The Fire ... epilogue

Storm snugly settled on my sofa...

After deciding that it would be more comfortable for Storm, the Quays moved into my house on 30th Nov. He had to be cooped up in the room whilst they were staying with doc’s brother. Here he has free rein to come and go as he pleases. Because he is accustomed to peeing and doing his business on lawns, the maid has to take him for walks at the park nearby. From my observation, he is truly enjoying his walks and this routine may very well carry on even after they have moved back home.

They will be staying for another week or so before they can move back home. I hope they have been comfortable in my house even though it is not as spacious as what they are accustomed to. There is no internet access or Astro, no garden for doc to practice his putting and only 1 shower room. The porch can only fit 1 car and Doc had to spend many sleepless nights getting up every now and then to ascertain that his car is safe. For Diane, who should be enjoying her holidays, there is no PS2 to play etc.. For both E & Diane there are no MSN or Facebook… Must be tough on them…

Their stay has benefited me too. Rohimah has done a good job cleaning every corner of the house. I tell people that I go back to clean house almost every Sunday but ‘cleaning’ meant just the hall and bathroom really… so the house now is as clean as it can ever get! She has rearranged and moved things so I figure I will have to spend a day finding out where things are kept once they move out. E too, had miraculously fixed the toilet bowl in the master bedroom, which had been leaking for the past 3 (?) years! Hmm… Maybe if they stay longer, my whole house might eventually get a new coat of paint, faulty faucets & wiring replaced etc ??

Even though the fire which occurred was most unfortunate, I believe that God was present throughout their ordeal.

Hard as it may be to recognize the hands of God at work in the face of any crisis, or understand why He allows certain things to happen, the fact that nobody was hurt in the fire was something to be really thankful for.

E would think it is easy for me to say since I am just an outsider but even as an onlooker, it was gratifying to know that God did not forsake them or let them them undergo this trial on their own. In the midst of adversity, God showed His love through people that cared. In days ensuing the fire, friends and relatives, in a show of support, rallied to help. God seemingly, wanted to convey a message that they were not alone.

With this I close. We do not need a certain number of friends, E. We only need a number of friends we can be certain of. May the certainty of knowing you have friends who care brings you much comfort.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. – 1st Corinthians 10:13

F

The Fire (Part 2)

Tuesday morning, S called bright and early. She drove past E’s house before going to office and said it looked bad when viewed from the back. Told her I was taking half-day’s leave and meeting P at 1.00 pm.. S said she’d also try to take off but it would depend on her workload.

At 1.00 pm. P was already at E’s, chatting with Mrs. Lee. We couldn’t go for lunch because they had to wait for the arrival of the MT container. Mrs Lee was there early, helping to clear the debris but they were advised to stop cleaning before the Insurance Adjuster assessed the damages. E & Dr were out filing reports with the various Departments but came back shortly after with our lunches. Diane was in school. She had a paper that day. Storm was running in and out barking non-stop till they locked him in Jo’s room. (Yeh yeh very good.)

Dr’s brother came with his family followed by Sue who brought some empty cartons. Then came the container. S was to return in the evening with a trolley and she was also trying hard to get hold of some workers to help with the moving.

We planned to be very systematic. Items from each cabinet were to be packed into one box and marked so that it would be easier to unpack later on. That didn’t work.. Halfway through we found certain boxes were too heavy to be lifted and eventually we had to mix the items. Sigh… S called, no luck with the workers. Doubly sigh…

The adjuster came and Dr and his brother went through the list of damages with him. Mrs Lee was tireless. She worked non-stop as compared with P and I who kept taking breaks to satisfy our cravings for nicotine! S called, she managed to get workers but they would be coming in much later as they had day jobs.

From the room upstairs, we notice the 2 Quay brothers standing outside. (the adjuster had left). The 2 strong able-bodied men were smoking and chatting while the ladies were hard at work.. Doesn’t that reminds you of a little village in Indonesia where the women worked whilst the men strummed their guitars and played checkers followed by long sessions of siestas??

Evening came, E left for classes. S finally arrived with 4 scrawny guys along with rolls of plastic sheets as well as a heavy trolley. P was the one who requested for the trolley but I doubt we would be able to handle it on our own. The leader opened the doors of the container with just a kick and some quick movements of the hands. P and I had earlier struggled to get the latches on the container to budge with no success. We wanted to do a test that the container was leak-free. It wasn’t roach free though and we had a fine time spraying Ridsect and sweeping away dead cockroaches !!

The 4 ‘scrawny’ guys were stronger than I would have given them credit for and boy did they work fast and efficiently! They made shrink-wrapping looked so easy but when we tried it, you know it definitely isn’t easy! They finished loading everything in less than 2 hours and there we were wondering if we would be done by midnight! It was just before 9 p.m. S, who had gone home after leaving instructions with the guys came back with cold drinks for everybody.


E came straight from class to meet us at the restaurant for dinner. Admittedly, we looked a trifle scruffy….. and I for one would pass off as an Indon maid had anyone been observing our group that night. We were pleased with the amount of work done. What was left were the smaller items, Diane’s books etc…Tomorrow, she would be able to help since there was only 1 more paper left to “merdeka!” …

F

The Fire (Part 1?)

It was an ordinary Monday evening after work on 24th Nov, 2008.

Whilst at the office I chatted briefly with P & E. E seemed a bit distracted but she’s been that way the past few weeks. We’ve been talking amongst ourselves and worrying about her, is she okay?

Back home, I had just withdrew cash from the ATM and was sitting at the hall reading the papers, waiting for dinner. At 7.29 pm my hand-phone beeped, alerting me that an SMS message had come in. It was from E, a message that simply said “Luck very bad. House on fire.” I froze. What did she mean, fire? Big fire, small fire, what? If big fire, she wouldn’t have time to sms, would she??? Questions, questions…

As usual, when feeling tensed, I took out a cigarette. Went to the back of my shop, lit my cig, then called E. Why is she not answering ? I tried again and she hello-ed. I don’t remember what my first question was. (probably something stupid).For a brief moment her voice broke when she said “I got no where to stay tonite….” and my heart did a dive. We didn’t talk long; just long enough for me to get some facts from her. After offering her the use of my house, we hung up. Seemingly, a couple of drug addicts had caused an explosion while they were in the vacant house next door. Neighbours saw them running out soon after.

Dinner forgotten, I decided to go over to her place immediately. Thank God my brother didn’t take the car yet….. Faster faster ‘chup’ the car keys… I called S and then P… P already heard from Mrs Lee. We all agreed to meet at E’s.

As I was about to leave the house I remembered the cash I withdrew earlier was still in the pocket of the shorts I was wearing. I ran upstairs to keep the cash and when I was downstairs again, aiyo.. I couldn’t remember where I had placed the car keys. Since the phone call with E, I had gone out to the shop to tell Supri that I was going out so she should feed the dogs, I used the toilet, went upstairs to keep the cash…. now where did I put the keys??? Just as I decided to use the spare keys, I found it next to the sink where I had gone to wash a cup.

On reaching E’s, the whole place was a hive of activity even though by then, the fire was under control. The fire brigade was parked outside, firemen were walking in and out of the house, curious on-lookers and busybodies were loitering outside. It was already dark. Mrs Lee was there and the 2 of us went in to view the damage. In the dark you can hardly make out anything except that the floors were wet. The power supply had to be shut down when the fire occurred.

M dropped by with her niece for a while. P arrived soon after and E passed us some of her things for safe-keeping. The guitar is with me along with the I-POD and i-Home and ahh…Diane’s PS 2. Where is S? Called her again and she said she was still at dinner and would come later. Some officers from Fire Dept (?) came and E had to make a statement.

Storm was a pampered pooch that night. He had to be carried most of the time as the floors were wet and grimy. Mrs Lee instructed Rohimah on how to go about sweeping water into the toilet. P & I helped. Doc’s brother said that he would arrange for a 40’ container to be placed outside the house for storage purpose during the renovation and repair works which apparently would be quite extensive, based on what the contractor said.

We emptied the freezer. S’s was quite empty so she was suppose to take the food to store in her fridge. But where was S? Unbeknownst to us, S was having dinner with clients and she didn’t tell us that she was dependent on her colleague for transport. She didn’t figure that dinner would drag on and on. Instead of waiting for S, on my way home, I would leave the things with her husband instead.

There wasn’t much that could be done that night so they decided to lock up. E and family, including Storm and their maid would move in with Dr’s brother.

P and I planned to drop by the next day to help in spite of E’s insistence that they could cope…. If she wasn’t so distressed, I would have asked her to shut-up even though her I know it was just that she didn’t want to impose on us… We are friends. Wouldn’t you do the same for me had I been in the same situation?

By the time I got home, it was close to midnight. Suddenly I was hungry… time to raid the fridge….

F

4 + 1

Last night while i was sleeping, it suddenly dawn to me that now we have an additional member to our "what we do every friday" thing. Her presence and fellowship is throughly enjoyed by the existing fems and we have gone for some impromptu outings, dinners, lunches, karaokes and of course "what we do every friday" thing lah. !! Her initial is P for P........... So how to arrange P into fems ? Can it be FEMSP or PSMEF or ...... ( lets play scramble hehehe)... anyway, thanks to E that we have another kaki that shares almost the same interest like the rest of the fems and also "gila-gila".....

I would like to officially nominate P into "gang" and also invite P to participate in our blog as well. What say the rest of FEMS ?

Anyway, to P, if you are reading this blog..... welcome....!!

S

1 is good, 2 even better ....

Me seated, flanked by my 2 doting 'daughters' ...

I reckon I should be feeling on top of the world.

My eldest ‘daughter’, Abby, recently purchased 2 shops-lots in Bayu Perdana. She has done some renovations, taking the top 2 floors as offices for the businesses she is running, and is expecting to move into her new building within this month. My 2nd ‘daughter’ , Percy will be getting married next month. Its ‘s a dual celebration for my ‘family’, sort of double happiness!

I would be in euphoria land i.e. if I were truly their mother but as it is, sigh, …I am only their kaimah. (godmother). I suppose that’s better than no relationship at all. Both are good girls and I would be truly blessed if indeed they were the daughters I would never have. (come on, face it, even if I do get married tomorrow, at my age would I take the risk of having children? But let you in on a secret, I always pictured myself having sons, rather than daughters and had in fact decided on names for my boys, Damien, Ethan and Fabian.. D, E and F. And if got more, carry on from there … Gavin, Hayden, Ivan…., eh .. maximum 6 okay! Carry on dreaming…)

I don’t remember how it happened or when it happened but overnight, lo and behold, I became a godmother! I know for a fact though that they ‘adopted’ me rather than the other way around. What! You all think I pointed a knife at them and said “call me kaimah or you die?”

Both of them couldn’t be more different and yet both have their own virtues. (and faults, but who doesn’t?)

Abby’s the noisy one blessed with the gift of the gab. Like the Chinese saying, something about ‘bird also can be conned to come down from the tree’, that she can do. People are generally drawn to her as she has a ‘presence’ and it’s not just because of her height. She is strong in character and I know I need not worry about her because she’s quite capable of taking care of herself. Better than I can take care of myself even!

Percy’s much more reticent, a typical ‘goat.’ But she can be chatty when she’s with people she’s familiar with. She’s more sensitive and hurt more easily. I admit I don’t quite ‘approve’ of my future godson-in-law (shhhush…) and have for ages, been skeptical about his ability to take care of a wife the way a man should. Maybe I am being over-protective. I really hope my perception of him is wrong though and that my feelings for him stem from a personality clash rather than that he is ‘bad’.

Funny how I always figured that I was just a kaimah in name only. We did not go through any ceremony whereby I was expected to give them big angpows when they kneel to serve me tea. Wahhh .. picture that … “Yum char, Kaimah … ” Gaya…

They do in public, call me kaimah and I suppose many people wonder “apa sal ini kaimah so young?” (ahem!) Abby is 12 yrs my junior and Percy, 17. Most kaimahs I know are rich older ladies, or if they aren’t rich, maybe they are rich in wisdom, both of which I tak ada. I have told them from early on that upon my death, their total inheritance will amount to RM3200.00 each. That’s all, whoa!

In recent days, 2 separate incidents pointed out me that these ‘adoptions’ was less than a farce than I thought.

About a week ago, Abby took me to dinner. Her mother (i.e. her biological mother –la) happened to call and I overheard Abby telling her mum that she was dining with kaimah. That really stunned me as all along I thought I was 'kaimah' only within our group of friends. Abby nonchalantly told me her mum was aware she had a kaimah and I thought to myself “wow.! I didn’t know that.”

Last Saturday, Percy gave me a box of wedding cake (part of the dowry given by the groom). She told me last night that the cakes were only given to relatives and her sister had advised her that it was only right she gave me a box since I was 'part of the family’.

Both of these incidents touched me more than I would imagine. From here on, I better take my role of kaimah seriously. So help me God to be the kind of kaimah that my 2 girls deserve …

F

Mamma Mia Mania

Its seems like Mamma Mia Mania is hitting our shores! Both the movie and the musical seems to be the talk of the town this past month. I do like Abba songs when i was a teenager but i don't think that much about them now. That was why i wasn't willing to fork out a few hundred RM to buy the tickets for the Musical ,unlike some people ...wink wink!
And even when the movie hit the cinemas i still didn't feel the need to come out with the few Rm to buy the tickets!!! I didn't see the hype in it but it kept resounding in every conversation with every single group of my friends! Every where i turned , there was someone asking me if i saw that movie.
So finally i had the DVD in hand ,courtesy of Fong but even then i kept for almost a month before i stuck it into the player! I only did that cuz i thought it was way over due and i had better return that disc to her . I know its a popular one and everyone is probably asking for it.
So this Sunday afternoon i lay on the sofa , with legs propped up and a pillow or 2 as cushions for my head and opened a whole new Abba mania.
It is an entertaining movie, with a simple story line. Of course the songs are the best part of the movie. I had forgotten how catchy they are and how everyone can sing along and dance to them! there were a couple of songs that i don't even know ..... but i love the majority of them if not all!
I can understand now how some of my friends are ooooo-ing and ahhh-ing over this movie and some even watched it more than once!
I love the mum and daughter relationship in the movie ~ which brought tears to my eyes. If u know me and what i went thru this past month , u will understand. Out of the 3 men i like Pierce Brosnan the best.... of course , lah! As for the bride and groom , i didn't think they were all that good looking but towards the end i did like the groom better.
My fave songs for the show.... i think its Mamma Mia and Winner takes it all...... or maybe, Dancing Queen and Honey Honey...... but then again i like Super Trouper and Thank You for the Music......oh i forgot about SOS and Money ,Money ,Money!!! ..... heck, i think i like them ALL!!!!

E-bba!!!!

Upon this rock I will build my Church ...

It irks me sometimes when people ask if I am a Catholic or a Protestant.

Thinking it over I suppose they don’t know better. By ‘Catholic’, they are referring specifically to Roman Catholicism as opposed to “Protestant”, which is too ambiguous an expression; like asking if someone is a Malaysian or a creature of the earth.. (which covers both human and animals! Something like that-la.)

Do you know, we do not call ourselves Protestants? To me, I am just a ‘Christian.’ (of the Pentecostal denomination). Only those of the Roman Catholic Churches has a tendency to call Christians of other denominations Protestants. In other words, Protestantism is often a general term merely to signify that one is not a Catholic.

Now, this seems too good a topic not to blog about. Don’t worry, I am not going to touch on sensitive issues but it is my intention to give you all a brief lesson in the history of the Church. Hah… that’ll teach you not to call me a “Protestant.”

Catholic comes from the Greek word, KATHOLIKOS which means “throughout the whole, or universal” and was used as a general reference to the ENTIRE Christian church until the reformation period. (which I will touch on later.)

Prior to 313 A.D. Christians in the Roman Empire were often brutally prosecuted and given opportunities to avoid further punishment by publicly offering sacrifices or burning incense to Roman gods. Refusal was punishable by arrest, imprisonment, torture and executions.

Constantine I ‘legalised’ Christianity when he became the Emperor in 313 A.D. and Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

The next 400 years saw many new beliefs added to the Roman Church. In 1054, a break in the church occurred and the western (Roman Catholic) and the eastern (Greek Orthodox) churches developed separately. It must be pointed out that Roman Catholics cannot claim exclusive right to the term “Catholic” as even today, some of the orthodox churches are also Catholics!

Fast forward to the year 1517 (though its roots lie further back in time) when Martin Luther (not to be confused with Martin Luther King, the civil rights activist famous for his “I have a dream” speech. Again not to be confused with the song “I have a dream” by ABBA) started the Reformation movement.

Luther was convinced that within the Church were malpractises and the movement began as an attempt to reform the Church. In 1529, the Emperor Charles V attempted to smother Luther’s movement by banning Luther’s documents but some of the German state princes stood up in protest. Thus, because of their protest, the movement began to be known as the “Protestants.” (The word “Protestant” is derived from the Latin “protestari” meaning publicly declare which refers to the letter of protestation issued by these princes against this decision.) What had originally been intended to reform Catholicism from within was now a split from the original body. Despite Luther’s attempt to present his views and beliefs, the division between Catholic and Protestants remain even up to this day.

In the wake of the reformation movement, Martin Luther started the first “Protestant” or “Evangelical” church but before long, different opinions in the interpretations of the Scripture and the split along doctrinal lines caused a rift. This led to a division in the reformed church and the emergence of several rival ‘Protestant/Evangelical’ churches or denominations e.g. Lutherans, Calvinists, Presbyterians.

Today, the Christian World database records about 9,000 denominations throughout the world. When you ask “ are you a Catholic or a protestant ?” you could very well be referring to any of the 8,999 denominations….

F

11 years

just yesterday, Nov 6, my babies celebrated their 11th birthday !! (I thought they were 10 cos i asked for 10 candles for their birthday cake). I could still remember vividly when I was preparing to go into the operating theater for the C. Now both my twins are 11.. my oh my how time flies. I was just going through some photos when they were babies, 1 year old, two, 1st day in kindergarden and those cheeky smiles with their new school uniforms and water tumbler swing across their shoulders.

Now, my son is standing tall - he is taller than me. (sigh..) My daughter is almost catching up with me, too. Do we actually "shrink" as we grow older but wiser ?? Those were the days when we celebrate our birthdays with our friends at home and giggle ourselves silly and playing indoor games under the watchful eyes of our parents. Nowadays, children celebrate their birthday with friends at shopping malls, playing games, watching movies or karaoking....... Parents are not "invited" but please be the paymaster.......

Very soon they will be in secondary and then hopefully college or uni.

S......

P/s Happy birthday to M, too. She shares the same birthdate with my twins. :-)

Just one Sunday

“You will live till 77. Whatever illness you were suffering from the past few months will be over. You were going through some problems but that’s all in the past. From here on your life will be smooth. Family relationship all okay. You very clever to spend money! But even though you have difficulty with your savings, financially you are okay. "

That was the prediction given by the Indian tarot card reader to SooSan at The Curve.


SooSan and the seer ...

Let me start from the beginning…. Ha! Force me to blog, I very cheong-hei one!

E had planned to meet up with an old friend in IKEA on the Sunday before Deepavali. She invited me along since she found out (and to her utter amazement!) that I had NEVER stepped into IKEA. (Jinjang Joe). We asked Pauline to meet us there so we could have dinner after that. Since the car had room for 3 more, E asked her other sis-in-law ie. Mrs Lee, Li Cheng & SooSan to come along. (She said these people all very free one and true enough all said okay)

The day before, E had a bad case of food poisoning … simply eat la. When I sms-ed to ask how she was that night, she replied that she had slept the whole day and was going back to bed again. I had my doubts that she would be well enough to go out the next day and I thought to myself, perhaps its not my nasib to visit IKEA lor?

The next morning, surprisingly E had recovered enough to make the trip after all. It must be the thought of “a good dinner” that revived her?? We all know how she feels about food, like plants crave the sunlight and bees to flowers.The malu-fying thing was, E told everyone we were going for a good dinner but she omitted to tell them that we were only going to a food court!

I learnt that Mrs Lee’s daughter, Hui Hui had decided to join us oldies and they drove up earlier with Li Cheng so we only had to pick SooSan. On reaching IKEA at about 4.00 pm, E went to meet her friend.

I stood at the entrance with Pauline and SooSan and was awed by the crowd going into IKEA. The two of them didn’t mind if we skipped IKEA altogether. (So its back to me NEVER stepping into IKEA before, again.) The other 3 had already made their rounds and were having drinks at Starbucks. We opted to join them since Pauline and I were each dying for a smoke.

As it got shadier towards the evening we took a walk at the flea market hoping to find bargains but there were none. Call it a flea market yet everything was so expensive!

We leisurely strolled the Curve and came across a few booths promoting goodies for Deepavali. Among them was this Indian Tarot card reader. Mrs Lee told us that she has had her fortune read many times in Klang where it costs about RM 5.00. The rate was double here. We stood around like busybodies, trying to eavesdrop on what his translator (a pretty Indian girl) was saying to a client who eventually bought a horse-shoe along with some incense from him.

After much nudgings and encouragments, SooSan sat down for a reading. A little green bird (so cute) came out of its cage and picked a card that would fortell her future ... "you will live till 77 ..."



the little green bird ...

Mrs Lee made Hui Hui sit down next. Little bird, like clockwork, came out, picked a card then went back to its cage. All ears strained to hear what was in stored for her...

“You will live till 72.” And then…. “Even though there are obstacles in your marriage, it will happen. It is actually better for you to get married later but don’t worry, it will happen soon.” By now, Mrs Lee’s face was all aglow and she couldn’t help but asked, “will the boy come from near or far?” He said through the translator “that I cannot tell you but I can tell you, you will marry for love.” (Mrs Lee seemed to be floating now….) You will have lots of money. For the moment you will stay at your current job. Maybe next year there will be changes… Your family members all very close but after marriage, relationships will be even better…. “

who more excited .. Mrs Lee or Hui Hui ??

I suggested that Mrs Lee sat down for a reading. She could ask the fortune teller when to expect grandchildren but she declined saying that it didn’t matter. We went off noticing that there were quite a few Chinese queuing up after us … They too were eavesdropping during Hui Hui’s reading.

Soon after meeting up with E and after Hui Hui and I had each bought 3 shirts each, we left and drove to 888 for dinner. Dinner was followed by drinks at a mamak store. We parted ways at about 11.20pm and I accompanied E to pick up her dad from a depot somewhere in Damansara. He was coming back from Singapore.

It was 1.00 am when I reached home. I was tired but happy cos’ I came home with new clothes and most of all, ahhh.. I thought, what a pleasant way to spend a day.

F

The Hymn that touched my heart

My sis chose this hymn to be sung at my mum's funeral mass and it's been stuck in my head ever since. The first time i heard it at the chapel, it brought tears to my eyes. But i loved it immediately. At my mum's funeral mass , the first hymn that was sung was this one as well. And my brother turned to me in the middle of the hymn and clutched my hand in his , smiled with tears streaming down his eyes and nodded his head, as if to say Mum will love this :) And it chocked me up as well.
This morning i woke up and decided that i am brave enough to watch the video of my mum's funeral mass. And i broke down again . It was good therapy tho cuz i was starting to feel guilty about not grieving more when my dad and brother seems to be taking it quite hard.
I listened to all the songs we played at the wake today and it felt good to have another good cry! but this one still ranks as my fave.

Eyes filled with tears

In Loving Memory of my Mother

Born on the 29th May 1932, my mother , Beatrice Tan Cheng Bee was called Baby! With a baby doll face and the fave of her dad, she grew up into a beautiful girl and later an elegant woman. Her natural maternal instincts made her give up her job and dedicate every single moment of her life to being a wonderful mother. I have so many memories of her ~ she was a very hardworking housewife who cooked up fantastic dishes that all my friends marvelled at and savoured up till our plates were clean. Sweet as she was, the disciplinarian in her didn't let us get away with any nonsense!! ( even tho i did try several times to outsmart her but she still caught on !!) She was always there for me ,being extra strong when the baby of her family ( me lah!) had to venture to the east coast of the peninsular for the new job! I heard her cry in the night and my dad hushed her up for fear that i would hear! She was there for me thru all my casual and serious relationships , giving me advice on how marriages work, and eventually how to care for my own babies. Needless to say , she was the best grandmother any one can dream of for their children and mine were the luckiest. She was always a friend to her children and her grand daughters. When the IT age came , she surprised us immensely with her ability to catch on and we spent endless hours almost every night on MSN , chatting and having our laughs online.
For the past year tho , she had started to weaken and eventually she couldn't do all the things that she loved . It pained us to see her this way and even tho we know she is in a better place now with the Lord , our hearts still ache for her. We miss her every single day but her love will always shine on us and she knows that we will love her endlessly till we meet again in heaven.

We love u , MA...always and forever.

E-mpty without u!

Trip to Tg. Sepat

Let me blog about this trip while its still clear in my mind! We just got back slightly more than an hour ago. I am tired but had a good time in Tg. Sepat.
This was kind of an impromptu trip. We didn't spend much time planning this event. F had always wanted to go back to TS (Tanjung Sepat) ~ i think she is only interested in the snacks factory there . She loves the kerepek's there !! I don't think they are all that fantastic but i am game for any trip that has food :)
We decided at the last minute to go on a Saturday instead so S couldn't go. She has parental duties at 5pm. M couldn't really commit and finally said she other plans. Pauline fell sick at the last minute and had to cancel. But prior to her SMS i had already invited 2 more people to fill up the car space. And on the morning of the trip i invited 3 more cuz at the last minute i remembered that these 3 did mention that they would like to go if i ever do plan one. The journey that was suppose to start at 1pm, got postponed to 1.15pm cuz F said that she may be a bit late. And then Ping said that she has to drive her son for a medical check up, so we re-scheduled at 1.30pm . But finally we only started out at 2pm !!
I was so hungry that we couldn't wait to reach TS for lunch. We made a stop at Telok Panglima garang to have lunch. The food was delicious and cheap. We had 7 different dishes and it all came to RM111 :) nice number so we put our bets on the number 1117 ( 7 of us were there!) and 7111 but eventually we bought all the combinations . It only costs us 3.50 each !!!!
Our next stop was the Lingzhi farm .

We bought some stuff here from fresh oyster mushrooms to lingzhi powder and ginger powder. From there we went to the pau shop. They have the special "mui choy" pau . We tested every pau they have so we could decide on which ones we like. There were 6 different types from veggie ones to kaya , and read bean to meaty , mui choy and peanuts. Our next stop was the factory that sells crisps and snacks , its called arowana malayan food industries( don't ask me why!) I didn't see any fishes there! I didn't really like most of the snacks there but i did like the pumpkin one so i bought just that. Some of the products sold there :~
It was almost 6pm by then so we came home. It was dark by the time we got home. I find it a very satisfying trip ~ short and nice :) Good company , great food and lots of laughs :)

E-ating trip!

22 mins ....

Our Lady of Lourdes Church

a shop along Little India

It was an unexpected trip down memory lane for me….

For the final installment of my car’s hire purchase, the Bank advised me to go personally so they could issue me a release letter immediately. I figured it was more logical to take a bus as driving all the way to Klang would definitely stress me out.
The bus-stand is situated across the road from my shop. It is literally a bus-stand because you really have to STAND while you wait, since no benches are provided. There is no sign to indicate it is a bus-stand, we just know it is.

Some things never change. Because of its proximity, I can wait at the sidewalk of my shop and run across when the bus approaches. The best part is you can board ANY of the public buses with no chance of ever catching a wrong bus as they all stop at the terminal in Klang. Should too many oncoming cars causes you to delay reaching the other side, don’t worry. You can stand at the divider and wave like a mad woman and the bus will stop for you in the middle of the road! Staying in a town area like Port Klang has its benefit!

9.45am, Wednesday morning saw me asking the bus driver how much was the fare to Klang. He replied RM1.20. You drop the coins at a slot and the driver hands you a ticket. They did away with the bus-conductors ages ago, did you know? Less one career choice-loh, although I don’t know if anyone would admit that his/her ambition is to become a ‘bus conductor la!’ Anyway, the fare used to be 25cts only! Tsk!! Tsk !! Of course those days the buses weren’t air-conditioned.

The 1st few minutes were uneventful. We reached the Simpang Lima roundabout and the bus took the road past Our Lady of Lourdes Church and Convent Klang. Oh my, when did the Church build its annex? Is the Klang Library still around? How long ago was it since I passed through this part of town?

Next to Convent, there used to be a food court. It was where the Rojak Sepanyol had its humble beginnings, and the assam laksa was 1st class along with the Sotong Kangkong, Satay, ABC, Nasi Lemak etc…etc…remember, S & M? We went often didn’t we? Or at least I know I did.

As the bus inched its way slowly along Jln Tengku Kelana, (Little India) once called Rembau Street, I recalled there used to be lots of dental clinics in this vicinity. As a fifth former I visited each one of those clinics explaining I was a dental student, and how grateful I would be if they could spare me ‘teeth’ that had been extracted from patients. (Kept in bottles of disinfectants.) Aiyoh.. you all think I weird -ah? Actually I was doing my friend, Ramlah, a favour. She was doing Dentistry in U.M. then. I have lost touch with her since but not before hearing she was lecturing in U.M. after completing her course. Now you know why I didn’t do well in my studies. I was busy helping others to succeed.

The bus stopped at a red light just outside Chin Trading. It looks the same after all these years. This was where we bought materials for our school’s art projects i.e. screen-printing, decoupages, tie-and-dye, copper tooling …and don’t know what else. The medals, trophies and plaques displayed on the right side of the shop reminded me how I had longed to be awarded with even the tiniest one of those medals during my school days. Fat chance ‘cos I didn’t excel in games, or studies so none of those dreams of me receiving a trophy ever came true! It struck me that morning that I could probably afford to buy anything in the showcase, maybe even the whole lot, but it’s not something I crave for anymore. Dreams change…

The light turned green and the bus went past Masjid India, now undergoing renovations, and up the bridge. We’ve almost reached our destination.

Year ago, Great Wall Supermarket along with all the shops below it, including the bus terminal had been demolished. The terminal is an open-air concept now. I see touts for bus companies’ announcing the destination of each bus about to take off with megaphones. Yes we have arrived. I looked at my watch….... 22 mins. was all it took.

As I stood there, trying to decide the fastest route to get to the bank, I see the changes around me. Ahhh … that’s another story ….

F

Ipoh Casuarina's yukky buka puasa buffet!

Buffet dinner at Casuarina Ipoh!!
( the right place always.... if u are looking for the WRONG food!)
F had to entertain her clients/customers in Ipoh so we tumpang makan juga!!! The hotel is supposedly a 4 star one ( bleugh!) but the garden terrace dining place was full even tho her customer had booked 2 weeks in advance ( why so popular i have no idea! ) Maybe its cuz its Puasa time. So we had to go for the cheaper buffet upstairs at the banquet hall. The spread is slightly smaller but it was very Malay in style. I do enjoy Malay food but this time around it was not my cup of tea. The fish curry tasted weird , and the rest of the food was all sub-standard! I think i can get better food at the buka puasa bazaar! Ptui!
The most disappointing is that this particular buffet does not seem to replenish its food nor drinks!!! We went home terribly dehydrated , no one came over to fill our glasses of plain water, and even the drinks counter ran out of syrup drinks and teh tarik!!!
And get this ~ we had to literally brew our own coffee and not with the simple 3 in 1 but from a huge packet of Nescafe powder with a spoon in it !!!! Faint Faint!!! ( Ini macam hotel standard!??)
The dessert spread was pathetic too ~ Malay cakes are suppose to be the best desserts around but it was all yukky!! The only edible one was the cucur which we only managed to get 2 plates of 5 pieces, and i think we only ate 2 each! And that was it ~ they didn't bother to fry more even tho the kuali was still there filled with hot oil! There were the keropok lekor left but we had to eat that plain cuz they ran out of chillie sauce!!!
So we left the buffet dinner water-less, teh tarik-less, cucur-less and chillie sauce-less! My sis had told me that they have cakes on offer from 6pm to 10pm there so i bought 2 slices of cheese cakes ~ an Oreo one and a marble choc one. And when i ate the Oreo one , it was stale and i had to spit out it out ! Geez, i wonder if all the 4 stars lost its twinkle at the hotel!!
Ipoh with its city status , Pul-lease lah , maintain your standards or else Ipoh will no longer be food haven !!!

E-eeeewwwww!

Back in Blog-land again!

I had been busy and as i looked at our blog, i knew that i had laid off for too many days without blogging. U can't blame me ~ this is always the time of year that i totally allocate ALL my time to my kids who are back for their summer vacation. Everything is put on hold and all my waking hours are spent with them! If i could i would even cancel my classes and just spend 24/7 with them but that's not me! I can't let my students down ~ they may all decide to abandon me as well and then i will be left with no classes when summer ends!

So come mid July till the start of September my Femstuff blog is E-less!! The other Fems know that i am ultra busy at this time of the year so they do their part to keep this blog alive. Thanks F and S! I am back in action now , giving a gist of whats been happening.

1. My 2nd one arrived home in mid July and a few weeks later big no1 came back too.

2. we made a trip back to Ipoh to visit the grandparents.

3. We had weekend sessions of chiap-koot :)

4. No1's birthday arrived and we went for karaoke at Greenbox

5. A trip to a durian plantation in Jugra followed by a wonderful lunch of "beggar's chicken" etc

6. BBQ seafood at my house

7. Up to the highlands ~ my sis wanted to spend time with the kids

8. Trip to Phuket Island in Thailand.

9. Another journey up north to Ipoh again ~ to test out my NGV too :)

10. We had another karaoke session ... to sing our hearts out! We had free vouchers to use up anyway!

11. Popiah party to celebrate a pre-21st B-day for No2.

12. Steamboat dinner at home , also to test out the new multi cooker for No2.

PS: we also had a karaoke session in the capsule with another avril!!!! It was fun too :)

When it came time for Bye-bye's , little weepy sessions at the airport made us feel that 2 months flew by too fast. We had lots of quality times together but all good things have to come to an end. We go back to our humdrum lives and pray that the next 10 months fly by as fast as they can. We pray that God keeps us in his safe hands as we part and may He bring us back together next year to enjoy each other's company again.

To the Aunties who have made the reunion so much more meaningful...... we thank u with all our hearts! Life is so meaningful with great friends and lots of family love!

E-ndings lead to new beginnings

bandung trip

wah....... truly enjoyed my bandung trip. Relaxing, shopping, eating, shopping.....

Our bandung trip was from Aug 27 - 30, 2008 - 4D3N. We begin our journey from LCCT in the morning. Our flight was 0950 hrs and we were suppose to start from our place at 0700 hrs. Everyone was punctual except Fi ! She overslept ! We waited for her till almost 0730 hrs arriving with her normal sleepy face "I just got up face". So off we went in Toyota Camry to LCCT. We checked in and had breakfast in McD - tuna sandwich while waiting for our flight.

We reached Bandung and did not expect the airport to be like that ! Suppose to an international airport but we were caught by the condition of the airport. The best part was all hand carry must be scanned before we can take our hand carry luggage out ! Anyway, our driver, Pak Ujang was already in the airport waiting for us. He is probably about 30+. Our 1st stop was to go for lunch. We told him we wanted to eat sudanese food so when we arrived at the restaurant, it was already pack and decided to have nasi padang instead. The rest of the gang, Sam and Fi was new to the way food is serve. When we arrived at the restaurant, we ordered our fruit juice and when the food was serve, both Sam and Fi was shocked ! We had almost 15 types of different food serve in plates. Hehehe.... eh... how to finish so many food. I said, aiya dont worry lah, we only pay for what we eat lah... I ordered "ayam pop" for each of us. We finish almost 8 dishes or more and the bill came to about RM50 including drinks. Not bad lah for our 1st meal in Bandung. After lunch, we check into Hotel Selera. Had to wait for about 20 mins as our rooms were not ready. When we finally checked into our rooms, hhmm... not bad lah. Two single beds (but the mattress was so so - lembik and squeaky) and importantly "clean" and clean..

We told the driver we want to look for jeans and he took us to "Tokoh Tiga". I only bought a shirt there. Everyone was like so stressed out cos din get to spend money...hahhahaa. The 2nd stop .... everyone went gagaa.... the whole street, left and right outlets after outlets.... suddenly all stresssss has disappear and the super strength just appear. Wah.. shop, shop, shop and buy and buy until dinner time. Luckily it was only foursome. We had extra space in the MPV to put away our shopping bags !! We had dinner at Calista up in the hill. On the way, it was raining and traffic was choatic with jams everywhere. Everyone was tired but was happy as 1st day we manage to buy what we wanted. The food served was good. We tried the western and their local fare ...hhmmm goes well with our whisky... yum yum.......

2nd day... we started at Happenings..... and shop our way to DSE..., mode... dona tello....

3rd day.. sight seeing - crater

4th day... home sweet home... after 8 hours waiting in the airport. BTW, no one warn me about the condition of the airport which incidentally suppose to be an international airport. Our flight was delay due to poor weather and yes, air asia did serve us free dinner, japanese bento set. OK lah..... we finally arrived home in the wee hours the next day liao....

From.. S.

Money rules...

Within each family, the siblings are invariably made up of two categories i.e. the “Haves - those considerably more affluent and the “Have-nots”, their poorer relatives. Where my family is concerned, there’s only one “Have” while the rest of us sadly, falls under category 2.

My 2nd sister, more commonly known as “Datin”, (because she’s always harboured a desire to have this title bestowed upon her) is the only one in my family considered to have ‘made it’. Most of the time, the fact that she’s well off doesn’t go to her head or makes her behave like an incorrigible snob. On the contrary she’s always been more than generous so occasionally, when she does get all high and mighty, we indulge her and allow her to ‘act up’ as if it’s her right. There have been instances though, when her acting-up backfires and places her in awkward or comical situations!

There is 1 particular incident that never fails to tickle me whenever I am reminded of it.

Most of our family gatherings take place at our ancestral home i.e. at the shop so on the few occasions that meals are taken in Klang, we make it a point to drop by datin’s house for coffee. (Coffee’s our family’s preferred beverage.)

One Sunday we all proceeded to 2nd ‘s home after a hearty lunch. As always, the initial part of our visit was filled with much oohing and aahing over her recent purchases. Depending on what her latest craze is, or that of our brother-in-law, there is always something new for her to show off to us. (Between the two of them I don’t know who is the more compulsive shopper. Imagine having Chairman Mao’s bust as part of the house décor!) Admittedly, a lot of gizmos, widgets and gadgets found in her house are things I have never seen before in my sheltered life.

While male members of our family lounged at the sitting room, we girls huddled over the kitchen table and Supri, our maid hastened to prepare the much craved for coffee. 2nd commented that the brand of 2-in-1 kopi-o that was being brewed wasn’t sweet enough and suggested we add in more sugar to enhance the taste. She said that her husband, Chai, who had just returned from Sydney after seeing their eldest son settle in for his studies, had brought back a particular brand of sugar from Australia that was quite expensive by normal standards and lucky us would have a chance to taste it!

The question in our minds then was why would people pay more for sugar? Did it contain special nutrients we were unaware of? But of course we, the have-nots couldn't possibly know what goes on in the minds of the wealthy.

When the ‘special’ sugar was brought out in a normal transparent container, (amidst more oohings and aahing) the bumpkins that we were couldn’t help but gawked at it.

I beg to be excused because I do not spend a lot of time in the kitchen so it was conceivable that what was placed before us was “expensive” sugar in cube form. They weren’t white or brown like the sugar I am used to but more translucent, like ice cubes.

Mei Cheng, the only one of us girls considered to have inherited our mum’s cooking skill, blurted out … “How come look like rock sugar one?” The rest of us gasped at her apparent audacity to dare say something like that. True enough, 2nd glared at her and sounding rather pissed off, said, “Don’t know don’t simply talk!!” The rest of us, not wanting to annoy her further, chastised Mei Cheng and made eye signals for her shut up.

Try as we might, none of us could uncap the container so 2nd got Mei Mei’s daughter to take it over to my bro-in-law to have it opened. She came back with the now uncapped container, saying “ Uncle Chai wants to know what you want to do with the …(you guessed it!) rock sugar! “

Now wasn’t that plain embarrassing?

Apparently the expensive sugar does exist except that my sister paid no heed to where our bro-in-law kept it. She, another one of those who hardly spends time at the kitchen did not know the difference between ROCK SUGAR and sugar for daily use, simply assumed that the container she took out was the correct one.

In the end we finally decided to use regular sugar for the kopi-o and well, guess Mei Cheng had the last laugh but no need to guess whose face was the reddest?

F

food - glorious food

because of good food....... brains can also makes "mistakes".... like this one : )

YS : Aunty.. wah... the durians veli good... yum yum....
PL : Yeah.... good lah....
E : Hhmm... goooooooodddd
S : Good leh....

YS : Container oso cute.... :-)

Everyone was enjoying the durians in the kitchen at E's house. Suddenly, D came in, eh.. how come u all eating durians, never call me, ah ??? D oso started to "dig" into the durians... follow by JJ...

JJ : Eh, do u know our maid, can speak Hokkein, ah ? everyone like wahhh.... betul kah ??
she ask, wat is "gau chap" and "chet phak". the maid oso says.. she has been a doctor, nurse, and many more posts.....

S : eh.... u all better becareful... she could be a "heckel n jackel" character...

JJ, YS and others : HUH ?? Suddenly everyone burst into laughter .. hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah....... YS.. laughed so much till she cried..... with durians in her mouth.....

S : oh...... how silly of me....

from : S

Was it ... or wasn't it?

When well-meaning friends learnt that I was going to Phuket at the start of the Hungry Ghost month, everyone wanted to put in their two cents worth of opinions, the scary kind of course! I am not prone to superstitions but that doesn’t mean I don’t believe in the existence of ghosts. Still, I have always felt that the chances of my encountering one was pretty remote or so I thought.

My roommate while in Phuket, Pauline, on the other hand has this unfortunate knack of bumping into ‘them’ every now and then. It’s always thrilling, listening to her ramblings, much like watching horror movies. Except in her case, they are true events! There have been many stories of haunting after the Tsunami took thousand of lives in Phuket. That, coupled with the fact that we were going at this time of the year when ghosts were allowed to roam free, all added to the suspense. Pauline was supposed to, no, not “kiss and tell” but “meet and tell” while I imagined myself to be blissfully unaware even if these strange encounters take place right under my nose.

Our hotel, Best Western Ocean Phuket is located towards the end of Karon Beach. The front of our rooms faces some lush greenery, which the kwai-lohs might love… being so close to nature, while our balconies offer a nice view of the beach across the road. One added plus was a café bar placed at the lobby, complimentary for hotel guests so you can drink cups after cups of Latte, Cappuccino etc… oops but I am going off-course from my topic.

On our 1st night, after walking part of Patong beach and having dinner at BBK, (Jung Ceylon) we went back to the hotel with plans to meet at the games room after taking our showers. (Leaving home without the “chiap koot” set wasn’t an option. It goes where we go.)

Pauline asked if I wanted to shower first as she intended to do a 3-in-1 while in the toilet, i.e. smoke, shit and shower. (the 3 esses!) I decided to let her go first. In fact, if I wasn’t feeling so dirty and if Phuket’s weather wasn’t so hot, I might have contemplated skipping showers altogether!

While waiting for Pauline to finish, I decided to go for a smoke at the balcony. Ours was a non-smoking floor so it had to be done in secret. It’s funny how fear has this ability to creep up on you when you least expect it. Just as I unlatched the lock on the door leading to the balcony, an unexplained surge of terror suddenly gripped me. I could feel my heart beating at twice its speed, while my hands became clammy and my whole body filled with goose bumps. “Whoa…” I asked myself “what happened?”

Instead of going out to the balcony, I decided I didn’t need to smoke after all. I went to sit on the bed and turned the TV on so the room would be less quiet. As the beating of my heart slowly returned to normal, I convinced myself that it was just nerves. That’ll teach me to watch more horror movies!

At that moment Pauline came stomping out from the toilet and gave me that “I have just seen a ghost” look. She asked if anyone had come into the room. I said “no” but she emphatically asked again. “Are you sure? Did my brother come in?” I knew then that the brief feeling of fear I had felt earlier was not a coincidence. She muttered that she heard doors opening and I told her it was probably Jo getting spare towels from the cabinet outside our room. Pauline must have noticed how pale I’ve grown and decided to lay off the interrogation.

Much as I loathe leaving the feeling of security I got from being in the room with another human being and with the TV blasting away, I knew I had no choice but to have a quick shower. I decided then that the experience I just went through was to be my secret and mine alone.

While at the games room, E commented how bloodshot my eyes were and jokingly asked if I showered with my eyes open. Ironically she didn’t know how close she came to the truth with that statement. While I was washing my hair, simultaneously praying and denouncing the spirit of fear, I had a feeling of being watched and had opened my eyes abruptly, allowing the shampoo and the water to get into my eyes. Hmmm… I wonder if I completely rinsed off the shampoo from my hair before scrambling out of the bathtub.

On our way back to Klang, we brought up the topic of the strange encounter that night in Phuket. Contrary to what I thought, that same evening, Pauline did not complete her 3-in-1. While she was doing her second routine, she heard the front door opened and vaguely heard a male voice. This was followed by more opening and closing of doors and an additional two female voices contributing to the conversation. Hmm.. Perhaps she was afraid too and that’s why she decided NOT to shower but to come straight out of the toilet?

Where did the voices come from? Did the sounds Pauline heard of doors opening came from our room door, or was it next door's or did someone getting towels from outside our room cause them? Was it linked to the terror I had felt? Was there a logical explanation and we were just scaring ourselves? You be the judge …..

F

filial to family

How would you feel if one of your own children does not greet or acknowledge you when they see you in the streets or anywhere that matters.

Well, i reckon the person concerned will feel bad, unwanted and unappreciated and worst, unloved by their own flesh and blood. This feeling will lead to suicidal.

All children out there, Please do not do this to any one in your family...... As parents they have sacrifice everything to ensure their children are well taken care of from the time they are babies to having their own family. LEST not forget all the sacrifices, love showed no matter what !!!

From : S

OLD FAITHFUL

Dedicated to my faithful companion ..

We have been together since my 4th year at Seng Hup. (I was there for 7) When I left for Accord, she came along and we were there for 10 yrs. We both joined MPC in 2000 and left 2 years later. Since then, I've been with Oceantop and …. she’s here too.

Though she’s with me day in day out, it’s easy to forget her existence and take her for granted. Most times I ignore her even though I acknowledge she has faithfully trudged along without complaint each time I changed jobs. I haven’t always been gentle with her, that much I admit. Yet she quietly puts up with my harsh treatments without a whimper or a moan nor has she given any indication of giving up on me.

It took a comment from a friend who came by yesterday, someone I’ve known since my Accord days, to make me realize truly how loyal she has been. It suddenly struck me that it’s truly amazing how she had withstood the test of time despite my roughness and clumsiness. 21 years (and counting) is certainly a long time to stick with somebody through thick and thin.

Oh did I tell you I was referring to my MUG?


Perhaps, in a way I do love her. Had I not, would I have insisted she followed every time I changed job or moved office? There were times when I had forgotten where I had placed her. It would have been easier to just get a replacement but I remember looking high and low till I found her again. Mind you she’s no beauty but I have grown so accustomed to her that indeed, it would be a sad day for me when the time comes for her to be replaced....

F

Ugly, THe Tomcat

I thought this story was so beautiful I wanted to share it on this blog:

Everyone in the apartment complex I lived in, knew who Ugly was. Ugly was the resident tomcat. Ugly loved three things in this world: fighting, eating garbage, and, shall we say, love? The combination of these things, combined with a life spent outside, had their effect on Ugly. To start with, he had only one eye, and where the other should have been, there was a hole. He was also missing his ear on the same side. His left foot appeared to have been badly broken at one time and had healed at an unnatural angle, making him look like he was always turning the corner.

Ugly would have been a dark gray tabby, striped type, except for the sores covering his head, neck, and even his shoulders. Every time someone saw Ugly, there was the same reaction. "That's one ugly cat!!!"

All the children were warned not to touch him, the adults threw rocks at him, hosed him down, squirted him when he tried to come in their homes, or shut his paws in the door when he would not leave. Ugly always received the same reaction.

If you turned the hose on him, he would stand there, getting soaked until you gave up and quit. If you threw things at him, he would curl his lanky body around your feet in forgiveness.

Whenever he spied children, he would come running, meowing frantically and bump his head against their hands, begging for their love. If you ever picked him up he would immediately begin suckling on your shirt, earrings, whatever he could find.

One day, Ugly shared his love with the neighbor's dogs. They did not respond kindly, and Ugly was badly mauled. I tried to rush to his aid. By the time I got to where he was laying, it was apparent that Ugly's sad life was almost at an end.

As I picked him up and tried to carry him home, I could hear him wheezing and gasping, and could feel him struggling. It must be hurting him terribly, I thought.

Then I felt a familiar tugging, sucking sensation on my ear. Ugly, in so much pain, suffering and obviously dying, was trying to suckle my ear. I pulled him closer to me, and he bumped the palm of my hand with his head, then he turned his one golden eye towards me, and I could hear the distinct sound of purring.Even in the greatest pain, that ugly, battled scarred cat was asking only for a little affection, perhaps some compassion.

At that moment I thought Ugly was the most beautiful, loving creature I had ever seen. Never once did he try to bite or scratch me, try to get away from me, or struggle in any way. Ugly just looked up, completely trusting in me to relieve his pain.

Ugly died in my arms before I could get inside, but I sat and held him for a long time afterwards, thinking about how one scarred, deformed little stray cat could so alter my opinion about what it means to have true pureness of spirit, to love so totally and truly.Ugly taught me more about giving and compassion than a thousand books, lectures, talk show specials or sermons ever could. And for that, I will always be thankful. He had been scarred on the outside, but I was scarred on the inside, and it was time for me to move on and learn to love truly and deeply – to give my all to those I cared for. Many people want to be richer, more successful, well liked, and beautiful – except for me. I will always try to be Ugly. – Author unknown.

F

One-two-zhom

At this time of the year, between July & early September, our blog is not surprisingly, at a standstill. You hardly get any new postings. This is because E’s girls are home for the holidays and as one of the main contributors of the blog, she is busy playing mother and has no time to write. There is no excuse for me, S, or M not to blog and since the last contribution came from M, its S or my turn to write. Hmmm…S did mention she is busy with work since her colleague is on maternity leave. That leaves me-la and that's why this I entitled this posting as such-la.

I have no topic so I’ll just start by telling you 2 post-natal errr ..sorta jokes if you find them funny.

The first one is a true account of what took place one day when I received a call asking for my colleague. I told the caller that the person she was looking for was on maternity leave to which she replied rather excitedly “Yes-ah? She gave birth to what-ah?” I told her, “Gave birth to a baby-la!” Thinking back, it sounds kind of rude, doesn’t it? Well, I’ve not been known to be very tactful so I have no excuse. That’s just how I am-mah.

A pregnant lady, whose husband was away on a business trip, wasn’t due to deliver until a couple of weeks later. Unexpectedly, her water bag burst and her not-too-bright brother sent her to the hospital to have the baby delivered.

Hours later, upon recovering from the affects of the anesthetics, the doctor congratulated her on the birth of her baby girl and told her that her brother had already taken care of the baby’s birth certificate. Knowing that her brother wasn’t all that smart, she tremulously asked the doctor the name of the baby given by her brother for mention in the birth cert. The doctor smiled and said, “Denise”. Surprised and pleased, she heaved a sigh of relief as she felt that the name was rather nice.

That night, her brother came to visit and she told him she was happy with the name he had chosen for her baby. She asked him then, “Had the baby been a boy, what would you have named him?”

He replied, “Aiyo, of course ‘The Nephew-lah!”

She pengsan-ed because she realized that her brother had named the baby .. no, not "Denise" but “The Niece.”

Hahaha haha laugh at my own joke pulak!

In a couple of weeks, I will be going to Phuket with the Quays. “I can sense dead people” Pauline will be going too. The girls are afraid to share room with their Aunty Pauline because of her “ESP” so Aunty F will share room with her la. This could very well make an interesting topic for the blog. Ooooohhhhh .. Wait-loh...

F

ALL IN ONE BLOG

Hello,

Been reading the blogs my "chee mui" have posted. Looks like everyone are having some frustration, one way or the other over the M'sian politics....sad..sad...one issue after another..all the lies by all the swine who refuses to admit their wrong doings.

I have also been following on the updates of situation in Malaysia.....getting very bad...
As far as Asia Pacific is concern, I gather other then Vietnam having very major problem, the next country is Malaysia, very very significant...investors are all withdrawing from our country, share market not showing any good sign at all, below average income people are getting poorer by the days and poverty level is increasing.

Been wondering is it a blessing that I am here or otherwise....Lord knows better..and I trust Him for this arrangement.

Well...already been here for 3 months over, time really flies. I am going thru this confinement period now, 1st the excitement starting this new life is like giving birth to a baby, so now is the confinement period, neither here nor there....next I am waiting for full moon....then I should be ok.....hehehe...funny huh....!!!

The reason I am saying this is that at this moment I missed by social life back home....golf after work and weekends, chiapkoot, karaoke, outing...teh tarik..bla bla bla.....already looking forward to retirement. For early retirement sake....I will perserve with God's wisdom and guidance.....



Before I forgot I was suppose to share this with the FEMS, the last trip I was back home I found out ....whatever goes out comes around....people told me that words has been passing around quoting..."Margaret is filthy rich, eats a lot of money when she was with KFC and she was force to leave her ex-company, coz the company is investigating her but she is very lucky that the offer from Hong Kong came at the right time....."

No one only from one source...can you inmagine the believeable lies....!!!!! GUESS WHO...????? ...Scroll down for answer....ahahahah....

Answer : RAT

Well...all for now....will try to blog again soon ..hopefully..!!! Please F, E, S, thousand apology for not blogging so often.

B4 signing off, lets pray for the country. Amen...

Cheers

M

It's one BIG Lie !

It's not true about Kota Bharu's ban on high heels and makeup ..... Jed Yoong says this in her blog

Quote :

Wong Chun Wai can’t stop obsessing about how women in Kota Bharu dress. This time, he has gone too far by LYING that the Kota Bharu City Council (MPKB) has “issued an order to ban female workers of the MBKB and permit holders from putting on lipsticks or wearing high-heels”.
THIS IS FALSE. No by-law has been passed or enforced. An advisory on “preferred” modes of Islamic dressing was distributed.
Sinar Harian has corrected this blatant lie and irresponsible, unscrupulous and defamatory report by The Star and Bernama.

Unquote

Now why would the Star lie about this issue? Is it a coincidence that Kuantan falls under PAS's ruling (an opposition party in the eyes of BN) and is its purpose to instill fear in the hearts of the non-Muslims ?? ( There... there vote opposition la !)



F

clickety clack of heels ~ too sexy!

Boy, am i glad i am no longer working in KB! I was there for 2 years back in the 80's and it was nice back then. We had ample entertainment outlets and great places to hang out! I remember spending my weekends at clubs and discos. Those seemed like harmless and decent activities ~ heck i was hanging out with professionals like police inspectors, teachers, accountants, dentists and doctors.

That's all different now! And today i read in the papers that heavy make up and bright coloured lipsticks are not allowed !!! Even high heel shoes that tip taps their way around the office is a No-No! IF u really want to wear those , they have to be silent heels padded with rubber ! OMG!!!! I suppose the sound of heels tapping against the floor gives out lots of sexy vibes!!! And the bright lips..... hmm, maybe Gothic dark coloured lipstick is a good way to scare away rapists! So ladies if u don't want to be a rape victim, never leave the house looking good! Look as hideous as possible! Throw away the hair brush, never brush your teeth, oh maybe slap on some facial mask, grow more wrinkles , ...... and wear a sack!

KB council bans lipstick, high heels

KOTA BARU: Muslim women employees working here are forbidden to wear lipstick and high-heeled shoes to work.This directive is contained in a municipal council circular dated May 25 and signed by its president Shafie Ismail, which has been distributed to business premises here.A check, however, found that only a few tenants had received the circular this week.The circular stated that the directive, targeted at Muslim women employees working in food outlets and other business premises, was issued to prevent incidents like rape and illicit sex as well as to safeguard the morals and dignity of Muslim women in Kelantan.It stated that Muslim women were forbidden to wear thick make-up, bright coloured lipstick and high-heeled shoes which made a tapping sound.Those who insisted on wearing high-heeled shoes should choose those with rubber soles.Attempts to contact Shafie for clarification were futile.The directive on the wearing of lipstick and high-heeled shoes are in addition to the wearing of scarves, which should cover the chest and not be of transparent material, blouses with long sleeves, which were long and loose, as well as socks.Those who do not adhere to the regulation can be fined up to RM500. – Bernama

E-ars ~ the latest sex organs!