My Ramblings on Shoes

I love buying shoes, ever since I was a student back in the States. But my hectic lifestyle as a student (and worker – in the University’s Bookstore) would prevent me from wearing anything else other than my Nike or Reebok most of the time. So, I’d only resort to only window-shop whenever I went to the malls. I was used to having to swallow my saliva in a style that only Pepsi drinkers would know – when the gulping sound could be heard from miles away! And I’d be drooling at the same time, while my hands in my jeans pocket trying to count the greens that I had. That happened only when I saw a pair of something that really caught my eyes – yes – SHOES!

That was why I loved summers in California. I got to wear my sandals to the beach. Or went shopping in them. But since I never skipped taking summer classes during my 4 years there, I’d still have to wear my University sweaters, shorts, my worn Reebok and the JanSport backpack to school.

It was when I graduated and started working in a mall that I began my new hobby – buying shoes! Getting my first paycheck in the real world (the University Bookstore job as the Price Changer wasn’t really considered as one, ok?), saw me spending my dough on two pair of sandals! At that time I still couldn’t afford to buy branded shoes, so I practically adopted Payless ShoeSource as my buddy-store. Since I worked in a mall, every lunch I’d walk around and never missed trying a few shoes (and most of the time, buying) at the store. That was my era in high-heels/stilettos!

I still remember those leather sandals from Brazil. Loved them. They were so comfortable and durable.

You see, the major difference between those people selling shoes in the States and Malaysia is the way they treat their customers. There, those Uncle Sam’s people would ask you to sit down on the stool, hold your feet and put the shoes on for you. Tak geli pun. Unlike here (oklah, maybe not all).

Imagine this – you’re a mom with 4 small kids in tow and one crying baby in your arms asked for a pair of shoes for your no4. The salesperson would come and open up the box and shove the shoes to you. You’d then have to squat down (with the crying baby still) and tried several times to put the shoes on the no4 who’d be running here and there. And you’d then scream your lungs out for her to come and stand still so that you could make her put them on. The baby in your arms would cry even harder.

And guess what the salesperson would be doing all the while? Taking the dirt out of her fingernails or staring into nothing while playing with her hair, or simply trying to pop her oozing pimples, pretending she didn’t hear a thing! And when you ask for her help, she’d say that it’s the right size and it fits your no4 like a glove. Seeshhhhh...

Ok, you don't have to imagine being that mother. She was me!

My patience was tested again recently. Since I'm currently into wedges, I saw one pair of Clarks in the Curve a few weeks back and had been trying to get my hands on them... but to no avail.

** This is Siver Ash in tan leather**

I went to a few Clarks store but couldn’t get what I wanted – it was either the size wasn’t available or the color I liked was out of stock. So one day I went to the Clarks section in OU Jusco. The Clarks salesgirl (or probably the supervisor lah judging from her ‘kerek’ness) was standing next to some boxes writing something (or pretending to). I politely asked her :
“Excuse me dik, do you have the new wedges?” (I realized that there were no new shoes on the rack.. tak stock-up ke?)
“Apa ada kat situ saja kak”, she said to me without even glancing my way.
“Apa yang latest kat sini ye dik?”, I asked again.
“Apa yang ada kat situ saja kak”, came the reply.

Hisshhh... Hangin aku satu badan! Macam nak baling kasut saja kat muka dia! But I didn’t know why I just left. I should’ve said something bitter to her.. but I guess I wasn’t in the mood for a fight.

I think there’s a blessing in all that. Last week, while in Sunway Pyramid to catch Harry Potter’s latest movie with Dear Hubby, kids and maid, I found what I was looking for! To my surprise, the Clarks store in Sunway had so many varieties to choose from. And I managed to score this one:

** This is Speed Boat in tan leather**

So practical and comfy. Love this wedges!

**Now I remember what I've forgotten to do yesterday - to sort out the 6 pairs of shoes I have in my car!

New Experiences ... and a New Lens ;)

The weekend’s over, and those two days were pretty hectic for me.

Dear Hubby and I went for a wedding in Segamat on Saturday. Lucky that the groom has given us the detailed instructions of the route to his house via sms, or else we’d never have found the address. It was a good (and looong) six hours of driving thru estates and small towns. And guess what, I got to see Mount Ophir or Gunung Ledang for the first time! If only we got time to spare, we’d have stopped and embraced the beautiful sceneries and gulped in the fresh air...

We came back at 4pm just in time for the kids’ swimming lessons. They had to skip their taekwondo class in the morning so that we could leave earlier for Segamat. Hasya came to me and told me that the baby birds have grown some fine feathers and their eyes opened. So I took out my camera to take some pix and heard something crashed. I was so stunned to see glasses everywhere on the terrace floor. At first I thought my camera had broken. Luckily it was just shattered glasses which used to be the filter. Lucky, lucky me! Only the filter! What if it were the lens??

Apparently Dear Hubby didn’t place the lens cap properly that morning, thus letting the filter exposed to its rounded ends. That was how the filter shattered. Anyway, since we need to use the camera on Sunday, I must get me a new filter.

Dear Hubby sent the girls for their swimming lessons, and I.. dengan kepenatan segala had to mandi etc and left for Subang Parade.

I came home that night smiling. I got myself two new Hoya 58mm filters ... and..a new lens!!! Yay! The lens that came with the camera was a basic one – 18 to 55mm. The newly bought one was a basic one too - 55 to 250mm - but at least I can do a lot of zooming from now on.

Happy happy me. Self-bought mother’s day gift, and thank you Dear Hubby for approving :)

Came Sunday. My Hanna, Hasya and Haifa’s first swimming competition which was held at PADE Shah Alam. We were there at 7:30 am. Many swimmers and parents were already there when we arrived. All three of my girls participated in 50m breaststroke and freestyle. So you can imagine how busy their Ibu clicking away with her new lens...hahaha....

But it was very tiring. Very very tiring especially the waiting-for-the-event game. However, watching the girls trying their best really made me proud. It was indeed a good experience and exposure for them, and their parents as well.

I came home hopelessly wishing for a good body massage. Too bad I was too exhausted to leave the house to get one. I just couldn’t let my maid Nani to massage me, eventhough she was a kampong masseur back home in Indonesia. Segan... better a stranger than a person I know.

So I conked out for a good 2 hours on Hasya’s bed instead!

Dear Haifa

My dearest daughter Haifa,
I know you won't be reading this since you have limited access/permission to the internet, but I want to write you anyway.

It’s only a day before your 7th birthday’s here. Last year you got what you wished for – a bicycle – which was bought a month prior to your birthday. You rode the bicycle almost every single free minute you got. I just couldn’t imagine seeing you without your bike, since you were practically riding it all the time. You liked it so much, right? So this year you hope to get your wish fulfilled. Again.

But Haifa... I’m so sorry to tell you that this year Ayah and Ibu won’t be getting what you wanted. Eventhough we know that you want them really really bad, we just won’t get them for you. The rabbits you’ve been wishing for just don’t rhyme with your birthday song. I’ve checked the rabbits out at the Amcorp Mall last month. They were pretty soft and cute. And cuddly, just like you. But I don’t think that you’re ready for them yet. Or them you. Can you wait until you’re a bit older, before I get them for you, Haifa? Or when I could go off to work without having this worry that the rabbits would still be there when I get home? I know you can, right?

Haifa sayang, rabbits are gentle animals. And fragile. Errr... just like you. They are like babies who need the TLC that I’m sure you’ll be able to provide. But sayang, they need to be stroked lightly, not vigorously like you did the fishes (RIP) a few months ago. I know you did it out of love, but dear, too much of a good thing wasn’t good either. I know I may be able to teach you the how tos... but can I do that when you’re a 'lil bit older? And oh, I really hope you'll stop chanting "I want two bunny rabbits" after this. Please?

We also have a surprise for you sometime next month. When the bird’s eggs have hatched, you’ll be seeing two baby-birds in the nest. Not that I don’t want to share the news with you now, it’s just that I want to give the mother bird some peace and quiet. And give you a surprise. You understand that too, don’t you?

Anyway, for your birthday this year Haifa, you’ll be getting some books (as usual) and a Baby G watch. I know you’ll like them for sure. And please don’t lose the watch this time, ok? And before you start asking me – Yes, the watch is water-proof. You can swim up to a hundred meter down the pool to prove it. Kak Hanna’s wearing the same brand, so I know that it’s tough enough even for an active and curious girl like you.

Till your birthday on Wednesday.

Lots of Love,

Mega Sale Marathon Shopping

A week before the school holidays:

Ibuuu, betis Hanna sakit lagi lah Ibu.

My God, after like 4 days, she could still feel the aching? The 7-hour of marathon shopping was last Monday, Hanna, how could you still feel the pain?

OK OK - I’m Guilty as charged. I admit I’m a bad mother. I was an inconsiderate mom who made her two children skipped schools just so that they could tag along with her to MidValley. But I didn’t blackmail them or anything. They were all full of smiles that day. They liked it, especially when the exam was just over and they wanted to spend some quality time with me - besides getting new shoes and clothes for Raya of course.

I don’t like to procrastinate when it comes to buying things for my children. I made a vow earlier this year that I won’t be doing what I had been doing all these years – go shopping for Raya during Ramadhan! This year, I don’t want to be caught in the throngs of people who seemed to like what I liked. In the end, it was very frustrating when you got hold of the one that you desired but couldn’t get the size that you wanted. Or you liked the one on the mannequin, but that was the last piece and the wrong size. Or worse, you couldn’t find anything for anybody at all!

That was why I took leave on Monday and went shopping with Hanna and Hasya.

There were a zillion things to buy. Imagine how many blouses, t-shirts, jeans, pants, skirts, gowns, sandals and shoes that made up the long list of my To-Buy things:

Let's do a simple math:

There are 11 people living under the same roof with me. Six of them are my dear children, another three my maids, my dahhling Ayah and moi!

1) Each of my maids needs 3 blouses/t-shirts, 2 pants/jeans, a baju kurung and a pair of sandals – that makes it 7 items for each. Total : 21 items altogether.

2) Each of my 5 girls needs 4 blouses/t-shirts, 2 jeans, a baju kurung and a pair of sandals/shoes – that makes it at least 8 items for each. Total : 40 items. Don’t forget the extra skirts/gowns and stockings for the younger three which equals to 6. So, the Grand Total for the 5 girls : 46 items

3) My only boy – 3 jeans/slacks, 5 shirts/t-shirts, socks, a pair of sandal and a baju Melayu. Total : 11 items

4) Ayah – TBD
5) Moi - TBD

(Post-script Correction):
The total amount of things to be bought was 21+46+11 = 78! Minus the Baju Kurungs and the Baju Melayu that I’ve already bought/ordered (all 11 of them), and minus Items 4 and 5 (which aren’t important), the Grandtotal of the things that needed to be bought was 78-11 = 67!

I'd never accomplish buying those even if I had 4 arms! Not while you’re fasting or got pushed and pulled during a weekend sale. So I know I made the right decision to buy them on Monday, with the Mega Sale going on especially.

What left, you ask me?

I’m only left with less than 10 items to buy now. Pretty impressive, huh?

Back to Nature

Out of the blues, Ayah had this urge to buy a tent. Yes, a t.e.n.t. It all started when he read an ad in The Star on a new shop in Bangsar selling outdoor things. This ‘back-to-nature’ man thought it would be good to set up a tent there next to the gazebo in the garden.

So, last Thursday (June 5th)– off we went to Bangsar. Imagine us trying to find a parking place in Bangsar at NOON. Urrgh… After circling around the blocks for like 300 times, we decided to park at Bangsar Village 2.

For Orang Kampungs like us – Bangsar Village 2 was sooo not us! Even the girls didn’t particularly like the atmosphere… they said it was too classy… Hehe… now you know where we go for our shoppings…1-Utama, Subang Parade and the likes tu betul-betul sesuai dengan jiwa raga.. :) Anyway, Baby Hanis liked these lanterns which were hung from the ceiling so much that I decided to snap some pix for her.

She especially liked the butterflies… Cool huh?










We found the shop. It was called “Outdoor” (eh ye ke?). Most of the things sold were Coleman’s. Ayah found the tent that he wanted. Cost us RM670 after discount.. at least we got RM9 discount..lol!










After a tawaf around Bangsar Village 2, all of us could hear our tummies growling. Decided to have our lunch at 1-Utama (see.. I told you!). Headed for Italiannies and had a wonderful packaged lunch which consisted of one appetizer, 3 main dishes and one desert for a mere RM89! They were all served in enormous portions. It was called 'The More the Merrier’ or something like that.



Garlic Chicken Pizza
and
Grilled Chicken Milanese



Mussels Diavolo tinggal dua ketul..









Try this out.... Eh.. Free ad for Italiannies lah pulak.. :)