Salam Aidilfitri

Eid Mubarak!

from:

Ilish Asmin

Safurah

Ilsa Imaan

13 Sept - Third Day in Seoul

Dear Imaan,

The third day started with the trip to Namdaemon with Tuk Bonnie. It's definitely a must-visit place if you ever go to Seoul. This is where people come to buy the famous Korean brooches. They actually sell them in bulk (wholesale) and only a few would be willing to sell 'just one' loose ones to you.

Entah laa.. bila dah tengok banyak sangat choice, rasa takde mood nak pilih :P so Mama just pick two stalls (each one person you see sitting down in the picture represents one individual stall/seller) and bought a few of whatever they've got

As usually, the "kraze-'bout-babies" Korean.. (they've got a famous fastfood joint here called Kraze burgers-- guess they meant "crazy"? :)

Besides the brooches, there were also lots of really, really pretty home decorating items. Mama noticed that like Japanese, they are quite into those English country like designs with roses and what-nots.. Mama found another clock to my liking and purchased that together with a few place mats.

We spent nearly half the day there before joining in the city tour bus that we missed yesterday. Since it was already late, most of the museums were already closed, hence we just stayed on the vehicle most of the time (Half of the time was spent sleeping!). The only time we did come down was when it stops for a rest at the Seoul Tour. Mama was delighted to find works by graphic designers 'mmmg' (milimetermiligram) sold at the souvernir shop.

We reached the co-op residence quite late as we joined the night tour as well. Am exhausted just thinking about the day we had that day!

The haze are getting worse these days. Mama have been staying over at Nenek's house so that I won't have to bring you to and fro in this bad weather. Hope your sniffles would get better soon.

Love Imaan-yang-tidoq-golek-golek :)
Mama

12 Sept - Second day in Seoul

Dear Imaan,

Ok. So on to the second day in Seoul. Retrospectively, Mama think it was a bit unorganized.. well, at least not as organized as Mama had planned. The initial plan was to hop on the Seoul City tour bus and spend the day touring the city (obviously). The plan was thrown into disarray when all three of us only managed to leave the residence at about half past ten.. due to waking up late, of course :P So we decided to just board the bus at one of its stops nearby (Dongdaemon stadium).

Luckily there was a Tourist Information centre there where we can ask a few things like about the "T money " card (works like our Touch n Go --plus u'll get discounts for each ride on the subway train summore...). Abah did all the asking and Mama held you while a Korean 'Auntie' who works there cooed at you in some Korean gibberish. They were all quite taken with your big eyes and kept comparing them with Abah and Mama's not-so-big eyes (told me through our ayam-itik conversation). But anyways, all Koreans here are crazy about babies.. both (not surprisingly) the aunties and (surprisingly) those grown-up men in office attires -- they would do that clucking-sound with their tongue or weird-weird faces at you. So every now and then Mama and Abah will have to go through what abah called 'toll'. Unlike western people, orang Korea ni akan selamba je tetiba cium2 imaan, tenyeh2 pipi imaan and even angkat imaan and dukung2..from Mama's experience, in western countries people takkan berani buat camtu because parents diorang kan lebih cautious about 'germs' and what nots and you might offend them if you touch their babies.

We were then instructed to wait for the bus at the stop just opposite the information centre. We waited like 15 minutes only to find that the bus that was scheduled to come every half hour conveniently decided not to stop (sending us chasing after it 3 blocks down before giving up). So.. time for plan B (which is to plan for Plan C :P )

PLAN C:
1) Visit the Toy Market near Dongdaemon as stated in the map.

2) Buy the T money card (around 2500 Korean won each) at the train station.

3) Go to Itaewon. Visit the mosque and the much acclaimed Salaam restaurant for lunch.

4) Not sure. Maybe go to Yongsan to check out the price of Plasma TV (Samsung and LG) and see if they're any cheaper.

After finding there's nothing much except for the easy access to halal food at Itaewon (plus finding rows of antique furniture shops at the back row), we decided to head to Yongsan as planned. It's supposedly the biggest electrical market in asia. It's not really a wonder as Mama noticed in Korea they tend to group shops together in one area. So if you find yourself lost and in some place selling something like shoes, you'd likely to find that there'd be ten more stores just next to it selling the same thing. Anyways, Yongsan was like, a shopping mall as big as Mid Valley filled with shops selling mostly electrical appliances. We found the Plasma TV only that here it goes under the name Pavv for Samsung and Xcanvas for LG -- plus it was more expensive there due to the currency exchange rate (it was RM3.85 for 1000 Korean won at the time).

We ended up wandering around aimlessly until we decided it was time to head home. Dah laa Mama tak bawak stroller Imaan! Aduhai... sakit pinggang Mama. Nanti Imaan tolong urut ek! :)

On the way back, Mama and Abah decided to pandai-pandai turun at the train station yang sounded much more nearby to our place (Uljiro). When we emerged from the subway station, nothing looked really familiar but from afar we can see the "Doota" and "amPm" building which was supposed to be 5 minutes walk from our residence.

So we walked straight along the road from Uljiro 3 to Uljiro 6 (where we're staying). Found rows of shops selling hardwares untuk rumah-- tiles yang cantik2, even wallpapers- which instead of in small rolls like ours, wallpaper diorang lebar macam sebidang kain and the rolls were stacked up on the wall ready to be pulled and cut by the yard (or how they say it "yard-de" ..no metric system here). We stumbled across a market selling seaweeds and all those kimchi like thingies (jeruk ala Korea-- ada sekali tu Mama nampak ketam seekor2 tu pun diorang jeruk!:o ) We bought some of the seaweeds and like 5 ekor udang basah for dinner. Malam tu Mama masak sambal tumis (packet :P) udang on the kitchenette stove of our room. The sambal might not seem much here but at that particular place and time - was heaven sent!

Well, hopefully the third day story won't take as long as this one to upload and write! The connection here at Mama's new workplace is sometimes like dewa siput (especially peak hours). It's just my fifth day working from 8 to 5 and already I'm feeling that I've missed a whole lot of seeing you growing up. Sedih pulak :( especially when it was the maids who announced to the family of the things they saw you've done and achieved on that day . . . . . . .

wasn't that supposed to be me?

:*( Mama miss imaan

A summary of our days together..

Dear Imaan sayang,

Well, that's it then. The whole full one month holiday. Initially it sounded long.. so Mama had been a bit ambitious in planning how to spend it. It ended up being just like this:

First week:
- Abah drove us to Penang to visit Tok Mama's house.
- We then drove to Kuala Perlis and board a ferry to Atuk and Nenek's second house in Langkawi to make your new passport (!)
- The rest of the week is spent in Penang where Abah and Mama had endless Char Kuey Teows.. hehe

Second week:
- Mama was busy finishing all the small jobs for pixel latte (greeting card and wedding card designs)
- And of course, the last minute packing frenzy..!

Third week:
- Our trip to Korea (yippee!)

Fourth week:
- Mama thought it would the final week for me to golek-golek with you.. but turns out you'd began crawling on Monday! And that ends the day when Mama can leave you on your own for a while, even when you'd fallen asleep -- the other day Mak Long found you already underneath the bed grabbing god knows what! ..and HOW you'd managed to get down there from on top of the nearly 3 feet high bed is beyond me! Luckily you seemed fine, though it constantly worries me that you might have gotten some internal injuries that I might've foreseen.. sigh!

Since it's Mama's first day of work tommorrow, Mama had better continue later. Here are some images on the departure day and the day we arrived in Korea. Mama will be telling you the rest of it later..
Till then little angel.
:-*
Mama

Our flight was 1 a.m! We'd be going with your Tuk Bonnie (Abah's Aunt whom we refer to as Aunty Bonnie). Her kids (your aunts and uncles) and Tuk Yahya all waited till 12 am to accompany us.

Upon arrival, Tuk Bonnie went to rent a mobile phone (somehow you can't use the ones we have in Malaysia.. and only Maxis sim cards have international roaming there.. apelaa tm.. :p)

After checking in the Co-op residence at Uljiro (I'll post the images later), we went to Dongdaemon market area to tempah Mama's curtain (yeay!).. The area was filled with lil' shops selling bedspreads and Korean traditional dresses (Hanbok).

Everything looks soooo lovely that Mama felt like skipping! :D

Korean still do wear the Hanbok during their weddings so this place is quite like Jalan TAR and the likes where we go to find materials for wedding dresses... (By the way, it's funny how Abah likes to relate the places there with Malaysia; i.e. "Kiranya tempat ni macam area 'Bukit Bintang' /'KLCC'/ 'etc' diorang la ek..")

Inilah Mr.Park, dealer curtain Tuk Bonnie. Tuk Bonnie ni buat business curtain, so kalau sesiapa nak tempah curtain cantik-cantik dari Korea boleh laa tempah kat dia :)

There were tonnes and tonnes of choices and all so very pretty. Mama particularly liked this one in Mr.Park's catalog but it was a bit over our budget.. so Mama had to settle for another fabric.

Thanks to Abah for waiting patiently (sampai tertidur2 Abah and Imaan! heheh)

After the long tiring day of looking at curtains and laces (Ooooh! Girlfriends, you have GOT to see the laces they have at the market.. am getting dizzy just thinking about them!) it's time to eat. Since Lotteria sells squid burgers (!) and prawn burgers which your Tuk Bonnie said is halal to eat, so that was what we had.

Then, off to bed!

--------------------------

A-packing-we-do

Dear Imaan,
Mama thought life would be more relaxed and slow-paced once I start my holiday.. but it was the other way round instead! Well, maybe partly because Mama's trying to cover back the money we're to spent for our trip.. Mama had just finished designing a raya card for Ikatan Cipta Bina (an architect firm). It's supposed to be ready by the time we get back, and Mama have to say Mama am quite looking forward to seeing it in its finished form.

Anyways, Mama is still in the midst of packing up all of our stuff (and we're flying tommorrow! talk about doing thing last minute!).. Mama had to leave you at Nenek's for a while.. sigh. Promise you we'll spend more quality time together during our trip.


You've been very active and cheeky recently! I guess your curiosity got the better of you (especially when you snapped Atuk's glasses off its frame!).. whenever you got too active and we needed to do our work, we'd just put you in your what's-its-name-again toy (pic. above) and you'd happily bounce and play in it. Well, that's worth investing in. Another one of my favourite is the Bumbo seat (which right now Abah is insisting not bringing together to the trip.. NooOOooo.. I need that!).

It helps to support you in a sitting position. Hopefully Mama am able to bring that-- would really help especially when both of us are doing something and need to put you down for a bit without having to worry you'd be crawling elsewhere. Well, better continue packing.
Mwah mwah my lil sleeping angel.
Mama.

A journey of a thousand mile..

Dear Imaan,

As I'm writing this to you, you're downstairs playing with Abah. We're now at Tok Mama's house in Penang. This is your first long journey back to Abah's hometown. It's like a beta-testing before we take you to Korea on this 10th of September (insya-Allah). Mama would like to write more but it's going to azan soon and Mama wants to break my fast (Mama has sooo many puasa to ganti.. chiayo! chiayo!). "Ana uridu an urasiluka miraran walakinna ash-shughla mana'ani an zalik!".. Well, figure that out as soon as you master Arabic, ok Imaan!

Loves from Mama and Abah!

Wish it was sunday..

Salam dearest Imaan,

So it's another manic monday.. quite an unfair thing for Mama to say judging from where I'm sitting now compared to Abah and most of my friends. Mama am still at home (with a lecture due to be given at twelve). Next week would be my last week at work (yesssss lah!). Mama can't wait to do all the things Mama am longing to do but couldn't find the time before. Like, revamp this whole blog, painting an artwork of you, doing paintings for our home, create your baby book.. and not forgetting your coffee table photo album ;) --Looks like Aunty Aini will have to wait too; Mama had to do a whole new one since the last one has gone bye-bye.

Speaking of artworks, Abah had bought a watercolour painting for our anniversary last May. It was one Yusof Gajah's Mother and Child series. Mama love it so! Coincidently, Pak Yusof Gajah's wife is Nenek's acquaintance-- she used to do reflexology before helping out at her husband's gallery full-time. She gave another print from the series for free with a little note from Pak Yusof to you. Mama am still looking for the right place (and time!) to hang them.

As for now, Mama am aiming for a work by Ilse Noor. Notice her name? Your name was actually inspired by hers -- Mama had first saw her intaglio work at the Petronas art gallery long time back. Her current series is of mythical and Malaysian folklore (which is another subject of my liking). Somehow for Mama, owning original paintings by individuals whom Mama admire gives a certain kind of satisfaction and happiness unlike any other. Though, Mama often do remind myself that it is an indulgence, not a neccessity. So, hopefully Mama will be able to get one of Ilse Noor's artwork at a reasonable price which fits the family's budget.

Wonder how you would grow up to be Imaan-- more of the bright engineer/doctor/scientist individual or would you take up to the right-brainer's line of work like Mama and Abah. Abah said "As long as beriman cukuplah," -- and Mama couldn't agree more.

Insya-Allah, ye sayang :)
LovEs,
Mama

CTRL+ALT+DELETE

Dear Imaan,
Been sometime since I logged anything for your eyes to feast upon in the future. Main reason- aside the typical "I'm - so - busy - lots - of - things - to - do - work - piling - and - coming - out - of - my - ears" was that Abah's laptop which Mama had been using (since Mama swapped the powerbook with him) had crashed (as in the harddisk).. along with ALL OF YOUR BABY PHOTOS (you're still a baby, Mama can still get photos of you, but it won't replace those early months which now shall only remain in my memory). Sigh! sigh! sigh! When first I came to know about it, it felt like someone close had just died (in this case; it's the harddisk). It's a good thing I did upload some images of you in the blog, else Mama would feel much more at lost.

That's what we get for being digital. And that's why the world will never go paper-less. The next thing I'm going to do is print out all of your pictures.. so that Mama can still see them when I have no teeth instead of having to say "gemm you schupeed cempwetahs".

Ironically though, the same week the TV show "ed" was having an episode regarding an old lady who wanted to sue one of the local kodak shop for one million dollars. Ed asked why (with an expression that this lady must have gone senile) and she explained that she had brought all the photos she had with her late husband (who had just passed away) to the shop for them to reprint into a nice new album. Apparently they had simply chucked it somewhere in their store where someone had mistakenly threw them away. With her husband gone, those pictures were the only thing she had had left to hold on to. Poor thing! I definitely feel you, lady. sigh.. But in Mama's case, I couldn't really sue anyone for a million, eventhough those photos meant a lot more to me.

So that was why Mama hadn't post anything for quite sometime. Somehow, looking at the blog reminded me of all the photos of you that Mama had edited and wanted to print out when Mama first write to you on this blog.

But time helped things to heal, as always. And as not to lose anymore of documenting your precious growing up years, it's time for Mama start recording your activities again.

Yesterday was the first day Mama actually saw you turn. Imaan bulat dah boleh golek! heheheh.. Mama managed to capture half of the process in my mobile phone's low-res camera (the digicam's always not around when you need it!) in case you would want to see later :)

Mama will be taking a nice 33 days off (excluding sundays and merdeka day--yippee!) starting next 23rd of August. So we can spend time golek-golek together, aight Imaan ;) Actually the leave were the left-over leaves Mama had not taken and now entitled to enjoy prior to my resignation. Remember when I wrote about career advancement? well, for our family's sake I hope this is the right one. Abah is proceeding with his own plans to, and hopefully will succeed with the UTM masters programme, Ameen.

And, oh-- last monday you had your first meal and stopped being an exclusively breastfed baby. (Lepas ni kalau Imaan pee pee somewhere dah tak boleh main renjis2 air je laa! So, Imaan, look before you pancut, huh!). There's lots of other things to tell like the Shichida method thingie I enrolled both you and I into. but will keep that for later.

Till then,
cayang Imaan bulat Mama.. mwahhsss :)

*Alfatihah buat rakan sekerja Abah, Encik Yus yang baru sahaja kembali ke Rahmatullah semalam. Arwah meninggal dalam tidurnya pada usia 31 tahun atas sebab yang masih belum dikenal pasti (disyaki keracunan). Semoga Roh Arwah dicucuri RahmatNya. Ameen.

Apungan Tokyo

Hari Isnin lepas, adalah hari Abah dan Mama “Parent Day Out”. Abah ambik cuti ganti dan Mama yang habis kelas pukul 12.00 tghari bergegas pergi ke Mid Valley “superstore besar di mana org kene tawaf keliling untuk masuk tempat parking nyer”. Actually bukan saja Abah dan Mama nak tinggalkan Imaan dengan acik Maya, tapi Imaan tak cukup besar lagi nak masuk wayang..hehe..

Memule tu cadangnyer nak nengok “Pirates of Caribbean”, tapi show nyer dah habis. So Abah pon terpaksa la decide tgk citer “Pantas dan Geram: Apungan Tokyo”. Jadi dlm masa 21/2 jam Abah dan Mama belajar teknik² apungan Tokyo (teringat pulak kat En Izhal: “di Hamamatsu ada pemanduan apungan Tokyo jugak ke?”). Di mana masa babak akhir tu hero mencabar org jahat berlumba dah seperti klise citer Hindustan, hero menang juga. Tiada sebarang teladan atau tauladan yang ditonjolkan di dalam cerita ini. Selepas tamat cerita tersebut Abah dan Mama keluar dari panggung sambil membingcangkan semula cerita tadi. Oleh kerana takde isi yang nak di ulas semula, Cuma Mama yang asyik bertanya ”orang Jepun boleh bawak macam tu ke?”
Penghabisan Abah dan Mama pergi membeli barang dapur kat Jusco. – (point punyer pasal – kuat benor pengaruh Loyal Customer nih)

*Nasihat untuk ibu dan bapa: “TV dan Iklan memberi pengaruh besar kepada pemikiran  anak², pembendungan bukanlah satu cara sahaja, tetapi fahamkanlah anak² tentang pesanan di dalam TV atau Iklan supaya mereka tahu yang mana baik dan buruk”. – so sesamelah kita lihat rancangan yg anak kita lihat.          

Barang dari eBay

Horey barang² yang di order dari eBay dah sampai.

Kapal Pecah

Kalau dulu, Tok Mama slalu kate “Macam Kapal Pecah” bile rumah semak dan diri tak ter urus. Anyaway apa yang Abah nak citer kat Imaan sebenarnya betapa conscious nyer Mama pasal debu. Kalau boleh hari hari nak vacuum, tapi sebab kerja, mostly kerje menvacuum kan rumah ni di buat pada weekend je. So hari Sabtu lepas mama pergi pinjam nenek nyer vacuum ‘mermaid’ (ni jenis vacuum yg pakai air), so mengvacuumlah mama ngan abah hari tu. Memule tu abah ingatkan akan ambik masa lama tapi sekejap je dah habis. Wah..hebat jugak vacuum nenek nih..(tapi rasenyer tak boleh lawan ngan ’rainbow’ lagi). Mungkin kuasa sedutan vacuum² jenis nih mencepatkan lagi masa membersih. Daripada 3 jam jadi kepada sejam je hehehe..(tapi sebenarnya debu² bawah cabinet tu tak sapu tu yg jadi cepat tu). Ok lah Imaan ”kapal pecah” dah kemas semula, sekarang abah nak sambung tgk World Cup balik.Nanti Imaan dah sampai rumah, suruh Mama call rumah nanti Abah turun tolong angkat Imaan.Sayang Abah,    

Aunty Wanie's visit

Dear Imaan,At long last, you and aunty Wanie got to meet face to face :) She dropped by after her MBA class.(picture will be posted soon)    

testing a theory.. hmm..

Dear Ilsa Imaan,
You're now nearly 4 months old. Sigh.. how time flies! (Mama know Mama had kept on saying that but that is how I feel each time I'm watching you--especially at this age where you develop and grow so fast right before my eyes!).. you look more and more like your Abah now (well, that's what everyone says).

Reminds me of the times when Mama was still impregnate with you -- when both Abah and Mama were still wondering how our little darling would look like. At that time, someone had related to me a story of a girl who looked so much like a doll, all cute and pretty while both her parents were, well, just a plain-looking couple. And when the mother was asked of her secret for bearing such a cute child, she simply said that she loved to look at dolls when she was pregnant.

So, just to test the theory, Mama had tried to look at pretty things. Knowing (through the early ultra-sound scanning as well as instinct) that you're going to be a boy, Mama couldn't really look at dolls now, could I? So, I looked at pictures of cute baby boys.. :) One day, nenek came to me with a magazine. It wasn't a local one so most of the pictures in it are caucassian babies. But, there was one with a smile a bit like your Abah's (which was pointed to me by your Nenek).. so from that day onwards, that was the picture Mama had kept on staring at from time to time, willing you to look that way :P (but of course, I was also willing to love you no matter how you look! But, since at the time you were still the 'mysterious figure' in my womb, I'd like to imagine whom I was constantly talking to and carrying around with me)

Mama came across the magazine recently and was instantly reminded of this picture. I found the page and tried to compare (again, just to test the theory)

hmm.. sama ke? can only say your eyes look the same when Imaan 'kecikkan' mata Imaan :) The picture was taken quite a few weeks ago, and you still seem to change a bit as you grow!

Of course you don't look caucassian but apa pun, to me, still nampak comel je baby Mama! (By the way, a mother should always say good things about her children as a mother's word is a powerful doa! So, not to 'masuk lif tekan sendiri' a.k.a angkat bakul neh ;) ) Alhamdulillah, jari cukup sepuluh, bak kata Abah. As for the theory, Mama pun tak tau nak kata. Maybe another soon-to-be mom can try it out and see if it happens. For Mama, it doesn't seem to matter much now as you are already perfect in my eyes. Mama like you as you are and however you may look like in the future. You were once a part of Mama and will always be ^_^

Mama loves you so much, Imaan! Semoga akhlak Imaan akan sesempurna sifat dan kejadianmu, amin.

A dedication to Daddy Cool ^_^

Imaan-- today's father's day!
Have you got anything to say?


..which translates to:


















Mama pun wishes the same to Abah.
Thank you to dearest Abah, for the love and patience in taking care of Mama and Imaan. =^_^=

Demam Bola...

Guten morgen, Ilsa Imaan!



Poor little Imaan! Kena pulak tidoq kat living room rentetan Abah watching world cup the previous night (more like morning)! Well, what can I say? Mama tak terjangkit lagi ‘demam’ ni so Mama pun tak faham ketaksuban diorang nih. The only ‘fever’ I’ve gotten so far is the ‘ebay fever’.. heheh..

Anyways, recently a man came to demonstrate the Rainbow vacuum cleaner at our house. Those familiar with Rainbow would know how this magnificent sucking machine traps dirt in water while oh-so-splendidly cleanse the air. They would also know that it also comes with a my-oh-my price tag! Sigh… We nearly bought it from him but your Nenek had stopped us from doing so (I called her to ask about the Rainbow she had bought and used when Mama was still schooling).. “Tak Payah laa beli. Memang laa vacuum tu bagus tapi mahal sangat, membazir duit je. Baik korang simpan je duit tu. Pinjam je Mak punya vacuum Osim. Korang bukan ada ratus-ratus ribu dalam bank pun.. bla.. bla.. bla” Oroo. So that’s a no-no from nenek.

But days later, Mama found myself being more conscious of the ‘stuffy air filled with dusts that you can’t see’ during the day and of ‘the dust-mites that are infesting the mattress, alive and kicking even while we’re asleep during the night'.. the salesman had also demonstrated how a normal vacuum cleaner is not as effective and is actually sending the dust back into the house.. hebat betul orang demo tu mempengaruhi ek :P

So, my previous mission on the ebay world was to search for the best offer for Rainbow. Mama said previous because luckily I managed to get back into my senses and decided not to have it after all (not for now, anyway--you are welcome to buy it for me on mother's day when you're older and rich, though.. heee.. but maybe by then I'll be like your Nenek as well and starts membebeling at you to save up!)

My ebaying fever hasn't ceased though :P But it's more like doing 'window shopping' virtually rather than wanting to actually buy anything. And in mornings such as this one, it helps to chase the sleepiness away ^_^
Till I have the time to write some more~
Tootle-loo!
=^* MAma

Kawan Imaan

Dear Ilsa Imaan,
Look who came to visit-- it's your 2-months-younger friend, Solahuddin. This was the first time for Mama, Abah and Imaan to see Uncle Syahril's and Auntie Syahidah's first son. He's barely two months, yet has grown big and tall--not to mention with the sweetest face for a baby boy that Mama has ever seen! Aunty Syahidah stayed and chatted with Mama about the good old days back in SMAP Labu while waiting for Uncle Syahril to finish his show at Dewan Perdana Felda. And by the look of it, both of you were enjoying your time too!

Before going back home, we received another CD from Uncle Syahril (he had given one of In-Team's latest album when visiting you at the hospital a few days after you were born). This one's from various nasyid artists (including Uncle Syahril, of course) entitled 'Nur Salawat' or something like that (the Cd's in the car so Mama's not sure of the exact spelling or title). Good for listening in the car with babies like you around ;)

Career advancement

Dear Ilsa,
People have been saying, with each child comes his/her own blessing & rizq (rezeki) from Allah the Almighty. For Mama, just having you is already a blessing on its own. Although Mama and Abah had planned to have a child of our own a bit later after our marriage, the Almighty had a better one for us and thus, here you are. Mama want you to know that Mama never regretted one second of it (although the first news of being pregnant did caught me off-balance!).

Having you was not as tedious or as time consuming as I'd first thought it would be (that was the initial main reason which influenced me not to have a child at early marriage). True, I now have someone- a little, chubby and lovable someone ^.^ - to think of first when planning my time, but Mama still managed to do (if not all) the things Mama want. The big difference is that Mama and Abah have become more objective in getting the sources for family income. Teringat kata-kata kawan Mama.. "Money isn't everything, but everything needs money".

We want to be able to provide for you when the time comes; especially education-wise. Mama tak nak Ilsa miss lifetime opportunities just because the family hasn't enough funds at the time and depend too highly on scholarships and all. It would be nice if Mama's son become the great genius (Amin) and wins scholarships berderet-deret, but if happens to be unavailable to you, I just want to make sure you are still able to have the chance. Kalau cina yang goreng kuey teow pun boleh hantar anak belajar luar negeri, I believe we, the ones with better rizq from Allah (Alhamdulillah) should be able to as well.

Some of our friends had made tremendous career advancements, which had really inspired us to become better (and Mama won't deny I envy them neither!). So, Abah and Mama think it's time to step back and evaluate our current positions and review our plans.

Tapi, bagaimana berjaya pun anak Mama one day, Mama hope that your faith in Islam will be as strong as ever. Recently, Mama's bestfriend had shared her bitter experience and pain in seeing her own cousin, although now successful and rich, had seemed to forgotten her roots and did all sorts of kemungkaran during her weding day. Na'uzubillahi min zalik.

Ilsa, when you're akil baligh, taatlah pada perintah Allah. Taat pada Mama dan Abah selagi suruhan kami berlandaskan syariah. Jangan pakai seluar pendek atau dedahkan aurah. Jangan tinggal solat dan puasa. Mama tidak akan halang Ilsa to have fun but biarlah tidak melampaui batasan agama Islam. And when the time comes for you to get married, bawalah bakal isteri yang solehah datang jumpa Mama, and Mama will try to love her as much as I love you. Insya-Allah hidup Ilsa akan lebih aman dan diberkati. Mama am telling you now and hope once you're able to read, you'll hold on to this advice I'm giving you and take it with you to the grave.

Mama and Abah want you to know how deeply our love is for you right now and we are working hard to ensure you have a bright future ahead of you (Amin). Balasan yang Mama harapkan hanyalah anak yang soleh.

Hugs and kisses to permata hati Mama (besides Abah ^_^)

"Sofia."

Dear Ilsa,
Mama's eyes have been watery for a number of days now but not so bad.. still bearable. It used to get much more worse-- puffy, watery, and the likes-- when I was cleaning up anything dusty back at the university. Abah's coming home this weekend from his week-long working trip. Mama's cleaning the house as part of the anniversary 'surprise' (it was necessary anyway since you and I had been at Nenek's the whole week Abah's there and the furniture's collecting dust). The main clean-up focus is the 'orange room' where Abah likes to do his work on the imac there. Mama had bought him a bright orange chair with a 60's retro-like design print to match. I think he'd like that ;) Mama had bought it with Aunty Doc last thursday at ikea. She's just been transfered to another hospital and were looking for reference books near HKL.

Anyways, Mama would usually leave you at Nenek's with Bibik while working or cleaning our house. But on that thursday after coming back from ikea, upon seeing your milk supplies running low, Mama decided to bring you and Bibik along so I can feed you 'on-demand'. It was already late in the evening. By the time we finished cleaning-up, you were already restless. I have been occasionally feeding you but assumed you were hungry again and started to feed you again. You started wailing and kicking even as I did so, which wad quite uncommon. Mama felt a bit uncomfortable since it was already Maghrib and you would not stop crying even after I recited a few Quranic verses. So, Mama decided it's time to go back to Nenek's.

It turned out later that you're bored and hated to be on the lying position. Amboi-- anak Mama dah besar ek, tak nak baring dah! But the 'eerie' feeling Mama had reminded me of the 'stories' I've heard before.

People always reminded me of how satans like to disturb small children, especially babies whose 'hijab' is still unclosed to the 'other-side' of the world. Two weeks ago Abah and Mama had brought you to visit our Ayah Angkat (your Tuk Angkat) and his family at Putrajaya. This topic came up when we were talking about 'the earlier days' when we first moved to Cyberjaya in 1999. Tuk Angkat then recalled how his first daughter was always crying. I think she was about two at the time. So, one day Tuk Angkat decided to investigate. He began by making small conversation with his daughter. After he had got her talking, he aimed for the kill.
"Kenapa kakak selalu nangis?"
"Sebab kawan kakak selalu kacau."
"Kawan? Siapa nama kawan kakak tu?"
"Sofia."
"Macam mana rupa dia?"
"Dia tak mandi.."
"Macam mana kakak tau dia tak mandi?"
"Rambut dia susut susut (she wanted to say 'kusut')"
...aiyer.. it still gives Mama the chill!
We can't deny that Satan's always around us to disturb us. So, my moral for you today is:

In al-Qur'an, Allah Swt has mentioned numerous time that syaitan is our true and real enemy. Even our fore-father Nabi Adam a.s. was not spared by syaitan's wicked and cunning ways. Please bear in mind that syaitan is working round the clock, all year round irregardless of seasons, day or night and is most experienced having lived for decades. All Muslims must fight this enemy and be wary of its dubious ploy. Syaitan is with each and every one of us.. it is up to us to destroy its influence by being loyal and obedient only to Allah Swt. Only Allah Swt is our saviour.

Strengthen your 'Iman' and you'll be safe, Insya-Allah ;)
Love,
MaMA

Your cousins...

Dear sayang,

Mak Ngah has been at Nenek's for nearly two weeks now. She has a seminar here in K.L and would be here with both of her daughters for 5 months ++ more. So, with your cousins Kak 'Pooh' and Kak 'Roo' plus the already existing in the house; Abg 'Batman' and his little brother Abg 'Robin'.. you can only imagine how all hell broke lose when their sugar levels are running high! Amazingly yet, you still managed to sleep with all the noise (namely with Pooh's high-pitch shriek!)

Last week Batman had a fever and stayed at home. So, the Pooh has someone to play with ( "Aban! Aban!" she would call him). Batman ni hantu TV.. compared to the rest, he could spend all day long glued to the 'id**t box' watching Disney's Playhouse. Masa demam pun boleh demand nak tengok Disney's Playhouse.. siap menari-nari sekali. Sabar je laa Mama tengok. The Pooh pun joined in la. Hari tu Pooh was watching too close to the telly and Mak Ngah was yelling on top of her lungs for her to back off a bit, but being Pooh, she simply ignored Mak Ngah. Pooh just had a new haircut so her hair hangs just over her shoulders. Within the yelling and the noise from the telly came Batman's voice "Mak Ngah, Mak Ngah-- mana telinga dia??" he asked curiosly, flipping Pooh's hair to the side.. haha.. I guess he wondered whether the new haircut (which covered her ears) had made Pooh's ears disappear hence not hearing a word her mother tells her to do!

Mama pun not so sure how the kids punya social rules work.. Pooh ni geng dengan Batman whereas she would quarrel all the time if she's anywhere within Robin's parameters. Her younger sister, the little Roo is only a year plus so she plays with her Bibik most of the time. Mama just hope you'd get along well with your cousins when you're old enough to play with them.
Till next time.
Mama mwaaah ^_^

Mimpi...

Dear Ilsa,
It's been like waking up from a long dosage of sleep judging from the last post made by Abah and Mama.. hehe. So many stories to tell, so little time to do it! Abah is currently away for work and although the students are on holidays, Mama's busy with the company's workload plus having to prepare for next semester classes.

There are currently four wedding cards to design, plus last week we had just finished helping to design an ex-schoolmate's signage for her Nasi Ayam stall at Hartamas Square; opposite Uncle Don's -- alaaa.. gerai yang famous kejap because of the chinese boy who died due from the fight which happened there quite recently :P Imaan jangan jadi camtu tau! Imaan jadi anak soleh, tak lepak kat luar malam2 ;)

Speaking of dreams, Mama was having quite a lot of them whilst I was impregnate with you. Almost with every wink of sleep, Mama would definitely dream of something.. and it was mostly about the daily routine (like mimpi about the job yang tengah currently buat dengan abah laa, etc..) so it could be quite confusing sometimes whether Mama had really done something or it was just in my dreams! Kadang takut juga if the dream was a sign of something about to come true.. because it does happen to me quite a number of time. For example recently, I dreamt of meeting Mama's best friend, Aunty M.. and we were shopping (takde kerja lain? hehe).. it turns out the next day I accidently bumped into her at Mid Valley while shopping for groceries! Aunty M is working at a hospital in Johore and would usually inform me if she's coming down to K.L. This was the first time she came without informing me with the excuse of not wanting to intrude with my weekend plans (ye lah tu!-- cuak gila muka dia masa nampak Mama.. dia kata "rasa macam terserempak ngan warden bila curi-curi keluar outing lak rasanya".. haha.. serba salah laa tu!)

Anyways, abah had emailed something regarding the meaning of the things we dreamt of to Mama since Mama had been pestering him for opinions each time Mama dreamt of something. Dengan semangat berkobar-kobar, Mama pun baca..

..Tafsiran Mimpi..

Setiap daripada kita pasti pernah bermimpi tetapi
tahukah kita rahsia di sebalik mimpi kita itu. Sama-samalah kita lihat rahsia beberapa contoh mimpi

Mimpi Dipatuk Ular..
jika anda bermimpi seperti ini maka ia menandakan
rumah anda berselerak dan kemungkinan ada
ular dalam rumah anda

Mimpi Jumpa Harta Karun..
jika anda bermimpi jumpa harta karun maka
jangan sesekali mengambil harta karun tersebut
kerana harta karun tersebut Ahmad Albab yang punya

Mimpi Berkelah Tepi Pantai..
mimpi ini sangat bahaya kerana kemungkinan
besar kawasan rumah anda akan menghadapi
masalah gangguan air dalam masa 2 tiga hari lagi

Mimpi Membela Kambing..
jika bermimpi seperti ini maka kemungkinan
besar anda tidak mandi sebelum tidur.
maka bau bau kambing terbawak bawak
sehingga dalam mimpi anda.

Mimpi Perempuan Cantik..
jika bermimpi seperti ini maka kemungkinan mimpi
ini adalah mimpilaila.seperti lagu yang dinyayikan
oleh yasin.

Cehh...
Then again.. that is sooo typical of your Abah!
Till I write again to you,
Mama