The L Word.

It's been a while, huh? Yeah, I know! I was ironing some clothes when I suddenly feel the need to rant (Sorry, clothes. I guess you would have to wait).

So I'm a full time housewife and also a freelance graphic designer. I've come across quite a number of potential clients asking me to design their logos. But of course, quotations come first before I get any actual work done. And it baffles me that 99% of them refused to cough up more than RM200 for a logo.

"It's a bit OVER my budget."

"I didn't know a logo can cost THAT MUCH."

And there are some who said,

"Sounds reasonable!"

"I'm so excited!"

And never to be heard from again. Annoyed, I am!

People, please don't be so kedekut taik hidung masin. Please consider that the designers behind your logo worked their butts off to get where they are today. Also bear in mind the research they have to do beforehand, the number of options they will present to you and the rounds of amendments they will have to do before being able to finalize it. Itu pun kadang-kadang dah finalize pun, Client mintak buat amendments lagi. So it is all work, not fun and games.

Putting the work-related-rant aside, it is also CRUCIAL to have a good logo for your company. It is an investment. Don't think so? Then I suggest you open MS Paint and design your own logo, FOC.

/endrant



P.S: It's amusing when I find logos similar to each other.

Brand VS Quality.

At first I was thrilled, then I was angry. And now, I am pissed. I'm talking about my purchase at Dorothy Perkins. Believe it or not, it was my first time ever buying an apparel there. Not really a fan of buying overpriced items (RM50 for a basic plain tee? No thanks). Or in other words, I don't go for brands. You might say branded items have better quality. True enough, but I don't completely agree.

Let's take my DP purchase for example. I told my sister I'm in need of new jeans, and she suggested DP, since they were having a sale, and she has the DNP Clothing member card, which means another 10% off. So after all the discounts, the jeans costs only RM86. Reasonable, yes? A bit more from what I always spend for a pair of jeans. Normally I would get a pair for about RM50 at Sungei Wang. But I thought, well, it is DP, so it has to be in good quality. Well, not really. I was in a hurry when I tried on the jeans. The cutting seemed okay to me, so instead of spending about 15 minutes in the fitting room to evaluate the whole apparel in front the mirror (I know you do that, too), I was in and out in just about 5 minutes. So yeah, I was thrilled.

Then I went home. Put the jeans aside. Two days later, sent it for alteration (I'm short :P), got it back and tried it on. Then I noticed something. One leg side fits perfectly, but the other side is loose. Takkan my leg is bigger than the other?! So I took it off, folded it and see what I discovered.

One side is indeed bigger than the other! Gahh! Okay, I guess it was my fault for not noticing it when I was trying it on at the shop. Thank God my super talented MIL managed to alter it and made both sides equal.

And then. After wearing it only ONCE, I notice all this bulu (y'know, the bulu that normally appear after a piece of clothing is worn out?) started to come out. All of my Sungei Wang jeans are still in good condition, no bulu whatsoever. And I've been wearing it for years!

[cue sesi membebel macam makcik]

Once, I bought a pair of bra at La Senza. After wearing it a couple of times, the strap came off. A bra that costs over a hundred Ringgit. Strap tercabut. HOW?!

So, ladies and gents. I apologize for the excessive usage of exclamation mark in this entry. But what I'm trying to say here is, brand does not guarantee quality.

I'm gonna go sulk in a corner now.

Stools and Honey.

It's funny how there are some parents who spend most of their waking hours online, can't even be bothered to do some readings on babies. They know everything when it comes to celebrities gossips or the latest fashion, but when their small baby didn't pass stool for 3 days, they gave the baby some honey. Konon it will help the baby to release some 'brown hostages'.

Okay firstly, the baby is fully breastfeeding so it is normal for them to not pass stool for a few days.

BABYCENTER: HOW MANY TIMES A DAY DOES A BREASTFED BABY NORMALLY POOP?

Expert Answers.
Susan Condon, lactation consultant.

What goes in must come out, so just about every feeding in the early weeks following birth should produce a bowel movement. The number and type of movements your baby has will indicate whether he's getting enough to eat.

During the meconium phase (the first few days after birth), your baby may have four or five tarry, dark, greenish-black stools spread out over two or three days. As your colostrum develops into mature milk, he should have at least two to five bowel movements in a 24-hour period for the first six weeks. He may even have had a bowel movement every time you change his diaper throughout the day.

After six weeks, it's normal for some babies to have fewer bowel movements, though others may continue having frequent ones. Don't be alarmed if your baby has a bowel movement only once a week. He's not constipated unless his stools are hard and dry. If your baby's producing loose, unformed stools with a pea soup consistency and cottage cheese-like curds, he's getting a good balance of foremilk and hindmilk. Don't be concerned if his diaper overflows!

Once your exclusively breastfed baby begins eating solids (between 6 and 8 months of age), his stools will get firmer and have a stronger odor.

And secondly, what were you thinking giving the baby honey?!

BABYCENTER.COM: FOODS THAT CAN BE UNSAFE FOR YOUR BABY

Honey: Honey can harbor spores of Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism. An adult's intestinal tract can prevent the growth of these spores, but in a baby the spores can grow and produce life-threatening toxins.

Please. Do. Some. Readings! I strongly recommend Babycenter.com, it is packed with useful information.

Is That Enough?

Image from Thenovakagency's Blog
I've been getting this a lot ever since the baby started on his solid food, especially when I'm feeding his meals.

"Is that enough?"

Or disapproving looks at the food container/bowl.

And then followed by this when he was done.

"Are you SURE it's enough?"
"He wants more! You're feeding him too little."
"I feel like cooking a whole pot of porridge for him."
"I can see he's losing weight."

Or something along that line.

And without fail, I gave them the same answers.

"Yes, it is enough."
"No, he doesn't need to eat that much."
"Solid foods are complimentary feeding for babies his age."
"His most important food is STILL breastmilk."

Sigh. I know they mean well, and I appreciate their concern. I really do. But I don't want to feel obligated to feed my baby more than he actually needs.

And another thing that makes me tick is when someone happily try to shove junk food/drink down the baby's throat. I mean, come on. Here I am doing research, choosing and making the best food I could for him, and then you go feed him these nonsense? Have a little respect, please. That's all I'm asking.

This is getting really tiring.

Let The Complaining Begin!

1. Since the baby haven't convert to full time cloth diapering, he's using Huggies disposable diapers as the unhealthy-for-the-Earth-and-daddy's-pocket alternative. Huggies have been good to his skin and hardly ever leak. But as of late, I feel that their quality has been decreasing.



I've encounter this same problem for about 5 times already. Instead of having it go to waste, I sew it back on and it's good to go. But what irks me off is that how can it tear off in the first place?


2. Motherhood Expo 2010 at MidValley Megamall was mediocre, in my opinion. I even had an unpleasant experience at the You Have A Baby booth. There I was trying on the Autumz nursing poncho when one of the sales lady rudely snatch it away from me, just to pass it to another customer who was asking about the poncho. The customer was the same race as the sales lady, perhaps that was why she didn't give a flying dung that I, who was a customer also, was trying on the nursing poncho. There were a couple of sales ladies who were clearly embarrassed about their colleague and were very apologetic. They quickly got another sample for me, and by the time they did, the rude lady came back to me and get this, RUDELY offered to help me to put it on. I couldn't tolerate it any longer. So I said,

"You are so rude. Forget it. I'm not going to buy anything from you."

and walked away. I don't know whether she heard me because the hall was obviously noisy. But fish laaa, I really wanted to buy the poncho. On the website it's selling for RM 43.90, but at the expo it was only RM 30. *sigh*


3. The ants at my place are starting to irritate the crap out of me. Rasa macam nak ajak gaduh je. So yesterday I went to Giant and got the King Kong Ant Killer. It wasn't until late at night when I opened the box and found this



It should have two traps inside the box, BUT, IT WAS FRIGGIN' EMPTY!!! It took me a whole 2 minutes to realize it. I was blinking stupidly, peeped inside the box, blinking again, peeped again, and then cue the cursing.

Many thanks to Giant and their staffs who were very helpful and gave me a new box today. Jaga-jaga kau ye, semut!

Unnecessary Pull Over

For the second time in a week, I got pulled over at a roadblock today. So I stopped my car by the road side, took out my MyKad and driver's license while the cop walked over. Opened the window, gave him a small irritated smile and handed him all of my identification cards. Why irritated? They've been holding this roadblock at the very same spot for a couple of months now. And I have to pass this spot to get out of my parents' housing area. And and and, do I really look that suspicious to get pulled over? Anyways.

Abang Polis: (took my IDs. checked my road tax. read my name out loud). Nak pegi mane ni?

Me: Nak pegi gym.

Abang Polis: Gym? Angkat besi ke?

Me: Hah? Takde lah angkat besi. Exercise je. Kang angkat besi badan jadi ketul-ketul, tak cantik lah pulak, ye tak?

Abang Polis: Heh heh.. (looking at my address on Mykad) Rumah kat mane ni?

Me: Belakang ni je. Roundabout belok kanan.

Abang Polis: Yeke? Kalau saya carik, boleh jumpa ke?

Me: Eh, boleehhhh.. Tapi tu rumah mak saya. Saya tinggal dengan suami kat rumah sendiri.

Abang Polis: Heh heh.. Dan dan je dah kahwin.

Me: Eh, betul lah dah kahwin! Tak caye? (took out my marriage ID card and passed it to him). Ni hah. Dah ada anak dah pun. Umur 8 bulan.

Abang Polis: (looking at the card). Heh heh.. Melepas saya.

Me: KAH KAH KAH (grabbed all of my IDs and shoved it into my handbag). Kthxbai! (Drove off).

Three minutes of my life that I will never get back.

Rantings #002

I met someone I know today. Any normal person would ask,

"Hey, how are you? How's married life? How's parenthood? It's wonderful, isn't it?"

But what came out from this person's mouth was,

"Hey, how's married life? How's parenthood? It's boring, isn't it?"

What the eff? Just because you have a depressing marriage doesn't mean everyone else is going through the same thing. So I answered politely,

"Being married is great. Being a mother is awesome. I am happier than ever."

I was hoping that would shut him up. Then he came up with another bunch of questions.

"Do you and your husband fight? What do you fight about? Do you fight about your son? Do you scold him when the house is dirty? Do you? Do you??"

If his intention was to make me angry, he certainly achieved it. But, while trying not to show it, I asked him,

"Is there a married couple that doesn't fight? Please, if you do know any, introduce me to them."

Before he could open his mouth, another person walked into the room and unknowingly saved this ridiculous man from getting slapped silly.

I don't know if he realized that his questions were plain rude. And what made him think that I would confide in him about what goes on in my marriage? I'd rather confide in a goat.

/endrant

Rantings On Manners and Knowledge

During the weekend, we went to Sunway Pyramid and had Ayam Penyet Ria for lunch, which was pretty good. I personally like the sambal because it is super spicy.

After husband and I satisfied our stomachs, it was my baby's turn to satisfy his so I went to the baby room in Jusco. They had an area for changing diapers and private sections for breastfeeding. While breastfeeding, I was rudely interrupted twice. One was a Malay girl and the other one was a Chinese woman. Giving them the benefit of a doubt, they might have thought that the section was empty even though the curtain was clearly drawn. But what irked me the most was not only they didn't apologize, they didn't even have the decency to close back the curtain. Where are your manners, people?

Image from z.hubpages.com

Today, I was pressured by a couple of people to let my baby drink plain water.

"Oh, look at him! He's thirsty. You HAVE to give him water!"

It's difficult to talk to these people when they think they know more than a young mother like me.

Extracted from Baby Center:

In general, it's not a good idea to give your baby water until he's about 6 months old. Until then, he'll get all the hydration he needs from breast milk or formula, even in hot weather.

Giving a baby younger than 6 months old too much water can interfere with his body's ability to absorb the nutrients in breast milk or formula. It can also cause his tummy to feel full, which curbs his desire to feed.