This and That

Khadijah's piece

Khadijah's piece too

I now fully fathom what the hype is all about - Revenge of the Fallen! It was freaking awesome (to borrow the most over-used phrase by my kids). Dad was indeed awestruck despite some reviews that it lacked substance. Well I paid to be entertained and entertained I was.

Comments from my kids :-

Khadijah - " Josh Duhamel is hot"

Yusof - .....stoic.....

Ibraheem - chatter..."Prime"...chatter..."Best"

Umar - giggle....giggle "It was funny the insect decepticon" laugh..laugh...

Mum - "Action packed!"

I was lucky to be able to get tickets for Sunday night show without any fuss...When I collected the tickets last Thursday, I even managed to get for Mrs N 6 tickets! The kids enjoyed the show very much and now they are sleeping soundly dreaming of their hero Mr Optimus Prime. I bet you they will be harassing me for the DVD from tomorrow! It will never end, I tell you.

Khadijah has started her art lessons with Janiz who's quite impressed with the rate that Khadijah is picking up drawing techniques. Janiz is teaching her figurative art - on proportions in particular. Khadijah has also started volunteering at SPCA. She's beating the system at home since cats and other hairy pets are not allowed at home as Ibraheem is allergic to fur.

Yusof's major exam, JSLA (Junor School Leaving Assessment ) is coming up quite soon...And true to his form, he is only flipping through the books like, now.

Ibraheem is hand-washing his clothes daily (flooding the house in the process) distrusting the results that my trusted-14-year-old-front-load-washing machine produce. He is still diligent but showing some signs of deterioration which needs to be closely monitored.

Umar has progressed from his Qirati to Quran. He loves to read; pretty enthusiastic that we have to bear listening to him reading everything loudly; food labels including!

Hajar is turning fiercer by the day..We think that this is her natural reaction to survive in a male dominating household...

Ah...another busy week ahead. Breathe in breathe out! Looking forward to Half-Blood Prince the movie. Hoping to catch this with the kiddos.

Mr Imelda

Yusof has finally decided to save up his pocket money but for all the wrong reasons - to spend on things that he loves! His penchant for shoes is definitely driving him to earn the title "Mr Imelda"!

He has been sharing with me of his newfound love "Macbeth" the past few months - not of the Shakespearean kind though, which I secretly hoped it was (err...I mean love for literature and not modelling after Macbeth)! So this Macbeth is actually a brand for , among others, shoes!

So Pavilion was our destination last Sunday as this was one of the few places he could make his Macbeth footwear purchase after he barely saved enough money for a pair. His last straw to make up his insufficient savings was to wash all three of our toilets at home for RM20 that Sunday morning!

So, armed with his pad of notes (a lot of them were in RM1 and RM5 - so imagine the thick pad carried in his pocket!) he strode confidently into the store and asked for the one which he liked. Alas, there was no size for him; which is UK size 9 (may be it was the cutting; his normal size would be 7.5 - 8)! He had to then pick a pair which was RM20 short of his savings which I paid the shortfall! Well, mind you, it was not without quid pro quo! Suffice to say that the maid does not have to scrub the toilets this weekend!

Have a good weekend! Looking forward to T2 on Sunday!

Phewh.....

Yes....!! The constant nagging since a month ago will be laid to rest finally. I actually managed to secure an on line booking for ..yah...Tranformers : Revenge of the Fallen, T2 in short. Mmm all this talk about being sold out for the next week is utter rubbish. So all of us are going minus Hajar.

It's Umar and Ibraheem who have been really looking forward to T2. Ironically, the movie is rated PG13 (even Yusof doesn't qualify to watch!). Let's just hope it will not be too violent to leave scarring marks in their minds. I have not watched T1 in full despite the 24/7 DVD screenings at home. So I need to sit down and watch T1 before this Sunday!

I really can't blame these kids for desperately wanting to watch T2. Every where they go, they are slapped with T2 images, merchandise etc and naturally they can't escape from being absorbed in the hype! The power of media.

But I know for certain that my life will be easier at home till Sunday!

What else...kids!

Let's just say that Khadijah and her team mates didn't get to, literally (well they were to present a disfigured pineapple to their opponent had they won the debate) and figuratively, mutilate a pineapple today. Her debate team lost to the state reigning champion team which school bears "pineapple" as part of its name. When I called her right after the debate, she was in high spirit, which for a wee moment I thought they had trumped their opponents. In their mind, I was told, they were the victors! I like their attitude - that's the spirit laddies!

Since the tourney was not a round robin one.., she can now retire early as usual. She and her team mates have been sleeping around 3 a.m. since last week scouring the net for resources and discussing points via IM - the wonders of cyberspace, I must say although not without the cons! Speaking of which, she has been invited to speak at CyberSecurity Malaysia's inaugural Internet Safety Awareness seminar on this coming 8th July and her topic is "What the internet means to me". Click here for details. I will be there to lend moral support!

Last Saturday was the boys' report card day. The comments made by the teachers were what we had expected. Yusof = Mr Popular/Leader who has even managed to coax a quiet boy to move out of his comfort zone (I'm taking this comment positively by the way); Ibraheem = Mr Diligent/Obedient and finally Umar = Mr Pleasant.

Hajar is discovering, in an amazing (or is it alarming?) speed, spoken words now...so our report card to her : "Yes you our little one is one Ms Pot Pet". I should upload a video clip to bear this testament. Making a mental note now....

Ah Peng

Picture of an old armchair against a newly acquired 1950s display cabinet in our Ayer Baloi house

This entry is actually inspired by my discovery of a 1970s advert below..."Puan Nora, ... anda kalah!"

It was a good weekend in Ayer Baloi, as always, last week. Kids had fun, parents had their much needed break...But most importantly had a quality time devoid of modern world entrapments which would normally distract us! Can life always be that simple?

This time I re-visited kedai Ah Peng, a grocery shop which situates two doors away. Met Ah Peng, his wife and daughter. His daughter, ironically has a Malay name! She was named after allahyarhamah Normadiah, the actress. Being in a largely Malay community, I suppose, joining the fan-club of Malay silver screen was inevitable!

Ah Peng has not changed the least bit as if he is trapped in a time warp; still donning his khaki bermuda and P-Ramlee singlet! He is still, physically, a strong man but his memory needs to be jogged at times. The Labour Weekend when we had khenduri , Ah Peng actually delivered a gas cylinder to our house single handedly! Only during this visit that I had time to actually say hello to him. Of course he couldn't recognize me a it had been umpteen years since we last met! My kids have been frequenting his shops, though, in each of our sojourn like ten thousand times a day! My introduction to him was "Ni Boboy (yes this is what I was called by my grandparents)lah Ah Peng" which was met with an overjoyed reply "Oh anak Chekgu Mat!".

We chatted on for a bit and reminisced of the good old days. He eagerly described me how I was as a toddler and relating to my kids of how I used to, like my kids now, frequent his shop for tid-bits and main tikam-tikam with my cousins Kak Lin and Sab (fondly called Chab boy).

I used to look forward to going back to my granddad's house in Ayer Baloi as he was one of the first few owners of a National colour tv! We only had a black and white tv with a roller door and we only lived about 15 km away, then.

I remember, electricity would only come on at about 7pm and national tv would also start around the same time. My granddad's house would be filled to the brim in the evenings as relatives and neighbours would flock to watch tv programmes in colour. It was like having a night fete daily! The best thing was that, we could receive SBC's (Singapore TV) transmission due to the close vicinity and their programmes were definitely ahead of our time. How time has changed....!

Enjoy this video!

School Break et al

Khadijah & me @ Lookiss

Hajar & mommy @ Lookiss

(Image : Copyright belongs to Janiz Chan)

With three kids and two teenagers all cooped up at home 24/7 - definitely a formula for disaster, well nearly! No, just kidding....

Gone were the days that kids could roam free around the neighbourhood without any fuss. This reminds me of the good old days (aaah..reminisce..reminisce) where days were spent outdoor catching guppies and tadpoles in the longkang, cycling aimlessly, climbing trees, building (or rather trying to build) tree houses and only to report home when the tummy went growling (some days we would just pluck fruits from any trees).

Here we, working parents in the millenium cracking our heads thinking of what we can provide in order to stop them from killing each other of boredom at home! Other households may have Astro, wii, PS and the like. We don't, you see, as a matter of choice. We do not even have one tv which is working properly as I refused to call the electrician to fix the aerial. Well, they somehow survive through thinking imaginatively! Ha! Ha!

No, they don't have fancy mobile phones, either. Khadijah has the privilege to use my basic Nokia for the weekend and school holidays. Yusof was lucky enough, recently, to be handed down by my mother a dinosour-age looking mobile (most of the times with zero credit). Oh yes, although our house is wirelessly connected, internet access is limited for them (even during school holidays).

It's amazing when these fancy stuff are not within their disposals they learn to pick books and magazines to read, draw and paint communally, play with their siblings in civil manner (within a good span of time) BUT enevitably end up fighting (like I used to with my brother) etc. I think they communicate and interact better!

Anyway, they don't actually stay indoor all the time. From 5pm while waiting for us to arrive (which they normally give up as it would be dark when we arrive), they would play badminton outside, within our compound or at our neighbours' (we are lucky enough to have neighbours who are either retired or working from home!

Khadijah's latest sketch

Oh yes, Khadijah will start her art lessons under the tutelage of Janiz Chan, a young artist represented by Lookiss Gallery, at Taman Tun on 20th June. Well the image in this posting is her work. Kerk (also a lawyer), the owner of Lookiss introduced me to her last week when I collected two paintings which I bought last year. Now, I can strike out one of the things-to-do from my list.

Will be taking a break from tomorrow until Monday..Where else but a trip down to our Kampung house where the kids can roam freely, cycle to the grocery shop two doors away for their tid bits, playing in the rain (if it does) and a picnic in the kebun! The kids are relly looking forward to it!