Self-ruled independence...

“Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?...” - Abraham Lincoln

At the Dataran Merdeka, Malaysians were celebrating the 47th National Day.

At home I was busy spring-cleaning the pantry and the fridge. Throwing out a lot of stuff, some already expired several years ago. Watched glimpses of the live telecast of the Merdeka Day parade in the kitchen. Dataran Merdeka still pulls the crowd, including tourists, when it comes to the Merdeka celebrations.

I managed to do the laundry and changed the linen. Took a nap in the afternoon and later off to Yati’s for the hi-tea gathering. Met with some of her relatives. Came home quite exhausted, after helping with the cleaning up.

And tomorrow we are celebrating our 25th Anniversary...

Snatch thief on the lurk...

“Just when you think it can't get any worse, it can. And just when you think it can't get any better, it can...” - Nicholas Sparks

 

'
On the way to the General Hospital, we spoke very little. While driving, held my hand tightly, trying his best to calm me. Couldn’t hold back my tears. My mind was imagining the worst. I prayed to god nothing bad to happen to my baby.

For this year, this was the second time we received calls from the Hospital Unit Kecemasan. The first time was in May, a call from Hospital Selayang informing us that Ja was involved in a motor accident. And early this morning, a call from GH informing us that he was found unconscious by a passerby along Jalan Kuching. I have read in papers and heard in the news about snatch thieves and robbery. But I never expect all these could happen to my own child.

Ja was conscious when we arrived. He was still feeling groggy and the hospital need to keep him under observation for at least six hours before they could release him. We saw no serious external injuries. Need to wait for further test and x-rays results.

Hubby sent me to office and went back to the Hospital. Sara and Saufi came after receiving the news. Iwan was also informed. Later they went to lodge police reports. They have to go to four police stations before the reports were completed. Talk about efficiency and friendliness. And finally, managed to locate Ja’s motorbike at Balai Polis Sentul late evening. On the way home, with a mixture of anger and compassion, let Ja hear a piece of my mind. Advised Ja not to merayau malam-malam. Told Ja that we love and care for him and always worry when he’s motor biking, regardless whether alone or with his group of friends.

I don’t want anything bad to happen to Ja.

Family get-together...

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time...” - Mark Twain

For most Sundays, we would be spending the morning lazing in bed and skipping breakfast. But not today.

I have to start preparing the dishes early. Hubby has to erect the tent and move the dining table to the patio. Ja was no help. Don’t even budge an inch from his cocoon. Since he came back from Kuantan for the holiday, he has been going out late nights with his brotherhoods and wastes the daylight sleeping. If he continues this habit, I would not be surprised if he eventually turns into a vampire. Sara was out early in the morning to watch Saufi play football.

We had toast and half boiled eggs for breakfast. Placed the marinated chicken in the oven to roast. The rest of the chicken will be deep-fried into crispy pieces for the children and the balance for the soup. The aromatic smell of the nasi ayam and roasted chicken would surely make the neighbors’ drool.

Sara and Saufi came back early. In time to help arrange the furniture and laid out the table. Ja woke up just in time for the makan-makan. All dishes were ready before noon. While waiting for the guests to arrive, Sara started her cooking lesson of lasagna. The dish turned out ok except for the slightly burnt toppings. Not bad for a first timer…

Zin and family came after Zohor. Mak was with them, looking healthy and ceria. Shah came after, followed by Lan and family. Told Shah, next time to bring Tijan and the girl along. Noh and family were the last to come. Latif couldn’t come as he needs to attend to his brother’s wedding in Cheras and Ros couldn’t make it too because of a reason or another.

Hubby started with a doa selamat for the health and wealth for the family. And even announced to all about our Umrah trip planned in the middle of September. It was a pity that Sara, Iwan and Ja couldn’t come with us because of differing semester holidays.

By sunset, everyone was gone, leaving the two of us at home. After Maghrib, stretched out on bed to straighten tired muscles but ended up snoozing till 10 at night. Realizing that we have not eaten dinner, dragged ourselves to the kitchen and prepared a couple of bull’s eyes sandwiches. Slept late watching the life telecast of the Olympic Games closing ceremony in Athens.

Our signature dish...

“If you can't change your fate, change your attitude...”

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(Pudding Caramel)

'

It was Scholars Day today, and they had a briefing and Q&A session for scholars and parents. I skipped the gathering but had to attend the lunch held at Bilik Kijang. I hosted table 10 and got me a couple of Actuary Science scholars with their parents. Did my bit of counselling and advising. Shared with them a little bit of my experience as a scholar.

Later hubby and I attended the wedding at Taman Melati. Met a few friends from Masjid Negara. Went home for solat before we went out again to Giant to buy provisions for the family gathering tomorrow. I was supposed to cook nasi ayam. Hopefully, I have not lost my culinary skills after all these years of dining out and home deliveries.

Sara and friend came home after a bowling outing at Bangsar. Now that I have been talking so much about ikan bakar, we had our dinner at the belakang Istana. But to our disappointments they ran out of ikan terubuk. Make do with siakap for us and ikan pari for the kids.

Sara cooked cream caramel which turned out to be pretty good although we use creamer instead of the condensed milk. Everyone had a few slices and approved of the taste.

Managing priorities...

"A hurrying mind is a disorganized mind, and disorganized mind makes mistakes..."

I promised Nik Hasnah that I would be at the spa around lunchtime to meet one of her partners. May want to have lunch somewhere near or even drive to Sri Hartamas for a quick meal. But just before 12 noon, received a distress call from Zila. “Jom makan, need someone to talk to lah..…”

Lately Zila has been complaining about coping with work. Lately she has been talking about quitting, talking about priorities and responsibilities. This was not new to me. I’ve been hearing about this, years before I left my old department. She knows that she will have a lot to lose if she quits. Especially, at her current position, she’s already established, already has the experience and skills to move up the corporate ladder.

When asked, how I managed to cope with life. To cope with unreasonable targets and demanding pressures at work and at home, I told her it’s a matter of managing priorities. It’s a matter of managing accountabilities. I told her in life we have to know our limits. What we could, or what we couldn't do. I told her that I have adopted a new philosophy in life. One that allows me to be at peace with myself, to accept those things that I cannot control, as well as keeping me from dwelling too long on mistakes. At this moment, to enjoy life to the fullest…

Drove to Bukit Tunku after an express tempura meal with zila at the café. Told her to arrange with the gang for ikan bakar excursion at belakang Istana one of these days…'