Driving license 102 and Eastern Province gathering

DRIVING LICENSE 102
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you're heading to a place that is alien (never been before) to you, kindly follow these steps:

1. Look for the place in a map. If possible, get a detail one so that you won't miss any important landmark.
   
   
2. Ask someone who has been to the place before. Let him/her describe to you the feature of the location that you're looking for. This would help especially if there's no building name featured.
   
   
3. Make sure you carry the map with you.
   
   
4. Be careful by looking at every road sign. By missing 1 road sign, there would be a chance for you to end up in nowhere. You may also have to make a long turn back to come back to the place. This will not be good to others especially if you lead a convoy of many cars.
   
   
5. Driving in peace. Do not rush and never get too excited because overdose of excitement may lead you to miss any important landmark.
   
   
6. Have a telephone number of the correct person handy. You may need to ask a person who is familiar with the place once in a while while you're driving. You may look like a standard 1 child by keep asking whether you're at the right path. But, you will look like the dumbest person in the world if you take 5 hours of time for a 1/2 hour journey!
   
   
7. You may take into consideration your wife/husband/co pilot thoughts/suggestions. That is the used of having 2 brains instead of 1.
   
   
8. If you lead a convoy, it doesn't mean you should know everything. If you think you're lost, stop. Discuss with the rest. They may have a different idea or understanding. You're not a superperfect anyway :).
   
   
9. A GPS navigator is helpful provided the place that you're looking for has a name. If it doesn't (like many buildings in the Saudi), it won't be that helpful.
   
   
   

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Malaysian in Saudi Arabia Eastern Province Gathering
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Malaysian Embassy in Saudi Arabia has organized a gathering with Malaysian in Eastern Province, yesterday evening. The ceremony is meant to have Iftar together and to observe our 51st Independence Day. I guess, about 100 guests came, inclusive the kids (which is not many). Perhaps people were comfortable to have Iftar at their own houses.


All of us came from different places - Al Jubail, Al Khobar, Rastanurah and Ad Dhahran. I hope I didn't miss any other place. There were nurses from Saad Hospital too. I met with Elisataufik, one of the bloggers. Gee, who was a junior of mine in PPP who is also a blogger, was there too. Not everyone from Al Jubail was around because a few of them had to work.


Lots of food was served. We didn't finish them all. So, the caterer packed the food for those who wanted to bring them back. I know the 'Jubail bujangs' (wife is not here) did bring the food back ;).


Let's look at the pictures :).

When I can't smile...

(Read - when I'm sad, when I'm down or even when I'm not in a good mood). The fastest way to create a laughter or a huge smile on my face is by watching cartoons. All I have to do is, turn on the tv and browse for cartoons' channel. They have to be humorous though. I don't like something involve gun fighting and war. Not my kind of cartoons :).

I love to watch cartoons even not on a gloomy day. Each character tickles my unconsious mind. I'm a bit selective also at times. I watch Tom & Jerry, Popeye, Looney Tunes, Kampung Boy, Anak-anak Sidek and a few others. I don't really watch Spice Girls Animated Series and Ben Ten sort of. Not my choice of cartoons I guess ;).


Jokes could make me laugh too. I guess, I just have a very high sense of humour. Sometimes, I listen to a simple jokes but I could laugh like crazy. But, when I told the jokes to someone else, he/she took a moment to understand and even to laugh. Perhaps some people sense of humour is not as high as I am.


In short, it's easy to make me happy and it's easy to make me cry too... Can I be categorized as extremist since I don't fall into the middle? Naaahhhh!! I don't think so ;)

How to motivate yourself? ;)

Feeling lazy to cook?
I do and many times.

How do I recover that feeling?
I imagine.

What kind of imagination?
Wild.... hahahaha!!!


When I was 6, I used to 'main masak-masak' with my friends - Kak Long, Eddie, Fuad and Bada. By the way, Fuad and Bada are my siblings. Ops! Bada was too little then. Tak boleh main masak-masak lagi. Dia kena duduk rumah ;).


Kak Long and Eddie are siblings. Their house was just next to ours and they were much bigger than us. Kiranya, kalau main masak-masak, Kak Long akan jadi chef dan prepare all stuff macam periuk, kuali kecik dan api. Of course, you need 'api' to cook right. Our port was at the back of Kak Long's house or at the back of my house - under pokok limau madu (no more limau madu now coz' my family didn't live there anymore *sad*).


Oh dear! Seronoknya main masak-masak though we only cook things like daun hijau and air. Bila daun hijau tu menggelegak (boil), rasa seronok sangat! Sometimes we fried egg! Yang tu boleh makan. It was like the best food in the world coz' we fried it ourselves :). Walaupun hari-hari main masak-masak dan hari-hari masak daun dan air, kami tak pernah jemu. Duduk atas tanah dan kacau tin yang ada air dan daun tu rasa macam privilege sebab tak semua dapat turn untuk kacau tin! hahahaha!!


But now... cooking is not a fun thing to do anymore. I don't always feel excited to cook walaupun sekarang ni jenis masakan yang perlu dimasak dah bermacam jenis dan bukanlah setakat daun hijau dan air :P.


Kenapa yek? ehemmmm... *think* *think* *think*

Ooooo.. sebab sekarang bukan main masak-masak lagi. Sekarang adalah tanggungjawab. Sekarang adalah rutin. No more friends untuk potong daun, no more kuali kecik (mana cukup nak guna kuali kecik) and no more masak bawah pokok limau. No more.. no more.. Sekarang masak didapur - kena lap lepas habis masak, tak boleh sepah-sepah dan tak boleh hangit sebab nanti sape nak makan kalau hangit kan.. membazir aje lauk-pauk tu.


Thus, no mood to cook (sometimes). Duduk kat dapur macam satu beban aje. Itu yang kadang-kadang masak entah apa-apa. Sebab spirit takde. Semangat nak masak takde. Macam mana nak dapatkan semangat ya?


Aha!! camana kalau kita imagine kita main masak-masak? hehehehh.. memang lah takde kawan-kawan lagi tapi we can imagine kan. Just imagine, ada kawan-kawan tolong. Just imagine, kita kacau daun dan air.. hehehehe!!


I did it today. Masa kacau sayur goreng tadi, I imagine myself stirring daun hijau dalam tin. Macam main-main aje. Seronok pulak.. Mungkin esok I can start imagine having friends around. Sambil masak-masak, sambil borak. Hehehee.. psstttt.. sape datang rumah dan dengar ada orang bercakap-cakap kat dapur tu, buat tak tahu je lah ye. Bukan orang gila tu.. hahahah!!


Anyway...... its easier to say than done (cakap senang laaaa!! kehkehkehhh). Mungkin once in a while boleh la kot buat cam ni. Kalau hari-hari, bosan juga dan betul boleh jadi gila sebab asyik bercakap sorang-sorang.. :P


Oh ya.. gambar dibawah ni takde kena mengena dengan entry di atas tu. I made the cheesecake 2 days ago - ikut resepi maklang tapi ubah sikit-sikit. Tak berapa jadi mungkin sebab sukatan tak berapa betul. Hangit pulak tu kat atas. Terpaksalah dibuang yang hangit tu and cover cela-cela tu dengan foundation (whip cream topping).

Zaffron / Saffron Flower

Ever heard of this? I've heard about 'Air Saffron' in M@laysia and I'm not sure if it comes from the same source. But, I never saw the flower itseld until a few months back in one of the grocery store in here. I asked the guy about the thing that I saw placed in the glass cabinet. He told me its Zaffron. According to him, its good for blood circulation. He added, normally pregnant woman would take it and drink with milk.

Last week, I went to the grocery store again to purchase some groceries (of course). I remember about that Zaffron flower. Before deciding to get a box, I asked the guy again. Coincidenttaly, there was an Arab man (I'm not sure if he is S@udi) standing besides me (Abang was at the counter to pay for other things). He explained to me about the benefits of the flower. I wasn't really pay attention actually because he was looking right into my eyes while explaining (I lose concentration because I had to look at other things in the shop). I also wonder, before this, no Arab man has explained something to me, face to face like that. Normally, Arab man has some kind of discrimination towards women. Well, this is a quite educated one I guess...

Anyway, that's not the only things to tell in here. I still wonder about this Zaffron flower actually, though I've already grabbed a box. So, the next morning I surfed the net and found out about it. Just to share with my friends, the details about the good things about Zaffron flower is as below (I copied them from here)

Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae. The flower has three stigmas, which are the distal ends of the plant's carpels. Together with its style, the stalk connecting the stigmas to the rest of the plant, these components are often dried and used in cooking as a seasoning and colouring agent.



Saffron, which has for decades been the world's most expensive spice by weight is native to Southwest Asia. It was first cultivated in the vicinity of Greece.



The word saffron originated from the 12th-century Old French term safran, which derives from the Latin word safranum. Safranum is also related to the Italian zafferano and Spanish azafrán. Safranum comes from the Arabic word asfar, which means "yellow" via the paronymous zaffaran, the name of the spice in Arabic.



Approximately 170,000 flowers are needed for one kilogram of dried saffron; typically, one would need 2000 square meter field area per kg harvest.



As a therapeutical plant, saffron it is considered an excellent stomach ailment and an antispasmodic, helps digestion and increases appetite. It is also relieves renal colic, reduces stomachaches and relieves tension. It is also considered that in small quantities it regulates women’s menstruation, and helps conception. It is a fact that even since antiquity, crocus was attributed to have aphrodisiac properties. Crocus in general is an excellent stimulant!

Never pamper a husband ;)

About 17 years ago, 1 of my favorite lecturers told me (including my classmates),

"Never pamper your husbands. Don't make a habit to cook for them everyday.."

Sounds weird huh! It was an advice from a female lecturer and the advice was originally from her father! I know I'm cracking your head. Some of you could have said,

"it's is a detrimental advice indeed"


Of course, she elaborated long enough to us. According to her, if a wife always cook for her husband (4 course in a day - breakfast, lunch, tea and supper), the husband would expect to eat a homecook meal everyday!


It will be okay perhaps for the first few months of marriage (everything is green - love is all around). The wife is eager to try all new recipes to feed her hungry husband (literally and physically hahahah!!!).


What will happen after that? Everyone will get tired doing the same thing everyday. The wife is getting tired of cooking (plus she may be pregnant and having those morning sickness syndrome). The recipe may be repeated. Husband may get bored eating the same thing since he may be expecting for a new recipe everyday. Can a woman do that? Do wonders I mean? I don't know, you have the answer :)


How to avoid the problem to even exist? Never cook? No!! Don't ever do that.. air tangan isteri is always the best. Instead, cook for him only once in a while - whenever you like. The most important thing is, give a message to your (my) husband that you (I) are not gonna cook for him 4 times a day and 7 days a week.


Make him feel special when eating your homecook. Also, indirectly tell him that you're not a robot hotel chef. So, he needs to expect the worse. The meal may be salty or tasteless sometimes. If the meal turns out to be good, a compliment is appreciated (this particular line should go to the men!)


Anyway, it will be different if the wife is not working and ever willing to cook. Again, it's still up to the wife. Like myself, I have a few days in a week that I didn't feel like cooking. Hey! I'm tired too... hehehe...

After finish writing about this, I'm not sure if this actually seems to be a good advice ;)

Umrah with kids

The motherly Kak Mamamia has suggested an entry on tips to bring kids for Umrah after reading my entry about Umrah trip a few weeks back. Frankly speaking, I am not the best person to write about this. I shall write a few things that I've done and hope others who have experienced bringing the kids there to contribute in the comment section. I hope there'll be generous contributors. Otherwise, I may need to write another entry after doing some research on this matter ;).


Many people said the kids would disturb your ibadah. Yes and no is very much depending on the age of the kids I guess. If you have a toddler like Shahmey (10 1/2 months then), it may disturb a bit. No problem with the Umrah itself but it was a problem for me to perform jemaah prayer in the Masjid because I had to take care of him while letting Abang to join the prayer. I had no choice since Shahmey is on breastfeeding. It has been a while that I didn't store any pumped milk. So, I had to bring him along.


As for Sophea and Sobhan, it was a practice to them. Of course, they asked many questions like,

"Kenapa kena pusing 7 kali?"

"Kena angkat tangan dan cium - apa sebab?"

"Apa ada dalam kaabah?"

I had to answer them patiently and with the precise answer. Not to mention their moaning of "penatlah", "panasnya", "haus", "lapar". I just had to tell them to be patient as that was part of the challenge to perform the Umrah.


However, they managed to follow through the Umrah with us. I had to carry Shahmey (sometimes abang did). Abang had to alternately carry Sophea and Sobhan when both were tired (that happened during Saei - despite it was done under the roof and it was pretty cozy). It was all okay when they tawaf though (under the strong sun - we did the tawaf at about 2.00pm!).


Considering all the above, I may suggest a few things here to Kak Mamamia and others who may want to bring their kids there:

1. Bring a small sling bag that contains extra clothing for you - just in case your baby throw up on your clothes and extra clothes for the kids (it's easy for the kids to get dirty especially when many generous visitors like to give sweets and candies to them).
   
   
2. Make sure your babies / toddlers diapers is almost dry (not too heavy) because if it does, the leakage may dirty your clothing.
   
   
3. Prepare a bottle of plain water in your bag because the kids may be thirsty (zam zam water stations are not that far from the kaabah and also located at a few places along the Saei area anyway). Just in case your kids can't wait to reach the place, the water that you bring along is helpful.
   
   
4. Brief the kids about the Umrah beforehand. Perhaps, let them memorize a few simple doa so that they are occupied with uttering the doa instead of complaining. By briefing the kids about the action that we have to do in performing the Umrah, they roughly can gauge when the Umrah will be settled. Thus, they won't repeat the question like "Bila nak habis?" and make you feel annoyed.
   
   
5. Teach the kids to behave themselves in the holy land. This is actually to avoid us (the parents) from scolding or hitting them. Whatever we say, do or even plan to is a serious matter there. I heard people said this and I also experienced them myself.
   
   
6. Always make sure your kids are with you all the time. Never let them wander around without you. This was advised by my husband's friends that in Mekah there are many child kidnappers. They would take your child and do things that you don't even wanna think of.
   
   
7. Last but not least, watch your mind and words because anything bad that you think or say may be granted. Always be positive and say something good. Don't ever think of "nanti tak jumpa selipar ni". Alhamdulillah, we managed to get to our shoes back (with the help of Sophea - she recognized which entrance we came in from - thanks kakak!).

I guess that's all that I can share with all of you. I really hope my friends can contribute with a few other tips. Thank you in advance :)

apa yang sedap??

Heheee.. pelik bunyi tajuk tu kan. Hari ni rasa macam nak tulis in Bahasa pulak la. Nanti lupa pulak Bahasa Malaysia. Hahahaa!!! duhhh!!! takkan lupa la Bahasa Malaysia.. it has been in me for 33 years.. ye ke? rasanya masa lahir belum pandai cakap kot. whatever la neeza...


Saje je, this entry akan jadi the shortest entry so far. Takde idea nak tulis apa tapi since myself memang jemu tengok benda yang tak berganti ni, nak update lah jugak. Nak cerita pasal food. Baru-baru semasa kami (eh.. Coan) masuk hospital, kami dapat banyak yogurt, juice dan Laban (susu masam). Juice tu okay lah. Boleh la minum. Tapi yogurt tu, plain yogurt yang masam tu. Laban tu pulak masam jugak. Rasanya orang melayu (yes! I am melayu.. hehee) tak biasa makan benda-benda ni.


Masa 4 hari kat hospital, pagi dapat 4 kotak juice (kotak kecil aje..), tengahari dapat 2 botol Laban (botol kecil juga :)) dan malam pulak dapat 2 can plain yogurt. Coan, memang la tak makan semua tu. Paling paling pun dia minum plain water dan porridge. Myself pulak, memang la kureng sikit sebab yogurt tu masam. Kalau Laban tu, abang kata sedap makan dengan nasi beriyani. Letak kat ayam and makan! Memang sedap... cumanya tak habis pun sebab banyak kan... so, the rest kami simpan aje dalam fridge.


Sehari sebelum keluar wad, myself borak dengan makcik cleaner tu. Dia tu F1lpno. Umur dia 50 (dia bagi tahu). Kesian pulak kat dia.. datang jauh jauh tapi kerja macam tu. Kalau umur gitu kerja professional okay lah jugak kan. Tapi dia kata, dia tak suka duduk diam. Kalau kerja kat tempat dia, gaji mesti kecil. Kerja kat sini dia dapat 1700 bila campur OT (banyak jugak kan.. oh ye, itu.. dia yang bagi tahu) Betul tak kat sini gaji bukan satu benda yang rahsia.. tapi UNDI ITU RAHSIA... walaupun tak jugak kan.. heheee


Melalut la pulak. Bila tengok makcik tu dok sibuk mengemop lantai, cuci toilet, terfikir pulak.. agaknya makcik ni makan tak yogurt and Laban tu. Then tergerak nak tanya dia, makcik makan tak yogurt plain ni? dia kata, makan! then tanya lagi, Laban ni? dia kata makan! Heheee.. lepas tu tanya lagi... makcik makan dengan apa? Dia pun cakap, saya letak jam kat dalam yogurt. Laban pulak, saya campur juice. Tapi, ianya boleh menggemukkan lah... lepas tu dia gelak.. Haah kan. Betul jugak cakap makcik tu. Kenapa lah tak pernah terpikir pun sebelum ni. Ye la kan, sebab tak biasa makan. Mana nak terfikir. Sebelum makcik tu keluar, myself ambik a few of each item bagi kat makcik tu. Lagipun dia kata, dia belum minum lagi. Kesian dia. Penat buat kerja tapi tak minum lagi. Oh ya, kena declare, conversation dengan makcik tu adalah menggunakan Bahasa Inggeris ye.. makcik tu tak reti cakap melayu dan myself, tak reti cakap F1lpno. Heheheeee..


The rest, kami bawa balik. Belum expired lagi tau! Dah 2 hari keluar hospital, belum sentuh pun lagi Yogurt tu. Pagi ni, myself masuk kitchen, ambik yogurt dan jam... kawinkan mereka dan makan!! Memang sedap.... sempoiii.... keh keh kehhhh...

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Moral dari cerita di atas:

1. Rajin menegur orang, kita boleh dapat idea baru. Tak kira lah orang tu, majistret ke doctor ke lawyer ke atau cleaner sekali pun. Tak boleh sombong...
   
   
2. Jangan membazir apa yang kita dapat. Kalau kita tak suka, bagi orang.. heheee

Sekian untuk kali ini.. Take care!

L O V E

*smile*

do you ever wonder?

it could be...

the definition...

when a stranger tells you...

and it only appears on the lips...

but you feel like your life is filled with rainbows...

beware!!

because...

also...

unless you are willing to sacrifice,

it would be okay for you to fall in love


but if you are afraid...

never take the risk!

so...

just tell the person

good day :)

How to ease your cough

It's your second day of the semester. You walk slowly to the 200-loads of lecture hall. You choose your favorite spot and sit. Everyone else comes in, one by one until the hall is fully occupied. Then, the professor comes in, standing right in front of the white board. Your class is supposed to start at 9.30am but its already 9.45am. The professor is late for 15 minutes. It's okay! As long as it's not you who is late. You anxiously open your notebook. You took a pen and ready to jot down all important points that you will obtain from the lecture.

As a sudden your throat feels funny. Something is just not right. You try to clear your throat by coughing once. You thought it'll be okay but it's not. You cough again and now your throat feels so itchy. You cough for several times. A person next to you has covered her mouth (afraid of the germs). So does the one in front of you. You keep coughing until your eyes watery. Why now? You mumble to yourself. Why do I have to cough now? You try to look for something to ease your cough - sweets, plain water, cough drops? None! You find nothing.

The quiet moment just now is already filled with your voice - your loud coughing. Your throat feels really itchy and there's nothing you can do but coughing and continue to cough in order to alleviate the irritation. Your professor is already looking at you with pity kind of look. He stops lecturing because if he continues, no one could listen to him. One by one is looking at you and now, everyone is looking at you with sympathy, of course. They try to help but nothing can be done except letting you to leave and get something to ease your throat irritation. You are blushing and kinda saying, Yes, I am guilty as charged. I will leave now....

Have you ever experienced that? I did. A few times and at a few different occasions. In a classroom, during a seminar and in a bus while I was standing and everyone else was sitting down. Also, I am getting it now. Only the good thing is, I am now at home and only my kids and husband are around. They don't mind if I have to cough for 1000 times. No problem at all. But it is a problem to me. I can't sleep well and I can't eat well. I've tried many ways to stop or at least ease the irritation. I try to remember what people told me to do. I look into various books, including a book that my dad bought for me (by Re@der$ Dige$t) when I was 15 (he wanted me to be a doctor one day. Anyway, thanks ayah but sorry for kind of frustrates you). These are what I've found from my small research:

1. To ease your sore throat, gargle with salt water (this was given by Kak Ana, my ex colleague - thank you Kak Ana). I've tried this and it works! I haven't tried this for dry cough though. Gargling with salt water may result in your throat taste salty - that's pretty obvious I think.
2. If you need a soothing sore throat gargle, use apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (suggested by the Re@derS Dige$t). I haven't tried this one.
3. Add a tablespoon each of fresh-squeezed lemon juice and honey to a cup of hot water. Stir and sip slowly (also suggested by Re@ders Dige$t). I'm applying it now and I think it helps. But of course you have to repeat for a few times and stop taking spicy food. - that's the problem with me. I don't eat anything but spicy food. Oh well......
4. Take a tablespoon or two of asam jawa (tamarind) and mix with a cup of plain water, preferrably slightly hot. You may put a bit of sugar, but I prefer mine to be sour - without sugar (this is my mom's! Thank you ma...)
5. Add a pinch of salt in a tablespoon of fresh-squeezed limau kasturi (I don't know the English name for this). Dissolve the salt using your finger. Sip slowly from the spoon itself. Do not sip the undissolved salt though (this one is my mother in law's. Thank you mak. It really helps. Unfortunately there's no limau kasturi in Al Jubail la mak....)
6. Go to the doctor and ask for a cough syrup. (This usually is my last choice)

I always have this notion that drugs (medicine) contains drugs. It has side effects to your body. For example, if you don't complete your prescribed antibiotics, your lungs could be infected. Of course you may say, just finish the medicine then. Yeahhh... but sometimes, when I am already healed for may be after 2 days, I will forget about the medicine. The doctor may require me to complete the medicine until 4 days. What will happen then? Am I at risk? To me, better be safe than sorry. I am not saying that I'm against the prescribed medicine totally. I did take them when I am really in need. For instance, I took a cough syrup right after my Ceaserian delivery. I had 3 C-sect deliveries and I can tell how painful it was when you're awake. When I was awake, my throat irritated due to the anesthetic, which then lead to a cough. The stitch-wound could become really painful if I cough. So, to prevent me from coughing a lot, I can't help but to take the cough syrup. Besides alleviating my sore throat, it also helps in making me woozy and sleep again.

All in all, you need to take care of yourself. Any remedy won't help if you always expose yourself to hazardous stuff.