I have never done this before, blogging I mean, so here goes.

I have just given my fishes a heart attack, so I thought this should calm me down a bit. I know they say you have to take out all the fishes when cleaning their house, but I have guppies in my small pool and there are tens of them ( hundreds maybe, including all the tiny ones) so I can't possibly scoop all of them out. It's just a small pond with a nusantara-style pasu in it that acts as a fountain. With all the news about dengue going on now I thought I'd just clean it up a bit (the guppies are placed there to eat up the mosquito larvae). So, I just pump out the dirty water leaving just barely enough for them to swim about, and refill with fresh water. At the same time I just sort of stir up the tiny pebbels at the bottom to raise up the dirty stuff so that it will be pumped out as well. And the fishes will be swimming helter skelter just to get away from me. But at the end of it I thinnk they are still okay 'cos they are all swimming around none the worse.

Anyway back to the topic. Like I said I've never done this before but there has to be a first time for everything. I always thought that bloggers have to have a statement to make. Well I don't have any (unless you consider scaring my fishes is a big statement).

Before quitting I used to work in a bank. My work involved working on and leading projects for developing the bank's products before launching them out. We usually work in teams anything from 10 to 20 people, depending on the size of the project. The work involved creating something out of nothing, save for a brief predetermined product rules. But of course these rules can change if we see the need based on our findings during the development work.

We have regular meetings and discussions working out all the processes and systems and procedural requirements. Ever so often when we are stuck at some point and cannot see how to proceed, someone in the team would casually say "takpa... kita buat dia" (loosely translated 'never mind ... we make them'), and then we just go back to the last agreed point and start again. That is when changes to the rules are proposed and new ones made. Based on that that philosophy I'd like to think that I have been successful on all my projects.

Until now, even after quitting, I find that this still works for me. I determine how I want to live my life. If I want to feel good.. I do good. Sometimes when I meet up with old office friends, they always ask what I am into now ( buat apa sekarang? ada buat bisnes ke? dah dapat kerja baru ke? tak boring dok rumah?) As if it cannot be imagined that I may actually enjoy staying at home and not working (as if staying at home is not work).

So I say to all 'kita buat dia'.

So kalau tak nak rasa bosan jangan dok saja-saja, definitely you will feel bosan. If you chose to be bored, then boring la rasanya. I have always liked needlework, ever since young. While working I don't have the time to indulge in these things, so sekarang boleh la. I have been sewing my own raya clothes plus my two daughters'. Then there is the garden....and the fishes...
However, I still have some work to do on cooking. Bila tiba masa nak kena masak tu rasa berat sikit la...

Alhamdulillah, until now I have no reasons yet to feel otherwise'. And I pray that I still have the openness in mind to think positively out of all that happened and may happen, InsyaALLAH.

So again, 'Kita buat dia'.

Wan Faizon is In The House!

Welcome aboard, Jon. I am glad you decided to take up the invitation to be a contributor to the Blog. And I look forward to read your postings, photos, etc.

Is anyone else interested? Just send me your email and I will do the necessary. For those not yet in the contributor list, you can still put in your comments on the posts in the blog. Tapi kalau you nak story sendiri, please send me your info.

Ani Salim, I sent you the invite some time back. Boleh respond, tak? I am sure you banyak cerita for us. I ni, not exactly the storyteller in those good old days. In think I was better known as a Cartoonist, because at the reunion last year, many asked me what happened to my cartoons? Hmm... probably got lost somewhere in the paper chase! That will be another story I guess. Coming soon to a Blog near you.

I know sometimes I may sound quite frivolous when I post on the Blog. Bukan apa, release tension. This is one of the few places where I can let it all hang out (OOPS ... almost all!) because all of you have known me since we were kids, so I have nothing to hide and I can be the real me without being afraid that I will be judged. I am sure Ani CD feels the same ... just look at her when she is with us! The young Ani CD resurfaces and there is almost no inkling ofthe person that she is now, i.e. some hotshot corporate climber minding the moneybags of a huge corporation! Except, when the prefect or debator surfaces and she becomes a bit intimidating!!!Jangan marah, Ani. We all love you.

The point is, please do not let your fear of being judged by the other sisters here hold you back from posting. After all, we are old friends, and I am sure we are all past that. Lagi pun tua tua ni, you can speak your mind! So, let go of your inhibitions and give it a go!

And finally, Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan Al-Mubarak.

Blog Report aka Contributions, Anyone?

A thought just occurred to me. Apart from Hafiz's earlier posting and Zid's previous comments on this blog, no one else from our Batch is posting anything on this blog! So, it has ended up being filled with rambling and monologues from yours truly!

When I started this, I anticipated that initially the postings and comments will be quite slow, but I had hoped that things will pick up as we all begin to get the hang of it. However this did not materialise and I am now wondering if I should just discontinue this and just concentrate on my own personal blog.

Most of you are probably reading the postings from the yahoogroups because I have linked it to the group. Notwithstanding this, I must say that the traffic to this blog is picking up. And that it has quite a few regular "readers", both locally and abroad. Some are entirely not related to TKC or our Batch but landed here through the searches and links. And some of these "accidental" visitors had stayed on to read the postings!!! And I think, though I cannot confirm it, we have at least one or two Sisters of 74 reading this from the UK. Maton, is that you?

I noticed that in the tkcoga blog, most of the postings are from K Ruby, but at least members are responding with comments to the postings. You see, apart from contributing by writing your own postings, you can also put in your comments to these posts by clicking the "Comment" link at the end of every post. You can also post photos, etc., whatever strikes your fancy. And it doesn't have to be lengthy works of art either! E.g post a photo of your son's ( or daughter's) wedding, or photos of yourself before and after the slimming regime you have been adhering to the last six months(?), your favourite recipes, an article you read which could be of interest, or even an interesting site you visited (just type in the link, no need to write about it!) I know that initially we all experience some hesitance ... orang nak baca ke? ... malu lah! ... am I baring to much about me? ... Tak pandai tulis lah! ... etc. But I can almost guarantee that once you have started, you will really begin to enjoy it.

At the beginning of the creation of the blog, some of you have expressed that it may not be necessary because we have the newsgroup, and that we are too busy to access different sites, apart from our emails. And not everyone stays glued to the computer from morning to evening! Point taken (albeit, sadly), but I was hoping to show that with all the hectic schedules which leaves so little time for us to catch up with one another, we can share more of ourselves through the blog. Anyway, I hope to get some views from all of you in respect to whether there is any point in continuing this blog? If you can't respond to this at the blog, just email me, or through the yahoogroups.

Looking forward to your views. Love and Best Regards.

I finally got soft copies of the photos of the Sabah trip. Thought I'd share them with all of you. That's me with the red helmet , seriously rowing away!

It was pretty good fun, though tiring. But as I mentioned in the previous post, I think Jeram Besu was a bit more challenging! Anyway, my body, especially my shoulders still ached the next day. I was frantically looking for a good massage the following day!

The next photo was taken by my colleagues who went to the Kinabalu Park the following day.

The Rafflesia is the the world's largest flower and is also one of the hardest to find. I didn't join the trip to Kinabalu park, but my colleagues who did were lucky to come across this one, which is in full bloom. Apparently, Sabah is known to have the largest concentration of the Rafflesia population. This exotic flower takes up to 15 months to bud and only lasts 7 days in bloom. Its Malay name is Bunga Pakma and some of you may already know that it is also sought for its medicinal properties. Some history ... the first Europeans to discover the Rafflesia were Sir Stamford Raffles and Dr Joseph Arnold. They stumbled across one whilst on a field trip near Bengkulu, Sumatra in 1818.

And finally, sunset as seen from the hotel we were staying, Sutera Harbour Resort.

With that, good night all!

Good to Be Back

Aah ... its good to be able to sit down with my laptop and start connecting with my friends again. I have been away since August 24th, for a long awaited break from work, and after that I was in Kota Kinabalu with most of my colleagues for a team building cum holiday retreat.

The break was good. Time spent with family is always wonderful although this time it was tinged with sadness since my cousin, Sazali, passed away that Saturday morning in Penang, when he succumbed to dengue haemorrhagic fever. He was all of 30. As a result, the wedding reception for another cousin took a back seat. I think I shall write about Sazali's passing in another posting, if I am up to it.

The KK trip, though short, was pretty tiring. I didn't realise KK was THAT hot and humid! I was practically melting! Thank God for the rafting trip at the rather "gentle" Kiulu River, which is categorised as Grade 1 to 2. Was told by the guide that it is good for beginners, families with children and the not too adventurous (?). That was my second experience at white water rafting, the first being at Jeram Besu, which I was told is a Grade 2 to 4, and fast gaining popularity as one of the most challenging white water-rafting areas in the country. Gradings aside, I felt I certainly had more adrenalin gushing when I was doing Jeram Besu.

Anyway, gentle or not, my muscles ached from all that rowing, almost 10 km, I was told. Must be from lack of exercise, and also the fact that we all didn't do any warm-ups before all that rowing! And, sigh, probably age as well!!!

If there was anything I missed about beimng away from home, it was the food. I guess the locals do not like very "padas" food and Mis Hot Pallete here certainly fopund the food rather bland. So, for 4 days, I was practically starving!

I apologise if I haven't been answering emails all this while. Didn't feel like lugging around my laptop, and wasn't inclined to be holed up in some internet station. And K Ruby, if you are reading this, sorry I didn't respond to your request regarding the discussion on the tkcoga blog.

Also wanted to congratulate the group on the increased traffic to our blog. Way to go, girls! Now, it would be even better if you start your postings, right? :-)