Just Keep TRI-ing

I went for a free medical check up organised by our office in conjunction with the Healthy Heart Campaign today. I thought I was fit and far from the risk of contracting heart disease, but I was wrong. I was categorised in the ''Average" group (there are 2 groups below me). The reasons: 1. I have family history of heart desease (which I cannot do anything about) 2. Smoker 3. Not excercise regularly 4. High cholesterol (WHAT?) So I was told by the medical officer to quit smoking, eat healthy food and walk 30 minutes EVERYDAY. Its a tall order, but I dont have any other choice. I want to be around to provide all necessary support and see my son (and hopefully a couple more children) grows and hopefully become a successful person/s. My dad passed away because of heart disease when I was 10 at a young age of 43. I dont want my children to experience the same.

By: Zachary Andika 9 July 2010 Today was Mama's independence day after spending 44 days hibernating at home during her confinement period when she had me. She can finally goes out and do anything she likes. Papa was so sweet, he took Mama, Mak Tua and I for a day out at Villagio Mall. I heard this place is Mama's favourite place. The place was nice, the sky was so beautiful I thought it's fake or maybe it is. The weather was cool and not furnace hot like the temperature outside. There were so many people. I have never seen so many people in my life before. Mama checking if I was asleep Soon after I felt hungry but Mama was no where to be found. She went inside a shop selling leather goods. Lucky Papa was with me. Papa fed me by a fountain. I loved the sound of the water. It reminds me of life back in Mama's womb. Oh those were the days when I can only hear Mama and Papa, but now I am glad that I can see and feel their touch. Life in the outside world is a lot better tha...

21 /6/2010 Tahun ni Hani terpaksa menyambut ulang tahun kelahirannya sewaktu dalam pantang. Kasihan pulak. Tentu dia teringat tahun lepas birthdaynya disambut sampai 3 kali. Bermula dengan candle light dinner di Sharq Village, hanya kami berdua, diikuti dengan sambutan meriah beramai-ramai yang dikelolakan oleh Dilla dan Diba, dan sambutan oleh kawan-kawan KBT. Jadi tahun ini, untuk menceriakannya, aku merancang secara sulit dengan dilla dan kawan kawan untuk buat surprise pada malam hari lahir hani. Aku dan mama berlakon seolah-olah tak ada apa-apa berlaku, dan seolah-olah kami tidak mengingati hari lahirnya. Sedang Hani khusyuk memilih pemain bola sepak dalam permainan fantasy football di laptopnya, tiba2 kami dikejutkan dengan dentuman party poppers melalui tingkap. Hani terperanjat sehingga laptop yang diribanya jatuh ke lantai. Nasib baik tak bersepai, kalau tak pokai pakcik. Kawan-kawan yang sememangnya sudah berada di luar rumah beramai-ramai masuk melalui pintu utama dengan kek...

I will get to celebrate Father's Day for the first time this year. So last night when I changed Zach's nappy, I asked him, "Zach don't you want to wish your old man a happy Father's Day?" . He was whimpering and I thought maybe he understood me. I was imagining at that time he was trying to say how lucky he was to have a father like me before suddenly he opens fire. He peed straight to me, lucky it did't get into my mouth. That was not the only gift I got. He did not passed motion for the last four days and I was worried. He usually did number two twice a day. He finally did last night. So this morning, I was nealy fainted when I clean him before bath. Like opening a present, you are eager to find what's in the package. His nappy was so full, that every tiny inch of the newborn nappy was filled with the 4 days of excrement accumulated and fermented nicely. The smell was so unbearable I had to run and rub tiger balm to my nose before continue my fatherl...

We already decided to name our baby Widad Arjuna since we found out that we are having a son. I am responsible for the Arjuna part, because I always wanted classic malay names for my children. So I already have Arjuna, Andika and Satria for boys (means warrior) and Cinta, Kasih, Sayang for girls (mean love, affection, fondness). We have been calling the baby Widad through out the pregnancy until the very last minute, when an arab doctor who did the last ultrasound said that we cannot name him Widad. Apparently Widad is for girls. We were a bit frustrated, as we really like the name and its meaning (ambition / emotion) plus Arjuna (white / silvery) really sound like a good name. But we also cannot risk other kinds making fun of him for having a girl's name. So we have to look up the baby names guide books again, but still cannot reach the agreement between us until a day before our baby was born (the day Hani was admitted to the hospital). So what we did was really funny, we vote. W...

25 May 2010 1200 - Hani tiba-tiba call kata yang dia dah ada 'Bloody Show'. Aku pun bergegas lah balik ke rumah, aku cakap kat secretary office aku, Shoba, yang bini nak terberanak.. dia yang memang concern sebab Hani sorang2 tak ada org jaga pun, kata 'Ha you better go hurry, its time'. 1800- Hani memang ada scheduled check up hari ni. Last week dilation dia dah 2 cm, dan dah ada early labour contraction tapi lom ada sakit2 lagi. Dr Sreenisha OBGyne Hospital Al-Ahli kata kalau seminggu ni tak beranak datang semula minggu depan (hari ni). So bila dah ada tanda2 tu kitorang pun datang siap dengan beg2 untuk Hani dan baby, so kalau kena admitted, senang tak payah nak berbalik-balik. Bila buat CTG test tu, memang comfirm, Hani dah ada labour contraction, tapi dia tak rasa pun sakitnya. Masa tu dilation dia 3cm. Dr. Sreenisha pelik, kenapa dia tak rasa apa2. Tapi memandangkan contraction dia dah regularly, Dr. kena lah admit. Dr. cakap, orang Malaysia dengan Indonesia kalau...

Aku berkejar semula ke pejabat selepas selesai urusan Check up Cik Minah di Al-Ahli. Jam dah menunjukkan pukul 11 pagi. Aku ada kerja yang urgent perlu diselesaikan untuk tender bahagian transport. Sedang aku tekun menyiapkan tender clarification sheet yang perlu di hantar pada bidder, tiba-tiba telefon aku berbunyi.. Kringgg..kringgg.. Nombor yang tertera adalah nombor pegawai senior (Berbangsa Bawang) yang mengganti team leader aku, Parameswara yang sedang bercuti. Me: Yes bawang Bawang: Can you come to my office Me: Can it wait, Im doing something urgent for transport Bawang: This is urgent too, you prepared a submission for the CEO but your submission was 'screwed up' and low of quality. Me: How can it be screwed up, it was commented and ammended by Parameswara, nevermind, i'll come over Aku pun berlari ke pejabat Bawang ni Bawang: Here, this document has been signed by Parameswara and Krishna, but rejected by the manager, Abdul Rahman. Me: What seems to be the problem ...

Mengingati kematian itu sunat dalam Islam supaya kita beringat bahawa mati itu benar dan boleh berlaku pada bila-bila masa saja. Mungkin kita belum bersedia kerana merasakan amal kita belum mencukupi. But as I said, death can come at any time, any where. Aku teringat peristiwa-peristiwa dimana aku nyaris bertemu ajal ( cheating death ). Masa umur aku 6 tahun, aku ikut nenek, datuk dan dua mak saudara aku berbelanja barang dapur di Bandar Tangkak. Kalau korang tau ditengah-tengah Bandar Tangkak tu ada jalan besar yang menghubungkan Muar dan Segamat. Memang busy sentiasa. Nenek dan datuk aku berada di kedai runcit di seberang jalan tersebut sementara aku berada bersama dua mak saudara aku tu di kedai kain. Bosan dengan mak saudara aku yang sibuk membeli dan memilih kain, aku tiba-tiba terfikir, dekat seberang jalan tu ada kedai mainan, boleh minta Tok Tan belikan baju askar dengan senapang. Tanpa fikir panjang, aku terus keluar dari kedai kain, tanpa disedari dua mak saudara aku tu dan t...

Sekarang ni banyak sangat kita dengar kes orang buang-buang bayi ni kan. Diorang ni memang kejam lah, binatang pun tak kejam macam tu. Malah lebih kejam dari pembunuh adik Nurin Jazlin. Ni sampai ada buang bayi dalam tong sampah sampai kena gonggong anjing. Buang dalam sungai, dalam longkang. Ramai pasangan yang berumah tangga yang tak dikurniakan cahaya mata, siang malam berdoa nak dapatkan anak, yang diorang ni dah lah tak yah belanja besar buat majlis kahwin, masa mengandung pun tak payah buang-buang duit jumpa doktor gi check up. Beranak pun tak yah tempah-tempah wad, mintak enject ephidural bagai tapi tak reti nak hargai. Kalau tak nak sekali pun bayi tu, tinggalkan lah kat tempat-tempat yang orang boleh selamatkan, macam kat surau ke, (surau yang confirm ada jemaah lah, bukan macam surau kat compound aku ni yg tak ada sapa pergi), depan wisma persekutuan atau mana-mana lah, tak pun depan rumah orang (macam cerita The Curious Case of Benjamin Button tu). Sekurang-kurangnya bayi ya...

Tiba-tiba aku teringat kesah seorang kawan aku ni, si Z. Kita orang nak pergi menonton persembahan kat Aswara. Aku janji nak jemput dia dekat stesen LRT Cempaka. Bila aku sampai je, dia senyum-senyum.. aku tanya lah.. Aku: kau ni kenapa? Z: Hehe Tadi masa aku tunggu-tunggu kau aku tengah on the phone. Lepastu ada satu Gen-2 kelabu berhenti depan aku. Aku terus je naik, duduk seat depan, sambil terus bercakap kat telefon. Lepas beberapa ketika aku pelik kenapa kereta ni tak jalan-jalan? Aku tengok le pemandu tu, macam nak kata hi / assalammualaikum. Aku ingat kau la tadi. Pemandu kereta tu tercengang je tengok aku.. tapi dia tak berkata apa-apa.. cuma tengok aku dengan mulut terlopong. Masatu aku masih kat telefon tu.. Aku senyum je kat dia, sambil tangan kiri aku cepat-cepat bukak pintu kereta dan cabut.. rupanya dia nak pick up orang lain. Malu gila aku siott Aku: Gelak pecah-pecah perut.. Kesah benar ini berlaku di stesen Cempaka, Ampang, Oktober 2005

Minggu lepas, Cik Minah gi la belajar buat cup cakes dengan Yeen. Kira terer jugak la dia. Cantik -cantik gak kek dia buat (sebenarnya deco je, kek yeen dah siap2 masak). Adalah 9 biji semua. Aku yang kononnya tengah on diet ni, memang merembes je lah tengok. So setiap hari aku akan makan satu bila balik kerja. Yang ada lebah tu, aku makan lebah dia. Sedap manis.. patut lah madu lebah tu manis ek. sampailah yang last sekali.. yang ada baby tidur dalam selimut tu. Bila aku nak makan, aku tak sampai hati.. Cik Minah kata tu baby kita orang, Widad yang masih dalam kandungan mama dia tu. So aku cakap le kat Cik Minah, "Ayang makan la baby ni, abang tak sampai hati la" . Cik Minah pun tak sampai hati nak makan.. so.. aku kata, tak kan nak buang, dah la sekarang ni banyak kes orang buang bayi. Zalim lah kan. Kalau makan lak.. macam canibal la pulak.. arghh stress.. last - last aku tanggalkan kepala baby tu, aku suapkan kat mulut cik minah.. yang badan dia aku makan.. ish rasa maca...

Both my wife and I are actually clean freaks. But living in this 3 storey, six bedroom house really, we found the cleaning job is too demanding. While im busy doing school asignments during weekends, my wife only has one day off from work. So Our big house was literally left unkept. The recent dust storm made it worse and transformed our house into a little Rub al-Khali. We feel so embarrased when friends come over and finding their feet stepping in dusts. I hired Filipino cleaners once. I pity the two of them. It took them 5 hours to clean everything. They looked liked forced labours in concentration camps. But I cant rely on their service regularly as they only do cleaning as a part time job. I asked around, and thank GOD, I now have cleaners come to clean the house every week on Sunday. The good thing is I only need pay 100 riyal. Its a bargain i think, considering the amount of work they are doing. Arghhhh sigh of relief..

"This too will passed" that was a line from the movie, 'My Best Friend's Wedding'. No matter how terrible or how big your problem is, it will eventually passed. Im currently struggling to complete a dissertation for my Masters Degree, and I have only a month to complete it. At a current rate of progress, the future looks bleak. But I have to be positive, keep my self belief and at the same time be optimistic. I dont aim for an A, a pass is more than enough. The side effect that Im having now is that I can't concentrate on my work. My mind's so consumed with my dissertation, and I became complacent at work. Its actually embarassing when you make stupid mistakes all the time and your boss has to make all the corrections. I can understad if he pissed at me, because I am pissed at myself. Its time to change. Please brain, be alert and kill those carelessness.

We had a daytrip to Macau last November from Hong Kong. The Cotai Jet ferry took us accross the Pearl River estuary to the newly built ferry terminal near the Cotai Strip on Taipa Island. From there we took a cab to the ruins of the Sao Paulo church. This is the main tourist draw in Macau (other than the many casinos). All that remains of the church is an ornately impressive façade, the rest of the cathedral burnt down during a kitchen-mishap in the 1800’s. Despite this, the building remains a powerful statement of the power the Portuguese once wielded in Asia, and is as impressive as the cathedrals of Europe’s old capitals. Sao Paulo Church From the Sao Paulo, we climbed the adjescent hill to Monte Fortress. As a Christian stronghold in a distinctly un-Christian neighbourhood, the city’s early Jesuits was constantly concerned about invasion and having their heads chopped off by non believers. In 1617 they began construction of the Monte Fortress, a stronghold that would eventually co...

We had a short holiday in Hong Kong from 9-13 Nov 09. This was my second time and Hani's first. We flew Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur, even the accommodation was booked through Air Asia's website. This time we stayed on Hong Kong Island near Causeway bay area. The hotel was so so, nothing like the Nikko on my first visit. The reason was, we want to spend more on shopping. Hani was not feeling well, and she got tired quickly being 3 months pregnant (she even threw up in the cab on the way to the hotel from the airport). So we usually had early nights and had to cancel a day trip to Shenzen. Apart that and the air pollution that somehow hid the spectacular Hong Kong skyline, I can say we had a great time. We went up the Peak and visit Madame Tussaud wax museum. The Scream house was great. Then we also went to Hong Kong Disneyland. It was ok, smaller that I had expected, but the dark roller coaster was fun. Other than that we just spent our time walking, enjoying the city's view ...