Because we're "too cool for school"

My company hosted the 2014 teambuilding + annual dinner last weekend. Had it at The Lost World of Tambun, Ipoh and I arrived home with an aching legs. Made a smart move applying for a day leave today to rest. Can't imagine if I have to go to work today with an aching legs. Jalan pun dah tak betul.

Anyway, we were not allowed to bring our camera/phone during the teambuilding activities as it involved walking/running/swimming in the lake/pool. I only have pictures during the annual dinner. Itu pun tak banyak. I was busy eating and having fun.

The theme was "Back to School" and everyone was dressing up to the theme. Very sporting of them!

Mr. AV the CEO is giving his short welcome speech. Isn't he the cutest?

With my favourite buyer

The boys of OMG

Aren't they the cutest
Left: PHD GM
Center: CEO Office Executive
Right: Account Assistant

My "Too Cool For School" group members

Us again!

I had a wonderful-tiring night. Super tiring sampai tak terkata but I had fun!

Bucket List #10: Nadayu62 Melawati

Syukur Alhamdulillah, tiada kata yang boleh diucapkan selain kata-kata syukur yang teramat sangat. Rasa macam tak percaya pun ada.

If you have been following this blog (cheh, budget-budget famous gitew), I did mentioned over my previous post (dah tak ingat post yang mana satu) on my Bucket List. Bucket List ni adalah list-list benda that I would like to do/achieve in my life, insya Allah. And one of it is to own a house.

The process of owning/wanting to buy a house is indeed a very lonnnggggg process; from doing the research, do a little bit of survey, to constant checking on your savings account.

Research isn't just about googling the new development area but it involves going to the actual development place. I think I did mentioned that my radius of property has to be within my parents house area which means it can't go any further than Melawati, Ampang, Wangsa Maju and Keramat area. Contohnya, Shah Alam and Damansara are currently developing new housing areas. Putrajaya/Cyberjaya is too but these are the kind of locations that I will receive a straight "No" face from my parents even before mentioning it to them.

You may wonder, why I have to be very concern over my parents' decision. You may think that they are the ones who will be paying for the house right? Well, firstly, no, they are not paying for it. Not a single scents. And secondly, I have a kid and maybe I'll have more in the future and that I need someone that I can trust to be there at least to monitor the maid/nanny if I leave the house (read: you do know that I am currently staying with my parents right?). Sending my kids to the nursery is not an option. The world is dangerous. You can't trust no one except for your own family. 

Unless, Izwan can convince her mother to come and stay with us in KL and look after Iman. Hah! memang tidak mungkin itu akan berlaku.

So anyway, back to my property story. 

After almost a year of searching, fighting with Izwan, convincing my parents that I REALLY need to get a house of my own and convincing myself that I have sufficient money to pay for the instalment; I can proudly announce that we have officially bought our first property together. Yes, it's a joint-buy. Apa guna ada suami kalau tak mau berkongsi rumah bukan?

Nadayu62 Melawati - our first property together, Alhamdulillah

The house is scheduled to ready in mid-2017. I have ample time to kumpul duit untuk bayar bulan-bulan nanti, lol!

A very small unit (950sqft), fully-furnished and guarded. I don't need a big house as I don't plan to build a big family. Small house is easier to manage since I don't plan to hire a full time maid and it's low density. So taklah rasa macam duduk kat flat?

Ini adalah sangat penting sebab kitchen dia is to die for!! Harap-harap dapatlah serupa ini.

It's a Leasehold property. Well, I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not but I know Chinese won't buy this kind of property sebab dia Leasehold (I think).

All this is just a traffic light away from my parents' house sebab tu dorang pon setuju.

To be honest, it's a little bit pricey for a 950sqft unit. But what I'm paying is the location. Only a Melawati-ans will understand the beauty and the safety of Taman Melawati. Others might thing that I'm paying a lot more for a small size unit but like I said, I'm paying for the location. It's 30 minutes away from KL and it is still surrounded by the greens. Hence why the high value.

I'm excited for it but it is still a long way to go till it's completion. Who knows I might turn it into an investment. But for now, syukur Alhamdulillah yang tidak terhingga.

A landed property is stilla dream. One day maybe, insya Allah.

Selangor Negeriku

Posted up this status on my Facebook account last Wednesday. Feeling all disappointed over the current situation that is happening in Selangor. 

After so many years, Selangor has finally becoming an establish state managed by the "experience" people who really know how to manage a state rather than thinking on how to grow their own pocket size. For that, I believe, has built the confident and trust between the ruler, The Sultan of Selangor and the state representatives especially towards the MB. And as the rakyat, I also believe, we are happier now than ever - in so many ways and factors.

In the eyes of the rakyat, Pakatan Rakyat has done a wonderful job managing the state of Selangor. We can proudly say that our leader, the MB is finally free from corruption (I'm sure he is not totally free but does not commit serious corruption crime as the previous MBs). We can see that he is working towards the excellence of Selangor, just like how he managed his previous organization. We believe in his capabilities. But unfortunately, all these are going down the drain.

Selangor adalah negeri yang sangat kaya-raya. Kuala Lumpur is situated within Selangor's district. Kaya dengan balak, kaya dengan tanah pasir, kaya dengan kilang-kilang. Segala jenis kilang ada di Selangor. Kilang Carlsberg kat Selangor. Kilang Guinese kat Selangor. These are the source of income for Selangor. Dan sudah pasti, ramai orang mahukan Selangor. Selangor MB seat is always the "hot" seat. Dan sebab itu juga, Selangor tidak pernah lepas daripada berlakunya pergolakan politik.

I hope this is just temporary. A transaction period for a betterment. Maybe, just maybe, what people say about the MB is true. But he is reliable and he can do work. We all know that he is not a politician. He is known for his corporate excellence and because of that, he manages Selangor very well!

Semoga Selangor kembali kepada sedia kala. Kalau sekarang ni di buat pilihanraya, I'm 101% confident that it'll be in the hands of BN. Penat je pergi beratur panjang-panjang mengundi pada May 5, 2013. Sia-sia segala penat lelah peluh yang minitik!

Salam subuh!

Child labour: Iman sweeping the floor

Macam boleh kena tangkap je kalau baca post title.

Being sick is no fun, especially when you have 1,001 things to do/accomplish by end of the week because you need to attend your company's teambuilding activities over the weekend.

I have been a very good girl this year that I hardly fall sick. Checking on my medical record, the last medical leave I took was some time last February due to my never-ending sinus sickness. I have been taking my vitamins religiously and Alhamdulillah, kesihatan amatlah memberangsangkan. Penyakit yang tidak dapat di bendung adalah penyakit malas yang tidak dapat disangkal lagi. Hence why most of my annual leaves were the ELs. Oh, oppps!

Anyway, kembali kepada cerita sakit.

I am currently on 6 different medicines just to make sure that the flu, sore-throat and sinus are gone and that, I am fit for the weekend teambuilding. And while being sick, I took a day rest yesterday hoping that the virus will be gone. Lucky me, the best medicine I had yesterday was a very cute spontaneous action by Iman, trying to help out doing house chores. One of it was her attempt in sweeping the floor.

I have never enjoy falling sick but I did enjoyed my day rest yesterday.

And it makes me wonder, how children pick up things that we never really teach them. I don't remember teaching Iman how to sweep the floor. She spontaneously went to the kitchen, took the broom and started sweeping the floor. But, high possibility that she thinks the broom is a mop as her sweeping method looks like mopping.

She surprises me with her new discovery every day and it makes me a proud mum. She has not yet mastered with her vocab, but physically, she has done more than most kids her age. She enjoys jumping, she knows how to wipe the table (bertuahnya Ibu), she loves playing hide and seek (which is super tiring), she enjoys drawing (more towards conteng-conteng), she has mastered her ABCs and 123s cuma tak master Alif, Ba, Ta je lagi - still work in progress. Syukur, Alhamdulillah.

And that officially make me a proud mum!

The end of the 2 series

About a month ago, 9 July 2014 to be exact, I celebrated my 29th birthday. This year is rather special because my birthday fell on the 3rd week of Ramadan. Syukur and Alhamdulillah for another wonderful year of living. Jatuh pulak pada bulan Ramadan - bulan yang paling mulia. Rezeki yang amat berharga.

This year marks as the final year within the 2 series. Next year, it'll be the beginning of the 3 series, insya Allah. Pejam celik, pejam celik dah nak 30an dah. But I always believe that age is just a number. And that, age does not reflect one's maturity. One can be at his/her 30s but acts like a child and vise versa. Therefore, a year older means a year wiser - for me that is!

Being 29 feels nothing less than 28, or even 27. To be honest, I don't really feel "old". Hey, I am not old, I'm still young at heart!

But my responsibilities and commitments to my family, career and to my studies grew bigger. Syukur Alhamdulillah, kalau dengan izin Allah, I shall complete my Masters by end of this year/early 2015. Mungkin, perancangan untuk membesarkan keluarga Ajlaa-Izwan, and maybe, just maybe, new career enhancement. But for now, I would just like to enjoy being 29, with no plans of what-so-ever!

This post is a month late. But, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family for always, always be there for me even when I said that I don't need their presence/help. A million thanks to my husband, for his patience, dealing with his super crazy maniac wife. For never give-up hope on us even when I'm already am. For being the forever annoying you. Being together is tough but I don't mind being tough together with you.

And last but not least, to my loving best friends, for being the coolest best friends ever! Very sporting to get me a mixer as my birthday present. Super cool and I love it!

I shall end my post with a big hug to all of you, for the well wishes. Thank you so much from the bottom of mu heart!

Pukul 4 pagi

I hate waking up in the middle of the night thinking that it's already morning and that, I have to be ready for work. Wasted few precious hours before the actual waking up time! Lepas tu nanti mulalah rasa menyesal sebab tak tidur puas-puas, sigh!

As I aged, I noticed that I can no longer enjoy the beauty of 8 hours of sleep. The max I can go is 5 hours in a day, excluding evening nap. I'm not that type of person who needs an evening nap. Memang jenis tak boleh tidur petang. Tidur means hanya di waktu malam. Evening nap hanya jika mahu tidurkan Iman. Itu pon lepas Iman lena, I won't continue napping.

Our bedtime is between 10pm-10.30pm. Tapi kalau weekend lambat sikitlah. Kasi chan lah sikit kat Iman. I try to make sure that I reach home before Iman's bedtime so that I can atleast spend time with her. And, I try not to make her sleep too late as that will affect a child's growth. She needs her sleep and she needs to have a fix sleeping time. And because of that, every night without fail, I will wake up between 3.30am-4am sebab dah cukup 5 jam tidur. Lepas tu lepas subuh mulalah mengagau mengantuk!

It's all started when I choose to stay-up late every night during my uni years. Staying up bukan untuk study, tapi pergi melepak. And it became worst when I really had to stay up late to complete my assignments. Biasalah budak art & design, ilham datang tengah malam. Sleep deprived lah lepas tu. Jadi sekarang, ia dah jadi norm to my circle of life. And I become constantly tired because of the lack of sleep.

As much as I hate waking up in the middle of the night. The one thing that I enjoy doing while awake is to watch Iman sleeping. She is at her atmost beauty when she is asleep. Sniffing her face while she is asleep. That is the only time that I can really enjoy her "presence" because it is the only time she lays quietly without jumping or moving around. She snores, just like her dad, which worries me! Does a 2 year old kid snores? 

Well anyway, it's 15mins to 5am. I better stop now and really force myself to sleep before subuh comes.

Salam Tuesday kawan-kawan. Have a nice day ahead!

Kisah baju raya 2014

Just like any other typical Malay family, there will always be a theme color set for every raya, without fail! 

We had light green for our first raya celebration, brownish during the second, orangy on the third and this year we settled for grey. Izwan yang pilih nak color grey, alasannya sebab dia tak pernah ada  baju melayu yang berwarna grey. So, grey it is!

Memandangkan tahun ini merupakan tahun kemalasan dan tidak sempat untuk menghantar baju ke tailor, maka bermulalah acara mencari baju raya secara online. I bought a few. Mana taknya, with just one click, semuanya settled! 

I got my baju raya during the first week of Ramadan while Izwan's, macam biasa dibeli di BAK Tailor berdekatan. Masalah datang bila sampai nak dekat raya tapi baju Iman masih belum jumpa. Was searching high and low over a grey baju kurung tak can fit Iman. Unfortunately, there weren't any. Sampailah ke Parkson KLCC meredah, lalu terjumpa. However, the design wasn't up to my liking. 

Dengan ke-creative-an yang ada di dalam diri, I decided to alter the baju kurung and put up a nicer beading design on Iman's baju kurung.

It took me 2 days to complete the task. Not bad at all!

Dan inilah hasilnya apabila si pemakai menyarungkan baju kurung hasil buatan ibunya.

I must say that I am honestly proud with my own workmanship. Siapa nak puji diri sendiri kalau bukan diri sendiri, ye dak?! Hidden talent namanya.

Maybe I should put some serious thought on this hidden talent of mine. Mana tahu untung-untung boleh buka business, insya Allah!

Syawal 1435H: Kedah

Alhamdulillah, we were given another opportunity to celebrate Aidilfitri together as husband and wife. This year marks the fourth year for us celebrating Aidilfitri and Alhamdulillah, so far we have not encountered any difficulties (read: gaduh) in celebrating raya - which side should we celebrate first. Sebab setiap tahun pun memang akan celebrate with both sides. It's a matter of which side we will be celebrating the 1st day of Raya.

This year it's Kedah time! 

We (Iman and I. Don't ask why Izwan didn't follow us) took Saturday flight to Penang (sebab flight pergi Alor Star semua dah fully booked) and Izwan picked us up at the airport and we spent half of our day there as my mother and sister in law wanted to get themselves a new pair of shoes for raya. Pendek kata, shopping raya. 

I have not been to Penang for the longest time and from the short visit I made, Penang has changed a lot! New nice housing areas were built around the island and membuatkan raya macam nak duduk sana pulak. Maybe I should accept USM offer *cough*cough*

So kembali ke cerita raya.

Our raya involved Kodiang - Jitra - Alor Star. Hari-hari pon Kodiang - Jitra - Alor Star. Sedikit lain rasa beraya di kampung. Keadaan agak sebok unlike Raya di KL. KL sangat lengang sampai boleh bergolek di atas jalan raya. Rasa seronoknya berbeza-beza. Nak merasa beraya dengan udara segar pulak sekali-sekala.

Our family photo on the first day of Aidilfitri. Complete satu set!

And on the 3rd day of Raya, we hosted a so called open house to welcome our new family member. My BIL got married few months ago and didn't get the chance to introduce his new wife to the family. Therefore, the open house is meant to introduce his wife to the family.

This is just half of the clan. Yang lagi half dah balik rumah.

All in all, we had a wonderful Raya time in Kedah. It's good to see that everyone is back to celebrate raya. Orang melayu kata, buang yang keruh ambik yang jernih. 

Syawal 1435H

One for the album

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir & batin from Izwan, Ajlaa and Iman Alexandria

Baju raya theme: Shades of Grey

Ajlaa: Kurung Moden Bahija from Fashionvalet; tudung from thepoplook

Izwan: BAK Tailor

Iman: Parkson; re-altered and beading by yours truly

Well, Hello! Selamat Hari Raya.

It's been a while since my last post. Dah nak dekat 3 bulan, masya Allah. A lot has happened and I don't know where to start. 

Mulanya, meng-delay blogging sebab busy with work and study. Then came Ramadan, busy with work and masa. Alhamdulillah, in between work and Ramadan, I received my 4th semester's results. Walaupun mengharapkan straight A's tetapi dengan kadar kemalasan yang melampau sampai skip classes yang terlampau banyak, I am grateful with the results - A- (1), B+ (1). 

That leads me to my final semester - Thesis! Officially agreed to be under one of my preferred lecturer as my final thesis supervisor. Semester belum start lagi, she has already warned me to prepare the proposal which is due before cuti Raya tapi sampai sekarang tak submit lagi. Kena berusah dengan lebih keras lagi.

Work wise - busy as always!

Was assigned to few new accounts which I'm happy and not happy at the same time. Happy because I get to learn more things, take control on the account, experiencing new environment (category) but the unhappy factor is that - work is piling up high I lost control of them! Not complaining, bersyukur sebab masih bekerja dan boleh menyara Iman dan keluarga.

Ohh, I've summarized on what had happened over the past 3 months. Basically, busy bee is my middle name. 

I miss blogging but I just don't have time to blog. I miss rambling on this blog of mine! I miss posting crappy stuff. I miss syok sendiri di blog sendiri. Everytime I try posting something, mesti tersekat di tengah jalan. 

Terlupa - the biggest event that happened over the past 3 months of hiatus - I turned 29!! Shall post about it! Mesti! 

But before I forget, would like to wish Selamat Hari Raya to all of you my loyal readers (blog perasan syok sendiri saya ini, kalau ada!). Mohon maaf jika ada terkasar bahasa, terguris hati secara sengaja atau tidak sengaja. Semoga raya kita diberkati. And together we pray to all our brothers and sisters who are facing difficult time in war (Palestinian) and in sorrow (family and friends of those on board of flight MH17 & MH370). Semoga Allah lindungi mereka, amin.