Resepi Mak Sebagai Penyelamat

Baru-baru ni masa dok cari resepi Beef Chillies, terjumpa resepi tulisan tangan mak dalam buku resepi masa saya di US dulu.

 Haaaa... tudia!

Dulu zaman sekolah menengah memang saya pelajar jurusan Sains Rumah Tangga dari Tingkatan 1 sampai 3. Tapi truth be told, tak reti masak langsung.

Bila saya masuk PPP/ITM (now INTEC), saya hanya reti masak sup ayam dan ayam masak merah saja. Nasib baik roommates ok dan since masak ikut giliran, depa tak la jemu makan sup ayam dan ayam masak merah.

Bila sampai masa nak fly ke US, mak pun bagi bekal resepi. Banyak jugak la. So boleh la tahan dan survive masa di sana.

Sambil-sambil tu baru lah belajaq masak termasuk masakan-masakan di sana. So, la ni after balik Malaysia dah twenty-odd years, memang dah cekap la masak.

Ada jugak yang saya buat jual 😃😃😃

Lasagna for sale. 

Saya tak la serious sangat meniaga makanan.. Saja syok-syok. Kalau masak untuk anak-anak dan ada lebih, barulah saya offer kat buyers.

Walaupun dah berniaga makanan, masakan mak jugak yang paling sedap!

Dental Hygiene Is VERY Important!

Yesterday i had to endure 5 hours of meeting sitting next to a person with a foul-smelling mouth! It was the most horrific meeting experience i've ever had.

I'm not condemning the person here but we all must be aware of at least our appearance especially in a new environment because the first impression does make the difference.

I'm pretty sure she (ya, SHE!) takes good care of her appearance because she dressed well yesterday. She must have a problem with the gums or teeth.

When you work in an office:
● Floss your teeth always
● Brush tour teeth (and tongue) after lunch
● Suck on breath mints before meeting people
● Always check the smell of your breath - exhale into your hands and smell your breath
● Visit the dentist and have those cavities filled, if you have any
● Gargle with oral antiseptic solution

These are some of the things that i can advise you (and remind myself!). I was literally gagging the whole 5 hours.

I tried looking the other way but she kept trying to say something to me and i had to turn and face her.

I had to cup my chin and use my fingers to cover my nose as if i was bored with the meeting.

I had to appear as if i was thinking half of the time by putting my thumb on the side of my chin and use my index finger to cover my nostrils.

I didn't enjoy the meeting yesterday as i always did. I didn't know what's going on. I couldn't watch and enjoy people's antics during the meeting. It was pretty awful!

I am not one to criticise God's creation but being hygienic is OUR responsibility to take good care of what God has given us.

Urgh!

Keep and use them in the office!

Sambutan Raya Sekolah Zoey

Tahun ni dekat 2 minggu Zoey dok bising suruh mama buat biskut raya sebab dia nak bawa pi jamuan raya sekolah dia. Siap bagitau kena buat 40 bijik untuk the whole class.

Mama kata boleh ja bawak maruku atau kerepek pisang untuk jamuan raua dan dia tetap ulang kena bawa 40 bijik.

Hmm... buat jugak lah 40 bijik biskut raya untuk dia. Ofkos dia bawak lebih la sebab dapat over 100 bijik. Yang paling senang ialah Cornflakes Madu. Hehehe... sesuai dengan tahap kerajinan mama. Humban semua, kacau2 dan bubuh dalam paper cups dan bakar 10 minit.

Tadaaaaa...

Ofkos Zoey kena tolong. Dia tolong susun paper cups ja la.

Esoknya tu dia sangat excited nak pakai baju yang super awesome. Hahaha...

Nah haih! Hahaha... kelas ko Zoey!

Oh! Dia super happy laaaa dapat pakai baju dilwale-gerua yang mama buat untuk program Gala Nite kolej mama aritu.

Mama balik dari ofis dia excited bagitau dia menang baju raya cantik dan dapat hadiah makanan apa ntah cikgu dia bagi dan dah habih makan kat sekolah.

Pagi tadi mama layan special sikit. Makan pancake for breakfast.

Syok pulak tengok pancake ni naik gebu gebu camni

It's High Time

Lately I've been feeling down and I do know that some of my friends-cum-colleagues have mutual feelings too. We've been discussing about this one particular topic for a while now - early retirement.

Many things sparked this feeling among and in us. We are all still teachers at heart but lately (well, as of a few years now, actually) we don't have that special feeling inside anymore. The feeling wanes each and every single day.

Now don't misunderstand me. The only happy moment for us is when we enter our classes and meet our students. They're our only way of getting in touch with reality of some sort.

It's the bureaucracies that hamper our genuine interest in the profession. Presently, what we are actually doing is trying to achieve other people's ambitions. There are so many things that are expected of us to achieve that teaching is not our core business anymore.

It's not about imparting knowledge, sharing experiences and educating our children (read: students) anymore. It's more about pushing them to get higher grades (read: A+, A, A-) and our very self-esteem rests on these grades. We are also graded (annually and much to our dismay) based on the grades our children attain. We are given star ratings. We are given rankings. Those lucky enough to get many excellent students will be given many stars and higher rankings. Others are deemed incompetent (psychologically).

There is an outflux of lecturers lately from our college - as many as 3 (and this is not a normal figure). Now, if 'the power that be' realizes it, they should be alarmed. The figure is very abnormal and i'm sure there are more who are in the process or are contemplating of taking the same route.

I've been talking to them. And they all gave me the same answer - it's just not there anymore (pointing to their hearts). And that's exactly how many of us feel.

Very recently, an ex-colleague asked us 'takkan korang nak mereput kat situ je?' (don't tell me you guys are gonna rot there? - literally translated). Well, he may be right and he may be wrong. He got an unexpected avenue to get away from all these limbos because someone pulled him out and placed him elsewhere where he's happier. He is also wrong about rotting here because we know for a fact that he too doesn't enjoy teaching anymore. He's just lucky yo get that break that he really needed. The fact of the matter is, he is still working for other people and striving very hard to achieve other people's ambitions too. He's no more different than us who are 'rotting' here.

We are government servants and that's what we really are - just servants. We may have people aspiring to become head of departments, directors and the higher ups in the upper ladders. At the end of the day these servants are still servants except that they may become butlers (higher level servant) as compared to us.

Again, don't get me wrong. The pay is good. It's actually better than the private sectors. Way better. But, what can money do to you if you are unhappy and miserable? How can it make you feel better about yourself if you can no longer understand about what you are supposed to do?

Maybe I'm tired of all these.
Maybe I want to do something else for a change.
Maybe I want to become a street hawker for a month.
Maybe I want to become a writer, writing novels about various themes and not focusing about the monetary reward.
Maybe I want to do crafts and give them away to people.
Maybe I want to have a stint as an actor.
Maybe I want to volunteer with UNICEF.
Maybe I want to travel the world.
Maybe...
Maybe...
Maybe...

Maybe those are what I should do.

I had a heart-to-heart talk with my husband this morning. I pointed out to the fact that he started living his own dreams right after we got married 21 years ago.

He's happy psyching-up whenever he's starting a new project.
He's enthusiastic when pursuing one of his hobbies giving guitar lessons to newbies and amateurs alike for a mere rm10 per session (each session can last for a few hours).
He's beaming when cooking and operating his own hip cafe although we charge very minimum price compared to other similar cafes.
He's enjoying his own rhythm and embracing his blues when he's mixing recorded songs in his own recording studio.
There are so many things that he gets to do and actually enjoys doing them - even if they're not financially rewarding.

He's happy and fulfilled.

These are the things that I seek.
These are the things that my parents fail to understand.
These are the things that plague and torment me.

So this morning i asked for his blessing.
I need his blessing.
To allow me to decide on my own terms when to stop what I'm doing right now and to start making me feel happy or happier.

I will give myself at most 5 more years (maybe less) to stay in this profession.
I will in turn need a different kind of support from him for a change.
I no longer need him to tell me what I'm doing is good for the community.
I no longer need him to convince me that I should feel good about what I'm doing.

I need him to support me emotionally.
I need him to support me mentally.
I need him to support me financially.

It's high time for me to focus on my happiness for a change.

Zoey's Going Camping

Ni lah first time Zoey nak pi camping. Dah berminggu dok menyanyi nak pi camping. Si tomorrow is the day.

Penat laaaa mama tolong dia kemas beg. Nasib baik cikgu dia bagi senarai barang yang nak kena bawak. So arah2kan dia ambik hat tu hat ni saja. Orang tengah excited ni mudah saja nak suruh buat kerja.

Since beg dia ada ruang kosong, mama bubuh la bantai busuk dia. Hehehe... harap-harap dia tak segan dengan kawan-kawan dia.

Sebelum dia masuk tidoq, dia peluk as usual. Mama pulak peluk lama sikit than usual. Sempat pulak dia bisik kata "don't worry. 1 hari 1 malam jeee...."

Take care zoey! I hope you enjoy yourself tomorrow.

*sob sob

Batu Seremban

Kalau kat tempat saya belah utara nu kami panggil Batu Tujuh, antara permainan yang best zaman kecik-kecik. Boleh dimain sorang-sorang, berpasangan atau berkumpulan.

Batu Tujuh atau Batu Seremban zaman la.

Beberapa minggu lepas zoey bawa balik batu seremban (gambar). Saya dah syak ni mesti beli. Ya! Sebijik 5 kupang. Dia beli 7 bijik (tu hilang dah sebijik). Seperti biasa saya berleter la beberapa hari. Tak nampak dia main pun. Tak reti kot. Tapi memang cantik la batu seremban alaf baru ni.

Zaman sekolah dulu kita kutip batu ja, champion la main batu tujuh ni. Merata tempat main sampai batu jadi bulat. Macam2 cara dan gaya.

Kalau main berpasangan paling best. Kiraan mata dicampur dan lawan lah dengan pasangan lain.  Sebelum dapat partner, ofkos kena share nak oo-som dengan orang yang kita nak jadi partner kita tu. Hmmmm... zaman kecik2 dah ada unsur cronism dah. Partner in crime oo-som saya ialah Mahsuri. Tak tau lah dia ingat ka dak lagi. Mesti menang punya lah.

Balik rumah mesti praktis lagi supaya dapat mengekalkan standard permainan. Hahaha... bila standard menten, partner in crime pun mesti lah mau partner dengan kita lagi.

Mak saya dulu pernah kata "main la sangat-sangat. Satni nak tidoq dok dengaq batu tu bunyi sendiri". Huih! Ketaq jugak baq hang! Mujoq laaaa tak pernah dengaq batu tu main sendiri.

Zaman la depa naik skateboard ja walaupun dah series 40 ni... (Pun intended to a very dear friend. Hahaha...)

Permainan Dulu-dulu

Hari ni masa mengemaih lemari, saya susun kain-kain batik. Walaupun saya tak pakai kain batik sarung sebab lebih selesa pakai seluaq, saya ada banyak lai jugak la kain batik.

Terjumpa banyak lai kain batik pemberian Maktok. Ada yang dia bagi masa dia duduk dengan saya. Ada yang mak bagi lepas Maktok meninggal dunia. Saya tak pakai sebab sayang. Kain batik Maktok cantik-cantik. Ada yang dia beli sejak tahun 60an dulu. Sebab tu saya sayang nak pakai.

Ni kain-kain batik Maktok yang ada dalam simpanan saya. Masih seperti baru. Ada selai yang masih ada bekas pelekat kertas. Tak pernah pakai lagi la tu.

Masa zaman saya kecik-kecik dulu, mana ada mainan hebat-hebat macam la ni. Jadi kain batik maktok dan chik akan jadi mangsa saya. Depa akan bagi kain batik yang lusuh la untuk saya main.

Zoey jadi model kelubung ninja

Kelubung ninja ni saya akan buat time tengahari. Kalau nak pi main dengan cucu toksu sebelah rumah maktok, tak la panas. Kadang-kadang main jadi hantu. Jadi hantu tak boleh la nampak bentuk badan. 

Zaman dulu-dulu di kampung maktok, satu kampung akan share satu jamban yang terletak di tepi sungai. Kalau nak pi jamban, kena berpakat la dengan cucu toksu sebab jauh dari rumah dan kami tak sekolah lagi time tu. Tak berani pi sorang-sorang. Jadi kami akan pakai kelubung macam ni la sebab tak mau orang tau sapa nak pi berak (walaupun satu kampung memang dah kenai pun).  

Buleh buat anak patung. 

Saya panggil Neena tolong saya buat anak patung ni.

Nina kata kat Zoey "mak hang buat daaaaahhh adik oi... apa pulak projek mama kali ni."

Diam dan tengok ja lah!

Selain dari kelubung ninja, saya buat anak patung. Saya dan cucu toksu akan bantu-membantu buat anak patung sorang satu.

Zoey sangat happy dapat anak patung kain batik ni walaupun mula-mula tu dia tergelak-gelak malu dan agak reluctant nak pegang.

Nah! Bagi henbeg pulak kat dia!

Hehehe...

Lepas selesai sesi anak patung, saya buat pulak henbeg dari kain batik. Tersengih-sengih Zoey tengok. Yaa... Neena jugak lah pembantu saya. 

Permainan zaman kecik-kecik saya sangat lah cool (suka hati ja, kan). Murah, mudah dan buleh dapat anak patung, henbeg dan jadi ninja dalam macam-macam warna dan corak.

Selain dari tu, masa tidoq, chik akan selimutkan saya dengan kain batik. Sesuailah dengan ketinggian saya masa tu.

Ok. Cukuplah cerita permainan guna kain batik ni. Next time mungkin saya cerita permainan lain pulak - ikut ilham yang mai dalam kepala time tu lah.

Bye!

Rumah Maktok

Beberapa hari lepaih kawan saya share satu gambaq dia ambik masa dia pi backpacking di thailand (walaupun dah masuk kategori tua dah - 40an - dia masih gigih backpacking merata denya. Dia memang da bomb!)

Nice kan?

So anyway, gambaq dia ni teruih mengingatkan saya kat rumah maktok saya. Ofkos bukan warna biru macam ni tapi susunatur lebih kurang ni dengan meja dan kerusi kayu tu.

Meja kayu di rumah maktok duduk rapat dengan tingkap. Tingkap gaya rumah tahun 60an dulu - ada daun tingkap. 

Di meja tu saya akan breakfast. Lunch di meja lain. Maktok selalunya makan roti mengali dengan ikan goreng perangat. Saya akan makan samada pulut sambai, pulut inti atau nasi dagang mak yam kelantan.

Dulu di kola kedah ada sorang orang kelantan yang meniaga makanan kelantan di market. Jadi dah biasa makan nasi kerabu jugak. Ada satu makanan pulut rasanya dia masak dengan gula merah dan makan dengan nyoq. Sedap.

Anyways, sambil makan sambil tengok orang lalu lalang depan rumah maktok. Di tepi tingkap tu ada pintu untuk turun ke pelantaq - tempat saya lepak2 sambil main anak patung, main masak2 atau makan tengahari terutama time ayaq pasang (ayaq laut pasang kadang2 sampai 2-3 kaki tinggi time tengahari dan surut beberapa jam lepaih tu).

Malang sekali tak dak pulak gambaq zaman2 tu. Tambah2 di rumah maktok. Sapa la nak dok tangkap gambaq, kan?

Al-fatihah untuk maktok.

Distorted Views

I saw this on facebook today shared by a friend. I have to say that these views are a bit off and they should not be used to make us feel good about things that are not right.

We ARE hot and gorgeous. Why pound on our self-esteem? Feel good about how you look. It makes you more confident and you'll feel amazing too.

I don't feel sorry or sad for not having an amazing figure or a flat stomach. My body carried all my children for 9 months (the eldest is now 20) and i'm more proud of this fact and sad that people don't see it positively and focus more on how it literally looks.

I AM a model. We must all be models to our young ones. Don't have a shallow view on this. We can be models for everything and in everything that we do. 

I eat and love food too (and i do love my shape!) but that doesn't mean I have to eat everything that comes my way. Eat healthily and discriminately. Choose what you put into your body. After all, we only have 1 body. So take care of your body. Nobody wants to listen to your sad guilt after you've eaten whatever you've eaten.

Despite the notion of being liberated with your PJs and no make-up day, we should be presentable. We should look good always. Look good for ourselves. When we look good, we feel good, be more confident, have a more positive outlook on life in general and be more optimistic. we become happier and value life more.

Cut with the 'i don't pretend to be someone i'm not' crap. It's your choice in the first place. If you know yourself well you don't have to pretend to be someone you're not in the first place and then feel guilty about it.

Some things may sound good at first but don't take things at face value. We are all intelligent people with a unique mind of our own. Use your brain. Scrutinise everything people throw at you. Evaluate, analyze and assess everything because we are better than that 1 foolish self-centered meme.

RUMAH KAMI

Satu hari balik dari keja ternampak la kertas tergantung kat grill pintu depan.

Pelik jugak la, kanna?

Hehehe... orang kedah rupanya kami niiii...

Macam-macam akai depa tera nak besaq.