where did 2010 go?

Without realising it my Cik Kam episodes dah basi and it's already November.


So much has happened. My sister and her husband who are residing in Japan came back to visit us for 9 days in October. Spent a good 3 days in Tioman. It was too short of a trip though! I hope she comes back again in January for our brother's commissioning.


That Tioman trip was our last dive trip of the season because the island is now closed for monsoon. I logged my 70th dive too. That was a nice accomplishment for an overweight wuss like me.


We also had a supercool Halloween do at Rumah Momok :) Thanks to The Diver who's always a great sport when it comes to Halloween. Don't you just love how our window looked from outside? I'm sure we freaked a few people out!

This year went by with a breeze. It feels good that November's here, although for the past few weeks we had like a couple of exhibitions, one going on now and next week I have an event in JB. It's all good.

I can't wait till December comes. I'm missing Christmas already.

Oh, and The Diver is now away somewhere on a rig offshore Sabah. God willing, I will be seeing him on Saturday night :)

Till then, enjoy November peeps!

cerita cik kam episod aidilfitri

To all my Blog readers (macam la ramai) and friends, I hope all of you had a wonderful Raya. I sure as hell did, spending my first Raya at the inlaws in Shah Alam and second Raya onward in Batu Pahat and then diving in Tioman.

Ah well, let's not dwell in it anymore. We've had too many blog entries on lemangs and rendangs and maaf zahir batins.

I came to the office after the long Raya break only to be entertained with more Cik Kam stories. I hope these will make your day. It sure did mine.

Story #1

Cik Kam punya kereta had an accident over the Raya break, apparently she bumped her car into the car in front of hers.

Cik A: Kesian kau, kereta accident ye? Kau langgar kereta apa?
Cik Kam: Ala.. ko tau tak, kereta aku langgar kereta Saga yang dah RENOVATE tu.

Story #2

Cik Kam: Eh eh.. poppy ni pun pakai kopiah macam orang Islam kan...
Cik A: Poppy?? Poppy tu apa?
Cik Kam: Ish, poppy ni ha... (shows a picture of the Pope in the newspaper)

Story #3

Cik Kam reads an e-mail circulated among some officemates with regards to what to buy for a friend's wedding and asks:

"Cik A, lingerie tu apa?"


Sekian la cerita Cik Kam untuk kali ni. For first time readers, aku tak suka kutuk orang tau and selalu kalau the stories above happen to any other person, aku akan membetulkan grammar, sebutan dan sebagainya lah... Tapi dengan Cik Kam.... pi mamposlah. Kau kutuk2 orang gemuk, tanya aku pakai makeup ori ke tak, eksyen ada 2 Blackberry tapi tak reti pakai and konon dah travel London, Australia, bagai.. tapi kalau setakat England pun tahap budak Standard 1. Sorry babe!

And oh, lagi satu. Kenapa aku boleh lupa kan yang ini:

Story #4

Cik Kam's friend asked why she wears braces now, sebab gigi dia bukannya jongang pun, jarang ke apa ke.

She answered, "Eh kau tak tau ke, sekarang kan TREND."

Sekian, terima kasih and selamat menyambut the rest of the Syawal month.

cik kam - an intro

OK, lega. Now dah buka boleh la gozz pasal Cik Kam.

There's this girl in my office, we call her Cik Kam. Kam is short for 'kampung'. Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against kampung people and in fact I am from a somewhat kampung place too. In Cik Kam's context, kampung is a reference to her mentality. You know the mentality makcik tempek bedak sejuk and petang2 pakai baju kelawar and gossip with neighbours. And hasad dengki tengok rumah orang langsir baru, gelang emas berkoyan2 and all that stuff.

Cik Kam is around 30-something and without a boyfriend. It's funny because she doesn't look too bad, with the false eyelashes and coloured contacts all. I have yet to find a man in the office who finds her attractive. Why am I not surprised?

And I'm not the only one who is allergic to Cik Kam. Most people I know can't stand her. Even people who have never met her. Yes, she can be super annoying over the phone too.

Why am I so pissed at Cik Kam? Let me count the ways....

1. She's slim but thinks that she is grossly overweight, and binges on protein shakes.

2. She complains about the above EVERY day, in that shrieky voice of hers.

3. Her English is atrocious, but thinks that she's so terrer and speaks with a weird slang that I can't make out.

4. She is from the kampung, but keeps on telling everyone she's a KL-ite. She's not proud of her roots at all.

5. She will BACKSTAB you like nobody's business.

6. She gets orgasmic when someone uses BlackBerry because to her, it's a measure of a person's wealth. She has TWO BlackBerries but never use them to reply office email. GO FIGURE.

She's an example of how someone who is supposedly not bad looking become so ugly because her heart is full of perasaan hasad dengki.

More of Cik Kam's stories later... I shall end this with a little vignette:

Cik Kam calls up my extension:

Cik Kam: Eh babe, how to spell launch?

Me: L-A-U-N-C-H

Cik Kam: Alaaaaaa... aku salah lah spell...

Me: Kau nak guna launch dlm what sentence?

Cik Kam: I nak suruh boss tunggu dekat hotel punya launch.

Me: Hotel mana yang nak launch? Opening?

Cik Kam: Hotel LAUNCH la... yang tempat orang tunggu tu, duduk2 minum2....

Me: WOIIIII TU HOTEL LOUNGE LERRR!!!!

that's just how i am

Some people, including The Diver, have remarked that my blog has lost its lustre. That it's not the blog that it was before, where lots of bitching and moaning and whacking members of the opposite sex as well as pesky biatches took place.

Yep, it's not.

First of all, besides not having the time to write as often, the other reason why my writings have become less scandalous is that, I got married.

Like I said, I am still somewhat a traditionalist at heart. I believe that once you're married you have to maintain a certain "decorum" whether or not the other half insists or not. For me, it's important. And when I mention decorum, takde la macam kena maintain habis and become a Catholic nun, and change yourself to someone that you're not. To me, it's a form of self-censorship, although not the extreme kind.

And besides being a traditionalist, I can be somewhat of a green-eyed monster too. Please note that I wrote "somewhat". The Diver and I are considered very open and liberal and we do the cheek-pecking with our friends be it male or female. I am completely fine with that. But there are things that bug me. Weird things. Like when The Diver TWEETS constantly with a lady acquaintance that we met only once or twice, I felt a bit... WEIRD. Hence, the term acquaintance. I am fine with old friends, mutual friends, good friends, but acquaintances.... hmmm... I'm NOT fine.

I don't know if I'm becoming too restrictive and behaving like a jealous makcik of a wife or whatever, because I'm really not.

Having said all that, yes I will try to make this blog more of a bitching blog. Because hell yes I have a lot to bitch about still. The first person I can think of is this moron of a big-headed woman who works in this office, for lack of a better nickname will be called Cik Kam from now onwards.

Watch out for that.

p/s: I edited the word tweets to become TWEETs. To emphasize that it was on Twitter, and not on Facebook. Gosh, I hate being specific.

truly blessed

I'm very happy that The Diver and his parents are finally on talking terms. After a few strange twists of fate, the family is now back together and I finally won't feel awkward everytime there's a PTD event going on. I'm happy, we're truly blessed.

And I hope this coming Hari Raya will be a more meaningful one for all of us.

Talking about Hari Raya, this is the first time that I'll be spending Raya in KL, with all my stepchildren who will be staying with us during Raya break. And for the first time in Malaysia, I shall be cooking the Raya spread. I wrote in Malaysia because when I was studying in the States I was the Chef for Raya dishes every year. I'm quite nervous about that though. Maybe I should do a food rehearsal next week.

On another note, I always get overly emotional during fasting month. Maybe it's the lack of sugar, maybe it's the constant battling of hunger and thirst. I dunno.

Whatever it is, I still find certain normally acceptable things rather annoying. That makes it worse because for most people it might be acceptable, but for me...hmmm... OK, I hate being cryptic so I guess I'll just end it here.

the feast of fasting

Beef Curry with Potatoes, on the first day of Ramadhan

Today is the 7th day of fasting and so far, we've been having our iftars at home with the children and the maid. Most times I would cook, nothing too elaborate but of course that is much better than having to buy food at those Ramadhan bazaars. I not only find the place annoyingly smoky but the quality of food has also deteriorated over the years, with the exception of a few familiar stalls.

Salmon Head Assam Pedas on the third day of Ramadhan

Spena & Komar, at one of our iftars.

Some days, we had friends over for potlucks, which is a common thing at our home every year. It's just more fun to have iftar with close friends rather than alone, well at least that's what I think.

Anyway, three more weeks to Hari Raya and I still have yet to fulfill my mission of making my own Raya cookies :(

Sometimes I think I should get myself a good mixer, like a Kenwood or KitchenAid. But then if I get me one of those and don't bake till I break mesti nanti kena kutuk dengan The Diver. Ok then I'll just settle for this brandless mixer of mine anyway.

Having said that, I am SO EXCITED that I will soon receive a premix for the Red Velvet Cake from Little Bowl Cupcakery all the way from Okayama, Japan. I got the privilege to taste them cuppies last year(thank you Sis!). Little Bowl Cupcakery is operated by Zack Abdul, a friend of my sister who is now residing in Okayama. The cakes are not only gorgeous but they taste just superbly heavenly. Am gonna make these babies for Raya, definitely!

Anyway, I will and I shall at least make ONE type of cookie for Raya. I will I will I will!!!

Well people, keep on fasting and feasting!

and the fasting month begins...

I'm still very much a traditionalist when it comes to Ramadhan.

I love having iftar at home, with the family.

I hate queuing up at long hotel buffets, and if I must have iftar outside, I'd rather it be in a small, intimate restaurant. Mamak pun mamak la, kalau mamak tu intimate I'm okay...If not, I'd rather be home, even if it means having something as simple as an egg sandwich and air sirap :)

Anyway, I thank God for again letting us spend Ramadhan together this year. Today is the first day of Ramadhan, and I made beef curry and sambal telur. Since The Diver wants to go on a no-rice diet this fasting month I had to think of dishes that can match with bread or paratha or naan or whatever.

Oh, my aim this year is to make at least 2 types of Raya cookies. Let's just see if I'm all talk and no action! Hahah!

Ramadhan Kareem everyone!

i'm still here

Every time I want to write a new blog post, I hesitate. I have no idea why. Maybe because I am sick of my own little trivialities and whinings about work and stuff relating to it. Maybe too it's because there are just so many things happening around me that I don't even know what to bitch about. And maybe because everytime I start to write, I would go "ohhh there are other bigger issues in the world that I should write about..." But alas, here I am again, devoid of anything intellectual or clever.

For a good part of this year there were a lot of news of deaths and friends and family who are diagnosed of some form of serious illnesses. After the passing of one of my juniors, Azura Hani who left us due to leukimia, and after watching a section on CNN of this woman who kept a blog until her death (can't remember the URL), I sort of developed this habit of reading blogs of people with terminal illnesses.

And then there's there's the passing of the late Ruby Ahmad followed by one of the 'makcik' bloggers, Raden Galoh of onebreastbouncing.

It's just so depressing. Yet it also made me thankful of the life and health that I'm blessed with.

It also makes me realize the fragility of life, and after that, any news of friends and family who fall sick kinda shook me up a bit.

I suppose that's the real meaning of growing up or to put it less mildly, getting old.

Meantime, I'm just enjoying my time here on Earth with loved ones, my kids, my family and my clown of a husband...



and also diving, whenever I can (the hair cracks me up!)...

a balancing act

I can truly say that I have found happiness after being married to The Diver last year. It's my second shot at making marriage work, making life work, and making the kids' lives as 'normal' as possible, whatever normalcy means.

But being a stepmother (although his kids do not stay with us) and him being a stepfather - we both have tricky roles to play. It's all about balance, and being delicate and firm and at the same time, and most times it is a thankless job.

I know The Diver, at times, is not completely happy because of the fact that his kids are not under the same roof as us. And I know he misses them terribly. This, on my part, has caused a lot of guilt and self-imposed restrictions on how I treat my kids too.

When I was a single mother, I used to spend a lot of time with my kids, over the weekends, taking them out, even on weeknights. Now that I am married to The Diver, I do less of those, but spend more time with them at home. Two days ago when The Diver had to go outstation for work, Ali came up to me and said, "Dah lama kita tak hang out kan Ma? Remember when you used to drive me to see the lights at night?" He paused and continued, "Masa mama sorang-sorang dulu..."

So that night we went out for a McDonald's supper together and I explained to him that now I have more things to think about, more responsibilities as a wife to his stepfather. I told him that I am also mother to his other step-siblings. One thing for sure is that I know Ali would love to be around his step-siblings.

I don't know, I am happy to be a mother to a total of 7 children but it is sometimes emotionally exhausting. I try my best to 'jaga hati' The Diver especially at home so that my kids do not get on his nerves too much and also I try my best to ensure the kids that yes, The Diver loves them a lot, although he is a stepfather he has been thus far, a true father to them in all sense of the word.

All in all, I am trying my best to lessen the burden that The Diver has to bear when he's with us.

It is tiring sometimes, I must admit. But when I come home to see my kids and The Diver laughing, talking and joking around together, it is all worth it.

Assimilating to stepfather

alive, but barely

I'm talkin bout this blog, which I hope to keep alive... Note that I typed "hope" instead of "promise" or "will strive to" :0

Anyhoots, reasons that have kept me away from updating this are too many to list out, first there's....

1. WORK - eh lame giler excuse ni... semua orang pun work kan... Besides a few events and having a ton of stuff to do, Internet connection is horrible at the office.

2. DIVE - I am happy to note that I did my 45th dive (since August 2009, not bad at all!) a couple of weeks ago in Tioman, and had a magical trip to Sipadan in April 2010. The Diver kept on harping on how I had said that I will NEVER dive and all that, because right now... I am a complete junkie. Siap baca Dive magazines bagai... and The Diver finds this all too amusing and at times annoying, now that I'm so into it.

Turtle and I, at lovely Sipadan.

The gang in Sipadan. Best dive trip ever :) and planning to go again November 2010!!!

3. FACEBOOK - namely Farmville and catching up with old friends, and commenting on friends' statuses and responding to their comments.. oh gosh... I'm such a junkie too... And with some people the best and fastest way to get to them is via their FB inboxes... Geez people!!!

....and oh crap I hate listing 'em all out but yes I have been pre-occupied. Our old Bibik had to go back to her hometown for good and we have a new Bibik now whom the kids totally adore. It's been around six months since we've vacated Kg Warisan and my dad is planning to refurbish the place and I dunno probably make it look less "kayu".

And oh yeah, The Diver and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary on 21st March 2010... and what a "celebration" it was.... He was attending a course in Lumut and I was gallavanting with the gals in Bali. Well, what to do kan when duty calls for him...Anyway we had our celebratory dinner after he picked me up at the airport :) We went for one of our usual hangout, Las Carretas in Ampang. See, I'm so low maintenance nowadays...

Besides gaining 20 million kgs over the past couple of years, (yes to those bitches who hate me you can laugh your asses right about now), life has been sweet.

I'm slowly loving and adapting to this house. Can't blame me because after more than a decade staying in a tiny shoebox apartment I find it quite daunting to manage a double storey four-bedroom house... See, I'm so lembik too! The kids are also enjoying their space and land and proximity to the playground.

I hope the rest of the year turns out to be good for us all - friends, families, officemates, etc. Some friends even found love this year (ahem, ahem Rainmaker) and hopefully I get to eat nasi minyak di tepi sawah before the year is over. (Ni gaya penutup macam tak nak update blog until December je ni)

I shall try to update more often. I kinda miss maintaining my blog like I used to.

p/s: I missed out one of the reasons of me putting up this post.. sebab takut kena belasah ngan Bro Rina, I think she's miffed that balik2 bukak blog ni citer pasal Valentine's Day...

My Valentine's Gift to The Diver: Tagged on My Spouse

Since both The Diver and I don't celebrate V-Day, here's a gift from me to him, a tag that is entirely yours, baby!

I wanted to blog about that bout of panic attack I experienced last week but I didn't have time and it's just so drama so here goes a fun one:

Tagged by the lovely, witty mummy Dillz.

1. Where did you first meet your hubby/other half and when was it?

This was how I first "met" him:

jazzmatazzed

September 4th, 2007 at 11:59 pm

sd, i’ve been a silent reader. OK, this is beyond pathetic but am actually crying reading your end of a great journey entries. ya i know, i have to get a life.

The Diver just got out of a meaningless relationship (hahahah!! cam sial kan aku cakap meaningless) and I was in a relationship that was not going anywhere at that time. So we both were experiencing trying times. And when I read his blog entries I was like.. Wahhhh ada lagi ke spesis jantan macam ni.....

Then on Sept 7th 2007 The Diver wrote on his blog:

"I find it funny that this blog’s been listed in Jazzmatazzed’s blog as “SeaDemon’s Underwater Adventures“…not once, but twice! Hehehe! I’m flattered, Jazzy, thanks."

I got too excited and had put it twice on my Blogroll. Gelojoh.

Well the first time I met him in real life was at a Buka Puasa thingy with friends that I had organized at my place in September of 2007 too. Tak ingat date lah, Sayang sorry :) You're better at remembering dates.

2. Was it love at first sight?

Definitely not! We both were in meaningless relationships back then.

3. Who was he/she when you met him/her for the very first time?

He was a big brother figure to me and probably the only guy who I could say "Hey, I miss you lah"... without him thinking I was hitting on him. So yeah, we were good platonic friends.

4. How long did it take him/her to ask you out on a date?

Damn. Err... about 6 months or so? March 2008.

5. The venue of your first date?

The Lodge. Ya, he's trapped in the 80s. But I liked the kitschiness of it all. It was after midnight so I suppose that's the only place he could take me to other than mamak joints.

6. How did he/she proposed?

I proposed to him over YM in March 2008, BEFORE our first date.

Me: If we're not married in 10 years let's just marry each other lah
Him: Wah! I don't think I can live that long...
Me: OK 7 then
Him: Make it 3 lah....

How practical. Heheh. We were married a year after that conversation took place.

7. Recollect a Special Date with your hubby/other half.

For me it was our first date. He was waiting for me outside his Fuck Truck with a big smile on his face, and opened the door for me (he still does OK!!) like any good thoroughbred MCKK boy...

8. Any changes that he/she asked you to make?

He has definitely learned how to control his temper, definitely improved on that since we went out together. So keep up the good work Sayang!

9. What is it about him/her that you love so much?

I just feel so SAFE when I'm around him. He literally saved me from my ex, and also from a relationship that was eating me up inside.

I feel so loved, the way he hugs me. It's just so damn comforting, especially after a long day at work.

His sense of humour. His wonderful gift of gab

10. What would you like to change about him/her?

I wish he'd be a more patient man as years go by. He's at his best when he's calm and patient.

11. You will lose your mind and crack your head when he/she.....

Cerita balik joke bengong yang dah cerita 40 kali.

12. You will smile through your eyes the whole day when he/she..

SMSes me sappy stuff. Just romantic stuff that sometimes can shed me tears of joy. Huwaaa... jiwang to the max.

13.Complete this sentence, "My love towards my hubby/other half is as big as.."

...my stomach and his put TOGETHER!!!!!! AND THAT IS HUGE!!!!!!

I love you sweets, and always will.

the coffee and I

The daily mantra over Skype/YM between my two colleagues and I almost daily, post lunch would be.

"Ngantuk. I need coffee."

or even

"Aku rasa macam nak kopi mahal" ( as opposed to Kak K's Nescafe murahan at the pantry)

The latter statement would result in us frantically finding other coffeeholics so that our SF Coffee order would total to RM50 (minimum order for delivery). We used to have one SF Coffee at our office but since the whole building is undergoing a major facelift, there are absolutely NO eateries or retail shops here. Major bummer.

When I was nineteen I was still allergic to it. I remember once during my first year in college I had a bad bout of coffee allergy. I was playing tour guide to some friends who were visiting Boston for the first time. We were at Harvard Square and it was summer and they all wanted to go to Au Bon Pain. And dammit the smell of coffee was just so overpowering and hypnotic. And I went okay, I am ADULT enough to drink this thing. So I had, for the first time ever, a whole plastic cup of Iced Cappuccino all to myself. And drank the whole thing as it was scorching hot at the moment and I was thirsty as hell.

As we were leaving Au Bon Pain, heading for some shops at Harvard Square, I felt slightly nauseated, following by a throbbing headache which became worse. Then, I started seeing spots. And it got so bad I had to apologize to my friends and told them that I had to go home :(

From that day forth, I stayed off coffee completely.

Adulthood came (read; I started working) and inadvertently someone would serve you coffee at certain points of time. I would take a small sip, and (im)politely leave the rest of the portion. And as I grew older (old ke??) and after I had quit smoking (in July 2008) I became more accustomed to drinking coffee. I did not realize when it happened, but it happened. I could finish half a cup of coffee without any detrimental side effects, accept for maybe once or twice (The Diver would argue this observation).

The worse came when I joined this GLC. I was quite a junkie. Well there's no such term as "quite" a junkie, it's either you are or you are not. Hell, I WAS a junkie. And I totally blame it on this company. For some weird reason, they didn't employ a proper tea lady, and for some reason, they would order flasks and flasks of SF Black Coffee and Latte at every freaking meeting!!!! Jgn cerita la pasal how much the company had to bear on the costs...

I was downing coffee like air sirap limau. Like there's no tomorrow. Until I realized, no it did not give me any headaches but I was belching like a 70-year old pakcik in a kain pelikat. Not cool, huh?

When I quit the GLC, I didn't completely quit coffee. I couldn't. The Diver will always tell me how bad coffee is, and to take it in moderation. Which I adhered to. I slowly weaned myself off it, but not completely.

Today, I don't take it daily. I try not to, at least. And if you ask me why I'm writing this, it's that I'm craving for it right this very minute!

I will ignore everyone when I'm having my cuppa :)
Pic courtesy of Fizri

bienvenue 2010, au revoir 2009!

In spite of the almost week-long holiday that I took, the final week of the year is always hectic, and this year, probably even more.

To sum it all up 2009 was a wonderful year, with a lot of changes in my life. And change is good, most of the times.

This was the year I got married to my BFF who's also the world's most wonderful lover. I try as much to be a good wife to The Diver, and so far things have been going great. Though we have our down times as well :) But in marriage, the more you give, the more you get. So I just hope the longer we're together the more we understand each other.

We also moved out of the Kg Warisan apartment to Bukit Setiawangsa. The main reason for the move is that not only are my kids getting bigger but also we want room when my stepchildren visit and it would be more conducive for them to sleep over. And oh, we receive a lot of guests too so the house is a better bet that the apartment obviously. I have to admit that having stayed in Kg Warisan for more than a DECADE, moving to a landed property has been fun but super-tiring!

And in 2009 too I took up scuba diving and got my Open Water Diver license, in Perhentian! Been hooked on it ever since and its such a great stress reliever! I'm so waiting for the Monsoon season to be over!!!!!

Finally, 2009 was also the year that my parents took me seriously. Hahahah! It's probably the year when they finally realize that I am adult enough to make my own decisions and also adult enough to advise them. I did gave both of them my piece of mind (albeit on paper) and I suppose I made sense. 2009 has seen a lot of shockers in our family and extended family so hopefully these shockers will not shock us again this year.

Well there are a lot of other things that happened in our lives in 2009 but I suppose those are the significant ones.

My wish for 2010?

For me to be a better person, to be more patient in handling issues, to be more eloquent in speaking, to be a better writer and a better wife, mother and friend.

For The Diver to get a humongous pay hike so that he can belanja me more! HAHAHAHA!! Just kidding, baby. Ok ok ... for The Diver to be happier when he's with me, and for him to be in the best of health so we can enjoy more years together.

To have more dive trips and overseas trip this year! Ok , this is a bit impossible to reconcile but I'll just give it a shot anyway. And maybe for my sister to join us in one of those overseas trip!!

Here's to 2010!!!