Handling Holland.. (and now aidan too!)

I am so so happy and proud to be doing what i’m doing. in the beginning i was extremely worried, it kicked off the second week of ramadhan and we had orders coming in. we received orders at the end of 2nd week of puasa. majority orders from jb. alhamdulillah.

We went back to jb on thursday. straight away did all the hampers. everyone helped, even hardy. he went all out doing all the packing. i felt sorry, for making him stay up till late, making him do the work i was suppose to do. but the other part of me felt complete. and just overwhelmed by his gestures. he’s so sweet and accomodating. i love him more and more each second.

3 days in jb, with maximum 4 to 5 hours of sleep each day… fiuhhhh!!! i dont even have time to sit. it was a good effort and it paid off to see all of us together. to see the end result… i cant describe it!

Tok long and tok bah came. tok long even helped! we then broke the news to them. they were  happy its going to be earlier. alhamdulillah, that was what tok long have prayed for. for it to be earier.

Lenny text last weekend saying she went for her first dining session at lincoln’s. she thought of me and wish i could be there with her. i almost cried.  i felt it.  i’ve never been so proud of her. am extremely happy she’s there and chasing her dreams. very very proud of her. alhamdulillah.

I received a phone call while we were buying food at larkin for buka puasa. a female voice was on the other side. asking me whether is it to late to order. she was interested. invited me to do a presentation at their office, at mines. alhamdulillah! lega!

We arrived safely in kl, alhamdulillah. hardy drove all the way! i was too tired and too sleepy to drive. he was too, i know. i felt bad…

Did my presentaion at mines today, was amazed and overwhelmed with their office. with such beautiful scenic view overlooking the lake! such huge establishment. juana was as pleasant as i imagined her on the phone and emails. was there for an hour. came out feeling quite confident. they had a few offers from other companies but the ceo wasnt impressed. i dont know why! they were way way better than mine.

Three hours later, they called and gave me the numbers. alhamdulillah, syukur. i dont know where to start! they are finalizing the numbers with their 3 other subsidiaries. there will be sleepless nights, i’m sure, and i’m prepared for this!

You know when you were small, or probably yonger… you’ve always planned how your wedding’s going to be like, its like you have this picture in your head, how you want your wedding bouquet, how you want the pelamin to be, the hantaran to be, what kind of dulangs, the dress to be, how you want fresh lilies, how you want all the favours to be perfect, perfectly tied bows, nicely folded napkins etc etc… hahha.. now, with everything that’s going on, no chan!!!! i’m doing almost everthing i can but the bulk is passed to others. i just dont have the time but all i want is it to be sempurna sederhana and selamat insyaallah. in my case, it is such a clear case of "kita merancang, tuhan yang menentukan". seriously!! we planned and planned and planned but things just happened differently. and alhamdulillah, all of them are for the better.

Tonnes to be done for the hampers, i’m putting all others secondary, even the wedding. but my priority still remains

Jengga and coralle are having a whale of a time!!! hahahha

I really have to thank eju. from the bottom of my heart.

Alhamdulillah.

Last sunday we went back to Kundang, where we helped build the house for abg. yusuf and kak rahmah under Habitat For Humanity project. We bought kuih and murtabaks for berbuka puasa for them and our favourite pakcik who helped organize the project. We arrived there, and we saw a beautiful house has taken shape! it was beautiful! i cant believe i helped build that house! it was just overwhelming to see it up and almost ready. the roof was up, they’ve painted the walls. i was shocked! they greeted and welcomed us into their new house.

i went to the wall where i put my first ever brick, i saw the solid, smooth wall. and i smiled. yeyyyheyyy!!!! :)) i helped mix the cement (where no other girls did it), i helped carry the bricks, i helped to lay them, i helped cleaning the mineral bottles.. hehehe, i helped serve them food. i cant believe i had so much fun doing labour work!!

pakcik and makcik went for berbuka puasa at their daughter’s house in sepang, so we didnt get to meet them. both kak rahmah and abg. yusuf thanked us over and over again, the look on their face was all worth it. they’ve invited us for buka, promised us they’ll cook a special meal for both of us. i hugged, kissed and thanked kak rahmah. its just pure rewarding! i’m overjoyed. cant wait to see their children’s reaction when they come home for raya!

i am so proud to be part of the project hardy organized. so so proud of him.

Alhamdulillah. we got the email we’ve been waiting for, and it looks good. from now on till january it will be all so exciting, and it will be hectic as well, one might predict. loads to be done. loads to plan. loads to consider. loads to smile for too!! i’m happy.

yes, its going to be a new begining, a new place, a new life, new challenges, and yes, i will bring loads of bread and make sure all the ducks are fed!

I have had the privilaged to meet hardy’s collegues from dow lately. when we did the habitat of humanity project, i met most of the kl office, and recently, gurt and martha, from dow switzerland. they flew in last weekend, as gurt has got a trial run to attend in nilai with hardy.

We picked them up at the Regent on sunday evening. it was gurt’s second visit to malaysia and martha’s first. they brought lindt chocolates for us, beautifully wrapped with ribbons! we then headed to Menara KL for dinner, and our buka puasa. it took us hardly 30 seconds to reach the top!! I was amazed with the view! it was breathtaking!!

Dinner went so well, with them two craking jokes, telling us more about south africa and switzerland, their kids…. martha  so so adorable!! we had the buffett and introduced them to our local dishes. there were the malay and chinese selection at one side, western at the other side, and desserts (ai-ya-yaiii! sinful!!). they tasted our rendang, our sate, our ulam and loads of ice cream!!

I had an excellent night, just the 4 of us, getting to know one another. i can relate to her, i can understand her, we share the same interest, we love arty arty things, we love making things, crafts, ribbons, beads, etc. it was all exciting! martha’s just like a mum. i feel so so lucky to get to know such wonderful human beings. something martha said kept me thinking.. till todate. and, i will consider her advise.

The next day, hardy and gurt went to nilai, me and martha, we went to ssf. she was in heaven. she was in cloud nine! we spent almost 4 hours there. floor by floor. had such great fun!! we got out of ssf only to realize traffic wasnt moving at jalan tunku abdul rahman. went to the other side, walked to cityone, and shucks! traffic was really bad there too! and then martha said, lets walk! and so we did.. we walked and talked and walked till we reached dang wangi!! we then took the monorail (my first) back to bukit bintang. i guess all in all we walked for more than 4 miles?! hmmmm… nonetheless, i had such great fun with her! she invited us to her home about 10 times the previous night and more than 10 times that day itself! i wish i could tell her!

Arrived at the hotel and joined gurt, hardy, liaw and sujali. after a few mins, it was time for buka. we batalkan puasa with ribena we bought at 7eleven and some bread/buns at breadstory. we sat right opposite planet hollywood, almost no traffic/cars on the road, enjoying each others company. it was cool!!

We then headed to shereton imperial for dinner, all 6 of us. we had italian at villa danieli. beautiful, perfect, awesome. anyone looking for a good place to dine, with good, exceptional food, excellent presentation and good service. this is the place! i had grilled squid for starters, roast beef for my main dish and sorbet to cool meself down. loved every bite of it!! it was too beautiful to even touch them. i wished i could frame them!!! i’d certainly give them two thumbs up, 4.8 over 5! close to perfect! like my grandma always say when its just too delicious "sedap dia sampai jilat ke siku!" - its so good you’ll lick till your elbows!!

We hugged and kissed each other and martha held my hand, hugged me and said, i would love to come, my heart is with you and i will think of you this december. you will look beautiful! its amazing how someone you just knew, touched your heart and how she can come up with such comforting, wonderful words. i’m just so touched!!

It was a complete day. I had a good time. thank you sayang for introducing me yet again to such wonderful set of people in your lives. thank you for letting me be part of you, part of what you do. thank you. and thank you uncle dow

59 years ago, my mum was born. a person whom i love with all my life, with all my heart, with all my soul, with everything i’ve got. she has been the pillar of strength for me, my advisor, my gossip friend, my shopping partner, my mother, my role model.

The way mum does things, the way she speaks, the way she laughs, the way she touches, the way she thinks, the way she gives - all so full of love. like i wrote in her birthday card, if love would look into a mirror, it would show her face.

I remember telling hardy how embarrased i was back in primary school when getting my report cards. every end of term, mum would get my report card. mum being the secretary dresses well from head to toe. she blows her hair, she wears make up, wears the latest trend, wears perfume, matching handbags and shoes… and everytime she enters the school compound, everyone would turn and look at her! me being the shy one in the family, at that time, held her hand, walked behind her with my head down. honestly! everyone would go, "tengok mak zaza". almost 99% of all the other mums would dress casually, baju kurung and tudung most of them, dressed in uniforms, some of them, no make up on.. they dressed down you see, or probably didnt dress at all! and at that time, how i wish my mum would be a ‘normal’ mum. but mum’s not. she’s no ordinary mum. she’s different.

Secondary school, i stood tall walking next to mum. i later understood her, what she does, how she feels and thinks, and i’m so proud of her for being the person that she is. back then, in my mind, i kept telling myself, mum looks so good, i cant let her down, cant fail a paper, that will make her look bad! i tried so much scoring and being top of the class. but still, my maths pulled me down *sigh*.

Looking back at it, i regret feeling embarrased. just because my mum dresses up, i shouldnt feel ashamed. i should be proud of her, so proud of her, for taking the time to look good. not to show off but ‘if you look good, you feel good’ - thats what she told me.

My mum is definitely different. she’s one in a zillion. she can wear a 3ringgit necklace and make it look like its 3000ringgit. she can wear a material that cost 4ringgit a mtr and make it look like its 400 a mtr! she always said to me, its how you put them all together. how you accessorize it. how you walk wearing it… with confidence. no mum, you’ve got the flaire.

Mak, till today wears 3/4 pants, jeans and tshirt, a dress, with her hair so short, everything she wears, she looks perfect in them. often people thought me, kakak and her were sisters. and me being the eldest! *a longgg sigh*

My mum brought me up with so so much love, one could just imagine! the love she showed me and kakak, the love that mak showed to ayah… mum has always been behind all of us. she sacrificed for us. and the way she handles each situation, how she talks only good things and taught us not to give up, cute in her remarks and jokes, she’s one strong woman, been through ups and downs.

My mum would ask the MPJB garbage men who gets our garbage twice a week to come in and have a drink, my mum would always think of our neighbours and give them food, my mum would crack peanuts for dad and take the bad ones and give dad the good ones.. those are just a few examples of what mak would do. it goes on and on…

I’m ever so so thankful to God for what he has given me. So so grateful. I owe her a lot, i can never repay her. I owe her my life.

I wish her a life full of happiness, dimurahkan rezeki, dipanjangkan umur, dijauhkan segala penyakit, segala amalan diberkati Allah swt, and may all the things that she had given us, be given back to her.. berlipat kali ganda, insyaallah.

Happy 59th Birthday mum.