Goodbye MJ

It's a sad day today. MJ's gone.

I first fall in ‘love’ with him when he was with Jackson 5. The song BEN was my favorite, even until now.

I had my first on-stage dance performance in MRSM Kulim - with his song Off The Wall. It was Friday Night Special2, May 1980. I was in Form 2 then.

I was always amazed at how smooth a dancer he was.

And a brilliant singer.

Goodbye MJ.

Black or White, you’ll be missed dearly.

Pesta Malam Indonesia 3

Don’t ask me why we went. Tak pernah umat I pi concerts!

But somehow, on Saturday we went to Bukit Jalil for Pesta Malam Indonesia 3 and joined the crowd of bapak-bapak, ibu-ibu, mbak-mbak, om-om and many fellow Malaysians to enjoy the sounds of five Indonesian bands – Padi, Andra and the Backbone, Sheila on 7, Gigi and Dewa 19. I love Indonesian band songs, so what the heck – sekali-sekala!

Our group comprised of Dear Hubby, Hanna, Hasya, Haifa, my maid Nani, my nephew Zhafri and his friend Wafiy.

Here are some pix I took. I'll try to include the slides later :)

Duta of So7 - energetic performer & a friendly chap :





















Armand of Gigi - wow, this guy was simply awesome!





















Once of Dewa - love his songs :





















Ahmad Dhani of Dewa - also love his songs :





















And today I was on leave. Spent some time with Dear Hubby. Also did some serious gardening. There goes my manicure!

Double “Happy” Day

First of all – HAPPY 45th BIRTHDAY Kak Anim!

Kak Anim, I know I’ll be late posting this today, that was why I called you after midnite just to wish you. Sorry to have woken you up from your slumber :) We were having our midnite snacks at Kayu after our outing at Bukit Jalil last nite and I wanted to be the first to wish you. But apparently your son has already beaten me to it!

So here’s wishing you the best in life – panjang umur, murah rezeki, good health and great love. May you be blessed with successful endeavors and nurtured with patience and imaan.

And you know what, I want to post one pic here. It was of you in London, Spring of 1982. I was still in Form 4 when I got this pic from you.

You were still 17+ at that time. So, what’s so special about it? It's because of the flowers there, Kak Anim. I was so enchanted with them that I put this pic on the inside of my locker. Everytime I opened the locker door, I’d envision myself being there! But that didn’t happen...hahaha... but I guess that started the love I have in flowers. (Mak started my love in plants much-much earlier). Have a great day! LOVE you!

Secondly, it’s Father’s Day today. So, Happy Father’s Day to all daddies out there!

To these important men in my life – Dear Hubby, AYAH, Bemmie, Benjie and Adik – Have a good one today!

Spending Quality Time

The 2-week school holiday’s finally over. The first week was spent in the hospital and at home since my Haifa and my Hanis were still under quarantine. We had visitors - my parents, my sister and BIL who came to send my nephew off to UIA. The second week was indeed quality time spent with the children and Dear Hubby. We had a great and relaxing 3D2N at Palace of the Golden Horses Hotel. They were in the swimming pool until they changed colors!

Me? I didn’t set even one toe into the pool! And I didn’t even read a single line from the books I brought with me. I’d usually read at least one book every time we stayed at the hotel. But this time, I was just being plain lazy. I took hundreds of photos of my children in the pool and around the hotel when we had our evening walks. Most of the time I stayed on the balconies of our four units, facing the pool and watched my loved ones creating havoc with their antics :)

The kids in the pool with the maids
Watching them enjoying themselves made my heart went soft. And my whole being was blanketed with unagitated state and calmness that was very hard to explain. The breeze that played over my face carried the sound of their contagious laughters, and I sat there feeling such joy from all of that. That was a reflection of a contented life. Alhamdulillah.


My Haifa and my Hasya feeding the fish

The spots on Hasya, Haifa and Hanis’s hands, feet and mouths from Coxsackie were all gone. We brought the girls to see Night at the Museum 2 and Zac Efron’s 17 Again. Watching 17 Again really made me feel so old, and I thought – would I go back to 1983 - when I was 17 - if I were given the chance to do that? Would I make any changes in the past?

Maybe I’d appreciate my family, friends and teachers more, strategize any paths to be taken, look positively at all angles in life and... be more open by letting go of any bottled-up feelings that I had with certain people I knew then. And of course I'd study HARDER! Who knows I’d be multi-millionaire ka....hahaha!


My Hasya and my Hanis


Anyway, later in the week, we did some gardening together. Dear Hubby and I went to Sungai Buloh to get some new plants. Penuhla jugak satu kereta.

The girls helped, of course, especially my Haifa who planted weeds (read: not marijuana!), instead of getting rid of them, LOL!

School Holidays with.... Coxsackie

(Updated : pictures of spots on hands and feet as I've been asked to show how HFM disease looks like...)

Last week on Monday, my Hasya came to me and showed a blister on her tongue.
“Sakitlah Ibu”, she complained.

“Maybe Hasya tergigit kot. It’s ok, it will go away in 2-3 days”, I said. So Oral Aid came to the rescue that night.

Then my Haifa showed me some red dots on the soles of her feet.
“Ibu, sakit sangatlah. Haifa tak boleh pijak. Haifa rasa Haifa pijak batu masa swimming semalam. Boleh tak Haifa pakai sandal pergi sekolah esok?”

“You might as well wear your Nike, it will hurt less I think”, that was my reply. And I put some ointment on her feet before she went to sleep that night.

When I came home the next day, Haifa showed me the palms of her hands. There were around ten red dots on her palms. Right there and then I knew that this was something serious.

Dear Hubby brought them to their pediatrician and after paying RM250, it was confirmed that they were infected with a mild Coxsackie disease. And they were to be house-quarantined until the rashes disappear.

I wasn’t completely satisfied with that, so I called Sime Darby Medical Center (f.k.a SJMC) and told the doctor of my worries. She confirmed with the first pediatrician’s advice. “Only come to the ER if they didn’t eat or drink, since it will be soreness in the throat or mouth.”

Thursday came, and my Hanis got it too. Her rashes were more - on her hands, legs and in the mouth. Went to the pediatrician again. And Hanis was to be house-quarantined like her two sisters.

So there goes our plan of watching Night at the Museum 2. (Lucky I’d watched Angels and Demons on the weekend when it was first shown).

I tried to find the source of the disease, like who and where actually it all started. Later I found out that :
1) Hasya’s tuition-mate just came back from 2-week absence due to Coxsackie
2) Haifa’s Sekolah Agama classmate had it last two weeks
3) Hanis’s kindy has reported a few cases prior to this
So, it’s actually everywhere. It’s easily spread especially to children below ten. The younger the child is, the worse it will become.

We brought Hanis and Haifa to the ER when they started having high fever and Hanis refusing to drink. And they were admitted to the wards.

So here I am, typing away in a double-bedded room in SDMC where my two girls are sleeping soundly at the moment. The girls are getting better, Alhamdulillah. The fever’s gone, and Hanis’s beginning to eat and drink. She lost a few pounds, I can see by the look of it. And my Haifa? She doesn’t look like she’s ill. Hah, that chubby girl, all excited with the hospital gadgets!

Pity them, school holidays and they gotta spend it in a hospital!