lady in black?

some photos taken at our office gatherings ...

this was earlier in the year during Gawai celebration at our faculty ...as usual I am wearing black - my official office attire according to some people :-)

during Raya celebration at Uni level ...I am not wearing black as the event was held outdoor :-)

during Students' Annual Dinner (again wearing black!)

after Faculty Retreat - hahahaha again was in black (with green cardy!)

and it struck me that I was always in black! Someone pointed it out to me before but I thought he was joking. But looking back at all these photos, most of my outfit is black ....i only ever use other colours on top of my black outfit - like a cardigan, a shawl, or bright accessories like necklace and bags and shoes ....

pas nie jadi budak itam le nampak nyer :-)

Assistant Chef - start them young!

We have a budding chef at home! As evident by the photos below, Alistair is very handy in the kitchen ..we ban the knives and all sharp objects (of course!) but he always pleaded with us to allow him to help ...sometimes he just sat there accompanying aki or nenek or mama ....he entertained us by singing!

showing his skill pounding fresh ginger for kacang-ma dish that me dad planned to cook that day ..he just took the pestle and started pounding away ..and dad just let him!

aki's little helper ...while doing all these pounding, they chattered non-stop ..about school, about tv programmes, about cooking hehehehe ...and then singing ...I think it is healthy coz Al got the time to bond with with his aki and nenek ..and at the same time knows the way around the kitchen ..hehehehe 

the joy of being a kid ...no responsibility, no worries ..and no expectation about life, about the future ...they are innocent ...and, I hope they (both Al and adik) remain this way as long as they can ...

dear boys, mama loves you both very very much :-)

Lunch by the sea @ Siar Beach, Lundu

Such a nice view, isn't it? This was taken from the patio of  hotel in Lundu a few months back. My colleague and I were involved in this research in the area, which requires us to be there for data collection rather frequently in the last few months ....during our first visit, someone recommended that we tried this hotel for lunch ...not only for the food, but for the view :-)

and he was right! The view is awesome ....especially on a bright day like the time when this photo was taken

a choice of a swimming pool (foreground) and the South China Sea (at the background)

The food was alright ..i love its triple club sandwich ...a bit messy to eat all those layers, but it was worth it ...the cafe is often rather quiet ...but the food is prepared when you place your order, so it is hot and fresh!

my fav club sandwich ...I order this everytime I come here ...hehehehe

the cafe also offers a selection of freshly made fruit juice ...one of my fav is its watermelon juice ...a refreshing drink on a hot afternoon by the sea ....if only this is not a working visit :-)

Am planning to take my family here for a short break soon ...but I have to wait till end of March or April ..as it is currently the monsoon season ...with dangerous sea conditions ...dont want to go there if there is a risk of us not having fun! Safety first .......


by the way, don't you wish this is what your lunch should be like everyday of the week? huh?

Sunday outing with mum @MJC

Mom has been bugging me about the fact that I promised her that I would take her out on an important errand

the errand is to find the material for curtain - for the longhouse

since we were always busy over the weekend, this mission was put on hold numerous times before

till this morning ...

When I woke up, the sun was shining ..
no rain was in sight ...looks like a good weather
so, I asked mom if she wants to go out
her response was immediate "of course..."
dad did not want to come with us
he is still unwell - from his recent gout episode

Mom said she wanted to go to MJC
there is this one shop that she likes
arrived there at 10am, and realised that the shop was closed
Bet the owner is still in CNY mood
which is bad for my mom
hehehehe .....

so, Plan B ....she said she want to have a look round
meaning, she must have something to buy (REGARDLESS) ...
LOL that is what I inherited from her ...
it is in the genes ......
must buy something
must buy something
must buy something
hehehehe .................

in less than 20 mins, she bought a couple of batik sarong
which is another obsession of hers
she bought batik sarongs everywhere she goes!
Perhaps, I'll do a posting on her batik collection soon ...

then, she said she was hungry coz we did not have anything before leaving the house
ended up at mamak's
having roti canai and roti telur ...
so, my plan to go to Secret Recipe or McD was cancelled
she did not want to go there ...

after late breakfast, we continue with her shopping mission
not just at MJC ...but drove to BDC and Kota Padawan as well
as per her request!
ended up going back home with lots of (what I think as unnecessary) stuffs
but she was happy
so, guess that was a good outing :-)

she refuses to look at the camera :-)

First lunch together in 2012

Instead of marking, I am blogging ...i really need a break from it all ...my question number two is really confusing the students (or was it me who was confused?)..i asked for two alternatives forms of CPT, but instead of giving me the answers (which are transport principle, whereby k= 4; market and supply principle with k=3, or administrative principle, where k= 7) all (and I mean ALL) of the students gave me two concepts of CPT (most popular were market range and threshold population) ...hellooooooo ...i am really confused now ...i am asking for alternative forms - so, why are you giving me concepts??? is the question too difficult to comprehend ...or did they just take for granted that the question is asking for any two of the concepts ...and stop reading the question properly??? as a result, i have to give them a really low mark for question 2 ...the most they will get is 5 (for correct explanation of CPT and the chosen terms) ...and that is 5 out of 20 ....i felt bad!but all is fair in marking ...

anyway, enough of that ....here are some photos of our first lunch together in 2012 ...when I said "we", it refers to Haslina, Bemen and myself ...ohh, and that day, we also had the pleasure of Iris's company at lunch ... we haven't seen each others like 2 weeks prior to this lunch as all of us were taking a long break for Christmas and New Year ....

Went to Pizza Hut ...as I was craving for some pasta ....and the rest was ok with the choice (as if we have THAT many choices of places to eat here in Samarahan) ...i ordered speghetti with meatball sauce, and that satisfied my cravings lol ....

The reason I ordered the dish was because I craved it so much ..wanted to cook it at home but nobody want pasta for dinner at my house ....so, it sort of wasteful if I were to cook meatball pasta (Delia Smith's recipe mind you!) just for myself ....the best solution is to have it elsewhere!

I still prefer carbonara dish at Elephant Bistro though ...but this is a good substitute since Elephant Bistro is so far away ...

Haslina ordered pasta carbonara ....which was nice as well ....but she was distracted coz she was trying to make sure Iris ate something, but the cutie pie was busy playing with Uncle Bemen's phone ....

It was a great lunch - we had time to catch up with each other's news ...before the start of a really busy month ...coz a few days after this took place, we started to get busy with various invigilations and marking marathons ...and we have not been able to go out for lunch again since then! so, the next lunch together will be after CNY break ....

In the meantime, am wishing all my Chinese friends a Happy Lunar New Year ...may the year of water dragon brings good luck, prosperity and happiness to you and your family ...

Busy days ....

Had had a busy day today ...i planned to work from home coz I wanted to make headways in my marking ...if I mark at the office, there bounds to be interruptions ...so, markingvat home means I can start marking early in the morning, in my pyjamas ....and while having breakfast etc etc ....nowadays, working from home is convenient as everything can be checked via internet ....i checked my mails online, to see if there are urgent matters ...contacted students and advising them via sms or online interaction ... So, i can mark at home at ease ....

morning:
Apart from work, I also had to do some filial duties ...dad went for his check up early this morning ...since he was a bit drowsy, he didn't want to drive ...and asked me to send him to the hospital ....after a few hours he rang to say that he was ready ...and off I went to pick him up ....

Due to the same reason, dad did not feel like driving at all, and I ended up sending our helper home ....i don't mind coz it means i can take a break from my marking ....


Afternoon:
Spent the afternoon with the boys ....Al decided that he want to draw and write using my red pens ... In exchange he wanted me to use his crayons to mark the papers ...emmmm am wondering what the exam committee will think if they saw my comments in crayons!


Early Evening:
Decided to stop marking for the day ....my head was spinning by the time, after reading endless scripts ...and dechipering horrendous handwritings ...took dad to Giant for some grocery shopping ...he wanted to stock up some food items for us to bring to the cottage this coming friday ....ended up buying a table fan, to replace the old one which fell of the table a few nights ago ....and getting a dvd player for the boys ...i promised them that i will buy a dvd player for them (for the cottage) as their combined presents for adik's birthday ....it was longgggggg overdue coz I forgotten my promise ...hahahaa, i only remembered today while browsing the aisles ....

late night:
Now I am blogging to get a break from my marking, AGAIN!!! Yup, marking is my middle name till I completed the whole scripts ....and maybe, just maybe, after this, I will go to the kitchen for some coffee ...and am going to have some of the cinnamon rolls that i bought earlier ...hehehehehehe ...

Craving for fish head curry

Another entry about food ....took my parents out last month and we decided to have lunch at our usual place i.e. SCR....but the place was full and difficult to get parking spaces ...so, told them that Bemen had tried this one place and it has fish head curry ...my dad's response was immediate - let's go he said ...and mom was ok with it as well ...so, off we go to this place at Jalan Song ....

The place was nicely decorated ....the staffs are friendly ....and service was quick! we were hungry and ordered our food quickly ...

fish head curry (RM40) ...the portion was rather big, even for the three of us!, who was rather hungry at the time!

prawn dish ...succulent prawns with yummy, lemonny sauce

my parents enjoying their lunch ....they love the fish head curry!

Dad complained that I took so long taking photos ...and he cannot wait for me to finished coz he was hungry ...at the time I whatsapp photos to my sister and the gang ....and then using my camera to take more photos ...ended up with this photo:

dad's hand spoilt the photos ..coz he cannot wait ..and he was famished!

Looking at this photo make me crave for fish head curry ....perhaps we could have lunch here tomorrow?

Japanese dinner

My dad loves japanese food ...he loves sushi, but he can't stand wasabi ....if he is unwell and does not have any appetite for food, he always requested for some sushi ...mom, on the other hand, is a complete opposite ...she can't stand sushi ...hates wasabi ...and cannot understand what the fuss is about when she looks at sushi rolls ....

One evening, before Christmas, I took them out for dinner ...because all this while, we always go to places like SCR, Nonya restaurants etc etc ...this time I asked dad whether he has any preference for dinner ...automatically, he chose Sushi King ...hehehe mom said ok ...as long as she gets out of the house and out of babysitting duties ...

he knows that I'll be taking photos for my blog, and told me to do it quickly as he wants to enjoy dinner

Because mom doesn't like sushi, she had a thorough look at the menu ...she hates eel ...she doesn't eat seaweed ..she said japanese noodles look wierd ....and she must have rice ...at the end, she ordered this beef dish with rice and vege ...and complete with miso soup ...

 the verdict: the beef dish was yummy ....the beef was tender and easy to eat (her word!) ..but she said miso soup smelt like burnt dishes ...i love miso soup, so I finished that one for her .....

close up of the beef dish (I forgotten the name)

Dad and I had fun choosing our dishes ...dad was game enough to try all sort of sushi dishes ....and the plates were piling up ...hehehehe ...

was too busy eating and talking that I only took this picture of our food ....

Dad was saying he would like to go again, but mom was not that keen ...can see it from her expression!

First week in January

First week in January has come and gone ...felt like it was a very quick one ...started work on 3rd January ....i only went in the afternoon, as I was sending Al to his kindy in the morning ....Which I am going to detailed out in another posting ...but basically, I had to stay at home doing my unfinished markings ...yup, it is that time of the year again ....where we will be overwhelmed with markings of assignments, exam invigilations and marking of exam scripts .....

I have to say that i really did plan to do my marking during my break ...but it was not meant to be ...too many distractions ...our cottage was broken into by robbers who only took our gas cylinder and 4 brand-new pillows ...of all thing, these are the only items taken ....so, was distracted with cleaning up, going to find contractors to replace the door and commissioned grille for our doors ...trying to get contractors to do so during Christmas break is no fun ....but, thank God it is done now ....so, with all the palava, markings were put aside ...and now, am still trying to catch up with this unfinished business ...the whole of week one was spent doing just that ...and guess what, I have yet to finish ....

Exam invigilation is another bane of my life at the moment ....i had to do 4 slots of invigilation this year, in addition to my own paper this coming Saturday ...yes, Saturday is also an exam day ...none of us were spared ...nearly all of the faculty members have to go to work last Saturday ...my goodness, i was initially tasked to do a back to back invigilation, but i asked then to reschedule my slots as i do not want to spend the entire day away from the family ..... I mean, weekends are for personal time and family time ....

One thing that i have been putting off is my SKT ...i.e. My performance review...i just hate doing that ...i mean, it is tedious ...i have to recall what i have been doing the entire year...have to fill in the online forms ...etc etc ....i am not at all fond of this SKT ...it is essentially people judging you. ..sometimes the judgements may not be accurate ...one case in point, 3 years ago, I was reviewed by someone who do not know me at all, or of my work, but he was appointed as the HOD for my programme ...i was given a below par mark for my performance the entire year ...i was really low at that time ..but the following year i work my butt off ...doing research, publication etc etc ...i want to show this monkey that i am more than the 69.5 that he gave me! Guess what, i did sort of show him ...well, i got APC last year for my performance ..and that counts for something ....I know it is wayyyyyy out if my topic today, but hati ni masih membara setiap kali teringat peristiwa itu ...like the saying which says elephant never forgets ...lol am i an elephant here?

Anyway, now that we are in the second week already, and the dateline for the SKT is just round the corner, i wold have to start thinking about filling in my SKT form ....not looking forward to that at all!!!!

Mental note to self : check the dateline and get your arse off the chair and do the SKT!!!

Encouraging Al to write

Al is going to start school next year ...the parents are going to enrol him in a kindy soon ...he is quite intelligent, but has really low attention span ...he is quick to remember things but lack the inclination to follow things through ....and, me being me, decided that he should do some sort of exercises daily to familiarise him with preschool ....

A couple of month ago, we bought him a huge placard of alphabet complete with illustration ...he is able to memorise from A to I the moment .....The common scenario at home, someone would say A for ....and he'll answer A for Apple .....B for Balloon ...C for cat ....D for Doll ...and so on ...we are so proud of him ....Other than that he recognised a few alphabets here and there ...like P for Penguin ...and everytime he sees a U-turn sign by the roadside, he'll say, look there is an upsidedown U (u dah accident kata nya!) ...and my dad purposely went to a supermarket and bought a couple of apples ...just to show Al that the apple is the same as the one on his placard ....the length that he is willing to go to teach his grandkid is amazing ....it is just the same as what we went through during our childhoods ...my dad would do something like that ...and it makes us remember things better ....now he is doing it with the kids ...the legacy lives on ...yeahhhhh

Last week i started to encourage him to write ...my problem is to motivate him to write ...he is very restless and hyperactive ...very difficult to make him sit down and concentrate on writing ...imagine, for one whole week i only managed to get him to write the letter A ...he exhibits lack of self confidence when i asked him to write on his own, but was more confident when i am there to guide his hands through the lettering ...today we started on the letter B ...same scenario ...he would give up after a couple of tries ...if i force him, he would not be doing it wholeheartedly ...so i try not to force him ....i will stop when he shows signs of frustratiin ...when he is getting restless ....

But motivation is the name of the game....he is so into iPad, laptop and smart phones ....always requested that i let him use my iPad, my lappy or my phone ....now, i would tell him that he can use these things AFTER, and ONLY AFTER, he had done some writing ...or reading or drawing .....i make it as a reward for him ...so far, it is working!!! He did a couple of scribble earlier, and i let him use the laptop ...when he did a few more writing willingly, i upgraded by letting him use the iPad ....he is happy, i am happy, the rest of th family are happy with the progress ...

Still a lot of things to be done ...a lot of challenges, i would say ...i just hope i am doing th right things ...not pressuring him, but more like encouraging him ...

another week goes by ...

Yes, another week goes by rather quickly ...i have been extremely busy this week ...and it is also a short working week for me. I have already applied for a day off for friday, which the Dean had approved, and that means i only have tomorrow left as my working day this week **** am so happy :-)

well, the reason for that day off was because I had to go back to the village ...the whole family is going ...we are having a memorial service for my late cousin. He was 2 years older than me, and he died 2 years ago ...something related to organ failure ...my dad wants us to be there,  not just to show our face at the service but also to lend a helping hand ....since it will be in the village, there will be lots of tasks to be done ...

Me, on the other hand, is expected to help mum with the kids ...and knowing my little nephews, they will be a handful ......so we are expecting a busy weekend ...with lots of catching up to do with relatives ...

yes, we will be bringing the laptop, the iPad, the DVD players etc to keep these little darlings entertained :-)

Enjoy your weekend guys!!!

pedicure

i was bored because I cannot go out to shop etc etc the last few months ...so, in between reports, I was looking for ways to entertain myself ..my fav activity is watching DVD - I have gone through the boxset of NCIS Season 1 and Season 2 ...and 2nd activity is doing pedicure hahahaha ... thanks to my Xmas present from Angela, i got a manicure and pedicure sets that they bought at M&S in Newcastle ...hehehehe ...

the result ...it's purple-ish with a tint of pink

Alistair said mama's toes look like Zombie ....emm, he was watching the Zombie episodes and came up with that conclusion ....and he always asked me to remove the colour as he does not like it!

Fast food days ....and fussy eater

Found this pic in one of my folders today ...cannot remembered when it was taken, but i think the photographer was Bemen ...

I just realised that the last few times I was out and about I did not take any photos ...hehehe hence, explaining my lack of photos in fast food joints recently! Since all of us (haslina, bemen and yours trully) are all free on Friday, we always make friday lunch time as our fast food day ....the choices are usually KFC, Pizza Hut, McD ...and sometimes we would opt for SCR, Old Town Coffee ....emmm am wondering what this Friday would be like? I am craving for McD LOL ....but then again, i also want Secret Recipe's chocolate brownies ...decisions decisions .....

even Alistair is hooked with fast food like me ...i know it is not good for kids ...but i took him there or should i say i introduce him to Old Town when he was very fussy about food ...Old Town is the one place where he woould happily munched on his toast and able to finish a couple of slices ....and he is also hooked with chicken porridge from McD ... that boy of mine is such a fussy eater - only eat rice porridge from McD or not eating at all ...so, me being the guardian at the time have to choose - not taking him to McD coz it's not good for kids (and he would go without solid food) or bring him in once or twice a week so that he would eat some porridge ..i choose the latter option ...but thank God he is now less fussy ..and able (and want) to eat home cooked meals like nugget, noodles, toast etc ...but he never eat rice ...the last time he ate some rice was a year and a half ago ...

busy ...is it worth it?

It's that time again ...i just got 15 missed calls on my phone tonight ....from one person ...to enquire about my progress ..Yup, it is that time when I have to concentrate and do the write up for my team ...i was tasked to write up a report for this research ...it is a bit time consuming and i really had to crack my brain for it ...and i have to answer to 4 different bosses (having one is hard enough but 4???? you fill the blanks ....)   Now, i have to write an update on my previous report ...a bit easier than before, but the stress and the duration will be the same i guess ....but the good part, I am getting paid for it :-) will be hitting the malls after I get the job done ....am aiming for a new pair of shoes (even though I just got one yesterday!) ..am aiming for a white one next time ....

but will be worth it? the stress ...the lack of sleep .... the need to be on top of everything (coz I am competitive!) ...not having enough time for the boys and my family ...and definitely not enough time and motivation to update the blogs ...it's a 50-50 kind of situation ...but hey, who says life is fair ....you just got to do what you got to do ....

anytime, anywhere ...

While waiting for nenek, who went for hair wash, cut and colouring, Al and adik had to make do with this temporary arrangement ...hehehehe ...having the bottle feeds inside the comfort of my car ...

It was quite a long wait ...the problem with the boys were that they did not want to wait at the saloon where it is more comfortable ...just because they are "scared" of the noises ...from the hairdryers!!! Can you believe that???

so, we waited inside the car ...before that we went shopping and what nots ....but cannot stay out too long as both boys were cranky ...so the only solution was to get them inside the car and get the bottles and security blankets out ....thankfully mum finished her session not long after this ..which actually saved the boys from having their naps in the car as well :-)

lunch at Stove Kitchen

Found this place by coincident ..it is located on the ground floor of the building where I have my yoga classes ..and Bemen says the food are nice ...last saturday, we gave it a try ....i brought my parents with me ..initially the plan was to go to SCR but was unable to get a parking spot ..i hate that place! too crowded now esp with the new mall being opened and what nots ...so, Stove Kitchen was the next best thing ...

my lychee and lemon drinks - very refreshing!

We were famished by the time we reached there ..it was already 1pm ....the drinks came first (of course!) but it was a while before the food came ....and the were a lot of customers as well ...we ordered simple fare as dad said don't order too much ...he's the boss so he did all the ordering ...

fresh kailan - in garlic - yummy!

fried squid with thai sauce - nice tangy taste ...and not oily at all!

and last but not least - Nyonya steamed fish (siakap) - the angle of the photo does not show how delicious it was - i was starving and couldn't care less at the lime LOL

but we did justice to all three dishes as evidenced by the following photos ...it was a nice lunch ...dad said we should come again and bring the rest of the family :-)

what did i tell you??? hahaha ...

close-up of what's left of the fish :-) mum said it reminded her of our last holiday

So Stove Kitchen - see you soon!

so sweet!

It has been raining non-stop for the last few days ...but it doesn't stop Al from our routine ..he would usually go out to help my dad open the gate for me every time I go to work ...he would watch me driving off ...and send me with his flying kisses and words like Love you Mama ...Drive slowly Mama (his grandmother taught him this one!) ...and then they will close the gate ...

 

He was forbidden to go out as it was raining ..but he is such a clever boy (i know i am biased!) and took out his nenek's farm hat and put that on ...the grandfather couldn't stop him LOL ...

* waiting till his grandfather was not looking before following him out in the rain

I love this boy! By the time I come back home, he will be the one waiting for me ...and asking if i bought him any treats :-)

SCR Jalan Song Outlet - still my prefered choice!

It has become our routine - when we were not busy - to have our lunch off campus ...one of our fav place is at Singapore Chicken Rice @ Jalan Song ...despite its distance, we still prefer this SCR outlet than any other outlet ...there is one SCR outlet in Samarahan but I felt that (i) the food does not taste the same, and (ii) the menu is also different!

and, by the way, we have a new gang-member now ...LOL ...meet Mr Chris ..hehehehe ...my former student, who is now a tutor at the faculty ...

and as always, I had mushroom and chicken noodles for lunch ...yumm yumm ...

but this one also looks tempting ...Haslina's order of fried kuey teow ...and i think the portion is also reasonable ...perhaps when I am bored with my noodles I can try this dish :-)

and these are my lunch buddies ....Bemen, Chris and Haslina ....we are looking forward to these lunches but, during term time in particular, we seldom had lunches together ...most of us had to just grab a quick lunch from the uni's canteen ...so, we are enjoying this brief student-free period ....emmm am wondering where we will be going for our lunch tomorrow ...especially since tomorrow is Friday - with its extra long lunch hour LOL .....

Driver and passenger ...a road trip to nowhere

This is what happenned when kids emulate what you are doing ...when i go to work one day, I saw Al and adik rushing towards the car ...al said he wanted to work ...like mama ....but to them, work means going out from the house ...even aki going grocery shopping is classified as working!

to stop them from following me, daddy put them inside mummy's kancil ...and they were so happy! the pictures say it all .....

the passenger ...very undemanding LOL ...and both are still in their pyjamas

love this expression! this was when i left them to go to my own car ...before they even had time to cry for me LOL ...tactics that worked most of the time ....