an expat's wife (in khartoum no more...)

The saddest wedding...

2011-10-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

Today, I went to my saddest wedding ever!

I've been finding it really difficult to find time to write here. But today, I just really need to share my sadness.

I already knew for quite some time that Eween, my late brother's girlfriend is getting married this year. I received her wedding invitation about two weeks ago and she smsed me last week. I've been contemplating whether I should go or not, but I finally relented.

This morning, I thought I finally find my strength to rejoice with her. So we went there really early, before 12pm. We parked the car near Kak Normah's house and luckily we met Kak Arah, Along Zali and Kak Normah and Abang Sham. So, we went together. The kids were hungry, so I was busy trying to get food for them. I was okay at first, but when I met Eween's mother, she was also teary eyed, the dam just burst! Uncontrolled, unbridled, the tears just couldn't seem to stop.

It was supposed to be my brother who's going to be the king of the day, but it wasn't meant to be. I was supposed to be part of the groom's family, but I was not, I was just there as a guest. So, even though I tried to smile, but tears were streaming my face, I just couldn't stop crying.

When I got everybody settled, I went into the house and went to see Eween. She was such a beautiful bride. I was so happy to see her but I didn't manage to say all the things that I wanted to say, I just gave her the money packet and bid her farewell. I gave her a thousand, part of the money that Ayang left me, as a token of my appreciation for being Ayang's rock all those years ago.

Actually, I wanted to thank her for being there for my brother, for all her doa for his soul, for the happiness and the sadness that she shared with him for all those years. I really wish her the best in her life because she really deserve happiness, here and the hereafter. But nothing came out of my mouth, because I'm afraid that I'll start crying again infront of her and I don't want her to feel any sadness on her big day.

I managed to eat the food while crying, luckily surrounded by family and close friends. I'm so lucky to have these friends that would just accept me for who I am. I was totally not strong enough today. After eating, I quickly made my escape but not before I met Eween's mother again and I teared up once again. I was really sad, but deep in my heart I know that, 'we can only plan, but everything is up to Allah's will'.

So, at the end of the day, I was so glad that I went to Eween's wedding today. Though, I could have been tougher but I'm glad that I could still cry.

Ayang, dear brother, be happy for Eween and I hope you also meet your match in heaven, with Ayah and Mak there to witness your happy day. Semoga rohmu dicucuri rahmat oleh Allah, Al-fatihah... I love you.

Vietnam : Day 2...

2011-07-11T03:24:00.000-07:00

Our second day in Vietnam was of course spent shopping, shopping and more shopping... hehehe.

Early in the morning, after breakfast, we started our journey. Actually, I did a little bit of preparation prior to the trip. I managed to ask my friend Anne about where to shop and eat beforehand (she used to travel to HCMC a lot). I also googled and wikied HCMC. So, I kind of know what I wanted to do and a loose itinerary in mind.

Since yesterday was spent looking round in Ben Tanh and the night market, today I wanted to do serious shopping. It seemed that yesterday, some people felt left out of the shopping spree, the majority decided to travel in a big group. Iskh, I was not really keen because travelling in a big group is a little bit messy and slow, I mean real slow. I'm the type that if I wanted something, I would just grab it. I'm really not the window-shopping kind of lady. But well, I also understand that some felt that they're not confident travelling in another country, so I decided to join them.

First, we went to Hong Anh Collection which is very near our hotel but it was still closed. After that, we went to Minh Collection (the one I visited yesterday), also closed. Then we decided to go to Cho Binh Tay in Chinatown (my original suggestion, by the way!). It's a bit far from where we're staying but it was worth it. It's smaller than Ben Tanh, but definitely cheaper.

In Ben Tanh, we kept on bumping into Malaysians, but in Cho Bin Tay, we're the only one there... Even the shop owners in BT went there to buy stuff. I managed to buy gifts for the upcoming bowling tournament. I also bought jubah material for the whole BSS department, even for my Chinese boss...muahahaha. I also bought a lot of vietnam silk which is going to be given out to those lucky people...hehehe.

From there we went back to the hotel, where I chucked everything in the room. This is when our group got a little smaller, one cab was nowhere to be seen. I led them to Hong Anh Collection but the group felt that it was a bit expensive. For me, it's better than Minh Collection because the material used and the beading works was definitely superior. But, I didn't buy anything because I could not squeeze all my fat inside the readymade clothes...hehehe. If I were smaller, I would have went into a shopping frenzy there...muahahaha

After that, they wanted to go to Minh Collection, and I bid them farewell because I wanted to rest in the hotel while waiting for time to go for lunch. My boss wanted to follow me to Khai Silk, so I asked them to lunch with us at halal@Saigon. I booked a place for 12 people at 1pm. When we arrived there, we were ushered to the top floor where a place was already set for us. Yeay! My boys were really hungry, they could have eaten a horse. The waiter was really attentive because he gave the kids two plates of fries. The kids had nasi lemak while the rest of us had nasi berlauk. I ordered lemon grass chicken, ginger chicken, grilled lala, vietnam style chili fish, fried local vegetable called 'tokin' among other things. I had one of the best lunch...yummy!

After lunch, we just walked to Khai Silk where I bought my MIL a silk shawl and treated myself with one shawl also. Then we took a taxi to HRC where my husband bought himself 2 shirts and Amir managed to get one shirt also. On the way out, we met some of the others going to HRC. We went back to the hotel and I went out to the BT market with Kak Ina, Kak Aliah and Kak Midah. We went to the same stall that we found the day before. I knew that I wanted to buy the linen pouches, so that was what I did. I bought the small and the big linen pouches plus some table cloths and bed linen. I asked the seller to send all the stuff to the hotel and walked back with Kak Ina's daughter in tow.

After dinner, my husband and I went to the night market to buy a bag for kak long. There we met Kak Ina and Kak Midah with a calculator in hand roaming the streets...muahahaha. We got back to the hotel by 9pm and I started packing all my 'loot'. I didn't realised that shopping can really be hard work! Hehehehe...

Vietnam : Day 1...

2011-07-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

Today, I woke up around 5.20 am and straight away started the ball rolling. Got everybody out of bed, showered, dressed, solat and away we went to LCCT. I drove because I could drive faster (it's a fact!)...hehehe.

We arrived at LCCT around 7am, checked-in, had a leisurely breakfast and then it was time to board the aircraft around 8.30 am. I told the kids to expect the worse of AA. I told them to not expect anything on board, just a seat without freeflow of juices, food or even inflight entertainment that they're so used to. Thanks to my exaggerations, they were quite docile on the flight, even sleeping most of the time...hehehe

We reached HCMC about 10 am local time. After taking our luggage, we waited for our transportation to the Blue Diamond hotel. There was just the 20 of us but the bus was huge. Along the journey, we were introduced to HCMC traffic which was actually quite 'mild' compared to the crazy traffic in Khartoum. There was definitely more motobikes but less 'honking' on the road. In fact, I think HCMC's quite modern and well-planned.

When we arrived at the hotel, we were quite early but managed to get rooms next to each other. The hotel is actually better than what I expected, a 3 star hotel within walking distance from Ben Tanh Market. The rooms are really good and comfortable. Hadi was starving by the time we got the rooms and we just chucked our belongings in the room before rushing down to wait for the others at the lobby. Our mission : to find halal food!

We walked to VN Halal but it was full of Malaysians...hehehe. We were redirected to eat at Four Seasons which we did and it was a tasty lunch though the service left much to be desired. The kids and my husband went back to rest at the hotel while the wife was left to roam free. Yeehooo! I followed the other ladies to Ben Tanh Market and experienced my first taxi scam, where the driver of the Saigon Taxi asked for more than was shown on the meter. We were fooled because we're not familiar with Vdong...Iskk.

In the market, I just followed the others as they went 'crazy' with telekung, fabrics and anything and everything at the BT market. Miraculously, I just spent about 30 USD for 2 long dresses. By 4 pm, I was ready to get back to the hotel. I just watched the others as they shop like there's no tomorrow...hehehe. I would have thought that I would be like them but surprisingly I was really 'cool'...muahahaha

I got back to the hotel around 5pm, found Amir asleep like the one who's supposed to take care of him. Isk! After solat, showered and ready to get out by 6pm. We walked to VN Halal again to finally get a seat inside the restaurant. The food was okay but it was a bit pricey. I'm spending more money on food than on shopping, seriously!

After eating, the boys were cranky, so I send them off back to the hotel with my husband. Kak Long wanted to follow me, so I allowed her to do so. The night market around BT just got started and I bought a table cloth, made a jubah for Kak Long and me and bought 3 cheap bags for friends. I also bought something for my husband and toys for the boys. That's it! A very disappointing first day...hehehe.

We finally reached the hotel about 9pm...tired and thirsty. I'm currently resting, to gear up for tomorrow's challenge...muahahaha. Shopping! Yeay! I love HCMC!

A lazy Saturday...

2011-07-09T03:41:00.000-07:00

Pheww... What a lazy Saturday...

I really miss my 'lazy weekends', those were the days when I could get up as late as 11 am, eat brunch leisurely and maybe do some grocery shopping. The weekend's a time for 'reboot and recharge' and by Monday, I'll be refreshed and ready to tackle anything.

Nowadays, everything is 'Go, go, go'... non-stop! Sigh...

Since the end of February, I joined the 'Kursus Haji Bersiri', so every Sunday morning, I would be rushing to Masjid At-Taqwa, TTDI. Why so far from Rawang? Well, it's just a walking distance from my in-laws house where the kids could play and wait for us. The course was 18 weeks long and only ended end of June. Alhamdulillah, I managed to sit through all the sessions without fail, except for the last week as I got a wedding to attend to.

Anyway, I learnt my lesson. Normally, we won't know that we're lucky to have something good until we lose it. In this instance, it's my 'down-time'...sigh. I'm really happy to have nothing to do...hehehe. To be able to blog... so precious, so sweet! To be able to blog-hop, even more precious (I managed to read and catch up with "Live High"...yeay!)...

Vietnam, here I come!

2011-07-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

Yeay, tomorrow morning I'll be flying to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam! Hehehe, finally going away for a few days... away from the normal humdrum of my boring life. My life has been compressed into such a predictable timetable that I'm feeling squeezed out of life. Ecewah, I'm feeling a little bit melodramatic this morning...hehehe

Actually, it's just an office trip, well sort of...hehehe. It's organised as one of the activities for Puspanita. Not that I'll be following their trip, because I have my whole family with me...hehehe. I'll be doing my own thing with the main aim of the trip, my favourite sport...Shopping! Muahahaha... yep, I still have my evil laugh...muahahaha

I'm trying to 'squeeze' my husband for a little bit of 'shopping allowance'...hehehe. So, now I have to be in my best behaviour...muahahaha. Hmmmm, wait till I get the money in my not so little chubby hands...muahahaha. I've got to go now, skipping to the nearest money changer...hehehe

Missing my blog!

2011-07-07T06:38:00.000-07:00

I really do miss blogging! Seriously!

Now that I don't have the leisurely time to blog, I miss it profusely...sigh

Now, I only blog in my head (while driving, while doing numerous other stuff...)

So many stories to tell, so little time to spare...

I miss my blogging days. I sorely miss the free time as a stay at home mom...

Now, I'm a working mother (without a maid!) that have her hands full looking after the kids and working like a zombie with a lot of deadlines...sigh.

Will try my best to update my blog from now on. Insyaallah... Au revoir!

The journey to Farin's wedding...

2011-02-11T14:53:00.000-08:00

I have a soft spot for NekRock Boutique. It's an online shopping store where I bought my first handbag and numerous other stuff...hehehe. I love hanging around the chatbox and over time manage to forge a very close relationship with the other regulars there as well. Nekk became our shopping 'advisor' and sometimes she took the role of a 'mother' also. That would make us 'sisters' (sorry zull... I'm generalising here...muahahaha).

To cut the story short, today Farin weds her sweetheart, Halim. The akad ceremony was yesterday, Congrats Farin! Finally, you're a wife... yeay!

Even though, we started as online friends, we've become friends in the real life also. The girls have met several times already, but I never seem to be able to make the time...hehehe. So, I'm taking this opportunity to meet Aida, Min and of course Farin today. Yeay!

Yesterday, I drove to Malacca straight from the office. I've already packed our things the night before but I forgot one thing. Amir's pampers...sigh. By the time I came down to the nursery yesterday, he already wet his pants...sigh. I had to force him to go to the toilet and change his outfit. It was raining in KL. I smsed Min, and she said that it's raining in JB also. Hmmmm... Farin's wedding was in Malacca but the north and south got wet...muahahaha.

Anyway, I drove straight to Jalan Duta and of course, the roads leading out of KL was jammed packed with cars...sigh. As usual, when you're rushing somewhere, there'll be a lot of obstacles to 'test' you...hehehe. It took me one hour just to reach Shah Alam from Selayang. The kids were sleeping so I had a peaceful time driving. I reached the Ayer Keroh OHB around 6.50 pm. We ate KFC and I tried to find Amir's pampers but was not successful.

We reached Seri Malaysia around 7.30pm and in an hour managed to get everybody ready to go to Farin's house. I already got the directions from the bride but was a bit apprehensive because I've never been there and it was night. But since I was 'carrying' the wedding gift from everyone, I knew I had to at least made an attempt. Plus the fact that I would also be giving 2 pillows to Farin. Muahahaha. Yep, the pillows from Sudan. I already made pillow covers, also from the materials I bought from Sudan. The pillows were huge. Enough said. They'll compliment the group's gift...hehehe.

So, around 8.40, I went out of the room and I saw a group of people also going out. They looked like they're going to a wedding also. But I was a bit reluctant to ask them, so I went to the lobby and showed the wedding invitation. A lady next to me recognised the card, it was Farin's cousin. So, problem solved. I followed them to Farin's house. Alhamdulillah.

The journey to Farin's house was a blur, thanks to her cousin's who drove very fast. Suddenly, the car infront of me drove into a petronas station and I followed. It seemed that they were on their way to the shop but fortunately for me, I also need something very important to buy... Amir's pampers...hehehe. Actually, I forgot to bring his pampers (he's on potty training now) and I had to put sanitary towel on his spender (just in case...)...muahahaha. I even took a picture for 'prove' sake (something to show him when he's bigger...hehehe).

From the station, I had to find my own way to Farin's house and as usual my sesat barat session followed. Luckily the Chinese were still celebrating Chinese New Year and a lot of houses got eliminated just by looking at the decorations...hehehe

I made it to Farin's house in one piece. She was very beautiful in her gold Nyonya baju. I gave her the group's gift and my bantal. She looked pleased, thank God...hehehe. I had time taking pictures with the bride and afterwards, while I was busy eating meehoon soup with gearbox soup, the groom came. They look good together. Congrats Farin and Halim. May the years ahead bring you happiness now and the hereafter...Amin.

Now, I'm at the swimming pool for the second session while waiting for Min to arrive from JB. Au revoir!

Yeeehaaaaaa!

2011-01-26T04:26:00.000-08:00

Hehehehe... Today I checked my account balance and yes, it's confirmed! I've got my first pay check! Yessssss! So, in the afternoon, I volunteered to get the payslip from finance. Yeay! It's been so long since I got my own money, it feels so liberating...hehehe

So, this Friday, I'm going to buy breakfast for my department. At first, I asked Sheila's mother to cook laksa johor but she wasn't feeling well so I asked Zu to call someone about carbonara sauce, but that chef's now in Cameron Highlands...sigh. Then, finally we asked Nawa whether his wife can cook spaghetti bolognaise and she agreed to help... Yeay! I met Kak Midah at the surau and asked her to bake carrot walnut cake...hehehe

So, so happy to earn money for myself again :)

Alahai Hadi... Part 2

2011-01-25T21:10:00.000-08:00

This morning, I woke up at 5.30 am. Before I showered, I woke Aliah up and asked her to shower in the other bathroom. Then it was time for Hadi to shower. I woke him up and get dressed. The next thing I knew, I saw a 'naked' boy sleeping...sigh

He must have taken off his pyjamas and continue sleeping. Alahai Hadi... Even Aliah chuckled when she looked at her brother...muahahaha. Yesterday when he got back from school, I asked him whether he was given a warning or not by either the prefects or the teachers? He said, 'Nope, my teacher didn't look down at my feet'...muahahaha.

Amir's a different sort of character altogether. He'll be the last one in the bathroom. I'll have a very difficult time trying to get him in the bathroom. He'll cry, he'll complain of a lot of ailments (his leg hurts, he cannot walk and any other reasons). Then he'll get in the shower and won't come out. He'll just bask in the hot shower and enjoy the hot water. I'll have another difficult time to ask him to get out of the bathroom and get dressed. But once he's dressed, he'll be right as rain...hehehe.

Sometimes, I'll scream and shout in the early hours of the morning. Sometimes, I laugh at them and with them. But, one thing for sure, sometimes, I'll feel tired by 8am...hehehe

Alahai Hadi...

2011-01-24T18:53:00.000-08:00

This morning, I woke up really early, around 5 am. So by the time we're ready to move out, it was only 6.15 am. As usual, I asked the kids to check whether they got everything ready (bags, shoes etc). Everyone said okay. Fine.

Since we're really early, we arrived in MPM before 7 am, so I drove them to the nearest 7-11 and bought them snacks and drinks. Okay. Not long after we arrived in MPM, the taxi driver came. Fine. Then, I helped Amir with his bag to the taxi as usual. Aliah was already in the taxi. Fine.

Where's Hadi? Still in my car! So, I went over and asked him, what was wrong? Believe it or not, he forgot his school shoes. He left it at home. At least, his slippers were there...eeeeeee...So, today, he went to school with socks and slippers. I nearly choke him with his tie this morning...eeeeee...sabar jer lah.

Erkkks!!! No.2 for 2011...

2011-01-21T23:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was supposed to meet some of my friends at OU (Sudan friends). But unfortunately, Kak Zu couldn't make it and there was no reply from Najwa, so Syikeen and I had to cancel lunch together. Maybe next time :)

So, in the morning, I ate only cereal (thinking that I'll have a 'big' lunch, right?!!). By lunchtime, I was starving and as soon as allowed, I drove to the nearest stall and ate to my heart's content. I was like a sleepy dugong and head back early to the office. Around 2 pm, my boss came back with chicken rice for me...Aiyoo, how to decline?!! So, I sat there in the pantry and started eating the delicious chicken rice. As if by magic, soon there was nothing left in my plate...muahahahaha!

Around 3pm, we were 'invited' to go to the Puspanita's AGM at third floor. Actually, I was very reluctant to go, but since there were not many of us yesterday (quite a lot of people took the day off), I dragged myself to the 3rd floor. And surprise, surprise! I was selected to be the AJK again...sigh. I thought that I would get away from being actively involved in anything 'NITA' for a long time...sigh. I thought, I was lucky to get away from being involved in PETRONITA. It seems that I'm not lucky enough...

After that, I joined the other ladies eating mee kari. So, I thought of skipping dinner and only bought nasi for my kids. But, Amir didn't finish his and who else had the stomach to put all that food in? Me! Of course! Sigh... Yesterday was definitely a 'full' day for me...hehehe

Erksss...

2011-01-20T00:52:00.000-08:00

This morning, I woke up very early. I woke up at 6.30am and Amir soon after. I thought of sleeping in but since there were so many things to do, decided to do my laundry instead. Hadi woke up around 7am and the boys played computer games while I was busy making breakfast downstairs.

By 9, I was ready to fall back asleep...hehehe. But unfortunately, there was a black out around 9.30am...Ishkk. Anyway, I got the the kids in the bathroom and gave them their clothes to wear downstairs. Soon, I heard Hadi yelling, "Makkkkk! The shirt's too biggggg!", and being me, not totally convinced, asked him "are you sure?!!". To that, he said, "Mak, the shirt came all the way down to my ankles!". Huh?!! And sure enough, when he came back upstairs, he gave me my husband's shirt. Muahahahaha. No wonder, he said it was too big...hehehe

Anyway, by 10.30am, everybody was restless. I decided to go to OneUtama and watched a movie. And that's what we did, reached OU, bought the 1.30pm tickets for Gulliver's Travels, ate lunch, watched the movie and drove home. Now, I need rest...hehehe

The weekend is here!!!

2011-01-14T18:16:00.000-08:00

The weekend is here!!! Yeay!!!

For the past 3 years, I did not really know the meaning of the word, 'weekend'. For me, 'Saturday' and 'Sunday' are just ordinary days. But now, I really appreciate these two days as a source of 'recharge' (body and spirit!)...sigh

It has been merely two weeks since I came back to work, but the work has started piling on me. It's not that I don't enjoy being back at work, it's just the 'going out at 6.20am and coming back at 6pm' that gets to me. I'm tired. I just need the two days to clean my house, wash, dry, fold and iron the clothes at my own pace...sigh. I've got a mound of clothes on the sofa ready to be folded (has been waiting for at least a week), a basket of clothes to be ironed (and more coming :)) and 3 baskets to be washed...hehehe. Quite a tall order for a weekend, huh?!!

The kids are upstairs, washing their own school shoes...hehehe. They've been there for quite some time, so it's safe to say that they also get time to play in the bathroom...hehehe (before I turn into a 'lioness' and 'roar'...muahahaha).

Normally, I got up at 5.30am and the kids soon after, so today we woke up at 8.30 am and everyone's in good spirits. Had breakfast while watching tv, oh what a 'luxury'...hehehe.

Hmmm... I think, it's time I change into a 'female tarzan'. So, Au revoir! I'm so glad that it's the weekend.

p/s: Azila n shidah, I'm so jealous that you're an at-home mom...

First day at the office...

2011-01-04T04:29:00.000-08:00

Today was my first day at the office after a three year unpaid-leave...hehehe. I arrived so early that I did not meet any living soul at the lobby. When I reached my department, it was pitch black and for the life of me, I couldn't remember where was the light switch...muahahaha.

I got a new office, smaller than my previous one but the furniture's all new. So, for the first half an hour, I was busy 'unwrapping' my chair...hehehe. Then I waited for the others to arrive. So, today, I spent some time 'reacquainting' myself with my colleagues.

I went to see my boss early in the morning. When I mentioned that it was a bit hot, he turned around and switched on the fan...hehehe. Oh, I forgot to tell you that as part of the measures to cut spending for the company, the aircond will only be switched on at 9am to 4pm. Not only that, 50 percent of the lights were also switched off, can you believe it?!! My room was not affected but the working area for the clerks was a bit dark...sigh.

Hopefully tomorrow, I would be able to start working properly. Today was just fun and games, with the best part was receiving my stationeries and opening them...hehehe.

Ahemmmm....

2010-12-30T07:44:00.000-08:00

Ahemmmmm... salam to everyone :)

It's been such a long time since I last wrote something here. It's not that I don't have anything to write about, this is definitely a case of having too many things on my plate right now...hehehe. I really don't know where to start...literally.

How time flies...sigh (especially when you're having fun right? hehehe). It's been three years since I stop being a tax-payer. In 2 days, I'll start joining the workforce again...sigh. I'll miss a lot of things, especially the time spent with my kids, definitely. This is not a time for reflection, it's just a note to say hello, actually.

Hopefully, I'll have the time to write something soon...hehehe. Till then, au revoir!

Malaysia Day Raya Craze...

2010-10-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

For the past two years, we spent Raya in a very calm and subdued manner, so this year we went a little overboard...hehehe.

Since we missed seeing a few of my cousins during the first few days of Raya, we decided to give them a visit on Malaysia Day, 16th of September 2010. Hadi was complaining of a toothache, so we went to the dentist first and the dentist pulled out two of his front/bottom teeth. I thought there was only one jiggly tooth...hehehe.

Anyway, after various phone calls, it seemed that my cousins were also busy and won't be at home that day. We were already on the highway by then, so we changed our plans. Instead of visiting relatives, we decided to visit friends. The first 'victim' was Mazman's family. I called Kak Rehana and luckily they were in...hehehe. So, their house in Taman Melati became our first destination for the day.

They were caught a little off-guard because we came very fast. We told them, we would be arriving in 30 minutes but in fact, by 20 minutes, we were already infront of their house...muahaha. Kesian, Kak Rehana...hehehe. We chatted while Kak Rehana was busy frying the meehoon. The kids were happy because they finally saw Nabil and Fatiha after so many months. The compound and the house was big, so the kids were busy exploring.

We were teasing Mazman about his 'old house'... Remember the story about 'ghosts' in Sudan? It was their former house...hehehe. Anyway, we were trying to discuss about where to go next. When I call Zana, she sounded very tired because her father just had stroke during Raya so we didn't want to intrude and that's when I remembered that Aiza's also staying somewhere in Taman Melati. I called Aiza and she invited us to her house around 2.30pm.

Mazman also agreed to join us, so we went after zohor prayers. I tried calling Kak Maria but it went unanswered. I actually called Najwa to get Kak Maria's phone number actually, but when she heard that we're heading to Kak Maria's house, she invited us to go to her house instead. Hehehe.

We arrived at Aiza/Zali's house around 3pm and there were so many dishes on the table...hehehe, including sate okay?!! The kids were so excited to see the big swimming pool downstairs. Hadi and Amir even ate at the verandah overlooking the pool. Aiza and Zali were actually planning to go to Zali's parents house in Klang but I managed to convince them to follow us to Najwa's house in Kota Damansara. Muahahaha... I also called Syikeen and arranged a visit to her house after Najwa's.

So, there were 3 cars headed towards Najwa's house. It's quite easy to find actually...hehehe. Najwa who had just 'lost' her maid managed to cook rendang for us. There were 4 families in all, with kids amounting to 14 in all. So, just imagine the noise that we were making. Definitely 'meriah', just like the old days in Khartoum.

Then, around 5.45pm, Syikeen and Ezalman picked us up at Najwa's house. We also managed to persuade Syed and Najwa to join us at Syikeen's house...Muahahaha. Ezalman, who just came back from the hospital (leg injury) had to bear his pain and entertain us. But I think that our presence acted as some kind of a pain-killer for Ezal...hehehe.

Just imagine, the funny part was that we managed to 'persuade' our friends to join our 'kembara raya'...muahahaha. Mazman said that it was so 'kampung-like'...hehehe. I took it as a compliment of our 'management skills'...muahahaha. It was definitely more fun and thinking back, how strong our bond was when we were together in Sudan. I prefer to keep our friendship strong, insyaallah.

We came out of Syikeen's house just as we heard the maghrib's azan. Our family had a pit-stop at Giant's Kota Damansara where the kids had dinner while we prayed. We came back still laughing from the hilarity of it all. How a great day started without proper plans. Maybe Allah wants to remind us of our family-bond forged in Sudan of all places...Alhamdulillah...

Travel Galore - More of Raya 1431H...

2010-10-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

On the second day of Raya, we went out to Uncle Ripin's house after a leisurely breakfast and a swim for the kids at the hotel. From Uncle Ripin's house, we went to KB Mall to buy something for the kids, especially Hadi who started asking for his 'fasting reward'...sigh.

Around midday, we made our way to Bachok, Mak Su Ani's house. By the time we arrived, Mummy and Daddy were already there and Adik and Fahim arrived soon after. Basically we just relaxed and had lunch there. I suggested to my husband that we should use the time wisely by driving to Pasir Mas as we were going back to Sabak Bernam the next day. He agreed and we made our way to Pasir Mas around 5pm.

There was a lot of traffic but it was not too bad, and we arrived in Pasir Mas just before Maghrib. First we went to Kak Ana's house and afterwards went next door to Ajik's house where they were holding an open house for their close family and friends. The food was delicious...hehehe. I was really glad that we made the effort to go there as we managed to meet many of our cousins. If I'm not mistaken, arwah Makcik Lah got about 9 kids and numerous grandchildren. We head back to KB after isya' and the night was spent packing for the next leg of the journey.

On Sunday morning, we were invited to have breakfast at Fahim's house. We had breakfast there and made our way to the West Coast around 10.30am. The traffic was really bad, it took us about 4 hours to get to Gua Musang. It was very slow moving, crawling for most of the way. Amir had a little of a mishap along the way, he actually vomited on Hadi, and we had to change him at the gas station.

We decided to use the Cameron Highlands/Simpang Pulai's route. We stopped for solat around 3pm somewhere in the mountains (in a surau). We arrived in Cameron around 4pm, where I stopped to buy some fresh vegetables...hehehe. Retail therapy wherever I can get it okay?!! Hehehe. Then from Simpang Pulai we head down to south.

It was really slow on the highway but in a way, it was quite fortunate for us because we had a flat tyre somewhere near Tapah. A fellow driver pointed it out to us, if not I would be unaware of the little situation befallen us. The kids were sleeping at the back and all the commotion did not awake them from their deep slumber. I was useless with a flat tyre and it seemed that I was not the only one...hehehe

An Indian mechanic stopped and helped us just when my husband was about to panic (he didn't even know how to unscrew the bolts, ok?!!). The mechanic told us, "Hiyo, kalau macam tu ha, sampai malam pun tak tentu boleh buka woo"...hehehe. It took him very short time to change the tyre and while he was doing it, the plus patrols came to have a look. We gladly pay him a little bit of money for helping us with the tyre changing...Phewwww.

The traffic was very slow moving, even from Bidor to Teluk Intan. Both of us were very tired that it was kind of funny, every half an hour we would change being the driver...hehehe. We finally arrived at my Auntie's house in SPP around 9pm. It was dark and we missed her house 2 times. See how familiar we were with our own Auntie's house...hehehe.

It seemed that I just missed my Mak Su as she just went back to Jasin in the morning...sigh. But my Mak Ngah and Cik Jah was there with two new additions to the family...hehehe. We had dinner there, they had the time to cook the vegetables from Cameron, you know?!! Anyway, we made our way back to Sabak Bernam around 11pm. I actually booked a room at my relative's homestay, Zamita's in Sabak Bernam a week earlier. So, it was kind of easy, just get the key and 'pengsan'...hehehe

The next day, we went back to Sekendi and met my relatives plus all the juiciest gossips...muahahaha. Instead of going back to Rawang on Monday, we extended our stay another night. Luckily I booked a room at Sg Hj Dorani as a just-in-case scenario. We managed to visit many relatives though 2 days were definitely not enough to cover the scores of relatives I have...hehehe.

Anyway, we came back to BTP on Tuesday and Hadi and Amir had to skip one day of school. Yeay! for them, I suppose...hehehe. Looking back at the travelling we had done during Raya, I could just rolled my eyes. But the story's not finish yet...hehehe

To be continued...

Travel Galore - Eid-ul-Fitr 1431H

2010-10-23T20:32:00.000-07:00

We woke up a little bit late on the morning of Eid. The kids woke up at 7.30am but by 8.00 everyone was ready...hehehe. My FIL was amazed and asked the kids, "Cepatnya siap, mandi kuba' ker?". Hehehe.

We planned to solat sunat at Masjid Hiliran but because we were late and it was raining, we prayed in Masjid Kristal, a short walking distance from where we were staying. There were so many people, alhamdulillah. The only complain I had was about the imam who forgot the takbir on the second rakaat, making the makmum a little bit confused.

The night before, Che Rah told us not to come too early, so after solat we went to Che Da Afzan's house. I love going to Che Da Afzan's house because her house would be the only house that serves rendang on raya morning...hehehe. Che Da cooked nasi minyak Trengganu and rendang...yeay! But while I was enjoying the spread, Che Rah called...

So, we went straight to Che Rah's house and ate Nasi Dagang. Ayah Su and Che Su also came from Dungun, so my FIL's family was complete. All surviving siblings were together under one roof. We managed to have a photography session with all the family...hehehe. We ate and chatted and had fun teasing each other...hehehe. Well, it's not easy to have everyone together at the same time.

Around 12, we made our move to Padang Midin, to Abg Luqman's house. We arrived just before the friday prayer and the ladies had our fill of nasi dagang in peace. This is where Daddy met his cousins and there were many that day. Even Dadi came a bit later but I pity him because he looked so lost in his own world...sigh.

From Padang Midin, we made our way home and started packing all our stuff in the car. We made our way to KB around 3pm. We managed to stop by at Uncle Wan Abu Mutalib's house but it was too full with a lot of people. The journey was uneventful and we safely arrived at the hotel in KB just before Maghrib.

After prayers and showers, we went to Mak Anjang's house in Kg. Bayam. Adik and Fahim also came with us. There we met Abg Pian and Wani and later were joined by Ila and Man. Abg Pian's second child was unable to walk and it was so sad because we could do nothing to help...sigh. We went back to rest around 11 pm. Such an exhausting first day...sigh.

Travel Galore - a day before Eid...

2010-10-14T05:25:00.000-07:00

On the day before raya, we managed to find our relative somewhere near the airport. We visited Dadi who was already affected by Alzheimer and hardly recognise people, even his own children...sigh.

I suggested that instead of just spending the night before raya at the house, why don't we go to Che Rah's house (daddy's sister) and he agreed. So we went there and Che Ja was already there with her family. It was kind of fun to gossip and just get to know each other better...hehehe. At first just the ladies were at the kitchen and then Daddy joined us ladies.

On that particular night, we discovered one of Daddy's secrets...hehehe. No wonder Che Ja and Che Rah were a bit gobsmacked when Mummy told them that Daddy ate bubur lambuk for sahur. Then, suddenly Che Ja asked Mummy, "Since when Abg Long eat bubur lambuk?" and it was Mummy's turn to be gobsmacked, "huh?!, he's been eating quite a lot of bubur lambuk actually...". Then Che Ja told us that as far as she knows, Daddy abhorred bubur lambuk since young because he said that bubur lambuk reminded him of 'muntah kucing (cat's vomit)...muahaha.

When questioned by his wife and his sisters, he actually admitted that he used to hate bubur lambuk...hehehe. We had a good laugh about that in the kitchen. We were so busy laughing that we didn't realise the time. All too soon, it was time to go back to Taman Tamadun Islam...sigh. It was so nice to be able to chat with our close relatives.

Travel Galore - a summary

2010-10-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

My husband came back on the 3rd of October and we had a family dinner/buka puasa at his parents house in Taman Tun. The next day, we went back to Sabak Bernam and had a buka puasa at Kak Iti's house. We came back to Tasik Puteri on Sunday afternoon and we treated our neighbours for a buka puasa at Jintan Manis restaurant. Food was okay but the service was a bit poor.

Our trip to the East Coast started on Monday, the 6th of October. We had a brief stopover at Kuantan for a 'spot' of shopping...hehehe. Just bought a few tudung for me and Aliah. We didn't book a hotel or anything, we just took a chance. Luckily, there was a family room available for us at Awana Kijal.

We arrived in Kijal about 5.30 pm, and about an hour later we were on our way to Dungun to break our fast with Ayah Su's family. We were treated to a sumptuous feast. We finished everything...hehehe. We followed Ayah Su to do our terawih prayers at Masjid Batu 7 if I'm not mistaken. After terawih, we continued eating bubur and other deserts at Ayah Su's house. We left around 10 pm and had a stopover at Kerteh to buy something for Aliah and Hadi's sahur as our sahur were provided by the hotel.

The next morning, we only started our journey around 12 because we were supposed to meet my PIL around 3 pm in KT. When we discovered that Mummy and Daddy will only arrive after Asar, we had a stopover at Noor Arfa's show room. The boys stayed in the car while Aliah and me went in. I just bought a few pieces of Kaftan for Aliah and me...hehehe

We made our way to Taman Tamadun Islam and Masjid Kristal as our accommodation was the guest house next to Masjid Kristal. We waited for them to arrive just before 6pm. The house had 3 bedrooms, a living/dining area and a small kitchenette. The kids shared a bathroom with us. The kids ate chicken rice while we break our fast with all trengganu food fare with the likes of ikan singgang and ayam percik...hehehe

At first we wanted to perform our terawih at masjid Kristal... infact we were already inside the beautiful masjid when Daddy called us out and drove out to a nearby masjid. I've forgotten the exact name of the masjid or was it a surau?!! The funny thing was, Hadi told his ayah that he had to pray so many times...hehehe.

To tell you the truth, I loved the spotlight show at masjid Kristal, it changes colours every few seconds, very beautiful at night. But, I was a bit surprised that the inside of the masjid was smaller than I imagine. There was only a small space for ladies to pray, maybe just enough for 8 rows. When we were there, it was packed and a lot of people had to pray outside which was a shame really. For the millions that they spent building the masjid, I thought comfort for the jemaah would have been well thought out.

On Wednesday morning we were greeted with 'ant attack'! We woke up for sahur but was shocked with the thousands of ants attacking our food. Only the bubur lambuk was safe...eeee. My MIL had to fight the 'ants' and we had to clean up the area. Wednesday is also our relaxing day, we didn't go anywhere. We were treated at 'Bbenteng' inside Taman Tamadun Islam. No complains there as it was a free meal...hehehe. We had terawih in Masjid Hiliran, my FIL's kampung.

There were two layers and men prayed upstairs. The Masjid was made of chengal I think, but everytime the men sujud, we could hear them so loudly...hehehe. We were lucky because they were 'khatam' the alquran that night, so instead of doing 8 rakaat, I did the whole thing. Alhamdulillah. We were waiting for the sound of the canon, but since we heard none that meant that Raya would be on Friday.

Oh, by the way, my FIL was so proud of the canon that he got so excited telling his grandchildren about the history. On the first day we were in KT, I think he was more excited than the kids...hehehe. It was a case of 'bedil' here and 'bedil' there. Well, maybe for the Trengganu folks, the canon during Ramadhan signals a long held tradition and reminding them of their childhood. Something that never changes though everything else move with the times.

On Thursday, my husband bought his first DSLR camera, a canon 550EOS because there was no Nikon D90 in stock. We break our fast in a restaurant that have been mentioned by my FIL for the umpteenth time (whenever we went past it, okay?!!). It was crowded but the service was fast and efficient. I tried the 'sotong sumbat', not bad.

Did I tell you what Aliah said about our accommodation? Well, around KT we travelled in one car, so one day Aliah asked her To' Ki, "To' Ki, why couldn't we stay in a better hotel?". Oopss, alahai, these kids. Their definition of a good hotel start with having a bath tub and astro channels on TV. That would be the first thing they would check when we arrive in any hotel...hehehe. Those and the fact that there were ants there definitely brought down the standard of the accommodation to a 'homestay'.

To be continued...

Raya 2010- reflection...

2010-10-10T06:37:00.000-07:00

This year we celebrated Eid in Malaysia, among family and friends and with food aplenty...hehehe. For the past two years, we were away in Khartoum, though it was no less festive but I miss the 'carnival' spirit there. Though I felt that my presence there was enough to make the atmosphere more festive somehow...muahahaha!

In Khartoum, we spent time during Eid visiting friends in the Petronas Complex. When I was there, we had a 'schedule' for open houses...hehehe. In 2008, Syikeen and me drew up a timetable for everyone to slot in their open houses, so that we would be able to enjoy the festivities mood and the most important thing that there would be no clashes in the schedule and everyone fed to the max! Muahahaha.

Last year, I managed to maximise the slots, so that everyone did not have to cook for 6 whole days! The ladies had to do minimal cooking during the period because we had open houses for 'breakfast, lunch and dinner!'...Muahahaha. Who says it was not fun in Sudan?!! Well, I did anyway! Hehehe

During the holidays we had very 'minimal travelling time'. The only travelling that we did involve only the walking up and down the stairs or travelling up and down lifts... or maybe the slow walk to the other block! hehehe... Can you imagine celebrating Eid in a block of flats, without anywhere else to go?!! The only invitation out would be from the embassy and the students organisation. Kesian kan?!! But I have to say that I had lots of fun and laughter throughout the holidays.

I remembered us going to each house and the ladies would normally sit in an 'island' in the middle of the room and shared gossips and laughter (with the host's homemade cookies right in the middle, I might add)...hehehe. Sometimes the men would left us there and went home first because once the wives got talking, it's very difficult to stop...muahahaha. I miss those times... I miss you guys...

Selamat Hari Raya...1431H

2010-10-06T22:16:00.000-07:00

Salam everyone! I hope it's not too late for me to wish Eid Mubarak to everyone. I know it's really late, but better late than never right?!! Hehehe...

Anyway, I had a 'busy' Eid so far which can be vouched by the thousands of kms clocked on my poor car...hehehe. I also had a technical difficulty when my beloved modem went dead even before Eid...sigh. Now I finally got a new modem but my router is letting me down...sigh. I have been out of touch with many friends on the net and for that I am sorry, guys :) I'm here now and I plan to stay, insyaallah. I gotta go right now, au revoir!

Salam Ramadhan Kareem...1431H

2010-08-22T03:47:00.001-07:00

Salam Ramadhan Kareem to everyone... Today is the 12th day already, how time flies...

Actually, I wanted to write something before Ramadhan but did not have the time to it. I want to ask for forgiveness from everyone who dropped by my humble blog, if I ever hurt anyone. It's definitely not intentional. 0-0 okay.

This is just an update on what has been happening since the beginning of Ramadhan. This is the first Ramadhan that Hadi is fasting, ever. So far, I'm so happy to say that he has not miss a single day of fasting...yet...hehehe. I'm quite surprised that he is so strong, actually.

He did whine though, especially the time after Asar when his hunger pangs are it its worst. The best thing to do is to just ignore his whining, though sometimes it really tested my patience...hehehe. Amir's the only one not fasting and he has been testing Hadi's patience also. The worse thing is he kept on offering food to Hadi. Yesterday, Hadi took a sip of vitagen before he realised he was fasting...hehehe

I'm also busy opening boxes from Sudan. Glad to say that nearly 90% of the boxes are opened and the 'stuff' put away in its respective places...sigh. It was quite difficult to find space for all the stuff...sigh. Sometimes I wonder about other people who had more than 100 boxes to sort out. Mine was only 39 boxes, possibly the lowest number of boxes ever! hehehe...

For those who was kind enough to drop by and leave comments, thank you. I'm not able to bloghop during Ramadhan because I have a mission to khatam the al-quran before Ramadhan ends. I'm way behind my husband who already recite more than 20 juzuk compared to me who only finished juzuk 11. Well, being a naturally competitive person that I am, I normally had a kind of a race with my husband about who managed to read more quran during this holy month...hehehe. But this time, I have 3 kids to take care of on my own... (excuses, excuses...I know...) hehehe

BTW, I managed to bake biskut makmur yesterday morning. Thank you to my neighbour who lend me her oven...hehehe. Though at the rate that Amir's going, there'll be only crumbs of makmur left by Eid...sigh

Last but not least, have a blessed Ramadhan everyone!

Alahai Adik Aku...

2010-08-08T06:39:00.001-07:00

This time round I'd like to write about my brother, Mamud. Actually, I've been wanting to write about him for a long time, but don't know how to put it in words.

I gave him a chance to move to the room downstairs as it's much bigger than his room upstairs. He agreed and he finally moved into his room last week. I bought him a nice double bed for his room but it was a bit big and took about 1/2 of the room. Actually there should be enough space for him to put his stuff but...

How could I say this... The problem is that he wanted to put in two big wardrobes in there...sigh. I told him to lose one closet, but he wanted to put in all his stuff in there. Actually his stuff is not that many but when you count all my late brother's belonging as well, it became quite a lot...sigh

It's kind of sad actually because I think Mamud has not moved on. He insisted on keeping all Ayang's stuff, all his shirts even. When I came back in 2008, I managed to give away a few of Ayang's clothes, otherwise everything's basically intact. Mamud decided to keep them all for himself...sigh

Both of them were not that close when Ayang was alive and maybe this is a way for Mamud to be close to Ayang's memory. I don't know. So back to the problem at hand, his room now resemble a storeroom...hehehe. But he finally agreed to let go of one closet, only to put in a smaller one inside. And there were a lot of his stuff still in the living room! My living room is now a big store room!

Everything's so messy...sigh. And the best thing is my contena from Sudan is coming this Tuesday. Even though there's only about 30 odd boxes, but it's still 30 too many. That's another thing, on Friday I got a call from Subalipak apologising that they could not send my boxes on that day, they will only arrive on Saturday. I panicked and told them that I didn't even know that the boxes are arriving that soon. Then we decided to have the boxes delivered on Tuesday...sigh. The day before Ramadhan... I could feel a headache coming on...sigh...

So, I'll write more when the boxes arrive. Now, I have one day to clear all this mess first! Au revoir!

Busy...

2010-08-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

I've been neglecting this blog lately. I've been busy running around actually. Since the kids started school, I've been running around after them...sigh. I've been driving more than 100km per day! Seriously!

Weekends have been hectic also...sigh. So many things have happened but I'm too tired to blog while in between 'runs'...hehehe. Anyway, I'll blog when I can, insyaallah.

A tiring weekend...

2010-07-25T06:17:00.002-07:00

Yesterday morning, I bundled my kids and rushed off to OU to watch the movie, 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice'. They loved the movie but Amir managed to doze off at the end...hehehe

After the movie, we went to Seri Pacific Hotel to check in. Yesterday, I had a reunion dinner with my school mates. The 20th year of our leaving SSP! I'm very old indeed...hehehe. I'll write more about this some other time, insyaallah.

Anyway, after we checked in, we went over to the Mall and had a bite to eat. After that, we went to a bookstore and bought a few activity books for the kids. After Asar, they wanted to go to the swimming pool and they had about an hour of fun frollicking in the pool...hehehe.

I went to join my friends around 7.45 pm and when I got back to the room around 11 pm, Amir was sprawled on the floor while the other two were still energetic enough to play with the balloons that I brought back...sigh.

Today, I checked out around 11 am, and had breakfast with my friends at the Mall before we parted company around 12 pm. We were supposed to visit Cikgu Poyah in Seremban who was diagnosed with breast cancer and had the operation done about 3 days ago, but we had to postpone it to a later date.

Somehow, my daughter managed to 'do something' to the automatic window button on the driver's side that now won't work at all...sigh. I drove to Selayang to get it fixed but the workshop was closed. After that, I stopped at the barber's to give the boy a crew cut as usual...hehehe. Went back to BTP to have lunch and arrived home around 3 pm...phewww

I managed to coax the kids to play at the playground before 6 pm but they only managed to play about 20 minutes when it started drizzling...sigh. Anyway, I'm feeling really sleepy tonight, so au revoir!

My World Cup : Part 2

2010-07-20T05:51:00.000-07:00

This year, I planned to enjoy the World Cup 2010. I do not have any favourite team but I certainly had an irrational dislike of Italy and England. Though I did have a soft spot for Germany and the Ivory Coast...hehehe. The Ivory Coast was unlucky to be grouped together with Brazil and Portugal because if not, they would have gone at least to the quarter finals. Anyway, it's just not to be...sigh. While Germany played to their full potential and displayed one of the fastest attacking football there is.

Though they lost to Spain in the semis, I was not too disappointed because Spain played well and managed to curb any kind of moves the Germans tried. The best team won and I was also glad that Spain became the champion. They deserved it! I quite like Holland but they played 'dirty' at the finals and it was a shame. I knew that the odds were against them but was quite disappointed that they came out trying to spoil Spain's victory. The game between Germany and Uruguay was much better, free flow and they played beautiful football, definitely.

Since the WC begun on the 11th of June, I've been glued to the TV screen on about 80% of the games. I actually started my marathon on the 10th of June...hehehe. When my husband came back for a course in Cherating on the 12th of June, I was a bit disappointed because there was no telecast of the WC in our room in Swiss Garden Kuantan. But all was not lost because they showed the games at big screens around the hotel. We normally chose to sit out at the beach front and watched the matches.

My husband made me miss Germany's first game because he didn't want to wake me up. Actually he suffered from jet lag and though he heard the alarm clock, felt that he could not get up and would rather let me miss the game also. Hmmmphhh! One night, I crawled out of bed and watched the game at the lobby with another patron. Luckily it was dark because I literally dragged myself out of bed...hehehe

Anyway, when the kids started schooling after the school holidays, it became a challenge to sleep late and wake up early. Sometimes I survived on 2 or 3 hours sleep and during the day, I became a zombie. But once I caught myself nodding at the wheel and that put a stop to watching the 2.30 am games. Luckily it was during the quarter final rounds where we were given a reprieve of about two days before the next round...hehehe

Sometimes, I persuaded the kids to sleep downstairs infront of the TV, so that I could watch the games and be near the kids at the same time. My living room became truly 'lived in'...muahahaha. In my opinion, Germany provided a lot of entertainment in whatever games they played, except against Spain (they truly need a lot of experience and maturity to counter Spain's tactic). I loved how the Germans made the English looked like fools. Slow and weak against fast and strong contenders. Simply loved that.

Actually I liked watching Argentina played also, though I hate the over-dramatic coach. I think if you put a 'stick' as a coach also, they could play well. Brazil was too cocky for me. It was kind of sad that the African teams were not that successful...sigh. But it just goes to show that brawn without brains would not guarantee you success in football.

What about South Korea and Japan? I liked them also and sad to see them end their campaigns. They showed that Asians could also play world class football. I would also support Japan's bid to host the WC in 2018?!! At least, the matches would not deprive me of my much needed sleep...hehehe

Any complaints? Of course, the ball is one. Next time, please let someone involved in the game to design it! A ball that was designed in a lab should stay in the lab! Some referee were 'card-happy' like the Saudi man. Iskkk, at times, I wish they could invite Colina to referee again. I miss seeing his bald head running alongside players and controlling the game. If he referees, no one dares to say anything...sigh.

I bid farewell to World Cup Mania 2010! I laughed, I cried but most of all, I enjoyed every minute of it. I wonder what I would be doing during the World Cup 2014 in Brazil...mmm

p/s: Ramadhan is coming. I wish I'll have the same kind of passion to wake up nights as the WC...hehehe

My World Cup : Part 1

2010-07-19T17:47:00.000-07:00

I'm a football fan. I wasn't that interested when I was younger even though I studied in a country where EPL reigned supreme. If I'm not mistaken, Gary Lineker was quite famous then. I just couldn't understand what's the point of 22 men chasing 1 ball?!! My husband was and still is a Liverpool fanatic. So, I became a fan by default or is it by marriage? Hehehe. But when I could not stand to support Liverpool anymore, I chose to support Chelsea starting from 2003.

Then, I started to read up on football news and watched games without fail. I became a football junkie...muahahaha. Well, now I agree when people say that football is a beautiful game. It is! In football, you'll have to work together and different positions have different parts to play. Different teams have different dynamics and I love to watch them all.

So, of course, I love watching the World Cup, it's not just about a football game, but also about pride of a country. In 2006, I was heavily pregnant with Amir during the WC and I was bleeding, so I was given a 2 week bed rest. So, I used that 2 weeks of 'bed rest' by watching WC 2006. Amir was delivered after the second semi final match. My favourite player was Zizou of course and I felt like kicking that Italian player for making him sent off. My favourite coach was of course Klinsman. I liked this man since he was a player...hehehe

Anyway, I'm lucky because this year, I'm still on leave! Yeay!

After all these years...

2010-07-18T08:39:00.010-07:00

Hmmm... after all these years, my kids finally slept in their own rooms! Finally!

Apart from watching mind-boggling football during my sojourn from blogging, I was busy painting and decorating the two rooms upstairs. Ayang's old room was painted pink for Aliah, of course. And Mamud's room was painted blue for the boys. Mamud is in the process of painting his own room downstairs and his choice is green. So, my house is officially a 'rainbow' of colours...hehehe.

I was caught quite off-guard this evening actually, when Amir asked whether they're supposed to sleep in their rooms tonight. I immediately grab the opportunity and said yes! Aliah was at first not very keen to sleep on her own but after painting her room pink and added whatever decorations that she desired, she was very happy with her room. Actually, I just bought very cheap wall stickers at the night market...hehehe

Of the two boys, Amir was the one excited. Since the room was small, I put in a single bed with another bed which could be pulled out when needed. Their room was decorated with two tones of blue at two sides to signify the ocean while the other half was painted blue and cream to signify earth. We put up stickers of fishes at the 'seaside' and giraffes at the 'earthside'...hehehe. I think, I really need to put up pictures here. Anyway, Amir was happy because we put on stickers of Ben10 too.

Hadi was of a different opinion, though. He didn't want to stay in that room. He was very reluctant to sleep there tonight, but I was firm. Actually I was quite 'sorry' to see them out of my room, but I thought that once I relent, they won't take me seriously ever again...sigh.

Can you imagine, they've been in my room all their lives...sigh. I'm missing them already. I think I'm experiencing a small scale 'empty-nest' sindrom...muahahaha. So, bye for now, I want to enjoy having a room to myself all over again! Au revoir!

A long day...a long wait...

2010-06-11T10:51:00.001-07:00

This morning, we made our way to KLCC around 11 am and arrived about an hour later. So, we ate at chillis and while waiting for a table, I brought the kids to kinokuniya to buy a book each. Later we enjoyed lunch and straight after lunch, we took a taxi to Prince Court Hospital.

We arrived around 1.30 pm, visited my friend and then left about an hour later. My friend's recovering well, alhamdulillah. So after prayers, we took another cab to KLCC around 3 pm, it was raining but it subsided after half an hour, alhamdulillah.

We finally reached home about 4.15 pm. After Asar, I went to Kak Min's house as her daughter's getting married tomorrow. I was in my shirt and trousers and slippers of course. When I reached her house, I discovered that the akad nikah was taking place in the masjid and after that there'll be tahlil at the house. Errrrkkks, no wonder the others were in lovely baju kurungs...hehehe

But being me, I just stayed on and joined the tahlil after the akad nikah's finished. I came back home before maghrib and sent the kids for mengaji. After their mengaji session, I gave the kids dinner and after isya' went to Kak Min's house again. They were having BBQ, but I went in and help with the bunga telur or should I say, filling up the sweets for the reception tomorrow.

Around 10 pm, I asked one of the boys to switch on the TV...because I wanted to watch the match between RSA and Mexico. FYI, I'm a footie fan actually...hehehe. Last night I stayed up and watched the opening ceremony...hehehe. Anyway, my job's done right at the end of the first half. I ate a little and then rushed back to watch the second half at home. I missed the first goal of the World Cup because I came in at 57th minute...ish, but managed to watch the Mexican goal. Yeay!

While waiting for the second match, I did the packing for our upcoming trip and managed to do laundry at the same time. I went out to hang the clothes at 2 am...hehehe, I hope I didn't make so much noise and disturb my neighbour.

Now, I'm watching the game between France and Uruguay. Actually, I just wanted to say (in a roundabout way) that I'll be hanging my 'blogging hat' and put on the 'footie fan hat'...muahahaha. Please do not expect any entries after this until the finals in another month's time. Whatever entry after this will be considered a 'bonus'. I'll be busy 'studying' all the stats and watching all the fixtures...muahahahaha! Happy World Cup, people!

Bone tired...

2010-06-10T06:56:00.001-07:00

Today has been a very tiring day.

Early in the morning, I woke the kids up and rushed to Taman Sri Rawang. I dropped them off at Kak Arah's house around 9.15 am. Then I drove to Selayang Jaya to leave the car at the workshop for a major repair. I asked the mechanic to drop me off infront of Selayang Mall and I immediately spotted the taxi that was waiting for me at the curb (I asked for Zali/Ema's help in finding a reliable taxi driver and they gave Abg Md Noor's number).

The taxi ride was quite interesting...hehehe. We talked about football and the incoming WorldCup among other things. I also asked him whether he could pick me up around 5 pm and he asked me to call around 4 to make sure that he's in the vicinity.

I arrived at the hospital around 10.45 am, went to my friend's room and met Kak A and my friend's sister. We were waiting for the operation to finish and waiting's definitely a very tiring activity...sigh. She went to the OT around 8 am and we were quite worried because it was taking more time than expected. She finally came out of the OT around 12 pm but the effect of the GA was still very strong and she looked so weak. It tug at my heart...sigh

Kak A was better in helping her and anticipating her every needs. She vomited several times but nothing came out, just green/ yellow liquid and I bet it was very painful. We waited for her to be lucid but she told us that she was quite hot and she couldn't see properly, must be the after-effect of the GA as well.

The nurses showed us the 'specimen', the thing that they took out during the operation. Being me, I managed to snap a few pictures just before they took it to the lab...hehehe. It looked a bit scary, 'matter' swimming in a bottle of liquid and blood...Isk.

Kak A and I went down for lunch around 2 pm. After lunch and solat, I went to the florist shop and managed to get a small pink bouquet for my friend. When I went upstairs, I received the good news that the cancer hasn't spread to her lymph-nodes, alhamdulillah...

Soon, the florist bought the flowers up and while the rest were still trying to figure out who it was from, I went and signed the delivery papers...hehehe. I was glad that my friend seemed happy and in a better spirit after the good news. She was also well enough to get up to go to the toilet and could walk albeit a bit unsteadily.

I took my leave around 5 pm and straight went to the workshop to get the car. I arrived in Rawang about 6.30 after struggling to be patient while being stuck in a traffic jam at the Templar area...sigh. Some things just never change...sigh.

Anyway, I was glad that I went to see my friend at the hospital today. I finally met her in person after hearing about the bad news 2 days ago. Though she was still weak, I hope she knows that her friends will support her through this difficult times, insyaallah.

Get well soon, dear friend... Tawakkal illallah...

Adeh...

2010-06-09T02:12:00.001-07:00

Today, I planned to visit a friend in a hospital in KL. So, this morning I settled Hadi's and Amir's school registrations and came back to Tasik Puteri around 1.30. Around 3 pm, Amir went with Mamud to pick up my cleaner and on the way, dropped off Aliah and Hadi for tuition at Jane's.

I took my own sweet time and only started my journey around 3.15 pm. On my way out, I called Kak Arah to arrange for the kids' 'stay-over' tomorrow at her house. Suddenly, I heard a loud bang and the car hit the divider! I stopped the car at the side of the road and lo and behold! I saw a flat tyre infront (right) and a big hole in the tyre. It must have popped!

Not only I had one flat tyre, when I hit the divider, it also made the tyre at the back split open. So, I called Mamud and the chinese workshop that I'm familiar with to get me a tow-truck. Mamud stopped on his way back home and I asked him to wait at the car while I drove Kak Wahida and Amir back home in the Wira.

While I was at home, the towtruck driver called at told me that they couldn't find the exact location of the car and I had to 'pick up' the tow-truck instead...hehehe. But, when I arrived at the 'site', I couldn't see the car! Huh?!! Then I got a call from the workshop telling me that my brother had actually change the front tire and drove to the workshop himself! Adeh...

So, I told the tow-truck driver to go back to the workshop while I drove straight home...sigh. Imagine me, driving around Tasik Puteri in a very old Wira, which is very low (it must have lose all its suspensions!). I felt like driving a go-kart car...hehehe. I could feel every bump and jolt of the road...Adehhh...

So, hopefully I could finally visit my friend tomorrow, after her operation in the morning. Well, what can I say except thanking Allah that the kids were not with me when it happened and I was right smack in Tasik Puteri where I could get help easily...Alhamdulillah.

Sigh...

2010-06-08T01:41:00.000-07:00

I just came back from Selayang Mall. I went there while waiting for my car to be serviced somewhere in Selayang Jaya.

I brought the kids along while I was about to pay for my purchases, I got a call from an old friend who needed a sounding board. I gave her my honest opinion and the rest was up to her...sigh. And while we were about to eat, I received another call from a close friend. An unexpected call...sigh. After lunch as I was about to let the kids play at the play area (they have rides and stuff), I was approached by someone. Another shocker for the day.

It was Ani, Mohamad's wife. I was stunned. Today is the 15th day of his passing and she brought her kids to eat at the KFC because the oldest daughter requested it...sigh. She was crying when she called out to me and immediately I felt the sadness and the hopelessness.

It was hard for her to be in Selayang Mall because that's where they always go together, sometimes 2 or 3 times a week. I just let her talk her heart out and I listened because I think that's what she needs the most, someone who just stop and listen. She told me that she always depended on arwah to do most things and now she's at a lost. She couldn't cry infront of the kids because she needs to show a strong front, but my goodness, she's breaking apart...sigh.

I told her that she needs to be strong and Allah would not give her something that she couldn't handle, eventually. Sounded like empty words but I truly believe in this, actually. There's always a higher order of events that only He knows and as always, He knows best.

I suggested to her to start a blog. Somewhere that she could pour her heart out and hopefully help her to figure things out and survive this ordeal. I know she needs an outlet to write about her worries and share her tribulations. I truly hope she would start writing, so she could lighten the burden, somehow. I bet there are many out there who would help her through this, insyaallah.

Today, I listened. I stop talking and I listened. Hopefully, I helped by listening to the people around me. So far, it has been quite a day for self-reflection also...sigh.

It's been a while...

2010-06-07T00:53:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I last blogged. I was too sad after Mohamad's death and later my husband came back for a week and I had so many things to settle within that 1 short week.

Actually I have so many things to share but I do not know where to start...sigh. So, enough to say that I miss blogging and I miss visiting all my fav. blogs...hehehe. Insyaallah, you'll be seeing more of me soon. So, till then, au revoir!

A tribute to Mohamad...

2010-05-25T03:41:00.002-07:00

Today, I'm reminded again of how fragile a life is. This morning, my friend, Mohamad passed away at PPUM around 10.20 am.

He had a stroke on Thursday last week and I went to visit him on Friday. On Saturday evening, I received news that he suffered another stroke and was critical. Friends and family members kept on visiting. And today, I got the dreaded call from Shima around 10.30 am...sigh

I went to MPM and followed En. Isa to Pulapol's surau for the rituals of 'mandi, kapan and sembahyang' before the journey to his final resting place in Batu Pahat, his wife's kampung. We arrived around 12 and soon the surau started to fill up with his friends and relatives. We waited patiently and he finally arrived just before the zohor prayer.

After zohor prayers, we had tahlil while he 'dimandikan dan dikapankan'. Before he 'disembahyangkan', I had the chance to see him for the final time. I couldn't help but cry when I saw his kids kissed him for the final time. He looked so serene, so devoid of life.

He left behind a wife and 3 kids aged 12, 9 and 4. The middle one is a boy who looked just like him. The first-born looked so calm, while the boy and the youngest looked clueless. Amir is the same age as the youngest and I couldn't help being so sad.

Mohamad was such a family man. He would send and fetch his kids every day. He was always jovial and loved to tease everyone. Being in the same dept. we were quite close but I think the guys would miss him more. I saw clouded faces of Eddie, Fauzi and Nawa just now and I bet En Z would really feel the loss also.

Farewell dear friend, Allah loves you more. Semoga rohmu di berkati Allah and digolongkan diantara orang2 yang beriman, insyaallah.

A friend in need...

2010-05-21T16:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, on my way to Tesco, I received an sms from Sha. I was shocked when I read that our colleague, Mohamad, collapsed and had a stroke the night before. He was in ICU in PPUM. I decided there and then to go and see him but I completed my errands first. I was on a mission to find a new washing machine but failed to do so as there were so many products on the market.

Anyway, I sent the kids back to Tasik Puteri and made my way to PPUM after zohor. Shafiza called to ask me to bring socks and any form of 'minyak panas' for En. Mohamad. I managed to get socks but I couldn't find any minyak panas in BTP...Isk, one shop was closed, another finished its stock and the last one didn't have any...sigh...

I've never been to PPUM before but managed to get into the area of section 16. I detoured a bit when I got into UMSC but soon managed to find PPUM safely. The only problem was parking. I only managed to find the layered parking space in the East Tower while En Mohamad was in the Main Tower. I had to walk very far to reach the Main Tower but everyone was friendly and directed me to the correct area.

He was in ICU on the fifth floor and I saw many people outside the closed section, so I asked which one was his wife? I was lucky because they were En Mohamad's relatives, coming as far as Batu Pahat. His wife told me that he was paralysed on his left side and has a blood clot in his brain but the good thing was he was responsive, so the doctors were monitoring his development. If he started going downhill, they were going to operate on him.

When I had the chance to see him, one of the nurses was doing a routine check up. He slurred, but managed to answer questions from the nurses like where and who he was and I was impressed when he could lift up his right hand and feet. We also felt encouraged when his left feet responded when poked. I saw how glad his wife is, alhamdulillah.

Seeing him lying down, helpless, I felt an acute sadness. He's a tall and thin man and very jovial. Working in the same department, we learned of the antics and quirks of your friends. Our work is stressful because it involves a 'zero-defect' clause and the only time for us to relax would be at the pantry. Sha and me and the clerks used to have fun and made a lot of noise in there. Mohamad would normally make jokes and we would laughed at his antics.

It seemed that he was diagnosed with high blood pressure sometime last year and the stroke was probably brought on by the high BP...sigh. He's about the same age as Sha and me, below forty with three young kids, still in primary school. He's one committed father, sending and fetching the kids from school everyday. He's such a family man.

Mohamad, I pray that you'll get well and get back on your feet, soon. Your young family needs you. Ya Allah, Kau pulihkanlah kawanku Mohamad seperti sediakala, sesungguhnya hanya Kau yang Berkuasa sepenuhnya...

Hadi's a gem...

2010-05-21T04:04:00.001-07:00

My son Hadi is a very peculiar character. In terms of development, he's quite a fast learner and he loves watching Discovery Channel and he used to love watching Nat Geo Wild in Sudan. He loves animals and dinosaurs and he has a very good general knowledge compared to his sister.

He is also known to come up with 'gems'. Sometimes out of no where he would 'crack' us up with some thing or other.

Recently, he managed to make us laughed like mad at my in-laws house. He came downstairs without wearing pants, so my FIL asked him, 'How come your punai is so small'. Unperturbed, he answered, "If it's too big, it'll be difficult to carry it around". My FIL just erupted in laughter and I was gobsmacked...muahahaha.

Meeting old colleagues...

2010-05-20T02:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Nawar called me and invited me to a gathering at the office today. He told me that since Sha and me are not at the dept. anymore, they seldom have makan2 gathering...hehehe. Normally Sha and me would plan and organise such gathering quite often, the guys just contributed money and the rest would be up to us, with the help of Zu and Nisa of course.

But, unfortunately, I woke up late. I only managed to get out of the house about 10.30 and arrived at the office about 11 am. I was stopped at the gatehouse but I shouted to the new guard that I'm one of the staff there...hehehe. As soon as I arrived at my old dept., I called Nisa to open the door, I totally forgot my old password...hehehe

She didn't realised it was me at first, not until she saw me...then of course, she screamed...hehehe. Fortunately, my old boss was not around, so I had a jolly good time at the pantry with Ruhaibah, Azlina, Kak Aliah and Nisa. Ustaz Zul and Saharudin came to take a look at who's making the noise...muahahaha. I listened to many juicy gossips while I had my fill of the food. We were celebrating Nisa's birthday today...hehehe

From the 5th floor, I tracked down Kak Zubai at the 2nd floor. Here, I saw many old and familiar faces, Isa, Kak Mas, En Salleh, Bad and many more. I was of course very loud and very merry...hehehe. Everyone kept asking me when I'm going to turn up for duty and I told them that I'll be there in January, insyaallah.

Shima called, asking me to go to Dahlia's, an eatery nearby, for lunch. When I got there, she was having lunch with Ika and Juliana. I made my move around 1.30 pm and what a whirlwind 3 hours it was...hehehe. I came back with a promise to join the other officers for a 2 day course sometime in June where Sha from JB will also be there. Hmmmm, this is more for wanting to see Sha other than anything...muahahaha.

p/s: Sha, I think they're going to regret inviting both of us for the course...hehehe

Time out...

2010-05-17T02:10:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a wonderful 'time-out'.

A few days ago, I met Kak Normali at Tesco and she told me of a reunion of sorts that was to be held today at PappaKopitiam in Rawang. So, I decided to join them today...hehehe. Who are we? Well, friends who were teaching in SMK Seri Garing around the late nineties and early 2000. Some of us have left the school and either join other schools or join other professions.

So, today after feeding the children and solat, I drove to Rawang. The reunion was supposed to be about 2 pm and I arrived about 1.58 pm. At first, I was the only one there because the others were celebrating Teacher's Day in their respective schools. Then, I saw Kak Huzaina with two of her kids. Kak Huzaina lost her husband sometime in October last year after raya in a motorcycle accident. How sad. She's currently doing her phd with 4 boys to take care of. I'm glad to see her so strong.

Soon, we were joined by Miss Lee Guat Eng, a retiree but she used to be the 'tigress' in SEGAR. Someone who would be feared by students and teachers alike...hehehe. For such a small person, her voice would even 'outdo' mine. She's always serious at work and she controlled the timetable of the whole school. But when it was time to let our hair down, she would be the one responsible to organise such outings as well. It was nice seeing her alive and well...hehehe

Then, I saw Kak An and Kak Faiz, both still in SEGAR, still in their sports gear from the Teacher's Day Games at school. These two were my closest buddies in school, I could tell them anything and expect it to be kept a secret. I miss their company and their support...sigh.

Next, Kak Normali came, followed closely by Kak Gee and Kak Razani...hehehe. Kak Lis is the quiet, artistic type while Kak Sani is the loudmouthed and outrageous type...hehehe. Both used to teach Seni. Kak G is also another lovely soul that I miss so much. Later Kak Hafizah came from Batang Kali and lastly Kak Jannah came.

I chose to sit outside, but we were so noisy. Ehemm, I'm one of the culprits...muahahaha. There were so many stories floating around, sometimes I felt lost but it was a nice and friendly atmosphere. Loud and boisterous most of the time with Kak Sani telling us all sorts of stories...hehehe. Kak Gee said she missed hearing my laughter...hehehe.

This is a kind of confession. I am very bad at keeping in touch. I do not write, phone or even email my friends. I think I am the kind of person that does not normally 'look back'. Once I left a place or group of people, I seem to disappear from the face of the earth. But my strength is in 'picking up where we left off'. There's no awkwardity, I just jumped right back in...hehehe...as if I never made any disappearing act.

So, it was really fun.

What I am doing now...

2010-05-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

What am I doing, now? Literally? I am perfecting the art of observation a.k.a 'skodeng'. I am actually observing how the contractor is doing the construction works...from the comfort of my living room...hehehe. Well, as if I know what the workers are doing anyway?!!

So, I play it safe. Rather than look like an idiot out there, I just 'marvel' inside. They started the job on the 4th of May and 12 days later, they managed to finish most of the work at the back (except for the grill) and they're now tiling the front porch, minus the gate. Not bad you know, considering they had only 3 workers normally and the boss of course.

Today, they come in more numbers maybe because there are a lot more work to be done. They work in chain. One tidying up, one mixing cement, one tiling, one cutting some of the tiles and the others are doing their respective job. 'Respective job' means, they're doing things that I do not know how to describe...muahahaha

What I observe about Chong, the contractor? He's very on hand kind of boss. He will do whatever needs to be done alongside his workers. If they're plastering, he'll be plastering as well and I could see no way his workers could 'curi tulang' because he knows what they should be doing. He knows more about tiling than them and he would do it with them. Sometimes, he would check the quality of their work. I am quite impressed with the hardworking man actually.

Having said that, I also could afford to just be in an 'idle' mode because I have a 'project manager' in Rawang. Who? Kak Arah, of course...muahahaha. She would keep tab on the contractor every day, asking about progress and such like. She even has a contract drawn for him to sign...hehehe. She knew Chong for several years already and Chong already know how meticulous she could be, so all are in my best interest...muahahaha

What's my job spec? Emmm...just to open the door and plug in the socket. That's it, plain and simple, sometimes I let the kids do it...hehehe. I could go 'cruising' and 'gallivanting' all over klang valley...hehehe.

Right at this moment, Chong is doing the tiling himself. I think I'll wake up the kids and get ready to go out :)

It's been a month...

2010-05-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

It's been a month since I've been back in Malaysia. What a month it has been...hehehe. I think I've been spending money like water and it defeats the purpose of going back to Malaysia in the first place! Sigh... Sorry dear husband...

Well, do I miss Khartoum? Errr, I miss the friends and the company of my husband but other than that, I'm not looking back. It's a chapter of my life that has ended and the sweet memories remain there somewhere as history. I'm looking forward to new adventures and new experiences :)

I think a month of eating at popular eateries, restaurants and hawker stalls is taking its toll. I miss home-cook meals, even though I have to cook it myself...I never thought that I would say this, but I kind of miss cooking...muahahaha. My husband has actually done very well in Khartoum, cooking for himself and sometimes for his friends...hehehe, though he kept on bugging me for recipes everyday...sigh. I can't wait for my 'wet kitchen' to be ready. Maybe another week, insyaallah.

Well, what can I say, a month is definitely a very short time. How time flies when you're having fun...hehehe

Happy Mothers' Day...

2010-05-09T06:04:00.000-07:00

Just would like to wish Happy Mothers' Day to all mothers out there!

Being a mother is definitely not an easy task. I'm definitely not a perfect mother. I scream, I scold and sometimes even punish my kids. Sometimes I feel so inadequate in bringing up these kids... but at the end of the day, I'm really glad that Allah deem it fit for me to have these three beautiful kids. I love them to bits!

Another thing, I think I'm turning into my mother...sigh. Some of the things that I don't like about my mother is materialising in me as a mother...sigh. Now, I know, how tough it is to bring up my own kids. I could only imagine how difficult it was to bring up one smart-ass kid a.k.a me. Did you know that I taught my mother how to read? Yep, she was illiterate but when I started learning to read in standard 1 (I never went to any kindy ever :)), she insisted that I taught her how to read the newspapers (I used to read BH then). She must be quite smart also to be able to learn from a seven year old...hehehe. Whatever it is, I love you, Mak! I hope you forgive me for all the wrongs that I did, intentionally or otherwise. Semoga Mak digolongkan diantara orang2 yang beriman, insyaallah. Al-fatihah...

To those of you, who are lucky enough to still have your mother with you, appreciate them not on just this day, but everyday because you'll never know how long she'll be able to be with you. You'll never know the meaning of missing your mother until you lose her, so love them while you still can. Truly, take it from me.

So, again, Happy Mothers' Day to all :)

Minah rempit on the loose...

2010-05-06T05:13:00.000-07:00

Hehehe... yesterday began my stint as a 'minah rempit'. Yesterday, my kids started their lessons of Al-Quran a.k.a mengaji. I decided to finally sent them to mengaji at the Rumah Kasih Sayang's house about 5 minutes drive from my house. They were supposed to start on Monday but I forgot on Monday and on Tuesday, we went to see Sri's baby.

Yesterday, the two boys refused to mengaji with the ustazah...sigh. And today, Hadi slept while Amir did mengaji. Well, there's some improvement and I asked the ustazah to let the boys mengaji first starting from tomorrow. Their mengaji session is actually quite brief, from 7.30 to 8.00 pm.

From 8.00 to 9.30, Aliah and Hadi will be having tuition with Jane. BM, English, Maths and Science for Kak Long while Hadi had to learn BM and English. Luckily, tuition classes will be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only.

I haven't started the process on enrolling them in the SK yet, letting them enjoy their summer holidays. I plan to send them to school after the school holidays, insyaallah. So, now they'll start their tuition and mengaji sessions and I'll let them get used to the routine first...hehehe.

So, I'll be seen driving around the BTP area at night while during the day I'll be driving around the Rawang area...hehehe

A tiring day...

2010-05-05T02:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a busy day for me. Early in the morning, the builders started arriving (oh, yes, I've managed to appoint a chinese contractor with the help of Kak Arah). So, they came and straight to work. By afternoon, they've cleared my front and back clutter. Very impressive work for a first day.

Before noon, I received news that Sri delivered a baby girl safely at 9.10 am at Pantai Hospital. I got the good news via Khartoum...hehehe. So, I called Adik and we arranged a trip to visit the latest addition to the family around 8 pm.

At noon, I joined the crazy quiz at NekkRock Boutique...muahahaha. We were supposed to guess the price of Nekk's latest purchase and there were about 20 of us scrambling to guess. The adrenalin rush was fantastic and I had fun laughing like mad. It lasted for only about 20 minutes, but it felt so much longer, especially when you're in the middle of the 'crazy-rush'...hehehe

After that, I brought the kids out to buy lunch. When we arrived back at the house, the key broke in the lock...sigh. Luckily, I had a spare key to open the back door. The fact that the builders already pulled out the back fence also helped my predicament. Afterwards, I asked a locksmith to take out the broken key...sigh.

After Asar, I made my way to Taman Tun and because of the rain, even the highway was jammed. Right after the Sg. Buloh Bridge, the traffic was crawling. I arrived at Taman Tun only at 6.30 pm...isk. Anyway, we arrived at the hospital around 9pm.

The kids were excited to see their latest cousin. A baby girl named Annisa' Nur Raudhah. Sri was occupying a two bed-room but luckily there's no other occupant, so we had the room all to ourselves...hehehe. The kids had a wonderful time playing in the room and they made so much noise...Adehh. I'll try and upload the pictures later :)

We went back around 10 pm, but had a detour at KFC Sg. Buloh because we were thirsty and the the kids were hungry. We finally reached home about 11.30 pm. We decide to sleep downstairs infront of the tv and only slept around 2 am...hehehe

Such a tiring day...sigh...

Reminiscing Sunday...

2010-05-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had lots of fun! 2 weeks ago, my college mate, Nina contacted me and we arranged a some sort of reunion which materialised yesterday. The guest of honour was of course Nina who's going to do her phd in the states soon, real soon.

Nina and me decided that we should have it at someone's house and that special someone or more like the 'victim' was Sab...muahahaha. So, when I arrived at Sab's house yesterday, I immediately saw Sab, Nina and Fina who came all the way from Mersing. Yeay! and we had to do the 'long time, no see' screams of delight. muahahaha.

Fai and family came next and later Izlin from Johor came with her family. I of course was teased about my added girth...hehehe...but being friends for so long, teasings and banters were to be expected. We just left the kids to fend for themselves while the mothers turned into giggling schoolgirls again...well, in my case, the loud mouth 'spring' again...muahahaha. Jijan asked me to stop 'shouting' but I told him that I 'lost' the volume button...hehehe

Anyway, just imagine us yesterday, everyone tried to catch up with current news while also trying to reminisce about our past. At first, I told everyone that I could not remember what happened during all those years. The others tried filling up some gaps and what do you know, I actually could remember quite a lot, to the amazement of the others. I was even amazed at myself! Hehehe...

We were together for six long years, in a foreign country when we were so young. We embarked on the journey when we were just 18, fresh out of high school and we had to rely on each other for everything. We shared tears of happiness and joy and a lot in between. It was so good to be among friends, friends that support you come rain or shine. Even though we do not keep in touch religiously, we're always glad to be in each other's company...sigh... It's good to have friends for life.

The boys showed their true colours...sigh. They trashed Sab's house, played with every toy available and made a lot of mess...sigh. Fina was a bit 'scared' of Amir...hehehe. I really had fun yesterday and would like to thank everyone who made it to the gathering. A special thank you to Sab who agreed to have us, the unruly guests...hehehe

Would have been 24...

2010-04-29T04:12:00.000-07:00

Today is my late brother, Ayang's 24th birthday. Well, he would have been 24 today, but Allah loves him more and he's no longer with us.

This morning, I went to see Ewin, his girlfriend, to give her something that I bought from NekkRock. She looks very pretty and tall. When I was about to go, she mentioned that today's Ayang's birthday which made me real happy and sad at the same time. Sad because he's not with us today but happy that someone else remembers him, still. I thought I was the only one. Ewin was the stronger between us because she didn't cry, I did...sigh.

Anyway, on the way to KL, I told the kids that today's Ayang's birthday. Hadi said, 'But how are we going to celebrate? The birthday boy's not here!', such honest innocence. I answered that 'Well, we do not celebrate but it's enough for us to remember him'. I was overcome with sadness and when Amir asked why I was crying, Aliah told him that, 'Mak just misses her brother'. Very aptly put...sigh

Yes, I greatly miss him. And I choose to remember him by sedekah some of his insurance money to charity. I want to give some to a project by OOD, and some I already gave to the Rumah Kasih Sayang in BTP (I dropped by on the way back home just now). I also choose to remember him by going to his best friend's wedding in Batu Kurau on Saturday (the journey starts tomorrow morning, insyaallah).

Ayang, semoga rohmu digolongkan dikalangan orang2 yang beriman, bersama mak dan ayah, insyaallah. Amin. Alfatihah... I'll always love you...

Yeay! What a relief!

2010-04-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

I just received news that I'm no longer the warden for block A! Yeay! I've been waiting for this piece of good news for ages...hehehe

The new warden for Block A would be Ali/Yana and deputy warden Nazri/Liza. Good luck people! Do not worry so much about the responsibility because in actual fact you'll have the full support of the whole community in handling it! Trust me, it'll be fun :)

When I decided to go home, automatically it created a vacancy for a new warden. There was a lot of commotion and politics involved in selecting the new warden. (I was left out of the loop most of the times because I was busy packing...hehehe). And I left it to the whole community to decide who should be their new rep... and they've chosen wisely because I know Ali and Yana will do the job to the best of their ability, insyaallah. Actually I've left the warden simcard to Yana before I left (very apt choice, huh?)...muahahaha

Anyway, I feel so happy and the most important thing is that I feel a lot lighter (if only it takes away some of my fat...hehehe).

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every single person in Block A for their full support of the programmes that I was involved in. Personally I loved every single project that we did because we did it together, rain or shine (or in our case, in hot or hotter temperatures)...hehehe. Whatever I did, I did with sincerity and because of that I felt little regrets. I've enjoyed organising the many social events and I'm glad I got to know most of you, personally. I've met many interesting characters and I've learnt quite a lot of lessons from many of you. Thank you for enriching my life.

Dear friends, I also want to take this opportunity to apologise for any wrongs that I have done, intentionally or otherwise. Being me, complete with a set of mouth that has a speed of light, I may have hurt you without me realising it, so I apologise. Whatever happens in Khartoum, remains in Khartoum...hehehe. 0-0 yer...Insyaallah, we'll meet each other again and I wish you a happy and safe stay in Khartoum!

Signing of as Warden for the final time,

Maz

Kantoi...

2010-04-28T01:17:00.000-07:00

Just now, I went to Tesco Rawang for the third time...hehehe. After we had brunch, we went upstairs towards Tesco.

But I was distracted by a beautiful bedsheet in Aussino. When I was asking the salesgirl about that particular piece, I came face to face with my colleagues from MPM... and to make matters worse, they were Mdm M (my former immediate boss) and her sidekick Mdm Q... Adehhhh

But, I greeted them nicely, asking about MPM, not that I really care...muahahaha. And when asked whether I'm dropping by in MPM, I told them truthfully that whenever possible I'll be avoiding MPM like a plague... I didn't know why I lied that I was just back for a holiday and not for good. Maybe because I do not want to be pestered to come and report for duty earlier than January 2011...sigh.

I'm sure by now, the boss would know that I'm somewhere in Malaysia...and somewhere in Malaysia I would be for another few weeks or so...hehehe

Quest for a gate...

2010-04-26T23:55:00.000-07:00

FYI, my house is without a gate for more than 2 years already. Alhamdulillah, nothing untoward happened yet, but I do not want to tempt fate. I'm already scared by reading all the news in the papers. So far, the area that I live in has been quite safe with a minimal number of break-ins. The neighbours also know each other and always look out for one another. That is very rare in this new age, actually... and I'm grateful.

Last week I asked a contractor to come and assess the mini project that I'm embarking on. I just wanted to tile the front porch, add a gate and build a new fence in front. I also wanted to tile the small area of land at the back of my house and put up a grill surrounding the back of the house. The quotation that he gave me nearly gave me a heart attack on the spot.

The work in front would cost me 14k. 14 thousand, ok?!! To put in tiles would cost me 8k?!! What?!! The front porch is not that big. My house is not that big. It's just a medium cost terrace (20x70) or is it (20x60)? It could just fit one car, for god's sake?!! What kind of tile that he's suggesting to put in? Diamonds?!! Come on, it's just to park the car...Isk...mengarut.

He also promised that he would email me the pictures of the tiles but I've been waiting for about a week and still no email. So, I don't think I'd go for this feller's quotation. I'm still looking around for a quotation, reasonable quotations. I'm not looking for a grand gate (wrought iron and the likes), I just need a simple and practical gate. Is it so difficult to ask?!!

So, my quest for a gate will continue...sigh.

Visits to the doctor...

2010-04-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

Today, I brought the kids to the clinic in BTP. Aliah was complaining of a headache and she got a fever. She was a bit shy to tell the doctor while the boys were playing havoc inside the small room...sigh. Hadi was playing with the weighing scale cum height measurement instrument... and of course the smaller feller copied his brother...sigh

2 days ago I brought the 2 boys to the same clinic because Hadi was complaining of a sore throat. It was quite funny really because I just kept quiet while he was telling the doctor of his ailments. He was talking non-stop. He told the doctor that it was quite difficult for him to swallow food and when he drinks, it hurts (though, I didn't see any changes in his eating habits...hehehe, he was eating quite a lot in my observation...hehehe).

The doctor advised him not to take cold drinks, ice-cream etc. He even complained to the doctor that I gave him an ice-cream the day before. The doctor then told him that he could have declined and said no...hehehe (in fact he finished his ice-cream so fast that he asked the other two whether he could finish theirs...hehehe). Anyway, I was kinda proud to see him talk to the doctor with confidence.

Then it was Amir's turn to show the doctor his bleeding nose. He was quite brave but I don't think the doctor understood what he said...hehehe. He was so cute sitting there on his own. I just realised that my boys are all grown up :)

And now, my throat is sore...There could be another visit to the doctor tomorrow...sigh

A busy Sunday...

2010-04-25T03:36:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a birthday party in Bukit Ampang...sigh. I'm really tired.

Our journey started around 11.30 am this morning. We rushed to OU to buy present for Wildan, the birthday boy. But once we arrived in OU, everybody was so hungry that we actually ate brunch first at Chicken Rice Shop...hehehe. Hadi ate about 1 and a half plate of chicken rice, can you believe it?!! I was gobsmacked when he kept on asking for more rice... I was just afraid that his tummy would explode...muahaha

After that we went to Toys'r'us. I already warned the boys that we were there just to buy a toy for Wildan and not for them. I've been telling them since yesterday actually. But of course, that was before they entered the shop. Once there Amir whined to no avail. Actually I promised the kids that I would buy them a toy in May (that was two weeks ago), and I've been quite strong mentally and did not buy them any toy so far. But I melted when I saw Hadi cried silently at one of the corner of the shop. He didn't whined which was so typical of him but he just cried silently...sigh. So, what did I do? I 'surrendered'. I bought the boys a Ben10 toy each...sigh. I am so weak...

Then, I went to Taman Tun to their grandparents house. After Zohor, I asked my SIL to drive us to Bukit Ampang for the birthday party. We reached there around 3 pm and I met Mummy Daisy, Uncle Megat's clan and many others. Angah was also there with the rest of the family so the kids had fun.

Intan also acted as the 'games' coordinator' and she organised many kids games...hehehe. I took quite a few photos but sadly couldn't upload those either...sigh. Aliah won the 'limbo dance' and Amir won 'put a tail to the donkey' game...hehehe. Hadi didn't win anything but at least he participated in most of the activities and he kept on making funny remarks to Intan's instructions...hehehe. The theme of the party was 'Cowboy and cowgirl' but my kids refuse to wear the bandanna. Only Aliah was so happy with the face painting.

I finally met Uncle Megat's new wife...hmmm...hehehe. Auntie Arah passed away after a long illness last year and Uncle Megat took a new wife on the 15th of February this year. She's a dietician so she's quite slim but... lack the 'sweet' factor of Auntie Arah. I missed Auntie Arah's boisterousness... hehehe. I still remember some outrageous stories that she would tell us about their younger days. RIP Auntie, he's now well taken care off. Alfatihah, I still miss you...

Then I drove home...the end.

Egypt: Alexandria fortress...

2010-04-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Part of the fortress...

I've been wanting to update my blog for sometime now. Actually I wanted t0 finish my stories of our vacation to Egypt and I have loads of photos to share...sigh. But for the past two days, after various tries, I only managed to upload the above photo...

So, I think I'll just write about Alexandria some other time because I don't feel that the picture give it the justice it deserves. Some day, okay...

Patah kaki...

2010-04-21T07:16:00.001-07:00

Today, we're stuck at the house. We couldn't go anywhere as I sent the car to the workshop this morning. I wanted to upload the picture of the dented car but unfortunately I couldn't do so...sigh. I've been wanting to update my blog but something's wrong with blogspot, I guess.

Oh yes, that's another 'present' from my brother, Mamud. When we got back last week, we spotted the dent immediately...sigh. When questioned, he said that a lorry made the dent and he didn't know which one because he found it already dented at the parking lot...yeah! whatever!

But as Along Zali said, 'it's just a car...nothing actually happen to him...'. I have to keep on reminding myself, 'it's just a car...it's just a car...it's just a car'...sigh

So cheap...

2010-04-21T06:57:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the night market (pasar malam). I was salivating at the variety of foodstuff on display...hehehe. There was so many things to choose from...nasi ayam, sate, pizza, mee soup, nasi berlauk, fried mee, cakes, yong tau fu, kebab, fruits etc.

But the most important thing, it was so cheap! Nasi ayam in Sudan would cost about sdg7 which is equal to about rm9.80 or even 11.20 when rm was weak. Here, it's just rm3.50. For rm 10, I could buy dinner for the whole family...hehehe

My kitchen's condition is still not fit for cooking, so I'll be scouring the area for good food...hehehe...see ya around!

Exploring Rawang...

2010-04-20T23:36:00.000-07:00

For the past few days, I've been driving around Rawang. There's so many new landscape and of course, so many new shops...hehehe

2 days ago, I went to Giants and Parkson in Rawang buying bits and bobs. The boys were crying for new toys but I promised them that I'll buy toys for them in May. That made Amir cried on the spot...hehehe. I managed to get out of Parkson with only needed stuff like garbage bins and bathmats.

Yesterday, Kak Wahida came to clean the house and we finally could breathe a little bit easier. We could also see the floor clearly...hehehe. She's coming again this Saturday, insyaallah.

Today, we went to Tesco. I don't have to go far because Rawang has its own Tesco...yeay! I made my clubcard today...hehehe. It's quite big with a lot of interesting stuff. There's many little shops also to be explored. While I was browsing the aisles in Tesco, I suddenly felt happy because I could buy anything that I want (not like in Khartoum where I had to make do with little things that I had...sigh).

Well, maybe the experience of living in a place like Khartoum made me appreciate being back in my own country more. Alhamdulillah...

My bittersweet homecoming...

2010-04-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I just got back from Sabak Bernam, which in a way completes my homecoming.

Actually, I went there yesterday but I postponed seeing my relatives until this morning. Why? I'm also not sure why. I managed to visit the graves of my brother and parents... It's been awhile since I've been back...

Actually I'm really happy to be back in Malaysia. I just wish... I just wish that my brother is still here... there are so many things that I need to tell him, there's so many funny moments that I'd like to share with him... I'd like to show him how the kids have grown...sigh.

Yes, if only my brother is still alive, I'll be over the moon with happiness. But I do understand that Allah love him more and we can't have everything that we want...sigh

I love you brother... Al-fatihah...

I'm home...

2010-04-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

Salam All,

I've been back in Malaysia for about a week already :) I've been super busy...hehehe (since when I'm not busy huh?!!).

Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know that I'm fine. A little bit swamped with events actually. I have so many things to write about, I just do not know where to start (my last days in Khartoum? my journey back home? events in Khartoum? my kids? adik's wedding?)...sigh...

I think I'll be blogging like crazy for next few weeks...hehehe. So, watch this space :)

Whatever it is, it's good to be back...

I'm going home...

2010-04-09T04:55:00.000-07:00

In an hour's time, I'll be making my journey home to Malaysia. A journey which strated two years ago ends today. I'm going back to Malaysia for good. So, wish me luck. I'll be blogging on Malaysian soil from tomorrow onwards...so, there'll be no more ' an expat's wife in Khartoum'. Signing off for the last time from Khartoum. Adios.

Erksssss..

2010-04-03T22:13:00.000-07:00

Today is the 4th of April and we're going back on the 9th of April... Erkkksssssss! 5 more days and still so much to be done! I'm actually waiting for people from Subalipack to come and start packing our stuff. It was supposed to be on Tuesday but they're free today so, they'll come to my house around 9 am...sigh.

Looking at the state of my house, I'm not sure where to start. I've started packing things here and there...and basically no where...hehehe. It didn't feel 'real' somehow but today the reality kicks in hard...real hard...

So, never mind, please bear with me and hopefully I'll get the chance to stop and blog in the following days...hehehe. If you don't see me, I'm out there packing and tying up loose ends...Adios!

Souk Bahri...

2010-03-30T00:34:00.000-07:00

In Khartoum, there are many souks or market and there's many kinds of souks. Some sell fruits, vegetables and meat while others sell dresses, curtain/cushion material and not to forget the cotton cushion itself...hehehe

I normally shop at Marwa, one of the supermarkets here but sometimes when I had to shop for the Block, I would go and buy the wet stuff at Souk Bahri. Actually, there's a bigger souk which sells wet stuff, Souk Makazi. But I prefer to shop in Souk Bahri because it's cleaner. In Makazi, the sellers sell their wares on the ground while in Bahri, they've made platforms for the sellers, so it's cleaner and better arranged.

Oh yes, here there's a lot of boys who would offer to carry your stuff on a wheelbarrow. The first time that I came, I was a bit scared of these boys because they were very competitive. Once you alighted from the van, there's a score of them trying to get your attention. Make sure you haggled for the price before you accept their service. The going rate for foreigners is about sdg2 but do not be surprised if at the end of your shopping trip, they ask for more.

On the 13th of January, I followed Ina Sakinah and K.Ina Wahab to Souk Bahri. Since they frequented the place, they've already got a regular boy to carry our stuff. His name is Abu Nas and his English is not bad. Sometimes we asked him to be our translator...hehehe. Shopping for vegetables during winter was a pleasure. You'll see a variety of vegetables and they're cheap. You'll see huge cabbages, cauliflower etc and they're fresh too.

FYI, all the sellers at the souks are men. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you'll see ladies shopping but normally it would be men also. So, it's advisable for ladies to go in groups. But whenever I go, I couldn't help myself from laughing out loud especially when I saw how funny it was for us to haggle with the sellers. I'm speaking for myself here because whenever I asked for the price, I'll have to start counting in Arabic which I'm only good up to number 10...hehehe. Sometimes, the men would look at us, which would me laugh louder...muahahaha. Just look at the pictures.

Ina Sakinah and K.Ina Wahab...

Cucumber and carrots...

Abu Nas is in the middle...

This Amu (Uncle) selling bananas...

p/s: Just as a reminder, these pictures were taken with the permission of the people involved. That's why I just took pictures focused on the people around us only, not of the whole scene. There's a law against taking pictures of people in public areas. So, before you take any picture in Sudan, make sure ask for permission first :)

Alahai Amir...

2010-03-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

This is actually an old story...hehehe. But I went through my collection of photos just now and I remembered how frantic I was on that day.

It happened on the 19th of February, a day before the block A BBQ. I was busy with the preparation of everything and had little time to spare for the kids...sigh. After isya', Amir came to me and said cheerily, 'Mak, I got ball in my ear'. I thought he was joking but had a look anyway.

What I saw made my heart skipped a beat. I saw a yellow thing stucked inside his right ear. I asked him to lie down and tried to get it out with a tweezers but it won't budged. Then I tried using a needle. It worked! Alhamdulillah... I was really grateful to Allah. During the ordeal, I was imagining a lot of scenarios, all bad of course...sigh.

Anyway, when I asked him where did he got the yellow ball, he told me that Hadi picked it up from the playground...sigh. He couldn't answer the question why he put it in his ear in the first place...sigh. Even though I was quite angry, but the blogger in me couldn't pass the opportunity of taking the photo evidence of the incident...hehehe.

His right ear...

The yellow ball...

My instrument...hehehe

Stadium?!!

2010-03-28T06:21:00.000-07:00

When we entered the compound of the Quran factory, I saw a humungous building quite near to it. Someone pointed out that was the Khartoum Stadium. Stadium?!! I thought it was an ongoing project but apparently the building of the stadium was already abandoned. The most interesting part that I'd like to share here is the fact that the stadium is in fact being used irregardless of the fact that it's not finished!

Some schools had their football or sports practice here, regularly. Though they were surrounded by the ugly incomplete seating area, the fields must have been good enough to be used. Hmm... In Trengganu, we had a collapsed stadium while in Sudan we have this unfinished structure. But in truth, the Sudanese are proud of this thing they called a stadium. Hmm...maybe we could learn something here, something need not be perfect to be used and utilised. What say you?

Picture taken from afar...

Trip to Quran factory...pictures

2010-03-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

As usual, I took lots of pictures during the trip. I just would like to share some of my favourites... I love taking candid pictures because for me that would capture the essence of the moments but naturally most ladies do not like it one bit...hehehe...which adds to the enjoyment for me.

Nina at the forefront, Nani holding the water bottle...

Amboi! Khusyuknya Sakinah...hehehe

Kak Maria and Nani posing...cheh!

Kak Faridah and Sue joined them...

Puan Taha...

Apa kebende plak korang intai dalam tong sampah tu?!!

Kak Faridah posing...

Kak Faridah and one of the workers...

Menelefon ke apa? Sempat lagi pandang kamera...hehehe

Trip to Quran factory...

2010-03-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

On the 16th of March, I joined other Petronita members in a trip to the Quran factory somewhere in Khartoum. When we arrived there was a bit of a confusion because the Sudanese guide kept asking about Mdm Siti, so I sort of very happily pointed out Kak Siti to him. Unfortunately, he actually wanted to speak to Ustazah Siti because obviously she could communicate in Arabic while we just 'open our mouths wide' aka terlopong...hehehe

While waiting for Ustazah Siti...

Sakinah...hehehe

When Ustazah Siti arrived, we were promptly whisked away to the first section of the printing factory. We were told that it was the second biggest Quran factory in the world after the one in Madinah (I was a bit skeptical because it looked quite small to me...wallahualam). If I'm not mistaken they produced about 8000 Quran a day. The first section was the designing area where they made the layout and the films for the printing section. We didn't miss the opportunity to have a photo op...hehehe

The whole group...

The Ustaz aka guide...

Ustazah Siti explaining that it was written by hand...

The particular design for Sudan...

The lay out...

After that, we went down to see the printing area. There were several machines in operation. It acutely reminded me of MPM actually...hehehe. I could understand the explanation because I've been to a similar printing facilities before... So, sometimes, I acted as the guide also...hehehe. Anyway, we went round the various stages of printing.

How they're made into films for printing...

This is like the newspaper kind of printing...

This is the photocopy kind of printing...

Those with mistakes are burned...

After that we were shown the binding section where the various parts were put together. I could see the spine mark on each part as another form of precaution. They used thread to put them together. The factory also produced or printed Quran for the Kuwaitis. It was beautiful and used better paper (very smooth and shiny).

Can slightly see the spinemark...

Good thread...

Stapling machine...

Kak Nor - The professional photographer for the day...hehehe

After that we were shown the showroom, well sort of...because they did not have a proper showroom or a shop where we could get the quran... a pity that. I did order, just for the sake of ordering as a momento actually of my visit there.

I was glad that I came because now I know that in producing the Quran, very stringent measures were taken to make sure that there's no printing mistakes. At the design stage, the first copy was written by an imam in Syria. Then it would be proof-read by tahfiz before it was scanned into the computer. Here there would be another proof reading.

During printing and after printing, there's other proof reading sessions by tahfiz. I was happy to see the careful steps in place because it's the Quran we're talking about here. And because of that, I'm confident with the end result. Now I wish I could go and see the Quran factory in Madinah, insyaallah.

Sand storm is not a deterrent...

2010-03-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

View from the ground...

On the 18th of March, we woke up to the sound of the wind and when I looked outside, my suspicion was confirmed. We were in the middle of a sandstorm. It was quite a bad one because it continued for the whole day. Outgoing and incoming flights had to be cancelled because it was dangerous to land in such conditions. We had a very quiet day because there was the lack of noise from aeroplanes going in and out of Khartoum (the complex is actually in the direct path to and from the airport...hehehe).

In the complex...

But for Nani and me, the sandstorm was not a strong enough deterrent for us to keep us away from shopping...hehehe. We planned to go out to Souk Sya'bi and that was what we did. We went with Kak Adik, Kak Mek Na and Kak Ida. We had a spesific material in mind actually but we did stop at every stall selling curtain/cushion material. Nearly every shop in fact that I was quite exasperated...Adehhhh

No wonder I left shopping for these things at the last minute. I salute Nani and the gang who had the stamina to look for the materials that was 'just right'. Me? I would just grab anything that I fancy and I'll find the right concept when I got back...muahahaha!

I love 'red'...hehehe

I'll make this into a throw or whatever...

Souks in Sudan are normally made up of a big square and inside them you could find hundreds of little shops selling a variety of goods. From toys, curtains, cushions, materials, clothes etc. You just need to know where and have a good sense of direction. Me? Hehehe, not a chance! Put me anywhere and I'll get lost without fail...hehehe. I need a 'shop directory' to help me get around...muahahaha.

Buying in souks is definitely cheaper than buying in a shop, but be aware, you have to be good at bargaining. Another thing that I'm not good at. I'm hopeless because I always felt that the price quoted was low enough already...hehehe. And I 'pity' the seller quite easily...very, very bad in bargaining. So I left all the bargaining to Nani...hehehe

In one of the shops, while waiting for the others to bargain and choose their materials, I was busy snapping pictures (with their permission of course!). I even took several of the seller and he was 'bought' just like that. He was known for being very strict with his prices but because of the pictures, he 'melted'. Kak Mek Na who had been eyeing one beautiful material for about a year finally got to buy it at her demanded price, all because of the beautiful pictures...hehehe.

One of the shops...

Nani and the seller...

Kak Ida and Kak Mek Na resting...

Finally happy to buy her 'dream' material...

Kak Adik and the seller...hehehe

Walking back towards the van...

Nani resting...

Bales and bales of materials...

Velvety type of cloth...

Ni baru kata 'tersandar'...muahahaha

Visibility was very bad...

At the end of the day, we came out of the souk, very satisfied with our purchases. The visibility was still quite poor but surprisingly, it was very 'clear' inside the souk itself...hehehe. Or was it the madness of the shopoholic that gave our eyes extra strength?!! Whatever it is, I'll bring the memory of the day back with me to Malaysia and it was sweet indeed, especially when you're having fun with friends...

Boys and their toys...

2010-03-23T04:46:00.001-07:00

We're going back on the 9th of next month, which is less than three weeks away. So, we asked Subalipack to start giving us several boxes, just to kickstart the packing. The first thing that I packed was the books on the shelves. I cleared the bookshelves and filled up 4 boxes. The packing was done after the kids went to sleep, so they were surprised the next day because they found the bookshelves empty.

Some of the boxes...

The books...

When the boys got back from school, Hadi asked me whether I've packed his toys or not. Of course, I said no, because you'll still have time to play with them. He got very upset and while I was busy preparing their lunch, I heard a loud sound. When I checked, I saw the boys 'pouring' their toys inside 2 boxes (literally, ok?!!). They worked together and carried all their toys in their respective containers and poured them into those 2 boxes.

It was hilarious! They were afraid that I might leave their toys in Sudan...hehehe. They were only satisfied when they've filled up the boxes. Now, they still play with their toys but they would put them back in the boxes at night...hehehe. Just look at the pictures.

They were working together...

Amir...

Their toys' containers...

One of the boxes...

The other one...hehehe

Cushion oh cushion...

2010-03-22T23:07:00.001-07:00

Since I'm going back to Malaysia soon, I've been very busy...busy shopping...hehehe. Well, at first I was not very interested to buy cushions but after looking at Nani's, I was tempted. So, I followed Kak Maria and Nani to order the cushions at one of the souks. The cushions was so fluffy and they were stuffed with cotton. I went berserk and bought not a dozen but nearly 3 dozens in a variety of sizes...muahahaha

It didn't take long because a day later, the man called for us to take the finished products. Unfortunately, I was supposed to be in Amir's school at the time, so Nani was kind enough to get the cushions for me. When she arrived at the complex, she gave me a call. When I went downstairs, I froze when I looked at the van.

The van...

Full...

The bearer of cushions?!! hehehe

The van was full of cushions, most of them was mine actually...hehehe. Nani looked so tired...hehehe. But I couldn't help laughing because it was really funny. Actually it was not just one van, another load was with Kak Maria's pajero...hehehe

Fortunately, there was a general worker to help us carry all those cushions upstairs. Just enjoy the pictures and feel free to laugh at us...muahahaha

The van driver...

Nani trying to hold some of the cushions...

Me and some of my cushions...hehehe

Variety of sizes...

In my house...they occupied half of Hadi's bed...hehehe

Lawak of the day...

2010-03-15T05:49:00.000-07:00

Today, when the boys came back from school, they were hungry. While eating, Hadi asked for a pet (a gold fish) for the umpteenth time. So I told him that he could get a pet if he would do his work neatly and promptly every time. If he doesn't, I'll cook his pet! Muahahaha! That made them looked at me quietly and unblinkingly...hehehe... Gotcha!

Hadi's 6th Birthday!

2010-03-05T12:17:00.000-08:00

My boys...

Today's Hadi's 6th Birthday. Yeay! My boy's already 6 years old...Hmm how time flies...sigh

Last night, Hadi was wide awake when my husband got home. Early in the evening, he performed in his school concert so he was still not sleepy. My husband wished him Happy Birthday and suddenly I remembered! Hadi told me, Mak, you forgot my birthday! Oopss! Hehehe, then both of us sang Happy birthday in the middle of the night. The other two were fast asleep. After that he started asking about his cake?!! Aiksss! Hehehe

Today, I was involved in a treasure hunt and when I got back, Hadi was waiting. He was waiting for his cake! So, though I was tired and not feeling well, I baked a chocolate cake. I was happy because he seemed happy with his birthday cake...hehehe. Well, it was not that difficult to satisfy him, just add a little sprinkle of dinosaurs...hehehe

Well, it's not easy living with Hadi. He's stubborn and very set in his ways. He watched too much TV and made a lot of mess when playing but I still consider him a gem. Out of the blue he would come up with gems...hehehe. And he's very attached to me, to my husband's annoyance...hehehe. Whatever it is, he is my son and I love him dearly and unconditionally...Happy Birthday, Sayang!

Below are some pictures of Hadi, but the best one in my heart would still be the one of him at the beach in Trengganu. He doesn't like to be photographed, unlike his siblings. So, there's not many pictures to choose from. Enjoy!

He was happy...

Handsome boy!

He doesn't like to be photographed.

Cheeky...

With his friends...

What's going on?

2010-03-02T08:59:00.000-08:00

Well, there's so many things on my plate right now, I'm unsure what to tackle first...sigh. I've kind of abandoning this blog for a few days because there's so many issues to be tackled. The biggest news would probably be our decision to go back to Malaysia earlier than planned. We've planned to go back at the end of the year but with the new OARP package, it's not viable to stay in Sudan.

We're still in the planning stage but most probably, the kids and me will be going back sometime in April...which is a month away...Erksssss. I have to start packing our stuff and hopefully it'll be done in time.

I've just started learning arabic actually starting in February and strangely enough, I kind of like it...hehehe. But, I might not be able to continue with the classes as I'll be really busy in the next few weeks.

I'm involved in the planning and execution of the Family Day 2010 which will be on the 12th of March. Preparations and practices for cultural shows's going as planned. Alhamdulillah. But, sadly this time round I lack the excitement in the involvement of the event...sigh

I'm also in the middle of organising the Badminton Tournament for Petronita members. The ladies doubles were a success but the mix doubles (with husbands) are postponed for this weekend.

I'll also in the process of organising an indoor games for madames and also for kids this weekend. I'm truly busy and just about to collapse of tiredness...sigh

Actually I have so many things to write about, but little time to spare... So, bear with me and I'll keep on updating you with current news...au revoir friends...

Isk, bebudak ni...

2010-02-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

Looking back at all the pictures, there was a group of photos that I would like to share with you. Pity the animals because the kids played with them, cruelly I might add...isk, isk...sigh.

With the deers...

A monkey...

Sian monkey tuu...

Pony...

The kids...

But I might add that actually they were just playing with the animals. They didn't give the orange for real...sigh.

Egypt : Visit to a mini zoo...

2010-02-23T13:20:00.000-08:00

The entrance...

On our way to Alexandria, we stopped at a mini zoo. Actually it was an open zoo, where most of the animals roamed free... well, they did have cages but some could actually just jumped out of their cages...hehehe. Except for the big lion, thank goodness! Hehehe...

We wanted to bring the kids there because we wanted them to have fun too. Hadi was so excited at the prospect of playing with the animals. The others were just too glad to get out of the van and had a walkabout...hehehe...

Actually it's not exactly a zoo. At the entrance we could see a restaurant and the animals were caged in the surrounding area. It was some sort like an entertainment park where people could bring their kids to see the animals, play games and eat. They served authentic egyptian food as well because the workers/cook came from the surrounding villages. They made one heck of a delicious roti!

The animals were quite varied, from small animals like terrapins, rabbits to crocodile and lions. There was no entrance fee and we were free to roam around the area. It was a bit smelly but that comes naturally with the territory...hehehe. Anyway, I think the kids enjoyed the break from historical visits tremendously.

A picture at the entrance...

They were looking at the lions...

The deers...

They were very friendly...the humans and the animals...hehehe

Camel...

Emu kot?!!

The baboon...

Hadi...fascinated...

Egypt : Orange oh orange...

2010-02-17T12:26:00.000-08:00

On 29th of December, we started our journey towards Alexandria. We opted to stay the night because people said that Alexandria's a beautiful city. In Egpyt, toll booths are quite rare and far in between. Ahemm...not like Malaysia where you can find one at every few kilometres...hehehe. And they're cheap too! So, I managed to snap the picture of one of the toll booth.

A few hundred kms only costs less than rm10?!!

Right after the toll booth going out of Cairo, I could see a lot of fruit orchards, especially oranges. I felt like being in a mediterranean country. We asked the driver to stop at one fruit seller and I was amazed at how cheap the oranges were...hehehe. The lady gave us some oranges to taste and they were so sweet! So, I bought a whole crate!

While waiting for the others I took the opportunity to take some pictures at the orange orchard. Suddenly, Amir came and plucked one out of the trees...sigh. I was so scared because it was stealing, I told the lady about it...isk, isk...Amir...

We bought so many oranges that the van was full of them...hehehe. Some we put under the seats and throughout the journey we would suddenly squashed an orange or two. The worst thing was the fact that the oranges we bought were not sweet, they were very sour! We were duped by the fruit seller...hehehe. Padan muka!

We ended up giving most of the oranges to the students when we went back to Cairo...hehehe.

See, how fresh they were?!!

The girls...

Amir running away with an orange!

One crate ok, talk about being greedy!

She's begging Amir for an orange...hehehe

With his loot!

Ada aje these two...

Oranges, anyone?

My kids having fun!

2010-02-17T03:28:00.000-08:00

My 3 kids...

When we came back from Faiyoum, we had separate agendas. Kak Faridah wanted to go shopping while we went to Carrefour to meet my husband's friend. The kids wanted to eat at Chili's...sigh. So, after dinner, we left my husband with his friend and the kids played infront of Carrefour.

There was a projected image on the floor. For e.g, images of ants that you had to step on etc. We spent about half an hour there while I drooled at the crystal display of the Asfour counter...hehehe. They really enjoyed themselves...hehehe

Butterflies that turned into flowers...

Having fun...

Squashing ants...

Not enough with feet...sigh.

Egypt : Nabi Yusof's watermills...

2010-02-16T04:47:00.000-08:00

The only working watermill...

After eating, we went to see the remaining watermills of Nabi Yusof. Surprisingly it was in the middle of the town, I would have thought it was somewhere in a farm or something. There were four side by side, but only one was working. Unfortunately, when we were there, there was low tide so it was idle.

The sad thing was the fact that the other three watermills were full of rubbish, plastics especially. I was really disappointed because I felt that as part of history, they should have been better preserved. We're not talking about museum pieces here, they were still in good working order if fixed...sigh. But well, who am I to raise this matter. I was just a tourist.

But truly, it was a disappointing experience. I remembered thinking, 'is that it?!!'. But thinking back, Allah Maha Kuasa. During Nabi Yusof's time, Allah made the watermills worked perfectly without any motorised gadget and now He has taken the pleasure from us... wallahualam.

Taking pictures...

Hadi was the one interested in the watermill...

My kids...

Four watermills from Nabi Yusof's Era...

Sad, sad, sad...

The one still working...

Actually I was more interested in the 'stuff' sold across the road. Kak Faridah and I dragged Hairul over to the other side and started bargaining. The vendors were selling many rustic pieces, things made from hay and clay. I was thinking of my baggage space and refrained from buying any even though I was offered a bargain price. I could just imagine my husband rolling his eyes...muahahaha. Well, in this case, I agree that those pieces would be a champion dust gatherer! Hehehe...

Macam-macam ada...

'Stuff'...

Things made from clay...

Some are quite well-made...

Hairul bargaining...

Egypt : Faiyoum...

2010-02-15T22:22:00.000-08:00

Faiyoum. A place of contrasts. A fertile land in the middle of the desert. Lakes, orchards in the middle of barren land. I find it very interesting. Throughout the journey around Faiyoum, I was captivated by the scenery.

We were told that Faiyoum became fertile during Nabi Yusof Era. He was challenged by the Pharoah to make the desert land fertile for agriculture. He did that within a few years (with Allah's help of course) and impressed the pharoah greatly. He was known to built watermills to help irrigate the desert until it became fertile enough to be used as agricultural land until today.

Around Faiyoum, I saw many fruit orchards, farms etc. I saw cabbages, grape vines (not in season), dates and the most prominent was the olives trees. Enjoy the pictures!

Grape vines...

Vegetables...

Wheat probably...

Dates...

Olives...

Hmm... I've forgotten the name...hehehe

Egypt : A bad experience in Faiyoum...

2010-02-15T02:53:00.000-08:00

The police who 'escorted' us...

We were escorted by a police jeep when we were driving around Faiyoum. They made our journey very slow because we had to follow their speed. At the Aineel Shaeer's springs, I bought them packets of peanuts and when we finally stopped for lunch in Faiyoum town (it was after 3 pm actually), Kak Faridah decided to buy them burgers etc.

But did they appreciate it? Nope! Instead they asked for money from us! Imagine, they even gave back all the food in exchange for money! At first we were a bit reluctant to give them but since that would make sure they stopped following us, we gave them the money. If I'm not mistaken it was LE10 for one soldier. In fact, it was cheaper than buying them food...sigh.

The experience definitely left something bitter about Egypt. Probably, we should have anticipated paying some sort of 'duit kopi' but we seriously thought that they were just doing their job...sigh. Anyway, after that our journey was smooth and uneventful.

The kids in the restaurant...

We were waiting for our food...

Egypt : Ainel Shaeer Springs...

2010-02-13T04:47:00.000-08:00

From Qarun's Castle, we went to Ainel Shaeer's Springs. It is actually a natural water spring. According to Hairul's it's been there for thousand of years and the water's full of minerals. The water pressure of the springs was enough to generate several water fountains naturally without using any pumps. We managed to take our wudhu' there and prayed at a surau in the area.

The minerals content...

Tasting the water...

Aliah, rock star?!!

Performing ablutions...

The steps to the water springs...

Running back to the van...

The kids playing...

Herd back to the van, more likely...hehehe

Happy Birthday, Mamud!

2010-02-08T11:44:00.000-08:00

Mamud...

Happy Birthday dear brother... you're all I've got left :)

Take Care and God Blessed!

Egypt : Qarun's castle...

2010-02-08T10:38:00.000-08:00

The signage of Qasr Qarun...

Our next destination was Qarun's Castle. Qarun used to be poor but he asked Nabi Musa to pray to Allah and give him riches. Allah gave him riches and more. He became the richest man on earth. The first year, he was generous to the poor, paid his zakat etc. But as the years passed he became greedy and kept his riches to himself. Because of that, he was punished by God. His castle was buried under the earth with all its glory. His ware house became a lake etc.

The only proved that it ever happened was the leftover tower which still could be seen nowadays. When we reached the site, we opted not to pay the entrance fee because according to Hairul, there was nothing to see at the site anyway. The tower was emptied of all its riches years ago, of course. So, instead we took pictures from the side of the road.

I think of all my kids, Hadi remembered the story about Qarun the best... hehehe, because now if his brother does not want to share his things, he would say, "don't be like Qarun..." ...hehehe.

Listening to Hairul...

From afar...

What's left of the Castle...

Our family minus Aliah...

Egypt : Panoramic view...

2010-02-07T23:14:00.000-08:00

Looks like a painting...

When I was in Faiyoum, I wish I had a better camera because the view was beautiful. At certain angles, it looked like a painting. Masyaallah... But I also discovered that my new camera was not so bad. The zoom capability was quite powerful. It helped because I did not have to crawl up and down the ravine to get good pictures...hehehe.

Beautiful...

From afar...

Zoom in...

From afar...

Zoom in...

I love this picture...

I love the pictures of the water reeds. I don't know why but maybe because it looked so romantic...hehehe

Alahai Amir...

2010-02-07T10:54:00.001-08:00

That day in Faiyoum was perfect for a walkabout. It was quite cool but we were warmed by the sun. The only complaint I had was that it was so sunny and bright. So bright sometimes that we had to squint. Amir took matters in his own hand and found a perfect solution to the problem... Hehehe...

It was so bright...

He found a perfect solution!

Egypt : The waterfall in Faiyoum...

2010-02-07T09:41:00.000-08:00

Our first stop was the waterfalls in Faiyoum. Waterfalls in the middle of a desert? Yes, out of nowhere we'll see two lakes, one higher than the other and the difference in height formed a small waterfall. It was definitely very small compared to other waterfalls but still a miracle because it exists where it shouldn't be any...right in the middle of a vast desert.

The signage leading to the waterfall

My little explorer...

We had to tread through the desert sand to reach the waterfall, which was hidden by some bushes. The waterfall itself was smaller than the waterfall in Templer's Park in Rawang but the kids find it exciting nevertheless. They started exploring along the ravine, much to our consternation...sigh... Enjoy the pictures...

The kids...

The small waterfall...

We managed to catch up with Amir...

They were too far...

Aliah, the scaredy-cat...

This is the second level...

Our family...

The force of the water...

The foam...

Hadi was happy being on his own...

Kak Long...

We walked towards shore of the lower lake. The kids managed to find many things to pick up from the water's edge...shells, dead plants etc. My collector aka Hadi was busy picking up many things of his interest...hehehe

Amir and Tareq...

Macam2 diorang kutip...sigh

Egypt : Tasik Qarun...

2010-02-06T05:02:00.000-08:00

On the morning of the 28th, we started the journey to Faiyoum. The journey took about 1 1/2 hours. Instead of Afzan as the guide, we had Hairul, a young newlywed (just got married for 3 months). As soon as we reached the border of Faiyoum, we were stopped by the police and to our surprise, they started to escort us. The journey from then on was slower because the police's jeep was so slow...sigh.

I was captivated when Hairul started telling us about the history of the area. The first shock came when he told us that the lake on our right was also known as Tasik Qarun (Qarun's lake). It used to be Qarun's warehouse. My goodness, the lake was so huge! It looked practically like a sea! Imagine how rich Qarun was. Subhanallah...

It was said that the key to Qarun's warehouse was so heavy that it took many people to carry it. Seriously, the lake was huge! Hairul told us that maybe because the lake was cursed that it had a bad smell and not many fish could live there. The water for the surrounding farms was taken from the Nile and not from the lake because the water from the lake was foul.

Imagine, the wrath of Allah... Qarun lived during nabi Musa's time (more than a thousand years ago) and yet the remains were still there for us to see and hopefully learn from. It was really a humbling experience for me. I told the kids that they have to share their wealth with those more unfortunate than them and pay out zakat. I think Hadi took it to heart because now when he didn't want to share his things, I would say, "Don't be...", he would finish it for me and say "...like Qarun"...hehehe

It looks like the sea...

The water smells bad...

From afar...

Huge...

Our family minus Hadi...

Specially for Nek Rock...

2010-02-03T12:18:00.000-08:00

Last night someone was busy asking NekRock about many recipes for meehoon etc. So, I was expecting that special someone to bring meehoon to the halaqah this morning. I brought along my camera because I wanted to show NekRock how it turned out...hehehe

So, I was quite excited when I saw that someone came holding something in her hand. But what I saw made me laugh so hard that the others were only able to guess what was so funny. Nekk, she came with 'invite invite banana' aka 'jemput-jemput pisang' muahahahahahaha!

The special jemput2 pisang!

She said she did not have enough time to cook what was discussed last night...hehehe. Fair enough, because I only brought watermelon! Muahahaha! Well, last night was spent surfing the net, so even the act of cutting the watermelon was a small miracle...hehehehe

Nekk, as requested, these were some of the kueh brought by the rest of our friends...Enjoy!

Kak Mek Na's jemput2 pisang...

Kueh kasui...

Suti made these...

Macam2 ada...hehehe

Kak siti made this...

Ada gambar watermelon tu...hehehe