The things I don't know can fill a warehouse

Fact 1)

Wakaf is such a neat community-building effort. I've only today discovered that any Muslim can contribute to mosque-building if one cares to. The husband wanted to 'wakaf' his late father's assets towards the building of a mosque and right now, MUIS is taking donations for the building of Masjid Muhajirin.

For S$5, one can purchase 1 brick for the mosque, for S$12 one can purchase a square metre of carpet and for S$250, one can purchase a square metre of classroom space (desks and chairs included).

We went away happy to know that Hj Mohd Amir Bin Hj Hassan would be recognised in God's eyes to have contributed to the building of His house. Amin.

Fact 2)

Yes we are all worried about the global crunch and bloody Chinese capitalists putting melamine in baby formulas are not helping to upkeep consumer trust. But before you think I HAVE TO SAVE ALL MY MONEY, think how low the China shares are all now. 'Tis the best time to be buying shares and stocks in China! Ok, forget putting your money in consumer products like toothpaste and baby formulas, those are too risky.. "but how about Telcom shares? Utilities shares? Transportation shares?", my boss whispers to me. Aha, so that's the trick to becoming rich quick. Instead of buying LV Mini Lin handbags, one buys stocks and shares and wait for it to double.

Now, where can I find US$20,000 to invest is another question. :D

On a wing and a prayer

Daniela Prina is a 13 month old baby who will be undergoing surgery today for Hirschprung Disease. I have never met this little angel in person, as she lives far away in Brussels but her mother, Imelda Paulina and I are friends from my early days in IFA.


Im and I text and call each other from time to time, usually when she's home-sick and missing good homecooked Indonesian fare but we haven't been in touch for a good 6 months now, as duty call means we're too busy with our bubs to keep in touch as often as before. So her email last week came as a surprise, albeit not a very pleasant update- an appeal for our prayers for the safety of her little girl. I cannot imagine if Arissa had to go through the same deal, I don't think I would be strong enough like Imelda to take it in stride.

So to Imelda and Adamo.. our prayers are with you during this difficult time. Little Daniela, may you get better in record time sweetheart and I hope to see you soon when Mama comes through Singapore for her home trip.

Not a lost cause after all

I have said this time and again- the 10 years I spent learning the piano was a lost cause. But my parents never gave up, which was why they ended up paying for the lessons for 10 years and not 10 months, at the expense of expensive toys I could've far better enjoyed.

And now that I'm a Mother, I am starting to understand why they never lost hope. When I saw Arissa tinkling on the piano, it gave me such a rush (even though half the time I had to grit my teeth as it was all just plain, loud noise she was making) that this offspring of mine is seemingly enjoying the display of her musical prowess. The fact that I clap my hands as though she had just finished a Vivaldi in D-minor piece helped boost her ego too. :D




















That's a Bach, Beethovan and Brahms piece she's trying out- not too shabby eh!

I started playing the piano with her every Mon, Tue and Thu nights at Mum's, as that is where my old piano is still, after all these years. And magically discovered that not only do I find playing de-stressing and enjoyable, I was still able to read those damn notes I had cursed all my childhood..

Forgotten favourites came to life at my fingertips all over again especially Schubert's Lilac Time Serenade.. a lilting, melancholic piece about love lost.

Arissa has a few favourites of her own and she makes a huge effort playing it out. I must say that in my biased opinion, I can very clearly hear Jingle Bells in this solo recital, can you? (many apologies for the horrid singing in the foreground!)




Up next are This Old Man for Arissa and Everything I do (I do it for you) for Mummy.. I can't wait!

4 Hallmark Moments

10 Sep is a special day on our calendar. Not only is it our wedding anniversary, it also marks Sapna's turning a year older. And I'm always elated because between September and December of every year, I can tell her "I'm NOT a year older than you." :D

But 10 Sep in 2008 has more celebratory reasons- the opening of Hafidz's new venture Fish & Chicks @ 991 (sorry guys, he's not in open market YET) and the new home @ Villa Marina (NOT ours- hah!).

Everyone enjoyed the foodtesting, we had a load of laughs and look forward to popping in again after Ramadhan for a Barbie!

Enjoy the clip:

Thank you Anish

Dearest Anish,

I know you're still small and enjoy your sleep a whole lot. Your Mummy is terrible, putting those huge sunnies on you. Never mind, Godma will get you one of those styrofoam sunglasses that Kakak Arissa has from SKP. She ate hers up, so I've warned your Mummy not to let you chew on them.



Godma wants you to drink lots of milk and grow up quickly so we can all go watch LIVE shows together. In the meantime, because your Daddy knows you probably won't enjoy having music blasted in your ears while you try to catch some beauty rest, he has given your tickets to Kakak Arissa and Abang Rifqi who enjoyed the show thoroughly. Kakak will give you a wet-kiss to thank you soon enough.

Godma misses you much and can't wait to cuddle you on Weds! See you soon pumpkin!

xoxo

I want a famous face..

..is the new strand of reality show on MTV. Its aired on prime time and we all know everyone between 4 and 40 watches MTV from time to time, especially if you have cable on.

"By showing how much of a positive impact plastic surgery can have on a person's life, I Want a Famous Face shows how much of a change plastic surgery can have on a person. Besides affecting a patient's appearance in a drastic way, plastic surgery also makes a person more confident and comfortable with themselves", cites www.plastic-surgery.net.

I watched it after a full plate of chicken rice and immediately felt sick to the stomach. Two disillusioned twins from Arizona, Mike and Matt, who in their quest to look like Brad Pitt (laughable!!) underwent the plastic surgeon's knife for rhinoplasty, chin implants, and porcelain veneers. Mike wanted to look like Brad in the "Meet Joe Black" movie; Matt wanted to look like Mr Jolie in the "Legends of the Fall" movie (so sick, its not even funny!)

BEFORE:



AFTER:








The surgery was gory enough, you actually get to see their flesh cut open and bloody, getting pumped and skinned and stitched like the dead spring chicken in my sink every Saturday morning. But what made me more sick was how the pair went from down-to-earth regular people to boastful, pompous twats:

"We're going to be the next biggest twins. Watch out Hollywood" *wink*

*barf*

And they don't even look like Brad Pitt yet! Faaaaaaaaaaaar from it. So far, in fact, that they look more like the Bros brothers if we primed them for the 21st century.

No one's new to MTV's take on idol worship- its how they, as a channel, survive the times. The more sensational the series, the better the viewership and subscriber base. Sorry MTV, I've always been a fan of reality- I like Run's House and all the other crap you guys churn out but this one just propels idol worshipping to a new, disturbing, almost pathological level.