Thinking

The election is coming soon. Who will win? It will be a close battle for sure. It will be even closer if Pas don't play the spoiler but at the moment, it looks like they intent to be one. They want to go alone and contest all the seats it seems. I have a feeling they are biting more than they can chew. They will lose big. Previous elections have told us so but somehow the present leaders in Pas don't seem to realise it. A pity cause now is the best time for the opposition.

Reformasi days

Crazy

The football match last night had the whole country glued to their sits. It was only to be a regional game champion of the football event, not a real football tournament. I wonder what it will be like to be in the World cup or even to be in the Asian championship. We were there before in the Asian championship. There's no reason we can't be there again. The World cup is another matter off course but with the World cup becoming like one big party where there are plans to make over fourty teams take part in the finals, surely we can get there one day. As the for the football last night, I thought our players were too one dimensional. They had limited vision. They can't see spaces and openings except when it is in front of them.

Time

Time really flies. Thought only two days I didn't update this blog. It turned out to be six days! Hmm... Time gone will never come back. I was young once. Now I am in my sixties. I qualify for senior citizen discounts everywhere I go. How did I get to where I am today? Never thought it will be this fast. Its all gone in a flash. Just like that but funny when I think that at the moment, I can't wait for my kids to grow up. I want it to happen as soon as possible. For sure later I will asked myself, how did they grow up so fast?

Allergic to Panadol

Been sick the past few days. The problem with me is when I take medicine for the sickness, I have to be careful not to take the wrong one. Otherwise, my head will have a terrible throbbing pain. It will last a few days until the effect of the medicine is gone. It is so painful that I became scarred of taking medicine when I am sick for fear of taking the wrong one. It is Panadol that I cannot take. When I tell the doctors that, the say all medicine contains Panadol or whatever is inside it. It all started many years ago. I was sick, took two tablets of Panadol every four hours. The pain started coming after doing it for a few times. Since then, I dare not touch Panadol again.

Improved

My memorising of the Quran has improved tremendously over the last one year or so. For one thing, I am now retired so I have more time to practise, especially in the morning which is my favourite time. The other is being an Imam, I realised that whatever I have memorised must be extremely solid, or I will make mistakes while reciting them. I learned this lesson the hard way. I made so many mistakes that there were many times when I wanted to quit. I can recite them at home, many times over with no problem whatsoever but in front of the congregation, mistakes abound. Although I am making less mistakes now, I am still wary of reciting 'surah' that I have never recited before even if I have done so a hundred times or even a thousand times when I am alone. 

Three is enough

Weekend outing

Wanted to bring the children to District 21 at IOI mall in Bangi. It's a place for outdoor activities like rock climbing, jumping on the trampoline, Tarzan like rope swinging and many others. When we got there, it turned out that the place is not suitable for kids their age. Its more for teenagers and young adults. Quite a big place this IOI mall. One of the biggest in KL I think, almost as big as the more familiar malls like Mid Valley, Sunway Pyramid and One Utama. I used to play golf there and stayed at the Palm Garden hotel a few times a few years back. The golf course is still there I believe except that now it is surrounded by three hotels and the shopping complex.

Pictures

Photos

Man U on a sprint

Man U have started the season running. Yesterday they scored their second 4-0 win, this time against Swansea. That's eight goals scored in two matches with zero against. Their first eleven is playing great football well supported by the supporting casts. On this form, they will be strong contenders for the title. Arsenal as usual is Arsenal. Play well one day but struggle on another day. Liverpool problem with their defending has been extensively documented. This season the same woes surface already. If they don't get their act together soon, they will be struggling like last season.

Great performance

The Wallabies were absolutely beaten by the All Blacks yesterday. What a performance by the All Blacks. On the other hand, what ever happened to the Wallabies? So comprehensively beaten, they don't look like a team at all. Sure they came back in the second half by scoring a few tries themselves but by then, I suspect the All Blacks were running on half cylinder only. They were so much superior they can relax in the second half. The Wallabies had been beaten by then there was no way they can win.

I just saw a video on schooling in Finland. Its totally different from what we are used to, not only in Malaysia but even in the rest of the world. School time is about three to four hours a day only, about twenty hours a week. There's a lot of playtime and very little homework. It takes only a few minutes to finish them. Yet their schools are the best in the world. Their children are the best students in the world. How come?

Decision time

Its that time of the year again when we have to decide about the schooling of the kids. Do we continue with Akid and Maisarah at the same pre school or we continue with Akid only. Maisarah to take a break for one year before continuing the year after. We are worried she might get bored being in pre school for too long. Or do we go to another pre school where the fees are  minimal? At the moment, we are paying quite a lot. Sure we can do with the savings. Credit to both of them, they both enjoy their time at school. Waking up Maisarah in the morning was a problem early on but not anymore. She is eager for school and so is Akid. Hmm..... we will decide when we cross the bridge.

Evening fun

Every Friday if time permits, we will go to Taman Titiwangsa with the kids. There, they can enjoy bicycle rides, ride on the toy cars or motorcycles, play at the playground or just enjoy the scenery. We will be there till almost the evening prayer before going home. We used to go on weekends but the crowd its just too much. Akid had many accidents while driving his toy car. There were too many people. Off course they were not serious but still, its quite dangerous. That's why we have stopped going on weekends.

Strating problem

I'm having problem with starting my motorcycle in the morning. I need to kick start so many times before I can get it going. This started a few months ago but it was off and on. Now, it is permanent. The problem is when I go to a workshop, the starting problem does not exist because I have started the motor earlier. Once started, the problem does not exist anymore but next morning, it will start again. One workshop asked me to place the motor with him overnight so that he can see for himself the problem. Two workshops told me its the battery but I was skeptical. Another one changed the spark plug to no avail. Finally I changed the battery yesterday. This morning I have yet to test it.

Holiday

I'm on holiday everyday of the year but I'm still thinking of going on holiday somewhere. Somewhere different. Somewhere exciting.

The cool season

The weather is very cooling nowadays. The past few days, we can sleep at night without the full force of the cooling apparatus i.e. fan, air cond and air cooler. In fact, for a few nights, I had to turn off the fan altogether because it was getting too cooling for the kids. Even during the day time, the temperature is cooling. Not hot as usual. Its like in the highland like Cameron. I don't know we also have hot and cool seasons in Malaysia. These phenomena first made its presence felt a few years ago. People in certain areas in Kelantan had to put on their jacket even during day time. Now it is back again.

What are friends for

One of the thing I was told about being a retiree is to keep in constant touch with your friends, I mean retired friends because we share a common predicament. The more the better. Friends from all walks of life, from all ages and from every  period of your life, past and present. Meet them at every opportunity cause there might not be another. After all, we are getting old. Friends are what will keep us well and healthy. They are the ones we can call upon for a chit chat over a cup of tea or coffee. Without friends, our life will be empty and full of loneliness.

Difficulty sleeping

I am actually getting bored staying at home. With nothing much to do, sleeping is my favourite activity now. Sleeping a lot during the day time so much so that sometime at night, I have difficulty falling asleep. What with all the sporting events being shown live on TV, that makes it even harder for me to sleep. For example last night, Man U was playing West Ham. Then there was the US PGA golf. The athletics in London where Bolt was the main draw was also live. Hmm...... so much to see but I need to sleep. I need to have a balance not only in my diet but more importantly, in sleep.

Exciting

I watch the Man U vs West Ham match last night. Man U are sure looking good during the match. All the players were buzzing. Rashford, especially was having the game of his life. His speed and running wide against defenders was excellent. In one such run, a goal was created with new signing Lukaku scoring. Mata was also playing well. So was Mikhitaryan. I think this Man U team will be the team to beat in the new season. Of course there are other teams as well. Man C, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea will also be there or there about.

Its the new season

The football season has just started yesterday there are some funny results already. Liverpool let in a last minute goal which was so amateurish it's unbelievable. Chelsea let in three goals in the first half which sealed their fate. Arsenal let in three but lucky thing they scored four.

Its real now

Its been a year since I joined the rank of the retirees. The way it is now, the situation don't look like changing anytime soon. Off course I would like to work. The cash at the end of the month will come in handy but at the moment, that seems a far far away preposition. Meantime, I continue to lead the prayers at the surau whenever I'm around. I continue to increase my memorisation of the Quran. I am at three complete juzu now and hope to get three more juzu in my memory within a year. I continue to help in the domestic front although my wife thinks I am a nuisance. I spend time with kids. Its a life I never envisage but its real now.

A different kind of Nasi Lemak

Yesterday took the family for breakfast at Nasi Lemak Royale Kedah in Ampang. Its nasi lemak but with a difference. Not only for its colour which is yellow but also for its choice of add ons that make it so special. Its very popular in Kedah I am told and making its presence felt in KL. They have also opened one in Shah Alam. I was introduced to this restaurant by a friend quite some time ago but never had the chance to try it again myself until yesterday. Even then, we had a hard time looking for it as I typed the wrong name when using waze. It should be Nasi lemak Royale but I typed Royal Kedah restaurant. That's was the problem.

Morning jog

I was at Titiwangsa as early as seven in the morning. After leading the morning prayer at the surau, I went back, changed into my jogging gear and headed straight for Titiwangsa. It is jogging time. Riding my bike made it all very easy and enjoyable as I can feel the cool morning breeze hitting my face. Nowadays I have stopped doing the the speed runs every few metres. Usually, they will total seven in all but these days, I find doing them too tiring and taxing. I feel very tired. So now, I only jog slowly to cover the distance I have set for myself. No more speed run in between.

Munirah and me

She will be with me every morning as the mother will be busy sending Akid and Maisarah to school. The same with the afternoon when the mother will fetch her brother and sister from school. Alhamdulillah, Munirah has been a good girl. No crying, no tantrums. She accept it as it is. Usually I will attend to her needs which is not much actually. She is easy to look after.

Tryning time

The whole of last week was very trying. First Akid was sick and coughing badly. Then Maisarah. Then Munirah. Maisarah recovered quickly but akid and Munirah went for a whole week. In that time, three visits were made to the doctor. Akid twice and Munirah once. Alhamdulillah, since yesterday, all three have recovered. Munirah was the most difficult because she absolutely refused to take the medicine. We had to force it down her throat which is not a nice thing to do at all. For Akid ad Maisarah, the worry was they might not be able to make it to their school sports day. It was a race against time but alhamdulillah, Akid miraculously recovered the night before. He made it to the event.

Keep the brain active

At sixty one, I am still young. Or at least I think I am. Physically and mentally, I am in the pink of health, for a sixty one years old, that is. Of course I can't compare to one Dr M who at ninety two is still as young as ever but I hope to live long enough to see my children grow into adults, in sha Allah. I need to keep my brain active. That is the key to everything. That's why I need to work but at the moment, I am out of work. The thing that is keeping my brain active at the moment is my memorising of the Quran. It is increasing a little by a little. Sometime I find it so easy to memorise but sometime, its a struggle. I keep going nonetheless, in sha Allah.

MRT ride