trip to the prison

On Tuesday, 25 April 2011, I was given a task to go to the Sungai Buloh Prison to serve a Writ Summons on two Orang Kena Tuduh (OKTs).

At first I was supposed to go with the chambering student but she had to attend court so I've no choice but to go alone. The drive to Sungai Buloh was a long drive. I've been to the prison a few times back in 2007 when I was doing my Legal Aid Program but we went there by bus or by van so I didn't really look at the directions. This was the first time I went there driving on my own. Luckily I stopped by at the petrol station to fill my tank and I asked for directions from the lady at the counter. I managed to find my way though it felt like forever. I thought I've lost my way, no thanks to the lack of signboards (but then again, we are in Malaysia, what do you expect, right?). I thought that I've entered some God forsaken place but logically thinking, of course a prison would be located somewhere secluded and not right smack in the middle of the city. Duhhh.

I arrived there at about 10.30a.m and went to collect my visitor's pass.

I almost didn't get in because apparently, the OKTs refused to see me. WTH I came all the way to the God forsaken place and we've already made an appointment and informed the prison officers that we are coming to see the OKTs. I insisted to talk to the officers who coincidentally were on leave, both of them. Pfft. I talked to another officer and she asked to see her so I went in.

I went in and looked for the officer and I was told to go from one place to another. Typical. I finally went in and after making my way through security and what not and waited for a good 1/2 hour or so for the officer to come, I managed to go in and see the OKTs. The moment I stepped in this one area full of prisoners, a musty stinky kepam masam smell reeks. The area has really poor ventilation and I don't know when was the last time the prisoners took their bath, if at all. I almost felt nauseous so I quickly held my breath. I was escorted by two other officers but I can feel the prisoners looking and staring at me as if I were an alien. Bleugh. Not a great feeling at all. Besides, the female prison officers/wardens are all in uniforms. It's not that I was wearing anything revealing or attention grabbing. I purposely wore a dark blue 3/4 sleeve shirt with long black pants. I guess it's been a while since they last saw a female outsider. On one hand, I felt sorry for them. On the other hand, I thought, "It sucks to be you!"

The officer then brought me to her room and then called in the two OKTs. They were wearing purple uniforms and the were uncuffed. Yeah, a bit scary there. All sorts of things started to run in my head. All the "What ifs" came to my mind. LOL. I talked to the OKTs but they refused to accept service of the Writ Summons. Banyak akal betul!! Dahla kena tahan, menyusahkan orang pulak!

Since they refused to accept service due to some reasons which I shall not disclose here, I've no choice but to leave the place without service. Pfftt. All that for nothing. Anyway the officer was very friendly and again I was escorted on my way out. The moment I stepped out of the prison area, I was relieved. It made me wonder how the hell do they lead their lives all cooped up in there, seeing the same faces every single day, not able to enjoy their freedom. Oh well, who am I to judge them, right? They made a mistake, be it on purpose or otherwise and they have to pay the price.

So kids, STAY OUT OF TROUBLE!!

cough cough go away

I have been having interrupted sleep for the past many many nights, no thanks to my constant coughing, which I totally blame on the pregnancy. It really bothers me and to top it off, I also get runny and blocked nose. What a combination! We don't always sleep with the aircond on unless when it is really hot or on warm nights. Even before I got married, I seldom sleep with the aircond on. I only need to switch on the fan at number 3 and I'll be fine. Hubby, on the otehr hand, gets warm and hot and sweaty easily. Anyway, being married is all about compromising, among others. At times when we did not switch the aircond on, he would toss and turn, fidget and move around (which of course affects my sleep) and sometimes I would find him sleeping on the floor (poor soul). When I asked him if he wanted the aircond on, he would say, "takpe, tak payah. nanti u batuk/selsema/hidung tersumbat" But I know he was uncomfortable. So on nights when we switch the aircond on, he would sleep like a baby, much to my pleasure but my sleep will be interrupted with constant coughing, runny nose and blocked nose, which in turn affects his sleep.

At my last check up, I told my obgyn and she gave me this cough syrup. This cough syrup is effective and it works wonders! I took 10ml of it and within minutes, I would feel very drowsy and I could fall asleep very easily. My coughs during the night was also lessened but they came back with a vengeance during the day. Of course I did not take it during the day even though the instruction was to take twice daily. If I were, you will probably find me slumped on my desk.

the magic potion

Now the magic potion is finished and my cough and the works doesn't look like they're leaving me anytime soon. What should I do? Sometimes my chest or my lower abdomen became painful when I cough so bad.

Can I take the normal, over the counter cough syrup like Breacol and the like? With regards to our sleeping situation, I guess we will have to compromise and compromise some more. After all, that is what marriage is all about, no?

telenovela follower?

Before I started working, I took a short break. What better thing to do at home than watching and following a Filipino telenovela? I am not so much of an Indon telenovela fan so when TV3 started showing a Filipino telenovela titled Marimar, I thought that it would be interesting to follow. The thing about telenovela is, once you've started watching an episode, you'll be glued and hooked to follow the whole thing. I noticed that the difference between a Filipino telenovela and an Indon telenovela is that, Indon telenovelas tend to be very lengthy and dragging and in one episode, there's not so much progress whereby it's the total opposite of the Flipino telenovela (or at least the one that I watched). In one episode, a lot of things can happen, a lot of events took place and if you missed one episode, it's like you miss an entire week's progress.
At first my mum was not so keen of watching Marimar but when she saw me watch it, she liked it as well and now she's hooked to it (and she has the cheek to blame it on me LOL). When I wasn't working, I watched it almost every day and if I missed it, she'll watch for me and will tell me what I missed and vice versa. Now that I've started working, mum has been watching it for me and she will give me weekly updates and boy does Marimar has come a long way.
However, mum is in UK now and will be there for 2 weeks and the question now is, who's gonna watch Marimar? arrghhhh!! I tried to watch it on tv3.com.my but the show can only be watched on tonton.com.my. Everytime I tried to open tonton, it failed me. WTF. Internet connection at my house is fine and I opened it only at night but I still can't get through it is so frustrating. grrrr!! I searched on youtube and there are videos of it but with no english or malay subtitle. WTH I don't understand Tagalog. oh damn.
Any ideas where I can find the video? *sigh* If you've been a follower of a series and you are no longer able to watch it, you will definitely understand my frustration.

April updates

I'm too lazy to blog nowadays simply because:

• I've started work in a new firm. so far things are good but then again, it's a bit to early to tell, I guess.
  
• I've sort of moved out from my parents' house. We haven't really stayed in our house yet as there are a lot of things that we need for the new house but we're slowly but surely building our house, albeit a rented one. This will be our temporary house until we find a nicer and more suitable place which we can call our own. But of course we are gonna make it a home, no less.
• I went for my pre-natal check-up last Saturday and Alhamdulillah the baby is growing and developing well. I heard the baby's heartbeat for the very first time and I was thrilled! I still can't believe that I am carrying a little life inside me. I am now in my 15+ to 16 weeks of pregnancy and though I've crossed the 1st trimester, the 2nd trimester haven't been really easy for me (yet). I am still feeling nauseous, queasy and I still haven't really got back my appetite. Heck, I lost 3kgs in the 1st trimester itself thanks to vomiting almost everyday. *sigh* I sure hope that from now onwards, it will be a safe and smooth journey for me.
  

Ok that is all for now. Told ya I'm in no mood to write. Heck, in fact, I'm in no mood for anything at the moment. I am just putting a brave and straight face to face the world everyday.