My Country is 53 Years Old Today

Turning 53 is not a joke. A lot had been sacrificed....sweat, blood, money. But I don't think I ever really realized how lucky I am until recently when I can see a lot of other country out there struggled to unify their people, fighting about which race is better, which religion is greater, which lands belong to whom. We Malaysian with our multi-ethnics population somehow managed to live a fairly peaceful lives. We are a family after all.... and what family don't fights? But in the end, it is all about love and tolerance. Our forefathers gave up their lives to build this country....I just hope the new generation would do the same to maintained what had been created. Happy Birthday Malaysia. May we a have a lot more years of peace and tolerance.

Elvis Presley - Let It Be Me

What a Weekend

This third weekend of Ramadhan has been hectic. Not much time to hang around and be lazy. Remind me so much of my Leadership Program weeks. And I am not talking about my work....my social events has been filled to the brim.

My weekend started with me being on call on Friday, coping with a patient who underwent 6 hours surgery and her surgeon who stayed on to work with her another 8 hours post operatively. Then Ted & I sent our Matrix for a major service. My baby had a big Raya gifts of a new drive shaft and timing belts. Driving it now is so smooth and steady. While waiting for it to be service, we went to Kamdar just to browse....but end up buying Ted's Raya clothes and got the perfect window/door dressing for the condo, which I so love. Our balcony door look so chic now.  After that, I was busy finishing up the frame photos for Diyana before going to the breaking fast with The Pelopor.

Breaking fast with the Pelopor was like a reunion of our DiGi Teambuilding. Suran from Digi was there along with the other Peloporians ....Abang Kamal, Zaim, Haidy and the rest of the team. It was a cozy event and we get to meet up with all the people that built Pelopor. It was like a family breaking fast and I was glad that the NEXT coaches was accepted as part of the family. These are amazing people that are passionate in what they do.....just like Ted. I hope this alliances will continue to flourish.

 

We decided to drive back to Seremban for sahur at 4 am in the morning. I am so grateful for Ted who knows how important to have quality time with family. We arrived while Ibu, Ayah, Aida & Hazrik were eating and I am contend to spend that short half hour with them, bersahur together. Surprisingly, Ibu allowed us to sleep late and we woke up in the afternoon, undisturbed. Ted & I then went window shopping in Seremban Parade... came back late but another surprise was Ibu did not make any noise. I managed to make butter cake for Ibu & ayah before break fast and I was happy that Ibu was happy about the cake. Somehow, it is easier to please her now. I find it less taxing and actually enjoy doing stuff for her. Which is another big surprise.

We had our Terawih in Seremban and I prayed next to Ibu....and now back in our messy but cozy home in Setapak. The condo is work of love in progress....ever so slowly. But like I said before, I am loving it. I have lots to be grateful for, and God  bless the day I married Ted.

Let It Be Me

First Do No Harm

Sometimes doctors forget that in certain occasion, not doing anything would be a way to treat a patient. Waiting and watching is a part of treating a patient. Wait for condition to deteriorate and take action only when necessary.... because sometimes if we act too early or hastily, we might miss something or we may intervene too early and makes the condition worst.
I wish MH would remember this today but then it's just a wish. I live in reality and in real life....MH has itchy fingers. I feel like cutting them off!!!!!!

Eat, Pray, Gifts and Love- CWAKA Style

Ted & I found a new family in CWAKA Rovers. When we started out to join the Pelopor Adventure Team in the DiGi Teambuilding a month back, we never knew that it will grow into something more then a training...a job. The affiliation grew into something more...we became a family.

 
And in this blessed month of Ramadhan, it is only natural to break fast with family. After much messaging and updates in Facebook, we all decided to have the first ever breaking-fast for CWAKA in Husna's place on 22nd August 2010. The event was planned out thoughtfully. Sir Ted decided amongst the breaking fast and praying Maghrib as a family, we should exchanged gifts. And what an enjoyable event it turned out to be. The small apartment was filled with laughter and love that only a true family could filled.

We even had gifts for the most voted male and female. The funniest part was, Najib who was voted most got the CWAKA helmet (courtesy gift from Ted). Najib who constantly made a 'rempit' joke all the way down from Broga deserved the helmet. It was hilarious. Everybody received such appropriately meaningful gift that we were constantly laughing at them.

I was excited about my gift most. I made a photo collage of all the Rovers' members...which turned out to be the most personal gift of all. I was happy to see the satisfied and proud faces of the members when they saw the individually crafted page. Ted is right... the most beautiful gift you could ever give is the creation of love. That photo collage was created out of my labour of love for them. Even though the recipient turned out to be Aiman Irfan and Husna, I know that each one of them had received a part of my love in the collage....

 

 

So to the CWAKA Rovers....Ted, Aiman Q, Abang Kamal, Zaim, Haidy, Fiza, Diyana, Shu, Azreen, Zali, Sam, Along, Najib, Zila, Aiman Irfan, Husna, Ari, Nisya, Leong....thank you for creating such happiness in me. Love you all to bits.

The RobinHood Phenomenon

Robbing from the rich and giving to the poor.
What a noble idea it is, isn't it? It is a folklore, a way to entertain the poor and helpless....justifying the act of stealing which in itself is wrong, making it noble and right.
But how can stealing be right. This is a concept which I could never comprehend. No matter how much I love the idea of giving....especially giving to the less fortunate, I could never justified stealing for them.
But lately, through few misfortune events occurring to me and my family, I believe that people who stole from us believed that they are justified in their actions. A year ago, I lost a valuable trinket, stolen from me. We suspect it was done by a couple of Indonesian worker who helped us renovate our Cheras home. We soon discovered they stole a lot more from Ted...who lost a lot of his construction items. We concluded that just because they think we have a lot, it gave them the right to take from us.Ted went on a mission to make sure those men never worked again in Malaysia. They soon disappeared and never to be heard again.
Recently, Ayah & Mak decided to renovate their Subang Jaya's home which was the office of Avted....hiring a small company with some Indonesian workers. We saw the result today and it was depressing. Even though the house turned out beautifully, there were more disappointments then satisfaction. The leaky roof was not fixed properly....Ted's precious office were destroyed with missing precious paraphernalia and office tables destroyed. Azyan's loss his new driller and some trophy. Again, I thought of how these people believed they could take whatever they want just because they think that Ayah has more then them. I could not comprehend this idea of stealing.
So again, Ted went on a rampage....swearing to do justice and more. Those men had stolen for the last time. I can't wait to see the what happen next. As of tonight, Ted already set the motion of chasing after those rats. He will meet up with the contractors tomorrow and has spoken to the police.
Stealing and taking people's stuff can not be justified even if you have less or none....hell has no fury like Ted's scorned.

Sharing

I have always believe that the more you give, the more you get. Life lesson for today is share more. Doesn't matter if you have none but if you have some....share. At the end of the day, you will not loose anything, instead you will gain.
When I was young, one lesson that was always taught was sharing. Ibu is very adamant about us children to share whatever we have. Aida & I always shared a room even if there was an extra room. Our study table is this huge round table that we share....it is a way to share our space.
We share food...whenever we buy anything to eat, Ibu always make sure that they are shared even if there isn't enough for a person. What I remember most is how we always shared our individual plate in a restaurant. Each of us would order different things from the menu and once they arrived, we will rotate the plates so that each of us have a taste of the others plate. It is something that I miss about my family....and we still do it whenever we go out for a meal.
Today, I found myself a bit disturbed when Aiman didn't want to share his Coke Light with his Abang Azrin. Later in the car, I voiced out my concerned to him. I tried to explain to him that we should share because we will get more. Rezeki akan sentiasa ada kalau rezeki dikongsi. I can only hope that he understand the importance and incorporate in his life. What I can do now is to set an example and pray he will eventually see it. This is my prayer today......

Broga The Beautiful

Last weekend 8th of August, the Pelopor  Adventure Team kept their promise to bring Ted & I up Bukit Broga in Semenyih. They saw how Ted took a new interest in hiking and after Gunung Senyum, they thought, especially Zaim and Haidy, that Ted would love Broga too. They were right. Ted was so excited about Broga, he convinced me to open an event page in Facebook, inviting more people to join us for the hike. In the end we managed to convince about 22 people including Aiman, Asnida and Asrof. I wanted to bring Airena along but unfortunately she cancelled last minute.....oh well.

We decided too see the sunrise so our journey started as early as 3 am, meeting in a mamak shop in Semenyih. Asrof & Asnida were already waiting for us there....they have been there since 2 am, took a nap while waiting for us. The others arrived soon  after that and while having breakfast, I can see how exciting this trip was going to be.

As we arrived in the kelapa sawit plantation, I couldn't see anything but darkness. But as we parked, I realized they were many before us. There in between the kelapa sawit plants, were cars parked in rows. I read about this place before and learned how it is a haven for hikers and photographers. We gathered and after a short briefing and stretching, led by Zaim, we made our way into the darkness, light up by torchlight and head lamps. It was a magical sight....seeing rows of lights moving into the abyss in succession.

I had experienced in long hike before so I paced myself, allowing everybody to move ahead. Ted found me and soon we found ourself at the back of the pack. Ted at first struggled and I followed his pace. But he was undeterred.... moving slowly forward. We knew Zaim as a sweeper would not fail us. He was with Shu keeping Ari company, who was soon was out of breath and moved even slower. Ted & I kept going forward slowly but surely. it was an experienced I never felt before, moving into the unknown, taking the hill a step at a time. Most of the time I followed Ted, making sure he was ok.

Along the way we met a few groups of hikers in succession. Some were slower and some were faster. We never felt alone despite the darkness. A few times we stopped and caught our breath, we would turned around and see flashes of lights moving closer....what a sight it was. We made a few pit stop and finally reach the top at 6.30 am. It was an amazing feeling. Despite the darkness, Ted looked at me and said how I glowed....it was the exercise. He said I looked like the time I came back from LP second weekend!

Ari and Zaim soon joined us and it was an amazing feeling to have everyone sitting and camping at the boulder picked by Haidy and Uda earlier on. They were the scout team, and along with Aiman, were one of the few to arrived first.

Sitting on the boulder witnessing the  twilight hour, I couldn't stop being awed of how beautiful and clean the air was. As the sun rise....I see faces that glowed and each time, I catch my breath. As darkness turned to light, we saw the enormous crowd up on Broga. They were clusters of people everywhere along the trail,  some perched on the many boulders situated on the hill. Someone said it was like there were a huge sale up here and the crowd was huge.

2 hours on that boulder were spent talking, chatting and just enjoying the view. I was a shutter bug and could not stop taking pictures. After the customary hanging of Pelopor banner, we took a group photos and made our way down to the foothill. As usual, the Pelopor team, being true to their nature of environmentalists, collected the trash left behind by those before us. I was so proud of Asrof who without even being asked, help to carry them down too....

Suffice to say the trip down was even harder but more rewarding in terms of the view. It was breathtaking and I was grateful at being able to experienced it with Ted, Aiman, Asrof, Asnida and my new found hiking friends.

I know that Ted & I will be doing more of hiking...as the reward is more then I could ever express. The feeling it gave me and the experience is one that I would love to duplicate over and over again.....