Ada serigala…
yang lapar diperutku,
yang marah dibenakku.
Segala yang terbakar
menjadi abu.
Segala yang tersimpan
menjadi aku.
Aku tahu siapa menipu.
.
*Enida
Wangsa Walk
3 September 2013
.
.
Posted in Inside Enida, Poetry, Sense | Leave a Comment »
.
I once read…
“Write injuries in sand, kindnesses in marble.”
.
I guess that’s why I write.
..
And I was reminded of this unrelated children’s song:
In a cavern in a canyon,
excavating for a mine,
dwelt a miner forty-niner,
and his daughter, Clementine.
.
One of Kitreena’s teddy bears is called Clementine.
.
.
.
.
Posted in Monchies, Nostalgia | Leave a Comment »
.Buku cerita pun ada cerita nya sendiri.
.
Yang ini datang kepada saya di Hari Raya baru ini. At the Taman Kledang Jaya Homestay where my family and I bertenggek. As I set my camp-bed right against the display cabinet between the living and the dining areas, my attention somehow was drawn to the nothing-much-ness of the display. Whatever there were in the display cabinet didn’t make much of a display, I must tell you. But this one old book was calling my name.
.
After flipping through, skimming and scanning Ketulahan by Dharmala N.S. — published in 1990 and priced at $6.00 then (yes dollars!) — I made a mental summary that the book is written in the language of my thought. Well… I am not overly sure how to even describe that ‘language of my thought’ thought. But the words and the space in between… all flow swiftly like a rhythm that I have never heard before, but a song that I can sing along with, or sing to. If that is ever possible. Reading Ketulahan feels so much more bizarre than deja vu.
.
Although I wanted so much to just lay down in bed all Raya and just read… with the family event and the long-distant driving, I knew I would be reading more road signs than reading the prelude of the book. And I was not going to enjoy humming along to the rhythm of the language of the book if I were to just read a page or two a day. So, guess what? I stole the book from the homestay!
.
But I left RM10.00 as the rent for the book for a year. I will return the book to the homestay next Raya. I promise! (Please remind me about this, comes next Raya, okay?) So I am reading it now – like singing to the rhythm of the language of the book. Reading it, knowing that I stole it, has got me thinking. Reading a good book is a good thing. But stealing a good book with the intention like mine, is not. Regardless.
.
I read. But I steal. But I pay. Or kind of.
.
Jangan lah ketulahan hendaknya.
.
.
Posted in Language, Reading | 1 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…
.
Bukan tak ada courtesy. Dia memilih.
.
Enough said.
.
.
Posted in Bebel, Inside Enida, Sense | Leave a Comment »
Exactly like last year, shopping for Baju Melayu for this anak mat saleh took only 15 minutes at Metrojaya The Curve. On the way out from the store going into Borders, to distract him from his thirst, we had this conversation.
.
Mom: Do you know how much your baju raya is?
Edrick: No. How much, Mom?
Mom: Forty-one ringgits and ninety-nine cents.
Edrick: What?! That is almost forty-two ringgits Mom!
Mom: Yup.
Edrick: That would take me longer than the puasa month to pay!
Mom: Yes, it would. But don’t worry, I’ll pay for it sayang.
Edrick: Are you sure, Mom?
Mom: Oh yeah, I’m very sure. Your allowance is only one ringgit per day. Don’t worry about it. It’s raya anyway. I’ll pick up the baju cost.
Edrick: How much is YOUR allowance per day, Mom?
Mom: Oh my allowance is enough to pay for your baju and Kitreena’s baju.
Edrick: What about YOUR baju?
Mom: Nah, I’ll just go bugil this Raya.
Edrick: Hahahahaha! Nooo, Mommm! Don’t go bugil. I can pay for your baju.
Mom: Hahahahaha! You are too embarrassed to have a bugil Mom on Raya huh?
Edrick: Yeaaaah. But I love you, Mom.
Mom: Hahahaha! Of course.
.
.
Posted in Monchies | Tagged Parenting | 5 Comments »
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.
.
Lembu cuit buaya,
buaya baling tin;
Selamat hari raya,
maaf zahir batin.
.
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.
.
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?
.
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‘.
.
.
Posted in Bebel, Culture, Language, Malaysiana, Poetry, Sense | Leave a Comment »
It was just a routine washroom visit at the mall before going home. Edrick went to the Gents. Kitreena and I went to the Ladies. But as I was almost done, I heard Edrick screaming in fear, “Mommmmm! Mommmyyy! Mommmyyy! Help meee! Mommmmyyy! Helpppp! Mommmyyy help meee!”
.
I did what any Mom would do.
.
Storming out of the Ladies and storming into the Gents, I had no care whose flies went flying! I pushed the door open and pulled my son into my arms and could immediately feel his heartbeat against my tummy. Edrick was in tears. Kitreena was there too, almost in tears. In the Gents. Soon after calming Edrick (and myself) down, I asked him what happened and after listening to his explanation, I quickly demonstrated to him what to do next time.
.
The water closet doors are different from those at any other malls we know. The doors pull inward to open, but there is no handle to pull it by from the inside unless you are tall enough to reach for the hook. And Edrick is not tall enough to reach it. The door was a bit tight and he panicked when he couldn’t get the door opened. I almost wanted to just stay there for my son, but he calmed right down and told me he was okay. Only then that I remembered that I left my handbag/handbox in the Ladies!
.
Driving home tonight, I found myself taken back to IKEA in Moscow when we were still a complete family. The memory was so clear I thought I was in 2009 when I had this strange thought… that my job as a Mom was made a bit easier having a girl as the first child and a boy second. Washroom visit with a young child was going to be Daddy’s duty. “Yay!” I thought then.
.
And then it was 2010 and things changed.
.
Tonight, a night in 2013, I am writing this, thinking… maybe I should start looking for someone who could be there for me while I am being there for me Monchies. But the thought didn’t stay long. Nor did it sit well. I came home counting my blessings that my children have their Mommy and Daddy. And both are ME!
.
.
.
Posted in Inside Enida, Monchies | Leave a Comment »
For some reason…
Today I got thinking of a parenting story my Mom once told me.
.
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.
.
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.
.
My brother broke down and finally told Mom that all he wanted was her attention.
.
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.
.
I know.
.
.
Posted in Mom, Monchies, Sense | 1 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:
.
- 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.)
.
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:
.
GILER-GILER
.
Gila!
.
.
Posted in Language, Sense | Leave a 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.
.
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.
.
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?
.
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?
.
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.
.
Just like what Richard Templar includes as Rule 58 in Rules of Love:
Treat Your Partner Better Than Your Best Friend
.
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.
.
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.
.
Posted in Sense | 1 Comment »
-
In Her Words…
In Her Thoughts…
In Her Time…
In Her Search…
In Her Count...
- 155,990 hits
In Her Mind…
-
Join 85 other subscribers
-
https://www.w3counter.com/tracker.js?id=151113
Questa è Enida 