Of Kek Lapis and Lemenet Overdose

Someone told me that “sheep go to heaven and goats go to hell”. I don’t know why he suddenly blurted it out to me. I swear that line was from a song but I can’t remember what song it was. Why indeed do sheep go to heaven and goats go to hell?

Why do people get sick right after Hari Raya? Most of my family members inclusive of hubby (though I think his is more of “demam rindu” than anything else) and my colleagues and friends are having fever and flu, headache and/or cough. Too much unhealthy food you think?

I had a pleasant raya in Kuching.

I’ve never seen so many kek lapis before, in different colours and shapes. I've tasted ALL of them. Cannot resist la. When I see the nice colours and shapes of the cakes, I feel like I just have to taste them. Hehehe...Just don't ask me what they're called coz I don't know. I only know a few like Horlicks Chocolate and Ati Parek.

I also drank this bottled soda drink called “lemenet”. Don’t ask me why it’s called that. I asked hubby and he too doesn’t know. He said everyone called it lemenet since like forever.

Check out the size of the pulut panggang. Giler huge kan? This was taken at Pasar Satok.

Hubby's mom makes the best laksa sarawak. Hubby had polished off 3 big bowls of it!

Another sarawak delicacy. Acar cicah with keropok. I was jakun at first coz usually you cicah keropok with chili sauce but this one cicah with acar. Once I've tried it, I was hooked. It was really good!

Guess what they sell at the shop? Hehehehe...You'd be surprised....

So how was YOUR Hari Raya?

Of Being Together

It’s just 4 more days to Hari Raya and 2 more days before I fly off to Kuching to celebrate Hari Raya with my in-laws. I won’t lie. I’m not looking forward to spend Raya away from my family but Hubby said something to me last night that made me feel a little bit better. He said that he and I are a family now and it doesn’t matter where we spend Raya, be it in Kuching or Sungai Petani, as long as we’re together, that’s all that matters. He’s right. I wouldn’t dream of spending Hari Raya away from him just to be with my family even though I love my family to death. He also told me he understands my reluctance and sadness but I should not let it consume me and stop me from having a good time while I’m there. He said I should not feel guilty if I happen to enjoy my Raya in Kuching because I will be around people who love me and are excited to show me how Sarawakians celebrate Raya. I felt so much better after hearing all that from Hubby. Thanks sweetie.

On another note, I realised I only received 4 Hari Raya cards this year. I received one from my jeweller, one from my dentist, one from my optometrist and one from my ex-uni mate. Wow! Hehehe…I guess it’s good that we’re not sending anymore raya cards because we will save more trees. I know my colleague Nina would be happy that I don’t go around sending raya cards anymore like I did the previous years because she’s such a tree lover and god knows how many trees I’ve killed over the years.

With that, I would like to wish all my wonderful fellow bloggers Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Maaf Zahir Batin. Kalau buat open house janganlah lupa jemput I okay :)

Please have a safe journey home to your kampong. Service your car beforehand and make sure you have enough coffee to keep you awake while driving. Or better yet, get plenty of sleep the night before your journey.

Heartbreak Hotel

“If it's a broken part, replace it.

But, if it's a broken arm then brace it.

If it's a broken heart then face it.”

Jason Mraz said those words in his song “Details in the Fabric”. Well, Mr. Mraz, it’s easier said than done. You can’t replace a broken vase that is 100 years old and was passed down to you by your late great-grandmother.

Same goes with a broken heart. You can’t immediately face it. You need time to swallow all the hurt and bury yourself in it before you can even get up again. You need time to make sense of it all, of the hurt you’re feeling and asking yourself how to ever trust another human being with your heart again after this.

Some men take up to a month max to wallow in all that hurt. Usually they will stay cooped up in the house sleeping and maybe crying their eyes out silently of course, and then after a month they’re already out there partying and going out with different girls every night. And they may have forgotten all about their broken hearts. Or maybe not and they’re in denial.

Not so with women though. We take a very, very long time to heal. We go through different phases of healing to mend our hearts. The first phase is the “crying our eyes out”. It’s non-stop morning, noon and night. We only stop crying when we go to sleep, even then I’ve seen some friends sobbing in their sleep after a fight with their bf. I’m amazed at the amount of fluid women have when it comes to crying. I mean we usually don’t eat and drink during those “mourning” period but the tears that come out can fill a whole bucket a day. That’s why women usually loose weight during these periods. I lost almost 30 kilos so I know what I’m talking about. Anything can trigger it off. Sometimes even when we don’t feel like crying, we would still make ourselves cry by listening to those sad love songs. We inflict pain on ourselves to numb the pain that we’re feeling in our heart. Does that make sense to you? We can’t move to the next level until we have cried our hearts out.

The second phase is the “getting rid of all the things that remind us of the bastard”. Oh don’t take offence guys. All men are referred to as “bastards” after a break-up especially if it’s a bad break-up. Throw away all the mixed CDs the bastard has ever made for you, throw or give away all the teddy bears he has given you, tore up all the love letters and birthday and anniversary cards you’ve ever received from him and cut out the bastard’s face from all the pictures of the two of you together and then burn them. Oh don’t get me wrong, the crying still hasn’t stopped of course but all above needs to be done to accelerate the healing process.

The third phase is probably the most effective one to heal a broken heart and a phase that every woman usually goes through. It’s the “calling all your girlfriends and then bitch about the bastard while eating a tub of Baskin and Robbins” phase, even if the break-up is not 100% because of the bastard. Like who cares? It’s good to get it all out in the open. Even the way the bastard chewed his food will be discussed here and bitched about. Nothing is spared. And I mean N.O.T.H.I.N.G. From the top of his head down to his tiny foot thumb. Ahem. Oh we would still be crying our hearts out when we think about how sweet the bastard can be sometimes like cooking our favourite dish and bringing it to our office when we had to work late. The crying will stop immediately and replaced with anger when our girlfriends tell us that there is a possibility that the bastard could be cooking the dish for some other bitches and not just you.

The fourth and the final phase is getting out of bed and thinking it’s not the end of the world, that you’re better off without the bastard and there are other fish in the sea or better men with bigger foot thumb out there for you. It takes a lot of courage and strength to get to this last phase. With the help of family members or a dad who promised to shoot the bastard if he ever sees him and very close and wonderful girlfriends, one will get through this painful experience and move on.

With that experience, women will be more guarded with their feelings and tend to build a wall around them. That is usually why we take a longer time to fall in love. Some women will swear off men for good while some will make it harder for the next man who is trying to court them. In any case, I will tell these women it’s good to be guarded and careful but that is not how we should live for the rest of our lives. When the opportunity to fall in love knocks on your door you should at least peep through the hole on the door. And if you like what you see then open the door a little bit, get to know the person on the other side. After that if you still don’t think he’s the right one then simply chase him out and slam the door shut. Trust me, the door will be knocked on again. In any case, just trust your instinct and have fun. That’s all you can ever do anyway.

S.N.A.K.E. anyone?

Does this look like a S.N.A.K.E to you?

I have lost the will to write

I’ve lost the will to write. I think all my creative juices have been drained out. I’ve got so many stories to tell but I can’t translate them into words. It is so frustrating.

On being away for Raya

It’s the 12th day of Ramadhan and I’ve been receiving several invitations for breaking fast. However, this year I think I shall try to break fast as often as I can at home with my parents and siblings, especially during the weekend, since I won’t be spending Hari Raya with them this year. I’ve already booked our flight tickets to Kuching (Airasia tix cost me RM600 over!!) and it looks like I will be spending Hari Raya with the in-laws and not with my parents for the very first time. I’m sure I will get used to it over time but I guess the first time is always the hardest. I must make sure I stay away from all those sad Raya songs.

On fasting and breaking fast

You know how some people say they will try to loose some weight during the month of Ramadhan? Ain’t never gonna happen I tell you! Unless of course you stay away from all the buffets and pasar ramadhan then maybe you can loose about 1-2 kilos. Maximum would be 5 kilos. The trick is not to eat rice during iftar and sahur but can you actually survive without rice the whole of Ramadhan? Hmmm…I know I can’t.

Have you guys been to any of the pasar ramadhan lately? Everything is so expensive. There’s this one makcik in tmn tun who sells pulut panggang for RM1.50 a piece! Nasib baik sedap but still too expensive I think. My brother bought a piece of ayam percik in Bangsar and it costs him RM6! And it’s not even a big piece. There’s also this popiah stall near the entrance at pasar ramadhan tmn tun where you can see so many people queuing up just to buy the popiah which cost 60 sen a piece. I’ve tasted the popiah and it is nice but not really mind-blowing delicious la but somehow the queue was so long that you’d think it’s the world’s best popiah.

On Cinta

Last night my SIL came over to the house and asked me whether I mind babysitting my 3 month old niece, Cinta. I think she planed to have a romantic night out with my brother after 3 months being cooped up in the house with the baby. The good aunt that I am, I said yes. My SIL assured me that Cinta is a good baby as in she doesn’t wake up so often for feeding, she usually needs feeding at midnight then will sleep throughout the night and then wake up at 6am the next morning for her next feeding. So I thought, “Hey that’s easy peasy”. Boy was I wrong. She ended up waking upat 1am, 4am and 7am for feeding! My goodness! That girl can really drink milk. No wonder she’s so “sihat”. Now I’m in the office and so sleepy. I can hardly get my eyes open. I don’t know how some mothers do it. Especially working mothers. Wait, let me rephrase that. Especially working mothers with lazy husbands who refuse to wake up to feed the baby. Anyhow, since Cinta is such a cute bundle of joy I don’t mind babysitting her again. Even my hubby adores her.

Easy Listening

Songs that you should listen to while driving to work in the morning. It will definitely make you less stressful even though you're stuck in a jam.

Jason Mraz - I'm Yours

NKOTB – Summertime

Kate Nash – Merry Happy

The Ting Tings – That’s Not My Name

The Fratellis – Baby Fratelli

Pussycat Dolls – When I Grow Up

Ingrid Michaelson – The Way I Am

Sara Bareilles – Love Song

Oh yeah, you should listen to some of the songs below. I don't have the download link but if you want to listen to them just send me an email and ill forward to you the song. Sharing is caring afterall...hehehe

• Pink Martini - Sympathique
• Antsy Pants - Vampire
• The Zutons - Don't Ever Think
• Fergie - Labels or Love

If you quit, does it make you a loser?

Karen: Tell me, if you were in my position, what would you do?

Harry: What position is that?

Karen: Imagine your husband bought a gold necklace and come Christmas gave it to somebody else...

Karen: Would you wait around to find out if it's just a necklace, or if it's sex and a necklace, or if worst of all it's a necklace and love? Would you stay, knowing life would always be a little bit worse? Or would you cut and run?

My friend found out her husband had slept with another woman. When asked why he did it, he answered because he was seduced, that it didn’t mean anything and that he was sorry. My friend cried till there were no more tears left. At one point she blamed God for giving her such “dugaan”. She knows it will be hard trusting him again. So she asked whether she should stay or cut and run.

In the end, she decided to stay in the marriage. After all, quitting are for losers. And she is not a quitter she says.

May God give her strength.