A new place...A new life..

Just got my internet connection today..and the first thing I want to do is BLOGGING!!

Well, I am now blogging from my new workstation at Level 11, Menara Bank Pembangunan. I reached the buiding at 7.50 a.m. yesterday, full of anxiety. Too worried till I could not find the entrance to the building! Actually, the ground floor of the building is under major renovation so they have to close the main entrance. And I lost my way to the alternative entrance! Just could not think straight. Thank God one Bank Pembangunan person is willing to lead me.

As I entered the building, I saw lots of familiar faces and I could feel that I am at ease. Nothing to worry Rafiqah!

Unlike BITMB where we have to clock-in at our designated floor, we only have to do it at Ground Floor, which is fair for everyone. Once I've swipe my access card, I entered my new office. Since it was rather early in the morning, the office was rather empty. Since there was a lot of empty cubicle, I had trouble finding mine. So, I asked a nice lady (the only person there at that time) and she showed me. My new workstation is rather shabby looking and way smaller than my good old cubicle. But I don't complaint much cause I know it is going to be temporary. By the end of this month, we are going to move to Ground Floor (the one that is currently renovated).

Then, I invited my new friend to have breakfast with me which she kindly turned down as she had hers already. So, here I am all alone, went to Level 10 to drink and there I met my ex-dept mate. Yippee!!

Sharp 8.30 a.m., I was back at my desk. What am I suppose to do? I do not have a phone and no access to PC network i.e. no email, no internet. I am doomed. But not for long..A kind man came and greeted me, and he asked me whether I was introduced to my Head. Since the answer is NO, he brought me and my collegue (from BITMB) to my boss' room. My boss was a tall man, probably in his 40s. An experienced man, I thought!

Then, he introduced me to the rest of my branch mate. On a whole, there's about 20 of us. Around 8 doing credit & marketing, 8 doing supervision, 3 doing Finance and 1 driver. One driver for one branch! Cool..Now, I don't have to rebut-rebut for a driver unlike before, where the whole Bank fought for the service of 3 pool drivers...aaahhh..a sigh of relief..

At around 10.30 a.m., we were called for a loan supervision section meeting, where my Boss, explained our target - Disbursement, Collection, Income and Follow-Up Report. My! That's a lot of job to be done! I'm geared up for the challenge.

Then, the rest of the day is all about reading policy (sampai berair2 mata sebab ngantuk) and then I visited my friends' dept. They have nicer partition I must say! It's ok Rafiqah, u'll get one soon..

Back at my office, we were treated with pisang goreng panas and flower-like popia. I was a bit shy-shy cat to join but they said there's no reason for me to be shy. In this branch, we are family, they said. We carry out our own activities like pot luck and family day. Different from HQ people. Wow! Impressive. They seem to have some kind of a branch spirit..and I am starting to fall in love with my new place and officemates!

Today, I was more suprised when my boss treated us for a free lunch at Pizza Hut. What?! I asked my new collegue, what was it all about..And they said, NONE! Boss likes to treat us every month. EVERY MONTH! Biar betul.. There goes my diet!

All in all, I guess it is not bad after all...I know that starting 1st Sept, I shall be loaded with lots of work...based on what my new collegues here have warned me. The manangement expects a lot from the branches as we are the main revenue center for the Bank. So, high expectation equals heavy workload. But if the working atmosphere is as friendly as it is now, I can be sure that I could tolerate such workload. For me, the most important is warm and happy working environment...This will motivate us to do our job well..and free lunch every month..That's a BONUS! Hehehe..

As at now, I'm so looking forward for public holiday tomorrow..Had enough of reading policies!!

The last few days at Level 26, BITMB..

On Thursday, 25th August 2005...

Sorting stuffs..

Box manufacturer must be smiling now..Sales for this month is up!

Some people just can't stop working!!

On Friday, 26th August 2005...

Continue packing..in a more casual way..

Hey..that's the camerawoman in yellow (i.e. ME!) , busy sorting out stuffs..

Me having fun despite the aching body..Ouch!

Looking deep into the memo of transfer..Apalah nasib ku hari Senin ni..

Having lunch together for the last time...in the same building...

Me also wanna eat!

It is sad when..

It is sad when...you have to leave the place that u have been working for almost 6 yrs.
It is sad when...you have the feeling that you are going to miss your friends that you have been working with
It is sad when...you are located in the Branch instead of HQ
It is sad when...everybody got its new cubicle number, except you..and found out that they somehow missed out your name
It is sad when...the moment you got the cubicle number, it tends out to be a cubicle for clerk, instead of exec's
It is sad when...we are laughing while packing stuffs and suddenly you remember that it is the last day we are together
It is sad when...you realised the name that you always mentioned when someone asked where you are working, will no longer exist by 1st September
It is said when...it ends this way..

From 1st September 2005 Rafiqah is going to move from Credit II Department (SMI Loans), Level 26, BITMB to Level 11, KL Branch, Loan Supervision Unit, SME Bank

Goodbye Bank Industri & Teknologi Malaysia Berhad..
Welcome SME Bank..

Ya Allah, permudahkanlah perjalanan hidup hamba Mu ini..Amin..

Deadline..

Wednesday, 24/8/05 - Received email from Admin & Property department:-
Setiap kakitangan di peruntukkan 5 kotak seorang, dan setiap jabatan di peruntukkan 30 kotak (Untuk fail-fail jabatan). Fail-fail jabatan yang tidak dibawa bersama hendaklah diserahkan kepada Jabatan Pentadbiran & Harta untuk disimpan/ diserahkan kepada jabatan baru. Semua peralatan pejabat tidak dibawa bersama kecuali komputer dan printer peribadi.

At least I got my PC that contains 1001 valuable items (personal downloaded pics, articles, sample of faxes, letters, papers - all the 6 years of hard work..oh yeah, resume, resignation letter..hehehe..)
Some of us has started sorting, disposing the unwanted and packing the vital items inside the boxes.

Thursday, 25/8/05 - Continue packing..Boxes and scraps were everywhere. It was a massacre..
But some do continue working, finishing the important task before taking over a new job..

From Friday, 26/8/05 to Sunday, 28/8/05 - Transfer process will take place. All our stuffs will be transferred to our new place, either the building across-the-street or new level in the same building..

From Monday, 29/8/05 to Tuesday, 30/8/05 - Training will be given to our Bank's staff on the new policy and new job function..Oh yes, we are adopting to their policies and organizational structure. The victim will always be a victim..

Wednesday, 1/9/05 - Effective from this date, we are to undertake our position as stipulated in the Human Resource's letter..Tarikh Keramat tu..

Hope there's internet connection so I can continue blogging..

Waiting for the Unknown

22nd August 2005..hmmm..this is the day scheduled for each one of us to receive a letter, indicating where will we go after this..

As per my previous entry (you can read it here), my Bank has been taken over by another Bank. I am working in one of the development banks in Malaysia. Basically, the idea to merge between two development banks comes from the overlapping of products and services, using the same source of fund which mostly comes from the Government. In Budget 2005, the notion to set-up an SME Bank was brought up. This Bank is to cater for the Small and Medium Enterprise' funds requirement to enable them to expand and simultaneously, increase Malaysian economic status.

Thus, by merging two development banks, it could streamline the products to provide better service to the SMEs. With the overlapping of services and idea to set-up SME Bank, the across-the-street Bank has 'makan' our Bank and turn our Bank to SME Bank. Since they have staffs who handled SME accounts there, they shall be transferred to SME bank and the rest will join the parent company, which is to handled big corporate accounts like maritime and infrastructure. So they will be a lot of reshuffling going on..

So who to where? That is to be determined today. Each of our Bank's staff (including me!) will receive a letter. A letter to show us our future..
Since I'm into evaluating SME loans, BIG probability I'll be joining the SME Bank. But to which department and with whom? The answer to which is still unknown..and I hate waiting for the unknown..the conclusion is, I HAVE NO MOOD TO WORK TODAY!!

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Updated at 5.45 p.m.:

Got the LETTER!

I am transferred to Loan Supervision Department for KL Branch!! What?? I hate, hate, hate the job. I hate doing 'ceti' work, kutip hutang here and there..
Sheshhh..
I have never done Loan Administration work before, but I know it involves working with problematic clients..which means no FREE LUNCH for me!
But then again, another side of me said life goes on..Just take the challenge! After all, this is just a secondment letter and I'm under evaluation. If I can't handle the job, they could transfer me to another department that I'm best in. Semuanya berserah kepadaNya..
But then, if only CreateMyOwnGift is stable enough so I could quit this job and become my own boss..ahhhh...

What's in for entertainment?

What would you do if you are trap in a confined space for X amount of time? This is how a one-year old lad entertain himself when his parent put him in his crib..



Let me see..
1) A birthday cap from Tok Teh..embroidered with Ashraff's name (hmmm..an idea for createmyowngift?)
2) A remote control..
3) A tamborine..
4) Ibu's mineral water??

The above could make him quiet for half and hour..

But after that, these are the looks he gave us..



You really know how to make our hearts melt..

Hijacking..

One fine day in the month of May, my office phone rang. From the ringing tone, i could tell it was an internal call..

"Hello Pn Rafiqah. I'm from Training Deparment. I just want to inform you that you are nominated for a course in Japan for two weeks. The course will be from 28th June to 16th July."

Wow! This is the first time in my 5 years service, I was offered the priviledge to attend an overseas course. It just took my breath away..Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun...hmmm..What do they have there? One thing for sure, they have the most advanced technie gadgets there..then they have Disneyland...then I know the people in Tokyo is fashion freak...BUT, I will have language difficulties, the food is non-halal (and I hate sushi!) and it is too pricey to shop. Oh whatever! It's a free holiday!

Opps, I'm still on the phone..

"Pn Rafiqah, we want to know your position as we want to get CEO's approval for the course"..

Sure! Anytime..

Then I waited, and waited..and NO news. What happened?

Then, one fine day, the news spread like CNN..The lady boss is to attend a course in Japan for two weeks!! What?? My heart broke into pieces. I know from then on the dream trip to Japan was merely..a dream. She, the lady boss, has 'HIJACKED' the course from me..As a boss, she has attended several overseas course, yet still find it insufficient and have the guts to steal away my precious free holiday. Selfish brat!

So life goes on..The whole thing was a blessing in disguise. Without Japan, I can witness Ashraff's first step, which I wouldn't want to trade for anythg!

Two months past..and one fine day in the middle of July, my phone rang..

"Pn Rafiqah, you are nominated for a two-week course in Istanbul, Turki. The course will start on 19th September. The best thing about this course is it's a half-day course, so you will have the evening to yourself.."

Turki..Europe! Relek..relek..don't get excited. Remember what happened last time? Yes I do.

But now, at this hour, my nomination to the course was approved by my CEO, training dept. has taken my passport details, I have received the flight schedule, and now waiting for the organiser in Turki to approve my attendance.

I can't really say that it is 100% guaranteed that I'll fly off to Turki as I know 'hijacking' can happen anytime, anywhere..Not until you have boarded the plane. Praying hard that it will go thru..At least, this time around, I'm going to a Muslim country..in Europe..aaahhhh...

Am I her?

Which Desperate Housewife are you?

Is it so? From the description, I think I can live with that. Sounds not that desperate, hah? But then again, I don't watch the story due to time constraint (what channel and what time is it again?). Probably she's one desperate stay-at-home wife!

Thanks famygirl for giving me the link!

Smoke (Haze) Gets In Your Eyes.

This HAZE is killing me! I can feel the pain in my throat, a blocked nose and a teary eyes. Deary Hubby too. Thank God Ashraff is strong enough not to be suffocating in this bad condition.

Was it this bad the last time?

Few years ago, Malaysia was hit by the same phenomenon. I was in Australia at that time, still doing my degrees. I heard that we were advised to wear mask and not to go out from our house or office. Must be bad, I guess. Wish I was somewhere out of this hazey box, London perhaps..

Heiii..where's the mask that we wear when we carry the theme 'SARS Attack!' in my company's treasure hunt competition last two years? We won second place for The Best Costume. Found the gloves but the mask was nowhere to be seen...Wish it's still here so I can wear it to my trip to Sogo on our long Friday's lunch..


Ashraff's birthday party is this weekend. I don't feel good about it. Scared that most of my friends would prefer to stay at home during weekend due to this severe weather. Who would attend Ashraff's party then? Feel like postponing it to a later date. Will discuss with hubby and mak & abah tonite. See if we can do it indoor instead. Hope Mak won't mind her carpet and sofa being smudged with dirty little hands...

Rain, Rain, Please come and Take the Haze away..

Memento of a One-Year old Ashraff.

Flu bug has attacked the family. I'm on MC yeterday and now hubby's turn. I hope Ashraff has strong antibody or else he'll make his Ibu a lot more miserable - with sleepless nite of course!

Here's some of Ashraff's photos taken on the day he becomes a toddler..


Looking rather disturbed when we interrupted him while he's busy picking up the grass..



A candidate of grandpa-grandson look alike contest. Not only they look the same, but they seems to be sharing the same interest..

Busy running around in the backyard..Look at his face, full of excitement on God knows what!




Birthday boy - sleeping soundly..

It's Ashraff BIG day!!

Today my beloved Ashraff has turned ONE!! He's a big boy now. He can walk (or should I say run!), can make lots of noises, can associate lots of word with action for e.g will wave goodbye when we say 'bye-bye', can do 'Ali Cafe' action, will cover both ears with his hands when he hears the 'Azan', will look up at the ceiling if we say 'Lizard', or tried to open the curtain with his small hands when we say 'Bird', will raise his hands when we say 'Who's Ashraff?'. What a milestone!

NO WAIT!! He's not ONE yet..Not at this time of the day. He'll only turned ONE at 9.47 p.m. tonite. That reminds me I have to set an alarm at my handphone so that it will prompt me to wish Ashraff HAPPY BIRTHDAY with lots of hugs and kisses at 9.47 pm sharp tonite!

Where were I at this time last year? Oh yeah, I was in the labour room, playing game from my Nokia phone. I was dilated for about 4 cm, but I can still stand the pain. The Nurse kept on asking me "Tak sakit ke dik? Boleh main handphone lagi..Water bag dah pecah dah ni..We have put you on drip..Want some epidural?". The last question is totally off. No pain and yet asked me whether I need an epidural?? Trained drug pusher, i thought.

Then the real pain came at about 7 pm and above. Ooohhh..aahhhhhs...Sakit yang..sakit yang.."Pakai oksigen tu dik, kurang sikit sakit" Tak jalanlah kak!! I screamed. Fitri continued to recite doa and I followed him with my shakey voice. He's such a good companion. I guess the antenatal class really teached him on what to do in the labour room. But thank God that it lasted for only 2 hours before our first baby by the name of Ashraff Mohd Fitri was born.

The sound of his cry and the sound of my good old Bilal 'mengazankan' our baby was such a beautiful sight. The whole day of last year is somethg that I will never forget. It's the day when I became a Mother...

One Day to go..

Been rather busy this week but have to find time to write in my beloved blog. Why? Because tomorrow is Ashraff's 1st birthday and I know I have to record this. Seriously, I have mixed feelings about him turning ONE - sad, happy, excited.

Last year, at this time, I was at Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital, enjoying my meal (they have great food there!), no pain whatsoever. Yeah, I was admitted one day earlier due to my high BP. Very risky, Dr Jemilah said. So, the whole of the day, was spent lying down, sleep (but tido2 ayam one) and watching TV. Different nurse came and checked on my BP and baby's heart beat (I still remember one nurse told me that my baby was asleep as she could tell from the sound of the heart beat. That was around 11 am. How sweet!).

Despite being treated like a queen (I would prefer a princess!) in the hospital, I was a bit annoyed with the whole check-up procedure. I feel like asking them to check on my heart beat instead as I can feel like it is beating really fast. It's like waiting for a time bomb to explode. When will I feel the contraction? When will this baby come out? What is the pain like? Am I strong enough to go through this?

Only at around 10 p.m. that night, I could feel the slight discomfort, more like a period pain. When I told hubby about it, he helped me to apply the minyak selusuh at my big tummy and asked me to drink air selusuh. We slept together that night on the single bed, hugging each other, with our hands on my tummy hoping that our bundle of joy will be born tomorrow.

The rest will be updated tomorrow...

Jambatan roboh lagi??

I don't know why that sometimes I can be too sensitive. Sometimes I can swallow all the jokes, sarcastic words or harsh words dumped at me. But sometimes, a small thing can be a BIG factor to me.

That's what happened between me and my guy collegue here. There were few times when the bridge between us just collapsed, all work related. I guess my sensitiveness at that time blows the hell out of me. So, when he tried to ask me somethg after that, I just snapped at him. So, from there I guess he knows I'm boiling mad at him. A very small matter when I think of it, but my bad temperament had causes the London Bridge to fall down. U can ask Bro Frank on this, dia dah masak ngan perangai I..kan Bro Frank?

He tried to send me few funny-funny emails to make amend thing. But I couldn't be bothered to reply. Eventhough I've calmed myself down, I guess ego has taken its place. Then, I took a drastic step and wrote an email, voicing out my dissatisfaction in a harsh way. So immature of me!

I hate this 'jambatan roboh' situation, either with close friends, collegues or anybody! What's my next course of action? Wanted to talk to him face to face at first, but seriously I'm not good at it. I can be too emotional, or even cry (I dont want to do that infront of a male collegue!) and I'm scared that situation might be worse by facing him 'live'. So, I decided to wrote him an email to apology for sending him such harsh email. I guess email (or anythg written for that matter) is the best way of communicating your feelings especially when situation like this occur. I always do that with Bro Frank too when we had argument and it worked out well. So, there goes an email to him..now, waiting for his reply, if ever he will..

*****************************************************

He replied my email. Yey! Phewwwwhhh..I've been expecting this to come. As a friend, he did give me some piece of advice (with such a powerful choice of word..I dont know that he's English is so damn good!). If he was to give his piece of mind 'live', I might be crying infront of him now..Darnnn..

Basically, what he told me, Bro Frank has countlessly told me. And most of the things he said, I already know. As a reminder, I guess I'll list some of the things here (so Bro Frank could read too):-

1. "What goes around comes around". To use strong remark to others may result in such unpleasant circumstances towards ourself and that's why we have to really think hard before accusing others of such thing. True enough! It doesn't make us feel good

2. In this world, no matter how hard we try, we may never get all that we wanted. So, accepting what we have or don't have is a virtue of life.

3. Accepting others as what they are like what u want others to accept u as what u are. Sometimes, if we have to bite our toungue, step back into the shadow and swallow our pride in order to avoid conflicts or hurt feeling of others, so let it be.

4. Life is complicate if we wanted it to be, and life will be so beautiful if we can start the day with a smile. I like this!

So, I guess that's it! He said what he have to say. Eventhough it's like a knife thru my heart, I took it positively.

To my collegue (if he's reading this), I can't promise there will be no jambatan roboh lagi after this. But, on my part, I'll do my best to avoid such unnecessary conflicts. Senang cerita, sabarlah sikit Rafiqah. Bro Frank dah several times remind u that, but u never learn, do u?

I will miss them..

Department meeting is over. New tasks, new deadlines *sigh*. Motivation is at zero level. Our Bank is in the verge of merging with another bank, just across the street. It's not actually merge but more of a takeover. One Bank will become the subsidiary of the other. And our Bank is the victim. Rumours spread that we have to move to the other bank's building. I am going to miss our current building, especially the toilet. TOILET? Yes, toilet. Our building has luxurious toilets, like those in 5-star hotels, most outsiders commented. With concealed lighting, black marble, and England imported kepala paip. It's superb clean u can even sleep in the toilet if u r too sleepy. It's also my milk factory where I installed my 'milk production line' during my breastfeeding day.

I've been to our neighbour's building. Nothing compared to ours. I will miss our building if we have to move. Goodbye nice toilet!!

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Yesterday, hubby's officemates did a farewell dinner for him at Level 6, Sogo..and I was invited. Who doesn't like free food. Yey! and it's Chinese..yummylicious! We were seated at a 'VIP' table - VIP because the big boss was there. We had a fruitful discussion during dinner. We started of with investment topic - use other people's money, real estate (Robert Kiyosaki's stuff) and unit trusts. Then we move on to current issues - Mahallil being kicked out from Proton (poor guy, he's jobless now! Will he become our new CEO for the new merged bank?)..etc, etc,etc. Did not join much..busy enjoying my meal..hehehe..

Then hubby had to give his farewell speech. To my suprise (and others too!), he took out a piece of paper with his speech printed on it. Remarks made by his pal "Ingat Oscar ke ni?", "Jangan lupa email kat kitaorang speech kau tu"..We had a good laugh. And it was an excellent speech (I wonder when he find time to come out with such speech).

Then, came the gift-giving ceremony. His big boss handed him a gift box, contributed by all his department mates. He was forced to open the box. Here's what he got...

It is an original England's jersey printed with IAD KGB (Internal Audit Department, Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad)!! It must have cost a fortune. Hubby's grinning from ear to ear now. He wanted that jersey so much and now he got it! Boy, am I glad to see he is happy!

As soon as we reached home, he tried the jersey on. And here's what he said "Ada macam Beckham tak?" Helllooooo..perasan kinda guy!! And another one "I think I should do this often..jump from one place to the other so I could collect farewell gift as good as this"..hahaha..

I wish hubby all the best at his new place, starting 1st August 2005. Eventhough it might not be a greener pasture, don't worry, I'll be on your side..And I know I'll miss all his good friends at KGB.

So dear, what am I suppose to do with your jersey? Wash them? Hang them? Or put them inside your bag for another futsal game?

Welcome to the club!

This weekend, two of my closest friends (in different area - one in office and another one, my primary and secondary pal) have entered into a different chapter in life:-

Suriati - from a wife to a mother on 23rd July 2005.
Welcome to motherhood!! People said becoming a mother changed your life. Indeed!! Be prepared for a prolonged sleep deprivation (equivalent to panda eye in the morning). Be prepared to be in the limelight when your child screamed on top of his lung in the middle of a crowded shopping complex. Be prepared to go through the rough journey of breastfeeding. Be prepared to be FAT!! (that's what I'm going thru now..fat control alert!!)

But at the same time, its worthwhile. It teaches u to become more creative - becoming a clown, song composer and candidate of malaysian idol just to make your baby stop crying. It brings you back to your old childhood memory (u can see that I'm trying hard to remember all the good songs in my previous blog entry). It makes you closer to your own mother. Your baby makes you laugh even in bad times. Your baby makes you cry as it touches your heart with his warm smile. His just-wake-up-from-bed smell is the best perfume in the world (even my estee lauder perfume couldn't beat that!). Oh my, I'm missing my Ashraff now!!

To Sue and beloved hubby, congratulations! You have been waiting for almost two years for him to come..Now that he's here, enjoy his company!! Oh yeah, enjoy your two-months leave too, meaning which I might be taking over some of your job..Darn..

Izreen - from single to a wife on 23rd July 2005
Congratulations Mrs Corp Tai-Tai and her Other Half!! It was a lovely wedding reception and me & hubby really enjoyed it (your mum is an excellent wedding planner..kalah J.Lo!). You look extremely beautiful in the creamy gold wedding dress (and slimmer too!)

What can I say about the bride..me and her have come a long way. We were classmates since Standard One up till Form Three. I tried to escape from her, but just can't! People always associate the bride as being a domineering, and trying hard to be in the centre of attention gal and at school, we were ashamed of being related to her. When I got to know she's my bau-bau bacang relative, it gave me that creepy feeling..hahaha..

Izreen, Izreen..Despite of whatever people said bout her, she is such a kind-hearted lady. She's a helpful friend, full of spirit, positive minded, which in the end made me feel lucky and proud to become one of her friends. And I'm sure she could be an isteri Mithali to her Other Half. What a lucky guy Nizar is to be married to her!! And thanks for being a good friend (and sedara) to me all these years!!

Ehem, ehem..Fina, are u deleting Izreen's no from you hp now that she's married? U remember what u told me at my wed reception last time..hahaha..

Start 'processing'?

Last few days my sis went back to our house (she stays in Wangsa Maju). She said she misses her nephew so much so she had to go back home. Ye ke ni? Ke mintak duit ngan mak? Sis, sorry if u happen to drop by my blog and read this:)

While playing with Ashraff, she made this remark,"Kak Ija, Ashraff ni dah semakin aktif. Tak lama lagi dah takde bau baby. I think u better start producing another one." Huh? The way she put it like so selamba..like making another baby and delivering it is as easy as brushing your teeth.

Well, I LOVE being pregnant! The one I had with Ashraff was an easy one. People said I look a lot healthier and my face glowed. Me even dragged hubby to a professional photo studio to capture the precious moment on camera..that was when I'm 7 mths pregnant..kiasu me!! Waaahhh, posing macam model lagi..but a preggie one lah. The photo turned out to be so nice that hubby thot he looks like Brad Pitt (helllooo..).

Labour was not bad too. One time push and out came Ashraff. He's one active baby and helped me a lot during the labour. U know people said that when u feel the labour pain, just remember that your baby is helping you by putting his best effort to get out from the oh-so-dark and oh-so-narrow-space. By remembering this and Allah, that makes my labour a lot easier.

And I also miss the first breastfeeding moment with Ashraff. Eventho it's not an easy one, but it felt good feeling his soft skin touches u while he looks at you as if you are the most perfect creature on earth. Gosh, i'm being melodramatic here!

Oh yes, if u ask me, I do look forward for another one. Wanted to produce as many as possible (are u sure?) as I want to have a big happy family. But quantity without quality is useless. Hope I'll be able to have both, quantity and quality..

-Rafiqah, who is currently imagining she's surrounded by her children and cucus..at Hari Raya gathering perhaps..ahaks!!-

Strolling down memory lane..

There has been numerous postings on classical nursery rhymes and lagu2 tradisional melayu at UKS yahoogroup lately. One member suggested the song "Under the Rainbow". Reading her post reminded me of my good old school days where we used to sing that song together with some actions (do u remember, BBGSians?). I can remember the action clearly now (but don't know how to describe it) but how about the song??

I can't remember the lyrics!! The melody keeps on playing in my head for the past few days but the lyrics is totally off..It's driving me nuts!!

Please fellow friends, if any of u could give me a light on this..

I can only remember few lines (or should i say word).."Under the rainbow, under the sea, bang, bang, bang..you are my *blank*, you are my *blank*..bla, bla, bla..and have a family, under the rainbow, under the sea, bang, bang, bang"..

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Added on 21 July 2005 at 8.51 a.m.:

Another song now in my head..Ola Oli..

Ola Oli, diberi nama, Patanda Patande..bla, bla, bla..sape yg baik hati? Cinderella, then we have miau, miau, ali baba etc..

I guess I've lost my childhood touch along the way - college, university, working life. And it's pretty hard for me to recall all the games, songs and rhymes I had in those days. But I still remember some like galah panjang, main getah, batu seremban..Oh yeah, i remember another one here..

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar? No 7 stole the cookie from the cookie jar..Not me (ye ke ni?)..Yes you..Couldn't be..than who?..No 1 stole the cookie from the cookie jar..and it continues..But how does it end? *sigh*

Financial Management???

Ok, just did my budget for the month of August (for July's salary)and it was terrible!! I ran out of budget!!

WHY??

Ok, it's basically due to significant Credit Card's balance. Have to admit, I spend a lot end of last month and this month and the payment is due on 28th July. I spent on clothing for my annual dinner, I also bought a lovely chiffon and sutera batik from ctredzuan, contact lense, then I did my pap smear at Naluri (had a bad menstrual flow since Ashraff is born, but that's a another story), had a haircut at KLCC (are u nuts?? u know it's pricey there!), did facial at Angie's (my first facial after Ashraff's born) and the normal installment (focus point, HSL etc). It costs me a bomb!! Yeah, have to admit, I perasan jadi orang kaya sekejap (haircut in KLCC, chiffon and batik sutera) but that's it!! Now, I have to fork up extra money or perhaps withdraw money from my fixed savings to pay my debts.

Well, I can always pay the minimum amount for c.card but I'm not that type. I'm the type yg suka repay in full sebab what's the use of saving if you have debt that cost you more interest?? But, I cant afford to do so this month!!

Then, in August, I have to allocate for Ashraff's birthday, the normal bills and house maintenance fee, money to mak abah, food, tol, lrt and car's loan (wira). Totaling all this, my saving for August is NIL!!!

Ok, u might be asking, how Fitri's come into place..Well, he has lots of other things to take care of..Our food, minyak kereta, tol, car maintenance, travelling expenses (u know what it's like to travel to Johor), money to support his family, money to my parent and the latest addition, bibik's salary (started this month) and car loan installment for our brand new MPV (this is why I have to pay for Wira's installment)!!

Now, I am hoping for bonus to come in (still havent got our 2004's bonus) so I could settle all my c.card balance and reduce my spending thereon. If not, consider August is a gone case. Now for September, hope there's light at the end of the tunnel. But Fitri, Mak and Ana's birthday is in September and gift for them? Will i run out of budget in September?? Not again!!!

It's two weeks to 'D' day!!

It's two weeks to Ashraff's first bday!! What should I do? Where shall I start? We haven't started anythg? Asked mak the other day, she asked me to do kenduri kesyukuran and aqiqah at mak pontian's house. And then only have a simple bday party at her house. And that's it?? No other ideas from her. I thot she'll be so excited, siapkan itu ini, bought this and that. But NO, she just kept quiet. So unlike her..

Oklah, probably she wants me to organise the special event on my own sebab all these while she always be the master mind - for my wedding, ashraff's potong jambul and all. Ok, i'll take the challenge. After all, Ashraff's my precious baby and I should organise some things rather than leaving it to mak to do it.

So, back to square one. Where shall I start? I tried to look-up in the internet for some guidance and found this interesting guideline.

Ok, I have very limited budget for the party so I have to minimise cost as much as I can. Here are basically some of my plans as at todate:-

Birthday cake
I'll order some custom-made cake from sis Nadia, that's a must!

Party Favors
I've contacted famygirl for some advice as she has her own event management business. And kalau susah2 sgt, just purchase the party packs from her. Or else, where can I get good and cheap party packs? If I were to do my own, what should I include in the pack?

Birthday Theme
Wanted to have bday theme sebab macam senang sikit nak organise. But Fitri disagree coz he said Ashraff cant appreciate it. He said if u want to have a theme, the preparation might be expensive. What do u think?

Games or Activities
Chulah and Uncle Raymie used to comeout with lots of activities for Ameer and Ammar's bday but they're big boys and Ashraff is only 1 yo!! So? Should we organise some activities for his party? I dont think so coz I want to make it as fast as possible coz Ashraff might be tired and creates tantrums.

Venue
Thought of having it at our house, poolside perhaps. But Fitri told me it's very hard for us to monitor Ashraff, who's going to go into the pool and take care of him. Kalau dia nak kat org lain, ok jugak. If he's a bigger, then that's fine. I'll have to agree to that. So, mak abah's placelah, mana lagi.

Date
Probably 14th August. 6th August nak buat Aqiqah kat mak pontian's house. Not confirmed as yet. How's that?

What to eat?
Depends on the time. I can perhaps cook spaghetti or do some normal bihun goreng. Ayam goreng ke..ala, the normal food. Unless, mak wants to get nasi briyani with lauk pauk etc. I guess I have to discuss with mak and abah on this.

Ok, by writing this down, I think I have some idea on how to go about. Will start with the party pack firstlah, in case I want to make it a bit special or wants it personalized.

Phewww..hope Ashraff is in a good mood that day. Since his nap time is unpredictable, it's pretty hard to gauge his mood. Will keep updated on the progress.

Body and Skin Well Advisor

Yesterday, I met a sweet lady who came to our house to pick-up the personalized book she ordered for her son. I've talked to her few times over the phone but yesterday we finally met. She's is a full time working mom to 8 mo baby boy. She also does part-time business as body and skin well advisor. Sounds interesting yeah?!

Yes. it is! She basically does image consultancy for corporate/organisations. What u should wear? How to do your make-up? Your tudung? Your choice of colours? Wow! I'm impressed. U know me lah, I like all these beauty thingy. She also does make-up for photoshoot. U know sometimes we are uncomfortable to have a make-over in the centre of a busy shopping complex. Well, her company could do the make-over behind close-door and she and her partners are all ladies..So good for 'tudung'ians like myself!

I always wanted to learn how to do make-up professionally but the time (and probably the money) is limited. So, niat tu terkubur lah..maybe one day, i will take up a short course on this one since that is somethg I like to do. Not to say, I'm going to venture into make-up business (I am comfortable with Create My Own Gift now), but probably just for my own satisfaction.

Back to the sweet lady I met, perhaps I can use her service one day..kalau free lagi cun..*hint, hint*