"What-it-should-be"...Not in Reality

 He started to sob quietly...

"...I shouldn't have spoken to him in such a manner. I was rude to him. I was sinful by doing so. I felt a sense of regret to having to do so..."
"...but you did what you needed to make things better. It's totally fine as probably that is the only way to spark him the light..."
"...yeah, I know...but...niat tidak menghalalkan perbuatan...I was rude and sinful to him...I have no rights whatsoever to be rude to him. Nothing much of a help that I'd given him...just who am I to be rude to him??..."

His cries continues...weeping...pouring his heart out expressing the emotion that sparked me to an entirely new paradigm in my entire life...

Happiness... 

Happily ever after... 
          Happily living...for the world we live in...or
                    Happily living...for the hereafter...

These terms were the terms we have always came across every now and then in our lives. We heard of them since we were in our childhood days...rowing through our adolescent "boat"...combating our times through our raging teeny boppers' spirit of retaliations...and right up to this instant...where we are supposedly to have become a fully grown and well-focused adults...hmm...have we?

Happiness...

How well do we understand what the true meanings of this term?
How much effort have we placed in our daily lives in achieving this?
How much weight does this term carries in our daily lives?
Do the effects of this term blossoms through our lives or deteriorates in manner?

On and on and on the projections of questions just kept on coming...bla bla bla...And to those questions, there are never an absolute answer to the equation of 1 + 1...yes...in life, it isn't always equals to 2.

Just to share...A story of a person's belief that I find was truly amazing, truly the awakening... 

Twelve hours before the sobbing moments...

          His mobile rang. His elder brother was on the other line. This person whom I know then went to see his brother to extend a help of a monetary request. No hesitation. The many requests that he had always obediently fulfilled. And these kind of requests have been eluminating around since twenty years ago!...Yes, twenty years!...The amount?...They are just unaccounted for. Something given knowingly nothing will ever be repaid. Lillah hi ta'ala...Nothing else. Everything this person does is only for the sake of Allah. That was his belief...his belief then...and it is still is now.
 
          He started by emphasizing the importance of a mother's feelings...to receiving of Allah's blessings on each day of our lives should the brother wishes to change his life to the better. First thing first. Yes, the mother's feeling was hurt since a long time his brother could ever remember...the determinant of our well being...be it for the world we live in now or even for the hereafter.

          Humble-turn-harsh advice to his brother. It was not a pretty picture to see. Let alone the loud exchangeable vocals to hear. Convincing his brother was never easy. Denial of facts, lame excuses over excuses...to almost pointless. Realizing the fact that he is speaking to his elder brother, he immediately apologized for the rudeness. He meant well. Nothing else was in his mind. Purely good intention, a reminder before it's too late...before the end of time.  

Hearing this real life story, this person had actually sparked me of these 4 important aspects that we sometimes might place less importance once in a while in our everyday lives...

1Mother...Redha ibu is redha Allah...the slightest hurt of a mother's feeling would disregard you from Allah's blessings.

2Neighbours...A sin of ours if there happen to be a mouth unfed within the vicinity of our neighbourhood.

3Nieces and Nephews...Our obligation to their well being and needs should one or both of their biological parents (our siblings in this case...) can't afford or had passed on.

4Wealth...Be it in monetary or assets worth wise, there lies a fraction in ours that belongs to others. We are just the "trustee" of a fraction of the savings we have. And we are completely clueless of the rightful beneficiaries...until someone "knocks" on our "door" to seek for help.

Have we set our priority engulfing the above, in a rightful and the rightfully, as Allah had expected of from us?

I can never thank this person enough for widening my life's perspective for a more meaningful journey towards Jannah...

Insya Allah...

A half cup full??...

Could we ever be the person that we always dream of to be?

Do we really have to change to be someone that we wish to become...or to become someone as others wants us to be?

Do we have the right motivation, reason, guidance or even the right tools in making those changes a reality?

Have we listened enough? Or do we listen enough?

Do we really know what do we need in manoeuvring through to that defined changes?

Could we ever able to pull through when obstacles came by knocking on the door to pay us a "visit"?

Are we persistence and resilient enough?

How would we be able to have the positive drives consistently implanted in us?

In doing so, did we get the encouraging feedbacks from our loved ones?

A continuous encouragement...a pat on back for achieving or accomplishing certain standards. Whose standards? Our standards? Or others' standards?

The reactions that we project to these questions depends on how much knowledge we have over certain motions. Be it the goods or the bads...

The more knowledge we have over one specific focus, the more confidence we would be in talking about it. The more comfortable, the higher acceptances we would have had.

So...

Absorbing more knowledge...will change ones thinking...
Changing ones thinking...will change ones principle...
Changing ones principle... will change ones belief...
Changes in ones belief will change in ones perception...
Changes in ones perception... will entirely change ones behaviour...

Really???...

Take your pick...

A half cup full...or a half cup empty??...

"Conflicts are unavoidable". Do you agree?

I was at a friend's office the other day when someone there posted me with that question. Hmm...digesting the term for a while, it made me think that there was no one single answer to it...Could be a "yes" and it could also be a "no"...or...

My 2cents personal view...It is all depends on YOU.

Conflicts are unavoidable...well...yes, this may be true...

but...

Conflicts are not always unavoidable.

We can somehow reduce the probability of the level of conflicts that might occur by applying general rule out of so many other rules...

5 main thots to think of...

1. Knowledge...how much understanding, knowledge and information do we have on the subject / talk / discussion that is to take place?
.....gather / collect info to gain the substances of the topic
.....obtain it thru reading the relevant materials, historical records, web search
.....if u need to, u may also runs thru brief interviews with relevant people
General rule...
Substance over form. The more substance you have, people are more likely to welcome your views.

2. People...how well do we know our audience?
....are they the youngsters / adults / veteran / VIPs
....are they children / school leavers / graduates / distinguished guests / home makers / locals / foreigners
....their level of education / knowledge
....their local of origin
General rule...
Different group of audience has different levels of acceptance to one topic of discussion delivered.

3. Language...how well do we speak to send the message across?
...layman's term enough to be understood?
...jargon to impress but risk of misconception?
...delivering the message with the right intonation?
General rule...
Native languages or the mother tougue are normally much simpler to be understood. However, selection of a universal language is highly important when it involves a mix intelectual levels of audience.

4. Time...How long do you take to explain your points / views? How much details are expected out of you?
...avoid lengthy explanation that might invite boredom or losing of focus to the message you are trying to convey.
...understand what details are specifically required at one particular point of time.
...remain focused on the issue discussed and not adding on a new issue without settling on the first.
General rule...
Concise, specific, few examples to enhance understanding and provide completely only as what is required at that particular time.

5. Acceptance...How well do we accept other point of views? How well do we listen to what others have to say?
...accept other views as much as you would want others to accept yours.
...agree first even though you did not agree on certain views...then, express your view as an alternative to the earlier agreed point.
General rule...
2 way of learning process. Sometimes, the more you listen, the more of your views will obtain other's attention.

Easy said than done huh??...But it's worth a try...Give it a shot!

Ink pad pleaasseeee...

PRINT...

blueprint...
paw print...
thumb print
...toe print??...eerr...what the...???

Hahahahahaha...out of a sudden the word print just sends me giggles thru my system....hahahahaha...here was what happened...and it is more than just a snippet...

Back in 1990, I was on a shift job at KFC...yup, on it temporarily while waiting for my SPM results. There, I first started as a floorstaff...kinda waitress at that time. It was still with a floor service where floorstaff will go to your table and get your orders. Hardly there is anymore now as mostly are with self-service where orders are made at the counters with immediate payment.

As usual of a normal practice, a newly joined will be kept busy with all kinda forms to fill...yup, that didn't exclude me...

After the closing time, apart from myself, seated at a round table in the restaurant were probably around 3 or 4 existing staff of my superiors and the floor manager. Filling up my personal particulars, on and off taking my purse to get those info...sticking up photo that I brought along earlier as was told...and again, the same particulars that i needed to fill up another form...haa...yadda yadda yadda...

Then I came to the lower end of the page...signature line and below it was a box for thumb print...hmm...ok. But just after I did all that...

"...ok, now your toe print...the right one.."
"...what??..serious??...err..."
"...yes, we normally requires that too...i know...i know...but it is no joke..."...they were full with serious facial expression ever!...

Over and over again they seriously assuring me that this was not and never a joke. This was a requirement by the top management!!!...

"...now you can take this form together with you and do it in the room over there if u r not comfortable to do it here with us around...be quick!...we need to close up the outlet...it's already late...remember, the right one!...here's the ink pad...careful!...no smudges..."...says the lady manager with pretty much a damn serious ever and kinda exhausted look...as few seconds more the clock was to strike midnite...

With an awkward feeling, mix with humour at the same time with u-must-be-kidding-me impression, i took the form and went inside a small staff room. Well...ok then...

...took my shoes off...my socks off...urrghh!!...afta a hard day at work of walking around taking and servicing customers' orders...what else to expect??...smelly feet o'coz...yikes!!...heee...syhh...

...placed my toe...yup, I remembered...the right one!...on the ink pad...rolled it to the left and then to the right...just as I was told...then, carefully stamped it in the box at the lower page of the form...just beside the box of my thumb print...rolled it to the left and then, to the right...wallah!!...perfectly happy...done with a perfect line print...no smudges...it was just perfect!...

"...there u go...done..."
"...great one!...well done!...but I guess, the top management requirement just changed a minute ago while u were "in the act"..."
"...huhh??..what do u mean?.."
"...the top only requires the thumb print now..."...and immediately all of the staff roared with great laughters...HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA...

"...I knew it!!...I knew it!...u mean people!!!...hhhahahahahhahaha.."...can't hold my laughter any longer...yup!...I was played...and I was plaaaayed damn well!!..hahahahahahhaha...

They even told me after that how they enjoyed every single minute of me behaving and adhering to that "get-jiggy-with-it" instructions....hahahahahhahahahahahhaha....

Try to toe-print yourself peeps!...it's not easy u knoww....HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA....

Day 5 - Trip to Kota Kinabalu (Part II)

Monday, 14 May 2012

My KK trip of Part II is finally done!...pheww!

"...hallo...reception?.."
"..yes, miss."
"...o hi, i need to go to the main resort now. could you please arrange a shuttle for me?.."
"...sure miss."
"...thx.."

Stroll...After our prayers and a good rest, we decided to go for a stroll around Nexus resort. Shuttle arrived and we headed on to the main resort. It took only about 5 minutes drive.

me at the resort's gallery

hubby's pointing at...err...

the garden across the gallery seems well maintained...
hang on!...am not ready!...aaaa..eh..

Chess??...Playing on board games was something I have not done in many many years!...hee...now that I had came across one chess board over here, I have just got to step on it!...GAME ON!!!!...

ok...let's take our place and start the game!

moving one square to my right...clock off!

watch out Queen...am catching ya'...clock off!

...woohoo!...check!!!..hahahaha

Little Borneo Spa...along the hallway of the resort, I came across a sweet little decor of white and grey pebbles, few medium large potted plants of dracaenia stages...the extension of the Borneo Spa of the resort. Borneo Spa is located about a stone's throw away from the main resort.

the hallway at the little borneo spa

lil borneo spa sweet decor at the spa entrance

from the main resort towards to the beach

hubby backing the main resort

me at Sunset Bar, bar located just next to the beach

Penyu Restaurant...since I arrived here in Nexus, both me and hubby have not taken our lunch yet...so, we headed on to this restaurant for our early dinner.

view of the restaurant from the hallway

hubby at the stairs up to the main resort's lobby...
just outside of the Penyu Restaurant

me, by the fountain outside the restaurant

the view at the swimming pool area from Penyu Restaurant
where we had our dinner

When asked, the buffet dinner only starts at 6.30pm. Noooo...too long of a wait...an hour and a half to go?...no-no...tummy needs input noww!!...huhu...so, we digged in on ala carte...

Fish n Chips...hubby's choice today...
crispy on the outside...so moist on the inside...hmm

tiger prawns for me...butter with garlic...nyum2...

mushroom soup...
so creamy with fresh soft chunks of mushroom

After our dinner, we walked back heading to the main lobby. Passing by the Kingfisher Restaurant was really with a to-die-for sight!...waaaahhhhh!!!...It came with a sight of a whole lamb on roasting mode!...woohoo!...looked well marinated, full of spices, lamb juice dripping while being roasted giving me the vision on how succulent and moist the meat must be...haaaaaa...gulpp!...see below...and since i had my dinner stuffed in me a while ago, I had to "dive" into this lamb just by looking and inhale as much smell of it as i could...huhu...

the whole of roast lamb on the go!...huhu...
saw this when we passed by Kingfisher Restaurant, where buffet dinner is served...

Along the way, came across few chefs stirring on something in a large wok...passing by nearer, my hubby went on...

"eh...kacau dodol??..."
"aah..ya...dodol...dodol durian.."
"...oo...buat untuk buffet serving?.."
"iya..."
"waahhh...buffet sini ada dodol durian...bagus ye.."
"iya...kami buat tiap2 hujung minggu saja.."
"brapa lama nak kacau ni?"
"lagi 1 jam mungkin...abang nak cuba?..."
"eh...boleh?...ok..."

apa lagi???...hubby's moves on dodol durian...hee

dapat "reward"...keja bagusss...eating time!!!

durian dodol boliauu (dissapears)!!!

Breakfast on morning 14 May...the room includes breakfast for 2. At the time when we checked-in, I was told that Nexus serves breakfast by the pool down the suite block...hmm...nice...less trouble to get myself to the main resort by shuttle...On the morning when I rang the reception, she said I have to go to the main resort and she shall arrange the shuttle for me...

"...kenapa tak buat di sini?.."

"..tak dapat buat di sini..ya..."

"..owh..ok.."

Didn't really answered my q...didn't wanna ask further. I guess probably there were not many occupants at this time that they found it was not reasonable to have another buffet spread at the suite site...

Arriving at the main resort, Penyu Restaurant served variety of spreads for our breakfast...mushroom cheese omelette was my "kick off" start...

"...mushroom..err..huh?..no mushroom?...hmm..ok, all then...lots of cheese ya.."...while showing on to the ingredients spread the cook had them ready...


me with my cheesey omelette...jemput tengok...hee

cheseey omelette...

hubby dived into fruits platter...his first course everytime...

orange juice for hubby

hubby's next course afta his fruits..rice congee wt salted egg as well as the century egg

i tried this...noodle soup...just ok...

hmm...what's next...

no idea of what else to dig into...pose laa...

hmm...this was truly a succulent piece of meat...beef steak...so juicy and tender...so moist...repeated course for me...hee

another of my fav...beef bacon...nyum2...


restaurant full with the koreans...excluding the most upfront guy...my hubby..he's a malaysian..heheh

the atmosphere in the restaurant...

not many locals at this time...a room full with the koreans...

After breakfast, we return to the suite to stroll and relax by our private beach...Great breezy and cool weather...

get the seat ready...haa..lapik dulu...

hubby enjoying the full ocean view
while err...eh...munching on kit kat?...ooo...heheh...skit leh?

Other views captured on shots of the surroundings...

After a while relaxing here, it comes the time to say bye-bye to the resort...huhu...bye Nexus!

Can you help me sire??...

Pit stop at petronas for gas, on our way heading home from the airport just few kilometres away, i wonder why the black pouch bag wasn't with me...i always carry it around with me...

"...no, it's ok sayang...i have."...says hubby, as he knows why exactly i was searching for my bag for the money to fuel...

Realizing something wasn't right...
"...err..honey, i guess i had left my bag on the trolley at the airport..."
"...we will turn back..."

Adrenaline gushed....rushed...whatever you name it!...I had actually realized that i had left it...big time!...sigh***...thinking over and over again...how could I ever left that out of my sight??...darn!!!...

Could I ever get it back?...
Could i ever get all of them back?...
Safely tucked in, entirely, as how i hd left it?...
Prayers to Allah was all that came clouding me at the time...

We were just reaching the first gas station sighted after leaving the airport, to fuel, when i came back to my senses....arrgghh!...

Upon arriving at the airport, my hubby approached a policemen-uniformed man seated at the arrival gate.

"assalamualaikum...saya ada hilang barang. boleh saya check di kaunter Lost & Found?"
"ada bawa surat?"
"surat?...tak ada. saya baru hilang barang tu setengah jam tadi. boleh saya check di kaunter Lost & Found?"
"tak boleh ncik. ncik dah keluar, tak boleh masuk ke situ balik. ncik kena buat surat"
"kalau saya tak boleh masuk, boleh tolong tanyakan pada kaunter tu kalau ada orang tinggalkan barang baru2 tadi?"

After a long-stretched "Q & A" session...sigh***...the officer finally did some action and took the phone receiver up and was dialing while saying...

"kawan saya yg in-charge bhgn ni ncik. kawan saya tu kluar minum kejap."

Knowing this is endless and pointless...the sense of "helping" wasn't felt at all, my hubby just left him. We went on our own way on how to get to the right people that could offer us a help or at least guide us with the right steps to undertake. We asked a group of men, looking like the airport staff. They were handling the luggage trolleys. They told us to make a police report and request to view the CCTV. Great!...thanks guyz!...finally somebody cared enough to tell us what to do...pheww!...

But before we head to the police station located nearby from the scene, the officer in the policemen-uniformed earlier waved at us, giving us a sign to come over to him. With him was the "friend" whom he had said in-charged of this kinda case.

"saya ada tertinggal barang baru2 tadi."
"encik dah buat repot polis?"
"belum. baru jadik. saya nak check di kaunter Lost & Found kalau ada brg tertggl yg org hantar kat sana. dlm setgh jam tadi tertinggal di trolley kat luar."
while spreading his smile to us..."...situ tempat public enciiik..."

This is just going nowhere...even with the claimed-to-be officer in-charge. Why must the officer made such a statement ("...situ tempat public enciiik.")...Is this relevant?...This guy wasn't helping us at all!

"encik...boleh tolong just bagitau saya apa yg perlu saya buat sekarang??."...
Breathing in hard, taking charge of my "emotional volcano" avoiding it from enormous "eruption" at any point of time then...aaaand stabilizing the panick mode I was in at the same time, I just had to pull this guy's focus back at where it should be...o dear!

Taking the trolley handlers guys advice earlier, we headed on straight to the police station there. While approaching to the main door of the station...

"...sayang, it's there. syukur alhamdullillah."...says hubby to me.

My hubby saw my bag on the police desk from the station's side glass panel. Pheww!!...it was such a relief hearing that!

In a time of urgency like this, all we need as a civilian is just an assistance from the right people. Please, at least, share our concern, help and guide us through on the actions we should take...be alert, be focus with the procedures and steps to act...instead of dragging us through and passing us an irrelevant remarks...

Thanks to the trolley handlers guyz (if i may addressed them by that...hee)...for your concern and guide!

Day 5 : Trip to Kota Kinabalu (Part I)

Monday, 14 May 2012

Afternoon of 13 May...Heading on to Nexus Resort & Spa, Karambunai upon checking-out from Novotel 1Borneo.

"...hallo, reception?...yea, could you please send someone up to help me with the luggage?...I wanna check-out...thanks!"
...room door bell ringing..."miss, your luggage..."
"..o hi..yes, over here...yea, that's all...and could you help me to get a cab to Nexus please?..."
"...Nexus?...ya, sure ma'am.."
"..thanks.."

Done checked-out...hopped into the waiting cab.

"...nexus karambunai pak...berapa ya?"
"ya, 60..."
"eh...napa mahal pak?...bukan biasa dalam 30 ke 35? boleh kurang pak?..."
"ooh, memang harganya begini. ada ditulis di papan itu.."...showing me the rates board at where cabs await for passengers in front of the hotel.
"oo, kalau gitu pak, tak apa. maaf pak ya?...saya ambil teksi lain...maaf ya?.."
"ya, boleh, ndak apa."

Cab charge for a 20 minutes drive away at MYR60??...Whaatt the...??...I negotiated with another cab driver in front of the hotel and got it at MYR45...phewww!...even if it was more than MYR35 (was told by the city cab driver the other day when asked), but it was much way down from the MYR60 initially!...thanks pak!

Arriving in Nexus Resort & Spa, Karambunai...

the main lobby of the resort

me on pose with "nexus"...hee

hubby on pose while waiting for check-in...

Spa Suite...the block for the suites are located about 10 minutes drive away from the main lobby. the resort's shuttle van then took us to our room...woo hoo!...

Resort's shuttle van commute schedule to and fro to resort's main lobby. Just place your request by dialling the reception. 

As we were on our honeymoon trip (something like that...actually, it's my 1 year wedding anniversary...yea, time flies fast huh...), we were greeted with a complimentary small cake and fruits...thanks Nexus...you are soo sweeettt..heheh...

complimentary honeymoon cake from nexus...

a complimentary fruits for the honeymooners too!
tea peeps??...

I just love travelling...and when you travel, you would want to make the right selections on the place to stay. Worth of your every ringgit spent! However, I realized that sometimes I could not decide. There were limited pix provided in certain hotel or resort's website on the whole view of the room, the bathroom or even to know if the room comes with a private balcony.

Just to share with you travellers out there on this suite I had been in on my honeymoon trip recently.

Concept?...1 bedroom suite
The occupancy?...2 adults and 2 kids
Facilities seen upon entrance?...kitchen with table top, 4 bar stools, jug kettle, microwave, fridge and electric cooking stove.

We stayed on the topmost 5th floor, Suite 353. The 5 storey block serviced with a lift. Stay cool u olls...hahahah, yup...stairs is a no-no huh!...hee...

main entrance...kitchen...

electric cooking stove and microwave...

kitchen...living hall...
the door next to the main door is the 1st bathroom

The second door adjacent to the main door is the 1st bathroom.

Let's hop in and I shall tour you around...it could be of a help to those travellers who would wish to select the suite for their stay during their trip here...

living hall with a balcony...

the balcony...with a sliding door

The balcony was with another sliding door, apart from the sliding door that separates the balcony and the living hall.

set of table and chairs and a wooden towel hanger

the inside view from the balcony

view from the entrance

dining light

From the living hall to the bedroom...overlooking the full view of the ocean and the swimming pool. No balcony in the bedroom but only covered by a glass panel.

door to the bedroom

super king size bed

comfy firm pillow and mattress

seater by the bed to rest and enjoy the ocean view...

From the bedroom to the suite bathroom, fully equipped with spa system facilities...a great total rejuvenation after a tiring day out...

bedroom...overlooking your way to the suite bathroom equipped
with spa system facilities

the bath tub and the toilet section

tub with spa hydromassage system facility...

tub full of water with the hydromassage system on... 

tub that provides a total relaxation

There is a note provided fixed on the wall, a step-by-step instructions on how to operate the system.

It is a must have for those who has been spending their time all day long shopping and sight-seeing out there...

It is as easy as A...B...C guide to operate it...just follow the instructions and you are on your way to a perfect harmony on your vacation...

Another spa facilities provided...the steam bath...

Other views of the bathroom...

The views from the balcony and the bedroom...awesome views I can tell you peeps!...just take a stroll down and see them for yourself...many people, many different tastes and opinion, yes...as for me, it was just a view that I could screen on for hours and definitely superbly breathtaking!

view from balcony-1

view from balcony-2

view from bedroom-1

view from bedroom-2

view from bedroom-3

view from bedroom-4

Hang on for my journey next on Day 5 of KK Part II...