In my mind,

I have blogged about:

1. The time when I had to raise my voice at a clinic assistant. She chided me for bringing my breathless son to the clinic 10mins after it's closing time. Nevermind the clinic does not state it's operating hours and the sign still says "Open". I told her Danial was wheezing and needed to see the doctor quickly. Only to be told that I should've brought him in earlier. I raised my voice and asked her how was I supposed to know Danial's lungs would start wheezing and if she could tell me, I'd be sure to make an appointment ahead of time.

We finally got to see the doctor whom, after 3 seconds of putting the stethoscope on Danial's chest said the boy's not wheezing. He promptly asked me if I was new to the neighbourhood. I said we weren't new to the neighbourhood but were new to the clinic because of the change in my company's insurer. He then took the liberty to advise me of the clinic's opening hours and that he might not be in the clinic even if he had house calls to make. If looks could kill, he would've been dead by then.

2. My strategy + my plan + my hard work = someone else's credit. No recognition of a job well done. Instead someone else basked in its glory, shamelessly accepting all the kudos, taking in all the credit. I've seen this happen many times; in fact this is not the first time it's happened to me in my 20 years of working life. But man, what happened recently just took this corporate game to the next (lowest) level.

3. The day when I had a panic attack because I thought I had lost my 15-year old engagement ring. I finally found it in my yoga bag. I was careless and mad at myself for a while.

4. During a recent work trip, I was too tired from all day meetings and not enough sleep that I actually fell forward while on an escalator going up. A colleague, after making sure I was alright, decided to let out a chuckle and said the lemonade I had at dinner was way too potent. My both shins were bruised, but not as much as my ego. But thank goodness I didn't fall far enough to end up smelling the ass of the person who was standing in front of me. And thank goodness I didn't fall backwards. *That* would have been disastrous.

5. Watching "Duplicity" in the plane was a waste of time. But then, in the plane, you have time to waste. I've always thought Julia Roberts, while hot, looks horse-y. Clive Owen is the new heart throb. But the movie sucks. Big time. I can't believe a bunch of ex agents could be so gullible. Can someone please bring back Jason Bourne?

And that is all.

I'm taking deep breaths

Because I am sick of the cookie-cutter way of doing things. Where there is no space for differentiation. The world is not all black or white. Give me a break already. (end of rant)

Tears and Fears

So after not travelling for a long while, having to pack my luggage and saying goodbye to the kids were the most painful things ever. Not to add the fact that the husband is also travelling the same week I'll be gone. Thank goodness my mother has stepped in to look after the kids.

Last night, the act of putting my clothes and getting my stuff organised proved to be a little too sad for Sara. She saw me packing and ran to my bed and buried her face in the pillows, crying soft tears. I had to fight back my own tears to soothe her. And then Danial and Farah too came to my room both teary :(

I called home this morning and my mother said Sara cried a little in the morning but was soothed and was better. She called me three times before she left for school, too. I told the kids that they could call me anytime they need. My phone bill will shoot through the roof but I think it's money well-spent.

Wow...

I can't believe:

1. MJ is dead but the circus around him continues unabated
2. Danial thought MJ was dead a long time ago because he's never heard any new songs from MJ at all
3. Danial is trying to master the moonwalk
4. My business travel is starting up after almost one year of travel ban and here I am getting very used to being grounded
5. School term just started and the kids are already bringing back loads of homework everyday
6. The month of Rejab is here, and soon Ramadhan will be here and I have yet to start fasting the days I lost last year
7. We are already in July
8. I think I need another holiday
9. The Ministry of Health has given up telling people to stay away from countries where H1N1 is spreading fast - not least because we ourselves are on that list. Tragic comedy, don't you think?
10. No one is watching the Asian Youth Games - at least in my household

Today...

...we mark 13 years of togetherness. Alhamdulillah.

Picture from here.

The many holidays

We were off to Ho Chi Minh City for a couple of days. A trip that was planned way back in February and instigated by a cautionary email from SingaporeAirlines about miles which were going to expire if we didn't redeem soon. So we looked at places we could afford for six, redeemed six tickets and paid close to $700 for taxes and surcharges (aargh) and we got our tickets.

The weather was lovely and we walked around the city - gingerly avoiding the chaotic traffic that does not follow much traffic rules. We took some time to orientate ourselves with the area and found a masjid nearby and a couple of halal eating places, well frequented by Muslims from mostly Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei. We felt so at home :) If anyone is looking for a good halal place in District 1, we highly recommend Halal@Saigon which is right in front of the masjid on Dung Do street (do not laugh, that is the name of the street and it's pronounced Doong Do). Very good Vietnamese food as well as local Malay food at reasonable prices. The restaurant is started by a Malaysian lady and she has several staff who speak good English and sometimes impress you with their Malay.

After a day spent roaming around the city, we booked a local tour to the Cu Chi tunnel, and we were awed by the Vietnamese for creating such a complex and organised underground tunnel and weapons that outwit and outmanouvered the heavily armed and supposedly more sophisticated US army. The pictures we saw at the War Museum were shocking. If there was anything that drove the message of "War is Bad" to the kids, those pictures were it. Torn limbs and twisted and mangled bodies...sigh.

As part of our tour we had a boat and sampan ride along the Mekong Delta. Where we noticed the resourcefulness of the ladies who were so hospitable and talented in handicraft work and kept themselves busy hawking those wares. There were also ladies running a mini honey/bee factory and other cottage-industies. And we also noticed the men rocking themselves in hammocks, smoking their cigarettes and occasionally getting up from their hammocks to drink the honey and lemon tea prepared by the said ladies.

Unfortunately, because of something he ate, the husband morphed into a merlion two days before we left HCM. I was quite frantic about him developing a fever and possibly being quarantined. But alhamdulillah, he was well enough to travel home after some self-prescribed medication. In the meantime, I brought the kids out to sight-see while he rested in the room. Alone. In a quiet room. With the Australian cable channel with the latest rugby matches on.

I fell in love with the lacquerware (read: pretty and cheap) and bought a couple of things that would be nice for the new house. I've convinced the husband we would come back for some serious shopping closer to when we get the keys to our new house, insha Allah.

Speaking of which, we heard that we'd be given our keys perhaps in August/September, a couple of months earlier than the December date we were officially told. That only means, of course, we need to go back to HCM soon!

I am blessed...

(so altogether now, say alhamdulillah). We just hosted two terrific families at our Melaka house over the weekend. They were just the most fun people to be with and we loved the fact that they wanted to come visit our house there.

The best part of the entire thing is the solat jemaah. I love the azan and when it melodiously rings live in my house, it brings tears to my eyes. It is both humbling and liberating at the same time. And Danial got his chance reciting his iqamah at one of the solahs and we were so proud he did it so well and with much confidence.

And as we always do when we're there, we ate lots, laughed plenty and shopped too much.

So as I was struggling to start my Monday I began reflecting on my weekend that has just passed, and I realised I have lots to be thankful for. I am thankful for being blessed with great friends and family members who lift me spiritually and make me want to improve myself as a person, mother and wife.

Picture from here.