Do u feel old or young after seeing these?

Now let's hark back our early days...

Tell me, what first came to ur mind when u see these piccas.


Yes... those are the rubber... eh, erasers! With flags of various countries we didn't even know exist.


Don't they look familiar? The pencil box that we can tekan-tekan... and the tin one that made so much noise when it fell of the desk? Hahaha.



So, guys... if u open ur eyes and only know Buncho water colours, then u are not in this group! :P
* * *
What about this one? Tora datang lagi....


These colourful jellies are famous until today. People even address other brands of jellies as Sumi.

"Sumi jeli manis... Sumi jeli manis... Rasa sedap agar-agar buah..."
(My Hubby always thinks I am crazy and weird for being able to remember the line of the ad)

Fancy something chewables, anyone? Now, there's a new version... More bounce, more fun!


...or maybe this one?


...or this?


These are the sugar icing biscuits that really bring me back down the memory lane. Acik & I used to have a handful of the biscuits once in a few days. We always ate the biscuits first, leaving behind the icing to be kept in the fridge for other time. Alaaa... save the best for the last la katakan!


Sometimes, we'll get these animal-shaped biscuits. They taste just plain, but the fun lies in the assorted shapes- bears, elephant, etc.


Let's look at the things/toys we played those days. I don't know what is this called, but the paper is folded perpendicularly twice before we get this shape. Then, a colour is spelled and one will pick a section before the silly statement written behind it is read.


And hey... this toothpaste-like tubes are actually balloons!

I used to make balloons with this and attach 'em together to make funny shapes. Did u do the same?


Guess what? I still have this back in hometown. The small combat miniatures of mainly green colour. But now, Iman is the one who plays with 'em.


Another toys of the childhood days....



This will surely bring smile to Along's face. She used to make her own dolls & their cardboard apparels. Anyway, her artistic skills are never appreciated by mak, who always dumped 'em away.


There were times when schoolkids were so into playing cards, too.


...just as seasonal as yoyos are


This kinda piano is for smaller kids, though.


Same as this one...


Acik also had this pistol that we played together. With the sulfur bullets, it produced real loud bangs. Yet, considering the bullets that could be expensive (I think it cost 10sen each, perhaps?) we never asked Abah to buy more bullets. See...we were good kids meh?!:P


Last but not least, here are some of our heroes...





Ahhh... I feel good reminiscing the good old days. What about u? Does it make u feel young again or too old? :P

Tagged by Adihana

I was tagged by AdiHana, I believe it must be bcoz the Friendster bulletin board has not seen 'isabelle' for ages. Hahaha. Dah dapat cara nak robohkan firewall pun, malas kan?

Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog:
Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random some weird.
Tag 7 people at the end of your post.
Leave your names as well as links on their blogs let them know that they're tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Anyway, here it is.

Shoes
My shoe shopping is usually unplanned. Whenever I plan to buy shoes, I'll end up going back home empty-handed (or is it more likely going back home with clothes and other stuff? :P)
What to do? Mr Hubby always encourage me with these words "It's okay if u don't find the shoes of your liking now, but u can always buy the clothes first. Later, u can look for shoes to match the togs."

One more thing, despite being the popular-amongst-girls/ladies, I hardly find shoes/sandals that suit my taste at Vincci.
Am planning to buy wedges at the moment, but haven't found anything I fancied so far.


Korek
Neither do I korek my piggy bank like those days I did with Acik (b4 going to mengaji), nor that I korek my hubby's pocket. I just korek his nostrils with my finger or use his finger to korek my nostrils.
Hahaha. Eerie, meh?

I bet AdiHana and my other students don't wanna salam with me anymore after this. Hahahaha. (Gelak Farid Gagak Hitam)


Fruits
I love fruits. From tropical to imported, from orchard to market (Tesco, eh?). U name it- durian, berries, mangosteen, persimmon, mango, plum, rambutan, avocados...(all the fruits in the ABC book) I'll never shake my head.

Hmm..now I remember eating 3kilos of mangosteen with Along in her car when I was pregnant.


Colors
Apple green. Luckily Mr Hubby share the same fav colour. Else, we could have worn different colours on the wedding day! :P I prefer white to black, tho.

Other colours are also okay, but I dislike orange (notwithstanding several outfit of this colour I have). Know why? Bcoz when I was small, Mak always bought me baju of this mambrang colour, as if there's no other colour in this world.


License
Driving licence je. Wanted to have a scuba diving licence, sky diving licence, but I don't think I'd get the chance.


Perfume
Lancome's Miracle, Oh! Moschino and Green Tea by Elizabeth Arden


Hobbies
For a gourmand like me, I love eating. When I'm not, I love talking and blogging. When I feel like being alone, I'll watch the telly or just doze off.

So, now the 7 persons I wanna tag are:
1. Babe the Chotto79
2. Syayassir
3. Ariffah
4. Kak Teh
5. BerryBear
6. Amz
7. Whoever is reading this! Yes, you!

Aidiladha at the Ward

Vomitting and diarrhea might be common and even accepted as part and parcel of childhood. But febrile fit is no joke.

That's what happened to my li'l munchkin last week, the eve of Aidiladha. While others were bz in the kitchen, and I just got myself excused after cleaning the chicken, Sham told me that Adam has a mild fever. As Kak Mie didn't have any paracetamol syrup in her stock, Sham decided to buy it from the nearby pharmacy.

At an abrupt interval, Adam trampled and fell down. The next secs, he hollered and got the attack. I don't remember how crazy I was, screaming and crying, not knowing what to do because of the sudden onset and frightening nature. Lucky that I had my in-laws around and Sham was reaching the compound when I called. So, off we went to find the nearby clinic.

After going round and round, looking for help from the well-u-know-after-office-hours Klinik Kesihatan... we tried another clinic, but it was also closed. Hospital is an hour drive away, thus is out of list.
Then, MIL asked us to return to the Klinik Kesihatan as she has asked the on-call person to help.

We were at the end of our rope - desperate and not knowing what to do. Called here and there for advice. I just couldn't help myself looking at the helpless darling in my arms, uttering every Surah that came to my mind. The first thing that sprang to my mind was ..."What if...?"

Once in the emergency room, we put him on the bed and just let them do anything they could, apart from helping to sponge his body wet. Adam was put on an intravenous drip and we couldn't cover him with any blanket, to avoid trapping heat in.



That Maghrib, Adam & I (& MIL) were in the ambulance, heading to Hospital Mersing. I wept as I heard the azan from the radio. I remember how he'd put his palms near the ears when hearing it, but now... he's just lying there, half-conscious. Ya Allah, please save my little boy!



So, that nite Adam & I were left at Ward 3. MIL went back home while Sham waited outside. I was touched to hear the chanting of takbir in the air from the nearby mosque. Ya Allah, grant me patience to face all these.

I remember Sham's advice "Allah is testing us with hardship and oppression."





Aidiladha was just like other ordinary day. Well, what can u expect celebrating it in the ward? But at least, my thoughtful in-laws packed generous amount of home-cooked dishes for me.

Tuesday lolled around but as Adam's condition seemed to fluctuate, we had to wait for another 24hrs.

Came Wednesday, to us the anxious parents' relief, his condition gradually improved and was discharged from the ward.

Look at him, after the bandage-for-the-drip was unwrapped from his foot. Then, he walked around and started greeting everybody in the ward. Alhamdulillah! My baby is back!



To Dr Khairul Rizal and the team of the Paed Ward of Hospital Mersing, thank u so much. We shall eternally be in your debt.

Acik's birthday gift

Happy birthday, Acik! So, u are now no longer in your 20's. Tua nya!!!
I don't care no matter how old I am, u are always older than me! Hehehe.

Acik is my big brother who grew up with me as we're just .... years apart. He's a handsome gentleman (Oii... U should treat me with Big Apple donuts for writing this)who looks like the late Hani Mohsein. See, don't U think so?





Acik's birthday always bring down memories of the old days, when we were small. I don't remember how old was I then when Yone, Ina & I (being Acik's younger sisters) were thinking of buying him a birthday gift.

So, we collected 10 cents each and bought an orange comb for him.



There was no reason for buying him a comb. Neither that he never combed his hair, nor that he doesn't have one. It was just for fun!

The following year, when it was 5th Dec again, we bought something else. This time, a bit more 'expensive.' It was a tube of facial cleanser (of a God-knows-what brand), which cost only RM1 (thus 33 cents each).

That, too was a gift of no reason. We just felt like giving him something on his birthday. But I doubt he used it!

Last year, when we talked about it, he just laughed and said "Did u want to mar my face with blemishes?"

Uh-oh... we never knew Acik is the metrosexual type. Are u, Acik? Hahaha:P

Arts inside, Science outside

Yesterday, I spend several hours consoling my eldest sister who just got the news that she is transferred to Kelantan, effective from ten days from now. Poor Along!

That's what happens when u get an ungrateful boss who only makan gaji buta yet wants underlings to kiss his ass to get promoted. Along, being the soft-hearted lady has always obeyed to his orders, helping him with management tasks regardless of her many chores. In the end, this is what she gets! This is too much!!!

So, I just advised her to learn the war game - not to show your weaknesses nor strength to the enemy (yes, in this case, the Janggut guy is a foe). Like it or not, she still has to report herself to duty on time, but as time goes by, we'll see what we can do.

Life is circle. A person as patient as Along would not find much difficulties to wait a loooong time for retaliation. Yet she holds no grudge towards those who have appalled her, unlike me.

Well, after lunch, she accompanied me to the clinic for a PAP Smear. Before the test, I had a UPT - just in case. Who knows? My appetite has been very good since the past few months. Fortunately (or is it unfortunately), the result was negative. Hahaha!



Then, we drove to TJ Fine Art Gallery in Hartamas to collect the cheque for Abang Man's paintings. While Along was schmoozing with Kak Kelly (the gallery owner), I tried sketching this in my new G900.

*Pix here were taken by my FE320 on the G900 as I failed to transfer 'em using bluetooth :P





Not bad, huh? Even Kak Kelly said I could draw well (I'm not a good drawer though! Hahaha). How I wish I could produce naive paintings just for fun, while at the same time earning side incomes. But to start is no easy job!

Anyway, sometimes I ask myself whether I am an artist trapped in a scientist body. Despite being an academician in the science field, I enjoy drawing very much.

My drawings are mainly teddy bears holding a big heart/flowers, hugging, day dreaming, sleeping, showering, studying, etc. When I was in BNE, I used to send 'graphical letters' to my niece (Aida) and my hubby (then, my bf). Aida would proudly show the letter to her Abah & Ummi before replying 'em, while Sham would just put it in his safekeeping.



If he were to draw a bear, it'd look like a bear suffering Filaria (the elephant's leg) disease a.k.a untut. Pity kan? But that's considered as cute la! :P

Due to my interests/skills in both disciplines, I was in conflict of which area to jump in for my study. I knew I could do well in linguistic (then), yet I just felt like doing Science.

Eventually, here I am... ended up being a Scientific academician, who once feared of her ultramodest performance in microbiology, then jumped into the interesting environmental studies before strangling herself in the biotechnology field, while at the same time enjoyed jobs in marketing, teaching, health line, etc. but still keep the passion in arts.

Nonetheless, knowing some great bloggers (just in the cyber space), I don't think I could be a salient writer. Hehehe. See, Allah knows what's best for us.