Reverse Peristalsis

Updates:

1. I am in talks with an already established forum to integrate Positivity Heals in it. So issues that could use our help that are posted in that particular forum shall be directed to me, and be delegated to members who have registered at positivityheals.forumco.com

2. GI Jane regime homefront is rather sluggish lately hindered by overzealous drive to cook and eat. No weight loss for the past 2 weeks save for the yoyo effect of that 2lbs tipping indecisively to the left and right of the weighing scale depending on bowel movements and water retention. Renewed membership at the club but have yet to pop over and really making use of the facilities. Maybe I'll check out the al fresco bistro. Heh.

3. Aishah is getting better although I am still not to happy with the consistency of ..ah, u know.

4. My mom's cancer mark has gone down to 35. Alhamdulillah. Thanks to all of you who have offered prayers and well wishes.

Ok, back to blogging (reiterating how self-absorbed I can get sometimes)

I woke up pretty early today to what sounded like a modulated and spoofed version of Jingle Bells from Che Anwar's phone. I would not have appreciated and reacted very kindly if it had been the "Tenenenet...tenenenet" of regular alarm clocks. Getting on the right side of the bed rewarded Che Anwar a little breakfast, an ironed polo tshirt and a matching pair of socks. It is not very often that I really fuss over his stuff in the mornings plainly because I think that I should get as much rest as I could before Aishah wakes up. Excuses.

As usual, I got online, hoping to see Ely. Fair enough, she IM-ed me just as soon as I dropped a comment at her blog. Talk about ESP, y'all. It's spooky how Ely and I sync. We had a great chat, you know how it is, when your schedule revolves around a speeding bullet of a little girl. Anyways, y'all know her mom is with her right now. So I grabbed the opportunity to ngendeng recipes. I got a great paes telur ikan recipe. I thought of making some and bringing the dish over to the inlaws but sadly when I ran through the menu with Che Anwar over the phone, he wanted nasik. *chop, kita ngantuk sambung besok pagi*

*ok, dah pagi...huwaaaaaaaaaarghhh*

Where was I? Ok, Lauk. I told him about telur ikan, encik tu tak suka pulak...Ish! I thought people would kill one another for fish roe. Back where I came from, telur ikan goreng kunyit pun dah best dah. Ini members nak masak paes dia takmo...Rugi! I know why, he grew up thinking fish roe would make him tak pandai Math. So we finalised the menu, I made Black pepper beef with asparagus and Enoki mushrooms serta Fried Kurau with Thai Sweet Sauce. As upah for my good efforts, he took time off from work and brought me to IKEA.

We bought few stuff we needed for the house and a lot more that we didn't really need but looked too cute to miss. For a huge plastic bag of bric n brac, we were relieved the bill totaled up to just $77. We sat down for the free coffee( and refills) and Swedish Almond Chocolate torte to keep Aishah quiet while Ma and Abah sink into each other's eyes( macam betul...)

I needed( cewah, "needed" siot) some cookies, so I went looking for some, ended up buying toffee lollies instead. At the checkout counter Che Anwar asked me if I would like to rekindle my romance with smoked salmon. At that point I went, "Nak, nak, nak, nak...". So he got us the salmon sandwich.

All the three of us gobbled the scrumptious feast in less than 5 minutes. And it was time to go home.

A few minutes down the road, before I could even begin to oggle the sexiest street in Singapore that houses gallerias upon gallerias of shiny hot, hot, hot stuff (think Malayan Motors, MG etc), I suddenly felt a rush of cold sweat, and goosebumps. Good thing one of the shopping bags was in the back seat. Nothing much came out but a bit of foamy stuff. Man, for a while there I thought I was in the "new addition to the family" way.

As soon as we got home, I tried to get comfy on my bed with the aircond on, and the laptop perched on its usual place of rest and chatted with Ayu. Before we could exchange anything much, I had to run off and barfed the brains outta meself.

That must have been a seriously, seriously non-zabihah salmon sandwich, that was.

Engineers' Wives Club

I read with interest a leadership slideshow by IEEE and stumbled upon some interesting things about what spouses of engineers say about their significant others. Read letters to Ann Landers.

You probably have heard of golf widows and how some of them decided to take on the green stretch themselves. For us wives of construction or on-site engineers, our stomach are often tied in knots each time dear hubby has to go away longer than we can ordinarily cope. Especially for Malaysian and Singaporean engineers mid-career, the only way to make a lil extra is to seek jobs overseas, you know, get into the expat market and all that. A lot of families have had to uproot and squat temporarily in expat comfort(betul ke?) before the engineer moves on to another contract. Some, like me, would have to wait with bated breaths every single day that the engineer would come back in one piece and that he would always always come home to me.

I remember once, when I was heavily pregnant, Che Anwar had to spend a lot of time in Indonesia ironing out some regulatory disputes between the dredgers his company hired and the Indonesian Marine Police. The hearings were held in Karimun and Batam, two little islands south of Singapore, notorious for manly extra-curricular activities. When he had to be away for more than 4 days, I packed up my stuff and rushed to the ferry jetty, luggage, huge tummy and all, to get to him, yet I had missed the last boat out. I just sat at the station, crying and crying while I spoke to him over the phone. I just could not take another night alone. I was going to stay right there until the next day and take the first ferry out. Lucky for me, Che Anwar came back the next day. Only to leave two days later.

These days he doesn't really have to go abroad save for short meetings in China and Malaysia. That, he'd go just for the meeting and catch the flight back. Poor thing.

I am most worried when he has to go down 30m underground and walk 8km in a deep tunnel which is to be christened the passageway for crude biological waste channeled to various water treatment plants. No matter how much emphasis are put on "Safety First" campaign, I am not convinced a pulley system and basket are the way to ferry people underground and up.

Even this tunnel project is almost done. There has been talk that we might have to move to South Korea. I am oh, so not ready for that. And the possibility of that construction giant to loosen the noose around the set up here and get more locals in admin. Both ways, Che Anwar would still operate as every engineer's wife's nightmare. Extramarital affair with his job.

I emphatize with O&G widows, Middle East-bound families and the likes. My mom did not have any problems though, she was a TV person, she is more married to the station back then, but who knows, she too did not like sleeping alone.

Cinta Sejati

Bila termeterainya janji
sumpah setia berkait hati
kononnya bersatu sampai mati
berbunga-bunga besar dalam hati
simpan naluri perhamba diri
cinta dipupuk hari demi hari
memadu cinta berbuah kasih
saling percaya mempercayai
rukun damai berteman serasi


Bila cinta beraja di hati
akal waras tak lagi bererti
taksub menagih kurnia pemberi
langsung lupa tugas sendiri
cinta agung pada Ilahi
yang termaktub lagi hakiki
kasih sayang tak bertepi
tak bersyarat suci murni
takkan luput di penghujung hari


Tak usah gian bila menagih
pada hamba sesama semilir
bergantung harap bersama bertatih
sampai lumpuh terus bergeser
walhal yang teguh Maha Mengasihi
yang disuruh kita memadu kasih
agar tenang meniti hari
agar iman meningkat hampir
pada sucinya cinta sejati

Kembali Ceria

The latest song in the background is a duet written by Azlan Abu Hassan, an award winning songwriter who is also a Reiki Master as well as an avid exerciser. He is my sifu in many ways than one, most importantly he is a good friend who accepts me for who I am, teaches me lessons of life when I need it, in the way that works.

Saya tujukan lagu ini khas buat suami saya, Encik Anwar Mohamed dengan ucapan..."Buat apa tu?"

Copyright belongs to EMI Publishing Sdn Bhd.

Poor Lil Aishah

It must be some kinda bug that has caused Aishah to purge watery stools for 5 straight days. She had the flu last week and as soon as her nose had dried up, her stomach threw a tantrum. She has not shown any signs of dehydration. Her energy level is normal and she is eating very well. She has no fever and not whining about any tummy upset. But Ma is worried nevertheless. Textbooks tell me to get her electrolytes, weak 100plus or pedialyte. Ginger ale on standby for nausea. I watch her temperature and keep her off playing with potential contaminants. She is on a non-dairy diet for the time being. I hope that this is just the garden variety and not anything else. I have found this site of remedies for diarrhea, thought perhaps other mommies could bookmark it. My heart goes out to Moms who have to deal with much much more serious ilnesses in their children. It does not feel right, innit when you see young 'uns suffer eh? Kesian.