The Popo Story

It was a tough decision, to be frank. Although I believed that it would be good for Popo to be neutered, deep down in my heart I am a true believer that we should not change the course of nature as being put by HIM. I had read almost every sources in the internet on the goodness of neutering and how it would benefit Popo, but my heart was still heavy. How could I when I looked at how active and playful Popo was. I was afraid of loosing his true color as a cat.

People kept telling me how neutering would make Popo lazy and sissy and that he would be fat. I was also afraid that neutering would reflect the selfish side of me, even though I knew neutering is not about me, its about him. But when I went to my mom's place and saw how terrible Aroyo looked, with scratches and all (it was mating season) I knew there n then that Popo must proceed with the neutering.

It was the first time I had to leave him alone at the Vet's place.I took the opportunity of going to Langkawi by leaving him with the Vet for one night and let him do the small operation the next day. I was sad to leave him in the cage next to that big dog, but I had no choice. Popo was never caged in my house.

When I came back from Langkawi to take him, I went straight away to the Vet's place and saw him sitting in the corner of the cage, very weak and stressful. He recognized my voice and with much difficulty tried to walk to the familiar voice. My heart was melting and I carried him to my chest. Popo hang on to me as if hes afraid I would leave him again.

I took him home. He was weak and quiet alrite. But then Popo has always been a non-talkative cat. He limped when he walked and it amused me because he walked like a drunken cat. I watched over him closely and noticed that hes a bit dirty. But I couldnt bathe him yet as I have to wait for the stitches to heal. He was limping but happy to be home.

Although Popo is a house cat, I still let him out of the house regularly. Even before the neutering, he would be let out roaming the neighborhood for a few hours and sometimes to my annoyance, when I had to go out looking for him. As Popo was still considered a kitten (going to its teen), he didnt have that much tendency to fight even though I did notice that some other cats were eyeing him mischievously.

After the neutering I still opened the door for him to go out. But that one night, when he didnt come back after more than one hour I had to go out and started calling for him (as if he could answer back). I was beginning to get worried when I suddenly saw him in the compound of an abandoned house.

Boleh dia buat 'bodo' tercegat kat situ yang aku ni dok lah panggil

It was so annoying when he just stood there ignoring my call that I had to climb the fence and get him. And it was only the fourth day after the operation.

Popo tolong pijak nak tutup beg

Helping me with the packing when I had (again) to be away.

It has been more than a month after the neutering and Popo has not changed that much. He is still a playful and adorable pet who likes to play hide n seek with me. The same old Popo who would jump on my feet after I come out of the bath, the one who still loves to play with his toys. He still goes out of the house occasionally but now I dont have to go out calling out his name on the street anymore. He would just sit under my car looking at the ongoing everyday life of the neighbours. And when I go to work, I would leave the window curtains open so that Popo could sit on the TV and watch the outside scene.



Oh yeah.. Popo can be 'kepoh' at times when he hears noises from the neighbour, he'd jump straight to the window and peeped at the neighbour, to my embarassment !

Oh ya, its also true when they say your cat would be more loving after neuter. Popo is I must say. And I'm still in denial when people tell me that he's fat

"I'm no fat cat. Its the camera !!!"

Sometimes the other feral cats would try to pick him for a fight or two, but Popo would run back into the house.

"Yeah you can call him sissy you gangster cats, but Popo is healthier and happier than you guys".

Anak "Melayu" Baru

Pelajar Nora bertukar nota di dalam kelas waktu peperiksaan. Nora yang sedang meronda (Nora meronda.. rhyme nya) saat itu terus merampas nota tersebut memikirkan betapa mereka ini berani cuba meniru waktu peperiksaan.

Namun apabila nota yang disisip dibuka, seperti mahu mengalir air mata Nora apabila nota berbunyi:

" Wehh malam ni jom pi rempit. Aku ada stunt baru nak tunjuk kat hang. Jom pukul 8 mlm ni Ok"


Aku juga tumpang menangis

Kenapa Mak Pengsan

"Kak Ann, Along beli kasut kat adik. Kasut Converse warna merah !!! "

"Hah.. ya ka....."

"Ya ! Kak Ann mailah tengok. Kak Ann mai tau sat gi. Adik nak tunjuk kat Kak Ann!"

"Hmm... tengok dulu"


I was very disturbed when told by Adik that her Along had bought her Converse shoe, the sneakers I had been promising Adik to buy. Actually, its been me all this while who likes the sneakers. And Adik, being 'my gang', would always want to look like me. I had even bought her a pair of sneaker of different brand before. We couldnt find Converse at her size at that time.. well its more like it was out of my budget (since I was buying other two pairs for Iman and Izz).

And so I had been telling the girls that whoever can get up to Number 5 in their class exam, would be getting the original Converse sneakers.

But when Adik told me that Along had already bought her the sneakers, I was really down. I wanted it so badly to be the one who buys her the sneakers some day. I had made known to almost everybody that I would be buying it. And so when Adik told me that Along had bought it, I even had this evil thought that perhaps Along was envious of my relationship with Adik and that she did that to spite me. I was upset and angry. I felt like I didnt want to talk with Along anymore. It was of course so immature and childish of me. Adik is after all Along's little sister. Why in the world should anything stop her from buying anything for her sister ?

I knew I had to go and see the sneakers because Adik had been pestering me to. No matter how much it was going to hurt me, I knew I had to swallow everything and be happy for her.

When I reached their house Adik was having a bath and Along was at the door greeting me. I looked at her and felt the sadness and anger at the same time. I didnt feel like talking to her but the angel inside of me kept telling me how immature that would be. So best as I could, I smiled and pretended nothing happened went in greeting my Uncle and Aunt and all.

I was on the way for something else when I stopped by at their house. I told the family I couldnt be long.

"Adik.. Kak Ann nak ajak Adik keluar nih.. jomla teman Kak Ann sat"


"Kak Ann. nak tengok kasut Adik dak..??"


"Ya lahh... mana kasut Adik tu..? Kak Ann siap bawa kamera nih nak amik gambar Adik dengan Converse baru tu..."


I went outside while waiting for Adik to come out with the sneakers.


"Kak Ann .... tengok ni kasut Adik....."





Adik came out with the Red Converse Sneakers KEYCHAIN hanging on her jeans pocket.


*mak pengsan*

Challenging At 3Os

"Are you sure you want this ?"

Nodding

"Its for three years and above"

Nodding

The Justification:

"... but its fun... you have to use a little bit of ur brain u know ..
its not even easy"


__________________

That was not a conversation with my little cousins.
Its my conversation with cK.
I was the one "Nodding"

How could I resist the Challenger at RM15 when the original was RM56-00

PoPo Pulun

Ahhh finally I get to eat something different. No Kibbles for dinner .. Yeahhhhh !!!

** Mak Mertua lalu pun tak nampak nih....

Incest

cK told me the reason the Malays will never progress is because most of us are sort of retarded because most of us were born out of "incest".

"Yes, its true you know, because most Malay wives call their husbands "Abang" which is "Big Brother" .. so their children are their "Son/Daughter" and "Nieces/Nephews" as well "



I think he must have been stressed out these days ....................... I'm really worried !

I Gym

Ok. Its time I hit the gym again. Had a talk wih Liza last night, and she went on and on and on about the last time I trained under her ... she accused me of cheating my diet !! Oh how could she ! How could she said something like that !

(Like she didnt know where all the muscles were supposed to shine)

And I told her , this time I want to look like this :-

I Believe I Can Blog

I am not going to write about something that should be personal to me.

Hmm...... but blogging is all about being personal, a place you call your own when your friends dont have time to listen to you, when 'Marie Claire' wont publish your comments, or when 'Mingguan Wanita' has published the same story as yours, when 'New Straits Time' only can afford to entertain people like Amir Muhammad and 'The Star' with its Huzir Sulaiman.

Oh well we bloggers believe that all of us can write, that theres some special talent inside of us to be able to tell stories .. at least ours.

The belief inside each and everyone of us that we can write, I feel, is like those who came to sing in front of Simon, Paula and Randy, believing they all have the voice for it.........

Uni Days Those Days

If you wear to much of a make-up or that your dressing is too much glittery, colorful and extravaganza, you'd loose the look of intellectuals.

I had just finished with my laundry when I bumped into a friend, dressed to a kill. It was Saturday and I had no class that day.

"Oh hi Yati, Wow you look nice today ! Any wedding function you're attending today..?"

"Ehh Kak Ann, *giggles* no lah ! I'm going to class"

-------------------------------------------------------------

I dont know what the students wear these days to class. But I remember quite clearly during my days when most of the female students dressed like they were going for some functions.


I vote for "Less Is More" for student days .......

Different

There we were on the bus from our campus to town. We were both sitting next to each other, not saying a word, enjoying the bumpy ride of the IIU Gombak route which was still under construction, when suddenly she turned to me and said :-

"You know Ann, I think you d even marry a black African man someday... just so to be different, because you 'crave' to be one"

"Huh ?"

Promised Land

Everyone of us is marching towards this
We may walk hand in hand and yet individually
To some promised ‘land’ we carry all our evil and good deeds
Wishing we could be immortal and stay in this world forever
But the fact remains; we will be neither ……

Reminiscence

My drawer needs more frames
For all the hundreds of photos I've taken
I wonder if they would ever be enough
To fit the reminiscences of my trip down memory lane


-Haku-
Feb 2007

Silver Lining

Every cloud has a silver lining

Waking Up To Popo

He must be overjoyed to find me on the bed this morning, that I didnt have to leave him for work.

The background music and sound were courtesy of my neighbour

This Is What I ve Been Waiting For

... *sigh* ...

iPhone


and it will only reach Asia in the year 2008

*double sigh*

the first on of my Must-Have list

Happy New Year Popo

Popo my cat
likes to sleep on my lap
Everymorning he'd jump on my bed
Licking my fingers asking to be fed

Oh Popo deary
I am still sleepy
But you make me feel guilty
by just staring at me .....

Ma's Salamah Saddam - Good Bye Saddam

Nora and I were surfing last nite when we came to know about Saddam's execution. At first, we both did not really know how to describe our feelings. Reading about Saddam's last moment, I could say, theres a tinge of sadness actually, not that we really like him but I supposed its because Saddam for whatever he had done to Iraqis, had actually stood up against America and I think we ought to give him some credits for that. The sadness Nora and I felt must be due to the fact that Saddam was a Muslim and that he had been handed over by the America, with all their plots and plans to eliminate him, to be executed. Nora said that may be if he had been killed by any other Muslims, we wouldnt be feeling this way; sad, disturbed, uncomfortable, wary. I dont think theres really any relieved or satisfaction in those feelings because we re not Iraqis who had been under Saddam's tyranny.

And I guess, there is sadness somewhere in every Muslims because being Muslims, theres still a bonding feeling somewhere among us especially when it comes to matters involving Muslims vs Non-Muslims, even in Saddam's case.

To Neuter Or Not To Neuter

That is the question.

Popo is becoming more and more active as the day goes by although hes still a quiet boy. He loves to play with his toys and sometimes when I'm not playing with him, he would be jumping here and there as if hes playing with an imaginary friend. I'm a bit worried whenever he plays with his 'friend'; he would be jumping in his litter box and suddenly rushed off running to the kitchen, or hide under the table or under my wardrobe as if hes seen a ghost. And his game with me now involves bitting my hand and my toes. I know its a sign of affection and that he just wants to play with me but his bites are still painful nevertheless.

Since hes heading towards puberty, I'm now considering whether to neuter him or not. My personal preference is to neuter him while hes still a kitten. A male cat who has been neutered would be less aggressive and less likely to spray his urine all around the house. Moreover, I am more concern when the time comes he needs to go out and find a girlfriend (during mating season) and I'm sure I wouldnt know how to handle him when hes on heat and starts to scratch and kick the door to go out.

How would my baby boy survive the outside world with all the other street cats who own the neighbourhood. Popo would surely have to fight them to get their girls or else he would have to venture further outside the neighbourhood in search of a mate to fulfill his passion (hmmmm...). My father's cat, Saddam (yes his real name) was having the same problem, he would be roaming the streets and started to fight with other cats almost everyday. Being a Saddam that he was, he would still be coming back home with all the bald patches here and there, wounded, scratched and bled sometimes.

I dont want Popo to go through the same ordeal. .

The reason I was having doubt was because I was afraid that he might loose a bit of his masculinity and that the 'housemates' would be coming back and worse still if they start to befriend him. But well, after some reading from the internet, I think the pros of neutering far outweighs the cons.

I think I'm going to go for it !

Source :

http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/reports/early-neuter.html

http://www.kittenrescue.org/spayneuter.htm

You Love Somebobody Because You Love Him

You dont need to justify the feelings you have for him, nor do you need to justify his love for you. I truly believe in "Love is what you give and not what you expect to receive" and if the person returns your love, oh what a bonus!. If he really loves you, he loves you; period.

But some people find it hard to accept that the person he/she is in love with is returning his/her love. In this world of searching for love it all depends on your luck. It if its meant to be, its meant to, if it its not, then its not. Many of us have experienced the broken heart of love being rejected, and many of us too had in our past found it hard to love the person who was falling head over heels with us. Thats just the way the world works; some guys have all the luck and some guys just have to make do with what they have (and try to feel lucky having them).

And the funny thing about us mortal being is that when the other person really loves you in return, you make it hard on you. You start to have all sorts of crazy ideas about why does this person love you too? And if you re one with emotional baggage with inferiority complex issue who thinks himself as someone not worth of being loved, things can sometimes be very very difficult for both the person and his love object. The other person would have to be the one to work hard on loving him and show that he is truly worth of love.

Sometimes, when the other person loves you, and because you love him too, you will try to eliminate any other unwanted reasons and justifications for that person returning your love. This is where you start to play some little games of questions hoping that person would diminish the assumptions you create. Like when cK called me and I knew its beacuse he missed me; but women being women you want the man to profess his feelings; to say them in words (Men are From Mars; Women From Venus - John Gray) . So I started to ask him why was he calling me ... and I further added my own answer that he called me because it has become his routine. Little did I know that it hurt him because to him, he called me for the obvious reasons; he loves me, he misses me and he just wants to hear my voice. And my reason for the false accusation was because I wanted him to say that in words, and not just let me play with my own assumptions even though I have known the fact.

It has been more than 7 years now, but I still wonder what is it about me that he loves me, may be its because by chance since we re in the same district, maybe he hasnt met the other beautiful girl, may be I'm just his alternative until the right girl comes along for him. I still can picture myself seeing cK looking at me with love and I just stood there searching for any other person in the room, thinking that he might be making a mistake here and finally pointing the finger at myself "Who...Me..???"

And even if cK questions about my love, I think its up to me to prove my love for him; instead of being hurt (yes it can be hurtful) only time and all my efforts and determinations will be the jury of my true feelings.

I Should Have Stayed Being Silent

Silence is the best answer to many a question

(because)

Tongue is a beast, if it is let loose, it devours.

Imam Ali AS - Nahjul Balaghah

How true and how wise when one chooses to be silent, rather than uttering words that are of no value, worthless, inconsiderate and to some degree hurtful to others.

I should have stayed silent for a very very long time.

A Great Silence overcomes me,

and I wonder why I ever thought
to use language.

Jalaluddin Rumi

p/s: Maaf ..........

Kampung Boy - A Hit in USA

December 14, 2006

MULTIPLE AWARDS AND PRAISE FOR LAT

Malaysian cartoonist Lat is no stranger to awards and recognition — they've been raining down on him for many years, mostly in Southeast Asia...

Here now some award news from the USA, not one, not two, but three marks of distinction have just been bestowed on KAMPUNG BOY!

1.
Kampung Boy has been named an Outstanding International Book for 2007 by the United States Board of Books for Young People and the Children's Book Council. A list of this year's Outstanding International Books will appear in the February issue of School Library Journal, and the books will be promoted by the USBBY and the CBC at meetings and conventions throughout the year.

2.
Kampung Boy has been named to the Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books Blue Ribbon List for 2006--their best books of the year. It will appear in the January edition of the Bulletin.

3.
Kampung Boy has been chosen a Booklist Editor's Choice for 2006.

Source: http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/

Cinta Lelaki : Untuk Adik Lelakiku

Aku percaya cinta itu adalah satu rasa yang dicampak oleh Pencipta untuk mengembirakan hidup kita, dan juga menguji serta ada kalanya memakan dan menyiksa hati kita. Cinta sangat penuh dengan keajaiban. Hatta akal sekalipun tidak dapat menewaskan cinta. Akal seringkalinya kalah kepada cinta. Hanya akal yang beriman yang boleh mengawal cinta yang seringnya bersalut nafsu.

Cinta pertama seorang lelaki seringnya menjadikan mereka seperti betul-betul buta. Cinta pertama seorang lelaki juga bersifat begitu naif dan berseri dengan jujur. Cinta pertama seorang lelaki sering dapat dihidu oleh wanita yang dicinta, dan dengan cinta yang dipegang oleh wanita itu ianya seperti satu senjata yang amat berkuasa . Wanita yang baik akan menggunakan senjata itu dengan penuh bijaksana untuk kebaikan kedua-dua pihak terutama jika dia juga amat mencintai lelaki itu, tetapi malang sekalilah lelaki yang cintanya dipegang oleh wanita yang tidak jujur, berhati hitam yang boleh menghidu bau emas sejauh seribu jarak. Senjata yang dipegang akan digunakan hanya untuk kepentingan dirinya. Namun lelaki yang sedang mengalami cinta pertama tidak akan dapat membezakan antara dua jenis wanita ini.

Lelaki mencintai wanita cinta pertamanya berlandaskan kepada banyak sebab utama, tapi pilihan teratas seringnya jatuh kepada kecantikan luaran wanita tersebut, walau kecantikan itu sangatlah bersifat subjektif. Cinta pertama seorang lelaki tidak berlaku sewaktu umurnya 30 tahun, dan oleh kerana ianya sering berlaku pada umur yang sangat muda, lelaki masih terlalu awal untuk benar-benar mengenal. Wanita hanya dilihat dari sifat lahiriah yang luaran sedang hati budi dan sifat sejati dalaman wanita masih begitu kabur di pandangan mata muda mereka. Cinta yang diberi akan sepenuh hati mengharapkan satu akhiran yang halal yang membahagiakan.

Namun tak semua cinta pertama akan berakhir dengan "mereka hidup bahagia selama-lamanya". Wanita yang tidak menghargai cinta pertama seorang lelaki kadang mengambil kesempatan di atas ke'naif'an lelaki mereka. Jika wanita tersebut belum saja lagi begitu membalas cinta itu sepenuhnya, masih ada keinginan hatinya untuk melihat padang lain yang mungkin lebih hijau pada firasatnya yang lugu itu. Berlaku lah sedikit kecurangan yang kemudiannya akan betul-betul menghancurkan hati lelaki mereka. Ya, lelaki boleh menangis atas kelukaan yang dihadapi saat cinta pertama. Air mata itu lah yang akan seterusnya menjadi dendam kepada wanita-wanita yang akan hadir di kemudian hari di dalam hidup mereka sehinggalah mereka bertemu pula dengan cinta sejati. Hanya cinta sejati yang akan melembutkan hati keras lelaki yang telah dirosakkan oleh cinta pertama mereka.

Sebagai manusia kita sentiasa mengharapkan perjalanan yang penuh dengan bunga-bungaan dan bauan yang harum, namun perjalanan hidup yang sebegitu tidak akan dapat mematangkan kita. Pelayaran hidup yang tidak beralun dan berombak akan membuatkan kita terbuai layu. Jika cinta pertama kamu berjaya, Alahmdulillah, pasti akan ada lagi di dalam perjalanan hidup ini yang akan menanti kamu untuk mengajar kamu sesuatu tentang hidup. Dengan wanita yang bersama kamu sekarang, masih banyak yang akan membuatkan kamu terus belajar mengenali wanita pertama yang kamu cintai itu. Teruslah mencintainya dengan seadanya dia, yang juga seperti kamu masih belajar tentang kamu dan juga hidup ini. Maafkan lah atas ketidasempurnaan dia kerana kamu juga tidak sempurna.

Namun, tak semua lelaki juga akan kekal dengan cinta pertama dan cinta sejati kerana yang aku diberitahu lelaki boleh sahaja akan bertemu cinta sejati kedua, ketiga dan seterusnya ke empat.

I once heard : "Men are born polygamous". But not all men .......... of course.

Adikku, if you belong to the former, hmmmm... I'll blog about that when you come to that point insya Allah ... LOL

Popo

Ok. I may sound like another single-pathetic-woman-with-cats-around-the-house. But I do have a cat now, Popo. The reason being, it is my last resort to calm down the 'housemates' who were roaming my house like kings.

My knowledge about cats is very limited, but one thing I knew for sure was that I wanted a male cat (no I'm not being sexist.. I believe any female felines would be able to scare the housemate just the same). Popo was not a healthy cat when I found him, being a kitten and living with the other ferocious street cats, he must have been bullied. Even some of its whiskers I believed had been cut by some stupid punk kids. It must have been a very tough world for him.

I took him to the vet few times already for the basic vaccins. The first few days when hes with me I was sick and and I must have trasmitted some of my fever to him. As the result he was also sick and had to be taken to the vet again. I was actually worried when he was sick. I couldnt sleep worrying about him.

Hes one happy healthy kitten now who likes to snuggle my feet. I bought him some toys, scratch pad, vitamine paste (it does look like a toothpaste, only its black with tuna falavour) and I must have spoilt him a bit with good food.

Duh.... I dont want to go on and on about Popo. I must admit I talk a lot about him these days....

When I told Nora that cK must have been tired hearing about Popo; Nora said .... in a very low tone voice "Ohh... hes not the only one...."

OK , OK I heard ya !!!!



ps: Oh ya the Kings of the house seem not that bold anymore ........

Popo The Quiet Predator

I finally decided that I should be getting myself a new housemate of my choice to scare away the housemates not of my choosing.

I found him at the wet market in town. He was sitting all by himself and looked so quiet.
He is quiet alright for I hardly hear him 'meowing' except during the ride home in the car.

"What should I call him ?"

"Mat Odongo"

"Ohh come on.. not that kind of name"

"Call him Popo, I used to have a cat by that name when I was small"

Best Friend

You are responsible for your own happiness.

"Happiness is about how you choose to view the world
not about how the world can accomodate you"

-cikgu Nora-
Old Town
Alor Star-10 Nov 2006

My good friend Cikgu Nora. We can spend our time together until the wee hours of the night, just talking, discussing, debating, chatting and all the activities that stimulate our minds and the topic could be just about anything under the sun. My best friend after cK.

Queen Ann

"Oh my Queen,
how hv u been,
ure lost never to be seen,
here i am waitin so keen,
to see ur name again here on my phone screen"

sms from Hadie
07-Dec-2006 /12:51 am

_____________________

Everybody calls me Ann. I grew up with that name which is a bit different from my original name in the birth cert. I never knew how it all started except that according to Tok it was her idea, being the first child and first grandchild, I was treated like a Queen and I guess "Ann" was the closest to my real name .... thus "Queen Ann" must have popped into her mind.

Ananda; The Gold Digger

We were waiting for our 'nasi ayam' at that time for our lunch. when he suddenly said to me, with a serious note, that theres something he wanted to talk about.

"Its something to do with your phone bill. Could you please reduce the calls you ve been making"

"Uh..??"

"Your bill alone has reached RM1,500-00 ....!!"

Gosh....! Dang...! I was thinking like ouchhhh...... how could I have made all those calls up to a whopping RM1,000-00 ... no.. no... RM1,500-00...

"Errr... could I have a look at the bill later.....?"

I was so embarrassed ..... Am taking advantage of him paying the bill ? Have I gone overboard ? My mind was so occupied with the figure wondering how could I have spent that much ..... untill he gave me the bill ....

It was so shocking to see that the thousand of ringgits came from the calls made to me when I was in Cambodia. I was aware that the incoming international call from Malaysia would cost me a bit ... but I didnt realize it could reach a crazy RM1,2xx-00 !!!

Yes most of the calls were made by him, and when I looked at his bill the same days and times he called me cost him only as local calls. One call which cost me RM125-00 cost him only RM2.40.

And the total cost of all the calls I made to him when I was there was RM84-00 and most of the calls didnt even reach a minute. For a few seconds call, they charged me RM9.10 per one call.

Every SMS cost RM1.10 which I think is quite reasonable, but RM9-10 per minute ... to Cambodia ??

"Get your own prepaid card from the place you go next time ........like when you go to KL get your own prepaid card..."

"KL...??????????"

Why I Love To Iron These Days

I was still up and wide awake at about 12 pm that night.Its all because of this new playmate of mine ....

Spanker, this is what I was talking about ......

Phnom Penh

My Next Toy

Call me crazy, but this baby is at the top of my list right now.


Me:
"I'm dying ! Its on sale ! 25% discount !
Its a good buy !!!!!
The 60ltr looks nice !"

cK:
"...and so your wardrobe would only be left with a few of your undies,
since the rest would be shoved into the sack.....?"

Me:
"Ok I'll go for the 55ltr !"
(in the photo)
"But I'll have to find money for the ticket first"

cK:
"Oh I see... so the trip is not tomorrow....???"

" If you buy now, are you going to backpack to Nora's house in Jitra
and then stop by at different mosques every other nights? "

When You Make A Stand

"And do thou be patient, For thy patience is but From Allah; nor grieve over them; And distress not thyself Because of their plots.
For Allah is with those Who restrain themselves
and those who do good""


"Bersabarlah ! Sesugguhnya kami tidak akan mampu bersabar melainkan dengan pertolongan Allah; dan janganlah kamu bersedih kerana mereka dan janganlah dadamu menjadi sempit dengan apa yang mereka tipu dayakan
Sesungguhnya Allah bersama-sama orang yang bertaqwa
dan yang membuat kebaikan"

An Nahl: 127

How soothing the words of Allah are when you really need them .....

It is very hard when you suddenly realize that you ve been pushed to the limit. You re pushed to the wall and there is no other way except for you to retaliate.

People always tend to take us for granted, especially when we were the ones who led them to. We gave them the oppening for them to do to us as they wish. You were the the one who gave them permission to hurt you. And sometimes because you see things from a rose tinted glass, you brushed away any initial intuitions about what they were doing to you, you pushed aside the 'bad thoughts' (as you yourself put) and tried to justify whatever is happening around you. You dig all sorts of excuses to defend them...... but how far can one dig...?

You re hurt and you cried silently as you looked back; you wished they were not true, you wished you could refuse to believe but in tears you slowly admit that you have to swallow the bitter truth.

And when you feel that its time to make a stand, you have to really look into yourself to find all the strenghts that you need during this crucial moment of your life, because its something that you re not used to doing. It takes up all your energy and it exhausts you, but you know you have to hold on to it....

....because if you make any wrong move, you re dead ! They will eat you up .... again .. and again..

Things I Learnt From My Trip

I think I want to finish off with what I had started in the earlier entries about my trip to Cambodia. Instead of telling every small details of the itinerary of the trip I'd rather conclude with what I had learned all through out the journey.


Cambodia Is Like Malaysia 20, 30 years ago

The surroundings, the infrastructure, the people. What amazed us most was the part that the Cambodians have a lot of free times. They would be walking in the parks, sitting near the Mekong River bank. They seem so relaxed which I think is good that they are not so much in a rush like in Kuala Lumpur for example. Malaysians do not go to the park anymore during weekend, they go to the malls.

The poverty level too is very high. Along the road on our way to Siem Reap we could see that many of the areas are without basic facilities like electricity and water. Houses were built next to the river (or canal) and they still use the river as their water source. I saw kids and women having their bath in the river too.


Currency-USD Is Widely Used

It broke my heart to see that a plate of fried rice cost us USD4.50. Arggghhhhhhhhhhh..............! Their currency is in Riel. USD1 is equivalent to 4200Riel and RM1 was about 1,200Riel (at that time-Oct2006). Being a developing country they need the help from the tourist to bring as much USD to the country as possible. Thats why the tourists (except Malaysians) have to pay the airposrt visa when they want to go in (at about USD20) and again when going out (including Malaysians) another USD20. It even stated somewhere at the airport that they need the money to expand their international airport.


Indonesianz Speak Better Intonation of English (Well at least Ijul does)

Its not because I'm so obesessed with Indonesian that I can even say that their intonation is better, well at least better than mine. Ijul speaks with perfect pronounciation of every English words that come out of her mouth. With the right stresses at the right time and its not even a put up accent, its just the way she speaks. I thought its only because of the English language but actually even when she speaks her own language, she would speak with such confident and and with a great deal of strong pronounciation, I mean like the time when I was referring to Ijul about the Indonesian word "timpuk", she didnt get what was I telling her and I kept on saying to her " You know "timpuk", banter ..." and she was like " Ohhhh... TIMPUK ... " with the stress at the "K" sound there. When I pronounced "timpuk" its as if I put a stop at the "k" sounds but Indonesian would even stress at the "K" sound; 'Timpukkkkk" Get it ? And I also discovered that the English people understand Ijul better when she speaks. Hmmm..... I vowed to do something with my English.

I tried to speak like Ijul with cK and he mocked me saying that I sound like a robot !

Ijul Is Tough !

Hahaha.. really, I always consider myself as someone whos quite determined and not afraid of hard work, not the 'manja' type, and independant, I mean like if I want to do something, I would put my mind and body into it and would just shoot off right from the start and nothing rarely stop me. But being with Ijul for about 6 days, I could say that I came around being second (thats because they were only the two of us). "Orang Malaysia tuh tak pernah susah ....". Maybe shes right. We have been blessed with so much wealth and stability, economically and politically that we have become to comfortable and complacent and to certtain extend we have taken some things for granted.

Alhamdulillah is all I could say, but Ijul is afraid what might happen to the Muslims of Malaysia, say in the next 20 years. From what she could see if we dont do anything about our economic and political conditions, we would be swept aside soon ......

Conclusion

Well..... I really want to improve my 'speaking', I think I might join the "Toast Club".

and I want to travel to many other countries..... and I dont mind backpacking ..... to get to see the real people of the country ... not just the tourist places .....

ps: Ijul kalau aku pingin ke negara jauh aku perlu ngumpul uang dari sekarang deh... gimana jadinya plan kita backpack jkt-bali ... Arghhhhhhh...... money money money !!!!!!

Mari Ketawa Dan Menangis Bersama KKDN

Inilah antara senarai buku-buku yang telah diharamkan oleh Kementerian Keselamatan Dalam Negeri bagi tahun 2000-2006.

Ref : KKAWALAN PENERBITAN DAN TEKS AL-QURAN

Antara Senarai Buku-Buku Yang Boleh Kita Ketawa

• Hot!Girl (热辣少女)
• Wanita Seksi (美艳美媚)
• Godaan Seks (春色无边)
• Cinta Haram (禁恋)
• Kak Long (大姐姐)
• Wanita Yang Merayau Sepanjang Malam (夜游女郎)
• Lelaki Yang Bertanggungjawab (大丈夫)
• Si Comel (小亲亲)
• Cinta Liar (豪情)
• Mimpi Pisang (香蕉梦)
• Guru Dara (处女教师)
• Isteri Muda Yang Berlaku Curang (风流少妇)
• Kisah Doktor Yang Tak Siuman (变态医生)
• Dunia Ceria (美妙世界)
• Kisah Tengah Malam (夜倾情)
• Kudumbal Seks Kathaigal (Kisah-Kisah Seks Keluarga)
• Oru Kanniyin Karnapal (Mimpi Seorang Gadis)
• Cinta 100 Ela (Raja Azmi)

Antara Senarai Buku-Buku Yang Boleh Kita Menangis

• Sebahagian Daripada Rawatan Pesakit Menurut Al Quran dan Sunnah (Prof Dr Harun Din dan Dr Amran Kasimin)
• Mengapa Kita Mencintai Keluarga Nabi SAW (Muhammad Kadzim Muhammad Jawad)
• Tokoh-Tokoh Terkemuka Ahlul Bait Nabi Rasulullah SAW Jilid 1-14 (Ali Muhammad Ali)
• Siapa, Mengapa Ahllul-Bayt (Hassan Abdul Qadir)
  

• 40 Hari Khalwat Catatan Harian Seorang Psikologi Dalam Pengasingan Diri Sufistik (Michaela Ozelsel)
• A HISTORY OF GOD (Karen Armstrong)
• Muhammad A Biography Of The Prophet (Karen Armstrong)
• The Battle For God Fundamentalism In Judaism, Christianity And Islam (Karen Armstrong)
• Kundalini For Beginners (Ravindra Kumar)
• Kontroversi Hukum Hudud (Kassim Ahmad)
• Hukum Mengenai Rokok & Mencukur Janggut (Rasul Dahri)
• Tafsir Al Mizan (Mengupas Ayat-Ayat Ruh dan Alam Barzah) (Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Hussien Thabathaba'i)
• Pengakuan Paderai Melayu Kristiankan Beribu-Ribu Orang Melayu (Azizan Ahmad)
• Seri Dasar-Dasar Filsafat Islam Prinsip-Prinsip Islam (Dalam AlQuran) (Dr Bahesty dan Dr Bahonar)
• Amalan Bid'ah Pada Bulan Muharram, Rejab, Syaaban dan Ramadhan (Dr Abdul Ghani Azmi Bin Hj Idris)

Bagaimanakah akan berkembangnya pemikiran rakyat Malaysia
apabila buku-buku bertanda merah seperti di atas diharamkan ?

Maka akan tertutuplah minda,
tidak akan terbuka perdebatan,
semakin sempit pemikiran,
tidak akan ada persetujuan untuk tidak bersetuju (agree to disagree)
makin lemah daya intelek
tiada ada hujah-hujah bertebaran
yang akan memaksa pengkajian dan pemahaman ....

...... dan katak-katak akan terus bertempurung dalam kelompoknya .......

How Could You Do This To Us ?

ps: cK:

"What do you expect from people who banned "Lelaki Komunis Terakhir"? And these people banned the movie when they had not even watched it. It's all because of the word "Komunis Terakhir". Which means if Amir put it "Lelaki Kepala Hotak Hang" they would surely have no problem with it."

Cerita Orang Marah

Kita berhenti sekejap pasal cerita Kemboja. Penat ahhh nak tulis cerita tu.

Baru2 ini saya di Langkawi. Pada masa hendak pulang ketika di Jetty Kuah itu, memang terdapat ramai umat manusia yang mahu balik ke tanah besar setelah bershopping sakan di Langkawi. Alkisahnya suasana sangat panas dan orang begitu ramai dan adalah satu mamat dan keluarga ini yang sedang beratur bersama orang ramai dekat pintu nak keluar ke bot, macam 'departure hall' begitu adanya.

Tiket bot saya menunjukkan bot saya akan berlepas jam 12.30 tgh hari. Waktu saya dan orang ramai di pintu itu, jam di tangan sudah menunjukkan hampir pukul 12.30. Saya cuba-cuba lihat tiket bot orang lain dan saya dapati tiket mereka menunjukkan bot yang berbeza dari tiket saya. Saya mula jadi bimbang dan cuba mencari ruang ke depan orang ramai untuk bertanya makcik guard yang jaga pintu tu, untuk mengetahui adakah saya ini termasuk orang-orang yang dah terlepas bot.

Dalam kekalutan saya itu (sememangnya saya ini jenis gubra juga orangnya) saya telah terlanggar sesuatu. Bila saya toleh ke belakang saya dapati saya telah menjatuhkan secara tidak sengaja beg seorang mamat dan keluarga tadi. Mamat ini adalah seorang bapa, punya dua tiga orang anak separa remaja dan isteri yang kelihatan sangat lembut. Seharusnya saya patut merujuk beliau sebagai 'pakcik' , tapi oleh kerana kecetekan akal padanya yang saya rasakan sangat ketara eloklah beliau diturunkan darjat ke pangkat 'mamat' saja.

Sambil mengangkat beg tersebut saya meminta maaf kepada si empunya beg, tetapi Mamat ini setelah melihat saya menjatuhkan begnya terus menengking ke arah saya dengan menuduh saya sebagai seorang yang tidak punya penglihatan. Dijeritnya kepada saya mempersoalkan penglihatan saya sebagai seorang yang seperti Stevie Wonder. "Buta kah ???!!!!" Saya agak terkejut dengan pertanyaan yang garang seperti itu. Kalau wanita biasa yang lain, mungkin mereka akan merasa malu dan akan tersipu-sipu menyusup keluar dari orang ramai dengan deraian air mata.

Si mamat ini tidak tahu saya wanita garang yang membawa kereta dengan ganas ! Terasa suasana pada waktu itu kilat sambar menyambar ribu taufan seolah melanda Jetty Kuah; saya mengangkat pandangan dan melihat kepadanya dan bertanya tanpa meniggikan suara :

"Kenapa harus marah ...?"

Mamat yang seperti kehilangan dialog terus membuat tuduhan lagi "Buta !!!"

"Eh.. relax lah... !! Saya dah minta maaf ! "

Mamat tercari-cari ayat yang lebih baik lagi "Buta !!"

"Kenapa harus marah dan jerit-jerit. Tak bolehkah bercakap elok-elok? Saya bukan sengaja nak jatuhkan beg tu ""

Mamat menggapai-gapai mencari kata yang tak terjumpa "Buta !!!"

"Ehh... relax lah !!!!"

Tahulah saya tatkala itu bahawa beliau telah kehilangan skrip dan beliau juga tidak tahu dialog apa lagi yang mampu dihasilkannya. Dan saya terus berlalu pergi. Orang ramai pastinya menjadi saksi bahawa yang buta sebenarnya di situ ialah Mamat itu, yang telah berjaya menjatuhkan dirinya di hadapan anak-anak dan isteri dan juga orang ramai.

Moral Cerita

Menengking orang yang telah memohon maaf atas sesuatu perkara yang tidak sekali-kali menjejaskan anda membuatkan seseorang kelihatan lebih kecil dari dirinya yang sebenar.



*** Oh ya ! Mamat itu dan keluarganya mendapat tempat duduk di belakang kerusi saya di atas bot.

Cambodia - Day Two

Morning of Phnom Penh

We woke up early to catch a bus to Siem Reap, the town of Angkor Watt, which is about 6 hours drive from Phnom Penh. The journey should have been less than 6 hours, if only there is a highway. Unfortunately Cambodia is very much under construction.

The bus cost us 7USD, with air cond but no wash room. We had no choice. The seats were a bit uncomfortable as we are both 5"6 and we found it difficult to strech our legs. We got to see a bit of the life of the Cambodians along the road, of which poverty is very much prominent.

Grilled banana.

Cute lady selling fruits.

We stopped by at a restaurant, supposedly for lunch, but of course Ijul and I had to hold back our hunger as they were no available halal food around. We should have bought some bread. And oh ya.. Alhmadulillah Ijul's Sis insisted her to give me the famous Indonesian 'kek lapis' (layered cake)as a take away. That saved us until lunch !

Cambodian Boys After School Hour

Siem Reap

Siem Reap is the happening town in Cambodia. Almost all tourists will flock the town as its the nearest to Angkor Watt. When we stepped down from the bus, we were flunk by the Tuk-Tuk drivers. One recognize me immediately as Malaysian (from my tudung) and spoke to me in Bahasa Malaysia. Sukry apparently had once worked in Malaysia. We didnt want the trouble talking in sign language so we chose Sukry as our official Tuk Tuk driver.

Sukry. Our Superman For the Day

He brought us to an Indian Restaurant as it was the first thing I requested. Our stomachs were making noises already and I knew I had to eat immediately before mine get worse. The street was heavily polluted by dust. Almost everything was under construction new roads, new buildings and all. Thats why a bandanna would come in handy at this time, but I didnt bother to.

The Halal Indian Restaurant is only next to Old Market. Its a bit pricey as, again, all the dishes are in USD. Sukry got his share too, courtesey of the owner (obviously for bringing people to the restaurant) and we were lucky because as Sukry only ate only half of his nasi goreng, we tucked half of his share for our dinner that night. We met one Malaysian family from Johor in the restaurant.

Some of the Tuk-Tuks with their customer at the Ticket Booth

To get into Angkor Watt we had to buy the passes. One day pass costs 20USD and for a three day pass it d cost 40USD. We decided to get a one day pass only as we didnt plan to stay that long in Siem Reap. Sukry suggested that we buy the pass that day itself because the one day pass bought in the evening of that day can be used for that day itself and the next day. He thought we might like to get into Angkor Watt that same evening to see the sunset at the top of one of the temples (there are apparently many temples in that 400km sf area and Angkor Watt is actually one of the famous temple they have inside that huge area).

A bit from the map

We had to do some climbing before we reached the peak of the temple to get the sunset view. We had to first climb the hill and later the stairs. The stairs were steep and narrow.

First the hill. Look at the people

Then the temple steps. Look at the people again

Look at the crowd and Ijul

It must be the weather ; because in our opinion the sunset was not really spectacular that day. Or maybe it's my inability to get a good composition. My bad then !

Our hotel in Siem Reap. 20USD

Look at the bed. You can guess which one is mine.

Cambodia - Day One

I reached KLIA and met Ijul at LCCT, Sepang. That was the first time I met Ijul, face to face. I was a bit anxious as it would be our first time meeting and staying together for 5 nights. We actually had the same thoughts, wondering and hoping that both of us can get along well for the whole of the trip. I was actually worried that she might get to know me 'better' and discover I'm not that 'nice'.LOL

Our flight was scheduled at 3.15pm but the plane coluld only take off at almost 4.20 pm because of the bad weather, it was raining heavily at the airport. The flight took about 2 hours from KL to Phnom Penh.


We were greeted by Hari, Ijul's friend whos working at the Indonesia Embassy in Phnom Penh. He was kind enough to provide us the first night accomodation at Paragon Hotel. The room which comes with Air Cond and warm water costs 35USD.



Our hotel faced the Mekong River. We found out that there were many Cambodians who like to sit along the river bank until the wee hours of the night. We spent the first night walking along the Mekong River and took some photos which included some fried bugs !

I turned into ghost that night

Ijul was tempted to taste the fried bugs but I pulled her back. LOL *kidding*

No, we didnt have the bugs for dinner, instead we went to 'Bali Cafe' an Indonesian Restaurant for some halal food . Its not that far from our hotel. But please bear in mind that USD is widely used in Cambodia, and so our dinner which Ijul insisted was on her, cost about 12USD. Go figure your calculation in RM.

And later that night, we went to a hotel where Hari was waiting for us with his gang. We took Tuk-Tuk from Bali Cafe which was 2USD trip.

(Hari : third from right)

I was so sleepy during the time there and was almost sleeping. The first time Ijul discovered how easy I can fall asleep !

We went back quite late and were grateful to be sent back by Hari's friend, Dana (Shes fourth from left).