Seloka buat Amir

24 September 2006

Sembilan bulan bermacam dugaan
Demam campak sungguh menduga
Kering air di dalam badan
Pinggang seperti dikerat tiga

Kandungan dibelit tali pusat
Sekali lagi Mama di’caesar’
Amir Ridhwan sangatlah bulat
Isra’ & Mikraj lahir lah dia

Dibelai ditatap saudara berdua
Adik baru umpama bintang
Tiga hari ke hospital semula
Demam panas mula mengundang

Sungguh resah rasa di hati
Buah hati tak dapat dibelai
Tinggal dia seorang diri
Demam kuning pula mengintai

Seminggu berjauhan tidak terduga
Rindu kami terus membara
Berkat doa seisi keluarga
Amir pulang semua bahagia

Tangkas berlari seperti kedidi
Burung tempua burung cecupak
Amir cergas tidak terperi
Belum setahun sudah menapak

Murai lalu di buluh tajam
Pohon jambu jadi penahan
Balik kampung duduk tak diam
Anak ayam lari bertempiaran

Sorong papan tarik papan
Buah keranji dalam perahu
Suruh makan Amir makan
Ayam sahaja nasi tak mahu

Riuh pekik tiga beradik
Rumah bagai tongkang pecah
Main bersama terpekik-pekik
Mulut becok Amir tak sudah

Tiga tahun sudah berlalu
Tetap menagih belai manja
Kerja Mama bertalu-talu
Tumpuan kasih sentiasa dipinta

Usia Amir masih dipangkal
Doa Mama setulus hati
Moga anakku sentiasa beramal
Buat bekalan kemudian hari

Driving Paranoia

My thoughts are always running wild especially when I’m driving and stuck in traffic jams. I would be thinking of possible dangers or chaos in my way particularly if I’ve came across some gruesome reading prior. The intensity of these thoughts would be even more propagated if I could see the potential danger of an object. And these are my fear list:

Stuck in traffic under the monorail track – fear of the track plummeting down on my car and I just couldn’t get out in time

Stuck in traffic with big trees by the roadside – fear of a fallen tree on the car and eventually me

Driving past a construction site – fear of a falling block from the cranes.

Traffic jam during a downpour with lightning and all – fear of being struck by lightning and just roast to death

Traffic jam during a downpour – fear of a sudden flood and being stuck while getting scolded by hubby for not planning my routes in the first place

Midnight driving from work – fear of a car breakdown in the middle of nowhere and my cell phone battery decided to run out as well

Midnight driving alone from work – fear of even glancing at the rear mirror to find “somebody” sitting at my backseat….

I shall mention no more…in view of the last item, sigh!

Is Not Ramadhan Yet!

What is it with people these days? At 4pm, Jalan Tun Razak is already congested. It's been like that since Tuesday, and I was always late for my appointments. Are people practising for the early dash home for buka puasa? Why suddenly people start going home early? Or are they becoming like me? Setting appointments later in the day like 3 or 4pm outside KL so that I could go home immediately after my meetings.

Whatever it is, I'm feeling the Ramadhan bug coming my way...the urge to get more dried fruits like apricots, dates, seeds, the sudden desire to do spring cleaning, the waking up at 4am...

I also found myself looking through fast recipes to compile for the maid who doesn't know how to vary the menu. I just hope she'll improve soon.

Little Cause, Ultimate Torture

It’s an agony enduring a cavity in your lips. It’s even more difficult if it’s almost the size of pea! The throbbing in the head, the ultimate shear of the nerves every time food touches the cavity – it’s just nerve-wrecking.

Imagine waking up in the morning, when your lips have been ‘sealed’ for the night – opening your mouth is torture. Later when you are about to brush your teeth, the bubbles of the of the toothpaste just stings your cavity like a bamboo cutting through your skin. The soreness and the twinging sensation are just unbearable. Don’t you just wish that you have that painkiller that could just numb all your senses?

I’ve had this mouth ulcer for almost a week now, and it’s really driving not just me, but also Papa, crazy. With the ulcer come a prolonged headache, back pain and swollen lips. And Papa will be the perpetual masseur and therapist. He does not favor this at all because the default masseuse cum therapist will always be yours truly. This is however, one of the times that I could get pampered in that manner (besides giving birth and pregnancy discomforts). As much indulgence I could get from the man, I still prefer being the masseuse because it’s 10 times better than tolerating the pain… I just wish this gigantic ulcer would diminish by the time Ramadhan starts…

Merdeka Spirit

What do my kids know about Merdeka?

Adam: Oh…bila Merdeka, ada Jalur Gemilang. Teachers at school main sports, boy teachers main football, girl teachers main netball. And Murid-murid jerit-jerit, and then we sang “Tanggal 31..” and “Negaraku” and “Keranamu Malaysia”…oh..malam tadi ada fireworks!!

Aina: Merdeka…..Aina made flag at school…Merdeka ada fireworks!!

Amir: Amir nak fireworks!! Banyak-banyak kat langit..

________________________________________________


On Merdeka Day, the kids and I were watching "Embun", a pre-merdeka movie about a girl who fought against the Japanese invasion, whilst at the same time falling for one of the soldiers.

What's important was what my (elder) kids learned that day- that life was tough at that time. They got a clearer picture of what life is all about back in the old days. That there was no electricity, no water through the tap and that life was lived in constant fear. Fear of the atrocities and brutalities of what the Japanese soldiers could bring upon the poor kampung folks. But among all those, there are still bravehearts that brought the spirit high to the rest of the people. And this is the kind of spirit I would like my kids to have.

Actually I was quite surprised that all three of them actually insisted to sit through the entire movie. Adam was the most keen, asking all sort of "W" questions, why, what, where, when... but I hope he got some understanding of what Merdeka means...

"So, after orang Jepun kalah, Malaysia merdeka? Ada fireworks tak?"

My Regular Phone Conversations

Scene 1: Home calling Mama

Mama: Hallloooooooooo (with nice big smile..)

Home: Hi Mama, Ini Aina. Mama! Mama! Abang tak buat homework!

Then shrieks at the back...followed by sound of phone being grabbed..

Home: Mama..kentut, kentut, kentut!

Mama: Ammmmmmiirr! Stop saying that. Nanti sapa cakap macam tu Mama taruk kat luar..

Again..sound of phone being grabbed...

Home: Mama! Ini Aina, Amir cakap "put put"...

Mama: Ok, Aina please tell Abang to do his work (in the background .."Tak nak!!!")

Aina: Mama balik what time?

Mama: Seven maybe...

Aina: OK, see you..

Now Amir grabbed the phone..

Amir: Mama balik what time?

Mama: Seven o'clock sayang..

Amir: Alaaaaaaaaaa..Mama balik kul sebelas la...

Mama: (Giggles..) Ok, Mama balik kul sebelas...bye..

Amir: Yea! Yea! Mama balik kul sebelas...bai Mama.



Scene 2: Mama calling Home at noon

Mama: Helloooo, Amir?

Amir: Helo Mama kentut, kentut, kentut!

Mama: Amir, please don't say that. Nanti mama put down the phone

Amir: Kentut! Kentut! Kentut (louder by the word)

Mama: Apasal la anak Mama ni cakap macam tu...What time did you wake up boy?

Amir: Kul sebelas!

Mama: Have you taken your breakfast? Abang & Kakak dah balik school?

Amir: Dah...Abang ngan Kakak balik kul sebelas!

What Happened on July 20, 2006

Something I wanted to describe some time before but just didn't have time to do it. I was so absorbed into this one "crazy" project that I didn't even have time for own - frankly speaking, I lost about 2 kg of weight.

This is the date just a day prior to my dad's scheduled surgery. We're just about to retire the night, July 19, and I was the only one awake finishing my work while the rest of the household has long gone to slumber.

It was about 12.30 midnite, when suddenly the lights went out, so did the aircond. Must be a blackout, but then I peeked through the window, the rest of the neighborhood was all lighted up. I woke Papa up, asking him to check the fuse. While doing that, I heard noises at our gate, sounded like my neighbor were banging on my gate. Papa was still dazed as he had a long day, but upon hearing the noise, he was immediately up on his feet, went straight downstairs. I followed him, with my kids all awoke, only to find out that our electric meter outside the house was in flames, with our neighbors shouting to wake us up.

I started to panic as Papa were shouting for the fire-extinguisher. In total darkness upstairs, I just couldn't find the torchlight and the fire-extinguisher. I ran downstairs looking for the other set in the kitchen, trying to light the stove for some lights. Adam & Aina were somehow excited with the activities, but Amir was screaming due to the darkness. Acik came down trying to figure out what's happening. With Papa screaming for the extinguisher and wet cloth, I just couldn't figure out what to do first. The fire started to spread to our shoe-cabinet, latched to the wall just below the meter.

Somehow Papa managed to find the extinguisher the same time I brought wet old clothes. My car was in the porch, just inches away from the fire. Papa managed to extinguish it in less than 5 minutes, but the shoe cabinet was half destroyed. As the extinguisher is dry-base, dust was all over the house.

And we went through all this with my mom and Atam fast asleep upstairs. Only later we woke them up, sending everybody to sleep over at Acik's apartment nearby as they sure couldn't sleep in the heat. 2 am, it was just me and Papa sorting out things with TNB and Bomba, fighting away the mosquitos while trying to catch some sleep.

The damage: 2 pairs of Adam's school shoes, 1 pair of Adam's taekwondo shoes, a pair of my Balenciaga, a pair of my Alain Delon, the TNB meter, the entire fuse cabling, the shoe-rack from IKEA, almost half of the porch ceiling and wall, dusty floor...and a lot of restless sleep. Remember, at this time, we're still maidless.

Lesson learned:

Always keep fire-extinguisher handy
Devise a fire-escape plan for your maid to understand and assist the children when you're away
New installed meter from TNB runs faster than the old one

Peace in Slumberland

At the end of a hectic day, the only peace of mind I would get is watching my kids in slumber. Next to prayers, it's the only thing that will lower the pace of my heart beat, though I do admit sometimes I rushed my prayers...

Adam is still like a baby, suckling his thumb. He'll go to bed fully clothed, but by dawn, he only has his undies on, sweating, and Mama is curling under the thick comforter from the cold breeze of the aircond. I wonder why Adam felt so warm?


Aina is a light sleeper, just like her mom. When she had a bad dream, she'll be right on my side of the bed, squeezing in between her little brother and me.

And this boy, no matter where I put him in the room, by 3am he'll be somewhere in between Papa and Mama.

See how peaceful is Slumberland...I wish peace would shower all around the world especially in the Middle East.

I also wish for peace to fill my heart everytime I face the most difficult customer to date...eh?

Being Patient

My dad was admitted to IJN on July 16 for the surgery to remove the tumor in his chest. The surgery was scheduled to be done on Friday, July 21, but did not happen because of the high occupancy of the operating theater. Being there for almost a week was already a torture for my dad. He just couldn't bear the thought of being away from home and his circle of usrah colleagues.

Finally, the surgery was due on Monday July 24 at noon. He was whisked to the OT at 12.30pm, but I think the procudure only started at 1pm. Mak, Atam, Ateh and Adik were waiting there. I wish I could be there, but I had to care for Amir (my maid was still not here yet) while at the same time attend to my endless work stuff. I ended up bringing Amir to work, while Dad would fetch Adam & Aina after school and perhaps brought them his office.

The procedure was completed at 4pm. The tumor was removed, measuring 10x10cm at the core (refer picture - what looks like the head is the core) about 12-14cm tail. Imagine that growth with the size of a grapefruit all these while nestling in between the heart & lungs...no wonder my dad's cough is endless.

My dad came to consciousness at about 6pm, it was heart-rendering to see him in ICU, with all the supporting tubes & IV. In his semi-consciuosness, heavily drugged with morphine, his index finger kept pointing to his legs. The bed was not long enough to accomodate his long legs to stretch out properly. I told the nurse to move him so that he could stretch his legs. They only could do it after sponging is done. So we waited about half an hour for them to do that and finally removed the oxygen tube from his mouth after 7:30pm.

The next day, Tuesday, Apak was transferred from the ICU to the normal ward at after 4pm. Though still heavily monitored, it was a relief that he didn't have to stay long in ICU. This time around, Mak wanted to stay the night to care for his husband. Even then, Apak, was already complaining why Mak was late. She insisted that I pick up the new maid first before sending her to IJN. We noticed that Apak was a bit impatient and quick-tempered - must be the drugs. He was groggy and confused in identifying his children.

Alhamdulillah, by Wednesday, he was back to his normal self. With the after-effects of the drugs, he was a little bit dizzy. But he could already go to the bathroom by himself. The doctor said his recovery was quite remarkable, and Apak attributed all that to prayers and zikirs. With zikir, your soul becomes calm and peaceful, hence the strong will and determination...

The Power of Branding

My two sisters and I are playing this game currently. Come up with a brand that has become generic in the eyes of the local consumers. Do you know how to do this? Just think of some product that you think is commonly referred to as the actual thing. That people are actually unaware of the brand usage. Example - Pampers for diapers. And the top nominees are:

1. Pampers - baby diapers (of course)
2. Maggi - instant noodles (favorite food in boarding schools or even colleges)
3. Softlan - fabric softener
4. Pajero - 4-wheeler (I think most Malaysians refer to all 4-wheeler as Pajero. I have a friend who sent his Ford Ranger to the car-wash, and upon completion, the car-wash operator called his worker to get the "Pajero" right in the owner's face!)
5. Clorox -I think all makciks use this to refer to all sort of bleach product
6. Shell - all gas stations are called Shell (I think)
7. Dettol - for all disinfectants
8. Kotex - tolong beli Kotex bang! And the hubby obligedly understood what it meant...

So what else can you think of?

I'm bored - and blogging in KLCC Convention Center while my kids are roaming KLCC with their aunt...sigh..

On the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Life at the workplace has been very hectic for the past month, and even more so for the past week. Tuesday was worst because I thought I was going to have a heart-attack. I felt my chest tightening and my blood pressure was unstable. When I looked into the mirror, I saw hot-flushes all over my face. The nervousness was mainly due to the fact that a client asking for a proposal presentation with a very short-notice, and I have no one in the office to support me technically. Every single effort to win this RM7 million project I had to bear myself. Was also frantically trying to get support from my partners, but of course, being the prime contractor, it had to be me.

I think I'm not in a very good shape in terms of maintaining my physical fitness. Endless self-promises I've been making to myself to at least exercise 3 times a week, or do some situps before taking the morning shower. And I'm still making that promise which has yet to be fulfilled. Even worse, I'm still maidless, so with endless hours at work and endless house chores, it is the ultimate recipe for a nervous breakdown.

I'm glad I still can count on my siblings to help me with the kids care and some housework. I'm also very furious with my maid-agent for not being proactive about servicing us. When we made the booking of the maid, he should have advised the maid to make the necessary arangements already. What I'm hearing now is the maid wants to go back to her kampong first when she was supposed to be here on Tuesday!! The agent should have told her to do so when we placed the order 3 weeks ago.

And I'm still freaking mad! To top it all...Amir loves to tabur bedak all over the house........

All I have to say...

All I have to say is that:

1. Murphy's Law always works at the very last moment of whatever submission you need to do: Example - The Immigration system have been down for the last 3 days of last week. So we couldn't make the submission for our new maid.
2. The government will always find fault in whatever you file: Example - Medical reports of the maid candidate is incomplete - Duh!
3. The last day of current maid is Thursday: Translate - I don't know how long will I be maidless..
4. Work is endless and piling: Translate - I can't take too long of a holiday to care for my children.
5. Mak!! Tolong! Translate - import reliable support structure from kampung laa..

Birthday Bash Blog

AINA TURNS 5!

Papa brought everybody to Shangri-la's Lemon Garden last Saturday. Buffet was excellent. Mama was eyeing the Ice Kacang since we stepped into the restaurant. Orang Peru jangan jealous...

Birthday Girl was proud to finish her chicken wings.

Three stooges at the Lobby.

With a yummy gleaming flowing chocolate fountain at the bar, everybody went grape-dipping. Comot boy had to use 2 napkins because he kept licking the chocolates.

Abang "Mawi" was in his own "world!". Makan banyak tak sudah-sudah. Chicken wings, sushi, udang besar 3 ekor, roti canai...

Complimentary cake on the house - for being a Shang member, we got this soft, moist and creamy chocolate cake to bring home, tak larat nak makan there. Birthday girl couldn't wait to go home and show off her cake to Achik & Atam.

No candles provided though - had to use tealights because somebody was too eager to blow them candles! Look at his eyes...

This is my priceless cake!

At the end of the day, somebody was proud to have a double celebration...

Hectic Week

It was a hectic and busy period last week, with adrenalin rushing especially the very last minute I was submitting my tender response all the way to Cyberjaya. Managed to get there 10 minutes before closing time, I hope we didn’t get a ticket for speeding at 130 km/h.

On Aina’s birthday, I had meetings back to back, but luckily my last meeting ended at 5pm. So I took the opportunity to get her something cute for her birthday while frantically trying to settle my mobile bills as the line was already barred because I haven’t made payments in all those frenzy. Since we are not doing anything for that day, I figured a little surprise would make her day.

Found something cute and useful for her in Memory Lane, a face towel in a cylinder box with Mimi the Cat character from Patrick and Friends. So happy Aina was with that little gift, she actually held the towel closely in slumber that night. Hmmm, the pleasure of pleasing a child, it’s the little things that matters. You don’t have to get them expensive gifts…something practical and meaningful would be great for them. Happy Birthday Aina!

Overwhelmed!

Have you ever thought of going back to your mother's tummy again when things start to be so overwhelming for you to face? I'm actually wishing that now, infact I already wished that this week would just skip. I got:

• a big tender to respond by Wednesday of which I have limited help and knowledge
• a presentation for a government conference I need to prepare for my CEO for Thursday that actually need to be submitted today!
• two conferences coming in July that I need to coordinate the details now
• to look for resources for a project in the US a.s.a.p.
• to look for a replacement maid fast and all those agents have not gotten back to me yet
• to plan for Aina's birthday that's on Thursday but celebration has to happen on Saturday (I don't mind doing this of all the things above..)

And I don't think I have enough time to do all these in a week!

Civic Minded

As I was driving under the hot sun yesterday (mind you my aircond is still kaput!), and of course sweat are running down all over my body (gross ain't it?), there was this red hatchback Honda Civic just wheeled in to my lane. You can guess what type of driver it is just by looking at the car (I'm discriminating here, but hey it's also generalization based on my experience).

We were coming to a traffic light at the Jalan Bangsar-Dataran Maybank intersection, when I saw the driver smoothly extend his right hand out the window, holding a red plastic bag.

At that gesture, my mind is already signalling my mouth to say something - this is when I long for that ever mind-reading/speaking horn!! I know what he's going to do, and I know it's a HE because of the hairy hand.

Then slowly he loosened his finger-grip of the bag, and subtly the bag flew away, on to the road.

What a CRAP! He's aware of what he's doing, but pretentiously made it such that the bag konon-knon flew away lah! Aiyoo, I hate this type of people. Selfish enough to throw garbage on to the roads, but aware enough not to dirty his car. CRAP!

Infact, they are a lof of people out there doing all sort of grossly stuff, one particular thing I hate is spitting, and sticking gums at public spots. Yuckks!

And if you observe them properly, these people do not look un-educated.

So what made them missed that particular civic education?

A Driver's Wish List

Ever wonder while you’re driving, the things that other people do just trigger some wish list in your mind? Well, here is my wish list, after 19 years of driving:

Gadget: A mind-speaking horn
Purpose: Some people just don’t understand the basic rules of driving – so they need to be mannered. Since our hands are not that quick as our mouth, a device should be available to scan our brainwave and convey the message to the horn.
Example: “Excuse me, orang lain dah jenuh queue, tolong la jangan potong”

Gadget: A rear mirror flap at the back bumper, triggered by a push-button
Purpose: There are a lot of un-alert night drivers with high-beam on, just annoying the front drivers. When mirror is triggered, the un-alert driver will immediately respond to his/her own bright lights. Also works for those who don’t turn on their lights at all. Hey, we don’t have this gadget with our current vehicles, do we?

Gadget: Branched-wheels – Inspector Gadget kind of car wheels
Purpose: Works miracle if you want to save gas and most importantly TIME, in a downtown KL traffic jam.

Gadget: Automatic sweeper/cleaner for carpets & seats
Purpose: A mother driving hungry kids need to concentrate on the road. This gadget will save the kids from being shouted at, eventually improve mother-children relationship.

Gadget: Engine that runs on water
Purpose: Will definitely save my RM 120/week petrol money. Can use that to buy a new pair of Scholls...he he..

Cheeky Moments

Enjoying the scenic harbour view..

Splash time...

The Ride

I guess what the kids enjoyed most out of the KK trip was the airplane ride and swimming in the pools. Anyways, those were the only driving factor for them to open their eyes at the twilight hour on a Sunday morning. Just whispered in their ears, and the sleepyheads quickly pranced out of bed.

"Do you want to ride the aeroplane?", these are the magic words.

"Mana aeroplane?" Amir was asking, and I told him to get ready first and we'll go to the airport to take the ride.

And when we were ready for the cab at 4:50am, Amir decided to plant his feet down. "Nanak naik that car, nak car ni," while pointing to my car.

Had to explain to him that my car will be lonely at the airport because we're going to leave it there anyway. He bought the idea, but then was covering his nose the whole trip to KLIA LCCT.

"Smelly!" was his complaint about the smell of the cab, you know that kind of pungent smell whenever you take a cab.... And he kept doing that even before we board any cab that we took in KK.

After checking in our luggage, we had a lean breakfast at McDonald's, also trying to rush the time for boarding. Since we know that you can't bring outside food on Air Asia, we made sure the kids are fed. But at 6 in the morning, they could not have more than a hash brown and a slice of sausage.

The comes boarding time, we actually missed the call for passengers with kids because of the toilet visit. I didn't want any of them to make a scene in the plane later.

Upon seeing the Airbus on the tarmac, all three of them are already excited, and rushed ourselves to the staircase as it was drizzling. Since we were quite late, we only secured 1 row of 3 seats, while the other 2 had to be at another row away. Of course, them kids were fighting for the window seat! And Aina got the seat, while Abang sat with Papa, with the promise that they will swap places later.

Once settled, and the plane towing away to the runaway, Amir started to unbuckle his seatbealt and wanted to take the window seat. I have not been been able to sit still since the time we boarded the plane, and now Amir wanted to get out of his seatbelt! And it's already take-off time! I had to hold him down to his seat saying that the plane would be racing soon. That actually kept him down for a while until we were in the air.

The thought of catching a nap in a 2.5hr flight had to be parked aside. Amir kept getting in and out of his seat, going up and down the aisle and switching places with his brother and sister. If this is how he's going to behave in an airplane, I told Papa that we should definitely postpone our dreams of taking them to Disneyworld until Amir is mature enough to sit still at least, maybe when he's 8 years old!

Thank God Air Asia in-flight menu is limited! I'm glad it's not a flying Tesco, otherwise we would be broke to the bone...

Holiday in the Land Below the Wind

Actually it's work cum holiday. It was an offsite meeting with my clients, and my principal wanted to hold it away from the office, so they decided to go to Kota Kinabalu. At the same time, my clients could also meet my other client based in KK.

Since my brother works for Air Asia, and got free tickets to spare, I decided to take the opportunity to take the kids along, and forced my hubby to take time off from work, so he could babysit them. So it's like a free holiday for them. After all, it has been quite some time since our last holiday in Cherating in 2004. The kids were definitely excited, and it would be the first airplane ride for Aina & Amir.

We stayed in the Pacific Sutra at the Sutra Harbour Resort, with excellent view of the sea. Amir especially liked the sailboats that were docked at the Marina Club, but of course we didn't have time to go island-hopping due to the time constraint.

It was also Amir's first on the cab, and on the free city-shuttle bus taking us from the hotel to town. KK is a flat city, calm and quiet. And since it's famous for the cheap ikan bilis and ikan kering, we hunted those items down first at the Central Market, next to the Filipino Market. You can actually get good grades peeled ikan bilis at RM13 per kg, compared to the peeled Pangkor ikan bilis sold at Giant for RM22.90/kg.

At the Filipino Market, the eye-catcher was definitely the crystal accessories and pearls. Of course the pearls are no way close to Mikimoto pearls, but some people got attracted to those accessories. Somehow I just didn't know what to buy from there. It just didn't click. We just got a few tree-bark pencil cases for the kids.

Adam of course just couldn't wait to go into the pool. We arrived early on Sunday morning, so Adam was incessantly asking when we could go swimming. Earlier on, I was pleasantly surprised because it was easy waking the kids up at 4.15am and asked them to take their shower. Of course it was Aina who woke up first. Perhaps it was all due to their eagerness to board the plane to go to some faraway land.

To me, as long as the kids are happy being somewhere away from home during the school holidays, it's good enough for us parents. Though it was just a 3-day 2-night trip, it was great for them.

I haven't elaborated on how Amir behave on the plane...next entry!