Sunday, June 20, 2010

Ayah & Abahs

Today's post is specially dedicated to one special man in my life.
My ayah (on normal days)/my dad (on normal, step mat salleh days)/ my daddy (on manja-manja days) / my daaadyyyyyyy (on ada udang di sebalik mi days).

I have read Aini's post about ayah on her blog and I thought most of the things I wanted to say about him has been written there. So, I'll just add a bit here and there..

Ayah, despite being big-sized and scary looking.. is actually a softie inside. While mum was the disciplinarian, ayah was the one that did most of the pampering. He was the one we'd all run to when we got into trouble with ibu. He used to bring us (at least the first 3 lah eh..) out of the house to jalan2 when ibu was in a foul mood. And he'd be the one who'd give us the extra pocket money when ibu, being the thrifty one, said that what we had was enough. He would, at the dining table, pass us dollar notes quietly under the table while ibu was either busy reading the newspaper or preparing breakfast in the kitchen. All 6 of us had been thrown rolled up $5 notes across the dining table at some point of our schooling life. Heheh.. (Sorry ibu!)

Ayah was a terrific cook too! I remember on days that mum was still working shifts and we were left alone with dad at home, he'd cook us maggi mee that tasted so superbly delicious! And his nasi goreng, and mee goreng which was of coz.... full of campak-campak ingredients are hot favourites among my siblings! And sometimes, when he felt like cooking something extra special for his kids... he'd whip up his famous (among the 6 of us, at least!) Nasi Ayam! And ooohhh!! Wait a minute! His suji is MY personal favourite! Yummm!

Of coz, like all other dads, he's not one who says I LOVE YOU aloud. Paiseh maaaa... But like what Aini says in her blog, his actions are far louder than words. During exam periods, he'd come into my room and made sure that things are comfortable for me. He'd adjust the lights, he'd adjust the fan.. he'd even come in with a jug of cold milo or bandung or orange juice and some light snacks.

When I was younger, I was soooo proud of having him as my dad cos all my friends loved him. He'd crack jokes, he'd make them laugh and they all loved being around him.

And definitely has a heart of gold. He enjoys collecting stuffs and distributing them to the poor in Buru. He will spend hours infront of all the items at home, sorting them out.. then lug those heavy bags to Harbour Front, paid tax and then distribute them. We'd scold him sometimes cos at his age, and with his health problems.. he shouldn't be carrying all those stuffs around.. but he always tells us that he enjoys doing it. And he enjoys watching the eyes of those whom he helps light up with happiness.

And the sacrifices he made for all of us..

He works damn hard.. Waking up at 4.30am and leaving for work at 6am ever since he stopped driving. Working all the way til 5pm. And he used to teach those newbie cab drivers (ayah mengajar, that's what we used to call it) till like 9.30pm.. and reach home at 10 plus.. He was always the first to leave home and the last to come back. We are all glad he doesn't mengajar anymore.

When we eat out, he used to eat our leftovers because he was afraid that the bill would be too high. Even now, he still refuses to order anything for himself sometimes, afraid that we will be not able be to pay the bill!

Ayah... ayah...

I love you, ayah. Thank you for all the things that you have done for us.
Please stop smoking cos we want you to be healthy!




We love you, Daaaaadyyyyyy!!!!
Happy Father's Day!
And of course, to my darling husband.. Happy Father's Day too!
Whenever I hear other women complain about their husbands, I am glad I have you!
You are definitely the best father my kids can ever have!
And to my daddy-in-law who is ever so kind and thoughtful, well, it's no suprise that you have such a wonderful son! Cos he has a wonderful role model to look up to!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Oh abu..

One of my earliest memory was of me when I was about 3 years old.
I remember having a nightmare, one that involved men with really long hair in white robes... I woke up feeling terrified and the first thing I did was to shout.
" Ibuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"
Imagine my relief when ibu rushed to be by my side and put me back to sleep.

Now, I'm the one having to rush every single night to calm my crying son.
But instead of 'ibu'.. it's 'abu'. Oklah tu...

It's really nice to have someone need you the way that Ryan needs me.
Or the way he adores me, even though he shows it by geram-geraming me, by wrestling me, by giving me sloppery kisses all over my face... It feels wonderful.

I hope, when he's older.. one of his earliest memories will be of the happy times he had with me.
Oh.. how I love you so,

Ryan Iskandar Bin Shahreil



Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Peterpan - Bintang Di Surga (Live)

I still love ogling at you, Ariel. But I don't think Shahreil will ever allow me to name our next son Nazril Irham after what happened. *sigh*

Monday, June 14, 2010

Johor Trip

Hey all!
Guess where I am right now...
In school! Yes..all the way till 5 pm (if they finish on time, which they rarely do..).
I'm still warming up my engines, so I shall blog for a bit before I start doing some work.

I've just got back from a short getaway.. JB. to be exact.
I hear some ewwwwws out there.... Hahha.. I know, I know.. It's not Japan or Hong Kong or Bali or Phuket or any of those normal holiday destinations, but hey! We only had 2 days, and it was really very last minute!

Shahreil told me yesterday that he had never dreamt about staying overnight in a JB hotel since we just live a mere 30 minutes away.. But it was definitely not a first for me or my family. About 10 years ago, we did the same thing. It was the most realistic holiday destination for the Mohamads cos, back then, my parents definitely didn't have the financial means to bring us to faraway places. Having 6 schooling kids wasn't easy, I guess. But we always had fun, no matter where we go. When daddy still had his car, we'd convoy with Pak Long's family to KL/Port Dickson/Melaka.. When my mum's siblings were still as tight.. we'd pack the whole huge clan in one huge bus and went to Gunung Ledang, and when daddy stopped driving after his heart attack, we'd happily board the coach to KL or ferry to Batam/Buru.. It was fun..fun..fun..

I will not talk about the trip to JB though.. Pics will be uploaded in FB soon (if my lappy at home doesn't make it difficult for me to upload photos, that is).

Ohhhhh... only one thing I want to say about the trip. We went to an uncle's house in JB for the first time. And I can also say that I was totally crushed to see my little cousins (all 5 of them) living in that condition. What I feel towards their father is still blurry though cos I sometimes swing from pity (cos he has to work so hard), to anger (cos it was his own stupidity and lack of mathematical sense that led him to where he is now). I pity his eldest son the most cos I believe he is old enough to be affected by the constant uprooting (from Singapore to Buru to JB to Pesantren in Indon). WTH! Parents, please... for goodness sake.. remember that everything that you do, every decision that you make will affect your child! I know I still have a loooooong way to go, considering that Ryan is still a toddler ... but I will work very hard to ensure that I don't do anything stooooopid to ruin his future. Insyallah.

So, lesson learnt from the said uncle:
1) Have some mathematical sense
2) Live within your means
3) Don't be egoistic, listen to advice
4) Don't ever think that ALL kampung girls are better than city girls. HAH!

Ok, before I go off to do some work..
I just want to comment on the Ariel scandal.
All I can say is that, what do you expect of a hot, sexy as hell, lead singer of a well-known band?
Still waiting for the 30 other videos..
;-P