Putrajaya 4th International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta..Yang nak tak dapat, yang tak nak dapat :)

Greeted by this giant sim card hot air balloon and 2 blimps

As the title of this post says, I am going to share about the event held last weekend at Putrajaya which to me is a modern and sleek cosmopolitan city but the whole impression is brought to shame the moment you step into the public toilet...

Being told by the event staff on a telephone conversation that the ticket counter would be opened half an hour before the hot air balloon ride session starts, we got there as early as 7am. There were 2 sessions of balloon rides 8am-11am and 6pm-9pm. So in our thought, arriving an hour earlier than the actual session would be sufficient for us to get the tickets though limited tickets were being sold.

Got there, parked the car and asked my son and nephew to race to the queue just to make sure that we'd have our slim chance of riding the hot air balloon amongst hundreds (perhaps thousands) of hopeful people but unfortunately only 300 of us will actually be floating in the air while grinning foolishly to the people down under :)

Ini sume kes malu bertanya sesat jalan la ni! beraturla...smpi ke sudah x dpt tiket der!!

So, we queued up behind what seemed like 200 people, anxiously waiting to know whether we would be lucky enough to have a ride on our eldest son's 9th birthday. Couldn't wait any longer, I bothered my sleepy looking husband to check at the counter if there's still tickets available but seeing the crowd queuing up I was pretty sure there must be. He came back with heart wrenching news that the 300 numbers were already given out and that's it.So that was it! My dream of sailing in the cloud on hot air balloon with my family especially on my son's birthday while me hysterically shouting " I'm on top of the world!!!" was done. There and then.FULLSTOP.

What the crowd might not know was the fact that only people with numbers could buy the tickets which were already finished by 8am. The highly motivated person who was given out the first number to buy the ticket was already standing there at 1am! 1 freaking am!! You can't be more desperate than I was! Last number given to a lucky lad at around 5.30am. So, don't even bother asking about me and family who woke up at 6am okay? :)

The clowns..try harder next time :)

Yeay,yeay dapat belon!! walaupun x dpt naik hot air balloon!

Though we might not have the time of our life on the hot air balloon, at least we get 2 free balloon swords from the 3 supposedly happy clowns but seemed sadder than people whose dream of riding the hot air balloon crushed to the ground. "Cheer up clown! You're supposed to look cheerful and approachable but darn! go get a red lipstick and draw more smiley shaped lips on your face" I said in my head. Oh, not to forget the 3 free movie tickets that we get just by buying 2 newspapers from one of the booths.

Well, actually if you buy 2 newspapers, you get 1 free ticket. But my 'never tried too hard to be charming' husband did get 2 free tickets from the girl who was selling the newspapers simply by asking "Dik, bagi 2 tiket boleh?" and that was it..2 free 7 Petala Cinta tickets handed onto his hand by the girl who was probably hoping that he would bend on his knees asking her to go watch the movie with him.Huh!! Hubby walked back to me grinning sheepishly with the face impression portraying "aku ade... kau ade?"

I straightened my body posture and walked towards the newspaper booth and asked the girl something about the promotion they were having which I already knew. But, overact friendliness added with  over rehearsed effort seemed failing to melt the girl's heart to give me 1 extra ticket. Then, here came the back up plan; asking for sympathy part " Alaaa, boleh la dik, akak dengan anak ni (pointing to my 15 year old nephew), camane nak masuk kalau tiket 1?" With overconfident face she said " Sorryla kak, 1 je free tiket for 2 newspapers"

Now, the mood to watch 7 Petala Cinta was replaced with rase nak tala kepale budak tu 7,8 kali!

All in all, I would say the visit to the event was worth it as we did head home with 3 free movie tickets (to keep mummy and daddy happy :), 2 balloon swords ( to keep the 2 little pumpkins happy) now how about the birthday boy?? Well, he already got his birthday present a month ahead of his actual birth date, plus we did celebrate a merry join venture celebration the night before..

One more that I get to bring home was the horrible images of the portable or mobile toilet that keeps flashing in my mind every time I talk or think about this hot air balloon event. With a spanking modern, sleek and fancy looking building all around Putrajaya, they can do a lot better than providing disgusting portable toilet that surely failed to please and impress people who need the toilet urgently like myself. Investing in a proper toilet wouldn't cost too much would it? After all, this was an international event and what's the point of organising such big event if all visitors get to talk and remember was not the spanking looking high cost building but stinking smelling toilet! Duh!!

The 3 Ds

some of the hot air balloons..

giant floating cake for bday boy :)

dah kite x dpt naik hot air balloon tu, jom kite panah kasi bocor nak?

The art of silence

Disastrous surprise indeed...

It's taken me more than two weeks before I finally post this entry about the series of unfortunate events happened lately...hmmm to start with it was my hubby's birthday on 18th Feb and a week prior to that I cracked my already messy head trying to figure out what plan should I do for him and I finally chose to prepare for in house candlelight dinner for 5 :) Wow!! For 5? You might ask...Well, I know if it's just me and him it would be more romantic but my idea is that I wanna try to include the kids as much as I could in our current life and have as many celebrations as we could together with them before they are big enough to have their own kind of party on their own in another part of the world and burn a hole hopefully in their pocket and not ours :D. By then most likely we'll be invisible yet memorable in their minds..So the idea of having a candlelight dinner for 5 wasn't too bad was it? Apart from the fact that something didn't turn out to be the way I had planned.

On the said day, we (me and the 3Ds) woke up early preparing the list of things we should do in order for the plan to success. First, we went hunting for ink cartridge refill for the printer and photo papers which is needed for my incomplete scrap book as his birthday present. Then, we headed to Tesco to do groceries shopping. To be honest, it was my first time trying to cook western meal and I had really big trouble choosing over tenderloin, sirloin, rib eye or whatever steak as I had no idea of what the differences were and due to time constrain I didn't bother to ask for advice or suggestion and perhaps kes buat2 pandai la nih :) Shopping list checked, we went back home and started preparing dinner.

The menu was  Main Course; Dry Beef Steak (didn't have time to make the gravy or google for the gravy recipe), Side dish; Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Salads, Dessert; it's meant to be Non Bake Cheesecake but I think because I use the normal cream cheese rather than double cream cheese it became ice-cream like cheesecake but the taste I tell you was superb! It's just the consistency that went haywire.

The kids had fun helping me out mashing and bashing the sweet potatoes, mixing and stirring the cheesecake mixture and setting up the table.  I guess it's the whole process that got them excited and looked forward for daddy's arrival so we could yell "Surprise and Happy Birthday!!" but unfortunately that didn't happen..

The kids fell asleep waiting for daddy and seeing that I was heartbroken. 

When my husband finally arrived home, I was just glad that he arrived safely but I wasn't in the mood for any kinds of celebration. All I wanted to do was to get a sinful sleep after a long tiring day going here and there with three kids trailing behind me,beside me or maybe all around me..I couldn't even remember.

Awoken by the children's laughter the very next day, I came out from the bedroom seeing the children were already at the dining table waiting to enjoy the candlelight dinner turned sunshinelit breakfast. Joined by me and hubby they had a good time still talking about daddy's birthday. Boy!! What do these naive but curious children know?? My heart sank with happiness, sadness, disappointment, anger and gratefulness all at the same time. I knew I wasn't behaving strangely because as a human I'm pretty sure we'll be heartbroken if something didn't turn out the way we wanted it to be right? He had his own reason for being late, I had my own reason to be angry and disappointed while the children had their very own reason to still laugh and put a smile on their pretty faces just to have mum and dad around even though everything else in their world turned upside down.

Things done can't be undone and all that mattered was the fact that we had loved each other, still in love with each other and will always be, InsyaAllah.. I love keeping this in mind "In a relationship when we are stuck in an unavoidable and unfavorable situation or circumstances it's how we deal with it that makes the difference in the outcome". I needed time by myself for a little while to come back to my sensible mind and that's when I decided to have a journey to the center of my heart (Cewahh!!) and yes...still with three kids trailing behind, beside or all around me..I can't recall this too. Till then, here are some of the pics of that disastrous surprise ;D

dhani and alyssa's menu :)

ours..

the non bake cheesecake turned ice-cream like cheesecake :)

Yun yum!

As you can see, no pictures of us enjoying the meal as we only ate the meal the next morning and  by that time I wasn't in the mood to snap photos anymore :(

ADIOS :)

Wardrobe makeover needed!!

Gosh!! Getting dressed is totally draining me mentally..having to decide what to wear and what goes well with it just annoys me so much. Can't we just stick to our birthday suit?? I guess if I'm bold enough to wear it and walk around in it, I would never be the best birthday suit wearer in my whole lifetime. Okay!! a little diverted here!

As I was in rush getting ready this morning, I stood still in front of my opened overloaded wardrobe for like 15 minutes and I still couldn't decide what to wear (even the journey to my daughter's school is only 5 minutes drive I can't be going in my PJs can I?) It's either all my clothes are outdated, not suitable or I can't fit in them anymore...Jeez!!

I'm pretty much of a person who prefers comfort than being a fashionista but then again I do like the good feeling you get when you dressed up nicely and comfortably. Most of the clothes I have in my wardrobe are those that I don't@ can't wear anymore even though I've thrown or given away like 5 big boxes of clothes in the last 3 months. Somehow I don't know where do I get all these piles of clothes either back in my wardrobe or on my son's bed hehe :) I guess that's the downside of having 4 elder sisters. Whatever they don't or can't wear will beautomatically handed down to me whether I like it or not which most of the time I accept voluntarily. My house is like the recycling centre for clothes...okay, okay..I'm exaggerating it a little bit here.

The main point I'm trying to tell here is, I keep wearing the clothes I like over and over because most of the clothes in my possession are not wearable. Even after some shopping, the same thing will happen over and over again and I don't know how to break the cycle. ( I do HOPE my hubby will read this entry..) How do I deal with this? I guess a total wardrobe makeover would cost me a fortune so I need to google and research  more on what clothes are essentials or must haves in wardrobe and start to vary it from there. Malaysia's climate being warm and humid I might stick to the best birthday suit ever given to any mankind :D

And oooohhh... how I wish for walk in closet or wardrobe like these pictures...the one that I can hide in..In time of emergencies hehe ;-)

Alive and breathing

Finally, after a long pause I'm back to pressing the play button on my blog which I think has got spiderwebs building up around it :D. Pardon me for the long and sincere silence as I was trying to keep up with all the good and challenging things been happening around me since we last talked.

The first thing I noticed when I signed in to my blog was how I actually hate my blog title. It sounds like an online lingerie store, Huh??!! So, right now I'm trying to figure out what my new blog title would be. Well, I might change it or might not so we'll see what happens...

A lot has happened in and out of my life throughout the last 5 months. Had to quit the job in Amex which I enjoyed as there were too many issues and conflicts arisen due to the job especially childcare and emotional aspect. So I'm finally back to 24/7 with my children and officially employed by them :) As of Jan 2012 I've started working full time together with my sister in her daycare centre KidQ but still my children are the main employer as of now. Working full time elsewhere is so not for me but working full time with my children around me? YES, a big yes to that. I'd say I can't cope not having them around me.

I know somehow, when they grow up, they'll be living their life, spreading their wings and exploring the world. So right now, I'm just gonna enjoy their company no matter how overwhelming it could get sometimes.
On top of that, me and my other half are planning to travel the world when we have enough saving (which we haven't even started yet honestly) and when  the children know how to fend themselves. I can't be dragging them along when we travel as that will add up to the cost. Furthermore I want it to be Our time, me and my husband. Just us...but if we were too old by the time we have enough saving I might consider enrolling ourselves in a fancy Old Folks Home though.

A lot has happened last year. From international news like Prince William and Kate Middleton officially became lawfully husband and wife,  a Tsunami rammed the coast of Japan, Gaddafi, Amy Winehouse, Steve Jobs and Elizabeth Taylor's death (to name a few), President Barack Obama announced US soldiers pullout from Iraq, Nicky Minaj topped Eminem with the most Twitter Followers to local news such as successful Bersih 2.0 Rally, Yuna's revoked Best Song award by AIM, confirmed use of inedible ink for coming General Election and Aileen Gabriella first Malaysian who won the Miss Tourism International World Pageant.

Most of all, the good news that came to start my new year 2012 was Anwar Ibrahim acquitted of sodomy charge which to me personally, it proved that justice still prevails over anything in this country and I'm so glad to know it.I feel blessed last year and  won't stop hoping for more blessing this year and many more years to come Insyaallah.

Insanely overwhelming...

Finally,... I have the chance to connect to my soul which I've been ignoring for quite a while. After being in silence for so darn long, I just have so much things to share and tell to my soul. First and foremost, I miss  pouring out my heart to my blog as I feel lucky having it to channel all my thoughts, ideas, misery, disappointment, happiness, joy, sh*t and whatever not without it saying a single word back to me. To me it's such a privilege to have a place to turn to and furthermore at no charges :-)...even visiting a psychologist or psychiatrist would burn a hole in your pocket rite?

So, in case you are wondering how am I coping so far with the new job...I'd say...the job is okay, stress is high, colleagues are alright, workload is manageable...as I'm under training still, pay is good but my personal life is becoming pathetic. I mean in terms of quality time and life with family, it sucks. The fact that workplace located in the midst of Golden Triangle Bukit Bintang doesn't help much with all the traffic going crazy all day long, it's insane. Waking up at 4.30am or 5am everyday to make sure everything is well prepared for the day is just so tiring and overwhelming. Lunch box for kids, their clothes for the day, laundry, dish washing, getting them ready for school, just about anything that I normally do even before I started the new work but the difference is now I have limited time to do it and everything is just rush, rush, rush which led me to questioning myself again...
Where am I going??? Where does all things lead me to???
To be honest, I don't know the answer and I don't even know what to think...but as for now what I'm doing is just going with the flow. I'll fly wherever my wings direct me to, I'll sail wherever the wind carries me, I'll swim and float (if I could float :) wherever the wave pushes me to and if in the end I am meant to stumble and stop. That's exactly what I'll do. I'm just a person who try to do the best for myself and for my loved ones and if one thing doesn't work, I'll just keep looking for another ways because I believe persistence and determination is the key to be applied in any aspect of life.

Oh just before  I forget, remember the guy who I met in the clinic? (the big mouthed guy). I bumped into him again on the first day I reported to work and it turned out that he was actually quite a decent guy. He just need a bit of mind opening session to a whole lot larger life in this huge world and he'll be fine. You see, it only shows that everyone...me, the guy even all of us are just human being who makes mistakes, say the wrong thing at the right place or say the right thing at the wrong place :-) What we need to focus on is to learn from the mistakes and be better.

A lot has been going on for my kids too. I'm so proud of them for coping well with the transition. I know it's taking a lot from them not having their mum whose been around them for the last couple of years. They are like my tail, they'll be everywhere I go, whenever I go but since I started working again they got no option but to be independent and take it as it comes. I can't deny the fact that all of us are still struggling trying to adapt to the new life. Me with non stop list of things to do, hubby being late to work almost everyday, kids crying early morning, arriving home with kids sulking, late night and it goes on but hey,...in the end we are the ones who decide how it's gonna be done. "When life gives you lemon, make lemonade out of it" and you'll be fine.
So at the moment, I'm still enjoying my lemonade with a little touch of salt and I do hope I'll keep enjoying it.

Btw, whoever came upon my blog, please excuse the grammatical errors or any mistakes in the language as I'm not perfect at it. The reason why I decided to blog in English is simply because I express myself better in English and blogging is all about self expression right? And I'm liking this silent self expression better that the verbal ones ;-)

A little prick won't hurt! A big mouth does!

There I was in the clinic for my medical check up as instructed by the new company that hires me. Well, I was there on Monday and donated a tiny bottle of my urine for them to check and probably to make sure there's no drugs substance like heroine or weed or whatever. I'm pretty sure I don't do drugs and I don't smoke weed so pheww...but not sure if I'll be in trouble when they found seaweed substance in my urine? Hehe..hope not (mmm...yummy seaweed crisps :) They told me to come back on Tuesday as the cut off time for blood test lab is at 3.30pm and I was there at 4pm. As said by the nurse, they can't keep the blood overnight, it has to be fresh blood so that means I had to go back there again. Huh! Talking about fresh blood! I felt like turning into vampire and kill them to get fresh blood to fulfill my thirst.

Yesterday, again...I walked into the clinic halfheartedly knowing that there'll be a needle poked into my arms in any second. The nurse called my name and asked me for another tiny bottle of urine AGAIN! "The other nurse said I don't have to do this today, just the blood test and X-ray" I told her. "We need it fresh Miss" and so she said. Talking about fresh urine! I felt a little intimidated by the nurse but doing what I had in mind won't help a little bit so I just went.

When I came back from the toilet, I sat on the sofa waiting for my turn for X-ray. A guy sat next to me asked if I was a new hire in Boustead company just like him and of course not. I don't even know what company that was. What more, it sounds like bas**rd which describes exactly the person I chat with (based on my first impression). Here goes his tale of a champ. He had to quit his high paying job in Sarawak 2 months ago due to work stress and demanding workload even though he was provided with a transport, a house and a maid. So to speak, after rejecting an offer from Qatar based company, he is now hired by the Boustead company as an Engineer and will be based in Lumut, Perak with a little less income which he doesn't mind as long as he's near to his sickly mother in Selangor.

I hoped the guy stopped talking right there...and he didn't. He started going on about his next plan to find a wife preferably a teacher just so that she could manage the house, do all the chores and care for the children and him. My ear started to burn and my hand started to feel itchy and felt like slapping somebody but sticking my a** on the sofa and kept listening was all I could do as there were too many people in the clinic and I couldn't move elsewhere. If he's not being a pain in the a** he could have said "I want to find somebody that I could love, care and she doesn't have to work because I'll make sure she'll get everything she needs"
Sure enough that will only happen in dreams and fairy tales. Men in the new era is expecting a lot in women just like the big-mouthed guy I mentioned, he wants to marry a teacher...why teacher? Because she still earns salary that he could sometimes share too! Nonetheless, he left the best part; chores, child minding and house managing to the future wife sob,sob...I hope his future wife will have the greatest strength to deal with this BIG-MOUTHED guy.

Come on...it's not that hard to understand is it? Marriage is not about what 'she' and 'he' should do and shouldn't. Not about what ones expectation of the other. It's about adapting and complementing each other and yes, Love. 'Loving each other till death do us part' is commonly heard in wedding vows but it will never be the same kind of love from beginning till the end. The LOVE in a marriage will evolve and it's up to us to adapt to the changes, to complement and support each other to get through it. One can't expect the other to do something without giving something in return and so the other person can't do something hoping will get something in return. Easily said than understood or done right?

No matter what, life has its turbulence, ups and downs and I'm going through one now...emotional turbulance contemplating on going back to work or not. The world is getting more materialistic so without material like paper, copper or silver ($$$$  that is), you can't survive in a city center with just one breadwinner to feed five mouths!  I'm so thankful I have such a wonderful sleepyhead husband who has flaws and mistakes but remains humble and silly and supportive to make my day easier,brighter and funnier. Plus three kids with amazing personalities (Grumpy, Clowny, Loudy) that makes my life even crazier than ever!!
Times up! I need to pick them up from the daycare as they are currently in so called 'settling in' period so that they can adapt slowly and the transition will not be too shocking for them when I start working next Monday.


xoxo