You want to spoil your kids, be my guest BUT......

Lately Fathini who just finished sitting for her exams for both Primary School and her Religious School always shares with me some stories. The stories were about how some of the other parents promised to buy some presents like Ipad, handphone or remote control helicopter if their kids managed to achieve excellent result. When I asked Fathini, does it mean that she wants it too? She just shrugged her shoulders and told me she didn't mind.

I don't mind when other parents want to spoil their own kids. My only concern is when other unfortunate kids from poor families feel jealous and demand the same thing from their parents. Knowing kids, they like to brag about what they have and if possible would like to show off whenever they can. I have to admit that right now, we are also having some financial constraint. We don't really have the budget to spend lavishly on buying presents to our kids. I know that giving presents can be a good incentive to the kids BUT how far will we go into giving this incentive? Would we buy whatever our kids wish for just to encourage them to achieve excellent result?

My parents used to give this kind of incentive too but they never specified what kind of presents we would get. After we got the excellent result then only they would brought us for a special dinner treat or sometimes bought some not-so-expensive presents.

We are really hoping that not only Fathini but Hafizah and Husna will always try to achieve excellent result because they want to succeed and not because we have to promise them 1001 material stuffs that wouldn't even last that long.

Do you encourage your kids to get excellent result by making some promises too?

Ku korbankan perasaan demi orang tua (BM Entry)

Kebanyakan orang yang akan menyambut Aidil Fitri yang tinggal beberapa hari je lagi, sudah sampai di kampung masing-masing. Ada yang akan bertolak Isnin, Selasa atau Rabu depan. Kalau diikutkan, tahun ini giliran beraya dulu di kampung saya di Kelantan. Tapi........bila difikirkan yang ayah dan ibu mertua akan kesepian di malam & pagi raya, saya korbankan perasaan saya. Mereka tak cakap apa-apa cuma dari raut wajah, saya boleh baca yang mereka sedih kalau tiada anak cucu akan bersama di malam dan pagi raya.  Saya pun rasa berat hati pulak nak meninggalkan mereka sunyi di malam & pagi raya. Suami saya anak kedua. Kakak sulung suami akan datang beraya di pagi raya sekejap sebelum beraya di rumahnya sendiri. Dia susah sikit nak duduk lama-lama sebab ada anak sulungnya yang istimewa. Anaknya tak boleh ada orang bising-bising. Adik suami pulak beraya di rumah mertuanya dulu di Muar. Adik bongsu suami, memanglah ada tapi dia belum berkahwin jadi kalau dia je ada, rumah memang tak delah meriah.

Saya kakak sulung. Ada 7 adik orang adik. Bila kami balik beraya, memang penuhla rumah pusaka arwah tok. Rumah besar yang ada 8 buah bilik tu memang penuh dengan kami yang ada 14 orang dewasa (kami 8 beradik, mak sedara & suami, ayah sedara dan isteri) dan 14 kanak-kanak. Cuma bila beraya, ada antara kami yang akan berulang alik ke rumah mertua sebab diaorg kebanyakan kawin dengan orang Kelantan juga cuma daerah je berlainan. Saya seorang je yang kawin dengan orang 'luar'(ikut panggilan oghe Kelate ye). Jadi memang kadang-kadang saya rasa saudara-mara saya tak faham situasi saya. Bukan saya harap mereka faham pun. Kalau nak ceritakan semua masalah kita, bukan orang lain boleh tolong. Cuma kadang-kadang, terkilan di hati bila waktu raya sepatutnya waktu kita bermaaf-maafan dan bergembira. Saya pula kadang-kadang rasa kecil hati dan sakit hati. Jadi, tahun ni pun mungkin ada episod yang tak diingini lagi bila saya buat keputusan drastik untuk tidak balik sebelum raya di Kelantan.

Saya cuma nak gembirakan hati orang tua dulu sebab mereka dah banyak membantu kami sekeluarga. Kami masih lagi tinggal serumah dengan mereka kerana lokasi tempat kerja kami lebih dekat dari rumah mereka. Rumah kami sendiri yang kami beli agak jauh dan kami perlu mencari kerja lain jika mahu tinggal di rumah sendiri. Keluarga saya sendiri pula, sejak arwah ma saya meninggal, kami akan pergi beraya dengan abah kami sekejap-sekejap sahaja kerana dia pun tinggal di rumah ibu tiri. Kami rasa tak berapa selesa nak bermalam di situ di tambah dengan rumah yang agak kecil untuk kami menumpang adik-beradik.

Walau apapun, saya selalu ingat pesanan arwah ma yang kita kena selalu bersangka baik dengan orang walaupun apa yang orang lain fikirkan tentang kita. Allah saja yang akan balas perbuatan-perbuatan baik kita jika niat kita ikhlas. Insha Allah.

Candy Crush Saga: New Addiction.

I used to be addicted to some games like Cafe World and Farm Ville on FB. But that was about 2 years ago. Now I don't really want to waste my time by playing any games because I have other better things to do. Plus when you are addicted to something, you tend to think about it and will always try to find time for it  even though you still have to do other important jobs.

The latest craze of online game is the Candy Crush Saga. If you don't know or never heard about it, you are safe. hehe. It's better not to be addicted to another, I would say lame game.Here is what I found from WIKIPEDIA:

Candy Crush Saga is a video game for smartphones and Facebook that was released on November 14, 2012.^[1] It was developed by King.com. As of March 2013, "Candy Crush Saga" surpassed FarmVille 2 as the most popular game on Facebook, with 45.6 million average monthly users.^[2][3] It is a variation on their browser game Candy Crush.
 
 The game is a variation of "match three" games such as Bejeweled. Each level has a different shaped grid filled with candies of three to six different colors and sometimes obstacles. The basic move of the game consists of swapping two candies' positions to align sets of three of the same color, whereupon they disappear, causing candies above them to collapse into the space left behind, often resulting in chain reactions. Moves and alignments must be horizontal/vertical. The level's objectives must be met before the player runs out of moves (or time on timed levels); in each case, the player must earn enough points to get the first star (out of 3) in the scoring system.

Some of my family members (my sister in-laws) have invited me to play this game but I've choose to decline the sweet offer. They seems to have something in common when they have a chat about the game during my MIL's birthday celebration. That's actually when I came to know about this game!

I think I better fill up my free time by paying attention to my daughters especially Husna who is 11 months old and has learn to stand on her own. Soon she'll learn to walk and run! Based on the previous experience of my own addiction to Cafe World & Farm Ville games on FB, I know now to avoid from any kind of games that will make me glued to the computer.

How many of you are addicted to Candy Crush Saga game?
 

Bibik Percuma! (BM entry)

Selalunya hari Ahad ni malas nak buat entri sebab nak bermalas-malasan dengan anak-anak. Tapi hari ni saje je nak kongsikan rahsia menarik yang mesti ramai yang suka terutama ibu-ibu yang bekerjaya.

Apa rahsianya?

Rahsia nak dapatkan BIBIK PERCUMA!

Eh, biar betul!

Betul ni bukan main-main. Bukan susah pun dan tak perlu modal beribu-ribu dan tak perlu bayar ejen (yang selalunya cekik darah dan banyak menipu).

Macammana?

• Buat jadual untuk anak-anak (yang dah boleh diharapkan) untuk buat tugas-tugas mudah seperti mengemas mainan sendiri, meletakkan baju kotor ke dalam bakul pakaian kotor atau lebih baik terus ke mesin basuh.
• Rancang menu untuk 5 hari dan potong siap-siap ayam/daging, sayuran dan bawang yang perlu. Bila balik dari tempat kerja hanya perlu campurkan bahan-bahan je.
• Minta suami jaga anak-anak waktu sibuk memasak di dapur atau biarkan anak-anak bermain di depan tv seketika.
• Ajar anak-anak mengambil pinggan/mangkuk sebelum makan dan mengangkat ke sinki selepas makan. Kalau takut pinggan pecah, bagi anak-anak kecil pinggan plastik je.
• Biasakan untuk tidak merasa cepat tertekan melihat rumah bersepah-sepah kerana kalau tertekan sangat sampai anak-anak tak boleh nak main dalam rumah sendiri pun susah jugak. Cari je masa hujung minggu untuk mengemas di almari-almari atau kabinet tertentu dan baju-baju yang belum berlipat tu, masukkan je dalam kotak bertutup dulu sebelum dilipat dengan kemas dan dimasukkan ke dalam almari baju.
• Kalau malas nak menyapu, guna je alat penyedut hampagas untuk membesihkan rumah. Lagi senang kerja sebab tak perlu guna penyodok dan cepat dapat membersihkan habuk. 

Pernah tak cuba buat apa yang saya bagitahu tadi? Kalau pernah, maknanya memang kita dah tak perlu bibik lagi. Anak-anak pun lebih berdisplin bila kita selalu bagi tugas untuk membantu kita. Macam saya sekarang dah bertambah sorang lagi BIBIK PERCUMA ni. Nak tengok?

Husna tengah 'mengemas' tisu

Mengemas baju-baju Kak Long Tini

Ermm wanginya. Pandai mama basuh. 

Baru 10 bulan dah rajin sangat. Pantang senyap-senyap je ada la kerja yang dia buat. Bila dilarang, dah pandai buat muka merajuk dan pura-pura mengangis. Jadi, biarkan saja sampai dia dah penat baru dikemaskan semula tempat yang disepahkan. Nasib dah tak meroyan sangat sekarang bila tengok sepah-sepah ni. Bila ada masa baru kemas kalau tak, biarkan dulu sampai suami mula bising dan minta tolong dia kemaskan juga. Yelah, anak-anak dia jugak yang sepahkan. 

Jadi jom semua kita pakat-pakat ajar anak-anak supaya jadi lagi rajin untuk memudahkan kita dan juga untuk kebaikan anak-anak kita bila mereka dah dewasa nanti.

Just missed RM0 fare from Ais Asia!

Salam,

Just saw this promotion this morning and yup I missed it!

Can't help but I always wonder how many people really manage to get the promotional fare since the line is always busy? Have any of you manage to get what they claim to be? Or is it just a mere false promotion to attract our attention?

Merdeka tu apa? (BM entry)

Salam,

Setiap tahun anak-anak saya akan bertanya, "Merdeka tu apa?". Setiap tahun juga saya perlu menerangkan secara ringkas tapi setiap tahun juga jawapan saya perlu lagi tepat. Apa jawapan saya? Jawapan ikut buku teks. "Merdeka tu laungan yang menandakan negara kita tak kena jajah oleh mana-mana kuasa lain". Anak-anak saya tak puas hati  lagi sebab mereka tak faham. Setiap tahun juga saya nak kena cerita sikit sejarah dulu-dulu. Masalahnya mak diaorg ni pun tahu apa itu "Merdeka" pun melalui buku Sejarah. Nasib baik minat jugak belajar subjek Sejarah dulu. Cuma sewaktu kecil saya sempat dengar cerita-cerita dari arwah tok dan nenek waktu zaman Jepun dan sebelum merdeka. Adalah dapat dengar pengalaman mereka sendiri. Cuma macam tak boleh nak bayangkan macammana  orang dulu-dulu hidup dalam ketakutan zaman Jepun dan juga zaman British memerintah.

Kita zaman ni merdeka dari apa ye? Minda kita memang merdeka ke? Nilai-nilai murni kita elok ke? Adab kita? Apa nilai2 merdeka yang kita nak ajarkan pada anak-anak kita?

Macam saya pun, anak-anak hanya tahu bila sambut Hari Kemerdekaan, pagi-pagi lagu bukak tv dan tengok perbarisan. Dapatlah tengok kereta-kereta berhias dan orang pakai pakaian pelik-pelik. (kan ada pertandingan baju terbaik untuk yang menyertai perbarisan tu). Kat rumah memanglah kami ada kibarkan Jalur Gemilang untuk buat anak-anak rasa bangga bila sambut merdeka. Hari ini pun, diaorg buat perbarisan sendiri dalam rumah sambil menyanyi dan mengibarkan bendera.

Kalau anak-anak anda tanya Merdeka tu apa, apa jawapan anda?

Salahke kalau hanya ada anak perempuan? (BM entry)

Salam,

Entri ini entri beremosi kerana saya dah lama memendam rasa. Bukanlah kecewa atau mempersoalkan rezeki yang Allah kurniakan. Cuma saya agak kecewa apabila mendengar komen-komen dari orang lain. Ada yang cakap, "Ketiga-tiga anak perempuan ye. Takpe boleh cuba lagi nak dapat anak lelaki"."Muda lagi, sempat lagi nak dapat sorang lagi ni kalau nak anak lelaki". Ada yang memberikan pelbagai petua untuk mendapatkan anak lelaki. Ada yang meneka saya akan dapat anak lelaki sewaktu saya mengandungkan Husna (anak ketiga yang berusia hampir 2 bulan).

Kami bersyukur dengan apa yang kami ada. Mungkin ada sebab-musababnya kenapa kami dikurniakan 3 orang anak perempuan. Apa yang saya nampak, sekarang pun, kerja-kerja rumah saya semakin ringan sebab anak yang sulung dan yang kedua rajin mengemas. Kalau diaorang sepahkan mainan diaorang, saya tak perlu mengutip dan mengemas kerana mereka sendiri yang akan mengemaskan mainan.

Suami saya sendiri tidak pernah sekali pun kisah kalau kami tidak ada anak lelaki. Yelah budaya kita bukan seperti sesetengah budaya lain yang memerlukan anak lelaki untuk mewarisi nama keluarga. Bagi suami saya anak perempuan atau anak lelaki sama saja. Tanggungjawab membesarkan anak-anak sama dan mereka juga memerlukan perhatian dan kasih sayang yang tidak berbelah bagi.

Ramai juga yang berpendapat kalau ada anak lelaki, kita akan dijaga apabila tua. Tapi saya tengok ramai je anak-anak lelaki yang melupakan ibu sendiri dan lebih mementingkan isteri. Kalau isteri tak suka dengan ibu mertua, dihasutnya suami supaya melupakan ibu sendiri. Mungkin ada yang akan berkata, anak perempuan pun susah nak jaga sebab anak perempuan bila berkahwin perlu mengikut suami. Betul tu. Kami tak pernah pun berharap agar anak-anak kami akan menjaga kami (jika kami panjang umur) apabila kami sudah tua. Cukuplah jika mereka tidak melupakan kami dan selalu menjenguk kami.

Jadi soalan saya, "Salahke kalau hanya ada anak-anak perempuan?". "Adakah jurang perbezaan yang besar di antara anak perempuan dan anak lelaki?".

My pledge this Ramadhan.

Salam,

Ramadhan Mubarak to all muslims. I'm sure we are so excited when Ramadhan comes for a lot of reasons. It's a holy month where we can gain a lot and we are asked to do a lot too.

Thus, I'm sharing my pledge for this Ramadhan:

• keep breastfeeding even though I also want to fast for the whole month (insyallah)
• encouraging and motivating Fathini to fast as many days as she can.
• avoiding from talking about other people (written or spoken)
• avoiding from wasting any food
• performing more prayers especially the at night (this depends if Husna is sleeping well)
• finding more time to recite Quran 

Insyallah I'll try my best to do what I've pledged to do. Now, does anyone want to share what's their pledge for this Ramadhan?

Spanking NOT beating!

Salam,

Do you spank your children in order to teach them a lesson? How do you do it? Which part of their body do you use to spank them?

My husband and I also use spanking as a tool to teach our children. They know that they'll be spanked if they have done a serious mistake. We always make sure that the Spanking is just enough to teach them NOT to hurt them. There's a thin line between Spanking and Beating. If you spank to teach, you only spank them once or twice and you don't want to hurt them. BUT if you are beating them, it's already an act of abuse. That's why in some countries, they oppose to the act of spanking just because they afraid that it might lead to abusing.

When I was small, I was spanked few times because of being mischief. There was one particular incident that I still can vividly recall. I lost the house keys on my way back from school. My late mum was so furious because if somebody found the keys, they would get the easy access to our house! My mum called me to her bedroom and she asked some questions. I felt as if I was asked by a police officer! It was a thorough "investigation" made by my mum. When I told her I couldn't recall how did I lose the keys, she lost her patience and she spanked me at the thighs. It wasn't a painful spank at all but I felt so sad because I let her down and made her frustrated. Since that incident, I tried very hard to avoid being spanked not because I was afraid of my late mum but I didn't want to lose her trust on me.

Now, what do you think about spanking? Is it still relevant now or is it kind of an obsolete tool in disciplining our children?

Henry Middleton: A cool English teacher.

Salam,

He can be a good example for a cool male teacher. He never loses his composure or his patience even when thing goes wrong in his class. How I wish I can like him. I hate losing my temper but sometimes I just can't help it. I love to create a friendly environment in class but that depends a lot on the students.

I bet when a teacher is as handsome as him, most students will sit and listen to him. It's part of human nature to be attracted to someone who's beautiful or in this case quite a hunk. Other qualities also help him as he is quite natural in teaching and he doesn't ridicule his students when they make mistakes in using English. 

Kudos to Zain Saidin because he has proved to be the most suitable actor for the character.

Menonton filem Hindi atau drama bersiri itu cara untuk lari dari kenyataan? (BM entry)

Salam,

Ramai tak yang suka tengok filem-filem Hindi? Drama bersiri? Telenovela? Kenapa agaknya kita suka sangat tengok cerita-cerita tu? Ada yang boleh bagi lebih dari sepuluh sebab?

Ni kenapa banyak sangat soalan ni? hehe. Takde la. Ini adalah andaian yang boleh saya buat kerana saya pun pernah terjebak dengan gejala menonton filem2 Hindi, drama bersiri dan telenovela. Bukan nak mengata kat orang-orang lain pun.

Sebenarnya bila kita suka menonton cerita-cerita tu semua, kita sebenrnya tanpa sedar cuba menggunakan cerita2 itu sebagai "escapism" atau kalau nak diterjemahkan ialah pelarian dari kenyataan. Tak faham? Nak faham rasa lagi elok baca dlm BI ni: Escapism is mental diversion by means of entertainment or recreation, as an "escape" from the perceived unpleasant or banal aspects of daily life.

Jangan melenting pulak bila baca kenyataan tu. Ini memang apa yang telah dikaji oleh ahli-ahli yang pakar dalam sosiologi dan psikologi. Ini semua berkaitan dengan kesihatan mental kita. Kebanyakan "escapism" tu tak memudaratkan pun. Kita perlukan saluran untuk kita berehat seketika dan menghiburkan diri. Tak salah nak berangan-angan macam "Kalaulah aku dapat suami macam Aaron Aziz dalam cerita ni, mesti seronok", atau "Kalaulah suami aku pun romantik macam Shah Rukh Khan". 


Yang bahayanya kalau "escapism" tu sampai membuatkan kita tak boleh membezakan yang mana realiti dan fantasi. Kalau di India, mereka begitu taksub dengan filem2 yang mereka tonton. Pernah satu ketika, panggung dibakar sebab penonton tak berpuas hati dengan penyudahan filem yang mereka tengok. HA.....itu dah bahaya tu. 


Saya sekarang dah kurang sikit nak tengok filem2 Hindi atau drama bersiri sebab:

1) suami bising2 kalau asyik dok layan cerita.
2) malas nak ikut dah dari episod pertama sampailah episod terakhir. (kes kurang sabar)
3) masa drama bersiri ada yang tak sesuai. (masa maghrib terutamanya sbb dah biasa kena tutup tv masa tu)
4) skrg masa banyak habis depan laptop. (yelah dok menulis kat blog ni. :P )
5) dah ada "escapism" yang lain iaitu "blogging". hehehehehe

Ada sesiapa yang ada "escapism" yang sama?

25 years ago: It was safer but NOW.......

Salam,

25 years ago, I can roam free with my siblings near the neighbourhood area. We went on cycling, playing our own games, climbing some trees or just doing whatever we liked. There were not so many risks for us except for hurting ourselves when we fell from a tree (e.g.) or maybe getting ourselves dirty. We could play all day long and only came back home during dusk. Our parents wouldn't worry so much and they didn't even had to supervise us.

NOW......I won't ever let my kids out of my sight especially in public places. They are not allowed to play outside without any supervision. They don't have the freedom that I used to have. WHY? It's so terrifying to know that the kids nowadays have limited freedom. It's just not SAFE for them to play outside anymore. They are the targets for the culprits who have bad intentions. I know childhood should be the best time for the kids to explore but we better not let them explore without our supervision anymore. This is for their own good and for our own sanity.

SO.....
The innocent young victims like Shearwey Ooi Ying Ying, Nurin Jazlin Jazimin, Nurul Huda Abdul Ghani, Haserawati Saridi and now, Nurul Nadirah Abdullah should be a good reminder to other parents to be more vigilant about our kids' safety.

I know that we can only do so much because the rest is up to Allah's help. BUT at least we have to do something first.

Tatoo is a symbol for a macho man?

Salam,

Photo: Credit GOOGLE

Why do people want to have Tattoo? I know that in some cultures, they have their Traditional Patterns of Tattoos. Maori people in New Zealand and Aborigines in Australia and also some tribes in Sarawak. The tattoos have some meaning in their cultures. But most of people who are not from those groups, they want to have tattoos for personal reasons.

I'm highlighting this because yesterday morning, one of my students came to class with a bleeding arm. At first he didn't want to tell me what really happened. After a while, he showed me his tatooed arm. He did it the day before. When I asked him why he wanted to torture himself, he gave me a weak smile and told me that he thought that having a tattoo will make him look "macho". I couldn't help him that much except for giving him the permission to go to the toilet to wash his arm. Some of his classmates gave him some tissues to dab on his arm.

Now, my question is "Is tattoo a symbol for a macho man"? Do you need to torture yourself just to look macho? It is totally prohibited in Islam and Muslims can't have tattoo because it's HARAM. Some people want to do it to express their love to their loved ones by having a tattoo of their girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband's name on their body.

Sophie Kinsella is really a genius!

Salam,

I'm one of Sophie's fan. I've read a lot of her novels especially The Shopholic series. I've started to read her novels when I could borrow some novels from the community library. It feels like a heaven being able to borrow up to 20 books there. But here, I have no other choice except for buying the novels. I bought three novels during the Big Bad Wolf exhibition. Recently, I received another Sophie Kinsella's novels as a birthday gift from my brother, Epit.

Why is it that so many women have fallen in love with her novels. Is it because there are so many women who are actually shophalics like her main character, Rebecca Bloomwood?

Here is my hypothesis to "The reasons why do women love Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic novels": 

1. Shopping is one of the BEST therapy for women.
          When we are having crisis or feel stressed up with work or at home, we will feel better if we can go out to any shopping malls. Even when we don't want to buy anything, just looking at the possibilities of buying certain things can make us feel happy. That's why I don't think Becky is really addicted to shopping even though she can be out of control sometimes.

2.  Women can do several tasks at the same time.
            Like Becky, most women always have to deal with problems at work and also at home. Multitasking is not a new thing and we are good at it. Becky has to deal with tons of problems but at the end she always manages to find the solutions by getting helps and being creative.

3. Women can't help but to be so quite good in judging other people's character.
            I guess women generally are observant compared to men. We can tell about other people's character especially the pretentious ones in ease. Becky in her novels are always right about other people except for some unpredictable ones like Luke's real mom, Ellinor.

4. Women always try to please other people and give the priorities to others above their own selves.
           Becky thinks about how other people's feel if she is about to do something even though she has the repulsive behaviour of buying things. That's why she tries to hide the truth even when she is in the great danger financially. I'm sure sometimes we are also forced to protect others first even when we ourselves are not secured financially.


5. Women always know what to say to other people even when we don't like those people.
         It's our nature to be a quick thinker. We are clever in concealing our emotions and know what to utter even in a desperate situations. Becky (the main character), always deal with different kinds of people and she is smart in making people feel comfortable and important.

Those are my own interpretations and opinion. You might add some more points if you are also the fans to Sophie Kinsella's novels. 

Debt-free is possible?

Salam,

Yesterday I talked about living in debts. I hate to live in debts but it's just so inevitable in this modern days. So.........is it possible to live debt-free? People who have simple life will say that it's not a myth and can be done. REALLY?

Here are some good suggestions that I found from one website. We might be able to practice at least some of . the ideas:

1. Budget – Living without debt means that you must stay within the limits of your budget. It’s important to get this right. Otherwise you may end up short at the end of the month, which will send you back to the lenders.

-my comment: we've tried to stay within our budget every month and it seems to help a lot.


2. Plan – Once you have your budget, you can use it to plan in advance for major purchases. Say you’re planning to buy a new car. Normally, you would take out a loan to buy the car and spend the next five years paying it off. You cannot do that if you’re going to live debt-free. Before you buy the car, you will have to save up the money. This is why you must plan in advance.

-my comment: buying a bigger is in fact in our list this year. I've been saving some money to at least pay huge amount of money for the car but I guess with the price of the cars in Malaysia, we still need to take a loan. Maybe we just have to choose wisely.

3. Emergency fund – Even the best planning cannot predict emergency expenses. If your boiler breaks in January, you cannot spend the next three months saving up to buy a new one. Your family will freeze. It’s vital to have some money set aside for emergencies. Don’t be tempted to dip into the fund unless it’s a true emergency.

-my comment: we do have an emergency fund but somehow we need to use the money and then we are back to square one where we have to start saving again.

4. Sacrifice – Living without debt means having to make some sacrifices. The first thing that will have to go is instant gratification. Thanks to cheap credit, people are used to getting what they want, when they want it. It’s easy to hand over a credit card and worry about the bill later. If you’re going to live without borrowing, you will have to wait to make that purchase.

-my comment: it's not easy but we feel so happy if we can sacrifice our desire first to avoid from having more debts.

5. Focus – Everywhere you look, people are buying the latest gadgets, the trendiest clothes, the newest cars. Creditors are eager to lend you the money to buy these things. It will take a lot of will-power and self-control to resist the temptation to buy now and pay later. You have to stay focused on your goal of being debt-free.

-my comment: this is so true. It's not easy to close one eye or actually both eyes on the things like the latest gadgets and the trendiest things other people have that we don't have. It's not that we don't have the money but we don't see the importance of having those gadgets unless they are important in our jobs.

Source: FROM HERE

6- Lead a simple life and smile to those people who like to brag about their life but the truth is they are living with tons of debts. (this is my own point)


So, what do you think? Is it possible to live debt-free? Do you want to keep paying for debts even after you retired? What about the thought of burdening your children with your debts? Why should they pay for our debts when we are the ones who chose to have the debts?

To All FTWM: Let's find time to cook.

Salam,

Do you normally buy food from outside for dinner? Do you always find that you don't have time to prepare or cook for dinner? Do you always say that you are too tired to cook?WELL............................I don't want to be hypocrite to say that I don't do those things too. There are sometimes when I feel too tired after a long day at work and choose to buy food from outside. BUT after some time, I feel bored of the food as I realize that the price is increasing and the quality of the food is not getting better.

So, I try to do certain things to ensure that I can prepare some simple food at least for dinner during the week days. These simple things help to save some time in the kitchen and you don't really have to like a "Masterchef" just to prepare a nice and delicious dish for your family.

HOW TO PREPARE/COOK FOOD AFTER YOU COME BACK FROM WORK:

1- Plan ahead the menu for a- 5- days. 
    Make sure  you have to diversify the food to encourage your kids to eat. For example, Monday: Chicken Curry, Tuesday: Omellette and Fried Veges, Wednesday: Beef Soup etc.

2- Prepare the ingredients ahead.
    It's easier  if you already blend, chop or at least have the raw ingredients like garlic, ginger and onion ready in your fridge. Another thing is to put enough portion of chicken in a tray or beef that you want to cook for a dish in your freezer. 

3- Keep some sauces, herbs, spices and other condiments handy in your kitchen.
    In Asian kitchen, it's a must to have soy sauce, chilli sauce, tomato sauce, fish sauce and others to add the flavour to our dish. Adding some of those can enhance your cooking too.

4- Keep pasta ready in your cupboard.
    It's very easy to prepare a quick pasta dish for children especially when you use ready made sauce or the canned mushroom soup. You just need 2 pieces of chicken or the frozen chicken balls (I love chicken balls from Ayamas), some vegetables, garlic, water and some pepper. 

5-Marinate the chicken, fish or beef at night and keep them in the fridge in the morning.
   When you come back from work, you don't need to thaw them and the cooking process can be cut into half.

6- Buy the ready made paste.
    I love to use the ready made Tom Yam paste or Tandoori powder. They come in so handy because I only need 30 minutes to prepare a quick tomyam and 45 minutes to prepare Chicken Tandoori.

I guess those are some the tips that I can share here. Hopefully they can help to inspire all mommies to cook even though they are busy with their career. The satisfaction of preparing the food for your family on your own is so priceless and it can help us to stay within our monthly budget. As doctors always suggest healthy eating, we can ensure that our family members will eat healthy food by preparing the food. Let's start NOW!

p/s: arwah mak saya ada berpesan yg air tangan isteri dan ibu itu lebih baik untuk menambat hati ahli keluarga dan mengeratkan kasih sayang.

I wouldn't wear clothes that "poke eye". (ROFL)

Salam,

I just want to re-highlight the lost in translation issue that was brought up by some people over FB and Twitter and I came across this in one NST couple days ago. It all started after a guide on dress code (translated as ‘ethical clothing’) for Defence Ministry staff was posted on the ministry’s official website. The English translation provided for the circular dress code was very literal, even showed usage of translation programme. From what I've read, the ministry has withdrawn the circular and promised to make some amendments.

"Clothes that poke eye" is a literal translation to "pakaian menjolok mata". It's better to be translated to "inappropriate clothes in government office" or maybe "informal clothes are not allowed". There were other amusing phrases as well like  “long-sleeve batik shirt with collar / mongoose fight made in Malaysia” and “shine closed” appeared in  the post. The former defines ‘baju batik lengan panjang berkolar / cekak musang buatan Malaysia‘ while the latter ‘kasut bertutup’ (closed-toe shoes). Based on what I've learned years ago when I took translation courses for 2 semesters, some special names like special clothes shouldn't be translated because you can't find the equivalent in English. So, "baju Melayu cekak Musang" shouldn't be translated as it just created a weird translation! You can only provide the descriptions of the clothes or better with the photo of the clothes.

 Let's hope that the other ministries would be more careful to post or provide any information on their websites. It's not good to be the laughable stock on the social networks. They can find more credible translators because we do have good translators in Malaysia. If not why don't they use those from "Institut Terjemahan Negara Malaysia". They have the expertise in translation.

KR1M: Memilih ke kalau saya tak lalu nak makan?

Salam,

Semua sedia maklum yang barangan makanan yang dijual di kedai KR1M tu memang murah lebih-lebih lagi yang berjenama 1Malaysia. Ada beras, sardin, makanan sejuk beku dan lain-lain lagi. Ada ahli keluarga saya yang beberapa kali membeli beberapa barang makanan dari kedai KR1M di Kelana Jaya ni. Jadi saya dah mencubala sardin, beras dan kuih seperti karipap. Masalahnya tekak saya ni tak boleh tak telan sangat nasi daripada beras 1Malaysia tu dan sardinnya. Berasnya macam beras lama dan ada bau yang kurang enak bila nasi sudah masak. Warna nasi juga memang berbeza dari nasi beras Siam. Iye, saya memang biasa makan beras Siam kerana saya orang Kelantan yang dibesarkan dengan beras Siam. Sardinnya pula, ikan-ikannya cepat sangat hancur dan bau lebih kuat dari sardin biasa. Kuih seperti karipap tu bolehla dimakan. Tapi isi tu hanyalah ubi yang sudah hancur.

Hari ni dalam akhbar-akhbar tempatan, ada laporan mengenai 200 barang makanan KR1M telah dihantar ke makmal untuk diperiksa kualitinya. Keputusan hanya akan diketahui dalam masa seminggu lagi.

Kalau nak kata saya ni memilih mengenai makanan, saya akan mengaku. Tapi kalau dah makanan yang akan jadi darah daging kita, takkanlah kita nak ambil mudah kan? Kalau murah sangat pun, tapi kualiti hancur, minta maaflah. Saya tak setuju sangat-sangat. Ini dah macam menipu dan mengambil kesempatan. Macammana nak bagi anak-anak kita makan makanan yang tak berkhasiat. Kalau beras tu macam dah nak hitam dan berbau, tak payah pergi hantar ke makmal pun, kita tahu dah hilang khasiatnya. Sardin tu belum sempat habis menumis dah hancur semacam, dah sah-sah ikan tu yang tak elok.

Entri ini bukan untuk menghasut sesiapa untuk tidak membeli barang makanan di KR1M. Cuma lebih baik kita gunakan hak kita sebagai pengguna untuk lebih memilih. Ada banyak lagi pilihan lain yang juga murah tapi masih berkualiti. Kami pun ada membeli barangan GIANT atau TESCO yang biasanya lagi murah dari jenama lain. Tapi kualitinya masih elok.

Ada yang pernah membeli barangan di kedai KR1M? Rasa-rasanya kualitinya boleh tahan ke atau teruk?

It can't be a mid life crisis!

Salam,

I just found out this morning that my immediate boss is leaving soon. I was quite shocked to hear the news. He is still new as he came to the centre early early this year. Now, he said that he has to move on so that he can gain other experiences in other place. Well, he received a good offer from the Ministry of Education to be one of the mentor for English teachers in primary schools.

When I asked him this morning, "Why are you thinking about changing your career". Well, he is already has a good position, good salary every month and nice working environment (according to him). BUT his answer was really intriguing. He said, "I want my CV to look interesting when I have more experience in different places since I have been working for this company for 7 years". "Plus I want more challenges". The first thing that came across my mind when he told me his reasons, was "Is he experiencing a mid life crisis?". He is not that old because he must be in his mid thirties. (not really sure the accurate age). He might even be younger than me because if I have been working since I finished my first degree, I should have been working for 10 years!

Midlife crisis is a term coined in 1965 by Elliott Jaques and used in Western societies to describe a period of dramatic self-doubt that is felt by some individuals in the "middle years" or middle age of life, as a result of sensing the passing of their own youth and the imminence of their old age. Sometimes, a crisis can be triggered by transitions experienced in these years, such as extramarital affairs, andropause or menopause, the death of parents or other causes of grief, unemployment or underemployment, realizing that a job or career is hated but not knowing how else to earn an equivalent living, or children leaving home.
(quoted from WIKIPEDIA)


Most of my colleagues agree that we are going to lose a very kind, considerate and nice boss. I can claim that he is one of the BEST boss I ever had. His approaches to solving problems are always flexible and open for discussions. We don't know yet what kind of BOSS that will come to replace him. I can only pray that I can still do my work as usual without major hitches. Oh....I hate it when things change BUT it's part and parcel of life.


Have you ever experienced any changes in your workplace that you feel difficult to adapt to? How do you handle things?

Hari Raya adalah hari untuk menunjuk2 utk sesetengah orang. (BM entry)

Salam,

Sebenarnya dah lama terfikir nak menulis mengenai hal ini sbb bukan nak mengata2 sesiapa tapi nak mengingatkan diri sendiri juga supaya tak besifat riak dan bongkak. Bukan seorang dua yang saya nampak cuba nak menunjuk2 malah jika diperhatikan, memang sesetengah orang yg mungkin tak sedar atau sedar  tapi sifat riak sudah menguasai diri bilaa mereka mula mempamerkan kemewahan masing2. Masa yang terbaik bagi mereka untuk menunjuk2 ialah di HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI.

Apa yang suka ditunjuk2. Jom tengok senarai ni, kalau ada sesiapa yang nak tambah dipersilakan. Kalau nak cakap saya pun sama, suka menunjuk2 pun, saya tak kisah sbb mungkin saya pun tak sedar yg saya dah menunjuk2 kat blog sendiri ni.

Senarai barang2 yg orang suka tunjuk di hari raya:

1. Kerata baru yang mahal:Walaupun kereta tu dibeli dengan duit pinjaman bank, nak  juga berlagak dengan kereta tu sbb nanti bolehla kembang kempis hidung bila bawa balik kereta baru ke kampung. Lagipun mana ada orang beli kereta bayar terus (cash) sbb kereta import kan mahal kat Malaysia ni.

 2. Barang2 kemas baru: Ini kegemaran orang perempuan terutama yg sudah berumahtangga. Saya tak pasti dgn org2 perempuan dari negeri2 lain, tetapi kalau mek2 Kelate ni biasalah macam wajib ke ada barang2 kemas dari emas je. Emas Kelantan pula lain sikit dari emas 916. Sy ada juga mintak suami belikan tetapi setakat ni dia ada belikan yg biasa2 je sbb yelah dah banyak dok bayar benda2 lain. Bila dia cakap, "Kalau ada banyak2 nanti nak gantung kat leher, lengan tu sampai tak boleh nak jalan ke?". Mmg terus sy terdiam dan berfikir, "Betul jugak tu sbb nanti boleh mendatangkan perasaan riak". huhu. Macam Mami Pulau Pinang pun, mmg biasa ada brg2 kemas yg berlip-lap2 ni. Kalau sedang bercakap, kalau boleh nak tunjuk semua yg ada.

3. Baju raya paling cantik : Beberapa bulan sblm bulan puasa lagi, ramai yg sudah sibuk memikirkan baju raya. Kalau boleh nak yg paling anggun dan cantik. Tukang2 jahit pun 3 bulan sblm puasa dah nak tutup menerima tempahan. Banyak fesyen2 baru yg sekarang ni kat blog pun ada dijual. Sediakan duit je dan klik yg mana berkenan di hati. Sekurang2nya kena beberapa pasang utk beberapa hari di bulan Syawal. Lps tu ada banyak pula rumah terbuka utk melaram baju2 raya.

4. Perabot baru, langsir baru, karpet baru dan lain2 lagi: Masa rayalah masa untuk menukar kalau boleh brg2 dlm rumah. Kalau boleh nak serba baru supaya bila orang dtg beraya, bolehla kembang kempis hidung menerima pujian. Bukan susah pun nak tukar semua baru sbb banyak iklan2 sblm raya lg yg menawarkan tawaran2 menarik mcm tak perlu bayar dulu dan boleh bayar ansuran sehingga berthn2. Maksudnya hutang dan hutang lagi.

5. Jamuan rumah terbuka secara besar-besaran: Ini pun boleh jd pembaziran lebih2 lagi kalau ada banyak sgt rumah terbuka yg diadakan secara serentak. Kalau yg dijemput tu golongan yg susah, anak2 yatim bagus jugak. Ini jemputan pula org kenamaan sbb ada hajat lain. Kalau dah ada banyak sgt makanan pun, tak termakan jugak semua. Bila membazir, alangkah sayangnya terpaksa dibuang. Orang2 Somalia tengah kelaparan, kita ni terlebih makanan. huhu

Sy nak minta maaf kalau ada sesiapa tersinggung dgn entry ini. Niat sy hanya nak memperbetulkan niat kita apabila berhari raya. Sy sendiri pun mengakui ada terselit perasaan nak menunjuk2 tu. Cuma sejak2 dah semakin "muda" ni, sy lebih banyak nak bersederhana. Itu yg disarankan dalam Islam pun.