moyang & cicit

moyang & cicit : Sharifah Zubaidah -> Tengku Rabeah -> Ida Yanti -> Lyana Fareeha.

Lyana, when you read this blog maybe a few years later, and maybe Tok Sharifah Zubaidah (your moyang) has gone to meet Allah, you would see how fond Tok was with you, playing with your small hands and kissing you constantly. At the time this picture was taken, Tok has very little recollection of things, however - dah nyanyuk. Tok even had a hard time remembering who abah is, nevertheless, she loves you very much. :)

Lyana & Abah

Me & Lyana when we were in Melaka. Comelnya dia!

The love of my life.

Secrets of the Richest Man Who Ever Lived

I read this book I just bought titled "Secrets of the Richest Man Who Ever Lived", referring to King Soloman. The writer was simply writing ideas and suggestions for success but added references and quoted the bible to 'add value' to his book.

Then I thought...I can do better than this guy. His style of writing wasn't academic at all - any tom-dick-and-harry could do it. Nothing spectacular or different from other self-help books except for its reference to the bible and King Soloman.

Thus, I have decided to write a book of similar ilk - using our prophet Muhammad and quotes from the Quran and hadith...

Yea, I could do that. Hmm.. if only I can start it.

apa nak jadi dengan aku ni?

When I look at my worldly pursuits, I think have not even achieved 20% of what I ultimately want. Apa nak jadi dengan aku ni?!

I've laid out plans but I never am focussed enough to execute them till the end. Deep in me I have this fear of failure and fear of getting out of my comfort zone. Tapi sampai bila nak macam ni?

I've tried many things but none really can be lauded as applaudable:
1. Geemox Technologies Sdn Bhd - the IT company was a dream come true but was short lived having both Wolle & myself pursue our career path which seperated us and eventually crumbled the company and our dreams.

2. WAAZA Soya - was a success story waiting to expand its wings and soar the sky of success. A well thought out business model but lack execution and follow-through. Still a workable business model but I lack the focus and time to pursue it full-time.

3. Battlezone Paintball - my brainchild business plan was 'stolen' by Hendon Kebaya's younger brother. He exploited my ideas and built his paintball business in the Sunway extreme park according to my paper. I should have copyrigthed the business plan before showing it to him - wasted my time and brains for 2 years. :(

4. Ladang mangga at Alor Gajah. Oh, what wasted land I have in AG. I need to clear the jungle and start planting some mango trees there. One way to help Abah monitor the place is to fix a CCTV system. Yup, that and fences should help.

6. Maximise kolam ikan talapia U.Muslim - this has been in my head for awhile but I never appeared to approach U.Muslim about this idea. I believe it should be easy to market the fish in KL. Hundreds of restaurants would like to buy the fish, I'm sure. I must build a staging tank in KL so that the fishes remain alive and fresh.

Come on Azad... get on with it, will ya?!

Aiyoo, mahal nye...

Haaa, gatal mulut lagi. Guess what? I sent my car to Peugeot Service Center on Wednesday 16 Feb, and told them about the noises my car is making and other problems. After they diagnosed my car, they called me yesterday to update me on the damages - both to my car and my wallet. The whole set of absorbers and steering mumbo-jumbos plus engine fan motor and a new wiper washer tank will cost a whopping RM5200! That excludes the labour charges which might cost another RM500. AIYOOO, mahal nye. Lemah lutut dengar. :(

Nampak nye makan habuk la aku nak bayar menatang ni punya repair. Hu-uu-uu... tak jadi beli shoplot la macam ni. After this new set of absorbers, the 406 better ride like a dream! Otherwise...

Anyway, while my 406 is in the works, I ride the commuter and LRT to work. Didn't know that the transportation mode was very popular - I don't even have space to stand in some occassions. Thousands of M'sians use them during rush hour. I'm glad this public transportation was built - should help reduce car and ultimately traffic jams.

But honestly, after 3 days of using the system, if I had a choice between driving (even with traffic jams & toll) and riding commuter/LRT, I would drive. It's more comfortable to drive. I've only managed to sit twice in the commuter train - other than that its torture on the legs - lenguh kaki berdiri.

But nothing beats the smell. Oh yes, you get assortments of smell, from ketiak masam to bunga ros hangit to hamis kap lam ya nga. Itu yang yang paling tak tahan sekali.

Hi-ho to all who ride the commuter & LRT. Bet you people have strong legs and good smelling armpits. ;)

a new year begins - back to work

Aiyoo, so malas to work today. Woke up early but was dragging to go to work - hence this blog posting today from the office. I almost fell asleep driving : dangerous!

Not suprised to find myself the first to arrive to work this morning (apart from the cleaning lady). My boss, Ruslan, was also in 'off' mode - coming in at 8.30am (office hours start at 8am). We talked about our long holiday rather than about work. Maybe we'll catch some speed after mid-day.

As muslims, we start our new year last thursday. Here's my list of (not resolutions) TO DO for 1426 hijrah:
1. To lose 10kg.
2. To lose another 10kg.
3. To lose another another 10kg.
4. To ensure I do no. 1, 2 and 3.
5. To go to the masjid more often.
6. To read the Quran at least once a day (yes, very bad me)
7. To not miss a single prayer.
8. To have another child.
9. To save more money for hajj in 2007.
10. To not buy another car or bike - buy magazines to dream boleh.
11. To finish reading my textbooks during every semester.
12. To visit more relatives and friends.
13. To buy a shoplot.

Have you set out your to do list? All the best to us all this year.

CNY batu caves hike

Whatdya know?! We actually exercised - me, Ibdil, Mafiz & Fiqar. Heheh. Thanks, gang. I needed the company to keep me motivated. I was in such enthusiasm to exercise that the next day I went up Bukit Kiara, and on Friday I swam 1100m at Kompleks 3K, Subang Jaya.

However, on Saturday I was aching all over (mostly due to the swim) so I exercised my fingers instead with PS2 until wee hours.

Mafiz, was the man of the day, actually. He stood against the odds. When we arrived at Mafiz's house that eventful morning, he was still asleep but Rozita was already out exercising with the kids. Mana bini tak marah? Kawan ajak boleh pergi, bini ajak tak ikut.

used car anyone?

Mean 406! ROAR!!! (I'll show you my not-so-mean Peugeot 406 in another post).

When I think of my 'docile' 406, I sometimes wonder what the heck am I doing with this old car. The interior is aging, the suspensions are not as comfortable as before, the car jerks during gear changes at low speeds, there are knocking sounds from my left front wheel when I do U-turns, the left headlights takes time to lit up, the electronic aircon buttons sometime don't work, etc...etc...

To bring it to tops, I probably need another 10k. Lets not forget that I've already spent almost 10k on the car after I bought it - new windscreen, new timing belt, new crankshaft, new suspension bushes, new link rods, new undercarriage protectors, new door rubber linings, new boot actuator, rewiring of electronics.

But then again, that's what I get from an 'ol 1997 car. It's about expectations and decisions. I know what to expect prior to buying a used car and I have also decided... it's just that sometimes I wish it had 'cheaper' problems. :(

I sometimes wonder what's it like to own a brand new 406 for that matter. But financial limitations always set me back. I'm not willing to fork out RM160k for a car! After all, its just another vehicle. Choices.. choices..

You see, when you buy a brand new car, you're also paying the government for the taxes, the salesman for their commision, the car dealers for the advertisements, shop rental and their profits. That's why, the moment you sign the purchase agreement and make your downpayment, the car instantly depreciates about 20% of the price - even before you get to see your car.

Since my frustration when I sold my brand new Ford Ranger, I have pledged to never buy a brand new car that has a depreciation rate of more than 20%. I lost about RM40k, then.

Remember my Kawasaki ZZR500? I bought it for RM13k, used it for almost 2 years, crashed it with repair cost of RM7500 (RM6k paid by insurance, RM1.5k by me). Later, I managed to sell the bike off for RM13.5k. Not bad, huh? Try that on a brand new car and tell me your success story (if any, which I doubt).

At the end of the day, I'd rather spend the money on the car than pay the 'others'. Cheers to those who buy used cars!

blogs? go-blogs?

a-haaa... finally took the step to have me own blogspot. will meddle more later. over & out.