Gartblue Growls

The Fever, The Hour and The Sleepover

It’s a baton-passing thing that my children are playing between themselves and MrGart.

2 weeks ago, Ariz was down with stomach flu. He was better in 24 hours.

Then, Adani was down for 6 days for throat infection with 40C fevers and left her weak, lethargic and clingy. She had zithromax and now a jumpy, excited Adani again, slightly thinner from a week of no appetite. At the same time, the biggest baby of the house, MrGart caught the same thing too and later complained that I did not sponge him down when he was feverish like I did Ariz. *eyebrows menjungkit*

Last Friday, Ayisha had a 40.1C fever at 4am and woke up crying and skipped school. I came home from work in the afternoon to a 39.3C feverish Ariz. Off we all went to see Dr Rasool at the clinic.

Both have inflamed throats and I didn’t even object for antibiotics for both of them. He mentioned that throat infections always lead to high grade fevers. I quivered. Yikes!

True enough, the whole weekend, Ariz went through a cycle of 39.5C fevers every 5 hours. He had a lot of problem swallowing the zithromax which he said was “macam pasir” but I made him pinch his nose while he swallowed it. Course completed.

Ayisha was better by Saturday but since she already started her augmentin, that’s gonna have to complete la.

This morning, I thought Ariz was better but he had a 39.3C at 7am. I thought of calling in half day leave but by 7:30am, his fever was subsiding and I thought I’d save the leave for worse rainier days.

I just called home and he was ok but throwing tantrums. Yikes!

Anyways.

Aliya had her first sleepover at her best friend Farah’s place for 2 nights. We missed her but she apparently enjoyed her stay very much. *sulk* But I guess she kind of deserve the time off away from her demanding little brother and sisters. I’m glad that she enjoyed that. Ayisha and Adani meanwhile were asking where Aliya was every few hours and when to pick her up again.

Ariz suddenly had an imaginary friend who asked him for sleepovers and Mummy should be sending him off to that friend’s house with a bag full of books and clothes. Hmmm.

Earth Hour. We were so prepared. MrGart put the tent out. He charged our emergency light (BTW, everyone should have this in case for another involuntary national blackout, like it never happened before la kan?). He had both torch lights ready. I had the 3 little battery powered star night lights from IKEA ready. We had candles, scented ones prepared.

So, when the hour came, we gladly put out all lights and stayed in the tent. 10 minutes later, we got bored and decided to walk around the neighbourhood to a street full of wandering neighbours and crackles of laughter from the girls next door. It takes a dark night to get neighbours together.

I felt so good doing what little we could do in the name of the Earth.

Well, by 10pm, we’re ready for bed and me, ready for Grey’s. Heh! Once a TV addict, always a TV addict.

What a week, man!

Just fevers though. No beavers yet. Thought fever rhymes with beaver. Anyways!

Adani’s better now, alhamdulillah. After close to 6 days of 40C fevers and a course of Zithromax (her first every antibiotics) she’s kicking now. Turned out her throat infection was kinda not relenting. But she’s teary-eyed this morning. Guess the many days off got her hooked on home. Ish.

Ariz meanwhile has been going to school without so much as a whimper for the whole of the week. Considering that the normally the 3 of them (Ariz, Adani & Ayisha) would hop of Manjit’s van, the past week saw only him, or him with Adani or him with Ayisha. I’m so proud of him. Takut jugak kalau dia pun nak cuti macam kakak-kakak yang kurang sihat.

Aliya’s been busy with school projects and we’ve been ferrying her to her friend’s house for her project team to work. Bless Allah for making us decide to stay here where her friends’ houses are nearby and I can get to know them in person. too.

Last night, Ayisha ran a fever. At 4am, she was at 40.1C. yikes! She’s been coughing the dried ivy leaf cough meds I gave her, obviously not working that well. Hmm. Must pay a visit soon.

In the meantime, today is Friday and it’s pay day. Whoo hoo! *macamla nak shopping sangat*

The Big Kahuna’s last day is tomorrow and they’re planning a big send-away do for her for the traditional last swipe before she goes off.

I have been working for the Big Kahuna for the past 7 years, maybe more, I wasn’t counting since it’s too far from my retirement. And I have such huge respect for her.

She has an envied photographic memory which is a bane to us sometimes and scares the hell out of me when I forget a page she remembers some 6 years ago and wants to see it again. Darn!

Her attention to detail is just amazing. She remembers every single letters and events and literally put me to shame, at times. She’s one of those rare women engineers who climbed up to the top, in this sexist world and even more sexist organisation and remained true to herself.

She believes in the marriage and family institutions and has told us that if your children are sick, be with them instead. For that, I take my hat off to you, Big Kahuna.

There are other types of the Veeps who think that just because I’ve scraped and struggled and burned bridges with my wife and children and friends to get where to I am today, you should too. And the other sicko types who think that weekends are best spent poring over documents and having meaningless meetings.

I loathe these veeps, typically men who are short and pudgy and stout and portly with fake grins and they normally gorge their faces with food during official dinners and they normally have their gargantuan-sized egos as their bestfriends.

Anyways.

My Big Kahuna has never been any of the above. She hardly ever holds meeting past the official working hours, unless it was completely necessary. For the days, I was kept in meetings way past time, I have accepted it as I saw it fit for her to conclude issues. And she was always asking me about my kids and my plans and personal stuff.

For the past 3 years, I think, I’ve worked closely with her and I saw the unadulterated part of her and I’m proud to be there. She might not have won many hearts but she sure struck mine. My respect for her was truly earned and never demanded.

Colleagues would argue that I felt that way since I was always picked by her for assignments and she would march down my lowly-end-of-the-world room to tell me a conversation she just had with someone.

But like my SecondInLineBigKahuna would say, my toilet trips would never be the same again once BigKahuna retires.

You see. For some reason or another, I bump into BigKahuna the most at the exact spot in between the 2 sinks in the women’s toilet.

I’ve had assignments handed over while I washed my hands.
I’ve had to present status of current crisis and issues to her while I put on my hijab after ablution.
I’ve had to report to her how my feverish child was recovering.
I’ve had small talks of where I bought my simply brooches.

My last encounter with BigKahuna in the loo was last week.

She just finished ablution and I was walking towards the loo at the very end of the toilet. She hmmp-ed at me and I acknowledged her her a hmmp myself. I went in the cubicle and locked the door.

Then I heard. “Gartblue!”. Yikes!

I unlocked the door and came out, nature call aborted for the next 6 minutes as she was asking me about one of her current favourite issues.

I had no choice but to succumb to it. My kidneys just had to wait a bit longer.

When I was relating this to SecondInLineBigKahuna , instead of nods of sympathy, she might as well rolled on the floor, laughing, because that’s exactly what she did. In fact, she ended her hysterical laughing fit by saying that, “Your loo trips would never be the same again!”.

Anyhow.

I hope the she enjoys retirement. I hope she enjoys not having to deal with this crap on a daily basis ever again. I hope that she finds new adventures in her travels.

And thank you for teaching me what I need to learn. A living example of a working, successful woman with all her values in tact. Thank you, so much.

p/s Now I can pee in peace. No pun intended.

Scorchingly hot, may I add.

Last night, we had all the kids in our room since except Ariz, all the girls are either feeling quesy, fevers and coughing-kung-kung-kung. Aliya and Ayisha bunked down on the floor and Ariz and Adani wedged in between us. I was lying in bed, diagonally, constantly worried about MrGart squashing Ariz and Ariz’s free-kicking legs would do extra time with Adani next to him.

Woke up around 3-ish to a whiny Adani and a 39C fever too. Once that dealt with and her asleep again, I turned the air-con on again. After the July 2008 electricity tariff hike, all the bedrooms air-cons are set to go off at 3:30am. Even with that, our electricity bill is around RM250. Ciss!

But last night, it was so hot that I had no choice. Berpeluh-peluh ni karang Ariz sure mengamuk punya. Good thing too the girls are with us, so jimat satu malam punya aircon costs. Haha!

Anyhow.

We’re supporting this next week, the 28th March 2009. We’ve been spewing too much CO2 and the SOx and the NOx and I feel kind of weird for having a hand in burning a rough total of 12 million tonnes of coal last year alone. *points to the sinful power stations*

So there. We’re going dark, next weekend.

This is what we plan to do.

Spread a mat on the field, grab some food and drinks. Get some balls to kick and just chill. Probably I should print some stars charts and we could try to spot them.

But what if it rains? Yikes!

It started really well.

We decided to join my colleagues to attend Matju’s wedding at Terachi (must drive through Bukit Putus and lalu Ulu Bendul).

Ariz was better by then, still no appetite but chirpy still. The girls were fine. Then at fast lane near Senawang, we heard a loud knock from under the car. Yikes! Then the air-conditioner blew hot air instead. Double yikes!

Hokeh! A check at the nearby PETronas revealed a long cable (possibly from the cable on top of cars and has become un-tacked) tangled under the bumper. Yesterday MrGart found out that it leaked the radiator and would be a little costly and not to mention, one less car today.

Well, we’re almost there but now we’re nearing the kenduri in all our fineries, dripping in sweats. We wound the windows down for some cool air, but Bukit Putus jam la pulak. Adoi! Saturday turned out to be one of the hottest day this week, or this month! Tak apala, practise for Earth Day.

Kenduri done. Congratulations to MatJu and Liza and thanks for having us.

We stopped at Ulu Bendul for a dip. Best jugak. Ramai orang Kompeni yang singgah after kenduri. Even my brother took his kids over there too, knowing that I was there. So, I left Aliya and Ayisha with them while we drove to my Mak Ndak’s at Rashidah Utama with Ariz and Adani, who’s now feeling feverish.

Sunday. Adani got worse. She complained of stomach aches and feverish and a little cough. This Last night Aliya threw up once. This morning Ayisha called me crying kata she’s coughing and “bernafas laju” and boleh tak tak pegi KAFA? Hmm

So, so much for the first day of school. Aliya’s at school now. Ariz went on the van this morning alone, minus Ayisha and Adani. I hope Ayisha feels better to go to SKBJ in the afternoon.

And I hope that the kids will all get better soon. Insyallah.

This was Ariz yesterday around 8pm. From the time I arrived home from work yesterday to 8pm, he had thrown up about 5 times. The last time was greenish, indicating there’s nothing else in his tummy.

He became thirsty and parched and asked for ribena or water and as soon as he plopped himself back after drinking it, he would weakly said to me “Nak muntah ..” and I quickly got the puke bowl to him and held him while he wretched and he shuddered.

MrGart went out and got him 100Plus. That spent about 5 seconds before it too got ejected out. At 3am, he was still throwing up every single drop of liquid he drank.

It was harrowing. This was painful for a mother to go through and this was nothing, mind you. Apatah lagi, the mothers whose children have much much more severe illnesses than Ariz’s. Astaghfirullahadzim.

In those wee hours of the night while MrGart snored and Ariz rested in between his throwing up sessions, I rubbed Minyak Yuu Yee on his tummy and patted him to sleep. I was reminded of Kak Jun who babysat Ayisha when she was 2 months old until she was about 9 months old i.e when Andes came for good.

You see. Kak Jun is such a strong person. At that time, she was caring for Fatin, her 9 years old invalid daughter, body twisted, bed-ridden and was fed through a tube. Fatin always laid in the middle of her quarters at the Kompeni, a few doors from the Kompeni’s Nursery where Aliya was. Kak Jun’s husband was paralysed on his left side froma stroke suffered a few years back. But he still went to punch his card in the morning and came home. The Kompeni kept him on its payroll.

Kak Jun was so determined to give the best to Fatin and her other sons. But sometimes things got a litle harder. Ayisha was once left to the care of her 15 yo son (who is now at Germany, I believe studying Engineering) while she carted off Fatin in a rickety stroller to the nearby Pantai MC. Mind you, she had to push the stroller, rather heavily too, down a hill, cross a very busy Jalan Pantai and up the hill to the Hospital. All because she couldn’t afford a cab fare. If she had told me.

Once, she told me while I was dropping Ayisha off hers, how she was so tired that she didn’t wake up and Fatin was seizing for a good half hour due to her high fevers. She felt so guilty because of that. And during the day, she still had the tenacity to care for Ayisha who was the most strong-minded baby I and she has ever known.

You see, Ayisha loved to nurse. Fullstop. Straight from the breast. Nothing else matters.

So, we’ve gone through a gazillion teats, bottles, formula and none worked. In the end, what worked was feeding her my expressed breast milk from a syringe. Imagine that! Even I was not that patient. She was used to it, she said. Sometimes she used a spoon. But syringes were easier. I cannot thank her enough for her patience and I so respect her for her strength and determination.

Kak Jun now lives in a flat at Sentul. Fatin passed away at 13, a coupe of years ago and her husband was finally terminated under a medical board by the Kompeni and they had to vacate the quarters. Her eldest son, Idris is now a clerk at the one of the Kompeni’s subsidiary where I always go for meetings in PJ and he recognised he immediately. I thought he looked familiar but never would’ve guessed the connection. The son, who was minding Ayisha on that fateful day, is studying at Germany and I’m sure the mother is proud of him and his other son.

Anyhow. Kak Jun might have lost her only daughter Fatin, but I can assure you that throughout Fatin’s short life, Kak Jun cared for her with such love that was above herself.

Today I took a day off. I did not answer phonecalls. So to Sara-With-A-Fizz and Ken, I will speak to you on Monday. Bukannya apa, I hardly slept last night for fear of Ariz running up a temperature. So, I was napping with him. Ariz when he’s sick, became a clinger, a super-clinger. So I had no choice but to snuggle on the sofa, with a glass of iced coffee and the Astro remote.

Ariz meanwhile ate nothing today. But alhamdulillah he could keep fluids down and has not vomitted anything yet today. But he stil refuses to eat. I guess I could keep offering and he’s bound to accept a bread or some porridge later. Insyallah.
I think we can skip the trip to the clinic la since he’s getting better. He’s doing the Madagascar 2 dance right now. His favourite. The one Alex performed while both he and Zuba was cornered by the newyorkers.

Ah well.

Yesterday, as promised, we took the kids away from home.  To unwind.

They were not too excited when MrGart shot their Sunway Lagoon and their Genting Highlands ideas.  But when we mentioned the Octopus pool, they were eager.  We first discovered the place when the whole of Gart’s clan (Tuk, Mak Ngah, Mak Ndak, Pakcik Awi, Azfar, Mak Teh etc) were menghantar rombongan meminang Yazzir’s bride at another Felda around here.  As the main agenda then was to meminang, we din’t spend a lotof time at the pool.  The kids were not that happy.

So, we came back.

The place is only about an hour’s away from Bukit Jelutong.  Toll is RM15.30.  Go to Drive up north and and take the Sungkai Exit.  Then about 10 mins drive into the Park.  Follow the signboards for Kolam Air Panas Sg. Klah or some other Felda signboards.

We arrived there around 11-ish, having set out from the house at 10, in gloomy skies and drizzles.  Alhamdulillah, weather was great when we arrived.

BTW, adults, they charge RM10 per head and kids at at RM8.  Told Aliya that, kat sini, satu maily boleh masuk, kat Sunway lagoon, sorang je.

Anyways.  This was the Octopus pool.  It’s actually Mountain Springs Pool.  I guess air gunung la kot.  Even in hot hot sun, the water was so cool.  Sejuk!  And I didn’t smell chlorine at all.  Wow!  It’s a massive pool divided into 2.  They have pebbled stoned as flooring which I thought was great.   The pool was clean too, I’m impressed.

BTW, the facilities are great and modern and clean.  Super-impressed.  The toilets are plenty and clean.  The changing area was great and nestled in greens.  Murah pulak tu!  Mai mai!

After a while, I said that we should check out the Hot Springs, which was just a short walk.  People just walk in their wet attire.  I’m not talking about one little pool, ok.  There are at least 3 pools kot yang yon can sit in and have therapeutic benefits of natural hot water.  Tahan dengan tak tak tahan aje la kot.

We went into the 30 – 30C therapeutic small pool. Basically, you step inside and brace yourself.  Tapi panas weh!   Itu je la yang mampu.  There was one at 40-50C in which MrGart dipped his toe and winced greatly.  There was one at 35-40C and there was one makcik sitting there with scrunched up face.  I dipped my toe and opps, next one!  There’s also a reflexology path where the hot water runs through them.  Makcik sakit kaki ler.  There’s a ayurvedic treatments amidst the park too but we’re too broke for that!

Anyways, I think this is a great place for families of all ages.  Your makciks and datuks and neneks can lounge the hot springs while the younger, livelier ones splash themselves silly at the Octopus pool.  Cool mountain springs vs hot springs.  And it’s cheap too.  How many times did i have to stress that?  Haha..

See the massive park.  For RM10, a great deal, I thought.

We then walked to the fenced up areas where the source of the hot spring.  Membuak-buak and berasap.  Foooh.

Here’s the 90-100C pool where you can boil your eggs.  They have the raga for you but you can buy the eggs from the cafe nearby.  Kids are off-limits, understandably.

A view of the hot springs massive pool.

This is the Hot Springs Pool. Dunno how hot, probably at least 30C. It’s floors are pebbled stoned. The trick is to step in slowly and lower your body very slowly and brace. After a few minutes, you’ll feel more comfortable. There are 3 tempayans, huge ones at the entrance for you to rinse yourself with cold water just to cool off.  That was bliss.  My Pak Lang kata, lepas berendam dalam kolam panas, mengantuk kalau nak drive balik.  So, kena siram banyak-banyak dengan air sejuk.  Memang betul pun, aku tido tak bagi can punya on the way back!

&lt

The view from the other side of the Hot Springs Pool.

BTW, I would’ve loved to stay here longer, but Ariz would’nt hear it at all. Panas dia kata! The girls were sitting down and chatted but soon the novelty wore off them. Off we go to back to the Octopus Pool.

Bliss!

The country is in disarray. Front page news aren’t about how the country’s achievement, its doom economic outlook or even the caring Government actions to safeguard the welfare of its people. No siree.

The papers flash news of who’s has graft charges, whose dirty hands in money politics, who’s under disciplinary probes for election wrong-doings and all these are not crooks. These aren’t thieves. These are personalities that we (at least the unsuspecting majority) have entrusted to run the counrty. People with titles, datuks and tansris and puansris of whom I supposed was blessed with these titles from their lifelong devotion to the country.

The only news that catch a mere mortal being like me is the Nik Nur Madihah success story and her many scholarship offers. By the way, obviously I had to show and tell the story to my own children to have them realise that what a blessing they have. Nur Madihah ate bread so much that she came to love it that much. My kids had ikan kembung goreng one night and was complaining to the heavens how they hated fish.

Anyways.

I for one, could not care a hoot for anything “political” in nature. I do not associate myself with any political parties, not even the Kompeni’s women association.

Anyways.

I read with alarm in the UKS about the views mortal people like you and me have, on the issue of Teaching Math and Science in English. Last week, I read with much dread about the nation’s lead sasterawans marching to the Istana to hand over some memorandum to abolish the policy. And the not so peaceful gathering too. Sungguh merisaukan.

Hokeh.

I dunno about you, Mr Politician or you too, Mr Sasterawan. But I have school-going children. 2 this year and another will join the bandwagon next year. I betcha you have yours either in private schools or they’ve graduated from UK universities or have taken residence in Australia and London and ain’t coming home anytime soon.

But sir.

You do not introduce some policy as widespread as this and 6 years later, just say “Opps!, twas a mistake”. No you don’t! I don’t give a hoot about winning elections or garnering support from the not-so-urban people about going back to Bahasa Malaysia as the language to teach my kids their Math and Science.

Let me tell you this. Kids have already gotten used to this. They’ve adjusted well to this. So, back off! Did you care to ask a typical Standard 3 boy? or a Standard 6 girl for their views on this? After all, it isn’t you who’s gonna have to flip flop and get confused all over again. It’s them. All this flip-flops will only damage the kids. And you, fight for credits which is worth shit to their eyes.

Come on you grown men! You say you have ambitions. You speak about visions and missions for the people. But you’re on a policy today and change your mind tomorrow not unlike my daughter who changes her clothes 5 times a day. She can change her clothes as many times as she wishes but you, Mister have the future of the generation in your hand.

I plead with you MrPolitician and MrSasterawan and MrPolicyMaker and MrNormalPeopleOnTheStreet and MrNeedPoliticalLeverageToWinElections, just leave things the way they are.

Kids have adjusted well. Maybe you can learn a thing or two on the subject of integrity from them.

Here’s the thing.

We’re so ill-equipped this term school break that we have not planned for any breakaway trips, no hotel rooms, no cheap flights in or out of the country and not even day out at the beach. Well basically, no plans whatsoever.

Here’s the trouble. 4 very restless and bored kids. And mummy and daddy who cannot afford to take time off work for too long. Meetings and whatnots. I always save my leave days for emergencies and for when the maid goes home. MrGart generally saves his leave days for golfing session or self-fulfilling activities. *pout*

Anyways.

Here’s the plan.

Wednesday, both parents have taken time off work. I may take Friday off too to just be with the boisterous kids and home.

Either :

1. Lepak at Mines Resort & Mines Villa (apatah namanya which has a sandy pool). Kids want to just swim in pool. This is completely FREE.

2. Genting Highlands. Aliya’s perennial favourite. She’s egging me to get on that Solero Shot ride again. Me? Green with puke! This will easily set us back RM400 for tickets, food and other fanciful stuff the kids would get crazy on up there on that rather sinful hill, what with the gambling and all. I never like the place. But the cable car rides and the coolness of the highland is refreshing. But bukan baru je ke kita pegi. Gambar pun tak post lagi kat blog.

3. MrGart fresh from his camping trip a week ago is still gung-ho on going back to nature mode. He suggested we drive up to Kalumpang or Lintang (on the way to Karak, my father suggested this place) and camp for the day. Hmmm. Yikes ..

4. Another of the kids’ favourite. Sunway Lagoon. Great entertainment for the kids. Great big hole on the parents’ pocket. Tickets will set us back around RM200. But the kids will love us to bits for this. Jusco card boleh dapat diskaun kan? Or was it TouchnGo card?

5. MrGart and another green, cheap idea. Drive to Sungkai and go to that Kolam Air Panas place where they have huge huge pools and the place is done up nicely. Well shaded. Minimal cost. There’s a smaller hotter pools where you can even rebus telur. We discovered the place while menghantar my cousin’s Yazzir’s kenduri last year.

Pick a number, people!

Wow wee!

Is this for real?

efx3?  Three, mind you.

Been here before.  efx2.  efx2blog.  modblog.  Love the people.

But I’ve moved on http://gartgrowls.blogspot.com but this looks good.  I think I may be linger a while and blog from both sites now.

I like this.

Yay!

Woke up early this morning. And it looked bright. After Subuh prayers, MrGart and I took out the bikes, I’m borrowing Aliya’s to go round the neighbourhood. My thighs need some intervention.

We were also looking forward to check out any other houses in the area for renovation ideas.

Anyhow.

The neighbour who had early this week caused so much headache to us had parked his huge XC90 right smack in front of our new property. Completely blocking the house and made taking the bicycles out a hassle. *sikit lagi aku nak calarkan aje kereta dia ni* Hishhh! Geram jugak.

Anyways.

Baru 2 streets away, raindrops fell. First tiny ones, then they got bigger. Quick quick! Home abound.

Well. Coffee time. Nak buat macamana. Dah hujan. Bila hujan teringat kubur arwah Zul. Wonder if the tent was still over his grave?

I was watching American Idols while I piped letters A and H for Hazel’s engagement favor cookies this weekend. And sapatah-namanya was singing You Are Not Alone. Termenitik air mataku.

Anyways. A short term break of a week for the kids. We have no real plans. Nowhere concrete to go. Anywhere cheap, I guess or better, free! Haha. Aliya was telling me about her friends who are going to Hong Kong and Bandung and Disneylands and the faraway places. And I was only offering Genting Highlands. Sungguh sedih! But alhamdulillah we are together.

Anyways. The girls are getting ready for the hari jalan-jalan sedunia. Tengahari karang nak makan domino la.

Received an email this morning about a blog post of zul during his teens and the heart operation he underwent in Australia. Read it here.

There was also a lot of pictures of the burial ceremony taken by mamanuraina and here’s a picture of the family.

The one in white headscarf was Zida, the wife and in white baju melayu was his eldest son, Danny. The 2 girls in shades of blue tudungs were his daughters and the little long-haired boy in beige baju melayu (not facing the camera) was his 4th son. The youngest son was being comforted by relatives.

pictures taken from the blog post by mamanuraina.

If the morning after is hard on us, I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it is on Zida. I pray that Allah gives the family strength and patience to get through this test. Insyaallah.

I thought I was okay this morning. Until I was at the canteen and stood there at KakNor’s stall. My voice broke when I asked KakNor for nasi lemak. I remember how Zul loved KakNor’s food. Chapati. Roti Arab. And of course Nasi Dagang.

This morning too, as I walked into the office, I stole a glance at his room. Still dark. What was I expecting? He was normally early. He always closed his door before 8am. And I never knew what he was doing while the door was closed. But past 8, he would always respond to my “Jom makan” calls.

I miss Zul.

Read Saya Sangat Berang.
Then read, The Sequel : Saya Sangat Berang.
Then cool down by reading Hati Sudah Tenang

What follows is the conclusion.

This was what happened on Tuesday.

The 2-page letter I wrote to the school focused on 7 reasons why Ayisha could not have bullied Tasha, even if she wanted to. These range from the weak premise on which the accusation was formed, Ayisha’s physique, her character predisposition and interaction they have had and so on. My letter had 2 objectives. I wanted to clear my daughter’s name from the malicious accusation thrown at her and I wanted the school to understand my fear of retaliation from the brothers.

I met the Penolong Kanan, Penyelia Petang and the highest ranked Discipline Teacher. I thought I had to fight my case. It turned out that once I’ve explained that this was a very petty and minor issue. The only reason why I was there was because the parents had over-reacted and dragged us into this. The teachers knew the family and thus, I sat there a good hour listening to THEIR horror stories. But point was taken, from both sides.

I picked Asha up on Tuesday evening and she was so chirpy.

She spoke about being called to a meeting between Discipline Teacher, and class teachers of hers and Tasha. The teacher asked Tasha to tell the truth now of what really happened.

Tasha said that opps, it wasn’t Ayisha. It was someone else who bullies her at school but does not attend the school there. I was like, eh, biar betul! Kalau dia tak sekolah sini, siapa dia? Entah-entah, she was making up stories all along.

Whatever her reasons are, the teachers got the truth they were after and Ayisha’s name has been cleared from the accusation. Alhamdulillah. I asked for Allah’s guidance and help and also a jalan keluar and alhamdulillah.

I am so happy that the school acted swiftly after I met them in the afternoon. I am so happy that the teacher managed to dig the truth out of that girl and set my girl free. I al so happy that Ayisha is happy again. Hati kan dah tenang, this is an added bonus. Alhamdulillah.

Now. Do you think an apology from the parents will come? 3 days have passed. Counting.

I just came back to the office from the burial of my friend, boss and colleague.

Eyes puffy and head splitting from the crying, I need a short nap.

Zul passed away yesterday at around 4:30pm from complications from his second surgery after his first gallstone removal surgery. I regret not finding time to visit him before he went under his second surgery and never regain conciousness again.

Yesterday, we were jolted by news that he had a turn for the worst and we came in droves, hugged Zida, the grieving and sad young wife. Patted the shoulders of Danny, the eldest at 15, Nina at 13 and Alyssa at 10. We took Andri and Baby who are 5 and 2 to breakfast and stayed around to babysit the younger ones.

It looked bad. I came to his bedside twice. This was only the second time I ever was in the ICU/HDU. The first was to visit Lollies‘ mom. Zul looked pale, he looked asleep but I prayed for him. He was sweating profusely the second time I went in.

By 4:30pm, the dreaded phonecall came in.

I rushed to the hospital with Hisham, his fellow Kelantanese and a very good friend, being of the same age. I saw the kids and tears flowed.

It was time. It was time. This is Allah’s promise.

And this morning, alhamdulillah the burial went well. The sun shone brightly. Fresh tears flowed.

I came in the office, glancing at his room, dark and read his name on the door and I smiled through my blurry eyes. I knew him from the very first day I started work here, 12 years ago. We shared many stories together. Many jokes together, most of them rather x-rated and trips all over the country, meetings , negotiations and every possible thing that could have befall us, 8 hours a way, 5 days a week.

We bought our first houses together and celebrated the birth of our children together. We discussed what cars to buy and he would always ask me of my opinion with his health or Zida or any of his children. You see, Allah is great. Zul was worrying about having to have an open heart surgey to replace his now-warranty-expired 23 years old mechanical heart valve. And this surgery he had was a minor one. And that’s what caused his death. His ailing heart held out longer than his body could. Allahu akbar!

MissKLSentral was a wreck too last night. Lollies would be too, if she was here.

Zul was a super likeable person. He was always making people laugh. 2 weeks ago, in his last Harfiyah lesson, he was cracking jokes and we were all reduced to teary-eyed laughing growups all through the class. More than usual, I thought and I was telling everyone about THAT particular harfiyah lesson because I enjoyed it so much. Moshi‘s missed the class, otherwise we would be on the floor, in stitches. He was always the class’s clown. Making jokes and asking innocent questions. Who would’ve thought he would be gone today?

The last time I saw him, he came to my room returning azGROWLen’s cds of The Hereafter series by Anwar Al-Awlaki. A month ago, he saw them in my room and was instantly intrigued. I was telling him the lessons I’ve learnt from those 18 CDs and he was instantly sold.

We discussed the CDs, the many many things that we never knew that we really should. He was so feeling slightly guilty for holding on to the CDs for so long to which I said, I was sure azGROWLen wouldn’t mind. Zul was so so grateful that he had the opportunity to listen to the Cds again and again and he told me how his children, especially Nina was into them.

He completed the whole series last 2 weeks and now his journey has begun. I pray that Allah have mercy on him. I pray that Allah have mercy on his widow and young children. I pray that Allah grants us all enlightening. A death is a minor sign of kiamat. Especially when it’s someone we know and we’ve grown close too, almost family.

Al-Fatihah.

I’m done “makan Hati” and I’m done worrying. Why should I? Haven’t I known it already that Allah knows best. Aliya told me that the du’a of those oppressed will be heard by Allah, no hijab whatsoever. I was so consumed by anger that I forgot that.

From then on, I realised with a pang that, in moments like this, one should turn to Allah. In any moments whatsoever.

So I prayed for peace of mind. I prayed for His protection upon us all.

I realised that humans are humans. But what makes us a person is the sense of right from wrong and that our reliance on Allah.

So, I’m taking a half day leave today. I have just written a 2 page letter to the HeadMaster, copies to Penyelia Petang and Ayisha’s school teacher to explain what the incidence. I have made the letter very point-form, factual, staying away from emotional outburts. My hands trembled with anger still and my heart was bursting with the unfairness of it all. But I firmly believe that Allah knows what’s best for us. This is my part, whatever happens next, is Allah’s will.

Just like when Maryam, weak from just delivering Isa under the tamar tree, Allah asked her to shake the trunk of the tree for dates to refresh her. Tamar trees has the sturdiest trunks and Maryam couldn’t have shaken it even if she tried. But Allah wants us to do our part, the rest of it is His part.

So, this is my part. I’ll send in the letter and I’ll just carry on as usual.