Ahan in the Afternoon...

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Dear Neglected Blog....

How are you? I wouldn't be surprised if you were upset with me. I can't believe it's nearly three weeks since I updated you.

I have really been bad, been busy, been lazy.....

I would offer excuses, but I'm not fond of abdicating responsibility. The truth is I've been caught up in other things, online and offline.

Thus, you have been neglected. No updates. No moderations of comments. Not even a peek into you foer weeks. I seem to have drifted away from the process of getting ideas out through my own blog. Certainly part of it is sheer lack of time (and possibly ideas!) but it also reflects the choice of channel these days. For me the diversions include Twitter and FaceBook.

I'm sorry. I still love you, treasure you and cherish you. You were here for me before Twitter, before FB. You were the one place I ran to during my times of low and sorrow, once upon a time ago. But, the flexibility to link to twitter and embed other bits of online stuff meant that for me it was a better place when blogging alongside others – especially conferences. And as that was when I posted quite a few of my posts it meant that my own blog has become very neglected and combined with my apparent inability to write a quick blog post mean that you have been placed on the back burner. I'm sorry. I will try to visit more regularly, if for briefer periods.

I know that when I neglect you, the chain of neglect also extend to my blogroll friends and then my loyal followers. To both these groups, I also extend my apology. If blogs could sue their owners for abandonment, mine would make a fortune already! I do plan on keeping it going as soon as my life gets just a little less hectic. In the meantime, I apologize to all visitors for the cobwebby feeling to this place.

Life has been hectic, I admit. What with my new year's resolution to workout everyday for at least 30 minutes, it kinda puts me into tired mode at the end of the day. And, plus Hilman's UPSR year, I have been really frazzled with his hectic schedule. Extra classes, tutions and study groups just eats up my time in the form of chauffering him everywhere! Seriously, I had more time for myself when I was doing my Masters, compared to when he is sitting for his UPSR!

But then, those are excuses, I know. I should be more disciplined and put more effort here. The Woman, the Mom and the Lover put me to shame when she hit her 800th post here! I should strive to be like her erk? I mean she has got three roles on her plate, whereas I've only got two... surely I too can do like her... and strive to reach that 800th mark! Hehehe....

The must difficult part of moving forward is what we leave behind, and I really do not want to categorise you as something that I will leave behind!

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this visit as much as I have. I will be back soon... and yes, that is a promise!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Aiyooooo... Friday Already Arrr?

Been a hectic week. Nak update blog pun tak sempat. And I owe Amy from Vistana a review on the food sampling dinner that I attended last Thursday! Still have not got around to doing it yet, so many other urgent matters need to be attended to first!

Work have been piling up. No matter how vigorously I attack them, there is still a big pile left over in the evening, and when I come into the office in the morning, the pile just keeps getting bigger! Haiiiii.... ngeluh karang, orang kata tak baik, sebab rezeki tu!

Hilman is sitting for his UPSR this year. His school took the inisiative to organise extra classes for the UPSR students every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nites. Friday and Saturday he goes for tution. That renders me a full time chauffer to him after my office hours. Another reason why this blog is not regularly updated now (excuses, excuses....!)

Syed is leaving us, after 10 years of partnership. He is venturing out to another firm with a whole new aspiration and perception. Its kinda sad, as he was one of the founding partners of this firm of ours. But I wish him well and bid him the best of luck in his future endeavours.

I've been a glutton lately. Asyik dok makan jer! So much good food, good company, occasion to celebrate, has turned me into a pig! Oink, oink... that's me! People have been commenting at FB that my page is a food lover's haven. All my mobile uploads are always scrutinised and well commented by fellow Facebookers, especially when it is food related!

On a brighter note, Long is coming back from Korea this coming Monday! Miss her sooo much ler! She's been there for the past 4 months already, staying with her auntie. And I'm also looking forward to getting my soaps. Yes, I now collect soap! Hehehe... stupid, I know, but they are so unique and fragrant, I can't help but ask for soap from those who goes holidaying abroad!

So, next week lah I update properly erk? I'm off to KL for the weekend for MNS Council's meeting. Something that I dread, coz of its loooooong hours! But hey then, we only meet up 3 months once!

In the meantime, you people keep chilled okay? Don't go around burning churches or smearing them with paints okay?

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Happy New Year....

We ushered in the New Year by counting down the last seconds of 2009 at Taman Budaya, amidts poetry recitals and cultural performances. It was Husna's first time witnessing a New Year countdown. Boy, was she excited with all the hype around celebrating New Year!

Upon invitation from Teo Wei Sing, we attended this event. It is called Kenduri Puisi!

after the countdown.... Husna jovially prancing in front of the stage!

here we are with Teo Wei Sing after the ceremony.

his version of the celebration is at Suara Anak Pahang- Perslah Melankolis...

We’re several days into the New Year already, and many of us are still basking in the glow of a fresh start. Well at least I am! Hehehe...

Every year, January brings renewed optimism for change, for a better life, for a better you. And that’s a wonderful thing, I think!

It’s wonderful, because this fresh start gives us a chance to reinvent our lives and ourselves. It allows us to reinvigorate ourselves, to shed the baggage of the previous year and do anything we have longed to do. Well this year there are a few things that I have listed down, not as a resolution, but more of a 'want-to-do' kinda list.

Just to share some here, with U readers...

1. I wanna get rid of negative thoughts. As Winston Churchill once said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”. I want to be that optimist and see the rainbow at the end of a rainy day!

2. Take a breather. After one less than great year, after finishing my Masters in June last year, I found that I was literally holding my breath and forgetting to breathe at times. Sometimes consciously taking slow, deep breaths is the best way to revitalize energy levels.

3. Make a list of books I wanna read in the upcoming year. Depending on my reading rate, this could range from 5-30 new books that I’ve always been interested in.

4. Find a new topic of interest. A new hobby can kick start the New Year with a burst of energy. I intai-intai to somebody's blog tadi, and see that she is an expert in quilting, something that I have aspired to take up for a long time, but got no one to guide me on it! Check it out at Dreamneedle!

5. Spend more time with myself. Learning to enjoy my own company is maybe the hidden secret to confidence. The Dalai Lama even recommends it, having said, “Spend some time alone every day!.”

6. Take a look at my resume and giving it a facelift. Even if I am currently self employed, chances are I could always move up or do better. Getting my resume in working order just in case the opportunity presents itself.

So, here I am, raising a glass of teh-O to the New Year and all that it stands for! Here's wishing a great year ahead for you readers too!

Friday, January 1, 2010

On My Daughter's Birthday....

Yesterday, 31st December was Husna's 7th birthday. Seven years ago, at 5pm, she came into this world with a hearty scream at Kuantan Specialist Hospital. My daughter, one and only...

Kinda hard to believe that this little girl of mine is now 7. We have both came a long way down the road of growing up, for her, and growing old for me!

So, on her birthday, I turn here for a reflection of what I aspire for her to be and what I aspire to be for her. My hopes for her, my dreams of her, my wishes for her, my lovely daughter. Something that my mother migh not have thought to do when I was her age.

I wanna urge her to always live her life with rich experience - to fill her passport with as many stamps as possible, to taste the exotic flavours of different cuisines and to learn the melodic and intricacies sounds of other languages. I want her to read, read, read and read - to immerse herself in multiple point of views so that she will not grow up to be bigoted and judgmental of others' thots.

I want to encourage her to be adventurous, to swim with the turtles, to sleep under the stars, to write poetry - and even paint! I want her to be brave enough to wear fire-engine red lipstick and tango till dawn. I wanna tell her that life is only once, and there's no dress rehearsal. This is the real thing!

I wanna be the first one to have a heart-to-heart talk with her. I wanna tell her what it was like growing up when I was here age now. How it is so different then, than it is now - and yet somehow, the same too- about the same school that we both go to (MGPS), friends, clothes, boyfriends, etc.

I wanna describe to her the joys, as well as the moments of sadness that I have encountered in my life so that she would learn to understand me better. The major transitions that has changed me forever, to be her mother today. Growing up, getting married, having children of my own, getting divorced from her father and my relationship with my parents and siblings.

I wanna tell her my secret ambitions pertaining her, and my most private fears in relation to her, and I know that they are safe as under lock and key.

I wanna impart on her the value of independence. To tell her and stress on her that the deepest self assurance comes from the ability to stand on her own, from the knowledge that ultimately she can take care of herself, plus whatever love and support that she should receive from around her.

I wanna remind her that when I was growing up, women lacked the independence that we both take for granted today, and she should be sure to celebrate it do her mother and grandmother proud.

I wanna advise her to learn not to be jealous of women around her who are overflowing with dates and admirers. To instil in her the assurance that in the long run, all she needs is just one. To make her understand that its quality, and not quantity that counts.

I want her to understand that finding someone to love is not a competition with her friends, and certainly not a race against time. In the end , I want her to understand that, discovering a soulmate is a deeply emotional experience that cannot be rushed.

I want her to take a deep breath, live her life to the fullest, and allow the matter of hearts to happen when the time is right and when she is truly ready.

I wanna encourage her to always open her heart to those who treats her with love and respect - that she cannot always keep her guards up against the world and that sometimes she simply have to give some people a chance.

At the same time I wanna always be by the sidelines for her, to bandage those bruises from those unexpected bumps in her life, when her heart is jolted back to reality with a crashing thud, and be her only warm reassurance that life does not stop there, that she must get up and get her wheels turning again.

I want to teach her to expect the most from herself, and nobody else. To believe in her own capabilities and potential. I wanna instil in her that if she really presevere and never let naysayers discourage her from her goals she can achieve anything that she sets her mind to.

I want her to dream big, to reach for the stars, and see what she can catch.

I want her to know that I will always be her Mak and her No.1 fan!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Last Weekend....

It was a long weekend. Christmas came, and left.

Christmas Eve, was at Auntie Janet's place..

with friends...

and daughter, Husna....

lots of food...

very festive too....

To view all the pics of that nite, kindly check out my album at FB. For those of you who are not connected there, I'm too lazy to upload all here lah!

Friday and Saturday was a flurry of activities. Running here and there for the final preparation of the Monsoon Ride thingy. Till late Saturday evening, was still meeting up with Pak Ya and Mazlan in town to finalise the list of members volunteering, the task assigned and the logistic involved.

At this very last minute too, was informed that they needed some MNS volunteers to help out for the feeding at two places for the onroad category. So, since I and Zela have already been in the trail a few times, we decided to let the rest of the other volunteers to go in with the off-roaders cyclists and we will instead help out with the on-road cyclists.

Morning of Sunday came, and we all gathered and car-pooled towards Semuji. The place was already buzzing with cyclists. According to Zela, it is so 'happening'.