Throwback: Mini holiday in Muscat

I guess 2014 can be aptly called the year of traveling for our little family. Fahim has broken Zara's record, in which he started to travel since he was 3 months old, compared to Zara who started at 6 months old. Fahim's first destination was London, definitely unbeatable for Zara whose first trip was to Miri.

I know this post is a little late, but I just like to share our recent trip to Muscat, Oman celebrating Eidul Adha.

The trip was for 4 days 3 nights. I have never been to Oman before. So I did some homework by of course googling and asking a friend of mine Wan Harizah who is currently residing in Muscat. We didn't know what to expect beyond the info that we got, but overall it was a good trip. Not the best though since the best human planner (read: my husband) wasn't the one who led the way (haha!) but yeah, it was enjoyable. Check out our journey.

 The journey to Muscat took us 12 long hours! About 4 hours of the time were spent at the immigration offices, and about 2 hours of lunching + praying + nature's call. Alhamdulillah the kids were alright (read: tak meragam!) and mama tak show tantrums. Lol :D

 Kudos to Mr. Hubs for the high stamina throughout the day. He couldn't really last the journey from Bangi to Muar (his grandma's house)  so 12 hours for him was a great achievement. Well, my record of longest driving was only 6 hours straight.

 

 Okay. So we were too tired to take a few shots on the night of our arrival in Muscat. Here's a glimpse of Muscat scenery from our room. The big building is the Opera House. Very beautiful indeed. But because the weather was still scorching hot at that time, we didn't stop to take photos around the area. But Muscat was beautiful and clean. No skyscraper to boast the uniqueness of the city. I love it. Not being a contributor to the signs of the End of Days is actually very cool. And the people were friendly.

 

Did I say we celebrated Eid here? Haha, so here we were, donning our 'ulang tayang' Eid attire. Picture taken at the lobby of Intercontinental Muscat. Very pricey during peak season. We paid AED1k per night hokeh!

 

The kids and I. The girl in black is my neighbor's daughter. Her name is Alya. Her family was on the trip as well.

 

 Went for a visit to a Malaysian friend who resides in Muscat. Seen in this picture are my travel companions and the 'tuan rumah', Kak Suria

We were on a long journey to see the Bimmah Sinkhole  (I forgot the name of the area) Just look at the view. Excited to see the clouds because clouds are like impossible to see in Dubai. Sigh. I was so dumbfounded by the view of the rocky mountains. It was just spectacular.

 This was the Bimmah Sinkhole. It was really really deep. Not just the water but the staircase leading to it also caused shivers to my spine. I am no fan of swimming though, but this creation by Mother Nature was definitely mind blowing. All praises to Allah.

Fahim and I. Although it was like unbearably hot, but Fahim was a champ. Bila tengok views like this, selalu terfikir how was it back then during Rasulullah SAW's time.. Must have been totally difficult for our Prophet to travel to convey his message.. just how big his Iman was.. incomparable at all.. SubhanAllah..

 

Zara enjoying herself in the hotel compounds.. As usual she always enjoyed her outings at hotels..

 Fahim got introduced to playing with sand.. haha. Bangun pagi terus kena angkut to the beach. Sand castle time! The beach behind Intercontinental Muscat is clean, not as many people as the other end of Qurm beach. Most importantly, it was kinda shaded, thanks to the trees. Haha.  Sorry la mama memang puteri lilin. Papa pun sama jer putera lilin. Lol.

Wefie sket berdua. Macam gambar masa honeymoon kat Bali pulak, lol

Ok, we stopped here at Sultan Al Qaboos Mosque on our final day in Muscat before we head home. The architecture was superb, but the same thing with giant mosques, it was not women and children friendly. Ablution room is located far from the praying hall, in which if we farted then you know what I mean.. either terkentut-jelah-malas-nak-repeat-wuduk-solat-ajelah (sila gauge tahap keimanan sendiri la kan..) or guna-air-mineral-amik-je-wuduk-sambil-siram-air-kat-pokok-tepi-tu (dapat jugak pahala siram pokok kan..) Furthermore, there was no shaded area to connect the ablution area and the praying hall. In short, memang tak human-friendly la.. kalau hujan.. confirm basah.

Kekadang pelik dengan the way buildings are designed.. design la ikut cara manusia function.. bukan nak cantik aje.. duhh

And the worst part is, kids of Zara's age were not allowed to enter. Confirm la mama Zara taknak masuk kalau Zara tak boleh masuk kan.. The condition was Zara had to wear a scarf to enter. I was like nak terkeluar ayat 'wtf!!???' dah tapi memandangkan ni masjid and demi menjaga nama baik Malaysia di mata dunia, ai batalkan sahaja niat itewww. So, sudahnya..

 Sudahnya mama solat je in front of the door of the praying hall! Ada aku kesahh?? Haha. Sayang kan masjid patutnya terbuka jer untuk muslimin muslimat tapi dek kerana restriction yang tak masuk akal terpaksa la mama meng-kempunan-kan diri bersolat dalam dewan masjid yang gah ini demi keselamatan anak-anak.. cewah. Bukannya Zara dah hit puberty and tak reti nak tutup aurat ke apa kan.. Look at the door. Sikit punya lawa but hmmhh.. tiada erti..

Haha.. banyak pulak membebel pasal masjid ni.

Ok so after that, we headed back to home aka Dubai..

The journey back home was made beautiful by the momentary drizzles.. lama sangat tak merasa hujan di bumi Middle East ni.. kekadang terfikir bila kurang hujan adakah berkurangan rahmat dan rezeki daripada Allah.. I'll keep this question in my head..

Ada a few more places that we went to but the pics are in my hub's phone and the camera. Interesting places like The Palace, Zubayr Museum and sightseeing around Muscat. 

In short, Muscat is an interesting place to visit. We would go here again I think so.. but definitely not by car, haha. The looonnngg and weary hours of waiting at the borders is an experience not to be repeated. Naik flight lagi senang. Fly sejam je sampai la Muscat.

Au revoir Petronas!

What.. my last post was in January?? Seriously I thought I last wrote in March. Duh, how can I forget..? Well it's not so surprising cuz after having Fahim, it seems there are too many clouds in my head. Asyik lupa je. I know I should be taking supplements to help myself.. but I'm not that religious in keeping up with the doses everyday.. (-_-!)

So.. Ok.. let's start writing again..

I really didn't know that I do have readers amongst my officemates (wait, WHAT!!) If I knew, I would've written more, haha! Oh well, I have more time at home now; perhaps I should continue writing.

So.. hmmh.. this week witnessed the beginning of my life as a home maker. Did I hear someone say I'm kidding?? No I'm not. I'm officially jobless now (well, I still have time to retract my resignation, but I don't think I will) but it seems that I'm still busy with my to-do list. Things to shop before I fly, selling off my Black Beauty (sedih betul di hujung hati ni..), attending to Fahim who seems more clingy than Zara was before, and a few more things that I can't seem to remember.. (see.. cloudy mind again..)

Oh well, the idea to exit Petronas didn't come in a wink; it started longer than a year ago.. when I was offered a better paying job outside. But then, suddenly I found out that I was pregnant.. so I didn't think it was a good idea to wave goodbye to Petronas as yet.. I continued to stay, telling myself I'll give myself another year..

Then, end of 2013 I had Fahim.. and went on MC+maternity leave+MC (again!)+ AL that totaled up to 3 months. Upon returning to the office for 2 weeks, we (myself+hubby+Zara+Fahim) flew to London for a job that I was assigned to. The thought of exiting Petronas came again.. and at that time a few headhunters called me up, asking if I was interested to venture outside of my comfort zone. I was sooo ready for it. So damn ready.

A couple of weeks after coming back from London, I was offered a position in a competitor consultancy firm for a position as a senior consultant, in the field of work that I love. I was soo looking forward for it. Told my husband my excitement. He was equally excited for me. One thing about my husband, he is always supportive of what I am doing - I love you, Yang :) (and I think he is also tired of listening to my rantings and complaints about my workplace.. the distorted system, the dysfunctional line of reporting.. and all that's in the list)

Little that we know.. Allah has other plans for us..

A day after I got the offer, my husband was offered a position in Dubai. I didn't really know what to feel at that time, as I was so mixed up. Couldn't really think it through.. again, the cloudy mind thingy. I consulted my friends and my parents too. Feeling frustrated, angry, helpless, trying to act I-could-be-the-supermom... I was actually so prepared to leave my job for another job..

..But He is the best planner of all..

I talked it though with my husband.. detailing our finances, our pros and cons, our visions, our wishes, our wants in life.. and looking at our kids, I know they can not stand their parents being apart. Zara is growing fonder of her Papa after seeing Fahim being so attached to Mama, and that when my husband left for Dubai, it is really apparent that she misses him so much. I really pity her.. but what to do. We'll just wait for the time to arrive.

So, on 22nd April 2014, I tendered my resignation.

Au Revoir Petronas..

It was much to my superiors' dismay.. my immediate superior asking me over and over again if I could change my decision. I might not leave if I was offered a non-traveling-just-stay-in-Dubai position, but that will not happen, since my work outfit is meant to be mobile. Family's interest comes first. I have to decline.

Oh well..

It is not easy leaving beloved friends behind. Friends who were there for you through thick and thin, through sweat and tears.. friends who were so supportive in each other's development as engineers and mothers and wives. But goodbyes are real.

Goodbye is such sweet sorrow. Even Shakespeare acknowledged.

Maybe a few of you might be wondering, what am I gonna do after being a home-maker? Well, that's not for anyone to wander yet. I'll choose. And for whatever I'll choose, I'm not answerable to anyone except Allah. I do have a few plans in mind.

This is my time to be excellent again :)

Oh ya, just follow my instagram for quicker updates. It's ladyrora. Heh.

The 100th post

Usually I like to pick certain dates to update my blog. But for now, that is not the case I guess.

Fairuz is away for exactly a month now, and I'll be joining him in 41 days. Well, I'm not really counting the days to be away from the office for a couple of months; I'm actually thinking how many optimized hours can I spend on work in these 41 days? I dunno. Like always, it depends. Friends told me that I should be excited about it. But hm, I can't feel it yet. I wonder why.. Perhaps cuz the travel's gonna be in the month of Ramadhan, and that fasting in GMT +1 hour could be a really long one to endure.

Since I am practically living a single life for the time being, I have become more.. hm, lazy? Yes I am adapting to the word lazy. Lazy to iron my clothes (and for that I choose to wear the Syrian scarves cuz they don't need to be ironed), lazy to cook, lazy to eat, lazy to blog. Just so lazy! And you know what, I am beginning to get used to it (oh no..) The last time I had time to learn being lazy was the 4 months after SPM, before I went to UM and UTP soon after.

Thank God I still find the office as a place to unwind, albeit the exasperation we all had for the new guy on the block. He really owes me an explanation.

The only thing I'm in for is downloading movies. I go for drama and love genres. I just watched Remember Me (Robert Pattinson was brilliant in the movie), Dear John (my fave!), The Princess and the Frog (I like Tiana.. so strong-willed! :D) and He's Just Not That Into You (pitiful story, and I hate that Gigi.. Oh well, at least girls could learn a thing or two about guys. Oh yeah, served you right Scarlet :)) I want to watch Eclipse so badly that I hope I can make time to watch it one of these weekdays. I'll see how..

Oh yeah, and you know what? I'm also so in the mood to shop. But I shouldn't, after accidentally splurging for my new pair of specs. Maybe I should reserve all the fund for shopping for my time over there. Hopefully I'll get a good bargain for a long coat just like Blair's :) totally love it.

And oh, I recently discovered another type of people that I have never encountered my entire life before, and I must say I don't quite like it: People who ask too much without guilt from their folks. It may be fine if the parents can really afford it, but too bad if they can't. Worse if the parents can never tell it to their children, but tell it to someone else instead. And too bad if that someone else is ME! Oh well, God knows when I will seek justice for the parents.. sigh. I dunno, kids nowadays want to be looked at as cool, and cool means having light-but-powerful laptops, iPhone, iPod (and whatever 'i's they can get!), Sony Cybershot camera, fancy skirts, 3-inch gladiator heels, etc. And all they do is ask their folks to buy for them. Whatever. I am glad I was born in the 80s. Most cool gadgets weren't born yet even when I was in my junior years in the varsity (but 3310 was considered cool back then!) if not, do you think I'll beg my parents to get them for me? Still, I won't.

Hey, the 100th post is supposed to be fun to read isn't it? What did I just write..? Crap.

Early June rantings

I mentioned in one of the previous posts that I would love to have some kinda reunions with my fellas. Guess what, after that wish was written down, I continuously bumped into my Raja Muda (Arshad, Khairul Amir & Ziadora), Alam Megah (The Cronies - you know who you are) and UTP friends. Boy it felt sentimental to revisit the memory lane again. Thank you God for granting my wish..

I suppose June is a bit more relaxed than the previous months. The boon about it: I am able to attend weddings, haha! But of course, I can only go for one wedding a week.. why? Penat! Seriously the commuting (plus the bad weather and the traffic jams!) are taking their tolls on me; where usually weekends are the times to relax and unwind, are now the times to get me wound up on the roads. Well, not that I don't enjoy driving, but you know, trapped among not-so-nice drivers (though just a few) can actually drive me up the wall! Huhu.. and the result is Weary Mondays -_-.

(aah..~ I can't concentrate writing.. these songs are distracting me..)

I'm actually in the midst of finishing reading Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad (which I should have bought like 2-3 years ago). One thing that I like about the book is that, it encourages the readers to continuously think and seek ways to better up financial knowledge, and not just stamping on the head the dollar sign only. The keyword is "continuously think", in which I think, is something not all of us do constantly (except En. Dayat and my fiance, speaking of those whom I know of), and also, it somehow agrees with CIMB's tagline "winning is about thinking one step ahead" (I love this tagline). I should be completing the book by next weekend (my pace is too slow.. darn) and I should start reading another book after that.

Oh yeah, let's see.. schedule in June: wedding fair at Ampang Point (why must it be Ampang.. why not Alam Sentral..), offshore safety training, sending Ozal to Arau. Can't wait to go for all those!

Oh yes, I would like to wish my dad Happy Father's Day! No one can beat your patience of waiting, and I am learning it from you (well, not that he bothers to read my blog pun.. haha) Neways, we all love you Abah!

P.S: To Nawar, happy welcoming your baby soon! I pray for both mother and baby to be safe and healthy (Muspa, if you read this, please convey this to her okay, hehe =) )

March final update

Hi people..~ (cey.. bajet ramai readers la eh.. haha)

Okay, so now only I have the chance to post something. March had its own mix of fun, sadness, busy-ness, though I was anticipating that this month would be a get-away month for me. Well, He has decided everything for me... and I just have to go through everything with an open mind and an open heart.

I spent the first week of March in Yangon. Yerp, I went there again with Wilson to complete additional work with Carigali Myanmar. This time, my journey was entirely hotel - office only. No shopping like my previous visit there. And also, because I was planning to shop-till-I-drop in Bandung, so I was trying to save more for the trip. And since the hotel already had wireless broadband connection, so staying in room after work was not as boring as the previous visit. Nevertheless, Wilson and I had the opportunity to try local mamak cuisine like roti prata and chicken curry (diorang guna ayam kampung ok. A bit liat la..). Well personally I think the roti tasted fine, I think even better than the mamaks in Shah Alam, but the curry... hmm, let's just say the taste didn't suit my tastebuds.

A day before leaving Yangon, Ain told me that Opah was admitted to the Ipoh General Hospital. I was actually feeling like going back to kampung for that long weekend. Well, that can be called as an irregular feeling cuz I have never driven alone to kampung without Abah and Mak. The end of the story.. you know what happened. But I'm glad Opah departed on a blessed day, 12 Rabiulawal.. Bless her soul.

On the 14th to 17th March, I went to Bandung as planned, with Fatin and her families. It was a great visit: The things I bought (I personally think) were the nicest things I can find for myself and everyone in my list, the Sundanese cuisine were also good, and I must say, the factory outlets there were great. Exquisite blouse designs, gowns and all... not to mention imitation version of branded handbags that looked original.. ah I wished I brought more money to spend. But I had this mindset before coming, to spend only for the things I wanted to look for. And yerp, I got myself what I wanted, with a little bit of overspending, haha. Never in my life have I experienced shopping-till-I-feel-like-fainting. Nope, not even during puasa time.

Apart from going for shopping, we managed to visit historical places like Dago Pakar, where the remains of the caves built by the Dutch and the Japanese located. We only entered the Japanese Cave (Goa Jepang in Indonesian) as we were exhausted upon reaching the Dutch Cave (Goa Belanda in Indonesian). Here are a few pics that were taken during the long walk.

Mak Ngah was explaining something while I was trying to listen closely. Firdaus was constantly checking his phone, if it got any roaming.

Jom masuk gua!


Daus, Fatin, Paklong, Maklong, Makngah, Fifi, myself and Kak La with her baby in front of Goa Jepang.

I couldn't agree more with this signboard. We should have signboards of the same meaning in KL, especially in Central Market area!

Alright, more pics, as usual, are uploaded in Facebook. Tomorrow's 1st April. Don't play pranks on your chums! Oh yeah, happy new financial year PETRONAS!

Feliz cumpleaños a mí!

Alright. Yerp. I'm 25 years old today. No biggie. It's just an increase in age. But seriously thank you for the birthday wishes my dear friends. It makes me feel remembered =)

Everytime my birthday arrives, I will always recall the best birthday moments I had before. They were not posh definitely, but were really sweet for the remembrance. There were three events that I remembered the most.

My first birthday party was when I was 4 years old. I had to share the party with Ain. At that time, it didn't really feel that nice to have another sister whom you have to share your big blueberry cake with! But yeah, as the big bully, I got to cut the cake first! (cuz she was shorter than I was.. so she could not stand to the level of the cake, haha). The birthday party was attended by my uncles and aunts and my parents' friends. Yerp, it did fell weird to be surrounded by people of skyscraping height. But oh well, no complaint cuz we enjoyed the birthday gifts. Haha.

The second birthday celebration was even more special. It was my 18th birthday. But since it fell on a weekday, my parents were out to work, so it was kinda not fun to celebrate without them. Suddenly the door bell rang, and three of my great high school buddies, Dzul, Iqbal and Aishah came, bringing along a blackforest cake. I was thrilled of the surprise. They bought me a handmade photoframe, which I still keep to the best condition until today. Then my parents came back with an orange-flavored cake. So there we had, two cakes! And on that very day, I got the first love letter ever in my mailbox. Sadly, it was from a disillusioned junior of my school. Haha.. thank God I never really see him after I left school.

On my 20th birthday, I was not at home. I went back early to UTP to settle some sponsorhip matters for TEC2004. I was accompanied by a few friends who happened to be the committee members. On the night of 16th January, we scheduled a meeting. I was kinda impatient because everyone seemed to be coming late to the meeting. It was already like 10 pm. I was waiting impatiently at the MPP room, when Doi said we were changing rooms because larger turnout was expected that night. So, Doi walked with me to the bigger room opposite the MPP room... when everyone shouted "Surprise!!" I was stunned, and I could not say a word. Everyone pulled me to the cake, and sang happy birthday. I was reaalllyy touched by that. If I can recall who were there.. Doi, Fatin, Wan Anas, Sari, Nina, Bet, Sarip, Anas.. there were more, but I can't exactly remember. That is why TEC2004 fellas will always be close to my heart, although we do not really meet each other now. But I still treasure the great moments we had =)

On this birthday, I wish to be more proactive and positive and to have a healthier body and mind. I wish to be a less critic (though that may seem hard!), to think deeper and to smile even more! =D

Best wishes for me for the future days to come =) All the best Sharifah!

Backdated Diary of 28th Dec

OK. This new year's eve, let me tell you a story. A story of the things that happened on the day of my engagement =) (terasa macam fairy tale narrator pulak.. haha)

We all woke up early that day. I could not sleep so well because my hands were aching from cutting the pandan leaves to be made into bunga rampai. Mom wanted to have bunga rampai as it is one of the Johor customs, to give them away to the guests later. Moreover, Fairuz's relatives mainly hail from Johor. So I thought it was a great idea. Thank God Auntie Rahmah and Opah were there to help. Kalau tak, sure pagi tu dah nyanyi 'jari-jariku sakit semua, kerna memotong daun pandan.. lalala~'

The canopy man came quite early to install the scallops around the canopies and to arrange the tables and chairs. My mom's ex-student-cum-chef then came to send the chocolate cake that I ordered for the hantaran. It was (self-proclaimed) really pretty. Why chocolate cake? Because Fairuz loves it. I have posted the hantaran pics in Facebook, if you guys wanna have a look at them.

About 1 pm, Qin my makeup artist came. Then Mel my photographer came with his assistant, Shah at 1.30 pm. I received a message from Fairuz saying that they have already arrived at the nearby surau. Well, I was starting to feel a little excited, with Mel beginning to snap and snap. Fatin came at 1.45 pm, which was to my relief, cuz I needed a companion around. Kira macam my VIP la.. haha.

My cousin Mona appeared shortly after that. She was one of my VIPs too, since she was appointed to accompany me to the dais. Qin continued to make-up my face, without me looking at the mirror. It felt really awkward when I looked at myself in the mirror with heavy make-up, but I knew I had to trust Qin, Mel, Ain, Fatin and Mona who said that I looked pretty. Oklah, percaya je la kan.. tengok2 Fairuz's families have arrived. And I have not yet dressed up! Actually I was taking my own sweet time, since I thought that the discussion between the two families will take long. Thank God Ain urged me to get dressed. If not, I would have gone down late!

After the discussion and doa ended, then it was the time for me to go down. I was excited at first, especially when I saw my dad and my Uncle Shah. But as I arrived into the living room, and I saw unfamiliar faces, I started to tremble. I was trembling even more when I saw Fairuz's aunts and cousins in front of the dais. I was like "My God, ramainyeee aku tak kenal..~" They were all dressed in red. Gigil seyh! Haha. But then, when I saw his sister smiling at me, I managed to cool down a bit.

Then Fairuz's mom came to the dais to slip the ring onto my finger. It was really touching inside. But I promised myself no matter what, I would not wanna cry, because I would look ugly if I did.

And so the rest of the day was filled with taking photos. Fairuz came later, in Baju Melayu attire of the same color like mine. Yeah, it did feel like as if we were getting married, haha. But we only wanted to make the day a little special for the both of us, and so, we chose to wear the same color.

I managed to get to know a few aunts from Fairuz's side, which I think is a good start for me. I can't wait for the official photos to be edited by Mel. Kinda excited to look at the photos and recall back the wonderful day.

I just want to express my deepest gratitude to Auntie Che Yah and family for the wonderful sirih junjung and potpourri and for the help they offered to make the ceremony go smoothly. Special thanks too, to my most beloved uncle and aunt, Uncle Shah and Auntie Ju, Auntie Ain, Mak Long and family, Uncle Yem, Auntie Adawiyah, cousins Aris, Alisa, Mona, Nazrin and Fendy for staying back and for the nice chat with me, Dib, Fatin, Liza and Zuhairy. Thank you too, to Zuhairy for being the unofficial photographer after Mel has left, you made it at last to my house :)

My deepest gratitude goes to Fatin, Dib and Liza for coming. Believe me, our photos captured by Mel were really pretty. Tak percaya?

Sweet tak, hehe..

And to my parents, thank you so much for making this possible to happen. May God always speed His love and blessings for you both.

Last but not least, to my friends, thank you for the wishes. I'm deeply touched :) Peace from us!