Adventure Trip - Part 1

I am an adventurous person by nature. I like doing outdoor adventure stuffs... provided it does not take too much of my energy.


Over the weekend, I went for an Adventure Program.


It was one of the most physically challenging program I have been to. I mean, I haven't been to a lot... *sheepish smile* I usually go and do something adventurous but not as organised as this. I get to "give-up" whenever I want... But not this Adventure Program. The Instructors are so encouraging in "pushing" me forward and not give up.


A group of 7 of us gathered, not too far from the entrance of FRIM, Kepong. All of us looking at each other, not really knowing exactly what to expect.


The program started with warm up games, getting-to-know-you games and many more for about 3 hours. I totally enjoyed the games, it was so much of fun!!!! I laughed and laughed and laughed. It was great! Mentally I felt young but unfortunately, my body feels much much older than that. I chose to slowly walk rather than run whilst the other guys and gals (half of my age) was busy zipping by. Nevermind. I have my ways of conserving energy (I didn't know how much I needed it....).


After lunch, the program was mountain biking. But. If it rains, we can skip it to the next program. I was hoping it would rain. Yes it did. But. It stopped just as we were about to go for mountain biking. How fortunate, for me...


I cycle, sometimes but have never done mountain biking. The uneven and uphill terrain was a real challenge for me. I mean, real challenge. I struggled so much that I was going to turn back towards camp. The Instructors were gently nudging me ahead.


to be continued .....

Did It Happen to You, too?

Have you ever experienced this?


Did it ever happen to you?


When you are bored and restless and hoping someone will call. They don't.


When you are very busy and you will have 3 of your friends calling on the phone. Wanting to chat.


You don't go out with the girls too often. But when you do. Some kind of family emergency ... children gets sick, babysitting your niece, the dog vomits or something will emerge and you have to cancel or postpone the appointment.


You need to go to the bank at a very busy area of town and somehow by miracle you managed to get a parking. So, you pay for the parking ticket and proceed to the bank. But you discovered that you parked much further than you thought and so you walked the distance under hot sun. Upon reaching the counter, the Customer Service was out for lunch and you end up having to return an hour later and wasted your parking ticket. Then when you return later, it was impossible to get a parking, so, you had to round 3-4 times and waited 5 more minutes before getting an illegal carpark. When you went to the counter, the Customer Service told you that you didn't bring the necessary documents to do the transaction and you were ready to explode!


Well, that happened to me!


Sometimes life is just so annoying!!!


P.S. I am just so curious how my friends manage to know that the other 2 wanted to call too... This is a conspiracy!

The Cockroach

Ethaniel enjoys his art and craft class immensely! Looking forward to the weekly class and seeing his face lits up when the Art Teacher gives him an A+. He has always enjoyed drawing but since going to the art and craft class, he has been doodling even more.


I was wondering what he was up to....

What is this?

Aiyo! Looks like one of those cockroach I squashed the other day. Eeeeww... the stomach looked as gross as the real one too.

20 May 2009, Wednesday

"Wake up! Its 7am".


I opened up my eyes and Hubby was sitting up.


I stretched, rolled, pulled up my blanket and was hoping to have an additional minute or two of restful sleep. Then, I thought again. My Hubby needs my moral support to get this thing going, so, I better wake up in a jiffy!


It took me 10 mins to get ready and off we went towards the park to do our first-unofficial-brisk-walking-session. After knowing Hubby for the last 16 years, I am seeing him doing brisk walk for the first time. I thought I was dreaming.... So, you have to see my view point in getting this historical event noted.


Hope to continue this thing for many more years to come.

Upheaval Week

The last 1 to 2 weeks has been quite an emotional upheaval for my family and I.


First, Hubby has not been feeling like his normal self. Cannot blame him, he is not normal. He has to cut down on sugary stuff, carbohydrate and many other stuffs which he totally addicted to but absolutely a no-no.


To put myself in his shoes, I guess I have to imagine myself having to abstain from eating Indian curries, Nasi Lemak, Japanese food and all chilli stuff.


Aaarrrrggghhh!!!


That would be almost the end of the world for me. I just loooove all these stuffs.


Pity him.


Sigh.


Of course the overzealous me woke up early in the morning to cook breakfast for him. You know, for all my 14 years of marriage, I have never woken up to make breakfast for him. Mostly because he needs to wake up to go to work at very ungodly hours, like 6.15am. I love my sleep. Especially in the morning.


So, you can imagine me toiling at his breakfast and packed lunch for 1 hour. I was so tired after that. It was wearying me down.... but what was I to do? I was trying to help him with his new diet.


As you might have guessed, I gave up after 1 week!


My Mother was like me, a little overzealous too. We drove around town looking for herbal medications which was highly recommended by others. We purchased 8 pots of the fresh plants from a nursery. We left no stones unturned. We conquered every herbal plant in sight. So, don't go looking for it because I either have it in my garden or in my cupboard *exaggeration added to make it sound dramatic*


We had our church Pastor, Cell Group leader and Members who came to give moral support, encouragement, advice and prayer. I was really touched that my friend, S immediately organised for them to come over after knowing our upheaval week. We needed it.


My Mother also took the request to her church for prayer, worried over it herself and even came to specifically pray for Hubby. You should have seen her pray, power man! How not to feel better? Mother's Prayer. Sure God will listen.. Right?

Photos of Extended Family Members

Remember, I introduced Joel, Ethaniel, Ivan, Christina and Baby to you? Read it here.


Now, let me show you their faces.... Please don't ask me who is who. I have no clue. The hairy balls look all the same to me.

They are adored, loved and cuddled to death!

Play, play and some more play

Aiyo, so cuteeeee

Tender moments with the hamsters

Glad you met the rest of the family now.

A Box?

Ethaniel has an annoying habit of talking while sucking air into this mouth. It sounds horrific. Try it.


He has done that various times while we travel in the car. I usually ask him to stop because I feel that it affects my breathing. Gives me a suffocating effect. Like difficulty in breathing, you know. I told him but he still does it to annoy me. Sometimes Joel joins in too, well... you know... just to annoy me. That's all.


This afternoon, while we were in the car, Hubby told him to stop doing it.


Hubby: Ethaniel, don't do that!

Ethaniel: Why?

Hubby: Because it will spoil your voice box

Ethaniel: I didn't know my body has a box! *in the most curious and innocent voice*


I laughed and laughed. It was so funny...

A Mother's Pride and Joy

My young man, after his warm up

"Great job! I am proud of you", I was smiling and beaming from ear to ear. The feeling of pride of a Mother towards their child is so precious that its kinda difficult to describe. It probably feels greater seeing him accomplishing it than having achieved it myself.

Joel is standing on platform No. 8

Just like I rather experience the pain, disappointment and sickness myself than to see my children having to go through it.


Sigh.


A mother's love knows no bounds. I wonder how evolution managed to design that into a women. No way!


The late morning heat was getting to me, actually all of us. Ethaniel, Hubby and I was sweating. Trying to brush off the heat, I spoke to a Mother and later read the Sunday Times. Everybody waits. Patiently. Nobody complains, anxious or fidgety. Except Ethaniel and Joel. First timers.

The stadium packed with parents

What do you do while waiting for your turn to swim? Wait. That's all you can do, really. Anyway, now we know what to bring.... some books, MP4, maybe laptop, paper to draw, a paper fan and preferably a TV too! The parents wait around, chatting.

Do you see the mussels? I mean, muscles?

It's all worth it, anything for our children.


Joel clocked 47 seconds compared to his training time of 53 seconds for the freestyle 50m.


Good job!

Water Works - Syabas

After staying in our rented home in Malaysia for about 1 week, the problems in the house began to creep up one by one. Sometimes two by two :-(


One of the most frustrating thing was to discover that our whole house water supply is accessed through a small little tank. To top the cream-on-the-cake, the water flow into the tank through a pipe which trickles ... like my little boy's pee ... I mean, takes forever.


I almost went into a panic when there was no water supply in the master bedroom toilet, then the children's toilet... Even after waiting for a whole night. The plumber was called in for a rescue and the diagnosis was the pipe problem i.e. the source coming from the main pipe into our home.


I called the Syabas people at about 4pm and the guess what? They were "knocking" on our road at 9am the next day!!


I was shocked!


Awe strucked!


They must have gotten the wrong address!


Malaysian government department has changed that much since we left 3 years ago???!!!


Malaysia Boleh!

Syabas workers making good progress

See the old pipe?

Good job and well done!!! Thumbs up to Syabas!

We related this to few of our friends and neighbours and they too were shocked at the promptness of the Syabas workers.


So, the conclusion was... This is not a normal behaviour of the Syabas workers but it was because God was merciful to me and caused a miracle to happen. It was nothing short of a miracle, honestly.


There were the baskets of laundry to wash, plates to clean, floor to mop, meals to cook, vegetables to clean, hands to rinse, body to scrub and the list goes on....


You want a miracle? I just had one!

SMS to Lawyer

I was going through my archives and managed to find the SMS which I sent to Mr Ong, the Lawyer. After this SMS, he reacted with so much of hoo-haa.. I have re-read this SMS many times to know what insensitive and rude words which have been used to caused such a HUGE reaction in Mr Ong... till he has refused to communicate either through SMS, email or phone call to us...


I feel as if we are 6 years old children in kindergarten playground.


All he could have done was to say, "I am unhappy with blah blah blah, please do not repeat it again". But instead he chose silent treatment. I pity his wife. Maybe I should send her a card to cheer her up. What do you think?


Anyway.


You be the judge.


The SMS was sent via internet. I have a lelong account which I could send SMSs and it only cost 15 sen per sms rather than THB10 per SMS from Thailand to Malaysian mobile.

********************

Pt. 1. Mr Ong, I tried to email you but it bounced back. So, I am going to SMS you the email in summary. A few part.


Pt 2. My real estate agent said 8% already given. Pls bank in at Maybank xxxxxx - ASAP.


Pt 3. V hv updates from FIL but not full info. Very difficult. Pls contact us directly to update. Becoz we dont know what's happening there.


Pt 4. I think that wld b more professional. No miscommunication. So, now that v hv the 8%. What else? FYI. We will be away from 15Dec-1Jan.


Pt 5. If u hv doc for signature. Send today via DHL & it will arrive by Fri/Sat. Let me know if u r sending.


Pt 6. So, I do expect you to contact us directly on what its going to happen in the next few days/weeks. TQ.

The end of SMS


****************************

Are you as confused as I am?


They say women is sensitive. Really?



To read blog post related to this, go to:

Lawyer "Buruk"

More on Lawyer "Buruk"

More on Lawyer "Buruk"

This is a continuation story about my blog post on "Lawyer "Buruk"". I didn't think I had anything more to write... unfortunately I was wrong.


A few days ago, I faxed a letter to my Purchaser's lawyer and following is the exact letter....

******************

Dear Sir

Payment of Remaining Sum from The Purchaser’s Bank

I would like to request that all remaining sum from the Purchaser’s bank to be paid directly to my current account MBB xxxxxxxx.

Please do not pay into my lawyer, Mr Ong’s account. The reason being, the deposit which was earlier paid to us via his account, the monies was taken from us without consent or knowledge of myself, my wife, the Purchaser, the Purchaser’s lawyer, my real estate agent or father-in-law (who was in communication with him).

After some investigation and much panic, we discovered that Mr Ong took the amount of RM2,000 which we thought was lost. I do not want a similar incident to re-occur. I am sorry to have to admit that I cannot trust my own lawyer.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require any clarifications at 012-xxxxx.

Yours sincerely,

My Hubby's Name

c.c. Mr Ong (My lawyer)

*****************

Honestly, I wasn't sure what kind of reaction to expect from Mr Ong. All I wanted to do was to ensure that the initial incident does not re-occur and we do not give opportunities for Mr Ong to "pay" himself again. I think anyone in my position would have done that and more.

Upon receipt of the fax, Mr Ong called my FIL and verbally abused him on the telephone, threatening to sue us and him....accused my FIL of approving the "payment" to himself amounting to RM2,000.00 and other stuffs... Poor man, almost 70 years old couldn't take it and hung up the phone.

Mr Ong also tried to call my Hubby various times. Surely to continue the verbal abuse. Of course, smarty-pants, my Hubby will not allow such a thing. He is very clever in drawing boundaries. So, he refused to pick up the calls.

It was like New Year's Day because Mr Ong has never called my hubby or myself since the day we engaged him as a lawyer..... while in Thailand or after we returned to Malaysia. Out of the blue, he now feels the need to "communicate".

It is so obvious that his ego was pricked. What an insecure man! By right, we should be the people who complains about him but instead he wants to sue us???!!! For what? On what basis he has a case? I have not exaggerated any of the things I wrote on my blog post. I have kept all my SMS messages, emails, communications or lack of it with him and etc. I even have my Purchaser, real estate agent and FIL as witnesses to his incompetence and arrogance.

Bring it on!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother’s Day

To my

Mummy

and all you Mummies out there

Who ….

Had awful labour pains in delivery

Stretchmarks on her tummy

Spent sleepless nights breastfeeding me

Changing all my smelly diapers… full of poos and wees

Tolerated my screams and cries

Endured the tantrums and pouts

Patch up all the bruises

Iced all the bumps

Thank you, Mum

I know it was not easy

But I am glad you did it anyway

See, what a wonderful joy I have turned out to be

You may beg to differ

But you cannot deny the grandkids

I gave you is the best ever!

Thai Fair

Leaving Thailand after being there for the last 3 years has not been easy. We didn't anticipate it to be smooth sailing, anyway. Hoping it to be easy-peasy is definitely unrealistic.


One of the things which Joel misses, is the food. You know, my Son... The one whose heart can be touched via the stomach. It was by accident when I bumped into a Thai Fair at Kelana Jaya Giant Mall. They had Papaya Salad (Som Tum), Noodles (Tom Yum Gung),Thai Noodles (Khanom Chin) and sticky rice with mango.


Both Joel and Ethaniel had two bowls each!!! It was 3.30pm, they had lunch at 1.00pm. Don't ask me how they managed to down those noodles. But it was great to see the satisfied look on both of their faces!


Well, no matter what our heart's desires are, God never sees it as insignificant. He must have seen those cravings in my Son's stomach and provided for him... Just like how He provided manna for the children of Israel in the dessert.

A very familiar looking statute

It was great being able to order using my limited Thai language

Do you see joy or what?

Phew! The satisfied cravings will keep him happy for at least 3 months....

Swimming Competition

After joining the competitive swimming class for a month, Joel has been arranged to join a competition.  According to the Coach, “It will encourage him to be more competitive and motivated”.  Hopefully.  Anyway.

 

 

So, this coming weekend, he will be in two events.  Breast stroke and freestyle 50m. 

 

 

He told me this morning….

 

“I am so nervous about this weekend.” 

 

“How if my swimming trunks fall off?”

 

“My goggles drop out?”

 

“My swimming trunk gets all wet before entering the pool because I was pissing-in-my-pants?”

 

 

I am excited for the young man.  How about it?  Spending Mother’s Day hanging out at a poolside, humid and hot weather for a whole day… With many children screaming, hanging around and half naked. Hmm… why not?  Anything for my son.

 

 

 

 

 

Who Do You Call?

(Joel goes for competitive swimming 3 times a week. Hubby sends him there and returns home before picking him up again 2 hours later)



My mobile phone rang....


Me: Hello

Joel: Hi, Mum... *stuttering* I forgot my swimming trunk *silent*

Me: What? Just wear whatever you have lah.

Joel: I don't have anything... Only towel.

Me: *thinking* *sigh* So, what do you want me to do? Don't you have Daddy's mobile. Call him lah.

Joel: Oh, OK.

2 minutes lapse.


My mobile phone rang again...

Me: Hello.

Joel: Can you tell Dad to bring my swimming trunks?

Me: Did you call Dad already?

Joel: No.


Conclusion and moral of the story:

This son is obviously very smart. He knows who will bring his swimming trunk and who will not. His Daddy took the swimming trunk to him but not before he said, "We should teach him a lesson!"


I was thinking... pity those little girls. It will be too traumatic an experience to see my young man "flashing" around the pool. The lesson which we want to teach him has too much of consequences on both him and spectators.

Guess Who Visited?

The trap was laid out at the back since 2 days ago. All I needed was some bread. I was wondering if it will work...


How I initially discovered the unwelcomed guest was.... It made a rude intrusion into the kitchen and made an even more abrupt get-away when I went downstairs to get some water. Oh no, another one. Eeewww... I hate pest!

Ethaniel and Joel proudly showing off "the hunted one"

I don't like pest but I have no fear of it or any qualms if I need to squash a huge cockroach, trap a rodent... incidentally, I have killed a rat with my bare hands. It was quite a traumatic experience. I had just wanted to stop it from going out through the hole but instead I suffocated the fella. My story, "The exciting life of a teenage girl".

BBQ rodent, anyone?

I honestly don't know who/what else will be making a visit soon. What is this? Why are there so many pest in this concrete jungle I stay in?


This Mummy job thingy is getting tougher by the minute.... Now, Pest Controller. Sigh.


BTW, we drowned the fella. No funeral. Good riddance.

Fearing the Flu

Fearing the Flu
Life as a Disaster Movie

April 30, 2009

Edgar Hernandez probably doesn’t understand the fuss he created. When the 5-year-old from the Mexican state of Campeche coughed, the world caught a nervous breakdown.

Hernandez has been identified as the first person to have been infected with the strain of swine flu known as H1N1. As of yesterday there were approximately 2500 suspected cases of swine flu in Mexico with 159 suspected deaths.

In the U.S., the number of confirmed cases has “risen” to 64 with one death. The increase is at least partly due to what science writer Sandy Szwarc calls “seek and ye shall find.” Since we are now actively looking for swine flu, we are finding more of it. As she put it, “Cases identified with increased surveillance is not the same thing as actual increased incidents.”

To put these numbers in context, some 20,000 Americans die from flu-related illnesses every year. Thus, the President is right when he says that this outbreak warrants concern but not panic.

This hasn’t kept the media and political opportunists from behaving shamefully. It’s almost impossible to read a story about the flu without coming across the word “pandemic”—an attempt to link this outbreak to the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed millions. They speculate about whether there will be enough flu vaccine to protect Americans this winter.

What you rarely hear is that most Americans have already lived through a flu pandemic—that is, the 1968 Hong Kong flu. That pandemic killed scarcely more Americans than die from flu in an average year. Another thing you aren’t reminded of in the media is that the last time we worried about swine flu, in 1976, the vaccine wound up doing more damage than the disease.

The reporting and the rhetoric is part of what British sociologist Frank Furedi calls the “dramatization of disease.” The media and public officials “sound as if they are rehearsing their roles for a disaster movie”—a movie through which we express “our anxieties about everyday life.”

Furedi is onto something: The coverage of this outbreak has more to do with the culture than with science. Stories like this one frighten us because they undermine our confidence in our supposed ability to control our world.

In Christianity, pride is the deadliest sin, and ours is a prideful age. We thought that we had figured out a way to guarantee perpetual economic growth. And we even dare to talk about overcoming disease and even death.

Then reality, like Nemesis in Greek mythology, punishes us for our hubris. The economy craters and a virus reminds us of our vulnerability. Instead of being chastened, we become fearful. In effect, we are saying that a world we can’t control is a world too dangerous to live in.

Of course, it’s the only world humans have ever known. It’s why every attempt to re-create paradise not only fails, but causes more harm than good.

The alternative to demolished pride isn’t fear, it’s repentance. It’s humbly acknowledging our dependence on God. Without this, life can’t help but feel like a disaster movie.

Article extracted from here.