Satu hari ke Sekincan

Berhenti makan di Restoran Keropok Losong yang terkenal di Tanjung karang. Boleh tahan juga keropoknya. Tambah pula dengan kuahnya yang sedap. Apa lagi pulon la........

Di Sekincan

Sampai Sekincan terus tuju ke kawasan sawah padi. Wow! Sungguh indah pemandangannya. Sejauh mata memendang sawah padi terbentang luas.

Di Galeri Padi PLS Marketing

Lepas tu pergi ke Kilang padi untuk lihat dengan lebih dekat tentang kerja kerja tanam dan tuai padi. Hmm......setelah banyak tahun, sekarang baru tahu. Pernah belajar duu tapi lupa.

Makan dan beli beras

Lepas degar taklimat jalan jalan sambil makan dan beli berbagai beras yang di jual di situ

Smile

Who knows

Its been ten years since I started this blog. After ten long years, I'm feeling a bit of stale updating. Not much passion in it. Its updating for the sake of updating. I write mechanically, with little feeling. Maybe I should start doing a different thing. Close the chapter on this blog. Do something else where the passion and enthusiasm is greater. Who knows......

Must find another time

Wow! Ten long days already since I last update this blog. A very long time indeed. Nowadays, the time just didn't fit in. I used to update in the morning but these days, I am occupied with something else most morning. I wake up at five in the morning. Do my night prayer, then the Subuh prayer at the mosque, then reading and memorising the Quran after I get back from the mosque. By this time, Akid and Maisarah would already be getting ready for school. Munirah will either be still sleeping or awake. That's when I have to stop doing what I am doing to focus on the kids. So, I have no time to update in the morning. Must find another time!

From merc to ex 5

I drove this car for nine years. After I retired, I knew I couldn't hold on to it anymore. Too expensive to maintain. Enjoyed it while it lasted. Nowadays, my main mode of transport is my trusted Ex 5 Honda motorcycle.

Hot hot weather

After the rainy season in October, November and December, its the turn of the sun to strike back. Its been hot and hot and hot. No respite from the heat, no matter where you go. Yesterday it rained heavily for a few minutes. That was a welcome relief after so many days of heat and sunshine. Temperatures have reached thirty eight degrees celcius in some places. The weatherman has stated that this heat will continue for a few weeks more. So, just brace for it.

Semenyih in my mind

The Semenyih by election is coming to a close. Only one day left for the contenders to campaign. After that it will be voting time. BN thinks they can win after their win in Cameron Highland t the last by election. With their shameless ex leader making a come back in the form of a clown, gaining widespread publicity and popularity in the process, they certainly have high hope. However, I believe the voters know better. A thief who has stolen millions from the public cannot be allowed to make a come back. Sixty years of BN is enough. We need to give PH a chance. I am confident PH will win.

Flowers

Was in Sungai Buloh last Saturday to buy some flowers. Need to have some flower around the house to make it look pleasing and beautiful. Have some greenery rather than just bricks and stones.

Fight to the end

It will be a two horse race for the premier league title this season. I think Tottenham is already out of the picture after two back to back defeats. It will be too much for them to fight back and be a contender again with only ten matches left. That leaves us with only Man City and Liverpool. Who will blink first. Only one point separates them. One mistake by either one will spell trouble. So, its going to be a tense and tight race till the end. Who will prevail? I like to think it will be Liverpool but Man City has all the credentials. Hmm......

Find the time

Even after living in Kg Bukit Cerakah for about eight months now, I think there are still plenty of places and things to explore within the kampung and its vicinity. Kuala Selangor itself is a town full of surprises. There's a hotel that offers home cooked lunch in a kampong house surrounded by padi fields. You eat sitting cross-legged which we hardly do nowadays. I tried it once but many many years ago. Maybe I will try again. Then there's the sky mirror which I have been wanting to try but haven't found the time yet. Towns like Tanjung Karang and Sekincan are places to see and explore. Many things to see and do. I love going to these places. If only I can find the time.

Difficult to get one

Yesterday was in Ikea with the family and my sister. She wanted to buy a few things for her new house so we went with her to the store. As usual, all the display at the store looks tempting. Not a problem for me as I can resist them easily but for the wife, like most ladies, shopping is a love they can't do without. The kids, as usual, enjoyed themselves though at time, managing them with their antics, irritable, petulant and tetchy behaviour prove to be a handful. After that, we went to Ayam Kampung Publica in Damansara Perdana for a tasty lunch. Always love the place. The only setback is the parking. So difficult to get one.

We will see

BN is in a buoyant mood after their win in Cameron Highland. They think they can bring that winning mentality to Semenyih but they will find Semenyih a totally different kettle of fish. The voters are more urban, more informed and most likely will not easily fall to their brand of race politics. For one thing, both the candidates for BN and PH are Malay so for BN and more importantly for PAS supporters, it is no more a no brainer like Cameron Highland. I believe PH will be able to retain their seat albeit by a smaller majority as PAS is now officially in tandem with BN. But recent developments might have a say in the result. PAS has been hard done by their hit and miss adventure against Sarawak report. Their credibility has been hit hard. Then the meeting of their president with the PM. Conflicting reports have emerged but again not doing PAS any good. So, we will see.

Not bad

Went to Lalamove last Tuesday to register my car with the company. Was given a tutorial for about an hour by the company. There were about twenty other people in the group. Apparently the way they work is like Uber or Grab car. You register, get the application, attend the tutorial and voila! you are ready to go. You work when you feel like it. Don't work when you don't feel like it. So far after a week, I have not done any work yet. Just looking at the work orders that came on the application. Not bad. 

Non stop running nose

The nose has been running and sneezing for almost two weeks already. I took some medicine which stopped it while it lasted. Once the effect of the medicine is gone, the sneezing and running nose restarted. Initially I used water to clear the running nose. That has the effect of making it worse. For two days, it somehow got better although not exactly gone for good. The yesterday in the evening, it just got worse. I thought this cannot go on like this. Had to see the doctor which I duly did last night. Was given an injection which is the first time for me to cure a running nose. Anyway, this morning I am cured but feeling a bit drowsy. Looks like I need to rest.

Slowly but surely

The egg plant vegetable taking shape. Hope this will be my first success. 

I placed the pots housing this plant and others by the side of the house. Unfortunately they were subjected to the sun rays directly throughout the day. The sun has been relentless these past few days. As a result , some of the pants wilted as the water in the pots get dry very fast. Alhamdulillah this plant survived. I have since placed them at another place where the sun is not so direct.

Toiling the land

After the Chinese New Year holiday, I hope to start toiling the land again. I have cleared a fair bit of thatch grass which has been growing on the land. There's still a bit more to be done. Two days should do the trick. After that, I will remove the hard objects found on the land such as rocks, large and small stones and unwanted cement. I wanted to engage somebody to do landscaping initially but I don't have the budget so I will do what I can myself. Maybe grow grass, build a small hut and grow vegetables, fruit and flower trees. Its a waste if nothing is done. After all, it is just beside my house. I can spend time on it without any hassle.

Never lose hope

I have been looking at some job opportunities in the market, applying for a few but so far no success. Its difficult at my age to get a decent job from the market. My only hope is through friends who know me. Otherwise it will be difficult. Sometime I think of doing business but then again, I have very little experience in business. It is difficult to succeed as well. At the same time, I don't have spare money for business purposes. Being a pensioner, I need to be extra careful how I spend. I need to stretch whatever money I have now for as long as I can. Hmm..... one thing I know for sure, never lose hope in Allah.

Back at the top

Liverpool is back to their winning ways, beating Bournemouth 3-0 at home. A good performance given the shaky draws in their last two matches. Could have easily scored more but for some stout defending, a few mishit plus the bar. In the end, they had to be satisfied with three goals only. Its back to the top of the table for Liverpool, knocking put Man City at least until today when Man City will play Chelsea. A win for City will bring them back to the top. Its going to be a topsy turvy time these last few months but I fancy Liverpool their chances.

At Pantai Remis

Decided to drive to Pantai Remis which is about fifteen minutes drive from my house. It was a bit late in the evening actually but the sun was still shining. Saw people catching fishes using fishing nets and a few boys swimming in the sea. Not much was caught as far as I can see. There were some fishes and shrimps, both small in size. After about half an hour it was soon almost time for Maghrib. We decided to end the trip and drove home.

Pantai Remis jeram

One for the memory

 Akid

 Wife and the kids

Me

Sometime ago

Sad

People deceiving about their degree has been an issue that refuses to go away. We had one not too long ago when a very popular business coach and speaker who claimed to have four Doctorate was exposed to be lying. At one time he was so popular that he even had a program on national TV. Somehow for so long people never caught on about how he can have four Doctorate when to have just one takes years. Now there's another fake degree holder who is a Deputy Minister. He said he has a degree from Cambridge UK. When probed further, he finally admitted it is Cambridge USA, not that Cambridge. Checking further, Cambridge USA was found out to be a dubious university without any accreditation. This lead to the conclusion that his degree is bought. Hmm...... some people will go to great length just to get themselves recognised. Sad.

Quiet time

Been very quiet the past few days. The wife and kids went to KL on Monday and came back only on Thursday night. Meantime I was alone in the house so it was as quiet as can be without the kids. I continued with my routine of going to the mosque for every prayer time. I think I managed to do that except for one day when I missed the afternoon prayer because I went to Puncak Alam then K, Selangor. Otherwise it was as I intended it to be. In between I watch the TV, read the Quran, try to memorise some more or just lazing around the house doing nothing. Last night they came back and all hell break loose.

School break

Yesterday was the last day of schooling before the start of a long holiday because of the the Chinese New year celebrations. The schools won't open until 11th February. That's a nine days break for the kids. Good for them but not so good for the parents especially when the kids are still .....kids. The house will turn upside down for sure. The mother will then start screaming and all hell will break lose. Hmm........ I have to start bracing from now or I too will be sucked in the flurry.

Race is still open

Saw the Liverpool vs Leicester City match. Thought Liverpool was well on the way to securing three valuable points when they scored in the third minute. Then they were holding possession, passing the ball like it was their own. Leicester was hardly in the match. Unfortunately, they were undone by letting in a silly goal at the end of the first half. Try as they might in the second half but couldn't find the net. In the end, they had to be satisfied with a point which can be considered as two points lost. More importantly, they failed to widen the gap between them and Manchester City to seven points as they would have like. So, the race for the title is still on with fourteen matches to come.

Cutting the grass

Been doing some cleaning up of the land beside the house. Mostly its the grass. It has grown long and untidy. How could I have let them be for so long? Finally decided that enough is enough. So I got dressed like a farmer, took the hoe and hacked away. Tiring job but it needs to be done. Alhamdulillah, I can see so progress. I have cleared about half of what need to be cleared after two days. Maybe by this weekend, I can clear the rest. No need to call the grass cutter. Saved me a few ringgit. Worked my muscle as well!

Visitors to the house

My elder and younger sisters. All in the sixties already including me.

Political divide

The political climate in the country is now clear. The battle line has been drawn. On one side we have PH consisting of PKR, Bersatu, Amanah, DAP and Warisan as a partner while on the other side, we have BN consisting of Umno, MIC, MCA and PAS. Looking at the composition deeper, we can see that the divide is more or less racially motivated. The non Malays are mostly with PH while the Malays are with BN. That's what clearly happened in Cameron Highland. The reason BN won is nothing more than because all the Malay voters from PAS went to BN. That carried them through. PH held its ground while BN also was able to do the same. The difference was PAS. PH has to work hard to get the more Malays on their side. Otherwise, we will see a battle royal in GE 15.

What to do

Just one day after I mentioned about my longest streak without break doing the prayers in a congregation, the sequence was broken caused by a situation I could hardly have anticipated. It was the Asar prayers. I was already at the mosque and had just completed the sunnah prayer before the Asar prayer. While waiting, suddenly I had stomach ache. I wanted to stay, tried to stay, do the prayer before rushing home to the necessary. Unfortunately, I couldn't hold anymore. Had to go home immediately to relief myself. So that was how it was broken. What to do?

seven years ago

At the mosque in Melaka when I was doing the tourist guide course. Never got to be one cause as soon as I finished the course, sat for the exam and passed, I received an offer to work.

A good stretch

This must be the longest stretch that I have been able to muster since I started going to the mosque five times a day. I think it's eight straight days without any break and counting. Usually, after maybe two or three days, there will always be a time when I couldn't make it to the mosque for at least one of the prayer. It may be the afternoon prayer or the evening prayer or whatever. Always it will be like that but this time, I have been able to go for every prayer without fail. I went to KL twice during this time but I have managed to plan my time such that I can be at the mosque come prayer time. There was once when I felt so tired after coming back from KL that I almost wanted to give it a miss for the afternoon prayer. Alhamdulillah, I managed to summon my energy and go for to the mosque.

Eight straight wins

Man U has improved by leaps and bounds ever since they appointed a new manager to replace Maurinho. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done wonders to the team. Maurinho has always said that the team is not good enough but eight straight wins from eight matches says otherwise. They have scored plenty of goals too. This only goes to show that Maurinho has played it wrongly with this bunch of players. Maybe too restricted. The over emphasis on defence is over whelming. Plenty of attacking talents but not allowed to display their game freely. With Solskjaer, they are now playing like kids suddenly let off the leach. They can express themselves, play freely, let their talent do the talking. Now they are playing to their potential.

Its BN for Cameron Highland

BN won the Cameron Highland by election. It's not a surprise given the composition of the voters in the constituency and the party they support. The Orang Asli especially has always been voting BN while the Malays are split but the PAS votes this time went entirely to BN. Its a no brainer for them given the BN candidate is a Malay and Islam while the PH candidate is not. So to me, there is no significant change in the voting trend from GE 14. What makes the BN candidate win by a bigger majority is because the PAS votes went almost totally to them. The other factor is the percentage of voters voting. Only slightly more than 60%. This means that the outstation voters did not care to return to vote. They are mostly PH supporters who would have make a difference had they come back.

A visit to Selangor Fruit valley

Took the kids to Selangor Fruit valley near Bertam Jaya (Batang Berjuntai). As the name implies, fruits are a plenty. Acres and acres of land planted with all kind of fruits. Nonetheless, the highlight of the visit for me was the stop at the 'rumah kampung'. The house is typical of a kampung house with the steps, verandah, the kitchen etc. The place is on top of a hill with beautiful view of the valley surrounding it. The wind was breezy. It was really cooling. Felt like not wanting to leave. Not only me but the others in the group as well. I had to remind them that we need to go. Otherwise they were all enjoying it and we could have stayed the whole day.

more photos

more photos

How to lose a crown

Immediately after winning the crown, this lass went for a spree with like minded friends to celebrate. They went to a pub or disco to enjoy the occasion. Within days or shall I say hours, a video clip appeared showing them having fun during the celebration. It looked like they were having a lot of fun........while holding glasses with beer in their hands. I have not seen it myself but that video is enough to cause a furore. Almost immediately she was strip of her crown. Hmm......what a way to lose a hard won crown.

Too many

Since the general election in May i.e. about eight months ago, there have been four by elections. Another one is ongoing while there's another is waiting in line. That will make it six. That's a big number by any standard. Four of them were because the elected representatives passed away. One was because of a resignation to pave the way for Anwar to come back. Another one was because it was declared null and void due to money corruption. Going by the proceedings so far, there will be yet another one. It has gone to the appeal court but I believe the by election will be held. So that makes it seven in total in less than a year after the general election. I don't know when the government can start governing when you have by elections every now and then.

Unbelievable

It seems to me that the American people has elected a joke as their president. He cannot be taken seriously nor trusted in whatever he do or say. He plays golf all the time at the expense of the people. Now he is embroiled in a losing battle to build the wall but try telling him that and you will get an earful. Because of his antics, the US of A is in a midst of partial shutdown which don't look like ending anytime soon. What a way to run a country. Yet, there are people supporting him. Just like back home. We have a former PM who stole money from the people. Billions of them and yet there are people still supporting him. Just can't believe it's true but yes, its happening. These people cannot tell the forest from the trees. Sigh......

Long ride again

Had to go to Pantai medical Hospital in Bangsar yesterday for my quarterly check up. Decided to ride my bike as the traffic will be bad in the morning. Been a long time since I take such a long ride. Ever since moving to my new house, the rides were mostly to the mosque and back plus now to the school and back. Both take about two to three minutes only. I was a bit apprehensive at first but as soon as I started riding, the negative thoughts were all gone. In the end, I enjoyed the ride. Left the house just a bit after eight and reached home at about eleven. About three hours in total including the time spent at the hospital.

After eight days

In about a week or two, if it progresses well, I will have to transfer the shoots to a pot. At the moment I can see about 8-10 of them. Some are close to each other so I am not sure how I can take them out one by one as their root might be entangled. I will cross the bridge when I come to it. For now I will enjoy seeing them grow.