Planning a Party

Anybody who says planning a small party is a piece of cake ought to think again. I thought this year, for hubby's 36th I'd do something really special for him. So after weeks and weeks of trying to come up with the perfect gift...I remembered long ago when we were courting, Hubby told me that he has never had a birthday party in his life. So I thought, what could be more special than throwing him a surprise birthday party? And here I am today..stuck in a rut.

I've never realized that there are so much to do when planning for a party. Although I've asked my mom and sis to help out...all the little gritty details are left to me. I've already booked the tables and chairs...but because of CNY, they can only deliver it the morning of the event. I worry that they won't arrive on time.

And then there's food. Since Hubby loves SIL's fried mihun, I've asked her to cater but a week before the event, she told me that she can't do it because MIL wants her back in Penang for the long holidays. Well, on the bright side, better her than us. That leaves me with the headache of finding another caterer. Got someone to make roti jala and satay...but since everyone seems to be going of on a holiday, my mom has no choice but to cook the mihun for me...I feel really guilty about it, I wish I could cook it myself but hubby would be very suspicious to see me suddenly cook for 30 when there is only the 3 of us at home.

And then there's the guest list. Originally the list was for 60 but I manage to cut it down to 30 since most of Hubby's closest friends are pilots and quite a number of them won't be around because of their rosters. Anyway, I wanted it to be as small as possible. But closer and closer to the day of the event, more and more people have called to cancel because most have suddenly decided to go out of town. The people who truly mattered to Hubby won't be able to make it and this is making me feel a little anxious. And I don't even want to begin about how difficult it was for me to acquire their numbers.

The surprise party is 2 days away and I'd forgotten to buy Hubby's present. That's another dilemma because Hubby will be arriving from London tomorrow. Urgh..can't stand the hassle I'm going through just to have enough time. All in all, including the present, this whole shindig is costing me about RM700. I should have just bought him that damn RM500 fishing pole for him to bring to IGFA in April. Would've saved me all this unwanted headache.

On top of all this, I haven't a clue on how to get him out of the house and back again in time for the party. Urgh...the headache!!!

Water Baby

I am so proud of my little girl today. She really showed her stuff. Today, she has proven to everyone that she is truly daddy's little girl. My daughter has shown her potential of becoming an excellent swimmer by abandoning her donut float for arm floats and getting into the pool without even hesitating.

Sarah's little cousins came to visit us today. So we thought it'd be a good idea to take them all for a swim at our condo's pool. The boys (age 7 and 9) refused to get into the pool without their life vest and the little girl, Soefara (age 3 1/2) refused to get into the water altogether.

All this while, not trusting Sarah, both hubby and I insist that she uses her donut float if whe wants to go for a swim. But today, because of the terrible fuss her cousin Soefara was creating about getting into the water, little Sarah silently took her cousin arm float, put it on her self, went to the pool's stairs, called out for daddy to stand guard and leaped into the water. She was even so clever too keep her mouth shut tightly to avoid swallowing the pool's water and started paddling with her feet.

Hubby and I was so stunned by what she had done. It was truly a milestone for her. Sarah was so comfortable in the water, it was short of amazing. My daughter is actually learning how to swim on her own at the tender age of 2 and half. I'm just so proud of her. Sarah shows the potential to become the athelete that I never was...(unfortunately mommy is a couch potato, through and through...I firmly believe that perspiration is bad for me :P)

So now, I guess I must start coming to term that my sweet, sweet Sarah is actually growing up...how fast time flies....*sob sob*

More Tales from a Trolley Dolly

As usual, I was busy foruming (does such word even exist???) when I came across a paricular forumer's statement which was "Flight crews (namely stewardesses that is) always treat foreigners better than their fellow Malaysians." Hmm, is that really true? Was I the same? That made me recall back to my flying days.

Back during my flying days, I've always thought I treated all passengers equally. I f there were any differential treatment, it would be due to the working position which I was assigned to such as First Class, Business Class or Economy. And this wasn't because I thought one was better than the other but because of the number of passengers and the type of service involved.

Recalling back, I truly enjoyed myelf working my way up and down to Jeddah and back especially if I was positioned in economy class. The Malaysians having completed their Umrah were always in high spirits and quite jovial, probably because they were all so excited and eager to share their experiences with other than those within their groups. They were always very chatty, and I loved listening to the experiences of those coming back from Umrah, especially if they were sweet chatty old folks. Sometimes if I'm lucky, these sweet old people would reward me with a bottle of Zam Zam water or other gifts and sweets from Makkah, just because of my attention. Everytime I get rostered to operate the Jeddah flight, I'd hoped to be assigned to work in economy. Most of the passengers occupying first and business class consist of arrogant Arabs or wealthy Malaysian who just doesn't seem to want to give me the time of day.

Operating the London route is very taxing. I particularly am not very fonds of Brits when they are confined in small closed areas such as an aircraft. They tend to become very aggitated and would test my patience like no other. There was this one particular Brit woman who insisted on having steak when I informed her we had none available. I searched high and low throughout the aircraft for an extra steak but to no avail. She was being quite a nuisance and being extremely stubborn working up a storm because she insisted on having steak. What did she expect me to do? Jump off the aircraft in search of a cow?

Malaysian passengers are usually more willing to compromise and doesn't stir up much trouble unlike these troublesome mat sallehs. Even in first class or business class...malaysian passengers aren't much into whining and complaining and are usually very comprimising (except for a particular Malaysian VVIP's wife whom shall remain nameless, she's worse than a snobby Brit or an arrogant Arab put together)

So, if anyone would say that I am guilty of giving out preferential treatment to passengers...then probably its true. I prefered the Malaysian passengers than the foreigners, because I feel more at home with them. The only thing is, Malaysian passengers tend to be more sensitive, they're easily slighted. A forgotten drink order would instantly mean that you don't care about them and you get labeled for life. *sigh* It is truly hard to satisfy everyone. The company didn't train me well enough on how to handle crazy people 37000 feet above ground.

Memoirs of A Geisha

How time flies. It's been awhile since my last post, either my time management sucks or I just have too many things to do. Hmm, I kinda think it's more of the former rather than latter...hehehe.

Anyway, manage to watch Memoirs of A Geisha two nights ago. This must be said, the book was way, waayyy better. The movie failed to capture the essence or the spirit of the book. Sad to say, the movie does fall short to my expectations...but considering that it took me two days to finish the book, I guess it is difficult to fit everything in the span of just two hours.

I've always prided myself for being one of the first Malaysian to get hold of this book. I've always been an avid reader...so on one of my trips to the US back in '97, I came across this book and decided to get it. It was worth every penny spent. It was and will always be what I consider my bestest of best buys. The book was so intriguing...it was really difficult to put it down once I started reading. However, I managed to finish reading it in just under 2 days...I could've finish it in a day....but Magic Mountain beckoned me, so had to put the book on hold for a little sight seing. To date, I've lost count of how many times I've read and reread the book and each time reading it, it feels like the first time. I swear I'll never be bored of it. A book that has manage to tap into one's imagination beyond belief...a truly well done job by Arthur Golden, the author of Memoirs.

But I gotta give some credit to Rob Marshall...he did his best, it was a good try. But I'm now truly convinced, I'll choose a book over a movie anyday.

Looking Forward to A Great Year Ahead

I spent New Year's Eve 2006 in Penang with my in-laws. 7 hours before countdown, Hubby decided to whisked us all off to his hometown for what was his idea of a vacation and dashed all hopes to watch the fireworks from the balcony of our home. After days of prepping my daughter up that she could look forward for some fireworks display, I was quite pissed with Hubby especially when Sarah kept asking me throughout the journey "Where's Api?"

Anyway, we reached Penang at 11pm...and although we didn't get to see any fireworks, I did manage to hear it from my in-laws place. But I consoled myself by eating heaps of fresh clams at FIL's restaurant. At the rate I was eating those clams...I'n surprised it hasn' t gone extincted.

Hubby felt bad becuase he couldn't take me along to Istanbul due to how far along pregnant I am. So since my parents are spending new year's day at Mount Jerai, he thought that it would be a great idea to tag along. I was quite sceptical at first considering the many stories that I've heard of people getting lost or abducted by the spirit world. I guess you could say that I'm quite suspicious after all...and the thought of spending a night at Mount Jerai kinda spooked me out. But Hubby seemed really genuined in wanting to give me some R&R, I didn't have the heart to object and went along (although I did sulked throughout the journey to Penang hehehe).

But I must admit. The view from Mount Jerai is truly breathtaking. We manage to get a 2 room chalet to share with my parents and with two 'babysitters' (namely Nana & Atuk)...I did get a lot of rest.

However, the Kedah govt should really do something about upgrading the resort. It's such a shame to watch the resort deteriorate. The chalets were like something you'd see in the 80s. I swear the lumpy bed must be at least 20 years old. And don't get me started about the 70s looking bathroom. There was a deer farm nearby...consisting of just ONE deer. Not what I'd imagine a farm ought to be. I'm just greatful that the awesome view fully compensated the many lackings of the resort.

The night time at Mount Jerai is so tranquil and serene it's short of amazing. It's so silent that I could practically hear my own heartbeat. I guess under other circumstances, I could have slept like a baby, but that damn lumpy bed kept me awake all night long.

Anyway, I must admit that despite my hessitation, I did have a nice, relaxing time. And I truly believe the year 2006 will be a good one for me considering that I started the year by being with the people I love in a nice calm surrounding. It's truly the best way to start out the year and am truly looking forward to a great year ahead.