Still Alive and Kicking

I know, my two-week break turned out into a 3-month absence from Blogland. Kenapa, rindu ke?
The truth is I have been really super-duper busy. Honest. In chronological order, this is what happened after Hari Raya Haji:

Hubby came home for his 18-day RnR, but he extended it with the hope that the Sudanese will just forget about him. After three months, they noticed his absence and called him back.

We finished packing up for the move, and moved the furniture into the new house on the last Saturday of 2007.

Had a do'a selamat and proper moving in the next day, when my maid threw in a clanger - she REFUSED to move in with us (we'd all been staying at my mum's house then). For weeks she'd been asking to go back to her hometown in Sulawesi, saying her kids missed her and her dad was ill. Her two-year contract was supposed to end in April this year, and I was willing to give her a couple of weeks' break to visit them, but she wouldn't give me an answer as to whether she was still willing to come back here. So I terminated her work permit and sent her off for good. In the first week of January.

Nuaim started kindergarten. First day Hubby sent him - he was fine. Second day I took him - he wouldn't let me go. When I finally managed to leave an hour later he was clinging to the front door wailing his lungs out.

I was MAIDLESS for almost a month! Luckily Mak had a friend who could arrange for a new Indonesian maid almost immediately - otherwise I'd probably have to wait for another couple of months before some sense of domestic order arrived. She's quite old school (she's even got a 7-year-old grandchild already) but so far so good. I've had to travel to Kerteh several times with her and Aiesyah in tow (I'm still breastfeeding) and it helps that's she's a lot more talkative than the previous ones I've had.

My boys get along well with her too, but they're still pretty attached and cling to me whenever I'm around, especially when I come home from work. So you see, with Office blocking Blogger.com and hardly any time to myself, please excuse me when the sneak peeks into my totally hip and happening life are unavailable. The only reason I can blog now is that I'm spending the weekends at my mum's (now that Hubby's in Sudan again) so the boys' attentions are diverted elsewhere.

With all the activities and changes going on, it's no wonder that I am physiologically a grandmother!

8 Random Facts

Got tagged by Adita to do a simple meme.

The rules:
- Link to your tagger and post these rules.
- List eight (8) random facts about yourself.
- Tag eight people at the end of this post and list their names.
- Let them know they've been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blogs.

List eight (8) random facts about myself:

1. I’m an engineer. My dad was an engineer, so are my two surviving paternal uncles. My brother was studying engineering but quit halfway to sort his life out. I am married to an engineer. Guess what my children are going to be when they grow up? Definitely NOT engineers (if they have to, it’d better not have anything to do with Instrument, Electrical or Electronics).
   
2. If I hadn’t become an engineer, I would have pursued a degree in History. Or Egyptology. Or Theatre. Or even Fashion Design. Once I considered opening a kindergarten but after three kids I’ve changed my mind.
   
3. Between my sister and I, we have the whole Enid Blyton Rewards series. As a child I thought of turning our family home into a public children’s library but my parents didn’t like the idea.
   
4. I love to collect recipes but the only thing I can confidently cook is Garlic Chicken (from Ken Hom’s Hot Wok). And any pasta dish that involves an Italian called Prego.
   
5. I went to an all-girl’s school, but due to my voice I almost always played male parts in school plays. I finally got to play a female character in my final year because there were no male speaking parts available. But in university I reverted back to type and played Tun Perak.
   
6. I never played competitive sports until I started working, where I somehow got roped in to represent my company during a volleyball tournament. We played against 6 other teams – won 3 and lost 3. Guess which matches I played in.
   
7. I look good in maroon and royal blue. But now I’m into olive green and deep chocolaty brown. So Earth Mother…
   
8. I have found The Bag…
   
   I am tagging these people:
   CikMilah
   Careen
   Ubisetela
   Hubby
   Stingrayz
   Lina
   Ayin
   Lady Verde