Sea horse

A couple of nights ago I was chilling with my niece on the bed, doing nothing. Well actually she was reading her story book and I was doing nothing. Then she looked at me and asked me a riddle.

-Mak Long why is a sea horse not in the ocean?
-I don't know. Why not?
-Because it lives in the sea. Hahahahahah. Isn't that funny?
-Aina why do you say it's funny when nobody else is laughing?
-Ohhhh...hmmmm...

(in pensive mode...reflecting...thinking...but only for a few seconds)

-You know what Mak Long?
-What?
-I'm not the one who's not funny...you're the one who cannot laugh...heheheh...kan Mak Long kan? Kuchi kuchi!

In the real adult world, we can see this in two ways:
1) We always see things in our own perspective. Try putting yourself in someone else's shoes.
2) Dalam dunia ni engkau je ke yang betul? Orang lain semuanya salah? (I wonder if my niece thinks so of me.....)

Have a good weekend everyone! :)

Sotong

On my way to work this morning I was driving along the road where you have the TTDI Plaza on the left (I'm terrible with road names) when I saw through my rear view mirror a familiar looking car. The driver seemed to be waving at me frantically. He was also sneezing.

I looked through the mirror again. He was still waving at me. As if he's telling me to pull over. Saya dah mula risau. Apa lagi yang dah kena kopak dari kereta aku ni? Hari tu boot kereta. Entah-entah I've been driving around without my car bumper without me even realizing it. Which is something that is not entirely impossible as I have been known to be very "lost" at times. Orang Perancis kata "être dans la lune" or "berada di atas bulan". Bulan apa pun entahlah. Bulan mengambang tak jadi kot.

But this time it was the other driver who was acting strange. Waving around. Seperti seekor sotong kurita yang sedang melambai-lambaikan tentakelnya ke kiri dan ke kanan, meminta tolong dilepaskan dari akuariumnya. Dan saya pun melambai-lambai kembali kepadanya.

I pulled to the side, and so did he. He came out of his car and walked towards mine.

-Are you okay Yati?
-Yeah. I'm okay. I saw you waving at me so I pulled to the side.
-Well I saw YOU waving at me. So I thought you were having car problems.

So as you can see, the blur sotong situation has reached critical stage.

-Yang you panggil-panggil I tu kenapa?
-Oi Cik Kak. I was trying to halau nyamuk dalam kereta. Lepas tu bersin sebab banyak habuk.

OH.

Aisey. Ingatkan kau lambai kat aku.

All the other cars slowed down to watch this mini argument.

Urgh. I hate sotongs. Except when they are cooked in sambal for my nasi lemak kukus.

Comparative and superlative

When I first started working in MFI, I taught English because the first batch of students didn't start learning French until the second semester. At that time the syllabus was more centered around basic grammar before brushing up on their writing and speaking skills.

One day we did a lesson on forming comparative and superlative adjectives. We discussed the different ways of constructing them, by adding -er/-est, ier/iest or more/most. Then after that naturally came the drilling exercises.

As I went around the class to check their work, two students (I shall call them X and Y) put up their hands to ask me something. They were having an argument and wanted to verify with me.

-Yes, gentlemen, how can I help you?
-Ni ha, madam, si X ni, dia tanya kalau untuk popular kita tambah apa. Saya cakap tambah -er. Jadi popularer. Dia kata salah.
-Ohh...ok. Well that is the wrong answer.

Student X was happy to hear my reply.
-See? I tell you? I tell you what?

Then student Y turned to me and asked:
-Habis tu madam apa yang betulnya?

Before I could say anything, student X quickly added:
-Ek elehh...apalah bongok ko ni. Bukan popularer. Popularier. Tambah -ier.

-Kan madam kan?

Cute. My cute little students. :)

R&R

Last weekend was spent having the much needed R&R (yang kalau boleh mahu dilakukan sentiasa).

A good friend treated herself and I both to a night's stay in Mariott Putrajaya (thanks babe) . On Saturday after class we drove there with one simple thought in mind: to become an amoeba and do nothing else! Just plonk ourselves onto the heavenly mattress and vegetate in front of the giant telly. Yang penat cuma ibu jari akibat menekan butang alat kawalan jauh dalam usaha untuk cuba mencari stesyen TV yang menyiarkan rancangan menarik. Vision Four mostly showed B-grade movies. It was either about a serial rapist, a dangerous but paranoid stalker, or a killer on a rampage.

The next day was body pampering day. It started off with a full body aromatherapy massage at the Martha Tilaar Dewi Sri Spa. Again, I have to thank another good friend for this treat. The therapist asked me which blend of essential oils I prefer: Love? Relaxing? Pain-relief? Anti-cellulite?

Of course I chose the Love blend! Aku perlu mencari semula cinta yang hilang! Heheheh.

Well anyway after that it was off to Mid Valley, then to PJ for some threading and we finally ended the day with a good foot reflexology massage. Sampai rumah terus rasa nak tidur.

I feel blessed and lucky to have friends and family who shower me with love and support. I thank God for every minute that they are around with me. At times of sadness, when you're feeling down, nothing is a better pick-me-up than sharing good moments with the ones you know will always be there for you.

You have two options: either to keep moping around feeling like it's the end of the world, or do something about it and turn the negative energy into something worthwhile.

Yup. Move on. You have your family, your friends, your independence, your faith in the knowledge that everything happens for a reason. There is so much to look forward to. Don't get yourself pulled into the dark world of pessimism. Think happy thoughts! Learn to trust and love again.

Jangan jadi seperti stalker di dalam filem gred B di rangkaian televisyen Vision Four itu. When you live in paranoia, you bring misery not only to yourself but to the people around you. Not to mention muka jadi cepat tua sebab asyik marah-marah dan fikir yang bukan-bukan.

But then again if you do need to stalk my blog, click on the ads if you see any okay. At least I get something out of feeding your fear and distrust.

P/S: Banyak tu nak kena baca.

Cheers! :)