Monday, December 19, 2005

Yoo hoooooo!!!

I am at my dad's.

We cancelled the phone connection at our house before we left, so no internet connection at home... bummer.
I don't know when I'll be able to get on-line again, so a few guidelines on how you can contact me (for gathering invitations and such.. hee hee):

1. My mobile phone still works, so you can call/sms me on my previous celcom number. (Nekbat: aku talipong mung semaley. Guano tok jawab...)

2. I will be in KL probably till Dec 23rd. We plan to drive up to Alor Setar by then. Then I will be back in KL by Jan 4th. So if you wanna meet up in KL, those are the dates I'll be around.



Oh, in other news. First thing I did when I got home was went to my mom's for lunch. I had Udang masak lemak cili api and tempe goreng.. yum yum yum. Then I had Lau Wan Char Kuey Teow for dinner. Then roti canai, then dim sum, then nasi lemak cikgu, then .. mm.. can't remember anymore. Suffice to say that I am fulfilling my gastronomic fantasies.


Oh more news, I also went to see my Ob&Gyn (Dr. Idris in PMC), and he confirmed I was 20weeks, and he scanned for the baby's condition and development (All is well, alhamdulillah) and the kids was so excited to find out the baby's gender...
It's a boy!
Ihsan was so happy, he exclaimed "Yay!! We did it!!! We got a boy!!"


On Sunday I went to the Malaysian Modblog Gathering in FRIM, expecting a lot of people and KFC so I made a HUGE bowl of potato salad.. but alas, only a few could make it..
Takper, we had fun anyways. The kids enjoyed themselves despite us thinking that they'd be bored. What do you expect when you let kids loose in a semi-forest?
The gathering was abruptly cut short due to rain, and I didnt even get a chance to say a proper goodbye and thankyou.. Sorry guys!



okay we're gonna have lunch in Chilli's Mid Valley now (My dad, Mimi and my kids and I) so.. laytur, whenever.

You guys have a good holiday!





Blog Comments

Posted by:bertique
Date: 12/19/05 at 6:46 AM (6M1d ago)
yay!

i must talk with ilham again when we meet, MUST. haha .. with his fantasy and such, ada ker unicorn kat saudi .. he was so funny, and confused at times ;) .. doesn't help lak an when you have me to talk to .. hahaha

lupa lak, the potato salad was superb! best giler ok. tapi at 10 am, KFC mana bukak sis .. kalau tak, mmg i dah bli dah berbarrel-barrel ;) .. it was a good outing anyway kan ??

if you wanna try chinese food - ala carte eat all you can (no kidding!) .. try kat xing zhu cyberview lodge cyberjaya .. rate dia dlm RM55++ if am not mistaken .. it's ala carte style (means that they have like 30 set of masakan yg u buleh pilih) but eat all you can .. hehe whatever it's - mmg best.


Posted by: zan
Date: 12/19/05 at 7:40 AM (6M1d ago)
you masak sardin makan dgn roti ker? cyberview lodge, jauhnyerrr...but i guess mesti sedap giler..


Posted by:bertique
Date: 12/19/05 at 8:11 AM (6M1d ago)
masak sardin letak kentang potong dadu, tomato pototng dadu ..
ikan sardin tuh digoreng terlebih dahulu ;) ..
then perah sebiji lemon .. sedapnya ..

err apa soklan u tadi??

aaa betul, mkn ngan roti. i penah try mkn ngan spageti - best gak actually ;)


Posted by: zan
Date: 12/19/05 at 7:40 AM (6M1d ago)
ayoo...dah lama tak makan kat chillis...


Posted by: BerryBear
Date: 12/19/05 at 2:48 PM (6M1d ago)
yup.. poor turnouts but great event, nevertheless... love the salad and the cekodoks! bert's sardines was great too! and great to see you again!

XXXXX Nak kena gigit ke? XXXXX


Posted by: yellowcabbie (View Website)
Date: 12/20/05 at 7:18 AM (6M13h ago)
congratulations on your new baby news... jaga diri bebaik..eat well.. dah start think of names ke?


Posted by: lion3ss (View Website)
Date: 12/20/05 at 8:12 AM (6M12h ago)
I pulok yang terliur baca. Anyway, too bad I couldn't make it hari tu. Family matters. Missed out on ur potato salad lah kang?


Posted by: famygirl
Date: 12/21/05 at 1:22 AM (5M4w ago)
potato salad itu memang yummy. i nak makan banyak-banyak tapi *malu*

you know me, anything sweet chocolate-y, or cheesy, or mayonnaise-y hee hee


Posted by: roserose
Date: 12/21/05 at 4:02 AM (5M4w ago)
Tahniah!
Alor Setar tak banjir ke?



Posted by:nick898
Date: 12/21/05 at 9:45 PM (5M4w ago)
You just ramble on about all different things as I was scrolling. It's interesting to read. Keep up the good work!


Posted by:
shumagorath
Date: 12/23/05 at 8:33 AM (5M3w ago)
bert....u masak sardin utk sume org...u dr dulu janji nak buat sardin roll kasi i...huhu...nak najuk la cenggini


Posted by: Leez (View Website)
Date: 12/29/05 at 1:42 AM (5M3w ago)
hey welcome back!! wowww... looks like you got your hands full with gatherings! wish i could join! hehehe.. as if i'm invited!!

anyway, have fun!! and take it easy ye! have a happy new year :)


Posted by: marinadelrey (View Website)
Date: 01/04/06 at 8:27 AM (5M2w ago)
hey u like all the same foods i do! from lauk lemak udang to Chilli's...and can u post up ur potato salad recipe por favor? another boy huh? congrats n take care mummy-to-be! got any advice for a first timer like moi?


Posted by: Ripcord (View Website)
Date: 01/07/06 at 6:44 AM (5M1w ago)
Your blog seems to be taking ages to load up lately... =(

Posted by: The Angel Islington
Date: 01/13/06 at 6:46 AM (5M6d ago)
Kak elisa I miss you and your postings! Glad you're back.

Signed,
The not-so-active-commen ter on Spread the Jam

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Well, whaddaya know..

I still have my internet connection.. hm.. maybe they'll cut it tomorrow.
While it's still up, some ramblings:


If you visit somebody's blog and leave a what you think is a really friendly comment, and the next time you come you see that the blog owner has deleted your comment, would you be offended?
I think I would be. And I am.
It made me think, either this person has a personal dislike for me for some reason (even though it was my first time visiting), or this person is intensely private and just wants her friends to leave comments.
Either way, the message I get is "Go Away".
And you know what, I probably will.


I never knew skanky tops are so difficult to choose. I mean.. you don't want your little sister to look like a slut.. How do you find a skanky top that's not .. well.. so skanky?


I just watched The Man Who Cried the other day, and Johnny Depp looked so yummy. He was scooping horse shit and looked delectable.
And I wonder, when has he ever NOT looked yummy?
Okay maybe in Jung, he looked a bit revolting to me, but even in Pirates of the Carribean where he looks so stinky that you could almost smell him, I found him quiet appealing. In Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, he looked as good enough to eat as some of the candy in his factory, even with his false teeth. He even made that guy in Corpse Bride extremely attractive by lending it his voice.
And don't even mention Don Juan. I couldn' stand watching that movie coz he looked so good it was depressing.
I don't think anybody but Johnny Depp could pull that off. Nope. not even Brad Pitt (he looked absolutely horrifying in Kalifornia, he didnt look good bald in Oceans 11/12).


What in the world do people do with saffron (besides cooking paella) ? They're damn expensive.. but it seems to be something some people want from over here..


Ilham has his Musical Concert today. Taufik can't go coz he's been taking time off at least once for the past 2 weeks. last 2 weeks, for a walkathon. Last Week, for the Snow Queen. ANd next week we're already on our vacation.. so today he's just gonna send me and Anis to school and go off to lunch before going back to work.
I'll take pictures. If we're lucky and the internet connection is still up, maybe I'll post some here!
oh, which reminds me, you can see what goes on in the boys' school at http://www.dhahranbritish.com. Look for the galleries andd you can look at pictures of all the activities in school. It's quiet good. You might even find a few pictures with Ilham or Ihsan on there.


Okay gotta go now.

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Last Day On-line

Well, today is the last day that my internet connection will be active.. so I guess today I'll be trying to catch up with potential lost time.


My tentative itinerary:

Dec 14th : Get all our bags all packed and ready. When the kids come home from school at 3pm, get them showered and changed, pray Asar, then off we go to Bahrain. Check in, have a bit of dinner, then board the plane for Doha. At Doha, get on another plane for KL. I am banking on the kids (and me) to sleep all the way to KL.
Dec 15th : arrive in KLIA around noon. Take a cab to Kelana Jaya to my mom's house to pick up our house keys, then return home. HOME!! I'm sure Taufik will be checking on the plants and all. The kids will probably rummage thru their toy box first. I will be changing my bed sheets. We'll have abite to eat, hm.. where..? I'm thinking maybe nasi ayam hailam if the redemption letter for our house loan has arrived, else, either FAM (mee kari!!) or Sri Pattani (Tomyam!!). Afternoon will be spent cleaning up the house (if it's not already cleaned by my brother in law), and dinner will definitely be Jaya (Char Kuey Teow, Nasi Ayam, Rojak SIngapore, Laksam.. and sirap bandung).
Dec 16th-Dec 17th: settle stuff .. my house loan, my RHB acount, pay all the fees for the condo, go to MSRI to pay my sponsorship for Israa. Eat and eat.. maybe if I get a chance to, meet up with the lunch ladies for Friday lunch. Oh, and shop for food for the gathering.
Dec 18th : cook for the gathering, go to the gathering, eat eat eat. talk talk talk. take pictures. play with kids.
Dec 19th- Dec22nd or so: Spend quality time with my mom. Visit my dad.
Dec 23rd: Drive to Alor Setar, maybe stop by @ my friend's for dinner.
Dec 24th to Jan 2/3rd : In Alor Setar, go to the orchard (work work work), maybe have a family picnic at a waterfall, eat laksa, meehoon sup. Make a trip to Penang, eat mee udang.
Jan 4th - Jan 9th : back in PJ.. settle more stuff if needed. Visit Mokciknab and her brood. Go shopping. Go jalan2. Go makan2. Maybe Ladies Day Out if the ladies are up to it. If we have time, drive to Kemaman? (Eat some more)
Jan 10th: Eid Ul Adha. Go Sembahyang raya in Masjid Al-Hidayah. Visit relatives around KL.
Jan 11th: Shop and pack.
Jan 12th: Fly back to Saudi.
Jan 13th: Do Laundry, clean house, shop for groceries, prepare for school.
Jan 14th: Kids go back to school. Pay internet bill.
Jan 15th: Back on-line, I hope!

But then again, with me, nothing is ever fixed.. aside from my arrival and departure dates, and the Dec 18th do. Things may change. We take detours (which I just love!). All of us are on a holiday, including Taufik, so that means no office appointments! We can do antyhing we want! We are truly truly truly on a vacation, all of us. I am most certainly looking forward to this holiday.


Yesterday I helped to wrap gifts for the school's Santa's Groto. Next week , 'Santa' will be coming to the school to give out gifts to the children from 4 to 8 years old. The way these parent volunteers handle this project.. it was like a CIA operation. Everything was kept a secret. Shopping was done in secret. They covered all the windows in the Groto room so that no kids can peek in. If any students saw toys being carried, they would say they're for a charity. I couldnt even tell my own kids what I was doing in school. When I accidently mentioned it to Ihsan's teacher in the presence of one of the kids, she actually covered the boy's ears.
We painstakingly removed price tags off each toy. Ignorant me suggested that we just used a marker to black out the prices and the mommies cried out in unison "But Santa doesn't buy toys, he makes them!". Err.. okay.. he would barcode them as well, eh..?
They discussed about who to get to be Santa and when. They had to schedule things just right so that none of the students would come in and suddenly realize that Santa is actually their Dad in a suit. So Katie's class need to come when Katie's dad is not santa.
They even wrote an elaborate letter to each class, telling them that Santa would come to visit in a few days, after the visas for the reindeers are cleared by immigration.
I hope I don't offend anyone when I say that I found it funny how they took so much pains in protecting the idea that Santa is real. I mean.. he's not even a real religious element of Christianity, isn't he? Is believing in Santa equivalent to believing in God?
Ah well.. I wasnt there to preach. I was just there to help (and to take a peek at what my boys would be getting)(Ihsan's getting a punching bag, Ilham a remote control car)(kinda cool, huh?).
I brought ANis along and she was unbelievably well behaved and nice to everyone! She would go up to everyone (but me) and ask "Can I help?". She was so sweet, they decided to give her a present when we said our goodbyes. She got hair accesories, in a plastic carry case, which she is carrying everywhere she goes now. I was so proud of her (and relieved that she did not embarass me.. tee hee!).



oh well, I guess that's it for now. While I'm gone, you're welcomed to visit my archives, or check out my links .. there are very interesting people out there!
You know I'll blog whenever I get the chance to.. :)

Season's Greetings, Happy Holidays and have a Happy New Year!





Blog Comments


Posted by:TheCharmedOne
Date: 12/06/05 at 8:38 AM (1M1w ago)
Selamat kembali ke Malaysia.


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/06/05 at 1:35 PM (1M1w ago)
terimakasih MrCharmed..

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"


Posted by: marinadelrey (View Website)
Date: 12/06/05 at 8:45 AM (1M1w ago)
wow! that is one DETAILED itinerary! i'm gonna have 2 learn how 2 plan like u once i become a mom...have fun back in jolly good ol' malaysia!


Posted by: elisataufik
Date: 12/06/05 at 1:40 PM (1M1w ago)
detailed ke? I thought it was pretty general..
I like to have a plan, so that we don't end up wandering around aimlessly and not achieve anything during our time home.
but the fun thing about having plans is also being able to break them.. tee hee

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"


Posted by: ondeonde
Date: 12/06/05 at 9:30 AM (1M1w ago)
you can quench and gobbled (excuse for my choice of word) on whatever things you mengidam while in tanah air tercinta!


Posted by: elisataufik
Date: 12/06/05 at 1:44 PM (1M1w ago)
oh I wish I would achieve that ! :)
but most importantly, I also want to meet all the people that I miss, be it family or friends :)

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"


Posted by:+pizzofmine
Date: 12/06/05 at 10:11 AM (1M1w ago)
The holiday schedule awed me, awed I say!


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/06/05 at 1:47 PM (1M1w ago)
i bet if you told us *your* itinerary, we'd be awed too..

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"

Posted by:+pizzofmine
Date: 12/06/05 at 2:04 PM (1M1w ago)
well i don't think it will awe anyone if the route is between to the work desk - toilet -work desk -toilet - work desk -toilet and back to the work desk again


Posted by: rotidua (View Website)
Date: 12/06/05 at 10:25 AM (1M1w ago)
eh..tak nak jumpa kiter ke?


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/06/05 at 1:52 PM (1M1w ago)
eh MUSTI lah jumpa...
you're bringing fruits to the gathering kan kan kan?

Mama mesti buat makan2 punya lah.. paling kurang, on Raya Haji..

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"


Posted by:bertique
Date: 12/06/05 at 10:41 AM (1M1w ago)
have a good flight home ok.

and, pergh! packed giler schedule nyer :D

see you on sunday.

kalau sesat, call saya - hehehe

Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/06/05 at 1:55 PM (1M1w ago)
Kalau dia takder tukar jalan ke Putrajaya in the past 6 months, Insya-Allah tak sesat..
apa2 pun, nanti kita calling2..

please follow up on nekbat. Kita nak dia datang!!

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"

Posted by:nekbat
Date: 12/06/05 at 5:00 PM (1M1w ago)
Oh pressure, pressure


Posted by: hannaidea
Date: 12/06/05 at 3:16 PM (1M1w ago)
Have fun during your holiday. We're going to miss you.

hanna's mum


Posted by: shadesofblue
Date: 12/07/05 at 4:30 AM (1M1w ago)
I can feel the excitement...balik kampung..ooo..balik kampung.
About the Santa thingy...they do take things seriously and go into details huh...read about how some of the other mothers in US prepare their childrens birthday Mak Oiii...mcm2 ada

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Wondering about writing

LoLlieS asked me a long long long time ago, how my family and I became so good at writing.

Well, firstly, we don't think we're that good. At least I don't think I'm that good at writing.
But I would agree that I like writing, reading and telling stories, and so does most of my family members (even The Sister Who Does Not Blog', henceforth to be referred to as TSWDNB, or maybe DNB (Does Not Blog), for short). So maybe I could shed some light on how we became this way.
damn.. i make it sound like it's some kind of affliction..

My siblings and I grew up telling or listening to stories. When we were young, sources of entertainment was limited. I remember that TV shows only started at 5:30pm or so. If you switched on the TV before then, you'd only see the test pattern. So we had to occupy ourselves with other stuff. When we're not gallavanting in the bushes (Trengganu was filled with bushes then), we're probably hanging out on some wooden platform (gerei) with our friends, or hanging out near the huts where the adults were cooking (nasi dagang or keropok lekor) and listening in to their conversations. Sometimes we made up our own adventrues and stories. I remember one time when mokciknab and I drew elaborate diagrams and made up complex processes on how to turn shit into ice-cream. I am not kidding.

My grandmother's house in Pantai Merang was worse. It didn't have any electricity until the generator was started at dusk (around 7:30pm roughly). So again, we occupied ourselves by playing or hanging out among the adults and listening to their stories. I remember killing at least half of the day watching this old woman who lived in front of my grandmother's house making nissang (sugar made from cooking coconut milk ..err so, 'palm sugar'? *shrug*). It was pretty fascinating to watch her patiently stir the coconut milk in a huge wok, watching it turn from white to sticky brown and then seing this thick gooey stuff being poured into the round moulds and harden up. Then we got to ate the bits that stuck to the bottom of the wok. Yummy. But I digress.
My grandparents would tell us all sorts of stories. Sometimes it was stories about how they or my dad grew up. Sometimes it's silly made up stories, like the one about 3 guys, one with big ears, one with a sharp bum and one with a lot of discharge in his eyes (taik mata), who got on a boat and how the guy with the sharp bum made a hole in the boat when he sat down and the guy with the eyes patched the hole up with his eye-discharge and the guy with the huge ears was used as a sail.
During blackouts in our house, we would sit around my father's feet and he would tell us jokes (some dirty and unfit for young ears) and stories about his childhood or travels. My mom would tell stories about her childhood too, about how she and her 8 siblings lived in a one room house that doubled as a tailor's shop (her parents were tailors), how she got a chance to study in England, her travels around Europe, how we lived in remote Kuala Berang.

My parents were avid readers, we had tonnes and tonnes of books in our house. In fact I remember we once had a whole wall of bookshelves filled with books. So I guess it was only natural that my siblings and I enjoyed reading. Some of us are more voracious than others: me being the worse, because I am quite picky about the books I read and DNB is the slowest (she took forever to finish Lord Of The Rings). Mokciknab is prolly the most well-read in terms of breadth of subjects coz she reads all sorts of technical books, while TulisJe would be the more literature-concious and artistic one, and the male rotidua would be the more adventurous one, appreciating both the well-written and well-drawn stories. I am not sure about Mimi, since I don't get to observe her reading habits first-hand. But I think you can't part a Bustaman from his/her books.

Except for Tulisje, none of us had any formal education in writing. Mokciknab took law. Male-Rotidua went into the visual-production field. DNB took Teaching English as a Second Language. I took engineering. Mimi .. is still in highschool, and it looks like she's leaning towards the performence arts. TulisJe was the only who has a Degree in 'English', which I guess involves alot of writing and reading..

Our backgrounds are reflected in the way we write, I think.

My dad, for instance, used to work for the information ministry and then moved on to the Prime Minister's Department to develop informative documentaries. So the posts on his blogs are mostly like Public Service announcements or documentaries on the Trengganu culture, catered to appeal to the masses. And from the popularity of his blog, you can tell that his writing do have a massive appeal.

Mokciknab tend to be very journalistic in her posts. She tends to write about issues (or makes issues out of the goings on of her everyday life). Her writings are always concise and focused, fit to be in a 5 minute slot on the evening news. Her 'connections' also has given her the ability to look at things from a lot of different perspectives, and listen to the same story from all the different sides. It also sometimes make her a bit jaded and sceptic about things.

The Male Rotidua, when he does write, simply blows you away with his eloquence and his perspective on things. In person, he is just like the way he writes. He doesnt say much, but what he says mostly matters, is rational and makes sense. (Note: The Female Rotidua, though is only related by marriage, suprised us with her eloquence and quirky sense of humor in their blog. We're proud of her :) )

Tulisje is the accomplished writer among us. You can tell that her posts are well-thought out, and probably went through a few drafts, coz they come out so perfect. She tends to write about deep things (except when she talks about college football and the UMich Wolverines) and I am often amazed by her imagination and her ability to convey stories in such a beautiful way.

Mimi .. is still young, and writes like a teenager should. I live vicariously through her shopping trips, teenage-angst and adventures on stage.

Me, having an engineering background, has made me very technical and analytical about things. I think I am best when I am writing instructions and procedures (like when I give out recipes). Ask me to write about one thing and I will break them into little pieces and analyze them bit by bit (like I'm doing with this one). I am always asking Whys and Hows, trying to figure out cause and effects of things that happen around me or that I'm doing. Very Boring.

So, I don't know whether this has given you an insight on how to be a 'good writer', but I hope it has given you an idea on why my family and I write the way we do :)





Blog Comments


Posted by:+PrimaryBasic
Date: 12/04/05 at 10:58 AM (1M1w ago)
if everyone writes in the same style, we would be better off reading just one from the same group.


saya suka blog ini.

and

"In fact I remember we once had a whole wall of bookshelves filled with books. So I guess it was only natural that my siblings and I enjoyed reading."

we also have tons and tons of books on the bookshelves. but, kenapa my younger ones tak nak membaca? :(


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/05/05 at 5:40 PM (1M1w ago)
I wasnt that keen on reading when I was younger too.. but I saw everyone in my house reading and I got to thinking, "Apalah yang syok sangat baca buku cerita ni ya?" So I started picking up one of my dad's books (I think it was Robert E Heinlein) and was hooked. Thanx to my siblings' 'adventurousness', our family was introduced to Tolkien, Pratchett, Gaiman, Garcia-Marquez.. kalau tidak, jangan harap I nak beli kalau tak kenal..


Posted by:famygirl
Date: 12/04/05 at 11:30 AM (1M1w ago)
this is very nicely written. saya rasa terinspired.

i hope my kids will grow up being ardent fans of books and become good writers like you and your siblings... as you've known, i have started my own collection of tons and tons of books on the bookshelves (I wish I have the luxury to read each and every one of them right now)


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/05/05 at 5:44 PM (1M1w ago)
well, judging from Sofea's talkativeness, if she doesnt become a good writer, she'd definitely become a good pengacara or penyanyi nasyid.. ha ha!


Posted by: Tengku Sheril Amirah (View Website)
Date: 12/04/05 at 3:25 PM (1M1w ago)
performing arts all de way man!!

muahahaha, oh yeas, and you asked me to leave a "not" here, so here it goes.

I don't really want anything frm The Land Of The Sand(my friend is already bringing me back melted snow in a bottle from UK) but I don't mind a shopping trip back here in Malaysia. *grin*

but den, its the thought tat counts so juz hantam and get me anything you think mite be nice *pssst scanky tops and bras*

Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/05/05 at 5:52 PM (1M1w ago)
okay.. a skanky top it is then.. I hope I have the time (and money) to go shopping before next week..


Posted by: ninuk (View Website)
Date: 12/04/05 at 4:01 PM (1M1w ago)
and i can vouch you are also good at "writing programmes/sql scripts" dan yang sewaktu dengannya !


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/05/05 at 6:01 PM (1M1w ago)
oh.. I don't know whether I can still remembr how to do that.. the only 'serious' writing I do nowadays are notes to the boys' teachers..


Posted by:LoLlieS
Date: 12/04/05 at 4:37 PM (1M1w ago)
I see I see. I am very intrigue with the storytellings and listening to stories that you folks had when you are little. it definitely runs in the family. simply amazing


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/05/05 at 6:07 PM (1M1w ago)
I am sure your kids will benefit from your love of storytelling as well :)



Posted by:+pizzofmine
Date: 12/04/05 at 8:01 PM (1M1w ago)
hmmmmm.....*nodding sagely*



Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/05/05 at 6:11 PM (1M1w ago)
encik namra.. kamu akan datang ke gathering tak????
heh heh .. i'm gonna bug bug bug you like a ghost haunts and abandoned house.



Posted by:+pizzofmine
Date: 12/05/05 at 6:21 PM (1M1w ago)
I'll have to take a massive rain check on that. Got so many datelines all lining up screaming my name as if I am some rock star


Posted by: The Elusive Mr R
Date: 12/05/05 at 1:49 AM (1M1w ago)
Joe, who's Mimi?
There's kak long, u, megababe, didie, firhad...so who's mimi??

*confused*

/rz


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/05/05 at 6:17 PM (1M1w ago)
Mimi is my youngest sister. Eh I never told u about her meh?



Posted by:nekbat
Date: 12/05/05 at 2:31 AM (1M1w ago)
Am always enthralled at your stories, however mundane. And you are creative other ways too. I istill remember your upside down signature masa kat maktab, which I thought was real cool.


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/05/05 at 6:25 PM (1M1w ago)
you know what, I still sign upside down.. but now instead of 'elisa bustaman', I now sign 'elisa taufik' :)
people always ask if my singature siamese, and I always love the expression of wonder on their faces when I turn it around and they could read it.


Posted by: AzeedA
Date: 12/05/05 at 3:39 AM (1M1w ago)
Hi, Kak Lisa! I'm one of most prolly many others who hops around ur 'blood blogs'.. really enjoy reading u + family's creative entries.. KEEP IT UP!!! and... luuurrvveee PJ's Alive sign up there... ;)


Posted by:
elisataufik
Date: 12/05/05 at 6:30 PM (1M1w ago)
On behalf of my family, thankyou for visiting us.. datang lah lagi.. :)


Posted by: Alsa aka Ayu lol (View Website)
Date: 12/05/05 at 6:27 AM (1M1w ago)
My goodness gracious! Mata terbeliak baca entry ni. I to love to write but ill never be as good as you - Syok baca ur blog- ever thought of blog em up in a book? oi bukan nak bodek yer... its true! hehe suka ati u la nak call i ayu ker, ape ker, np .. hmm do u hv IMs? can i add u? my yahoo id is ayulinro n my msn is brit_millennium@hotmail.com - take care


Posted by:elisataufik

Date: 12/05/05 at 6:35 PM (1M1w ago)
I have msn, but.. ermm.. jarang on-line because I think it's slows other stuff up.. but I'll add you in. You'd never guess what my msn id is..heh heh


Posted by: Tengku Sheril Amirah (View Website)
Date: 12/05/05 at 3:00 PM (1M1w ago)
to The Exclusive Mr R - *i brought it upon myself to answer dis comment* ehem, I'm mimi. The youngest of the Kustamangs.


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/05/05 at 6:37 PM (1M1w ago)
maybe I should right about you lah one day..


Posted by: TheCharmedOne
Date: 12/05/05 at 4:11 PM (1M1w ago)
Turn shit into ice cream!!! It's disgusting!!! Nothing to talk about ke that time?? :)


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/05/05 at 6:43 PM (1M1w ago)
wehhhhh I was maybe 6 or 7 and mokciknab was 10 or 11. We were just fooling around, probably while waiting for the kuba bala (kerbau gembala) to walk past our front yard (behind our house was a paddy field).
Fun apa...

Posted by: JoKontan (View Website)
Date: 12/06/05 at 2:43 AM (1M1w ago)
Elisa,

This post answered a wholelotta questions, I had earlier. I've been reading and enjoying all Kustamangs delicious posts sejak azali lagi. Ek, dunno male rotidua has one ?.

But this is the first time commenting, feeling inferior, terasa 'seperti dua darjat'. I, simply cannot write.

When Modblog went Posa 6, few days back, I was busy looking around,."Bila nak on nih ?"


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/06/05 at 5:40 AM (1M1w ago)
Your writing okay what... very enjoyable reading. Especially bila terkeluor loghat pahang sket sket.


Posted by: The Elusive Mr R
Date: 12/06/05 at 3:03 AM (1M1w ago)
Joe (and Mimi if ur reading),

I swear to god i tak pernah tau the existence of *your youngest sister* ni until now. I'm beyond astonished that only now I discover that there's another sister. I dah pegi rumah u banyakkkkk kali dah, and tak pernah pun jumpa Mimi ni. Either I was stoned everytime I was there, or you have never mentioned it to me, or something doesn't add up. It's like Sydney Bristow finding out that SD6 were the baddies...heheh.


Posted by: elisataufik
Date: 12/06/05 at 5:22 AM (1M1w ago)
and I am astonished that you have the time (and energy) to watch Alias..
Dah lah ada anak kecik 2 orang.
ini mesti kes laki-bini dua-dua suka tengok Alias nih...



Posted by: marinadelrey (View Website)
Date: 12/06/05 at 7:32 AM (1M1w ago)
so that's the story.. i've been wondering the same thing all this while...i applaud the fact that u and ur whole family are so expressive in ur writing and can freely let forth ur thoughts via blog and it is something that all of you can share among family members as well...writing for me is a very private part of myself..and i find that there are things i can't even express freely, without worrying that the rest of my family may be reading it...thus, the anonymity... kudos to u n the whole Bustaman clan 4 ur excellent blogs! I'm a great fan of all of u...:-)


Posted by:zan
Date: 12/07/05 at 7:23 AM (1M1w ago)
saya pun terinspired...thanks for the entry, moi very bad with languages, let alone writing...

fyi, mr zul pun selalu puji your style in writing.



Posted by: Tengku Sheril Amirah (View Website)
Date: 12/10/05 at 2:38 PM (1M4d ago)
to The Exclusive Mr R(again) - I like to lead a quite life. my sisters are always so busy with their kids and everything that I just sink in because I'm family. and usually, family members need not be mentioned. *winks*

Saturday, December 03, 2005

I am back home...

Back home at modblog, that is.. Latest update as of today is about Ilham's participation in his school play.

If you're interested in joining the Malaysian (mod)blogger's gathering on Dec 18th, 3pm in putrajaya, please join the discussion here.

We need to know how many people are coming and what you're going to bring.

See ya! :)

Ilham in Snow Queen

Last Tuesday (29th November), Ilham participated in his first play. The students in his stage, 'Key Stage 2' (7 to 10 year olds), performed a musical of Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Snow Queen'.
Ilham was a flower! A Flower??? *groan*
Early in the month we got a letter asking us to look for a long green t-shirt and green tights.
"Tights??" I asked, "You mean leggings?"
"No, we mean tights." they said.
I told Taufik and he said No way in the world is my son going to wear tights!
So we searched around and finally bought him a set of green pajamas: Green Long Sleeved T-shirt and Green long pants. What are they gonna do? Expell him? heh heh

A day before the performence for parents they performed the play for Key Stage 1 kids (4 to 6 years olds), so Ihsan got to watch Ilham perform. I asked Ihsan about the play and he said he was scared when the snow queen 'attacked' Kay (the boy who got his heart frozen), but he enjoyed watching Ilham sing on stage.

On the day of the performence Taufik took some time off work and we went to see Ilham perform, with Anis in tow. I was quite excited, coz I've heard Ilham singing the songs in the shower for almost a month now, and this was like his first stage performence (Taska Salsabiila school concerts don't count).
It was a little while before Ilham's scene came and Anis was already fidgeting and kept asking "Mana abang Ilham?" (Where is big brother Ilham) and I keep having to point out to her that Ilham is sitting on the benches in front of the stage and is singing the chorus when he is not on stage.
So when his scene came on ("In the Enchanted Garden") Taufik took pictures. He started in a crouched position and he slowly rose as the 'sun' continued to shine and the Garden Witch came out to water the plants. His face was so serious though. It was obvious he took his part seriously coz he made sure his leaves (hands) unfolded gracefully and his head would sway gently as he sang.

He had only one spoken line really, "But here inside the garden walls, time is standing still", but the proud mother in me could've sworn he said it with such gusto and prose that even Sir Laurence Olivier would be put to shame.
tee hee!
(But after Ilham recited his line, I saw him make this shy face he often makes)

Anis was fretting all through out the play, I guess coz it was kinda long. She kept asking for her milk, but all is forgotten when after the play was over, we saw one of our Malaysian friends who also brought their daughter who is Anis' playmate and the two of them hugged and ran off to play.

We then went out to take pictures with Ilham and his friends.


I hugged Ilham and told him that he did a really good job and that I was so proud of his performence. Taufik told Ilham that he couldnt hear his voice when he was singing.
I think Ilham enjoyed himself. I hope that this experience will make him more confident and outspoken.

The kids are now singing the songs from Snow Queen everytime they shower..





Blog Comments


Posted by:+nectar
Date: 12/03/05 at 3:32 PM (1M1w ago)
Oh, that's so sweet. Well done, Ilham. I don't see anybody wearing tights pun. Semua org tak ikut arahan ke?

Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/04/05 at 4:54 AM (1M1w ago)
Two of the boys who are standing beside Ilham (partially hidden by the boys standing in front) are wearing tights. They looked kinda weird .. like they weren't wearing any pants.. hee hee.
Isnt the head dress cute though?? They made it themselves and got to take it home.

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"


Posted by:famygirl
Date: 12/04/05 at 4:21 AM (1M1w ago)
hee hee, during sofea's last concert, the boys were the flowers too :) the girls were the butterflies.


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/04/05 at 5:00 AM (1M1w ago)
the weird thing is, almost all the flowers were boys and they also had trees, and they were all mostly girls.
I am just glad that the flowers didnt have to wear any make up.. kih kih kih

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"


Posted by:nutty
Date: 12/04/05 at 7:24 AM (1M1w ago)
alah cutenya. yay ilham!


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/05/05 at 5:33 PM (1M1w ago)
bonda Ilham tumpang bangga... ;)

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"

Posted by:jalommah
Date: 12/05/05 at 2:28 AM (1M1w ago)
so cute.... tapi perasan tak yang pakai black gloves kat belakang Ilham tu.. Dia nyer butang baju senget macam Zami Ismail dalam Pi Mai Tang Tu..hee..hee


Posted by:elisataufik

Date: 12/05/05 at 5:17 PM (1M1w ago)
ha ah lah.. i didnt realize it until you pointed it out.. hee hee



Posted by:nekbat
Date: 12/05/05 at 2:42 AM (1M1w ago)
The spotlight seemed to be on Ilham je. Macam star performer gitu. Comel la.


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/05/05 at 5:22 PM (1M1w ago)
actually it was just a coincidence that the spotlight fell on him. His position was in the middle of tha 2nd row, but the kid that was supposed to stand in front of him fell ill, and couldnt make it, so it looked like he was standing alone.


Posted by: mokciknab (View Website)
Date: 12/05/05 at 8:52 AM (1M1w ago)
Awww.. Ilham looks so cute. It's ok that he's a flower -- shows that he's confident about hus masculinity. Your husband must hae freaked out, though hahaha.

BUT, I have to say my kids gelak guling guling to see Ilham in costume. Never mind. Wait till its their turn.


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 12/05/05 at 5:30 PM (1M1w ago)
Actually Taufik went "Oh no no no... he's not gonna wear tights"
and I said "Because you yang tak nak ke, or what?"
and he said "You think Ilham is gonna agree to where tights?"
I thought for a bit and had to agree with him..
Ilham saw his friends who were wearing tights and said they looked like they were running around naked. And even on stage, one of the boys turned around and I could see his undies thru his tights! I'm glad I spared Ilham that embarassment.

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"

Monday, November 28, 2005

Heads Up, this is a coup!

I am executing a coup. I am temporarily taking over the discussion for The Gathering from YB Bertique, the official supreme chief executive officer of The Gathering.

The reason for my berkobar-kobar-ness is, by 7th of December, irregardless of whether modblog is up or not, I will have no access to the internet. So all discussions need to start within these few .. *counts* .. 9 days.
9 days?? 9 days!! oh my god.

anyways.

For you who are not in the know, here's the 411:
1. We are having a gathering of bloggers (modbloggers especially, but other bloggers who know any modbloggers should know that we don't discriminate you by your blog engines). Breads, lions/lionesses, cats, fruits, flowers, dervishes, dried fish, mokciks and teenagers (or those perasan teenagers) and all and sundry are welcomed with open arms. Just bring something.
2. The gathering will be on Sunday Dec 18th 2005, starting .. erm 1pm was it ? (bert please clarify).
3. The gathering will be at Taman Rekreasi Wetlands Putrajaya, at one of the picnic islands on the lakes. You have to park your car, board a boat and will be brought to the island where there is a covered barbecue place, but no one will stop you from spreading your tikars and sitting on the well kept grass. There will be a fee of $10 per person.
4. The gathering is POT LUCK. no rahsia2 please.. every one have to own up in advance to what they're bringing.

Which brings us to this discussion: What to bring?
I would like to suggest we have picnic food, because it is much easier to bring to the venue (remember that your stuff have to be angkut masuk boat). This means: nasi/mee goreng, pasta (looks at onde2 a.k.a oneEe),murtabak (looks at lollies), nuggets, drummets, buffalo wings (cewah .. sapa terrer buat nih?), salads, etc. We can have barbecued meats (and burgers/sausages) if someone is willing to bring some. They have a grill at the picnic island. Up to your convenience.

I am thinking of bringing a potato salad. or if no one is bringing any, i will goreng drummets/fries for adults and kids. or if someone is bringing sausages+buns, I can also bring a bit of chili con carne.
Depends on what we decide lah.

So get your brains running and tell me what you think!
Tell me if you can come and what you're willing to bring.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Money matters

I just saw INXS' new video with JD. Can't remember the song title.. "After The Show"?
anyways. I hate to admit that I am begining to like that damn song.


---------------------------------------------------

I just realized that I may have complained a wee bit too much about my husband's frugal financial pratices in the previous post. And I think I do complain about it often. But please don't get me wrong. Even though his unwillingness to part with money for no good reason (according to his reasoning) sounds like a fault, i actually think it's a virtue. If it were not for his tightening our purses very early in our relationship, I don't think we'd be as financially comfortable as we are today.

I myself was not used to having money to spend. I remember only getting 30cents for school everyday and I always had to forgo buying them chikadees if I wanted to be full enough to last me the rest of the day. As I got older my mom gave me 50cents, and that was enough for a bowl of prawn noodles (the best I have ever tasted) and a glass of very thin air sirap (but that's okay, I brought a water bottle).
When I was in boarding school, my dad kept to the school's guideline of $20 per month, which meant that if I wanted to have the packet of nasi lemak that the makcik comes to sell at our dorms on saturdays (instead of the two pieces of bread, margerine and a spoonful of sugar that they serve at the mess hall), I would have to abstain from having any instant noodles for supper (instead of the two pieces of bread and a cup of very think nescafe with condensed milk that we'd have to line up for at the mess hall).
This experience thought me that "Money is limited, to enjoy one thing, you might have to sacrifice not enjoying another thing"

Though my parents might not agree, I don't think I asked for money from my parents that often. Even when I was studying in the U.S., everything I spent on, phone bills, car rents, clothes, food, books, were all from my scholarship. I would be that girl you see piling it on at the salad bar at the UIUC Student Union. Or the one that takes 2 packets of saltines instead of one with her bowl of soup. Or the one who buys notepads in bulk at Sam's that'll last her the whole year. After graduating, I worked for a while as a research assistant at Tulsa University's Drilling Research facility in Catoosa, Oklahoma and a turkey sandwich was my breakfast and lunch.
Hm.. come to think of it, maybe that is why I sometimes think I have the divine right to enjoy good food when I now can afford it. (Though I don't always get to, thanx to my husband).
But I digress..

If I had to tell you what my husband's financial motto is, I could probably suggest "if you don't need it, don't buy it". or "Why pay when you can get it free or cheaper".or "If it's all-you-can-eat, eat all you can, or don't go at all". or even "Kat mana makan murah, sedap dan banyak?". Something along those lines. Whenever I am asked if I ever worry about my husband's fidelity (especially when he started doing sales and are expected to bring clients out for 'entertainment', I would always say "He thinks too much about his wallet to think about his d*ck".

Ha ha. I'm kidding.

The truth is, Taufik used to be very focused on earning money and earning as much as he can while he can. He used to work on the oil rigs and would relish getting his assignments because it meant extra money on top of his basic pay. It really didnt matter to him then that he had to be away from me. But when I was pregnant with Ilham, I told him that it wouldnt be a healthy environment for our son to grow up with an absent father. I told him that I would rather we be poor and living in a shack than we be a rich but dysfunctional family. He mulled over this for a while. Two months before I was due, he decided to tender his resignation letter. He was willing to leave it all. Alhamdulillah, his boss offered Taufik his own position, coz he was planning to leave the country and spend more time with his own family as well. It was then I learnt that "All the money in world won't mean a thing without your loved one to enjoy it with". Since then, Taufik had never compromised this family's happiness for the extra buck. He always made sure that we stick together.

Another lesson I learnt from my husband is that "To be rich is not to make money, it is to not spend it". We have always lived beneath our means. My husband always expects us to save at least 25% of our monthly salary. When I just started working, I remember taking out half of my pay on the very day that it is banked in, to buy BSN's Sijil Simpanan Premium. With the money I saved, we managed to pay off the custom's tax for the CBR600F2 that my husband bought home from the US, and also pay partly for my wedding.
As long as I can remember, we only ate out at the local mapleys (stalls), no Modesto's or Picollo Mondo's or Starbucks for us. No Pasta primaveras and crepes and strawberries, only nasi goreng kampung and roti canai. I only shop for work clothes during Isetan or Metrojaya Sales. We wore our shoes till they split open. I bought a humble (and cheap) Proton Wira instead of eyeing that sleek Honda Civic.

Once, Ilham boldly asked his father, "Are we poor?" (perhaps because we didnt want to buy him a toy he wanted or we said KFC was expensive), and Taufik's response was "We are not poor, but we'd rather spend our money on something else, something more worthwhile".
I'm not saying wanting the things that I mentioned above is wrong. I'm just saying that our priorities are different. And because of that, we have managed to save up money to buy things that we think is important, like real-estate, or a plot of land where we can grow durians and mangosteens on, and now that we're expatriates, maybe even travel a bit. So, "When you have money to spend, spend it on something worth your while", coz the returns are much sweeter.

I don't think we're financially rich. I'd say the appropriate word would be financially 'comfortable'. Or maybe even financially 'secure'.
We don't have to worry that if one of us falls sick, we wouldn't be able to afford the medical bills. Or, Na'uzubillah, if one of us were to pass on, the one left behind would be left living in the streets.
I think this freedom has made us able to enjoy our lives better.
We're not at our target financial goal yet though.. even as I type this, Taufik is calculating how much more he has to save up before he can fully retire.
*rolls eyes*
Well I guess I have no choice but to just enjoy the lessons that I will soon learn ahead..
:)

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Your life is what you make it, wherever you make it

I was reading Sunflora's post on being an expat's wife, and I am reminded of how I had felt when I first got here.
I think my experience might be slightly different (and less stressful) since I have my kids to ocupy my attention, but yes, I did feel depressed at first.
Imagine, I had friends and family all around me when I was in Malaysia, I was in constant contact with at least one adult everyday (excluding my husband), and suddenly, there I was cooped up in the house, with no other adult to talk to but my husband.
What made it worse was that I did not have a computer nor internet connection.
I started thinking, "Is this it? Is this what my life has boiled down to?"
I was lying down on my bedroom floor pretending I was doing my pilates when I started to feel like if I were to disappear, no one would even notice. As I lay there quietly, wondering when my kids would come looking for me I actually believed it.

Then I met other Melayus. The first group I met were mostly .. urm.. ibu2 mithali lah kira.. Their family is their life. They talk about how they take care of their kids and husband, tell me where to buy groceries, where to shop, talked about jewellery, talked about cooking, exchanged recipes and such.. I mean it's not bad, but, there surely must be more to life as an expat wife than this.
Then I met Shali. Here was a woman who has totally engrossed herself in being an expat's wife. She's a member of the compound's commitee, she teaches aerobics to some of the ladies, her kids enter swiming competitions, she learnt how to play tennis, she's actively involved in her kid's school activities.. In her I saw great possibilities of enjoying my life here.
After meeting her I made a resolution. I will not depend on my husband. I will not put my happiness or freedom into some other person's hands.
I decided to become a bus monitor in hopes that I can meet other expat's wife. I made muka tak malu and was not shy to say the first hello, to be the one who breaks the ice. Some might have rejected me due to my 'asian-therefore-maid' appearance, but I don't take them personally.
I noticed how the men here respond to the way a lady is dressed, so I dressed accordingly so as not to invite unwanted attention, disregarding other people's comments on how 'extreme' I look.
I learned the bus schedule and routes and took the bus to go shopping. First with other mothers I met on the school bus, then later, on my own.
I got involved in my children's school activities. I joined the Parents Volunteer Group so that I am updated whenever they need help, and offer help whenever I can.
And when my computer arrived, I blogged :)

Of course lah everything was not a bed of roses..
There were many a times when I practically had to coax my husband to bring us out, somewhere, anywhere. At one point I even complained to him, "I imagined moving to a foreign country would be exciting, full of adventure, of new discoveries, of learning new cultures.. tapi ... habuk pun tarak!". He knew I was dissapointed... but he asked me to be patient. He promised me he'll give me my adventure, sooner or later.
And then when you're at home, you have more time to melawa and stuff and you get all psyched up and turned on, and bila your husband balik, dia penat.. nak rest.."tunggu weekend boleh?".. ces.
tapi dapat gak buat lagi satu.. tee hee
Lagi teruk if you have a husband like mine, who is very very careful with money (read: borderline kedekut). Orang lain punya rumah, lawa dengan hiasan2 nya.. and diorang cincin besar2, gelang tebal seinci berutas2, abaya mengerlip-ngerlip..
kita? rumah kosong furniture standard, abaya ada 2 helai aje, jewellery jangan tanya lah.. blender pun tak mampu nak beli.
Memang takda gaya expat lansung. Patutlah bila I keluar orang ingat I ni maid..
Tapi kisah lah kan.. Those are all material things.
To me, what matters is that we're together as a family.

When we sit around the dinner table and I watch my family eat the food that I have cooked myself, watch my kids have a lively conversation with their father and me, see them break into a huge grin when they see me waiting for them come out of school, see them rush to hug their father when he presses the doorbell and opens up the door when he comes home from work, I think perhaps, this is all worth all the trouble after all.

Friday, November 25, 2005

if there's an award..

If there's an award for being patient and loyal to your blog service provider, I would probably win it.
It has been .. what.. more than a week? and I have absolutley abstained myself from writing here instead of there.
Until today that is..

Wehhh bila nak up nih?? Dah balik kampung makan ayam belanda ker??? Nampak gaya next week lah baru boleh kami 'balik kampung', ya?

Talking about going home.. i am reminded of the original reason of my writing this post.
I am going home on Dec 14th. My flight(s) have been confirmed and all. I renew my internet connection every month. This time it'll expire on the 7th of December. I'm thinking of not renewing it till I come back in January, coz I won't be around to use it anyways.
So why would this interest you?
This means that for at least 7 days, you have no way of contacting me. via the computer that is. and even when I reach home, I don't know when I'll be able to get my hands on a computer, since my usual 'internet-service-provider' (read: mokciknab) will be in Jakarta. But you can try calling me on my handphone. I will definitely call yat, famygirl or zan once I reach malaysian soil.
The reason I'm worried of not being able to be in touch is because of the gathering.
What am I supposed to cook, when are we meeting? somebody has got to keep me in the loop, okay?

btw, if this is your first time reading me, don't worry if you're confused.. this is like a personal message to my friends..

and Lollies, I was SO looking forward to see you and talk2 about your move. Maybe even make arrangements for a visit or something (It is possible to drive to Q@tar from here). But then it's okay.. we've still got our blogs, so we can still keep in touch, ya?

okay gotta go.

Thursday, November 24, 2005

meh..

I wanted to post something, but...
meh..
i'll wait till modblog is up.
sorry, folks.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Anis's Appetite (in Malay)

"Anis... Anis nak makan apa?"
"Anis tanak mashan apa"
"Kenapa anis taknak makan? Anis tak lapar ke?"
"Anish tak lapar..... bonda, lapar tu apa?"
"Lapar tu nak makan. Anis kenyang makan apa?"
"errrr ..... Bonda, shenyang tu apa?"
"Kenyang tu dah tak nak makan. Anis kenyang makan apa? Anis tak makan apa pun lagi.. minum susu aje"
"Anis syenyang sebab anis minum susu"
"Bonda masak soup nak?"
"Syanak. Sebab Soup ta best"
"Bonda masak macaroni nak?"
"Syanak. Sebab masheroni ta best"
"Dah tu.. anis nak makan apa???"
"errrr errrr errrrr syak cahu.."
"macamana anis boleh tak tahu?"
"sebab... anis.... syanak ... makan!"

Budak ni lah... kalau jadi anak Chef Wan pun rasanya mesti Chef Wan pening..





Blog Comments

Posted by:TheCharmedOne
Date: 11/13/05 at 10:41 AM (2M1d ago)
Dia panggil mak dia bonda ker? First time dengar ni.

Posted by: elisataufik
Date: 11/13/05 at 12:40 PM (2M1d ago)
yup.. my kids call me 'bonda' ... macam lagu M.nasir tu... ;)

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"

Posted by: +nectar
Date: 11/13/05 at 11:34 AM (2M1d ago)
tak palah tak nak makan, Hanna selalu macam tu. bila makan pun tak habis, asyik org lain kena habiskan sisa dia, sebab sayang nak buang makanan. now dahlah kat Jepun ni nak beli ayam halal susah, dia still juga makan kutil sikit2 and tinggal. tensionnya.


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 11/13/05 at 12:45 PM (2M1d ago)
ha.. sebabtu lah kena tanya dulu..
kalau dah penat2 masak, pastu dia tak makan jugak, lagi lah tension..

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"


Posted by:nekbat
Date: 11/13/05 at 1:33 PM (2M1d ago)
Anis nak ice-cream?

Posted by:LoLlieS
Date: 11/13/05 at 2:54 PM (2M1d ago)
hah anis nak makan h? lollipop besssshh. anis nak? kalau gitu anis kena tolong auntie habiskan chicken salut in breadcrumb dulu. pashtu anis boleh makan lollipop.

Posted by:bertique
Date: 11/14/05 at 12:39 AM (2M1d ago)
heheh ..
dia tak sihat ka sis ??
awat cam susah jek nak mkn :D

Posted by:ondeonde
Date: 11/14/05 at 9:21 AM (2M16h ago)
she must be missing her relatives in m'sia..


Posted by:nutty
Date: 11/14/05 at 10:48 AM (2M15h ago)
kalau orang besar boleh shenyang macam tu kan best kan.. senang je nak lose weight.



Posted by:famygirl
Date: 11/14/05 at 2:59 PM (2M11h ago)
familiar je conversation nih... i have a hard time getting sofea to eat. during our beraya sessions, sedara-mara dok tegur dia kurus sgt, implying mak dia tak kasi dia cukup makan or mak dia tak kasi makanan yang berzat.

sometimes i just feel like giving up. hoping dia lapar and mintak makan.


Posted by:eebotak
Date: 11/15/05 at 1:49 AM (2M11m ago)
I wonder how if i have a son or daughter..


Posted by:kaezrinn
Date: 11/15/05 at 3:37 AM (1M4w ago)
wah dah dpt install old layout..ceria ceria selalu

Writer's depression

.. if there's such a thing

I told someone (okay his name is russell) that I am in a some kind of writer's depression.
I want to be able to write fiction, but I feel depressed about my lack of imagination in writing.
I think I want to blame it all on Roald Dahl.

I just finished reading "The Roald Dahl Omnibus", a collection of his short stories, and it made me depressed.
I mean, this guy, has written every possible bizzare situation you can ever imagine.

A rich man who died and kept is brain alive, to the delight of his opressed wife, coz now she can exact revenge.
A guy who killed a vagrant and hid him in a haystack.
A bizzare rat catcher.
A boy who was raised in seclusion, became a famous vegetarian cook but on his first trip to the city, was .. well.. slaughtered. literally. (which I thought, was perhaps the sickest story he has ever written)
The adventures of two men trying to poach quails by giving them sleeping pills.
The adventures of two men trying to win a dog race by entering 2 dogs who looks exactly the same, and how they failed.
The neighbours who decided to switch wives (without their wives' knowledge).

and I don't think I even need to mention his other (more famous) stories..
A girl with telekinetic powers fighting against an evil headmistress
An orphaned boy flying on a giant peach with his insect friends
The guy with the chocolate factory.
the big friendly giant.

After reading Roald Dahl, I wonder how anyone like me could come up with anything new.

*sigh*

And then I go on modblog and read gems from people like russell the master randomizer a.k.a. sevenwaysfromsaved, or +benthere (who by the way, not only writes on her blog, but also has her very own column in The Here and There) .. and I wonder "where do these people come up with these things???"

*sigh*

But then again, I go to the bookstores and there's hundreds and hundreds of books. Authors kept churning and churning out stories all the time. Some true, some made up. Some bizzare, some normal.
Everybody has got something to say and some of them may even be saying the same thing, but they tell it in their own unique way and attract their own unique readers.

So maybe I should get off my depressed (and I hate to admit it, but maybe a little bit jealous) horse and start writing rather than moan and groan about it..

right?





Blog Comments


Posted by: nekbat
Date: 11/13/05 at 1:36 PM (2M1d ago)
I envy people who can write and tell a story. You including.


Posted by:+benthere
Date: 11/13/05 at 5:21 PM (2M1d ago)
You spin a pretty decent yarn yourself girl.
I have never really attempted fiction...to be honest it kind of frightens me.
I am not sure I have it in my imagination to do it, and I have that fear of failure thing too :)

I find the best way to get around a block is to do that 30 minute thing...where you just write whatever is in your head for 30 minutes, no editing, not stopping...just random whatever comes out.
You write so incredibly well, never doubt yourself or your abilities.


Posted by:nutty
Date: 11/14/05 at 10:46 AM (2M15h ago)
err.. what ben said.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Raya recap

I thought twice about blogging about my raya. I thought maybe it was too late to do so, since it'a already been a week.
But then when I found myself having to write about it for the second time in replying emails from my friends, I thought, maybe I should blog about it. It saves me the effort of having to write about it over and over again..


As i mentioned in my previous post, I made sambal ikan a few days before 1st Syawal. I had really anticipated 1st of Syawal to be on Wednesday, so Tuesday night I cooked some peanut sauce. But then we heard no news, so the peanut sauce went into the fridge. My kids chatted with their grandfather over the webcam, and we made a date to chat again on EId itself, when my sister comes over to my dads with her kids.
Wednesday, the last day of Ramadhan, my kids got bored out of their wits, so I made them help me make some chewy peanut butter and cornflake cookies (no baking required). They had so much fun and the cookies smelled so good that Ihsan decided to break his fast right there and then. That night I boiled the only packet of instant ketupat (pressed rice cakes) I had (donated by a kind Malaysian).

1st of Syawal, Taufik was up and about really early coz the Eid prayers starts at 6:30am. Yes ladies and gentlement, I said 6:30 AM. Suffice to say, I did not get to go, not only because it was too early and the kids were still asleep, but also because I did not see any women going for tarawikh prayers at the mosques near our compound during Ramadhan, so I expect there wont be any ladies going for the Eid prayers either.
I was right.
When Taufik came home an hour later, he said he had to drive around to find the only mosque that was open, and there so many people, he and a large number of males had to pray on the street, on cardboard boxes from the grocery store nearby.
By that time I had taken my shower, was already in my festive attire, had reheated the peanut sauce, had cut up the rice cakes, had laid the table, had brought out the cookies (Thanx Nina and Firhad!!), and had laid out the kids' clothes.
Taufik woke up the kids, they woke up all excited and took their shower and put on their normal clothes (coz I know they'd spill something on them during breakfast) and we had breakfast as a family. It didnt feel like Raya back home, but it was close enough.

After breakfast we cleaned up the house a bit, cleaned the kitchen, mopped the floor, vacuumed the living room and I tried to get on-line. Got "Username/password is not valid". I thought, "ok", no reason to panic, this has happened before, would try again a few minutes later.
I got the kids to change into their Eid outfits and I got ready as well, coz I thought we'd look all festive for my dad, chat with my family a bit and then go straight to the Gathering of Melayus in Khaloud.
While the kids watched cartoons in their outfits I tried the internet again.
Same error message.
"Taufik, did you change the password by any chance?" I hollered.
"No, i didnt" he hollered back
"Then why can't I connect to the internet?" I asked.
"Eh, what date is it today?" he asked me instead.
"November 3rd, why?" I answered
"Did we pay the internet bill?" he popped his head into the room, his brows furrowed.
"aaarrrrggghhhhhhh no...!! I totally forgot!!" I said , as I banged my head on the keyboard.
So we went downstairs and took pictures instead.


Then we left for the Gathering of Melayus in Khaloud Village in Dammam.
We started feeling a little festive then. Everybody was in their prettiest clothes, and the spread of food was sumptous. There were Nasi Minyak, Nasi Impit, Gulai daging, Ayam Masak merah, Soto ayam, kuah kacang, pulut kuning with rendang, assortment of cookies and sweets. The kids got some goodies and duit raya and we all took pictures (which I won't put up here coz I don't know how some of the other ladies would feel about having their faces displayed on-line without their permission). By noon we were full, and the kids kept bugging us about the camel (which we heard was making an appearance in our compound) so we packed some leftovers for lunch/dinner and headed home.

When we got to our compound, we found that the club house had been decorated with streamers and balloons and there really was a camel, and also a pony. Many of the compound kids were already queueing up to ride the camel and pony, so we decided to just watch for a while.

The camel was really smelly though, and it was chewing some vile thing that made its teeth look greenish brown and we could see it everytime it opened its mouth and .. er.. moo-ed, sqwuaked, neighed, bleated.. or whatever it is that they do. So we decided to forgo the ride. Poor kids. We had to promise them we would go for a ride, some other place and occassion, when there was less queueing time.
We went back home where Taufik and I took a nap, and the kids kept going out to watch the camels. They even got all their raya money together to see if they had enough to pay for the tickets. To compensate, we let them go to the mini-market and get some doritos instead.
Taufik decided to invite some of his colleagues over for dinner and after I sternly stated my predicament of not having enough serving plates nor dinner plates, we decided to go to the supermarket to buy some. tee hee. Nothing beats shopping!

2nd of Syawal, I made Taufik pound onions+garlic+ginger+chillies. I cooked Rendang Cikgu Munah, which I think would've turned out better if I had a bigger pot and more coconut milk. Then we wbrought the rendang to another Gathering of Melayus in Ar@mco compound. We stayed and ate and chatted from 3pm to 10pm!

3rd of Syawal, We had another Gathering of Melayus in the apartment of a Malaysian lady who is married to a Syri@n. I had expected Ar@b food, but she served us Briyani instead. Oh well.. I'm not complaining.. it's free food.. heh heh. The gathering was in a typical ar@b setting though, where the men and women are seperated in different sections of the house/apartment. I heard from taufik later that he was kinda bored, but we ladies had a hooting good time. The hostess and her daughters even gave us a short lesson in belly dancing! Anis had a good time playing with the other kids even though she got scratched by a cat wile I was performing my solat.

4th of Syawal, a few people invited us to join them for a trip to Bahrain, but we couldnt go coz Taufik had to work. Bummer. In the evening we went to Ramez, and taufik saw for the first time why I liked it so much. We bought a blue+white porcelain vase and some jackets for the kids.

5th of Syawal, the kids went back to school, Taufik went back to work, and I went back to my usual routine of cooking and bus-monitoring. I paid the internet bill, and tried the whole day to get on-line, but only managed to do so the next day.

So, that was my Eid.. I don't really see that much 'festivities' in the Ar@b community.. I think most of it is spent indoors within their own family. There were no kids roaming in packs visiting houses to ask for duit raya (Which I found to be pesky in Malaysia, but now I kinda miss). But I did get my dose of eating and socialising, so I'm happy with whatever I can get :)

I hope your Eid was as happy and safe.





Blog Comments


Posted by:nutty
Date: 11/11/05 at 3:57 PM (2M3d ago)
banyaknya gathering melayu!
glad you had the raya thang.
got to ask.. orang arab punya baju raya macam mana? kaler hitam ke kaler-kaler?

---

Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 11/12/05 at 5:07 AM (2M2d ago)
Banyak gathering melayu... tapi we met the same melayus at all the gatherings.. :D. It's not that I minded, since I enjoyed the food and company. I live so far away from everybody else, i'm happy everytime I get to met any melayus.

When they are outside, all of the women are covered in black. Some younger ones might have flowers or glitter or tassles and colorful decorations on the abaya, but most of the older ladies would usually just wear their plain black abaya.
But inside.. phuyooo.. very ornate and expensive looking long sleeved dresses and head covers! Maikcik2 melayu mostly pakai baju kurung or jubah color2.

I asked taufik what the men were wearing during Eid prayers, he said most of the local men wore their white 'taup' (actually I don't know how they spell this), which is the white long shirt that looks more like a dress (with white pants underneath so that we can't see what color spenders they're wearing) and the white and red head scarves. Pakistani men wore grey, dark blue .. muted colors. Taufik was the only one in very bright green.

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"

Posted by:LoLlieS
Date: 11/11/05 at 4:14 PM (2M3d ago)
woo Ihsan dah puasa ya? bagus bagus

so duit raya dapat dala riyal ya? selamat hari raya elisa.

Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 11/12/05 at 5:13 AM (2M2d ago)
Ihsan fasted only during weekends and holidays. So this year he managed to fast for 8 days. :) He's quite okay, except sometimes he asks for a drink and I remind him he's fasting and he'd say "Oh, I forgot".
Yup, the kids got their duit raya in riyals. Each of them got about 20riyals.

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"

Posted by:nekbat
Date: 11/11/05 at 4:37 PM (2M3d ago)
In the end, anak Cikgu Munah yang tumbuk-menumbuk for the rendang. Heheh.


Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 11/12/05 at 5:19 AM (2M2d ago)
heh heh
and because it takes at least 2 hours to cook the rendang, I woke taufik up really early to get him to pound the ingredients. He sat cross legged on our kitchen floor while he pounded. I would check on him from time to time, teasing him with "Belum lagi tu.. kena halus lagi..", "Penat..? kan kalau ada blender senang..". But I'm so proud of him, he took it with stride and managed to pound the ingredients quite fast and well.

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"


Posted by:zan
Date: 11/14/05 at 7:50 AM (2M18h ago)
i never expected that taufik betul2 tumbuk dgn lesung batu...cayalah...

anis, dah besar n looks so chubby...so masa gathering with the melayus, ada sessi karaoke ker, lagu siti ??


Posted by:famygirl
Date: 11/14/05 at 3:06 PM (2M10h ago)
a camel ride as a hari raya treat? that's something :)

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Mortar and Pestle

Mood: Besok Raya! Playing: Dendang Perantau by P. Ramlee

I think I mentioned before that I do not own a blender, and that I do all my grounding and grinding and pulping of spices in my granite mortar and pestle.
Well I've been doing alot of that during Ramadhan. Grounding chillies for sambal, grounding shallots and garlic for fish head curries, grounding fried coconut and fish for kerabu, grounding dried shrimp and cumin for kuih gunting... Everyday, without fail, you'd hear the 'tok tok tok' sound of rock on rock, my pestle hitting my mortar.
I think I have developed muscles on my right arm. I hope it's not obvious.. it would be weird to have one big arm and one small arm.

As I have also mentioned, I will be making my mother-in-law's Rendang Ayam Cikgu Munah this Eid. Since I will be bringing it to the Gathering of Melayus, it means I will be making A LOT. And it requires a lot of grounded shallots and garlic and chillies.
I mentioned my dread of having to pound that to Taufik, and my intention of maybe bringing it to a friend's house to use her blender. I think Taufik got a bit embarassed at the prospect of people finding out that he can't afford (or won't afford) a blender, so he said, "Let's just go buy a blender".

Last night we went grocery shopping (before the last minute rush of shopping by the locals) and I asked him again, "Are we getting a blender?".
To my suprise he said, "We have a mortar a pestle, we don't need a blender".
I was aghast. I went "Whaaaa????? But you said..."
"If we get a blender, what would we do with the mortar and pestle?" he replied.
We got to the supermarket and he did stop by the electrical appliances aisle and looked at a few blenders, but none satisfied his taste (or his wallet's taste, i think).
"Kita tumbuk je lah ya?" he said ("Let's just pound it ourselves, okay?")
"YOU tumbuk", I said as I walked away in a huff. ("YOU pound")
nak beli blender pun sikit punya susah! Senang lah dia cakap, kita yang nak kena tumbuk berpuluh bijik bawang nanti.. dia makan je.. Elisa bawak je lah bawang tu pegi rumah Kak Zaharah, biar semua melayu tahu that you're too kedekut to buy me a blender! Gaji ribu-ribu, blender 60 ringgit pun takleh beli..
(was what I was muttering all the way to the cashier, which I am too lazy to translate to english)

In the kitchen later that night while Taufik and the kids were having their evening meal of leftover pizza, spaghetti bolognaise, cereal and ice cream, I was sitting on the tiled floor pounding on boiled fish flesh to make sambal ikan.
The kids kept coming to sit down with me and asking "Can I help?" , "Boleh anis tumbuk?","Bonda, Ilham nak tolong bonda boleh?","Ihsan pun lah...Ihsan pun nak tumbuk jugak".
I gave each of them a chance to help me pound the ingredients. They sure had a lot of questions.
"What is this thing made of?" "Granite"
"Wow, how did they shape it like this?" "They probably have a machine to chip away at the stone"
"Why is it so heavy?" "So that it can pound at the stuff. If not you'd have to do most of the pounding"
"Beyat lah bonda.." "Kalau berat Anis tak payah buat lah.. biar bonda yang buat"

"Semua orang nak tolong Bonda, kan? Kecuali orang yang tak nak beli blender tu.." ("Everyone wants to help me, except the one who didnt want to buy the blender.."), I said, giving Taufik a sideways glance.
"Ilham, Ilham tahu tak, masa ayah kecik2 kan, ayah kena giling cili tau. Tumbuk dengan lesung tu.. takde hal.." Taufik retorted. ("Ilham, do you know, when I was little, I had to grind chillies using the flat grinder. Using the mortar and pestle is easy compared to that")
I had to turn around and look at his face to see his expression.
He had the tiniest smile at the corner of his lips.
"You mean when you were a teenager?" Ilham probed.
"No, when I was about your age. And my grandmother's flat grinder was huge!" Taufik told.
I imagined him sitting on the wooden floor in his grandmother's house. His gangly feet around the huge granite flat grinder. His skinny fingers gripping the cylindrical grinder and pushing and pulling and rolling the thing to grind the chillies. He probably had asked his grandmother "Tok, dah?" (Grandma, is this ground fine enough?) and when his grandmother said "Belum, sikit lagi" (Not yet, a little bit more), he would probably go on grinding till his grandmother says okay.
With 9 kids to feed (not including husbands and grandkids), there had got to be alot of chillies to grind.

Taufik's story made me laugh.
"So because you had to grind chillies when you were a kid, I now have to suffer and pound my own chillies??" I asked jokingly.
"Pounding is nothing. That doesnt look too bad" he said.
"This is just fish. Fish is nothing. Tomorrow I'm gonna make you pound the shallots and garlic and chillies." I replied.
He just laughed and the kids laughed listening to us laugh.

"Bonda, dah?" Ilham asked, showing me the pounded fish.
I took a spoon and tossed them around to see how fine they were and decided that they were plenty fine.
"Okay, I think we're done" I said as I gave Ilham the spoon so that he can scoop the fish out and put it inside a tupperware.
The kids helped me clean up afterwards, before we retreated to bed.

I thought about Taufik's story about grinding chillies with his grandmother, and I wonder if Ilham will tell his kids about how he pounded fish for his mother.
I thought about how I had never heard stories of childhood memories about using the blender.

I have decided, I still love my mortar and pestle.. :)


Footnote:
Less you think that Taufik is a financial control freak, let me clarify that even when I was earning a portion of our household income, we conferred before we buy anything.
Just like he wont go out and buy an optical mouse for the home computer without getting my okay, I would not go out and buy a blender without getting his okay. It's just our way of showing our respect for each other's opinions (and tastes).
It does end us up with not that many material things, but it sure saves us a lot of resentment.





Blog Comments
Posted by: elisataufik
Date: 11/01/05 at 8:25 AM (2M1w ago)
I forgot to say:
I want wish everyone Eid Mubarak and happy holidays.
Please do forgive me if I have slighted you in any way, either from my postings or from comments left on your blogs (or other people's blogs).
Please know that I seldom take anything to heart, so if you have ever struck a raw nerve with me from your posts or your comments, do be assured that all is forgiven.

kosong-kosong ya!!

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"


Posted by: ubisetela (View Website)
Date: 11/01/05 at 9:29 AM (2M1w ago)
Selamat Hari Raya Aidifitri.. selamat menumbuk dengan jayanya.. tukar2 tgn la so the muscle will be even forr both :)
My blender tak de sapa guna.. nak pinjam? hhehehe :)


Posted by: Hip Mum
Date: 11/01/05 at 1:34 PM (2M1w ago)
Haha that's so cute K.elisa... at least now I know you're not a saint... ada rasa geram gak kat Abg Taufik!! Else, I'd thot something is def wrong with ME! hehe.. Neeway, hubby & I are like you guys too... We'd first get each other's opinion before buying something - latest, he called me over & over again from Low Yat Plaza, asking if it's ok for him to get us a new PC (using HIS bonus $$). I was in a meeting, terasa geram gak, but then towards the later part of the day, I was smiling to myself.

I taught him well.

;)


Posted by:famygirl
Date: 11/01/05 at 11:06 PM (2M1w ago)
Selamat Hari Raya to you and family... *huggles*

Posted by:+PrimaryBasic
Date: 11/02/05 at 10:27 AM (2M1w ago)
selamat hari raya to you and family too kak elisa. mintak maaf for everything. and thank you for everything.

btw, you could get the blender to blend fruit juices, and potatoes (buat mee kuah and the likes).


:D

That which is striking and beautiful is not always good, but that which is good is always beautiful ~Ninon de L'Enclos

Posted by: ida
Date: 11/05/05 at 6:04 AM (2M1w ago)
Selamat Raya! Believe it or not, food cooked with ingredients pounded with lesung batu (heheh) lagi best drp food from the blender. Maybe because if we blend, we tend to use more liquid. If I'm rajin, I would use lesung batu. Kalau tak, hmm... blend le.... Wish I was there to see you pound those shallots. Ha!

Posted by:jalommah
Date: 11/07/05 at 9:07 AM (2M1w ago)
Selamat hari raya... kesian U, tapi betul kata Ida tu kalau pakai ingredients yang pounded the food taste better ( better be... penat woooo). Kat rumah my MIL pun dia prefer pakai lesung batu dari blender, tapi tengok kuantiti yang nak di masak jugaklah.

Me and hubby pun macam U jugak, tapi hari tu dia sibuk nak beli TV 43", I cakap tak yah yang dua bijik kat rumah tu pun dia tak de masa nak tengok ( Asyik mengadap PC). Tak paham betul.

Posted by: ninuk (View Website)
Date: 11/07/05 at 10:02 AM (2M1w ago)
i've learned my lesson about "kegatalan membeli" ni. see my husband seldom buy things, so when he mention of wanting to buy s/thing it must be s/thing that he really want. back in 2002 he wanted to buy UNSER, cewaaahhh punye le I against it, kereto beso susah nak parking, bayar installment mahal bla bla bla. Tup tup tup 2003 dia beli Oddesey.
Pelajarannya - SEKALI-SEKALA layan le kegatalan membeli, nanti terbeli yang 2 3 kali lebih mahal - tak tersenggih di buatnya.

Posted by: uneeq (View Website)
Date: 11/08/05 at 4:00 PM (2M6d ago)
(boleh tak i baru realise that i commented on the wrong entry? anyways..)

The Comment : My mom INSISTS on me using the mortar and pestle everytime I cook because she claims that it tastes better, the ingredients would not get too mushy blablabla. Don't tell my mom I'm telling u this, but actually it really makes no difference, to my taste. But I still do it only to workout my arms. Heh.

Selamat Hari Raya, Kak Els and family.

Posted by:elisataufik
Date: 11/11/05 at 12:38 PM (2M3d ago)
cik adikkkk
i noticed it, but i didnt care coz i was just glad that you finally re-appeared!
Where have you been lah??
macam nak nangis je bila pegi on the couch and found it was no longer there. Nyesal gila sebab dah lama tak visit.
Your new site ni slow sikit lah.. kena rasuk with the hantu at the 'front door' tu kot?

"we were but stones, ... your light made us stars"


Posted by: fiammepersempre
Date: 11/09/05 at 6:58 AM (2M5d ago)
Aw :-)


-------------------- -

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.


- Vincent van Gogh -


Posted by: yellowcab
Date: 11/09/05 at 7:41 AM (2M5d ago)
heheh kisah blender dan batu lesung di ambang raya... ehhehe
leh buat movie tuh.. :D

anyway..selamat beraya di perantauan.. maaf salah silap... tak sedey ke dgr lagu raya ek?

.yellowcabbie.


Posted by: sunflora (View Website)
Date: 11/09/05 at 8:34 AM (2M5d ago)
So sweet :) So sure laku your rendang tu? Do you find that it tastes different because its cooked on an electric cooker compared to cooking it on the gas cooker?


Posted by:bertique
Date: 11/09/05 at 9:21 AM (2M5d ago)
actually, i like using mortar and pestle compared with using blender.
lebih sedap, dan best rasanya.
ntah, seronok sgt biler i guna menda alah tuh .. jimat letrik ..

walaupun i ada blender, i jarang guna .. begitu juga dgn lesung batu tuh ..
biasa nyer chef kan ada helper, so i suh la helper i yg tumbuk or giling or blender barang2 masakan i :D

hahaha untungnya jadi chef.

selamat lebaran.


Posted by:zan
Date: 11/10/05 at 6:24 AM (2M4d ago)
kalau i guna lesung batu, habislah boleh bergaduh dgn jiran (org bawah esp) hehehe...

"Given enough coffee, I could rule the world" - The Unknown


Posted by:nekbat
Date: 11/10/05 at 1:32 PM (2M4d ago)
I still guna that dialogue every time my mom suruh tumbuk-menumbuk. "Ma, dah?" Tapi kenapa la the answer is always "Sikik lagi". Huwaa..


Posted by: lion3ss (View Website)
Date: 11/11/05 at 1:56 AM (2M4d ago)
Buster laughed at me recently whe I pounded black pepper. Dia kata - belilah grounded black pepper terus.

Monday, October 10, 2005

Back home

If you're wondering, I am back at my original blog.
Come visit me there if you like what you see here.

Saturday, October 08, 2005

how bake beans can turn into karipap

Q: What do you do with leftover baked beans?
A: You make Chili con carne

Q: What do you do with leftover chili con carne?
A: You make karipap.

My huge and ugly karipap<----My Huge and Ugly Karipap

That's what I did. I had some leftover baked beans from breakfast before ramadhan started and then I made chili con carne for iftar a few days ago, but there were some chili left over.
Today I browsed for recipes for karipap skin, and voila, made karipap.


easy peasy karipap

Skin:
225grams of flour
1 stick (roughly 113 grams) of I cant believe it's not butter or margerine would do
a pinch of salt
some lukewarm water

Filling:
Leftover chili con carne
Potatoes (boiled till tender, then diced)
hard boiled eggs, cut into 4, or cut into circles, whichever u prefer.

Method:
Mix diced potatoes into chili con carne. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, mix flour, salt and butter with hands till its mixed well and crumbly. Add water bit by bit while kneading, until dough starts to unstick from walls of bowl. Knead for a while, let it rest for a bit (like 30 minutes lah lebih kurang).
I divided my dough into 8, since I only had enough eggs for 8 (2 hard boiled eggs which I quartered). This made really huge karipaps. I guess you can divide the dough into 16 and make medium sized ones.
I dont have a rolling pin, nor a pastry board, so .. I just rolled up the dough in my hands then flattened them and just spread them out on a plate. I put a dollop of filling and a piece of egg, then pinched and folded the edges to seal them.
The karipap should be deep fried in hot oil until golden.

They weren't pretty but they were damn delicious. ;)

Friday, October 07, 2005

apa susah sangat nih...

kenapalah susah sangat nak post stuff kat blogspot nih..kat modblog senang giller..
tapi modblog down!! huhu...

takde apa nak cerita lah..
nak gi mandi, and then nak gi Bahrain (second try)

oh okay ada benda nak cerita..
Masa mengandungkan ilham kan, I kena marah ngan doktor sebab puasa. So I tak puasa.
Tahun tu rasanya kena ganti 27 days ke gitu. Bayar fidyah berkilo2 beras that year.
Dengan Ihsan, alhamdulillah tak jatuh bulan puasa .
Dengan Anis, I puasa selang sari.
Dgn baby nih.. hm.. tengah try nak puasa the whole month. Mula2 ingat nak selang sari gak, tapi dok kira kira nak ganti 14-15 days.. aiyakkkk sangat susah woooo
Tahun lepas nak ganti 7 hari pun macam nak rak.
I make sure I sahur, tapi makan roti, and kalau makan nasik pun, ratah lauk lebih. Pastu tonggang laban. and makan kurma at least 3 bijik. and makan vitamins.
ALhamduillah, takdelah teruk sangat.
Ada lah rasa uwek2 sikit, tapi as long as tak keluar benda, I continue.
BTW, semalam makan nasi briyani, tak muak lak.. 3 pinggan you..! HA HA
baby ni memang made in s@udi kot. suka makanan arab.

Sementara modblog down ni, kerja kita is browse for recipes.. heh heh
kita dah jumpa resepi untuk:
1. keropok lekor (serious!! guna canned tuna lak tu)
2. ayam percik
3. custard sauce
4. homemade noodles (boleh lah makan mee kari nanti)
5. kuah kacang (untuk raya babe)
6. and last but not least, jeng jeng jeng... Beef Queso!!! (dah tak yah gi Chili's dah)

Ha ha... nanti kita try masak, and ambik gambau.. and you can see menjadik ke tidak.
Tapi on modblog lah ek? tak reti lah nak letak gambar kat sini..
dah lah layout pun macam siut je.
okeh nak gi mandi.
yes it's noon and saya tak mandi lagi... kekekeke

Monday, August 01, 2005

Resurrection

Did it feel like I disappeared off the face of the earth?
Well, it felt like it for me.

No Computer meant no emails, no blogs and no chats.
I have a phone but I don't have anybody to call.
My mobile phone works but I can only receive calls and sms (hint hint AF pals!!!) but I cannot make calls nor send text messages.
I can't believe how much of my happiness is dependent on my family and friends.

For 2 weeks I buried myself in the only 3 books that I brought with me on the plane:
Prattchet's The Wee Free Men, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 100 Years of Solitude and Caldwell&Thomason's The Rule Of Four.
When I'm not reading, I'm cooking and doing domestic stuff which includes asking my kids when they're gonna pick their butts off the couch, peel their eyes off the tv, dislodge their thumbs from the PS2 controller and brush their teeth and take a shower.
When I had finished reading the 3 books I attempted some Pilates. I found myself lying flat on the floor straing at the ceiling thinking about what I've become more than exercising.

well, gotta go read emails now.

Saturday, July 09, 2005

Drive

I drove a lot this past few weeks... I think it's almost like God is trying to make up for me not being able to drive for the next few years that I will be in Saudi Arabia.

My lunch buddy Mdm Y calls me a spoilt driver, and I agree with her. For the 10 years that I worked where I had worked, I had to only go through, at most, 15 minutes of traffic to get to and come from work. Even then, I would complain when there's a slight congestion and if it takes me more than 15 minutes. I never drive further than Damansara. If I had to go anywhere further than that, I would either get my husband to send me, or hitch a ride with someone, or take the train.

I don't know whether it's coz I hate driving, or that I'm not confident with my driving abilities that make me hate driving further out from my 'comfort zone'.
I find driving through congested traffic really stressful. I've never driven anywhere else, so I wouldn't know whether it's because of Malaysian drivers or it's just me who's easily stressed out. I have no patience with slow drivers. I have no sympathy for queue-jumpers. And I hate people who tailgate me and flash their high beams at my bumper when I am trying to overtake another car.

This last few weeks I had been forced to come out of the comfort zone though. I had to drive to the Saudi embassy in KL, on 3 seperate ocassions. And, I had to drive to Putrajaya twice. All trips involve driving more than 15 minutes, through erratic traffic and together with more erratic drivers. I play it safe and always leave early. That way I won't feel like I have to hurry and I can play it cool. I bought food so that I could eat while driving. I had Pearl Jam, Peterpan and Bo Bice on the CD Changer to keep me company. And I invented a new game to amuse me: target a car and make overtaking it at some point my goal. I usually choose cars that change lanes because he/she thinks the lane we are currently on is too slow. Then when I pass that targeted car, I'd let out a hearty "HA HA!".
Oh yes. I must have had a few "Ha Ha!"s this past few weeks. It was fun.



Unlike my mother, who would pack for a trip at least a month before the said trip, I am a last minute packer. Even when I had to go to the US for my studies, my mom would nag me almost everyday for two weeks before the trip, asking me "Have you packed? Did you check whether you've got everything?", and I would be packing on the last night before the flight. usually staying up late going thru clothes and stuff.
It's the same this time.
I had 2 weeks to prepare for the movers coming. I had looked thru clothes but couldnt decide what to ship, and what to pack in suitcases to bring on the flight. So in the end, I had a list, on paper and in my head, of what to ship, but physically I havent done anything to those stuff.
The movers came this morning and I went into overdrive going through clothes, pulling comforters of beds, choosing my books and the kids' books...
3 hours. That's how long it took me. Not 3 weeks, but 3 hours. Thats not bad, eh, I think..
Taufik & I are both tired now..

oh.. we've packed the computer. (I'm on Taufik's laptop now). I don't know when it'll reach al-khobar. Prolly 6 weeks. And I don't have internet at home in Al-khobar yet. So this may be my last entry.
See ya!

Thursday, July 07, 2005

*sigh*

The Returned Lover finally falls asleep..
Spent?
ah... wouldn't you like to know..

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Dat Drew Ditty

Anis always sings a little song before she falls asleep.
Last night I heard her singing
"sea-vern rock, sea-vern rock, sea-vern rock"
and I was about to ask her whether it was a new nursery rhyme she learned in school when she got to the final line:
"Ohio hi-o hi-o!"
and I realized it's the theme song for The Drew Carey Show.
Oh.My.God. What have I done to my children??
Oh well, I hope that at least they get a sense of humor.



My flight to Saudi Arabia will be on the 15th of July, 8:45pm, from KLIA, of course.
Orang-orang yang berkenaan, sila ambil perhatian

When I told the kids that we were going to fly on a plane, they got so excited. Among them, Ihsan is the only one who had never been on a plane. Ilham accompanied me to Kerteh to meet his father when he was about 3 years old. Anis was 9 days old when she was carried into a plane when the original mokciknab passed away and we took the earliest flight to Trengganu.
They were jumping about in my mother's sitting room yelling hoorahs. Then we turned on the TV, and lo and behold, National Geographic was showing "Aircraft Disasters".
dammit.
Now I have to calm these kids down.



Our passports are ready. Ilham's translated report card is ready to be sent to the Saudi Embassy tomorrow.
My husband is coming back tomorrow!! woo hooooo!!!

Thursday, June 30, 2005

WOOO HOOOOOO!!

It's here, it's here, it's finally here!!!!

I called the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia this morning and our residence visa is HERE!!!
YAY!!!!
So tomorrow morning I have to drive to the Embassy to submit our passports and application forms and documents and stuff so that they can get it stamped.
I am actually a bit apprehensive about driving to what may be the most congested part of town, but I'll brave it out, coz it means I'm finally gonna be with my husband again soon!! woo hoooo!!
Taufik will be back on the 6th, and he is currently booking flights and stuff and we're planning to leave either on the 13th, 14th or 15th of July.. depending on which flight arrangement would require the least hassle (read: not having to wake up the kids at 4:30am all cranky, or arrive in Al-Khobar at 4am all jet lagged and hyper one moment and all sleepy and cranky the next..)

The sad thing is, my mom is still in Seattle. She's only reaching home on the 17th.. so I wont get to see her before I leave .. :(
But the good news is, I have a webcam!! and my sister in Seattle is getting herself a webcam (i think), so then one of these days we can have a video chat before we pack up the computer.
My mom is 'totally bummed out' (Didi's words) about not getting to give me a proper send off, but I assured her that I'll be back in December, Insya-Allah.

Oh wow.. so lots and lotsa things to do..
1. Get our passport stamped. (due 1st July)
2. Finish my Tsunami script. (due 1st July)
3. Reply Famygirl's questionnaire (due 4th July)
4. Pack (due 13 July)
5. Pick up passport and get Ilham's documents certified and ready for school registration (due 13th July)
6. I already one farewell party to go to next weekend.
7. I would have to throw a thankyou party for Taska Salsaabila (My kids' kindergarten) ..

hm.. now that I've got it listed out, it doesnt seem like much...
I've got to get to doing number 2 NOW.

so erm.. I'll be restraining from blogging for the next few days. I swear. I'll be trying my best. I really need to finish that script.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Speed

I was a little late picking up Ilham today. I had to interview the Director of Meteorological Services Department today and the traffic back was jammed. I arrived 15 minutes later than usual.

I asked Ilham if he was scared when I didn't show up on time.
He said "Yes".
So I asked him why he was scared.
And he said, "Coz I thought you were in jail"
"Why would I be in jail?" I asked.
"Coz you drive too fast".

I do not drive fast.
REALLY!

But that triggered a really fun conversation over chicken rice during lunch on how the judge would find me guilty or not guilty and what would've happened to me and who would send him to school if I were to be put in jail.

I reiterate.
I do not drive fast.