i think my munkee is a geeneeeeeeuzzz :D

My sister just informed me that my 7 year-old nephew, Ayil a.k.a Munkee got 2nd place in class for his final exam! I was practically jumping with joy upon hearing the news. We thought he was stooopid hopeless.:P

I remember sharing the frustrations with my sister when Ayil scored the highest mark of 50% for one of his mid term papers and the rest weren't even worth mentioning. It was devastating because he is hyperactives for everything but when it comes to studying, he'll put on a long face and gets slow and annoys the tutor.

Not only that, he's also having difficulties to take care of his possessions which cost my sister having had to buy him a new set of stationeries every other week because he kept 'misplacing' them. He's not your average naughty lil kiddo, so he ends up being bullied by kids around even by Amai, his younger brother.

I suspected him of being a wee bit dyslexic. Some trivia on dyslexia, copied pasted from random google search results on the common symptoms are:

-Appears bright, highly intelligent, and articulate but unable to read, write, or spell at grade level. Checked.

-Labelled lazy, dumb, careless, immature, "not trying hard enough," or "behavior problem." Checked.

-Isn't "behind enough" or "bad enough" to be helped in the school setting.

-High in IQ, yet may not test well academically; tests well orally, but not written.

-Feels dumb; has poor self-esteem; hides or covers up weaknesses with ingenious compensatory strategies; easily frustrated and emotional about school reading or testing. Checked.

-Talented in art, drama, music, sports, mechanics, story-telling, sales, business, designing, building, or engineering. Checked.

-Seems to "Zone out" or daydream often; gets lost easily or loses track of time.
Difficulty sustaining attention; seems "hyper" or "daydreamer." Hyper but blur. Checked.

-Learns best through hands-on experience, demonstrations, experimentation, observation, and visual aids. Checked.

Prior to Ayil's final exam, every single morning my sister would talk to him, reminding him what a handsome and clever kid he is, telling him to take a long deep breath, clear the mind and say a prayer before he starts answering the paper. And that really helped. He scored A's and some B's and Pendidikan Islam looks like his subject matter expert. Phewwitt.

As we didn't really think that he could even be in top 3 for his class, we promised him things.. You know, for encouragements. The damage – a brand spanking new PS3 for the boy. Kids nowadays huh.. Lucky I didn't promise him the moon and the stars. But any one (one only enough la..:P) item from Toys R Us should sufficiently be his wish and my command.

Further reading on dyslexia, I believed that my Munkee ain't dyslexic. He's just a late bloomer. But we are still so very happy and proud of him. :)

i think this is a snippet

1.
Keluar bersama teman rapat malam minggu lalu, kebetulan malam Halloween. Although I suspect I'm growing bored of going to clubs (but it could just be a phase), for old time sake I went anyways. Dan saya tak menyesal.

2.
Bertuah sekali, buat julung-julung kalinya Encik Tiena memberi keizinan untuk saya keluar ke kelab malam for a girls' night out dan pulang lewat. No curfew, but I promised him to be home by 3. Saya terlebih 35 minit. Oo-err.

3.
Boy oh boy, kena sekali dengan konsep malam perayaan hantu itu, saya betul-betul seram. Ketakutan. Menggigil (kesejukan dek penghawa dingin).

4.
Ketakutan melihat banyak betul posers dan losers. Naik bulu roma melihat aksi golongan pakcik dan makcik yang mungkin sudah bercucu, terkinja-kinja di dance floor. Terpandang seorang wanita berumur mabuk menari di tengah dance floor, dalam lingkungan hampir 50 tahun mungkin, dengan sheath dress leher low-cut kain velvet rona biru gelap, menyerlahkan hampir separuh buah dada yang bertatu. Gambar ini (sila klik untuk besarkan) mengingatkan kamu pada 'seseorang' (yang tak perlu dinamakan) barangkali? *shudders*

5.
Kami hampir dapat telefon bimbit percuma malam itu. Hahaha.

6.
Apa-apa pun, saya tetap seronok malam itu. Kugirannya bagus, bertenaga dan menghiburkan. But it was hard to concentrate on the band, enjoy the company and the music and ignoring the ghastly bunch of crowds. Yes I know they were just having fun dan suka hati mereka lah, but I could not help but feeling a bit disgusted relieved that I have different ways of having fun and never did have to do what they did nor be like them.

7.
Ya, saya berani kata begini kerana saya tak pernah pergi ke kelab dan menari bergesel-gesel dengan lelaki tua/muda dan hodoh atau cuba berlagak cool/seksi atau tunjuk hebat menari di podium dengan skil tak seberapa. So, boo-yah! :P

i think i just had the best raw salmon and tempura for lunch today *burp*

Berkenaan tajuk, terima kasih kepada Kaklong yang baik hati menaja hidangan buffet tengah hari di Istana. Rasanya seperti salmon dan udang yang dimakan dibawa keluar dari laut terus ke pinggan. Sungguh segar sekali. O-ee-shee..:P

Berkenaan pengalaman perjalanan gastronomik. Saya tak faham dengan sesetengah orang yang suka masak taugeh, tak suka bersihkan taugeh (buang kepala dan ekornya). Sama bingungnya saya dengan orang yang campurkan taugeh dalam nasi goreng dan sup.

Rasanya pernah saya coretkan di blog ini, tentang love-hate relationship saya dan taugeh. Bagi kamu yang tak tahu, mari saya rumuskan hubungan saya dan taugeh ini untuk pemahaman. Saya hanya makan taugeh yang dimasak sebagai masakan utama, bukan campuran atau sebagai 'penghias' dalam nasi goreng, mi goreng, mihun goreng, kueytiao goreng, dan sup sayur contohnya.

Namun saya masih pemakan taugeh; seperti taugeh dalam kuih popia, taugeh goreng, tauhu yang disumbat dengan taugeh dan taugeh dalam nasi kerabu. Ya, saya mengada-ngada begitu.

Beberapa hari lalu, teringin benar memakan teppan-yaki. Lalu merengek pada Mr.Tiena mintakan teppan-yaki sebagai hidangan tengah hari.

Saya fikir saya masuk ke kedai mamak, kerana rata-rata pekerjanya dari tukang masak hingga tukang cuci, masing-masing berbangsa Vangladesh. Kami duduk betul-betul depan tukang masak. Sedar dirinya asyik diperhatikan, wah si tukang masak pun mulalah tunjuk hebat. Kelentang-kelentung bunyi periuk dan spatula berlaga-laga.

Makanan yang dipesan yang tiba di meja begitu mengecewakan. Teppan-yaki daging yang diberi begitu sedikit bahagiannya dan taugeh gorengnya pula tidak dibersih rapi.

Mujurlah saya memang kelaparan hari itu. Tanpa banyak songeh saya asingkan dengan penuh tekun dan sabar 'tahi-tahi' taugeh itu dan habiskan makanan di pinggan.

Kecewa betul rasanya. Jadi saya ambil beberapa keping gambar dengan tujuan untuk buat aduan pada perkhidmatan pelanggan tentang servis yang tak memuaskan. Tapi kesudahannya gambar ini hanya ditempel di blog saya bagi melengkap bebelan. Teehee.:P

Lihat, banyak betul 'tahi' nya, kan?

Sengaja disepahkan di atas meja. (Ya, saya jahat begitu.)

Baiklah, cukuplah bebelan untuk hari ini. Harus pulang sekarang sebelum azan maghrib berkumandang dan sebelum hari gelap kerana kereta diparkir di tebing sungai puaka! (Ya, saya memang pengecut orangnya.)

i think this is quarter century life crisis (hehe)

A colleague was planning for a camping trip some time soon and asked me if I would like to join. It was hard to say no to her as she seemed excited about it and probably hoped for me to go, so trying to decline in the nicest way, I told her that I am too old for it. "You're a boring old girl", she smirked.

Well, I am boring like that. I say she was a wee bit too quick to judge, but no matter. I am too old to even care. Teehee.

When I was younger, back in uni, I was an outdoor person. Was even a member of an outdoor club. Mountain hiking, jungle trekking, cycling, kayaking, you name it. I remember going comot for days without bath in the jungle and drinking from a pool of water with polliwogs swimming in it. Now, at the age of thirty six, the thought of having to go through the day without proper bath and a hairdryer makes me cringe. Let alone sleep in a tent without the comfort of the best bed in the world that is my bed.

I was a talkative kid, funny to the bone but now I'd prefer to stay quiet and laugh at people's joke rather than make people laugh. I used to be a speed demon, now I drive like a grandma at 70km per hour.

It's funny how your definition of fun inversely proportional to your age. It is, at least to me lah.

And they say how you react towards life says the same about your job. Or is it the other way around? Either way, I think I have lost it. I am like, sitting latent, aware that I will miss the train if I am too slow but I am too old to move a muscle.

Is this some kind of a mid-life crisis? Pre-menopause syndrome? Sigh, life is all wrong without that thing called passion.

O passion, come back. Come back. Come fucking back. I don't wanna die as a boring ol' hag..

i think im psyched

Yayyyy Raya long holiday!

Wishing all a Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir dan Batin.

xoxo, tiena

i think this is serious!

Rokok RM9 sekotak sekarang? Wuttttta-efffff!

I think Naj.ib will be a better MoF if he can turunkan harga rokok. Hahahahhh. :P

i think you should skip reading this, don't waste yer time

I have a pile of books sitting pretty on my bedside, four of them are my favorite books, I can read them all a hundred times. These books are collecting dust. I think I've gotta start reading again, my england really sucks. And I have not been reading intellectual stuff for quite a while, I feel stupid.

I found it hard to even construct a simple sentence these days. I was stuttering my way (which has nothing to do with nerve), struggling for words when I had to emcee this unnamed event last week. We had all the managers coming up to us congratulating for an event well planned and well carried out. I'm relatively new here, so I think I scored some major brownie points to these managers, who at the end of the day, will help to increase my little monthly pay. Heh, as if.... (I am secretly an existentialist like that). In a nutshell, a week's effort of preparing everything for that unnamed event finally worth every blood, sweat and tears shed.

We did it; well I did it, albeit having personal problems attacking me from every corner. I would go to the toilet and cried quietly. Last week was hard for me, I swear if endorphins are sold over the counter, I'd be taking home a year supply of it already.

Anyways, few days back I was at Mr. Tiena's place for buka puasa. I saw a weighing scale near the kitchen's door and pondered why it was there. These lovely plus size people are obviously not weight concious. Everyone in the family is a good cook and everyday is like a gastronomic night to remember. Then, I got on the scale. I let out a small gasp but loud enough for the mother to hear. "Plus 3", she said, smiling. I was reliefed to hear it. 39 plus 3. Okay.

I don't wanna be too skinny nor do I want to be pudgy for Raya. It's funny cause I have no intention of impressing anybody with my weight. I got myself the most expensive fabric I have ever paid for and ironically I'm in no spirit of celebrating Raya. I'm even thinking of going somewhere. Mom's not going to be happy with my decision, it's her first Raya as a single and she wants her kids to be with her at least on the first day. But I'm sticking to my plan so far.

Things are not fine at the moment. I’m worried, I'm feeling dejected. I keep telling myself that it’ll be okay later if not sooner. I mean, my relationship with life has always been like me and high heels; I love them though they give me crazy foot cramps come evening, but I love them still.

Oh, look. The Wonderpets' show is up. Gtg.

i think for now there'll be no words, just pitchahhs (Part Deux)