Team Geist & Team Spirit

Aliya and her Team Geist & FeverNova

1.

The World Cup is here again. Although I am not an avid soccer fan, World Cup is something that I would very much follow - at least I will make the effort to be in front of the tv for the matches of my favorite teams, especially if they are qualified in the semi quarters & final.
Was never a good soccer player myself, as far as I can recall the last position that I played "officially" was as a right fullback @ midfield for my class (Form 3B "Bash Street Kids" 1987) in some sort of carnival. Never played any soccer since then. The only soccer I played since I started working would be with my little nephews at that time Danial, Waiz....and of course, when Naufal & Alisya are here, the weekend spent at those parks we frequent may include a couple of minutes kicking that miniature replica Adidas FeverNova of World Cup 2002.

For World Cup 2006, the Team Geist is the official match ball and unlike the FeverNova, this ball comes in so many versions of replica. I have been hunting high & low for the black & white version of match ball and really wish I could get the miniature Team Geist replica for the final of the finals.

Each match ball has the team names, date and time of the kick-off. For the final, the date is on my 34th birthday and I though it would be nice if I can get one Team Geist, the miniature replica of the final kick-off, if there's any such ball for sale.

The only Team Geist I got for now is the one from Doha which Pata gave the kids as their birthday present - the blue & white replica miniature. The kids love the Geist. Aliya loves it too. She would 'talk to it", pat and push it around, bit it.....she just loves the blue Team Geist.
Hmmm.....maybe I should give them a miniature Team Geist each....

Huh? Me support England?!! Phbbbhhtt! Malam sikit!!
Germany & Brazil laaa!

2.

I realized that the F1 team which I have been supporting for the past 4 years or so - Renault F1 Team - has quite a similar name to the Team Geist. Renault F1 Team is also known as Team Spirit - related to esprit de corps. Esprit in French originated from Latin word "spiritus".
Geist (as in Adidas Team Geist) means the spirit of an individual or group, originated from German language "geist" which relates to ghost.
Team Geist carries the meaning of spirit of a team, which is the same as Team Spirit.

One of my RF1 Team Spirit 2005 Collection

Confused? Heheheh!

Whatever it is, France is not one of my favorite teams when it comes to soccer. My teams would be Germany, Brazil, Spain (which happens to be Alonso's origin), Italy & South Korea.
If you ask me to choose only one, I would choose Germany....because it has always been either Germany (Karl-Heinz Rummenigge) or Brazil (Zico - now Japan's coach) since my childhood days.

3.

The weekend went quite slowly.
Decided to take the kids for a swim at their cousin Raiyan's place on Saturday. the bad news was both the kiddy & biggie pool were not cleaned. The water was green. By george...how irresponsible of the management. Well, since it has already been promised, we had to got our favorite little stream with the kids. Aliya's first encounter with nature. She sat in the kiddy boat all the time - she enjoyed her first picnic very much and on top of that Mama was interviewed by some tv crew that was shooting at that area for some sort of documentary program. Aliya was the centre of attraction.

Okay Ayah! I am ready for some action now!

Brrrr!! Sssseeejuukk!

We just made it into the car when it started to rain quite heavily. After lunch, everybody was too tired to lift a finger, coupled by the rain it was a perfect excuse to doze. The evening was nice though, took Aliya for a walk around the neighborhood.
Mama served Sunday breakfast on the porch after the kids went for a short drive to buy newspapers. The rest of the day was spent fooling around with the kids. Aliya is now capable of making her own noises and she just refuses to sleep when there are people around here until she became very very tired.....and started to mengamuk before finally doze off.
Promised them next weekend will be spent at the kampung. The kids are really excited about it already.

This weekend was great. Since I was away for a couple of days before the weekend anyway....it was the opposite of last weekend which was quite hectic for me...had to fetch the Renault from James's workshop - and that damaged the wallet a lot! Then sent Uncle Sly's car back, rush to get the night train ticket back to JB to fetch my old car....was on the highway back to KL after a couple of hours sleep only. Then on Monday evening had to say good-bye to the kids again...organizing a workshop for 3 days full time....come to think of it, it was a hectic week actually.
(Heheheh! Hopefully tak kena saman on the way back...with the GSR tops in the hood now, this "Zhng-ed" Persona is not for the faint hearted! Riceboys & Hongdas only layak to breathe it's smoke only meh!)

The horror that happenned to my Persona...

4.

The kids & Mama bought me a cake recently...Father's Day celebration in advance...
They gave me some gifts too....now I have a proper casing to put all my pills in place! Thanx Mama, Kak Along, Abg Angah & Baby Aliya! I love you all very much!

Was on leave on Friday but 3/4 of the daylight was spent at the medical centre. Alhamdulillah, seems that my liver is looking like it's getting better. Just have to continue with the current medication and the next visit would be in 60 days time. In the mean time, losing some weight would be good.

060606

060606...The 6th. of June, 2006....it will be history to my family. Our beloved grandmother - the last of my grandparents, passed away. She was a very very soft spoken and pleasant person, who came all the way from "seberang" and became a resident in our kampung in BP. All her life, she seldom left the kampung except when she were taken by any of the children (my uncles/ aunties) to their home......and the time when she went for hajj & umrah. In her early years, together with our grandfather, she worked hard - rubber tapping as the main source of income while doing other kampung jobs. Life was not easy for the family. They came not from wealthy background, originally were alien to this land, they did face challenges and hardships. However that did not stop my grandparents from raising their children and provide them with proper education. Alhamdulillah.

I was not really very very close with Al-marhumah, well, not as close as I was with grandparents from my mum's side but it does not mean I love her less than the rest of my grandparents. I love them all equally. Without her...and the rest of our grandparents, I would not be here today.

...and I will miss her dearly, as much as I have missed all my grandparents and relatives that have crossed the line into the next life...


....I made it clear to myself, I have been missing some values in life with regards to certain family related matters....and it will have to stop.


Come to think of it.....we have came a long way....it may not seem to be an achievement for some others but we have came a very long way to be where we are now, and we have been grateful for everything that we have in our live, no matter how other treated us...there were those who spat at my grandparents, maki-hamun them for no apparent reasons, looked down on our family because we were poor, denied them of their rights, cheated them of their belongings to make profit, up to this moment.... and well yeah, name anything from those drama minggu ini, they'd probably have experienced it already.

I still know the where beings of some of those mean people and their families...but that is not important.....the only thing that is important is for me to say Alhamdulillah...with their kesabaran & ketekunan, I am now here with my family....thank you Bah Tua, Mak Tua, Atuk & Nenek....you all will always be in my heart....in our hearts....

........maybe I will continue this part when I am ready to tap on this keyboard again...

Birthday Weekend @ Monaco Race Day

May, a month of celebrations for our family. Mama's birthday, our anniversary and since it is in between April & June, we normally celebrate Alisya & Naufal's birthday too and of course, the Mother's day. So, we have a lot to celebrate in the month of May....but the main highlight would always be the birthday bash for the twins. It is always fun to organize a birthday party for them. Although birthday celebration has never actually been something I am accustomed to, since we have Alisya & Naufal in our live, it is part of a yearly event that means a lot to me. It is just rewarding to see them happy and having fun with their friends....and the joy & excitement in their eyes when they receive lots and lots of presents.

For 2006, they are blessed with their friends and aunties & uncles who managed to find time to be with them for their small celebration. The preparation started couple of months back - thanks to Mama who planned everything...from A to Z.

The session started at 3:00pm on Sunday. Final preparation was done in the morning.....and a big incident to the preparation was when the MPV broke down near Pasar Sateville. (Read: Major one...I guess there goes my plan to fulfill my wish for a muscle bike - again!). Had to borrow their Uncle Sly's spare car for the time being. Thank you so much Uncle Sly! Though it came as a big surprise (you bet...somebody at the service centre is gonna get a load from me soon), it did not affect the mood of the celebration after all.

The first to arrive was their neighborhood friends....some came in pirate costume and I believe I saw a girl in a panda outfit! Uncle Sly was next to arrive and the rest followed. At about 4:00pm, the cake was served. Batman & Cinderella did their part with just some minor havoc....ever since they were babies they just love to touch and taste any cakes (especially those with candles)...and that was what they tried to do to their birthday cakes!

Oit!! What are you doing Kakak!

When the singing was on, Alisya was too shy to stand behind her cake, she actually hid behind it and then went under the table! But when it was time to blow the candles out, Naufal was quite hesitant....and Alisya came to the rescue, blew the candles for her baby brother's cake and her own.

I'll do it Batman! Pfhuuhh~!! Pfhuhh~!! Walla!

Then the main concentration was on the foods lah...and I had the time to borak with the people.

Just some pix of a couple of their uncles & aunties who were there...

The energy level of Batman & Cinderella was declining towards the later afternoon....but suddenly went up again close to maghrib.

They were supposed to open their presents after maghrib.....but the twins were too tired to do anything....they only did it next day....with help from their kid sister Baby Aliya.

Can I have this one mummy?

Although the crowd was not as we have budgeted it to be, those who came made the celebration a very very meaningful day, for us and our kids.

....on behalf of our kids, we would like to say thank you to those who came....the kids were very happy to be with all of you.....and no words could express how much it mean for us...thank you so much...
you are the most wonderful uncles & aunties anybody could ever have!

Circuit De Catalunya weekend

Oi! That's your soft toy, not your soft food la baby!
Baby Aliya: Ok Mama, enough already, gayat dah ni! Where's my food laa Mama?!

1.
Last weekend the bunch had a new experience....Aliya has started taking soft foods now. Boy oh boy....it's going to be very interesting to see this little lady grow!

Since it was a long weekend (eeeeyyyahoo!) we have a longer time to spend with the kids....doing the usual thing - breakfast on the porch, then let them play with their bubble blowers and by mid day everybody would be resting infront of the TV set and dozed off....

Smart....why waste breath, use fan laa! Baby Aliya: Woohooo! More bubbles please!
Ouch! Pedih plak mata gue!



Baby Aliya: Aisehmen....cantik lense ayah...pegang sket bleh....
Me: Aaarggh!!
Baby Aliya: Uiiiks! Takkan dah flat kot Along & Angah ni apa raaa...
Alisya & Naufal: ZZZZZZzzzz!! Kroiihhhh!! ZZzzzzz!!

2.
For the first time, we went to South City Plaza. Quite an interesting place. Met an ex-UIA Law student (to my surprise, still recognized me although I am not at all what I used to look like back in those days!) who was selling some stuff and happened to live near our homey... lotsa interesting stuff at the flea market and the space rental is very low. Bought some stuffs for the kids and went back just in time to see the Barcelona race.....another win for the kid's Uncle Alonso...woohoo! If in Monaco there is not going to be any worthy contender to the Renault F1 Team and Team Scuderia Ferrari, the season is not going as interesting as I expected it would be lah.....

3.
Decided to try homoeopathy treatment for the disease in me thanx to Brother Kimster. The session went very well and I am looking forward t the next one this coming weekend. The doctor has some interests in martial arts - what I used to do during my "younger days".....very used to do! We spend almost one hour after the medication session talking about martial arts and the likes. There is this unique 'camaraderie' between a 'real' martial artists when they meet, regardless what kind of martial artists they are.....
The medication is starting to take effect in my system now, it started almost immediately actually. Was told that I am supposed to expect heavy fever soon and I need to inform the doctor on any changes I am experiencing to keep track on my progress.
Let's just see how this will go....but I am optimistic and have a good feeling about it, insya-Allah.

4.
SCREAMyx has been acting up again. Memang tak stable punya service provider. Everytime I need to get online from 8pm to midnight, chances are I would have to spend hours trying to get connected and trouble shooting. Useless. I am really really fed-up with this so-called broadband service provider who seems to monopolize the industry and delivers sh***y experience to users.
If by end of the year there's no improvement we might as well terminate this account and maybe try the Jaring system or get a real mobile network access with DiGi - the ONLY reliable mobile service provider in this country to my standard of expectation.
The rest - including SCREAMyx - are just posers who never kept their promises and always broadcasts more empty promises....and trying hard to look futuristic with their (lousy) adverts that will make any average Joe Jambul (and techy wannabees) highly impressed.....while in real life, these posers are just as good as having two tin susu and a string attaching them together, as far as communication is concerned.

The Attention

1.
When you are back to work after hospitalization or the likes, it is just natural for people to be a bit more friendlier to you, especially colleagues and people who deal a lot (and not quite a lot!) with you. The extend of friendliness varies. Some are very genuine, you can sense the camaraderie in their words, their face, in the air. Definitely friendly and sincere....regardless of their positions.
Of course, there are those who are not as genuine as them. You can sense it when they are talking to you - words are delivered in a rush, no eye contact, no facial expression...which can naturally translates to - lack of sincerity.
Probably the worst would be the ones who insist that they know what you have to endure (ohh...that miserable experience) and insist they know the subject and try to put up some facts about it but never actually managed to get it right. Even worse than that, when these bunch try to be knowledgable and in control and start telling you what you should have and should have not done and give some "friendly advice for your own benefit". How wise of them.
Damaging but they are not the one in your shoe, so what else can you do but just listen, smile and try (so damn hard!) to be nice.

2.
Oh...even worst than the last one mentioned above, I would say, would be those who actually were NEVER ever listed in your buddy list - not even in your very very very distance buddy list - but somehow started to get in touch with you and the first point revealed - they want to help you recuperate, they are SELLING some products that have proven to be successful and perhaps you should consider trying (read: BUYING IT FROM THEM..or their "downline"...DUH!).
With all due respect to them as human beings trying to become successful business persons (and perhaps get a frigging HONGDA or BlingblingBeemer from the top-most line for being able to achieve super-quadriple-platinum class downliner), don't you wish that they just please be a bit more sensitive and considerate to you as human beings too?!!

3.
Have been joining buddies for lunch and after office drinks but could not really put my mind to the topics discussed. Distracted. Perhaps not interested in the topics after all. Most probably, not in the mood. The mind is somewhere, roaming & thinking. It's like a spontaneous thing, if the topic is not within the liking, the mind would just re-route itself, scanning for anything more meaningful to the heart. Pre-occupied with other stuffs perhaps, unconsciously.

4.
I realized that nowadays I seem to prefer to think and talk (write) about more really really realistic things, things closer to our life, things that we can/ should do while we still have the time and chance to do so.
And I think I am really in a total war against braggarts, those boasting around blindly, talking without thinking and considering the feelings of the people around them, about things that they probably do not have a clue about but trying to impress others. They know everything and they have everything.
Well, I bet nobody will be impressed, infact, nobody wants to be impressed, so, for once, why can't they just stop tyring to impress somebody for just one day in their life!
Heck...given the chance, I would not want to be on the same galaxy with these odious beings.

5.
Note to self: Never buy coleslaw from that supermarket again......euughhh!
On top of that I may have found the worst Chef in the whole Galaksi Bimasakti when I experienced the hospital food at that specialist center. Some people, they just seem to fail to understand that what they cook/ make is supposed to be edible - TO HUMAN BEINGS. Perhaps they never actually tasted their self made food. Perhaps their taste buds needs re-alignment. Perhaps they never received any negative feedback about they terrible products. Perhaps people close to them are too coward to spit out the truth and opted to be miserable and endure the torment for as long as they live!
These idiotic chefs should be asked to be toilet cleaners instead....if they can't even smell how bad their cooking is, perhaps by being toilet cleaners, their sense of smell could be fixed....or at the very least, they should not have any problem with the job....they are used to produce food sthat smell like s**t.....I dunno how s**t taste so I can't say they produced foods that taste like one! Maybe these chefs have tasted s**t and decided its the best taste they have tasted in their live?

6.
Yeah it's history already but just wanna include it here....
Since I have to really be hydrated....finally got my first SIGG bottles.....two. The Black Logo 0.75L for me and the Logo On Red 0.6L for my lovely wife. Understood about the SIGG history and stuffs at least two years back. I guess once you are addicted to technology or appreciate technology, you will always be attracted to buy stuffs (which you can afford) to experience the technology yourself. Am now hunting for the cutlery set from SIGG....
Why SIGG? Simply because I know and I can....and as I mentioned in my other earlier entry, I prefer to run with the wind, whenever possible.

Why should you follow others when you know you are not going to be comfortable being with the others.....

May 8th.

May 8th is a very special day for us.
It's Mama's Birthday!
The kiddies bought Mama a caarot cheese cake from her favorite bakery....
and Mama got 2 big cakes from the hotels she always liaise with! That's 3 diferent cakes for Mama!

Happy Birthday Mama...we love you!

Nurburgring Race Weekend

Aliya in her Bumbo seat
(of course being attended! never leave your baby alone in this position!)

1.
Saturday was Aliya's check-up day. Fun! The pediatrician's office was filled with little people and before long Alisya started to make friends with a Nabil who's a month younger and Michelle who's 6 months older than her. Aliya was also excited to see so many little people around and reused to sleep although the wait was quite long. Alisya was the centre of attraction due to her chubbiness and friendliness. It's amusing to see my little girl is willing to share and tolerate the others. Michelle (the girl who's father is a German and mother is a Malaysian Indian) only speaks English and German but amazingly Alisya get along well with her.

Aliya is growing well, though her weight 6.66kg compared to 6.20KG last month it is reaching the expected plateau but actually fact is she's really progressing well. She even tried to be friendly with Dr A and he felt guilty to have to make her cry - triple antigen vaccination. Fortunately, she did not cried that long.

We went to Ampang Point after that and Mama bought some stuffs. Aliya got her Bumbo seat!! She was really cute in the Bumbo and we got it at a lower than usual price of almost RM200 a piece. Alisya & Aliya caught the attention of people around and the counter lady gave Alisya bubble maker.

Wished we could bring the kids to the park in the evening but it was rainy. So Saturday ended in out small living room.

2.
Sunday started a bit late but not too late to have fun at all. I had to go out alone to buy breakfast when Alisya & Naufal decide they did not want to follow me. They have a big bottle of bubble makers to attend to plus the free gift Alisya got yesterday. Oh boy! The kids know know how to prioritize their wants and needs!

So off I go to get breakfast for the bunch and on the way back I decided that we will have breakfast on the porch instead of the normal dining place in our little homey. When I reached home the kids were busy playing with bubbles with their next door buddies. Splendid! We have guests for breakfast.

They enjoyed the roti canai & roti sardin with some mee goreng mamak and peanut butter & chocolate sandwich.

Before long, they are blowing the bubbles again.

We got exhausted by just looking at them playing with the flying bubbles but it seems that they would not stop until the whole big container is empty! We had to put a stop and by noon they were already lying and feeling sleepy.

Mama made a delicious healthy lunch - Japanese noodle and soup - her own recipe. Since it was rainy, we spent the afternoon in the living room playing with the babies and watching movies. Off to Tesco late afternoon to get some mayonnaise for our salads.

3.
The Nurburgring race was a disappointment for our favorite team - Renault F1 Team. Fisico really has to buck-up and be more radical on the wheels. He has just been playing it too safe for so long already. Alonso on the other hand could use a better strategy. It was nice to see Nico in the points and Villeneuve to eat Fisico's dirt after the havoc of the qualifying session. Kimi did well too but seeing Montoya retiring, the reliability issue is still a package McLaren needs to deal with. Schumi seems to have toned down a bit on his arrogance while Massa could use some help in the donkey jobs he has to do for his team mate. It seems like Fartrari really has never has any respect for the second driver in their team. We'll have Barcelona next week. We'll see if Alonso is capable of being jaguh kampung like Fartrari & Schumi did at the last two tracks.

Whatever it is, Renault will always be my favorite team....whether they win or lose in the end of the day, we still use a Renault to drive around and have fun with our babies.

4.
Friday - the blood samples needed from my was sent for further tests and I am given a pack of pills for my liver until the result of the next tests is ready. The specialists informed me that I am already a carrier, no more in acute stage. Not really what I expected to hear but being positive, it could be worse. Next 14 days or so will determine what's the next course of action I will be facing.

Whatever it is, with 3 most wonderful kids in the world, life is never boring!

Labour day weekend

Three's no crowd but more fun than ever!

The weekend was quite long - one extra day added to the two days is very meaningful if you have kids and serious about spending time with them! - and we tried to make the best out of it.

Funny thing was, we got Aliya's next appoinment mixed-up, it was supposed to be on the Saturday of next weekend and not this one. So, it means we actually can have more time together.....yahoouuu!!

Lets get ready baby!

Saturday - off to 1U, appointment @ MAC Asia with regards to some iPods issues. Massive - 1U, not what like it used to be when I was a student. I think I would not be able to complete the whole mall in one day. We actually concentrated on the second floor of the new wing. Parked at the roof top of the original 1U and off we go. On the way to the bridge, made a quick stop to get a water bottle for Naufal - now everybody in the family has one each!
At the bridge, we found a shop with a very friendly shopkeeper selling Quinny ZAPP at the lowest price ever. Am going to recommend the shop to preggie friends. Then the next stop was a shop selling party princess dresses. The price was very very very reasonable compared to the others we have been to. Mama bought something for Aliya & Alisya.

The next stop was a cool shop selling SIGG bottles. Lotsa accesories compared to other places, thought the price is a bit - just a little bit - high from 1s3t4n but the range of acccesories is far better in this shop. The shopkeepers were friendly too, they loved the kids especially Alisya who clowned around with them. Bought some stuffs there and then only I finally managed to reach MAC Asia and deal with the issue of the iPods that have kept in my Crumpler since Friday afternoon - none of which is mine! Thanx to the friendly staff of MAC Asia, the issues were resolved at no cost - one still under warranty, another one just needs a minor "surgery", while the other one, the big boys of MAC Asia tought me how to check and verify the problems myself - it will cost me a hole in my wallet if I simply send it to the technicians to check.

While waiting for my turn, I managed to convince a father to get his son a Crumpler - it seems that my old skill as a petrochemical product marketing executive is still ok lah! (That kid owe me a big one!)

...and while waiting for the "iPod surgery" Alisya & Naufal had a blast at the mini theme park on that level while Aliya decided to spend the time with me. Then it's time to call it a day....off to Sateville!

Sunday - hmm...let's see.....oh yes! After a quick breakfast at home we decided to drive and park at KLCC and took the LRT to Sentral....train ride for the kiddies! Boy! Did they enjoy the train ride.

Let's go ayah!

After a quick round at the "bazaar" we had lunch. Then took the LRT back to KLCC and off to Sateville. Everybody was sleeping on the way back except Alisya. After a delicious home cooked dinner (*thanx Mama!) we sent their Aunt Anie back to her hostel, then a quick round of heavy shopping for diapers and stuffs at Giant.

If people used to stare at the load we push everytime we do our monthly diapers & formula milk shopping for Alisya & Naufal, now we can see people actually dropping their jaws when they saw the "almost a truckload" of diapers and stuffs for Alisya, Naufal AND Aliya. The staff of Giant asked me - that's a big load of diapers and stuffs, is it for a month? Yep! It is for the next 30 days or so!

(Pix is only half of the actual load)

If we have another baby anytime soon, we may have to change our MPV, with the one that has a bigger space for stuffing the monthly stock for the kids.....

Monday - labour day break! Naufal & Alisya had their first haircut at Unce Nasir's place. It's the first time Naufal actually agreed to have a haircut and it went well without much "songel".

After a late breakfast we laze around at the small living room of ours - it was rainy - and dozed most of the morning off. Action started late in the afternoon - off to ALAMANDA!

A quick round of hunting for the TeamGeist Miniature - still fail to get one for the kids - then off to StarBux. The ball is a must have for me since I have the FeverNova miniature from Adidas from the last World Cup. For 2006, the date of the final match is printedd on the ball - including the miniature, the deal is this - the date of the 2006 World Cup Final is on my birthday!
Anyway, I could not get the ball at 1U, Sentral and Alamanda sports shops. So, Uncle Pata if you are reading this, we are relying on you to get that bola ketot for the kids ok! We'll pay, definitely! After Starbux, we did our routine - stop at the bookstore before going back. Aliya attracted the attention of (among many others) a lady who asked me how come the baby is so white but the father is dark (Duh!) - 'Lucu sekali' she said, obviously she's an Indonesian expat living around Putrajaya. I told her that's because the mother is very fair and showed her my lovely wifey who was queing to pay for a recipe book (we're gonna have a different menu this weekend kids!).

Back from Alamanda, everybody was tired including Aliya who could not stop wiggling in her "kantung". Alisya caught fever out of a sudden. As always, she's be very 'manja' with me everytime she's not feeling well. Slept with her with the thermometer next to me - risau siut. At about 4 am she woke me up and said - "Ayah, nak dukung....."

Ehehehe! What else could I do but dukung her and calm her down.

Came to office a bit late and dizzy but I am just glad she's all okay now.....hmmm....maybe we can go for another cool dip this weekend....