Another Monday Morning Rambling and A Perfect Wedding Gift

Another Monday Morning Rambling and A Perfect Wedding Gift

It is now 11 in the morning, and I think my brain has finally woken up to work. It took a cup of Neslo, and a few dunks of Oreo biscuit to get my brains cracking however. Lucky, with the office deserted today, I could afford the luxury of a slow start today. It’s a Monday morning in the last week of the year, and the office resembles the presence of the post-Hari Raya holidays. Many people are desperate to finish off their leaves before the new year... lucky sods.

I spent most of the weekend helping out at my aunt’s place to prepare for my cousin’s engagement, which took place yesterday. Come to think of it, it was only slightly more than a year ago when I got engaged to my wife. Wow, does time fly... more and more of my younger cousins are either getting engaged or married, and boy it makes me feel old. It is very easy for me to fall into nostalgic mode when I look at my nieces and nephews (all children of my cousins) and reminisce the days when my cousins and I were their age. Those were the days when we had little care in the world and the highlight of our lives were either birthday parties or family gatherings such as yesterday, where all the cousins would gather and we would play games like hide-and-seek or police sentry. Sigh... life was so simple then.

Talking about engagements and weddings, I received the following story from a friend this morning. I know now the perfect item to buy for a wedding gift... :-p.


> Suasana masih riuh di luar. Sanak saudara semuanya
> berkampung disini. Gelak ketawa, gurau senda jelas
> kedengaran. Aku memimpin isteriku ke dalam bilik
> pengantin. Suara-suara sumbang terlalu banyak yang
> menegurku.
>
> "Hai, malam masih muda, dah nak masuk tidur?" sapa
> Pak Ucu.
>
> "Orang muda bang Aji, biarlah. Air dah penuh kat
> kepala tu." sahut Pak Tam; disambut hilai ketawa sanak
> saudara yang lain.
>
> Meriah sungguh keadaan diluar walau jam sudah
> menunjukkan pukul 11.00 malam.
>
> Hadiah yang masih belum dibuka ku susun ke tepi.
> Lampu ku tutup. Merebah diri ke katil pengantin, aku
> menoleh ke arah isteriku.
>
> "Kita tidur dulu lah yer. Ramai sangat orang kat
> luar tu." Isteriku hanya mengangguk tanda setuju.
>
> Entah pukul berapa sekarang, aku pun tidak tahu.
> Keadaan di luar gelap gelita dan senyap sunyi. Tanda
> sanak saudaraku telah pulang dan keluargaku
> telah tidur.
>
> Jari jemariku lembut membelai rambutnya. Ku selak
> rambut ikal yang menutupi telinganya lalu membisikkan
> "Assalammualaikum!" ke telinganya untuk menguji
> isteriku.
>
> "Wa alaikummussalam." Rupanya isteriku masih belum
> tidur.
>
> Ku kucup pipi halusnya. Ku kucup dahinya yang mulus.
> Semerbak harumnya menusuk deria bauku. Akanku tunaikan
> tanggungjawabku sebagai suami malam ini. Jari-jemari
> ini terus membelai tubuhnya.
>
> Perasaanku tidak dapat dikawal
> lagi, namun...
>
> "Kringgggggggggggggg...."
>
> "Tik..tik..tik..tik..."
>
> "Kring..krong..kring..krong"
>
> "Tooott..Tooott...Toott"
>
> "Buzzzz....Buzzzzz..Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"
>
> Bunyi-bunyi jam loceng entah dari mana memenuhi
> ruang bilikku. Terkejut dengan segala macam bunyi yang
> ada, aku membuka lampu. Serentak itu, terang
> benderang seluruh rumahku. Bunyi-bunyi ini telah
> berjaya membangunkan semua orang di rumahku.
>
> Aku mencari-cari punca bunyi-bunyi itu. Mataku
> terarah ke sekotak hadiah yang masih terbalut rapi.
> Aku buka dengan pantas dan di dalamnya terdapat 5
> buah jam loceng.
>
> Juga sekeping kad berbunyi...
>
> Selamat Pengantin Baru,
>
> Jangan gopoh-gopoh. Baru Pukul 2 pagi.
> Jangan maree.. kami potong stim...
>
> Dalam hatiku.. cilakak punya kengkawan. Potong stim
> betullah!!!
>
> TAMAT
>
> P/S:
> if 100 kengkawan bagi 10 jam loceng = 1000 jam loceng,
>
>
> 100 jam diset pukul 12.00malam
> 100 lagi diset pukul 1.00pagi
> 200 diset pukul 2.00pagi
> 200 diset pukul 3.00pagi
> 200 diset pukul 4.00pagi
> 100 diset pukul 5.00pagi
> 100 diset pukul 6.00pagi.
>
> Boleh haru biru rumah pengantin.... Tapi takpe boleh buka
> kedai jam lepas malam pertama.

On A Bingeing Spree

On A Bingeing Spree

I’ve been in the habit of bingeing lately. Hardly an hour passes by without me stuffing myself with snacks or junk food. Karipap, biskut bantal, Cheesters (would you believe they actually sell this in big packs for RM1.99 in Cold Storage KLCC? Heck you even get one free from buying one!), kuih koci... you name it, I will eat it. I seem to have developed a craving for sweet and MSG-rich food, and this does not seem to go very well with my wife. Already, she’s planning to place a restriction of fast food and junk food alike on me, and if she has it her way, I will only be eating fast food once a month beginning 1st January 2005. At the moment, I’m negotiating with her to make that 3 times a month, to cater for 3 different fast food joints. I can’t imagine having to choose among KFC, McDonalds, and Burger King in any one month. That will be a difficult decision to make... :-p

Back to my bingeing habit, it’s been worrying me a bit. As a result of it, I’ve gained a horrifying 3 kilos to my frame in the last 2 weeks, and my craving is not showing any signs of ebbing away. I’ve put extra effort on my work out sessions to slow down the weight gain, while trying to curb this food bingeing habit at the same time. I fear should this weight gain trend continues, by end of this week, I shall be plump enough to impersonate father Christmas. Ho-Ho-Ho... Verryy Funnyy!!

Ok.. ok... back to work! :-p

Another Monday: Return of The Blues.

Another Monday: Return of The Blues.

Another Monday morning. Another Monday blues. Am feeling less motivated to work today. Strange. I had done a major spring cleaning to my almost pig-sty-like workplace last Thursday and Friday, and the place is much clearer and cleaner now. Thought that I’d be more motivated to work with a cleaner workplace. Turns out it makes me feel more relaxed and lazy. I guess I work better in a disorderly place where everything is all over the place to remind me of the things that I have to do. Now that everything is kept nicely in files and folders, I become a bit clueless of what to do next. Either that, or I’m just suffering from the Monday morning blues.

I had a good weekend however. Stayed at home mostly, then did some chores which I had been wanting to do. Most interestingly, my wife and I managed to muster ourselves out of bed on Sunday morning and took a morning walk and jog at the Royal Lake Garden. It required an iron will to leave the lovely bed and blanket on only one of two mornings when I could afford morning lie-ins in a week, but in the end it was more than worth it. Heck, I am even planning to make it a permanent feature after this for the both of us. Apart from getting the chance to be alone with wifey, exercising in the morning makes me feel good throughout the day. After our morning walk, we went to the Orchid Garden nearby to get some shoots of orchids. Definitely not one of my usual weekends...:-). My father couldn’t believe that this son of his was trying out at gardening. This son who would usually catch blisters from a half hour sweeping of leaves on the house lawn. Unbelievable? Believe it! Hehe...

Was actually planning to pot the orchids yesterday. But we had promised my mum’s maid to take her out to shopping for stuffs ahead of her holiday to her hometown in Jogjakarta end of this month. By the time we got home from the shopping expedition (shopping always is an expedition for me!), we were too exhausted to even contemplate gardening. So I had to postpone putting on my gardening gloves till today.

Anyhow, I had better get to work now. The good thing about this blog is it gives me the needed inspiration for me to jumpstart my day. Usually, after writing a few paragraphs, my mind would have worked out enough for me to remember the next deadline that I have to meet. Cam dengki la pulak... :-p

Later!

Raya Hangover

Raya Hangover

I have been back in the office since yesterday when the official holiday for Hari Raya ended, and boy, have I been struggling to find the motivation to do any useful work in the office. Heck, I didn’t even have any drive to write anything for the blog yesterday. The office was as good as empty, apart from 2-3 of my colleagues who chose to come back from the holiday early. All the bosses won’t be around till next Monday, and as the saying goes in Malay, when the cat’s not around the mouses come out to dance. Hmm.. I think that’s how the saying sounds like anyway...

I just got back from a morning coffee break with wifey just now at San Francisco Coffee House. Needed to have something to jumpstart my day, since I’ve been on the verge of power failure since yesterday. And boy do I feel better (albeit a little) after a dose of cafe mocha, hence this entry I guess. To be honest, I’m still very much in a holiday mood, and while my seemingly ever-horizontal-growing body is here, my mind is very much elsewhere. The problem is I have no more leave to take, after all the holiday galore I’ve had throughout the year todate. Am itching to go and catch the movies in the cinema. Top movies on my prioroty list at the moment are The Grudge and The Incredibles...

Raya this time was a cross country adventure. My parents celebrate Raya in their hometown in Johor, while my parents-in-law celebrate it at the other end of the Malaysian peninsula in Perak and Kedah. My wife and I covered a distance of no less than 1,000 km throughout the period between the eve of Raya on Saturday and Tuesday. Traffic on the highways during the festive season could be a nightmare however. I was told that up to 2.5 million cars had left KL during the Deepa Raya celebration. The worse of the traffic I encountered was on the return trip to KL from Ipoh on Tuesday night, when we took almost 5 hours to complete a journey which would usually have taken 2 hours under normal circumstances. Lucky I had the best of company with me throughout the journey however... :-)

The drive to the office today and yesterday was a breeze. It took us only 20 minutes to get to work from home. Kalau lah driving kat KL camnih hari2... kan ke baguih. The stress level throughout KL can be reduced as a result. I can only dream for that to happen though...

Oh yeah, and to my blog visitors, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir Batin. And thank you for coming to visit... :-).

An October Tragedy

An October Tragedy

I had promised to write about my honeymoon in NZ in my last entry. But something happened last weekend that probably warrants this to be written first: my house was broken into last Saturday, on the 2nd day of Ramadhan.

When it happened, my family and I were just concluding our Subuh prayers in the main hall of our house, which is on the ground floor. I had heard some strange sounds coming from the roof that morning when I woke up for sahur, but I dismissed it to being sounds made by a cat or monkey, which was always the case. Apparently the robbers came in through the window of my parents’s room, which was the only window in the house that didn’t have grills.

When I saw them coming down and confronted us in the main hall, the situation had not sunk in to me yet, and I thought it was my brother in law. But then it occured to me that my brother in law and my sister were away at his parents’s house that morning. By the time it sunk in, they were already around us, and they were armed with knives and a hammer. My feeling then was one of utmost dread, and I could feel my blood draining from my face. Pucat gila..

One of the robbers repeatedly told us to be quiet and not resist or he would kill us. He kept saying, ‘Kau kalau gerak aku bunuh semuanya. Aku bunuh isteri kau. Aku bunuh kamu nanti.’ They tied all the men in the house, which were my dad, my brother and myself. My father tried to talk to them and reason with them and one of the robbers hit him as a result. We were too stumped to do anything. And I feared the worst.

They told us that they just wanted to rob us, and they had no intention of harming us. Ironically, they kept telling us that they were fellow Muslims, and that they were fasting as we were. Before we knew it, they were ransacking the house for valuables. My dad and I plead that no one was harmed, and one of them made a reassurance that they were Muslims, and they wouldn’t do such a thing. I felt like saying back, ‘orang Islam pun merompak ke’, but my brother, sensing my intention from my expression, gave me a nudge that any answer to his statement wouldn’t be the right one. At least the robber’s reassurance calmed me.

The robbers left the house with our valuables after a ransacking galore that lasted for almost half an hour. It could have been worse. They only left because the house phone rang incessantly, and they got scared. I realised later that they’d been scared all the while they were in the house. It was just a matter of who was more scared between them and us. It turns out the call was made by my wife, who was outside the house washing when the intruders broke into the house. She managed to escape by climbing up our 10 feet tall front gate, and ran to the neighbour's house to get help. To this day, she still wonders how she’d done it, especially when she was wearing kain batik time tuh. You're a hero dear! : - )

My first fear when I saw the intruders in the house was the safety of my mother and my wife. I’ve heard so many tragic stories where the robbers have other intentions than robbing their victims once they’d broken into their house, and it has always been one of my worst nightmares when the robbers have ill-intentions on the women in the house. A friend of my neighbour’s house was broken into, and the robbers did the unspeakable to their daughter in front of them. Nauzubillah...

The general feeling is that around this time of the year, when Raya Aidilfitri is approaching is when robberies become rampant. It is when these people rob to have enough money to either go back to their homes (especially the immigrant labours), or get new stuffs for the big day. Either way it’s wise to be careful. Never take for granted the funny sounds you hear around the house.

Return of The Newly Wed

Return of The Newly Wed

Boy it has been another long hiatus for me. After my last entry on the troubling text messages I had received, I had been very preoccupied with the wedding preparation. Alhamdulillah, the nikah went smoothly well on the 4th of September 2004. The akad had to be done 3 times however, though in no way it was my fault if you please. My now father in law was the one who performed the akad on me, and I am proud to say *ehem*ehem* that I was as cool as ice when I uttered my part of the akad. However, one of the witnesses of the nikah was quite particular about the way the akad sentences were uttered, and we had to repeat the process twice. Not that I’m complaining. Looking back, it gave me the chance to bask in the limelight longer, and savour this one in a lifetime moment. Insya-Allah… :-)

So what can I say about life after marriage? Well, in short I would say it is an enriching experience. Suddenly, I am responsible over someone else’s well being. And I had never been responsible over any other life-being bigger than a gold fish previously! So a great paradigm shift was required here. It feels like a call towards being a more responsible and accountable person. While previously my main concern used to be what strategy to apply for my football Championship Manager game, now it has turned to how should I manage this union that is my marriage. It has only been a month, and I’m still learning.

The best part of marriage is of course the companionship. While previously I had to wake up on my own, now I wake up with a lovely lady beside me. The idea might sound tempting, but some of you might be surprised to know that it is not really the physical part of the relationship that one cherishes the most. It is simply the presence of your significant other, both physically and emotionally, that makes it meaningful. While previously I would have to go over a personal problem on my own, now I have someone to share it with. 2 heads make better work than 1. ‘I’ rarely exist anymore. Most of the time, it’s ‘We’.

We went on our honeymoon between the 22nd September and 2nd October in the land of Lord of The Rings. Look out for my next entry for a rather long account of the whole trip. There will be pics too, so if you don’t care to read what a love-drunken honeymooning husband has to babble, you can always look at the beautiful scenery in the pictures. :-p

Till then, ciao for now!

Text Messages From Hell

Text Messages From Hell

Someone sent me a barrage of sms text messages on the eve of Merdeka Day. His (I still do not know whether the person was a he or she, but let’s for the sake of convenience, assume the person was a he) first text message was a simple wish of Hari Merdeka, followed by a question as to when my wedding was going to take place. I did not have his number saved in my handphone’s phone book, so I did not know who the message was from. I replied his message saying thank you, and asking who he was. I was surprised when he sounded hostile in his reply, to the extent of using such words as ‘pergi blah’ and ‘mampus’. He was ticked off and could not believe that I did not have his number in my phone. Furthermore, he vented his anger that he didn’t get an invitation to my wedding.

I was caught unawares by his reply. I thought if this person was someone I was in regular contact with, I first of all would surely have had his number in my phone. And secondly, chances are I would have also invited him to my wedding. As I’d mentioned in my earlier entry, I’ve had to go through the unenviable task of filtering my guest list for my reception, and I have done so by inviting all those who are in close contacts with me among friends and workmates, those whom I’d have to deal with everyday. So when this guy started swearing because he wasn’t invited, my mind started to run a list of people I might have accidentally missed out. Up to this point, no name have come to my mind yet.

Messages from him kept coming until midnight, even after I’d stopped replying to him. And even after all that, he still did not tell me who he was. I had apologised to him if I had left him out by mistake, but apparently he was undeterred. In the last of his text messages, he accuses me of being ‘damn selfish’ and cruel, and he told me to just wait for the day when the ‘tables are turned’. What does that mean? Have I committed an unforgiveable crime? It seems to me the person might have a feeling of vengeance for me that goes beyond the issue of this wedding invitation. And perhaps this was his best way of letting it out on me. Why else then did he choose to stay anonymous the whole time?

I know how it feels when a friend of yours celebrate a big day, and leaves you out from his invitation. I have a friend whom I’ve known from my studying days, whom I meet almost every week playing futsal and getting together before he was married. You can say, we have the same circle of friends. I did not get his invitation, even after I had accidentally joked with him the WEEKEND BEFORE his wedding about not getting his invitation yet. Yet I still wasn’t invited. But did I go out on a swearing and conscience barrage on this guy? For all I know, he might have had the same constraint as I do now, and had had to keep a straight face whenever his uninvited friends asked him about his wedding.

I know how bad it feels. Believe me, it feels just as bad, if not worse, not being able to invite everyone you know to your most special day and not getting invited to an equivalent event of someone you know. All you can do is hope that people will understand. It seems that you can't please everyone.

The Big Day Looms

The Big Day Looms

I have been a bit quiet of late. Well, in fact it has been more than a month. After my last entry dated 23rd July, I went on a trip with my family from Southampton to London and eventually Edinburgh, where I could not get an internet connection to continue blogging. I’ve been back in Malaysia for almost a month now, and just as I feared, I have not had the decent time to blog. Heck, I have not had any decent idea to write about either.

Coming back to work after a 2 weeks break proved to be quite stressful. I realised while I was away, some of the work were set aside for me until my return. The place I work still lack the mutual knowledge of everyone’s work that it is unimaginable for any of us to leave the office for more than 2 weeks. I went to the office right after the day I arrived in Malaysia, albeit still in a state of jet lag. Have to say many things didn’t quite register in my head in that first few days, but I managed to pull through until the end of the week. The only thing that kept me awake and made me look forward to come to the office nevertheless was to see my fiancee. Could not wait for another day to see her...

This last couple of weeks, I have been busy with the wedding arrangements. Barang2 hantaran semua dah siap, what’s left is the wang hantaran which I would have to withdraw in the form of bank draft sometime this week. Fortunately, I just received my yearly bonus 2 days ago, and the fact that I also received a performance bonus this year helps matters a lot. I tell you, when people say murah rezeki bila nak kahwin nih, they are not lying. We should have faith of the rewards in doing the right things. Banyak berkat.

The only thing that makes me feel slightly upset is the fact that my wedding reception will be held formally in one of the reception halls in KL. Not that I’m complaining about the place (or the fact that my parents are taking the tab completely... thanks mum and dad :-)), it’s just that holding the event there disables me to invite all the people I know. Since my parents are taking the tab for the event, most of the guests will be theirs, which leaves only about 1/6 of the quota for me. I have had to go through the heartbreaking process of filtering my guest list and apologising to some people for not being able to invite them to my reception. It makes me feel bad having to do it, but I guess I have to be fair to my parents too...

The wedding is now just around the corner, and admittedly butterflies have begun to fly around in my stomach, albeit small ones. I think the butterflies will get bigger the closer I get to the date of the nikah. Some cheeky guy friends of mine who have just recently tied the knot themselves have begun to intimidate me with their own experience during the akad. Not to mention their advice on the nocturnal activities of married people. Dang... am looking forward to the big day with a mixture of joy and suspense.

Theme Song Sephia-Samarinda

Theme Song Sephia-Samarinda

The following song is the theme song for the Samarinda drama series that has just recently ended on TV3, titled Sephia. The drama series ended up to be a tragedy of sorts; a whole family was wiped out, due to the evil deeds and ill-doings of one person in that family. In the end, a woman lost the love of her life through an incurable disease, after having lost him earlier due to the circumstances of his family conflict.

A tragic story of life and unfulfilled love.

Get this widget | Track details | eSnips Social DNA

(Tip to listen to the song: Click pause at the page default music widget at the right bottom of the side bar before clicking on play on the above widget to avoid the 2 music overlapping. TQ!)

Berhenti Berharap
By Sheila on 7

Aku tak percaya lagi
Dengan apa yang kau beri
Aku terdampar disini
Tersudut menunggu mati

Aku tak percaya lagi
Akan guna matahari
Yang dulu mampu terangi
Sudut gelap hati ini

Aku berhenti berharap
Dan menunggu datang gelap
Sampai nanti suatu saat
Tak ada cinta kudapat

Kenapa ada derita
Bila bahagia tercipta
Kenapa ada sang hitam
Bila putih menyenangkan

Aku pulang..
Tanpa dendam..
Kuterima kekalahanku

Aku pulang..
Tanpa dendam..
Kusalutkan kemenanganmu

Kau ajarkan aku bahagia
Kau ajarkan aku derita
Kau tunjukkan aku bahagia
Kau tunjukkan aku derita
Kau berikan aku bahagia
Kau berikan aku derita

[ rebahkan rambutmu lepaskan perlahan
kau akan mengerti semua.. ]

Aku berhenti berharap
Dan menunggu datang gelap
Sampai nanti suatu saat
Tak ada cinta kudapat

My Brother’s Graduation

My Brother’s Graduation

Today was my younger brother’s graduation ceremony. He is now a graduate of Southampton University. Congratulations Didi!

Interestingly, my own graduation was on the 21st July in the year 2000. That was 4 years and 1 day ago to be exact.

Among the outstanding feature of today’s graduation ceremony, apart from seeing my brother go onstage and collect his scroll from the Vice Chancellor, was to witness the achievement of 2 physically challenged students to graduate along with the other normal physically-able students. One of the special students was blind, and the other, if I am not mistaken, is suffering from the same condition as the brilliant Stephen Hawking. The applause that they received when they went to collect their respective scrolls was deafening and you could feel the inspiration that they exuded to the guests in the graduation hall. It makes you feel amazed at what one can achieve, regardless of one’s physical condition, if one has the grit and determination to succeed.

I certainly can learn from their success.

After the ceremony was the customary post-ceremony reception. The food served was abundant, and if only they were all halal, I would have eaten more than just the egg roll and the chocolate muffin I had. There were all sorts of rolls, pastries and puffs. Well, I guess it’s good that I wasn’t able to eat most of the food served since I am supposed to be on a diet anyway.

My dad had his customary photo in a graduation gown taken, wearing my brother’s gown. My dad did the same thing at my older sister’s graduation and mine too, posing as if he was the graduate himself. Only this time around, my mum and yours truly joined him in his ritual. Hehe.. it brings back the memory of my own graduation all over again.

Once again, congrats Didi!

Of Men and Buses

Of Men and Buses

While waiting for the bus today, I was reminded of a poem that I first came across just before my graduation 4 years ago. I had bought a book of a compilation of the top 500 poems voted as most popular in that year (2000). I bought it because I just felt like reading something different, or maybe because I was driven by the notion that women find men who could recite poetry to them attractive. Do they?

The poem cheekily makes a comparison between men and buses, which I am sure some of the women out there would agree. :-) Funnily, it only serves to remind me how the bus I used to take in my studying days to the university would always come in twos and threes after I'd waited for one for what would seem like eternity.

Enjoy!

Bloody Men

Wendy Cope, 1945 -

Bloody men are like bloody buses
You wait for about a year
And as soon as one approaches your stop
Two or three others appear.

You look at them flashing their indicators,
Offering you a ride.
You're trying to read the destinations,
You haven't much time to decide.

If you make a mistake, there is no turning back.
Jump off, and you'll stand there and gaze
While the cars and the taxis and lorries go by
And the minutes, the hours, the days.

A Shopping Expedition

A Shopping Expedition

Yesterday was another day of shopping and window shopping around the town of Southampton. I have to admit that these are 2 skills that I am not quite good at. When I do shop, I would usually have in mind what I want before hand, go to the particular place where I know I can get what I want, race to the payment counter as quickly as possible for payment, and leave. If I stay around longer and ponder upon the choices on display, I would begin to feel heady, and everything on the shelf would start to look the same to me. That is when I begin to feel sleepy, and thus start to yawn incessantly.

But yesterday, I was accompanying my mother (or rather she was assisting me) with the business of shopping and window shopping. Keeping up with her was quite a challenge. We were looking for a handbag for my fiancée as part of my hantaran to her for the wedding. We must have gone to not less than 10 retail outlets yesterday. My mum was in her mettle, looking through the sea of handbags on display, and assessing the shapes and designs like a pro.

At the beginning of our quest yesterday, I still managed to be helpful and gave her my opinions of the choices she showed me, with my fiancée’s preferred design in mind. But after the 3rd shop, all the handbags began to look the same to me, and in one instance, I even mistook a whole shelf of woman’s knickers for fancy handbags. My mum however managed to keep her composure, and was still making comparisons of the designs of the different handbags from the various shops we’d been to in her head. It amazes me how she could still recall a particular handbag she’d seen 3 shops ago when I could barely remember how the interior of that particular shop looked like by that time.

So as we progressed to what must have seem our hundredth shop of the day, myself and my brother (who had to tag along to give directions) went into cruise control, and just tagged along with our go-getting mum with minimal fuss and question. My mum was, still however in full vigour by that time, eyeing any women’s accessories shop or general store that we might have missed out, while my brother and I were close to being like casualties of a failed search expedition.

My mum chided me by saying I should begin to get used to this since I might have to answer more of this call of duty once I’m married. I guess I should. What made the shopping experience yesterday difficult was the fact that I was getting increasingly unsure whether I would be getting the right handbag design in the end. It’s not that I’m getting this for myself you see. And judging from all the handbags on display yesterday, I could not recall them to being in close resemblance to the ones my fiancée and I had surveyed earlier. I have to say the designs here are less conservative (or rather not conservative enough to my liking, given the purpose I’m buying it for), which I find it an irony since the British are known for their conservatism.

In the end, we didn’t manage to find a suitable handbag yesterday. General Zaleha will continue search operation with Corporal Izwan and Chief Navigator Didi at a later mentioned time.

Mum, I take my hat off to you!

Early Morning Musings

Early Morning Musings

It is coming to my 3rd day in the UK today. I am still adjusting to the sleeping time here, feeling sleepy at the wrong time all the time. For instance, I slept right after Asar time yesterday (which was around 5 pm), and woke up just before the end of Maghrib, which in the summer time fortunately ends when Isya’ starts at 11.38pm. It is 5.45 am at the moment, and the sun is already up out there. That’s summer time for you in England, or rather, in countries that experience 4 seasons.

The good thing about not being able to sleep at night and early in the morning is that it gives me more time to ponder and tinker with my blog. And it is a great help that I have my younger brother around to show me a tip or two on computers and things that I can do to enhance the face of my blog. He’s an IT graduate you see, so this IT stuff is his daily language. It’s refreshing just sitting down at the comp with him and see him doing stuffs on the computer. Interestingly, with all his IT knowledge, he’d yet to create his own blog till today. It’s still under construction tho, so I’ll keep the address a secret till it’s ready. Hehe…

Right now, my next project on this blog is to get some others’s blogs I’ve been visiting linked on mine. I’ve registered with BlogRolling, but I still can’t figure how to get the links to appear on my blog. Kena explore lagi nih.. and get my IT consultant to do it for me. These are interesting times for my blog. Hehe…

Back In The UK

Back In The UK
 
I am back in the UK again. Boy it has been four long years since I was last here. It feels good to be back. I am actually here for my brother’s graduation from Southampton University and will be here for 2 weeks. I already have many places in mind that I am planning to revisit here, especially in London, where my alma mater is. I can’t help feeling guilty though for being away from the office for that long. I guess I’ve spent so much of my time at work (even over weekends at times) that being away for this long has a funny effect on my conscience. But I guess the time away from the office should be good to revitalise my jaded body and mind. The only other thing that makes my coming to the UK a bit heavy is the thought of not seeing my fiancée for 2 weeks. Funny how 2 weeks appear like a very long time to be on leave now when 1 month of winter and Easter break seem like a short time in my studying days.
 
I arrived at Heathrow airport on Friday evening on a flight that left KL on the same day in the afternoon. The flight here was ok. The in-flight movie was nothing to stir up any excitement, so I was more content on playing the online video games for most of the journey (boy, time did fly when you’re playing video games). I was seated next to a spoilt kid who kept screaming to her mum for anything, or when her mum was not paying her enough attention. She must be around 7-8 years old. Rasa cam nak lempang je budak camtuh… she was throwing things around in occasional tantrums and yours truly occasionally found some food debris and snack wrappers on his lap and tray as a result. Can’t her mum tell her to behave? And her whole family was talking to each other so loud (there were 6 of them in all) you could be forgiven for thinking the whole family was deaf.
 
Anyway, I then took a bus from the airport to Southampton. The first thing I did before taking the bus was buying a newspaper. Boy, do I miss the papers here. The page 3 of The Sun Newspaper here is WAY much more interesting than The Sun in Malaysia. Those who’ve been to the UK would now… :-). But I settled for The Daily Mail for a light read on the bus. Since Southampton wasn’t exactly the bus’s last stop, I had to make sure that I was conscious when I reached my stop. I was lucky. Woke up from my slumber just as the bus pulled up at the bus station in Southampton. Imagine ending up in Salisbury at 11 at night with no where to go.. 
 
Woke up at 5 am yesterday (had to, since the sun rises at 5.10 am. Kalau tak tak Subuh le jawapnya…). We all went to London yesterday, taking the 6.22 am bus from Southampton. The first thing that struck me about London was how familiar the place was still to me. I could still remember the Underground lines and the buses to take, and when walking along Oxford Street yesterday, I felt like I never left the place at all. The only thing that I forgot was how many people there always were in London, and the dodging you have to do when walking along Oxford Street to avoid walking into almost everyone else. Like my dad aptly said it, ‘macam ulat tahi’. With myself barely recovered from the jet-lag of my long journey and the time difference, it felt almost surreal, more like I was walking in a dream (it was already late at night in Malaysia by that time. So I guess it was only natural that I felt that way). 
 
 

Me at Portobello Road. (Picture courtesy of my very IT literate brother)

 
Didn’t get to go to many other places I wanted to in London yesterday though, as we spent most of our time in Portobello Road and Oxford Street yesterday. Would love to be back in a few days and go to places like Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, walking along the River Thames, the LSE (my alma mater), the West End, and the Covent Garden just to name a few places.
 
Oh well, I have another long English summer day ahead of me. Hmm… what am I going to do today? Gi car boot sale? Or just enjoy walking around town in Southampton? Might as well make the best of it while I’m still here…
 
Gonna file a report to my beloved fiancée first.. :p. Cheerio.

Am Back Again!

Am Back Again!

Boy it has been a long time since my last posting. I realise that that the most conducive time I have for blogging is either very late at night on the rare occassions that I don’t get too tired, or when I’m in the office waiting for my fiancee to finish her work. Also I’ve not had much inspiration to write of late. That is not to say that life hasn’t been interesting since the last time I wrote. Oh yeah, many good things have happened since.

Among others, remember that disastrous exam I wrote about a couple of weeks ago? Turns out it wasn’t a disaster after all. I managed to pass the exam somehow!! This one could be filed up as an X-File case. With only the chance to look into the study material for about 10 minutes before the exam, I was hoping more for a miracle than anything else. Even felt like skipping the exam altogether and fork another RM 200++ to sit for another session. I was quite lucky of course that the exam was a multiple choice questions in nature and I was able to use the art of deduction in determining the right answers. I am glad that I did not lose on hope and went to do the exam still.

Moral of the story: Never lose out on hope. A favourite quote of mine from this movie says it quite aptly:

Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.

And anyhow, got linked to this quiz via a fellow blogger’s site. A rather interesting quiz that’s suppose to describe your character from the alphabets that make your name. Since I’m usually called by 2 names by my friends (Khalil) and family (Izwan) respectively, I thought I’d do the quiz twice, once for each name. And here’s the result. Boy do I wish they are true... Amiin!

K	Kinky
H	Helpful
A	Ambivalent
L	Luxurious
I	Intelligent
L	Legendary

Name / Username:

Name Acronym Generator
From Go-Quiz.com

I	Inspirational
Z	Zonked
W	Wonderful
A	Ambivalent
N	Natural

Name / Username:

Name Acronym Generator
From Go-Quiz.com

An Advice From Granny

An Advice From Granny

My grandma, who lives with me and my family these days, called me yesterday with a look of concern on her face and told me that she had something important to tell me. Judging by the expression on her face and her tone of voice, I was beginning to feel slightly wary what the matter was about. The whole conversation went on more or less like the following:

Atuk: Wan, atuk nak cakap sikit… duduk sini kejap..

Me: Apa dia tuk?

Atuk: Kau esok bila dah kahwin, kau jangan ‘bersama’ dulu dengan isteri kau sampai sudah bersanding.

Me: (slightly taken aback, but could not help smiling..) Kenapa lak tuk?

Atuk: Nanti hilang seri pengantinnya… tak molek nanti bila duduk bersanding..

Me: (I just could not help pushing the conversation further…) Ye ke tuk? Ada beza ke rupa kita kalau bersama dengan tak bersama? Wan tengok kawan2 Wan yang dah kahwin nampak cam sama je rupa diorang..

Atuk: (With a look of incredulity on her face and her tone of voice…) Ehh mana leh sama. Lain cu.. orang kalau dah bersama muka dia gini2 haa… (showing me an expression of what the hilang-seri-look looks like) Lain seri orang kahwin ngan seri orang bujang… kalau boleh molek la masa bersanding tu ada seri orang bujang lagi…

Me: (I egged her on…) Orang boleh perasan ke tuk bezanya? (will people be able to tell the difference granny?)

Atuk: Ehh.. mana leh tak perasan.. orang perasanlah… (again, with a tone of incredulity in her voice)

Later that night as I was about to go to bed, I went to see her and to show my appreciation for her such ‘concern’, thanked her for her kindly advice. Before I left she added:

Atuk: Nanti atuk nak tunjuk Wan sesuatu… kena tahu apa nak buat bila dah kahwin nanti.. kau kena tanya ngan orang2 tua petua dah kahwin…

I didn’t dare to ask her to elaborate further on that statement. Since she was still talking in innuendos when she referred to the thing that she wanted to show me, I figured it might be something that I wouldn’t want to see it from her. Petua2 orang dah kahwin? I wonder what petua she might have meant? Hmmm…

It’s funny the things that could be of concern to your elderly, where we don’t seem to think so much of. Will give some thought to your advice grandma. If I could wait for 12 years, I guess I could extend it for a few more days… Haha!

Thanks granny! : - )

Stress Management and The Most Valuable Gift Of All

Stress Management and The Most Valuable Gift Of All

It has been a long week. At the beginning of this week, I felt like I was saturating from too much stress at work. I guess that’s one problem that that I need to find the cure to. I’ve not exactly been that good in handling stress. Most of the time when push comes to shove, I would freeze and find myself lost in thought and action. I guess my problem lies in the fact that when faced with a situation or a problem, I tend to focus too much on the problem itself, rather than looking through it for the solution. I keep having to remind myself of the good message that I picked up from the movie Patch Adams, when the genius professor who was admitted to the asylum for the mentally insane (probably for being too genius) showed Hunter Adams (played by Robin Williams) what the problem was with most people’s perception; when faced with a situation or problem, too often we are stuck without a solution, or maybe we take too much time to find a solution which could turn out to be simple, because our minds are too burdened by the problem at hand. This is something I need to change and work on.

Anyhow, while in my effort to distract myself from the loads of work and pressing datelines at the office, I took some time to look through some forwarded e-mails that I received and kept in my archive files. I came across the following story while I was at it. It serves as a good reminder to all of us that sometimes the most precious gift that we can give to our loved ones is the simplest of things. Our company and our time. Too often, we become too engrossed in the rat race that we are in that we forget the things that are more important to us than our work. Our loved ones.

Make sure you make the time for them. Leave the office early, or take a few days off work and make that long-postponed visit to your hometown to see your old folks. Believe me, the time you make for those you love is the most precious gift you can give them. Well, even J Lo says that her Love Don’t Cost a Thing…

It is kinda long, but worth the read. Hope you’ll enjoy the story.

Thanks For Your Time

A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door.

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could
stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

"Jack, did you hear me?"

"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.

"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.

"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.

"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said.

"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown.

Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.

Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture....Jack stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.

"The box is gone," he said.

"What box? " Mom asked.

"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was the thing I value most,'" Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox.

"Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package.

The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention.

"Mr. Harold Belser" it read.

Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope.

Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.

"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter.

His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover.

Inside he found these words engraved: "Jack, Thanks for your time! Harold
Belser."

"The thing he valued most...was...my time."

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days.

"Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.

"I need some time to spend with my son," he said.

"Oh, by the way, Janet...thanks for your time!"

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the
moments that take our breath away."

Have a great day and thank you for your time...

My Favourite Poem

My Favourite Poem

It’s been a long day. Am still in the office with so much more to do. At the moment, I just have to take a 10 – 15 minutes break. If only my financial situation was much healthier than it is, the 15 minutes break could have had its venue in San Francisco Coffee, or maybe Delifrance or Cinnabon. But the combination of my restraint finances and the hurricane of work has made me to settle for the coffee in the office pantry. A nice blend of Nescafe and Milo should do the trick. Hmmm....

Anyhow, I would like to share this poem with you. Chances are, you woudln’t find this poem a stranger. I was first introduced to this poem from watching The Simpsons Halloween special when I was in my secondary school. There is something dark and gothic about it that makes it very appealing. For instance, the crow’s queer repetition of the phrase ‘never more’ when faced with the narrator. This would seem queer until you begin to wonder whether the bird is saying anything at all (‘Never more’), or is it just a subject of the narrator’s own failing sanity i.e. Is he hearing things or is the bird really saying those words? It subsequently inclines the reader to feel sympathy for the narrator, yet at the same time makes the reader wonder whether or not the evil presence is real in the shape of the crow. Either way, it subtly portrays the mental state of a depressed person trying to cope with the loss of a loved one.

I once memorised the whole poem for my school’s poem reading competition while I was doing my A-Levels in the UK. The judges must have been impressed that a non-English person (some of them were even impressed that I could speak English as a matter of fact!) could memorise such a long poem that I even qualified to the latter round of the competition. Come to think of it, funny how such a simple thing as poem could bring back memories from the past...

I’ve included excerpts of the poem here. For a complete, long version of The Raven, click here.

And if you want something more fanciful, you can go here for impressions of the poem with pictures. This is a good one.

Enjoy!

The Raven

[First published in 1845]

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.

My Best Friends’ Wedding and My Worst Nightmare Came True

My Best Friends’ Wedding and My Worst Nightmare Came True


Boy. It has been a while since I last wrote. Have to say that I have been rather caught up with work since my last entry. But that is not to say nothing interesting happened since. There were definitely some interesting moments in that time.

Friday, 26th March 2004

First of all, 2 of my good friends just recently got married. They held a reception at the Dewan Perdana Felda on 26th March, and a grand wedding it was. Proudly, I was given the honour by both of them to give a speech on that night. Not so surprisingly considering that I have been partly responsible in getting them together, or so I would like to think. They first fell for each other at my house when I was hosting a function, and later on, upon the request from the girl, I called the guy up and coaxed him to ask her out. I don’t think he even knows yet that I called him that night because she asked me to (so if you’re ever reading this, now you know!). He still thinks that I told him to ask her out on a hunch. Hehe.. Anyways, that was almost 15 months ago and I am kinda impressed that things have progressed this far between them. They really are a lovely and loving couple and they do belong to each other. Congrats Azahar and Abrizah!

Preparing the speech for their reception wasn’t exactly an easy task. I guess it would be easier to prepare a talk or ceramah, in which the contents would be more specific. I felt like there were too many things to say, and too short a time to deliver it. Not to mention the hungry guests’ patience, since I was to deliver the speech before dinner. Somehow, I managed to get my speech finalized on the morning of the reception itself, and managed to give a rather good delivery of it that night. My friends’ in the audience thought that the speech was rather mushy2, but hey, it’s a wedding okay, not a political party rally. I thought you were supposed to sound mushy at weddings, and paint glowing impressions of the groom and bride. I felt a great sense of relief after I was done delivering the speech, and funny enough, I felt like I wouldn’t mind doing it again. The truth be told, I had originally been rather nervous about doing it ever since I was asked to do it. I accepted at first because I felt too honored to refuse it. There were even times that I felt that I might not be up for it, and felt like maybe I should just bail out. But in the end of the day, I’m glad that I did it. In fact, I feel like I’ve become comfortable at speaking publicly in front of a big audience (there must have been around 600 – 700 guests that night) since that night.

Moral of the story: to people with stage fright like me out there. Go out and do something that you’ve never done before, or something that would go beyond your usual comfort zone. You will feel, like I have, that once you’ve gone beyond that, you will discover new frontiers of the things you could do.

Saturday, 27th March 2004

What happened over the weekend was nothing short of tragedy. Really, I only have myself to blame for what happened. Ever had a bad dream when you find yourself in an exam hall, sitting for an exam, and feeling that you’re so ill-prepared for it? Or another bad dream when you wake up late on the first day of your SPM or degree exams, and you have only half an hour before the exam begins? Well, both of that actually happened to me on this day! The exam was supposed to be an easy one, and I was supposed to be able to ace it with minimal revision. If only I had the chance to revise for it that is. I thought the exam was going to be on Sunday afternoon, and was actually only going to look into my notes on that Saturday night. Imagine my horror when a friend of mine who also sat for the exam called me up and told me that the exam was to start in half an hour. And I was just about to get comfy for an afternoon siesta! Well, the rest is history as they say. The exam was a multiple choice one, and I was Billy the Kid himself, firing away at possible answers to questions I had no clue what the answers were. Oh well…

Moral of the story: Bring dices to a multiple choice question exams. It sure makes selecting an answer easier than blindly choosing one when you have no clue what the answer is.

Malaysia’s 11th Election, 21st March 2004 – The Preliminary Result

Malaysia’s 11th Election, 21st March 2004 – The Preliminary Result

The preliminary result of Malaysia’s 11th General Election has been released, and I have to say that I am shocked to say the least. BN looks like heading for another historic landslide victory, with even Kelantan and Terengganu not being spared. I still find it hard to believe the news. I was in Terengganu for the past 3 days, and taking the general sentiment of the locals there, you wouldn’t count against Pas making another clean sweep as they did in the 1999 general election. Instead, when the result was released just recently, the former Terengganu Menteri Besar Hj Abdul Hadi is reported to have lost his state seat in Marang by a majority of thousands. We’re not talking about a small fry leader here. He is revered and so well respected by the locals there. Believe me, my feeling is that the locals of Marang where he contested would wake up tomorrow wondering what actually happened on election day. And who would have expected Pas to lose that many seats in Kelantan? No offense to the BN in Kelantan, but they look more disunited and in shambles if compared to Pas over there. Don’t know whether I should expect any shocking news tomorrow when they do the recount. It’d be interesting to see what will come out in the news in the next few days post-election.

The only good thing I can think of from the election result is that the government might announce tomorrow a public holiday in celebration of another landslide victory. Honestly if you ask me, I can’t help smelling a grand scam behind the general election this time around. Again, the media will have a field day for the whole of next week at least covering on the subject.

If Only Women Knew...

If Only Women Knew...

A friend of mine forwarded me this through e-mail recently. An insight into the male’s mind that women very rarely give a thought about. How true. The subject is titled in Malay, “If only women knew...”, it describes the feeling and psychology of the male’s mind that the opposite sex usually takes for granted. Perhaps the males out there reading this can confirm whether or not the following statements are true. It would be a joy to read the responses from the females. : - ) Enjoy!

Andainya perempuan tahu.......................>

* Lelaki juga boleh menjadi seseorang yang begitu sensitif dan mengambil berat (prihatin)

* Jika seseorang lelaki meminati wanita, wanita itu tak semestinya cantik. Cukup dengan budi bahasa dan kesopanan yang tinggi. Malah lelaki boleh menyukai wanita yang mempunyai banyak persamaan dengannya samada dari segi pemikiran atau minat. Oleh itu, banyak yang boleh dibualkan atau dikongsi bersama.

* Kebanyakan masa, lelaki sebenarnya tidak mengetahui perasaan sebenar yang dirasakan oleh seorang wanita.

* Lelaki boleh menerima penolakan dengan baik.

* Lelaki cuba menonjolkan sikap kelakiannya untuk menambat hati wanita...

* Lelaki memang dilahirkan dgn perasaan yg kuat terhadap wanita..sebab itu mereka suka melihat wanita, menjeling wanita dan menonton Baywatch! Atau mencuci mata di tepi pantai atau swimming pool.

* Kebanyakan lelaki resah bila berhadapan dengan situasi ingin mengajak wanita keluar kali pertama!

* Lelaki cuba meniru gaya selebriti atau berlagak macho hanya kerana ingin memikat hati wanita.

* Bila lelaki cakap.."Emm. tengoklah dulu"..itu seringkali bermaksud dia berkata tidak atau kurang setuju.

* Bila lelaki cakap direct to the point dalam sesuatu hal, dia sebenarnya ingin bersikap jujur dan berterus-terang dan mengharapkan wanita memahami maksudnya.

* Kebanyakan lelaki yang nampak 'desperate', datang dari sekolah all boys!

* Adalah biasa lelaki cemburu terutamanya apabila perempuan asyik menyebut nama lelaki lain.

* Lelaki tak boleh belajar kesemuanya pasal perempuan dari library atau
buku semata2. Oleh itu mereka selalu keliru dengan sikap perempuan..dan
tak faham kenapa perempuan bersikap begitu begini...

*Kadang2 lelaki perlu mengetahui lebih mendalam tentang bagaimana berhadapan dengan perempuan supaya hubungan dapat berjalan dengan lebih baik.

* Betapa hebatnya lelaki itu bersikap romeo dan 'flirting' dengan ramai wanita..dia tetap hanya ada seorang teman wanita yang istimewa...yang lain hanya kawan..:)

* Bila lelaki tertengok dada wanita dan wanita itu menyedari...maafkan saja. Kebanyakan lelaki tak sengaja....Mereka merasakan kejadian wanita itu begitu indah!

* Bila sesuatu hubungan putus di tengah jalan, lelaki juga rasa bersedih..cuma dia tak menunjukkannya kesedihannya di depan orang.

* Bila seorang perempuan meminati seorang lelaki, perempuan itu patut bagi hint! Mana tau lelaki itu juga menaruh minat. Senang usahanya nanti...

* Adalah memalukan bagi lelaki jika tak berupaya menolong wanita.

* Kebanyakan lelaki cukup lemah dgn air mata perempuan. Mereka lebih tewas sekiranya air mata itu mengalir dari perempuan yg dikasihi. Sebab itu dikatakan air mata senjata perempuan.

*Lelaki bukanlah sempurna 100%, walau bagaimanapun rupanya atau pandangan luarannya. Jadi, perempuan janganlah mengharapkan semua yang hebat dari lelaki! Mereka juga normal dan mempunyai kelemahan!

Peak Season at Work and The Paranormal

Peak Season at Work and The Paranormal

Guess where I am? I am still in the office! Though my brain has surrendered any capability to think of work at this point of time, I am here waiting for my fiancee to finish her bit of work. It is that time of year again (it seems to come around faster by the year), when we close our accounts for the year and brace ourselves for the avalanche of reports, questions, and consolidation that comes with it. Our auditors are coming in next week, and there are still a few things that need to be done. Looks like its going to be a working weekend for me.

Was in Melaka yesterday for a plant familiarisation visit. Familiarisation. Such a mouthful word. Kept having to repeat it yesterday and Wednesday when people asked me what I was doing in Melaka. Got lost for over an hour trying to find the hotel from the Simpang Ampat exit. Pusing sana, pusing sini. The route I was on was getting deserted by the minute that at some points I began to suspect if I had actually been diverted by some unseen forces. Which reminded me of a scene in the Mothman Prophecies when Richard Gere set on his way driving to Richmond which is in the south of the USA but ended up finding himself mysteriously in Point Pleasant which is way up north of the USA.

In fact, we (I was travelling with my colleague, whom conveniently is my fiancee... hehe) did come across something suspicious along the way. While I was driving along this secluded road, which turned out to lead towards Kem Askar Terendak, there appeared to be some road works on one part of the road. They closed one of the lanes on that 2-way road, and there was a tractor or something digging up a hole on the closed part of the lane. We were stopped by one of the workers looking after the traffic to allow the tractor to move to the other side of the road to pile up the soil from the dug road. There wasn't any other car on that road at that time. The time was around 10 pm.

When we were allowed to pass, I could not have driven more than a kilometre away when we came to the entrance of Kem Askar Terendak and realised that there was no way through. I asked the guard at the entrance which way to Riviera Hotel, and was told to drive a few kilometres back where we came from and take a particular turn at the junction we had passed. On our way back to the junction, I was driving slowly in anticipation of the road works that we had passed not more than 5 minutes ago. I kept on driving, and to my surprise the road works which had only been there a few minutes ago had DISAPPEARED! There was no tractor, no heap of soils on either side of the road, gone were the bright spot lights they had in the area for the works, and more significantly there were no signs that any road works had taken place there in the most recent time. It was all dark and quiet.

I looked at my fiancee and asked her whether she had seen it on our way back, and she just looked back at me silently, indicating that we do not talk about it until we were completely out of the area. It wasn't a great help either that the next 5 kilometres stretch of the road had no street lights along it and either side of the road was pitch dark. I just sped my car out of the area and was more than relieved when we finally came to the end of that dark road and back on the main road to Kota Melaka.

Moral of the story: Don't travel too late at night to places you're not familiar with. Though neither of us were significantly affected by the experience, the thought of getting lost further was beginning to worry me a little bit.

Anyhoo... looks like my fiancee's work is done. My tummy is making growling sounds already. Feel like having mee rebus tonight at Plaza Damas. Nyum.. nyumm...

Kursus Perkahwinan

Kursus Perkahwinan

Over the weekend, my fiancée and I attended the compulsory course for every Muslim to attend before marriage. Kursus Perkahwinan Islam. The course was held over 2 days, beginning from Saturday afternoon and ends in the early evening on Sunday. I didn’t quite know what to expect of the course to begin with, but I have to admit it turned out to be a refreshing eye opener in some aspects for me.

The course was held in Bangsar Utama, near the Bangsar LRT station, and Dataran Maybank. One distinctive feature that you would notice almost immediately once you arrive at the place is of the many pictures of artists and celebrities that have attended the course in the center in the past. But I have to say that the place where the lectures are held look rather shoddy however. It made me think how could such a place attract such celebrities? Ruhil Amani, Fauziah Latiff, Tun Mahathir’s son (Mokhzani), Tan Sri Halim Saad, and Norman Hakim and Abby Abadi were clients here, just to name a few. The place basically has a list of who’s who in their list of past clients. And I was about to join this distinguished list… (cewah).

The lectures were ok, the syllabus a mixture of religious studies, some tips on marriage psychology, and some tips that would definitely come in useful after marriage. They also gave us directions on what forms need to be filled up and where we could get them from. One of the things I’ve learned while attending the course is that marriage requires so much paper work. Phew… and different states in Malaysia would require you to fill up different forms and to follow different procedures. So they had to separate our forms according to the states you’re from, and the states where you’d be getting married in. Another interesting feature about the course is that they have cameras fitted in the lecture rooms to monitor the participants, to make sure that none of us disappear after registration. Whoa… big brother’s watching you!

Being there with all the other participants made me feel how collective we were. You could sense the commitment in everyone. From the way they look, these people knew why they were there. When I checked the participants’ registry, I saw that the age of the male participants range from 21 to 36. And there were people from all background. There was this guy (who looked like he could not be any older than 23) who told me the woman he’s going to marry is a divorcee with a child. And apparently the woman’s ex-husband is thinking about taking her back, and thus is not about to give her up so easily. And from rumors that I heard, there was also a female participant who was already pregnant. The procedure that she would have to go through would therefore be different from the rest of us. There were people from all sorts of background and circumstances, but we were all there for the same purpose.

At the end of the 2 day course, I learnt more than what I bargained for. Though the certificate is what matters most, I’ve also learnt that I am very much luckier than most people are. And that I’m very thankful for. Alhamdulillah.

To those out day who are getting married soon, I would recommend this place to you. You can even register online here.

Of Games and Life on Mars

Another late night for me. Didn't get to do much today. I woke up almost noon time, took my bath and after my Zuhur prayers, spent almost the whole day in front of the computer playing games. There are moments when I could spend hours and hours in front of the computer playing games. I know it's not really the most productive thing to do, but it is the easiest thing to direct my currently mindless mind to do. There's a saying that mindless minds engage in games, while an active one engages in ideas. I need ideas... ideas... that should be another resolution of mine for the new year. To engage myself in ideas.

Received an e-mail from one of my mailing groups today on pictures taken on Mars recently by what's-its-name probe sent by NASA to the red planet recently. Looking at the pictures alone, you could have easily mistaken it for pictures taken on one of the deserts on earth (I wish I knew how to paste pictures on my blog!). The interesting question that always pops up when Mars is in discussion is always the inevitable: "Are we alone?". Makes me wonder as well. Maybe Mars really is inhabited by living beings, which chooses to hide when they see our space probes coming into their air space. Or maybe Mars is inhabited by spirits (!), which if you think of it is rather plausible. Perhaps the 'aliens' in space that we always talk about are not exactly physically like us, rather more in a form that can't be seen with the naked eye. Hmmm... in that case, maybe they should send the bomohs there to check out if spirits do roam the place!

Checking out. Time to hit the sack...

A Blues Filled Night

It is the night before Chinese New Year. Though I felt like sleeping the whole day while in the office today, strangely I don't quite feel tired when it comes to the night. Watched Desperado on Astro, and The Fast and The Furious after that. Been at the computer ever since playing Championship Manager as usual. My team in the game, Arsenal, is doing too well that it defies belief. Scoring at a rate of 5 goals a game, it is moving inevitably towards the brink of bankruptcy as a result of the galacticos of star players that I bought for the team in the game. Imagine Ronaldo, Zidane, and Tudor playing for Arsenal. And yeah, imagine Henry and Ronaldo pairing up front. Would send shivers down anyone's spine. Those avid players of the game out there should know what I'm talking about.

At this moment, am writing with Hasnol's song, Laguku Untukmu playing in the background. It gives me the blues listening to the song, at this time of night. It brings a sense of nostalgia of my past; the moments when I was in secondary school (when the song first came out); moments when I went through my crash and burns, singing my blues with the song. It's been a while since I entertained such thoughts, or like the saying in malay, layan blues. Hehe..

We're almost coming to the end of the first month of the new year. I've not actually written down my resolution for the new year. In fact, some of my resolutions for year 2003 are still outstanding. Generally, I would really love to see the following to happen in year 2004.

1. To get rid of my pot belly. This has been a brought forward resolution for years and years. The belly has been there for too long, that it is in danger of obtaining a permanent resident there. Year 2004 shall see its banishment! I am as hopeful as ever...
2. To find an alternative source of income to my 9 to 5 job. Having been in the office desk job for over 3 years now, I don't see achieving my long term goal of financial independence becoming a reality, unless I start looking for other alternatives. A few alternatives have come to mind. A small business? Multi-level marketing? Hmmm...
3. To be more organised. This one's a permanent feature in my yearly resolution. It keeps get pushed down the priority ladder as the year progresses.
4. More regular updates to my blog. This one should be challenging. Have to thank Riz for his regular visits here. You're the man!

I guess that's about all I can think of at the moment. Should anything good come to my mind in the course of the year, I might just add it up to the list above.

*Yawn*... I guess I had better hit the sack.