Sad State of Community…
I dunno whether to be sad or angry at the whole thing. A Berita Harian reader pointed out today in the Forum page that the incident only highlighted the effects of marrying at a young age, whether they are qualified to be parents or not. But when I think again, so did our parents, some were even married when they were 16-17 years old, yet they still brought us up well. To me, the case not only highlighted the effects brought up by the reader, but also highlighted the dysfunctionalities of the parties involved. I don’t have to spell every detail and flaw cos I believe you guys would have read it all and seen the pictures to know what I meant by “dysfunctionalities”. So what could be the root of the problem???
For those who have attended the marriage preparatory courses, I’m sure you would have been reminded that once you have the basic necessary religious knowledge, it would serve you well in building a family. To me, that is just part of it. You need to be mentally prepared, even if you take away religion, you should at least be humane and sensible enough to treat your partners and kids properly, with love and respect. The person I have pity on the most, is definitely Nonoi’s biological father. Cos not only did he lose a wife through a 3rd party but that 3rd party ended up killing his daughter. Yet he is still so forgiving though I can only imagine how he feels deep down inside. This man deserves my utmost respect and sympathy for weathering this storm in his life with quiet nonchalance.
The incident has thrown up many questions on myself. Could I be a good father to my kids??? Would I ill-treat them when they go out of line??? Cos nowadays the rod is no longer useful, not like when we were young. How should punishment be meted out to discipline our kids??? We cannot be too harsh on them, neither should we be too lenient. One thing I’ve learnt from observations is that kids expect to be treated the same, be it in punishment or in rewards. Not to mention love. The fact that you can have pious parents and wayward kids is a scary thought that is bothering me and wish I would never fall in that trap. It’s true what people say, making babies is easy, but the responsibility that comes with it is gargantuan. I hope that each and everyone of us have learnt something from this fiasco as I feel extremely embarrassed at the state of a minority in our community.
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I’m left dumbfounded by the constant questions about my wife’s current status, that is, whether we’re expecting a bundle of joy anytime soon. It’s like a standard question everywhere we go which I’m sure most of you went through or are currently experiencing right now, like when we were in courtship, people were asking when were we tying the knot or when were we getting engaged. Now that we’re married, people expect my wife’s tummy to have someone in it. At times it bemused me and sometimes it riled me up when they caught me in a bad mood, though I dunno where I found the patience and courtesy to just smile and say wait until our honeymoon is over. It’s kinda funny to me, that people expect something to happen 2-3 months after one gets married. I know everyone meant well when they asked me the same thing and I appreciate the concern, just that I’m beginning to sound like a broken record or a replayed tape.
Yes people, we have still not gone for our honeymoon yet due to work commitments on both sides. Hell, we don’t even have time to go for our customary visiting of relatives right after the wedding. To tell you honestly, we still dunno when we are going for the honeymoon. And we’re planning it to happen after we’ve gone, so it would be meaningful and blessed. I hope my explaination would be enough to end the constant queries. If it happens, it happens. As we all know, God knows best when it comes to bringing a new life into this world so we just let nature takes it course…
Hi-Tea With Hazami…
I know I’m way overdue with this one and most of you would have read from some of the other bloggers’ entries about this event that I’ll be talking about, “Santai Bersama Hazami“. Well for those not into Malay music, Hazami has just been awarded Best Vocal Performance at last month’s annual Anugerah Juara Lagu held at Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur. He first shot to prominence with “Sonata Musim Salju“, the infectious cover version of Korea‘s hit song “Winter Sonata“, which happens to be the soundtrack from the drama serial of the same title. He is now widely known for hits like “Kata” and “Mungkir Bahagia“. In fact his songs are all excellent listening cos his voice is just so melodious and able to lull one into a state of contented slumber.
The event was organised by “heARTwork” – the Ismail sisters team of Norismilda, Norafida and Nur Raudha. I knew a lot of hard work, pardon the pun, and headaches were experienced just to organise the event, but thankfully for them, they had a good amount of support and promotion from the Malay radio stations, Suria, MTV Asia and Berita Harian. Thanks to the good people of Fig & Olive and kind sponsorships from the lovely ladies of GoldChocs, the event was indeed a success.
The event kicked off at about 2:15pm, with Raudha acting as the emcee for the day. Opening the event was local newcomer Imran Ajmain. He might not be known to most of us locals but I’ll bet my last dollar that this guy will one day upstage the likes of Hazrul Nizam and probably Taufik Batisah in terms of vocal gymnastics. I first saw him in action at Sungguh Hot 2004, organised by Screenbox, the company that brought us shows like “Hanyut” and “Santai Bersama Sujimy & Haslinda“, held at Suntec City in July 2004. Back then I was already impressed by his voice, soulful and not whiny like what you come to expect from most R&B singers. Being the head honcho of Beats Society, the organisation that looks after the hip hop groups in Singapore, there were times in between then that I should have been able to catch him in action but I had prior commitments hence it was only last Saturday that I managed to catch his performance again.
He reminds me a lot of Edry from KRU. They can pass off as brothers…
Singing a catchy tune “Yang Sudah Tu Sudah” and “Seribu Tahun“, Imran mesmerised the audience with his voice which prompted even Hazami to address later on that even without his presence, Imran could have held the show on his own. Me??? I was dead certain he will be the next big thing and if I can bet my life on it, I would. I was fortunate to have been able to sit next to Imran and we made small talk as the show progressed. His album will be out sometime this year, half of the songs in it composed by him and another half from his good friend, none other than Singapore‘s first Idol, Taufik Batisah. What I am most impressed was the fact that Anuar Zain had chosen one of Imran‘s compositions to be included in his soon-to-be-released 3rd album. It surely is going to be a great 2006 for Imran and I won’t be surprised if he were to be among the front runners at Anugerah Planet Muzik 2007 with his upcoming album entitled, “Dengan Secara Kebetulan“, which is also the same title as his blog and URL. His songs are basically R&B and his music sounds like something that came out from the music geniuses in Indonesia. So definitely I am waiting rather impatiently for his album release…
Singing “Yang Sudah Tu Sudah” with gusto. I was bobbing my head to the song…
“Seribu Tahun” being sung with feel. I’m sure the gals in the audience melted… That lady in the picture is the owner of the cafe by the way.
Hazami was on stage right after Imran stepped down. Serenading the crowd with hits like “Tekad“, “Sonata Musim Salju“, “Mungkir Bahagia” and a medley of 80s hits, he even invited Imran to come up on stage to perform “Kata” with him. A pity that the audience were not that engaging, probably too mesmerised by his wonderful voice. It’s been known that Hazami has an octave level of 6, a level not many male singers could reach. There were also surprises in store for both Hazami and the crowd. When he sang “Sonata Musim Salju“, a tray filled with MamaFai‘s beautiful cupcakes, made its appearance on stage, wishing Hazami a Happy 35th Birthday. Hazami‘s old college mate, Nazrah also surprised him with the birthday song and serenaded him with a few songs of her own. The lady can definitely sing!!! It is also no wonder that she is also a songwriter herself, having penned songs for the likes of Dayang Nurfaizah (“Kembalilah Sayang“), Anuar Zain (“Keabadian Cinta” & “Permata“), Innuendo (“Gemawan“) and many more using a beautiful nick (Azalea) as her passport. All I can say is, she’s a closet genius!!! If I were to cut myself an album, maybe I’ll engage her to be my songwriter, not forgetting Imran as well…
Serenading us with “Mungkir Bahagia“…
Performing “Kata“…
Hazami singing a medley of 80s hits…
Food… Glorious food…. That’s Imran‘s arm by the way… Hahaha…
Aren’t they lovely???
Before it was devoured by me…
Friendly banter between Hazami and the two sweet ladies, Raudha & Nazrah…
The event was also a meeting of sorts for fellow bloggers alike. It was definitely an honour to have finally met the wonderful lady who baked the lovely cupcakes for my wedding gift and awaiting the birth of her child, sis MamaFai, who came along with the ever beautiful Trina. My ex-schoolmate Sweethuneyz was also there with her mother and younger sister. Add Imran, Raudha and sis Nazrah into the mix and we have quite a few blogmates at one event. I think there were other bloggers too at the event, just that I could not figure out who was who. I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Atmosphere and ambience was cosy, good food, good company, excellent performances, what more can I ask for??? Aida and I sat at the VIP table so naturally we had questions like how did we manage to get seats there??? Well let’s just say it helps to be sincere in whatever we do in life, without expecting favours and returns. It wasn’t exactly the best seat but we were just thankful to even attend the event. That’s what mattered the most…
To the team of “heARTwork“, you guys deserved the accolades for putting up a great show. Problems like delay and technical glitches are common especially when it comes to punctuality of attendees. Though I would suggest getting a better sound system for future events. I am looking forward to supporting and attending more of such events in future. How about Dayang Nurfaizah or Anuar Zain next??? Heck, let’s aim for Imran‘s album release next. I’ll surely attend and lend my support…
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I was amazed when I went for Friday prayers today. The congregation were stumped when the Khatib went up the Mimbar to deliver the sermon. Here was a young chap, young enough to be your younger brother or son addressing the congregation with gusto and punch. You guys won’t believe me if I said he’s only 15 years old. It was reported in the papers a few days ago of his existence in our midst. And when he recited verses from the Holy Qur’an, it was music to the ears. Granted his pronunciation of certain characters could be improved on, but generally I was impressed by his dedication and the way he recited them. A rare gem in the making…
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I know that some of you won tickets to watch the World Cup trophy at Suntec City today. I hope for those who went, will not be offended with what I’m gonna say. Being a football purist, you guys would have expected me to join in the fun. But nooooo…..!!! I find it kinda weird, nonsensical even, just to ogle at something which you can’t touch, It’s like I rather see it on TV than go all the way just to look at the real McCoy…
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Lastly, just wanna apologise to any parties who felt offended by my previous posting when I talked about a certain ex-footballer and linking his job to educational qualifications. I wasn’t making an example out of him. Neither was I degrading him and his current job. I was just thinking about the plight of being a footballer, or a sportsman for that matter, living in this country, since the lifespan of such a career is shortlived, what with age and injuries coming into the picture and if there’s other feasible alternatives to fall back on when the time comes to hang up your boots. My mistake that I should not have named him and just made him remained anonymous.
That’s it for now. Have a great weekend guys…
Classy Conrad…
This entry is kinda overdue. I had wanted to post this earlier but the one I posted on Wednesday took an even more important precedence. Anyway here I am sharing with you my experience staying, albeit for half a day (or should I say just 3 hours to be more precise…), at a distinguished and prestigious 6-star hotel in Singapore, the Conrad Centennial Singapore last Saturday. My mum had won the grand prize of staying 3 days and 2 nights at the hotel’s grand suite, during our company’s Family Day last year. My parents and younger sister stayed there throughout since Friday. Aida and I joined in on Saturday morning. I had wanted to sample working out at the plush gym.
Aida and I were late since we had a long day planned ahead. So we did the next best thing and that was to catch a cab down to the hotel. We reached there about 9:20am. I was surprised to see the doorman who greeted us at the entrance was none other than ex-Singapore footballer, Nasiruddin Sawardi. I believe he’s no longer playing in the S-League and that’s his full-time job now. Which made me wonder, is it really worth it to make football a career in this part of the world??? Cos where do we go after we’ve hung up our boots??? Fortunate is the person who has a diploma or degree but most of them do not have one. I don’t mean to look down on the doorman job but if there’s a better job opportunity out there, or a chance to further your studies, go ahead and make it happen. I really hope that future footballers would use players like Lionel Lewis, Goh Tat Chuan, Lim Tong Hai, Erza Aripin amongst others as role models to succeed both academically and on the field. Even my uncle, the famous Dollah Kassim told me he cannot go by in life just by using his name and past popularity.
My parents and younger sister were waiting for us at the lobby when we arrived to hand over the room keys. They were on their way out for breakfast. As the hotel does not provide Halal food, they had to go out and get some. Luckily we have Suntec City and Marina Square just across the road. Everywhere we went and stepped into, we were greeted by friendly and amiable staff asking if we needed their assistance or just asking if they can make our stay an even more enjoyable experience. Now that’s what I call “Service With A Smile“!!!
The lift lobby at our floor…
Finally we reached our room…
This sight greeted us when we opened the door…
The living room looks so cosy… That’s Suntec City in the background…
Another view of the living room… Messy I know…
The bedroom… That’s my younger sister’s teddy bear…
A reverse shot of the bedroom…
When I undrew the curtains, I was met by this beautiful sight of the world’s largest fountain…
Just look at the huge toilet…
I had kinky imaginations when I looked at the cubicle and bath-tub…
That’s the small room where we did our “transactions“…
Before I went down to the gym, which is situated at the 4th level of the hotel, I sampled the toilet and left my mark there. One cannot work out with a full stomach. Aida did not join me at the gym. Instead, she took her leave and headed for the National Library nearby to do some research for her office work. The gym was about the size of 2 squash courts. Cosy, homely and one I wished could be transformed into a room at my house. It had everything!!! It even has a spa!!! The cardio zone where the threadmills, static bicycles, static rowing machines and cross-trainers were situated, were each armed with a LCD television and you have a choice to see your favourite cable television channels. The only snag was, there was no MTV. Nonetheless I had a great time working out and wished it could have been longer…
Once over, I headed off to the swimming pool, just outside the gym to cool off. It was heavenly, since I was heating up after a good sweat. I spent the next 20 minutes swimming from lap to lap for a total body workout. From there, I sat down on one of the deckchairs to get a little tan and at the same time to snap a few photographs…
That’s the poolside restaurant on the opposite side…
That’s the poolside lounge. Imagine Ibiza…
The gym is situated behind the gazebos…
As I looked up, I caught this majestic shot of the hotel. That’s the Pan Pacific Hotel on the glass reflections…
A last shot before I left. The Pan Pacific Hotel and the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Hotel are in the background…
My thoughts??? Well it truly is a 6-star hotel. From the architecture, interior design, facilities, decor, service and ambience, it is no wonder rated as such. We were treated like royalty so to speak and I wished I could have stayed longer to savour the other things in store at the hotel. But I was just thankful to have sampled the facilities even if it was just a few hours. If I were to die now, I’ll die contented cos not many of us would be willing to fork out a bomb just to stay there. We got it for free so we savoured every moment we had…
Answering A Query…
“RIZAL.AKU NK TNYALAH PM,KNPA SETIAP KALI PAKMALAU & LADYSEMUT ANTAR SMS,KAU MESTI NK LANGGR.AKU SELALU BACA BULETIN & AKU PUN BACA UR BLOG.KAU ANTI MERBUK?”
Well to tell you honestly, I’m kinda inclined to say a hefty, unanimous “Yes”!!! However, it’s not fair to some of the others in the group who I’ve not had any such negative dealings, tete-a-tete or verbal joustings. You asked why is it everytime they sent something, I’ll always shoot back??? Why don’t you ask them the same thing too with some of their thinly-veiled messages??? Please do not play the victims card and claim innocence. My sms was not meant for them but to everyone listening. Why is it everytime I say something, they should get all worked up??? If they are so angelic like how they portray themselves to be, then all the more they shouldn’t feel angered by my words.
Just like today, I advised all listeners not to record their phone conversations without the other party’s knowledge as it constitutes to a criminal offence. Is that wrong to share knowledge with everyone??? It so happens that almost everytime I criticise on something, the one who ignited my criticisms belong to one of their group members. Don’t tell me, they’ve not done the same everytime I comment on something via sms or something I’ve said in this blog??? You want me to provide proofs??? Sorry, but I don’t print out the sms bulletin board nor print out my blog and file them in big stacks to support myself at the police station. Whatever criticisms I get, no matter how shamed I got, I don’t go as far as reporting them to the authorities. Cos I regard them as nothing more than words from people who do not know me well enough. At the most I’ll just rant in this blog…
To answer the final question, I’m only anti against those who have been constantly on my back. You know who you are without having me to name names. In life, you should know that there are people who like you and those who dislike you. I don’t go round criticising using other fictitious nicks like some of you. Neither do I go round questioning why people hate me cos it shows I’m only having an inferiority complex. If people dislike me for who I am and what I stand for, then I respect that. I don’t force people to like nor love me. If you can comment about me and others, then you should expect others to do likewise, not go round crying wolf, feigning innocence and acting like big babies…
What Could Have Been…
I wasn’t the least bit surprised when I saw Aaron Aziz, Khairul Anwar, Khairil Yusof and Taufik Batisah winning in their respective categories under the SMS Voting Category. Why should I be when they have their own set of loyal, or should I say legion of fans, who can be trusted to sms till the cows come home??? The remaining categories, that fell under the Web Voting Category, were anybody’s guess. The only thing I wasn’t pleased about was Najip (being the person who was responsible for the programme to materialise) being nominated and eventually won the “Most Happening Hairstyle” award when I thought Azmi Sempoi was more deserving. The only thing I can derive was that our community is still not open to people with colourful or extravagant hairstyles.
The show was also done to reward the fans for their constant support and what better way to include them in than to let some of them perform with their favourite artistes??? However, some of the segment with the fans made the people they wanna show their gratitude to, looked stupid. Especially the ones who performed with
Nurul Aini, that particular segment looked kinda jaded to me. The fans certainly did not blend in with the performers and they were everything rolled into one, from being dancers to props. Even the artistes sitting on stage looked bored. Speaking of artistes sitting on stage, I think it was an innovative idea to come up with that cos the audience would definitely like to see their favourite artistes on stage rather than sit amongst the audience. The Anugerah finalists segment was kinda tainted by Syed Azmir‘s apparent lack of preparation or possibly overawed by the occasion. He tripped on his lines and forgot lyrics to “Mentera Semerah Padi“, the song he sang with Khairul Anuar. That particular segment was also supposed to feature Khairul‘s “manliness“. Honestly, they failed to project that “manliness” about him as he was all feminine, from his voice, body language to facial expressions. But give this boy credit where it’s due. He is an excellent singer… He reminds me of a young Anuar Zain… It was also unfair that Fauzie Laily was not given a chance to sing as compared to the other three finalists. I was impressed by Suzairhe Sumari and Sharon Ismail‘s attempt at speaking in Tamil and Mandarin. Not to mention the segment where the two Melatis, Rima & Rilla, came out. Their acting was oh-so-natural, instantaneously spontaneous and nothing fake or over about them.One last gripe I had was the fact
that almost everyone was treating Taufik Batisah like a second class citizen on the show. They are either jealous or they cannot accept the fact that the guy is extremely popular. I’m no fan of his but I sympathise with the fella when throughout the night people kept on saying, “Balik-balik Taufik…“. Most notable was Nurul Aini and the husband and wife pair of Shaikh Haikal and Annabelle Francis. Speaking of the husband and wife team, their segment made the people on stage winced and fidgeted uncomfortably looking at their actions. I think the audience too felt uneasy as there were no reactions whatsoever. In short, TASTELESS!!!You know in life, we always have that few moments when we thought we could make a difference to something. And when we can’t do a thing about it, we can’t help but ponder what could have been if we tried harder or Luck smiles upon us. Ever since Sunday morning, I’ve been feeling kinda guilty and helpless that I could not be of civic help to contribute more to the neighbourhood. You must be wondering what the hell am I blabbering about. Well it goes like this:
I was spending the weekend at my in-laws. Like my weekly routine, I’ll be up on Saturday night watching football, especially if my team,
Manchester United, plays. This past weekend, their match was played on Sunday morning at 1:15am. I was having flu and sore eyes as I watched the proceedings. As the game went on, the itch in my eyes intensified and I could not help but rubbed my eyes. Midway through the second half, when I could not stand it any longer, I went to the toilet to wash my eyes. As I was washing my eyes, I heard loud laughter and shoutings from the neighbourhood. Dismissing it as just some youths who were still awake and chatting at the void deck, I walked out from the toilet to continue watching the game.Just as I was about to sit on the sofa, I heard a loud bang. Thinking that someone had jumped down from a higher floor or someone had thrown something, I ran to the window to see what it was all about. I was shocked to see the void deck of the opposite block in flames. I quickly ran to my room, grabbed my handphone and rushed down. I was hoping to catch the perpertrators but saw no one fleeing. On my way down, I thought that a rubbish bin was being burnt but the flames couldn’t be so big if it was just a mere rubbish bin.
I was shocked when I saw a motorcycle being burnt. The flames had already engulfed a large section of the void deck, which is relatively small in space. Thick black smoke was already making its way up to the 2nd floor and I could see that two of the units were already filled with smoke. Abandoning my thoughts of wanting to be a hero, I dashed up to the second floor to help evacuate the tenants, just in time to hear another loud explosion. I cannot envisage what might had happened had I remained on the ground floor, mesmerised by what I saw. I managed to evacuate those living on the second and third floors. By the time we reached the ground floor, practically the whole neighbourhood had woken up, either watching the scene from where we were or from their respective windows.
The fire brigade and police were soon at the scene and the firemen put out the fire in less than 5 minutes. People all around were discussing about what they saw and all came to a conclusion that pranksters were behind it. The motorcycle, which I found out later belonged to an old Chinese man, the wirings and lightings at the void deck were burnt beyond recognition. Thinking that everything was fine and seeing that people were slowly returning to their homes, I did the same with my parents-in-law who had also gone down to see the drama. Yes it was a real-life drama, one that I had only seen first hand from television and movies. The funny thing was I did not realise that I had gone down wearing just my shorts and with the wife presenting me with a hickey
on the neck for the whole world to see…I thought the drama ended there but no!!! That morning when I woke up and went to the shops to buy the newspapers, a foreign worker who was helping to clean up the mess at the opposite block told me that a multi-storey carpark across the road was also hit. I immediately felt a sense of regret, that I had gone home straight after the firemen had put out the fire, instead of going round the neighbourhood to look for the perpertrators. Who knows, I could have caught them in the act a second time, since the Monday newspaper report on the events that transpired, stated that the pranksters hit the multi-storey carpark 2 hours after they had hit the void deck opposite my in-laws??? Till now, this sense of what could have been had I been more alert and vigilant is bugging me to no end. I felt guilty I did not contribute more to the cause of finding these idiots. Cos I was really in the mood to bash them up if I were to catch them.
I’m sure most of us refrained from celebrating “
Valentine’s Day” yesterday for what it means from our religious perspective. But there were a few others who still went out to celebrate the day with their loved ones with the intention of celebrating it out of love for them and nothing else. I was basically fine with that kind of reasoning. However, I received a particular email that put paid to what I know and somehow correcting my perspectives. With regards to the Islamic stance on this festival, Dr Su’ad Ibrahim Salih, Professor of Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) at Al-Azhar University, stated the following: “Islam does recognise happy occasions that bring people closer to one another, and add spice to their lives. However, Islam goes against blindly imitating the West and other religions regarding a special occasion such as “Valentine’s Day”. Hence, commemorating that special day known as “Valentine’s Day” is an innovation or bid’ah that has no religious backing. Every innovation of that kind is rejected, as far as Islam is concerned. Islam requires all Muslims to love one another all over the whole year, and reducing the whole year to a single day is totally rejected.” Makes a hell lot of sense doesn’t it???Earlier today, I passed a remark on air about certain listeners who took the trouble to print out RIA 89.7FM‘s SMS Bulletin Board and filing them for future reference (though God knows for what!!!???). It wasn’t long before one of my “ardent fans” retorted that cutting and pasting “exemplary” sms-es from the bulletin board to one’s blog is an even worse thing to do. I was grinning away when the wife alerted me to this particular sms.
Maybe it got lost on the person who sent that sms that when I cut and pasted the sms-es, I was actually highlighting how “intelligent” and “classy” the person was when hitting me and especially the wife, on a personal level, even if no names were mentioned. And since he was the only one who got all worked up and retorted, I must say that my remarks touched a raw nerve somewhat. Cos really, if you think about it, the leaves on trees would not be able to move without the wind blowing. *smile*
My remarks were as usual general and off-the-cuff, meant to tease rather than hit out at anyone. As usual with 160 characters to type, how much can I type??? I was actually referring to some people who print out the sms bulletin board with regards to some of the motivational words being shared amongst listeners and not to bring about the downfall of others. But some people jumped to conclusions too quickly and felt overly sensitive, went all defensive and as a result proved that perhaps he was the one I was referring to, doing all those negative things I mentioned, when I dunno if he did it or not. No names were mentioned on my part so for all you know it could be any Tomok, Din or Ali printing out and filing them for reference.
Some might argue I was being overly sensitive when the sms-es I highlighted in previous entries also did not mention my name outright. Fair enough, but I know the dirty mind games some of these listeners are playing and capable of, and I know damn well they were meant for me. Especially when my wife was hit, I had to clear her name. Which was why I said I did not mind being hit on as I’m used to it, but not my wife who’s got nothing to do with the shenanigans with some of these numbskulls.
Nonetheless I’m really honoured, humbled and blessed that some people spend their free time coming into this humble abode of mine, basically waiting and hoping that I would mention them in here. This is an open site afterall so anyone is welcome to read. I really appreciate them coming in here to help increase my hit counter as well as hear my ramblings and musings about some of them from time to time. I know that they are closet fans of this blog, secretly loving it and picking up possible flaws in the things I said to highlight in future sms remarks, so yeah, I welcome them with open arms… NOT!!!
CNY Weekend Part 2…
My Chinese New Year weekend did not just end the previous week but continued till the last weekend. One of my colleagues held an open house for friends and colleagues on Saturday and we were invited to soak in the atmosphere. This was my first time celebrating Chinese New Year with my Chinese friends so it was an experience to savour. For starters, my colleague took the trouble to buy Nasi Briyani for the Muslim guests and no pork and alcohol were served for the rest. Who says racial integration is not working??? My colleague took the trouble to make sure we did not feel out of place and I must award him a perfect 10 for the effort.
It was also an interesting affair to watch the “Luo Hei” being done right before my eyes. The food was made up of raw seafood and what looked like noodles to me. I did not take part as I was feeling nauseous from the smell of the raw seafood. So what I did was stand from a distance and captured this shot of the action…
We were also fortunate to receive two tickets from another colleague of mine, to watch the Chingay procession at Orchard Road. Aida and I arrived about 10 minutes to 7pm. We were seated at Sector 5, just outside Orchard Point. We were surprised not many people were seated at our sector. The moment we sat, the heavens opened up and showered us with nothing more than two minutes of slight drizzling. The tickets stated that the event was to start at 7pm. But we were restless by 7.20pm. I told Aida, if we were to perform Maghrib first, it would be a whole lot better. We then asked one of the ushers if we could return if we were to leave our seats and she said it’ll be no problem. So we negotiated our way to Al-Falah Mosque and were done by 8pm.
A view from our seats…
When we came back to our seating sector, there were too many people standing near the entrance so we decided against going back to our seats since we had a show to catch at 9:10pm at Plaza Singapura (Fun With Dick & Jane). As I looked around from where we stood, I noticed a few adventurous viewers who managed to climb up the trees to get a clear view of the proceedings. Whilst waiting for the parade proper to begin, we were treated to various street performances by dance groups from various institutions. There was also a performance by local singer Azyza who sang an evergreen Indonesian song “Kasih“. She spoke English impeccably when addressing to the crowd and there was no hint of any Malay accent whatsoever. I was very proud of her for that. It showed she came prepared, not like some artistes I heard who did not prepare themselves when chosen to perform at a prestigious place like The Esplanade a few weeks ago. As we were at the end of Orchard Road, the parade only arrived at 8:38pm!!! And these were the few shots we managed to take before we had to leave for Plaza Singapura. Saw my friend Helmi being a part of the Singapore Police Band contingent that paved the way for the parade proper to start…
Mediacorp Radio is celebrating 70 years of radio existence in Singapore this year. With that, they are currently in the midst of organising the “70 Hour Radio Gag” on the DJs of 7 stations under its wings. I don’t think I have to explain further how the game goes as most of us tune in to either Perfect 10 98.7FM, Class 95FM or RIA 89.7FM. Went over to Ngee Ann City or Takashimaya as we all know it during lunchtime yesterday and today to see what the fuss was all about. I must say, there were more people today as compared to yesterday, the majority of people coming to support RIA‘s Azmi Sempoi.
Perfect 10‘s Shan Wee busy at it. But the guy stopped to ogle whichever beauties that walked past his perspex glass…
“Mr Skinny Ankles” Rod Monteiro busy writing something on his white board to communicate with his supporters…
Someone must have farted. Just look at the wince on Fiza Osman‘s face and the lady at the back covering her nose. Even Azmi looked kinda stunned. Hahahah…
Resting on his OTO Bodycare chair… Looks comfy, I think I’ll get one when I move into my new home…
CNY Weekend…
2006 has so far been a tragic year for me and my family. It’s only 32 days into the new year and we have so far gone through the loss of two very dear grand-aunts, the latest being yesterday. And my wife couldn’t helped but noticed that when we visited the dearly departed grand-aunts when they were on their deathbeds, they passed on a few hours after we left. I know it’s just coincidental but it’s kinda scary to think we might be jinxed!!! I just hope that there’ll be no more tragic losses this year. Two is already enough to make the heart bleed with sadness and love for the ones who’ve left us forever. Only the sweet memories of what we went through with them in their lifetime would remain and be firmly etched in our memories… With that I hope that you guys would say a little prayer for my dear departed grand-aunts Hajah Bibi Binte Nadar Shah and Hajah Sarah Binte Saat…
I’m sure all of you had had a great long weekend. The 4 days of rest should have been spent together with family and loved ones, I presume??? Likewise, my family and I spent the long holiday camping at the beach. It is an annual affair for my paternal family side. My dad and his family of 17 siblings, are great suckers for camping affairs at the beach, over the Chinese New Year period every year. This year was no different and took an even more important precedent when it was organised to thank our family members who had helped a lot at my wedding.
We set off to the campsite at Pasir Ris Park, near Carpark A and Costa Sands Resort, on Saturday morning. Two of my uncles were already there, having pitched their tents the night before. We wasted no time in setting up two more, one belonging to my family and the other acting as a dining area for guests. My paternal family is very much into these camping events and they take great pains to make it an enjoyable affair everytime. Even the tents were bought from as far away as Australia. You can see the difference in size and shape as compared to most tents that were pitched along the beach.
The slew of people at the beach. Our Malay community make up the majority…
Our territory…
My uncles busy playing “Scrabble“, not the usual uncles who sit around playing cards and checkers…
As you can see from the photographs I took with my Nokia N70, the six and four-sided gazebos were erected to form our kitchen and dining areas. We brought along a generator so we had electricity all day long. My paternal family always go complete with the generator, television, freezer and stove. It’s like creating another home. It’s fun as this is the time for us to catch up with one another and meet up rather than wait for Hari Raya, a wedding function, a housewarming affair, a funeral etc. That side of the family is too big anyway so meeting everyone on that kind of occasion is always one to look forward to.
But I gotta admit, my mum, my sisters and I hate this camping thingy for the sole reason we tire ourselves at the start when we have to carry the things and set them up and at the end, when we have to pack up and carry them home. Cos the aim of this is to rest and relax. Tiring ourselves at the start and the end defeats the purpose. Anyway, I did something I’ve not done since I was in secondary school – Flying a kite!!! Just look at the kite. It goes well with “Da’ KRUsader” isn’t it??? Hahahah… I just had to buy it from the nearby kiosk, it was the last piece anyway and what better way to buy, especially if it’s something close to the heart???
My aunties preparing for the feasting at night…
“Roti kirai“… Something me and the wife love…
Pails of water to wash the dishes and our hands…
The feasting begins…
Aida couldn’t wait to feast on the “Roti Kirai“…
Food… Glorious food…
“Da KRUsader” flies high…
Aida and I also managed to answer the invitation of bro “Maun Twister” in celebration of the birthday of his wife, sis Era, on Saturday night. Ok for the uninitiated, bro “Twister” is one of the RIA listeners, hence the nick. I should say he and his group, they call themselves “Happy Family“, were the smarter and logical ones to leave THAT group. I leave it as that for you guys to wonder who I’m referring to. The guests literally tore the house down, especially the kids. And the birthday girl herself got “sabotaged” twice by having flour and eggs thrown at her. Aida and I were merely spectators to the spectacle before us.
The birthday girl opening her presents…
Getting “sabotaged” by the rest…
Too shy to pose…
Ok that’s all for now… I really have no mood to type further after this latest bereavement to the family. Just dropped in to update the latest happenings in my life. Have a great week ahead…
Giving "The Loser" The Recognition He Deserves…
I’ve copied and pasted five of them in their full, unedited glory. And I’ll answer all of them just to ease or worsen his sick, demented mind.
“SYAH KESIAN ANAK CINA &PM,LAST YEAR PAKAI BAJU MAHAL2 TAPI TAK DIPUJI OLEH ORG &ARTIS, KESIAN KAN :SANG PENDITA”
This was in reference to attending last year’s Anugerah Planet Muzik 2005 event at Suntec City. What did I wear back then??? Just a creased shirt, pants and a matching jacket. Throw in some fancy shades and I looked every bit the part of someone who was dressed appropriately to the event I was attending. Did I wear what I wore to attract attention and to acclaim plaudits??? The thought never crossed my mind. In fact I saw others dressed even more extravagantly than I did. I think with the ticket price that I paid for and sitting amongst people from the industry, I did myself justice by respecting the event. Of course when you pay for a $28 seat and sitting way behind, disrespecting the event by shouting at the top of your voices like hooligans when the winners were giving their speeches, you can afford to just wear polo t-shirts and cargo pants and get away with it. Oh and my top-to-toe outfit didn’t cost more than $100. I wonder how this idiot knew how much I spent overall and came to a conclusion that I paid a bomb…
“SANG PENDITA/SYAH LAST YEAR APM AKU KECEWA KUMPULAN YNG AKU PUJI,YNG AKU SOKONG MENANG 3 AWARD NAIK PENTAS TAK SEBUT PUN NAMA AKU, KESIAN TAU AKU SYAH!”
This next message was in reference to my undying support for BhumiBand. My history with some of the band members go back a long way. I was very proud that they won three awards that night. Did I expect them to mention my name in their thank-you speech??? Not at all cos I know once you’ve won something that you did not expect, 90% of the time you dunno who to thank and your mind will definitely blank out. So what if some people’s names were mentioned??? Did it propel them to popularity heights beyond imagination??? Just because my name wasn’t mentioned doesn’t mean I’m dead and so hard up about it. In fact I was thankful my name wasn’t mentioned as I preferred to support the group quietly behind the scene and let them have the limelight. Supporting them doesn’t mean one has to be so hard up to earn the group’s recognition. If that’s the case, then the word “SINCERITY” goes out of the window. So it makes me wonder if some of these people were supporting BhumiBand out of sincerity or just to gain popularity in name???
“PENGLIPUR LARA/SYAH AKU PILIH WANITA INDON PASAL SEXSY,BODY CUTTING HABIS,MANJA BUKAN MACAM PONTIANAK MLM PAKAI BAJU BERTUDUNG TAPI HOBIT TAK TAU FASHION”
“SUHAIMI/ BUAL KORNER, MACAM MANA NAK TEGUR PASANGAN KITA YNG BERTUDUNG SUPAYA SENANTIASA ANGUN& BERGAYA BUKAN SELEKEH& TAK BERMAYA”
Those two messages proved a few things. Firstly it was sent by the same cuckoo who changed nicks out of convenience. Secondly, it was aimed again at my wife. Thirdly by proclaiming he prefers Indonesian women only proved that my powers of deduction on who was the clown behind the cowardly messages spot-on. Some people, they choose to do things without thinking and in the end, shoot themselves on the foot. This person should start acting his age and stop being so petty and childish. I question his maturity and IQ level when he starts to play dirty and focusing on my wife.
Seeing the way he typed about liking sexy and voluptuous women, it’s no wonder he comes across as lecherous. As a husband, I am responsible for what my wife wears daily for as long as I live. If it is by honouring and upholding Islam and covering up as a Muslimah should do, then so be it, if others think her fashion sense is out-of-date. I’m answerable to God, not him or any of his minions. His comments only reflect on his stupidity and his apparent lack of religious knowledge, which I hope God would mercifully show him the right path. Anyway, I think he’s just jealous that his partner is not half as demure and docile as my wife, which I’m sure most of you who have met my wife would agree with me…
“KITA CARI ORG YG DOK UMA YG KEJA DIA ASIK MENGADAP KOMPUTER, SMS KUTUK ORG,BUAT ONAK, BUAT FITNA, TUKAR2 NAMA NIK MACAM ANAKCINA DAN PM..SUHAIME”
I’m tired of explaining myself and repeating the same old thing like a broken record. My reputation on radio speaks for itself. I don’t have to change nicks like some cowards and hit on others. On radio, I’m known as the quick-fire critic. If I’m always brave enough to comment and criticise others using my nick, I see no reason to change and hit on particular individuals and group using different nicks. These dimwits should stop their finger-pointing when there are others out there who also dislike them. Through the course of their existence, I am sure they’ve made enemies and lost friends along the way, just like anyone of us.
If they think by highlighting and insinuating things about me on air would exhalt them to a higher pedestal in the eyes of neutrals then please, they can take everything. I still remembered one of them used to say he wanted to be as famous as me. Well you don’t get famous just by copying others blindly and being insincere in your approach. There’s also a difference between professional criticism and personal veiled attacks, which clearly some of them failed to grasp. I did not asked to be famous. Why I am who I am is because of my honesty and sincerity, even if my stance can be very endearing to some. Overtime, I know I’ve gained the respect of the majority of
people out there for not being a follower. And not being a follower of anyone means I’m not just a yes-man or a cow being pulled by the nose…Actually, if you were to look at it as a whole, I don’t have to answer to any of their allegations and comments. I’m sure the sms-es were sent to provoke a response from me. I chose to reply so as to clear my name and most importantly, my wife’s. Some of you might think I’m being petty over the whole situation and am just falling into their trap. Maybe, maybe not but where the pride of someone I love is concerned, I can’t take this lying down. Things have gone out of hand where criticising one another is concerned. I feel kinda sad at the mental state of a certain minority in the community. What do they gain??? Personal satisfaction??? Personal glory??? To what extent???
After this if there are anymore attacks, I’ll just turn a deaf ear and a blind eye over them. Let them say what they like. I know my conscience is clear. Likewise the people who know me and my wife know who we are and what we stand for. And that to us matters most, not some smart alecks who try to shoot you down at the slightest available opportunity…
Return To Civilisation…
Taking charge of a platoon is not an easy task. You have the thickheads and the stubborn ones to contend with. But I took it all in my stride. Whatever things that needed to be done, I joined in with the men. Cos an officer will never receive the respect from his men, without him joining in the fray. I think I did enough to cajole the men on and earned their trust out in the fields. All I can say is that, I’m just glad that I’ve gotten another one of those in-camps out of the way till 2008.
I’m so thankful to Almighty God for showing me the identity of the person who spread lies about my wife last Ramadhan. Of late, he went so low as to use the nick Hafeez Glamour gave me in his book (“Sang Pendita“) and hit out at my wife, who has never done anything malicious to anyone. Why should he go so low as to hit someone who has got nothing to do with him??? I for one, did not hit out at his partner, knowing fully well how stupid I’d look if I were to sound my displeasure at her.
This is all due to educational background and maturity. I know he’s obsessed about putting one over me but sadly his knowledge of his own surroundings lets him down so badly. There was a time he debated with me on an online forum, that only the word “Maha” (The Most) is for describing God. Naturally the word “Mahaguru” (Teacher with the highest level of knowledge) to him felt inappropriate. Sadly, I feel sorry for his Malay teacher for failing to drum his head with substantial knowledge. Lately, he questioned my wife’s nick. He asked if it’s appropriate to be called “Perawan” (Virgin) when you’re married??? Obviously it’s lost on him that my wife’s nick is “Perawan Malam” which is a nicer way of saying “Pontianak“!!! Initially I am very pissed off about it, but as days go by, I’m laughing harder at his own stupidity. He tried to expose me and my wife, but little did he know that he’s just pulling his own pants down for the world to see his own little Willy…
This past week has been a start-stop week for me. I only spent a day at the office after taking leave on Monday (to recuperate further), attending two days of seminar on Tue and Wed and on MC on Friday. In the meantime I got myself a new phone, the cool Nokia N70. The only snag is that I cannot get the Nokia PC Suite to run on my pc. It’s a problem faced by Nokia users worldwide after I did some research. Bummer, now I’ll have to mail my photos that I’ve taken, rather than transfer them via USB. I also got myself new shoes from Adidas. It’s good to know people who work inside cos I got a 30% discount for it. Can’t wait for next weekend. A long holiday for us to enjoy…
Before I end, I’d like to help a friend by promoting his book to my visitors. As I’ve described the book in previous entries, I don’t think I need to further detail the book. So I let the promotional picture do the talking and hope you guys would give him your support too… Sorry if it’s kinda blurry. Here’s the main details. You can get it at Muzika Rekods for $14.90 or alternatively email diari_deejay@yahoo.com.sg …
First Entry of the Year…
Our wedding last week was one to remember till the end of time, especially the dinner event. To be frank, I was more worried that my guests would not turn up seeing that it was the year-end and people were away on holidays, tidying up things at the office or having plans to celebrate the New Year. But I’m fortunate I have a big circle of family and friends who have been looking forward to our union since God-knows-when. So for that, my beloved wife and I could not thank each and everyone of you enough for taking your precious time to attend our wedding, be it over at my side or her’s.
I’m sure all of you are looking forward to seeing the photographs of our wedding. However, I must apologise for wanting to keep things in private. Though I’d love to share them with each and everyone of you online, I’d prefer to share them with you on a private basis and not for public viewing. Our wedding to us is sacred and an exclusive affair meant for exclusive people in our hearts. So we hope that you would respect our decision not to put up any of our wedding photographs in here. You guys can however view them (if you have not) at some of my blogmates’ blogs found in my blogger links (subjected to page and archive availability in their blogs).
For those who had labelled our wedding “
The Wedding of the Year” for 2005, it is with great humility that we both receive the accolade though we felt that it was indeed kinda far-fetched to be labelled as such. But I gotta admit that I did not want my event to be following the usual norm found in most wedding dinners, till at times, guests would leave halfway through. I wanted my guests to be seated from start till the end. Hence I cracked my head to come up with whatever was served that night and I was thankful that 90% of it was up to my expectations.The remaining 10% I was not happy about was my atrocious singing when I sang the second song, “
Selamanya” by Innuendo. I had taken great pains to practice the songs I had wanted to sing for the event a month prior to it. However, I did not expect to eat the cake that we just cut, just before I sang the second song. I knew straightaway when we were told to feed each other, that my voice would definitely crack when I sing the song and cracked it did, which made some of my guests winced, including yours truly. So for those who want to carve a career in singing, please learn from my mistake. Never eat a few minutes that you’re due to sing, especially if the food is rich in cream, starch or oil. That sore point is still playing in my mind and I wince everytime I think about it.My wedding dinner was inspired from my dear cousin
Jatt‘s (my best man throughout) wedding to his beautiful wife Julie (Aida’s bride’s maid) in early December. Theirs was a colourful wedding, resemblant of a Bollywood production with a Bhangra performance, songs and dance by the groom. Even their wedding cards had these words in bold at the front, “Shaadi (Wedding) of the Year“. Not to compete with their event nor top it off, but I felt that I should create a different feel and tune, so that our family members and friends that we share, would have a lasting impression in their minds on the distinct uniqueness of both our weddings. Alhamdulillah, we both had positive feedbacks and our guests enjoyed themselves.What was more heart-warming to Aida and me was the fact that our friend, popular Malaysian singer
Liza Hanim and her family, took the trouble to come down to Singapore to visit us on the second day of New Year. You see, they were supposed to be our dinner guests but they could not turn up as Liza had a family event to attend to. She said she felt bad for not being able to come so she more than made up for it by personally visiting us. We felt honoured and touched that someone so popular would go out of the way just to celebrate our special day with us. Not forgetting Kak Mazleela, sis Nura J & family, Zul & Ard from BhumiBand and also Mansor Warren & family for turning up at our dinner. Liza‘s daughter, Marsha Qistina, was a bubble of energy with her non-stop chatter. We were surprised, for her age (a month after turning 2), she is able to speak fluently, not like most children who are of the same age.
Before we forget, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people who made our wedding possible:-
- Our parents for bringing us up, for teaching us good values in life so that we are able to face our new journey together to the best we can.
- Our siblings (Farah, Nurul, Rashida & Sahril) for supporting our event and contributing their endless energy. My sisters (Farah & Nurul) especially deserve special mention for the lovely decorations made on the wedding gifts. We should open a family business or something cos they’re beautifully done.
- My dearest cousin Jatt and wife Julie for keeping their promise to help out and went beyond expectations to see that our event went on smoothly.
- Our cousins Jid, her boyfriend Sawrabh, Yousoff, Kak Linda & Nor for the various assistance.
- Our cousins Abg Umar & Kak Uda for helping us liaise with the good people from Shad & Ky Wedding Services.
- Our aunties and uncles for contributing in cash, kind, donations and energy to make it all a success. We owe you guys a lot!!!
- Ustaz Maarof Mohd for solemnising our marriage.
- Kak Fatimah Mohsin, Ummi Aida (actress Alfarahizah Awangnit‘s mum), Kak Jah & Kak Ana from Fatimah Mohsin Wedding Gallery for helping us look suave and beautiful on our big day.
- Abg Nishad, Sis Lucky and crew from Shad & Ky Wedding Services for the beautiful decor over at my side. The decorations were just out of the world and I salute you guys for such a professional job.
- Kak Mas and crew from SJ Decor over at Aida’s side. Likewise, their decor was also superb and made us felt like royalty and all things regal.
- Kak Aishah, husband and crew from Putri Catering for the different and endless amount of sumptuous spread for the day reception and wedding dinner at my side.
- Fazana Wedding House for cooking one of the best Briyani I’ve ever tasted over at Aida’s side. The meat is just so soft and tender.
- Warung Pariaman for serving the guests with Nasi Ambeng during our solemnisation ceremony.
- Abg Kamal and Hafiz from Flash of Art Photography for the beautiful still shots. They make a rotund guy like me look slim…
- Abg Mo & crew from Everlasting Productions for being our videographers. Thank you for inserting our solemnisation event into the video that was shown during the dinner reception. We await to watch more of our wedding from you guys soon.
- Bro AB Shaik and crew for hosting our event on both days and loaning the projector and screen for the dinner.
- Bro Hafeez Glamour who co-hosted our wedding dinner with bro AB Shaik. Without these two and their professionalism in running a show, our guests would have felt restless waiting for us to arrive and also for keeping our guests rooted to their seats right till the end.
- My colleague Jamal, for patiently being our wedding chauffeur. May you have a fruitful Hajj as you leave us for a month to perform the fifth pillar of Islam.
- Hyundai Motors Pte Ltd for renting out the Sonata as our wedding car.
- Sis Mamafai for the beautiful cupcakes that accompanied my wedding gifts to Aida.
- Sis DianaHairul for the lovely cream puffs that accompanied Aida’s wedding gifts to me (they’re safely in my stomach now).
- Our celebrity friends (Liza Hanim & Family, Kak Mazleela, Nura J & Family, Mansor Warren & Family, Zul and Ard from BhumiBand) who set aside their busy schedules for us.
- Kak Sabariah for bringing Kak Maz and Liza down to Singapore.
- The Serangoon CC Management for allowing us to use their multi-purpose hall for our wedding.
- My colleague Azhar and his mother for helping us in booking their void deck for Putri Catering to do the cooking at our event.
- My various blogmates (Trina, Crab, Polychromatic, Sweethuneyz, Chiefstoinker Aridewa, DianaHairul, Easmariza, Silent Mode, Shikinzal, Haizah, Iannie & Lynn) for mentioning or / and putting up pics of our wedding in your blogs or Multiply.
- Our extended family members, cousins, relatives, ex-school & polytechnic mates, teachers, my ex-campmates, colleagues, my blogmates, fellow RIA 89.7FM listeners and everyone who came to our wedding and shared our joy in celebrating our big day. Our day would not be complete without the presence of each and everyone of you…
I’m currently undergoing a fortnight-long reservist training over at Kranji Camp‘s Army Logistics Training Institute. That’s the reason why I’ve not updated my blog till now. It’s been three years since I last went for my reservist training, but I’m kinda enjoying it this time around as I have many friends from the time I knew when I was in service, doing this reservist thingy together with me. An interesting aspect is also cos I was appointed Section Commander for my platoon. Leadership has always followed me throughout my course of life and this is no different. I’ve always been used to captain the football teams I’ve played with, so this will be an interesting and different ball game altogether. Well with the rank I’m holding, a lot is expected of me, a challenge that I will not shirk…
This past week we went through various lectures and refresher courses, most of which turned out to be napping affairs for me. 5 days in camp and what I did mostly was eat and sleep. I think I’ve gained back some weight I lost before my wedding. But I will also lose them again when we go outfield from tomorrow onwards for three days, cos I won’t be eating so as not to purge. It’s so unhygienic and a major hassle to purge in the open, that most of us prefer to just drink water over the course of the three days outfield. Those who have gone through it will know what I mean.
Oh and I’ll also be leaving my darling wife for at least two nights, the first that we’ll be away from each other. It’s gonna be an experience that we both will go through. I know I will definitely miss her hugs and kisses as much as she would miss mine. People said I was silly to go for my reservist right after my wedding but I prefer to get it over and done with it. Cos I don’t have to worry about being called up again till perhaps next year or next two years. Furthermore, Aida and me will not be going for our honeymoon-cum-umrah till March or April. Now that the Singapore Armed Forces have implemented a system for NS-Men to attend 7 high-key affairs and 3 low-key ones, I’m just taking them all in my stride and counting down to the time they’ll stop calling me up for good. So with this one out of the way, I’m only left with 5 high-key affairs to go through before I reach 40. We can’t run away. As much as most of us hate to be forced to serve our nation, leaving our work and family to answer the call of duty, we have to abide by the rules of living in this country. Others before us have gone through it and survived, if they can do it, so can we…
Before I end, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish my Muslim visitors “Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha“. It is the perfect time to reminisce the sacrifices our Prophet and his predecessors have done to uphold the pristine and honour of our religion. Use this festive period to reflect the sacrifices we’ve done for our loved ones, community, country and religion and how we can contribute more to the cause. I’m already making a big sacrifice to leave my wife by going for my reservist training straight after our wedding. But it’s all in the name of serving the nation and the good thing I can derive from it, is that it is only for two weeks, which will end this Friday. Till then…
