Husband’s 40th birthday at GSK (pizza parang)

Posted in Food and Drinks, Good Things, Parenting, Family and Relationships, Places to Eat by

People say life starts at 40 and that every habit that you’ve moulded yourself into will become your way of life. Well, he is a health enthusiast at the moment. He has his morning jog before 6am and another one in the evening after coming back from work. Over the weekend, he is in his running shoes 3 times a day. I guess that means he is off to a good start at 40.

Since his birthday falls on a weekday this year, a staycation is not an option. Hence, I racked my brain to figure out what is best to be done for a milestone birthday. Since he seems to like Pizza Hut a lot, I thought of spending some money on really good pizza. Something fancy like wagyu. However, there were not many recommendations I could read about. Until I came across ‘pizza parang’ on Instagram. It’s a family-friendly place that serves Western dishes and, most importantly, delicious hand-tossed pizza.

Easy parking. Slight walk up the hill to the restaurant.

Grass Stream Kitchen (GSK)

GSK is located at Paya Rumput and opens at 6pm. I made it clear to Mr Husband that we are to leave early from home and beat the office traffic so that we could reach the place before the crowd comes. Indeed, we did.

We ordered a meaty pizza (RM60), a tiramisu (RM15), a mocktail (RM10) and sirap bandung (RM5). The server would cut the pizza in style with his parang once it is ready. Not bad for a 40-year-old party show. No clowns or fire-eating stunt, just pizza cutting. Personally, I would go there again and try other versions of the pizza because the crust was crunchy and nice, whereas the toppings were full and superb. The ambience is nice too. It does not open every day, thus, one should check their site first.

Huge pizza portion
Iced water is available for free. Nice to know that they have healthy choices
ordered the mocktail – a mix of coke and grenadine syrup
Tiramisu – love it
Can also easily tapau our own food as packaging is provided. Even the pizzas are served on paper plates that are easily disposed off.
I muted the sound cause I was too giggly

As for his birthday gift, I got him a Minecraft Limited Edition wallet. It was pretty sleek. I would use it if I were a man. I bought it from Fossil at Sunway Putra Mall during my convocation weekend. The sales rep was a very nice young man who helped me decide what to buy. The wallet was worth at least 5 times more than the birthday dinner. I hope he will treasure it well.

Comes in a nice metal box and a fabric casing

There was also a mini Minecraft indulgence cake I bought from Zowacakes. The size was just enough for me to cut out a few portions for his nieces, who love cakes. I still prefer the cakes from the usual Italy Cake House. Ha ha.

The cake was RM45. Ferrero bouquet RM35. All for love!

End of life divorce

Posted in Everyday Life, Parenting, Family and Relationships by

Here is an update. My dad, the widower, got married to the woman of his choice recently. All of us siblings were not in Acheh to celebrate the big moment due to an ajak-ajak ayam situation. It is difficult to put it into writing. Thus, best to be talked about in person for those who are keen to listen. As adult-children, it never occurred to me that we could actually be terasa hati of the wedding ceremony, but then, I learned that other people in my circle have experienced similar things. So yes, despite the unfavourable circumstances, we still wished and prayed for our father’s happiness.

However, this alleged abrupt, unplanned, last-minute wedding brought something to mind. It was one of those ‘I get it now’ moments.

I knew two elderly women who asked for a divorce from their husbands at their deathbeds. At times when they were conscious and aware of what was happening. Back then, I did not understand the need for these actions. I thought, ‘they have lived all their lives with their partners, if they wanted a divorce, shouldn’t it have happened earlier? After all, their kids are all grown up with a job, earning a decent income.’ Interestingly, when these requests are made, the husbands somehow agree and verbalise their talak.

Of course, it was only later that I knew that these ladies had tried asking for guidance from the court regarding fasakh before. Only to be turned away with words like ‘why would you want to ruin a masjid (marriage) because of a mere problem/misunderstanding’. Or that they did not have enough proof to call for a fasakh. In other words, they did not receive the rightful counsel for their problems, as they were housewives deemed not educated, who depended on their husbands’ money.

But that was not my point.

My assumption is, the end-of-life divorce happened because they were treated so badly and unfairly by their partners throughout the marriage, so much so that they do not want to unite with them in Jannah. You know how we always say ‘Semoga jodohnya berpanjangan hingga ke akhir hayat, hingga je Jannah?’ Yes, they hate their husbands so much that their last effort to cut any ties was through a divorce, even on their last breath.

I get it now.

Celebrating Mother’s Day 2025 at Ames Hotel

Posted in Good Things, Parenting, Family and Relationships, Reviews by

Celebrating Mother’s Day is a rare occasion on my husband’s side of the family. I honestly do not recall any extravagant gesture for the past few years to mark that day. I do, however, remember that we frequently celebrated it when my mom was still alive. I’m not sure how it will be once my dad marries Tante. The dynamics would feel quite awkward. Maybe we would be more enthusiastic about Father’s Day.

Ames Hotel has a Hi-Tea special for Mother’s Day. I do not know how much it cost, but the food selection was great! I honestly loved it. I had several helpings of the sate and roasted lamb. My carbs were the nasi goreng kimchi, potatoes and penne pasta. The Laksa Nyonya was superb, and the dessert cakes were luscious. I had plenty of iced water to down the dishes and also enjoyed a cup of cappuccino.

My plate

Towards the end, I received a flower and a chocolate cake. I am not sure if it was free from the hotel or if it was something ordered by my husband. A big thank you anyway to our sponsor, who is my husband, who paid for the buffet and the Ames Hotel for the great hospitality.

Cake & flowers from the hotel
Ladies of the family
All of us (almost)

OUM Convocation 2025 (MK29): Part 3 – The ceremony and afterthoughts

Posted in Everyday Life by

I have to admit. I was a bit jealous when other graduates received flower bouquets from their loved ones. What’s more, a flow of congratulations messages from those who matter. Anyway, perhaps better things are coming my way than flowers and validation messages, cause well, some families are just built differently. It is a repetitive mistake where we accept discomfort as permissible flaws when to others, it could be red flags. Hmmmmmm.

I wish I had brought a mini fan with me and clipped it onto my OUM pouch. It was blazing hot standing outside the hall, even though it was less than 30 minutes. However, things began to cool down once we were inside the hall. As usual, there were speeches after speeches with performances in between. I had 2 seconds of fame inside the montage video of OUM. Time passed quickly when the scrolls were given out. Then, it was over. I recognised some names among the list of graduands in the convocation book, although there were a few more that I hoped to see. Perhaps they have graduated earlier.

I sent back my robe on the same day in exchange for my certificate and my academic transcripts. I had wanted to take more photos with the robe at the stand and other places but my husband was unwell with his man-flu/rhinitis syndrome which translates in my head as ‘I have no mood/dipping energy levels to entertain you’ sort of thing. The complimentary photos were available for pick-up the next day.

The recorded LIVE broadcast is accessible here.

I was inspired by our Inspiration Icon. Mr Lim Yew Yi acquired blindness due to glaucoma at 20 years old. He had to learn Braille and managed to do it in 3 months. From there, he was unstoppable in gaining knowledge and skills for the betterment of life. He is an IT graduate, and from the short video, despite his disability, he excels in his field and in everyday life. I look forward to other recipients of other awards from other Sidang sessions.

An afterthought

Bachelor of Psychology (with honours)
Pass with Distinction – 13/93 graduands
CGPA 3.84

Attaining this degree does not make me a specialist of any sort. It is just added value to my work and life as a muslim. However, deep inside I somehow believe I am destined to do great things by making use of this knowledge in psychology. I just do not know what yet. I suppose this is something for me to figure out in the many months to come.

I remembered embarking on this journey in January 2020 when Covid-19 just started. I was excited to attend the weekend classes and doing my assignments. I was thrilled with the idea of crafting essays as I wanted to share my ideas and thought processes with my tutors. I loved the online library resources and I know I will miss this once my student account is terminated. The selection of journals and E-books were tremendous and insightful.

Even though Chatgpt was seeping into the world later on, I find that my ideas were somewhat more genuine and refreshing than the suggestions proposed by the AI. I suppose I am one of those ‘oldies’ who still stick to pen, paper and brain. After all, a wise person once said that we should be confident in our own cloud of ideas and thoughts. While AI seems convenient, shouldn’t we be proud that we were able to figure things out on our own? I second that opinion greatly. AI platforms are enticing. So are those ‘assignment helper’ accounts on social media. I actively removed and blocked these accounts on social media. Though a student may use AI to help generate ideas, I feel that as diligent and honest learners, one should be able to articulate these points in their own words properly. Only then would we know if we understand the theories or concepts accurately.

So what’s next?

I am tempted to further my studies in Organisational Psychology. However, I also have personal life milestones to pursue. My priorities are ever changing. I shall focus on my kerja hakiki for now and see where the flow takes me.

OUM Convocation 2025 (MK29): Part 2 – Sunway Putra Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

Posted in Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

Apart from Sunway Putra Hotel, graduates could also choose to stay at Seri Pacific Hotel, which is located 30 steps from PWTC. I chose Sunway Putra Hotel because it is attached to a mall, and it would be easy for me and my husband to do our 10K steps and have our meals without leaving the premises. KL is a nightmare to drive in. After all, Sunway Putra Hotel is still within (safe) walking distance to PWTC. Just use the bridge. It took me less than 10 minutes to walk from the ground hotel lobby entrance to PWTC. In fact, it is cut down to less than 5 minutes if I use the exit at the mall.

I booked a superior room for 3D2N at a total of RM 656.23 including free breakfast, tax and fees. Upon arriving at the check-in counter, my room was not ready but the nice young man at the counter said, “I will give you a better room!”. I did not think much of it and said my heartiest thanks until I reached the room.

Surprise, surprise, it was actually an executive suite!

I felt so blessed. My husband and daughter have yet to arrive, as it was a Friday. I was expecting them to reach KL by 9pm once my husband finishes work at 5PM. So, I lazed around in the room and went to the mall for dinner.

Dinner was steak at a place called Alya. I requested my meat to be medium rare. The consistency was OK, but it was heavily seasoned with salt. The mashed potatoes were also cold. I was confused about whether it was meant to be served as such or a mistake.

By 9pm, Mr Husband and my daughter arrived. This hotel has 2 lobby. One on the ground floor and the main one on the 9th floor. I registered our vehicle with the concierge. We are free to drive in and out until it was time to checkout without any parking charges. Mr Husband still had the energy to do the 10K walk at the mall once he got to the room.

Graduates for Sidang 1 were expected to be at PWTC starting at 730am. We were reminded to bring our Smart Card and to put our mobile phones and other precious belongings into the little pouch given by OUM. The key point is to travel light. Will write about the ceremony in the next post.

I had a quick breakfast whilst the duo enjoyed a longer breakfast at the hotel coffee house. I paid extra for my daughter. Thankfully, the food options and selections were good. I love that they provide huge mugs for our coffee instead of little cups. Room service is also available at a given price. Or one could just go to the mall later and have a late breakfast.

Mr Husband utilised the gym very well. He used the treadmill. The gym has a good view of the pool. Apart from the mall, he also gathers his 10K steps by walking around the hotel. I used the express check-out service where I dropped the key into a box and just like that, our staycation ended on a good note. I would definitely stay here again once I have enough money to splurge again. Ha ha.