DON'T GIVE UP

I am working on something.  Something really hard to finish.  Something that I started few years ago, then I stopped.  I gave up.

But then I got a push to pursue this again.  It is not easy, but I really want to make it work this time.  So I am telling myself, don't give up.  Don't give up again.

And to motivate myself, I listen to this song.  I really love this song for its inspirational content.
And I pray to Allah this time I will be able to finish this project.

Let's listen to this song and learn from it.  The song is telling us not to give up when we are faced with obstacles, or difficult time in our relationship with the loved ones.  It is also telling us to accept the strength and weaknesses of others, and also to realise our own potentials.

Need to sing along?  Here's the lyrics:

When I look into your eyes
It's like watching the night sky
Or a beautiful sunrise
There's so much they hold
And just like them old stars
I see that you've come so far
To be right where you are
How old is your soul?

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up

And when you're needing your space
To do some navigating
I'll be here patiently waiting
To see what you find

'Cause even the stars they burn
Some even fall to the earth
We've got a lot to learn
God knows we're worth it
No: I won't give up

I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use
The tools and gifts we got, yeah, we got a lot at stake
And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn
We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in
I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not, and who I am

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up, still looking up.

I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)
God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)
We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)
God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up
 

 

I Know A Lot, But I Don't Know A Lot More

Have you ever encountered a person who seems to know a lot of things?
Have you ever met someone who seems to know so many people?
If you do, how did you feel during the conversation you had with that person/someone?

Rimas!  That's how I feel.  Bila berbual dia saja yang tau segala-galanya.  Kita cakap pasal rumah, dia pun nak cerita pasal rumah.  Kita borak pasal kereta, oh he knows everything about cars.  Kita cakap pasal beauty products, yes she knows everything under the sky about beauty products.  Don't ever start a new topic and this "I KNOW ALL" person will also be able to switch to the new topic.  Then he will take over the conversation, talking more than listening.

Yang tu boleh tahan lagi.  Yang I tak boleh tahan and rimas sangat-sangat bila ada orang yang seems to know everyone in the universe.  You mention a restaurant, oh he knows the owner of the restaurant.  You talk about investment, oh yes, he knows the best real estate agent in the country.  You want to go for a vacation, the manager of the resort is her friend.  You want to buy a fridge, yup the tauke of the kedai is her best friend's friend.  You talk about handbag, don't worry, she also knows someone selling handbag.  And so on, and so on, semuanya dia kenal.  Semuanya dia ada contact.

Hebat orang sebegini ya.  Tau segala dan kenal belaka!

I think a person who claims to "KNOW ALL" and "KNOW EVERYONE" is a person who likes to seek attention.  He/she likes to have people listening to him/her.  Perhaps he/she also likes to prove that he/she is successful, knowledgable, has got good connection, etc. 

I do not doubt that there are people who genuinely know a lot of thing, perhaps a knowledge that they acquire through reading, travelling or just from other people.  I respect people who are full of knowledge and wisdom.  But I have more respect towards knowledgeable people who are humble.  Who listens more than speaking, who only say the necessary, who does not interrrupt for the sake of telling others that you also know something or someone.  I respect a person who knows a lot, but choose to acknowledge that he/she does not know a lot more. 

Information is so easily available in the Internet nowadays that even my 12 year old son can tell who is the President of Bhutan (something that I could not do when I was 12).  In the era of IT, without doubt, we tend to know more.  But let's not shout to the world that I know this and I know that or I know him and I know her during a conversation.  Let's listen more and talk less.  Let's talk only the necessary. 

We don't have to prove anything.  So, let's be humble.  Let's admit that I KNOW A LOT, BUT I DON'T KNOW A LOT MORE.  Then, I would not mind, to have deeper conversation with you.

Babe, Don't Crack Under Pressure

Life is always full of tests and trials.
Sometimes, for no reason your whole day becomes a bad day.
Tak pasal-pasal pagi-pagi kereta buat hal.
Anak pulak, time bas sekolah dah menunggu depan rumah baru nak bagitahu cikgu nak itu, ini.  Apasal tak bagi tahu tahun depan je?

Itu bab di rumah.  Once you reach the office, a time bomb is waiting to explode. 
Tuan/puan besar yang duduk dalam bilik "guarded" by miss secretary banyak songeh, was asking for this and that, and wanted more, and asked for the ridiculous things.

And then, mid day you had to entertain difficult client who called to enquire about the obvious.  You said "all information is available on our website" and he said "where ah, I can't see it in your website".  Of course you can't see it sir, you went to the wrong section of the website!!!

And much later of the day, the workshop foreman called to say that your car needed serious repairing and would cost you a price of new I-pad.

The secarios I am putting up there are just examples of things that could go wrong in a day.  I don't know why but when things happened, they usually happened in "bundle", one after another in a short period of time.

How do you feel when faced by difficulties?  Ada rasa nak menjerit dekat bos?  Nak hempuk kepala anak kita yang suka minta benda at the last minutes?  Atau rasa nak maki hamun pelanggan sengal yang tak reti membaca tu? 

Well, chill babe.  Take a deep breath.  Cool down.  Things happen for reasons.  Well, it could also happen for no reason.  Like you are stuck in the traffic jam on the highway and suddenly the flow was smooth and you wonder "apa hal lah jam tadi?"

Very important for us not to "crack under pressure".  I have seen so many cases of people going "meroyan" when they are faced with difficult, stressful, trying moments.  Relaxlah babe, bukan kau seorang je ada yang ada problem.  Worst is when you transfer your problem to other people.  Some people are good in doing this.  Classic example is you got irritated by your boss and then you go around irritating other people in the office.  Another one, always with mothers - you are angry with one child but the whole house ended getting scolded (been there, done that, he he he).

Cracking when you are pressured does not help improving the situation but instead it aggravates the sitution.  It does not do any good on your body system too. 

So, the next time you are under pressure, take a deep breath and try to stay calm.  If you are a Muslim, it is good to say some zikir as zikir is a stress reliever.  I have been practising "hasbunallahu wa ni'mal wakiil" when I am under pressure.

Babe, let's not crack under pressure.  Stay calm.

THINK POSITIVE, BE POSITIVE

Life is not always a smooth journey.
Life is always full of tests and trials.
Life is always full of challenges.
Life is always full of changes.

Do we control our life, or it is our life that controls us?

Does it help to complain about everything around us, except ourselves?

Why do we fight, fight and fight?

We fight over petty matters.
We create issues out of non-issues.
We speak as if we are always right and the other party is forever wrong.
We act as if no one is ever smatter than ourselves.
We blame everyone but ourselves.

In the end, we get exhausted. 
In the end we make more enemies than friends.
In the end we become a pain in the neck.
In the end people remember us for our negativity.

If only....
we choose to look at the brighter side of things
we choose to be positive
we choose to be understanding
we think before we open our mouths
we put ourselves in other's shoes

Life would be a smooth journey, no matter what the challenges are
Think positive, and insyaAllah we will behave positively

Menguruskan badan atau menurunkan berat badan?

Assalammualaikum dan selamat sejahtera kepada pembaca yang budiman (if any, ahaks)

Di Malaysia ni, penduduk-penduduknya suka makan.
Tak kira orang Melayu ke, Cina ke, India ke, Kadazan ke, Iban ke, Sikh ke, kacukan ke semuanya suka makan.
Termasuklah tuan tanah blog Between A and Z ni ha. Hai teramatlah sukanya makan.
Masa makan bukan main selera lagi, tak ingat dunia, ibaratnya.
Lepas makan....

Regret

Regret

Regret

Bila dah burp few times, barulah terfikir "Oh, I have overeaten"
Barulah teringat yang aku makan tadi tu banyak kolestrol, berapa banyak kalori aku dah telan ni.

Masa tuan tanah Between A and Z telah memasang satu azam.
Yeay, azam nak kurus.
Hah, biar betul Kak Yang, azam kau nak kurus?
Kenapa? Tak percaya?

Well, nothing is impossible right?  Dont think I am this big, I cant be smaller.
I am challenging myself - turunkan berat badan.  Dan lepas tu, perlahan-lahan kuruskan badan.

Be Grateful

How many times did we complain about things that we should not have bothered?

How often did we make noise about small matter that in the first place, should not be a matter?

How frequent did we grumble on the negativity when we should have focused on the positive aspects of life?

We wake up on Monday morning, complaining that the weekend was gone too fast.  But we forget to appreciate that we are still able to wake up in one piece on Monday morning.

We complained that our bosses suck, terrible, slave driver, kedekut, fussy, garang nak mampus, etc, etc, etc.  We forget that having to face a terrible boss is better than not having a job.

We complain that our house is too small, yet there are so many homeless people out there.

We envy our neighbour who changes his car every 2 years while we are stuck with the same 10-year old car.  We forget that so many people have to rely on bus, taxi, lrt, komuter to travel.

BE GRATEFUL!  A reminder to myself too.

Eid Mubarak!

It's been a while since I last did something to my blog.

I've been busy, extremely busy.  The works in the office don't seem to end.
And I've ben busy celebrating Aidilfitri.
It was the best Aidilfitri so far, in term of travelling and meeting relatives.
I travelled down south to Segamat on the first day of Raya to celebrate with my dad.

From Segamat, I went east cost to Cherating to celebrate Raya with a brother-in-law who has settled down in Cherating.  My children just love Cherating.  But this time it was a quiet Raya in Cherating as my other in-laws did not join us. 

I travelled up north to Teluk Intan to meet aunties, uncles, cousins and God knows who.
During this trip, I went to a paddy field.  It was my first time going to paddy field.  I was very excited.  The paddy was green, it was windy and situation was just so calm, serene and hmmm, so pleasant.  There I was, a city girl who had not been to a paddy field before.

 

I visited a cousin who gave birth about a month before Raya.  Too bad my uncle and aunt were not at home at the time of the visit, but we managed to catch up with our cousin and looked at her newest family member. 

 



I visited an ex-neighbour.  Makcik Bibah, our neighbour when we were staying in San Peng flat.  We've known her for more than 30 years.  She still looks as young as ever.  She cooked delicious mutton curry for us.  Makcik Bibah, your cooking, your warmth, your kindness and your friendship remain the same as the San Peng's time.  I pray for your wellbeing (so that I get to eat your curry again and again).

I visited Kak Lang on the 6th of Syawal, a cousin who is on long medical leave as she just had an operation done on her knee.  We rarely get to celebrate Raya with Kak Lang as in the previous years, she celebrated her Raya in Teluk Intan.  It was good to catch up with Kak Lang and her three grown up children.

I also went to Melaka to visit a long lost uncle.  Well, actually we did not lose him.  My mum still maintains a good contact with his children.  But we rarely see him.  In fact my siblings had not seen him for years.  I had the chance to meet him last year when I was asked by mum to look for him when he was staying with his children in KL.  Long, (what we call him) it was a pleasure meeting you after so many years. 

The most interesting visit by relatives this year was the visit by Kak Chor and her children.  We have not met Kak Chor and her children for many years.  When I last met them, the children were young and cute.  My, now they have grown up to be good-looking men.  It was really a pleasure meeting them.  They were expected to reach mum's around 9 pm but they had unexpected visitors as they were ready to leave home.  Finally they got at mum's place at almost midnight.  I did not mind the late hours as I was so excited to meet them.  Herry, the eldest son has got long beard now, Abang Chik, Abang Bor, Kimi have all grown up and they are so much taller than me. I still remember when they were small, they were so adorable.  Abang Chik and Abang Bor are twins - they looked identical when they were small but they look so different now that they have grown up. 

I also went to Kelantan and Trengganu, for vacation and visiting relatives.  I shall write separately on this particular east cost trip as there is so much to write about this trip.

All the travelling, meeting up relatives, be in places that I had not been, had made the 2012 Aidilfitri a memorable one.  Thanks to facebook, I am now in touch with so many relatives.

A very belated eid mubarak!