OUR SO-CALLED LANDSCAPE

eh apa tu?

tak mungkin bunga tulip

eh, ade ke teratai tumbuh atas tanah?

mak aiiii banyaknya bunga kantan kat courtyard kita..

dan ada yang dah selamat dibuat laksa oleh watie dan bibik..

BERSANTAI DI PETANG AHAD

We (MT, MAJ, WH, and myself) decided to lepak-lepak at MT's place (who lives in the same neighborhood) and at the same time merasmikan her newly installed Balinese-concept garden. Tambahan pulak it was a birthday of MAJ's daughter, so, acara kemuncak majlis pada petang tu sebenarnya adalah upacara memotong kek besday yang sgt cantik lagi lazat. Ye Mid, kami makan dan makan lagi...

MT, MAJ and WH are amongst my close friends since our college days in Shah Alam dating back somewhere in 1991-1993. We then separated hundreds miles away from each other to further our studies abroad. As far as i can recall, i did pay MAJ and WH a visit at their universities in UMSL and VU, respectively.MAJ together with her then boyfriend (now husband) came to visit me at UI sometime in winter 1993. WH, surprisingly, even got married and gave birth to her 1st child while completing her degree.

Like many other friends from the same batch - IU9, each one of us is now blessed with 3 super-active children. But looking at the momentum, i would speculate that both MAJ and MT might produce more. While WH and myself opted to remain dormant until further notice.

Happy Birthday Aisyah and a belated one to Muaz!

LEMANG JEPUN

While i was about to leave home for KL yesterday, my sons reminded me again to buy them some sushi, the japanese food. Just after the makan-makan@KLCC with my old friends, i dragged Liza and Ida to accompany me to the Isetan's supermarket, to buy the stuffs needed to make shushi. Bersemangat sungguh mama nak buat sushi kali ni, buat pertama kali secara solo pulak tu. Harap2nya bergunalah ilmu yang diperturunkan oleh Mrs Yoon satu ketika dahulu.

Hasilnya? Tarraaaa... tengoklah sendiri! Boleh lah untuk a first-timer, kan? 1/2 kg of calrose rice, habih licin untuk sekelip mata tauuuu. Samada ianya sangat sedap atau budak2 ini yang terrrlalu lapar?

LAAMAAA TAK JUMPAAAA, KIINIIII BERSUAAAAA

Kalau ikutkan hati, memang malas nak drive ke KL sendirian. Tetapi memandangkan dah berjanji dan sangat2 excited nak jumpa kawan2 yang ada daripadanya dah hampir 15 tahun tak jumpa, paddle minyak ditekan 120km sejam pun masih tak terasa lajunya. Terfikir juga nak drive ke Bdr Tasik Selatan and from there naik LRT ke KLCC. Tapi di sebabkan masih banyak masa and macam tak larat nak turun naik tangga untuk tukar tren di Masjid Jamek, i sticked to my initial plan. While thinking which highway can take me to KL the fastest, teringat pulak KakBib ajak singgah office for some Laksa yang di buat oleh Watie on the very same day. I am so sorry Watie, kanda terlupa, maybe next time lah ya!

Sesampai je di Jalan Kuching, as expected, all vehicles started to move very slowly. I decided to take Jalan Sultan Ismail instead of terus ke Jalan Tun Razak. It was okay initially, tapi bila dah hampir ke Bank Pembangunan, jalan sesak semula. Arghhh... It took me almost 45minutes to reach KLCC from there! How about that?? Nasib baik bawak kereta auto, kalau manual, maunya akak singgah minum sirap limau kat Wisma Sime Darby dulu.

I reached the basement parking of KLCC, 10minutes before 1pm and made it to the Concourse level, in front of the BodyShop, as instructed - in time. Mula2 sekali nampak Liza, berpelukanlah kami. Sambil menunggu yang lain, kami masuk BodyShop and baru nak tanya2 pasal body scrup apa yang wanginya tahan lama, hehehe, menerusi cermin, ternampak Shikin dtg dari belakangg. Sakan lagiii berpeluk2 tiga beradik pulak. Seminit selepas tu, muncul pulak si Am, kawan yang dah 14tahun tak jumpa!! Makanya KLCC menjadi saksi akan tumpahnya beberapa titis air mata rindu antara kami. Waduh waduh... Terima kasih facebook, penjejak kasih no1 masa kini.

Ida, another friend of mine, joined us 30minutes later while we were settling at the Oriel, 1st floor - near Isetan, for lunch. Sambil makan sambil bergebang. Masa lebih 2 jam berlalu, sungguh tak terasa. Masing2 sibuk meng-update diri masing2 dan jugak menyingkap kenangan silam semasa sama2 belajar di PPP/ITM dulu. After 15 years, kami kini dah punya 3 org anak setiap seorang! Talking about productivity!

Thank you Liza, Shikin, Am and Ida for the extended lunch hour pada hari tu. I really had a splendid time with you gals. Hope to do it again, with other friends as well -- real soon.

Untuk Mid yang masih jauh nun di bumi Jerman sana, renung2kanlah gambar kami ni, tak reti2 nak balik menjejak kaseh-kah?

SHORT BREAK

Baru 2 hari ke sekolah "tumpang", the school announces an emergency closure of school for 2 days. Reason being, there are a few cases of HFMD (Hand Feet and Mouth Disease) detected. So, anak2 yang sememangnya macam ndak tak ndak nak ke sekolah, bersorak keriangan! Macam menang gold medal sukan olimpik aja lagaknya.

MT proposed we go for a swim. So, di petang yang agak panas tersebut, berkonvoi-lah kami membuat kunjungan muhibbah ke Staffield Golf & Country Resort, yang jauhnya cuma sepelaung dari rumah, untuk bermandi-manda.

Mana ada budak yang tak suka air? You tell me. Mak budak pun sungguh teruja bila tengok air yang membiru tu. Di sebabkan dah lama tak berendam, and atas semangat berpasukan, i pun akhirnya terjun kolam sekali, tapi masuk kolam budak kecik tinggi under 3 kaki je la. Sambil jaga budak2 kecik, sambil sejukkan badan. Itupun sebab weekdays, tak ramai orang and the lifeguard is someone i know. So, idakler malu sangat. Tapi jangan main-main, sempat jugak ajar little KT and KA "floating" tauuuu. Setelah kecut badan berendam and 10 kali menjerit, barulah budak2 ni naik dari kolam bersaiz semi-olimpik tu. Tu pun setelah di suruh berikrar untuk singgah makan2.

So, on d way balik, singgahlah kami di salah satu antara kedai2 makan yang meriah di sepanjang pekan Beranang ni. Tak ingatla pulak nama kedainya. The children had nasi ayam, nasi pattaya, and the mothers had nasi putih and some lauk such as tomyam campur, sup cendawan, telur dadar and sambal belacan. The usual simple dishes yang sangat2 satisfying.

100 kalori sudah hilang, 10000 lagi yang di tambah!

"SEKOLAH TUMPANG"

After much persuasions or precisely, threats (tak boleh main internet games, limited PS and G/Boy hours, no swimming pool, an absolute ban of mee sedap etc etc), both KS and KA, are now back in school. Husband and myself may sound kiasu but 3 1/2 months is way too long for a school break, dont you think?

Not that i didnt try to bermuzakarah with them both, but, of no use. They simply said NO when i first mentioned about this "sekolah tumpang" thingy. But when i told them betapa susahnya mama pujuk the Pengetua Sekolah, lepas tu terpaksa merayau satu Kajang dan Bangi semata2 nak cari buku2 teks, pulak spent an amount equivalent to a month of bibik's salary just to buy their basic uniforms, shoes, bags, stationery etc -- di tambah pulak dengan segala mala threats yang tidak masuk akal seperti di atas, akhirnya, terpaksa jugaklah mereka akur. Tak sesio den ambik psychology I and II kek skulah dulu kan..

After-all, the school is just a few steps away from our house. Pendek kata, kalau 10 minit sebelum loceng sekolah berbunyi pun masih sempat bangun, mandi ala kadar, get dressed and within seconds, there you are, depan pintu sekolah - in time. Hassle free, so to speak.

Honestly, i am not that worried with KS. Track record confirms that he enjoys going to school. And he is very lucky to have a bunch of buddies for a moral support. Just imagine, when he was getting ready for school at 7am on the 1st day, some of his closest friends are already in our driveway waiting to accompany him. Siap nak tolong bawakkan beg sekolah lagi. Waahhh... ada tokoh jadi politician gitu. But, being a committed parent that i am, ahem, i hantar jugaklah dia ke sekolah dan tunggu sampai habis assembly to ensure a smooth 1st day of school. Sempat pulak tu pekena sepiring nasi lemak dengan teh tarik kat kantin sekolah. Multi-tasking, remember?

KA, however, is in the afternoon session. Again, tersengih2 pak guard sekolah tengok i pegang tangan anak masuk pintu sekolah semula that noon. Borang pelawat pun dah tak payah isi. Since KA does have that many friends of his age (selalunya mingle with KS's friends only), i had to make sure he is in a classroom with at least, a familiar face. Kudos to the Pengetua and Penolong Kanan HEP of SKBTK for being so cooperative and understanding. Dahlah sanggup tumpangkan the boys until Aidilfitri, siap izinkan pilih mana2 kelas yang kami berkenan pulak tu. Jasamu di kenang cikgu!

So, we just hope that for the next couple of months, they will have something meaningful to do besides playing games, games, and games. Not that we want to torture them with books and homework; we just want them to have fun in school, interacting with real people, real world, that's all.