Monday, June 29, 2009

Sports Carnival Fun

I'd forgotten how much fun it was to participate in a sports carnival, tak kira la in whatever role...

The last time I was involved in a sports carnival, it was at the 2001 Midwest Games in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Obviously, I didn't play any games (duh! tak cukup terrer aaaa... hehehe...), but I was keen to join in anyway cos it was a chance to travel and meet up with friends from around the States, and I also cheered on the reps from UW. Since I was the only senior in the group of girls on that trip, I was the designated driver, and I tell you, to drive from Madison to Kalamazoo with a compact car full of girls (none of whom had driver's licenses, so I was the ONLY driver!) in a convoy with the guys (we eventually got separated somehow halfway through Michigan and only met up later once we reached Kalamazoo in the middle of the night) was definitely a challenge!!

That was 8 years ago!!!

This past week, I was involved in the company's annual sports carnival, as a member of our contingent's secretariat.

Granted, my involvement was not purely voluntary... it came packaged with the responsibilities of my new position. After 7-plus years of working with the company, this was the first time I was ever involved in the carnival. Heck, I never even went to the family carnival that's held right after all the games have concluded!

I'm glad I was part of the show though... for one, it gave me a chance to be away from the office but still be involved in the company... two, it allowed me an opportunity to experience something that I had enjoyed in the past... I'd forgotten how much fun it was to cheer on your own team, and still enjoy yourselves even though we weren't the overall champions... three, I made new friends! A part of me felt like I was back in my uni days, and it felt good! I'm definitely gonna be a part of this again next year! Four, I experienced a different side of the company during the carnival... and that was a good thing considering I'm starting to feel that the direction that the company is going in, as well as the values that it's exhibiting now, is becoming somewhat at odds with my own values (but that's another topic altogether....)

On the not so good side... I think I've turned a few shades darker from standing in the hot sun all week!!! Huwaaaa..... kalah player macam ni...

*sigh*.... it's back to the daily grind tomorrow (it's already today!!!)... dah la kena pakai baju kerja macam biasa... I was getting used to wearing t-shirts and jeans/track bottoms all day hehehe....

Sunday, June 21, 2009

We had so much fun, we wanna do it again!

We're back from the trip, and it was MARVELLOUS!!!! I recovered from my cold just at the point of arrival at KLIA OK! It was THAT close!

So we went to Bandung for a day trip, and due to the time constraints, had to limit it to visiting only about 4 outlets in total... my buddies memang target nak beli baju-baju semua, so they spent more there... I tried to stock up on the kids' clothes, but for some reason only saw a few that I liked... even so, many of them my parents and brother have bought for the kids during their recent trips, so I ended up only buying several tops and a gorgeous stretchy skirt from t-shirt-like material for myself, plus a pair of jeans for Hubby, t-shirts for the guys & my dad, and some tops for my mom. I did get 2 cute pairs of pants and a t-shirt for Adik, and a t-shirt and a paired Minnie outfit for Kakak, so it wasn't a total loss hehehe... I can tell you, my friends did more damage to their wallets than I did! :)

We actually spent more time (and money!) in Jakarta... our target was fabric, and boy did we buy fabric!!! I guess for those looking for lace, dry-cleaned chiffons and other expensive fabrics, they're gorgeous and affordable too, but they didn't really catch my attention. We were more in love with the cottons from the shops in Pasar Mayestic... so many prints, so many colors!!! I can't speak for my buddies, but I know I bought loads and loads... enough for me to finally retire many of my old baju kurungs and also make some new blouses! I also got some cute fabrics for my mom to make her smocking projects (which most of the time ends up as Amani's anyway, so I might as well chip in with the raw materials kan? ;P) Asalnya nak cari jerseys, but the recommended shops only had plain jerseys and in limited colors, so I only bought 2 pieces (which turned out to be of comparable quality to the expensive ones I bought here, so next time I'll definitely buy more!). We went to Tanah Abang too, but because it was a Sunday, the shops close at 4 so we didn't really get to browse that much. Tapi pening kepala kat sana... too many shops, too many people, too narrow aisles... but those looking for muslimah wear, telekungs and such would have a field day choosing what to buy!

We also squeezed some time to get a facial at Martha Tilaar... memula nak buat massage, but due to the limited time, we went for the facials instead. One of us even finished her facial earlier and managed to get a mani & pedi done as well!! Jealous tul tengok dia enjoy the treatment hehehe...

All in all, we had a fantastic time... and we can't wait to do it again!!!

Kalau sempat nanti, I'll put up pics of the spoils later (but the fabrics je la kot mostly... penuh satu luggage!!!)

*sigh*.... my next phone bill will be a shocker... the kids called every night, and we'd talk for at least 10 mins each time... I should have bought a local prepaid sim! Will do that next time!


We had so much fun on the trip, we're thinking we might wanna do this on an annual basis at least... a shopping trip just for the girls...





Next on the agenda: a family vacation pulak... whoooohoooo!!!!!! Jalan je kerjanye!!!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

The Trip

My friends and I are going on a girls-only trip this weekend...

Destination: Jakarta (& Bandung hehehe)

Why girls only? None of the Hubbies (yep, we're all married with kids :p) wanted to come along, cos our main itinerary is SHOPPING!!! Plus a spa session squeezed in between... maybe next time we'll get to come again with our families...

We're really excited about this... plans have been made (thanks in big part to my bro-in-law), potential targets identified (thanks to Mrs Noba and several other people for their recommendations hehehe), but I haven't packed a single thing!!!!

Since we'll only be back on Tuesday, Hubby's left with the kiddies, and to make it easier on him, I'm gonna pack the whole week's worth of kids's clothes for school... so that's double packing for me!!!

To complicate matters, very likely Hubby will have to go to Singapore for a conference next week, starting from the Tuesday that I come back! Sian the kiddies.... one after the other mak bapak deyrang gi travel without them... Never mind, Mama & Abah are planning a family holiday after this, we promise!

Wish me luck getting better before the trip!

Sick & Bored to Death

Today's the 2nd day I'm stuck at home... dah lama tak MC macam ni.... the usual culprit, a bad case of the sniffles, plus the accompanying non-stop sneezing & runny nose, sore throat, teary eyes and headache...

Normally, if it gets this bad, at most pun I'll take 1 day of MC, but considering I'll be travelling over the sea this Saturday, I need to get well ASAP!!! I don't want to be quarantined upon reaching my destination as a suspected H1N1 carrier!!!

The worst part about being sick like this? I can't do anything much!! Ni nak menaip pun kena stop byk kali, takleh nak tunduk aje (I'm sure you understand why kan? ;P) Tried to access office email using our secure connection, pun ada banyak problem (I wonder if anyone else has ever complained about that connection... leceh sungguh! Hubby's company has a much better IT setup for that purpose...). Nak menjahit, lagi la tak boleh... the heat is making it unbearable... maybe I would have been better off trying to recuperate in the airconditioned office?

Dah la I'll be away from the office for 2 days next week... this week pun dah hilang 2 hari... aiyoyo....

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Robbed!

Our place was robbed yesterday.

The story:-

Because of today's public holiday, I got the day off yesterday as replacement leave, but Hubby had to work. So I spent the day shopping for fabric with my mom and searched for sandals at 1 Utama before picking up Hubby and the kids later to balik kampung...

We stopped by our place to pick up our bags on the way from my mom's to Seremban, and since it was supposed to be a quick stop je, we didn't park at our usual place, but just in front of the lobby entrance. After quite some time, Hubby came down with a strange look on his face. 'Rumah kite kena pecah masuk...' came out from his mouth.

I was in shock. While Hubby went to the entrance guardhouse to inform security and do the necessary, my mind was reeling with all sorts of thoughts. 'There's nothing of value in the house... I KNOW I locked all the doors and padlock before leaving... what did they take? How could this happen???'

I was pretty sure Hubby's laptop would be gone, but couldn't think of anything else the intruder would have taken since anything else of significant value would be big, ie TV, fridge, DVD player etc. Turns out he got away with quite a decent loot - the laptop, our digital camera (but without the charger, which was obviously moved from its original place but not taken), my watch (just a Swatch, but it was still a pretty watch, and still quite new), Hubby's company's complimentary backpack (it had a compartment for a laptop, and could fit in everything else he had taken), my Coach leather wristlet (barely used!), and the saddest thing of all - our rings. I don't have much jewelry, except for whatever I have on me, but I had a collection of rings that were of sentimental value to me... cincin merisik, my graduation ring, Hubby's RMC graduation ring, a lovely tanzanite & diamond platinum ring I bought in the US, a filigree white gold ring from the US, and the most irreplaceable of all, arwah Wan's diamond and gold ring, which my aunt had given to me since I was the only one who could wear it... everything else we can insya-Allah slowly replace in time, but Wan's ring is lost for good...

Memang I sedih pasal cincin tu... I was planning on turning it into an heirloom to be passed to Amani, then Amani's daughter, and so on and so on... and it was a link between Wan & me... I hate the robber for what he did!

It was a lot of hassle to settle everything... had to go to the police station to make a report (that experience alone is worth an entry, tapi malas nak citer... boleh buat sakit ati jugak kalau ingat balik...), be home for the investigating officers to come and do their thing, replace the doorknob and padlock (the padlock was completely missing, BTW, and the grille and doorknob forced open) - and all this had to be done even though none of us had any dinner yet...

Thankfully my mom and brother came by with some food, and my BIL helped buy the padlock and doorknob (takut by the time everything was settled, there weren't any hardware stores still open)... semua rasa macam taknak tido situ for the night after that. Amani was scared when I told her 'orang jahat masuk rumah kita', and wanted to sleep at Atok & Opah's... poor thing, she wondered what was going on, and I didn't want to lie to her... so the kids went off with my mom & brother first while we finished cleaning up, then all of us spent the night at my parents' house...

When I started cleaning up the mess the instruder left behind in our little wardrobe, I picked up a damp Ralph Lauren XXL shirt. I thought for some reason maybe my BIL came by with a different top and changed before he helped Hubby with the door, but he said it wasn't his. Then it dawned on us.... 'Omigod, it's his blo*#y shirt!!!' Even though it was technically evidence, we didn't want to keep it anywhere near our place, in case la kan... so Hubby threw it away. I guess we were lucky... apparently some robbers' pantang entails leaving their sh1t behind, so at least this one was 'cleaner'...

For a while, I wondered what would have happened if I had decided to just stay at home alone yesterday... would he have still forced his way in? If he didn't, that'd be OK... but what if he HAD come in while I was there? I didn't want to think of what could have been if that happened...


The ending:-

We are thankful that no one was hurt... but we're still shaken by the experience... I pray that this will never happen to us again... a family is supposed to feel safe in their own home, right?

Something to ponder upon... if the guards didn't see anything suspicious, would that indicate another resident is responsible for this?????