Memories Are Made of These...

A day before Hari Raya Aidilfitri, I went out to run some pre-Raya errands. I had some important documents to send through the snail-mail, and they was also the small matter of having the car checked and serviced before our long distance journey up north over the Raya period. I had all the errands lined up nicely, and to my estimation I would have them all done by 3pm, giving me sufficient time to rest in the afternoon before iftar.

That is of course, until Insyirah insisted on tagging along with me...

I guess most fathers out there can testify how much longer short errands would take with a kid(s) in tow. The following were the errands that I ran on that day in the order that I had planned them, and the time that I had estimated it would take:

Planned Itinerary

Leave the house - 9.30am

Arrive at post office to arrange for delivery of documents - 9.45am

Arrive at car workshop to perform minor service - 10am

Have car washed and polished - 12pm

All chores completed and be back at home - 3pm

With Insyirah on tow, of course there variations to the plan:

The Actual Itinerary

Leave the house - 9.45am (she had to get ready)

Arrive at post office to arrange for delivery of documents - 10am

Drive to KFC for nuggets and fries - 10.20am (we were actually there already at 10am as the KFC was next to the post office. But she insisted she wasn't hungry until AFTER we left the place. So we had to drive back there after having driven away for a couple of minutes...)

Arrive at car workshop to perform minor service - 11.30am (KFC only started serving nuggets from 11am. So we waited until then before finally leaving...)

Have car washed and polished - 1.30pm (while we waited for the car to be washed, we went inside the nearby shopping mall to pass the time. Through a mixture of tiredness as well as absent-mindedness, I ended up buying her a bubble machine and an authentic cat-bank that cost me a fortune... mental note to self: not to be such a softy to her pleas in the future...).

All chores completed and be back at home - 5pm (finally...)

In conclusion...

The planned time to complete chores by myself - 6 hours

The time taken to complete chores with Insyirah on tow - 8 hours (plus extra unplanned expenses...)

The memories made from the outing - Timeless...

'Abah, I Think You're Going To Be Rich...'

A couple of days ago, Insyirah raised a curious subject for a conversation. I was driving the car at the time, with Insyirah sitting in the front seat with me, properly strapped in her booster seat. Wifey and Ihsan were in the back seat. It was the second weekend in the month of Ramadhan and we were driving to Subang Parade for some pre-Raya shopping.

I noticed that she was in considerable deep thought before she started:

Insyirah: Abah, I think one day you are going to be very rich...

I was slightly surprised by this sudden revelation of her thoughts, not to mention amused too.

Me: Amiin... I hope you're right Insyirah. But, what makes you say that?

Insyirah: Well, all men become rich one day...

She gave a slight pause after saying this, before continuing again, correcting herself...

Insyirah: But not all men... only some men become rich I think. Hmmm... but you Abah are going to be very rich...

Me: Thanks Insyirah... I hope you're right sayang. You know Insyirah, people say if you say it many times enough, what you say could become true you know.

Hearing this, Insyirah went on a jingle saying it again and again...

Insyirah: Abah's gonna be rich... Abah's gonna be rich... Abah's gonna be rich... and on and on she went...

It does make me wonder what made her say it all of a sudden. I can only hope that it becomes true one day, especially it was in the month of Ramadhan that she said it...;). Amiin.

To everyone out there, may you have had a very fruitful Ramadhan.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Maaf Zahir dan Batin.

My First Formal Malay Letter in Years

I just wrote my first Malay letter in years! I didn't actually have to do so, but having spoken to the particular official whom I had to raise my issues with in my (formal) mother-tongue language, I felt obliged to follow up with a Malay email when I was asked to write in for a formal explanation of events.

So here is my first formal letter written in Malay in years. I'm actually quite proud of it too... ;)

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Salams Ina,

Merujuk kepada perbualan kita tadi.

Dilampirkan bersama email ini adalah salinan kepada e-resit CIMBClicks saya untuk bayaran yuran keahlian Kelab Tasik Putrajaya pada bulan December 2009 berjumlah RM200yang saya dapati tidak direkod oleh pihak Kelab.

Berdasarkan penyata akaun saya yang bernombor DN063893 bertarikh 30/04/2010, jumlah yang tertunggak adalah RM500. Sekiranya jumlah bayaran yang tidak direkod berjumlah RM200 ini diambil kira, jumlah yuran tertunggak untuk tempoh yang sama hanya bernilai RM300. Berdasarkan ini, jumlah yuran tertunggak untuk penyata bertarikh 31/5/2010 akan berjumlah RM350.

Harap balas email saya ini untuk mengesahkan penerimaan email ini. Harap penyata yuran saya seterusnya akan dikemaskinikan dan saya akan langsaikan segala jumlah tertunggak selepas mendapat penyata yang telah diperbetul dan dikemaskinikan.

Sekian terima kasih.

Yang benar,

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