Have you eaten....rice?

Too much watching channel 703 is good, you'll get a lot of ideas when you cook. You can even memorise the recipes from all over the world. So when it is time to prepare lunch or dinner you already have something in mind.

I have no difficulty in preparing those dashing dishes.For lunch I usually cook gulai ikan ( my husben's all time favourite ), vegetable and one other side dish.If I don't cook curry I will replace it with asam tumis which I have to match with masak toyu ( to lessen the heat from the chillies ).

So one might ask, where are the dishes you learn by heart from channel 707? The answer is, oh, today and forever I cook my regular dish first, later ( indifinitely ) I will prepare medium rare steak,kidney and beans pie or lasagna covered with mozarella cheese.As for now and forever , there's dalca, masak lemak cili api, kerutuk daging,sambal tumis udang atau sotong kering,ayam masak merah...and the list goes on...to be taken care first.

In Malaysia rice is staple food, we have to eat rice at least once a day.As mothers we can train our children to take less of rice and to accept other type of carb as our meal such as bread,mee, mihun, laksa, capati etc. But as for husbands, it is a bit difficult to change because they are so used to their old eating habit.

A friend of mine told me about a man who was sick and couldn't eat rice ( in Makkah during Hajj time ).His mother was very sad,she said her son did't eat at all. He only ate bread about 4 to 5 peices! To her that was not right, he won't be strong enough to do ibadah!

Like a fish out of water

I was caught in a catch 22 situation when the person who was walking in the same line as me ( at a wedding reception ) gave a nasty comment loudly saying the person in front of us was like a tree ( because she wore baju kurung and tudung from the same material,of green in colour with flowers and leaves prints).The said person turned towards me! But I'm not guilty as charged!

In another majlis akad nikah one lady was giving a running commentary about the majlis without ever realising that family members of the host would be there during the ceremony. This made some of us red faced and we didn't know how to stop her. So it made us feeling bad throughout the ocassion.

Have you ever felt like a fish out of water? Well, for example you are invited to a majlis where you don't know anybody except for the host, and the host was nowhere to be seen because she was busy.I tried to be pleasant to the person sitting next to me ,but apparently they are busy chatting with their common friends sitting next to them!

How about in a majlis when everybody wears baju Melayu and you are the only one who's wearing baju batik. Or in a majlis which is not so glamourous like penyampaian hadiah sukan or melawat anak yatim, you turn up in a fully beaded dress?

Once I got angry with a person I knew for quite a short while,we attended the same seminar, stayed in the same room for a few days,but when we met again the next year she didn't remember me.I couldn't forgive her and I couldn't except it when she said she couldn't remember me. I even boasted I will remember anybody I know and there's no way I could forget anyone.

In 1995 when I was at the Kuantan Airport with my daughter ,there came a lady of my age who smiled and talked to me, I couldn't remember her at all and I asked for her name. I couldn't recall her or the name until she repeated many times . At this point she gave up on me and turned away, at that moment I suddenly remembered her. I called her but she just ignored me. Limah, wherever you are or if you happened to stumble on my blog, PLEASE FORGIVE ME, I DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT YOU, I JUST WENT BLANK!!! ( we were 4th collegian way back in 1973,74 and did our dip ed the same year! ).

Salah terjah!

Have you ever been mistreated by the sales person in departments store? I was once in Alor Setar some 15 years ago.I bought a few things costed about 150 ringgit, and was queing up to pay.The guy in front of me got a nice paper bag with the store's logo but when come my turn she just stuffed my things in a plastic bag . I was quite furious so I asked her how come that man got a nice bag I don't? Because he bought a lot....so how much is a lot? ...more than 80 ringgit. Please check my bill, how much it is? She then pulled a long face and shoved the pretty bag to me.

Some shop assistant are clever to say like this product is expensive, if you want there's the cheaper version ( tipu version? ).Some really look at you up and down when you visit certain outlets. Another friend who went to buy a designer handbag but being scoffed at and belittled by the assistant until she got so mad and insisted on seeing the store manager.( Agaknya dia pakai selipar Jepun hari tu! )



There was this instance, I accompanied my friend to a high class jewellery shop, I was dressed up in full baju kurung and my friend came from outstation wearing something like seluar apek . The assistant was following me until I jadi lemas and told her right away ,don't follow me, I'm not buying, she is! Instantly she went hand and foot after my friend. ( ini kes sudah salah terjah! )

Sometimes you can really become exasperated when shopping in the hypermarket,like if you are looking for something in certain departments and asked for assistance, you will get a blank stare.In hypermarkets the assistants can get away with it because their superiors are nowhere to be seen!

Perlukan Pakar Jiwa

Orang Malaysia amnya,bila sebut pakar jiwa, mereka terus mengaitkan dengan gila. Kalau kita beritau seseorang yang menghadapi tekanan mental yang melampau supaya berjumpa dengan pakar jiwa mereka terus kata ... aku tak gila! Dan sudah tentu selepas itu kita akan kehilangan seorang kawan.

Ramai di antara kita yang mengalami tekanan-tekanan seperti di tempat kerja, rumah tangga ,anak-anak, kedudukan kewangan yang goyah, penyakit fizikal yang dihidapi atau lain-lain dengan menghadapi masalah itu secara sendirian. Ada yang tak suka berkongsi cerita dengan teman rapat atau ahli keluarga.Akhirnya ia memakan diri sendiri dan kadang- kadang ia membawa kemurungan.

Sebaliknya jika seseorang cuba meluahkan perasaan kepada kawan-kawan atau ahli keluarga tetapi ia dipandang sepi atau kadang-kadang cerita mereka diwar-warkan pada orang lain, maka lain pula jadinya!
Saya dan seorang kawan pernah terasa bersalah ,bila seorang kenalan kami sentiasa menceritakan masalahnya yang tak berkesudahan dan tak dapat ditolong lagi. Kawan itu pun faham yang kami dah tak berapa larat nak dengar cerita dia, jadi dia kata dia bukannya nak penyelesaian pada masalahnya, cuma nak minta seseorang mendengar rintihan hatinya.

Can you imagine if someone has problem with her husband, her children, all her menantus ,even her grandchildren, how are you going to help her? Or if someone has a long illness and keep fretting about it, you can't say sabarlah, sabarlah, sedangkan sabar ada hadnya! Di sinilah pentingnya ada sahabat yang setia atau ahli keluarga yang memahami diri seseorang itu. This is when you need a psychiatrist!

Moh Balik Kampung!

Balik kampung ialah sesuatu yang menyeronokkan pulang ke tempat tumpahnya darah sebagaimana yang dikata, tempat jatuh lagi dikenang inikan pula tempat bermain.Hilang segala penat lelah, gundah gulana -- go back to unwind ---selain pergi bercuti ke dalam dan luar negeri, atau pergi ke resort atau spa --- balik ke kampung halaman adalah kesemuanya dalam satu !

Balik kampung selain menghilangkan rindu, ia juga merupakan satu tanggungjawab terhadap ibubapa dan ahli keluarga yang lain. Memastikan ibubapa cukup segala keperluan harian,kesihatan dan kerinduan mereka terhadap anak cucu. Juga mengenalkan anak-anak kepada kehidupan datuk nenek mereka.
Dengan tidak secara langsung mengajar mereka erti kasih sayang dan tanggungjawab terhadap keluarga.

Apabila ibubapa sudah tiada kita tetap balik kampung untuk menziarah ahli keluarga yang lain.Mungkin tak sekerap dahulu tapi sekurang-kurangnya setahun sekali.Balik ke rumah tempat kita dilahirkan dan dibesarkan menggamit seribu kenangan manis atau pahit.
Malangnya ada sesetengah rumah kampung ditinggalkan kosong tanpa penghuni setelah kematian kedua orang tua, lama-lama rumah menjadi usang dan akhirnya roboh begitu sahaja.

Bila tiba hari raya ( tak kira raya apa -Raya Puasa/Haji, Raya Kong Hee Fatt Choy, Depavali atau Krismas ) atau cuti umum atau cuti sekolah, penduduk kota mula bersiap sedia nak balik kampung, guna kenderaan sendiri atau pengangkutan awam. Jalan jadi penuh sesak, kota jadi sunyi sepi,senario kampung berubah menjadi meriah dengan keriuhan kanak-kanak bermain.
Cuti dan santai tak terkira!

Happy retirement!

Many people couldn't take the idea of staying at home and become a full time housewife.The idea of not working may shudder some people, they can't think of staying at home all day doing nothing,they'll be bored to death! For me ,I really enjoy my retirement. Every morning I wake up feeling happy knowing that I don't have to go to work on time, driving bumper to bumper and ( sometimes ) cursing the traffic jam.

The idea of opting started when the govt allow ladies to retire at the age of 40. But at forty I thought I was still young and I still could handle being a working woman + house work + looking after 4 kids.When I was 45 I felt I was still strong and I could still work. Came 50 I felt I couldn't go any further, I miss my home so much and I want to do other things, like doing nothing at home .At that time all my children were pursuing their studies and my husband was still working...and me alone at home......yea! Merdeka, merdeka, merdeka!

And who said doing nothing at home? If you want to do all the chores you could start from morning until the sun sets.There are 1 million and one things you can do ....like having morning coffee with a friend/friends ,read papers, buy all the magazines on the rack and read them from cover to cover, gardening -- like watering the plants twice a day, pruning ,raking leaves,watching tv etc,etc.

I have friends who are very scared of retiring. They feel as if the world is going to end after retirement. One close friend of mine told me she couldn't eat rice months before her husband's retirement.She was very angry with someone up there who didn't recommend her husband to extend his service ( her husband was one of the top notch govt officer ). She was lucky, not long after that her husband got a job as a consultant in the private sector.

Another top notch govt officer's wife was trying desperately to pull all the strings and cables just before her husband retired. She hoped those strings and cables could get her husband to extend service after 55. I'm sure she was mad because shortly after that the govt extended the retirement age to 56 and recently to 58 as compared to private sectors at 60! Eventually her husband too got a job in the private sector.

Love hate relationship

Ada pepatah Arab yang mengatakan roh manusia terdiri dari pasukan-pasukan seperti dalam tentera . Jika kita dari satu batalion yang sama kita akan suka atau mesra antara satu sama lain. Tetapi kalau roh kita dari batalion yang berlainan, kita akan menjadi kurang sesuai dengan seseorang itu walaupun baru pertama kali bersua. Jadi jangan terkejut kalau kita menyampah pada orang tak tentu fasal atau suuuka sangat kat seseorang tu,walaupun baru saja kenal.

When I was in primary school I had this friend by the name of Salmah. We were quite close and I used to go to her house to play. She had a sister named Zaleha who is about two years younger than me. Somehow or rather we really hated each other- she did't like me and I didn't like her. This went on until I was in form three. After form three I left my kampung and I never met them since then. When I was wiser I apologised to Zaleha for what I did to her. She shrugged off and said ..Ahh zaman budak buat apa nak ambil kira sangat.

Have you ever smiled at people and they just stared at you? Or just ignored you? Well, this happened to me many times. I think only celebrities will smile back
at you because even though they don't know you but they know that you know them. Come to think of it why should we smile at people unnecessarily, people might think that we are tak betul. Then again what's wrong with throwing smiles at people , it is also an amal jariah.Once in KLCC someone greeted me with Assalamualaikum and I answered her with full semangat and right away I salam with her. Both of us were so pleased and masyaAllah, how nice to receive an honest salam from someone you don't know!

Have you ever experience salam tak ikhlas? It is when you meet people in a majlis and they will salam with you without looking at you. Some really make sure to salam with their fingertips. And in the case of Umno delegations they have different salam ie salam berisi or salam kosong. So if you give them salam angin, don't expect them to vote for you, no matter how good you are! And mind you that is not bribery ,that is pleasantry. Those who are most pleasant, of course they are worthy of becoming a leader.

Excess baggage

When people come back from performing hajj or umrah,they will bring a lot of gift for family and friends. The gifts usually ketayap, tasbih or minyak atar for man and scarves ,celak or henna for ladies. To the loved ones or close friends they might give bigger things like sejadah or jubah. I remember those days we used to get all these things from relatives and friends.

So, when our turn came to perform hajj, we find it so difficult to buy things for souveniors. We have to count every relatives and friends and buy things that suit them. One of my sister in law is very clever to choose the gifts for all of us. She will bring back things for all her brothers and sisters and their spouses plus all their children. Not to mention for those who come to visit her. Somehow she will have enough of things for everybody.

I wonder how some people can bring so many things back home. Once this was the topic of conversations between me and my friends. Finally I got to know one secret. They told me ( I was in Kedah at that time ), usually when they come back from Makkah they will go to Pekan Rabu Alor Setar to buy extra ketayap, minyak atar ,sejadah or tasbih. Now I understand why some people have endless things to give each and everyone who came visiting.

I was very attracted to handmade carpets sold by Iranian people during hajj time those days in the 80's. I was really tempted to buy them,but my husband warned me , if we had excess baggage I had to choose, either the carpet or me got to stay back. But now things become so easy, one can buy anything without worrying about baggage, they can post right from there to their hometown.

Once upon a time

Masa kecil dulu suka sangat bersumpah, sikit-sikit ---' sumpah, lillah !' tak caya tanya mak aku! Tak cukup sumpah suruh mak konfirm kebenaran seseorang. Tapi tak sorang pun pergi tanya mak sapa-sapa tentang kebenaran sesuatu. Cukup dengan nama mak saja semua orang percaya.

Duduk di kampung ramai kawan, banyak aktiviti lasak,seperti main hujan, main anak patung dan bila besar sikit main anak-anakan yang dibuat dari kain dan di beri pakai baju dan main masak-masak,besar sikit lagi main konda-kondi, tali skipping yang dibuat dari getah ( rubber band ) yang disambung-sambung. Besar sikit lagi main panjat pokok petai belalang yang rendang dan senang budak-budak perempuan nak panjat sebab tak tinggi sangat. Bila masuk darjah lima main melukis dan mewarna di atas kertas lukisan beli dengan cikgu 5 sen sehelai.Bila masuk tingkatan satu mula main di padang sekolah, main netball,pingpong dan pergi perpustakaan baca buku dan pinjam buku.

Dalam ramai-ramai kawan ada yang tak berapa sesuai,tapi berkawan juga. Selalu bergaduh dan tak tegur menegur. Kamu jahat tak nak tegur! tarik muka 14 dan jeling mata macam nak juling. Petang esok pergi rumah dia ,sambung main batu selemban dan share makan kacang goreng.

Inilah kawan-kawan yang kita ingat sampai bila walaupun dah berpuluh tahun tak bersua muka. Anehnya,kawan yang kita selalu bermasam muka,bila bertemu setelah dewasa menjadi begitu mesra dan ketawa bila teringat zaman kanak-kanak dulu.

Patin sangkar,patin buah.

Hari ini seorang kawan mengajak saya makan tengahari di sebuah restoran baru di sekitar Lembah Kelang. Restoran itu menyediakan pelbagai masakan ikan sungai. Sebenarnya kami ingin ke Temerloh makan gulai tempoyak ikan patin,tapi bila dah nampak restoran baru kami batalkan hajat nak ke Temerloh.

Kami tiba pada pukul 11.50 di sambut dengan penuh mesra ( kalau makan di gerai tak perlu sambut menyambut,duduk aje dan pesan makanan apa yang hendak! )Saya cukup kagum dengan deko restoran yang bertaraf lima bintang ( lebih kurang macam restoran dalam channel 707 atau 703 ).

Saing ambo tu tok laki dio is in the food business. Nya madah dengan kamek restoran kedak tok is not going to make it. Sebab yang diberi ialah ianya sangat klassy, bertutup, berhawa dingin, orang susah nak masuk. Lagi pula makanannya hanya sejenis iaitu masakan ikan sungai ( walau pun ada juga menu sampingan spt laksa dll ).

Gulai tempoyaknya sungguh sedap sepadan dengan restoran,tapi seketul ikan patin ( patin buah ie ikan patin yang hidup dalam sungai Pahang dan makan buah-buah yang jatuh ke dalam sungai dan patin sangkar pula ialah ikan patin yang dipelihara dalam sangkar di sungai Pahang dan makanan yang diberi ialah makanan ikan yang diproses ) yang agak nipis potongannya senipis potongan ikan tenggiri, berharga RM35. Dan seketul hanya cukup untuk seorang makan.

Sehingga pukul 1.30 t/hari kami berdua menjadi customer of honour for the day. Selepas makan dengan kenyangnya kami mula ber( betting )selama manakah restoran itu akan bertahan. Pakak-pakak teko buleh tehe ne bule jah! Tapi mungkin restoran itu dibuka bukan untuk semua orang tapi untuk pelanggan tertentu sahaja.Bak kata orang kalau nak murah pergi mengail sendiri!

SS Blog

My husband encouraged me to have my own blog. So I asked my daughter to set up one for me. It took some time for me to write my first story , and I am not very productive. Since I'm going to write about things that intrigue me , I find there are not so many things that really intrigue me. Maybe because I rarely go out and I don't read much these days ( due to my malasness ).

At first I had to edit my writings many times before I published them. I was so scared when my daughter told me people can get access to my writing.I'm scared people might laugh at me,for writing merapu things with sentences tonggang terbalik.

After writing for sometimes I started visiting other blogs ( as first time blogger I only read Che Det's blog ). I read all the comments by other bloggers in respond to CD's writings. My family used to tease me 'Baca blog CD aje ke? Bacalah blog lain sama!'

I told them I'm a syok sendiri blogger, I only read my own story and CD's writings. Only lately I venture into other blogs like Sakmongkol, rocky's bru, JMD, Another Brick In The Wall and a few more. Thus I feel so inferior compared to those bloggers who can really write and they have visions in writing. They have knowledge and do a lot of references.

I don't read any anti-govt blogs ( except about AAB and his precious s.i.l ).To me if you don't like the door of the house, just change the door, don't demolish the whole house. I always remember during my father's time our country was not as develop as it is now. Even though many people become super rich due to development or they get every opportunity to become filthy rich or they have the right connections to be in business or politics, well,that's their choice. I took other opportunity that is given by the govt like to equip my children with proper education ,get proper jobs and serve the country in any way they can. I have no reason to be unhappy in my own country.( Bakpo gak dok beci krejeen sokmo )

Now that I discover my new blog layout is similar to one other prominent blogger's, I might as well change it. Err...helo ,kalau boleh balik cepat hari ni, mak nak tukar layout blog mak ni yang sama pulak dengan..............!Tak...tak boleh tangguh lama-lama sebab..................!