The Wedding

Dateline: Sunday, 1st November, 2009

We attended two weddings today, one a neighbour's daughter and the other a college friend's son. The college friends Mohamad Izham Ismail and Hadidah Hussain, both went to college with me in 1976. The reception was held at Concorde Hotel Shah Alam.

We were early, in fact the first to take up the seats at table reserved for ex-SIU college mates. Soon, more and more friends came to fill up the two tables. I was surprised to see Tan Sri Dato' Dr Yahaya Ibrahim and wife walked in. He looked spritely and full of zest. He is already 81 years of age and still keeps a 5 day work week. His secret, he told us is that he enjoys his work.

All in all, it was a good get together and we had a good time. The food was good and the host and company excellent. We only left long after the rest of the guests had left.

Congratulations Izham and Didah. Thanks for the invite. Semoga Allah memberkati kedua mempelai hingga keakhir hayat/

A Hectic Weekend

My weekends have been hectic for the past few months. Our house renovation has taken its toll on us and deprive us of our rest days. It is almost completed but the unpacking is still "work in progress". I will leave that task to my dear wife.

Last weekend was particularly busy. Saturday morning was spent looking for things for the house (still). After zohor prayers, our next door neighbor had a kenduri as he and wife are going to perform the hajj this year. AT around 5:00pm we headed for Melaka to visit my sister in law who just had an angiogram done. Had a good dinner in Bandar Hilir (just opposite the Melaka prison). We spent the night at her place in Umbai.

Early Sunday morning we left Umbai for Jasin to visit my Makcik. Discussed a few things on the preparation for my sister's wedding in December. Later, visited my uncle (Pak Ali) to ask him about his recent doctor's visit. His vision has deteriorated and he is required to undergo some procedures which he is very reluctant to do and I was trying to coax him into doing it. Around 11:00 am, we left for KL to catch my staff's (Anwar) wedding.

We reached Anwar's place (Taman Medan) at around 1:30pm. Most of the office staff were present. I have always made it a point to attend all my staff's weddings. After the wedding, we went to Shah Alam to look for things for the house (still). By the time we are done, it was 5:00pm. We headed straight to Ampang to visit my auntie who had just undergone a major operation. We were there until maghrib. We had our dinner at Al-Rawshah Lebanese restaurant in Jalan Ampang. I was introduced to this place by my ex-boss and have been there a few times before but it was the first time for my family.

By the time we reached home it was past 9:00 o'clock. I took a shower and got myself ready for the big BPL game (Man U vs Liverpool). It was a tense game and both sides could have played better but I sensed Liverpool wanted to win the game more. The referee was also no help to Man U. In the end, Liverpool won 2-0 and ended their 4-game losing streak while Man U had to concede the leader board to Chelsea. To be fair, I think Liverpool deserve the win although I was again disappointed with Rio Ferdinand's performance. Maybe its time for Sir Alex to drop him for a few games.

Went to bed at around 1:00am after reading some emails which somehow kept coming despite it being a Sunday. It was a tiring weekend but a productive one. If only Man U had won it would have been a great weekend. I guess, you can't have it all.

Al Fatihah for Yusof

I started going to school in 1965 when I entered standard 1 at Jasin English School. I was there until 1970 when I completed my primary education. During the six years there I met my first friends outside my kampong circle. Those days mixing with others outside your neighbours is a luxury. The school was about 6 kilometers away from where I was staying with my grandfather but it seemed very far. The only means of transport was the local bus service which ply the route about once every hour. Taxi service was available occasionally but beyond our means. We only use taxis in times of emergency.

Back to my primary schooling. I spent quite a bit of time in school since there is nothing much to do at home. It was in school that I met a lot of new friends. One of them was Yusof. We called him Yusof Mamak because of his dark skin. Actually he must have been of Indian origin. His family had a shop in Jasin town selling curries and related foodstuff. During the time when most of our parents were rubber tappers or farmers, having a parent who is a shopkeeper must have put Yusof on the "well to do" group. Despite that Yusof was "one of us". I do not remember being in the same class as Yusof but we met often enough (especially on the field during games) to consider him as a friend.

We were separated when we went to secondary school. I and a few others were given the opportunity to go to Melaka High School while Yusof continued in Jasin Secondary English School. However, we still met once in a while especially during the school holidays since he lives in town and we need to get to town to catch our connecting buses. After secondary school I completely lost contact with him but I still "keep track" of his whereabouts.

Then we started working, having families and these made it more difficult for us to meet up. I came to know that Yusof has moved out of his parents place after marriage but still live in Melaka, so it must still be quite near. After all, the furthest distance between two places in Melaka cannot be more than 60 kilometers.

About 2 years ago I was told Yusof was involved in a bad accident. I think he was riding a motor bike. Yusof was known to be a fan of big bikes and he must have owned at least one big bike. I was told he was bed ridden after the accident. Me and a few friends talked about paying him a visit but we never got around to actually doing it. Last week, I received an sms from Mokhlis (a friend who always find time to keep track and inform everyone of our friends' activities) that Yusof is in bad shape and is being transferred from Melaka to HUKM. Over the next few days I received updates about his conditions. Still I did not find the time to visit Yusof at HUKM, though it is only a short drive away. On Wednesday, 7 Oct., I received this sms from Mohklis,

"Innalillahi wainnahi rajiun... Al fatihah.... Dari Wahid... Sdr. Yusof Mamak telah kembali ke rahmatullah pada pukul 1:45 pagi tadi. Will inform details once I got it."

I've lost another friend though I cannot consider him to be a close one as I've not seen him for quite a while. God has given me a lot of opportunities to do some good deeds by visiting Yusof while he was sick (more than 2 years, if I was not wrong). In fact in his last days, God made it even easier for me as Yusof was transferred to HUKM from Melaka. Still I cannot find time for a friend. What kind of friend am I?

Al Fatihah for Yusof. Moga Allah cucuri RahmatNya ke atas roh Yusof.

Tak belajar Civics!!

I've always wanted to write on this small matter but never got around to doing it. However, over the weekend, I met these creatures on more than one occasion and thought I better get it out of the way.

I'm talking about people who throw away rubbish from their cars, either moving or stationery. People throw all sorts of things from their cars onto the roads, from tin cans, cigarette packs, wrappers, etc. They like to keep their vehicles clean but do not mind making the environment dirty in the process. What kind of warp thinking do these people have? How do we teach them? I'm sure they do not dare do this is Singapore. I've seen things being thrown out from spanking new Mercedeses, BMWs and old Proton Sagas or Kancils that have seen better days themselves. I've also seen things flying off from buses and lorries. So this sickness is not confined to just those in high society.

Maybe we should take photos of them and shame them on the Net.

I'm sure there are laws on this but if we are hoping for the authorities to act, we might as well do the cleaning up of our roads ourselves.

I think the drivers are now too old to be thought simple manners, lets start with their children. Maybe, we should even start with our own.

Medical Check-up

Three of my managers and myself went for our medical check-up on Thursday last week. We had all the "normal" tests carried out: blood, urine, chest X-ray, ECG and chest ultrasound. The cost : RM750.00 per person and the results will be given to us by a Medical Officer. I opted to see a specialist and it cost me another RM180.00 If this cost is not paid by my company, I doubt I will do the medical.

Anyway, my appointment with the specialist was this morning. I went early to make sure there are still vacant parking lots. Luckily, I did so as the lot is almost full when I arrived. I had opted to see a cardiologist as I have a history of hypertension and is currently on medication. The doctor was okay as he do not have too many patients so there was no need for me to wait for too long.

So here are the results:

1. Physical conditions - Overweight. I weighed in at 92.3kg (must be one of the heaviest I have experieced). No wonder I'm always feeling tired. The doctor told me that the MOST I should weigh is 80kg though ideally it should be closer to 70kg.
2. BP - 150/100, on the high side especially since I'm on medication. My readings used to be 130/90 when I'm on medication. Before I took my medication, my BP was 150/100. The doctor tried to console me by saying that maybe I'm a bit anxious today but he did not take another reading to confirm this.
3. Urine Tests - All normal, no issue
4. X-Ray - All normal, no issue
5. Ultrasound - Fatty Liver (whatever that means) but the doctor told me not to worry too much. Most probably it is the result of me being overweight
6. Blood tests - As I had expected, this will be an issue. All the blood tests that I've taken for the past few years have shown that I have problems with my cholesterol levels. Today was no exception. Actually my cholesterol level was not that high, only 5.7 but what is worrying the doctor is that my "good" cholesterol is only 0.9. There was also another issue with my Triglyceride level which the doctor is not happy with so much so he prescribed me medication for 6 weeks which costs me RM128.00
7. The doctor also asked me to come back in 6 weeks time to do a stress tests. The appointment would be in the first week of Ramadhan

I need to watch my weight and also exercise. I need to watch my weight and also exercise. I need to watch my weight and also exercise. Please God help me achieve this.

Maybe I continue later.

A Night at Chan and Fuzi's

It was a busy weekend. Last Friday, after Maghrib, we held our mosque's 2009 AGM. It was a subdued affair, everything went so smoothly, it was almost boring. The Chairman had to probe those attending to ask questions and make comments. Maybe it was because the previous AJK had done its job well. But the meeting still ended at around 10:00pm and by the time we finished dinner it was almost 11:00pm. Everyone's work is done after the AGM but I still have to get the minutes out in due time. I had earlier planned to go back to Melaka after the AGM but since it was already late we decided to defer the trip to early Saturday morning.

We left Kelana Jaya at around 7:15 am. In no time the kids (well they are not exactly kids anymore. My eldest is almost 26 and the youngest 13) were fast asleep. Luckily the wife kept me company most of the way.

The kenduri took place immediately after Zohor prayers. As usual, most of the prayer congregation come for the kenduri, between 40 to 50 of them. This is what I like about kampong life. The spirit of ukhwah is not lost. It was still the usual crowd of the past few years, minus a few who have left us but plus a few new ones whom I can't recognize. Being the head of the family I had to be on hand to welcome them and later thank them for their presence. A few of them remarked that my voice sounded "sebiji macam ayah engkau". I won't know how I sounded but how I missed the voice of my father, they won't know.

At around 5:30 the "delegation" from Kuala Selangor arrived. They are supposed to merisik my youngest sister. It was the first time for me. Luckily I still have my uncle who have been there for our family all these years to again come to our rescue. This uncle of mine will be irreplaceable. Thanks so much Pak Ali. As is the case nowadays, all the terms and conditions for the occasion have been agreed upon between my sister and her would be husband. The meeting was just to "confirm" what has been agreed. InsyaAllah, if all goes well we will have the wedding at the end of the year.

By the time we finished it was almost Maghrib. We left Jasin at round 8:15pm. Again, in no time the kids dozed off. My wife managed to keep me company until after Seremban. I can't blame her as she was busy helping out with things in the kitchen. Luckily for me, the roads were quite clear.

I reached MRR2 around 9:30pm. When I was near Ampang, I called Sle just to make sure that the crowd are still there because it was already almost 10:00pm. It is late and I'm tired but I have to make it to Chan and Fuzi's. They have graciously agreed to host a few of us to meet up with Rosinah's family who are on a 3 week vacation in Malaysia. Ros was the one who took all the trouble to show me around Stockholm a few months back but I did not have the time to "repay" her this time around. Sorry Ros but I've been really tied up. Luckily, Chan and Fuzi played host. So how can I not attend?

When we arrived, everyone was busy with briyani and other stuff. I am already full with the day's continuous intake of food so decided to skip the food. Meeting up with my friends was enough,no need for the food. At the end of the whole thing, I only took one kueh and some durian.

The crowd was good. The special guset, Ros was there with her husband and daughter whom I did not meet when I was in Stockholm. From the first batch, Anwar was there with his wife.

The one's from Ros' batch include Izham and Didah who were there with their beautiful daughter. Aminah who took Computer Science together with Ros was there. You can count on Minah to be with us. Syed came with Umi. I still haven't met their daughter, Shahira. Shariff was alone though he had earlier confirmed coming with his wife. Apparently their kids were back home from school for the weekend and Shariff did want to bring them along as he had earlier confirmed coming with the wife only. Knowing Shariff (always the gentleman and being socially correct) he do not want to upset the host. FYI Shariff, I did not even confirm my presence but came with my wife and 3 kids. I hope the hosts are not upset. Syukri was also there alone but he was busy with his new toy, an expensive looking camera. I hope he will upload the photos that he took soon.

Finally, the third batch were represented by Amir and Tipah; Sle and Mawa and Dato' Khalid and Datin and also Dr Rahman who came all the way from Penang. Amir was busy opening up the durians for everyone. I had a good conversation with Dr Rahman but I will not touch on the subject discussed here, maybe later in another posting.

I hope I have not missed anybody. But as I said I have had a long day and was definitely not up to scratch. After slightly more than an hour I had to excuse myself. Actually, I could go on. With my friends, I would always find the energy to hang around but my kids have given me the telling looks more than once. I have to be fair to them too.

Thank you Chan and Fuzi. Thank you everybody for taking the time to meet up. My apologies for being late and going off early. To Ros and family, please accept my sincere apologies for not doing more during your trip here. I'm off to another short trip tomorrow.

Sallam semua.

A busy period

I've been busy but that is no excuse for not updating this blog. Sometimes I feel more things get done during the busiest of periods. When things are moving slowly you tend to become lazy.

The past 2 months have seen me traveling to Stockholm, Indonesia and Vietnam. The trips are already tiring but trying to make sense of them through meaningful reports take real efforts. If I really think about the report writing I may just want to skip all these trips. And to think that writing is one of my strong points. But I've just been told today that I'll be traveling again next week.

All my weekends for the last month and the ones upto Ramadhan have been or will be fully occupied. There were times when I wonder why I got myself involved in so many things.

Got to go to bed now. There will be 2 meetings tomorrow and I still haven't completed compiling the Annual Report for the mosque's AGM this Friday. I'm sure someone will ask why the report was not distributed much earlier to enable them to read before the meeting. I have to think of an excuse.