Of Birth and Joy : One Proud Auntie!

I am the world’s proudest auntie at the moment, i think.

 My sister gave birth to a healthy baby boy last saturday May 30th, so healthy he weighed 3.95kg! His face is chubby while his body is long – long hand, long legs, long fingers, hoho.. My sister, the mother had to be operated because he is big! He was born in Temerloh hospital, approximately one week after the due birth date. And did i mention that he is so cute?

I arrived in Temerloh around 1pm and he was already asleep. He sleep peacefully, without a care in the world. We kept on teasing him, touching his face, his hair, taking off his booties to see his tiny feet etc etc but he simply ignored us and carried on dozing off. He was so cute (again hehe).. I was so eager to see him that i paid no attention to my sister (the mother) haha.. What can you expect? He’s the first nephew in the family!. My parents’ first grandchild! I could not express enough how proud i was (and still am!) At around 3pm he awake and cried a sad cry. We all laughed because we thought babies are supposed to cry a shouting cry (like uwauwauwa kind of cry) but instead he cried the huhuhu type of cry. Somehow, even the sound of the cry was really magical. It warms the heart (it warms MY heart). So my mum changed the diapers (his mother was still lying on the bed, unable to move yet. THe father was still kind of awkward hehe. Poor guy.) After the diaper had been changed, he went back to sleep. Just like that. Kecik-kecik dah kuat tido.

Towards evening more people came to visit, so my father had to ‘wake him up’. He woke up without a fuss, and the eyes were shining so brightly. He was so cute and looked so innocent! But he didn’t cry one bit. What a good boy! Oh my God, i’m praising my nephew like crazy!

He is not my son, but now i understand how does a parent feel upon the birth of their child, particularly the first ones. I am only the auntie (Maklong) but the feeling is already that intense. This is the next of our generation. He bears the hope of the family. As for now, he hasn’t been given any names yet, we still call him ‘baby’, but i hope my sister and her husband will give him a good name, and hopefully he grows up to be a great man and live up the name he’s going to be given.

~ The Proud Maklong Aimi ~

Of Death and Sorrow

In the course of one week, I face the death of two very dear persons to me, a family member and a respectable collegue. One was expected, another came as a shock.

Last week on May 20th 2009, i lost my grandmother. She was diabetic for quite a long time and towards the end, the kidney even failed to function. As much as we hate it, we were actually counting the days when she would leave us, because she didn’t seem to get any better even though much has been done. My grandfather checked her blood pressure and sugar level i think almost on half-an-hour basis everyday, to ensure they maintain stable and in control. She wouldn’t eat because she simply didn’t have the appetite left, but we had to push her to eat, we forced water into the mouth and things like that, to make sure her sugar level remain at the desired number. But i guess her time was getting nearer because nothing works in the end. I had no idea she was admitted to the hospital, perhaps in her critical condition, until my mum called me on Tuesday and said that the doctor had advised the family to take her home because there was simply nothing they could do anymore.

I left in a haste, stopping by in Bentong that night at my sister’s house for a night sleep, then proceed to Kuantan the next morning to see her. When we arrived (me and my two sisters and one brother), my grandmother (we called her Mek) was still awake. But i doubt she recognized any of us. She couldn’t utter a single word, all she did was moan every now and then, and refused every drop of water we forced into her mouth. Afterwards,, she seemed to be better and calmer, no more moaning, she just slept throughout the afternoon. We thought she was fine.

So my whole family decided to go back to Bentong to drop my sister (she was due to give birth anytime then), before my parents proceed to Shah Alam. They planned to go back to work the next day, and then came back to Kuantan perhaps Friday evening. But 20 minutes after we reached Bentong, we got words that Mek had passed away. For a while we were speechless. My mum must have been devastated, but she was quiet, and all of us seemed at loss as to what we should say to console her. We were all quiet.

Then my parents went back to Kuantan right after dinner, and had instructed me to stay in Bentong and picked up my youngest brother at school on the way to Kuantan the next day. I left Bentong at 6.45 on Wednesday, with my other brother, drove with the speed 120 – 140kmj, and reached Jerantut around 8.00am. My brother was in the class, sitting his mid-year exam when we arrived and cried when we informed him the news. We rushed to Kuantan (i sped, 140, 150 kmj i was afraid the tyre would get loose and fell off anytime but sped away anyway) and arrived just in time before the jenazah was bathed. My aunties and uncles, and even Ayoh (my grandfather) seemed calm despite the emotional environment, but i simply couldn’t stop crying. 

I was not very close to my grandparents, not that they were not doting, we just were not good in expressing our affection to each other. We visited them a lot, especially when i was younger because we lived in Kuantan as well, only 15km away but we were just not that close. So i don’t think i cried because her loss leave an empty space in my heart, but i cried because i could feel the loneliness of Ayoh and my mum’s siblings, especially for Ayoh. They had been married for nearly 60 years, spending every day of their life together, and when Mek was sick, Ayoh was the one most of the times (of course the children who lived nearby helped a lot), but most of the time, it had always been just the two of them. She couldn’t see very well, so Ayoh read her the newspaper word by word. She wasn’t able to walk, or to even stand up properly, so Ayoh cooked for her, took her to the bathroom, changed her clothes, feed her. She wouldn’t want anybody else to feed her or to massage her when she’s uncomfortable, she only called for Ayoh. I once saw Ayoh fell asleep on the chair beside Mek’s bed, holding her hands. ( i never thought i’d see this kind of scene in real life, i thought it was all movie stuff kinds of things). so imagine doing that for the last many years and the routine suddenly stopped because the person you have been caring for is no longer there. I mean, the world is still spinning, nothing else has changed, but there appears an emptiness amongst it all. so I cried for him.

Later on the next Monday, i met up with Ila, who said that she was supposed to meet En.Lan, a senior officer at the office for a discussion and evaluation session. But she said that En.Lan was probably not feeling well because she saw some of our friends took him to the hospital. i think nothing of it then, because i knew, he was on medication for several reasons. i thought he was just not feeling well, and perhaps he’d be back in the office next wednesday. little did i know that he has been acting strange these past few days (according to my friends) because i was not in the office for 2 months already. it so happened that on Wednesday May 27th 2009, i left the handphone in the room for the afternoon class, and got the terrible news from another friend. She asked me right after class ended, in front of everyone:

“Aimi, sape eh En.Lan dot dot (nama dirahsiakan atas sebab-sebab tertentu)” – Azu

“En.Lan, TP dot dot…” – Aimi

“Kenapa?” – Aimi

“Die meninggal.” – Azu

And i was speechless. I hardly believed her. I repeated the names three times to make sure i heard her correctly. I simply couldn’t believe it. I mean, only two weeks ago i send words to Fye to relay a birthday wish to En.Lan, and now you’re telling me he’s passed away? Ila just talk to me about En.Lan just two days ago and now you’re telling me he’s gone? No way!!!!

So i rushed to the room to check my phone and there i had it, Fye send a simple messege that said : “en.lan dah meninggal”, apparently one hour after she told me en.lan was admitted to the ICU. I rushed to the hospital and upon reaching there, many of the bosses in the office, as well as all of his subordinates were there. They said that i could still go in and see him for, probably the last time. They said they his organs had also failed to function, and his breathing had gotten slower because they had taken off the life-support machine, and that his breath would probably stopped anytime then. But i didn’t have the heart to go, i mean the trauma of seeing my grandmother’s frozen body still lingered, and i was afraid if i see en.lan i might break down. But in the end i went, standing outside the door just to catch a last glimpse of him. And i felt a big loss.

You see, en.Lan was very, very, very dear to us. He was one of our favourite boss. He was respectable because he sure knows his stuff, and you can say to the extreme details, he was diplomatic enough in his approach to correct one’s fault, he was flexible, he has the biggest heart and was extremely generous, be it about money, knowledge, advice, anything. He was our confidant. We could ask him anything and he would attend to our inquiries with respect and honesty and open-mindedness. He distanced himself enough for us to regard him as our superior, but he was kind enough for us to treat him like a dear brother, or father. I am not good with words, but to sum it up, he was a good, respectable man and we all love him dearly.

I am not in the office currently, and i can’t imagine the impact of his death to my friends there. At least i had a gap of not seeing him for two months already and therefore, the sadness is bearable. But i don’t know how the people in the office handle it. I mean, they all pass through in front of his office everyday, sometimes more than 20 times a day (because his room is located on the main route), he joined us most of the times when we gather in a friend’s room next to his office, we saw him reading the newspaper in the room everyday etc etc. And suddenly the room is empty, not because the owner is on leave, but because he is gone forever.

I pray to Allah, that he will bless both my Grandmother and En.Lan because they have the biggest heart and had been such great persons. Al-Fatihah.

Mr. A-Z = mraz

at the ripe age of 27, i finally went to my first concert ever, the “Jason Mraz Live in KL” at Stadium Negara last wednesday. I had to pay RM138 for the ticket, and it worths every single cent!!

Me, together with yanie and ct drove from the office around 5.45pm, and lucky for us, the road was clear. arrived the stadium (after sesat barat a few times) at about 6.30. we thought we’d arrived pretty early since the concert is supposed to start at about 8.00pm, but there are tons of people even earlier than us. the stadium was already packed with people by then. we had to queue up, a very long queue and had to finish the drinks because we cant take it inside. drink like crazy huhu. then we reached the entrance gates. the RELA man stop me to check the content of my bag. i had purposely brought my camera, in hope of getting a few photos of jason mraz as proof to you all readers, but the RELA man said, no camera allowed. dang, write it somewhere la dude!! so, i had to go keep it away at some lost and found counter, and then queue up again. bangang sungguh. then only the idea occurred to me, if i just put it in my pocket, they will not search it because they didnt do body search. well, what the heck. i simply couldnt care anymore. if i could just see jason mraz in the flesh myself, that is good enough for me.

we chose the standing area, because then we can dance freely. the area was packed with … err.. school-goers, college students.. suddenly we feel very old, very makcik because well, compared to all of them, we are obviously old huhu. but again, what the heck! we waited and waited, and at around 8.30 pm, Mr Mraz finally appeared on stage. he was so cool, so cute (i always thought he is cute), simply wearing a tee-shirt and his famous fedora hat.

and we had a blast!

he performed his famous songs like the remedy, you and i, i’m yours, geek in the pink, lucky including my favourite which is not so famous anyway, entitled if it kills me. well, i don’t even remember all the lyrics, and there were also some songs that i never heard of but he was simply awesome! since i am short, most of the times i had to ‘tinjit-tinjit’ to see him on the stage clearly, and yeah, that was good enough. i had to say, he is one amazing singer. he had a great, beautiful voice and he perform live very well. it was like listening to his cd except with a few tokok tambah here and there, a different arrangement and all. my only complaint is that, the malaysian singer who accompany him to perform lucky (it is his duet with colbie callait) did not do justice to the song. she didnt complement his voice and i must say, i hate it. true she had a good voice but she totally wrecked the song. i’d rather jason sing it together with the crowds. apart form that, like i said, it was a blast!

well, i didnt get any pictures or recording, but i experience it myself and i must say, i fall in love with him even more now. nowadays, i listen to his song all day long, in the office, in the car, at home. i’m now so taken with LUCKY. hum it everywhere i go. bet my frens are annoyed with me. hehe.. bear with me for just a little while people!

p.s sudah beli satu sandal hot. nie nak pegi beli lagi satu. yak ak au!

menonton..

i was lucky enough to finally get a chance to watch Puteri Gunung Ledang The Musical Season III last Friday. Even though the tickets were quite pricey (RM173 is really not cheap for someone of my salary), i and hanisah was more than willing to pay, simply just so we won’t miss the chance to watch one of the most-praised theater in the country.

buku cenderamat yang dibeli dan tiket yang mahal tu!!!

anyway, our journey to IB started as early as 5.00pm, because both i and hanisah are really not sure of the way to go there. and true enough we miss the junction and had to make a u-turn at Jalan Tun Razak, which was “macet total” (heavily congested i can say). but all is well, we got there really early and had plenty of time to change, have (fairly cheap) dinner and perform our maghrib prayer before we proceed to the Panggung Sari. The whole hall was packed, not a single seat was empty. Our seats were not that ’strategic’ since we only got the side stalls, but they were close to the stage and all was well.

i had one of the most marvellous time in my life then. the performance was superb. the set-up and props were spectacular.  i love the main actors as well as the supporting ones. everyone was fabulous. i won’t say that i was really ‘that’ mesmerized by Tiara and Stephen as Gusti Putri and Hang Tuah though. they did a good job, but somehow, the intensity of their love didn’t reach me. i expected i’d cry at the end when Tuah and Putri are seperated by the Sultan’s curse (i did when i watched the movie), but i didn’t because it wasn’t that heartbreaking (for me). but that’s about it. other than that, i have no complaint.  and i loved adlin aman ramlie!!!! he was charming and cute haha.. never dreamed of seeing adlin to dance so jovially, but now i can’t get enough of him dancing!

i then spend my Saturday night at the movie with Hanisah and CT, watching Valkyrie. The movie is about a group of Germany army personnels and some politicians’ plot to assasinate Adolf Hitler.  i wouldn’t say i was really looking forward to watching it, but since it was one of the movie rumoured to be the so-called “box-office”, i say, why not? it was not disappointing. i won’t say i reaaaaaallllyyyy like it, but it was good enough. but what i like about the movie was the costumes. well, it had to be said that the Nazi uniforms were really fashionable (at least, that’s what i think – i had a thing for trench coat which was like part of their unifroms). anyway, all the actors looked so damn hot in the uniform (don’t mind their body shape though – i excuse them because the uniform made them look so damn good!). go watch the movie, at least you’ll like the uniform if not the movie hehe..

p.s tom cruise looked really fat as col. claus von stauffenberg. maybe the script needs him to be fat. whatever. still the uniform made him looks good.

usaha tangga kejayaan

kebelakangan ini, saya rasa gembira, walaupun saya penat, dan terlalu banyak berfikir. (tapi saya juge terlalu banyak makan hahaha .. dan kurang tido… dan terlalu kuat risaukan sesuatu..) anyway, saya rasa gembira bila usaha saya dihargai oleh orang lain. walaupun saya rasa usaha saya tidaklah sehebat mana, tapi hasilnya adalah di luar jangkaan saya, dan saya menerima pujian untuknya. seronok juga sekali-sekala dipuji *wink*wink*blushing*

kalau saya berusaha bersungguh-sungguh, tentu pencapaian saya lebih bagus.

tapi, kenapa saya tidak pernah ada drive untuk berusaha bersungguh-sungguh?

Mari Kita Renungkan

Father
It’s not time to make a change,
Just relax, take it easy.
You’re still young, that’s your fault,
There’s so much you have to know.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but I’m happy.

I was once like you are now, and I know that it’s not easy,
To be calm when you’ve found something going on.
But take your time, think a lot,
Why, think of everything you’ve got.
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not.

Son
How can I try to explain, when I do he turns away again.
It’s always been the same, same old story.
From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen.
Now there’s a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.

Father
It’s not time to make a change,
Just sit down, take it slowly.
You’re still young, that’s your fault,
There’s so much you have to go through.
Find a girl, settle down,
if you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but I’m happy.
(Son– Away Away Away, I know I have to
Make this decision alone – no)
Son
All the times that I cried, keeping all the things I knew inside,
It’s hard, but it’s harder to ignore it.
If they were right, I’d agree, but it’s them They know not me.
Now there’s a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.
(Father– Stay Stay Stay, Why must you go and
make this decision alone?)

p.s pasang lagu nie semalaman .. enjoy sungguh.. sungguh menenangkan.. mid sampai terpengaruh haha.. best kan lagu nie? sila renungkan..