I’ve been lazy

I’ve sort of dropped my blogging activities and left my camera ran out of battery for months.

My procrastination level has gone up. Almost everything were done at a last minute or only when the urgency is calling.

At times I let my mobile phone dead over the weekend, uncharged. Messages were piling up and I missed reading most of them.

My Facebook friends sometimes wondered for my whereabouts, as I was previous always there to reply to their comments.

I’m not sure what caused this disease. Could it be related to the medication that I am on as a treatment for my Hyperthyroid problem ? hmmm… could it be the Valium, prescribed by my Doctor?

The only words I been having in my mind every morning as I got up is ‘I Need a rest’. I then dragged myself to the office.

Perhaps its time to have a long haul holiday for me.

ANYWAY….. Im still alive and kickin’. Thank God.

Life without maid again

 

My maid went back to her hometown to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with her family. I couldn't say no to that. She said she will be coming back, but I  wouldn't want to put so much hope on that.

There goes my daily luxury routine. I welcome the privacy though.

Getting up in the morning is no longer jumping out directly heading the bathroom. My quilt has to be folded. The bed sheet has to be straighten. Before leaving to work, those stray cats have to be fed. The dustbin has to be emptied. Laundry has to be taken care of. Dishes have to be washed. Life goes on.

I’ve thrown many items from the house and yet, my small house seems to have more furniture that it should. How glad I am for not having a bigger house. I’ve wiped every corner of the house, and yet more dust developing.

I rearranged the kitchen utensils and found some missing items and also found some items missing. The best thing is, Now I know where everything are.

Now I realized that house chores never finished. As much as I miss having a helper in the house, I feel satisfied seeing my house cleaned by my own effort.

As for my hubby and my kids, for sure they miss having a helper in the house. They must be thinking that I am the most fierce helper they have ever  had.

“CLEAN UP YOUR OWN ROOM..!!!”

“WASH YOUR OWN DISHES..!!!”

“WHO DIDNT SWITCH OFF THE TV..???!!”

Selamat Hari Raya you all..!

A Friend’s Ramadhan farewell

 

I lost a friend 8 days ago.

Rosley Idris,  was known to others as a Malay Drama artist, but to me, he was a dear friend. We were in the same class during high school, Sabah College.

As students and friends, we argued, we laughed, we joked. I could not believe it was 31 years ago.

Through Facebook, we got hold of each other again about 3 years ago. We met  a few times. We had a good laughs, recalling our good old days and comparing how old we have turned.

 

This was taken in 2011. Rosley (white cap) was looking good for his age then. One easily could recognize him through his sweet smile.

  We, the ex-students of Sabah College are blessed with so many caring friends. We will meet up as much as we could afford the time.

This were taken on the 24 December 2012. Look how healthy he was.

Who could expect that he would be gone within not even a year.

On the 27th June 2013, I gave him a call. I was hoping for him to join me to welcome Norman, another friend of ours, who happened to be in town. Rosley could not make it then. He told me that he was just discharged from the hospital. There was a growth in his stomach.

“Dont worry, with God’s willing, its just a normal growth” I tried to console him.

2 weeks later he called me to inform the unpleasant news, that the growth was diagnosed as cancerous and was at stage-4. He was then admitted into another hospital.

 

My hubby and I visited him at the hospital on the 13th Jul 2013. He was still very much awake then, but with limited energy. I heard no laughter from him, unlike his usual self. I miss his laugh.It was a loud ‘HA.HA.HA.HA.HA….’ of his. I tried to crack a joke, but my dear friend could no longer laugh that day..not even a giggle. 

 

His loving mom, his caring wife, his beloved sister( Linda) and his growing up son were among those who I met. He introduced me to all of them. My hubby and I felt so welcomed to this family.

 

2 days later,on the 15th Jul 2013 I visited him at his sister’s house. Linda’s house is about 30 minutes drive from where I live. Upon reaching the house, the first thing I noticed was, his worsen condition  He was lying there in pain. His facial expression tells his agony. He was totally depending on Morphine.

His wife was next to him most of the time, while his 4 years old son, was too young to understand what was going on. He too, was fighting for attention from his mom.

We talked for a while. I did the talking most of the time. We recalled our school time when we were so active performing on the stage. We sang P.Ramlee song. That night he sang the lyrics “Bila larut malam…” His voice was so soft and helpless. I laughed and said to him “You better dont sing, save your energy”.  He smiled to my joke. That was the last smile from him.

Rosley was supposedly undergone a chemotherapy session on the following day, somehow was postponed due to his weak condition.

On the next day, I told Linda that I wanted to talk to him.

“He has no energy to talk, sis” Linda stated via sms. Her message saddened me.

“ Please whisper my regards to him” I replied her short message.

19th June 2013 (4 days later) Linda sent me short message saying that Rosley was bleeding and she had the ambulance called for him to be brought back to the hospital. She also stated that Rosley had a message for us, all his friends, that she will post it in our Face book group. Poor Linda, she could not hold her tears as she typed the last message of her beloved brother.

A few hour later the last message from our dear friend, Rosley appeared on our FB group….

“…"Salam untuk Sahabatku semua.. Segala simpati, segala ikhtiar, segala usaha dan segala doa dari kamu semua akan kupahatkan sebagai azimat di setiap naluriku.. Segala kata-kata kamu semua melahirkan sesuatu kekuatan yang istimewa dalam diriku sebagaimana ikatan persahabatan kita semua yang lebih kurang 31-tahun lamanya.. Aku juga selalu berdoa semoga Allah s.w.t. sentiasa memberkati dan mengurniakan kepada kita semua usia yang panjang, Iman yang teguh, kemurahan rezeki, keampunan segala dosa dan kesihatan kepada kita semua.. Lihatlah dan renunglah jauh ke dalam diriku sebagai Iktibar demi kecemerlangan hidup yang berterusan sehingga denyutan nadi terakhir demi diri kita dan keturunan kita seterusnya.. InsyaAllah jumpa lagi.. Assalamualaikum w.b.."

21st Jul 2013 (2 days later), again I was feeling uneasy, that I determined to come and visit him at the hospital. Her wife was so attentive to his needs. 

“Do you know who I am?” I whispered to him.He was half conscious then. He forced opened his eyes. I noticed his yellowish eyeballs. He looked up to me and murmured my name. I smiled at him, but he could no longer have the energy to even lift a smile on his face.

“You’ll be ok..you must be strong…always think of Allah…you are getting better now…etc..etc…” I kept on saying promising words to him. I just wanted him to feel good before I say goodbye. Half an hour later, I left with a heavy heart. Saying goodbye to him in that condition was the hardest part. I cried as I turned my face away towards the door.

Then……On the 24 jul 2013 (3 days later), when the ‘Muazzin’ called for ‘Maghrib’ prayer………. when others were enjoying their Ramadhan buffet……………. when I was saying ‘ameen’ to the prayer recited by my son during our fast-breaking…..my dear friend Rosley Idris  accepted the call from The Almighty Creator.

When my phone rang, and as I saw the word ‘Rosley’s sister’ displayed on my phone’s  screen, I knew something was wrong. Before answering, I’ve set my mind for the worst. True enough..

“sis, my brother has left us” Linda was crying uncontrollably. I was speechless. I was still stunned when our conversation over.

After breaking fast, my hubby and I rushed to the house. His body arrived around 10pm. I tempted to snap a photo for our close friends to see, but I didnt. I let my last sight of him captured in my memory. I recited ‘Yasin’  while sitting close to his breathless body. That was all I could contribute that night. His expression looked so peaceful.

… we belong to Allah and to Him shall we return…

  Together with friends, I visited his family on the 3rd day of Rosley’s passing. He was so blessed to have a very close family ties.

That was quick. Rest in peace, my dear friend. We will always remember you and your fun character.

My less lucky trip to Sabah

 

“Your room booking was done. The hotel will hold the reservation for you until 5pm”. My assistant’s short message received.

Monday, 8 July 2013. Everything seemed OK, that morning. I drove to KL Sentral and parked my car safely. Upon getting my KLIA Express train fare (RM70 return ticket), I tapped my train ticket to the gate. Nope..it didn't open. The security checked on the pedestals and asked me to tap the ticket again. Ok, it worked. I rushed to the escalator going down to where the train was. Just on time for the train to move.

During the journey I recalled my friend talked about the Law Of Attraction. Me too, read it from the book titled ‘The Secret’. So I tried to forget about what had just happened at the entrance. “Hopefully everything else will go smooth throughout this trip” I whispered to myself. But deep inside, I kept on recalling those stories told by my hubby, who had vast experience handling tour. “Once something bad started to happen, the others will follow”.(Oh-No..)

 

 

28 minutes later voice heard from the speaker “ The next station is Kuala Lumpur International Airport”. I got all my stuff ready to disembark. As I touched the ticket on the pedestal gate to exit the platform , the gate wouldn't open. I tapped it again and again, it wouldn't open.

ok..ok..take it easy…..relax…breath-in….breath out….smile...

With smile, I approached the staff on duty. He assisted me to the counter. Later he came back “You’ve used up the access, madam” He said. “WHATT..??” I was shocked. He asked for a proof. I searched high and low for the receipt. No where to be found..!! great..!

Anyway… I took the ticket from him and told him that I had to catch a flight and I asked him to sort things out and I dont want to get stuck again on my coming back from Sabah.

 

At the Checkin counter, I checked in without problem, and walked in to the Golden Lounge, not to miss the comfort of having my cappuccino and light breakfast on a cozy place, while there were staff to ensure nobody miss his/her flight, although it happened to me once. I relaxed and wished for God to grant me a safe and problem-free trip. I could not afford to be late to the meeting with my clients that afternoon.

In the flight, I kept myself busy reading. 2:30hrs later, the flight landed safely at Kota Kinabalu International Airport. I went straight to where the car rental agent waited for me, to pick up the car. RM178 per day for automatic Sedan was reasonable. I drove off happily to the hotel, which located about  45minutes drive from the airport.

“No reservation under your name , Ma’am”

huwaaaaaa…. what a welcoming remark I received from the counter staff at my regular hotel Grand Borneo. “here comes the trouble again” I thought.

“FINE! now just get me any available room please”.

Suzy the kind lady found me a room at an exclusive floor.   Hmmm… nice walkways..but…the room is too small and a little out of my comfort zone.

I requested for a change to a bigger room. With extra charge of RM25 for room change request, I moved to another room. That's better….

Nice view too.

That afternoon, I reached my client’s place just in time for the meeting. The discussion went well, alright.

 

 

On the very next morning, nicely I walked into the coffee house.

‘Room 1208. Breakfast not included’. The lady told me.

I just looked at her, speechless and embarrassed. I clearly remembered the receptionist’s statement ‘Breakfast is included’. I nodded my head, disbelieving. Again I prayed to God to keep me away from more troubles during this trip. I looked at the lady and smiled, not knowing what to say. “This is embarrassing” my words came out. She apologize to me for the misunderstanding and insisted for me to proceed to have my breakfast while she tried to sort their records. I reluctantly waked in, but had my juice and coffee anyway.

I walked back to my hotel room, wondering if my access card would work or would fail on me. WHEW..! It worked.

I logged in to the internet and wrote an email to the Hotel. In my email, I told the management of Grand Borneo to keep their recording and their workflows, organized. I was not complaining, I just wanted them to improve their service. The hotel has the best location to stay for those who have dealings with the university. The staff are helpful and friendly too. What a shame should this disorganized situation continues.

 

 

It was time to leave to the airport. I drove out a little earlier than my planned time. While driving out of the hotel area, I recalled something that I read from one of my books collection. “take a new way every time..you will learn new things”. So I decided to use another route to the airport. It was a nice drive passing through the new LINTAS highway…but.. little that I knew, the traffic was quite bad at certain points.

I kept on looking at the time.

 

 

As I reached the airport, the counter was close..!!! OH NO..!!!!

“I’m afraid there is no more seat, ma’am” The airline counter staff said.

“But let me check” He added.

He picked up the phone. I watched him with my heart pumping hard. “Oh God..pleassseeee….” Thats all I could think of.

He put down the phone and stood up. “Hold on ,ma’am”. He walked out of his counter to the end of the row. I watched and trying to figure out the situation base on his body language while talking to his colleague.

“eerr…. I ‘MIGHT’ miss my flight” That was my first word to my hubby, as I got him on the phone.

“What happened??” He asked.

“I’ll tell you later” I quickly put off the conversation the moment I saw the guy walked towards me with a boarding pass in his hand.

“I got in? ooohhh… thank you..thank you…” I took the boarding pass and rushed to the departure gate.

 

 

I thought the game was over… but no…. not yet. Those 3 people in front of me took so long to pass the security gate. I could tell that, they were travelling by plane for the first time. They kept on triggering the alarm. More and more stuff were taken out of their pockets. Coins, mobile phone, bunch of keys. One after another. I could only look with agony. Relax…relax… fuh..fuh..fuh……. at last I passed through.

The waiting lounge were empty. Everyone were in the plane, except me. I walked in to the aircraft pretending to be relaxed. I felt sorry for causing a slight delay to the departure.

 

 

In the plane, when the stewardess served coffee, I spilt coffee on  my pants. While eating, I dropped curry on my shirt. I was wondering if the unluckiness would ever stop.

As I landed at KLIA, I’ve expected for the gate at the train platform not to open. It wasn't shocking anymore.

On the way to KL Sentral I prayed “Oh God , please don't let anything bad happen to my car”. I walked out of the train wondering.

 

 

While walking toward the elevator, one stall caught my sight.

Wow..!BOOKS.!!!

Book is something that I could not resist myself from buying.

  Guess what…..

I met this Indonesian writer.I didn't know who he was until the cashier asked if I wanted to have his autography on the book I was buying.

Later I reckoned, that I actually  bought one of his master piece not too long ago.

  ‘Yakjuj & Makjuj’ ( Gog & Magog). This book is discussing about what and who Gog & Magog might be. Its interesting how this author manage to bring his reader back to the generation when its unreachable by a memory of a layman like me. In fact, up to the time I’m writing this journal, I still could not finish reading and understanding this book. I kept on repeating the line, as there are so much of jargon words, that it took me sometime to do my own research in order to understand one paragraph. I could not imagine how much time he spent digging deep into the history of the old eras.

 

On that day, I bought another one ‘Luqmanul Hakim adalah Socrates Berkulit Hitam’. This time I had the author’s signature on it. I was excited and couldn't wait to show it to my hubby.

 

As usual, I started reading the book even when I have not completed a few others. Like the above book, this is also a historical document, debating and proving who is Luqmanul Hakim, the great individual described in the Quran, Surah Luqman, ayah 1-34.

YEAY..!!   I have the author’s autograph on my book..!!

Muhammad Alexander is his Pen name. Wisnu Sasongko is his real name. He told me that he is from Malang , Indonesia. ‘Malang’ in Malay language means unlucky or unfortunate. Throughout this journey of mine, at last, I felt lucky and fortunate to have met in person, this young author of Malang.  Good to to have met you , sir.

I reached my car happy and double happiness added when I saw my car safely parked untouched. I drove home with smile and with hope for all negativities to get out of my way.

Missing mother cat and dead kitten in memory

Cengeng (mom) and baby are no longer around, leaving juling behind, alone but remain joyful.

Juling’s  is blue left eye ball and yellow right eye ball.

Her only-daughter’s wedding

 

I filled in the leave form much earlier. I rearranged my work schedule. I’ve just got to be there on that day.

“Make sure you are here on Friday 14th June..!!”

Hoh.hoh..ho… That warning of hers lingered in my mind since then. That was her last word before we depart, about a couple of months ago.

True enuff….on Friday the 14th, as early as 7:30am, my hubby and I , together with the VVIP (my parents inlaw, who stand on the top level in the family hierarchy) left for the bride’s house. We just didn't want to miss the occasion.

Talking about ‘her’………. within 2 years, Facebook plus our meetings on a few occasions, have grown our relationship closer. I addressed her as elder sister, although we are not biologically related. Her openness and fun-to-be-with character somehow matches the chemistries between us.

Kak Ani, with her meaningful punchlines tickled my hubby too. At times, she could be a great joker, if you could read in between those impromptu lines of hers.

We get along well, at least up to the time this journal is written. May our relationship prolong forever.

That Friday was not just any Fridays. Its was a special Friday for the family, when her only daughter was announced as married woman, witnessed by close relatives and close friends.

  That day, I could not get hold of the Bride’s Mom and Dad together though, as they were too busy to stay put.

So.. I went ahead with my own business capturing photographs and  hush..hush..( sneaked in to the kitchen and enjoyed the best ‘Nasi Lemak’ in town)

      Pretty door gift were perfectly prepared. HUAAAAaaaa…!!!! I didn't get one…!

That night and the night after, there were also special reception for the bride and groom. Poor couple ….. having to stay handsome and pretty posing to the camera continuously for 2 days.

 

While for the invitees, that was a good time to meet up amongs….

relatives …..

          

……….brothers and sisters…………

       

…friends…….

      Indeed, it was a busy occasion for the hosts.

 

owww…it was a good time for a sweet chat between a romantic couple too…

       

  

Thank you for inviting us, Kak Ani and Nana Din. We feel truly honored. Judging from the deco, I could tell how much time and effort you have contributed to the big day. Bravo !!! to my BCF. You did your part well as the bride’s Mom.

Congratulation ..!! to the newly wed, Deena and Eddie.

In your daddy’s speech, he did say “ Eddie, thank you for taking over our job” That was a very strong word. Do keep that in mind, dear.