Down in the Dumps

You know there are some days when you wake up out of the wrong side of the bed and everything goes wrong for you? Alas, that was one of these days for me.

Woke up to a storm in the morning and got caught in a two (2) hour traffic jam for absolutely no reason. NO accident, no nothing. Just cars driving extremely slowly.

Got to the office only to find there was absolutely NO parking. After 20 minutes of going round and round in the car park,  I went back out and tried another entrance to another floor of the car park which is strangely enough not connected to the other floors. Why oh why can't all the floors be linked?

Got to the office and switched on my PC. And lo and behold my office email would not start. After the third attempt at switching the PC and off again, I called the IT guys to fix it. What are the odds of them not knowing what was wrong with my PC? But that was what happened. In the end I had to use my external email which can be opened via internet browser to send and receive emails.

And then we received some last minute instructions after lunch from clients about filing a conditional appearance, and the time to enter appearance expires tomorrow. So what does that mean? It means I had to draft, get the draft approved, file the application via e-filing, get the application sealed and out and get a date for hearing of the application for leave to enter conditional appearance before end of business based on instructions that were received after lunch. Because I need it to be heard tomorrow, and obtain that leave tomorrow so I can enter conditional appearance tomorrow.

Trust me the drafting was the easy part. It was the e-filing that got me almost in tears. We had actually filed another application for other defendants in the same suit yesterday, so we know the officer assisting the particular judge this matter was going to be heard before. I had to call him up and begged him to take the finalised application and to give it to the Judge so that it can be fixed tomorrow as well with the earlier application filed yesterday while giving an undertaking that we shall be filing it by way of e-filing at the same time.

And then the nightmare of e-filing began. It took 2 hours to load the SIC and the Certificate of Urgency. It took another 1 hour to load the affidavit in support. We only managed to file everything very late in the day, and I kept on receiving calls from the officer asking why it wasn't uploaded on his system yet. Adoiiii...

After all the drama I managed to get all applications to be heard tomorrow.

And then I started feeling feverish. It must be the bug that nenda brought back from the Philippines which then spread to Atuk and Bonda and now me. So I was feeling dizzy and downed 2 nice panadol actifast and hope that I am alright for tomorrow's hearing because I am literally losing my voice.

Adoii, the only good thing about the day? A bowl of budu freshly made by Aries waiting for me when I reached home and Airiel's chirpy chatter about his school break cooking programme today.

Moga esok tak hilang suara berdepan hakim pula.

Hope your day and week will be better off than mine guys. 

Memory Lane...

I have not been to my grandma's place in years!

I decided to take time off from a busy schedule and go home. As Nenda was away in the philippines, and the husbands were away doing what it is that husbands do, it was Atuk, me, Bonda, Akmal, the maids and Airiel. We all went in one car.

It was funny because it felt like the good ol days (minus Nenda of course). You know, being single and going balik kampung with your parents and siblings. We stopped by Ipoh to pay some taxes and were pointing out places to Atuk that we remember going to as children and he would tell us stories and we noticed how things have changed. Reminiscing and laughing all the way, it was real fun. It was also cool that the abg at the counter asked me 'cuti sekolah ke adik?' when I was queuing up to pay the land taxes. Hehehe, eh eh rasa muda pulak.

My grandma is the simplest soul to please and is pretty cool. We bought her some maggi ayam (her fave since our high school days) and she was saying in a gangsta rap, taiko sort of way 'Barang ada beli?' when we told her lets cook some of your favourite maggi Pah!. Hahaha, we ended up on the floor laughing, rolling away.

But, we were also quick to realise how much older everyone is, including my grandma when after chatting away for 10 minutes, she fell asleep sitting down on her chair. I used to spend a month during every uni and school holidays at Sungai Siput with my grandma, and used to have so much fun cooking, cleaning, listening to her stories of how all of my aunts and uncles were when they were young, watching wrestling with her (she loves WWE!), making kuih from scratch, walking with her every morning to buy nasi lemak. It is at moments like this, I get pangs of fear, the fear that I won't be able to see my grandmother again next year. The feeling that I wish I could be around her more, take care of her more, laugh with her more.

My, doesn't the years just pass by in an instant?

This weekend is a bust as I woke up with Vertigo and my head is still currently spinning. I hope to be able recover by Monday.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend readers. 

Online Shopping 2012 [Part 3]

Hello readers,

I have made some new purchases this month.

This bag is from MuchMoreinHand 

And a black cardi from Little White Crane. I am quite the regular there now, hehe.

Bye and enjoy whatever is left of the weekend!

Mothers' Day

Now the title of this post above is highly deceptive. Like politics, I am apathetic to days that have been ranked by 'God knows who' as a day to celebrate a certain individual or portion or society.

I do appreciate birthdays though, although parties are not my thing. Makan skit skit bersama nukleus familia cukup. Membazir pulak rasanya berparti sini, berparti sana. Yes, I am boring like that.

Lest I be accused of being 'unislamic' or 'westernised' for this post as I recalled Bonda and I being called so sometime ago (I know right? me? really?)... maybe we should look at 'Hukum Sambut Hari Ibu di Sisi Islam' here and here.

Now, being a mother is no easy task. And our mother has been through a lot with Maksu and raising the rest of us. So Bonda and I, our motto in so far as our parents go is simple:-

 'What our mother wants, our mother gets [this of course applies to our father as well, but since it's a mother's day sort of post, let's just limit it to my mum today]'

And save for a Volkswagen Beetle [her dream car] which I am sure in due time Bonda and I will get for my mother, Alhamdulillah whatever else she has wanted, Allah has given us the funds/means/ways to fulfill it.

Anyways, what I do like about the time when the world is abuzz about celebrating mothers, is the discounts I get when I buy stuff. And so when I saw something which I KNEW my mother would love, I bought it straight away for her. With a 25 % discount no less.

And true indeed, my mother loved it!!! She did not cry or anything (but that is expected because she is our ice queen) but her smile was enough for Bonda and I

And tears flowed freely for me when Airiel planted a kiss on my cheek one morning and gave me this. Airiel admitted he didn't write the words but said he designed and stuck all the decorations by himself (At 3 years and 2 months old, he speaks fluently now, like a grown up - I just find it amazing).

The sappy, warm, melting feeling that I felt was indescribable. How blessed I am to be a mother.

I asked Aries to wish my mother in law happy mother's day and he shook his head and told me that he was 'not the type' to do all this wishing and all that. But I was happy to see an sms from him to my mother in law in his phone to wish her despite his macho bravado to me about being not the type and all.

There should be no need to designate a particular day to celebrate mothers to me. That is simply silly to me as a mother's sacrifice cannot be sufficiently repaid by just celebrating them one day out of a year. I celebrate her and try to make my mother happy everyday (yes nenda, even if it is just buying you towels to make you happy).

Have a good weekend ahead guys.

Pengalaman Berbekam

Hi,

If you are squeemish, I suggest you not scroll down to the pics.

I recently took Aries to berbekam Melayu. He has been wanting to try it for ages and I remembered a small place in Giant Kelana Jaya that does it, so off we went.

Mind you, berbekam Melayu is nothing like the Chinese way of Berbekam. The Chinese way of berbekam only uses the cups to suck the air out of your body. The Malay way of berbekam involves making small incisions in your skin where the cups are placed, to suck the toxins and dirty blood from your body and of course the wind as well.

See the razor blade? Apparently Aries tells me it does not hurt for the most part, it just felt like ant bites. But some places, like the far down of your back, it would sting a bit. 

For the first ever treatment, he used the full 30 cups  

Can you see the dark coloured blood? I thought the blood that came out was liquid, like when you get a cut, you know the blood gushes out and all? Apparently it was not, it was like jelly and gooey. At some parts of his back, the jelly blood was almost black.

Airiel watched with fascination and so did I. He said, 'doktor buat apa tu kat abah?' Hehehe. 

This is how it looks like after 2 days. Can you see the little cuts on his skin. Yowza! I was kind of freaked about it. 

Strangely, Aries says that his body definitely feels lighter and better. He would do it again! Our prophet s.a.w did say that berbekam is the best method of treatment for illnesses so there you go!. 

Current Reading List, Part 1 [2012]

Hi readers,


A reader of this blog messaged me and asked me whether I am an avid reader and if I could recommend her some books and update her from time to time on what I read.

Well, the answer would be 'Yes, I love to read'.

Apart from being an avid RPG gamer, I am also an avid reader. I am sort of old fashioned in the sense that I am not an E-book fan. Any books that I read, must be on actual paper. When I was younger, I used to read a lot of 'heavy duty on the mind' sort of books, you know...biographies of serial killers, 500 page biographies of people which I thought was interesting. But these days, after reading hundreds and hundreds of documents, cause papers and whatnot in the office and after being a mother, long winded books tire me, and I no longer have the stomach to read books about serial killers.

So I like reading about fiction and love and stories which are light, whimsical and romantic. These are the series which I am currently or have finished reading this year.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series. These I have finished in January when I was real sick. Highly erotic with an engaging and addictive storyline.

The Trylle series. I have finished reading Switched, and in the midst of reading Torn and will start on Ascend once I finish Torn. I bought Switched yesterday and could not put it down. Finished it in just a few hours.

The 'Charley Davidson' series by Darynda Jones. I have read 'First Grave on the Right' but have yet to read the 2nd and 3rd book which I have bought. I like how this series depicts a Private Investigator hot chick named Charley set in our present time, and how she tries to live a normal life save for the fact that you know, she is the GRIM REAPER and also the gateway for lost souls to go to the other side or something (she actually shines!!)... hahaha

Do grab a copy of these if you come across them. Enjoy the rest of the week now!

Urbano e Fresco, Solaris Dutamas

One of the new restaurants that have opened at my workplace.

 Set lunches are available at reasonable prices, but with a smaller portion than compared to ala carte orders

Condiments at the table 

What is life without spice? 

The interesting, warm and cozy decor with pluch chairs and homemade pastas and oils imported and sold on display at the shelves above 

My lasagne. Slightly on the dry side but was delicious and full of flavour.

Disgusted with leaders of today

I am disgusted with the behaviour of our leaders (those from the government and opposition alike).

For the non-muslim leaders, well I would not know the examples they take and emulate. But for me, as a Muslim, I want my muslim leaders to follow the example of the greatest personality ever to grace this earth with his presence. Our prophet s.a.w.

This is what he says, a leader should be or aim to be and the consequences of falling foul as a leader:-

"Rasulullah saw bersabda kepada ka’ab bin ujrah: mudah-mudahan Allah melindungimu dari para pemimpin yang bodoh (dungu). Ka’ab bin ujzah bertanya: apa yang dimaksud dengan pemimpin yang dungu wahai rasulullah saw? Beliau menjawab: mereka adalah para pemimpin yang hidup sepeninggalku. Mereka tidak pernah berpedoman pada petunjukku, mereka tidak mengikuti sunnahku. Barang siapa yang membenarkan kedustaan mereka ataupun mendukung atas kezaliman mereka, maka orang itu tidak termasuk golonganku, karena aku bukanlah orang seperti itu. Mereka juga tidak akan mendapatkan air minum dari telagaku. Wahai ka’ab, sesungguhnya puasa adalah benteng, sedekah itu bisa menghapus kesalahan, sedangkan shalat adalah upaya mendekatkan diri kepada Allah (qurban) –dalam riwayat lain burhan (dalil)- wahai ka’ab sesungguhnya tidak akan masuk surga seonggok daging yang berasal dari barang haram. Dan api neraka lebih berhak untuk melahapnya. Wahai ka’ab bin ujrah, manusia terpecah menjadi dua golongan: pertama, orang yang membeli dirinya (menguasai dirinya), maka dia itulah yang memerdekakan dirinya.  Golongan yang menjual dirinya, maka dia itulah yang membinasakan dirinya sendiri. (hr. Ahmad bin hambal)

Abu said (abdurrahman) bin samurah r.a. Berkata: rasulullah saw telah bersabda kepada saya : ya abdurrahman bin samurah, jangan menuntut kedudukan dalam pemerintahan, karena jika kau diserahi jabatan tanpa minta, kau akan dibantu oleh Allah untuk melaksanakannya, tetapi jika dapat jabatan itu karena permintaanmu, maka akan diserahkan ke atas bahumu atau kebijaksanaanmu sendiri. Dan apabila kau telah bersumpah untuk sesuatu kemudian ternyata jika kau lakukan lainnya akan lebih baik, maka tebuslah sumpah itu dan kerjakan apa yang  lebih baik itu. (buchary, muslim)

Abu dzar berkata : ya rasulallah tidakkah kau memberi jabatan apa-apa kepadaku? Maka rasulullah memukul bahuku sambil berkata : hai abu dzar kau seorang yang lemah, dan jabatan itu sebagai  amanat yang pada hari qiyamat hanya akan menjadi kemenyesalan dan kehinaan. Kecuali orang yang yang dapat menunaikan hak dan kewajibannya, dan memenuhi tanggung jawabnya.

Rasulullah saw bersabda: setiap pemimpin yang memimpin rakyatnya,  pada hari kiamat pasti akan didatangkan. Kemudian malaikat mencengkeram tengkuknya dan mengangkatnya sampai ke langit. Kalau ada perintah dari Allah: lemparkanlah, maka malaikat akan melemparkannya ke bawah yang jauhnya adalah empat puluh tahun perjalanan. (hr. Ibnu majah)

Rasulullah saw bersabda: sesungguhnya aku orang yang paling tahu tentang tiga golongan yang pertama kali masuk surga: orang yang mati syahid, seorang hamba yang menunaikan hak allah dan hak majikannya, dan orang fakir yang menjauhkan diri dari hal-hal yang tidak baik. Aku juga orang yang paling tahu tentang tiga golongan yang pertama kali masuk neraka: seorang pemimpin yang otoriter (sewenang-wenang), seorang kaya yang tidak menunaikan kewajibannya, dan seorang fakir yang sombong. (hr. Ahmad)

Abu ja’la (ma’qil) bin jasar r.a berkata: saya telah mendengar rasulullah saw bersabda: tiada seorang yang diamanati oleh Allah memimpin rakyat  kemudian ketika ia mati ia masih menipu rakyatnya, melainkan pasti Allah mengharamkan baginya surga. (buchary, muslim)"

Like I said, the leaders these days do not seem to understand that their position is not a 'privilege' but a 'responsibility' and a heavy one at that. 

Apsal mcm lupa diri je diorg semua ni?

Ishhhh

Online Shopping:Black and White Fabrics Galore!

I did not have a chance to buy black and white fabrics for this year late last year because I was really sick. But worry not, I have bounced back.

I took the black and white ones from all the 3 pics above. They are from Lu'Lu Shoppe

These 2 lovely fabrics I bought from Kedai Kain Online

This pretty batik number is from Dira Butik

There was one more black and white batik fabric which I bought from MySuteraAyuCollections  but unfortunately, it was deleted from the website before I had a chance to download a picture of the fabric.

Add 2 more black and white batik fabric to the foray which Aries bought for me (thank you hunny!) in Kelantan during the Labour Day weekend and I am all set for the year (or two hehe)!\

Have a good weekend people. My grandma is in town and I plan to spend some time with her. Can't wait to go home!

Yummy Kelantan Food

Atuk recovered practically overnight after sesi berubat. If I ever meet the person who did this, I will beat him up. I swear. It was because of him/her/mala'un, nenda and atuk had to cancel their vacation in Palembang.

Ok, on to happier things. we travelled to Mars for the long Labour day weekend. And hooo boy, did we eat our hearts out.

We went to this Ikan Bakar, Nasi Ulam place in Kota Bharu with my SIL. I honestly forgot the name of the place. WARNING, Food Porn ahead.

The last picture ladies and gentlemen is the carnage. We had so much food (a LOT of fish), and I had 3 huge pieces of ikan pari to myself.... it was ridiculous. I was budgeting it to be in the RM150 above region. But guess how much all our food cost? RM66.00. I almost fell off my chair when Aries told me.

On our way back to KL, we stopped by a stall in Kampung Pahi, Kuala Krai.

 Aries slurping away

My keautiaw sup. Spicy, tangy, deep and robust soup.Wowieeee!

We usually travel during the middle of the night so we won't see all these stalls, but we decided to travel during the evening this time and Thank God for that!

Honestly, this Mars place is growing on me. Haha

Have a good week people.