Today marks the final day of my wife's 5-month long extended maternity leaves (she took 3-month unpaid leaves on top of the 2-month maternity leave). This morning, as I massaged baby Ikhwan's forehead, I told him that his Ibu will be going back to work starting tomorrow, that he won't see Ibu as frequent as before and that he has to be a good boy, a patient boy, and an independent boy who knows how to adapt and behave especially at times when I'm the only taking care of him (in the absence of Ibu who will be very busy for sure) and when he's in the hands of his sitter. Upon saying that, for some reason, I just broke into tears, quite to the surprise of my wife. It saddened me mainly because: 1. Ikhwan won't be able to spend as much quality time with his Ibu and from tomorrow onwards, he will see more of his sitter instead. 2. We 'tawakal' to Allah that we have made the right decision and picked the right sitter and hope that Ikhwan will be spared from any harm, whether when he's at the sitter's house or while he's with his own family members. 3. Throughout the 5-month period, me and Ikhwan spent a lot of quality time with Ibu and we're going to miss that, especially the weekends. 4. Very often, my patience was tested, and I almost lost my temper, especially during night time and it was time for Ikhwan to go to sleep. On many occasions, Ikhwan refused to be tucked to bed by me, with his screams and uncontrollable cries, which immediately stopped when Ibu took over. Obviously Ikhwan finds comfort in Ibu's hands, the person whose face he sees, whose touch he feels, 24 hours a day for the past 5 months. In a way, I'm also grateful I encountered those 'tough' moments with Ikhwan for at least, I know now how to properly handle him and how to control my anger. 5. During the course of raising Ikhwan (in the past 5 months), me and wife have had our differences. Though they were usually resolved quickly, I still feel regret such moments had to happen. 6. Without fail, everyday when I reach home from work, my wife will be home (even though she might have gone out earlier with Ikhwan), and there will always be some meals on the table, whether for our late evening coffee or early dinner. But now that she's back to work, it would be me and Ikhwan who would have to wait for her to reach home, due to her unpredictable working hours. 7. Before my wife gave birth, I'm always the one sending her to work and pick her up from work. With Ikhwan in the picture, we have to go separately since for most of the days, I'd be in charge with Ikhwan's travel arrangement to and fro the sitter's house. 8. I'm also saddened by the fact that my wife has to work extra/odd hours and that she has to brave the jam near her work place all by herself (instead of me driving).
The Simpsons is no stranger to many of us. In fact, we may know the characters among the Simpsons' family members and Springfield, the place where they live in, far better than our own next door neighbours or hometown.
The creator, Matt Groening has one of the most unique spelling and pronunciation for a name. Some of the things associated with The Simpsons and the rest of the Springfield folks - Homer's constant craving for doughnuts and beer; Homer's D'oh!!! and Arrrrrrggghhhh; Bart's eat my short and aye carumba; Marge's blue 'high' hairstyle; Lisa's wit and saxophone; Maggie's constant sucking on the pacifier; Patty's and Selma's body hairs; Mr Burns and his sinister plans; Barney's burping; Nelson's ha-ha; Otto's bus and headphone; Smither's infatuation towards Mr Burns; Skinner's reliance on his mother; Wiggum's under-trained police skills; Mayor Quimby and his political agenda (if any); Terwilliger's vengeance towards Bart; Apu's Kwik-E-Mart; Moe's bar; the nuclear plant station andthe Springfield elementary school.
But behold! There is a new neighbour in Springfield. He lives opposite of Homer's house to be exact. He goes by the name Abon. Many Springfield folks think that's not his real name; while some think it's a rip off of Akon. Apu is glad however, that his new customer's first name also starts with the letter 'A'.
There are some who think Abon is an Asian descendant (judging from the shape of his nose) or perhaps his parents are mixed Asian and caucasian (due to his rather yellowish complexion, much like the skin colour of most Springfield citizens).
Homer has a hard time adjusting to having the new neighbour, considering that Abon doesn't drink Duff Beer or any types of liquor and Abon doesn't enjoy senseless and meaningless entertainment, like Homer does. However, Abon does like doughnuts too and during such time when Homer and Abon devour on doughnuts, Homer picks up some weird languages used by Abon, like 'opocot', 'alapak', 'apa-apa ajalah', 'oh kisah', 'eh' and 'ek'. Abon also uses a lot of 'laahhhh...'sat the end of his sentences.
Abon is married but his wife and kid are yet to relocate to Springfield. Marge is looking forward to meeting Abon's wife, so that she can share her hair tips or tips of her hair. Abon's kid is still a baby, so Maggie will now have to suck on that pacifier a little harder and louder.
Abon is spotted here at Kwik-E-Mart with Skyball II, his pet cat whose appearance resemble that of Snowball II, Bart's pet cat. Spooookyyyy.....
P/S: If you want to be Simpsonized and be a part of Springfield and perhaps, the Simpsons' family, do it here.
I've also decided to START tagging people on this entry. As a start, here are the people:
Manal, Ryzah, Pugly, Esah Jolie, Ija (the friend one, not my wife, haha), Getty (I know this may deviate from your blog theme, but perhaps you can use your creativity mate), Kak Red and Alvin.
For those who have been selected, there's no pressure on your side to do this whatsoever. But for those who do wish to participate, that would be great. Just follow these 3 simple meme rules:
1. Simpsonize your self by visiting the aforementioned site. You don't necessarily have to go through this stage in view of you need to have a close-up photo of yours for you to be Simpsonized. Also, it seems that for those wearing head scarves, your photos may not be Simpsonizable. I've tried on my wife's photos over the weekend, even the close-up ones failed.
In the case of no Simpsonized version of you is available, you can substitute with a hand-drawn cartoon version of you or your real photo or whatever photo suitable.
2. Describe what you think of The Simpsons. You may love it, hate it, or may be neutral about it. Even if you have no opinions or have no knowledge about it, just write something laa.....
3. Now name your cartoon character and introduce him/her to us. The more cartoonish the name is, the better. Then, describe what's your character is like. It can mirror your real self or you can make them all up entirely.
4. Lemme know when you've done it... Easy, ain't it? Hehehe... For those with no blogs but wish to contribute, you can comment in this blog. Tq..
Despite all warnings that our Earth is at stake, the thinning of the ozone layer is becoming critical and the environment is as polluted as ever, it saddens me that for most of us (including myself), it's still 'business' as usual:
1. emails are easily available and accessible but yet we still send correspondences by faxes and mails, 2. papers are used and thrown away so lavishly as though trees would grow overnight and papers would still be replaceable, 3. we still don't bring (i.e. reuse) our own plastic or paper bags before we go for shopping, 4. we still continue on fighting and harbouring wars, resulting in weapons of mass (real mass) destruction being used over and over again, 5. contaminants still pollute our air, our water and our land, 6. we still use electricity and burn energy so excessively, as though those resources would not be exhausted one day, and 7. trees still being chopped off 'unsystematically', and hills flattened, for buildings to rise, resulting in the imbalance of our eco-system.
Will we ever ponder or realise that we merely borrow this world from our future generations? Will our children and grandchildren get the chance to see and touch trees or photos are the only substitutes that we can show to them....?
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim... Surah Al-Hijr (015.019) And the earth - We have spread it forth and made in it firm mountains and caused to grow in it of every suitable thing.
Surah Al-Haj (022.018) Do you not see that Allah is He, Whom obeys whoever is in the heavens and whoever is in the earth, and the sun and the moon and the stars, and the mountains and the trees, and the animals and many of the people; and many there are against whom chastisement has become necessary; and whomsoever Allah abases, there is none who can make him honorable; surely Allah does what He pleases.
P/S: In case anyone wondering...no, I wasn't trying to pull the roots of the tree out of the ground. They are already like that!
It's been a while since I sang My Favorite Things (taken from the movie The Sound of Music) to our baby Ikhwan, and I hope one day, when he already learns and understands a little and more of English, he would understand the song and can sing along. Meantime, for those of you who would like to know the lyrics to the song, here it is. While doing that, why not view the movie clip here, or how about singing it to your kid(s) with this as the music playground....
Raindrops on roses, And whiskers on kittens, Bright copper kettles And warm woolen mittens. Brown paper packages Tied up with string These are a few of my favorite things.
Cream colored ponies, And crisp apple strudel. Doorbells and sleighbells And schnitzel with noodles, Wild geese that fly With the moon on their wings, These are a few of my favorite things.
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes, Silver white winters that melt into springs These are a few of my favorite things.
When the dog bites, When the bee stings, When I'm feeling sad. I simply remember my favorite things, And then I don't feel so bad!
The Oxford Dictionary says "boulevard" means wide city street, often with trees on each side. As for me, "boulevard" is the path that I thread my way through in life. At times, the trees give me protection from the hot sun above. While at other times, no amount of trees can comfort me when it pours. Come rain or shine, the road continues to provide me with the journey of life until it reaches its destination.
People say I'm sweet, kind, a gentleman, caring, romantic and observant (let's just concentrate on the good attributes). I love those who matter to me, and care about things that count. I'm a Malay Muslim and proud to be one. I DON'T think Islam should be judged by those nasty followers. Islam should be judged by the religion itself; its teachings and the purpose behind them. I mean, humans will still behave like humans right? Usually, regardless of religions that they embrace. It is also in my nature to please, since I believe that TO PLEASE EVERYONE IS AN IMPOSSIBLE FEAT, BUT NOT TRYING TO PLEASE ANYONE OTHER THAN ONESELF IS A POSSIBLE DEFEAT (own quote). Apart from sharing the things I read, watch and listen to, I'd also share my thoughts and feelings, and express my views on certain issues. Last by no means least, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM EVERYONE OF YOU OUT THERE ABOUT ANYTHING! If we knew each other 'in the previous life' and had lost contact, or we hardly contact each other nowadays, do email me or comment on my entries. Feel free to explore my blog & website (http://members.fortunecity.com/abdunmy/). Cheerio & Wassalam.
Sometimes, to boldly go (where no one has gone before) at warp speed may cause you unnecessary troubles.
Own quote, based on Star Trek
Lesson from the quote: Rushing to reach your destinations or goals may get you there fast, but may not always be the smartest thing to do!
"Note The Quote (Malay translation)"
Kadang kala, perjalanan (ke tempat yang tidak pernah ditujui) pada kelajuan maksimum boleh menyebabkan kesusahan pada diri sendiri.
Rekaan sendiri, berdasarkan dari Star Trek
Pengajaran: Terburu-buru untuk sampai ke destinasi atau matlamat hidup mungkin boleh membawa kita ke sana dengan cepat, tetapi langkah itu tidak semestinya yang terbaik!
You have to find something that you love enough to be able to take risks, jump over the hurdles and break through the brick walls that are always going to be placed in front of you. If you don't have that kind of feeling for what it is you are doing, you'll stop at the first giant hurdle.
George Lucas (Film Director and Producer)
"Favourite Note The Quote 2"
A sign in a mosque on the need to switch off handphones:
P/S: Email me if you wish to receive a "Weekly Note The Quote" newsletter, a compilation of quotations that appear here in this column or in any of my blog entries within a particular week. Please put Note The Quote in your email subject. TQ.
If you have a specific field/term to search on Islam, you can also enter your search item(s) at Islamic Web Directory, available at the bottom of an entry entitled Proofs. For your convenience in accessing the Directory, Proofs is available in "Other own (cool) stuffs" column. Thank you.
Penguin Rush
