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Archive for November, 2009

She’s In Love With The Boy

Posted in Monchies, tagged on November 30, 2009| 1 Comment »

He wasn’t supposed to be a late November baby. In fact, he wasn’t supposed to be a November baby, late or early. Our first date wasn’t supposed to happen until December 15th, 2005. But then again, he wasn’t supposed to sit the way he sat… across Mommy’s tummy, however he wanted, refusing to compromise his own comfort.

 

Hence, Dr. Ravi Chandran suggested the dreaded C on December 1st. Came Noah’s Ark, hovercraft, high water of the water-break, he had to come no shorter than 2 weeks earlier (than the due date). And then again, Mommy had a selfish idea – she wanted to have a collection of two November babies!

 

And so he came on a Wednesday morning the 30th day of November 2005. It has been four years now since our first date and since I fell in love with this boy. The blessing is, I have kept falling in love with the same boy. Everyday.

 

Happy Birthday, Edrick Karl Johnson!

 

 

 

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Warning: May Contain Adult Content!

Posted in Monchies, tagged on November 26, 2009| 3 Comments »

Me Monchies were changing into their pyjamas when Edrick started this conversation last night with:
“Kakaa, when you were a little boy…”

 

Kitreena abruptly, naturally and nurturally corrected the brother:
“Edrick! I wasn’t a little boy. I was a little girl.”

 

Edrick insisted:
“No Kakaa. When you were three, you were a little boy!”

 

Kitreena looked VERY confused at this point when she said:
“No Edrick! When I was three I was a girl. I am a girl!”

 

Edrick:
“No! I am three and I am a boy. When you were three. You were a boy too!”

 

Kitreena:
“What are you talking about? When I was three, I was a girl. Now I am seven. I am still a girl, Edrick.”

 

Edrick tried to explain his theory:
“Kakaa, I’m three and I’m a boy. When you were three you were a boy. When you’re seven, you’re a girl. When I’m seven, I will be a girl. Goddit?”

 

Kitreena’s jaw dropped right to her feet when she finally understood her brother’s Gender Identity Theory:
“No Edrick! You don’t change! If you’re a boy, you’re always a boy. When you’re a girl, you’re always a girl. You don’t change when you’re seven!”

 

Edrick was puzzled when his theory was denied by his seven-year-old sister:
“You don’t change?”

 

Kitreena:
“Noooo silly! You’re a boy. So you’ll still be a boy when you’re a grown-up. And I’ll still be a girl when I’m a grown-up.”

 

Edrick went into his vocabulary show-off mode:
“You mean when you are adult?”

 

Kitreena bolayan:
“Yeaaahhh… grown-up, adult, the same thing.”

 

I might have looked like I was busy putting the laundry away and sorting the hangers in the closet (Edrick’s hangers are blue and green. Kitreena’s are pink and orange.) And I might have looked oblivious, but I could tell… there were so many theories formulating in those little heads. There is so much going on right now – upstairs. Oh I can tell!

 

I mean… just look at their face!

 

 

 

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Hot Tall Vanilla Latte, Please!

Posted in Hurt, Sense, tagged , on November 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

If I  were to flirt with  the idea of flirting with him, I would first thank MokcikNab for the pantuns and the beautiful translation. Well, not that he can’t read bahasa. He is probably the only man with steel eyes in the whole wide world that can say, “Maaf, bahasa saya tak berapa bagus,” in perfect bahasa. And it was both his eyes and his tak-berapa-bagus bahasa that actually changed my tea heart to coffee!

 

But I am not going to. Flirt with the idea of flirting with him, that is. I don’t do the flirting thing anymore. Not since the year 1999, at least. With the knowledge I have about myself, breaking a heart is too heart-breaking for me to do. Afterall, even my heart is in its work-in-progress mode. But someday, he needs to know that there is a book written from the strength that the images of him had given me. Someday, he will have a page dedicated to his green sofas and his orange cat. And oh his hanging owls too! 🙂 But that someday is not today.

 

And then, if I were to seriously flirt with the idea of flirting with him… I would send him these pantuns:

 

Dari mana punai melayang
Dari sawah turun ke kali
Dari mana datangnya sayang
Dari mata turun ke hati

From whence flies the dove
From the fields and down the brook
From whence flows the love
To the heart from just one look

 

Dari mana hendak ke mana
Tinggi rumput dari padi
Tahun mana bulan mana
Hendak kita berjumpa lagi

Tell me where you go from here
The grass grows taller than the padi grain
Tell me the month, tell me the year
When you and I shall meet again

From: MokcikNab

 

But then, these were just thoughts I flirted with back then. The thoughts that got me through the nights of counting beads of tears. The thoughts that got me through the days of counting beads of prayers. For Mom, for me and for me Monchies. The thoughts that were wordless then as they all went into healing my heart. I am still one good work in progress. Wish me love and luck, that with my tak-berapa-bagus bahasa, I will have a book of heartful words.

 

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Read Roses Written Blues

Posted in Sense, tagged , , on November 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

 

I ended up with my own Roses Are Red poem because I could not quite agree with its ‘Violets are blue’ logic. Violets, to me, are not really that blue. They are reddish blue, perhaps. But not blue blue. Or true blue. Blue and red equally. Purple perfectly. And of course purple is a mix of red and blue. Violets are logically, literally, and therefore should be literature-ly purple. Not blue. I stood to have been corrected by myself, thank you very much. And now I stand to be corrected by anyone who dares to correct me with a better correctness than mine.

 

This is my blog, lest you forget.

 

I began changing it by first mental-scanning for a word that rhymes with sweet. It would have been nice to keep some of the poem’s original sense. And then I recalled Kitreena’s artwork today of a hummingbird. She spelled bird as b.r.d.e. Hmmm… oookayyy, let’s tweet the birdie shall we? And then I found this fancy post-it with a bird. Call it karma or sutra, I must have been a bird in my past life. And so I saw the blue skies. Blue violets can be on somebody else’s notes then. Haven’t got the blues for ya, violets!

 

‘Sugar is sweet.’ Sugar? That is such a processed sweetness. Can’t we have something a little bit more natural here? Like honey! I honestly think it goes better with birds, skies and all. Honey from bees, bees and birds fly, and they like clear blue skies as well. Plus, I don’t wanna be thinking of that sugar refinery in Felda Mukim Chuping or of a packet of Gula Prai when I get to the ‘Sugar is sweet, and so are you’ part in the poem!

 

Well, as you can see… I went through quite a bit of a thought-process for such a simple note for Kitreena. And oh yes, she is on the second rerun of her spaghetti boxed lunch from home. I made Spaghetti Carbonara but with some fresh chopped tomatoes and pickled artichokes the other day. Mama mia! Tanto gusto. Tutto belissimo. Abiss ito. Massu tido. Mmmuuuaaahhh! Buona notte, mia colibri!

 

 

Original version:

Roses are red,
violets are blue.
Sugar is sweet,
and so are you.

 

 

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I’ll Be Write Back!

Posted in Write On, tagged on November 24, 2009| 2 Comments »

 

I was going to start writing Kitreena simple notes tonight – notes that I will slip into her lunch box tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after, and everyday after that. Found these two old old glow-in-the-dark pens and was going to write on the recycled black cover of a color pad. I had already found one of those Roses Are Red poems to be my first notes.

 

I did say those two glow-in-the-dark pens were very old, didn’t I? I can bet you a dollar to a vareniki that they are actually older than Kitreena. Hmmm… guess what? They don’t work no more. They don’t even glide. Forget about glowing!

 

I am off to look for my gold and silver marker pens. They are not older than Kitreena. They are older than me!

 

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Ma Baker

Posted in Monchies, tagged on November 24, 2009| 2 Comments »

Not me!
Naaa. I am more like a Ma Faker, to be honest.

 

I don’t bake. I can be sweet – thank you – yes, I can. But I am not known for makin’ n bakin’ those sweet and chubby stuff you call muffins. Yeah, or cupcakes. With my oven I can bake, broil, and roast things that move on two, four and eight legs, or things that move with feathers, fins, fans and fangs. Oh I can have a fishy affair with my oven, for all that my lover cares. But I am not your cupcake chef with cherry on top.

 

That’s why when my hubby had to leave for Siberia on Sunday, I felt deserted, dejected, rejected, cheated and very very deeply impacted. He is the baker in the house! For him to be away when I need him the most is just cruel! By the way, I finally said yes to his marriage proposal after nine times asking, after two years, and after watching the movie Deep Impact! (Go figure!)

 

And now there is no impact deeper than this week, when… almost ten years of marriage, two kids later, and when it is Kitreena’s turn to bring snack to her Girl Scout meeting, Daddy is not home to bake it! You can tell me if I am exaggerating it. Tell it straight to me faeces, weel ye?

 

It was, to put it in a very plain term, a stressful night for me last night trying to decide what snack to make for the girls. Kitreena was begging me not to send apples. Apparently there are many health-conscious parents out there who would fain want these Daisies to snack only on fruit. Well, I could have sent pears or bananas. But being Enida, I take snacks very seriously.

 

Deserted, dejected, rejected, cheated, deeply impacted, seriously stress-outed and all… I made these:

 

 

To hide the hideous cracks on the muffin caps, and of course for hygiene purposes, I individually serene-wrapped them. The recipe calls for VERY ripe bananas. But my Bonanza bananas, though looked bruised and brown, were pretty middle-aged. Hence, not enough moisture. Hence, the cracks. Hence, told ya ma no baker way early in me post.

 

I wasn’t trying to scare the girls with the ugliness of the muffins or anything. But I, in fact, almost accidentally poisoned the Girl Scout troop today with my muffins had I not checked that the stickers – which I thought were candies – were not edible! I was going to stick ’em pretty stickers into the muffin caps. Luckily I decided to suck on the first one. The stickers are plastic!

 

 

I don’t blame myself for not speaking or reading Japanese, nor do I feel handicap for having such a cheap idea trying to cosmeticize my not-so-pleasing-to-the-senses-looking muffins. But the label and instructions that came with the stickers sure gave me such a misleading idea that they are made of sugar and meant for decorating cupcakes.

 

Aaahhh well. It all went well in the end anyway. Kitreena came home with Kristy (the Scout Leader) who announced that my Bonanza Banana Muffins were a hit at the meeting. (Of course, Kris, after many meetings snacking on apples, anyone would go bananas!) I was just happy that my cosmeticization effort didn’t end up being a plastic surgery.

 

       

 

 

 

 

Postlude:

The day before Kitreena’s next turn to bring snack to Girl Scout meeting, Mommy will make sure Daddy’s house-arrested!

 

 

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To Shadow A Son

Posted in Write On, tagged on November 24, 2009| 1 Comment »

 

“They’re here, Mom! They’re here!”

 

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Simply

Posted in Write On on November 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »

We have been wanting a lot of perfections. We have been avoiding too many distractions. But sometimes all we need is just…

 

Some plain Meehoon Goreng and…

 

 

… a little challenge.

 

Just enough to fill us and feel alive.

 

 

 

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Malu Besar

Posted in Nostalgia, tagged on November 22, 2009| 1 Comment »

Spending the weekend clinging to me Monchies, listening to them as well as to myself, telling them what I wanted them to hear… I couldn’t help developing the itch to ask you two questions I have been asking myself. The first question is, how much do you remember things that you heard when you were a child? The second question is, how much did you hear?

 

In answering my own itchy questions, I realized I have nothing but not so good news to deliver. The bad news about me is… I heard a lot when I was a child. A lot means, uh… a very very lot! I remember paying attention to details. A lot of details.  The worse news yet is, I think I remember a lot more than what I heard. Well, suffice to say that I can blog about them all!

 

Among the things I remember very well are mainly superstitions. Now that I am recalling them, I still say most of them are silly, illogical, but super-funny. One that tops all the ridiculous, irrational and nonsensical list is the belief why a child should not step over a broom. Budak-budak tak baik langkah penyapu! Have you heard of that one before?

 

Yeah, you’re asking why too, aren’t ya?

 

Nah, it has nothing to do with witches or black magic at all.

 

My Mom used to scold us (KaCher and me) if we were seen stepping or walking over a broom. She said stepping over  a broom would make our malu to become big. And malu was the little girls term for kemaluan. Yeah! Now, can you tell me the connection?

 

And today I just got thinking, maybe if we were boys, Mom would have encouraged us to step over (lots of) brooms instead.

 

Aaahhh the broom power, eh?

 

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Laksana Laksa

Posted in Mom, tagged on November 20, 2009| 3 Comments »

Adasaperlaparlaksapokrovskyakakka?

 

Akak berterima kasih dan sangat-sangat menghargai komentar yang telah ditinggalkan oleh kawan akak di blog entry Laksa Mana? yang mana komentar beliau tersebut telah menyedarkan akak bahawa sesungguhnya meletak gambar hiasan adalah sangat mengelirukan lagi menyinggung perasaan banyak pihak – terutamanya pihak akak – sekiranya tidak diberi akreditasi dengan sewajarnya.

 

Rakan akak, Ida Chomelmera, juga telah menyedarkan akak bahawa akak sebenarnya tersinggung dengan kerajaan Rusia yang telah menutup pasar Vietnam di Ishmaelova dan Pushkinskaya yang tak berapa nak kaya itu. Kerana penutupan sedemikian kini telah memustahilkan akak daripada mendapatkan bekalan Bunga Kantan dan Daun Kesum!

 

Menyedari akan hakikat ketiadaan Bunga Kantan dan Daun Kesum di bumi Ra Ra Rasputin ini, akak akui gambar yang akak tampalkan bersama entry Laksa Mana? itu adalah gambar harapan perasaan akak je semasa menulis entry tersebut. Tak percaya cubalah Image Google dan taipkan perkataan Laksa. Berlaksa-laksa gambar laksa yang menggiur lagi meliurkan anda akak ada di sana.

 

Sesungguhnya harapan akak untuk meletakkan gambar sebenar Laksa Pokrovsky akak telah hancur sirna kerana suami akak yang menyenduk dan mencedok dinner malam semalam telah mem-BLOB-kan kuah laksa akak dengan tidak cantik nya.  Akak sampai sekarang tak tau apa perkataan BLOB tu kalau diterjemahkan dalam bahasa Kelumpo. Dah tentu tak ada dalam Longman Dictionary 1989 yang akak dapat masa buat TESL dulu.

 

Akan tetapi akak telah mengadakan siaran ulangan malam ni dengan tayangan second round Laksa Pokrovsky leftover dan telah mengambil beberapa foto dengan kamera Cik Canon Konon akak. Dan seiring dengan entry ini, akak sekali lagi berterima kasih kepada kawan akak, Ida Chomelmera, yang juga rakan seperjuangan akak dulu sama-sama menegakkan bahasa Omputeh sebagai bahasa mak-lidah, mak-tekak dan mak-donal. Walaupun akak masih memperjuangkan English Grammar, akak tetap boleh berbahasa mak engkau ni ha.

 

Cakap pasal mak engkau, Laksa Pokrovsky ini sebetulnya akak buat sempena mengenang mak akak yang sangat-sangat sukakan Laksa. Beliau pulang ke pangkuan Ilahi pada hari Rabu, maka akak pun buatkan lah Laksa pada hari Rabu. Mau tak menangis makan Laksa Pokrovsky akak semalam! Sengaja akak kurangkan garam sebab dah tau garam lain akan meleleh masuk.

 

 

Salah satu cara akak memanas dan meracun diri.

 

 

 

Postlude:
Tahukah anda bahawa Daun Kesum juga dikenali sebagai Daun Senehum atau Daun Senohom di beberapa tempat di Malaysia? Jikalau anda tidak percaya, cubalah dengan tidak Senonoh nya anda menyental Daun Kesum yang baru dipetik dan dicarik-carik ke bahagian bawah hidung anda (di antara hidung and bibir anda yang banyak Songeh itu). Aaaaa cuba lah!

 

 

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