hey..long time no post!

hey there folks..its been a while...but as you can imagine...mumsie's been buzzy, buzzy, buzzy!! I've taken time off work from yesterday until the day we leave. Supposedly. Tapi got news besok ada meeting. Darn!

Loads been happening...last weekend we did go to Monaco/Nice/Cannes and had a great time coz weather there was just perfect! Pictures another time coz tak de masa nak download (or is it upload?). Then, there was a couple of farewells and beginnings of our packing. The girls have soooooo many (much?) clothes!!! I've never ironed sooooo much!

Today was the girls' last day @ school...they have unilaterally decided so..with Abah's endorsement. We brought some finger food and they had parties in their respective classes. Then Mumsie, Abah and Soraya spent good part of the day Shopping. Yay!! Alas..its shopping for people back home..Ole-ole...hope they will like whatever we get them! Tak suka too bad laa....

Oklah...ni jer yang sempat. See yah!

p.s. Paris has been postponed indefinitely...those idiots are not done with their picketing!! Mumsie's soooooo annoyed!

No Paris!

Abah don't want to go coz there is a strike going on in Paris right now!!! Of course, its probably a good decision but i've soooo set my mind on Paris! Tu lah! manusia hanya merancang, kan??

But no angkasawan either!!

We're off to Monaco/Cannes/Nice instead! For a quick drive (if that is possible lar) and take pictures activity...it'll be a janji-da-pegi-situ kind of trip! hehe...okey la gak coz we've never been there.

Now the question - shall we leave the girls behind??

p.s. thanks to those who voted for Paris (sorryla iks..)..am in absolute agreement with y'all!!

Decisions..decisions!

we've been invited to meet with our 2 angkasawan in Berne this weekend!!!!
Am thinking...bila lagi nak face to face ngan Sheikh Muszaphar and Dr faiz kan??

But..we've already decided to go to Paris for the weekend...last outing before balik Malaysia...

So, how? Paris? Angkasawan? Angkasawan...Paris??

You tell me!

Of Friends and Families...

Perfectness now greet us in the morning...

siggghhhhh.........

Sarah's class blog!

http://1008869.blogspot.com/

Check it out! Sarah's class teacher actually set up this blog setting out each of the children's works. Not much yet but enough to make Mumsie damn proud!

Last week I was at Sarah's parent-teacher conference. Saw Sarah having lunch with her classmates. Ms jenny Downing - the teacher - of course puji Sarah...saying Sarah is very bright and learns fast! Yay...macam tu lah anak Mummy!!!

The Weekend That Was

We had a gooooddd weekend! Filled with food, songs and laughter, I may say! hehe..let me start from the beginning....

Friday night -

The weekend started with farewell no.2 - bowling beramai-ramai - almost everybody turned up!! Even the kids were given a lane to toss (literally) the bowling balls around!

For the ladies, there were presents at the end..for winners and losers! I got my share...but don't be fooled... i wasn't the winner...:-)

It was this -

saturday -

We set off for a weekend at the mountains! We started by heading towards Luzern - a beautiful town about 2 and a half hours from Geneva. Sempat singgah kedai jam, bought me the most beautiful (you guys see a pattern here??) Longines and a whole bunch of Swiss Army knives for the men in Abah's family. Then jalan2 a bit - for about half an hour jer coz the girls were screaming to have some time in the snowy mountains!

The route to Interlaken was beautiful (key word of this posting, obviously!!)...it snowed which also meant that it was foggy so cannot see all that far ahead..which means the scenic backdrop of the mountain and lake was lost! But i tried anyway ... and Abah was sporting enough to get out of the car and pose in the snow!

So, much to the girls' disappointment, we headed straight to the hotel in Interlaken - Sonnenhof Backpackers Villa - a clean (very, very! like all things Swiss!!) hostel. It was early still but it rained in Interlaken then so we only stayed indoor - cooked dinner (yes, they have a kitchen we can use..a clean one, needless to say!) and girls spent rest of the time watching Corbin Bleu (star of High School Musical) in his new movie Jump In on the portable DVD. Mummy, as usual, went straight to bed. Abah, as usual, frowned at Mummy then got very upset he got stuck babysitting the girls!!! Sorry la Baaahhhhhhh....

Sunday

Early that morning we had breakfast - cereal and bread, courtesy of the hotel then checked out before heading to a nearby town called Grindelwald. It was soooo beautiful!! I wanted to kick myself for not coming here previous winters!!

Anyways, the girls found a spot to sledge - a pathetic little spot, really but it served their purpose...Sarah giler punya happy dapat golek golek dalam snow (as usual)!! Soraya wasn't as excited..kept complaining that its too cold and her toes hurt so after about 10 minutes I gave up and took her back to the car, whereby she cheered up almost immediately!! But..look here..she looks damn cute in those wintery garbs kan...

After the kakak-kakak and Abah had enough, everybody bundled back into the car, complaining of cold and hunger! GOD bless those who created soup-in-a-mug!! So, mummy was quite the saviour!

We drove around after that, simply enjoying the view (that is..Abah and Mummy enjoyed the view whilst the girls whined of boredom and asked to go back home since the DVD player did not work so well in the car!!). We decided against taking any trains or cable cars to higher level of the mountains coz it looks foggy up there, so no point to spend money to see fog, really.

So, about 2 pm we decided to come down to earth and came back to geneva..but we did not go straight home! We went to Encik Amran's open house (is it still Syawal??) then to Dato' Muhd Noor's (a.ka. the boss) residence for another farewell!!

Its farewell no.3 and t'was organized by people from the office! Ahhhhh...such good food...such good company! As the so-called orang yang di raikan, I didn't have to bring anything! yay! but there was nasi kerabu...sambal udang...sup daging...gulai lemak labu...masak assam ikan...sambal sotong...kerabu apple...sayur campur...and KARI KEPALA IKAN!!! Those who read this blog claimed that the food mengalahkan Rebung's menu!! Maybe they are right...maybe because last night's food was cooked with luuuurrrrvveeee....no??

Sorrylah Yati...tak sempat nak ambik gambar your tiramisu.....

Am definitely going to miss everybody (and this time I mean everybody!) at the office as well as their families...The evening lasted longer than expected coz tuanrumah also organized a karaoke session and Abah lepas geram and would not let go of the mike!!! He sang and danced and everybody cheered and clapped (to be polite?? he is, after all, the guest of honour!!). hahaha...well..to be fair..he was't the only one...everybody had a turn...I can't say everybody can sing (least of all me!) but hey..who's complaining!!?? I believe everybody had a jolly good time!! I took pictures of everyone singing but for the purpose of this entry i thought i'd just post these pictures of my 2 bosses -

Finally...majlis bersurai at about 11 pm...after everyone tapau their share of left over food...I leave this posting now with this not-so-complete-and-not-so-clear picture of our WTO family...

So..that was the weekend that was...how was yours??

Autumn in Geneva

Last autumn for us ... and somehow its even more colourful than I ever remember it! Every tree seems to be on fire..they are so orange!! Not been able to get really good pictures as mostly we were on highways that we would notice the beautiful views...but will try this weekend and post them next week, OK!

Sekarang ni 5pm da gelap...best! And its getting to be oh-so-cold! Just the way i like it! (Kesian nya melayu tak sedar diri ni..tak lama lagi daaaah kena balik mesia yang panas and banyak nyamuk tu...sob..sob!)

Oklah..Bon weekend, folks! We're off to Interlaken tomorrow so pray for good weather! Forecast looks grim though! The good news...we will most definitely get to see snow before we leave..at least at the nearest mountains! The range seen near our apartment and office are white on top already today! Yay...ALLAH swt is indeed GREAT!

Istana Kehakiman

Formerly known as Palace of Justice. Grandly situated in Putrajaya. Had to go there and meet my former boss. My first visit despite the fact that I'm part of the establishment! I must say...i was gob-smacked!!!! Such grandieur...

Last picture is of Muzi and our nephew twice or three times over...am not quite sure how its calculated but off duty, he calls me "Mak teh" . Mo**zani is now..ehem..the special officer to the acting C*J! So the terrer one....hehehe!

Oklah...nanti i balik, i'll get pictures of the outside of the Istana pulak...

Farewells...

today is (hopefully) the beginning of farewells for me...sedih but quite nice to makan-makan whilst saying goodbyes to the friends i've made here...

Today, Jorge from the Mexican Mission belanja. It was a farewell to another colleague too - Gabriela from the Israeli Mission. Now, now - before you guys gasp in disgust for my lack of protocol in international relations - Gaby - Shidi and Wadrina now refers to her as my Yahudi friend! - is a very nice Argentinian lady who happens to work for the Israeli...we became quite close after she conceived her baby (Gaelle is almost 1 now - easily one of the most beautiful baby I've ever met - considering her mom is Argetinian and her dad a Spaniard!). So you knowlah...our conversation will not be anything about counry policies or national security and half the time its not even about what we're doing in the WTO! It'll be about babies and about coping as working mothers! Anyway..Gaby is leaving the Israeli Mission..she's joining the private sector, hence this farewell for her too.

Jorge (pronounced Hor - hey) is simply this young diplomat in the Mexican Mission. He used to cover the dispute settlement issues so we used to attend meetings together. Now he's onto something else which i shall not bother to elaborate coz very insignificant to my blog! ;-) Very smart man - currently writing his thesis for a doctorate on WTO dispute settlement from Mexico's perspective (or something like that lah!) so, all together now...ooooooooohhhh.....no?

Was hungry so lupa nak ambik gambar food!

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO FATIN MUNEERAH!!

My baby turned 10 on 28th October hari tu and I wasn't here to celebrate it with her!! sob..sob...huwwwaaaaaaaaa........

My eldest reached a milestone in her life that October 28th...she's almost a teenager now...she's getting prettier by the day...now that her hair is longer, its sooo nice...not like lion anymore! Those who know her must surely agree with me that she is one warm and caring girl...a real Kak Long to her sisters and to many babies kat Geneva ni!!

So my sweetheart...ingat selalu that Mummy loves you very much and Mummy doakan Kak long cepat-cepatlaa kahwin (preferably with our angkasawan tu!!) and have loads of your own babies!!

1st day @ work

after 2 weeks...and i can't seem to get started!! Pagi tadi gi WTO...tapi tension tak leh get renverse (cafe latte, basically...saje nak eksyen..show off the only french word that i know!) coz i had to fast for the blood test at 2 pm. Just my routine blood test..nothing nobody need to worry about..(ada orang worry ker??)

Nways..am back in office..trying to clear my inboxes and got bored so, masuk sini jap (excuse jer laaa...just in case the boss is reading! :-))

You guys read about Sheikh Muszaphar's announcement of his impending marriage? Waaa..that also can make headlines, huh!? Almaklum..angkasawan negara lah kata kaaaannnnn...am thinking...he's gonna marry his late brother's widow and help raise his nephew and niece...you think?

Jalan-jalan cari makan part 2 - on request by Teeny and Ika, been asked to tell about the time I ate with them whilst in KL. (Before that...hey guys..you all kan ada blog sendiri...next time ceritalah sendiri tau!!).

1. Chillie's @ KLCC. Went to meet with Teeny and Kak Dor on the first night I arrived. It was good...good food..good company (had to say this coz they are reading!). Had lamb with mashed potatoes..hmmmmm..and desserts was da bomb - some chocolotey thingymagic shared between the 4 of us! Needn't have shared, actually! It would be good to each have their own! Next time, k Teeny!?

2. Italianies @ One Utama. Joined Ika and her family and later joined by Kak Dor and Hanafiah...Good italian food...although I did not order anything sebab still kenyang after visit to Rebung earlier that day! Ordered cappucino, which, like Ika said, came in this humungus cup!! but can only cerita coz didn't think of taking pictures then! Company was good too, of course (again..those people are reading this!!). Desserts was the best! Nicked off Kak Tam's strawberry (or was it rasberry?) cheese cake. Masya ALLAH sedapnya!!!! Am definitely planning a return visit with the gang nanti! In the mean time, here's us in Italianies..

I have handsome nephews..no? And of course, a very pretty niece (just in case ika gets upset!)..:-)

I'm Back in Geneva...

So soon? No..not soon enough! Perhaps it would be different if I had gone back with the rest of the gang...As it was, Malaysia wasn't all that exciting as I was alone, missing Soraya terribly! Ye lah..for the past 2 years the gang were hardly apart as Mummy never had to go outstation.

I came back yesterday..received by hugs at Geneva airport! Yay! Pegi 2 bag..balik 3 bags!! Full of food and VCDs! And i bought a whole load of magazines in Heathrow. So, everybody got something..most magazines were read and half the junk food eaten by the end of yesterday!!

So...what happened in Malaysia? Quite a bit, actually and i'll tell them as I remember them, OK...Before that, superwomanwannabe and Mr, apologies coz tak meet up with you guys...was thinking there'll be plenty of time (really?) to meet once we all balik for good nanti, K...but Jab..thanks for the call!

1. PTK...

The course was alright, I guess...except for the exam bit! Am too old to be mugging for exams!! Mujur ada Anoi and Mabel who shared everything they know with me so, was able to answer 4 questions reasonably well (thats my own assessment...the examiners' assessments belum tentu!). We needed to answer 5 question so my fifth answer was done in about 10 minutes with the kind help of Ros**, who showed me where to look for the answer! So..if I pass, I would have to belanja these people!

The 2nd part..the public speaking bit..turned out to be fun! A bit nerve racking when your turn comes but it was good fun to see other people trying to attract the panel's attention! They boys were very creative, one even started singing a song when trying to convey the feelings of Nurin Jazlin's parents (the title of his speech was "Nurin"). One brought all kinds of gadgets...plastic bags..wrappers..to illustrate pollution of all kinds...heard he got top marks! The ladies were more conservative...biasa laaaa...maintain giteww!

So...lets hope for the best. Pray that I will get enough marks to pass the damn thing! BTW, here's me during one of the public speaking segment! Cam real jer, ek!

2. Jalan-jalan cari makan...

Ate quite a bit...hehe...but the most memorable meal was the one Muzi and I had in Rebung...restaurant co-owned by our astronaut and this Chef Ismail. We went for lunch and they served buffet....sooooo much lauk!! and there was also mee soto..laksa...lemang...goreng pisang...few desserts...all served fresh and very tasty. I was also impressed that there seems to be personal service provided...i saw Chef Ismail busily greeting customers as they enter, explaining food to some touristy looking customers and his staff helps to the extent of stopping taxis in the street for those who need them! Good, eh? Am defintiely going back there with the gang! Here's some pixes..of the food and me with Chef Ismail himself! Didn't i tell you about personal service....

Same cannot be said for Kelab Tasik Putrajaya and the Roadhouse Grill..both I visited for old times' sake. Food was not the same...not as good as before! Menyesal pergi as they were not cheap! But whilst in Kelab Tasik Putrajaya, i played tourist and took pictures of this beautiful mosque...sorry its not very clear..pakai camera handphone jer...

The times when I ate alone..i had fried chicken...KFC and from A&W...those were as good as they ever were!! Very nice...

Oh..I must mention the Linda Onn's restaurant..been reading quite a bit about it in MrManager's blog and finally had a chance to drop by on the last morning I was in Ampang. When I first got there, it has not opened...(unlike in Geneva, shops in Malaysia opens late and closes late) so I went into the Indian shop next to it and had 2 ghee thosai! Those are gooooddd...when LO's (its officially called My Mom's Chicken Rice Shop, i think!) were opened, I went and ordered the mee rebus to take away...It was good! Well done, LO!

OK..this is part 1. Will try and post some pixes too. Later, dudes and dudettes!!