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:: Sungguh Beautiful Wedding. :: Monday, September 11, 2006
No matter how hard I try, I can never get tired of beautiful weddings, especially if the bride and groom make an absolutely gorgeous couple.
Just like this.
Needless to say, behind the absolutely gorgeous bride and groom are two more pairs of equally gorgeous couples. Ho ho ho.
The not so slim ones, one in black and the other in grey, are siblings. How sad.
And oh, the star for the day was not Nurul but Aniq Izhan. Yes, he is that little charmer with that little pout in that little striped polo tee in the picture below.
EVERYONE wanted to have a picture with him, hokay?
I had to queue in order to have my picture taken with him. Yup.
What lucky parents you have, Aniq! ;)
In any case, big fat congratulations to Esah & partner. :)
This entry is somewhat higgledy-piggledy because I am having diarrhea! I have been suffering since this morning, and its not even funny.
Arghh, I need to go again!
@ 08:21 p.m.
:: Shop N Save :: Saturday, September 9, 2006
This is more than I could ever ask for. Not only did he fight for his bolster yesterday night, he also grabbed my bolster which I was hugging ooh so tight, audaciously claiming it was his! The nerve!
When I coyly told him it was mine, he replied, "Payslip?"
Dont ask me why he even said that. Maybe he couldnt wait to spend his money. Please pardon my dear husband, in any case. See, whenever he is in his deep sleep, he speaks and behaves funny. He is not Tatek then. Not even Bulat. He is Funnyman.
But it doesnt matter. I am not complaining. How to, when he is taking me shopping later? :) I have already made a list of the things I want to buy in my hp and saved the list as draft. You know, for quick reference later just in case I forget how to use up his money on his behalf. :)
Ok kidding! I am not that kind of wife who only knows how to turn her husband into a pauper each time he gets his payslip, okay? No, no. I am not. I do not dare, what more with the little one coming and the new car arriving. We have been saving like its our fad, if you must know. And if thats not enough, we have even opened up an account especially for the little one, hokay? We love saving, for a good cause.
Oh well, so much for the planning.
For now, I am just praying that everything goes well.
Insya'allah.
And oh, he did not come back dark. Not even darker.
He came home darkest!!!
Time to get that Oil of Ulay for him. Fair & Lovely also can!
Depends on our budget, lor!
@ 09:47 a.m.
:: The wait. :: Thursday, September 7, 2006
One more cold, lonely and forlorn night, and I am done. We are done, to be more precise. Tatek will be back tomorrow evening, and I shall have my sleeping companion back for good. Its almost too good to be true to have two fat bolsters all to myself for three weeks straight, you know? Its surreal. Tatek, you must fight for your bolster when you come back. You must!
I cannot wait.
He had his night off today, and what was the first thing I did when I saw him? I complained. I complained about the many wedding invites that we have been invited to and how even my very baggy baju kurung would not fit me any longer. I whined and whined till he finally gave me the green light- to go shopping for new clothes cum Saturday. Now we're talking, Tatek!
I cannot wait.
My little one has received her second gift already from her Aunty Nurul and Uncle Ian. The gifts are still in their packages though, untouched. Tempting, very. But its just not the time yet to get ooh so excited over the gifts. Like I said before, its way too early. I mean, I still have about 3 to 4 months more to go. When the time comes, we shall zealously unpack them packages.
I cannot wait.
We cannot wait.
Can you?
:)
@ 11:56 p.m.
:: Rokiah Salim. :: Tuesday, September 5, 2006
What's new updates, just for you!
Yet another two potential names for the little one were rejected without much hesitation by my parents. "Nama yang kau pilih semua takde makna," Mak claimed. So Mak strongly thinks that the names I have found so far are meaningless. I then passed to Mak my very thick "3000 Beautiful Names In Islam" book. The book is all hers now. Congrats, Mak! From now on, she will do the choosing of the name. I will just sit back, relax and wait to reject all the names in her list. Revenge is sweet, mah?
Nya nya nya.
Mak is ridiculously funny, and scary sometimes. She wants the little one's name to mean beautiful, intelligent and well-mannered. Which one name can carry all those meanings at the same time, you tell me? Mak, you tell me.
Daddy is hopeless. He suggested names like Zaiton, Jenab and even Marpo'ah. Riiiight.
Ili suggested naming the little one Rokiah Salim.
Can these people ever get serious? Suddenly finding a suitable name for my little one is turning into a big joke. I am getting so edgy with this name finding game already. I have decided that my little one shall be nameless till the day I give birth to her. Then, whatever name that comes out from my mouth shall be her name. I hope and I pray hard I would not scream out Rokiah Salim in the midst of extreme anxiety!
No way.
No way at all.
@ 08:05 p.m.
:: BULAT!! :: Monday, September 4, 2006
Just look at what I found, scanned, edited and uploaded.
My bullied Tatek with his two elder brothers when he was very, very young and very, very cute. Of course he is still very, very young and very, very cute now. Of course.
I love looking at Tatek's baby photos. Most of the time, I would end up staring at his cute photos. Don't blame me, he was such a cute, round and plump baby.
No wonder he was called 'Bulat' when he was young.
My Bulat is now back in camp. Till Friday. This is so maddening. One minute he is here, another minute he is gone. :(
Thank goodness Nurul is quite free this week. At least there is good old company when I really need one. :)
@ 10:36 p.m.
:: Balik Kampung! :: Monday, September 4, 2006
I watched Siti Nurhaliza's wedding affair at her kampong just now together with my parents and Ili. Daddy fell asleep halfway through the programme. Mak was constantly closing her eyes. I was playfully poking my tummy. My little one was kicking me hard as usual. Ili was suggesting names for my little one.
I hope you get the drift. Yes, her kampong wedding was THAT boring! However, allow me to still update you a bit about her wedding so that I wouldnt feel like I wasted my time watching it. I insist on it, lor!
First, there was an unknown singer singing a song about peanuts. Have we run out of wedding songs?
Next, Siti, Datuk K and their very, very important guests gluttons helped themselves to the wide spread of seemingly flavoursome food while Siti's pitiable fans simply crouched in the open space, salivating. I thought all her fans would be served food as well?
Then, the not so newly-wed couple fed each other yet again. They could have tried out something new, like you know, maybe feed their parents?
Then, Siti sang two very lackluster songs to her fans, regardless of the fact that her fans were practically drenched in the rain. How sweet. How thoughtful. They (the wedding planners) could have provided shelter for the fans as well. If they wanted to lah.
And lastly, what's Siti's Wedding without the famous Datuk K's moustache? He should have shaved that thick, black moustache. Had he done that, he would have looked better and twenty years younger.
Get what I mean? I shouldn't have watched the whole so-called extravaganza after all.
Is it just me, or is Siti Nurhaliza getting stale?
@ 01:07 a.m.
:: Surprise, surprise! :: Sunday, September 3, 2006
I give up.
Finding names for your own child is not that thrilling and easy, after all. Wait till its your turn. You need to look at the name in the long run, think hard whether the name would pose any potential problem to your child in future to come. Potential problems like whether her name could be made fun of by her friends or whether her teachers/ friends from the other races would have difficulties pronouncing her name. I know, because my name has been shamelessly mispronounced many a time. I have been called Di-Ah Mastura, Die-ah Mastura, Diah Masdula, Diah Mustara and even Diah Maskara! And if that's not bad enough, I have even been called by my father's name. So yes, I have been called Roslan, Lostlan, or Binte Roslan on quite a number of occasions.
Its not funny. It's humiliating to the very core, hokay?
We should seriously start respecting each other's name. One good way to start doing that is by learning how to pronounce each other's name first before you ooh so confidently but ooh so wrongly pronounce the name. You are not only humiliating yourself, but also the bearer of the name! Imagine the damaging impact you would have on the poor soul's self esteem for the rest of her life.
I am a classic example. I AM that poor soul.
Anyway.
Just when you thought you have found the perfect name for your child, there exist some VIPs like your parents and your best friend who would somehow not be in favour of the name. They are somehow there to make life difficult for you and your partner. These people would be the ones objecting big time, like those cantankerous judges in the courtroom. These people would be the ones deciding what your child should be called instead. And then back we are to square one. The whole problem starts again. You would in turn end up not liking the names they have suggested. You would then go back to your "3000 Collection of Beautiful Names In Islam" book for comfort. Beautiful, indeed. You would flip the book page by page and scrutinize the same old names one by one yet again. Its almost like deejavu. Its almost too dreary. But at least its not so bad now that the gender of the baby is already known. At least I can skip the thick portion meant for names for a baby son, which is like half of the book!
So much for making myself feel a whole lot better.
I don't, ok? I don't.
My little one, just as long as your name has not been decided, you will still be called 'Mummy's Little Girl'. In fact, you will always be mummy's little girl. :)
What? Ok, I know, I know.
I know I shouldnt even be looking at names right now. I know its way too early. I know I should wait. But, I was thinking of communicating with her using her own name from now on so that you know, there is at least something she would be familiar with the moment she is out. That's about all. I mean, there's no harm in the little one knowing her name as early as now.
Its her name, you know? HER name.
She has the right to know.
But no, of course the rest of the whole wide world need not know her name yet. It's meant to be a surprise, see? In life, you need surprises. You need to be taken by surprise. If everything is nicely planned and made known to you, life will pretty much be humdrum. That explains why you would never know who you would end up marrying or how your future children would look like, or even how and with who you would spend the last few years of your life the day you were born. Allah wants you to be surprised, thus Allah decides. You can do so much but at the end of the day, you can only hope, pray and wish for the rainbow. Like it or not, this element called 'surprise' plays a very crucial part in your life.
Tatek is still not home. No nights off even till tomorrow.
Surprise, surprise!
:(
@ 03:39 p.m.
:: One leg kicking. :: Saturday, September 2, 2006
Tatek had his night off last night. And the night before too. So, it was not so bad lah for the wife who was missing him so much. I still miss him. I miss him everyday, for the record.
And last night, Tatek *finally* witnessed his girl's kicks. My tummy was obviously the poor victim lah. Tatek went back to camp a happy daddy to be. I was glad.
Truth of the matter is, I don't even know how to describe the little one's kicks when asked actually. Ticklish at times, painful once in a while and uncomfortable when I need to get to sleep badly. Like yesterday night for instance, I had to wait for her to stop kicking and punching me before I could finally get myself to sleep. She took about thirty full minutes before she finally yielded and stopped 'bullying' the poor mum. I find her very cute, though. She will never tolerate it if I poke my tummy on purpose or by accident. She will kick me back ad finitum. My dear girl, are you ever asleep? It worries me sometimes to know that you are this active. Your mummy is not even an active person, to begin with, tau?
And if that Boolit wakes Nurul up by massaging her with his paws, my little babe wakes me up by kicking me hard. Ouch!
Speaking of which, I am meeting up with Nurul today. And for the first time ever, I dread meeting her. I am scared. I am shivering. Wait, the aircon is not off. No wonder! But seriously now, there is a reason actually for my sudden fear. My poor tummy is at risk. See, she has expressed her cruel intentions to 'molest' my tummy in every way possible when she meets up with me today. I can so imagine her touching, rubbing and massaging my tummy. I can so imagine her not wanting to leave my tummy alone for even a minute. I can so imagine her shrieking at the sight of the slightest movement made by the little one. I can so imagine. Now, if only I could hide my tummy in a treasure chest, I would. This Nurul is very aggressive lah. :(
Little one, make sure you kick Aunty Nurul hard today. Real hard.
But then again, if you do that, your poor mummy's tummy would be the one suffering. Not Aunty Nurul.
Plan foiled. Don't kick so hard, little one. Better still, don't kick at all during Aunty Nurul's presence. Then she would go home disappointed. Then she would blog about her major disappointment in that colourful blog of hers. Then I would read her entry and have a good laugh. Ho ho.
Batman or simply anyone from Kids' Central Live, please come and rescue me and my tummy now! You guys/gays are supposed to be heroes until this Sunday, remember? So make good use of your tights while you still can.
No wait. You are ACTION heroes only.
ACTION (terror) heroes, to be precise.
@ 10:28 a.m.
:: 01 September :: Friday, September 1, 2006
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, my dearest 1 Peace.
Love you all to bits!
And Happy Teachers' Day to all teachers and would be teachers! :)
@ 06:13 p.m.
:: My little one. :: Friday, September 1, 2006
Rueful, I am.
I have not been paying enough attention to the little one down under due to my very, very busy week. Priority was given to my thirty kids, what more with the coming up of SA2 once term four begins. Sorry hokay, little one? I do hope you know I am really apologetic and that I am making a public apology to you in my blog at this present moment. Yes little one, that's how much you mean to me. And yes little one, your mother blogs. :)
So today, since I was at home celebrating Teachers' Day all by myself on my bed, I decided to spend some time with the little one. I decided to pay my due attention to her, and only her.
I lifted up my shirt slowly.
No way, you are not reading an erotic entry by me right now, hokay?
Dream on. Read on.
I observed my bare tummy. My big, puffed out, bare tummy. I was bowled over to see how big the tummy and little one have grown. I was pleasantly surprised to see how the used to be tiny mole on my tummy is now so big, round and black. I have always been proud of that mole, if you must know. It somehow makes my tummy err, sweeter to look at?
And just as I was rubbing my tummy lightly, I noticed something. No, not a genie! I noticed movements on my tummy, lah. It budged, hard. It trembled, every ten seconds or so. I smiled no, laughed nervously to myself! I was hysterical for a moment. I grabbed my phone and msged Tatek, "B, I can already see our baby's movements!"
His very prompt and excited reply was, "Serious, b?!! I cannot wait to see it when I go back home!"
Of course the old boy was excited. It's his daughter we are taking about here, mind you! He has been waiting since forever to feel his daughter's movements. He has tried talking, singing, croaking, knocking gently on my belly button and even poking my tummy. Nothing worked. The daughter was not at all impressed, it seemed. Tough luck huh, Daddy Tatek?
No wait, Daddytek sounds nicer actually. :)
I then smsed Nurul.
Her also prompt and excited reply?
"Oh my god! Sumpah?! (Swear?!) I wanna rasa (feel)! How often does she do that?!"
I almost fell in a faint after seeing so many exclamations in their msgs, honestly. Obviously, they could not contain their excitement.
I want to tell my sis Ili too. But presently, she is so occupied in the kitchen preparing Fish and Chips for everyone. She makes good Fish and Chips, hokay? Really good. Almost as good as Swensens' Fish and Chips. She should seriously consider starting a family business in the food industry or something. I would be her number one customer then!
Ok, sorry for that diversion to food. I am too obsessed with food lah. I think, talk and of course EAT food all the time.
Earnestly now, I am really thankful to the one above, for I have made it this far in my pregnancy. I still have about four months or so to go, and I just hope it will be a nice, smooth BUMPy (pun intended) ride with the little one. Insya'allah.
Your prayers are much needed at this period of time, friends and fellow acquaintances.
I can't help but worry for the little one's wellbeing every second of the day.
Ahhh, the maternal instincts in me.
Would you believe it? :)
Me and my little one.
5 months, going on 6.
@ 04:02 p.m.
:: You are not alone. I am. :: Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Ok, I take back my words. I do want to celebrate Teachers' Day, after all. I cannot wait for Teachers' Day celebration tomorrow. I simply cannot wait. I wonder what my pupils and the school have in store for us teachers. Concert? Giant cake? Gold, maybe? Since Monday actually, I have been receiving beautiful cards and cute little gifts from some of my pupils. I have yet to read the cards or open them presents. I plan to do so only on Teachers' Day itself, which is Friday. So yes, I will put all the cards and gifts in one big (or small) bag tomorrow and bring them home. Come Friday, I shall be very piteous and celebrate Teachers' Day all alone at home. But then again, it is good to open up my presents when I am all alone. I don't like to share my presents.
What's mine is mine, lor!
You go find your own presents, please.
You know, had Tatek been here, he would have given me a card too. Sealed with a kiss, somemore! :(
But its alright, I guess. Luckily I had this to cheer me up a bit.
A Teachers' Day wish from my last year's pupil in the form of a powerpoint presentation.
I am really stirred by the very fact that this particular pupil was actually bothered to create a powerpoint presentation for me, the teacher who is no longer teaching her. Let's see whether she would remember me still next year, the following year, and the years to come. I shall update you, worry not. :)
Another thing that perked me up was a MMS I received from Tatek's very, very free bunk mate. His aspiration is to be a reporter, I suspect.
The text that came together with the MMS was,
"Your hubby is not training hard enough!!"
Ho ho, quite funny. The MMS cracked me up. Mind you, there was not one, but TWO exclamation marks in his MMS! Imagine his excitement while typing me the msg. But you, if you must know, I don't actually care whether he is training hard, harder or hardest. He is made of bones and fats, not steel. Not iron, either. Give my hubby a breather. He looked so whacked, jaded and resigned to fate in the picture, I wish I was there to somehow make his day better.
The point is, I miss him so much. :(
But then again, I wouldnt want to be there with him in the jungle charred under the hot, hot sun.
So not lomantic, one!
@ 09:49 p.m.
:: Tatekless. :: Monday, August 28, 2006
So Tatek came back home one tone darker last weekend. And that was only his first week of reservice, mind you! Poor Tatek. Nevermind dear, you only have two more weeks left. Come the 8th, we will celebrate big time, hokay? I will cook one big bowl of maggi with extra, extra hot chilli padi for you and I to share. Oh great! I realized one thing - Tatek will only be back towards the end of the one week September holidays. In other words, I will be spending my one week of break all alone, bored and broke! No Tatek. No money. No talk.
That's pretty much my life for the next two weeks or so.
I just hope the week would pass by quickly. I want next week to come. I don't care about Teacher's Day anymore. I don't care about the one week break also. All I really, really want is my Tatek back home with me. See, I don't care whether he is dark, darker or darkest by the time he gets back. I.WANT.MY.TATEK.BACK.
No wait, there's one more thing I want. I want to watch Siti Nurhaliza's wedding later at TV3. Oh come on folks, stop being so riled with her and her much talked about wedding. Learn to let go. Learn to accept. She has many qualities in her that we obviously do not and will never possess no matter how hard we try. See, she is famous, we well...we eat the Famous Amos cookies. (That's the closest we can get to feeling famous, I suppose.) She has the money, we pretend to have the money. She does not swank, we do big time. Therefore, the existence of blogs. She sings like an angel, we croak like toads. She looks good after makeup. Some of us, well, we still look hopeless with makeup.
And the biggest difference between her and common us? She is what every OLD man dreams of while we are what every YOUNG man dreams of.
We win hands down, lor.
Thumbs up to commoners like us! :)
@ 08:01 p.m.
:: RASA BOOLIT. :: Sunday, August 27, 2006
Since I am pining for rojak mama, I shall give you yet another one of my rojak entries.
Firstly, I want to show you that special something I made for Boolit few weeks back. Of course I am proud of it. Hello, it was my first time working on a pet carrier! On most days, I work on paper and what nots. So give me the due honour, please? :)
Congrats Boolit. You have a new cat carrier for yourself. In truth, the carrier is not even a brand new one to begin with. The look of the carrier is new, however. See, Nurul and I decided one fine day that it was time we give Boolit's rather old and scribbled-on carrier an overhaul. Instead of buying him a new carrier, we decided to make do with the present one and you know, just perform some of our magical touch on it. Yes, we believe we have the magical touch. No, we do not like spending. Yes, we like reusing. No, we are not ashamed to admit it. Oh, the carrier was scribbled on because Nurul's darling nephew mistook Boolit's carrier for a whiteboard. How sad. Honestly, it looked so grimy I did not dare touch it, hokay? What her darling nephew did to the cat carrier dare I say it, was beyond repair. It was beyond description. It was beyond our understanding even. Oh well, it is history now.
So to Spotlight we went to buy the stuff essential for the overhaul. And with just a little help from my most trusted gun glue, Boolit's carrier is now fit to be seen by the public. Special thanks to Tatek dear. Just so that you are in the know, Tatek did the big star on Boolit's carrier, hokay?!
The below picture was taken on Boolit's first day out in his fully revamped cat carrier.
Niceness. Say your thanks to me, Nurul Hilton. Anything associated with food will do. :)
Okay, I want to move on to my Teachers' Day Dinner. Even though Teachers' Day is only next week, us teachers in Xinmin had our dinner cum celebration last Friday. Venue? Rasa Sentosa Resort. Dont play play, hokay?
View was breathtaking. Food was exceptional. Entertainment was bravura. Theme was Bahama Mama. Let me present to you the Primary 1 Bahama Mamas.
Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Who is the fattest of them all?
Oh well. What's new, dear mirror?
@ 12:06 p.m.
:: Correct yourself. :: Saturday, August 26, 2006
To a very concerned 'friend',
The myth that ending a sentence with a preposition is wrong appears to have started with an influential book by an eighteenth-century Bishop of London, Robert Lowth, according to Bill Bryson's The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words. In Lowth's Short Introduction to English Grammar, the "gentleman grammarian" urged his readers to be polite by avoiding prepositions at the end of their sentences if they possibly could. To Lowth, for example, writing "this is something you should go to" was less appealing than "this is something to which you should go."
"Too many people took him too literally and for a century and a half the notion held sway," Bryson says. "Today, happily, it is universally condemned as a ridiculous affectation."
Novelist Kingsley Amis is a bit harsher, calling the rule "one of those fancied prohibitions dear to ignorant slobs."
If you believe a sentence looks or sounds better with a preposition at the end, write it that way. Grammarians won't quarrel. In fact many will applaud.
Not only is it harmless to put a preposition at the end, it's also natural — an important consideration for writers at the CBC who have their words read aloud on radio and television. Consider the following sentences:
"She refused to come in."
"What's the world coming to?"
And, of course: "This is a point people still fight over."
Source:
HERE
@ 11:38 a.m.
:: Judgement Day. :: Thursday, August 24, 2006
Dear friend,
It's really best that you know the real story, before all the assumptions start rolling in. It sure hurts when WE are accused of things we are not culpable of.
After all, what you perceive or judge may not always be correct. The cover of a book does not always tell the exact contents of the book.
My conscience is clear and my intentions are pure, hence this entry.
Sorry if this entry is a bit perplexing for those of you who are not in the know.
@ 01:27 a.m.
:: ATTENTION! :: Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Tatek had his night off yesterday and reported back to camp only this morning at six. In other words, I did not sleep alone with his strongly perfumed t-shirt yesterday. I slept with the old boy himself. :) Coming to think about it, reservice is not that bad after all, especially if you are the commander. Note the difference please. He is a commander NOT commando, hokay? To tell the truth, I mistook commander for commando initially too! They sound kind of similar see, especially if you are not a sucker for good diction. But they are definitely not similar when it comes to spelling and meaning. Anyway back to Tatek. He is having yet another night off tomorrow I heard, and subsequently the whole weekend off. Goody! How thrilling. I hate sleeping alone. It makes me feel so fat, having the bed all to myself.
But come next two weeks, he told me not to expect to see too much of his beautiful face. He would be really busy by then. See, that's when all his 'men', as he calls them, will start coming in for their reservice.
Either way, I am glad I am staying with my family still. At least I have good company during Tatek's absence. And at least Tatek does not have to worry about his pregnant wife being left unattended. Do not worry, your wife is as always, being watched over by her ever so protective Mak and Daddy, hokay? They make good bodyguards, my parents. I must be the luckiest daughter on earth, then!
Ok time to shower and you know the usual, get ready for school.
@ 10:00 a.m.
:: (un)FAIR & LOVELY. :: Monday, August 21, 2006
Believe it or not, this is an 8.30 am entry.
No, don't you even dare think I woke up this early just for this entry. I am not so much of a stanch blogger. Actually I just reached home. Now this is when the sad part comes in. :(
Tatek is on reservice or rather, a superfluous suntan course. For three weeks plus minus, he will be a jungle man. I am already feeling the old boy's absence. Goodness, he will be gone for three weeks. By then, I would be in my sixth month. By then, my tummy would have puffed out like nobody's business. And by then, Tatek would bear close resemblance to the very infamous orang minyak. Oh, I cannot wait.
My god, I am still in a stun. How come Siti Nurhaliza's dowry is 2 million ringgit? Is she made of bullion or what?
Life is very unfair, sometimes.
I should have been born a good singer. Only then would my dowry be two million dollars, I suppose. But then again, I have to be realistic. How far can a good singer go in Singapore? Singapore Idol is a very archetypal example. You don't need the voice. You just need to look good, like candy and everything sweet. So Tom, Dick and Hairy, go join next year's Singapore Idol. You people can surely make it lah, don't worry.
Agonizingly watching all the good contestants slowly but surely get eliminated from the show each week, it is only a matter of one or two weeks before we say bye bye to Hady too.
You know, that nong nong ago guy would have had a very good chance of winning Singapore Idol this year had the judges retain him. After all, his voice is of poorer quality than Joakim's.
And we all do know by now that in order to win Singapore Idol this year, you need to be THAT BAD.
My Malaysian friends, stop watching Singapore Idol. Very the mortifying one, you know?!
Mak, where should I hide my fat face? Paperbags might work, but they are not waterproof lah. What if it rains? Plastic bags, maybe.
Suggestions, anyone?
Email me.
What, you think I am kidding?
@ 08:25 a.m.
:: My hidden talent(s) :: Friday, August 18, 2006
I have so many things to share with you but I fear I would get ooh so muddled up in the process. Pregnant women are like that. I am so like that. So steel yourself for yet another rojak entry, brought to you (not so) proudly by Diah.
PSLE Oral Duty.
As you may all know, I was away from school from Monday to Wednesday. On Thursday which was yesterday, it was the PSLE Oral and I was supposed to be the teacher-in-charge of the waiting room. That was my original duty. However, due to my nonattendance for three days running and my not so fit condition, my kind colleagues changed my duty from the teacher-in-charge of the WAITING ROOM to teacher-in-charge of the STAIRCASE. No kidding. All I had to do was sit opposite one of the many staircases in school, make myself look pretty and when the need arose, direct some blur pupils going down the staircase to the canteen. That was all. Yes true, my duty was made less burdensome simply for my sake. True also, I should be thankful. But did you know my duty was made so easy till it bored me? I could not appreciate the view, all there was to look at is the staircase which I see everyday in school. I could not read for long, it put me to sleep instantly. I could not sit for too long, it gave me backaches. I could not walk too much, it gave me leg cramps.
So what I ended up doing on day one of my duty was this. My outlook of PSLE Oral.
And this, for day two. My silly fate.
Drawing has always been a good diversion for me. Somehow, I destress by drawing.(and eating)
STAFF MEETING
Today's staff meeting was good fun and totally unlooked for. Instead of the routine sit-in-the-AVA-room-and-listen-till-you-fall-asleep-and-maybe-snore kind of meeting, each of us had a two hour course to attend to. There were five courses in all, namely rollerblading, taichi, baking, calligraphy and flower arrangement. Since my mother has always wanted me to enrol myself in a flower arrangement class, I decided to give it a shot. No harm, I thought. And also, I wanted her to proud of me for once. Outcome? Best, hokay?! Mind you, I was so soaked up with my flowers that I ended up soundless throughout the whole session. Now, for those close to me, you will know that I can never keep my mouth shut when I am in the mood. So to have me keeping mum for two hours straight, is indeed a new Guinness Guinea Pig record.
When I was done with the arrangement of the flowers, I thought hard what then would be the fate of the flowers. I mean, fresh flowers were involved and knowing for a fact how 'long' the lifespan of a fresh flower is, I decided to make good use of the already arranged flowers.
I quickly made a card for him within five minutes.
I attached a straw behind the card and tada!!
A gift for Tatek. Free of charge. Just to show him how much I love him and err, recycling!
:)
Wey, he loves the gift hokay?!
Girls, the trick to a guy's heart is this. Any inexpensive gift will do, just as long as the card is gooey enough and is full of praises for him. They need the ego boost, that's all.
Try it today. Get something from Value $1 shop for a kickoff. Mustafa Centre also can!
At the end of the day, its the thought that counts right?
@ 08:25 p.m.
:: P.I.N.K :: Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Majority of you guessed it right. So clever.
It is a...
No, not time yet to start shopping for her clothes. Let's just wait. It is still way too early after all. :)
Auntie/Mummy Nurul, please take note.
@ 07:52 p.m.
:: Happy Belated Left-Handers Day! :: Tuesday, August 15, 2006
On 13 August, it was Left-Handers Day. I missed celebrating my 25 years (and many more to come) of being a leftie, damn it! I've always been proud to be a left-hander so to know that there is actually a day to remember and appreciate all lefties in the world, is indeed a wonderful revelation. I will make it a point to remember 13th of August from today on. I want to do more research on the net lah. Who knows there might be 'Diah's Day', or 'Etrangle's Day'? I would then declare that day a public holiday for all of you, right-handers included.
Seriously now, being a left-hander and all, I am quite different from most of you, can't you see?
No?
I'll tell you why I am so different then.
Taken from lefthandersday.com:
Left-handers are generally more intelligent, creative, better looking, imaginative and multi-talented than right handers.
Ho ho ho. Ok lah, sorry. Self-praise is quite a disgrace, I know.
Anyhow. Want to know some famous left-handers?
Angelina Jolie
Oprah Winfrey
Nicole Kidman
Keanu Reeves
Kate Hudson
Eminem
50 cent
George Michael
Tom Cruise
Julia Roberts
Katharine McPhee
Polar Bearss!!
And I do have a couple of left-hander friends too, one of them being Sangeetha, my Sangy Baby! The rest of them, I cannot remember who. Maybe because they are not as pretty as my Sangy Baby? :)
Speaking of baby, the little one down under is having a lot of fun kicking the poor mum, it seems. Amboi amboi. One minute a kick on the left, and the next minute another kick on the right.
I am curious. Does my tummy really look like a soccer ball?
Maybe, just maybe, I should start painting it black and white now.
Ok ok, time to rest now.
@ 12:14 p.m.
:: Pregnancy Guide. :: Monday, August 14, 2006
The very nice top did not fit me after all. It was especially tight near the chest area. Oh well. Congrats Nurul, the top is yours after all. And to think I created a pretty excited entry yesterday about that top! Wasted.
I am on three days MC. Well, two days actually but since Wednesday is my fetal scan, that makes it three days of MC. I am not on holiday, hokay? I am certainly not enjoying myself right now. I don't feel good at all. I have backaches and sideaches. It was so bad yesterday till I cried like a baby. Tatek was so panicky till he knocked no, banged on my parents' door in the middle of the night to tell and yes, convince them I was in great pain. My little brother, Apiq, quickly asked the maid to bring out the wheelchair from the storeroom. For once, you really thought I was going to the hospital, right? But no, I ended up not going. Drama mama only. Thanks to my mum's ever so comforting words and this really good week by week pregnancy guide book which she got for me about a month ago. She told me she experienced the same problems too when she was pregnant with all four of us, and that the baby is now forever growing and kicking, which explains the pain. I felt better. Much, much better. If truth be told, I found the guidebook silly initially and did not even want to purchase it, what more read it? My mum made a big fuss about it as usual and ended up buying the book, much to my ignorance. When she showed me the book a day after with that gleam on her face, I gave up. I still refused to read the entire book though simply because everything was typewritten in perfect Bahasa Malaysia and honestly, I had difficulties grasping some of the sentences when I tried reading the first few pages. I am a better English reader lah. But I did try, hokay?!
Yesterday however, I finally ate my humble pie and started reading the book. Oh don't you worry, I have both Malay and English dictionaries beside me when I am reading the book.
Ok done. This old lady here cannot sit for too long.
At times like this, I don't feel 25 at all.
I feel 52.
@ 07:36 p.m.
:: A BIG entry. :: Sunday, August 13, 2006
Have I told you how sweet a friend Nurul really is? Yes, I think I've told you that many a time. I do not need a good memory to remember that. But hey, its no harm telling you one more time.
She is damn sweet, hokay? I cannot take her extreme sweetness at times. But if it involves a very nice top, THAT I will take. :)
If you watched Suria Segar this morning, you would have noticed that very nice top she was wearing. I was in complete awe the moment I saw that top. I smsed her and asked her to ask Fatimah Mohsin where she got that nice top from.
The moment the show was over, I received a reply.
"Cuak, you want the top?"
Less than a minute later, yet another SMS I received from her.
"I already got the top for you!"
Very sweet. One of the many reasons why she is my buddy.
But despite it all, I am a bit skeptical. I am unsure. I mean, so what if the top looked so nice on Nurul? Everything will always look nice on her, what! Whether the same top would look nice on me, now that's a BIG question. Whether the top fits me, is yet another BIG question.
I have decided. If the top does not fit me at all when it gets to me later, or if I end up looking like a Nurul wannabe (fat version, no less) in that top, to Nurul that top will go. Had I not asked, she would have grabbed that top for herself anyway, so there.
Hmmm.
Say, should I catch up on my sleep now? I did not sleep the whole of last night, if you must know. Besides the fact that I could not find a sleeping position comfortable enough for myself, I was also busy sneezing. Oh let's not forget the fact that I am forever feeling the urge to urinate each night. Little one, stop pressing my bladder, can or not?
Aiyoyo. BIG headache, you know?!
@ 04:51 p.m.
:: Ordinal Numbers Revision :: Saturday, August 12, 2006
Luckily I read my previous entry. Or else, I would have never realised the silly mistake I made.
"Happy 41th Birthday everyone?"
What was I thinking of then?
Food, maybe.
Well, shouldnt it be "Happy 41st birthday everyone?"
Do pardon me. Silly mistakes are made every single day.
I simply cannot run away from them.
@ 11:07 a.m.
:: You will always be a part of me. :: Wednesday, August 9, 2006
Happy 41th birthday, everyone. Come on, Singapore's birthday is your birthday too. So what did you get yourself? I got myself two and a half days worth of holidays. I couldn't have asked for more.
Are you convinced now that teaching is a very rewarding job? Indeed. :)
Ok now let's detour a bit to what else, but my beautiful pregnancy. :) Tatek is really sweet tau. He has made it a point to say aloud one alphabet and one number each night for the baby akin to the very irritating Dracula in Sesame Street. Very funny cause Tatek does sound exactly like the Dracula.
So what happened when Tatek forgot to say aloud for the baby one day?
"Too bad but baby will have a remedial lesson today to cover what it has missed!" said Tatek.
We use the pronoun 'it' for the baby as the gender is still unknown, and not because the baby is an object or animal. Sorry I couldnt stop myself from saying this as I just covered 'Pronouns' with my class two days ago.
I do not know about you mothers or mothers-to-be out there but I have been told that it is good to already start talking to the baby. Sorry, but I feel quite eccentric whenever I do that. Therefore, you will never catch me talking to my baby. I will do it alone in my room. Or in the toilet. But never when someone is around. Hello, you cannot blame me for talking to my baby discreetly. I mean, I feel like I am forever talking to myself since there is never a respond from the baby. Maybe not yet, true. Maybe in future the baby will respond to me by kicking me hard, punching me hard with its little fist or give me a good heading me with its head. Maybe. I cannot wait for that. The word 'patience' is never in my dictionary.
Oh, I have also been asked whether I have already started feeling the baby's movements. I cannot lah. Its either I am numb or I am simply dumb. How does it feel like, anyway? Ticklish? Throbbing? Painless? Honestly, I don't feel anything at all.
No wait. I do feel something.
I feel hungry all the time.
Does that count?
Ok this is rather unbefitting but do not even forget to catch Nurul in Cinta Q tonight. 9.30 pm, Suria. You should watch because for once, Nurul is playing the devil. I wonder if she can be as malicious as that Fifi in DIA. See, she has always been a good girl, be it in front of or behind the camera. Always.
Dah. I am done.
@ 10:50 a.m.
:: Baby Pomato. :: Tuesday, August 8, 2006
Last weekend, we finally had the chance to meet Baby Pomato, (she is a combination of a potato and a tomato, according to the very proud and skinny mum!) By the book birth certificate, Baby Pomato's name is Baby Alisya. Gorgeous, isnt it?
So anyway, what happened was..
We got her the gift. We got her the card.
We took limitless number of pictures of her. I pretended to be a professional photographer. Nurul pretended to be a very proud mummy. Tatek was as usual, our faithful bystander.
And this picture is very, very funny. Pomato apparently went crazy from all the camera flashes till she turned cross-eyed for a second!! I had a good laugh while editing this one, you know? Her mum thinks she was star-studded. By who eh? By me, I guess. Ho ho.
You should really meet Pomato. She is everyone's dream baby. So gorgeous, so chubby, so fair, so nice smelling and best thing is, she is not even a cry baby. For that, she is qualified to be one of my many god-daughters. Congratulations, Pomato!
Oh Mummy Azlifah, please train her to call me Mummy Diah, hokay?!
And now. The world preview of my tummy. Location: Level 3 toilet, Century Square.
Be thankful. I actually took this picture when I was supposed to be urinating, hokay?!
Nothing much, right? Be patient lah. The tummy is growing.
On a not so different note, this morning, me and my tiny bump bumped into my favourite Art teacher back then in secondary school. I adore her because you know why? I was always given 'A' for my art assignments, that's why. After a rather short tete-a-tete, she actually asked me quite timidly, "Are you expecting,dear?"
I was like, "Yes I am! Can you tell?"
"Of course I can. Your face is rounder, your butt is fuller and yes, that tummy is a bit too big for your normal skinny self."
With that, we said our goodbyes.
:)
Moral of the story? Teachers, if you want your pupils to remember and worship you for as long as they live, give them a lot of As even if they are well, not quite deserving of the good grade.
And of course you know I am kidding.
@ 06:25 p.m.
:: Picture this. And that. :: Sunday, August 6, 2006
I'm all for pictures with special meanings behind them. Like this one for example. I mean, it was just perfect that Tatek had inadvertently parked the car next to his future car, in the same ordered colour somemore!
So what did I, the ever so EXTRA wife do? I quickly went across and asked him to pose so that I could snap a picture of the rare moment. Of course, we received stares from curious mats on bikes, and strolling nyonyas with their shopping baskets. I didnt care less but Tatek was already coy from all the stares and told me to go faster with the snapping, which explains why you couldnt see a clear full picture of both cars, see?
Ahhh, this very shy husband of mine. Forever blushing. Forever red in the face. Confession- I wish I could have a face like his so that I do not have to waste money on blushers.
And here's a picture of me and Tatek's left ear, in where else but the car. Despite the rays from the sun, my hot seat and the fact that I could barely open my big eyes, I still insisted on taking this picture lor.
Do I look almost 5 months pregnant already?
Ooops I am sorry yet again! I forgot that you need to have a look at the tummy too before deciding whether I look pregnant or not. After all, the baby grows inside the tummy, not on the face, yes?
I KEEP forgetting about the tummy!
Next time. I PROMISE.
:)
@ 10:54 a.m.
:: I thought. Now I think. :: Friday, August 4, 2006
When I was a kid, I simply loved pretending to be pregnant. On many occasions, I would stuff a pillow under my t-shirt just to make believe I was pregnant and then get silly Ian to feel my big tummy. He would pretend to be the father while I, the mother. Playing pregnant was so fun I couldnt wait to grow up and be really pregnant with my own child. I thought then pregnant women were the most beautiful. Not them models. Not even Miss Universe. But pregnant women. Therefore, when Mak was pregnant with Ili and later, Apiq, I was really proud of her. I did not want to let go of Mak's hands everywhere we went because to me, Mak was really beautiful with that ballooned stomach of hers. And I wanted people around me to know that the beautiful pregnant woman next to me was my Mak, not theirs. I was young then and very much still at my egocentric stage, you see?
I grew up. I had a couple of puppy loves before getting married to my real love, Tatek. Now, I am finally pregnant.
I had a hard time accepting my pregnancy initially...
Whenever I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw a woman with an overstuffed stomach. I saw a woman who ate a lot. I did not see a pregnant woman.
When I went for my first ever ultrascan, I thought I saw a lump of fat, not an embryo. I was in a state of denial. Really I was.
When I had a serious case of morning sickness during the second to third month, I thought I was sick. I didnt think of it as morning sickness at all. I felt really sick, couldnt get myself up to go to work and I hated myself. People around me suffered as a result of my constant negativity and my throwing of tantrums 24/7. I wished for the worst. Let's just not mention what exactly I wished for. You should be able to make a rough guess lah. Allah, forgive me please.
When my clothes started to suddenly 'shrink', I blamed it totally on my non-stop eating, not my pregnancy. I tried to do sit-ups on my bed to lose some fats but damn, I could hardly do one proper sit-up! Again, I blamed it on my weight, not my growing tummy.
When I started craving for food, I thought I was just really hungry, not craving. I refused to accept the fact that I AM pregnant and therefore, the constant craving for food.
When my back ached, I thought I was aging and that my bones were in dire need of calcium. I would drink milk, not because the baby needed it badly but because I thought my bones needed it.
When people keep telling me how I glow or how big my tummy already is, I felt surreal at first. I thought they were just a bunch of big fat liars, literally. I did not feel pregnant then, remember?
But now I do! Reality is, I am almost five months pregnant and I am loving every minute of my pregnancy. Oh yes, I do love my big fat tummy too. I am indeed blessed.
And I cannot wait to see my baby! Insya'allah.
:)
You should get pregnant too, you know?
But of course, you SHOULD be married, in the first place!
@ 08:27 p.m.
:: Singapore Idol ? :: Thursday, August 3, 2006
I have a proposition.
Let's change the current Singapore Idol competition to 'The Complete Teens Search' show. After all, people do not vote based on talent, but simply on good looks. Cannot sing nevermind, as long as you are young, fresh and cute. Tone deaf nevermind, as long as you are young, fresh and cute. Really! Notice how the young and very untalented ones are getting all the votes, leaving the not so young but very talented ones like Hady, Matilda and Jonathan frantically grasping for air each week?
It wouldn't be a big surprise if clowns like Joaquim, Paul or Jasmine wins Singapore Idol this year, judging from how the results and voting have been by far.
Please raise your expectations lah Singaporeans!
Why you so like that ah?!!
@ 09:09 p.m.
:: The heat is on. :: Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Today was the sports heats for the lower primary. Even though I am not teaching my class P.E for the time being due to my pregnant self, I was still there for the heats nevertheless just to ensure my class was in order and yes, offer moral support to my kiddos. I didn't expect myself to get THAT excited, hokay? Not only was I simply supporting my class, I was practically shouting, cheering, jumping, bouncing and hooray-ing all the way. Not bad ah considering the fact that my back was aching badly. Funny but I somewhat forgot about the backpain for a moment.
Hmm. Next week will be the real thing, the real sports meet. I will make it a point to bring along my pom-pom and my cheerleading skirt. How exciting.
Oh, its me and my wishful thinking again. Forever I am in cloud-cuckoo land.
Like I can fit into that sexy and short cheerleading skirt in the first place?!! And oh, I forgot I was never in cheerleading. Never was a cheerleader. Never able to pass off as one even. So there.
Anyway.
Today, I overheard a pupil's conversation with my colleague, Edwin. Very funny, I just had to laugh there and then even though Edwin did not really find it funny. He is an 'ambassador' for the 'Speak Good English' campaign, you see? Ho ho.
Pupil: "Mr Pang got rain already!!!!"
Edwin: "Got rain? I do not rain, okay?! Must speak Good English!"
Another funny one. This time, between me and my pupil.
Me: "Does anyone have a stapler I can borrow?"
Very excited pupil: "I GOT! I GOT!"
The already annoyed me: "Hello, since when are you GOD? Where's the stapler anyway?"
:)
On a different note, I think 'Freedom' by George Michael is really, really a nice song. My parents think otherwise. Oh well.
Ok time to shower. Time for school.
@ 08:28 p.m.
:: Smile Always. :: Tuesday, August 1, 2006
I am not bragging (ha ha!) or anything lah but perhaps you fanatics of Hady Mirza might want to see these.
Ho ho ho.
Those postcards were personally autographed by the man himself for each and every member of my family, hokay? See, being friends with Hady's mum does have its privileges. In this case, my mother and Hady's mother are good, OLD friends.
The rest of us are well, just his silent ardent supporters. Nothing more than that.
Go Hady! :)
@ 09:40 a.m.
:: (tube) TOP story for today. :: Sunday, July 30, 2006
Oh silly me.
How could I simply forget about the existence of tube tops? I am in glee cause you know what, I can still wear my favourite drawstring pants without buttoning them after all! Really. See, all I have to do is cover that unsightly unbuttoned part up with a tube and tadaaa, problem solved.
Thank goodness.
Anyway today was a good date with my Tatek. It has been that long since we last asked each other out, and it was fun walking together holding hands, reminiscing our good old dating days and laughing ourselves silly with what else but our silly jokes. I mean, we have been so busy that we often forget how madly in love we once were. After today's date, I am glad the love is still intact and strong. I am glad.
Oh, something funny to share. I was marvelling at this gorgeous halter neck top which was on sale at MNG when Tatek inquired ever so inquiringly, "What's this, b? A bag eh?"
Lol!
Tatek you are so silly. I love you in any case. :)
@ 09:30 p.m.
:: A pretty FATtening story. :: Saturday, July 29, 2006
Aiyoyo.
This is bad. This is really bad. I am gaining so much weight so radically that I can no longer fit into my favourite drawstring pants. And just because they are my favourite, I have them in 5 different colours, hokay?! Now I have to forsake them maybe for a while, maybe forever. Damn.
Today, when Nurul saw me, she was sniggering. (and possibly, snorting too!) See, I did not button my pants. Not that I forgot or didnt want to button, but because I couldnt lah. I couldnt. My pants were so tight that my tummy looked squashed and suffocated! Tatek was so mad at me and questioned why I did not wear a long babydoll top to cover that unbuttoned part up, if that was the case. Why make it so obvious to people that I couldnt button my pants, he added.
Ok fine. Whadevaaa.
Wait. You mean, I have to buy larger pants now? Worse still, you mean I have to start looking at maternity wear, just like a typical mummy-to-be? Urghh, they suck A LOT. True blue maternity wear is either VERY ugly or VERY expensive, or both! And its bad enough that the GSS is over. Besides, how often do I get pregnant, you tell me? Definitely not everyday. Once the 9 months period is up, I don't think I would have space for them maternity clothes in my wardrobe.
And just in case you are wondering how much weight I have exactly gained, let me tell you at this very instant before you start spreading dreadful rumours about me and my weight too. I so cannot imagine that and THIS. From a consistent 49 kg for more than 6 years, I am now a 58.8 kg mum-to-be! Oh, don't expect the weight to behave and stay put at 58.8 kg because I am pretty, pretty sure it WILL increase. And increase. How stomach-turning indeed, yes?
Say, want to see how I look like?
FAT hope lah!!!
@ 09:53 p.m.
:: A new layout again. :: Friday, July 28, 2006
Ok lah since I am pregnant and all, I should stop deluding you and myself with my used-to-be-skinny figure and pictures as my blogskin. It makes me nauseous. Hence, I present you this new layout and very soon, a fat layout.
(Rrrroar)
@ 11:24 p.m.
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