Adik's 14th birthday

 Due to broadband problem, umi could not post this earlier even though adik's birthday was celebrated on tuesday 27th march. adik turned 14, old enough to take responsibility as the daughter of this family. Bob returned just in time for the simple celebration of chicken chop. tak pa kan adik?

 Umi and abah n the whole family pray for adik's success in your studies, hoping she will turn out to be among the best in the class..no play play anymore adik tau.

 Hai, another new bag even though school only started 3 months ago.....tak pa la seberday.

take a good care of yourself and always remember that we love you forever.....

Pantai Merdeka Visit

 This evening, we decided to visit Pantai Merdeka Beach, and arrived at about 6pm. enough for alin and ayish to do some splashing...

 The two beach guards....dok bersedih coz they did not bring extra clothes...if not dip they would.

 See how happy these two..but ayish only stayed nearby.....

Alin should learn how to swim, cannot rely on the float aje kan.

 After bathing, they had some time playing kite.....but it was too late...almost maghrib we left.

 The master kite-flyer in action. kalah Kite Runner ni.

The only 5 who shared their free time with umi and abah ( btw..at this time abah was fast asleep in the car)

3 More Days

COUNTDOWN

         CELEBRATION

                  CLONE

                         CAKE

                                

aWAt Umi GeLaK?

Petang tadi umi bawa ( atih yg drive) anak2 pi jogging di Tasik darulaman. maklum berat badan dah naik semacam, mana boleh jadi. Depa cuma teman alin and ayish main kat taman, so umi pun kedek2 jalan sorang2. mata kena tutup sebelah sebab tak berkenan tengok ramai sangat couple yg dok bertenggek di tepi tasik, umi pulak yg naik malu.mujur tak naik syeh n tolak depa masuk dalam tasik.

Sepanjang perjoggingan sepanjang jarak 2.5 km itu, pelbagai perangai manusia yg umi tengok. Yg dok naik buggy cart pun tak kurang dgn gelagat masing2. Naik seriau gak kalau tengok drebar yg dok gagap dgn stering. silap haribulan dilanggarnya umi. kalau tengok mengancam sangat, umi turun dari trek dan jalan atas rumput.

Nak cerita bagi, bila saja selisih ngan buggy cart tu, pelbagai bau yg umi hidu. kalau girls sure bau perfume yang wangi. kalau tok arab, baju minyak atar, kalau men, hmmmm bau peluh la. kena tahan sebab dah nama pun tempat riadah. kembung kempes hidung umi.

Hampir umi sampai ke penghujung, tetiba lalu la satu couple ni, siap bawa baby kecik lagi. Elok depa lalu saja, umi terus nak tergelak......sebab apa????????? ha yang ni bau dia lain sikit........Bau MINYAK ANGIN CAP YUYI..............................adoi......tara tu depa nak bawa baby jalan2 makan angin.

Umi geleng kepala tengok keletah pengunjung Tasik Darulaman hari ni. sekian adanya......

Malam ni umi rasa umipun kena gak urut kaki.....pakai Minyak Angin Cap Gunung Jerai.......mengata orang.

LOVE IS BLIND

Yesterday, in class, umi  conducted a debate-like discussion with my S3T3A/B students.  umi came out with 10 argumentative essay statements and they were supposed to give suitable responses. One of the statements was:
PARENTS SHOULD BE BLAMED FOR THEIR CHILDREN'S INDISCIPLINE PROBLEMS.  What made umi so dumbfounded was that 23 students agreed to this except 1. Among reasons elicited were:
1. If parents are BAD, their children are BAD too.
2. Parents are the FIRST educator, so they must teach their children right.
3. Parents are busy at work and they neglect their  children
4. Children are stressed out because their parents do not care for them.

Suddenly umi became so disturbed with these sincere words and again asked them whether they agreed to these, which they responded by nodding their heads. Umi was stunned ....it was very obvious that  one student, Atira said: teacher, you look  so small. i don't agree because i think there are other factors that lead to this ......i wanted to  agree with her but the effect of unanimous nods was very disturbing.

Umi left the class, dazed by the shocking fact, and this haunted umi a lot. The question posed in my mind was:
Do my own children think the same way?
Do they think that whatever wrongdoing (if any) committed by them was the result of my hubby and my fault?
What have we done wrong?
Am i a good mother?

Well, obviously, we parents  are so sincere in our thoughts, thinking that all children  are the same, all are obedient, all are angels and all can be trusted. We are so honest, hoping that all are well and beautiful. We are engrossed by giving 100% COMMITMENT TO A RELATIONSHIP that sometimes we fail to see that, children, even though they come from the same womb, have a different way of thinking, a different way of seeing and accepting things, a different way of dealing with things....children are so different in so many ways....the fact that umi believes many parents fail to see and vehemently would like to deny.

Thanks to that enlightening discussion, now umi can think clearly, be wary and be ready to face whatever that comes in my life dealing with my 8 children.  Indeed, things that happen should open my eyes, should make me realize that, any shortcomings seen in my children, could be due to my husband or my own wrongdoings. If that is the truth, then we want to sincerely apologize for our  failure, for own inefficiency, for being so oblivious to the fact of life. Insyaallah, we will become better parents and we will not be blamed. The thought itself make ummi shivers....No wonder old people always say: it is easy to look after a herd of cows ( no pun intended to the recent court case)but very difficult to look after one child ( in my case , 8)

Now umi understands what is meant by LIFE IS NOT BED OF ROSES.

Badminton Match

 On 12 and 14th March, English Unit successfully organized a badminton match where old (thats me n mus) and young ( those on top) sweat non-stop for 2 hours each day, trying to outdo one another in a very friendly and lighthearted match.  The old ones were the ulam for the younger ones, knowing for sure that we would lose but gave a serious fight before we ( mus and I ) relented....

 Our third game, againsts Eda and Yanti, complete with manderem and jokes especially when we could not answer their strokes or smashes or drops.....i wanted to take the shuttle but my legs just screamed  NO......

 My bad gestures when they could not take my unexpected drops......nasib baik aje.

 After that, on Thursday, 15th , our Unit played against Economy/Agama..in Social Sciences Department match.....The defeated Zainora and Nashitah....put a good fight but had to give in to.......

 the ever powerful Eda and Mellisa, our ayam tambatan......and of course we won....imagine if umi were to play....hancus.....

 Ait...what was this girl, Alin doing? she also was so excited to show off her skills...so auntie Liza and Mila had to entertain her....well she can play.....wait for a few years and we will have another player in the family,

 Our two men players who played courageously even though they were very Heavy....go go Shah and Suhaimi....lose or win never mind, you must give your level best and the best they gave by sondoling and diving on the slippery court...thanks......

in the end we lost, but our spirit never waver,  our comradeship becomes closer, our willpower is undeniable and our hopes remain to be the best and beat the rest........after badminton, bowling and pe'tangue are in order........We can do  it................

More Photos of our Reunion.

 Our reunion potluck style was held at Kak Oya's house, Section 19, Shah Alam on 10th Mac. i did not cook anything since i went all the way from Kedah, so our gift was only this small basket of fruits.

 The first guest to arrive was kak Long Maziah, my closest friend, who shared the same apartment in downtown Kingston, after we moved from township, Auden Park Drive, much to the disappointment of Uncle James Strong, my foster father. kak Long is now the Senior Assistant 1 at SMK Maokil, Segamat. Wah bergaya kak long ni.

 On the right is Pn Hamidah, of Desa Moccis, Sg Buloh, the wife or Mr Nordin, who was also a married couple back in Montreal. We stayed at the same apartment block, near Sir George William campus.

 All the men guests,plus my 2 sons, were enjoying the delicious nasi kerabu prepared by kak Oya, maklum she is a Kelantanese.

 Once all we there, all sorts of stories were shared, ala jejak kasih gitu..... phone numbers and addresses were exchanged.

 While enjoying the food, we exchanged gossips and updated life stories......and achievements......

 Kak Oya, the homemaker, the best profession ever, was a very busy hostess, only managed to sit for a while since most of the time, she was here and there, making sure the food was enough for all....we all duduk n makan aje....tak patut.

 makan tetap makan kan kak Long, tapi cerita on................tu Pn Intan Khalida, a rich lady from Petronas.

 Kak Nani, at present with income tax reminisced her time talking to her long distance hubby while sharing a penthouse with me, Mummy Liza, Fazie(not here),Shimah( also x here) and Siti Samiah( also x come)..memang kelakar bila teringat kisah dulu.

 makan lagi Intan n Kak Long.......speggheti (ntah eja camna) and lagsana ...tasted so delicious. plus, carrot cake and cheese cake.....adui semput i rasa.

Time to leave, still being given ole-ole by kak Oya. dia takut kami lapar tengah jalan agaknya....hehe.....Bye and Assalamualaikum, see you again next year, insyaallah...kita buat kat kedah no....

Ex-Montrealers Reunion (25 years)

 Syukur alhamdulillah, rancangan utk reunion kami di rumah kak Oya n Brother Sufian berjaya dilakukan. kami semua dah semakin tua ,almaklumlah dah 25 tahun berpisah, anda semua boleh lihat sendiri perkembangan fizikal masing2.

 Perbincangan antara tetamu lelaki berkisar mengenai isu semasa dan bukan lagi mengenai subjek yang dipelajari. Semua dah berjawatan dan berubanan katakan...

 Ni bahagian ladies...mummy Liza dari Banting, Cik Pah dari Perak, ummi , Kak Long dari Segamat, akak dan Midah dari Sg Buloh...rabung sungguh sembang kami , catch up with the latest news. pening kepala akak tgk org tua2 cakap.

 Dah nak balik, at 7pm oredi. thanks a lot to Bro Sufian, baju jalur kelabu dan kak Oya, bertudung corak..jasa berdua akan kami kenang. dulu kat Montreal pun rumah merekalah yg selalu jadi tempat kami berusrah.

 Umi terpaksa ucapkan selamat tinggal, nak kena hantar akak balik sbb dia nak pi FRIM lak at 8.

 Ni gambar semua dari kanan, baju kuning, suami mummy,suami kak long, suami kak Nani, suami ummi,suami kak Nik, anak kak long, bro Sufian,suami Intan( Micheal), suami Midah (Nordin), Eman, kak long Maziah,Midah,Intan,kak Oya, anak bongsunya,kak Nani,Mummy Liza,Akak,Umi, ayish, adik, alin, Kak Nik dan Siti Sarah( anak kak Oya yang kami tolong mengasuh masa di Montreal dulu, now dah jadi mak)

 Kenangan yang paling bahagia kerana hasrat nak berkumpul berjaya juga, walaupun ramai tak dapat hadir kerana sibuk ngan tugas.Insyaallah lain kali naik ke Kedah lak.

 Kumpulan anak paling ramai yg hadir, sapa lagi ...........

 Dah berkawan dgn abang Joni anak kak Long. Dah rapat pun ngan ayish.maklum dia cuma  3 beradik saja.

Selamat tinggall semua....lain kali kita jumpa lagi.

Salahkah Ummi?

Guilty as charged!..Itulah umi, seorang yang amat prihatin ( ayat puji diri) tentang anak2 sehinggakan ummi telah melakukan sesuatu yang tak terfikir akan menyusahkan orang lain kerana niat hati amat tulus, mulus,pulus, tapi akibatnya, ada orang yang terpaksa menerima akirbatnya...maaf ye!

Apa cerita umi ni? meraban semacam aje. ha ni la nak cerita:

Kelmarin , umi dengan gumbiranya telah menyiapkan ayish utk hari ujian darjah 1.  Eman, adik dan alin pun duduk ujian, so ayish pun kenalah bersiap sedia.Jadual takwim kata ada Ujian 1 pada 6 - 8 Mac. So umi buang semua buku dari dalam beg Ben 10 dia, dan hanya letak pencil case dan warna aje. Exam lah katakan. Siap suruh alin belikan pencil baru kat ayish.

Tengahari Alin dah call kata......apa dia kata?......
Umi, Ayish kena denda ( marah la tu) sebab dia tak bawa buku ke sekolah....rupanya darjah 1 tak dak exam, depa ada itu nama KSSR.....adui....kesiannya ayish. Cikgu kata: baguihla tak bawa buku ( dgn nada perli la tu).Umi  dapat bayangkan betapa gementarnya jantung ayish bila setiap kali cikgu masuk dan dia tak ada buku sebuah habuk pun......alangkah tersiksanya ayish.

Bila petang, umi pi amik dia dan alin di rumah mak, mak dia kata:  hari ni asyik merajuk tak bagi mak tengok homework dia, dia siap dok ulang kata, semua dia buat salah, kat sekolah salah, kat rumah salah, kat rumah mak salah....adui tekanan perasaan anak bongsuku. Dia tu lemah lembut sikit......

Dekat Maghrib, abah balik, umipun berleter la kat abah.apa ni abah kerja PPD pun tak tau darjah satu tak dak exam...bla bla bla.....abah cuma mampu tersenyum sebab dia memang lupa....dia kata dia pun tak sanggup nak tanya kat kawan pejabat takut kena perli sebab tak tau. ye la abahkan banyak program dia kena tau so mana nak ingat....itu umi faham la.

Then, umi hantar mesej kat cikgu darjah ayish, Pn Norhayati, yg kebetulan adalah kawan di SMJ dulu. umi minta maaf sebab umi yg salah buang semua buku ayish. Nak tau apa jawapan dia:

Tak pa, bukan dia SORANG........  Gulp............nampak gayanya bukan Umi sorang yang bersalah tapi ada juga yg prihatin ala tak berapa prihatin macam umi......gitulah ceritanya.

Sebab Musabab Letih

Salam,
Adui hari ni letih bangat. Ingatkan cuti weekend leh relax sikit,  tapi nahee...lebih sibuk dari hari kerja. tengok apa umi dah buat today:

9.00- kat luar basuh kasut ayish n alin, tak harap depa basuh tak cuci sangat.
9.30- pi market ngan akak n atih, belilah ration utk seminggu.
10.00- masuk dapur dgn depa. menu: rebung msk lemak ngan udang, ayam masak merah, ikan siakap sweet sour.
11.30- pi ke sek eman, amik dia n friends mai Jitra.
12.30- sampai rumah, terus hidang nasi kat eman n friend.

1.30- hantar eman ke Masjid, solat jumaat.
2.00- lunch. ada tambah petai n ulam, adui layan.
2.45- pi amik eman dari masjid, balik rumah
3.00- tidur sat,
4.30- bawa eman n friend pi Aneka. dia gunting rambut n umi beli raket  badminton, kan nak lawan dgn unit BI
5.30- terus pecut ke sekolah eman di B.Kayu Hitam.
6.30- dah sampai Jitra,, terus pi beli tiket akak nak balik S.Alam esok.
7.30- solat maghrib n get ready nak pi Aneka lagi. akak nak beli hadiah birthday dia, dapatla kasut sukan satu.
10.30- balik n baru leh solat isyak n get ready nak tidur.
11.00- layan Korea...................tidur ntah pukui berapa.

I'm Feeling Down

My life has turned upside down

i feel so down

i experience ups and downs

but now, mostly down.

down the roads of life

i've gone through a lot of down beats

so now i am downhearted

to lead this downturn in life

how could i  follow the downwind?

when i am myself so down.

i try to climb up the ladder of life

but, it goes downhill, and  i am scared

if i have to downplay my life

but how could i?

when my life is be down to me.

shall i go to Down Under?

WARNING:( in order to understand this complicated facts of my down life, one has to refer to a dictionary...if you  want to know, if not, just ignore it)