A Colourful 2010

First and foremost, today is Marsya Hazirah’s birthday. She is six today, at exactly 10.00am this morning. We couldn’t celebrate her birthday in a big way today; everyone is busy. Maksu is preparing for her kids’ going to school (first day of school today), my parents are in Seremban, I am working today… so there’s just no way to celebrate it like we did in the past years. Thought of going to TGI tonight and celebrate it there, just us nucleus family. But Bie has another plan. He’s planning to buy some food and bring it home to his parents, and have a little celebration there. I suppose it’s ok as well. She does wants a PowerPuff Girl cake though, which I will have to get for her, together with a bigger celebration which I hope to host for her somewhere in the middle of this month, one of the weekends. We’ll see how. After all, January is the month of birthday celebrations in my family. Ayah has already gotten her a gift though. A beautiful dress (chiffon, satin, all fluffy which she likes very much because she feels that she looks like a princess) that she’s supposed to wear as a flower girl during my brother-in-law’s wedding next month. I didn’t particularly like it. It was too fluffy. But she adores it. When she tried it on last Saturday, she was prancing around, twirling and dancing because it made her look good. Like a princess. I suppose everyone would want to feel like a princess at one point in their lives. I was once like that too. I have also bought her a gift. And yeah, its princess-related as well. I know… it’s a story book, with happily ever after stories of Disney princesses. Happy birthday darling daughter; I hope you’ll get the letter from the Kementerian soon (on the decision whether she gets to go to Standard One or not this year).

Anyway, 2010 has been a colourful year for me. So many things have happened, be it in terms of work or personal basis. It started with the Rights Issue exercise, involving lots of late nights, working late, hardly seeing my children (that Raqib started to develop a fever and was on nebulizer because there was one time, he only saw me after three days or so, and we actually lived in the same house – he was asleep by the time I got home, and was still asleep when I left for work). Then the EGM in relation to the Rights Issue, then the RRPT Circular, slides presentation and FAQs for shareholders for the AGM. There were also others that needed to be looked at; relating to Investor Relations, corporate deals, and other ad-hoc stuff. It was never-ending.

The family holiday in Genting sometime in May was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it very much. Somehow, I love Genting and I wouldn’t mind going there again. We went with my parents, together with my brothers and his wife (the one yang dah kawin lah). We booked four rooms. We were out of the room for most of the time, enjoying the theme park. Sometimes, when you have small kids, it’s nice to experience these rides through their eyes. So yeah we didn’t get on any of the adult ride, but it was fun all the same.

Then there was the toothache. My wisdom tooth was giving me a lot of problem. The gum was swollen and I had trouble eating. So I went to the dentist and was informed that the hole was just too big and the tooth needed to be extracted. And she also mentioned that for all the toothaches that I saw them in the past, it was all related to this one tooth. Fine.. I got it. So yeah, I had it extracted. During the extraction, luckily there was no pain, because they sedated the gum area quite heavily. But the dentist had trouble pulling the tooth out. Apparently, the roots were too strong, something about curled up instead of the normal straight growth. So the pain was more towards me having my mouth opened too wide, too long. I felt like my mouth was tearing up. Of course the after-effect of the tooth no longer there was quite painful. I think it took me a week before I could finally eat anything solid. My gum (the area where the tooth used to be) was also infected. I think it was because of the food trapping. I hated it. I hope I do not have to extract any other wisdom tooth out. Any pain relating to teeth and the mouth area scare me.

Of course, at about the same time or two weeks after that, I suddenly developed a strong sense of smell towards everything and anything, especially food. My PMS was delayed for 10 days. I didn’t bother checking because it has happened in the past, especially during the days that I was stressed with work. But this time around, it was slightly different because my sense of smell heightened. So, I bought one of those pregnancy kits and after waiting for about 4 minutes or so, noticed two red lines on the stick. I was ecstatic. I have been trying since the beginning of the year, but there was no luck. I guess with work and all, it was good that I only got pregnant after the major part of the works was over and done with. Because, about two days after that, my morning sickness kicked in. And it was a terrible one. I even decided against having more children after this one (I even told my doctor that, but I was saying it because I couldn’t stand the morning sickness period… it was terrible… now I am hoping to at least have the fourth and final one… Insya Allah). I was hospitalized, with bottles of water dripped into me. I lost 8kg (it’s not a bad thing.. it’s a good thing I suppose so that when I do start to eat, the weight increament wouldn’t be so bad). So yeah, I didn’t do much work for the next couple of months. I was always on MC or on emergency leaves. Luckily my boss understood. But now, I am in my eight month of pregnancy. The appetite has come back. And I have gained weight. Two weeks ago I weighed 66.6kg, and I have a feeling that now it’s a lot more than that. Well, tomorrow is my check-up. We’ll see.

Then there’s the time when Aini had to go back to Lombok, earlier than anticipated because her husband passed away due to a motor accident. It was terrible. She was crying a lot and wasn’t very focused on her job. So instead of going back to Lombok for her break in November, she went back in October. So yeah, I had to struggle taking care of two kids whilst at the same time dealing with my thank goodness receding morning sickness. It was tough at first. There was no one to take care of the kids with Marsya still in school. So I had to send Raqib to stay with his grandparents in Seremban. It was terrible times for me. I was sad all the time, crying because I couldn’t bear to be away from him. As for Raqib, he developed his talking ability only after Aini left for Lombok, so whenever I called Seremban, he would be telling that he loved me and wanted to come home to me. I didn’t like the way it made me feel. I only saw him on weekends. But when Marsya started her school break, I immediately sent her to stay with her grandparents in Seremban. I felt a little relieved because with Marsya around, Raqib wouldn’t be so lonely. He had a friend. And my parents adored them to pieces. Yes there were scoldings and pinchings, but Ayah was just too much. Let’s just say that Marsya managed to twist him in her little finger. New clothes, new bicycles, new books, new stationeries, and afternoon breaks at Pizza Hut, McDonald or Kopitiam. They had it all.

Then there was Marsya’s little exam to see whether she is qualified to enter into Standard One before the age of seven. So we had to bring her to a school all the way in Shah Alam (that was the exam centre) so that she could be tested. Basically, they tested her on her abilities to interact with other people, reading, writing, and simple numerical skills plus listening to instruction skills. I don’t know whether she did well or not. I hope she gets to go to Standard One this year though. We’re still waiting for a letter from the Kementerian. They promised to issue it in the third week of December last year, but unfortunately; the letter is still not out yet. So, I’m praying that she gets it soon. Otherwise, it’s a shame really. She is after all six already and deserved going to a primary school (I’m biased here… I am after all her mother).

Bie has still yet to achieve that big break. So financially (especially towards the end of the year coz he didn’t get any fixed income) we were a bit tight. Luckily Aini wasn’t around, so I didn’t have to pay her salary. And Marsya was on holiday. So I didn’t have to pay for her kindergarten fees. But Bie is optimistic about 2011. He feels that the time has come for him to at least get something, maybe not in terms of a big break (though if we do get it, then Alhamdulillah…) but something that is recurring as 2011 is seen as a year which requires a lot of outflow. First there’s the maternity charges which need to be paid in February, Raqib’s registration at kindergarten and monthly fees which may be more expensive compared to Marsya’s because we intend to send him for both sessions; morning and afternoon as there is no one to take care ofhim during the day, and of course other expenses. But since Bie is optimistic, I have to be optimistic and supportive for him as well. I am tired of people asking me about Bie’s condition, and when he’s going to get a proper job with fixed income. I know Ibu is very worried and keeps on stressing the healthy life of having a fixed-income job. Well, I have confidence in Bie. This year will be the fifth year that Bie is doing it on his own. I have to trust him. I believe that Allah loves us and will bestow His rewards when He feels that we are ready for it. And I hope that 2011 is the year. I don’t want to be the ungrateful wife who is not supportive of their hubbies. At the moment, I am at ease. Yes I do worry about our financial situation… don’t get me wrong, I do. Especially if by the end of the month, we don’t have many funds in our accounts. But I always look at other people; whose lives are even more burdened than us. At least we can still eat and buy things for our kids, but those people, those who have lower incomes than us, they are even worse. So yeah, by the end of the day, I am still grateful for what I have. I have a great family, loving parents, wonderful kids and I am happy with Bie. Not a day goes by without reciting my gratefulness to Allah for blessing me with such wonderful life.

So yeah, basically that is 2010 for me in a nutshell. A bit too long isn’t it? Oh well, I just feel the need to put it down.

Have a great 2011 everyone.