A short reflection...

Well, the year 2005 had been a great year for Me and the rest of the family.. We all had a great time in one way or the others... One of the greatest thing of been a Malaysian is that we all get to celebrate all the major festivals of the world and last week was Christmas, so on the Christmas eve being Saturday we decided to have a family dinner at the restaurant at the local club nearby... The whole family of three generations were there, us the Grandma and Grandpa, our daughter and her husband and their kids and another daughter who is back from Boston... So here we are on Christmas eve having a family dinner at a restaurant all decorated for Christmas, the waiters and waitress were all dress up in Christmas dresses and of course there were Santa as well... What a Christmas without a Santa! As I have said before I am not a member of any club but in this case non member are allowed to dine here...Out daughter and son in law are members so for tonight we get a ten percent cut for been with them...Anyway we decided to foot the bill for this dinner... Unlike the other day it turn out to be a great dinner and we all really enjoy it. And as usual little Adibah, who we call princess, in her pink dress were really enjoying herself at this party of a sorts... She would walk and wonder around the spacious dining area and joyfully run back to the table smiling with that cheerful look...It makes me real happy to see her in such a joyful and delightful manner.....Our grandson, the first boy in the family have grown up to be a fine young boys and take to the cyberspace like duck to the water... He love to tell stories of the books that he has just read and want to do a degree in Computer...Well it is at least his dream now, what it would eventually be I have to just wonder, but never, never underestimate kids today's, they are a new breed of our species that could do anything once they set their mind to it... We use to say that the sky is the limit...To today's kid it is no long true, the sky is their new frontiers in their never ending endeavors in search for a better tomorrow.....These kids nowadays are so different from my generation..In that early age already have visions of what they want to be when they grew up....A forth night ago our eldest granddaughter got 7 A's in her PMR [lower secondary examination] and for the family it is worth a celebration for her excellent achievement......I have always emphasize that education is very important for their future and I think they got the message and at present are doing well indeed in their studies..... We were all really delighted with her achievement in this examination and in a way tonight's dinner is a sort of a celebration for that achievement...I guess that is indeed a great gift to the family for the year 2005 and it is indeed a great way to end the year 2005 with that optimistic note.... Hey! Wait a minutes..The Moslem festival of Eid Adha would be on January 10 whereas The Chinese New Year festival is around the corner as well...This year it fall on January 29, 2006..So here we goes again, another festivals to celebrate....What a life....Have a nice day....

Happy New Year 2006

Well this year come mid night on December 31, 2005, we Malaysian would be celebrating the New Year 2006 with the usual celebration of Fireworks, Live entertainment shows in many night spots in Kuala Lumpur and other major cities of Malaysia...Last year we did not celebrate it because of the Tsunami.....Well the count down has began, Happy New Year to all and may we all have a great life in the year 2006

A sufi thought....

Well.. for today just give a serious thought to this words of wisdom " Trust in God, but tie your camel's leg".....Have a nice day...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2006

Here are some scenes of Christmas decorations at the Suria Shopping Mall at the Petronas Twin Tower. This Christmas tree is five storey high and it stand majestically in the center of the mall's main concourse...I was there a few days ago... My spouse and our daughter were doing the shopping while I whilst the time browsing along and window shop. With plenty of time to wonder in this great shopping mall,I took its easy and explore.....The mall were throng with shoppers of Malaysian and foreigners of all walk of life, seen going about doing their business the way they like it, and enjoying the good life in this country ..As a Malaysian to me the year 2005 had been a great year... The country is getting prosperous and the people continue to have a great life... Let us continue to work toward peace and live in harmony, so that we all may continue to enjoy life....Right from the beginning of the year we start celebrating national festivals of one kind or the other... Starting with The Chinese New Year, then the Dewali for the Hindu, the Eid Mubarak for the Moslem and now come Christmas for the Christian and in a month time Moslem would be celebrating the Eid Adha... What a way to go Malaysian!!!.... We all celebrate its our way...And in shopping we all always find excuses to do just that...Shop! Shop! And shop!...And with the endless of festivals, what better time to do just that...Shopping and enjoying doing it.. May all my Christian friends have a bless Christmas this year and a Happy New year 2006 to all....

High tech...Eh!!

At the Great Eastern mall, I parked the car at the third basement floor. Normally I would park my car at the second basement floor but for today it look like the mall is crowded...So I went down one more floor and parked the car there... And then went to take the lift up to the Lower Basement....There are already another couple with kids waiting for the lift to arrive, it took rather longer then the usual to arrive this time...Usually at this new shopping mall the lift were rather efficient...So we waited patiently...And after a few minutes the lift arrived and the door of the lift open. As usual we wait for the occupants to leave first and then we all went into the lift and press the relevant buttons to our destined floors...As soon as the door of the lift closed an electronic voice greet us saying " We are sorry to keep you all waiting".. It startled me!!,,, for this is the first time that a lift apologized for making us wait...What a way to go!!...That electronic voice did the jobs of a senses of the responsibility of this lift, giving it a human face...Another person in the lift remark that "well..That is high tech"...True in this age of electronics we all can never know what would they think of next!!...For a second I was lost as what to say and was about to reply "Its is alright" to that electronic voice...But I stop short of saying that..That instant reply is only natural to us human when interacting with another of our species but how do we react with an alien of a sorts ?!...The talking lift.. What a way to go and with that live continue to be interesting and as colorful as ever...Have a nice day...

The dinner, the coffee and Me...

I am not a member of any exclusive clubs such as the golf or recreation clubs...The first reason is that it is too expensive to be a member of one and the second reason is that I do not play golf...But I do get to venture inside the clubs from time to time when friend's club members invite us for dinner or lunch....One such club is the Lake club at the lake garden, a club that was set up by the British colonial government for its kind of people and now after independence Malaysian have taken to the management of the clubs and its members are mostly Malaysian now...Well a few days ago a couple invited us to dinner there...So we accepted the invitation and went and hoping to have more of a good time rather than having the actual dinner....Because the invitation was to the club we dress accordingly for the occasion...So out we went to the club...At the club our host say that we should proceed to Sri Hartamas, another township for that dinner... Well we were in a sorts of dilemma actually...First the dress, if it is for the food court at Sri Hartamas, I would just put on a jean and a t_shirt, for that is how I would dress to such places...Anyhow, by some unseen intervention, perhaps from our guidance angels... The host got the message that we all were not really happy and ready to go to Sri Hartamas...They then decided to have the dinner at the Club....With that we sat to finding a restaurant to have dinner...At one restaurant, we had no luck of getting a table despite the numerous requests from our host to the waiter...To me they look rather busy and just could not help to get us a table..Very busy indeed.!!!, I just do not know!!....Anyway it does not matter to me...Our host I sense were not that happy with the situation and then suggest that we have dinner at the Chinese Restaurant there...So we proceed to the Chinese Restaurant and since the place were almost empty we got ourselves a table without fuss...And had the usual dinner of Chinese foods...The service here were OK but I felt it need improvement, anyway I had no complain and set to enjoy the dinner and chat along while we all enjoy the dinner....And then at just past nine thirty, the spouse of the host decided that we should have coffee at the coffee corner of the club...Knowing this charming lady well, I truly believe that she wanted to have coffee and enjoy the evening at a better surrounding...So what better place then the coffee corner of the club!.....I was delighted and happy with her suggestion...And We, the three couples move out of the Restaurant and went to the coffee Conner and ordered coffee and some other drinks....And guess what!!!, we were told that the place is closed for the night and the waiter could only served us plain water, She did just that and then left us in a lurch... What an evening!!!... Actually I was desperate for a cup of coffee, for it has been my ritual to have a cup of steamy hot coffee after lunch or dinner and now I just could not have one... Well what could I do for I am just the guest....I believe all guests behave themselves when such things happen, lest we embarrassed the host... Anyway we sat there. Both the host and us are of the same age group, the other couple are of our children's generation...He is by profession an Accountant but now has gone into farming for reason He only knew and could understand..Personally I am wondering why he chose farming rather then getting a fat pay as an accountant...Well!!..Our species are a peculiar one indeed!.... We always have reasons for doing things and I believe He has his reasons and we all have to respect that...His spouse I found out later works with an IT company and enjoying been a career women..They came with their young daughter, a sweet little girl, cheerful and well behaved throughout the dinner...Well finding the area comfortable to sit and chat...We just took the time to chat and yarns along on subjects that just came to our minds...And while in the midst of yarning, a couple came over and we were introduced...A gentlemen of my age and his charming spouse, the gentlemen, whom I later on found out to be one of my classmate of the class of 1957...Wan Othman is his name and an Engineer by profession and now like me retired...Hey!! What a way of meeting someone who were in the same class, after more than fifty years!!..So the issue of the plain water and coffeeless evening soon became irrelevant now and forgotten.......At this juncture the young couple decided to call the night off. And with that we all continue to yarn along with stories of old times intercept with some recent developments that we both seem to be involved without us as yet rediscover our long lost past....In our chat I found that these couple, a member of the club as well, already got their fair share of disappointment at the club this evening...I guess that in a club that have hundreds of members, things happened from time to time...In a way it is to be expected...Anyway with the dinner settling down and the 'coffee' issue has died down as well...We continue to yarn of old times and exchange notes and as the night goes I began to recollect ..Slowly my memories of him and the past events in our former school[Abdullah School, Kuantan] became clearer. Despite without that coffee and just served with one glass of plain cold water, with the chats became more interesting and colorful we soon forgot about the drink.....With so many interesting stories to tell we soon lost track of times and went on to chat until late night and eventually left the place at after one in the early morning... Had it not for the good chat that I had had with my new found old friend, the evening would have been a dull one....,instead it turn out to be a very enjoyable evening indeed.... Well friends that is life...Some times things happen when you least expect!... And it is these small happening that makes life so colorful....Nothing is perfect in this world and we have to makes 'hays while the sun shines' and enjoy the minutes passes by..For to me living is to be enjoyed...As for clubbing I guess that I am right of not been a club member after all....Have a nice day.

Of Lady and blogs.....

Blogging takes some of my time...I have plenty of it...Time..It is mine now and at my command....So I write blog and read other's...Making the time I spend in cyberspace productive...For those who do not visit cyberspace do not realized that they are missing much, for cyberspace is a new world altogether... Almost everything are there to be use and enjoy...From time to time I found blogs that continue to post interesting and thought provocative view...Others post images that are a wonder by itself. True to the saying that picture tell a thousand stories...So for today I would like to introduce three blogs that I found interesting, provocative, full of knowledge and at time amusing...And in one word as colorful as the personalities themselves...So friends do visit these blogs from three Malaysian ladies, though of the same age group are living in a very different kind of world altogether... A new generation of women that have taken upon themselves to venture into new territories and dare to be difference.. Take this blogger for example...She is obviously a mother and career women who is dynamic as well in her job, then there is this young lady, a diligent one who seem to be enjoying doing new things and it look like she is real good at it...And this blogger who is working in a faraway land and look like having a great time doing her job of helping others..A sorts of a social worker who is trying to make living beautiful as ever......These are the generation of my children...Women were not like them during the period of my Grandma and Mother...Women were at that time were just playing the role of the homemaker and a very submissive wife...They mostly were not been given any other roles...Only as the old saying say 'orang dapur' [roughly translate...Kitchen people]..They are the kitchen's department people!!...?...Those were the days..., it is no more like that in these days and age..The changing role of women start to change during my generation. And today women especially of my children's generation, like the three bloggers I mentioned, are the new breed of Malaysian women that are in the forefront in almost every fields, despite still had to play that important role of a homemaker...Juggling their times with raising kids which are the nation future assets with their career as well....As a person who have been involved in social engineering works before, I am optimistic that the emergence of these new breed of career women in the society would augur well for the future of this country we call Malaysia...It does not matter to me where they are, in the country or overseas, they are in a way contributing to making this world of ours a better place to live and enjoy life...To them all 'Syabas' and carry on with whatever you are doing and I believe that you all are indeed contributing greatly to the society, as well as to those kids that you give guidance now.. True to the saying that " the hand that rock the cradles could also rock the world"....Have a nice day....

Another colorful day....

Well.. I wake up to another beautiful day... It did not rain this morning although it rain last night.. So as usual my other car which is park outside the house is wet again...It is the classic Volvo 122 that is one of its kind in the neighborhood where I live.. Even without the rain, I still had to clean it so that it had that great look of a classic...As usual the ritual start with getting my patio clear and in good looking after the end of the day yesterday...Our patio are in two parts, one is the 'serambi' made of wood and plank and it has that traditional Malay house look and the other part has slate tile floor, together with the fish pond and the small fountain, some banana and bamboo plants,small shrub and ferns, it give these space a sort of a rough and rural look with a difference..The ornamental Banana Plant that I had planted and nurtured had grown well and its gorgeous pink fruits add color and glamour to my patio...When it rain the translucent roof protect the space from getting too wet, but at the same time one could see the rain drops as well as hear the pattering sound of that rain as it drop on the thin translucent roof...I love to be there when it rain...Especially to enjoy that special freshness smell that only comes with the rain....As usual all the greens had to be watered and weeded, so that it do not turn into a jungle...In the tropic if you neglect an area for a while it would turn into a sort of a jungle, so not to allow such things happen, a regular tending had to be done...So today I took to weeding and watering these space outside my patio and while doing that my cell phone beep...I stop doing whatever and accept the call... What a surprise!!, it is a call from an old school friend that I had lost touch....It was great indeed to get in touch again...We talk a while and promise to do more later and perhaps meet....I would write more about this friend of mine later...What a day...It has indeed been an enjoyable day....

The Rain...

Well it is the end of the year again... As usual at these time of the year we get plenty of rain...If you live on the East coast of Peninsular Malaysia, in the states of Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan and Johor, or the West coast of Sarawak and Sabah which faces the South China Sea, than you are subjected to the strong winds of the North East Monsoon....It brings strong rain and wind and the sea would be a dangerous place to be at that time of the year, high waves all throughout the three months from now to the end of January.....I was born and bred on the East Coast, a small town of Kuantan, a coastal township that nestle along the mouth of the Kuantan River....It is indeed a beautiful small town, at that time in the forties it had two streets, one the Main Street and the other the Wall Street [now renamed Mahkota].... Well talking about rain always bring me memories of my childhood on the east coast...The river, the sea, the mountain ranges, the jungle, the mangrove swamp are all sorts of playground to us kids....And of course the rain that comes at the end of the year...It rains cat and dogs and it would keep raining for days and weeks without stopping. Sometime the coconut oil that we use then, would turn semi solid....In the tropic the monsoon would actually cool down the tropical weather, which is normally hot and humid...For us kids at that period of time, it is indeed a welcome period, where we could swim on the swelling drain and ponds, care less about the world around us...Get wet everyday was just normal and playing in the rain were a real wonderful experiences....Drenched and shivering at time does not deter us from playing in the rain,... It was really fun and we kids really enjoy it...What a day in our childhood....Last week we were at our Malacca's home and outside it was raining cats and dogs as well...The beach which is just two hundred meter from our front window were bashed with strong waves on and on and we could hear the bashing that far... And I found out that the same is happening at this moment in time to the weather on the east coast, where a close friend spend half a month there throughout the years.. And in his email today, He say that he is enjoying the rain as well... Well friends that is living, for whatever comes we should continue to enjoy life as usual.... take care.

So what is reality...

......These fruits are not the real things, but was thought so by a group of monkeys that happen to pass by my patio... A few took it and after biting it, found that it is not real, throw it away...I found a few scattered around and then collect the one that are not touched and here it is display once again on my coffee table...What a deceiving images....So what is reality!!...