A Story About A Soulful Pillar

Have you ever experienced days where there are double, triple or more occasions to celebrate in a day? Well, I did. It was my birthday as well as Mother's Day last Sunday.  How cool is that? This does not happen everyday in my life and both occasions coincides one another so, so well.

There is nothing much I want to share about my birthday. Other than meeting up and spending time with the people that I loved, my birthday this time reminds to be more grateful for what I have in life. Another year passed very quickly. I felt like I just celebrated my previous birthday yesterday. I pray for greater things to come to my way, to be happier and full of love. 

I wouldn't be who I am today, where I am today and celebrated my recent birthday without this one special person in my life - my mother or as I fondly call her 'Ibu'. The fact that she is so special it inspired me to come out with my own pen name - Aidashar, which combined some part of my name as well as hers.

Ibu is such a beautiful person, inside and out. I am sure everyone will say the same about their mother but to me, I am saying this not only because she is my mother, but the fact is, she does possess the qualities.

Ibu was an active person when she was in primary and secondary school. She danced, played sports, athletics, you just name it. She's smart but perhaps textbooks were not really her best friend during school days since she was so much into sports and curriculum. To a point which my late grandfather did not approve of her active participation and wanted her focus more on studies. But Ibu was just being herself. Sports is in her blood, so how can you take that away from her?

Ibu did not further her studies to tertiary level when she completed high school, since life was hard back then for her and family. So she opted to work after finishing school. If she continued furthering her studies, I am sure she would be one brilliant student. 

It was when she started working that she met my father, introduced by a mutual friend. Both were not impressed with each other during the first meeting, driven by the ego in them. Standard la, jual mahal kan. But as the saying goes 'if it is meant to be, it will be". Well, let's just say they got hooked in the end and married each other. Dah jodoh kan? I remembered when my dad shared with us a remark by a Chinese aunt in his kampung about how pretty my Ibu was at their wedding 40 years ago."Wahh, manyak cantik wooo! Itu macam ratu cantik punya rupa!" that sweet old aunt claimed in awe. See, told ya. My mum was and still is a beautiful person until today. I bet my dad was extremely pleased with that remark at that time. Sure dia kembang hidung tahap 'honnnsss honnnsss honnsss' masa dengar ayat tu.

Years passed, she gave birth to the four of us and together with my dad, she raised us up till we turned adult. My mum was a working a woman but yet, she fulfilled her responsibility as a mother wonderfully. She cooks, do the chores, cleaning etc. although there was a daily maid to help her out. I don't know how she has the energy to do all that. And I don't know if I can manage like her when I get married and starting to have children. Writing about it does make me feel tired. So can you imagine doing it while juggling with your career, family and passion? You are amazing, Ibu.

I have to admit. When I was young and still in school, I've always wished that Ibu did not work. Ibu would stay at home, greet us when we come back home from school, listen to our daily rants about school and most of all, have fun together. I missed her everyday, although we will see each other after she came back from work. So can you imagine the days where she took leave and stayed at home? I was one happy girl. 

Some children may feel helpless not to have parents to be with them all the time. But I think God gave me and my siblings the strength, maturity and independence to endure our young days without having Ibu at home. We understood that Ibu worked because she wanted the best for us. She wanted to give more for our sake.

To me, Ibu is one calm, patient and relaxed person. I have only seen her angry like, less than five times in my entire life? And when she got angry, it was a scary sight. There was a time when I was young and naughty, I did something not very nice out of immaturity. I was so scared to tell my dad but I knew I could confide in Ibu. I finally confessed to her. She did not get angry. She did not even scold me. But there was a tear flowing down from her left eye when I finished my last words. That was the first time I saw my mum cried because of something I did and it was so heartbreaking. Too heartbreaking that I cried after that and feeling sorry for the rest of my life. 

Instead of leashing her anger at me, she pointed out the right thing that I should have done. From a mother to daughter, she provided me important life lessons in her own steady, elegant way. It remains close to my heart and mind all the time.

Today, Ibu is enjoying her retirement life and happily spends her time at home doing housework, exercising, gardening, cooking an entertaining grandchildren. On the reverse, I am the one now who is working and spending time mostly in the office to catch up with deadlines. 

There are just so many great things to share you, Ibu. Countless. I just want you to know that you are and will always be my life warrior. Why? For your unconditional love and support, no matter what happens. Above all, you are the soulful pillar. Not to me only, but to the whole family which we are thankful for. You filled in the blanks to the meaning of Mother's Day. Above all, the role of a wonderful mother. 

I love you, Ibu. 

The Happiness Project

The title above sounds familiar to you? Well, if you are into books, yeah you should. The book was written by Gretchen Rubin about her one year happiness project and how she did it. I bought that book long time ago and I have read half way through. However, I figured that it's time to stop reading the book (which I have stopped long ago, muahaha!). Sorry Gretchen, no offence. I just think it's best to turn it into action.

So readers, tell me. To be happy, do you just go with the flow or to make it as the only option? Which works best for you?

I was just curious. But the updates in my Facebook news feed aroused my curiosity even more. "100 happy days? What is that all about? Apakah?" I kept wondering to myself every time I saw my friends' updates.

Day after day, with the hashtag #100happydays, #Day1, 2, 3, bla bla and so forth, I began to pick up bit by bit. It seems to me that it is sharing one happy moment (at least) through the social media channel you choose. It could be about the food you eat, the friends you meet etc. In short, every little things that makes you happy counts. Kisahnya.

Nevertheless, I decided to explore more about this 100 happy days and I discovered the website: www.100happydays.com. It turned out to be a challenge, an interesting challenge but at no prize. What a pity! I read through the website on how do I go about with this project and so on, but what intrigued me most is one of the reasons I should do this project as listed on the website:

"Fall in love during the challenge."

Wow. I mean like, seriously? Jatuh cinta? Kalau jatuh tangga aku percaya, but jatuh cinta? Biar betul kan.

I kinda had a wow moment when reading that line but then again, this could be a general statement. Trying to be more realistic, I think (ehem) it is not necessarily you fall in love with another person. We could fall in love with a...place? Food? Flower? Couch? Dress? Handbag? It could just be anything right? *Sedapkan hati diri sendiri*

Oh well. Fall in love or not, I decided to join this 100 happy days challenge and today is my first day! My Day 1:

Spending time with my bestie, Miss Iera, on my birthday eve!

If you wish to see the rest of my photos during the 100 happy days challenge, just type #aidashar on Instragram :)

Join in the fun!

Alive and Kicking

Hello readers, how are you guys? I just want to let you know that I am still alive and kicking despite my silence from blogging for the last 4 months. 

I have no excuses to offer so I just want to say sorry for been quiet too long, despite the promises 'I have lots of things to share' *swallowing the sarcasm hard while pinches self*. Feeling terrible here!

True enough, there are LOTS OF THINGS that I want to share but I just do not know where to start. Well for now, what I can share is that the last 4 months had been an intense period for me, physically and mentally but it is a rewarding one. Life-turning moments, self-healing process, looking life from a different perspective, understanding and recognising life that surrounds me, and most importantly, love and appreciation. That's really a lot to talk about!

I have to admit I was not able to focus on my blog during this period. It aches my heart every time thinking about this blog and not updating it. So today is the day, I shall at least say something right and not keeping quiet. 

To those of you who still visit this blog for updates, gosh I have no idea how to thank you. Thanks for your support and keep it going! Do drop me a message or comment if you wish to discuss about some issues or topics through my article writing. 

Silence does not mean weakness. I have been receiving emails from some 'friendly' strangers approaching for 'transaction opportunities'. Let me assure you, I am not stupid okay? Stop scamming around. If you want to make money, earn it decently. Don't ever think women are too fragile and you can fool easily.

That's all for now. I dare not make any promises now but I will certainly let you guys know when I have new story coming :)

Happy weekend folks!

"I just wanna say, Aidashar is still alive and kicking!"
Image taken from http://www.newyork.com/broadway-show-tickets/forbidden-broadway-alive-and-kicking/

All The Best For Twenty 14!

Dear readers, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy 2014! May it be a glorious and fabulous year for all of us. Hope the wish is not too late. But as we always say, "Better late than never", so I guess it is still acceptable ;)

I have to admit that I have been missing pretty long this time. I was kind of 'handicapped' without my notebook, which I unintentionally left at my home town few weeks ago. Very smart of me. Writing and blogging using smart phone just doesn't work for me at all. Plus, I was away on holiday. So I have to wait for my kind sister to bring it back to KL and hence, this post that I'm writing now celebrates its arrival. Happiness!

I'm supposed to write few posts earlier but the absence of my notebook had delayed it. Do wait for the posts :) I can't wait to write about it too!

Last but not least, have a blast in 2014 ;)

May the force be with us, for 2014 and onwards! (Image taken from: www.wallpapergang.com)

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!