapu pasai benda yg tidak berkaitan dengan tujuan sebenar auntie buat entry ni.

Actually, 'a new dawn' tu of course refers to the new years that we are celebrating. And also, the first birthday of auntie's blog. Auntie baru notice that on the 28th December baru2 ni, blog auntie setahun umurnya. The date just passed me by and auntie terlupa nak blog on that day. No hal la coz auntie tak la sentimental with the date. Lagipun blog ni bukanlah menambah apa-apa kepada kesejahteraan dunia, so no need to celebrate with cakes ke cupcakes ke yg ada tulis 'happy 1st birthday, blog'. Blog ni is only an outlet for auntie to cerita-ceriti kehidupan auntie with adik-beradik and kengkawan yg jauh dan dekat coz kadang-kadang even when we chatted on the phone or during meals together for hours, we still manage to forget to share certain things in our lives. And sharing is so therapeutic kan?

Auntie baca one article in the papers recently that 'blogging' is actually passe now ie old fashioned already (read also this and this) [hehe auntie nak show-off ni coz baru tahu linking]. Ramai org yg started their blogs a few years ago are rarely updating them now because there are newer avenues for self-expression on the web, namely facebook dan benda2 sewaktu dgnnya. Auntie ada facebook jugak tapi auntie feels blog is still my preferred domain to catch up with friends. When people posted in their facebook what they are currently doing eg "Minah Karan is...thinking how to avoid electric shot to her hair", it sounds so pretentious and showy. Dalam blog, we normally update our lives with more honesty and deeper thoughts. So, auntie thinks I will continue blogging for at least another year.

Ok, on to new years. On the 29th Dec we celebrated the dawn of a new Hijrah year and tomorrow, Insya Allah, we will see the light of 2009. Other than thanking Allah for keeping auntie alive and to continue with auntie's reasonably good life, auntie does not normally have specific aspirations for the new years, either of them. Sebenarnya auntie berazam baru setiap hari dan tak tunggu any special date. Sama ada azam tu dipenuhi atau tidak tu cerita lain la kan? Tiap-tiap hari sebelum tidur auntie berazam untuk bangun awal, buat sembahyang sunat sepertiga malam dan sembahyang subuh on time. Tapi, masih lagi many times Subuh gajah mammoth. Tiap-tiap pagi auntie bangun dan berazam untuk menjadi orang yg tenang, sabar dan lemah lembut. Tapi bila naik jek kereta nak pi kerja pagi-pagi auntie akan jumpa pelbagai wallies on the road yg membuatkan all my good intentions go down the drain. Tiap2 minggu auntie pi kelas dan berazam utk amat bersabar dgn students auntie bila mereka sambil lewa jek buat preparation for tutorial presentation tetapi, half way through their presentation, auntie's blood pressure is already shot to the roof dan berasa ingin menjadi singa pompuan. Tiap2 waktu sebelum auntie nak pi buat transaction dengan pelbagai manusia, auntie berazam utk menjadi seorang pompuan yg paling berhemah tetapi bila terpaksa deal ngan various service people yg macam siut, auntie terus jadi pompuan paling rude dlm dunia.

So, pendek kata, auntie mesti ulang balik azam-azam auntie tu setiap hari untuk setahun lagi akan datang supaya tidak begitu ramai org akan terbunuh tahun 2009 ini. Tapi kalau tahun ini students auntie juga berazam menjadi org yg lebih resourceful dan diligent, kalau the service people juga berazam menjadi lebih responsible, responsive dan polite dan kalau pemandu2 Malaysia juga berazam menjadi manusia biasa (dan bukan manusia bengong), harus azam2 auntie tu akan dipenuhi, Insya Allah.

On a more serious note, 2008 has been quite colourful for auntie and auntie has achieved many things professionally and personally. Auntie managed to secure a few research grants, complete a few materials for publication, continue more strategically with USM's campaign against sexual harassment on campus and obtained more postgraduate students. Auntie also went to Mekah for umrah for the first time (major achievement, not only because Auntie get to see rumah Allah, but also because auntie got to help Wan and Aki to go about with their ibadah too), got myself and AH an apartment, baked a few trays of brownies for kith and kin, did qurban in Cambodia, paid some overdue zakat and helped a friend or two in times of need (at least, I think I've helped!). Towards the end of the year, there were a few downturns for auntie. Auntie thinks auntie did badly in the stupid PTK and there were a few glitches with our apartment renovation. But as Auntie tells myself, Allah yg menentukan rezeki kita semua. Let the dissapointment and glitches be lessons. Maybe auntie alpa sikit dalam ibadah auntie. Maybe too much of a good thing is bad for auntie. So, takpa lah. Auntie terima dugaan Allah.

And there is much to look forward to in 2009. Our 'new' nest. Starting a new couple-routine there. Hopefully, being successful in getting a baby or two (maybe not more than one in the same year, unless twins). My sabbatical. Yes, I start tomorrow. For the next 5 months auntie does not have to teach or attend official meetings (unless I want to). Just have to concentrate on my research and publication and catch up on readings. Do more bonding things with self-confessed-deprived-husband AH, like go to Sushi King at 2.30pm on a working day and catch a movie on couple seats (we must take two of the couple seats, not one) at the cinema (rather than just watching Astro movies on the bed). Take Wan and Aki to come live with auntie and AH for a few weeks (if they can last that long away from their groupies) and pamper them to bits. Try my new oven. Learn to bake bread like Mamachupan's Mr Baker.

Pendek kata, rejuvenate! With some caution of course.

So, Awwal Muharram Mubarak and Happy New Year, my lovelies jubblies!

Dedicated to AH

Tetiba lagu M.Nasir (duet with Yusnizar Hoessein) terngiang-ngiang kat telinga auntie. Tapi auntie 'dengar' different lyric. Here it is:

____________________________

DUA INSAN (VERSI ’SHREK’)

Bila kau kenyang ku gembira

Bila kau lapar ku rasa issshhhh

Bagai abang rindu mee mamak

Ku rindu pada nasi dagang emak

Mana saja abang landing

Ku kan tetap ikut baring
Walaupun bantal ku jauh
Namun perutmu ada ku tak jatuh

Chorus:

Bila saja barangan menimpa
Kerna cinta ada kau marah kejap ja
Hanya dikau dan tiny room kita

Membuat hidupku bagai dalam kereta

Biar misai berganti misai
Biar hensem-mu bertambah
Telah kukatakan padamu oh abang
Hanya ’badak outing’ dapat memisahkan

Jika kau tanya Dr Akbar

How can we get baby or two

Nanti jawabnya pada kita
Weight loss programme complete dulu

Ku persembahkan pada abang

Pasta olio kurang pedas
Kau terima sambil komplen
tapi habis juga sebesen

Chorus:

Bila saja kuhabiskan pizza

Kerna cinta ada kau tahan sahaja

Hanya dikau dan kamera
Membuat hidupku bagai takda pun takpa

Dua insan sedang bercinta
Dua insan berjanji setia
Telah kukatakan padamu oh abang

Hanya lauk udang dapat memisahkan

_______________________________

PS1: Yesterday and today have not been too kind to auntie but Allah sahaja tempat berserah dan Dia sahaja menentukan rezeki auntie, not some kind of half-baked professors.

PS2: Auntie had nice outing with AH today although orang sebelah menyebelah we all mungkin terjojol mata tengok satu couple yg share TWO half-chickens right before their eyes. (Tak habis pun, kena tapau one half. Tu la tamak and ordering while famished).

HAVE A GOOD COUNTDOWN TO END OF YEAR EVERYONE!

Something fishy - again!

Hi everyone! All three of you that is still diligently reading auntie's blog (well maybe the other 7 visit from time to time, so that's quite a few of everyone) because there must be more interesting thing to do like finding out what your friends are up to on facebook. Hehehe.

Anyway, something fishy today at auntie's is the second cookout of ikan patin yang masih berbaki from auntie's last trip back to Kuantan (auntie blogged about the first cookout a few entries ago). And sorry, the gambar is still not the genuine article since you guys know about auntie's kong camera. And auntie did not have my phone in the kitchen to take even a substandard picture. So, auntie 'pinjam' this picture from the website of Puspanita SPA. Thank you tuanpunya gambaq and sorry tak mintak permission directly. Walau bagaimanapong, auntie punya ikan patin hari ni ada iras2 yg ni. Yum! Yum!

Auntie hope satu hari nanti auntie dapat cook this for kengkawan especially gang badak and kawan auntie kat Melaka tu (yg bersedia meredah tasik cini nak pi makan ikan patin kat kuantan- now ni ada highway dah tati, so you are spared the wet adventure! Hehe). Sorry la kengkawan, cukup2 untuk keluarga AH je and parents AH so love this dish which is why auntie make sure they could eat it a few times while the patin stock last. They have been discussing if they want to open up to the possibility of eating tesco's patin again. You know la senior citizen, a bit particular about this. They need authoritative people to tell them it is ok. (those authoritative people do not include auntie and AH la).



Anyways, together with that patin, auntie also prepared sotong goreng tepung for dinner. So far, adik beradik auntie macam suka je sotong goreng tepung auntie so auntie rasa this is one of my signature dishes la jugak in the family. Kalau sesape nak try, ie. if you don't already have a tried-and-tested recipe, this is how auntie does it:

10 ekor sotong (medium sized, cleaned and cut into ringed pieces, cut the heads into two)
4 sudu besaq tepung gandum
2 sudu besaq tepung jagung
(mommy kata, kalau add 1 tbsp tepung beras to the whole mixture ok jugak)
1 egg white (it's ok to use whole egg but kena increase flours measurement a bit coz yolk makes the batter less crispy, i think)
seasoning (suka hati- other than garam auntie bubuh a little bit of pepper and kunyit to the sotong)
minyak to goreng

Add egg white and a sprinkle (about 1 tbsp) of the flour mixture to sotong and mix well. Refrigerate this for some time (so best is to prepare the sotong about half hour before cooking then pop it in the fridge). If you don't have time, no need to refrigerate. Cuma auntie rasa kalau refrigerate, it will make the sotong crispier. Don't know the science of it, but when auntie tried a few times, they gave better results. When ready to goreng, put flour mixture with seasoning (easy on the seasoning if you already seasoned the sotong) in a plastic container with lid. Add a few pieces of sotong to flour mixture. Cover the container and shake to flour-coat the sotong. Shake off excess flour and place sotong on plate before frying. Put just enough oil to cover about 10 pieces of sotong at a time. The oil will burn quickly because of the semi- loose flour coating so no point to have too much oil at a time and it won't do the sotong any good if we fry too many at a time. Fry and voila! Sotong goreng tepung ala Auntida!

That's it. Happy trying!

On another fishy note, something not quite kosher is going on with Auntie's tukang rumah, A Seng. He has not been coming to continue work with our renovation for a few weeks now and we can't get hold of him on the phone. His tools and paraphernalia is still in the apartment but he's MIA. Auntie and AH dah mintak tolong Pak Mat, a good neighbour who introduced us to A Seng to go to his house. No one there, so Pak Mat went to A Seng's dad's place. The dad said A Seng has got another job somewhere and had not even been visiting him when he was ill. But he assured Pak Mat, A Seng is still around. So..., we need a plan. In terms of physical money, if A Seng has abandoned us, we may not have lost that much since most of the work had been done. If auntie can live without downlights in the bathrooms and wall-hanging cabinets in the kitchen for a few weeks, auntie could have moved in. Tapi auntie teramat geram kerana A Seng did this to us despite us cutting a lot of slack for him. Tadi auntie jumpa seorang pakcik neighbour dan dia kata, "kita ingat orang lain honest macam kita in our dealings, so over and over again we get conned". Well, pakcik, thank you for that thoughtful insights! Perhaps auntie already know that lesson like a week into the renovation when Abg Sahak buat hal tu?

Our take on A Seng is that dia sedang diburu Along (the loan-shark kind), which explains the MIA bit. What we want to clear is, if he is going to finish the job, give us the ballpark time. We all takut nanti we all cari orang lain tetiba dia mai balik and kata he has all the intention of finishing his work. In any case, AH akan tulis surat cinta pada A Seng (hopefully with Hokkien translation since A Seng is rudimentary in his Malay and perhaps buta hurup in English- he only ever said 'jubin' for tiles and 'sinki' for sink- who said 'sinki' nowadays?) to panggil mai bincang by the end of this month. After that we have to get a new tukang to keep our life going. Auntie has a more evil plans like hiring thugs to go beat the c--p out of him when they can find him (hopefully auntie get thugs who can find people la). Tapi of course AH being the mild manner rounder version of Clark Kent talked auntie out of this. So auntie is going to do one less evil thing. Auntie nak pi letak notice merata Brown Garden and gelugor about A Seng's uselessness so that orang tak ambik dia lagi. Tapi AH takleh tau plan auntie ni. Nanti dia buat cubaan to dissuade auntie lagi. However, both AH and auntie agree we shall go make police report (walaupun we have to be creative about which section of the Penal Code this should be, lawyers out there, help me) and also complaints to whatever tribunal we can find. Halfway through the renovation, auntie wrote a lengthy contract for A Seng to sign (without discussion or explanation, just force him to sign) but AH kata it would be unfair to force him to sign kalau A Seng don't even understand the word 'agreement' in the contract. True. Because in contract law, such contract may fail. Tapi, in any case, kalau pun A Seng sign contract knowing full well its implication, and he decided to lari, there is still not much we can do about it coz kalau dia takdak duit, there will be no question of taking him to court pun. Rugi duit sendiri jek. In the end, we realise that houseowners in Malaysia do not have much protection against this kind of contractor's slacks. Cuma we all bersyukur, the possible monetary loss is beareable compared to various stories of friends and acquaintances we've heard. Cuma it knocked our plan out about moving in by 2 months, which is a great bother.

Anyways, untuk menghibur hati auntie, auntie nak letak some pictures of the apartment to date. Auntie ambik gambar guna auntie punya rustic phone camera so not so good. Here goes:

The 'famous' bathroom. All design ideas are AH's. Yang tak siap is ceiling with downlights.

More of bathroom


Auntie's favourite sinki

Check out the tap items and tempat tonyoh kain!

Kitchen top (A seng owed us the missing doors and wall- hanging cabinets). The tap is retractable, like the one used by CSIs to bathe the dead bodies. Hehe.

Auntie's rustic looking laminated wood-flooring. The person yg deliver fridge to our house said, "Lantai belum cat ka?". Nasib baik sudah kenai lama. Kalau tak harus kena ketuk ngan kotak fridge. O, auntie lupa nak ambik gambaq fridge. Fridge ni is so big, nak masuk dalam rumah sampai kena unhinge pintu depan. Kalau AH merajuk dia boleh tidur dalam fridge. No need to go outside and sleep in the boxes. Nanti next time auntie put pictures.

More of flooring and sofa. At the background, AH admiring his office.

Lagi lantai. So far masih berkilat.

AH in the office. There will be some kind of screen later between the office table and sofas so that AH tak kacau auntie tengok TV.

Esok auntie kena pi Ipoh for some work.

This has been a long entry, maybe enough to last a few weeks.

Good night everyone!

QIN IS FOUR!!

Auntie was in an important meeting whole day yesterday and the day before and did not have time to wish a little someone Happy Birthday! So here goes today: HAPPY BIRTHDAY QIN!!!!

Qin with Kakak

Qin with one of beloved 'princesses'

Qin turned four yesterday. Two weeks ago Auntie saw Qin and took the pictures above. What does being four mean to Qin? Auntie nak tag Mommy to answer this question from her perspective as Qin's taskmaster but sometime pushover. Mommy doesn't blog but she can use auntie's blog to do this. So, mommy, when you are ready to give the answers, call me to get the PW.

From what auntie sees of Qin, at four, outwardly she doesn't seem to be into studious stuff (which is a blessing because I think many four year-olds in Malaysia have are already been pushed into academic excellence at the tender age) but surprisingly, she is quite competent in the reading, counting and writing stuff at kindy as evident from some test results she brought home. Still, thank God her kindy does not overly emphasise on these kind of tests for their four year-olds.

Auntie thinks Qin may have developed some leadership qualities because kids at school appear to converge around her and think her opinions and decisions (about play, of course) matter. She is a bit bossy with Kakak so auntie thinks she needs to be 'polished' a bit about this (teehee). She is a warm and pleasant toddler although tends to be initially very shy with new people or people she seldom see (except Auntie, of course). But when she's comfortable with an adult, she is very open about expressing her feelings. She has no qualms about saying "I love you" to Aki and Wan, which sometimes made the grandparents (who can be quite abashed about these things) silently blushed, I think. When she misses auntie, she would on her own dial auntie's number (Mommy has got auntie's number on speed dial and she knows this) just to talk and tell auntie about her day.

She can identify various emotions of adults around her. She said: "Mommy, Uncle AH tu kelakar la..." when she realised that Uncle AH was pulling a fast one on her on the phone. Qin observes detail things around her. She asks questions that baffles her like: "Mommy, kenapa Auntie Ida call Uncle AH 'abang'? Kan daddy yang "abang" [to Mommy])?"

In short, Qin is a generally well-rounded person for a four-year-old and Auntie would not have her any other way.

HAPPY FOUR, SAYANG!

Shasha and Aiman

The cheery boy on the left is Aiman and the seemingly subdued girl in red in the middle is Shasha (Auntie needs to explain this because Auntie is imagining that there are more than 10 people reading my blog and the 11th or so person don't know about Auntie's family). They are two of Auntie's kiddies. By 'kiddies' means they are the 'little' (not so now as they grow) extensions of Auntie even if they do not come from Auntie's womb. They are auntie's first children even if auntie and AH may get little ones of our own in the future, Godwilling.

Anyways, today's entry is about Shasha and Aiman. They are cousins. Aiman's dad is Auntie's old bro (can see his blog in my blogroll) and Shasha's mom is Mommy, Auntie's non-blogging -but-FBing sister. Aiman is second amongst his siblings (Along/ Ya, Jijin and Ajmal) and Shasha is elder sister to Qin.

Yesterday was a great day for Aiman and Shasha and a serendipitous start to their long school holidays. They have done very well in their UPSR. What should make their success a more prideful moment for their parents and family, in auntie's view, is the fact that they have gained this success not at the expense of their enjoyment of their childhood. Auntie have observed that many children are so pressured to be academically excellent (within a very narrow Malaysian-education context), that sometimes they become deficient socially and in their personal developmental wellbeing (mamachupan, betul ke pyscho-language ni, ke psycho-babble je?). Auntie observes both Aiman and Shasha have deep interests and excel in non-academic things also. They generally know what they like and don't like and they can express themselves pretty well. Most importantly, they are comfortable expressing their thoughts and anxieties to their respective parents and close relatives. Auntie rasa these are things that are important in children. Their academic achievements are then a bonus and auntie hopes the adults around them don't expect these to be the be all and end all of their young lives.

OK, enough serious pondering. CONGRATULATIONS Aiman and Shasha. Many more exams to come but Auntie is sure you both will take them in your strides. For Aiman, don't sweat the Science grade. Auntie tak terror science pun boleh jadi doktor. Tapi of course la auntie boleh treat ill birds and cats jek (tu pun illegally). Kalau treat manusia sakit, harus manusia tu jadi tak sakit tapi...mati! Kekeke. In any case, auntie tak rasa Man nak jadi doktor kan? Ada banyak lagi profession yg lebih interesting, kan, kan? On the other hand, maybe Man is too smart for primary school sciences. Nanti kat secondary school and university maybe more interesting sciences to learn and you'll excel.

OK, to all Auntie's kiddies and pseudo-kiddies, enjoy the long school holidays. Looking forward to kiddies' Penang trip (hopefully jadi!).

Lotsaluv,
-Auntida-

PS: The other two people in the pic are Along/ Ya and Uncle Joe. This was taken during a treasure hunt game (for duit raya), an emerging family tradition on raya morning.

Slapped with a summon

No, no. Auntie did not break any traffic rules. It is the marriage rule that auntie has broken. Our (auntie's and AH) marriage rule, to be precise. AH adalah orang yg mempunyai phobia kepada semua benda tajam termasuklah gunting. Jika gunting itu diletak merata-rata seperti di atas katil. Masa awal2 kahwin dulu, AH pernah mendapatkan khidmat marriage counsellor aka mamachupan, utk mengadu hal auntie's carelessness with auntie's sewing items seperti gunting dan jarum. Nampaknya kejadian berulang dan kali ini AH tamau negotiate lagi. Dia terus keluar polis report buatan sendiri. This is a copy of the report (Hopefully you can click on the picture and get to see a full sized version):

(sorry, after a week or so of it being on the internet, auntie has take out the pic so that our 'sacred agreement' cannot be used for immoral purposes by irresponsible people- teehee)


Please excuse the semak-ness of auntie's katil. The photo evidence was taken before any attempt to kemas the katil coz AH nak make sure the evidence was not tainted in any way. All the messiness is, of course, AH's doing (kekeke, another couple-issue).

And I had to sign this document, you know.

Oklah, darling. Promise tak buat lagi....until the next time! KAKAKAKAKAKA.

October babies

Auntie tau, it is a little late to give tribute to October babies. Auntie started this entry a few days ago but because the internet connection at auntie's office have been extremely slow, auntie gave up the entry. I'm blogging from home today so hopefully this will get through. Problem with blogging from home is that I'm limited with pictures coz most of auntie's photo collection is stored in my computer at the office.

Anyways, two people in auntie's life are October babies. One is mamachupan, who also blogs. Her 38th birthday was on the 3rd October this year. However, since our gang members were all dispersing to our individual kampungs for the raya, we could not celebrate exactly on her birthday. We did it a few days before raya in her house. So, despite celebrating her own birthday, she had to cook and clean up for us. We also did a 'kuih raya baking session' that night and had clean good fun (unlike another post-raya party we had, which is less than 'CLEAN fun', but that's another story). After raya we also present mamachupan with a cake (Samantha, I still owe you for that!) and hopefully she enjoyed it with her small household. Sempena her birthday auntie nak wish mamachupan all the best for the coming years and thank you for being a really, really good friend to auntie (other badaks don't be jealous, same goes to you guys too!)

The other birthday girl was born on the 28th October, 37 years ago. She's Mommy, auntie's non-blogging-but- facebooking younger sister. Amongst auntie's adik beradik, she and bro1 belongs to the batch that got married first, in the early 1990's (about 8 months' gap between bro1's wedding and hers). The other three only got married about a decade later, all within a year or so between us. So, mommy and bro1 is the provider of kiddies to auntie, sleepyhead and bro2 for the moment, until all of us get our own. But of course the kiddies will remain auntie's 'first' children because auntie has had the honour of tukar lampin and feeding each one on of them.


Eh, this entry is supposed to be about Mommy and her birthday. Sorry for the 'detour' about the kiddies.

Auntie could not find latest picture of mommy so, auntie post recycled picture of mommy's previous birthday.

Mommy is a high-flying economist in a prestigious financial institution in the country. Masa kecik dulu Mommy was a small baby because she had a kind of ailment when she was a few days old. But alhamdulillah, she got over it eventually and thrived into adulthood. Walaupun badan mommy kecik, dia berani. When we were little, walaupun auntie badan besaq, auntie takut tengok citer JAWS so mommy selalu kena assign tunggu auntie mandi dekat depan pintu toilet sebab auntie takut JAWS akan keluar dari kolah bilik air tu.

Mommy is a long-time listener and critic/ commentator to all auntie's problems. She's frank and direct like Aki, but auntie appreciate this coz we need this to put our problems into perspectives and who best to do it than your own siblings who knew you since you were in tiny knickers. Mommy is very loving but some time very garang mom to Shasha and Ichkin. She is still trying to provide a brother or two for the two girls to balance out the female dominance in the family so auntie doa she will be successful soon. Auntie still believes that even if there are a few more boys in the family, the female clan will still rule coz we are a sensible lot, pro-active and always deliver what we set out to do. Important traits in leadership.

Anyways, auntie wishes Mommy a happiest birthday this year and many more ahead. Auntie and sleepyhead are 'cooking up' birthday present ideas and hopefully Mommy will like it. Auntie will be over in KL this coming weekend and hopefully we can do something nice together.

Lotsa luvs!

Ikan o ikan 2

Ini adalah gambar ikan patin yg belum dimasak. Auntie curi ni dari satu blog Indon. Turns out that Indon people also know Patin and i think especially people from around Riau (from auntie's quick reading). Depa masak cara soupy dish jugak but more like pindang/ singgang.

Auntie masih geram kerana camera auntie masih kong and sudah banyak event interesting tak dapat di-snap temasuklah snapshot of patin menggelepar semasa dipotong hidup2 di pasar. Walau pun kemungkinan besar auntie akan dapat camera baru free (jenis 'free- when- you- subscribe- annually-to-our-magazine'), tapi tak tau la bila dapat and auntie sungguh tempted untuk pi beli camera "Genius" 5MP berharga RM98.00 di Courts Mammoth kerana weekend ni auntie ada sungguh banyak activity yg memerlukan camera. Auntie takkan pi beli Canon or Nikon lagi sehingga la auntie's camera-vendor tu mengaku camera auntie yg rosak tu boleh dibaiki dengan harga yg less dari arm and leg.

And buat masa ni auntie takkan habiskan RM2000 to buy a mobile phone that has up to 5MP camera (apa2 jenis la) and all sorts of organising facilities (besides ability to wirelessly contact people), walaupun auntie sungguhlah tempted to do it and damn the consequences to auntie's live-savings, not to mention pocket. Of course the camera phone would be mighty convenience for 'semi-rajin' blogger like auntie. Tapi, takpe la. Auntie tunggula camera free from National Geographic tu.

Anyway, sebenarnya auntie blogs today to give out auntie's ikan patin masak tempoyak recipe kepada kawan2 kerana ada la pulak orang mintak. So, here it is:

Ikan patin (2 small or 1.5 big ones)
5 biji bawang merah (kalau nak aunthentic, takyah boh ni)
10-15 biji cili padi (according to you heat tolerance/ preference)
2 inci kunyit hidup (kalau kunyit to gemuk, pendekkan la sikit- you know what i mean)
2 batang serai
3-4 tangkai daun kesum
2 senduk tempoyak (kalau suka kuah pekat and lebih rasa tempoyak put more)
timun kecik or timun biasa (potong2) - ni ikut suka, kalau tamau boh pun takpe
Asam keping (kalau tempoyak kurang masam)
1 cawan air

Bagi auntie, Tempoyak yang best ialah masa dia baru nak masam and still ada manis and masin sikit lagi.

Tumbuk or blend bawang merah, cili padi and kunyit hidup. Masuk dalam periuk with air. Panaskan. Bila panas tapi belum mendidih, masuk timun. Tunggu sat, pastu masuk ikan, serai yg diketuk and daun kesum. Them masuk tempoyak. Rasa. Kalau perlu masuk asam keping. Didihkan. Jangan lama sangat coz patin cepat hancur and tak juicy.

Sungguh sempoi tapi soooo worth all the agony watching the patin being butchered (hehehehe!)

So, sesiapa yg takde issue dengan ikan patin TESCO, boleh pi cuba weekend ni. Kalau nak tunggu beli ikan patin temerloh mungkin la you all tak sempat merasa masakan ni in your lifetime.

Intan, lauk ni boleh juga dicuba dengan ikan jelawat kot. Or maybe ikan siakap la kalau susah nak dapat ikan seangkatan dengan patin and jelawat.

Tati, kalau kebetulan I balik kampung and you bercuti di Kuantan, jom kita sama2 pi pasar tani, pick the swimming Patin (albeit dalam tong and bukan sungai), watch the butchering process and then I will cook one up for you. How's that for a plan for a future getogether?

PS1: Petang ni auntie nak cuba satu pasta concoction for dinner. Kalau cun, nanti auntie share recipe. Kalau tak cun, maybe auntie tak blog for a few days.

PS2: To Mommy and Mushu, auntie is coming your way next weekend (31st Oct got meeting in KL). There may be a surprise brownie or two for Mushu. Tengok lah, kalau auntie sempat. Kalau tak we can always plan for a baking session at Mommy's.

PS3: To badaks, AH maybe akan buat his long-awaited mee goreng for our 'do' this Sunday. Dia punya therapist mungkin mendapat portion yg special tapi org yg selalu cocok perut dia, mungkin dapat makan mee ayam jek. Walau bagaimanapun, auntie nak gerenti, kalau AH goreng mee kicap bodoh pun auntie rasa cun, so mee ayam is nothing to complain about. Itu pandangan auntie la, yg ada kemungkinan agak bias gitu.

HAVE A GOOD LONG WEEKEND, EVERYONE!

Ikan o ikan

Auntie baru jek on de phone with kawan auntie mamachupan lamenting how we don't have enough hours in a day to finish out work, tup, tup, auntie decide to blog plak. So, mencapai impian apex university has to take a back seat sekejap le (dan hopefully the unversity will can the idea of the VSS-like employment options for unproductive lecturers).

Sebab auntie need someone to blame for this unproductivity, auntie nak blame Ms Hart, auntie's friend, kerana memberi komen dalam auntie's last entry and tanya pasai lauk ikan yg auntie kata auntie nak masak. Hehehe.

Inilah lauk ikan tu:


Chop! Gambar tu bukan gambar sebenar lauk yg auntie masak tapi telah dicedok dari satu website. Oleh kerana camera auntie dah kong and camera AH terlalu canggih utk buat immediate download to blog, auntie kena pinjam gambar orang lain. Mintak maap la kepada tuan punya gambar yg auntie tak kenal. At least auntie boleh tolong promote ikan patin temerloh (link dia guna these words) and alas meja kaler-kaler dia.

Ikan patin masak tempoyak ialah makanan kegemaran masa kini ahli keluarga Hj Endut (kecuali Hj Endut sendiri) dan juga ahli keluarga AH. Masa kecik2 dulu we all jarang makan lauk ni. Our meals consisted mostly of nasi, ikan goreng, telur goreng dadar (ada citer interesting pasai pergaduhan auntie and satu ustaz pasai apa org putih panggil telur dadar, tapi tu nanti auntie bubuh dlm entry lain), ikan singgang or ayam goreng (on a good day). On weekends we may get to eat Wan's now famous nasi minyak and korma ayam. Tapi, as we grow older and mix and marry with people from other places, our palate has grown a bit and become a bit sophisticated. And we are sometimes introduced by our friends and spouses to lauk yg sepatutnya we all dah kenal coz our home state is famous for it. This is the case with ikan patin. Somehow, over the last few years, masak tempoyak ikan patin becomes the 'in-thing' for us. Maybe it can be attributed to Umi Ina coz auntie remembers that dia rajin masak ikan patin ni bila balik Kuantan or when we go to her house and also because her mom is a constant supplier of very good tempoyak to the family.

Satu masa dulu, TESCO and other supermarkets pun began to stock up on ikan patin so auntie pun venture into cooking ikan patin masak tempoyak for AH and family. It was a hit with everyone and we all pun become regular customers of TESCO's very cheap ikan patin. Of course, not as delicious as freshly caught ikan patin of orang asli or even the sangkar ones we got in markets in Kuantan but beggars can't be choosers. Tapi, pada satu hari ada org beli Harian Metro and ada news kata ikan patin from a kolam in Perak (sorry, org Perak) diragui kebersihannya kerana food yg diberi kepada ikan patin tu berasal dari Ms Piggy's family members. Whether dari segi hukum dia halal ke tak, tu auntie blom pi tanya mana2 ustaz la lagi tapi, we all decided not to have our dose of ikan patin from TESCO lagi coz bila auntie tanya org kat TESCO ikan patin mai mana, dia kata "Ipoh".

As a result, agak lama jugak la auntie and AH tak makan ikan patin. Bila we all balik Kuantan baru2 ni, we decided to buy ikan patin ala2 ori kat market utk bawak balik Penang. In fact, we managed to buy ikan yg hidup lagi and the fish monger actually 'sembelih' ikan tu depan we all. Masa dia slice ikan tu pun, the head and tails were still flapping. Sounds gross, but like Anthony Bourdain, we feel a kind of satisfaction thinking we'll be eating something this fresh. Kekekeke. We packed the fish (without washing to ensure freshness) into plastic bags and freeze it at Wan's home before taking it with us to Penang. Bila sampai Penang, terus, masuk freezer lagi. That's as fresh as we can get la, before cooking it for the Penang parents.

On Saturday last week, ikan telah selamat dimasak dan di enjoy. AH's dad puji masakan auntie walaupung auntie rasa lauk tu sedap because of the fresh ikan. Anyways, auntie takyah bagi resipi la coz auntie sure semua pelawat blog auntie tau macam mana nak masak tempoyak ikan ni. Cuma, walaupun Wan kata, authentically, masakan ni nak tak leh bubuh bawang (coz org ulu Pahang dulu2 takde/ or susah access to bawang), tapi auntie masuk gak sikit bawang and auntie rasa jadi lagi cun. So, what if auntie's dish is not authentic? The enjoyment is authentic, what?

Auntie ingat next time nak cuba ikan patin masak steam plak coz auntie pernah makan this dish in one conference in a hotel and tasted sooo delicious.

Oh, perut ku yg lapar (auntie puasa hari ni), sudah berkrok-krok mengingatkan lauk ni!!!!

PS: Hari tu mamachupan kata dia masak ikan jelawat masak lemak cili api. Auntie nak try to convince AH that ikan jelawat from TESCO is ok so that we can try this.

Have a nice day everyone!

Marang Kerapu

Seperti biasa, title entry auntie takde kena mengena dengan apa yg auntie nak tulis. Kecuali bunyi-nya ie macam "merapu", which is what auntie is going to do in this entry. Auntie decided to blog today coz psychomama aka mamachupan dah tegur bila nak update blog ni. Oleh kerana auntie juga adalah pem-blog kepada beberapa blog yg lain, sudah lama auntie tak update blog ni. Actually blog-blog yg lain tu pun tak update jugak. Pendek kata, auntie bukan lah macam mamachupan yg amat diligent meng-update blog. Lagipun, mamachupan always has something interesting and thoughtful to write about. And kebanyakan benda yg mamachupan tulis tu auntie pun setuju so, kira dia dah tulis untuk both of us la tu...hehehehe.

Anyways, mula2 auntie nak wish everyone Eid Mubarak dan semoga Ramadhan yg lepas lebih memberi kita keberkatan dalam hidup. Azam auntie nak ganti puasa at least seminggu lepas raya tapi nampaknya belum fulfil coz lepas raya jek tak leh puasa. Pastu ada bermacam hal yg menghalang (read: menggoda auntie supaya postpone puasa) seperti travelling ke Tg Malim (utk bagi talk dan makan kuepau) and then a surprise balik kampung (and pergi kedai koboi and makan nasi dagang, ikan patin and laksa, not all at once, of course) and then party raya kat opis and then kursus plak tu (kununnya takut penat otak and badan). Insya Allah, auntie akan puasa next week. Sleepyhead dengar khabar dah raya 6 pun. Aki and Wan pun dah raya 6 and maybe akan raya 6 buat kali kedua this weekend.

Ada satu berita mengejutkan dan menyedihkan dalam keluarga auntie minggu ni. Abah kepada Che Ja, sis-in-law auntie, passed away suddenly Thursday night. He was 54. Al-fatihah kita sedekahkan and semoga Che Ja, Che Ding and family Che Ja tabah menghadapi dugaan ini.

News like this just makes us think how fleeting life is. And also how much more important to appreciate our families while they are with us. On a more personal level, news like this makes auntie return to auntie's internal dilemma about doing my 5-months sabbatical overseas. Although the idea of exploring new knowledge and intellectual network overseas is highly tempting (especially because auntie jugak org yg suka travel), auntie keeps thinking what happen if auntie couldn't be there when auntie's families and friends are suddenly taken ill or if their time is up. At least if auntie do sabbatical in Malaysia, travelling time to get to them is manageable. Lagi pun auntie rasa 5-months is a long time to lose precious moments spent with family and loved ones. Auntie kesian gak ngan AH coz dia dah lah selalu kena tinggal bila auntie gi meeting domestically. Kalau auntie spend 5-months oversea, we will be putting on hold for quite a substantial period, things we can be planning for the future of our married-life, which kalau ikut average life-span of Malaysians, mungkin sudah tinggal tak berapa lama lagi. So now, auntie rasa deep down auntie secretly prays tak dapat offer pi UK for the course yg auntie applied tu, so that auntie don't have to make decision to go or not to go.

On that depressing note, auntie nak tunjuk gambar work-in-progress auntie's new bathroom, yg setengah orang kata agak cun. Now the bathroom is almost complete and looks much better than the picture. Here goes:


The apartment is almost ready tapi kalau ikut Murphy's Law Malaysia benda2 kecik yg akan selalu lambat siap. Sigh!

Have a good weekend everyone. Hopefully hari ni auntie berasa rajin untuk masak satu lauk ikan yg best. Babai.

au revoir but not audieu, che' badak debab! (and a tribute to che' paa, too)

Auntie is having to say goodbye to auntie's trusted friend, Che' Badak Debab aka CBD. Auntie's friendship with CBD began after the loss of another trusted friend. Auntie had Che' Paa, who was old but never cranky and took auntie everywhere auntie wanted without any complaints. Once in a while Che' Paa required attention but auntie was willing to indulge Che Paa since what makes him happy will ensure that auntie can go wherever auntie wants. Che Paa was even nice enough to take auntie across the bridge one day so that auntie could get auntie's coveted Japanese mini-couches (auntie is low-maintenanced and easily pleased, kan?). Although auntie mula2nya apprehensive jugak if Che Paa's octogenerial bones could allow him to do this. Tapi selamat, alhamdulillah.

Well, satu masa, Sleepyhead was staying with auntie while deciding what to do with her life (it's one of those 'waiting-for-something-good-to-come-my-way' periods). Satu hari, Sleepyhead got news that she was called for an interview for something good. So, auntie asked Che Paa to take us to the bus station so that Sleepyhead could go to KL to attend her interview. There was no sign that Che Paa was in pain, but on the way home to get Sleepyhead's things to go to the bus station, right smack dab in the middle of a four-way junction, Che Paa went into a coma. Auntie tried to revive him, to no avail so auntie had to call the paramedics in. First, auntie had to leave him at the side of the road, then auntie called for help from friends to get Sleepyhead on the bus (she missed the original bus and had to take another one). Then auntie went home, sans Che Paa. He was taken by the paramedics to their centre where they tried to revive Che Paa. Alhamdulillah, he was revived but since Auntie couldn't go through such trauma again in Auntie's life, Auntie had to let Che Paa go. But first Auntie let Che Paa bunk in with Auntie's friend, Badak Pres, who was mulling if she would want to take in Che Paa as her friend for good. But during that time, Auntie also advertise for alternative homes for Che Paa. One person answered Auntie's advert, and so Auntie happily but also sadly let Che Paa go live with that person. That was the last Auntie saw of Che Paa although a few years ago Auntie heard from someone that Che Paa was still alive and kicking and running around a paddy field somewhere in Kodiang.

After auntie had let Che Paa go, auntie had to find a new friend. Actually, at that point auntie wasn't ready for a new friend. Auntie had Che Paa pun out of necessity coz auntie tak larat la gi everywhere without a friend. At that time auntie had to slog to finish auntie's PhD thesis so Che Paa was a necessity especially since auntie had to stay back in the office all by the loneself. Kalau ada apa2, a friend such as Che Paa, although old, will be useful. So, after Che Paa was gone, auntie's daddy said auntie should get a new friend. This time it should be one that is young and fresh out of the oven, so to speak. OK la, auntie said. Tolong get me one from Kuantan, so that auntie takyah pikir nak kawan camne. Tapi auntie bagi certain criteria la. Doesn't have to be too beautiful and high-maintenance. As long as could accompany auntie wherever auntie went. Auntie's daddy was not very happy with Auntie's criteria because he thought auntie should just take the plunge and invest in a more popular kind of friend but auntie insisted. So, auntie was introduced to CBD.

Although CBD was a fresh, young friend, the first time auntie took her home she had some problems so auntie had to send her back where she came from for a while to get better. But she was OK after that and came to live with auntie in Penang. She became auntie's companion for seven years. Before auntie married AH, she was a most reliable friend to auntie (not discounting auntie's badak friends, of course!). Auntie's badak friends was also happy to be with CBD when she took us to go shopping, to lunch and dinner and also, many times for long distance travel to KL. Auntie just got to know that Badak VP think auntie is dangerous when with CBD, so each time she came with us on travels she was keeping her fingers cross that there won't be an accident. But that goes to prove how reliable CBD is. No accident ever happened when auntie's with her except that one time when auntie stopped to get a friend for lunch and someone came and bang into CBD and gave her a gash. But that was the other person's fault and she had to pay for CBD's medical bill and cosmetic surgery.

CBD was also auntie's companion on travels to Kuantan until AH 'forbids' (hahaha, of course it's only because auntie allows him to 'forbid' me anything!) auntie from taking CBD anywhere further than the Penang Island and mainland. In her last days with auntie, CBD only accompanied auntie from home to office and occasionally from office/ home to shopping places. She's quite pampered in a sense, so she's quite fit for her age although she got scars here and there because sometimes she had to be left unshaded and some wallies with itchy hands or jealous minds would scratch her.

This year CBD reached her adulthood and this year auntie no longer needs a constant companion like CBD since a few things in auntie's life are changing. Since auntie got married, AH and auntie also acquired another friend, Mr PFX, mostly to accompany AH. Although PFX is a family friend, auntie didn't feel similar bonding with PFX as with CBD, maybe because PFX normally goes places with AH.

As auntie mentioned, this year we decided that we only need one companion and since PFX is a newer friend, we are keeping him and letting CBD go, uhuks. So, with heavy heart, auntie has sent CBD back to Kuantan so that Auntie's bro could help look for another home for her. It has been seven memorable years with CBD and auntie prays that she gets as much as, it not more love, from her new home. Auntie hoped auntie has looked after her well and she can continue to be people's companion for many years to come. Auntie will be probably be seeing her around in Kuantan or somewhere near Kuantan but she will never be taking auntie anywhere again.

SO, AU REVOIR CHE' BADAK DEBAB! HAVE A NICE LIFE...

PS: ...AND COME CLOSER MR PFX, WE WILL BE SPENDING MORE TIME TOGETHER NOW!

PS2: CBD= CBD3291; CHE PAA = PAA1881; PFX = PFX6958

Do you really know the person you marry....?

Jeng! Jeng! Jeng! Me-na-pe (ini adalah cara seorang cikgu auntie kat sekolah dulu cakap mengapa) auntie buat tajuk entry so suspen-syen ni? No, auntie did not have a big fight with AH. In fact, the first week of fasting month have been the most peaceful of all the times we've had semenjak kahwin. No whacking out one another at all. And Godwilling, this will keep for a few more weeks. And although it is the time of the month for auntie, so far it has passed without auntie feeling like cekik-ing AH or other people at all.

Anyways, auntie buat entry ni coz AH tak bagi auntie buat entry pasai apa auntie masak for AH for berbuka today. I don't know where he got this silly notion that auntie will only cook for him when auntie feels like "entry-ing" the dishes into auntie's blog. Silly, silly man...!

AH kata, kalau auntie so much as try to mention the name of the dishes auntie cooked for him today, he will do unmentionable things to auntie. So, since auntie tamau kena geletek sampai tergolek, auntie terpaksa la refrain. TAPI, auntie ada cerita yg lebih interesting for the entry. Yg pasti, cerita ini pelakon utamanya adalah..kahkahkah..AH. Like this...

One fine day masa we were driving back from tesco (or somewhere else, not important), we passed the building of the Regional Centre for the teaching of Science and Mathematics or RECSAM for short. This is actually a centre where Sci and Math teachers go for courses etc. But that is also not important for this story. But what is more important is the word RECSAM pasted out on the concrete wall of the gate to the building AND this revelation:

AH: Yang, tau tak between 1979 and 1995 there was something wrong with the sign RECSAM?

Auntie: (thinking that i'm in for an interesting history lesson of Penang) Ye, ke, Ling? Apa dia?

AH: For a long time huruf C dia senget. Tahun 1995 baru la diorang betulkan.

Auntie: Oooooo (thinking if I should make comments about how inefficient the local government is in repairing government buildings)

Long pause. Then...

AH: Yang...., tau tak siapa yg bagi senget huruf 'C' tu?

KAKAKAKAKAKAKAKA!

Kalau ko cakap macam tu, ko ingat aku akan ingat sape yg buat?

Auntie: ABANG KE???????????????? LA HAULA WALA QUWWATA ILLA BILLAH....

AH: (tersipu2), Alah, abang baru darjah 6 masa tu..

Macam ni citernya. One fine day in 1979, AH and his classmates kena pi buat apa tah kat RECSAM, pastu masa nak balik tu depa kena tunggu bas depan gate. My curious other half ni pegang2 lah huruf RECSAM kat concrete wall tu, tetiba poop! hurup 'C' tu tercabut. Dia terai la letak balik and tersangkut la balik tapi tak sempat nak bagi straight, bas dah datang, so dia kena naik bas. Semenjak hari tu sehingga la tahun 1995 when the sign was repaired, AH was internally tortured each time dia lalu depan the building and saw the senget C.

And he only tells me this after four years of marriage. I wonder how many more secrets he has. Hmmph...

Talking about being in standard 6, auntie nak wish Shasha and Aiman, and any other kids yg auntie kenal and will be taking UPSR tomorrow, a very, very BEST OF LUCK in their exams. For Shasha and Aiman, semoga all the prayers, air yassin, air zamzam and sembahyang hajat from mommy, daddy, umi, ayah and all your uncles and aunties give you strength and peace of mind to go through the exam. Also, semoga dapat juga menumpang keberkatan Ramadhan. Look at the bright side, by this time next week, a big weight will be taken off your shoulders and you'll have a blissful raya ahead. Insya Allah.

BTW, the dishes that auntie cooked for AH and auntie is not supposed to mention in this blog sounds like 'poppy' combined with the short form of auntie's niece, Along's name. The other dish is a seafood cooked with makanan kegemaran kawan baik auntie, Ms Badak President. Ia juga adalah masakan yg ala-ala suka dimasak oleh sorang lagi kawan auntie, Badak3 aka Ms Nyonya.

Selamat berbuka untuk esok.

Babai and Wassalam.

Two births and a funeral

Within the last week or so, auntie's group of former secondary schoolmates have experienced both joy and deep sorrow. Our joyful celebration is with regard to the births of two babies to two gals in our group, Tatee and Nora (the more vertically challenged of the two 'Noras' in our group. Hehe). Auntie wishes them the best of times with the new family members and may both moms and babies continue to be healthy. CONGRATULATIONS!!

A day after Tatee's boy's birth was announced, we received the very sad news that Maria's (our tall, but now ONLY Maria) dear mom has passed on due to cancer. Her cancer was discovered just a few months ago and from what auntie can gather from Maria's various postings, she and her family have been rigorously seeking and undergoing treatment. Maria is another person in our group who shared a nickname with one other person in the batch. But the other Maria (Rosmaria) 'returned' to Rahmatullah in May this year (auntie posted an entry about this). It was actually almost at the same time when we heard about the living Maria's mom and her cancer. From what I can gather from her postings in the group e-mail, Maria is very close with her mom. Arwah and her dad must have been her strongest anchors especially with giving emotional and other support to her as a single mom. And the loss must be devastating to her especially in times when Maria's health is also undergoing some problems. Auntie prays that Maria and her small close-knit family is able to gather strengths from each other to go through this. Berat mata memandang, berat lagi bahu yang memikul. Semoga Allah tempatkan arwah di tempat yg terbaik di sisi-Nya. Amin & Al-Fatihah.

1, 2, 3...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU....!!!!!

Auntie adalah busy...catching up with work backlogs and chasing contractors (di samping having nightmares about whether or not renovation akan siap seperti yg diingini). Minggu ni auntie "cuti penyelidikan" (yes, jangan jeles, academics ada this privelege. We may not be able to afford luxury holidays to Hong Kong or even Langkawi, but we have "cuti penyelidikan", you know!)

Walau bagaimanapun, auntie is taking time out from thinking about research just to wish these loved ones happy, happy besday:

1 August 197_
Auntie's closet-intellectual bro (of course referring to the guy in white. The pompuan in black is his other half). This bro may look blur and scruffy but there's a very literate and artsy person inside. Turned out masa kecik dulu dia suka 'curi' baca story books auntie. Sebab tu sekarang dia seorang scholar in Ingrish walaupong jarang2 boleh dengar dia kecek bahasa ongputih. Selamak Hari Jadi, Deng!

4th August 199_

Along aka Ya, is auntie's niece yg sulung. Masa kecik Along suka tengok rancangan kanak2 yg ada jingle A-L-O-N-G tu tapi dia sebut ALOM! When she was about 5, dia pi sekolah tadika Islam and bila auntie tanya dia cikgu nama apa, dia kata "Mak Limah". "OK, " auntie kata, "cikgu sorang lagi tu nama apa?". Dia kata, "semua cikgu nama Mak Limah". Biar betul. Ropanya cikgu kat sekolah tu dipanggil "Mu'alimmah" (maksudnya cikgu la tu), so semua la dipanggil 'mu'alimmah'. Begitu ropanya. Anways, Along aspire to be a linguist and since tadika lagi dia dah belajar Mandarin. And dia suka jahit-menjahit seperti auntie. Semoga Along mencapai cita2nya. Happy Besday, Along!

9 August 196_

Ms Nyonya aka Noya, one of auntie's badak soulmates. Dia mengajaq bebudak unibersiti di ceruk nun. Kat unibersiti dia tu, kalau silap sepak bola, harus masuk negara Siam. Noya adalah badak paling bersopan dalam gang kami. Dia jugak badak yg mempunyai standard kekemasan dan kebersihan rumah dan alam sekeliling yg paling tinggi. Dan pernah membuat antara sambal tumis tersedap, menurut AH (badak lain jgn jeles. Yg betulnya, AH tak pernah rasa sambai tumih orang lain). Lagi satu, kami masih menunggu laksa johor lu, noya. Baik lu jamu kami sebelum AH bagi title best laksa johor to sleepyhead (yg tak kurang hebatnya). Selamat Panjang (dan lebar) Umur, Noya! Semoga wa dapat melawat lu di Segamat many-many years in de future bila kita semua sudah tidak layak renew licence memandu dan cucu-cucu (termasuk cucu2 sedara dan cucu2 angkat/ pseudo) kita yg terpaksa bawak tok2 depa pi reunion dan makan laksa johor & ikan patin Sg Segamat.

16 August 198_

Last Saturday was Sleepyhead's besday yg ke 30. Kepada sesiapa yg blom tahu (hehe, auntie berangan ada strangers yg baca blog ni), Sleepyhead adalah adik bongsu auntie. Dia adalah 'sebutir diri' (ini favorite phrase Wan) ropa Wan aka mak auntie. Kekadang Sleepyhead rasa sedikit depress sebab auntie, mommy and our two brothers are splitting images (in one way or another) of our papa aka Aki. So, bila kengkawan Sleepyhead jumpa kakak2 and abang dia, depa mesti kata "eeeek lain nye....!(as in you don't look like sisters, except in the 'badak'ness department)".

And while the rest of us call Aki "Bak", Sleepyhead choose to call him "Abah". So only two persons call Aki Abah ie Sleepyhead and her other half (of course, dia kena paksa call Aki Abah la, tu show solidarity ngan bini dia). Anyways, Sleepyhead thought teaching adults is a noble profession for a former best student of her degree programme, so she gave up a career in one of the MMC's companies in Cyberjaya (which may or may not had given her a jump start to more lucrative professions, we would never know, would we?) and pursued a teaching career at a recently-controversial-priveleged (nuff said!) public institute of higher learning. Auntie had seen Sleepyhead in action, so auntie thinks Sleepyhead is a fairly dedicated and patient teacher. If she just worries less about other people's achievements and continues to compete with herself, auntie thinks Sleepyhead has a lot to offer the acedeme.

One more thing, Auntie has a confession to make to Sleepyhead. Masa Sleepyhead berumur 5 tahun, Auntie telah 'curi' seekor (ada banyak ekor lagi) udang goreng yang Wan simpan untuk Sleepyhead kerana Auntie baru balik dari asrama dan lamaaaaa dah tak makan udang goreng. Itulah permulaan allergy auntie kepada udang. So, auntie rasa, untuk cure auntie dari udang allergy ini, auntie kena belanja Sleepyhead berapa banyak udang goreng yg dia sanggup makan at one sitting. What say you Sleepyhead? Birthday gifts of fried, juicy prawns (OK, OK, Joe can join la). Hehehe. BTW, Sleepyhead was with auntie yesterday and this morning tapi auntie tak sempat lagi offer this 'birthday gifts'. In fact, last night Sleepyhead yg belanja auntie seafood. Ok, dik, nanti kita bincang. And Happy Prosperous 30th Birthday.

LOVE U LOADS, BESDAY GALS AND BOY!!!!

Auntie adalah geram...

...kerana diva-diva contractor auntie cannot stand one another!



We make the conscious decision to contract one person for the renovation and another person for the electricals. The reason being it is probably easier to amend mistakes with renovation than with electricals. In any case electricals have more safety issues than tiling or painting walls. So we need trusted electrical person and we know one already who has been doing the job for AH's family for many many years. We decided not to give it to A Seng although he can do electricals because we just got to know him and good references we got about him are only about tiling, plumbing etc. So, we hired Abg S for electricals.

From day 1, when we introduced Abg S to A Seng dia dah ada attitude towards A Seng. Pastu, masa he was supposed to start working, he didn't so A Seng lost valuable five days of construction work because he could not continue with the walls until Abg S finished with his wiring. Nasib baik he didnt' push for extra cost. Kalau tak harus auntie mengamuk and pi tumbuk Abg S, long friendship with AH's family notwithstanding. We heard a lot of unfavourable stories about Malay contractors and I thought Abg S could prove these stories wrong but of course he has not.

Last week, bila A Seng dah plaster and paint walls, Abg S pi tebuk lubang nak buat wire without consulting us. A Seng mengamuk. Bila we confront Abg S, dia mintak maaf and say he would do up the wall on his cost (but of course at the risk of our walls being ugly because jadi tak consistent ngan A Seng nye work). He also promised that he would finish the work in a few days. So A Seng left him alone and did not continue with his part of the work. Tapi dia tak datang habiskan kerja tu. Masa A Seng was due to come and continue work, tetiba dia mai plak and start nak tebuk dinding lagi and masa paint tengah basah plak tu. So they both almost had a blow up and sape yg kena settle sume ni? This accommodating client la. A Seng was so angry coz Abg S made racist remarks during the battle of words. Auntie rasa mau ketuk kapla dia ngan tukul besaq masa tu jugak. Memang la A Seng pun diva jugak coz sikit-sikit mengadu kat we all, tapi dalam hal ni, Abg S tu supposed to be family friend and he should know la not to cause problems and he jeopardised our project. Auntie memang takkan maafkan walaupun sekarang dia kata dia akan take responsibility for all kerapah yang dia buat. So, in the end, walaupun AH pun rasa mau sepak dua2 contractors dia terpaksa pi pujuk so that depa tak fight lagi. Kalau tak, tak siap apartment auntie.

Auntie sungguhlah geram....

Hey, I'm no RICE

Heard at Mommy's:

Mommy:
Qin you're such a brave girl...

Qin:
"Brave" tu apa, Mommy?

Mommy:
"Brave" tu maksudnya berani.

Qin:
Eiiii, Mommy, Qin bukan nasi la...!

Everyone was guessing what brought this about. Rupanya Qin ingat Mommy kata dia Nasi Biryani, makanan kegemaran Qin.

To Shasha and Qin. Auntie had a great weekend with you guys. With Mommy and Mushu too, of course. Too bad Auntie didn't get to see the other kiddies too. Not enough time to visit la.

Best of luck to Shasha and Aiman for their UPSR trials. Auntie is going to be the bad 'parent' and say, don't get stressed out over it, there are more to life than the UPSR and you'll have loads more exams to go through so, many more 'trials' before you get to be like Mommy or Daddy or Umi or Ayah (if you want to, that is, coz you can also be like Auntie Ida or Mushu, kekekeke). But that's only because Auntie knows both Shasha and Aiman are going to be serious and do their bests whether it's exam or having fun. So, whatever you're facing this year, enjoy being twelve, you guys, and never forget how wonderful it is!

Lotsa luv,
Auntie

Hoping for a Phoenix's Rising

Auntie berdoa bakawali angkat bangkit dari abu-abu ini...










Amin....

Pagi yg stress

Auntie suppose to sambung 'summer stories' auntie tapi takda masa nak duduk and 'design' picture collage to be included so, nanti dulu lah.

Tajuk entry ni looks more suitable to be included in geng badak's blog (punching idiots) tapi since dia ada happy ending, auntie masuk dalam blog santai auntie ni lah. Semalam a seng tepon suruh pi rumah check on his masterpiece in the bathroom. Utk yg tertinggal (coz citer a seng mostly di-relate secara offline) a seng adalah our gem of a contractor after lama menunggu raymond lembut menjawab telefon we all yg sampai sudah dia tak respon. Tapi mendapat a seng adalah prolly berganda2 lebih baik dari raymond yg mungkin akan ada perangai diva. A seng adalah contractor sempoi tapi penuh dedikasi dan profesionalism, traits yg susah kita nak jumpa terutama dalam diri2 politikusmengong kita pada hari ini.






So, anyway a seng telah telepon AH semalam and kata "boss aa, lu panggil lu punya bini kasi dia tengok itu toilet. Wa sudah naik itu jubin (nampaknya a seng pun tau proper word for tiles in BM!). Wa pikir cantik ooo..lu mai tengok" dengan penuh excitednya. Auntie pon pergilah ngan AH ke rumah utk checkout a seng's art work. Memang cantik and tiada cacat celanya walaupong auntie rasa warna tiles tu sedikit gelap bila dah dipasang. Tapi since bathroom's decision telah didelegate kpd AH, and dia suka gelap, auntie tak kisah sangat la.

This morning, auntie bangun tetiba ada satu light bulb moment gitu. Tapi bukan about new ideas. Instead auntie teringat, semalam kita kata cantik tu, betui ka a seng pasang the correct tiles, coz there are two colour schemes (chewah!). Lighter tiles for the walls and darker tiles for the walls. Masaelahnya dua2 tiles ni effect dia macam gua (AH's choices) so susah sikit nak beza. Auntie sudah risau. Auntie tamau la walls kaler gelap and floor kaler terang. Sure la the other way round kan? kan? So, auntie sudah bingkas bangun and paksa AH tepon a seng masa tu jugak. Kalau dia sudah buat mistake one bathroom, takpe la (since sure hassle giler nak undo tiling) tapi the other bathroom MUST NOT have mistake! Malangnya a seng tak jawab phone. AH kata subuh sepihi ni a seng baru bangun genyeh2 mata nak pi pancuq mana dia mau jawab phone. Tak senang duduk auntie.. dah lah ada kelas ni. So camne? Auntie takut a seng terus pi rumah and continue with the other bathroom project.

To cut de story short, auntie telah tepon office to tell students their esteemed teacher will be half an hour late because auntie is unavoidably detained (phrase 'unavoidably detained' ni pertama kali auntie jumpa ialah masa auntie baca Mills and Boons masa form one ke form two dulu. Nampaknya sekarang menjadi phrase yg amat berguna dalam dunia profession auntie :) ), then auntie telah quickly drove over to the house. Rupanya a seng belum sampai tapi 2 workers dia dah ada kat situ. Nak kata depa terkojut tengok auntie subuh sepihi is probably an understatement. Tapi being well-trained by a seng, depa telah menjawab segala pertanyaan auntie dgn penuh sabaq.

"Betui aa ini tiles yg terang punya aaa?"
"Betui boss"
"Ambik dua2 wa mau tengok"
"Ok boss.... tengok betui punya..ini satu cream punya, lagi satu melah oo (he means stony orange)"
"Kenapa wa nampak gelap aa?"
"Boss, ini hari hujan la, tingkap ada satu, lampu tadak bukak, memang gelap sikit..."
"Ok, ok, saya mau make sure saje, nanti silap, you kena tukaq"
'Tadak silap la boss..."

Ok, at least lu panggil wa boss and not "kakak". So, then auntie drove to work happily. Which is good for the students coz kalau auntie stress, sudah barang tentu ada yg kena balun...

Do you want to know what I did last summer? Pt1

Ok, ok, 'peminat2' auntie yg dua-tiga kerat dah dok komplen yg blog ni dah berkapang dan berkarat. Tapi, yg penting, chat box sentiasa active so maknanye auntie masih check blog ni. Keinginan utk update memang membuak-buak tapi as auntie mentioned, got very important report to finish yg boleh menentukan sama ada living room di apartment baru auntie deserve laminated wood flooring or not.

Anyways, sukacita auntie mewarwarkan the report is done. Well, at least the draft that the sponsor may want to suggest change later. But if the sponsor is smart, they would just accept the report as is coz auntie doesn't think any of macai of the sponsor can do better job than auntie, even if they try!

Actually, selepas report auntie masih ada sejuta kerja seperti menyiapkan article for publication (yg boleh memberi sedikit value kepada auntie punya promotion assessment), tapi auntie is going for instant gratification today, ie, blogging gives me more immediate pleasure now than finishing the article, which may give me pleasure in 3 or 4 years' time if I'm lucky.

OK, with that introduction after a long bout of non-blogging, let us see what auntie had been up to. Auntie tau la kita takde summer tapi since some activities auntie for the last 2 months or so involved going to really hot places, kira summer la tu.

What auntie had been up to since auntie's previously meaningful entry (the immediately last entry doesn't count) was conducting an international training in KL. Yes, it was work, but fun nevertheless. Especially because ada unsur2 nepotism dan cronyism. Lihatlah gambar2 di bawah:

Pada banner ni ada nama kursus yg auntie conduct for the international participants.

Auntie in action

Last year masa auntie first conducted this course, ada 3 male participants and they were sooo happening (while the women were not so la, ni bukan prejudice but real experience after spending 2 weeks with them almost day and night). So, this year bila all participants adalah female, auntie telah mula2 groan and moan to AH, memikirkan all the s_it auntie might get like last year. But to our pleasant surprise, all the participants this year were very happening, very much so than the happening ones last year. So, our two-weeks there were full of fun and energy despite being cooped up in -1Celcius room. And when it's time to say good bye, sume orang sedih dan rasa tamau balik. These are auntie's new friends from the course (most in their national costumes):

Yang tepi sekali kiri tu nama dia Juliana dari Ghana. Sorang makcik yg loud dan hip. Bila orang mengantuk dia akan bangun dan lead a dance. Today auntie receive a version of her national dress yg dia kirim through a friend, sooo cun. So, auntie dah ada satu baju raya!

Mengapa auntie kata nepotism and cronyism? Lihatlah tenaga2 pengajar yg lain:

AH, auntie's rounder-half, all nicely scrubbed up

You can't see very well in this tiny picture,
but they were all attentively listening to Sleepyhead

Supaya takde spy Institut Integriti yg question these two people's involvement in auntie's course, let me assure you, the course sponsors are good people and they have already vetted these two people. Everything is above board one.....

Auntie pun dapat la jadi minor celebrity as a result of this course....

Gambar ni dari phone someone.
Auntie tengah bengang because anchors dok
sibuk control handsome and cantik,
tapi soalan sume tak bernas walaupun
auntie dah hantar skrip (seperti yg diminta)!

The participant from Papua New Guinea,
Jenny, pun rasa we could have enjoyed
ourselves more back at the lecture hall.

Radio show was much, much better with better prepared DJ.
Tapi tatau la berapa kerat dengaq stesyen nih (Traxx FM)...

Auntie telah paksa itu DJ give up his seat pour moi...

Activity report akan disambung di lain siaran.......tata!