Shooting Strays

It all started when I saw a picture of a relative getting married on FB. Well, there was nothing wrong with the ceremony. In fact in my heart I was saying, "Bagus lah....dia pun dah duda lama..."

Ajal, maut, jodoh pertemuan are all in the hands of God Almighty. We can't fight it - not a minute late or early. That's how death is, we believe. And we also believe that it's already written in us who our life partners are and how long would the partnership last. Till death do us part or till "others" split us apart - cliche, but true kan!

Coming back to this relative who got married. Fate had it that he was to lose his wife to the big C. About a year ago, just after Christmas, Kak J succumbed to her sufferings. She died of lung cancer. She was very, very nice lady and I am sure she is missed dearly by her children and other members in the family.

Upon seeing the FB posting, I told Abe about the wedding, even forwarded the picture on BBM. Can't quite recall what was his response. But biasa lah Abe being Abe...benda-benda like this dia tak ambik port sangat. Oh well...that's what I thought.....

That night I threw a question at Nissa. Asked her if I passed on and if her dad wanted to remarry, what would her reaction be. Her reply was, "okay".

Huh??? Lame as it may sound, but okay??? Just plain OKAY??? You mean you wouldn't even going to question who your new mom is, can she scrub bathrooms like I do, would she be able to spot that small stain on the dinner plate and have it cleaned again etc etc. Most importantly are you really, really sure you didn't mind a step mom???

What was earlier an uncomplicated line of questioning has become an I-wanna-hear-my-kind-of-answer type of inquiry. Great....now the poor girl was confused. And the dad was some what furious over my picking on Nissa for an answer that was to be music to my own ears. And I was not happy not getting those words from her (perhaps she was also picking on me, who knows!).

Duhh.....just what was wrong with me?? Why was I so "angry bird" like?? Or was it that PMS thingy that is almost due? But then if it was just PMS, I wouldn't have mentioned writing of a will to my sister, would it?

I know...I know I need to go dunk that EPO to keep those straying hormones back in order....sigh.

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Patience of a Saint

Haven't been writing in a while. There's a lot to say, but just too little time to do so. I feel I am running like one headless chicken. Work is crazier than before. And the client is the craziest I've ever had so far.

Have been subjected to lots of verbal abuse by the BigBadOldWolf, a name we gave to this client. It's not just me. No one is spared. My team members and even my Boss have had their fair share of these verbal attacks.

I hate confrontations. During meetings I try so hard controlling myself and my professionalism to not go off guard. Words like "stupid", "hopeless", "crap" and many others which I don't wish to elaborate have been barraged at us as if we have only been in the business just yesterday.

Seriously, I have worked with many people - politicians, corporate figures, government officials but none as crazy as this one. It's so depressing attending meetings and being bombed left, right, front and centre for blunders which are not caused by us. The dark side of me is sending provoke messages like - "screw being civil, let's bang on tables and shout profanities till we run out of them all."

But, I don't want to do that and most importantly, nothing will be solved when anger takes control. Plus, getting mad is tiring and I certainly don't want to make a fool out of myself.

Touch wood, I have managed to defuse these roiling emotions. But the question is, until when? Each time after my solats I ask guidance from Almighty to help me cripple these bad, bad vibes and show me light at the end of the tunnel.

Message in my head for BigBadOldWolf...grrr

Each day I constantly remind myself of these words by Sunil Mangwani - have patience of a saint and the discipline of a soldier.

Insha'Allah (إن شاء الله) God willing, I try.

Wedding Karaoke

A neighbor across the road is holding a wedding reception tonight. The pretty decorated tents have attracted many passers-by since yesterday. The reception surely looked very grand.

It rained earlier in the afternoon. Saw the caterers running halter skelter saving the chairs from getting soaked during the downpour. Anyway, I bet the family must be very relieved with the clear skies tonight. As I write this posting I see guests are queueing at the buffet line for the nasi minyak and lauk pauk that come as company.

Like most weddings these days, there is light entertainment to give the occasion a more festive feeling. From our living room, we could hear the different voices taking turns passing the mike around karaoke-ing to the available minus1 music. Live singing, well, I am okay with that. Sounds pretty nice, even though some sounded really, really pitchy. It's okay lah I guess...nyanyi suka-suka to keep the bride and groom happy and entertained.

But what I noticed was the selection of songs. Ohhhh.....they were such old numbers. Some yang I have never heard before pun ada. If I hadn't heard of them, I bet the guests who are much, much younger had been astounded listening to them as well!

With that I tell myself to make this mental note - to start compiling my own list of songs - retro, contemporary, oldies but not moldies for such occasions. A wise thing to start working on, don't you think so? You'll never know when it's gonna come handy kannnn.....

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