EmmaGoodEgg

Hanging Out In The Orange Verandah

The GoodEggs are celebrating the birth of Mimi with some friends and family this weekend. So in true spirit of gotong-royong (helping your big sister's ass out), my sisters came to my aid with the Bunga Telurs (flowers and an egg bound together in a pretty way on a stick) this evening. In between stapling the mini flags to the Bunga Telurs, they told me of Sarah Silverman's parody starring Matt Damon, as himself.

I love that my sisters are just as frivolous as I am.

Sarah Silverman's hilarious "present" to boyfriend Jimmy Kimmel. She's doing Matt Damon!

And Jimmy Kimmel's swell response. HE'S doing Ben Affleck in a star studded video starring Ben Affleck and Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford, Cameron Diaz, Joan Jett, Macy Gray, Robin Williams, Don Cheadle, Pete Wentz, Perry Farrell, Benji and Joel Madden, Lance Bass, Huey Lewis, Josh Groban, McLovin, Christina Applegate, Rebecca Romijn, and Dominic Monaghan, and Meatloaf et al.

Thank you for sharing this with me. I love you all muchly.

Obama Rules

Hillary Clinton playing the Obama Bin Laden card. Nice try, but no bananas.

A Post About The Place I Call Home

It's heartening when someone else finds our customs, places, forests and our closeness a revelation. Jennie Bond and her daughter visited us last Hari Raya and reported back to her editors in a swell article from The Independent:

...For both Emma and I, our memories of Borneo will always be very special – it was all a real adventure. And how many teenagers can say they went on holiday and had breakfast at the Palace before meeting the Queen?

I quite like that.

This picture of a part of Brunei life comes from Brunei Darussalam : News, a blog I stumbled upon. I quite like this one too.

Keep Your Spurs On

Bobby is a Tottenham Hotspurs fan. That's the same football club plodding along the Champions League, Premier League and the FA Cup. But here's one for the underdogs, Tottenham Hotspurs WON the Carling Cup final against Chelsea last Sunday. Bobby was as happy as the Tottenham players. Apparently not quite as ecstatic as the Spur's Captain Ledley King. The same Ledley King who wins the best picture of the week simply because he's so deserving of this headline from the Telegraph Online:

Drunk Ledley King Thrown Out Of Spurs Party.
*Click to view King throttling someone's neck.

more at twiigs.com...

A Letter To My Body

[I subscribe to BlogHer, the community for women who blog. I know that seems a cliche but no man woman is an island. Anyway, their monthly newsletter alerted me to a community essay written by several members titled 'A Letter To Your Body'. I thought I'd do mine here.]

Dear Body,

Its been almost 6 months since you have given birth. That's not a very long time ago, considering you were growing another person in your womb for 9 months. But according to some people, you should have lost that thickened waist, fat ass, big arms and shrunk back to your pre-pregnancy weight by now. In fact, the same people suggests that you hold a JUMBLE SALE and sell off your old clothes, cos baby, it looks like you're NEVER gonna lose that weight. Its a pity that you are not an over-achiever when it comes to exercise and dieting but is one when it comes to all things frivilous. Like finishing Call of Duty on the xbox in 2 days. Or honing the ability to memorise songs in 2 shakes of a duck's tail.

So listen up. We have a beach holiday to go to in 3 weeks time. That's 21 days to get your ass in beach body beautiful shape, buddy. It seems like a tall order I know, but we must at least try. Because if not, go ahead wave the white flag and buy clothes A SIZE LARGER...'sup to you.

Now the boob area we can do with a size larger.

Cheerios and rice krispies,

Emma xx

Ps/ Because I am thinking about eating mini Cornettos, if all else fails I have Plan B: Strategically placed sarongs.

What Were You Doing On The 23rd Of February 1984?

Brunei gained full independence and sovereignty on the 1st of January 1984, and we celebrated our first National Day on the 23rd of February 1984.

I was a student of Sekolah Tinggi Perempuan Raja Isteri sitting north west of the Royal Dais with my schoolmates on the benches of the Brunei National Stadium. Most of the schools in Brunei were asked to participate in the National Day, so weeks before the event my classmates and I got ready the yellow straw pompoms for our grandstand show (we were the yellow bits of the Brunei Flag). We made the pompoms ourselves, using a fork to "brush" through the straw until it became suitably bushy. We attended several rehearsals prior to the day, sitting in the hot sun and practising waving our pompoms wildly when we were told too. Some students had flash cards, others had umbrellas and there were those who did the field performances.

[Incidentally, nothing much has changed for a government school student since those days, although nowadays National Day is celebrated at the Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar Ali Saifuddin, the "padang" (or field) in the center of town.]

What do I remember of that day in February 1984? I remember the King of Tonga and his bespoked BIG chair. I remember watching students faint on the field and seeing the Red Cross rushing to them carrying stretchers. I remember a young Prince Charles without his Lady Diana (how disappointed we all were when she couldn't come due to her pregnancy). I remember too, His Majesty's speech, especially when he said:

It is my earnest wish to see the development programs, including the provision of land and housing for my landless native Subjects, carried out with greater vigour and enthusiasm to enable my people to enjoy a progressively higher standard of living. And as oil and gas are depleting assets it is my desire to see Brunei Darussalam's oil production maintained at a more rational level in keeping with the need to prolong the prosperity now enjoyed by my people. At the same time I would like to see her overseas investments to be more efficiently managed while efforts at economic diversification be further intensified. In these endeavors as Head of State, as well as Head of Government, I shall spare no effort in working for the benefit of my people.

Happy Independence Day everyone.

Ps/ 24 years later and I am a contented old bird. Brunei has a thriving land and housing scheme for its citizens. We do fairly well with our investments overseas. We enjoy the advantages (and disadvantages) of being in an oil rich country. But we are still so dependent of the black gold.

When A Ban is Lifted, There Is Usually Cause For Celebrations

In 1962, Brunei imposed a ban on firecrackers. In February 2008, we saw the ban lifted to help our Chinese Community herald in the Chinese New Year of The Rat.

It was Chap Goh Meh last night, the final night of the Lunar New Year. The GoodEggs minus Mimi, headed off to Subok to celebrate the occasion wih R and P, the rest of the troops plus families. Dinner at the Lee's usually mean swell food and good company. This year we had an addition to the festivities; firecrackers and fireworks galore.

Subok has predominantly chinese inhabitants, and so respectfully after the Isyak prayers, the skies above burst in fruity coloured flavours accompanied with loud bangs and squeals of joy. According to my chinese friends, each "kampung" has two houses who usually pit their fireworks against each other. We saw a neighbour set off firework after firework, meters of firecrackers, for almost an hour. They were "warring" against a house a mile away. This year, due to years of restraint in their celebrations, the Chinese community set off the big guns. Beautifully coloured big fireworks lit up the sky, their bangs melting the wax in our ears. Firecrackers set off at the gate with a bang and for good luck, their paper skins turning the asphalt red.

To all our Chinese friends, we hope that you had a fabulous Chinese New Year and prosperous year ahead. We'll raise you the fireworks come this Aidilfitri.

Mimi Gets Tagged (And A Manicure)

[Affy tagged me in August last year and I only just stumbled upon it when I was googling myself a few days ago. Yes I know you do that to. Anyway, I thought Mimi should do this tag because this is my blog and I can post what I want]

1. Tell us your name:

MimiGoodEgg.

2. Three things about yourself:

1. I like Handy Mandy.
2. I hate wearing bonnets.
3. I love manicures.

3. What’s in your playlist:

Ummm, I like sitting in my 'Dalek' chair.

4. Your favourite music:

Truth be known, classical music makes my Mama's bum itch and I am partial to that Old MacDonald rhyme she sings.

5. Favourite guilty pleasure:

TV...aaaand, bananas.

6. Favourite food:

Bananas.

7. Define love:

I love my bunny too.

8. Define sex Gripe Water:

I take some so I am not gassy.

9. Any celebrity crushes?:

Handy Manny.

10. The last person you hugged:

My Mama.

11. The last person you talked to:

My mama, Abang Azim, Auntie E, Auntie Tan and Auntie Fidah.

12. The last time you cried:

When I want more bananas.

13. The last time you had sex your way:

All the time man, all the time.

14. The last time you made out had your hand in your mouth:

All the time man, aaaall the time.

15. The last person you dated wanted to bring you for a walk:

My Papa.

16. The last time you went out:

Today I spent the day at Grandma and Grandpa's.

17. What’s on your mind now?:

Is Willow my sister?

18. What’s bothering you?:

Nothing.

19. This year’s resolutions:

To learn how to swim. Oh, and walk.

20. Your MSN nick:

MiniGoodEgg.

21. What’s your MSN nick about?:

I am a mini good egg.

22. The people you miss the most:

My Abang Azim.

23. Current mood:

Grumpy and happy.

24. What are you thinking?:

Whether I should put my bunny in my mouth or both my hands or the TV remote...

25. Best childhood memory:

The day I became unafraid of the water.

26. One of your biggest fears:

Just sudden loud scary noises

27. Who do you love?:

Anybody who brings me for a walk.

28. One of the things you hate:

Not going for a walk.

29. Do you blog?:

My mom does that for me.

30. Tag some kids:

Abang Ilham and Muhammad.

Happy Valentine's Day Party People

And to Bobby (who didn't miss a beat when I burst into this song but joined right along), muchly love.

Kids Like You

Dear Mimi,

These days you have been spending more time with your first cousins Azimah, Abdul Rahman & Ilham. This is them playing about in a car with your brother Azim.

From left: Ilham, Azimah, Abdul Rahman & Abang Azim

Kaka Imah is the girliest girl we know. At aged 6 she ran the 100 meter dash at sports day dressed impeccably in a pink track suit and bottoms. She ran with a beauty queen smile to the crowd and not aiming like a bullet for the finishing line. She is pretty and she knows it.

Now, if your cousin Imah is a girly girl, then your cousin Abdul Rahman is how boys should be. Its all about the jumping and the kicking and the laughing. Always with the cutest grin. Loooves fast cars. Prone to wearing a particular item of clothing for considerable periods of time. His current favourites include blue jeans. Very cool.

Ilham is 3 years and 1 month. He just started school and spends most of the time in the school office. The secretaries love him. Ilham is a huge fan of Mawi because he watches Akademi Fantasia with your Nana and your Auntie Tini (who is Mary Poppins meet Hetty Koes Endang from the village minus the makeup and the big hair). Ilham makes you squeal with laughter when he does the spiderman move with his hands. Dressed in his spiderman suit.

By the way, your Auntie Nips is Mary Poppins on speed.

You turned 5 months recently. According to Dr Roy, you are just above the curve in weight and height. In other words, you are quite robust. My darling you are not girly, Kaka Imah still holds the crown for that title. It could be all those walks in the mornings with your father, or swimming with us every weekend or just your genes. You are our little brown brown-eyed girl.

Your father and I give you other nicknames too. In the mornings we call you Little Miss Flipabout because you are now able to flip from lying on your back onto your belly. At dawn we hear you make indignant noises about not being able to flip back. Sometimes we find you lying the wrong way up.

Mama have been busy these days. Some evenings I haven't been home early enough to put you to bed. But today I left work at a reasonable time and got to spend a little more time with you. You and I have conversations in baby talk which I really do enjoy.

Love,

Your Mama xx

Ps/ I also enjoy dressing you up in bonnets.