Yes, I'll Be Driving (title inspired by drroza's question)

I will be driving up north early tomorrow morning. You may be asking how early is early. To me, early is really, literally early (very much to the disgust of my children, including bea). I don't care. I'm an early bird and I like to wake up before the sun rises. I like to start the journey before Subuh, therefore morning prayers will be at one of the RnR along the way.

There are a number of reasons why I like travelling in the morning. The first is, I don't have to sweat for almost half the journey. Secondly, the kids can also have a restful sleep - which they normally do - on the vehicle. Besides that, you also get the luxury of having breakfast in a strange new land. Now, this can either work to the advantage or against me. It all depends on luck actually. Thankfuly, I'm able to say that I've had more hits than misses. The next reason why I like to travel early is because I can drive in a relaxed manner. I don't have to rush and I won't feel guilty to stop at the roadside stalls to buy the wares offered. One such place is Bidor where there are fresh guavas. It's such a joy to be munching away on the juicy fruit with their "cholek".

The other thing is that I get to arrive early at my destination. And that is always a good thing. Just like drroza and ikelah who managed to get an early ride to Redang recently ;) It's good to reach destinations like Langkawi early, for there are still things to be settled like getting a car for hire.

I still haven't decided whether to take the ferry or speedboat at Kuala Perlis or Kuala Kedah. But most probably it'll be Kuala Perlis. The number of times I've been to Langkawi, it has always been Kuala Perlis. And remember, I'm an old faithful (now I'm starting to feel guilty about abandoning my Xanga blog. Just to make myself feel better, I'll try to post up an entry about the trip on my previous blog)...InsyaAllah.

Things that I like to do whilst driving: I like to sing to my favourite tunes over Light and Easy (itulah Ayumi, I want you to include me in your karaoke list. I sure can put you to shame with my karaoke skills!) Other than that, I also like to reminisce about the past. Somehow or rather, bea and I will always end up talking about the times we were all snuggling together in the living room of our basement apartment with our small children in Edinburgh. Can you imagine; in Edinburgh, in Autumn and Winter? So you can imagine about the many things I'll be talking with Bea during the long journey. Looking into the rear view mirror, I can't help but think about how the kids have grown up right before my eyes.

So, on long journeys like this, although I don't like driving for hours at end, these are the small redeeming qualities that make up for the torture of being behind the wheel.

Okay, I've got to start packing now. Care to remind me of the things that I shouldn't forget to bring along on this trip? (I have ways of enticing people to come and leave comments here) But make sure that the suggestions come quick for I have less than 24 hours before I'm off to Langkawi. So Hiyoshi, shopping areas would be the best place to meet me. Feel free to sms me. You still have my number don't you? I really hope to see you there. Tell me what you want for lunch or dinner and I'll belanja you makan. A promise is a promise :)))

p.s. I have to share this with you. We had breakfast outside this morning. On our way back, my two children from boarding school were teasing the youngest one about their place of birth. Below is a recollection of the dialogue (after translation):

Youngest: Eventhough you two were born overseas, I speak better English than you two!
The Girl: Eleh, tapi kitorang boleh cakap Arab. Bahasa Quran, bahasa di syurga.
Youngest: Ala...Tau jugak Bahasa Arab! Klau pandai, apa anta? Haa....Apa ana?
The Girl: Hahaha...Pandainya dia cakap Arab! Takutnya!!
The Boy (his elder brother): Ala...Klau pandai sangat, apa babi?
Youngest: Anta la!

I know I should have scolded him for that, but we all couldn't help but laugh out loud at his witty remark.

This is my first posting. Everybody seems to be moving to blogspot, so I think I'd do the same. But I'm still keeping my old blog at xanga. Maybe I'll post up entries alternately. Maybe I'll post up Malay entries in one and English entries in another. Or maybe I won't be posting entries at all; just comments on my favourite sites. That has always been my favourite pastime.

The good thing about blogspot is that the pictures look stunning. But then again, that's probably because ikelah has been taking them. However, don't hope for a picture of myself in the future. I'm still keeping my identity to myself. Besides, ikelah and boogey have set the bar up high, so much so that I think I'd best just stick to writing entries. Even then, I'm still not that good a story-teller. That would be drroza. She has set the standard too high that I feel rather hesitant to post up entries of my own. Nanti rasa hambar pula. So drroza, if you've noticed I haven't put up any new posts lately, you're partly to blame! Many a times have I written something, only to read it back and find it to be 'tasteless'.

But the main reason I set up this account is because of the pop-up comment box. Whenever anybody wants to leave their comments, they can do so without having to leave the main page. And I find that really nice.

Still, I haven't decided whether to religiously post here as I have my xanga blog. I'm not the type of person who would simply leave an 'old faithful' friend just because I've found a new one. I have many fond memories with xanga as I got to know so many talented and intelligent people. Also, I got to see them grow up into budding adults. Afie, ayumi, crimsonskye, witchazel,
hiyoshi, inositol, iFos. And devoleb (yes, we have not forgotten about you, you lazy blogger!)

note: I'm not too sure whether inositol is a young blogger or not.

Do you realise that I used the word 'lazy' to describe devoleb? Well, that's only because I know her and am comfortable with her. For people who I'm not too familiar with, I wouldn't pull their leg like that because they have yet to accustomize themselves with me. That's why I believe that we should always be courteous to people who are new. We should only be funny with people whom we are comfortable with. Witty and funny jokes are welcomed, but caution should always be practised as to not offend the other party taking the joke.

Having said that, don't be hesitant to leave comments. I appreciate feedback on the things that I've written, be it in agreement or otherwise. Difference in opinions are the spices of life. But let's try to leave only nice comments, shall we?

Since this is a new blog, I'll keep it short :))))