Remembering Me

Bila MJ passed away, pelabagai cara the family, friends, fans buat utk "Remembering MJ". Kata2 positif lebih byk drpd yg negatif & tangisan Paris Jackson mengubah pandangan ramai org terhadap MJ.

I pun dok wonder : kalaule I meninggalkan alam fana ni, apalah my family, friends will say about me? Hopefully, by that time, umur I memang tua lanjut coz kalau dlm masa terdekat (hopefully tak), pandangan they all mungkin tak byk berubah drpd yg di bawah ini (Facebook)

Emylia Mohd Nor will start swimming class level 2 next week. Sometimes rasa too old for this. Nak buat camne. Masa sek, dok jd superman

Hanie Fauzi : spiderman lah yg lebih approriate, sebab memanjat... hiks hehe.. hemy the spiderwoman
Asni : kihkihkih... Hanie... bullseye!

Emylia Mohd Nor : spiderwoman terkangkang2 beb. Bila aku panjat pagar, very the sopan one....

Zaira Alias : engkau pro dlm bidang lain laaa babe.... Sport related kann..kannn... Lompat pagar esp... Kehkehkeh

Emylia Mohd Nor wrote : Ingat saya tak? Saya kat Sek Tun Tijah 5 bulan je masa form 1 then masuk STF

Zarina Mohamad (the last time I met her was in 1985) wrote : Emi....hahaha...ingat ingat...anak cikgu ..aisey...lupa namalah...room-mate masa A-level nama dia Zannifah Azura..dia STF dulu..bila I mention nama u dia kata selalu tangkap u lompat pagar..:)
Bagus u ye...still ingat kami semua. U ni jenis pendiam dulu lagipun cuma beberapa bulan je dgn kami

* Pembetulan : I tak pernah kena tangkap sebab lompat pagar.

Friends, bagaimana anda ingin diingati oleh rakan2 anda? I'm pretty sure you dont want them to remember you as jaguh lompat pagar, do you?

I kena cipta sejarah baru, buka lembaran baru, segala-galanya baru so that when I die my friends will remember me not as jaguh lompat pagar but as a good/best friend who has touched their lives in special ways...

For The Love Of The Environment

I'm referring to my environment kat dalam rumah ni jugak. Just the two of us kat dalam rumah tp brg macam ada family 10 org. I bet Kak Lina, my helper yg ada 8 org anak pun tak accumulate brg sebanyak me & Shahrul. Our law books dah memenuhi bbrp shelves, itupun dah hantar recycle center separuh.

Mine and...

...mine and

...mine (tengok shelves tu pun dah tak mampu nak menampung buku2 tu) and

mine (books on ECE I photocopied masa buat montessori course)

children's books and..

..more children's books

my collection of magazines yg tinggal (after dah ikat those yg nak dihantar ke recycle center)...





...and Shahrul's car magazines and...

more car magazines

Today, I made a decision; I have to let go the magazines. So sayang but the experts on Oprah say kalau tak guna for the last 6 months, kena get rid before jadi serious hoarder. Dengan air mata berlinang, I took pictures my last memory dengan :

Apek dlm gambar ni mesti tertanya-tanya, "why Emylia, why?"





Next, dengan air mata yang masih berlinang, took pictures of :





Surat khabar lama :

This paper dated 31/10/2003. No, we dont keep old papers that long, its just that on this date, Dr Mahathir stepped down as the PM, Shahrul simpan. And sempena Najib's 100 days, I think its time for Shahrul to let go coz dah 2 PM dah after Dr M.





I'm still not ready to let go my collection of Readers Digest. Tunggulah setahun dua lagi

These, majalah berbahasa Melayu (siapa lagi nak mendaulatkan bahasa melayu kalau bukan org melayu kan?) I pass to my MIL. I know she will make good use of these magazines. Resepi2 must be useful to her. Kalau I gunting resepi2 dlm tu, I bet sampai kertas resepi tu jadi kuning, I tak cuba lagi (Psssst...I dont remember the last time I tukar tong gas kat rumah ni. My sister, Alin yg merupakan one of the stockists kata rugi dpt customer macam I).

There are many Alam Flora recycle centers in KL/Selangor (a good effort indeed). We chose the one kat Midvalley Megamall coz memang nak ke sini. We got RM15, not bad huh?

Next in my list yg akan ke recycle center - our old printer, law book, statutes & the likes. Kalau plastic containers, I just put them in a plastic bag & asingkan so that staff Cape Glory Sdn Bhd boleh jual (thank God, the company is very reliable, efficient in collecting waste kat area we all - kudos to Cape Glory Sdn Bhd). So far the staff very helpful. I was very pleased when they helped me to dispose our 21" tv yg telah meletup bila I watched Winter Sonata for 2 consecutive days, & yet Shahrul sayang nak let go. Very pelik coz the brand Toba, bunyi mcm tobat (taknak beli brand ni lagi).

The last in the list yang akan dihantar ke recycle centre (sadly, only in my dreams) - our old furnitures. Our furnitures mostly from Shah Alam (FIL's hse) & Ampang (MIL's hse). So ada sentimental value to Shahrul. Lagilah dia taknak dispose. I am so convinced that the furnitures will be with us till the day we die. Katil in our guest room adalah 2 single beds - katil2 Shahrul & my BIL when they were primary school going children (Shahrul was 10 at that time). Do the maths brp tahun dah umur furniture tu, now that Shahrul is 38 years old & his brother 36 years old.

Kepala katil, penuh dgn stickers.

Hmmmmm.....takpelah, atleast indirectly we are protecting, preserving the environment coz more demands for furnitures, more trees akan ditebang...(nak sedapkan hati je nih)...

* Salam takziah buat keluarga Srikandi Siti Marlina binti Zainal (STF T'BRED 89-93) yang telah kembali menemui Ilahi pada usia 33 tahun kerana kanser. Al-Fatihah, semoga roh beliau dicucuri rahmat.

Pada Pandangan Mereka...

I was in my office when I heard this conversation :

Khadeja : Hari tu, kan, kita nampak Teacher Emy dengan boyfriend dia...
Friends : Kat mana?
Khadeja : Kat kedai makan

(I was having breakfast with Shahrul @ Maju Ahmad when this little angel asked Daddy to bring her to me)



I was sending a few children home :

Sarah Qistina : Teacher, my Mommy has no money now
Me : Why Sarah?
Sarah : Because she has to pay you.



Right in front of my parents :

Nabihah : Teacher Emy, kenapa rumah Teacher Emy berabuk?
Nabilah : Teacher Emy tak sapu eh?

Follow Your Heart

I read this book months before I quit my job...

...and these :





When I had to make choices in life, I would always follow my heart. Sometimes the results undesirable, sometimes turn out to be just fine. I consider myself a risk taker when making choices; Shahrul the opposite.

Today, I told Kak Lina, my helper that I had to go to Pejabat Bomba Btg Berjuntai. After months of waiting, they finally supported my license application. Kak Lina suggested I followed Guthrie Expressway instead of the Jalan Kuala Selangor trunk road which I normally took. Jalan Kuala Selangor banyak lori; no way boleh drive 110kph. I asked Kak Yus, a friend of mine & Abg Nazri, her husband confirmed ada exit to Batang Berjuntai from Guthrie Expressway. Shahrul advised me against taking that unfamiliar route. I followed my heart.

It surprised me a lot when only after 10km from my house, I saw the exit. Wah! ini sudah bagus. But "Yang Terindah Hanya Sementara". Jalan tu macam isolated, tak byk kereta, sharp bends (tak boleh nak laju), hutan sepanjang jalan, you can see monyet berkeliaran at the side of the road. Menakutkan.

The best part, masa exit tadi nampak signboard Btg Berjuntai, after tu dah takde signboard Batang Berjuntai. Nasib baik I tau Batang Berjuntai is now known as Bestari Jaya. Many thanks to a staff kat Pejabat Bomba tu who told me this walaupun I was so pissed off the first time I called.

Me : Hello, ni Pejabat Bomba Batang Bejuntai?
Staff : Batang dah tak berjuntai lagi Puan, ini Pejabat Bomba Bestari Jaya.

Hmm , kalaulah this info not made known to me, mesti I tercari-cari Batang Berjuntai. A few kilometres later, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel, ada kampung & byk kereta. Still, kalau pergi sekali lagi, I would take this route, dekat by 10km. Sometimes its worth following your heart.

I had to go to 3 offices - Majlis Daerah Kuala Selangor, Pejabat Pelajaran Kuala Selangor, Pejabat Bomba Bestari Jaya. It looks like my license application still tak boleh nak proceed smoothly. The approval for tukar syarat kegunaan premise from bangunan kediaman to perniagaan has expired. I was not aware I had to apply for renewal 3 months before it expired ie latest by end of March. I was wrongly advised by the planner & I didnt read the fine lines. Majlis wants me to resubmit my application, meaning, from scratch coz they dont have the procedures kalau tak renew within the 3 months period. I know I ought to be punished but I just feel to make me do all over again is just too harsh. Easy said than done. I had to fork out around RM2,500 last time & now they tell me to fork out another RM2,500. Last resort, write an appeal letter, they will discuss in the meeting. No wonder some govt depts kalau meeting berjam-jam coz semua bende nak bwk masuk mesyuarat. So many red tapes, costly, time consuming...and no wonder many kindy/daycare operators choose not to apply for license.

I was exhausted by the time I reached school & to add to my misery when my 4 year old rushed to me telling me that A**** poo poo penuh lantai, baju semua kotor. I was glad Kak Lina was there to clear the mess.

The moment I reached home, I had my lunch & went to bed. I was just glad Shahrul was not at home to remind me that tak elok tidur right after meal....I was exhausted - physically, mentally....

PPSMI and I

by Jarina Jani (Srikandi t'bred 88-92)
*published with permission

Since late last week, a debate on the need to review the PPSMI was launched in the Edinburgh Family E-group, which members are mainly current and former postgrad students who are based in the many universities we have in the city and their family members (and sometimes extended to their friends too). How delighted I was to finally be able to share my view on this policy, which I sometimes view, in moments of my utmost frustration, as an attempt to perpetuate the reign and power of the priviledged/rich/urban societies on the unpriviledged/poor/rural societies.

So what is PPSMI? It is a Malaysian National Edication policy that made it compulsary to teach Maths and Science (M&S) in English in schools because it was tought that it was our insufficient knowledge of English that would be getting in our way in becoming one of the leading nations in Science and Technology. You may reasonably comment that if the weakness is in the language, why not improve the level of English first? That's because you're a resonable person with good common sense. But like I keep saying (quoting Voltaire): common sense is not so common.

Of course I was completely outraged when it was announced. My first reaction, I recall was to imagine the bewilderment of students and children in Jambu Bongkok for whom the standard Bahasa Malaysia is already sometimes a linguistic challenge. Now, I am happy to note that many people actually share my opinion, perhaps not the radical social agenda bit but on the fact that it is completely unnecessary for students to learn Maths and Science in English to have a better chance at becoming one day a recipient of the Nobel Prize. In fact, this policy is working againts the "Noble" aspiration as it is leaving those who are strugling with English behind. The situation is made worse by the fact that many M&S teachers are not very profiient in English either. Some have admitted that they themselves struggle in understanding the "in English" text books. As a result, students who are actually very bright will not be able to even grasp the basic but fundamental concepts of M&S because they are unable to understand English well.

It must be understood that for many students in rural areas, their exposure to English is limited to their lessons in English and to what they watch on TV. So these subjects will just in the end be nothing more than two very burdensome subjects to learn. Why? Because everytime they have to do homework for these subjects, they spend hours just flipping through the dictionary, first to "translate" the questions and then to "translate" their answers from English to BM and vice-versa. Do you think they will be left with a lot of motivation to pick up a text/reference book to find out more about the theory/concept that they are learning? Some exceptionally will but most probably would not.Of course this doesn't mean that those who master the language will become "brighter". But their chances at getting the Noble prize are already at this stage better. The education should be democratising, not otherwise.

Someone did say that we should not blame the education system because it's the narrow-mindedness of our society that is to be blamed. Although I take the point on the fact that we hardly ever get the opportunity to use technical terms in our everyday conversation and are sometimes ostracized by our friends and family for "speaking" (in English), I can not agree that it dispenses the national education system/policy from its obligation to provide an education system that would best serve towards the betterment of all its citizens, and especially sensitive to those who are most in need of aid. Education policies should be drawn in the best interest of our future generations. The strong country needs citizens that are educated, at least with fundamental knowledge. Therefore, when it comes to primary and secondary education policies, it should not just be a simple war of the jungle, where only the fittest, best resourced or most resourceful survive. If we must, do that at tertiary education level. I will agree that PPSMI meant well, but our policy makers must learn to be less defensive and acknowledge that even the smartest people make mistakes. However, the wise would admit and seek to undo the mistakes committed.

Finally, I believe that the call for a review and perhaps revocation of the policy is not a radical "Malay Only" appeal, that it is not a puristic application of BM that the "constructive critics" of the PPSMI are seeking here. I think we all agree that using English terms that are "di Bahasa-Melayukan" is more than acceptable, which is the normal practice in other non-English speaking countries in the world simply because these concepts may probably not exist in the national language. But to understand these concepts, the best explanation would probably be in the language that is not foreign to the student. At least until they get the basics right.

My Parents Went To Shanghai & ....

ALL I GOT WAS A made in China iPHONE



My parents went to Shanghai dgn rombongan org kpg for a week. They arrived KLIA on Friday night from Shanghai. Saturday evening they were already at my cousin's house in Bangsar for the wedding. My santai moment, home alone on Saturday night (Shahrul bersantai with his friends kat Madam Kwans, Pavillion) was disturbed by a phone call.

Ayan : Nak gi jumpa Babah
Me : Why?
Ayan : Babah beli iPhone utk semua anak2 dia.
Me : Mana Babah tau psl iPhone
Ayan : Dia tak tau. Busu (my mom's cousin) beli 20, out of curiosity dia beli.
Me : iPhone tu sebenarnya apa?
Ayan : Duh! lecehlah cakap dgn org miskin ni.
Me : Kalau pakai phone canggih, takutlah org snatch
Ayan : Its free, nothing to lose.
Me : Brp Babah beli?
Ayan : Less than RM200.

For me yg all this while guna phone underwater (below RM100) brand Nokia d Cokia, terkial2 menggode (sounds "ay" as in day) bende tu. I told Babah I might take the whole day to familiarise with the thing but Babah made sarcastic remarks, "maybe 3 days". He knows too well, apa yg org lain boleh buat sekejap je, I would take lama sgt. Org lain belajar 4 tahun, I belajar 7 tahun - detour merata.

True enough, almost 3 days, I'm still terkial2 & still using my Nokia d Cokia....

Raja Sehari

THE INVITATION CARD

the bride's mom is my first cousin

THE SIGNAGE



THE PRINCIPAL'S ENTOURAGE



mengintai dari tirai kamar

shahrul melayan my nieces tengok ikan

my sist, Ayan & hubby, Muhaimin

3 generasi - Ayan, Ibu, Principal & Ayan's daughter Hannah Safiah

My Abah on the right with his friend

My nieces - Aja's daughter. Aja is in the US.

Me, Nabihah, Nabilah

Sarah & Hannah

Hannah insisted I took picture of her on this chair. Siap tarik kerusi ni sendiri

Another pose from Hannah

Duh! jgn putus sudah. Me & Hannah bersantai

My student, Irdina was there too coz her Mom & the bride work in the same office - IBM.

Dina, Me, Nabihah, Nabilah. Mata tertutup coz perit sangat & the photographer ie my husband took his own sweet time to capture this.

DECO



Main table

Another one







Mati2 ingat ada yg gantung kain batik. Nope, glass tu

Theme red & white, even the flowers pun red & white




THE RAJA SEHARI

Mak Teh tarik Aizureen to the pelamin, leaving the groom & the best man to handle the toll people.

Kena toll dgn my cousin's son, he's also Zureen's cousin

Tulah, siapa suruh kahwin anak directors Les Copaque. Betul2 kopak dibuatnya. They had to pay to 3 people.

UPIN & IPIN

As the directors of Les Copaque Sdn Bhd, the company which produced Upin & Ipin, Geng, tak sahlah kan kalau takde these characters kat wedding puteri sulong.

PERFORMANCE




Mengiringi perjalanan Raja Sehari ke pelamin



Heavy Machine &

the female singer yg I tak tau nama dia

HANTARAN













Beras kunyit kami taburi
Mawar wangi kami renjisi
Undangan kami setulus hati
Kehadiran tuan puan kami hargai
Terima kasih dari kami & Raja Sehari

Alamak! Terlebih Sudah ...

Mohammad Ammar Haikal Mohammad Iskandar came to school very excited last week. He told me that he wanted to show me his scrapbook & he did. I was very busy conducting one-to-one reading with one of the students, so I told Ammar to share with the 4 year old children who were outside at that time; none other than Khadeja & friends - Khairina Batishia, Aina Natasya, Elliessa Irdina, Fatin Amanee. Previously, all children would be in their respective classroom the moment they arrived. That's why when I told my prospective customers that I have 80 children in the premise, they were taken by surprise. Their response would be, "nampak macam takde org".

I let Khadeja & friends play outside after they have finished reading with Teacher Aishah because they talk too much. Not that I mind though. I dont want to stop them from talking (the other day I heard Khadeja told her friends, "rambut mak saya purple") but at the same time I dont want them to distract their friends who have yet to finish their reading session. Back to Ammar, he showed the girls his scrapbook. They were so excited.

Ammar then passed the book for me to have a look. I was impressed; this is one of the activities that parents can do with their child to brush up their child's languange skills, creativity, maximising both brains & the activity is fun too. I strongly recommend parents to take the time to do this activity with your children. Now, there are many shops selling art & craft materials.

Teruja dgn Ammar's & his parents' effort, the Principal yg lebih2.

I added the roses & ...

...the stars...and

...the butterfly (I would stick a butterfly sticker at the last page of the children's reading book once they completed a book)

...another butterfly and...

... more stars...and

...more stars.

When I was done, baru perasan, ALAMAK! TERLEBIH SUDAH...ni bukan my scrapbook, spoil Ammar's effort.

p/s : Glad I have completed "the urgent task" earlier than expected. So, now its back to blogging.

Busy As A Bee?

The Principal is taking a break from blogging for a while. Busy as a bee? Not really but she needs to put her mind and soul on one thing that she has been neglecting all this while. Sounds so serious? No, she just need to prioritise her activities. In the meantime, enjoy this video which has been truly an inspiration to her.

You & I Can Make A Difference

Start Them Young

I was so ecstatic when Josephine, a rep from The Scholastic Books Club came to our school. I have to thank Nani, the principal for Q-dees Kota Kemuning for recommending my centre to Josephine. I waited so long for their rep to show up at my doorstep tp mcm tak pernah ada yg nak dtg. I even called them, inviting them to market their books kat our school. Maybe my area bukan urban area so they underestimate the market.

Apa yg I buat, I sentiasa on the lookout for Scholastic books sale; selalunya kat Midvalley Megamall. Kalau ada Scholastic books sale, I mmg kiasu. Friday morning, I akan tercegat kat situ. Armed with a basket, 1st round, I ambik buku yg I jatuh cinta kali pertama tengok. Bila bakul tu dah penuh, I pilih yg terbaik - illustrations, font, age appropriate.

Lagi satu I suka pergi Penguin books sale tp they all jarang buat; maybe once in 2-4 years. If you chance upon Penguin books sale, jadilah kiasu mcm I. Borong mcm tak ingat dunia. Memang murah teramat esp children's books. Where on earth can you get Ladybird books @ RM1-RM3? Only bila Penguin ada sale. I guarantee you wont go back empty handed.

I just love Scholastic books. And the fact that they publish good children's books at a relatively cheap price - a bonus to me. What's so good about the Scholastic brochure, it actually guides you to making your choice so that you buy books that are age appropriate for your child/ren. Their books - nice pictures (I just love the illustrations). I started to fall in love with Scholastic books when I had to do an assignment on what constitute good children's books (masa I buat Montessori course). My friends just couldnt believe that a childless lawyer collect children's books. I enjoy reading children's books till today.

My friends kata, bila the teachers wanna discipline the children, they will say something like, "I'll send you to the Principal's office". Kat our school, my teachers wont say anything like this coz the children mmg suka masuk bilik Principal (I keep the door open at all times). There are many Scholastic books in my office....

I was so surprised & the same time excited bila I distributed the brochures, I received good response from parents. The school wont get any commission; just bonus points which we can redeem books. I am so thrilled knowing that I can stock lg byk buku kat sekolah. The children yg dah order dok tanya I everyday bila they all boleh dpt buku2 tu. Its good if their interest in reading bwk sampai ke besar. Really hope the children will find the joy of reading.

"Let books be their dining table
And they shall be full of delights
Let books be their mattress
And they shall sleep restful nights"
(The Star, June 28, 2009)

Dear Oprah

Dear Oprah,

I have been missing your 1pm show since last Monday. I cant watch your 8pm show coz at that hour we usually go out for dinner or we watch news.

You must be wondering what I have been up to. Last week, I called one of my customers; expressing my concern for her son's progress in school. We are now in our 3rd term and her boy doesnt show much progress & definitely below the school's expectation. FYI, this boy was born on 31 Dec 2003 at 11.40pm; 20 minutes to 2004. His Mom was of the opinion that her son's development must have delayed in certain areas of development - being a December baby. She kinda regret not sending her son to school earlier. She thot as her other son could do well in primary school after being with us for only a year, we could do wonders to her other child. Sometimes, parents have to be reminded that even my twin nieces have differences in their cognitive development. I am sure your regular guest; Dr Oz will agree with me on this point, Oprah.

My suggestions to her - delay her son entering primary 1 / we put her son in our 5 year old class so that he learns the basic concepts first (no point putting him in our 6 year old class when he couldnt grasp the basic concepts). His Mom leaves it to my discretion. That night, I couldnt sleep well; trying to put myself in his Mom's position. Not an easy task for me who have no child I can call my own.

I finally made up my mind - I put him in our 5 year old class, I believe this is for the best interest of the child. I personally coach him after school until 1.00pm. I want him to join his other friends in primary school next year. I have never done this before. I have received requests from parents who want me to coach their primary school going children but I turn down their requests. Every morning, I have to be in school by 6.30am, I have no energy left by noon.

I have to make sacrifice this time. And Oprah, this is the reason why I cant be right in front of tv, lying comfortably on my 2 seater sofa watching your show. Whatever it is, I will make sure I go to Oprah.com when time permits. Till then, Oprah.

p/s : quite sad after reading the news which says that Angelina Jolie replaces you as the most powerful celebrity in the world. I will definitely vote for you & not the woman who

took my Brad Pitt away

Yours truly,
The Principal

When Small Things Matter...

Last Saturday, 20th June 2009, I attended my 1st class - there were 25 students. Half of my classmates are senior citizens. Most of the students are mothers to special needs children. An Indian lady sat next to me in the class. She travels every Saturday from Ipoh. She works with special needs children. To her, the travelling, costs, time are "small matters" compared to the knowledge she will gain from this course that will benefit many underprivileged children under her care.

I went to Mid Valley Megamall later with Shahrul coz I wanted to read a book - Nobody, Nowhere. Instead, I fell in love with this book the moment I laid my eyes on it.

It took me nearly 3 hours to finish reading this book. I menguasai 2 seater sofa kat MPH Lounge tu coz bila nak selesa sikit, bersila atas sofa tu...I know its kinda selfish but once in a while, takpelah kan? (I really love the book, but the price tag - RM78.90, mematikan niat utk membeli).

Some people ignore little things that they should do but fail to do, take things for granted & cause unnecessary inconveniences, hardship, scoldings from their boss/spouse, & in extreme cases - death?

Some people take the trouble to extend help, say sth good...which may be insignificant to others but means so much to the recipient...

This book gives many instances where these SMALL acts later lead to bigger, unexpected, unwanted, surprised ..... result, consequences ....

I could relate to many instances in the book. There were many instances in my life where I ignored small things which I considered tak penting at that moment of time that later lead to unwanted incidents.....and the only thing I could do thereafter was.... "if only....".

I remember one incident. I was working in Seremban. When it was time to go home, I left my handphone in the office. I was at the car park when I realised the phone was not in my bag. So hassle to go back to the office, bukak pintu so on & so forth. Takpelah, bukannye boleh hilang, I told myself.

After the Shah Alam/Bukit Jelutong toll, I got caught in a massive traffic jam. At that time, GCE Highway takde lagi. The only road nak balik Saujana Utama was a two lane road. Sebuah lori yg besar & pjg telah terbalik, blocking both lanes. I had no handphone with me, there was no way I could call Shahrul. To make matters worse, my parents were at my house. They were extremely worried when I didnt reach home by 8pm. I was stuck in the traffic jam for 2 hours. The moment I reached home, semua org marah I esp my Dad. If only I took a few minutes to get my handphone...that would save me the trouble I caused myself, Shahrul & my parents.

I love multitasking but now I know when I multitask, it simply means I cant focus, concentrate on the work at hand. Then, later mulalah bende tu tak siap, bende ni misplaced....or in short jadi lebih tak organised.

Khalid Samad, the Shah Alam division chief tentunya wished he had checked the resolution which called on the national fatwa council to probe Sisters In Islam to check if its activities were contrary to the teachings of Islam, with a view to declaring it haram if it was. Due to a small technical mistake, it got many parties riled up.

A friend suffered a great loss when she accidentally killed her only daughter when reversing her car. If only she took a few seconds to check on her daughter ....

How many times have we read in the paper, babies lemas kat bilik air bila their mother tinggalkan sekejap je?

When I was working in Seremban, one of my job descriptions : I kena lobi utk masukkan the firm dlm panel of lawyers big companies. Sometimes kena jumpa directors, GM, managers, officers. Kdg2 kena buat appointment nak jumpa many people dlm 1 company.

The firm tried so many times nak masuk satu GLC ni. Tak pernah berjaya. I told my boss I wanted to give it a try coz 2 of their subsidiaries (this GLC ada byk subsidiaries) were developing new projects kat Negeri Sembilan. I approached the legal managers. Wah! nak jumpa legal managers pun susah sgt, tp after the long wait, dpt jugaklah. They were quite impressed with the firm's profile tp I knew mcm takde harapan. I told my boss I needed his help. My boss told me to bring the legal managers keluar makan & bring L, his sexy secretary along. L, mmg sexy, muka mcm Kris Dayanti. L baik dgn I (eventhough she was attached to our main branch), I didnt wanna do that but L didnt mind at all.

I brought one manager to Hotel Nikko for lunch. L was there too. The meeting was so casual. The next thing - the firm masuk panel one of the subsidiaries. Tp yg kelakarnya, masa keluar dr coffee house tu, legal manager tu jln dgn L. Guess who waited outside? His wife; she was supposed to wait for the husband kat car park. Instead, she parked the car & waited outside the coffee house. Ntah2 dah intai dr awal. Put your place in the wife's position - husband you keluar dgn a sexy girl. Tak kisahlah ada org lain (ie me) & not just the two of them. His wife pakai tudung & baju kurung.

Tak lama lepas tu, I got a call from L. The other manager wanted to meet up with us. This time, the firm arranged kat Palace of the Golden Horses. I, my boss, L & a senior lawyer from the main branch were there. Their side adalah nak dekat 8 org - dr sebesar2 boss ke yg paling rendah - the legal manager.

Masa balik, L sempat bisik kat telinga I - Kak Emy tau tak, legal manager tu ajak L keluar.

Just by bringing L along, a small effort on our part, we got our firm's name in the panel of lawyers for 2 subsidiaries. But, favours mcm ni & sometimes involved a cut from the firm's profits was one of the reasons I left the legal profession. Letihlah melayan perangai2 mcm ni.

Back to this book, the author told a story of an employee who saw someone looked a bit lost at the lobby of his workplace. He took the trouble to ask the old man who told the employee that he was looking for someone. The employee led the old man to the office of the person the old man was looking for. Later, due to this small gesture, the employee got promoted to a higher rank. The old man was actually a VVIP & wrote a letter to the company to thank that particular employee.

A CEO of a private jet leasing company won a big contract when he gave up his seat to a stranger who wanted to sit next to the latter's daughter.

So, friends, focus on things at hand (the power of NOW), even if you are the busiest people on earth, spare some time with your loved ones, call your parents often (I have to puji Shahrul coz he calls his mom every day), dont take things for granted, say something nice to people around you, sometimes even Hello or Thank You can put a smile on someone's face....

Whenever "alah! bende kecik je" crosses your mind, please remember the power of small and how sometimes that little things can make all the difference in our lives...

1Malaysia - Antara Realiti & Fantasi

Sedap bunyinya coz lebih kurang macam One Utama; me & Shahrul's fav place to unwind.

Previously, we had Islam Hadhari so topik forum, produk etc semua ada perkataan hadhari di hujung/pangkal. Now, 1Malaysia. Bila baca The Star, I skip the first few pages coz dok cerita pasal 1Malaysia. Byklah tulisan2 sumbang - u dpt, I pun nak jugak. Takkan you sorang dpt, kitakan sama2 rakyat Malaysia. MCA nak ni, MIC nak tu, Gerakan nak jugak - kalau u tak bg, I nak keluar dr rumah. And org Melayu selalu tak sampai hati - biarlah Chin Peng pulang...

Konsep perpaduan kaum to me mcm dah blur. I hanya nampak perpaduan kaum bila tengok anak my neighbours (chinese & indian) communicate in Malay language. My school 100% Malay students. When I first started my biz here in Saujana Utama where population more than 90% Malay, I received many enquiries from bangsa lain. Not surprising coz Q-dees target market dulunya memang non-Malays. Sadly, after introducing myself as Emylia, the Principal, among the first questions they asked me, you Melayu ke? I would never hear from them again. Later, I hardly receive any enquiries from bangsa selain Melayu. Word of mouth I guess.

I & Shahrul gila berpolitik satu ketika dulu. Selalu meeting dgn grup A*AL*N*. After work, from Seremban terus gi meeting dgn Shahrul sampai late hours. Few months later, terasa taknak jadi politikus (walaupun I was born Tahun Tikus), biarlah menikus/ berbicara melalui tetikus je. Penglibatan we all dlm politik hanya membaca berita/artikel politik & tak pernah miss mengundi sejak capai tahap umur boleh mengundi. Shahrul mengundi kat Selangor (pernah tercampak kaw Bukit Bintang much to his surprise, tp I tak surprise pun - hanya jauhari mengenal manikam), later we all balik Melaka for my turn pulak.

Today, terkejut jugak dengan kenyataan Tuan Guru Nik Aziz. I am not a PAS member tp really admire Nasharuddin Mat Isa. Rasanya kenyataan, pemikiran Nasharuddin telah disalahfaham atau diputarbelitkan byk pihak esp the media. Paper yg berat sekilo tu mcm berat sebelah - nampak mcm nak menakut-nakutkan bangsa lain seolah-olah kenyataan the Presiden & Timbalan Presiden membygkan kerjasama antara Pas dgn UMNO (menguatkan kuasa politik org Melayu?)...so keluarlah statements menentang from byk pihak. Kalau ini berterusan, tak taulah konsep 1Malaysia yg dibygkan dpt mencapai objektifnya. Anyway, it doesnt cost a single sen to dream.....Good Luck, dear PM...

* To siblings, Mohammad Abid (6) & Mohammad Azib Mohd Hafiz (4) : Welcome to Q-dees

The Joy of Learning

When I went back to my hometown last week, I told Ibu, I nak belajar lagi. Ibu told me to get a cert utk ajar budak2 mengaji. Here, in Saujana Utama, ramai yg mengajar mengaji so parents takde problem nak cari guru mengaji. Let these teachers yg mmg layak mengajar do that.

After much thinking, soul searching, I made up my mind. I decided to help children with learning disabilities. Its such a pity that most of these children have been left out. Statistics revealed that most of our delinquent juveniles have learning disabilities. Maybe their parents cant afford sending them to special education centres; sadly not many in Malaysia & quite expensive.

A friend of mine, Linda has an autistic child. Her eldest son was first diagnosed when he was 2 1/2 years old. Linda & hubby pelik kenapa her son didnt show any reaction bila dgr bunyi petir etc...like other children his age akan react. They went to several private hospitals & finally SJMC confirmed it's autism.

Linda sent her eldest son to a primary school. She was extremely frustrated when her son dimasukkan dlm kelas where semua special needs children dicampurkan dlm satu kelas. She knew she couldnt expect much tp teramat risau when one day she dropped by at the school & tengok pintu kelas wide open; no safety measures. Takut betul kalau anak dia just lari keluar sekolah.

Pernah she asked me whether I boleh tutor her son. I wish I boleh but I was not trained to teach special needs children.

She sold her house & moved to Shah Alam so that her son can get better education. Lucky for her, she & hubby can afford tp tak boleh bygkan parents yg terpaksa bergantung harap sepenuhnya pd sekolah.

One of my students was diagnosed with ADHD last year. His parents pulled him out from our school coz we just couldnt handle him & teach him. His parents knew that we did try our best to help. They enrolled him in a school with less children & he stayed after school for one-to-one session. It broke my heart to lose him not because of losing one customer but because his Mom was very close to me. I just felt so helpless.

I wanna kill 2 birds with one stone. I wanna learn something that will benefit my students & other children with learning disabilities and at the same time ada side income. Last week, I signed up for Diploma in Learning Disorders & Child Psychology. The course will cover topics on autism, ADHD/ADD, dyslexia, dyspraxia. So, my intention to pursue Master in Education in August has to take a back seat at the moment.

I had to go through an interview before they could accept me as a student; much to my surprise. I was told the course fee is quite cheap compared to other private institutions. They wanna make sure they impart the knowledge to the right candidate who will use the knowledge to the benefit of the society.

My class started on 13th June 2009 but I couldnt make it coz I've signed up for Dyslexia Talk. I believe there were 300 participants in the auditorium; some of them came from as far as Penang & Ipoh but Melayu tak sampai 10 orang. Awareness masih kurang.

L-R : Ron, me & Azrinie; Principal Q-dees Taman Bkt Permata, Gombak

Try this exercise. Put a piece of paper on your forehead & write your name. Susahkan? Dyslexic children have to face the difficulties in learning every single day of their lives. Early intervention is very crucial.

Most of the children in my school can progress well, insya allah but there are some students who struggle and a few are slow learners. Ron, the speaker revealed that in every 5 children, 1 dyslexic. Scary isnt it? Most of us, teachers are not trained to identify dyslexic children & method to teach them. Dyslexic children can learn; they just learn in a different way. I wanna equip myself with knowledge to help these children. Once I finish the course, my plan is to help children at my centre & maybe tutor other children who have learning disabilities.

During tea break, I had a conversation with a Mom; her son is dyslexic. She only found out about dyslexia through internet recently. His son is 13 years old. My heart goes to her son. If only ada early intervention...He must have experienced a great deal of stress. But Ron said its never too late to help children with learning disabilities find the joy of learning...

* to Serikandi Tun Fatimah : Al Fatihah buat our beloved Principal, Puan Hajjah Khadijah Abd Karim yang telah menghembuskan nafas terakhir pd 13/6/2009. Semoga rohnya dicucuri rahmat Allah SWT.

The Principal's Friends

As usual, school holidays tidak bermakna masa utk bersantai, shaking legs ...for Q-dees Principals. This whole week penuh dgn training & today, Thursday, 11 June 2009 we, the Principals who started biz in 2006-2009 had a meeting with the Franchisor @ Q-dees Putra Heights. Now, driving to Putra Heights dah senang coz kat Elite Highway dah ada exit Putra Heights. Kalau tak ntah mana2 I keluar. Mesti sesat.

I always look forward to meeting my friends. Definitely akan share our heartache & headache, give & receive suggestions & gossipping of course...

Me, Saliza (tudung pink), Suzana, Nani (in purple baju kurung) . I'm the youngest. The rest in their forties. Saliza kata I & Nani mcm nak gi org kahwin. The difference besides the colour - Nani's baju kurung mesti mahal but my pink baju kurung beli kat Giant, Shah Alam (RM55) . Tudung - from Dhia'riz's Mom; Puan Zailati. The bag - sumbangan Ummi, 365.

At the last meeting, the HQ people asked me to share my "success" story. Bila ingat balik what I had to go through, air mata mmg nak mengalir. Just couldnt believe that I could stand in front of my friends sharing with them my "success" story. Maybe to some, it was just a small success to get 33 students, then 46, then 80 tp memberi makna besar to me.

Intan & Faith, the Marketing Manager told the audience that they were proud of my achievement. They remember going to my school on the 1st day of school in 2007. The best word to describe the situation at my school on that day - chaotic. 2 teachers decided at the very last minute not to join us. I was left with 2 teachers at that time to deal with the crying babies, attending to parents. Nak meraung rasa...

Today, my friend, Saliza, Principal, Q-dees Subang Bestari shared her success story. 1st year - 108 students, this year - 172 students. We, the Malay franchisees are very proud of her. Next, to share her success story - Fazliyana, Principal Saujana Damansara. Bangga sangat coz FYI most of Q-dees franchisees bangsa lain. Dulu, franchisees Melayu mcm melukut di tepi gantang, kalau tak loan from PNS mana mampu nak operate Q-dees yg start up cost around RM150K (I took a RM50K loan from PNS, paying RM1,031 every month, still ada 30 months lagi. Tgh struggle nak make early settlement). Tp, franchisees Melayu yg start biz from 2007-2009 mmg rapat, we help each other.

Me, Saliza, Nani, Fazliyana (in orange)

Suzana started her biz in 2007, sama dgn I. When she first started, 2 org students je. At the end of 2007, 13 students. last year, 40 students, this year 55. Nani took over the Kota Kemuning centre from the HQ. When she took over late last year, around 55 students, around 20 keluar after 6 years old. As of today, she has 78 students. Ok kan?

At the end of the year, the Franchisor will set a target for us to achieve the year after. Last year, their target for my centre was 60. Next year - 85. Kalau reach/ above target, we get RM300. Since I melepasi their target, I got this :

Intan told me about the cheque yesterday morning. So, last night, I belanja Shahrul makan. Told him, "nilah, org Melayu kalau berniaga. Duit belum nampak, enjoy dulu". We went to German Deli Imbiss, Ara Damansara.

Shahrul ate this

I ate this

Hope 2010 will be a great year for us...Its only June tp debaran dah terasa...

Rangsangan Deria

I went to Midvalley Megamall last Sunday. Tujuan utama nak tengok Tash Aw in person. For the uninitiated he's the author of Map of the Invisible World.

For our market, cover dia lain.

Armed with my camera, I went to MPH Lounge. Tp yg ada kat situ semua pegang buku dia asking for his signature. I couldnt do that. Well, I didnt wanna buy his book yg I dah baca separuh jalan FOC kat situ recently walaupun this book mendapat pujian seantero dunia. So, hanya memandang dari dekat - so near yet so far. Malu ah nak gi ambik gambar je tapi tak beli buku dia. Ouch! kempunan betul. Shahrul heran what's the big deal tak ambik gambar ngan Tash Aw, bukan handsome pun Shahrul said.

I will read his first book bila pergi MPH sekali lagi, most probably on weekdays for peace of mind.

So, dgn hati yg gundah gulana, pergi ke tujuan yg kedua gi Midvalley.

Meriah sungguh. My five senses di stimulate kat this one event :

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all? The photographer ie diriku yang ...

...dulunya lawyer & kini....

...teacher

Yes, you could hardly see bangsa lain kat situ. So, I buat apa kat situ? Menyahut seruan Najib - 1Malaysia. FYI, I've never missed this event for the past 2 years. Why?

TERPAKU dengan kepelbagaian produk...

TERUJA dengan kepelbagaian warna...







TERKEDU dengan kepelbagaian rasa...





TERPANAH dengan...

...keindahan cahaya &

...kemerduan suara anair ni - wanggeh, wanggeh

Did I buy anything? Oh yes! kain ela 6 metres utk ibu saudaraku yg deria penglihatannya tidak berfungsi & pink punjabi suit utk diriku. As you know, punjabi suit mmg labuh (semuanya jadi jubah bila kupakai) so for someone yg kecik kenot macam diriku susah betul nak cari saiz tp itu tak bermakna mamat yg jual punjabi suit itu boleh berkata padaku, "sorry Madam, you are too "low". Hantar balik India baru tau...

Untuk merangsangkan lagi deria, next stop - Oasis Food Court

dry pan mee dalam mangkuk besar

Next stop, ToysrUs coz from now onwards, Principal will get a present for customer yg menyambut kelahiran cahaya mata & antara penerima yang pertama :



Zafrul's Mom - baby boy
Irdina's Mom - baby girl
Airin's & Aina's Mom - baby boy

Congratulations to them...

Kenali Saya

dillazag tagged me.

The rules:

1) Write five (5) interesting facts about the person who gave you this award.
2) Jot down ten (10) interesting facts about yourself or your hobbies.
3) Pick your ten (10) most deserving receipients and describe them.
4) Leave a comment on the receipients' blog to tell them they've been tagged.
5)Paste the award badge in your sidebar.

Have fun! If you feel like cutting down on the numbers, feel free to!

Pandangan dillazag terhadap saya :

Perempuan ini saya jumpa di sekolah menengah. My Form 4 senior when I was in Form 1. She's a lawyer by training but left the profession to pursue her dream. I love to follow her daily adventures with the wonderful kids of Q-dees Saujana Utama and also her personal journey in life. Sangat sarcastic dan comel to boot!

Pandangan saya terhadap dillazag :

1) oleh sebab ramai sangat Serikandi Tun Fatimah dipanggil Dilla, dia lebih dikenali sebagai dilla zaghlol (sempena nama ayahandanya).

2) Dia terlalu peramah, very confident - Form 1 lain takut2 dgn seniors, but dillazag akan bercampur dgn semua org tanpa mengira umur.

3) dia selalu menunjukkan keupayaannya menggulung lidah kepada kami.

4) dia tidak pernah berambut pjg sepanjang ingatan saya semasa berada di STF. She was a bit "brutal" and selamba, but these characteristics made her very close to us, the seniors.

5) before getting married, dia menunjukkan semua persiapan perkahwinannya kpd saya & Elin dr baju pengantin, baju bridesmaid, baju flower girls, kad kahwinnya yg cantik sehingga kpd husbandnya yg handsome. Me & Elin were very honoured to be invited to her glamourous perkahwinan di taman.

Ten (10) interesting facts about myself :

1) Saya dilahirkan tidak cantik tetapi bersyukur kerana lengkap segala pancaindera. Kepala saya agak besar, dahi jendol, deep sad eyes, square face & kulit saya agak gelap dibandingkan adik beradik saya yang lain.

Saya di sebelah kanan. Di sebelah kiri anak sepupu saya.

Ayan, my younger sister sms-ed me yesterday : "Dlm Berita Harian hari ni, bayi berkepala besar meninggal dunia. Kak Emy ok je, hidup lama".

I told Alin, my eldest sister about this sms. Dia bukan mendefend saya tetapi menambah, "yelah, masa kecik dulu Abang Long kata kepala tu boleh takung air hujan".


Bersama sepupu saya. Macam anak ET kan?

Tq sisters.

Ibu saya menghadapi masalah ketika ingin melahirkan saya, terpaksa bertarung dgn nyawa. Selepas melahirkan saya, ibu saya menghadapi masalah lelah yg kronik sehingga kini. Saya bernasib baik kerana dilahirkan di bumi Malaysia. Kalau dilahirkan di India, mungkin menerima nasib spt anak perempuan di sana - ditanam hidup2. Ibu bapa saya juga menghadapi masalah membesarkan saya; sukar dikawal, bertindak mengikut perasaan & keras kepala (mungkin sebab kepala saya besar???).

Kening saya tidak teratur & lebih memburukkan lagi, semasa saya kecil, arwah datuk saya telah membuang puntung rokok beliau keluar tanpa menyedari saya berada di luar rumah ketika itu. Puntung rokok yg masih bernyala itu terkena kening saya menjadikan ianya semakin tidak kemas & teratur.

Gambar passport saya yang pertama.

Look at my eyebrow. The area yg kena puntung rokok tu kurang sikit lebatnya. BTW, bintil bwh mata tu gone forever, no need surgery. Tak sure which of my beauty products got rid of that. Gambar ini diambil di salah sebuah gunung di Korea. It was drizzling, hence the raincoat. Saya ambil gambar saya sendiri. Di mana suami saya? Entahlah, mungkin sudah berjumpa dengan Puteri Gunung Ledang versi Korea. They have something in common - the eyes. Taklah, Shahrul sebenarnya sedang sibuk minum mata air yg keluar dari muka bumi dan berperisa seperti air berkarbonat.

Untuk menutupi kekurangan saya, bila dewasa saya berusaha membentuk personaliti saya dgn membykkan membaca. Saya percaya kecantikan seseorang tidak terletak pd paras rupa sahaja. Antara buku yg membantu saya : How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Buku ini saya perolehi drpd koleksi buku2 lama abah saya. Tp saya rasa telah ditipu hidup2 bila Dale Carnegie mati kerana membunuh diri. Mujurlah prinsip2 dlm buku tu memang boleh diaplikasikan.

2) Ketinggian saya hanya 152cm. Kecik kenot kata students saya yg jugak kecik kenot. Mungkin dipengaruhi gen sebelah ibu kerana my paternal aunties, uncles & cousins kesemuanya tinggi2 belaka & they are fair. Semasa kecil, saya suka main masak2 yg tidak memerlukan kekuatan fizikal. Heran jugak kenapa minat masak2 tidak dipupuk sampai sekarang...Mungkin juga faktor saya tidak suka Pendidikan Jasmani & yg sewaktu dgnnya menyebabkan ketinggian saya terbantut.

Tp ini ada juga kebaikannya kerana saya tidak perlu risau membeli pakaian/ kasut; senang cari saiz & tidak perlu bersusah payah mencari calon suami yg lebih tinggi dari saya. Saya tidak percaya kepada statement, kalau isteri lebih tinggi dr suami murah rezeki. Saya tidak mahu bersusah payah macam Adibah Noor dlm sebuah iklan, terpaksa memanjat utk membetulkan lampu rosak dsbnya hanya kerana suami saya lebih rendah dr saya.

3) Dr darjah 1-4, saya bersekolah di Convent Infant Jesus, Malacca yg kesemua pelajar adalah perempuan. Bila darjah 5, saya ditukarkan ke sekolah yg dekat dgn rumah, Sek Keb Bukit Beruang; ada pelajar lelaki. Saya minat sangat dengan classmate saya, Rosman Nordin tp dia tak minat kat saya. Dia lebih minat kat kawan saya; Faridah Yusof yg pandai mengaji, kulit putih gebu, pipi bagai pauh dilayang, tinggi lampai. Saya - the opposite. Ada classmate saya - Alias Adross yg tall, dark & handsome & cuba berbaik2 dgn saya tp saya tak suka dia hanya sebab dia hitam sangat. Terukkan? He was really a sweet boy.

4) Saya adalah perempuan yg sangat senang menangis. Heroin drama korea mati, saya menangis, heroin kena dumped, saya menangis hatta kucing beranak pun saya boleh menangis. Yg lebih mengharu birukan, kucing2 suka betul beranak kat tadika saya. Kalaulah bila kucing beranak perlukan bidan, mungkin saya dah jadi bidan kucing & membidankan ramai anak kucing.

5) Saya menghargai rakan-rakan saya. My best friends tidak boleh dikira dgn jari tangan sahaja, perlu jari kaki coz ramai jugak. Kalau friends lagi ramai, mungkin kena pinjam jari tangan & kaki org lain utk kira. Di bawah adalah sebahagian drpd my best friends.

Elin in red & Azlina, the host. Kedua-dua mereka adalah kawan karib saya....

Eairrin Hasshim (kawan saya di Law Faculty, UM) di sebelah Elin & Latisya Sharudin di sebelah saya.

Dr Ruzaina & Ida Faiziah

Sharifah Hamdiah

Jue & Mimi

A friend of mine gave me this big garfield on my birthday. Saya pasti dia pun nak remain anonymous tp saya pasti jugak dia tau siapa dia. Dia adalah salah seorang rakan karib saya. Saya suka bersembang dgn dia kerana dia boleh melayan "kegilaan" saya.

6) Saya boleh lena dalam sekelip mata walaupun saya minum bercawan-cawan kopi sebelum tu. Saya hanya perlu memejamkan mata, stare into darkness & within seconds, saya lena. Saya juga senang terjaga. So, kalau Shahrul yg mmg susah tidur bergolek ke kanan ke kiri, saya akan terjaga tetapi saya akan lena semula. Bukan buat tak pot je tp bukan semua org boleh dpt nikmat tidur mcm saya.

7) Semasa kecil, saya selalu sakit terutama gastrik. Saya tak boleh makan twisties, chickadees & seangkatan dgnnya, minum carbonated drinks etc...Sampai sekrg tekak saya tak boleh menerima bende2 ni. Tp kalau nampak shopping bag saya penuh dgn bende2ni, itu adalah utk Shahrul. Ibu saya pernah terkejut tengok Shahrul beli sebegitu byk twisties, chickadees etc...so now u know rambut Shahrul kurang bukan sebab stress beristerikan saya tp sebab faktor pemakanan.

Bila dewasa, saya jarang sakit. Tidak pernah dimasukkan ke hospital sehingga 30.5.2007 bila saya terpaksa menjalani pembedahan di Gleneagles utk membuang cyst. Saya benci pergi follow up dgn Dr Suseela Nair kerana dlm bilik menunggu kebanyakannya mereka yg berusia 50 tahun ke atas, membuatkan saya rasa saya tua sebelum waktunya.

8) Saya tak suka sayur. Semua makanan saya takde sayur. Saya hanya akan makan sayur kalau Ibu saya masak, hanya taugeh & sayur kacang sahaja. Shahrul - the opposite. Kalau makan nasi campur, sayur je nampak, nasi tak nampak. So kalau makanan saya ada sayur, Shahrul akan menghabiskannya. Org kata kalau makan lebihan isteri, nanti dgr cakap isteri. Saya rasa menderem saya tak menjadi pd Shahrul coz kalau tidak mesti saya boleh drive kereta kesayangannya. CSI team tidak akan jumpa DNA saya kat driver's seat kereta Shahrul.

9) Sakit Untuk Cantik? Sounds familiar? Kini, saya termasuk dlm segelintir wanita2 yg berfikiran sebegini. Saya sanggup mengumpul duit utk membiayai permanent hair removal on my upper lip using electrolysis. 20 sessions, baru lepas 5 sessions. Sakit yang amat. Rasa mcm semut api gigit kat upper lip utk jangka masa yg agak lama. 1 session lasts about half an hour. Pasti air mataku bertakung di kelopak mata. Anita, the owner thinks I'm so cool coz her customers ada yg sampai meronta.

My last session with her was yesterday. Anita just came back from London, she got a new machine which she claimed lesser pain. She gave me a free treatment yesterday coz I was her guinea pig. Takut jugak, mana tau mukaku yg comel..ahaks..jadi comot? After each session, akan bengkak & merah. Saya akan dengan selamba crossed the road gi bank2 berdekatan menjalankan urusan perbankan. Baru 5 sessions, so tak nampak lagi perbezaan. But please, when you see me, jgnlah nak tengok muka saya dekat2 pulak; that's sexual harassment...

10) Bila mandi, saya akan pastikan air dipancurkan di kaki dahulu, kemudian baru ke bahagian anggota tubuh yg lain. Saya akan uwek uwek mengeluarkan angin dlm bdn. Petua ini diajar oleh Cik Ayermana, guru Sains saya di STF yg di samping mengajar sains selalu menyelitkan petua utk sains kecantikan. Saya jarang terkena sakit kepala.

Saya bersusah payah mempraktikkan petua ini sedari dulu utk mengurangkan angin dlm bdn. Itu sebab saya sakit hati bila satu hari, saya kat escalator One Utama. Dua gadis Melayu begitu bergaya, berskirt micro mini, bermekap tebal di hadapan saya. Tiba2 saya terbau busuk yg amat sgt mcm telur tembelang pecah. Mesti one of them telah mengeluarkan angin. Saya terpaksa menahan nafas hingga menyebabkan saya tidak boleh berkata, "next time kalau rasa bdn byk angin, pakailah seluar, lagi ketat lagi bagus, so that bila angin keluar, tak pollute the environment. Terperap dlm seluar tu.

Anda telah mengenali saya. Kini, anda perlu mengenali 2 rakan saya yg begitu istimewa pada saya :

1) AIZ : Kami bertemu 30 tahun yg lepas (Darjah 1) ketika sama-sama bersekolah di Convent Infant Jesus (2) Malacca. Kami tak satu class so walaupun Melayu tak ramai kat sekolah tu, kami tak rapat. Then Aiz moved to another school.

We met again kat STF when we were in Form 1. Still tak close coz we were in different class. We were in the same class masa Form 4 & 5 Social Science. A partner in one of the "crimes" I committed tp if I'm not mistaken, Aiz terlepas coz 1st time offender. Oh yes! they introduced us to legal terms masa kat STF lagi.

Me & Shahrul had dinner with Aiz & hubby, Din once when they invited us to their house. Aiz pandai memasak, menghias, now she's into art & craft.

2) HANIE : She was my classmate kat STF for 5 years. Duduk sebelah menyebelah masa Form 4 & 5. She has the sweetest smile & very nice handwriting. A very talented dancer too. She knows me very well. She was my shoulder to cry on. Except for one incident bermasam muka, we were quite close. Never judged me, selalu cover up for me etc...a friend in need is a friend indeed.

Ragam Kehidupan

We reached Penang around 11.40am. Cabs forming a line outside.

TERUJA

Teruja nak naik kereta apa? Perdana would be nice; Merc belakang lagi. So, we let taxi Waja, Nissan Sunny blah dulu, then we hopped masuk Perdana. Harga sama whether you naik Merc / old Nissan Sunny. Ikut nasib or ikut rasa, macam we all - teruja nak naik Perdana. A nice chap - En Mustakim. You know Shahrul akan sembang pasal apa? None other than politics and Penanti by election the very next day. Maybe En Mustakim was trying to be nice or maybe memang dia orang BN so the conversation went so rancak. Me - makan Ice Kimo & Corn in Cup (mayo added) bought at Daily Fresh. Sakit hati talking about politics / senang hati nak menggemukkan badan? I chose the latter.

Our 3rd time staying at Copthorne Orchid. Kalau tak Copthorne, Paradise Sandy, next to Copthorne. We chose these 2 hotels because within our budget. Kalau at Batu Feringgi, mahal sangat. Ada food court, 3 convenience stores across the road. Laut - partially hidden from our room coz of this building - The Cove, price tag - the cheapest RM1.5 million. Satu level, satu rumah measuring 6000+++ sq feet each.

The Principal teruja nak pose berlatarbelakangkan The Cove.

BEING THRIFTY

At night, we took a bus to Batu Feringgi. The hotel provides shuttle bus to & fro Batu Feringgi & town. We booked when we checked in coz the shuttle bus could only accomodate 10 people. We later cancelled our seats to Batu Feringgi coz we would have to leave by 7pm. We preferred performing our Jamak Takdim first so that bila balik boleh tidur je.

We decided to go by bus. The fare RM1 each one way. If we took a cab, that would cost us RM25 one way. Bas tu buruk sangat but somehow both of us enjoyed the ride knowing that we saved a lot by taking a bus to Feringgi.

When was the last time you strike a pose at the bus stop? Nampak tak mineral bottle tu? Gi mana2 bwk air, so that we didnt have to order drinks.

There's always an exception to the general rule :

Shahrul teringin sangat cendol. Suruh dia tapau but he said, "when in Penang, do as the Penangites do" - makan cendol tepi jalan.

satu lagi cendol, boss. Not for me, for him. I hate cendol, reminds me of....

But the cons of taking buses - the long wait. We were very fortunate, most of the time we didnt have to wait that long except for one occasion. We were told bus no. 103 to Batu Feringgi lalu depan Pdg Kota Lama. We waited for half an hour before being told we had to go to Komtar & take the bus from there. Lucky for us, free shuttle buses plying that road. So we just hopped onto one of the free buses to Komtar.

BUDI BAHASA

When we alighted, we said thank you. The bus driver said, "sudah lama saya tak dgr itu macam". Berbudi bahasa sangat ke me & Shahrul? Maybe but the budi bahasa didnt last that long...

Shahrul malas melayan snapping pictures in odd places, like this one. Shahrul kata satu bas tengok dia. Tipu kan? Aci tu tak heran pun.

We ate at one of the stalls kat belakang Bayu Senja. The last time we had our meals there, service lambat sangat. Cuba jugaklah, mana tau dah improved. Tak jugak. We waited for about an hour. Boleh sabar lagi coz on our way to the stall tak nampak vcd sellers dah beroperasi but when they started serving table sebelah we all yg ramai & of course ordered teramat byk fod, we lost our patience esp bila the waitress kata "sebab they all order byk" & we ordered kerang rebus & sotong goreng tepung only.

This time my budi bahasa terbang. The moment I saw few plates of sotong goreng tepung & kerang rebus siap, I went straight to the counter. Asked the cook, food tu utk brp org makan. He said "2". I took a plate of sotong goreng tepung & kerang rebus & ltk kat meja we all & cepat2 makan before they could say a word.

I was quite frustrated when vcd sellers not in sight, except for one. We witnessed "operasi" in action. Beriya-iya enforcement officers tu maki mamat ni yg bukak jugak biz dia. And we asked ourselves, "ni betul marah ke or drama je?" coz org ramai kat kedai tu. 15 minutes later, the vcd sellers bukak kedai in full swing.

During our stay there, we had nasi kandar 3 times & Shahrul insisted that we go to Nasi Kandar Line Clear. We made full use of the shuttle service provided by the hotel.



20 minutes beratur & another 5 minutes waiting for meja kosong. We saw this one Malay family dah habis, just tunggu the son finished his drink. So, me & Shahrul berdiri je kat tepi, taklah dekat sangat sampai nampak mcm harassment. Believe it or not, when the son finished his drink, the father took his own sweet time korek gigi & sembang mcm we all invisible. Somehow, Shahrul sabar je but to me that man has committed 2 offences. First, mematikan selera I utk makan coz korek gigi in my full view & second, tidak kesian kpd org yg sedang lapar. I finally said, "Bang, boleh tak korek gigi kat rumah?". Shahrul was taken aback & a Malay family yg duk belakang we all & nampak mcm kesian kat we all found that statement amusing. I rasa mamat tu malu & terus angkat punggong.

Sempat gi Pdg Kota Lama, not so much of the food tp best gak jln ptg2 kat situ. We had kerang rebus (our fav)-RM6 (Uptowm DU punye lg best & murah), sotong bakar - RM10,pasembur (RM6).

MUKA CINA

In Rapid Penang to Pdg Kota Lama. Sorang nyonya naik, dok opposite Shahrul. She said something in Chinese to Shahrul.

Shahrul : saya bukan cina. Terus nyonya tu switch to BM.
Nyonya : boleh bagi saya duit beli tiket bas kah?.
Shahrul : saya takde duit.

I told Shahrul, patut dia jawab, "saya boleh bagi pinjam. interest 30%. bagi i/c saje. lu mau ka?".

Balik naik bas coz shuttle bus would only fetch us at 5.30pm. Lambat sgt. Driver bas tu bz betul sembang2 ngan girlfriend dia, dok kat sebelah dia. At one point, terlajak, almost hit the lamp post. Kumat kamit mulut Shahrul baca doa. Apek dok sebelah dia tried to start a conversation in Chinese.

Shahrul : Saya tak faham
Apek : Hah! Lu bukan cina?
Shahrul : Bukan
Apek : Tapi muka Cina (tak puas hati lagi nih)
Shahrul : Mak saya Cina
Apek : Itu sebab ada muka Cina (maybe rasa lega, segala persoalan terjawab)



PROUD TO BE 70

First, we met Pakcik Ahmad, the cab driver who is 74 years old. Next, a Filipino lady sat beside me on the plane. I asked her :

Me : auntie tinggal mana?"
Auntie : sorry dear, I dont understand. I come from manila (mcm faham??)

She's 70 years old, travelling alone, visiting her daughter who's working in Kulim. Bila ditanya rahsianya, dia kata dia buat aerobik everyday. I told her I tak pernah beraerobik. Her advice, "start when you are 45 years old". Oklah, taklah rasa guilty tak beraerobik at the age of 37. Tunggulah 8 years lagi, hopefully masa tu tulang belulang belum lagi berkeriut.

We took a cab back to Saujana Utama. Apek cab driver tu pun 70 years old. Kenapalah my nasib so malang? Takde ke tall, dark, handsome man (excluding bangla) jadi cab driver? Mesti tak tidur sepanjang jalan. Apek cerita sepanjang jalan. I salute him - at the age of 70 still boleh multitasking - talking endlessly while driving. Yg jadi mangsa - apek jugak tp nama Melayu - Shahrul-Azad Zaharom.

THE DAMAGE

I bought these :

25 dvds (2 free) at RM4 each, buy 10 free 1. Not in the picture, korean drama (3 dvds). Kalau kat KL, RM8 each, buy 5 free 1.

I dont really like jeruk but had to buy some kat Chowrasta for my beloved sisters. Kak Long nak buah salak & mangga, Alin nak jeruk mangga je, Ayan tak kisah asalkan free, Aja nak jeruk mangga & betik. Aja told me, "jgn beli byk2 coz she'll be leaving for the Holy Land in a few days (mcmlah I nak beli byk for her). Berat tau, I had to carry almost 3kg of jeruk from Chowrasta to Komtar. Shahrul pun carry berkilo2 for his family.


RM140 for DVDS & jeruk. Oklah kan? Really have to save for my Bali trip come December. Flight tickets dah booked. RM240 to & fro. This time gi dgn my girlfriend, Rinie. No! bukan dera Shahrul dok rumah, in his words, "kalau Indon, I taknak pegi". Fine with me. Bye-bye, bang...

ReadMalaysia 09

I missed KL Book Fair, MPH & Times Warehouse Sale, Crescent Book Fair, so today Wed, 3rd June 2009 gagahkan diri jugak ke MIECC, Mines Resort City to have a look at ReadMalaysia 09 International Book Fair. Surprisingly, publisher bahan bacaan Melayu & bahan bacaan berunsur Islam lebih byk drpd publisher lain.

Big names - MPH, Karangkraf, Utusan Publication, Saba Islamic Media ada. Prices tak best sangat. Diskaun sikit, like MPH offers 10% je. In my collection ada berpuluh2 books written by mat saleh - from self help to finance to early childhood education to biz etc but only 1 shelf dedicated to books on Islam. So, today I bought these & would find the time to read them.

I got 15% discount on these 3 books, total RM128.

I wanted to buy the book entitled Emotional Spiritual Quotient by Dr Ary Ginanjar Agustian, I heard the seminars selalu full house (RM1,365 per pax). The English version (hard cover) RM115, soft cover - murah byk tp BM Indon. Insya allah, satu hari nanti, nak sgt jadi participant. The book - I akan baca kat MPH, Mid Valley Megamall. Hopefully they have this book.

Thanks to mosh for recommending this site & my customer, Puan Hasmila for recommending this blog to me.

Sempat Lagi...

Pak Cik Ahmad will fetch us in 7 hours time to go to the airport, tp I sempat lagi bersantai di alam maya. I'm charging my MP3 so sambil menyelam minum air. When I called Zaira, my serikandi friend, she asked me whether I dah pack ke belum. My answer, "aku nak gi Penang, bukan Paris. Kalau tertinggal brg, beli je yg lain. Kalau tertinggal husband, cari je yg lain...oooppps.

By hook or by crook kena gak gi Marks & Spencer, One U. Ada brg keperluan diri yg perlu dibeli. Yg ada kat rumah jenis spray. Bila Shahrul dgr I spray je & dia tak nampak, dia akan tanya, "you spray apa?" Brg apa tu? Shahrul kata dia ada extra(brand cap ayam, of course). I taknak, not because of the cap ayam brand tp taknaklah nanti bau jantanlah pulak.

Shahrul couldnt find a parking space, he waited in the car. Dlm kereta I pakai selipar, bila nak masuk One U terus tukar high heels. Terkedek2 ku mencari M&S. Yelah, dulu kat old wing, now kat new wing. Bukan selalu beli brg kat M&S pun tp brg yg satu ni kena beli kat situ. Kalau masuk M&S, nonong2 pergi tpt tu je. Nak jugak gi tpt lain dlm M&S tu tp kena ukur baju di badan sendiri. Harga RM16 je satu, beli 3 sekali coz malas nak beli selalu.

Shahrul managed to get a parking space. I sms-ed telling him I tunggu kat wayang. His reply, "wayang kulit?" I jawab, "tak, wayang bogel".

Next, gi Uptown Damansara Utama. Tukar pakai selipar. We make it a point esp on friday night to makan here. Me eating koay teow taknak sayur, Shahrul eating tang hoon goreng, kerang rebus, sup ayam mamak (truly Malaysian). Bila bagi my koay teow, Auntie tu pass fork & spoon, kat Shahrul dia bg chopstick. Ada sorang bro ni jual buku agama. Kat semua melayu dia approach walaupun perempuan yg berpakaian seksa & menghisap rokok. Bila nak approach meja we all, nampak muka Shahrul terus back off.

We just love this place - the food varieties, music - today ada 2 mamat menyanyi. Suara not bad, lagu2 dia I boleh layan. Sebelah we all ada one couple. Yg lelakinya sibuk berckp kat phone, mind you, pakai speaker. Sebijik sebijik suara org at the other end boleh we all dgr. Thank god we all tak faham (sedara they all baru menubuhkan satu parti baru). Mulutku kumat kamit ikut mamat tu nyanyi. Minah tu pun sama gak kumat kamit mulutnya. Bila kumasukkan RM2 dalam topi mamat tu (kalau tak suka performance selalunya bg RM1), minah tu masukkan 20 sen. Come on lah, masuk toilet Jalan TAR pun tak lepas, apa lagi toilet Pavilion. Dgn 20 sen tu, kena tahan nak buang sampai rumah...

Lepas makan, jalan2 cari bank, byr hutang piutang. Kalau pinjam Ah Long, dah gerenti kena makan roti dua minggu sekali (jgn mimpi makan nasi kandar, bau nasi kandar pun tak dapat), & pakai rantai. Bling bling ke?

Sorry beb, rantai besi panjang....