Cranky Saturday morning

How do you like woken up on a Saturday morning by the neighbour's dogs incessant barking? Thereafter a continuous series of noise - someone mowing the lawn, banging and hammering of a nearby house renovation work, a car alarm going off, followed by a house alarm somewhere and for some reason this constant droning of helicopters in the sky, and flying so low too (is it to do with the Agong's birthday today?)!! And then there's the endless motorcycles sounds of newspaper, bread etc delivery and the neighbourhood security patrols.What a Saturday morning, and it's so grey as well! God knows what else lay ahead .

I came home late last night after a whole day spent in my hobby house in Putrajaya. Got caught in a horrendous traffic jam in Bricksfield trying to collect a PosLaju parcel delivered to my house just at a time I wasn't there. I gave up and made a detour and ran smack into another traffic jam heading towards Jalan Duta! Where was everybody going? I knew it's Friday night but it was past 9pm already!! Almost reaching home I saw another massive traffic jam crawling up towards Bangsar Shopping Centre into Bangsar - the happening place! God, I just wanted to get home! Of course when I did get home I was greeted by that stupid dog again. Ayu had a parcel from UKM waiting for me (thanks Shamsul). She had cleaned up my garden nice and tidy. Some messages on my email, smss from Chicago, London and New York (Beep and Yam wishing I was there with them - thank you thalings, my travelling days are over lah!). HP rang from JB to say he would stay with me next weekend and join my friends' joint-birthday bash at Cafe Lui in Ulu Langat (http://www.luifarm.com/).

I guess it was and will continue to be one of those days when things will be rather testy for me. At times like this I appreciate having a place to run to, my house in Putrajaya with its 6500 sq feet of land. Yesterday I planted a jambu air, a mata kucing, two limau kasturi, crimson frangipani (I like the Hawaiian name for it - plumeria), some palms and flowering plants. All the other trees and plants I have planted in the last month are growing well but the hibiscus leaves were all eaten up, must get an insecticide! I got rid of the messy dragon fruit plant and removed all the banana clusters (left behind by my last tenant) and put them in one straight row at the very back of the garden. Same thing with all the lengkuas (galangal) and bunga kantan shrubs! I didn't actually do them myself but with the help of this strapping young Bangladeshi, Mehboob. My brother Wes and his wife Anis came with a sumptuous lunch, they were the custodians of the two profusely fruiting mango trees and did more wrapping of the fruits to protect them from insects. They harvested quite a bit of the fruits last Tuesday, which are still to ripen till today.
Mehbob worked from 11 am to 4 pm, and had the perfect excuse not to go for Friday prayers as he was dirty all over, so he said. I especially liked yesterday's sermon in that small cozy mosque near my house. The subject was 'loans' and 'overspending' with the imam lamenting about the incredible debts incurred by people these days, mostly unpaid, and the incredible amount of credit card usage! What is one to say!

Cousin Wan J came to borrow my Baju Melayu with cekak musang as he would be attending the Agong's birthday reception at the palace today. Last year he wore the Johor teluk belanga to the occasion and was reminded it was not the dress code for the occasion. While he is sweating it off under the tent in the palace ground today, I will be having tea with my niece Idah and her family in Seremban. Have to dash back to KL in time for Abed's birthday dinner! What do you give as a present to someone who has everything....?

I stopped at Alamanda for a quick dinner and some grocery shopping at posh but absolutely empty and overpriced Cold Storage. The rest of the Mall is crowded by Malay youngsters and family which made me feel like a dinosaur. Must avoid the place on Friday nights!!

I pray for a pleasant weekend and that I will not be too cranky. Next week a new door opens - I'll stat working again. Insha Allah....
Time now to get some breakfast! God bless.
And Alhamdullilah, finally all those noises have stopped!