Never thought

Because of too busy with meetings, I don't have time to do anything else like going to Miri town for a look around. I'm stuck at the hotel between the bedroom, the meeting room and the restaurant. However, I have to check out at 1pm today while my flight is at 6pm. So in between I am wondering what am I to do. I don't want to be walking in town with my luggage in tow. Most probably I will go to the airport early and wait there. When I was working in my previous company, I used to entertain visitors from Miri. They tell me if you come to Miri, give us a call. I never thought then that one day I will come to Miri. 

Tired

For the past two days, it has been meetings and more meetings, till late into the night. Last night I was totally wormed out. After the meeting ends at about 11pm, I went straight to the room to sleep. Too tired to do anything else, not even a cuppa for the road. I wanted to go jogging this morning but unfortunately the weather doesn't allow. It rained. Anyway today I'm flying back to KL in sha Allah. The only problem is my flight has a transit in Kucing. Don't know why but I guess its because the direct flight to KL is fully booked. So I will not reached home till late at night. I'm thinking of sleeping at the airport tonight. Go home only the next morning.

Perth in my mind

Too good to miss

Reached Miri about half past one today after the drive from Bakun. Started from Bakun at 8.30am with a shot stopover at Niah. Will be here for two nights before going back to KL on Saturday evening. Nice to be back in Miri, the place where they serve the best Lelapan. Its a kind of Ayam Penyet kind of dish that we know of. You can find Lelapan in most places in Sarawak but the one in Miri that we all like to go is because of its sauce. Its so tasteful. Don't know if I will have the time to go to the restaurant  or not during this trip but I will try. Its too good to miss.

Empura for dinner

The Empura was delicious. Soft, tender and sweet. What a dinner. Don't know how much the cost of this Empura but they have been known to reach more than thousand ringgit a kilo. I enjoyed it. Could do with more.

Sports over the weekend.

Its August of 2015. The football season is starting again all over Europe. Just three matches into the premier league, looks like we already have a winner at hand. Manchester City, three matches, three wins, eight goals scored, no goal conceded. I look forward to September when the Rugby World cup begins. It will be exciting to watch the matches, especially the All Blacks, the dominant team in the world. Still, much will depend on the form of the day. I watch Bolt winning the world championship 100m, a last gasp effort that saw him beating Gatlin by a whisker. The time was not so fast but given that he was plague by injury in the run up to the championship, it is expected. In golf, Tiger Woods disappoints, blowing up on the final day after three days being among the leaders. On the local front, JDT is again the champion.   

Seems like a long time ago

I had only one wedding invitation to fulfill over the weekend. That was on a Sunday. On Saturday I was busy with the Viva, sending it to three different workshop for three different kind of repairs. Alhamdulillah, I managed to do them all. The car is all right now. It needs some touch up on the painting. Otherwise, it is as good as it can be. Tomorrow I will be flying to Bakun again. I will spent two nights in Bakun and two nights in Miri before flying back again on Saturday. This will be my first trip to Bakun since the fasting month. Seems like a long time ago.  

Things are very different

I like it when time seems to fly, especially over the weekdays but the problem is time also seems to fly over the weekend. Saturday and Sunday come and go in a flash. It gets even worse when I have to go to the office for a few hours during the weekend. Then, I don't feel the weekend. When I was in my retirement, time and days were never a factor. It can be a weekend or it can be a weekdays, or even a public holiday, it does not matter. They are just the same. There were a few times when I went the bank only to discover upon reaching it that it is closed because it is a public holiday. However, now that I am working again, things are for sure, very different.

It is not permanent

There are days when you need motivation but there are days when motivation finds you. Today I'm in need of motivation. I woke up feeling lethargic. Felt heavy on the shoulders. Everything seems a drag. Yesterday, however, motivation found me. I had important meetings and presentation early in the morning. I needed to be well prepared. So, from the moment I woke up to go to work, the adrenaline was high. The mind was working full time. I don't need any more motivation. As I have always said, that's life. Its like a rolling ball. Sometimes you are up, sometimes you are down, sometimes you are in between. So don't worry when you are down cause it is not permanent and don't be complacent when you are up cause it is not permanent too.

I was shocked

The property market has changed somewhat in the last four to five years. Prices are still going up, that's for sure but that's about all that remains. Rental for terrace house has gone up, on par with condos now. It used to be condos give good rental returns but not capital appreciation while terrace houses gives good capital appreciation but poor rental returns. However, it is changed now. The sale price of condos have gone up a lot now but the rental rate has remained. For terrace houses, the rental rates have gone up tremendously but the sale price have remained. I wanted to rent a double storey terrace house in Gombak but the going rate was nothing less than RM1900. I was shocked. 

Woke up late

This morning I woke up later than usual. Must be because last night both the babies were active till almost 2am. I cannot sleep until they are asleep, especially Maisarah. At her age, she cannot tell what is dangerous and what is not. She might be happily climbing up the chairs and table or playing with the fan that is on or an electrical wire that is alive or whatever. That's why I had to wait till both were sleeping before I can close my eyes and sleep peacefully. But that took a toll on me. I didn't even hear the alarm clock! Lucky thing I have the motorcycle. Whenever I'm late, I take the motorcycle to work to beat the traffic jam. That's what I did this morning.

Think out of the box

I shiver when I look at the price of houses these days. They are so damn expensive. I wonder how the younger generations are going to buy their houses. A terrace house in a reasonably placed neighborhood within the outskirts of KL is nothing less than half a million. When your monthly salary is only about two thousand to three thousand ringgit, how on earth are you going to buy them? The monthly payment will take away all of them. I am on a quest to buy houses but I am wondering how am I going to pay for them? It is something I have to seriously think about. I need to innovate. Think out of the box. 

The weekend

Last minute requirement means I had to be in my office on Sunday. Was in the office from 2pm till almost 8.30pm. On Saturday, I went to three wedding invitations. So that was how I spent my weekend. Not much of a rest, come to think of it. On the sporting front, I have always been following the All Blacks. Unfortunately, now they don't show the matches 'live' anymore on TV so I missed the match on Saturday when the All Blacks defeated the Wallabies. The US PGA also had my attention. In the end, Jason Day is finally a winner of a Grand Slam after getting close on a few occasions. This morning, its back to the office cause its Monday. 

A busy weekend

This Saturday will be the last day of Shawal. Brace yourself for traffic jams over the weekend. It will spill over till Sunday definitely. I have three wedding invitations. I intend to go to all three in sha Allah, traffic jam or no. Alhamdulillah, I finished my six days of fasting last week. It got derailed a bit because of my holiday in Australia and coming back, I was sick for a few days. I did fast for one day while in Australia. As in was winter time, breaking of fast was 5.45pm. I need to sent the Viva for repair as well. Hmm……. looks like it will be a busy weekend.

Sliding ringgit

The ringgit is sliding against the dollar. One contractor gave us a quote but it is valid for three days only. On the fourth day, the price will change because the ringgit is going south all the time. Don't know what to make of it. Personally, it is not affecting me directly so far. I don't have children studying overseas. I don't travel overseas on a regular basis. I did go to Singapore and Australia this year. Both times I felt the pinch. I don't buy imported goods like branded names. So far, I'm okay but if the ringgit continues to slide, indirectly, everybody will be affected. That's for sure.

One month of celebration

We are still celebrating Hari Raya, almost a month after the actual day. Anyway in KL, one month of celebrating is the norm. The whole of Shawal is Hari Raya. We have open houses everywhere, especially during weekends. On weekdays, the offices takes over. In one day, you may have three or four invitations. When I was working in my previous company, every department will have their open house. When you are in HQ, there are so many departments. Worse still, some departments have two or three open houses. The unit on the bottom floor, the unit on the top floor. Then there's also the sports and recreation club of the department, which also wants to have a do. It gets ridiculous sometime. 

What else could it be?

The VIVA broke down on Monday. Thank God it didn't happen sunday night when we were on our way home after the open house at my brother's place. It would have been catastrophic. As it was, it happened day time when my wife was driving it and not far from the house. As I was working, I couldn't do anything until yesterday. I called AAM.  The fan belt was gone. The mechanic repaired it on the spot. It was okay after the repair but now the battery is not charging. It cannot be the alternator as I have just changed it a few months ago! But then, what else could it be? I will have to wait till the weekend before sending it for repair.

Sunday

 All my sons are bigger than me.

Open house at my brother's place in USJ. It was a great get together. I enjoyed it very much. Akid and Maisarah were having fun too judging from the way they were running around with their new found friends.

Night view from room

Over the years, I have stayed at this hotel many times whenever I'm in Melaka. Its easily more than ten times. Maybe even twenty. However, this time, they are on a customer satisfaction campaign. I received a pair of sandals for being a repeated customer. My third time. Must be records from this year only I supposed. Thank you very much, I appreciate it. I love staying at this hotel because of its proximity to shopping complex, food stalls, tourist areas etc. I will be back in sha Allah.

On Saturday

 Wedding 'do' in Bt Katil Melaka. Stayed overnight in Melaka.

 Went to our favorite Assam Pedas stall. Unfortunately, it was raining cats and dogs. We were a bit wet from the experience but it was all well that ends well. The Assam pedas was worth it.

Raining heavily with strong winds blowing.

Supply and demand

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Dropping Ringgit

The ringgit has been dropping a lot lately against the dollar and against other currencies. Two countries I have been to recently, Singapore and Australia, both have strong currencies. When I exchanged my Malaysian ringgit to the Singapore and Australian dollar, I can really feel the pinch. So little I get in return. Gone are the days when we go to Singapore because the prices there are cheaper. When I first started working way back in 1979, I remember going to Singapore to buy tyres for my car because its cheaper there. Woodland was a shopping heaven then because the prices are cheap when compared to back home. These days, the opposite is happening. Singaporeans are flocking to the country for bargains.

Busy Weekends

I have wedding receptions and open houses invitations almost every weekend starting this weekend. I will try to attend all of them if time permits. Otherwise, I will have to skip some. This weekend I will be in Melaka for a weeding reception. We planned to stay the night in Melaka after the wedding do on Saturday. Most probably we will go to our favorite 'Assam Pedas' stall on Saturday night. We gave it a missed the last time we were in Melaka just a few months back. This time, in sha Allah, we will be there. I was shocked when I checked my leave availability yesterday. I still have more than than fifteen days left. In the next four or five months, I will have to finish them. Otherwise, they are gone. That's how it works in the company.

Alhamdulillah

Yesterday I completed four days of fasting in Shawal. Two more days to go. My plan to complete all the six days by last week was derailed because of my sickness but now its back on track. In sha Allah I hope to finish another day today. Then I will have one more day only. I might do it tomorrow or I can do it next week, there's no problem. I have the luxury of time.  I am also back at the surau for the Isya prayers the past two days and hopefully during the weekends for the other prayers as well, just like it was before. I lead the prayer whenever I'm around. Alhamdulillah……things are doing as well as it can be….and yes, my wife is pregnant again. 

I need to

Alhamdulillah, I am back now to my normal self. Last night I went for maghrib prayer at the surau after a long time not going. First because of the long holiday. Later because I was sick and then the pain in the head. Then after the surau, I also went to the bank. My head didn't feel anything even after more than twenty four hours since I last took the pain killer. Looks like everything is okay now, in sha Allah. Saturday and Sunday was spent fully in the house, resting and recovering. This morning I am back at work.  Hopefully, I can stay healthy for a long long time, in sha Allah. I need to. My seventh child is on the way.  

Strange but true

The past few days I don't have any appetite for food. Even my favorites like 'asam pedas', 'tempoyak', 'ikan masin' couldn't entice me. Maybe it was because I was sick but it could also be related to the pregnancy. There were times when I felt like vomiting. Its the queasiness feeling. All the past six pregnancies I don't experience such feelings but for this one, its seems to be different. I have heard of husbands vomiting because of the wife pregnancy but I never experience it before. Now I think I am in the midst of such a thing. Its quite strange but its true.

Words cannot describe how I feel

Early this morning, I was given a pleasant surprised. My wife is pregnant again. Wow! The third one and seven in total! I can't say I was shocked because somehow at the back of my mind, I knew it can happen because we never took any preventive measures but ....... yes.....but....I never thought it would. So, when I was told the news, I don't know I was happy or I was sad. All I can say was Alhamdulillah, Allah is Great. Its another precious gift from Allah. This new baby will be born when I'm almost reaching sixty years old. That's quite tough to take, not only for me but for the baby as well. Will I live long enough to see the baby grow? Will the baby have a father long enough to provide the care, love and comfort while growing up? At this moment, words cannot describe how I feel. Allah knows best!

Selamat Hari Raya

Hari Raya do at the office

It worked

Last night I brave myself, amidst all the pain to see the doctor once again. He told me there's not much he can do except to give me 'Constan', a kind of pain killer. I also went to a pharmacist to get a pain killer. He gave a pill that are use for migraine. You, I wanted to kill a bird with two stones. I am not taking any chances. Alhamdulillah, it worked. By midnight, the pain has almost disappeared. By morning, I was able to do my normal things without having to endure the terrible pain. Hopefully it stays that way. Then I can have a peaceful weekend. A break before working again on Monday.

Terrible pain

Took medical leave again on Friday. The head was having throbbing and pulsating pain. It was terrible. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't sit, I couldn't lie, I couldn't ......I knew I cannot take Paracetamol, a kind of Panadol but when I went to see the doctor on Wednesday, she gave me just that. I didn't realise it until I got home. So I said to myself, never mind I shall take one tablet. Besides, I have this 'Kool Fever' thing that you placed on the forehead. When I get this throbbing pain, I will place it on my forehead. It worked before, it will surely worked again but how wrong was I. Sure enough the pain came but the 'Kool Fever' magic didn't work. That was the beginning of my trouble. The whole night I had to endure the pain. It was unbearable.