What? kursus? again?

This entry is typed real-time as I am travelling by bus from Melaka back to Shah Alam. Feeling sooooo sleepy and tired but could not sleep however hard I tried. I am just too excited to get back home as I have had a mind-cracking workshop session on the review of ISO procedures for the faculty. I spent 3 days and 2 nights there, making Hotel Seri Malaysia, Ayer Keroh, my home away from home these few days. So, tinggallah my children in the guardianship of their atuk and opah. And from the phone conversations I had with Farhan and Fahim, they appeared to be having the time of their lives without mama breathing down on their necks and nagging at them every second. Huh! I am a tiger mom, if you must know!

Anyway, the workshop was very2 tiring. There were 30 procedures to be presented, with emphasis on the changes and additions made to the existing procedures. I was supposed to present 1 procedure, O (01) Promosi Program ,as I am currently the Coordinator of Corporate Communications for the faculty. However, since the Deputy Registrar could not come due to prior commitments, the other team members had to present the relevant procedures under his portfolio…and there were 5 under his belt, mind you. So, in addition to mine, I had to present two more. You know, if I had not gotten my phd, I would have chickened out and bolted straight out the door on the thought of having to speak in public…..I do not have any worries about speaking in front of my students as I know that I have the upper hand on the subject matter but on other matters and in front of work colleagues and my superiors, I would normally feel nervous as I admit that I have terribly low confidence and am afraid of being ridiculed by others. But Alhamdulillah, since getting my phd, I am quite used to speaking in public and especially now that I am in charge of corporate communications, insyaAllah, no more butterflies in the tummy. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask someone to snap a photo of me during my presentation sessions….so, just enjoy these photos snapped in the discussion room , ok!

Ha.....evidence, people, evidence.....pergi kursus okey! Not holidaying! Even we got a surprise visit .... more like a "SPOT CHECK"...hehehe... by who else? none other than our Dato' VC...Dato' Prof Dr Sahol!!!

Hahaha...tengok our Dean, Prof Mala, tersipu-sipu di sebelah, clad in orange shirt and black pants tu. Actually, Dato' happened to have a function at UiTM Alor Gajah on Friday and his entourage stopped by Hotel Seri Malaysia for a quick breakfast first before heading to wherever it was they were supposed to go. And, of course he knew we were having a workshop here (since he had to give his approval for any activities held outside Shah Alam) and so, he paid us a surprise visit....ngeh ngeh ngeh.

This photo was taken last night I think as one of the participants was presenting the review she did on one of the procedures...too small here, can't recall who it was there. The sessions lasted late into the night. For two nights in a row, we left the discussion room at 11.30 pm. And the afternoon sessions were held straight to 6.30 pm. I stayed til 7 in the evening so that I could use the laptop and printer to print out the completed procedures. So, you can imagine how exhausting the workshop was. This morning when I woke up, my shoulder blades and the back of my neck were aching (they still are)…….signs of too much time spent sitting down in front of the laptop lah tu. Will try to go for a massage once I reach Shah Alam.

As for the hotel, boleh lah….the ambience was comfortable enough during my stay there. The food was good….quite a large spread for the buffets, morning, lunch and dinner. And there’s a swimming pool too. Even though the room was a bit small, I was satisfied. Here are some of the pictures taken of the hotel.

I roomed up with Dr Hadijah, the Coordinator of Quality, and of course the chairman of the workshop. A very nice lady, she’s two years older than me and she obtained her phd one year earlier than me. So, you can consider that she’s seangkatan as me lah…..the seniors say that we are the barisan pelapis for the faculty as many of them are in their late 40s and early 50s. So, time for retiring is on the horizon! I don’t know, it is scary to think that one day we the ‘young ones’ would one day be relied upon to head the faculty’s managmement…..I seriously think I am not cut out for it, but Dr Hadijah certainly is capable. I was awed by her speeches…her Malay is superb…..she has skills in arranging words that boost our spirit, that lady! And her English is good too….only her Japanese is a bit berhabuk (according to her)….oh yes, she did her degree, masters and phd in Japan. Muka pun dah macam Jepun, you! Kekekekeh.

So, after the closing ceremony and lunch, we waited for the bus to come and take us home……*I am coming home….coming home….tell the world, I am coming home*…cewahhh…..lagu P Diddy feat Skylar Grey, playing in my head….but alas, Kak Nani, one of the admin staff who followed, told us she received a call from the bus driver telling us BAS ROSAK!!!! Huhuhuhuhuhuhu……the bus company (company Rengit) was sending another bus to pick us up….and you know what bus??? BAS SEKOLAH…….hahahaha…..pensyarah2 naik bas sekolah,kelakau je (baru balik dari Melaka, so, cakap pun tukar slang Melaka sat)….dah la tu bila sampai, besau pulak tu…hihihihi! There were just 8 of us (the rest went home on their own, semua hubby datang fetch…huhuhu)……in a huge yellow bus. Nasib baik the bus driver is pleasant (unlike the one who took us to Melaka the other day) and offered to stop at R&R Ayer Keroh for us to shop for some tit bits to bring home.

So, apa lagi……Azlina, pantang dengar the word 'shop'…..borong sakan!!! Look at the things I bought in this photo

kerepek, keropok, biskut kelapa....

and of course, nobody would ever fail to purchase 'belacan' while in Melaka

Hehehe, pompuan!!….I am sure my hubby geleng kepala if he were to see the things I bought ni…but sayang, if you’re reading this, they’re just food….something that will not go to waste.

Hmmm, where am I now, I wonder??……looks like the bus is nearing the Nilai interchange. I am feeling nauseated already, certainly not a good idea to write in a moving bus. I’d better sign off now before I barf!!! Adios!

Convo Fever

It is the time of the year again, where UiTM graduates would get their scrolls ... which also means that us lecturers would be sitting on stage to witness the ceremony for a FULL FOUR HOUR 'mengeraskan vontot' session!!! Haih! My turn to do so would be this coming Tuesday afternoon from 1 til 5. Gosh! I should go for an urut session before and after the event don't I?? Hehehe. Anyway, while other lecturers are mostly lucky to have been assigned for only 1 session, I was quite unlucky as to have been requested by the Office of International Affairs (OIA) to be part of their liason for embassy committee!!! Huhuhuhuhu...this means that I had to be at the convocation opening ceremony previous Wednesday to greet, usher and basically chaperone the ambassadors who are attending the ceremony......or in other words, be a balaci laaaaa!!!

So, there I was last Wednesday, waiting to greet the Afghanistan ambassador (others involved were assigned to other ambassadors or reps from countries like Pakistan, Ireland, Maldives, Nigeria, Yemen, Senegal, Russia, Morocco, to name a few). I was dressed in a three piece pant suit as directed by the OIA and that was a mistake I tell you as it was quite a hot day. I was perspiring like mad while waiting for the ambassador's arrival outside. Other lecturers, Dr Arnis and Dr Rozana, from Applied Science faculty were smart as they refused to wear the suit but wore their baju kurungs instead (..hmmm...I ni kan lurus bendul). Anyway, the ambassadors were mostly late and we were already having butterflies in our tummies coz we would not know what to do if their arrivals coincided with his Majesty the King's arrival!! Tak ke haru if that were to happen. Nak bawa masuk ke kiri ke or ke kanan as the King would definitely walk on the red carpet at the center...and we were afraid if we did not follow the protocol...haiyooo...

Alas, my ambassador did not come.....jenuh I waited! After many attempts to call the ambassador's driver, he finally answered the phone telling me that his excellency would not be coming after all. Wasted a lot of my sweat je lah! So, I thought I could go run scot-free back to my office but of course Dr Hayati (director of OIA) asked me to help the others out....takda chance nak escape punye!!! So, there I was stuck in Dewan Agong Tunku Canselor (DATC) for avontot cramming 4 hour session! Huhuhu...Nasib baik Dr Noryati was also one of the liasons so it was not so boring as I had her to chat with!

Hmmmm....what good thing came out of this experience???..other than getting a 'buns of steel'...yeah...literally....my vontot felt keras like a steel, after that, I tell ya!......The good thing was I got to feast my eyes on the Agong whom I must say is one of the most dashing royalty in the country's history...ngeh ngeh ngeh....and his consort (who is my age, by the way) is so beautiful....his majesty is so lucky to have her as his wife. I tried to take some photos of them, though, but all I could manage to snap were just glimpses of them as they were entering the hall and one of His Majesty on the stage (yelah....guna I-phone camera je kan). So, layan these pictures below.....

Ha ha ha...kan I dah kata....you can just catch a glimpse of the royalties....in this photo, the Queen....yang bertudung cream tu...

And now for His Majesty the King of Malaysia....

Pun nampak just the head (donning the songkok), if you can see in this photo above.....And some of the foreign delegates (closest to you in this photo)

Ok...ok...I have a slightly clearer vision of the King in the next photo where he was on stage.

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of course....yours truly, posing outside the hall, waiting for the ambassadors' arrivals...On the left is Dr Arnis (sweet kan? and rich too coz I saw her driving a BMW-5 series) and in the center is Dr Rozana (who is the Timbalan Dekan Akademik of Applied Science faculty who also happens to be Dr Hayati Dahan's younger sister). Notice something in the picture???? How short I am.. as compared to the both of them....Huwaaa...itulah, kecik-kecik taknak minum susu and makan makanan banyak protein!!!

Oh, and one more pose for the camera in the hall

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Oh yeah....hahaha...dengan bangganya....tayang pas....Evidence, people, evidence!!

Hip Hip Hoorayyyyyyyyyyyy

I am sooooooooooo happyyyyyyy, I can sing and dance and do whatever I want......

Why???? MY MAID IS HERE!!!!!! Oh yeah.........

Now I can do this

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( SPA TIME!!!!)

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chill after work...

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(STARBUCKS, HERE I COME!!!)

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JUST HOPE I DON'T TURN INTO THIS LAH...MUAHAHAHAHAHA

Alhamdulillah, Allah has answered my prayers!!!

Cranky me

I have never been as cranky as I was today. What else, I was angry at the kids lah. It all began in the morning when I noticed that Fahim was not studying but was watching tv. I was busy sweeping and mopping the floor (yes....you guessed it right, tak nampak bayangan batang hidung maid ku lagiiii) and i expected Fahim to know what he was supposed to do as his exam is just around the corner. And so began my membebel episode! To make matters worse, as I was still mopping the floor, it started to rain....no warning, no nothing, it just poured down...and there went my mop flying to the ground as I scrambled for my door key to bring the clothes in. I had just hung them out to dry like an hour before!! And being the clumsy me, some of the clothes fell onto the porch floor and got filthy again....Haih!!!

When it was time for me to dress up to go visit Sarah, I realized that the scarf that I had already ironed did not cover my shoulder and chest 100%....and I was already late! So, I just grabbed another tudung and wore it, ironed or not!! On the way to Cyberjaya, I dropped by at JM Bariani to pack some lunch for Sarah, the boys and I. I asked Farhan to order the food while I waited in the car...I gave him specific instructions before he went into the restaurant. Not long after, he came back in and asked me what he was supposed to do as he wasn't sure who to place the order with. At that time the car I was blocking was backing out and in my panic (oh yes....I am so kalut!!) I shouted at Farhan and told him to close the door and to not bother ordering any more.....pfffffttttt! Marah betul I coz he could'nt even do simple things as to order food!! And he is TWELVE years old, mind you!

And so, in the pouring rain, thunder and lightning, we sped off to Cyberjaya especially since we were very2 late! I did promise Sarah to be there by 1 pm but it was already 15 past 1 when we were at JM Bariani area, in seksyen 7, Shah Alam. So, hujan tak hujan, I sped like crazy......fuming mad because I haven't even got the food I was supposed to bring. And in my frustration with Farhan, some harsh words slipped off my tongue...and it made Farhan cry. And now, I wish I hadn't said those things to him.

In the end, I stopped by Saba Restaurant in Cyberjaya to buy kabsah instead.....the place was as usual, teeming with people. Luckily the wait this time was bearable. It was already past 2 pm when we pulled into SSP and Sarah looked so pissed off with me. And that got me going angry again. So, I admonished her, telling her "It is OK for me to be late as I am late for valid reasons...but it is not OK for you to be late coming down to see me because your reason for being late has always been because you either overslept or some other silly reasons!!! Wipe that angry look off your face or else I am leaving this instant!" Haaaaa.....garang nya I kan? So, you see....all my 3 children dah kena marah today!!!

I finally stopped being such a tiger mom malam tadi....so, mood bergambar pun datang lagi. Snapped this photo of us enjoying dinner at HOMST Chinese Muslim Restaurant in Section 13, Shah Alam. Had dinner there soon after the kids finished their swimming lesson at Kelab Shah Alam. Our table was located next to the mirrored wall and I was tickled when I saw Fahim was looking at his reflection in the mirror while eating. Alahai anak mama pun vain juga!! keh keh keh.

I wish I had not been so harsh today....But I know the real reason for my crankiness....Huwaaaaa....semua sebab I have no maid yet!! Ya Allah, please please let my new maid arrive soon!!! I am now officially allergic to the word "delay" and "passport". And I can't stand being this cranky anymore. It is taking a toll on my children, and also, the quality of my work has greatly been affected. I don't do much reading nowadays. I hardly even have the time to read the newspaper that is delivered to my house everyday. Farhan even said, " Mama....I bet the news for tomorrow are already being printed and you are only starting to read the newspaper"...Yes...I manage to glance the headlines only when I was about to go to bed and that is usually past midnite!! (Kesian I...baca cerita basi!)

Anyway, kids, if you're reading this....Mama is terribly terribly sorry for being such a terrible mother lately.....Please forgive me, I'll try to get a grip of myself and be more patient, insyaAllah. And let us pray that by next week our much awaited maid would finally arrive as promised. Amin!

School's supposed to be a safe place

I know, i know....my blog is so bersawang. I have not been updating it for quite some time now. Yes, I am still without a maid, and yes, the new semester is now in full swing. That explains! Anyway, my son Fahim who came back from school today told me a most alarming story about an incident that happened at school. Luckily he was not in school at the time of the incident. I guess Allah wanted to protect my little boy from any untoward incident because my boy happened to want to go to Seksyen 6 Primary School for a soccer tryout session for the junior Selangor team (not so sure about the Selangor team but I somehow recalled vaguely the teacher telling me this). Fahim initially wanted to go but I talked him out of it because I thought I would be busy and would not be free to fetch him from his section 4 school at 3 and send him to the tryouts at 3.30. Well, fortunately Zarinah (his friend Haziq's mom who happens to be my close buddy in UiTM Terengganu ages ago) called and told me Fahim changed his mind and wanted to go with Haziq. Dah sebab ada orang willing to bring him along, I agreed to let Zarinah take him. But I did go back home for a little while to get his soccer shoes and sent it to Seksyen 6 School. And I was glad I let him go because he was so happy to be on the field, kicking the ball with his buddies and his face lit up when he saw me bring his soccer shoes. Really made my day....he always gives me this effect whenever he flashes one of his cute innocent smile. Eh eh...sorry where was I? Oh yeah about the alarming incident.

It happened when Fahim was away (Oh, did I mention that already?). To be exact, right after the break for the afternoon school ended. That must have been around 4 pm. Apparently, 2 suspicious looking men barged into the school (wonder where the pak guard was???) and went to one of the classes, 3 Zuhal. Fahim is in 3 Utarid. They rushed in an grabbed the teacher, Puan Izwani (who happens to be Fahim's Science teacher) and held her by knife-point (is there such a word? I know there's a word such as gun-point). She was crying, pleading not to harm any of them. The assailant threatened the children too, by the way. Gosh!!! One of the assailants took her handbag and then both of the culprits left the classroom and in their rush to get away, hit a boy from the class on the hand who just came back from the lavatory, strangled him (maybe to threaten the teacher not to come after them kut) until the boy was traumatized after! And they managed to get away scott free! I still am perplexed as to where the pak guard was all the while this was happening????

Anyway, to cut a long story short....several witnesses comprising the morning session students who stayed back in school for some activities claimed that they saw one of the assailants lingering in one of the classroom corridors in the morning. And when I heard this, I was so thankful to Allah too that Farhan did not go to school this morning. If anything untoward where to happen in the morning, at least Farhan was not there.

Just think....schools should be a safe haven for our children. But you have heard numerous stories of how children got raped, molested, abused, held hostage by madmen gone berserk, etc in school!! What has happened to the good old days when young children can roam the roads free??? I miss those times! I just want my children to be safe and to enjoy being in school.

Like what the photos below reflect

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Here, Farhan was waiting for the bus to take him and his friends to camp somewhere in Tanjung Malim....see the happy smile on Farhan??

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Fahim fooling around with his friends Raquib (in yellow) and Zaril (in green, looking on). See what did I tell ya about Fahim's smile???

When Fahim meets food...

Makan bersungguh-sungguh sampai tertunduk-tunduk

At Sahara Tent, Plaza Shah Alam

Right after Kumon

As usual, Mama makan tak ingat dunia.....only remembered to snap photos after the food is gone. Anyway, we shared a plate of Lamb Mandy. It tasted a bit different compared to those I have eaten elsewhere. The rice is a bit glutinous in texture n taste....So, it makes you feel satiated very2 fast. A good thing for people on a diet....not to say that i'm one of them. The lamb? I give it two thumbs up.

Ops Photo Aidilfitri

First day Raya this year was wonderful. Eating from day to night and visiting "long time no see" relatives. We also had a special activity this year i.e. photo taking session at a photo studio in Gunung Rapat, close to our housing area. If you ever visit my parents' house or mine in Shah Alam, you may notice that our walls are adorned with many Raya photos of the whole family comprising my parents, the siblings and spouses and the children. So, you can actually trace each person's progress age - wise and body size - wise ....hehehe.... over the years. It's very easy to see that each one of us siblings have grown "bigger" (read that as "wider" ye...) and the children grown taller.

We had not taken such photos for quite some time though. Reason? Well, after some time, there's no more thrill in getting our pictures taken because it has always been the same people, the same poses (semua pose macam tengah nyanyi "Negaraku" aje, in every single photo). However, this year my sis Akmar insisted that we get it taken again because we have two new additions to the family....my new sis in law Najibah and her baby girl Fatimah. So, we got these photos taken.....notice that we decided to have no more Negaraku shots but just be as candid as can be.....And here are the results........

This is photo choice no 1....me and hubby are right at the center, back....Haaaa....Romantic??

Photo choice no 2....me and hubby ter"over" sikit

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Photo choice no 3...hehehe....me and hubby bersalam-salam.

These photos were snapped from the computer screen using handphones....(of course the photographer wouldn't let us have the soft-copy kan, til after we get one shot framed and paid for). So, after much deliberation by me, sis Akmar and Elynn on which photo we look the prettiest in ...hehehe....(oh yeah.....we are so vain!!)....tak kesah le org lain ternganga ke, terbeliak biji mata ke...asalkan the 3 of us are the 'cun'nest kan?....We chose Photo no 3.......The photo will be ready in a week....can't wait to see it coz the photographer will add in a nice backdrop, do some touch-ups, and get it framed.