Goodbye April ....Hello May

So today is just another day .........or is it ?

Okay .....so I'm saying goodbye to April .....welcoming May .......that's great .

Hmmmm...need to go early for the therapy .......so this ex Montessori principal was busy like a bee ....trying to do as many things as possible when she suddenly remembered .....what the .....? Oh my gosh .....its the 30th April . My house loan in Miri has to be paid and its past the due date . And payment for the Ustaz ( who teach my children and myself in reading the Quran ) is due today too .

Amir reading the Quran under the watchful eyes of Ustaz Hsssan

I quickly checked my purse and found I was RM50 short .


Okay ......don't panic . Reorganize your schedule . Should I skip the therapy today ?

Then hubby came home from his midnight shift and said he needed to go to the bank to pay the car loan . He asked or is it a statement ........I thought you are going for your therapy?

Ai ya ya ya .......just when I planned not to go ...........

Anyway .....I scooted off and along the way ...I passed by the shop that sells all kinds of plants . Honestly it was not in my plan ....nor was it budgeted ......but somehow ........I stopped the car and bought these :-)



Here they are .



Indeed a boost to my weary soul .


I felt great today !! So how was yours ??

Another Day Of Therapy

A bouquet of lilies for the staff at the therapy unit . I only have tons of praises for them . I have been well looked after ....marvelous people who are indeed dedicated to their jobs .


So far , ever since the therapy there is improvement in my fingers . The numbness is about 70% gone . I am able to sleep well at night without waking up with pain and stiffness in my fingers and numbness in my arms. Most of all I am beginning to enjoy my sewing again ; an activity which I had put aside since last year .


Today was fantastic . After the ritual part of waxing my fingers and while waiting for it to harden , a hot pad was placed on my shoulders . This they said is to relax and loosened up my muscles , which they said were so tensed . And yes ......I agreed to that .


Twenty minutes later , they removed the pad which had started to cool down by then .Surprise ...surprise ........NurIzwa then proceeded and gave me a massage on my shoulders . All I can say is it was soooooooooo good . I just had to close my eyes and let go.....if you know what I mean .I told her please don't stop .........and she said sorry ........you are not my only patient.

Hehehe..........I'm going there again tomorrow and I hope she will give me another massage on my shoulders .


Till then ..........all the best ..........!!!!!!!

Hello Neighbor !!

Hello there !!


How time flies . Its been a month now ...since I left the my rented house . It feels good to be in your own house . You feel kind of more permanent in it without having that lingering thoughts of moving ......and packing and unpacking and arranging and putting away things .


Gee whiz !! If you are to ask me if I have met and talked to my neighbors ....I'm ashamed to say ...I have not met all of them . Two evenings ago as I was about to close the gates , a neighbor five doors down the block happenend to pass by . Of course , being me and my big mouth .......I just had to say " Hello !! ".....and she ....thank goodness .........said hello too .


So the session on get to know thy neighbors began .........The conversation went like this :

N : Have you taken your dinner ?

Me : No ......( I don't know .....but asking whether one had taken their food seemed to be a good ice breaker )

N : Me too. I'm so bored now .......My husband has gone to his mother's house to pick up my son .

Me : Ohhh......Your MIL ( mother in law ) looking after your son ? ( In my heart , if you are dead bored why didn't you go with your hubby )

N : Yes ......on alternate weeks .........sometimes my mum looks after him too . I missed my son ........when he is not around . But when he is with me .....I will be shrieking at the top of my voice .....he is so naughty .........and I can't do my work ................

Me : ( In my heart ........woman .......you are one disturbed mum . You mental or what ?? )


Of course we talked on other things ......like who is so and so at that house ........their jobs .......how many children .............That's bad , isn't it ? I felt kind of being a busy body there .

Anyway , our encounter ended with me not knowing her name ........so how am I going to call her ?

Childhood Neighbors .

I'm glad I found this picture taken 33 years ago . I feel so ancient saying that ............


This picture was taken when I was about 13 years old . Yours truly is on the right ......standing .




Together with me were my next door neighbors .........those I had marked in the square boxes . We were staying in the Sarawak Shell Quarters at 146 Jalan Ungu .

We had great fun growing up in those days .......of climbing the guava tree , going roller skating , playing badminton and football ( I am not good in this game ) , going to and from school together ........of catching fish in the drain ......etc. etc . We practically spent our time in the outdoors and only went home for lunch .

We parted ways when they moved to another part of the neighborhood . Then we were too busy growing up .........as teenagers .....as adults ......and we just grew apart . But they were in my memories ....somewhere in the pages of my mind . Coming across this picture was a blessing .


I managed to get in touch with Amoi .....that's how I called her . We talked for a while and promised to meet each other should I be home again . Insyaallah .........

School Assembly

Ok .........let's begin this blog with a ......Once upon a time , there was a school in my neighborhood . It was made of bricks ..........( hehehe........very hard for sly fox to huff and puff and blow the school down .....story of the three little pigs ) and was about 4 kilometers from my house .


It was in 1968 , the year I entered this school and it was here I was introduced to the term " school assembly " . I can't remember if it was held daily but the activity existed . All the pupils of the school were assembled in the school compound . Class by class , with all the pupils standing in a row .....preferably with the shortest in front and the tallest at the back . I don't know why , but the boys tend to stand at the back .


I liked to stand in the front ....if I could but I can't as there were two other shorter girls and of course I had to make way for them . Another reason was because I wanted to stand in the shadow of the school building and avoid the hot sun rays shining in my eyes . Can you imagine , about 100 - 150 pupils standing in the hot morning sun while the headmaster ( a term we used then ) and the other 6 to 7 teachers standing in the shed ? Come to think of it , the school administrators should have stood in the hot sun as well ........at least they felt and understood how uncomfortable it was to be there and shortened the duration of the assembly . Of course , they would not do so .......they had gone thru the same thing too ....and said .......good for you .....extra vitamin D ....and perhaps in a little corner of their minds .....its payback time , served you right .......for being naughty !!! I'm glad all of us had a pretty thick skull and thick black hair .........to cover our brains from being cooked and fried dry !!


The assembly began with all of us singing the " Negara Ku " then followed with Sarawak's state anthem . Everybody had to stand at attention while singing these songs .......why ? To show our respect to our country . As well as to instill the love and patriotic feelings towards our country . Of course yours truly really , really stood at attention , hands at her sides , shoulders back and did not move !! She would sing in her loudest voice as she loved to sing ...early in the morning as she felt energetic and its a way to allow her croaky voice to wake up . She opened her mouth and jaw wide ........to exercise those muscles . Hehehe......all those singing had done me good . When I talked the words are audible and clear .


I wondered how many of us remembered the state anthem . Here's the lyrics ......hum and sing if

you could .

FAIR LAND SARAWAK


Fair land Sarawak we will never cease to honour thee
And with our Loyal Sons defend your Liberty
From your high forst hills down to the open sea
May freedome ever reign, men live in unity
Proudly our flag flies high above our Country strong and free
Long may our people live in peace and Harmony.

I found out that the lyrics was written by F.C. Ogden and the music revised and arranged by GRK Freeth.

I could be wrong , but our flag at that time was like this :













Then sometimes in 1972 or 1973 , the Sarawak flag was changed to look like this :















And the Sarawak state anthem was like this :


Sarawak Bahagia


Sarawak negeriku berdaulat merdeka
Rakyatnya hidup teguh bersatu padu
Semua berazam terus berkhidmat pada negara
Sentiasa maju pertiwi
Bahagialah tanahairku
Sarawak negeri yang ku cinta ku puja
Untuk mu ku rela korban jiwa raga
Abadikan Sarawak ya Tuhan dalam Malaysia


Then it changed and transformed to look like this again .......and till now it looks like this .

Our state anthem goes like this now :

Sarawak tanah airku
Negeriku tanah air ku Sarawak
Engkau lah tanah pusakaku
Tanah tumpah darahku
Ibu Pertiwiku…

Rakyat hidup mesra dan bahagia
Damai muhibah sentiasa
Bersatu Berusaha Berbakti
Untuk Sarawak ku cintai

Sarawak dalam Malaysia
Aman Makmur rahmat Tuhan Maha Esa
Kekallah Sarawak bertuah
Teras perjuangan rakyat
Berjaya berdaulat

Peace to you , Sarawak . Come what may ..........I love you and will always do !

Reading .

Last Friday afternoon , we took a trip to Penang , a journey which is about 50 minutes ride from my house in Sg. Petani . Traffic flow was smooth on the Penang Bridge and in no time we had reached our destination .


On trips like this , top most on my children's schedule will be a visit to bookshops ; browsing and hoping to find the book that they hope to buy . I'm glad all of my children are avid readers. . Most times from trips like this each of them would have one new book to read . For them ..happy and satisfied .

Reader Son bought this .

Reader Daughter bought this .

Reader mummy did not buy any ..........she generally would borrow books from the town library .

Four books to be read within two weeks .......that's the duration . Should I ever need more time and when the books are due , I just need to call up the librarians to inform them . However reader mummy tend to forget and it would be past the two weeks before she realised the books were overdue . She would be penalized of course , a fine for ten cents a day per book.


I had always love books ......love the smell , love to hold it in my hand . With it I could read anywhere and anytime I want to . I could put the book under my arm , in my hand , in my bag , in my car and for some a book in the toilet ....while doing their business . Not a habit for me though .........


The love to read ....anything ........magazines , comics , newspapers ....... rubbed off on me ever since I was young . Resources would be the daily newspapers which my father bought ...and we would take turns reading .Then there would be the weekly " Borneo Bulletin " as well as the monthly newsletter " Salam " issued to all staff by the Sarawak Shell Berhad ........the company my father worked for .


Then again , my elder brother would buy his monthly " Fanfare " , a magazine about the singers , actors and actresses .......and his penchant in collecting comic books " Commander " , " Spiderman " , " Superman " , " X Man " . This brother took care of all his comics and had them locked up in his cupboard . Of course he would allow us to read the new comics ....and alas........ that would be the only time we were able to do so . A chance to read another second time would be like waiting for the next tide to turn red .......!!!


Somehow his cupboard was easily accessible when my paternal grandmother came to visit , I noticed Grandma tend to browse through his comics . Seeing this and knowing Grandma didn't know how to read , I appointed myself as her translator and the story teller . The two of us would be sitting on the bed .......me holding a copy of the comic and Grandma patiently listening and would now and then asking and pointing at the pictures as to what the graphics were about . Grandmother loved the Commander comics .........beautiful drawings I must say . Thinking back , those comics must have brought so much memories for her ..perhaps there was some kind of connection ........after all she went through the second world war .


I remembered reading this book " Black Beauty " one of the first few books I was introduced to , by my eldest sister of course .


I was about nine years old when I became a library member and had more books to read .........like Dr Seuss books . I remembered going through this book lately when I found it in one of the bookstores . I think I grew up with these books and thru these books .......it taught me how to read as well as instilled within me the love for books . The colors and graphics of the books were so beautiful ...that must have caught my attention .



I love reading stories on Noddy .......and his adventures by Enid Blyton ........



I must thank my parents .......for being supportive . Each time I asked for some money to buy reading materials ........I don't remember being turned down . The oldest reading book that I bought was in 1969 ........entitled " Pinky And Perky " .....about two little male pigs looking cute in their shirts and trousers and walking upright like humans .......going about their daily life which was full of adventures . I still have this book in my possession .


And I read this book to my children too .

Honk !!! If You Are A Sarawakian !!!

I was on my way to pick up my children from school . Then stopping at the traffic light , I saw this car in front of me .


It was one of those very rare occasions when you happened to come across a car originating from your own hometown .


After all , cars originating from Sarawak are registered with a " Q " . That " T " meant that this car was bought and registered in Bintulu Town ; the town where I had lived for 20 years . For a moment , when I was queuing up behind it , I was transported in time and honestly thought I was on Borneo island. One second later , I realised with a ......Hey!!! A Sarawak car , man !!! Are you a .........a......a........Sarawakian , too ?


I will never know .......however I made my presence felt by overtaking this car and hope the driver too realized that there is a pure bred Sarawakian staying on the block . I do hope to cross paths again ..........and this time I will honk .......!!!




On another note , perhaps my brother in Miri would love to have this car plate ........which begins with the initials of his name .

Aleeda

Sometimes ...as you go about your life ......it seemed to be so monotonous . Day in and day out ...the routine is so predictable . Sometimes you would be asking yourself , is that all what life is about ? Questions abound .......what else can I do ?


Life at times have its own strange way of injecting surprises for me . Take for example .........last week . A dear friend and an ex colleague " smsed " me and said she was in town ....and asked if it was possible to meet . Goodness .......if only she knew how I felt . I was just too happy beyond words !!


So .......we met . My friend being " the ever on the go kind of friend " drove over to my house using her husband's car . I must say this lady have guts .......on the road that is . I membered it took me sometimes to adjust myself to this new environment ......whereas for her its kind of " peanuts " .......a word this friend of mine like to use .


The one and only
Aleeda

Both of us felt like we were dreaming .......meeting each other and in a place that was not our hometown . We were talking away like there was no tomorrow ......interjecting each other ......plus the squeals of laughter .........goodness ..........I can't believe the chemistry was still there . She was the usual Aleeda ...........full of energy ..........and full of stories .

Nadia .....Aleeda's step daughter

Her step daughter who was kind enough to tag along , looked on in amazement .........perhaps in her mind .......what the heck is going on ? Is this the way Sarawakians met each other ? What strange language ..........sound like birds talking in mid flight ....... Good for her ...she just smiled and kept pretty much to herself and allowed her step mum to be herself .


As usual , the beautiful moments had to come to an end . We hugged each other .......both asking and wandering when we could meet again . Only God knows .


Roses are red .........Violets are blue .......................



Sugar is sweet my friend .......good luck .........May God Bless you .........!!!

Birthday Cards

I once read in a magazine ..... hoarders.....are those people who love and cherish things ... big or small , they don't have the heart to throw things away . I must say in certain ways I belonged to that species .


I am a sucker ...........I cherished little things ......the very sentimental type of person . That is why I categorized myself as a hoarder ....I kept in my posssesion cards and letters I received from friends and sisters . So when I had to move , I had a hard time letting go . I read the cards again and again then finally detached myself from them .


These are two cards which managed to hide themselves . I felt so touched to be able to re read them again and hold them in my hands .




This card was sent to me by my sister , Lili ..........24 years ago .


This was given to me by my buddy , Esme Chung many many years ago . I did not managed to say goodbye to her when I left the company we both worked for . Saying goodbye is never easy for me .



May we meet again .......someday ....somewhere ...somehow ......buddy .

Physiotheraphy

See this room ? I have been spending my time here for the past 5 days . About 2 hours each day . And I will be here until 22nd of April as per the guarantee letter issued by the Insurance company .




You see , for the past one year my hands had been giving me problems . I felt the symptoms years ago but not as pronounced as the past months . I no longer could tolerate the pain and the sleepless nights associated with it . Those burning sensations , tingling of my fingers and at times the weakness of my hand .........hey ....what's wrong , man?


My children insisted I should go ........better meet the specialist they said .......


So off I went with my hubby .......and yes ...the doctor said with all the symptoms that I experienced ........he is 90% sure I am suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome . The only option is to do the operation ...that is he said to release the pressure on my median nerve .


However , he suggested that I go for the physiotherapy ........

So each day ....the moment I entered that room , I washed my hands ......



......dried them up then soaked them in the warm paraffin wax..........this is to stimulate my blood circulation .












Then the other hand too ......I must dip each of my hand into the container containing the wax at least 8 times .........


and they looked like this ......waxed hands .....









Then both hands are carefully put in bags ........to retain heat of wax longer and avoid the mess once the wax are taken off my hands .



My hands would be in these bags for the next 20 minutes ........and I passed the time reading a newspaper .

Don't ask me how but I managed to turn over the papers .....





Next , the physiotherapist would be prodding my palms to identify the pains ......and marked them .













This is the ultra sound machine . It is to help reduce pain at these localized points I had identified .














But first gel is applied on that part of my palm .














Then the ultrasound begins . I don't actually feel the pain .......except when they put the frequency too high .........












This process is about 5 to 10 minutes per hand .





Next the above machine is used ...its called an electric nerve simulation .



They attached some thingy thing on my palms . And boy .......this thingy thing certainly helps . My hands do feel good after this session . More lighter and less numb .




And lastly ........the massage . I felt good ......................


I felt the difference after all these sessions .......less numbness ...I could sleep better .


Then today I stressed my hands ....I went marketing ......and got carried away ...buying fresh fish , chicken , fruits and vegetables ......in all about 6 kilograms . By the time I reached the car .......I could feel the the pain and numbness .............those terrible pains I felt before .


Ohhhhhhh.........could I wiggle myself out from having that operation ?

My Bapak

Oh my gosh !!! I forgot !!!




Yesterday was my bapak's birthday . He is 84 years old . My sister said that they had a gathering last night at the kampong . How I wished I was there .


Anyway .....Happy Birthday Bapak . You know we all love you ..........!!!!





Now , this is my bapak . The one and only Poli Abdul Rahman . Why Poli ? Asked my friends .
So un - malay for a malay man ...that's what they said . So what ? You have a problem with that ?


Strange maybe to others .....maybe not so for my grandmother . Maybe in her family , there was a Poli there .


This is him as a teenager . Probably about 16 years old . He said he entered the work force at a young age .



Bapak as a police constable . Never did ask him how long he was in the force before quitting to join Sarawak Shell Berhad .




Bapak ......and his colleagues at Sarawak Shell Berhad .

My Mother's Kampong

See this photo ? Every Sarawakian could identify and recognized it . After all it used to be Sarawak's state Masjid ......until a couple of years ago that is . A new state Masjid is now at Petrajaya .




This Masjid is on the river bank of Sungai Sarawak . Across that Masjid ....and across that Sungai Sarawak was my mother's kampong , Kampong Tanjong . My grandparent's house was amongst those rows of coconut trees . Their house too was on the river bank .


The couple of times when I was there ...and that was many many years ago .......I would look out through my grandmother's window and would see this Masjid ; looking beautiful and hugh . The azan call for prayers could distinctly be heard too .


To get to Grandmother's house I had to use the sampan above or " penambang " . Those days I need to pay twenty cents a trip . There would be eight to ten other passengers in the sampan before we set off .The man ...normally an old man and who owned the sampan would row across the river ....with all his strength. Pretty tough as he was going against the current . I could still hear the splashing sound of the wooden oars as it hit the waters . The ride itself would take about ten to fifteen minutes .


He would dropped all of us at a small jetty once we reached the river bank . Everybody would have to queue to get out of the sampan . The sampan swayed on its sides and all passengers played their role to ensure the sampan did not not capsize . I struggled to get out too and honestly I felt strange standing in a sampan which is bobbing up and down in the water. Lucky for me grandmother's house was just next to this jetty .


Before I left , I put down the fare on the wooden plank of the sampan . Small change is required as it would be a hassle for the sampan man to give you back the change .


Grandmother's house is still there . Sad thing is I could no longer set foot as it was sold off a few years ago .

Roses For You ......

Wow...wow .....to be honest , I quite don't like to read the Malaysian newspapers lately . All those political spats is just not my scene . I'm not politically inclined ...that's all . It doesn't mean I don't care what's going on with the political scenario ...its just that ...I'm just not good with words ...politically that is ...and neither am I that well versed to disect and digest the whole political arena .


Oh well....better leave all those to the experts .


I 'll get on with life ...me and my children , me and my hubby , the marketing .....the driving .....the cooking ....., the laundry ....., etc. etc........busy , busy , busy .....hang on .........today I said hello and good morning to my neighbor , to another .....we waved to each other ........I fed the cats and washed the backyard stairs ..........and I said thank you to the guys who picked up my rubbish . I really appreciate them ........and I hope they felt good too .


A bouquet of roses for you and every Malaysians ..........just remember to take a break .........and a breath of fresh air ......will do you good .


Cheers !!!!!!!!!

Sunday Morning

Another hot sunny day ; which is fine . I have my usual loads of clothes out there . The sun will help dry them ...and by the time I pick them up in the late afternoon they will be ready for folding and stored away in the wardrobes . Some will need to be ironed which I hateeeeeeeeeeeee the most .


The beef stew is being cooked now ....over a slow fire .....simmering away . I'm just taking this opportunity to update my blog .


Two days ago ...my Indian neighbor lighted up their incense and oh my gosh ..the smell practically drove me round the bend . Then they had to ring the bell ...perhaps for prayer time . Then another did the same thing ...then another . I just had to close up my house as the smell permeated thru . And the bell..........it rang and it rang ..........!!!! Goodness...!!


Anyway , I so call hid myself away in the kitchen and did my cooking .



I pounded the ingredients using my faithful " lesung batu " then fried them .




Menu was " ikan pari masak asam pedas ."




Both my children love this simple dish .


As mummy was on feeling " rajin " , she boiled some chicken carcass to make chicken stock . Once cold , some were stored away in the fridge . Some were used for making the gravy for our chicken chop .



Here it is my " chicken chop with special gravy ". As usual , my daughter said " Its the best in the world " .

Oh well .......when it comes from my daughter ...you better believe it . She is not one to mince words . If its bad ....its bad . And she say it like this .....yunno ...I don't mean to offend you ....but this taste bad ...........!!!! That's Yasmin for you .

Busy Missy

My daughter Yasmin had been pestering me for the past one week . A chocolate cake it must be ....she said .




So , today ...we got down to work . She was helpful ...measuring all the ingredients ....beating the butter and sugar ...and in no time at all ....the chocolate cake mixture was ready for the oven .


In between she managed to " lick " the bowl clean .....if you know what I mean . I used to do that a long , long time ago ...each time I helped my grand aunt to bake ...I found myself cleaning the bowl . So .....yummy .....thank god I did not get a stomach ache .




Yes ....little missy was busy baking . She can't wait and kept on asking when it would be ready .




V ..for victory !!! A job well done and accomplished . I must cut it up for her to bring to school tomorrow .