A Food For Thought

22 November 2008. My hubby informed us that there wil be a cat competition held in Kuantan Parade. So after attending Tini's wedding, we went to Kuantan Parade. The competition was held in the morning but the competing cats were still on display until 2.30 that afternoon. Beautiful, cute, comel....those were the words that came out from my kids and also those who came to se the cats. My hubby snapped a few photos which i would like to share with you....readers of my block. Enjoy the photos.

I was at the exam hall, proctoring the final exam, when my colleagues sms-ed me to come to my office. Urgent, they said. But of course, i cannot leave the exam hall. Another colleague sms-ed telling me that my hubby sent me a gift. I was very excited but still i cannot leave the exam hall.

After the exam, i went back to my office and was very thrilled to see a bouquet of roses of my seat. It really put me on cloud nine. Thank you darling for the sweet roses.

5th November 2008.
I've been married to my husband for 14 years. It's my wedding anniversary today. To my hubby, these two poems are dedicated to you. Luv u forever.

On This Day

I remember all the reasons why
I said yes.

To be your soulmate,
To share your sorrow,

To share your joy,
To be your encouragement,

To cherish you,
To love you,

To honor and obey,
These vows I will hold
Deep in my heart

Till time stands still,
Till death do us part.


Happy anniversary, my love

After all these years, my lover still!
Perhaps we've come this far by force of will;
Perhaps by what sweet winds within us move.
Years alone do not decisive prove,
As time's a box that holds both good and ill;
Nor can one long be loving without skill;
Nor long be cool below and warm above.
In you I've found a shoreline
for my seaVast enough to hold me in its arms,
Embracing both the turbulence and deep,
Reconciling me to limitation.
So may you find a wilderness in me,
A place of windswept waves and rippled calms,
Restoring you to realms you cannot reap,
Yielding neither home nor destination.



My wedding anniversary coincides with my mom's birthday. She is 65 now. I dedicate the following poem to my loving mother. I love you so much.....

To my mother

on this day as you celebrate your birthday,
my best wishes to you mother
I dedicate, greetings filled with all the praise only you deserve,

my dear mother, my dear friend.
from as long as I remember so loving and so kind,
so patient and so tender you make my pains feel mild.
your hands are always present to walk me through the way,
you spell the words I long to hear that always make my day.
"thank you mum", for all you give,
"thank you mum", for all your time,
"thank you mum", for all your kindness,
"thank you mum", for all your love that is endless.
you are to me and you will always be,
the loving mother with an open heart,
the caring friend with a lending hand,
you are my one and only latest trend.
from the bottom of my heart I send you my message with love,
only the very best that a mother like only you can claim,
for I have the best in life through you,
I thank God, for I am blessed and privileged because you are my mum!
thank you mum, best wishes mum, I love you Mum

Congratulations to Che Aman and wife for the arrival of the new born baby, Abdullah Fahmi. So what do we call him? Dol? Dollah? Che Lah? or PAK LAH?

Syukur Alhamdulillah.....after a long wait, the BOD of KPTM have approved the pay raise. And Alhamdulillah again, the payment was made almost at the same time when the Government made the decision to reduce the price of petroleum by 10 sen. Isn't that we call "rezeki"?

Satisfied with the raise? For me.....whatever amount raised should be good enough. Syukur. No complains. At least i have some extra cash to spend for the Hari Raya. Alhamdulillah.

Ok, let's think about after the raise. The pros and cons. Lets start with the pros. High basic pay means we will have higher amount of savings in KWSP. And of course, more savings in other places. We will have extra cash to keep and to spend.

The cons. Higher pay means more tax payable. The tax rate for an individual person is between 0% to 28% depending on their chargeable income. Chargeable income mean income from all sources (including employment) minus the reliefs. Chargeable income starting from RM2,500 and above may be liable to tax.

My advise, to those who don't prefer to pay tax, pay more zakat. Our income will be more "berkat". Lastly, enjoy your pay raise......spend wisely.

Assalamualaikum to all muslim readers,
Wishing all of you "Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir dan Batin".

I don't know why i'm very emotional this morning. Listened to ERA radio on my way to work. The topic for this morning was "Pulang berhariraya". I sempat dengar two cases.

Case 1
A lady was telling ERA about her brother who has not come home for three years. This was due to a misunderstanding with his mother. So the lady was sort of begging his brother to come back for hariraya and ask for forgiveness from his mother. It seem that their mother selalu tanya if her brother is coming back for hari raya or not. This was what the lady said through ERA, "Abang, baliklak hariraya ni. Minta maaflah dengan emak. Tak kiralah siapa salah. Awak tu anak. Beralahlah".

ERA pasang lagu Aishah "Pulanglah" after this first case. Tangkap sayu......

Case no. 2
The caller's sister did not come back for hariraya for several years. Why? Again, misunderstanding with her sibblings. And the caller was also begging her sister to come back.

Apa yang buat i rasa emotional? The first case, kelahi dengan emak......dengan mak pun nak kelahi ke? The one who gave birth to us. No doubt, sometimes memang ada misunderstanding dengan my mom ....but taklah sampai tak boleh nak minta maaf.

Same with the seond case, sayu hati i because their parents are still alive. And just imagine, hancurnya hati ibu bila anak menjauhkan diri. I, myself is a mother, sometimes, anak i ada kecilkan hati i, but we just have to forgive them. And of course as a parent it is my responsibility to tell them what right and what's wrong. A mother will always be a mother. I really thinhk that not a single mother in this world, yang lahirkan anak, tak sayangkan anak....Macam mana jahat pun anak tu, rasa sayang pada anak will still be there. so if a mother can forgive her child, why can't a child forgive his/her mother. Syurga dibawah tapak kaki ibu.

Sama juga dengan adik-beradik. Macam mana marah pun pada adik-beradik kita, air dicincang tidak akan putus.

As parents, we need to didik anak-anak unrtuk sentiasa menghormati orang lain especially ibubapa. Give our children as much love as we can so that ada bonding antara parent and anak-anak. Where ever they go, they will always remember to come back. Rumahku Syurgaku.

So my conclusipn is:
1. We have to learn to forgive and forget. We will enjoy life better.
2. Always respect others if we want to be respected.
3. Give lots and lots of love to those we care for so that we will always be in their mind where ever they go.

Lastly, Selamat Hari Raya. Ampun dan maaf di pinta. Kalau ada masaalah dengan sesiapa pun, bermaaf-maafanlah dihariraya ini. Its the best occasion untuk mengahapuskan dosa sesama insan.

Workshop at De Palma hotel, Ampang, 12 - 14 September 2008

Opening Ceremony
Left: Our new Rector (in greenbaju melayu)






Participants

Notice tak....gambar siapa paling banyak?????



Women at work......

A group of KPTM lecturers from Kuantan, Bangi, K.L, Ipoh, Alor setar and Batu Pahat attended a workshop on the preparation of the final exam papers. Details of the workshop is......CONFIDENTIAL. Workshop? During the fasting month? Yeah....i was not comfortable about attending it too....but it's part of my job.

It's not the workshop that i would like to write about. Its the Ramaddhan buffet served at the hotel. De Palma Hotel Ampang. I was told that there were 101 items in the menu but of course it includes timun, as one manu, sambal belacan as one menu and 99 others. Well, they are just numbers and of couse when i hear the number "101", i was very excited but wondered, how much can i eat especially during the fasting month.

The spree of food were lavish. And there were so many people there. The whole floor (1st floor of the hotel) was reserved for the Ramaddhan buffet and every single table was occupied.

And i guess, my friends enjoyed the food. Hah......got prove maaa..........

This Q & A was forwarded to me recently. Hanya untuk berkongsi ilmu.

Mengahwini Wanita Hamil

Sesungguhnya, permasalahan ini berat. Perhatikan soalan 1 - 5. Perkahwinans eumpama ini hari ini memang tersangat biasa kerana keluarga biasanya memilih jalan ini untuk menutup malu. Bila dapat tahu anak pregnant luar nikah, cepat cepat kahwinkan.. Berdasarkan kenyataan ini, nikah itu TIDAK SAH, maka pasangan itu kelak hidup dalam zina sampai bila-bila... .

Persoalan ini telah diajukan kepada seorang Imam, di mana banyak persoalanlain timbul dari persoalan pokok tersebut. Saya kongsikan bersama anda di sini kerana ianya amat penting:

Soalan 1 : Apakah langkah yang sewajarnya sekiranya seorang gadis belum berkahwin didapati hamil anak luar nikah?

Jawapan 1 : Gadis itu tidak boleh berkahwin sehingga bayi itu dilahirkan.

Soalan 2 : Sekiranya lelaki yang bertanggungjawab itu bersedia mengahwini gadis itu, bolehkah mereka bernikah?

Jawapan 2 : Tidak. Mereka tidak boleh bernikah sehingga bayi itu dilahirkan.

Soalan 3 : Adakah pernikahan itu sah sekiranya mereka berkawin?

Jawapan 3 : Tidak. Pernikahan itu TIDAK SAH. Seorang lelaki tidak boleh mengahwini seorang wanita hamil, walaupun lelaki itu merupakan ayah kepada bayi yang dikandung itu.

Soalan 4 : Sekiranya mereka bernikah, apakah tindakan mereka untuk memperbetulkan keadaan?

Jawapan 4 : Mereka mesti berpisah. Perempuan itu mestilah menunggu sehingga melahirkan, atau sehingga sah dia tidak mengandung, barulah mereka boleh bernikah sekali lagi, secara sah.

Soalan 5 : Bagaimana sekiranya keadaan itu tidak diperbetulkan?Jawapan 5 : Maka mereka akan hidup di dalam zina kerana pernikahan itu tidak sah.

Soalan 6 : Apakah hak seorang anak luar nikah?

Jawapan 6 : Kebanyakan pendapat mengatakan bahawa anak itu TIADA HAK untuk menuntut apa-apa daripada ayahnya.

Soalan 7 : Sekiranya hukum mengatakan lelaki itu bukan ayah kepada anak tersebut, adakah itu bermakna dia bukan mahram kepada anak perempuannya sendiri?

Jawapan 7 : Ya. Dia tidak boleh menjadi mahram.

Soalan 8 : Sekiranya seorang lelaki Muslim dan seorang wanita Muslim (atau bukan Muslim) ingin bernikah setelah bersekedudukan, apakah tindakan yang sewajarnya?

Jawapan 8 : Mereka mesti tinggal berasingan segera dan menunggu sehingga perempuan itu haid satu kali sebelum mereka boleh bernikah.

Soalan 9 : Sekiranya saya kenal/tahu seseorang di dalam keadaan ini, apakah saya perlu memberitahu kepadanya, atau lebih baik menjaga tepi kain sendiri?

Jawapan 9 : Anda wajib memberitahu, kerana itu sebahagian tanggungjawab anda sebagai saudaranya. Mereka harus diberi peluang untuk memperbetulkan keadaan mereka, kalau tidak semua keturunan yang lahir dari pernikahan tidak sah itu adalah anak-anak yang tidak sah taraf.

Bulan Ramaddhan is back. Bulan yang penuh dengan keberkatan. Doa-doa dimakbulkan dalam bulan yang mulia ini.....insyaAllah.

My children....Rashdan (12), Izzati (9) except for Aishah (3) are fasting. My concern was with Izzati who is very very skinny even when it was not during not fasting month. Very choosy on food. Kata lapar tapi makan sikit.

Surprisingly, Izzati makan banyak during this fasting month. It was my "azam" to cook every day for the family during this fasting month, and so far i have succeeded in doing so. And i felt great to see the children were eating well since day one of this fasting month.

Our dishes during berbuka puasa were very simple. My children don't want to eat rice with lauk. So i cooked something else.

First day: Mee Hailam (cooked by my hubby at my mom's house)
Second day: Laksa Kuah putih (two bowls for Izzati. She loved the dish)
Third day: Mee Sayur
Fourth day: Bubur sup ayam
Fifth day: Nasi ayam special
Sixth day : Speghetti (cooked by my hubby) and sausage salad (i cooked)
Today? My daughter requested for bubur lambuk.

The children's requests have actually make it easy for me. I don't have to think of what to cook today. as my mom said, whenever you want to cook for berbuka puasa, always ask the children first. Bukan husband...ek. Bukan apa.....just to encourage them to fast.

So far what i have cooked were just enough and no wastage. Alhamdulillah. Kalau ada lebih, i habiskan masa sahur. That is also an ibadah.

Why do we cry? We cry when we feel sad or in pain. Sometimes we also cry when we feel very happy.

Here are a few moments when i feel like crying.
1. At a majlis akad nikah. After pengantin lelaki successfully akad nikah. I will always feel like crying because it means it is a new journey of the pengantin's life. A lot more to come after that.

2. When i see people celebrating their victory. For example, when the Brazil women volleyball team won the gold olympic medal. The moment they celebrated their victory toucched my heart.

3. During hari raya. When i kissed my parents hands especially my mom's and say sorry for all my wrongdoing. Memang tangkap shahdulah masa tuh. And i will cry every time and every year when it happens. Oops....not to forget....masa minta maaf dengan suami pun tangkap syahdu jugak.

4. Death of any one i know. Friends and relatives. Remembered when my Mak Teh passed away. I just cannot help crying looking at her cucu cried bila nak tengok jenazah. And also masa arwah Encik Fauzi......especially when looking at his youngest son was playing near the kubur bila nak kebumikan jenazah. Sedih. Ada student call nak tanya whether the news about his death was true or not.....i couldn't speak. And the student understood.

Ada a few more which i cannot think of right now.

Sunday, 7 September 2008. My son is going to sit for his UPSR this Tuesday. Phew......he's gonna sit for the exam.....why am i having butterflies in my stomach?

He cannot sleep last Friday night. He came into my room and wake us up. And my husband went to sleep with him in his room. Just to accompany him. That was about 1 am. I woke up again at about 2 am. I couldn't sleep after that, wondering if my son was thinking about his exam. Since i couldn't sleep, i got up and performed the solat taubat and followed by solat hajat. As i was just about to complete the solat hajat, my son came into my room again and told me that my youngest daughter wants milk. After preparing milk for my daughter, i saw my son was still awake. I took the chance to talk to him.

I asked him what made him couldn't sleep? Is he thinkng abou his exam? It was true. He was actually a bit tensed. This is what i told him:

"Abang (that's waht i call him) jangan tension. You have studied hard. Whatever your result you get, should be good enough for me because you have shown to me that you have studied. Kalau abang tak dapat 5A sekali pun, i will not be angry with you. Just be cool."

I really hoped that what i said calms him down. As a parent, i want him to be successful. But i have to make sure that i do not pressure him too much. I will not show my worry but keep on encouraging him and praying for his success.

Mahmood Rashdan.....i pray that you get 5A because you deserve it.....

I guess i have to complete the assignment huh...Got a bit addicted to this blogging thing. Tapi kena banyak belajar lagi. Looking at Hidayah and Suhaniz's blogs.....very interesting.

So here's the answer to the five questions.

Question 1
Let me see....five years ago means year 2004. I'm still working in KPTM. Got pregnant with my third one. Jazmina Aishah was born on 17th November 2004, that was the fourth hari raya aidil fitri. Bought the house which i'm staying now.

2005 - renovated my house. Sungai Isap is known for its every year "banjir". So i besarkan rumah and the part yang i tambah, ditinggikan. So far, although it still floods every year, at least there are some part of my house is safe.

2005 is also the year when somebody took away my hand bag. Hish....so troublesome having to make the police report, make new ic, and also other reports.

2006 - Sukan MARA. Represented MARA Pahang for Bowling. We were the 1st runners up. Not bad ....eh!

2007 Nothing unusual happened in 2007. Let go my KJship. I thought, it's about time for me to concentrate on my children.

2008 - busy trying to be a good parent. Rashdan (my eldest) is going to sit for his UPSR. Concentration is fully on him. Not to forget Izzati (2nd). She dyslexic (is that how they spell it?) I need to spend more time coaching her to read. I think it worked well. Her reading and results are mush better now.

Question 2
I'm on MC today (5 August 2008). Having a fever and the doctor gave me two days MC. But the following were in the list to do today.

1. Mark the quizes.
2. Prepare the next quizes - ACT 243 and ACF 132
3. Update some notes.
4. Meet my mentees, 39 of them....
5. Cook mee sayur tonite (if i have the strength to do it. The medicine which the doctor gave me makes me feel very sleepy)

Question 3
1. Kerepek ubi pedas - the one that Razmi sells
2. Enjoyed chocolates, especially Kit Kat
3. Twisties...but not too much. Not good for your brain.
4. Pau kacang and kaya
5. Curry puffs and doughnuts

Question 4
If i were a billionaire, i would first pay off all my debts. Yang tu wajib. Bila ada duit mesti bayar hutang dulu. Then, i would quit KPTM kot...ha ha ha and be a billionaire house wife. Jaga anak lagi bagus. See they grow to be useful people. Berangan jelah. Give some to my parents, adik beradik and to my relatives yang memerlukan. Lebih afdhal dulukan sedara-mara. Then, of course donate some to saudara seagama before i invest the rest.

Question 5
The five jobs i've had.
My first job was an audit assistant with Coopers & Lybrand Kuantan. That was after my Diploma. Then after my degree, i was working as an Accounts Officer at Multi-Dominion Mining. When i got married, my husband and i moved to JB. My first job there was an Accounts Executive at Hoshita Engineering and later quit the job to become a lecturer at Rima College. After having my first child, we moved to KL and that's when i joined KPTM (KYPM then). And not forgetting......a part-time cashier at KOMASRA....ha ha ha.

Hope the above answered all your questions.