Beranak kat mana?

Di hujung-hujung trimester ke-3 ummu aiman ni, antara soalan lazim yang diterima ialah 'nak bersalin di mana nanti?'. Nanti ada tambahan soalan, 'berpantang kat mana nanti?' Pastu nanti mesti ada la yang nak tambah, 'bila nak tambah sorang lagi?' Kalau tanya abu aiman 'bila nak tambah sorang lagi' jawapannya 'la ni pun boleh', tengok la nak tambah apa hehe... Berbalik pada soalan pertama, keputusan sebulat suara telah diambil untuk bersalin di Kuantan.

Godak-godak kotak kat opis ni, terjumpa scroll surat beranak 'optional' si Aiman. Walaupun digulung dan disimpan dalam kotak scroll bertutup, tapi dah mula nampak kesan dimakan hari, ada tompok-tompok dah. Maka saya letakkan dalam frame dan seal terus dengan masking tape.

Birth Cert Aiman... macam dalam zoo.

Di Sydney dulu, selain daripada surat beranak formal, ibubapa diberi pilihan untuk mendapat surat beranak optional seperti gambar birth cert aiman tu. Ada beberapa pilihan background yang diberi. Sebab bapaknya si Aiman  tu suka pada flora dan fauna, maka tema surat beranak Aiman ialah Australian Fauna.

Bagi bayi yang lahir di luar negara, surat beranak dikeluarkan oleh negara tersebut. Kemudian kena ke pejabat kedutaan untuk daftar kelahiran, kemudian baru dapat Borang W yang dikeluarkan oleh kedutaan Malaysia di negara tersebut. Borang W ni kira macam surat beranak dia lah. Lepas tu baru boleh buat passport bagai, kalau tidak tak boleh pulak nak bawa balik budak tu ke Malaysia.

Saya tergelak pertama kali tengok 'surat beranak' a.k.a borang W ummu aiman dulu, 'awat besaq sangat?' tanya saya. Surat beranak saya kecik kiut aje, Taiping mali kan. Rupanya Aiman pun dapat borang W jugak.

Ummu aiman orang belgium, aiman orang ostolia, saya geng dengan baby lah nanti, orang Malaysia!

Bersederhana dengan Coklat

Semalam the whole day tak ada di ofis. Pagi ini masuk bilik, baru je letak punggung, dah ada orang ketuk pintu nak jumpa. Tau aje aku dah sampai. Nasib baik baru letak punggung, kalau baru keluar sesuatu dr punggung, tak sempat aku nak spray glade ni. 

Semalam ke Putrajaya lagi, mitim di KKM. Kali ini naik flight. Keluar rumah subuh-subuh sapi'ae sebab flight Kuantan-KL pukul 6.50am. Sampai di KLIA, my bos  showed me the way to ERL KLIA transit (dia meeting kat tempat lain). Maklumlah, saya tak berapa reti naik domestic flight dan guna public transport ni, orang kampung. Biasa naik international flight jer ;-p.  Pastu dari Putrajaya Central ke KKM naik teksi pulak.

Arrived earlier than the time the meeting supposed to start, saya pergi ke Anjung, sebab tengok ramai orang menuju ke situ. Betul! Ada cafe. So I went in and bought an egg sandwich with plain water just to 'alas perut', sebab dok agak nanti meeting mesti ada makan lagi. Surprisingly, people around me were taking big, huge breakfast, most of them. Bukan saya saja yang perasan rupanya, masa meeting tu ada kawan cerita makcik di depannya makan 5 keping roti canai in one go - unbelievable. Then he also saw a lady yang makan mee goreng, then tambah sepinggan lagi nasi goreng kot. These are the people working in the Health Ministry. And ironically, I was there for a meeting related to Malaysian Dietary Guidelines...

The meeting was adjourned after lunch. So I went to KLIA using the same method, melepak sementara menunggu flight KL-Kuantan at 6.05pm. Belikan buku Disney Playhouse untuk Aiman, dan dia buat semua aktiviti dalam buku tu malam tu jugak. Kesian dia, 'kenapa babah naik aeroplane tinggal kita, tak bawak Aiman?' dia tanya ummu aiman pagi tadi. Nak oi, kalaulah tiket kapalterbang tu RM20 jer, nescaya babah dah hangkut sekali.

I also bought a bar of Cadbury chocolate with almond for ummu aiman, but I am quite sure I am the one who will have to finish it. Takpe lah, saya memang suka makan cekelat pun. Then I saw this Ritter Sport  chocolate - mini version. Dah terbaca 'promosi' cekelet ni kat sini dulu, tergoda dan terbeli lagi...

The verdict - superb! So now the Germans are also good in chocolate, not just Mercedes, BMW, VW...

Coklat merupakan makanan yang tinggi tenaga. Makan berlebihan menymbang kepada peningkatan berat badan. Namun demikian, coklat juga mempunyai manfaat yang dikaitkan dengan rangsangan aktiviti otak, peredaran darah dan lain-lain terutamanya dark chocolate.

Oleh itu, makanlah coklat, dan juga makanan lain, secara sederhana. Jangan berlebihan!

:: The Malaysian Dietary Guidelines is available for download here.

BerTenang

Sekali lagi kita menghadapi pilihanraya kecil untuk penggal ini. Saya tidak berminat untuk ulas isu-isu politik. But my concern is, pilihanraya kecil banyak membazirkan wang dan masa. Entah berapa banyak wang yang dihabiskan untuk mengadakan pilihanraya kecil, tak kira la sama ada halal apatah lagi yang haram, semata-mata untuk berkempen dan memancing undi. Masa juga terbuang kerana kerja-kerja membela nasib rakyat terpaksa ditangguh. Yang paling tak bagus, berlakunya insiden-insiden mengata, memfitnah dan pelbagai lagi insiden yang menunjukkan adanya 'penyakit hati' dalam diri masing-masing. 

Untuk tidak membazirkan wang dan masa, tidak bolehkah dimansuhkan sahaja pilihanraya kecil? Jikalau yang meninggal dunia itu wakilrakyat parti A, maka lantik sahajalah calon daripada wakil parti A juga menjadi pengganti, mungkin daripada timbalannya ataupun sesiapa yang dicalonkan oleh presiden parti tersebut. Nak pilihanraya, tunggulah masa pilihanraya umum berikutnya. Tak payah dok kalut gelut; kejap-kejap nak pilihanraya kecil, sikit-sikit nak pilihanraya kecil. Katakanlah kalau 40 orang para wakil rakyat naik satu bas pi ke mana-mana la, kemudian berlaga (eksiden) dan semuanya meninggal dunia, maka akan ada 40 pilihanraya kecil yang perlu di jalankan? Cuba pikiaq tengok...

Dan lagi, sana sini ada saja suara tak puas hati. Sini buat begitu, sana cakap begini. Sana guna isu itu, sini ekploit isu ini. Bila tak berpuas hati, mulalah ada yang naik angin...

Siapa selalu marah-marah boleh la cuba... boleh melegakan 'naik angin'

:: sekadar pandangan hamba yang tak berapa minat dan tak pandai berpolitik.

Saaatu, Duuua, Tiiiga...

Satu hari di dalam kereta...

Aiman: Satu, Duer, Tige, Empat, Lime...

Babah: Tige tu macam Tigger and Pooh aje.

Aiman: Tak laaah!

Babah: OK, Aiman ikut babah cakap. Saaatu, Duuua, Tiiiga, Empat, Liiima (sambil menyebut sebutan baku dan buka mulut luas-luas). Baru betul!

Aiman: Tak laaah (gaya tak puas hati)! Babah ni tak pandai lah! Nanti Aiman hantar pegi sekolah budak kecik balik baru tahu!

Saya boleh berbahasa loghat utara dengan baik. Berkahwin dengan orang belgium yang membesar di KL, kemudian bertugas pula di pantai timur, tidak banyak mencairkan bahasa saya. Walaupun begitu, terdapat juga beberapa perkataan yang saya hampir terlupa kerana amat jarang digunakan. Sesekali jumpa kawan-kawan yang sebahasa barulah boleh lepas gian.

Semalam sewaktu check-up ummu aiman di klinik, ada seorang budak perempuan  sekitar 3 tahun dok berbual cot-cet-cot-cet. Soalan saya banyak dibalas dengan "Ha? Apa dia?" mungkin sebab saya ni kiranya cakap luar lah bagi dia barangkali. Tried in English, tak berjaya juga. Bila ummu aiman bertanya menggunakan makhraj tempatan yang betul barulah budak comel tu faham, 'Mok sakik, tido atah katey'. Tapi yang best dia panggil saya abang, dan ummu aiman dipanggil kakak, hehehe.

Sedar atau tidak, most Malays are accommodating others. Bila pergi market ikan, cakap dengan apek jual ikan guna loghat Cina, "Apek, ikan tenggili talak ka? Ini belapa linggit?". Kat kedai mamak pulak jadi bahasa lain, "Aney, itu rrroti kasi kuah kari  atas taruh jugak ah, kasi banjir. Parpu tamau". Dah bila jumpa Indon, mulalah kita bercakap indon pulak,"Enggak appa appa, bisa ajja buk".

Itulah, daripada bahasa, sampailah ke bab-bab lain pun, kita saja la yang asyik dok accommodate orang lain...

Tired of Traffic Jams

We were out of Kuantan for a few days as I have two jobs in the Klang Valley. On Saturday I have a workshop, on Monday night I have given a briefing  to a group of matriculation students, followed by interviewing them on Tuesday. I felt it was so packed and tiring I don't feel like talking, and I don't even bother to answer SMSes; one at 3.06 AM in the morning...

One thing I am very 'fond' of KL is the traffic jam. I thought that was the main reason I felt tired; not the jobs or workshop I was attending. Be it a highway, fast lane or whatever you called it, when the time comes for it to stop moving, you will be stuck.  An elderly lady commented she had missed some junctions and had to pay for 10 tolls before arriving at her destination. Some more, she also complained that the drivers just don't know how to queue at the toll plaza, and said even her 5 cats can take turns to feed from their cat bowl. Well, that is KL I guess. You missed one junction then you are in trouble. If you are not brave enough, people will surely take advantage over you. You will be squeezed out of your line!

Aiman was so excited with the 'dancing fountain', located between Mid Valley and The Garden.

Within four days I also managed to squeezed in some other activities. Beside spending time with my mother and my sister's family at her place, and of course staying with my PILs, we managed to drop by at Mid Valley, one of our favourite locations masa muda-muda dulu, hehe. But of course now it is more happening with a lot more shops opened and The Garden mall situated just next door. And our must activity always include eating and eating and eating. Well, we have to eat anyway to get energy, to live life...

Father and Son having meals and strengthening their bonding at The Garden.

Comparable of Gelatissimo in Sydney, Aiman got two servings of ice cream on that day alone.

::: Today's newspaper reported many Malaysians drivers and riders stopped to help themselves collecting coins after a vehicle carrying RM75k worth of shillings collided in an accident on our highways... Boleh makan ke duit tu...

Everything Fast

Time flies fast. To cope up with time, they have invented fast food.

KFC is all time favourite for fried chicken. I vote for OR.

 Different from the hunter-gatherers time, when they delayed their meals for days and burned more calories in order to get food, we are now provided with drive-thru facilities where we just sit-and-drive to get to our food. And yet we eat more than them and burn less calories compared to them... No wonder obesity is everywhere.

Just tried this last week, the 7 cheeses pizza.

Realize it or not, fast-food restaurants are among the top lists when we are planning to eating out. It is mainly because they provide tasty, fast and easy food, you can make your choice straight away from the menu without having to quarrel with your partner about what dish to order. It is OK to have fast food every now and then, but not everyday or become a habit. As for us, we try to stick for not more than once a week, less is better.

Having physically active is the best way to burn all these extra calories you might have when eating fast food. But as I said, time flies fast. Most of us can not find enough time to fit the exercise schedule (but still can make time to eat, hehe). So they again create exercise equipments that can fit into your room. Aiman and his cousins have shown us how to use the treadmill in an innovative way ...    

:: They invent fast food, we love so much, we eat and get fat. Then they invent exercise machine, tell us being fat is bad to make us exercise, and sell their product again. They got money, we lose money. So eat healthily and choose wisely!

Self Portrait

Self portrait is an art of representing oneself on drawing, painting or even photograph. Aiman lately experimenting self-portraying technique every time he has his hands on the camera.

Compilation of some self portrait by Aiman

Have a good week ahead everybody...

China

Tidak. Saya belum pernah ke China lagi. Hanya melihat gambar dan mendengar cerita orang yang pernah melancong ke Negara tembok besar itu saja. Ibubapa saya pernah melawat ke China beberapa tahun dulu. Dah lama dah. Jadi saya tak ada apa nak cerita tentang pengalaman saya ke negara China.


Tapi sedarkah anda, semua orang mempunyai china di dapur? Dalam bahasa Inggeris, perkataan china (cai-na) juga merujuk kepada pinggan mangkuk seramik, atau porcelain ware atau crockery. Penggunaan terma 'china' bagi merujuk kepada pinggan mangkuk telah lama digunakan di kalangan English speaking countries. Ini kerana Negara China merupakan antara yang terkenal dalam seni pembuatan pinggan mangkuk seramik sejak beratus tahun dahulu.


Jadi kalau ada mat saleh masuk ke rumah anda memuji, "what a beautiful collection of china you have!", dia bukan memuji kecantikan gambar-gambar anda di hadapan Tiananmen Square, tetapi mungkin cemburu melihat set pinggan mangkuk Royal Albert atau Noritake dalam display cabinet anda itu.

Bila nak boleh beli set ni entah...

Berlainan dengan pinggan mangkuk seramik biasa, bone china pula merujuk kepada pinggan mangkuk yang dicampur dengan abu tulang binatang dalam proses pembuatannya. Harganya biasanya lebih mahal. Campuran tulang dikatakan menjadikan pinggan mangkuk lebih putih, tahan dan kuat. Pembuatan pinggan mangkuk bone china dikatakan berasal daripada England sewaktu perkembangan seni pembuatan seramik dan tembikar.

Oleh itu pinggan mangkuk yang tertera di bawahnya perkataan bone china tidak bermaksud ianya dibuat daripada tulang dan berasal dari kilang di Negara China, tetapi bermakna set pinggan mangkuk itu ada mengandungi campuran abu tulang dalam proses pembuatannya. Mungkin ada antara kita, bila terlihat perkataan 'bone', ditambah pula dengan 'china', terus beranggapan tulang yang digunakan ialah tulang ba-alif-ba-ya, kerana sinonimnya binatang itu dengan ca-ya-nun-alif, dan ia datang dari Negara China.

Dari segi hukum penggunaannya, terdapat khilaf. Ada pendapat yang membenarkan dan ada yang melarang, atas hujah masing-masing. Sebagai end-user saya tidak mahu mengulas panjang isu tersebut. Cuma bagi perkara yang khilaf, tidak perlu bertegang urat menegakkan pendapat sendiri sama ada boleh atau tidak menggunakan bone china sehingga menimbulkan perbalahan. Sesungguhnya khilaf itu rahmat, tetapi jelas pertengkaran itu haram.

Done is Better than Perfect

Have you ever started something, but it was never done, because you wanted to make it perfect? Let say, you have good topic to blog about, then you started writing the introduction. In the middle of writing, you can not find or remember the things you wanted to include in your article. You think without it your article will not look good (or perfect). So you save your blog in draft. After some time it is still in draft, waiting for the right time to be perfected.

You have an idea about a project. Your keep on thinking about it all the time. You know you will need to write a paperwork. But you think something is missing in your head. You write a reminder on a sticky-note, stick it on the wall, waiting for the ideal time to write 'the' perfect paperwork. Both your idea and the sticky-note are collecting dust, rusting.

Once  you've said 'Hi-hi' to someone, and started a relationship. Along the way, you found out he or she is not the right person because of some qualities were not up to your standard. Then you say 'Bye-bye' and stop talking, waiting for Mr or Ms Perfect to come to the rescue and you may live happily ever after. Sounds like in a fairy tale.

Nice huh!

They say nothing is perfect. They also say practice makes perfect. What are they talking?

I believe Less-than-Perfect is a good start. And the first step to a good start is getting it DONE.

::: apa yang aku merapu nih :::

Flood

After Perlis, Kedah and part of Penang had their worst flooding history a few months ago, lately the water level around the east coast's areas were rising. Even though seasonal flooding is an expected natural disaster caused by the monsoon and occurs almost every year, the flood will always take some life together. We human can only predict the monsoon, but the severity and what tragedy it may cause are out of our knowledge and control.

A Pak Haji rescuing his cat and goose. Picture from http://www.theage.com.au

When I was in Australia, the major problem was drought. Many rivers were drying out. In summertime, bushfires were everywhere because it was too hot and dry. It even affected towns and cities burning down houses, leaving hundreds if not thousands of people homeless. The worst bushfire ever happened was in 2009 if I still can remember. Ironically, this year (end of 2010/early 2011) it was the other way round. Huge part of particularly eastern Australia were affected by flood.

A man rescuing a boat full of kangaroos from flooding area. Picture from Bigpicture.

For those who observe, there are many other kinds of unexpected disasters happening. Landslide, hailstorm, flashflood, climate change, just to name a few. Murder, rape, street robbing, baby dumping, can be considered as cultural disaster I guess. Allah s.w.t. said in the Quran:

ظَهَرَ الْفَسَادُ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُم بَعْضَ الَّذِي عَمِلُوا لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ 

"Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned so He may let them taste part of [the consequence of] what they have done 

that perhaps they will return [to righteousness]."  

(Ar-Rum: 41)

"Telah timbul berbagai kerosakan dan bala bencana di darat dan di laut dengan sebab apa yang telah dilakukan oleh tangan manusia; (timbulnya yang demikian) kerana Allah hendak merasakan mereka sebahagian dari balasan perbuatan-perbuatan buruk yang mereka telah lakukan, supaya mereka kembali (insaf dan bertaubat)." (Ar-Rum: 41) 

 Or maybe the world is now just too old huh...