Writing in flight!

This is a first…I am writing this while on a flight to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah for a meeting….jakun dan darat sikit….tak pernah write while on a flight…LOL! *grin*

Well for one, most…..eerr…make that ALL…LOL!.. of my travels for work are usually short bounds, meaning they are domestic flights, which usually takes only a 45 minutes to get to my destination. So, by the time I take out my laptop to write, it’s almost time to switch off all electronic gadgets for the landing! LOL!

Today, I decided to take my laptop with me to KK as I might be doing a lot of waiting at the airport for my flight back to KL from KK tomorrow as I couldn’t get an earlier flight than 7.30pm after my meeting which I expect will be done by 3.00pm.

I could go shopping for some pearls……hmmmmmm….but, I couldn’t possibly be spending 3 hours looking for pearls, could I? I could, but I’ll end up spending like thousands of ringgits if I were to go pearl shopping for 3 hours!

Ooopps! I think I just saw my hubby’s jaw dropped reading that statement above! LOL! *wink*

You know, when it comes to pearls, I think my hubby knows best what to get for me. I have gone to KK on several occasions (some years ago), and have gone looking for nice looking pearl accessories like bracelets, necklaces and earrings, but I always end up coming home empty handed, as I really couldn’t decide which one I want or what I want, or, I just couldn’t find the ones I like. But, when my hubby use to travel to KK every month for work some 3 years ago, each time he comes home, he would buy me pearl accessories, and they are always very beautiful ones, those that I have never seen before when I am in KK myself. That’s one shopping that my hubby does better than me! LOL! *wink* Well, OK, I am a lousy shopper to begin with! LOL!

I’ll be in KK for two days. I have a meeting in the afternoon upon arriving in KK (ETA 11.45am). Tomorrow I have another meeting and a site visit to a new project which is scheduled to take off early next year if budget allows.

In the evening, before my flight back, I might make a stop over at the Filipino market to see what fancies me to bring back to KL. Anyone any suggestion on what I should get, since it’s been a very long time since I last came here?

I can’t buy anything big though since I only carried a small overnight bag and my laptop bag. I say small overnight bag but my colleague just teased me that my bag is like I am traveling for 3 days! LOL!

You see, my colleague traveling with me is a male, and you know how light men travel, right? I admire women who can travel light, as I am one of those who doesn’t know how to travel light, despite squeezing my makeup bag and toiletries into the tiniest of bags! LOL. Even my smallest overnight bag is considered big! LOL!

You see, I can’t travel without a novel to read on the plane. I also can’t leave home without my cross stitch with me and a at least one craft magazine in my bag. *grin*

I don’t know how people squeeze their pajamas and the work clothes for tomorrow all in a very tiny bag.

I don’t fancy rolling up my clothes as some have said that rolling your clothes will make your travel bag smaller as you get to squeeze the clothes into a smaller bag. Hmmm….if I were to do that, I’d end up with a very wrinkled blouse for work, and that wouldn’t look professional, right? Ask the hotel for an iron? I could do that, but, not all hotels have irons ready for you to use, especially if you go to small hotels where they would have limited number of irons to go around, and I might already need it for my meeting upon my arrival at the hotel.

Ok! OK! I am just making up excuses for bringing a big overnight bag! LOL!

I guess I will just have to remain as one of those typical women who simply lose out when it comes to traveling light. *grin* But, have you got any tips for me for traveling light? Who knows they might be ones I have yet to try out.

I can’t kept getting teased from my male colleagues for bringing a HUGE overnight bag, each time I travel with them, right? LOL! Or, they just simply LOVE to tease me, no matter what! LOL! *blush*

Written at 10.45 am on board flight MH2708 to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Shocking, unbelievable, and sad.......

I hope by now those who have been critically condemning Aril are finally at peace and happy now that Aril is out of the game.

However, I still don't get it why fans of Hafiz feels that Aril is a threat to Hafiz, when the actual threat is Isma, whose votes have been constantly at the top no matter how good or bad she performs each week. She could just be standing on stage doing nothing at all for all we know, and her votes would still be high. Sounds like Mawi? I may not like Mawi very much, but I must admit that Mawi was phenomenal, but Isma is far from having the aura that Mawi has.

I am shocked and I find it unbelievable that someone as talented as Aril was eliminated at the 7th concert last night. How could this have happened? Was everyone trying to save the not so good ones that they forgot to vote for Aril?

Even Sultan Muzaffar has this to say, or rather he has gone speechless.....

QUOTE

Apa yang boleh saya katakan ? Pengundi telah pun bertitah. Jadi saya tiada kuasa untuk berkata apa-apa. Hanya sekadar mampu melihat dan melihat Aril pergi. Tapi bolehkah penyingkiran Aril diganti ? Mustahil ! Satu penyingkiran yang sukar di cari ganti.

UNQUOTE

I visited several blogs this morning, and many comments that were left were of disappointment and disconsolate with Aril's elimination. Even those that are not fans of Aril agrees that Aril is a good performer.

Adibah said that Aril was born to be on stage. Adlin, who I consider quite truthful and brutal in his comments, said that Aril is a new product never before been produced by Astro.

And to say that fans of Aril did not vote, many voted, but it seems that the votes somehow did not get through in time before the votings were closed for the night. So, what really happened?

I am sure fans of Akim and Yazid will not agree with me, but, compare Akim and Yazid to Aril, and Aril is any time better than both of them combined (this is my personal opinion, and you have yours). You have to remember that this is already the 7th concert and Akim has yet to show proof that he has got something big to deserve a place in the finals.

Aril can dance and he has so far never performed without coming out with something that is extra ordinary. He can act going by the impressive play acting drama and feel that he did when he delivered his duet with Marsha and the song "Andainya Aku Pergi Dulu...." was delivered full of expression and feel. Even MrManager, who is a great fan of Hafiz, said that Aril has got a shining persona, and he was beginning to like him. He too was shocked by Aril's elimination.

He has slide on the floor, he has slithered and slept on the floor. He has thrown himself across the floor. He has jumped down from the stage. And last night, he did a somersault of sorts. You name it, he has done it. Has Akim or Yazid done any of those yet? Akim only started last night.....

I quote this comment left by AKOO at MrManager's blog......

QUOTE
Aril rocks the stadium tonight, sayang you are not there... Nakal sound and look good with him performing, and I'm not comparing his singing with the original singer. ARIL WAS DAMNED GOOD.

When he was backing up for Hafiz performance, he didn't even try to outshine Hafiz at all.
UNQUOTE

Compare the voice, and Aril may not have the vocals of Hafiz, but compare his voice with Yazid and Akim, they are almost at par if Aril is not better. So, OK, Yazid might have a slight edge over Aril when it comes to the vocals, but has Yazid got the stage presence that Aril has?

This week, it was Aril that came to Hafiz's aid when Hafiz was struggling with his lyrics. He even offered to help sing the parts where Hafiz couldn't memorize. He even promised that he wouldn't overshadow Hafiz, and he did just that, pretty much stayed on the side, and Hafiz got all the attention.

If fans of Hafiz still thinks that Aril is a threat and condemn Aril, than they must really be fanatics, and that is sad.

I quote a comment placed at Klubbkidd's blog last night, right after the concert...

QUOTE
Noticed in the other blog, a fan of another student mentioned about justice being done when Aril is out of the competition.

What justice is she/he talking about? What is wrong with her/him? Aril performed well (best performance) 3 weeks in a row and him being booted out is called justice? I guess he is really a threat to their fauvorite student in terms of performance. (I couldn't agree with you more!) They should be more worried with Isma not Aril. She is actually the main competitor in terms of votes and could even be a juara due to voting alone. Aril's votes always the bottom half after the concert and still he is considered a threat. Go figure...
UNQUOTE

Aril was just trying to help. He has a kind heart, but, unfortunately, like klubbkidd said, his bigger than life personality overshadowed the talent that he has, and good and kind heart that is naturally him, making him being hated by paranoid people who finds him a threat to their darling choices of the AF7 kinds.

I was hoping that Astro would announce that that there would be no elimination this week, but, then I realised that had Astro done that and it was Aril who was at the bottom of the ranking, then all the more Aril will be condemned non-stop, and they will say that Astro was playing favouritism. That would be even sadder. So, maybe it is for the best that Aril is no longer in the game. Maybe a big recording company will pick him up, hopefully KRU, and I am hoping to see an album the likes of Adam coming out not too long after the AF7 is over.

The diaries, to me, will be boring to watch from tomorrow onwards. I am a little embarassed to admit, but I watch the diaries to watch Aril's playful and mischievious antics, and fun personality. He brings life to the diaries.

Looks like I won't be watching much of the diaries anymore. The others are simply boring.....I probably won't watch the concerts anymore either, except to maybe pass my time away while I fold my weekly laundry like what I do every Saturday night since the concerts started.

To Aril, I wish you all the best. Never mind what people say about you. Stay the way you are - fun, loving, mischievious, playful, and, most of all, caring, because it is the way you are that makes people like me love you and wanting to watch you!

You are a star in the making! You left last night with pride. Hold your head up high!

Thanks for making the past 7 weeks an enjoyable one!

**notes - photo taken from Berita Harian Online and SultanMuzaffar

My baby turned 9!

Yeah, he's already 9, and yet I still call him my baby. *grin*

Aiman will always be `my baby' even when he is 12, 18, 24, or even 30! I think he might get embarassed though if I call him baby at age 30 if he is already married by than and with his own kids. LOL! *wink*

I shall not embarassed him, but, he will always remain by baby forever.

So, `my baby' turned 9 on 22 April 2009. I thought it was only yesterday that he was just learning how to walk, and already this week, he already knows how to make demands as to what he wants for his birthday. *grin*

This year, we are not having a big birthday celebration for him. We explained to him that things are simply getting too expensive, especially his school tuition fees. Also, if we were to have a party celebration for him, that would mean that I would have to take leave to prepare for it as from our experience doing it at A&W last year, nothing beats doing one at home.

But, as it turned out, I won't be able to take leave this time around as work was piling up sky high and I have been having meetings back to back almost everyday of the week last week. I eventually had to take an emergency leave though when I ended up with a bad case of aerosol poisoning on Thursday. So, I guess it was never meant to be for us to have a birthday celebration for him this year.

We told him we will try to have one next year. In the mean time, this year, we promised a special dinner at a fancy restaurant of his choice, and so he chose VICTORIA STATION.

So, on Friday, we went out for the sepcial dinner. I made reservations earlier as he had been wanting to sit at the head of the train each time we have dinner there on special occassions, and so, last night, he finally got his wish.

He was excited and kept asking us if this was really the head of the train. My hubby pointed out that even the spelling on the train were in old malay spelling. I forgot to take a photo of it though to show what my hubby meant.

Anyway, we had our usual starters of Nachos, my favourite! Hubby had Meatloaf and I had Salmon with Lamb Loin Combo, while Aiman had BBQ Chicken.

It felt like a simply dish (but expensive! LOL!) but I felt full right up until this morning! LOL!

Earlier on in the week, on Wednesday, 22nd April, the actual day of his birthday, I bought a small cake and we had sort of a small celebration just the 3 of us, and he opened presents given to him by his Atok & Tokmama, my hubby and I.

I hope Aiman had enjoyed his dinner and would still be able to appreciate the small celebration that we had for him earlier, though we know it wasn't a birthday celebration that a kid his age would want, but, he will have to learn that life isn't always about what he wants.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Sayang! We LOVE YOU!

Getting feverish PINK!

I am at home today. I had sort of a case of aerosol poisoning. There were termites in my office and they had eaten up a lot of my documents. It was only two months ago that the pest control came to do some termite control treatment, but I guess they did not good a good job of it as half of my documents in my cabinet have been eaten up! Horror!

So, yesterday, they came again when I discovered the termites in the cabinets as I was doing some organising of my documents. They sprayed everywhere, even on the carpet. Eventhough I sat away from my room while they were doing the spraying, but the aerosol lingered in the air when I went in to pick up my bag to go home. I was already having a coughing fit while they were doing the spraying earlier on.

I woke up with a sore throat like it was burning, and since I had no meetings to chair today, I decided to take the opportunity to take a break from my hectic work schedule.

Since it was not a planned holiday, I wasn't sure what to do with my day today. So, after my hubby and son left for work and school, I took a short nap as I felt a headache coming. I made some calls to the office when I got up, and after that, decided to take it easy for a while, so, I sat down in front of the TV to watch a repeat of last week's Akademi Fantasia's concert while I crocheted the bag I started last Saturday at the Stitching Bee.

Earlier on, I told Mel that my bag was going slanting, and I think it is because I had added an extra stitch at every row. Mel told me this morning to STOP crocheting, as she wants to show me how to decrease the stitching. WHAT? I am already crocheting my 20th row! OH NO! *biting my lips*

Here's my proof......

I think the bag is not starting to look that slanting anymore (trying to make myself feel good, huh? LOL!) as I started decreasing the stitches already when I realised it after the 8th row. It does gets me annoyed though, knowing that it is not supposed to be that way, but...but...no one's going to know about the mistake, except,... Teacher Mel, of course, and the rest of the world! LOL! *wink* Stubborn, am I? LOL! *wink*

Mel, what do you think?

If Teacher Mel is not happy with this stubborn student, can I make it up by making another bag, but only after this bag is done with? I am just afraid that if I were to unpick everything now after I had done so much already, I might just get demoralised and demotivated.

So, I thought I'd let this be my pracctice piece and do another one, probably a smaller one. That way too I get to play with more exciting and yummy colours as by then I would have known better how to mix colours and the shape of the bag will hopefuly have a better shape like what it is supposed to be in the first place. What do you think, Teacher Mel? *wink*

BTW, I am posting here the photo of all the yarns that I bought which is meant for the bag. I have used up the 3 yarns on the bottom right for the 13th to 18th row. I am now on my 20th row using the 1st, 4th and 5th ball from the right at the top row.

Like Mel said, it does help you with colour coordination when you have laid out all the colours in rows from lightest to darkest. Thanks, Mel, for the tips.

I can't wait to progress more on the bag today, but, I am going out now to pick up my son from school. I am bringing this with me to crochet in the car while I wait for the school bell to ring. *grin*

Hot and hilarious!

Before I proceed with my comments of the kids’ performance this week, I am curious to know why whenever you tell someone that you are a keen follower of Akademi Fantasia, you get this funny and surprised look, like it is a sin to enjoy watching Akademi Fantasia. But you never get that kind of look when you say that you follow American Idol, Malaysian Idol or One in A Million. Hmmmm…….. I wonder why……

Heck, I enjoy watching Akademi Fantasia, and if not for anything else, it is as part of taking things easy on a Saturday night to release stress. Err…release stress? I get anxious whenever Aril performs! LOL! *wink*

Anyway, back to my usual `task’ LOL! *wink*, here’s my take for this week……

I was having a bad case of gastric when Akim was performing, and his performance, sorry to say, made the gastric worse.

As I laid down listening to him sing, I tried to figure out why Aurora did not sound good, as to me, Aurora is a lovely song. Then I realized it when Edrie pointed out that Akim had changed the tune of the songs too much that it became a distraction.

I do belief that he has improved over the last few weeks, but, for some reason, for this concert, he fumbled through his performance right from the start. I pity him. I almost thought that he was going to get booted out because of that performance as Qhoud did quite well when it was his time to perform.

What can I say of Aril’s performance last night?

Praise him too much and it will get fanatic fans of Hafiz bitching and condemning him non-stop. So, I think I will just quote what Kubbkidd said in his blog….

“Apapon, aku hats to Aril sebab semalam, he killed competition with his performance.

Some of the other kids were good, but for one of those rare moments, I saw sorang pelajar yang mampu membawa diri sebagai pro atas pentas. Kalao ikutkan, memang last week aku rasa Claudia patut dapat pelajar cemerlang and not Aril.

This week however, for me, it belongs to Aril. Sebab not only dia berjaya nak nampak kehebatan dia atas pentas, his performance set the bar so high that the others were mediocre by comparison”.

What surprised me most today was when I visited Mr Manager’s blog this morning and Mr Manager had given Aril the highest ranking by naming Aril the Best Male Performance for the night, him being a huge fan of Hafiz. That came as a huge surprise after a week of heating things up between fans of Hafiz and Aril. I guess, as a professional where he has strong followings, he does have to be fair and give credits where credits are due.

I liked the way Aril dropped himself onto the floor, like what Dato' Khaty said, was like a scene from Bollywood, and also when he dived after performing his song. He did it with such confidence. Others might not have dared to take such risks as it might affect their vocals.

I just want to add that despite what many might say of Aril, I think it would be fair to say among all the 8 students left last week, he and Yazid were about the only ones with colouful characters that brightens up even the most boring of days with their antics and playful misdemeanors.

What else can be said of both Claudia and Hafiz’s performance last night except that, as always, they were good. I must day that her experience of having her own band really paid off last night. She was comfortable with the live band, and her interaction with the audience was good. Though I must say that I don’t like much Claudia’s frizzy hairdo. It makes her look 5 years older than her actual age.

I also wondered why they made Hafiz push back him hair with a hairband like what he did last night.

My son said that he looked kind of girlish. But, after seeing him perform last night, that hairstyle made him look very much like a very cute rock singer. *grin* Too cute, actually, to be part of a rock band. *grin* But, before fans of Hafiz comes after me with their snide remarks, LOL! *wink* I shall say that there is nothing wrong with being a cute rock singer. Go, Hafiz! *wink*

Oh, I must say that I like that part where Azizan came him with his comedian buddy like a mad fan of Hafiz, complete with the T-shirt! LOL! That was cute and hilarious! LOL! Now fans of Hafiz can’t complain that Astro is not giving Hafiz attention. *wink* Last night, the attention was all on him, and Hafiz deserves it.

I really enjoyed that amusing segment with Azizan, and I think Hafiz probably felt really appreciated to have a mad fan like Azizan, even if it was only play acting, and I hope fans of Hafiz are now pacified.

Astro has brought back the fun and re-injected the surprise element that is synonymous with AF, which AC Mizal has, unfortunately, failed to do on his own. Bring back Aznil! *grin*

When I watched Isma perform last night, I could not help but felt like I was watching Siti Nurhaliza performing at a rock concert. She was simply too much Siti-look-alike and sounds just like her. I can’t blame her actually, since that is God’s gift to her.

Aishah was cute last night, though I like her better before she did something to her teeth. However, I felt that her dress was kind of out of place to sing with a live band. Maybe I was expecting her to be dressed more like a rock singer, in leather jacket and tight pants, or at least, complimenting the original singer.

For some reason, I felt that the original singer was overshadowing both Isma and Aishah. I half wished that she wasn’t even there. She was like taking the limelight away from both girls, and whose concert was it last night?

I have always liked ballads, and rock ballads are something I enjoy listening to also. So, I really enjoyed listening to Yazid’s rendition of “Ku di Halaman Rindu” by Leftahnded.

I managed to catch Qhoud practicing his song during a few of the dairies and I was afraid that if he were to perform the way he did during the practice, he was heading for trouble., So, I was rather surprised when he delivered his song quite well last night. Unfortunately, it wasn’t good enough to make people want to vote for him to stay on in the Akademi. He got booted out at last night’s concert. I wish Qhoud the best of luck!

So, what else can we look forward to this coming week?

There are 3 more concerts before the finals. That means there will be 3 or more eliminations. It’s anyone’s guess who would be going into the finals at this point. If you ask me, I don’t want any more elimination as I think the 7 left are the best of the best already.

I can’t choose between Claudia and Aishah as they are equally good. Isma has a very strong fan base. Her position into the finals is already quite secure.

Hafiz’s place into the finals too is already secured as I think the Sawarakians are geared up to vote more for him than for Claudia and Aishah. Mr Manager had strategized for Sawarakians to give two votes for Hafiz and one each for Claudia and Aishah. My guess is that Aishah will be the casualty in this case.

If ever Hafiz, for whatever reason, gets eliminated before the finals, Astro will be in big trouble. They will lose millions in votes from fans of Hafiz as I doubt it if they will vote for anyone else should Hafiz fail to make it to the finals, except maybe to make sure that Claudia wins just to ensure a sawarakian wins no matter what. But, Hafiz is anytime better than Claudia, though both are good.

Now left are Akim, Yazid and Aril. Akim has some strong fans who I take it will vote for him tirelessly no matter how bad he performs. Yazid has started to gain some momentum in the votes that he is getting over the week, and each time he performs well, his votes goes up surpassing even Hafiz’s at one concert.

It’s Aril whose position into the finals that remains unpredictable and unsecured. Last week he became the victim of much malicious attack by fans of Hafiz who was dissatisfied with the way the faculty and Astro Production team are treating Hafiz and not giving him enough air time and coverage. I hope with the attention given to Hafiz at this week’s concert would have appeased all those fanatic and die hard fans of Hafiz, and they would stop condemning Aril.

I am looking forward to see what songs they will be performing this coming week, and what other surprises are being lined up for the concert. Maybe by having Aznil back as the host? LOL! *wink* Fat hopes as Astro is tied up with a long contract with AC Mizal. *sigh*

**note - photos taken from Klubbkidd.

Going dotty over polka dots!

Zarina was in town on Tuesday to attend a workshop the next day, and she called me in the morning asking me to meet up with her at SAKURA after work.

As Zarina was only arriving by flight from Penang at 5.00pm, Kelvin was kind enough to wait up for us despite his usual business hours being only up till 6.00pm. That’s what I call good business sense! He even went out to pick up Zarina at a school nearby when the taxi driver could not locate where his shop is.

When I got to SAKURA, I could help getting excited at what I saw as the floor of the little shop was scattered with newly arrived fabrics on the bolts! They were everywhere!

What was even more exciting was that there were so many polka dots and stripes in so many various colours! Polka dots and stripes have always driven me nuts in excitement! LOL! *wink*

I could not resist taking not one, not two, but…err……hmm……just look at what I bought in 1 meter length each! *blush*

What am I planning to make with them? More bags, most probably! *wink*

April Stitching Bee Meet

Errr…....I think it was more of a Crochet Bee Meet, as almost everyone who came today learnt how to make the lovely crocheted bag from Mel! LOL!

There weren’t many of us today like the usual Stitching Bees that we have had the last couple of times as many could not come at the last minute due to unexpected change in plans at the 11th hour. There were 8 of us – Tini, Paul, Sabariah, Rose, Anna, Jo, Mel and myself.

Sabariah and I arrived first at Starbucks Bangsar Village II followed by Anna. Rose came later though she actually took a lift from me, but she went off to the bookstore first before joining us. She was closely followed by Jo who we could hardly recognize as Jo had lost so much weight. I think my mouth was so wide open in surprise that a fly could have flown in as I tried to take in the view of this thin lady standing in front of me, cracking my head trying to figure out who she was! LOL! *blush*

Paul and Tini arrived quite soon after that in a matching pink shirt and blouse. *wink* Hmm…coincidence or planned? *wink* Could not help it...... *grin*

Sorry, Paul and Tini, I am teasing again….. *wink*

It wasn’t long before Teacher Mel arrived with her bright and colourful crocheted bag which she was going to teach us that day.

After some Show and Tell, where Jo brought out all her lovely bags, and Rose showed us her lovely cross stitch pieces. Shown below is Sabariah with one of Jo's lovely bags.

Sabariah started off by showing us how to make some lovely pin brooches.

We each got a piece, including Paul. Hmm….what would Paul be doing with a brooch? He said something about making it into a tie pin. Hmm…that’s a lovely idea!

Here's Jo posing with Mel's strikingly bright bag, and Anna showing off Paul's collection of crochet hooks.

Before Mel proceeded to teach us how to make the bag, she passed on to Tini her Card Exchange which came in a BOX! Err……is this a Card Exchange or a BOX Exchange? LOL! *wink*

The card Mel made was really lovely, It got everyone in awe! But, what got everyone curious was what was inside the box! LOL! *grin* There were two lovely blouses inside the box. Hmm….Mel, can I be your next exchange partner? LOL! *wink*

Once Mel was done with her breakfast, she distributed charts for the bag and a magnetic button to those of us wanting to learn how to make the bag. Like ‘obedient students’, we all got down to work, `listening attentively’ to Mel giving instructions. *grin*

This was the 3 colour combination that I had wanted to make my bag into, but, after Sabariah, Rose and Mel commented on the combination, and Sabariah happen to have a spare pink yarn that matched my light pink and light yellow yarn to a T, I decided to make the change.

I am glad I did as now the colour combination is so sweet and yummy, I feel like sinking my teeth into it! LOL!

A majority of us stayed until at least pass 1.00pm, but Jo was the first to leave at about 12.30 noon. Sabariah wanted to leave even earlier, but she kept saying that I was a bad influence on her, worse than my sister’s influence on her, *grin* when she could make herself to get up to leave us to buy lunch for her family, as we kept suggesting what to tell her hubby so that she can prolong her stay on to ‘enjoy our company’. LOL! *wink*

She eventually left slightly after 1.00pm. *grin*

Rose left just before Sabariah did. Mel left at about 2.00pm, followed by Tini and Paul. Anna and I stayed until it was time for me to pick up Aiman at his Engineering Workshop which ended at about 2.20pm.

Though not many turned up like the usual Bee that we have every two months, I enjoyed myself very much today, learning from Mel how to make the bag and learning how to make the brooch from Sabariah.

Thank you, Sabariah and Mel, for the lessons. Thanks everyone for coming. I hope everyone had a good time! Looking forward to the one in June!

17 beautiful years together!

Yesterday, 17th April 2009, was our 17th Wedding Anniversary.

Wow! It’s been 17 years already? It sure feels it was like only yesterday that we met, fell in love, and got married! LOL! *wink*

Seriously, it’s been 17 great years! Sure, we have our ups and downs like any marriage would. Sure, as husband and wife, we have had our share of arguments and disagreements. Which marriage wouldn’t, as we are only humans. But, most importantly, we have had a majority of great years of laughing, loving, caring and understanding,

We realized yesterday that ever since we both got promoted, we have been so busy with work that we hardly have time to spend with each other. Even though my hubby is now working back in Kuala Lumpur for the last 3 months, transferring from Shah Alam upon his promotion, we drive to work in separate cars.

We tried traveling in one car when he was first transferred back to KL, but realized that it wasn’t going to be good for both of us and our son in the long run. Every morning, we would be rushing to get ready for work, dropping off our son in school, and then he would drop me off before proceeding to his office, so as to get to work on time

In the evening he would pick me up, and we would drive to his mum’s house to pick up our son before proceeding back home. As we both work late, by the time we get home, it would be almost 9.00pm on most days. Then there is still dinner to get ready. By the time dinner is done with and our son is tucked in bed, we are both tired.

So now, I would drop off our son on my way to work, while my hubby goes straight to work. In the evening, my hubby would pick up our son at his mum’s place and come home, while I would come home straight to get dinner ready.

I would usually arrive home at about 7.30 – 8.00pm, while my hubby would arrive about half an hour or so later. Still not much different compared to driving in one car, but, on most days, by the time my hubby brings home our son, I am all showered and rested, and dinner is ready to be served, even though I leave the office at about 7.30pm.

We realized that this works better for us even though we still arrive home late since work is always piled sky high everyday, but, at least not both of us are tired at the same time. By the time he comes home, I already have some time to rest, and while I get dinner ready, he takes his time to rest before dinner is served. We are not both tired at the same time (there are some exceptions) and our moods are better when it comes time to enjoy our time together. Our time together becomes more precious, even though it could just be watching TV together.

With 17 great years behind us, we hope that Allah will grant us another 17 and more blessed years ahead together. I hope to grow old with my hubby, still being able to hold his hand like when we first starting dating. I hope that Allah will grant us a long life with good health and wealth to be able to see our son grow up, complete his studies, work, start a family and succeed in his life.

I hope that our love for each other will grow stronger with each year, and as we grow older, we will be more patient and understanding of each other as many have said that old age tends to make people grumpy, moody and extra sensitive. I hope Allah will grant us with lots of patience and love to go through the old age together.

I love you, 'Dia' hubby. Thank you for all the lovely years thus far. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your understanding. Thank you for being here with me. I am blessed.

Bringing out the best and the worse.......

With Aril being named Best Student this week, will it get the tongues of Hafiz’s die hard fans wagging even more, bitching even worse about him ? Condemning him? I pity Aril. No, make that I pity fanatic and die hard fans of Hafiz who could not accept the fact that there are others too who are as good as Hafiz, if not better.

Over the last 7 years since Akademi Fantasia was first introduced in Malaysia, it was reported that it has managed to bring many families closer together, especially on Saturday nights when family members from afar gather together to watch the weekly concerts.

It was also reported that AF was able to bring back together couples on the verge of divorces or separation for parents of the AF kids, as the kids were able to show their true emotions while in the Akademi, and their desires to see their parents back together again.

There were instances when families who were not that close knit before this, AF have some how managed to bring out the emotions and feelings of love among family members. In short, Akademi Fantasia has been able to bring out the true emotions of people. It succeeded in bringing out the best of many people. However, in the same process, it has, most unfortunately, also unleashed the worse in many people too. Sad.

Die hard fans of some of the AF kids started bitching and condemning the kids that they do not like, no matter how good the other students were, or how bad the students of their choice were.

They bitched like they do not care how much it might hurt the AF kids and their families. For as long as they can influence the fence sitters that the AF kids of their choice were good and make the other AF kids look bad, sometimes, extremely bad, at times even, making them look like dirt, it will satisfy their purpose to put them down, at whatever cause. Sad, isn’t it?

Are Malaysians truly like that? I thought we are a culture that is civilized, well mannered and polite. Yes, we have come a long way from the time when we were still very much considered a 3rd world country, but, thanks to our fourth Prime Minister, we have advanced so much.

Unfortunately, we advanced too fast that our mentally could not catch up with us. We use to have the tallest building, with one of the most advanced technologies around the region. We have shopping complexes that have been rated among the top 20. Our roads are good, our services are not too bad, and we have almost everything that a young advanced country should have, but, we forgot one thing in all our desires to be the biggest, the tallest, and the best. We forgot our manners. We forgot how to be polite. We forgot how to be civilized.

It was said that though we might have 1st class facilities, unfortunately, we have only 3rd class mentally. We have failed to advance in that area. Sad.

In the 7 years that I have diligently been a follower of AF, I have, in a number of AF seasons, favoured students that aren’t always the ones that the general public seems to like. Maybe because my taste are a little different from the general public, or maybe because I look for far more than just the voice and the looks (though looks are what gets me interested in the first place to like an AF kid, though it might change over the course of the season as I see the potentials of the others emerging), and so, in my blog journey to find bloggers that give fair and intellectual comments, I am sad to find that most of the comments made by some bloggers and those that leave comments at some of these blogs of the AF kids that they do not like, very hurtful and demeaning.

Yes, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and they may have their own preferences of who they like and do not like, but, that does not give anyone the right to condemn anyone else. Objective critism, yes, but condemning, NO!

So, you like someone. Go ahead and praise the AF kids that you like and adore. BUT, do not condemn the ones that you do not like by saying things that are hurtful, demeaning, and humiliating. So what if the teachers seem to favour one or two of the kids over the rest, they are only humans. Only, I don't think the teachers were playing favouritsm. They have been fair at trying to help everyone. They give credits where credit are due. They critisize where necessary without condemning.

So what if the critics give good comments to the ones you do not like. You just either nod your head in agreement, or bite your lips in silence. You don’t have to condemn that person. Condemn yourself for wanting to condemn others.

How would you like it if someone says something hurtful and humiliating about your brothers or sisters, mother and father, girlfriends and boyfriends? Wouldn’t you feel hurt? It isn’t his or her fault that the critics give good comments. All the kids gave their best, I am sure, but there could only be one best one. The critics too are humans and they too have their preferences and favourites. So, when the critics does not give the AF kids you like and adore good comments, it gives you no right to condemn the ones that got good comments.

There are ups and downs to everything. It isn’t every time that only the AF kids of your choice that deserves to be given good comments. Everyone needs to be motivated too. Everyone deserves to feel good about what they did. Today it’s your turn, tomorrow it is someone else’s turn. Accept it graciously. Your turn will come again.

So, to fanatic and die hard fans of Hafiz, grow up!

I do admit that Hafiz has good vocals, one of the best this season, but the others too are equally good, though their talents have yet to shine through. Give the others a chance too.

I admit that I like Aril, and though I must admit that Aril's vocal might be far from reaching the level that Hafiz's vocal already is, but that does not give the right for Hafiz's fans to condemn him. Where Aril lacks in vocals, he made up with his showmanship and play acting drama. Even Klubbkidd commented in his blog that Aril was able to show off his vocals which are so often overlooked because of his larger than life personality.

This week comments have been thrown to the faculty that Hafiz was purposely given a song that will not make him standout. In fact, the fans of Hafiz have been saying that every week he was given songs that were not famous, and so made it difficult for him to shine. But, didn't he get a song last week that is currently in the top 20 charts when he got "Terlanjur Cinta"?

In fact, Mr Manager himself had said that either you have it or you don't. So, even if Hafiz does not get a good song, if he has got the talent and voice, which he has, he will make even the worst song sound good.

So, I hope that for the next 5 more weeks, I hope fans of any Akademi Fantasia will be more civilized in their comments of the AF kids.

**note - photos taken from Mr Manager and Akademi fantasia's official website.

Nostalgic!

My brother took his family and my mum, who is currently visiting my brother there in the US, on a nostalgic trip to Pittsburg where my dad did his Masters, and my sister and I followed with my mum some 40 years ago. Oopps! That long ago? Old, am I? LOL! *wink*

On the way to Pittsburg, they came across a signage that said "Kent State University", and my mum recalled that it was the university where I did my Architecture degree there some 20 years ago.

So, on the way back from Pittsburg, they decided to stop by Kent to pay a visit to Kent State University specially for me. I am touched.

When I saw the photos of my alma mater posted at my sister-in-law's photoblog, tears just fell.

Don't ask me to explain why I cried. I couldn't tell either if the tears that flowed freely as I look through the photos of the School of Architecture (Taylor Hall) were happy tears or sad tears, but it was a feeling of nostalgic, an overwhelming feeling of emotions that I had gone there, studied there, graduated there and memories of the good old times passed by quickly through the photos that I saw.

I was surprised myself how photos of those good old times could have gotten me all so emotional. Signs of menopause, am I? LOL! *wink* No, I am just being the very sensitive person that I always am. I cry even on hearing news of the death of people I don't even know.

Could you believe it that it had been more than 20 years ago that I had left school? I had made it into this tough world thanks to the loving guidance and care of people around me who cares for me - my parents, my grandmother, my siblings, my in-laws, my nieces and nephews, my hubby and my son. Everyday I thank Allah for I am blessed with people who loves me.

I wished that I had been in time to tell my brother the address to the house where I had stayed during my students days there so that he could have taken some photos of it to add to my nostalgic feeling, but I could not recall what was the address. *sigh*

Maybe I should take a trip down memory lane myself someday?

Thanks, Nik Ai, for making the trip and for the memorable photos. Thanks, Ma, for suggesting to Nik Ai to make the trip.

Another medal for the showcase!

Aiman had his annual sports day yesterday, and he was telling me the day before that that during the sports practice, his team kept on getting forth place. My hubby and I told him that it was okay. That what was important was for him and his team to complete the race. He needn't have worried. He and his friends made up a good and cooperative team from what I could see.

The day started out quite well with the weather being very kind to us. It wasn't hot at all, neither did it rain. The Sports Event was officially opened by our very own Natioanl Badminton player, Lee Wan Wah. I wonder if he has a son (is he married?) in the school or maybe he has a relative schooling there?

After that, they had the usual march pass. I must say that the `performance' by the red house (Aiman's sports house too) was really cute!

Anyway, Aiman was in the Brick Walk race where they were required to arrange the bricks in a long row, with the bricks placed touching each other.

If the bricks were not touching each other, the kids were required to re-lay the bricks. I could hear some mothers shouting for their kids to place the bricks touching each other as the teachers were quite strict at making sure that the bricks were touching each other! LOL!

The team must have really bucked up during the last practice as Aiman and his team won 2nd placing.

Congrats, Aiman! We are so proud of you and your team!