What Was and What Was Not!

What Was Not:

I waited and waited for 11.30am for Kelab Disney Malaysia to air on Saturday. In fact I scheduled my whole day around the airtime of 11.30am to 12.30 pm in the hopes that I could get to see my daughter on the idiot box. You see, they came to Khadra's school for a shoot last weekend and I had the impression that she'd be on this weekend. So, we told the whole kampung to tune in as our little precious will be on National TV - all our family members, some 30 unsuspecting people bombarded with smses.. And the waiting game began... Then, suddenly... Apahal lak cerita budak sekolah Shah Alam ni nak pergi menari in Turkey? Alamak.... It's not showing this week... Imagine me, waiting on my mommy's brand new super comfy sofa, with Khadra on my lap. Aleh-aleh, takda pa-pa.. Aaaaahhh.. Frust, ok? Khadra just went, "I am not on TV, mom" and merrily went ahead with her business.. Me? Pressure punya pasal... Tu tak campur malu lagi.. I just closed my eyes and caught up on some sleep. Malas nak pikir... I found out later from Khadra's teacher that the program will air sometime in May. So, here's to waiting, yet again... Don't give up on me, people.. Let's wait together-gether, okies?

What Was:

What Was, however, is that I had a fantastic series of makan-makan with some girlfriends from PPP. The quorum that made what I fondly called the TETBES was made up of Noresh, Amy, Aje and Zied.

We didn't plan it that way, just that the ones who finally turned up had pretty large assets (?) heh heh heh We started downing the scrumptious Daim cake intersperced with the yummylicious Swedish meatballs with cranberry sauce, before making our way to the Little penang Cafe for some tea. On the menu was the Penang Curry Mee; meehoon only with extra tauhu; a plate of Gurney Drive Rojak, Prawn mee, cendol and a variety of beverages. The food was finger-licking, the company was great and the conversation was scandalous! Uuuuhhhh.. I loike!!! Another write up can be read at Amy's - also the source of this ciloked pix. (Ros, Pijah, Sand - lain kali musti mau join aaa...) *Updated* Other write ups on the same event: Aje & Noresh .

-dillz blogging out-

Muslims All Around

I managed to finish up Dina Zaman's I Am Muslim whilst I was up near the peaks of Genting Highlands. (actually, nearer to the base of Genting Sempah daa..) People I know around me (virtual or otherwise) were writing reviews on it, attending it's launch, etc.. I bought it at Silverfish in Bangsar, (next to Devi's) 'coz I wanted to see for myself what the fuss and the controversy was all about. And, I was pleasantly surprised.

The book is a collection of Dina's articles about how life is lived by Muslims; from her experience with the bomohs, the ustazs to the everyday Sitis and Ahmads. Very rich, very insightful. I was also pleasantly surprised to see some fimiliar names quoted in the book -- Eeh.. macam kenal, aje?

Overall, it was a very good read. Just have an open mind and see for yourself, please... BTW, if you wanna catch her live: she'll be in MPH, Bangsar Village II from 11.00am to 12.30pm on Saturday; 28th April 2007.

-dillz blogging out-

Your Boy?

During Ewa's wedding, Khadra saw Kira (my youngest sis) suspiciously talking to a boy, who happens to be her bf la. So, she came over and the following conversation took place:

Khadra: Achu, is that your boy? *pointing to THE boy*

Kira: What?*shocked, a little taken aback*

Khadra: Is that your boy?*confidently*

Kira: Kak Ngah, tengok la anak awak ni!!!!! *yelling at me*

Heh heh heh.. She is curious , that little one.. Tula, bawak lagi boyfriend datang rumah...

So, the other day, I was talking to hubby about how he should prepare answering Khadra when she finally asks about her paternal grandfather. You see, Azrul's dad passed away when he was only 8 months old. Khadra knows that she has 2 grandmas and a 1 grandpa. She calls my mom, Nenek; my dad, Aki and Azrul's mom, Atok. She could also understand the secondary relationship; eg Nenek = My mom's mom and Atok = My dad's mom.

And the day finally came;

.. while driving along to school one morning;

Khadra: Dad, where is your mom's boy?

Dad: What? *that's always our first reaction*

Khadra: Where is your mom's boy?

Dad: Ooo.. My dad passed away when I was a baby.

Khadra: You were a baby?

Eeh, ke situ pulak dia... 

-dillz blogging out-

Srikandi Support

The weekend was a packed one for me as the first Srikandi Exco Meeting took almost the whole of my Saturday. But for Rm85 pax we had the use of the meeting room, break at 11am, scrumptious buffet lunch whilst serenaded by the 4-piece "GOMOS" group from Indonesia and more tea breaks at the Seri Pacific Hotel. (previously known as Pan Pac) I think that was quite worth it, especially when the Madam President was paying! :) Thank you Kak Mariamah, semoga murah rezeki!!! I thought the meeting was quite a fruitful one, we managed to schedule more EXCO meetings throughout the year, brainstormed on our "wish" activities, clarified our portfolios and embarked on a Srikandi Blueprint. Of course, the other big thing happenning this year is the Malam 3 Serangkai commemorating 50 years of STAR, SDAR and STF. I can foresee my social calendar being very full these two years.. So, thanks so much yang, for letting me do this!

On top of that, my kids and I also went to show our support for our lovely fellow Srikandi, Ms Yoga Instructor herself, Ninie. The finale hall was filled with Ninie's supporters clad in red or white with banners and styrofoam alphabets spelling "H.A.T.I.Y.O.G.A", "We HEART Ninie", "We voted for The Yoga Instructor" and lots more. I actually wanted to bring a banner with "Ninie, Marry My Brother" written on it, but I never got down to doing it. Me and my procrastination. Hrrmph!! But, we did bring Elmo since he was the right colour! Khadra even practiced chanting "Ninie! Ninie!" in the car to prepare for the show. 

Fortunately, we had extra pair of hands from Kak Hana, Kak Spena, and Kak Sue Nafry and her friendly crew of four. Thanks so much guys, I dah tak terkejar dah si Khaleeq tu ...

I guess the real shocker of it all is that our lovely Ninie did not win. It was very sad to see hearts crushed and dreams shattered like that. But, I do know that what doesn't kill you, will only make you stronger. Bounce back, Ninie.. Bounce back stronger than ever.. You have it in your heart - the passion, the drive to make it work. So, take your time to grief, feel the resentment and bitterness before you take on the world once more. It'll only make your success that much sweeter!

As we were walking out the hall, my Khadra said, "I like your purple friend, mom." See, even the little one knows...

-dillz blogging out-

My Absence..

So, we were at Awana, Genting Highlands for a 5-day Managing Across Cultures course. It was meant to prepare managers who would be going on international postings / assignments. The day would start at 8.30am and end at 11.00pm daily. There were lectures, lectures, lectures, case study presentation in the form of a sketch (I loike acting!) and we had to come out with an action plan to resolve the 'real' issues when we get back to the office. So, it really was 5-days (and more!) of hard work..

The course is simply an eye-opener for me. We were very lucky to get prominent speakers in the field to come talk to us. We had Dr. Paddy Bowie, an 83-year old Oxon who has been in Malaysia for 53 years. Gosh, she's been here even longer than Malaysia's independence. (She's also the one who gave the Oxford toast at the Boatrace Gala Dinner) We had our personality trait profiled by Peter Shephard, and I am a high RED. This cluster represents sociability and expressiveness. According to the CREDO Personality Profile, people with high RED scores are:

More extroverted, warm and friendly. Good at greeting people, uninhabited. Expressive with eye contact and gestures. Initiates and responds. More spontaneous, optimistic and cheerful. Likes excitement. Moves at a more vigorous speed. - I guess that kinda summarizes me. ;)

There was also Dr. Asma Abdullah, the cultural guru who happens to be an old-TKCian and Peter's wife - so when she talks about across cultures, she really knows what she's talking about. Then, there was Sverre Stoje, a Swedish who gave a very entertaining and expressive talk on Change. We also had the priviledge of having a Life Coach onboard in the form of Ms Su-Chzeng. Last but not least, we had a very special main instructor, Mr Mano Maniam, who is more well known as an actor than a culture expert! So, that was the icing to the cake!

In between, we also managed to slot in a 2-hour karaoke session. I didn't know that I was surounded by such karaoke junkies. But of course, I find that the microphone is in my hand, most of the time. (I am a self-confessed karaoke-biatch!) It was really kinda hectic for us but I managed to find some more 'me' time and finally finished I Am Muslim by Dina Zaman. ;) (Not gonna go into that until later, ok? )

I just needed to emphasize that we worked really hard that week... We honestly did. Honest!

-dillz blogging out-