Tuesday 1 December 2009

Many Things

Anybody missed me? hehehe...ok ok boleh turun tangan sekarang..

Did not have enough time to write anything because have been going out a lot since Papaboyz's parents were here (mama still here, papa has gone back to Cairo, or 'Pairow' according to Ammar).

Earlier this month we went to visit 2 World Heritage Sites- Stonehenge and Roman Bath, but will upload pictures in a separate entry later.

My Birthday

I turned 29 on 16th November. Nobody baked me a cake of course, instead I asked Papaboyz to buy me a cake that I like very much, triple layer carrot and orange cake with white choc and cheese cream icing.




And a tip from me- if you marry a gadget-enthusiast, ask a gadget for your birthday present. Don't ask for jewelery or handbag or Prada shoes, haram nak dapat.

So I asked for a camera. I said 'just a cheap one that can take pictures' hahaha really macam describe disposable camera. I want to have my own camera because Papaboyz's Nikon D90 is too complicated for my kayu hands and too bulky to bring everywhere and it takes forever to wait for Papaboyz to edit photos before I can upload them.

So a gadget present from a gadget-lover? You will surely get the best! (ni bergantung pada budget ok).. Now I'm a proud owner of a red Samsung PL70 with a pink casing (got it at half price). Takyah gambar la ok.


Enid Blyton

Sometime last week I watched a BBC film about the life of my favourite childhood author, Enid Blyton. Any kids who grew up with the kids at the Enchanted Wood, or the students of Mallory towers will surely love her dearly. It is because her stories are adventures where every kids want to be- a world of no adults.

But I was shocked to know that her own daughters, Gillian and Imogen actually suffered because of lack of affection from her. We probably think that to have Enid Blyton in your home who probably tell you stories before you go to bed every night is like a dream come true. But she actually were always in front of her typewriter, pouring all her thoughts and feelings into her books- like when she was happy then you get all the happy party stories in her books. And when she was sad that was when the Wishing Chair would fly to faraway places, or when she was confused with her own relationships with her first husband (coincidentally during World War 2) that was the time the Secret Seven Adventures (mysteries) started. And when she miscarried a baby boy, Noddy was born.

Quite sad really. Well, her books were sold about 500-600 million copies (and still selling at 1 million copies a year). And they argue that her stories were actually racist and reflected English social hierarchy at that time. In other words, lack of political correctness (this is what you get when adult review children books). Reflecting back, I don't think I noticed. I only remember the comforts in her stories, where I escaped to the lands on the clouds that arrived on the Magic Faraway Tree (my fav- Land of Chocolates and Goodies) and my best friend, Moonface who makes Toffee Shock candies and has winding slide in the middle of his house (if I remember clearly).

Oh, I also just found out that she has another pen name, Mary Pollock (her first husband's surname).


Dr UmiM

Recently a school friend of mine finished her PhD. She is the first to have a PhD in our batch, and what more is that she graduated from Oxford Univ! She is actually my oldest friend (we were good friends in kindergarten and met again in TKC). A mom of 2 boys, Imran and Rayyan, we know that the journey has not been easy for her. But Alhamdulillah, hard work eventually pays. To Kell, you are truly an inspiration. Really proud of you :)


Ammar: hey imran, kau tau tak mak2 kita masa kecik kawan kat tadika?
Imran : ye ke? sekarang kita pulak kawan ok

To my other friends who are pursuing their studies, be brave and persevere. May Allah accompany you every second of the journey.


5 comments:

mummy said...

sapa nak tolong buat thesis nih...angkat tangan?!

wei...betul pasal kalau gadget enthusiast, baik mintak gadget je...sebab nanti dia pun excited nak belikan.

enid blyton books are the first english books that i love. tak suka peter&jane...boring.

harituh kita ada terbaca yg faraway tree actually ada 4 buku, betul ke? have been hunting for it eversince. buku enid blyton baru je sampai di PJ...turn aisyah pulak untuk baca.

SMM said...

*angkat tangan*
hehe :)
happy belated birthday, bas!

SMM said...

eh lupa nak tambah - since kau mention kek, i've tried the choc cake recipe yg kau share dulu, it turned out well, mmg moist. tp topping dia tak jadi, sbb aku tak larutkan tepung jagung dulu hehe.. nasib baik belum tambah cream cheese. so at the end, i just whipped the cream cheese with sugar. and then sprinkle choc rice. yum :)

Mamaboyz said...

mummy: eh entah kita tak tau pun pasal the 4th book, eh aisyah dah boleh baca enid blyton? nanti kita cari buku seangkatan

mynie: thanks hehehe,
topping tu cair ke? dia memang a bit runny before tambah cream cheese, actually aku rasa boleh je kalau kau tambah cream cheese tu pastu beat lama sikit

Unknown said...

contemplating to pursue phd or not...lalala