Thursday, December 22, 2005

A bit more time please.....

No doubt..I’m soooo happy for mrsjones. She’s been waiting for this moment for a long time now. But it kept me thinking about myself. How come I’m not ready for another one? Does that make me a bad person?

Its been nearly 3 years. A few friends already have a second baby..some are planning to have one soon. But I haven’t even thought about it yet. I guess I’m happy with the way things are now...or maybe I still feel tired from the first one...or maybe I dread going through the process again.

I don’t want to sound all mengada and tak bersyukur. I know other mothers have had worst problems and for some people, it may be considered normal but I guess for my standard I did kind of had a ‘painful’ experience. Believe me, my pain tolerance is low :). Even remembering those moments makes me shiver with fear....These were the few things I had to endure during and after pregnancy (of course apart from the normal stuff like backache, leg cramps, frequent visits to the toilet, getting tired easily etc)..............


1. My morning sickness turned out to be an ‘all day sickness’. I vomitted 15 times a day. By the time nak tido at night, memang I was sooo lembik. I even lost weight and my gyne was worried about me.

2. My legs started to get itchy after a few months of pregnancy. My feet looked horrendous with all the scars. Couldn’t stop scratching. It was like mosquito bites but it wasnt. I was allergic to something but couldn’t figure out what. This went on for about a month.

3. Due to the constant vomitting, it kind of put pressure to my eyes. The veins in my eyes burst...and my eyes were red for a week. I had to wear glasses for a month. I also had frequent headaches and the pain was in my eye. I had to go through a few tests. My opthomologist wanted to be sure I was ok or else I had to see a neurologist. Thank God it didn't come to that stage.

4. The last 2 months of pregnancy was quite an experience for me. I had this itchy feeling everywhere. Especially on my back. There was constant scratching. Friends were laughing at me because I got to a stage where I didn’t care about embarassing myself and just scratched in public. It was really bad. No amount of lotion, pills or special soap helped reduced it. The dermatologist said its just a pregnancy phase I’m going through. I couldn’t sleep at night and the sweating made the itchiness worse.

5. Of course when D* was born, I was happy and relieved...thinking the pain would be over. But, a different kind of pain emerged. D* cried a lot..and I mean A LOT. I was really close to going through depression. What do they call it? Post natal depression? She was really, really testing my patience. There were times when I just wanted to break down and cry. D* cried when she was hungry, when we wanted to change her, when it was bath time, when she wanted to sleep....the list goes on. Sometimes we didn’t know why she was crying. She didn’t want anyone except for me or the maid. . And you can just imagine the amount of fights I had with the hubby. I was really, really, really tired. I wanted him to help out more but I guess I couldn’t really blame him....D* didn’t want him at all when she was cranky. I got tired even more when I went back to work. D* went through a phase where she would cry from Maghrib until early morning. Sometimes we had to drive her around the neighbourhood at 1am just to calm her down. This went on until she was 6 months. She would still cry and wake up 2 or 3 times at night wanting her milk until she was 2 years plus. There was also a phase when she just didn’t want to sleep at night. She wanted to play with me or the maid until about 5am. This resulted in only 1 or 2 hours sleep for me. I think that was the time I became a zombie and a few times I nearly had an accident coz tertido while driving. There was also the backpain...Serious sakit. Tak boleh duduk lama-lama or even lie on my back. After a few tests and X-Rays, thank god it wasn’t slip disc. Just muscle cramps due to constant bending (banyak tunduk masa jaga D*).

I still feel tired until now. Its not that I don’t want another baby at all, I do...but I guess I’m just afraid to go through that phase again. Macam phobia la. Some people say, maybe the next pregnancy/baby won’t be the same but I’m just too scared to even try. Some people say its a normal thing to go through and I shouldn’t feel this way but I’m still not ready. Does this make me a bad person?

Having said all that, I wouldn’t trade D* for the world. She’s truly the apple of my eye, my sunshine...and I love her to death. She’s at the talkative stage now..always asking questions or making comments. "Ni apa ni mama?", "Buat apa tu mama?"...And everytime she says "I love you mama", it just breaks my heart...The other day she was crying and kept asking for ‘sempit’.."Mama, nak sempit...D* nak sempit". I was cracking my brain..apa benda sempit tu..until the maid pointed out she wanted ‘nasi impit’. Laaaaaaaaa.......

D* absolutely loves babies. When she meets babies or kids younger than her, she would follow them around..acting like a big sister. She dotes on her baby cousin (my brother’s son). My mum says she must feel lonely and wants someone to play with. But what can I do??

Sorry sayang, mama’s just not ready yet.......

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

how to deal with meddlers....?

Finally !! I am eligible for an LV baby diaper bag, tee hee !! Monday, I went to the two towers’ clinic for confirmation. Wah lama sungguh nak dapat result, perut I dah keroncong maut punya. After an hour, I'm tested positive, already 6 weeks and due in august next year.. After I told mrjones about the result, I was flooded with well-wishers especially from my in-laws’ clan. As if not enough, they even gave me names for the baby...Eh, excuse me ?! I dah :
1. been harassed with the clan’s favourite question since month 1 of marriage (I didn’t know I look like one of Hugh Hefner’s honey bunny)
2. penat-lelah main
3. gave up my favourite soya-based food and beverage
4. take yucky royal jelly
boleh pulaaaaa, senang² je suruh I guna-pakai nama yang diaorg bagi. Kot ye pun excited, bawa-bawa bertenang la ye....
No way, not now, not ever.
I am perfectly capable of choosing the right name for the baby (if it’s a boy je). I haven’t think up names in case it’s a girl. Actually, I’m quite proud with the name because, two months ago before fasting month started, as I was doodling in my Saturday’s kelas tafsir, the name just leap out at me from the Qur’an. Not bad for someone who have to be dragged to the class by my loving mom.
That moment, I really wish I was pregnant so I can name him that. It means "glorious win/success" - perfect for me la kan; after trying for one year, husband and I successfully made me pregnant. Hopefully with that name, he will encounter glorious win or success in all stages of his life..he’s a winner for being the only sperm among million others that made it to one of my 12 eggs ovulated yearly. Coincidently, to the only egg that is matured enough and big enough in size to be fertilised. So yes it is - "glorious win". Wah !! macam menang Perang Salib jer, hahaa...
I feel like replying to this person "go get yourself pregnant, give your baby whatever names you want and stop interfering into your sister-in-law’s life!" I have 5 sisters-in-law and I never am interested in suggesting names for their babies. So, I am actually amazed with her ability to do all these to me. I can see her maturing into typical mami penang.. Annoying and loud.
I have 9 long months to go *sigh* and I can see her in my vision, pestering me or mrjones to use names she like. Maybe she wants to be helpful, maybe she is excited.. But it is sooo unsolicited and unwanted. She suggested aqasya and mohd firman... I’m not into Malaysia’s malay drama actors and meaningless name..
Let’s make this into a contest. How many names my in-laws’ clan will suggest to me in the duration of next 9 months ?? Watch out for clues in this space. Grand prize winner is exempted from giving me any baby gift for my newborn.

Monday, December 19, 2005

all i want for xmas....

1. Philips Provapor Azur cos it can do vertical ironing besides horizontal, has an even distribution of steam.
2. iPod shuffle or nano for me to listen to black eyed peas’ my humps on repeat mode
3. Clarins' total body lift
4. LV baby diaper bag, ni cuma berangan la. I will buy this bag as a present to myself for being successfully pregnant..
Actually, I hope that I’ll be eligible for no.4 this year.. Last Friday, I miss my period for 10 days already, by right it should be 12 days because I’m in a 28-days cycle. My lady lumps sore, my tummy cramp macam nak period.. I was thinking "I’m not pregnant again this month" After that, period sampai laa ni tak datang-datang and I’m getting suspicious... *nans* told me she has the feeling that I might be pregnant.
So, I pun pi beli dip & test kit. The second line appears blurry and out of frustration, I threw it down the bin. *nans* made me rummage through the bin to retrieve the dipper because she wanted to see how blurry the line is. She told me to wait until Sunday and do it again for clearer result. She had to do it several times last time when she was with her second child. She said if I’m not pregnant, the line won’t appear at all ! Oooookay...
I called my husband and told him about my hazy blurry line, he said that I should go to the clinic that afternoon to reconfirm... I’m beginning to feel guilty because earlier on, when I go around asking friends what are the earlier symptoms of pregnancy and those symptoms match with what I’ve been feeling, I whined this to myself....*I’m not going to make it to Bangkok for my 2nd anniversary or even Bali next September* Selfish kan ?? Padahal before this, I’ve been visiting my gynae to get myself pregnant.
Sah sah cold feet case ni...now as I’m looking at the dipper, the second line dah appear stronger pulak... Hmmm....my back been killing me now and my feet felt heavy. Could it be because I’m pregnant now ??
If I do get myself pregnant, I manage to dispel my mother’s old notion that cats can pray for their owner to not getting preggers. Reason being, since they are so well-loved and well-spoiled by their owners, having a baby would stop the attention towards them... I know my cats especially chi chi won’t do that to me. She is extremely annoyed with me cos I always molly-coddle her until she meows in rage. Mimi always pujuk I urut-urut badan dia tapi selalunya tak berjaya. Sometimes I buat, sometimes I lari masuk bilik dari dia, hahaa.. Neo memang tak suka I peluk dia and he always struggle himself free whenever I dukung dia..Height-phobe rasanya..
If I’m pregnant, I vow to myself to eat lots of vegetables, fruits, drink soya milk and water, avoid all source of caffeine, take folic acid, calcium and yada yada. My brother gave me royal jelly 2 months back sebab I’ve been trying to get pregnant tapi tak berjaya.. I ada la makan tapi not religiously do so every day... Kalau I berjaya pregnant, nampak sangat la I ni kurang vitamin. Badan tak cukup khasiat, lagi ada hati mau mengandung. Teruk betul...

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Laughter is the best medicine

People who know me well know that I absolutely love laughing. Its so easy to get me to laugh. Just tell me something funny and I’ll crack up. For some people, it may not be that funny but for me, it could be the funniest joke in the world and it’ll take me some time to stop laughing. There are times when I’m sitting alone and I remember a funny joke/moment/situation, I can just burst out laughing. And people nearby will think "eh..why la this girl gelak sorang-sorang?".

Because of the fact that I love laughing, I am easily attracted to guys with great sense of humor...guys who can make me laugh. Its certainly one of the qualities I look at. And when I say attracted, it doesn’t mean I easily fall for any funny guy (of course I can’t now coz dah kawin kan...). But I definitely know I can easily get along with that kind of guy.

I read somewhere that if we want to find Mr Right, we need to pay close attention to his laugh. Some people may find that weird but in a way, I kind of agree and based on my personal experience, I can relate to what the writer said. We can tell a lot about a man by his laugh. Real laughter is uncontrollable. For just a moment something strikes us as funny and the sound of laughter comes out spontaneously and without any real control on our part. Laughter can also be faked and thats the part we can analyse when we’re listening to his laughter. Lets look at a few things on a guy's laughter....

1. Is his laughter real or fake?
You can always tell when someone has one of those completely goofy laughs that nobody in their right mind would choose to have -- those silly sounding laughs that cause everyone else to laugh too. This reminds me of my manager, *Hashim*. He’s such a funny guy and when he laughs, he makes this funny kind of wail that makes me want to laugh even more. Hehehe.. There’s also those completely fake laughs that makes you want to cringe. Most people have fairly normal sounding laughs and they are spontaneous. If the guy you’re interested in fakes his laugh occasionally to laugh at someone’s attempt to tell a joke, that’s okay. But, if he fakes his laugh on a regular basis, then we should question his ability to portray his true and genuine self to the world. You may or may not feel like analyzing why he’s faking it, but it’s important to note if he’s presenting a false personality to the world on a regular basis.

2. Does he laugh easily?
There are men who have serious anger and violence issues. They don’t laugh easily. Also, guys who have serious depression problems obviously aren’t going to laugh as easily as someone who’s naturally happy and at peace with his life. The silent type may seem sexy for a while, but in the long run, you’re going to want to have some fun in your life too. It gets to be a real bore to hang out with someone who’s always incredibly serious and entertaining darker thoughts.

3. Does he laugh at people or with people?
Nobody likes to be made fun of, but this has more to do with what your man finds as funny. Does he find humour in ridiculing others? Does he laugh at others because everyone is incredibly foolish or stupid in his eyes? Is he constantly critiquing people looking for a reason to laugh at them? It doesn’t matter how witty or funny his presentation, it’s not a good sign if your man takes his personal pleasure in laughing at others. Some people can't take jokes easily. What seems funny to him may not be funny to other people. We need to be sensitive to other people’s feelings. Jokes about weight, appearance and looks should be avoided. Some people say its ok if the joke is coming from your close friends but for me, if you say the same joke and tease the person about the same thing every other day, it can be a pain and will definitely hurt the person’s feelings. You also don’t want someone who constantly makes himself the butt of all jokes either. Its an underlying self esteem issue when people spend a lot of time making fun of themselves. Its not the same as being able to laugh at one’s own mistakes. This is about constantly putting yourself at a low level. Also, is he able to find joy in someone else’s jokes? You don’t want someone who only laughs at his own jokes and nobody else’s.

4. Does the sound of his laughter fill you with joy?
Listen to the actual sound of his laughter. Does the sound make your heart jump with joy? It doesn’t matter if his laughter is like a roaring thunder or if he giggles like a little girl! What matters is that his laughter is infectious and makes your heart lighten. Imagine coming home from a really bad day at work. Upon entering the house, you hear his laughter coming from the kitchen. Does that sound lift your spirits? Or infuriate you even more? You want to be with someone who’s laughter makes your heart sing. So, choose someone who’s laughter heals your weary mind.

5. Do you laugh at the same things?
Yes, you want to be your own person with your own interests and your own unique sense of self, but you also want to share good times with your partner. You need to pick someone who has a similar sense of humour to your own. There’s nothing worse then having your partner roll their eyes like you’re so uncool every time you burst out laughing. What determines a person’s sense of humor is wide and varied, including upbringing and level of education. If you share the same overall sense of humor, chances are that you are fairly compatible in those areas. You’re somewhat on the same wave length.

6. Do you laugh at the same time?
This is also something that needs close attention. You want to pretty much agree on when is the proper time and place for goofing around and making each other laugh. If he likes to crack jokes and laugh a lot during foreplay and you find it to be a total turn off, then you’re going to have problems. If he keeps laughing at something when you’re trying to have a serious conversation, then you’re not going to get along so well. This also works in the other direction. If you’re the one who is constantly laughing and joking and he’s the one getting upset that your timing is inappropriate, then you’re not going to like hanging out with him. Compatibility shows itself in little things like timing.

Going through the list above, of course whatever mentioned is also true when finding Mrs Right. There are other qualities that we need to look at but there’s no harm either to take note of how he/she laughs. For those who are still looking for your Mr/Mrs Right, look for someone who’s laughter heals you rather than grates on your nerves. And make sure you both laugh together and often. It’ll get you both through the tough times.
At least thats what I think.... :)

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

The long awaited moment

Nothing special to say....

Just wanted to mark this day on the blog.

It finally came...Alhamdulillah...

Friends who know what I've been going through will understand what I mean ;)

All I can say is.. *phew* :)

Monday, December 12, 2005

mabuhay 3G....

Finally. I’ve paid all my sleep-deprived days during my Manila trip recently. It’s my first overseas trip and it coincides with the SEA Games in Manila. Thus, for my procrastination, I have to be there 8 days 7 nights instead of just 3 days and 2 nights. If it wasn’t because of ASCOPE, I wouldn’t thought of Manila as my holiday destination. Yikes, that’s how low my perception on Manila.
The city is not so bad actually. Days before my trip, I surf the net for halal food in Manila. I saw only one and I don’t know where it is. They also have tight security, checking every vehicle before entering hotel’s compound. I stayed at New World Renaissance hotel together with KT and managed to secure connecting rooms.
During check-in at the hotel, I was confused with the hotel staff’s behaviour. They wanted to take our bags away while they shooing us to check in. Me being overly protective of our belongings, of course refused to let them took our bags away. Until they got exasperated, went off to their security office, fetched their huge dog and walked towards us. Oopss!! They made the dog sniffed and circled our bags twice just to be sure. I think they’re suspicious of us already.
Then, their staff whisked us to executive floor and check us in after that pull and push drama of bags, hahaa ! I nearly kissed SS for booking us in at Renaissance cos I get to collect my hotel points and is situated in front of Greenbelt shopping strip equivalent to KL’s Lot 10, Starhill and BB triangle.
My main problem here in Manila is halal food. Filipinos love pork more than the chinese everywhere in the world. So, I was so down looking at those normal food served at the breakfast buffet table. I saw hash brown but beside it, is fried bacon. I wanted soft-boiled eggs but I don’t like the colour of their eggs. It’s white and not light brown like we used to have here in Malaysia, telur itik kot.. I saw noodles but they have pork bits in their soup. Their salads have crispy bacon bits, aarrgghh !!
In the end, I just took the plainest bread and ate it with canned tuna brought from home. Before that, I already make myself hot maggi cup in the room before going to breakfast buffet just in case.. My favourite drink is their freshly brewed coffee exclusively served at the Executive Lounge and I can even have it take away, yee haa !! Every night; KT, TZ and me will sit in my room, ordered plain steamed rice and ate it with our sambal bilis and rendang.
Once, we went to Hossein’s for an Indian food dinner. 2 nights later, our country office’s head took us to a seafood restaurant. Filipino’s cooking style is quite bland, so we ordered cut bird chillies on the side to spice things up. That’s my first time eating a lobster too. Tapi..tapi..the cook dah cut up the lobster in small pieces. Baru ingat nak ambil gambar lobster as a whole, potoing la itu steam !!
Work-wise, we went to the convention center where the exhibition were to be held almost every day before the opening day to oversee the progress of our contractors. It’s quite big, about 90 sq ft, has 4 wall panels containing company’s info portal, VIP section where there is a small discussion area for visitors to be entertained by our business reps, 2 plasma TV for us to play our corporate video and nice water feature to soothe our senses.. We also offer refreshments to our visitors, mcm best la konon..
Our booth is between PNOC and Technip. Twice daily, PNOC will hold dance show for visitors and that brings cheer to the drab and dry exhibition, certainly it was for me. On the second day, one of the girls slipped from her mate’s grip and suffered some bleeding head. The next day, she was dancing away happily and wore bandanna to conceal her bandaged forehead.
I made lots of friends among exhibitors and received quite few of impressive corporate goodies. Thailand of course had their corporate goodies made by their famed Jim Thompson but I don’t like their elephant prints. Thank god, it’s a memo holder. I also have a calculator in the form of a handphone and leather name card holder. Selamburger gave away Swiss-Army knife but I didn’t get the chance to ask for it. I was quite amazed how did they managed to get those knives inside the convention centre.
Shopping-wise, it’s a 3G experience. Our hotel is in the middle of shopping strip - Greenbelt and Glorietta. They are divided into 4 sections - Greenbelt 1, 2, 3 and 4. Same goes for Glorietta 1, 2, 3 and 4. There is also The Landmark where I bought Phillipines’ banana-fibre top and SM supermall which I don’t have the chance to go. Apart from these, we also went to Greenhills for some cheap pearl and crystal accessories. Greenhills is only 20 mins away but with traffic jam, it becomes 1 hour away. Greenhills is where my trip mates go crazy over pearl and crystal items. I don’t buy much because I know my in-laws in Penang will not be impressed with pearls and crystals. So, I just buy few bracelets and necklaces. Oh, I lost my way there in Greenhills, terasa nak tergugur jantung masa back track from where I started. I also went to Levi’s cooperative shop for their employees and bought my husband Dockers for a song. For chelie, sorry la I tak dpt cari dockers utk laki u, tak ada size laa...
My off mate bought herself a handphone for rm1039 but when I saw the same thing here, it’s cheaper by rm300, hmm not much difference..kalau beza rm900, I will knock my head to the wall. Most US brands are cheaper in Manila like Kenneth Cole, Calvin Klein, Anne Klein and Nine West too but tak byk diff sgt, maybe rm300+ like that. Maybe if it’s on xmas sale, it will go cheaper by the dozen, hahaa !! Surprisingly, Marks & Spencer pun murah.. So I bought one white shirt just to finish my peso on the last day..when I checked out the shirt here, wah tak de la that style, fiuh lega...
I was also impressed with wacoal, those ridiculously priced at rm229 or rm339 is actually rm70 there...aisey man, nasib baik peso tinggal sikit, kalau tidak...memang ku borong semuanya.. Kad pun tak leh pakai cos dah max out my credit limit, hehee..my nicotine addict friends disappointed that I tak ingat nak belikan diaorg marlboro, it’s rm15 per carton... aiyooo sorry la, tak teringat beb !!
Branded goods are much better bought in KL compared to Manila like gucci, prada and burberry.. Tapi I dapat rasakan, Bangkok will be much cheaper.. Other things yg I tak berapa minat pasal Manila is their security paranoia. They broke my luggage lock just to check my luggage yg cuma ada wayar2 notebook and masa nak balik KL, they asked me to open my hand luggage yg juga cuma ada wayar2 notebook dan handphone charger..tapi I ada amik gambar dgn anjing sekuriti cos nampak macho and berbudi bahasa pulak, making me miss my cats back home..

Thursday, December 08, 2005

The value of a smile :)

I wouldn’t consider myself as one of those poeple yang ‘pemurah dengan senyuman’ but I’m not exactly ‘kedekut’ with it either. Unless its some total stranger or someone I want to avoid (of course with valid reasons), I’ll always make sure I smile to the people I know. I get restless when I smile at someone and they don’t return it back. I’ll start wondering.."Kenapa dia tak senyum? Did I do something wrong? Takkan tak nampak, I was right in front of him/her...". I get so obsessed with the whole thing and won’t stop thinking about it until I know why the person didn’t smile back at me. The feeling is worse if its one of my good friends. But then again, I might have just caught the person at a bad time.

A simple smile can actually do wonders. There are days when I come to work and in no mood to do anything. But everytime my neighbours, *E* and T*rq*e pass by my cubicle...with their big smiles and say "HI BABE......!!!!!", it actually helps to brighten up my day. Thank you guys...

A smile is nature's best antidote for discouragement. It brings rest to the weary, sunshine to those who are sad, and hope to those who are hopeless and defeated.

A smile is so valuable that it can't be bought, begged, borrowed, or taken away against your will. You have to be willing to give a smile away before it can do anyone else any good.

So if someone is too tired or grumpy to flash you a smile, let him/her have one of yours anyway. Nobody needs a smile as much as the person who has none to give.

"A friendly look, a kindly smile, one good act, and life's worthwhile"

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Those Kodak moments

I admit I can be a clumsy person at times and tend to do/say silly things that would almost certainly lead to embarassing situations.

Don’t believe me? Well, let me share with you some embarrassing/funny moments in my life. Of course, knowing me, there must be loads but these are the few that I remember from the top of my head.


Lovey-Dovey SMS
This happened some time last year. I was in Kuantan with N* to conduct some interviews. The interview room was so bloody cold and we were shivering. I swear, I really had the urge to ask N* to hug me because I couldnt stand it. We practically had to go out of the building after each interview session just to warm our bodies. While waiting for the next interviewee to come, I decided to sms my beloved one and tell him about my cold experience. Well, at the time, I wanted to sound a bit ‘manja-manja’ la..so you can imagine how lovey-dovey the sms was. It went something like this.."Hi baby. I’m standing outside the building because the interview room is so cold. Me and N* cant stand it. I wish you were here to keep me warm..." And it goes on. Of course I have to censor some parts for the purpose of this story but you guys know what I mean right? ;).

Anyway, 2 hours later we were in the car and on the way back to KL. Something inside me felt that that I should check my ‘sent’ sms for the day. To my utter disbelief, I realised that I sent that lovey-dovey sms to someone else..some other guy..who’s married (remember that soulmate guy?)!!! I nearly had a heart attack. I mean, if it was some normal sms, I wouldn’t have felt so embarrassed..but thinking back about what I wrote, oh-my-god!!!! Malunya..... I was afraid his wife might have read the sms and thought I had something going on with her hubby. I quickly sent him an sms apologising for what happened. The weird thing was he didn’t reply..even the one I sent 2 hours earlier. I mean, any normal person would have replied "sorry, I think you got the wrong person" or kalau tak pun, they’ll reply "huh?".

Well, it didn’t end there. As usual, the ever clumsy me did it again. 2-3 months later, an sms that was supposed to be sent to the loved one was accidentally sent to him! Whats wrong with me? But still, he never replied.

I bumped into him a few months ago. Was considering to make a run for it but then thought I might as well face him. Throughout the conversation, not once did he mention about the sms and obviously I wasn’t gonna bring it up. Do you think he forgot about it ?

Lets hope he has but if he hasn’t...I can only say,..I’m so sorry, *Azman*. I won’t do it again.. Promise ;)


Everything came out!
This happened in 1993..the year when a bunch of us scholars were sent to UK for our A-Levels. It was a long flight for us..We took the SIA flight to Bangkok. Stopped there for a few hours then continued the journey to Zurich. There, we changed our plane to British Airways and ended our journey at Heathrow Airport, London. I think the total journey took about 23 hours.

The thing about me is that I can get sick when I travel.. be it by air, sea or car (especially the long journeys). In any journey I take, I must always have my ‘minyak cap kapak’ with me. It is truly my bestfriend and I don't think I could ever survive travelling without it.

Because of the looooong journey and the fact that its been a while since my last travel by plane, the sickness feeling was really bad. I hated plane food and looking at my friends enjoying their food made me sick. I envied them having fun chatting away. I didn't want to talk because I knew it would make me feel worse. So, I closed my eyes..smelled my ‘minyak cap kapak’ and forced myself to sleep.

The flight from Zurich to London wasn’t that long (maybe 2 hours or less, can’t remember..). I was sitting at the aisle, beside *Johan* . *Azmir* sat next to him. I didn’t know the guys that well during the orientation programme, so we took the opportunity to get to know each other better. Breakfast was served but thankfully the guys didn’t want to eat. *Suzie* who was sitting on the next row was really enjoying her scrambled eggs. The smell slowly got to my nostrils and I knew something bad was going to happen. I quickly grabbed my ‘minyak cap kapak’ and tried to calm myself down.

The plane slowly descended as we approached London. The lower the plane got, the more sick I felt. My body was shaking...I tried to control it by gripping tightly to the chair..The insides of my stomach was like a roller coaster...I could feel it slowly moving up and up towards my throat. I said to myself "I’m not gonna throw up...I’m not gonna throw up..". I tried to grab the paper bag but too late...as I was bending my body..suddenly.....*UH-OH*.. EVERYTHING CAME OUT!!!! And the worse thing was I aimed sideways and puked on *Johan’s* lap!!! It was so intense that some pieces of the vomit also landed on *Azmir*. *Johan* had a horrifying look. Can you just imagine how embarassing it was to puke on 2 guys???!!!! And I was just about to get to know them.... The only thing I could say was "I’m sorry..I’m sorry...". After that it was kecoh la..The stewardess came running to our seats and asked what the commotion was about. When she saw my 'u-know-what', she had the shock of her life. I quickly went to the toilet to change my clothes. I was too embarassed to come out. The stewardess kept banging on the door and said "Miss..Miss..you have to come out..we’re landing soon!". So, I really had no choice. Back at my seat, I saw that *Johan’s* chair was covered with a blanket. *Azmir* told me that they sent *Johan* to sit at Business Class. So, I guess it turned out to be a good thing for him..At least merasa jugakla dia duduk Business Class...Hehehe...

Until now, I’ve often wondered whether the guys remember what happened. For me, its an experience I certainly can never forget. I’m so sorry guys.................


Please don’t smell it...
Ok...this is a continuation of the puking incident on the plane. Since I also vomitted on my suit, I had to find a place to dry clean it. The Officer in charge of us brought me to one of the laundry places in Edgware Road. The laundrette guy (an Arab) wanted to know what was on the suit. We tried to explain that it was vomit but maybe due to his poor English, he couldn’t understand what we were talking about. He kept pointing to the suit and asked "What? What?". We even had to act out what vomit meant. After about 5 minutes, he gave up and wanted to smell the suit. I panicked and started waving my hands frantically in the air.."No...No...Don't smell it!!!!!". But too late....He gave a quick sniff and had a confused look as if trying to figure out what it was. I was so embarrased...looked at my Officer, macam nak mintak simpati. He just burst out laughing! I couldn’t help but laugh too....The laundrette guy got even more confused :)


Drip..drip...down my chin..
This happened early last year. I was involved in this project and one of the assignments was to conduct interviews with our clients. That particular day, my manager and I had to interview an MD/CEO of one of the subsidiaries. The interview went really well. I was rather proud of myself because I managed to get valuable insights from him. I showed confidence and he seemed pleased to answer my questions. When the interview ended, we started chatting about normal stuff..trying to soften the mood. Coffee was served and he invited us to drink it. I was already in a happy mood..thought that I successfully passed the first impression test. But...all good things must come to an end, right?

I lifted the cup and slowly moved it towards my mouth. But somehow or rather, I missed the target. The cup landed on my chin instead and as I tried to tilt it, the coffee came dripping down my chin and on to the table. For a few seconds, I was just stunned! My manager was trying hard not to laugh. I looked at the CEO and he said "Oh My God..Are you ok? Let me get you a tissue". He was running around the room trying to look for the tissue box. I just couldn’t believe how clumsy I was..and worse, in front of an MD/CEO??!!! It doesn’t really matter how great the interview went. He’s just gonna remember the last few minutes of the session. So much for trying to give a good impression, huh?


Those dreamy blue eyes
This happened during A-Levels in 1994. One of the subjects I took was Business Studies. Our teacher was Mr *GSB*. He was this really sweet guy, funny, nice , had these dreamy blue eyes and of course many girls had a crush on him. Not to perasan la but I think he was rather fond of me and *Aleya* because compared to our other British classmates, we were the most well-behaved students and the goody two shoes in class. We also had a crush on him and I remember bumping into him after school and we would go.."cutenya..cutenya..".

We had 10 minutes to spare during a lesson one day. He didn’t want to let us go and asked us to quietly read our text book. I wasn’t in the mood to read and started to daydream. Mr *GSB* was busy marking some papers. I stared at him for about 5 minutes...smiling to myself..and thinking how cute he was. For whatever reason..as if he knew I was looking at him, he started to lift his head and looked directly at me. Kantoi big time punya!!!! I panicked and could feel my face turning red. I immediately looked down and pretended as if I was looking for something under my desk. When I looked back at him, he just smiled and winked at me. There was nothing else I could do but just give him the biggest grin... :) Oh! The humiliation..................