SELAMAT HARI RAYA

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my muslim friends Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri & Maaf Zahir Batin. Moga Aidilfitri kali ini memberi kita rasa kesyukuran & keinsafan dgn cara tersendiri.

This raya, our preparation boleh tahan jugaklah but the celebration memang serba serdahana. A day before raya, Azimin's aunty (Mak Ngah Saadiah) passed away @ Sg Buluh Hospital. We managed to visited her a week before raya masa on the way to Taiping.

The next day, masa pagi raya... tengah aku membebel-bebel sebab baju raya yang still tak siap2 lagi, suddenly I received a call from ayah to inform yang his uncle (my TOK CHIK) passed away before sembahyang raya. Dengan blur2 sebab memikirkan baju yang tak siap tu (I have cleared my wardrobe and sedekahkan most of the baju kurung to orang since banyak sgt baju lama yg over-sized) , I straight away capai baju kurung apa yg sempat and carik baju kurung for Anggun.

We straight away to Puchong without dropping by Ayah's house sebab Ayah & Mama pun nak ke rumah Tok Chik. Actually, setiap kali pagi raya memang semua adik-beradik ayah + the relatives (if tak balik spouse's hometown) will gather at Tok Chik's house. Pagi raya rumah Tok Chik will be crowded. This time as well but with the difference purpose.

That morning, Tok Cik was busy cooking for the food. After cooking (except the chicken), he went for shower and the maid only realized that he was still in the bathroom when they wanted to salam raya before going to sembahyang raya. The maid suspected something bila nampak air melimpah-limpah keluar dari bathroom and bila pecahkan pintu, Tok Chik dah tak ada. They are not sure samada Tok Chik terjatuh or not sebab his body tengah bersandar kat dinding masa diaorg jumpa. Jenazah Tok Chik selamat dikebumikn lepas sembahyang Asar...

Al-fatihah for both of them...

We went to Seremban (rumah mak wan, my grandma) lebih kurang pukul 1pm and reached Enstek before Maghrib. Tension jugaklah sebab we have been served the same food masa dekat Puchong (sempat lagi beraya rumah nenek sedara ku...) & Seremban, malam tu we including by brother pergi beraya kat McD.

I missed laksa johor & chocolate cake acik Ita sebab masing2 dah sibuk dengan arwah Tok Chik. Nasib baik sempat jumpa my uncles + aunties + relatives kat rumah Nek Enan. My grandma pulak buat nasi minyak on the 2nd raya which I will be @ Taiping... My grandma punya nasi minyak 1st class tau sebab pakai rempah from Terengganu. And everytime Azimin & me balik Terengganu (my parents jarang balik sana) or Azimin out-station ke sana, kitaorg memang akan dibekalkan dengan all the rempah2...

We left Enstek to Taiping on the 2nd raya, pukul 4.00am and reached Taiping about 8am (We stopped a few times sebab ngantuk!!!). At Taiping, beraya sakan la we all. Balik kampung abah kat Sg Bayor, Selama and rumah Njang (my mother in-law's sister - the only sister yang tinggal) kat Parit Buntar. The rest of the activities... pergi Tesco, Taiping Sentral, Taiping Golf Resort... Ada ker masa raya pun nak main golf... tension aku!!! After golf game, I forced Azimin to have a coffee at Starbuck (Eh! Kat Taiping Sentral dah ada Starbuck tau). Sebab aku dah tarik muka 14 inci, Azimin pun tak banyak cerita, ikut jer... memang la ikut jer, aku yang bayar!!!

Sempat singgah Doli (the famous kuew-tiow) on Saturday lepas Azimin's came back from fishing. Sunday early morning (our fav time, 4am) we left Taiping and reached Sg, Besi (rumah Mak Nah - Azimin's aunty) at 7.30am...

Nanti aku sambung lagi... I met a few old buddies with 1001 stories and approaches. And it refresh my memories until now... buat teringat zaman muda-muda... Eh! I'm not that OLD!!!

HARI RAYA Is Just Around The Corner!!!

Selamat Hari Raya, Aidilfitri Mulia,....

I played raya song everyday @ office esp bila tension tengah siapkan report yg due datenya a day b4 i'm going for raya leave!!! Once, my staff came over and cakap "hai, layan lagu raya seorang2 dalam bilik,"... what to do...

Raya preparation is almost done. Just pending a few things... my tudung, kasut Anggun, baju abah (my father-in-law), kuih raya for mama, baju kurung aku + Anggun & baju melayu Alam (my mum still belum siapkan!!!)... eh! banyak jugak tu...

We went for shopping last Wednesday without Alam. A day b4 that (Tuesday), I went to KL (along Jln TAR) to get some raya stuffs and managed to buy a few things... Baju kurung for mak (my mother-in-law) + my maid, another extra baju kurung for me (in case my baju raya tak sempat siap... i learnt from my 30 years experiences - i can count how many times my baju raya siap - which the earliest will be malam raya). Also bought few shirts for ayah.

Went to One Utama on Wednesday to buy the shirts for Anggun + Alam + Azimin & me. After 1/2 day in OU, then we move to IKEA & IKANO. Habis semua kedai di tawaf. Managed to buy a few things for me + CROCS sandal for mak. Lepas tu, we buka puasa @ Kluang Station. Lepas buka, we went to The Curve kejap to look for Anggun shoes. She wanted to buy Adidas shoes yg macam dia tengok @ Taiping (we didn't bought it sebab tak ada size masa kat Taiping). Tak jumpa!!! From One Utama, to IKANO to The Curve. Tak jumpa padahal that is the latest design.

Thursday, since still tak puas hati shopping (I prefer to shop alone actually), I took a cab to Mid Valley after office. Went to Metrojaya and bought 2 pants + 2 shoes. Berkenan tengok 1 handbag nie (purple colour) with 50% off tapi NO!!! Nanti over-spent la pulak... Drop by @ Jusco to buy a few baju duduk rumah for Anggun + Alam. After that, lalu dekat Renoma and sempat grab 1 shirt for Azimin. Ingatkan nak berbuka dekat Jusco Cafe tapi penuh la pulak. Then, b4 taking a cab, I just spent my time to 'belated buka puasa' kat San Frans...

Friday, sempat pergi Maju Junction dengan my friend. Mulanya nak window shopping but then, terbeli la pulak 1 tudung + blouse + accesories...

Kuih raya dah complete... still wondering either to buy kuih raya for mak @ Taiping or not. Selalunya, aku beli siap dengan balang kuih sekali... tengoklah budget nanti. Just need to look for a few kerepek + kacang for mama...

We will be @ ENSTEK or Kota Seriemas on malam raya. Pagi raya, after raya @ Kota Seriemas, we will go to Puchong, Subang, etc before pergi raya to rumah mak wan @ Seremban. The 2nd raya, we going to go back to Taiping... Lama tak makan Doli, tapi Doli mesti tutup sampai lebih seminggu.

What I want to EAT masa Raya? I wish to eat rendang ayam made my mama, laksa Johor & chocolate cake(acik Ita) & nasi minyak (mak wan). Dah lama tak makan blueberry cheesecake yang my schoolmate buat (Emmy). The last time yang aku dapat order cake dia, rasanya 4 tahun sudah. After that, Emmy selalu busy and this year, she is now 7 months pregnancy...

This year we might not organise any open house. Azimin is busy completing his thesis, our shop in UKM is going to be opened after raya, etc... Azimin promised for a grand open house next year after he got DR. Insyaallah...

I Need A Break!!!

Argh!!! Penat... Just came back from Taiping last Sunday. It was a very short time kat Taiping. Just sempat pergi Tesco 1X, brought my in-laws to Taiping Sentral (they just opened recently... banyak jugaklah duit habis), went to Taiping bazaar ramadhan 1X. Tak sempat nak pergi bazaar ramadhan kat kamunting oe changkat jering...

Bazaar ramadhan kat sini memang murah. i still boleh dapat ayam goreng with RM 1.00. Sudahnya, aku beli, Azimin beli, my father in-law beli... penuh satu meja. Tak sempat visited Doli pun this time...

Anggun not feeling well. She muntah2 and sakit perut, even coughing. Azimin brought her to Poliklinik UKM yesterday and we even got an advise from Dr. Lokman (our dear friend in HUKM - he is a friend of Azimin and being our main contact if we need anything @ HUKM. Tak payah nak beratur panjang2... u guys know what I mean. currently, he persuing his studies majoring in cosmetic surgery)

Dr. Lokman even offered Azimin & me to do some cosmetic surgery... mak oii, takutnya. No Doc. I'm comfortable with the way I'm now. Kang lawa sangat kang, susah pulak Azimin... hahahaha

But actually yes, I'm really comfortable with the way I am now. Tak pernah terlintas langsung nak buat plastic surgery or any cosmetical surgery nie... Some of my friends pernah cakap yg 'sedut lemak' just cost around RM 2K. Masa tu, a few people dah excited. Tup tup, some of our Health Sceiences people terus sergah... "jangan nak mengada. ada org yg mati sebab buang lemak". then, case close.

A few people told me that they like my skin complexion. Thanks for the compliments... Nay be all this while i never realised about it. Teringat when i was in Limkokwing dulu, people dah start cakap about my skin complexion but i just feel its normal. yelah, masa tu i was still not yet married and rasa biasa ajer. but now, bila dah ada 2 kids nie, when people mentioned that, i feel good!!! Its not that difficult to take care of my skin (face) since i never do any facial treatment. But, my skin @ hands are very sensitive. Terlanggar pintu pun lebamnya... mak oiii... Silap haribulan, orang ingat aku kena dera...

Again aku melalut... What to do, really out of idea. Actually, I wrote it half way and save it @ draft. bila sambung, tu yg entah apa2 tu...

What The Title Supposed To Be?

Cepatnya dah hari Jumaat… Azimin just confirmed last night that we are going back to Taiping today. They are going to fetch me from office and we will drop at Sg. Buluh Hospital to visit Azimin’s aunty before heading to Taiping. Where to break fast? Dunno… I can’t think about it right now. Silap-silap, just dalam kereta jer… hehehe

My maid has arrived last Tuesday. We went to get her from Aunty Ita (the agent), which also Afiq’s mother. Who is Afiq? He is Marina’s bf. Who is Marina? She is my cousin… Actually, Afiq’s family has been closed with us for quite sometimes. Pergi rumah Aunty Ita, we not just only taking the maid but siap berbuka puasa, beli biskut raya and also dapat telekung. Food for breaking fast, mak oii… banyaknya…

We reached home quite late but still sempat to teach my maid to use some electrical appliances + some basic things on what to do. Nasib baik Azimin will be at home the next day. After a few days, she looks ok and the kids pun ok with her.

Another tiring week!!! Quite busy actually, banyak yg ad hoc things. I received a call from the editor, requested a few articles. Sampai 4 pulak tu… and 1 urgent… I still don’t have anything in mind sebab the themes are ‘in future’… Still thinking on the characters and dah start buat some research. Penat sungguh bila kena berfikir macam nie.

That’s life, writing is my soul. No matter where I go, what I do and what is my career, I still go back to write. I still remember on my first appearance in one of the magazines, I do receive a lot of emails. Rasa terharu sangat esp when people appreciate my writing.

When I was in school, banyak jugak masuk essay writing but now, writing has become more and more commercial. Started with short stories (cerpen), lifestyle articles, lyrics and currently I’m still working on my own novels… Its not just to cari makan but memang jiwaku!!! Dulu, my ex-bf pernah laughed at me, dia kata ‘jiwang’ sangat la. Aku jiwang? Azimin kata aku brutal tapi sensitive.

I have been asked by people, why I choose Azimin to be my soul-mate… Azimin is a person yang tak pernah ketawakan apa juga keinginan & kemahuan aku. When he got to know that I do freelance writing, dialah orangnya yg encourage aku buat itu & ini to get exposure, feeling etc. Quite a number of people laughed at me when I told them that I want to buy a house in front of KLCC. Ada yang kata berangan la, membazir la, etc. But Azimin is the only one yang kata GOOD. It’s a good investment.

Inagt lagi, pernah once upon a time dulu masa pergi interview with one company nie(company kecik jer tapi org2nya berlagak sungguh), one of the interviewer asked me this question: “what do you see yourself in the next 5 years?” my answer was: “I would like to have my own companies”

Guess what happened after that? They laughed at me. One of them siap peril lagi… “we asked you for the next 5 years, not next 50 years.” Kelakar sangat ker jawapan aku? Dengan ketawa diaorg la aku kerja keras sampai hari nie and today, I own 4 companies. Kelakar? I have Anggun Maya, Gaia Arts & Gifts, Rahsia Bonda & Archiforce Invent (I share Archiforce Invent with Azimin & Weeza – my sister).

My mum is helping me to run the Anggun Maya & Rahsia Bonda. I take a full charge of Gaia Arts & Gifts. I will concentrate more on Gaia next year, after Azimin completing his PhD sebab he only can go for solo exhibition after that. So far, we are still getting help from the art galleries to exhibit his art works. Raya hampers a LOT. Hope to deliver everything by early next week. Dah berapa hari tak tido malam nie….

Guys, what my post title should be? Dunno, mengarut banyak hari nie….

Penantian Satu Penyiksaan - Con't

Penantian Satu Penyiksaan

I believe you guys understand what does it means by PENANTIAN SATU PENYIKSAAN… What I’m waiting for? I am waiting for a new maid to come. She suppose to come during the 2nd week of fasting month but its keep delaying… Jenuh la aku menunggu, bukan apa, kesian kat mama yang banyak baju nak jahit for this coming raya…

After all, we supposed to get the maid from my agent on Monday. The arrangement was:

@ Azimin will go to IKEA to exchange one of our chairs.
@ Fetch me from KLMU.
@ Going to Sunway (the agent house)

Azimin was in IKEA since tengahari… He can spend even a day in IKEA… Tambah pulak kalau bawak Anggun sama…

Around 3.30pm, I received a call from my agent to inform that the ferry was delayed due to bad weather. The maid will only arrive on Tuesday… Aduh!!! Ingatkan dah boleh settle hari tu...

Azimin fetched me from office and we have no idea where to go. Aku ajak dia pergi Mid Valley, berbuka and sambil tu, boleh cari baju raya for the kids. We went to reserve a table for buka puasa at Madam Kwan (our fav restaurant. Actually nak buka kat sushi king but then, tak boleh reserve, first come first serve).

We all singgah kat Toy’r’us after making the reservation. Anggun la manusia yang paling excited sekali although her daddy had reminded her, “TAK BOLEH BELI APA-APA”. One round, Anggun dah penang a few toys kat tangan. I just looked at her with a sign “TANYA DADDY”.

She went to find her daddy and asked him if she can buy the toys. Azimin pulak masa tu tengah sibuk kat section car model. Entah apa yang dia cari, aku pun tak sure. Anggun pun join Azimin. Tinggallah aku seorang yang tak faham apa2 pasal model2 kereta tu…

I left them at Toy’r’us and buat tour to a few shops. Masuk Jusco, tengok2 dekat tempat baju tapi satu pun tak berkenan. Then keluar Jusco, masuk MNG, singgah British India, lepas tu Topman Topshop, DP, Zara, Shu Umura and last sekali, MPH.

Lebih kurang sejam jugaklah semua tu sebab we promised to meet 6.30pm in front of Madam Kwan. Sampai sana, Azimin & Anggun were not there. I called them. Guess what??? They were still in Toy’r’us, at the same place and tengah pilih2 model kereta yang ber’remote-control’.

They settle down their things bila aku dah membebel and to show me that they were not guilty, Azimin ajak aku cari toys for Alam. Cari punya cari, we bought for Alam pistol air yang boleh pump tu… pistol air pun dekat RM 50… Gile betul… And I took 2 fireman hat for Anngun & Alam. Tak ada price tag kat situ, aku buat bodoh jer ambik. Nasib ler. Bila kat counter baru tahu yg fireman hat tu harganya RM 25 satu. Nasib la, daddynya pun beli car model dia harganya mengalahkan toys anak2 dia… belum apa2 lagi, dah sedekahkan kat toy’r’us lebih RM 200.

Terus berbuka kat Madam Kwan. As usual, my fav food, Nasi Bojari. Azimin took the lamb chop and Anggun ordered Fish & Chips. After buka puasa, Azimin sempat singgah at TAMIYA pulak to have a look lagi kat kereta2 kecik tu… Hai laki aku nie, hobinya semua mahal-mahal. Helicopter yang ber’remote’ tu ajer dah 2 kat umah.

Met a few friends yang still kerja kat Mid Valley. Dah tak ramai dah yang tinggal kat sana. We were so amazed with the artworks of Mid Valley Fit-Out Dept yang kat Centre Court tu. The rumah melayu concept is nice and really creative. Great work guys!!!

Happy Birthday MAMA...

15th Sept - birthday mama... This year, ayah bawak semua orang pergi makan but we all tak ikut sebab:

1. I was in high fever
2. Azimin dah plan to buka puasa with adik beradik dia...

at the end, aku berbuka puasa sendiri kat rumah & Azimin berbuka kat rumah Yan with Abg La & family... Sempat jugak Azimin buatkan Milo and brought a few kuih for me before dia pergi (sebelah rumah jer... macam la jauh sangat)

I bought something for mama... Actually, dah lama beli tapi simpan for her b'day... beli sekali la dengan aku punya (actually, aku punya yang lebih). masa beli nie, aku belum pun dapat my first salary kat KLMU. Masa tu tengah mega sales carnival, beli jer la...

I am the fan of ESTEE LAUDER for make-up, CLINIQUE for facial set, ELIZABETH ARDEN for perfume... (but Azimin selalu belikan HUGO BOSS punya perfume for me sebab dia suka that brand and I will look for DIOR kalau shopping kat London. the smell is different tau!)

Yang dalam beg kotak besar (gold) tu are MINE and yang lagi satu set tu + beg hitam tu untuk mama. Masa bagi kat mama tu, mama happy sangat. Weeza pun mengedeng-ngendeng la jugak....