Summer’s Over August 29, 2008

The summer hols are finally over. What a bummer. In a week’s time, the kids will start their 2008/2009 new academic year. Dina will be in Year 5, Myisha in Year 1 and Ikhwan in Reception. This weekend being the last before Ramadhan, is spent looking for school stuff – shoes, stationery, lunch bags, etc. Since working hours during Ramadhan will be shortened i.e. start later and end earlier, I will have the extra time to drop the kids to school in the morning. Tapi driver for pick-up still belum cari. The kids are fond of the driver we used last term, so kalau dia takde any other clients at the same hour bole lah continue gunakan dia punya service. The thing about this driver Kamal, he’s not just a driver. He sends the kids sampai diorang punya classroom and picks them up at the same place. A couple of times Myisha termuntah dalam kreta lah, sampai sekolah demam kah, he actually took the trouble to call me, tunggu kat school clinic and send the kids home. And the kids like him a lot, especially Ikhwan.

Apart from the trip to Dubai, kids spent the summer mostly at the swimming pool. A whole lot of progress have been seen over the past two months. The swimming class that I sent them to lasted only a month. Unfortunately, the part-time swimming instructor finally got a full time job somewhere and could no longer teach. I had initially suspected that minah american ni ajar budak2 swimming sekadar mengisi masa lapang je, ye lah, dok kat compound mewah tapi takde keje full time,  musykil jugak. Nevertheless, she succeeded in teaching the kids all the basics – breathing technique and all. Now, all 3 kids can swim for a short distance, mummy diorang pun kalah… Especially Ikhwan, who can comfortably swim in the big pool which his feet can’t even reach. This definitely is a huge improvement considering that he won’t even dip his face in the water 3 months ago!

Last but not least, Hubby also managed to pick-up a new sport – tennis. Kawan2 kat Oman jangan terperanjat, ok. Since ada tennis court kat rumah, his friends dok racun dia beli racket and finally dapat lah dia exercise sikit. And no, for the record, the gym has not managed to attract him, though I did go a few times. Sampai pening2 lah lepas naik treadmill tu, tak biasa lah katakan…

Well, Ramadhan is just two days away, so no outdoor activities for a while. By the time after Eid, hopefully the weather will be more pleasant. Can’t wait for winter to be here again. Last but not least, Ramadhan Kareem to all, selamat menjalankan ibadah puasa dan semoga puasa diberkati Allah.

Dubai Diary August 27, 2008

Day 1

We left Doha at 7.30am for our much awaited road trip to UAE. The Qatar-KSA border post was almost an hour away from our house. Immigration was pretty smooth as it was still quite early in the morning. We drove pass thru Saudi Arabia for about an hour before reaching the KSA-UAE border post. Along the way only desert can be seen on the left and right with a glimpse of the coastal line of the Arabian Gulf. We took the opportunity to fill the car with the 0.65 riyals per litre petrol before entering UAE. All in all we had to go pass four border posts complete with customs and immigration.

Reached Golden Sands Hotel Apartments at about 4.30pm UAE time. After a quick shower, went straight to Naif Souq. Konon nak cepat lah gi kedai Chenani in case tempahan baju kurung can siap in 3 days. When we got there, this kedai kain which is famous among Malaysians, was swarmed with people, mostly stewardess lah, apa lagi. Managed to tempah a pair of baju kurung each for me and Dina.

Next, we rushed to the Mall of Emirates to meet the rest of the gang for dinner. Decided to eat at Chop Chop, the same restaurant we went with our friends from Oman last year to celebrate Nadira’s birthday. After dinner, sempat window shopping since the stores close at midnight. 

Day 2

After a quick breakfast of paratha, we headed to Jumeira beach for a must-have photo session with a view of Burj Arab. Habis posing2 tengah panas tu, we went to Madinat Jumeira – the mall that is designed like an old souq. This place kalau nak shopping memang takde apa sangat, ala2 Central Market gitu. More photo sessions as the surroundings were so scenic.

Next, to Ibn Batutta Mall for some shopping. The sales at Debenhams was crazy so apa lagi, borong lah, sampai tak ingat nak makan. Since Ifwan & Loly were leaving tonite, we rushed to Hard Rock Cafe to get some souvenirs before heading to final destination for the day – Mall of Emirates.

The highlight of the day, or rather the trip, was the visit to LV boutique. My beloved Hubby was generous enough to buy me an LV handbag as an advanced birthday present. Yahoo! Apa lagi satu persatu try and finally chose something from the Mini Lin range which I have been secretly eyeing. Thanks dear..

Day 3

Our friends Ifwan, Loly, Anis & Khairul have left back to Doha last nite, so we were on our own today and the next two days. Today was more slow paced as we browsed tru Deira City Centre. Dina & Myisha both got new Reebok and Nike sneakers. Ishh kasut budak2 zaman sekarang mana ada yang murah. Then off to our favorite Mandi restaurant called Najda in Naif area. ‘Mandi lamb’ kat sini memang tiada tandingan, simply the best! Puas hati!

Alang2 dah kat Naif ni, decided to go to Chenani again – second round. The shop was lengang today since weekday. Rasa cam tak worth the trip pulak beli sehelai je kain hari tu, so today tempah lagi sepasang chiffon silk. And while we’re at it, tempah sekali matching baju melayu for Hubby and Ikhwan. Hmm camna lah my friend Azli nak post semua ni ke Doha nanti. Takpe, tempah je dulu, worry about that later. Lastly, bought some abayas for myself, my mum, my sister and my maid. Abaya kat Dubai is much cheaper than Doha and Muscat. Finally, we headed to Sharjah for dinner at Hubby’s friend’s house.

Day 4

We checked out of our hotel in the morning and stopped by Adidas factory outlet before heading to Abu Dhabi. Stopped for lunch at Green City Restaurant – ala2 kedai mamak popular among Malaysians in Dubai, tapi sikit atas dari Doha’s Taste of Asia. Reached Abu Dhabi around 3.30pm and checked into our hotel.

Ikea is a must-shop since kat Doha takde Ikea. Memandangkan space in the car pun not that much, only bought small household items. Kalau ada carrier kat atas kreta, sah dah beli more things. Lastly, met up with old friend from TMI Zalman for a dinner invitation at Azli & Sab’s apartment. Banyak betul Sab masak – udang rempah, sup ayam, asam pedas, chicken wings, asparagus, yumm! Sempat jugak sessi ‘introduction to Nikon SLR’ from Azli the photography expert.

Day 5

Last day in UAE and home sweet home. Before leaving, sempat jugak last round ke Marina Mall to check out the LV boutique there. Alamak, this store carries more Mini Lin designs than the store in Dubai, help!! After much contemplation, decided to tukar the one that was purchased two days earlier to another design. Talk about fickle minded!

The journey back home took longer as there were long queues at all the border posts this time around. Everyone was tired and poor Hubby had to drive all the way. Tapi takpe, think of all the savings we made on airfares, betul tak! And yup, I am truly satisfied with this trip… Syukur Alhamdulillah it was a safe journey for all of us.

 

 

P.A. is finally here August 10, 2008

My life in Qatar must have appeared to be a bed of roses for those who don’t really know us. But the truth is, we have been trying to be ‘creative’ for the last six months without my right hand man, or rather woman – my domestic helper.

The process of bringing in a housemaid in Qatar is not so simple. A whole lot of pre-requisites had to be fulfilled. Firstly, the whole family i.e. husband, wife & kids, must have residence visas. This, for us, took almost 6 months all in all. Only then can the maid application process be started. Thank goodness the agent that we used was super efficient and kept his word of getting the process completed within 2 weeks. Some friends of mine were not so lucky though, as they had to be interviewed lah, rejected for whatever reasons lah, apply 2-3 kali baru lepas lah, macam-macam hal.

During the first three months in Qatar, Hubby took care of the kids as he had not started work yet. A couple of times, we had to tumpang the kids over at Anis & Ila’s house. Then for six weeks we had to ‘import’ Hubby’s niece from Malaysia to jaga the kids. After our niece left, we managed to get a temporary maid, a Philippines girl ‘borrowed’ from Hubby’s colleague while he went off for the summer holidays. And yesterday, finally, after the long agonizing wait, our maid of 2 years arrived from Malaysia after spending 6 months waiting at my parents’ house. What a relief!

Today, the temporary maid left for her ‘original’ boss. Sedih la pulak member, siap nangis lagi tak nak balik. Staying with us was a great change for her. I guess she had a lot of fun with our kids as we also gave her the freedom to play with the kids outside the house while they cycled or swam in the pool. This 17 year old was very efficient with housework. My kitchen was spotless during her stay, so much so that I can’t even find our own stuff, kadang2 rimas pun ada. Communicating with the maid in English also seemed weird at first.

So now, no more Madam but back to Kak Engku

Summer Dune Adventure August 9, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some thought we were crazy to be hitting the dunes in the summer, but what the heck. We had a fun filled adventure – adrenaline-rush ride, stuck-in-the-sand panic moments and awesome view of the inland sea. So yup, it was a tiring but satisfying trip.

The preparation began early in the morning for me. Goreng mee, buat sardin rolls, rebus sausage & goreng chicken wings. It’s Friday, so the plan was to arrive in Mesaieed in time for Friday prayers. After prayers, the whole gang met up near Sealine beach where the desert starts. 10 cars this time around. Mostly the usual gang, but some new friends whom we’ve never met as well. The guys began the initial preparation for the cars by deflating the tyres. Since most of us are amateurs at sand duning including Hubby, Syam the Chief started by some brief pointers for the drivers followed by bacaan doa by Azmin. And off we went.

About 15 minutes off the start, we reached the first somewhat loose sand area and this is where the vehicles got stuck. One after another, the guys went to the rescue by shoving the sand away, and used all their energy to push. Explorer and Vitara were rescued in no time, but Touareg was the toughest. Chief decided to use Hummer to rescue the situation but in the process, Hummer unexpectedly got stuck too. Since the only option among the troop was our Patrol, Chief quickly mobilized Patrol to pull Hummer out. So forceful was the strength that Hummer’s right back tyre almost fell out and had to be replaced. Next, Patrol then pulled Touareg out and the day was finally saved. A whole hour and more were spent at this spot. Patrol proved its worth and the teamwork displayed by the whole gang was second to none. Tabik spring guys!

The journey continued smoothly up and down the rolling dunes. Once Hubby began to get the rhythm of the dunes, it began to get kinda addictive. I was told that the gas had to be hit in a pumping mode and the steering had to be turned left & right on a 11-4 position. Soon before we arrive our destination, another incident occurred. Hummer decided to make a daring stunt which resulted in a broken front bumper and airbags being triggered. This, was quite an experience for all of us..

The inland sea as I have written in my previous post, is a water inlet in the middle of the desert (macam teluk) with Saudi Arabia across the border. We found a nice picnic spot and the kids hit the water while the guys, exhausted after the tough drive, masing2 kelaparan. We only had less than an hour to spend here as the journey which would take an hour for professionals, took us thrice more time. After solat maghrib by the sea, we started packing. The journey home was again met by a few obstacles as the night was pitch dark and thus presented more challenges. But alas, we were home by midnite.

This duning trip has been the best experience I’ve had since living in the Middle East. My previous two similar desert safari trips were both driven by professional tour operators. Nothing beats the thrill of driving our own car in this terrain and I’m already looking forward to the next one, perhaps in the fall or winter, when the weather is more pleasant.

Corny Con-sultant August 7, 2008

In the wake of competition in Qatar, the incumbent monopoly telco i.e. my company has suddenly awaken from its deep slumber. Kelam kabut la dibuat nye hiring consultants left and right to formulate strategies konon nye. With the chief himself coming from a consulting background, these external help has become a permanent fixture in our office. Unfortunately, with the lack of open market knowledge and skill sets in the company at large and in my business unit particularly, yours truly is now involved in every possible project involving consultants. One project on roaming proposition, one project for IDD proposition, one project for strategic planning and one project for competitive battleground. Not to mention other on-going initiatives, PMO reports and berjenis2 report with fancy templates designed by the so-called experts.

I have worked alongside consultants many times. In most cases, I found that I was the victim that provide all the inputs and recommendation into that thick fancy reports of theirs. But of course, the reports wouldn’t be credible if they had my name as the author now would they?

The consultant that is currently breathing down my neck every minute of the day don’t know much about telco business. A junior consultant, in my opinion. I can’t stand it when this smart ass tries to guide me into certain hypotheses and analysis as if I don’t already know them. Macam bagus konon. And today we kicked off yet another engagement with the Red Team – consultants who have supposedly worked with our competitor-to-be at one time or another. We are supposed to understand their thought process and predict their entry strategy. Personally, I was not impressed by them. I mean, it isn’t really rocket science what a large operating group such as our new competitor would do in Qatar. The most important thing to me, is how well we will be able to defend our market and execute our plans.

The vulnerability of our company information is at stake as the number of consultants that we hire grows. Just last few months, during a visit to a neighboring telco, my boss bumped into one of their consultants. The week before, this same guy was at our office for some other project, under a different consulting company. Duhhh..? 

In the next few months I will continue to be swarmed with these consultants. Sabar je lah.

Cuba Try Test August 4, 2008

Living abroad makes me appreciate the local dishes and kuih-muih tradisional which is taken for granted masa kat Malaysia. I used to stop for goreng pisang at a particular stall in TTDI Jaya, opposite the school. This makcik’s goreng pisang is not the same as others because of the way she thin slices the pisang and the somewhat over ripe pisang that she uses makes the end result crispy on the outside but soft and sweet inside. She also sells a variety of other kuih like kuih bakar, keria, popia and others. Another favorite restaurant of ours, also in TTDI Jaya, sells all kinds of bubur for tea time. Bubur kacang, bubur pulut hitam, bubur jagung, bubur cha cha, pulut durian, and others. Kalau lambat sikit, dah licin bubur dia. Last but not least, is the pasar tani at stadiun Shah Alam. Hmmm best nye kalau pegi pagi2. What we normally do is have breakfast there – roti boom which the kids love, nasi lemak with all kinds of lauk to choose from including sambal sotong, sambal udang, ayam goreng rempah, paru goreng pedas and so on. Then off to the kuih stalls, just name it, semua kuih ada. We used to stop for kuih akak & kuih bakar.

Unlike my mum who cooks everything perfectly without even referring to any recipes (semua main agak2 jer), I’m just an average cook. Over the past two-three years, I have managed to replicate my mum’s kuah kacang for raya and still trying to perfect my aunt’s famous rendang hitam. Tapi bab kuih-muih, this is where the challenge is for me. Kuih melayu ni, proses dia macam2. Camna la makcik kat pasar malam tu bole jual 3 bijik seringgit. Tapi oleh kerana rindu punye pasal, no choice, terpaksa try la jugak. Last year in Oman, I did try my hands on seri muka (kalau tak sedap takkan licin Hubby & kids makan.. hehe), apam balik and putri mandi. Last few weeks, I managed to make kuih cara berlauk for my friends who came over for tea. And last weekend, decided to make kuih keria. Not bad, considering these are not my regular dishes. Siap bagi sepinggan kat my neighbour.

Since Ramadhan is just around the corner, nampak nye kene la expedite the learning curve for other kuih. The experiment continues.. After all, practice makes perfect..

Zikreet – the 2nd attempt August 2, 2008

 

Yesterday, we decided to join our friends for an off-road trip to Zikreet. This is the same place we attempted to go last couple of weeks but sesat entah ke mana. This time since it was organized by our friend Syam a.k.a. the duning / off-road chief commander, we knew we would be in good hands. First meeting point was at FFC Al-Rayyan. Turned out ramai rupanya, convoy 8 cars. On the way, we were joined by another 2 cars, so 10 cars all together.

The journey was a bumpy one as the road surface was hard and full of stones. Suddenly, in the middle of nowhere, tersergam an old arab village which is said to have been built / used to film a local series. Wild ostriches lari bertempiaran as we approached the so-called fort. Excited budak2 tengok ostriches tu. Rombongan Malaya pun sibuk la bergambar kat film set tu, kalah pelakon Arab if only they were there.

Next, we headed to the beach for our little picnic. Kids as usual berendam in the sea, played with the sand and got themselves dirty. Lepak2 makan2 gossip2 and so on. The menu this time was meehoon & sandwiches (Loly), meehoon & fried chicken (Noreen), baked macaroni & vanilla cake (me), samosa (Anis) and lots of snacks & drinks from the rest of the gang. After sunset we started packing up and started our journey home. It was pitch dark and with only vague tracks on the grounds, we drove slowly but surely.

Next week, we already have similar off-road plans which is going to be more challenging. Stay tuned to find out more.