Moments...

... of one trip, and another, and yet one more trip ...

2009-12-26T22:02:00.000-08:00

Having 3 trips within one year-end holiday, with a week spaced out in between back home, is truly a first in my experience - and required endless running about to complete chores but wholly worth it all :D

Trip No. 1 was a 4-day visit to Bangkok (the first for the kids), simply for the indulgence of flaming Thai food and aimless walking, and mostly for the [kids'] joy of the experience of "living next door to MacDonalds...lalala.." (which is where the hotel is located) ;d
Highlights of this wondrous vacation came in the form of (a) adventure conjured by cab-driver, speed boat operators, and tourist police of a temple!; and (b) dinner cruise on board (top deck, no less - front table next to stage and singer..hmm) with perfect cool weather. Suffice to just sum up that we have had the joyous opportunity to enjoy all types of public transport Bangkok has to offer - each and every one type of contraption, not to be experienced in good old Klang Valley.

Trip No. 2 was a 5D/4N holiday at Bintan Club Med - "where happiness means the world". Guess that kinda says it all... yoga, dance class (with kids in the hip-hop session), archery, trapeze (for the willing - not me who would have passed out just climbing up the post!), beach, swimming, performances and food, food, food, drinks, drinks, drinks.................. heh heh ;p Only bummer was that there were no sea sports owing to it being the monsoon season. But all agreed that there should be another Club Med destination in the offspring sometime..YAY!!

Trip No. 3 was my sabbatical - annual leave. A 9-day trip to China which was hastily planned and confirmed in 1.5 months - how lucky I am! And thanks to my nephew who had conjured a magnificent itinerary like a magician, not only did we manage to visit the pertinent places in HangZhou, SuZhou, Shanghai and Xi'an, but we also got to enjoy sumptuous meals and great food in various places over the full 8 days we (my sister and her youngest son - visiting her eldest son) were there.
HangZhou's West Lake is enormous and picturesque with islands within it;
SuZhou's Humble Administrator Garden which boasts of presidential and royal visitors is well-planned and equally picturesque;
Xi'an's Terracotta Museum is totally awesome, and the Famen Temple is huge with great expanse of space;
Shanghai's The Bund is just like in the movies, and Xintiandi the uppity hangout night spot.
The most far-out experience would conclusively be the train rides, which we took almost everyday in our travels (HangZhou-SuZhou; SuZhou-Shanghai-SuZhou; SuZhou-Xi'an-SuZhou by night mail of more than 12 hours - cabin with 4 beds) - the rush at the stations when the gates open, the people and their attitudes and manners (or lack of it), the spitting (urghhs..) - it's small wonder there were so many accidents during the festival period rush when all seek to return home.

The negative point was the cold (in Xi'an, it was minus 6 degrees! but luckily sunny) which adversely made it the plus point in that there were less visitors and we got to move around all these tourist spots easily, especially for photo-taking. Albeit the cold, we were blessed with good weather (only 1 day of rain - when we trudged through shopping in Shanghai - along Nanjing Road, and some wholesale complex).

Highlight - in fun and excitement and heart thumping moments - was the couple of time we almost missed the train because of the horrendous traffic both in Shanghai and Xi'an!

All in all, it was a wonderful end of 2009 for me - an exhilarating time to tantalize all my senses in all my 3 vacations - food, drinks, heat, coldness, sea, land, all sorts of vehicular transport both on land and water.
[Just to name a few water transport : speedboat/speed sampan; cruise boat; ferry; sampan boat looking like a junk fitted with outboard motor]

Chinese ladies all rushing to me to sell their wares (even in the ladies toilet) at Famen Temple : ......[ all fast rapid Mandarin words in a jumble].....

Me : ....decided to use hand gesture instead of speaking rudimentary mispronounced Mandarin to indicate that I don't understand.....

Chinese lady (giving up on me) to the others in their group : ...Oh, this one is mute/dumb [ ta shi ya de ]...

MERRY CHRISTMAS
HAPPY NEW YEAR

***peace from ahfun***

.... of wasted efforts and time spent .....

2009-11-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

More often than not, I'd preferred to blog about happy stuff, funny stuff, frustrating yet funny stuff - all that genre of stuff. However, the contribution for this post is not at all happy nor funny. It is derived from pure frustration and flabbergast-ation (if there exists such a word) over the doings of people.

How on earth can I not be flabbergasted and distraught when over the last few months so much effort has been put into a project (which I'd initially figured worth saving) only to see it end in the drain owing to no consensus ad idem?

At the end of the day, I can only conclude that humans are just plain selfish - they only want to cater to their own needs/wants. Just as I viewed all their decisions as selfish, they, the decision-makers, must have equally considered our opinions (my and those with me along my road) on this security project as being selfish too. And both parties feeling that their views are justified, albeit on opposite poles, whilst working towards the same objective and ends - no solution :'(

Now I can begin to understand why the righteous man who had initiated this whole scheme had decided once and for all to pull out and stay away from it all. What is unjustifiable in my opinion is not the decisions that were arrived at and ever-changing, but that the method employed in such changes was unacceptable - it was done too unilaterally, with absolute discretion of the decision makers without reference to those on the front lines or the affected. This would be ubiquitous in the extreme, even if they hide behind the realm of kindness of doing "voluntary" "good" work for all to see.

This exercise of power does not rest well with those affected, least of all me (although I am considered part of the team but to a large extent was on the discovery channel on finding out about changes). Given that changes had to be made, it has to be done in the proper manner and forum so that it does not give rise to the basis for complaints or grouses.

I truly cannot see how such a system can survive, nor am I willing to be made a "voluntary" stooge in the middle ground, stupidly doing front line ground work whilst in the dark of decisions made and changed by the upper rung of decision makers and facing up to the affected people without an inkling of when, how or why these changes were made.

Still, keeping my purpose and principle intact, to always look at the brighter side, I am glad for having met some of those nice and wonderful neighbours I have, for making some friends along the way, for getting to know the good and the not so good, and most of all for having made the attempt and having done my best.

A: All these people didn't have any complaints before this project, now suddenly all these problems crop up and become part of our problems......bleh bleh..
B: Before this project, no one has to pay anything for it, so how can they complain??

***peace from ahfun***

.....of the long-lost and the lost....

2009-11-03T18:57:00.000-08:00

I'm definitely guilty if charged with being hopeless at blogging, or at least for frequency of blogging, and for that I know of a couple of homo sapiens in my home [oops...some protest from those concerned here] who would not hesitate to bring forth such a charge! Despite the numerous occasions when I have had the "vision" and "inspiration" to put certain events in words, it had nonetheless eluded me by the time I reach my PC or when I finally found the time to reach it!

The year is fast whizzing by.....and it appears to me lately that most of the events that cropped up has related to the long past or loss. This year has seen the passing away of 3 relatives, and the meeting up with long lost friends (from primary and secondary school days) and relatives (cousins who I have not seen for 10 years and more...)

The demise of my father-in-law earlier in the year has left members of the family scampering to shower utmost attention on my mother-in-law, a natural phenomenon understandable in the circumstances. The recent demise of my brother-in-law may be seen as a blessing since he had been enduring pancreatic cancer and no longer enjoyed his usual quality of life.

Immediately following that a week later, my cousin passed away peacefully, of lung cancer. In many ways, she was almost an "aunt" to most of us as she was only slightly younger than my mum and her children are within the age-group of me and my siblings albeit that we are of two different generation levels in hierarchy. I was saddened by the fact that I had not managed to make it to visit her during her ailing days before her death, but was happy that she had at least come to my house this last Chinese New Year.

At her wake, I got to meet up with my nieces/nephews (her children) with whom I had been close during our younger days, especially the girls, one of whom is the same age as I am. Some of them are residing abroad now, in Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore. As we pass into the golden era, all these things seem to hold more meaning than it used to be when we were all on our own paths at ages of 20-30. Suddenly the pull of relationship, finding the ones you used to play with at the tender ages of 5-14 evokes a certain melancholic feeling of that proximity you once had. With the aid of IT, there is and will be a way of keeping in touch - a wondrous thing :D

Over the last few months of this year, I have been in contact with almost all my good old classmates, some with whom I had been in the same class for all those 6 primary school years. We had the good old system where one starts in Std 1 in that class, be it "A", "B", "C" or whatever, and ends in Std 6 in that same class - regardless of whether one is smart as Einstein or dumb as a mule!!! No streaming, siree! We had Indians, Malays, Chinese, Eurasians - all in the class. We had lots of fun, from Std 1C to 6C, since there were always ample opportunity to bully the slower or less endowed with grey matter.

We also had scary teachers, who had not given any second thoughts to show us their prowess at:
- flying chalk and/or dusters without having to turn back from the blackboard to look at you;
- using the longest and thickest ever "kayu pembaris" (ruler) to bash us, which is otherwise used to draw lines on the blackboard;
- using bony knuckles to deliver the death knell on your head (wonder how some survived without total loss of brain cells);
- or merely holding your shoulders and shaking you like a rattle for the rest of the class to hear if some bell were planted in any of your body parts, whilst being called a "SAKAI" (meaning 'primitive tribal person').

And yes, we had BLACK boards with good old white chalks for writing and coloured chalks for drawing, and dusters which, when full with white chalkdust, were a good alternative to whiten unwashed shoes! No white boards with markers for us!

My recollection of secondary schooling was somewhat blurrish, owing mainly to the fact that I was drifting much of the time. I figure the teachers were also somewhat more civilised except for the time I was embarrassed in front of the class as being "smart but lazy". I hung around different batches of friends - one group of Indians girls (one who is from a mixed marriage); another clique of Malay girls with whom I usually rode the bus home as we all stayed in the Gombak/Setapak Garden area, and some Chinese girls. Predominantly, I remember I was quite a loner, often skipping classes with a good book on hand to read - and mostly found reading in the library or corridors. [Important Note - reading did not equate to studying]. Sometimes, wonder how I passed or ended up in Science 2, given that parents had absolutely no inkling whatsoever of my studies, exams or even report cards.

It feels good to be in touch again with a part of life past and to see the people who had been there with you before.......

***peace from ahfun***

.... of leisure and free time ....

2009-09-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

Though I have been consistently and persistently urged to post, there are times in which I sit in front of this screen, searching through whatever grey matter I possess to wrangle out something to put in writing! I truly admire those who can just whip up anything in a flash and write (..here's my congratulations to my mama blogger - KUDOS!) whilst I struggle to keep to be more literary adept :(

School had resumed since 2 days ago, and whilst my kids were much chagrined over the end of their leisurely hours during the short school hols, I am ambivalent about it. Although I miss them - enjoying lunches and crazy random-est chats ever, ice-cream dig-ins and MJ (in 2 senses of the abbreviation) sessions - I also feel relieved to have some leisure, time and space of my own :p

To most, especially my kids, leisure is a time of FREE TIME - do nothing short of just being FREE ( in bold caps!). I may be able to subscribe to that philosophy for a short spell of time but nevertheless will lapse into a jitter bug if such FREEDOM were to be imposed on me for long spells - it eventually eats me up and leaves me devastated for some action, work, chore, project, whatever comes.......... (which also chalks another "can't understand mum" point!).

Given that, it is not that I do not laze around at times or simply enjoy the nothingness of some moments in life - I perfectly well do so. Perhaps, more so when I was younger which may be due to the feeling that one has so much more time to lose or be unconcerned about. I like my time to be well spent - be it in a leisurely manner of any enjoyable activity of my choice or doing something I feel worthwhile or running errands. Thus, planning is an essential part of my life even if I am given to some impromptu decisions. That, I personally feel that time is not wantonly wasted, or if so, only at the minimum.

I have had some hope of being able to use part of my time for some gainful employment; but sadly, that was not to be ("tak jadi"). However, I will pursue to find something suitable, in particular to my own time-schedule, in which to employ my time gainfully, be it monetary or otherwise. Meanwhile, I shall be happy and content to set the household straight and clear up all those chores/work/jobs that set the house in perfect (or near perfect) order since the extra pair of hands are now made available to me :D

Then, the satisfaction of time well spent shall be fulfilled, and the frustration of vagrant time-totting shall be avoided. Ah, bliss.......
Now, learning something new from my fellow bloggers, I too shall from now end my post with some wisdomous or cranky quote. ^_^

A: i use the "blue".... [meaning the blue pail]
B: huh? the "BLUE"....? [thinking...the sky is blue, my jeans are blue, you are sure making me blue!]

***peace from ahfun***

.....of syndromes (es!)....

2009-08-31T18:29:00.000-07:00

For the last 6 months, the experience of all the syndromes encountered and endured seemed to have eventually paid off with some light at the end of the tunnel or rainbow after the storm..??.. (or so the sayings go).

Firstly, there was the primary NMS (No Maid Syndrome), having been abandoned in sudden by a maid who had worked for 8-9 years, which led to all and sundry having to be self-sufficient, change in lifestyle, altering routines, menial and mental faculties exercised to the peak......one can pretty well figure out the rest.

Thus, this has led to CTS (Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) - some irksome pain which affects all your finger joints, leaving your hand numb and without strength to hold a full mug of coffee (how disastrous for a caffeine addict the likes of me is!) , or even a pen to write legibly at the worst of times. Surfing and typing are almost only for minutes, no longer a hobby or pastime but a mere necessity at best. Apparently the cause of this syndrome is "repetitive strain injury" - which can be anything that ranges from typing to wringing the mop (...the maidless affair...) to washing, in which the nerve passing through the tunnel at the wrist is inflamed or injured causing pain throughout the palm and fingers. But thank God, it has greatly recovered and I am much back to normal hand usage owing to medication and the arrival of a new maid.

Nonetheless, this has in turn carved a new syndrome, the secondary NMS (New Maid Sydrome) which syndrome requires the utmost patience, self-talk, screaming into a pillow (or anything living or non-living).......and the like. The final cure for this syndrome is purely ACCEPTANCE (of the capacity and limitations of the one inducing the syndrome) and HOPE (of at least some improvement in time, given time...). Once that is established and constantly refreshed in the mind, then there may yet be that light or rainbow or whatever waiting to be seen :D

Looking on the brighter side, these past months are indeed a blessing for me to realize:

I have a good family, capable of doing allotted tasks and teamwork;
The maidlessness had induced in us a sense of self-reliability and self-sufficiency that now we need very little help to live by as we are used to chores which we still do - about 30percent;
It was indeed a blessing the previous maid who has been around for too long and is obviously going the wrong way, had rid herself from us without that much loss and without us having to feel bad of having to terminate her services;
The new maid, despite her super-duper slowness, had alleviated much of the menial tasks (at least I need not lift a mop now....) and is fresh (as in innocence and naivete) and relatively pure at heart;
All the pains (hands and knee) and aches are presently gone - ABSENT! That in itself I find much gratitude for, so a 30 percent input of work is not that bad a bargain, especially to keep me in line for any defection again :d

It is good to remind myself of the blessings and good things I have in life - that there are more sufferings on this earth than my own wants which simply pales in comparison =.=

***cheers and peace from ahfun***

.....towards the mid-century era.....

2009-06-25T23:56:00.000-07:00

The fact that my happy kids positively do not understand why I'd always needed a reason to blog simply indicates the generation gap therein! Whilst they are perfectly eager to put anything in words in their blogs, I have always needed something- inspirational or otherwise - to goad me into the act to which they reacted with utter disgusted bewilderment....hehehe, so nice to frustrate them in return for the kind of frustration I felt at times with their habits...there we are - on equal basis, no less :p

And...given the above rationale...here I am, with a definite reason to blog - having just launched into the era where half of a century of my life had passed by! The biggest comfort I have attained for these 50 years is my family and friends (who are actually more often than not closer than relatives) - a blessing I am indeed thankful about :)

I am grateful for:

a hard-working, responsible and caring husband, albeit the normal squabbles from differences of opinions, systems and habits.....aah :d
two wonderful normal (which translates into lovable, loving, caring - most of the time and irritating, frustrating, neck-wringing - some of the time) kids who have given me no end of love, joy, heartaches, headaches but summing up to a terrific eventful life which I would not have given up for anything in the world;
all my wonderful friends who have been a part of my life - from my secondary school days; my Goon days; my early working life days; my mad-hatter bachelor girl bashing days; my law (studying, chambering and working) days; my "parenting" days (wonderful mothers/father who share); and my dear great neighbours of present days -

to all of whom I wish nothing but the very best.

So, on the day fifty years since I was born, I had feasted with friends (all of them parents from my kids' primary school days) - one feast (a great lunch) in which my 2 friends who were unaware of the event till later; and another (superb crabby dinner) wherein I was the "surprisee" being totally unaware of the scheme at hand, was surprised by them converging at my house with cake and all (alas...the maidless state!). But true friends remaining true, they (and my kids) had even washed up for me!!! How fortunate can one be?- it's truly deeply appreciated :D

And, there is still promise of more to come - lunches stretching over to next week till mid July where a few other friends' birthdays are round the corner....er, meaning weight issues are also not far off, but what the heck, you only get to be FIVE-O once in a lifetime >.<

Hence....I shall look forward to happy years and a satisfying life ahead, with a fullfilling feeling (wow...creator of rhymes and tongue-twisting tales too!) of all things good :)))

***happiness and peace from ahfun***

...of survivorship and death....

2009-06-06T01:41:00.000-07:00

Is it that time flies by without any actual speed allotted to it or could it be the ageing factor which hastens the passage of time whilst we wistfully wish for longer days, hours, minutes, seconds.........

And as it dawns on me that practically half a year has gone by in the year...yeah... the dead blog syndrome is re-lived yet again!!! Darn, and I had almost resolved not to let that happen at the beginning of the great CNY!!! But then again, there are always relevant and tenable reasons for such a calamitous syndrome.

The miraculous has happened - my maid had upped her game (even the devil would not have realised the deviousness of this innocuously innocent (and dumb, hence the innocence) looking creature) and displayed her smartness over me...sob sob, to be played out. The sad frustration is not the being played out, but being that DUMB to be so played!!! [the self-deprecation of own stupidity]

In any case, life goes on - NEVER SAY DIE! And so, we have fitfully survived maidlessly for the last almost 3 months - CHEERS, HURRAY, BRAVO! I must say that family members, friends and neighbour have contributed to my survivalship - most of all my wonderful kids who have helped out tremendously in most internal house-keeping and chores. It is not altogether a boast to say that without external help, the house had been well cleaned. The only downfall is cooking good meals - the entire amount of work, both before and after the less than 20-min indulgence, is, in my serious and "tired" opinion, truly not worth it at all. Add in the cost of the meal....and there, we can enjoy just a simple one (not trash food) at a relatively comparable cost - WITHOUT all the hassle, hand-wringing, finger-numbing, painstaking WORK :'(

So, to sum it - life can be pretty cool without a maid, people at home gets some real chance to experience realities in life, more privacy - except home cooked meals are lessened.

On top of that, my father-in-law passed away - in a rather unexpected manner but I would have given anything to be able to leave in such a fortunate manner - without much pain and suffering (on oneself and on others), no huff puff - just poof, and I am off. Great, man :) And he was a great guy in the sort of quiet way he was - not intrusive, inquisitive or overly caring to overpowering over your affairs. He was probably the only one in the Ewe family I know of who never insisted that anyone should follow his way of doing anything. I miss him in a way, and most of all his unobtrusive character. It had already passed the 7th week, a pertinent date in the Chinese tradition, where prayers were performed and he was installed onto the family shrine at the altar. May his soul rests in peace, and he be freed to do (or eat) as he likes now without comments/advice/picking, all dispensed at him for his good....

Till I am next disposed off to be able to bring this blog to life again next (.....won't promise when, though...), tra-la, live a good life whether or not you have a maid ^___^

***peace from ahfun***

...of truly happy new year days....

2009-01-24T06:16:00.000-08:00

Yippee!!! a stay-at-home Chinese New Year - super terrific fantastic wonderful magnificent home-sweet-home New Year! My own turf, my homeground, my city - Kuala Lumpur !!

Since 1992, I had been going on this "balik-kampung" exodus where I would be parked at the kampung for several days, with hardly any public holiday left for celebrating CNY with my family members and friends in KL by the time I was back. BUT this year marks a momentous year where I am, and will be in all the years to follow, staying in KL for CNY........a dream finally coming true :D

Imagine this:
no more uncertain infinite hours of gruelling car ride (where highway or not, toll of not, the massive jams never ceased);
no more peeling of oranges and ensuring everyone has something to eat or bite into during all those hours in the car;
no more packing of all belongings to ensure a comfortable stay in the in-laws place (meaning that I'll be the outlaw!);
no more laying and making the bed every night and morning respectively (as we only use mattresses which occupy the whole room and thus need to be packed up in the daytime!);
no more wrestling with unendurable heat in a single story zinc topped bungalow (real low too) house where you perspire profusely in every nook and corner of your body parts even when you just stand, sit or lie down;
no more reading till your eyes pop; eat till you drop (for want of something to do); sleep till you cannot open your eyes to differentiate between sleeping or waking;
- and the GREATEST of it all, no more insect bites because no matter how many times I cleaned the room, and how clean I tried to keep the mattresses and bedsheets, the insects still find their own way to my skin (and usually my son's too) - the memoirs which we inevitably and unenviably received each and every year and which lasts for a week or more after we return.

So.....there! How can I not be deliriously happy and cheerful for this good fortune of not having to endure any more of all these....

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY CNY

***cheers from ahfun***

.....of getting into "GO" mode.....

2009-01-11T03:58:00.000-08:00

Phew.....the beginning of a new school term, and we have finally survived the first week. When Friday arrived, I finally began to really totally understand what is the pertinent meaning of TGIF!!!

The first week, as with the start of all things, is always the most crucial, I imagine - to resume our "GO" mode, and pick up something left behind since the last 6-8 weeks (as the "vacationing" began after the exams before the school term actually ended in November). With each new year, the gradual addition to my maturity (ahem...) increases the hardship of getting into the gears (when bones are fraying faster than before), the mood (especially when depleting hormones [as opposed to raging ones] ride high or neigh :d), the action (at the stage of life where mind is willing but body reluctant!) and the heat (not from being hot, mind you, but rather from the sun which ultimately does the kind of undesired wonders to my skin).... and to get back on track to what used to be....

Having said that, once the train is on track, the schedules shall fall into place and life will proceed as routine yet again. The derailment was all but temporary, though absolutely necessary. Life is what we want to make out of it, and all is not impossible after all. With robust jocundity, I shall embrace my functions and take all opportunity to work on something productive whilst being idle. That's a nice thought to implement - idle productivity :D

The most wonderful thing though that I realised this year is that my children are fully supportive as well as helpful, and working hard towards their independence. They have matured into delightful assistants, especially with a good example set by the elder child. I feel gloriously blessed.

I have no resolutions for the year; though I have some inkling of wishes to be fulfilled and done, I have yet to set out any plan which I believe shall be performed in due time when the time is right. All in all, 2008 was a good year with good results, and 2009 has started along fine and slow but will be steady and good too, with the Chinese New Year creeping up soon.

I anticipate something good to report by the next time I blog despite the fact that I don't know when in heavens that will be... ^__^

***peace from ahfun***

...of glory, pride and joy...

2009-01-03T04:35:00.000-08:00

The year 2008 has just ended, and the new one has just begun......there's supposed to be wisdomous (borrowed from my son's creative vocab) words, resolutions...and the like. Alas, I have none as I am still in starstruck awe over the achievements of my two stooges (er...that would be my genes they inherited, I mean the stooge part. Wait, maybe the achievement part as well if one should care to ponder over that issue...heh heh heh!).

After all, what else can I be when I am over-brimming with pride over the achievements of both the joys of my life for attaining excellent results in both the UPSR and PMR exams respectively. It was indeed a glorious moment both in November and December when results were announced. A euphoric parent with equally euphoric children, especially so when results were actually beyond our own expectations, albeit that they had both worked hard with the right amount of attitude put in.

My greatest glory is not as much the results (though that also counted!) as their ability to be disciplined and their attitude towards work when serious work is paramount. As a parent, that comes as the greatest prize of all in parenting which reward enables us to endure all the work and sweat, tears and fears - that makes it all worth it, and pat our own back for a job well done.

At the end of 2008, it is indeed no small feat that I can lay claim that I have wonderful children (teenagers no less, mind you) - who I can truly laugh, cry, work, chat, play and practically do everything together with(serious or otherwise). A truly satisfied and proud mum who would not have and will not change anything even when given the choice to reverse the time to do so.

May we all - friends, family, acquaintances and the like - sail into 2009 with peace, joy, health and love................

***peace from ahfun***

..... of this and that .....

2008-10-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

WOW..... new blog skin - what better mode to prompt one to go back to life and update my almost "dead" blog!!! as well as to pacify and please some people who incessantly spam it with indefatiguable energy and repeated reminders....sigh! But at least I am glad that there are some issues I can blog about, and create some laughter, hopefully.....

PHEW..... it is that time of euphoric boredom after having survived two exams for 2 consecutive months, to wit UPSR in September and PMR in October! hehe... just kidding about the survival bit, it was just nothing short of just a load of pushing around, threatening, cajoling, motivating, tea-making (and other fattening processes), ensuring good and healthy partake of food, practising relaxation exercises, horizontal inertness (ie sleeping) when the need kicks in.....and of course sharpening pencils, ensuring all required stationery is prepared and available.....hmmm, that would be about it. Oh...and lastly, the one who ends up having the sleepless night(s) more than the actual participant(s)!!

BUT.... in this state of bored euphoria, I have trumped a new record...yahoo, a 93K score for my quinn game....a blooming new record!!! Of course in the midst of the game, there was this breathing down my neck or maybe a little further than that..belonging to some homo sapien who came out of my stomach about some 12 years back...not to mention the adrenaline pumping and flushing within me and the hormones jumping haywire amidst the over functioning of my sweat glands which happened to be active after a bout of cooking and a time when I was supposed to be cooling it under a nice shower!! But then again....what better time to achieve a record score? ;) The achievement had left me feeling so great that we proceeded straight to fill my stomach (such games do leave you somewhat depleted of food and energy!) and in such an instance stomach overrules the body; FOOD over SHOWER....yay!

NOW..... for some lighter moments in life, one's elevating experiences - that is the shows and plays one is forced upon in or around the confinement of small little shafts called elevators!

Scene 1 - we were happily waiting for the elevator when in trooped a "not-so-young" couple to the elevator lobby. The man looked ordinary enough but the woman is a real "knock-out" with her hair tied up at both sides of her face like those mums do for their kiddos, in short skirt complete with stockings....picture it yourself. So we stepped into the elevator which was ascending and as they indicated they were going down, we pressed for the elevator doors to be shut. Barely had the doors closed, it opened up again...and there stood this couple looking sheepishly at us. We smiled and attempted yet again to close the doors, only it repeated the former act of re-opening again. And this time, the lady promptly shook her head with the tied up hair swinging to and fro, and her hands shaking "no-no".... pipped out in the squeakiest voice ever "Not me, not me !!" We smiled and thankfully this time the doors closed properly for the lift to proceed but hardly long enough for us to hold our stomachs in before we were engulfed with the great spasm of erupting laughter!!!

Scene 2 - We were in this 5X5 space (an elevator) with maximum capacity for 800 lbs, in happy quiet contentment awaiting our destination to the basement level where our car was parked. At the next level, a group of 3 women clamoured into the same space...and one of them began this non-stopping regaling of her whole line of activity from the moment she would leave this space. Then it countered back to the reasons why she had to perform all those activities, with such details that it would have entailed how many steps it would take to walk from her hall to her bathroom if she had had the choice!! One knows that sound travels but in an enclosed space....?But God was having mercy and as luck would have it, there were only 3 levels to the basement.....so we were spared from further drudgery which would surely had occurred had we been in a skyscraper - probably down to an account of how she was born too.....

SO much about that for now, I am presently doomed to a life of inactivity with minimal exercise or gym workout for the reason of having weak knees (something to do with arthritic features at a "young" age, which is of course a wrong reason to have weak kness for!) sob sob....

BYE till .....like dunno when.....as and when the mood hits for another slug at this blog ^_^ Though it may be sooner than expected, seeing the amount of delightful inactive and bored periods imminently cropping up in my lifestyle pro-tem.....

***peace from ahfun***

.....of new beginnings ???.....

2008-05-06T08:22:00.001-07:00

Hah..... blogging without prompting from those certain quarters who live really close to me. HOW'S THAT? Betcha they don't even realize or notice this posting.........

Anyway, as I am still reveling in this comfort zone of my life, feeling absolutely contented (albeit in a deceptive state which I may not even realize or have any inkling about) and happy with my family and my domesticated lifestyle, I have eventually launched into an active mode in this otherwise mundane routine of fetch and feed!

Now, besides the fetch and feed and fuss, I actually live my life of exercise, urut and lepak. This is a lifestyle that suits me fine and fiddle! After months of inertia and lethargy, it is good to be working out - not to mention beautiful instructresses and cute instructors to feast one's eye with. The sweat (not with blood and tears, though) really boosts up energetic levels and assists tremendously in filling up one's moods. The massages, despite the blue-black marks and aching pain (not in the ass), helps to relief the tension and wind. Needless to say, the lepak-ing is the best solution to any woes, dilemmas, frustrations or melancholic state one is in (whether it is due to spouse, offsprings, domestic help, etc....).

Recent developments have seen my house being filled with teenagers! Wow...... first impression - their shoe sizes! Should anybody (at least those from my era, at any rate) had only a glimpse of their shoes, we would have wild imaginations of the size of these giant teenagers putting their feet in them! And my mum used to incessantly complain of my shoe size of 8 and my height of 5'6" equivalent to about 1.68m! (for females, that is). Golly gee.....are people getting bigger or is it just those who visit us ???

Ah....let me share this satirical moment of mine in the gym, the new launch of my active lifestyle which actually see me doing classes in Body Balance, Precision Cycling, Pumps and Latin Jam. Body Balance went fairly well without me cracking any bones or spraining any muscles (yet...). Precision Cycling, as far as I could manage, went along - of course, there are all sorts of sizes and shapes in the class but all clad in fashionable gab except for, of course, yours truly here who look like the MRS. AH SOH UNIVERSE in drab outfit - except, too, for those whose shape and size not only outdo mine but whose cycling too. The misfit both in gab and in energy/stamina - ME.

The best is the Pumps Class..... standing tall, and about the biggest woman in the hall..... lifting the SMALLEST weights of all.....standing at the back corner - Sharon Loh!!!

Heh heh.....not to worry, cos I am having a whale of a time and trust me, I shall improve and make it to a better position than standing at the back corner! In any case, who cares so long as I am enjoying it.......... What's important is that I have great KIDS who support me whole-heartedly and laugh along with me, and a fantastic home.

***peace from ahfun***

....of lethargy of great enormity....

2008-03-25T06:40:00.000-07:00

Gosh.....it's been eons since I last blogged, AND there's been enough of exasperated urging from certain quarters. Now, let's see....there were abundant reasons abound for not having visited my very own blog (which I suspect is being inspected more often by people whose blogs I should be the inspector of!!)..sigh.. BUT for all the sebab-sebab under this universe, nothing is truer (if such a word does exist!!!) than just plain LAZINESS!!! - lethargy of the greatest enormity...ahahahahaha.....

There had been so many issues to write about, but had been discarded simply because they did not truly reflect the theme of my blog which is set to be satirical. Far from it, most occasions are either emosifying (!!another newly coined term!!) or melancholy or joyful. that is another of my reasons... a valid one, aha!

One other cause of my laying off is that I actually was suffering from writer's block - words just seemed to delude me and defy coming from whatever little grey matter I have. Without the full throttle of expression, how can I ever write anything?!!!

Anyway, I will attempt, at the very least, to please the creator of my blog to placate her urge to read something (as I was told that the subject matter really did not matter at all). So there, people ^0^

Here's at least one moment that ought to be good enough to share - satirics at car parks. as most of us know, one pays for parking fees either with a ticket or use the "touch'n'go" (TnG) card by touching it on the reading gadget when you enter and exit a car park. As I was exiting one day, there was this nice car (forgot the make) in front of me, driven by a man in a neat long-sleeved shirt complete with cuff-links. He had obviously used his TnG card to enter the car park as he took out his card still inserted in his smart tag to exit. NOTE this, instead of touching the reader with the card, he stuck out his nicely cuffed-sleeved hand with his smart tag, fully expecting the barrier to whiff up to allow him to pass. when that did not happened, he waved his smart tag agitatedly......in great expectancy for the barrier to lift JUST LIKE AT A TOLL GATE!!! inwardly groaning for I was in a rush....my thoughts were far from gracious "You've GOT TO touch your card at the reader, YOU IDIOT!" for what seemed an eternity, he finally realized his folly and got on with the job, just as I was about to pull up my handbrakes and walk over to educate him on use of smart tags and TnG cards at toll booths and car parks....

Last Sunday, I had the first (and last) experience of my lifetime - watching the GRAND PRIX at Sepang. All the preparations for the final race, and the noise of the engines with the heat of the day were a climax of sorts! Though it was a fun experience, and I exceptionally enjoyed looking at those beautiful race cars, I got completely and thoroughly lost at the number of laps they did. the amount of noise generated is ear-splitting, headache-inducing and all-vibrating!!!! The other disadvantage of sitting at the grand stand was that it was on the straight stretch of the track which was a not-happening place to be at all - zilch "0" action!!! of course, the good part was that it was covered, airy (albeit hot and humid), with enough food to take home(++) and in front of the finishing line.....to sum it up, it was an experience or moment that I would not have missed but nevertheless will not be too enthusiastic to repeat either.

till then, may peace be with all our politicians.......

***peace from ahfun***

.....of celebrations, resolutions and reflections.....

2008-01-05T03:57:00.000-08:00

The old year had just slipped by, and the new has begun...... the celebrations are now over, be it to end the old year or to usher in the new. All the world over, in the numerous places - in public or private - all did their countdown to a brand new year.

The usual phrases were uttered...."wow, it's been a year!"; "time flies"; "the year has just passed by so fast"..... Really? And I thought we were always taught that there are 24 hours in a day; 365 days in a year (or 366 in a leap one)...... maybe some have shorter time in their world..?.. The impression that they impart sort of make you seem to feel that they experience less than 60 seconds a minute; less than 60 minutes an hour; less than 24 hours a day.

In any case a new year has dawned. Two matters come to mind - to resolve (to look forward and make your objectives clear; and of course to implement it - the most crucial and difficult part of the task); and to reflect (to look backwards and review your triumphs and blessings along with your errors and lessons). Though I have been advised not to make resolutions that I cannot keep, I have long faced up to the reality in life that nobody really keeps their resolutions 100 percent!

Upon reflection of the year that has past, I had my ups and downs - but eventually it can be said that it had been a satisfying year with lessons being learned on most aspects of living (some even from my children). For the most part I have definitely learned to slow down, relax and keep a more even pace with life..... even to the inconceivable point that I am able to leave a cluttered shelf or wardrobe for days on end! Notwithstanding that I had not even been at home hopping on to get my children to rush and be ready for me to sent them to any activity of theirs, I was merrily indulging in my own frolic and had to be called and reminded to rush home.....incredible! Hardly the character that some of my friends found credible at all! And having relieved myself of much of the extra-curricular activities for the past year that I used to partake previously also assisted in luring me into this lethargic state of mind and body. The resultant effect which I happily conclude was I ended up reading more books than before, played more games with my kids, and while my time away in absolute mindless waste!!! To top it all, I am actually enjoying it ^o^

Looking forward to another relaxing year....sigh...maybe a trifle tricky. But with a bit of luck and blessed kids, I may yet be able to enjoy a laid-back time to indulge with some desired activities to boot. But then again....I have yet to plan out these "non-activities" or stuff I enjoy doing. Yep...that's more me, the need to plan out even relaxation and free time still prevails! In which case, I suppose I would wish to plan out doing stuff which I enjoy and stuff which I may like to take up. Not discounting the household chores and management, of course - the profession of motherhood!

I wish all on this earth, under this sky, to have a good year ahead....which does not necessarily mean one without woes but with worthwhile lessons to be acquired with the hope of making us wiser. As someone in my secondary school days had once taught me: "Life without sorrow is as drab as life without joy". So there you are.... HAPPY 2008

***peace from ahfun***

.....of trips, t-shirts and tents....

2007-12-19T06:31:00.000-08:00

Scooted to two places for a breather from home within a week, one after another. Lesson learnt from experience: where possible, avoid attempting to leave for another trip in the morning after returning from one the afternoon before, ESPECIALLY when there are loose ends, urgent matters and instructions to be attended to. However....things have a way of working out (or off...) and it proved to be as a good a break as any.

In the charmingly chaotic city of Bangkok, where food is heavenly (especially with the "gunpowder" guaranteed to work wonders for your throat!) and shopping is for those "till-you-drop" species, there are ceaseless wonders to awaken your senses - besides the spices and prices, of course - the food peddled by roadside hawkers and the consumers of these food; the size of their shopping malls in which one day is insufficient to cover; the types of fashion available; notices of t-shirts: waiting for my boss; l love my boyfriend/girlfriend; sick my duck (to be reflected on by some sick people or is it supposed to be creative!?!).....

But the most incredible part of my trip was that in the food haven where I relish all the noodles, I had actually ended up the last evening with a Starbucks mushroom chicken pie! Boo hoo hoo.....

The cause of it: unfruitful shopping - note UNFRUITFUL!!

If it had been the consequence of happy successful shopping, it would have remedied stomach matters, but.......... Alas, it is too miserable to describe, the time wastage that particular evening for the sacrificial dinner is totally woeful, to say the least.

It was fortunate that I was able to do a fair job in the earlier part of the day, and that, I presume, should suffice for this short swift sweet trip till I get another opportunity.

The clouds and drizzle at Penang (the second destination) were greeted with much glee by my kids and I, though there are some who vehemently object! We were able to hang around the pool (at least I hung around whilst the kids were in it) for a major part of the day. It was joyously cool and fantastically "un-sunny"..... bless God! It did nothing to dampen spirits or our meals in or out of the hotel.

The highlight to note was our stroll along Batu Ferringhi's night market - not the merchandise, mind you but the sights along the way: a woman with a head of meat floss hair (a snack in which we happened to be happily indulging that very afternoon!); walking tents with slits showing roving eyes (these can definitely be scary). Not to mention that we had to be careful of tents on the right and left and their stands, we had to be ever mindful of these ones that move or better yet stand in middle of the narrow passage having a discussion (so there we were, tents on left, right and centre!)

The second day with a bit more sun had me scooting off to the shopping complex....aha, to compensate for the inadequacy of the last night in Bangkok!!! (well, you do remember one of my interests listed...) And it was successful!

To cap it all, we even managed to end up at End Of The World for the evening; but of course, unlike Captain Jack Sparrow, we also managed to get home...CHEERS!

Now....life resumes to its normalcy and stability - but it sure helped to get something out of the ordinary for a while to appreciate the realities of life and to enjoy the safe sound comfort of HOME.........

***peace from ahfun***

...the proud and happy parent...

2007-12-02T07:41:00.000-08:00

I have greatly been urged to write something, the reason being that I am all-inspiring (hahaha...though I would like some all-inspiring wizard to visit me at times). Not that it is not a nice feeling being told that...it is delirously wonderful and puts me on seven heaven! (especially when it comes forth from someone very important in one's life...top of the world, man!)

Perhaps I ought to rename my blog for a simple reason that I am inclined to relate to all sorts of moments in life (those engaged in typical feminine emotions) rather than just satirical snapshots!

I am currently enjoying the best blessed things in life - comfort at home and two wonderful children who I can relate to (though I am uncertain whether this is reciprocated but I shall live in the blissful ignorance and assumption that it is).

The most important factors that make me feel so proud and happy, which simply cannot be put into words to express the exact magnitude of these emotions, are

* to be able to encourage, inspire and actually witness a person to work on something which would have been inconcievable to another human being eg: to revise and make study notes during a school holiday;

* to see my own offsprings in a stage where they are able to exercise self-discipline and keep true to themselves in setting their goals;

* crucially, and most of all, to revel in the ability of witnessing someone able to implement and execute the plans/schedule set for oneself.....in any aspect of life.

* to view creativity as it comes from individuals, which has always been elusive in my own pathetic life, no matter how hard I wish to be!

It is with some guilt that I cannot be objective in this posting as I am so proud and happy with my children for this period of time for all their efforts and truly spectacular activities:-

Shufei - for her hard input into the subjects taken in F1 and F2 (an undertaking which is immeasurable and deserves immense respect for the exercise of such self-discipline); in addition to her sports regime of tennis lessons and competitive swimming; and her creativeness in all things.

Wensheng - for his effort in competitive swimming (such an unimaginable feat for all the laps which he did, in my opinion) and tennis lessons; his talents in drawing and animation; and his studies.

I applaud them for keeping up with a balanced life, and the discipline to keep all in line.

the proud and happy parent,
***peace from ahfun***

...a journey in life, lessons to learn...

2007-11-24T23:43:00.000-08:00

Just heard from a friend that a mutual friend of ours is feeling kinda mixed within after her son's marriage solemnization. Had also attended another friend's daughter's wedding last week.....yeah, you've got it right - I am at that age where friends' issues are getting married!!

Before I am placed too high on the age pedestal, I should mention that I am also at that age when friends consult me about primary schools and kindergartens to send their children to.... aah....still not that far off!

Not to derail myself from the melancholy track of life's journey when one's children grow up and change their status from "single" (the zone where parents live in the comfort and perception that these children -be they 15 or 45- still belong to them) to "married".......

Does the marriage of your child somehow draws the vision that you have lost him/her? Can it not be envisaged that you have gained a son/daughter in this process? Or is it a time when you feel that part of your responsibility has been lifted and replaced by another? And could it also be another one of those "letting go" lessons in life to be acquired and endured by a parent, particularly the parent who has spent so much time and effort nurturing the child since birth, and more particularly for such a parent with an only child?

Hence, it is not totally unimaginable to understand the difficult struggle in such an instance for a single parent (through widowhood or otherwise), with an only child, feeling a trifle lonely and lost.

Whilst it is easy to tell another to look on the positive side and think of having an additional member in the family, it may well prove difficult to put to practice. I have yet to even appreciate or experience the very first "letting go" lesson which I kept mentally preparing myself...unless crying for the whole first week of sending my first-born to day care (to prepare me to return to the gruesome work world after spending one and a half years with her) counts!!

I read all theses articles about separation woes of the babies, but nothing prepared me for the parent's woes...AT ALL!!! The emptiness, the sadness, the guilt, the worries...... the feeling that others cannot possibly and are not able to care for my baby! Gosh!!! It will be a triple mission impossible for parents to find any other human in this world who meets the standards and expectations required to "look after" their children (whatever age they may be) the same way they did!

BUT....as life journeys on, the children have their own life journeys ahead...it is time to look back, reflect on all you have done to the best of your ability, have the good memories, and move on.........

and I wish my friend - and all other friends who are, may or will be going this path of their journey - all the strength, hope and peace, love and happiness within to move on and enjoy their lives.

peace from ahfun

MY GRANDE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

2007-11-24T01:24:00.000-08:00

It is timely now to express my profound gratitude to those who have made this blog a reality:-

Shuf - the creator of this whole massive intelligence: settings, skin, etc etc, without whom it would not have come into existence;

Wens - the provider of his ever-wonderful array of artistic flair to make up the skin to dress up the intelligence conducted by Shuf.

And to both for their persistent encouragement and inspiration to embark on this venture......though, I truly hope I can live up to it and not dwindle as with the other IT adventures which again I was led into with much zest and earnestness...

Mayhaps, one day, I may after all become the author I yearn to be albeit unread and unbeknowst to all except for the most important girl and boy in my life.

Most of all, I am extremely happy to be blessed with my family who I love tremendously =))

***peace from ahfun***

New Blogskin

2007-11-24T00:39:00.000-08:00

Yo everybody! =D
It's the proud h-t-m-l, photoshopper ~~writing~~ typing this post, no really deeeeep, meaningful words and such that will make you go, "whoaaaaaaaa!" in awe and - uhm - horror?
Why doesn't anyone understand the things she writes? I understand it!!! =D
Hmmm.
Nothing in particular to write about, because I am certain you wouldn't want me to advertise my blog...or something very uncreative.

...... ticket of yesterday....

2007-11-22T00:33:00.000-08:00

picture this.....

you are in the motion of such an activity of reserving seats for a movie, a process which any human with normal mental faculty would envisage as a simple act....but this is a classique moment in life that should not escape being recorded.

of course, it is the normal course of events that you be greeted on the phone by Ms Machine (in this mechanical world) instructing you the numbers you have to press for corresponding cinemas, movies, day, time, etc, in relation to the movie that you wish to view.

but this simple little mind here failed to comprehend that after having entered the correct numbers for the cinema (1 Utama - press 2), movie (Bee Story - press 4), then the part for the day of viewing, here's the unique announcement from Ms Machine:

for Tuesday, 20 November - press 1;
for TODAY, 21 November - press 2;
for Thursday, 22 November - press 3;
for Friday....and so on...

since TODAY is 21 Nov, and the day the call to reserve tickets is being made, how on earth does one make a reservation for tickets of yesterday?? and more interestingly, do they also provide a mode of transport for you to view a movie aired yesterday???

this sure beats a lot of movies and cinemas in town.......perhaps this is the futuristic promotional feature for cinemas to lure patrons who have left a movie or two unwatched yesterday and provide them the opportunity to do so without undue loss of time!!! hooray to technology!!!

***peace from ahfun***

my first blog

2007-11-21T01:00:00.000-08:00

Wow......finally, I was actively assisted into commencement of something which I know zilch about or have any inkling as to my durability stand on it.......but ah!.. it is a great feeling to join the masses of being "IN" - hey, a blogger, man!

Now...ahem... as I am expected to at the very least say or enter something intelligible, humorous, or make an enviable entrance, it would be undeniable that I end up being known..for ignominity! A definite suicide as I have just gotten up from slumber with a minimal amount of caffeine to boost up my blood stream and esteem. Not to mention that the brain has been somewhat slacking at this hour of the day...

So I shall just tell the truth....I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO FRIGGING IDEA WHAT TO WRITE! And sadly, I am ill-equipped, being out of my own mechanical environs of easy computers and keyboards (as I am using the one which belongs to the one who is GREATLY assisting me), I cannot continue anymore....not for the time being, at any rate. But shall continue at a more conducive environment and time.

Before that, I wish to say a BIG THANK YOU - danke - kepada my great educator in compu-science, greater companion at fun and greatest pal of all.

**peace from ahfun**

Moments...

... of one trip, and another, and yet one more trip ...

.... of wasted efforts and time spent .....

.....of the long-lost and the lost....

.... of leisure and free time ....

.....of syndromes (es!)....

.....towards the mid-century era.....

...of survivorship and death....

...of truly happy new year days....

.....of getting into "GO" mode.....

...of glory, pride and joy...

..... of this and that .....

.....of new beginnings ???.....

....of lethargy of great enormity....

.....of celebrations, resolutions and reflections.....

.....of trips, t-shirts and tents....

...the proud and happy parent...

...a journey in life, lessons to learn...

***MY GRANDE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS***

New Blogskin

...... ticket of yesterday....

my first blog

MY GRANDE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS