Post-Bekwah

well i'm back in kt, back to the daily routines.

the reception was a success. as i had said b4 in the previous entry, i was the bunga telur lady. and there i was, sweating profusely under the canopies, carrying a basket full of lilac bunga telurs. even the presence of ceiling fans didnt help. and i had another problem as well. my tailor already warned me that bcoz of the delicate lace on my kebaya, i had to be careful. the rattan basket i was holding already wreaked havoc with my delicate lace, so there were tiny wisps of threads everywhere.

i met my old seri puteri hm (whose hubby worked in the same ministry as kak sham), and being a good seri puterian (hehehe) i went up to her and salamed her. she inquired where i m teaching...yadda yadda...and told me to better myself yadda yadda...

the highlight of the day - when apit called ayi to sing. my god...that was an experience. hehehe i'll say no more. and then my brothers in law abg najib and abg zainal started singing as well!!

then the guests went home, and we watched ayi and rafi open their wedding gifts. abg mi was teasing asha (thank god he didnt tease me anymore. it's a horrifying experience), and suddenly kak sham gave a very shocking statement...which made me squirm in my seat (and wished that there was a hole in which i could sink into). and suddenly i was in hot seat, as all eyes were on me, and abg mi started asking me questions. which i couldnt answer to. 7 years ago i would have loved to be in this situation, would have loved for abg mi to ask me that direct question. but things changed. i've matured.

ayi asked "how come i didnt know anything?". i told him "you were oblivious to everything".

Bekwah

for those who dont have the slightest inkling of what bekwah is, it's the terengganu dialect for having a feast, or in today's world, it'll be known as holding a reception. it's our turn to hold the wedding reception for ayi.

so yesterday, when i arrived in kelana jaya, the work began. the eggs were boiled, n then there's the job of putting the eggs into the bunga telur. the canopies were set up, white and purple (purple is the theme colour). family members dropped by to help as well, kak dah and nana, kak ah and janna, abang, dian and their son idlan who provided entertainment.this morning, we helped to dress the chairs, the florist decorated the arch with fresh white gerberas and purple mums and we're just waiting for the caterers to come. yours truly is the egg distributor *sigh*. more news to come.

Post Val

i mentioned b4 that i'm a sucker for romance...a romantic at heart. always thot i'd find another kindred spirit (read that to mean a romantic freak). well, that's only a wish.

consider, for instance, my conversation with shaggy bear on valentine's day

nora: are you going out tonite?
shaggy: yeah, i'm going out for drinks with frens. why?
nora:there's a romantic movie on astro. i want u to watch it. (note to readers:the movie mentioned was a walk in the clouds - my fav, acted by my fav actor keanu reeves. gorgeous, darling .... gorgeous)
shaggy: (making unpronounceable noises, therefore unprintable) you know how i feel about romantic movies.
nora: so you dont want to watch a romantic movie with me?
shaggy: if you want to watch one, i'll buy you a ticket, then i'll fetch you when you're done.

yes. an ultra romantic with an ultra practical. my fren sarina told me that she understands what i'm going through. in fact, all women do. this is exactly why the author of Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars, made a lot of money. men dont understand the need to be romantic (except during the early days of courtship n you know what).

we, however, have been fed with all the romance, thanks to film industry, fairy tales and thrashy romance novels. the idea of a knight in shining armour (or may be a handsome rich man in BMW) who will rescue his damsel in distress...yadda yadda yadda... so we have dashing rhett butler rescuing scarlet o'hara... ralph macchio doing his karate to rescue his japanese girlfriend in the karate kid, mark darcy who falls for bridget jones...

and then there's the romances by julie garwood and judith mcnaught (i only read the latter's novels) and also the late dame barbara cartland, who always wrote about dashing handsome rich men rescuing destitute beautiful girls. i used to love reading her all-too romantic novels. anyway the late Dame and i have something in common - we both love pink.

and fairy tales. sleeping beauty (waiting for a handsome prince to kiss her. nowadays it'll be a long deep slumber...and a long wait for the kiss). and snow white (in today's world, she would have died of poison first), cinderella (the prince charming might end up with some other girls who dont have pretty dainty feet that can fit the glass slippers, but someone with big boobs).
i suppose i should train shaggy to give me roses (which is highly unlikely) or chocolates (doubtful as well). or may be i should not overromanticise things.*sigh*. but then, i guess that's why i'm an ultra romantic and he's an ultra practical. life will be dull without the other. what's tom cruise's famous lines? "you complete me".

Love Is comic

i'm a sucker for romance. eversince i was a little girl i dreamed of being swept off my feet by a dashing man who would give me roses n shower me with all the attention. hmmm....

almost 10 years ago, there was a cartoon strip featured in NST. it only occupied a tiny space, n it's called love is comic, bcoz everyday they'd feature 2 cartoon characters - a boy n a girl, in love, n the cartoonist would give a wise adage abt love. for example, "love is... meeting your match". at that time, i would cut this cute cartoon strip everytime i bought NST.

last nite, as i was writing the blog, i was reminded of this cartoon strip, n after rummaging thru' my drawers, i found my collection of the cartoon strips. i wanted to send some to shaggy bear. i wondered if they had it on the net...n i found it! so for those of u who would like to feel that warm feeling when u view the comic, pls visit this url http://www.comicspage.com/comicspage/main.jsp?file=20050922cplis-a-p.jpg&refresh_content=1&component_id=3&custid=69&catid=1450&dir=%2Floveis

Ayi's Wedding

it was a happy family occasion last friday nite n saturday afternoon. the room downstairs (which used to be gina's) was converted into the bridal chamber, n the hantarans were all in purple. ayi was getting married. n yet he was still attached to pc n japanese animae. ayi as a married man? hmmmmm.

he felt the wedding jitters as we searched a white rose for his suit lapel. "i'm getting married! i'm scared!" he was yelling in the car to gina n i, n at the same time making unpronounceable noises. that nite, ayi looked different in his akad nikah baju melayu.... his face? like someone abt to stand in trial in court. my eldest nephew abang n my fav bro abg mi were teasing him all the way. at 9, we the tray bearers bore the heavy tembaga trays (including me) n the family made way to rafi's house which is less than 5 mins drive.

on the akad nikah carpet, ayi looked very tense, i've never seen him like that b4 . i was trying to snap some pics of him reciting the akad to kadi, but this idiotic photographer was blocking the view n practically hovered over ayi. anyway, ayi had to only recite only once, n it was considered as valid.

the bersanding was held the next day. we were greeted by the beatings of kompang, n bcoz of this we had to walk at a stately pace (which i hate). the theme colour was green...so we had the newlyweds in green, green dais, green bunga telur, green table skirts.... there's tepung tawar ceremony, n urs truly was also invited to honour the newlyweds with the sprinkling of air mawar n the potpourri.

then it was feast time. we were having fun eating as we kept asking apit to get us dishes at the main table, so we got the prawns n the fish n the quail's eggs n the fruit salad n the jelly.... the only thing that spoiled my appetite was the sound of dangdut songs.....*sigh* y cant they play anuar zain's ballads?

as i'm writing this, ayi n rafi r on their honeymoon... will see them again this saturday for the menyambut menantu.... this time our family will be in lilac ensemble.

10 things about teachers

some frens told me that i look like a teacher. geez, is the word "teacher" stamped on my forehead? y dont i look like a model? (haha that's a laugh). anyway, i was thinking abt this entry when i was in the staffroom, actually, everytime when i'm sitting down writing my lesson plans n not inspiring the students with inspirational talk (nagging).

anyway, this is an attribute to all the teachers, eventhough teachers' day is 3 months away.

You're a teacher when...

1. giving orders are like second nature to you, since you're used to bossing the students around.

2. you feel the impulsive need to correct a mistake.

3. you have ink marks (esp. red ink) on your favourite kebayas and handbags.

4.you become simultaneously the parent, the sister/brother, the teacher, the counsellor, the motivator, the clerk, the driver, the ceti... and still the ministry is thinking of instructing the teachers to do in school assessment for the public examinations...what have we been doing, partying?

5. you dont believe that they are just looking innocently at the student's paper next to them during exam...

6. you have to mark exam papers even outside school hours, most of the time during the holidays, and without extra pay. no OT is allowed.

7. you have to sit for some @$#@%$^% exams to be promoted (and you begin to wonder why they gave you scholarship to do masters if you're going to be stuck at the same grade until you pass the exam)

8. you memorise all the dates for school hols and major hols to escape from the mayhem.

9.the students still call you teacher or cikgu even when they've left school.

10. the only reward you want from your students is for them to pass the exams with flying colours