My long lost friend

A friend sent these two pictures to one of my alumni Telegram groups. Ya Rabbi Ya Rasul, only Allah know how excited I was every time I heard or met of long lost friends.

This friend of mine that I got to know in 1990, when he got selected for MHS' football sponsorship scheme. He's from Masjid Tanah, Melaka.

I like chatty people, and Norizan Isfak Ahmad was one of those friends that I ran to if I need a pair of listening ears.

After SRP, I moved to a boarding school in Johor and I got to know he left MHS too. Since then, I heard nothing from him.

Old friends bring back memories and I treasure all of my memories, be it sweet or bitter. I'm not a person who regrets things that I did in the past, but actually I did regret of not writing diaries during my school days. How I envy my friend, Rezuan who had that habit since at young age. How I wish I could flip through those pages, to refresh me of the colourful life I had during my student life.

It's good to be back in Kota Bahru

The last time I visited Kota Bahru was to attend my colleague's wedding. Today is fourth visit to the capital city of Kelantan. This time is a business trip as my team and I are promoting the Special Relief Facility 2015, set up specifically to assist the businesses affected by the floods in some states in Malaysia to resume the operations of their businesses.

I took the 3pm flight from KLIA and alhamdulillah was safely arrived at Kota Bahru International Airport at about 4pm. We straight away took taxi to Hotel Perdana.

Since it's too early for us to take dinner, the four of us decided to go to Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah as some of us were very eager to add on to their batik collections. While they were busy bargaining for their batiks, I walked across to Kelantan Trade Centre, the Parkson Departmental Store to be exact.

Pointing at the water rise level

The exterior of Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah

A woman sells produce inside the Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah

The view of Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah from Kelantan Trade Centre

Before we return to the hotel, we went to Yati Ayam Percik to try their infamous nasi kerabu, rendang itik serawa and of course, ayam percik.

One of tourists' favourite eating place in Kota Bahru

At 8.15 pm, my ex-classmate, Faris called and picked me up for a get together with another ex-classmate, Ibrahim. It's good to catch up with these guy teachers. We promised to meet again in KL soon. May be to invite other ex-classmates for our "reunion" in the capital city of Malaysia.

A meeting of old boys of ACBU1

Is the grass greener on the other side?

A close friend of mine had tendered his 24-hour notice of resignation yesterday. It really shocked me to the core when I first got his whatsapp message early Thursday morning.

Why? What happened? I asked myself countless times.

My ex-housemate and I also had a brief discussion on this. He still cannot comprehend why staffs leave established and prominent organisations such as a central bank.

My quick answer was money as this was also the motive of my boss leaving the office today for an offer of double of his current salary.

How about other perks? He asked back.

My boss shared with me of his insights into motives behind what make some people stay and some people leave.

Are you satisfied of what you have/are now?

Well materially, I cannot lie myself that my current pay won't be enough to fulfil all of my wants! Nevertheless, alhamdulillah, I'm very grateful of the living standard that I'm currently enjoying. More than enough to finance the lifestyle of a single, eldest son of retired parents which only receive 'pension' from their own children.

Anyhow, I applaud your courage to leave your comfort zone and pursue career betterment beyond here. I pray for your greater success at the new place and really hope your journey would inspire me to pursue mine too. 

This is our starting point for a colourful friendship 13 years ago and I hope it won't be our last meeting place, nor that was our last hug. And I won't bid you farewell because goodbye isn't our common vocabulary. But I will shed a tear to mark this important milestone of you in our scrapbook of friendship.

Tahniah Osman...

Selamat pengantin baru.
Semoga berbahagia santak akhir hayat.

Sorry that I can't make it to the akad nikah, but in shaa Allah will be coming to your reception.

Get WhatsApp for your iPhone, Android, Nokia, BlackBerry or Windows Phone today: http://www.whatsapp.com/download/

Sent from my iPhone

Goodbye My Dear Friend

I still cannot believe that you're no longer here with all of us,

Ku pasti kau berbahagia
Duduk di samping-Nya
Mendengar cerita segala rahsia.

Sham...kau ...terlalu istimewa.

May Allah forgive all your wrongdoings and sins and place you amongst His believers.

Aidfitri 1434

Semoga ramdhan dan syawal tahun ini mendatangkan lebih banyak rahmat dan berkat dari Allah taala buat kita semua.

Berayalah dengan penuh kesederhanaan.

Terima kasih kepada rombongan dari Kuala Lumpur iaitu Ieka Kassim, Fay and isteri, Izal dan Dollah yang sudi turun beraya di Melaka.

Tahun ini, kami cuma sempat ziarah empat buat rumah sahaja iaitu Fendy, Nazri, Ejarn dan HB Hamdan.

Jangan serik tau untuk turun lagi tahun hadapan, boleh kita boleh konsert lagi.

Selamat Pengantin Baru II

Tahniah Fay!

Tahniah buat kawan baikku, Fay yang telah selamat dan sempurna diijabkabulkan dengan pasangannya pada hari Sabtu yang lalu.

Semoga mahligai yang dibina ini akan kekal sehingga akhir hayat dan moga Allah anugerahkan pasangan raja sehari ini dengan zuriat yang baik. Aamin.

Selamat Pengantin Baru, Jun!

Tahniah buat Jun dan Aidil. Semoga berbahagia santak akhir hayat.

Sent from my iPhone

Happy Birthday Ed

Moga murah rezeki, berkat usia dan bahagia sentosa.

Thank you Annisue for inviting me to the birthday party. Terima kasih daun keladi, ajak-ajaklah lagi.

Kepada yang tak kenal, Ed adalah salah seorang pengasas produk kecantikan Annisue. Cubalah produk tu uols. The products received good testimonial from my close friends :)

Allah Selamatkan Norizan Khalip

Moga murah rezeki dan berkat usia, dari kami semua.

Izan adalah salah seorang daripada Geng Bebudak Melaka, yang gemar berkaraoke dan suka turut serta dalam aktiviti kebudayaan.

Sekarang ini, kelibatnya sering dilihat di Taman Rekreasi Bukit Serindit. Tengah bersungguh-sungguh untuk menurunkan berat badannya.

Anyhow, all the best in your undertakings Izan. Happy birthday!!!

A Long Overdue Visit

Aku betul-betul tak tahu tentang kehamilan Mrs. FendY, sehingga seorang kawan buka mulut. Aku cuba dapatkan pengesahan daripada Mr. & Mrs. FendY, tapi kedua-duanya diam seribu bahasa. Mungkin mereka ada alasan yang tersendiri. Dan sebagai seorang kawan, aku hormati keputusan itu.

Tap tap, aku dikhabarkan bahawa Mrs. FendY telah selamat melahirkan seorang bayi lelaki yang sihat pada bulan Januari yang lalu.

And because of conflicting schedules, I've been postponing my visit until this weekend. I whatsapped FendY to find out whether or not, he will be coming down to KL this weekend, and whether I could pay them a visit. FendY is working in Kerteh while his wife is in Selangor with their new born boy.

Both FendY and his wife have agreed to receive me at their residence in Taman Sri Gombak. And this is my first time coming to this part of Selangor even though I've passed through the area countless of times.

Coincidentally, the day I visited Adrian Nazry or Ian, he was 2 months old! So, happy 2-months old Ian! May Allah bless you with lots of rahmat, berkat and joy. And be the proud of your loving parents, family and ummah. Be good always!

I asked FendY what is their immediate plan with the arrival of Ian. He said one of them will apply to relocate so that the three of them could live together under the same roof. Yeap, I really support the plan. A child like Ian really need both of his parents to be around to nurture his growing.

Once again, would like to take this opportunity to congratulate both Mr. & Mrs. Fendy of the arrival of their first child. And the very best of luck in parenting too.

Guest of Geng KY

Another Shah in the house. Orang Muar. Ex-student of the school which I wish I had enrolled into. Sekolah Menengah Agama Sultan Muhammad. Masa zaman aku bersekolah dahulu, ada tiga sekolah yang ingin menjadi idaman pelajar dan ibu bapa iaitu SMA Sultan Muhammad, SMA Sharifah Rodziah dan tentunya, Sekolah Menengah (sekarang ditambah perkataan "Sains") Sultan Muzaffar Syah.

Instead, I went to Sekolah Tinggi Melaka. Tapi aku syukur, betul-betul syukur kerana dapat menjejakkan kaki ke STM ataupun lebih terkenal dengan nama Malacca High School. Banyak pengalaman yang ditimba, dan banyak ilmu dipelajari.

Tapi aku tak pasti sama ada penampilan Shah ini hanyalah one-off, ataupun akan dijemput lagi dan lagi.

Anyhow, it was nice meeting and chatting with you.

Mus akan memulakan tahun baru di tempat kerja baru. Seperti biasa, aku ucapkan selamat maju jaya buat dia. Menjadi harapan aku agar tempat kerja ini berjaya mengikat kesetiaan Mus. Penatlah nak kemas kini phonebook, Mus oiii!!! Satu lagi, jangan lupa untuk open table tau! Jawatan pun dah besar, tentunya gajinya besar juga. Kongsi-kongsilah dengan kawan-kawan :)

Sham, pula aku tak pasti sama ada dia sudah benar-benar pindah ke Pandan Indah? Rasa macam sudah, tapi tiada pengumuman rasmi pun!

To another Shah, I really hope that your colleague cum housemate is really okay now. I heard about the mishaps and insya Allah, will try to pay a visit as soon as possible. Motorsikalnya ok tak?

Last but not least, all the best to Eijam for your final. I know you can do it. Insya-Allah.

Melalak, Melalak Lagi

This time around, the attendees were Geng KY members, minus Eijam who was busy preparing for his exams and Mitch who was out of town if I'm not mistaken.

We started the night with a dinner at our favourite hangout spot, no other than Kedai Kak Yah (I think we should renamed the group as Geng KKY). I, however, had to give it a pass due to some technicalities and traffic jam at the flyover of Jalan Pandan Indah and MMR2 interchange.

And I don't know why my mood wasn't there too, whereby I only song 3 songs - my compulsory opening number, J. Mizan's Hari Ini Dan Semalam, my second attempts of Afghan's Padamu Ku Bersujud and Kaer's Izin Ku Pergi.

Mus did complain about my anti-social behaviour on the night, whereby I was busy surfing on iPhoneKu than paying attention of my friends' colourful renditions of Malaysian as well as international hits. Sorry Mus and I'm really, really sorry guys. It won't happen happen. Insya Allah.

But the hightlight of the night is when Mus sang his first ever Malay song in any of the karaoke outings that I've joined him all this while.

Nak lagi, Mus!!!

After melalak, we stopped by at Q Bistro for a light supper before we call it a day. Once again, I'm really sorry guys for sleeping at the table while all of you were catching out with each other. I'm sure all of you saw fir yourselves how struggling I was to keep my eyes open. Once again, MAAF banyak-banyk.

Melalak Lagi

Puas dapat berkaraoke dengan Geng McDonalds. Hari ini adalah cuti ganti kerana Hari Natal jatuh pada hari ahad.

Lama betul tak jumpa Radzi. Sekarang ini dia adalah pengurus di outlet Kota Kemuning. Masa aku mula kenal dia dahulu, dia cuma 2nd Assistant Manager di outlet KL Sentral.

Encik OC seperti biasa mendendangkan lagu-lagu bernada tinggi. Cuma hari ini, semput sikit. Bak kata Shikin, penambahan saiz badan! Hehehe.

Gembira juga dapat berjumpa dengan Ziana Din, yang sempat hadir sesudah tamat waktu kerjanya. Esok adalah hari terakhir beliau di Parkson, sebelum kembali semula ke industri restoran makanan segera.

Jangan serik untuk ajak aku lagi. Memang best berkaraoke dengan kamu, kamu, kamu, kamu, kamu dan kamu :)

Get Well Soon Kakak

Kita ada Allah taala. Syukur kepada-Nya, puji kepada-Nya, pinta pun kepada-Nya jua.

Semoga Allah meringankan beban sakit dan hilangkan derita dan sayu yang menyelimuti Kak Sharifah.

Dia duga kita sebab Dia sayang dan pilih kita.

Doa dan ingat sentiasa buatmu. Selalu.

Bila Kawan Lama Berjumpa

Lama tak jumpa Shahrul Azwan. Mus pun lama tak jumpa dia. Sekarang ini, isterinya sedang mengandungkan anak kedua.

Sihat betul kau sekarang ni, Shah :)

Night at A Farmosa

My friends came down to Melaka to attend my sister's wedding. They stayed at Mahkota Hotel. There are five of them, namely, Mus, Sham, Eijam, AJ and Shah.

Since I was very occupied during daytime, I could only joined them at night.

At first, I was planning to bring them to Jonker Street. Later, I found out that the area was packed with participants and fans of body building competition. If I'm not mistaken, they held the 3rd World Body Building Championship here in Melaka. I'm puzzled why they chose Jonker Walk as the venue.

In fact, the boys already strolled the infamous street themselves in the afternoon.

Instead, I met them at Mc Donalds! Nazrol was later joined us after meeting Geng Bebudak Melaka. They cannot stayed long because Fendy and Ed need to go to bed early because they will be going to Jempol for another make-up job. Similarly, Nazri need to attend a state function on the next morning.

As usual, we started our gathering with latest updates on what happened in Kuala Lumpur for the last one week plus that I'd left the city. Some are juicy indeed, some are boring. Then, the bashing part. As always, it was all about "negeri maju" vs. "metropolis kulaijaya".

If AJ didn't remind us how late it was, we could have continue talking until subuh! Before we dismiss, we promised to meet again for brunch at Restoran Ayam Golek Bachang.

Second Langkawi Trip in 2011

Jangan tak percaya, ada seorang kawan aku yang tak pernah ke Langkawi!

Mujurlah, seorang lagi kawan yang menganjurkan lawatan ke pulau legenda ini. Jadi aku pun memancing kawan yang tidak pernah ke sana itu, untuk turut serta dalam lawatan kali ini.

Kami menginap di salah sebuah private resort di Pantai Chenang. Lawa resort itu! Cuma pantainya kian terhakis. Semoga langkah-langkah pemuliharaan akan segera diambil, agar pantai tersebut sesuai dan selamat untuk dimanfaatkan.

Pantai Chenang kali ini tidak sesibuk lawatan aku sebelum ini. Mungkin sekarang ini bukan peak season. Mat saleh dan minah saleh pun tidak seramai pada bulan Februari yang lalu.

Memandangkan kawan yang tidak pernah ke Langkawi sebelum ini, adalah seorang city boy, maka tempat-tempat menarik seperti Makam Mahsuri, Galeria Perdana dan Beras Terbakar bukanlah tempat-tempat yang dia ingin lawati. Kekwat tau kawan aku ni!

Sesuai dengan gaya hidup city boy, dia lebih selesa menghabiskan masa stroll along the shops in shopping malls or walking under the skyscrappers. Malangnya, Langkawi tiada tarikan sedemikian. Maaf ya, city boy :)

Jadi, kami membawanya ke Oriental Village untuk menaiki kereta kabel ke puncak Gunung Mancincang. Alhamdulillah, ia adalah satu pilihan yang bijak. Seronok betul dia!

Kami sempat juga bercanda di Pantai Tanjung Rhu. Lawa betul pemandangan di sana.

Dan satu lokasi baru untuk kami semua, iaitu air terjun Temurun. You guys should check out this clean and nice waterfall. It is located in Teluk Datai. Memang berbaloi pergi.

Cuma kami terkilan tak dapat ke Galeri Seni Ibrahim Hussein, yang telah ditutup. Sedih!

Apa-apapuan, percutian di Langkawi kali ini adalah santai, sempoi dan mengukuhkan silaturrahim sesama Geng KY.

We should do it again next time, guys!

Dagang Avenue

Lama betul tak berkunjung ke Dagang Avenue Foodcourt. Terlanjur kawan-kawan ajak, aku pun turun mencemar duli ke sana.

Perkhidmatan masih memuaskan, cuma masakannya kurang sikit. Harganya macam sudah revised downward saja. Kalau betul, baguslah. Tak baik letak harga tinggi untuk masakan yang kurang enak dan kurang sedap.

Tapi, macam kurang sedikit pengunjung di sini. Ya lah, sudah bermacam-macam foodcourt wujud sekarang ini. Dengan pelbagai kopitiam lagi.

Bagus untuk pertumbuhan ekonomi, tapi impaknya kepada budaya dan sosiologi Malaysia? Hmmm...

Pengajaran

I know the accused personally. I pity him. I pity his family. A good lesson to all of us.