9 December 2022

Mia has been sneezing occasionally every morning. After a couple of regular off the shelf medications from our panel clinic, we decided to refer her to a specialist at a hospital. The otorhinolaryngologist (ENT specialist) recommended that we do a little turbinoplasty surgery to fix her condition once and for all.

Thanks to Linda’s panel hospital as always, we don’t have to pay a thing except for the extra charge (RM60 a day) for the single bed room that Mia got into. We purposely chose single room so that I can accompany her every night and she can have her privacy. We checked her in the night before so she can fast and have her surgery early the next day. I forgot the last time I slept at the hospital but I was reminded immediately how uncomfortable it was sleeping on the cold hard floor with nothing but my thin sleeping bag as cover.

The next morning it was Linda’s job to take over while I went to work. I only returned in the evening for the night shift. Mia’s surgery went pretty well. She did have some minor nosebleed which was expected. This time around, I came prepared with a thick warm comforter and one more pillow so my second night at the hospital was much more pleasant.

Getting food was quite easy. Apart from the hospital cafés, there’s a daily night market some 300 meters away and also Bangi Gateway just next door.

An-Nur specialist hospital is the same as every other private hospital except for the fact that it’s shariah compliant. Their service and hospitality were quite good, comparable to KPJ and Pantai hospitals that we’ve been to. At the end of our stay, the front desk staff came by to visit us and recite some prayers for our health and recovery I suppose. That’s the other difference of this shariah-compliant hospital. Price-wise, they’re just as expensive as others. The other plus point I must say is that the hospital is only 10 minutes away from our place.

10 November 2022

Remember the doom and gloom of my previous blog post when I flunked my Apple Device Support exam (by a point)? Well my bosses insist that I retook the test and pay for it first with my own money. Later IF I pass, the company will reimburse the exam fee. Sounds like a fair deal but am I willing to take the risk? What if I flunk again and burn 700 ringgit just like that?

I was nonchalant about retaking the exam at first but since my bosses kept nagging me to do so, sometimes with subtle hints of pay cut, I steeled myself to pay for the exam and studies for a week or so. Actually, I’ve been writing down more than half of the questions the moment I finished the exam, recalling them from memory. At the moment, I’m in the process of making a set of dump questions for Apple Device Support exam which would be very useful to my colleagues and the world in general.

Come exam day, I brought my laptop, my portable w-fi router and booked a room for the purpose. It was a nerve-wracking first 20 minutes when I tried to check-in for the exam. Apparently the room that I booked was a 4G black hole and it barely passed the exam test connection. Only after moving the router to the window then I managed to connect steadily. I finished the 2 hour exam in slightly over one hour. They provided the exam set of questions to me and since I memorized much of them, I passed the exam by 92.5% correct answers this time.

It felt like a heavy weight being lifted off my head. The past month has been difficult, with the worry and uncertainty that the exam entails. After that it was high-fives and accolades all around. I am the first staff of three who took the exam and passed. Now that I’m certified again, I can go about with my life with one less worry on the checklist.

22 October 2022

        Today we had our inaugural Parent Teacher Meeting at Adam’s college. This is nothing new to me because I’ve seen they did this at the school that I worked at. All the teachers would gather in the hall and the parents would take turns to come meet them. At Adam’s college though I was not sure what to expect. We arrived and met Adam near the library. Unlike my school, teachers were waiting in separate classrooms while parents took turns to meet them. We met with one teacher for Adam’s computer science subject and she told us Adam was doing pretty well. That concludes our first Parent Teacher Meeting.

Afterwards Adam got his head shaved for charity. It was for a cancer-awareness campaign. Adam managed to collect 370 ringgit from people wanting to see his head bald. While I always shave my head every month, Adam loves his hair and he had only shaved it once before in high school. So this is kinda a big deal for him. I asked him beforehand, was he really doing this with sincerity or was it just peer-pressure? He took offence a little at my question because he actually believed in the cause. That’s my boy, so proud of him. I can see Adam made a lot of new friends because everybody were saying hi and talking to him everywhere he went.

Before leaving, we parents get to have lunch at the dining hall. It was spacious and grand, not like my place/school. The food was okay and Adam surely is well-fed while living there. Did I mention we saw Nora Danish walking past us during the meeting earlier?

13 October 2022

        Everybody in my department is expected to take a certificate exam to beef up their qualification for work. If they pass this exam, they’ll get an extra allowance in their salary. Previously I’ve been taking the Apple Certified Support Professional exam (ACSP) and passing the exam without any problems. I go to a two day class, read the big text book (or pdf) and then take the exam. The questions were challenging but they’re mostly answerable. Today, there’s no more ACSP but instead, they’ve replaced it with the Apple Device Support Exam. There’s no more expensive courses and it’s replaced with a few free online tutorials and guides made by Apple for you to read and remember as much as possible.

That should be easier right? The first red flags were when two of my colleagues took the exam and failed to pass. They only need to not get 21 of the objective questions wrong but they couldn’t manage it. I did my fair bit of studying based on these guides and I don’t remember studying as hard since my final year diploma exams. I basically spend every minute of my free time doing the revision. Come exam day, I thought I did pretty well although I was not that confident. The questions were a mixed bag. Some were quite difficult and I truly have no idea what they were and just shoot. Some of them were not that hard but it requires you to remember exactly what the answers are. If I could just access my Mac OS and look at the settings, then I would get them right. That day it was 50-50. Others were confusing enough such as the multiple-choice answers were given too similar to each other. In the end I was 0.6% short of the passing mark.

Disappointed? You bet. Especially when it comes with a financial repercussion. If I don’t resit the test soon, my next drawn salary will be 300 ringgit short. And I’ll have to fork out my own money first. That’s USD149 with the current abysmal exchange rate. Sucks I know but that’s the department policy. Getting certified has its pros and cons. Con is obviously when you don’t pass. Not only that I got a tiny little increment this year, I stand to lose what little allowance I got if I screw up the exam. Is it time to look for a greener pasture? No wonder we’re seeing some high turnover round here this year.

17 September 2022

We’re supposed to go camping with my in-laws in Hulu Selangor yesterday. They have planned the event for two months in advance, paid for the camping site, bought camping equipment and prepared much of the camping rations. And then when my parent in law arrived here on Thursday, they were not feeling well. One had a cold and the other was coughing and feeling lethargic all over. In this day and age, I could only think of one possible ailment. Yes it’s the dreaded Covid.

My suspicions proved correct when they both tested positive for the virus the next day. The awkward thing was I shook hands with dad and we all ate at the same table during dinner. Needless to say, they both moved into the guest room to quarantine for a few days. Fortunately for everyone, it was a long weekend this Malaysia day and we took this opportunity to look after our parents in law while they were sick. So there goes our camping plans. At least Linda’s sister and brother proceeded with the plan without us so it did not go completely to waste.

Having had Covid once, I really do not wish to catch it again. So when I felt a slight headache and tired all over, I feared the worst. Thankfully I tested myself and got a negative result this morning. That or it’s still early days. I pray for the former.

My father in law must be bored out of his wits from being cooped in the guest room for three days because he and his wife left for home earlier this morning. He looked well enough to drive and I just heard they both arrived safely in Tanah Merah this evening. We went to IKEA earlier today to do a little bit of shopping. They always have something to buy there, whether home furnishing or clothes. I came home with a painful back pain just now. Maybe my body is in shock after going for my first jog since last month. Maybe it’s just old age.

5 July 2022

 To say Adam was nervous to pick up his SPM result would be an understatement. I am old now so SPM doesn't really mean that much to me but I was in Adam’s shoes at one time and I totally understand his feelings. We got to his school as fast as we could that morning, traffic and all. By the time we arrived the results announcement was in full swing. They announced all the straight A students from every class in the hall and the students along with their family will walk on stage to receive them.

Now Adam got 5 out 6 As for UPS and 8 out of 9 As for PT3. That was already an excellent result for me but not for Adam since he studied hard and was visibly upset when he missed that single A on both occasions. So imagine his delight when his name was called on stage that morning. Linda and I were likewise overjoyed and proud to walk behind him that day. Adam could not hide his tears of joy as we hugged the moment we came down the stage. For the record Adam got 8 A+ and one A but do we care about the solitary A? Absolutely not.

As the happiness wore off, we did not waste any time in applying for all available scholarships out there. So far he got rejected a few times but also progressed to the later stages of the interview process of a few others. Like today for example, he’s still in the capital for a two days assessment with the central bank. We as parents would be ecstatic if he secured any of the scholarships offered. If he doesn’t, we certainly won’t be too disappointed with it and we hope he does not as well. As you must have learned by now, you don’t always get everything you want in life and you’ve got to prepare yourself for some disappointments. It’s inevitable. Besides, local universities are not that bad. Is not where you study but how well you do and if you enjoy yourself. I firmly believe you have great things in store for you no matter where you go next.

While waiting for his university call up/scholarship application result to come out, Adam decided to work part time at a Big Apple donut kiosk at The Mines. He didn’t really have to but he wanted the money and we thought it would be good for him to experience a minimum wage job to build character. Now The Mines and our home in Semenyih are quite far apart. The first week, Adam rode his bicycle to the KTM Komuter station some 5 kilometers away, locked it at the parking lot and took a train to the Serdang station. From there, he walked up the pedestrian crossing to The Mines. His shift is usually in the afternoon so he didn’t get home until 11:30 in the evening. The next three weeks, Adam had wisened up (or he got tired of riding the bike) and followed his mother to the office every morning. During lunch time, Linda will send him off to the mall some 5 kilometers away.

How much did Adam get after a month of slaving away at the kiosk? RM834 after EPF contributions. Not much but certainly a lot more than what I got working at a petrol pump at the same age. But as I said, it’s not so much about the money but more on the experience. Hopefully one day when he’s in a C suite somewhere, he won’t forget his experience working at a minimum wage and will treat his subordinates with respect.

So that’s my report with regard to my eldest son at the moment. The world is your oyster son. Go forth and prosper.

20 June 2022

Remember the time the entire family and I got Covid? This was it. It started when Hana came home from school one day with a fever. She felt warm all over and could barely get out of bed. We suspected the dreaded virus so we had her tested immediately and sure enough she was positive. At first we got her to quarantine in the guest room downstairs. I thought I was careful enough to wear masks and gloves whenever I wanted to interact with her, like passing the food and drinks etc. But apparently that was not enough.

Two days later, it was Mia’s turn to be positive. Not surprising because the two were literally roommates. So Hana moved her quarantine from the guest room to her own bedroom. Three days later it was my turn to feel feverish. My temperature was high when checked and I had a really bad headache. I could barely sleep at night, waking up every hour until morning. Of course my wife got it too, we slept in the same bed after all and I presume Asif too because he showed all the symptoms.

What was it like having Covid-19? It’s like having a really bad fever and headache. Those were the two major side effects. I did not cough much but my body felt weak and lethargic all over. There’s no magic pill to cure that apart from popping paracetamols 4 times a day at the height of the symptoms. A little bit of cough syrup also helped. After confirming positive, I updated the test result into MySejahtera and got my status changed to confirmed case with the red background. Next I emailed my bosses and HR about the news and got to stay at home for a week although I still got to work from home for the final three days.

You know me, I’m the staunchest pro-vaccine person around. I got the vaccine shot not twice but three times and I was careful to wear masks most of the time and wipe my hands with sanitizers after touching anything remotely dirty. But no matter how careful you are, if just one of your family members got infected, it’s virtually impossible not to get infected as well, especially if you live under the same roof. The only sure way is to live elsewhere separately until the infection subsides. That’s what Adam did, our only family member not to get infected. He was incidentally working at The Mines shopping centre so right after work, he crashed at his friend’s house in Bandar Mahkota Cheras nearby for five days straight.

At the end of the week, the worst was finally over. The first three days were the worst and then we gradually got better. Curiously, Hana and Mia had a fever for three days only and quickly got better. The adults fared considerably worse. My wife was coughing until the next week and so did Asif. In the early days post-Covid, I was short of breath when doing anything slightly physical like climbing the stairs or jogging.

I always thought that it was inevitable that someday I will get the virus. I mean they’re everywhere and unless you become a reclusive hermit, the risk is always there. The important thing is to get vaccinated and be vigilant amongst crowds. Vaccination is especially important because when you do get Covid, the symptoms and side effects won’t be that bad. Bad as in hospitalized or admitted into the ICU.

2 May 2022

    Eleven hours, that’s how long it took us to get from home to Tanah Merah. It’s a slight improvement from the usual 12-13 hours crawl of yesteryears thanks to the alternative routes that I took along the way. We started off from Semenyih to Kuala Klawang in Negri Sembilan, to Karak - Raub - Gua Musang and then the Jelawang - Jeli route. Despite avoiding all the usual traffic hot spots, we still encounter some jams just before the Central Spine Road and also approaching Jeli. Let’s just face it, unless you’re flying or driving at 3:00 AM in the morning, there’s no way to absolutely avoid the mad rush traffic home.

Moving forward, I don’t wish for my children to endure the same senseless 12 hours traffic as I did. In the future, there will be no more balik kampung trips because our new kampung will be in sweet old Semenyih. Depending on where you live in the Klang valley, the trip will take less than one hour, I promise.

I’m sure everybody knew about the surprise Hari Raya announcement on TV and social media that evening. I suspect it’s all just politics between the palace and the executive. I was too tired from all the driving to give a damn. One thing for sure, I’m not complaining about having to fast one day less.

For the first time in 2 years, I get to bring my family and join hundred others for the Eid morning prayers. I chose the local town mosque in Tanah Merah because it has more parking spaces and there’s ample outdoor praying space. It was also Asif’s first time joining the Eid prayers. Other than lying down in front of the mat while I was praying, he was mostly behaving well at the mosque.

It’s a crowded house at my parent in law’s place in Kampung Sat that day. All of my brother and sister in laws and their kids were present. That’s not counting the guests, friends, distant families and neighbours that showed up later. By now I have accepted the fact that it’s useless to whine about this since it is the norm for major festivities such as Eid. It would be sad otherwise for Linda’s parents if only half the family returned. Lucky for me I was able to get away from the hot and packed house to a relative’s house for some roasted lamb. Sure I had to trot along to visit another relative’s place but it’s only a short walk away plus it had airconds.

The next day, it was time to go back to my own home town in Pasir Mas. I don’t remember being this not excited going back there. Firstly because I seem to spend a lot of time in Tanah Merah instead of Pasir Mas since I got married for some reason. Secondly, me, my mother and my siblings are not so close-knit in the beginning. Izni is living with her own family and four kids now, although nearby, she has her own house. Lina, being Lina and Zaidi with his temperaments is not coming back for Eid at all this year. Faiz, now a divorcee, just dropped off his kids with their mother and came home alone. I think somehow along the years, we lost the charm of Eid in Pasir Mas, especially after each of us got married and have our own little families. Anyway that will be all moot when my kids only celebrate Eid in Semenyih next, some time in the future.

The initial plan was to spend the night in Pasir Mas. Mother however has turned our ancestral home into a home stay and incidentally, she has someone staying over later that day. So it turned into a short visit where we stayed for lunch and then went back to Tanah Merah. Did I tell you Matok is living in her own house now? Even her own mother has had enough of Mother and decided to move out of her home. If I can advise you something, kids, don’t live with your parents after you got married, especially for long periods of time. Sure you can visit them every other weekend or once a month but other than that, the visit must not be more than 2 days tops. I know I probably become the bestest parent and parent in law in the world but there’s always something about staying with your in laws that will eventually create misunderstanding and discord (I’m not talking about the server here).

Of course if you are completely broke or in dire need of a place to stay, our home are always open. I’m just talking from my own experience. My mother had fights with literally everybody that stayed with her for long. Izni and her husband, Linda and I, Faiz and her wife (which led to their ultimate divorce), uncle Din and his family where they stayed for a few months and the latest casualty was her own mother. She is fated to live alone I tell you.

Okay enough of my mother. You know how much I don’t like staying at my in-laws for too long? I literally booked an overnight stay at Cameron Highlands for 500 ringgit so that we can leave the house 3 days earlier. And you know how cheap I am about spending money on unnecessary things. If it’s up to Linda, she would probably demand that we stay until the last day of the holiday. You can read about the rest of my short Cameron getaway from my other blog. It was a bittersweet experience.

So that was my report for Eid 2022. I don’t look forward to next year. I hope that I don’t have to drive another 12 hours back to Tanah Merah (plus 12 hours back) any time soon.

4 April 2022

When my wife suggested that we go back to her hometown for early Ramadan, I quickly dismissed her suggestion. If you know me enough, you will know how much I hated driving back to Kelantan more than necessary. Necessary as in once during Eid and another during the year end school holidays. I’m tired of plying the same old route, seeing the same old sight and crawling through the same old traffic jams. I must have driven through the same road a hundred times over the years. It is just not an attractive proposition for me.

My wife, being the stubborn person that she is, was adamant of driving the car home all by herself. Perhaps she could but it will be really challenging and with an infant in tow. If she did go through with her threat and something bad happens, I will surely look like the bad guy. Ultimately, common sense prevailed and my wife suggested that we book a flight home instead. I was mostly agreeable to the plan except for the paying part. You know these flights, even the low cost ones, are not cheap. But when she offered to pay for everything, it was music to my ears. So that’s how we ended up taking this 700+ worth of flight home to Tanah Merah which is where I’m typing this from today.

Is it worth spending 759.60 for a return flight ticket to Kota Bharu? If you look at the face of my wife since yesterday, it certainly is for her. She did receive a pretty generous bonus last week so 759.60 is not that big in the scheme of things. If money is no object for me, I certainly wouldn’t mind as well. But money is hard to come by most times for me so you probably won’t see me splurging that much for a short, 4 days trip to the same old Tanah Merah. If it’s Bali or Bangkok, I’m all in. But it’s not so that’s that.

It is incidentally our youngest’s first experience on a plane. He seems oblivious of the entire journey though. It feels like he’s sitting on a seat for an extended train journey. He did look out of the window but the fact that we were 10,000 feet up in the air is lost on him.

My father in law was kind enough to pick us up from KBR airport. All 7 of us had to cram ourselves into that small Bezza for the hour-long journey to Tanah Merah. Thankfully we arrived safe and sound in the end.

After what it feels like four tremendously boring days at home, it’s time to go back to Kuala Lumpur (thank god). My sister, Izni, was kind enough to send us all to the airport where we took the evening flight. It was a nervous check in for both flights because I had actually entered Asif’s name wrong for the ticket. It was Asif Yusuf bin Mohd Rais instead of bin Mohd Afif. Fortunately the security personnel and flight crews didn’t notice the typo both times. Worst case scenario, Asif could have been denied from boarding but I don’t really believe it would come that.

10 March 2022

24 February 2022

    February 24th, 2022. The day of infamy in Europe as Russia launched a full-scale invasion on Ukraine. Vladimir Putin had the audacity to call it a “special military operation” to free Russia-backed Ukraine rebels but we all know it was an absurd propaganda. I hope the world does not stand by idly while we watch this aggression happening before our eyes.

One would have thought an invasion of a fully sovereign country of this kind could have not happened after World World II but here we are. This could end badly for Ukraine and Europe in general and even lead to major escalation in the continent. Where were you when World War III started?

I was at home in Semenyih watching The Walking Dead season 11.

3 January 2022

When it comes to getting the best from science and technology, I’m always first. So when I got the chance to get my third vaccine shot (aka the booster shoot), I didn’t miss it. There’s a lot of private clinics that provide Covid vaccines but most of them only accept MySejahtera app appointments which is nowhere to be seen on mine. Then there’s two hospitals in Bangi that offer booster shot walk-ins which are Az-Zahrah and An-Nur. I choose the former because it opens until 4 in the afternoon.

The entire booster shot process was efficiently done in 30 minutes. I knew there could be side-effects from this Pfizer shot. What I didn’t expect was the severity. The first two days I had the usual lethargy and mild fever. On the third day came the diarrhetic episode. I had to visit the toilet three times that evening. The next day, I only felt slightly better but I was so weak that I had to skip the first workday of the year. Considering it is still term break and I only missed 3 days of work from illness all last year, they guys will survive without me for one solitary day.

Some people had it bad like me while others suffered nothing more than a bruised arm. It totally depended on the individual really. Everybody reacts differently to the vaccine. Does it make me hesitant to take more shots in the future? Absolutely not. In science we trust.