Letting Go At Legoland

I’ve been pretty swamped at work since end-October. See, a colleague had a very bad case of high blood pressure so much so she collapsed at home. Her family brought her to a specialist hospital and she was placed in the ICU. She stayed there for ten days before she was cleared to leave the ICU. She’s still on medical leave though so my other mate and I have to pick up her workload.

I’d promised my nieces and nephew that I’d bring them to Legoland and we finally agreed to go during the school holidays after la niña finished her SPM papers (yes, how time flies). I booked hotels and had to change the check-in and check-out dates when we found that the PT3 results would be released on 14 December 2015. Finally the day came for us to head south.

Friday, 11 December 2015

We picked up the kids from Akak’s place and left at 08:15. We stopped en route at Pagoh and to use the facilities and Senai for the kids to change clothes. We arrived at Legoland parking area at 11:45 and made our way to the Water Park. I had bought the tickets online last Thursday to take advantage of the advanced ticket price. We went to the changing rooms first. You can change clothes, have a shower and use the bathroom here. There are also lockers here, the small ones cost RM20 while the bigger lockers cost RM40. La niña didn’t want to go on the slides with us so we left our bags with her at the LEGO Wave Pool before checking out the slides. We tried the Red Rush first then went over to LEGO Slide Racers. Next we climbed up to Splash & Swirl (I shared a tube with my younger niece), shared a tube for the Brick Blaster before going solo on the Wave Rider and Tidal Tube (I prefer the latter). It was a bit tiring having to wait for an available tube, haul it up the stairs and queue for your turn.

We then went down to slather on more sunblock and have a bite. Yes, I went prepared: I brought a mat, sunblock, hats, ponchos, big brolly, Hypergear dry bag, some snacks and water. I wore my Arsenal away jersey, a pair of yoga trousers and an old pair of Crocs.

It began to rain at 13:45 and before long, the rain got heavier. La niña had the idea of covering our bags with the raincoats. We left our bags under the mesh tent and sought shelter at the big Legoland arch but the rain was so heavy that we finally had to brave the elements and sought shelter at Beach N Brick Grill. It was raining cats and dogs with the thunders and lightning. It must have rained for at least an hour and by the end of it, there wasn’t a part of me that wasn’t wet.

Finally the rain petered out and we waited to be given the nod to resume our activities. We then went back to the slides and tried them all again. We were glad we tried the Red Rush because it was closed for maintenance when we resumed our activities.

We finally decided to leave after 4 p.m. We went to the respective changing room. I didn’t change as I didn’t bring a change of clothes so I spent time drying myself at the dryer. We then met up and exited the park and headed back to the parking area. I’m not sure why the parking area was not tarred up, it looked unfinished like the job was left in a hurry.

I had booked a hotel in Gelang Patah, only 9 km away and we reached it in almost no time.

We drove out to Restoran Yeo Sekeluarga for seafood dinner that night and returned to the hotel at 10 p.m.

Saturday, 12 December 2015

We had agreed to meet at the lobby at 0730 and I was the first one there. The girls came down first and the boys staggered down later. We loaded our bags into the car first then went to an eatery for breakfast. I had just placed my order when I spotted a small stall selling nasi lemak, I think it was at Persiaran Nusaria. I had read someone giving a feedback mentioning this stall so I walked over and bought two packets of nasi lemak. Everyone said it was good, Alhamdulillah.

We went back to the hotel and went up to use the bathroom before checking out. Then we drove back to Legoland. I went out first to queue for the tickets while the rest stayed to park the car and get the stuff from the car. The queue was blissfully short but the counter staff spent time attending to queries – good attentive patient customer service there! I managed to get 35% off the ticket price using my credit card, Alhamdulillah.

We went in and waited to be allowed to participate in the activities in the park. We headed for Lego Technic first and rode Project X. I didn’t manage to ride this on my first visit so I was happy to finally be able to ride it this time. It was deceptively scary but really fun! That ride was enough to put la niña off though and she refused to ride any more rides following that. We then hurried over to Lego Kingdom and rode Dragon’s Apprentice and The Dragon. After that, we walked over to Imagination and Land of Adventure but Dino Island was under maintenance then so we went over to Lost Kingdom Adventure. Then we crossed over to Lego City and watched Ninjago at the Lego City Stage.

It was very hot and bright when we emerged from Lego City Stage and went to Miniland. We spent some time there before rushing off back to Lego Studios 4D at Imagination to watch another show. Oh the welcome relief of air-condition! As it was almost Zuhur when the show ended, we went to the prayer room at Imagination to rest and await Zuhur.

After Zuhur, we queued to ride up the Observation Tower before trying out Kids Power Tower. Ugh, I really didn’t have the strength to pull myself up. We entered Land of Adventure again and saw that Dino’s Island was open so we went up. Thank God it had started drizzling lightly by then so I had an excuse to don my poncho. I still got somewhat soaked though but not as badly as I would have been had I not worn the poncho. El niño then tried out Aquazone Wave Racers alone. We then hurried over to Technic Twister at Lego Technic. It started raining very heavily so we waited out the rain there. It was every bit as heavy and long with thunders and lightning like the day before.

Finally the rain stopped and we walked to Lego Star Wars Miniland. Then we trudged to Studios 4D at Imagination to catch some shows but when we got there, we were told that the theatre was already full so we had to turn back. La niña was not happy and left us. We made our way to Lego Kingdom and queued to ride Dragon’s Apprentice again. After that, I went to find la niña – she was at The Café so we left out bags with her after appeasing her. The others wanted to try Boating School and I was dragged into it so we headed there next. I must say I HATED it. Stupid ride. It looked so easy peasy when other people do it but our boats got caught, turned directions and I couldn’t steer it properly to the dock. Stupid, stupid ride. I was pissing mad at the end of it. I mean, rides are supposed to be fun, right? Not make you go angry and frustrated. We then wandered and came upon Lego City Airport. This was a mild ride in comparison but hey, I’d take mild to a stupid frustrating pointless ride any day.

We left Legoland and headed for the Mall of Medini as the kids were hungry. I didn’t buy anything but had some of the kids’ fries. After that, we drove to Johor Bahru as we would be spending two nights there. I had purposely booked the Grand Bluewave Hotel as it’s quite near the CIQ Complex.

We didn’t go out for dinner and ordered some food from the room service. Note: don’t bother. Try find an eatery somewhere instead.

Sunday, 13 December 2015

We went for breakfast at 0715, yes, very early I know but I had read that the breakfast spread finishes quickly while replenishment is slow. The kids and I left at 0830 and walked to the CIQ Complex. We were lucky to meet a local guy (he’s a Penangite who works in Singapore) who showed us the way to the CIQ. The immigration process was quick enough and before long, we had boarded the Causeway Link bus CW2 to Queen Street in Singapore. The fare was RM3.40 per person.

We got down at Woodlands and joined the immigration queue. My God, that was the pits. We queued for an hour and our line was the slowest of them all. What bad luck! We then exited the complex and went down the escalator to find another CW2 bus. If you get down the escalator, turn back as that’s where the buses are. The coaches are parked in front of you when you get down, the buses behind you. Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait long for a CW2. The ride took only 30 minutes.

We alighted the bus and walked to Bugis MRT. La niña said we should skip Orchard Road so we bought return tickets to Marina Bay. It cost SGD1.50/person/trip but SGD11.60 for return trip for four of us so yeah, buy return tickets when you can. It started drizzling as we exited the station so we hurried over to The Shoppes to seek shelter. The drizzle didn’t last long and soon we ventured out again. We had some snacks before going to the ArtScience Museum. I had spotted a poster advertising Leather Forever exhibition there on our way back from Helix Bridge. I was pleasantly surprised when the kids agreed to go too – maybe just to escape the humidity hahaha. As I had thought and hoped, it was the Hermès Leather Forever exhibition which I attended in London back in 2012.

After spending time in Hermès heaven, we re-entered The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, took the escalator down to LB2 and trekked to the Louis Vuitton Series 3 Exhibition which entrance is next to Zara. I had booked for a guided tour and exhibition tickets (they’re both free but those with tickets have priority and I didn’t want to take any chances seeing as it was a Sunday, school holidays have started and there were bound to be many people doing their Christmas shopping). The kids made faces and grumbled good-naturedly when I told them in the morning that the exhibition I had told them we would be going to was the Louis Vuitton Exhibition. They behaved well but I could tell they were starting to get restless – until the last part of the tour where we received a poster each and got to choose four stickers. I even took another poster. The exhibition was about the original Louis Vuitton logo which is now adopted and incorporated into the brand’s contemporary designs, a brief history of the brand, the origin of Petite Malle bags and we even went into a room where the actual runway used for the spring/summer 2015 collection – if I heard it right – was set up.

We then walked back to Marina Bay station and rode the MRT back to Bugis. From there, we went to Sultan Mosque to perform prayers. We weren’t happy when we discovered that the female ablution area is outside the building and we had to come down again from the first floor (second floor to Americans and Singaporeans) and brave the drizzle to the bathroom (where the toilets and ablution area are).

After prayers, we crossed the street and had our late lunch at Singapore Zam Zam. I told the kids that my parents (their grandparents) and I love the murtabak there so we ordered chicken murtabak in extra-large size (!) and drinks. And what do you know, it vanished within ten minutes! I was happy to see them enjoy it as the sisters are picky eaters.

After our meal, we walked to the nearby Queen Street and queued up for the bus. We decided to stick to CW2 bus. The fare was SGD3.40 each but SGD12.9 for the four of us. We had to endure another queue at Woodlands Immigration but nowhere as long or as painful as this morning’s queue. We then took the first CW bus back (CW1) after determining it would stop at the CIQ Complex. We repeated the same process in reverse then trudged back to the hotel.

I called CT later and asked for favour to get us dinner. I spent the rest of the evening in the room resting and watching Arsenal beat Aston Villa. OK, I did doze off sometime in the second half.

Monday, 14 December 2015

We left our rooms for breakfast at 0720. They changed the menu slightly from the day before, no complaints from moi. We went back to our rooms and met again at the lift and went to load the car. La niña came with me to the lobby to check out and we were already out the lobby door when CT pulled up.

We stopped to fill up and left at 0912. We stopped en route at el niño’s boarding school to pick up his PT3 results. Syukur Alhamdulillah, he did well.

We met up with Akak at a roadside restaurant at Ulu Bendul and had lunch. Then we unloaded the car of the kids’ bags and loaded Akak’s car and we drove back to KL separately.

Hopefully, there’ll be many more trips with the kids in future. Those of us without kids of our own have to ‘borrow’ other people’s kids...

Farewell, My Dear Prince

Everyone in my family was born in Johore. By that I mean everyone - grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings - apart from my sister, me and our younger cousin who were born in KL. I do not consider myself a Johorean although there is obviously a strong Johorean influence at home from the dishes we eat to the terms we use to describe things. If my parents referred to going back to Batu Pahat, I referred to it as visiting Batu Pahat.

As I said, I don’t consider myself a Johorean although come to think of it, I probably am by virtue of having Johorean blood coursing through me. Anyway, this post isn’t about me or our family. It is about the late Tunku Laksamana Johor, Almarhum Tunku Abdul Jalil Ibrahim.

I don’t know much about the late Tunku Jalil and to be honest, I only know what I do after we heard that he had the dreaded C-disease. I had prayed that he would get the best medical attention possible as befit a royal prince and that he would be recovering well soon but alas, God has other plans for him.

It turned out that the late Tunku Jalil was a very simple, humble, down-to-earth jovial person. He was an animal lover and had even volunteered at the Singapore Zoo, had a stint at the Zoological Society of London and volunteered at the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre. He was also a caring prince who helped those affected during the Johore floods and he also made regular visits to hospitals to cheer up the patients. In short, he tried hard to be a normal guy. It’s no wonder that he was so loved. Blessed are those who are lucky enough to have passed paths with him including Chef Wan.

I don’t know why but I’ve been weepy ever since I found about the passing of Tunku Jalil. Maybe because he was not a typical arrogant, snobbish, rude prince but exactly the opposite. The good indeed die young. Farewell now, young prince. You have run your race and fought it to the best of your ability. May Allah place you among the pious. Al-Fatihah.

‘I would like to be remembered as someone who touched people’s lives and made an impact on them while staying humble and grounded.’ ~Tunku Jalil. You know what, TJ? So do I. So do I. and I wish you knew it but you had indeed touched lives and made an impact while staying true to your humble self.

Allahummagh firlahu warhamhu wa’aafihi wa’fu anhu. O Allah, forgive him and have mercy on him, keep him safe and sound and forgive him. Ya Allah, ampunilah dia, berilah rahmat, sejahtera dan maafkanlah dia.

How Do I Look?

We had two events last Thursday and I helped to meet and greet and usher the guests to the right venue. I couldn’t help being surprised at some of them who looked like they couldn’t be bothered about their appearance. Some looked like they just rolled out of bed. Some donned clothes like they were about to go marketing at the morning market. Some wore very casual clothes (jeans!). Some looked so sloppy, shabby, frumpy, untidy and drab. Did it give them a boost and any confidence dressing up like that? I just don’t understand why people can’t take a bit of effort to look nice and portray a good image. Surely dressing up nicely and grooming up speak volume about oneself.

And when I say dressing up nicely and grooming, I don’t mean that you have to spend a fortune to do so. We can all dress decently, neatly, smartly and, especially for work, professionally, without breaking the bank. For example, for work, invest in a few pieces of quality classic tops in neutral colours. I have a few tops from Isetan in-house brands (Cultivation, Crescendo) that are easily a decade old already which I still wear without them looking out-of-date at all - and they hardly cost me a bomb because being the savvy shopper that I am *ahem*, I only buy clothes on sale or value buy offers. You can then invest in some accessories to add more colour to your outfit. I wear long skirts to work almost daily and they are also from Isetan (Crescendo) and just like the blouse jackets, some of them are well over five years old but they still last to this day, alhamdulillah. Alas, Isetan doesn’t do a lot of long skirts anymore. I hand-wash my skirts and scarves as they are from more delicate softer material while for my jacket blouses, I put them in the laundry mesh bag before throwing them into the washing machine.

If you think I’m banging on too much about clothes, remember that clothes make a strong visual statement about how you see yourself. Comfort may aid productivity but the outfit you think express your individuality may send the message that you’re not a serious professional, or worse, immature. Dressing appropriately is a way of expressing respect for the situation and the people involved. For example, if you’re meeting a conservative banker or attending the court, dress primly and professionally. If you’re working in a conservative place, don’t dress like you’re about to go to the mall. You may look decent and neat and tidy but you’ll still look out of place. You don’t have to invest in many clothes; after all, the world’s successful people wear a uniform every day because of its benefits.

Besides clothes, don’t forget you have to own a pair or two or, if you can afford, a few pairs of good quality shoes. Again, I normally buy shoes during sales (my cobbler repeatedly scolds me for doing that but it’s against my principle to pay full price for most things if I can help it unless it’s anything from Louis Vuitton or Chanel which don’t do sale) and as such, I’m lucky to have found a good cobbler who comes to fetch and return my shoes that need repairing. Where possible, invest in leather shoes as they let your feet breathe. Oh, by the way I read somewhere before that ballerinas or flat shoes are not considered formal office wear. For some ideas of fashion investment, check this out.

I don’t know enough about men’s clothes to offer any advice but I would think a long-sleeved shirt, a good tie, a hanky, a quality leather belt and a good pair of quality leather shoes would give any man a professional groomed look. You can add on tie clips and invest in cuffed shirts (and cuff links!) over time. And please wear a decent pair of socks to work every day, not mix matched and definitely not one with holes in them. Surely no one feels good or confident wearing socks with holes in them with their big toes sticking out! And yet some still do. Don’t they feel they deserve better? Are socks so expensive? You can invest in more economical brands if you’re only just starting out.

Before leaving, do apply some deodorant or body spray and some fragrance (eau de toilette, eau de parfum or cologne). There’s nothing worse than having to put up with body odour when you’re riding the bus or train or working in an office – why, just yesterday, a fellow passenger was remarking very loudly of another passenger with ‘smelly arm pits’. So, please, do be considerate of others. Admittedly, I have found that some clothes material do not absorb perspiration well and make one smell bad even though one has put on the necessary deodorant and body fragrance. Here are some simple habits that will make you look put together.

Treat yourself well and dress well. You will feel confident and good about yourself. If you can’t afford branded goods, stick to unbranded goods instead of buying fake counterfeit goods. How can anyone feel good wearing socks with holes, toting a counterfeit Louis Vuitton bag and wearing a fake Omega? As cheesy as it may sound, perhaps people should try saying to their reflections in the mirror before stepping out, ‘Hey, how do I look?’ and see if they can honestly reply that they look good, neat, polished, well-groomed, presentable and professional (especially if they’re heading for work or a formal event). Even if it’s a casual day out, there is no excuse for anyone to dress like s/he is about to go to the wet market or just about woke up with a hangover. Seriously, take the time to make an effort because it’s all too easy to not make any effort at all and would you rather people think you’re just plain downright lazy? Come on, respect yourself because you’re surely better than that. Besides, first impressions count and you never know who you might just bump into.

Working Girl

I was late a few times in October and last Friday, no thanks to the never-ending roadwork along Jalan Ampang (aka Bangkok KL) and the discriminating traffic cops at Jelatek and Renaissance lights. This was despite the school closure during the haze days. Oh, I used to be late when I first started work (I was a very reluctant member of the workforce) and once even turned up to work more than an hour late (and no, it wasn’t because I was out all night partying and clubbing) because of the horrible road works. You’ll be glad to know that I have since improved on my discipline since those early days although I still run late every now and then, especially Fridays for some reason.

I take the bus to work and I walk a lot: from where I get down in the morning to the office, from office to the bus stop/LRT station in the evening and home from the bus stop/LRT station. This means it is necessary for me to slip on a pair of comfortable flat footwear to work and only change for formal office footwear when I reach the office. I’d stood on buses in high-heel sandals before in my early days and they made my legs ache. On Fridays though, I wear my FitFlop to work in my attempt at casual Fridays.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I use public transportation to/from work and don’t contribute directly to the fossil fuel (I’ve been playing my #ChangeClimateChange part for years now!). Why should I be ashamed? I’m a KL-born and bred girl and I’ve been using public transportation since I was small as Abah hates driving into the city and being caught in the jam even back then. And yet an officemate never fails to find every opportunity he can get to tease me about taking the bus. I mean, get a life already. I notice among my uni friends, there’s a very small minority of us who don’t drive (and we happen to be KL-born and bred). Everyone else, especially those from outside KL, drives. There are benefits to taking the bus: I get to read on the journey home (not so much on the journey to work as I usually only get to sit after we’ve reached KLCC) and have finished hundreds of books on my commute to and from work (I’m on my 101^st book of the year right now, Alhamdulillah). I get to walk a total of at least 4 km each day which forms my daily exercise - and that excludes the walk in the office when I don’t carry my hand-phone around. I also get talk to God or recite Quranic surahs on my walks. When the LRT fare hike comes into effect tomorrow, I’ll walk to the other LRT station instead of the one I normally use. The pros are I don’t have to walk up and down the stupid uneven bridge and I get to avoid having to dodge my way through the stampeding human bodies determined to have their own way (do they really think the bridge is a one-way bridge? Inconsiderate idiots!). The cons are that I have to go through two street crossings to get to this other station and as it’s an interchange station, there are a lot of fellow passengers about and my chances of getting a seat on the train are much lower.

I usually iron my work clothes the week before. So for any one week, I would have ironed my work clothes the week before plus those tops that I’d had laundered throughout the week. I find deciding in advance what to wear for the following week helps as it saves me the daily morning headache of deciding what to wear. Oh sure, I have been known to switch my outfit at the last minute but I try not to do this too often. As for scarves, I usually iron them late in the week as they tend to wrinkle faster. I do not believe in ironing my clothes in the morning every morning just before going to work. I hate ironing as it is and I’d rather spend 20 minutes for a maximum of 3 nights in a week pumping iron than 5 minutes every morning and 20 minutes every weekend. Besides, it is more economical, not to mention more environmentally friendly, than to iron clothes on a daily basis.

I have, of late, started to lay out my underclothes and accessories the evening before (I don’t know why I didn’t think of doing this sooner). I launder my underclothes when I have my evening shower and they are usually already dry by the following evening. I store them back in my dresser drawer and take out the underclothes for the following day. I take off my work accessories for the day to store them and at the same time take out the accessories I want to wear for the following day. It all takes a minute tops. This helps save me time trying to decide what to wear in the mornings although of course I have been known to change my mind again in the morning when donning my work clothes and work accessories. I love accessories and can’t seem to have enough of them. My work accessories comprise the following: my trusted watch (I feel lost and my wrist feels naked despite my bracelets if I forget to wear it), scarf clip, fashion necklace(s), bracelet(s) and/or bangle(s), brooch(es) (usually flower brooches), rings and the occasional belt. In addition to these work accessories, I also wear necklaces and earrings that I change every few months, and anklets, bracelets and bangles. Except for my anklets, I do not display these semi-permanent accessories in the open. I prefer to wear my not-for-display necklaces and earrings all the time and not take them off because when I was burgled, the effing burglars took all my jewellery away, among many other things, and I was left with only what I had on me when it happened that unfortunate weekend when I was visiting my parents (the burglary happened when I still lived at micasa).

I use a handbag organiser in my handbag for my wallet, coin-and-tissue pouch, key case, mobile phone pouch and my office pass. Like the name suggests, it organises my stuff and makes changing handbags so easy and such a breeze. I no longer have a messy handbag where I have to dig through to find anything. It really saves me time when doing my handbag change and finding stuff in my bag! I change handbags every three weeks although I do carry a different handbag or tote to the office on Fridays and wear it through the weekend. I carry a handbag and also another tote bag where I stuff my brolly, novel, a handheld fan, and canvas shopping bags (one is for those groceries, household items or stationery that I sometimes buy on my way home. Another is to cover my handbag when it rains or if I find my Boston or Speedy bags too heavy to tote). I’m more susceptible to being snatched and pick-pocketed because I walk and use the public transportation (in fact, I had been both snatched and pick-pocketed before in KL) and as such, I don’t usually carry my Chanel bags to work (I only do that on Fridays). I do carry some of them on Fridays especially those in caviar leather but I try not carry lambskin bags as I have to baby them more and protect them from being brushed and scratched against.

I go through my skincare routine after my shower and before sitting down for breakfast. After breakfast, I don on my work clothes and spray on some perfume on top of the deodorant and body spray. Then I put on my scarf and work accessories. I don’t wear a lot of make-up to work, only my lipstick and lip gloss on top of my lip balm (sometimes when I’m being really absent-minded, I even forget to apply my lipstick but not to worry, I do have some tubes of lipstick in the office). All these dressing, spraying on perfume, wearing scarf and putting on accessories and lipstick take me only four minutes flat on average. Only then am I ready and confident to face the new day and take on the world.

What about you? What is your daily pre- and post-work routine? What challenges do you face getting to/from work? What do you do to save time (apply make-up and/or wear accessories or catch up on your reading when caught in the traffic jam?)?