Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Play On

There was this one moment in Unimas where I encountered a strange incident.

I was sitting on the second floor of Cempaka college, where my room was situated. There was a kind of festival going on at the ground floor. People were flocking, although not in great number, to the front stage of the Cempaka main office. A live performance was being held there.

Chorus of bands started performing. Some were quite ok, some were not quite. But all of them were united in providing a good entertainment for all of us. It was a relief to sometimes see people coming together to this kind of atmosphere.

Then there was this one band, oblivious to my attention, assembled themselves on stage. The lead singer was a female, and she didn't possess any obvious character that would warrant my attention. She sat there, attuning her guitar, and waited for her turn to perform.

To be honest, I didn't like her. Maybe because of her appearance. Could be because of her looks. Or perhaps because of her bland expression. Or it could be all of them blended together to make me detest her without any concrete explanation. It was just like, I disliked her for no apparent reason.

But then her magic unfolded. Once she played her song, all of that hatred dissipated quickly into the cold night. To the rousing audience, she sang Drama band's Cerita Dia closed to perfection. It was like one of those episodes of America's Got Talent where Simon Cowell habitually looked down upon participants only to be blown away by them afterwards.

The only difference was that, I was watching it live. My impression towards her totally changed in an abrupt second.

Some people do have this magic of changing people with their gifted talent. Changing people's perception in a split second is no easy task, but she executed it with perfection. In fact, she didn't even think of changing people's perception towards her when she braced the stage. She just did what she do best...performing in front of the crowd.

Sadly, I never saw her again after that. If music is her way to connect herself with other people, then the best thing for her to do is...to play on.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Messy Monday

I skipped work today. I barely had any mood to get up to work. Sometimes I wished I never had to wake up ever again. But that would mean a certain death. No way I could afford that. Not at this point of time.

I messaged Eizan, the personal assistant of Dr Zaf, telling her that I was on medical leave (MC). But the fact remains that I was not sick. I was just in no mood to go to work.

I switched on the TV...searching for any good channels to watch. Ended up watching Awani News. There was no interesting news. Getting really bored in the process.

Picked up "The 33 Strategies of War" and started reading on the sofa in front of the TV. This masterpiece by Robert Greene discusses various war strategies that could be applied in our daily life.

I read "48 Laws of Power" by the same author back in 2008. A best-seller, I still remember reading it religiously page by page back then right after my lunch. It took roughly two hours everyday for me to finish 30 pages of the book (I remember all this because I took note of how many pages of reading I did per day).

Hours went by and I was getting restless. Put the book down, was on page 87. I badly needed to get out and did something. Cinema would be a very good place. At least I could distract myself from my ongoing mess.

Went to BJ. Chose Insidious 3 as my refuge movie. Not a bad choice. This horror movie surprisingly has a story line. Usually there is no story line in horror movie. The ghost or spirit appears out of nowhere to scare the actor/actress, he/she screams and we all scream with them, and that's all.

Insidious 3 is an exception. I enjoyed its plot and connection with the story line. It does have a good horror moment as well.

Headed back towards USM. Syafiq asked me to break fast together at Taman Tun Saadon's mosque. But for unknown reason, he reneged on his request later. Instead, he asked me to break fast in lab.

I had no qualm either...I have no more friends now. I am losing friends on a lightning bolt basis. Amzar is going to receive his confirmation letter later this week. He is bound to serve in the police department as cadet/trainee inspector. I still have no idea how to cope without him.

I could only hope for the best. Time to go for iftar.      

The Touchdown

June 7, 2015. After an hour of flight, the Malindo plane bound for Penang touched down safely around 6 p.m. at the Penang International Airport.

It was my second time flying across the hilly and lush jungle of the Perak-Kelantan border. My first was only three days before. From atop, I could see the terrain of the highway connecting both states, famously known as the "jungle highway".

A normal journey by land would take about seven hours. That was why flight offers so much convenience nowadays. It cuts travel time by more than one-half.

Syuha and Diyana were waiting for us. They were in jovial mood, particularly Syuha. She even accepted my joked request to carry my newly bought sleeping bag. I never intended for her to carry that heavily-wrapped sleeping bag on her own. But she did nonetheless.

How was your honeymoon?

She asked, in jest.

And I just laughed.

This was no honeymoon. It was more a journey of a lifetime.

After that short visit to UMT barely weeks before, I never thought I would find myself in a very happy mood again. I was like a reborn phoenix that rises from the ashes with renewed vigour.

These two events will leave a lasting mark on my memory.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

"Saya Tak Pernah Naik Keta Dengan Famili Dari Kecik Sampai Skang"



"Saya tak pernah naik keta dengan famili dari kecik sampai skang"

"Sebab apa?"

"Sebab family takda keta. Kalau nak keluar pergi mana2 semua naik motor"

That was a rather blunt respond from Ogy when asked about his family's background in the freshly released Era fm official youtube video (June 16 2015).

That was to be expected from him. Ogy is very candid when it comes to speaking out his mind. In the past, I used to be very nervous whenever Ogy was around people, especially our relatives, because he would just blurt everything out. If you are shit, he would say exactly just that right in your face.

He seems to have toned down a bit these days, thanks largely to his overbearing maturity. In fact, he is now very composed and cultured that I barely recognized him. That young, outspoken Ogy that grew up with me is fast turning into a matured man, far outpacing even his oldest brother.

Hyper Act, you have chosen the right man. And I said this not because Ogy is related to me. I said this because I am a big fan of yours. Pin your hopes on him, he would not disappoint you.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Preservara

I finished my latest badminton outings on a high note yesterday night. 

Played an overall eight games (one game comprises of at least two sets, rubber set would be played if the first two sets were tied), I won six games and lost two. 

All in all, we played for three hours straight without stopping, starting at nine until a little over midnight. We only took short break to replenish ourselves with drinking water during the middle of the play.

As we sat there totally worn out after the game, I pondered upon my life so far. They were all my friends from my difficult past, yet they were still here alongside me. Playing badminton with me, laughing beside me. I don't know for how long, but I hope they will stay with me till the very end.

Most of them are married, and I knew some of their wives as well because they were from the same workplace of mine before. One of them even brought their two lovely kids to play badminton. The kid went to each one of us to shake and kiss our hands before departing home. It was a sight to behold.

It was this kind of moment that I need to preserve. People nowadays preserve memories in pictures. But I'd rather preserve it in writing. I remember things in words, not in pictures. There is not that much that we could capture inside a picture. But a line of words could give an eternal meaning...especially to those who know how to appreciate it. 

Picture is temporary, words are permanent.