Sunday, February 24, 2008

ku ke udara lagi

Berhabuk betul blog ni. Dah lama benar terbengkalai.

 

Kamidisini is reporting to you live now, from the hot humid and very crowded sunny island of Singapore. We’ve been home for about 2 months now, and it’s interesting to see how some things have changed/remained pretty much the same.

 

Ilhan started his nursery/childcare with much fanfare. The morning drama lasted for over a month. Almost two.  Bangun pagi, gosok-gosok mata. Squints and asks,

 

“Kita nak pergi mana ni?

“Nak pergi sekolah lah.”

“Haa?? Ee-han tak nak pergi sekolahhhhhhhh…I’m a baby…..babies don’t go to schooooooolllll….waaaaaaaahhhhhhhh.”

 

But alhamdullillah it’s better now. He talks about his friends and teachers and what he does in class, and recites his du’a well. My baby has grown up J

 

Meanwhile his mum has been doing some relief-teaching at a nearby school. After the year-long hiatus in Perth (read: watching grass grow, enjoying day-time tv,  playing with Ilhan) I have a *slight* problem working regular hours – can’t picture myself doing it anymore. I teach 5.5 hours now, and I kind of like it. Sure I earn a fraction of what I did before I left my cushy teaching life pre-2007 ;  no connect plan, no bonuses blah blah blah, but hey mate, no stress! Cukup time balik. I’m un-Connect-ed J

 

Been on the makan trail. Oh my goodness. I so so so love food in Singapore. How can anyone not? Be deprived of it for a year and you’ll know what I mean. To illustrate my point, in the first 5 months of my pregnancy in Perth, when pregnant women are supposed to be ravenous and mean eating-machines (especially for this one who does not have all the icky first trimester muntah-muntah thing), I put on a mere 5 kg. Just one month in Singapore and I’ve put on another 10kg J

 

The pregnancy’s going well, alhamdullillah. As it was with Ilhan, it’s been uneventful and smooth-sailing. But, while with Ilhan I was like some Superwoman handling my Sec4 graduating classes zipping up and down the 4th level, with this Baby (I) I feel a bit slow and lethargic. With Ilhan I went through 40 weeks with nary a sniffle, but with this Baby (I) aku asyik lembik-lembik kena flu and cough and fever and whatever it is my 3.5-year old son petri dish brings home from his nursery. Which reminds me. I must send him for a chicken-pox vaccination, because mummy hasn’t gotten chicken pox either and now is really not the best time to, is it? Baby (I) seems more active that abang dia, though. It’s a gym in there with Baby (I) doing his somersaults and kick-boxing and what-nots.

 

Some has asked, what are our plans now. To be honest, we don’t know. But we do know things happen for good reasons, and things always fall into place. So far since we’ve been back we are there - for family health crisis, for matters involving our input as members with some measure of responsibility. And it feels good.

 

But, is it me or is Singapore just so bloody crowded? I don’t remember the jostle for space and parking being so bad before. Rimas.

32 comments:

  1. hehehe Babies dun go to school eh Ilhan ????
    In Singapore they do !!!
    Oh I so want to do the food trail .. nanti ko beranak insya Allah aku zoom balik japs.. FOODTRAIL K cake !!!!

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  2. Foodtrail???? I nak itottttttt!!!! *menyibuk mode*

    Oh by the way Cake, I have a fren somewhere in the west, who said her school's looking for ML relief teacher. Nanti I balik, I will PM you her hp number kay? She's Faisal Jasman's wife....

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  3. Glad to hear #2 is growing well. :)

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  4. yay yayy Ilhan dah upgrade from baby to big boy ehh .. have fun at school both Ilhan and Aunty Khalidah :)

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  5. current population is 4.something million. can you believe they wanna increase it to 6 million? where will the 2 million stay? in trees? underground?

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  6. khalidah - i feel the same way whenever i come back to sg... RIMAS!! wondering how in the world did Singapore became so crowded.

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  7. in the going-to-be-built Olympic sports village... =P

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  8. Baby(l) is a 'he' is it? Sounds like a hyperactive baby.

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  9. this is hilarious and cute at the same time ! It sure feels great to be among loved ones. The only thing i miss about sg is family, frens and food. The three F's ! lol

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  10. That is what I said to my students when I teach them the chapter on globalization! Underground and I tell them that I don't trust 50 storeys high flats! But I have to be quite sensitive about this issue cos I have PRs and non-Singaporeans in my classes.

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  11. It is so cool kan if u do give birth in May. Then Aai, Din and her baby can celebrate birthdays together. One big birthday bash every year!

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  12. kesian nyer... eeehan kena go skool!
    how many months along are u babe?

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  13. orait lynnz, thanks...tapi tak promise sangat, kalau i start pun in july. tanyakan dia ada flexi-adjunct position tak..:P up sikit..hee hee!

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  14. hey thanks jean! i'm gonna be needing tips from you on handling two :)

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  15. alya, Ilhan uses his 'baby' and 'big boy' identity whenever it suits him. like if it concerns going to school, then he's a 'baby', but when it comes to me asking him for a hug and kiss he says he's a 'big boy' :)

    so have your mummy decided when you should go to school? :)

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  16. arrrgghhh....!!! i know!!! it's so annoying! 4.something million je dah gini sesak and rimas, 6 million will be madness! they enevr considered quality fo life izzit?

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  17. apparently we need the 'foreign talents', zatul :P

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  18. hahahahah!!! can't wait for The Great Home Renovation to end!

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  19. yes, honeyberryboo...the Holy Trinity of Family, Food and Frens. i wasn't expecting the Crowd..hahaha

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  20. tu lah...i wouldn't want to live 50 storey up in the air either! and errr...wah with PRs and non-citizens in your class, gotta tread this topic very carefully eh?

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  21. Hello my dear cousin....
    wah syookkk ha balik tanah air sendri...
    so this year kiter pregnant together2 la yerk among us...ura is now tunggu meletup already....my self due on april...and then you and a'ai....sure havoc seiii....

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  22. Oh yes, I actually told a class that has many PRCs that it is ok that the Sg govt want to attract foreign talents. Globalization means that Singaporeans are mobile too. I told them to go another country to study, work, marry, grow old and die. Heh heh.

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  23. inside the mrt lines lah...haha... lol

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  24. takper, kau bleh join group aku. 2 boys under one roof. haha..

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  25. memang singapore ni penuh dgn orang mendatang. I don't mind them coming here if they are qualified, but I've encountered many a times the PRC's cannot even speak English and yet they manned the order counters. Once at a BK rest, she didn't understand what i ordered and I had to ask another BK staff to explain to her. At Koufu next to my place, I had to speak with gestures to make her understand what I want and once she even misunderstood honeydew for watermelon. Another PRC lady tore my curtains when she was 'testing' (right in front of my eyes) to see if my curtains can be dry cleaned! and to make matters worse, the owner of the laundry shop said that he was not able to compensate me since he was not around to witness what actually happened.

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  26. Cikgu you are back?!?!?!
    can i have ur hp or email or something, would love to meet up with you and talk!! ( that is if u feel the same way la.. haha)

    -hidayah

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  27. Sis, having been in somewhat similar situations, I've asked to speak to the Supervisor/Manager to make it known to them the difficulty us Mims are experiencing. Dorang punya bengamp nak mampus is so unbelievable. Its tiring to have to educate them but if we don't 'air our grievances' the situation will never change. As for the curtain 'terror' tell the guy you will never ever again give him your business and will tell everyone u know to do the same...

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