It's been and it will be a very busy and hectic weeks to end this year. So, while I have a chance to visit the www, I would like to wish you all "Merry Christmas 2008" and "Happy New Year 2009".
Thank you very much for your support and for visiting my blog. I wish you all the best things in the coming year.
I try my best to update my blog as often as I can. So, keep visiting this blog.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Friday, December 05, 2008
Important parenting rule
Before I start to write anything about the above, I would like to apologize for 'eloping' quite sometime... :) I rarely get a chance to use the computer now that my little boy knows how to go to his favorite websites and I don't have a lot of time to sit in front of the computer alone to do my work. So now that my babies are asleep, I want to use this time to write at least 1 post.
For the past 2 weeks, I have been in a mission of trying my best to become a good person. I am also trying my best to be patient and to control my emotion well. All these because I was very concerned about my sweet little boy who would change to be a little monster just to get my attention. He would scream so loud until he lost his voice when ever he did not get what he wanted or when ever he felt guilty.
I know that I only have myself to blame for what he became... :( I have forgotten the most important parenting rule that CHILDREN LEARN BY EXAMPLE.
I have forgotten that children are just like sponges who absorb everything they hear and see.
So, when I see my son screaming very loudly to get my attention, I actually see myself in doing that. I did raise my voice and scream at him to get him to listen to me when ever he really got into my nerve. Other family members followed what I did when they wanted him to listen to them. So, he got people yelling at him all the time.
I did know that I should not do that because he would do exactly like that to me or to any one. But then it is easier to say than to do. I still did that until one day, at a mall, he screamed at the top of his lung from one end to another because he was feeling guilty and also because he was afraid that his father would scream at him. So, he screamed first until he really lost his voice for a week.
The sound of his screaming pierced my ears and my heart. It 'knocked' my head so hard that I promised myself to STOP screaming and yelling at him immediately. I have to change my attitude if I want my son to change his. It has to start from me and it should start immediately before it is too late.
So, since that day on, I have been trying my best to give good example for my son to learn without any force. He would be able to see that mommy is able to control her emotion, her tone, and her voice because I realize that I could not ask him to control his anger when at the same time I was shouting angrily at him.
I also ask the help from my family members to stop shouting at him and to change their attitude first before they expect him to do the same.
Whenever he starts to raise his voice, I will tell him softly that it is not necessary to raise voice because when he speaks softly, mommy will be able to understand what he says clearly. This does work perfectly. So far things are getting better. My son is my sweet little boy again. I have great time with him.
It is very very important indeed to remember all the time the most important parenting rule: children learn by example.
Every thing starts from me. If I do not want my son to be a monster, then I should not be a monster either.
Thank you God for reminding me before it is too late.
For the past 2 weeks, I have been in a mission of trying my best to become a good person. I am also trying my best to be patient and to control my emotion well. All these because I was very concerned about my sweet little boy who would change to be a little monster just to get my attention. He would scream so loud until he lost his voice when ever he did not get what he wanted or when ever he felt guilty.
I know that I only have myself to blame for what he became... :( I have forgotten the most important parenting rule that CHILDREN LEARN BY EXAMPLE.
I have forgotten that children are just like sponges who absorb everything they hear and see.
So, when I see my son screaming very loudly to get my attention, I actually see myself in doing that. I did raise my voice and scream at him to get him to listen to me when ever he really got into my nerve. Other family members followed what I did when they wanted him to listen to them. So, he got people yelling at him all the time.
I did know that I should not do that because he would do exactly like that to me or to any one. But then it is easier to say than to do. I still did that until one day, at a mall, he screamed at the top of his lung from one end to another because he was feeling guilty and also because he was afraid that his father would scream at him. So, he screamed first until he really lost his voice for a week.
The sound of his screaming pierced my ears and my heart. It 'knocked' my head so hard that I promised myself to STOP screaming and yelling at him immediately. I have to change my attitude if I want my son to change his. It has to start from me and it should start immediately before it is too late.
So, since that day on, I have been trying my best to give good example for my son to learn without any force. He would be able to see that mommy is able to control her emotion, her tone, and her voice because I realize that I could not ask him to control his anger when at the same time I was shouting angrily at him.
I also ask the help from my family members to stop shouting at him and to change their attitude first before they expect him to do the same.
Whenever he starts to raise his voice, I will tell him softly that it is not necessary to raise voice because when he speaks softly, mommy will be able to understand what he says clearly. This does work perfectly. So far things are getting better. My son is my sweet little boy again. I have great time with him.
It is very very important indeed to remember all the time the most important parenting rule: children learn by example.
Every thing starts from me. If I do not want my son to be a monster, then I should not be a monster either.
Thank you God for reminding me before it is too late.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
New experience at Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur
Di tahun-tahun yang lalu, setiap kali saya harus berurusan dengan KBRI di Kuala Lumpur adalah mimpi buruk bagi saya. Saya merasa sangat malas dan takut untuk datang kesana karena keadaan di kedubes yang super semrawut, kotor, bau, penuh asap rokok, dan selalu penuh sesak. Terutama setiap kali saya harus menghantar pembantu saya untuk segala urusan dengan KBRI, saya tidak punya pilihan dan harus membawa anak saya ikut serta.
Dari Ipoh, kami harus datang pagi-pagi sekali untuk mengantri. Biasanya kami tiba di muka pintu KBRI sekitar pukul 7.30 pagi dan mengantri berdesak-desakan menunggu pintu kedubes dibuka pada pukul 9 pagi. Orang banyak sudah antri lebih pagi dari saya. Ada yang datang pukul 4 pagi agar dapat tempat antri paling depan. Mana bisa saya datang pukul 4 pagi karena saya harus naik kereta api dari Ipoh pukul 2 pagi dan baru tiba di stasiun sentral Kuala Lumpur pukul 7 pagi. Tidak tega hati saya melihat keadaan anak saya yang terpaksa ikut mengantri. Dia kecapekan, kepanasan dan merasa sangat bosan. Tapi apa boleh buat. Pembantu saya tidak bisa mengerjakan semuanya sendiri karena dia tidak pandai berbahasa Indonesia (pembantu saya orang Kalimantan yang tidak pernah berbahasa Indonesia di kampungnya) dan sering kali urusan malah tambah panjang dan runyam.
Kebanyakan orang Indonesia yang datang ke KBRI di KL adalah untuk memperpanjang paspor. Antrian untuk hal ini sangat panjang dan membutuhkan waktu yang sangat lama untuk mendapatkan paspornya. Jadi mereka harus datang lagi dan mengantri lagi, menunggu nama mereka dipanggil. Saat itu saya dan pembantu saya belum perlu membuat paspor baru. Tetapi tetap saja kami harus mengantri diantrian yang sama dan menunggu nama dipanggil di loket yang sama dengan pembuatan paspor baru. Saya tidak berani memikirkan bagaimana kalau saya/pembantu saya harus membuat paspor baru.
Tapi saya tidak punya pilihan ketika saya benar-benar harus membuat paspor baru karena paspor saya sudah mendekati habis masa berlakunya. Saya pusing tujuh keliling dan tidak bisa tidur memikirkan hal ini apalagi anak saya 2 yang harus saya bawa dan yang satunya masih bayi 2.5 bulan. Saya ribut terus dengan suami yang meskipun bukan orang Indonesia dia juga tahu keadaan yang tidak menyenangkan itu. Dia malas menemani saya ke KBRI. Saya benar-benar hampir putus asa dan memilih untuk pulang ke Indonesia saja untuk memperbarui paspor. Tetapi masalahnya, bayi saya tidak bisa ditinggal karena dia minum ASI dan tak ada orang lain lagi yang bisa mengurusnya selain saya. Lagipula, dia belum dibuatkan paspor Malaysia.
Dengan segala harapan agar bisa mendapatkan informasi yang bisa membuat saya tenang, saya kunjungi website KBRI di KL (http://www.kbrikl.org.my). Meski sebelumnya saya sudah mendapatkan informasi melalui telepon, tetap saja saya tidak terlalu percaya bahwa pembuatan paspor hanya butuh waktu 1 hari. Masalahnya, yang datang ke KBRI setiap harinya bisa ribuan orang. Saya begitu gembira ketika saya membaca informasi di website KBRI. Semenjak KBRI dipimpin oleh duta besar yang baru, semua sistem diperbarui dan diperbaiki. Sekarang semua urusan memiliki tahap-tahap yang jelas. Proses pengurusan pun sangat cepat dan transparan. Yang sangat membuat saya gembira adalah informasi bahwa pembuatan paspor hanya membutuhkan waktu 3 jam! 3 jam! Wow!
Website KBRI pun berubah total. Saya bisa mendapatkan informasi, men-download dan mengeprint sendiri formulir-formulir yang saya butuhkan. Bahkan diinformasikan di website bahwa sekarang keadaan di KBRI di KL tidak semrawut lagi karena sudah memakai sistem nomor dan tidak perlu mengantri berjam-jam lagi.
Saat itu juga, saya beritakan hal ini kepada suami saya. Dia masih tidak percaya. Tetapi dia bersedia mengantar saya. Dia ingin agar kami berangkat hari itu juga selekasnya agar segala urusan selesai lebih awal. Jadilah Selasa yang lalu saya sekeluarga menginap di Kuala Lumpur selama 2 malam. Perjalanan dari Ipoh ke Kuala Lumpur memakan waktu sekitar 2.5 jam lewat Lebuh Raya Utara-Selatan. Tetapi berhubung saya membawa bayi saya yang berusia 2.5 bulan, kami harus berhenti sekejap untuk memberi ASI dan untuk buang air kecil di area peristirahatan Tapah.
Keesokan harinya saya tiba di KBRI pukul 10 pagi. Saya sudah membawa dokumen lengkap dan fomulir yang sudah saya isi dari rumah. Saya tidak melihat antrian panjang lagi. Saya langsung masuk melalui pintu 1 (dulu melalui pintu 2) untuk ambil nomor. Begitu mendapat nomor, mata saya terbelalak. Saya dapat nomor 3001 untuk kategori pembuatan paspor baru 48 halaman dan ketika saya masuk ruangan, saya lebih terbelalak lagi karena nomor tertinggi yang sedang dilayani adalah nomor 2201. Jadi ada 800 orang di depan saya! Alamak! Jam berapa saya akan selesai? Tetapi KBRIKL yang sekarang benar-benar telah berubah. Ada banyak sekali loket kaca transparan yang melayani kami dan setiap orang dilayani dengan profesional, ramah dan cepat. Yang menunggu duduk di kursi tidak boleh merokok karena ruangan berAC. Ruangan tunggu pun teratur dan bersih.
Setelah menunggu sekitar 1 jam, akhirnya nomor saya pun dipanggil. Saat saya sedang dilayani, seorang pejabat tinggi KBRI sedang memonitor situasi dan berhenti di loket saya untuk meminta pendapat saya mengenai sistem pelayanan KBRI yang sudah diperbaiki. Saya katakan bahwa saya sangat senang dengan perubahan totalnya. Beliau mengatakan bahwa sistem pelayanan masih tetap harus diperbaiki agar lebih sempurna lagi dalam melayani rakyat Indonesia di Malaysia. Wow! Saya bangga sekali mendengar hal tersebut. Saya salut dengan semangat baru KBRI KL. Setelah membayar 88 Ringgit, saya menunggu untuk dipanggil lagi. Sekitar 1 jam berikutnya, saya sudah mendapatkan paspor baru. Jadi total waktu pemrosesan adalah 2 jam pada hari yang sama! Wow! Ini benar-benar rekor terbaik dan tercepat yang pernah saya alami untuk perbarui paspor RI. Saya sudah 3 kali memperbarui paspor dan semuanya saya lakukan di KBRI dan KBRI KL lah yang tercepat. Syabas!Selamat atas perombakan drastis yang dilakukan di KBRI KL!
Sekarang berurusan dengan KBRI KL bukan mimpi buruk lagi buat saya.Tetapi lebih baik lagi kalau saya yang tinggal di Ipoh ini boleh memilih di mana saya ingin membuat paspor baru karena saat ini saya hanya boleh membuat paspor baru di KBRI KL, padahal dari tempat saya tinggal lebih dekat ke Konjen RI di Penang. Konjen RI di Penang tidak mau melayani karena Ipoh ada dibawah naungan KBRI KL. Kalau database dibuat link ke semua Konjen di Malaysia, rakyat Indonesia di Malaysia bisa memilih datang ke KBRI KL atau ke Konjen terdekat untuk menyelesaikan urusan mereka. Load di KBRI KL pun bisa dibagi ke Konjen jadi KBRI bisa lebih mudah memonitor dan membantu orang Indonesia di Malaysia. Begitu saja saran dari saya... :)
Dari Ipoh, kami harus datang pagi-pagi sekali untuk mengantri. Biasanya kami tiba di muka pintu KBRI sekitar pukul 7.30 pagi dan mengantri berdesak-desakan menunggu pintu kedubes dibuka pada pukul 9 pagi. Orang banyak sudah antri lebih pagi dari saya. Ada yang datang pukul 4 pagi agar dapat tempat antri paling depan. Mana bisa saya datang pukul 4 pagi karena saya harus naik kereta api dari Ipoh pukul 2 pagi dan baru tiba di stasiun sentral Kuala Lumpur pukul 7 pagi. Tidak tega hati saya melihat keadaan anak saya yang terpaksa ikut mengantri. Dia kecapekan, kepanasan dan merasa sangat bosan. Tapi apa boleh buat. Pembantu saya tidak bisa mengerjakan semuanya sendiri karena dia tidak pandai berbahasa Indonesia (pembantu saya orang Kalimantan yang tidak pernah berbahasa Indonesia di kampungnya) dan sering kali urusan malah tambah panjang dan runyam.
Kebanyakan orang Indonesia yang datang ke KBRI di KL adalah untuk memperpanjang paspor. Antrian untuk hal ini sangat panjang dan membutuhkan waktu yang sangat lama untuk mendapatkan paspornya. Jadi mereka harus datang lagi dan mengantri lagi, menunggu nama mereka dipanggil. Saat itu saya dan pembantu saya belum perlu membuat paspor baru. Tetapi tetap saja kami harus mengantri diantrian yang sama dan menunggu nama dipanggil di loket yang sama dengan pembuatan paspor baru. Saya tidak berani memikirkan bagaimana kalau saya/pembantu saya harus membuat paspor baru.
Tapi saya tidak punya pilihan ketika saya benar-benar harus membuat paspor baru karena paspor saya sudah mendekati habis masa berlakunya. Saya pusing tujuh keliling dan tidak bisa tidur memikirkan hal ini apalagi anak saya 2 yang harus saya bawa dan yang satunya masih bayi 2.5 bulan. Saya ribut terus dengan suami yang meskipun bukan orang Indonesia dia juga tahu keadaan yang tidak menyenangkan itu. Dia malas menemani saya ke KBRI. Saya benar-benar hampir putus asa dan memilih untuk pulang ke Indonesia saja untuk memperbarui paspor. Tetapi masalahnya, bayi saya tidak bisa ditinggal karena dia minum ASI dan tak ada orang lain lagi yang bisa mengurusnya selain saya. Lagipula, dia belum dibuatkan paspor Malaysia.
Dengan segala harapan agar bisa mendapatkan informasi yang bisa membuat saya tenang, saya kunjungi website KBRI di KL (http://www.kbrikl.org.my). Meski sebelumnya saya sudah mendapatkan informasi melalui telepon, tetap saja saya tidak terlalu percaya bahwa pembuatan paspor hanya butuh waktu 1 hari. Masalahnya, yang datang ke KBRI setiap harinya bisa ribuan orang. Saya begitu gembira ketika saya membaca informasi di website KBRI. Semenjak KBRI dipimpin oleh duta besar yang baru, semua sistem diperbarui dan diperbaiki. Sekarang semua urusan memiliki tahap-tahap yang jelas. Proses pengurusan pun sangat cepat dan transparan. Yang sangat membuat saya gembira adalah informasi bahwa pembuatan paspor hanya membutuhkan waktu 3 jam! 3 jam! Wow!
Website KBRI pun berubah total. Saya bisa mendapatkan informasi, men-download dan mengeprint sendiri formulir-formulir yang saya butuhkan. Bahkan diinformasikan di website bahwa sekarang keadaan di KBRI di KL tidak semrawut lagi karena sudah memakai sistem nomor dan tidak perlu mengantri berjam-jam lagi.
Saat itu juga, saya beritakan hal ini kepada suami saya. Dia masih tidak percaya. Tetapi dia bersedia mengantar saya. Dia ingin agar kami berangkat hari itu juga selekasnya agar segala urusan selesai lebih awal. Jadilah Selasa yang lalu saya sekeluarga menginap di Kuala Lumpur selama 2 malam. Perjalanan dari Ipoh ke Kuala Lumpur memakan waktu sekitar 2.5 jam lewat Lebuh Raya Utara-Selatan. Tetapi berhubung saya membawa bayi saya yang berusia 2.5 bulan, kami harus berhenti sekejap untuk memberi ASI dan untuk buang air kecil di area peristirahatan Tapah.
Keesokan harinya saya tiba di KBRI pukul 10 pagi. Saya sudah membawa dokumen lengkap dan fomulir yang sudah saya isi dari rumah. Saya tidak melihat antrian panjang lagi. Saya langsung masuk melalui pintu 1 (dulu melalui pintu 2) untuk ambil nomor. Begitu mendapat nomor, mata saya terbelalak. Saya dapat nomor 3001 untuk kategori pembuatan paspor baru 48 halaman dan ketika saya masuk ruangan, saya lebih terbelalak lagi karena nomor tertinggi yang sedang dilayani adalah nomor 2201. Jadi ada 800 orang di depan saya! Alamak! Jam berapa saya akan selesai? Tetapi KBRIKL yang sekarang benar-benar telah berubah. Ada banyak sekali loket kaca transparan yang melayani kami dan setiap orang dilayani dengan profesional, ramah dan cepat. Yang menunggu duduk di kursi tidak boleh merokok karena ruangan berAC. Ruangan tunggu pun teratur dan bersih.
Setelah menunggu sekitar 1 jam, akhirnya nomor saya pun dipanggil. Saat saya sedang dilayani, seorang pejabat tinggi KBRI sedang memonitor situasi dan berhenti di loket saya untuk meminta pendapat saya mengenai sistem pelayanan KBRI yang sudah diperbaiki. Saya katakan bahwa saya sangat senang dengan perubahan totalnya. Beliau mengatakan bahwa sistem pelayanan masih tetap harus diperbaiki agar lebih sempurna lagi dalam melayani rakyat Indonesia di Malaysia. Wow! Saya bangga sekali mendengar hal tersebut. Saya salut dengan semangat baru KBRI KL. Setelah membayar 88 Ringgit, saya menunggu untuk dipanggil lagi. Sekitar 1 jam berikutnya, saya sudah mendapatkan paspor baru. Jadi total waktu pemrosesan adalah 2 jam pada hari yang sama! Wow! Ini benar-benar rekor terbaik dan tercepat yang pernah saya alami untuk perbarui paspor RI. Saya sudah 3 kali memperbarui paspor dan semuanya saya lakukan di KBRI dan KBRI KL lah yang tercepat. Syabas!Selamat atas perombakan drastis yang dilakukan di KBRI KL!
Sekarang berurusan dengan KBRI KL bukan mimpi buruk lagi buat saya.Tetapi lebih baik lagi kalau saya yang tinggal di Ipoh ini boleh memilih di mana saya ingin membuat paspor baru karena saat ini saya hanya boleh membuat paspor baru di KBRI KL, padahal dari tempat saya tinggal lebih dekat ke Konjen RI di Penang. Konjen RI di Penang tidak mau melayani karena Ipoh ada dibawah naungan KBRI KL. Kalau database dibuat link ke semua Konjen di Malaysia, rakyat Indonesia di Malaysia bisa memilih datang ke KBRI KL atau ke Konjen terdekat untuk menyelesaikan urusan mereka. Load di KBRI KL pun bisa dibagi ke Konjen jadi KBRI bisa lebih mudah memonitor dan membantu orang Indonesia di Malaysia. Begitu saja saran dari saya... :)
Monday, November 03, 2008
What a wonderful day
Another Halloween has just passed and still there was no children knocking on my door for a trick or treat because in Malaysia, Halloween is not a big thing. It is not easy to find some Halloween party supplies and props.It didn't really matter to me because on Halloween day, I have something more important to celebrate; my journey to motherhood.
This year, I reached 4 years of motherhood. It's nothing, I know. I still have to learn a lot more especially now that there has been a new addition to the family since 2 months ago. I'm learning to manage my time properly and to multitask effectively so that I can be a more efficient mother. My children do not have to worry about my love for them. It's multiplied instead of divided. So, each child gets even more love.
It's proven to be not easy to be an efficient mother when things are really unpredictable with children. It took me a full week of multitasking to prepare the best party to celebrate my son's birthday and to celebrate my 4th year of motherhood. This was for the 1st time we invited our family and friends to join the celebration since we moved in to Peninsular Malaysia. I had to work with 1 hand because my other hand would carry my baby and breastfeed at the same time; shopping, preparing the goody bags for children, baking the birthday cake, decorating the house, cooking 2 dishes, preparing the video, and of course taking care my husband and children.
I also had to do some time management for my maid so that she could work efficiently to help me to prepare the party with cleaning up the house and cooking the other 2 dishes.
Since our apartment is tiny, we could invite 4 families only.
I was extremely busy until the last minute before our guests arrived. My maid couldn't bother to help me because she had to make sure the food was ready in time. My husband was still in the office having a very important meeting. So, yeah...when the guests came, I was still running around the house chasing my son with my baby screaming loudly asking for some milk. I really had no time to even catch my breath.
Thank God all my hard work was finally paid off. The guests were happy with our food and my son and I had a blast. My son was the happiest boy in the world that night for he got so many birthday presents. It was such a wonderful day for everyone.
Time flies. 4 years have passed and my son is going to grow bigger and bigger everyday. I still remember clearly the day when I heard him crying for the first time just out of my womb. It's still fresh in my memory how I struggled to be a 1st time mother all alone far away from my family. I still can recall easily how my friends became my immediate family since the day I found out I was pregnant. It's been 4 years and things have become better and better everyday. I never regret to be a mother. It is the most wonderful title a person could ever have. I love my children very much.
The love makes things possible and it works like caffeine for me when my spirit is down. It keeps me going when the goings get tougher.
For my beloved son: Happy 4th birthday!
For my self: Welcome to the more complicated world of motherhood!
Bring it on!! :D
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Can I breastfeed?
My 4 years old son loves his little sister very much. He will be very proud every time mommy asks his help to change his baby sister's dirty nappy or get her pillow and bolsters. He even reminds me from time to time if I have changed baby's nappy or not. He'll ask if I have taken baby for a bath. Whenever his baby sister cries, he'll run and try his best to talk to her and comfort her by gently pat her hand and caressing her hair while saying, "Don't cry, baby! It's ok. Mommy will come soon. Don't worry!"
He also never fails to notice that every time his baby sister cries, mommy will pick her up and breastfeed her. As he is one curious boy, he always comes up to me and throws me with so many questions about why baby drinks milk from mommy's breasts.
One day, he saw his grandfather carrying his baby sister and the baby was crying. He asked his grandfather to breastfeed baby quickly. I told him that grandpa can't breastfeed baby and he asked me why because he saw that grandpa has big breasts just like mommy's... :D I had to explain to him why grandpa can't breastfeed the baby but apparently, my explanation was not enough because on a different day, I saw him running and quickly opening up his t-shirt and wanted to breastfeed his baby sister when he heard his sister cried. I couldn't help laughing and I quickly tried my best to explain to him that he wouldn't be able to breastfeed the baby because he is a boy just like his grandpa. I told him that only mommy can breastfeed the baby. He argued that he also has breasts same like mommy. I told him that his breasts can't produce milk like mommy's breasts. Then he asked me to quickly fill the milk to his breasts so that his breasts can have milk to give to baby. Wha..ha..ha... :D
He was so determined to breastfeed his baby sister. He thinks every one can breastfeed the baby including him. I asked him why he wanted to breastfeed. He told me that he loves his baby sister and wanted her to stop crying. He also wanted to see his baby sister to grow bigger just like him because mommy also gave breast milk to him last time when he was small (I successfully breastfed my son for 15 months). He remembered what I told him... :)
Even my son knows that breast milk is the best for his baby sister. If he can, he would love to give his baby sister the best food/drink in the world. I hope you do know it too. Give the best for your baby! Breast milk it is. It's free. It's convenient and very portable. It's readily available anytime with the right temperature, and no chemical added. So, you don't have to worry about contamination or tainted milk.
I've been breastfeeding my 2nd baby for nearly 2 months now and I hope to continue as long as she wants. The result so far is this:
Note: I'm very happy to know that many of the people I know have chosen to breastfeed their babies. So far my campaign of breastfeeding is showing positive effects.
One day, he saw his grandfather carrying his baby sister and the baby was crying. He asked his grandfather to breastfeed baby quickly. I told him that grandpa can't breastfeed baby and he asked me why because he saw that grandpa has big breasts just like mommy's... :D I had to explain to him why grandpa can't breastfeed the baby but apparently, my explanation was not enough because on a different day, I saw him running and quickly opening up his t-shirt and wanted to breastfeed his baby sister when he heard his sister cried. I couldn't help laughing and I quickly tried my best to explain to him that he wouldn't be able to breastfeed the baby because he is a boy just like his grandpa. I told him that only mommy can breastfeed the baby. He argued that he also has breasts same like mommy. I told him that his breasts can't produce milk like mommy's breasts. Then he asked me to quickly fill the milk to his breasts so that his breasts can have milk to give to baby. Wha..ha..ha... :D
He was so determined to breastfeed his baby sister. He thinks every one can breastfeed the baby including him. I asked him why he wanted to breastfeed. He told me that he loves his baby sister and wanted her to stop crying. He also wanted to see his baby sister to grow bigger just like him because mommy also gave breast milk to him last time when he was small (I successfully breastfed my son for 15 months). He remembered what I told him... :)
Even my son knows that breast milk is the best for his baby sister. If he can, he would love to give his baby sister the best food/drink in the world. I hope you do know it too. Give the best for your baby! Breast milk it is. It's free. It's convenient and very portable. It's readily available anytime with the right temperature, and no chemical added. So, you don't have to worry about contamination or tainted milk.
I've been breastfeeding my 2nd baby for nearly 2 months now and I hope to continue as long as she wants. The result so far is this:
Note: I'm very happy to know that many of the people I know have chosen to breastfeed their babies. So far my campaign of breastfeeding is showing positive effects.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Got the blues?
Yes, I did get the baby blues 4 years ago after I gave birth to my 1st child. I got it from the 2nd day after my son was born up to a week afterward. I got so frustrated, irritated, exhausted, and felt sad most of the time. I even cried every night for a week. Thank God I had such wonderful midwife and friends who were willing to go extra miles to save me from going into deep depression, and of course, the Plunket nurses were always available to pick up my midnight calls and talked to me about anything just to make me feel better.
Oh well, who wouldn't get baby blues if you were in my situation at that time. I was in my final year facing my last final examination when I had to give birth just a day before my final exam. I was a first time mother, knew nothing about motherhood and breastfeeding, all alone in a foreign land thousand miles away from my husband and family, haven't had a good night sleep for weeks because I studied hard to prepare for my final exam and never expected that the baby would come 2 weeks earlier. On top of that, I had to pack and to prepare all by myself to go back to Malaysia for good. I really had no time to rest physically and mentally. I never knew that having a baby was such a stressful experience not only because I had no experience at all, but also because of the hormonal upheaval that occurred in my body.
The blues hit me so hard it made me cried every night and felt so helpless and lonely. I felt sad all the time I found myself begging my newborn to give me a chance to rest and to sleep. I needed someone to talk to but not easy to find someone available and who was willing to listen to my woes. Even the people very close to me just couldn't understand why I cried all the time when I should be happy with the presence of my baby. Not everyone can understand about the baby blues especially if you never give birth before. They may think that it is just an excuse for first time mother especially, to cover up her inability to take care her newborn. So, instead of getting support that she needs it the most, she gets more difficult challenges to deal with these people who don't understand what she is going through. She'll feel even down and she can go into deep depression.
I read an article about baby blues written by DR Nor Ashikin Mokhtar in the Star newspaper. You can read the full article here: http://thestar.com.my/health/story.asp?file=/2008/9/21/health/2043971&sec=health
Do read the full article, especially for those who never give birth because it contains very good information on emotional reactions after giving birth.
According to the article, there are 3 types of emotional reactions to childbirth:
Oh well, who wouldn't get baby blues if you were in my situation at that time. I was in my final year facing my last final examination when I had to give birth just a day before my final exam. I was a first time mother, knew nothing about motherhood and breastfeeding, all alone in a foreign land thousand miles away from my husband and family, haven't had a good night sleep for weeks because I studied hard to prepare for my final exam and never expected that the baby would come 2 weeks earlier. On top of that, I had to pack and to prepare all by myself to go back to Malaysia for good. I really had no time to rest physically and mentally. I never knew that having a baby was such a stressful experience not only because I had no experience at all, but also because of the hormonal upheaval that occurred in my body.
The blues hit me so hard it made me cried every night and felt so helpless and lonely. I felt sad all the time I found myself begging my newborn to give me a chance to rest and to sleep. I needed someone to talk to but not easy to find someone available and who was willing to listen to my woes. Even the people very close to me just couldn't understand why I cried all the time when I should be happy with the presence of my baby. Not everyone can understand about the baby blues especially if you never give birth before. They may think that it is just an excuse for first time mother especially, to cover up her inability to take care her newborn. So, instead of getting support that she needs it the most, she gets more difficult challenges to deal with these people who don't understand what she is going through. She'll feel even down and she can go into deep depression.
I read an article about baby blues written by DR Nor Ashikin Mokhtar in the Star newspaper. You can read the full article here: http://thestar.com.my/health/story.asp?file=/2008/9/21/health/2043971&sec=health
Do read the full article, especially for those who never give birth because it contains very good information on emotional reactions after giving birth.
According to the article, there are 3 types of emotional reactions to childbirth:
- Postpartum Blues or Baby blues
- Postnatal Depression
- Puerperal Psychosis (the most serious postpartum emotional condition)
It is very important for mother who suffers from any of these emotional reactions to get full support emotionally and physically from her support persons, her family, and her friends.
Since I have experienced baby blues before, during my 2nd pregnancy my ob/gyn and his staff had to monitor my mental state throughout the pregnancy until after I gave birth to my 2nd child. They had to make sure that I had enough rest and they also informed my support person (my husband in this case) about the blues and asked him to give his full support so that I wouldn't get postnatal depression or even worst the puerperal psychosis.
So, my husband did anything he could to support me until I gave a green light for him to leave me when his duty called. I felt so much better on my 2nd childbirth because I already know what to do and what to expect when my baby is born. I've learned many tricks to handle my newborn as well. I don't think I experience baby blues this time but unfortunately, there is another type of blues I experience though; it's the maid blues, which is caused by...you know who...Gosh!! She's been nothing but trouble to me... : (
Since I have experienced baby blues before, during my 2nd pregnancy my ob/gyn and his staff had to monitor my mental state throughout the pregnancy until after I gave birth to my 2nd child. They had to make sure that I had enough rest and they also informed my support person (my husband in this case) about the blues and asked him to give his full support so that I wouldn't get postnatal depression or even worst the puerperal psychosis.
So, my husband did anything he could to support me until I gave a green light for him to leave me when his duty called. I felt so much better on my 2nd childbirth because I already know what to do and what to expect when my baby is born. I've learned many tricks to handle my newborn as well. I don't think I experience baby blues this time but unfortunately, there is another type of blues I experience though; it's the maid blues, which is caused by...you know who...Gosh!! She's been nothing but trouble to me... : (
Monday, September 22, 2008
After the birth
I have about 30 minutes to update my blog before my little girl starts to scream for some breast milk. So I'm going to type very fast and hopefully I won't make too many grammatical errors.
It's been nearly a month since I gave birth to my 2nd child. So far I have been trying my best to observe the confinement period which I find it really hard to follow because this is my 1st time observing the confinement period. When I had my 1st baby, I didn't even know that there is a confinement period after giving birth. So, I decided to follow the rules of confinement period this time so that I can feel a little bit better. During the confinement period, I have to eat food that is cooked with generous amount of old ginger and sesame oil to expel the wind from my body. I am new to this confinement period so I don't really follow exactly what I have to do or what I'm not allowed to do such as not bathing and washing hair for a month. I definitely can't do this. I find it very unhygienic and I feel sorry for my newborn if I smell stink because she has to drink milk from my breasts. I cannot stay at home all the time either because I have to drive my son to school, run errands, and do groceries shopping with my newborn on tow everywhere I go since my hubby has gone to accept his overseas assignment as soon as I 'look' and 'sound' fine. She even had to follow me to fix my car flat tire.
I found an article about confinement period that is written by my favorite writer, Lydia Teh here: http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/3321/win14c.htm
and more tips about confinement period here: http://jamumassage.com/motherhood-blog/tips-new-moms-during-confinement-period
Time is very precious to me now that I have to take care 2 children simultaneously. If I am lucky, I will have 30 minutes to an hour of free time and I have to decide what to do to make the best of that free time. I have to choose whether I should catch up with my sleep, or take shower, or eat, or browse the internet. My baby doesn't like me to carry her in 1 arm while I type using the other hand. My boy will scream so loud also if I use the computer more than an hour because he wants to play games in Playhouse Disney website.
I'm still learning to be a mother of 2 children. My son is also still trying to accept the fact that now mommy has to run for the baby first whenever baby screams for breast milk. Not an easy thing to accept for sure. He has been showing tantrums and bad mood whenever mommy attends to his baby sister. If my husband is around, things will be easier for my son and me because then daddy can spend time with him while mommy takes care of baby sister.
Anyway, time is up for me. I have to post this quickly before my son presses any button on the keyboard because he has been waiting to use this computer. I hope I'll be able to steal more time to post more stories on my blog.
It's been nearly a month since I gave birth to my 2nd child. So far I have been trying my best to observe the confinement period which I find it really hard to follow because this is my 1st time observing the confinement period. When I had my 1st baby, I didn't even know that there is a confinement period after giving birth. So, I decided to follow the rules of confinement period this time so that I can feel a little bit better. During the confinement period, I have to eat food that is cooked with generous amount of old ginger and sesame oil to expel the wind from my body. I am new to this confinement period so I don't really follow exactly what I have to do or what I'm not allowed to do such as not bathing and washing hair for a month. I definitely can't do this. I find it very unhygienic and I feel sorry for my newborn if I smell stink because she has to drink milk from my breasts. I cannot stay at home all the time either because I have to drive my son to school, run errands, and do groceries shopping with my newborn on tow everywhere I go since my hubby has gone to accept his overseas assignment as soon as I 'look' and 'sound' fine. She even had to follow me to fix my car flat tire.
I found an article about confinement period that is written by my favorite writer, Lydia Teh here: http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/3321/win14c.htm
and more tips about confinement period here: http://jamumassage.com/motherhood-blog/tips-new-moms-during-confinement-period
Time is very precious to me now that I have to take care 2 children simultaneously. If I am lucky, I will have 30 minutes to an hour of free time and I have to decide what to do to make the best of that free time. I have to choose whether I should catch up with my sleep, or take shower, or eat, or browse the internet. My baby doesn't like me to carry her in 1 arm while I type using the other hand. My boy will scream so loud also if I use the computer more than an hour because he wants to play games in Playhouse Disney website.
I'm still learning to be a mother of 2 children. My son is also still trying to accept the fact that now mommy has to run for the baby first whenever baby screams for breast milk. Not an easy thing to accept for sure. He has been showing tantrums and bad mood whenever mommy attends to his baby sister. If my husband is around, things will be easier for my son and me because then daddy can spend time with him while mommy takes care of baby sister.
Anyway, time is up for me. I have to post this quickly before my son presses any button on the keyboard because he has been waiting to use this computer. I hope I'll be able to steal more time to post more stories on my blog.
Monday, September 01, 2008
My bundles of joy
Finally, the wait is over.The latest addition to our family was born last week at 7.45pm after 8 hours of labor at exactly 39 weeks. Our beautiful baby girl was 3.72kg and 53 cm when she was born.
There were 7 other babies who were born on the same day and she was the biggest one.
Nothing couldn't be more perfect that day to bring her out to this world. God had the best plan ever for me to deliver the baby; the father was there filming the birth process, the ob/gyn was there handling everything very professionally and my request for epidural was right on time too. Other than the unbearable tremendous pain that I had to go through after being induced, everything else was such a wonderful experience for me and for my husband.
The only person that was not able to share this happy moment that day was my 1st child. He had to stay at home the whole day and didn't have a chance to see mommy since morning. He cried so much on the phone wanting to see me when I was in the middle of labor. The last time he saw mommy was in the morning when mommy sent him to school. He missed his mommy and didn't understand why mommy had to stay long in the hospital. Only the next afternoon he was able to visit mommy and saw his baby sister for the first time. He grinned from left to right and hugged mommy so tightly while declaring, "I love my baby sister!"
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Still waiting
At the moment, I'm still waiting to give birth which can happen any time now until end of the month. My ob/gyn said big chance that I'll give birth during this week because everything is ready. The baby's head is engaged very low. The cervix has diluted 2 cm. I just have to wait for a big major contraction that is strong enough to break the water. After the water breaks, the delivery of the baby will be pretty fast. So, I have to make sure I am not too far away from the hospital at this moment.
But now, I'm still waiting...and waiting...and waiting. I've been having painful contractions but not too strong. I can't sleep because I just got too excited and I keep on thinking about my son when I have to stay in the hospital to give birth. If only I could just take him to the hospital with me so that I can always see and monitor him....
I've got super paranoid about who will take care of my son other than me. I don't trust anyone at all, including my hubby.
Besides, I don't know why, my body feels extremely hot and I sweat so much even though I've set the air conditioner in my room to 16 degrees Celsius.
I want to be able to do so many things and also traveling around but at the moment, my mobility is really limited with such a huge tummy.This waiting period makes me feel agitated so easily. I also get bored and tired so easily. I get bored over so many things I usually love to do. I even get bored of checking emails, browsing internet, even writing a blog. So, I really need to finish this before I'm completely turned off.
Please pray for me so that I can have a smooth and quick delivery with my husband by my side (he's been tired of waiting also and just cannot wait to go overseas for his work assignment). Thank you so much in advance!
But now, I'm still waiting...and waiting...and waiting. I've been having painful contractions but not too strong. I can't sleep because I just got too excited and I keep on thinking about my son when I have to stay in the hospital to give birth. If only I could just take him to the hospital with me so that I can always see and monitor him....
I've got super paranoid about who will take care of my son other than me. I don't trust anyone at all, including my hubby.
Besides, I don't know why, my body feels extremely hot and I sweat so much even though I've set the air conditioner in my room to 16 degrees Celsius.
I want to be able to do so many things and also traveling around but at the moment, my mobility is really limited with such a huge tummy.This waiting period makes me feel agitated so easily. I also get bored and tired so easily. I get bored over so many things I usually love to do. I even get bored of checking emails, browsing internet, even writing a blog. So, I really need to finish this before I'm completely turned off.
Please pray for me so that I can have a smooth and quick delivery with my husband by my side (he's been tired of waiting also and just cannot wait to go overseas for his work assignment). Thank you so much in advance!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
37 weeks pregnant
Starting this morning, I have to see my ob/gyn for a check up once a week until I'm in labor because I'm into my 37 week pregnancy counting by date. I can be in labor anytime now until 6th September. If on the 6th September I'm still not in labor yet, then I have to be induced. I really hope the baby will come out naturally without an induction. Though I've never done that before, I heard from many people after the induction, the mother will experience tremendous pain and will run out of energy to push the baby. The baby can become distressed as well.
On this morning check up my ob/gyn did an internal examination and swept my membranes because I have been experiencing a number of strong contractions for the past 2 weeks. It was not a pleasant experience though. It's rather painful but not too long. After the internal examination, I was informed that the baby's head is already very low and the cervix is opening up a little bit. Because of this, I was sent to do the Cardiotocograph (CTG) test for an hour in the labor ward. The CTG test is done by using a machine that has an instrument to be attached to my tummy to record baby's heart rate and to record any contractions. At the same time, I had to monitor the baby's movement. This test is important to monitor the baby's well being.
For an hour I could listen my baby's heartbeat. It sounded pleasant to my ears. The baby sounded very relax and when the baby moved I had to press a button for 3 seconds.
I had to bring the result back to my ob/gyn to be examined. According to the CTG test, there was no major contractions and no fetal distress so I could go back home. I was told to return to hospital immediately whenever I experience any signs of labor such as any bleeding, water breaks, or any major painful contractions. I hope I won't be in labor tonight because my husband is not around until tomorrow. I'm not afraid to face this alone but what I am worried the most is that my husband will be missing his chance to welcome his child again for the 2nd time. It's really not cool because he has missed the 1st one.
On this morning check up my ob/gyn did an internal examination and swept my membranes because I have been experiencing a number of strong contractions for the past 2 weeks. It was not a pleasant experience though. It's rather painful but not too long. After the internal examination, I was informed that the baby's head is already very low and the cervix is opening up a little bit. Because of this, I was sent to do the Cardiotocograph (CTG) test for an hour in the labor ward. The CTG test is done by using a machine that has an instrument to be attached to my tummy to record baby's heart rate and to record any contractions. At the same time, I had to monitor the baby's movement. This test is important to monitor the baby's well being.
For an hour I could listen my baby's heartbeat. It sounded pleasant to my ears. The baby sounded very relax and when the baby moved I had to press a button for 3 seconds.
I had to bring the result back to my ob/gyn to be examined. According to the CTG test, there was no major contractions and no fetal distress so I could go back home. I was told to return to hospital immediately whenever I experience any signs of labor such as any bleeding, water breaks, or any major painful contractions. I hope I won't be in labor tonight because my husband is not around until tomorrow. I'm not afraid to face this alone but what I am worried the most is that my husband will be missing his chance to welcome his child again for the 2nd time. It's really not cool because he has missed the 1st one.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Makan pagi di rumahku
Ketika orang tuaku datang berkunjung, ibu bertanya kepadaku kenapa tidak pernah ada sarapan tersedia di meja makan. Beliau meminta pertanggung jawabanku sebagai seorang ibu, istri, dan ratu rumah kenapa aku tidak menyiapkan makan pagi untuk anggota keluargaku.
Jawabannya mudah saja; karena memang anggota keluargaku tidak suka makan sarapan yang aku buat untuk mereka. Bukannya aku sama sekali tidak pernah menyiapkan sarapan untuk keluargaku. Untuk anakku, sebagai seorang ibu, tentu aku selalu mencoba untuk memberikan dan menyiapkan makan pagi yang bergizi dan sehat untuknya, karena bagiku, makan pagi paling penting untuk memberikan energi yang cukup untuk melakukan aktifitas sepanjang hari.Tetapi, aku sudah capek hati karena setiap kali aku menyiapkan sarapan, selalu saja aku sendiri yang pada akhirnya menghabiskan semuanya.
Di rumahku aku selalu memastikan ada persediaan makanan untuk makan pagi yang sehat dan bergizi tinggi tanpa MSG, seperti: hash brown, roti gandum, keju, selai rasa buah beraneka rasa, coklat meses, coklat selai, cereal/oatmeal berbagai rasa lengkap dengan pernak perniknya seperti biji bunga matahari, kismis, apricot kering, dan teman-temannya, ada juga bihun/mie/nasi yang bisa digoreng atau dibuat sup karena aku punya banyak kelengkapannya seperti sosis, daging, tuna, dan sayur mayurnya. Untuk minuman: ada teh hijau, ada teh lipton, ada susu (susu segar dan susu coklat), ada kopi juga.
Buah-buahan segar pun tersedia lengkap: ada pepaya, ada pisang, ada jeruk, ada mangga, dan sebagainya. Buah-buahan kering pun juga tersedia.
Aku juga mencoba menyediakan makan pagi English breakfast or American breakfast.
Tetapi sayangnya, suamiku dibesarkan dengan selalu membeli sarapan di luar. Jadi, meskipun disiapkan sarapan yang sama persis (tanpa MSG) dengan yang dibelinya di luar, tetap saja tak disentuh sampai sarapannya jadi dingin dan tidak enak lagi dimakan, karena, kalau pagi-pagi belum keluar untuk makan mie yang pakai banyak MSG, belum sarapan namanya. Kalau tidak pakai MSG tidak afdol makananannya. D'oh sedih banget rasanya tiap kali ribut masalah MSG.
Sayangnya juga, anakku itu picky eater. Setiap kali mau sarapan, lebih baik aku tanya dulu dia mau makan apa karena kalau tidak, percuma saja dia tidak akan menyentuh makanan tersebut. Meskipun dia sudah memberikan jawaban mau makan apa, tetap saja, banyak makanan terbuang percuma karena anakku bisa tiba-tiba mengganti seleranya.
Sementara pembantuku juga sama saja. Aku selalu memberi kebebasan kepadanya untuk memakan apapun yang ada di rumahku tetapi yang selalu habis duluan adalah mie instant.
Jadi ya untuk apa aku capek-capek dan pusing-pusing menyiapkan makan pagi kalau setiap anggota keluargaku sudah punya kebiasaan makan pagi sendiri. Lebih baik aku siapkan makan pagi untuk diriku sendiri saja. Berhubung sekarang aku lagi hamil, jadi aku tidak bisa makan sembarangan lagipula, aku dibesarkan untuk selalu makan pagi di rumah. Lebih bersih, lebih sehat, dan lebih hemat.
Jawabannya mudah saja; karena memang anggota keluargaku tidak suka makan sarapan yang aku buat untuk mereka. Bukannya aku sama sekali tidak pernah menyiapkan sarapan untuk keluargaku. Untuk anakku, sebagai seorang ibu, tentu aku selalu mencoba untuk memberikan dan menyiapkan makan pagi yang bergizi dan sehat untuknya, karena bagiku, makan pagi paling penting untuk memberikan energi yang cukup untuk melakukan aktifitas sepanjang hari.Tetapi, aku sudah capek hati karena setiap kali aku menyiapkan sarapan, selalu saja aku sendiri yang pada akhirnya menghabiskan semuanya.
Di rumahku aku selalu memastikan ada persediaan makanan untuk makan pagi yang sehat dan bergizi tinggi tanpa MSG, seperti: hash brown, roti gandum, keju, selai rasa buah beraneka rasa, coklat meses, coklat selai, cereal/oatmeal berbagai rasa lengkap dengan pernak perniknya seperti biji bunga matahari, kismis, apricot kering, dan teman-temannya, ada juga bihun/mie/nasi yang bisa digoreng atau dibuat sup karena aku punya banyak kelengkapannya seperti sosis, daging, tuna, dan sayur mayurnya. Untuk minuman: ada teh hijau, ada teh lipton, ada susu (susu segar dan susu coklat), ada kopi juga.
Buah-buahan segar pun tersedia lengkap: ada pepaya, ada pisang, ada jeruk, ada mangga, dan sebagainya. Buah-buahan kering pun juga tersedia.
Aku juga mencoba menyediakan makan pagi English breakfast or American breakfast.
Tetapi sayangnya, suamiku dibesarkan dengan selalu membeli sarapan di luar. Jadi, meskipun disiapkan sarapan yang sama persis (tanpa MSG) dengan yang dibelinya di luar, tetap saja tak disentuh sampai sarapannya jadi dingin dan tidak enak lagi dimakan, karena, kalau pagi-pagi belum keluar untuk makan mie yang pakai banyak MSG, belum sarapan namanya. Kalau tidak pakai MSG tidak afdol makananannya. D'oh sedih banget rasanya tiap kali ribut masalah MSG.
Sayangnya juga, anakku itu picky eater. Setiap kali mau sarapan, lebih baik aku tanya dulu dia mau makan apa karena kalau tidak, percuma saja dia tidak akan menyentuh makanan tersebut. Meskipun dia sudah memberikan jawaban mau makan apa, tetap saja, banyak makanan terbuang percuma karena anakku bisa tiba-tiba mengganti seleranya.
Sementara pembantuku juga sama saja. Aku selalu memberi kebebasan kepadanya untuk memakan apapun yang ada di rumahku tetapi yang selalu habis duluan adalah mie instant.
Jadi ya untuk apa aku capek-capek dan pusing-pusing menyiapkan makan pagi kalau setiap anggota keluargaku sudah punya kebiasaan makan pagi sendiri. Lebih baik aku siapkan makan pagi untuk diriku sendiri saja. Berhubung sekarang aku lagi hamil, jadi aku tidak bisa makan sembarangan lagipula, aku dibesarkan untuk selalu makan pagi di rumah. Lebih bersih, lebih sehat, dan lebih hemat.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Too many questions
My son is coming to 4 years old and he is entering the age when he knows he can use how, why, what, where, who, whose, and when to ask questions to every one to feed his curiosity. He will ask questions about anything to the very detail until you really have no idea how to answer him and wish that he stops questioning you. His questions can be very ridiculous or sounds weird and funny. For example, he asked me "Why today is raining?", "Why am I a boy and aunt Hanna is a girl?", "Why baby is inside mommy's tummy?", "How can baby go inside mommy's tummy?", "Why the train track is very long?". When I gave him the answer, he would continue his interrogations until I run out of answer.
Some people who have no patient will just keep quiet, don't bother to answer him and let him repeating the same question again and again. But my husband and I will try our best to answer every question he poses to us as tactful and careful as possible. There are times that we really gag because we need to think the best and the most appropriate words to explain to him so that at one point he will be satisfied and end his interrogations with "Oh I see." When he says that, we know he is satisfied and will stop questioning us for a moment before the next questions come up again about a different topic. We try to feed him with information as correct and accurate as possible because we don't want him to get the wrong understanding over things he asks. We will also refer him to his encyclopedia books, his children dictionary, or the information from TV shows to give him visual information so he can digest it easily.
It's not easy really. It's very frustrating sometimes because we just can't do anything when he starts to bug us with his questions. He will chase us and corner us until we give him answers that satisfy him. His teacher also informed me about this. At school, my son will ask his teacher so many questions about things he is interested in but when he is not interested in the subject, he will just sleep in the classroom...:)
The only time my son will stop asking questions is when he is busy doing his art work such as painting, coloring, and drawing, and when he is playing with his computer. He will be very silent and concentrate fully on his work. Even when he sleeps he will still ask questions! My husband and I have to wake up and answer his questions until he is satisfied with our answers and he'll go back to sleep.
Geez... he is like a computer that is hungry for some data. He takes all the answers, stores in his brain to be retrieved whenever he needs the data. If it's not enough, he'll try to get more input from any sources... :D
My husband and I can't wait until he can read so that we can guide him to get the answers from many sources not only from books and TV channels (TVIQ, Discovery, National Geography, Animal Planet, and The History Channel) but also from the internet.
In the mean time, we are quite happy to read things for him and try our best to feed his curiosity with the best knowledge possible.
This reminds me of my favourite McDonald commercial I saw in New Zealand years ago. The ad showed a little girl was having a conversation with his daddy and asked him where baby came from. Her daddy gagged for a while because he was a bit reluctant to answer her so he came out with "McDonald!" and the little girl was happy to talk about what to order and end her sentence with, "then you will tell me all about it." Which means she would still require her daddy to answer her first question "Where baby comes from?"...:D
Some people who have no patient will just keep quiet, don't bother to answer him and let him repeating the same question again and again. But my husband and I will try our best to answer every question he poses to us as tactful and careful as possible. There are times that we really gag because we need to think the best and the most appropriate words to explain to him so that at one point he will be satisfied and end his interrogations with "Oh I see." When he says that, we know he is satisfied and will stop questioning us for a moment before the next questions come up again about a different topic. We try to feed him with information as correct and accurate as possible because we don't want him to get the wrong understanding over things he asks. We will also refer him to his encyclopedia books, his children dictionary, or the information from TV shows to give him visual information so he can digest it easily.
It's not easy really. It's very frustrating sometimes because we just can't do anything when he starts to bug us with his questions. He will chase us and corner us until we give him answers that satisfy him. His teacher also informed me about this. At school, my son will ask his teacher so many questions about things he is interested in but when he is not interested in the subject, he will just sleep in the classroom...:)
The only time my son will stop asking questions is when he is busy doing his art work such as painting, coloring, and drawing, and when he is playing with his computer. He will be very silent and concentrate fully on his work. Even when he sleeps he will still ask questions! My husband and I have to wake up and answer his questions until he is satisfied with our answers and he'll go back to sleep.
Geez... he is like a computer that is hungry for some data. He takes all the answers, stores in his brain to be retrieved whenever he needs the data. If it's not enough, he'll try to get more input from any sources... :D
My husband and I can't wait until he can read so that we can guide him to get the answers from many sources not only from books and TV channels (TVIQ, Discovery, National Geography, Animal Planet, and The History Channel) but also from the internet.
In the mean time, we are quite happy to read things for him and try our best to feed his curiosity with the best knowledge possible.
This reminds me of my favourite McDonald commercial I saw in New Zealand years ago. The ad showed a little girl was having a conversation with his daddy and asked him where baby came from. Her daddy gagged for a while because he was a bit reluctant to answer her so he came out with "McDonald!" and the little girl was happy to talk about what to order and end her sentence with, "then you will tell me all about it." Which means she would still require her daddy to answer her first question "Where baby comes from?"...:D
Monday, August 04, 2008
A mother's story
Oahemm...sorry, I'm yawning. I'm extremely sleepy at the moment. I have not been having enough sleep for the past 1 week because first of all, the weather is very very hot. Ipoh has been so dry and hazy. Second of all, I have this terrible flu that makes my nose blocked. Even without the blocked nose, I already have difficulty breathing because of my growing belly that compresses my lung capacity. So, every night, I'm like a fish that needs some water.
I'm sorry about the whining and the complaining. I'm not in the mood of talking about good things. My brain is half asleep already but I still can't sleep because I have to watch my son who suddenly for no reason, has developed rashes all over his body since yesterday morning. I have to make sure he is not too hot otherwise the rashes will worsen and he won't stop scratching here and there until his body is very red. I can't stand to see him suffering like that.
Last night I didn't not sleep at all. Every time I was about to shut my eyes, my son woke up and started to scratch his body and I just had to put the lotion to soothe him down so that he could sleep again. The rashes go away as soon as I apply lotion directly on the affected area. I have no idea what causes the rashes to develop. My hubby thought it was the Dettol soap that my son used 2 days ago because his baby soap run out. But the rashes actually developed when he did not even showered with that Dettol soap and since that rashes developed, he has been showered with his own baby soap. Still the rashes come out when my son feels hot.
I'm going to take him to see his paediatrician soon. Hopefully, tonight, my son will be able to sleep well. I am very exhausted. Oh well, this is part of my duty to be a mother, right? It is in my job description as a mother that I have to stay awake at night and take care of my children's well being while others snore so loudly. I take this as an exercise before my baby comes out. Once I'm in labour, whe..he..he.., I can say 'good bye' to a good night sleep until at least a year later. I have known this when I choose to become a mother. It's tough but the reward is the heaven under my feet... :)
There is a saying in my language that goes like this: "Surga dibawah telapak kaki ibu" - The heaven is beneath a mother's feet. So, yeah, despite all the sacrifices and the complains I make, I am very proud to be a mother.
I'm sorry about the whining and the complaining. I'm not in the mood of talking about good things. My brain is half asleep already but I still can't sleep because I have to watch my son who suddenly for no reason, has developed rashes all over his body since yesterday morning. I have to make sure he is not too hot otherwise the rashes will worsen and he won't stop scratching here and there until his body is very red. I can't stand to see him suffering like that.
Last night I didn't not sleep at all. Every time I was about to shut my eyes, my son woke up and started to scratch his body and I just had to put the lotion to soothe him down so that he could sleep again. The rashes go away as soon as I apply lotion directly on the affected area. I have no idea what causes the rashes to develop. My hubby thought it was the Dettol soap that my son used 2 days ago because his baby soap run out. But the rashes actually developed when he did not even showered with that Dettol soap and since that rashes developed, he has been showered with his own baby soap. Still the rashes come out when my son feels hot.
I'm going to take him to see his paediatrician soon. Hopefully, tonight, my son will be able to sleep well. I am very exhausted. Oh well, this is part of my duty to be a mother, right? It is in my job description as a mother that I have to stay awake at night and take care of my children's well being while others snore so loudly. I take this as an exercise before my baby comes out. Once I'm in labour, whe..he..he.., I can say 'good bye' to a good night sleep until at least a year later. I have known this when I choose to become a mother. It's tough but the reward is the heaven under my feet... :)
There is a saying in my language that goes like this: "Surga dibawah telapak kaki ibu" - The heaven is beneath a mother's feet. So, yeah, despite all the sacrifices and the complains I make, I am very proud to be a mother.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
35-weeks pregnant
While I'm still able to sit in front of computer and have sometime for myself, I would try to allocate the time to update my blog as much as I can. But at the moment, I can't sit too long anymore now that I am entering my 35th week of pregnancy. My tummy is growing bigger it makes me difficult to sit on a soft couch and to get up again, especially if I have to get up after sitting on the floor. Sleeping, walking, and breathing have been proven to be more and more problematic during this period. I cannot walk too far and too long anymore because I will run out of breath and I will experience strong Braxton Hicks contraction at night. It's so strong it can take my breath away and I'll be gasping for some air while praying and whispering to the baby to stay longer inside my womb.
I do not want my baby to come out prematurely. My first child was born exactly on the 36th week (2 weeks earlier than the due date) and it was a very easy and quick normal delivery with no epidural involved. While the easy and quick normal delivery part has always been what I ask for in my prayer, the earlier-than-due-date part is not what I want. 3 of my son's cousins were born earlier than the due date as early as 32 - 35 weeks. I talk a lot to my baby inside the womb to stay longer at least until 37 weeks. I do not want my baby to come out too late as well (overdue). Overdue baby usually is quite big so I'm afraid I will have a difficult and long labor not to mention the possibility of having Cesarean Section.
Cesarean Section is never my preference because then I will have to stay longer in bed, feeling the pain after the big surgery and still have to take care the newborn and worry about when I can recover because I have another son to take care, a hubby that cannot wait to go for his overseas assignment, and a long list of my duty as a wife and a mother as well. But then, if C-section is the only way to deliver my baby, then I just have to cope with the problems later.
At 35 weeks pregnant, I'm supposed to enjoy the time with my other half as much as I can, but unfortunately, his work always comes first. I wanted to take him to go for a movie but it never materializes. He would say, "Tomorrow, tomorrow. I'm very busy today." and that tomorrow means "wait long long lah!!" Aiyoh!!!
I can just go by myself to the cinema and watch The dark knight but then I'm afraid if anything happens to me, no one will help because at this period, the preparation of my body for labor is getting more and more obvious. Anything can happen anywhere.
I have done some preparation for the baby and for staying in the hospital. I've packed the baby's bag and mine. I've washed everything including the breastpump but I haven't sterilized it. I've informed my maid to do it once the baby is out. I still have quite a number of things to be bought such as the baby mattress + bed sheet, the baby bottle/cups to store the breast milk, and the baby car seat. I'm still looking for the most suitable baby car seat around because my car is very small and I have installed 1 car seat for my 1st child. If I want to put another car seat, I have to make sure, the car seat is slim enough to fit the back seat of my car and still have some space for my maid to sit. Oh yes, my maid always wants me to take her whenever my hubby and I go out. She complains when she has to stay at home. When my parents came over to visit me, she had to stay at home because the car can't fit too many people and my maid was not happy about it. She scolded my parents for coming over and causing her to be left at home during family outing. My hubby and I have no plan to upgrade the car soon because we still have no budget for that. Besides, big car means more petrol. I still need to allocate the money for more urgent things like all the newborn needs and the house that is still under renovation. I want the house to be completed as soon as possible because the apartment I stay at the moment is getting smaller with the new addition to my family.
Ok, I think I've been sitting here quite sometime and I need to end this post quickly because my back is starting to ache and I'm getting hungry. Oh by the way, so far I've only put on 7Kgs in total and my body weight keeps going up and down. When I was pregnant with my 1st child, I gained 10Kgs in total for the whole duration of 9 months.
I do not want my baby to come out prematurely. My first child was born exactly on the 36th week (2 weeks earlier than the due date) and it was a very easy and quick normal delivery with no epidural involved. While the easy and quick normal delivery part has always been what I ask for in my prayer, the earlier-than-due-date part is not what I want. 3 of my son's cousins were born earlier than the due date as early as 32 - 35 weeks. I talk a lot to my baby inside the womb to stay longer at least until 37 weeks. I do not want my baby to come out too late as well (overdue). Overdue baby usually is quite big so I'm afraid I will have a difficult and long labor not to mention the possibility of having Cesarean Section.
Cesarean Section is never my preference because then I will have to stay longer in bed, feeling the pain after the big surgery and still have to take care the newborn and worry about when I can recover because I have another son to take care, a hubby that cannot wait to go for his overseas assignment, and a long list of my duty as a wife and a mother as well. But then, if C-section is the only way to deliver my baby, then I just have to cope with the problems later.
At 35 weeks pregnant, I'm supposed to enjoy the time with my other half as much as I can, but unfortunately, his work always comes first. I wanted to take him to go for a movie but it never materializes. He would say, "Tomorrow, tomorrow. I'm very busy today." and that tomorrow means "wait long long lah!!" Aiyoh!!!
I can just go by myself to the cinema and watch The dark knight but then I'm afraid if anything happens to me, no one will help because at this period, the preparation of my body for labor is getting more and more obvious. Anything can happen anywhere.
I have done some preparation for the baby and for staying in the hospital. I've packed the baby's bag and mine. I've washed everything including the breastpump but I haven't sterilized it. I've informed my maid to do it once the baby is out. I still have quite a number of things to be bought such as the baby mattress + bed sheet, the baby bottle/cups to store the breast milk, and the baby car seat. I'm still looking for the most suitable baby car seat around because my car is very small and I have installed 1 car seat for my 1st child. If I want to put another car seat, I have to make sure, the car seat is slim enough to fit the back seat of my car and still have some space for my maid to sit. Oh yes, my maid always wants me to take her whenever my hubby and I go out. She complains when she has to stay at home. When my parents came over to visit me, she had to stay at home because the car can't fit too many people and my maid was not happy about it. She scolded my parents for coming over and causing her to be left at home during family outing. My hubby and I have no plan to upgrade the car soon because we still have no budget for that. Besides, big car means more petrol. I still need to allocate the money for more urgent things like all the newborn needs and the house that is still under renovation. I want the house to be completed as soon as possible because the apartment I stay at the moment is getting smaller with the new addition to my family.
Ok, I think I've been sitting here quite sometime and I need to end this post quickly because my back is starting to ache and I'm getting hungry. Oh by the way, so far I've only put on 7Kgs in total and my body weight keeps going up and down. When I was pregnant with my 1st child, I gained 10Kgs in total for the whole duration of 9 months.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Potty training
My 3.8 years old son has just completed his potty training project. Now he is completely free of diaper, day and night. Yeah..I know..I know...it's a bit late but I am very satisfied with the process and the result. Basically, my son has already passed his potty training project for no-diaper during the day long time ago when he was only 2.5 years old. So, the potty training project this time was only for the night.
Only about 2 weeks ago, I finally got a green light from my husband to potty-train my son for no-diaper at night though I've been quietly training him as and when my hubby was not around but no good progress because my son knew he could still wear diaper when daddy was around.
My husband was very concerned about my son's lack of sleep if he had to be waken up in the middle of the night to pass urine and worried about me not having enough sleep if I had to wake up my son. But I believe, he was just very lazy to wake himself up to help my son to go to toilet at night and he didn't like our maid to put on her long face when she had to do more cleaning and washing of bedsheet, etc.,so my hubby requested me to keep my son diaper on longer.
So, after some jokes about my son not being able to let go his diaper until his teenage time, my husband finally opened up his eyes and agreed to help me to wake my son up and even to carry him to toilet every night to pass urine.
The project didn't go well for the first 1 week and of course, my maid really didn't like this project because she had to wash not only our bedsheet but also the blanket and pillow covers (though we put mattress protector, my son just couldn't sleep on 1 place), but she had no more supporter anymore since my hubby was on my side..wha..ha!
After the 1st week when my hubby was not around, I had to do the job of waking my son up and drag him to toilet (I'm pregnant so it's imposible to lift him up). Everynight before he sleeps I keep on telling and whispering to my son's ears not to pee on the bed. Miraculously, up to present, he nevers fails to wake up by himself and wake me up instead to help him to go to toilet.
Wha..ha..ha..I'm so happy that my son and I completed the project successfully only within 2 weeks. I thought it would take longer. This is great because then I don't have to buy more diaper for him. The cost can be allocated for his baby sister later.
Only about 2 weeks ago, I finally got a green light from my husband to potty-train my son for no-diaper at night though I've been quietly training him as and when my hubby was not around but no good progress because my son knew he could still wear diaper when daddy was around.
My husband was very concerned about my son's lack of sleep if he had to be waken up in the middle of the night to pass urine and worried about me not having enough sleep if I had to wake up my son. But I believe, he was just very lazy to wake himself up to help my son to go to toilet at night and he didn't like our maid to put on her long face when she had to do more cleaning and washing of bedsheet, etc.,so my hubby requested me to keep my son diaper on longer.
So, after some jokes about my son not being able to let go his diaper until his teenage time, my husband finally opened up his eyes and agreed to help me to wake my son up and even to carry him to toilet every night to pass urine.
The project didn't go well for the first 1 week and of course, my maid really didn't like this project because she had to wash not only our bedsheet but also the blanket and pillow covers (though we put mattress protector, my son just couldn't sleep on 1 place), but she had no more supporter anymore since my hubby was on my side..wha..ha!
After the 1st week when my hubby was not around, I had to do the job of waking my son up and drag him to toilet (I'm pregnant so it's imposible to lift him up). Everynight before he sleeps I keep on telling and whispering to my son's ears not to pee on the bed. Miraculously, up to present, he nevers fails to wake up by himself and wake me up instead to help him to go to toilet.
Wha..ha..ha..I'm so happy that my son and I completed the project successfully only within 2 weeks. I thought it would take longer. This is great because then I don't have to buy more diaper for him. The cost can be allocated for his baby sister later.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
32 weeks pregnant
I'm 32 weeks pregnant at the moment. Since the day I entered the third trimester pregnancy, I could feel that the most comfortable period of pregnancy has slowly been going away. My tummy is growing bigger everyday and it gets heavier. My body puts on weight as well though it is not too much compared to my first pregnancy. So far, I only put on about 7 kilograms.
My center of gravity has moved too and this makes me walk like a penguin. I have trouble sleeping every night because the baby tries to adjust her position all the time and I feel the pain in my lower hips every time I change position while sleeping. According to the scan, it's a baby girl, by the way. I hope it's right so I can 'close shop' with 1 boy and 1 girl... :)
Two weeks ago, I went for check up because I felt that the baby's position was already very low and I felt a painful cramp in my lower abdomen. I thought I was about to give birth already. But luckily it was only a false alarm. The baby's head was still in breech presentation. My ob/gyn asked me to stop walking too much but to sit up right and stand straight instead so that the baby could turn the head down by the force of gravity. I think this false alarm was triggered by the incident I had during the day when I had to walk up and down the staircase of more than 11 floor because the only 2 lifts in my apartment were malfunctioning.
Today, I went for my check up again and the good news is that the baby's head is already in the right position (cephalic presentation). I also had my tetanus jab (my 2nd time. I had it before when I was small) and now my left arm is very very sore... :(
The bad news is that my urine contains a slightly high level of protein. My ob/gyn is a bit concern about this because high level of protein in urine during pregnancy can lead to preeclampsia condition.
According to this website: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050111122343.htm,
if it is not monitored, preeclampsia can rapidly escalate to eclampsia, a condition in which a massive rise in blood pressure causes the mother to suffer a series of potentially fatal complications and forces premature delivery of the infant.
So far, I do not suffer from high blood pressure and my sugar level is still normal. Hopefully my protein level won't bring any danger to my pregnancy and me so that I can continue the pregnancy to the full term and the mother and baby will be in good condition and healthy during delivery. Please pray for me and my baby.
My center of gravity has moved too and this makes me walk like a penguin. I have trouble sleeping every night because the baby tries to adjust her position all the time and I feel the pain in my lower hips every time I change position while sleeping. According to the scan, it's a baby girl, by the way. I hope it's right so I can 'close shop' with 1 boy and 1 girl... :)
Two weeks ago, I went for check up because I felt that the baby's position was already very low and I felt a painful cramp in my lower abdomen. I thought I was about to give birth already. But luckily it was only a false alarm. The baby's head was still in breech presentation. My ob/gyn asked me to stop walking too much but to sit up right and stand straight instead so that the baby could turn the head down by the force of gravity. I think this false alarm was triggered by the incident I had during the day when I had to walk up and down the staircase of more than 11 floor because the only 2 lifts in my apartment were malfunctioning.
Today, I went for my check up again and the good news is that the baby's head is already in the right position (cephalic presentation). I also had my tetanus jab (my 2nd time. I had it before when I was small) and now my left arm is very very sore... :(
The bad news is that my urine contains a slightly high level of protein. My ob/gyn is a bit concern about this because high level of protein in urine during pregnancy can lead to preeclampsia condition.
According to this website: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050111122343.htm,
if it is not monitored, preeclampsia can rapidly escalate to eclampsia, a condition in which a massive rise in blood pressure causes the mother to suffer a series of potentially fatal complications and forces premature delivery of the infant.
So far, I do not suffer from high blood pressure and my sugar level is still normal. Hopefully my protein level won't bring any danger to my pregnancy and me so that I can continue the pregnancy to the full term and the mother and baby will be in good condition and healthy during delivery. Please pray for me and my baby.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Bahasa Indonesia Baru
Kalau anda orang Indonesia yang telah meninggalkan kampung halaman untuk tinggal di luar Indonesia lebih dari 10 tahun, anda akan merasa sangat sulit untuk mengikuti perkembangan bahasa Indonesia terutama kata-kata baru yang diucapkan sehari-hari oleh orang Indonesia di Indonesia. Apalagi kalau anda jarang pulang kampung dan jarang berhubungan dengan orang-orang di Indonesia.
Terus terang saya sangat merasakan hal ini. Kemampuan berbahasa Indonesia saya terbatas oleh kata-kata yang saya tahu terakhir kali sebelum saya meninggalkan Indonesia sehingga ketika saya berbicara bahasa Indonesia akan terdengar sangat resmi, lucu, dan ketinggalan jaman. Akhirnya, daripada saya menjadi bahan tertawaan, saya memilih untuk berbahasa Inggris saja karena saya juga merasa lebih familiar dan mudah menyampaikan maksud saya.
Akibatnya, bahasa Indonesia saya tidak berkembang dan bahkan cenderung kaku karena saya jarang memakainya.
Tentu saja sebagai bahasa ibu, sulit bagi saya untuk melupakan bahasa Indonesia. Tetapi setiap kali saya mendapat email dari teman-teman atau keluarga saya yang masih tinggal di Indonesia, selalu saja saya menemukan banyak istilah-istilah baru/kata-kata baru yang saya tidak pernah dengar sama sekali sebelumnya. Ada juga kata baru yang sudah pernah saya dengar tetapi artinya dan penggunaannya sungguh berbeda dengan yang pernah saya tahu sebelumnya. Kebanyakan kata-kata baru tersebut digunakan untuk bahasa sehari-hari atau lebih akrab disebut sebagai bahasa gaul.
Seperti bahasa lain, bahasa Indonesia pun mengalami evolusi dan ini adalah bagian dari evolusi bahasa Indonesia. Terus terang saya merasa penasaran untuk belajar bahasa Indonesia baru ini karena saya merasa janggal setiap kali mendengar/membaca kata-kata baru tersebut tetapi saya tidak tahu artinya.
Tetapi sayangnya, setiap kali saya menanyakan/mencari tahu arti dan asal kata-kata baru tersebut, selalu saja saya ditertawakan terlebih dahulu baru diberi jawaban. Bahkan kadang kala tidak dijawab sama sekali karena banyak orang kira saya hendak melucu. Mungkin saya tampak seperti mahluk Mars yang ingin belajar bahasa Bumi. Atau mungkin saya tampak seperti orang 'tempo doeloe'. Untung saja jaman sekarang adalah jaman internet dimana Google.com adalah senjata saya untuk mencari tahu hal apapun termasuk kata-kata baru bahasa Indonesia yang saya tidak tahu.
Selama 10 tahun lebih tinggal di luar Indonesia, sengingat dan setahu saya, kata-kata baru yang saya pelajari adalah:
Kalau anda pembaca setia blog saya, anda tahu bahwa saya selalu menggunakan bahasa Inggris. Tetapi kali ini, saya mencoba untuk menggunakan bahasa Indonesia karena saya ingin tahu apakah blog entry saya kali ini akan terasa aneh/kaku bila dibaca oleh orang-orang Indonesia baik yang tinggal di Indonesia maupun yang tinggal di luar Indonesia.
Saya akan sangat bersyukur bila anda sudi memberikan komentar anda.
Terus terang saya sangat merasakan hal ini. Kemampuan berbahasa Indonesia saya terbatas oleh kata-kata yang saya tahu terakhir kali sebelum saya meninggalkan Indonesia sehingga ketika saya berbicara bahasa Indonesia akan terdengar sangat resmi, lucu, dan ketinggalan jaman. Akhirnya, daripada saya menjadi bahan tertawaan, saya memilih untuk berbahasa Inggris saja karena saya juga merasa lebih familiar dan mudah menyampaikan maksud saya.
Akibatnya, bahasa Indonesia saya tidak berkembang dan bahkan cenderung kaku karena saya jarang memakainya.
Tentu saja sebagai bahasa ibu, sulit bagi saya untuk melupakan bahasa Indonesia. Tetapi setiap kali saya mendapat email dari teman-teman atau keluarga saya yang masih tinggal di Indonesia, selalu saja saya menemukan banyak istilah-istilah baru/kata-kata baru yang saya tidak pernah dengar sama sekali sebelumnya. Ada juga kata baru yang sudah pernah saya dengar tetapi artinya dan penggunaannya sungguh berbeda dengan yang pernah saya tahu sebelumnya. Kebanyakan kata-kata baru tersebut digunakan untuk bahasa sehari-hari atau lebih akrab disebut sebagai bahasa gaul.
Seperti bahasa lain, bahasa Indonesia pun mengalami evolusi dan ini adalah bagian dari evolusi bahasa Indonesia. Terus terang saya merasa penasaran untuk belajar bahasa Indonesia baru ini karena saya merasa janggal setiap kali mendengar/membaca kata-kata baru tersebut tetapi saya tidak tahu artinya.
Tetapi sayangnya, setiap kali saya menanyakan/mencari tahu arti dan asal kata-kata baru tersebut, selalu saja saya ditertawakan terlebih dahulu baru diberi jawaban. Bahkan kadang kala tidak dijawab sama sekali karena banyak orang kira saya hendak melucu. Mungkin saya tampak seperti mahluk Mars yang ingin belajar bahasa Bumi. Atau mungkin saya tampak seperti orang 'tempo doeloe'. Untung saja jaman sekarang adalah jaman internet dimana Google.com adalah senjata saya untuk mencari tahu hal apapun termasuk kata-kata baru bahasa Indonesia yang saya tidak tahu.
Selama 10 tahun lebih tinggal di luar Indonesia, sengingat dan setahu saya, kata-kata baru yang saya pelajari adalah:
- BT (saya mulai dengar kata ini pertama kali tahun 2000) - yang sampai saat ini terus terang saya tidak terlalu tahu pasti kepanjangannya tetapi setahu saya, BT banyak dipakai untuk mendeskripsikan keadaan yang membosankan.
- Jadul (pertama kali baca tahun 2006) - ternyata singkatan "jaman dulu".
- Jablai (pertama kali dengar kata ini tahun 2007) - ternyata singkatan "jarang dibelai".
- Kopdar (pertama kali dengar tahun 2007) - singkatan "kopi darat" yang banyak dipakai untuk menerangkan pertemuan yang diadakan oleh mereka-mereka yang sebelumnya kenal melalui internet.
- Secara (pertama kali baca tahun 2007) - Setahu saya, pemakaian kata ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan kata "dengan cara" + kata sifat. Tetapi sejak 2007, saya penasaran sekali ingin tahu arti pemakaian kata "secara" yang sering sekali saya temukan ketika berkomunikasi dengan orang-orang di Indonesia. Rasanya pemakaian kata "secara" sudah tidak pada tempatnya. Selama setahun saya mencari tahu mengapa orang Indonesia memakai kata "secara" tidak pada tempatnya dan saya baru saja menemukan jawabannya di sini: http://ronny.haryan.to/archives/2008/04/18/secara-goblok/#comments
Kalau anda pembaca setia blog saya, anda tahu bahwa saya selalu menggunakan bahasa Inggris. Tetapi kali ini, saya mencoba untuk menggunakan bahasa Indonesia karena saya ingin tahu apakah blog entry saya kali ini akan terasa aneh/kaku bila dibaca oleh orang-orang Indonesia baik yang tinggal di Indonesia maupun yang tinggal di luar Indonesia.
Saya akan sangat bersyukur bila anda sudi memberikan komentar anda.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Happy Father's Day
To all fathers in the world,
May God bless you always and give you health, strength, and guidance to pull through each and every day of your life together with your loved ones.
May you always be great father for your children and great husband/partner for your wife.
Love and protect your children with all your heart and mind. In return, you'll gain their love and respect you deserve.
Happy father's day!!
May God bless you always and give you health, strength, and guidance to pull through each and every day of your life together with your loved ones.
May you always be great father for your children and great husband/partner for your wife.
Love and protect your children with all your heart and mind. In return, you'll gain their love and respect you deserve.
Happy father's day!!
Thursday, June 05, 2008
World Environment Day (WED)
Today, 5th of June, is World Environment Day and the slogan for this year celebration is Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy. For more information about WED 2008, visit http://www.unep.org/wed/2008/english/About_WED_2008/index.asp
What have I been doing to take an active part to celebrate WED?
Hmmmm... I never even think like that. In my opinion, I should start every thing (especially good thing) from my part and spread the good things to others.
There is still 1 important thing that I promise my self to do: stop using plastic bag.
I've been trying to reduce the use of plastic bag as much as I can but I still need to use plastic bag to throw the rubbish. I plan to make a carton box from recycled papers (something like the egg carton) to throw rubbish so that I can stop using plastic bags to throw rubbish.
So, what have you done and will do to support World Environment Day?
What have I been doing to take an active part to celebrate WED?
- Recycling: I've done this for nearly 6 years now. I separate my household waste into recyclable materials (such as cloths, paper, glass, plastic, and other things that I can send to recycle center) and non-recyclable materials. Some of the recyclable materials I recycle at home by turning them into beautiful decorative items and re-use them. I like to use old printed papers for my origami projects. I diligently send the old newspaper & magazines to the recycle center for some pocket money.. :) Sometimes I can even use the money to pay for the newspaper monthly subscription. So, it's really a recycle thing.. :D
- No Air Conditioner (A/C) when it's not an emergency: Since I don't come from a rich family, I'm used to live without A/C. My skin can cope with the hot and humid weather very well as long as it is not a direct heat from the sun. I can see a huge drop in my electricity bill when A/C is not in use.
- Switch off electrical power when not in use: Every night before I sleep, I'll make sure I only use the least amount of power at home. I unplug all the electricity plugs that I don't use at night. It helps me to reduce my electricity bill and also reduce the risk of fire (from short-circuit). I'm so particular about this until I know exactly which main switch controls parts of my house switches so I can isolate them.
- Switch off the lights when not in use: not only this will reduce my electricity bill, switching off the light when not in use will also help to prolong the life of the bulb.
- Close the water taps tightly: I get irritated when I hear water drips so I always make sure all water taps are closed tightly and fix all the leak pipes around the house. It saves my water bill.. :)
- No driving when it's not necessary: I prefer to walk then to drive. Driving is a stressful thing to do for me and it can burn a hole in my pocket because of the expensive petrol. Walk is a lot better. It's environmentally friendly and good for my health.
- Sign up for electronic bills/statement as much as I can.
Hmmmm... I never even think like that. In my opinion, I should start every thing (especially good thing) from my part and spread the good things to others.
There is still 1 important thing that I promise my self to do: stop using plastic bag.
I've been trying to reduce the use of plastic bag as much as I can but I still need to use plastic bag to throw the rubbish. I plan to make a carton box from recycled papers (something like the egg carton) to throw rubbish so that I can stop using plastic bags to throw rubbish.
So, what have you done and will do to support World Environment Day?
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Sharing important knowledge
Some of the information below I received when I attended an ante-natal class.
These are all important information I can think of to share with you for the moment. I hope this basic information can help you to become more knowledgeable and wise parents.
- Breast milk is the best: I was successfully breastfed my son for 15 months and I can't stress enough how important it is to give your babies, from newborn - 6 months old, only breast milk (exclusive breastfeeding) because breast milk is the only thing that their tiny stomach can digest. Breast milk also provides complete nutritions for your babies to grow while helping all the internal organs to mature and can function properly. It's cheap and convenient. It protects your babies against infection and allergy. You will see that the rest of the information I give below will always referred back to breast milk as no. 1 solution. It is also important to know the correct way to breastfeed your baby, again I stress the word, breastfeed. Not nipplefeed. Make sure baby is latched on properly to the breast so that mother doesn't feel the pain on the nipple during breastfeeding. Many women do not want to breastfeed because they can't stand the pain.
Visit La Leche League website for more info about breastfeeding or ask guidance from other breastfeeding moms. - Breastfeeding moms must be relaxed and happy to help increasing the milk production. For more information about how breast milk is produce, read here: http://www.babies.sutterhealth.org/breastfeeding/bf_production.html
- Breast milk produces at night so breastfeeding mothers have to breastfeed their babies at night so that the breasts will not be too full. Full breasts are very uncomfortable and painful.
- Do not put breast milk in a glass because breast milk can loose its important nutrition when it's put in a glass. Use a plastic cup/container instead.
- No water for newborn to 6 months old babies. Only breastmilk (or only if mother can't produce breast milk, then give formula): According to the latest news I read from Reuters, giving too much water to babies below 6 months old and younger can put babies at risk of a potentially life-threatening condition known as water intoxication because their kidneys are not yet mature. Too much water will make babies' bodies to release sodium along with excess water and losing sodium can affect brain activity.
You can read the rest of the article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL76777020080527 - When your baby has jaundice (yellow skin): Jaundice is caused by the excessive amount of bilirubin in the blood. It is dangerous when bilirubin level is more than 15 mg. The treatment: Blue light - to help to bring down the level of bilirubin faster, give breast milk NOT water because bilirubin will come out together with the stool not with urine. Water will come out as urine which won't contain the bilirubin. So, beware when someone asks you to give more water to your jaundice baby. Read more about jaundice here: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001559.htm#
- When your baby has wind/colic: No traditional herbs for breastfeed moms. Breastfeed more. Do not apply oil/ointment on the stomach because it can caused liver damage (some mothers like to apply oil/ointment such as minyak telon/minyak kayu putih (Cajaput oil) to baby's stomach every time after bath. This is dangerous because after a warm bath, baby's skin can absorb the oil/ointment very well.
- Nappy rash on baby: Change the nappy frequently. Even if you buy the most expensive nappy, you still have to change it frequently because you do not want the urine to stain your baby's skin that can cause the rash.
- When your baby has eye discharge: The treatment for eye discharge: antibiotic eye ointment or drops, frequent cleaning of the eyes carefully and gently, massage the tear duct which may be blocked.
- When your baby has heat rash (red rashes on the skin): Do not over-cloth the baby. Bath the baby more to cool down.
- No pacifier: I don't recommend to give pacifier to your babies because: it's unhygienic (your baby can get oral thrush - fungal overgrowth in baby's mouth). Pacifier can cause nipple confusion on breastfed babies, and it's dangerous when it's accidentally swallowed (baby will die because of choking).
- Sleeping position for babies: Back is the best. Lie on the back to sleep. Never leave your baby sleep on the tummy. It's a common cause of SID (sudden infant death/cot death).
- Always strap in your babies (children) in the right car seat for them when traveling: the baby car seat must be properly and securely installed at the rear (back) seat of the car. Do not install baby car seat in the front seat and the passenger side with airbag when your car is equipped with airbag. Visit this website for more information: http://www.edmunds.com/advice/womenfamilies/articles/104581/article.html
- Get as much as information you can and always check with your paediatrician/other specialists before you do anything dangerous to your children.
These are all important information I can think of to share with you for the moment. I hope this basic information can help you to become more knowledgeable and wise parents.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Ante-natal class
I'm so glad I finally managed to drag my husband to attend ante-natal class. He missed the 1st one 4 years ago because of his work commitment and distance that kept us apart.
To me, attending an ante-natal class is a very important part of pregnancy period. Although I have attended before, I chose to attend again on my 2nd pregnancy because I believe the knowledge that I received is very valuable to prepare me and my support person to care for our newborn later. Besides, I needed to know any updated information regarding babies/children immunization, sicknesses and how to prevent them, and also great information on what to do/give and not to do/give to babies.
My 1st ante-natal class was provided by Birthcare (great postnatal hospital) in New Zealand. It was a free (fully subsidized by government) 3-day class from morning 'till afternoon. I was given 2 books containing the course material, one book for the father and one book for the mother. The 3-day class was very elaborate and the information given was great especially for 1st time mother like me who had to care for the 1st born by herself. I learned all about to go through my pregnancy, the birthing methods available, the painkiller options during labor, equipment used during delivery, tips on easy-quick delivery, the importance of breastfeeding, how to breastfeed correctly, and parenting education. Too bad my husband couldn't join me, so for 2 sessions my partner was an empty chair then on the final session, one of my good friends agreed to become my temporary birthing partner.
My 2nd ante-natal class was in Malaysia. It's provided by the hospital in where I am going to give birth later.
It was a half a day class. The fee was RM20 per couple in exchange of buffet lunch and all important things to bring to hospital for delivery. The speakers for this ante-natal course consisted of a paediatrician, an obstetrician and gynecology, a nurse, an anaesthetist, and a physiotherapist. I learned a lot of new things in this class especially things regarding breastfeeding, babies, and parenting in Malaysia in addition to the same knowledge I received on my previous ante-natal class in New Zealand.
My husband and I agreed that joining this class really gave us more knowledge about taking care our children. We learned many things that most people take for granted thinking that they already know when actually they know the wrong things.
It's great that my husband was there with me listening to the same information so that when we face a problem concerning our children, we will react the same way and not blaming one another instead. This is a very important point to highlight why it is very important for me to take my support person to attend an ante-natal class.
If you are pregnant, I really suggest you attend an ante-natal class with your support person (your husband, your mother, your mother in-law) so that every one will get the same knowledge and you, as a mother who only wants the best for your children, will not be blamed for doing things that consider new to your support persons. Your mother/mother in-law always think that they know everything better than you do because they are experience mothers, but if they never update their motherhood knowledge, then they will teach you all the wrong things (old information) which can be dangerous for your children. The knowledge you receive during ante-natal course will act as your mythbusters so you know for sure what to do/give to your children.
By attending ante-natal class, you and your support person will be more prepared and relax to welcome the wonderful addition in your family.
To me, attending an ante-natal class is a very important part of pregnancy period. Although I have attended before, I chose to attend again on my 2nd pregnancy because I believe the knowledge that I received is very valuable to prepare me and my support person to care for our newborn later. Besides, I needed to know any updated information regarding babies/children immunization, sicknesses and how to prevent them, and also great information on what to do/give and not to do/give to babies.
My 1st ante-natal class was provided by Birthcare (great postnatal hospital) in New Zealand. It was a free (fully subsidized by government) 3-day class from morning 'till afternoon. I was given 2 books containing the course material, one book for the father and one book for the mother. The 3-day class was very elaborate and the information given was great especially for 1st time mother like me who had to care for the 1st born by herself. I learned all about to go through my pregnancy, the birthing methods available, the painkiller options during labor, equipment used during delivery, tips on easy-quick delivery, the importance of breastfeeding, how to breastfeed correctly, and parenting education. Too bad my husband couldn't join me, so for 2 sessions my partner was an empty chair then on the final session, one of my good friends agreed to become my temporary birthing partner.
My 2nd ante-natal class was in Malaysia. It's provided by the hospital in where I am going to give birth later.
It was a half a day class. The fee was RM20 per couple in exchange of buffet lunch and all important things to bring to hospital for delivery. The speakers for this ante-natal course consisted of a paediatrician, an obstetrician and gynecology, a nurse, an anaesthetist, and a physiotherapist. I learned a lot of new things in this class especially things regarding breastfeeding, babies, and parenting in Malaysia in addition to the same knowledge I received on my previous ante-natal class in New Zealand.
My husband and I agreed that joining this class really gave us more knowledge about taking care our children. We learned many things that most people take for granted thinking that they already know when actually they know the wrong things.
It's great that my husband was there with me listening to the same information so that when we face a problem concerning our children, we will react the same way and not blaming one another instead. This is a very important point to highlight why it is very important for me to take my support person to attend an ante-natal class.
If you are pregnant, I really suggest you attend an ante-natal class with your support person (your husband, your mother, your mother in-law) so that every one will get the same knowledge and you, as a mother who only wants the best for your children, will not be blamed for doing things that consider new to your support persons. Your mother/mother in-law always think that they know everything better than you do because they are experience mothers, but if they never update their motherhood knowledge, then they will teach you all the wrong things (old information) which can be dangerous for your children. The knowledge you receive during ante-natal course will act as your mythbusters so you know for sure what to do/give to your children.
By attending ante-natal class, you and your support person will be more prepared and relax to welcome the wonderful addition in your family.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Happy Mother's Day
My mother's day prayer this year will be focused on mothers all over the world who are facing difficulties in their life and in their journey as a mother and will also be focused on mothers who were forced to become a mother against their will.
May God give these mothers strength, guidance, and patience, to pull them through each and every day of their lives.
So that with their big heart, these mothers will still be able to give their unlimited amount of love to their children and family and in return, their children will be able to learn how to love others.
To all mother in the world: Happy Mother's day.
May God give these mothers strength, guidance, and patience, to pull them through each and every day of their lives.
So that with their big heart, these mothers will still be able to give their unlimited amount of love to their children and family and in return, their children will be able to learn how to love others.
To all mother in the world: Happy Mother's day.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Malaysia Airlines VS Air Asia
From 5th May, Malaysia Airlines has been introducing a zero (0) Ringgit fare (passenger only needs to pay for airport tax and surcharges) for its domestic flight tickets. According to the letter from its Managing Director/CEO, Dato' Sri Idris Jala, his airlines has put aside up to 30% of the seats for the these Special Everyday Low Fares.
This is an important move by Malaysia Airlines to be able to compete with Air Asia, which has been giving away zero Ringgit tickets on any special occasions, such as its birthday, since long long time ago.
So now everyone traveling within Malaysia is able to enjoy Malaysia Airlines 5-star service on board of a world's 5-star airlines. They just need to purchase the ticket online at www.malaysiaairlines.com, at least 30 days before the flight departure, and cannot change their mind.
With a ticket price a lot cheaper compared to the normal price, passenger is allocated 20kg check-in baggage allowance, free meal on board, and an allocated seat with seat number (you don't have to fight for your preferred seat).
Air Asia fired back this campaign by offering to pay the difference to any of its passengers if they can find any MAS airfare that is lower than the cheapest offered by Air Asia. This airlines is going to even lower the price of its ticket by introducing sub-zero Fare campaign that will be launched soon.
I personally find this battle very amusing. It's funny to see how Malaysia Airlines reacts to the hard competition given by Air Asia.
It should not feel threatened and compete with Air Asia because these two airlines are in a different class/group which supposed to serve different group of people with different tastes of traveling by air.
Why don't MAS try to focus on giving hard competition to Singapore Airlines (SIA) instead? Try to see any opportunities beyond what SIA can see.
But looks like MAS chooses to abandon the fight with SIA and admitted that SIA is a better airlines. So it shifted its focus to go head-on with Air Asia instead knowing exactly that Air Asia has to go to the battle with its own limited force.
This battle will leave SIA smiling because then SIA will be alone in its class. When there is no competition in the market, passengers will have limited option and this can't be good for them.
I personally has been an Air Asia fanatic because so far I have been able to save a lot and still enjoy traveling to my favorite destinations.
Now, I will have to consider MAS because I would love to enjoy the 5 star service with a cheap ticket.
If I fly with Air Asia, I'll get cheap ticket with budget-style service.
I have to pay more to get any services such as: my check-in baggage (15 kg luggage allowance), priority boarding, and for my meal on board) but then I will fly with new planes (safe, fast, and comfortable).
If I fly with MAS, I'll get a little bit more expensive ticket but with 5-star service.
I don't have to pay for anything extra. My luggage allowance is 20kg. I'll get to board first when traveling with my children (free of charge) and I don't have to fight for my seat.
On top of that, there's free meal on board. Hmmmmm....it sounds a better option than Air Asia.
But then, I will fly with old aircrafts.
Let me calculate again everything and see if at the end MAS will win my choice... : )
Update:
Malaysia Airlines is starting its Everyday Low Fares for ASEAN routes today, 21st May 2008 until 3rd June 2008 for travel period: 1st July - 14th December 2008. HURRY!! HURRY!! It's a very good deal not to be missed!
This is an important move by Malaysia Airlines to be able to compete with Air Asia, which has been giving away zero Ringgit tickets on any special occasions, such as its birthday, since long long time ago.
So now everyone traveling within Malaysia is able to enjoy Malaysia Airlines 5-star service on board of a world's 5-star airlines. They just need to purchase the ticket online at www.malaysiaairlines.com, at least 30 days before the flight departure, and cannot change their mind.
With a ticket price a lot cheaper compared to the normal price, passenger is allocated 20kg check-in baggage allowance, free meal on board, and an allocated seat with seat number (you don't have to fight for your preferred seat).
Air Asia fired back this campaign by offering to pay the difference to any of its passengers if they can find any MAS airfare that is lower than the cheapest offered by Air Asia. This airlines is going to even lower the price of its ticket by introducing sub-zero Fare campaign that will be launched soon.
I personally find this battle very amusing. It's funny to see how Malaysia Airlines reacts to the hard competition given by Air Asia.
It should not feel threatened and compete with Air Asia because these two airlines are in a different class/group which supposed to serve different group of people with different tastes of traveling by air.
Why don't MAS try to focus on giving hard competition to Singapore Airlines (SIA) instead? Try to see any opportunities beyond what SIA can see.
But looks like MAS chooses to abandon the fight with SIA and admitted that SIA is a better airlines. So it shifted its focus to go head-on with Air Asia instead knowing exactly that Air Asia has to go to the battle with its own limited force.
This battle will leave SIA smiling because then SIA will be alone in its class. When there is no competition in the market, passengers will have limited option and this can't be good for them.
I personally has been an Air Asia fanatic because so far I have been able to save a lot and still enjoy traveling to my favorite destinations.
Now, I will have to consider MAS because I would love to enjoy the 5 star service with a cheap ticket.
If I fly with Air Asia, I'll get cheap ticket with budget-style service.
I have to pay more to get any services such as: my check-in baggage (15 kg luggage allowance), priority boarding, and for my meal on board) but then I will fly with new planes (safe, fast, and comfortable).
If I fly with MAS, I'll get a little bit more expensive ticket but with 5-star service.
I don't have to pay for anything extra. My luggage allowance is 20kg. I'll get to board first when traveling with my children (free of charge) and I don't have to fight for my seat.
On top of that, there's free meal on board. Hmmmmm....it sounds a better option than Air Asia.
But then, I will fly with old aircrafts.
Let me calculate again everything and see if at the end MAS will win my choice... : )
Update:
Malaysia Airlines is starting its Everyday Low Fares for ASEAN routes today, 21st May 2008 until 3rd June 2008 for travel period: 1st July - 14th December 2008. HURRY!! HURRY!! It's a very good deal not to be missed!
Friday, May 02, 2008
Maid or no maid?
As a housewife and a mother, I'm sure I'm not the only one who is facing the dilemma whether or not to have a maid (domestic helper) to assist us in our daily chores.
Personally, I do not really need a maid because I can do all the housework by myself. Thanks to my parents who have done great job for allowing me & my brother to participate in doing the housework since we were very small and we grew up to become a clean-freak.. :) (I think my brother is worst than me.. :)).
But then my other half is the total opposite of me. He can't live without a maid or a helper or someone that picks up his dirty cloths on the floor. He said he has no time to do unimportant things like cleaning up papers from his desk or do the dishes. He prefers to have someone else to do the job.
To me, having a maid is a very serious expense that a family needs to think about more than just twice. The cost of hiring a maid can already burn a big hole in my pocket, not to mention about providing her with health care/insurance and personal necessities which she can just ask for top up anytime, plus, of course, her salary and bonuses. I take it like I am hiring a professional worker but then unfortunately, the maid that I hire is far from a professional worker. She did graduate from a high-school but then just like most maid from Indonesia, my maid comes from a very remote area where electricity is something that the people there are longing to have.
Since this is not my first time having a maid, I can understand her situation. Since the first day she started to work for me, I have been teaching and coaching her so that her work performance is able to meet my standard and expectation. Along the way, I constantly have to lower down my standard and expectation and close one eye if I don't want to get depression.
Not just that. I also need to work around the budget to make sure that she won't burn more holes in my pocket because she just couldn't care less about working carefully with my kitchen & household equipments. Before she came to work with me, I had all electronic fancy household and kitchen equipments to help me doing my chores faster and easier. The expensive things I bought are supposed to last at least more than a year. Though I have constantly reminded my maid NEVER TO TOUCH my fancy equipments, it's just her habit of ignoring my instructions. So, I had to hide away those expensive stuffs and bought the cheaper version or just provide her with the simplest equipment possible.
But then, this will also present me with another problem. Since it's cheaper, the quality is also less. And since my maid works like a robot with no control, she is able to destroy things in matter of days!! Nothing lasts at least a month! So, I have to keep on buying the new ones so that she can continue her work. This is not to mention her attitude problem that I have to bear every time. Oh well, what to expect? I just have to treat her professionally in 1 direction. I can't hope to get a professional work attitude from her since she doesn't even know what it means to be a professional worker... :\
To my other half, all these things are just small matters because to him, the most important thing is that he doesn't have to clean up after his mess and can keep on creating a mess as often as he wants to.
To me, this is a nightmare because I am the one that has to deal with her everyday and I am constantly worry about controlling my expenses.
But then, I have to admit, the maid helps me so that I can do other things such as updating this blog and taking care of my child and my self.
Oh what a dilemma!!Only I and those having the same experiences like me will understand how it really feels... :| Definitely not my other half. We are in a different boat... :(
Personally, I do not really need a maid because I can do all the housework by myself. Thanks to my parents who have done great job for allowing me & my brother to participate in doing the housework since we were very small and we grew up to become a clean-freak.. :) (I think my brother is worst than me.. :)).
But then my other half is the total opposite of me. He can't live without a maid or a helper or someone that picks up his dirty cloths on the floor. He said he has no time to do unimportant things like cleaning up papers from his desk or do the dishes. He prefers to have someone else to do the job.
To me, having a maid is a very serious expense that a family needs to think about more than just twice. The cost of hiring a maid can already burn a big hole in my pocket, not to mention about providing her with health care/insurance and personal necessities which she can just ask for top up anytime, plus, of course, her salary and bonuses. I take it like I am hiring a professional worker but then unfortunately, the maid that I hire is far from a professional worker. She did graduate from a high-school but then just like most maid from Indonesia, my maid comes from a very remote area where electricity is something that the people there are longing to have.
Since this is not my first time having a maid, I can understand her situation. Since the first day she started to work for me, I have been teaching and coaching her so that her work performance is able to meet my standard and expectation. Along the way, I constantly have to lower down my standard and expectation and close one eye if I don't want to get depression.
Not just that. I also need to work around the budget to make sure that she won't burn more holes in my pocket because she just couldn't care less about working carefully with my kitchen & household equipments. Before she came to work with me, I had all electronic fancy household and kitchen equipments to help me doing my chores faster and easier. The expensive things I bought are supposed to last at least more than a year. Though I have constantly reminded my maid NEVER TO TOUCH my fancy equipments, it's just her habit of ignoring my instructions. So, I had to hide away those expensive stuffs and bought the cheaper version or just provide her with the simplest equipment possible.
But then, this will also present me with another problem. Since it's cheaper, the quality is also less. And since my maid works like a robot with no control, she is able to destroy things in matter of days!! Nothing lasts at least a month! So, I have to keep on buying the new ones so that she can continue her work. This is not to mention her attitude problem that I have to bear every time. Oh well, what to expect? I just have to treat her professionally in 1 direction. I can't hope to get a professional work attitude from her since she doesn't even know what it means to be a professional worker... :\
To my other half, all these things are just small matters because to him, the most important thing is that he doesn't have to clean up after his mess and can keep on creating a mess as often as he wants to.
To me, this is a nightmare because I am the one that has to deal with her everyday and I am constantly worry about controlling my expenses.
But then, I have to admit, the maid helps me so that I can do other things such as updating this blog and taking care of my child and my self.
Oh what a dilemma!!Only I and those having the same experiences like me will understand how it really feels... :| Definitely not my other half. We are in a different boat... :(
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Checked Baggage Handling Fee@Air Asia
Pay attention people! If you fly with Air Asia, starting 21 April 2008, you have to pay for checked baggage handling fee of RM3/bag-one way (if you pay online) or RM5/bag-one way (if you pay at the check-in counter).
For more information, please check Air Asia website:
http://www.airasia.com/site/my/en/page.jsp?reference=baggage
For more information, please check Air Asia website:
http://www.airasia.com/site/my/en/page.jsp?reference=baggage
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The sweetest thing
Last night, after came back from the hospital (previous post), again, I had a big argument with my other half in the kitchen. My 3.5 year old son heard it and run to the kitchen to see us. He saw me crying and asked me, "Why are you crying, mommy?" I told him nothing happened. Mommy was just a little bit sad. Then he came up closer to me and tapped my leg and said, "It's ok, mommy. Don't cry! Don't be sad!" He took my hand and asked me to sit down. I sat down (while still sobbing).
Then my son came up to me again with his red ball, gave it to me and said, "Here my ball, mommy. I give this ball for you. Don't cry anymore. Don't be sad, ok?" Then he took his cookies and gave it to me while saying, "Here my cookies, mommy. You can have them all. I give my cookies all for you. Don't cry, ok?" While sobbing, I really couldn't stop smiling. My son saw it and said, "Mommy is smiling. Mommy is not crying anymore. Mommy is happy again because I gave everything for mommy." Then he asked me again, "Why are you sad, mommy?" I tried to put myself together and answered him, "Looks like daddy forgot how to love mommy." Then I heard my little boy said, "Daddy, daddy, you have to love mommy. Come here! Come here! I show you how to love mommy. See..like this (while hugging me and kissing me)." Then he continued, "Now you do, daddy! You hug mommy and you kiss mommy." His daddy did what he said. Then my boy said, "Like that, daddy. Like that. You love mommy. Good daddy!"
This time, I really put on a big smile on my face. My son looked extremely happy to be able to make me smile again. He thought his mission is accomplished and he returned to watch his shows on tele.
My son is the definitely the best medicine for my great depression. This little man is the sweetest person I know and I'm so glad I'm his mother.
Then my son came up to me again with his red ball, gave it to me and said, "Here my ball, mommy. I give this ball for you. Don't cry anymore. Don't be sad, ok?" Then he took his cookies and gave it to me while saying, "Here my cookies, mommy. You can have them all. I give my cookies all for you. Don't cry, ok?" While sobbing, I really couldn't stop smiling. My son saw it and said, "Mommy is smiling. Mommy is not crying anymore. Mommy is happy again because I gave everything for mommy." Then he asked me again, "Why are you sad, mommy?" I tried to put myself together and answered him, "Looks like daddy forgot how to love mommy." Then I heard my little boy said, "Daddy, daddy, you have to love mommy. Come here! Come here! I show you how to love mommy. See..like this (while hugging me and kissing me)." Then he continued, "Now you do, daddy! You hug mommy and you kiss mommy." His daddy did what he said. Then my boy said, "Like that, daddy. Like that. You love mommy. Good daddy!"
This time, I really put on a big smile on my face. My son looked extremely happy to be able to make me smile again. He thought his mission is accomplished and he returned to watch his shows on tele.
My son is the definitely the best medicine for my great depression. This little man is the sweetest person I know and I'm so glad I'm his mother.
Temporary memory lost
Yesterday was the worst day in my life. I had a big argument with my other half. So, to release the anger, I walked aimlessly touring Ipoh town for about 2 hours in the mid of the day. When I got very hungry, I stopped by at the hospital closes to my house to have lunch at the coffee shop there. I was very sad, tired, thirsty, and hungry. In the coffee shop I was greeted by a group of nurses from the pediatric clinic and I also met the nurse from my O & G clinic. Talking to them has made me forget for a while about my sadness.
The nurse from O & G saw that I looked very tired and unwell. So, she suggested me to see the specialist to get checked. So, I got my urine checked first before seeing the specialist. From the urine test, the nurse found out that I was dehydrated, exhausted, and there was high level sugar content in my urine. It was a red alert for every one. So, my specialist quickly assessed my condition and my baby. He suspected I suffered from great depression and referred me to a different specialist from different hospital.
Once every thing's done at O & G, I quickly called a taxi to take me to the referred hospital. When the operator asked me to give my name, my contact number, and the address, suddenly, I just could not remember a thing. Suddenly my mind was blank. It was like a chunk of my memory was removed from my brain. I forced to remember but I just could not!
The operator asked me to read the information from somewhere but I just couldn't get any information to help me remember other than the name of the hospital as my pick up point. Luckily not too long, the taxi arrived and I showed the taxi driver where I want to go by showing the reference letter from O & G specialist. Along the way, I tried hard to remember things about me, but I just couldn't.
When I arrived at the other hospital, I was sent to the right clinic by the front desk officer. In the clinic, again, I had difficulty to give my details for registration. The nurse asked me to sit down and tried my best to remember things about me slowly. Suddenly I remembered that I had a name card. So, I took out my name card and gave the details in there. I was very happy. From there, I could remember my details again.
When doctor saw me, I told him what had happened. He said that temporary memory lost that I suffered from was triggered by the great depression I had.
He prescribed me some medicine, but I think I wouldn't need the medicine if only I had enough support and love from the people around me.
The nurse from O & G saw that I looked very tired and unwell. So, she suggested me to see the specialist to get checked. So, I got my urine checked first before seeing the specialist. From the urine test, the nurse found out that I was dehydrated, exhausted, and there was high level sugar content in my urine. It was a red alert for every one. So, my specialist quickly assessed my condition and my baby. He suspected I suffered from great depression and referred me to a different specialist from different hospital.
Once every thing's done at O & G, I quickly called a taxi to take me to the referred hospital. When the operator asked me to give my name, my contact number, and the address, suddenly, I just could not remember a thing. Suddenly my mind was blank. It was like a chunk of my memory was removed from my brain. I forced to remember but I just could not!
The operator asked me to read the information from somewhere but I just couldn't get any information to help me remember other than the name of the hospital as my pick up point. Luckily not too long, the taxi arrived and I showed the taxi driver where I want to go by showing the reference letter from O & G specialist. Along the way, I tried hard to remember things about me, but I just couldn't.
When I arrived at the other hospital, I was sent to the right clinic by the front desk officer. In the clinic, again, I had difficulty to give my details for registration. The nurse asked me to sit down and tried my best to remember things about me slowly. Suddenly I remembered that I had a name card. So, I took out my name card and gave the details in there. I was very happy. From there, I could remember my details again.
When doctor saw me, I told him what had happened. He said that temporary memory lost that I suffered from was triggered by the great depression I had.
He prescribed me some medicine, but I think I wouldn't need the medicine if only I had enough support and love from the people around me.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Walk slowly, mommy!!
Yesterday morning I fell down in front of the lift of my apartment. I twisted my ankle and bumped my right shoulder on the floor. I didn't remember how exactly that happened. It happened very fast. I was talking to my husband while walking towards the lift. I didn't notice there were puddles on the floor. Suddenly I was already on the floor and feeling a tremendous pain on my left leg. I laid still on the floor, didn't dare to move a muscle. I was in shock. The first thing came to my mind was the baby in my womb. "My baby. I hope my baby is ok." I kept on repeating that sentence. My husband was in shock too. He tried to help me to get up again. He kept on asking me if I was ok or not.
When I finally managed to get up again, I couldn't say a word. I was still too numb to speak and worried so much about my baby. I quickly checked if I was bleeding or not. There was not any blood coming out of my body. Fuih!! Thank you, God! I knew I couldn't blame anyone. It was my fault. I was not careful enough; but according to my husband, my slippers were to blame. He kept on blaming me for wearing the slippers because the slippers didn't have a good grip anymore. Never mind my slippers, it was all my fault for not paying attention while walking. I just prayed hard so that the baby was not affected at all.
The whole day all I could do was laying down on the bed feeling the pain all over my body. I sprained my left ankle. My right shoulder and my right hip got blue black bruises. I hope I fell down on my side so that my baby bump was untouched.
I couldn't come down to pick up my son when he returned from school. When he saw me laying down on the bed, he asked me, "What happened with you, mommy?" I told him I fell down and sprained my ankle. With his serious face while holding my hands, he said to me, "That's why you have to walk slowly, mommy. If you walked slowly, you will not fall down anymore."
Wha..ha..ha..I tried my best to hide my smile and put on my sad face and said, "Oh yes, darling. Thank you for your advice. I'll walk slowly next time, ok?" Then I saw him smiling at me. Oh my boy! He's just the best thing that ever happened to me. I pray so that the second baby will be as brilliant as the big brother.
When I finally managed to get up again, I couldn't say a word. I was still too numb to speak and worried so much about my baby. I quickly checked if I was bleeding or not. There was not any blood coming out of my body. Fuih!! Thank you, God! I knew I couldn't blame anyone. It was my fault. I was not careful enough; but according to my husband, my slippers were to blame. He kept on blaming me for wearing the slippers because the slippers didn't have a good grip anymore. Never mind my slippers, it was all my fault for not paying attention while walking. I just prayed hard so that the baby was not affected at all.
The whole day all I could do was laying down on the bed feeling the pain all over my body. I sprained my left ankle. My right shoulder and my right hip got blue black bruises. I hope I fell down on my side so that my baby bump was untouched.
I couldn't come down to pick up my son when he returned from school. When he saw me laying down on the bed, he asked me, "What happened with you, mommy?" I told him I fell down and sprained my ankle. With his serious face while holding my hands, he said to me, "That's why you have to walk slowly, mommy. If you walked slowly, you will not fall down anymore."
Wha..ha..ha..I tried my best to hide my smile and put on my sad face and said, "Oh yes, darling. Thank you for your advice. I'll walk slowly next time, ok?" Then I saw him smiling at me. Oh my boy! He's just the best thing that ever happened to me. I pray so that the second baby will be as brilliant as the big brother.
Friday, March 21, 2008
No dress for a giant
Ipoh is definitely not a place to shop for big size pregnant woman like me. I have been looking for a formal party dress to wear to my friend's wedding party but until today I still cannot find one. I am very frustrated. This is the 2nd week I have been going in and out any women apparel shops in Ipoh just to get a piece of formal dress that fits me. The choices are really limited even for small frame non-pregnant women, let alone for the big frame and pregnant ones.
I did find some models that are beautiful and suit my taste but unfortunately the biggest size the shops have is M-size... :( Even the free-size dress could not fit me because I have big boobs, big butts, and of course, a growing belly.
Oh I miss my personal tailor, Mrs. Junita. She is the greatest tailor I've ever known. She used to make beautiful dresses especially for me. When I had to attend special occasions, my mom would take me to her or she just needed to inform Mrs. Junita that I needed a beautiful dress. A week later I could collect that dress and it just suited me perfectly. Mrs. Junita knew my size very well. The last gown Mrs. Junita made for me was my wedding gown. Since I got married, I've been living so far away from her and my dress size has changed tremendously.
Since Ipoh isn't a place to find cloths for giants like me, I really have to start looking for great tailor that can design and sew special attire for me. In the mean time, I will have to expand the area of hunting to neighboring states either Penang or Selangor. Oh no...3 hours driving just to get a dress??
Update: I finally found 1 very beautiful dress in a boutique shop that sells specially made gowns/dresses for special people like me... :D
I did find some models that are beautiful and suit my taste but unfortunately the biggest size the shops have is M-size... :( Even the free-size dress could not fit me because I have big boobs, big butts, and of course, a growing belly.
Oh I miss my personal tailor, Mrs. Junita. She is the greatest tailor I've ever known. She used to make beautiful dresses especially for me. When I had to attend special occasions, my mom would take me to her or she just needed to inform Mrs. Junita that I needed a beautiful dress. A week later I could collect that dress and it just suited me perfectly. Mrs. Junita knew my size very well. The last gown Mrs. Junita made for me was my wedding gown. Since I got married, I've been living so far away from her and my dress size has changed tremendously.
Since Ipoh isn't a place to find cloths for giants like me, I really have to start looking for great tailor that can design and sew special attire for me. In the mean time, I will have to expand the area of hunting to neighboring states either Penang or Selangor. Oh no...3 hours driving just to get a dress??
Update: I finally found 1 very beautiful dress in a boutique shop that sells specially made gowns/dresses for special people like me... :D
Monday, March 17, 2008
Malaysia General Election
On the 8th of March, I joined my husband to drive all the way to Penang just to vote. Oh well, I was kaypoh (busybody) lah abit..:) I wanted to see how the election went on in Malaysia. As a foreigner, of course I am not allowed to vote. I just came to watch and compare with the election in Indonesia.
Along the way to Penang, my husband explained so many things about political situation in Malaysia and about all the parties involved in the general election. After he voted, we visited our friend's house in Penang. They all discussed and predicted the result. I was just trying to chip in as much as I knew about politic in Malaysia (definitely not much).
The next day we read the news that the result of this 12th general election was quite surprising with the ruling party (Barisan National) lost its two-thirds' majority in the Federal Parliament. In Penang, Kedah, Perak, and Selangor, the opposition (DAP,PKR,PAS) won the state legislature. In Kelantan, PAS (the opposition) still ruled.
I personally quite surprise with the result. To me, it shows how the people of Malaysia took the election seriously and realized that every vote could make a different. The internet took a great part to open up the eyes of Malaysians.
In my opinion, it was a pretty quiet general election day. I was trying to remember the last election I witnessed in my country but it was a very long time ago when the late President Suharto was in power and there were only 3 parties involved (PPP, Golkar, and PDI). I didn't even witness 1998 the 'reformation' tragedy led by the students to topple President Suharto. I have left the country a year before. Since then, I have not been really following the news about political situation in my country. It's getting more and more confusing for me since I don't live in the country anymore. What I know is that life is getting tougher in Indonesia. Take Jakarta for example (because this is the only city I've been visiting), every time I go back there, the traffic jam and the road condition are getting worse. The city development with no proper planning has made life in Jakarta is getting more and more difficult. I thought after the reformation in 1998, the situation in Indonesia would be better but unfortunately, the Indonesian people were not ready with the change in power.
I believe Malaysians are more ready for the change in their country and hopefully the country will not go down the same line as Indonesia.
Along the way to Penang, my husband explained so many things about political situation in Malaysia and about all the parties involved in the general election. After he voted, we visited our friend's house in Penang. They all discussed and predicted the result. I was just trying to chip in as much as I knew about politic in Malaysia (definitely not much).
The next day we read the news that the result of this 12th general election was quite surprising with the ruling party (Barisan National) lost its two-thirds' majority in the Federal Parliament. In Penang, Kedah, Perak, and Selangor, the opposition (DAP,PKR,PAS) won the state legislature. In Kelantan, PAS (the opposition) still ruled.
I personally quite surprise with the result. To me, it shows how the people of Malaysia took the election seriously and realized that every vote could make a different. The internet took a great part to open up the eyes of Malaysians.
In my opinion, it was a pretty quiet general election day. I was trying to remember the last election I witnessed in my country but it was a very long time ago when the late President Suharto was in power and there were only 3 parties involved (PPP, Golkar, and PDI). I didn't even witness 1998 the 'reformation' tragedy led by the students to topple President Suharto. I have left the country a year before. Since then, I have not been really following the news about political situation in my country. It's getting more and more confusing for me since I don't live in the country anymore. What I know is that life is getting tougher in Indonesia. Take Jakarta for example (because this is the only city I've been visiting), every time I go back there, the traffic jam and the road condition are getting worse. The city development with no proper planning has made life in Jakarta is getting more and more difficult. I thought after the reformation in 1998, the situation in Indonesia would be better but unfortunately, the Indonesian people were not ready with the change in power.
I believe Malaysians are more ready for the change in their country and hopefully the country will not go down the same line as Indonesia.
Friday, March 07, 2008
I'm back online
I just could not describe how I felt so relieved when I finally landed at the LCCT after a long vacation back home. As usual, I didn't feel home at all. While I was there, I just could not wait to go back to Ipoh. I wanted so desperately to go back to Ipoh I nearly asked my husband to change the ticket for me so that I could fly to Ipoh early. But I didn't do it. I didn't want to see the disappointment in my parents' face if I had to go back to Malaysia early. They had a great time while I was there. They played a lot with my son who was adapting very well with the situation and with the neighborhood. He has met so many friends who thought he was very cool to be able to speak English very well at such a young age. Every time he spoke, his friends and all my neighbors would stare at him with awe; and for my son, he was very happy because he has become the centre of attention in my neighborhood.
Overall my trip back home was not as great as I thought it would be. Even when I just landed at the airport, I already had a commotion with some local government officers who insisted to separate my maid from me and my son. I stormed through them and screamed high and low for they were just behaving like a bunch of robots which were badly programmed to do the job. These robots were not programmed to catch some exceptions when the switch button was on. How the hell they even dared to ask me to help them by taking my 2 maids to join the 1500 other maids who had to go through some questionings when they decided to go back home. Who needed help here? Me, the pregnant lady who can't carry heavy bags and traveling with a very active 3 year old toddler, OR these robots?? My 2 maids didn't even intend to go back home when I took them to Indonesia. They landed in Indonesia because I wanted them to accompany me to go back home so that 1 maid could help me to carry the luggages and another maid would help me to monitor my hyperactive son. So, in another word, my 2 maids came back to Indonesia with their boss (me), not like those 1500 other maids who came back for good to Indonesia. It's a completely different case and these robots could not even see it. How mad I was!! I was never so mad before until my heart beat was racing and I could not even breathe properly.
Ok, that incident has been an indicator that I would not feel good coming back home. For the whole 3 weeks I was in Jakarta, the weather was terrible. It rained everyday and flooded here and there. I could not sleep as I had to watch out for the water level in my front yard so that we could evacuate in time before the heavy flood came back.
Then, since my neighborhood has just experienced big flood for the 1st time in 27 years, I could still see big piles of rubbish every where and water mark on the wall that the flood left behind.
I tried my best to be very careful in choosing what I ate until I actually lost weight. As careful as I could be, still I had a food poisoning (again) when I was in Jakarta. I didn't know exactly which food or drink had caused the poisoning. Perhaps it was the milk I drank because when I was there, there was a big news about E.Zakazaki bacteria that has contaminated the milk powder but I was not sure if the milk for pregnant women was affected or not. What I knew I got a terrible stomachache that worried me so much and forced me to have another scan just to check if my baby was alright. Thank God baby was fine, but my son was not. He caught a terrible cough and flu up to present.
To make situation more uncomfortable for me and my son, the Indonesian electricity company was lacking of coal to generate more energy to supply electricity to all customers in Java and Bali Island. So, we had to experience no electricity for hours. Luckily the weather was not too hot because of the rain otherwise I would have melted... :)
On this trip I focused in spending my time with my parents. I didn't even called any of my friends in Jakarta because I wouldn't be able to see them anyway. The heavy traffic jam right in front of my house all the way to where ever my destination would be, has really deterred me from going out of the house. I know I will never get used to this situation anymore. I really respect the people in Jakarta who have to deal with heavy traffic jam everyday. They have wasted their life time on the road too long so if they have a chance to rest, they will just go to sleep. They are all very exhausted and don't have time to do anything else. Thank God I don't have to deal with this anymore.
The only good thing I could bring back to Ipoh as some souvenirs from my Jakarta trip was the fact that Indonesian songs are always the best to me and I just love them so much. My heart and my ears are just so relax to hear these songs.
I'm glad I could find them on YouTube as always. Just in case you want to hear the great Indonesian songs, just watch them here:
Overall my trip back home was not as great as I thought it would be. Even when I just landed at the airport, I already had a commotion with some local government officers who insisted to separate my maid from me and my son. I stormed through them and screamed high and low for they were just behaving like a bunch of robots which were badly programmed to do the job. These robots were not programmed to catch some exceptions when the switch button was on. How the hell they even dared to ask me to help them by taking my 2 maids to join the 1500 other maids who had to go through some questionings when they decided to go back home. Who needed help here? Me, the pregnant lady who can't carry heavy bags and traveling with a very active 3 year old toddler, OR these robots?? My 2 maids didn't even intend to go back home when I took them to Indonesia. They landed in Indonesia because I wanted them to accompany me to go back home so that 1 maid could help me to carry the luggages and another maid would help me to monitor my hyperactive son. So, in another word, my 2 maids came back to Indonesia with their boss (me), not like those 1500 other maids who came back for good to Indonesia. It's a completely different case and these robots could not even see it. How mad I was!! I was never so mad before until my heart beat was racing and I could not even breathe properly.
Ok, that incident has been an indicator that I would not feel good coming back home. For the whole 3 weeks I was in Jakarta, the weather was terrible. It rained everyday and flooded here and there. I could not sleep as I had to watch out for the water level in my front yard so that we could evacuate in time before the heavy flood came back.
Then, since my neighborhood has just experienced big flood for the 1st time in 27 years, I could still see big piles of rubbish every where and water mark on the wall that the flood left behind.
I tried my best to be very careful in choosing what I ate until I actually lost weight. As careful as I could be, still I had a food poisoning (again) when I was in Jakarta. I didn't know exactly which food or drink had caused the poisoning. Perhaps it was the milk I drank because when I was there, there was a big news about E.Zakazaki bacteria that has contaminated the milk powder but I was not sure if the milk for pregnant women was affected or not. What I knew I got a terrible stomachache that worried me so much and forced me to have another scan just to check if my baby was alright. Thank God baby was fine, but my son was not. He caught a terrible cough and flu up to present.
To make situation more uncomfortable for me and my son, the Indonesian electricity company was lacking of coal to generate more energy to supply electricity to all customers in Java and Bali Island. So, we had to experience no electricity for hours. Luckily the weather was not too hot because of the rain otherwise I would have melted... :)
On this trip I focused in spending my time with my parents. I didn't even called any of my friends in Jakarta because I wouldn't be able to see them anyway. The heavy traffic jam right in front of my house all the way to where ever my destination would be, has really deterred me from going out of the house. I know I will never get used to this situation anymore. I really respect the people in Jakarta who have to deal with heavy traffic jam everyday. They have wasted their life time on the road too long so if they have a chance to rest, they will just go to sleep. They are all very exhausted and don't have time to do anything else. Thank God I don't have to deal with this anymore.
The only good thing I could bring back to Ipoh as some souvenirs from my Jakarta trip was the fact that Indonesian songs are always the best to me and I just love them so much. My heart and my ears are just so relax to hear these songs.
I'm glad I could find them on YouTube as always. Just in case you want to hear the great Indonesian songs, just watch them here:
Monday, February 11, 2008
Oh no! Not right now...
No one likes to have a terrible flu especially when you are pregnant. This is a bad thing that's happening to me now. I hate it so much. First, it's because it attacks my immune system that makes me very weak and even more tired than I already am. Second, it's because I can't take the damn medicines! Oh..no!! I need at least a paracetamol to help me to fight the headache but since I choose to give a chance to my immune system to fight without any help, I just have to 'enjoy' the feeling of my head is about to split into 2. I can't describe how painful it is. Now I know how Harry Potter feels every time Voldemort is in his head. Since I don't know how to do occlumency just like Harry, I just have to bear the pain and vomit when I really can't stand the pain. Gee, I never know I am too dependent on that bloody paracetamol.
Headache isn't the only challenge to my body defense, it comes in a packet with runny nose and sore throat which are trying their best to test my immune system.
I know my body is fighting the sickness. It fights so hard I feel so weak and restless at the same time. My nose produces liquid actively it doesn't give a chance for me to even run for my handkerchief. The liquid would flow back to my throat and make my throat so itchy and dry as if I just swallowed one bucket of sand. I cough and sneeze so much I'm worry about the foetus in my womb. I pray hard it won't be disturbed by this sickness. Disturb the mother, but not the foetus!
Gosh, I can't remember the last time I feel energetic and alive. At the moment, I just need to focus on helping my immune system to fight the flu before I fly back home. It will be a horrible experience to fly with a nose blocked and pregnant at the same time. Even without the flu, I am feeling nauseous and intolerable hungry all the time, so with the flu, that horrible feelings intensify, plus the sleeplessness every night. Oh...I don't feel well at all.
Headache isn't the only challenge to my body defense, it comes in a packet with runny nose and sore throat which are trying their best to test my immune system.
I know my body is fighting the sickness. It fights so hard I feel so weak and restless at the same time. My nose produces liquid actively it doesn't give a chance for me to even run for my handkerchief. The liquid would flow back to my throat and make my throat so itchy and dry as if I just swallowed one bucket of sand. I cough and sneeze so much I'm worry about the foetus in my womb. I pray hard it won't be disturbed by this sickness. Disturb the mother, but not the foetus!
Gosh, I can't remember the last time I feel energetic and alive. At the moment, I just need to focus on helping my immune system to fight the flu before I fly back home. It will be a horrible experience to fly with a nose blocked and pregnant at the same time. Even without the flu, I am feeling nauseous and intolerable hungry all the time, so with the flu, that horrible feelings intensify, plus the sleeplessness every night. Oh...I don't feel well at all.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Gong xi fa cai
In case you haven't noticed, I just changed the template and the header for http://coffeeliqueur.blogspot.com again in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration. This year we welcome the year of rat. I'll use this template until Cap Go Meh (the 15th day of Chinese New Year celebration) though I kind of like this template... :) It's so pinky and so girly... :D
Just like last year, I'm going to take vacation and visit my family back home. So, I won't be able to post anything new until I have access to the internet again.
For those who celebrate Chinese New Year, Gong Xi Fa Cai, Have a prosperous year of rat.
May the year of rat bring so much joy, luck, wealth, health, harmony, success, and happiness to you all and your family.
Just like last year, I'm going to take vacation and visit my family back home. So, I won't be able to post anything new until I have access to the internet again.
For those who celebrate Chinese New Year, Gong Xi Fa Cai, Have a prosperous year of rat.
May the year of rat bring so much joy, luck, wealth, health, harmony, success, and happiness to you all and your family.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Flood..flood...and more flood
Again, Jakarta is flooded. No area is spared this time including my parents' house. The house has been a flood-free zone for the past 27 years, but this year...it gave away...:(
The dirty muddy water entered my parents' house slowly from yesterday afternoon. My dad tried his best to clean up and sweep the water out the whole afternoon but his efforts has become worthless in the evening when the flood water entered the house again and this time was higher and flooded more areas in the house.
My mum was alone that evening because my dad went to church and the light went out. My mum cried out of frustration when she tried to salvage all precious things at home, alone in the dark. She was forced to return home alone from work yesterday because my dad couldn't get out of the house to pick her up. She had to walk about 1 km through the knee-high flood water all the way home.
This morning at 6am Jakarta time, I called my parents to find out their latest situation. At the time I called, the rain was still pouring and there is no way that the water will subside because all other area outside the house have submerged and in certain area, the water level reaches chest high. The water pops out everywhere from under the ceramic floors, the toilet, the sinks, and this situation really frustrates every one. People are trapped at their homes flooded with dirty muddy water. They can't use the toilet. It is hard to get clean water. Food is not easy to get either. The neighbors are sharing boxes of instant noodle with each other. Traffic jam can be seen everywhere. Many people have already abandoned their vehicles stranded in the flood.
It pierced my heart to hear the news but I couldn't do anything either. I'm so far away and it's already good that I can still maintain the communication with them.
I knew all along that this is coming. I have been trying my best to persuade my parents to move out of the area but they just don't want to leave at all.
I don't know how long they can stand with this kind of extremely frustrating situation. The situation will sure get worst and I hate to hear, "Sorry...it's too late. There is nothing else we can do."
I'm coming back home soon and will try to assess the situation. I hope I can come up with best solution to evacuate my parents.
The dirty muddy water entered my parents' house slowly from yesterday afternoon. My dad tried his best to clean up and sweep the water out the whole afternoon but his efforts has become worthless in the evening when the flood water entered the house again and this time was higher and flooded more areas in the house.
My mum was alone that evening because my dad went to church and the light went out. My mum cried out of frustration when she tried to salvage all precious things at home, alone in the dark. She was forced to return home alone from work yesterday because my dad couldn't get out of the house to pick her up. She had to walk about 1 km through the knee-high flood water all the way home.
This morning at 6am Jakarta time, I called my parents to find out their latest situation. At the time I called, the rain was still pouring and there is no way that the water will subside because all other area outside the house have submerged and in certain area, the water level reaches chest high. The water pops out everywhere from under the ceramic floors, the toilet, the sinks, and this situation really frustrates every one. People are trapped at their homes flooded with dirty muddy water. They can't use the toilet. It is hard to get clean water. Food is not easy to get either. The neighbors are sharing boxes of instant noodle with each other. Traffic jam can be seen everywhere. Many people have already abandoned their vehicles stranded in the flood.
It pierced my heart to hear the news but I couldn't do anything either. I'm so far away and it's already good that I can still maintain the communication with them.
I knew all along that this is coming. I have been trying my best to persuade my parents to move out of the area but they just don't want to leave at all.
I don't know how long they can stand with this kind of extremely frustrating situation. The situation will sure get worst and I hate to hear, "Sorry...it's too late. There is nothing else we can do."
I'm coming back home soon and will try to assess the situation. I hope I can come up with best solution to evacuate my parents.
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