Ke Zoo Kita Pergi

 Once upon a time, i shopped at Mr DIY and got 20% voucher to Zoo Negara.

Jadi, masa cuti haritu, kitorang sempatkan diri dan pergi ke Zoo!

Alhamdulillah cuaca pun sedap haritu, tak panas, tak lembap, pastu tak ramai sangat orang sebab kita pergi awal pagi =)

Dengan voucher kita dapat tu, total ticket untuk kita berempat ialah RM100.80. Ok la kot. Tapi parking satu kereta RM10. Pastu diorang ada tangkapkan gambar etc kat entrance.. Mahal la gak gambar diorang walaupun comel.. Kitorang tak beli la sebab.. macam tak berbaloi je. Lebih kurang RM30ish satu gambar? Camtu la. Rasanya kalau nak milk money from customers, baik bagi harga mampu beli kot jadi lagi banyak orang sanggup beli. But then, who am i to say kan. 

Ni dah kali ketiga kot i pegi zoo negara. Kali kedua dengan anak anak. Dulu kitorang pergi, budak budak ni kecik lagi, naik stroller pakai pampers lagi, jadi kurang syok la sebab firstly, diorang tak ingat, secondly, bila diorang penat, panas, jadi cranky. Bila diorang cranky, kita parents nya pun jadi ponek la.

Kali ni pergi, semua orang dah boleh bawak beg sendiri, jalan sendiri, dah paham, so jadi best =D

Kitorang jalan jalan dalam 2 jam kot with minimal breaks. Sebab mak korang ni ha tak sabau nak tengok benda lain hehehee 😎

First time i get to see a live living panda gak!

Sonok la heheheheee

Geram tengok si panda ni baring terbosey camni! Mintak kena gomol je dia ni. Aish!

Actually, tengah jalan tu, budak budak ni dah penat. Isaac dah mintak nak balik, nak mandi sebab berpeluh peluh. I pun dah start rasa rimas sebab tengah pe-od, pastu toilet agak ehem la kalau nak tukar tu kan.

But we're no quitters!!

We walked until the end! Come darah, come peluh, whatever it may be! We did it! Ahakaakakakas 😝

So itu je la cite kitorang masa cuti haritu 😊

Jom terbosey macam si panda ni 💪😉

Omelette vs Telur Dadar

 Yesterday masa dinner, my husband asked me if he should make 'omelette' for himself & nadrah.

The dishes were: kangkung belacan & ayam green curry.

Melayu & thai gitu.

So bila dia kata 'omelette', in my mind was this:

photo source: simplyrecipes

So i was all question marks la kan.

Why would you eat omelette with nasi, ayam & kangkung?

Pastu he was question marking me back.

He said kitorg selalu makan omelette bila makan thai food kot, he says.

...... 

Omelette tu Telur Dadar la!, he said.

I was like, why can't you just say that? Nape nak omelette omelette? Cakap la telur dadar., i says.

So perhaps the conversation macam still in my subconscious mind, tadi masa beli nasi lemak, i bagitau pakcik tu i nak nasi lemak biasa dengan telur dadar.

While pointing at telur mata.

Pakcik tu pun question mark kat kite.

Telur dadar?, he says.

Ha ah, i says.

While pointing at the telur mata.

Nasi lemak telur mata 2, he says to his partner.

Terus rasa nak sorok sebab malu. Nasib baik pakai mask!

Aish..

photo credit: tumis.my

Ni telur dadar la ngok.

Writing

 Actually i have been trying my hand on article writing.

Photo by Dan Counsell on Unsplash

But i think i kinda suck at it because it ended up looking like a blog 😓

I can't write about things i have no experience in. Something in me always want to relate whatever i write or tell instead of being all factual.

See my articles here: medium

Maybe it's habitual? I have been blogging/diary writing since i can remember.. so to suddenly change gear into something more journalistic is rather.. 불편하다.. awkward.

I can't list 5 or 10 things of something i don't know about. For example, listing 5 jobs you can make money from online, when i myself pun takde la successful sangat nak dapat even 1 job.

And the reason i have been trying to write articles was because i want to try using my writing experience into a side hustle. I've done social media stuff.. so i thought.. you know.. nak dabble into something more serious. Copywriting is just not my thing. 

Maybe i should try ghostwriting?

If anyone reading this... like if you have some kind of suggestion or direction i could go to.. help, please?

Ssshhhhh... this is supposed to be a secret

 Except, it isn't anymore because i am exposing it. Muahahaha!

It's nothing, really. I just thought of sharing something about influencers/bloggers/pick-me girls that i have done and seen.

Mind you, i memang insaf sangat la because it's so cringey and geli.. When i look back at those weird desperate-for-attention time of mine, i just.. geli and nak muntah.

Anyway, what am i rambling on about?

Sometimes, not all the time, sometimes ya. Sometimes, some people like to exaggerate a situation, a sentence said to them, or a reaction just to get that sympathy votes.

We've all watched some kind of a talent survival show kan, and always these people with some sad stories or background will get more attention than those who don't. We can empathise and sympathise people who have struggles and we somehow have the urge to help them more, which is a good trait!

So using the power to gain attention via sympathy, sometimes, some of these public figures will misuse their.. conditions?

Camtu la. 

For example, A might just say innocently that they don't like the clothes B is wearing because it's cold outside and B might catch a cold.  Si B ni will post on social medias, exaggerate a bit, maybe cry a bit, or use some kind of a sad theme, and either put a caption or say that "OMG, i just can't deal with this.. i've been shamed because of my body.. Susah la hidup ni.. semua tak kena..".

Now, i am not shaming those who truly has problems with self esteem, but it does become a question mark when a person seek boosts of dopamine through social media. 

But i get it. 

Honestly. 

I understand the dopamine boosts we can swim in when people say "i know you're strong", "you can do it", and all those encouraging words. They're addictive. But i can't play victim all the time. And worst, creating a scenario just to play victim. 

I've learned to FACE reality. If i don't like a situation i'm in, i have to change it myself until i can't, then i have to accept it.

What actually triggered this story time is, few days ago, my daughter was watching this entahpape on youtube. It was about this girl who said that she hates her life because her mom is always angry at her. Even when she's in her room, her mom gets angry. And then they fall out, blablabla typical mat salleh mengada story.

And i was scoffing, coz whaaattt?

How mengada can you be? Why don't you listen to what the mother is saying then instead of thinking "she's angry for no reason". So that attitude of mengada-ness, like my life sucks so much because boohoohoo was so irritating, i lectured my daughter about it.

Yes, we all complain. We can. But there's a limit to how much of the truth we're exaggerating isn't it? Craving for strangers' attention should be a warning sign isn't it? Why are we not asking our parents, spouse, friends for more attention? Malu? Tapi tak malu mintak dari strangers? Pelik kan? 

I hope this won't offend anyone, but instead i hope it will serve as an eye opener. Jangan la buat mende yang boleh buat the future you geli with your own self right now. Geli last forever. Sympathy votes don't.

Since i hardly go on instagram, i'm glad i'm out of that loop. Sebab geli..

Geli sebab it reminded me of the old me.

Huahuahuahuaa....😅

I'm not like any other girls.

😂

Organising me casa

Earlier last year, i was into home organising.

It was a point in my life when i felt so rimas with the things and stuff i have all over the house.

Toys.

Tissue boxes.

Shoes.

Bags.

Books.

Clothes.

Boxes.

Gadgets.

CONTAINERS.

Living in a condominium means that we don't have a store room (we have utility room), so as you can imagine, our stuff were kinda all over the place. There wasn't a designated area where we can put our not-so-often-used (tools, gadget boxes, meds, bandages) stuff, and also our important stuff (school books, documents, bags, bottles).

That was how i got into organising and claiming back our house.

I kept watching videos on youtube on home organising, but got annoyed after a while because these people are telling me to buy more stuff just to organise my stuff.

Ehem. No thanks.

It does look nice with all the aesthetics & 'personality', but it just wasn't practical. There will be more wastage as there was no room to reuse products like containers.

Especially containers. Kalau beli food via grab/foodpanda memang this is to be expected kan... huhu..

These are the steps i took when i organised my home:

1. Start out by areas. I started at the Utility room first. And then move to the rooms, then the living room, then the kitchen.

2. Start Marie Kondo-ing my things. If it doesn't spark joy nor have purpose, i put them in a pile. And then from the pile, i will sort out whether they're recyclable, can be donated, can be repurposed, or thrown.

3. Most used stuff, put them at places where i can see them so that i don't keep buying them because i don't remember if i have them or not. Biasanya "out of sight, out of mind", so keep them in sight.

4. Reuse boxes, containers, for storage. I used paper bags to make small boxes, and cereal boxes or any rectangle boxes to put papers, stationeries, all those bits and pieces of things...

They look messier in pictures 😅 but they're organised!

Senang nak cari barang.

5. Reuse or repurpose old furniture

It was an outdoor coffee table but we never used it since... years ago. 

So i made them into the kids' vehicles parking rack. The tyres go into the gap so that they'll stand. Dulu, all of these were lying around on the balcony. Imagine how merimaskan it was.

6. Stop buying more stuff. I think that's self explanatory 😂

7. MUST GET FAMILY ON BOARD TOO. They don't have to do much. Just have to put things back, not put it away. Back to their original place, not just stuff it wherever. This requires some orientation la, i guess, because they don't know where we put the stuff kan. So kena gradually show them where things are and make them know that they should always put it back so that anyone else can find it back.

Now alhamdulillah, things are easier to find, we don't spend excessively and we have more space. We still are trying to figure out the best ways to make our home feel more open and manageable but we're taking our sweet time.

Masa i overhaul our house ni, it took me weeks. One day to take out everything in one area each, and then nak arrange arrange lagi, nak kena fikir nak buang ke apa ke, nak kena consider future things. 

So my advice for people/newlyweds is to not be influenced by pinterest homes. They look good, but consider practicality first. Look at your things. Look at your space. Look at your affordability. 

Don't be like me. Noob sangat. 😅

Nak rumah cantik, tapi rumah tak organised. Ye la... first time duduk rumah sendiri kan. 

It is fun to beautify the house, but it becomes such a burden when there's too much stuff.

Happy Marie Kondo-ing!

2021 Lists

 It is already the last day of 2021.

2021 has been ok la. Alhamdulillah that my family and i are safe and we survived well, we were protected and provided for, our loved ones are safe and well too.

Considering our circumstances, i think we all did very well.

So, here's my faves in 2021~

My most listened music of 2021:

1. Twice - Fancy (it's a good song to jump rope with. tempo just nice)

2. ONF - Beautiful beautiful (also, good workout song)

3. Lisa - Money

4. ONF - Goosebumps

5. Doja Cat - Woman

---> basically i listened to these a lot for exercising

My fave animes of 2021:

1. Mushoku tensei (i know the MC is a hentai but the whole story is interesting)

2. Komi can't communicate

3. Mieruko-chan

4. Moriarty the Patriot

5. Devil is a Part Timer

6. To Your Eternity (cry cry cry)

7. Tokyo Revengers (quite slow but interesting)

My fave movies of 2021:

1. Spider-man: Homecoming

I don't have fave books and series to share hoho.

Spider-man's homecoming is something i can watch again and again because its got good story and not so much fan service. I rewatched all the avengers movies too because of Spider-man's No Way Home, and i still think Homecoming is better in terms of storyline la.

I did tear up though when all 3 spidermans were in one place. I grew up and loved all of them, and it was a great reason to put them all together as if they're from different universes. It's a cool concept. 

Looking back, i did watch a lot more animes than i've ever had this past year. Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon slayer, Violet Evergarden Movie, So I'm a Spider, So what?, etc etc...

Wahhh.. 

I hope 2022 will be a better year for everyone. Mostly, i hope we'll all be safe, our health are in good condition, we can better ourselves mentally, physically & spiritually, and inshaAllah may Allah provide for us rezeki yang halal, seperti sungai yang mengalir secara berterusan tanpa putus, & moga Allah protect us with His best protection. Amiiin~

Take care everyone! Happy 2022!

Karen-ing

 All the times i've replied my emails, i know how i sound like.

When i want to use a friendly tone, a cold & hostile tone, a business tone. I know how i sound, and i deliberately choose how i want to reply.

Sometimes though, i macam sengaja reply in a way that'll make people go "ish dia ni. nak apa sebenarnya!?", sebab... macam... malas kot.

Malas nak explain pepanjang. Malas nak considerate sangat. Malas nak friendly.

And this happens only when i was inconvenienced, but i have to pretend or feel as if i yang cause the other party inconvenience.

Know what i mean?

Macam kita yang disusahkan, tapi dalam email, kita kena kata "apologies for any inconvenience caused". I know that i don't need to put that sentence pun.

Tapi part of me still want to be manner-ful huahua ehem ehem =p

But then.. i wish i know how to be a Karen. If being a Karen means i can be honest about stuff, sounds good doesn't it?

Karen btw, is something my daughter apparently knows very well.

The other day, she said she fought with her friend at school. 

Me: La kenapa la?

Nadrah: Because she was in her Karen mood.

Me: You know what a Karen is?

Nadrah: Yeah. It's people who get upset by silly things. Like when a guy who park a car, and the Karen tells the guy to move his car so that she can park her car. 

Me: *shook*

Ok i take that back. I don't want to be a Karen 😅

Pretending to be nice is much better than being a Karen.