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Love Takes Time?

August 25, 2003 by Enida

You might say that it’s over
You might say that you don’t care
You might say you don’t miss me
You don’t need me
But I know that you do
And I feel that you do
Inside

Echeh! Perasan. Well, did any of you out there miss me at all? The thing is, I missed writing more than you missing my writing. Miss me ke? Echeh! My Kitty is, as of today, nine months and fifteen days old dah. And I last wrote on February the second this year. Mak aiiii! Where did all the months go?


My Kitty…is actually my Kitreena. My pipi. She was born on November 10 last year, three days after I wrote the November to Remember entry. Nantilah, when I have gradually regained my momentum kang I sure will write about D-Day Kitreena decided to finally see us in person ek?


I am fine and dandy – in case you’re wondering. Still in Arbour Lake, Calgary. But we are leaving in a month’s time. Back to the ya habibi ya maulana ya kandang unta where we DO call home. That, too…I will cerita the later-later loh hor? Hopefully this entry will give me the inertia to write and to stay writing.

Hah, since tersebut perkataan inertia…teringat lah pulak iklan Reebok tahun 90’an dolu-dolu. “A body at rest tends to stay at rest. A body in motion, tends to stay in motion. Reebok bok bok bok bok!”

Will you stay reading?

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Feb Buku

February 3, 2003 by Enida

Gong Xi ya Gong Xi! Xing Nien Kuai Ler!


Pehhh! It’s already the second day of February pun. My ma-in-law (who is 72, by the way) is so right. It takes a while to get to 30 when you are 20. But once you’re there, the next thing you know is people making fun of your birthday cake burried under too many candles!

You must we wondering…what am I talking ’roundabout’ nih kan? Tajuk this entry is Feb Buku. Feb as in this month, February. And Buku is buku lah. You thought I had a story on sabun Fab buku tu ke? Hee hee hee. No lah. I wanted to write about books sebenornyer. How I love books and how I fell in love with books. And about how…when nothing else can, books make me feel superpositive.

I love books. That, I am sorry, I can’t deny. Love is love, no explanation. I fell in love with books since I first saw one, I guess. I remember my first book which I shared with my elder sister. I told you I have an elder sister who was born in the same year and is only 10 months older, didn’t I? Nanti lah.

As goofy as it may sound, the title of my very first book was “Si Awang Labu”. Muah hahaha! And this is no acah-mat-labu joke, ya know. It was a hard-cover book dengan ejaan bahasa Melayu yang lama, siap dengan ‘e-tanda’, okay. Green in color, the cover bore a clean sketch of Awang Labu with a pencil on one of his huge ears.

It wasn’t a sad story, but I remember feeling sad reading it. (I could read when I was three years old, BTW.) Sebab the book describes Awang Labu in a very negative way.

Si Awang Labu kaki-nya pendek.
Si Awang Labu tĕlinga-nya bĕsar.
Ini kalam (old word for ‘pensil’) kĕpunyaan Si Awang Labu,
sayang-nya dia tidak pandai mĕmbaca dan mĕnulis.

Apa tu?
I guess it was the attitude of those older generations of writers, eh? The book went on and on pasal Si Awang Labu pegi skolah but he got so frustrated with how he wasn’t able to read and write in class. He ran away and tried to find his way home, came to a ‘Y’ intersection, but didn’t know which way to take because he could not read the road-sign. Duh!

The story ended with him crying at the junction waiting for somebody to take him home. Oh tedah! Mana tak meleleh my airmata mengenangkan nasib Si Awang Labu. But being a child who had been instilled with positive attitude right from day one, I dismissed all Awang Labu’s inabilities.

And now, writing about it makes me think…perhaps the writer WAS smart afterall. Pandai dia guna reverse psychology kan? He/She (can’t remember) probably told all the bad things about Awang Labu so that children wouldn’t want to be like him. The tak pandai membaca and menulis part, that is. If you were born with short legs and huge ears, what can you do about it lah kan.

Unless you wouldn’t mind going all the distance…for cosmetic surgeries. Iyewwww! Skin deep, beauty is.

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New Year New Me

January 25, 2003 by Enida

Really?

New year new me? Yeke? Well, it’s kinda neat to have welcomed myself to a new club. The big THREE. Ooh la la! But did you notice that the older you get, the more things you don’t know for sure? It surely is the case with me.

Like the word welcomed I used in the paragraph above. I wasn’t definitely certain that there was such a word. Ye ler, past tense of come kan ke came? My 2-month old baby pun tau tu. Ewah! And past perfect tense of come…again, is also come. I could have assumed the word welcome works the same way.

Malas nak pikir banyak-banyak, I grabbed my dictionary and voila! Past and past perfect tense of welcome is welcomed rupanya. I told ya the older we get the more we’re not sure of. Well, it’s not like you care about my grammar all that much pun kan?

Or do you?

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November to Remember

November 7, 2002 by Enida

Holy guacomole!
It’s the seventh day of November and this is only my first entry of the month? It has been a while eh? I told ya, I was sooo fascinated by the IncrediMail Xe program. Punyalah ralit trying it out. One good thing about not writing here is, I have been back to emailing some friends. That’s for sure.


“All my bags are packed
I’m ready to go
I’m standing here outside the door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye”

So said John Denver. And so say I, baby and Be.

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Incredimail

October 28, 2002 by Enida

I am so mesmerized by this one new email program called IncrediMail. “Email has finally evolved” is the motto. Try it yourself, guys. You can send emails with personalized, beautiful backgrounds, include some cute animated graphic in it and siap boleh record your own voice to be sent within your emails. Neat!


And of course it is free. Just like all other good things in life are. The only thing that makes you wonder sometimes is…how long they are going to remain free. Eh?

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Ayam Den Lapeh

October 26, 2002 by Enida

It’s just wild to have found the lyrics of this song, I tell ya. Of course I’ve written the whole story a few days ago on Mainkanlah Bugih Lamo Tu…


Ayam Den Lapeh

Luruihlah jalan payakumbuah
babelok jalan kayu jati
dima ati indak karusuah
ayam den lapeh
ai…ai…ayam den lapeh

Mandaki jalan padangsikek
basimpang jalan ka biaro
dima ati indak kamaupek
awak takicuah
ai…ai…ayam den lapeh

Sikucapang sikucapeh
sa’ikua tabang sa’ikua lapeh
tabanglah juo nan karimbo
oilah malang juo

Pagaruyuang batusangka
tampek bajalan urang baso
duduak tamanuang tiok sabanta
oi takanang juo
ai…ai…ayam den lapeh

Thanks to the owner of

this site.

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Cheapskating

October 26, 2002 by Enida

I was applying some St.Ives Collagen Elastin lotion this morning when this branded issue came to my mind. I must admit, I am branded – as in…any brand can do. Ahak! Anyway, I had a friend masa kat college dulu who was quite well-to-do lah jugak; her dad was a very successful contractor. So, as you can imagine, semua benda has got to be branded. Or else!

Dari sunglasses, kalau tak Gucci, tak class ler! Shampoo, tak main ler Rejoice kawan. She swore by St.Ives products. Never did I blame her, though. Good things always come with a price. Don’t they? But back then, I barely had enough dough to get by every month. Let alone St.Ives dengan jojoba lah, sunflower oil lah. Pogedid!
And of course masa study dulu, to walk by the St.Ives products aisle tu pun dah seram sejuk. Lintas hormat je lah, tabik datuk nenek cucu cicit tumpang lalu. Gitu! But as time goes by, I have found that things are not as ‘black and white’ as they used to be. To my values, that is.
An expat friend once made a remark that I was a ‘cheapskate’ because I was using St.Ives products. Say what? I was ‘criticized’…”bikin duit bergrand-grand, pakai barang St.Ives. Ciss, pelokek! Tak standard langsung!” I got confused. I thought the Suisse Formula was one of the best. Quality-wise and all. Obviously not everyone shares my opinion. Don’t expect them to.
I can’t say I swear by St.Ives’ Collagen Elastin, or Apricot Scrub, or Peach Hydroxy. For now they work well for me skin. And they are surprisingly much cheaper than they are back home (must be the shipping cost to Malaysia, lah!) What more can I say. Thanks to my college friend who introduced

St.Ives to the thin-wallet-thick-hearted me!


I still feel seram sejuk whenever I pass by Cliniqué or Lancôme counters now though. For a different reason. I hate it when I’m stopped by those enthusiastic salesladies. Cheapskate me!

.

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Belaian Jiwa

October 24, 2002 by Enida

Saya berkesempatan menjenguk beberapa websites on Siti Nurhaliza pagi tadi. I even went to NTCT (Anti-Siti) site to visit the other side of the ‘story’. Am I a fan, you’d ask? Oh yes! I am a HUGE fan of songs and music. Yet, to say I am a big fan of any singers or performers in particular…na’ah, never lah kot. I have neither a big collection of Siti’s albums, nor Sudirman’s. Too bad Eva Cassidy never made it to the moon. But hey, she’s fallen among the stars anyway.


I am, nevertheless, always amazed by great talents. Siti is one of many. But more often than not, saya terikat dengan lagu-lagu Siti as tightly as I am to the memories of my past. I mean, have you ever found yourself tiba-tiba profoundly “touched” by a song and semua kenangan come flooding back? How many times, it is a

song that remembers when? Be frank to yourself, it is not the singers that you identify with so much. It is their songs.


It could be the lyrics, per se. Perhaps you were going through a time when you just could not convince your cinta hati that you love her so much. And you dedicated the song Belaian Jiwa to her. She fell for it, and she fell for you. Wouldn’t it be YOUR song then, to cherish forever? And who cares siapa yang menyanyikan Belaian Jiwa tu the time you hear it again on the radio while driving alone after she left you (God forbids!)

Who sings it does not matter. It could be Kumpulan Carefree. It could be Innuendo. You simply can’t stop the sentimentality, the schmaltziness, or the impact the song has on you. Or can you?

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Mainkanlah Bugih Lamo Tu…

October 21, 2002 by Enida

It was an eventful weekend, indeed. Sort of a back-to-basic weekend. Unplanned. But couldn’t be any better. I had a lunch date with Be on Friday – we usually lunch-date on the day when we have to see our obs. But last week we made it a point to start dating each other again. Shouldn’t stop just because I have to carry an extra weight on my tummy. Certainly shouldn’t when the pipi is here.

We were going to head to Dante when Be realized that it was going to be a bit of a walk for me. So he suggested the Indonesian Restaurant on 12th Ave. No prob! We had been there twice before and were pretty impressed with the food. There, the owner, who was as excited as everybody else about the pipi, informed us that there was going to be a “Pasar Malam” on Saturday.
Pasar Malam? Here in Calgary? In fall? What? Where? Who? When? Why? As jakun as we could be, we were all excited. The event was called ‘Pasar Malam’ but it wasn’t our kind of Malaysian pasar malam. No no no no. It was simply an annual event put together by the Canadian Indonesian Social Club

(CISC) at the Portuguese Community Center down in South-East Calgary.

Ohhhh! Kesahnyer!
We bought two tickets masuk anyway, out of curiosity. This is their 19th year of organizing such an event successfully and it was promising a night of Indonesian authentic food, music and dance. Hmmmm! We thought. Menarik nih. Blah blah blah, the night after…we pun pegi lah.
I thought it was going to be outdoor. Well, obviously I was in the Malaysian mind-set. Pasar malam indoor? Tak pernah dibuat orang. So it was actually some sort of a pesta featuring some Indonesian food stalls, souvenir stalls, some stage performances: dances and such. All in a community hall. We grabbed the Nasi Padang as soon as we got there. Music can wait!
The Nasi Padang was muahhhh! Enak sekali dong! Asli, gitu! And the rest of the evening was great! The Tari Piring, Tari Indang and Jaipongan were fantastic. The Silat demo was impressive. But the best part came from inside me, really. The realization that my soul does know its roots, that it does long for something close to my childhood, if I may say so.
I was so happy, I became so homesick. And I was so homesick that I found my happiness! How so, you asked? The moment I heard the background music of the Tari Piring which was ‘Bugih Lamo’ and another Minang song that goes…
Indak dapek
hai musim manyiang
ai tuan ai
musim manuai
hai den nanti juo
Indak dapek
hai tarano bujang
ai tuan ai
baranak ampek
hai den nanti juo
den nanti juo…
I realized there and then that I miss singing very much. I used to sing ‘Ubekkan Denai’ with my band for many years, and once it was at the request of His Majesty Yamtuan Negeri Sembilan (who was the Agung at that time). Hmmmm gone were the days, eh? But I am still me, trapped in my passion for Muzik Melayu Asli. I actually fell in love with Minang songs, in particular, because of my Chinese mom! Do you believe that?
Gini…At one point of time when I was growing up, Mom was just crazy about Minang songs. She bought tons and tons of cassettes from (ehem…sorry to say) pasar malam. The language was foreign to her, but she just loved the beat and the strange sound of the lexis. We, sisters used to ‘mock’ those songs. They sounded funny! But funny enough, the songs just grew on us. We never forget the lyrics. There!
When I first joined the Muzik Asli band (of the uni I studied at), I knew squat about lagu asli. Yeah, I knew a few because Aishah just released an album with Patah Hati, Bahtera Merdeka and Fatwa Pujangga that year if I am not mistaken. But other than those songs…niente! Purrdee limited, I tell ya. But like anything else, you live you learn. Ye tak? Lo and behold, I just learned.
The back-to-basic weekend was really about me re-finding my own love in life, I guess. Re-collecting it. Well…other than Be, pipi, my family, Cik Mas, Cik Reen, Cik Nan, Cik Lindt, Cik Rome, Cik Ja, Cik Dee, Philo, Esther, Mulan, Pooh, sunflowers, butterflies, angels, and my new Inukshuk thingies…I am falling in love all over again with Muzik Melayu Asli.
Tarubek lah denai ko?

.

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Should I Hate Snowy Mornings?

October 15, 2002 by Enida

Opocot!Two entries pulak today. Rajin? No lah. Just teringat what happened on Friday last week. The day ma Be put his Winter Boots On. I usually lock the door after he leaves and cangkuk the chain. But on that very Friday I didn’t cangkuk the chain – didn’t wanna be sprinting to the door when The Merry Maids came kononnya.


So off…me headed to the shower. While I was so asyik enjoying me own endorphins seraya mendendangkan lagu Patah Hati (Aisyah’s version lagi, jangan jeless!), I heard a familiar voice go “Hellowwwwwwwwww!” I would’ve gone like a mermaid swimming in the sand if it wasn’t Be’s voice! Pehhhh! My heart went boom-boom, though.

Be came home only two hours after he left! It took him those two hours to drive not even quarter way to work. The traffic came to a stand-still that morning because of snow. 121 auto accidents were reported on October 11, 2002 in Calgary alone – 19 involved injuries. Imagine that, tuan-tuan dan puan-puan sekelian.

And it was supposed to be a donut morning for Be at work! Awwww! Now, did you think he missed it? No! Nobody made it to the office until an hour before noon that day. Huah huah! But more than anyone, ME got the best deal! Be came home and made me a waffle breaky! Hoyehhhh!

So, why should I hate snowy mornings? Ha!

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