These days, whenever I sing the nursery rhyme 'Itsy Bitsy Spider', Ikhwan would immediately looking where my hand is at. This is because, I would normally make it crawl like a spider, crawl around him and on his body. Of course, this would lead to him laughing, giggling and wriggling.
In the above video, as I sang the nursery rhyme while waiting (for my dinner) with Ikhwan in the car, I only managed to make him laugh towards the end of the song. Although he should have laughed a lot more, guess on that day, he managed to gain control of his tickle bones :-) Then, I was about to record the condominium block where we live in, I realised Ikhwan was trying to mimic my singing. How sweet...
By the way, in the middle of the video, you can see how his legs were spreaded out as he slumped in his car seat. That is his usual way of sitting in his car seat while enjoying the ride.'Cara duduk orang senang', as I commented to my wife one day (translation: The way how a worry-free person would sit).
Anyway, just for the sake of sharing, the lyrics to 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' goes like this:
The itsy bitsy spider, Crawled up the water spout, Down came the rain, And washed the spider out, Out came the sun and dried up all the rain, And the itsy bitsy spider Crawled up the spout again.
Now, here's just a short video on Ikhwan getting too preoccupied with his Birdie toy. Next to the Birdie is his one of his cloth books. That particular one is on 'Colours'. We sometimes hang the Birdie and the book on his stroller too whenever we took him out on it.
The Birdie comes with a teether that Ikhwan enjoys to bite on and the small fishes that are visible in the bird's 'tummy' sometimes mesmerizes him (it's a pelican by the way). The velcro fastening of thebook creates sound that Ikhwan enjoys to hear everytime he opens and closes it (he does flip other pages too of course).
Hmmm.... what else can you find in my car? Well, the spider-man is still there, then there's a Ronaldinho' jersey key-chain hanging next to it. This 'kaki bangku' father (meaning: lousy at playing soccer or as they say it in England, football), is hoping his son would master some soccer playing skills when he grows up.
Hanging on the rear-view mirror are 2 key-chains - one was given by my wife, with a list of characters of a Pisces and the other was given by my father, which shows the Ka'bah.
On the dashboard, there's a non-clock looking clock that has fooled a few into thinking it was just a dummy, an Air Asia airplane model and an alien head.
On one side of the back seat window is a car sign that shows a few fishes with the wording I'M FREE on it. The other back seat window has another car sign pressed against it. It shows a spider with large capital words that say SPIDER CROSSING.
On the rear window, I put up a sticker on Ayatul Kursi at the top part, which takes up almost the whole width of the window. On the lower left and right side corners, two more car signs on each side. Those people behind me may be able to read one sign that says DON'T HONK! BABY SLEEPING, BACK OFF!(wife thought this sounded rather harsh when I first got it, hehe..), while the other sign politely announces there's a LITTLE KALIFAH ON BOARD. There's also a tall blue Disneyland hat placed right on top of the third brake light, flanked by a couple of The Incredibles pillows and a monkey doll.
Now, don't ask me what's the monkey doll doing there. I'm a people's pleaser (as some of you might have already guessed by reading this blog....errr... I guess)... Even before Ikhwan was born, I was thinking, should my nieces ever ride with me (which they have, a few times before), at least, they have something to play with, you know, for them to occupy their time while in the car..
Some say this year's American Idol is one of the best, while others say it's the best. Well - I go with the latter; it IS the best ever!!!
Last week saw the Top 7 battling it out on the stage. In my opinion, each of these promising contestants are talented in their own unique ways that none of them should be eliminated. My favourites would be David Cook, David A. and Kristy Lee Cook (no! the 2 Cooks are not siblings).
It was a Mariah Carey week (my wife just lurveees her songs, especially the old ones but feels contempt towards her choice of clothes). That would be tough, considering most of her songs consist of high pitch notes right? I mean, if I were to sing her songs, I would most likely end up sounding like a screaming banshee.
For most of the time, whenever contestants sing songs like these, they would either try so hard to sound like the original artists or they fall horribly flat by comparison. But last week saw the contestants' true potentials as singers (as Simon had put it, the show is about finding singers, not performers - no need to show how well they dance or play musical instruments while singing). Not just that, a few managed to rearrange the songs as though they were new songs, their own songs.
One very outstanding one was David Cook. His choice of song, Always Be My Baby was given 'a breath of fresh air' - it sounded so amazing and he sang it so dang well. Really hope he'd win the coveted title...
In the above video, see how he got all teary after hearing the judges' comments. Here's the lyrics to Always Be My Baby (David Cook's version):
We were as one, babe For a moment in time And it seemed everlasting That you would always be mine Now you wanna be free...yeah So I’m letting you fly ‘Cause I know in my heart, babe Our love will never die...noooooo...
You’ll always be a part of me I’m part of you indefinitely Girl don’t you know you can’t escape me Ooh darling ‘cause you’ll always be my baby And we’ll linger on Time can’t erase a feeling this strong No way you’re ever gonna shake me Ooooh darling, ‘cause you’ll always be my....my baby.....yeahhh.....
It was rather devastated to see Kristy Lee Cook go at the end of the show last week, huhuhu. I think last 2 weeks was her best week when she sang ANYWAYS.
Life is great, but sometimes life ain't good, When I pray, doesn't always turn out like I think it should, But I do it anyway (2x).......
One morning, as usual, I was listening to the radio while driving to work. The DJ's were discussing about a topic on having a relationship or dating with someone who doesn't speak your language or at least, doesn't speak the language you frequently use daily. If one party can suspect the language barrier would create a communication problem somewhere down the road, then why dated the other one in the first place?
Say for example, a Chinese lad who may not speak Hokkien as fluently as English due to the nature of his job or the friends that he always mingles with. Then, come this girl whom he loves but stammers in English which causes him to feel uncomfortable whenever they both hang out with his friends.
Apart from the DJ's usual antics that never fail to tickle the listeners, one call from Miss X (presumably a Malay, judging from her accent) struck my interest. She said she broke up with a Malay guy once because he couldn't speak English well, and she spoke and wrote more English than Malay.
Then, the DJ asked her a 'million-dollar' question, "Now what if you met a French guy who only speaks French and doesn't speak a single word of English, would you still date him?"
It was apparent she was pondering for a moment before without any hesitation, she answered, "Yes, I think I would..."
I was thinking, 'Whatt??? So, you'd dump a person of your own race and nationality (not to forget, religion) over some French guy whose sexual history is a big question mark?' Upon hearing her answer, I felt the sudden urge wanting to slap her hard to her senses, if only she were in front of me at that time.
I think just because your partner doesn't speak your preferred language fluently, it doesn't mean he/she has a lower standard than you. Obviously, Miss X, like some other Malaysians out there (especially the girls), are into guys who are mat salleh/orang putih (as the Malays call them).
Well, it's unfair for me to generalise all caucasian males are actually into sex whenever they have 'relationships' with Asian girls. But then, the secret is out in the open - everybody knows that, even our girls, about what do those mat sallehs have in mind.
I too, heard the same 'confession' uttered by this early-20 British chap who ridiculed his friend for not wanting to look for a Malaysian 'girlfriend'. He said, "Come on, we are in Malaysia. If I want a British girl, I'd go back to England. This is the time to have a taste of the Malaysian girls."
Yet, we still have girls who prefer the caucasians over the local guys. Why is that, beats me. I mean, are we, the Malay guys less attractive, less caring, less of a man? Have too many Malay men hurt their feelings, that they decided they want to fish for a different kind of man?
Are the caucasians really THAT caring? I mean, other than the above 'confession' which happened right in front of me, there was another incident that took place in a fast food restaurant. A middle aged American (probably Texan, judging from the hat) scolded the girl at the cashier for giving him the wrong change. He said, "Why don't you do your job properly, you piece of shit?" Since I was a regular customer, the girl relayed to me afterwards, that same guy once spat on the floor after seeing his male colleague who was errr...soft.
In another incident which took place more than 2 years ago, as I was leaving the jewellery store one Friday evening, a well-dressed caucasian approached me. He said all his belongings had been stolen and he needed RM 500 to survive the weekend before the money that his family had wired in could be withdrawn from the ATM the following Monday. Despite explaining to him that I needed to spend a lot of money for my coming wedding, he insisted I helped him and that he would pay me back. After I agreed to give him RM 30 without him having to pay me back, he tossed the money back to my face and started throwing all these swear and obscene words at me. Only after I (bent down to pick up the three 10 ringgit notes lying on the floor and) fled to talk to the security, did he leave me alone.
Now imagine these guys being all caring and gentlemen towards girls whose pants they want to get into, I wonder when would their hideous true colours finally come out. After having sex with them the third time?
Recently, the Prime Minister Office requested that a survey was done (this happened prior to BN's embarassing loss in the election) to study the reasons why more and more Malaysian males choose to wed women from Indonesia. According to the Malaysian Embassy's records in Jakarta, on average, between 5 to 10 couples from both countries register their weddings every day. Quite a huge number, don't you think?
Soon after that, a Malay daily newspaper took the step to do their own survey. Apparently, Malaysian men are said to be more caring and more understanding towards women compared to Indonesian males.
In an interview with an Indonesian female worker, she said if she is given another chance who to marry to, without doubt, she would still choose her Malaysian husband.
Likewise, for local males who marry Indonesian ladies, the ladies are said to be more gentle, cuddly and treat them better.
Now, whose words should we take here? Probably all words are true, if not biased. Or, does this mean that it is common for one to create a fantasy of having a foreigner as a partner?
Ikhwan reached his one year of age last 1st April 2008. In terms of developments, I can say that he is progressing normally and healthily. Here's a video on him trying to strike a meaningful conversation, while at the same time, practising his 'drum playing' skill.
Some of the things that Ikhwan is able to do now, which he couldn't do 12 months ago (obviously, ahaks):
1. As shown towards the end of the above video, Ikhwan could alternately use his right and left hand to 'play drum'. In the past, Ikhwan couldn't coordinate that well where both hands would come down together. But after seeing much example from me, now he can. After all, I love banging on the table anyway, as though it were a drum set, using a combination of my fingers, wrist and elbow :-)
2. He really knows how to have fun. What's more, he knows how to get those around him, whether of the same age (like his friends at the sitter's house) or older than him (like us, his parents) to play and have fun with him. Of all the many toys that he has, he loves the stacking toys (yes, he has more than one of those but with different designs), enjoys banging things together (whether his toys or anything else, provided they are safe for him to play with) and looking at his own TV set (it's a toy bought by his Ibu - I'll share more about his toys in a future post).
3. Ikhwan loves playing peek-a-boo and surprisingly, now he's learning to play hide and seek too. There was a day when I was playing with him, I hid myself behind the curtains. Then, as he approached me closer, I peeked my head out (not so abruptly of course - that would have startled him) and he laughed really loud. Now, it seems to me, there are times when he tries to go behind the curtains. Quite a task for our little Ikhwan since the curtains are rather heavy :-)
4. Ikhwan can now stand up and go down with ease, although occasionally, he still wobbles. He can also take his steps and walk sideways while holding on to a rack or a sofa.
5. Sometimes, out of excitement, he'd clap his hands rather vigorously and at the same time, humming a tune.
6. Ikhwan is so talkative and very friendly. His favourite word is 'ohh'and occasionally, we hear him trying to talk one long sentence. They always sound so cute. His friendliness also amaze us. Sometimes, he'd greet a stranger and that person is dumb enough not to look back at our Ikhwan, let alone smiles or greets back at him. In time, I guess we'll have to teach him that being friendly should come with boundaries. Do you folks agree?
7. He crawls very fast and very hard especially during the times when we play 'chase and catch' him. Funnily, sometimes the role is played the other way round. He's the tiger who tries to catch his Ayah or Ibu. Like I said, Ikhwan knows how to have fun. If only you could hear him laugh everytime he tries to crawl away from us. The way he crawls, it's equivalent to an adult stomping his feet. He'd raise each hand so high for every crawl and his knees make thud sounds as they hit the floor. We do get worried in case he hurts his knees but so far, no harm done.
8. I just remembered that Ikhwan knows how to trick too, well at least he did trick me twice, ahak ahak. There was an occasion when I was blocking him from standing up right in front of the t.v. (which was 'on' at that time). He was persistent to the extent that he almost cried. Then, just when I thought he had given up since he turned away and crawled towards our bedroom (his Ibu was in the room and the door was opened), the minute I left my spot, Ikhwan immediately crawled back towards the t.v. My wife realised this too and was surprised by Ikhwan's quick thinking.
A similar incident happened when I was blocking him from (unknowingly) disturbing his Ibu who was cooking in the kitchen. After some time, he looked like he had given up, judging from him crawling towards a magazine that he had flipped through earlier. But the moment I joined next to him (I was also in a crawling position, haha), he immediately left me. Hmmm....if only you could crawl as fast as I did huh, Ikhwan? :-)
What surprised me was not only he actually had the idea to trick me, but the way how quickly he left me the moment I fell for his trick implied that he must be thinking, "Ok, Ayah thought I wanted to read that magazine. There's no time to waste. Let's move...." Hahahahaa...
9. You may have known that my wife took a 5-month maternity leave after giving birth to Ikhwan. Ikhwan was only sent to his sitter's house from his 6th month. There was one evening (after picking him up), while reversing my car to park, I took a glance at Ikhwan who was at that time, minding his own business. Then I spoke to him in a joking manner "Haa, tu tengah buat muka cute la tu.." ("Haa, I bet you are making a cute face"). To my surprise, the second time I looked at him, he was tilting his head, all smiling at me. Well, he DID look reallllllyyy cute, I actually braked the car and started laughing by myself, and the car hadn't actually been parked.
That was the first time this cute behaviour of his started. He'd tilt his head while he's in the car, while eating, when we are singing nursery rhymes to him, while he's playing or while cuddling with us before going to sleep. I think he's probably influenced by us doing the same whenever we play peek-a-boo with him, plus I'd normally tilt my head to the left and right too, everytime I sing to him nursery rhymes.
I relayed before in an earlier post how I've always wanted a chance to record a video on him, tilting his head like that. Recently, my wish came true. Hope you folks enjoy it! Also, as you may realise it, isn't him a multi-tasker: eating while shaking his body like that... hehee..
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:
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Penguin Rush
