Thursday 9th December 2009

2 days before our family getaway..
Reports are still WIPs...
Daym..

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Working hard for my holiday

Already booked an island getaway for nucleus family starting Sunday, 14th December 2009. Everything is sorted and I even got my annual leave approved and all.
Thing is, I have three pending reports to be published by the 24th. Damn.

So, am burning the midnight oil.
Shipped the kids off to my mom's and we have the house to ourselves.
Kinda need to focus.
Feels like it is MBA all over again.
Pulling all-nighters day in and day out.
Kinda cool, eh?
hihihihi

Praying for perseverance and persistence to pull this off.
Amin..

So, excuse me while I go off untuk mencari sesuap nasi...

(Picture searched from Google: here)

-dillz blogging out-

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Lunching with the GCEO

What a pleasant surprise.
The exclusive lunch talk invitation with the GCEO included a certificate presentation - plaque (and cash?) allin. Thing is i completed my Masters way back in 2006. Ingatkan memang dah tak dapat dah. So, this was unexpected and pleasant indeed.
I'll update later. Nak dengar welcoming speech sat. :)

*Updated*
No cash this time around, but I was in the news smiling away.. Wu-hu!
-dillz blogging out-

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Lionel Ritchie Malaysia

This originally came from my second cousin, he had a paper clipping dated yonks ago. It's basically about Tan Sri Hamzah Abu Samah's safe return from a heart operation overseas. (We didn't have IJN back then!)

What makes it so special is that the gentleman reciting the doa was my grandfather. Now, take special note of that young man standing beside him. Doesn't he remind you of Lionel Ritchie?


What? Tak kenal Lionel Ritchie? He is famous for evergreens such as Hello! and All Night Long.

(Picture from: here)

Anyways, soalan cepumas pagi ini:
What is so special about that Lionel Ritchie Malaysia?
Answer:
It is none other than my very own dad!
hihihihihihihihi

So comel with the rambut kerinting-kerinting and a looong moustache!

-dillz blogging out-

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

One of the Man(s) has gotten married!

A brief shout out to my colleague who was mentioned prior in my Wali: Cari Jodoh post.

Congratulations Man!! Semoga berbahagia ke anak cucu!!! Semoga berbahagia hingga ke akhir hayat!!!

Picture credit: Adeeb! :) Thanks, hunny!

While he is now off for a week with his new bride, honeymooning to an undisclosed location, we are working hard to get the newly weds one of these babies!

A Fully Automatic Washing Machine for their new home!

Question now, is: Would it be this one?
This ultra chic Samsung one?

But, this one would definitely save you some time, bro!
Pictures from: here, here and here

hihihihihi..
Don't worry lah, we'll give you the money, you buy what you wantlah, huh???

-dillz blogging out-

Friday, November 20, 2009

Mau Potong!

I am sick of my old hair.

Tradition-wise, I would torture treat myself to a hair makeover once in a year - that is during my birthday week. I'd colour them, style them, treat them to my liking and the process would repeat every year. Ni lah lebih kurang rupa rambut sekarang.

(Cheh perasan JLo!)

Thing is, the uncoloured roots are now about 6 inches long and the coloured part are brittle, weak and limp. Pecah-pecah some more.. Lagipun, Raya Haji pun dah nak dekat. (Ecece Alasan..) *ehem* I just think it's time for a change.

And change has to be drastic. I have to look very different! Ultimately I want my natural colour to fill up my head once again. I think my hair and scalp have had enough of them colours. So, the way to go is short. How short? Now, that's the real question.

Inilah pilihannya..

Picture from : here, here here and here

Will I come home as Rihanna, Katie Holmes or Nicole Ritchie?
TUNGGUUUUuuuuuuuu...
(I suspect not even one of them!)

p/s: B, S.U.R.P.R.I.S.E! hihihihihihi

-dillz blogging out-

Reading Regime for Khaleeq

Remember the stack of books I loaned from the school to aid in Khaleeq's reading? Thank God that we loaned them as we were told that a complete set would burn RM300 plus in our pocket. *Phew*

Picture from: here
Well, there are 18 books in three difficulty levels. Jenuhla weh... A quick run through of the GINN Reading 360 System.

Level 2
These books have big fonts with around 1-7 words to a sentence. Very easy-going for the eyes and great start for beginner-readers. The plan is to get Khaleeq to finish all 6 books by next weekend, 29th November 2009. It should not be too difficult as he has already read 2 of them before. It's more of a challenge to me to dedicate enough time to coax and teach him. (Oh, my temper! Yes, it gets REALLY challenging) But, I have decided to dedicate at least an hour a day for him for this cause. I have also promised him that he will be able to buy a new Tom and Jerry Series VCD if he accomplish this task. (Cheap prezzie, I know. hihihihi) We'll see how well this goes and the milestone has been set. The titles for this level are:
1. Liz and Digger
2. Can we help?
3. I can hide
4. Can you?
5. Come for a ride
6 Ben and the duck

Level 3

The going gets tougher here. There are multiple sentences in a page and the font has become somewhat smaller. But, the characters are still familiar - Digger the dog, Liz and Ben, Mom and Dad. :) So, it helps the kid a lot. they also introduce a lot of new words (and animals) here. By now his vocabulary (more like familiar words) would have grown somewhat and by the end of it he would be able to intelligently guess unfamiliar words. I hope. *fingers crossed* Taking into account that we only have till end of December to complete ALL levels, I have decided to attempt level 3 in the first 2 weeks of December. 14 days for 6 books. The end date falls nicely before we go off to a family vacation in *an undisclosed location* hihihihihi.. Lepas penat kerja, perlu ada habuannya, kan? I hope he keeps his motivation and drive up till this point. :) The titles in this level are:
1. Don't run away!
2. Digger at school
3. A duck is a duck
4. Horses
5. Picnic for Tortoise
6. Lost and found

Level 4
Aahh.. Here's where it really tests whether he has been memorizing or he his really able to read by himself. The words are even smaller now. With about two paragraphs in a page and we have about 3 weeks to tackle it. My take to this level is more like we'll see how far we can go,lah. If by then he is really able to read, it would not be a problem to Khaleeq already. He'd breeze though it. I'll just keep the expectations realistic though. Kesian kat dia. In any case, the bounty is menarik! We promised him the Megatron Animated figure yang besar tu. Kasi chan la sama itu budak.. :)
Oh btw, the titles in this level are:
1. At the zoo
2. Helicopters
3. Animal tales
4. What a surprise!
5. Animal friends
6. Once upon a time

Which reminds me , need to get a nice stack of readables to perkasakan Khadra's Bahasa Melayu too. Hmmm.. Where to get, ah?

-dillz blogging out-

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Welcome to the Club!

We are in! We are in!
In where, you ask?
Why, Kelab Golf Negara Subang, of course! :)


Pictures from: here
*Grin*Grin*Grin*

Good thing about the club is that there are plenty of outlets serving food. And they are not at all pricey. I already got my SPOUSE membership card semalam. So, bolehlah entertain kawan-kawan kat sini nanti.. I sign, Azrul bayar.. hihihihihi (Perasan tai-tai)

Nak kena fmiliarize with what we can do there, for me and for the familylah pullok, other than golf for Azrul, that is.. Among the facilities offered:
  • Sporting Facilities - They have a gym (complete with gym instructors at designated times hahahaha NO MORE EXCUSES, FATSO!), Aerobics, Yoga, some dance classes, squash, table tennis, swimming, tennis, tai chi and tae-kwan-do.
  • Recreational Facilities - Library (would be the perfect place for me to study my CIA, loh!) , Fruit Machine (ini apa?), snooker and card room.
  • Other Facilities - Pro shop, hair salon, car wash, convenience shop and foot reflexology centre. (Wah! I loike!)
Looks like we would be hanging out there often now. It's good that they have proper classes / coaching for swimming, tennis etc. Could enrol the kids in it while I check out the foot reflexology centre! hihihihi I remember when I was yee-high (pointing to my waist) , us, adik-beradik , would hang out at Lake Club attending swimming lessons, going to library and all that. I guess it has now come to a full circle. Now, my kids are able to do that pulak. :)

-dillz blogging out-

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

PTM is here again

It's PTM time at Beaconhouse Bangsar again! :) For the uninitiated, PTM stands for Parent Teacher Meeting. Butterflies have been fluttering in mommy's tummy since last night. Takuttttt nak jumpa cikgu.

First up was Khadra. I have to say the meeting was pretty smooth sailing. To put it in a nutshell, Teacher Amy thought that she was ready to transition into the big school. Primary One, next year, in SK Bukit Damansara. She was so sweet to say that Khadra is one of her "creme" in the class. Her Head of School's remarks were also very encouraging:
Khadra is an all rounder students with lots of potential in her academics. With this attitude and personality, she will be able to excel in her primary years and beyond. Keep up the fantastic work.
Sangat uplifting dan sangat bangga menjadi mommy Khadra. :) Good job, girl. I hope you'd keep this up all the way through your studies.

This year is Khadra's graduating year. So, after the one-on-one interview, we were given the graduation certificate and picture. She looks so matured and pretty n this picture. Note the purple band on her right wrist. That's her signature for these past few months. Sometimes one hairband, sometimes multiple. Apa punya pesen dok pakai getah kat tangan ni pun, I tak tau.. Hopefully, this would be the first of many many more! (graduations, not hair bands on the wrist!)
Next on the agenda: Khaleeq. The major cause of those darn butterflies, I would say. Takut okay nak jumpa Teacher Rita. hihihihihi..
All in all, Teacher Rita assured us that Khaleeq has no problems what-so-ever in the social / interaction / participation / gym / music / art side. He's excellent in those department.s :) On the academic side - the writing, the reading, the Maths ; still can be improved. hihihihihi..

So, we are thinking of spending a little more time with him during the school holidays, brushing up on his reading and writing especially. Teacher Helena, the Head of School, was gracious enough to let us borrow the Gin Reading System for Levels 2 through 4. (banyak woo.. every level ada 6 books) We'll see how he does in that. All this while Khaleeq has only read 2 books with Level 2 difficulty. A tough challenge for him, but we'll be supporting him in that! (sambil bercuti, sambil baca buku lah nampaknya..) Actually, he did the two books very well. His classmate, Adam told his mom (who happens to be my friend, Elly) that Khaleeq is the best reader in his class. So, sweet lah Adam.. :) hihihihihi I think the real issue here is that we are setting too low an expectation out of him. We need to raise the bar a little and let's see him swim!

In terms of writing, what else can be done? It just takes a whole lot of practice, practice, practice. I know he has improved tremendously. Earlier this year, he was even writing his alphabets all funky. At least sekarang, when he wants to, he could write beautifully. :) But it takes him sooooooooo long to finish them. Azrul is thinking of enrolling him into something more physical (like tennis or football) for the discipline, obedience and focus. Maybe it's a good idea. In the mean time, I just have to MAKE more one-on-one time with him for school stuff. We'll see how this evolveslah, ok?

So, all in all it was two great meets. It's good to see that the pre-school system allows us time for quality feedback session. I mean, it has to be two-ways, of course. Otherwise how would you know whether your children are on the right track or not. I mean , your children would have different needs. What would work on one may not necessarily work on the other. So, it's a constant learning preocess for the parents too... So, yeah, we have an action plan for the holidays already. Wish us luck. (Nanti ni, mak dia yang malas. hihihihi) Insya Allah, all will turn out OK. :)

-dillz blogging out-