Monday, June 1, 2009

The Tiffin Carrier Award

There are tags and there are tags. Some are straight forward tags requiring mundane information. No need to think doubly hard about what you want to say. This is the easy tag.

Some masquerade as awards.
Pi Bani says it's like multi-level marketing (MLM) for the cascading effect it has. I call this bestowal Hadiah Mangkuk Tingkat because just like the sia (tiffin carrier), it is multi-tiered and you have to stack and stock up all the tiers to get the best effect.

I am the hapless recipient of a Sia Award, doled out by
Naz in faraway Norway. She may be nun jauh di sana but her tentacles reach far and wide, sparing no mercy despite the distance.

These are the three tiers:-

1. Five interesting facts about the person who gives you this award.
2. Ten interesting facts about yourself, on whose lap the award has now landed.
3. Choose the next victims.. eh.. recipients, and get your own back (it's payback time!)

Tier One - five interesting facts about the person who gives you this award.

1. She has a keen sense of humour and it reflects in her writing. Her accounts of her 'headwind' (kepala angin) younger days always have me in stitches. Imagine giving an 'up yours' finger to someone, only to find out later that he is the husband of your ustazah colleague!

2. She has not forgotten her roots and this is something I admire greatly. It is easy to drift away from home and hearth once you are living so far away. She has not been 'orang-putih'nised; her thick Kedah twang rings loud and clear uber the North Sea.

3. I have not met her personally, but judging from her writings, I have no doubt she is a loving wife and concerned mother. I am glad she ensures her children adapt well to their multi-culturality and that those kids can speak their mother's tongue (literally) with as much ease as their paternal mother tongue.

4. She knows her limit in blogsphere. There are things best untold, especially those concerning the private lives of others, and she seems to be very aware of this. I have yet to read an entry of hers that is overtly critical of anyone, in a malicious way that is. Even when she criticised, it was always done in a good-natured way, tempered with humour.

5. She and I are both Scorpios! I think we share many common traits, one of which is loyalty. Scorpios are deeply loyal, especially in love; that's why they can't stomach betrayal. Betray a Scorpio, and you are done for.

Tier Two - ten interesting facts about yourself

1. I have never liked, and thus don't use, make-up. The only cosmetic item I can't do without is lipstick. For powder, I have always used baby talc. The last time I was fully made-up was in 1974, at my wedding. Cosmetic companies will fold if they depend on my custom.

2. Foodwise, I prefer seafood (prawn, squid, mussel) to meat. I'm not into fish and have never been able to eat ikan terubuk and ikan parang for the bones. My favourite lauk is pajri nenas while dessert I like best is bubur kacang, something I have in common with Pak Abu. I prefer Thai food above everything else (must be my maternal side's Kelantan heritage).

3. I am not a fashionable person. From before, my standard dressing has aways been baju kurung. In the past few years, however, I have taken to wearing blouses and long skirts as well. I am not into jeans and trousers although I do own a few and wear them occasionally. My family and I also do not keep clothes we no longer wear. We spring-clean many times in a year and give away items of clothing to whoever need them, usually relatives, the cleaners and maids.

4. I don't accessorise because I'm not into jewellery, costume or otherwise. I wear a wedding ring and an anniversary ring on one finger, and a bracelet, and that's it. I prefer platinum to yellow gold and jade to diamonds.

5. Of all household chores, the one I dislike the most is cooking. But this statement I have to qualify; I don't mind cooking if all I do is cook. What I find tedious is the preparation and the washing up. Although I am not in love with the kitchen, I still cook - mostly weekends - when everyone is available. If there is one labour of love on my part, this definitely is it.

6. Bright colours put me off (I dislike red intensely, it looks so menacing). Pastel shades are my choice and my favourite remains lilac and sea blue. I am not into handbags and shoes. My favourite handbag is a roomy wicker basket (I simply love bakul rotan of any kind) and my most comfortable footwear is a pair of Scholls flat-heeled sandals. I do not own a single pair of stillettos (can't walk in them). I do keep a couple of stylo-mylo clutch bags (all glamour and glitter giteww...) for formal functions.

7. I suffer from mild claustrophobia and get dizzy in a crowd. Because of this, I don't go to concerts and sales. In fact, my biggest worry before going for the Hajj was this; could I cope with the millions of pilgrims? Allah is so great, I could. But upon returning home, I'm back to square one. I do my grocery shopping by going to the supermarket at opening time and escape before the crowd builds up.

8. Among my hobbies are singing, playing Scrabble and volunteering. I used to sing in a band eons ago (as a teenager); now it's just karaoke three times weekly at Lake Club. For some six years from 1996 I was a member of an NGO, Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur North, and was involved in a lot of voluntary projects and activities. I left due to increasing workload when I joined the newly privatised Royal Mint of Malaysia in 2001 (it used to be known as Kilang Wang Bank Negara) to help set up its corporate affairs division. By then, my time was no longer my own.

9. I don't suffer fools gladly. I have been known to rebuke people publicly for jumping queues and such. I rarely hold my horses if I see injustice done, especially to animals. I can be opinionated, obstinate and as stubborn as a mule when the occasion calls for it. But I think I have mellowed a lot in my old age.

10. I am not afraid of heights but terrified of water. I am hydrophobic; I can't swim and am afraid of open waters. I was dragged by strong undercurrents a long time ago while splashing about in the sea in Dungun. Since then I have always steered clear of large expanses of water, so much so that I am afraid to even dangle my feet in the condo's swimming pool.


Tier Three - the next recipients..
1) Zendra
2) Mrs Nordin
3) Ida Hariati
4) Kay Leeda (walaupun dia di Tanah Suci)
5) Farina (Salt & Tumeric)
6) Edelweiss

(Aaaahh... Legaa!)



13 comments:

Pi Bani said...

Oooh... like this kita boleh gi main air sama-sama. I can't swim either!

And speaking of sia, tetiba lapar le pulak. What's in your sia? :)

Pokku said...

If the award is from Terengganu, it would be called "The Tenong Award" (tenong is Terengganuspeak for sia, in case you have forgotten).
Congratulations!

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Pi - cantik sekali! I remember floating in the sea (kat gigi air onlylah) in Dungun, while berkemban. the kain would spread and woe betide kalau ada orang menyelam nearby! Free show!

Pokku - tqtq! Oh yes, tenong! When I was in primary school, they gave out tenong as the first prize during sports day. I won one, can't remember for what event..

Ida Hariati Hashim said...

Kak Puteri, I really respect u le for not caring about painting ur face! Such high level of confidence la..

So I kena jwb the tag la ye..hmmmmm

Zendra-Maria said...

OMEGAWD OMEGAWD OMEGAWD and i thought you didn't know me KAMA!!!

Apa bende alah tagging ni???

What are the rules, pray tell.

Is it some kind of initiation?

Do I get to be a member of some kind of elite club or WHAT???



i'm first in your list, it's not fair

Kak Teh said...

Puteri, 've got this Sia award as well from Pi Bani. By the time everyone is done with it, I dont have anyone else to tag! and yes, like you i tak pakai makeup, except for lipstick.
Pi Bani, If you are reading this, in the words of P Ramlee, Tunggu Sekejaaaaap!

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Ida - I pun tak tau kenapa I dont like makeup. I guess it must be sebab nak pakai tu time-consuming, in the end i never bother.

Zendra - aha! you cyber virgin you! this is a cyber deflowering process la! ahahahahah.. once you kena tag, sure matang punya, can join us "orang tua2" makan sirih and ngomel-ngomelan... :)

Kak Teh - I know, that's why la I steered clear of you. Kak Teh, you can never escape this sort of thing; if it's not Pi, it would be me or some other ppl.. hehehe..

tireless mom said...

Kak Puteri dear

You sure puteh melepak tak payah pakai any make up. I envy people like you. I have to conteng my face or else I really look so kampong. Bukan lah tak suka look like orang kampong, but I look horrible without it.

I like the word you used to Zendra cyber virgin. Cute and classy. Must remember that one.

Naz in Norway said...

Ahhhhh Kak Puteri... you and your words :) Thanks
Thanks for being so sporting.
Yay! you're a Scorpion too!! and yes, I can identify with that thing about being a Scorpion. Memang dah tak ada ubat, Kak Puteri ;)
I don't like make up either. Occasionally calit juga lah sikit sikit kalau nak kemana mana.
I sense gelabah-ness somewhere in London now as all the people are already tagged ... hehe!

mekyam said...

clap..clap..clap [sampai sakit tangan]

oooh! plenty of scrumpliciousness in this sia aka tenong aka mangkuk tingkat.

pandai that other scorpion, naz, pilih downline mlm [mencari lain mangsa(?)] dia. ;D

ummisara said...

Alamak!!!!

Chek dah terketaq dah nih...insyallah panjang umoq chek jawab ya kak puteri :)

laaaaa ingatkan chek sorang saja suka pakai bedak talkum kat muka. hehehhe

MrsNordin said...

Alamak... kena tag ke? Nanti chek pikiaq, ok?

Kama At-Tarawis said...

TM - putih melepak tu zaman tok nadun masa kat STF dulu. Now dah a few shades darker dah, always out in the sun masa jadi reporter..

Naz - let her gelabah Naz, she pon suka buat kita camtu.. bagi balik paku buah keraih..hehehe

Mekyam - this tenong/sia is filled to the brim with God knows so much litter..

Edelweiss & Mrs N - jawab, jangan tak jawab..:) seronok2 ajakan?