It has been over a month since I left full-time employment and now I have begun to properly plan for the next six to twelve months. It’s gonna be a blast. I hope.
I have been lucky to be able to start my project after a large chunk of accrued income came in. That gave me a peace of mind to map my way en-route to Cape Town, in time for WC2010. (More about this come November)
your rezeki murah Nor…insyallah ada la means tu
That was Eddy, when I told her about my crazy scheme. In a way, she’s quite right. It’s one of the things that I’m grateful for.
This week, I’ve had two leads for writing gigs which is always welcomed. Nothing is definite but I’m hoping that at least one will materialise. It is more to keep my mind from going to mush than anything else. Plus, it’ll be a good distraction from all my worries about dangerous territories, currency exchange rate and hostile immigration officers.
Here’s to hoping.
I am trying to de-clutter, although I suspect it will take me forever to do it. However, for starters, I am clearing my shelves. Please go here if you are looking for reading material. If you’re not in the Klang Valley and still want any, let me know. If you’re outside Malaysia, let me know as well. Who knows, I might just drop by in the next 6 months. 
Last Saturday, before the unfortunate encounter with the makcik, Davie and I were at adik Hazim’s place. His mum had wanted to cook for Davie and I tagged along to see the kids. It was good to see them, still laughing and smiling despite the challenges they face.
That same time, Latfy, who runs Flickers, also came by to interview Hazim for his site. He took photos, some of them can be found here.
The video is out. Don’t forget your hankies!
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Do check out Flickers for inspiring and meaningful stories of people, or rather, warriors of light who lead ordinary lives most of the time.
I feel like a rant.
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You know how words can hurt people? Well a silly and foolish makcik (she is, even though she’s my age) made assumptions and told Davie that the stuff she’s doing is to compensate the fact that she is still single and living on her own.
Bloody hell. If you don’t have anything good to say, just shut your trap, will you.
It is so true that we are capable of doing both good and bad things (to paraphrase Mr. Anderson Cooper). For that makcik, she helps out with the alumni but at the same time thinks trying to fulfill a dying kid’s wish of meeting his favourite tv uncle is not Islamic enough and shouldn’t be encouraged. I know I can be a lousy person and episodes like this serve as a reminder for me to keep working at being a better human being. That’s hard to do but hey, I know from the start that it’s a never ending journey anyway so I should just keep at it while I still can.
Apart from the comments, it was maddening to see how the makcik just assumes that singletons have no life and need to do volunteer work to be fulfilled. Idiot.
Firstly, volunteer work for fulfillment? Young, single people can surely think of so many better things to do than volunteering with sick kids. Secondly, while I don’t have much of a life, I am very grateful for the one I have now sebab aku tak kacau orang, or at least, try not to. Thirdly, not everyone has an agenda. Some people just want to do good and that is never an easy thing to do because of other people, who sit on their cushioned bottoms and pass judgement all day.
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Right. I’m done. For now.
Talking to my favourite people in person is a luxury nowadays. I don’t mind phone calls but it’s much nicer to be physically at the same place, having conversations over [insert beverage of choice] or doing stuff together. While I must admit that I am guilty of having “anti-social” mood swings and picky about who I hang out with (don’t you?), I do make time for the ones that matters. And then some.
In Yogya, I had my hack friends with me. In Saigon, there was Coy and in Macau Eddy. It was really good to catch up on things we don’t talk about online, especially in the last two trips since I usually see them once a year. As with the last time Sara was back, the few days spent with these orang-orang jauh are good times, even if we just spent it lying in a luxurious bed trying to cram a bit more sleep before checkout time.
It is somewhat reassuring I guess, that people still seek me out, even if it doesn’t happen too often. Heh. I’m okay with that. If you see me all the time you might not like it anyway. 
