SuNfLoWeR.cOm's New Home

I've just transferred all my blog entries from http://sue.frens.net back to Blogger. I've been having problems posting entries there for quite some time already and upon checking I discovered I have exceeded the disk space allocated. While I appreciate the service given at such a low price, I feel I have not received the feedback I wanted when I needed some answers to my questions recently. Rather than bang my head against the wall, I switched to something I can understand with a user-friendly interface. SuNfLoWeR.cOm has been around for 6 years. I hope it will continue publishing my thoughts for many more years to come.

Y E S - Year End Story

This year, November and December has been a very busy months for me. Busy means I have training and that means I have income :) But so busy till I have no time to do Y.E.S. That's year end sale.

The end of this year also marks an important milestone in my life. I have been freelancing for a year now. There were times when I have more free time and there were times when I wish I have more free times. All in all it has been a very fruitful journey where I learned a lot, met some nice people and some with interesting characters. Income wise, averaged over 12 months period is about the same as my take-home pay when I was working full time. Not bad for 1st year working on my own.

With the new contacts made and new opportunities explored, I hope I'll have more projects next year. This year, my trainings averaged 4-5 days per month. I'd like to increase it to 10 days next year. Hubby and I has to be mentally prepared when I'm busy with outstation trainings. It could be an emotional roller coaster ride for us when we're apart for a long period. My dear hubby hates me when he misses me too much and I get annoyed with him when that happens. Sigh! I've tried to keep in touch as much as I can but sometimes things didn't work out as planned.

I've invested in a prepaid broadband modem to be used when I'm outstation and wifi is not available or ridiculously priced. I even brought a microphone recently so we can skype. My laptop mic is lousy. I even got a room to myself during my recent outstation training trip. No roommate. However, the phone coverage is very bad. Even making phone calls and SMS can be a challenge.

I prefer outstation training to local training due to one reason. I don't have to beat the traffic in the morning to get to the training location. The stress of facing unavoidable traffic situation can be overwhelming.

Well... I just have to make the best of every situation. There are some things that I can control and some that I can't. Working full time, I have control over income but not job commitments. I may be able to plan shorter outstation trips and plan training schedule but things can get hectic and I may end up not able to follow plan at all. Working on my own, I have no control over income and trainings conducted as it is based on demand. I'll agree to training request if I'm free because I'll never know if next time I have trainings to conduct. The consolation of working on my own is the personal satisfaction and the free time when there's no training.

That's life. We can't have our cake and eat it too. We work hard to make a living. I'm not sympathetic to those who sit around and hope for money to come down from the sky. That's another story. Anyway, I have one more training to do before end of the year. Then I can take a breather for a while.

My Hubby Said...

If you dig my old blog entries, I'm sure you'd find a few that mentioned on the benefits of staying single. To be fair, today I'd like to mention some benefits of being married :) In life, everything has its pros and cons. Neither is really better than the other. What makes it the best depends on the choices we made and the mindset we choose to hold.

Hubby has wondered whether I prefer my single or married life. I told him both are different. Being single, go dig my past entries. Being married, I have a best friend for life :) What do best friends do? They talked about anything and everything, they do everything together, they pleases one another, they share many things, they wanted the best for their best friend and they become a witness to their best friend's life. I have many good friends throughout the different period in my life. I still keep in touch with some of them but different geographical location and life commitments causes everyone's priority to change. I have never had a single best friend from my childhood till now. Now I do :) From the moment he said the akad, by Allah's will... till death do us part, I have a best friend for life.

Being married, your other half's opinion matters. It's good for check and balance like the moment I felt like splurging on a handbag. Not my regular splurging but real BIGggg splurging. I suddenly have a cravings for a really expensive handbag :) How expensive is expensive? Just something in the range of RM400 to RM1500. Yup... just something around that figure hehehe... No... hubby didn't say no. He just said he didn't really like the design. Good tactic hubby, good tactic... but it works. Hubby said he didn't mind really. Of course he doesn't cause if it is not my necessity, I pay for it. But I value his second opinion anyway.

Being married, you'd like to share your other half's opinion with others as well. When people say my hubby said this and that, you can also do the same. It's like staking a claim that you're part of an equation too. That shows you're committed to somebody and you matters to them. Even if whatever hubby said could be something that you can't do, you'd mention it with a certain level of fondness. For example, hubby said "jangan jeling-jeling orang lain" or "jangan balik malam-malam"... that shows he cares isn't it. Yup... being married is knowing someone cares for you.

When I keep mentioning hubby said this, hubby said that... it's a sign that I missed him too much :) Lately, I've been busy. Hubby said, "sayang bini, bini tinggal-tinggalkan" hehehe.... Hmmmm... we have to make the best of whatever time we can spend together when either one of us is busy. I'm going outstation again on Monday. It surely makes us appreciate the free time we can spend with each other. Absence make your heart grow fonder. I'm looking forward to not so busy time... but if I'm always not busy, I can't splurge on expensive handbags :) Balance... balance... we have to find the perfect balance in life.

What Did I Do?

What did I do? ...stress on 'I'

Life is full of ups and downs. Smiles and laughter, tears and sadness... they are all spices of life. Everyone knows that and somehow can accept that as facts of life. But we certainly did not appreciate the time and moment when we feel sad or when someone makes us cry... especially when we're not at fault. Who does isn't it? The question now is what do you DO under the circumstances? What CAN you do?

You can explain... you can cry... you can apologize... you can ignore... you can live with it... you can do nothing! What would YOU do?

What would I do? Normally I'd put up a brave exterior but internally, I'd want to run and hide, go as far away as I can from all the injustice. "La tahzan!" Don't be sad... do'a orang yang teraniaya Allah makbulkan. That's my consolation because it certainly makes me feel 'teraniaya' when I have to deal with all the negativity that does not originates from me. Some people can't separate between issues and people or emotional and rational. Thus, we have to face the brunt of their emotions. Sigh! I know that's life... but it's not that easy to deal with isn't it?

Services That Didn't Make Sense

I was invited to attend a briefing by a private hospital about a health program. Those who attended will be given a complimentary blood test voucher. I've always heard hospitals conducted talks or programs to inculcate awareness to the public about certain health issues. So I thought why not spend half a day for something that might be useful to me. The complimentary blood test voucher was not the carrot for me to attend. I can't even remember where I put it. Maybe the offer has expired by now.

They started with a 1-to-1 consultation session. I had a nice chat with my consultant. He tried to make a strong point about being aware of our health at all times so we can take the necessary measures if something goes wrong. I couldn't disagree with that. Until he introduces a confusing plan to achieve that awareness. It was a full medical check-up plan that you have to pay RM600++ per year for. I thought that was very reasonable don't you think so? In fact, very very affordable. Once he got me interested, I was introduced to the financial manager who will elaborate more about the plan.

That's when I discovered I have wasted half a day of my life listening to something that didn't make sense. Anyway, I could write about it one of these days. I'm blogging about it now just so I'll remember the event and the ridiculousness of the idea. This event took place few weeks back. It has always been at the back of my mind... I just didn't have the time to put it down in writing.

You see... I'm not a fan of paying for services not yet rendered. That would include long-term commitment to fitness centres, spas and salons, anything... By long term, I mean 1 year or more. This plan concocted by the private hospital is for 18 years or more. The plan A includes spouses which costs up to RM44,000. On top of the RM600++ paid yearly. There's a discount for the RM44,000 if we sign immediately. Only when I told them I'm not interested, they revealed plan B which is for individual and transferable which costs RM20,000++. I've forgotten the exact amount. There's a discount as well if we sign immediately.

To finance the amount, you can either use your credit card to pay in installments or take up a personal loan. They even have some panel financial institutions that would approve your application.

I know sales people. I've done sales training for sales people. They can't play up my emotions by bringing to my attention how those who knew about the cost of full medical check-up wouldn't hesitate to sign up immediately, about how non-Malays would not pass up such good opportunity. Hellooo... I'm thinking about practicality here. That old school tactic only pushed me away further. If you know non-Malays would not pass up such opportunity then why call us the cekai Melayu to attend your talk? Enlightened me if I'm wrong... but unless you're a phobic of something, I don't think that many healthy people will be so obsessed about doing a full medical check up every year. Every 2-3 years maybe. Other than that, maybe just pap smear or any special check up that you want to do every year.

Let's say you took the 18 years full medical check-up plan. What happened if you discovered you have cancer after 5 years? You'd go for treatment of course. What's the use of the balance 13 years of medical check-up. If you're undergoing medical treatment, I'm sure your health will be monitored. Full medical check will be redundant. The plan is transferable... well, why don't just sell plan B? Spouses and family members can use it together. Whatever it is, I still prefer to pay AFTER a service has been rendered. I'd rather pay RM3,000 whenever I feel like going for a medical check-up rather than get a loan to pay RM44,000 for services not yet rendered. Medical insurance... make sense. This medical check-up plan just didn't.

I've paid in advance for my spa visits. Only the 3x plan that has to be used within 1 month. I've paid 3 months in advance for my yoga classes which I ended up not using all of it but I'm OK with short term commitments like that.

I wanted to see the list of check-up done to compare it with the general full medical check-up given by any other clinic and hospital. They refuse to give it to me. They claimed to give more thorough check-up and has more in the list than offered elsewhere. I certainly like to compare them. Who knows checking our pulses is considered as one. We can only get the list once we signed up. OK if there's a cooling period for us so we can do our homework and cancel if we don't like what we found but there's none. Insurance plan clearly has better offer than this.

What's the point of me writing about this? I might be able to use them as an example in one of my training about service and the value of service, perceived or real. And also about how desperate some companies are to come up with unreasonable products and/or services on the pretense of valuing their customer. No you certainly don't value your customer. I don't feel it either in perception or reality. You only care about your bottomline... your profit. No doubt every where you go companies would give a lip service about caring for their customer but customers are not stupid.

Just like if you declare your love to someone, you better show it. That someone better feel it or else there'll be no relationship. So this company's plan A and plan B showed their love for the customer's money and not the customer themselves. So... bad strategy there.

Busy Is Good... No?

I have just completed a 10-days training marathon. Phewwww.... There were 2 training sessions. The first session was for 3 days, the 2nd session was for 7 days 6 nights. I felt so claustrophobic staying in one hotel for the whole week. It was only in Shah Alam but we finished very late and start too early in the morning for us to return home. Some participants wrote in the feedback form, "the training should take longer because there were too many things to learn". I was like... oh nooo... I don't think I can handle it. The rainy days didn't help either. Despite having to walk out from the hotel lobby to go to our training room, it just didn't feel like a real open space.

I told hubby the moment the training ends and I was driving back, I felt so free like the birds flying on the sky. I feel like I need to commune with nature. Go jungle trekking somewhere. I certainly need a good massage. I felt like going shopping too. I probably need a new handbag and a few good books. Sigh! Too many things to do before my next training in 3 days time. And the laundry that needs to be done... arrrggghhhh...

Hubby's birthday was on the 3rd. I haven't got the time to plan anything. I managed to make some arrangements with an associate trainer to cover for me the night before hubby's birthday. I was from Shah Alam, hubby's from Gombak. I managed to reached home few minutes before hubby arrived. On the spur of a moment, I decided to stop at a florist and bought hubby some flower. The moment I reached home, opened the grill and door, quickly hid it in one of the rooms. Hubby arrived before I managed to lock the grill so he must've thought I just arrived. Hehehe... my secret was safe.


Fitting flower from me to hubby isn't it :)

We went to have a nice dinner. I wanted to wait till after midnight before I gave hubby the flower but I was so tired I might konked out the moment my head touches the pillow so he got his flower earlier :) Happy Birthday Dearest Hubby.

It's difficult for us when I was busy. I can handle things and situation if hubby's busy... but not when I'm busy. Maybe because when we're not so busy, I can spend time to pamper hubby and be pampered... even if hubby's busy, I can follow him on his outstation trip or his meetings, so I felt a sense of loss when I'm busy. Once when I was having dinner alone at the hotel, the singer sang one romantic songs after another which makes me missed hubby so much. I called hubby just to hear his voice and tell him I missed him. That turned out to be NOT such a good idea. I cried but has to control the quiver in my voice so I wouldn't worry hubby. I just hope people around didn't notice my tears or thought something got into my eyes. Sigh!

Next time I have to be more careful with my training arrangements. In my line of work, that's not really a luxury but we have a choice. We have to live with the choices we made. Money or family, leisure or work, health or wealth... So whatever it is... be it!

The Sun vs. The Heart

The sun is shining very brightly today. Even before 7 a.m., the heat can be felt already. Normally my mood followed the weather but I don't feel as bright as the sunshine today. For one, hubby is not around. He has other commitments and obligations to attend to. Then, there is this headache. It is not throbbing very badly but enough to make me feel uncomfortable. I have endured worst headaches than this because I'm allergic to panadol and pain killers. Normally it happens because I didn't take my meals on time. It will magically disappear after I've eaten something. Of course there are other causes as well which sometimes will go away if I sleep it off. This time, I started feeling it since yesterday. I think I have enough food and it is still very early for me to sleep it off again.

I also can't seem to stop thinking about something that has happened. I'm at a loss as to whether I'm being reasonable or not. What's the underlying reason if any. Because sometimes we do certain things as a reaction to some event or situation. I make a decision based on other surrounding factors that seemed to support my decision. When the surrounding factor crashed and crumbled, what was once a right decision can become a wrong one. I've asked myself what do I really want. There is some answer but I thought that 'want' could be very unreasonable depending on the circumstances. And if the surrounding factor crash and crumble again, I might not be able to handle it emotionally.

I'm normally a reasonable person but a human being nevertheless with feelings and emotions which can sometimes be difficult to manage. Should I just stay away and avoid anything that might cause emotional upheaval or do I be reasonable and schooled my heart to behave? I don't have the answer....

I have some tasks to do that I better handle now. At the same time, I hope I get the answer I'm looking for.

From Hubby...

Aamiin...

Credit Card

I have 3 credit cards. All of them have no annual fee and I only use 1 actively where all my spending are within my budget. If the RM50 service tax is imposed, I might cancel all card in protest even though that would make my life difficult. Why should a reasonable card holder like me be charged service tax that would enrich the government's coffer on which they spent without care. Just look at the Auditor General's report.

It might be difficult for me if there's an emergency cases where I need extra cash like the time we missed our flight and has to buy a new ticket there and then. It will be so troublesome to pay for petrol at the petrol station if we didn't use credit card. It will be difficult to pay for online purchases. I heard they also impose service charges on debit card. Sigh! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Saturday October 24, 2009
RM50 service tax for card holders

A SERVICE tax of RM50 will be imposed on each principal credit card every year beginning Jan 1.

For every supplementary card, a RM25 service tax will be charged yearly.

The move to impose this tax is to promote prudent spending as the use of credit cards is extensive. The number of cards increased from two million in 1997 to 11 million as of August this year. They exclude the 285,000 charge cards already issued.

Muslim Consumer Association of Malaysia secretary-general Datuk Dr Ma’amor Osman said it would encourage consumers to limit the number of credit cards they hold.

“Instead of having five or six credit cards, it will encourage consumers to reduce their cards to only one or two because it will be costly to pay service tax, interest, finance charges and so on,” he said.

Penang Consumer Protection Association president K. Koris said the service charge would not deter people from continuing to use their cards.

He added that the Government should instead re-look at imposing a restriction for credit cards and allow only those earning a minimum salary of RM5,000 a month to qualify for cards.

KPMG partner Ooi Kok Seng said the RM50 service tax would burden the lower income group but many would continue applying for multiple credit cards as they depended on the credit facilities.

He added that a significant number from the lower income group paid their credit card bills via installments and would not be able to write off the cards immediately.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce urged the Government to review the proposal as it would hinder domestic spending.

It suggested that the Goverment impose service charge on the second and subsequent cards.

Meanwhile, office clerk S. Siva, 48, plans to return eight of his nine credits on Monday morning.

“I definitely won’t be able to afford the service charge if I keep all my nine cards,” he said.

Siva said although he had nine cards, he only used one and only signed up for the rest after being told that all fees would be waived for life.

Relief and Peace

One of the best thing in life is a sense of relief and peace after a hectic schedule. I'm enjoying that feeling now :) I also have tomorrow to enjoy before hecticness continue on Sunday. Enjoyment tomorrow = house cleaning + laundry + packing + grocery shopping. Who would've thought mundane chores can be so enjoyable ehh! It means I have free time. It means I don't have any important obligation to anyone but myself. Horayyy!!!

I have a last minute request to conduct training this week. I don't have the 2-days module for the topics requested so I have to do a bit of research for it. Beside, they have the material ready and I just have to deliver. The material is a mess. The arrangements made no sense but I have to make the best of it. I was given a free hand to modify as long as the content in the material was covered. The catch, I only have less than a day to prepare for it. It was quite stressful. Of course I want to give my best but with the time constraint, I have to be reasonable to myself. The night before the training, I make sure I go to bed by midnight since the training starts early.

I only plan for 1 day at a time or else I'll feel so overwhelmed. So after the 1st day training, I have to prepare for the next day. Feeling so tired, I fell asleep at 8:30 and woke up at 10 p.m. with a bad allergic reaction. Must be something I had for dinner. Inside my ear itches like crazy and I started sneezing. I took my medication but it didn't really work. Despite that, I still have to prepare my material. I tried to sleep at 1 but toss and turn till past 3 a.m. Sigh! I know the adrenalin will keep me going throughout the day. The sneezes stop but I have stuffed nose instead. Anyway, my participants enjoyed the training and I do hope they learn something too.

The week before I also have 2-days training which I have enough time to prepare. I impressed myself because that's the first training where I have to communicate in Malay fully and I managed to do it. Wow!!! I can't believe it myself. I did use English... very sparingly. The materials were prepared in English as requested. I was informed I can use dual language during the training but it turned out I have to translate everything to my participants including the pre and post test questions. This is not to say I have forgotten my root and pretend to not able to communicate in my own mother tongue but I'm so used to dual language that sometimes finding the right Malay word for something can be quite a challenge. Some more with the direct translation like deklarasi, reformasi, informasi and what not. It's not really helping isn't it?

My contract with a company who wants my exclusivity will end soon. There are pros and cons to it. I may not get the series of training that I have conducted and contributed to its improvement in future. Despite the presence of Madam Kucing who barks, I'd miss the program if I'm not given the opportunity to train. I could approach them in my personal capacity but Madam Kucing is one of the gatekeeper. She might not let me in. The good thing is now I'm free to conduct any training with any training organizations who require my service. I have to plan more carefully next year.

Anyway, I want to bask in this feeling of relief and peace for a while. It truly is one of the best thing in life. I'm thinking of communing with nature too for extra sense of peace but that has to wait for now. From Sunday onwards, hecticness awaits. For now.... PEACE \o/

6 Weeks 4 Days

30th September 2009, my short-lived happiness of knowing I'm about to become 'Ummi' ends. We have hopes for only 15 days. By doctor's calculation, I've been pregnant for 6 weeks and 4 days. Why on earth they start the calculation from the first day of our last menstrual cycle is beyond my layman's understanding. For the 15 days, I've scoured forums and websites wanting to know more about the little thing growing inside me. Seems like I don't need the weekly updates of my feotus growth and the few bookmarks on pregnancy anymore.

Friends, family and doctors consoled me on our lost. Rationally I know Allah knows best and everything has been pre-ordained... but on the day of my miscarriage, after we return from the hospital, I cried anyway. I'm thankful hubby can spend his time with me throughout the whole event. He has an outstation appointment very early the next day. Instead of going off in the evening, he went very early the next morning. I initially told him I'd be OK. I didn't expect the flooding of emotional feeling overwhelming my whole being after that.

I'm very naive when it comes to pregnancy and things related to it. So I had no idea whether I should be in confinement or not. That night we went out to have dinner. Mom called to remind me not to eat food with a lot of liquid in it. Tomyam and soup is out of the picture. Luckily she called coz I thought hot soup would be good to warm me up. Then someone called and mentioned I should be in bed and not jalan-jalan. We went 'beraya' after the black pepper steak dinner. When we reached home, I did feel the shiver and wrapped myself up in blanket.

The next day I have a whole day briefing. I don't feel well but it is important for me to attend it. Remember Madam Kucing who barks? She'll bark to kingdom come if I didn't show my face. I shivered, had a throbbing headache and felt really bad the whole day. Some friends said I shouldn't be there but since I was there already, I might as well hold on for a while. Thank God the briefing ends early. I didn't wait for the tea break but goes off as fast as I could and while the traffic was still manageable.

Some say for miscarriages less than 3 months, there is no need to be in confinement. However, my body is telling me something is not right somewhere. I better do something about it. The next day, I called mom and MIL for some tips and make 3-days massage arrangements. My ex-colleague gave me the masseuse number a long time ago since I like to go for massages. Thank God she can come over. For a price of course. I felt much better after the massage and air kunyit *grimacing face as I recall the taste*. I had to make the air kunyit myself and drink it if I want to heal quickly.

This morning I had another round of air kunyit, the yolk of kampung chicken egg (courtesy of MIL) and some honey *grimace again*. I prayed I'll get better quickly. I have to conduct a 2-days training next week. I heard there'll be 40 pax... I can imagine the amount of energy required to talk for the whole session, I have to stand the whole day and there'll be a short session at night too. I just have to get better.

Please also pray for 'ummi' :)

Kun fa ya kun. I believe everything is in His hands... just like how I met and marry hubby. InsyaAllah...

Last Week of Ramadhan

Time passes by so quickly and it is the last week of Ramadhan already. I really wish I'll be around to see the next Ramadhan. That's a little reminder to myself. Sometimes we take our life for granted.

The initial plan was I'll be busy with training only on the 1st week of Ramadhan. It turned out I have something on till the 2nd week and then followed by hubby's event after-which I'm down with fever and flu. Thank God I had the fever for only 1 day and then I started coughing and the phlegm causes wheezing and asthma attack. I'm feeling better with a bout of coughing every now and then, and sometimes I have to slow down if I feel my chest gets congested. So I haven't really clean the house and Raya is just around the corner. We haven't change money to new notes, we have not prepared the angpow packet, we have not put up the curtain and I still have not received my payment :( Sigh!

I'm currently lying down in bed with lower abdomen and leg cramps. Double sigh! But... could it be...... :)

We'll be going to MIL's place for the celebtration and I'll probably have the energy to clean the house after the Raya holiday. Hooraaayyy to Balik Kampung spirit :)

p/s: Abang, dah update! :)

Artwork

My artwork and hubby's artwork.

Now both hanging on our bedroom wall :)

I really can't believe it. I had a real surprise when I returned from my outstation training and found the other black board has hubby's masterpiece on it. I did mine before I went outstation and decided to do the other one later. I wanted to see how it looks when the glue dried.

No wonder hubby asked if there's any glue in the house. I brought all for my training. He found some old glue and use that. Mine didn't look that nice after the glue dried. I must use other material to replace the crepe paper. But we'll treasure these artwork of ours for a while.

Let's Go Green

I have been busy with a series of training again. Alhamdulillah with 'rezeki' from Allah for Raya this year. Despite that, I managed to find some time to re-do our mini garden on the balcony. I've been thinking about what to do with it for quite some time. Should we get a water feature installed on the balcony or hire someone to design it with a nice tropical theme? None of that sounds practical to me. We're renting this place. Our new condo would be completed by end of this year but we still haven't decided whether to move or not. It has been very convenient here. Anyway, here's how our mini garden looks now. Please excuse the plastic pots. I'm being practical. Use and re-use whatever's available. If I ever find the time to find some bricks, the plastic pots as stands will be replaced. The plastic pots with plants.... it depends. Baba plastic pots are practical isn't it.



Mom gave me 6 flower pots when I drop by at her place after a training about 2 weeks ago. Hubby's quite impressed with our new mini garden but remarked how long it's going to remain green? Hehehe... I told him that's why I took some photos just in case we have to go outstation for an extended period of time... then at least we'll remember how it was when the plants look nice and green. At the opposite side of the balcony, there's a smaller area where I group plants like lemon grass, curry leaves, papaya and chilli together. I wanted to put the pandan leaves with this group but that would leave the mini garden unbalanced so for now the pandan leaves stays in the mini garden. Hubby said it's quite impossible for the papaya tree to bear fruit if it is in the pot but the tree is growing big and strong so we'll see how it goes. Even if there's no fruit, it will look nice and green. Our kangkung and ladies finger died when I was busy with a series of training last time. I still have the ladies finger seed but I'll keep it for now. I wanted to try with other plants.

I wanted to plant lime trees, turmeric leaves and few more herbs and vegetables when I have the time. For now, I'll enjoy our mini garden. I'm still looking for a small table and two chairs that can stand the weather elements so we can enjoy our garden more. Probably more stone features and I'm thinking whether I should buy a garden lamp or just use candles and lantern whenever we wanted to sit outside at night. Thank God there's no mosquito way up here. We'll have a really nice garden by the time I'm finished with it :)

We also have few more plants inside the house. I bought a few, mom gave me a few... I wanted to rearrange our kitchen so we can have more space to put the greens and also in the bathroom. So many things to do... it's a great thing I have more flexible time now. I better get on to it now :)

Salam Ramadhan 1430H

Salam Ramadhan to all Muslims.

This is the second time I celebrated Ramadhan as a wife. Last year, I was a full time career woman. This year, I'm a freelance trainer. I have to go outstation twice during this Ramadhan but other than that, I can manage my time any way I want. I can cook and clean the house during my free time and will not be so rushed like last year. Hubby and I also wanted to make this Ramadhan more meaningful with activities that we don't have time to do last year. So I'm hoping for better Ramadhan insyaAllah.

My Newest Activity

This is my latest and newest activity.


I finally know how to set the weight belt after 3 lesson.

Hubby and I has always talked about going scuba diving. My SIL said she knew someone who provides scuba lesson. Her friend isn't available but the recommended instructors are very nice people, very patient and friendly. Ended up, the three of us took the lesson.

I still don't know how to swim... which doesn't stop people from being able to scuba dive. Hubby and I just bought our wetsuit and mask. Unfortunately there's no Muslimah wetsuit so have to wear the sexy wetsuit. My handsome hubby looked like "Man from Atlantis" hehehe... Soon, I have to buy a BCD because its difficult to find the right size and the right fit if we rent. I have experienced how difficult it was to control myself under the water with a wrong size and worn out BCD. Even more so with my limited swimming skill. So own BCD is a must. For me at least.

We have another lesson in the pool before going for open dive. I'm so looking forward to it :) That will only happen after Raya though. I'll be busy with training again beginning next week till the first week of Ramadhan. So no time for diving lesson and leisure traveling till after Raya.

Cobweb Clearing

It has been awhile since I last update this blog. I'm wondering whether I should post several shorter entries or a single long entry to cover all the activities I've been busy with. What do you think hmm? We'll see how thing goes as I continue writing. Or picture posting more likely :)

Kuala Selangor Nature Park

















I don't know what to expect. It was a relaxing walk with the sound of nature and when we saw the Straits of Malacca after walking through the mangroves area, it gives a different feeling. As if you're discovering a hidden jewel or treasure.

Bukit Melawati










I stayed close to hubby. The monkeys were everywhere. Out of a sudden when you turn around, you'd be face to face with these Darwin's relatives. I've had several shocking moments when the monkeys get too near.

Kg. Kuantan Fireflies

We also went to watch firefiles at Kg. Kuantan. The view were amazing and breathtaking. Since we can't take photos, too bad you all have to experience it yourselves.

Chiling Waterfall






The 45 minutes hiking was really worth it when we saw the waterfall. These pictures were taken when amazingly most of the crowd left the waterfall to eat or rest. Earlier, a family group was playing with a ball and everyone who wants to join in just join the crowd. It was fun.

Langkawi Leisure

I've been dragging my feet in blogging about our Langkawi trip. For some reason, the MALAS syndrom has hit me bad hehehe... Anyway, I'll try my best to blog about it for my future reference. Sigh! OK here goes... we were in Langkawi last week.

DAY 1

- Reached Langkawi Airport around 9:30am, wait for luggage and hubby negotiated the price of our rented car for the duration.
- First stop, Cable Car at Gunung Mat Chincang. It was a little hazy and cloudy but we still manage to witness the amazing view. Whatever we pay for the entrance fee, it is really worth it.


- After lunch, we went to check in to our hotel. Very nice and spacious room. The room is quite a distance from the reception counter, the hotel bellboy offered to show us the way. Initially I thought he's going to hitch a ride in our car. Then he didn't which confuses me I thought I might as well walk when he showed me his bicycle and ask me to get into the car. Ooooohhhh... now I get it. The bellboy is a Bangladeshi and hubby said, "Ooooo.... nak ikut bangla naik basikal..." Hehehehe.... Lerrr... mana ada. Just a little communication breakdown :) The hotel staff were all very friendly. Whenever we cross path with any staff, they would give us salam and smile.


- After a short rest, we went to the Underwater World which is just a short drive away. I've read people calling it the lesser equals of Aquaria and Singapore but if you're here, it's worth the visit.


- I really need a bigger casual bag. All my casual bag are tiny I don't have enough space for my big purse, camera and few other things. Since there are many shops around the area, I decided to look for one. It's too hot hubby decided to wait in the car with some chocolate we bought near the Duty Free Shop at the Underwater World :) I'd love to have a canvas or BPC bag of a muted color so I can use it whenever I travel. But I found a multicolored one with the right design and compartment location. I simply must have it. It suits my need and has the functionality. But the color.... I have to choose between the multicolored fancy fashion design or multicolored teddy bear design. I choose the former. Hubby's comment... "takperlah... sue yang pakaikan" with a shock face hehehe... Too fancy is it? I immediately change to the new handbag and we headed to the beach for a drink. We ordered 1 laksa and 2 drinks but were given 2 bowls of laksa. We didn't bother arguing so decided to eat it and then head to the hotel to relax by the pool. For some reason, I started sneezing almost non-stop after eating one Andes chocolate and eating the laksa while sneezing was quite a feat. We headed to the pool at our hotel after that.


Santai by the pool
- That night, we went to Kuah to look around town and survey the area but decided to return to Pantai Cenang to look for dinner. We tried Restoran Rasa because I've read some review written about it. The ambience was OK. There's someone singing with his guitar and then going around putting his hats for some donations. I thought he's done but he continued singing. Alamakkk... encik nyanyi sedap encik tapi kalau tak nyanyi lagi sedap :) The food was just OK and I thought it costs a bomb. Aren't seafood supposed to be cheaper here? The wifi at the hotel is having some problem so we drive around looking for free wifi. None found.

DAY 2

- We had our breakfast at the hotel and hubby found a free wifi connection courtesy of a shop opposite the road from our hotel. He's busy doing work while I enjoyed the breakfast leisurely :) We're going island hopping this morning and the van will come to pick us up at 9 a.m. The driver reached the place on time has been calling me for 6 times. I left my handphone in the room to be charged while I was having breakfast.
- It drizzles when we got into our boat with 5 other people. There are a group of students from Sudan studying at various local universities and colleges in KL. Hubby asked me to communicate with them in Arabic and help him communicate with them in Arabic. As if that's gonna happen. My command of Arabic is "qalil jiddan" :) Thank God the rain stopped as we stop for a while to see a bat cave before heading towards Pulau Dayang Bunting. The view was amazing. We were lucky we saw so many eagle of different species during the eagle feeding.




Tasik Dayang Bunting


Eagle feeding




Pantai Beras Basah
- After returning from the island hoping trip, we rinse ourselves by the pool and get into the pool for more swimming. So in one day, we got into the lake at Tasik Dayang Bunting, the sea and the swimming pool :)
- We went to Kota Mahsuri after a short rest and lunch. We also make a short stop at the Gamat shop on the way to Kota Mahsuri. Hubby and I argued about the authenticity of the Mahsuri portrait shown at the gallery. We got the confirmation from the gallery staff later. We also tried the Gamat Soup at one of the shop. Hmmm.... we shared a bowl and I only could take 2-3 spoons before getting hubby to finish it. It tastes OK. I just couldn't bring myself to eat more when I think of the look of Gamat itself. Iiieeee.... We explored the house and hubby asked me to pose at the coconut grater. I sit on it like saddling a bicycle when hubby commented proper ladies in the olden days didn't sit that way hehehe... Opppsss... OK... OK... a more sopan pose :)
- Then we did some t-shirt shopping followed by short trips to Pantai Beras Terbakar, Pantai Tengkorak, the marina at Petronas Quay and the nearby beach before buying a durian and head back to the hotel. We saw an amazing sunset on our way back. The hotel room is like apartment units so nobody saw us with the durian. Errmmm... yummyy...


Beautiful paddy fields on the way to Kota Mahsuri


- After ravishing the durian, prayer and rest, we went for a massage at one of the massage place near our hotel. There's a male masseuse for hubby. The room was only separated by bamboo curtains, kain batik and soft flowy white curtains. Towards the end of the massage session I heard hubby snoring softly ROTFL. I can't stop grinning :D
- For dinner, we tried Restoran Haji Ramli. Not too bad and not very great either. I prefer the food we had when we were at Redang. We bought some more Gamat products at a shop opposite the restaurant.

DAY 3

- Beach time. After breakfast, we headed to the beach for some beach activities. I wanted to try parasailing and while waiting, the guy convinced us to go on a jetski ride first as he's still waiting for his people to come with the boat and the parasailing chute. Since he gave us good price being his first customer for the day, we agreed and had great fun. during the parasailing. the view from above was really, really amazing. I wish I have my camera with me but I need both hands on the way up and down and I don't have neck strap for my camera so no pics from above. Besides, we wanted to take photo from below.


Fooling around at the beach :) I was wearing my Muslimah swimsuit.


Getting ready for parasailing. Up, up and away....


Hubby's turn
- We played in the sea after that and then continue at the swimming pool before returning to our room to clean up and pack. We checked out slightly before 3 and went to have our lunch before going to Kuah. We had to hunt for a petrol station. Seems like RM35 worth of petrol is not enough. We put in another RM10 before we can continue driving around with a peaceful mind.
- We stopped at the Jetty Point, nothing much there. Then to the Eagle monument. A must have photo if you're in Langkawi. After that to Langkawi's largest shopping mall or so claimed by the brochure. Really?? If you're short for time, I suggest a trip to the Kuah town would be sufficient for all your shopping needs. We went to Kuah town to buy some chocolates. I don't fancy buying any dishes here. I'm a practical person. Nilai 3 or our nearby store can serve our dishes needs. There's no need to carry heavy stuff in the flight.


The Langkawi icon
- We headed to Pantai Cenang again for dinner and sunset before heading to the airport.


Sunset in Cenang
When we reached the airport and tried to check-in we were told out ticket is for the morning flight. Alamakkk... how could I make such a mistake. Hubby has asked me to check the flight schedule many times and I did. It just didn't occur to me such mistake could happen. Hubby has a meeting the next day so staying another day is not an option. Going back by ferry was also not an option. It's past 8pm already. So we asked if there's any seat on the next flight. Lucky for us, the 8:15 flight is delayed and it's not full so we can still catch it but it costs us over RM500. Sigh! Anyway, I'm not going to let that spoil our holiday. We really had a great time and yayyy... I managed to fit in our Langkawi trip story in one entry :)

What Have I Been Up To?

My first project with a series of training ended last week. Alhamdulillah it went well and Madam Kucing has finally started to purr and mew instead of bark :) I'd give credit to the power of 'buat bodoh' and not take 'pot' with pettiness and idiosyncrasies hehehe...

After South East, I have to go North. I went alone for this 5-hours drive. Since I got the room all to myself and the wifi worked well in the room, hubby make arrangement to be here by bus. I missed him so much. We barely see each other last week. After the tiring 4-days training, hubby drove us back to KL. Hubby make a stop at one of the R&R to rest and I woke up only for a while to offer him pillow and an extra shawl. All the traveling has taken a toll on me. I totally zonked out.

We had our dinner earlier at one of the restaurant before we enter the highway and as we're about to reach home, I started feeling dizzy and nauseous with an upset stomach. Probably the place was not so clean. Hubby has to make a toilet stop too somewhere before Tg. Malim if I'm not mistaken. I felt totally sick the moment we reached home and I ran to the bathroom. After cleaning up and taking a charcoal tablet, we went to sleep. Thank God I felt better the next morning.

I have few days to rest, do the laundry and pack again for the next trip. Hubby went to East Coast when I went South East right. All his clothes for the trip were still in the laundry basket. All in all, I have to do 5 laundry trips. Sigh! On Monday mom's in KL so I fetched her and we spent the day catching up. She just recovered from fever and flu after her umrah trip. Next trip was to Cherating. This time I have a room mate and hubby has few meetings in KL and then Kuantan. I took his car and hubby used mine while in KL. He reached Kuantan by bus and I went to fetch him after my training. It's not like I was familiar with the road and know where the bus terminal is but I prayed to God to make it easy for me and Alhamdulillah I found my way.

I stayed with hubby in Kuantan that night, he sent me to Cherating in the morning and after his meeting in Kuantan that day, he went to Cherating again. My room mate is checking out in the evening so we can stay there for the night. Supposedly hubby has another meeting in Kuantan the next day. I really crave for durian on our way back the next day but we don't see any along the way. I'm too lazy to hunt for durian once we reached home. I have the weekend all to myself and I have to attend a training on Monday and I have to left for East Coast in the afternoon.

I have booked a flight ticket earlier but hubby suggested I cancel it because he has to be in the East Coast at about the same time. But in the end he has to be in Kuantan first and go to East Coast only later. So he drove us to Kuantan. After checking in and having our dinner, I have to make my way to the East Coast. After driving for a while I got upset because hubby didn't even call to ask how I was doing. I was thinking of not calling him till I reached the place but I reached a confusing roundabout and needed his opinion. When I called him, he told me his phone was barred. Sigh! No wonder hehehe... Lesson: Jangan cepat merajuk :p

All the traveling makes us tend to handle our bills to the last minute. As a result, that's what happened. I normally pay my bills just before or when I received the final warning via SMS. By then, payment with M2U or even it's own online payment page is too late to stop the system from barring our line. I finally asked a local and found out I have to make a u-turn and go the other way. I was only about 2km off with the u-turn and finally reached the place by midnight. Hubby has offered to drive me to the resort earlier but there is no way I'm going to let him drive for 4 hours and another 4 hours back to Kuantan. Besides, he has a meeting with a few contacts on the same night. If we make a move after his meeting, we'll probably reach the place around 2 a.m. and I need my rest for training the next day.

I slept like a log that night and feeling fresh for the training in the morning. I even managed to go out for a short walk by the beach. It was very quiet and peaceful and I called hubby and asked him to listen to the sound of the waves hehehe... Hubby took a bus from Kuantan to KT later that day after his meeting. Again I have to fetch him after my training. From the resort, it's about 45 minutes drive to town and again I have no idea where the bus terminal was. I have only vague recollection of the bus terminal when we went to Redang last year. We hang around town for about two hours before taking the cab to airport on our return trip.

Again I thanked God for giving me the common sense to figure out the direction till I saw the 'Perhentian Bas' sign. This time we have to stay at another resort because I have a room mate and the resort is full. I love the room and the seamless pool but too bad I can't enjoy it. We checked in after Maghrib and hubby sent me for my training very early the next morning. Hubby hang around near my training room because the wifi connection is good. He only returned to the resort after his laptop battery went out to enjoy the seemless swimming pool and rest in the room until after 2. After checking out, he waited for me but this time the wifi connection's out so he did some work offline. I finished my training few minutes after 5 and we make our way to KB. Hubby has a meeting in KB the next day.

We stayed at one of the 'homestay' house near his meeting place. It was very hot that night we opted to sleep on the floor. I can rest while hubby went for his meeting. I even washed some clothes because hubby's concern he don't have anything to wear for tomorrow. I know there's enough but I washed a few anyway. Then we don't have to bring back so many dirty laundry. The weather's nice for drying the clothes. I have to pack again because we'll make a move after hubby's meeting. He has to be in Kuantan again the next day. So off we go to Kuantan that night. I checked out with hubby the next morning because I don't want him to make the return trip to fetch me at the hotel. I also can't wait to reach home after all that traveling. I waited at the cafe with a book and my laptop and was having a bad flu the whole day despite taking my allergy medication.

We bought some lychee and rambutan the night before so we finished that in the car and then we saw so many durian stalls along the highway. I asked hubby since I don't feel well already, why don't I just take the durian hehehe...He agreed and we bought 1 durian which is really worth it. It was sweet and juicy and we finished it in the car. My flu stopped while I was enjoying the durian and commenced again after we finished the durian. I even almost ran out of tissue paper. We reached home at about 4 I think. Thank God my meeting in the afternoon was cancelled or otherwise I'll be very very late. So that's how hectic our schedule was the past few weeks.

We'll be off again tomorrow very early in the morning but this time for a well deserved holiday. My treat after successfully completing my first project but I'll get hubby to chip in too lah. I still has not received my full payment :) By the way, today is the anniversary of the first time I met hubby 3 years ago. We've known each other online for a few months before meeting and it is supposed to be work related because hubby has some training contact and I'd love to do freelance training so it's natural for both of us to meet before we talk about any project. In the end we talked about a different kind of project hehehe... Not after the first meeting of course but not long after that. Anyway, I better get ready now. I'm going Muslimah swimming suit hunting and has to pack for tomorrow :D

Ants in The Water

You've probably heard its not good to drink water where ants died in it. Some has even forbid it totally and says better throw the water and waste it rather than take the risk of 'mati hati'. Didn't it seemed wasteful to do so? Especially if it is one little ant.

Then I found this and this. An excerpt from the IIU website...

Fiqh 1.7 a: Dead animals that have no running blood

(That is) bees, ants, and so on. They are considered pure. If they fall into some substance and die, the substance will not become impure. Ibn al-Munzhir said, "I do not know of any disagreement concerning the purity of such water save what has been related from ash-Shaf'i. It is well-known that he views them as being impure. Nevertheless, it does not bother him if the object falling into a substance does not alter it (in any way)."

OK! I'm so glad there's a different opinion about the purity of the water. Well... we've heard what people have said about drinking water with ants in it but those people never quote any Quranic verses or Hadith to support their claim. So if there's no direct ruling against something, we'd rely on Ijma' ulama' and it seems the general consensus is the ants did not make the water impure or unfit for consumption.

Tea For Me

Here are some health benefits of tea.

Tea is a naturally-derived beverage and, besides antioxidants, contributes valuable vitamins and minerals to our daily diets. An average daily consumption of 5 to 6 cups daily complements our body’s dietary intake of these vitamins and minerals.

5 to 6 cups of tea contributes:

* 16% of the daily requirement of calcium
* 10% of the daily requirement of zinc
* 10% of our folic acid need
* 9% of the daily requirement of vitamin B1
* 25% of the daily requirement of vitamin B2
* 6% of the daily requirement of vitamin B6
* very few calories and almost no fat (when taken without milk)

Besides containing a high amount of vitamins and minerals, tea also:

* Acts as a diuretic and therefore helps kidney as well as colon functions
* Aids digestion by stimulating the body’s digestive juices. Tea also helps the stomach muscles’ action and takes the ‘heaviness’ out of a meal.
* Helps to replace fluids after exercise. After exerting itself, the body absorbs warm drinks like tea better and more quickly than cold drinks.

Source: BOH Tea

So with all the good benefits, it's OK if I crave for tea right? Ever since I started my training project, all the trainers were treated well. We don't have to queue with the participants for food. We have special table and we were served whatever we need. The waiters and waitresses gasp when I went to take my own tea from the tea/coffee station. So we've kinda been waited hand and foot during every meal. I requested for tea almost every time after lunch or dinner, our networking time. It took only a while to build a habit isn't it.

My current favorite is Sabah Tea. My only concern is whether I really crave the tea or the sugar I put in every cup. I also take green tea sans sugar but for Sabah Tea or Boh or Lipton, I need sugar in it. The best way to appreciate tea... drink it hot, inhale the smell and take a sip. Arrrhhh... Bliss.

Tough Decisions

I've had Milo for breakfast. I'm wondering whether I should cook or go down and buy something to eat. Normally I don't like to stock food when I have to go outstation so there's nothing much left at home. I'm not going to stock food as I'll be away again soon. So should I cook that oat soup recipe that I got from the internet minus the veges or should I wait for 12 o'clock and went out to buy lunch?

I could also fry some wantan since I have some wantan skin or fry anchovies for porridge but I just mop the floor yesterday. If you fry things, the floor will tend to be sticky and oily so I'd like to keep my floor clean a lot longer. I can take out the piece of chicken breast I have left in the fridge or the frozen minced meat and make something out of it but I'm too lazy to wait for it to thaw or microwave them.

Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Those are some tough eating/cooking decisions I have to make when hubby's not around hehehe...

Millionaire Ex-Boss

My jaw almost dropped when I saw the news on Malaysia's Richest Top 40 list by Forbes. My ex-boss is in the list and to think we always complain about his obsolete software. I remember when I tendered my resignation letter, he personally make a counter offer. If I stayed I probably would have published a book about him or his ideas, not to mention writing numerous proposals and manuals. I started my full time job doing system's documentation and I'm proud to say after many years leaving the company, the completed set of manuals I produced was the most complete.

The reason I did not stay... I found another interesting job. Not the most secure and fancy, but I like the challenge and the software and I... we clicked. This time, my ex-boss is a brilliant man with an interesting software. He may act like an absent-minded professor but I support his ideals and his vision of the software. Did he make it into the Forbes list. Still very vary far from it I believe. The reason I quit, I found another passion.

I would take a lower paying job if it interests me and I'm passionate about the cause. That's my weakness. But after more than 10 years of working, I'm trying to curb those tendencies and stay focus on my goal. I've had a few full time job offers that's really tempting since I'm on my own but I have to take a deep breath and think of what I want. Freedom and flexibility. I never thought I would retire with any of the organization's I've worked for. Job security is not in my priority list at all. I also never thought of becoming a government servant.

So here I am. Jaw dropped upon seeing his picture (of my now millionaire ex-boss) flashed onto the TV screen. A great lesson for me. You don't need to have the best product in the world. As long as you know how to market it well, has good connections due to your networking ability, you'll make it. Millionaire ex-boss spent most of his time on the golf course. I don't think he's so attached with his software. Poor ex-boss spent most of his time in-front of his computer tweaking and improving his software. The software is his passion and pride. Does passion bring in the big bucks? Not necessarily. But is poor ex-boss happy. I believe he is. Is millionaire ex-boss happy? I have no idea. I was never close to him when I work for him in the first place.

Having said that, what about me? I followed my passion in my career path. Would it bring me big bucks? I sure hope so. Following our passion makes us happy and any monetary reward is a bonus. I definitely want the bonus so I can continue doing what I'm passionate about. When do you think I'll become a millionaire? Let's see... if I can save and invest RM5000 per month and get a return of around 10% per annum, I'd get my first million in the year 2020. Do I want to wait that long for my first million? Hmmm.... have to find a better plan!

If There's A Genie

I returned from my outstation trip on Wednesday night. I've been away and busy for the last few weeks. I have few days break before going outstation again. Alhamdulillah for the 'rezeki' but I wish I have a genie to take care of the house. Yesterday was spent lazying around the house while sniffling and sneezing. Must have been due to the dust. So last night I took some allergy medication and feel better today so first thing I do is to mop the whole house.

If I found an ancient lamp with a genie who'll grant my wishes, those wishes will be as below:-

1. All the dust will be self-vacuumed and disappeared from my sight.
2. All the dried clothes will self-fold.
3. The plants watered accordingly.

I have a more altruistic wishes before. Nowadays, I need all the help I can get for myself.

Project Update

I'm halfway to completing my first project. It went relatively well. I hope it will end with a high note.

Due to some miscommunication, the project begins with a high level of tension. I think I have never felt as nervous before I conducted any training like this time. Here, there's a Madam Kucing who barks. I'm glad the result speaks for itself so she has to stop barking. She barked at the wrong tree in the first place and I lost my respect to her due to that. Dear Madam Kucing, why on earth don't you practice what you preach?

Anyway, I'm trying to make an honest and halal living here so help me Allah.

I miss hubby so much. I went South East, he has to go North East. I went home, he went South. Now I'm North, he's at home. And if I'm unlucky, I went home and he has to be in the East Coast again. Sigh!

I better go to bed now so I'll wake up fresh for tomorrow's training.

Something I Miss Right Now

I miss the time we're there. Whenever I saw a lady in abaya here, it kinda bring back the memories. Mom's there right now. How I wish I'm there too.

My Tool Bag

Here's my tool bag. I initially used a smaller bag on the left, then decided to use the bigger one shown on the right so it can fit in more item. OK! I hope everything goes well for the whole project period.

*deep breathe*

Yesterday's Menu

Yesterday's menu...
* Daging Masak Asam Pedas Rindu Selalu
* Kubis Goreng Selembut Bayu
* Wantan Goreng Santai Bersamamu

Me: Why do we have to use jiwang names for the menu eh?
Hubby: Yeah, why don't you use some ganasz names.
Me: Right! Brutal sket :)

Today's Menu... Sup Tulang Ganasz hehehe...

My First Photobook

I went to collect my Photobook by Pixart from Poslaju this morning. They sent it last week. I was outstation. It was smaller than I expected but it was OK. Question to self: Why do you think it's called Pocket Book in the first place huh?

I have two options. Photobook or Pixart. I started with Photobook. Once I finished selecting all the pictures, the program crashed on me. It disappeared from my desktop and I have not saved anything. The process of selecting the pictures is quite a challenge I don't feel like repeating the whole process all over again. That's when I decided to use Pixart instead. It's very easy to use and if I want any collages, I just create one from Picasa because Pixart's layout is very simple and straightforward. After uploading and waiting for a few days... wallah... A memoir for our Umrah trip.

Today's Menu

Today's special menu for no special occasion or reason :)



* Nasi Minyak Pelangi Petang
* Kari Daging Betawi Rindu Membara
* Ayam Masak Merah Cinta Sejati
* Buncis Goreng Bisikan Hati
* Air Mata Kucing Selembut Sutera

For dessert, Aiskrim Potong Kenangan Lalu and sexy chef hehehe...

Old Documents

I'm at wits end. I've searched everywhere I can think of but couldn't find the receipts. Instead, I found some old documents and really, really old documents. Among them...

The receipt of my first handphone purchase dated 14/10/2000. It's a Nokia 3210 which I used for a really, really long time before I changed to the 6610 model.

I also found Putra LRT first customer certificate. I'm among the first 5000 people who took the Putra LRT. I'm sure I took it from the Kerinchi station while I was doing my extended practical training. Extended because the company needs my service but they're not hiring yet. So instead of 6 weeks practical training, mine was extended to another 3 months and I patiently waited because it was 1998 people. Job was hard to come by.

There's also my secondary school outing book. I was in a boarding school and we can only go out 3 times per semester. That includes shopping outing or going back to hometown for a holiday. We have to get our parent's signature before we get the school's approval to go back to hometown. I forged my mother's signature all the time. With my mom's knowledge of course. My parents were divorced when I was in form two. Life was hard. Mom can't afford to come and visit very often and I don't want to risk losing the outing book in the mail. So forgery it is.

I also found... my primary school report card. I switched school after Standard One and I couldn't find my Standard One report card. I only have report card from Standard Two and here it is :)



Can you see how my position in class deteriorated? Then my father banned TV until I can improve my grades. Mom allowed me to watch some cartoon in the evening for half an hour before my father returned from work. The present I got after my final year result... my father would bring me to the public library when he returns for lunch at home and I can stay there till he finished work. I love reading so I voraciously read all the books and borrowed 4 every day. We can borrow only two but the librarian was kind enough to let me borrow 4. That's how I spent my year end holiday.

OK enough reminiscing of the past. I still couldn't find THE receipts. Sigh! Search to be continued to an undetermined time and date because I have things to do tomorrow.

Letter from Income Tax

I returned from my outstation trip yesterday evening and went to check my mailbox. Yup... quite a number of bills, brochures, newsletters and letters for me. One of them is from the income tax office. I was hoping the letter mentions something about payment of my over paid income tax for 2007 and the above is what I found. Sigh!

I remember the first time I use the online BE form submission, they returned the payment I've over paid without any hassle and delay. Now not only I didn't hear anything if I didn't call them back, but they wanted me to fax my EA form and I'm sure with the letter above, they'll want to see all my book receipts.

I bought books and magazine worth over RM1000 for 2007. I claimed about RM800 because at that time I couldn't find all my receipts. For 2008, I only found receipts that total to RM700. Sometimes I put the receipts in the book or magazine I bought and forgot to stash it with other book receipts. Now the problem is, I have to look for the stash of my 2007 receipts. I remember showing it to hubby around March as we started compiling receipts for 2008. Now I couldn't find the receipts at its normal place. Oh oh...

I normally have place for certain things. If for one instance I decided using the moment's logic that I should put it somewhere else, I normally can't remember the new place. It has happened over and over again and I know I shouldn't change location of something that I have conditioned in my mind for years to be in a particular shelves or containers or drawers... in the moment's logic, it could still happen.

If they want to look at those receipts, they better look at them fast before the ink on some totally disappear. Or can I just send all my 2007 magazine to their office and said I couldn't find the receipts anymore. This is the proof, I've read them all, you all can keep it :) I can't give you all the books of course because I'd like to keep it for my collection and reference. Hmmm... I better go and hunt for that receipts before I got totally busy with training and has no time for it.

Dark Brown Is My Black

I'm outstation. I wore black on the day I travel. Then only I read all the commotion about wearing black. I would love to wear black and join in the cause but I can't be wearing the same clothes lah kan. Since I don't have any other black attire at the moment, can my dark brown attire pass as black?

I am taking risk by saying this but something just has got to be said. Our police can't handle the Mat Rempit and snatch theft issue, can't curb crime even an OCPD got robbed at knife point (read about it here while it is still in the archive) but they certainly can arrest innocent people who only want their voices heard, who wants to conduct prayer, who sends cake, who wear black attire and only God knows what else is coming. Is this what people call kelakar seram? Come on people... laugh... laugh...

It's difficult to arrest criminals who ran and hides from the police so lets arrest the easy ones...

Duh!

This and That

Missed Opportunities

Two days before my umrah trip, I received several phone calls. One offered me a fully sponsored spa course that will run during my umrah trip. I'm very interested but I have to decline. Another call is from a university asking me to conduct a training which they require during my umrah trip too. I have contacted them before and have done some follow-up, unfortunately the time they see fit to ask for my service is the time I have to be away and giving me such a short notice. What can I do? I declined them and apologized I can't suggest anyone in such a short notice while I'm busy preparing for my kenduri. Another call is from a company soliciting my training service for their client. The caller wanted a customized course outline and my profile so I stayed up after the kenduri completing the course outline and emailing it to him. He said his client can wait till after I return but when I called to meet him now, it doesn't seem so urgent to him anymore. Hmmmm... people say you'll have some challenges during your umrah. Our umrah trip run quite smoothly so probably these missed opportunities were part of my challenges. Our ustaz also mentioned not to be concerned about having to spend a lot of money to perform our umrah. Allah would give us more rezeki later insyaAllah. I have some project beginning middle of May so till then, I have to be patient.

Lost and Found

I've read and heard about people missing slippers and things while traveling especially in the vans or busses in Mekah or Madinah. A member of our group left his sling bag in the van after we've done our Miqat at Tan'eim. Hubby and I walked to the mosque and then stop to look for our group members. Why aren't they walking with us? We saw them still by the road side and looking at something. We wonder what the commotion there was all about but continued with our umrah. Later we found out one of the guy left his bag in the van. I was sorry for him. I would be quite disturbed if such thing happen to me. Everything important is in my sling bag.

When we saw the guy who lost the bag later, he told us the van driver somehow managed to contact his friend from the name card in the bag and they took a cab to meet the driver at another hotel because the driver didn't know where our hotel is and communication is at minimum. He received the call after he has completed his umrah. Isn't that such a good news :) Hubby also thought he lost his slipper at the mosque and he returned with a very uncomfortable 'selipar jepun' because the straps are twisted. Later when we went to the mosque again, we saw his slipper and he has been looking at the wrong place. And at our hotel cafeteria, people has left things there and we have heard announcements about who lost this and that. There is also one very elderly panicky makcik in our group. Whenever she couldn't find her things she would say, "Habislah dah hilang". I heard her uttered that 2-3 times during our trip including when we reached our hotel in Mekah when she couldn't find her bag. I can't resist saying, "Jangan kalut dulu makcik. Cari dulu." Alhamdulillah during our trip, nobody lost anything.

Children in the Mosque

The Arabs bring their children of any age to the mosque. Even if they have to pray under the scorching sun, they would ignore their baby crying in the baby prams in front of them while praying. Some mothers would carry their baby on their shoulder while praying, put them down for rukuk and sujud and carry the baby again to stop them from crying. Once I got a little distracted while praying because a baby is crawling in front of a saf and then return to the mother. Some would tie their baby's leg with cloth to them so the babies would not venture too far while they are praying. Some children played hide and seek, laughed and giggled, and ran around people who were praying. I prayed beside a mother who carried her toddler on her shoulder once. The little boy took away my specs. I got a little distracted there and quite worried if something happen to my extra pair of eyes but continued with the prayer. After prayer I saw my specs on my sling bag which I put in front of me. The mother was apologetic about the incident.

During one of our travel to Tan'eim with our group, the ladies were talking about this culture of bringing children to the mosque. It is a good culture to acquaint the children with the mosque while they were still very young. They pointed out how in Malaysia mothers didn't go to the mosque because the children is still very little. Even if the children is 10 years old they'll still give excuse the children is still small. One of them is going to educate her daughter-in-laws about bringing children to the mosque when she returns. And one of them touch my knee while saying this is also a lesson for the newly-weds like me. For some reason, our group members called me and hubby "pengantin baru". I don't know who gave them that idea. Probably because we were the youngest couple in the group. Other young people are either singles or married but perform their umrah without their spouse. :) We were among the young people there in comparison with other members of the group. I called some of the ladies 'kak' but they replied back referring to themselves as 'makcik'.

Back to the children issues, I bring this matter up because some mothers didn't pray with the excuse of their baby is crying their hearts out and they can't put them down or something like that. I know it could be heart wrenching but praying is fardhu for every Muslim. Every parents may hope they have a children that will pray for them when they are older or when they have left this world but that may not be the case. I have often heard people say a mother can take care of their 10 children but the 10 children can't take care of their mother. So just put down your babies for a while and pray. They'll cry but they'll be fine.

It's Not Difficult

I remember when I learn how to pray a long time ago, our ustazah told us to be very careful with the actions and to hold ourselves very tight during prayer as iblis and syaitan would be dangling from our dangling body parts if we didn't hold it tight. That ustazah should see how all the other people are praying in the mosque in Mekah and Madinah. I already have a taste of how different Muslims from other countries are in my university mosque. Besides, I subscribe to opinion that Islam is easy and Allah would not burden His ummah till the ibadah becomes so difficult to perform.

Some said be careful of how you read the Qur'an because if you pronounce wrongly it'll give different meaning. With such warning, those who have difficulties reading the Qur'an would abandon it altogether. Have they heard how the Muslims in other countries read the Qur'an. No one has any right to say they are committing sin just because they read the Qur'an differently due to their dialect and language style. I later found a hadith that says Allah gives manifold rewards to those who struggles to read the Qur'an but read them anyway.

Attitudes

Many have commented on the attitudes of the Arabs and I have seen some of it too. Yes some are very selfish because they wanted to perform their ibadah without thinking about the welfare of others. But if you really think about it, some acted that way due to fear. During tawaf or saie if you encounter a group of ladies walking arm in arm pushing everyone aside, they probably fear they would get left behind or lose their group and be around men who are not their mahram. Individually, they are kind people. I remember the lady who fold her sejadah and lend it to me when I fell asleep in the mosque due to my fever, a few who brought or offered me zam-zam water and some who offered biscuits and sweets while iktikaq in the mosque.

What to Pack for Umrah

I use all the clothes I brought. Some I use more than once because it is more comfortable and easier to wash. Hubby did not use all of his clothes I brought so men can bring less clothes than women. I have to wash hubby's singlet more often as he wore them with jubah and sarong. I probably could survive with less clothes too. I just have to make sure I have enough clothes in Madinah. I didn't wash any clothes in Madinah because we only stayed there about three and a half days. In Mekah, I only wash clothes I wanted to wear again. I also bought two jubah there and wore one of them in Mekah and one of them when we flew back.

I have some unworn tudung. It is best to bring tudung that is comfortable and convenient. No ironing necessary. I mostly use the slip on tudungs instead of those that requires brooches and pin. Since you'll be sweating a lot there, I prefer to wear a comfortable sweat absorbent camisole. I bought a few with pockets in front but didn't use the pocket at all so its probably unnecessary unless you travel alone and really need to separate your cash. As for us, hubby and I keep some cash separately as our risk handling measures so it's OK for both of us. Some wore the arm socks all the time. I did not when I don't have to perform umrah. I'm wearing long sleeve blouses and a telekung so that should cover enough. I still bring a pair though just in case it is necessary.

Some also bought the socks that has the openings in front said to be easier when you want to take ablution. I also have those but I prefer normal socks. Besides, I saw some ladies who didn't notice their feet were exposed through the front openings on their socks. There were times I didn't wear my socks like when we went out shopping at night or go down to the shop to have a sandwich but I carry a pair in my bag just in case it is needed. Come to think of it, instead of carrying telekung around when I went for meeting or training, I could carry the arm socks and a pair of socks instead... if I'm wearing a loose clothes that's comfortable for prayer of course. Less bulky and can fit in my handbag.

Do'a

We don't have to follow all the unfamiliar do'a in our Umrah guide book. I brought my Mathurat book. I wish I brought other do'a books I normally use as well because this is when you have all the time in the world to pray, pray and pray.

How Would You...?

How would you describe someone who refuses your offer of friendship?

I call them...

Sombong / Conceited

I can't think of any better word. Can you?

Umrah Trip: The Ka'abah

Here are some photos of the Ka'abah.


The Ka'abah at Night.













Pancuran Emas


Near Makam Ibrahim


The Ka'abah Kiswah Up Close.