24 December 2011

Yesterday we had a little ceremony at the office. A new presents exchange tradition. Everybody had to buy a present, 40 ringgit minimum in value and we would change them with each other through a lucky draw. There were like 10 of us and for my part I bought a lovely IKEA table lamp for RM45.00. Guess what I got in exchange? A lousy small box of chocolate and a romantic love songs CDs. I mean whoever bought physical CDs anymore nowadays? There's iTunes and there's 4shared. Not very thoughtful whoever that fella is.

Later in the evening we all gathered at Atrium Lounge & Café in Sunway Pyramid for dinner. It was a 80 bucks per head buffet type dinner. The place is located right next door to Sunway Pyramid, sandwiched between the shopping mall and the resort. The ambiance & environment inside is quite nice. The place is filled with people but not too crowded. As always I tried a little bit of everything from baked salmon to Mongolian barbecue. We ate there until 10:00 pm. I tried to join in the conversation but I couldn't make any sense what they were talking about since they're not speaking in English or Malay. Still, I had a nice time there. Who doesn't like free food right?

The next morning I woke up with a really bad stomach ache. My tummy was in constant pain but yet it's not diarrhea because I had no urge to go to the toilet. I'm guessing the raw baked salmon from last night didn't really agree with me. It's definitely food poisoning. We planned to go back to Tanah Merah early this morning but since I was so weak and in pain we didn't go until 10:00 am. My wife did 2/3 of the driving while I slept for most of the journey. At least I tried to. By midday my body was hot all over and in addition to the stomach ache I now have a fever. Just great.

Nevertheless we made it safely to Tanah Merah, thanks to my wife. After this she can already drive from KL to here all by herself already. As of the moment, after an extended visit to the restroom my tummy felt a little better. Still I felt weak and this throbbing headache is killing me. Good night.

22 December 2011

I have this age-old ritual whereby whenever I bought a new shoe, I will spend a night sleeping in them. No kidding. I've been doing this since my teenage years. It's not like I'm superstitious or something, it's just that I'd like to 'feel' the shoe, walk around with it inside the house for the last time before I go out and cannot do that again.

So yesterday I bought a new pair of boots. As always it's a Blackhammer, the same brand that I've been buying for the last 7 years. It's very tough, comfortable and most importantly affordable (and yeah I'm also loyal). You can find their HQ in Serdang next to the Pasar Malam. As usual with any new shoes I also slept wearing it last night. At least for the first 5 minutes before taking it of.

I'm too old for this kind of nonsense :)

Sent from my iPhone

13 December 2011

There's a story to tell behind this picture.

Yesterday I sent my USB flash drive to the cleaners. Literally. It was in my jeans' pocket and I totally forgot about it until it came out fresh and clean from the washing machine. That's why I had to put it under the desk lamp overnight. Other than that, I also used the old store in a bag of rice method for another night just to make sure all the moisture is really gone. Today prayed to the Lord and plugged the flash drive into my PC. Guess what? It still works! Perfectly. So next time you accidentally sent your electronics to the cleaners, remember: lights and rice.

That thing I used to prop up the flash drive under the lamp? It's a packet of Yasmin pills. Married couples should know this. It's our preferred method of contraception. This thing is quite expensive too at 50 ringgit a pop. Previously we've been using Marvelon. Well actually my wife does all the hard work. She claimed it makes her fat so the change to Yasmin. Compared to our previous method of birth control, this one is heaven. My sex life has never been better since. Some people prefers IUCD. That's good too. But that method is even more expensive. Some claim it has it's fair share of side effects. Actually every birth control method has some side effects. You'll just have to deal with it. Whatever it is I prefer the previous two compared to coitus interruptus. Personally, I feel one of the main reason guys get married is so that they can let it all out at the right place and the right time. Coitus interruptus is suitable only for porn stars or unmarried couples. I hated it. It doesn't feel right.

That little UMNO notebook you see there is a gift from a friend. I use it to write down all the movies that I have burned to my DVDs. Just because I hate UMNO doesn't mean I have to throw away a perfectly good notebook. That's all. The End.

11 December 2011

Last month I got 4 free movie tickets from those kind people at Nuffnang for my birthday. Today I finally get to see a movie with my wife at TGV The Mines. Early in the morning we visited my Mom who just came back from Mecca, left Hana with her and went on to watch the hottest movie on the screen today, Ombak Rindu with an all-star assemble such as Aaron Aziz, Maya Karin and Lisa Surihani. The movie was adapted from a Malay novel of the same name which I haven't read (or plan to). Overall it was a good movie really. Filled with tragedy, love and ultimately a happy ending.

That said some people seems to have an issue with the movie. Utusan for example ran a full-length review condemning the movie as useless garbage. Former MTV VJ turned actor/host Wardina also seemed to think that this move would set a bad precedent to Muslims, especially the youth in the country. Aaron Aziz never prays (what do you expect? He's Singaporean) and Maya Karin seemed to enjoy being pimped by her captors. The thing about arguing with these so-called pious people is you can't really win against them. Simply because they're on the right side. God's gift to humankind. If they're so holy, what business do they have showing up on TV every day especially TV3, mother of all slanders and lies?

If it wasn't for the fact that Ombak Rindu did so well and many people were singing praises about the movie, I doubt any people would rise up and launch a crusade against it. It's a movie for goodness' sake. Purely for entertainment. Nobody's perfect on the silver screen let alone in real life. A bunch of hypocrites that's what you are. If you think this movie is bad then stop going to the cinema or stop watching another movie, ever. All of them are shit and worthless anyway. Stay at home or join a tabligh like my brother. If you're so holy and good, be consistent. Not whack a decent & completely harmless movie and then go on a date with your boyfriend. Holy people shouldn't be dating. Be more like PAS. They consistently fight to uphold the tenets of Islam. No matter if it draws the ire of some section of the community. At least they're not hypocrite.

Seriously. Stop going to the movies, ever.

4 December 2011

It's school holiday again and time to bring my kids to Disneyland!

No? Not even to the beach or any theme park?

I wish.

Thing is it's not that I don't want to. It's just I can't afford such luxuries right now. Not yet at least. So we did the next best thing. Pack them off to stay with their grandparent for a month. At least our parent would be happy. So would the kids, I hope.

When I was little, my parent did the same thing. Almost every school holiday my Dad would fetch us and pack us off to Penang to live with our grandma during the holidays. I guess that was the decent and economical thing to do other than let us waste our school break doing nothing. My grandma, she would be delighted to see us then. She would cook us all kinds of wonderful meals and food, like that authentic Penang fish curry. You can't find that kind of curry anywhere else in Malaysia. Only a real Penangnite can cook a fish curry like that. And I don't usually eat fish mind you. But for her, I'd make an exception. Let's not forget about her legendary 9 inch roti canai. Yes, my grandma makes her own roti canai. Don't need to go to no mamak to have roti canai whenever we were in Penang. Grandma would roll her own dough, spread them around, flip them in the air like a boss and cook them on the round pan thingy just like a real mamak. Where'd she learn to do that? You guess is as good as mine.

Apart from that she would also ask my uncles to bring us sightseeing around Penang. We would visit Bukit Bendera, Padang Kota Lama, Komtar and have a bath at Batu Feringghi among others. But the highlight of our visit must be Penang Fair. We can't wait to visit that fair. It's huge and we could watch concerts by the top artists of the day and play all kind of games. It was the good times.

However as the years go by, my uncles started to have a family of their own and then suddenly we have nobody to take us anywhere anymore. So most of the time we just chill at grandma's big house at Lengkok Pemancar, Gelugor. Since then, our annual visit to Penang was not that fun anymore. My Dad would be too busy working in KL, Selangor, Johore or God knows where and the only time he has was to pick us up from Pasir Mas and drop us in Penang. We'll only see him again about 4 weeks later. Around that time I wish he would stop sending us there to Penang in the first place. The fun and games was all gone and I especially felt like a prisoner in that big place. Don't know what my siblings felt though but I stopped looking forward to such visits soon after that. Worse I started to create all kind of mischief to get their attention. Once I sprayed aerosol all over the second floor and got a handful of scolding from my grandma. Not to mention get into a fight with my cousin Fendi. I was really bored. After my parent got divorced, we rarely go to Penang again, if ever. Maybe once in two years, something like that.

So you see, I'm worried if my kids would somehow feel or experience the same thing. I do hope that's not the case. Mia for example is very friendly and has no problems making new friends. Adam on the other hand is rather like me, shy and very reserved at first. But over time he'll warm up to others. Eventually. That said, I trust their grandparent has something fun and exciting in store for them back home. After all Linda's father just retired from the force earlier this year. He for once has all the time in the world.

If not, at least Adam has his new Playstation console to play with at home. When I was his age, I'm just happy playing with my cheap video game console all day long. That's how I became the champion Street Fighter player in the neighborhood. I hope that rubs off to him somehow.

Disneyland and similar theme parks will come. But not right now. The future maybe.

1 December 2011

Today my sister in law gave birth to a new baby boy named Muhammad Umar Khalif in Manjung, Perak. It's their first boy in the family after having 2 girls previously and they're mighty glad. The husband is going to slaughter 2 goats in gratitude. Welcome little Umar. As you will soon find out, I'm your coolest uncle ever.

25 November 2011

A few weeks ago, I received an email invite for this Malam Kecemerlangan (excellence awards night) from the Institute of Education Development (InED), UiTM. It is a night to celebrate long distance students who's got on the dean's list during the 2nd, 3rd and 4th semester which I happen to be. Since it's free and it has been ages since I've been to dinners of any kind, I quickly replied yeah count me in.

So today I had my best shirt and pants on, shoes polished and even my favorite neck tie around my neck for the occasion. Actually I only have one neck tie, that black one that I bought from Tesco last week for 16.90. Thanks to 5 years of boarding school, I still remember how to wear a tie, effortlessly. The event was held at Shah Alam Convention Center we got there as early as 6:30 in the evening. Much to my dismay, most of my guy classmates decided they were too cool for this event and bailed. Well, it's your loss.

The event itself is pretty modest yet glamorous if you see how some of the girls dressed up. The food was so so and the awards-giving ceremony later on didn't feel that special especially when you have 200 other people getting the same accolade as you. Still it feels nice to be recognized by the university after all these while. Although we worked twice as hard and paid twice as much than the full time student, the university had largely ignored us for the past 3 years or so no matter how well we did.

For me, I had a good time. Good food, good company and the chance to dress up once in a while. Check out these photos from the night at my Posterous blog.

24 November 2011

When I celebrated my 30th birthday, I used to work with something that I love. Information Technology. At least that's what I thought. I still love IT though. But circumstances at my old workplace made me left something I love doing the most towards something that I don't really enjoy but I had to do nevertheless. At the end of the day, or end the month, it's the pay check that matters. On time. Mouth to feed and bills to pay, those kind of things.

Just because I didn't like it now, doesn't mean I won't like it forever. People can change. My job scope could change. Things happen. I call this a transition period. Perhaps once it pays good enough I might just close my eyes on the unpleasant things. Perhaps. But for now I'll just take it in my stride. Take each day as it comes. Be grateful for what you have. For others might not be so fortunate.

Big thanks to my wife who bought me this huge chocolate indulgence cake and the card. Also to my friends online and offline for all the wishes. You guys are awesome. Check out this sweet birthday present from @shhaslinda. I always wanted one of these. It's like she could read my mind or something.

23 November 2011

Last week my wife lost her iPhone 3G in a little accident at home. Actually it was more of a tragedy and it involves Mia Ariana and a full bladder. Anyway as any regular iPhone users should know, after using the best damn phone in the world for some time, they would exhibit withdrawal symptoms after losing it. That includes lack of sleep, loss of productivity (Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja) and that empty feeling deep down inside. So my wife rather than suffer through all 5 stages of agony, decided to do the wise thing and bought another iPhone (after much prodding and moral support from her husband).

That brings us to this beautiful new, reconditioned iPhoned 3GS phone you see above. Since iPhone 4 is still too expensive for our budget, we had to settle for the next best thing. In Low Yat Plaza there are two types of iPhone 3GS'. Second hand or a reconditioned (recon) unit. There's no such thing as a new iPhone 3GS in the market right now. If they say it's new, it's probably a recon unit. A recon (new) iPhone 3GS phone at Low Yat is only around 1K while a second hand iPhone 4 is about RM1.6K but they're still hard to come by.

To me, this old and underpowered iPhone 3GS still beats the most of the best or newest Android smartphones out there. Although those droids easily outshine the 3GS in hardware specifications, software-wise they're still light years behind. iOS 5, iTunes integration and hundred of thousands quality apps on and off the App Store. Can Android copy that? I don't think so. During my short-lived experiment with Android, I had a tough time finding any decent app for my phone. And even they come from the same publisher, somehow the Android app will look much uglier than their iOS counterpart. And have you tried to root (jailbreak) an Android? I did. About a dozen times actually but failed every time. I consider myself technologically advanced and yet I couldn't liberate my Android even by following all the instructions online to the letter.

Then there's the case of Android fragmentation. Sure there are literally hundreds of Androids to chose from to suit any budget. However some of the cheaper Android phones are so crappy, you better of buying a generic Nokia dumbphone with Symbian. The screen is to small, virtual keyboard is impossible to press and the onboard RAM is a joke. Plus the OS update takes forever to come. Although Google has released the latest version ages ago, they will mean nothing if your phone's manufacturer keep dragging their feet on releasing their on version. You just can't connect to iTunes and download the latest update every 2 months like the iPhone.

Next is lack of iTunes or a central repository for software and multimedia organisation. Sure you can easily transfer movies and download apps for the Android but once you had to do a complete restore, the result would be messy. Unless you have a 3rd party backup app (like Titanium backup) installed, getting your Android phone back to normal would be a pain in the ass. With the iPhone you just plug and sync everytime. Now you can even do it wirelessly with iOS5. I can go on and on about the advantages of iPhones over Android but the bottomline is, Android sucks. So does Windows Phone and Blackberries. End of story.

So if you're planning to get a smartphone soon, there's only one brand of phone to consider. You know what it is. Yes they're still expensive but it's a long term investment which you won't regret.

21 November 2011

She
May be the face I can't forget
The trace of pleasure or regret
May be my treasure or the price I have to pay
She
May be the song that summer sings
May be the chill that autumn brings
May be a hundred different things
Within the measure of a day


She
May be the beauty or the beast
May be the famine or the feast
May turn each day into a heaven or a hell
She may be the mirror of my dreams
The smile reflected in a stream
She may not be what she may seem
Inside her shell


She
Who always seems so happy in a crowd
Whose eyes can be so private and so proud
No one's allowed to see them when they cry
She
May be the love that cannot hope to last
May come to me from shadows of the past
That I'll remember till the day I die


She
May be the reason I survive
The why and wherefore I'm alive
The one I'll care for through the rough in ready years
Me
I'll take her laughter and her tears
And make them all my souvenirs
For where she goes I've got to be
The meaning of my life is


She
She, oh she

13 November 2011

As promised, every semester I would display my exam result here. Wait, did I really said that? I don't think so. Only if the results are good may be. But what the heck. I'm gonna put them up here whatever the result was. If it's really bad, let that be a motivation for me to do better.

So here they are. As you can see, I suck very much last semester. 1 A, 2Bs and 1 C. Although I can give you a couple of excuses you know like change of career, family and stuff, in the end the final result would reflect how much effort you put in at the beginning. Obviously I didn't attempt to do my best here. I didn't allocate enough time to study, I skimp on my assignments and I had this feeling that one or two of my lecturers last semester were dead set on giving us low grades

Anyhow, the conclusion is I am ashamed of this result. Having to do better next time would be needless to say. I don't think I deserve to receive that Dean's List award they're giving out next week.

11 November 2011

Today is 11/11/11 which is a big deal to some people but totally means nothing to me. They're just numbers for God's sake! Nothing different from any other day of the year. Today also happens to be my 7 year old's Record Book Day. It's a day where parents of school children come to the school to meet the class teacher and find out how well (or not) their kids have done through the semester. So no more bringing home your record book so your parent can whack you good if you didn't do well. Today you can do that right in front of the class.

Anyhow, before the exam I promised Adam an iPod Touch if he gets 1st in class. It's not like I don't believe in his abilities, it's just that Adam didn't do any much studying before his exam. We had to pronounce all kind of threats before he attempts to do any revision. So I was indeed surprised that he managed to get 3rd in class today. The only subject that kept him off of the top spot was Arts which he got 75%. That is only because he didn't came to class the day before and he didn't know he had to bring his water color and manila card for the exam. Else, who knows he might be top in his class today.

3rd in class is definitely ain't that bad. Of course we would get you something. When I got number 1 in school during standard six, my Mom gave me 20 ringgit. Which I duly waste on a toy truck at Toys R Us. Our Adam is not that type of kid that demands this and that from his parent. Still it would be a befitting if we reward him with something nice. I know of parents who never gives anything to the children even if the consistently score top marks in school. To them, being excellent in school is their born duty and responsibility. Why should they be rewarded for that they say. I say WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? WHAT KIND OF SCREWED LOGIC US THAT? Do you want your kids to grow up bitter and resentful? Every kid deserve some reward sometimes even if they got last place in class. It's common courtesy.

23 October 2011

We have just returned from sending my mom at the Tabung Haji complex in Kelana Jaya tonight. After waiting for like 5 years it's finally her turn to perform the hajj in Mecca. Even then she had to make an appeal to fast-track her departure, else she would have to wait much-much longer.

Like any decent Muslim, it's her very wish that she would want to perform the ritual at least once in her life time. Today it costs her about 12K to do that. In the future it would cost much more because of inflation.

Despite my nonchalant appearance, deep inside I was somewhat sad to see my Mom go (who doesn't?). She won't be back for another 40-odd day or so and it's the longest we'll be without seeing her. I pray that she would be alright and return safely home in December. Take care now Mom.

22 October 2011

The past 2 days I've gone outstation at the Manjung power plant. I've been to Manjung a dozen times before but this is the first time I've ever been inside the coal power plant for work. Since it's an impromptu visit plus it's not weekend yet, I didn't get to bring my family along. I'm sure my wife and kids would love to visit their aunt and cousins there.

Speaking of work, it's been nearly 3 months now since I started here at this new place. Sometimes I felt so lost and hopeless in this line of work. It's just too foreign for me. It's like learning ABC all over again except that this felt more like rocket science than kindergarten. Once I consider myself the expert in my field, but now I'm like a beginner once again. I won't deny it crossed my mind to look for other more satisfying job, related to IT but then again it's only been 3 months and job-hopping after such a short time won't look good on my resumé. Besides, I think I'm made of stronger stuff. That and the fact that my current employee has been nothing but super nice and accommodating to me so far despite my dismal contribution. I guess I'll hang on for now until new opportunities come along.

Today a colleague of mine, Farid tendered his resignation. According to him, he's planning to further his studies at a college down south. He could either be telling the truth or he just got better offers from other companies but he's too chicken to tell the truth. After 31 years, I'm not so naive as to accept everything somebody tells me at face value. Anyhow, I totally understand if it's because of the latter. He did the same job as this other fellow but the fellow gets paid more just because of his race. That sucks ain't it? So now I'm back being the only Malay guy at this firm. Oooh I felt so special and privileged. I think there's been no less than 5 people who quit working here since I came. One lasted 2 month, another 1 week and the record so far was Shikin who came to work for a day and then changed her mine, LOL! I tell you, this place I'm working at right now is not for the faint-hearted.

19 October 2011

Self-esteem & confidence he's got aplenty.

18 October 2011

Catchy

11 October 2011

After using Android for 2 months I have come to the conclusion that the OS sucks. Maybe it's just my crappy HTC Wildfire, maybe it's standard with all Android phones but I just can't see myself using the OS anymore.


First there's the space issue. Although you can always add an external SD card, up to 32GB in fact, the truth is many apps requires installation on the phone only. Which sucks, big time. Why? Because most Android phones has anything from 512MB to 2GB of internal storage only so naturally they will ran out of space in like 2 days. Imagine if you have 512MB of ROM with the HTC Wildfire for example. 128MB from it is reserved for system files. So the balance, only the measly 384MB is available to install all your favorite apps. No matter if you have 16GB or 64GB memory card. Many Android apps is phone only, meaning you can't run them from the external memory card.


And then there's the jailbreak factor. The entire 2 months of using my Android, I tried like a dozen times to root the phone but to no avail. I think I combed the web pretty thoroughly, following all the instructions to the letter. But nope, in the end always fail. Compared to the iPhone, it took me less than 5 minutes to jailbreak that thing (ipsw file download time not included). What's up with that? And I thought Androids were suppose to be open. Let's not even talk about the apps. Sure many of them are free but most of them are shitty as well. Something that you don't want to install even when they're free. And the interface and design of those Android apps looks like shit compared to iOS. Aesthetically, they don't even come close.


So in the end I threw caution to the wind and bought myself an iPhone again. Yes I had to sell my HTC, digital camera, MiFi device and my left kidney to pay for half of it but I think it's totally worth it. And while I'm at it, why not the iPhone 4 I thought. It captures gorgeous pictures so no need for a digital camera anymore. And with my Celcom Mobile Internet plan, I find the old but trusty MiFi device now redundant.


2 weeks later I have not regretted a bit buying the iPhone again. I have basically used every iPhone model out there from the lowly 2G to the iPhone 4 and I dare-say the iPhone is the best phone money can buy.


Besides, I missed the Instagram app so much.

7 October 2011

6 October 2011

So what do we have here?


I love my brand new Targus 4 port usb hub. It's black and it has 4 ports. I like the way the cable snug into the body.


My Android phone is constantly low on space. No matter how much apps you throw away there can't seem to be enough space in there. Despite the fact that my 2GB SD card is barely used. Some Android apps stubbornly wants to reside on the phone only and there's no option for you to move it onto the SD card. Unless you root it first. Which I did try for a dozen times already. And failed every-time. Damn I thought Android is Linux and supposed to be open. I guess not. Come to think of it, it is harder to root an Android than to jailbreak an iPhone. And they called Apple a 'closed' system. The irony. That just adds to my case of buying an iPhone again. The only thing getting between me and that is the monthly instalment. Dare I add another one to my already burgeoning list?


My trusty Casio wristwatch has water in it. Don't know what happen but one day I saw tiny little bubbles of water inside. Maybe she's thirsty.


I have 3 notebooks/journal/diary but precious little written on it. All of them given by my friends.


Now about work.


Wait, what work?

29 September 2011

Did you know there's a new Internet service for your smartphone provided by Celcom? It's called Mobile Internet and it's open for any Celcom postpaid subscribers. And guess what? I registered myself for one today! Okay this is a big deal because from now on I don't have to carry my old but trusty MiFi device anywhere again. This device is already small but still if you put it in your pocket, you cannot help but notice the weight and the bulge it makes. Not to mention the heat while it's operating.

So Celcom's Mobile Internet is like God-send for Internet junkies like me. I can now tweet and facebook and read my email anywhere, anytime. The package starts from RM28 a month for 384kb of data, 38 ringgit for 1GB and up to 5GB for 88 ringgit a month. Like me, I subscribed to the RM20 Exec plan so in total only pay RM48 a month. Brilliant. It's a win-win situation for everybody. Celcom got their money and I got my mobile Internet. To find out more about Mobile Internet checkout their website here. If you already have a Celcom postpaid line, just go to the nearest Celcom branch to register your Mobile Internet package.

Now, anyone interested to buy my trust D-Link MiFi? You can use it as a WiFi access point anywhere by just inserting your broadband SIM card in it. Contact me if you're interested. Going price starts from RM380, negotiable of course.

28 September 2011

My reason to wake up and go to work every morning.

27 September 2011

 
Accidents do happen. Especially on your pay day. I blame the divider. This left me 170 ringgit poorer.

25 September 2011

20 September 2011

6 September 2011

Especially for @shhaslinda

5 September 2011

1 September 2011

Today we went frolicking in Rantau Panjang doing some shopping. The road to Pasir Mas was bumper to bumper but after getting myself that nice yellow Malaysian track top, it's all but  worth it.

Today is also my mother in law's 51st birthday. Thanks to Facebook I can get up to date with everybody's birthday especially my family. Linda's mom is the best mother in law that you could ask for. She's been really nice to me, went to great length to help me, my wife and kids and make my stay feel so comfortable. And I'm not saying this just because my wife reads my blog. Happy birthday mother.

31 August 2011

This Hari Raya I got myself a new job. Although it pays well, I need to work extra hard sometimes to justify the pay that I get. It's not easy jumping headlong into a new field but life isn't always a bed of roses. This Hari Raya I drove home with a brand new car. As much as it felt really good to do so, it would also mean I had to set aside some extra money to pay for it every month not to mention mileage and maintenance.

This Hari Raya I lost 4 kilos from fasting and a total of 15 kilos from my dieting and exercising. It's not easy sometimes maintaining your discipline, holding yourself from all those good food and waking up at 6 a.m almost every day running 5 kilometers around the neighborhood, dogs and all. But just looking at how good you are posing for your Hari Raya album in a size L dress, it's all but worth it. It's amazing what you can achieve when you really sets your mind to it. It's all in your head.

After this Raya things will get even tougher at work and I would have an even harder time resisting all those nice food especially since I can afford them now. Life is never easy. You'll just have to try the best you can.

30 August 2011

This year my brother Faiz and elder sister Lina didn't come home for Raya since they're spending the holidays with their respective in laws. That said, our Hari Raya this year is still happening and gay with all my uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces coming back home to Pasir Mas. After the customary get together at grandma's place, my siblings and I would have another Raya tradition to conform with - seeing my dad. Usually we would me at a restaurant somewhere between Pasir Mas or Kota Bharu since my dad are not exactly welcomed here in Pasir Mas and we also don't really feel like going to his place meeting our stepmother. It's a long and complicated story, you probably don't want to know.

Anyway, this year my dad cordially invited us siblings to his place in Pasir Pekan regardless of how we and our mother felt towards the person living there. He and the missus were holding an open house or something and they would like us to come there for a change. Actually I have no problem going there, meeting her for the first time. My mom, grandma and sister however didn't feel the same. So in the end we met somewhere by the roadside in Wakaf Bharu since we couldn't find any open restaurant this first Hari Raya and all. It was awkward and I felt sorry it has to go on like this. I wish we could move on and let bygones be bygones. But for some people, the cut runs deep, very-very deep.

29 August 2011

When I was a kid I used to save up my school allowances or every penny that I could get my hand of every fasting month for one thing and one thing only in my mind. To buy firecrackers. After saving up for the whole month, I will usually have a drawer full of crackers and lit them all up on the Raya eve. I would have so much fun and then the whole house would be filled with thick heavy smoke from the aftermath of my fireworks show.  Those were the days.

Today I will think twice even before buying my kids those cheap, harmless sparklers. Now only I realize spending my hard-earned money on firecrackers and stuff is akin to burning them, literally. Now I know why my mother would never-ever bought me any of those firecrackers or sparklers. She just had so many other more important things to think of other then a little bit of fun for me.

28 August 2011

27 August 2011

So begun the rush to go home for balik kampung has. Klang valley folks have started to flock the roads and highways to go back to their respective home town since Friday so naturally roads everywhere is reportedly congested with traffic. Me I have totally expected those dreadlocks so we decided to wait a whole day until the mad traffic rush subsides. So we went back on Saturday evening instead.

In which my calculations were proven totally correct because traffic was smooth all the way from MRR2 to Bentong, Gua Musang and finally Tanah Merah. Of course we chose to skip Bentong and took the Sertik-Mempaga route and yet we still arrived in Raub just in time for break of fast. I have always wanted to take my family to eat at this little fast food restaurant in Raub since forever and only today I managed to do so. Marrybrown isn't exactly the hippest or trendiest eating spot around but somehow I have this strange and unexplainable connection with this local franchise. Something about those long lost, sweet memories in UPM's Marrybrown perhaps?

I meant to get home around 12:30 AM just in time for the Liverpool game but we could only plan so much. By 1:00 AM we were still nowhere near Kuala Krai so I decided to stop by somewhere in Laloh to watch the game at an eatery there. Although tired and super sleepy, it was all worth it since Liverpool cruised to a 3-1 victory over Bolton. 2 hours later we finally arrived home safe and sound. Now I remember why I don't like driving at night. It felt so much longer, it's really tiring and sometimes I had a difficult time trying to keep my eyes open. That's it, no more evening trips home.

26 August 2011

Earlier this afternoon, I went to Lafarge cement plant in Rawang to meet with some contractors there. I was supposed to discuss this plc diagram with them despite the fact I have no previous experience whatsoever with this thing. Actually this didn't surprise me that much because my new boss had this habit of throwing us new staffs straight into the sea and expect everybody to get the job done. It's up to us to learn how to adapt or in my case bluff my way around the job he he.

Lucky for me this discussion didn't last that long because obviously those guys didn't understand much what I was explaining. In the end they decided to stick with the original drawings and do the modifications themselves. Phew. Imagine there I was with my shirt and pants without any safety helmets or jackets at the cement plant. I was like a fish out of water. Had I known sooner I'd prepared myself better. Anyway I got back to the office around 4:30 PM. At my old office, the boss would have let everybody before 3 o'clock on the last day of work before Raya. I guess this new place didn't have such tradition. So I waited impatiently for the last hour to pass by which felt like eternity.

In the end 5:30 finally came and I went not home but straight to Low Yat Plaza. You see, my iPhone was having this problem with the touchscreen. I was thinking of fixing the screen when suddenly it flashed in my mind, why don't I just trade in this phone for something new? I mean it's been having so many problems, one after another and what guarantee do I have that this phone won't go bonkers again in the future? Furthermore between me and Adam we had dropped the phone like 20 times previously. It's a miracle that the thing is still working right now.

So I didn't give it any much thought and spontaneously swapped my phone for an HTC Wildfire Android phone. Of course the shop had to reduce the trade in price a little bit for the broken screen so I end up paying a hundred ringgit extra for the new phone. Although I have been relentlessly expressing my undying devotion for the iPhone, doesn't mean I would never buy a different phone brand ever. I've always had a soft spot for Google's Android so naturally it became my second choice if I had to choose another one. At the end of the day I went home with a new phone and a big grin on my face.

Yes I am already missing my precious iPhone. Although the Wildfire is newer and shinier, no phone could ever replace the phone that changed everything. Of course I fully expect to revert back to the iPhone some time in the future.

25 August 2011

So I got my first paycheck today. I was a little bit concerned that I might only get this 3 days before the end of the month like everybody else here but thankfully my fears were allayed when I received this crisp & beautiful check with my name written on it this morning. Actually a lot of things that worries me somehow about this new job disappeared when I got this check. It all seems worth it now.

Before today I've planned of doing a lot of things with my first pay. I'm going to treat my wife, my kids and my mom for dinner. Not forgetting some of my closest friends from workplace past. And then I'm going to buy myself some nice new clothes for work (not Hari Raya okay). I badly needed to add more options to my sorry wardrobe collection. The thing is my check should only be cleared on Monday. By that time we would be in Pasir Mas preparing for Raya. Shopping and treating my loved ones will have to wait then. Thank you Allah nevertheless.

24 August 2011

Yesterday I was supposed to pickup our brand new car in Pandan Indah. Since I had to be in Sungai Buloh with my colleague who didn't manage to finish his work until late at night, I had to take a train to get there. Just my luck, the train ran an hour late so by the time I got to KL Sentral it was already Maghrib. So after stopping by to pray, I quickly board the LRT to Masjid Jamek and then to Pandan Indah.

It's been quite a long time since I last took a train so I struggled a bit to find the right train to the right destination. There were only two trains but there were also 4 different lines that they took. Choosing the right one and waiting on the right platform was rather tricky. Anyway I did made it to Pandan Indah. I thought I would just walk a short while to Pandan Capital but when I got there it was dark and I had no idea where that building was. Lucky for me I called the car salesman and he willingly agreed to pick me up from there. He took me to the showroom and I signed some documents and he explained to me a bit about our new car. Half an hour later I was driving home our brand new Alza. But that's not all, I went to pick up my wife and then she drove the new car to my office so that I can take my Savvy home and then we went out to Seri Kembangan for a test drive. You know so that she would be familiar with the routes to take when she drives the car tomorrow to work.

Working the whole day at the factory and taking 3 trains to Pandan Indah, that was super tiring. We only got home around 12:40 in the morning. The great thing about today though, I drove home with my brand new car. Just seeing my name on the vehicle registration paper just gave me an enormous sense of pride. I couldn't afford to own a car before. My last loan application was rejected in cold blood by the bank. So yeah, today I was quite proud. It felt amazing.

23 August 2011

After visiting a coal power plant in Port Dickson last week, today I visited another factory in Sungai Buloh for work. Guess I will be going to a lot more factories after this. It's what I do now, selling programmable logic controllers to power plants, factories and similar manufacturers.

But today, today I didn't sell anything. Just following a colleague to do some testing & commissioning. Poor guy didn't know too much about this new product so he was virtually clueless and got hantam cukup-cukup by the client and our boss. That's life man. Maybe next time it'll be my turn. Today I didn't learn anything because everybody was like so busy doing their job. My friend here was too busy attempting to do something. He didn't even go out for a break until 7 in the evening. I know your enthusiastic and shit with your new job but there's more to life than work man.

It's like learning chemistry or accounting, this new job of mine. I knew very little and what's more, there's no one here to teach me anything. They don't have the time to for now, at least. Sure I can learn to do anything if only somebody is there to teach me. Plus I had to start from the bottom up because I'm like totally noob with all this PLC thingy and don't expect me to learn everything by myself.

Give me something to do, give me a plan and give me the resources and support to achieve it. It's all I ask.

Right now I don't feel so good about all this. In the future, who knows.

22 August 2011

Adam Farihin. Skinny. Not very tough. Somebody give him some more food to eat.

Well, I won't worry too much about him. I was exactly like him when I was his age. And then eventually I discovered food. Glorious food. How good they tasted. As I grow up, eating, too much, my body started to expand exponentially with my age. By the time I'm 12, I turned into this chubby kid who had too much to eat.

So did my elder sister. In fact we the 2 eldest member of our sibling seemed to look bigger than our younger brother and sister. Maybe it's because we conquered the table every dinner time and gobbled up all the good food before anybody else. That's how we became fat. I'd like to change that now. My sister? Maybe there is still hope ha ha!

So I don't worry too much about Adam Farihin's skinny outlook. He has all the time in the world to grow bigger and stronger. Maybe he should start by pumping iron like his dear old Dad.

Today by some divine intervention we all woke up a little bit late for sahur. Hence the tart cookies in the picture. I bought that for RM11.90 from MyMydin. It tasted horrible. Not all cookies are created equal. Remind me not to buy any from them again.

Hmm, it took a template change to make me blog more. I love this new theme by the way.

21 August 2011

The next Yuna?

I'm pretty sure she would like to be her very own brand of music and style.

Cute.

What's next, cinta Twitter?

20 August 2011

This particular semester for IM110 has been crazy. The gap between seminars were cut to 2-3 weeks and all of our lecturers seemed to enjoy giving us multiple (really difficult) assignments and tests every other class. Add that to the fact that some of us just switched jobs and we were inundated with work, including me, I don't fancy maintaining the same awesome result that I got last semester. At least that's how I felt like.

That said, I think all of our lecturers this time around were pretty cool. They were quite understanding with our career and other commitments in life so most of them were pretty flexible when dealing with our late submissions for assignment and lack of activity in iClass. In fact some of them were even in our shoes once upon a time ago.

Now that we finished our finish class of the semester (and submitted a dozen assignment and sat for one test every class) we are finally free to concentrate on Hari Raya. At least until our final exams come nearer at the end of September/early October.

19 August 2011

That tragic feeling when you pressed all the buttons on your precious little phone and they just refused to response.

I'm having that tragic feeling right about now.

Why baby, why?

18 August 2011

The malt drink that is halal one moment and not the next.

Now it's halal again. I do hope they will make up their mind for certain this time. This is getting ridiculous.

17 August 2011

So Adam Farihin, 7 years old has been fasting for real this time around. At least on and off. He has no problem whatsoever with fasting during school days but the moment he saw his little sister eating or drinking at home during weekends, his faith just crumbles into a thousand little pieces. Even if it's just one tiny sweets. The temptation is just way to great to overcome.

At 7 years old, don't we all? I remember giving in to that delicious, iced cold grape drink at one o'clock in the afternoon when I was about his age. At 7 years old, I don't expect him to go the entire length. It would already be great if he could do at least half for now.

16 August 2011

You know your 3 years old daughter has grown up a bit when she started to wear her mom's make up and dress up regularly with her new dresses.

Next thing you know she'll be asking for a mobile phone.

1 August 2011

1st August 2011 is the 1st day of Ramadan for many Muslims around the world. This year we tried to get our 7 years old Adam to fast for the whole day. He did woke up this morning go straight to shower and had sahur with us. By 2:00 PM he couldn't resist the fried noodle cooked at the nursery so there goes his 1st day of fasting.

1st August 2011 also marks my 1st day at work at my new office in Puchong. Moments before I arrived there I was slightly nervous to say the least. It's not often that I check in to a new office. Although the office didn't open until 9:00 AM, I got there half an hour early thanks to a surprisingly smooth traffic. When the door finally opened, I went straight into training to grasp some basic knowledge of the products and business here. At the end of the day, my 1st day here was not that bad after all. All my new colleagues are warm and friendly. One guy was concerned enough to ask if I have any place to 'semayang' which I did in the meeting room by the way. Being in a new place with me as the sole Malay staff can be quite a challenge. But I will have to adapt. My new boss was also quite understanding as he allows me to go back half an hour early this fasting month. Oh I will probably have to change my look and appearance again. Everybody here goes to work in the company's uniform and so will I once I get them. Seriously, I felt rather awkward in that shirts and pants. Happy fasting everyone.

29 July 2011

Today will be my last day working here. I felt so sad. Actually I've been feeling low and depressed these past few weeks ever since I tendered my resignation. I dread every new day that dawns because it only meant that my last day here would be coming nearer. Choosing to leave this place is probably one of the hardest decision I have ever made in my life. Before I came here, I was jobless with Adam Farihin and a wife to feed. The boss picked me up from nothing when I had very few to offer and for his faith in me turned me into what I have become today. Despite all the shortcomings, I believe whatever happened to us since early this year didn't happen on purpose. I'm sure he would not put us all in this dire position if he could help it. One half of me said hang on a little bit longer until I finish my studies at least. Another half said here's your chance man, this opportunity won't come along everyday. So I chose to leave. It was not easy but I had to do it.

And like every decent staff here at Microcorp that's about to leave, I had to treat all my colleagues with breakfast during my last day of work here. So I ordered 40 packs of nasi Kak Na and some teh tarik for everyone to eat. Despite the fact that I had to use all the little savings I had left. Despite the fact that I have no idea when this month's pay will come in but I just had to do this. I'd feel dreadful if I didn't. I'm sure it's not much but I did it sincerely from my heart and it's the least I could do.

Goodbye guys. Hope you enjoyed the breakfast. Wish me luck for my new job on Monday. I pray that you guys will go through this rocky patch in one piece. Like Bujal said, who knows someday we shall all be together again under one roof. :)

28 July 2011

Today my wife resumes her work again after 3 whole months of maternity leave. Like our 2 previous maternity leaves, we need to send the kids to a nursery who will look after them while we go earn a living. And with each new children we had to pay extra to the nursery. So if any one of us doesn't get a pay increase, a new children would mean a little less money to take home every month. Yes I know, every child comes with his or her own rezeki but if you're going to leave all that to fate and don't work harder, that's irresponsible and dumb.

Actually one of our neighbor offered to take care of litte Hana & Mia, for a fee of course. We were excited of the idea of leaving them to someone nearer but when she quoted a monthly fee of 500 bucks plus a month deposit in advance, we said thanks but no, thanks. We didn't mind paying a little bit extra for the convenience but whatever you need the deposit for? It's not like we're gonna run away in the middle of the night or something. We bought this house and we're your neighbor for God's sake. I think she got the wrong advice for her other neighbors. Oh well, your loss.

First day back at the nursery, Mia was rather moody and touchy. Maybe because most of her old friends has left. I'm sure she'll get better over time.

9 July 2011

Another call for electoral reforms, another rally in the city, another show of police brutality. All we wanted was a free & fair election and they treated the rally goers like some cold-blooded criminals. I dreamed of a day when the authorities treat people with respect & professionalism. Where the police would assist the crowd & control traffic instead of spraying chemical-laced water & firing tear gas canisters at innocent and harmless civilians, you know like in developed countries. Forget about vision 2020, Malaysians would be lucky if we don't go the way of Myanmar. At least the government of Myanmar never pretended to be a democracy. If our election process is so transparent & clean and not rigged, why does the government has to be so scared of meeting those 8 tiny (but significant) electoral demands? It is an open secret that the opposition was never afforded a fair playing field in any elections big or small. That is why we need Bersih, to make the playing field level and let the people chose the best persons to lead the government.

While I didn't personally join the rally, I tried my very best to create & build up awareness of the event for my friends whether in real world or in Facebook or Twitter. That's why I never rejected any request to be friends on Facebook, all 4. If I can enlighten at least a few dozens of them to realize the wrongs of this government and how they have taken us for a ride for the last 5 decades or so, that would be a success of their own. My prayers & salute goes out to all 50,000 odds Malaysian who braved the police, road blocks, rain, tear gas & so many other obstacles to ensure that their voice are heard. You guys will forever be remembered as the real heroes, the ones who dares to act and make a difference. If Bersih 1.0 managed to capture 5 states for the opposition, I can't wait to see how 2.0 would influence the next general election. Judging by the number of crowd on the streets today, I predict the future is bright for all of us.

2 July 2011

Sungai Congkak in Hulu Langat, Selangor is a great place if you want to plan a picnic with your friends and family. There's plenty of amenities there including public restrooms, camping area and much more.

There is where I bring my family today. We had a really good time bathing in the stream, eating barbecue chickens and playing games with the kids. Highly recommended.

28 June 2011

Today was supposed to be just another regular day at work where I started the day by sending my son to his school at Taman Desaminium. However Adam Farihin, 7 years old decided that today he would like to jam his thumb at the car's door. After that we spend half the day visiting clinics & the hospital to fix his finger.

At first I thought it was just a little thump at the car door but when Adam couldn't stop wailing, I quickly brought him to see a doctor at my panel clinic nearby. The doctor (who was fashionably late by the way) suggested that Adam probably broke his thumb and advised that we go to a hospital. However since I dont have any insurance coverage anymore, I had to rush home to pick up my wife and kids and go to her panel clinic in Serdang to get her doctor's letter of recommendation before finally going to a hospital in Kajang. Adam was still crying on top of his lung for most of that time.

To cut the story short, Adam had his finger scanned and the x-ray showed no bones were broken from the accident this morning. Lucky for us my wife's company had it all covered. I shudder to think should anything bad happens to me. Maybe I should consider buying my own personal insurance. Right.

26 June 2011

This weekend we decided to take a short trip up north to Seri Manjung to visit our in laws. Linda's parent was also visiting there so we thought we'd joined them for a little family get together. Apart from that, this also happens to be that time in my life that you just cannot say no to your wife.

Okay I'm just kidding with that last sentence :)

Anyway, as always we took the chance to visit Teluk Batik beach nearby. This was Mia's first encounter with the sea I think. So far I think she likes it a lot. The beach near Teluk Batik can be very steep at some point so you better be careful just in case, especially with children. Never leave them unattended. I had fun. Been wanting to come to the beach for some time now. Today only I got the chance.

Being so close to the sea and surrounded by hills, Manjung is one very hot town. I mean literally. Here air conditioners are more of a necessity than a luxury. That probably explain why I spent most of my time here sleeping in their air-conditioned rooms all day. Well, when you get older, most of your precious little free time is filled with this one favorite past time - sleeping. Or maybe I'm just tired from all the driving.

19 June 2011

Wait, didn't I just sat for my finals last month? Yep, I did. Lucky for me UiTM decided to carry forward the academic time table and begin the new semester today. This time around my classmate Khairul from Johore crashed at my place for the night before we go to class together the next day.

Yes I did say I looked forward to this new semester but that before my new lecturers decided to swamp us with multiple assignments on the very first class. Not to mention the numerous exercises in our virtual iClass. Oh well. Life is never a walk in the park they say. You got to work, hard for success.

18 June 2011

This morning we send Adam to school so that he could attend his chess clinic. Yep, of all the sports to pick from at his school, we chose chess because it involves the least sweating and running. Don't get me wrong, I'd like him to be active but not now since he's got his skin condition and intermittent asthma. Who knows maybe he could be good at chess some day.

Later in the afternoon we went to IKEA. Just visiting. Leave the kids at the play area while we went for a stroll. Mia can finally enter Smaland now that she's 3 years old. Before we left, we had some Swedish meatballs, yes that one. Tasted just as good as ever. After that we stopped by Jusco in Equine to buy a new fridge. Our old one is packed to the brim with stuff that we could barely close the door. That's our report for the day.

12 June 2011

Last Friday I took the day off to go back to Tanah Merah to pick up my family. It just occurred to me that I don't actually have that many day offs to take so I'll have to make the most of every single one of them. Cannot simply take a day off to go vacation, shopping or job interviews or something unimportant like that. Anyway, I started off rather late in the morning meaning to avoid the morning rush. The funny thing was, morning rush decided to wait for me. 9:30 AM and I am still stuck in traffic for most of Ampang.

That said I survived the utterly boring 7 hours drive without any untoward incidents. Saw a lot of Red Warriors supporters making their way to Bukit Jalil. Made me proud for a while to see their spirit. Well we know that didn't end so good for them. Maybe next year. Of course I'm glad to see my 3 precious ones and their mother again after like 45 days apart. Absence does make the heart grow fonder. Being apart from your loved ones for so long almost made me a wreck. Although I look like a tough guy from the outside, inside... well, you know what they say.

Saturday I went back to my real home town in Pasir Mas to see my sister and her newborn which is only one week apart from Hana Alisha. Glad to see them both alright. Early Sunday morning we left Tanah Merah to come back home to Seri Kembangan. Arrived safe and sound early in the afternoon. New member in the family. New chapter in our lives.

29 May 2011

One of my favorite words in the English vocabulary is SCHOOL HOLIDAY. Less traffic, no jams, no need to wake up early to send kid to school and pick him up later in the evening. Save on budget, save my time as well.

On the down side, my son followed his Grandma to go back home to Pasir Mas yesterday. That means I'll be all alone at home for the next 2 weeks or so, which also means I probably go mental until that 2 weeks end. And did I mention I also don't have Internet at home anymore? Yeah, I sent my broadband modem back home along with Adam so that my wife can use it. My computers, smartphone and the Internet is amongst those essential items I couldn't leave without and now I lost one of them. Will I survive without blogs and Twitter at home? Sure I can. After all I've been without my loved ones for nearly a month now and that sucks even more. Compare that, it's nothing.

Thankfully, I got things to do to keep myself occupied. You know, stuff like cleaning the house, doing the laundry, watching movies, hanging out with friends. So far I'm coping with it okay. Weekends are especially hard for me. There's only so much things you could do at home. Sometimes I felt suffocated just being at home. In the end I got to go out, somewhere, somehow. Be it a public park, children playground or my favourite eatery around the neighborhood. Man, being a single dad is hard.

25 May 2011

It's that time of the year again when the examination results comes out for UiTM students like me. Actually I didn't look forward much to it or anything. After 2 years it has become kind of a routine. Anyway, the results are out. Came into my inbox via email early in the morning. Thankfully they exceeded my expectation. This semester I got 3.75 GPA which is a vast improvement from the previous one which I got a lowly 3.48, my worst ever. That said, I certainly can do better because my highest ever pointer was 3.84 during my 2nd semester. Well, considering I didn't put much hope on one of the killer subject (which I got a B), this result is quite okay for me, I guess.

So now I'm quite hyped and very motivated to start the new semester which is early next month actually. Some of my classmates did get some good results while a few, not so good. Some will be joining me again next month but a couple of them will be extending their studies or worse quit altogether. I don't mean to sound arrogant or anything but you results reflects how much effort you put into your studies. If you always skip classes, didn't take your assignments seriously and didn't prepare much for the finals do not be so surprised when the results came out. I have heard so many excuses and reasons from some of them but it all comes down to you yourself in the end. You can give a million excuses or you can work you ass out like everybody else. Everybody, each and everyone of the ePJJ students is busy with either their work or family or both but they didn't let that become an excuse to flunk in your studies. You've come this far, it's a real shame if you don't make it to the finish line. If you wanted something badly enough, you will do anything to achieve it.

23 May 2011

Today is all good news for my brother Faiz. This year he finishes his teaching degree at UPSI and this month he finally finds out where he's going to be posted. Knowing Faiz, he would certainly not settle for any school near or 'normal'. Sure enough he asked for a school for troubled teenagers in Kota Kinabalu and you know what? He got it as well, last week when the results were out.

So at the end of this month, my brother and his wife shall be leaving for Sabah for good. I wonder how he would survive 3 months without pay there but again knowing my brother, he'll breeze through it somehow. Apart from that there's this small but exciting news that Siti Maryam, his wife is now just over a month pregnant. Before you know it, my mother will be the grandma to 7 grandchildren by early next year. Congrats to you bro. You take care now.

13 May 2011

My little sister Izni safely gave birth to a beautiful baby girl today at Kubang Kerian Hospital in Kota Bharu. That's my Mom's 6th grandchildren in a row now. There's Adam, Zuhairi, Mia, Delina, Hana and now Wan Nur Izzah.

Yes you heard me right, Wan Nur Izzah as in Nurul Izzah, Dato' Seri Anwar's daughter. You see Izzat is a strong opposition supporter just like me. So it's no surprise that they chose that name for her first child. Actually they wanted to name her Wan Nurul Izzah but my Mom didn't really like it. She being the only BN supporter in my family and all. Anyway congrats to you Izni and Izzat. Now let us all go on a diet hor hor.

9 May 2011

This weekend I took my family back home to Tanah Merah because my wife will spend the next month or so for her confinement period there. On Monday we had a little ceremony in the morning.

So now it's just my boy Adam Farihin and me at home. As always I am terribly missing my family especially this little girl here. June can't come soon enough.

30 April 2011

The thing about c-sections is, they took longer to recover especially from the operation wound. On the first day Linda couldn't even leave her bed due to the pain from the stitches. Lucky for us her employer covered for everything including the procedure so at least we have one less thing to worry about. Pantai Hospitals have one of the best medical facilities around and apart from here in Cheras, I have also been to their branch in Bangsar which is top class in their services and treatment. That said, if you have to accompany the patient overnight, hospitals are not exactly the place you'd rather be. If you're lucky, they'll provide you with a reclining chair to sleep on at night. Most of us won't be so lucky so we have no other choice but to sleep on the cold hard hospital floor.

The first night, I was ill-prepared for my stay at this hospital. I thought they reclining chair looked comfy enough so I didn't bring any comforters or blanket which was a huge mistake. They chair is so hard and stiff I end up sleeping on the floor. I also forgot how cold it is in hospitals at night so I didn't get much sleep due to the freezing cold, not to mention my poor back.

Tonight though I'm better prepared for my overnight stay here. Brought my thick and warm comforter along, a blanket and also a couple of pillows. So why are we still here 3 days after labour? Our little princess unfortunately had jaundice so we had to stay a little bit longer here at the hospital. Let us pray for her speedy recovery.

28 April 2011

Today was supposed to be the day goes to our fortnightly check-up at Pantai Cheras Medical Centre. However God had other plans for us. During today's check-up, the doctor said Linda had a little bit too much glucose in her blood and she would have gave her insulin shots if not for the fact Linda is in her final week of her pregnancy. Instead the doctor advised that Linda had her delivery today, this afternoon to be exact since she's afraid that Linda's diabetic condition might be harmful the baby. So we got like 5 minutes to make up our mind, 2 hours to prepare ourselves and get back to the hospital for the induced labour in the afternoon.

We expected it to be a normal delivery but somehow the baby's hand gut stuck in the cervix at the last minute. So they had to do an emergency caesarian instead to get the baby out. That's fine by me but for pregnant mothers, caesarian is they last thing that would want because they pain would be much worse afterwards. Nevertheless, the operation went on smoothly and around 3:30 PM the nurse came out pushing my little baby girl in a trolley. Linda came out half an hour later and Alhamdulillah, everybody was fine and safe.

Say hello to baby H, welcome to the family!