Battle of the Brollies

Happened at the traffic light this morning.

It was raining and 2 men, each from the opposite side, were waiting to cross the road . Both had an umbrella in their hands. When the light turned green, they crossed and their paths met. One man's umbrella hit the other. Both stopped in the middle of the road and exchanged words.
"Why you hit my umbrella?"
"Where got?"
"Yes you did. Next time look where you walk."
"Big deal. You think umbrella got eyes?"
Then they crossed and both stopped on the other side and stared hard at each other before continuing their journey.

I almost wished that the lights changed to red and the van driver that saw this all would run them down. *Roll eyes*

May God Bless You, Madam Stranger.

When I was in the hospital the other night, a boy around 8 came in with a little bandage on the toe of his right foot. After registration, his mom wheeled him right next to where we were sitting. Then she turned to Zaza, smiled at her and asked little Zaza what happened to her fingers. After exchanging small talks with Zaza, she turned to me and smiled. We talked a bit and she told me that her son was on the stationary exercise bike when he cycled too fast and got his toes entangled in between the gaps on the pedal. It was so bad that his whole toe came off and is now hanging on a thin thread of vein. He would have to get an operation to attach back that toe. poor boy, he must be suffering so much.

Anyway, we started talking about other things and she mentioned how it was tough having to spend so much money on doctors and medications. She then went on to say how proud she was of her eldest son who is supporting his studies by taking up a part time job to help ease their family's financial burden. Then she talked about her 14yr old daughter who takes over her role as a mother to her 8yr old and 4yr old sons. Her daughter does the housework, cooks for the family and tends to the younger siblings studies when she is back from school.

I was so impressed by her family. I thought 14 was too young to be able to do all that and I thought that she must be working since her daughter her daughter is so independent.
Then she told me that she is sick. She had some stomach problem and that's the reason why she could not do too much work. I was quite surprised because she looked perfectly healthy and happy. She spoke to her kids softly and had a kind look on her face. In fact, I noticed that whenever she wanted to speak to any of her family members, she would touch them gently on the thigh or the arm. It just makes you feel warm all over.
She's the type of person that you will like instantly without having to know her more.

I just feel so sad to hear about her illness and that she is just buying time. She mentions that she has to teach her kids to be independent so that they will not feel handicap if she's not around. I nodded and just touched her arm gently. She smiled and told me that she's accepted the fact that she is very ill and is not afraid to die.
I just kept quiet after that because I felt rather awkward talking to her about this. She is after all, a stranger, sharing her feelings with another stranger.

We kept silent until Zaza's number was called and I turned to her and wish her luck. She thanked me and smiled.

Funny, how people look so healthy and happy and yet, they are so ill and some are even dying. Only God knows how they really feel inside.

Stranger, thanks for making me realise how short life is and how we should treasure our loved ones and love them unconditionally.
Thank you.

Fingers Blues.

So we spent the entire evening last night in the childrens' A&E at KK Hospital. My little daughter, Zaza, had her right hand wedged at the door hinge and she had 2 deep cuts on her 2nd and 3rd fingers. We were breaking our fast and she was monkeying around with her brothers. Feroz was trying to grab Naseer's gun so, Naseer was asking my mom's helper to keep it in the cupboard. He opened the bedroom door and she was shooing him out of the room. Zaza was standing right behind him when the helper closed the door hard and Zaza screamed out in pain.
Initially, I thought it was just a minor injury so I let it be when the helper carried Zaza to the room to apply some ointment. She continued screaming and my mom went to the room and called out for me in an urgent tone. I went in to see blood dripping onto the floor and I panicked. I carried her and brought her to the sink to wash her wound and then I took a tissue and applied pressure on her hand to stop the bleeding. After the bleeding subsided, I noticed that the cuts were so deep and Zaza was still crying out. "Pain Mommy. Pain."
The spouse told me that we had to bring her to the doctor just in case there was any fracture on her little fingers.
Well, Dr Tay, our family gp, did not want to rule out any fracture and sent us packing to the hospital. He was kind enough not to charge us anything for that consultation.
It was 8.30pm when we reached the hospital.
As usual, the A&E was packed with so many kids and anxious parents. Thankfully, Zaza's queue number was #158 upon registration and I saw that the latest number on the queue board was #145. I was happy and told dh that we might have to wait only for about 2hours or so. The last time we went when Naseer had bronchitis, we had to wait for 4 hours.
My little pussycat had an x-ray done on her fingers. When the film (Steph, is that what you called it?) was ready for collection, I felt relieved when the radiologist asked which fingers were crushed. We waited and only went in to see the doctor at 9.45pm. Not bad at all. She had tissue glue to patch up the open wound and no medications or painkillers were given sinece the cuts were only superficial.
Well, on a lighter note, the boys came along to the hospital and were so well behaved so we rewarded them with dinner from Macdonalds. They wolfed down the burgers and fries and Zaza finished her pack of fries and nuggets. They must have felt so hungry since they have not had their dinner yet.

Anyway, Feroz incurred my dad's wrath yesterday morning because he broke free from my dad's grip on the way to school and dashed across the road. He was almost hit by the van and I thank God for not letting anything happened to that little boy of mine. So, he got some spanking from me last night and my husband was so mad, that Feroz had double dose of it. He was crying so hard and was still sobbing away when we were on our way to the hospital to check on Zaza's fingers
I was just so relieved that nothing untowards happened to Feroz. He is just so active, naughty and hyper that I really have to pray every day to God to protect him all the time.

Vent!!

I cannot understand how some people can be so evil-hearted.
It's been a week since our bazaar for the fasting month started and we had nothing but trouble and complaints since day one. Lots of them were unhappy that one stall was doing better than the other. Some claimed that whatever food they sell today, tomorrow you will see the same type appearing on the other stalls.

On the second day, an angry stall owner stormed to the office to tell me that a bag of rubbish was placed, opened, on her stall, inviting lots of flies. On top of that, some of the food were spoilt and thus, there was a foul smell coming from it. She recognized the wrappings (she must have rummaged through) and immediately confronted the culprit. This, led to a heated argument and so, now, they are enemies.
Another stall owner was ticked off by our staff because she was parking her van at the bus-bay, which is a no-no, and when told to remove and do her loading and unloading elsewhere, she got offended and now, she's not happy with our mosque officials.
Then there is this never ending problem with traffic. Inconsiderate worshippers parked their cars along the bus bay, causing a serious traffic congestion. Our activist who volunteered to be a traffic warden was almost beaten up, so he gave up.

So, today, we bought two extra signages and four cones to place along the side of the road, instructing ADULTS not to park at the bus-bay. We had a long red and white tape tied from one signage to the other and on the cones as well.
Just now, when we went down , it was removed. We put it up again and stood there looking at all the guilty faces pretending not to notice. We went from stall to stall reiterating the terms and conditions, or else, the bazaar will have to come to a halt before the date is up and no refund granted. All nodded and agreed . Some pointed a finger to A, another pointed to B, and the list goes on. Why can't they just co-operate and work together? Everyone, after all, are there to earn a living.

Then, after all these and just when I thought I could go back up and start on my real duties (like updating my blog, hehe) my colleague came up and told me that one of the stall owner complained that a kitchen towel which she used to wipe her tables and chairs each night before she leaves was soaked with urine. It was definitely not an accident because the towel were still hung onto the side when she came. And there were no traces of urine around that area. That means, whoever did that, must have taken the towel, went to the toilet to pee on it or soaked it in the toilet bowl, and then returned it to its' original location. Tell me, who can be so free to want to do something like that.

Ok, so now, right after updating this blog, I will be going down to get urine samples from each stall owners. I am so mad, that I may get them to strip there and pee right in front of me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FEROZ!!

Today Feroz is 4. Me getting weepy and emotional all over. Could not get over the time when the paediatrician came up to me and told me to prepare myself for the worst. I was in the ward and could not move because I was bleeding too much after the operation.I remembered just staring at him and nodded my head. I could not even cry. When the spouse came up and told me that Feroz was so small, I told him what the paediatrician said. The spouse told me "Naah, he would make it. He's tough. I just knew it!!"
I insisted on visiting him the next day even though I still could not walk. So, we had the wheelchair and we went to the NICU together. The spouse told me not to get too emotional. When I saw him, I was shocked beyond words. He was so tiny. Only slightly longer than my palm and he had so many tubes stucked to his frail body. His eyes were covered and his ears were just holes. He was not fully developed yet. I just could not stop crying. A nurse came forward and told me not to cry coz Feroz could sense it. I touched him and stroke his tiny feet. His toes were like 5 tiny pearls glued together. He looked like a bird.

Well, that was 4 years ago.

Last night while he slept, I looked at his serene face. Never did I imagine that he is going to be such a terror.
Happy Birthday Feroz!! May God Bless You With Good Health and Iman!! :)

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You are Franklin!

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Ramadhan Bazaar

I am so excited! The tentage is up, the tables and chairs are here and on Friday, our bazaar for Ramadhan will officially begins.
A lot of hardwork had been put in just to get this started. My colleague had to seek numerous permissions from the relevant authorities before we finally got the green light. Then it's getting quotations after quotations from various companies. Some told me to shove up my you-know-what when they quoted a price higher than their competitions. Hah! The spirit of remaining competitive.
Then, it was another round of making cold-calls and calling the old tenants just to make sure that all stalls are taken up.
It was so much fun though lots of work. Now that it's starting in 2 days time, I cant help having this warm feeling around my neck every time I am nearing the mosque area.
There'll be lots of stalls selling foodstuff like pastries, noodles, rice, pizza, chickens, drinks etc and of course, there'll be stalls selling dry good like clothes, cards, and many more.
I am so excited. Do drop by if you ever come round here. :)

Goodbye...Superman.

So sad....another one bites the dust.

Honesty...it's such a lonely word

...everyone is so untrue
Honesty....is hardly ever heard
and mostly what I need from you.

Remember that song from Billy Joel. I loved the song to death mainly because of the lyrics. It rings true in many cases. It was also the first song that I listened to over and over again and wept myself to sleep when my very first boyfriend broke up with me. Feeling so sheepish about it now. hehe.

Anyway, I was thinking about what happened last Friday that reminded me of this song again.
Someone left his ring in our first floor male toilet and so he called up to check. My colleague went down and asked the cleaner and initailly he denied seeing the ring. After a while, he admitted that he found it. So, we asked him for the ring as the guy would collect it from us later. He told my colleague to ask the guy to meet him because he wanted to collect $20 from the guy as a reward for finding the ring and keeping it for him. He mentioned that if he was to sell the ring outside, he can get at least $30. My colleague was shocked. He came up and told me what happened.
I could not believe what he said. You see, this guy has a reputation of being honest and giving. He is actually a cleaner employed by a different company but he had never asked for anything extra whenever he helped us out.
He often buys me breakfast and always has a kind word each day. So because I got along well with him, they sent me down to get the ring from him.
When I went to ask him for the ring, he refused to give me, just told me to get the man to meet him. I told him I cant make a customer run around for something which belongs to him that he left behind within our premises. He finally relented and gave me the ring without saying anything.
Its' funny how you view someone in a different light when something as simple as a question of his honesty surfaced. From that day onwards, I can never look him in the eyes. It's hard.

Anyway, felt like posting the lyrics to the song.

Honesty - Billy Joel

If you search for tenderness

It isn't hard to find

You can have the love you need to live

But if you look for truthfulness

You might just as well be blind

It always seems to be so hard to give

Chorus

Honesty is such a lonely word

Everyone is so untrue

Honesty is hardly ever heard

And mostly what I need from you

I can always find someone

To say they sympathize

If I wear my heart out on my sleeve

But I don't want some pretty face

To tell me pretty lies

All I want is someone to believe

I can find a lover

I can find a friend

I can have security

Until the bitter end

Anyone can comfort me

With promises again

I know, I know

When I'm deep inside of me

Don't be too concerned

I won't ask for nothin' while I'm gone

But when I want sincerity

Tell me where else can I turn

Because you're the one that I depend
upon

Sadly missing you.....

Well, as usual, today, I was in the train on my way to work , feeling so totally bored because I had no book, or a paper and pencil in my hand (I usually pen my thoughts when I am in the train), so I did what I love doing and that is, ta-da, people watch!!
There train was not so packed today, so I guessed my lucky stars were shining down on me when I came across 2 strange creatures that God created called HUMAN who were so oblivious to the world around them. Creature number one was digging treasures from his flaring nostrils. I guessed he was left only with one tissue because he was making indentations on every single space that he could get with that one small piece. I felt sad for the tissue because he was digging so aggressively. I noticed the lady sitting beside him inched away from him with a pained look on her face. Can't imagine what would have happened if he had flicked the tissue towards anybody. Gross!!
Creature no 2 was in a trance. With headphones in his ears and eyes closed, this joker was bobbing his head up and down so hard that I thought it would come off and land on my lap anytime. He was playing some Metallica hits for sure, gosh, I have aged, I cant remember the title of the song. It was so loud and he was so engrossed that I got a shock when he suddenly opened his eyes, looked up and dashed for the closing door. Hehe...he almost missed his stop.
Funny people.
I eyed the rest of the commuters and I recalled the time when I was sitting in the train with my late sister. We just got back from her appointment at the specialist clinic and just got hit with the news that the cancer cells had spread to her bones and it was already at an advanced stage. Both of us could not stomach the reality that she would die soon. I did not know how to console her but then I had reasons to believe that she refused to be consoled. Seated in the train, she was just staring blankly ahead. I was holding onto her left arm with both my hands (like hanging onto dear life) and was leaning my head on her shoulders. We were in complete silence. Me thinking of what would I do if she ever leave this world. We were quiet for quite a while when suddenly she broke the silence and asked me, "How many of us here, right now, in this train, do you think are actually dying of a disease?" She then looked at me, I could see her eyes water and she was blinking away furiously.
Yup, after that strange head slamming dude got down the train, my eyes scanned those around me and wondered how long more do we really have on this earth? And if anyone of them, like my sis, were actually suffering in silence.

Deaf and Dumb

Today, there was a report in the papers about a woman who flung a 4 yr old child down 6 storey. It seems that the father had an affair and the girlfriend was the one who flung the child down.
I was shocked and sad. I feel that as adults, we have the responsibilty to protect a child and in this case, the child who was so dependent on the mom and dad and trusted them so greatly, sadly, became an object of an adult's irrational wrath.
I took this moment to reflect on my relationship with my kids and spouse.
I have at many times disappointed them again and again with my disciplinary methods and mood swings. When I get depressed, I took it out on the kids and at times, I uttered harsh words that could even kill an ant.
So many times, I regretted my actions and often tell myself to see things in a different light. If I can be nice and accepting to a mere acquaintance, why can't I be extra loving and patient to my own flesh and blood?
The spouse sometimes feel that I tend to vent on the children when someone else is unhappy with me or with them. They often become the brunt of my anger and then I would regret almost immediately what I said.
You know, there is a saying that the weapon that could kill is the tongue and I have absolutely zero control over that.
Sometimes, I feel that God's real reason for giving me such an acid tongue is to get me into politics, side by side with Bush or Sharon. I could destroy an island just by muttering a simple "negative" word. I should not have a family then.
On the other hand, I also feel that God should not have given me one or maybe two of this essential 5 senses because I misuse them all the time. Saying all the right thing to the wrong person and the wrong thing to the right person. And hearing what I do not wish to hear.
I had spoken to the spouse about it last night . I asked him if I need any help? Am I going through depression? Am I stressed? Should I just cut off my tongue and hurt my ear drums?
He thought that the last option (cutting of tongue) would be the best permanent solution but then again, he would have to forego some important "therapy" so he ruled that out.
I have started thinking happy thoughts. Thinking about how much love I have for them , of those little drawings they drew for me, and those little fingers hugging me tightly round my neck, asking for a kiss or a piggyback.
I shall also, from today, place 2 round cotton balls in my ears so that I cant hear my parents nagging them and at the same time, each time I lose my cool, $1 will go into each of their account. That's the greatest pinch of them all.
And if all else dont work, then it's about time I get my ass off to some clinic and get a chill pill.

Wise Up, Old Man!!

I just wanna shout to the world that older does not mean WISER!! There are so many things and decisions that my parents made somewhere in the past where we are facing the repercussions right now in our life. No such things as family discussions, no such thing as hearing out our opinions because they think they have been around longer and so they are smarter.
Smart people think of others before deciding on certain things. Smart people shy away from problems and DO NOT invite them into their lives.
Obviously, my parents are too smart for their own good! Now, I am facing the music and picking up every single shit that come their way. I am damn pissed!!
If only old people learn to listen to the young ones once in a blue moon, everyone will be happier!!

Feroz......*sigh*

On Thursday (from his child care centre)
Complaint No 1 :
Feroz climbed up the cupboard,took a scissors and tried to snip off his classmates penis when they were sleeping.
Complaint No 2 :
Feroz went to the playroom, grabbed a few toys and bent it.
Complaint No 3 :
In art class, feroz decided that he wanted to paint the wall and Mervin's (his classmate) face.

On Friday (at home with my mom)
Complaint No 1 :
Feroz opened the fridge, took out a packet of milk and poured it all over the floor.
Complaint No 2 :
Feroz took my dad's mug and peed into the mug.
Complaint No 3 :
Feroz decided to play with my mom's lipstick, drawing all over my dad's white johns.
Complaint No 4 :
Feroz stuffed my nephew's school uniform into the manhole in the toilet

On Saturday (at my in-laws)
Complaint No 1 :
Feroz took oranges from the fridge, ate it together with the skin and stuff some skin into the vcd player.
Complaint No 2 :
Feroz poured a cup of plain water onto my father in law's head while he was lying on the sofa watching tv.

On Sunday (at home with us)
Complaint No 1 :
Feroz spilled a full pot of lemon chutney that my mom just cooked.
Complaint No 2:
Feroz drew on the tv screen with a crayon.
Complaint 3:
Feroz took cheese from the fridge and spread it all over the tv screen, the sofa and the carpet.
Complaint No 4:
Feroz ran out to the corridor and pulled the neighbour's clothes which was hung to dry down from the bamboo pole onto the dirty wet floor.
Complaint No 5:
Feroz smeared ice cream onto the World Book series.

Today (at home):
Complaint No 1:
Feroz bit off all the buttons from his pyjamas because he wanted to wear a "jacket" like Nathan from Hi-5.
Complaint No 2:
Feroz took jam from the bottle and spread it on his little sister's hair, saying that he's trying to gel up her messy locks.
Complaint No 3:
Feroz broke his Van Helsing cd into 2.

Very looooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnng sigh.
Now, can someone tell me only ONE good reason as to why I should not smack this little angel of mine??

The Care Free Me!!

You're just the happy go-lucky type. You might have
your pet peeves, but other than that, you're
mainly calm. Blending in with your
surroundings, you're the type of person who
everyone likes. Usually it's you who cracks
jokes at social gatherings - after all,
laughter is the best medicine. Sometimes you
pretend to be stupid, but in all actuality, you
could be the next Einstein.


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