Karma, episode 1

First and foremost, let me apologize for not updating this blog as much as I would like, darlings. Since I've been relocated to another office, the workload has doubled, putting a dent to my social life as well as to my newly-discovered blog life. I even went to bed early these days, darlings! You won't be seeing me up and around after 11 p.m. (Shay even called me a bore yesterday as I keep declining her invite to go for movies or dinner! Sorry, babe.) Doesn't matter, I think. I'm at the height of my career. At least, I think so.

I've been promising for that Male A's kenduri kahwin for so long. And finally I got to sit in front of my reliable Macbook with a cup of piping hot Nescafe and relax a bit as I wander from blog to blog. I missed out on most of the action, unfortunately.

Okay. So, back to the real deal. It happened quiet a while ago, so I hope it's not as stale as I thought it is. On the 22nd of December, Shay, some friends and I was at The Curve for our monthly shopping trip (yes, we do have our monthly shopping trip, dearies!). There were five of us that day, having fun as always when I was suddenly stopped dead at my track. Not a few meters away, a man and a woman were standing, talking and laughing with their hands linking to each other. Shay said it all with her "Oh my God!".

Shay: Just say the word, girl, and he is history
Jane: Is that him? That jerk?
Shay: Damn right
Hana: Eh, tunang dia ke tu? Or his wife?
Me: They are getting married next week
Jane: You are right, Shay. Come on, girl, just say it and we'll make him pay BIG time
Balqis: Gile ke? We are in public place. Lets drag him to the parking zone first la. Then we can bantai cukup-cukup
Me: Do you guys believe in karma?
All: Huh?
Hana: As in Alicia Keys punye lagu ke? (Hana is a bit of jokester in our circle)
Me: Well, not mine anyway. His karma
Shay: She has something up her mind now (telling everyone else)
Balqis: You want back-up ka? I can call my sisters sekarang (Balqis have 6 sisters, younger and older than she is)
Me: I think this is the battle of me, myself and I
Jane: Knock him dead, sister! Literally
Shay: Are you sure about this?
Me: Just watch me

And I walked over to the couple with purpose and confidence that never waver as I got closer to them.

Me: Excuse me

Both of them turned to look at me simultaneously.

Male A: You?
K: Siti?

Then they looked at each other in puzzlement.

Both: You know her?

Believe me, darlings, it was actually weird to be standing there looking at these people. It was like being in a drama without a director nor crews. Well, I've got to act fast before that little chicken in me got to me.

Me: Hi, K. Hello, A
Male A: Uh, hi
K: Siti! Omigod, lame tak jumpa you! How are you? How do you know? Since when you know each other?

I could tell at that moment there is nothing more Male A would like to do rather than drag K along and run as fast as he can far far away from me. I believe K was thinking along the same line, too but curiosity got the best of her.

Me: The bra wasn't hers, am I right?

I could not believe it, darlings. Did I just say that out loud? Dear me, I wasn't thinking at all! What if Male A fainted right there and then? His face was as white as that fabulous white cashmere sweater Jane bought an hour ago. Hah! Like I care.

K: What!?
Male A: I think this is not the time and place to talk about it. I thought we are over it!
Me: Oh, I'm so over it, darling. Just want to check with K. Hey, K, I don't know your bra size but I think that bra I found in his car wasn't yours. If it is, I'm sorry, I lit fire to it
K: What!?
Male A: That is really unnecessary, Siti. You know we are getting married soon
Me: Oh, yes. Congratulations on that. Nice ring, by the way, K. It was a tad too big for me, hope it fits you like a dream
K: What!?

Poor K. Did I go too far? But, I wasn't done yet.

Me: K, I hope you've thought well of marrying this guy. And you, A, never have I regret anything as much as I regret having you in my life at all.

I took out my calling card and hand it over to K who surprisingly appeared calm after a few moment of blankness and surprise. I really thought she was going to hyperventilate, dearies. Thankfully, she did not.

Me: If you ever need to ask me anything about this guy you are marrying, just give me a call. Good day, darlings. Ciao!

And I walked away with my head held high. I even managed a wink to Male A who was rather enraged by that moment. Must be hating me more than anything else in the world. Well, the feeling is mutual.

Me: Lets go get something to eat, girls. This one is on me
All: You go, girl!

Never have I feel so good, darlings. It may be low, it may be unnecessary (as Male A said), but I had the final word. As we girls sashayed hand in hand, I never even turned back for a little sneak peek. I never even cared if they are fighting. All I know is this, revenge is indeed sweet.

When little girls go missing...

It is rather depressing to pick up a newspaper nowadays. Those innocent little faces and the faces of their parents could haunt you for a long time. And it is indeed sad that things like these are happening in our own country. Little girls are snatched away from their families in broad daylight. It is simply horrifying, darlings. Is there no safe place for our little kids anymore?

Since Nurin, my brothers and sister are keeping watchful eyes on their kids. Even Shay is very cautious with her 6 year old Jasrina (Shay is a single mother, darlings). Jasrina had once been approached by a man asking for directions when she was playing outside her house. Imagine, dearies, asking for directions from a 6 year old! Luckily, the gate was locked and Jasrina was smart enough to holler for her mummy who was tending the garden. The man disappeared when Shay appeared. It's disturbing really, how far this people could go with their nasty intentions.

When Sharlinie was first reported missing, Mama called all her children with family, again, to remind them to take good care of their children. Lines of worry and concern etched her face as she talked to every single one of her grandkids. She asked them to be very careful and do not talk to strangers. Angah even had the gall to joke about it by saying he will put detecting device on his twin daughter! Not funny, Angah. If that what it takes to keep our children safe, than be it.

The most important thing now is to capture the villain(s). These people, they have no heart nor conscious to kidnap the little girls. They should be punished severely. I could only pray really hard for the girl and her family. As for you darlings out there, take a very very good care of your kids, and yourself of course!

I am back!

I am indeed back, darlings, after such a long break. Lots of happenings here and there. One the biggest happenings, Arif got engaged! Yes, dearies, my twin brother is now engaged to his childhood sweetheart. How sweet is that?

As Mama slipped the beautiful ring (which was my Opah's), Babah whispered to me discreetly "One down, one more to go. And yet I wonder if I could ever let my little girl go". Oh Babah. I, too, wonder if I am ready to let go yet. No worries, though, I am yet to find my knight in shining armor, if there is actually one out there.

Arif was grinning and smiling all over on that day, 1st January 2008. He was truly a happy man. All the other brothers and the in-laws and me, of course, teased him senseless. He just smiled and smiled. They planned to get married in a year time.

Speaking about marriage, I attended a 'kenduri kahwin' at the end of 2007. Guess whose was it? Male A, darlings! Surprise, surprise. I did got an invitation from him, if you remember. However, the real reason for me attending it was because I got a personal invitation, from the bride herself. How did it happen? I'll tell you in the next post.

Ta-ta!

I'll be back!

Dear darlings,

I am terribly sorry for keeping my fingers idle for some time. There's a lot of things to be done at the moment, but I promise I'll come back soon. Very soon! Until then, Happy 2008 and take care!

Lots of love,

City Girl

English, anyone?

Last weekend, big brother's son, Khalid (or better known as Abang) came over to the house to spend his weekend with us as his Ayah and Mama were celebrating their ... ahem! 13th anniversary at Redang Island. Now, darlings, the first language at our home is always English. Babah made it a rule to speak only English in the house to encourage his children as well as the grandkids to master the language. Abang is a very bright 9-year old and he can read, speak and write in English much better than kids at his own age (not that I'm bragging, darlings). However, when his parents dropped him off that Friday night, he was conversing with us in Malay, for the first time ever. It was like "ayam dengan itik bercakap" kinda thing. We said something in English and he'd replied back with Malay.

Babah: You want to play Scrabble with me and Nenek?
Abang: Nak! Nak!
Arif: I want to play, too
Abang: Kita main Scrabble bahasa melayu ok Atok?

And Babah was silent for a second or two.

Babah: Why do you want to play Scrabble in Malay?
Abang: Sebab asyik main Scrabble English je..... (head down)
Babah: But I thought you like to play Scrabble, in English?
Abang: Hm......

Mama immediately noticed something is definitely wrong with her grandson so she took his arm and led him to sit beside her.

Mama: Do you have something to tell us, Abang?
Abang: Tak ade......
Mama: It's ok, you can tell Nenek and Atok and Ayah Arif and Mama Siti (yes, my name starts with Siti, dearies). We won't get angry or anything
Abang: Kawan Abang kate......
Mama: Yes, dear. Go on
Abang: Kawan Abang kate sape pandai English tu pondan!

Imagine our surprise, darlings! Arif almost fell off from the sofa.

Babah: Why did your friend say that?

And Abang proceeded to tell us that in his class, besides him and a few Chinese and Indian boys, only girls excelled in English language. Meaning, he is the only Malay boy who gets the high marks for the subject. His English teacher always sung him praises. And he told us other Malay boys in his class refused to be friend with him because he is good with the language and they even teased him about it by calling him "Pondan". Arif cursed as Babah winced while I patted the rather depressed Abang on his shoulder. Poor boy.

He was alienated by his friends just because he is English-proficient (did I get that correct?). That's very sad, don't you think so, darlings? The kids are taking peer-pressure to another level nowadays, I tell you. Instead of looking up to him, they are mocking him and calling him name. Is it Abang's fault that he could master the language well even though he is only 9? I know that sometimes people thought an English-speaking 9-year old is a snob, but Abang is a really sweet child. He will converse in Malay with other people and converse in English when he really need to because he said that "Not everyone can understand English".

I personally believe that it is rather important for a child to master English because nowadays, English is THE language if you want to move forward. Not that I'm degrading our very own mother language, darlings, but it is a fact that English is very important. Even Maths and Science are taught in English in schools! Babah has done a wonderful job in incorporating the "English only" rule at home as all his children and his grandkids are rather good at the language. We are not allowed to laugh or scold when people make mistakes in pronunciation or grammar or whatever when it comes to mastering the language, instead we are to correct the mistakes for the person gently.

Nevertheless, I thought Babah handled the situation pretty well. Well, of course, darlings! He had his hands full with 4 boys and 2 girls to brought up once upon time. Now, he has his little baby girl (ahem!) and her twin brother to look after, because they simply refuse to leave the house.

Babah: Then you will never speak English again?
Abang: I want to... (hooray! He's back to English)
Babah: Are you afraid of your friends?
Abang: No. It's just that I don't like it when they call me "Pondan"
Babah: I speak English. Ayah Arif speaks English. Even your father speaks English. We are "Pondan" as well?
Abang: NO! (horrified!)
Babah: There are a lot of people out there who can speak English and they do speak English every time. Tun speaks English as well, and the Angkasawan. They are not "Pondan". They are very successful, aren't they?
Abang: Yes. They are my heroes! They are not "Pondan"!
Babah: There you go, son. Tell that to your friends the next time they call you "Pondan"
Arif: And remember, Abang, you have to fight for us boys, you know. You can't let the girls win every time
Abang: Sure can, Ayah Arif! We're going to beat the girls!
Arif: Now that's my boy

Arif shot me a very smug smile, a smile that said "We boys are the best". Yes, Arif, whatever. And I heard Mama said to Babah "Khalid is going to conquer the world one day". Indeed, Mama.