Birthday

Start:

Jan 7, '06 03:00a

can this be happening? this is going to be the last birthday in my twenties. *stunned*

Wedding Anniversary

Start:

Dec 20, '06 10:00a

We turn 3!

Siem Reap 2002

kok lanta.jpg 2006-12-19

It was amazing trip where we snaked our way up to Angkor Wat from Singapore via Kota Bahru-Hatyai-Krabi-Bangkok-Aranyaprathet-Poi Pet-Siem Reap and back to Bangkok via rickety buses and vans and trucks. I spoke my way though the immigrations and pass off as a khon thai and then got chased down cos they thought we had fake passports. We crossed 3 country borders on foot along the way - i get such cheap thrill straddling two countries at the same time.

Cambodia was a very humbling experience. The sight of poverty and maimed individuals sangat-sangat menginsafkan. We looked for a mosque, and found it. Ada pakcik boleh bertutur dalam bahasa Khmer-accented Melayu, and he recounted to us how the Muslims suffered under the Khmer Rouge. The mosque was forcibly turned into a pig-farm under Pol Pot, spelling death to non-conformist.

Angkor Wat was magnificentas a cultural and architectural and engineering wonder. I tried to transport myself back to the Jayavarman Era when the Khmer civilisation was at its peak (while Europe was in the Dark Ages). And then there were the pock-marks caused by bullets and bombs incurred by the Khmer Rouge.

We went home only when we ran out of cash. Flew back to Singapore sebab very tired playing Lara Croft - Tomb Raider.

Awesome trip. I have no idea when I'll ever do it again. Maybe never. But I thank Gorgeous Inc, and Farheen Salma Raudhah (earlier leg of the route) for the fantastic company and wonderful memories.

These Last Few Days

on the way to the MRT station me and Ilhan walked past the dead brown grass patches left by the 2-week-long pasar malam.

Ilhan: Ibu tu apa? (he's been incredibly curious lately, always asking 'Bunyi apa tu" or "Buat apa tu?" or "Masak apa tu"?)

Me: Itu rumput dah mati, Sebab tu dia warna brown. Rumput hidup warna hijau. Rumput ni semua dah mati.

Ilhan: Siapa tembak dia?

Me: Err....

i see The Age of Unanswerable Questions has begun. *smiles*

the Husband's due home 8pm tomorrow. Ilhan's at his nenek's and i spent last night packing (but somehow ending up with a messier room). few days back i've cleared my wardrobe and done the 'Clothes to Bring' and in that pile, another 'Clothes to Really Bring' sorting. so last night i did the same to Ilhan's. feeling so sentimentel and poignant as i was doing the packing. like it all seems so...final.

so i've loosely packed clothes, toiletries, loose stuff. loosely meaning setting them aside in mini packs. the real stuffing into the suitcases will be done in about a week's time.

mentally running through a mental checklist of Things I Have To Do Before I Leave. trust me to leave it all to the last minute before i start running around like a headless chicken.

i managed a couple of aufwiedersehens these past 2 weeks.

Aufwiedersehen Nummer Zwei

turi beach laziness with marina and nani.

Aufwiedersehen Nummer Drei

met sumarni, suzanah and salma for a Babes and Mak Babes Outing at the nice and new Botanical Gardens. kinda riotous with babes and toddler and strollers in tow.

Aufwiedersehen Nummer Vier

met up with the NUS babes last night where i did not see what's so great about Ayam Penyet and i almost felt ill at ease in the beginning cos i felt so removed from them. but as the night progressed we settled into our comfortable familiarity and i was glad to meet Haley again after so so long. i kinda admire her. taking the totally unconventional route from everyone else. she's one person with wild dreams and she actually makes them happen. like her very advanced Spanish, going solo to Spain twice (and Mexico this coming May), learning German on top of that, with Fench and Arabic in the pipeline.

Aufwiedersehen Nummer Sechs

met EeVa for lunch after so so long. instantly reconnected, and we slipped back into our comfortable familiarity. it was good.

Continuous Aufwiedersehen

hehe..this one's with salma and nani and our 4-times weekly hikes up Bt Timah. you don't think i'd let all those indulgent aufwiedersehens sit and rest at my hips and butts, do you? i've been working them off diligently with 2-hr hikes up down the hill, feeling comfortably familiar with the experience. i miss climbing.

ok, so that's about it.

 

 

lost a Ting and found a house

house-hunting's never easy is it? real or virtual. for the past 2 months we have been vigilantly scrutinising property sites online daily in case something suitable crops out. it came to a point where i can rattle off to you perth suburbs and locations. our modus operandi is this : i'd spot something, alert The Husband, he'll do a recce and drivepast, if it's nice he'll fix a viewing with the agent, and if it's nice and ok he'll submit an application.

problem is, this modus operandi is still not efficient enough bcos scores of people will beat us to it and it's no point joining an application queue 20 people long. and so The Husband suggested a strategy - checking out photo-less advertised properties since these probably attract lesser interest.

and so after about 2 months of house hunting, we finally got hold of this 'neat and tidy two bedroom one bathroom villa in a small quiet complex. Separate lounge and dining, spacious kitchen with plenty of storage and electric appliances. Single carport and rear private courtyard. Sorry no pets.'  in Noranda (yup, forget about getting anywhere around the uni area where the prices are all jacked up). the rent's slightly more than our budget but what to do. at least it has a teeny-weeny courtyard and it's on the ground and it's near a nature reserve. alhamdullillah. oh, and i think it's rather close to the Morley Galleria. if all else fails at least a mall will give me a sense of familiarity. heh!

now everything seems eerily real, and we only have about 3 more weeks to go. *wince*.

ona  separate note, it's been about a week without Mr Ting and Ilhan has only occasionally used that hopeful "Nanti ibu bayar An-an Ting bayu kat kudai ok?". and he's been saying "Nanti ibu bayar An-an aiskrim green ok?" daily. don't ask me why green ice-cream, but an ice-cream cone a day's fine with me. my poor son seems to be undergoing some kind of withdrawal syndrome...hehe. he's been going to sleep without it as i distract him with a recount of the day and the daily doa. sometimes he'll wake up thrashing in the middle of the night but pok pok a bit and he'll get back to sleep.

well...so far so good. i hope by the time we leave there would have been an amicable separation with Mr Ting. that will leave us both with more will and energy to tackle our next project come 2007 - Project Runaway Diapers (also known as Project Bye-Bye Diapers)

did The Husband mention that our new home is carpeted through out?

oh dear.

I succumbed.

I *am trying* to wean Ilhan off the pacifier. With little success. He’s not a heavy-user; together with the bantal busuk a.k.a Bambam, he calls this duo TingBamBam. TingBamBam is like ebony and ivory or irama dan lagu and the absence of either will result in rather unpleasant bedtime encounters. The Bambam half is rather tolerable - after all, I know of individuals who are closet BamBam users well into adulthood. But the Ting part is rather unsightly and I’m not looking forward to spending money on braces later on.

So anyway, in a fit of tantrum on Saturday, Ilhan threw Ting and it went missing,. And since he knew it was him who caused its disappearance, he’s somewhat redha about it (haha!). every time he asked for Ting, I reminded him that he threw it away. And strangely he seemed fine with it. He did suggest:

“Nanti ibu bayar ting bayu tau“ (he confuses bayar with beli)

“Nak beli yang baru? Kat mana?”

“Kat kudai ah“

He went through 2 Tingless nights rather well. But erm…for today’s afternoon nap he snapped and cried for an eternity and I succumbed. Don’t ask me why. *sigh*. But we did make a deal. Ting only for naptime and bedtime.

I’m weak. I know.

These past 2 weeks too, I’m going babysitter-less since dah tutup account dengan Cik Ani on 31^st November. It’s like a sneak-peek into the SAHM life that I’ll be plunging into…wait..it’s already begun! And I’m ashamed to admit that I’m really lousy at it. I’m not sure what it should be like - do I structure every minute? Must every activity be value-added? Is TV ok? Right now it’s wake up-bathe-breakfast-Kids Central/play-lunch-nap-play/books/tv-bathe-tv/books/play/bedtime. Play here is basically his blocks, crayon-drawing, Hot Wheels, Power Rangers, Bob the Builder set, tembak and arrows (ChiChi the moving target) etc. There’s the occasional swimming and going to the mall.

I must be the most boring mother ever. The other day his grandparents ajak pergi East Coast and he said “Tak nak lah…nak tengok tv”. ditto when farhan

Been surfing around for play ideas and playgroups in perth and I resolve to be more organized, involved, resourceful and fun come January.