Touched...

It was way way past 5.45pm...

Self : Dui...kenapa bos tu ndada perasaan mau pulang...
Aines : Ya kenapa tu...
Self : Ndak kan dia mau aku kasi siap juga sekarang...aku shutdown suda...ndak buli suda aku kerja ni...betul2 ndak tahan...

After a while...

Boss : Ton...bole siap ka...
Self : Bole bos...I buat di rumah...
Boss : Ok good...

Much as I hate it, I have to do it at home...submission dateline is tomorrow...
I was not in the best of health...
I could hardly bring myself up this morning...
I was aching all over the body...
Block nose...runny nose...spinning head...aching back...blister in the mouth...the list just go on and on...
I desperately need to lie down...

It was already dark when we adjourned from the office...
I dragged myself to Giant...remembered that I need to buy rice...
It was drizzling...well, just great...just what I need to further worsen this uninvited ailment...

When I reached home, I had a surprise...the kids were waiting for me...

Kakak : Mummy cakap mummy sakit...kenapa ndak ambil cuti...
Self : Sakit la ba ni...banyak betul kerja mummy...ada lagi mau buat malam ni...
Kakak : Apa mummy mau makan...
Self : Kakak masak saja la apa2...

I was tremendously touched by their gesture...all of them took the groceries away...Adek did not say anything...she just hugged me...

While waiting for Kakak to finish cooking, I started to blog...a measly attempt to loosen up those tired and sleepy body muscles...

Alli : Mummy pinjam laptop mummy sekejap...
Self : Ala ndak bole...mummy ada homework ni...
Alli : Tapi mummy blogging ni...
Self : Sekejap saja ni...mummy betul2 ada homework...tinguk dalam envelope tu...

So, here I am...
Waiting for dinner time...
Trying very hard not to surrender to that devilish whisper in my ears...
...tidur...tidur...besok ja buat...kalau sakit buat la gaya sakit..
Ohhhh...the temptation...

...why oh why did you decide to come home with me tonight...

Ok people...
...brain, hands, fingers, eyes...
...ready or not...
let's do this...

Not at all...

I could smell it in the air...
The unpleasantness...
I could sense it in the tone...
The dissatisfaction...
I could detect it in the gesture...
The annoyance...

It's not as if I got my head snapped off...
It's not as if I got yelled to the ground...
Nothing of the kind...
I was told off in a nice kind of way...


Man : This one no need (scrapped off), this one also (scrapped off) , this one juga (scrapped of)...no more issue, why you need to put this in...
Self : That's why...I know no more issue but I'm following the new format...
Man : No, no...(scrapping off some more)...


After a while, as I was about to leave the room...

Man : Hah, siap cepat...lepas ni no more function, function ni...we kena submit paper this Thursday kan...
Self : Ya tiada function suda...Friday submission tu...
Man : Hah, kena cepat, I tak nak kecoh-kecoh lagi...
Self : Ok...

I guessed I chose the wrong word when I texted him this morning...
...function...somehow rather this word got him ticked off...
...got to be more careful when using this word in future...


So, for a while there, I let the feeling wander...
Wandered silently in...
...for a while only...

....arrgggghhhhh

It was not my intention...
...to come in late this morning...
It was not my intention...
...to ruffle his feathers this morning...
No one in their right mind would do that...
No one would be stupid enough to let that happen
...not at all...

Giojo and Joshua Pudin's birthday party...

Skyped with Ron on 31st Oct...

Self : cuba cita sikit apa fav character bebudak tu...pening I mo mencari bahan yang mau dibawa...
Ron : BEN 10
Self : Dua2...
Ron : Dua dua pun gila Ben 10...

Ben 10 it is then...
Searched high and low that day...no luck...
Searched high and low the following day with hubby...bingo...

The party started off at 3 pm onwards...
Kakak and Adek decided to stay behind...Adek was not feeling well...
...ada magic show, I told them...
...ndak apa la, they said...
Alli on the other hand was roaring to go...

Alli, Joshua and Giojo greeting Banana...

...Giojo Pudin...

Joshua Pudin...

...kenapa tu Josh...kena marah big brother kali...

...the main attraction of the party...Apple and Banana...

...me, me, me, Alli said...kept holding his ballon up...takut kena potong queue...

...Giojo and Alli tunggu giliran...

...terkezut I bila si Bob...oops si Apple...suddenly berlutut and started posing for the camera...

...started to shoot mummy down with his machine gun...belum puas lagi...use the sword to chop mummy lagi...

...happy betul si Josh with his sword...

...getting ready for the magic show...

...Giojo holding up his hand to answer a question and answer session prior to the magic show...sadly to say my last photo before my batt went kaput...

...everybody was dog tired I believed...
...everybody was happy with the outcome I am sure...

So, mummy and daddy Pudin rewarded themselves...
...a day trip to the Crocker Range the next day...
...a day trip with mummy and daddy Sitorus...
...a day trip with the beastmaster...
...a day trip to be told at a later date...

Sora...

...it was our great pleasure...
...farewell...
...our sweet, sweet boy...

On fire...

Texted boss yesterday at 7.28am...

Boss sorry...I ndak dpt masuk ofis hari ni..my son develop high fever last night..102...kurang tidur sikit n I mau monitor dia dulu...sorry boss...

Boss texted back at 7.29am...

K

Alli started to develop highfever nearing midnight. I persuded him a few times to go to the clinic but he refused...

Alli : Lambat suda ni mum...Alli mau tidur...besok kita pigi...

I then put a wet towel on his forehead...it dried up quickly...
I then noticed that his lips and face slowly turning red...
I then noticed that he started shaking his left foot...
I persuaded him no more and started to bundle him up to go to the clinic...

Self : Mari, mari...kita mesti pigi sekarang...mummy tau u mengantuk...you sleep in the car...
Alli : Tapi Alli pening ba mummy...
Self : Don't worry...mummy ada...mummy will hold you tight ok...nanti kalau suda makan ubat mesti panas Alli kurang...nenek selalu cakap kan...kalau sakit tu mesti sebab mau tinggi...
Alli : Mari measure mummy...Alli suda tinggi ka...
Self : (measuring his height at the wall)...ya oh...tinggi suda...
Alli : (grinning)...

We arrived at the clinic at around 11.35pm and was told if we could wait for about 20minutes as the doctor is attending a house call...while waiting Alli fell asleep in my lap...

Doctor : Ok kita sumbat ubat di pantat...panas kuat...
Self : Berapa temperature doktor...
Doctor : 102...

...Alli fell asleep again while waiting for the medicine...kasian ni anak...

We reached home a little bit after 12 midnight.
I gave Alli his antibiotic and cough syrup before we turned in for the night.
I tidur-tidur ayam, consistenly checking up on Alli.
I was about to fell deep into slumber when I felt some sort of sting on my arm.
It was no sting.
It was Alli. He was burning up. He was on fire.
I rose up quickly to switch on the light when I heard him calling out to me.

Alli : Mummy...Alli rasa Alli macam panas suda...
Self : It's ok baby...mari bangun...mummy kasi makan ubat...

I did not wait until daylight to give him the pill. I need to do something.
Before resuming our sleep, I turned on the air conditioner to cool off the room (did not switch it on earlier as he was feeling cold despite his body's searing heat).
I checked the clock, it was 4.30am.

On que,the alarm went off at 4.45am...
Time to wake the girls up...

Yesterday...
...huge headache...
...lack of sleep...

Today...
...migraine...
...boss in the office...

No more...

All this while I blamed the uneven road surface...
All this while I blamed the "wavy" road condition...
It did cross my mind...
It did cross hubby's mind...
Nay...
Cannot be...
That's what we thought...

We were nearing the house when we heard that sound.
We thought the tyre caught a stray plastic bag...
We thought the tyre picked up a stray branch...
Upon checking...no signs of any plastic bag...no signs of any tree branch...

The sound reappeared a few minutes early morning on the drive to airport to send hubby. The sound reappeard again on my way down from the flyover near the UMNO building.

When I reached home, I was determined to find the cause of that unsettling flapping sound. I parked the car and had a 45 degree turning of the tyres.

The sight that awaits me was distressing to say the least.


Front right tyre...

...(gulp)...first time I ever drive kena tayar gini...

Front left tyre...

...mama mia!!!...I could not believe that I have been ferrying around the kids with this tyre...

Brother : Ko tinguk ni Long...dorang kasi dalam ba bunga ni...ndak rata potongan dorang...
Self : Ya ndak nampak betul kalo dari luar (*&^%$#@!+*)


I suddenly recalled this conversation some time in last May or June...

Mechanic : Mo tukar suda tayar ko oh...buat alignment pun masi gitu juga...
Self : Ya mau tukar la tu...saya suda chek hari tu...mau RM300 lebih juga satu bijik oh kalau size gini...
Mechanic : Ada kawan saya...dia punya mercedes mau tukar tayar...bridgestone punya brand...besar sikit dari size ko ni...masih tebal lagi...RM180 saja satu bijik...
Self : Bah ko arrange la...aku harap sama ko...

I refused to believe that my mechanic (I don't really like to use this word) "cheated" me. I knew that he sent my car to the other workshop to have the tyre change as he do not provide that service. I want to bersangka baik sama dia. Knew him for quite a while suda


At the tyre workshop...

Boy : Wow...ini bukan tayar lagi ni...
Self : Tunggu, tunggu...mau ambil gambar dulu supaya ada bukti...

I will show the photos whenever I see my mechanic next time and will further inform him that in a few months span, I have to fork out yet RM700 for 2 new pieces tyre...it is actually a small price to pay compared to the safety of the children...can't blame anyone I guess...my fault totally...

Well then, what more can I say...

Taken for a ride...
...I have been...
Taken for a ride...
...I will no more...