...The Tough Gets Going !

Are we women weak? No..we are not. We are only weak if we let ourselves to be weak (a.k.a sengaja cari penyakit!).

My mom is one tough woman. Being a single mom at the age of 28, nothing has ever stopped her from moving on. Her priority, of course, her children (me and my older bro). Yes, I’ve seen her cry, I’ve seen her feeling down, but she never wanted for her children to know. Imagine having 2 kids, with her salary…(she’s a government servant and it’s the 70s). And she is the oldest of 10 siblings.

I’m sure she wanted to remarry or needed man in her life. She was not even in her 30s…however, her kids were the most important to her. Remarrying means having a new family and she didn’t want us to be neglected (because you’ll never know…will the new man in her life accept us or love us like his own?). Yes, words alone are not enough for her and she just didn’t want to take any chances….

When it comes to our education, she will never compromise. I still remember when my primary 1 text book loan was on hold for some reasons. And she said “Ish, kalau susah sangat..Mama beli aje nanti…”. And from then onwards, I did not rely on government supplied text books loan until I finished school. Then, there's the tuition fees, pocket money etc etc...She has to do it and think about everything .. alone...

When my friends walked or bicycled to school, I went by bus. I was in my primary school years and my mom was worried about my safety. I was home alone since Standard 3. She had no choice but reminded me to lock the door and never talked to strangers. I was lucky, back then the criminal rates were not as high as these days. She made sure that her children will never know of her hardship. I really respect her for this.

Although my brother stayed with my grandparents, but financially he was my mom’s responsibility. He went to MRSM after Penilaian Drj 5 (now, it’s UPSR). I’ll never forget when mom and I took the night train from Ipoh and reached Seberang Prai early in the morning, then took the taxi to Kulim. Just to send him pocket money. Then, after few minutes with him, we headed back to Ipoh. Just the two of us.

She sacrificed a lot not only for us but also for her family. I can go on and on about her but one thing I know my mom is one Iron Lady! Although I was raised single-handedly but I’m grateful that my life was far better off than some children with both parents.

See, we women can do it. When the going gets tough, one tough woman gets going!!!

And to my mom......Thank you....for everything.....

When the going gets tough, the tough......

..........gets 3 days of Medical Leave and loads of vitamins!!!

Yes,I was given 3 days of rest...The doctor told me to relax. My Blood Pressure was high..But how could I relax when I have to think about almost everything. My children (you know what I mean if you read my previous post)...My job (not really pressuring, but sometimes I wonder what if I try doing something else)...I'm born with anxiety cells all over my body, I think!

Yesterday, one of the Politeknik's students had hysteria. Clinically saying, depression. Unfortunately it's not. Luckily there's one lecturer who is good at treating this kind of 'thing'. She was 'treated' almost 1 hour. I saw the video taken by my other half....Kesian dia...kena sihir. Subhanallah, if this kind of thing happens to your child, what would you do? You know what, I will 'solat hajat' and pray that whoever 'sent' the 'thing' to my child gets the punishment from Allah SWT! I was speechless when I saw the video. She was laughing, crying and screaming. Several other students were holding her hands, feet and body. She was uncontrollable. The lecturer recited verses from the holy Al-Quran and he had a hard time getting rid of that 'stuff"...Only seeing is believing. Some might not believe of 'makhlus halus' ..but I do..Because it's the devil itself. "Syaitan" boleh menjelma sebagai makhlus halus dan meresap ke badan manusia. At last after almost one hour, the "thing" was forced out of her body...And my husband said that the lecturer almost lost all his energy and vomitted!!! And the hysterical student was 'cured' but was sent home to be treated properly. In her case, the 'thing' was sent by somebody who has grudged on her. Only Allah SWT knows.

Pelik kenapa ada segelintir org Melayu, suka sangat guna ilmu hitam bila hendakkan sesuatu. Kalau dah bukan milik kita, then why bother. Sampai sanggup runtuhkan rumahtangga orang, sanggup melihat org lain derita asalkan hajat tercapai. Tak takut hukuman Allah ke? Tapi selalunya perkahwinan atau sesuatu yg didapatkan dengan menggunakan ilmu hitam, tidak akan berkat dan nescaya tidak akan kekal...Nauzubillah...Dijauhkan kita semua dari berfikiran singkat dan mengikut kehendak syaitan yg direjam...Aminn..

Oh, yes one more thing....I also know one tough, strong person is getting on with life positively.....I'm happy for you..and I hope that all your dreams will come true. Just don't forget to stay strong and positive (I always forget these...sigh!)...Things happen for a reason, and I think this is a reason (you know what I mean, whoever you are:)

Till then...

Raising My Teenage Kids....

It’s been quite sometime since I actually wrote something in my blog. Well, I think I can express myself better in Malay (duhh…I am 100% Malay)…And I think I sound “not so clever” when I write in English…(get it??)

Let see, yesterday I received a call from Mas (I don’t know her but her son is in the same class with mine). She said she got my home phone number from the list of names in his son’s handphone. She was wondering whether her son is at my house. I said “Tak tau lah akak kalau dia datang tadi, sebab akak pun baru balik kerja”. And she expressed her concern of her son’s behavior. Teenagers! What else can I say…I have 2 of them (and the other 2 future teenagers). I told her to pray a lot and always think positive (yeah, right…the wrong person giving the advice)!

The problem with my son is he rebels in silence. Whenever I nag, he’ll just keep quite and I thought the problem is solved. But nooooo…he’ll repeat his “unacceptable” actions again. Sometimes I wonder if he has problem with his brain cells or just testing my sanity. He is like living in his own world and the only time he is in “my” world is during meals!

I’m not saying that he’s a bad kid. He is my son, for crying out loud! But I just couldn’t understand teenagers nowadays. I was a teenager before, but I don’t remember being difficult to deal with…

Well, I guess I will just have to let him “find himself”.. you know, like they say, teenagers are caught between childhood and adulthood. They are trying to find their own identity, their own self (so to speak)…

In meantime, I’ll do my part as a mom….and I know, I am not alone.

(PS: My other teen (daughter) is another story all together...She is trying to "find herself" through eyeshadow, lipsticks, fashion, Hannah Montanah, Jonas Brothers and all that comes with it..)

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah anyone...????

My husband went to Sabah last week for a paper presentation at University Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu.

Kota Kinabalu (KK) is a beautiful city. The scenery especially Mount Kinabalu, the nearby islands, the pearls and crystals and...the fresh seafood. We went there during our 2008 vacation and it's a wonderful experience....

Okay, this time my husband brought home some fresh seafood which is much, much cheaper and fresh! He actually bought the white sterofoam container, put lots of ice cubes in it ..and just stuffed everything inside...These are the seafood he bought..............

"beautiful" shrimps....

Unbelievably fresh crabs...

and also some salty fish and some anchovies.....

And...if he has his way...I know he would brought these home too...!!!

"Licin" Fish ...(beats me....!)

Kerapu Fish

Tuna Fish

Or if you want to skip the hassle.......you can just have dinner at the Phlippine Market, KK... yummy...!

Don't miss these if you are ever in KK!

CNY Break in Seri Menanti, Negeri Sembilan

26 - 28 February 2009

Hello!!....I am backkk...sorry friends, it took quite a bit to update my blog..Been busy...very busy.

We went back to Negeri Sembilan on CNY Break....the local fruit seasons...aaaahhh...the durian, the rambutans and the mangosteen all fruiting at once at the back of the village house (rumah kampung)... which belongs to my brother and sister in-law. It was nice to see almost everyone back home. My husband, being the youngest in the family, got the all the attention from his brothers and his sisters...Whatever he wanted to eat or craving for...they'd prepare it for him...(seize this rare moment!!!..haha)..

Breakfast together

"Tahlil" at my father-in-law's grave

King of All Fruits...

Do whatever it takes for....................................................

.....................THIS!!

Kimi and The Mangosteen...

My children with my husband's "grandchildren"..hehehehe

We'll be back.........