Iklan Merdeka Petronas 2008

This year I did not feel the patriotism and the happiness of Merdeka mainly due to the goings on back home in fact all I felt was erm..nothingness. Several factors I think brought about these feelings.. the fact that Sabah and Sarawak was only included in Malaysia on the 16th of September hence the real Merdeka should be recognized and celebrated on that day. The 16th of September is celebrated as the official birthday of the TYT (Tuan Yang Terutama) or Governor of Sabah at present.

Generally, the goings on on the political front and overall restlessness and unhappiness with price hikes despite a lil reduction of petrol prices back home contributes to it. So in order to celebrate the "official" Merdeka I am posting a piece of work from the Petronas Merdeka Advert . A good mix of humor and seriousness conveyed lightly but I couldnt avoid the water works being turned on. Perseverance is the key word.. a mix of emotions but at the end of the day it is all about our will and perseverance to preserve how we want to live our lives and how we want our country to be and what values we want to inculcate in our Children the future of the Country.

Enjoy!

NEW LOOK

As you may have noticed , I am using a new banner ..the banner was done for me by O :) thanks heaps O really appreciate it . l will belanja you lunch hehe. As per usual life is hectic for me and I am really looking forward to Ramadhan..I dont know.. ramadhan just gives me the calmness and really for me its the time when I concentrate more on family if that makes sense. Let me explain why.

It is during ramadhan that all muslims are duty bound to fast ..and that for every good deed you do, you will be rewarded 10 times for them. Now that is a lot like collecting bonus points. Time to top up people . Pahala is something you would not want to reject. It is a time also that we get to go back early from work and in my case cook for my family as opposed to my lil'd keeping different time for dinner from us ( he eats earlier) . It is in Ramadhan that 98% we will spend time breakfasting with our loved ones and generally spend time with each other more instead of being cooped up in the office from what seems like sun up till sun down.

My point is.. Ramadhan is all about taking care of our spiritual wellbeing as well as our own and our family's wellbeing.

So here is wishing you all " Selamat Menyambut Bulan Ramadhan".

4 days 3 nights

That was how long I had to be away from LilD and Hubz. I was not well when I left and the day before LilD had a temperature .. I was torn, how can I leave my baby when he is sick.. thankfully he was fine on the day I flew off.. I was worried but I didn't expect to feel the way I felt when I was about to leave.. I have been warning LilD for days that I need to go to work somewhere far away for 3 sleeps. I don't know if he understood it but the period before the actual flight he was extra extra clingy to me and that worried me.

The morning of my departure ..lilD woke up quite late as he had had a bad night due to his temperature, he woke up fine Alhamdulillah.. so when its actually time for me to leave.. I took him in my arms .. kissed him like a 100 times around his face, his head and hugged him tight.. and when I was about to turn to mush with the "pain" and the agony of leaving and missing him already.. he took my face in his hands and smiled and said mommy...my heart melted and I burst out crying!! yes the mommy was crying .. very strong tears.. I gave him a final kiss and give him to his dad before I disgraced myself in front my in-laws.. my mom in law had to assure me that they are around to care for him.. the list that I gave and the reminders I keep giving was enough to drive a person up the wall I am sure! I guess I felt that way because I have only ever been apart from LilD for 1 night in his 2 years .

It got better on the way to the airport until at the airport I saw my friend with her daughter who was 3 months older than lilD.. I started tearing up! Sighs.. but yeah it got better..I was feeling rotten by then.. flu is getting full blown, my gums were flaring and felt a bit swollen.. so I guess that all contributed to the bleurgh feeling I had.

KL was KL.. I was looking forward to the conference and it didn't disappoint .. some were not that good but to a degree it helped enhanced my knowledge and affirmed what I have already practiced at work. Work interupted me constantly though , understandable but irked me because a meeting was scheduled so urgently without thinking of the convenience of others around them.. but of course what the boss says goes. Had to do a lot of remote work.. advices and such like.. the perils of technology sometimes huh..thank god its sorted, my colleague G was a gem, helped me out through it all.

The delegates from the conference

Did not do a lot of shopping ,no time and well, I had a really bad cough and lost my voice as well.. had the chills and I just wanted to lie down and sleep it off most times..but soldier on I must.. to my dismay when I got back most of the stuff I bought was not for me but for LilD and Hubz..I guess that goes to show the priority you put on others when you are away from them. Perhaps its like a subliminal thought to want to ensure that just because you are away you are not out of their lives.. erm.. yeah psycho babble which has no merit whatsoever.. but those are my thoughts..

Anyhoo the reunion when I flew back was sweet..LilD saw me ,hugged me and put his head on my shoulders and absolutely refused to let go of me until we reached home.. warms the coccles of my heart and sooths the soul but most of all what you feel is you are finally home hehehe.. that was only for 3 nights mind you imagine if it had been a month .. I can assure you I will be finding alternatives or get lilD to come with me as well.

This trip also turned out to be a reunion of sorts.. Met my Alma mater mates and god knows how long it has been since we last meet.. it was fun catching up and exchanging cards and news.. there was a lot of picture taking and a lot of chat about where are you working now,how old is your kid and when did you get married and how did you meet your husband etc. etc. etc.

Well it was a good trip considering and shall look forward to another reunion ..this time with LilD and Hubz with me.

08.08.08

A multitude of events happend on the date above, historic milestones on every event.

First event

That date marks the 2nd Birthday of my first born..my pride and joy. Lil'D had a good Birthday albeit marked only with close family members from my side of the family at home but he had a ball , oh the laughter and voice level was so high you could not hear yourself talk . Cakes, balloons and good company what more could you ask for ey.. its done simply as opposed to the big bash I would've liked to throw but due to Hubz first cousins Nikah (solemnisation of marriage) that day and we were heavily involved in the preparations it was just not plausible to have a big bash everyone would've been just so tired. Seeing that LilD has cousins whose birthday is before his , we might throw them a party at Jungle Gym, I am sure the kids will have an even better time .

A historic milestone for Lil'D because he is no longer a baby but a Toddler and that happen on a very very nice date too , it sure looks purty on the cake :) but I am thankful.. thankful that Allah Taala has bestowed me lilD, May Allah SWT bless my child with all things great and protect him from all things bad.

Second event

As I mentioned .. it was also Hubz 1st cuzzy's Nikah. It was a mad rush to get things organize and I had to go into work for a meeting and tie up loose end seeing that I will be flying off Monday and wont come in to the office since my flight is in the morning. Anyhoo, back to the wedding , it was a simple affair but boy was it a super duper hot day yesterday , it did not help that I was coming down with flu and just do not feel well generally . Must be the lack of sleep. They rented a bus for the rombongan and all the hantaran to be transported to the Brides house and it makes perfectly good sense to rent one so that they won't be bothered with parking problems etc.

I can tell ya...there must have been heaps of weddings happening yesterday . So many choosing to solemnize their union on this unique date. After all this date comes once in a life time.

Third event

The Beijing Olympics also occurred , it was absolutely super impressive! I am just amazed at how gorgeous the opening ceremony show was, it was produced and directed by the epic film director Zang Yi Mou... he married the traditional and the modern and the result was simply breath taking and amazing. I was told that it was the most expensive production and could not be matched by any previous Olympics. I can see why too.

3 events in 1 weekend.. I now need a good sleep and a massage just to recuperate.. Phew!

Flowers, glue gun and creations

Hubz 1st Cuz is getting married on 08.08 (on Lil D's Bday) and I was given the grand task to *drumroll* design/gubah hantaran lol!.. yes moi! (as a background it is customary in Malay Weddings to have an exchange of gifts /hantaran between the couple , do check out the link.. some pretty designs :-)) ...only two gubahan mind you because the general consensus was that each will bring home 2 to complete, if I had to do all 11 *faint*!

I do not dabble in the arts and crafts because you will find me either with lil'D, reading or in front of my Lappy most times. Growing up I loved to draw and sketch have an appreciation of arts and design but thats about it..on the other hand my Mom lovesssss this stuff.. the hantaran for my wedding and most in the family was done by her. My Mom loves art , she draws , paints, does Copper art once a upon a time and of course her flower arranging. I think some of that interest does rub off on me.. and it emerges when I am challenged with such task. I do love how designers work.. I know how it excites me when O, my colleague and resident designer is in the middle of her creative mode..I wish sometimes I am in a different profession.. perhaps I will explore it in future but for now will stick it out with what I've got ..perhaps future plans on the side and later on something to fall back on when I retire ..now that will be ways away but you know what they say .. you gotta think of the future !

Anyhoo.. back to the hantaran..I was tasked to design/gubah two trays (dua dulang) the dulang for watch and purse and a dulang for makeup and toiletries. You must appreciate that I have never done one from scratch before.. so what does a girl do ? pour into magazines and surf the net to find ideas and some tips as to how its done. I came across a few and there are a wealth of information in terms of ideas of designs etc.

I traipsed to the local haberdashery for some trimmings styrofoam glue gun butterflies etc etc and assigned the best time to put the stuff I got as well as the stuff that was given to me together... saturday PM while Lil'D was taking his nap I started assembling.. I tell ya . . the glue gun was the bestest invention ever for this stuff hehe I love it! I started at 1.40pm ..the creatives juices just flow and by 4.45pm I was done. Lil'D woke up in between so had to entice him with juice for him to play with his nanny downstairs before I can finish up..

The result..two creations that are not too shabby even if I say so myself.. though it was erm.. not proffesional but I think it has its charm. The 1st creation a basket that I had to "dress" with organza and trimmings including ribbons and flowers with the makeup in a box and perfume and assorted lip gloss etc laid in the basket filled with tissue paper and organza to cover it and around it as fillers to add more dazzle, crystal flowers glued on to the Organza in the basket and the 2nd creation was a styrofoam tray with flowering shrubs and flowers with butterflies grazing around it, the watch was double sided taped on top of a box which I wrapped with crepe paper and glue gunned on the styrofoam base scattered around are crystal flowers . The Groom's sister liked it so I shall just take it as acceptable work. ..can't post the pics yet on account of not being able to find DigCam cable to upload pics but no worries will bug hubz tomorrow. Once its uploaded will post it !

*updated 050808*

As promised here are the pics folks.. I know I know much ado about nothing right but can't help but be proud its my first attempt hehe..excuse the poor quality of the pics ..enjoy \o/ erm.. what do u think should I embelish/vamp it up more? still got time :P

The creations!