iPhone Drama

There are 2 things in the world I can't live home without -- my purse and phone. Sometimes I even leave home with just my phone and I'd be fine. That pretty much shows how very important my phone is to me. So when my iPhone dropped and got stuck in the sewage, I was flabbergasted!

See I followed my colleagues out in a car to go to somewhere, and as I recall, I placed my phone on my lap. Once we reached my office building, being the clumsy me, I actually got up, totally forgetting about the phone and stepped out of the car, oblivious to my surrounding. Once we reached our office, the next thing I knew, my phone was gone.

I searched everywhere -- in my handbag, under the seat, in the dustbin, behind my laptop -- but I couldn't find it! Suspecting it might have dropped when I got down the car, I went down to search for it, but couldn't find it on the street. So I went up back to my office, and started panicking.

All the while some of my colleagues (Rina, Angie, JoAnn and Anne) were calling my number non-stop just to make sure it has not be stolen. They reassured me that my phone is still ringing, out there somewhere, and that I should keep on searching.

So I did. I went down back again, and asked my colleague to dial my number again. And then, I heard it! I heard this very faint familiar sound coming from.. under the pavement. I neared the sound, squatted down, and there it was! My iPhone under the seawage! It was so near yet so far! I could see it with my eyes, but my hand is not long enough to reach it!


And that's when it happened. Before that, let me stress on one thing. Malaysians really are a bunch of good people. We might be the biggest kepochi in the world, but definitely good at heart. Everybody there tried to help me out. Some, of course just stood there to watch.


At one point, there was so many people crowding the place, it felt like I was selling some minyak mujarab in Chow Kit Road or something. One by one tried to help me out. The more that tried to help me out, the deeper the phone went, until the phone was out of sight, and all I could see is pitch black!


I got even more frantic and even called the Bomba (fire brigade) to help me out! Like, seriously! They refused to help me at first, saying that they only help in cases that involve life and death. And at that point, my motherly instinct kicked in and I knew I had to do, say anything, to save my "baby"! I said, "Encik, this IS my life! If you could just send someone to help me over here, I would be eternally grateful to you. I'd even buy you and your guys lunch, I promise!"

See, I was desperate not just because that's a bloody iPhone that I cling on to every night and day in there. My life truly depended on it because all the important data, emails, and everything is in there! I'd be damned if someone got their hands on my phone!

I guess I must have babbled too much that the guy on the phone just cut me off and said, "Puan, kalau puan tak berenti bercakap ni, macam mana saya nak hantar orang saya tolong Puan?" AND I WAS OVER THE TOP! Hahaha. :P

The bomba actually came, but they didn't manage to do anything, because the next thing I knew, there was this Indonesian pakcik who actually went all out to help me, to the extend of opening the sewage concrete cover and going down into the drain to help rescue my phone!


After a few minutes, he came out of the drainage, all smiley and proud -- with my iPhone in his hand! He was the hero of the day! :D


See, that's one of the perks of having kepochis around you! They might just save your life! :D


Ps : I still can't believe I actually called the Bomba. Damn I'm such a drama queen!

Little Romeo

Have you ever caught yourself saying "awwww" and smiling to yourself when you stumbled across pictures like these?


So adorable kan! I am not sure about you, but I definitely enjoy looking at adorable baby photos and then imagining how my son's first monkey love would be like one day. :P Misti comels! :D

And then one day, as though hearing my thoughts, he decided to surprise me with something I'd never thought a boy his age is capable of doing -- flirting!


It was like looking at one of those adorable baby photos again, only this time, it's MY son as the main model! :P Uh, but just so we're clear son, I know I said it's cute imagining your monkey puppy kitty love and everything, but adorable or not, no girls allowed until you're at least.. uh, 18 okay? Good boy.

Oh, and before I go, here's a peek on how my cheeky son Aydein hit on a mat-salleh girl named Yaya. :P Watch out mamas, coz you have no idea what toddlers nowadays can do! :P

Fashion Story

I've never really been a big fan of games. When everybody else was going crazy over FarmVille, Mafia Wars, and Texas HoldEm Poker, I was going crazy declining ALL the annoying invites to play the games!

Heck, believe it or not, I haven't even completed all the Angry Bird levels on my iPhone yet, let alone Cut the Rope! BUT that all changed when I started playing Fashion Story.


Fashion Story allows you to manage and decorate your boutique as how you imagine it to be. I have always dreamt to have my own fashion boutique. But since brick and mortar store is way too expensive for me to afford right now, running a "virtual" one pon jadi lah..

Playing this game is easy. When you start playing the game, you will be given a certain amount of cash in "gold coints" as well as "gems" to help you "kick off" your business. Then, you will need to order the items you want to sell in your boutique from the "Catalogue". You will see duration of hours under every item. That represents the length of time that you will need to wait before the item could "reach" your shop in order for you to sell it.


Ada item yang kena tunggu 1 atau 2 hari sebelum ready, and ada item yang ready dalam seminit pon ada! So once your items are ready for collection, simply tap on it, and place it at the rack or the counter at your store! Make sense so far? Don't worry, they do have a Help section that will help you get started, so make sure you go through it before kicking off your business alright! Err, if you plan to play this, that is. :P

Like most games, this game also plays by levels. In order to get to a new level, you will need to collect as many stars as you can. Once the yellow bar of stars is full, you'll be promoted to a new level! The best thing is, each time you reach a certain level, you'll get to order a new outfit! :D


And if you make enough profit to your shop, you get to expand it to a bigger one and renovate it to suit your own style! See when I started, my shop was a sad looking shop, with little items in it..


Now, my boutique is doing pretty well, it is big enough to have a lounge area, with 2 cute giraffe cushions at it!


I am telling you, this thing is so addictive, even my husband is hooked on it! :P


The only downside to it is that it is an online game and it requires Internet access. So if you are not subscribed to an Internet plan or suddenly happen to be at a rural area where the coverage is really really bad, then you won't be able to play this game :(


Also, in order to make your shop look pleasing like *ehems* mine :P, you might also need to spend a few bucks just to buy em "gems". Like, real bucks. See, there are some items that you can only get/buy using "gems".


So, if you do not have enough "gems", you will need to buy it. I guess this is how the TeamLava makes money out of this game. And fanatics like me, would actually BUY them gems, just to make our shops look.. well, pretty. :P Believe it or not, I actually spent a good RM40 to buy them gems!


It's so crazy because I never thought I'd spend a cent for any game! T_T Just so you know though, I am not the only crazy ones here as PinkStilletos and Mommaholicseries too, have their own virtual boutique! :D This game is available on iTunes, so download it now to find out what the buzz is all about! :D

Our World, Their War

Being a girly girl since before, my favorite movie genre had always been Romance. Try asking me to list down 10 of my favorite romance movies of all times, and I can give you the list in less than 5 seconds. But try asking me to list down at least 5 of my favorite action movies of all times, and I might just give you a blank stare. :P


That is why, when my husband took me out to see Transformers in 2007 when we were dating last time, I was rather skeptical. I gave it a shot anyway, and actually found myself looking forward to the sequel of it by the time the movie ended! I liked it -- I liked it a lot. :D Needless to say, when Transformers 2 was released in 2009, I was one of the firsts to line up at the box office counter! :D


As such, naturally I wish to be one of the firsts to catch the Autobots and Decepticons in action this time around too! Particularly because I am a big fan of the sunny yellow bot, the none other than the mighty Bumblebee!


As such if given a chance to transform into any of the Autobots, I would definitely choose to be a Bumblebee and help the rest of the Autobots team to save the world from the evil Decepticons by first duplicating myself into multiple mini-Bumblebees, using the magical Ultimate Movie Card.


And since "Bumblebee" is technically a "bee", I will then make sure that these version of mini-Bumblebees are equipped with explosive "sting" that will automatically and literally blow their opponents up the moment they "sting" their opponents. These super fast and super small mini-Bumblebees will then fly in swarm and attack the Megatron and the rest of the Decepticons with their sting which will result in HUGE explosion! And just like that, the victory is on our side! :D


Now let's say it together! Bumblebee and Autobots for the win! :D

The Day I Lost My Baby from Ectopic Pregnancy

I had my weekend all planned out last week. I was supposed to go to Johor to send my baju for tailoring, and attend the Nuffnang Trudy & Teddy Tea Party event to meet all the mommy bloggers right after I get back from Johor. Little did I know that God had other plans for me.

Last Friday started off like any normal days. I went to work, did my work like usual, even had quite a ball at the office as we celebrated our boss's advanced birthday at the office. Nothing was amiss.


But then just before I left the office, I felt the need to answer nature's call and that's when I noticed a little spotting. Since my Aunt Flow did not come and visit me the month before, I assumed she was just late and finally came to visit me that month. Oh hello there, I thought happily. Datang jugak kamu ye.

However, as soon as I reached home, the pain that I thought was just menstrual pain slowly kicked in. Mula-mula, it felt like normal menstrual cramps. Tapi, lama-lama makin sakit. Lagi tahan, lagi sakit.

When the pain got severe, I started popping the pain killers, still thinking it was a bad case of menstrual pain. At this point, I actually thought to myself, "oh macam gini la kot rasanya bila some of my friends cakap segugut diorang segugut yang amat dahsyat".

But when the pain killers didn't work and the pain started to become unbearable, I started crying. No kidding, I started sobbing like a little girl! I needed a stronger pain killer and asked my husband to take me to the nearest clinic.

When we reached the clinic, the lady doctor told us that she could not just simply give me a jab to ease my pain. She had to rule out all the possible threats that were causing me the pain. She mentioned that the pain could be due to UTI (Urinary Tract Infection), muscle pain or threatened abortion (miscarriage).

I told the doctor, it was impossible for me to be pregnant because I just did the pregnancy test about 2 weeks before and it came out negative. The doctor insisted for a second test just to double confirm and the next thing I knew, the result stood right in front of me.

I was pregnant... and speechless. I can't actually describe how I felt then, but I am sure it was a mixture of confusion, happiness and fear. Out of worry for my safety, the doctor advised me to see a specialist immediately for further examination. And that was when everything started.


As soon as we reached Sime Darby Medical Centre, we asked for Dr Delaila since she was the same specialist that delivered Aydein. After examining and performing a scan on me, she said that she couldn't see any fetus in my uterus which could mean early pregnancy, miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy.


I didn't want to say it out loud, but deep down inside, I could feel that I was suffering from ectopic pregnancy. I knew because the intense pain was coming from one side only and it was throbbing.

Aien on the other hand, was being all positive about it. He kept on reassuring me that everything would be fine and that whatever the result may be the next morning, I was to keep an open mind about it and to accept it with open heart.

That night, I could not sleep because the pain was so painful, it made sleeping impossible! I spoke to my unborn baby, I told her to be strong. I told her I loved her, I told her to fight her way through. I told her if she were to make it, she would get to see her brother, and her papa. And somehow, the pain got better after that, and I was able to get a few hours of sleep.

The next morning, the moment I've been dreading for finally came. The doctor told me that the blood result confirmed that I was suffering from ectopic pregnancy and that the fetus had to be removed immediately to avoid complications. At that point, I felt my heart constricted. I felt as though I was crushed. In moments, I would be brought to the operation theatre. In moments, I would lose my baby.

Tears started to trickle down my cheeks as soon as the doctor left our ward. Aien kissed my forehead and told me it was going to be okay, that it was meant to be, and that I should stay strong. I guess Aydein could feel my remorse too, because he behaved really well throughout our stay in the hospital.

I was told to fast for at least 6 hours prior to the operation. During the waiting period, I had so many things in my mind. What if I stay awake after they sedated me? What if I stay unconscious after the anesthetic wears off? What if something goes wrong and I lose a lot of blood during the operation?

This was when I started feeling frightened and extremely down. But thanks to the support and words of encouragement from all my friends, my spirit started to lift up once again.


And then, it was time. I kept on reciting prayers on the way to the operation theatre and also the kalimah syahadah just before they sedated me.


And in less than 10 secs after they put the gas on me, I knocked off. The 1 ½ hours operation went well, alhamdulillah, because the next thing I knew, it was over, and the nurse showed me the fetus that was taken out from me. The fetus was still in the form of blood clot about the size of a red bean.


I just nodded but didn't say anything because I was still drowsy from the anesthetic. Once I was stable, I was brought back to my ward, to the smiling faces of my family.

And despite the pain from surgery, I thought to myself, O Allah, thank you for giving me the chance to breathe in the air one more time and to be able to see and appreciate the people that I care most about in life, even better. Verily, with every difficulty, there is relief.

Ahmad Aydein Is TWO!

Aydein sweetheart,

Happy 2nd birthday, sayang! I am glad I have been given the chance to live yet another day to celebrate this meaningful day with you :) How do you find toddlerhood so far, kiddo? Must be pretty darn cool to be able to run, jump, climb, grab and demand just about anything you want eh!

Has anyone ever told you how you first got to this world? I think I might have told you about it somewhere last year, but in case you don't remember, let me refresh your memory okay? Believe it or not, you were conceived almost right after your papa and I got hitched! Just a month after we got married, to be exact. You must be a pretty darn good swimmer, aren't you? :P

When I first knew I had another life inside of me (that's you!), to be honest, I was caught off guard. I thought I couldn't manage, I thought I was not ready. But God is fair. He gave me 9 whole months to prepare myself, and when it was nearing the due date, I was actually eager to see you!

Did you know that you've been a very good sport all the while before you were born? I never had morning sickness you know, and I honestly thank God for that! And when it was time to deliver you, you proved to be a good sport once again! Delivering you was one of the sweetest experiences I have ever had. It was painful definitely, but smooth-sailing. Painful because I had to endure 2-3 hours of unbearable pain, and smooth-sailing because I did not even have to use any kind of drug to get you out to this world! Yes sayang, I gave birth to you the natural way. :)

When I first held you in my arms, it was magical, almost surreal. All the pain that I was battling with moments before just instantly disappeared when I looked at that angelic face of yours. So peaceful, so pure.

After you got to this world, both me and your papa always try our best to raise you to become a good khalifah, and provide you with the best that we could provide to our only child -- that's you. It saddens me for not being able to to fully breastfeed you up till 2 years, but I always, always try my best to give you the best for everything else, and that, you have to know.

And now, look at you! All grown up, handsome and strong! A little stubborn too, but I guess that's a trait you got from me, eh? :P

I am sorry there won't be any huge birthday party for you this year like you had last year when you turned one. Trust me, I had it all planned since January! However, after discussing with your papa, we figured that it's best that we hold a birthday party every alternate year, so do look forward to next year as you can expect a big surprise coming up for you next year!

Meantime, you can look forward to a getaway trip that we've planned for you soon! Yes sayang, we're taking you out on a birthday trip soon! We're thinking of a trip to an island, what do you think? We could build a sand castle together! I am so excited about this trip I even bought this for you! :D

Comels kan! Don't worry, this is not your birthday present. :P I know you've grown very fond of toys lately, so we've decided to take you to Toys 'R Us this weekend where you will get to choose whatever you want at that store okay! :D See how lucky you are? You might not get to have a party this year, but you get vacation + small birthday celebration with family + present of your own choice instead! :)

Last but not least, happy 2nd birthday again, Aydein sweetheart. May you be blessed with success and goodness in life and the hereafter. I look forward to seeing and hugging you when I get home later! I love you, little munchkin!

XOXO,
Mama.

Awak Layak Ke Terima Duit Hantaran Beribu-Riban?

Marriage. It's that one stage of life that most of us look forward to. Some of us are willing to spend A WHOLE LOT just to keep up with the crazy 'current trend' nowadays. The question is, will the 'current trend' guarantee happiness?

I came across this VERY interesting blog entry that actually made me think. It's about dowry or 'duit hantaran' in Malay.

picture credits to Google.com

After reading the entry, I can't help but to agree to the things that he highlighted. I have shared the link to this blog entry in my tweet previously. But I thought I'd just share the extract of the blog entry here again, for all of you to read as well, just in case if you're not my Twitter follower.

To all my single friends (boys & girls) who are not married or planning to get married, do read the entry below! It's truly an eye-opener. Well, to me at least.

To all my married friends, do spread the message around. Ambil yang baik, and perhaps educate our families & friends mana-mana yang patut :)

Jangan Sayang Aku Kerna Aku Tinggi

gadis semakin lama semakin mahal

aku pun tak paham kenapa. hari ni ade jemputan kawen untuk family aku. so, tadi aku sajelah aku tanye kakak aku berape hantarannya, dengan nada cool bagai sesuatu yang norma, kakak aku kate, “hantarannye 12ribu”. apekegile!!! oh duniaaaa.. kau menyukarkan lelaki miskin macam aku untuk cepat ade anak.. ohooo~

ianya perlu diubah!! ye, aku perlu ubah mendealah fenomena gadis semakin mahal ni. selagi ianya berterusan, selagi itulah gadis akan semakin mahal, semakin mahal dan semakin mahal. ini tak bulih dibiarkan. perlu ade pencetus, yang akan membuatkan lelaki-lelaki miskin yang nak kawen berkata, “hantaran dorang tu seribu setengah je.. takde masalah pun. kawen jugak. bahagia jugak. so, aku pun kawen nanti nak hantaran seribu sengah jugakla”. heh!

kereta, komputer dan gadis

kereta, semakin hari semakin murah. begitu juga dengan komputer, semakin hari semakin murah. ini menunjukkan teknologi semakin berkembang. bila sesuatu itu semakin berkembang, harga akan berkurang dari semasa ke semasa. gadis pula lain ceritanya. semakin tidak berkembang, semakin mahal! itulah yang berlaku pada gadis pada hari ini. kalau orang dulu-dulu kahwin, hantaran untuk gadis 3,4 ratus. habis kuat seribu dua ribu camtu. sedang dalam diri gadis itu, al-Quran 15juzuk dia hafal. paling koman surah al-mulk jadi amalan. sembahyang tak tinggal. masak, jangan kau cerita. segala negeri punye masakan dia bulih tibai jadik segala. daging salai lomak cili api, laksa penang, baryani gam, cek mek molek, sata, kuah lodeh, segala ceruk mane punye masakan buleh. hantaran 3 ratus, pakej lengkap, bahagia ke akhir hayat lagi.

la ni, hantaran 8ribu, oh tak, 10ribu, err.. sekarang 12ribu ke 20ribu.. tapi masak?? arararara.. kuah kacang pun bukak mesra.net camne cite bai? nak masak asam pedas, rase bubur lambok kot! masak buleh kawtim lagi kot.. kot la. al-Quran.. surah-surah lazim pun terkial2.. jap, check balik fatihah pun ade yang tak molek lagi. itu hantaran beribu riban tu dol! pendek kate, dalam dunia kegadisan, semakin tidak berkembang ilmu di dada, dunia meletakkan harga yang semakin mahal. silap2, belum sempat habis bayar loan kawen, dah cerai. berlaku kan?

aku tau, yang bace akan cakap, kau ingat gadis ni ape, barang! harga gadis semakin mahal pulak!! bukan, aku tak cakap gadis itu barang. gadis itu sesuatu untuk dimiliki untuk sama-sama berkongsi hidup dengan. so, kau yang faham tentang gadis itu bukan barang untuk dijualbeli dan diperdagangkan, mesti kau tidak akan kisah pasal hantaran bukan. tapi masalahnya, manusia hari ini yang meletakkan gadis itu bagai barang! nilai semakin mahal bila semakin tinggi mutunya(kunun dengan ade kelulusan), semakin mahal bila ianya semakin cantik(kunun hot la), semakin mahal bila ianya limited edition(kunun dianya anak tunggal).. nah! kau yang letakkan nilai gadis itu macam barang bukan!

kereta, komputer dan gadis, bila kita pilih untuk memiliki, semuanya ade spec(specifications) masing2 bukan? kau mesti mahu yang terbaik, dengan harga yang terbaik untuk kau jugak. dunia hari ini banyak menyusahkan kita. dengan berleluasanya fahaman kunun ade nilai standard dalam hantaran mengikut zaman. contohnya zaman la ni, rm10ribu tu at least. gile betul! aku yang tak fikir pasal kawen lagi ni pun dah terasa getarnya. kamonlaaa… takkan takde gadis yang faham?? seksa kot nak kumpul rm10ribu.. tu hantaran je tu.. majlis lagi.. beli barang2 hantaran lagi.. koman2 rm30ribu kot nak kena standby. adess.. pastu bulan2 nanti nak bayar duit loan kawen, loan kereta ngan rumah lagi. ohhhhh~ hidup dengan hutang sampai mati. silap2 wasiat pun sampai tulis suruh anak sambung bayarkan hutang. aku bercakap dari sudut seorang lelaki miskin macam aku.. kau yang kaya, duit berlori-lori takpelah.

aku menulis bukan mengatakan aku anti pada hantaran mahal. sekadar aku mahu gadis hari ini faham akan beban lelaki yang tak berduit. cuba letak diri korang kat tempat lelaki yang nak gile kawen ngan korang tapi takde duit sampai kena buat loan untuk hantaran 10ribu tu. huhh! tak pun, camnilah. ape kate korang je yang bagi hantaran kat lelaki? haa.. best gak tu! kat akula especially.. amacam??

kesimpulannya.. aku rase, kawen tak patut dijadikan beban. aku rase belambak artikel pasal mahar/hantaran kat internet ni. aku tak bace pun aku tau die mesti nak suruh gadis2 sedar tak payah mahar mahal2, same macam ape aku tulis. lagipun aku bukan gadis untuk bace artikel camtu. aku tulis pasal ni sebab tibe2 aku rase aku perlu ubah fenomena ni. semangat macam semangat luffy tibe2 menjelma dalam diri aku. ho!

Extract from http://parkins07.wordpress.com

Now, what do you all think? Make sense, no? :)