Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Happy Holidays

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all and may each and everyone of us enjoy a meaningful and joyous celebration. For those who are travelling, either to balik kampung or visit friends and family, berhati-hati di jalan raya.

As for me, I'll be having a quiet and relaxing time at home. I have not brought back any work to do this hols. Just want to relax and relax and relax and enjoy the time with my loved ones. :-)

jennyiyan's recollections...

Family, friends and holidays

I guess I consider myself one of those lucky people in Malaysia at this moment, as I get to enjoy two long weekends in a row. Last Monday was independence day and tomorrow will be Nuzul Quran.

No matter what, I always carry my work home during the weekends and the best part is, more often than not, they will stay in the car boot throughout the weekend and will only get to come out on Monday at the workplace.

This is because holidays are precious for me. I get to spend quality time with my family members and friends. Also, I need some time for myself to unwind after the hectic week at work. A time to catch up on my reading, for instance (not that I get to do it often), watching movies or just lazing around.

Family members are very important as I know they are the ones who will stand by me no matter how bad a situation I might get myself into. They accept me and love me unconditionally with all my imperfection. That's why I love to spend what little time I have with them.

Friends are also very important to me. I have many wonderful friends. There are things that I don't tell my siblings but I can trust my friends with them. So, holidays are also reserved for these wonderful friends of mine.

In this sense, I consider myself very blessed. First, for having a family that loves me unconditionally and some very wonderful friends, besides enjoying a healthy life and a steady job. What more can I ask for?

jennyiyan's recollections...

A Tribute To A Wonderful Dad

Tomorrow is Father's Day. I'm sure most of us would have already thought of how to celebrate this day with our fathers. Some might even have celebrated it today because there is a possiblity that tomorrow evening all the restaurants would be packed. Most people would be having dinner as a family to celebrate this day.

As for me, I will not be celebrating it because my dad passed away four years ago after he succumbed to an illness. However, there are many memories that my siblings and I had with him.

First and foremost, I would like to thank my dad for his farsightedness. Why do I say so? Well, he saw English as a very important language to master and he wanted all his children to be able to converse in the language well. Hence, he made sure that we took the subject seriously.

Besides that, he together with my mum had influenced my siblings and I in such a way that we have all grown up to be independent and successful adults. He played a great part in moulding us into what we are today.

What I am doing today is also partly his influence. I remember receiving a letter informing me that I was offered a place at a certain college. I had made up my mind not to go initially. When dad got to know about it, he was very unhappy. He told me that it was not easy securing that place. Many people would have killed for it.

With the economical situation in our country today, I am truly glad for his advice. If it wasn't for his farsightedness, I would be worrying about being retrenched today. Now I do not have to worry each night when I go to bed that I would not have an office to go to when I wake up the next morning.

My dad was a disciplinarian and he made sure that we followed every rule he had set for us, like taking our studies seriously and for us girls, no dating or going out when our exams were near.

He was also a man of few words. I wouldn't deny that we were a little fearful of him when we were young as he would never think twice in rebuking or punishing us if we did wrong. However, we respected him for what he did because he believed in not sparing the rod and spoiling us.

As a father, he made sure that we were never in want. He worked very hard to provide for us and whatever we needed, he would go all out to get it for us.

On the other hand, he was not someone who was all work. He would take the whole family away for holidays and I am proud of the fact that I have learnt a lot of things and gained a lot of knowledge from all these trips.

On days when he was busy and could not be away from work for a long period of time, he would take us to the nearest beach during the weekend just so we could spend time together as a family. I truly value his effort in trying to keep the family together and as a result, we, his children grew up in a very loving and close knit family.

These are just a few of the instances that I am sharing here. There is so much more to talk about him and I know I won't be able to finish it in one sitting. So, I'll just leave the rest to some other time.

Finally, I take this opportunity to wish all fathers out there A Very Happy Father's Day.

jennyiyan's recollections...

Best Aunty Award

It's the school holidays again and I get to spend a lot of time with Iyan and Ilynne, especially Iyan. Though it's the holidays, he has to attend a holiday programme for writing and today is the last day. He happily announced to me, 'Finally, my holidays begin'. Now he is so into football and for a seven going on eight-year old, he knows a lot about the game. You can mention a name, and he'll tell you which team the player is from. I'm amazed at his knowledge. In fact, I've learnt a lot about football from him. His favourite team is Chelsea and his favourite player is Frank Lampard. Besides this, his command of Bahasa Malaysia, which he had zero knowledge until he went to school last year is also improving. It's funny listening to him speak the language. He would say, 'Popo, ada orang di outside .' Yesterday, he told me, 'Taiyee, you are the best aunty in the whole wide world.' Imagine my pride at that moment. If only there was an award for that category, I think I would have beaten all the other contestants flat. That made my day

jennyiyan's recollections...

Happy Mother's Day

Today everyone all over the world celebrates Mother's Day. Well, I often ask myself what this day means to me? This is a day to specially remember my mum and all the things she has done in bringing me up. I know it wasn't easy bringing such a playful rascal like me up, what with four others in tow, all craving for her attention. We were especially close to her as our father was always away because of his nature of work. I remember when we were younger, we would pool together our pocket money and would secretly get something for mum. It wasn't much, but I know she was touched by our gesture. When I say that today is a day for me to specially remember my mum, it doesn't mean that I don't remember and think of her every other day. It is actually good to have such a day where we really stop doing other things and take time to specially remember our mums in a very fond manner. Of course, I know my mum would not want my siblings and I to spend much just for this day. For her, as long as her children are happy and doing well in life, she's a happy and contented woman. I'm sure all mums share this feeling. So, mum, Happy Mother's Day to you and to all mothers Happy Mother's Day to you all too!

jennyiyan's recollections...

A selfless act...

I received a phone call from my sister an hour ago informing me that Iyan has hand foot and mouth disease. It broke my heart knowing that he has it as this has been one of my greatest fear for him ever since he started going to school. He told me yesterday that he had a sore throat but I thought little of it. Told myself it could just be a minor one. My sister took him to the doctor this afternoon and it's confirmed. Yet what I'm proud of is that despite his pain he still thinks for others, especially his popo. He told his popo to stay in the room and don't come out in case she gets infected by him. Then a few minutes ago he called me on the phone to especially inform me that there's a flu in Penang and he wanted me to take care of myself and make sure I did not get it. Such a selfless boy... I'm so proud of you, my beloved Iyan.

jennyiyan's recollections...

Iyan and Ilynne 2...

Iyan at four...

See how loving they are...

Its Deepavali...

Its halloween. Ilynne is not in pix coz she's afraid of ghosties...

Princess Ilynne...

Iyan's 7th birthday...

Iyan and Ilynne...

jennyiyan's recollections...

Iyan and Ilynne...

Iyan with baby Ilynne

I have always been very proud of my nephews and nieces and Iyan and Ilynne are the closest to me. Here are some photographs to show how adorable they are.

The ever loyal fans of Mr Bean

Iyan at his yamaha graduation

jennyiyan's recollections...

A recollection...

It is raining again. Whenever it rains, I wish that I would be snuggled in bed reading my novel. It's been difficult to get the chance to enjoy it these days because more often than not, I'll be at my workplace. Many things crop up and I do not even have the time to think of such luxury, what more enjoy it. I remember when I was a young and naive girl with no worries in me, a rainy day was something I loved, and actually looked forward to. I would snuggle in bed and listen to the rain feeling happy that I did not have to be out there getting all wet, especially when there's thunder and lightning. At times I would sit by the window and look at the raindrops. Sometimes I would see children running around happily in the rain. I had wished that I was among them. But of course, my mum would never hear of that. At that time I did not understand why she did not allow us to join those children. Neither did we understand why we had to take a shower once we reached home, if any of us were to get caught in the rain. Now, as an adult I understand. My siblings and I are fortunate that we have a mum who was and is always there for us. Looking at all the children out there whose parents are busy working and only manage to spend a little time with them, I am truly thankful for my mum for being there for us all the time.

jennyiyan's recollections...