Unsung heroes

The other day I was watching an episode of police and rescue drama series on the fox channel about a bunch of dedicated people in helping other people in distress and emergency situation. 

The episode was about an earthquake that struck the city of Los Angeles and how the brave rescue team went all their way risking their lives to search and rescue people who were trapped in a hotel building. 

Although there are several scenes showing casualties, towards the end of the show it was a happy ending when they managed to save a few that have survived against all odds.

Well it was just a good tv show nevertheless.

However this morning a heart breaking local news about real life dedicated heroes were received with sadness.

Six brave firemen were drown in a midst of rescuing a teenager who appears to have fallen into a disused mine in Puchong. The teenager is still missing.

And I just got to know that one of the firemen happened to live in the same neighbourhood. 

I may not know him or his family that well but I do know for sure that he will be sorely missed by his loved ones, friends and colleagues.

It is indeed a sombre mood today just like the weather itself.

Al-fatihah to all the perished firemen 

Gone baby gone

me and my little B

If you had been browsing this blog you will notice that some pictures accompanying the stories were missing. 

That is not entirely this blog's fault or mine either.

Lots of cherished kodak moment of my kids when they were small are totally gone forever when my old laptop was laid to rest few years back sob sob! 

Couldn't even retrieve them. Despite numerous attempts by Mr Husband to fix it.

And this is the reason why I have never contemplate to delete my blog. Its always neatly perched in the bookmarks section for as long as I can remember.

Who knows if I get really bored with facebook and instagram I can always come to this familiar playground and pour my hearts out again just like old times sake.

One day.

Until then.

Hello again

Thanks to all my friends near and afar who wished me a jolly birthday messages on Facebook few days ago.

May Allah SWT bless you all in abundance just as much as you wish for me in your silent doa.

Before I go on rambling I'd like to give a stern warning that this monologue might bore you to death. I shall try not to write anything cliche or corny stuff here.

So here goes nothing..

Ain't Facebook a great invention in the history of mankind. After karaoke that is. Another "leftover" from way past the 90s era and still making its strong existence in the era of social media hipsterism.

We should be thankful to Facebook because it has birthday reminder feature that we get to know our dear friends and beloved ones' birthday ahead of time. Facebook is like your personal assistant without having to pay its salary. You can praise or curse for all the world to see and yet it has no complaint against you. Awesome.

Seriously who can remember err let's say 500 mutual friends and acquaintances (that's my friend list by the way) birthdays effortlessly with a snap finger just like that? I bet not many of us do right. Heck, I don't even remember my kids cell phone numbers even though I call and text them like hundred times a day. Who needs to when you can just search them in your contact list. Makes you kinda take things for granted when life has become so simplified. It makes you lazy and dependable.

30 years ago when smartphone was a strange alien word no one has heard of, we the retro generation always rely on public phones to call someone and we do memorise their numbers by heart. But if you ask me today if I can instantly memorise like for example my sister in law's number I would just shrug off my shoulder with that sheepish smile. Of course I don't. She has like 3 different numbers for whatever reason and she is just a kindergarten teacher for goodness sake. Which is why I am forever grateful that my husband is not a building contractor. Can you imagine the chaos if he has more than 5 numbers lol.

Alright enough with the ramblings.

So what have I gain or learn so far from the many many birthdays that Allah has granted me mercifully even though I am so far away from being a good servant to Him for I have many many sins and regrets that I have yet to compensate them with complete submission devoid of worldly possessions. Pretty much nothing and something I guess.

Honestly, can we all live without technology? Fame? Wealth? Beauty?

I doubt so.

Truthfully I am just so weak a person can be. My iman is like the thinness of onion skin. I may have strong legs to run and flexible body to do all kinds of exercise but at the same time have a weak heart to dispel sins. I am such a hypocrite in that sense.

After reaching 51 years today I have learnt that wealth does not matter. Health does. Health is the most expensive commodity in the world. You can amass wealth by all means necessary but you can't buy health. You need to earn it. You need to invest time in it. Its a lot of hard work. Its never easy but its also doable. You will agree with me on this when you reach the middle age one day. I know I did.

And never ever for a second just when you think you had the best fitness, best stamina and youthfulness that is so commonly associated with exercise, you will never get sick. If you do then you are so vain. Because adversity can come in many forms. It strikes at you just when you least expect it.

Sometimes a little nudge is all you need to knock some senses in that thick skull.

And I learnt my lesson the humble way indeed.

Exercise rawks!

Bumped into an old neighbor recently. I had not seen her for quite a while since I moved out. We exchanged pleasantries and hugs. She was amazed at how different I look now she hardly recognized me. I take that as a compliment. It was I who actually noticed her first. Of course then I had lost so much weight. But what irks me, the first thing she said was what slimming product did I use. I was like cringe and tersengih macam kerang busuk.

Alahaiiii buat penat je aku berzumba pagi petang siang malam (ok I exaggerated that a bit) and that doesn't include piloxing, body toning, muscle conditioning, weight lifting, tabata, circuit training, HIIT and what nots. I practically sweat blood doing all that stuff adeh!

Coolly, I told her that I had never use any slimming product whatsoever for weight loss. I don't even go to slimming spa. Tak mampu beb coz its too damn expensive. I just follow buta-buta the old school way - eat balanced diet and exercise. Lots of it! Took me a year and a half to get where I am today. Its no easy feat I must say. Takes a lot of patience, endurance and perseverance.

I guess the truth is hard to swallow for some people. Maybe they think that exercise takes too much hard work and some simply don't have luxury of time to do it which I think is the most lame excuse ever. No pain no gain right? If you want something so bad you have to work your ass hard for it. There is no quick fix. And the fact that exercise is the most safest, cheapest and effective way to lose weight without any side effects makes it all the more appealing. Besides that it also maintains your stamina and gives you extra energy, you will look athletic, feel fit and active and at the same time reduce the risk of getting heart diseases and other inflammatory diseases caused by sedentary lifestyle, poor eating habits and unnecessary stress over time. I have been told many times that I appear younger than my actual age (mak jemah feel poyo jap haha) and I'm already in my late forties!

I have come to a stage where I no longer need to lose weight but to stay in shape and I have to admit maintaining my current weight is equally challenging. This is where one needs utmost discipline of highest level. But I have no complaints because I simply love exercise. Workout is best done with your spouse or friends in the same boat and in my case I chose aerobic because it combines cardio incorporates dancing and of course great fun. You want to start exercise? I suggest get a chic looking workout attire with good training shoes and you are already there. Make an impact!

And oh by the way, speaking about slimming product, if you take a short cut be prepared to get a short term result as well. I have tried and tested those. Not worth it at all.

Blanje welfie satu.....my awesome aerobic buddies. Spot me if you can haha!

Never too late

Someone once said the secret of getting ahead is getting started. So when someone well known in the blogosphere initiated this campaign of BlogReviveDay recently, I get very excited coz I have not blogged for ages! 

My blog is filled with cobweb (whose blog doesn't right) and left to rot under seldom browsed bookmarks in my laptop. I hadn't use my laptop for quite some time too coz these days smartphones do all the smart jobs even online banking! 

With other popular social media taking over like Facebook and the more favorable interactive whatsapp and telegram joining the club, its easy to understand why blogging has become obsolete, a thing of the past. The novelty just wears off eventually. By the way who reads online diary anymore right?

I started blogging in 2006 and gradually stop blogging somewhere in 2012. I did try to reactivate blogging last year but after like 2 or 3 postings it went dead!

Okay, enough with the ramblings and let's hope after this I will blog as and when I feel like it. I don't want to feel  the pressure to post every single day like some hardcore bloggers do (hehe) as I am not a good writer and my blog don't have substance. I write craps a lot and I swear sometimes. Tak padan dengan imej muslimah kan LOL!

Blanje selfie satu!

This is our poyo cat Peah in her gediks pose haha!

5 minutes late

5 minutes late and 20 minutes of pure agony. I was late in fetching my son at his co-curricular activities at school today. And because of the delay my son was nowhere to be found. It was the most anxious moment for me. I had to search high and low for him in the school compound that a concerned teacher took notice of my visible manner walking around like a headless chicken. Turns out she was my son's last year class teacher.

When it becomes pointless to keep searching him as the crowd becomes smaller I quickly head off to the school's administration office to make a phone call as I did not bring my semakfon with me (big mistake!). Called home, Kak Ngah picked up and was so relieved to know that he's home safely. Phewww! Call me a paranoid or over cautious mom. These days with senseless crimes happening everywhere and every second even at your front gate, there's no excuse for being careless or taking things easy when it comes to your child's safety.

Lesson learnt here. Always remind little B to wait at the Pondok Guard in case I'm late again. He's the type of kid that needs to be reminded over and over again. On a positive note (I always try to analyze things when something like this happens) I was quite surprised that little B managed to memorise the usual route to our rented home although we moved in less than a month. To think that he was alone and because he doesn't know the shortcuts he had to walk like half a kilometer under a hot sunny day and that was quite a feat for an 8 year old kid. 

When I reached home I found him lying down on the sofa with sweats all over him and the fan was blasting full speed and I'd expect him to least get tearful from the incident but instead all he could ask from me was "Could I have a glass of iced water please?".

Yeah that's my little hero alright.

Opss didnt you hear me well madam?

Best answer ever! That's how you answer to some perasan bagus snooty people. Never ever mess with a laser-tongued gay flight attendant. LOL!

Change is always good

Yeah I've decided to re-name my blog title and this time I chose my former blog title as a new one to mark my comeback to blogging.

Just hope that this isn't going to be hot hot chicken shit out of boredom episodes. LOL!

A moving experience

Whoaa decided to blog again after a very long hiatus. Maybe Facebook has become too restricted in terms of creative writing that I need a different outlet to burst out. Besides in facebook people dont really care to read anything above 250 words on your status unless you're a motivational speaker or a celebrity-famous ustadz or ustadzah. Other than that Facebook is all about hard-core selfies and foodies. LOL!

Okay first thing first. We finally moved out from our first home after living here in Saujana Utama for 13 years. There were just so many sweet sour and bitter memories taken place in this home. When we first moved here my eldest child was just barely 2 years old and I was heavily pregnant with my second. There was a tinge of sadness in my heart about this place. After all my kids grew up here. From when they were babies to being young adults now. How time flies really fast eh. Sob sob.

I also discovered (sheepish...) that I was a moderate (bordering on severe) hoarder. I had kept unneeded unused items in my kitchen for so long that when its time to pack things I had no recollection whatsoever how they got there. No wonder I complained so much about not having space in my tiny kitchen. The junks were so many that the moving truck had to make a second trip to dispose them. Good riddance!

If you think moving out is tiring and exhausting wait till you move in another house. We rented a smaller house whilst waiting for our new home to be renovated in 3 months time. We think that moving into a single storey 3 bedrooms + 2 bathrooms house was much easier for the unpacking and sorting out stuffs. Not really. Its double the work coz we dont have much space left to accommodate our belongings and we ended up storing less-used items in the 3rd room that had been converted as a temporary storeroom. Since the 3rd room cant be used for proper sleeping requirements, naturally Little B (I probably had to use his real name after this as he's no longer a little boy now huhu...) had to share room with us. Can you imagine sleeping next to a very lasak boy who also has an equally lasak dad and ohh I had developed back pain ever since then. And I also made a few trips to see the chiropractor about this problem. I just need to bear all this for a short while. It seems like eternity...sigh!

On a good side, it is refreshing to move in a different neighbourhood surroundings though the environment is somewhat the same. Different neighbours of course but same ol' attitude haha! No matter where you go this is Boleh-Land. I shall not elaborate on that coz its too boring. But I do notice one thing apparent. The concept of greeting and welcoming new neighbours is slowly diminishing. We are reduced to smiling each other whenever our paths crossed. I guess that's the price we had to pay in the name of urbanisation. You win some you lose some. 

Having said that I'm looking forward to move to our permanent home when the time comes. I hope things will get better if not perfect. One can only hope to have nice and problem free neighbours whom you can rely on when there is an emergency situation. A mental note to myself. Make sure to do housewarming party and invite all neighbours alike and probably make new friends and avoid animosity. Sounds like a great idea to start with. LOL!

Meanwhile I just keep adjusting to my otherwise mundane routines to  a very quiet neighbourhood. Cheers!

Pic left I was carrying Kak Long in my arms before moving in at our old house and pic right taking one last photo of us together after moving out...Kak Long is too heavy for me to carry hehe...

Been a while

Whenever I need some inspiration to uplift my spirit high I turn to Reader's Digest. Feel good stories are abundance in there.

By the way, its good to be back where I'm good at. Rambling that is.

My new love interest

Nice eh?

Just got it last weekend. A gift from dear hubby. Thanks to him for being generous and kind enough to buy me this cool gadget. Baik ada makna tuh haha! 

My old smartphone has decided to become obsolete after 2 solid years of providing good service. She was such an excellent and conscientious Personal Assistant. 

No wonder they are called smartphones. They look and work smart. 

Tale of a bantal bucuk

any takers for this item? sold for 10 ringgit...hey there's a sentimental value attached to it so that explains the steep price tag :P

It (pic above) once belonged to this girl named Kak Ngah. It was her most sayangable favorite item since she was a toddler. It had served unconditionally as her sleeping aide, her best buddy, her pacifier, her punching bag (when she throws tantrum) and as play-doll in the absence of a doll. I don't really understand how she managed to picture it as a doll but she did anyway. Some imagination that kid has.

I somehow believe this strong attachment with bantal bucuk has some connection with the feeling of insecurity and a sense of emotional comfort for its owner. Its a great soothing device for a dispirited soul be it young or old. And its hereditary, (the attachment to a bantal bucuk) being passed down from a generation to a generation. In this case, Kak Ngah got it from me!

I started to develop neediness on bantal bucuk when I was into my teens. Back then, it was cool and trendy for girls to have one or multiples in their bedroom. Its a must-have accessory I tell ya. And my bantal bucuk was more fashionable (retro?) and colorful with flowery designs and smelled naturally good too. You don't really get to see all those "maps" all over the place unlike my daughter's bantal bucuk. Lo and behold if she caught me trying to put her precious bantal bucuk in the washing machine. Do that and she'll bawl for hours on end till I surrender. I tried to smell it once and I felt like puking bile coz it was that bad. Not to mention the color changes from spotless white to yucky yellowish that I swear it could turn crystal clear water to teh-tarik look in split seconds. Awesome.

Well, to make an obviously long and tedious boring story short, the bantal bucuk that has faithfully accompanied Kak Ngah for such a long long time has finally been neglected, abandoned, ditched or whatever you call  it when you don't need that person/thing anymore. Such a cruel fate at the hand of an 11 year old heartbreaker girl. Sob sob.

She seems to no longer need it though it still lurks around the house, sometimes under the sofa or between the sofa cushion, sometimes under her bed for God knows how long it has been down there collecting dust, sometimes stucked behind the door or crumpled in the dirty laundry basket and wherever it wants to be lah. It never stays in one place at a time. It travels a lot lately. Macam dendang perantau gitu. Today maybe in Kak Ngah's room and tomorrow maybe under the dining table or on the fridge top who knows. Come to think of it, I seriously think that bantal bucuk has a life of its own! 

Macam dalam cerita anak patung yang berhantu tuh. Penama dia, Chucky?! Yikes!


P/S: To this day I still have my bantal bucuk and I'm happy to report that it has been with me for more than 20 years. During those time only the pillow cover keeps changing but the content is still the same and my bantal bucuk had on several occasion shared some lovely threesome together with the husband and I. Oopss nothing kinky of that sort ok he he :P

Carpe Diem if you can

I just checked my foursquare check-ins on facebook recently and I realized to my horror that the world revolves around me is less than 50km radius wide! Its like living black and white  in Pleasantville (its the movie in case you don't know what it is..) back and forth going the same route and doing the same  mundane routine over and over again. Sigh.

What a boring dull life! 

A long time ago, I wrote about the 50 things I wanna do before I die. Some of the things I wish to do then I had accomplished them now and to tell the truth I had never ever thought of doing it before because of the "malas" attitude and also fear factor. Now that I had conquered the fear (not entirely yet hehe), I should be able to reach other things in life if I put my mind and soul to it. Its possible to succeed your dreams and aspirations if you are really serious about it and stick to it.

The 50 things I wanna do back then in 2007 (see list). 

1. perform the ultimate pilgrimage for muslims - the haj
2. visit the 7 continents and wonders of the world
3. learn skateboarding or surfboarding (either one)
4. be the 1st tourist astronaut to visit Mars
5. meet oprah winfrey
6. learn 1 or 2 foreign languages
7. learn scuba-diving 
8. learn to write feature-writing and become a good columnist
9. treat myself to an expensive spa treatment
10. attend andrea bocelli's performance of a lifetime
11. learn to bake cakes
12. do a duet with Josh Groban
13. sponsor education for underprivileged kids
14. do braces for my teeth
15. do lasik surgery for my eyes
16. do a major makeover
17. do a liposuction
18. buy a bigger house
19. get my writing published in a form of a book!
20. start my own business that I enjoy doing
21. donate money to charity
22. sponsor medical bills for people who can't afford them
23. take a self defense course
24. take pottery classes
25. learn to play 1 or 2 musical instrument
26. get a supporting role in a Steven Spielberg movie
27. do exercise seriously and not just talking about it!
28. grow a small but charming garden
29. read as many books that I can
30. buy an expensive dress
31. learn how to sew well
32. attend a live classical musical concert in Vienna
33. invest in a stock market and become a millionaire
34. be an inventor
35. learn how to draw and paint
36. learn how to skate on ice
37. buy my dream car
38. learn to swim and be a good swimmer
39. do skydiving feat from 30,000 feet above sea level
40. do bungeejumping
41. live in a farm somewhere in Tuscany, Itali
42. learn to fly a small plane
43. learn to ride a horse
44. go on a cruise ship
45. take up photography
46. learn bellydancing
47. be a little more kinder and compassionate
48. devote myself to a cause that I'm passionate about and volunteer for it
49. learn to appreciate my imperfections
50. do backpacking all over the world

Out of the 50 things listed above, I had done no 7, 13 (though the amount is so little huhu), 18 (Alhamdulillah for the rezeki given by Allah SWT), 27 (still doing it actively insyAllah), 29 (does reading catalogues count?) and 38 (still learning the strokes and techniques) and its still a long way to go from there. There are of course some things I will never be able to achieve even if I live to be a hundred but what the heck, you'll never know what you're getting at. Life is like a box of chocolate so says Forrest Gump.

(pic snagged from google)