temptation

islam says that womenfolk have 9 lusts. i dont know whether this is a boon or a bane, but after today's episode, i think that it's going to be a bane to my purse.

it all started a few days ago, when i received my RM625 rebate. i was thinking of the turquoise i bought in Mekah, and it's high time that i have it set on a ring. so i asked my colleague to ask her hubby (he is a goldsmith) to fashion a ring for me. okay, that will cost me roughly RM500.

then i remembered that i have a piece of kain tenun terengganu with bunga songket bertabur, and i was thinking of getting a piece of silk from Suterasemai (let's just say i'm proud to wear terengganu's locally produced fabrics). the pink woven silk and woven cloth with bunga songket bertabur
i went with my friend shima. the problem began when i was greeted with bolts and bolts of silk in vibrant colours and also soft hues. a girl can get crazy there, it's like being lost in a candy store. and instead of buying a piece of pink silk for the top, i ended up buying 3 pieces!! the blue woven silk and the checked woven silk

and suterasemai silk isnt cheap.... *sigh* but then how can you say no to such gorgeous colours? i told shima i m not going to follow her to the shop again on saturday....better to stay away from costly temptation and to start saving.

ah, temptations, temptations!!

p.s. to ina, the suterasemai HQ is at Chendering (that's where i went) and there's a shop in town at jalan air jernih called suteraemas. the silk is around RM70 per metre and it's dry clean only.

why red poppies?

why indeed? before answering, does anyone know Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"?

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,

okay, "gay" in Wordsworth's time means to be happy, so dont get any ideas, guys. Well, when i studied this poem during my TESL days, i wondered how he felt like, and how could a male poet be so mesmerised over some yellow flowers.

Until i saw the red poppies at the English and French countryside last year. i think they are more vibrant than the yellow daffodils. imagine, seeing a carpet of red poppies, bobbing their heads when the wind was blowing.

Unfortunately though, we cannot plant poppies here, no matter how many times we try to convince the authority that this is only an ornamental plant, and that we have no hidden agenda.

i didnt take pics of the flowers though, but like Wordsworth, they are forever in my mind.

buzzzz busy bee

i forgot that July is a busy month for the teachers here. as usual, everything was told to us at the very last minute, from school level camp to the district level camp. i do not like this very unprofessional attitude, we're supposed to drop everything and just become the facilitator to a camp, even though we' re told 4 hours before our slot began. not professional at all.

yes, i received a phone call yesterday. and i do not like to be told at the eleventh hour. so i did what i always do when i'm among family members or with my old time friends. i yelled in the staffroom in frustration. which shocked everybody, actually. then i found out that i was supposed to be the committee member on duty today, which meant i had to be there before 8. and i have literature class at 10. so that meant i stayed at school for 4 hours on a friday. and tomorrow is a school day *sigh*

Trip to Alor Setaq

my friend Kak Emah had extended the invitation to visit her in her hometown for so long, in fact ever since she moved to alor setar early this year. i had the occasion to visit her this weekend, as terengganu is celebrating Sultan Mizan's birthday today.

i arrived in Alor Setar on a wet Friday morning, and Kak Emah cooked some nasi lemak lemuni and told me it's a healthier version. her mother told her to bring me to lots of places (which we didnt go, opting for shopping instead) then we went to pasar panjang, aptly named because it covered the entire stretch of road.

in the evening, i had the chance to eat fruits at the fruit orchard, as kak emah brought me to kuala nerang, where we picked rambutans from her family friend's orchard. i could easily reach the rambutans, and ate them. then we headed to her relative's house, who also had a fruit orchard of duku and durians. i dont care much for duku, but ate my fill of durian, including pulut and durian with coconut milk. the relatives were a nice couple, they kept telling me i could ask for a transfer to the school near their home. anyway, it was a very tiring day, and with mangosteens, cempedak and rambutans we headed back. once we reached kak emah's house, after prayers, we slept. didnt have dinner at all.

on saturday morning i had a breakfast of thosai, which i think has more character than chapati. kak emah showed me her school which is going to celebrate the centennial celebration next week, istana anak bukit (which is more majestic looking than istana badariah and has Siamese influence in the decor; but then again, terengganu royalty doesnt like to show off so that's a relief) and everything else in alor setar. which is of course, much bigger than KT.

in the afternoon, we made a trip to Padang Besar. i left my passport in the suitcase so we didnt cross the border. on our way there, we had to pass a sugar cane plantation and the view was fantabulous, it felt like we're in the english countryside, on a wheatfield. we arrived at the bazaar and stalls where thais talked in that sing-a-song voice. still, in the 1 hour that we were in Padang Besar, i bought a bag, 1 shirt, 2 blouses and some souvenirs.

to go anywhere with kak emah, one has to understand that plans can be changed, and time isnt fixed. that also means that she'll cut the time so close u'll be very anxious. we reached her house from Padang Besar at 8.50. i had 15 minutes to shower, pray, dress, pack all my stuff and dash to the bus station.

i enjoyed my weekend tremendously, but the best has yet to come. on the east-west highway at around 2am, we saw 2 elephants and a baby elephant, on the side of the road. this are real mccoy creatures, not some tame elephants in the zoo. so i was thankful that i could see those gentle creatures.

and that's the end of the story.

Surprise!!!!

i was waiting for my Literature girls to turn up for their class at 8. so in the meantime, i opened the drama text of An Inspector Calls. i read the dialogues, scribbled some notes, and also made a mental note that they're supposed to finish Act 2 tonight.

suddenly Maryam called and apologised saying that since she's going to be in the classic mini cooper, she'd be late.

oh well, i thought, that should be okay then.

8.20pm. still no sign of them. i heard the roar of the car engine, but no soul could be seen outside.that's odd. where were they? or was it a figment of my imagination?
8.35pm. still no sign of them.
8.45pm there was a knock on the door, and Shahirah (who dropped the subject) was there with a troubled look and said "teacher, i've a problem. i want to take literature"

i was horrified. my first thought was, God, do i have the time to teach her in time for SPM?? it's less than 4 months away to SPM... as all these thoughts were swimming in my head, she said "teacher, there's something in your eye. close your eyes first".

the next thing i knew when i opened my eyes were the Literature girls, and Amanina the debater shouting "Surprise!!!!" with a birthday cake and candles that refused to blow out. and they sang me the birthday song in front of the door. i was really touched. they even told me that my LCDS president Jim and v.president Suveen wanted to join but they had some other matters to attend to.

and so the 5 girls and i were happily eating the cake, and exchanging stories.

i had a lovely time tonight.

and they never did finish Act 2.

Had A Bad Day

ever since i got mad for paying a lot for a small piece of chicken at the school canteen, i ve been avoiding the canteen when it's time for lunch. which means, i bring cooked lunch from home. which means, i'm always late for school.

today of all days, i was super duper late, since i cooked sambal tumis udang, and i made sure there was nothing in the kitchen sink. as usual, i was speeding ... and asked my fren to do me a favour. but trouble started as soon as i reached school, because the madam upstairs and her underling were waiting, and to make it worse, the underling had a camera (what's this? trying to punish the teachers? i d give him a piece of my mind should he ever do that). i know that probably i'm blacklisted, but never mind, sometimes it doesnt pay to be in a good school if you're damn stressed. i guess i'll ask for that transfer.

to make it even worse, i had a slight problem regarding some reading cards. i was near to my wit's end thinking about it. so stressed was i that i immediately took a nap after i reached home.

tomorrow s another battle. please god give me the strength to stay sane.

Rabindranath Tagore's poem

taken from The Gardener (1913)

You are the evening cloud floating in the sky of my dreams.
I paint you and fashion you ever with my love longings.
You are my own, my own, Dweller in my endless dreams!

Your feet are rosy-red with the glow of my heart's desire,
Gleaner of my sunset songs!
Your lips are bitter-sweet with the taste of my wine of pain.
You are my own, my own, Dweller in my lonesome dreams!

With the shadow of my passion, i have darkened your eyes, Haunter
of the depth of my gaze!
I have caught you and wrapt you, my love, in the net of my music.
You are my own, my own, Dweller in my deathless dreams!

O What A Day!

yesterday was the last day the group met. we had vegetarian nasi lemak, courtesy of one of the members, and talk about Indian food and culture was plenty, even amidst our discussion. i like indian food as well, i think it has character and is earthy, if compared to some other dishes.

and during one of our discussion "detours", one of the members had this brilliant member - hey, why not we have a trip to India? her idea was accepted instantaneously with so much excitement and comments, including yours truly. ooh, to see Taj Mahal!! i can just imagine the whole group, talking excitedly about food. we're all culture vultures and definitely foodies, which is really a bonus. i do believe that to travel you must have companions who have a lot of things in common with you, if not, you'll not enjoy the trip.

later on that day, i met up with mozie and splurged at Mark & Spencer. don't ask how much i spent. it's excruciating just to talk about it. we later had lunch (and i, as usual, ate indian influenced dish).

later i had to rush home to fetch mother to go for tahlil at kak sham's house. i thought we could beat the jam, instead, we were caught in it. and what's worse, it's a friday. took us 1 hour to cross the city to get to PJ.

and now, i'm back at home. on my way back, i started missing my family and friends. i guess i should start applying for the transfer then.

my birthday

and so i turned 35 yesterday. early in the morning my group sang me the birthday song, which could be heard by the other groups.

my nieces treated me to dinner at my favourite restaurant, chilli's. we were starving that we ate and ate. no cake though, didnt have any space in my tummy for that.

so of course, how does it feel like to be a year older?

a bit wiser, of course, but that also means that i do stupid things from time to time and i never learn from mistakes. there is happiness but also disappointment, there's a smile and yet there's a tear.

but most important of all, i've learnt and still learning and i've lived and still living because of the grace of God.

the week so far

i'm here in KL, suffering from emotional eating, thanks to our annual gathering, which means work, work and more work. i'm eating under a lot of stress, plus munching keeps the eyes awake (though not necessarily means the brain is awake too)

after the shocking news that shook the entire family clan and threw one of the family members into the unwanted limelight; my family has more or less, settled with what's been happening. as usual, i'm not going to spend time on this, as i do not want to invite any unnecessary and unsavoury comments from bloggers.

there's not much to write, since i'm concentrating on the meeting, perhaps i'll write again after a few days.