Kuantan Kuantan!

Dato' sak didn't want to drive up to Cherating because it was almost 6 in the evening.

And so we just decided to go to nearby Pantai Sepat.
Recently, I have decided to make him my 'male model?'

"You tolonglah jangan ambik gambar perut buncit I ok?"

"Ok..ok..!"

Alas..the beautiful wind by the sea still wanted to show the silhouette of his pouchiness..

He quickly grabbed the camera.." Ok..I'll take a picture of you wearing your tight pants!"
Hooo..balas dendam!! hahaha

Of course Dato' didn't do that..

He took photos of the fantastic view of Pantai Sepat.

I then took photos of many contented fat, healthy looking cows grazing and lazing happily in the area.
They have escaped the religious korban ritual today.
What puzzled me was that the ones I saw tied up in the mosque compound to be sacrificed in Balok yesterday were rather thin and scrawny.
Hmmm..I wonder..

Over the Tanjung Lumpur bridge we could see rows of fishing boats colourfully and neatly anchored by the jetties.
Since its Raya Haji today, obviously most of the fishermen are enjoying and celebrating Aidil Adha with their love ones at home or back in their kampong hometowns.

Nowadays, I am really beginning to treasure my photography sprees with my dear old friend.
Ahh.. it must be the fresh Kuantan sea air with its rejuvenating ingredients.

p.s. Decided to drive to KL tomorrow..because it was just lovely staying at home today.

After getting all the wrong angles even though I tried my best not to snap his pouchiness..a good laugh was all that I could deliver..

Momo's Raya Haji perch on the telly!

SELAMAT HARI RAYA HAJI !

My plans? Well..extremely simple compared to my earlier years upon becoming an executive homemaker.
I would mimick most of the delicacies my late mother would prepare including the famous agar2 keledek..made specially on Raya Haji.

Actually, I am the only one among my siblings to signify Raya Haji with my mum's famous agar2 keledek..please don't ask the recipe..its a simple one but I would still have to stare into space and try to remember carefully the recipe if you asked me..I have not made it for years..

So Dato' sak has agreed..that tomorrow I'll just make plain porridge, with condiments like sambal bawang, ikan bilis goreng, some fried chicken and fried-grilled daging goreng and not forgetting the preserved lettuce and bawang putih jeruk.
If I'm a bit more rajin, then I'll make the red hot nasi goreng.
A chocolate cake from SR will assist the table menu.

Then we're off to KL.
Yeah..just like many others, not all our children will be assembling at home.
So we parents have to carry out that time division department.

How times have changed. Our children cannot be together with us on every Raya occasion.
Some will be here and some will be there..its sad but that is the way for everyone most of the time.

There are some who go for Raya prayers with their families and then travel all day long from one house to another to meet friends and relatives and to join those who are doing the korbans.
Wow..thats easy but we're not used to such merriment.

No matter how small or simple the Raya Haji food preparation is, its our Malay culture to must have some prepared delicacies on the home table before going anywhere...unless you're heading to a balik kampung gathering.

Selamat Hari Raya Haji to all my blogger friends and readers.
May your Raya be a happy and a successful celebration.
And may all our prayers and doas come true..Ameen.

Please enjoy some of my snapshots of the beautiful weather and atmosphere in Kuantan..click on!!

Its A Beautiful Kuantan Today

I coaxed my blogger buddy to have breakfast with me at the Teluk Chempedak's MacDonalds.
Its a very beautiful quiet morning today.
The sun is smiling softly on us. The sea is calm and playing a a serene swishing tune. The birds are singing sweetly in the air. The air is so very refreshing and clean.

And I'm having some hotcakes topped with caramel and butter with my longtime lover.

With hot black coffee and some scrambled eggs, plus takeaway breakfasts for Hannan and Banun, it was a precious moment of my breakfast affair.


Yeah..we've had many lousy quarreling times, disappointing and hurting each other along the way and on many occasions even wanting to walk away from the rocking marriage.

What kept us together is unexplainable. Love? The children?
Maybe the thought of going through the bad and good times together?
I don't know..

What I do know is that he is a very special person whom I will love, care and cherish till the day I die..InsyaAllah..

I thank God for making me feel this way despite our very turbulent years and nasty marital spats and fierce fights.
I pray he will rise back to his glorious days of success and happiness which he truly deserves in politics and business.
And that his talents and extraordinary intelligence will not be wasted by Dato' Seri Najib or Dato Nan.

I love you Riff..I thank you for waking me up before I go to sleep.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAREST DARLING HAKIM!!

Yes Yes.. Dato' Ariff and I would like everybody to know that today is our son's birthday..Alhamdullillah.
Selamat Panjang Umur Sihat Wal'afiat, Selamat Bahagia Berjaya Dunia Dan Akhirat.
Selamat Murah Rezki Selalu, Semoga Menjadi Seorang Hamba Allah Yang Sangat Warak Juga..Ameen.

Kim is 26 years old today.. a software engineer specializing in Games Technology, he graduated from Liverpool, has worked in the UK for around 3 years, came back to Malaysia a few months ago and is now working in KL.
He plans to settle down soon and start a family..InsyaAllah.

Our 2nd child, he was born in the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur.
A very obedient son with a very mild temper..Alhamdullillah..hes soft-spoken and very polite to us.
He seldom retorts back and would just laugh and chuckle if we nag at him once in a while.

The eldest of 3 boys and 2nd eldest of 7 children, Hakim is a very loving and protective abang.
He calls his younger siblings often and would contact us often to say Hi and check that everything at home is okay.

I remembered only once he said something to me that had made him really upset..back then he was in Liverpool.
His computer had broken down and was irrepairable.
He was going back and forth borrowing at a friend's place for weeks.
We couldn't afford to replace one immediately because our budget then was so bad.

Finally,he was so stressful and he called me and said.."Ma, you said you love me and missed me very much, but where's the computer? I need the computer!"
That was the first time I got an impatient tone from him..that was the only one so far..hehe

Alhamdullillah.. hes also quite a pious boy and always encourages his younger siblings to pray and discuss religious topics whenever they have brotherly conversations.
And they exchange a lot of chats on other matters too!

I called Dato' this morning. I thought he'd go out for a birthday breakfast with Hakim.
Instead Dato' said " Hakim dah keluar..pergi kursus kawin!"...Alhamdullillah.

His bride-to-be is Azra, a very beautiful girl from Shah Alam..she's a pharmacist.
She too graduated from Liverpool.
So yeah..they met in the UK masa belajar.
We are so very happy for him.
He'll be getting engaged on the 26th of this December and InsyaAllah kawin during the March schoolholidays next year.

WE LOVE YOU KIM!! HAVE A NICE BIRTHDAY TODAY!
KIRIM SALAM DENGAN AZRA!!

P.S... J kata Hakim dah kawin baru she kawin..adik kawin dulu..ramai like that kan..no hurry..siapa dah ready carry on..we all sokong jer!!

Latest..Seth is going to get a huge frown and a good lecturing from the famous Dato' sakmongkol himself!! Oohhh..rupanya member ada ponteng2 kelas!
Hmmm..well??? Kenapa you buat gitu Seth? You tak sayang we all ker?

Hello Kuantan!

Yes..it has been raining everyday. Sometimes its drizzly and at times its a downpour. Whatever the weather, the sun is not overshadowing the rainy clouds and the clothes have no choice. They've got to go the launderette drier! Too many waiting in line!

The rainy season is actually so cooling and relaxing. Its just that the clothes cannot get dry immediately under the usual smiling afternoon sun. Luckily the alternative option is available.

When Dato' was a YB, I use to remember him busily visiting all the banjir areas within his constituency.
He would check at all times where the water-levels have arisen and how much have been done to help them thus far by the relevant authorities for eg the Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat.
Our flood victims have always been very well taken care off by the Adun and the relevant government agencies in Pahang.
At times, I think they are too reliant on every single help. Surely they can get prepared too.
The Pahang government even generously gives yearly monetary help to all flood victims' families.

They are not only settled and carted off to safer places, very ample food, clothings and groceries are provided yearly.
Since flooding is a yearly phenomena in the East Coast, our Pahang Government have always done their best to better and increase whatever help and services that they can offer to the flood victims irregardless of political idealogies or race.
ALL flood victim families are being treated with extreme attention and care.

I remembered clearly the banjir months before the last general election.
Dato' sak had earlier on bought the Frontier 4 wheel drive because he wanted to save some petrol consumption on his very regular visits to the many distant villages.
Cheaper to use diesel petrol..but being a manual car, I have never driven it.

I even followed him along to a village called Telok in Pekan to hand over a massive bulky machine for the kampong ladies to make baulu.
They were complaining that using the usual beating method of making baulu cakes were too exhaustive, slow and they cannot produce enough baulus to sell and make a fast business.

Boy..the machine was heavy, huge and protruding well in sight behind in the Frontier's bigboot compartment..we couldn't zip up the cover.
It was really nice and memorable to see the smiling faces of my kampong friends. I was so very delighted for them.

Then when the very heavy floods came, even though the Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat Department had reserved the usual supplies of sardines, oil, blankets, rice and whatever necessary, Dato' too bought and bundled loads of other types of foodstuffs to the flood victims in his Dun.

There were beautiful red onions, very fat Bentong gingers, rice-bags, sugar, eggs (the prices had tripled by then), dried chillies, fresh fishes, fresh chickens ( already slaughtered laa), pampers, chocolates, gas cylinders and even petrol stored in containers!
There were life jackets that he bought for himself and some of his assistants, raincoats and boxes of mineral water!
The list is actually longer so you'll have to ask him to write a special post on those banjir times if you want to have more info.

He used some of his personal savings and hutang first to buy all these stuff and I remembered our sympathetic Dato' Sri MB Pahang kindly reimbursing some of the amount spent when he found out about it.
The YB's allocation is very limited and claiming the amount can take months and be quite a chore.
So Dato' just couldn't be bothered to sent in the lengthy bill.
"Dapat pahala.." he said.

And MB knows Dato' sak is a very generous hearted person and was proud of his highly-spirited Adun's sincerity to help the kampong folks to the extreme.

Okay..back to now..being an Adun no more has made our life less hectic and quieter.
No more 24hour communication with those at flood prone areas, no more grandprix racing to and zig-zaging all over the constituency to answer to sos calls and the Frontier does not look like a pasar-malam trader vehicle.
No more riding in fragile boats against the gushing, strong flooding waters, dangerous with debris and creepie crawlies,wading through flood waters with knee-high rubber boots, snapping photos of areas heavily flooded and getting runny noses and fever at times.
And no more inflammable tempers towards me when he needed somebody to be angry with..yey!
Asyik tanya macam2 thats why..kenalah marah! hehee..

At one time, the Frontier was driven into wind-screen high flood waters..while other cars got stucked and their car engines got choked, the Frontier sailed through..that you have to ask him!!

Our house pun taklah rupa macam kedai store barang..otherwise penuh with all kinds of foodstuffs waiting to be transported daily during the banjir times.
I liked especially the existence of boxes of ikan kerings and piles of rice bags then..our house was 'sweet-smelling' and macam kilang beras..hehe

Dato' is off to KL with Harris. They'll be going to fetch Seth at KYUEM tomorrow.
There'll be a Parents Day too.
I have to stay behind. Hannan is in the midst of her SPM exams.
When they get back to Kuantan InsyaAllah on Sunday, then only can I drive up to KL.

I'm having a few lunch appointments... a business kind on Monday and a very 'simple, enjoyable makan type, jumpa2 friends' on Tuesday
(hooi..sifu blogger belanja lah!
Hujan2 pun must accept the invite! And..watch out..lagi lapar!)
Thank You Puteri!!

I was telling Dato' that he should shift his library to the rented house in Kota Damansara.
Since he spents a lot of time in KL, he should bring his library too.
Then I can use the small empty backroom to store the easels and paintings for my art exhibitions.

He has not agreed yet..
I guess he thinks I'm booting him out..slowly..hehe..we'll see..

Ooh..the rain is getting heavier.. I must go and grab some hot, crispy goreng pisang!!

AEROBICS MARATHON (WITH SOME PHOTOS FROM THE AEROBICS CLASS)

The Sarsha Bodyworks Fitness Centre in Kuantan is proud to announce that they'll be organizing an " Aerobics Dance Nonstop" from 2pm-4pm on the 12th December 2009 ( Saturday).

The venue will be at Shahzan Inn Hotel Kuantan.
Closing date: 6th December 2009.

A fee of 50 ringgit will be charged to each participant. The aerobics will comprise those of the Hip Hop, Hi Low Impact, Latino & Zumba.
They have hired a male professional instructor all the way from KL to lead the ladies with their first ever 2 hour non-stop aerobics routine.

Okay..siapa penat boleh relax and slow down and then masuk balik.
I think I'll probably be the first to do that. How did I get coaxed into joining?
Well..these Sarsha girls are like a bunch of nieces to me and I've known them for quite a few years. They are a great joy to be with.
Chatty, friendly and they love to crack lots of jokes!

" Aunty, jomlah join!" and selagi I didn't say yes, one after another will take turns to persuade me in a space of a week.
I was scared. What if I pengsan? Dah tua2 ni manalah daya..
" Ada Red Cross on standby tak?" I teased them..

Well..what the heck..kalau penat slow down. We just want to enjoy and have fun.

If you're interested to join this first ever aerobics event of this kind held in Kuantan,
please sms or contact...
Mona ( my mannequinn-bodied ) instructress..0169221247,
Eira (a very cute lass) ..her number is 0179182216
or Sally ( a pretty young Chinese girl who seldom ponteng the aerobics class).

O Oh..ONLY FOR LADIES okay guys!! THANK YOU!

SHERRY, AHAN...Nak join tak??
First 30 participants signing up will get 'mystery gifts'! I'm out..dah lebih 30 orang.
But..there'll be cash prices of RM 200 for each category of these:
" The most energetic"...kena makan satu tin quaker oats nampak gayanya kalau nak menang!
" The most outstanding"...yelaah..I'll be out standing by the sides half the time agaknya..
Ahhh...yang ni ada chan.." The most sporting".....ahhhhemmm..mana nak cari old lady like me??

I'll post some aerobics class photos tomorrow to spice up this entry alright?? Wait yer..

Don't forget to click on the photos!!

Its the weights exercises on every Tuesdays..

L-R..Datin Jagdish, Marylyn, Mrs Kuat Ponteng, Chui Chui and infront
is our dearest Mona!

Our Datin Jagdish sportingly posing beautifully for the blog..you'll never guess her age..always young and slim!!

Relaxing and catching up with some quick conversations before starting the evening's workout..

Getting the aerobics shoes on..

The 6.30 pm class led by our very delightful Eira!

Mona posing radiantly after the class..
she has 2 lovely daughters and is in her very early 30s.
Her classes are really very nice and enjoyable..expert betul!

Aida..the cutest and naughtiest mum in class..
posing with the younger students..

Well..I had to put a shawl on for the snapshot after class..
nanti Dato' kata apa pulak kan?

Cooling down..to the tune of Whitney Houston's
' Saving All The Best For Last'

Nomi is our Sasha's hairstylist..she presents a beautiful aerobics routine once a week.
Sibuk mendandan rambut customers!
Shes very good..and tak mahal..ladies only ok..

Okay..on the ground floor is Sarsha Restaurant..on the 2nd floor is the Sarsha Beauty and Hair Saloon and Sarsha Aerobics is on the 3rd floor..
Mona, Nomi and all the others running the one stop beauty place and
the restaurant are all close relatives.

p.s.. There will be 3 male instructors imported all the way from KL on the 12th December.
For the Zumba, we'll have a lady expert from Kuantan itself..just to correct my previous inaccurate info..thank you everybody!

btw..I am just doing my adorable young friends a teeny weeny favour in promoting their up and coming event..freeeeee...no commissions while still on probation and undergoing blog writing training!! Yes!!

The Irreversible Damage In A Beautiful Marriage

I spoke to 2 beautiful hearted, wonderful ladies recently. They are the devoted kind of housewives with nice careers in hand. One has since remarried and found her true love and happiness.
The other has remained unmarried but she says shes very happy without a man by her side.
She has managed to buy a comfy house and her 4 grown-up kids are all under her wings.

Divorce is a very sad affair. One has no choice but to walk that terrain if there is the I.D. ( Irreversible Damage).

In A's case, her husband married secretly for 2 whole years without her knowing it.
Then the second wife came to see her and told her everything..I spoke to her on the phone for more than an hour (phewh!) but forgot to ask her why the lady menjelma...

And her then hubby divorced the 2nd wife and tried to patch up with her. The painful damage had been sown.
It was a different marriage altogether..not the same trusting nurtured union that she was protecting and idolizing.
The estrangement period grew rapidly..no more genuine affection, no more family lunches and dinners!

They grew slowly apart and after 4 years of living under the same roof, her husband finally divorced her.
He took another wife a few months after that for its difficult for a man to be lonely and having nobody to cook and clean for him.
Tak tahan jugak makan kat kedai oi! By then he knew every warong in that area! And every mamak recognised him too!

Hopefully, he has learnt his past mistakes and will tread carefully with his third wife.
Everybody makes mistakes and should be given a chance to start afresh even in his fifties!

As for my second friend whom I admire tremendously, her husband confessed to her before going on a Haj pilgrimage.
Now.. this is definitely a rare specimen. Again its the I.D. kind. Its been more than 15 years and both have since remarried and are enjoying happier times with their new spouses.
She has managed to put all the difficult past behind her and is an extremely happy lady now..Alhamdullillah.

There are a thousand reasons for marriages to crumble.
However, this kind of I.D. is the most lethal reason!
Its like poison slowly eating into the flesh inside and suddenly, one is just left with bones and skin!! Hahaha..funny attempt in describing actually.
Reminds me of that powerful soap detergent gnawing all that dirt and grime and whatever in its path!

And after pondering over the experiences of others, I was thinking..what will I take if ever I have to go through such a loathsome situation..

Firstly..I need that Nikon camera..no no..I want the Leica too.
Then I need the Honda...hmm..one of the TVs, the fridge, the washing machine, the George Foreman grill, the cats, the children..awwh..he'll just have to leave home..and make sure that monthly the house rental is paid and the housekeeping bills are tip-top!
And my pocket money too..pleeese!!

Thinking about such a possibility can really be hellish.
So mums and dads..keep your marriage happy, be loving to each other, be truthful at all times, err..ikut cakap bini, cuddle and hug her always and jangan kelentong2 Ah Soh okay??

Have a beautiful weekend everyone!

P.S..Focus interrupted by a van going round the neighbourhood with a repeated muffled announcement..what??
Another water interruption?

Running out..I called the guys "Mari sini..saya tak dengar apa awak cakap.."and the driver drove right infront of the gate.." Nak buat semburan nyamuk!"
" Besok??"
" Sekarang!"
And off I went to pull in all my newly washed laundry and closed all the doors and windows!!