New Year, New Car

It's the New Year 2009 and for the Muslims, Maal Hijrah fell just 3 days ago Dec 29th and it's a memorable one for us, of course.

Since then, we've got ourselves a new car! Well, not that new since it's a second hand Toyota Vios bought from, who else, Abdul Malik our neighbour. Plate number DBJ 5289. It originally had Sabah plate number since the former owner was a teacher in Sabah. Had to sell the car 'coz he's building his house which costs about RM250,000! (Aack ... now I'm truly worried about the cost to build our own house in the future :-S)

Anyway, from the outside, it looks like a nice car. The boot looks large enough for our stuffs (which is a lot!) and it feels a bit bigger than the Nissan Sentra we had been using.

Speaking of the Nissan, Hajar's excited about the new car but she's gonna miss the old one. Oh, she does have a bit of nostalgic gene which I think must've come from me ;-) As for Ahmad 'Ainul, hmm ... no prize for guessing. He's beyond excited - and no mention about the old one!

As Unlucky As It Gets

We had planned to go back to Ipoh on Monday 29th Dec (1 Muharram 1430H). Chik was also going back to Jengka that day.

But as fate would have it, the car broke down about 12km into the Kelantan-Perak border - about 2 km from that Puncak Titiwangsa (well, Ayoh always refers it by that name). It wasn't a total shock or anything for me at least as the car has not been in good shape during the holiday. Thankfully the kids were calm and didn't panic. They probably felt like they're in some kind of adventure :-P

Allah itu Maha Pengasih dan Penyayang. Ayoh flagged down a car coming from the opposite side and he turned out to be a very nice man, Encik Jusoh, who was on his way back from Ipoh to Kusial (Tanah Merah). He was driving a white Proton Saga (WEY 8321) that belonged to his company. Have no idea what he actually does, btw. But it turned out that our unlucky experience hadn't ended yet. The Proton hit a rock by the roadside when we stopped to make Ahnaf's bottle and it also broke down jut in front of a 'kedai runcit' near Simpang 3 Kuala Long. I do feel guilty - if only we hadn't stopped for the milk ...

Again Allah mengasihi umatNya. The owner of the 'kedai runcit' did mention that it's rather difficult to get a 'kereta sewa' at that area but syukur kepadaMu, a 'kereta sewa' passed by after we had been there for about 20 minutes ('Ainul managed to finish his ice-cream!). Again, we met another nice man (his vest had the name "Zakaria" but not sure whether it's actually his). He said that he's going up to Tanah Merah only and would help to get another 'kereta sewa' to go to Pasir Mas but if there's no one going there, he'd be willing to go all the way to send us back (me and the kids). Syukur Ya Allah. And he only took RM35 when the actual fare was RM40. Semoga Allah murahkan rezekinya. Aamin.

Turned out that we were blessed with no trouble at all. Just as we arrived in Tanah Merah, Encik Zakaria (?) got us a 'kereta sewa' going to Pasir Mas. There were already 3 passengers inside - 2 girls probably in late teens and a little one about 3+ years old (?). And this time, the driver was talkative! During that 1/2 hour journey, I found out that he used to be a Polis Hutan and went for training in Ulu Kinta. Part of the training involved walking from UK to Tambun and back - how far is that ? He also mentioned about wanting to join Komando (whoah!) but got into Semboyan instead. And he talked a bit about going for assignments at communist-infested areas like Klian Intan etc. He managed to stay in the force for about 5 years before quitting - saying that his heart was not into it anymore. Came back to Kelantan and started driving 'kereta sewa' since 1984 (24 years now!). And I, in turn, started grumbling about not being able to transfer back to Kelantan after so many years bla bla ...

He's got 10 (!) children - and he said something which Ayoh would've totally agreed with ... anak ramai bagus! He went on to say that we as Muslims should go for as many kids as possible even though some people might think that having many kids could be a burden financially to which I replied "Ye lah, rezeki ada di mana-mana tak ?" He also said that he lived in Meranti, near Ustaz Nasaruddin's (the DUN speaker) house. So I asked about Ustaz's wife who got stabbed during a robbery some time ago. Apparently she's okay now although she's not completely back to 100%. Btw, she was stabbed somewhere in her abdomen, I think.

Yep - we talked and talked until we almost missed the turn to AbahUmi's place - hehe ... can you imagine that :-P Hajar was like, "Apa la Ibu ni ...". Maafkan Ibu, sayang . Anyway, Encik Fauzi (that's his name) asked for RM10 only but since Ayoh Chik (the first taxi driver) told me to pay RM12, that's what I did. Oh yeah, Encik Fauzi informed the name of the first taxi driver, btw.

We safely arrived at about 5.45 pm - and it turned out Lina's gewe was there! Heh-heh, I betcha she didn't really want me to know about it yet but as fate had it, tak boleh dah nak sorok! He came for "sesi berkenalan dengan keluarga" - not that I went out and greet him ... not yet. anyway. I have other things to worry about.

Ayoh came back with the car at about 10 pm. Syukur, Ya Allah.

Starting 'Em Young

The new school year is gonna start soon. Meaning it's time to prepare for it - the uniforms, books, stationaries etc. Which, of course, would mean that spending money (and time). Yeah, they are all rather costly these days. But thankfully, for this coming year, I had been informed that SRAH students are going to get 'Buku Pinjaman' - Alhamdulillah :-) Actually, I don't mind buying our own textbooks but since the MoE announced that all students at government schools are getting 'buku pinjaman' regardless of their backgrounds, it's became so difficult to find the textbooks at bookshops / bookstores.

Well, now that we don't hafta worry about the textbooks, there are still other things to spend money on, of course :-P Since Ahmad 'Ainul is also going to school next year, the expenses are gonna be doubled. (Money again :-P). Based on stories / articles featured by the media, I realise that some parents do face difficulties in making the preparations since they involve lotsa money. Many depend on their Dec salary and year-end bonus. I feel that it's wiser to save money all year round instead of depending on last-minute money.

I feel that the kids also should be educated on money matters especially on something that directly involve them like school items. Is it worth buying a branded school bag that costs RM100 when you can get the same unbranded bag for half the price ? What about stationeries then ? Same rule should apply. The important is, getting good quality ones at reasonable prices. Some stationeries (like pens or pencils) might be very cheap but they don't last long and then you need to buys them again - so, more money is gonna be spent. I like going to Mydin for the stationeries (excpet for pens - somehow it's hard to find good quality pens there). I like pencils and erasers and rulers etc sold there though.

Too bad there's no Mydin in Ipoh. Oh, well ... we can always go to Mydin Kota Bharu. But the crowds ...!

The Alternative Treatment

Ahnaf hadn't been feeling well in the past week. Thankfully he's okay now.

It started out after we went to the clinic on Sunday (14th Dec) as he's been quite feverish since the day before. After buying the newspapers at Pustaka Mas, Ayoh passed him back to me but Ahnaf refused to come to me - he probably wanted to stay behind the wheel. Well, he started crying and crying which was quite normal at first. Then he wouldn't even stop when we arrived at home and I took him inside. Ayoh was already going to Lemal and I didn't think to stop him as I thought Ahnaf would stop crying once he's inside the house.

Anyway, Ahnaf didn't stop crying - he even got worse! I felt quite panicky. Abah and Umi were understandbly worried as Ahnaf was crying like he was 'possessed'. They tried reciting a few doa's and Qurabic verses etc while I struggled to calm him down. After Abah had called out for 'adzan' for the second time, then only Ahnaf started to subside. He was probably tiring out after crying non-stop for half an hour. I was beginning to feel exhausted too!

For the next few nights, Ahnaf was not able to sleep well. He kept waking up, crying out loud and evn had Abah & Umi out of their bed at 2 am that one night for crying so loud. Worried that 'something' had gotten into him, we decided to try Ustaz Nik Dir's help. So we went to his house at Wakaf Bharu on Wednesday morning for him to 'baca doa' and give that alternative treatment to help ward off whatever it was. Took Ahmad 'Ainul along too - to 'cure' his aggressiveness, of course, or at least to lessen it.

Ahmad 'Ainul and Ustaz Nik Dir

Ahnaf just wouldn't sit still!

Ahnaf's turn now

Thankfully Ahnaf got better after a few days and looks 'Ainul is improving as well. Berkat doa sume ... Alhmadulillah. I'm grateful to everyone, especially Abah and Umi for being so helpful during the ordeal.

PPSMI (Pt. 2)

Hot topic these days especially with the new school year coming up.

Well, the final roundtable meeting has ended and according to the Deputy Education Minister, all views and opinions will be compiled and handed to the cabinet to decide. (Now what about that BN meeting in which the matter is supposed to be brought up to - according to the Education Minister, no less :-P).

As NST has it, the ministry detailed seven options based on hundreds of different views and comments made so far. (Yes, not two, not three but seven! Gosh, how is the cabinet going to make the decision then ?)

- A continuation of the policy -- teaching Science and Mathematics in English at all school levels.

- The two subjects taught in English at secondary schools, and in the mother tongue (Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin or Tamil) at primary level.

- The two subjects taught in English at secondary schools and Years Four, Five and Six (Level Two) at the primary level. Primary pupils in Years One till Three (Level One) will learn the two subjects in their mother tongue.

- A complete reversal -- Science and Mathematics at the primary level will be taught in the mother tongue, and then taught in Bahasa Malaysia at the secondary level.

- The teaching of the two subjects in the language determined by respective schools, whether in English or the mother tongue.

- The two subjects will be taught in the mother tongue at Level One in primary schools, and in both English and the mother tongue at Level Two. The English policy will only be implemented fully in secondary schools.

- Science not taught at Level One in primary schools, but its contents integrated in other subjects.

BIG headache --- lotsa people are not gonna be happy, no matter what decision it's gonna be.

Btw, here's the results for the polls conducted by ntv7 news yesterday (16th Dec).

• Edisi 7 (7 pm) : Bahasa pengantar yang patut digunakan untuk mengajar Sains dan Matematik
  BI : 42% BM : 58%
  

• English News (8 pm) : Should Science and Maths continued to be taught in English ? (Note : As expected, the viewers wanted the policy to continue but I didn't expect such a whopping majority)
  Yes : 90% No : 10%

For more news and views, see Google :-)

Updates on PPSMI

According to the New Straits Times, the final meeting on the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English will be held tomorrow (16th Dec) the Putrajaya International Convention Centre with more than 200 politicians, academics and representatives of non-governmental organisations and parent-teacher associations attending it to discuss the pros and cons of it. Why do we need politicians here, anyways ?

Interesting to note that representatives of the Australian Qualification and Standard Assessment Body will also be attending the meeting. Huh ? Why do we need foreign expertise to plan the future of our education system ? And why those from Australia ? Why not Finland - which I heard has been hailed as having one of the best education system in the world ?

Whatever it is, you can be sure that the Ministry of Education is having a BIG headache over this matter as apparently they've been getting all kinds of different feed backs from different quarters. As for me, I'll be happy to see the continuation of PPSMI since it'll mean more allowance for me - hehe :-D Okay, seriously speaking, I don't mind either way but I really hope that the government will truly take into consideration of the students who are not proficient enough in English to enable them to study Maths and Science in English. If they're serious about improving the standard of English among Malaysian students, there need to be a revamp in the ways of teaching English itself and not impose it via those two subjects.

Cuti-cuti Kelate

It's December which also means the end of the year school holidays. I sometimes get asked by friends and acquaintances about places to go to and where to stay at in Kelantan for the school holidays, be it in May/June or Nov/Dec. And much to my embarrassment, I'm not that knowledgeable about it.

Thought that I should start doing something about it - ie : get all the info and compile 'em all here so that the next time someone asks me about accommodations etc in Kelantan, I myself won't be in the dark anymore - hopefully! ;-)

PPSMI (Pt. 1)

Since I'm directly affected with this policy, what the Education Minister has to say about it would surely interest me. And after reading The Star today (14th Dec), it's interesting to note that he's apparently aware of the real situation - at least that's the impression I got from the interview.

It's a bit too long to put the whole thing here but here's something that interests me.

Even the late Tan Sri Abdul Rafie Mahat, who was then the director-general of education in charge of implementing the change in policy faced much opposition amidst the hasty implementation to the policy, describing the task as “seven months of hard work”.

I remember that it was just a short period between the time the policy was announced and the implementation of it. But seven months ??? It was definitely a rush job. The teachers weren't ready and the same goes for the students. I don't think the parents were ready for it either. So, who was really ready for it ?

The least the ministry could do was to train the teachers properly before implementing it. I 'understand' that certain quarters didn't believe in "wasting the time" but what good would it do if the majority of those affected with the policy were still in the dark about it ? They'd still be wasting their time teaching and learning lessons that they couldn't get a grasp at.

The interview also answered one burning question of mine - who were involved in the roundtable discussions ?

Professionals in education including researchers from our public universities were invited for the first roundtable.

The second roundtable was attended by representatives from associations and organisations, professional bodies, corporate, community leaders, parent-teacher associations and interested individuals. Students, teachers and lecturers from matriculation colleges and teacher training institutes attended the third session while politicians attended the fourth. We also held a special meeting with representatives from the teachers’ unions and associations.

Errm, did anyone think about asking the primary and secondary school students too ? After all, they are the ones whose future is going to be affected by the policy.

But here's something that perplexed me.

Q : Will it be in your new year address?

A : It depends on when we can table it to Cabinet and whether they are happy about it. Then we have to bring it up to the Barisan Nasional meeting.

When the policy was first raised previously, it was at the political level (Dr Mahathir announced the proposal made by the party’s supreme council in 2002).

Why must it (I assume 'it' here refers to "the new year address") be brought up to the BN meeting ? To get the party's approval ?

5 Tips for Trimming Your Grocery Bill

Hey, we're all constantly looking for ways to save money / make more money / spend less money. I know I do since both of us are civil servants, making just enough money to live life comfortably but not so luxuriously either. Thought I should start compiling whatever useful articles / tips I come across on the Net.

So, here's the first one, by Lylah M Alphonse.

1.) We use our big freezer. We have a huge freezer in the basement. I love our freezer. I buy meat and divide it into meal-size packages and freeze it. I buy extra bread when it’s on sale and freeze it. I cook extra meals and freeze them. I roast tomatoes from our garden and freeze them. I make homemade dairy-free ice cream and freeze it. On hot days, I fantasize about standing over my open freezer and gazing lovingly into its icy depths for long, cool hours at a time, but I restrain myself.

Okay, so I don't own a big freezer - but I think I can do the meat thing and the extra meals too. But extra bread ? Probably not.

2.) We buy in bulk. What, you don’t have a huge freezer in your basement? You can still buy in bulk, just buy non-perishables like toilet paper, paper towels, garbage bags, laundry detergent, and stash those in your freezer-less basement. You’ll still save money. (Don't have a basement? There are other places where you can stash the goods: Under your bed, on a high unused shelf in the closet, in a trunk that doubles as a coffee table... take a look around and see what space you have to spare.)

I do buy in bulk - toilet paper, paper towels, garbage bags etc. But there's just no place to put 'em! I'll admit it - I'm lousy when it comes to arrang things properly :-P

3.) We buy ingredients instead of products. Those little single-serving Jell-O packs that my preschooler loves cost about $2.50 for four. But a package of actual Jell-O costs 39 cents to 50 cents and makes five to six single servings. I know that Jell-O hardly counts as an ingredient, but you get my point: It often costs less to buy the actual ingredients than it does to buy the finished product.

I don't do this often. And I think she's right. So I'd better remember this the next time I do grocery shopping!

4.) We make ethnic foods. We eat meat often, and it’s a star ingredient, but it’s not the biggest thing on the plate. The USDA recommends that adults eat five to six ounces of cooked meat a day – that’s about the size of a deck of cards, and most people eat a lot more than that in a single serving. A painless way to reduce the amount of meat you eat is by making ethnic foods like Indian-style curries or veggie-intensive stir-fries.

Ethnic food ? Heck, they're our regular meals!

5.) We shop to replenish the pantry. Aside from perishables like milk, eggs, and vegetables, we rarely shop for food to use right away; instead, we shop to replace the items we’ve used from the pantry and freezer. So, if there’s a great sale on something we use often, we can stock up without it blowing our budget.

I guess she means food items like cereal, pasta etc. Hmm ... stocking up again. Now, where can I find the space to stuff everything ? ;-P

Okay, enough tips for now. Until later, here's the ultimate tip -- make a list before going for grocery shopping!

Landslide Tragedy at Bukit Antarabangsa (Pt. 3)

TV9 on their morning talk show "Nasi Lemak Kopi-O" had 4 residents of BA as their guests yesterday (12th Dec) - one man and his wife plus two other women.

While I truly symphatise with their plight, I can't help but feel a bit irate especially by the man's 'whines'. Okay, so he's a victim and he has to look after 10 members of his family including his 90-year-old mother-in-law, his home is gone and he's admitted to feeling rather emotional over all this. But when he mentioned about them being entitled to only 50% discount of the hotel rate etc which he felt was not enough as he apparently needed 5 rooms to accomodate his family members. Oh, come on! For 11 family members (3 males and 8 females), three rooms should be probably be enough. Or maybe at most, four. Like someone commented the other day, 'The world doesn't revolve around you. Grow up.' Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh but it quite echoes my sentiment. There are other people facing unfortunate plights in this country - ie flood victims etc. Think about it.

Back to the Past, Please.

The Education Minister said that the ministry is going to "carefully study the facts and information to be entered into history textbooks to instill patriotism among the young generation."

I'm wondering what changes they are going to make to the syllabus. As of now, I'm very perplexed with the contents of the subject. The subject is only introduced in secondary school, starting from Form 1 - and the students get it in bulk. Yeah, all the details about Malaysian history in lower secondary and wham! Suddenly they come face to face with 'world history' as they step up to upper secondary. Have the students been getting any basic on the world history anytime earlier in their school years ? I don't think so.

What the ministry should do, immho (of course ;-)), is to go back to what was done in the past. Start teaching history (Malaysia plus world and all) in primary school but start from the basic. Durng my time, we were taught about world civilisation etc but only the basic stuff. I knew about the 7 wonders of the world back then, GenghisKhan, Alexander The Great, to name a few. Then we progressed to the more detailed stuff of what he had learned earlier on. By the time we got to higher level, learning History wasn't that difficult (at least for yours truly).

Landslide Tragedy at Bukit Antarabangsa (Pt. 2)

As expected, the tragedy is still making headlines on the local news and talk shows. (Uh, I missed Prof Agus's "Hujah" on Monday - wonder if he'd discussed about it then). Now they're saying that the residents are suing the authorities for not doing the job properly. I'd say, go ahead and do it. It's your right, after all.

But should they be compensated by the government ? There have been a number of polls conducted on ntv7 and TV3 news lately. Haven't been able to catch up with the results except for the one on ntv7 8 o'clock news on Tuesday nite, if I'm not mistaken, asking whether the residents of BA should be compensated - the results : 53% Yes, 47% No ... btw, I'm with the "No", not that I sent my vote, though).

Hmm ... I need to post links to various news articles regarding this issue - I bet one day I'm gonna need to refer to 'em again .. especially when another landslide occurs in the future. :-P

After 25 years ...

Thought I'd be nervous to meet up some friends from my primary school days the day before Raya Haji. Thankfully I was calm enough (well, I was a bit shy to 'em boys - I couldn't remember some of them and a few names names eluded me ... they've changed so much! :-P).

My sort-a reunion with ex-primary schoolmates after the one we had at Kedai Pok Di years ago - we were visiting Cikgu Nadipah Tukiban, our Standard 6 Red class teacher. She's had stroke for a few years already and that was the first time I saw her after all these years. Apart from her inability to speak properly, she didn't look aged much - really! And she was so excited to see us - I don't think she remembers me though but that's okay. I'll admit that I'm still rather embarrassed that my ex-schoolmates still remember me as "budak pandai kat SID" ... okay, so I probably was. But it feels so strange to hear the phrase now -- it's just so NOT me! :-P

It's so good to see my ex-schoolmates especially the girls. I had lost contact with them - now I wish we could at least keep in touch from time to time. I've always felt the need to go back to my roots, so to speak. Maybe now's my chance :-)

To my friends who had worked hard to organise the visit, thank you very much. And I'm looking forward for the pix to be uploaded on the Net! (*sigh" At times like this, I just wish that I have a camera of my own ...)

* Those who were there


Girls

1. Yours truly ;-)
2. Zarina Lot (and hubby)
3. Norazlin Mohamad (and hubby)
4. Mawarni Abdul Rahim
5. Fadzillah Yunus
6. Rosmini Aida
7. Siti Mastura Jaafar - who doesn't look changed!
8. Khairul Bariah Shamsuddin

Boys

1. Mohd Wahidi - S/U rajin ni!
2. Wan Roshaimi - I'd recognise you anywhere ... even with your beard!
3. Zahiruddin Mamat - sorry, I really couldn't recognise you :-P
4. Shamsul Bahri - kutip pitih je Bendahari kito ni!
5. Noor Zaini (6 Blue)
6. Mohd Hasif Hassan - Tuan lawyer kite!
7. Marzuki
8. Mohd Faraish - still hensem as ever ;-)
9. Mahadi Mamat (and wife)
10. Wan Rosli - Mr President :-D
11. Zamani Mustafa

Landslide Tragedy at Bukit Antarabangsa (Pt. 1)

Call me cold-hearted but I wasn't that much suprised when I first heard the news about it over RTM1 on that Saturday morning. Simply because it's a tragedy waiting to happen. The authorities definitely didn't learn from previous tragedy like the Highland Towers 15 years ago and others that have happened before. And why on earth would you risk living at the hillside area ? Is it for prestige ? Is it the view ? Is it the name "Bukit Antarabangsa" ? Or is it the land value ? Is it worth it all just to have it end up like this ? The pix say it all (credit to The Star newspaper)






Watch video here

Putu Halba, anyone ?

Just to show how much we Kelantanese in tune with the flood - we even have special delicacy made during the rainy season. Imagine that -- while people from other states would be scrambling to save their stuff whenever there's flood, we still manage to come up with this kuih Putu Halba ;-D

Pic credit to The Star newspaper

I've known about the kuih before but I don't remember about it being special delicacy during the rainy season. Oh, well ... I've been away too long from my home state, that's for sure.

It's NOT over yet

Just as I thought ... the rainy season is not over yet. (Second round of main air bah, anyone ? :-P)

Anyway, based on the warnings by DID (The Department of Irrigation and Drainage), heavy rain is expected over the weekend and the flood could be back by Sunday. Uh-oh ... we definitely hafta go back to Kelate on Saturday!

So you guys and gals out there, stay safe and for latest info, go to DID site here ;-)

Sacked!

(Okay, I wasn't really surprised by the action - the exclamation mark is there as dramatic effect ... hehe ;-P)

So, Zaid Ibrahim is finally out of UMNO after he was sacked for attending some of the Pakatan Rakyat's events. The question is for me, why did he let them kick him out ? Why didn't he just quit the party voluntarily ?

Whatever it is that you're planning to do in the future, I just wanna wish you "All The Best", Datuk Zaid. I do respect your efforts for the OKUs in Kelantan.

Is it over yet ?

Looks like the flood situation in the East Coast is improving though The Star's saying that the number of evacuees rose up a bit. Hopefully the weather will hold up till we go back home this week. Then it can rain and rain and rain ... I do look forward to it at the end of the year. Hehe .... :-D Main air bah is one childhood memory I still cherish. And it's part of Kelantanese ritual, I suppose (I don't dare use the word 'culture' here!). And we're so tak kisah when there's flood compared to people in other parts of Malaysia. Time to 'play flood water', guys! And I was watching the 5 o'clock news on RTM1 the other day. This one cheerful makcik, when interviewed by the reporter, was saying, "Sedap dok ssini. Pagi makaey, tengahari makaey, makaey sokmo!" (Translation : Staying here is fine. We eat in the morning, in the afternoon, all the time!). Now that's positive thinking!

World AIDS Day

1st December is World AIDS Day - dedicated to raising awareness of AIDS and HIV.

Has the awareness campaign really worked all these years ? Yes, people are probably more aware of this pandemic. But why are there still so many others out there who live their lives carelessly - having sex with multiple partners, drug addicts etc ? What about the married guys who go around having sex with other women and later infecting their wives with HIV (and probably their babies too) ?

Speaking of drug addicts, whatever happens to that programme in which the government gives out free needles to drug addicts in an effort to curb needle-sharing among them ? Is it on ?

My First Post

I've been wanting to start a blog for some time but kept delaying it for some reasons or others. Not anymore. I'm doing it now because it's my daughter's birthday today. She's not here with me now as she's gone back to Kelantan to be with her grandparents. I'm missing her so much and I wanna do this partly as my birthday gift to her. I don't think I've been a perfect mother to her but I hope I can improve myself. Maybe having my own blog can help in a way - yeah, as a reminder to me :-)

So here's to you, Hajar. Ibu love you very. very much ... and I'll see you in a week's time! ;-)