3 in 1

17 December 2012 - My dad, my sister and I celebrated our birthdays.  My dad and I share the same birth date, 17/12, while my sister's birthday falls on the next day, 18/12.  

"... happy birthday to youuuuu..."

hey! to you la... dia nyanyi to me pulak!!

Birthday cake from Faris, Yasmin, Farid & Tina

Birthday activity at Hard Rock Hotel

 

"weehoooo...."

.... eh eh eh... suspense...

Birthday BBQ Dinner

my son Farid (right) and my brother Hasli
grilling lamb and chicken pieces

durian pun ada :-)

For me... the happiest moment that night was when all of us Skype with Firdaus... riuh !

Wished he was home with us ...   

Back to Class

It’s been a month since I started my new hobby.  Well… not actually new la.. It’s a continuation of some ‘unfinished business’.

Sebulan selepas Firdaus left for Manchester, berlakulah sedikit ‘kemurungan’ sebab rindu him so much. Walaupun kerap Skype sembang-sembang dengan dia, tapi still missed him all the same.

Out of the blue, Faiz suddenly suggested to me, “Why don’t you sambung belajar...do something to occupy your time?"

I was like … “Ha??? Sambung belajar?”

“Ya la… why not? Dulu you stopped your piano halfway, now would be an ideal time to continue and complete the course. Cuba find out if you can apply into USM... buat degree in music?” 

His suggestions awakened my senses with a burst of new energy… making me snap out of my depression!

hmm... why not?

So…  bermulalah hobby baru (yang tak berapa nak baru tu!).

Emmmm… dulu stop tahap mana yer…?

Jap nak selongkar cari …

Jumpa dah !! Nasib baik tak hilang!

1977 - 1984

I enrolled for classes at two different music centres to compare their teaching methods. I opted to start from Level 1.

The first lesson was truly exciting! Touching the piano keys.. listening to the sounds it made .. was like being transported back to 'those days'. But sad to say.... banyak yang dah terlupa and also very very slow to read the music notes. Gosh! I really need loads of practice !!

But how to practice when I only go for classes once a week?

Just staring at the music notes at home is not going to get me anywhere!!



I went out....

.... and got myself a new toy ....

cakkk!! 

Yamaha DGX640

Haaaa..... now boleh la practice !!

Thank God For Girlfriends

My friends came...

... spent some quality time 

with my family and I.

Time goes by in minutes and seconds,

until you're with your girlfriends !!

THEN ...

time goes by in laughter

and food !!

We all shared something in common ...

tied together with memories ...

of our schooling days

at Convent Green Lane.

Time spent with friends ...

... is time well spent.

ex-classmates of 1980

Baru siap...

Apa yang baru siap tu?

Yasmin's Graduation photographs taken at Star East Photo Studio.

my girl and I

my family

Sayangnya Firdaus had already left for Manchester before Yasmin's graduation.  Otherwise, the above photo would have been complete.

Dalam sibuk-sibuk, Mama and Ba pun sempat bergambar untuk kenangan ...

Mimi' Graduation

3 November 2012 - An important day for Mimi Maisara.  It's her graduation from kindergarten. The mini hall at RECSAM was packed with proud parents and their children ( and an equally proud grandmother included!)

Majlis Penyampaian Hadiah Dan Sijil 

Mimi Maisara

Cameras flashed and video-cameras recorded.  Naturally, the little participants were bursting with pride ; walaupun ada seorang dua yang a little bit embarassed ... yang menangis refusing to perform pun ada ... while the others were having the time of their lives. After the awards were announced and certificates distributed, the kids entertained us with a mini concert.


........ aci .. aci.. bukaaa pintuuu...

Mimi Maisara

(second from the row of "hantu's" - on the right)

eemmm.... apasal Mak Tok tengok lebih kepada muka kucing ja dari muka hantu? hehehehe...

Acoustic Nite

23 October 2012 (Tuesday), 8pm -  Temankan Kathy pegi tengok Tommy Emmanuel's guitar performance di PenangPAC (Performing Art Centre). Tujuan sebenarnya nak tengok her son's friend who would be playing at the opening of the concert tapi due to very heavy rain, we arrived late and missed his performance entirely.

Standing outside the hall, I could hear the music.  I thought there was a band accompanying this guitarist, tapi bila masuk ke dewan... eh! 'pakcik' ni sorang ja!

What can I say about Tommy Emmanuel?

Not only is he a great guitarist, he was having fun ... strumming and plucking at the guitar so effortlessly!  He provided the music... we, the audience... provided the silence and ended his performances with outburst of whistles and thunderous claps ! It was a powerful moment of how music interactions can be between performer and audience.... the explosive expression of humanity were something we were all touched by.  The simplicity of acoustic music allowed the 'raw' emotion of the songs to come through... it was amazingly jaw dropping! (for me, at least!).

I managed to google this performance from youtube (performed elsewhere) for my rememberance...

pewwwwwiitt!!!  Simply fabulous!

I went home with a very big smile on my face... reminding me not to take music for granted, and a story to tell my close ones of how a music performance made my night!

Pesanan dari Tony : "The way to play your music well is through practice practice practice practice practice practice ... and more practice ! BUT don't practice  in front of your family and friends coz they don't need to hear the same piece over and over again for the hundredth time! Just surprise them with the well practiced piece and you'll find that they'll appreciate it better.  (hmmmm.... so true!)

"Music is the hardest kind of art.

It doesn't hang up on a wall... 

and wait to be stared at...

and enjoyed by passersby.

It's communication...

It's hours and hours being put into a work of art

that may only last, in reality, for a few moments

BUT

if done well...

and truly appreciated...

it lasts in our hearts forever!

THAT'S ART.

October Birthdays

Bulan ni ada 2 birthdays in the family...

Mimi Maisara & Yasmin

Mimi dari minggu lepas dah dapat advanced birthday present from her Tok Ayah ...

"Tok Ayah, nak yang ini...!"

"Tok Ayah... nak naik basikal sekarang, boleh dak?"

dua bercucu sama-sama happy

gaya mau ada !

Eh! Mak Tok kalau cerita pasal cucu dia.. memang boleh lupa perkara lain ! hmmm.... sorry naaa... terlupa pulak kat birthday girl yang lagi sorang tu...

Ba beli apa untuk princess kesayangan dia yer?

hmmm... dapat 'gadget' baru, tak angkat kepala dah la lepas ni!

Long Awaited Holiday 2012

.... planning dari tahun lepas .... tapi belum berkesempatan.

Akhirnya on 24th September 2012, my friend Kathy, Yasmin and I berlepas ke Jakarta dan Bandung untuk percutian 5 hari ! woohooo.. !! Thanks to Encik Ridzuan (Kathy's husband) for giving us the push !

jutawan-jutawan di airport Penang

The original plan was nak pegi bertiga - Kathy, myself and another friend Noraini. Tapi disebabkan Noraini is away temporarily in London, Kathy and I decided to go anyway, with Yasmin tagging along as well (dengan izin para suami, of coz).

Kathy wrote a beautiful post about our trip, so tak perlulah myself nak mengarang lagi. Kita share share la yer...  You can read about it  "here" .

di Puncak

(eh!? dalam photo baru terperasan pakaian dua orang ni boria!)

dari Puncak, turun ke Kebun Bunga

tunggu nak naik tram pusing keliling Kebun Bunga

Check out the beautiful photos at  Kathy's  blog.

Next destination kita nak pi bercuti ke mana, Kat?

Yasmin's Graduation

" An investment in knowledge, always pays the best interest."
- Benjamin Franklin

It was a long four years, full of ups and downs. Finally on 21 September 2012, we celebrated Yasmin's graduation from University Sains Malaysia, Penang.

Tak kisahlah samada watching the stage from the crowd ...

OR

the one standing on stage ...

... menyaksikan upacara konvokesyen tempoh hari was one important event in my life.

hah ! legaaaa.. ! (her grin says it all !)

Yasmin has always been obsessed with flowers (sesuai la tuuu.. nama dia pun berasal dari kumpulan bunga-bungaan juga, kan?). So, my son-in-law Faris, my sister Ani and I got her the biggest bouquet of roses available.

"Beratnya bunga ni!".  (laaaa... complain pulak dah!)



"Congrats Min!!",  from mum-in-law  ....

.... and Faris's two twin sisters

(wah! more flowers!)

Special thanks to Sarah Hazwani (left) and Majidah (right), Yasmin's childhood  best friends yang turut hadir 

Tahniah juga to Yasmin's friend 
Azzyati Abu Harun 

Celebration Dinner at Seoul Garden

(Clockwise from left) Yasmin, Mimi, Kartina, NurHanie & Edany (niece & nephew), my mum, my dad, Farid, Faris and my sister, Ani.  Hasli (my brother) and Faiz were not in picture sebab tengah ambil makanan

My girl,

Your university days may be over, but remember, learning process still continues.   Now you need to educate yourself to be a good wife, a loving daughter-in-law...and  etc... and etc...

In life, we always have to improvise. Sebab tu lah kena sentiasa cari ilmu untuk memperbaiki diri dan kehidupan.  Most of the time, we have no idea what is going to happen next and we have to deal with it as we go along. 

Don't panic if you don't yet know what you want to do with your life. You need to reflect on your own feelings, your own desires and then decide. 

As parents, it's time for Ba and Mama to land that 'helicopter' which has been openly hovering over your head and sometimes hiding in the background... spying and monitoring ... 

 

With the graduation of both my children, Farid Rizal and Yasmin, and their recent marriage respectively, this marks the end of my "career" as their Life Manager. (hah! bukan senang nak dapat job title tu!). It is also time for me to figure out what I am going to do for my future and to find my own 'something new'. 

eeemmm... something new seperti apa yer?

Sementara deciding what to do next... I recently had a great time meeting up with ex-classmates of Convent Green Lane. 

Dinner at Equatorial Hotel, Penang

We all had a jolly good time !! Our conversations covered a variety of topics.... from cruise to tour holidays, from a housewife's story to a workaholic's routine ! The "Ooohhhh's" and the "Wah!'s" as we marvelled at the big things and finding delights in the small ones, made our table noisy with bursts of laughter ! Rasa macam naughty girls pun ada jugak! hahahaha...

In every circumstance, there is always something for which to be thankful for.  At the time when we are happy, be thankful... and the happiness is greatly multiplied! 

From left: Bibi, Valerie Low, myself, Phaik Gin, Ee Hong

I am thankful for being blessed with friends from my schooling years and having the privilege of re-grouping back together now in our middle age years.  One of the many things nobody ever tells you about middle age is that it is such a nice change from being young and naive.

Am looking forward to our next date, ladies.

Venue?

This time...  my place !