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Akhir November Ini

September 25, 2002 by Enida

I thought of this when I was in Toronto last week. The first time ever…I was inspired to write for and about (my feelings towards) my baby.


Permata Bonda

Ada yang tergenang
di sudut hatiku
untukmu Kitreena
…tak tumpah
– kasih.

Ada yang tertatang
di puncak anganku
untukmu Edrick…
tak melimpah
– harap.
Datanglah akhir November ini
kunanti
sembilan bulan sepuluh hari.

Enida

September 19, 2002
Grand Valley, Ontario.

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Cloudy Calgary

September 24, 2002 by Enida

Phew!A week felt like an eye-blink these days. Got home safe and sound from Toronto Sunday night. It was a week well spent with The Menzies in Grand Valley and Alton. Warm and friendly people, indeed. I am done traveling for now and it’s time to concentrate on enjoying my tummy. Ha!

Wanna know what happened to me on September Friday the 13th? Not so good news lah. But nothing to do with Friday the 13th. So I did go to The Plates. Tetiber deorang cakap I am not allowed to have a Canadian Driver’s Licence because my hubby is Canadian. Say what?


That was that! Because Be is Canadian and he didn’t need to have a work permit to work in his own country, I was granted an extended VISITOR’s visa. But hey! I am not here to visit anybody. I am his other half. Too bloody bad, they said. That’s just the way it works. They can do nothing. Niente! End of story. Tamat, bye-bye, basta, asta la vista, arivederci, sayonara. Khalasss!

So saper kata civilized country tak de masalah birokrasi? Some countries can be the most advanced in the world, but their common sense is yet to graduate from Tadika. Duh! So, for now I am still good with my Omani and Malaysian Driver’s Licenses (valid for 3 months dari tarikh masuk Canada). After this, sama ada I will have to drive ‘illegally’ or be content naik taxi. Do you think I should send all my taxi bills back to the Canadian Immigration?

Ha! Say…who gets the last laugh?

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Friday the Thirteenth

September 13, 2002 by Enida

Friday the 13th it is…indeed. So?


So some people believe in the unknown. Which is tolerable. But some simply fear of the unknown, believing that baaaaaad things happen on Friday the 13th. Lek eleh! Tu lah dia kalau dah too focused on bad thoughts, a thousand million good things pass by pun tak perasan.

Do I believe in the unknown. Welp, sometimes I do, I guess. But do I fear of the unknown. Na ah! Because I can stay in fear kuor taik ijau pun, if they are going to happen, they ARE going to happen. Ye tak?

So on that note, I’d better run to

The Plates gi amik my Canadian Driving Written Test lah. To prove that good things don’t just happen…they can be created. Ciao, arivederci. Petang kang sambung lagi.


Petangnya… I went to The Plates, alright. Twice. I went there on my own at noon. Showed them me paper and all. Yes, yes, nod, nod. But hey, ya know what? “We need to see your husband’s passport M’am. Can’t do nothin’ ‘fore we see your hubby’s paper. Na’ah.” So said she. Fine! You gotta do what ya gotta do, I guess.

I decided to not only present my hubby’s passport to them Registry people later in the evening. I brought the whole show. Nah kau! Herrrrrrrre’sssss my hubby and his passport. “Oopsie! Can’t do nothin’ again. Sorry. Because you’re Canadian Encik Be, and you don’t have a work permit (because he DOES NOT NEED ONE), your wife can’t have no Canadian Driver’s License.”

My Be went, “What kind of BS is this? You’re saying…because I am Canadian and I DO NOT NEED a work permit to work in my own country, my wife has NO privelege whatsoever to even drive in this bloody country?”

Ouch! We went home feeling hopelessly failed by the system. But not in despair. I have to put this matter on hold until I come back from Toronto. And that’s a week from now! I hate doing what I can do today, tomorrow. Let alone next week.

But hey, c’est la vie. Oui?

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Breaking the HTML Code

September 12, 2002 by Enida

Phew!Finally I made some time to learn how to use this HTML link stuff. I thought I’d never learn…never willing to. Thanks to Couture Design for the templates. They are simple but perfectly suit my preference.


I am in Calgary now, as most of you have been informed. Dah over a month dah pun. Arrived on July 18 before berhoyeh ke Vancouver and most of British Columbia for about two weeks. It’s been fun, I must say.

Uh, maybe I should save this for another day now. Been surfing and menggodek this HTML thing for a day now. Gotta find my way to the cuccina, sambil melenggang kangkong…ehem! I am making Kangkong Belacan lah tonite. Another dish is Tofu with Salted Fish and Chicken. Care to join us?

Tanto gusto!

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Mengumumkan Ketibaan

June 9, 2002 by Enida

This is the generic email I wrote on May 12, 2002…announcing the ketibaan of a VIP in my life :


Tuan-Tuan, Puan-Puan, Cik-Cik, family and friends sekelian…Hope this email finds you well, even if you are in the well as well. I am doing not too bad here in Muscat. Yep! Dah balik dah ke gurun pasir kandang unta ladang kurma yang panas terik ni haa. Though it is still in the late spring, Muscat dah panas se’sangat. Last 2 weeks pun dah cecah 43 degrees Celcius. I don’t even want to imagine what summer is going to be like. Last year we managed to escape it and off to Milan for about ten months. But this year tak lepas lah kot from this hellhole. At night, soon Muscat punya temperature sama panas macam tengahari terik in Malaysia. Hah, bayangkan lah tuan-tuan dan puan-puan.


Anyway, for all intent and purpose of this note…let me get straight to the point lah kan? Drum rolls : Mengumumkan ketibaan ke bawah duli our first baby in November this year. Lambat lagiiii. Hee hee. Facts : I am, as of today, May 12, 2002…baru 12 weeks along. The baby is definitely Made in Italy one! We actually got the hints when we were still in Milan, but sengaja tak nak kepoh awal-awal. At this early stage, anything can happen kan? So, today, after the first ultra-sound scan baru lah rasa confident sikit to share this great news with all of you. I am doing pretty well so far, and little one pun is in excellent condition. Thanks for all your well-wishes.

Perkembangan terbaru, besides the November blues tu…we are moving again in July this year. Ha’ah, nomad ler dah duduk kat padang pasir ni kan. Karl’s next project is kicking off in another two to three months and we are mobilizing to, guess where? CALGARY, CANADA, this time. Lebih kurang jugak lah macam our mobilization to Milan last June (first phase of the project). Temporary, i.e. between 12 to 15 months. The bidding for this second phase of the project had taken place last Wednesday and we are pretty excited to balik to Karl’s kampung. In the meantime, I still have to work on my masters degree despite my chronic laziness syndrome. Arrrggghhh! Orang kata kalau malas cenggini, baby boy. Yeke? Kah kah kah, diskriminasi ke atas kaum lelaki kan?

Other than that, rasanya tak ada apa sangat. Kecuali I am homesick like usual. Orang pregnant dapat morning sickness, I dapat homesickness. But lucky me, setakat hari ni, it has been an easy prego. No dizzy dizzy, no lawyer lawyer, no craving craving sangat. Kalau ada pun, cuma in the evening je I feel a little tired and not too well. I did mengidam for rendang a few weeks ago. Well, maklum ler Raya Puasa last year tak dapat rendang…asek makan spaghetti je. And last week, I melilau cari resipi Mee Rebus on the internet sebab tekak mengader I ni nak makan mee rebus cik konon! Nasib baik jumpa, and it was a successful trial. Satu hari the whole house berbau udang kering. Pehhh!

So friends, families and foes (adeke?)…do keep in touch ya? I think I will forever be available at renida@yahoo.com ni. Tak ke mana. Ujung dunia pun, if I ever go there…you can still reach me at the same email address. Keep me updated with your news jugak eh? I am all ears. And if you guys ever terberjalan ke Canada or US after July or August ni, singgah ler rumah. I sure will keep you posted with our physical address as soon as we get there. No worries. Thanks se’sangat pada those who have been so loyal balas my emails yang kebanyakannya mengarut je lebih. Hee hee. Until then, do take care. Salam ikhlas from Karl and myself untuk semua, seisi keluarga yang berisi dan tak lupa jugak kepada yang tak berisi. Kirim je lah salam tu, free of charge.

Isi tempat kosong,
Enida.

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I Surrender

May 11, 2002 by Enida

Apalah possibility nya the two CD’s I bought two weeks ago, both have lagu yang bertajuk ‘I Surrender’. One is Celine Dion the latest, and the other is Michael Bolton. Also the latest. Both are great! Michael Bolton sounds as sexy as ever. Merayu-rayu mendayu-dayu. So, saper cakap lagu Melayu or Asian songs je yang tangkap cintan cintun meleleh-leleh? Hah? Saper?


I mean, if the song My Heart Will Go On is translated into bahasa…pehhh! Jiwang karat it would sound to our Asian ears, agree or not? But be careful lah with how you translate it. I remember my sister (UKM lecturer) once had a translation class activity. Her student translated the title “My Heart Will Go On” tu as “Hatiku Naik Ke Atas”! Saya gelak tergolek-golek that day.

Hmmm…actually-tually nya I wanted to write about our next posting. But my generic letter to friends and families are only going to be sent off tomorrow. Lepas kitorang tangkap gambor baby dalam my tummy (scan lah tu ertinya!) Nak announce ketibaan baby AND the posting sekali harung to everyone. Tak payah too many letters. So, I suppose I should just copy and paste the letter here tomorrow lah, hor?

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Oman, Oh! Man

May 8, 2002 by Enida

Back in Oman, I am. Pregnant and all. Haa haa. Baru lepas mengarang the email to mengumumkan ketibaan ke bawah duli baby to kengkawan sanak kaum family in Malaysia. Well, my family dah lama tau. Kengkawans, baru je dihebohkan the news. Because awal-awal hari tu didn’t really want to kepoh-kepoh. Big deal!

Today akan menentukan where Be and I will tercampak. Nervous giler! But keep the cool in this hellish weather. Hah, guess what? I made Mee Rebus lah today! Cool me. Not the first time, actually. Dah a few times already. But this time I really went and looked for a recipe on the internet, for authenticity’s sake.
The whole house today smells like udang kering. Gave some to Philomena, as to balas her baking pan. Yesterday her maid made us some baked spaghetti. Yummy! And also some date cake. Yummier! Though I don’t eat sweet-sweet cakes all that much, it was the thought that counts. Sweet thought of a friend.
Oman is getting hotter and hotter by hour. Or at least it feels like so. Even my body made in Malaysia also cannot take it lah. Tu belum humid lagi. Time humid, phew! Cannot breathe even! No luck lah this year, we will only move sometime end of July…the hottestest time of the year. No escape this time.
Not like last year when we managed to fly out early June to Milan. Though Milan was still warm and humid at the time we arrived, it was greeeen! Colors can deceive you, ya know? Like if you look at the rocky and sandy hills here in Oman in winter (when it cools off to 10 degrees Celcius), you’d still think of its hot sunny climate. It still looks ‘dry’.
The same goes if you look at lush green forests in Italy in hot summer months, you’d have the tendency to imagine cool or even chilly breeze giving you gooseflesh. Nope! Zappp! That’s not always the case, tell ya.
Okaylah, gotta log off. Soon Be will call to tell me the bidding result. Dag dig dug my heart goes!

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Most Cats in Muscat

April 28, 2002 by Enida

Ewah, cik main lagi tajuk diary saya today. Sajer je nak rhyme konon. Yep, I am back in Muscat now. Left Milan on April 2nd. Stopped over in London for a day. Sempat ler berhoyeh ke Trafalgar Square – my dream since I read ‘Cinta Adrina’ in majalah Remaja zaman skolah dulu. Went to Piccaddily Circus and walked around to Westminster Abbey, saw Big Ben and all.


I went back to Le Meridien with lubang hidung yang berjelaga!

London was surprisingly pleasant. I was afraid it was anything like Milan…crowded and chaotic. But I was obviously wrong. It was quite nice. Still crowded, but nice. The food was amazingly authentic. We had pizza for late lunch at Deep Pan and tried the Hot ‘n Spicy (the kind we used to swear by in Perth…punyalah sedap and pedas). We got real Jalapenos! Yes lah!

We went to Thai Cuisine for supper because we hadn’t had Thai food for two years now. Couldn’t find any in Italy and couldn’t find any authentic Thai restaurant in Muscat either. So, Thai Cuisine by Trafalgar Square lah tempat Be and I menyerbu. Muahhh! I overate that evening. And for the first time, I didn’t care! Huah huah huah! Yes, it was THAT good.

So, what’s with my jelaga hidung eh? Air pollution lah gamaknya. Living in Milan for almost a year, spending a week in Paris – walking around the city every single day, spending over half a week in Stockholm, a day in Copenhagen, a day in Innsbruck, Zurich, Bern and Geneva…tak jelaga pun my nostrils. Tetiber London…pehhh! Hitam bertepek!

Ah well, I guess as the saying goes…you win some, you lose some, you never have it all. Betul jugak. The food was great, the view was marvelous, the people are reasonable, service was tanta migliore than many places. So if the air is not clean … so be it lah kan? I was there for less than 24 hours pun. Lagi mau bising.

The flights were uneventful. Tak de laa hijackers trying to light up explosives in their shoes or anything like that. I did carry my pengepit kuku in my handbag though. The nail-clipper with a knife type one. But selamat je naik kapalterbang British Airways Linate-London and London-Muscat. Terasa jugak macam nak hijack the flight BA 073 tu on April 3rd, 2002. Tapi tak de mood sangat sebab I am pregnant.

Huh? I am pregnant?

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P.O. Box Allergy

March 28, 2002 by Enida

Grrrr!
How do these online shopping companies do business internationally when they don’t even know that some countries just do NOT have physical mailing addresses? My my! “Oh sorry, nope, we do not ship packages to P.O. Boxes. It’s against our company’s policy.” Policy my arsenichole! 

Cerita nya cenggini sebenornye…I purchased a snuggle suit from Blair Womenswear dot com. Cincai punya harga ada laa US 39.90. Plus shipping and handling pulak, lelong-lelong it is up to US 46.80. First of all, dah ler they don’t ship it to Italy direct. They had to send it to Trans Express in Miami ke mana ntah.

Then, this Trans Express will ship it to Europe. Fine. Secondly, I ordered the snuggle suit on March 3rd. Ini dah ujung March tak sampai-sampai lagi. Be and I are leaving Milan in four days time. Hello!!! Winter pun dah nak terover-over dah over nya. My snuggle suit tak kunjung tiba.
I sent them an email tanya, uh…knock knock, apa sudah terjadi dengan my order? The di-mana-dia-anak-kambing-saya type of question. And tetiber Catalogcity cakap, oh…eh eh, kita baru shipped kan awak punya anak kambing on March 26th to Trans Express. Huh?
Madeleyne Gomez from Trans Express pulak wrote, uh…by the way we just received your package and uh by the way your credit card has ‘declined’ it. Uh, by the way, could you provide us with the information as to what type of credit card it is…gold or platinum or such? And which bank issued it? Or would you like to cancel the order?
Say what???
Apeke bende nya business cenggini nih? Credit card has ‘declined’? Sejak biler lah pulak declined nyer nih? My Be and I frankly speaking tak pakai pun Visa tu untuk benda lain kecuali online shopping yang dua tiga puntung je. Soheh alasan madah berhelah. Anyway, I wrote a nice reply providing Mrs. Gomez with all the makneneks she needed to send the anak kambing to me.
And with that of course lah I had requested that the package to be sent to Oman sebab dah nak berhangkut balik dah April 2nd nih. Tu lah pasal I ordered the snuggle suit zaman batu lagi dah. Sebab I was hoping it could arrive before our demobilization. I also took the time to ‘warn’ her that in Oman, there is no such address yang tak ada P.O. Box. Semua P.O. Boxes. Nothing but.
Eh belum abis lagi citer ni tuan-tuan dan puan-puan. Cik Puan Gomez kita came back saying. Oops! Sorry, we do NOT deliver to P.O. Boxes. Too bad, so sad! Please give me a physical address. It’s the company’s policy to ship to physical addresses ONLY. Nah nah nah nah nah! What a bulldozer bulldog!
So kesudahan dari cerita tersebut, I gave Cik Puan Gomez kita the address of our Customer Relations Manager, Marisa Gennari, here in Milan. Mrs. Gennari will then forward the parcel to my P.O.Box address in Oman. Dah tu, susah nor nak shopping online nyer. There’s some kind of allergy gamaknya these online companies have with P.O.Box addresses.
I do understand that the policy is for the security purposes. Pahaaaaamm, bukan tak paham. But I have explained that in Oman, mail is either delivered to the workplace or personal post office boxes as there is no door-to-door delivery service whatsoever. They can write to the ministry of communication if they doubt it. Cari lah kat memaner pun. Takkan jumpa any physical addresses punyalah kat padang pasir nun.
Tak naaaaaakk jugak percaya cakap saya. The thing is, this was not our first time menyopping online. We already have their so-called electronic wallet pun. As a matter of fact, they could’ve even called us kalau tak percaya sangat. It won’t take 5 minutes to verify all the makneneks information.
Tu lah dia yang saya belajor dalam Organizational Theory and Design. Makin besor a company, makin rigid, makin banyak bureaucracy nya. The decision making has to refer ever so unbendingly to the book. No brain is allowed. Mana tak dot com companies bungkus and gulung tikor. Hmmm.
Snuggle suit tu pulak tak de lah jual kat kedai biasa. Merata pelusuk alam dah saya cari. I did find one at Arimo, an Italian franchise. Tapi melantun-lantun mahalnya. One time I saw and even tried it on masa gi berhoyeh kat Cremona. Prezo: EU89.90. Lebih kurang US78.39. Hisyyy, melampau mahal nya. Boleh beli dua bijik.
By the way, snuggle suit tu…as my Be puts it, is an astronaut’s pyjama. Alaaa, baju tidur yang macam overalls tu. Covered from neck to toe kinda pyjama. Macam baby punya vestiti, long sleeves, pants and socks all together. The fabric is usually flannel sebab comfy for winter nights. If you’d like to view one, click here. Kalau curious laaa kan.

Teringat pulak lagu lama Anita Sarawak yang tajuk dia KALAU.

 

So it all means that people who live in countries like Oman, UAE and those that do not have direct mail delivery service can NOT shop online! Okay okay, I am pushing it too hard. Maybe some online companies do ship to P.O Boxes. But there’s like one or two in a few thousands, right?

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Yang Tertulis

March 28, 2001 by Enida

Yang tertulis hari ini bukanlah hanya

yang terpandang dan yang terdengar.

Tapi yang terasa.

Like what I saw, heard and felt about a couple of weeks ago. Some would shrug shoulders and take it as a common parking lot incident. Tapi entahlah, pada saya it was something yang payah nak dilupa. A teenage boy begging for some money. My hubby just ignored him, dismissing the boy’s plea and his sad story. I could see a shopping bag on his one hand which ‘lessened’ the impact of his cerita sedih. But his eyes reminded me of an Ebiet G. Ade’s song:

“Aku temukan anak kecil kurus terkapar

menutup wajah dengan telapak tangan nya

aku gamit dia terperanjat
melompat terbangun dan menatapku dengan nanar….”

I don’t blame my husband for being ‘indifferent’. But somehow jiwa saya jadi terpanggil untuk tahu. And somehow…tersayu. Had the boy asked ME for money, I wouldn’t have given any either. Tak terselesaikan masalah. Like money itself yang selalu memasalahkan. None, too little, or too much. Pokoknya money is never enough.

Tapi sungguh dari sudut matanya, the boy had his own story. Quite a number of assumptions were exchanged between my husband and I that night. Many more…between my mind and soul since that very same night. I wish I had taken the time to ask. But I didn’t.

Which would seem normal agaknya ya? Me, taking the time to care to ask why he did what he did. Trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, taking in the sad stories – ayah nya yang sakit, siblings nya yang ramai. Or does normal mean…doing what I did?

Entahlah. If the latter was normal, why to this day can I not forgive myself? Was I too proud to at least ask why? Sometimes saya terasa, that I do have this attitude, “Kalau tidak saya, who else?” Kenapa tidak that night, tak terjawabkan. What was I too proud of? Ahhh!

*EnidaMarch 28, 2001. *This is actually my very first attempt to start writing a journal on my homepage. But the motivation didn’t last very long. Heeee!

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