Salam Aidilfitri

Most probably this will be my last posting for now. I mean, because next week is already the week of Raya and I might not be able to blog during the holidays. So, I'd like to take this upportunity to wish my dear readers;

First of all, to my good friend Fajaril (fajaril dot net) who is now working very hard to complete his PhD in Glasgow, Scotland. He is the one who initially inpired me into having my own blog.

Also to Aini (bola2api at blogspot) who anyhow had sparked my interest into doing the very demanding endurance sport - triathlon. Thus, making it as the initial reason to start writing up my blog where I can share my fitness training. Having read her blog on the stuffs she did earlier and now (in fitness and sports activities) made me think that if she can do it, so can I. And if I can do it, so can you guys.

Not to forget, the owner of Maresmart 94/95 (taiping9495 at blogspot), Ihsan Husainy who had indirectly supported me in keeping in touch with the other ex-Maresmart of batch 94/95 for which made my life cheerful by being around with old friends through the blog he established.

Specially to my dearest friends from Maresmart who quite oftenly visited this blog, let it be from Kedah, or from KL & Selangor, from Johor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang and even as far as from Scotland, Ireland, England and the United States.

To my ex-colleagues and friends from previous company where I worked with.

And to my new friends and colleagues from the current company I'm working with now, be it from Semananjung or from the Eastern Malaysia.

Last but not least, to all who have visited this blog.

"SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI, MAAF ZAHIR & BATIN"

Thanks for dropping by. Hope you enjoy it. Please come again.

Yours truly,
EnAikAY

Kuuusss semangat..

"Makcik, lauk apa yang best untuk berbuka malam ni?" aku bertanya kepada makcik tukang masak kat cafe tempat aku kerja ni.

"Oh, malam ni makcik masak spesel gitu. Ada ikan goreng kicap, ada ayam goreng kicap, ada kupang goreng ala-kicap, sup sayur campur udang, bla.. bla.. bla" kata makcik tu dengan sedikit slang kejawaannya. Maklumlah, kat Johor kan ramai dari keturunan jawa.

Secara adatnya, lebih kurang begitulah cerekarama antara aku dengan makcik cafe tu hampir tiap-tiap malam di bulan Ramadhan ni. Bila keje dah banyak macam ni, aku prefer untuk berbuka puasa kat ofis je. Kebetulan cafe masih dibuka sehingga ke waktu berbuka sebab ada ramai staff lain yang buat overtime. Lepas berbuka, aku sambung kerja sikit lagi, then baru chalo balik rumah untuk berudu, eh silap.. beradu laa.

Petang tadi, ada skrip tambahan.

"Makcik, harini saya nak makan lauk ini, lauk itu, lauk itu dan itu dan ini", sambil aku menunjuk-nunjuk lauk apa yang aku nak pehalap harini. "Lepas tu, saya nak air nescafe ais gelas besar satu, pastu air mata kucing sebotol, pastu air soya bean sebotol, dengan air kosong segelas".

Aku dahaga gile harini. Mungkin sebab aku tak terbangun sahur pagi tadi, atau mungkin sebab aku banyak berpeluh dek kerja keras di lapangan (chewah). Maksudnya, aku tak banyak buat keje ofis la harini, aku masuk production floor buat labour work almost the whole day. Well, half the day lah to be slightly honest.

Tiba-tiba, makcik tu cakap yang aku ni dah nampak makin kurus.

"What? Kurus? Aku dah makin kurus? Oh my God!!!"

Cuba korang teka dalam intonasi dan perasaan yang macamanakah bila aku cakap ayat di atas tu?

A) Perasaan terkejut seolah-olah aku baru hilang 15kg dalam sekelip mata
B) Perasaan poyo sambil tersenyum kambing kat makcik cafe tu
C) Perasaan gembira dan tersenyum riang sambil mengusap-usap perut yang kononnya kurus
D) Perasaan lapar dan dahaga gile macam orang tak cukup makan

Kuusss semangat..

Oh Mamak...

Ikuti satu kisah yang berlaku di malam Ahad yang lepas.

Lokasi: Sebuah restoran mamak di area Taman U, Skudai, Johor.
Waktu: Malam laa, kan dah bagitau tadi.

Mamak: Ye bos, duduk duduk. Mau makan apa bos? Minum apa mau?

Me: Apa ada?

Mamak: Semua ada bos, macam-macam ada.

Me: Tayar basikal ada? (haha, aku terbuat lawak bangang)

Mamak: Tayar basikal sudah habis la bos. (eh, dia loyar buruk dengan aku pulak)

Me: Ermm, bagi saya mee goreng mamak unne, roti canai empat segi garing unne, roti bakar unne, dengan teh tarik buih satu inci tinggi unne.

Mamak: Siapppp!!

Dialog ringkas di atas ialah apa yang berlaku malam semalam disebabkan aku nak beralih selera untuk berbuka puasa. Tiba-tiba rasa rindu kat teh tarik dengan roti canai. Sebenarnya nak pekena roti naan tandoori payat, tapi malangnya out of stock. Kecewa sungguh.

Hmm... (Part II)

The most destructive habit = Worry
The greatest Joy = Giving
The greatest loss = Loss of self-respect
The most satisfying work = Helping others
The ugliest personality trait = Selfishness
The most endangered species = Dedicated leaders
Our greatest natural resource = Our youth
The greatest 'shot in the arm' = Encouragement
The greatest problem to overcome = Fear
The most effective sleeping pill = Peace of mind
The most crippling failure disease = Excuses
The most powerful force in life = Love
The most dangerous act = A gossip
The world's most incredible computer = The brain
The worst thing to be without = Hope
The deadliest weapon = The tongue
The two most power-filled words = 'I Can'
The greatest asset = Faith
The most worthless emotion = Self- pity
The most beautiful attire = SMILE!
The most prized possession = Integrity
The most powerful channel of communication = Prayer
The most contagious spirit = Enthusiasm

Life ends; when you stop Dreaming,
Hope ends; when you stop Believing,
Love ends; when you stop Caring

Hmm.. (Part I)

You'll understand this better if you are an accountant.

Our Birth is our Opening Balance!
Our Death is our Closing Balance!

Our Prejudiced Views are our Liabilities
Our Creative Ideas are our Assets

Heart is our Current Asset
Soul is our Fixed Asset

Brain is our Fixed Deposit
Thinking is our Current Account

Achievements are our Capital
Character & Morals are our Stock-in-Trade

Friends are our General Reserves
Values & Behaviour are our Goodwill

Patience is our Interest Earned
Love is our Dividend

Children are our Bonus Issues
Education is Brands Patents
Knowledge is our Investment
Experience is our Premium Account

The Aim is to Tally the Balance Sheet Accurately.
The Goal is to get the Best Presented Accounts Award.

Upset

I'm upset because my US Visa was not approved yet. I'm supposed to attend a conference in the States just after Raya. With very limited time to make my international travel reservation, hotel reservation and other stuffs, not having my Visa approved last Monday has put me into this upset mode. I'm supposed to fly in three weeks time from now, and the Visa may only (or may not) be approved in two or three weeks. Argghh.. tension!

I'm upset because my wife had just miscarrieaged our second child last Monday evening. I don't want to talk much about this as I strongly believe in faith. Allah Maha Mengetahui. Anyhow, that added another point into my upset mode.

I'm upset because yesterday my daughter (in KL) was missing me so much that she cried almost the whole day because I'm not around her. I went back to KL last weekend, stayed over from Friday night through Monday and Tuesday. So, we had a bit longer time to spend together. On any other normal weekends, I only stayed in KL on Saturday and Sunday. But this time I stayed a bit longer due to some emergency. On Tuesday night I had to return to JB for work. So, on Wednesday (yesterday) she was looking for me all over the house (in KL), and when failing to find me, she cried and cried and cried. Hearing her crying "where's my daddy, where's my daddy?" through the phone really broke my heart. I'm so upset.

I'm upset because I think I've made some bad decisions in life.

Time to think of another strategy.

Ya Allah, please give me and my family the strength to overcome this. Amin.

R.S.V.P.

There have been lots of times where I saw in emails or whenever I received invitation cards, the term "R.S.V.P." Though I could roughly guess what it means, I never knew what the abbreviation stands for.

So, with few minutes extra time I have now during today's lunch break, I went on the net looking for the answer.

"Répondez s'il vous plaît"

That is what R.S.V.P. actually stands for - in French of course.

Berbelit lidah aku nak sebut.

What a morning

5:00am
Alarm clock henpon Nokia aku berbunyi, untuk kejut aku bangun sahur la ni. Lepas off alarm tu, aku pejam mata balik. Kononnya nak sambung lagi mimpi indah barang seminit dua, sementara waktu imsak masih agak jauh. Kat Johor ni, imsak pukul 5.30am dan makanan yang aku makan untuk sahur simple je. Within 15minit dah boleh ngap semua sekali.

5:20am
Tengah syok layan mimpi ntah apa-apa, tiba-tiba aku tersedar. Tengok jam dah pukul 5.20am. "Alamak..!!". Terus loncat pegi basuh tangan, gosok gigi versi express-rakyat, then seperti seorang triathlete amatur yang ada target masa untuk finish race, begitu jugak aku pagi tadi. Target untuk habiskan se-tapau nasi + 2 ketul ayam goreng dalam masa 5 minit.

Hasilnya? Alhamdulillah, aku tak tercekik. But, I won't do it again.

6:45am
Biasanya aku akan tido balik lepas sahur dan subuh. Tapi harini rasa agak tak keruan, takleh nak lelap. So, seawal pagi aku dah berambus pegi ofis. Angkut semua beg dan barang-barang yang nak dibawa balik ke KL petang nanti masuk kereta, borak seminit dua dengan jiran sebelah rumah yang juga ex-schoolmate aku sebab kebetulan dia tengah sidai baju, then.. zoom.. pegi keje.

7:00am
Sesampainya kat ofis, aku bukak pintu ofis, pasang laptop, then aku raba poket seluar kanan, kiri, belakang. "Aiseyman, tertinggal wallet la pulaaakk". Adus, camne ni. Nak tak nak, kena gak balik rumah ambik wallet.

Zoom, back to the house.

7:30am
Security guard tengok aku masuk ofis buat kali kedua, muka dia macam berkerut. Entah apa yang dia fikir pun tak tau lah. Mungkin dia agak aku ni mental tak sihat kot di pagi-pagi Jumaat ni asyik keluar masuk ofis. Tak kisahlah.

Baru je nak masuk pintu besar ofis, "Aiseyman, camne boleh terlupa bawak badge pulak ni?" Di zaman sekarang ni, banyak pintu ofis guna access card yang juga merupakan badge pekerja kita tu. Baru aku teringat, aku letak badge kat dalam kereta masa balik ke rumah tadi. Dah jadi lumrah, aku cuma pakai badge masa kat ofis je. Masuk kereta, aku terus letak badge kat dalam glove compartment.

Maka, terpaksa la aku menapak balik ke kereta untuk ambik badge. Sesampainya kat kereta, "Alamaaak.... tayar belakang kereta aku bocor la pulaaakkk..." Punyala besar paku yang melekat kat tayar tu, baru sangat je kena agaknya. Masih berbunyi lagi angin keluar dari tayar, ppsssssss...

"Adusss, macamana nak buat ni? Nak panggil bomba tolong tukar tayar kereta aku ke, atau nak panggil ambulan (bawak aku pegi spital sebab over-stressed)?"

Nak tak nak, aku sendiri jugak yang kena tukar tayar kereta. Tak sampai 10 minit, dengan tangan yang dah hitam legam, peluh yang mula keluar sikit-sikit, selesai tugas menukar tayar. Exercise pagi-pagi.

Masuk balik ke ofis, aku terfikir "What a morning. I wonder how today will end".

I'm back

Three weeks gone very fast just like wind. Now, I'm back in my beloved home country, sitting in my office doing the typical work day in and day out. The only different now is that, I have 1 hour extra to work during lunch break since this is Ramadhan. Mana boleh makan tengahari maa...

Gosh, I sounded sooooooo workaholic.

I was thinking of doing some light running or cycling during this fasting month, but the weather in Johor at this moment is not so convincing with lots of rain pouring almost every evenings and nights.

Sounds like a normal reason given by a lazy-to-train-not-so-athlete-holic like myself, right?

One thing for sure, I'm glad to be home.

Captured nearby Edinburgh castle