When the going gets tough...

....yours truly ran away! Heheh.

Seriously, I was at my wits end. Nothing went right from the moment I step into the office. Internet connection decided to choose today to act up, something was terribly wrong with some of the servers (probably all of them), all the people i need to talk to were on vacation and...ermm...boss was no where in sight too.

So, after taking the remaining staffs to company year end lunch on behalf of the missing boss, i declared a half day off. It was new year eve anyway. Made a few phone calls, talked hubby into it and went home to pack. We were going to Lumut for an overnight stay so that I, the stressed out FC, could wind down and think straight again. The boys, blessed my new maid, were already dressed and packed.

Actually, it was hubby who was supposed to be at his Lumut office tomorrow for God only knows what. I rarely tag along. Honestly, who would have wanted to leave one office only to show up at another ? But this time, I was determined to stay at hotel with the boys and try to recuperate. And hope that all the servers were up and running by Friday.

Well...after a delicious seafood dinner somewhere at Lumut area...I felt almost human again :)

Home alone

I so love Subang airport. I landed at 7.20pm from KT and was home by 7.50pm. I'll use this route more often from now on, rather than driving all the way to KLIA/LCCT.

Aidil Adha this year was rather quiet and wet. Thankfully, the heavy rain was over. We had drizzle all day long though.

I wonder if my kids realised that their mom was not there at Losong.

Amri is 8!

Though he is still a bit confused - why just 8 years old when Year 2 is already over? He insists that he is 9.


He had a small party earlier at daycare, with Ben10 cake. Poor boy, he wanted a birthday party at home but I did not feel up to it. So we just had a birthday dinner









Birthday boy and his birthday icecream








Helping Cu Nan finishing dinner








An innocent post with Aunty Cik








Tuck in!

More school holiday programmes

Since people are asking, here are a couple more....

Swimshark School Holiday Swimming Lesson
Venue : Pusat Akuatik Shah Alam
Time : 9am and 5pm (err..not too sure), every Monday to Friday
Contant person : Shahir/Marilyn
Contact no : 012-3912513

Smart Reader TTDI Jaya
1. Craft Workshop (4-10 yrs old) RM25
2. Kids Cooking Workshop (4-10 yrs old) RM30
3. Intro to ABC (3-6 yrs old) RM30
4. Drama Workshop (5-12 yrs old) RM35
Contact no: 016-6842834



I think I have a lot more scattered around in my already chaotic house. But by the time I managed to wade through the mess and actually come across anything, the holiday would be long over.

School Holiday Programme

More than ten years ago, when I was still single and working at a Japanese factory, I was always baffled when, come school holiday season, my colleagues would start planning their vacation with military like precision. The three moms and one dad in my department were always gloating about the fact that their departments had two singles who could take over the workload. Our manager was single too but too scary to be counted in. In between the vacations, they'd be busy planning for the children school holiday program, from swimming to ballet to summer camp. Or, if none available, the kids would be carted off for a fortnight stay in kampung with their grandparents, with maid in tow. Of course, packed with loads of activity books that the kids were supposed to complete during their holiday.

I always marveled at the buzz during that period but secretly told my ignorant self to just take it easy when it was my turn. My kids could spend all day playing outdoor or watch tv all day if that is want they want.

Now I know.

I definitely do not want my boys to watch tv all day. It is too dangerous to let them play by themselves outdoor. Playing indoor is dangerous to my bank balance, the boys seem to break everything except the wall.

So, I found myself doing exactly whatever my seniors then did. Scouting for holiday programme, arranging vacations, balik kampung trips, intensive mengaji class etc. With military precision. My seniors at the jap factory are now enjoying kids free days (and empty nest syndrome for some). I'd better enjoy this while I still could.

Here are a couple of good holiday program near my place:

Sri Kayangan Language School Holiday Programme
Address: Jalan Opera U2/L, TTDI Jaya, Shah Alam (above Big Food Restaurant)
Period : 24 Nov 2008 to 19 Dec 2008
Time : 9am to 3pm
Activities
Weekly - Tae Kwon Do, Swimming, Yogakids, Computer, Cooking Class, Art&Craft
Daily - Quran/Moral Study, English Conversation, Speech & Drama and a lot more
Fee : 8 yrs and below RM480, 9 yrs and above RM650 . 10% sibling discount. Fees inclusive of food, material & weekly field trip
Contact : Aisha Zanariah Abdullah 016-2831002
Transport can be arranged.
My boys attended this programme last year and for some reason, preferred to converse in English for the whole school holiday. They still kept the art& craft project till now.

Akademi Qurra - Pusat Bimbingan Al Quran & Fardu Ain
Address : TTDI Jaya shoplot, above Pasar Mini Lina (cant remember the street name)
Activities : Daily Quran/Qiraati, Fardu Ain, Intensive Solat, Bahasa Arab
Fees : Rm70
Contact: Ustazah Roslina 019-3401053 (one of the most wonderful teacher that I know of)


Have fun.

My little dancer

Yesterday morning, hubby & I went to q-dees for the final parent teacher meeting this year. Adam had done unbelievable well. We just ignored the straight C's for his Mandarin. But the rest was great. And Teacher Azira mentioned that Adam loves dancing and enjoyed his concert training tremendously. He likes signing too. He has a bestfriend - Syafiq, and always shared food with him. Bless you, Shafiq dear. It is not easy for Adam to make friends on his own, always in the shadow of the very outgoing Amri. Must remember to invite Shafiq & his parents to Adam's birthday party next January.

I am so happy that Adam is no longer the introvert quiet mouse that he was 11 months ago. He now talks a lot in class, sometimes playing a goody two shoe - telling Teacher Azira what his classmates are up to, and volunteers for almost everything. Am also happy that he is developing his own personality, instead of trying to copy whatever Amri is doing at any given time. He finishes 4 1/2 of his english readers (out of 8) which i think is good enough for a four year old.

Before we left, Teacher Azira commented again that Adam could really dance and he has no stage fright. Okay....could be from following me to all those aerobics/hip hop & belly dance classes.

This morning, we were at q-dees again for their fun fair. Adam was excited to go but became dissappointed when he noticed none of his friends were there. Especially Syafiq. Muncung 14 le cik tembam nih. But he did joined the games , albeit unsmilingly. The games were conducted in 4 different classroom, managed by 4 groups of teachers. Every time we entered into a classroom, the teachers would commented how good Adam danced during the concert and how fast he picked up the step. Flawlessly.

Then I entered the principal office for next year reenrollment. The principal gave the same statement. And so does the admin manager there, adding that Adam should be narrator next year since he loves the microfone so much.

Gosh!

I did not noticed that I had one son that is musically inclined. True, he sings a lot at home but so did Amri during that age. To think that I only had two boys to pay attention to. What do I do now? Adam did ask me some time ago whether he could have a drum set for his birthday. But I was thinking about Amri at that age, whom changed his interest almost weekly.

I'll wait and see first.

Rest, recuperate and rambling

SOX Audit was over. Did much better than last audit but still, not good enough.

I am exhausted and stressed out.

I need a break. Something to put my internal system back into its track.

A cardio kickboxing session would be nice. (kick the auditor would be better)

Anyway, since juggling is my main job description nowadays, I'll settle for a few laps during the boys swimming class tonight.

Or maybe not. First, I'll need 3 pcs of 50 cents shilling for locker. And i'll be using outdoor pool while the boys are at indoor pool. I still could not get over the anxiety of leaving 4 years old Adam at 6 feet pool (or more) no matter how good his instructor said he is. The way I see these two rascals pushing at each other...oh no...the instructor will need a few pairs of eyes all around his head to make sure they are not trying to drown each other. Wonder if they will let a non student swim at the indoor pool...

*Sigh*

I'll just grab a book then and curl up somewhere at the poolside.

I'm thinking of taking up aikido. Perhaps after the outstation business trips season is over. Want to join?

It is only 9am and yet..

Please God....help me go through the rest of today. It is early yet but already I feel like throwing a big tantrum.

The microwave died on me just when I was rushing to get breakfast going.

My blackberry refused to start up after I left in on the charger the whole night. Was there a power surge or something?

I have a SOX audit this morning.

I had less than 3 hours sleep.

My laptop failed to detect LAN connection so I have to rely on wireless network.

So help me God.

Pizza online

I had a busy day. The big boss was out of town and so did the bogger boss at home. What is it with these two guys? I felt like they were planning their travel itenary together just for the fun of seeing me in the deepest trouble I could find myself in at any given time.



Since I had to rescue Adam from his daycare and be at home before Amri arrived from school but none of my report were completed yet, i decided to work from home. If I were to work from home, I did not want to spend the 'home' time looking for dinner and get drenched in the process. Plus, I needed to finish up quickly before we had to go out again for the boys swimming lesson. So i ordered pizza online. Clever me.



Only that, it rained heavily. It took me an hour to reach home. Pizza delivery only took 20 minutes. Fortunately, I've already paid the order by credit card. So the pizza boy left it on my doorstep. I must admit, it was rather a happy occasion to reach home and found a box of pizza smiling at you right on your doorstep.

Reunion 2008

To sum it up, we had a great time!

This time round, the reunion was 90% organised by hubby, while I just helped out a little bit here and there, thanks to my chaotic schedule. Anyway, hubby did just fine on his own. It was a smaller crowd this year and we opted for potluck. Which we all agreed was a good option because we ended up with huge varieties of yummy foods. Add to the fact that we were picnicking by the poolside :)

A big thank you to all that participates and very sorry because we were not able to give out vehicle pass to everybody. Priority went to those with babies/toddlers and who brought heavy food. Mind you, we even had a watermelon, still uncut by the end of the day. Thanks to Erma and hubby for handling the registration and collection. Thanks to May/Azlan for the bagful of pressies. All kids ended up with one pressie each :)

Due to one of the organisor too busy to think up of suitable activities, the reunion ended up as a makan a lot + sembang a lot session. All kids (except Amin's tod) were safely in baby pool so the parents were left in peace. Amri, Adam and Irfan refused to enter baby pool and opted for adult pool instead. which caused quite a commotion when the other children started to follow. I didn't know how other parents did it but all kids were back safely into baby pool after a few minutes. All except these 3 boys. Grrrr. But since no other kids attempted to join them again so we just let the three boys enjoyed showing off their half baked swimming skill.

We had trouble to get the kids out of the pool and enter the drawing contest though. But they were out eventually. After 4 hours inside the water. Gosh...these kids!

Anyway, we had loads of FUN. It was so lovely to see you guys again. Lets do another one soon. Something like this. A combination of pools and plenty of food. Perhaps somewhere where we all could drive and park right beside the pool. Bukit Cerakah is great but to carry the loads (kids+ food) on foot is pure torture. Lets get a beach resort instead.

For anyone interested to organise a small get together at Bukit Cerakah, the rental is pretty cheap. Pool (baby + adult) is RM200 and poolside (2 pondoks with powerpoint & fan) is RM100. There is also a cafe nearby for extra food/drinks. Changing room & toilets are horrible though.

Amin, Xanna & Intan....dont forget the photos, ok.
Sis May, thanks for the foods & watermelon
Edi & wife, we love the nasi impit
Whomever brought the mee....it was lovely. Adam ate twice.
Xanna, the choc cake was heaven
Amin, the pudding was just perfect on a hot day
Kak Azi & Nelina...you guys missed a lot..hehe

Kids at baby pool

My genius senior, Erma - volunteering as treasurer for the day. Thanks, Erma












Amin & family. Next time bring swimsuits ok.

Mr Organisor and his corporate gang






Organisors










Adam & Irfan











Yummy foods

xPKL Reunion cum Family Day

*copy and paste from externalzone yahoogroup*

Venue : Pool Side, Camar Rimba, Taman Pertanian Malaysia, Shah Alam (aka. Bukit Cerakah)
Date & Time : Sunday, Nov 2, 2008. 9.00 am - 1.00 pm

Events :
1) colouring & drawing contest for kids
2) water activity for kids (pls bring suitable cloth for their splashing time)
3) animal visiting and feeding session
4) makan makan for adult :)

1)Invited members:All former students and lecturers of UITM Pusat Kursus Luaran (ACCA,ICSA, MICPA, CIMA)

2) How to reach Camar Rimba:
Buy the entry ticket (RM3 for adults,RM1 for 6-12 yrs kids, free for kids below 6).
Take the bus, advise the driver that you want to go to camar rimba. The driver will drop you near the taman haiwan. You need to take a 5 minute walk before reaching Camar Rimba.

3) Things to bring:Your own food since its a pot luck event. There is a nearby stall, just in case you wish to order simple foods.

4) Cover charge:RM10 perfamily, to cover site rental, some drinks and gifts to our kids. Pay on the day itself.

5) Souveneir exchange - Please bring a beautifully wrapped souveneir for gift exchange session. Neither big nor expensive. Just a token for friends

Queries - pls email Mr Organiser - En Mohd Sidki Hasan (ACMA, MBA)

It is a sunny day

Good, isn't it? After weeks (or months) of battling with congested road due to flash flood somewhere, we are now blessed with a few days on sunshine. It was hot but it was allright. Up until last Friday, I was seriously considering to buy a cloth dryer. Or maybe a washer cum dryer since space is going to be quite an issue at my next house. In fact, I was already comparing between bosch and electrolux and wishing both companies would come up with a nice looking model like LG. A maroon washer would surely liven things up in my tiny kitchen :)

Well, anyway. Since the sun was out and loads of laundry were dried up naturally, I think I'm going to shelve the washer/dryer plan get a maid instead. Have to. My poor kids are now breeding lices on their cute little head, courtesy of some friends at daycare. And I am due in HK by mid December and I seriously do not want to ask my mom and MIL to come again.

Sigh! How did other moms made it look/sound so easy? To have a family, a career, a little bit of travelling, no maid and a hobby or two and still being sane enough at the end of the day to answer a few schoolwork questions from the kids...

Happy deepavali to my indian friends

Accounts mapping

I think it was a mistake when I decided to bring in the SL7 team to our office rather than I flew to Melbourne and did these things there.

For one, my big boss didn't feel the need to stay in office (or in Malaysia for that matter ) if I were around. Thus, all daily stuffs were automatically diverted my way. Obviously, big boss feeling was mutually shared with my bigger boss at home. Needless to say, household management were mine too.

I might be boasting about my multitasking skill numerous time but to pull a stunt like this, you'll need to be a qualified magician. The kids riled me up, ruined my schedule and the big boss was emailing with this and that requests. I ended up getting very bad tempered and equally useless at home or at office. I locked myself inside the meeting room with the Aussie team at office and then locked myself inside master bedroom at home.

Well, I completed the mapping beautifully and the two boys were still alive. Please pat me on my back.

I think I'll agree with doing the training at Hong Kong. Anywhere else for that matter. Or, if we were going to do it in Malaysia, I'll book a hotel + meeting room. Not just for the visitors, but for me as well.

Aidilfitri this year

Quite a quiet one. Tok was not well. She did not even recognised me anymore. Met some of the cousins but not all of them.

Amri and Adam had loads of fun though. Plenty of duit raya and bunga api as well as their favourite food. Amri was a little bit uncertain though during breakfast. He wasn't quite sure whether he was allowed to eat but the food spread were there waiting. So he gingerly nicked one ketupat. The another. Then after asking around for a gazillion times whether he could eat...he then really sit down and has a big feast. And that was before solat. Another round of feast after solat aidilfitri. Wonder where did all the food went to.

Balik kampung....hati girang :)

After much deliberation, we decided to take it easy. Started the journey around 10am. Packing was hellish. I did not really finished unpacking from Shanghai trip actually. This was more like taking out another luggage and try to forget about the first one.

Traffic was marvelous. None of dreaded crawling traffic across three states. PLUS did their job well. Or maybe, most of the usual drivers were already at their kampung days ago. We were among the last few travellers. Heh.

Hope the boss will present 2009 budget well. I was just extremely happy that I was not the one presenting it at HQ at this time of the year. Sadly, not a chance for me to leave the laptop behind. Sigh. Sometimes, different time zones could put you at disadvantage

Arrived at Kedah pretty early. The boys did not sleep at all during the journey. Amri was still fasting. 30 days. I was so proud of him.

Still hard at work

This was one of the reason why I dreaded going to Shanghai last week. While 80% of Klang valley population were already on their way back to their respective hometown, or already happily cooking lemang at kampung, I was still here. Miserably slogging away at my desk. Could not even came in late because I had an appointment with an insurance broker at 10am. The only good thing was that traffic was ridiculuosly clear. The drive to office took about 20 minutes. All the queue jumper morons were absent as well, perhaps busily jumping queue at highways.

Office was quiet. My brain cell was either still at shanghai or already back to my hometown.

Phew....glad to be home

Reached KLIA at 3.30pm after quite a bumpy ride towards the end.Really, really glad to be home. Now I could start shopping and packing for Eid.

Shanghai FC, Malaysia FC, HK FC, new boss - aka VP and Australia FC. Singapore FC is very camery shy and prefer to be photographer.

Had a bit of scare last night. I was out shopping at nearby mall when Mr VP called me back for a short meeting. Mr VP just joined the company three months back and this was his first meeting with financial controllers all over the world with Asia Pacific being the final group.

The meeting turned out to be just a coffee break and the reason, get this, he was concerned with my huge age gap from the rest of the FCs.

Gosh! How could that be an issue. Granted, I was not as well versed on technical side of GAAP compared to the rest but I knew I did well. Shanghai GM, who used to be malaysia GM came to my rescue though. I was voted the best FC he ever knew and lets not forget that I managed malaysia/brunei operation for about six months while waiting for a new GM. Phew! I knew I could stood up on my own but it never hurt to have a third party vetting me through. Now, if only I could live up to the glory :) Thanks xGM. I'll buy you lunch next time you were in malaysia.

And many thanks to Shanghai FC too. Being quite new to the group, he dilligently googled the net for information about ramadhan so that to make my stay as comfortable as possible. The new VP was also given a crash course about islam and ramadhan.

Yey!!!

Meeting has finished. All topics has been wrapped up nicely. I'm itching to go out and hit the road. There is a nice fake stuffs shopping place nearby, at Shanghai Science & Technology Museum. Or maybe I should take a peep inside the museum as well. After two days being confined inside a meeting room, there is nothing I need more than retail theraphy. As well as some exercise to straighten back all my aching, screaming muscle.

But.............it rains!!!!!!!! Heavily.

Hmmmm. Well, I'll just wait it out for now. Iftar is in about one hour time. I'll go my free way with full stomach. More energy then. Rain or no rain.

Boring le pulak. Singapore FC and HK FC are already on their way to airport. Australia FC will follow suit shortly. Lucky them. I have VP, IT Manager and Internal Auditor for company if I need one. Or shanghai FC. But I'd rather be on my own. Two days is more than enough. Until the next finance meeting in about 6 months.

Rain....please, please stop soon.

This must be the reason why this hotel provides an umbrella in very room.

Missing home

My workstation for these few days. The wireless connection is not so stable but broadband is pretty good. I forgot to bring my adaptor and had to spend 10 minutes explaining what I need to the hotel housekeeping staffs. Finally their assistant manager came to my rescue

Nice big bed but nobody to snuggle to :(

There is a nice big lcd tv too but nobody to fight over the channel with.

Miss the boys....

KL - Shanghai

The plane was was super smooth on the first half and extra bumpy on the other half. Probably due to typhoon at Hong Kong. Why though, I had to fly economy class when I am entitled to 5 star hotel? Thank God I escaped the Dallas trip.

I had two surprises today. First at KLIA when I bumped into an IT manager from Melbourne office, heading to Shanghai as well. Haven't got a chance to ask why he made a detour to KL first. We were in the same flight but thankfully were very far apart.
A second surprise awaited me at Pudong airport, in the form of my exGM. Now promoted to Asia Pacific MD and based at Shanghai. I was so pleased to see him. He came to specifically fetch me from airport and drive me to hotel. He was, and still is my favourite boss. My savior during the time I was an acting GM. We took the magdev and then drove to shanghai office, which was now relocated to a bigger and a lot nicer place. He then drove us to Parkview Hotel, our designated place for the next 4 days.

Had a simple and quick buka puasa in my room and later set out for dinner with HK and Spore FC, headed by Mdm HK GM who understandably, was starving for woman's company. This organisation was almost monopolised by men. Dinner however, was ruined by horrible food and the arrival of the big boss from US. But it felt good though to exchange gossips.

I'm off to bed now. Hope the two boys did not drive their father up the wall. I felt rather guilty leaving for business trip without a maid to help out at home.

Iftar at Shanghai?

The bags are packed. Presentation was prepared to the best of my ability (in between blog hopping and planning for Eid). I'll be leaving for shanghai tomorrow morning and be back just in time for an iftar with my family. Whom I hope would be missing me so much that they decided to book me for the most lavish buka puasa buffet in town this coming friday :)

Actually, it feels good to be away. If only to escape from the never ending house chores. I've reached a point where I was sorely tempted to hurl all the dirty dishes to the wall and set fire to the mountains of dirty laundry. I didn't, though. Because they are not cheap and I am obsessed with proper sit down dinner with nice plates and all. And hubby + laundry shop took over the laundry nightmare. But I did disposed a thing or two once in a while, when I couldn't be bothered with cleaning them up and pretty sure no one would miss them. Well....when the going gets too tough, the maid agency was just a phone call away, I guessed.

Anyway. How do I survive two days of being closeted with a bunch of accountants and talk shop? With a week away from Eid. God help me. I have enough RMB with me to occasionally sneak out from the hotel and hit the road. But I doubted I could get away much.

Looking forward to break fast at 5.50pm tomorrow :)

Hurricane Ike

Thanks to Hurricane Ike, my budget meeting at Singapore next week is cancelled. I may have to present it again next month at dallas, though.

It sound a bit selfish if I were to be overjoyed with the cancelled meeting now. I hope all bosses and colleagues over there in Dallas & Houston will be all right. Most of them have storm tracker installed and closely monitoring it.

And hoping that the hurricane will not cause any major spike in oil price too.

Dear boss, could we cancell/postpone Shanghai meeting too?

Gambar anak anak

Adam and cousins. The pint size Nadia is actually a few months older than Adam. Due to her teeny weeny size, Adam looks like a giant beside her.

I brought Amri for a haircut and he told the stylist to make 'rambut cacak'. However, he has soft straight hair and within a few hours the style went down. He insisted I buy him hair styling gel. Aduhai anak mak sorang nih.
Well, I bought him a bottle of water based gel. He was very happy and even brought the gel to daycare. To wear before he goes off to school.

Doom and gloom

The good news is, I managed to get Friday 10am direct flight outta Shanghai. The not so good news is, my visa is still pending. The latest I heard from our travel agent, the embassy requested my bank statement. Sabor je mokcik. Thank God for internet banking, without which I may not be able to produce bank statement at all.

Another not so good news, I may be required to stay more than overnight in Singapore next week. Which meant, it will run into my Saturday. Weekend. Duh! I've already worked saturday, voluntarily, during budget meeting last year. But that was in Malaysia. I'm not about to work another Saturday this year. Especially not in Singapore. So how do I escape?

All the best to mommies of UPSR candidates. Take care okay, there is no need to scare the kids by being more nervous than they are :)
-pandai le aku cakap-

My eldest darling is still fasting

One week into Ramadhan and Amri is still doing okay. Hopefully he does not cheat and end up buying drinks from his school vending machine. But, if the state of him upon returning from school is any indication, then yes, I think he is strictly fasting. At about 6pm, the school van will drop him exactly in front of our gate and from that spot on, he would be dragging his feet and his school bag all the way into the house. Once inside, he'd flop on the sofa and refused to move anywhere. No point asking him to take his shower until after iftar. After which, he would be back to his normal self and the first thing to do was of course, pick a fight with Adam. But boy, could this one really eat. I felt like he ate more than hubby and I combined. I just noticed that he loves kerabu taugeh, lala, siput sedut, tepung pelita and pulut udang (northern version, of course). All the stuffs that I've never cooked at home. Nor I have any idea how to cook one.

He followed me to 1U to shop and chose for himself 2 pairs of pants and matching t-shirt from parkson. Fussy giler. Then flopped down on nearest sofa whenever he spotted one.

Hopefully he'll be allright for the rest of Ramadhan. He is also amazingly easy to wake up during sahur and he eats with gusto. More often than not, requesting nasi tomato or fried mee. However, just like his ibu, he declined nasi putih + lauk for sahur. My menu is more like brekkie menu and I am glad that Amri's is almost the same (except for nasi tomato part). Good boy this one, senang kerja ibu.

Monday......sigh

My painstakingly prepared budget was rejected so I had to prepare a new one.

Budget meeting would be in Singapore and finance meeting would be in Shanghai. One week after another *sigh* Of all the months in a year, the big bosses felt that they needed to squeeze in all Asia pacific related meeting in one month, namely September, namely Ramadhan. I actually did not mind a little bit of travelling. But I'd rather not be overseas a mere few days away from Eid. The period I'd usually frantically preparing the ringgit notes for duit raya, ordering cookies in 3 sets, buying baju raya for everyone and making a mad dash to shopping mall almost everyday every time I suddenly remembered I had one more nephew or Amri suddenly had a growth spurt and could not fit in into his shoes. Rotten timing.

Well, I did not mind Singapore trip as much. But Shanghai is a different matter. I am no longer anxious of what am I supposed to be presenting on the meeting days. I am more concerned of buka puasa timing and how to fit it into everyone's schedule. Plus sahur of course but I could order room service for it (about the only perks of being an FC - authorising your own expenses)

What could be more boring than being locked in a conference room with a group of clever accountants for two full days? Especially during fasting month when my soul is more comfortable with pasar ramadhan than crunching numbers. Hmmmmm.......

I sure had a blasted Monday

Back home

I need another holiday to recover from this holiday

Kuala Terengganu - Shah Alam

Shopping day!

There was a new shopping mall that I hope in future would replace Pasar Kedai Payang. It has nice elevators & escalator, airconditioned and had a staircase climbing up Bukit Puteri. I must try that next time.

We had nasi minyak lunch at mak su's house then we were off to Shah Alam. We had one leftover wedding present because I had cancelled Kerteh stopover, hence could not attend one of the technician's wedding.

There's no place like home!

Still at Kuala Terengganu

I decided againts going to Kerteh office since I was coughing like mad plus the boss was still at Shanghai office. Spent the day alternately sleeping a lot and reading a lot. Eating a lot was out of question since my sorethroat made even swallowing water a nightmare. That was okay though, I could do with a little bit of losing weight. Plus, the only food I really like over there is satar, which I believed was almost extinct (the good, not too sweet ones).

Boy, Ummi's house was sure full of babies. Thank God the two boys were old enough to fend for themselves. After a few days surrounded with babies, I didn't think I could manage a baby at my age now. How on earth did I survive the boys babyhood last time? Sure, I had a lot of help - maid, hubby, parents but still, I did the majority of night feeding myself and I even breastfed Adam. And still turn up at office promptly (somewhat). Could I do it again? Probably but I'd rather not. No offence to all supermoms out there. I took my hats off to you.

Adam in Merdeka spirit. Though hubby said he looked more like he conquered the Everest

Pantai Kelulut

There was a hidden beach near Gie's (my bro in law) house at Marang, that was so lovely. We wouldn't know how to find it if not because Gie was kind enough to be our tourist guide..he heh.


Adam, terrified of Mr Crab and hating the feel of sand under his feet, stayed close to his Ayah


Having lotsa fun frolicking at Pantai Kelulut. Caution: no changing room or public bathroom in sight


A slightly less terrified Adam. Though later he used a quarter box of tissue paper to wipe the sand off his feet and slipper.

From Kedah to Terengganu

View at Lebuhraya Timur Barat

Isn't it gorgeous day?

I was hoping that some elephant would crossed the road. I've seen them once before. We also bypassed Belum Forest Resort, near a very picturesque Tasik Banding. I would have like to plan a stay there and I was pretty sure hubby would have love it but the two boys were a lot more of city boys than I thought. I have no idea though how to make them fall in love with nature. Didn't help that lately my idea of camping trip is about pitching a tent in front of a nice, air conditioned chalet. Somehow, it seemed important to me that the two boys are introduced to the joy of fishing, swimming in a lake, paddle a boat (definitely not a speedboat)and everything else that I've enjoyed in my childhood. Oh well...one step at a time, I guess.

We dropped by at a lovely beach near Merang for our lunch. There were some fishermen just arrived with their bounty but I was not quick enough to capture that.



An hour after we arrived, I was down with fever. Probably because i was coughing pretty bad after the bucketful of rambutans. Anyway, if I were to be ill, this was a perfect place for it. I could sleep all day and no one would bat an eyelid. The two boys would disappear with their cousins and hubby was definitely having a good time with his family.

We were still in Kedah

The weather was good enough today for us to step outdoor.

Took the boys to nearby waterfall. Adam hated all the rocks and sand. He wanted a swimming pool like river..duh! Amri did not mind the rocks but insisted on his goggles. Bantai je lah....mana ada budak lain kat situ yg mandi sungai pakai goggles. I need to expose the boys more to outdoor, I think.


Then we decided to pick some rambutans ourselves, ignoring the protest from makcik esah and the fact that paksu already had a pile of rambutan ready for us to tuck in :)




Until Adam was bitten by some kerengga.

So he decided to use his slingshot instead. Boleh?
Actually,he was getting awfully good at using that thing, after 2 days of training. Mak gave him some buah cenerai to use as bullets so that he would not cause too much damage.

We were in Kedah

Since yesterday, that is. We were at Lumut before that and it was horrible. The hotel was not only full, it was overflowing. There were 4 different groups of family day event there from various part of Perak. And some people did not just stop the definition of family at just wife and children, they needed to extend it to include parents, grandparents, tok ngah and the whole town. Adoi la...I doubted even the refugees camp meal time could rival the scene at breakfast buffet table. And don't get me started with people jumping in fully clothed into the pool...ewww...

I think I need to copy BeingNormal and only go for holidays off season. Anyway, we had a good time at a wedding in Lumut. It was why we were there in the first place.



Well...I've never been so glad to see my parents house and especially my bedroom with the nice comfy bed and no one to disturb me. The boys were well taken care of and were having lesson of slingshot techniques from their Wan. Jakun sungguh anak mak.

It was so cold here....felt like on top of Cameron Highland, minus the tea and strawberry

Pemadam

Adam is pretty annoyed. Someone in his class at q-dees calls him pemadam.

Poor guy. Heheheh. Can't help you there, I'm afraid :D

Adam during his chicken pox time

Holiday!!!!!!!!!!

Starting tomorrow of course.

We'll be away for one week. Not too sure though if vacation is considered as taking a break. I'd usually ended up even more exhausted. Plus being with the boys 24x7x9 days seriously will drive me to the brink of sanity.

Nevertheless, I'd gladly welcome the change of routine and scenery. We'll be doing our Shah Alam - Lumut - Kedah - Terengganu - Cherating route. Maybe a stopover at my Kerteh office, if I'm in the mood for it. Or go interview the new salesman if the boss agrees to go with me.

My plan for the holiday is to eat a lot and sleep a lot. And leave the mess to hotels staff (or my parents) to deal with.

Dare I leave the berry behind? Oooopps...

Outsourcing

Do you know any freelance consultant that deal with Petr0nas license? I need someone to deal with renewal. Am too busy (lazy) to do it myself.

Poolside babysitter

Here I am, at PADE poolside watching Amri and Adam frolicking in the water. Only that their class finished about 45 minutes ago. The reason why I'm still here is that, one of Adam's classmate is still waiting for his mom to pick him up. He was crying initially until Amri brought him to me and I told (lied) him that his mom went to tesco to pick up a few groceries and will be back soon. Truth is, I don't know where his mom is but I've caught a glimps of her when I arrived.

I do not have the heart to leave him here with the instructors without even his change of dry clothes. So I let my boys play with him. Hope that will help. The boys are more than happy to keep him company.

Isk...isk.

Another roof over our head

Long, long time ago, we rented a cute little house at Puchong Perdana. The house no was 11. Then we moved to no.9 TTDI Jaya where we lived happily until a big flood ruined my tiny front yard and beloved neighbours started to move away. So would we, perhaps by year end. To another house at another area (konfim tak banjir). The house no is 11.

We really did run in circles.

Now you know what number our future house will be, if ever. My new house, very unfortunately, is overlooking d'puncak houses. Which look lovelier each day :D

Escape...

I am back at office! Without doctor's consent.

The boss is kind enough to ensure all staffs will go and have their chicken pox vaccination so that I could escape from my house arrest, guilt free. I love my home, I really do and I like to occasionally skive off work just like anyone else but after 10 days being confined to 1500sf space, it starts to get suffocating. If only I were to have an interest in interior design or housekeeping, my house would have gone through a complete makeover. Wishful thinking. The fact was, I could not even motivate myself to plug in the vacuum cleaner.

So here I am, back to my habitat. In the morning, I resolved to stay put in my room and only step out when absolutely necessary. But half an hour later, I found myself office hopping, in the disguise of catching up with latest activities. Like I didn't read emails for the past 10 days. Truth was, I craved the conversation. And I miss the pressure. I thrive under pressure and 10 days of playing brain dead is not good for my health. Duh.....

Okay. Now that I finished harassing all five people here, I shall lock myself in this 100sf shoe box for the next four hours and try to get some actual work done.

Let me out of here

I went to see a dermatologist at a nearby hospital this morning, with 100% faith that he would give me some kind of magic potion that will fast forward the process of skin repair and new skin regeneration. In other word, I am vain enough not to be seen with chicken pox scars all over my upper body. I put all my trust in science so that by tomorrow, the last day of my medical leave, I could go my merry way everywhere. Not just office, of course.

Anyway.

The good doctor took one look and declared I am not fit to go back to human civilisation yet. He wrote a new medical leave certificate from 1st August to 8th August. Gee....thanks so much doctor. Now, what would I do that long with just my pitiful self for company? Bear in mind that I am without a maid and my house looks more like a dumpsite than a cozy abode. Plus, not having someone to boss around is bad for my health.

*scream bloody murder*

Work from home again then, I guess. Or I could still go to office, lock myself inside my room, put a 'Quarantine' sign on the door and shoo everyone away. But then, I could still hear the laughter, the usual banter or occasional pizza party. And I'd feel very lonely.

Sick of being sick

I am so miserable that even the prospect of starting 2009 budget process once I'm back to office seems like a whole lot of fun now.

I took a sickie...

Gosh!

It has been quite some time. I was super busy chasing my own tail. But thanks to my current bouts of chicken pox, I was kicked out from the fast lane and been put under house arrest for the next nine days.

Now I found myself with plenty of time on my hand. Accompanied with zillions of nasty red dots and splitting headache. But very little choice of things to do.

Where was I?

The shock of petrol price hike came and went away gradually. People will adjust. That's what humans with half a brain do. Protest, scream or topple the current government if you must, get it out of your system. Then we all could go back to drawing board and think for a solution. Like how not to depends on oil price for our livelihood

Our new maid came and disappeared. I expected chaos. None happened. Everyone took it in stride and adjusted pretty quick. Perhaps the boys were borne with some flexible genes ingrained. And we happened to be the lucky parents who had them.

The much anticipated date for Jacobs Walk of Life came and gone. Nothing happened. I actually had a new adidas backpack for the event. Which now became Amri's swimming class bag. *sigh*

Adam's chicken pox came and went away in less than a week. Mak came to our rescue, thankfully. Adam was a model patient. Not a peep about being kept indoor for five days at a stretch. Ate, slept and drank a lot of milk. Watched a lot of tv too. In fact, we had to physically dragged him out from his perch in front of the idiot box, kicking, screaming, wailing and sobbing, so that the rest of the family members could have a decent lunch out.

My new boss came and look set to stay for a long term. I like him already, even if he removed me from my cozy pad beside the pantry to the furthest windowless corner in the name of confidentiality. He took over the extra workload which I had miraculously carried with me for the past six months. I am now, officially, just a financial controller. No more frazzled nerve. No more 3 am phone call with news of broken in site office. No more feeling near hysterical because I've forgotten to bring blackberry to Amri's swimming class. I feel like I could do a financial report with one eye blog hopping and another eye shopping and fingers on YM. God bless my new boss.

So what do I do now?

Many happy returns

And a very Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband. Hope to share a lot more of your birthdays in the future. Looking back, no one could deny that you have achieved a lot within a very short time.

Enjoy it.

And a happy birthday too to my brother, Ajoe and brother in law, Nan.

Hi Tea at Bukit Bandaraya

Very early in the morning, I ran across Nyna on my weekly 'raw materials' shopping at Section 6 market. And she told me that Kak Azu would be coming over to her house this afternoon. Great! I invited myself then and there with the promise to bring spaghetti (about the only thing I could cook rather well).

In between attending a wedding at Section 2 and giving in to the boys request to see Air Force team showing off their rather ancient planes, I managed to cook the so called spaghetti and brought it over to Bukit Bandaraya :). But not before having a near heart attack when my instruction to our new maid to boil another packet of spaghetti ended up with her boiling a packet of angels hair. Anyway, she's only been around for just a little over two weeks.

Amri, Haziq (Nyna's), Adam and Aiman (Azu's)

Meeting these friends were fun. Like the good old time doing CIMA/ICSA. Even more fun when 3 sets of kids tagging along. Which unfortunately, equal 5 boys + 1 girl. Kesian Aliya...the only rose among the ultramen. Where's Aliya's photo?

Tiga mak dara pingitan

Tuan tanah (Khairi) and us

Ali & Azu

Thanks to Nyna & Khairy for having us. We should do this again.

Cousin Haslina getting married

It is the time of the year...wedding season! Be prepared to gain a few kgs as well as various bunga telur which may not necessarily contains egg.

On saturday, we went to a wedding at Batu Caves in the afternoon the Ina's akad nikah at night. The akad started after Isyak and lasted till almost midnight. Thank goodness the boys did not tag along. Otherwise, I could just imagine the ruckus they would have created at the mosque, seeing that lots of their cousin were there. Two boys were quite manageable on their own but when they ganged up with a few more kids then even my deadly stare get ignored. Or Adam could get into his super cranky mood when it went past his bedtime that no amount of reasoning could make any difference.

Ina and her brand new hubby, Joe after the akad. Hope they will live happily ever after

Mak dara dan anak anak dara on Sunday reception & bersanding

Most of my relatives from Kedah, Penang and Langkawi were there and needless to say, we were a noisy lot. Can't help it..a lot of catching up to do.

I played host tonight for Mak Anjang & Mak Su's family. So, I had five families, including my own, staying under my roof until tomorrow, which made this day by far, the most happening day/event for his year. I've been pathetically whizzing past the first few month of 2008 without doing anything significant at all.

Anyway. Selamat Pengantin Baru to all newlyweds out there.