When we arrived, we were welcomed by a group of Muslim men who took us to their headquarters / accommodation area. It seems that was our motel for the day. But somewhere midway, Italy decided to wage a war against France and these Muslim men then took us to a safehouse which kinda look like a dilapidated warehouse of sorts. There, we were less stressed about the waging war, although we did hear bombs and machines guns going off in the night.

It wasn’t long before the Italians started invading and found us hiding. Apparently, when they barged into the warehouse, we managed to escape and run to a….bazaar. Yups. We managed to do more shopping amidst the bombs and machine guns going off.

Then out of the blue, we all started running towards a private plane which was chartered to fly us all back home. But! While running to the airplane, all of us were shot in the arms nd legs! And funnily, no live rounds were being used, instead we were hit by rubber pellets and our arms and legs had huge red bruises and welts! But thank god we managed to get on the plane and leave.

And then I woke up and realised that it was all a dream! And then,  I looked at my arms. Lo and behold, those huge welts n bruises were still visible! Omg!

And then I finally woke up for real. And so I had what they called a dream within a dream. Phew. No war, no welts. Alls good!

Then, what happens to all my non Muslim friends who wished me “Selamat Hari Raya”? Are they renouncing their religion too and are they gonna burn in hell? Look people, we are living in a multi cultural country on a tiny red dot of an island in the world. And the best we could do is respect each other’s religion and be friendly and gracious. I see no wrong in wishing someone “Merry Christmas” or even “Happy Deepavali”.

With that being said, me, some friends and the good people of ‘Blessings in a Bag’ volunteered with the Children’s Cancer Foundation to bring a little cheer to the little patients at the KK Hospital. We started off early in the morning with decorating the children’s playroom, prepping the sock pressies and also the balloon sculptures from Auntie June.

The event had an array of activites throughout with a story telling session by yours truly and my good friend Noel Boyd (We read ‘The Night Before Christmas) , a sing along session, pressie and balloon sculptures giveaway and even a suprise visit from Santa!

Truth be told, that was the first time I came face to face with a young cancer patient and it just broke my heart to see children so tiny and young to be suffering from such a terrible disease. It was sad to see them lose their hair and be in constant pain. But what surprised me was their smiling faces, the laughs, their voices singing without a care in the world and being happy and contented at that moment in time. And that just makes whatever problems that I have so trivial. I have taken lots of pictures with them but sadly we are not allowed to post pictures with their faces up. So I am just gonna leave you with these. It’s too late to wish all of you a Merry Christmas, so here’s hoping that you have a SMASHING NEW YEAR instead!

And so, the four of us (me,hubs,radin and sarina) were waiting for Cik Mas n Cik Aim under ibu’s block. Me ans Sarina were attempting to place the candles on ibu’s cake while I was debating with husband on the correct number of candles to be placed. We were at the cake shop when I asked for 5 big candles n 5 small candles, when hubs decided to get 2 more candles to “play safe”. The funny thing is that the husband saved 3.12.1954 in his phone as MILs birthdays and I was very sure that he got it wrong. 1954 was the year my late mother was born n I m very sure yet again that my mum is definitely older than my MIL. And so the hunt for her age began. We started with calling his aunt who also had no idea and advised us to revert back to the husband. In the end, we sought the answer from the best candidate – the FIL. And I was right! MIL turns 55 this year! Yay!

And so the simple gathering began with the surprise visit with a lighted cake, mini cuppies n some awsome red velvety creamy cheesy thingy. MIL also cooked lauk rawon n lemak chilli padi. But I was too full from my cuzzies bday shower and settled for small portions of each dish. Had a great day today with the husband and family. Love them much! See pictures!

Ok back to not getting to sleep at a normal time. These past few days had me on a roller coaster of emotions. From the panic of turning 30 to the excitement of starting something new for myself. Turning 30 was overhyped, although I was quite sad for quite awhile – especially when I looked back on my life and see the current situation and asked myself if I had done at least some justice to myself. Sadly the answer was kinda mixed. Like neither here nor there. And that brings me to whether I wanted to achieve the goals that I set for myself several years back. Is it time for a new venture? Do I need support or should I tackle it head on alone? Will I be less comfortable? And then it struck me, that if I never tried, I will never know! And I am the queen of procrastination.

So perhaps, just perhaps I might take a different route this time round. Whether it succeeds or fails, you just have to wait for it. I dunt want that windows of opportunities (to infinity and beyond!) to pass me by, twice.

He first started watching the episodes with me while we’re having our dinner together and over the months he got hooked. We’re now at episode 132! I think we have another 30 episodes left!

Jolly Widows / Everybody Cha Cha

How weird is that? And on top of that, the last entry was about mak’s bday! And today as I am reblogging again, it’s mak’s bday. How fast time flies. With a blink blinks of an eye, 5 long years have gone by with Mak’s passing.

Anyways, thank you mak. For loving me. And never giving up on me. You are missed and loved dearly every single day. Happy Birthday!

Your tikus,
Nanu.

It’s been a difficult four years since you passed on. I still remember your face, your frown when I made a mistake, ur smile when ur happy and proud of me and most of what I remember is ur caring heart. You are the kindest person with a heart so warm. Helping others and even going beyond the necessities just to make someone else smile. And mostly to make me smile.

I am not proud of who I used to be, the company I used to keep, the actives I used to do. And I know that I have let you down numerous times. Doing things without a care in the world, without thinking of repercussions. I fall alot of times and I never learn from mistakes. But never once have you ever given up on me. Picking me up each time I fall, holding me guiding me with your words and your ways. Never once stopping or thinking that all you did was in vain. It was not, I have changed. Perhaps a little too late for u to see right before your very eyes.

If people were to ask me what sort of a person was ur mum? I’d say that you were the epitome of goodness and something so pure without an ounce of evil. That was you, that’s still you. No one I have met could ever match your qualities. You’re an inspiration. And I am sad that I do not take after much of ur characteristics. But I strive to be better each day.

So today Mak, I make this promise to you. That as each day passes, I will make myself into a better person for myself and for you. What you have sacrificed and done for me all my life is something I will never be able to repay.

My love, my life, my shoulder to cry on and the one who is selfless, Happy Birthday my darling. Wherever you are, I know you are still looking out for me. Forgive me for all the times I made you cry.

Love, your tikus,
Nanu

Today the wongs came over for supposedly a bbq which ended up with me frying the lamb chops n hubby ordering the McDees. After eating, we settled for a GTA IV nite/morning. They are both at it with 2 missions accomplished. Like finally.

So I decided to cook one of his favourite meals to make up for it. Assam pedas ikan pari. Off hubby n I went to the so called “wet market” to buy some groceries n fishies. Dish turned out quite ok but dad says there is still a missing ingredient but he does not know what it is. Neither do I.