This Always Happened to Me...

Rage comic about kempunan waffles... (click on picture to enlarge)

Have this ever happened to you?

Oh by the way, you can make your own rage comic here.

This one was created during my last Chinese New Year holiday based on a true story. :(

Have fun creating your own rage comic ;)

My Happiest Moment

When was the last time you smiled - without expecting a smile in return,

laughed without caring about people around you, 

or expressed your excitement without letting other people's reaction affect what you felt?

 image grabbed from here

When was the last time you smile not for the camera, but your smile was a moment that was captured naturally by it?

image grabbed from here

When was the last time you externalized what you really felt inside?

One question that could sum all these questions up is,

when was the happiest moment of your life?

I will answer this post in a form of a photo, a solid proof of my happiest moment. That's the good thing about a photo, although it could not freeze the time, it could immortalize THE moment, and at least when we look back at that particular photo, we could reminisce that beautiful 10-20 seconds of happiness and bring back all that joyous feeling.

In my older post questioning about my happiest moment, I shared that it was hard for the adult me to find the happiest moment in my adult life, but when I flipped through the album of the childhood pictures, it was as easy as googling for me to spot my happy moments. Yes, childhood moments were the best. (who dare to disagree?) We were easy to please back then. We expressed what we felt, without holding back our feelings. We could laugh and cry whenever we felt like it.

Among all my childhood pictures, I chose this photo below to represent... 

MY HAPPIEST MOMENT!

They say a picture tells a thousand words. I agree, but let me complete the sentence 'a picture tells a thousand words, but it only has one truth', and the truth behind this picture is that the smile, the excitement, and all the expressions were genuine. Everyone was spontaneous. This picture is not about the photography technique, the artistic approach or camera angle whatsoever. It is all about 'capturing the moment'. A special moment for a 3-year-old birthday girl (which was of course, the little me), captured by my father with his old camera.

Whenever I looked at this picture, I could reminisce about what happened during that moment. From my facial expression, you can tell that I was overjoyed by the burning candles on my birthday cake. Isn't it blissful to be a kid? You felt as if you hit the jackpot just by looking at the burning candles on a birthday cake, anticipating for the moment to blow them. :)

 

But as they say the happiest moment only lasted for a very short time, yeah the saying was truly right. 

Because at the end of the happy birthday song, my happiest moment ended when this happened. 

(-_-")

Yeah. So much for my happy ending, huh. 

Are You a Gradzilla?

FYI:  Gradzilla = graduate + zilla (an affix for monster). 

Photos grabbed from google image

I hope I'm not gonna be a gradzilla for my coming convocation.

This is the closest to gradzilla image that I could search online.

How do I describe a gradzilla?

1) Worry too much

2) Demand too many things 

3) Over-perfectionist and over-reactive over little imperfection

4) Acting like a spoiled brat and all the attention must be on him/her, him/her, him/her! (eg: like what we can watch in mtv's supersweet sixteenth birthday)

Someone I know (ahem) used to have a few signs of gradzilla and the gradzilla did not only ruined her own mood for worrying too much but our mood as well. We went all the way for her convocation at tooot, I had to endure lectures from my principal for taking holidays during my upper 6, etc etc, but then all we got when we arrived there were more lectures, demands, and complains from her. From pictures, of course all we could we see was nice, bright, and sunny, but what we had actually gone through, I hope we would not have it during my convocation *touch wood*.

Okay I have no grudges against this gradzilla but it's just that I want to compare what she did and what I'm gonna do during my own convocation in my post this time. No offense, *insert name*, but your convocation was one of the best example of a gradzilla that I could find. :P 

Well, during the preparation, the gradzilla had a very nice custom made kebaya outfit (which costs a lot but was only used less than 5 times), so I think it's not worth it, since I wasn't born with silver spoon in my mouth. Since I had a lot of  upcoming expenses that have to be taken care of, I should buy something more practical, something that can be used over and over again like a formal long sleeve blouse and a formal pants, or slacks we call it. But of course, those formal attires must be a nice one, nicer than my usual formal attires.

Secondly, she had fresh flowers from parents. I forgot already whether it was due to her demand or it was given by my parents willingly but guess what, I won't ask or demand flowers or any gifts (unless they themselves offered ahem) from my parents. First, flowers aren't that practical and so hard to take care of especially in a big crowd during the convocation (pity the ones who had to carry the flowers) and guess what, I would choose a Teddy bear over flowers any day.. ;) *hint hint* But then again, gifts should be given as a free-will and not compulsory so come what may.

Thirdly, the gradzilla went on ordering people around as if she had one extra special authority during her convocation and we had to adhere to her orders obediently. (-_-") It wasn't one very good experience to be one of the 'servants' you know, but then she was the first to graduate in our family so that was one of the reasons why we would do anything just to please her.

But then again, at the end of the day, after all the things are over, we would sit and look at the perfect picture that had been taken. If it wasn't for that gradzilla who had surveyed meticulously for the right photo studio, the picture won't be as nice. If it wasn't for that gradzilla who had planned for all the nice things, our parents would have nothing to boast about. (ahem)

I guess, each one of us should have that little gradzilla inside us so that it would drive us for perfection during an important occasion, but at the same time, don't practice your gradzilla-ness on everyone, especially your own family members. You can be a gradzilla when you are a client because you want to demand for perfection and maybe being a gradzilla was the only way they would give their best service to you, but when you practice your gradzilla-ness on your family, you could be ruining the best memory that they are supposed to have. Your convocation, isn't only your convocation, according to Mel. It's your parents' and family's convocation too.

The History of a Practising Prankster

I LOVE to play prank. I used to play a lot of pranks on people and  sometimes even on my pets. I am not sure if this hobby had something to do with the fact that I was born on 11th April (which was dubbed as double fool day by my sista) but I guess my family loooove to prank people, especially me and my siblings. 

I remember one April Fool's Day, when my eldest sister Michele was still  12, she played a prank on her friend by presenting him with lizard's dropping wrapped in a bunch of papers. (-_-") Her friend was really disgusted. Score!

And my second sister Melissa was very good at shocking people and also keeping a straight face when making up stories. She always tricked me by popping in front of me out of nowhere with her long hair covering her face - gosh I always jumped out of my skin whenever she did that. Besides that prank, she tricked a lot of her friends too. One memorable prank that she played on her friend was the one where she made up stories about herself trying drugs before, and her friend somewhat believed her. (-_-") He believed her to the extend that when she confessed that she was actually lying, he wouldn't believe her confession. Backfired prank huh? lol. 

My mother was also quite a prankster. She played a prank on me when I was still in Form 6 by asking me to try a pansuh that she received from her colleague. "It's chicken pansuh" She told me. I was skeptical of her statement but since there's no harm in eating something your own mother brought home, I just tried it. I was clear it was not chicken, but it did not taste like fish either. 

"It's actually snake's meat," She told me, smiling. (-_-")

Besides this light prank, there was one time, circa 2002, my parents and my cousin Mary played a prank on my cousin, Agnes. My cousin Agnes is my adult cousin who was already a mommy that time. Agnes's family and our family wanted to go back to Dalat, so for security, Agnes placed her family car at our home (because we had gates and they didn't). So Agnes, her husband and children went back to Dalat by water transport, which was a speedboat. Since our family were using car to go back to Dalat, Agnes placed some of her things in our car for us which we promised to pass to her that very evening when we reached Dalat. 

We went on with the road trip as planned, but when we reached Mukah, which was about one hour from Dalat, we stopped at Mary's house (PS: Mary is Agnes's older sister), and from there the idea to play a prank on Agnes came up. Mom called Agnes up and told her that we didn't go on a road trip as planned, we were still at Sibu and would only go to Dalat the next evening. So that very moment, Agnes was very angry and disappointed so she called her sister Mary up (who was my mom's partner in crime in this prank) and Agnes told and shared all her disappointments and rage with Mary. After Mary hung up the phone, we all broke into laughter~!

When we reached Dalat that evening, Agnes's husband saw us and was very surprised. He, looking tired, told us that Agnes was very angry and asked him to buy back all the things that she put in our car at the shops. When Agnes found out that it was actually a prank, and her things arrived safely at Dalat with us, she was quite angry but not as angry as before. She just said that "Eee, this prank is just too much! Don't do it again."

Okay. Enough about my family's prank. Let me tell you guys about my own prankster experience.

Yeah this was how Madam Meenon looked like. Sorry for my horrible drawing. (-_-")

When I was about 8 years old, I played a prank on Sharon, my cousin, who was also my  closest playmate during my childhood. We always played downstairs at my old house. One fine day, I was extremely bored, so I decided to play a trick on her. While we were playing, I told Sharon to wait for me downstairs while I ran  upstairs, went to my parents' bedroom and quickly dressed up in my mom's old dress. I wrapped a towel around my head just like a headscarf and wore a pair of sunglasses which I took from my parents' dressing table. Then from upstairs, I shouted my cousin's name and asked her to join me upstairs. Slowly, Sharon climbed the stairs and then she saw me in all those funny clothes.

I quickly approached her and tell her "Hi, I'm Madam Meenon, Maureen's not here." Sharon was speechless. Until now, I think she actually believed me or maybe she thought that Madam Meenon was my alter ego lol. So that moment onwards, she would call me Madam Meenon whenever she sees me in funny clothes and glasses.

When I got older, my prank got nastier. I was about eleven or twelve that time. I shared the same room with my sister Melissa while my eldest sister shared the same room with our cousin Pamela. Pamela is our cousin from Dalat who used to live with us to help out with the house chores. So one day, when Pamela was  showering, I entered their room when nobody was there and hid under their bed (PS, their bed were combined together). When Pamela came in the room alone to change her clothes after showering, I put out my left hand from under the bed and frightened her. Thank God she did not scream and her reaction was merely  "ISH... Baby padu..!" in quite an annoyed tone.

After feeling satisfied with my prank, I planned another prank - now on both Pamela and Michele. Muahaha!

One fine night, I pretended to have a fight with Melissa. Then, I pretended to be really upset and announced to the whole family that I would sleep earlier that night, and locked the door to our room. Actually, I had informed Melissa beforehand that I would lock our bedroom's door for this prank. So after pretending to sleep, I tiptoed to Michele and Pamela's room and let my bedroom's door stayed locked so that nobody would be suspicious. I hid under their bed. There was a gap between their bed and it was that gap that I planned to carry out my prank. Muahaha..!

So, my plan for the prank was this:

This was more or less how my fingers looked like that time.

 I stick the plasticine on my fingernails so that they would look scary. I planned to scare both of them by popping up my hand through the gap between their beds from underneath. Muahahaha. But then, not all prank would go smoothly as planned. While waiting for both of them to come to their bedroom, I fell asleep under their beds.

In the middle of the night, I was suddenly awake. I realized that I fell asleep and I heard both Michele and Pamela were still having a conversation on the bed with the lights off (you know, the before sleeping conversation). So in the middle of their conversation, I popped up my hand from  the gap between their beds and trying to make a scary sound but since I just woke up, my supposedly scary voice was hoarse instead. 

"What??" Both of them were kinda shocked. To my disappointment, they didn't scream  loudly like how I imagined they would. 

"She did it again!" Pamela said and both of them asked me to go back to my room and sleep. I went back to my room obediently, and although the outcome of the prank was not as good as I imagined it would be, at least  the outcome of the prank was quite a consolation.

During my university years, the pranks that I played were merely like hiding somebody's branded bag uhuk Joe uhuk, hacking someone's facebook status uhuk Mark uhuk, pretending to quarrel with Melissa during April Fool and uhuk Step uhuk Ebeth uhuk believed it lol. These were the pranks that I played and  I still think that they weren't enough.

But pranks do have a few rules. One, we cannot simply play pranks on people without knowing their health condition, whether they had histeria, heart attack or something. Two, we have to find a suitable prank for different people, according to their personality, their history etc. Maybe on my future post, I would share with y'all about the rules and regulation (sounds formal, right? adui!) of playing a prank on people.

Wow this sudden craving for pranks made me miss Ashton Kutcher's Punk'd episodes. I wish I could have a camera to record all the pranks I played before. MUAHAHAHA.

 So be ready people.. Till the prankster strikes again...! ;)

Blessing in Disguise?

Interframe: I got confused with English tenses a lot. Here's a page which might be useful. (Hey did i use/used the right tense for this sentence? Hmmm..)

 Although I left the university for about two months already, the sleep-late-wake-up-late lifestyle of a university student kinda stuck with me. Thanks to the online activity and late night shows on tv, I never fail to wake up later than 8.30 am every single day. Sometimes I went to the extent of waking up at 10 am if my sleep was interrupted earlier.

Besides waking up late, I never miss my afternoon nap.

That was why, yesterday, during my afternoon nap in the living room, I could hear my mother and grandma gossiping about me in Melanau. [I don't know why, but this is my parents' and grandmother's habit. They speak in Melanau among themselves but when they speak to us (the children), they switched to Hokkien.]

"How can she still feel sleepy when she woke up so late?" Mom wondered aloud. "I woke up a lot earlier, went to work, yet did not take a nap."

"She slept very late last night," Grandma responded. "Not just last night, every night. Don't know what she was doing so late at night."

Grandma's bedroom is located at downstairs, so she knew how late I stayed awake every night though she was asleep. Grandma had a habit to wake up in the middle of the night to visit the toilet, and everytime she wakes up, she would see me still wide awake at the living room, sitting in front of my laptop, busy online.(Ahem)

"Not a good habit at all," Mom and Grandma both agreed about my negative habit.

"Makel angai tan," Mom added, which means 'very lazy' in Melanau.

Because I was too sleepy that time, I had no energy to be defensive or to justify my sleep late habit. So I just let it go.

That very night, which was last night, as usual, I carried on with my sleep late habit. I was still wide awake at 11 pm something. I never sleep earlier than 12 am, so 11 pm was kinda early for me, but for my parents and grandmother, it is considered late. Very late.

As usual, my Grandma woke up in the middle of her sleep, but instead of walking to the toilet, she walked towards me and asked me to read the name of the pills that she brought to me.

"What pills are these?" She asked me while showing me the pack of yellow coloured pills.

There were no indications on the pills' package so I told grandma I didn't know what type of pills they were. Then she walked back into her bedroom.

A few seconds later, I heard a LOUD CRASH, it sounded like the table fan was falling.

I quickly ran into her bedroom, saw her collapsed on the table, thus causing the table fan to fall off the table.

"Ah Ma, what happened?" I was so shocked, the question was almost a whisper. She was conscious, but then, she was very weak. She could not stand up.

I was so panic. 

While I put both my hands to support both her arms, suddenly she was kinda... unconscious.

"Ah Ma?" My panicmeter was rising.I shook her shoulders but she wasn't responding.

"AH MA! PAPA! MAMA!" I was shouting from downstairs but my efforts was in vain. So instead of calling my parents, I resorted to calling Ah Ma again and again.

After calling Ah Ma a few times, she was conscious again. PHEW~

"I'm having stomach ache. I think it must be because of the pineapple. I wanted to find the medicine, but couldn't find it. Very painful," she said weakly.  Although those were not comforting words, I was relieved because Ah Ma was finally conscious. I asked Ah Ma to rest on her bed while I ran off to my parents' bedroom, asking them for assistance to find the right medicine for Grandma.

Finally, Ah Ma ate her medicine, she was feeling better, and I slept with her that night.

This afternoon, I had my nap again, as usual, but  quite unusual, nobody gossip/scolded me anymore. Maybe, they realized, this sleep late lifestyle is not that negative after all. At least, I could function like a night security guard... Err.. Not that I want this thing to happen twice *touch wood*. Just a precaution.

KALAU AKU BOLEH LAMBUNG SYILING DESTINY...

 Interframe: Sari berita utama. SK St Mary (bekas sekolah rendah yours truly) telah keluar berita dalam The Borneo Post berikutan satu insiden. Nak tahu dengan lebih lanjut, sila klik link ini. Tak sangka kan? Huhu.

Orang kata, jangan tolak rezeki. Well... Itulah kata-kata hikmat pertama yang muncul dalam fikiranku ketika menerima panggilan dari Mama untuk memberitahuku tentang tawaran kerja untuk menjadi guru ganti selama kira-kira dua bulan. Di Sibu. Di sebuah sekolah rendah, yang mana murid-muridnya terdiri daripada lelaki semuanya. (Disclaimer: Nama sekolah dirahsiakan supaya tiada paparazzi mengekori saya sekiranya saya confirm untuk mengajar di sana kelak) 

Tapi, berkata tentang rezeki, mestikah benda yang lebih lumayan tu lebih BERrezeki? 

Biasanya dalam konteks masyarakat masa kini, ramai akan mengiyakan soalan di atas. Especially kalau rezeki tu datang dalam bentuk pekerjaan sementara. Sebab tu kerja sementara, tak minat pun tak apa. Janji lumayan. Sebab bukannya kamu akan buat kerja tu seumur hidup la kan?

Dan dalam kes aku, rezeki selalu datang tanpa diduga. Rezeki datang ketika aku belum bersedia. Rezeki datang ketika aku dah ada pelan. Masa aku belum ada pelan, macam takde satu habuk pun tawaran kerja. Tapi pabila aku dah ada sedikit perancangan, Rezeki pula sibuk nak datang nak bagi aku dilemma. 

Sengaja membuatku terpaksa membuat pilihan antara dia (rezeki) ataupun dengan keinginan hati. 

Ok, berbalik kepada cerita tadi.

Mula-mula aku dengar suara excited mama melalui handphone miniku, aku mulai bimbang. Mesti ada sesuatu ni. Ah.. Jangan pula.. Bukan itu.. Bukan itu..

Dan apabila beliau akhirnya memberitahu hal tersebut kepadaku, aku dah agak dah... Memang itu dia.

TAWARAN UNTUK MENJADI GURU GANTI LAGI.

Tiada mana-mana berita yang dapat menggembirakan Mama lebih daripada berita kekosongan untuk jawatan guru di mana-mana sekolah di Sibu. Serius tiada.

Guru ganti? Fikirku.

Di bawah merupakan subtitle perbualanku dengan Mama.

PERBUALAN PERTAMA:  

Aku: Eeeee, Ma... saya akan berada di Sibu untuk satu bulan ja. Mana dapat jadi guru ganti. Huhu.

Mama: Ai, jangan risau. Jadi guru ganti selama lebih kurang dua bulan je. Tu pun di sekolah *insert nama*. Guru besar dia bagitau kat saya ada kekosongan sebab gurunya nak bersalin. Guru besar tu sendiri yang nak awak jadi pengganti cikgu tu..

Aku: .....

Mama: Lagipun kalau guna sijil Form 6, gaji awak lumayan tau. At least RM 1000 ++. Itupun masih belum termasuk allowance lagi.

Aku: Eeeee, tapi saya dah janji dengan Mel nak jadi assistant untuk research dia kat Penang. (yesh, akhirnya dapat cari alasan muahahahha)

Mama: Takpa, nanti saya bagitau kat Mel. 

Aku: Tapi, aku tak tau la Mama. Aku lebih berminat nak kerja dengan NGO yang ada kat Penang ni.

Mama: Ala.. Dua bulan ja. Lepas dua bulan tu, bolehlah awak buat kerja awak kat Penang tu. Dua bulan awak kat sini dulu.

Aku: Erm... Bagi saya masa untuk fikir dulu ye.. Saya kena survey dulu kerja kat sini.

Mama: Ok. Tapi lebih baik confirm cepat ah. Sebab guru besar tu suruh kami isi borang permohonan jadi guru ganti untuk awak.

Aku: Okay. (-_-")

Line mati. 

Aku buntu. Mencari cara untuk membuat keputusan hidup mati ni.

Cara pertama aku memikirkan dilemma ini adalah dengan meng-update status di Facebook. (Ahem) Biasanya status ni berunsur kabur, tidak ada statement yang spesifik dan bermula dengan frasa "Dear God..."

Cara kedua, aku mengenang keadaan dulu. Fikir balik macam mana keadaannya aku menjadi guru sandaran selama 6 bulan di sekolah lamaku, St Mary dulu. Ada saat manis, ada saat pahit. Ada suka, ada duka. Ahhhh... Masih tak dapat buat keputusan.

Cara ketiga, aku fb mesej senior aku yang kerja di NGO yang aku minat tu. Mintak tolong dia untuk tanya kekosongan bagi pihakku. Kalau ada kekosongan untuk part time atau kerja sementara untuk 3 bulan, aku ON jer. Kalau tiada, aku pilih tawaran Mama. Ha, pandai tak? (sempat aku memuji diriku di dalam hati)

Cara keempat, aku bercerita dengan kawan baikku, Hawa, time pergi dinner. Di jejantas RST dan di meja makan Ismail Ikan Bakarlah tempat aku memberitahu Hawa tentang perasaan dilemma yang mengganggu jiwaku ini. Kata Hawa, bertuah saya dapat tawaran macam tu. (ini lebih kurang apa yang dikatakan oleh beliau. Hehe. Sori kalau ada unsur tokok tambah hoho) Tapi entahlah, aku tak rasa aku sesuai untuk kerja ajar-mengajar ni.

Cara kelima, call Mama balik. Tanya dia balik dengan sure apa mata pelajaran yang perlu diajar. Dan benda-benda serius yang lain.

PERBUALAN KEDUA:

Mama: Oh, ajar Matematik Tahun 1 dan Tahun 2. Pastu ajar Pendidikan Moral. (macam best ja dengar subjek-subjek tu)

Aku: Ma.. bila kena confirm? Saya confirm hari Jumaat boleh?

Mama: Ok. Tapi kenapa kena fikir?

Aku: Ala.. Sebab esok baru senior saya dapat bagitau saya sama ada NGO tu ada kekosongan ke tak.. Dan lepas esok baru saya dapat bagitau awak saya dapat mengajar ke tak.

Mama: Ok. Tapi kerja lah kat sini. Guru besar tu baik. Kalau awak reject offer ni, nanti malulah saya. 

Aku: Awak suruhla orang lain. Ada banyak orang mau kerja itu.

Mama: Ala. Dia mau awak. Sebab guru besar tu kenalan mama. (PS: Dalam mencari kerja, connection tu penting, lecturer saya pernah kata)

Aku: Ok. Tapi awak tau la, mesti saya ada masalah nak biasakan diri. Saya mesti susah nak bergaul dengan guru lain.

Mama: Jangan awak risau. Guru-guru di mission school biasanya tak sombong dan sangat friendly. (Tapi kenapa kakak sulung pula sentiasa komplen pasal cikgu yang poyo kat SMK St A******, Sarikei?)

Aku: Ha.. satu lagi. Transport tu bagaimana? Papa kan guna kereta... Dan.. Dan... Saya kan memang pengecut kalau pasal nak memandu kereta.

Mama: Ala, dekat je sekolah Sacred Heart tu. Awak guna jalan terminal Sibu gi sana, ok apa.. Papa cakap awak boleh guna kereta tu time mengajar. Papa awak kata, gaji awak sebagai guru ganti pun lebih lumayan daripada gaji colleague dia yang dah kerja berapa tahun.

Aku: (-_-") (dah habis stok alasan, so takde pilihan maka keluar statement tak boleh blah) Aku tak suka mengajar... Huwaa~

Mama: Hmm.. Dah bagus dah guru besar tu offer. Nanti apa saya nak cakap kalau awak tak nak? Dia memang dah beriya-iya nak awak jadi guru ganti tu. Mana saya berani nak tegur dia lagi lepas peristiwa ni? (lebih kurang macam ni statementnya)

Aku: Eeeee.. Awak memang selalu begini. Oklah. Oklah. Nanti saya mesej senior saya, suruh dia tak payah survey kekosongan untuk saya. Kamurang yang di Sibu sila isi borang permohonan untuk saya lah.

Mama: (seriously aku boleh DENGAR senyuman Mama) Ok. Ok. Kan. Baik awak buat kerja ni dulu. Dengar kata family.

Aku: Okay. okay. Baiklah.

Aku mesej senior aku, cancel plan nak survey kekosongan di NGO yang diminati itu.

Eh. Bila fikir balik, kenapa aku dah start worry tentang benda ni sedangkan aku belum lagi duduk periksa untuk first paper FINAL?

Haiz.. (-_-")

Aku harap aku buat keputusan yang betul.

Lambung syiling.

Kepala (otak) atau bunga (hati) ?

Kepala.

(-_-")

Yea, dan keputusan itulah yang saya ambik.

I don't blog about my own birthday because...

I know somebody did it for me already. :)

(CLICK HERE)

(and because I'm still struggling with my assignment now huhu)

Winning Makes My World Go Round~!

I should had blogged about this long time ago but because I was truly demotivated to blog, I didn't. And now after completing my LHP 456 interview, which happens to be the last of the assessment too (hooray!), I must now thank Nuffnang & Digi angels for giving me a wonderful smartphone, Blackberry Torch 9800, besides letting me enjoy the pleasure of winning something. Not to forget, a lot of credits to my gangsta sista Mel Chua for helping me to take it from the Nuffnang office in KL (imagine all the hassles she had gone through just to find the office and take this phone lol). And  last but not least, there is someone who is more important that I should thank above all.

Maybe I did tell people around me that when I joined this contest, I didn't put in much efforts and didn't think of winning. But in actual, I really wanted to win it, it was just that, as usual, I was not confident in winning it. 

And maybe I did tell that this winning was all based on my luck, without efforts. But it wasn't the whole truth. I forgot to mention something.

Something important which I had taken for granted since I'm too engrossed on deluding myself with the thoughts that I'm lucky. 

It was prayer that I've forgotten to mention when I won this. I prayed. Almost everyday when I had my 3 pm Divine Mercy prayer, I prayed to win this contest.

But I forgot. (-_-")

And actually, during that time, my intention of winning this smart phone was not for myself, but for my mother. I remembered Mama saying that at her age (which is not young anymore, ahem!), she was still using the basic handphone which she took good care of, and me, I already lost two phones with better features than hers. Lol. I felt guilty, and felt bad for her at the same time. I mean, here I am losing phone here and there, while some others in my family members have to take good care of their belongings no matter how old or basic the model is. And at that time, I wanted to win this for Mama  so badly since I already had my Xperia (which I felt guilty too for owning it when the rest of my family including my sister who already worked didn't indulge in smart phones and great gadgets like I do, hmmmph).

  Thus, I prayed Divine Mercy diligently, voicing out intention to win this phone for my mother. I'm not a good daughter, I'm rebellious, I think I'm a black sheep of the family because I always do things against her wishes, and there's nothing other thing I can do for her, except for winning this for her. 

And I was really lucky blessed that my prayer was answered. 

And when I finally knew I won this, it felt surreal. I was happy! I felt that I was the luckiest person on earth! And I was so deluded thinking I was lucky till I forgot that it was due to my diligent prayers that I won this. 

When I was at home that time, I remembered my initial intention to win this phone for Mama and then during one fine afternoon, while I was looking for her white hair a.k.a uban in the living room, I told her this:

Me: Ma, this phone that I won, though I haven't get it, when I finally got it, do you want it?

Mama: Why? (Surprised)

Me: Because actually mama, I promised Jesus that I wanted to win this phone for you, because I know that you think that your phone are not as modern, but lauya hahahhahaa. Anyway, I already have a smart phone, and I think maybe this phone could be great for you so that you can use nice phones like your colleagues since you're the headmistress, should use the better phones than them. :P You already worked for so long, don't kalah with other teachers. Hoho.

Mama: (Smiling maybe amused at my sudden intention which is not always, you know ahaha) Aiya, not need la. I don't know how to use canggih-canggih things. You use that phone yourself la. I already have a phone.

Me: Really??

Mama: Really. I already have this phone. I don't need and I don't know how to use that kind of phone.

Me: Okay, like that thank you lo. At least I don't feel so bad since I already got permission from you. That means that I didn't break my promise with Jesus.. *wink2*

So, BB torch 9800 is actually a symbol of God's blessing to me. In everything you do, don't depend on luck, but you depend on God.

So, good luck  God bless, everyone!

Madness Anniversary~

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of this blog and hey, happy birthday lameleftygirl2.blogspot.com! Sorry, no birthday cake to you though. I am lazy even to find a virtual birthday cake for ya! :P

It shares the same birthday with my sista, Mel Chua , so happy birthday to you  yo gangsta Sista, Chua 2nd sister!


Lately, I lost my motivation to update you lameleftygirl2.blogspot.com, I don't know why. Though this is my free-est semester so far, I lack the motivation to blog. Compared to my first year and my 2nd year, I was determined to blog, even during my busy time.

So what happened to me? Geez...

Okay, back to business..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOUL SISTA!

THANKS FOR BEING THERE WHEN I NEED YOU THE MOST!

THANKS FOR SCOLDING ME WHEN I DESERVED IT!

THANKS FOR COOKING FOR ME WHEN I THINK OF HOME!

THANKS FOR MAKING ME LAUGH AT MYSELF SOMETIMES, HAHAH - I NEED SOMEONE WHO KNOWS ME WELL TO LOOK AT ME AND NOT BECOMING THE MAGIC MIRROR WHICH MAY DELUDE ME. YOU ARE THE MIRROR WHICH LOOKS AT MY INNERMOST THOUGHT, READ THEM AND LET ME REALIZE ABOUT THE DEEDS THAT I'VE DONE. 

OK DONE.

I DON'T WANT YOU TO CRY LATER HAHAH.

ENJOY YOUR BIRTHDAY, AND GOD BLESS!

I know what you are doing right now, I can't wait to spill the beans but, okay.. the least i can do is to keep it a as a surprise to your / our friends.. ;)

Warning: Don't do this to your helpless old folks (Shame On You!)

[Interframe: I've been tuning in to Youtube lately and watched a few hilarious parodies. Here's one which is worth watching --> Sherry Vine and Peppermint Telephone parody. Thanks to my former student Danial for sharing this link in facebook. Enjoy~ XD]

I think besides having a vow between husband and wife, parents and children should make their vows too. Parents and their children should make a vow to stick together and help each other in times of poor and in times of rich, in sickness and in health, and whenever and wherever the children and parents should be there for each other. Or else, the children may just leave the parents to go helpless on their own. Mind you, I am not telling this because I am a good daughter, lol, I am actually far from good, it may be more accurate if you call me the black sheep of the family, but there's one thing I vow I am never going to do to my folks no matter how bad I am going to be in the future *cross fingers*. I am not going to let them ask for favours from others when I am around. I mean one favour that I myself could do for them in a snap of a finger. Ahem, like giving a ride to your parents to church on Sundays? That's one easy thing to do right? Aww, don't tell me about traffic jam because the traffic jam in Sibu won't last longer than 30 minutes. And we rarely have traffic jam on Sundays because it's a day of rest.

So today, like any other Sunday at my hometown, I went to the church with my family. And as usual, after church, we would wait for my father at the parking lot area after the Mass because my father had a duty as a warden at the Sacred Heart cathedral. And as usual, like other Sundays, my cousin, a mother of three who is in her early 40's would be with us to visit the Toto + Magnum 4d + Sarawak turf premises (ahem) together with my mother, so she would join us while waiting for her kids to finish their Sunday classes. Mind you, lol, it's their 'social activity' every weekend. So it's a full house for our Myvi car (Two passengers in front, four passengers at the backseat). So while the five of us (which consists of my mother, my cousin, and my two sisters and I) waited for my father at the parking lot area, suddenly we received a phone call from my father. He said one of his friends wanted to hitch a ride with us. We were like what? That was impossible since it was a full house there. 6 people Myvi's maximum capacity.

But my father said his friend insisted, so we had no say in this. Then when his friend appeared, we just kept quiet. It's Mr Peter (bukan nama sebenar). He was one helpless friend of my father since he could not drive and he was not in a good health condition. Mr Peter was one friend who really needed help so we did not mind to give him a ride. Since our car did not have enough capacity for all of us, my mother suggested that we ride in my cousin's car to visit the 4d outlets and my father send Mr Peter back to his house.

After my father had lunch with Mr Peter and sent Mr Peter back to his house, we learned from my father that Mr Peter did not have any transportation to go back to his house, so he desperately needed to ask for my father's favour. Then, we were really curious to know who sent Mr Peter to church this morning, and was really mad to learn that he took a taxi to church this morning. I mean what the heck? Where's his son? Where's his family? Couldn't they spare a little time off to send him to church? Or better go to church with him? When my father sent him back, he asked Mr Peter if there was anybody at home and he answered that his daughter in-law was in. (-_-")

If you had known Mr Peter, he had not always been like this. It was all due to the road accident he had on year 2008, during Easter day. He, his wife and his youngest son's girlfriend were on the road for a long journey ride back from Kuching to Sibu. They had just attended the Easter Sunday Mass at Kuching and they were on their way back to Sibu. Mr Peter was the driver, his wife seated at the front left passenger seat while the son's girlfriend was seated at the backseat. Then when Mr Peter tried to overtake a car in front of him at the Sarikei-Sibu road area, he lost control of his car and it ran into a Kancil from the opposite direction and BAM! The accident happened. It was a sad accident because this accident took his wife's life away.

I remember his late wife was a very friendly lady and he and his wife both were really active servers at the cathedral; they were the members of the Holy Trinity choir and also serve as the church wardens. But after the accident, the wife was gone, and Mr Peter survived but was admitted to the ICU. He was in a very serious condition and luckily he did survived. And if you're wondering about what happened to his youngest son's girlfriend, you can heave a sigh of relief because she survived and her condition was not serious. She was not that affected by the accident. Perhaps a small injury. But Mr Peter, though recovering, he was mentally affected. He was a little senile after the accident. He needed his children's care and protection as his wife had passed away, there was nobody else he could depend on but his children. He could not drive as he was physically incapable plus his licence was revoked due to the accident.

Sad but true, his eldest son who lived with him was not a regular church-goer because he was married to a non-Catholic. And if he wasn't a person who goes to the church weekly, at least he could send his father to attend the Mass right? And fetch him back right? And it should not be an excuse that he no longer attend the church so he could not send his father to the church. I mean, OMG, It's your FATHER! And he's not in a healthy condition!! I know I make you sound so bad here but I think it's better for you to send him to the church without accompanying him than to let your father go to the church ALONE by taxi. It sounds like your father was living alone when in fact he was living with your family. Though you father is not that old in terms of age, his capability does not equalize his age anymore. You should know better.

As a disobedient daughter myself, it might sound funny that I am telling others to be an obedient child. But actually, you do not need to be an obedient child to do the things above, you just need to be a caring child. It's sad that our parents had become less and less of our priorities when we no longer depend on them.

So once again, I vow that I will not do this thing to my parents. I will not let them ask for favour from others when I am still alive and kicking to help them myself - for the sole reason that I am their daugther and they deserved more than what I could offer them. And imagine what my sisters would do to me if I dare to do this to my parents... Ooooh, creepy.

Sekarang Aku Tau..

Semasa aku kecil sehingga aku memasuki sekolah menengah, aku rasa hidup aku agak terkongkong. Kenapa tidak? Mama dan papaku sentiasa menegurku, terutamanya mamaku. Tak boleh buat itulah, tak boleh buat inilah. Semua pun tak boleh. Aku masih ingat, semasa aku kecil, mama sentiasa suruh aku menyertai pertandingan mewarna anjuran Borneo Post dan Dumex yang membolehkan kita memenangi wang RM20 dan setin susu tepung Dumex kalau dapat tempat pertama. Dengan paksa relanya, aku mewarna lukisan yang ada pada akhbar Borneo Post tersebut. Kadang-kadang, mama akan memberikan idea apa-apa objek yang boleh ditambah dalam lukisan untuk mencantikkan lukisan. Aku pula dengan perasaan tak puas hati mewarna sambil mengadu-adu kenapa aku perlu mewarna kerana pensel warna yang dibekalkan di rumah tak best. Kalau best, tak apalah pula. (-_-")

Selain itu, aku selalu merasakan bahawa mamaku seorang yang cerewet terutamanya dari segi kebersihan; apa tidaknya, mama sudah berdikari mengemas biliknya dan bilik nenekku sejak dia tahu berdiri. Semasa mama kecil, dialah yang membangunkan nenekku, mengemas katil dan menyediakan sarapan. Mama kena buat semua kerja tersebut semasa dia masih kecil-kecil cili padi kerana datukku sudah tiada semasa mamaku baru berusia 3 tahun. Jadi bayangkanlah hidup mama aku, ibunya hanyalah seorang suri rumah. Memang tidak berduit sangat, tapi nasiblah orang kampung dulu-dulu ada memiliki tanah pusaka, ikan pula boleh ditangkap dari sungai, sayur boleh ditanam di sekitar rumah, dan ayam pula ada hasil ternakan secara kecil-kecilan. Sebab itulah, pada hematku, semiskin-miskin mana orang kampung dari segi kewangan, mereka tidak akan kebuluran kerana mereka sudah mempunyai bekalan sendiri jikalau dibandingkan dengan masyarakat bandar yang hanya mengharapkan bekalan makanan dari pasaran.

Oleh itu, kerana mama seorang yang biasa mengemas sejak dari kecil, dia memang cerewet dari segi kebersihan kerana walaupun miskin, arwah nenekku sentiasa mendidik mamaku untuk memastikan bilik dan rumah berada dalam keadaan bersih. Jikalau aku terlupa untuk melipat selimut, mama akan bising seperti ayam riuh sekampung. Aku pula rasa annoying lah sebab aku rasa apa silapnya aku lupa lipat selimut, lagipun malam nanti aku akan selerakkan selimut itu lagi semasa tidur. Kadang-kadang semasa mama sudah tak tahan melihat bilik aku berselerak, dia tak arahkan aku bersihkan lagi. Dia rela menolong aku membersihkan bilik sambil mulutnya berleter menggambarkan deskripsi kekotoran bilik aku satu persatu dalam bahasa Melanau bercampur bahasa Hokkien. Leteran mama sentiasa membuatku pening, kadang-kadang menyebabkan aku menyesal kerana tak sempat kemas sendiri. Kalau mama berleter dalam bahasa Melanau tu, itu maknanya mama sedang bermonolog. Kalau dalam bahasa Hokkien, maknanya leteran itu ditujukan khas untuk aku dengar.

Aku selalu mendengar leteran ibu sehinggalah aku masuk Tingkatan 6. Masa itu aku sudah mula pandai mendisiplinkan diri. Semua peraturan tak bertulis di rumah yang mama tetapkan aku ingati dengan jelas. Kalau lepas mandi, pastikan tiada bulu-bulu badan (anda taulah apa yang aku maksudkan) atau helaian rambut anda tiada di atas lantai tandas. Kalau nak berus gigi atau berkumur, jangan gunakan sinki dapur. Bisnes sebegitu anda boleh lakukan di sinki tandas. Kalau nak bagi kucing makan, makanan kucing tu hendaklah dimasak dan dipanaskan sehingga berwarna keperang-perangan, barulah kucing-kucing itu ada selera nak menghabiskan makanan yang dihidangkan untuk mereka. Lepas menggoreng sesuatu, lantai dapur mestilah sentiasa dilap kerana berminyak. Mama memastikan lantai dapur dilap setiap hari selepas memasak. Semasa memasak atau menggoreng, pintu dapur hendaklah ditutup agar bau gorengan atau bau masakan tak masuk ke ruang tamu dan membaukan kain langsir di ruang tamu.

Semasa aku di tingkatan 6, aku pula yang mengambil peranan mama kerana aku dikehendaki menjaga sepupuku yang tinggal dengan kami selama satu minggu. Sepupu-sepupuku itu merupakan geng bermainku (mereka berusia dalam lingkungan 12 tahun dan 9 tahun masa itu) dan aku jarang sekali memarahi mereka. Hal ini kerana selama ini aku hanya bermain dengan mereka dan tidak pernah memikul tanggungjawab untuk menjaga mereka. Namun semasa di Tingkatan 6, sikapku terhadap mereka mulai berubah. Aku bertukar menjadi garang. Hal ini kerana aku dipertanggungjawabkan untuk menyediakan makanan mereka, memastikan mereka mandi, memastikan mereka membuat kerja rumah, memastikan mereka makan, dan macam-macam lagi tugas yang aku belum pernah lakukan ke atas mereka sebelum ini. Sebelum ini, fungsiku hanya sebagai partner main-bermain dengan mereka. Perubahan peranan membawa kepada perubahan sikap. Aku mula berleter setiap kali sepupu lelakiku makan kerana biasanya dia akan mengotorkan lantai.

"Mulut kau itu berlubangkah adoi~!" merupakan antara herdikanku ketika aku mengelap lantai akibat kekotoran yang disebabkan oleh sepupuku itu.

Situasi-situasi lain aku memarahi sepupu:

1) "Heh, tak pandai jemur tuala sendiri lepas mandi!" Aku akan berleter sekiranya sepupu-sepupu kecilku itu hanya meletakkan tuala mereka di atas kerusi selepas mandi.

2) Kalau sepupu-sepupuku bergaduh antara satu sama lain, aku akan berkata " Wah, tak tau malu. Dah besar pun nak gaduh lagi!"

Masa itu, sepupu-sepupu aku mula membenciku dan mengatakan aku ini garang. Aku tidak faham, kenapa mereka membenci aku sedangkan aku telah membuat segalanya pada mereka. Aku telah berkorban masaku untuk mereka. Masa untuk aku mengelap lantai boleh saja aku gunakan untuk berehat dan membaca buku sebenarnya. Banyak kerja berfaedah yang boleh aku gantikan daripada menjadi hamba mereka. Tapi mereka telah mencuri masa aku. Betapa terkilannya apabila kerja-kerjaku ini sia-sia sahaja. Tiada ucapan terima kasih tetapi perasaan benci yang dibalas. Memang aku mengaku, aku tidak mempunyai sifat keibuan, sebaliknya sifat keibutirian lebih terserlah dalam diriku. Tapi bila aku fikir balik, inilah perasaan yang aku curahkan pada mama ketika aku kecil dulu. Mama mengelap muntahku, mama memarahiku kalau aku bermain di bawah panas, mama berleter, mama melarang aku buat ini, mama mengarah.. mama menasihati, mama... adoi~

Sekarang aku tahu. Sekarang aku faham bagaimana rasanya. Aku sedar yang mama memarahiku, meleteriku, melarang aku, dan menyebabkan aku marah dan benci padanya ketika kecil, semua itu kerana mama mahu menjadi seorang ibu yang baik. Mama rela dibenci dan disalah anggap pada mulanya hanya kerana ingin mendidikku menjadi anak berguna. Mama ingin aku membesar dan menjadi mama yang baik juga suatu hari nanti (wahahha, bilalah akan tiba masa itu!) Jika mama tak pernah marah aku, aku mungkin tak ambil kisah sangat dengan diri aku. Tapi sebab mama buat semua itu, aku mula mengetahui perkara yang patut dan perkara yang tak patut. Kalau mama tak suruh aku menyertai pertandingan apa-apa ketika kecil, tiada apalah yang hendak saya banggakan apabila saya dah semakin besar nanti.

Oleh itu, aku ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan:

Happy Mothers' Day my Mama! I know I have lost the chance to have a good impression as a good daughter to you, but I know I still only have the chance to prove that I could be a good mother like you, once the right time has come. Your lessons to me may not made me a good daughter since I am a slow learner to absorb all those lessons, but what you have taught me is useful to teach me to become a good mother like yourself once I have the chance to become one. Last but not least, thanks Mama for everything!

A little message from Baby, your annoying daughter. ;)

Adakah aku layak menjadi Si Tenggang versi perempuan dan Prodigal Daughter versi Malaysia?

Interframe part 1: Aku akan balik Sibu dengan selambanya tanpa rasa excited pada 22 November dan balik Penang pada 1 Januari 2010 dengan perasaan yang sungguh tak excited. Tapi aku tetap bangga kerana selama ini aku tidak pernah skip Krismas di Sibu kerana aku tidak pernah balik awal semasa pembukaan semester baru di USM. Kesimpulan: Aku memang seorang penyambut Krismas yang baik.

Tidak dapat dinafikan, semasa dekat-dekat bermulanya cuti ini, kita semua mesti mendengar kata-kata teruja orang yang tak sabar-sabar nak balik, terutamanya golongan Sabah Sarawak yang jauh merantau untuk melanjutkan pelajaran di sini. Memang teruja, sebab bukan setiap kali cuti mereka dapat balik. Aku pun golongan Sabah Sarawak juga, tetapi secara jujurnya, aku lain. Aku tak sabar nak cuti je, bukan tak sabar nak balik. Perasaan nak balik tu ada, tapi tak kuat sangat. Jujur. Aku bukannya jenis yang homesick.

Masa aku mula-mula datang universiti dulu, aku langsung tak rindu rumah. Masa itu, aku rasa nak mulakan adventure saja - dan juga kerana masa itu, aku sangat sibuk dengan tanggungjawab yang aku terpaksa pikul di kampung halaman, maka kemasukan ke universiti ini menandakan aku boleh membebaskan diri daripada segala tanggungjawab yang memberi stress kepada aku. Perasaan rindu pada rumah itu ada jugalah sedikit, tapi SEDIKIT sahaja ya. Aku cuma rindu kucing-kucing dan masakan ibu. Orang kat rumah aku rindu juga, tapi sebab diaorang selalu telefon aku, aku boleh tahan lagi perasaan rindu ini.

Selama ini, aku tidak pernah menangis malam-malam sebab nak balik rumah. Kalau ada menangis malam pun, itu disebabkan faktor lain yang tiada kena-mengena dengan balik rumah.

Oleh itu, aku ingin mencari sebab kenapa aku berfikiran sebegini; kenapa aku tak rindu rumah seperti yang sepatutnya? Orang lain di USM kasihankan aku kerana balik Sibu sekali-sekala sahaja, tetapi aku selamba sahaja. Aku habiskan masa cutiku mengemop bilik dan melayari laman web di hostel - walhal orang lain semua balik ke rumah halaman masing-masing.


Oleh itu, aku perlu mencari punca-punca kenapa aku tidak rindu rumah dengan sedalam-dalamnya seperti orang lain. Dan setelah menganalisis dan mendalami otak, hati dan jantung ini, aku rasa mungkin inilah sebab-sebabnya.


1) Bebanan kerja di rumah adalah lebih besar berbanding dengan di hostel.

Di hostel, walaupun orang kata kita kena berdikari, kena cuci pakaian sendiri, tapi aku tak rasa bebanan kerja di hostel banyak sangat. Hal ini kerana, ada mak cik cleaner yang tolong bersihkan tandas. Kalau kat rumah, tak bersihkan tandas, mak akan kata tandas di rumah kotor. Mana tak kotor, sebab KUCING-KUCING INDOOR DI RUMAH PUN SAMA-SAMA MENGGUNAKAN TANDAS MANUSIA DAN MEMBUAT BISNES MEREKA DI ATAS LANTAI TANDAS. Hmmph~ Tapi walaupun kucing-kucing tu banyak kerenah, kalau berjauhan, memang rindukan mereka juga. Selain itu, kalau nak sapu lantai, di hostel, aku cuma perlu sapu bahagian kecil, iaitu bilik aku sendiri sahaja, tetapi kalau menyapu lantai di rumah, kena menyapu seluruh bahagian rumah yang ruangnya semestinya berkali ganda lebih besar daripada saiz bilik hostel aku di sini. Jadi, itulah sebabnya aku tak rindu rumah kot.


2) Tak ada wireless line kat rumah.

Inilah satu faktor penolak besar yang buat aku tak rindu rumah sangat. Ini sebab hal laptop aku jugalah. Laptop aku yang bernama Toshi-chan ini aku beli dari KEDAI MAKSON DI SUNGAI DUA, USM (Ya, sila catat nama kedai ini sebab dengan jujurnya, aku mengumunkan bahawa kedai ini ialah kedai penipu). Punyalah happy mula-mula dapat beli laptop colour putih yang berharga kurang daripada RM3000 (RM2999 sebenarnya, tapi masih happy juga) dan berjenama T****** (ini bukan iklan, harap maklum), tapi perasaan happy itu mulai hilang apabila aku buat discovery.

Discovery!: Rupa-rupanya laptop aku cacat sebelah badan, bahagian kanan laptop aku tak dapat berfungsi walaupun setelah disambungkan dengan wayar untuk mendapat talian broadband. Jadi, laptop aku hanya dapat online apabila menggunakan talian wireless, dan tidak dapat nak online kalau guna broadband atau guna tmnet. Mesti spesifik permintaannya : WIRELESS. Adui, tension betul time balik rumah. Kalau nak online, kena guna laptop kakak. Tak ada kuasa autonomi, tak rasa best pula.


3) Aku TAK NAK risaukan nasib kucing-kucing.

Kucing-kucing di rumah aku memang tak tahu yang kami sayang pada mereka ini. Mereka suka bermain di jalan, merantau ke rumah jiran-jiran dan 'membuat bisnes' di rumah jiran. Perkara ini menimbulkan konflik antara jiran dengan kami. Di kawasan kejiranan kami, aku yakin keluarga aku mesti menjadi mangsa gosip kerana membela terlalu banyak kucing. Kami terpaksa menabahkan diri, menebalkan muka, dan membuat apa yang terdaya kalau ada jiran yang datang complain tentang kerenah kucing-kucing kami. [Tetapi kami tak complain pun bila u'all langgar kucing kami dengan sewenang-wenangnya, huhu~!]

Sememangnya, kuasa cinta mengatasi segalanya, kerana kami masih sangat sayangkan kucing-kucing yang nakal dan separuh prodigal itu walaupun mereka telah menyebabkan konflik antara manusia. Hanya dalam konteks ini sahaja aku percaya akan kuasa cinta. Harap maklum.


4) Aku tak suka naik kapal terbang.

Aku ada mabuk udara - tak tahu sejak bila. Tapi pernah sekali semasa aku naik Air A*** balik Penang, aku muntahkan kampua yang menjadi breakfast aku (ya, kampua yang sedap dari kedai Jalan Permai) semasa kapal terbang Air A*** dalam proses mendarat di Kuala Lumpur. Dan, dengan tanpa banyak pilihan, aku menghulurkan plastik kertas berisi muntah aku itu kepada seorang pramugari.

Menaiki kapal terbang adalah wajib kalau nak balik Sibu ataupun Pulau Pinang. Jadi, aku tak suka..

5) Aku ada saudara di Pulau Pinang

Secara jujurnya, inilah sebab yang utama aku tak rindu rumah sangat, sebab aku ada 'rumah' kedua di Pulau Pinang. Kakakku merupakan faktor utama yang buat aku senang membiasakan diri di Pulau Pinang. Selain itu, kawan-kawan kakak aku dan kawan aku sendiri telah membuatkan aku selesa berada di sini. Di sini juga, bahasa Melayu Sarawakku berkembang. Aneh, aku perlu berada jauh dari Sarawak untuk mendalami bahasa Melayu Sarawak. Semasa berada di Sarawak, bahasa Melayu Sarawakku berada pada tahap teru-ah-u-ah. Tapi di sini, iaitu di negeri orang, aku dapat berkomunikasi dengan lebih lancar menggunakan bahasa Melayu Sarawak.

6) Harga pakaian dan barangan supermarket yang lebih murah di Pulau Pinang.

Kalau nak beli baju di Sibu, buang sahaja niat anda itu kecuali anda mudah berpuas hati dengan sehelai baju sahaja. Harga untuk membeli sehelai baju di Sibu boleh digunakan untuk membeli beberapa helai baju yang fashionable di Pulau Pinang. Kalau nak beli barangan keperluan seperti minuman, makanan, sabun dan sayur, pasar raya di Pulau Pinang (terutamanya Tesco) menawarkan harga yang lebih murah berbanding dengan pasar raya yang ada di bandar halamanku.



Aneh tetapi benar, walaupun dengan adanya semua faktor penolak ini, jikalau aku tak balik rumah, aku akan rasa kosong. Seperti kehilangan sesuatu - atau berasa bahawa hidup ini tidak lengkap. Walaupun kampung halaman kita tidak dapat membekalkan kita dengan segala kemahuan dan keinginan kita, kampung halaman kita ada keserasiannya sendiri dengan kita, walaupun adalah susah untuk kita memahami apakah benda tersebut. Mungkin kerana kampung halaman kita terdapat orang yang kita sayangi, ada memori dan ada intipati sebahagian hidup kita yang sebati dengan tempat itu.

Aku rasa, rumahku ada sejenis bau, bau aku, bau orang-orang aku, dan bau barang-barang aku. [Tiba-tiba rasa macam kucing pulak]


Dan yang pasti, ada satu bau yang aku rindu, iaitu bau masakan ibu.

Interframe part 2: ah, aku tak dapat menahan diri daripada blogging. Help! Ok, aku memang akan tinggalkan blog ini sementara waktu. Harap maklum?

a walk in their tiny shoes..

Interframe: When reading the children’s books for my coming Friday’s exam, I couldn’t really understand some of the vocabulary in those children books – even for my 21-year-old brain. Now, I remember that I never really read as a child though I was familiar with some of the story books. I just browsed through the pictures. And I guessed some of the interpretations I made when I was little about the storyline through the illustrations in the story books were almost correct. So I guess that was how I learned literature as a child – interpreting pictures instead of texts.

If somebody ask me whether I love children, without much doubt I would answer "Yes." And if I had the chance to elaborate, I would add "I love playing with children, but I dislike taking care of them." Yes, it's true that I love children - but I love children not in the motherly kind of way (maybe because I hate responsibilites towards another person), but rather in another sense, where I treated them like my friends, my equals. If I were to play with a child, I would lower myself to their level, trying to be someone their age though I am obviously older than them by a couple of years. (Yes, jangan risau, aku jenis yang sedar diri aku dah tua).

I would try to see the world through their eyes, at the same time trying to reminisce the way I was when I was their age. Unfortunately, I've always failed, because I've lost that gift - the gift of innocence - while growing up. Thus, I couldn't see the logic why they wanted to do something out of mind - like watching silly cartoons nonstop, going out to the playground on a very hot sunny afternoon, or maybe just a walk up and down the stairs where some of my little cousins found interesting. Those activities were all so.. boring and meaningless? So I resorted to being the villain - the one whom the kids can play with but at the same time, the one whom they always tried to be against. (Ask my two cousins - Rachel and Ezra - and yes, these are their real names..)

Instead of being someone who would play along with the kind of games that the kids wanted to play, I would suggest another game - which was more interesting to me but not to them, but like it or not, they had to follow reluctantly to my suggestions or else, no games at all.

When Rachel and Ezra were little, whenever they wanted a playmate, they looked for me, but if they wanted something like sweets or junk food, they looked for my elder sisters - either Michele or Melissa - because both of them were more generous in treating them with those junkies, but me, I was like - second guessing myself in giving so much junkies to them because I wanted to save some for myself and yes, I admit, being with children sometimes bring out the child in me, apparently. Thus, it was no wonder that they did not listen to me like how they listened to adults. In other words, I wasn't fearsome to them. (This explains why the kids that I used to teach at my alma mater were not scared at me at all - instead they rebel against me).

All of us must had a lot of moments to cherish during our childhood. There were amusing times, and most of them would be lovely times, whether our first Christmas at our parents' hometown, our first trip to somewhere foreign to us, and our first big birthday celebration. Nowadays, we are all grown up, so it's now the little generations' turn to experience their childhood. But the kids nowadays might have different childhood from ours, and ours were definitely different from the older generations'.

Coming from different generation, there was always this sort of expressions, "Kids nowadays are not as good as us," "Kids nowadays are pampered too much," and so on. Yes, some of the expressions were true, but what do we expect when they were raised in different atmosphere from us, or perhaps our parents, the earlier kids? And what makes us think that we are not responsible why kids nowadays are behaving the way they are - too demanding, and sometimes, disrespectful - compared to the earlier children who were always ended up being beaten with rattan by the fearsome parents if they try to be mischievous.

Kids nowadays - are just as much as innocent as us when we were little. It was just their luck to be raised in this atmosphere which are so polluted with pop modern cultures, which actually, were invented by us - the older children, the used-to-be-innocent earlier kids.

Instead of putting a harsh judgment on these kids, why not we ask ourselves "Are adults nowadays any better?"

What do you expect of your kid when you put your kid in front of the television, 24/7, just so you can have a rest after your day's job?

Are you even aware what your kids are watching on the television?

Instead of trying to let your child understand you - why don't you try to understand your child?

They were born to this world without much choice - don't let them regret the decision that they didn't make.

What is the difference with adults in the earlier days and adults nowadays? (in Malaysian context)

Earlier adults though generally not as educated, they know what was best for their children - which was sufficient attention. (But count out the adults during the Victorian area because they were practising child labour back then.)

They didn't confine their children within the four walls of their home - they let their children mix around with the neighbouring children and thus, the children were more contented. Or precisely, you, the present adult, were more contented when you were little.

So, as modern adults, what can you teach your children - since I guess most of you live in the apartment building where letting the child roaming around the neighbourhood could endanger them more than helping them?

All you can do is to give your little child the attention he or she deserves. Perhaps, bring them to the playground occasionally. Or there was this one little simple thing you could do - which is to read them bedtime stories, from a selection of children story books. There were many underlying messages in children story books, which was dedicated more to the adults rather than to the children.

When I mentioned that I didn't understand most of the vocabularies in a children story book though I am already an adult (or young adult precisely), I guessed maybe, children storybooks were not meant for children alone. I think it was meant for adults to read them - for their children, and elaborate the story for them. And while reading the story books for their children, adults may get to understand the children's world better because they might get the underlying messages inside the stories- and at the same time, kids can understand the moral of the story better through their parents' elaboration. You know, while studying children's literature, there were many underlying messages, where adults were portrayed as villains in children's eyes. How sad can it be? Do you want to be the villain in the eyes of the innocent ones?

Please, try to read some storybooks to your children from now on. Cartoons in the tv are sometimes good, but you wouldn't know what the message the kids will conclude since you couldn't help them interpret the cartoons in the tv everytime they watched it. Do read story books to your children oftenly - preferably during bed times since it's the only time you will be off from work - and try to walk in their tiny shoes and guide them in their children's world because you wouldn't want them to miss what you think was the most memorable stage of your life - which was indeed, your own childhood long time ago.



Interframes: I recommend story books like Heidi, Alice in the Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz to be read for children around 5 to 7 years old. They were nice stories and very suitable during the growing up phase. And yes, I should be on a hiatus like my sister now since self-control to restrain ourselves from temptation is one of the quality in becoming a good adult. heheh. And yes, now I am trying to be a responsibe adults towards children, but that i assure you, will take a very long time though. ;) Yes, this will be my last post during exam season. Or else, i will have have the worst universityhood.

Grandmama is Coming to Town!!

"You better watch out, you better not cry, better not pout I'm telling you why, Grandmama is coming to town~"

My grandmother is coming to town, well Georgetown, and she came all the way from Johor actually to attend a wedding celebration with my uncle, and at the same time,and she wanted to visit her two beloved granddaugthers...


US!!!

How do you describe your grandmother?

Most of the time, we describe our grandmother as someone's who's serious, someone who's sensitive, someone who's demanding, and most of the time, we describe our grandmother as an uncool person, yes? (Sad but true, haiz~) Yes, we all love and treasure our grandmother dearly, but how many of us will walk side by side with our grandmothers at the shopping complex without a slight of self-consciousness? (Oh, I guess I kind of sexist here.. Ok, grandpapas are in the subject too.. ) Urm, I don't feel self-conscious while walking with my grandmother, but I just didn't walk side by side because I walked too fast --->refer to my habit at the side of the blog..

So, you think grandmothers aren't cool? Ya think grandmothers know nothing about being cool? Hmm, think again.... Cause I want to bet with my 10 cent that my grandmother is cool, in some way lah.. Well, she's not always this cool, so I was kind of shocked myself, ya know~ That's why instead of referring her as grandma or grandmother, I am referring her as grandmama here because it has a lil mama feeling (rapper kind of name) to it.. (*=*)

So, okay, I am soo gonna collect my 10 cent now~!


Look, will the real cool grandmama please stand up?



Yo, look at two Bond girls!!

My grandmother kind of told us that she had bought this new sunglasses, and out of the blue, she told me that she wanted to show me how she looks when she wore them.. And I was kind of
blur + shocked = excited!!

So, me and my sis took the chance to immortalize this historical moment inside these precious photos..

Ah Ma, ei, Grandmama really enjoyed the spotlight, huh~
Well, the setting is not as glamorous as the models but -- let's just ignore it..

So, that's how cool my grandmama is..

From wearing sarong when I was a kid, to wearing long pants and blouse and now to wearing sunglasses.. There's moments of reformation in everyone of us, and old age doesn't mean we should stop being modern, right?

Ok, lai, lai, my 1o cent now!! Urm, second thought, 5o cents!!