Overnight in Kuantan

hubby had an assignment in kuantan. he wanted all of us to come with, so off we went to kuantan. i wasn't really looking forward to the boys missing two days of school, and being cooped up with the boys in a hotel room while hubby works, and missing two days of laundry. but looking at hubby's schedule, i thought maybe following him would not be such a bad idea.

we left for kuantan after breakfast at around 8.30am. the traffic was horrendous especially on nkve but after that it was better. the boys fell asleep once we're on the east coast highway and woke up energetic once we got into kuantan. hubby had a meeting at lunchtime so we waited for him as we could not check in just yet. the boys were antsy and it was probably the longest hour in my life.

once hubby settled his meeting we went for lunch and then checked in. it was a good idea getting a hotel in town rather than by the beach. hubby worked for a while once we got to the room and the boys entertained themselves. we went out for early dinner at teluk cempedak just to show the boys the beach. the wind and waves were quite strong that evening but the food was nice. the boys had second and third helping of rice.

the next morning hubby left very early for his assignment. the boys woke up after 9 and we had a leisurely breakfast. our room faces the pool so i thought it wouldn't be nice not to bring them for a dip. we had to run in and out of the pool though, as it started to drizzle a couple of times.

once hubby returned we went back up to the room, had a bath and checked out. we had a quick lunch at the mall in front of the hotel before making our way back home. we wanted to avoid the evening rush hour and made it back in time before it started.

Starting Over

so its been 11 weeks. 11 weeks since i packed up my stuff from level 34 and headed out of klcc (which i have only visited once since).

its not anything new. i think everyone knows this is what i wanted to be - a-stay-at-home mum. but we had to wait for the right moment before committing. and believe me, its a huge commitment. this year was the defining year, we had amir starting primary school, we learned the difficulty of time management when that happened, shouldering bigger work commitments, clearing off personal loans, it was really somewhat of a 'now or never' decision looming above us. so after many, many discussions, we decided that its finally time.

there was a lot of thought that went into the date of my resignation. i wanted to leave before the school holiday started, of course, so that i wouldn't need to send the boys to daycare during the school holiday. i could also use the time to prepare the school items. last year we didn't plan for amir's school items properly and that led to a lot of missing items and late purchases. i pushed the date a month before school holidays began because i had a lot of projects lined up while the boys were in school.

so, finally, coming back from the long Raya leave, i submitted my resignation letter. it was short and sweet, unlike the decision process that brought me to the point. from then on it was all a blur. 4 weeks came by and went away quite fast and before i knew it, it was almost the end of september.

after 11 weeks, i honestly believe this is the one of the most significant decision i've made in a long time. i do get the shakes when the bills come in, and the 'almost heart attack' come bill-paying time. but at least my boys are with me, at least i get to send them to school and pick them up everyday, at least i know what they are up to, at least i get to prepare their meals everyday, at least its me giving them a bath every morning and night, at least they get to come home before the sunsets everyday and they get to sleep in a bit in the morning before going to school (akmal used to leave home at 6.40am and get home at 8.00pm everyday - no child should have to keep that kind of schedule).

alhamdulillah, i am very thankful for being able to make this decision while the boys are young and while i am still blessed with health to take care of them. the salary that i forego, insyaallah, will come in other ways and  one should never stop praying for rezeki to come their way...

Better Good

its good...when you get to the car and still need to wear the sunglasses
its better...when you get to the car and your sunglasses is steaming hot

its good...when ariff makes conversation in the car after a long day at work
its better...when ariff and akmal converse and laugh with each other after a long day at work

its good...when you're picking up the boys and you hear the call for maghrib
its better...when you're open the car doors to let the boys out and you hear the call for maghrib

its good...when the boys have eaten and bathe and you have time to perform maghrib prayers
its better...when the boys have eaten and bathe and you can sit down and rest before performing maghrib prayers

its good...when you are able to spend an hour with the boys before its their bedtime
its better...when you get to eat and bathe without rushing and help the boys with their homework and still able to spend an hour with the boys before its their bedtime

its good...when you can do a load of laundry, dry the clothes and fold a load while the boys eat their dinner and go up together
its better...ok, so there's nothing better than that

i've been going home late the past few weeks, reaching home even later. its been terrible, i hate the working hours i have and the fact that i need to work late. i've been very unhappy lately, even feeling terribly depressed. i really pray this will phase will pass and pass quickly. i dont know how long i can handle these feelings.

That Other Work

i dont blog about work (the income earning one) much. why? cos its just work. dont get me wrong, i dont hate my 'career'. i do like working. with so many boys at home, going to work gives me the chance to 'get away from it all', just like going home gives me a chance to forget about work. i get a lot of comments about me not using my hard-earned education seeing that i went back to the working world as an administrative employee. they feel i should be a high-flying go getter. just because i have this paper titled 'master of science'.

sigh...again...siggghhhhhhhhhh. honestly, does it really matter? i like my job. i like doing filing. i like faxing. i like doing claims for people, keying in their leave, preparing their travel documents, preparing for events. i like. and i'm capable. isnt that more important. isnt that better than having approprite qualification for that kind of work but dont enjoy it and not capable.

i see people working late, working on weekends and i'm so not interested to be part of the crowd. i come in at 8:30am, i work, i go home at 5:30pm (ok...sometimes i do work late). that's it. i have time to fold the clothes, i have time to do the laundry, i have time to scream at my kids and i'm in bed in 9:30pm. i dont need to come in on weekends, i dont need to travel outstation, i dont need to entertain e-mails at 2am. great? heck yes...

after 4 years working in this company, i've been promoted once. it was a surprise, i wasnt expecting it. i seriously did not think much about climbing the corporate ladder. i do work, i do pretty good work and i go home. if people want to reward me, i'm ok with it. if not, its ok. i dont go around thinking 'i deserve this...i have the qualifications...i should be recognised'. alah relax lah. naik, naik...tak naik, takpe. life goes on. its just work, people.

i was one of the midnight oil burner group. i used to stay at the office til 10, 11pm. i've been one of those who come in before the sun rises and go home after the sun sets. i've done the 'working for 7 days a week, 30 days a month' song. that was before i had amir. now with asyraf, ariff and akmal to the list, i cant ever imagine doing the same. when i started planning for a family with hubby, we decided that he should be the one doing the climbing. he was open to the idea of having a stay-at-home wife (provided the ker-ching coming in was sufficient) and i loved the idea of stay-at-home mom. so i took a step back and hubby jumped double time. insyaallah, when he gives me the green light, i'll print the letter.

this kind of entry comes up every so often. usually once a year around may. why...cos that's B time hehehe. to K, thank you for the B and the L and especially the MB (what's that...the pmcare thingy lah).

my kawan for breakfast, lunch and kalau boleh, dinner. sibuk nak pregnant at the same time...













the people of tmo...honestly, the best department there is (pre-2009, that is)















eas of tmo enjoying our secretary's week luncheon













happening event of L37 - the potluck

new year, new department, new role, new place...

Open Day 2009

my office had its 2nd open day today. last year none of my boys could join as they were below the minimum age limit. this year, they lowered it to 3 years, so both amir and asyraf participated.

the earlier part of the day was held in the office (the new office in sentral). i took the boys for a ride on the lrt. we could have stopped at sentral but i decided to go all the way to klcc instead. we met zu there and then took a bus to the sentral office.

then late morning, everyone went to klcc for a movie, lunch and a trip to the aquaria. hubby only joined after friday prayers (hence the big difference in photo quality).

it was a great day out. kudos to the committee. we (zu and i) like the part where they are so easily visible and are always in front of us. nice one. thanks zu for helping out. thanks andy for the skybridge plan that didnt materialise. the boys had fun and were tired out.

While The Cat's Away...

the mice have a makan-makan.

we had a great selection of nasi lemak, 3 choices of sambal (ikan bilis, udang and sotong), spaghetti, sandwiches, kuihs, fruits, bubur kacang, ice cream, complete with teh tarik.




















the bosses should have retreat more often eh?

went to mothercare during the friday long lunch. bought new teats for asyraf and ariff (i really need to encourage asyraf to use the spout - he bites!) and percy and duck for amir and asyraf (same colour so that they wont fight). also something for irsyad, who'll be having his birthday party tomorrow.

















ah...talk about shopping, i bought this for myself last week. i've been telling hubby (i'm way past hinting) that i need a new purse but he has not bought one for me. i like the compartments. for all the mph and mcdonalds and toys r us card.