Growing Up

Once in a while I tend to get a tad morbid and start obsessing about the future. Maybe it's due to my new status as a temporary single mother to two baby boys and being in charge of the family finances. Or it could be my parents reaching retirement age with two of my adiks still in uni/college and the youngest still in high school. Then again, it could be the fact that I will be turning 30 next year!!! Whatever the reason, I've started worrying about money, my future, my kids futures and then back to money again.

Despite being a banker for about 7 years, I am practically clueless about my own money. Totally like Becky Bloomwood in the Shopaholics books! Seriously, when I was single I had a straight forward approach to handling my personal finances. My salary went in my account, I'd withdraw said salary and spend spend spend. After my parents generously forked out the down-payment for my first car (a dinky little Kancil my brother subsequently inherited from me), part of my salary went towards car payments, petrol and the general up-keep of my car. I did open an ASB account where I managed to park a few hundred RMs but failed to maintain regular deposits 'cos I lacked the self-discipline. Then I was introduced to the bane of young urbanites every where - credit cards. So another chunk of my cash went towards credit card payments. Nothing towards savings, I'd frequently find myself broke by the end of the month.

A few years down the line after getting married, I've diversified my cash out-flow. My mom has always stressed the importance of financial independence on her daughters. Basically not to depend 100% on our husbands (or father) for money and to make and save our own money. So, upon her advice, I obtained an ASB loan as a form of forced savings. I also got me some life insurance upon the insistence of my dad. Then my kids came into the picture. We've gotten both of them their own education insurance and bank accounts which we try to maintain as regularly as our finances permit. I would like to put more money away towards the boys' futures but truthfully what we're spending now is about all we can afford. Still, sikit-sikit lama-lama jadi bukit, right?

Now that R's working in Singapore, we're going to be a bit more well off than before. I've totally committed myself to the proper handling of the hard-earned money he'll be sending back. I'll be able to put more money towards paying off our credit card debts (when will it end????) and pay off our various bills with a comfortable balance left over. I plan to invest part of it in ASB and Tabung Haji (though I have yet to open an account, classic procrastinating) and sock another part of it away in a savings account for emergencies.

In another unprecedented move, I've started thinking about investing in unit trusts, a totally new area for me. You know, make my money work for me and all that. There's so many types to chose from - syariah compliant or conventional, equities, bonds, growth funds... maybe I'll just get me a nice, patient fund manager who'll kindly explain all the details to me. Gosh, just thinking about it all makes my head spin.

Oh, and one of my New Year's resolutions is to pay for everything with cash and stop depending on my credit cards, a move totally supported by dear hubs. It's time for me to finally stop fooling around and get down to business. You know, the business of raising my family and providing a reasonably brighter future for my boys. This growing up stuff is for the birds, but we all gotta do it sooner or later.

Of McBs and Other Random Things..

Aiyooo.. since I started back at work last week, I've been running around like a chicken takde kepala!! Now that I'm no longer pregnant, I am no longer accorded "special" status in the office. Which means I'm expected to shoulder a heavier work load, go back late and forget about having some semblance of a personal life. However, I'm beating the system by getting in early so I can have a leisurely breakfast with my friends (no more tercekik on a rushed karipap), starting work at 8.45 am on the dot and working like a drone all day with breaks for my expressing sessions, lunch and solat.

I've gotten my pumping sessions down to a more or less fixed schedule. I express twice a day at the office - around 11.20 am and then again at 4.2o pm. If I'm feeling really rushed or stressed, I get only 3oz. Normally, I get around 4-6 oz per session which is stored in my trusty Av*nt cups. I wrap the filled cups in a plastic bag and stuff it as far as it can go into the back of the office fridge. The only person who knows what I'm up to is the kakak who sits next to me. Though I'm certain my boss knows something is up when I pick up my bright pink tote bag and slip quietly out the door twice a day! Oh.. and in the morning I express in the surau, but in the afternoon I have to express in the toilet two floors up from my office 'cos the surau's always full. It's the cleanest and quietest toilet I've found so far and the cleaning lady cleans it at 4pm every day, just before I do my thing.

When I've completed my work, I quickly cabut around 6.30 pm. If there's no traffic jam and there's a yoga class I can take, I change into my yoga gear at the studio and streeeeettttcccchhh my bandas, engage my muscles and sweat it out. If not, I head straight home and chill with my little monkeys. There's the usual fight to get Eez to eat dinner and later go to bed. Then if I still have the energy, I pull out my laptop and surf for awhile. I try not to stay up too late 'cos Ray wakes me up in the middle of the night for his feedings and I don't want to feel and look like crap in the morning!

Okay.. so basically that's my average week day. I'm sort of summarizing everything 'cos it's already late and I really should be getting to bed!!

Oh.. and my R's coming back tonite!!!

Madrasati

I was driving to work yesterday listening to Era.fm ('cos I love their morning crew!). They were asking people to call up and sing their school songs. Which got me to thinking about my school... and realising that after 12 years I still remember every word of the freakin' school song!! Of course la.. I only had to sing it every Monday for five years. And oh my God.. I totally hated my school when I was there. But isn't weird now I'm okay with it and strangely enough.. kinda miss it?

This is my alma mater, far away in the wild wild jungles of Raub, Pahang. It's a sekolah berasrama penuh, one of the more ulu ones in my day. Haha! Back then, to get there you had to take a bus from Pekeliling or Pudu which took about 3 hours. There was no convenient MRR2 then. You had to go through Setapak to Gombak to the Karak Highway and endure endless turning roads along deep ravines until you finally got to the little town o' Raub. The best thing about the town was the yummy nasi ayam behind the bus-stop and the local 2-storey Jaya supermarket where we did our shopping. Other than that, there really wasn't much else! From there, you took another bus trip (which cost only 55 sen!) to the school. Or you could get a taxi for RM5.

Everyone who's been to boarding school knows about prep. You know, the time you're supposed to be studying and doing homework but instead you read Taiwan comics, listen to Pilihan Bersama on your walk-mans hidden in your baju, gossip, nap and sometimes play Chess? And lining up to get your grub at the dewan makan. Apart from the infamous nasi kawah, ours served such exotic dishes such as ikan surat khabar, ayam masak kuning, ikan jaket and sotong tin. We also enjoyed kicap Besta, bread from the local factory across the road, extremely sweet tea and tasteless coffee.

Our dorms were a 10 minute walk along the gajah menyusur from school. The water pressure in our toilets was unpredictable so we usually ended up mass bathing around the kolah. Behind the kolah and clothes lines was a chain-link fence which separated us from the secondary jungle from where we were treated to a regular weekly show from the crazy flasher from the nearby village! Hmmm.. I could go on and on about that school. How I loved and hated it from the moment I set foot there on 15 Dec 1990! But it's getting late and you probably have better things to do anyway than read about me rambling on about some obscure place.

Oh, and for the record, here's my school song:

Inilah sekolah yang tercinta
SEMESTA itulah namanya
Mendidik dan membina anak-anak negara
Mencapai segala cita-cita

Kepada para guru semua
Jasamu tiada tandingnya
Bekerja dan berusaha
Tidak mengenal masa
Demi masa depan kita

Berilmu, beramal, berbudi setiap masa
Pada Rukun Negara
Kami akan setia

Oh Tuhan yang Maha Kuasa
Jayakanlah kami semua
Selamat dan sentosa
Sihat setiap masa
Berjaya, SEMESTA, berjaya!