Fear of losing?

Aiman had the heats for his swimming gala yesterday. He talked about nothing else all week this week and last week. He talked about winning. He talked about getting the trophy and the medal. To him, there was no in between.

Which parents would not want their child to succeed, but, we learnt from last year's experience that winning isn't everything. It would only pressure him too much. So, my hubby and I told him that we would be proud of him if he wins, but, even if he doesn't, we will just be happy if he just completes the race this year. Last year, he stopped midway in the pool and cried when he realised that he was losing (August 29, 2007 - Expect the unexpected).

We spent the last one month psyching him up mentally and physically for the race. Each Sunday morning my hubby would take him to the swimming pool to practice. We kept telling him that we would like him to complete the race, even if he is going to end up last, and that we would still be proud of him. But, he kept insisting that he was going to win.

We were afraid that he might get disappointed if he lose, but, not wanting him to think that we have no confidence in him winning, we told him that we would be very happy if he wins, but still be equally happy either way. We did not want to put pressure on him. We just wanted him to enjoy the experience of being in a competition.

It was actually his own initiative to join the swimming gala, and we supported his decision. Early this year, when I asked him if he was going to join the gala this year, he said no, so we didn't insist, but, two days before the closing date, he brought back the entry form and told my hubby to sign.

Even while my hubby was filling in the entry form, I asked him again if he was really serious, and whether he was going to finish the race. He said that he was going to win! We are proud of his high ambition and confidence, and so, we gave him all the moral support he needed.

On Thursday night, he complained of a stomachache. Even after I had put oil and massaged his tummy, he was still feeling uncomfortable. We realised then that he was nervous about the heats the next day. Again, we assured him that we will be just as equally happy even if he finish last, as long as he completes the race. Again, he kept insisting that he was going to win. Yet, he was a nervous wreck that night, and he is only eight!

He was also nervous that Friday afternoon when I went to pick him up at my MIL's house to bring him to the heats. He kept on clinging to me and wouldn't let me go. I kept assuring him that he will be OK, but, as the time drew nearer to the heats, he was getting even more jittery.

I had a 3.00pm meeting to chair that afternoon, and so had to leave him. But, my hubby and I had already agreed that we would take turns to come and give him moral support, even though my hubby also had a meeting that afternoon. We were only told about the heats the day before, so I could not change the date of my meeting at the last minute.

I left when I saw my hubby arriving, but not before I wished my son good luck, kissed him and told him that he will be OK. I explained to him why I had to leave, and he understood. My hubby told me that when he got to the pool, my son was already so nervous that his face had started to turn red, and he looked like he was about to cry.

Even when his friends was giving him encouragement, it was almost obvious that he was not going to compete even in the heats. His cheeks were streaming with tears as he stood at the edge of the pool at the starting line, despite my hubby's encouraging words and assurance.

When it seemed like he was going to be holding up the other participants, my hubby pulled him to the side, and his teachers came to give him assurance, but, by then, he had already made up his mind that he was not going to compete. It seemed like he had already given up even before trying. He wanted to win so much, but, I guess, when he saw how the others swam, he probably felt that he wouldn't be able to win, and to him, probably, anything less then winning was simply too much to bear.

I wish I knew what exactly was running through his mind at that time. I did asked him when I met him that evening, but he just said that he just did not want to compete. I just hope that it has nothing to do with the fact that I wasn't there for him when he was about to compete, even though my hubby was around.

My hubby and I gave him all the moral support that he needed to boost his confidence the night before the heats. We reminded him that we would rather have him race and not win, then to not race at all, because he kept asking us what if he doesn't win. We kept telling him that winning isn't everything, but participating is what is important.

I was late for my meeting that day, and so was my hubby. We made the trip all the way to his school for the heats, so, our first reaction was one of disappointment when he suddenly chickened out even before starting, especially when it was he who wanted to compete in the Gala in the first place. We never pushed him for it. *sigh*

I must agree with Mel that, even as parents, we are still learning, and that there is no hard or fast rule about parenting. The ones learning is always us first! I think we're more blur as parents than as kids. I only wish I knew what was going through his mind, so that we can better understand him, and understand where we went wrong......

Whatever it is, Aiman, please know that we love you!

Can you believe this?

How can someone be so cruel, so heartless, so inconsiderate, so..... ooohhhh!! If I have a magic wand, I will turn such heartless people into ugly toads!

It was reported in the New Straits Times today that a robber said sorry before they drove off with a new RM100,000.00 van. The cheek of them! Like as if saying sorry will relief them of their sins!

What got me mad was the fact that the robbery took place at a Rumah Kasih in Jalan SS3/84, Petaling Jaya. Rumah Kasih is a place for young children without parents. It is a welfare home. You are supposed to give hope to these children, not take it away from them. What's more was that the van was only recently donated by a generous company just 3 months ago to ferry the children to school. UUrrgghh! That makes me even more mad that someone could be so cruel to inconvenieced the kids that way!

People like these don't deserve to walk the streets. They should be put in jail for the rest of their lives! The way they treated the home administrator and the kids was horrible, putting a parang to her throat. I hope they will be punished on earth and in hell for their sins!

So they managed to drive away with the van, but I hope the van will give them plenty of troubles. I hope they will be caught and brought to justice. I have so many ugly words I want to say to them, but, it's not even worth giving them a chance to listen to my sweet voice! They deserve to listen to the voice of the judge, whom I hope will give them the worse nightmare ever, worse than the ones they put the children through!

The world will be a better place without people like them!

An evening spent......

I thought I was making much progress on my Mandala Garden, because I stayed up till midnight last night and a couple of hours this morning working on the Mandala Garden piece. At about noon, I realised that I had missed a SQUARE! Oh NO!!

I thought I could just proceed but, I couldn't, because it affected a lot of other neigbouring stitches, so, I spent the whole afternoon unpicking! Urrgghh!!

It was only in the evening that I managed to start again on the piece, and I am back to where I realised my mistake. So, not too bad, but....*sigh* I could have made much more progress had I spent the afternoon stitching instead of unpicking, but, oh well.....

The photo here shows the gates to the gardens, which I had to unpick and restitch. This piece has four gates. This is the second one that I started on. Because of the close shades of grey, it is so easy to miscount. I miscounted too when I started on the first gate. I stopped and moved on to other areas of the piece when it happened the 1st time. I thought I would be more careful the 2nd time around, which I was, actually, but still, I miscounted.

I had planned on starting on a new 'mobile' piece since I am about a quarter done on the LHN Chocolatte Shop. But, I guess, it is just not meant to be...*sigh*

It's late.....it's time for me to retire for the night....

This is for Ma.....

If you are wondering where was your youngest son tonight, he was here with me, having dinner, and later went online to update his blog.

We didn't have anything special for dinner, but he finished 3 plates of rice! *grin*

I just made vegetable tom yam, bought ikan patin masak asam pedas, sayur kangkong, lampong goreng bercili and, yes Ma, our favourite, no, not Azan's favourite, but yours and mine *grin* - rebung masak lemak cili api! yum!

There are still leftovers of the rebung masak lemak cili api, since I am about the only one eating it, so, I am having that again for dinner tommorow night! *grin*

A gift that made my day!

My day today started out like as if I am going to have a very bad today. I could hardly drive myself to work this morning, trying very hard to keep awake, as I could hardly sleep last night.

It all started when I got a call from the top management office yesterday afternoon to come in for an investigative interview this evening with regards to a project I am handling which is running into some major problems.

I had only recently taken over this project from the previous Project Manager, and just my luck, she handed over to me all the problematic projects, while she carries with her all the glamorous projects.

I hardly slept the night before thinking what investigative questions I am going to be asked, as I am unfamiliar with what had taken place during the course of the design process and the early stage of construction. Whatever I know would only be what was recorded and minuted in the files.

Upon my arrival at the office, my Director called me up asking me to prepare a report of the said project. He wanted to see the report before the interview, which was slotted for 4.00pm. I have a 9.00am meeting to attend on behalf of my Director who is outstation, and I am chairing a project meeting at 2.30pm. I am left with very little time to prepare the report and mentally prepare myself for the interview. I also needed to visit the site to see what the progress on site is in order to prepare myself for the interview.

I could almost feel my knees buckle under pressure from the stress of trying to do so many things all at one time. My officer in charge of the project had to take emergency leave due to some family emergency, so, you can imagine the panic and anxiety attack that I was going through in the morning, all before 9.00am!

It was then that my assistant walked into my office and handed me a flat package. I looked up at him, puzzled. I saw the label on the package that said “CROP-n-SCRAP”.

I couldn’t recall when did I ever make any order at CROP-n-SCRAP. Despite my panic state of mind, I sliced open the package, and, what I saw in the package, and the note that came with it put a smile on my panic stricken face. LOL!

BJ had kindly RAKed (Random Act of Kindness) me a gift when she saw that I was back to doing scrapbooking. Her note said, “Since you are scrapbooking again, I figured that you might need some help! Have fun! “

The package contained 6 pieces of 12” x 12” scrapbook papers, all in my favourite pink and green colour, a length each of pink and green ribbons, and pink rick-rack lace.

Oh my gosh! The package could not have come at a much better time! I would have wanted to `play’ and admire the papers, ribbons and rick rack, but I had a 9.00am meeting to rush off to, but not before I smsed BJ my thanks for such kind thoughts.

Thank you so much, BJ! I couldn’t express enough my joy when I saw the package from you, especially when it came at just the time that I needed a boost to my day!

Needless to say, the investigative interview went quite well, though I have loads of work to do with regards to this project. I answered all questions truthfully, and I learnt a lot about my new role as a Project Manager. I am looking forward to doing the best I can in whatever challenges that comes my way in my quest to become a successful Project Manager and leader.

A first page done last! *grin*

Yup! This is supposed to be the first page for the All Day Outing at KLCC, but I couldn't get myself in the mood to write the journal first when I started out on the scrapbook after such a very very long break from doing scrapbook.

I finally completed this page tonight, and I am happy to 'show it off' to all my `loyal' readers. *smile*

The page is pink, my favourite colour *wink*, and I had used wrapping paper for half of the background which I cut out along the motifs, instead of taking it in total, and mixed it with a pink squiggle page on white for the other side.

The "OUTING" letterings are stamped and cut out using Technique Tuesday's Boulder Skyline Clear stamps which I bought during my trip to Singapore last year. Finally I get to use my clear stamps! In fact, with this latest project in scrapbooking, I am finally using most of the scrapbook stash I bought in Singapore. Now it makes my trip really worth it! LOL!

Some of the cliparts are from PcCrafter. Oohh! I simply love their graphics, and they are so easy to download. I get them instantly! No waiting for the CD to arrive! I can use them immediately for my projects, no matter how late I am up working on a project while the creative juice is still flowing! LOL!

A First!

I am simply SPEECHLESS when Emily presented me with this award! I have never won any awards online before, not to mention any contest. My luck with lucky draws are simply the pits! LOL! I only win a lucky draw when everyone wins a prize! LOL! Pathetic, huh? LOL!

I am blushing beetroot too with what Emily wrote in her blog about me -

"Nik Ainun who is a dedicated and caring organiser at Needles & Crafts!, she excels at cross stitch and book scraping AND a terrific cook (the two men in her life will testify to that!). All this while holding a demanding job!"

Wow! Thanks, Emily! I am feeling on top of the world! *smile*

As I have worn this award, it is now my pleasure to pass on this lovely award to some of the talented ladies I have met online. And they are:

Faizon is one great tatting sifu! She has recently come out with a book on tatted snowflakes designs, and they are being sold at her blog. Her works has also been recently mentioned at the Needlework Craft Group. She has been trying to get me to pick up tatting for some time already, but, with my busy schedule, I can't afford to pick up another hobby! I think she has given up on me to pick up tatting for now! LOL!

Lillie is one very talented lady who churns out stitching product after stitching product while we, at NNC, chat away! LOL! Every two weeks, during the WIP Report Week at NNC, she would come up with an impressive list of finished products that almost always puts us to shame! LOL! *wink*

This young lady is one very talented person who loves sharing her knowledge and talent with others who wants to learn more about sewing. Tini teaches to make baju kurung, and she has recently come out with a lovely laptop sleeve which I want one too!

I am always at awe with Lody's lovely stitching and finishings. Her works has many times been featured in a number of cross stitch magazines, one being The Gift of Stitching. Because of her good work, she is being featured in the magazine on a regular basis. She hopes to open up her own online shop one day, and I can't wait for that day to come!

Mel is another very talented person who does such lovely works, and is very inspirational. Her tutorials on the crafts that she does make things look like they are so easy to do! Thanks, Mel!

I first 'met' Niza through a group she set up, but later left it when she wanted to concentrate more on her family and crafts. She does such lovely work, that each time I see her work, it makes me want to pick up my needle and threads immediately!

Well, now that I have passed on this award, it's time to state down the rules for the next in line -

1. The winner may put the logo on her blog.
2. Put a link to the person you got the award from.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to the blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees

Have a great day everyone, and thanks again, Emily!

Aiman's 1st scrapbook page!

About 2 weeks ago, Aiman was feeling restless and bored at home as he was home earlier than usual as I had taken leave to run some personal errands, and so decided to pick him up from school too and bring him home. I thought it would be a good idea for us to spend some extra time together.

So, when he complained about being bored, and since I was about to sit down and do some scrapbooking on our outing to KLCC Park the week before, I decided this would be a good time to get him interested in scrapbooking.

I gave him a box of images and cliparts to choose from, a box of photos from the outing and asked him what he would want to write. He had no help from me what so ever in the layout of the page, nor did I tell him what to write.

I only helped him to cut out the alphabet 'KLCC', as that was what he wanted me to do, using my sizzix die cutter, and corrected his grammar for the write-up. He had typed the story himself. I helped him put in the clipart as the background for his write-up as he has yet to learn that in his ICT class in school.

Not bad, huh, for his first ever scrapbook page? *wink*

And here, below are his mummy's scrapbook pages.......all 5 of them! LOL! *grin*

It's only a ONE DAY OUTING, but it took me 5 pages to tell the story! LOL! I just had to capture all the moments of fun that he had at the park! I still have one more page to make! *wink*

Once the last page is done, it's time to go back to my stitching which I had abandoned for the last 2 weeks!

A pillow called Smiley!

When the I changed the cushion cover for the cushion which I kept in the car, Aiman liked the new cushion cover so much, he wanted to give it a name. He said that the pillow now looks so cute, feels cozy, and he said that the appliqué of Sun Bonnet Sue smiles at him, so, he named the pillow SMILEY.

He would hug the pillow each morning as I drive him to school, and on most mornings, he would fall asleep hugging Smiley. He does look so cozy and cute! *wink*

A few days after naming Smiley the Pillow, Aiman came home and told me that he wanted to name the comforter I made for him too. And he has named it Whiesky. Yup, and that is how he wanted it spelt. Why Whiesky? Nothing to do with Whisky the drink at all, thank God! LOL! It’s named Whiesky because the comforter has lots of cats with whiskers as its motifs. LOL!

I find it amusing that my son has named his cushion and comforter, and so told my hubby about it, expecting my hubby to be equally amused, but……guess what? I ended up being even more amused when my hubby told me that he too had a name for his pillows and bolsters when he was about Aiman’s age! LOL!

He named his two pillows Sam and Hardy, reason being, one was soft, and the other one was hard. No prize for guessing which is which. *wink* He named his bolster Schroeder. Schroeder? Actually he wanted to name the bolster Shrimpy because it was long like a shrimp, but he said it sounded too sissy! LOL!

Did I name any of my pillows when I was growing up, Ma?

I affectionately called or referred to our old Proton Wira as Bee, not because it looks like a bee *grin*, but because the plate number starts with BEE. We have since sold off the car. I wonder if it is still road worthy today, but my hubby took good care of Bee when she was with us, and I was sad to have to part with her, but, we needed a new car as Bee was already getting old, and she was starting to be expensive to maintain.

Chaos in the city!

What a waste of fuel, not to mention the time too! Urrghhh!

Will Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim please sign my punch card for Monday? *wink*

I punched in at 8.40am Monday morning, when I should be punching in at 8.00am, all because the authorities went into 'panic mode' when it was reported that there will be a rally at the Parliament building on Monday to protest against the price hike in fuel.

I think many wasted a lot of fuel on Monday being caught in the massive jam, not to mention the chaos that was created due to the heavy road blocks everywhere leading to the Parliament building. Just my luck, I have no choice BUT to take Jalan Parlimen to get to work. Even the alternative roads were jammed up. *sigh*

My meeting on Monday was supposed to have started at 9.30am but it only convened at 10.00am because many could not get to the office on time. There were a few also that simply gave up coming altogether to the meeting when they were still caught in the jam getting from their office along Jalan Syed Putra to my office off Jalan Parlimen at 10.00am. What a waste of efficient time.

And all this because why? Because 'someone' reported that there was going to be a rally in town. It was said that it was Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim that said it, though he denied it.

If trully he did say that, that's really powerful. All he said was the word "rally", and the authorities goes into 'panic mode', blocking roads everywhere, causing massive jams and chaos all over the city.

A single man can actually do that? Wow! Mention the word "rally" and everything turns upside down? He even managed to get the US State Department to come to 'his defence' when the sodomy charges were brought against him just two weeks ago. It says a lot about this person, but, is he really such a great man?

The authorities apologised for the massive jams on Monday, but said that it was for the safety of the people, but, really, if Anwar Ibrahim denied it, then who could have spread the word around about there being a rally in the first place? Hmmm........

I arrived in the office on Monday with a splitting headache due to being stuck in the jam for so long. Despite my headache, I managed to chair two meetings back to back, but I went home feeling terribly exhausted and worn out. I went to bed early that Monday night.

What a waste, when I could have done so many things that night, and all because of what a single man said....whoever he may be....

DISCLAIMER: The author of this blog would like to categorically state that whatever comments and opinions posted in the comments section of this entry does not reflect, in any way, her own personal and official opinions and viewpoints.

Getting there........

After spending two solid hours working on the LHN Chocolate Shoppe, while waiting for Aiman to finish class, I am finally seeing some obvious progress on it. I think it is about half done. I can't wait to finish this piece as I am thinking of starting on another piece by LHN or CCN since I bought quite a few of their charts on my trip to Singapore last year.

I am giving myself another 2 more solid stitching to complete this. Hopefully I can get it done before our next Stitching Bee in August.

On the Mandala Garden, I made some small progress, but progress still, none the less. This weekend I did not work on it at all as I am in the mood to scrapbook. That is what I have been doing all weekend, except for the time I took to take Aiman for his classes. Of course I did not forget to prepare the meals and do the normal household stuffs too! LOL! *wink*

I will definitely put up my completed scrapbook pages ones they are all done. Keep a lookout! *wink*
>

Missing mum's cooking.....

My mum was here in Kuala Lumpur about two weeks ago for my youngest brother's university entrance interview. She was here for only two days, so she didn't have time to do any homecook dishes.

I miss my mum's cooking, especially Nasi Kerabu, Nasi Dagang, Nasi Berlauk, Satay, Pulut Kunyit with Chicken Rendang, and many more homecook dishes. My late grandmother was a great cook who could whisk up almost any food that the family desires, so, I guess, naturally, my mum just picked up the talent from her.

When she was here about a month ago, she made Nasi Kerabu which she made at my sister's house, but brought them over to my house for dinner. It was one of the best dinner we had in a very long time, because it was HOMECOOKED, and it was my mum's cooking!

As there were still some leftovers of the sambal tumis and the sambal ikan, I frozed them and later served it for dinner on one of the nights last week. I had to add the ulam-ulam though. Yum! It was like having my mum come over to cook us dinner that night! Yum! Yum! Thanks, Ma!

Tea Coasters and a birthday gift!

I received a lovely 6 piece set of tea coasters from Jess for the Tea Coasters Exchanged, organised by Usha, on Friday. It was made using the Japanese Kaleidoscope folding technique, a technique I have yet to learn.

Jess' work is really neat, and a lot of effort and time must have gone into making them, so, I doubt it if I will be using them to serve tea. *grin*

Along with the tea coasters came a belated birthday gift which were a piece of Flat Fats in Pink, a pinkeep and a roll of ribbons, also in PINK! Really nice! Love the pinkeep, and the flat fats is so sweet!

I definitely will have a use for the pink flat fats and the ribbon. The pinkeep will go onto my shelf of all things cute and pretty!

Thanks, Jess! Thanks for the lovely tea caosters an dteh birthday gifts! LOve them all!

Usha, thanks again, for organising the exchange!

A CUP too expensive

Usually, on Saturdays, after Aiman's classes, we would eat at KOPITIAM. Aiman loves the Kuay Teow Goreng there and the soya bean drink without ice. I like the Cantonese Fried Kuay Teow mixed with Bee Hoon. But, yesterday, my hubby said why don't we try something different once in a while. So, we decided to try out this new restaurant that opened about 2 months ago, located across from Bangsar Village called CHAWAN. It's at the old Devi's Corner.

I ordered the all day dining Pulut Kuning with Chicken Rendang. Not too bad, but the plate was so small, and it kept swinging left and right each time I want to cut up the chicken.

My hubby ordered the Nasi Dagang, which he said was just passable. He had tested better nasi dagang. Of course, my mum's nasi dagang would be the best! *smile*

Aiman order Hainanese Chicken Chop, which was a very big helping, but he did not quite finsih it. He did not like the sauce much, and neither did it look tempting enough for me to want to try it either.

The bill came out to RM53.60. That is quite steep for a place that does not look the least bit exclusive, except for the way the name of the restaurant was spelt - the old fashion way - CHAWAN, instead of CAWAN, meaning CUP. The food wasn't that great. At least, the ones we ordered weren't.

Will we be going there again for lunch? Maybe not...... maybe not so soon.......

A special request

My son has been asking me to make Nasi Lemak for breakfast for quite some time, but I have been so busy, I just couldn’t find the time to prepare the sambal.

My son said that my Nasi Lemak is the best! Pak Chu’s (my hubby’s youngest brother) nasi lemak is the second best, and he has a Nasi Lemak business, selling at one of the stalls in IKANO Power Center.

When my son said that my nasi lemak is the best, how can I refuse making it for breakfast, right? *wink* So, today, that was what we had for breakfast.

It’s been a very long time since I made nasi lemak. In fact, I think, since we stopped having a maid, because it takes a lot of time and preparation to make the sambal, the rice, and the sayur kangkong goreng. My hubby and I do not like nasi lemak much without the sayur kangkong. We simply love veggies!

My preparation started since yesterday with the making of the sambal first. I cooked the rice and the rest of the condiments this morning, and my hubby and son totally enjoyed it. It was worth the time and effort put into making the nasi lemak.

Thanks for appreciating my cooking, dear hubby and Aiman!

Beckham, sexy? Hmmm.....

Even if he is the last man on earth, I still wouldn't find him sexy. *grin*

Yeah, Beckham's lastest advert wearing the Emporio Armani underwear got many women excited, so it was reported. I am not, however, one of those women.

I think Beckham is just a lot of hype over nothing, or, as some would put it, "much ado about nothing". I was told that he's not even that good at playing football, but yet many has made him a football legend. I must congratulate his publicist for doing such a great job of making things look great, even when they are not.

Brad Pitt? NOW that is what I call a sexy man! LOL! *wink* Shhhhhh...don't let my hubby hear me say that! LOL! *wink* Brad's cute too! But, err....I don't find Angelina Jolie sexy, though many men will disagree with me. Must be her pouting lips. *grin* Men love those. Maybe I should start pouting my lips too? LOL! *blush*

In Malaysia, I think Ziana Zain is sexy, even when she is fully clothed, but, before my readers get any funny ideas, I don't find Ziana Zain sexy in the way men finds her sexy. *grin* We women appreciates beauty, and find nothing wrong to admit it when we see other beautiful or sexy women, unlike men, who are too macho and egoist to admit that another man is sexy or handsome. *grin*

Some women find Ziana Zain's brother, Anuar Zain, sexy. He is supposedly the guy that every woman in Malaysia wants. Some have labeled him as "Lelaki Idaman Malaya" - the man Malaysia wants!

I think he's cute, and, oh! I love his songs! All of them! Expecially LELAKI INI and KETULUSAN HATI. I can listen to both songs over and over again without ever feeling bored! I wish the radio stations would play more of his other songs too. He's been kind of quiet lately.

Erra Fazira is one women who I think is very beautiful, although her private life hasn't been all that beautiful. I felt sad the day she and Yusry announced that they are finally going their separate ways. They make such a lovely couple. I blogged about it, I think.

I even find her and Hans Isaac to also be a lovely couple, but it was never fated for them to be together. But, I hope that her marriage to Engku Imran will last a lifetime blessed with many children. They make such a beautiful couple.

BTW, I think Hans Isaac is cute too! LOL! *wink*

I think Siti Nurhaliza to be one very lucky women blessed with so many good things - looks, talent and wealth, although I find her marriage to Datuk K a little bit of a disappointment, because it kind of spoilt her squeaky clean image which she so protected, when she married a married man 19 years her senior! Well, OK, so he was already divorced, or, was in the process of going through a divorce when they got married. So what, he was married before, and it does not suit her squeaky clean image that she worked hard to put up all these years.

Shh......although I never told my hubby this, but, I find my hubby adorable and as I picture him in my head, it always puts a smile on my face as I think of him as I go about doing my work! *wink* It makes me just want to come home for a cuddly hug! *wink*blush*

Credits -
Photo of Erra Fazira was taken from Mangga Online
Photos of Ziana Zain and Anuar Zain were taken from Anuar Zain's official Website.
David Beckham's photo was taken from http://www.beckham-magazine.com/

A boring life?

OK, so my mum `complains' that all I write here, well, most of the time, are on my hobbies, my passion for my crafts. Err....can I help it if it is something that I am so passionate about? LOL! *grin*

Well, for one thing, I can't write and won't write much about the politics of the country since I don't want to get myself into trouble for saying the wrong things because I am a servant of the government of the day.

I will, however, post certain opinions on certain 'political issues' if I feel that it really gets to me and I need to get it off my chest. But, for now, I will just let the `current issues' 'plaguing' our country pass.

I do, however, find this article written by Zainul Arifin titled "A Charade that shows up in our political naivety" in the New Straits Times on Wednesday, 2nd July 2008, interesting.

He akins the current issues like being under a circus' big top. Hmmm......

I am not going to go into depth of what he wrote, but I do hope that our politicians would stop bickering with each other and just get on with the job of running the country. It's been more than 100 days since the election, and them being our representatives to voice out our grieviences and look into our needs should do just that - to 'fight' for what is best for us, and not what is best for them.

I quote a paragraph from Ainul's article that said,
"Politicians need to be careful. If they keep this up, they could be found to be irrelevant. People might soon wise up and see that the country is actually being kept together by civil servants".

That should make all civil servants proud to be a servant of the government! *wink*

Anyway, back to my `boring life', LOL! *wink* I wish I could blog about my travels, but I don't have time to travel for leisure. Most of my travels are for work. It would be nice if I could travel to interesting places like what my sister-in-law in the United States is currently doing. You can read it at her blog at http://www.photoblog.com/elinordin. Some people are so lucky! *wink*

My work is too hectic with very little time for leisure. Whatever 'leisure' time I have is spent at home doing household chores. When you have to do household chores, that is not considered as leisure time, right? LOL!

I have no maid to help me, though a weekly maid comes in for four hours on Sunday mornings to vacuum, sweep and mop the floor, and clean the bathrooms. If I feel a little bit more relaxed, I would do some crafting to release stress as my job gets more and more stressful.

Saturdays are spent taking my son out to his activity classes, and then, it's family time for the three of us. I enjoy these precious outings, but it's not interesting enough to blog, as all we do is go out to shopping complexes to shop necessities and eat. I am not a 'shop till you drop' kind of person, although I do spend quite a lot on craft stash. LOL! *wink*

Hmmmm.....neither is my life interesting enough *wink* to appear as a compere on CNN like my sister working in Renaissance Kota Bharu is doing. BTW, congrats, sis!

My sister, she's pretty, so I guess she's got the looks to do that kind of job. Me? I am just plain Jane. *grin* I get recognized for the things that I am capable of doing AFTER the job is done well. But, both my sisters, on the other hand, are pretty, who tends to make heads turn when they are around, and gets the job first because of their looks, and then, it's a try-out to see if they can do the job. So, OK, usually they do get the job done well. You see, we siblings are such talented people! *wink*

Am I sulking? LOL! No, not really. Noticed that I am laughing? *grin* I know my capabilities, and I know what I can and cannot do, and to be recognised for a job well done on many occassions that has surprised many, makes me feel good about myself, although I don't let it go to my head. My feet is still firmly on the ground. *smile* Must be my upbringing. My parents has brought us up well. Thanks, Ma!

You know, actually, I do have a lot I want to write about. I have a lot of things I want to say, and it is not just about my crafts. I have a lot of opinion on everyday life. I do want to put them down in words, but, my free time is so limited, and I am usually so stressed out coming back from work, and then there is the dinner to get ready, and my son's school things to look into. By 10.00pm, my eyes are almost closed! LOL!

To write, I need to be in the right frame of mind, or, it must be something that I need to get it off my chest. I used to be able to blog during lunch time in the office, if I am not rushing to go for another meeting in the afternoon, but, of late, I seem to be constantly in a panic mode, because I am now doing project management, and I have to be on top of things all the time.

My reporting must never be in the red that indicates that my project is late. I need to constantly update my report and monitor to ensure that the projects are running smoothly. I find myself breathless at times, when I cannot get the officer in charge to explain to me why the project is late, and my boss is breathing down my neck to get the report out.

Oohh! It's a challenging life, but, heheh..not interesting enough to blog about, or is it? LOL! *wink* Maybe I should blog about it? If I do blog about it, at least I can get it off my chest, right? LOL!

OK, it's late.....I need my `beauty sleep'. LOL! Yeah, right, like as if I will wake up feeling and looking like a Miss World tommorow morning! LOL! *wink* But, one day, I hope that I will wake up, and feel like I am at the top of the world! *wink*

ERA.fm's doing or undoing?

First they split up the much fun KnK pair, then they paired Kieran with AC Mizal and Hani, which I was beginning to enjoy before Hani decided to call it quits.

They went on a `womenhunt' to look for Hani's replacement, which, eventually, they found her in Aimee, but she never replaced Hani in the morning slot, but was hopping from time slot to time slot.

Now they have paired Kieran with Adi and Nana, which, at times, I find boring, especially when Kieran goes on leave, despite all the many prizes they give away each day.

The only reason why I stay on to listen to ERA.fm in the morning now is because of Kieran. He keeps me entertained as I drive through traffic each morning, and keeps me awake as I get sleepy from lack of sleep the night before.

I find Nana without much creativity, and Adi, though I find him cute *wink*, he has failed to get me to interested to listen to him babble each morning. Whenever Kieran goes on leave, I will either switch on to XFresh.fm or Light & Easy at 105.7.

Kieran's contract ends in October, so I read somewhere, and he has yet to indicate if he wants to remain at ERA.fm. If he leaves ERA.fm, then ERA.fm will lose one listener in me in the morning.

Just as I enjoy my drive to work each morning listening to KnK then, and now Kieran alone, I also enjoy my drive home in the evening as I listen to Linda Onn. I especially like the 6.00pm slot, as that is the time when I would most probbaly be driving home, as callers call in to tell what they like or do not like to hear in "Kuasa Dua - Apa yang sedap dan tak sedap di dengar". But, as of last week, ERA.fm has switched Linda Onn's 4.00pm to 8.00pm time slots with Reza and Aimee's 1.00pm to 4.00pm time slot.

As much as I like Reza, I prefer that he stays in his original time slot. I prefer to listen to Linda Onn's "Itu Ini" on my journey home, rather than Reza and Aimee's story telling time. I find it boring.

Though no offence to Aimee, but I have yet to get used to her, and her taking over Linda Onn's time slot is not making me start to like her at all, though I know that it is not her decision, but the management's decision.

What exactly is ERA.fm trying to do? Swing Linda Onn's listeners to 1.00pm? I don't listen to the radio when I am at work, so definitely I won't be swinging over to listen the radio at 1.00pm just because I enjoy listening to Linda Onn.

As of end of last week, when I finally realised that Reza and Aimee is here to stay at the 4.00pm to 8.00pm time slot, I have started listening to Light & Easy already on my drive home, and so, ERA.fm has lost another listener in me in the 4.00pm time slot. Maybe they don't care since it's only me, and I am only one person, but, what if there are many more like me who is just not in favour of listening to Reza and Aimee during their drive home?

I think ERA.fm, in their efforts to remain number ONE, has made many changes to keep the listeners entertained, but, by making too many changes, they have upset some of us, loyal listeners, who prefer things just the way they were.

They might have gained some new listeners with their new format, but, they might just also be losing many more listeners who have stuck with them all this while.

In my opinion, breaking up KnK was their greatest undoing, and now, shifting Linda Onn's slot might just be their second greatest undoing. Didn't the survey say that their number of listeners have dropped from 6.7 million to 4.5 million recently, despite still being NUMBER ONE?

A very slow progress

I can't seem to move fast enough with this Mandala Garden piece I am currently doing. It's a big piece, and even though I have put in a lot of stitches, I can't see much progress on the piece.

There are also many nights lately that I do not pick up the piece to work on it at all. I have been coming home terribly exhausted lately, mentally and physically. As much as I try to keep my eyes open, I find myself dozing off in front of the TV on many nights.

There are some nights when my hubby is out at the gym, I will try to stay up so that I can put in just a few stitches, just to make some tiny progress, but, I end up staring at the wall in front of me. It's just one of those times when things are simply hectic at work.

I look forward to the weekends when I can relax a bit, and catch up on some household chores, and spend more quality time with my hubby and son, going out just the three of us. I treasure these times, because they are becoming more and more precious as hubby and I get more and more busy with our careers.

Another piece I am working on is the LHN Chocolate Shoppe, which is my take-along project as it travels with me whenever I have to go outstation. However, I didn't progress much on this piece either as the lighting in some hotels rooms are simply not condusive for stitching. But, I bring my stitching along anyway, just in case.

The photo does not do justice to the piece. The fabric, overdyed opalescent in a mocha kind of colour, is really nice, but, for some reason, I can't seem to take a good photo of the piece despite using my new LUMIX camera. Maybe I am not taking the photo correctly, but, I am using the auto shot, so it should turn out right. *sigh* Must get to know my camera better.

On another craft note, here is the progress on my niece's purple bag which I must complete it by her birthday in August. Oopps! That's another month or so!

I didn't think it is going to take me a long time to work on this piece, as it took me only two days to make the pouch for her mum, but, this bag is definitely much bigger, so, it does take longer. Plus, I have not worked on this piece either for some time, except for yesterday when I brought it along with me as I waited for my son to finish his animation class.

Looks like it's going to be a slow progress on all my pieces! *sigh* I need a break from work! *grin*

It's finally handed over!

After four years of being involved in this project from conception of idea to designing of the building to construction, and going up and down to Kuala Terengganu every two weeks on Sundays for the past 18 months, we finally handed over the building to the client department on Thursday, 26th June 2008. It was a very simple handing over ceremony, and, though I am glad that the building is finally completed, I feel sad, as this project has been a part of my everyday life for the past four years.

I have learnt a lot from this project. This project has made me wiser and more matured in my thinking and problem solving. This project has many times challenged my management capabilities to the limits, and though there were many times that I felt frustrated with the way things are going in the process of solving technical problems to ensure that the project gets built the way it was designed to be, it's been a very good learning experience which I hope will come in handy as I move forward in my career.

I came back from Kuala Terengganu with a bruised thigh and knee and a cut. While doing my inspection rounds the night before the handing over, I slipped and almsot fell into the monsoon drain which was about 6 feet deep, but managed to grabbed the grass next to the drain to break my fall, before my friend caught on to me.

I had one leg up at the opening of the drain and one leg dangling in the drain. Can you imagine the sight? It was funny when I think about it later, but it wasn't funny when I was trying hard not to fall 6 feet down, hanging on tightly to the short bit of grass.

I think had the grass not been there (it was just recently planted), I would have had nothing to hang on to to break my fall.

I have been making my rounds at this project site for the last 1 1/2 years, and I am glad that I had never had any accidents while doing my work. I have climbed up to the peak of the roof, and I have gone down to the basement of the building when it was filled up with steel and conrete, but yet, just as we were about to hand over the project to the client department the next day, I just had to fall into the completed drain the night before! LOL!

I will still be making trips to Kuala Terengganu, though not as often, as there is still the defects period, to ensure that everything architecturally that still has to be done, are done correctly, right up until the end of the defects liability period.

So, if anyone of you goes to Kuala Terengganu, do take time to look around at this building. Approach the building at night from the front, because that is when the building looks its best. *smile*