Maternity Wear

It's a miracle. The shopping bug hit me hard! He he he...

I had dropped by OUB Plaza earlier to collect something that I had sent to be altered. Then I spotted Thyme Maternity on the third floor. No harm dropping by I thought. Just to check out the collection. I need another pair of maternity pants anyway (I had bought one from Spring Maternity which cost $70 plus but which is very useless- it is either too tight or if I loosen it, it keeps slipping down. Sigh!)

Anyway, I was amazed by the collection there. Really people, they have a very nice collection of long sleeved aurat friendly blouses! And nice designs as well. Not the crappy cheap looking clothes that they sell for $60 plus at some other maternity shops. The best part of all, they have big sizes. Apparently they import the clothes from Canada, so the sizes are big enough to fit me! Woo Hoo!!!

So I succumbed to buying this nice very comfy maternity pants (at a whopping $95). Then the salesgirl told me: they have a promotion. If you buy any 3 items, the 3rd item is $12.00. I decided, what the heck. So I carted off another 2 tops. One was $79, the other $69. So I bought all 3 items for $186.00 only. (Don't go on thinking what do you mean "only"... Maternity items are not cheap ok...)

Then the sales girl told me. If you make a purchase of $200.00, you will get a lifetime membership card, which entitles you to 10% discount on non-promotional items and 20% discount on promotional items. So what the heck. I bought some unmentionables for $29.00 more.

And so, if any of you wants to buy anything maternity related, please do seek me out, so I can really make use of my lifetime card! And this goes to even you singles as well. Anytime in the future, when you need to buy maternity clothes, look for me! He he he...

I was really bitten by the bug this time...

All About Art

I would like to share this incident, and the resulting trip down memory lane...

At one of my family gatherings, my aunt remarked to me, "Yasmin, aku nampak laki2 hensem. Sekali pandang nampak macam Art Fadzil. Rupa2nya, laki Min."

Huh?! Iryan looks like Art Fadzil?

I stared at my husband hard. On that day, in that light, he did look just a little bit like Art Fadzil. (emphasis on little)

"Jangan Mak Busu, kita peminat setia Art Fadzil tau."

"Patutlah cari laki muka macam Art Fadzil."

He he he... its true. I am quite a big fan of Art Fadzil. But until that day, it had never occurred to me that my hubby resembled Art (even if only just a little bit).
(My husband was a trifle insulted to be compared to Art. He he he...)

I became a fan of Art Fadzil back in 1992 (or was it 1993?). I had attended a gathering organized by Berita Harian, which gathering was meant for the regular contributors of the column. Nanny had contributed a few times. Me, not even once. He he.. But I read the column every week.

The turnout was actually quite dismal. I think there were less than 15 people in the auditorium at the old Marine Parade library that day. The events that had been organized included a pantun "fight" (balas2 pantun) and of course, a performance by Art Fadzil. The participants of the pantun event were not very good, but very distinguished judges had been invited so it all felt very weird.

Anyway, I was feeling kind of sleepy, when Art was invited to give his performance. He sang a few songs. I remember being so mesmerized by the whole performance. That was the first time I watched a really really good live show. I was converted into a fan for life after that.

Afterwards, the people there crowded around Art, wanting his autograph. I saw him looking kind of disoriented by the crowd as Nanny and I descended the stairs. I didn't ask for an autograph. (Come on, you all know me. When have I ever asked a celebrity for an autograph? Too much pride, I suppose. Maybe if Bon Jovi comes to town..)

Years later when I was working at my old firm, I became very friendly with the pakcik security guard at my building. He would reserve a copy of the (now defunct) Streats and Today newspaper for me every morning. One day I found out that he is Art Fadzil's father! (He showed me photographs of him holidaying in London during his son's convocation.)

Wow! What a coincidence. Too bad I already had a boyfriend at that time (and was about to get engaged). Otherwise, boleh mintak Pakcik kenal2kan. He he he... (Just kidding, hubby dear!)

Mind over Matter

I am not slacking, I am taking a break.
Today has been an exhausting day. I need to rejuvenate my mind, body and spirit.
Ok, today I am fasting (woo hoo!). But it does add to the exhaustion.

But I am trying to practice mind over matter.

My knee and ankle joints are not throbbing.
They are being massaged by the air.

My stomach is not grumbling.
It is singing in anticipation of break fast.

My eyelids are not drooping because I have placed invisible toothpicks to prop them open.

Ha ha ha.. I am being silly. But it is kind of working!

Getting this off my chest

It is that time of the year again. Road tax renewal. You cannot renew road tax without sending your vehicle for road worthiness inspection. Also, you can't renew road tax without renewing motor insurance. I am currently insured under NTUC as it was the cheapest available at the time we purchased the car (my being a woman meant a few hundred dollars more in premium). But I have promised myself to switch insurance companies. I have told myself: NEVER AGAIN.

For those of you who have heard my grouses on NTUC motor insurance before, don't say you have not been warned: this is going to get repetitive.

First of all, what the heck is IDAC all about? I think it benefits the consumer not at all. NTUC's procedure is this: if you get into an accident, send your car to an IDAC center where they will inspect the damages, key it into their central computer system which is then sent to/ accessible by the approved workshops. If the workshops are interested in making the repairs, they have to bid for it. The workshop with the lowest bid gets the job. Sounds good. For NTUC that is. It is not incredible or incredulous to suggest that the workshop which makes the lowest bid, would, by pure necessity, have to cut costs in order to make enough profit to justify the job. So one guess on who loses out in the end.

On top of that, the whole process is so much more hassle-some than just sending your car to the approved workshop for repairs and getting it back once it is done.

My personal experience with the idiotic workings of the system was some 3 years back when they first implemented the system. My parents had gotten into an accident in their old Proton Wira. It was a head-on collision. The other car had sped around a bend and crashed into my dad's car. Dad's car, being a Wira, was seriously damaged. My dad suffered a whiplash from the accident and had to be warded a few days.

My mom called me to get the car. My parents were then sent to the hospital in an ambulance. I think some of you would remember that day.

I was at a loss as to what to do. I finally got a tow truck to tow the car away to a workshop. I found out later that night that my dad had recently switched to NTUC insurance. That means I had to send the car to IDAC. After arranging for the car to be towed to IDAC the next morning, I went to the IDAC centre to make a report.

The person at the IDAC center asked me whether I was the driver at the time of the accident. I said no, the driver is still in hospital, I wanted to make the report on his behalf. They told me there was no way the system would allow a 3rd party to make a report on behalf of the driver. What do you mean? I asked, What if the driver had died in the accident? What a stupid system!

I remember being frustrated and agitated. I was still worried about my dad's condition. I did not know at that time whether he was going to be alright (when we left him the night before, he was still in a lot of pain and unable to move). I just wanted to settle the car once and for all and the staff there were insisting they cannot do anything about the system, there was no way they can help me. I have to wait until my dad can come make the report. What if he has to stay in the hospital a long time? Does that mean the car does not get repaired in the meantime? No satisfactory answer.

I remember literally entering into a screaming and shouting match with one of the girls there. Iryan was there, and I think that was the first time he witnessed his then wife-to-be as a screaming banshee! (Come to think of it, it's a wonder he did not run off in the opposite direction. I can honestly admit that that was one of my worst displays of outburst of temper in a public place.)

Finally one of the guys managed to try to churn out some kind of report but he told me that my dad would have to come down to sign the report after he is discharged. When my dad was finally well enough to make the trip down which was about 1 to 2 weeks later (and in the meanwhile the car was idling away with nothing done) they threw away the report that I had given (it was never processed in the system), and churned out a new report which he signed. What a waste of time (and vocal chords)!

Now you know why I have sworned off NTUC motor insurance for good!

So as not to leave the story hanging, none of the approved workshops wanted to bid for the repairs on the Wira. It was declared a total loss, which was not acceptable to us, as this would mean we would have to cough up some $5K to pay off the finance company. By then , it was about 3 to 4 weeks after the accident. I managed to contact a workshop who was willing to do the repairs. So we filed a third party claim instead (the other driver's insurance company also happened to be NTUC).

The workshop repaired the car and bore all the costs first pending the resolution of the litigation suit (yes the case went to court). The car was repaired in about 3 weeks, and in the meantime, they gave us a replacement car for our convenience. My dad sold the Wira last year. Sometime late last year, he had to attend court to give evidence during the assessment of damages stage. He said he was "grilled" pretty badly by NTUC's lawyers. I heard that the suit was finally resolved only recently.

I was really upset when I read in the news that NTUC was going to take a hard stand against 3rd party claimants (especially blacklisted workshops). I do not know whether the workshop we went to was blacklisted (though I suspect that it was, which was probably why we had such a hard time making the claim). From my point of view, you push me into resorting to the only acceptable course of action (after several delays and heartaches), and now you are slapping me around after pushing me down. I am just glad the whole episode is finally over.

Mosque Porridge aka Bubur Masjid

I don't know what it is about Ramadhan
But it seems to me that Muslims just go berserk about the free porridge given out at the mosques after asar.

Well, I am no exception.
I have been craving bubur masjid since the first day of ramadhan yesterday.
There is something about the aroma of the porridge,
the spices....
That just makes you go... yummm.....
I'm salivating right now....

Anyway yesterday I had the gynae appointment at 4
And I waited so long at the clinic that by the time I was done, all the bubur would have been finished already...

Just now, I decided to drop by Maulana Mosque at UOB Plaza, near my work place.
After asar, I did not wait for the recitations of doas, I went out...
And saw a long queue of men already waiting behind a container of bubur masjid,
carrying plastic bags, or tupperwares...

I could not very well join the queue...
So in disappointment I turned back to the office....
Where I complained to my fellow colleague.

He says, ask Cik Dollah (who is a court clerk, so he runs around a lot) to take for you next time lah...
Ok, I say, I'll do so..

Then I got on the phone and poured out my woes to Z....

And in the middle of my rantings, Cik Dollah appears in my room with a plastic bag of bubur from Masjid Omar! For baby, he says.

Alhamdulillah!!!!

I am so happy now... The fragrance of the porridge is still very strong... My tummy is doing the keroncong....

I'm going to get nice sweet Cik Dollah something for Hari Raya! Like Z says, Yasmin can be easily swept off her feet by food! He he he....