'Timur' manners

This piece of entry was actually done last friday. But for some unknown reason, I forgot to publish it! But better late than never right?

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Yesterday was a busy day for me. Was in Kajang first thing in the morning to officially file in the papers, then to DBKL, telecom and citibank to pay bills but managed to stop by at coffeebean to fulfill my chocolate cake cravings.

Of all the places that I've been to yesterday, I can honestly say that only at coffeebean that I really get a first-class customer service. When I say first-class, I didn't mean red carpet treatment but the basic customer care where the staff actually smile and greet you warmly when you enter the premises, serve you with confidence and friendliness and later thank you before you leave.

The girl at the Syariah Court counter didn't even smile, let alone greet you with salam or whatsoever. The staff at telecom's information counter were as 'blur' as I was but did smiled eventually. I went there to terminate my old landline but didn't know the procedures or which form to fill. The guys at the counter took a while to understand me as if i was talking in a foreign language and when they finally understood me, they took a while just to find the appropriate form for me. DBKL and citibank...well, nothing to complain but nothing to shout about either.

It was such a coincidence that when I got home I saw a newspaper article saying that the Ministry of art, culture and heritage is going to launch a 5-year campaign to promote good manners particularly in the public sectors. It is beyond my comprehension why on earth do we need to have another campaign by the government for this. Aren't these good values supposedly have been taught and emphasised at schools? If not, what are our teachers doing? And if manners and customer services are such a big problem in the public sectors (which I have to admit, is a problem in some settings), shouldn't the responsibilities of correcting this be taken by the employers themselves? Otherwise, what's the point of having ISO and those standards on 'Piagam Pelanggan','Kualiti'etc? What's the point of making the staff to seat for Induction Course and PTK exams when the standards are only on papers and yet not being practised in the real working environment? Where have we gone wrong?

Something to think about eh?

Friends reunited

Do you have friends that you hardly see anymore but whenever you do meet up, you can just pick up from where you left? As if it was only yesterday that you last met?

I have...and I had the chance to meet up with 6 of them last friday. We talked about serious stuffs such as our economy and properties but mostly we just gossiped and had a good laugh (even at the expense of ourselves). I think we were so loud and merry that we even drowned out the noise made by a bunch of teenagers that sat nearby. And we were there for more than 3 hours!

Some of us are now married with kids, some are still single or 'almost' single (err.. the latter only describes me!), one actually works in London and another in Dubai. So it is really amazing that even now we're leading different lives, that day at Megamall's Secret Recipe, we still turned up as what we were 10 years ago. The only difference was possibly just our ever-gaining weights! :)

To Liza, Nizeq, Eiderq, Nonong, An & Suzie ... good to see you guys again!

Piano lesson

When I was small, there were a few things that I wanted to do when I grow older. They were..

a) Visit Paris and Venice - Yeah, I was and still is a hopeless romantic! I managed to go to both cities during my time in the UK. I love the colourful Venice but Paris disappoint me.
b) Learn how to swim - Yup, I can definitely swim but not that good tho..
c) Learn how to play piano - The urge died out after a few years and I never give it much thought... until now.

I actually did learned how to play the organ when I was about 6 or 7 but I don't think I stayed long enough to even passed the first level. Why? Because I got bored with all the theories that we had to learn first when all I wanted to do was to blast the room with my natural talent :)My dad actually joined me for the lesson and he too got bored after a few sessions and got really annoyed with the 'over-friendly' instructor.

For some reason, I've been having the urge to learn piano again lately. Since the end of the year is near, it is now officially becoming my 2005 resolution. Any recommendations on where to enroll myself to? Ampang area if possible..

Marriage vs age

It's Day-8 of Syawal and for the first time in this raya month that I don't go out of the house. I have an uncle's open house to go to but my whole body is a little sore from basketball session yesterday (after a whole month of inactivity)that I decided to stay put at home for a change.

Anyway, an article in Sunday Times today entitled Go get a life and see the world, girl really interest me. Yup, I am one of those girls who get married at a young age. I was 24 then; got married when I was only about 6 months into my first job in the UK but contrary to her writing, I did not marry because 'it is a done thing'. Even that I am in the process of a divorce now, I have never regretted for a single moment the decision I made back then. I found the man that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with (although that probably won't happen now)so why should I wait? I still managed to secure a great job, get 'to see the world'and do the things that I love to do, so what is so wrong with tying the knot at young age?

I know some may whisper that the early marriage may be the reason for my break-up now but I disagree. It doesn't matter at what age you get married, if the break-up is going to happen, it will happen. People and feelings can change and we have different priorities at different stages of life so even if you get married at 40, who can guarantee that you won't be divorcing by the time you're 50?

The writer wrote:
Do our young understand what it takes to share, respect and show consideration in a relationship?

Do they realise that love and kindness must be demonstrated by both sides?

Do they recognise that their partners are equal and not subordinate or superior to them?

But how can you be so sure that you'd have a better understand of love when you're older? And how old is old enough to get married anyway?
You can't learn about love, trust and respect from textbooks but can only understand their true meanings when you ARE in a relationship and I don't think age has got anything to do with it.

That's my 2-cent worth... Comments and ideas are most welcome!

Hj Hussein's Clan

Not in the pic:
My parents and my little sister - they were still on their way back from Muar.
Some of my cousins - they were either too busy inside the house, too lazy or too shy!
Samad@Sarip@Sazali (hehe..) - In but not seen! Blocked by Uda.
Three photographers including myself: Somebody need to take the photos right? :)
 

10 things about raya in JB...

1. Bought lemang at almost double its usual price (Did we get conned?).
2. Got summoned by a very rude traffic police in the city centre while picking
up my sister’s German friend the night before raya when I was only 0.05%
guilty (I’m telling the truth!).
3. Got really lost on our way home from the city centre that we ended up in
Skudai instead (and somebody finally got to see Angsana!hehe..).
4. Wore my Rooney red t-shirt for raya prayers because it was raining and I
didn’t want to ruin my new raya clothes.
5. Got really annoyed with some ill-mannered Indonesian girls at the mosque
(they were really noisy and didn’t even bother to cover their heads while in
the mosque!)
6. Took quite some time to find a mamak that opened on the first night of raya
for teh tarik. Even worst for some people who looked for a karaoke place
(hehe..).
7. My cousins and I got locked out of the house at 3 in the morning after the
teh tarik session.
8. Had to beg one of them to drive me to a petrol kiosk (at 3am!) because
toilet was desperately needed while we were trying to figure out our way
into the house.
9. I gained 1kg after just a day of ketupat, lemang, rendang and kuah lodeh…
10. At 28, I still received ang pow!

Looking back, it was one of the best raya so far.. Families reunited... good food, good laugh, good experience. Have to admit that I was a bit teary on a few occasions, but they were brief and mild.I did received undivided support and I do feel more confident now compared to the last few weeks (you were right uncle!). But every now and then, emptiness still knocks on my door. Hope it will finally give up on me soon! :)

Eid Mubarak

Today is my last day of blogging before going back to JB for raya. Frankly,I have mixed feelings on going back to the hometown. Happy and excited because I will be spending 4 straight days there instead of the usual rush either to Muar or back to KL. But at the same time, a little anxious wondering how would people react to the news of my new-found status.

Anyway, I would like to wish all of you a blessed and joyous eid-ul-fitr with your loved ones. Drive carefully and take care. See you all again next week.

p/s: The road to work today was so empty that it took me only 10 minutes to reach the hospital. I wished it's like this everyday!

Al - Fatihah

Yasser Arafat 1929 - 2004

Yasser Arafat, who passionately sought a homeland for his Palestinian people, is dead, his dream unfulfilled - NST today.

May his soul rest in peace. Amin.

And when you thought nothing else can go wrong...

the phone died on me on sunday morning. No signs, no warnings.. just suddenly shut down and couldn't be switched on even after a countless number of tries. If this had happened to me a month ago, I would have flipped out but strangely, not now. I just went on as usual and not that bothered by the fact that I've lost all contact numbers, saved messages and some important reminders.

Anyway, my dad was kind enough to lend me one of his mobiles (which was actually mine before!).I've now got a phone with a sim ( I'm still using the same old number in case you're wondering) but very minimal numbers that I can keep in touch with. I managed to recover some from emails yesterday but to those that haven't heard from me, please kindly email me your number unless ofcourse if you don't want to hear from me ever again :)

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I received this masterpiece through forwarded mail this morning. Don't know where it is originally from but I think it is something worth sharing. Enjoy.

THE DAILY MOTIVATOR

This day
+++++++++++++++++++

Today can be about the same as yesterday and the day before.
Or, it can be a new, invigorating, exciting adventure.

You can try to drain as much value as you can from this day.
Or, you can resolve to fill it with new value through your
thoughts and your efforts.

You can complain that this day is just like all the rest,
and struggle to get through it. Or, you can greet this day
with enthusiasm and find positive, enriching possibilities
that you've never seen before.

You can, on this day, be filled with resentment over the
difficulties with which you're burdened. Or, you can choose
to fill your heart with gratitude for the opportunity to
move positively forward, no matter what may stand in your
way.

This day can serve as an excuse to be miserable. Or, it can
serve as an opportunity to fulfill the very best of your
possibilities.

This day is yours right now. Choose to fill it with all the
richness that life has to offer.

News headlines

This is the frontpage of Daily Mirror (UK) yesterday... Bold isn't?



And the former Nigerian Foreign Minister BOLAJI AKINYEMI summed it up quite nicely..
"Americans have voted for a militarised Rambo rather than someone who appeals to their reason"

Anyway, I promised myself this morning to stop feeling sorry for myself and just get on with life.. So, I am now promising you that there'll be no more sad outbursts like yesterday and a few days before.

I'm going for a school berbuka cum reunion tomorrow night. A bit anxious but am looking forward to seeing friends that I've not seen or contacted since the last reunion. I'm not very good at keeping in touch am I?

When will this end?

The first two weeks of ramadhan were quiet for me. I either had iftar at home or at my parents. But the last few days, I break my fast at many different places with many different groups of friends. Good company, good food and had good laughs too. But why do I still feel so empty and sad, and especially dreading the drive back home each night? Why at this very moment do I have tears running down my cheeks? Will these loneliness and sadness ever going to leave me alone?

I was asked today to go to Kajang next week to let them know that I agree with the arrangement. Why do they have to put me through this when I only agreed just because there were no other options given to me? I was also told that it will only take about two weeks (or maybe a bit longer since raya is approaching) before the case is heard in the court and soon, all will be over.

I just wonder now... once it is formalised, will I feel differently compared to today? Will I be happier and fulfilled? Or the emptiness is here to stay?