Lost Entry: A Book Launch, A Wedding & A Funeral

I actually wrote a really long post last week, reminiscing an old school friend who had passed away, but by mistake clicked the wrong button and lost the whole thing. Drat.

My friend was 30 years old. I remember her as someone very tall, lanky, sporty, gregarious and generally lots of fun with a sharp mind. We were in the same English debating team back then, and represented the school in 1991 and 1992. In the second year, when my friend was in Form Five, we won the coveted Prime Minister's Trophy (PPM), a debating competition among government boarding schools. I remember how, when the results were announced, she punched the air and gave me a big hug, then when we stood up to take our bow we all couldn't help but went for another group hug. We were almost jumping about while our supporters in the audience cheered and clapped and sang the school song at the top of their voices. I won again the next year without her, and my sister, who was also in the 1992 team, made it four in a row (five, if you count the team she coached after leaving school in 1996). But nothing beat the feeling of winning it the first time with Ida.

Even back in 1991, when we were knocked out (unjustly, we felt) in the early rounds, we had a lot of fun at the competition that year in SMS Machang. There were more than 30 schools taking part, each with a Malay debating team, English team and basketball team with matches going on every day. We would all spend about a week in the host school, and the atmosphere was festive (It wasn't called Pesta PPM) for nothing. There were six of us in the team, and we always walked about in a group, laughing and joking, or going for a quick meal at the gerai makan that were set up in the school grounds. Even the week preceding the competition, when we were supposedly holed up in school during the holidays to prepare for the competition, we spent our free time cooking mini-sausages on Jan's sandwich maker, and making prank calls to people we hardly knew. One of our victims, a guy called Rick, got so mad at us that he started swearing and cursing. He earned the nickname Rico Perverto, an adaptation of Rico Suave, a Spanglish one-hit-wonder from Gerardo.

When I left for the UK to do my A-Levels, I would sometimes bump into Ida there. She seemed less gregarious, but then so was I, and we didn't quite manage to spend long enough time together to do all the stuff we used to get up to back in school. The last time I saw Ida was at KLCC some years back, when we had both started working. She left for the Hague shortly after that chance meeting.

Ida was suffering from MCTD. I read about Ida's condition a few weeks ago through an e-mail that was forwarded from another senior in her year. By that time, she was in ICU, and her friends were planning to hold a doa selamat for her on Saturday 17th. On the same day I was to attend a wedding and the launching of Mercy Malaysia's coffeetable book on their tsunami relief efforts. I decided to give the doa selamat a miss.

Friday 16th, at about 9.30 pm Ida passed away. I received several SMS, and one friend offered a ride to the funeral the next day. When we arrived at her house, it was packed with friends and family. There were a lot of familiar faces that I hadn't seen for more than 10 years. Ida's body was laid down in the front section, covered in a long batik lepas. We sat down to recite the Yasin, and at some parts I had to stop and take deep breaths as tears threatened to unsettle me. An ustazah then arrived to lead the tahlil, afterwards the men and some ladies performed the funeral prayers. By that time the van had arrived to take her to her final resting place, and it had started to rain again. I stayed back, waiting for my husband to pick me up for our next appointment of the day.

People who had met her in this last year said she'd become very thin and gaunt. I can't say for sure as I was unable to get a last look at her face, and I will always remember her as the vivacious 16 year old back in school.

Rest in peace Ida, may Allah bless you.

The eye of the Storm

Hubby's on a business trip to Miri for two days, so that means I'm staying at Mak's house again. And Nuaim has gone to bed early, which means I get to use the Internet, or read any of the three books I have lying about - so here I am!

Finally, after several frantic weeks at the office, we've achieved some semblance of order. It's pretty ironic that at a time when our manpower requirements have taken a dip, we finally have all five engineers available for the job. I am now cracking my head thinking of tasks to keep my juniors occupied, instead of running around like a headless chicken (I've never actually seen one, a real headless chicken running around that is) looking for some masking tape to put it all back together. But enough of office gossip and politics, be it of the office or national variety.

Nuaim's right eye, however, keeps throwing up new surprises. Just as the teariness seems to have disappeared, a ketumbit (stye?) came out on his right upper eyelid. Old folk's tales would say styes are the result of playing peeping Tom, just like getting a boil on the bum from sitting on a pillow. Anyway, it appeared when I was in Bintulu, and after some antibiotics and eyedrops it popped on its own within a week. But it's made a reappearance a week later, and Nuaim is always so difficult to deal with when it comes to eyedrops and eye creams. He usually ends up screaming at the top of his lungs, which of course worries Mak no end. Everyone suggests that I do it while he's asleep, but it's even more difficult then because he'll always turn his head the other way. So between Hubby and me we don't really have much choice but for one of us (usually me) to hold him in a vice-like grip while the other applies the treatment.

He's also prone to some very violent behaviour whenever he gets upset, embarassed or really excited. Whenever I come back home from work, I'm greeted with a report on how he's bitten Mak's arm or leg, leaving her black and blue all over. He bites me too, but fortunately doesn't leave any marks behind. He does, however, slap me on the head, then complains that his hand hurts, whenever he's told off. And sometimes it's not even me doing the telling off, but I'm almost always at the receiving end of his anger. Once, at a restaurant, we saw another boy his age playing about and kind of suggested they play together. Unfortunately, the boy decided to greet Nuaim by scratching his face and barking some unintelligible monosyllable. Nuaim didn't like it, but did he retaliate? No, instead he just stood there silently, looking very unhappy while pinching my arm with his sharp little nails. Adoiiii!

Sorted!

Your in-depth results are:
Hufflepuff - 14

Gryffindor - 12

Ravenclaw - 11

Slytherin - 7

Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?

I know at my age I shouldn't be so into Harry Potter, but once in a while it's good to let your inner child shine through, innit? Can't remember any character from Hufflepuff, though. Which house is Cho Chang from again?

Busy busy busy!!!

When I came back from my Hari Raya Hols, I was looking forward to writing a really long blog about all the stuff I did and places I went to with Nuaim. Unfortunately, due to my Lead Engineer's weird and self-torturing schedule, I found myself literally huffing and puffing through specifications, reports, design philosophies and a whirlwind site visit. LE's also complaining that he cannot get the manpower he was promised (we're supposed to have 5 but right now only 3 in our team) for the project. Itu la, dulu elok-elok ada sorang seed engineer, hang pi demob dia. Bila bos suruh ambik balik kata tak nak sebab budak tu kononnya tak pandai lagi nak buat kerja-kerja ni. Yang pandai-pandai semua dok sibuk dengan projek lain. La ni budak tu pun dah buat kerja lain dah, nak tarik balik pun dah susah.

My boss, in the mean time, is off in Manila, presumably headhunting for an engineer to replace the guy in Bintulu who's supposed to be the fifth element in our project team. Lucky him, timing his trip just in time for the Manila SEA games. I just hope there's some project trip to Germany or thereabouts in June 2006 that I can join. Maybe for the HIMA Safeguarding System?

Have to sign off now. Everyone's left the office already. Ciao!

Mummy's Birthday Boi

Nuaim and I share the same birthday. Does this sound like us?

Courtesy of www.blogthings.com

Your Birthdate: May 31

You're a pretty traditional person. If it's lasted, it's probably good. You seek stability - both in your career and your romantic relationship. In return, you're very loyal and predictable. Which is usually a good thing. Without a partner, you feel lost. Being with someone is very important to you. Your strength: Your dependability Your weakness: You hate being alone Your power color: Midnight blue Your power symbol: Shell Your power month: April

Power symbol: Shell.

I knew it - I'm working with the wrong Oil & Gas company. But loyal me isn't leaving, or am I? Jeng jeng jeng...

Selamat Hari Raya

As this is my third post today, I'll keep it short.

Today is my last day at the office before I break off for the holidays, which also means I won't be able to get on the Internet again till 14th Nov (unless my sisters decide to take a break from hogging the PC at home). It also means the next time I come back to the office, I can have my sweets and cookies and Hot Milo (with a hint of Nescafe) to keep me awake!

So I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone Selamat Hari Raya, Eid Mubarak. Let us all forgive each other and ourselves, and beg forgiveness from Him for all our trespassings and wrongdoings, and come back in better shape of body and mind.

Hari Raya is meant to be the day to celebrate our 'victories' during the fast against our base nature and lusts, although I have to admit to not being all that victorious this year. May we all have the opportunity to greet Ramadhan again next year, InsyaAllah.

Tok Bik

Tok Bik lived in a big house in Subang Jaya with her son and daughter. Every so often, she would get visits from her other children and their brood. Sometimes they would stay over the weekend, so the house would be filled with the sounds of laughter and conversation.

Tok Bik had eight children from two husbands. She was divorced from her first husband after having two children, and became another man’s second wife. Tok Bik took the boy to stay with her, while the daughter was cared for by the father’s family. Tok Bik never met her daughter until after the girl was married at the age of 21.

As they say, history repeats itself. Tok Bik’s eldest son also married twice. His first wife was pregnant with his firstborn, a boy, when he left her for another woman. His second wife bore him four daughters, the eldest nine months younger than her brother. The boy and his father would not meet until 30 years later.

Tok Bik was only recently united with her grandson, but she welcomed him with open arms. She had always known about him, and had been asking her son to seek him out, but the timing was never right. It was not until he was about to leave for Haj earlier this year that he drew up enough courage to set up a meeting.

Last Saturday on the 25th of Ramadhan, around the time for Asar prayers, Tok Bik complained of a headache. She went upstairs to shower and lie down. Before doing so, Tok Bik asked her maid to take out the long kain batik lepas from the cupboard and place it nearby her bed so that 'nanti senang orang nak cari (it’ll be easier for people to find later).'

Tok Bik would usually come down to prepare for iftar at 6.00 p.m. When she didn’t make an appearance, her maid went to her room to wake her up. She saw Tok Bik sleeping in bed, but something looked amiss. Upon closer inspection she started screaming, which drew the attention of Tok Bik’s daughter.

When the doctor arrived, he confirmed what they had all suspected. Tok Bik had passed away in her sleep.

I heard the news just before breaking fast. It was a shock because Tok Bik seemed very healthy when I last met her just over a week ago. As my brother-in-law was having iftar with us that evening, we decided to go visit after Maghrib prayers. We reached Subang Jaya at about 8.30 p.m.

When I entered the room, there were several relatives sitting around reciting the Yasin. Some of them had tears in their eyes. Tok Bik was laid out on the bed, her face covered with gauze. When the gauze was lifted for me to look at her face, I could see she had passed away peacefully.

Tok Bik looked so serene, almost like she was sleeping. Her skin seemed so clear like a teenager’s. The apple of her cheeks even had a healthy shine to it. I was amazed that death could look so beautiful.

I settled down in a corner of the room to read the Yasin. Suddenly I heard someone crying loudly at the door. One of Tok Bik’s daughters had just arrived, clearly distraught. She was at KLIA, about to board a flight to Sarawak with her family when she found out what had happened. Her brothers and sisters quickly crowded around her and tried to put her back on her feet. I felt a bit confused, not knowing how to react to the situation, so I just dumbly sat back down and tried to read. Although I was feeling somewhat emotionally detached from it all earlier, I tend to get really affected when I see other people crying. I tried really hard not to let the tears flow. I succeeded, but got a headache due to the terrible effort.

Just as I was wrapping up my recitation, the men decided to move Tok Bik’s body downstairs. She was covered up in the kain batik lepas, her son holding up her head while her grandsons took the weight of her body. Her newly acquainted grandson was one of them, just as he was one of those to help lower her body into the grave the next morning.

It rained at the cemetery. It always does when good people pass away.

Rest in peace, Tok Bik. May Allah count your soul among the blessed.

It's a Goat eat goat world

The last few days at work have been quite hectic. The meeting with the compressor manufacturer lasted the whole of Thursday, and I had to get the minutes out by next day noon. I was half an hour late for the meeting - there was a long job queue at the only available printer/photocopier in the office - but since I was designated to take minutes, they all waited for me before they started. The meeting started off on quite a fiery note - one of the managers from the Owner company had a few strong opinions about the subject, which he decided to voice out in terms I thought were stronger than politely necessary, but fortunately enough the little Italian guy doing the presentation was mild-mannered enough to just take it in his stride (someone next to me is drinking coffee right now - the aroma is killing me. Aaarghh!).

I had my buka puasa at Suria KLCC that evening, as I was working late. I had a hankering for mee mamak so I went to the Level 4 Food Court but was quite disappointed with the taste. I suppose for only Rm5.50 I shouldn't be expecting much. The next night, there was a department get-together at Restoran Seri Melayu, courtesy of all the higher-paying colleagues (me not included). The carpark was packed by the time we got there with 10 minutes to spare before Maghrib. There was a large selection of food, but because it was all spread out over various sections of the restaurant - and it's a HUGE restaurant - it kind of spoiled my appetite. Somehow the largely Malaysian/Malay menu of rendang and curries and laksa did not quite tickle my tastebuds. The only thing I really enjoyed was the fresh garden salad and ulam. As a friend once commented on my eating habits, I eat greens like a goat.

Well, that night I must've been a cannibal since I indulged in roast lamb with mint sauce. Yummmy.

Grumble grumble

I need a break from work. Maybe it's just not being able to have coffee that's really affecting my productivity, or it's this immediate internet access and hence gateway to Jamie Oliver's website that keeps distracting me from finishing this Instrument Selection Criteria, among other things. Or just that feeling of not really knowing what I'm doing. Whatever it is, I'm reminded of the time in Form Five when I had to walk in a boggy, muddy paya during a Student Leadership Course - the need to finish the journey really quickly but there's so much holding me down. Very high viscosity fluid there, now which flowmeter would be suitable?

Mama is coming down from Alor Setar tomorrow to spend some time with Nuaim. I wish I could stay home and play with him too. Instead I have to attend a meeting with some Italian compressor manufacturer and I don't even have a clue what the meeting is going to be about. The reason I'm roped in is because my Lead Engineer wants me to be on top of things, as his deputy for when he's 'off to the dentist' or some such other excuse for disappearing from work (I think he actually goes off to meet some 'lady friend' his wife doesn't know). I really hate deputising for other people - it's not like I don't have enough to do already. Okay, I admit I'm not all that busy right now, but I definitely do not want to get bogged down by things that are really beyond my understanding.

There goes whatever pahala puasa I've achieved for today. And I was salivating over Jamie Oliver's recipes again.

Lailatul Qadr khairun min Alfi Shahr

I can barely keep my eyes open. I arrived at the office at 7.40 a.m. today, but spent the first 40 minutes asleep in the Surau. My lead engineer rang me up on my mobile to check where I was just as I was walking back to my desk.

Yesterday's PRA session lasted the whole day, right up to just before iftar. And we were only halfway through. Luckily, the next session is postponed till after raya, and there were even suggestions that it will take place on a weekend, away from office premises. maybe as some kind of team-building session, no?

Last night, being the night of 21 Ramadhan, also signalled the beginning of the quest for Lailatul Qadr, the Night of Power. The Quran states that this night is better than a thousand months, meaning that whosoever performs prayers on this night will be rewarded as if he has performed it for a thousand months. It is not disclosed when exactly is the Night in question, only that it falls on one of the odd-numbered nights of the last ten days of Ramadhan. And as Islam interpretes night as beginning on Maghrib preceding the day, hence last night was the 21st, while today is the 21st day of fasting. Muslims generally are encouraged to spend the nights performing prayers and I'tikaf (seclusion) in mosques.

That, however, is not the reason I am so heavy-lidded this morning. Yes, I did spend my wee hours awake, but not for prayers. Instead, Nuaim decided to make 2.30 a.m. his new playtime. He woke up suddenly, asking for my mum's maid, Cik Dah. Now, whenever Nuaim wants his bottle of milk, he will only request it from her. So when he started going 'Daahh!' I thought that milk was what he wanted. I didn't want to have to wake her up in the middle of the night, so decided to make it myself.

I carried Nuaim to the kitchen and asked him again whether he wanted his 'Nenen', to which he didn't respond. So I thought maybe he just had a nightmare or something. We went back to bed, but again he started asking for Cik Dah. This time I made him his bottle, and he happily drank it all up. When he seemed to have settled down to sleep again, I changed his nappie (it's so difficult to do it when he's up and awake because he doesn't like wearing them), then went to the loo myself.

And what should greet me when I walk out of the bathroom? The sight of Nuaim sitting up in bed, insisting to be let out of the room. I carried him for a bit, sang a lullaby, but he simply refused to be lulled by it. I could see that at least someone was still awake upstairs, so ascended the staircase to where my brother, the Eternal Nocturnal, was playing a video game and my sister was chatting online (they have weird playtimes too, my siblings). Nuaim, wide-eyed by now, seemed interested in the video game for about 10 minutes, then decided to make a foray into my sleeping sister's room, presumably in search of her stuffed koala (the toy, not taxidermy variety) to which he has an attachment. Having found the koala, he seemed pleased, but no sooner than a minute later he was going 'Tuin' (downstairs). I thought I'd cracked it by now - that he wanted his teddy bear to sleep with, but he headed for the front door instead. By this time it was 4.00 a.m. and Cik Dah was in the kitchen to prepare sahur, so thankfully for me she was able to take him off my hands while I tried to catch a few winks.

Hubby was up to do his prayers, but I couldn't stay on my feet anymore. My slumber was quite fitful though, so by the time he woke me up again for sahur an hour later I was really cranky. Nuaim was still at it, insisting on going outside where it was dark and raining, so I let Hubby deal with him instead. Fortunately he must have felt tired himself, because he was quite willing to be put to bed after that.

I just hope there's no repeat performance tonight.

Things I need for Raya

Raya is about 12 days away. People are busy getting kuih, new clothes and bus tickets for balik kampung. I've never bought kuih raya before, but a couple of weeks ago I sampled some really good pineapple tarts that were sold by our receptionist so I placed an order for one pack. I might decide to get a couple more for Mak and Mama.

Nuaim has his new baju melayu ready. Like last year, Mak bought some voile material and Mama had them tailored back in Alor Setar. So spoilt la my son the first cucu ni. The five baju that were too loose last year now fit him just nice, so he has about SEVEN to wear this year. We've also bought him a songkok that I'm sure he'll keep pulling off during photoshoots. Size 19 1/4 - big head my son has. I decided not to get him a new kain sampin - the last one we bought is still serviceable.

But what about Nuaim's Ummi? Since a couple of years back, I haven't given much thought to raya preparations. If it wasn't for Mak and Mama's generosity in buying me new clothes, I'd still be wearing the same thing I did from six or seven years' back. But this year, I have a list:

1. New glasses. My only remaining pair is in danger of falling to pieces after Nuaim twisted the handle a couple of days back. Miraculously it didn't break - just. The new ones will be ready tomorrow. Thick reddish frames this time. Hubby liked the schoolgirl look - 'Nampak muda remaja sikit.'
2. New shoes/sandals. I've been walking in the same pair of high-heeled green Clarks sandals for weeks already. They look cool (kinda retro) but lately they've proven to be precarious, especially with Nuaim insisting on 'Dum' all the time. Note to self - Don't get Clarks Springers. They're comfortable and all, but really don't last that well in our humid and wet environs. Bata is a safer (and cheaper) bet. And not just for raya, but to last the whole pregnancy and beyond.
   
3. A baju raya. I've decided to spoil myself by buying something from ModernMum. There's a nice kebaya-looking top which I think might just do the trick. Plus can collect Bonuslink points. I'm a loyalty card junkie so shoot me.
4. New seat covers for dining room. Next time I shouldn't get chairs with plain cream-coloured upholstery - cepat kotorlah. Saw nice blue stripey thingy in IKEA for RM40 each. If I need 6 that'll be RM240! Berbaloi ka, or cheaper to buy cloth and make my own?
   

Going shopping with Hubby this afternoon for numbers 2 and 3. Am excited. He'll probably object to number 4, but I can hope.

Buka Puasa at Kelantan Delights

Some friends from the office decided to have a 'buka puasa' gathering. These are the same people I usually have lunch with, but for the iftar we decided husbands should join in.
Hubby was reluctant at first - after all, these friends are actually a couple (or more?) of years younger than me, and he felt like he'd stick out like the paternal figure. And he definitely didn't want to be stuck with a bunch of giggly gossipy women and their husbands whom he doesn't know too well at all. But I coaxed and cajoled and promised to pay for his dinner, and finally he relented.
So Thuisday night, after breaking my fast with a Mentos and performing my Maghrib prayers, we met up with the rest of the gang at Kelantan Delights on level 4 of Suria KLCC. I guess for RM39++ the spread was quite good. One wonders what's on display at the RM100++ hotel buffets around KL. Here's a roundup on the menu (look away now if you're fasting).
There were cute little buah tanjung (much lighter yellow than the ones I bought), jala mas and lompat tikam - and that was about all that was distinctly Kelantanese about the food (minus the budu). A few other assortments of local kuih were available. Appetisers included cucur udang, popiah and samosa, all of which were quite tasty. The menu was strictly Malay, with white rice, fried rice and a variety of dishes. I skipped the ayam masak merah and fried chicken (too common), went for the jenahak (red snapper?) curry, sotong sambal petai, paru goreng cili (Ubisetela eat your heart out), pari masak lemak, daging bakar and mixed veggies (a pregnant lady needs her greens). The plates were so small, I had to get a refill to properly satiate my appetite.
We were entertained by my friends' attempts to use the Bluetooth function on their handphones. Being a boring Nokia 3315 user (monophonic, monocolour and all that), I only played the part of bemused observer, as the three of them were trying to figure out what 'passkey' meant and found out that their phones didn't have the application to run the transferred file in the end.
On a side note, apparently the buffet spread at Awana Genting is pretty good value for RM45 nett. Got sushi and all that.

PM's Wife Loses to Big C

The wife of Malaysia's fifth and current Prime Minister, Datin Seri Endon Mahmood passed away this morning, succumbing to breast cancer. Read more about it here.

I have never met her or seen her in person - there was one function I attended that she was supposed to officiate but couldn't make it due to some health problems. Could this have been the reason for her absence then? But I do share her passion for the traditional fabrics and fashion she had championed, despite my husband's annoyance that the kebaya nyonya is so Unislamic because it is 'jarang' and 'ketat'. Hey, he wasn't complaining when I wore it once before we got married. But I digress.

I understand how this would greatly affect Pak Lah. They have always appeared as such a loving couple, even in public, and I always find PDA between not-so-young couples endearing.

At the office, we've started speculating which ex-TV3 celebrity will become the next first lady. Personally I think that is not Pak Lah's style. His ministers or ministers' relatives (even the Sultan of Brunei) may indulge in picking up wives from the Nona runway, but for someone so laidback yet publicly so in love with his late wife? Naaah.

Al-Fatihah to Datin Seri Endon. May Allah bless her soul.

A result of all this is a rumour going round that next Monday has been declared a public holiday. A colleague called up a friend at Bernama news agency to confirm. I just checked The Star Online - it's not. That means I still have a PRA to attend (iftar included - yay!!).

My son the Drama Queen

I haven't written about Nuaim in a very long time. For those who are curious to know how he's getting on, he's fine. Except for the occasional sniffles, and falls and knocks that are common to boisterous 16-month old boys.

He's got this thing about his right eye though, that's been there since 7 months ago. We've been to two specialists, and the last one at HUKM had to put him under GA just to have a really good look at his eye. They found a surface scratch that could have been caused by his nails and nothing else. The scratch should've healed by now (it's been 2 months at least) but he still squints in bright light, and sometimes he gets teary-eyed. And it only happens to his right eye.

Other than that, he's a right royal thespian. My father-in-law calls him 'The Little Prince'. I think he behaves more like a tyrannical emperor around his relatives. He still takes his milk by the bottle, but he won't hold the bottle himself. It'll always have to be held by someone else, or propped up with a pillow if he's lying down and we're too busy to do it for him.

And he throws a big hou-haa whenever things don't go his way - which is most of the time, since his way involves a lot of unsafe acts for children below the age of 2. He'll throw his head back, give a great scream and flop on the floor or try to wriggle away from you. He did it once at a friend's son's birthday party because I wouldn't let him have the camera, and my friend seemed so concerned that I felt so guilty for not just letting him ruin my RM1400 investment.

Despite the fact that he's going to become an Abang Long in 6 months' time, he's even more clingy than before. He's grown quite heavy now (must be about 13 kg at least) and in my condition I can't carry him for more than 2 minutes without some part of my body protesting. When he first started walking at 11 months, he just simply refused to be carried. But now, everytime he wants me to take him somewhere, he'll take both my hands, pull me down to my knees and say "Dum". I guess in Emperor Nuaim's speak that's a combination of 'Jom' and 'Dukung'.

The realy wonderful thing though, is his vocabulary. He first picked up words around the same time he could walk, and his ability to grasp new words just continue to amaze me. I sometimes doubt whether he understands the words correctly, though. For instance, he would address any kid, younger or older than him, as 'Baby'. And although he's heard us say 'No' to him in response to things we don't approve of, I think he doesn't understand the concept of it. Instead, he'll say 'No' in a very firm manner, and then proceed with doing exactly the thing we've forbidden him to.

His favourite word and object in the world is of course 'FIH' (fish). He endured a 90 minute wait to enter the KLCC Aquaria, and he's always looking at the dinner table under the 'tudung saji' for his favourite food. Pictures of fish in newspapers drive him to ecstacy, and you'll never be able to complete reading The Star or Utusan Malaysia once he's spotted his underwater friend on one of the pages.

Lately though, Nuaim has developed a screaming habit. He screams when he's angry, happy and feeling any other emotion in between. I suspect he's missing his grandmother.

The quest for buah tanjung

When I was a lot younger, my late father would spend Ramadhan afternoons driving all the way across KL to the Pasar Ramadhan in Datok Keramat to buy all kinds of kuih for the breaking of fast, but the two I remember the most are buah tanjung and jala mas. These golden yellow, syrupy sticky sweet morsels hail from Kelantan, and at the Datok Keramat market could be found in abundance. I'm not quite sure what goes into their making, but I believe it must be copiously unhealthy amounts of sugar and egg yolks.

The first time I attempted to fast was when I was six years old. My fasting would start in the morning like everyone else, but around noon I'd 'break' for lunch then resume fasting till Maghrib, when I'd be the first to gulp down the air sirap bandung. One day I decided to go all the way and fast like the grown ups. I felt so weak, and spent most of the day sleeping until it was time to go to Datok Keramat. My parents told me it was okay if I wanted to break my fast earlier, but I was adamant to prove I could do it. Even then I was hanging on to my parent's arm like a limp rag doll (I can't remember whether it was Mak or Ayah). Finally, at one of the stalls, they managed to coax a piece of buah tanjung into my mouth, after which I felt a whole lot better. I lasted till 6 pm that day.

Ramadhan always evokes memories of buah tanjung. It is not very common at the other PR (Pasar Ramadhans) I've been to. When I found out a restaurant near my mum's house was selling traditional Kelantan kuih like akok (akak?) and lompat tikam, I went to have a look but found no buah tanjung there.I guess people here just cannot take its high sugar content. Even my siblings don't seem to favour it much.

Being pregnant, of course, has its privileges. Hubby didn't put up a fuss when I suggested we go look for this rare delicacy. If Mak was around she'd say I was craving or mengidam for them.

Last Sunday we visited the Kampung Baru PR to try our luck. The first stall we approached on Jalan Raja Muda Musa had an array of kuih not seen elsewhere, so I was expectant. A thorough scan of the spread dashed my hopes. We tried the whole length of Jalan Raja Alang as well but to no avail.

Our final stop was the Datok Keramat market. As soon as I rounded the corner to enter, the whole place was familiar to me. The sun's rays cut across the stall shades at exactly the same angle, highlighting all the goodies the way I remember it in my mind's eye. The buah tanjung I found in a small round plastic container at the first stall on the right, the last pack left of its kind. I quickly grabbed it, worried that someone might snatch it away before I did. 9 tiny orange balls of sweetness.

We walked around the market a bit more, and I discovered how foolish I was in my haste. There were at least two more stalls selling buah tanjung and its eternal companion the jala mas. I bought a piece of jala mas - it was selling at RM1.50 a piece. It looks like roti jala but is yellow-orange and really sweet. Not as moist as the buah tanjung though, which is why I don't like it as much, but I felt a need to introduce my husband to its glory.

If I remember to, and if there are any left at home, I'll take a picture and put it up here. My reaction to all those pictures of sushi and sambal udang other people have on their blogs.

An Engineer's Lament

To simulate or calculate
Those two words I love to hate
Alas, such is an engineer's fate
It has been so since time pre-date.

The numbers give me great affliction
When I face a complex flow equation
Dear Lord I crave some stimulation
To face my job with more affection.

Each time I try to do it better
Than past attempts at which I falter
But I always end up up with a fever
Simulate and calculate? I shiver.

Work under Construction

Today my blog has gone through numerous costume changes, much like a song-and-dance sequence in a Hindi movie. I've finally settled for a Blogger template and am experimenting with the colours. This has taken up a good 2 manhours of my time, but I still managed to get my work done this morning, so I shouldn't punish myself (I just hope no one from the Project team reads this and recognises me).

I'm not done yet with the colour experiments so please bear with me. Comments and suggestions are most welcome. Bear in mind I don't know HTML, and have just today stumbled upon some very resourceful web pages on html colour codes. So no complex IT-geek speak, please. Discussions on flow instrument selection, on the other hand, will be well received.

Bosannya...

For the past two hours or so I've been alternating between updating my Instrument Design Criteria, looking up Industry standards and reading other people's blogs. I am beginning to get very bored with my own blog's look and am in the hunt for a new, free, Blogger-friendly skin. An online personality quiz I took earlier said my blog should be teal (or was it purple?).

I am also getting very bored with work. This morning I half-heartedly told my husband that I didn't feel like going to work, and he said simply "Then stay home. You can take Emergency Leave or something like that." But workaholic, perasan responsible me gave him a funny look that said 'Be serious'. I should have just listened to him like any good Muslim wife would and took his advice.

As it is, I'm leaving the office early tomorrow to send Mak off for her umrah. I wish I was in her position to just take off and leave whenever and wherever I feel like it. This year alone, I think she's already been to Egypt, Moscow, St Petersburg and Surabaya. South Africa's on the list for next year. Of course, she gets a special deal from the travel agent for helping to organise the group of 20-30 middle-aged ladies who go on these trips, which is not a situation I'd like to be in. I'd enjoy the places they go to, but I'd want to go at my own pace, and I'm terrible at travelling with company. The last real holiday I went to was with my sister Ain to Bali back in 2001, and that was because the planned package to Spain, Portugal and Moscow got cancelled (the middle-aged ladies panicked from the Sept 11 incident, hence my current apprehension for joining them on any other holiday). My honeymoon doesn't really count because there was no sightseeing involved.

Hubby and I were talking about flying off to see Angkor Wat for the weekend, or a jaunt in Vietnam. Anywhere we can get to on a cheap Air Asia ticket. But in my condition now it doesn't seem very favourable. So I'll just have to look forward to Hari Raya in Alor Setar.

And get off my lazy bum to do my Zuhur prayers now.

Technologically impaired

I really need to get myself a supergadget - one that can make and receive phone calls, organise my life, remind me where I put my house keys and allow me to blog from whenever wherever. I keep mentally composing blog entries in the car, in bed, when I'm playing with Nuaim, sometimes even in the lift. Unfortunately I don't have a Wifi-Bluetooth PDA with a full QWERTY keyboard that would make mobile blogging a reality for me. Heck, I don't even have a mobile phone now!

Hubby's trusty 3310 finally went dead on him, and because I received a bigger bonus than he did this year he's taken ownership of my 3315 and left me phoneless. I've been going on about getting the 3G A1000 for ages, but I just haven't found an outlet that actually sells one (I haven't really been looking, I know). Besides, no one else I know uses 3G, so who can I actually have a teleconference with? And the one time I attended a Maxis 3G demo on live traffic video, the camera feed didn't come through.

So my supergadget would have all these features:

1. Access to my documents, spreadsheets and pdf files (really handy when I need to attend FAT)
2. Web access for blogging
3. Bluetooth connectivity so I can sync to my laptop wirelessly
4. IrDA so I can sync to my other laptop wirelessly (I've never tried this myself actually)
5. Camera - optional
6. Full QWERTY keyboard - or a foldable Bluetooth one that I can connect to wirelessly

Mp3s, radio and all that stuff I don't really need.

Now, is someone kind enough to read this and buy it for me as a pre-Hari Raya gift?

Marhaban Ya Ramadhan...

It's the fasting month again, and I'm trying very hard to stay focused at work. Obviously I'm not because I'm blogging right now, but I deserve a break after facing the PC for almost 5 hours non-stop, right?

As usual every Ramadhan I plan to attend the Terawih prayers and read the whole Qur'an. I think I'm already on the road to failure on both counts. The first time I attended Terawih at the mosque on the eve of Ramadhan, I was so sleepy that the patterns on the sejadah in front of me were dancing around and taking different shapes altogether. It's even possible that I was asleep with my eyes open! I could barely finish the 20 rakaat prayer that night. The second night I skipped due to a headache, and last night I only did 8 and waited for my family to complete the full set. And I haven't even started the Qur'an yet - my youngest sister has already read 4 juzuk!

The good thing about the fasting month is that we're allowed to leave the office by 4 pm. Of course, we're encouraged come in early and work through lunch, but who really checks? Besides, I still have last month's hours to make up for, the days when I sauntered in at 8.45 and still had the gall to leave at 5 pm sharp. Since Ramadhan started I've managed to make it here by 7.30 a.m. so that should more or less cover up for the lost time.

I really need to go to the shops and run some errands for Mak right now. She's going for Umrah on the 12th - that's a day before my sister's 21st birthday - and she asked me to get a battery for her free-issue Tabung Haji watch and a thermos flask. I bought the flask a couple of days ago at Parkson Grand, then discovered in their in-store magazine that I'm entitled to a free pouch and the flask should've cost about RM 14 less, so I plan to assert my consumer rights and politely demand that they provide me with said items.

Maybe I should buy a small Qur'an at Kinokuniya as well, so I can start reading at the office during my 'lunch' breaks. I've got a lot of catching up to do.

To all Muslim readers, Have a Blessed Ramadhan!

The World's Shortest Personality test

Your Personality Profile

You are pure, moral, and adaptable. You tend to blend into your surroundings. Shy on the outside, you're outspoken to your friends. You believe that you live a virtuous life... And you tend to judge others with a harsh eye. As a result, people tend to crave your approval.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Got here from browsing through other people's blogs. Lots of interesting stuff, some familiar and some new. Try it out for yourself.

I don't quite agree with the description though.

Na nana nana 'Ganu Kite!

For the next three days I have to attend a technical course on Instrument Installation and Maintenance in Kuala Terengganu. Everytime I tell my Principal Engineer I still have this course (and two more) to attend before I can be considered for a promotion, I do it with a wry smile. He thinks these courses are a joke, I tell him I don't know what three days can teach me that three years at site can't. But it's still compulsory for me to go, and I'm not complaining of the break it's given me off my current project.

I'm typing this from the KLIA Departure Hall, which I found out from Hubby has free wireless internet. My flight isn't till 4.30 pm, so I have a good 15-20 minutes before I have to make dash for it. I'd already checked in at KL CAT, so when I got here at 3.00 pm all I had to do was have lunch at McDonald's. A Filet-O-Fish, Mcnuggets and milkshake set me back RM17.20! Scandalous!!

I had planned to leave the office earlier, but those demmed CTR's held me back. That's the problem with doing a good job as an underling in the first place - when something needs changing or fixing, your superiors just refuse to do it themselves! And it's not so difficult to do. A Cost-Time-Resource sheet isn't exactly Rocket Science.

Anyway, there's a bloke sitting across from me who looks suspiciously like Zahid from AF2 (remember him? His moment of glory may have been shortlived, swallowed by the force that's Tsumawi). I can't be too sure cos he's got his sunnies on (only celebrities trying to evade the public wear sunnies in shady spots like the KLIA Post office). There's another bloke with him (no sunnies this one) and they're both wearing these matching white sneakers with cartoon graffiti all over. I was so tempted to go over and ask for his autograph so I can give it to one of the girls back at the office who is a self-confessed Zahid fan, but I guess I'll respect his attempt at privacy and pretend not to notice the bright loud t-shirt. Oh, he's just walked off, so that's it then.

I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get to the training site from my hotel tomorrow. The lst time I attended a course there was like 5 years ago, and then they provided a bus that actually picked us up from the hotel. I'd have to call up the course coordinator to ask him. I'd need the site address too if I have to make my own travel arrangements.

I'm really sleepy right now. My brain is not quite functioning. Zahid's back (?)

This post is going to read like rubbish.

Api! Api!

Can you imagine what it is like to walk down 31 flights in a narrow, low ventilation stairwell?

Well, neither can I. Fortunately enough, since I'm about 3 months pregnant, I'm a 'special case' and was allowed to take the service lift, accompanied by one of the floor safety officers, straight to the ground floor in this morning's fire drill. The rest of the office had to go all the way down to level 42 before taking the express lift to the main lobby.

But it didn't end there. Our mustering area was in front of the mosque, a good 10 minutes' walk through the park (and at 9.30 in the morning on a sunny day, that was not very pleasant). Since I took the faster route down, my colleagues, including the guy with the placard designating our floor hadn't arrived yet. My companion and I were wandering quite aimlessly in the general vicinity near the mosque for a few more minutes before the rest of the crew showed up.

There was almost a carnival feel in the atmosphere. Picture two of the tallest office buildings in the world spewing forth all its human contents onto the surrounding grounds. There were ambulances and Rescue 991 vehicles stationed near the mosque, in the event that a few of the stairclimbers turned out to be 'special cases' too.

And they were certainly kept busy. We saw a lady rushed by on a stretcher, and a few on wheelchairs. Sirens blared once in a while. Bottles of mineral water were being distributed - or rather, grabbed before they could be properly distributed as per the marking on the box. A group of women nearby started screaming and shrieking - one of the resident lizards in the park decided to gatecrash their party.

It was about 11 o'clock before the masses started moving back in the direction of the towers. By then a few of us were feeling quite hungry (I swear I can tell the time by my stomach) and decided to go for a quick snack. Masitah, our project secretary, hadn't even had breakfast yet so she was dying for a morsel of food. We decided to make a stop at the second floor food court in Suria KLCC and have nasi ayam.

Masitah, as it turns out, looks so much younger than her years. Very slim and stylish, her eldest daughter is already attending university. She was telling me how my lead engineer was trying to make a pass at her, playing the chivalrous knight by holding her arm on the way down when she very obviously did not need his help and even told him so. We had a good laugh about how he even managed to make new acquaintances at the interim floor while waiting for the lift. Gosh, I really shouldn't be gossipping on a Friday afternoon, but juicy stories about expatriate colleagues (any colleague, for that matter) are always irresistable.

Hmmm... I know I've already had an early lunch, but I know I'll get hungry again by 2.00 pm. So maybe I'll stick around for a couple more minutes, do my prayers, then work up an appetite at the Isetan sale.

Movin' On Up

I'm up in the clouds.

There are four different parties involved in this new project - the Client, the PMC, my company and our Consortium partner from the UK. We've rented office space up on the 73rd floor of Tower 2. It takes me about 2 1/2 minutes to get up here, and involves two separate lifts. Even at the transit level 42 I'm already higher up than most of the surrounding buildings, so being up on level 73 gives me quite a good view of the Klang valley. It's also the first floor where the outer beams start tapering to form the pinnacle 15 storeys above.

Everything in this office is spanking new, albeit on loan for two years. The cubicle dividers are bright yellow (priming us to work for Shell in the future, as one of my colleagues observed), the desks a pleasing beech colour with ergonomic semicircular cutouts (so much better on the eyes than my old grey table downstairs) and everyone's got those LCD monitors with sleek black-and-silver CPU's.

We've been getting 'visitors' from the old office who wish to check out the new surroundings on quite a regular basis. And we've been swapping CD's and mp3 files to listen on the headsets that come with the PC's. The headsets have nifty little microphones attached as well, so maybe one day we'll have a Karaoke competition, or our very own version of Malaysian Idol.

AFUNDI Dian, anyone?

A little scare....

We had been to Mak Su's house yesterday in Bangi for a housewarming doa selamat around lunch time, where again I faced a traditional Malay food spread of nasi minyak and rendang. My in-laws were planning to spend the night with us, and we had agreed to eat out for dinner (I don't need to cook, WOOHOO!!). Around 6 pm, after Hubby had done his Asar prayers and could keep an eye on Nuaim, I went to take a shower.

That was when I saw the blood stains.

It was dark brown, almost black. I quickly took a shower, trying to calm myself down. Maybe it's nothing serious.

Maybe God took me seriously when I was saying to myself that I wasn't ready for another baby yet.

Please God no.

I came out of the shower and told Hubby. He panicked, while I tried to stay reasonable. We went to the hospital's A&E section, it being a Saturday evening.Nuaim came with us, oblivious to the panic swelling up inside me as I held him close.

After recounting my whole fiasco with the missed birth control pills and everything, the MO concluded that it may have been a false pregnancy and this was just my period starting again. When I told him that I did two tests and was experiencing all the typical symptoms, he looked at me and said "Well you probably really are pregnant then."

My usual Obstretician was on leave, so they got Dr Roslan in. He was very nice, and suggested an ultrasound scan.

The first thing I saw was a little round sac in my womb. But is it still...?

Fortunately the little one is still intact. Dr Roslan said that the discharge was probably due to an old bleeding or my past menses which somehow still remained in the uterus, based on the colour and consistency of the blood. He told me I should only be worried if it was fresh blood, or if there were clots and bits of tissue in the discharge.

On a positive note, he estimated that my pregnancy is 6 weeks old, based on the size of the sac (2 cm long).

Adik Nuaim will be due around early April next year, Insyaallah.

I don't know what triggered the thought.

Maybe it was my thickening waistline (which I started noticing in Bangkok, but that could have been due to the good food). Or the constant lethargy despite having a relatively stess-free workload. But I think the strongest sign was the nausea and heatiness I felt after a particularly spicy meal (and with 3 Malay weddings in one weekend, it certainly put me in a bad mood). The sensation reminded me so much of my first one that I thought to myself, "Could it be....?"

So after a week of feeling continuously sea-sick, I went to Guardian Pharmacy to get me one of those home test kits. And this was only three days after I stocked up on Noriday. Thank goodness I hadn't started taking them yet.

Anyway, the home kit seemed to test positive - it was difficult to tell when there seemed to be three lines instead of just two (positive) or one (negative). "It means you're super-pregnant. Maybe it's twins!" was my husband's hopeful response to my query. So yesterday, on my way back from Bangi, I decided to stop by the clinic just to make sure.

It's official. Nuaim is going to become an Abang Long.

How many weeks already?

That's difficult to answer. My period's been really irregular (the last one was almost 10 weeks ago, and that was only the third since I gave birth last year) but that was probably due to breastfeeding. I already took a test a month ago and it was clear. The doctor told me I could start taking Noriday immediately, but I decided to stick by my gynae's advice and wait till my next period. Fat chance of that happening any time soon.

Anyway, I debated over when to tell Mak. The chance came when she showed me some cloth she bought for Nuaim's baju Melayu, but one was exactly the same as one he already has. "Oh well, we'll just keep it for his adik then," I quipped nonchalantly.

She didn't pick up the hint.

Hubby and I exchanged glances.

Then Mak commented how Nuaim seems so hypercharged and attention-craving these days.

"Maybe he knows he's getting an adik," I tried again.

This time she got it right.

Sorry for the long silence....

It's been quite hectic for the past three weeks. Okay, where do I start?

The last week of July I was in Bangkok for 5 days. Purely job related, but it was fun. The first two days was a Field trip organised by Yokogawa, one of the big Instrument and Control System vendors that have installed bases in our plants groupwide. We stayed at the Imperial Queens Park Hotel (jacuzzi bathtub, woo hoo!!) off Sukhumvit Road, but the trips took us two hours out of Bangkok to Sara Buri and Rayong. The remainder of the trip was a Users Group Symposium organised by Honeywell, another I&C vendor. My boss had assigned me to present a paper at the Symposium, which I only finished preparing the night before the presentation itself. It went very well, I have to say. Being the first presenter does have its advantages. Oh yes, the shopping and food was really enjoyable too. And I would really recommend the Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa on the Chao Phraya River to anyone (not to be confused with the Bangkok JW Marriott on Sukhumvit Road).

The first weekend I got home, I had to attend a KAED (Kuliyyah of Architecture & Environmental Design, UIA) function that my sister was a committee member of. I guess it's all part of the Convocation festivities at the university. Most faculties organised their own fests, and part of the KAED Fest was an 'Image Enhancement Workshop' for female students. The wrokshop consisted of several events, the first of which was a Forum entitled 'Challenges & Dilemmas faced by Professional Career Women'. I was one of three speakers, and the only one not from an architectural background.

The week after that, the first week of August was the most hectic. I could write three separate blog entries on that week alone, but I'll try o condense it all into this one.

You see, my son has been suffering from a teary right eye for some time now. It started off as conjunctivitis, complete with the puffiness and redness, but after the swelling and redness disappeared his eye started tearing. He'd also squint during the day and seemed particularly uncomfortable with bright light. We saw a specialist who said it was a viral infection of the cornea, but when the teariness didn't disappear Mak advised me to get a second opinion. Someone recommended a Professor Muhaya from HUKM, so I took my son to see her. The first visit my son was so uncooperative, and after the third visit, which was on Tuesday after the Bangkok trip, she told me that the best thing to do was to put him under General Anaethesia just so she could have a good look and determine what was really bothering him.

So on Wednesday morning I took an EL, and checked myself and Nuaim into 'Hotel HUKM'. We were advised to get in by 10 a.m. so that the anaesthetist could visit during her normal rounds, but she didn't get to see us till 5 p.m. The Operation was scheduled for 8 a.m. the next morning, so Nuaim had to fast from 4 a.m. onwards. I set my alarm to wake up and prepare a bottle of milk at 3.30 (6 ounces should keep him fairly satisfied till after the procedure) but he would only drink 2 ounces before going back to sleep and refused to wake up till an hour later. By then, of course, he was really hungry but I couldn't feed him then, so he got really upset and cried for a whole hour. He would only quiet down for the Subuh azan, and by then I wasn't even allowed to feed him water. What made things worse was, his operation was delayed by an hour due to some mix-up with the schedule. And Nuaim simply refused to be put down all the while, so I had to carry him for a whole hour. Both Ummi and baby were tired, hungry and intimidated by the unfamiliar surroundings.

When they finally managed to gas him, I was told to leave the OT and wait outside. It took all of my resolve not to cry. I mean, it's only going to be an examination, there's no surgery involved or anything. I wonder how people can endure worse.

The good news was, they found nothing more serious than a surface scratch (could've been caused by his own nails) which should heal on its own in time. We were still given some medication, and some eyepatches to help speed up the recovery.

And then the HAZE hit KL and PJ.

Oh well....

My Moud Feeld Funny & My Nothe id Blogged

Poor babies. My poor, poor babies.

As Hubby now has only 4 days of annual leave left - having used up 10 days for the Acheh Mercy mission - I decided to take some days off of my own 19-day entitlement to redress the balance. I gave myself three days to properly hand over his work back at the office, and applied for leave for the rest of the week.

The plan was to spend a couple of hours at Honeywell's office in PJ polishing up my presentation for the Bangkok Symposium, pay off my HSBC credit card bill and clean up the house. And do a spot of sightseeing and shopping at IKEA. But all didn't go to plan.

Hubby fell ill on Wednesday. I was at a vendor seminar at Prince Hotel, and was SMSing him just to keep myself awake when he replied that he was going to pick me up immediately after the seminar finished. When I got to the car, I could see he was in no right state to drive back home, what with the traffic jam that is a constant feature of the KL-Damansara route. By the time we reached Mak's house, he was shivering while his skin was hot to the touch. He'd been having a headache since the day before, and matters got worse this morning after he'd slept the night without a shirt on in our air-conditioned bedroom. Apparently someone else i.e. me was hogging the comforter all night, leaving him at the mercy of the cold night elements.

Anyway, we decided to spend the night at Mak's house, since he seemed unable to move any distance more than 10 feet. We had to sleep with the AC off, so he could sweat the fever out. I told him no way he was going to work the next day from the look of things. So I spent my first day on leave tending to his needs - which weren't much, mostly sleep, eat then sleep again.

But my in-laws were coming to stay the night, so I still had to go back to my house and get it in ship-shape condition (Believe me, one week away and all the cicak's come out to play on the balcony). By the time they arrived for dinner, I was starting to feel a bit light-headed myself.

Hubby got up this morning ready for work, though he was still coughing and his temperature was high. I decided to sleep in and miss breakfast, till baby decided to wake up at 7.30 with a temperature and coughing of his own. So my next day on leave was spent tending to a feverish baby who just refused to take food, medicine or just sit down.

Home away from home

When I first thought of buying a condo 5 years ago, it was because I always wanted to live the life of a single female professional in KL. I relished the idea of having a whole address all to myself, with my own private study, my own kitchen, my own TV and space to entertain friends and family. And no garden to worry about (too much work la). And since the condo I bought is barely ten minutes' drive from my mum's house, I could always quickly hop over for a family meal and leave again when things start getting too uncomfortable. In a way, it was supposed to be my escape portal from whatever family issues I don't want to get involved with.

Things didn't quite turn out the way I planned. I got married just before the construction was completed, so it made sense to make this 900+ sqft space our first marital abode. And it doesn't quite look the way I wanted, because who would expect that my husband's personal property amassed throughout his bachelorhood and the wedding gifts we received would fill up the whole house? And we still have some of the gifts left at our parents' in DU and Alor Setar, while my clothes are transferred to my siblings' wardrobes at mum's (some without my prior knowledge).

But it's okay. We could still build this into our little lovenest. Or so I thought.

The first four months or so after the wedding, hubby was outstation in Bintulu so we only met up every three weeks. Sometimes he would take leave and come home for a week, when we'd go shopping for furniture and display cabinets to house the 15 or so crystal vases we received as wedding gifts. And as most neighbours hadn't moved in yet, I would stay at my mum's place whenever he was out of town. So the condo wasn't quite lived in as much.

That pattern seems to have continued till now, and it's been two years already. The space still isn't quite as lived in as I'd like. That ambience (or lack of it) seems to be an aspect of the whole building, with its shoplots on the ground floor that barely seem to be generating any business, let alone make a roaring profit. And this despite having IKEA and The Curve just down the road. Or maybe it's because of having IKEA as a neighbour that's pulling the business away. But that's another story too.

My idea of a lived-in home would be to have traces of the inhabitant's personality stamped on it. This place doesn't. Apart from our some family photos on the sideboard, nothing much in the condo says it's my house. The walls are bare, and the only decor are the crystal vases that reflect more of the givers' personalities and status than mine. If it was up to me, I'd have frsh flowers, vibrant paintings and rows upon rows of bookshelves in the living room. Like in Impiana or House & Garden. But, despite having redeemed precious Maybankard points for a Black & Decker drill, Hubby is reluctant to put anything up on the walls as 'this is only temporary till we move to a proper house'. And I bet he's going to say the same thing when we move to a 22x70 link in Bangi (that's all we can afford right now) and he starts dreaming of a bungalow in Putrajaya.

Whatever it is, hurry back home sayang, because any house isn't a home without you.

Antara Anyir dan Jakarta...

... or to be more accurate, KL and Banda Acheh.

Hubby decided to play the good Samaritan and join Mercy as a non-medic volunteer. He took 2 weeks off work and left me in charge at the office (literally!). It was supposed to be a journey of discovery for him, away from schedule reviews, meetings, progress reports to ... a different set of meetings, progress reporting and scheduling.

As this was a Re-Construction mission, Mercy specifically wanted technical professionals to assist them. Hubby qualified on the basis of being an Engineer. But when they started asking him about drilling wells, they found out too late that he's not exactly the kind of engineer they had in mind, despite working for an Oil & Gas multinational. No matter, he could still be of some use to them somehow.

And so he has been. So much so that they've extended his two week stint for an additional seven days. And it has opened him up to so many enriching experiences.

One of our SMS exchanges went like this:

Hubby: I visited an orphanage today. One of the kids even looked like Nuaim (our son).

Me: Give them lots of hugs and kisses from me.

Hubby: I touched their heads. Now I know why it is sunat to usap kepala anak yatim. I bought them a football, they played like anak ayam.

Another time, he was in Lampulo, where they'd only received rice after 6 whole months of waiting.

On a lighter note, Siti's popularity in Indonesia is undisputed, as evidenced at a kenduri he attended. But Hubby is now an Indo-pop rock convert. I'm looking forward to our reunion with Gigi, Padi, Dewa and SO7 playing in the background.

Oh shoot, have to get the CD player fixed first.

There's no place like home

I am just so tired of all this.

Come this Thursday, I would have been working in this industry for almost 64 months. Out of that period, I have spent almost 30 months away from home on attachment to project sites around the country, mostly on the East Coast. In my first two years, I was away for a stretch of 14 months (although I still come home on weekends or long holidays).

By far, this current attachment is the shortest (I've been here since the last week of March) , but I think it's the one that's taking the biggest toll on me. Maybe because my circumstances have changed so much since the last time. All the other projects were during my single days, where I relished hanging out with equally single friends after a hard day's work. What was even more fun was all the extra income from my outstation allowance. Dian the Engineer was an icon of the modern successful woman in a man's world.

Nowadays, I come back too tired to spend good quality time with my family. My body aches, I am irritated, and I talk of nothing but work and all the associated problems that come with it. Having spent the whole day away from me, my son looks forward to me picking him up and showering him with kisses as I come in the door, but I quickly hurry away to wash off the dirt and grime collected from the construction site. I shut my ears to his forlorn wailing, close my eyes against the image of him straining away from the maid towards me with his arms outstretched. My husband takes the night bus from KL every week, despite his fear of their reckless speed, only to see me spend the weekends at the office or on site.

They deserve more than just Dian the Engineer. All Nuaim wants is Dian the Mother who coos with delight and pride when he tries to say 'FISH' and ends up with 'PIH'. All hubby wants is Dian the Wife who dolls herself up just for his sake and no one else's. All Mak wants is Dian the Daughter who is willing to spend a few hours over tea listening to her share her grievances that she keeps so well hidden from other people.

This weekend, at least for only 3 days, Dian the Engineer will step behind the curtains and let Dian the Wife-Mother-Daughter take centre stage.

If only there was anything clearer than crystal....

When I was in secondary school in Seremban, I used to take part in a few English debating competitions. One of the most over-used phrases in the debating fraternity then was "crystal clear". Today I was reminded of that phrase, and this entry's title was, apparently, another participant's smart spin on it. (No, I am not so original to have come up with that saying myself, nor did I hear it with my own ears as it was quoted to me by another friend).

Anyway, the reminder came as a result of a loss of water supply at the resort where I was staying.

I'd come back from work yesterday, and decided to spend a few minutes with my son while the maid did her prayers. After 15 minutes I began to wonder why it was taking her so long. After she was done and I passed Nuaim over to her so I could take a shower and pray, she told me that there was no water in the bathroom. The only available source was the kitchen tap, and even then the water was sometimes murky.

I called Maintenance. Apparently the whole resort is affected and there was no prior notice from JBA about the disruption, so there is no backup supply.

At about 9.30 pm, the water in my bathroom was flowing clear again, so I thought that was the end of it. But no....

When I woke up this morning the taps were dry again, including the kitchen sink. My husband and I quickly called Awana Kijal and booked two rooms for tonight, in case the problem remained unresolved throughout the day. As I was about to leave for breakfast, the water was back, though barely more than a trickle. We still haven't cancelled the booking at Awana though, just in case...

Oh, and did I tell you I have to come to work today (Friday is meant to be OFF day in Terengganu) because of some documents I'm expecting to arrive from Kuantan at 10.00 a.m., but it's now almost 11.30 and still no sign of anyone?

Speed Devil vs Overconcerned Nanna

Drove home from Kerteh last night with Ros keeping me company. We yakked most of the way home, which helped to relieve the boredom of the KL-Kuantan highway. Mind you, I'd never dare take a night drive all by myself. Can hardly believe I managed to travel from Kuantan to Genting in less than 2 hours. I hope I don't get caught on speed camera doing 160 on a 110 km/h road. Feel damn tired though. To make up for it, I stayed in bed till 10.00 this morning with darling baby Nuaim.

He's so cute when he wakes up in the morning but pretends to still be asleep. His eyes are shut, but he can't hide the smile or giggle when I tickle him behind his ears or his chin. What a lot I missed in 4 days! He can stand and take 3-4 steps unaided, and is now more vocal though he still can't form any coherent words. And he talks back! Must be something he picked up from me...

But tomorrow, hubby is driving us back to Kerteh, hopefully only till the end of the month. Mak isn't too happy about it, since Nuaim won't be spending his time at her house during that time. She keeps telling me to leave him behind, that the trip would tire him out, that he'll be lonely without the usual brouhaha that is her neighbourhood to keep him company and he'll lose his appetite. She's even suggested that I move back into the family home when I finish this Kereh project. What? That's so going to cramp my style!

I can't help thinking how self-centered she is about all this, trying to make me feel guilty for wanting my son to be with me. I mean, Nuaim already spends most of his waking hours away from me, at least let me spend my nights with him. After all, I am his mother, and Mak has already had the opportunity to lavish maternal affection on 5 children, all her own.

I really want to be able to bring up my own children and care for my family my way, without people dictating what I should or should not do. I don't remember my grandparents giving continuous instructions to my parents on how to raise us 5 siblings. Or maybe my parents were just as obstinate as I feel (although I do give in most of the time) and by the time my long-term memory could register anything, my grandparents had already given up. Then again, they did live 10 hours away from us. All the more reason for me to start planning a move somewhere a bit farther than ten minutes away from Mak's house.

Guilt trip. I should order a lovely bouquet of flowers for Mak. After all, it is Mother's Day on Sunday, and Nuaim and I won't be here to celebrate it.

Temptations

Look at this beauty. Whatever money I save from not going to the KL International Book Fair, I'm gonna spend it on this. Just as soon as I fill in all my claim forms, and they're all processed. Now, if only I can find all my receipts and boarding passes...

It's just another day...

I should've just stayed at home another day.

I was back in KL last week to attend a 5-day Control Valve Engineering and Maintenance course conducted by one of the vendors in PJ. The venue was only 10 minutes away from my mum's house, which was very convenient as it meant I had at least 1 and a half hours available in the morning to lounge about doing nothing. I spent the first few mornings catching up on the news, and the next few days catching up on my sleep. It felt so good to wake up at 8.00 a.m. and still make it in time for work. Nuaim seems to have caught the habit of sleeping in as well - he's usually up by 6.30 a.m. at the latest.

Anyway, the course finished on Friday, and yours truly got Top Student honours by virtue of getting the highest score of the combined 4 quizzes we had. Although I have to admit if they took into account the Hands-On training, I wouldn't be anywhere near the Top 5! But as it is, everyone else in the course was from Operations or Maintenance, and I was the only one from a Design Consultant background, so it's only fair that I should know more (at least theoretically) than the rest of the class. For being clever, I got me a mug and a 256MB thumb drive (I keep getting these lately, I now have a combined 672MB of thumb drive space at my fingertips - and all of them free!). This is much better than what my husband received for being Top Student in the same course two years ago - only a denim shirt that everyone got this time round.

I had planned to drive back up to Kerteh with hubby, baby and maid yesterday, but since Nuaim's eye isn't 100% okay yet and he still has to go see the doctor again on Friday, I decided I'll make this trip alone and come back for my family then. The KL International book fair was tempting (last day today at PWTC) but we didn't make it. As it is, I drove off at 7.00 this morning (half an hour later than planned) and arrived just two minutes after my ETA of 11.00 a.m. My left hand is shaking right now - could it be due to the driving, the coffee or an undiagnosed condition of Parkinson's?

It seems however, that more than 2/3 of the office decided to take the day off (KL people get today off in lieu of Labour Day falling on Sunday yesterday). All I've done today is issue a Field Instruction, and I've been trying to compose another one but the drawing I want to mark up for that FI isn't exactly available right now. So I've spent the last couple of hours surfing the Internet, ogling the latest 3G mobile phones - the Motorola A1000 is so worth salivating over, I wonder if it's worth 1 month's outstation allowance?

I've also tried logging into Maxis' online personal account, but after my first time login the system kept redirecting me to the login page. So I called up Customer Service. Turns out that it takes 2 hours before the online account is activated. If only they said that on the webpage, I told them so.

I know I should be doing some other work as well, but I just don't have all the information available with me, and no one who should have the information is available in the office either. So I'm just doing this to kill the next 30 minutes. I'm tempted to just leave and check in at the resort right now, because I really need to express my milk (my left mammary is starting to kill me!) And I so do not feel like going to site right now. We can leave that one for tomorrow, eh?

Getting the positive from the negative

I read this wonderful post that should have set me off on an introspective mood, except that at the office with some welding and grinding going on backdoors it doesn't quite set the correct ambience for self-reflection. Maybe I'll think about it later today, or this week, or next month.

Kerteh lagi...

I've been going on-off to Kerteh for several weeks already. Technically, I'm in Kerteh full time till the end of this project, but several DCS and SDS/FGS FAT's and FAT follow-ups took me back to KL. In the mean time, baby developed rash, conjunctivitis, a viral infection in the cornea and more rash. Yesterday, just 5 hours after I arrived from KL, Mak called me to ask what I ate the day before as a new outbreak of the nasty red dots had developed on Nuaim's chest. When I told her I had mee hailam, she went on a long tirade of how they might've cooked the sauce with prawns and stuff, albeit I didn't see any prawns in the noodles. Previously she had blamed the Kerteh air for Nuaim's conjunctivitis, until I told her we were already back in KL for a week before his eyes started getting red. She'll probably blame it on my condo next.

It seems that everything I decide to do for him is not good enough. Even if she doesn't agree with something my mother-in-law says regarding Nuaim's wellbeing, it's me that receives the critique and comments.

And now she's telling me not to take Nuaim to Kerteh anymore, it'll tire him out since I keep travelling back and forth every 3 or 4 days. I tell her it's only for this duration, that after this I'm going to be in Kerteh for a solid 3 weeks or so, so she doesn't have to worry that all the travelling will leave him spent as he'll be there with me. If she misses him so much, I can always get a plane ticket to come out here like the last time, although she'll probably hate having to miss her classes. Well, we don't always get everything we want in life, do we?

But honestly, I do wonder why she's so protective and possessive about my son, or do all grandmothers behave like that with their first cucu?

Anyway, I've decided to keep the technical stuff in another blog, make it my own reference for future projects. It's titled 'Field Engineer at Work'. I'll put in my ranting and b$%&*ing about PM's there as well, or maybe put up another blog 'Things I Hate About my PM" (and I'm not talking about Pak Lah here). Speaking of which, I haven't seen him since I arrived here. Gone to Sudan already kah? Everyone seems to be heading there except my hubby, and he's not too happy about it either.

A series of unfortunate events

The last couple of weeks have been quite memorable for all the wrong reasons.

I decided to go to Kerteh full time until the end of the construction phase of this project. I'd already been here for two weeks in February during the plant scheduled shutdown for the tie-in works, and had been anticipating an e-mail from my PM requesting for my mobilisation to site full-time for Field Engineering, but that e-mail never came.

So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and made an Executive Decision. I wrote the e-mail to my PM, detailing my scope of work to make it clear to everyone what I will and will not do (like Construction supervision - very tiring, tiresome job). Besides, the last trip I made there, it turned out there was such a huge backlog of documents to review it could've been a whole forest!

PM called back to say he agreed to me going to site (after Client had requested apparently for weeks already!) but my job scope had to be expanded to include Electrical Engineering, as well as Instrument and Electrical Construction supervision. HEL-LO! 4 hats on my head? I told him clearly that I don't do Electrical, I can't even tell a Switchgear from an MCC! Of course, he comes back with a statement like 'Ala, apa beza sangat kabel instrument dgn elektrik, sama je.'
Huh? As if cables are all there is to it? Must be from Mechanical Engineering background, my PM.

So here I was on the final week of March. After 5 days here, I had planned to return to KL for the weekend on Friday morning, taking a nice leisurely drive in our new car. My baby (who had just turned 10 months old on Thursday), mother-in-law and maid were travelling with me. However, I was made to attend a 2D 1N project team-building session at Suria Resort, Cherating starting Thursday afternoon. Since there were four of us and only one room allocated for me at the Resort, I proceeded to book an extra room at the Resort. I had never heard of it before (it's been in operation for 2 years only), but it turned out to be alright, although a bit remote from anywhere else and the mosquitoes hiding behind the curtains and furniture.

Anyway, the first team-building activity was an ice-breaking session. For this, we had some streetwise self-defence training, which entailed punches, kicks and slaps. We were divided into several groups, each given a specific scenario. Being the only lady in the whole project team who attended the session, I was inevitably given the role of a snatch theft victim. The good part was I could kick and elbow the Plant Operation Superintendent (Snatch Thief #1) and no one would lift an eyebrow - not that I really wanted to, because he really is a very nice, quiet guy. But in the role-playing process, the other Snatch Thief must have injured my foot. At first I thought it was just a surface scratch, but as I stared at it it got redder and redder and soon was bleeding. It wasn't a very deep cut, but it still hurts. Unfortunate Event #1

The next group activity (after BBQ dinner) was a group discussion on several problem areas the project was facing. The itinerary said 10 pm to 11pm, so when I walked in at 10.45 pm after trying quite unsuccessfully to put my son to sleep, imagine my surprise when they had only just completed half of the introductions. For the record, my group was the last to wrap up at 1.00 a.m., and we had to present our findings and solution to the problem the next day. I think this contributed greatly to The Great Unfortunate Event.

We left the Resort, heading back to KL around noon. I was really sleepy, but a quick shower freshened me up somewhat before the journey. The drive on the Kuantan Bypass however quickly brought the Sandman back. I told myself to stop for fuel and a cup of coffee at the next petrol station, but there was none to be found.

I was looking for a junction that would take me to the new KL-Kuantan highway, and was less than 500m away from it when I came across another junction. The white Kancil in front of me turned right, and I moved to the left, signalled and all, with the intention of going straight on. But the Kancil confused me, maybe the junction it took was the right one to the highway. So I slowed down, almost stopping, craning my head up to read the signboard, just checking whether I should go straight towards the traffic lights ahead or follow the Kancil, when suddenly something knocked me real hard in the back of our brand new car.

'Uh oh!'

When I pulled up, and the Proton Iswara that hit me pulled up too, I said to myself that we would just go to the nearest workshop, settle the costs and be on our way. Before I was able to even unlatch my seat belt, the other driver was already standing at my window, hands on his hips, looking not very friendly indeed.

To put a long story short, we argued a bit (or rather, he argued with my mum-in-law), then went in search of a workshop. We took a long route (not very familiar with the backwaters of Sungai Lembing), and finally found a workshop near Gambang, en route to Kuantan. I paid him a sizeable amount to repair his car (I know, he should pay for MY damages instead, but my addled brain thought it best at the time, and I really wanted to get going home as soon as possible).

But my car, my not-even-three-weeks-on-the-road car, had a hole in the bumper. And it's a big bumper. After what I paid that guy, I can't afford to pay for a new bumper as well! And my husband wasn't even in the country then. So I had to drive back to Kuantan, make a police report so I could get our insurance to cover for the damages, and was rightly scolded by them for settling with the other driver before making the report. It was already 4 pm, and the report office was already closed at 3 o'clock, so I'd have to come into Kuantan again on a weekday to collect it.

All in all, I reached home at about 10 pm that night, then was running around my mum's place looking for my condo security card key when all the while it was safely tucked in my glove compartment.

When my husband arrived home the next morning, my mum-in-law had warned me to break the news to him slowly, after he was fully rested. The moment of revelation went like this:

He: I'm going out to send the car for its first 1000 km service.

Me: You don't have to. The car only needs servicing after 10,000 km.

He: Really?

Me: Yup. I checked the Maintenance booklet. But, there is something that needs doing to the car. (I try to look nonchalant, but am failing miserably).

When I told him after that, and he asked me how much I paid the bloke, I put it at about 600 bucks. I got a mild scolding from him for that. If only he knew how much it really cost me.

The next day my father-in-law called me, and said he was very upset with what happened, and was going to call the Kuantan OCPD to press charges on the Iswara driver. Fortunately, MIL managed to convince him otherwise, saying it'll be a hassle for me to go up and down to Kuantan and all.

So now I've got the police report on my way back here yesterday, and am not really looking forward to get another scolding from my insurance company for not pressing charges.

Just because I rock doesn't mean I'm made of stone

I watched 'Me, Myself and Irene' on Astro recently, and somehow that line stuck. For those not in the know, the movie was about a really nice guy, Charlie, who has been suppressing all his anger until it manifests itself into a second personality called Hank who thinks he's really cool but isn't (the line is his). It's one of Jim Carrey's less successful movies, I think, and the above line is about the only really memorable thing about the movie. But I'm writing it here just so that I don't forget it.

It's PPA time again...

The last week has been really hectic. I've forgotten how preparing yearly appraisals can be so time consuming and mind numbing, and couple that with a project that seems to run into trouble at every corner (and this project is like a myriagon - so many corners but you end up just going in circles like a headless chicken) - by the end of Wednesday I already felt like I've been in a high-speed tumble dryer. And I still had two days to go through.

The PPA is supposed to consist of a Performance Plan at the beginning of the period (April), a mid-year review in October and a final review and Appraisal in March the following year. One is supposed to list down all the objectives and KPIs at the beginning, and work towards that objective. It actually makes sense - if you set your target to complete a project in 5 months, and it actually took you 4, then you've exceeded your target, you get a better appraisal, right? The problem is, no one actually sits down to properly plan their performance at the beginning, and when you're first assigned to a project you're still not quite sure what you're supposed to deliver - especially if it's a PMC job and it's already in the construction phase, and you know you've got a less than competent contractor to work with. I mean, no way you can score a 2 (Exceeding Expectations) there, can you? Maybe if I put my KPI as 'surviving this project with my head intact', I might just manage a 3 (Meeting Expectations).

And what about that proposal that I spent 9 months preparing? I started it in April, had to go to site, collect documents, do some pre-engineering before actual project kick-off - when the client decides to shelve it because the project cost was above their budget. Does that mean I failed, just because my proposal (which was as tight as a newborn baby's rectum) went over the initial half-baked cost estimate that only considered major mechanical equipment but not all the other systems modifications and structural work?

And this time around I'm supposed to quote actual behavioural demonstrations of people and business skills, like Initiative and Relationship Building. Well, I married a colleague and had a baby, so does that count? But I married him last year, so can only consider baby this time...

When the bough breaks, the baby will fall...

Okay, baby wasn't exactly rock-a-byeing on a tree top, but he did fall off the bed in his sleep. Actually I wasn't sure if he was asleep. It was past 1 a.m., and after a nappy change around midnight, Nuaim was simply too restless to fall back into a deep slumber. He kept tossing and turning, and kept scratching the back of his head - I think he must be allergic to something I ate that got through into the milk. His poor Ummi, on the other hand, could hardly keep her eyes open. In the end I thought Sod it. I'm going to sleep. Nuaim can toss and turn until he's too tired and falls asleep all by himself.

Next thing I knew I heard a scream, and woke up to find him missing from the bed. I found him on the floor at the end of the bed (How did he get THERE?), fortunately not visibly hurt.

Tonight, he doesn't sleep on the bed with me anymore. He's in a cot all by himself.

Poor boy.

Baby tidur buas la...

Ever heard the phrase 'sleeping like a baby'? What image does it conjure up in your mind? Probably of a cherubic face, eyes closed, dimpled cheeks pressed against a blanket with soft contented sighs emanating from cupid's bow lips.

Not my baby boy. Because I'm still breastfeeding, his baby cot is pulled up directly next to our bed with the side panel removed, so that I can just pull him up close to me when he wants a night feed. Now at 9 months, Nuaim tosses and turns in his sleep. Most of the time my husband and I would be squeezed in one half of our queen size bed while Nuaim rolls over from his cot. Other times, he'll be kicking against my tummy to gain leverage while he executes a 90 or 180 degree turn, all in his sleep. I've caught him in a sort of mid-role pose with one arm outstretched, like a snapshot of an Olympic free-style swimmer.

Maybe he'll grow up to become an Olympic gold medallist like Ian Thorpe. Anything but an engineer, darling - although he does seem to exhibit the strongest interests in techie stuff. Aiyoo... how to discourage him aah?

My two boys are napping. I've had the last two hours all to myself, and I'm supposed to be completing some work I brought home from the office - but I have a feeling it's going to be late on Sunday evening before it actually gets done.

THIS is why I should never bring work home. There are too many distractions around me - the book I've been trying to read, the VCD I've meant to watch, and the TV programmes that usually fill up other people's weekends. But I really, really have to finish this piece of work that's due Monday morning, and this is the best time to do it.

Well, go do it then.

Fine, I will.

Acting some more...

I had to go on stage today. Haven't done that for ages. I thought I could escape acting as I'd already prepared the script and all, but no...

We are participating in a regional Quality-sharing forum in March. One of the events lined up is a series of sketches by the various units and subsidiaries of the parent Company. The sketches are supposed to display quality practices relating to work.

This event is usually a competition, and the winner of the regional sessions would slog it out at the biennial group-wide forum to emerge as THE winner. But this year, the organising committee decided to change it into a 'SHARING' forum. It will just be a showcase, not a competition anymore. When we were first informed of this change, it did put a slight damper on the team's spirits. After all, when we won the competition at our unit's own Quality Day, we all started dreaming of winning the BIG one and maybe get a mention by the President himself (company punya, not Bush). That would look good in anyone's yearly appraisal.

Today we had to go through an assessment by the organising committee. Again, we thought that it was a screening to select only four out of the seven entries in total. It turned out to be a sort of rehearsal cum coaching session, just to make sure the sketches are acceptable enough to be presented (we don't want to go around offending other people, do we?) and also for the committee to decide on the presentation schedule. (Apparently 3 will be presented during a formal dinner, while the other 4 will be during the forum itself).

We decided to put up our best anyway. The committee rep said it had to be a live performance, this assessment, so despite our busy schedule we still put in rehearsals during our lunch breaks. Nevermind that two of our cast had to go outstation at the last minute, and I had to replace one of them with only two practice sessions. Nevermind that two other units, who couldn't make it to the assessment, only sent in videos of their sketches.

In the end, I think we put up a commendable performance, and our efforts to get stand-ins for the missing cast members put us in a good stead with the assessing committee. So much so that the committee leader actually sought our opinion as to which sketch to present during the dinner.

One of the teams did the whole presentation on video. I thought it was very well done. The editing and shots were superb, so much so that it invoked envious remarks from some other groups who snidely claimed it must have taken tens of thousands of precious RM to make, when it only cost 50 bucks! Just goes to show there's a lot of hidden talent within the Group. Maybe we should start producing our corporate advertisements inhouse...

Two days to go

I've been in Kerteh for 10 days now. We traveled on the 1st of February (that was another public holiday for Federal Territories) on the new Karak-Kuantan highway, but I didn't see much of it because I dozed off. And I've been working every day since the 2nd of February, supervising and inspecting some tie-in and modification work at a Gas Terminal in Kerteh.

For the uninitiated, that means putting on hard hats and one-piece coveralls (mine is a bright neon yellow, because the blue flame-resistant Nomex type was too large for me), walking about in heavy safety boots (also at least 1/2 size too big, but fortunately high-cut so they don't slip off my feet) and cycling around the plant under the hot sun with sweaty construction workers wolf-whistling at you. And before anyone starts picturing tall, hunky men with glistening muscles - NO, they don't look like that in Malaysia. Picture a bunch of thin, dark-skinned Kelantanese or Terengganu men (with a few Filipinos sprinkled here and there for the 'masyarakat majmuk' factor) in dirty, ill-ftting coveralls and that's more like it.

Yesterday being a public holiday (today and tomorrow as well), I'm not quite in the mood for working. I'm supposed to do 12-hour shifts from 7.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. everyday, but yesterday I decided to come in at 8.00 a.m. instead. Breakfast at the resort where I'm staying starts at 7.00, so that was my first stop. Bad decision - I should have just given it a miss and bought breakfast at one of the roadside stalls for a more wholesome meal.

Nothing really happens at site till 8.00 a.m. anyway. And by the time I sauntered in an hour later, there was very little progress beyond where we had left off the day before.

But today I decided to be good and punctual. I'm going to be the first person in the plant, so I can start shouting to the workers about being slow. Show them who's the boss. As I walked past the canteen, fully decked in safety gear and pulling my bike along on the gravelly path (I don't want to ride my bike there and fall flat in front of everyone), one of the other Inspectors called out to me.

Dian, tak boleh masuk site lagi lah. Tengah buat RT. Pukul 9 baru siap. (Dian, you cannot enter the site yet. There's an RT going on till 9 o'clock)

Duhhh.

So much for showing who's the boss.