How to stay YOUNG...

This was sent to me by a friend...thanks Monica!!!




1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height.

Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.


2. Keep only cheerful friends.
The grouches pull you down. (keep this In mind if you are one of those grouches;)

3. Keep learning:
Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening,
whatever. Never let the brain get idle.
"An idle mind is the devil's workshop."
And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!


4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and Lots of time with HIM/HER.






6. The tears happen:
Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourself. LIVE while you are alive.






7. Surround yourself with what you love:
Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.
Your home is your refuge.






8. Cherish your health:
If it is good, preserve it.
I f it is unstable, improve it.
If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.


9. Don't take guilt trips.
Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.





10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.



HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!!!

For My Husband

This posting is specially for my beloved husband, David.

My husband, I am so sorry to hear about the departure of your friend Scott.
You woke up this morning with the heartbreaking news via email from another friend, on this sunny Friday morning.
That email must have shredded your heart into pieces, made you cry like a lonesome little boy.
Or should I say more like a man who have lost his best friend.
Scott was your best friend for years.
Though you parted ways with him for different reasons, just be glad that at least you were still his best friend till the day he passed.
I am sure he knew that you would always be his best friend…always and forever.
Though I have never known Scott or met him, I can feel your sorrow.
I can feel the pain and hurt of losing a friend.
I am so sorry over what happened…so so sorry.
It is OK to cry and think about him and feel down, as much as you want to.
I will be right here with you to comfort and listen to your grief.
I shall not walk away, I shall not walk away...

Scott is in a better place now.
He will be missed dearly by his friends and especially by you.
Scott will be in our minds for the rest of our lives.

From your wife ~ Ely

One thousand! One thousand and one....

To some, this is nothing to celebrate about. But I am very excited that my blogpatrol indicated that there has been more than 1,000 visitors to this blog.

Before I went to bed last night, it was 996. Kak Teh and I were doing the countdown. Who knows, I could shout from my chat box and thank that 1,000th visitor, whoever he/she is. But the other 4 took more time than Ely's way to La La Land!

I know, some of you have had over 4,000 or even 9,000 visitors (there's one who is almost reaching 10,000 and I am excited for her!) but to me, 1,000 is a big deal. Does it mean that people might have referred others to read my blog? Or that some enjoy what I wrote (though sometimes it does not make total sense at all!)? I really don’t know...

Hmmm, how do I feel? Happy, intrigued and honored. I have made many acquaintances. Some friends have gotten closer.

I learned a lot from other bloggers through their postings. Some hillarious, some serious, some short and some lengthy ones and I love them all. I also see that every blogger has their expression for the day. Some would feel like writing about their Mom, some about the celebriti they met on that day, some would even make me realize that we really do have difficulties defining between left or right (hehehe) and having short term memory which are so very true. Some love expressing themselves through lovely poems and some would just write one sentence for the day and let comments continue the topic.

There is no right or wrong when you write on your own blog, but just pure satisfaction, that you have composed something for the day and realize that you indeed have the talent to write.

When my blog referred myself as Ely each time I mentioned myself, my co worker thought that I was high on 'crack' (as I started talking like that all day to her!). But hey, I told her that it was my blog and that was how Ely felt at that time. She sure did not complain but in fact, my blog made her smile and laughed over it all day!

I love to write, on just about anything. Usually I write about how I feel for the day. I feel that its best to write about myself as I know my level of privacy and how much of it would I want others to know. If I feel happy, I would love to share this with my fellow bloggers as hopefully, we could spread the happiness around and make others smile. If I am sad, I would say so as I also do need support from my acquaintences here. If you read my personal info, I am such a 'short attention span' reader and can be like that when I write too.

I hope that you will still enjoy reading my blog as much as I do yours. Thank you so much for your friendship and support, your warmth and kindness. You all know who you are :)

InsyaAllah, when my blogpatrol says 5,000, we could have a virtual potluck hehehe and longer tear jerking speech from me.

It's ALIVE...its ALIVE!

Ely is back to life! Today is completely another day kan? The sun is shining and Ely's allergies are behaving so everything is really peachy!

Ely can't write a poem, neither can she write pantun nor syair, Ely can just write stuff that doesn’t make deep sense at all. Maybe Ely has short attention span, so she writes anything that is right off Ely's brains at that time.

Ely is listening to the song from the Commodores, Lady. So 80's one! Yeah Ely loves the 80's. Hari-hari dengar 80's songs pun takper. That will make Ely's day go by faster.

Today Ely might buy a batik dress that she saw at the Gap. A sundress, that started at $59 last week, heck no…Ely is so not going to pay that kind of money for a batik sundress! So 2 days ago, Ely found the same dress at $29! Ely goes crazy but she didn’t want to be impulsive. Pikiak punya pikiak, ok lah, Ely might go again today and try the dress. If it fits, Ely will buy it.

To those who comforted Ely yesterday, thank you so very much. Specially to Kak Teh, thank you for coming to Ely's rescue and letting Ely vent. You're the best!

Mood check...

You cant live being happy all the time right? Sometimes, we get a stressful day, sad and a frustrating day too.

Today, I feel frustrated at work. Sometimes when I feel that the whole office is here to get me. To them, Ely should know everything, Ely should know how to solve a problem, Ely this and Ely that. They forgot that Ely is human and she forgets, makes mistakes and then here I go running to my boss for S.O.S. I am glad that my boss is such a wonderful and supportive man. So when I get frenzied, he will try to help me the best he can. Now 80% of my problems are solved…*Ely sighs in relief*.

So now that I am still flustered, I am listening to the song by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Relax(but I can't put the lyrics here, x-rated), am sure you know how this song goes…very popular!

Chocolate time…just a quarter bar cukup lah.

Ely hopes that tomorrow will be a better day.

Manic Monday Part II

I guess today is not quite a bad Monday afterall!

Firstly, I received a 'bonus' via email from the management, for achieving our quarterly goals. Not much $ to brag about but yay…a nice good celebration for me, enough for me to buy 2 more pairs of shoes or bring the family to a nice bbq sushi restaurant at Benihana.

I was doing my work as usual, opened a mail for my boss and gave him the mail that has Giants Baseball Game ticket for today. So I went to him and said,'There are baseball tickets here for TODAY, don’t forget'. So he said,'I know, I am not going, I need someone to go for me'. Ahemmm…so I went,'Well, I'm here, I'll go for you'. So there...4 bloody tickets to the Giants Game tonight!!! Go Giants, Go Giants!

The day just could not have been better eh? I know there is going to be tension in this department due to some reshuffling and thank God I would not be effected (or who's going to complete His projects?). I know that some will sneer at me for knowing and not warning them, but hey, if I told them, it would cost me my job.

Still with the Manic Monday song ringing in my head. It is really crazy here in the office, but I guess the good happenings have shadowed the blues.

I shall blog or put pictures of the game OK :)

HAPPY MONDAY, HAPPY HAPPY!

Yet another vice

I have yet another confession to make...

I am a Dr Phil addict! First it was Oprah Winfrey many years back when she was like Ricki Lake, bergaduh dalam studio and all that. Then Oprah’s show turned sober and more sensible…I still was her loyal fan then. Then Dr Phil was debuted in her show every Tuesday in her show. She has this slogan that says,’Tuesday is Dr Phil day’ and that’s the day when all the women would clap and the ones at home (like me) would sit up and wished that she was right there at the studio.

Dr Phil is a psychologist, and if it’s not for the Oprah Winfrey show, he would not be as popular as he is today. Although he is at least 50 years of age and has lesser hair than other 50 year old men, he still has that charismatic way of advising and getting his point across to his guests. This is so not Ricki Lake or Jerry Springer show where the guests would bare their fat butts and droopy busts to get better view ratings.

From relationship/marriage problems, to weight loss problems, Dr Phil has advise for people of all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life. The thing about his program though, if his guests need psychological help, he will always refer his guests to get help at his own expense. Of course Dr Phil is not God. He never guarantees healed relationships, they’re all up to the guests, unless its weight loss problem. He puts them in a full time regiment and voila!...these women lost 60 lbs in 4 months!

But one thing that inspired me about Dr Phil is how he advises others on how to raise a kid. Again, he does not play God but he tells the parents what they had done wrong, and what could have been done to avoid the bad situation.

His favorite phrase: You do not let your child control you. You control your own child. There is no one to solve this problem but yourself.

Now…that phrase, caught me right in my brain. That is just oh so true. When my kids were toddlers, sure, we let the kids have their way most times. When they start getting whiney, we have to take control of the situation and not them. And when they turn into pre-teens, we become the one to control their behaviors and lifestyle. The kids have the right to choose but not like an adult. They still need their parents to tell right from right to wrong, whether they like it or not.

And then there’s one episode about a newly married couple falling apart. The weepy wife saying that her husband was unfaithful, hardly spent time with her and the baby, blah blah blah. Then the husband says that his wife was this and that, yadda yadda yadda.

Then comes Dr Phil and says : Mary (the wife), either you want this marriage to work, or not, you have to do yourself a favor…do not play victim and feel sorry for yourself. Do not ever blame others for your misery, in actual fact, you let your husband walk all over you.

Then to the husband: John, do not ever make excuses for being unfaithful. If you screwed up, means that you did.

I know you guys might think that I am such a sucker for Dr Phil. But I do listen to good advises. I don’t blow advisory words that will benefit me in my life, which can be hard to come by on television shows.

Regardless of what the topic for Dr Phil could be, that unfaithful relationship, bad parents/ bad kids, or even obese guests who are suicidal, I always try to capture his key words.

‘You control your kids, do not let your kids control you’
‘Do not ever play victim in any difficult situation as you will never be strong’
‘Do not find excuses for your screw up, if you screw up, then you did’

Do you have any inspirational books or shows that sometimes tend to tag along with you for the goodness of your own well being?

Dear Paps...

Though you have been the stepfather to the kids for about 4 years, your love, attention and affection for them are so pure, everyone thinks that you’re their real father.

When we first met, not just were you in love with me, you were in love with the kids as well. You said that they’re the most adorable kids.

You turned Masturah from a little monster to a sometimes well behaved little young lady.

You turned forgetful Matt into a responsible young man and a cook in the making.

Thank you for being such a great stepdad to them and a great husband to me.

Our family will not be as complete and beautiful as it is now, if its not for you.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY…WE LOVE YOU PAPS!!!

The day has come!

'Eeew, the mommy skunk sprayed again! Yaaawn…man, its morning already. Geez, this Pinky (my kitten) needs to stop thinking that I am playing with her when I am moving my body…eh hang on…its Friday! Woo hoo…!'. Of course you could guess who that was!

Seemed like this morning had been such an easy morning. Jumped out of bed, chatted with Kak Teh for 2 mins and in the showers I went. All was ay-okay. The kids were in order, no whining, as today's their last day of school before they move to another grade in the fall.

The sun is up, the coffee is already in my tummy and workday started pretty seamless. The boss is on vacation, heck, he still called me at 8.30am and started giving me some juicy information about work (there was a huge position change for 2 of my co-workers yesterday) and more to come this Monday. Don't you just love working with your boss and be one of the first to hear about such management gossip?

The internet radio was playing songs like 'Glory of Love' by Peter Cetera, 'Gloria' by Laura Braniggan and 'Red,Red Wine' by UB40…and I feel like dancing!

This day can never be better! Lunch time is almost coming. Yeah yeah, Ely is still on her detox regimental programme. No rice for Ely, no salad either (last 4 days, gimme a break!), maybe some nice dish like walnut prawns or lamb curry (or beryani!!! Gulp!).

After work, I am going shopping with a co worker. I promised to myself not to spend too much. But we'll see hehehe.

I just can't wait for the day to be so over!!!

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Friends...

It was not until I moved to the US when I found out that friends do indeed come and go.

When I was in Singapore, life was so much simpler. My two girlfriends and I would go out window shopping after work for an hour, hung out at each other's house over the weekend and cooked. I was the only one with kids then, so my kids became their kids too. We stuck together from beginning to end. If one cries, the other 2 will cry too.

Deeny, Ely & Angie-The 3 gila girls

Its different now. I get friends who thought that they liked me. Friends whom I thought I could keep forever. They are what I call 'vanishing friends'. They disappear without a word. Would not answer my calls and left me hanging asking myself what I had done wrong. To me a friend is someone who would tell you when your face is dirty and not turn their backs on me.

But right now, I have a best friend who would stand by me, day and night, rain or shine...my husband. He is the closest friend and a person who give his shoulder when I needed to cry, gives me a 'high five' and tells me that he is proud of me when I have done something out of ordinary (hai busuk busuk pun suami aku jugak aku sayang!).

David & I

I am sure that I will come across more of such vanishing friends, who come and go. Feeling the hurt of losing a friend and still wondering why they left...was it cos of me? Was it was I said? What I did?

But that's OK. I think I have decided to be tougher the next time if it were to happen again. Keep telling myself that friends come and go, if one goes, many others would like to be my friend (thanks Lilac for your support and encouraging words).

OK, enough of being serious. Ely tells herself that she can't save the whole world.

30 Lines to make you Smile...

1. My husband and I divorced over religious differences.
He thought he was God and I didn't.

2. I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.

3. I Work Hard Because Millions On Welfare Depend on Me!

4. Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them.

5. I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.

6. Don't take life too seriously; No one gets out alive.

7. You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me.

8. Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

9. Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.

10. I'm not a complete idiot -- Some parts are missing.

11. Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.

12. NyQuil, the stuffy, sneezy, why-the-heck-is-the-room-spinning
medicine.

13. God must love stupid people; He made so many.

14. The gene pool could use a little chlorine.

15. Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.

16. Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?

17. Being "over the hill" is much better than being under it!

18. Wrinkled Was Not One of the Things I Wanted to Be When I
Grew up.

19. Procrastinate Now!

20. I Have a Degree in Liberal Arts; Do You Want Fries With That?

21. A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

22. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance

23. Stupidity is not a handicap. Park elsewhere!

24. They call it PMS because MadCow Disease was already taken.

25. He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead.

26. A picture is worth a thousand words, but it uses up three
thousand times the memory.

27. Ham and eggs. A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime
commitment for a pig.

28. The trouble with life is there's no background music.

29. The original point and click interface was a Smith and Wesson.

30. I smile because I don't know what the hell is going on.

"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for."
~Will Rogers

I am so 2, 3, 4, 11, 30. Which ones are you?

Ketawalah...

"The most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed."
-- Nicolas Chamfort

"There are some things so serious you have to laugh at them."
-- Niels Henrik David Bohr (1885-1962)

I don’t just laugh because it's funny. I laugh because its just me. I might have been born laughing instead of crying. God knows where I get this laughter characteristic in me. Could it be my mom? How about my dad? Hmmm…my dad can be funny but he does not laugh as much as I do!

Yes people, as you know from my blog, my friends here feel that I am vibrant, of course that also means that I am always cheery kan? Indeed I am. You see, I don't know how to giggle, I LAUGH. I don’t laugh gracefully, I laugh loud (tak percaya, call me at home and give it a test).

I remember when I was doing underwriting for the member service insurance counter. This old lady was talking to me and explaining how sick she was and that she could not afford such high automobile rates and how life sucks, this and that etc etc (this is so in the dialogue kind of conversation)…and there I was SMILING when she was telling me the story.

So she said,'See, I don’t understand you people. Here I am telling you serious topic and you're here laughing at me.'

I was dumbfounded, OK…I thought I smiled, how come boleh jadi laugh pulak eh?

So I told her ,'Ma'am, I am so sorry, I did not mean to laugh AT you. You know, sometimes, things can get so serious that you need to laugh it off? Not to say that it's funny but it helps to enlighten how you feel.'

I thought I would get a slap across my face for saying that but instead my words got her dumbfounded and she then she said that I was totally right. It doesn’t hurt to smile and it does make a person feel better. Phew…

Anyway… for those who have known me and have not met but have chatted with me, you know what kind of person I am. And for those who have met me, you sure DO know how loud I can be!

Note : I laugh doesn’t mean that I tak pernah serious tau!

Congratulations Iffa...

on your GRADUATION! Now that you’re an RN, seemed like a long way back then when we just got know each other and you had about 3 more years to go?

It was way before rantauan.com was created when we were online friends. You in Seattle, Washington and me in San Francisco, California. We threatened to meet up several times but asyik tak jadi jer. Belum rezeki agaknya eh?

Did you remember that we used to talk on the phone almost every weekend? And also at times when you were on your way to your aerobics classes? Talked on the car while you could seize some down time?

Did you also remember when I told you that as soon as you’re approaching graduation stage, that you would be pregnant and you might just as well stay home? Hahahaha, masin pulak mulut I. And now you’re due in August with little Sarah in your tummy, InsyaAllah.

Baby Sarah

We had been friends for almost 4 years I think, kejam celik, sungguh cepat masa berjalan. And I have enjoyed every moment talking on the phone and chatting with you.

Well…you deserved it girl…the scroll that you have been working hard on your feet (literally!) for.

So again...

Your friend,

Ely

So far so good

It is indeed Tuesday! According to Singapore, Malaysia dan kawasan yang sewaktu dengannya, its already Wednesday. I am sure in Europe its still Tuesday kan?

It's the second day of work week, also, my 2nd day of so-called 'detox'ing/dieting campaign. Yesterday was good, no breakfast except coffee, salad for lunch and OK OK, I had some rice for dinner. How to elak? I marinated chicken with ketumbar and jintan the night before. Goreng ayam but no nasi? Like I told nazrah, alah, sikit jer. But you know what? I had tonnes of jalapenos (green pepper) in my salad for lunch and I ended up in the bathroom 4x last night!!! Now that’s what I call detox!!!

This morning, not bad, my tummy looks a teeny bit smaller compared to if I had rice for lunch and dinner! Or maybe I nih perasan tak hahaha. Woke up with a huge headache (maybe the monthly 'friend' is coming!), and bad allergies. Try combining them together, not a good feeling nor a good sight! So if you happen to look at me now, you would see Ely with a frown on her face, cos she's trying to endure the pain! Don’t worry, I already took something for the allergies, just waiting for it to kick in. The headache one can wait, can't take 2 at a time cos I dunno how those 2 will react to fight the pain. I might be sent home for WUI (working under influence!).

So my plan for today, work as usual. Boss is in, let's see what he has in mind to bomb me with stuff to do later. When he's on the roll, he just goes baby, me included!

As for the detox/dieting etc etc, I had 4 small asian bananas, manis pulak tuh, sedap, and a glass full of grape juice to give me the sugar rush before the coffee an hour later. Double espresso with frothy milk and Sweet n Lo sugar. Lunch? Salad, maybe this time cesar salad…I love them! I don’t think I can walk all week this week, 30 minutes lunch to make up the Dr's appointment I went to last week. Dinner? Don’t know yet, maybe chicken, no rice. But tonnes of water and more water. I'll try to walk after dinner, down the hill and back up…kalau lah tak malas :)

I really DO NOT want to weigh myself just yet, not when I am just starting this regiment! Maybe 1 week later sounds OK eh? Look, if I could lose all that 25 lbs, I am sure 7 lbs should be easier (not!).

Enough of 'slummin' at work…I have to start being productive!

Manic Monday

It really is another day. But I am sure that some of us here do not...I repeat do not like Mondays, including me!

Mondays are like starting a car that has been parked in the cold and wet garage in winter. Turn the ignition....susah gitu nak start, uncertain, loud, whiney and cranky. Then when it has started reluctantly, it needs more time than usual to warm up. After much coaxing and heating/defrosting, then the car would makes its way to the owners destination, according to speed.

For me, I always need extra coffee, louder music to keep me awake and more cooperative co-workers to start the day. If I have a departmental email to send out, I always tag it with "Let's make this day fast and painless!". Usually after lunch, the time would have been accelerated as I get busy like a bee as more projects are introduced and to be completed on a timely deadline. Great...no time to think about feeling the blues.

Balik rumah, terus naik atas katil and will not get up till the husband yells that its dinner time. And be glad that Monday will almost be over.

Manic Monday Chorus by The Bangles

It's just another manic Monday

I wish it was Sunday
'Cause that's my funday
My I don't have to runday
It's just another manic Monday

And then comes Tuesday...I might write about Tuesdays soon :)

2 posts today

Ely's on a roll today, so she posted twice.

And then the server hijacked my posts for a few hours, as I was getting comments on my previous posts but not the newer ones.

Kucing Ku...

I love my little kitty
her coat is so warm.
And if I don't hurt her
She'll do me no harm
I won't pull her tail,
Or drive her away
And kitty and I
Very gently will play.

by Mother Goose

Yup, I love my cats. All 6 of them and the other 2 ferals.

Tuco


Owsley


Bella


Pinky


Mamat


Puffy


Possum


Taco


Lil Ms Teko

They’re of 6 mths and 10 years of age and weigh between 2 pounds to 20 pounds
(that’s Tuco and Mamat).

Mommy loves you my kitty cats!

Sunny Sunday...

and I am already up.

So early in the morning, just 6am, mata masih ngantuk lagi,
Si anak kucing tuh masih mengempeng kat sini.
Ish! Nak tidur balik but allergies are killing me!
Hidung tersumbat tak tau nak buat apa lagi.

Bangun jer lah, mungkin boleh buat kopi.
Duk depan PC, masih lagi gosok si mata yang kelat nih.
Si Matt dah bangun sibuk nak tengok tv.
Nak buat aper lagi eh pada pagi Ahad begini?

OK guys, this is NOT a poem. But somehow or rather the ends tend to rhyme hahaha. Boleh tahan jugak, natural talentlah katakan @:)

We were suppose to drive a friend's relatives from Singapore for sightseeing. No... correction, we're suppose to drive with Sam to sibuk-sibuk with the sightseeing. Of course, as usual, we all did not have any idea on where to go. #1, our Chevrolet Malibu is in the shop, for the 3rd time this month. So we have that old Mazda van which is terlalu semput nak berjalan jauh. #2, when Sam mentioned Sausalito, David macam tak jadi pulak nak pergi.

Sausalito is in the Marin County, across the Golden Gate Bridge (don't get excited everyone!). David says that everything can be pretty expensive there and the place is not as casual for us the normal people (his uncle lives in that district and we have to always drag ourselves there on Thanksgiving). Alah, for me, naik kereta, jalan lah, everyone happy kan? Tapi boss tak nak, so Sam and Lilac will have to take the visitors there without us.

They might pass the city and call us and then we might join them from there. Aiyah, if boss says he doesn't want to go, means that he doesn't want to go lah.

For me, the ideal Sunday activity is either, laying in bed watching Lifetime movies till nighttime with intermittent feeding time OR out to the flea market or the beach, under the sun ...ooohhh...best gitu!

But now my hidung still tersumbat, kopi masih belum buat and husband masih berdengkur lagi. All thoughts on hold!!!

Mak & Bapak

I was chatting with Nazrah on Yahoo Messenger when I received a call from my dad & mom...




YESSSSS…my parents are coming next month!!! It is more thrilling to know that my mom is coming here, after 2 years.

You see, my dad is the ‘always so protective’ grandparent who likes to apprehend their kids when they try to discipline his grandkids. He used to come to San Francisco every 3 months. Most times, his visits would always turn out to be nightmares! My husband and I could not even ‘jentik’ the kids. Nak marah? Jauh sekali. So that’s when the battle between the ‘so well rooted to his traditions’ asian dad and ‘I am American, this is my family and let me rule my family’ husband started. Errr me? I am the middle person, usually on my husband’s side as we both are raising the kids but at the same time always trying to condition bad situations between them.

My husband does love my father. They have so much in common. They both love to talk, go on long drives and they’re both just as bullish. As we all know, the position of a stepfather and a grandfather are worlds apart. One is the man of the house and he rules and the other, always saying ‘Takperlah kata budak-budak!’, and blames the parents for the kids’ misbehavior.

When my father visits by himself, the trouble is always more than when my mom is with him. My mom is like me. She puts her foot on the ground when she needs to be with the kids. She can be ever so loving with the kids but she abides by my husband’s and my rules. If we tend to get pretty harsh to the kids, she would let the whole episode go by, and then talk to us in private, unlike my dad.

After dad’s visit last year, we laid the ‘hidden’ rule indirectly for my dad, through my sister and mom…that dad is not advised to visit unless mom comes along. Mom understands that fully. She knows the whole drama mama whenever dad is here to stay (let’s not also mention the day when dad drove on the wrong side of the road and the parking ticket he accumulated).

Coincidently, mom’s company was outsourcing to China. Mom volunteered to take the early retirement as she says that she needs a break and would like to spend more time with us here in San Francisco.

When mom talked to me on the phone last night, alangkah bahagia nya beta when she said that she is coming with dad! How much I miss her. How much I long for her warm smile and sweet voice.

She said that she would very much like to see Los Angeles (she didn’t get the chance to go to LA the last time she visited). Sure, LA ker, Reno ker, no problem. I am also thinking of giving them a nice surprise…2 nights accommodation at a hotel on Union Square (heart of San Francisco)!

I am sure this visit will be a very nice and successful one. Wish I could keep my parents here for good. But they keep saying ‘Abih, anak sedara kau lagi dua tuh sapa lagi nak jaga?’…now shall I start another new topic on that?

I do love my parents just the same, believe me I do! My dad is the World's Greatest Grandpa voted by my kids...he's just keeping up to his title :)

Ooohh, I'd better call my mom now and give her the list of things that I might want from there, like my ever popular soon to be 'kebaya' or baju kurung. Mom says that she is going to start baking in a few days as she needs to feed her grandkids with homebaked cookies and Ely wants her kueh tart nenas and kueh makmur.

My new toy

And so it has arrived. We did a lot of research, lots of price comparisons. My husband and I decided that this will be our new laptop.

The Acer Aspire 3000 laptop. We’ve had it for almost 3 days. Wireless connected and MS Windows 2003 uploaded as well. It is superfast, just like our desktop.

It feels so good blogging and reading blogs on my bed with my cats sitting in front of me. Now, I am in the kitchen, supervising the kids with their cleaning and vacuuming (slave drive mom) and grabbing some doughnuts for myself while typing at the same time. Oh how have I not discovered the beauty of wireless (besides the cellphone!).

But one thing that I told my husband, that we should not bring the laptop to any coffee shop as he will end up working while trying to spend time with me.

Thank you maknenek...

for the lovely banner. Cantiklah, I love it!

My other vice...

"Uh uh..don't you dare talk to me when I have not had my morning coffee yet!!! OK sure, talk...but I swear I won't response," that's me talking every morning. Yes OK OK, I admit that I have another vice besides the internet...COFFEE...GLORIOUS COFFEE!

No, I am totally not like my husband. He wakes up, mata terbuka and so does his mouth and vocal cords. He can wake up and yell at the kids to wake up in 30 seconds tops, and me...still in bed, covering my ears with the pillow and forcing my kitten to ignore the morning habitual yells.

I am a morning person, don't get me wrong. But I just have a slower pickup. My husband has a Ferrari horsepower pickup in the morning and I have a horsepower like our spare car, the 1989 Mazda MPV which has 179,000 miles on it. Slow and steady, quiet and very tranquil (but don't get fooled by this temporary morning personality).

On the way to work, David drives me to BART (train station lah tuh),"So what do you think, should we go grocery shopping tonight? Do we bring the kids? What are you craving for? Maybe I could shop for the ingredients to cook tonight." Tak boleh tak boleh, I can't think. And I always end up saying,"Whatever you want to do my dear". Dah orang tua tuh ingat I nih buat pe'el pulak kan? So almost every morning, I have to explain to him that I need coffee to think. No coffee, otak block!

Sampai ofis, hahahaha...the time for coffee is so close. Since my boss bought us an $800 espresso machine with the coffee grinder, we really have not been visiting the Starbucks booth at the cafeteria for a long time. So...steam the milk, add the double espresso in it and aper lagi, bedal lah itu kopi. Aaaahhhh...nikmat. Mata terbeliak, sungguh happy sekali!!!

But I do have my limits. I drink coffee just once a day unless I did not get enough sleep the night before. That's enough to keep me going throughout the whole day. But I try to ward off the coffee on weekends, just so that I could take cat naps in the afternoon. Tapi kalau keluar rumah tuh, coffee is a must by 1pm.

One indulgence though, I would love my coffee to come from Starbucks. When I was in Singapore, I use to love Coffee Bean but can't find one here in San Francisco. These americans semua suka Starbucks. So there, Starbucks or nothing. OKlah, kalau terdesak, McDonalds coffee can also give me the kick. Thick and rich. Not watery and icky. That's why my husband calls me the 'coffee snob'. So what??? If we're on a road trip and betul betul no coffee, then Red Bull is also acceptable. But it just doesn't give me the kick like coffee.

So usually if I go to Starbucks, my line would be,"Tall BOLD with room for milk."

How about frappucino..anyone likes frappucino?

Internet, wireless, internet, wireless...

"Hang on, let me check online and see what kind of products they offer."
"Ibu, could I use the internet to do my research which is due tomorrow?"
"Hmmm, let me see what I can find in the closet. We could sell them on Ebay and make some money."
"You have not been doing anything ALL day except being in front of the computer!"

Sounds familiar? Yup…thats the daily chirpings of my home sweet home. Besides the television and Playstation, the cell phone and INTERNET play the ever popular important parts in my family's life.

Look, I found my husband on Yahoo! Messenger one fine day, some 5 years ago. At that time, the Yahoo! Personals were free. I just needed to pull up my messenger, browse the Online Personals and there…pick whoever I wanted to chat with, who had matching interests as mine. To shorten the story, David and I were married 16 months later andand have not killed each other yet...but imagine what we both had to go through when we were apart? Phone kad sampai berkumpul kat atas meja and we communicated a lot on messenger sampai tertidur tidur (due to time different time zones lah).

Yup, I WAS (note the CAP) a chat junkie. Got worse after my divorce on my first marriage. Since divorce was a taboo back home, jadi OK lah, duk rumah depan computer pun OK jugak kan? There was once when I was such a chronic junkie that I get trembles if the cable went off. Ish ….so dasyat!

That was 5 years back. When I had a maid and my family to care for the kids while I was busy punching the computer keys. No husband to nag me, noone to tell me what to do and what not to do.

What happened to me now? Well…nothing much really happened. Have a husband who is just as bad as me. Worse still, he works from home and makes money through the internet. He is also very higly dependent on the internet as he burns cd's, downloads stuff from Shareazaa.com, does tonnes of digital pictures with his ultra powerful camera and even shops for birthday gifts online. So I…the wife, would have to step back, let him make his mulah and do whatever important things he needs to do. Kekadang memang geram jugak.

"Tuhlah, padan muka kau. Dah kena orang yang betul betul macam kau, hantu internet!", now that came from my dad. Betul jugak eh, memang padan muka aku...

Now that the kids are bigger and are very internet savvy, they are more dependent on the wireless network as well. From chatting with their cousins on MSN messenger, to SMS'ing a friend who lives just a block away. Kalau tak, hah tuh Playstation 2 ada. Unless they get grounded, thats when the books come into existance.

OK OK, cakap orang jer, I can be pretty bad too, to date (am I contradicting myself here after capping the word WAS?). To start, I email my sister almost everyday (that’s a necessity!), go to ebay to SHOP, check my beloved rantauan.com and my new found love, THE BLOG and bertandang kat blog orang lain. And then comes the Yahoo Messenger (again!)…ahemm…but this time not chatting untuk cari jodoh tau, but to chat with friends all around the world, like Kak Teh, my cousins and other good friends. Chatting can take from 5 seconds to 2 hours, depending on who Cik Minah kita tuh bergaduh dengan hari ini or anak Cik Kiah tuh pergi dating dengan anak sapa tuh pulak?

So I am wondering now, kalaulah dunia dipusingkan kembali seperti 20 tahun yang lalu, mungkin kehidupan ini tak se'complicated' mcm sekarang eh? Baca buku, baca suratkhabar (I bet the kids don’t even know the malay term for newspaper), jahit baju, sapu halaman rumah, masak makanan melayu (souffle dan cheesecake won't travel too far) and mungkin, surat menyurat masih popular lagi, instead of just the bills on paper now!

Ding! That's my email, gotta go now!

Blogging...

its been a week since I started blogging. Like others would say,"Thanks to our beloved Kak Teh!" hehehehe.

And my husband tells our friends,"Humpphh! Ely has started blogging...so now I REALLY have to look for a laptop so that we would stop fighting over the computer!!!"

Blogging has given me a different dimension on finding new online friends. Okay, to start, I found my husband online, found real good friends from rantauan.com online and that was like 3 years ago. And I did not expect to meet even more Malay friends through blogging. The good part about blogging is that, I get to pick what kind of topic I would like to write for my blog. And I also get to merayap to other's blogs to kepo kepo. Alah macam kat kampung gitu hehehe.

The bad part is, I need more computer time to create a new blog (thats how the laptop issue came about) and I should be able to solve that problem in 2 days! But hey, I am not complaining!

Thanks to all who have visited my blog, giving comments and suggestions to my laptop, lipstick and dress dilemma. So far, I managed to solve the lipstick problem (got a new matching shade!), the laptop problem (thanks to lilac and sambog and their tireless phone advise) except for the dress/baju kurung/kebaya issue.Maih duk pikir nih. I might get it solved by Sunday, when I talk to my mom on the phone.

It's been a great experience so far! Thank you new friends and old friends whom I treasure.

The Jewish Wedding - Part I

Got a call from my father in law. He said that Kimberly, David's half sister is getting married in February 2006. GREAT…finally…a jewish wedding!!!

My husband, David, is of jewish descent (every drop of his blood is jewish). Apparently, his family's jewish tradition has been so saturated that I hardly see jewish traditions happening in their family except for Rosh Hashanah (jewish new year).

When I last visited my in laws in Florida last year, Kimberly was already living with her boyfriend, Kevin. It was known that Kevin is the one somewhat practices judaism. Kimberly then decided that she will re-live her tradition be being a born again jewish.

"So David, the wedding's going to be on February 6th 2006. That’s a Saturday and its going to be a grand wedding at the synagogue, in Miami Beach." that’s my dad in law talking to David.

Now, as much as I love Florida so much, when he mentioned Miami Beach, I was ready to fly!!! How much I love Miami Beach…yaaaaaaaayyyy!

"You guys are going to stay at the hotel for 2 nights there. And remember, it’s a black tie wedding. Start making reservations for the flights and don’t forget to dress your best. Also don't forget to bring the kids," says dad.

OK ok, the hotels I can take, but…*gulp*, black tie? Now I am in trouble. To me, black tie ker, white tie, I still wear my baju kurung. Tak reti betul aku nak pakai gown/dress/whatever on my body when the occasion says black tie. Even at dinner parties, I wear baju kurung. Kata baju budaya kan? And I am so proud of my tradition. My daughter is also insisting that she wears baju kurung too (but since she has the teenage body, wearing a dress looks good on her!).

So the journey begins…Ely is looking for a 'dress' to wear. Baju kurung? Kebaya? Dress?

Look out for Part II which might be sooner than you will expect!

Breakfast @ Ely's

On Thursday, I received a call from a friend, "Hey Ely, I dah beranak lah. Last week on the 22nd. Si kecik nih nak keluar cepat pulak!".

That was Sharun, a friend who lives in Walnut Creek. She just gave birth to her 4th baby girl 3 weeks earlier than expected.

Then she went,"I nak datang rumah you on Sunday morning at 9am OK tak? I nak hantarkan daging akikah untuk si kecik nih". "Mestilah boleh!", I sad...takkan lah tak boleh.

You see, when she was pregnant she did not feel too well to be going out of the house for a couple of months. So after the birth, I guess she 'bayar niat' asyik nak keluar rumah jer. Which is good! I would do the same if it were me!

So today's the day...the morning that we're going to have company for breakfast! Woke up at 6am, after not a really goodnight's sleep. For some reason last night, David keeps rolling on me, NOT in a romantic way. Each time I had to say ,"DAVID...you're sleeping ON ME!". Yeah and 30 minutes later, he would do the same thing again.

So kway teow goreng is already in the kuali. My daughter, Masturah, is in the kitchen , making batter for jemput-jemput pisang (yeah she's now regretting it! Cos wished that she could sleep longer!). And after this, I am going to make some teh susu. David is in the garage, taking pictures of some clients products for online auctions and my son, Mat, was dragged to the garage to be David's photo assistant. And the cats are busy roaming out in the back and front yard, maybe doing their 'morning business'.

OKlah kan the menu? Kway teow goreng, jemput-jemput pisang and teh susu. Oh and I have some beef bacon and maybe some pancakes for the kiddies!

One and a half more hours before they come. Mata masih ngantuk lagi. I'll just take a shower and clean a little bit more before they come :)

Anyone care for breakfast at Ely's?

Motherhood...

Mathein & Masturah

is indeed not just a word of joy. It is surely a word with many hidden meanings to it.

From enduring the labor pains, to saying goodbye to your goodnight sleep for at least a year, to when they become teenagers...YES...thats what I am going through right now.

Don't get me wrong, I love my kids more than my own life. But sometimes don't we mothers also feel that we want to 'hammer' the kids when they drive us up the wall?

I have a beautiful 12 year old son and an 11 year old daughter. Seems like now that they're going through the pre-teen phase, they haven't been giving my husband and myself any emotional breaks.



The boy and his occasional grades 'screw up' (he lost his 'honor student' title due to some unforseen pre-teen testosterone crisis, as his mom puts it!), believe me, it sure has not been easy to drag him back up there. We're still doing it, never giving up! Mathein is also a sports star, doing very well in baseball and soccer and whatever sports he seems to put his fingers on and be good at them in a split second.




The girl, Masturah, and her vanity. She is the 'artsy' girl in the family. Plays the flute, won awards for her paintings, loves Hello Kitty to death and loves going to art classes. Now she keeps reminding us that its summer time and that she would LOVE to learn how to play the guitar (no, she doesn't hint, she whines for it). She just got her first cell phone last night. God knows why she claimed that she needed it as she seldom uses the phone at home and the only person she calls is Aracellys (her gf). Thats OK, she paid the phone with her own money and with pre-paid minutes. That will give her some indepedent budget planning.

They sound wonderful don't they? It's nothing but hardwork to make your kids look fine, and act fine. One word when you become a mother...REPETITIVE! You tell the kids over, over, over and over again on a certain issue. And there they go making the same mistakes over, over and over again. Maybe they just don't listen to you the first time? Or the second? Or even the third? Sigh...I really don't know.

It's Saturday and Masturah has her 3pm eye Dr's appointment to do fittings on her contact lenses. The Dr's office is in the mall. So you know that if you take a girl to the mall, you literally stay in the mall for a few more hours!

Sometimes, I long for a very quiet day by the beach, no kids, no husband, just me and nature. But I can't, who's going to nag at them??????

TGIF?

Yes, its Friday again! A week of no management breathing down my neck and giving me more projects to complete. Good thing, as of today, I managed to complete 90% of the projects assigned to me. No management, I could work in peace...

So...what to look forward to during the weekend? Firstly, since my husband, David, has been working from home since the past 3 months, he has totally invaded our household computer. Sure, I know, gotta give some understanding as he's making $$ from home right? But come on, now that I have a blog (ahemmm!) and I do miss chatting with my friends on Yahoo! msgr, I need some fair share of computer time! So I exploded a few days ago telling him that I need my own computer...a laptop, with wireless connection, and MS Office.

And the husband says 'OK OK, I'll get you a laptop by next weekend!'...yahooooooooo... I was like my 11 year old daughter when she got her first cell phone. Best nyerrrrrrr...so I am still thinking of Dell with DVD player, just so that we could play movies when we go to LA or somewhere out of town.

The right color...

and all I need is the right color for the lipstick that I just ran out. Its Maybelline color 186 and when I ran out of it, I could not find it anywhere! Not at Walgreens, Target, anywhere. The frustrating part was when they have all the numbers and when they reached number 185, they skip 186! Thats just so not right...sigh!

Anyway, I have the weekend to find my Maybelline 186 color. Wish me luck!

Lunch meeting...again!

Do any of you here attend a lot of lunch meetings in your worklife?

At first, I thought that it be such a refreshingly new experience...yeah right! Since I am with APIC (Asian Pacific Islander Connection), these meetings are mostly during lunch. Not funny when you have 3-4 of such meetings in a week!

Today, we had such lunch meeting and I almost dozed off when I finished my huge salad. Cannot tahan, by 12.40pm, I told them that I had to go back to the office....not!!! I went down to the cafeteria and got myself an ice cream before I headed back to the office.

Sorry...if Ely's brains say that she can't think, she really can't!!!!!!!

Orange County, San Diego, Tijuana

Yup, can be quite a mouthful...try driving to all 3 places in 24 hours!

May 28th 2005,
Was Iskandaria's graduation day. And it was also the Memorial 3 day weekend. For Californians, its a pain the the butt to drive down I-5 freeway to southern California unless we drove in the wee hours of the morning...and so we did. Left home at 4am and we checked into LA at approx. 8am! Great timing!It was a great visit, met my teacher (Issy's mom) whom I have not met in 20 years!




Then we drove 1.5 hours back to Zee's house in San Diego. Never had the best sleepover in my life...esp when you're so tired after the long travel.

May 29th 2005,
We all decided to do something adventurous, to go to the Mexican border, Tijuana. Was an experience of a lifetime! David, my husband almost got arrested there for having the camera on ready mode while walking through the 'red light' district (we took the wrong turn!). Phew, nothing happened then.



PM
BBQ at Zee's house. Ribs, steaks and more ribs! Met a dear friend who has been my internet friend for 5 years...baru jumpa!




The whole trip was a short, casual one. I am glad that we made it to Issy's graduation, to Zee's house and to TJ.

Where to begin...

I have a lot of things to share here. But maybe I should just start with what is happening to me recently huh? Since its the end of May 2005..maybe I should share on my most meaningful experiences.
May was APAH (Asian / Pacific-islander American Heritage) month. I have been an APIC (Asian / Pacific Islander Connection) member with my cmpany for almost 2 years and thought this year, I would contribute substantially to this group. A group which I thought at first was just some Chinese, Filipino fiesta group and I said to myself, 'What the heck...just join lah..cos I am asian anyway'.
2 years later, I am a steering committee member for this group and I met a number of Indonesians, Chinese Malaysians and some other nationalities which I thought would never be mentioned in the group.
So...how have I been useful to this group? I helped put together an Indonesian Event called 'Gamelan Sekar Jaya'. It turned out to be an awesome and the most popular turnout for the entire month of Events!
And how has this group been useful to me? Inner satisfaction...that at least I could call this event one of my own with collaboration of others who are just as important in the group as me. So what if its Indonesian and not Malay? My great grannies were from Indonesia and I am sure the Gamelan is a universal tradition in the Malay community too.
Next year's event? Hopefully a Malay Wedding!!!!!!!! I am trying to fight for a calender space for this.