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Archive for the ‘Sense’ Category

Siri Bercakap Dedek-Kaka VI

Posted in Monchies, Sense, tagged on January 20, 2014| 2 Comments »

His head looked heavy. With his right hand supporting the head on one side, Edrick was in deep thought… left hand holding the spoon, feeding himself supper, super slowly.

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Edrick: Mom… I’ve been thinking a lot.

Mommy: I can see that. What have you been thinking about Monch?

Edrick: I’ve been thinking… every time I have arguments with Kitreena, I think I have a feery.

Mommy: A fear, you mean?

Edrick: No, a feery.

Mommy: A fairy?

Edrick: No! A feeeeery.

Kitreena: A theory, Mom.

Mommy: Ohhh! A theory. Okay, you have a theory…

Edrick: My theory is, every time me and Kitreena have an argument, she would say something to make it sound like she is always better than me.

Kitreena: No! I never said that!

Edrick: Yeah, but you always want me to feel that way.

Kitreena: But I never said anything to make it look like I am better than you.

Mommy: Not everything is said in words, Kitreena. It’s in the body language. It’s in the attitude.

Peas in The Singapore Pod...

Kitreena: Yeah, but I didn’t mean what I said.

Mommy: So Kitreena, your lesson is… only say what you mean, and mean what you say. And you, Edrick… people can say anything. But don’t let it get to you. If you think you are good, you are good. You don’t even have to say it. Greatness speaks for itself. Anybody can be good. But not everybody can be kind. So be kind. End of story.

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We carried on with supper quietly, trying to clean up Bibik Sun’s uncrunchy kangkung tumis leftovers while I was busy trying to come up with a feery why my throat felt like it had been sliced by a ceramic knife.

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More Than Words

Posted in Bebel, Bibik, Sense on January 20, 2014| 2 Comments »

The more I deal with difficult challenging people, the more I learn about myself. About my patience and about my capacity to restrain myself from saying something outrageously smart, or more often than not… painfully obvious.

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The Kangkung ChallengeJust yesterday… I learned that I am actually very particular when it comes to cooking vegetables; leafy green vegetables, specifically speaking. Not many of them need cooking much anyway, except those that are exotic like tapioca leaves, the edible ferns and the pumpkin leaves.

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Kailan, bak choy, spinach and kangkung are among the very delicate green vegies that wilt very quickly. That was why when I bought the three ‘ikat’ of kangkung at Mercato yesterday, I knew what I was going to do with it. Tumis belacan or taucu. And I was going to do it my way.

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But when everything was ready and prepared by my helper, she started talking about how she would usually cook kangkung dishes back home. Like this lah, like that lah. And since she doesn’t eat my cooking much – I noticed, perhaps she doesn’t like my Chinese-style cooking – I decided to let her do it her way.

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So my helper cooked the kangkung her way.

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Halfway through, I reminded her to not let it simmer too long or the leaves would wilt. She added COLD water for more ‘kuah’, waited for the kuah to boil and turned off the heat, put the lid on and let it sit.

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I took a very very deep breath, said nothing, and went on YouTube to look for a soothing song like “Didn’t I Tell You” by Rumi. It was actually a poem with a background instrumental song I have grown to love over the years. I so needed some distraction! This kangkung challenge was really making me think of how to make my helper realize that she was overcooking the vegetable!

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It wasn’t her. It was me. I don’t speak my mind very well. I either cut like a knife or burn like wildfire. But I remained silent.

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Little that I knew… God was listening. And He did all the speaking to my helper when she was scooping the kangkung from the pot into the serving bowl. “Kelayuan ini kangkung, Buk. Malah kebanyakan air. Nanti kalo masak ini lagi, saya coba, jangan kelamaan di api. Saya tuh senang sama yang kraok kraok kraok kalo dikunyah.”

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I just smiled.

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I thanked God last night – more than usual – for the strength He gave me to hold my tongue.

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In Every Mile…

Posted in Sense on January 10, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Knowing that you are there for me, is like knowing…
that there is a picnic area in every mile of my long journey.

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If life was a picnic...

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Tam’s Down

Posted in Malaysiana, Sense, Service on September 13, 2013| 2 Comments »

Haa, ni Pak Tam ni.

Ya Pak Tam. Apa khabar?

Ni ada projek besaq ai nak bagi yu.

Oh, terima kasih banyak-banyak.

Ni… ada satu group nak buat baju.

Okay, boleh. Baju macam mana tu Pak Tam?

Baju elok la sikit. Tak mau la buat baju hat kualiti tak berapa elok.

Of course! Baju kami mana ada kualiti tak berapa elok Pak Tam.

Mana la tau kan. Depa nak baju berkolar hat elok la.

Pak Tam tak pernah tengok baju Airwings yang kat kelab tu kot?

Tengok dah. Tapi hangpa takdak bagi ai dua tiga lai pun.

Hah? Bagi?

Ya la. Cuba bagi kat ai dua tiga lai tengok. Hahaha.

Kami berniaga tak macam tu Pak Tam. Kami selalunya bagi free untuk anak-anak yatim saja.

Hah, tak kisah la. Ni projek besaq ni. 150 pack. Bajet depa RM50.00 satu pack. Tapi ai ambik RM3.00. So nanti ai bagi yu RM47.00 saja la.

Oh? Ooookaaaayyy… (?)

Depa nak topi sekali. Topi hat elok jugak la.

Iya lah Pak Tam. Takkan bagi baju elok, tiba-tiba topi buat hat buruk pulak!

So satni ai bagi yu the contact person punya email, yu discuss dengan dia la. Tapi tu la… ai bagitau yu awai-awai, ai nak RM3.00 per pack.

Design dah ada ke Pak Tam?

Depa nak design hat simple-simple saja.

Iya lah. Dah ada ke design simple nya tu?

Ai pun tak tau la. Nanti yu tanya depa sendiri. Okay na.

Hmmm okay.

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I called my partner and told him this, verbatim.
Airwings is NOT taking up the project.

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Kami buat baju hat elok saja, okay.

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Seri Gala

Posted in Inside Enida, Poetry, Sense on September 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Ada serigala…
yang lapar diperutku,
yang marah dibenakku.

Segala yang terbakar
menjadi abu.

I am watching...

Segala yang tersimpan
menjadi aku.

Aku tahu siapa menipu.

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*Enida
Wangsa Walk
3 September 2013

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Some People

Posted in Bebel, Inside Enida, Sense on August 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I was telling my sister about some people who simply do not have courtesy. But it was her response that made me realize that those who do not have courtesy towards me, have no respect either. KaCher said…

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Bukan tak ada courtesy. Dia memilih.

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Enough said.

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Yang Indah Itu

Posted in Bebel, Culture, Language, Malaysiana, Poetry, Sense on August 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Saya terbaca serangkap pantun Hari Raya hari ini di dinding Facebook seorang sahabat. Tidak lah saya tahu sama ada ia asli dan dikarang oleh teman kepada sahabat saya itu, atau sekadar disalin-dan-lekat sahaja. Sekali baca, saya tersenyum. Agak lucu pembayang pantun empat kerat, tujuh-lapan sukukata itu.

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Lembu cuit buaya,
buaya baling tin;
Selamat hari raya,
maaf zahir batin.

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Kali kedua membacanya terasa ia agak menjengkelkan. Sebagai seorang pendidik bahasa, walaupun Bahasa Inggeris, saya sanjung tinggi keindahan bahasa Melayu. Dan sejujurnya saya rasakan bahawa pantun ini pantun malas. Malas mencari pembayang yang indah-indah. Atau mungkin juga penulisnya cuba untuk menghiburkan pembaca dengan pembayang yang dirasakan lucu.

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Lalu keluar lah sembang antara saya dengan sahabat saya, mempermainkan pantun ini.

Enida: Lembu tu berani ke cuit buaya, babe?

Kawan: Hehehe…

Enida: Buaya yang boleh baling tin tu buaya apa?

Kawan: Buaya darat.

Enida: Ishhh ye ke?

Kawan: Buaya jadian kot.

Enida: Eh, ni mesti buaya tembaga ni. Tin tu pun tin tembaga sepatutnya.

Kawan: Hahaha!

Enida: Lembu tu kalau dia cuit buaya, sure tak sempat jadi rendang raya ni, kan?

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Pantun ku ini...

Sahabat saya terus diam selepas itu. Mungkin jengkel juga dengan saya yang mempermainkan pantun teman beliau. Namun saya akui, bagus juga lah pantun ini berbanding pantun ‘Pak Ali Pergi Ke Kedai‘.

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Enough Is…

Posted in Mom, Monchies, Sense on July 30, 2013| 1 Comment »

For some reason…
Today I got thinking of a parenting story my Mom once told me.

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She got a call one day from a teacher who caught my brother stealing money from his friend. It was a two-ringgit-crime. And it was 1992 or a year after. A two-ringgit-crime was huge for a ten-year-old boy. Any-amount-of-ringgit-crime was huge in our family. She couldn’t say a word and was so anxious waiting for my brother to come home.

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My Mom didn’t say much to my brother when he got home from school. She sat him down after feeding him lunch and all she asked was, “What is it that I have not given you enough?” And then she hugged her son. She hugged him and rubbed his back, asking him the same question very very gently.

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My brother broke down and finally told Mom that all he wanted was her attention.

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I remember the story to this day and when Edrick is not being himself, a tight squeeze and a back rub is all that he wants.

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I know.

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All that he wants...

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Kata Kita

Posted in Language, Sense on July 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Kebelakangan ini orang kita sangat rajin menulis. Tapi sayangnya Perbendaharaan Kata kita terbatas hanya kepada beberapa perkataan yang terlalu kerap digunakan. Terlampau kerap  sehingga hilang makna. Antaranya ialah:
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  • poyo
  • law
  • jew
  • kew
  • aq
  • x
  • mnx ckit
  • nkkkk
  • nkkkk itotttt
  • sker
  • huhuhu
  • terbaekkkkk!!!!!!!!!! (Ya, dieja dengan ‘e’ bukan dengan ‘i’ seperti yang saya pelajari, huruf ‘k’ nya tak kurang lima, tanda seruan nya keciritan.)

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Dalam jangkawaktu kurang dari duapuluh tahun, saya khuatir Kamus Bahasa akan jadi setipis majalah Gila-Gila. Dan usah terperanjat juga jika ia timbul kembali dengan nama baru:

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GILER-GILER

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Gila!

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Gila-Gila Puasa

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Mistakes vs Lessons

Posted in Sense on July 20, 2013| 1 Comment »

Being jealous is normal. It keeps us on our toes and it makes us check if we can actually do better than what others can do. Although love is not a competition, there is no excuse for being complacent.

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Kalau Puan dah lama tak pegang kaki suami, urut sana, picit sini… ini lah masanya. Spa dah banyak benar sekarang. Suami Puan ada wang dan bila beliau ada masa, boleh singgah dalam perjalanan balik ke rumah dari tempat kerja. Nak harap rumah urut, memang banyak. Tapi biarlah urut-mengurut itu jadi aktiviti di rumah.

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Encik pulak, kalau dah lama tak belai rambut isteri, cium wangi nya, rasa lembut nya… ini lah juga masanya. Salon sekarang banyak yang dijayakan oleh lelaki – walaupun berpakaian sempurna seperti wanita. Kalau tak Encik belai rambut beliau, rasa-rasanya siapa lagi di dunia ini yang boleh diharap membelai?

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Lagi satu, kalau Puan bercakap dengan suami bentak sana, tempik sini, suara macam guntur… jangan lah anggap wanita bersuara lembut macam saya ni nak menggoda suami Puan. Saya memang bercakap lemah lembut sebab Mak saya juga begitu. Puan cuba kenang kembali minggu pertama Puan bersama suami, tak keluar suara begitu lembutnya berkata-kata. Betul?

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Encik pun, kalau memandang isteri hanya dengan ekor mata kerana tudung ropol-ropol beliau senget sini senget sana, janganlah menyangka tiada yang berminat dengan beliau kalau tiba-tiba beliau buka tudung dan ambil foto untuk tunjuk rambut beliau kepada lelaki lain yang lebih menghargai kecantikan beliau di Facebook.

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Just like what Richard Templar includes as Rule 58 in Rules of Love:

Treat Your Partner Better Than Your Best Friend

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I am saying all this (despite my failed marriage – a failure due to not listening to what was not being said – yes, I broke Rule 55), because I know how it feels being with someone for as long as most of us have. I am saying all this because I know what is going on everywhere in marriages. I was no better and there was no one to tell me this bitter truth. But I am telling you now, go ahead and make mistakes, but learn from them. Mistakes and lessons come hand in hand.

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Saat kau kucup rambutku...So, take good care of your partner. When everything is enough at home, especially the belaian, nothing from outside can take him/her away from you.

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