Seven Years Of Wonder

Scenario 1:

My sister, Cik Qist and I got into the car. I was about to drive. 

Me: "So Qist, are you ready? ARE YOU READYYY???" I asked as if I was a rock star asking fans if they are ready to see more performance. For my case, if she was ready to go for an adventurous drive, with the hope she would answer "yeahhh!"

Sekali answer aku dapat...

Qist: "Ready for whatttt??" Tu dia, jawapan selamba tanpa rasa bersalah.

"Potong stim betul budak ni," kata aku dalam hati sambil berasa boring. Aunty Tzar gelak sampai tak sudah.

Scenario 2:

It was first day of Hari Raya and my sister, Tzar was with Cik Qist in the living room. Cik Qist was happily running and hopping around.

Aunty Tzar: "Qist, nak raya tak? Jangan lompat-lompat sana-sini. Duduk diam-diam."

Qist:"Ok, ok nak raya!" *terus stop, tapi cepat jer sambung* "But wait, isn't it Hari Raya already?" *bagi statement bijak lepas tu terus melompat balik*

Aunty Tzar terus speechless. Tepuk dahi tak terkata apa dah.


Scenario 3: 

I went to my brother's (Qist's father) house one late afternoon to visit him and family. On the way, I stopped by at a shop and bought something for Qist. Sayang anak buah kan. So beli la ole-ole sikit to surprise her and make her happy.

Me: "Hey Qist, guess what? I brought something for you." I was hoping she would react happily and eager to get the surprise.

Sekali yang aku dapat...

Qist: "Well, I know." Perghh ayat confident.

Me: "What?? How did you know???" Dah start patah hati ni, but still curious nak tau. 

Qist: "It's just a hunch." Penuh relax dia menjawab.

Kau mampu? Budak 7 tahun dengan selamba reply "it's just a hunch". Menangis aku kat situ dengar and terasa bagaikan ada satu rak buku besar kat belakang aku yang mula tumbang dengan buku-bukunya jatuh menghempap diriku sambil mengejek yang surprise aku tak jadi. 

Cik Qist, Cik Qist. Ya, memang kau boleh buat aunty menangis tapi menangis dalam kegembiraan. Melayan keletah mu yang bijak and sentiasa pantas memberi respon. 

While most of my generation (including myself) at the age of seven could be friendly but not the 'muka tebal' type, you are the opposite. You are really confident for a very young lady. Kalau kita dulu-dulu time Raya, tengok uncles or aunties kita keluarkan angpau or duit raya nak bagi kat kita pun kita dah rasa seronok. Berharap jer dalam hati  yang dalam paket tu, duit kaler merah. Or hijau. Biru pun not so bad la, janji dapat. Lepas tu ngada-ngada buat-buat segan dapat duit raya sambil cakap terima kasih, tapi dalam hati teriak "Yahoo! Aku kaya!!".

But Cik Qist? Suka hati jer bagi statement kat Tok Ibu dia: 

"Can I have 50 dollars for duit raya please?" 

Kau mampu? Takde Cik Qist ni nak segan silu bagai, siap demand upfront lagi. Yang best tu, dia dapat pulak tu! Untung, untung Cik Qist ni. Kalau time aku dulu, jangan harap ler. 

Cik Qist just turned seven yesterday. Cik Qist, seven years is really fast. Watching you grow up from baby until you are in school now just made me realised how time flies. 

You are smart, funny, friendly and kind. Keep it up, young lady. You have the potential to become a great personality. 

Here's to a greater life pursuit:

Happy Birthday Cik Qist!! Muahh muahhh!

And here is something for you to reflect in the next 20 years:

I love you Cik Qist.

BERSAMA In Collaborating Art

Doing things together can be beneficial and this is proven true with the BERSAMA Art Exhibition, which was officially launched on 12 December 2013 at Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery (MAG), Sasana Kijang.

BERSAMA or 'together' in English, is an art collaboration between Malaysia and Indonesia that aims to foster stronger relationship between the two countries by illustrating the richness of cultures that inspires and influences the daily lives of the people in the nation.  

The BERSAMA exhibition has actually been on display since October this year but they just officially launched it as there are additional artworks included for public's view. So this means, I have been here twice :D

It was pretty pleasing to see the artworks of our local and Indonesian artists' on display. I dare say this is one of the most satisfying art exhibition and the outcome is not disappointing at all. Malaysian and Indonesian artists certainly have the advantage in terms of richness in culture. That expands the idea and transform it to make it such as 'walla!' outwork. I love most of it.

This exhibition too, is difficult for me to highlight my personal favourites because there are just too many to admire with. There are over 40 artworks in this exhibition by 20 artists (11 Malaysian and 9 Indonesian).

Sharing some of the artworks in the exhibition:

Keluarga Cantik / Tiga Dara by Basoeki Abdullah, an Indonesian artist. 

Penari Jaipong by Basoeki Abdullah. 

There's something about Basoeki's artwork that attracted me. I would never get bored looking at it.  His artworks somehow felt 'alive'. The "Keluarga Cantik / Tiga Dara" (Beautiful Family / Three Ladies) artwork that features the lady in red is said to be the mother of the Central Bank's Governor. She is the late Sharifah Azah Mohammad Alsagoff or fondly known as Azah Aziz, Malaysia's culture expert. According to Indonesian source, the painting was produced when Azah was 26 year-old. However, she only saw this artwork more than 40 years after it was produced. She was above 80 years old at that time. This artwork was discovered at Istana Bogor, one of the presidential palace in Indonesia. 

Basoeki passed away in 1993, leaving his precious artworks behind for appreciation.

Kandang Penyu by Affandi

Petarung Sejati by Affandi. 

Ikan-ikan Dijemur by Affandi

Affandi is also another notable artist from Indonesia. I am usually not very much fond of abstracts but his abstract artworks are amazing and meaningful indeed. I truly appreciate his work. 

Merapi Setelah Meletus by Kartika

Kampung Di Penang by Kartika

Kartika Affandi is certainly one talented artist. Following her father footsteps, Affandi, she puts her very own personal touch in her artworks, which differs her from her father. Very good. She is not under her father's shadow and it is something to be proud of. 

Untitled (Zain) by Ahmad Fuad Osman, a Malaysian artist. Unity without prejudice, even if you are Spongebob. 

Another artwork by Ahmad Fuad Osman - Leap Of Faith. Ok I super like this one because it has emotion sentiment to it. I was just touched and I thought this is one deep, meaningful piece of artwork

Chairil Anwar by Syed Ahmad Jamal, a famous Malaysian artists

Kalamukara Prambanan (top) and Garuda Disanggar Affandi (below) by Siti Zainon Ismail, Malaysian artist.

I had the opportunity to speak to Siti Zainon about her artwork and involvement the art scene. "Did you know that Affandi purposely poured water on my artwork?" Siti Zainon explained to us while pointing to her "Garuda Disanggar Affandi" artwork. "Seriously???" my colleague and I were shocked to hear that. I looked again at her artwork and yes, I could see there were water marks on it. The artworks were the very few of Siti Zainon's early work, which was in 1970. I guess Affandi was probably mocking or challenging Siti Zainon at that time. Somehow, I thought it was actually a good move by him. The water marks added more character to the artwork and I quite like that.

Siti Zainon shared with us that when she was still young and studying arts, she and her mates worked really hard and it was compulsory for them to produce such artworks (as per in the photo above) to pass. They were required to produce about 500 pieces a month and must be of high standard or it would be rejected (in a very mean way, trust me). Gosh, 500 per month? Hands down to you Madam Siti. Kagum sungguh.

Three Heads by Ahmad Zakii Anwar. Ok, I have to admit this had never failed to amaze me. Everytime I look at this photo I will automatically be in awe. Zakii, a Malaysian artist produced this artwork using charcoal. Awesome piece of work. I snapped this during my first visit to this exhibition. Unfortunately, this piece has been removed to give way for other artworks to be on display.

And what do you know? Of course I had to take a picture with the talented artist himself, Zakii Anwar! One of the happiest day in my life. The artworks behind us were by Zakii as well.

A photo with Siti Zainon Ismail and her artworks

Last but not least, with Kartika of Indonesia. What a day :)

The BERSAMA exhibition will run until 5 January 2014. If you are into arts, do drop by and visit the art gallery. You will love it :)

Art With Love - From Paris To KL

Balai Seni Visual Negara (BSVN) or National Visual Arts Gallery has certainly become one of my favourite spots to drop by (although I am not a fan of its no-photo-taking rule in galleries) and my recent visit proved to be worthwhile.

I found out that there were few exhibitions running in BSVN. The ABSURD(C)ITY exhibition is still running, which I have written about it earlier (click here to read). There were another two that I was interested but I want to write more about this particular one for this post - 'Paris to Kuala Lumpur', a solo art exhibition by the artist Ken Yang.

Truthfully, I've never heard of Ken Yang before until I stepped in into BSVN. "Hmm who is that?" I wondered. The royal yellow entrance (His Majesty The King officiated this exhibition) to the gallery signified how 'big' it is. I was still not too sure though what to expect. Without thinking much, I walked in straight away to view his artworks.

Wow. Yes, I had that 'wow' moment when I first set my foot in. You know, the feeling of not over thinking when making decision and being rewarded when you least expect it? That's exactly how I felt. The first thing that came to my mind is "he is so freaking talented!"

Ken Yang is a Paris-based Malaysian artist who travelled to Paris, France 10 years ago, pursuing his passion in arts. Inspired by the Western European arts, specifically the Renaissance style, his far long journey is certainly not a waste. His advanced technique in the 'sfumato' style and wide exposure from European and Parisian culture is well reflected in his artwork collection. He boost it further in his Malaysian artworks with such skill. This artist certainly has an eye for details. His detail work is very, very, very impeccable I must say. I super love detail artworks and Ken Yang exceeded that expectation. He captured the tiny, micro details and illustrate it professionally in his artwork. Looking at his artwork piece is like looking an actual life photo. Cun!

I normally love to highlight my personal favourite artworks but it is just difficult to do that with Ken Yang's artworks. I love most of it. There is none to be disliked.

My hands were super itching to take photos of Ken Yang's artworks but I was like under BSVN's microscope. The personnel kept on watching my movements all the time and it is not comfortable at all. I was not able to take any photos in his gallery :(

Luckily, I was browsing through the net and found out that the artist himself has a Facebook page with the photos of his artworks. Happiness! 

Some photos of the artworks from Ken Yang's official Facebook page:

"Ivory"

"At Night Under The Sakura Tree"

"Winter"

"The Cheater I". The artist was self-portrayed on the right.

"The Cheater II"

The Three Graces (Satu Malaysia)

The artist himself in an exclusive, sort of vintage photo shoot. 

Some portrait artworks on Malaysian royal family:

There are more interesting artworks but the best is to drop by at his art exhibition in BSVN and see it for yourself. The exhibition will run until 31 January 2014. Like myself, I'm sure you will not regret your visit to this exhibition :)

Ken Yang is definitely one of the artists to be watched out for. With his skill and talent, I think he can go far and produce more significant artworks. 

If you are interested to know more about Ken Yang, you can visit http://www.kenyang.info/ or his official Facebook page here.

Jar Full Of Hearts

Dear readers, if you still remember, I conducted a simple survey last month - Do You Believe Love At First Sight? I personally would like to thank to those who participated in the survey. Not that many but still, the responses were precious to me. Thanks so much for taking your time to answer :)

I should have written about this once the survey ended but I was occupied with other commitments. But not to worry, the survey will not go to waste for sure. I indeed intend to write about it, and who doesn't love the subject of love? *dreamy mode*

Phrases like "love is in the air", "love is blind" and "till death do us part" show that how love greatly impact us as human beings. We cannot live without love, as how we cannot live without air. I am not surprised if some may snort upon reading this statement with expression like "How cheesy. I can live without love and I'm independent" or in Malay "Eeeii geli lah baca ayat dia ni, macam poyo jer! Mencik!". Well, ok let me ask you this. Weren't you born from love? *making 'duh!' face*

So when more respondents declared 'Yes' as the answer for the survey question, I was in awe. Wow. Seriously, I envy you guys. You guys must have met the love of your life in a glance with full of love! How amazing.

Not to mock my fellow readers who answered 'Yes' because I truly respect your life choices, but it is just different for me. I personally do not believe in love at first sight. Well, to have crush on someone at first sight is possible but love? 

I believe I had my first crush when I was very, very little (around 5 years old). Very young huh? Yes, I thought the same too but it just happened and it was nothing anyway. I remembered I followed my mum to one of our neighbour's house. While my mum was chatting with our lady neighbour, I noticed her son was sitting on a bench in front of the house, reading a book diligently. He was in high school I guess. With pleasant facial features, proper combed hair, spectacles and a book in his hands, I have no idea why but I was just mesmerised with the whole visual. I couldn't stop staring at him. He probably noticed that I kept staring at him which after a while, he looked at me, had a second pause and gently smiled! Oh that feeling. Can you imagine? My heart melted immediately. I blushed and felt embarrassed after that for my action. I just smiled sheepishly to him in return. 


That was the only memory I had about this person and we have not met after that until about two years ago when I saw him at our neighbourhood. I just looked from far. He didn't notice me and I was very sure he did not remember me at all. It's alright. I was not hurt at all. Well, after not seeing this person for decades, let's just say he looked irrelevant to what I first saw when I was 5. I quietly smiled to myself but deep inside my heart, I was laughing out loud wondering what was I thinking back then??? But hey, in my defence, he looked pretty descent and quite good looking when he was young.

So yes, that is my little crush story. I had relationship which began with crush before, but it didn't last long. We separated and moved on with our lives afterwards. The truth is, I have never experienced love at first sight. I don't know how it feels like. So readers, is it fair for me to say that I do not believe in it because I have not experience it? Or is it because of my unsuccessful experience with crush-to-relationship that made me sort of denying it? In fact, based from this experience, I had actually make a point to really know someone well or be friends with the person first before moving on to the next level of relationship.

To me, the world is like one big jar with billions of heart shapes in it. The heart shapes represent us, the human beings. It comes in various pink-reddish shades and tones. The sweet pink represents normal feeling, either waiting or seeking for love. The hot pink represents the beginning of love with much fondness of the partner. Flaming red represents the feeling of passionately in love. The ultimate feeling of true love.

Nevertheless, in between the billions of vibrant heart shapes, there are also pale pink hearts, which represent sadness or loneliness. The heart shapes broken into two, which mean the heart-broken feeling. Don't be surprised to come across with black hearts too, which represent total hatred or resentment.

It is just one unique jar with various colours of heart shapes. Pretty subjective to describe everything in it. It is intense with different level of emotions.


Although I had made a point to be friends first and etc, I will not lie to myself. There is one tiny part in me feeling curious to know the feeling of falling in love at first sight. Will that ever happen to me?

Maybe it will. Maybe we will get to see another two heart shapes in the jar turning to flaming red from the strike of love at first sight.


Who knows?

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage" - Lao Tzu (Image taken from popchassid.com)

The Lonely Playground

I recently went back to my home town after so long. It felt really good to forget about work for a while and enjoy the moments with loved ones.

"Cik Adik, jom pergi jalan-jalan tengok taman ni, especially dekat playground. Lama giler tak pergi sana," I got my sister to accompany me touring the neighbourhood one late afternoon. I suddenly felt like going to the playground area and wonder what happened to it. I've seen it from far but I've not stepped my foot there for more than 10 years. Nah, at least 15 years. How does it really look like now? I tempted to go for closer look.

My sister had warned me earlier that the playground was no longer like how it used to look like. "So be prepared with the 'new look' Aida," I cautioned myself. 

We drove around the neighbourhood and finally reached the playground. I got out from the car and entered the playground to look closely. Thanks to my sister's early warning, I was less shocked to see the current condition of the playground.

It was absolutely different. Instead of the soft, sandy surface, grasses are wildly outgrowing the whole area. The swings are upside down, broken and unfixed. The colourful paints that used to cheer the whole playground and attract the children to come and play had certainly faded. The used-to-be white, clean slides were just too filthy. In conclusion,  the playground is in an abandoned state, wrecking from day to day. 

Every time I go back home, childhood memories will automatically replay in my mind. Where did I generate most of the memories? It was from this playground.

I would like to believe that my sister and I were the first to 'attack' the playground, and we were accompanied by our late grandmother. Don't get me wrong. My late grandmother didn't play the swing nor the seesaw. Since we were just too young to go on our own, she accompanied and monitored us to make sure we were alright. 

I noticed after that, more and more children from the neighbourhood came out to play at the playground. It was normally behind the fence kind of communication or play outside the house, but with the playground, we had the entire space for us to play. How awesome was that? The playground was like the world to us.

Besides playing the swing, seesaw, slide and others, we utilised the space and equipments to play police and thief and 'kejar-kejar' (it is sort of 'catch me if you can' kind of game). It was pretty adventurous back then. The girls played hopscotch, which was pretty cool and less painful since it was on sandy surface. The bigger boys played soccer since there is a field in front of the playground. I also remembered that we had competition on who can swing the highest, jump out from the swing's seat at the highest peak and land while standing (like a gymnast!). Well, I was one of the naughty kiddos who loved to do that! Thank goodness I can still stand and walk normally until today.

In short, the playground was like the ultimate rendezvous for all of the children in the neighbourhood to meet and play. The playground was at its peak of popularity before mid 1990s. 

Yes, that was extremely long, long time ago. Too long that day by day, lesser children came to the playground. And now, there are no children at all seen playing at the playground since the last few years. 

It used to be full of laughters but now it is just so quiet and lonely. Cats and dogs are the new 'residents' of the playground. I guess everyone has grown up and moved on with their lives. The same goes with me. I moved out from my parents house to further my studies and now I am working in the capital city of the country.

I believe most of my childhood neighbours had also left the neighbourhood to pursue their passion and life commitment. Perhaps there are lesser children in the neighbourhood now. Well, if there are anyway, it would probably not be the same. Nowadays, Ipads, tablets, game consoles etc. have become the 'playground' for most children. The art of playing with mates outside the house seems not to be very attractive any more, sadly. 

I left the playground with my sister. As much as I was dismayed to see how abandoned it was, I, however, felt glad that I got a chance to play, used it and created memorable moments from it to be remembered for the rest of my life.

This used to be my playground. It was 'the' playground and it was a happy one. 

But now, it is nothing more than a lonely playground. The wind that blew the dried leaves away ratified it.

Fabrics Of Society

Last weekend, I made a point to visit Sasana Kijang in Kuala Lumpur right after I came back from the team building session. Inside this elegant, modern architectural and tech-advanced building, it stores the Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery (MAG). This was a much delayed visit as they had started running few art exhibitions since early of the year. Luckily, it is still running until now. Here is a snapshot of the Sasana Kijang building:

Sasana Kijang at dusk. Gorgeous pic! Image taken from: kureen.wordpress.com

Seriously, I would love to elaborate more on Sasana Kijang and the galleries in it, but I will save that for another day. There are quite a number of things that you can do and worth your time coming over. Do wait for that ya in my future post! Tungguuuuuuu...

In this post, I would like to highlight or share more on the 'Pameran Benang-Benang Kehidupan" or Fabrics of Society exhibition in the Art Gallery. The exhibition was inspired from the uniqueness of fabrics and how it impacts every lives across multi cultures in Malaysia. Very interesting! The displayed artworks were produced by talented local artists since the 1960s until present.

It was raining heavily and dark outside when I was browsing through the artworks inside the gallery. Hence, most of the photos looked kinda dark since I had to rely mostly on the lighting inside the gallery. Sorry for that.

Just to share some of my personal favourite artworks:

My favourite artwork among all! A depiction of Puteri Gunung Ledang (the famous princess legend in Malaysia) by Ali Rahamad. Titled as "Puteri Gunong Ledang 12", this is definitely not the typical beautiful princess painting. I just love how different it is than usual, with the creative splatter of colours combination that livens up the feel of the overall artwork.

This is another artwork that fascinates me. One of the artworks that had my longest stare for observation.  Produced by the artist Ismail Zain, this artwork "They Are Singing Hujan Tengahari At Meridian" is certainly unique (hujan tengahari means noon rain). The reason why I stared at it longer was because I was trying to figure what it actually means! Yeah, I mean the lines illustrates the meridian lines and the bluish part is the rain. But what about the songket part?? Hmmm...I wonder. Despite the dissatisfaction for not being able to get the ultimate answer, there's something about this artwork that attracted me a lot nevertheless. I never got bored of it! Oh well, I think I'm gonna settle the answer with "Malaysian element" for the songket part. That adds to the creativity part (as well as curiosity!)

The title of this artwork directly reflects the artwork itself. This is "Nafkah" by Mohd Hoessein Enas. "Nafkah" means living or sustenance and this artwork says it all. A group of fishermen in their customised sarong, started their day very early in the morning to earn living to support their family and life. I was pretty moved by this artwork. The colours, the angle, the emotions, the hard work and effort by the artist to produce this artwork made it felt so real and touched my heart. I just love this.

I love this artwork mainly because that red colour really captured my attention. It served well as the main theme colour as well as the background for this artwork. Produced by the artist Haron Mokhtar, "Benuk I" depicts a group of locals, which are the Bidayuh people in their traditional costumes with the long houses as the background in Sarawak. In the artwork it shows that the Bidayuh people were greeting and welcoming guests to their place.

Ok I was fooled by this artwork! The fact that I was fooled by it made me love it. From far, I was like "Oh this seems like two dressed-up ladies walking with their shopping bags in the middle of autumn in one of the European countries." I got closer and then I realised it was different than what I thought. Titled as "Rubber Tapper" and produced by the artist Hussein, this artwork actually portrays two rubber tapper ladies carrying their full buckets after long, hard day at work. Shopping huh? Autumnnnn??? Very clever! *slaps forehead* Terasa bangang kejap kat dalam galeri. 

Some other artworks in the art exhibition:

Warisan II by Hamdan Hj Lias

Sehelai Batik Sejalur Tenunan by Sabri Mohd Salleh

Pertarungan/ Duel I by Amron Omar

Citrawarna Seorang Gadis Bajau dan Seekor Kuda Padi by Amiruddin Ariffin

Kukur Kelapa by Ismail Mat Hussin

Kampung Life (Baby Cot Series) by Yeong Siak Ling

Bathing Baby by Chuah Thean Teng

Wayang Kulit by Ismail Mat Hussin

Overall, I am satisfied with most of the displayed artworks at the exhibition. I think the exhibition will run until end of this year. So for those of you who are interested, do drop by at the art gallery to see more artworks.

Do wait for my other posts on the other galleries :)

Darkness And A String Of Faith

Hello readers, I realised that it has been awhile since I last wrote on my blog. My apologies, I was really occupied with other tasks that required my full attention. But I have never forgotten about this blog. I miss writing. And I miss communicating to you guys! Rindu giler ok.

Despite being surrounded with tonnes of workload, my office managed to find one good day for a team building session for the whole team. Yes people, team building. Boriiinnggggggg. It was out of KL and at one of the mild forest in Perak. Not that I was very much fond of it, but I participated anyway. "It could be fun perhaps," I tried to convince myself, very hard. My ideal team building would be a great hang out with colleagues for dinner, play some games, great laugh and get to know each other better. Best of all, assign a work project that everyone has to contribute (with no excuse to escape) and let's see how the team members together accomplish the work project. Alas, forest was the main theme for the activities (typical!) and off I went overcoming my deep procrastination of it.

I do not wish to share all activities specifically because I'm sure you guys have an idea what team building activities would normally take place in a such environment. There is only one activity that I would like to share - the 'Night Walk'.

"Ok everyone, gather around and choose a buddy to walk with," the facilitator briefed shortly to all of us. So we looked to the person next to us and were like "hey come, let's walk together". So we happily walked and chatted along the way, thinking it was just a normal night walk with group of people at night after dinner.

The facilitator brought us to a point - the gate to enter to the forest. "Alright now that everyone is here, we are going make a slight change to the plan. You are not going to walk together with your buddy now. You are going to walk alone in the woods. We are going to release one after another, each in between a 5 minutes gap or more," the facilitator briefed further.

We gulped, looking at each other with the expression "Damnit! We were tricked!". It was total darkness, no torch lights or anything provided, except for the string which was attached to trees and stretched out, making it like a route that we need to follow until the end.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you will now walk on your own and your only survival kit is the string. So whatever you do, do not miss the string. Do not let it slip out of your hand. If you do, quickly find it! That string will bring you to the end point of the entire route. So let's begin with the first person," the facilitator instructed.

OMG. We felt like running back to our home and hide ourselves. We waited anxiously for our turn and I was the 11th person in the waiting line.

So, it was finally my turn. I was given the same reminder again before I started my 'journey' in the dark. I then started walking. I was nervous at first but after a while, I could feel the serenity amidst the darkness. The quietness in the woods, echoed with the sounds of crickets added to the tranquillity. I began to enjoy my very own night walk.

That enjoyment somehow got disrupted once in a while when I heard "ehemm ehemm!" in the dark. "Apa pulak tu? Takpe lah, janji tak kacau aku," I calmed myself, comforting myself from the unknown. We were told earlier that the forest used to be the Japanese base camp during the war in Malaya and a number of Japanese army died in there. Thanks for the 'great bedtime' story, Mr Facilitator. I quickly shooed away the thought and continued walking. That is not including the thoughts of encountering 'pets' of the forest like snakes or other creepy creatures. Ok serious tak sanggup nak tulis nama-nama menatang ni.

Nevertheless, at that moment, I became braver. While thanking God for giving this lifetime opportunity, I continuously challenged myself by not giving up easily. I could have just stop in the middle and scream "help! help!" to get out from the woods immediately but no, I walked. I skidded and slid at some point because I could not see anything in the dark, but I got up and continued. "Walking alone in darkness could not be so bad," I thought.

The string. Yes, the string was like oxygen to me. I held tight to it. I was affirmed to not lose it, like how a mother wouldn't lose a sight of her baby. The string was the key to success of the whole journey. Sounds easy to you readers? No, it was not honestly. I hit trees, bushes, branches, name it. There was a time my hair clip got stuck in one of the branches that I had to stop walking and entangled my hair from it. OMG. Dugaan sungguh. And yet, I had to make sure I did not lose the string from my hand while facing these obstacles. 

There was no way for me to put hope in it. I have to put faith instead. There was no other choice. I must have faith that the string will bring me to the final destination. A safe and victorious destination where I will meet everyone again and hear the cheers and laughters of them. "God, please help me. Le me go through this quickly," I prayed inside my heart.

I walked against the darkness with the string on my hand. I began to hear familiar voices. The voices of my colleagues. My heart was pounding with excitement. "Yes! I am almost there!" I whispered happily to myself. I walked with the hope that I would reach quickly but it seemed that the route was even more winding towards the end.

Walk. Faith. Walk. Faith. Walk. Faith. *more nervous*

I finally saw a dim light from far. My heart was filled with joy. I walked fast until the end and was greeted by two trainers and the facilitator. Then, I met my other team mates who reached earlier.

"Yeay, you finally made it!" they cheered upon my arrival. I was beaming with joy. What a journey I thought. I relaxed and reflected the adventurous walk I had. 

Faith brought me to the end of the journey. Faith had led me throughout the way. And faith had actually kept me safe.

Just total darkness and a piece of string made me realised that.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that" - Martin Luther King, Jr. Image taken from: http://www.layoutsparks.com

P/S: There are few days left until the survey 'Do you believe love at first sight?' is officially closed. To those of you have not participated, it would be great if you can click your answer :) To those of you have answered, thank you for participating!

Finding Peace In Kindness

Besides my own writing, I do actually like to visit other people's blog to read their piece of mind or their life experience. I like to read what do these bloggers think of an issue, how do they feel about something, how they react to surprises or what excites them in life. I may not totally agree with their views sometimes, but hey, that makes us unique and special as a human being. Each and everyone of us have our very own thought flows and pool of emotions that match uniquely with our desires, life encounters and destiny.

I came across to this topic 'Random Acts of Kindness' (RAoK) in few blogs that I visited. There are also announcements in radio about it lately. I have heard of it and did it for sure, but reading about it made me stop and really think about it. Have I done enough RAoK lately?

Wikipedia defines RAoK as a selfless act performed by a person or people wishing to either assist or cheer up an individual person or people. It is believed that this phrase was sired by Anne Herbert, an American writer that promoted practice of kindness in general.

Back to my story, after reading about RAoK, I sat back and thought what RAoK had I done on that day? Really readers, it took me a while to figure out.

Before I started my career, RAoK was something that used to be pretty common for me. However, I realised that since I started working, I was just so engrossed with it that I lack of RAoK. I didn't have time to think about it and I didn't have time to do it. All I care was work. Work, work, work and work! Perform and deliver before deadlines.

Nevertheless, after so many years busy with work, I realised that something was amiss. A part of my inner peace was like, gone? As much as I cheer up myself by hanging out with family and friends, listening to music, watching movies and do all the fun things in general, I knew deep down that there was something else that I did not do much and did not truly comfort me.That is RAoK.

I reminisced the times before which I consistently practised RAoK. It doesn't really require money actually. Simple and cheerful greeting, asking how is the person's day, lending ears and shoulders to those who need it are actually considered as RAoK and no money is required to do that.

Upon reading the article and listening to the radio announcements, I decided to instill this RAoK strongly in me because I know for sure it had worked well for me in the past. I want that sense of peacefulness in me again and RAoK is one of the best ways to do it. 

I finally started to embrace it. A colleague of mine recently did a very well-written report and shared it with the team. My normal self would respond "Oh I saw the email, thanks but I'm kinda busy and will read the report later." Well, I decided to change that. I stopped working for a while, had a quick read on the report and responded to him "Thank you for the report and you did a good job :)" 

That colleague instantly replied "Thank you Aida :D". His reply just made me realised that how appreciative he was when someone actually acknowledges his effort. He was very happy, but more importantly, I felt really happy for making this colleague of mine happy that it increases my inner peace by 10 points! Immediately. Did I have to fork out some cash to make this person happy? No. I just spent less than 5 minutes of my time to make that happened. Did I lose anything with that very few minutes I spent? No. Instead, I feel I'm a better person with a bigger heart and have a total peace in my mind and heart. Amazing. Why didn't I continue doing this from last time??? *pinches self*

Since then, I encouraged myself to do more RAoK. I want that old self of mine that I used to be. Instead of looking empty when passing by other people, especially strangers, I acknowledge their presence by smiling to them. Guess what, they smiled back at me! From their original flat, emotionless expression earlier. Now you have two people who are unknown to each other but feel happier and better about themselves. Isn't it great? 

There are plenty of ways to do RAoK and I'm very thankful that I have been given the opportunities to practice RAoK whenever I can and able to do it. I try to make it at least once a day. Alhamdulillah, I had a chance to do it again today. I was driving and while queueing in the lane, there was this family with small children wanted to cross the other side of the road. All other cars passed by and did not give a chance to them to cross over. When it was my turn, I was like "what the heck, it's not like I'm rushing for anything". So I stopped my car and let the whole family walked across the road safely. The father smiled and waved at me signalling 'thank you'. That gesture just made my day. I can feel that I am coming back to the sense of tranquillity that I used to have. 

I remembered there was one time that I was so upset over something happened that my tears couldn't stop flowing. I was in a train at that time and was drowned with my own emotion. But I got a good surprise despite in sadness. There was this very nice lady handed me a tissue to wipe my tears. She did that as if she understood what I was going through. Honestly, I thought that was the best RAoK from a stranger to me. Unforgettable indeed.

I am smiling to myself right now. I guess life is not just about work only. Jangan asyik busy buat kerja jer ok.  Or busy buat-buat tak tau. Toleh-toleh and pandang-pandang la kiri kanan and smile. Tu pun kira buat pahala jugak :)

Let's make our world a greater place to live with RAoK.

"When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace" - The 14th Dalai Lama (1935). Image taken from createavity.com

P/S: Starting from this month, I will run fun polls (I do hope it is fun to you!) to get readers' opinion on issues, trends or just anything.  I am currently running a poll 'Do you believe love at first sight?', which you can find on the left sidebar. This poll will go on for two weeks from now. I truly appreciate if you could spent a few seconds to answer and participate in this poll. It is kinda fun to find out what do most people think of it :) thanks!

In Need Of Bowel Reminder?

Dear readers, I went for car servicing on one weekend. While waiting for my car to be serviced, I walked to the restroom of the service centre. Quite clean and comfortable to use I thought until I saw this notice:

Seriously, toilet memo? I always thought memo is only meant for office and business purposes, but it turns out that toilets too have 'business' of its own. For anonymity purpose, I decided to erase the name, designation and organisation of the particular person who issued the memo. Funny as it is, I however thought that this person had done a good job in ensuring the entire premise is clean, well done!

Now the question is back to us. Why is it that this particular company would have possibly issued such memo to remind us how to use toilet? Don't you think it is sad?

"Ala, ni sure pendatang asing punya kerja ni buat toilet kotor," I'm sure that would first cross our mind when we encounter this kind of issue. We prefer to blame other people instead.

To be fair, I surveyed the whole place to see if they have foreign workers there but I can assure you there was none! The employees are local, as well as the customers. Anyway, I don't expect to see this group of foreigners there since I don't think majority of them own this car. Proton pun belum tentu lagi.

I don't know about you but this bothers me. What's wrong with us? After decades of independence, rapid growth and economic development, the culture and mindset of the majority doesn't seem to parallel with the paradigm shift. Look and read the notice below. I seriously couldn't help laughing every time I enter this particular wash room at a shopping mall.

Apa ke jadahnya. I mean like, really people? Do we need this reminder? Are we so backward that we need to be taught how to sit properly on the toilet bowl?!! *slaps forehead* Not just that, there are also public service announcements in radio stations to remind us "don't forget to flush", "make sure it's clean like how you want it to be when you enter" and etc. Come on! We cannot be this low, right?

We always wish for change. We crave for it and that is good. It serves the whole purpose of living. We cannot remain constant in life by sitting down, wishing and hoping things will change for the better on its own. Segala kebaikan dan kekayaan turun dari langit dengan begitu sahaja. In your dreams la kak jah oii.

So why not, while aiming for bigger changes to take place in life, let's start with smaller ones like be more hygienic and considerate to other people. Change starts with us, even for the smallest thing. It is not an autopilot process and a little effort is no harm. 

Big change can never take place if we can't even manage the simplest things, such as hygiene. My only hope is that I will not see such 'memos' lying around in wash rooms or hear such radio announcements in future.

Pemikiran yang hebat, pekerti yang hebat dan budaya yang hebat mampu menggerakkan getar hati dan jiwa sesiapa sahaja untuk berbuat baik, hatta hamba yang cetek ilmu sekali pun. 

We can do it. And we should start doing it. Like, now?

September & October Discovery

From this month onwards, I will have a monthly post on new discoveries. My very own personal discoveries to be specific :) It may not be new to you, but it could be for me. Sometimes, you may have one thing that you would like to share but you feel it is not necessary to write a single post about it? So yup, this is what it is all about :) 

This is actually my compilation of both September and October discoveries. Let's see from the bottom of the list...*slow drum roll sound*


#7: The Warong Popiah

I discovered this Warong Popiah back in my hometown JB.  It is located in the City Square shopping mall at one of the food courts. What does the popiah or spring roll taste like? Hmm hmm hmm... I didn't buy one and tasted it so I am not too sure. But the warong miniature with the bicycle and umbrella is just too cute to resist! I couldn't move and my heart was like "you must take a photo of this at least!". So there you go! Nice miniature, nice deco, so I am pretty sure it must taste great! Haha guilty as charged :D


#6: Chaiwalla & Co. Tea

This is not just another bubble tea. This is Chaiwalla & Co. tea and you can only find this in JB for now (since the owners are from there). If the word 'gourmet' could be applied for beverage, I think this tea deserves it. Most bubble teas would use Taiwanese tea, but Chaiwalla uses Thai and Vietnamese tea. That makes the difference and it was one pleasure experience. I cannot deny that at first, I was pretty 'disturbed' with the look of my pearl Thai milk tea because it was in bright brown-orange colour. That exactly reminded me of the colour of river covered with mud after heavy rain! However, I overcome my scepticism when I had my first sip of it. I straight away changed my mind! Added with the chewy pearls, the drink was like 'fantastico!' to my taste bud. Sedap, sedap but tak boleh minum selalu. Takut kencing manis babe.


#5: KGB Burger

KGB stands for Killer Gourmet Burger and seriously, they lived up to that name. Confidence = quality. I like! Mahap ler, the photo that I snapped here looked a bit 'kureng' because I had eaten small portion of it. Dah tengah makan baru teringat nak snap kan. But I must say the burgers are awesome! I would come back here again for more. This place is fully crowded, especially during meal time. KGB is located at Telawi, Bangsar (near Devi's Corner).


#4: Wondermama's Beef Nachos

HOMAIGAWD this nachos is like the best that I have ever eaten in life! It tasted like caramelised beef satay on nachos. East meets west, fusion indeed. Sedap dia lebih daripada menjilat jari. I just don't know how to describe it. Mind-blowing is the least I would say.  So far, only Wondermama serves this type of nachos. I would definitely come back over and over for this! Wondermama is located at Bangsar Village (old wing).


#3: Dubu Dubu Bingsu

Honestly, this is one delectable dessert! I fall in love with it! It is like ais kacang meets taufufah with nestum on it. The nestum does psychologically make you think that this dessert is healthy but hey, this is still one sweet dessert. Not too healthy if you really think of it! Haha. Instead of red beans, they use glutinous rice. And the mint leaves is not just any deco. If you mix it with the dessert, it gives a very refreshing and delightful tinge to the whole flavour. You know, it is kinda like when you first put it in your mouth, it makes you feel as if you are walking next to a very good-looking guy with a hot body while holding hands on a beautiful beach *dreamy mode*. You can find this dessert at Dubu Dubu Restaurant in Midvalley and One Utama.


#2: Koko Jelly

I recently received a box of chocolates from a friend and when I opened it, it was Koko Jelly! OMG this is my childhood candy! I have not seen this chocolate candy for so many, many years that I just had to snap this. It was a moment of re-connection with my childhood memories. Jejak kasih la kiranya but memang terharu kejap masa tu. And one notable thing, they have NEVER change the packaging of their candy. It is still the same old design. Epic!

*Loud drum roll sound* And the number one goes to....


#1: Silver Commemorative Coin for 50th Anniversary of Hari Malaysia!

This silver commemorative coin is the winner for this month's entry. It is my very first silver commemorative coin collection and the best part is, it is in colour (the Malaysia flag)! This is the first coloured coin that was ever produced by Bank Negara Malaysia and I am very proud to own one :)

That is all for this time around. Let the hunt begins for the next round :) Do wait for that!