Be a nobody in Malaysia OR be a somebody elsewhere?

The post that Dina Zaman wrote was forwarded to me by a Malaysian living and working in the UAE. I don't really know the person but we could have met in one occasion or another. We have a mailing list for Malaysians in UAE but that's another story.

I wondered, after reading Dina's posting: Why do I want to work abroad? I felt people who has it alright here but still decide to uproot their families abroad for whatever reasons are rather selfish but hey, am I not one of them as well? I guess I am. That's why I wondered, why?

In conversations I have with friends, I put it down to simple "it's a fairer world out there" because of the concept of meritocracy. Well yeah, being expatriates, the locals have nothing else to compare with apart from merit and credentials. In my own country, there'd be "Which political party do you support", "You're with company XYZ so you shouldn't be caught mingling with people who are of the opposite camp", "Sorry, but the other guy is backed by such and such a person (who of course is a 'someone' in politics)" and the worst I've known (for a fact) is "Hey, this other guy submitted a proposal priced at RM such and such with strong technical submission. You might want to edit your submission."

Life's very unfair in this place I call my country. "But you're Bumi, how can that be?" Asked a friend. Like it or not, there may be MANY opportunities for the Son of the Land or Bumiputras, not all are among the privileged few who would benefit simply because they are not connected.

Now Why, still?

I've worked with some Americans, Phillipinoes, Indians, Arabs, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Chinese and not to forget Malays in the past. I see that no matter where you work you'll still be ranked on a certain social ladder due to your country of origin, education, colour of skin to name a few. Malaysians are the more favoured Asians in the Mid East primarily due to our former PM's status in the Arab world, his policies and marketing prowess. Some earlier Arabs who had the opportunity of working with Malaysians also had good things to say because Malaysians in general are a hardworking bunch of people. Given good academic background, good perception by the locals, it's no surprise that Malaysians are ranked higher than their Asian neighbours who has higher population. Why rest on being lowly 'casted' in my own country when I can be more appreciated in a foreign place?

And then?

My first long-term employment in the MidEast introduced me to the "All You Can" concept only this time it does not involve food nor is it chargeable. The people there were very open to discussions and advises and will let you into just about anything you want yourself to be involved in. There's trust and confidence. They are not afraid of having 'challengers' to their next promotion because merit is all it's about. "We're starting a new department to manage xxx for xxx. We're short of engineers and we're wondering if you're interested in the job." I was already an engineer then and declining their offer has no adverse effects on me but the thought that they actually feel I'm able and capable of assuming the additional responsibility made me say yes. Once I did, they didn't save a single Dirham on my training.

The All You Can concept does not end there. There's also all-you-can-procure (as long as it's budgeted). You don't have to limit your budget to show a saving of XYZ Dirham at the end of the year. It's just logical. If you have an approved budget Dh2M for sustainence and maintenance, why should you cut down any of them? It's not about wasting, it's about buying those things you really need with savings you made from other purchases. It may be as simple as face masks for field workers and tiny screws for light units but when you take care of the people you're responsible after, these people will in turn take care of your interests and deliver high quality work. And you can occasionally push them a little further for ad-hoc tasks. My favourite tagline then was "If I have it, you'll have it."

Is that all?

These are just the simple few experiences I had which seems to be very alien in Malaysia. My two employers after the MidEast were unable to match the extent of confidence given to me by my MidEast employer. I tried to push for a more direct and transparent communication but it's just too clear that they enjoy having this Boss-Subordinate boundary with low accountability on them but high expectations from me. That's not how the ball rolls in my court and although I did enjoy Radicare to a certain extent (hey, I have my own office and workforce!), I knew I just had to leave in order to remain dynamic.

The saddest of all, they are both Malay-owned companies.

It's not that I don't love Malaysia. I'm loving life here but the limitations are just too much. I am not into greasing palms or sucking arses but the current scenario would make me a nobody if I don't do them.

Be a nobody in Malaysia OR be a somebody elsewhere?

Believe it or not, throughout the 2.5 years in UAE, I've never been to Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi or Kuwait. I've spent all my holidays in Malaysia, bringing those UAE Dirhams to Malaysia to be spent in Malaysia. By being abroad, I think I've made Malaysia richer rather than poorer and as little as it may be, that's a contribution I'm proud of. The amount I spent then on a single visit was even more than the amount I paid for income tax for the 12 months of 2006!

When I do go out, it's not because I hate the country but because I love the challenge and exposure outside. I may have to spend a long time away but should I live to experience old age, I will certainly want to spend my last days here, to be rested on Malaysian soil.

For I am only Malaysian.

I Am Muslim

I read a post by Dina Zaman that led to "I Am Muslim".

One sore pointer..

I asked myself this question: How do you know if you've spent a lot of time behind some sort of a keyboard? My answer: You'd not only be able to type not looking at it AND substitute an ailing finger with another.

I had a small cut on my left pointer while being an unofficial butcher along with some 20 other people yesterday. It just couldn't stop dripping even after I dried it up causing me to go look for a first aid kit. Good thing the organisers had a box ready and I patched it up with the ol' skool yellow solution, cotton bud and a new skool 3M tape. It worked, or so I thought. When I removed the wrapping and started using the finger again, the bleeding resumed. Leceh la gini..

I like to use the pointer for typing. It's the most used finger, reaching anywhere from the control, shift, caps lock, tab, escape buttons to Y, G, B. QWERTY keyboard, people. With the pointer healing, I had to make use of the other less used fingers but I realised that it wasn't as difficult that I thought it'd be. I do still occasionally use the pointer which would send some pain signals to my head but that's about all.

All things are created in a team. Lose one and you'll feel the lost almost immediately.

Esok hari raya!

Esok Hari Raya Aidil Adha. Untuk warga di London dan sebahagian dunia yang lain, hari ni dah masuk Aidil Adha. Somehow, there's no celebratory spirit for this Eid. It's not just at our house but I suppose throughout the country. Then again, it's justified, seeing how many parts of the country is submerged with water being more prominent and as if natural 'disaster' is not enough, there's the ongoing restlessness amongst certain parties (not of the political kind) seeking one justice after another. With all that happening, how can one be celebrating?

Our family doesn't have a standard to-do list for Aidil Adha but we have a template for Aidil Fitri. For me, once the prayers are over, I'd go back home for my breakfast/brunch then change then return to the masjid for the korban. I had my first experience last year when Mali invited me. As I got to the masjid then, I just froze, not knowing where to begin, how to start and what to do. By 1pm, I was perspiring, smelling of slaughtered meat, holding a plastic bag full of daging korban and feeling fulfilled. One more experience experienced. Tomorrow, I intend to do the same. Texted Mali earlier tonight and made arrangements for him to fetch me on his was to the masjid.

A herd of 13 cows is a sight to behold.

VI lost to a bunch of GIRLS!

Forgive me but they're not just ANY bunch of girls, they're the band from Sekolah Menengan Kebangsaan Sultanah Asma. And they're not just any school band, they've also won the 5th International Music Festival in Giulianova, Italy in 2004.

So, to put it mildly, VI didn't just lose to some girls, they lost to an award winning band from a girls' school.

Where? It all happened at the Merdeka Stadium at the grand finals of the inaugural Kuala Lumpur World Marching Band Competition 2007. They lined up a total of 10 finalists and although Thailand won the competition, Malaysia was in 2nd and 3rd places with Sultanah Asma and VI respectively. They had a panel of 8 international judges (none of whom are from Malaysia) and I agree with their judgement when choosing Sultanah Asma.

Unfortunately I don't have pictures to show but if I did, it wouldn't do justice. Only a movie recording would be able to give justice and show the outstanding performance put up by these three winners.

Sultanah Asma went away with USD10,000 for winning the Malaysian category and being runner's up in the international category while VI amassed USD6,000 (I think) for being runners up in the Malaysian category and being second runners up in the international category.

Patutnya tengok dari awal with all the preliminary rounds and the side competitions, baru best.

It was.. FUN!

Ok, ok.. before anyone asks, here's the link to SMK Sultanah Asma's video. Mind you this wasn't the one at KLWMBC 2007 but the routine was similar, if not the same.
Link 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7hUTCw-X8E
Link 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ifd1KF_noAQ

The Lagu, The Cerita and The Conclusion..

Dalam masa tiga hari ni, dah 50-100 kali dah lagu ni aku dengar. It has so far managed to topple my like for Uncle Hussain's Lagu Untukmu. I can not seem to get over it, sampai gi keluar pun terdengar lagu ni lagi. I've not burnt it on CD since I'm compiling songs I like when I'm in that mood.

Tapi dalam banyak-banyak lagu tu, ada pulak Destiny's Child's Check On It.. haha.. Well, not really a mood-song but it's one of those that I can listen to over and over and over again at one time. Moved on to other songs by now and opening my ears again.

I know how to download movies and where to get them but mp3? That's a whole new thing for me. I've even downloaded video clips instead of the song! Ish, shy la like this.

Today's a no work day. My boss' boss doesn't work Fridays and my boss decided to call it an off day too. Just as well since he was contacted by his boss earlier this morning saying that we don't have to go to work. Now don't you get all jealousy and stuff.. This is the calm before the storm. When the storm approaches, we'd be pretty busy and when it does get here, I'll be having laaaaaate nights, I assure you. Well, those nights might be me alone since the company doesn't really work late nights.

Woke up almost half past six due to the tummy cleaning concoction I had last night. Slept again after 7am and after I updated my Warbook Kingdom. Hey, any of you play warbook on facebook? I'm PercikKing or how la I spelt it, I don't remember.

I went online after Friday prayers today to reload my Celcom. Completed the transaction then logged out. Did stuff and wondered why the phone hasn't received any message. Kan bila kita reload kita dapat message yang kata reload accepted or successful. I was waiting for that. Then I realised that it does not happen that way if reload is done online then I went online and searched for recent internet transactions. Lucky for me, they have the serial number of my previous transaction as well. Kalau tak, rugi limaploh hinggit gitu-gitu je..

Tonight's futsal night. Fizin secured the BIG field!! WAAAAAAHhh.. Belum pernah lagi main kat padang besar, it'll be a wonderful experience this time. I texted Ridza and AJ among others, to invite them as well. Ye la, kalau dengan the normal crowd of 8-10 people, mengah la main kat padang besar. Kalau ada orang ramai sket, boleh main 7 atau 8 satu side.

Had a meeting with Osh and Hussein just now, with my dad. I was as usual, the quiet one. Listening, observing and giving the occasional nod, smile, laugh and "hmm.." Gitulah biasanya kalau duduk kat meeting yang memang takde benda yang nak dibincangkan. Kalau cerita pasal benda yang aku tau, rancak je jadinya.

What's the intention of this blog? Nothing in particular. I'm still envious of people who can write with substance rather than just to tell stories like I do..

5 tahun dan lebih..

Aku dulu sekolah asrama. Semua family aku sekolah asrama penuh, kecuali Khalisah. Khalisah special sikit sebab dia belajar di sekolah antarabangsa. Lain zaman, lain waktu, lain orang, lainlah rezekinya..

Ayah, Abang dan aku belajar di MTD, Sungai Besi. Mama di TKC, Seremban. Kakak ipar aku, Azlina, di SMAP Labu. Oh, Julina pun belajar di SMAP Labu. Faizal Arif pun di SMAP Labu (rasanya). Ayah dan Mama graduan USM, jurusan komunikasi massa. Abang, aku dan kakak ipar aku dari UIA. Abang dan aku jurusan kejuruteraan, kakak ipar aku jurusan pengurusan perniagaan. Khalisah baru mula belajar dan mengambil jurusan komunikasi massa juga.

Kalau ditanya orang-orang yang pernah belajar di sekolah berasrama penuh, memang banyak yang boleh diceritakan. Dalam banyak-banyak cerita itu, mesti ada terselit kisah di dewan makan ataupun cerita berkisarkan 'kesengsaraan' menghadapi hidangan pemakanan di sana. Kicap bukan kicap, Milo bukan Milo, mentega dalam tin sebesar tin Milo 5kg dan mee goreng sarapan pagi kadang-kadang tu boleh tergigit garam sebesar penumbuk!

Ada kisah roti yang keras sekeras batu dan kisah pecah masuk stor dewan makan atas sebab kelaparan. Pernah terjadi ketika aku di tingkatan 3, pelajar tingkatan 5 ditangkap memasuki dewan makan. Apabila disoal, diberitahu bahawa mereka kelaparan. Komandan pada ketika itu Kolonel Hussein bin Yusoff (anak bongsu dia lawa!). Senior-senior aku tu diberi amaran keras tapi tidak diambil tindakan. Adalah menjadi tanggungjawab pihak pentabiran untuk memastikan bahawa anak-anak jagaan mereka mendapat peluang pemakanan yang secukupnya dan Kolonel Hussein sedar akan itu.

Kisah Kolonel Hussein ini banyak. Dialah yang mengujudkan pertandingan kelas terbersih (yang mana kelas aku menang tersangatlah banyak kalinya dan dapat habuan KFC pada setiap bulan kemenangan). Dia amat suka membuat lawatan diluar waktu kerja dan jangkaan kami. Dia aktif dan berpandangan jauh. Sayang sekali, jodohnya tidak lama dan dia bersara selepas mendapat satu bintang.

Selain daripada cerita hal makan dan dewan makan, pasti juga ada kisah-kisah seram yang pernah diceritakan dari seorang ke seorang yang lain dan tak kurang juga melalui pengalaman sendiri. Aku kira aku amat bernasib baik kerana tidak pernah melalui pengalaman itu secara terus tapi pernah juga terlibat menahan seorang yang dirasuk daripada keluar bilik (dikhuatiri terjun bangunan) bersama 8 orang yang lain. 1 lawan 9. Hebat.

Tapi, kesemua cerita dan pengalaman aku di sekolah berasrama penuh kurang nikmatnya jika dibandingkan dengan pengalaman terakhir aku pada tahun 1993. Nak tahu? Haa, tungguuuuu... ;)

*ehem..* -to be continued-

Kisah yang eeeee!!

Aku pandu kereta itu
Aku ada tempat tuju
Sampai selekoh jalan itu
Jatuh ia di depan cermin kereta aku

Dia menari melawan angin
Aku ngeri geli geleman
Dia menari atas cermin
Aku gelabah seorangan

Aku pandu kereta itu
Cepat-cepat laju-laju
Sampai tempat aku tuju
Aku keluar kereta itu

Aku geli masih lagi
Dia menari tanpa henti
Aku pinjam kayu jaga
Tolak ia jatuh kereta

Aku geli dan duduk jauh
Usha kereta, usha jalan
Aku dengar ia jatuh
Tapi bayang pun tak nampak depan

Masih geli aku ini
Tunggu dulu ia pergi
Paksa diri masuk kereta
Cepat-cepat pergi dari sana

Aku ngeri bukan apa
Kereta banyak lubang, nanti muncul tiba-tiba
Aku tau dia tak bahaya
Tapi belum kena, belum tahu rasa

Itulah ular atas kereta
Mana datang, aku musykil
Nasib baik tak gelabah gila
Ish, interview crocodile hunter sure fail!

Aku bukan benci binatang
Yang lembut, lembik dan yang bertulang belakang
Cuma aku belum biasa
Berhati-hati sebelum terkena.

Alasan je tu sebenarnya
Lipas pun lagi aku geli
Cemana la nak jadi hero perkasa
Nak jadi protector untuk isteri

Takpelah, kalau aku tak mampu begitu
Harap dia lebih tegar
Kalau dua-dua pun macam tu
Panggil je pest control ke, bomba ke, biar depa yang kejar!

Selamat siang semua
Indah rasanya ini dunia.

p/s: benda tu jadi bulan 9 dulu, masa bawak myvi, kat junction Jalan Jelatek dengan Jalan yang ke Sri Rampai tu. Jatuh dari pokok kot.. mm..

A twist of fate, a tale of late..

Salam People,

As it turned out, the simple visit I had earlier became an interim job offer. Well, they didn't actually offer me before I asked to join but they accepted me into the forming team nonetheless. I've been going to work in Shah Alam daily since November something (last week of November, malas nak tengok kalendar :P) with the exception of Thursday and Friday last week, due to a fever - revisited.

I guess He works in many mysterious ways, getting us what we want albeit in a different form. I feel that this is a good opportunity for me to prove some sick old man wrong (hey, not him, him!). That particular old man told my dad that I wasn't fit for the Qatar job because I "do not have enough experience".

Yeah, right, after giving towering praises and saying oh so sweet words to me and not to forget, cursing and belittling his other staff. The funny thing is, he's now depending on the staff that he cursed and cursed again in front of everybody, calling the guy "pengkhianat" and what nots. He's got no other option but to ask that guy to carry the company flag into Doha.

Fact: There shall not be a Doha venture without my father's help and my father's not doing anything to help them, after what he said and did to me.

Jadi, biarkanlah orang tua tu dengan angan-angan kosongnya dan mulut yang layak dicabai, digiling dan dilenyek dengan tayar kereta.

I'm currently breathing well in this company. The boss may be Chinese and his partner American but it feels like a fairer place to work in than with that old man.

BTW, this old man's much younger than my dad. He just looks older, for reasons I shall not say.

Update..

Satu je cerita pun. Esok nak gi jumpa beberapa orang yang *ehem* perlukan pertolongan menterjemahkan jadual excel.

Pokcik bukannya terer pun nak terjemah-terjemah ni tapi memandangkan pokcik yang buek table-table tu, buleh le sekadar nak pasang lampu skek..

Moga terteranglah esok, harapnya..

Bertemu Pakcik Hussain

Namun begitu, pakcik ini lebih selesa jika dipanggil Pak Habib.

Aku kenal Pak Habib ni dari tahun 2000 lagi, sewaktu aku mengajar di IIC (tiada kaitan dengan kolej anjuran UIA). Dia amat dikenali di sekolah itu, punca dan sebab yang aku tak berapa tahu tapi mungkin juga berkaitan dengan kerjayanya sebagai penulis politik. Pertemuan pertama aku dengan Pak Habib berlaku pada tahun itu juga apabila beliau dijemput untuk memberikan penerangan berkaitan kerjayanya sebagai penulis.

Aku bertemu kembali dengan Pak Habib pada hari Ahad minggu lepas. Anaknya, Syed Muhammad mengadakan program makan-makan sempena kepulangannya ke Malaysia setelah hampir setahun menuntut di Universiti Ottago, Tanah Zea Baru dan aku antara yang hadir. Dalam perjalanan ke Janda Baik, hati aku tak henti-henti berkata "Kali ini, boleh aku tanya, "Where's Uncle Hussain?"" dan boleh aku katakan kepada orang ramai bahawa "I met Uncle Hussain!"

Unfortunately his son has yet to hear about the group Meet Uncle Hussain which rendered the pun, dead.

Takpelah. Some other pun some other time :)

SO, anyway, the writing's not thought up because of the janda baik gathering but from a new realisation with supporting evidence that lately..

i seem to enjoy songs that speaks of frustration.

Betul. Aku mula dengar "Lagu Untukmu" secara tak sengaja melalui corong radio. Kemudian terdengar lagi melalui televisyen tapi cuma menyedari kandungan lirik dalam lagu itu sebentar tadi.

"Lagu ni quite depressing, kan?" I thought. I can recall loving Cranberries' Linger and Radiohead's Creep. Honestly, if I focus long enough, there are many other songs that I like that's really dark inside.

And I wonder why..

Ini satu cerita..

Aku rasa selama ni yang aku tulis kat blog, lebih banyak sia-sia daripada yang bermakna. Aku baru terjumpa blog-blog daripada fellow Malaysians yang merantau untuk bekerja mahupun belajar dan aku rasa kandungan blog-blog mereka amat.. bernilai.

Mungkin tidak semua namun jika dibandingkan dengan blog ini, jauh panggang dari apilah gayanya.

Ada sorang tu belajar bahasa Mandarin secara tidak rasmi. Dalam tempoh 2 tahun, dia dah boleh bertutur dan berinteraksi dalam bahasa tersebut. Aku dulu belajar secara tidak rasmi juga namun setelah 2.5 tahun, aku rasa aku masih di tahap beginner.

Begitu banyak topik perbincangan yang dikemukakan oleh blog-blog mereka itu hinggakan aku terleka membaca, sesuatu perkara yang telah lama tak dibuat. Aku juga berkesempatan bertemu rakan-rakan lama yang aku kenal semasa belajar dahulu, di sebuah galeri seni di Jalan Damai ketika aku pergi (tanpa perancangan) untuk berjumpa dengan kawan aku punya kawan yang kini seakan-akan kawan aku juga.

Betapa kecilnya dunia ini, kecil lagi Kuala Lumpur, di sana ada Haris Zalkapli, kawan sebilik aku ketika di tahun kedua matrikulasi dan Syed Nurlhaq (sampai sekarang aku masih tertanya samada ejaan itu betul) yang aku temui ketika beratur di hadapan Kolej Sheikh Daud Al-Fattani pada hari pertama matrikulasi di UIA. Meskipun kami kenalan lama, tak banyak kisah-kisah silam yang tersebut oleh kerana kami tidaklah terlalu akrab, cuma wujud rasa hormat antara satu sama lain. Aku juga sempat bertemu seorang ahli politik dalam pembuatan (politician in the making? :P) di sana dan terasa sedikit canggung apabila dia memanggil aku "abang"..

Lama siot orang hampir sebaya tak panggil macam tu!!

InsyaAllah, jalan aku ke arah peningkatan semangat diri telah bermula, semoga ia akan terus maju.

- I'm taking a break -

but I do read emails :)

I have an addiction

TO FACEBOOK!!

Any kind of addiction is no good and I'm trying to run away from continuously being addicted. Except for the 'Fight' thing, I just can't stop myself from training my fighter and looking for opponents to challenge..

HELP!!

hahahaa...

It's never too early.

It's still too early to wish anything but never to early to seek forgiveness.

To all my friends, readers and visitors, I ask for your forgiveness should I have wronged you in any way throughout the days, months, years that we've known each other either verbally, in actions, in words and in writings. Please also forgive me for promises that I've not managed to keep, for truth that I've not managed to tell and for patience that I've not managed to give.

Please accept my humblest apologies.

On the other hand,

On the other hand, my mum has been keeping quiet about my blog, which is also not surprising knowing how she keeps things that she would rather not have anyone know to herself. Like, if I know that she reads my blogs, what are the chances that I'd stringently vet my postings in the future?

Almost none. But still, there's a chance that I would. So better not let me know that she reads them. But then again, she might even get a whiff of it from my dad. Wait. No, that's probably not so possible. I seem to observe that my parents keep certain things to themselves, things that they feel privvy to and most times things that I don't say out loud. It's like giving me the space and erm, (for lost of a better word) respect. I've got to learn that technique to quietly guide people to a certain direction and make them erm, believe that they were the ones who decided on that course of action.

Kadang-kadang tu, when I reveal a certain 'news' to the family (to me, revealing news to the family is a story/thought/idea that's almost a month old), I can see the quiet satisfaction on either parent's face because they knew of that news earlier than the other. It's like, "I knew that was coming earlier than any of you!". I guess it works not just for parents but also in relationships.

Relationships are not only about how much you love one another but also how much you're willing to incorporate your life and lifestyle so it would seamlessly fit the both of you, in good, bad, happiness, sadness, in the everyday life and in special occasions. It's also about sharing not just wealth but also ideas, feelings, emotions, stories and events. It's about always being around when the other needs you, for a shoulder, a hand, a hug. Sometimes it doesn't really matter that you're a hundred, four hundred, a thousand, multi thousand kilometers away, although in most times, a physical appearance would be best.

And in relationships, it would be wonderful if we know of stories of our loved ones before it was made known to others. It's not about having the one-up 'advantage', it's about being important enough to be informed first, before it becomes public.

And you know now that this has reached someone else before it was published here :)

Err..

I have this feeling that my dad's been reading my blogs. And it's not just recently that he did, it might've been since.. erm, many months ago. Many things changed during those months and I was surprised (although pleasantly, surprised I was, still) that those changes happened and wondered why, since these changes happened right after I blogged about it.

Until a few days ago when he mentioned (after talking about a particular topic) and I quote, "You can blog on this.." unquote.

Can I? Hehe..

It's me, it is!

Emotional Equations..

I realised that it's been a very long time since I wrote anything mentally stimulating (to me). For the past year or so, it's been about work and about things that I did/go through and some places I went but not much on perceptions, thoughts and opinions.

Until today, I wasn't in the right mind to write them. It takes some mental stimulation, some external input to lift me to a slightly higher level that would make me have to activate certain brain functions.

I've just read a blog written by Zahirah, one of my former students who was also my sister's friend/classmate in IIC. That blog ignited an opinion that lead to this blog.

We have been told time and again to be good to others because "what goes around comes around". Yeah, if you do bad and nothing bad happens to you then it's good, luck's probably on your side. What if you do good and instead of getting good from the equation

do good = get good

and instead of getting good, we either get nothing or worse, get bad. It's a sucky feeling really when good intentions are misinterpreted and misunderstood as something opposite. It's even worse if the misinterpretation and misunderstanding leads to negative reactions from others such that it ruins a lovely/moderate day.

There were times when these things happen that makes it just so tiring to just live and go through the day but with no other choice remaining, we sulk and drag out feet past the hours until we wake again the next day with hopes of forgotten past and better future.

Although I'm no emotionless 'freak', I tend to rationalise more than often when things go good/bad and came with the conclusion that it all lies in the mind. How so? Lets return to the equation and add one variable:

do good = get good + (unexpected)

Sometimes the unexpected outweighs the get good and brings us from happy to joy, elation and happiness of stratospheric proportions. The downside to it is that the unexpected can also drown us in misery or get us smacked down.

There's a (quote? saying?) "Expect the Unexpected" which we naturally frequently forget because the unexpected seldom appear. If we prepare for unexpected occurances, chances are, we would be better prepared for any setbacks that would arise from our actions but most importanly, we realise that life's not one big equation waiting to happen but rather a process of learning.

In "doing", lay low and switch off expectations. The lesser you expect, the calmer your heart beats.

Update(s)!

It's only been 3 days into this year's Ramadhan and I'm already having soft aches at my feet and light head squeezes in my brain. There's another 17 days of sales to go and I must be strong and last through it all.

Sales have been good, alhamdulillah. Made more than expected and the crowd just kept on coming! Today wasn't as good as days 1 and 2 but made good sales nonetheless. I have a feeling that tomorrow would be good as well but how good, not sure. Planning to go chicken buying tomorrow morning and hoping that my brother would come over to facilitate the cleaning process, else, I'd have to do 30birds on my own! Ouch! Since it's a Sunday, planned on 30 as a nice figure to last through Monday and part of Tuesday. Itu pun kalau Ahad ni jual banyak. Kalau tak banyak, I can skip the bird buying process on Monday and Tuesday and do it only on Wednesday.

Ahmad Ridza and Hamzah have been great help, learning very quickly and helped reduce boredom. Biasalah, kalau ada Hamzah, sure dia je kena target usik mengusik ni. Ridza thought he could get away but no! Not when I have the "College Story" in my hands :) And the "supposed" dinner with Anwar Ibrahim! What? You did? Prove it! :P

So that's about it for tonight, I'm actually taking this short opportunity to write because my aunty called and insisted that I join her buka puasa do. I wanted to but when I thought of the cleaning up I needed to do after a day's sale, declined. Now that cleaning is completed, I can start cleaning myself and get to her place. Taman Dagang is not really that far but it could seem like forever if there's huge traffic.

People who live here would know what (not) to expect along Jalan Ampang :)

Jualan Ramadhan

Assalamualaikum and a very good day people!

As was the practice years back, we're back this Ramadhan for your favourite Ayam Percik and Nasi Kerabu.

Sales open daily from 5pm until maghrib between 01st Ramadhan and 20th Ramadhan. You may also call in to book your combo by dialing 0162519196.

Come soon or miss out!

A sight to see..

I tried to walk
My feet got stuck
I tried to talk
But out of luck
My tongue was tied
My legs were weak
I sat and sighed
Deciphering the trick

I sat alone
On a lonely bench
I feel the stones
And smell the stench
I looked around
No soul to find
Be not astound
For I am blind.

Kenduri Part 2

Bangun je hari kedua, aku ingatkan nak lepak tak buat apa-apa but at 8am, Ayah reminded me that we're going to the hotel for a rehearsal and to prepare the hall for dinner. I took on the task of preparing the bunga telur mini baskets together with my cousins and sister while Nadir (adik Adela the bride) prepared the bunga manggar, hotel version.

After the bunga telur were all ready (setakat letak pot-pourri dengan telur je, the basket was already decorated), we went on to place the eggs on all tables for guests. Since we had more eggs than tables, the remaining eggs (about 100+ of them!) were arranged in boxes and stored under the temporary stage. Khalisah and Asila Fatinah had to rehearse as a bridesmaid and flower girl respectively, half way through the bunga telur preparation. I wasn't involved in any discussions but Ayah had a lot to say to the hotel management that at the end of our simple morning, they served us a plate of sandwiches and 4 pitchers of various drinks, hehe..

We went to Gurney Plaza for lunch, Nda Aouya said the yong tau foo was fabulous. Had soya bean drink. Lepas makan tu, Mama decided to get replacement shoes for Asila Fatinah since her original intended shoes seemed very uncomfortable to wear. Cari punya cari, the shoes that fit Mama's taste weren't available in Asila Fatinah's size and the pair that Asila Fatinah fancied were! So the sales guy brought out the pair, Asila Fatinah tested and loved it! To add to the story, the shoes were really not similar to the ones Siti (my much much younger cousin) has so Mama bought a similar pair for her. Siti's in standard 5 but is just about the size of Asila Fatinah.. Delayed growth, I think.

Then, went on to get stockings for the 2 little ones and a handbag to match Mama's dress for that night. Mama was surprised to see it costing less than 200, probably being used to the scare she gets window shopping through accessories in Dubai :)

It was kinda late (time wise) when we completed the shopping that we didn't have time to rest. Got home, showered and dressed, ready for the night's do. Returned to the hotel by 7:00pm and went about with my duties which included making sure that the "kertuk" team gets dinner before all guests arrive, making sure that the 'waiting room' for the bride and groom were well hidden and to receive guests who are relatives from our side of the family.

The hotel sucked, in more ways than one. NEVER hold your functions at G Hotel should you need to have anything in Penang. They have substandard red carpet such that the carpet folds and create waves even before all guests arrive, the dining team took a long time to bring out the dishes, and they're VERY VERY "kupik". That's Kelantanese for scrooge. Kita mintak air kosong segelas, dia kata nak charge. Kita mintak itu sikit, nak charge, ini sikit nak charge. Tapi bila karpet tu beralun, kita suruh dia betulkan, dia kata, "biasalah, kalau dah ramai orang lalu, memang beralun karpet tu." So I thought: Kalau betul la karpet tu jadi macam tu, as people with knowledge and experience, they should remedy the situation pronto! Instead of stating the obvious.

But the function (to the eyes of guests) went on very well, apart from the VERY late arrival of food. Aku ingatkan nak melantak abis-abisan tapi bila server dia pun buat hal, terus hilang mood nak makan. The hotel F&B Manager gave most of his permanent staff off-days for the Merdeka Holiday and instead took replacement Bangladeshis. Those Banglas not only do they not know how to serve properly, they don't have the adab and they're pretty much irresponsible. Ayah mintak senduk untuk senduk nasi, Bangla tu boleh kata, "This is not my table, other person serving this table" Ayah pun mengamuk la! Kalau dia kata "Hold on Sir, I'll get it for you" pun dah ok..

Lepas abis dinner tu, while the guests were dispersing, I packed the gifts into the car to be brought back to Bukit Jambul, Nda Aouya's house. Nasib baik boleh habis semua in 1 trip. I had the assistance of Hidayat - Cumin (pronounced Chu-Meen, my aunty)'s eldest son and also Siti's brother - to shuttle the gifts from the car into the house. Headed back to Hotel G to fetch Mama, Ayah, Khalisah, Siti and Ayah Aa (my mother's brother) then went back to Bukit Jambul. Slept that night almost like a log. I missed Cumin and Ayah Ding when they came in the morning to say their goodbyes before heading for Kelantan and PJ respectively but I got to make egg sandwich for Asila Fatinah.

On the way back, as we were crossing the Penang Bridge, Asila Fatinah took in awe, the majesty of the bridge and thanked everyone in the car for the trip. She said her thanks to Mama for etc.. etc.. (tak ingat!) then Khalisah then Ayah and then to me. I asked her, why thank you to me? She said.. For.. err.. (and this really did happen, she had to look for something to be thankful of!) and she thanked me for the egg sandwich I made her that morning! Hehe..

Such a dear..

We got stuck in traffic OTW back and took a diversion into Slim River and then Batang Kali, Ulu Yam, Selayang, before entering MRR2 via Batu Caves. It was a long drive back and I was really thankful and relieved on arrival. Rested that night for a long time, waking up the next day for breakfast at about 10 or 11am.

Thus endeth my wedding story part 2. Got part 3 but again, that'll be in a new posting! :D

Kenduri Part 1

Aku baru je balik daripada Pulau Pinang. Pulau Pinang belah pulau, bukan yang kat Butterworth. Naik bas Transnasional kat Hentian Duta. Mali hantar gi sana sebab Abang aku dah gi Langkawi untuk business meeting. Masa cari tiket tu, abang kat kaunter tiket tu kata tiket untuk hari Khamis ke PP dah habis & tiket dari PP hari Ahad pun dah abis. Yang ada, hari Khamis petang tapi turun kat BW. Aku takmo turun kat tempat lain pastu kena carik bas lagi jadi aku ambiklah tiket hari Rabu malam, 12 tengah malam lagi, sebab nak maximizekan masa kat KL. Aku kena jumpa ejen hartanah untuk sign rental agreement untuk rumah aku.

Alhamdulillah, selepas 4 tahun, rumah aku dah ada tenant berbayar.. hehe..

The trip in the bus was very uncomfortable because I had to put my bag under my feet, leaving not much room for the feet themselves. It was good that I had a seat-mate who was alright, instead of the I-dread-sharing-this-seat-with-this-person person. I didn't sleep much. The bus stopped 4 times too, making it even more difficult to sleep due to the consistently lighted windows. We arrived at the Hentian Bas Sungai Nibong at almost 5am and I waited for over 2 hours for my parents to arrive.

You see, we stayed at my aunty's place for the duration and being guests, we do not know where the switches are. Since the car was in the compound, we had to wait for someone else from the house to wake up before we could open it. Furthermore, it's a practice there to lock all doors and grills at night for safety.

Nasib baik jugak masa tunggu bas kat Hentian Duta tu, aku terjumpa Faiz, staf AZSB yang aku pernah liase masa kat Hospital Ampang tu jadi sempat la kitorang borak-borak kat depan bus stand tu sesambil dia pun tunggu ayah dia datang ambik.

I've been to Enda Aouya's house before but for just a while. I vaguely remember how it looked like and where it was but when we got there again, my memory was refreshed so much so that I could drive on my own from the hotel (dinner - to be mentioned in part 2) to her house! Very good for someone who's only driven in PP once before.

So, on the first day of arrival, despite my groggyness out of not having enough sleep, made myself useful by cutting up some raw papayas and poked daun manggar on it to make the bunga manggars.

Q: What are you doing there?
A: I'm planting flowers.. *LAUGH!*

Q: What flower has the shortest lifespan?
A: Bunga Manggar, only for a day!

Q: What flower, the more you water it, the faster it dies?
A: Bunga Api!

Okay, enough of "Bunga" jokes.

Pastu sibuk-sibuk tolong susun kerusi meja for the kenduri kat rumah. Orang yang bagi sewa kerusi tu kata, since khemah bukan ambik dari diorang, diorang tak nak susun kerusi meja.. haha.. macam pondi pulak buat perangai.. :P

Aku sedar yang orang PP, eventhough a state-city-town in one place, much like KL, has a long distance to go before being equal to the standards that's available in KL's hospitality service/business. Kat sana, diorang ni take it for granted that everyone needs their services hence there is no need to make it super-fine, suffice to have a "good" service.

Hari akad tu, aku pun masih letih. Paksa kepala ni bangun pastu petik baju melayu yang nak pakai. Since aku nampak Nadir (adik pengantin) pakai kaler maroon, aku pun petik baju maroon aku dengan sampin tapi tak pakai lagi sebab ada kerja-kerja berat yang lebih diutamakan. Dah sudah angkat kerusi la, susun meja la, tanam pokok bunga la dan segala apa yang memerlukan kederat, aku masuk mandi pastu tukaq baju.

The procession went on smoothly with hosts and guests feeling very comfortable (to my opinion) and at home. The groom received the bride from the hands of her father. Adela (and Nadir's) father is German who came to marry, live and stay in Malaysia for the past 30+ years. I don't really know what he does but he's very artistic and speaks a multitude of languages, French and German being part of them.

It was very touching to hear him speak Malay during the akad.

Lepas semayang jemaat, ada kenduri pulak. Sebelum kenduri tu, ada bersanding. Aku memula ingat nak kental dengan BM maroon aku yang dipakai sejak pagi tapi terasa macam tak best sangat pakai baju tu jadi aku pun masuk, mandi seround pastu tukar kaler kehijauan pulak. Dah turun tu, membzkan diri lagi sebelum pengantin lelaki sampai.

Terlalu banyak event hari tu sampai tak terucap. Yang aku paling ingat, bila hari dah hampir tamat, kaki aku pun dah hampir lumat, berdenyut-denyut dia. Puas hati aku dengan cara semuanya berjalan, aku tertidur kat kerusi di anjung dengan lenanya selama setengah jam sebelum terjaga bila terdengan azan maghrib berkumandang. Kebetulan pulak Herizal (pengantin lelaki) datang dekat dengan masa tu jadi aku *ehem* test power dia, semayang maghrib sama-sama.

The night ended at dunno what time because I stayed awake playing bowling on my sister's phone.

Woke up kinda late the next morning.. but that's another story to tell.

Bendera Oh Benderaku!

Setiap kali menjelang Hari Kebangsaan, rumah aku tak lupa untuk kibarkan Jalur Gemilang. Aktiviti mengibar bendera kami bermula sebelum bendera itu diberi nama lagi, hingga waktu ia masyhur dan namanya dibuat lagu. Aku tidak ingat apakah reaksi jiran tetangga ketika di Bangsar dan Damansara namun jiranku disebelah kiri dan kanan rumah sekarang masing-masing mengibarkan Jalur Gemilang itu di pagar rumah mereka.

Pernah satu masa dulu seorang menteri yang tidak punya keprihatinan terhadap sentimen masyarakat mengatakan bahawa golongan yang berbangsa Cina dan India tidak mempunyai semangat patriotik kerana tidak mengibarkan Jalur Gemilang menjelang Hari Kebangsaan. Tuduhan melulu seperti itu telah mendapat reaksi negatif daripada jiranku sebuah keluarga Cina yang berasal (secara kebetulan) dari Kelantan. Kami bertanya kepada Uncle mengapa tidak dikibarkan bendera itu dan dengan nada kecewa dia mencemuh kenyataan yang dikeluarkan oleh menteri tersebut.

Kepada mereka yang mendiami kawasan Ampang Jaya dan Taman TAR, mereka akan tahu bahawa kawasan ini majoriti penduduknya adalah daripada Bangsa Melayu. Kalau peratusan itu tidak sampai 80%, berkemungkinan dalam lingkaran 50 hingga 70% mereka adalah Melayu. Sepanjang aku berada di Malaysia baru-baru ini, aku menyedari bahawa tidak banyak rumah sepanjang Jalan Kolam Ayer Lama mahupun di seluruh taman perumahan aku mengibarkan Jalur Gemilang. Seandainya menteri yang mengata songsang itu datang ke kawasan kediaman aku ini, sudah pasti dia akan berlari keluar sambil menyorok ekornya di celahan kaki.

Aku pelik.. Mengapa kita tidak mengibarkan bendera? Pihak kerajaan yang memerintah negeri, negara dan juga memegang kerusi DUN Ampang telah bersusah payah mengadakan pelbagai program demi menyambut 50 tahun kemerdekaan kita dan telah juga berbelanja jutaan ringgit untuk menarik pelancong luar namun kita sebagai rakyat di negara ini masih gagal untuk menyumbangkan sedikit wang ringgit untuk membeli Jalur Gemilang, tali dan sebatang kayu agar dapat ia dikibarkan di perkarangan rumah. Jalur Gemilang yang murah berharga RM8 dan yang sedikit elok berharga RM12. Mahal sangatkah? Ataupun kita masih bermentaliti subsidi?

*kalau kerajaan nak suruh kita kibar bendera, bagi la bendera free?*

The event that triggered my writing of this blog happened just an hour or two ago. After the kenduri at our house ended and the last guests left, I went on to send my cousins and aunty back. On the way to Batang Kali, I passed by a lot of shops in a Chinese dominated area and saw that almost all shops have their Jalur Gemilangs out.

I felt ashamed because the people who were supposed to be the "native" of this country fails to live up to the spirit of independence while those who were "immigrants" fly "our" flags with pride. Where can I now put my face?

*sigh*

I am, lost and confused.

Find me, please..

Special Issue - Newsweek April 2, 2007

Any day I'm here could be the day I die

That caption is written on the front page of the blog's title. It's very depressing but true for the men walking in the streets of Baghdad, Iraq and neighbouring countries at war with one foreign nation.

Truer than that would be to capt "Any day I LIVE here could be the day I die"

Some die literally, some face death in faith, some die silently inside while some others put to death part of their lives to conquer a greater reason for living. I have too put to death part of me to live what I forsee as a greater life. Looking back, my anger has died a silent, gradual death (although I do defibrillate it on occasions). I too have put to death certain desires for want of a stable, healthy living.

It is inevitable that as we grow older, we lose the child we bore from young and grow into the society the way we're expected to. Those who live themselves outside the acceptable norm would either be frowned upon or just be seen weird. It is considered maturity.

And so, maturity and growth is defined by the death of some other parts of us

Peek-a-boo!

I didn't know that blogging, though efficient, is not actually the most efficient way to communicate to others, if you're thinking of telling stuff immediately.

I've been back in Malaysia for about 10 days and yet, I've managed to stay low, stealthily weaving my way across towns and back, without some friends even knowing I'm here..

I say men, I'm so sorry. I've been back here since Sunday, 05th August and will most probably be going back to the middle east this coming Sunday, 19th August. I'll call AJ tomorrow morn.

PEEEKABOOOOO!!!!

A wedding vow..

When I feel you sick,
I wish you well,
I'm not that quick,
But you, I can tell,
Whether it's sunshine,
Or rain or snow,
Your voice tells your mind,
Without saying, I know.

In peace, in calm, in serenity,
Recover quick, I wish you be,
If only I can bring a cure,
I'd bring to you, no pain to endure.

Believe that pain's just a test from above,
For He knows more and He knows love,
Until you recover, in bed you must stay,
And health and wealth, for you I pray.

I'll wait for you forever long,
Eager to sing our favourite song,
And dance the steps we learned together,
And cherish the moments we'll share forever.

For you're part me and I part you,
Tomorrow and ever, from the moment "I do".

I Am Now..

Officially one of them EPL Suckers who plays the Fantasy Premier League.. haha..

Sesapa yang main sama, check out Uncle B FC! :D

Oh, Rooney's out for a few months. Kalau tak dengar radio, mana nak tau benda ni. I might be an FPL player but I'm not so much into football, you dig?

Who Am I?

Dear Tuan Azmil Abdullah Tuan Ibrahim:

Here are your Brainbench Personality Assessment Results.
Please review these results carefully and refer to the
interpretation notes at the bottom.

PERSONALITY EVALUATION:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trait |<--|---|---|---- Range ----|---|---|--->| Trait
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introverted |......X.................................|
Extraverted
Candid |..........................X.............|
Considerate
Impulsive |..............X.........................| Cautious
Excitable |..........X.............................| Relaxed
Practical |..X.....................................|
Imaginative
Concrete |..............X.........................| Abstract
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|<--|---|---|---- Range ----|---|---|--->|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your Social Boldness: Introverted VS Extraverted
------------------------------------------------------------
You are quite introverted. Socially, you prefer a more
relaxed, low-key environment, rather than the hustle and
bustle of a wild night in the city. You tend not to talk a
lot, but when you do people listen, because when you say
something it has meaning. You are not seeking the
limelight, usually you prefer to let the attention-mongers
do their thing while you observe. In an unfamiliar setting,
you tend to be cautious and shy while you evaluate the
circumstances. You prefer to avoid conflict, so you do not
put yourself into a threatening situation. Your shyness may
be perceived as unfriendly, but that could not be further
from the truth. People need to be patient with you and take
the time to get to know the complex, private you.

Your Agreeableness: Candid VS Considerate
------------------------------------------------------------
You are moderately considerate. You are an agreeable
person. This means that you are well liked and people
really enjoy your company. And why wouldn't they? People
can sense that you are taking a genuine interest in them
and this makes them feel special and as a result, they have
high regards for you. With your altruistic personality, you
get a lot of practice at making people feel special. In
fact, you feel great joy when you help others. Another nice
feature you possess is your ability to cooperate. Not
everyone can do this, so it is very important in a meeting
or social situation to have someone like you present in
order to maintain a harmonious situation. This comes from
your tendency to want equality and fairness. In dealing
with others, you prefer not to manipulate people instead
you tend to be open and sincere. This makes you a popular
and well-respected individual.

Your Self-Control: Impulsive VS Cautious
------------------------------------------------------------
You are moderately impulsive. At times you can be
impulsive, but not to the point where you are jeopardizing
work or relationships. You know when to follow rules, but
you also know when to bend rules that are not set in stone.
If your home or work space gets a little messy, you do not
get upset or feel compelled to tidy up. You do not have to
have perfect order in your life to feel good about yourself
or your environment. You tend to be more on the fun side of
spontaneity, and enjoy being flexible with your plans and
your life. In general, you prefer to make short-term goals
rather than long-term goals.

Your Anxiety Level: Excitable VS Relaxed
------------------------------------------------------------
You are moderately excitable. In trying situations, you
feel somewhat stressed and frustrated. At times you are
able to overcome these feelings, but other times you feel
overwhelmed. This could run the gamut of just being in a
bad mood to experiencing anxiety, anger, or depression. In
general, you prefer a stress-free existence, so that the
possibility of negative emotions would not be a factor. You
tend to be somewhat self-conscious in social situations,
and are worried that people may judge or criticize you. You
may react emotionally to people or circumstances that you
find threatening, because you want to protect yourself.
Every so often you cave into urges or cravings. Sometimes
you feel a little guilty about it, other times you are just
fine with your fun streak.

Your Openness to Change: Practical VS Imaginative
------------------------------------------------------------
You are very practical. You want just the facts - keep it
plain and simple. You are practical, pragmatic and well
grounded. You have no time for carelessness and
impracticality. You prefer to keep your emotions to
yourself, rather than exposing your feelings to the world.
Life moves along much better for you when you can maintain
a schedule and have routine in your life. Unexpected
surprises and chaos are a major inconvenience to you. You
tend to be conservative and are somewhat resistant to
change. Others respect your ability to act properly in your
everyday life.

The way you Think/Reason: Concrete VS Abstract
------------------------------------------------------------
You are moderately concrete in your thinking. Your
intellectual style is related to superior job performance
when working with the public. One reason for this is that
you often prefer dealing with people or things rather than
ideas.

I'm more literate than 85% of Windows XP 'Examinees'!

Thank you for taking the Brainbench Computer Literacy (Windows XP) assessment.

Congratulations! You passed at the Master's Level with a score of 4.59. You have now earned a Brainbench Master Certification in Computer Literacy (Windows XP), which is valid for 3 years from today's date.

Individual Test Results - Actionable Data Just For You

Test: Computer Literacy (Windows XP)
Date: 12-Aug-2007
Score: 4.59
Weights: 100% Computer Literacy (Windows XP)
Elapsed time: 26 min 41 sec
Computer Literacy (Windows XP)
Score: 4.59
Percentile: Scored higher than 85% of previous examinees

Demonstrates understanding of most advanced concepts within the subject area. Appears capable of mentoring others on the most complex projects.
Strong Areas

* Windows
* Input / Output
* Maintenance & Settings
* Applications
* Storage

Weak Areas

* Internet

I am a 74% Addict!

74%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Mingle² - Dating Site

In Denial

I guess at the moment, all I can afford to do is to run away.. Not from home but from the things that are bothering me. I've been spending lots of time with Mali and the crew and it's helping me quite a bit but the realisation that I will have to sooner or later go back home is somewhat a killer.

Watched Liverpool's first game for the new season that left me wondering: If EPL dah abis and the new season dah start, why then there's still new season for Heroes and Prison Break? Haiseh..

Mali's watching "How I Met Your Mother" that I downloaded. Seronok dia :)

Good night..

A new layout y'all!

OOooookay.. As you can all see, I've updated my blog layout and design, thanks to the available templates on blogger. I've been wanting to choose a more space efficient format because the previous one looked a little cramped - too many things to fit in such a small space. Add to that, there were these two huge borders on the sides of the blog which serves practically nothing much.

But I loved the design and colour of the previous template. I'm back to blue now.. Then again, if you don't see a blue template when you read this, that means I had too much time in my hands and I made a lot of edits since this posting.

I do have time, really.

Yeay to blogspot!

The weBLOG

Dah teramat lama rasanya tak blog kat Friendster. Sempat juga tanya kawan-kawan yang kaki blog, diorang kata frenster punya blog ni tak best & berybu lemon site lain yang lagi best. Among the friends I spoke to, ada yang guna xanga, ada yang guna blogspot. I use blogspot mainly because I cannot find any other blog sites.. How sad is that, huh?

Blog nowadays has turned into something more than just a place to write your feelings/thoughts/ideas down, it has turned into some sort of a fan page. Friends who knows your blogsite would check your stories there frequently to keep themselves updated with your whereabouts and happenings. Some friends (people like me) visit other friends' blogs like once in a week/month and spend some time reading through their happenings and at the same time write in their thoughts and piece of mind.

Some friends I know use the blog to express emotions such as happiness and anger. I just read through a friend's blog yesterday where she lashed out at her friend who pissed her off and pointing out "I know you read this blog.." It's very neat, really, to be able to release that pent-up anger without actually doing the shouting and yelling but at the same time get the message across.

Blogs too have become like a shrine, a personal space, an online more-than-just-my-profile site. It's no longer sufficient to have a space where you can write all you want, blog sites now need to have the facility of 'decorating' that site as well as provide some sort of animation tools for the bloggers.

As for me, if there weren't any blogs on Friendster, I doubt that I'd even start blogging. I don't keep a journal at home nor do I have a diary. I used to have one, started while I was in Form 2 but after a few days, I find myself writing just the same. Worse then, I was afraid of writing freely, afraid that the diary would be 'stolen' and that someone else would read my thoughts.

Funny, I now enjoy people reading. I guess not having much to hide helps keep me writing freely PLUS I am more capable of separating the bloggable and unbloggable contents of my life. I also think that with time comes maturity and self confidence that allows me to be more comfortable with who I am.

I wonder what's after the weBLOG..

I

I count the days
As July came
In so many ways
I am still the same

I aged a bit
I laughed a lot
Is it time to quit
Or do I start to trot?

I move, I walk, I dance, I run
I must realise life is so much fun

I count the days
Of this July test
In many ways
I am now my best.

Oops, terforgot..

Masa borak-borak dengan Abeb semalam, sempat gak belajar resipi daripada dia.. He called it Nasi Daging Tomato Tak Cukup Bahan.. Hehe, you guessed, nama tu dah kena tokok tambah sikit ;)

First thing: I don't imagine guys talking about recipes. Secondly: I don't imagine doing it myself! Tips that he gave during our chat: Nak suruh nasi masak cepat, letak air panas instead of air biasa.

I normally use the satu-ruas technique when cooking. You put in the rice you want to cook then add water. Dip your pointer into the mixture, water level should just be about as high as the first mark.

Abeb guna 2:1. 2cups water, 1cup rice.

It's another 5 days before I go home. Tomorrow's the 30th. Then 31st, 1st (my parents' 33rd anniversary), 2nd, 3rd, 4TH!! Macam best tapi ada jugak gerun.. I worry that I have things left undone. Sick..

Tomorrow until the day I leave, I intend to have breakfast and dinner consisting of bran cereals. Kalau bosan, makan weetabix. Nope, not about dieting but about stabilising my fiber intake. I'm not that fibre-y conscious at the moment, which is not so good. Kesian 'Barakah Grill' nanti.. no more Azmil to eat their kebab, syawarma and tikka..

Dah, nakal balik

Tengah bosan ni. Patut ada meeting hari ni tapi postpone pergi esok sebab the guy ada a different meeting earlier. I don't think he knows that I'll be going back soon or else he'd fit the meeting into his schedule.

So I do what I normally do when I'm bored: Download. Abeb kata semalam (we chatted quite a while) housemate dia bandwith hog, download freak, or at least that's what I translate into my mind and guess what, I'm quite the same too..

Tengah carik lagu-lagu. My intention was to leave this computer clean from any installations but I had to install limewire (Mali yang promo, many years ago) to download mp3s. The other programs are just useless and not as effective.

Not feeling good about this but it shall do.

I feel the love..

I had a very long night last night.

As I got home, I started preparing the chicken for my curry Ala-Brahim's dish. I had dinner consisting of that curried chicken and arabic bread again. This time, I felt that the chicken wasn't fully cooked but I was not about to go cook it again so I finished the whole thing while watching erm.. I think it was Scrubs episodes 20 and 21, Season 6.

I depend a lot on these comedies to keep my mind occupied with nothing. I cannot imagine how life would be had I not have the portable hard drive and downloaded those movies. Apart from being dull, I might even get bored. Having a car doesn't help either because I'm pretty cautious about using it to move around primarily because I still do not have a UAE driving licence plus I've not received my salary for June. Nope, it's not the company this time, it's because the money is with my colleague and he's in Al-Ain doing some survey. He'll be back tomorrow and I REALLY hope he would as I'm down to my last Dh35. The good thing about getting my money late is that I have less time to spend it and have more to bring home.

Anyways, after Scrubs, I decided to watch 'How I Met Your Mother'. I've finished Season 1 during my first month in Shahama and I managed to download the second season while helping Ayah pack his stuff up. After 3 episodes, I felt like sleeping because the time was already 10 something and I had the intention to stop at Al-Raha this morning before going to AD.

I tossed and turned and tossed and turned and all I can focus on hearing was the ticking of my new mini alarm clock. It kept on going tick.. tock.. tick.. tock.. The best thing about this clock is its size and I think my body clock has synchronised itself with the time on that clock because I just manage to switch the alarm off every morning before it beeped.

But those are not the main story.

As I watched the sitcoms, I feel love emanating from the story. I suddenly fell in love. I wasn't sure what that love was about but I felt it.

It took me 30 odd years to realise that I'm actually missing my family. I'm not homesick, that's not it. I just felt that I've taken this long to finally have the realisation that I love my mother, I love my father, I love my sister too. With my brother, it's more of mess-with-him-and-you'll-feel-my-wrath love because I've never lived life without him.

If you were to ask me in my 20s, I'd say I do love my family but it wouldn't be said with conviction. I just didn't know then, what this fuss about loving your parents and sibling is all about. I do now.

I just wondered: If I were married in my 20s, I wouldn't have realised this familial love at all. I would've had my own family to share the love with and never would've realised the love I have for my parents. It would've really been a waste.

Alhamdulillah..

I've not been a good son and still am sometimes a very trying person to manage but I do try now, I do try to be better and appreciate their concerns.

Ever read a letter in English, written in Rumi? I wrote one yesterday. It was just a note but I find it interesting how words are so adaptable.

I finally did sleep after listening to M. Nasir's Bonda 2x.

Soooooo cawnee..

I had lots of corny words cross my mind the past week or so. I told myself that I'd pen it but didn't thus the absence of it from my blog. Argh.. frustrating jugak..

I'll be back. And to take from Aisha's blog endings..

-to be continued-

heheh..
p/s: Nope, I won't pay any royalties for using it! That term's public!

Back..

It's no fun to have a weekend and have nothing to do with it.

I had one yesterday and after thinking long and hard, decided to make a meal for myself on this boring slow weekend. So I did. I intended to go to Raha Mall's Lulu Express to buy chicken and onions (gee, my temp apartment doesn't even have onions! Good thing ada garam.. :P) and what nots but then changed my mind and thought of going to either the other side of New Shahama or to Old Shahama for groceries. Then I checked the packaging of this mixture and realised that all I needed was just 300g of chicken for 1 packet serving (good for 4 persons) and went to a grocery store nearby instead.

I knew that many companies sell chicken but I become overwhelmed by the choices and range of prices so I bought the biggest (heaviest) and most cost-effective (to my opinion) chicken available. It weighed 1.5kg and was priced at Dh11. Kalau yang dah siap potong + bungkus, 900g at Dh10. Kalau yang Saudi, 900g at Dh9. Ada jugak yang 1.2kg at Dh10. Good choice, no?

Balik rumah, tinggal ayam kat situ dulu sebab dia beku. I remember my mother telling me not to submerge the chicken in water to thaw it but I don't remember why. I did though, for a short time. Bukan sebab dia dah ready tapi sebab tak sabar nak potong.. I cut the chicken in 6, took out a pot and washed it, cut up some tomatoes and started the cooking process.

Since there were 6pcs of chicken weighing a total of 1.5kg, I thought of making two seperate dishes of curry and kurma. Lepas tengok betapa besarnya ayam tu, decided to store the remaining 4pcs and cook just 2. Opened up 2 packets of Brahim's Meat Kurma mixture and mixed it with water. Put the chicken and tomatoes it, left it at medium heat and went to my room to watch a movie.

Lucky me there's Brahim's :)

The dish tasted alright but it was rather thin so I let the stove run for a while more to thicken the sauce for dinner. Ate lunch at about 5pm with Arabic bread. Had dinner at about 9pm. I MUST remember to follow instructions then next time I cook. Instruction says 300ml of water and I put in 400. Tu yang jadi cair tu.

Oh, I did prepare a more complex fish curry dish a few days ago. We had this fish in the freezer and I thought of doing something with it so ransacked the larder and found fish curry powder. Put this in, put this out, stirred it around and yes! Fish Curry Ala-Azmil is done!

Masin dan masam sikit. Dia suruh letak garam + lemon and I substituted them with lemon salt instead. Guys, sesapa yang tak pernah masak guna lemon salt, lemon salt IS salty + lemony. Don't be over zealous when using it.

Azmil off..

Why?

Why are years 1900 to 1999 called the 20th century but in age, you're not referred to as a 32nd year old person?

A Whirlwind of Emotions..

I've gone through another whirlwind of emotions recently. I'm really like that when I get upset. I try so hard to think of the positive things in life and yank myself out of that depression/anger/sadness and would succeed in doing it. Then to realise that the short-term happiness is just an artificial feeling created by me.

That's kinda why I sulk. My logic tells me that I have this sulk-o-meter that gets rid of the suck-o-feeling 'juice'. It's like pumping gas into the car and let the engine run until the gas runs out before actually stopping. Yes, boleh stop at any time but stopping when the tank is empty becomes a more permanent solution/stop.

So, anywhoo <-- taken from Scrubs, the sitcom I've been watching for the past month on the lappie.. abis Season 6 dah!

I'm back in Abu Dhabi to clear some stuff, work some new stuff and then get my white ass back home on the 4th. I have daddy's car with me and so I drive. Don't you go telling on me!

I guess those who have the opportunity to observe me for a longer period would understand better and be able to notice the changes a lot easier. I know, I am a HUGE pain when I get all emo and stuff but everyone's like that albeit some in a different way. Emo or not, I try not to hold grudges and bite at others, as much as I can.

Aisha requested that I republish the blogs that I 'drafted'. I just might.

Take care.
Azmil off..

A Thank You To All..

Assalamualaikum and a very good day dear readers,

I'd like to visually describe how thankful I am of all your wishes on the day I completed 31 years of living but with this distance, I'm afraid all I can do is to write it.

Thank you all. Although some people dread turning a new year, I don't mind it at all. Age is just a number that brings along the normal wear and tear on the body. When my age was a smaller number, I could do so many things, walk so very far, jump so very high but as the number gets bigger, I can do so many other things like think so much clearly, control so much anger, convince so much better. I can still walk so very far and jump a little but I'd probably tire so much faster if I do it so very often.

It's really funny how people want big numbers on their pay cheques but with to keep their age in small numbers.

Thank you people, you've raised me up a little bit more. I think it's easier now to raise me up since I lost some weight, hehe..

Take care all of you..

With much appreciation and love
Azmil

Apa lagi ya..

Barang-barang kebanyakannya dah abis bungkus. Yang tinggal (kategori barang-barang luar) ada supplements sikit dengan barang-barang elektrik macam blender, mixer and food warmer. Kotak banyak lagi. Label untuk kotak pun dah print, tunggu nak kira berapa banyak kotak pastu tulis atas kertas pastu tampal kat kotak.

Tadi keluar gi tailors dengan my father and brother. My parents suka beli kain bila jumpa kain yang best/berkenan. Lepas beli tu kadang-kadang gi terus jumpa tukang jahit untuk buat baju tapi kebanyakan kalinya tak pergi terus. Bukan apa, kain tu memang lawa tapi bila nak pikir design/baju apa yang nak suruh dia buat, tak sure pulak. Jadi, dalam kemas mengemas tadi, Ayah jumpa berbelas-belas helai kain dan dia pun bahagi-bahagikan dengan anak-anak dia. Dapat jugak seluar lagi 3 helai!

Upah jahit, my brother yang bayar.. :) Bagus jugak ada Abang, kan? Sapa la lagi nak pow kalau bukan abang sendiri..

Had a long conversation with Tina on YM yesterday. I was in the main office and she happened to be online. The thing with her is, if there's nothing to talk about pun, we'd still talk. Biasanya updating on simple matters in life. Yesterday's talk was about something heavier that I shall not blog. She's having her wedding reception on the 18th and I intend to attend.

Oh, BTW, I'm planning to return to KL on the 4th and arrive on the 5th. Ticket's confirmed but I've still got to confirm with my boss if he would insist that I go to Doha first. Lots of things to do in KL including getting my International Driving Permit and catching up with everyone at home. I think this'll be the first time that everyone and I do mean EVERYONE will be home at the same time.

Mama & Ayah's 33rd Wedding Anniversary's on August the 1st. I won't be there but everyone else would. My SIL is due to deliver at the end of August so yes, I'll still be a bachelor when the fourth one comes. There is a reason to every happening.

Just finished a 3-scoop Baskin Robbins ice cream, a combination of Old Fashion Butter Pecan (my favourite), Strawberry Cheesecake and World Class Chocolate, topped with peanuts and hot fudge. I'll be drinking some water afterwards to wash away the taste then drink some more to rehydrate then watch a few episodes of Scrubs (Season 6!) before calling it a night. It's already 11pm here.

Good night folks. I'll see you later.

Merepek lagi..

Kejap kat Dubai, kejap kat Abu Dhabi.. Kalau orang asyik-asyik terbang ke sana ke sini, boleh kata jetsetter.. Aku pulak, bussetter? Haha..

Sebenarnya best jugak naik turun Abu Dhabi ni. At least it takes the boredom away from my vocab for a little bit.

Kejap lagi aku nak balik Dubai balik. Hari ni my brother that I've not met for MAAAAAAAANY months will be arriving from Doha/Kuwait. Dia ni jetsetter. Masa keje dengan O&G dulu, travel area SEA. Dah masuk Radicare, after 1 year, cover area ME pulak. Ada-ada aja idea & plan for expansion dia. I might be smart but HE's smarter. He's a big planner, someone who should run companies. He's like Ayah, someone with a vision. I.. am probably like Mama. I'd settle for something simpler. Not doing it for the money but if the money comes along, I'm happy all the same.

We take different traits from the both of them.

And yes, this blog is about merepekking..

Inche Osh Shudah Bershuara!

Salam Inche Osh!

Shudah lama tak jumpa, shuara pun tak dengar, shepi sheribu bahasha, shekarang munchul bershama ishteri terchenta.. Tahniah Inche Osh kerana shudah berumah tangga. Tapi, ushah ditanya shoalan itu kepada shaya.. tiba mashanya, akan dimaklumkan jua..

Erm Abdul Jabbar, dah terjawab kot soalan 'bila' tu? :)

Again, congratulations, Osh. Semoga berbahagia ke anak, cucu, cicit dan selamanya.

A while or two?

It's been almost a week since I last blogged. Hey, it HAS been 7 days. I've been to the main office once since that last visit but I just didn't have the heart to blog so surfed and read mails, printed stuff and then left the office. I come here purely to print some stuff (printing's free plus it's in laserjet colour!) and take advantage of the internet to check my mails, friendster as well as blog, when the fingers itch.

I was initially due to depart for Qatar within this week since Asri's back and my time spent here has been stretching quite a distance. However, Kinara wants me here longer.. she can't stand the thought of losing me kot? Hahaha.. Well, the hotel felt the impact of my absence for a week and what made it worse was my replacement who shuffled things upside down, to the dismay of Kutty, the supervisor. I went back to Dubai to spend some time with my mother and sister before sending them off to KUL on Tuesday. And managed to get sore throat, slight fever, mild headache and such. My father got it worse since he spent more time on the outside than I did and when my mother left, I just didn't have the heart to leave him on his own, seeing how unwell he was.

I didn't realise that I was sick in the beginning. I took it as just one of those days when the throat acts up ugly. When I got back to Shahama on the 10th, it became clear that this is a lingering bad health. Usual remedies: Honey, water and water. If mummy was here, she'd prepare dishes that does not contain oil so the throat will heal faster. I could say that it's also part "separation sickness" if you may call it. Mama's having a VERY sore throat and Khalisah is kinda sick as well. Macam drama pulak.. :P

So, Khalisah takes care of Mama and I of Ayah.

Anyway, Kutty got angry again today for what other crap, I don't know and he gave me a call for again, don't know what reason. I would've known the reason but since I didn't answer the phone, I don't. Kadang-kadang rasa nak sembur je mamat tu tapi hati lembut sangat. Tak reti nak marah. Cumanya, kalau dan bila marah, orang lain baik jangan cari pasal.

Semalam Kutty tu dok sebut lagi, "I'm now having fever because I supervised your staff. If you are not here, I must do all supervising work for you. I don't have time to do your work," and Kinara echoed quite frequently, "Kutty doesn't have time to do his work if he supervises your work,"

Awat nak supervise kerja aku pulak? Gi jaga kerja sendiri la. Afterall, he is in charge of compound and villa cleanliness, bukan ke kerja dia nak tengok tempat mana kotor dan kena cuci? Dalam kontrak aku mana ada sebut nak ada supervisor?

Kita tengok nanti, bila dia balik kampung hujung bulan ni, cemana jadinya hotel tu. Kutty's wife is delivering pretty soon and he will be on leave for 1.5 months.

Angin jugak satu badan aku ni melayan diorang.

It is..

SCARY! I've realised for quite a while now that when in the company of my father in a meeting, I actually think of words a few micro seconds before he says them. You've heard about the kind of people who would think alike and even complete each other's sentences.. Well, I do that, not with friends but with my father!

MUCHO SCARY, I must say.

But good thing, it's only in words, not in complete sentences.. When (and actually, IF) that happens.. .... ........

I look up to my father in many ways and traits but when people tell me that not only do I look like him, I sound like him, I laugh like him, I even make jokes like he does, it becomes kinda confusing. "You look just like your father," someone told me yesterday and as usual, the best thing I can think of doing is to smile and let the comment pass. Oh, there were also people who said, "Are you connected to him?" Him referring to my father in his absence and when I asked why, the reply would always be, "You look the same."

I'm confident now that I'm not adopted :)

I am..

81kg. Weighed in on July 3rd at about noon.

OK la tu.. kan? heheh.. ;)

Ada respon nampak..

Ada ya yang comment on the last blog. Seronok pakcik bila ada orang bagi feedback :) Makes me feel not really alone even though the nearest Malaysian is like miiiiiiiiiles away.

OK, I admit, that's not true. The nearest Malaysian is like 3 steps away. And there's like 4 of us Malaysians here.. I'm back in Dubai. Just arrived at about 8pm today. It was really a wonderful trip back and looking at how smooth things were, it's almost as if God is asking me to be here, to come home.

Lets see..

I decided to come back just today, at about 3, after concluding my half chicken lunch. Today's chicken was herbs and spices. There's also tandoori and grilled, broasted and fried. Don't ask, I can't differentiate between broasted and fried either.

I texted Asri, the OM and asked if it's alright if I take two or three days off. Before he came back from his holiday, I make decisions on my own because there's no one to consult/discuss with. When he's back, I need to let him know. Not only do we share the same accommodation, we work for the same company and we're pretty much responsible for the same project. Singular, still. If I can't make it to the hotel, he'll have to kinda stand in for me, just IN CASE there was any problem. He gave his okay and I started packing.

Called Farhad (it's spelt with a 'D', not a 'T') and told him I'm going back to Dubai. I briefed him of the scheduled works for the next 3 days (it's pretty much standard and charted) and told him to write the daily report in my absence. I also informed the Housekeeping Department and asked them to call Farhad for any problems. I told Asri that I'd see him at the main office before leaving and set off for Shahama to put together a travelling bag.

I waited for a taxi but lho and behold! The bus arrived. I've never taken a municipality bus in Abu Dhabi although I've taken the Dubai bus many times. The bus was comfortable and there were many locals in there as well. Got to Shahama and packed my jogging shoes, track pants and some essentials and made out to the roadside again. This time the wait was longer and a rude lady added to the agony. She kinda braked hard a few meters behind me (I was facing the traffic and she overshot me) and honked loud. Out of reflex, I walked to her when she lowered her window and asked if I knew where Rahba was. I told her I have no idea (I kinda know where it is generally but not specifically) and she left me without saying thank you or anything like that. I mean, ***ch! She could've backed her car to me instead of honking me over like cattle.. (I feel like saying MOO! now, haha!!) and she could've been more polite. I didn't want to ride with her anyway, takot kena frame woo!!

Heh.. possible? :O

I was in luck a few minutes later when a van was kind enough to stop by (also overshot me but he backed his van quickly to make me walk a shorter distance to him) and took me to the Dubai Taxi Stand. You remember that place I described in an earlier blog, about it being in Abu Dhabi?

So I had to call Asri and inform him that I was taken to the taxi stand and won't be going to the office. Luckily I followed my instincts of not passing the key to Asri by hand :) As I walked towards the buses, I realised that one was already about to leave so I hasten my steps and stopped him in the nick of time. Boarded the bus then found TWO seats empty! Just WONDERFUL, fit for my two bags and I.

Tried to sleep and pretended to sleep when the bus picked another 3 passengers (tak nak share kerusi, haha.. Don't worry, lots of others at the back). Arrived in Dubai at about maghrib then thought of taking a cab to Galleria. All cab drivers were busy dropping off passengers and heading to the masjid for maghrib so I thought of walking to my destination. It's really not that far once you're used to doing 5km walks daily.

After a few steps, I realised that there was a bus stop ahead and then, a bus stopped. I checked out the number then referred to the chart and decided that the Gold Souk bus stand was the nearest stop. Got off there and started walking. If I didn't take the bus, I would've saved Dh1.50 but have to take the winding steps that goes underneath the creek and appear next to the fish market but taking the bus got me next to the fish market.

Walked, called home to ask if anyone needs anything and stopped at Fun Time Pizza at the Galleria Mall and bought a large hawaiian pizza with onion rings AND a LARGE coke. Macam mengidam la..

Sampai je, bukak a few stories then showered. Then went to Prince Tailor to measure for my trousers. My mum bought some trousers material and left it at the tailor for my measurements.

So, that's about all there is for today.

Update re: work. Gave Farhad the authority to manage his guys completely and have been sitting down idle at the office for 2 days. He's managing quite well and it won't be long before we could safely leave him to lead the place. It was tiring but I have a feeling it'll soon be worth it.

Good night now! :)

Guess my weight!

I was 83 when I left Dubai for Shahama, Abu Dhabi. Since the day I arrived, I've been walking about 10km a day to get to work, during work and to get back from work. I sweat a lot, eat little but try to maintain my water intake.

My tummy has since subsided although not completely and some veins are starting to appear on my skin.

I've not weighed myself since I left Dubai 3 weeks ago and I won't be able to, until the 2nd or 3rd of July when I return to Dubai to send my mummy and sister back to KL.

What would my weight be then?

MARI MARI!! TEKA BERAT ORANG INI!! :D

Peluang ini dibuka kepada orang ramai dan bilangan penyertaan tidak terhad. Namun begitu pihak penganjur akan hanya mengambil kira tekaan yang terakhir sahaja bagi setiap peserta. Segala keputusan pihak juri dan hakim adalah muktamad.

Aku dan kerja-kerja 24jam

3 tempat kerja aku yang sekarang dan yang sebelum ni melibatkan kerja 24jam. I read in an article somewhere about a guy who heads a BIG hotel chain saying that there are only 3 establishments that operate 24hours a day, 7days a week and apart from hotels, they are the airport and hospitals.

I've been to them all.

Aku ni destined to work at 24hour joints ke?

I just realised that fact today. I guess it's a good exposure for me to know the sensitivity of these areas.

In airports, they're very much concerned about electronics and passanger safety. Comfort comes after safety. Anyone operating in the airports must perform tasks in a safe and orderly manner. All things flying takes precedent in permission, to things stuck on the ground. All things on the ground must be solid and firmly grounded. They cannot be given wings to fly.. (haha.. tak funny ke?? :() All communication must be proper and according to certain format. There are callsigns, authority and the what nots. Paper trail must exist.

In hospitals, they're very much concerned with patients' welfare. Sakit mesti sembuh balik. Sakit sangat, mesti layan dulu. Cleanliness is priority. Comfort is after a lot of other things. Well, at least so in government hospitals. Procedures must be attended to but in certain cases of emergencies, some paper trails can come after all the work is done. Things that exist must work. If things don't work, hide them! hehe..

In hotels pulak, comfort is at the top. Comforting to the eyes, to the mind, to the senses, it all plays a HUGE role. Guests should not be made to see people doing work but if they must, only minimally. Cleanliness is also important though not necessarily to a hospital-like condition.

These 3 places offer different products and expect different attentions. They consider different circumstances as emergency and urgent. Hospitals consider fungal growth a problem. Hotels don't, unless if it's clearly visible. Airports don't either. Airports consider fused lights an emergency and has to be rectified immediately but hospitals and hotels don't. Hotels consider a breakdown in the airconditioning system an emergency but hospitals and airports don't.

Nasib baik aku tak payah kerja kat 3 3 tempat tu serentak. Boleh tumbuh uban rambut pakcik kalau gitu.