Bits & Pieces of Me

          My son's wedding is around the corner. This afternoon I sat back and looked at my living room. Everything macam biasa.I looked at the curtains.Still ok saja. Stared long at the carpet.Quite old but not so worn out.Sofa? ok lagi. Rumah pengantin lelaki tak perlu lebih2 kan ? kan?      Two weeks to go for the reception in Indera Kayangan. Ok kut ? tak payah tukar apa kut. I need to just mop the floor and scrub that little2 corner...ok? fine.presentable..! ! siap.           Come I take you into the bilik pengantin. First if you notice the flowers on the side tables by the bed..well jangan complain.Those flowers are not meant to be there. They are there temporarily only.Fresh flowers will take their place on the big day.            Well ...only for my blog viewers...here it is..!! Orang lain tak tengok lagi tau..        Actually I wanted to take from the other angle, tiba2 jadi macam ni pula..boleh la.Since this is the room on the groom's side , I think we don

                     It was in 1980. I bought a soft black chiffon material  with grey flower patterns on it. Then I sent it to a tailor living next to my house in Telok Kachang .She turned it into a beautiful black dress. A low cut on top and a mermaid cut from the waist down. It turned out so nice.                     I had it ready to sing at a function in UITM Arau then. The dress was the only black dress I have masa tu.It was a smooth running event.I sang two songs that nite.The dress was comfortable and cling beautifully on me.                      I wore it to one more function after that until  one day a friend came to borrow it just to show her tailor the pattern of the dress.                      I waited for the dress to come back to me .I guess I waited for it too long.Because until now it never came back to me.She borrowed it for good ! !                      Once I saw her in Kangar two years later. She was with a girl about 3 years old.Must be her daughter.Just as I w

                       My son's wedding is coming really near.Just around the corner. I spend my time last night and this morning to clear some boxes in the storeroom. Came upon these photos..they were still in perfect condition .kept in a big box together with (  3 )other precious photos that are so priceless beyond words..to me.(Let they be my little secret )                        So much that I want to to say but I feel unable..Those photos when life was so good. No responsibilities. Enjoyed each and every second of it. I will tell you about some of the photos here.                     Kar Im persuaded me to join this girl guide thing.She said there were so many activities they did then.So she dragged me with her one day.Masuk la..kena pakai skirt pula. I was used to long skirts ( midi skirts) and jeans.So tempah la skirt ni.dark blue with matching light blue blouse.                        Best jugak join depa. Ada la juga something done in the evenings. Unfortunately Kar Im

       I know he is now a writer. I searched for the book high and low to no avail. Today I have the chance to meet the author in person when I handed him the invitation card to my son's wedding .        There he was a handsome man still, with his lovely wife Puan Salomi. I was suppose to spend a short time there..(memanggil bukan boleh lama2, banyak lagi rumah nak pi ) , but instead, an hour was gone without we realizing it.                                Stunning looking 'Tok Man ' in his younger days (in the centre).                           'Tok Man ' now ,with his love and source of inspiration Puan Salomi..        Nice talking to this man and his friendly wife.he sure has lots of expensive experiences over the years.Sweet and bitter .        He handed me the book, "Yesterday Tomorrow, sharing my thoughts" by Tok Man.        I couldnt wait long. Went home and straight opened the book and started reading. Only a few pages , I could feel t

        I have just finished my daily brisk walking. Still in my track suit ,sebelum balik I headed to the market on the way home. As usual beli la apa yang patut nak masak. The fishmongers semua dah jadi familiar faces, so are those vege sellers.         " Kak hari ni ikan murah kak oi, mai tengok, ikan pari segaq2 kut nak buat asam pedas..."         Finished buying ikan, beli udang sikit, buat perencah nak buat sayur.         The Chinese man yang jual udang said..         " Kemarin hang tak mai, udang elok2. Hari ni kurang sikit, tapi kalau hang mau aku ambik yang baru dalam besen di bawah meja.."         I nak tergelak.Ada pula sembunyi2 bawah meja.Habis jual atas meja baru take out the fresh ones.Kesian dia.Masih banyak udang ..berlonggok.Masa tu dah pukul 8 lebih..Boleh habis ka ?         I walked to the vege stall. The young man about 28 years old was the seller there.         "Ha kak " Sambil bagi basket kecik for me nak letak sayur..  

       " Mak, tengok kad kawin abg.dah siap. Tengok dalam group."        So eager berlari2 la I masuk bilik buka laptop. yes dah siap.He draft his own design.        " Ni special, tak dak juai di kedai tau mak.."        In the begining he wrote from Kelang ke Perlis, bunyi nya macam tak berapa puitis.The girl stayed in Taman Seri Andalas. So I said why not write dari Seri Andalas ke Indera Kayangan, baru gempak sikit.        So jadilah cover card tu like below..              The above is the card itself. He drew all the characters situ. Adik beradik, ipar duai.Kalau tak lawak bukan Imi namanya.I am just beside the groom, next to my son in law holding little Sara. Notice tepi Suhail hujung kiri ada a guitar beside him...              Tengok atas meja , siap ada petai..his favourite. Dekat petai belah kanan ada ayam.sebab di umah sini ada bela ayam kampung..ha ha.His car, his bride's cats,..watak katun Superman, the film "UP" and anything

 .                                  Pak Berahim and his grandson Fawwas            He was the most jovial man ever. A neighbour, an old friend who had done so much to the community of Taman Ira , the place I live.            When my children were still in primary school, he taught them mengaji. He was very particular about tajwid. and a good teacher he was , that until now my children knew their tajwid well bila mengaji. My eldest , Famila can even correct your reading spontaneously.            With his effort the surau in Taman Ira became a reality. Until now it stood strong just beside my house where people berjemaah and we even have activities going on from time to time.            Last raya we went to his house and Famila took along Sara . We had a good time chatting about old time.           He said to Famila " ingat lagi na mai rumah saya.. "           which Famila replied, " mana boleh lupa tok guru saya."           Lately his health was deteriorat

.            Something was not right. Felt tired, dizzy, the room felt like spinning around.. Took my phone and called..            " Ah keong ? free ka now? mai umah saya? "            " Sekarang tak senang la cikgu, malam sikit boleh ? sekarang saya di Aloq Staq."            At 830 pm ,he appeared.Looking tired. His first words...            " Awat cikgu ? tak sihat pulak ? sorry customer banyak. Tak dan mai awai.. "              I stretched out my left foot, he started his work..            Ah Keong is an experienced reflexologist. He learnt the techniques from his father who got it from his masters in China long ago...            Since as far as I can remember Ah Keong is always there when I need his help.Usually after a treatment  I rasa lega.I know this urut kaki business can improve blood circulation,reduce pain, and reduce stress which I need badly.            I remember my youngest son Suhail when he was 10 years old, selalu pitam, t

                   Ha ha, something to see masa brisk walking this morning. The man who nailed the trees returned.(Refer to my older post ) This time he did something different. Instead of knocking nails on the trunks, he changed his style of decorating the trees ( for God knows why  ! )..           He tied some of the trunks dengan tali rafia. Also dengan lebihan plastic ikat kotak yang biasa kita tengok tu. Not one tree, but many trees. Below is a colorful one.Red and white selang2..quite creative..Along the jogging track you see trees beautifully decorated with multicoloured strips of plastic ropes...                                    This is the last tree in the row.Agaknya dah habis tali masa tu..If his intention is to strengthen the trees, nailed them, then tied them, I wonder what he will do next, coat them with cement ? Men and the strange things they do..sometimes baffled you..( Crazy men la of course, bukan yang cerdik pandai tu...he he ) ..

 .             Dont  know what to say or how I feel. sorang lagi anak dah nak kawin.. My son, Ahmad Khazimi .happy ? excited ? touched? all in one..            Satu-satunya anak yang never serious. Just look at all his photos below. you will see why I said so..a joker in the family.           When he told me he is seeing someone and wanted to get married, we all laughed.. Betul ke? lawak ke sungguh2..            I tak ada sebarang objection. My son is in love and he wants to share his life with a special girl..so as a mother I sokong 100%..            "Dia orang Kelang mak, architect juga macam abang..2 years my junior "         ..thats all I know..During the enggagement time, dah set tarikh kawin 11th March akad nikah di Kelang.                                                                 Look at him, walau seribu orang tengok dia tak kisah..                                                       Buat serious tapi kami semua gelak..dengan selipar jepun di mana

                    5th day in the intensive care unit...Treatment continued. I was not showing much progress. I was tired , not much sleep there. So many serious cases around..On the next bed an accident victim, the other bed an old man in comma..At the far end a cancer patient ...death here and there..almost everyday..I couldnt make myself sleep at all.My eyes sunk deeper with dark circle...               At 3pm on the fifth day a woman was admitted into the ICU. She was put on the bed beside me.She was so near ,only inches away. The ICU was quite packed by then...               I heard the nurses talking, she just delivered a baby boy.She was from Langkawi.A lady in her late 30s. A big woman.There was a complication during delivery.She lost so much blood.               I could see how pale she was.Almost yellow. So pale..I could hear her breathing so hard.Almost gasping for breath.               I could sense something was wrong. I called out for the nurse. She examined her.

                   3rd day in the ICU...hospital treatment went on..I was in bed all the time.Not allowed even to pee.Everything done on the bed. Bed pan was my good friend. I just lie there             .I was connected to a monitor that will constantly check my heart rhythm. ECG was done from time to time to measure the rate and regularity of my heartbeats, also to detect the presence of any damage there.             My mind wondered wildly, back to my past.. adoi...fate was such..              "Cikgu, hari ni kita cuci rambut na?"              " Atas katil ? " I asked..              " Tak pa, katil ni boleh adjust macam2 bagi cikgu selesa"              So there I was, my hair being cleaned in bed.              Then something happened that night. It was still early, around 845pm. There were two nurses on duty. I was lying like patung cendana.Not able to move much because of all the wires .My eyes fixed on the ceiling. I was praying silently ...

           The tense inside me broke me up at last.I was keeping the pressure for years.Only one good friend knew my situation..One day I couldnt bear it any longer...Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my chest.My heart palpitates real fast..Some friends sent me to the clinic.                       In less than an hour  I was wheeled into the hospital ward. I felt the palpitations greater than ever. The nurses put me slowly in bed.A doctor came.They did ECG immediately. Another doc came into the scene.They were whispering something I did not understand.           Two attendants came. I was moved to a stretcher. Then they pushed me out of the ward. We came to a door .I read the sign.ICU  ! !            I asked the nurse..            "Why am I here ? Why ICU ? "            " Its better for you to be here cikgu.All the necessary equiptments are all here.Dont worry.You ll be ok ." With a smile on her chubby face.           They put me down on the big bed. It can be

                    In the name of Allah, the most beneficent, the most merciful..           Today is the day that again marks the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad SAW the person known as the last prophet of Islam, the supreme example of all people, a mercy to all mankind..            In school when this day came it was a heavenly practice to do the selawat with all the pupils in every class I entered. I would begin with some stories about Muhammad SAW. The part they love most was how he looked like..           Because it was a yearly activity it was like repeating the same facts but the stories never fail to attract them to know more about this last prophet..           " He was a handsome man, fair skin, broad shoulders, neither tall nor short, very white sparkling teeth, very deep black eyes, long eyelashes, hair reached his shoulders, a bit huskiness in his voice.."            " Teacher nabi handsome kan? "           "Yes very.. "       

.        I was wondering when is the time to do this. Lucky enough Faten has done this yesterday.Cantik la pula.. I never expect she is that good with her hands.She even went to the details with the beads and rose buds on the satin material in the basket. Congratulations Faten.Keep up the good effort.Lega mak tak payah bother dah about them.       Well actually these baskets are quite useful for the wedding day. They will be filled in with goodies for the guests.        So while the guests are enjoying the food someone will be carrying these baskets with some goodies and place it on the table for the guests. In a way tak payah lah guests nak walk to the main khemah and get the goodies after they finished their food...        While eating the guests will have a good time enjoying some soothing music. I have chosen some good evergreen music for the day. Suhail will be responsible to download them.The volume would be like we are in the hotel lobby. I hate loud music .sampai nak makan

                Friends called and commented about my post ' A narrow escape '. They asked whether I still remember the taxi's registration number. of course sampai mati I takkan lupa number tu..Tapi buat apa nak display number tu to the public.                Dia dah dapat balasan. Kena sebiji penumbuk kat muka.Mesti sakit because Pak Mid was a big man. Looking at his hands pun I can imagine how strong was the blow.                And I did not owe anything to the taxi man, because sebelum I jump out of the car I sempat baling duit tambang kat muka dia..you see garang dak I?  he he garang ? If only you could see my face masa dok tendang pintu taxi tu, pucat lesi..takut ! and when I remember the face of the taxi driver tu..OMG..horrible..                My friend said bagi buat apa tambang tu, he did not deserved being paid pun , she said. I dont know , maybe because duit tambang tu memang dah siap dalam tangan and I was busy to hold my kain lagi to get out, sebab tu

             Working in SK Kuala Perlis went on .It was a school with very friendly staff. Everyone was willing to help if I have any problem with my teaching especially the senior teachers. Kak Teh clicked on to me like the best friend ever.             Talking about my attire to school ,in 3 months I have a collection of beautiful baju kurung by then. It was cheap to sew myself ..                    The staff of SK Kuala Perlis masa tu..I was in my new pink baju kurung middle row, 7th from the right.(the ever smiling one he he)..Kak Teh was 5th from the left..seated in the front row beside the Headmaster .             One day an incident happened that made me shudder with fright every time I thought about it. The headmaster told me I have to go back on my own because he had a meeting in Kangar and expected to be late.Unfortunately Kak Teh's husband too was not able to come because he was away in A Star.            So we decided to take a taxi home. It was raining heavily