Factory outlets, trout fishing and basketball..

hmm.....I had a break.....break from using the PC for the past 2 days. So , now. I'm back. Yesterday was a day full of outdoor activities. We went to York - Mc Arthur Glenn Designer Outlets. This is where my brother usually finds his affordable branded clothing. Its like a small town, full of factory outlets shop with branded items like Nitya, GAP, Timberland, M&S, Clarks, Levi's, Bodum, Thomas Pink, Woods of Windsor,Guess, Bodyshop etc..etc... Yeah....some if them are really cheap. You need to know where to find it. Usually what I do is...just go straight in to the bargain /discounted rack. You can get GAP trousers as low as 3pnds, Guess jeans at 10pnds, levi's at 15 pnds and the list goes on. But yesterday, I was kind of broke, so I only got myself 2 sets of spoon, fork and knive at the price of 80p each. Its kind of uique. Its from Bodum, made of plastic and it has a ring to put all of it together - suitable for camping!! I got 2 sets- one for me and the other is definitely for my hubby. Can't wait to show him!

We went in 2 cars - there were 8 adults and a baby. Going there, my brother, his father in-law, and our 2 friends from the japanese restaurant went in one car and my sister in-law, my cousins, Ammar and myself was in the other. After the "shopping" adventure, my brother wanted to go and explore the "trout fishing" pool. And guess what, we swapped drivers! I drove his car and he drove his wife's car as my sister in-law was not feeling very well. We were enjoying ourselves in the car - singing out loud! We felt as if we were in Malaysia, driving from KL to Cherating especially the background of Siti Nurhaliza singing! hahahah... It seems that my brother has trusted me with my driving.....(that's good news!)

When we reached the trout fishing pool, my brother and his friends were just trying to find out the cost of it. So, after a break of 20 mts, we headed back home. Ammar was really in a good mood - I think he enjoyed travelling. He's definitely an outdoor baby.Hours and hours in the car - without being cranky at all. Well, I guess the weather was nice too. It was sunny but was not very hot - suitable for outdoor activities. We actually planned to go to the beach, unfortunately time does not permit. Maybe next time.

Today , I mean this week, its the term break , means that I've got no classes to attend. That explains why I woke up very, very late this morning...heheheh. And today too, my brother is going to send his father in-law to the airport. Yup! he's leaving for Malaysia this evening. Ohh....its so sad to see somebody going back. I always have this "good-bye" issues. Doesn't matter who the person is...

Oh yeah....apart from having a great time here, I feel sad too. I got a text from my friend saying that the basketball tournament for the PPM is on now. And the worst is , it is just in Putrajaya/Cyberjaya !! Oh my god!! Why are these good things happening when I'm not around? It made me feel so sad. I have always promised the players that if they play somewhere near I stay, I'll definitely go and provide support to them. All these years, they had it everywhere else except near KL. And I've been as fas as Dungun , to support them. This is unfair. But, to think of it, if I was in KL, I would have been working . And, if I'm working with a new company, its not that easy to get annual leave or away from work. There is no such thing as fairness in the world. By the way, I'm happy that they are going into semi-finals tomorrow. I hope and pray they will get through to finals. My friends are definitely updating me with the results.

GOOD LUCK GIRLS!!!

3 ladies and a baby.....and a car

Yesterday afternoon, at about 12.30pm, my brother and his wife left for Shrewsbury. Leaving the baby behind...with us. Oh yes..with all 3 ladies. Yeah...something like the "3 men and a baby"..just that we have much more experience in handling babies...hehehe....

Asked my bro's permission to use his car - and he said yes!! Go ahead!! We had been given the green light. SO, off we went to town in his car. This is actually the first time I've driven in Nottingham. My brother's car is a manual. I sat in the driver's sit. Put on my seat belt. Checked the side mirrors and the back mirror. ( remember "TAXI"?) Made sure everybody was in the car. And I turned on the engine excited to go. Oh!! What happened? It seemed that the gear was not working. I couldn't put in 1st gear. I tried again. Failed. I turned off the engine and tried putting it to 1st gear. Hey! It was ok. No problem. I turned on the engine again. Tried again into 1st gear. Didn't manage to. What had happened? Maybe my brother's car has this special lock for the gear. We looked for it high and low. Nope, no extra lock was seen. My cousin asked, " have you stepped on the pedal?". Definitely I did. I tried again. After a few trials, I suddenly laughed at myself. My cousins looked at me weirdly. "I know now!! I stepped on the wrong pedal! Instead of stepping on the clutch pedal, I stepped on the brakes pedal. Oh my god!! It is such a big mistake for somebody like me who have had my license 14 years ago. And just because for the past 2 months I haven't driven any car, I totally forgot which pedal is which. At night, I told my hubby about it, he just laughed.

A basketball friend of mine gave me her brownies recipe which I'm supposed to try it out when I was back home. Too much excuses and totally forgotten about the recipe, had to ask her to send the recipe to me via email. And today morning, I tried it out. Hmm......from the looks of it - I didn't put up any hope that it would turn out well. But it did!! Unbelieveably! The look is still not attractive but the taste is great.

Oh yeah...did I tell you that we drove to Morrison this morning to get some groceries?

p/s: I'm jealous with a friend of mine who just got a job which pays her better than her old job. But then, she deserves it. With what she had gone through, I believe this is definitely for her. Well, congrats again sist. Just don't forget to save some for your future.

Is there such thing as "well planned future"?

Today is Friday, 27th May 2005. Gosh!! I feel like it is still in March or April . But when you notice that it is not as cold outside anymore, then you realise that summer is around the corner. Amazing how time flies! 3 more days and it means that I have been here for 2 months. Yes, 2 months of becoming a student. 2 months of staying with my brother and his family. 2 months away from my beloved hubby and family.2 months without going to IKEA Damansara and Uptown for its delicious food.2 months aways from my crazy friends in KL. 2 months of being jobless. And the list goes on...and on.

2 months of being jobless? Am I sure its 2 months? Hmmm.......I think I stopped "formally" going to the office or another meaning is I was formally "released" from the company on 1st of March. I "formally" stopped doing any work on 1st of January. That's not 2 months. That's about 4 months!! Let me try to recall, when did I start applying for jobs. Oh yeah....sometime in end of December 2004. Yup....you heard it right, December 2004. I didn't really keep track of the applications but until the end of March,I guess it must be nearly to 50 companies. Through Jobstreet.com,through headhunters, through jobs advertised in the local newspapers, through referrals - all the ways that I could think of and also with the help of my friends.

Out of 50 companies, 4 called me for interview. Yes...you read it right - only 4 interviews. Interesting. 2 was through referrals. I believed I did well, even had to sit for a "personality" test and they said I did well but there was no suitable position for me there. Its ok. At least I know, they recognised it. The 3rd one said, " You are good. But we can't afford to pay you. Do you have anybody who is as good as you but we could pay lower?" What a question!!!! And you know what did the 4th asked? "hmm......how long have you been wearing your headscarf?". Come on!!! We are in a Muslim country and you asked me this question? What is this? What is happening here? Come on......

1st - if you pay peanuts - you get monkey. You may get somebody who's discipline is not up to the standards, work ethics, motivation level, attitude, maturity (like my ex-boss always metioned) with no work experience(maybe)

2nd - example :if the person has a Master's Degree and apply for a lower qualification job,or, if the person has a lot of experience in working and applied for a simple task job then he/she will still be turned away - Oh! you are over qualified or over experienced for the job!

3rd -If you don't know how to speak other languages other than BM and English - then you can't apply for most of the jobs too. Just imagine looking at the job ads in the newspapers and not able to apply for it just because of this. Want to know something? I'm learning French instead and trying very hard to practise it with my chat friend from France. hahaha.....

And...because of all the reasons above, I am still jobless until now. For the first time in my 13 years of working, this is the first time I'm not working. That is why I decided to be here. Instead of just applying jobs and waiting for companies to call me for interviews, and maybe go for lunch or tea with my friends, its better for me to be here temporarily. I'm exploring new options. Option which a number of people thinks I'm crazy. While doing a 3 months course, I managed to get myself busy. To get some pocket money, I sell things on the Ebay. Not much...but it helps. Then I learn how to cook Japanese food. I also learned from my class how the teachers here handle foreign students.(this is an experience for me because I'm a trainer by profession)

All my life, I've always planned things in advance. Planned for almost everything.Planned when not to study anymore, planned when to start work, planned when to get married, planned to get a new job......almost everything!! I don't like last minute decisions , especially the ones involving my life and my work. I plan to stay away from things that I shouldn't do if there were risks involved. Talking about risks. I plan because I am not a risk taker.I admit it. I have been living in my comfort zone for the last 3 years. Everything is just well-planned, well coordinated and organised. But this year, since the moment I decided to join my brother , and until now, at this point of time, I just don't have any ideas on what will happen next.I don't have any fixed plans anymore. Or plan that can ensure what my future will be. I'm just going to live a day at a time. Yes, it is very scary.Not worried? Who says so? I am worried at times. I have commitments back home. I can't just leave everything to my husband. Although everytime I ring him, he will say," Don't worry dear, just concentrate and do whatever you are doing there. Leave everything here to me". How could I? I've been doing the bills and the housework for the past 8 years. I AM WORRIED.

And later, when I return, will there be a job for me? Will I be able to get a job to help my husband? Will there be any interviews for me? Who said I've stopped applying for jobs? I am still doing it through Jobstreet.com.

Thinking out loud, maybe.......maybe I'll open a Sushi stall or cart. Yeah..maybe....and now...THAT IS MY NEXT PLAN FOR THE FUTURE.



Quote of the day: Things happened for a reason. I have always believe in this. Insya Allah, what ever happens, it is always the best for us - eventhough it hurts.Everything has its "hikmah".



P/S - Remember I promised to put up my classmates' photos? Well, its already up and running. Check out my fotopages! May add more in the near future.

Old days vs young days

Yesterday, I came across this shop in Arnold.

Then, I saw 2 elderly ladies (you can tell they are really old, maybe around 70-80 years old) sitting on something which looks like a small fountain which has no water..(I don't really know what it is actually..hahaha). They were talking to each other, ignoring other people who passed by. One thing that attracted my attention was, the 2 "grandmothers" were eating ice-cream. YES!! Ice-cream. Both of them! I guess these are some of the scenarios that I didn't see or I can't see back home. Really old people eating ice-cream, some of them even have their own "Shopmobility" some sort of vehicle to move around. They don't rely on other people at all.

Here, there might be 3 assumptions:

1st - They have a very strong will and courage to go anywhere on their own. They don't rely on other people or family members at all to do their daily chores. Or

2nd - Their family values are different than ours - Asians. Their children might have abandoned them.Moved out from the house and no visits from them. So this leaves them no choice ,but to be independent. Or

3rd - They might not be very old ( not as old as I think of). Maybe they are younger and stronger but they look old. ( Is this logic? I'm not sure myself...)

In which position WE want to be when we are old ? Do we want to be independent? Or do we want to rely on our children? I guess, a balance of both will be the ideal situation. But balance? How can we? Its relates back to our culture and values. We definitely won't allow our mother to walk with her walking stick , around in town, ALONE, will we? And eat ice-cream in the park? hahaha....my grandmother still does it....once in a while. But with her grandchildren, of course!!

Talking about the photo above, it is actually one of the many charity shops here. Unbelievable!! There are so many charity shops. Some of them related to Scouts, Cancer, Children and a few more. Interesting......I didn't find any charity shops back home too. Maybe I was not observant enough. A friend, whom I got to know here, told me that there is one in Bukit Bintang or Sungei Wang Plaza. Or maybe around the area. I'm not sure. Does this mean that we don't do charity? How does these charity shops work? I wonder. Back home, we do charity work - but usually through concerts or activities involving famous artists. Shops? - hmm...don't know if it will work or not. The last one I remembered getting myself involved was for the Tsunami Aid Collection. The place was great! We were selling mineral water, hair dryers, vouchers and many more. And the "creme de la creme" was when famous artists came over to do a short performance and to assist with the collection of the donations. What an great reponse!! And guess what? Definitely we had more people to donate.

Maybe, there are good things and bad things to learn from each other's culture and values. If we are rational enough, you could get the best from both world.

P/S: Anybody out there, if you know any charity shop in KL , please do tell me.

Friends.....

Interesting....coincidently 3 days after creating / coming up with my own blog, in class yesterday, we learnt about computers and internet. hmm.......guess what? our teacher gave us a quiz on all things related to internet - I scored full marks!! Its just a coincidence when one of the question asked whether we have our own webpage. Presto!! ...and because of that I got full marks. My classmates said I am a computer freak!!

My classmates? Yeah..these are my new sets of friends. Let's see....they are from all all over the world...Brazil, Spain, Catalonia, Georgia, Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Belarus, Slovakia, France and Latvia. Did I miss out anybody?I hope not. And there are also friends that I got to know from my classmates. Yeah...maybe a lot of them from the EU countries .Oh yeah...and there is this one guy who claims he is from everywhere around the world.Hmm...interesting.They are all here for different reasons. Some of them wants to be here permanently and contribute to the economy, some - just want to improve their English and after 2 to 3 years, they'll go back to their country. Some of them are just here because they are taking a break from their University. Wow...I wish I had done that. Or had the opportunity to do that. It seems that their parents are sporting enough to let them come here on their own and explore new options. Well, I believe, we, Malaysians - we are not that open minded yet. Yes, we would send our children to the Universities here....but we will not allow them to come here to look for temporary or permanent jobs. Not many will allow. Cost is one thing, others are like the weather might affect our health, we might get cultural shock, too young to go abroad on our own...and the list does not stop here.

And did I mention that my class is also getting smaller and smaller? hmm..... if they are from the EU countries, they do not have to pay for the course. Yes, I repeat, DO NOT. How lucky!! And because its free, maybe some of them think that its not compulsory to attend classes! I'm in the midst of taking my classmates' photos. Once complete, I'll upload it in my fotopages and you get to see them all!!

Friends..... somebody told me before..if they keep in touch with you , eventhough once in a blue moon, then we can call them "friends". But if they just call you to ask for a favour, then they are not. Well, it depends how you see it. Sometimes, you just don't contact some of your friends because you're busy ...too busy. Taking care of the daily routines, family, kids........But then, you do remember them. Its not that you don't. It is interesting to think about it. We keep meeting new friends everyday. And..how on earth can we regularly keep in touch with everyone ..say every 2 to 3 weeks. Its IMPOSSIBLE!! I do have friends whom out of nowhere, called me and ask for a favour. To tell you the truth, I don't mind.I don't mind at all! If I can assist them, why not? Maybe this is the time we are able to help, and next time vice versa! Not that I expect something in return.

Friends? I haven't heard from most of my basketball friends for the past 1 1/2 months. I did send them e-mail. I wonder, maybe they changed jobs and have new e-mail addresses. But, all of them? I do admit, there are a few of them who still respond to my e-mail. Thanks. Maybe the rest are just too busy to click 'reply' and key in "HI". Maybe. But its ok. Coz some people prefer to meet in person rather than sending electronic messages. I miss playing basketball. Here, its not a famous game. Did played a few games with my sist-in law's friends but the condition of the court ..was really, really bad. Argh....can't wait to go back home. I miss SC!!!

Friends..sob..sob.... I do miss the "BAND". They are more like family members than friends. Why? When you can talk and joke about anything, open to critism, accept feedback (eventhough you tend to resist it at first), quarrel and make up after that - then you'll feel that they are part of your family.


Quote of the day: Before you make fun of somebody, make sure you can accept it first. That is the basic rule. If you think you can't , forget about teasing other people, ok!

Memories

This morning, chatted with an ex-colleague of mine...yes ..from the company whom I was sort of "retrenched". She's doing well there, still has her position- which is "2nd wife" to her boss. I'm happy for her. Its not easy to find a job nowadays and I believed she made the right choice to stay. The "lunch gang" is still there - Nura, Rahayu, Liza and Fazliza. I miss you guys!!! I miss the "gulai kawah" lunch..heheheh.

To my beloved SRMD band members: Nura, Li Yen, Ken, Cynthia, Zaihan, Adam, Shaliza, Kamil and especially my ex-boss -SULIP - I MISS U GUYS!!! ( yes Sulip, you made me teared when you called me from London the other day). The SRMD BAND. Yup.....what a memory....what a loss. Those 3 years we were together and started from scratch....with the cat fights, the kung-fu session (remember Li Yen & Zaihan?), the outings (hmm..yummy fatty crab), and the singing and dancing. Hahaha.. how could people forget about this? Our first "Greese " performance at SWP and the final "Hijau" performance at the dinner. Wanna know something? - I've never done such things in my life - singing in front of people that you hardly know! It was something that ...I don't know about you guys, but I WILL DEFINITELY REMEMBER IT for the rest of my life. Yeah...started with the Greese Lightning thingy, until I was involved with March Pass every year....it was unbelieveable! Arghhh...... amazing remembering the things that I got involved in. Maybe it was because of my crazy ex-band members. hehehee....Oh yeah..and I definitely won't forget about somebody who entered the Sports Club March Pass Competition just because he wanted the free, white, "cheap" trackbottom. hahahaha. All these, is like the song in "CATS":

The chorus:

Memory
All alone in the moonlight
I can smile at the old days
I was beautiful then
I remember the time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again


Daylight
I must wait for the sunrise
I must think of a new life
And I musn't give in
When the dawn comes
Tonight will be a memory too
And a new day will begin

The weather..

Today , in the morning, it was really bright and sunny. Hmm...nice. This is what all of us have been wishing for.....hot,sunny days in Nottingham. 2 months been here, I noticed something about the weather. It is very, very unpredictable. People!! Ignore the weather forecast - most of the time its not even correct!! And ...the best part...yes, you do expect once in a while the sun to come out and play. But when the sun is around....the wind becomes stronger. Most of the time its even colder than those days without sunshine. I just don't understand. In the afternoon - just felt as if we are in Genting Highlands. Yeah....I did walk to town without my jacket on.

The baby was very grumpy today. The nanny had to go for her class, his "Mak Long" went for window shopping, while his grandpa went to town to get some books! hmm....I was left alone with him. Maybe he noticed - no grandpa, no nanny, no Mak Long.....and I've got no choice other than Auntie Ina. Arghhhh!!! Where is everybody else??? Well, since the baby is a LEO, he was born to be in the center of attention. ( yeah....me and him - both are LEOs) He likes it, we know. He knows from whom he could get the things he wants e.g.. milk from nanny, pain reliever from Mak Long, jokes and teases from me.....and the list goes on and on. Oh...and when he wants to be "mushy" - that will be from his mama.

My classmates were great today. Maybe because of the sunshine, maybe not. Everybody was in a good mood - eventhough a contentious issue was brought up and debated.These people always have things to debate - just imagine you're in a class full of people from different countries and culture all over the world!

BUT, I know, out there, not everybody's weather is perfect. I have a friend, a chat friend, who's not able to come online for the past one week. Maybe more...The truth is, he's not feeling well for the past 2,3 months till now. Something is eating him from inside and this affected his health tremendously. I don't know where he is now. I think he's still in the hospital - recuperating.Or maybe at home. Weak and not able to move around. He's been in and out of there for so many times. And yes, I know he enjoys the presence of sexy and attractive nurses there. (this was what he said!) But I told him, he can't be there forever! Well my dear friend, I can only pray the best for you and wish you'd get well soon. Be strong!! Like we, muslim says, Insya Allah (with God's will) , you will get better.

Oh yeah....and how could I forget, FAIEZ!!!! Thank you very much sist for assisting me with this blog.hehehe... I won't be able to do it if it wasn't because of you. My promise - tempura and sushi for you when I return to Malaysia! Or maybe...Secret Recipe's brownies topped with vanilla ice-cream..hmm...yummy....

3o years alive and my first ever camping trip

Camping...hmmm......something that I've never dreamt to do. Previous years, from primary to secondary till just weeks ago - I've always managed to "escape" from going to one. Reason? Well....I really can't stand leeches...and camping in Malaysia, 99.9% means you got to go out to the jungle or waterfall or mountains and these places are full of leeches. Yuckkss...Everywhere. No thanks. I would prefer to donate my blood to the Blood Bank. Just couldn't stand seeing those creatures moving up your legs the way they moved ..its soooooo.....disgusting. (I don't think this describes it)
BUT...2 weeks back, when the weather was extremely perfect ( UK's weather is so undpredictable), my brother, out of the blue, said, we were going camping! Within 45 mts, we were ready with all the camping gears in the car!! That was fast - not knowing what I was getting myself into. When I asked him what to bring , he said just bring extra sweaters and a change of clothes for tomorrow. So, myself, my bro, wife and baby and our cousin headed to Snowdonia in Wales.

The journey - It was a 4 hours drive to reach there. We drove through the mountains and lake. I had this sudden temperature change "syndrom" where I was sneezing non-stop upon entering the mountains area.But thank god it sort of dissapear when we reach our camping ground.Thank god it was not "Hay fever"

The scenery - huh....I wish I could explain it with words. At one side of the road, the mountains are green, with sheep fed on the grass and the river was flowing just beside our camping ground.If we were to climb a bit further, we could actually see a waterfall behind the toilet. Yes!! There was a toilet and a sink. What a relief!! Can't imagine if we were to do "it" in the river.
The other side of the road - looking at the mountain - you feel as if you're in the Lord of The Rings movie. To be precise - Mordor. Made up from only stones, you might wonder if the big stones were to fall down on to the road.

The sun - we managed to capture the sunset moment. It was beautiful. With orange sky and the mountains - wish I had my own video camera. The moment it dissapeared, we felt the temperature dropped tremendously.

The dinner - after putting up the tents and done our solat, we cooked the famous "Maggie Mee" for dinner. Just imagine, the excitement of coming here made us forget to bring really good food. We should have brought meat/chicken for bar-b-cue. Now, our camping trip feels like during the school days.hahahaha.

The night - Me and my cousin who shared the same tent.....suffered the whole night through.it was extremely cold. I had 5 layers of shirt on, 2 layers of trousers, and 2 layers of sleeping bags. There goes my "change of clothes" for the next day. Arghhhh.......couldn't even feel warmth. 12 midnight to 4am felt like 8 long hours.My cousin...hahahaha...worst. She was trembling through out the night. Guess what was the mistake? Both of us didn't know how to use the sleeping bag the correct way! We actually didn't zip it all the way up. And we realised this when we did some post-mortem with my brother. Oh boy!! We thought the sleeping bags were the reject ones!!
The truth is - I couldn't sleep not only because its cold, but because it was my first time sleeping in a tent in an open area. I felt so insecure! Well, there's always a first time.

The baby - hmm...I don't think he'd notice coz he was all wrapped up with layers and layers of clothes. And if he had needed a change of diapers in the middle of the night, I think his parents would just ignore him.....

The toilet and the sink- excellently done. It was very clean and surprisingly it was warm inside the toilet. Maybe because no wind could enter it. But it was quite a walk up the hill. The sink faces the waterfall ......hmm...that explains the freezing water supply.

The first light - well.....i don't think there was any. It was bright the whole night. We woke up at 4am to do our solat and within minutes we could see the tip of the mountain getting brighter and brighter. It was beautiful...sitting there..looking at it changes every second, makes you think the creation of Allah.

The Day -At last, we managed to survive till morning.........and that is the best reward . It was worth while to suffer the whole night just waiting for this moment. Looking at the beautiful scenery, made me decided thatI don't mind staying for another night at all!! (provided I have sufficient supply of clothes)

And the best part of my first ever camping - NO LEECHES AT ALL!!!

These are some of the photos which I managed to capture........ you can check out more photos at my fotopages

I miss you!!!!!!!

It has been nearly 2 months we've been away from each other - my beloved hubby. Me - here - Nottingham and you - there - Shah Alam. 13 hours away by flight and 7 hours difference in time. Arghhh...this is not as easy as both of us think of. I don't know about him , but it is a CHALLENGE for me. Feels like lack of emotional support. Hmm...why did we agree to do this? Oh yeah......me - got retrenched from my job and being unlucky to get any for the past 5 months and applied to nearly 50 companies. Joining heads -both of us thought that this is the chance to explore something new, something different. And this requires sacrifice. A BIG ONE. Well, things happen for a reason. Like we always say "semua yang berlaku ada hikmahnya".Hope its a good one! Insya Allah.

Sometimes, I purposely make myself busy the whole day to avoid thinking of him too much. Busy with classmates and homework, busy with Ammar - our adorable nephew, busy sleeping....oh yea...this is what I definitely miss most. Since I've been here...in my brother's crib, no way these people let me sleep in peace during the day. With my nephew around, and now he could crawl........I could only "dream on" of sleeping during the day.

Oh ya, talking about sleeping ....do not ...I repeat DO NOT fall asleep when you're taking care of a baby / toddler. Last week, it happened to me. I had to take care of Ammar after class. So, I took him up to my room (no bed) and put him in the corner while I was trying to read a book. I actually fell asleep! When I woke up, I got a shock to see him lying face down on the carpet . No movement. Yes..no movement at all!! Got a shocked of my life! .Rushed to check him - it seems that he was very, very sleepy - he fell asleep on his own, flat on his tummy! Phew! What a relief!
Yeah..yeah......I have to admit I'm not a good babysitter...... Can't imagine having a kid of my own.....

Sent a text message to a dear friend of mine in JB. Hope to talk to her sometime today.Maybe towards the end of the day coz she's busy with the kids. Kids in school. Got a reply - she'll update me when she's free.

Japanese food and me

Well, today is the second day of my "blogging" day. just told another close friend of mine about it.She said "Gagalnya nama....". For people who's not familiar with it - I got this name when I was in secondary school - where else if its not STF! That's what friends are for - giving us all these weird names. But I kind of like it coz its unique.

I was trying my very best to put up some photos - learnt how to do it based on what Faiez has taught me yesterday. I think I managed to capture some of it! And maybe soon enough..I'll get some photos up and running.

Today, for the first time too in my life - I prepared sushi and tempura!! hmm..let's see.....what was the menu... It was salmon sashimi, some sushi rolls (maki) and vege and prawn tempura. Complete with wasabi and soy sauce! My bro said not bad for a first timer.My sist-in law and her father who just arrived yesterday said its really good. While my cousins love the tempura (coz they don't eat raw fish). BUT...I definitely can't show the end-results to my "sifu" coz he's definitely going to scream looking at the quality of the sushi rolls...hahaha....

I'm attaching my adorable nephew's photo below ......with his new friends.

Today in history......my first and ever blog....

Well....here I am.Writing my own blog which I just can't believe it. A friend of mine, a very good friend whom I can call a sister, taught me how to create this through the yahoo messenger.Why?? because she is in Malaysia while I am in the UK currently. Just imagine the distance and the time difference!

It took me nearly 2 hours to learn and do it. Its not easy for me to learn such a technical thing (for me, yes it is!!) and do it on my own. But well, nothing's impossible. So, from now onwards, I will try my very best to update my blog, daily, just for the reading pleasure of my dear friends and even myself - proudly to say that I did it! At last! And ...please bear with me as I still don't know how to upload the photos.(I've got good ones) and I hope I could learn this as soon as possible from her.

To my dearest friend, Faiez, thanks for your patience. Don't give up on me, ok!