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?????

Wedding Dresscodes

I was at a wedding this afternoon, and as usual I saw various styles of dressing (and lovely handbags hehehe)...

One person caught my eye... but all for the wrong reasons...

I think she was most likely a friend of the newly-weds... came with a bunch of old friends of the happy couple that I recognized, and is obviously a Malaysian (rasanya she's from our old school too, but I can't confirm... Fairy GM, our senior jugak ke?)

The reason she caught my eye, the thing that I found to be soooo inappropriate is... she was wearing a bright red SLEEVELESS TANKTOP, to a Malay wedding. Heck, I know it's sweltering hot nowadays, but most people have a sense of decorum that tells them what's suitable and what's not for certain events... even if you don't know, even weddings at home have dresscodes OK, albeit not formally written down in the wedding invitation...

The fact that she was non-Malay is not an issue. I've got many non-Malay friends who dress appropriately for a kenduri at home (and when I say appropriate, it doesn't necessarily mean a baju kurung or kebaya ye...) and I've seen many Malays who dress in shoulder-baring, cleavage-showing dresses for Malay and non-Malay weddings at posh hotels. It all comes down to knowing how to dress according to the situation... and being a Malaysian who's most likely lived here all her life, the social norms should have been obvious to her, no?

Is it that difficult to decide what to wear to a fairly common event in Malaysia? I've also seen some people in shorts and t-shirts to such a celebration, which to me totally disrespects the hosts. No one's expecting you to come wrapped in silk and adorned with sequins and glitter, but you should at least look like you're going to a function, not to the pasar malam!

Too bad about the outfit, cos I thought she was pretty... the wrong outfit totally spoilt the look...

Whooppee!!!!

I ni tak reti nak berniaga... kalau suruh promote diri pun, tak reti... apa lagi nak promote hasil kerja kan...

But nevertheless, I still managed to sell several of my 'hasil kerja tangan', and I tell you, the feeling when I got the payment was MARVELOUS!!!! Made me even more motivated to continue doing this...

Before this, paling-paling dapat duit pun bila let go pre-loved items at charity/garage sales... but honestly the feeling's different between selling things that you simply own, to selling stuff that you made from scratch, with all the accompanying stress, headache, bodyache, etc etc...

Funnily enough, my 2nd batch tak sempat nak promote, dah ada yg berkenan almost all of the pieces... so now I still have some from the 1st batch, and plan to do more after this... drop by Handmade Creations to check out what's available...

Wish me luck in maintaining the pace!

Handmade Creations

Yeay, yeay... I'm pleased to announce that I've created a separate blog for the things I've produced for sale (for the moment, tudung la yg banyak ye :p)

Say hello to:-

Handmade Creations

and feel free to drop by often & to spread the word ye!

Besides the items I've put up at the moment, I've also got a few more almost completed (awaiting the finishing touches je) which I'll display soon... hurry, hurry! I'm dying to make more, so as soon as my current stock is gone, I can get to work making more! :)

In the future nak blajar buat benda lain gak (bags, smocked dresses etc), plus several things JV-ed with my mom will also materialize, so insya-Allah hasil kerja tu pun will end up on the new blog...

Up for Grabs!!!

I finally did it!!!

Went a little crazy some time back when buying fabric... I finally managed to turn most of the pieces into tudungs over the last weekend. The finished products?

I actually managed to complete 11 pieces, but 3 I wanted for myself, so no longer in the pic la hehehe... out of the above, 2 have already found their new home with someone at work, so the following are still up for grabs if anyone's interested:

This one tinggal satu je... face size M (if you wear Munaw M, muat la...) length also M (slightly lepas bawah dada, about 38cm from below the chin to the end), RM 30 (without postage & handling). Yang ni murah skit cos the quality of the fabric is not the same as the rest...

These 2 are face size M/L (cos the fabric's very smooth and stretchy... the ones I made for myself pun ended up a bit loose, so can fit both sizes), and length M... RM 55 (without p&h).

These 3 are size M/L (face) and L in length (falls down almost to waist level, about 40-42cm from below the chin to the end). Each is RM 60, not inclusive of p & h.

All awnings are made using Thai/Shantung silk unless otherwise specified, and with 2" bakrum (bab yg keras tu...)

Sorry for the picture quality... kena figure out where best to take photos next time...

The material for the body (except for the 1st tudung) is very cool and drapey... just the right weight for it to fall nicely once worn...

If anyone's interested, write to na_mohammed@yahoo.com yaaaaa.... we'll work out the details later...

Since I still haven't found the inspiration for a separate blog for this, in the meantime, anything available will be put here... feel free to let others know about this :)

I've got several pieces of fabric lagi (ye, I pegi kedai and borong kain lagi!! Tak hengat dunia tul once dah nampak kain cantik...) currently in the process of transformation, so more will come after this... watch this space!!

Of office politics and what you deserve...

I'm no good with office politics... I'm also no good with 'melayan bos' or managing bosses... I just try to get my work done in the best possible manner without sacrificing my family and my values...

I know some gurus say you need to market your own self to get ahead, but I subscribe to the belief that my boss is the one who should see what I do, recognize that and do the 'marketing' time appraisal time... so when I get stuck with someone who doesn't do that, then no matter what I do and how well I do it, I'll never be recognized for it... It's tough, you know, but at least I have the luxury of sleeping well at night anyway cos I have not thrown sand into someone else's rice pot...

Nevertheless, an chance encounter can and does bring pleasure to me at work, when it unexpectedly reveals what other people feel about you...

I bumped into one of the big bosses from my previous position (I recently transferred, remember?) and he asked about my new job... he casually mentioned that when the appraisal committee was discussing me, they wondered aloud why they let me transfer out... and these were the senior leaders that I only meet and talk to for formal, work-related matters... it feels good to know I've left some sort of positive impression, even though the formal recognition isn't there...

Right now at work people are talking about this one person who is hell-bent on pursuing her 'deserved' rating, without realizing that no one thinks she should get what she is chasing after... she is so sure that she's being victimized that it hasn't occurred to her that she's only getting what she deserves... and she's spiralling downwards as we speak, putting her entire career in jeopardy... the angrier she's getting, the more reason she seems to lose... all this while she's managed to get away with ratings that she didn't deserve because she 'managed her boss' well and marketed her staff's work as her own, and now that her boss has changed, she's finding that she can't get away with it anymore, and that people's called her bluff...

People in the know are saying 'what goes around, comes around...'

Nice guys (and girls) finish last, but they never lose sleep over it... and everyone eventually gets what they deserve anyway... So, based on your conduct, do you think you deserve something good in the end, or are you the only one who feels that way?

Let's hope the former, not the latter ye...

Sales are Dangerous!

Aduhai... kopak walletku!

Hubby made an unexpected (but pleasant) surprise detour to the MPH Distributors' warehouse sale tadi, on our way back from Seremban... tapi sebab the 2 kiddies dah tido, he stayed in the car with them while letting me loose in the sales area...

I only wish they had shopping carts in there! Sampai berbirat-birat tangan angkut bakul and plastic bags, tapi still tempted to take more books...

Hubby knows it's dangerous to let me go into a bookstore unsupervised... the result? Beratus jugak la habis!!! Aduhai... supplementary income yillek... baru je berniat taknak shopping banyak cos nak gi ladies'-only trip in June... now dah tenyeh lagi.... ouch ouch ouch... and the cashier told me MPH bookstores will also have their sale later in the year...

The consolation? I know I got some great bargains, especially the kids' books and my cooking books hehehe... after this kena puasa beli buku skit... it's only May, and I'm more than 1/2 way through my income tax allocation already!




Thanks for making the stop baby :)













Note on sales: On a whim, went to the Anya Hindmarch store to see the Mother's Day sale merchandise... one bag is stuck on my mind... augh... 50% off woo.... Yes? No? Yes? No? Am I crazeeeeeeee????