Beautiful Awakenings

QT with the boys

2010-03-19T21:41:00.004+08:00

It had been a longggggg time since I had leave which did not involve studying/ revising and travelling. So I purposedly took 2 weeks off work after the exam to spend time with H and the hubs after had spent long hours at work preparing for the exam. Bliss was the word!

We'd spent time with H taking him to Jungle Gym, and since he liked it I took him and A one morning and they thoroughly enjoyed it. They slept once they got into the car on the way home. We also took H to revisit JP which unfortunately was closed (we went on the wrong day! how were we supposed to know they close on Monday and Tuesday afternoons!). Tapi kami tapuk2 jua bawa H masuk :p

London Part 2

2010-03-19T21:38:00.008+08:00

2nd short trip to London about a month after the first. This time was for a much more serious matter. Before the D-day, managed to catch up with Ain and had lunch at Delima. The day after D-day spent the day with brother Eiin and cousin Eyton and had lunch with them plus Chetna who came down to London especially to see me. Didn't get to meet up with Jo. Maybe next time.

Peaches and Cream from My Old Dutch

2010 - London part 1

2010-03-19T15:23:00.007+08:00

2010 started with a short trip to London for a course. Initially was supposed to travel with a work colleague but his application was messed up. So the hubs decided to accompany me. We thought it through and if both of us were to go, H has to go since he has never been away from the both of us for that duration of time. So our first family trip abroad, YAY!!

The trip was more or less alright. Although RBA was badly disorganised when it came to our flight seating arrangements. We weren't happy at all. H was good in the flight, though all he wanted to do was walk up and down the aisle and say 'Hi' to everyone. He slept well too, so that was a blessing.

Arrived in London greeted by H's Usu E who he hasn't seen for 4 months. High Comm representatives were there to greet us and took us to our hotel. As soon as we settled, we took off to Westfield to browse around, where we also met cuz E and F. Days followed where I was stuck in my course pretty much the whole day. H and his babah went into town and met up with Usu S who came down from Notts. I gathered H enjoyed his time which was good!

A few pics from the trip...

It's a wrap!

2009-12-31T21:07:00.008+08:00

That's it. 2009 almost gone. How quick has it been? Although while we were at it it seemed like forever. It has been a year of a rollercoaster of emotions. January started off with back to work after a not-so-long maternity leave which left me no choice but plough on with work as exams were due in April. Then was a challenging time with Hamzah's terrible transit of eczema (which has almost gone for good too now, Alhamdulillah). Came exam time it was my first ever time away from Hamzah and god how difficult that was. Armed with the b-pump and milk storage bags and coolbags, I managed to stock up as much as I could while being away from my 1st born son while missing him loads. But it was worth it, cannot deny it was good to be away for a bit for a bit of me-time and indulge in retail therapy! And to gloat that I passed the exams too :D Also in the first quarter of the year, a school friend threw a majestic birthday party and was lucky to dance poco-poco as part of entertainment. That was a whole lot of fun, not to mention meeting all the girls and had fantabulous food too.

2009 also welcome more babies especially baby K! Long awaited and she is gorgeous and adorable as a baby girl could be! Loving her pics that her mummy has posted so far on Fb. Came Ramadhan and Hari Raya which was a first for us family of 3 and that was when Hamzah reached the ultimate milestone of walking at the age of 11 months and 9 days. Mummy was so proud :D He also enjoyed his 1st birthday celebrations, not 1, not 2 but 3 parties! How hollywood can u get huh! Later on, H went on holiday with Mama and his Nini's to Malaysia. Babah could not join because he could not get away from the office. Such a workaholic....haha....

Celebrating the new year and the coming weekend in comfort and style this year ie IN BED . Ha! Ha! Work completely tired me out this morning, and H was thinking the same thing as he dozed off far too early at 7pm missing out his dinner! Poor baby. Nevermind. He's been missing his mama badly (according to his babah) when at work and has not been sleeping well.

Welcoming 2010, may it brings us prosperity, good health and success. Amin!

Good night all!

Hamzah on holiday

2009-12-22T23:09:00.001+08:00

Stewardess: Tea or Coffee, sir?

Hamzah: Milk, please!

weekend

2009-11-08T20:17:00.004+08:00

50 days or so to the new year. Plans for 2010 are in store. InshaAllah will start off with a quick trip to London in January, then another one in February/ March. Another scheduled working trip to Beijing end of March. This means work, work, work prior to all this. Saving for a family holiday in July/ August to pay a visit to Eiin and Uncle Janin/ Aunty Jackie in Geneva. Let's hope all will fall into place, amin.

It's been a relaxing sunday. In fact, a chilled out weekend. After friday's oncall, went for a Taurean brekkie on saturday with the parents and lil H. Slept at midday and went for a quick Thann Heritage Massage. Stretch here, stretch there. Bliss. Went out with my 2 boys planned for a Mall visit but lil H nodded off in the car. Instead, the babah singgah YMRM skajap while the mama sneaked a lil nap herself jua hahaha! I think all of us were knackered by the time we reached home at 10pm we all hit the sack straight away.

The hubs had to go to work today. Yes, on a sunday. Nothing new. Pelancaran penanaman pokok sempena 39 tahun Bandar Seri Begawan. Was done near Jame Asr', then paid a visit to other places including UBD. This afternoon, he had to go his boss' house for work and is still there as i type.... :S

A brand new day and a brand new week tomorrow. Have a good week!

ONE

2009-10-31T00:05:00.008+08:00

-14 October 2009-

The day when my baby turned ONE. Hamzah woke up extra early and ran around the play room probably knowing it was his birthday :) Had a little mini cupcake blow-out-candle on the day. Then had the real party 2 days later with the family. Mama so loves the cake and thinks it TOPS all the birthday cakes in the whole wide world.

Dear Hamzah,

You are now officially ONE! Syukur Alhamdulillah. It has been an unbelievable experience seeing you grow from a tiny baby to a sociable walking toddler. You've had a pretty rough half year with the eczema but you've come out of it pretty much or so. Things can only get better for you my lil one. On top of the walking, you pretty much can feed yourself, clap and babble when your favourite cartoon songs are on and wave bye-bye and high 5! And what I look forward every morning is a kiss from you everytime you try to wake me up, regardless how early it is! We love u!

Mama and Babah

Syawal 1430H

2009-10-09T20:48:00.005+08:00

Approaching the 3rd week of Syawal 1430. Truly a memorable Raya as a family of 3 for the very first time. Dressed Hamzah in traditional cara melayu complete with sinjang and songkok, albeit he would throw his songkok away in a matter of a hundredth of a second! He never liked hats or anything put on his head for that matter, a trait i recognised since he was a few days old...odd!

Visited quite a number of relatives' houses this year but with a downside of Hamzah's routine disrupted. He gets cranky if he is late, or worse, misses his naptime which I as a mother is quite strict about. I, and am sure mothers out there, do agree discipline is important to instill in children no matter how old or young they are. Eventhough Hamzah is still a baby, discipline in sleeptimes and mealtimes is important and I dislike anything that goes in the way of this. At the end of the day, the parents AND the child suffers if this is disrupted.

Hamzah has behaved quite well with visiting this year, but got really cranky at home when there were too many people. I think he may have felt overwhelmed and tired with the attention people have been giving him. And OH YES, on the 3rd day of raya, Hamzah at age 11 months 9 days, started walking on his own!!! Yayyyyy!!! Mama was in tears, the Babah in disbelief and Hamzah very excited. But soon, fear and a bit of sadness overcame coz he's growing up so fast, becoming more independent and is fearless = time to babyproof the house!

Hamzah's become more sociable now too. He gets excited when he sees children his age. Apatah lagi, Ayden jadi mangsa! Kesian Ayden, he was slightly shocked when Hamzah started to come to him all shrieky with his hands up in the air and trying to hug (more like grab Ayden's hair) him. 1st day of Raya they were 'wrestling' each other and ended up in a fight where Hamzah's purple fan got ripped! Haha.....

Ramadhan

2009-09-04T11:12:00.009+08:00

I think its time to update. I'm sitting in the flu centre killing time so I might as well. It's the 14th day of Ramadhan. Time flies fast. In 2 weeks will be Raya. Yay! Hamzah's 1st Raya. We got him suited up a week ago and got really excited.We still need to get his songkok. Got his sinjang already. Let's hope he'll walk by Raya time, though I think that is too much to ask. Tsk Tsk! Then again, I have to be extra organised so I dont have to run here and there pre-raya. Not to mention I'll be working on the day of the moon-sighting. Mudahan saja nda nampak anak bulan.

Went away on a R+R weekend getaway. Just the 3 of us. It was good quality time as a family. Surely needed that as had not had a proper break since i got back from Haj 2 years ago.

On the work front, I've been progressing pretty well. The boss has let me do a few scopes. Still trying to be familiar with the rotators on the scope. Need to be quite dexterous. Had a patient with poor bowel prep yesterday, not a pretty picture, but as long as poo is out of my fingers reach, its fine.

A few excerpts from a few weekends ago.

My son is getting gorgeous each day. Im allowed to be bias because Im his mama. And he loves football and swimming, good for him, a proper sport. Not like golf :P

my hearts! har! har!

2009-07-25T20:39:00.006+08:00

Hamzah with Haji Teddy aka Putut!! I think he was disgusted by it rather than adoring it!! hahaha!

Heavenly brownie

2009-07-25T20:36:00.005+08:00

Needed a brownie fix badly today.

Called up Syaz of Sasbrownies. Luckily 1 brownie slot left today. Yippeeee!!!

Scrapping scrapper

2009-07-10T18:35:00.005+08:00

Finally, finally! Barutah ada masa kan scrapping. Atu pun just because I should and its way overdue. I totally love this picture frame I bought from POTTERY BARN in NYC!! and I bought this in 2006....and only now in 2009 Ive filled it with pictures....and voila....!!!

Hamzah goes swimming!

2009-07-10T18:27:00.003+08:00

It was his first swim splash. And where else to start but at Abang Ayden's crib? It was the perfect pool, and excellent company too! Ayden's nana Jackie is still in Brunei so she's kindly offered to teach Hamzah swimming. Yay!! I excitedly bought his swimming trunks from Mothercare last week, and chose an orange Tigger trunk that shows up his stripes when wet. How cool is that!

I think Hamzah knew he was gonna have an exciting afternoon so he only had a quick 30min nap, which was a tad annoying. Then he slept in the car and another 20mins or so in Jangsak. Ayden was impatiently scouting around the house in his blue trunks (cute!!) waiting for Hamzah to wake up. Finally, Ayden couldnt wait any longer and went into the pool with his Nana. Hamzah woke up in a daze and changed him and took him to sit on the pool steps. He sat quietly, maybe thinking this is a huge bathtub with other people in it! Soon, he started splashing around and kicking his legs in the water! He loved it!! Yay!!!

Cannot wait for another swim soon!!

Cousinly love

2009-07-10T18:26:00.004+08:00

It is a blurry picture but you can just make out Ayden's show of affection to Hamzah. It's so sweet!!! Awwww.....

Then there's that banter between them...more like baby 'scream-talk'!

Bangun tidur

2009-07-10T18:23:00.004+08:00

Woke up fresh from his afternoon nap....and went straight for his teether!

Soon after he rummaged through a pile of books on his cot (I know..I know its like a dump his cot is!) and decided on the Acute Medicine bible.....does that mean anything???

Mama & Son

2009-07-10T18:21:00.003+08:00

A quick camera shot before going out for Thai!

Happy-happy

2009-07-02T15:31:00.002+08:00

This is a picture of Hamzah i took last night while he was having his pre-tidur feed. Look at his left leg! Bent ala chillaxing style! Belabeh! (Sorry inda ku pandai merotate pix)

This on the other hand is one of the rare happy tummy-time moments!

Welcome babies!

2009-06-30T22:14:00.002+08:00

A BIG congratulations to 2nd time parents Picau and Atai on the birth of their 2nd son on the June 21st. Hello baby Md Shafiq Shauqy!

Also, a BIG congratulations to Mummy Dina and Papa Ageh on the birth of their son Md Azad Shawaiz on May 25th!

Our soon-to-come arrivals are baby Hairanie+Chan and the long awaited baby Yuraina+Maming! Also, baby Mai+Pjal! Can't wait for more of Hamzah's friends. Yippeeee!!

Hamzah

2009-06-30T21:34:00.005+08:00

He is a social butterfly. He hugs strangers! He is scared of no one. Except when he's left alone. That's separation anxiety for him, a normal development for an 8-month old baby.

When possible, at every opportunity, he only wants his 'Meh'. That's 'Mama' to him.

He jumps up and down and flaps both his arms when sang to. His favourite song is Hijau Daun's 'Suara dengar kan lah aku....' and 'Pret-Pret-Pret' ala-Babah style. He knows how to wave bye-bye and salam people's hands.

He loves his fruits. He'll keep his mouth wide open eventhough he's had more than enough fruit puree than his Mama can literally take.

He hates tummy time. He would crawl but he absolutely hates it with a vengeance. But he'll sit independently and standing holding on for dear life. His legs are so strong that when he jumps on the jumperoo you would think he is on a trampoline.

He excels at folding. Anything and everything. Our amah is on contract leave, so he helps his mama folding the laundry. Not that its ever perfect!

Our 8-month little angel.

Tired!

2009-06-30T21:26:00.000+08:00

Kengalihan lapas kawin Usu Adil nya!

Happy birthday Ayden!

2009-06-30T19:56:00.004+08:00

A lovely Sunday to celebrate a happy, handsome, adorable young man.

Happy 1st birthday Ayden Zahari!

Love,

Tua Sueb, Tua Noneh and your cousin Baby Hamzah

xxx

Another hurdle overcomed

2009-05-09T21:56:00.003+08:00

9 hours of exams over 2 days was no fun. Had a migraine half way thorugh the 3rd paper I was seeing double and thought I was going to pass out.

2 weeks on and results were out.

I passed! Yesssss!!!

Alhamdulillah. All those late evenings study group, time sacrificed away from Hamzah during the exams in Singapore has PAID OFF! Syukur. I tell people its 'rezeki and doa Hamzah, and doa the hubs and family jua'. Alhamdulillah.

A BIG thank you to bosse Dato for his dedication and time drilling the essentials into our stubborn brains :p

Another big thank you to Naoms for letting us stay in her lovely apartment.

YAYYYYYY!!!!!

Now I need to write a letter to get my pay-rise :D

Ruffled!

2009-05-09T21:44:00.005+08:00

Baby Hamzah enjoying a pre-mandi photo shoot :) Isnt he just the cutest??

The Battle

2009-05-08T21:52:00.002+08:00

It started with a small patch of dry red patch on each cheek. I think he was less than a month old then. Mum said it was milk rash. Wiped milk religiously after each feed. It was still there. Later thought it could be heat rash, esp after eating all this post natal food which are supposed to be 'warm' to increase milk supply and to seped up recovery overall. One morning Hamzah felt slightly warm than usual, but his temperature was ok. I panicked. Mum suggested to take him to see the Dr. So off we went. He then said Hamzah has infantile eczema! Danggggg! So who would have thought mild eczema on the cheeks would have gone bad in the next few months????? We took him to JPMC, and the dermatologist in RIPAS, even to a few Ustazs who offered 'air baca-bacai' for him to drink and bathe in. By then Hamzah had extensive eczema, covering his body, arms and patches on his legs. He was a very restless baby. He wouldnt sleep well because he would want to scratch all the time. His excellent weight gain in the 1st 3 months got stunted and gradually dropped off the centile. Stressful it was!!!!!!!!!! There were times I was down in tears but I cant be weak when Im suppose to be the one who's strong. There were at times I was frustrated that I got disappointed with Hamzah everytime he wouidnt sleep well during the night and I regret that because it aint his fault! Mama's sorry love. Sleep deprivation gets the worse of me I have to say.

Hearing stories from friends who have children with eczema made me feel a bit better because I know Im not the only miserable mother out there. They shared their experience and one recommended me to start Hamzah on probiotics which helped her son's eczema. So we did when Hamzah was 5 months old. His once upon a time chronically red face cleared up in a matter of a few days! We were amazed. His arms were still red and thick but we thought it was a good start. The downside was it made him pooh like mad. At one point Hamzah had 13 diaper changes in a day. And that is A LOT. Imagine how much we spent on diapers! Anyhow, Ive decided to give him the Yakult only about 1oz per day rather than 2oz. That should cut down his pooh frequency.

Only recently his eczema had another flare up and it was quite a bad one. Just before that silly me for being an ignorant mother, I excitedly gave him rusk to take for supper. 45 mins later he developed red itchy spots on his face. It was an allergic reaction to wheat! Crap! Had to take him to hospital just to make sure he was ok. ANd he was. BUT now im very cautious with what I give Hamzah. I pray he is not wheat intolerant and not to any other food otherwise it will be tough and unfair on him. Anyhow, with his flare up he was started on Prednisolone (for the 2nd time, the 1st when he was 4 months old) and Flucloxacillin, and regular Piriton. I had to say it didnt settle his eczema this time. Oh, we were also asked to stop all cow milks products too, just in case Hamzah was allergic to cows milk. So he was on Soy milk then. STILL, he was all red. We reverted back to Hypoallergenic milk and restarted his Yakult. Alhamdulillah his skin has cleared up now....for 4 days now...so i pray and hope this is it...I hope this is the light at the end of the tunnel....amin amin!

play gym!

2009-02-11T20:41:00.001+08:00

My poor baby with eczema :(

future academia!

2009-02-11T20:35:00.000+08:00

Chicken, Moo-Moo and Ee-yore!

2009-02-11T20:27:00.001+08:00

1st cousins playdate

2009-02-11T20:08:00.003+08:00

my 2 favourite babies; Ayden & Hamzah

You-tubing!

2009-02-11T20:05:00.000+08:00

The Family Unit

2009-02-11T20:01:00.000+08:00

Babah's and Mama's Pride and Joy

2008-10-26T14:09:00.011+08:00

The time we've been waiting had arrived. Muhammad Hamzah Aryan was born on October 14th 2008 at 3.32am, weighing 2.885kg, via emergency caesarean section. I guess he panicked about getting born that he poo-ed himself :P More importantly, both baby n mommy were safe and well, after going through labour for 12 hours, Alhamdulillah.

He was brought to me in the operation theatre and first noticed he had one eye open and the other closed. After I said Hello he then opened his other eye. What striked me was he was very very fair, must have taken after mommy :) also he had a pair of dimples...another mommy feature....and a headful of hair....again mommy's :p Then the nurse showed me his goodies and confirmed we have a baby boy :)

Hamzah was then brought outside to say Hello to Babah and his Penanjong Nini's. His Keriam Nini's werent there coz they just went back to KB (but came later to see their 1st grandchild).
Because he poo-ed himself in mommy's tummy, Hamzah had to have IV antibiotics..bless him he cried when the nurse put in the cannula at the back of his tiny hand!

This was his very first picture taken in ward 14, RIPAS Hospital:

Mommy was bedbound coz I still had the epidural going through, also syntocinon to keep the contractions going. Midday came and visitors started trickling in including the bosses and the Internal Medicine clan, the Uncles and Aunts and more grandparents later in the evening and the next few days, bringing gifts. Thank you all!

Hamzah was diagnosed with physiological jaundice on day 3, and had to have (triple) phototherapy for 3 days. I was told he was at risk because (1) I was O-Rh D positive and (2) he was G6PD deficient. But alhamdulillah, his jaundice subsided with plenty of mommy's best milk :)

We finally went home on Day 5 and had to return the next day for the Paedatrician check up and was given the green light that he's all ok now!

Day 7 was a very significant day, to follow Sunnah Nabi:

----Baby boy's named Muhammad Hamzah Aryan.
Muhammad = Praised, Hamzah = intelligence, Aryan = utmost strength

---- Baby Hamzah's head was shaved....proper gondol =)

---- Aqiqah was done for baby Hamzah

Babah also had his head gondol-ed:

I think that's all for now. Will update more soon =)

We love u baby Hamzah xxxx

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

2008-10-06T17:32:00.006+08:00

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

Maaf Zahir Batin

Almost there

2008-09-21T18:11:00.007+08:00

We're approaching the 3rd week of Ramadhan and that means Hari Raya is just round the corner. On a personal note, we're almost 37 weeks preggers with the Birth day coming soon...insha Allah. I think both of us have prepared ourselves as much as we can for the arrival of the lil one but one will never know how things will turn out... what we can do is pray to Allah hoping all will be well and safe, amin!

Sleeping is becoming a troublesome chore nowadays, yet everyone says you must rest....and I try! I hear from friends and have read from magazines but I had no idea until I experienced it. Sleeping and lying on your side for the last 20 weeks do take a toll on your shoulders and turning around in bed is just oh so heavy. Hehehe, I just have to prop myself with pillows, pillows and more pillows! Ha Ha Ha! Not long to go anyhows he he he

Havent been sungkai-ing out much this year. Only been to OGH and Rizqun and the rest have been at home with the family, including Ayden. The almost 4-month old little monkey has learnt how to grasp objects now and he becomes very vocal when he feels he needs to be heard! Currently, he's learning to turn from back to front but struggling slightly because of his heavy head...poor boy! He's learning quickly I must say!

Belabih usulnya kan...macam orang basar saja usulnya...hehe

A small get-together after 12 years

2008-08-18T19:30:00.004+08:00

A small get-together for some MSPSBS Year 91-97 at Country Patch Cafe in Kiulap. Most that came were from MA5C 1995....and it was really nice to see everyone after all these years. Some has turned out to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, quantity surveyors and pilots. Personally, I was surprised to see Yuri the pilot there! He has recently bought a beach house by Pantai Seri Kenangan Tutong and has already decided the next get-together/ reunion will be held at his place. He was still the same ol same ol Yuri nda mau kawin nda mau beranak mau kan single mingle forever and ever....some just dont change! Whereelse yang lain beranak pinak udah, ada ia kan kawin, hhehhehe

and look at that yummy chocolate mud cake.......sinful and scrumptious!

Charity Bowling Tournament 2008

2008-08-18T19:26:00.006+08:00

A few pictures from the 4th anniversary of RIPAS Hospital Doctors Mess on the 15th August 2008. This year we celebrated by having a charity bowling tournament for the Medical Social Fund of RIPAS Hospital. This tournament was opened to doctors and all allied health professionals and it had an excellent turn out! We managed to raise $1000 - all for charity!

how i feel

2008-08-08T13:12:00.001+08:00

This is how I feel today and in the past week :s

Pfft

2008-08-07T16:27:00.002+08:00

Haha! Since my last post, which was 2 days ago, I went off to buy more mommies and a few baby stuffs! Haha! On my own lagi tu! I'm on leave now and for the last 3 days I have been good putting my feet up and resting watching TV and taking naps in between, and going out for dinners in the evening. Today I woke up and showered early and thought..Hmm why not? So texted the hubs to say if I could go out and he said it was fine....yippeee!! Inda pulang ku berabis membeli, as I said more mommies stuff and 1 piece of baby stuff. I try to buy baby things with the hubs so he wouldnt feel left out.....hehe.

So came back home just in time for lunch and felt tired after my little outing so had a snooze. As usual, u'd get the disturbing phonecall from work, NOT thinking that one might be on holiday!! Cranky! So Pharmacy rang me to say one of the anti-eplileptic drugs of a patient I reviewed in clinic 3 months ago is currently out of stock, and asked if there was an alternative medication I'd like to give. The thing is, WHY is the hospital ALWAYS run out of medicine? Cant they tally their stock and order in advance??? It's not like it's a special fancy dryug, its an ESSENTIAL drug!! Urghh.....frustrates me always! There was once last year, they ran out of Thyroxine for like 3 months.....they asked patients to BUY their supply in JPMC.... the thing is why couldnt the government/ hospital buy from JPMC themselves??

Ooops I'm venting out. Shows how frustrating it is eh.

Bah eh, I have to get ready to go to the in-laws tonight. The month of Syaaban is always busy and packed. Tomorrow ada doa aul in Panchor at the in-laws. On Sunday, it's our turn to have the Doa Selamat at our parents. Next week will be Doctors' Mess Bowling tourny, followed by the MSPSBS 91-97 reunion on Sunday...dont know whether going to that yet.....

Laters.

Home Stretch!

2008-08-06T18:36:00.003+08:00

We're on a home stretch now. The final 10 weeks to go, inshaAllah. My cravings have sky-rocketed and into all the sweet-sugary stuff,which I should limit. Trying my best to follow the 'well-eating' diet. But so far so good, weight gain is on par with what my obstetrician advises.

Started popping by Mothercare yesterday buying mommies stuff. We thought we'll wait to buy baby things. Maybe after my next scan in 2 weeks time :) Hopefully baby would be in the ideal cephalic position then, but if not we'll settle with whatever position baby is comfortable with as long as both baby n mommy are safe and healthy, amin! In the meantime, its sitting on the birthball whilst watching TV...hehe

We've signed up for antenatal classes in JPMC which will also start in 2 weeks time. Exciting! I have a feeling time will fly so quickly, now that is Syaaban, soon it will be Ramadhan and then Syawal....Hari Raya! Yay!

And Ayden has grown so much! Will post his latest pictures soon.

Congratulations!

2008-07-18T13:37:00.003+08:00

Many congratulations to my boss, aka Bosse, on his recent bestowement by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, carrying the title Dato Seri Laila Jasa. So now, he is called 'Dato Bosse'...hehe!

Well deserved accolade for the most wonderful person in RIPAS, who's not only an exceptional Physician but a fantastic mentor and a friend to us local medics in training. May Allah bless you with more.

Lull...

2008-07-18T13:27:00.003+08:00

Life's a bit on the lull at present. A typical day would be work, the occasional after-work coffee and cake with the girls and watching TV before bedtime strikes. Third trimester tiredness has set in and depending on what I've eaten, or how long i've been on my feet during the day fluid retention sets in. Wedding ring does not fit anymore but thankfully engagement ring still does...for now!

Baby shops are on sale here and everywhere but we've decided not to get anything for another 4 weeks or so. And just the essentials. We'll be getting plenty of Ayden's hand-me-downs...hehe! We'll be away from work for a week in early August so perhaps then we'll start sorting out baby stuff....cannot wait!

.p.Richard.

2008-06-19T20:48:00.004+08:00

Our little mischief...for now :p

Back in March this year, me and the hubs were driving out of our simpang and saw this 'thing' in the middle of the road. I, as the passenger, thought (in my head) it was a big stone, and didnt think much about it. Luckily, the hubs has a better eye and realised it was a stranded kitten!! Awww...... look at it.....

Look at that grey fur and green/ yellow eyes. He jumps here and there, like a squirrel, sometimes more like a monkey.

So he is named 'Richard' just because he looked at us when we called out that name. I think initially we wanted to call him Ricky or Dick or something really silly. Richard or popularly called 'Prichard'...(god knows why!) has grown so much over the past 3 months that my brother didnt even recognise him! So spoilt, he gets a bath every other day and eats fish and rice. Somehow, he doesnt like the Kerupuk....such a kampung cat!! haha! Anyway, as adorable as he looks, he is a BITER and a SCRATCHER, which i am not fond of!!!

Miss M's 'Back to School' do

2008-06-19T20:43:00.008+08:00

Another theme party to celebrate Miss M's birthday! This time it was a "Back to School" theme,with ponytails and schoolbadges!! Must've been Miss J's idea. Anyways, it was Miss M's 4th party of the week and I dont know how she could've managed! Still young eh ha!

So, Miss J and Miss M turned up with their uniforms, Ms A wore an old PE t-shirt, her hubs Mr R was an escapee, me...I guess as a teacher...coz I have nothing to wear that fits lagi!! haha...and Ms M was casual....

and the cake...oh goodness, how heavenly was that!! Nice one Miss J!

Mental note: Bakerlyn's Hazelnut Praline Cake..mmmmm....

Steamboat and Karaoke!

2008-06-19T20:35:00.017+08:00

I love dinner parties.....especially when it's with karaoke!!

So a few many weeks ago, Ms Y hosted a Steamboat and Karaoke/ Wii night (Wii as highly requested by Miss HzB). Of course if it was anything hosted by Ms Y it's fantastic! With a full tummy everyone was geared for singing....especially the boys! Karak ani wah, surprisingly singing to Broery's ballards and Krisdayanti...ha ha!

So apart from steamboat, desserts included homemade blueberry cheesecake, bread and butter pudding and trifle cocktail!

A new family member

2008-05-31T22:07:00.008+08:00

....is the baby nephew, Ayden Zahari. Born on the 29th May 2008 at 10:27am to Mummy Sarah and Babah Hakeem. He weighed at 3.44kg and 53cm long.

Ayden, all u do most of the time is sleep. That makes you a very good baby. Hehe. But u need to feed too :) But when you open your eyes and make the 'eh eh' noise....you're way way adorable and ever so cute, especially when your face goes all red...hehehe

Your round face and chubby cheeks would make anyone just want to pinch them.....hence the nickname I've given you - si Bulat! U have your dad's nose (hence by proxy...MY nose!!) and mummy's lips. I still can't make out whose eyes you have inherited because (a) u're asleep most of the time, and (b) when you do open your eyes, its hard to tell coz your big chubby pink cheeks makes your eyes go sepet....hehe....awww.....

Your nini's are very excited about you. You make them smile ever so wide everytime you are the topic of conversation. Not only them....me too! hehe..... Your Usu in Kent is green with envy coz he's still there and has not seen you in real life yet....wait for another month or so....

and hopefully inshaAllah, u will have a cousin that will join you in the next few months....

By the way, you are only 3 days old and you've made Ranoadidas.com already! Kambang eh!

taken from www.ranoadidas.com

Hugs and kisses from your Tua

Swimming in Brunei

2008-05-15T14:26:00.003+08:00

Looking for a decent public pool to swim in (without too much oogling going on) can be quite difficult in Brunei. After asking around a few times, here are some of the places worth mentioning:

IBB BSB building pool
Sg Tilong private pool
RBGC pool, Jerudong
Anggerek Desa swimming pool (Tuesday's ladies only)
SRC pool, Panaga....

Happy dipping!

Vaccinations in Pregnancy

2008-05-09T19:03:00.002+08:00

A cousin of mine asked if it was safe to be vaccinated during pregnancy, as she was planning to go abroad for work. I found this to be useful.

Celebrate

2008-05-01T17:30:00.006+08:00

It has been 3 weeks since the exams. Pictures from the KaZu Costume Party held recently in Jerudong are found here. Was quite a funny and entertaining evening!

More recently, we celebrated Lina's birthday. Themed the 'PJ Party' courtesy of Mus!! Happy birthday Len...welcome to that 'age box'.....

Dilly-dallying....

2008-03-31T20:57:00.004+08:00

Taking a break from revising at present. Exams in 9 days time! Panic!!

Hopefully, the study leave that starts tomorrow will serve its purpose. Although I have plans to bake and perhaps host a lunch! Ha! Ha! I also have a stack of dvds that need watching....

I also need a well-deserving holiday, or at least some sort of pampering would do. I don't think I can cope anymore travelling after the exams. Then again am thinking Australia - Melbourne, Sydney....Brisbane.....ahh...sandy beaches....nice....

Any doctor in the flight?

2008-03-22T12:44:00.004+08:00

It was an awful flight back home. Boarding the SQ flight Manchester-Singapore had full of surprises for me. As my ticket was booked with the 'Dr' with my name, the ever-so-polite SQ cabin crew asked me if I was a medical practitioner and should it be ok to ask for my assistance if any medical problems should come up, while handing out the hot towels to me. What choice did I have but say 'err yes'. Note: it was pretty much a Caucasian flight.

4 hours into the flight, I was watching an enjoyable comedy chick flick when I was approached by the crew to tell me there were 2 children who were slightly unwell. So there I was consulting the children and parents and soon they were sorted. Simple cases of the fever and the throwing up. Fine. Sorted. Back to sleep.

Woke up to some woman shouting for help as her mum just collapsed. Reluctantly I rose up from the chair as most people were looking at me. All I could think was please not let it be someone with chest pain. There was a crowd over this poor woman who, according to her husband, fainted, became blue with her eyes rolled up. Saw the woman and she's wet her pants. She must have had a seizure I thought. Later I found out she has always been fit and well and was on the way to Perth, Australia with a 4hr transit in Singapore.....no way she was going to Australia that same day now! She came round soon as I got to her and she was way confused and started to vomit non-stop. Had to transfer her to 1st class where it was more spacious and gave her intravenous medications and fluids. Thankfully there was a registered trained nurse on board as well who kindly helped as well.

Finally landed in Singapore and I was exhausted. I still had another 2 hour transit and a 2 hour journey back to Brunei. Upon arrival in Brunei, I was knocked out till late evening. Back to work the next day for continuous daily work for 12 days non-stop. Hmmph.

Now, hiatus!

Cold

2008-03-22T12:28:00.005+08:00

The UK trip was tiring. Didn't help that the weather was freezing cold topped up by snow and hail. However, the course was good; brain-draining nevertheless.

I guess it would have been much more fun if it was in London so time could be spared to meet up with old friends. Last minute changes was made for it to be held in Manchester. Yet we took a quick trip to London to meet up with youngest bruv and a few friends. I think that was the shortest ever time we've ever spent in London - 18 hours.

Belated thanks to L for the yummy chicken tetrazini and the hospitality.

Singapore Changi Airport

2008-02-29T19:39:00.004+08:00

Most would say if you have to transit somewhere this is the best place to be. I would say so too, if I had lots of money to spend! On arrival in Terminal 2, visitors are greeted by duty free shops, designer labelled boutiques, cafes and restaurants. On top of that if you prefer to stay in the airport to going out to town, both Terminals 1 and 2 provide all sorts of facilities to keep everyone comfortable, amongst them Massages (Reflexeology, Neck and shoulder massage, manicures and pedicures), lounge for naps, showers and gym at a cost of $38-40 per facility. Game lovers would be ecstatic with the Xboxes and Playstations. A cinema is also found for free. On top of all that of course one would expect free internet which is available almost everywhere in the terminal. Food is not scarce here, but Halal restaurants are only a handful. How to recognise one? Look for servers with headscarves :)

Terminal 3 has just recently opened and it boasts beautiful architecture which I'm yet to see in a few hours time. It serves outgoing flights to Europe and North America, but does not have the luxuries of relaxation and entertainment as the other 2 terminals.

Not forgetting it has prayer rooms for all faiths which is essential of all.

More later.

A message for the hubs

2008-02-14T17:04:00.003+08:00

This is your sweet wife reminding you not to forget to buy her this. But a W7 in the brown and pink like the one that I once had.

Many many tengkiu =)

Happy V-day...

Cravings

2008-02-14T16:09:00.005+08:00

I'm hungry. I'm tired. This is the final night of the week and I've had enough so far. Bed crises has been a major problem and Bruneians are so demanding....inda sakit pun mau betahan...suka sangat kan hospital...ngapakan??

I've been managing an average of 5 hours of sleep a day and that is abysmal. As I blog, I'm in search of the hardcopy of the Brunei Labour Law which states the maximal hours one works in a day. As far as I have been told by trusted sources, the legal working hours is no beyond 12 hours a day. I am sure we can work something out once we have hard proof. Hmmph!

The whole week I have been craving all sorts of things. It doesnt help being on nights and the hubs away and not able to fulfill the cravings. Have to settle with BKSS food :s Finally I managed to get J out of bed this morning for a valentine's (haha) Aneka Rasa brekkie. Mee Mamak and Roti Telur nyum nyum! Worse, hubs has been telling all about their rendevous in KL...with the Nandos and what nots. Noooooo......

Again, I want Soto.... waaaa....!

I know the soto doesnt look that appetising but rest assure it tastes all good....baru soto biasa tu...belum soto special.....

1st pay

2008-02-09T14:00:00.000+08:00

I only started earning a living in August 2004; after 6 gruelling, hardworking years. Indeed the pay was scrumptious!! What did I spend on my first paycheck?

1. A trip to London from Cornwall to visit friends - took them out for dinner and spent the weekend in Selfridges.

2. Also, belanja my parents =)

3. Paid a whole load of credit card bills!and started saving up...

4. Then, a Lina-Mai-Noneh girly shopping holiday to Madrid!

Bear kissing tree is one of the landmarks of Madrid

Real Palace

Parc Retiro

Plaza Mayor

Real Madrid's Stadium!

So what did u spend on your 1st paycheck?

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

2008-02-07T09:36:00.000+08:00

Been back to work since I last posted. New faces in the department! Welcome Rizal and Zul! I must say to stay in Internal Medicine one must have that strong, enduring personality that can withstand the tough grillings from the bosses, endure the week of nights and at the same time enjoy being a medic! Not easy, but as long as you're happy!

With the coming there's the going. Leaving us very very soon is Soffi - off to green green New Zealand and in a May Kwang will be off to Singapore.....we'll miss u both!!

Speaking of which, exams in 2 months time. 9 hours of exams aint my cup of tea but that's how it goes. The perks however, I can go to any revision courses where available ie. London! and perhaps drop by to see old friends! Yay!

It's Chinese New Year today....to all my Chinese friends - Gong Xi Fa Cai!

56 days in Saudi

2008-01-13T14:35:00.000+08:00

Back!

56 days in Saudi was a long time! It was an amazing experience - to work and to fulfil the last Islamic Pillar. Amidst the whole prepartion prior flying off to Saudi surely built up anxiety and apprehension in visiting the Holy Land. But Alhamdulillah all went well. In Brunei, we had crash courses on common gynae and paeds probs and a very quick 3-hr Haj crash course! All within 2 weeks!. In Saudi what we did before the jemaahs arrived was setting up clinics both in Madinah and Mekah. Picking up medical boxes of equipments and medicines from Jeddah International Airport Cargo Terminal and Jeddah Consulate Office, unpacking them and making sure everything was in tip-top shape before work started.

We landed in Jeddah Haj Terminal with our ihram's on for our umrah in Mekah. Alhamdulillah all went well, the next few days spent in Mekah by praying in Masjidil Haram, also got the opportunity to kiss the Hajr-Al-Aswad Stone and prayed in Hijr Ismail a couple of times.Mekah as far as my memory went back to 2000 has changed a lot. Back then the Makkah Hilton Towers was the 'in-place' to be and shop at. Now, there's the Abraj Al-Bait - u have Accesorise, Nine West, MAC, Debenhams, Top Shop, Next and the usual Burger KIng, Shawarma King, KFC, etc. Not that I shopped mind you, it was just conveniently located outside Masjidil Haram.

After spending 5 days in Mekah, we left for Madinah via Jeddah. The distance from Jeddah to Madinah was 472km and the journey takes about 4 hours or so with a service and snack stop in Sasco. On arrival in Madinah, the feeling of bliss came back. Madinah has always been a favourite. It's so peaceful, clean and just....bliss! I was over the moon when I found out I was part of the Madinah Team and stayed on there for 23 days till the last pilgrim left for Mekah.

enroute Jeddah from Mekah

Masjid Nabawi, Madinah

one of our clinics

We arrived in Mekah for the 2nd time only a few days before Wukuf. Nevertheless the work load in Mekah was busier as we had 2 clinics and jemaah's had more ailments and wanted to get better for Arafah n Mina.

Taibah's (Madinah) pharmacy

our ambulance

Arafah has changed and very pretty now. Laid in the middle of flat land surrounded by hills were nicely laid organised huge white tents. We arrived early on Monday after Zuhur prayers to set up Arafah Clinic and by evening jemaahs trickled in. On Wukuf day everything was serene and peaceful, everyone doing their zikirs and tasbihs and after Zuhur prayers Haj was performed. Note: Datuk Siti Nurhaliza was spotted when she arrived in Arafah alongside hubs and family. Later that evening most jemaahs left for Mina while others returned to Mekah to perform Tawaf and Saie Haji.

Arafah

Us medics were'nt required to stopover at Muzdalifah so our journey was cut short to 4 hours to travel 20 km towards Mina. Traffic was horrendous as expected. Arrived in Mina at 3am, and were greeted by Haj Attache. Showed us our tiny tent where we were to sleep, pray, work in the next 3 days. We didnt dally long and went straight to Melontar the Jamrah Aqabah. Amri gave us 7 stones each to throw at the Jamrah. Since 2006, the Saudi government has developed an excellent a multi-storey one way system to throw stones at these devil spots. Despite our tents were located near the Jamrahs, the entrance to it was quite a 30 minute walk. The sound of stone throwing was overwhelming but the system was efficient and safe. After then, we had our tahallul awal and was allowed to change clothes and have a quick shower. Toilets are basic as per Arafah; non-flushing communal toilets and only 6 pipes to do your ablutions.

Mina

Challenging Mina was, I found. Mina being 5km away from Mekah, we walked almost all the way there as stunted traffic would not allow transport to pick us up to mobilise back to Mekah. Walking then was..experience is an understatement. On our way were people sitting on streets selling all sorts of things from water to clothes, some begged for money and food and decorated camels were on display for pricey pictures. There were fumes from buses and cars and litter on the road...was a good thing we were wearing face masks. We met up with our driver in the GMC by the 2 mosques and Bin Dawood in Aziziah which is only a 5 minute drive - non Haj traffic. In Haj traffic, it took us 1 hour to get back to our Ajyad hotel. On arrival, I only realised the basic hotel we stayed in was a luxury. Showered properly and did no.1's and 2's properly too! Had lunch and caught up with sleep for 3 hours till Amri and I had to mobilise to Dar-Al-Salam to reopen the clinic. Work finished at 10pm and went for Tawaf n Saie Haji at 3am, completed just in time for Subuh prayers, and started work again 2 hours later. The word for the day was Exhaustion!

A few days later jemaahs started to leave for Brunei. Yet work was still busy despite the declining numbers of jemaahs, and staff too. So what cases do we see here? Common things such as coughs and colds, the occasional D+V's, skin problems, dehydration and a handful of inpatient cases of exacerbation of asthma and cardiac failure. Being an internal medic you get used to having bloods done whenever you want to, but in situations like this is limited as per blood test would cost approx SAR 50. Alhamdulillah, all jemaahs came and went home safe and sound! Yay!

New Year 2008 came and it was like any normal night. Local TV stations were showing western movies! Came 3rd January 2008 and the last group of jemaahs left. Work ended and packing started. Finished by evening and took the opportunity to do another umrah. Left for Taneem after Isyaa' and we completed the umrah just before midnight.

The remaining days in Saudi were filled with lunch and dinner invitations by Sheikh Ali Yassin, Muassasah in Jeddah, Brunei Consul in Jeddah and the 1st secretary to Jeddah Consulate. We thank them for the lovely food that was served. The boys also had an obligatory futsal tournament, dressed in official Saudi jerseys, held at the Consulate and won 2nd place (Well done!); 1st place went to the Consulate team and 3rd place went to RBA.

Medics Futsal Team

Food

bitter bitter Arabic tea

Mandy Kambing

at 1st secretary's house

All in all, AMAZING but inevitably tiring experience. Someone asked if I would do it again. Answer is yes. To serve the country and your people who are God's guests and at the same time to perform Haj. Definite yes.

This, that and everywhere

2007-11-09T21:59:00.000+08:00

So much to do, so little time - a frequent phrase i use. I only have another 4 days before I leave for Jeddah and still there are so many unticked things I have yet to do. Today, I had to perform in the annual Ministry's Raya Celebration and rush off to one of my girlfriend's nikah...more like after-nikah. She looked gorgeous and her dress was elegant! Too bad I cant attend her sanding, but I look forward to the pictures!

I have a few more things to do tomorrow and I dont know if I can come to all/ do all. More importantly I have to complete my data collection for my audit I have promised the Boss before I go away. Then a few lunch invites that I cant possibly attend to all...I must be a Bionic woman to do otherwise; 1st is the Doa Selamat for the Medical Haj Team, 2nd: Zieda's leaving-do as she's leaving for her higher specialty training in Singapore on Monday, and 3rdly: Peaches' Zayyan's 1st birthday lunch do..... aaaaaaaaaa..... then off to the tailors to pick up what needs to before off to the parents for another long day on Sunday.

Sunday, inshaAllah, sees me going for the Haj Practical Session in the early morning. Pre-lunch to rush back to a cousin's wedding, and my Doa Selamat at teatime.... I feel tired already thinking about the day!

Few pictures from today.

Preparation

2007-11-08T22:04:00.000+08:00

This is what I have been doing the last few days:

On leave at the moment. Day 2 today and I've been busy running around ticking off my shopping list for my upcoming work trip abroad. I find this to be useful..

Yesterday, woke up early to send off fabrics to make tops for Wukuf. Then, dropped by at Hua Ho Tanjung Bunut to buy some more socks and toiletries. Soon after that had lunch with Lina at Manjaro... Chicken Chop with Mashed Potatoes...yumm.... then picked up Ayla for a long-due coffee and catch-up time.... twas deep, well-meaning and a good afternoon it was. Mia later dropped by at home to download photos and watched the latest Ugly Betty...hehe..I, on the other hand turned in early and as a consequence was waking at wee hours in the morning...boo...

Day 2 of leave saw me at Aneka Rasa at 0830hrs for an early brekkie with Mun. It's been months since I last saw her...and more catching up done. Then off to the tailors again, duck and crispy noodle lunch with Jus and Lina.... and later off to Athirah to buy more headscarves.. Dad dropped by and had a good chit-chat....then Dina an hubs came by, and so did Atai, Peaches and a jumpy Zayyan this evening.

Tomorrow will be this lady's nikah....

and the "Doctors Mess Idol"....!!

Eid Mubarak

2007-10-25T23:29:00.000+08:00

Belated Eid Mubarak! Some pictures during our open house at our new place....

The Maltesers Traybake was, not surprisingly, still a hit and the favourite....! Also, made the annual Kuih Mor and popia....and thought I'd try on making some biscuits.... a lame attempt it was!

Honey Cornflakes Biscuits

Maltesers Traybake

Friends

2007-10-09T19:05:00.000+08:00

Had a gorgeous birthday dinner at Sheraton with close friends. What would we do without friends?!

28+1

2007-09-30T22:30:00.000+08:00

A year older, a year wiser...i hope! Ha ha..

A year before the big Three-O.

Old-er, is all I can say.

Had a birthday dinner with Babah, Mama, Hubs, Hakeem & Sarah. It was actually a sungkai dinner...which was very very filling!

Then since it was a long holiday weekend, Hubs whisked me off across the border...stayed in a lush resort, had long invigorating baths (none of our houses have any bathtubs so yes I indulge in baths whenever I can!), a huge seafood dinner and a some shopping =)

Thanks to all who thoughtfully sent birthday texts and messages. Really appreciate it.

Hope

2007-09-23T21:48:00.000+08:00

I found a wonderful, inspiring, hopeful saying:

"Kadang2 Allah sembunyikan matahari..Dia datangkan petir dan kilat..kita menangis dan tertanya-tanya, kemana hilangnya sinar..Rupa2nya.. Allah nak hadiahkan kita pelangi.."- Never give up hope!

We've had the lightning and thunder...we hope to see the rainbow soon...

Family

2007-09-22T00:37:00.000+08:00

I was meant to post something about my brother's recent departure to Kent. Took lots of photos but somehow hubs lost the pictures...darn.

Point being...the baby of the family (hehe sorry en) has again left Brunei for greener pastures. Hehe. He's away for a year in the hope of widening his horizons. We greatly miss him. Having a small family can suck at times. As Rafferty mentioned recently, lots of things has been happening in the family - us moving to Bandar, middle bro got married recently and now the baby has flown off. So it's only the parents who're left at home. And that kinda sucks especially in this Puasa month when it's all about family. Sunyi. Boring.

I miss the baby =(

Light at the end of the tunnel

2007-09-22T00:13:00.000+08:00

I am just RELIEVED that the weekend is here...finally. The week of nights had been a drag. Hated it. Completely loathe it. I know I mentioned previously that this was a good idea. Maybe it's Puasa time...can't do much during the day coz u cant really go out and have lunch. Starting work at 6pm is really a nuisance coz sungkai is only 20mins into starting work. Then u get all sleepy after all the food and then u have rounds to go with the bosses. Where does that leave u to digest all the food that u've eaten?!?! I noticed that people only come to hospital for consultations after sungkai. That's ok - but what ticked me off was, especially the last 2 nights, there were a few unnecessary admissions....why oh why waste my time?!?!?!?

Okay, that's me moaning and winge-ing. Enough of that.

Partly I winge because I dont get to enjoy the puasa environment. The gerais and the sungkai buffets. Plus, I dont get to see the hubs that much too. Reminder: pass my exams quickly and this no longer haunt my social life!!

Okay enough.

Only today got to sungkai with the parents. See - the other downside of this night shifts? Anyhows, after sungkai and the terawih went to Hua Ho Petani Mall. So bought a few of this and that, including X. Only I realised when I got home, X's wrapping had multiple tiny holes on it...like bites...like it has been bitten my a set of tiny teeth...followed the track and there was a BIG hole at the corner of the wrapping!! EWW!!! Mouse bites!! or worse...RATS!! Yuck!!! Hubs got disgusted too and threw X straight into the bin. I had the mind to make a big complaint and show the manager the damaged product. but thinking back of the holes...err no.....it's absolutely disgusting. Berigali...EWW!!

So that's been my day post nights. Hope the weekend gets better.

On a lighter and much happier note:

Happy birthday today (21/9) Sarah!
xxx

Ramadhan Mubarak

2007-09-15T21:58:00.000+08:00

Not feeling well today. Everytime I'm on nights something seems to go wrong with me. Maybe this week of nights shift is not doing me any favour health-wise. I think it was the extremely cold oncall room between 21 & 22 that gave me the fever and pounding headache today. Maybe it was the tempoyak I had during sungkai and sahur.....I had to give work a miss tonight but come in early tomorrow to do rounds. I hope this bug will go away soon.

On a lighter note, it is that time of the year where we are lucky to meet Ramadhan again. A month of testing and trying, and blessings. May we take this opportunity to ask for forgiveness and remember to be giving to those who need it.

Happy fasting everyone!

Expressions

2007-09-04T16:30:00.000+08:00

Mandatory Singapore

2007-09-03T23:02:00.000+08:00

Was in Singapore for the weekend. First visit in TEN years....so the element of sakai-ness was there, yes.Ha! My first proper holiday since my return to Brunei last year. What best to spend a few days other than shopping in Singapore. I'm still on my 2-week mandatory and it was spent initially nursing my injured left knee - courtesy of my week of nights. Had to endure daily physiotherapy - short wave therapy, with daily voltaren gel and tubigrip, to make sure my knees would heal for the shopping trip. Admittedly 1st day in Singapore wasnt much fun - limited by the knee. But then as Lehee said, 'Sudah shopping nda sakit kaki mu tu!'...and I hold that true! Aha!! So i returned for a review with the George-the-orthopod today and he says my knee is better! Alhamdulillah. All from the exercise I had?!

So this was my physio of short wave therapy, lasting 15 minutes per session:

And then Singapore!

Coincidentally, Jus was in Singapore taking the opportunity while her sister was working there. She was supposed to leave on Saturday, but hubs n I managed to persuade her to stay till we leave....and she did!

Tangs, Takashimaya and Isetan were on sale. Friday and Saturday late night shopping till 11pm. So we shopped...and shopped...and shopped til we dropped. We also ate our hearts out. In hindsight I was ashamed...that I confined myself to Orchard Road only, no Vivo City, no Ikea, no culture! My bad!

Isetan's Scallops!

Singapore's Sanur better version of Tauhu Telur

Baked Garlic Scallops - Ramen Ten @ Far East Plaza

Swensen's Sizzling Walnut Pie with Chocolate Ice Cream

Oh!...and Hubs has a new toy!

Housewarming

2007-08-28T10:49:00.000+08:00

Come rain or shine! It was a rainy Sunday afternoon but we went ahead with the barbecue. Lots of food, lots of laughter, lots of fun!

Kernow

2007-08-19T09:40:00.000+08:00

On nights for the week. It isn't that bad as im just covering the wards...touch wood. I prefer the new system where u do one week of night oncalls and u're free from them for a good 5 weeks or so. Gives u a bit of life in between and it doesn't mess up your body clock. I remember I use to look forward to my nights back in Zance as a HO (house officer, mind you :) ) It's that time when I catch up with Chetters' lovelife; most of it chasing blokes and fantasising about them!! Haha! The good ol' days.

I remember I wasnt looking forward to working in Cornwall (aka Kernow...it has it's own language and once upon a time their own parliament). All my friends got jobs in London and there I was 'thrown' to the south west at the tip of England. But everyone said I was gonna have fun, everyone down there is lovely and friendly unlike London. So there were we; took the train from London to Cardiff in the hot summer August of 2004. Met up with a friend of the bro's where he took me to my newly-bought 5th hand Vauxhall Vectra!! Was excited coz it was my 1st car!! So with our luggage we drove from Cardiff to Penzance. What took us almost 6 hrs, we were knackered! I swore we couldve driven faster, but designated driver took the option of the longer, scenery route and had multiple petrol stops and nature calls in between.

Penzance...was somewhat a quiet town when we arrived. I prepared myself for no big London stores. So they had Woolies, Boots, Dorothy Perkins. That WAS it. No M+S, no Topshop, no River Island. They had a Tesco Extra so that was OK...thank god. Went to the hospital where I was to be for 6 mths.....quite cute i thought...cottage-y and home-y looking. Before I moved into the accomodation, we stayed in a B+B. All was nice and lovely.....

Arial view of Penzance on a gloomy day!

Penzance town

West Cornwall Hospital, Penzance

What I thought was going to be the dullest 6 months of life, no friends, no shops, no life....turned out to be one of the BEST time I had so far.....met the best people around which hopefully be lifetime friends, taught me there's more life than shopping (ha!) and appreciate the English country more... (throughout those 10 yrs in the UK, this was the only time I went off to do all the walks and visits!!)....and proven to me till this day Cornish people are the best.....(oopss so are the Welsh!!)

I would love to visit Kernow again.

Wedding weekend

2007-08-13T19:33:00.000+08:00

T'has been a tiring week leading up to bro's wedding. It was great fun but hardwork. Being a long weekend spent it on the wedding n at the in-laws for dad's and anuar's birthday. It was fun to see the lil kiddies get all excited with the birthday cakes and blowing them candles eventhough it weren't their birthdays!!

A new sister and a new family =)

Lazy Sunday

2007-08-05T23:35:00.000+08:00

Woke up just before lunchtime. Arrived at spa around 2 . Had a rehydrating facial and an hour long swedish massage and fell asleep afterwards. Left the spa and drove to Bakerlyn and got these....

And that was my Sunday.

Too bad tomorrow's Monday.

Smile with the Simpsons

2007-07-30T20:48:00.001+08:00

It makes me want to laugh everytime I think of The Simpsons Movie. Watched it at the cinema a few days ago and it was a good 80-minute laugh!! As usual, it has a moral behind each story kinda thing.

I would watch it again. If you havent, do go and watch it!

Dubai in the Summer

2007-07-29T21:46:00.000+08:00

We thought it would be an excellent idea to stop over at Dubai before heading home. Early august weather was scorching hot! Tip: best to go there NOT in the summer. Temperature: 42 deg C. Desert safari?? Out of the window! The intention was to relax and not shop. We stayed at the One and Only Royal Mirage at Jumeirah...absolutely loved it! Beautiful. Serene. Relaxing. Highly recommend it, for more and more honeymoons or merely for r+r purpose.

Jumeirah is 30 minutes away west of Dubai City Centre. Jumeirah is a strip of coastline lined by resort hotels, amongst them the Burj-Al-Arab, Madinat-El-Jumeirah and Jumeirah Beach Resort Hotel. Nearby is the world's largest mall; the Emirates Mall which has an artificial ski slope in it! Hard Rock Cafe is around the corner and so's the Water Park.

We bumped to an ex-classmate in town then. He was in Dubai on transit as he's a pilot with RBA. He took us out for lunch at a chinese restaurant poplular amongst the RBA crew. Like any other city, Dubai has its chain of malls filled in with British shops like Tie Rack, Next, M+S and even Woolies!! Oh and you get to have your halal Burger King Mushroom Burger!! Yay!! (Hubs' fave!). We went to Naim Street which is a fabric bazaar....went a bit mad coz they were just loads of gorgeous abayahs, head scarves and materials for making hariraya dresses!!

.F.O.O.D.

2007-07-27T22:35:00.000+08:00

I must write a separate entry for FOOD...food that we had in NY. (Btw, most pictures posted here were taken by Jus as she, unlike me, dares to take photos in shops hehe). Being the food lover Jus is we researched into the best places to eat in the Big Apple. Undeniably, Serendipity's on Upper 63rd East is a must (Bloomingdales is only round the corner!). I think we went there 3x to indulge the scrumptious desserts they serve. Frrrrozen Hot Chocolate is a MUST. (N.B.Serendipity the movie!)

Another frequent visit was Dylans' Candy Shop on 3rd Ave (as E! have taught me is owned by Ralph Lauren's daughter!) Oh my, I had a sudden sugar rush as I stepped into the shop. Candies everywhereeeeee!! The child in you just comes out and you become one like every other child in the shop......sugar high!!

Our 1st dinner was at Todai's Sushi Bar in Midtown, nearby 5th Ave/ Empire State Building. It was so good yet moderately priced! We loved it so much we came back again 2 days later.

After our Downtown Loop Bus Tour we walked by Saks and towards Rockefeller Center and an authentic Japanese Bakery shop caught our eye. Bought a few delicacies....of course!

We also managed to hop the subway train to Brooklyn to get some One Girl cookies! As Chandler from Friends said...Brooklyn is so far! But the journey was worth it when we had freshly made cookies served at this dainty cute shop and we bought a bag-full to take back home!

Our last touristic destination was the Grand Central Station. I remember seeing it on 'My Bestfriend's Wedding' when Julia Roberts was frantically chasing Cameron Diaz....and honestly I didnt expect the station was so grand looking! Grand Central Station indeed! Such a contrast from London's Paddington or Euston. Lined with marbled floors and walls, it was beautiful. Not to mention they had restaurants from cafes to proper dine-in michelin starred restaurants. There we had mexican...umm nyum!!

And oh u must have a pretzel when u're in NY!!

New York!! New York!!

2007-07-27T21:39:00.000+08:00

U see it on telly, weekly if not everyday. Dreamt of going to NY since goodness knows when. Planned and planned but it never happened. Procrastination at its best. Reason may be financial or just the lack of time. By May 06, I realised I should at least squeeze the remaining few days of my annual leave (not that we have that many anyway....Bruneians in Brunei are sooo lucky) to go to the Big Apple. So Jus n I decided we should go. Broke or no broke - just GO! Otherwise we wouldnt at all. (Lina still hasnt forgiven me for going to NY without her!)

So we did! And did we enjoy it...hell yea!! We managed to save a bit of dosh coz we stayed at my cousin's flat at the Upper East Side. Unfortunately, they've already planned to take the girls to Florida's Disneyland so we missed them whilst we were there. Bibi their maid made us feel at home and made sure we left home with a full tummy everyday. All in all, we shopped lots and toured lots and ate lots toooo!! (of course...i'm on holiday with Jus...whats new?!)....we even managed to see a Broadway show!!....it was a packed well-worth 4.5 days in the Big Apple.

Where did we go and what did we do?

Will I come back again? Of course!!!

Wales: 2005-2006: part 2

2007-07-26T18:01:00.000+08:00

Living in Wales was like trying to strike a social balance between the Cardiff Bruneians and workmates/ friends. But the scale was more tipped to the latter. I can only remember attending 2 BDSSW meets and held a Hari Raya Open house as part of my contribution. Lame, i know. Partly because I spend most of my time either at work or at home, and there weren't as many people of my age. I only related to the Bruneian medics and bro's friends. Anyhow, here are some pictures of me/ us in Wales and my dainty city flat...

Wales: 2005-2006: part 1

2007-07-25T23:39:00.000+08:00

Getting that opportunity to stay for another year in the UK was a relief for me (then) partly because I wasnt ready to go home yet, and I was enjoying the perks of being a well paid doctor in the UK...haha...must admit you can do so much more when there is more dosh...weeheeeee. March' 05 Bro and I were driving in my 9 year old 5th hand maroon Vauxhall Vectra from London to Cardiff for my interview when on the M4 between J17 and 18 (pre Bristol) the car started to slow down for no apparent reason and the yellow light showing some part of the engine blinked on the dashboard. We were lucky I was driving on the slow lane so managed to get on to the hard shoulder. All inall, the timing belt broke, and we had to be towed to Cardiff! Thank god the interview was the next day! Blessing in disguise, I got the job! So another year in the UK, albeit in Abergavenny Wales! (I bought my 2nd hand Polo soon after that....!)

London-sick initially, but the Welsh are very welcoming and friendly I found my 'new family' in no time. Mala, Beth, Saira and oh Kian were mad! Kian...I miss his gayness (pre + post lasik). Malaysian Kian is an awesome-awesome friend, one who makes me miss home and makes me cook homefood so he doesnt get home sick. Silly Kian. Mala - my twin - was also my best gurly gurly where somehow somewhat we would turn up to work wearing almost the same coloured top and pants...and we also own the same pair of skirt from Mango...bought separately from different places before we knew each other! How freaky was that! Mala is my sister I never had...miss u babes! We went on our road (+ shopping) trips to London, our drive to work together daily and our mad thurs nite outs dancing in Cardiff town (u're trully Caerdydd if u've been to the Philly!). Oh I have to mention Tom (Bampy), Abbas (50p), Aled and Jamie and Ian - my night duty mates, and Rob n Amanda. My 1st HO - Paul (who pulls all the girls) and then James (truly english) and Aby....

A truly good year to end my decade stay in the UK!

p/s Im glad Facebook was created because this is the only way I can keep track with what my Abers are up to!

The purpose

2007-07-25T23:33:00.000+08:00

Why I created this blog initially was to make a momento, a sort of memoir of what I have done over the last decade when I was away from home. Since I owned a digital camera only 2 years back, I will try to scan pictures from way back then...

Rain rain go away

2007-07-25T23:00:00.000+08:00

It's 2300hrs and it has been raining non stopped since 1630hrs. Im sure there are few places that are heavily affected from this. The weather has been temperamental lately. Started a week ago when there was the mini typhoon. A few nights ago there were strong gustly winds that brought down all the fancy multi-coloured lit up adverts for the birthday celebrations. That was scaryyy. Never seen things like that happen in Brunei. Im sure this year's birthday celebrations and all outdoors' cafes and restaurants arent as merry as it has always been. No one wants to be trapped out there...no one wants to drive where there are trees along the road...just in case one may land in front of your car...or on your car! And when you're driving where there are no trees you can see the lightning....noooo! Staying indoors is way way safer!

So i did. Then the 4 hour electricity cut happened. Rang the 144 hotline....and they are soooo helpful! NOT! I was all hot and sweaty. Yuck. So glad when bro came and we went out to buy some wrapping cellophane for the wedding gifts. While we were out Mom and Dad popped by. So that was lovely. Lights, TV, internet and aircon returned just a mere 1.5 hours ago.....relief!!

almost 1 year

2007-07-24T22:49:00.000+08:00

i want a holiday. i just wanna be off work.

This is where i wanna be...

pix adapted from www.shangri-la.com

instead i'm here 5 days a week in here...

my first year is almost up working in RIPAS. I cannot wait for my entitled 2 week mandatory leave! Yay! I have so many plans but I know I should not plan. Enjoy the holiday as it goes, i keep telling myself. Oh what the heck, i will do some planning. Some is the key word here. I wanna go to a nice beach resort, not that we dont have one here. I just wanna be somewhere not in the country. I thought I should venture and explore more of Asia, closer to home. Perhaps Borneo. C'mon, even my 'orang putih' friends know Borneo in and out...I find myself all quiet when they all babble about how fascinating this island we live in. So after much dwelling and thinking, hubs and i have decided to go to KK for a bit of R+R. Yes, Borneo -tick, Beach - tick, Resort - tick. We may even go diving or snorkeling...that is if we have the guts to. We'll see. Yay yay...

It will be a lovely break after bro's wedding. I cant wait....for both.

1 down, 2 to go

2007-06-16T19:29:00.000+08:00

P.A.S.S.

The only 4-letter word I have been praying for! That had not only made my day, but also the people around me. Alhamdulillah.

It doesn't end there. 2 more before I become the senior.

How I wish I could have a Serendipity's Hot Frrrrrrozen Chocolate!

Hope for the best, Expect the worst

2007-06-07T21:21:00.000+08:00

(flower from dad's pond)

Tis been a while. Lots of things have happened. Life and death and how these make you a stronger person.

From the last blog we were expecting our arrivals. Alas the 2nd trimester was a rough journey. Admissions in and out of hospital with our high risk pregnancy ended with the depart of both our babies. As advised and warned by our obstetrician - high risk it was as one placenta there was only. At 19 weeks did we receive the unfortunate news from the routine scan, and delivered to 2 baby boys - Abdul Rahman and Abdul Rasyiid. Will be in our hearts always. Love u both.

What we can say is that we have appreciated life and death at a another level. Made us stronger and better people and love each other and the people around us more. Do not forget to say 'I love you' whenever u can.

I have always been a planner; organise things so everything fall in place nicely. I have now learnt things that in life don't plan too much. Live life as you go along. Enjoy and live the moment....

Expecting?

2006-11-11T20:43:00.000+08:00

Found a few websites which are very useful for references:

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy

http://www.pregnancy.com

http://www.parenting.ivillage.com

can't help it.....hehe....huhuhu and this book is BRILLIANT!

Baby bloom

2006-11-11T20:11:00.000+08:00

Have not blogged for a while. A month of Ramadan has passed and now we're coming to an end of Syawal. Hari Raya this year has been what of a disappointment I must say. Too much looking forward celebrating vs work during the festive season do not go well hand in hand. Oh well, the newbie got the short straw, and I cant do much but accept. Let's just hope justice sets in the coming year to come.

Amidst all this, we've had many baby arrivals! Bundle of joys! The first borns to those. After 9 months waiting the time had finally come. My biggest congratulations to:

Ayeen & Amir - 26/9/06 Baby Nor Ameera Aleeya......making Nor Ameera Amani a big sister now
Azah & Ruddin - 28/10/06 Baby Syakir Zufayri El-Mun'im
Picau & Atai - 10/11/06 Baby boy....name to be announced

With all the hoo-ha's, squealing parents and baby cries... we also received the news that we have been looking forward to.......and to add to that we may be having twins! The scan on the 6th November was an eye opener...it was a shock...it was great news....superb!! It just took a while for it to sink in, that I walked in a daze amidst the heavy rain splashing on the wall-less corridor along the hospital wards. On arrival to Cardiology - where I was scheduled to give a talk for the CME meeting - I just stood outside my SMO's office and all I could say....'there's two....there's two'.......I was fully engrossed and focussed on the news that I was huddled by the nurses and my seniors extending their congratulations and wishes to me......then came along the tears of joy. Thankfully, they allowed my talk to be postponed as they thought I could do with a breather with the news!

It has sunk in. But it is still early. I am 7 weeks and 5 days today. The obstetrician said anything can happen in the 1st trimester and depending on the blood supply the fetuses get, 1 may disappear just like that...no symptoms no signs....hence I got the written memo from her to advice 'light work' and 'no long distance travelling on a daily basis' up to my 13th week. I must say I was slightly nervous as I had to sort out my oncall rota and inform the bosses and colleagues of the current situation. Thankfully, I was welcomed by a group of supportive bosses and colleagues. No oncalls for me for now and may be transferred to Tutong in the mean time until they get me a house in Bandar~ yayyy!!

Next scan is on the 20th November....to see if both are still there. I'm nervous. All I can do is hope and pray and positive thinking.

Till then.

Shopping...addiction...withdrawals

2006-09-20T17:45:00.000+08:00

Being post call today I had the half day off. Strictly speaking it should be a full day off but unfortunate limited resources forces the few to stay on until midday. Had a decent night however so I had the energy to go round town to buy belated and upcoming birthday presents. I realised it is not that of an easy task to find reasonably-priced goodies. After circling Kiulap I managed to go to Vincci and found a pair of fancy sandals and a pretty bag. The former for yours truly, and the latter for a future family member. Next task was to get a birthday card. Went to Euroclassics in Centrepoint and had a wide range to choose from. Maybe it's just me, maybe because I havent got a paycheck yet, I thought the card prices were outrageously expensive. Mind though, I can be easily fooled by numerical price values. Being so used to buying cheap and pretty 1 quid cards from Tesco and Marks & Spencer I spent quite a while choosing one. I finally resorted to buying a sketchy paper bag with a card attached to it, which was a bargain.

Enroute my shoppings I bumped into a boutique which sold genuine Gucci, Dior and Coach bags. Reasonably priced. I miss London. I miss the New York shopping trip that Jus and I went not so long ago. I hope to go to Singapore for the exams and perhaps get to squeeze a few hours of shopping afterwards......can't wait.

Round and round in circles

2006-09-13T18:26:00.000+08:00

I had a tiring day. What was suppose to be a simple task became a complicated one. Simply I was paying a visit to the finance department to sort out my pay, but with the wonders of the excellent communication the government departments have with each other led to a waste time of energy. Why can't someone somewhere simply write a guideline on what and how to do things for this and that. It's a simple task and saves time and resources.

Enough said. It's only Wednesday and I'm already knackered. Working this weekend....hurray..NOT! However I had the delight of having lunch in town highly recommended by a dear friend. It's more of a cafe rather than a sit-down meal kind of restaurant. Simple, cosy and great food. When you have the chance do go to 'Deli-Bites'....

Reunion

2006-09-10T22:02:00.001+08:00

An almost-spontaneous BBQ-picnic led to a reunion of mates from school a decade ago. Reminiscing the silly old times we had with other ex-classmates and teachers almost left up with abdo pain and tears in our eyes. It's amazing how all of us turned up to be....I'm sure our teachers would have been so proud of us. Everyone brought their own food to share, and typically we ended up having food to feed a school. Exchanging with each other's story life whilst enjoying our barbequed chicken wings and sausages. Sunset ended the union yet we all left the beach feeling refreshed knowing how glad we still kept in touch over the last decade. May there be more reunions to come!