Evernote:The Sun shuns not from shining....

From Evernote:

The Sun shuns not from shining....

1.
...never a day the sun went missing. Though it might be hiding behind e clouds or the raindrops...it's there, for it is it's duty to be where it should be. A promise kept for ages without fail. Consistent. Nothing less. It shall be there till the day it dies.

2.
Wonder why it never got bored doing the same thing all over, again and again....and again. Awaiting the time for eternal relaxation...when then there shall be none.

3.
I miss the sun, today. Also the beach. Though I did not miss then heat wnd humid environment beyond the eandlines miles into the land....I miss watching it shone it's final rays depicting dusks....when the duty to be present is passed to the moon.

4.
...but I shall wake the next morning to welcome the same ol' sun, marking the first day, of the rest of my life.
InsyaAllah...

5.
For now, it's too late in the night, too early in the morning...to wish the sun good night and to bid the moon good morning...

6.
0426hrs...the hour when the clock is to be rear as it's already way past the to rest. Good night, moon.
...and mwybe I will be wishing good morning to the sun.

7.
...hopefully the sun will still fulfill it's promise.

Evernote:The ABCDE (and F...and G!) of life....

From Evernote:

The ABCDE (and F...and G!) of life....

1.
This is something that came to my mind as I was driving in a hot afternoon in Kuala Terenganu. Hot, humid, dehydrated...and yet this topic came to mind and I somehow felt happy although was in that uncomfortable environment. The ABCDEFG of life....my life in particular.

2.
A is for ALLAH.
Why I existed. Life blessings and rezeki....everything, comes from ALLAH.
I wouldn't be here writing this sentence if it is not permitted by ALLAH.
For all the blessings received, the least I should do is to say ALHAMDULILLAH.

3.
B is for Beloved.
Mother, father, wife, kids, family.
The ultimate blessing from ALLAH.

4.
C is Camaraderie, Commune.
The friends, brothers in arms.
Those who were there to celebrate my success.
Those who were there to ease my sufferings.
Those who I would trust with my life.
...and they too are the best blessings from ALLAH.

5.
D is for Determination.
The unwawavering focus and desire to achieve what I desire.

6.
E is for Exploring.
Anything...anything that my mind finds interesting.
Something that would not be enough until the end is done.

7.
For all that matters, I could have stopped at E but somehow the brain teased me on the next two alphabets...
F and G is for FaceBook and Google+......Hahahaha!
...friggin' geek!!!

Evernote:Homesick.

From Evernote:

Homesick.

1.
Kampung house. Coconut tree. A bright sun.
Some birds, clouds, mountain, padi field, maybe sea shore.
Sounds familiar?
Those would be the elements in a drawing by a Malaysian kid, generally. I believe most - if not all - would have probably done such drawing when they were a kid. No?

2.
The mind is fond of keeping pleasent memories....and perhaps the serene environment of a kampung home set in the mentioned frame above is common. Maybe not. It depends on who you are and who you would like to be, perhaps....or WHERE you actually want to be!!
Nowadays, we tend be present in multiple locations at one point of time. For instance, we might be sitting in a cafe with a friend and a mug of our favorite coffee...but we are busy yahoo-ing a couple of buddies around the globe....and so is the friend sitting infront of us. Or we might be having dinner with our family but instead of having a family conversation we are frantically texting on our BbM with the bosses and team abroad.

3.
I am not saying it is bad...but nor am I saying it is good. It is just a common situation we are facing everyday.
What needs to be done, needs to be done.
The thing is, sometimes the mind dictates what we actually prefer to do - or where we prefer to be. When that happens, we'd then set what infront of us as secondary.

4.
Coming back to the doodle, perhaps that kampung house and the environment set, is just something so nice to our minds that it remains the same as it was since our childhood days.
In my case, at the time I wrote this, my mind is fond of lepaking in a hut by a cool stream but I am with my team doing the stuff we do best (for the moolahs!)...and as I mentioned, it is not bad nor good....it is just a situation I am having in my life everyday.

Evernote:Tablet-top Publishing

From Evernote:

Tablet-top Publishing

1.
Years ago, when people talk about tabletop publishing, it was a kind of fancy thing done by those with IT literacy. Not everybody was on pc tbose days, whatmore doing stuff related to publishing, that was a serious thing, quite.

2.
Enter the blog.
Everybody started to have one. Or two....maybe more. Publishing is just about putting whatever written on to the blog site and anybody can read it.
Then, with the hoards of tech-gadgets available, anybody can blog anywhere, anytime. About anything at all. Whether it really makes sense or not, is secondary.

3.
The traditional way of writing on a piece of paper is seen as outdated....but that is still the best. To me, at least.
If you are a writer, you'd write. On any mediums.
If you're just a techie wannabe....well, maybe you'll do the same on tech-gadgets...for a while.

4.
Doodle? On Galaxy Note??? Yaaah....same thing.

5.
Finally got a tablet for myself....and it does not make me any different from what I was before....cuz I still write, on any mediums....and doodle.

6.
Cool stuff, these tech-gadgets. It makes things easier to do. Sometimes!!!

From Evernote:

My two liners on…

+ Waking-up.

A must, to keep on moving in life.

The earlier I start the day, the more time I have to do whatever I want to do.

+ Breakfast.
An important meal to being a good day.
The earlier the better, the best is to have it with all family members together.

+ Work.

Something that needs to be done, to earn the money for a living.

Not something that governs me totally, I am the boss, I take control of the works not the other way around.

+ Free time.

What all being has everyday - 24 hours a day.

Whatever I decide to do with it, I still have free time for things that matters.

+ Busy.

Just a lame excuse by many who failed miserably to realize everybody has the same amount of hours in a day. 

To a certain extent, it's just a way to show they are important (NOT!)

+ Politics.

A field where idiots and well educated people comes to play for (as they all claim it) the benefit of the others (who do not want to be involved). 

Some gets things done, many others gets nothing done or undone...and looked important (for them) while at it, including those who talk about politics at kedai kopi or forums or whatever platforms available.

+ Facebook.

A social platform where everybody gets to meet anybody.

A place where opportunities are made and also a very suitable platform to waste your time for nothing if you're an imbecile.

+ Wealth.

What every poor would chase and want to have.

Something that is being chased endlessly by those who refused to define their priority in life (if they have any...life, I mean).

+ Paper qualification.

What everybody needs to have to get on board a good company (mostly, except those who decided to start they own).

Couple of years on board, we'll start to realize we are being governed by those with less brain-cells than a goldfish.

+ Hobby.

What people do out of their interests when they have the time to do so.

Some made money from it, some just waste more than what they can actually afford, just to be seen as cool or savvy.

+ Credit card.

A tool for purchasing stuff.

A good way for a loser to start a never ending debt.

+ Opinion.

What everybody would ask or offer everybody else before making decisions on things that matters to them.

What most people would not bother to read when everybody is giving it on a same platform.

...to be continued. As and when I feel like doing so.

http://www.evernote.com/shard/s167/sh/057642ff-f6ff-42f8-bfda-af2b48e09667/df9006d2dc24ffaa24f4df58610569a7

....strategy realignment?

1.

Definition:

strategy |ˈstratəjē|

noun ( pl. -gies)a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim : time to develop a coherent economic strategy | shifts in marketing strategy.• the art of planning and directing overall military operations and movements in a war or battle. Often contrasted withtactics (see tactic ).• a plan for such military operations and movements :nonprovocative defense strategies.
ORIGIN early 19th cent.: from French stratégie, from Greekstratēgia ‘generalship,’ from stratēgos (see stratagem ).

realign |ˌrēəˈlīn|verb
[ trans. ]change or restore to a different or former position or state : they worked to relieve his shoulder pain and realign the joint | the president realigned his government to reflect the balance of parties.• ( realign oneself with) change one's position or attitude with regard to (a person, organization, or cause) : he wished to realign himself with Bagehot's more pessimistic position.

*Realignment: DERIVATIVES realignment noun

SO...in simple words, Strategy Realignment is when you change or alter your action plan to achieve the (still unchanged) overall end-state set in the beginning.

2.

Why am I writing this?

Frankly, it was a phrase - or more like a secret code - used by a group of us back in the one of the main Strategic Study project & implementation for the big corporation I was with back then, whenever we need to take a break and go down for a cuppa coffee or "slurm" (maybe will write about "slurm" in another entry). Or simply put, it is our way to say - f**k it, we have done enough work so let's go down and have a cuppa.

....and the whole team would be sitting in front of a cuppa 10-15 minutes after the code was transmitted. Hahaaa!

So, there it is...that's why I am writing this, initially.

3.

Anyway, since I am already on this topic, let me just type on, whatever I want to say related to the topic.You can continue to read or just move on to whatever stuff you need to do, I don't want to waste your time if you think I have been doing it for the last couple of minutes....

4.

Almost every person whom I see on FB/ blog/ Twitter/ Google+, who wrote about strategy, have different understanding (or misunderstanding!!) about it. Not that they are right nor wrong, it just shows everybody may have different approach to strategy, how they define it, develop it and implement it.
The important thing is just this - if it works, it works!
Be it a strategy, a plan, a vision, mission etc etc. Not everything should be governed by the text books we read, of course....but if we read the text books properly, it helps to achieve that end-state better than just shooting in the dark. The funny part would be when somebody claims as a master of the topic....but everything is just a helter-skelter when it comes to explaining and implementing it....and let's not go into the actual result...if they cannot achieve the end-state, they should be asking me (or the team mates I had) about strategy realignment then.

5.

Recently, in one of the WhatsApps group I am in (no, I don't have BBM, not a high-profile corporate guy...nor a high-profile school kid, to pay for a "secured server" for my discussions talk-cock stuff) which consisted of a motley of businessmen, academicians, top management bankers, oil & gas staff etc locals and abroad...somebody sent an article from a "think-tank" about something. THINK TANK.
Think-tank? Hahaa... just too much thinking and never did any implementation of what they "thought", never did any monitoring, never came down to the ground for actual progress controlling and worst of all, never owning the result...a think tank is as good as - a sewer bucket.

It's quite easy to think and talk...No? What do we have at our warung kopi, teh tarik joints, the more glamorous Kedai Kopi Chap Starbux, SangFransiska? So many excellent thinkers and business minded bunch talking about big bucks stuff...but ask them if they really have

tried walking the talk and be responsible for the results...probably just a handful....or half a handful...or none...

6.

The validity test is simple - to my standard.

If you actually don't even bag-in a single ringgit from what you're yakking about...then you're just talking the cock....and walking the cock...and you should try to accept when people say you're kind cocky....'cuz probably that's what you've been doing most of the time!

7.

Just think about this - if you never get the right result, is it not possible that you have been having a wrong strategy?

8.

So, what's your subject of discussion on your BBM, WhatsApps or the TehTarik geng this week?

...probably you've bagged enough to pay the bills for the whole table...or maybe not because perhaps the end stae of your strategy is just to look important and "hebat" to the rest in that kedai kopi...aye?

9.
Nay?
....wanna try strategy realignment? :o)



*posted from Evernote...since Blogspot dashboard page is kinda unreliable nowadays....mengong!

From Evernote:

2012.01.

Am not sure what am I gonna write. So many stuff to do and I have not used my pen for ages.

After being in Kuala Terenganu for a number of weeks I am not sure if I can cope with the hectic life in KL anymore. However busy I am here in Kuala Terengganu, I still can find time to have a good rest and time to cycle for fun and health. If the kids are here I am sure they would love it too.

So now here I am away from the family....missing them but I am earning good money for them.

2012.01.25.

I am going to board the 9am bus from Kajang to Kuala Terengganu in about 3 hours from this sentence is done. Let's just post this one up into the blog and see how it would look like...writing on Evernote and posting on Blogspot. :o)

BlogIt

Lost count of the days I have not met my family. They're busy schooling. Mama is busy working. I don't know if they're really missing me but I really miss them.

A Cuppa Coffee....

....so, there's a story that goes like this:

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor.
Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite. He told the group to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups......

And then you began eyeing each other's cups. Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of the Life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee.

...coffee, anyone?

:o)

...bullet the blue sky

1.

For the third night in a row I failed miserably to sleep when the hours should be dedicated to do as such. Unfortunate? Perhaps....but not entirely. The past couple of weeks have been painted colorful with miles of traveling across the Titiwangsa, the backbone which divides the country nicely into the west and east sides. Of course, it's a business matter (read: gathering moolahs while enjoying freedom of life), entirely. The project is a spearhead for more to come, insyaAllah....tiring but really enjoying it. The only wish I have in my heart to to have my kids and wife with me but that's something that I have to put up with, for the next couple of months I'd probably be living off my backpacks (so to say...but the real deal is I get to rent houses fully furnished and all in the assignments, fom time to time perhaps a 4x4 when it really necessary too).

2.

Kuala Terengganu. Always a nice place...since my childhood days. The difference on my part now is that I can converse in the dialect quite confidently and it makes it much easier to be accepted by the locals...friendly mostly and all generally living a life sporting the theme of a relaxed and easy setting. Definitely unlike KL. I will be here until february 2012 and then move on to the southern part of the peninsular, not to the ultimate south-most tip though... a couple of hundreds miles before it...more likely.

3.

Almost three years living off my DSLR equipments and I am yet to claim I have achieved what I wanted to achieve. Reason being, the set target would require me being away for 1/3 of the year on a continent I have never been to...so, the progress is not really happing anytime soon, definitely..but as I have mentioned time and again - it will happen.

The years after the corporate life, has been a mix of achievements, failures and a hoard of emotions - some, traumatic...but here I am continuing the journey and happy to be out here (read: not trapped in a fabric box with KPIs to enslave me)....and the journey is far from over. So, I'll just continue enjoying it as I progress onwards, insyaAllah.

4.

The last couple of nights, I spent my time on the FS bicycle. Crossing the bridge of Terengganu river was refreshing. The first time was way back in 1992 when I did Peninsular Malaysia-Southern Thai tour....almost 20 years back!!! BY-GEORGE! 20 years already???!!! I can still cycle...Alhamdulillah....last ride couple of nights ago was about 50KM. Alhamdulillah. This ugly fat boy is tough as he used to be, mister!

5.

As I wrote this, I am eagerly waiting for my kids & beautiful wife to arrive tomorrow afternoon. Been weeks since I last kissed them. How I wish I could be there to help my wife with all the house chores and have meals with the family....

6.

I was angry with some groupie last night, some postings that was inappropriate and I asked politely to be removed, which they did but "the package" includes blocking me from entering their page. So be it. Some people are just too amateur and too focused on grabbing money and wealth that they forgot the whole purpose of having a life...IS TO LIVE IT!

At certain age, it is just too obvious when people is just busy barking about being rich...and failed to answer the most important question - what's next after that bag of cash???

Anyway, I consider the case is closed. Faces & names - marked, so, beware of me, in the future.

7.

I just enjoy being with people that have a clear goal in life...and understands well that a bag of money is just a part of the bigger deal...not the ultimate end...and my present team, is sharing the same view. What else can I say? Alhamdulillah!

8.

...so, do you have that bag of cash like many wanna-be-rich are chasing for?

No I don't....and I just don't care tuppence....it's not my ambition, not even in my life's "to-do/ to-have" list...simply because I have bigger deal - A LIFE TO LIVE...my own life with my family and the buddies that matters.

9.

Yaay! :o)

10.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALIYA IRDINA KHAIRIL...AYAH SAYANG NEENA!!!

11.11.11....so?? Pfft...

1.

Too many FB status and promotions about 11.11.11.

Yet another marketing fad...and people just love it...same like 1.1.2001, 2.2.2002, 3.3.2003, 4.4.2004....well you get the idea....if the dates/ numbers are nice, it must be expensive and some would pay anything for it.

Smart.

Not really.

...afterall, Rm1 is still Rm1....only you cannot buy much with it nowadays....

2.

It was quite a shock (NOT REALLY!! Hahaa!) for me this morning when I receive the news about MACC raids on PETR0N45.

Corruption. What else is new?

One of the reasons why I packed my bags and left that luxury workstation & pay cheque....I might not be as rich as many of us but I held to my words and ethics, never regretted my move.

...but the story about corruption, misuse of position, asking/ getting "gifts" from vendors etc, is nothing new at all. To a certain extent it has become a normality...I guess. It comes with the post one is holding....and some really really took advantage of the situation - both vendors and employees.

It's good to know some real "cleaning-up" activities are happening...hopefully one day there will be no more abuse of power and positions....in whatever forms.

3.

Anyway, as far as I am concerned, the only numbers that I am focusing now would be - 38 and 90.

Size 38 waist.....and body weight of 90KG.

So far, I can fit into size 40 and weight is at 114.5KG, from 116.5 last week Alhamdulillah.

<--FROM THIS (2009)|TO THIS (2011-->

4.

Keep on moving Torque!!! :o)

Slim...mer

1.

When it comes to diet products, slimming tea, gym packages and the likes, my standard response would be simple - shut-up and get lost!
Simply because I have tried a bunch of those and it only focuses on one thing - the dealers to bag in the moolahs and "pretend at their very sincere best" that they are really helping you to achieve what you want.

- dirt riding with my good ol' rig, circa 2009
on the way to Steroid Hill, FRIM, KL.

In all cases, all that I wanted was to trim down my tummy and feel more energetic. In most cases, I managed to trim down a bit but once I stopped - due to the expensive product and more other "extras" being introduced just to make more sales - I'd be back on the same scale before I started, or maybe a higher reading on the scale.
Thus why - shut-up and get lost!!
2.
I always believe in the natural way of losing weight. Thus why I started cycling again in 2009 and managed to trim down my tummy - though not very much. All that matters for me is I get to enjoy doing what I love to do - cycling - and I feel much healthier and energetic.
The matter of fact is, some "cyclists" get sucked into the "gear & gadgets" thing - same like people who "think" they are into photography - and I became more and more bored to join any groups because most of the time the talk during break between trails would be - GEARS & GADGETS. I came to cycle and enjoy the nature, the companionship of fellow cyclists and end up listening to people talking or boasting about GEARS & GADGETS - either theirs or soon-to-be-theirs...money is not a problem, boasting rights is all that matters.....credit card is king (IDIOTS!)...I am just lucky none of them are my close buddies, just buddies of buddies who happens to join some particular rides or what.

So, yeah I shed a couple of millimeters off my tummy on my FSDH bike and I get to ride the same trails - one in particular would be Steroid Hill which many younger cyclists talked about - that I used to do alone in my younger days back when cycling on a full-suspension bike with helmet and back-pack is considered weird by many. (Heck I even had to book with Joo Ngan for a proper sized Cratoni helmet back then!!!)
Anyway, I could not cycle every weekend/ everyday - the daily schedule and the stuff I have to do for living, would be part of the failure for me to ride on every weekends. Not blaming anything nor anybody nor am I making excuses, I am merely telling my story and telling the facts.
So, I am back to the same reading on the scale, if not more, by the days.

2.

....but this is me now!!!! Ahh c'mon, be sincerely kind to me...I do look good!!!
Well, not until last 2-3weeks, I finally managed to trim down about 10KGs FOR REAL and I can already fit into some attires that was bought/ given to me some years back with wrong size printed on them - XXL printed as the size but actual fitting is L!!!
Fcuk, I am not wearing anything that can show off my nipples!!! Nipple showing cuts are for stupid faggots!! Now that I have trimmed down a bit, some of the attires fit me nicely, no nipples are injured!!

As I mentioned above, I was a skeptic when it comes to this kinda things.

I am still a skeptic but I am also an honest person - I will tell my boss he/ she is a stupid idiot smack on his/ her face if he/ she is a stupid idiot and I would not regret doing so! - and now I am honestly telling that this Slim Diet 2 works for me.

Thanx to my wife, who insists to try the New Image Slim Diet 2 products...we started using it about 3 weeks ago, together with disciplined diets...and we achieved our target easily.

I don't know about you all out there but hey, to each his/ her own!!!

3.
I will be off to East Coast for a couple of months on assignment and I am already planning to bring my bike over...so that I can cycle everyday and on weekends whenever my family would be there to visit/ stay.
If the jigsaw starts to fall in the right places, I might even get a Specialized and re-do Steroid Hill as a reward - one of the "have to do list" in my life!!!!
....(gosh now I am talking GEARS & GADGETS too!!!!)

4.
Oh...just for the record:
Buying a camera does not not make you a photographer - you're only a camera owner (Quoted by Che Ahmad Azhar!).
Buying a bicycle does not make you a cyclist - you're only a bicycle owner.
Buying health diets, jumping into any MLM on health diet and all - does not make you a healthy person....you have to show & feel you're healthy to really be one.

Contact me if you wanna know more about the product and the foods I now consume.
You might even wanna join me for a dirt ride one of these days, who knows? :o)

- just an outdated and old carbon-fiber Proton T-Bolt FS

5.
Get a bike, shut-up and just ride it!!! (...and try the New Image Slim Diet 2, why not!)

Merdeka Life at 54...or so to say.

1.
Merdeka.
Happy Birthday Malaysia.

2.
My grandparents - father's side - made his way into Tanah Melayu from Sumatera...and settled down in Parit Lapis Mahang, Batu Pahat.
My grandparents - mum's side - made it all the way from Southern Thai and settled down in Kampung Tonjos, Pekan Jabi, Segamat.
Johor is the state where most of my family lives in, so Johorian we are....but I was born in Melaka due to the better hospital services available in the 1970's....frankly I am not sure whether I can claim that I am a Johorian because I didn't spend much of my life there!
...but I tend to try to "understand" Sarawak so much more ever since my teenage days, though I must admit Sarawak seems like a foreign entity too far away when I was a kid. Even the whole family seems to mark it as quite an alien state, to be honest.
I spent my teenage years in Perak, only back in Segamat for school breaks. Then I stayed in Kuala Lumpur campus of my university for the most of the days in my 20's. When I started working, I could spend only weekends or holidays in Johor.
I guess most of my life is actually away from my (supposedly) home state - Johor - thus why I can't really claim I am a Johorian 100%.

...but on this day, I can admit that I do "understand" what it means to be merdeka....at least in my own way...whether I am in Segamat, Johor, or Kuching, Sarawak...merdeka carries the same meaning to me...

3.
In this country, the presence of harmony across the multi-ethnics citizens really matters.
I appreciate the presence of Uncle Goh who'd come and visit my Almarhum Pak Uda when I was very young....especially when Uncle Goh brings some sweet cakes during Chinese New Year...wrapped in pink paper. I would enjoy eating it on the "pangkin" of Almarhum Pak Uda's place, sometimes with him, sometimes with my cousins. Uncle Goh and Almarhum Pak Uda were good buddies.
I had an Indian friend that went on the same bus to kindergarten. The bus towkey was Ah Che - very friendly, fatherly guy....he'd help every single kid on his bus to cross the street on the pick-up/ drop-off spot if the location is on the opposite side of the road. The Indian kid was Ganesan. We shared sweets and whatever we had as we walked back to our kampung house from kindergarten. I never had any quarrel with him. Never.

4.
I have not met Ganesan nor the bus driver Ah Che since I started Standard One....where most of the students were Malays since it was a sekolah kebangsaan. However, I had some good Chinese and Indians friends...Low Yew Hoa, Chan Tiam Fatt, Yai Ban Tat, Chew Nai Sian, Chiew Teck Wee, Eddie Hong, Melvin Liew Kwan Tai, Tai Siew Shen, Patrick Goh, Sivarajah, Vigneswaran...

5.
Then I went to a boarding school in Perak, I had no other friends than the Malays BUT I had my first experience to have friends from every states in Malaysia, including Sabah & Sarawak.
Just to name one in each state:
Johor - Aidi Mohamed.
Melaka - M Amin Yunus.
Negeri Sembilan - Khairul Amin Awang.
Kuala Lumpur - Nahzamri Zainal Abidin - we went to the same boarding school, somehow ended in the same university....and company until I left in 2009!
Selangor - Muhd Azmil Mahayudin.
Perak - Mohd Fahmi Sohot.
Kedah - Ermal Aswardy Abd Rahim.
Penang - Johan Ahmad.
Perlis - Nazran Basirun.
Kelantan - Zailani Zain.
Terengganu - Khairul Emran Chik Aziz Badli.
Pahang - Sheikh Mohd Faridz Sheik Salleh.
Sabah - Awangku Mohd Ridzwan.
Sarawak - Isham Alwaddy Bujang.

....the truth is we all know each other very well - the whole 117 of the first batch and later as we entered form four, the rest of the newcomers....and I started learning the dialects of every state in this country.

5.
...but I still remember my primary school friends, even till today...and thanx to FaceBook we managed to find each other and started to be in touch with each other again.

6.
Recently, there's just too much noise about those who contributed to merdeka, Bukit Kepong heroes (or not), halal and non-halal issues....and with the politicians trying to get a piece of air-time in whatever possible media...things have been quite a havoc...and the mainstream media is not helping much at all. Good thing we have the internet...otherwise with all the news from mainstream media, we'd probably be in quite a mayhem already.

7.
....but for me and my buddies, we're still buddies as we were when we were just kids.
Let the politicians do what they do best - nothing!
We appreciate and respect our differences. We might not all be the citizens of Malaysia (some migrated) but we took our first baby-steps on the soil of this country. Whatever it is, we are what we are and Malaysia is part of our history. We love the country....and would want to be buddies for the rest of our life...and we would love to have our kids to become friends too....and where else could that be beautifully happening but in this country that have been our place since we were kids?

8.
If we still cannot learn live together in harmony, learn to appreciate, accept and tolerate the differences between our religions, cultures and traditions....might as well stop shouting 1Malaysia...well actually it is just Malaysia, as far as me & my buddies see it....because we have always been living together as one.

9.
Anyway, in this world...we do not just have one country to live in....the choice is always there.

10.
To all my childhood buddies - where ever you are - selamat hari Malaysia to you all!
Perhaps we could have a teh tarek and roti canai...one of these days.

So, It is Eidulfitri.

Berziarah dan berkumpul di musim raya sepatutnya menambah pahala dan BUKAN mencipta pelbagai dosa melalui mata & lisanmu. Bukan pula medan menunjuk kemampuan diri, apatah lagi untuk membanding dirimu dengan orang lain, sama ada pada besarnya kenderaan, hebatnya pakaian, meriahnya hiasan, jumlah duit raya & harta. Redhalah dengan apa yang sedang kamu miliki, jangan sesekali merasa diri ‘lebih' atau ‘kurang'. Bebaskan diri dari rantaian kebanggaan & kehinaan kerana pemilikan duniamu. ~Zaharuddin.net

1.
So, It is Eidulfitri.
We celebrated in Segamat. For 4 days. Then off to Melaka for a holiday.
Had a good break from the routine that has taken quite a toll on my life...and the family, I believe.

2.
Probably the most uneventful eid of my life, this year.
Everything I did is not right. Nothing seems to be right for me right now.

3.
Started sending my resume to whatever job title that I think is interesting.....

Ramadhan 2011

1.
Another opportunity to welcome another Ramadhan. Alhamdulillah. The activities would probably be quite the same but with different learnings and experiences, insyaAllah. Honestly, I just want to keep on moving and not bother about anything else but only my set goals and intention.

2.
I am glad the kids are into fasting, yes of course there would be the part where they'd grumble - waking up for sahur, feel the thirst conquering by mid day etc etc - but at least they're starting to learn and understand what it is all about.

3.
Aliya managed to do her first full day on the 4th day of Ramadhan. Alisya has not missed a single day yet and so is Naufal - who's with Tok Mak for some medication matters.

4.
I hope and pray the month of Ramadhan will be a good month for all of us...insya-Allah...just please remember, it is not an "adat", cultural heritage...it is part and parcel of our religion, Islam.

5.
Let's really do our best to fast and behave like true Muslims...not Malays...

Balls and holes and everything in-between.....

Probably most of the golfers out there would beat me up for this but I wrote this out just for the fun of it! :o)

1.
I used to organize corporate golf tournaments/ outings whatchamacallit when I was a corporate citizen. So much to the extend that I created a procedure/ documentation on how to organize a proper tournament for one of the units I was in and I am sure it is still being used to this date. However, no matter how much involvement I had in the organizing part, I never actually fancy golf as a game/ sport. In fact I prefer to either shoot (photograph, that is) the golfers and/ or observe their antics during the tournament/ outing.

2.
I would confidently say, that for many who has organized a golf event/ tournament, it is an "interesting" experience in so many angles. Hectic, yes. Fun, yes...
...well maybe not if things went helter-skelter throughout the whole event and you get "the look" from those in the list...and a first slot in the boss's appointment list the next working day...but, well, c'est la vie! (Read: It comes with your salary and perks!) :o)

3.
Golfers are generally friendly bunch of happy-go-lucky-people, well, at least some of them, naturally. If you get this bunch, you're gonna have a good day at the clubhouse. Otherwise, you might get those who woke up on the wrong side of the bed and rushed to the greens just in time to register before the VVIPs came and would just easily put the blame on everybody around him...except maybe for those Indonesian girls caddies...tsk! tsk! tsk!
Now this group of people may make the day difficult for you...but normally they're gonna turn cool if they get one big box of prize after a good lunch and laughter later that afternoon.

4.
Of course, there will always be those "born to be permanent pricks" present in any event...they insist to be treated as kings (small k, if you don't mind). Wrong color chosen for the gift bags, they'll nag and make a fuss. Wrong size of t'shirt...you're gonna get the best kind of humiliation you'd ever get in your lifetime right there at the registration table...accidentally present within his/her eye-view before tee-off, you'll be yelled at...if you're photographing the event, you're the most convenient subject to blame for bad tee-off, of course....:o)

5.
...and some of the interesting phrases on the greens:
"Kemra kau tu keluar bunyi tak?" (urhmmm...the distance you're yelling at, Sir, I can use a silencer to make it totally quiet but I need a Glock to shoot you with it)

"Heyy kau ada ke amik gmbar aku dgn caddie tadi...delete delete...mampus kalau bini aku nampak..." (urk....no Sir, I follow the contract - shoot what I am being paid to shoot, any on-the-greens-soft-porn is forbidden as far as my work ethics is concerned, Sir...)

"Aku nak gamba tee-off tapi aku nak berlakon je, boleh?" (Of course Tuan, but keep the ball out of sight first, it's gonna look funny if you perfectly do a "cangkul" but the ball is still there..."

"Ehh aku nak gambar dgn adik caddie ni sekali boleh tak?" (Up to you Sir...but your boss will keep all the softcopy...)

....and at the half-way hut, it is good to NOT be there when they are having a break with the Lady Caddies...usually you'll get to hear the "free flow" of "not so bersih jokes"...that may make some of you wanna laugh, vomit and fart at the same time :o)

Note: Ladies, be aware if your hubbies start to spend more time on those golf courses that provides Lady Caddies....you'll be amazed if you see how they behave....bee-hive baybehh!!! :o)

5.
...and to be able to talk strike a small conversation, about the country, the range to that nice looking water hazard...and sometimes about business and some industries that I was deeply involved with, would make some of the Tan Sris, Datuks etc more comfortable before they tee-off...the higher ranks VVIPs are probably more friendly than the boss-machais, in many cases...they would just walk to you and start a conversation...for that, they really deserve the best tee-off shot you can ever compose...

6.
Well, I don't play golf but I love shooting golf events...that's me...
I just wrote everything above because I feel like it....and this is my blog. :o)

39.7 ~ 358

...happy 39th year 7 days Torque.
Another 358 or so to go.

‎...hv not watched Transformers 3 | wanting to get a birthday present for self but not able to do so even after 1 week due | probably the second worst birthday after 2010 | oh well...there's always the 24mm prime and the old D70s...and VAD3R...

it is deep and dark......am I at my nadir...or maybe...c'est la vie...

Framing the moments...in our hearts.

A meaningful shot is not a beautiful photograph

...but it is that beautiful moment in our life that means much more than the time we have unconsciously missed.

1.
Every morning, the family wakes up early to get ready for the day, the week is filled with hours of classes and work. Indeed, it has become a routine and as far as most - if not all - are accustomed to, a routine will end up being something that would just be a plain, flat, boring part of the life. Perhaps.
..but break the routine into moments and we'll find something not quite the same like it is supposed to be - i.e. not a routine.
Between that rush to meet the school assembly time, the office hour clock-in time (for my dear wife) and the evening of doing homework and preparation for the next week day....there ought to be some precious moments that would mean a lot in the later years. There ought to...be it in conversation with the kids/ my wife, or the things that we - the family - see or experience throughout the day.

2.
The imperfection of a person makes them more unique and perfect as their own self....that I have learned to appreciate as age takes over my emotions and enthusiasm.
I see, define, accept everybody/ everything in a different positive ways from what I used to when I was five years younger than today. The time that I have to myself - being free from the office hours tagged to KPI and the likes - allowed me to re-think and re-appreciate everybody/ everything around me in more positive ways than the negatives I used to portray in previous years...and I am glad I have this opportunity...while praying that I'll have the opportunity to do all the other stuff on my lists.

Probably I am living at a slower pace than what I used to as an executive in a big corporation...but what matters most is I continuously learn to really appreciate the moments...of being present...here and now.

3.
It has been quite a while since Mak & Abah been to Kelantan. It's a place where we used to go during school holidays, to enjoy the food, environment and to meet our relatives that still live there and linking the bloodline back to Narathiwat.


Little Zahra having breakfast with us, a few minutes before we board the plane to KB.

Last Saturday, I escorted them for a day trip to visit Uncle Farid who has been in coma for more than 3 weeks. A strong and friendly uncle that I first met when I was a teenager, where I get to know the wonderful kids he has - Tasneem, Firhan & Azra. It has been years since I last met them, including Uncle Farid. The last time was when I came to their place in USJ...and after I had kids, I have not met them at all....but Mak & Abah has been constantly in touch with their family and kept me updated from time to time.
...and time really flies....

4.
Seeing Uncle Farid lying on the CCU bed, is a massive heart-breaking moment.
We all pray for Uncle Farid's recovery...and for Tasneem, Firhan, Azra to have the strength to face this difficult moments.
I am pretty sure that Uncle Farid is proud of his three kids...and definitely he has given all the love he has to all of them all these while...

They are always there on weekends and Firhan has made the CCU ward his "home" since Uncle Farid was admitted...allowing himself some short break to rest and sleep whenever he must...and he will be there for as long as he has to, so would Tasneem and Azra...

...such, is a true definition of love.

5.
As we made our journey back to KL that night, I have only one thing in my mind - when I stepped into my house I am gonna hug and kiss all my kids...and my wife.
No words. I could not express my love in words to them anymore because it is already beyond any words that has ever been uttered in any form of languages that I have mastered.

Mak & Abah enjoying one of their favorite local dish - laksam @ Pasar Siti Khadijah. The excitement was too obvious in their eyes...the first time I was there was with them when I was a kid...and to be there again at the age we are now, is such a blessing.

6.

Moments are easily missed due to our focus on counting the minutes.
Minutes are the fractions needed to make the hour....and the hours turned days, weeks, months, years...those bundles of time would just fly...

...but the moments were there for that just one instant -never will be there again- waiting to be captured, framed, appreciated, not just with our cameras but also our hearts, our minds.

7.
To Tasneem, Firhan and Azra - SALUT.

The day the heart goes silent

1.
I got a call from Mak last night, delivering a sad news. Pakcik Farid (a relative on Almarhum Mak Tua's side which links us back to Pattani) has been in coma for more than a week after an operation. The chance of recovery is said to be very slim.

With Abah's condition getting better, Mak is confident to travel but needs somebody to escort them to Kelantan.

Yeah, though I have two jobs to cover, I made the arrangements and comes Saturday mid-morning I'll be there with them, insyaAllah.

2.
I pray that he'll recover.....and may Allah gives the best for Uncle Farid and the family.

3.
With news of family, relatives, friends, friends of friends who made the journey to the next agenda - some old, some at very young age - I take all of it as a reminder that when the heart goes silent, we'd not be able to say or do anything else but cross the line to the next life.....

4.
Do what matters most to your heart and family, while your heart is still able to talk to you...it may want to convey some messages to your loved ones....always, until it goes silent.

5.
...and unlike the mornings you're having now, you'd wake up in a totally different world by then...

6.
Good morning...I am glad I can still wake up with my family around me today....

...to start a day with a good meal...

1.
I still remember those early younger days when I was an executive of a JV company in Dayabumi, seconded by my scholarship sponsor. Rushing everyday, came to do more works on Saturdays and sometimes Sundays, I was really enjoying it and when I left the corporate world, I visited the office and old staff (based on the PTT already of course) and I felt honored that some of the business guides, templates, procedures, the SAP system design/migration, reporting methods and some others I did....is still being used by them. My heart smiles. However, one thing I really learned from the staff there was this - star the day with a good breakfast!
Yup....it helps, a lot. Regardless whatever you have, as long as your stomach is "happy" you'd probably end up having a very good day compared to starting on an empty stomach but fueled by heavy ambition to continue climbing that ladder.

2.
...and as I made my way throughout the years, I realize it is very very true indeed.


3.
Every morning, my lovely wifey prepares breakfast and packed lunch for the family.
We'd have breakfast together as much as possible. The first meal of the day, may be the last meal for me to be with the family. Who knows? For that reason, I never take things for granted, especially if it is about the family I have because other than them, I have no other.

4.
So, have a good breakfast everyday! :o)