Selamat Tahun Baru 2007

Happy New Year To All!

Let's hope for better health and more magical moments in our life in 2007.

(Err... apa azam tahun baru ni? Share with me so I can laugh at it, pleazze!!!)

Cool Highland!

Several weeks ago, I became a singleton for a week as the ladies of my life made their way balik kampung. Maklumler cuti-cuti sekolah ni, hendaklah jugak beralih angin. And while there, they joined Yan's sisters and their families ke Cameron Highlands. Cuti-Cuti Malaysia! Here are some of the pix....

Alia and Arissa makan buah limau
Pelakun-pelakun extra filem "Heart"

Great Wall of Tomatoes. Cool.

Having a cuppa up in the mountain

The mommy

Daughter No 3

Daughter No 1

Daughter No 2

Bersama-sama bunga kekwa. Kekwa ker?

This is my favourite pix. Ceria and ceria and ceria selalu.

By the Great wall

Scary Moment

It was scary, really. Mak fell ill earlier this morning.
Today, I was awaken by a phone call from my brother Azmi around 6.45 am and informed that Mak fell from her bed and apparently hit her head until berdarah.
In five minutes, I was already driving like mad to Shah Alam! Mak was lying in Chor's living room when I got there and was a bit better. She told me she blacked out and that's when she sort of jatuh. And when Mi got there we brought her to the nearest medical centre and both of us were astounded that Mak's blood pressure had shot up to 232. Of course the doctor said that Mak need to be admitted and of course Mak doesn't want to. So the good doctor put her under observation for several hours and alhamdullilah, the pressure reading eventually went down. So the doctor let her go back home.
But I was really scared! Even at my age, you really do not know how to react accordingly when you are faced with such a moment. Tapi syukurlah Mak is okay now!

Musical Theatre at Istana Budaya

Last night we went to watch a children musical theater at the Istana Budaya - the Ali Baba Musical. It starred 80 school children and the ever likeable Aznil Hj Nawawi. The children were there to watch their Abang Aznil, and he did not disappoint them. He was his usual live-wire and sometimes we felt we were watching his Macam-Macam Aznil show ler pulak. Overall, the musical was an okay production but the children were fun to watch - especially the girl who played Marjina. Oooh! yes, we met Yah (anak Mima) there with her siblings which of course include my future sons in law - Akhbar and Abidin. Alia and Asma were freaking mad at me last night - kah kah kah!

Alia, Asma and Arissa after the show

Terjumpa ler pulak meja ada bunga. Amik gambar lagi.

Dengan tak disangka-sangka, Alia terjumpa her best friend kat, Mariam kat sini.

Abang Aznil and the girl yang played Marjina at the meet the fan session.

Drama Anak Angkat!?@#

My daughters, like their bapak, can be very the drama. And their conversations could very well lead to rather sensitive issues (as in previous entries). It doesn't help when Yan was always caught off handed whenever they came up with their questions.

But last Saturday, the girls came up with another ewrr.. issue and this time Yan was ready. It goes something like...... (in their bedroom while the bapak sedang bersenang lenang depan TV)

Alia: Mak nak tanya satu benda boleh? (and then she kept quiet)
Mak: Ha, ape dia?
Asma: Ha! Dia nak tanya benda tu ler? (seperti biasa menyampuk)
Mak: Apa dia? (and getting very the ready for some out of this world questions)
Asma: Dia nak tanya betul ke dia ni anak angkat? (dramatic effect tul)
Mak: Ha! Kenapa pulak?
Alia: Ye lah, asyik-asyik Asma jer yang betul kat rumah ni. Asma selalu dapat apa dia nak (dah start mendramatikkan dirinya). - (Ya lah tuuuuu!!)
Mak: (decided she had enough with this nonsense) MEMANG!!! Semua tiga-tiga anak angkat!
Asma: (Siap dengan terbelalak mata lagi!!): Apa? Baik mak bagi tahu sapa mak kandung kami? Kami kena siasat nih.
Mak: Suka ati lah nak bagi tahu?
Asma: Tak boleh. Kami kena tahu jugak mak kandung kami!!
Alia: Aha! Asma, entah2 mak kandung kamu Queen mana2 negeri tak? (banyak ler Queen nak bagi anak away pada orang)
Asma: Baik mak bagi tahu, ye ker asma anak Queen?? Jadik Asma ni kaya ler?

Lps ni Yan malas dah nak layan ......tak boleh menang punyer.

The Fat Man turns 42

Today, the fat man turns 42. Wasn't in a mood really to even acknowledge the day but the ladies at home woke up early just to wish me good life and all. Thanks. And as I stepped into the office this morning, Nana and Hajar burst out singing the birthday anthem for all and sundry to hear. Malu lar and at my age, you really don't want to be wished that way anymore. Marilyn even came up and shook my hand. Why did I blabbed about my birthday in the first place? Yes, salahkan Tommy!

Anyway, at home, the loves of my live went extra miles to make it extra special day for me. It was special and I was touched. Deeply. Thanks for the kek strawberry chocolate (Siti dapat, kita pun dapat, yeay)

Terkenang Masa Dulu Dulu!

Today, I became nostalgic. So I scanned old pictures. Its' like looking at different people in different era. Memangpun........

Our first Raya with Alia. Handsome, Cantik and Cute. Macam mana lah boleh jadik macam ni sekarang....
On my engagement day. Kalau tengokkan hantaran Farhana and Hasri tempoh hari, mine memang menyedihkan.

Dengan arwah Opah (Hajah Yang Kamariah). Many of my cousins do not remember her. I do and I had special memories with her.

Satu-satunya our family photo yang pernah diambil. Arwah bapak, mak, chor, me, mi and arwah mir.

This was taken in 1980/81 di Pengkalan.

Pretty Ladies of the 60s. Cikgu Hafsah and Cikgu Thalathiah di Sek Keb Temoh.

Jumpa Kawan Lama

Last Thursday, I bumped into a kawan lama - Suraya Al-Attas. Masih gila macam dulu jugak. Dia ler satu2nya my friend yang glamour. Dulu depa2 panggil dia Kak Nam lagi. Ya lah kan, pernah jadi juri Akademi Fantasia ler katakan. We were part of the first NST journalism trainees about 20 years ago. There were about 20 of us then but only she was the only one left standing in NST today. Well two actually if we count Wan Hamidi Hamid who is now a NST specialist writer - but Midi ni dah melompat-lompat ke Star and The Sun among others before he found himself back in NST.
The last time we met was like 10 years ago when I left NST. Last week, met her while covering the stupid GIFA Award 2006 press conference. Met stupid Bollywood film stars like Salman Khan and John Abraham. Very very stupid functions. Tapi sempat jugak mengumpat kengkawan lain with Sue.

(Kawan-kawan lain masa NST PETS One include Juhaidi, Siva (tak ingat ler pulak his Muslim's name) Aita, Rosidi, Azwan (cikgu kat USM), Wan Sabariah (now Jelita editor), Raihanah (now Jelita assistant editor), Shukri, Sim, Karen, Elaine (still kat The Edge), Naresh, Pit Ling (best friend nih), Jahabar

Houseguests from Heaven

Agama Islam menganjurkan kita umatnya supaya memuliakan tetamu. Kata orang kalau tetamu datang ke rumah kita, mereka datang ke rumah kita membawa rezeki dan bila mereka pulang maka dosa-dosa kita pun turut keluar. Anyway, tadi Kak Encik (cousin Yan) dan anak-anaknya pulang setelah bercuti ke rumah kami. Kalau anda pernah bertemu dengan Kak Encik, pasti anda mahu dia sebagai tetamu anda. Dia datang last Friday semasa menghantar kakak nya Kak La dan Abang Hamid menunaikan haji. On Saturday, suami Kak Encik, Abang Din pulak datang sebab hari tu mak dia pulak bertolak ke Mekah. Abang Din cuma sempat datang semalam jer sebab kena kerja. Tapi Kak Encik tinggal untuk bercuti bersama-sama. Makanya meriah ler rumah kami dengan keletah Kak Encik (kah kah keletah) dan Mak Temoh punya lah terpegun sebab ada jugak tetamu serajin ini. Ngalahkan maid ler pulak. Memang sah guests from heaven punya taraf.
Sayang sebab sibuk teramat di tempat kerja, tak sempat nak merakam gambar Kak Encik dan keluarga di rumah apatah lagi nak bawak Kak Encik and family jalan-jalan. Nasib baik semalam another guests from heaven pun datang ke rumah – sister in law Yan, Kak Zai dan anak2 Nisa, Fudhail and Amin datang jugak and Nisa ada amik gambar2 ni. So dengan rasa tak malunya inilah gambar2 yang telah diplagiat dari Nisa’s Fotopages.

Mandi-manda dalam kolam. Yang tergayut kat tangga tu ler Kak Encik. Lama mana pun kat dalam kolam, situ ler tempat dia. Lain2 dlm gambar ialah Yan, Alia, Asma, Amin and Shida

Nisa and Fudhail

Amin buat synchronised swimming dan Fudhail macam tak boleh terima kenyataan

Hati Batu

Hati adalah sumber ilham dan pertimbangan, tempat lahirnya cinta dan benci, keimanan dan kekufuran, taubat dan sikap degil, ketenangan dan kebimbangan. Hati juga sumber kebahagiaan jika kita mampu membersihkannya namun sebaliknya ia merupakan sumber bencana jika kita gemar menodainya. Aktiviti yang dilakukan sering berpunca daripada lurus atau bengkoknya hati. Abu Hurairah r.a. berkata, "Hati adalah raja, sedangkan anggota badan adalah tentera.Jika raja itu baik, maka akan baik pula lah tenteranya.. Jika raja itu buruk, maka akan buruk pula tenteranya". Hati yang keras mempunyai tanda-tanda yang boleh dikenali, di antara yang terpenting adalah seperti berikut:

1. Malas melakukan ketaatan dan amal kebajikan - Terutama malas untuk melaksanakan ibadah, malah mungkin memandang ringan. Misalnya tidak serius dalam menunaikan solat, atau berasa berat dan enggan melaksanakan ibadah-ibadah sunnah. Allah telah menyifatkan kaum munafikin dalam firman-Nya yang bermaksud, "Dan mereka tidak mengerjakan sembahyang, melainkan dengan malas dan tidak (pula) menafkahkan (harta) mereka, melainkan dengan rasa enggan." (Surah At-Taubah, ayat 54)
2. Tidak berasa gerun dengan ayat al-Quran - Ketika disampaikan ayat-ayat yang berkenaan dengan janji dan ancaman Allah, hatinya tidak terpengaruh sama sekali, tidak mahu khusyuk atau tunduk, dan juga lalai daripada membaca al-Quran serta mendengarkannya. Bahkan enggan dan berpaling daripadanya. Sedangkan Allah S.W.T memberi ingatan yang ertinya, "Maka beri peringatanlah dengan al-Quran orang yang takut dengan ancaman Ku." (Surah Al-Qaf, ayat 45)
3. Berlebihan mencintai dunia dan melupakan akhirat -Himmah dan segala keinginannya tertumpu untuk urusan dunia semata-ma ta. Segala sesuatu ditimbang dari segi keperluan dunia. Cinta, benci dan hubungan sesama manusia hanya untuk urusan dunia sahaja. Penghujungnya jadilah dia seorang yang dengki, ego dan individulistik, bakhil serta tamak terhadap dunia.
4. Kurang mengagungkan Allah - Sehingga hilang rasa cemburu dalam hati, kekuatan iman menjadi lemah, tidak marah ketika larangan Allah dilecehkan orang. Tidak mengamal yang makruf serta tidak peduli terhadap segala kemaksiatan dan dosa.
5. Tidak belajar dengan Ayat Kauniah -Tidak terpengaruh dengan peristiwa-peristiwa yang dapat memberi pengajaran, seperti kematian, sakit, bencana dan seumpamanya. Dia memandang kematian atau orang yang sedang diusung ke kubur sebagai perkara biasa, padahal cukuplah kematian itu sebagai nasihat. "Dan tidaklah mereka (orang-orang munafik) memperhatikan bahawa mereka diuji sekali atau dua kali setiap tahun, kemudian mereka tidak (juga) bertaubat dan tidak (pula) mengambil pel ajaran?" (Surah At-Taubah, ayat 126)

Quotes for Dads

I am infinitely very proud to be a father to my three beautiful daughters (although last night they got on my nerves when they were watching Happy Feet and they were laughing away very very loudly and very very near my ears while I was trying to get some sleep).
Anyway, found this on www.about.com and I just want share it with other fathers who came by this blog.

• Harry S Truman: I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.
• Lydia M. Child: Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!
• Kent Nerburn: It is much easier to become a father than to be one.
• Euripides: Noble fathers have noble children.
• Richard Henry Dana: Better to be driven out from among men than to be disliked of children.
• Anonymous: One night a father overheard his son pray: Dear God, Make me the kind of man my Daddy is. Later that night, the Father prayed, Dear God, Make me the kind of man my son wants me to be.
• Sir Stephen Spender: When a child, my dreams rode on your wishes, I was your son, high on your horse, my mind a top whipped by the lashes of your rhetoric, windy of course.
• Chinese Proverb: If a son is uneducated, his dad is to blame.
• Mior Azhar: It’s an honour to be a father! It's fun to be a father!!!

My Town. My Kampar

I spent 13 formative years in Kampar, Perak. Thanks to tin ore, it was a bustling and rich town in the 70s and early 80s. I truly believed Kampar was one of the most happening places then. Went back to Kampar recently (thankfully, never did severe any ties with Kampar though) and realised that I don't really know the place in the first place. But Kampar is still my kind of town.

Main Street, Kampar.
Spectacular view of Kampar. Nice, eh?

I wonder what ever happened to Azhar, Ahmad Nawawi, Adzman Alias, Tajul Rosli, Amran, Zaiton Jamil, Karaihanah, Hamid, Baha, Loke Yuen Cheng, Michael Lai, Ng Kwai Meng, Seng Chong, Kwek Seng, Latizah, Hasila, Murugan, Kavitha, Chee Wai, Chin Chin, Wai Kit, Lai Ping, Zainuddin Tan, Zahari, Zainab, Nortaksiah, Yew Kuan and Yew Onn, Fauzi, Roszeman, Azman, Norizah (ini lelaki tau), Rajendran, Roshazmi Dawood, Salina, Zarin, Dzuraini,Faizah, Norhasiah, Leong Wai Seng, Fong Yuen Peng and many more?

A Hypothetical Situation

Katakanlah you are presented with this situation (as below), how would you response ya?


Daughter No 2: Mak, kalau kita orang dah masuk sekolah menengah nanti boleh tak kita orang ber'couple'?

Mother: Ha?!! (seperti biasa terkejut badak lagi sekali dengan soalan2 sebegini). Kenapa pulak tetiba cakap macam ni?

Daughter No 2: Tak de lah. Boleh lah ya mak. Cousin "A" pun dah ada tiga boyfriend masa form one jer. Next year dia nak cari yang baru pulak.

Mother: Aik! Lawa sangat ker dia tu....

Daughter No 1: Itu ler yang peliknya.....

Majlis Ana&Hasri

Last Saturday, Kak's eldest daughter Farhana bertunang. Bertunang dengan Cikgu Hasri. Majlis bertunang amat2 ler meriah. Pihak lelaki jer bawak 25 bekas hantaran. Pihak kami pun lebih kurang jer. Meriah sungguh. Nasib baik rumah lapang dan luas. Disamping tu sibongsu Farid pun tumpang sekaki - majlis berkhatan dia.

Apapun enjoy sangat dapat berkumpul bersama bersuka ria dan bergelak ketawa. Lama tak pergi majlis kawin/tunang yang seseronok ini. InsyAllah nanti majlis perkahwinan semeriah ini.
Click on the slide show and enjoy the show.....

Petronas Ads - Mummy's Version

Ini gambar Yan and her sweethearts. Best mummy in the world with the three best daughters in the world.

Mak and her beautiful Alia
Mak and her sweet Asma

Mak and her manja Arissa

Anniversary Celebration 2006

Selalunya kami menyambut hari ulang tahun perkahwinan sesama kami sahaja. In fact, ada satu tahun tu, dua-dua orang lupa hari ulang tahun.
But this year, our 13th anniversary, we celebrated it with Yan's mother, her two sisters and their families. Kami pergi Marrybrown kat Ipoh Parade. Yong and Yeop yang belanja while Kak and her soon to be son in law Hasri bought a blueberry cake. Dan yang seronoknya, kat Merrybrown Ipoh ni ada buaian macam kat atas nih. Tapi kan...apasal la kalau bergambar, selalunya yang lelaki tu jer yang lebih senyum.....

Mak, Asma, Nurul, Alia and Yong

The cousins from left Arissa, Asma, Alia, Aisyah, Izzati, Farid and Nizam

The anniversary cake yang di sponsor

Upacara memotong kek. Riuh satu Merrybrown....

Sedang menjamu selera

Lepas makan-makan, kami ke Ipoh Railway Station. Selain membuat hingar-bingar, kami ambil ini gambar yang blurry. Ana, Nurul, Alia, Aisyah, Opah (haaa???), Asma, Arissa, Izzati and Farid.

Lepas tu kami gi Gerbang something kat tgh pekan Ipoh (macam Uptown ler kalau kat KL nih) tapi tak de gambor. Tapi ada ular sawa kat satu gerai, macam nak pengsan anak2 dara kami ketakutan bila lalu kat depan gerai ular nih.

Best sesangat!!!!! Thanks to all! Tahun depan, panjang umur, murah rezeki, anjurkan lah lagi, dan apa kata kita buat kat hotel memana lak....

Thirteen Wonderful Years

Come Sunday (19 November, 2006), Yan and I will be celebrating our 13th anniversary!! Thirteen wonderful and glorious years of our lives. Memetik kata orang tua-tua:

"Seorang isteri bukanlah hak milik seorang lelaki. Seorang isteri ialah anugerah kepada seorang suami." Spot On.

Thank You, Azian Hasan - my lover, my wife, my best friend, my adviser and ..... my life.

The following slide show is just for you, enjoy:

How Do You Know You’re Being a Good Parent?

Found this on the web semasa boring-boring kat office tadi….. (the ones in red are my additional two-cents). It says that you are an inspired parent...

Ø When you help your kids with their schoolwork (err, ada ker aku buat ni? But Yan definitely ada buat ni)
Ø When you take an interest in their hobbies (we more or less share hobbies – reading, surf the Internet and watching TV, okay ler kot)
Ø When you show affection to your wife/husband in front of them (ooooh this we do all the time…sampai Alia and Asma dah immune tapi Arissa masih tak dapat menerima haikat kehidupan sebenar)
Ø When you advocate that they speak to you and each other respectfully (mestilah kan walau we had to remind them over and over and over again)
Ø When you just enjoy being with your children and them with you (Definitely and it works both ways in our family)
Ø When your son or daughter comes running to you when they get hurt (usahkan “hurt” berkelahi sesame sendiri pun selalunya kita orang kena involve jugak)
Ø When your calendar is full of things to do with your children (our calendar is ONLY full of things to do with our girls)
Ø When you calmly and gently discipline your children without yelling or screaming (ada ker parents yang sabar ala–ala malaikat ni?)
Ø When you tuck your children into bed at night and tell them "I love you" and pray with them (always, all the time, every night)
Ø When you drive your kids to school in the morning (hari-hari, okay. Bukan takat hantar, ambik pun sekali)
Ø When you make Saturday/Sunday morning breakfast for them (For Yan, its daily okay not just weekends. Kalau weekend, selalunya mamak kat Restoran Melur take over buat breakfast for us)
Ø When you give your children responsibilities and chores (bagi, jangan tak bagi – nanti dewasa tau buat kerja and tau nak bawak diri)

Whirlwind Road Trip!!!

We spent the weekend on the road. It started on Saturday and ended on Monday night. Penat ooo! But it was fun still. Met a lot of people along the way........ and the food we encountered.... sinful, really.

First, we left home (dlm hujan2 lebat giler) on Saturday petang around 3pm for Taman Tun where we attended my cousin Kak Mah and Abang Jahudi's open house. That nasi yang dimasak bersama kambing was simply outrageous. And the laksa asam really outstanding.
Then we made our way across town to Gombak to rumah Anom, another cousin. Lihatlah rumah dia yang amat interesting and very the nice - courtesy of her husband Nasir. Impressive giler. Anybody looking to do landscaping for their house, Nasir is the person you want to engage. Kat dalam rumah (its a single storey to begin with), Nasir has built a loteng (dua tingkat lagi). The girls went ga ga over the loteng. Alia siap feeling jadi Nirina Zubir lagi (as in her character in Heart). Tapi time nak turun, haru biru ler pulak... especially Asma.
After makan, its duit Raya time with Wan Anom. Siap ada birthday gifts (belated) from Wan Anom and Opah Wan. And Anom, the mee goreng was sedap sangat. And the cute lemang tasted really well. After rumah Anom, we went back to Temoh. Spent overnight there before we made our way to rumah Meor in Jelapang, Ipoh on Sunday.
This is Meor Adi Fimiyun. Just tell me how can a baby boy be cuter than this? Such a friendly baby pulak tu. Memula dia takut tengok Ayah Ngah dia, agaknye terkejut tengok orang besar bagai monster... tapi nasib baik tak lama..
Arissa and Adi and their abah (just look at Adi, bijak ler sangat rupa dia)
Makan-makan di rumah Meor. Masak steak ayam you. Sedap bangat.
especially this potato salad
lepas makan, pergi membongkangkan diri kat living room while bebudak layan Naruto on TV. Eh cantik ler pulak plaster siling kat rumah Meor and Rina ni.
Lepas rumah Meor, kita orang gi Penang ler pulak. Yes, Penang. Rumah sapa lagi kalau tak rumah Ayah Anjang and Wan. Yun pun ada lagi - belum balik rumah dia lagi.
And Yun masak this original pizza yang empat segi. Sebab dia tak jumpa piza base, dia ganti ngan roti Gardenia jer. Sedap sangat.... ish makan, makan dan makan ajer.On Monday, while I went for my appointment in Bayan Baru, the girls snap snap pix kat rumah Tok Anjang depa. Ini Asma and Arissa.
.... dan Alia
Dalam pukul 3 kami bertolak pulang through the feri, atas permintaan the girls...

and the ferry ride never fails to amaze the girls... very the pelancong!