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Demi Masa

September 9, 2009 by Enida

By the way, my life does not… I repeat, does not revolve around Facebook nor does it focus on what people mistakenly think I was talking about. But then go ahead and judge me anyway. One is entitled to his view.

 

This much I can tell… that if my life revolved around Facebook and what headlong shoot-first-ask-questions-later comments some people left on my blog, I would not have enough heart, love, time, energy and effort for:

 

  • me Monchies,
  • my dying Mom,
  • my missing-in-no-action father,
  • my just-married-and-just-divorced brother,
  • my other quitting-12th-grader sibling,
  • my IWC meetings,
  • my every-Tuesday-afternoon Girl Scouts volunteer activities,
  • my being discriminated-against-because-I’m-an-Asian Moscow life,
  • my new T-scooter,
  • my novel, (yes Chin… I am writing!)
  • my proofreading job,
  • my 140-acre-farmland-or-a-campervan discussions,
  • my walks,
  • my packing-pre-loved-toys-for-unfortunate-kids-in-Siberia project,
  • and oh my reading.

 

I am still reading 3 books at a time these days.

 

Berjalan di hutan cemara, langkahku terasa kecil dan lelah...So you see, by the time I have time to defend my country in a war against some neighboring country, it would already be 31st of August 2020, and I would probably be in Kecamatan Juntinyuat anyway, busy saving Bibik from the rising sea levels due to global warming.

 

So I’ll pick my battle when I know I’m winning only  for humanity’s sake. Until then, I’ll just stay away from squeezed-out toothpaste.

 

Peace!

 

 

 

 

Glossary for Neil:
demi = for the sake of
masa = time

 

Posted in Sense | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

Pang-Handlers

September 9, 2009 by Enida

I am sure if one can handle the truth, one can handle anything. Yes, even handling a pang from a hot handle would be as handy as handling panhandlers if one has to handle panhandlers. I certainly know one who can handle Enida’s truth. A pang-handler that one is. But I also know a few panhandles now who can’t stand the pangs. Oh well!

 

After all,  cynicism to the truth is what spiciness  is to a sambal. One can scoop a good scoop of it, heaping one’s bed of rice with the bright red chili paste on top. But if it brings no heat to the tongue… one might as well just dump a can of sweetened condensed milk on one’s pancakes like what someone did in that little cafe in Yuzhno.

 

What can garbage cans grow?It’s not easy to ignore that I see more and more  empty cans now walking around. Oh yeah, these cans can grow legs too! Neither it is easy for me to admit that I was one helluvanemptycan myself when I was, uh…circa 23. But then again I have come to accept the spiciness in my sambal, that some people do grow up… the rest just grow old.

 

 

Posted in Sense | Tagged | 2 Comments »

Tête-à-tête

September 8, 2009 by Enida

Doesn’t take much to impress me, this wordpress. It has its own Statistics Page that reports to me what people do to get to my blog, where they hop from and where they hop after. Purrrdy neat! 

 

More often than not, I find it funny to see the terms or keywords people type on the search engine to find my blog. Yes, this time it is the ha-ha-ha kind of funny funny, the entertaining kind of funny. And the laughable kind of funny. Yes, that too.

 

Those who know me well would have memorized my URL or bookmarked me by now. (Thank you girlz and boyz! I know you’re reading, and reading is good for you and me!). But those who don’t know me well… would still be searching for Enida’s blog by typing all sorts of keywords.

 

And no doubt there are those who were looking and searching for other things too, but were unintentionally given the option of clicking on my URL. Hence, the interesting and exciting search terms like:

 

 

 Terms of excitement.

 

I purposely uploaded this tiny PrintScreen copy of the Statistics Page. But if you can see the words tetek braless with a red circle on the above PrtSc, you might find it as entertaining as I did. And if you can see it without zooming in on the screen, they are large enough then. (The words lah, not the tetek. Where got teteks here?) But really, I wonder if anyone was actually hoping to see some braless teteks on my blog.

 

Thank you again to those who have been reading, who have been searching and who have kept coming back… whether for my words or for the hope of seeing teteks here. To those who don’t like what I write, I am sure you have removed me by now. Ah well, not every donkey can carry every one every time, if you have heard of the Donkey Story. That’s why the only one-size-fits-all  that truly fits all is those facial tissues.

 

 

Posted in Humor, Sense | Tagged | 4 Comments »

Buk Bik

September 7, 2009 by Enida

Teman bernyanyi Suriram...When I  first heard  her voice saying “Buk?” and she did mine saying “Bik?”, we just couldn’t say another word. We just cried on the phone thanking God for another chance to say hello to each other. It meant the world to me to just know she is safe from the earthquake in Tasikmalaya. And it meant the same to her to know I just called to see if she, Rakiman, Dewi, Ita and her coming baby were okay.

 

 

Yes, Bibik is going to be a Mommy again when March comes marching in! I am looking forward to 2010 already!

 

Posted in Write On | Tagged | 1 Comment »

Soy What?

September 7, 2009 by Enida

I strictly believe that the adjective stupid is never meant for a person. It is to describe an action taken by a person. Or in the case I am about to ramble on about – hopefully not so much in a desultory manner – stupid is probably to describe a statement she made. Yes, it is a she. Her name is Billy Jean. But then again, I don’t particularly favor the word stupid. There is always a smarter way of saying it.

 

You see, Billy Jean is a very smart person, supposedly. Well, for a young engineer to be recruited by an international company without any cable pulled… is pretty darn impressive. Don’t you think? She might have said that her father’s lordship should not have been made known, so as to avoid ‘influence’, but she made a mistake by making her name-stamp with Daddy’s medal-title on! Oops!

 

Not only that Billy Jean is smart, she is also ambitious. She wants to get up the corporate ladder as fast as she can, doing whatever she can. And she sure can leave her husband, to be with other fellow senior male engineers, whomever she can get her hands on. But hey, I won’t call that ambition stupid. I’d call it smartassertive! Billy Jean knows what she needs to support her expensive taste, her expensive lifestyle. She knows her limit, I am sure. And that is… uh, none.

 

And so, when Billy Jean cheated on her husband, had an affair with a couple of men from the west, got pregnant, went back to the husband when none of the men from the west wanted her or her kid, and gave birth to a baby who is whiter than her husband and herself… Billy Jean made a brilliant statement: “Oh my baby has fair skin. It must have been the soy milk I consumed the whole nine months of my pregnancy.”Drink soy milk to whiten your skin. Recommended by duh engineers.

 

Now, what adjective would you use to describe that statement? 

 

 

 

 

 

Postlude:
I don’t think she meant to be funny when she made the statement about her baby’s skin color. It sure was a laughable one, nonetheless – coming from an educated internationally exposed professional. I just hope that that wasn’t the state of her mind.

 

On that note, I should call Bunsong and order a truckload of tofu, soy milk, beancurd skin and taufu fah. I need enough soy to camouflage myself in the snow when I come tumbling down the ski hill this winter.

 

 

Posted in Sense, Write On | Tagged | 6 Comments »

Heckle

September 7, 2009 by Enida

It’s funny how a written statement can ‘sound’ offensive. It is challenging enough to  make verbal statements without offending others. Writing them doubles the challenge. And of course I am not talking about funny as in the ha-ha-ha kind of funny. One is entitled to his view, yes. One even has the rights to express his view. But it is in expressing one’s views that one either earns or burns respect.

 

There is always a polite way in speaking our mind. And it is a matter of choice. Always. At the end of the day, smart people are those who pay attention to not only what they say, but how they say it.

 

Posted in Sense | Tagged | 4 Comments »

Balleting

September 3, 2009 by Enida

Russian Ballerina

 

I am off taking Ekaterina Supianovski Johnsonovlova to her ballet class.

 

 

Postlude:
Kitreena’s first ballet session at the Anglo-American School went really well. It makes a whole world of difference this time around attending ballet class. For the first time she said she truly enjoyed it. She had a lot of fun, and I could see it right through.

 

She did start ballet when she was a lot younger. Three and a little wee bit, back at Kelab Darul Ehsan in Ampang. It was a brilliant idea, and at a brilliant location – just 2 minutes down from our Chong Khoon Lin place. And while waiting for her there, Be and I had our Saturday morning coffee at the club. Yeah, could not have been more perfect than that, you’d think and envy. Yeah, right!

 

Well, apart from the instant Indocafe coffee served at the club and breakfast available only at the golfers’ little cafe (cold roti canai, and no bacon and eggs?), Kitreena had a tough time understanding her ballet teacher’s instructions! I didn’t believe it at first until I sat in one of the classes and thought… “Oiii! Cannot lah like dat aaaa. How waaaa dis chooldren can run run and hop hop on-nee. Sum more aaaa, fourteen chooldren on-nee got one teacher meh? And fordy-fi minit I oso have to pay RM75. Kam kwai loh miss! Cannot loh like dat one.”

 

Not only there was an issue with the instructor and her instructions, but for a few weeks she was the only ‘odd’ kid around. The local girls either couldn’t and didn’t speak English, or they just didn’t know how to respond to Kitreena’s friendliness! They would not say hi back to her! I was amazed, to put it in a polite way. The fifth week, a new girl (ang-moh) joined the class. And they hit it off right away and they were okay. But the ang-moh girl disappeared two weeks after. I found out later that she could not understand the instructor either. Aiyah!

 

Kitreena came home on the verge of being depressed and it was just not worth it.  

Posted in Monchies | Tagged | 9 Comments »

Rice Breaking

September 2, 2009 by Enida

Krazy Lazy Pizza

Quickly made this Krazy Lazy Pizza on slices of wholemeal bread for me Monchies’ supper tonight. I was just too lazy to thaw out the boughten pizza crust – let alone making my own crust (even with the help from the breadmaking machine!) Even!

Me Monchies were happy, I was happier.

As for myself, I broke the fast with a breakfast menu: cold cereal. Cold rice milk + my newfound favorite Vitalis roasted muesli mixed with almond and honeyed rice flakes + my all-time favorite plain Fitnesse rice flakes. So I can actually say I had Nasi Tiga Rasa for breaking the fast. And I must actually admit, it was the most satisfying meal I have ever had for berbuka.

Ever!

Glossary for Neil:
nasi= rice
tiga= three
rasa= taste
Nasi Tiga Rasa= a popular fried rice dish with three ‘tastes’ (spicy, sour and salty/savory)
berbuka= breaking fast
krazy lazy= Enida   😉

Posted in Krazy Lazy Recipes | Tagged | 4 Comments »

Facelessbook

September 2, 2009 by Enida

Go book a face if you don't have one yet, will ya?Which  part of  the words friend and face that these people need translation with again? It is a disappointing disparity from flattering and it can be downright scary when a stranger comes to you on the street, shakes your hand and requests that you be his friend. Don’t you think?

 

Now imagine this stranger comes to you, shakes your hand, asks you to be his friend and when you look at the face, it’s just… uh, not there! I think it is brilliant if you’re looking for an idea for what’s coming end of October. Or if you have a TV show playing pranks on people.

 

But I mean, really! Why do these people think it is called FACEbook?

 

If you don’t want to face the reality that people need a face to put the name on, or a name for them to put the face on, why Facebook? And why sending Friend Requests to strangers if you don’t mean to make friends? Yeah, so you’ve got a name. But you don’t even have the courtesy to introduce yourself? Let’s face it, you think everybody wants to be your friend, you think everybody knows you, knows your name and you’re unforgettable. Huh, yeah right!

 

Of course I remember a lot of names. I remember Aida Mustafa – as I recall her taking me to PKNS Complex Shah Alam to play my very first bowling in 1990. I remember Ahmad Ridzwan Basri – as I recall getting my first writing job because of his contacts and his kindness. (I still owe him a Thank You!) And I cannot forget Baihaqie Razak – my ex-student who, in his desperate attempt to make me remember his name, joked: “My name is Bai (Bye). You will never say bye-bye to me, Ms. Enida. Just say my name once, not twice.”

 

But if you introduce yourself as Usop Sontorian, Hubba Hubba, Spacecop Gaban, David Copperfield, Vladimir Puting (yes, PUTING!), Cop Coppermanne or Hayata Becomes Ultraman… uh, excuse me? And on top of it you don’t even want to face me. Why bother Facebooking me then? You’re not my friend. I don’t know you.

 

So, okay… maybe your name is Cop Coppermanne,  and you are a male – the only information I can find on your profile. Yeah, okay, great. You have a picture too of, whom I assume, your handsome self, looking so handsome wearing those handsome RayBan sunglasses. Excellent! Well, guess what? I don’t want to be rude, but really… who are you?

 

Posted in Sense, Write On | Tagged , | 4 Comments »

Franklin Speaking

September 1, 2009 by Enida

Learning it the Grade One way!I am now  getting  longer responses from Kitreena to my “What did you learn at school today?” question everyday when she comes home. Last school year in Kindy (at AAS) and Year 1 (at AISM), she almost always gave me the dismissive answer, “I can’t remember everything I learn at school, Mom!” or “I forgot.” I sighed, I rolled my eyes, I even got upset sometimes. But so far I have not missed asking. God bless my stubborn soul!

 

Yesterday though, Kitreena was kind enough to bring home the lesson she learned at school. From what I understand, Mrs. Franklin gave each of the children a turn to squeeze some toothpaste out of its tube. Yes, toothpaste. Then the kids had to put it back into the tube using a stick. Well, can you imagine kids squeezing toothpaste tube with permission? Oh, I got headache just thinking about the mess! Those little hands are not designed for squeezing big tubes of toothpaste – or any big tubes of anything, for whatever reason, for whatever matter. But hey, they need to learn some time. And I need to learn to hold my judgement.

 

Kitreena then went on to explain that Mrs. Franklin said, the squeezed-out toothpaste is like bad words. Once you have said bad words, you can’t swallow them back in. So, you have to think about what you are going to say before you squeeze them out. Bad words hurt people’s feelings. Just like toothpaste, if squeezed out too hard, too much and land not on a toothbrush, will get dirty and messy. You can’t squeeze it back into the tube.

 

I went speechless for a few seconds and went, “Wow! That’s a very good analogy, isn’t it, Monch? It’s very true. I like that analogy!” Kitreena agreed with me totally and said, “It’s okay to feel angry, Mom. But it’s not okay to say bad words to other people. You can’t put them back into your mouth.” That was when I took a very deep breath, thinking… hey, how come my Grade 1 teacher never let me squeeze any toothpaste out of its tube? How come I had to learn it the hard way that when bad words are exchanged in anger, people will remember those bad words – not the issues at hand, not the message meant to be sent across. To be angry is fine, we’re human. But to say bad words is not okay. Yes! Exactly my principle in life. Spot on!

 

I like this Mrs. Franklin already!

 

Posted in Monchies, Sense | Tagged | 15 Comments »

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