Pening!

Khamis

Celik jer mata pagi semalam, dunia nampak seperti hitam putih. Bilik tidur berpusing seperti pakaian di dalam tumble dryer. Aku perlu ke bilik air, tetapi takut untuk bangun. Takut rebah. Aku baring buat seketika lagi sambil cuba fokus mata ku ke satu sudut bilik. Astghfirullah...dunia berpusing2 selama lebih kurang 6 minit. Seram juga aku. Tetapi aku hanya menceritakan kepada isteri setelah keadaan pulih dan aku sudah selamat keluar dari bilik air.

Semalam aku berehat saja di rumah. Setelah selesai Zuhur, aku tidur. Lama. Apabila bangun jam sudah 5petang. Apabila terbangun, aku membuka mata perlahan-lahan. Takut dunia berpusing lagi. Tidak. Keadaan seperti normal. 

Malam tadi aku tidur awal. Walaupun sudah tidur hampir empat jam di waktu siang, mata aku mengantuk. Jam 9.30 malam aku sudah menguap. Sungguh tidak sexy! 

Jam sepuluh aku sudah di bawah selimut.

Jumaat

Pagi ini...

Kepala ku terasa masih pening. Mulut ku kering. Mata berpinar. Dunia berpusing. Namun hanya untuk jangka masa singkat. Lebih kurang 2 minit sahaja.

Petang nanti aku bercadang ke Hospital untuk membuat pemeriksaan.

Punca

Aku seperti tahu punca nya aku begini.

Hari Selasa kami menerima lawatan the World Boyscouts Council di ladang. Untuk makan tengah hari, kami jamu hidangan kambing. Aku memang suka kambing ni kan!

Ermmm...aku makan banyak la jugak.

Nasib baik lah pening aku ni pening berpunca dari kesihatan. Bukan pening masaalah kerja atau masaalah melibatkan manusia. Pening kesihatan ni, kita jaga makan dan telan ubat, Inshaalah baik.

Pening masaalah kerja atau masaalah manusia, boleh menyebabkan stress....yang menyeksa batin! Ermmm, mudah2an aku tidak pening2 dengan masaalah kerja atau manusia lagi...dah tak kuasa nak pening kerana hal2 begitu~!
Seperti kata kawan2, "Dah tua!"

Reflective mood, after watching the Rugby World Cup!

The Argentina Scotland game was a cliff hanger right to the end!

I have been watching the rugby world cup matches, almost daily since the tournament started. I have my favorite team, but the best matches for me were those for which the results remained uncertain. For example the match between Scotland versus Argentina was a cliff hanger right to the last moment, and was a thriller! 

When the outcome was predictable such as the game between Wales and Namibia, most spectators even a die hard Wales fan lost interest. The game became boring and uninteresting. It just didn't rock our hormones enough!

Many of us are like that. At work, we need challenges to remain motivated. We need cliff-hangers in our lives to remain interested in living. I am such a person to the extreme!

I am an addict to risks and uncertainties. Stability and routine bore me. When drama stops, I create my own. When a property deal is closed and all documents signed, I look for new deals. When an assignment has been started, I don't wait until its completion. Instead I start looking for new things to do.

My wife once pointed out that I often open new packs of shampoo or shower gel before I finish the ones in use, simply because I got bored of the same fragrance. 

I have never stayed in a particular job for more than four years! Even if I stayed in the same company, I changed jobs. Fortunately for me, the changes have been upwards!

Unfortunately, sometimes my drama involve others, and they got dragged into turbulences they least expected. Some hated me for the rough rides. A few became a little wiser from the experience. Sometimes, I do get a thank you note for the thrill! 

Through it all, one person has got used to my addiction and has dug deep into her resolve and extracted every ounce of patience from her marrow to understand, tolerate and continue to live her life along side mine. While I am energized by the roller coaster rides of my life, she often has to nurse not only my bruises but hers as well! 

That one person has been my wife for the last 28 years! She has been through the roughs and tumbles. She has pulled me back to the ground whenever I floated too high and has picked me up whenever I was down on my knees.  

We choose the life which suits us.  Living a life close to the edge happens to rock my world! I do fall, but falling has been the reasons for me to bounce back even higher! 

“I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can't see from the center.”

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. “When one jumps over the edge, one is bound to land somewhere.” ~ D.H. Lawrence Praise be to God, so far I have landed on good places!

I am giving FB a rest...

A few people have sent me text messages asking why I have deleted them from my FB list. The answer is, I have closed both my FB accounts. 

I have done this in the past too. This is a temporary thing. I guess, I just need to feel that I am in control and not being controlled by FB addiction. Also lately, FB has changed some of their features and I no longer feel 'safe'. I don't fully understand some of the changes made by FB but I feel that my privacy is being compromised. 

Maybe I will be back on FB.

It may even be very soon.

For now, I am okey without it. 

So I have changed, said my old friends!

I have met a few friends from the past who had expressed their surprise at how I have changed. An  old friend from STAR told me that he remembered me as a quiet boy from Kelantan, a bit 'comot' and a bit 'beringus!'

That was his perception and that was the picture he carried with him, until he stumbled into my blog and until we met.

Of course, I am delighted that he now knows me as the person I have turned to be. Having said that  I hope he still sees me as a 'kampung boy' who is a little bit 'comot' and a little bit 'naive'. Despite the changes he said he has seen in me, I remain the same person I have always been. The difference is he now sees me at a different place in my life.

Life is not so much about our starting point, but more about decisions we take and actions we do during our journey which will determine our finishing line. 

A few days ago, I was re-connected with a few old friends from Grantham, the place we did our A Level.

One of them wrote,

"Ipin ... alhamdulillah kau banyak berubah, I'm residing in Ipoh .. Aku macam dulu juga .. girlfriend disana sini .. eh eh eh!!!"

Another one wrote, "....very unsangkarable....mellowed over the years"

Again, I am glad they get to see me as who I am. Changes, in my view, are to be expected. Unlike the friend who was 'unsangkarable' about the changes in me, I would have have been 'unsangkarable' instead if I do not see changes in our priorities or even character.

I remember...when our batch of A level students were leaving Grantham, we had a farewell dinner at a Chinese restaurant for all of us. For some reasons unknown to me, the organizer of the dinner only invited the 'boys' and left out the seven 'girls'. At the end of the dinner, the organizer suggested that everyone was to write on a piece of paper the name of a person amongst us, who each of us think will be the most successful in life. Having done badly in A Level, I knew that I won't get any vote of confidence from my friends. So as to avoid embarrassment to myself, I wrote my own name. When the little pieces of paper were collected and names revealed, as expected, I got one vote! Everyone had to make a short parting speech, and in my speech I said, "To the person who voted for me - I promise not to let you down!"

I guess, over the years, I have made a subconscious resolution to be more successful in life, better than what my friends thought I would be.

Time and experience are two best lessons of life. If we can be humble enough to admit our weaknesses and has the belief in ourself, we can indeed learn from what happen to us and around us and be a better person.

"Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future~!"

Mountain Island !



At the Jetty ~!



Father and Son!

The island looks like a small mountain, hence the name: Mountain Island! 

Fishermen...casting net~!

This weekend, we checked into Al Ahlam Resort in Al Lith, not far from the farm where I work.

It has been a while since I have had the intention to bring my family for a weekend stay at the resort. It looks nice, with its own huge pool and its private beach.

Alas, the reality shocked us. When we checked in, we discovered to our horror there was no refrigerator. We brought with us lots of canned and botted drinks. Afterall it was like 36degree and very humid outside. To all to the shocking experience, there was no towels! This is not a cheap resort

I am talking about. We paid SAR600 per night. What more, it was so different from what the pictures they uploaded to their website.

We asked for towels and were promised that four will be delivered within ten minutes.

Ten minutes later, no towels. One hour later, despite repeated calls and repeated promised, still no towels. After four hours of trying to contain my simmering temper, i could not hold back anymore.

We packed up and finally left at 8pm last night, and headed to my villa at the farm.

Instead of having fun at the pool, we had fun playing carrom at the farm. An even better experience - we taught Luqman a new game!

This morning, we stick to plan. Haziq and I took a boat and went to the Mountain Island.

It was 30mins by a twin engine speed boat from the Al Lith Marina.

The island offered clear blue water, fine white sand and un-spoilt nature. The sun was however burning straight through our clothes. It was too hot to do anything fun. After 30 minutes on the island, we boarded the boat and headed straight back.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from Aljawal

Oh lalala...I am happy today~!

It was one of those nights. When there was no musics and no candle light. But my heart fluttered with delight!

My sleep was deep and sound. Maybe I made some nasal sound, but hey...there was no one around!

I woke up for my Fajr prayer...the dawn was as serene as ever, oh what a joy to take this journey a little further!

My heart has found peace...my body, mind and soul co-exist, in harmony on one axis...!

It was one of those mornings...in my shower I was singing...oh lalalala....what a feeling!

I toasted some frozen bread...and fried a single egg...had my breakfast happy and hearty...down them all with a cup of tea!

Another day at the farm...vast desert and the Red Sea charm...abuzz with activities, yet life was calm!

Prawns dancing in the ponds...birds flying into the horizon...and I was thinking of my loved ones!

Thank you for reading...my sharing of joy in a rambling...life is wonderful...so much to thank Him for all the blessings!

Have a wonderful day!

Rabun Sotong

Berpura-pura tidak tahu

pantang mengaku tidak berilmu

resmi sotong di lautan biru

mengeluarkan dakwat menutup malu!

Fantasi menjadi seorang puteri

melihat cermin menilai diri

bergincu bibir, berbedak pipi
bergaya menyandang beg Gucci
berkasut Jimmy Choo bertumit tinggi

tersenyum memuji diri sendiri!

Cerdik biarlah berguru

'blur' tanyalah arah

cantik namun palsu

botox mewarnai wajah.

di dalam terang lagi bersuluh

di dalam senang asyik mengeluh
 tiang jati di ganti buluh
bertelur tak jadi sekampung riuh

 resmi rabun sotong

air yang biru bertukar keruh!

Rabun sotong

lagak sombong

impiannya besar, jiwanya kosong

tanpa sedar, terpekik terlolong.

Rabun sotong, senang berjangkit

apabila sotong elit bertemu elit

mata berkelip, kening terjungkit

bahu terangkat, jari melentik

suara halus bagai berbisik

"Really?"

"Is it?"

"Iye kah?"

"Oh gitu ka...?"

Rabun sotong

terbesar alu dari lesung!


 

(Mendapat ilham tajuk dari seorang kawan. 

Sajak tidak ada kena mengena dengan 

sesiapa - seratus peratus ilham penulis berkarya)

Islam for everyone...

Mr C, an Australian, fell in love with a Malaysian girl some twenty years ago. He was twenty seven.

He was dating Miss S a beautiful twenty four year old Kucing girl.

To impress and to win her heart, he started to learn first of all the Bahasa Melayu language. A lady teacher spent eight hours a day, and conversed and used only Bahasa Melayu. It was an intense one-on-one lesson. A sheer torture, according to him.

Motivated by a waiting blushing bride, he learned fast.

Then it was an even more intense lesson about Islam. He had to memorize a few Surahs and prayers. Daily he was subjected to 20 minutes of random questioning by the Ustaz and he had to be able to recite.

"I was very nervous!" He said.

It should have been made very much easier, I thought quietly.

To cut a long story short, after twenty years of marital bliss and after having lived in Malaysia, Australia and Indonesia, in April this year Mr C joined the same company I am working with in Jeddah.

He had expressed interest to go to Mecca from his early days in Saudi. However, without a valid travel document it was risky.

During the Eid holiday he went back to Australia to do his Residence Visa. Islam was clearly stated as his faith.

Today, I had the pleasure of accompanying Mr C for his first visit to Mecca.

"Entering the Mosque, I feel the serenity...peaceful!" He told me when we were resting in Mesjidil Haram after the Maghrib prayer.

"I am pleased to see the whole Mosque is used by the people and their families. Good to see the Mosque is not only used for praying" he added, pointing to groups of families having their bonding time and also to a Mutawaf teaching Islamic lessons to congregations of people in his audience.

For me, I am humbled!

Islam indeed is a way of life, for everyone.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from Aljawal

We are not perfect, so...

We are not perfect, so....
I was on Yahoo Messenger with three lady bloggers.

One was in KL, One in Arizona USA and one more from Dubai.

An idea to write an article from the same topic was thrown into the discussion.

We agreed on the topic, "He/She/We/It/life.......is not perfect, so......."

.

Below is mine.....!!!

Picture courtesy of http://rusdimas.blogspot.com/

We are not perfect, so.....
God created LiL and I with imperfections so that we were 'perfect' for each other!
Since the day we first met, we knew we were not perfect so....

As young adults, we have decided to make up for each other's imperfection. Lil has always been cool and calm, she is the sail and I am the roaring winds, unpredictable and excitable. She spends only what is really needed while I spend to feel needed! She eats to live, and I live to eat. She is a candle in my life....and I have been the gushing winds which sometimes puts the flames off but most time help spread the fire!

She knew from the first time I knocked on her rented flat in Portsmouth, with a red rose in my hand that I was not perfect. The rose was plucked from a neighbour's garden, and I came asking if she had any hot food to share! But let me in she did, and she even offered me a mug of tea and some freshly baked banana cake. She told me later, she took pity after looking how hungry I looked. After I littered my wrinkled shirt and her sofa with crumbs from her cake, she knew that I had more than just a few flaws. A few times while walking to the College's library and I tilted the umbrella we were sharing more towards my side, she reminded me, "You are an example of a man I will not marry."
She went to the library to study, while I was there to be in her company.
Such were our imperfections!

Until I approached her to be my friend, she didn't even give me second glance. I was insignificant in her orderly and peaceful life. She told me during one of our rows, that her life was perfect until I came along. Yeaaa riteee!! *rolls eyes* But she understood me well and has given me many a 'second chance'.

During college days, she preferred to stay in her room reading Mills and Boons, roasting chestnuts on the electrical heater, while my energy was overflowing to get up and go!

We are not perfect, so we try harder!
She cooks the meals I like, and I like the meals she cooks.
She laughs at my silly jokes, and I tell silly jokes to make her laugh.
She curses me everytime I fart in her company, and I purposely save my loudest farts until I am in her company. She has her fair shares of imperfection ....hehehe....but they are only meant me. For the world, she is indeed my perfect darling!

She knew long time ago, when we used to jog along the Southsea coastal lanes, that I actually found her imperfection as sweetly chaming.

We are not perfect, so....

We have never expected perfection from our loved ones and from our friends. All our children know they only have to try their best in studies, for we do not expect perfect marks. None of them are perfect sportsmen, but we are happy when they enjoy sports. They are not perfect students, but everyone are trying their best - that is what matters!. And they too realize they have imperfect parents - for their father would happily talk about the birds and the bees with them without flinching an eye-lid. Their mom allows them to eat chocolate in bed and to spend hours on the internet. Such imperfections run in our household, sometimes we are on the verge of chaos!

We are not perfect, so ....

we derive great pleasure from being able to laugh at ourselves!

And yes, we are happy for perfect people to live their perfect lives....so long they don't impose on us to be as perfect as they think they are.

(Re-published from 2008)

Long Distance Love....

"Absence makes the heart grows fonder....", I quoted an old adage.
"Absence makes my mind wonders....." Said my neighbour Uteh.
We both laughed. I spent long hours by the pool side accompanying her who was accompanying her only son swimming. That was during the time we lived in Singapore.
And she knew exactly why I laughed.....and at that too, she laughed out loud.

Uteh learned the hard way. When her husband changed job into a regional role, he was required to travel for days at a stretch and for weeks out of every month. On average, he was home only 8 nights in a month - the weekends. Not used to having her man away from home at nights, she was anxious for his safety and paralysed with jealousy. Her mind worked overtime in scripting all sort of images - could he be having dinner with another woman, was he dancing with a bar-girl, who could be with him in his bed? And during those time she turned into a monster - losing her patience with her son and was not able to focus on doing anything.

When her calls were not answered, she assumed the worse. And when he answered, she would snapped, "Who were you with last night?" A question which drove her husband up the walls.

Once, she took a flight secretly to Langkawi where her husband traveled for a Sale's conference.
She checked into a neighbouring hotel. One morning, she saw her husband coming out of the hotel, adorning a songkok and with a pensive looking face. He looked like someone in a hurry. She was already in a taxi - and instructed the driver to follow her husband's chauffeur driven jeep. She was certain, in her mind, that her husband was going to 'nikah'. She tried hard to remain calm, but her whole body was shaking.....her throat dry, and her voice was shrieking.
That day was the turning point for her and for her husband. What she saw - influenced their future from then on.

She ended her story with a hearty laughter. Uteh's trademark amongst our neighbours was her bellowing laughter - which had proven to be contagious.
"You know - he went to a funeral! - Aku ingat dia nak pergi menikah kau!!".
"So what happened" After I recovered from sakit perut ketawa, I asked her.
" I checked out from my hotel, and waited for him to come back at his hotel. I told him I missed him so much I had to come". She smiled at her own quick thinking.
"Wah....and that night what happened?" I could not resist that question.
" We celebrated new year la that night - I saw fireworks everywhere.....hahahahaha " And she broke into another one of her laughter, and then she added, "And he promised me to take along on his business trips in the future" An offer which she kept up her sleeve but seldom took. "Important to let him think I was going to follow - so that he does not make any dates! hahaha. But I seldom follow lah"
"So you don't trust him 100% then?" I teased.
"Not about trust lah, but you can say that I don't take him for granted!" She proved to smart yet again.

Living a long distance relationship is tough. It requires complete commitment and trust from both sides. It is important to keep in constant communication because any long period of incommunicado can cause the minds to wonder and gives space to whispers from the devils. In this era of internet, keeping in touch is easy and cheaper. Chat on-line, make voice calls using skype or the like, keep a blog going so that couples can keep track of lives on the other side of the world. This mom's blog is dedicated to her hubby - is an excellent example of what I am talking about. Pro-active couples turn long distance relationship into an opportunity for romance - sending hand written love letters, sending and receiving 'care parcels', little surprises such as asking a relative to deliver a home baked cake for her birthday and others - limited only by imagination.
Making dates can also work. Have a fixed time of the day for phone calls, as an example. This is especially effective if the long distance couples are over a different time zones.

"So....tell me how did you and LiL work it out when you travel...which is quite a lot also kan?" She asked me the same question. That was when LiL appeared with some freshly fried cokodok pisang....I repeated the question to LiL and asked her to answer.
"I don't have to do anything ......he has six children to call him at different time!" That afternoon, LiL had the last laugh. " Hahahahaha!"

*will be away from home until sunday night - so kira long distance la jugak for 3 malam nie - hehehe. Aku hilangkan diri untuk melepaskan rindu*

Follow the flow is for rivers not for relationship!

When a person tells another person he or she is courting, let us go with the flow, that spells bad news. Put it another way, she or he isn't that much into the relationship. One of the reasons for doing so is to be polite instead of saying, 'You are not my type'.

Ten out ten couples who go on a 'follow the flow' arrangement does not end up down stream at the estuary of love. Many in fact flowed upstream of taking advantage, manipulation, and deceit. These couples end in break ups and the break up normally also coincide with the timing when the person has found another love in his or her life.

When your boyfriend or girlfriend tells you, 'Let us go with the flow', do not wait. Take the initiative to call it quit!

There are perhaps, certain circumstances when 'Following the flow' is appropriate. One of them is when two total strangers meet. One person may feel more emotional or physical attraction that the other, in which case the other person may say, 'Hey, let us go with the flow' as a way of saying, "I am not ready to be where you are - slow down!"

A healthy relationship can only be achieved by two people trying together to shape the flow of their relationship based on the values and expectations of each person. There may be pains and pleasures along the way, but they do not follow the flow, instead they take the responsibilities to shape the relationship to suit their goals.

If marriage is their common goal, they will climb mountains and cross the oceans together. They will shape the flow of the relationship into one which will result in a marital bliss.

If it is a casual friendship, or if it is a frienship with benefits, then they shape it accordingly.

To say 'Let's follow the flow' is to be non-committal and to not take the responsibilities to make the relationship to work.

The next time some one tells you 'Let us follow the flow', you may reply, "Okey, let us go rafting!"

Just for laugh...~! (Jangan jiwang2)

Imagine if ...
The REAL news vs the twists...:-

Situasi sebenar : Seorang nenek pegi kedai beli ubi, tiba-tiba dilanggar beca lalu mati di tempat kejadian.

Buletin Utama - "Nenek meninggal dunia, pemandu beca dicari."

Harian Metro - "Hangat! Nenek mati dengan ubi di tangan."

Utusan Malaysia - "Nenek mati dilanggar beca. Satu propaganda pembangkang?"

Harakah - "Kami tiada beca."

Malaysiakini - "Beca langgar lari bukti Kerajaan makan rasuah."

Obefiend - "Nenek meleis mati. Aku suka vodka."

Twitter @NajibRazak - "Nenek sanggup mati kerana ubi, menunjukkan ubi
1Malaysia berkualiti dan digemari rakyat!"

Blog paranoid - "Keraguan sijil halal ubi mungkin punca nenek
mati dilanggar beca."

Group Melayu - "Sampai bila kita nak tengok nenek-nenek Melayu mati dilanggar beca akibat ubi orang Cina dan India? Melayu perlu bangun
menentang!"

Pancaindera - "Kisah nenek dilanggar beca diabadikan dalam filem terbaru David Teo, Beca Gangster."

Mastika - "Misteri penarik beca: temubual eksklusif dengan hantu ubi."

Kalau dulu Samy Vellu - "Beca tak bayar tol dicari."
-----------------------------

Career Opportunities in the Middle East...!

Malaysian leaders do visit and meet Malaysian Professionals overseas,
including those in the Middle East!

Pre-amble:

1. According to a World Bank report, Malaysians residing and working overseas touched 1,000,000 in 2009.

2. The Middle East is a gold-mine which is attracting Malaysians expats, especially the Muslims!

3. There are more than 10,000 Malaysians in UAE, Qatar, and Saudi combined!

4. In the Middle East, 80 percent of jobs are filled by Expats!

5. Malaysians are respected and held in high regards! This spells opportunities.

6. There are 5000 Malaysians in UAE, 4000 in Qatar, and 3000 in Saudi!

 7. In 2009 & 2010 saw movement of employees from Dubai … to  Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Saudi!

8. Qatar: World cup 2022 driving growth! 14.0% in 2010 and 15.8% in 2011

9. Petroleum remains the key engine of  the regional economy!

10. Health care, Retail, Islamic Banking, Construction, Aquaculture are growth industries.


Global opportunities: Companies in different part of the world are sourcing talents from where they are best available.  The world is turning into one global employment market!

In the Middle East, for example, it is very common for companies to have more than 20 different Nationalities on their payroll!

Some of the factors driving Malaysians to go for job opportunities in the Middle East:

•Lack of opportunities locally.

•Higher net disposable income

•Better Education for Children

•Socio Economic situation (Sense of unsafe living in Malaysia, Faster increase in  Cost of Living compared to increase in income level)  

•To experience new culture and places

•Opportunities for Self Development

•Better living standards

I have created a formula which link

The right Job * The right pay * Family objectives = Satisfaction and happiness.

It is important to find the right job which offers challenges, opportunity of achievement and growth, conducive working climate, and managed by professionals at the most senior level. From my experience, family owned companies which are managed by family members often frustrate high achieving employees due to internal feud or extreme comprises between family members.

It is important to do research in advance of the right salary range for the level of expertise and experience which you possess for your particular field of profession. Do not under-sell yourself! Contrary to popular beliefs, employers actually respect potential candidates who knows and negotiate for his compensation package!

Knowing your family objectives is crucial! For example, if the objective is primarily to get good education for your children, then negotiate for the inclusion of school fees for top notch International schools and only look for jobs in cities which have such schools. On the other hand, if your priority is to get spiritual enhancement, and you are a Muslim, then by all means look for a job in Mecca, Medina, or Jeddah! If however, you prefer social freedom and entertainment options then Dubai maybe a better option for you and your family.

 

Watch this space. In the next article, I will outline some options of the routes you can take to get your first lucky break - to find your dream job in the Middle East!

Haji Ahmad Kamil, A Malaysian holding a senior
position in the Jeddah Municipality!

Picture: Malaysians in Dubai having a family outing!

Adlil and Iza - Photos~!

Saat mendebarkan Pengantin lelaki...

I saw these lovely photos of Adlil and his bride Iza on their FB! Wow, I thought. Pictures do tell good stories, and I see a wonderful love story in the making!

Here I am sharing with you - with consent from the bridegroom, of course.

Best wishes to them both!

"Bliss...is the heart which beats to the rhythm of love songs!"

"Tidak perlukan kata-kata, lirikan mata menyuarakan segala~!"



Getting together is a beginning...



Sometimes...love is about being able to pause and reflect, together!



Sharing...is caring!



Being together is a journey....

Bismillaah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem
Al hamdu lillaahi rabbil 'alameen
Ar-Rahman ar-Raheem Maaliki yaumid Deen
Iyyaaka na'abudu wa iyyaaka nasta'een
Ihdinas siraatal mustaqeem
Siraatal ladheena an 'amta' alaihim
Ghairil maghduubi' alaihim waladaaleen
Aameen
In the name of God, the infinitely Compassionate and Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of all the worlds.
The Compassionate, the Merciful. Ruler on the Day of Reckoning.
You alone do we worship, and You alone do we ask for help.
Guide us on the straight path,
the path of those who have received your grace;
not the path of those who have brought down wrath,

nor of those who wander astray.
Amen.

Restu Keluarga demi menjamin kebahagiaan~!
The bride's family above, and my family below - welcoming Iza to the fold.

Cinta MH 150!

At 3.10pm today I boarded flight MH150 to Jeddah with a mixed feeling. Leaving behind four of our children and others whom we love was hard. At the same time, there was peace in my heart about returning to Jeddah. 

Work and deadlines awaited me. Not only that, a 35+ degree heat and sandstrom as well. But it was not what awaited me which made me felt good. It was, ironically, what I were also leaving behind.

The past few weeks in Malaysia have been helter skelter, hectic, and spiced up with some kind of unexpected emotional roller coaster ride. There were a few high points; the highest of all being the wedding of our eldest son. The joyful feeling was undescribable! Then the knowledge that I have made a few people happy and brought smiles to a few more through some good deeds made me felt good too. On the business end, I completed a few important errands related to my investment.

I settled down in my seat and I could feel my muscle relaxed, my frown faded and changed into a soft smile. I glanced to my left, seated next to me on seat 2F was a familiar face whom I have not looked at in a way that I should for the past 3 weeks.

While in Malaysia, I have allowed other priorities taken over and dictated my life. She had given me space, which I very much appreciated, and sometimes abused. Luckily, she too had been busy doing her own things and catching up with relatives and friends.

Spontaneously I reached out for her hands. The same pair of hands which have soothed so much of my past pain, bandaged wounds in my heart, and have wiped away my tears.

On her arm I noticed fresh scar.
"Hot oil!" She said. when I asked what had happened.

I have failed to notice.

This 9 hours flight...is an opportunity to exchange our stories and for me to win back her heart.

I love you darling! Welcome back to our very own abode.

The plane is pulling back from its port and I have to switched off my Blackberry. I am glad I had this few minutes for me to share what was racing through my mind.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from Aljawal

10 things you need to know about STAR old boys when we meet~!

1. We compare; who has the biggest   ......? (fill in the bank)

2. We also compare who has the least   .....? (fill in the blank)

3. We joke about how many ..... each of us has? (fill in the blank)

4. In the presence of our wives, we talk about politics, and occassionally the more emphatic amongst us talk about our children. When left just by ourselves, we talk about    .....! (fill in the blank)

5.  We repeat the same  jokes for the 499th times, and for earlier batches, it could be for the 999th times! But, we still act like we hear them for the first time!

6. We don't follow any decorums of calling each other by their given titles. A Cik Din in school, is still a Cik Din years after school, even when he is a Dato'!

7. We forgive all misgivings / bad deeds committed during school days by our seniors. However, we don't forget, as we take every opportunity to 'balas dendam' with jokes and leg pulling which we never dared when we were their juniors in school~!

8. We do not claim our old school days 'hutang' from our friends ~! All are 'halal'. Those who have tried to claim found out the hard way, they become targets for fresh old age borrowings from their pals~!

9. We find pleasure in sharing fond memories of our teachers, including the all time favourite Pak Lau, Mr Kok Kee Chai, Cikgu Yang, Ustaz Mohamad, Mr Tan Teong Leong, Miss Pearly,  our Principles - Encik Khalid & Pak Ya especially!

10. We talk about 'Jambu', 'Jebong', 'DC', 'Tuang', 'Borer', 'Bodger', 'Kutu', 'Rochet', and other terms of endearments known only to us and maybe our cousins in similar boarding schools.

Tonight I joined a small group of STAR old boys at the residence of H Jalil for one of those occassions! I had a good time, and I think so were the others.

By the way, for question #1, Mat Semang won tonight, with me coming a very close second!
Item #2 has a few possiblities as the correct answer. However what I had in mind was 'Penyakit!'
I think I know what your answer was for item #3. Be happy~!
The most correct answer for item #4 is 'Our aspirations!'

Our host and his family were very hospitable and gracious! To them we say Thank You.