my life right now ...

Waking Up to a 1970s Song

Kuala Terengganu, today

It was a fine afternoon. I was in the hotel room. 

I had quite an eventful sessions since this morning. I woke up about 5 minutes before the alarm on my iPhone which sets at 5.15 am.

After taking a rather cold shower and said my Subuh as soon as the azan was called, I was accompanied by my wife and dropped me at Subang Skypark. I had the morning flight to catch to Kuala Terengganu. 

After the meetings with the contractors in the mornings and with a State Government Agency right after lunch, I quickly made my way to check into the hotel.

I felt a little bit sleepy, and lied on the nicely prepared hotel bed, and had a wonderful siesta ....

... I woke up, feeling fresh to a 1970s song played on the Youtube. Ohhh, what a feeling. 

Imagine, when you're like 7 or 8 years old. When everything seems beautiful, seems pure, seems innocent. 

Last Day of Ramadhan 1438

My dearest mother passed away on 9th September 2015. It was the saddest day of my life. I remembered being the last person still lingering at the graveyard long after everyone else has left. 

My mothers's funeral

How could I leave ... I have no one else. My dear dad met his Maker a year earlier on 4th September 2014. I recalled back when I made the annoucement after the funeral prayers to those who came that whomsoever owes anything to either one of them please get in touch with me as I will repay them back. My body was all trembling, shaken and my eyes were subdued with tears.

I'm fond of giving money and gifts to my mother ever since I was studying. With the £305 I received for my monthy stipend from the Malaysian Government way back in 1988, I would put aside about £50 for my mother. I continued giving her when I came back to Malaysia and started to work in the oil & gas industry. I gave her monies and buy her things like jewelleries, wristwatch, handbags, and undergarments (yes, expansive brassieres). About 15 years ago, I started to give to my dad as well, even though he insisted not to.

Since 2016, together with the crumbling of the oil price, my career in the oil & gas industry has gone down to the oblivion. As if when both of my parents died, so was my high paying job. I had to start all over again. It's very difficult to be honest, only Allah swt knows.

It was about a year ago, I had a lucid dream of my mother asking me when am I going to visit her. I said to myself, the time has not come yet.

As in the case of previous years, during Hari Raya and balik kampung times, I rented a 7-seater SUV from Hertz. This time around they gave me an almost  a brand new car. On the last day of Ramadhan this year, I was on my way to Taiping with my wife to find prawns, as there's none available at the Kuala Kangsar market. 

The less than 4000 km new SUV

My wife said to me that surely in Sitiawan (my hometown) has aplenty, as it normally is. At that instant, I said back to her that Sitiawan is quite a distant, and I'm not planning to go there any time soon.

For whatever reason my rented car suddenly broke down. When I called Hertz, they said that they will fetch me with another car which will come from Lumut but I have to send the driver back to Lumut, whereas the replacement of similar type of car will only came late in the evening from KL.

Broke down on the way to Taiping

There I was, out of a sudden going to Lumut (and Sitiawan) for no reason. I was able to say the Asar prayer in congregation at the Sungai Parit Surau which is in front of the graveyard where my parents were buried. Right after Asar, I made my way to the graveyard and there I was again alone, crying my heart out at their resting place. This is all happened on the last day of Ramadhan this year.

I was there alone, crying (selfie using timer 10s)

My dad's grave

My mother's

Thereafter, I managed to buy more than a kilo of fresh prawns at the Sitiawan market and made my way back to Kuala Kangsar got the replacement SUV, and had enough time to break my fast with my wife and her family members.

Fresh prawns from Sitiawan

Replacement SUV from Hertz

The above episode is surely not according to my plans as Allah is the best Planner.

My Two Wonderful Overs at STC

It was a pleasant Sunday, when the weather was just fine for a game of 40 over cricket. My team SPC XI won the toss and chose to field first. I was the opening bowler and got to bowl 5 overs. The followings were my last two overs, which were quite dramatic.

Leman (SMS Taiping, Perak) is a stylish batsman who normally scored heavily, when he's at the crease while wearing the baggy green. However, this time around he's just making a comeback after spending much time in Korea.

I was in the second spell of my bowling. In the first spell, I bowled for 3 overs with no wickets.

13.1 Bad to Leman, no run, blocked

13.2 Bad to Leman, no run, in-swinging yorker, blocked

13.3 Bad to Leman, 1 run, outside off full, tapped and run

13.4 Bad to Malik, 1 run, ball too straight, glanced to leg side

13.5 Bad to Leman, OUT, the ball bounced higher, kissed the top of the bail

[Leman] bowled [Bad] 1 run 

Maybe again, he had too much of kimchi and K-Pop.

13.6 Bad to Mahno, no run, blocked

The score was 67 run for 5 wickets. After that, there were periods where there was a run fest, as the bowlers used were giving too many wide balls and easy pickings to the batsmans. The captain SPC said that this was merely tactical.

Saufi (Sekolah Agama Wilayah, Labu) the batsman from Abul XI has just raised his bat for a well deserved half century and the total score now is 198 runs. He will be facing my first ball in the 32nd over. I used to play once in Saufi's team Sydney Outsyders in the Last Man Standing League in Sydney, of which I took my first wicket in Australia. Saufi is an all-rounder, whom can bat deep and bowl fast. 

32.1 Bad to Saufi, OUT, an extravagant drive, in-swinging ball finds inside edge of the bat and hit the stumps

[Saufi] bowled [Bad] 58 runs

MKY will be the new batsman. He was from Mozac (SMS Muzaffar Shah, Melaka). My team-mate Milok (SMS Sultan Mahmud, Terengganu) jokingly said to me "Dari pengalamang aku, si MKY ni buleh tahan tiga bola je." Is it? Time to find out.

32.2 Bad to MKY, no run, full and straight, blocked

32.3 Bad to MKY, OUT, the ball coming too fast and hit the off stump

So the prediction was true, he lasted only 2 balls.

[MKY] bowled [Bad] 0 run

The last batsman in. He has to face 3 remaining balls from my over. Can he survive?

32.4 Bad to Era, no run, in-swinging yorker, blocked

32.5 Bad to Era, no run, full and angled in to the middle, blocked

32.6 Bad to Era, no run, full and straight, blocked

A two-wicket maiden over, what a wonderful piece of bowling from yours truly, the otai STAROBA Tigers bowler.

Abul XI scored 198 runs and were all out by the 33rd over. SPC XI won the match after easily overtaking the score in the 26th over.

Some Random Photo Stories

It was Summer in the Netherlands. After my work has finished, I took the time to visit  Zaanse Schans a  scenic tourist attraction with windmills and museums.

The year was 2010. Ayra was eight and Awateef was thirteen. We were in KLCC.

I just bought a sports hybrid car for my birthday in 2012, and still using it.

I love to see how my late dear mother casts her loving eyes on me.  I really missed you Mak.

Sharing the Umbrella

The other day, I came back early from the out-of-office meeting which finished earlier than scheduled. Since, I haven't had lunch yet and had a sudden crave to eat a beef steak (of all things, I'm really a lamb guy) ... and after almost 3 days of non-solid food eating as I was down with a bad viral fever, I thought maybe a visit to Tony Romas will not be such a bad idea.

I haven't actually gone to these sort of outlets (on our own, on kids' birthdays yes) since almost one and a half year ago, coincidentally when the oil & gas industry went into the drain. It was about the same time I also started a strange new hobby of home cooking and trying brave new recipes from YouTube and what not, from Jamie Oliver's best egg omelette to Gordon Ramsay's grilled salmon, and even posted my masterpieces on IG.

Anyways, as soon as I planned to have that nice late lunch at TR, I remembered my wife. I called and asked her to get ready so that I could pick her up, from the back entrance of the house.

It was raining cats and dogs, albeit heavily. Instead of just waiting for her to come, I thought maybe I should fetch her with an umbrella. That's what I did. 

Imagine this, it was raining heavily, I came out from the car.  I saw she's already coming out from the house with a piece of cardboard on her head. A very much delight brimming on her face when she saw me coming with an umbrella. 

So there I was, with my wife holding her tightly by my side while sharing the umbrella on a really heavy rainy Wednesday afternoon ... 

Happy Anniversary dear.

Kekapal Terbang

I'm an avid enthusiast on aviation, or for that matter anything that flies. I'm still wondering whether the buraaq was actually a biological living creature that could fly or could it be a mechanical flying machine. What about the real engineering and design technical specifications of Prophet Sulaiman's flying throne? Anyway in this short note, I would like to share some of the airplanes and the airlines that I have been flying with (among others) ...

Late 1980s:

• Boeing 737-200 MAS:  Subang to Changi. The first time I’ve ever been in an aeroplane, just 20-year old, after getting a Government Scholarship to study Aeronautical Engineering in Glasgow University. I saw my dearest mother crying when sending me to the Departure Hall. I was feeling really excited for the adventures to come.

• Boeing 747-200 British Airways: Changi to London Heathrow. Sitting beside me throughout the 13 odd hours journey was a lovely girl on her way to Herriot Watt University to study Actuarial Science or what not.

• McDonnell Douglas DC-10 British Airways: London Heathrow to Glasgow Abbotsinch. Welcome to Scotland.

• Ilyushyin Il-76TD Aeroflot: London Heathrow to Subang via Moscow Domodedovo International Airport to & fro. Bloody hell, this civil variant of a multi-purpose 4-engined strategic airlifter really scared me, especially the stewards and stewardess were like shrewd Soviet era Red Army. This aircraft also has a lower glass cockpit. Anyway, this is the cheapest way back home during summer holidays, back then.

1990s:

• British Aerospace Jetstream 41: Glasgow Prestwick Airport, round and round, during my aerospace engineering Year 3 practical lab. Rasa nak muntah jek ... actually I did.

• Boeing 747-200 PIA: London Heathrow to Subang via Jinnah International Airport Karachi. That ‘via’ thing lasted for four months, during my epic  ‘چار مہینے’ sabbatical journey.

• Boeing 737-300 MAS: Subang (still Subang ...) to Changi. Many times company trip to the Red Dot City.

• Fokker50 MAS to some destinations within the peninsula.

• de Havilland Canada Dash 7  Berjaya Air, on and off trip to Kerteh before going to offshore.

• Eurocopter AS365N2 Dauphin, Sikorsky S76C and many more scary helicopters rides from MHS during my offshore days. 

Eurocopter Dauphin

Sikorsky S76C

2000s:

• Boeing 737-400 MAS: KLIA to Changi. Sometimes instead of MAS we used to also to commute to Singapore using SQ.

• Airbus 330-200 MAS: KLIA to KK. I had the pleasure of working as the project manager for six months in Sipitang Sabah, every two three week I travel back to KL. Not after transit for a day usually at the comfortable Sutera Habour Hotel. 

• Airbus 330-300 MAS: KLIA to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Jakarta. Couple of times I went to Jakarta on business trip.

• Airbus 330-200 MAS: KLIA to Juanda International Airport Surabaya.

• Boeing 747-400 MAS: KLIA to Los Angeles International Airport (a.k.a. LAX or Tom Bradley). An epic journey to the US.

• Boeing 757-200 US Airways: LAX to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Visiting Honeywell HPS HQ previously in Phoenix.

• Boeing 737-400 Continental: Phoenix to Houston George Bush Airport. Onto Houston the oil town of the US. Until now, I sometimes cracked my lame 'dad jokes' to my kids saying that "I'm going to Houston", whenever my kids asked me where I'm going.

• Boeing 777-200 MAS: KLIA to Amsterdam Schipol. Back to Amsterdam after 20 odd years. Went on to Amersfoort, Zaanse Schans and Rotterdam.

• Boeing 737-400 Luftansa: Schipol to Frankfurt

• Boeing 757-200 United: LAX to Houston. Another trip the US. Visited NASA Johnson Space Centre in Houston and Universal Studio in LA.

• Boeing 777-200 MAS: KLIA to Narita. Cool Tokyo and its Disneyland Theme Park as well. Onto Yokohama.
• Airbus A330-300 MAS: KLIA to Indra Gandhi International Airport. Visited Taj Mahal.
• Few more trips to Japan and India ...

2010s:

• Boeing 777-200 MAS: KLIA to Istanbul Ataturk. What a beautiful city.
• Boeing 737-400 Turkish: Istanbul to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

• Boeing 777-200 MAS: KLIA to HK International Airport. Cuti-cuti HK with family.
• ATR72 Firefly: Subang to Changi

• Airbus A320-200 AirAsia: LCCT to KK

• Boeing 777-200 MAS: KLIA to CDG Paris. Ahh, Mona Lisa at the Louvre.
• Airbus 340-300 Gulf Air: KLIA to Muharraq Bahrain International Airport.

• Airbus A330-200 Gulf Air: Bahrain to Dubai. Welcome to Dubai Mall and the really tall Burj Khalifa.

• Airbus 340-300 Emirates: KLIA to Dubai

• Airbus A380-800 Emirates: Dubai to CDG Paris. How about Euro Disneyland for a change?

• A few more trips to Istanbul via Boeing 777-200 MAS with wife and company trips.
• Airbus A380-800 Emirates again ... I had an Italian Job in Milano (Milan), onto Venezia Santa Lucia (Venice) and the scenic Lago di Como (Lake Como)
• Airbus A380-800 MAS to Paris with wife and daughter. Onto UK via channel tunnel Eurostar, and back to Glasgow after 25 years, via Lake District and Stoke-on-Trent.

• Airbus A330-300 AirAsiaX from KLIA to Sydney for a job interview, would you believe it? I even had a chance to play cricket with the local Aussie team. Anyway the flight sucks.

• Airbus A330-300 MAS from KLIA to Sydney. This was so much better.
• Boeing 737-300 AirAsia from KLIA to Jakarta, few times on business and leisure.

• ATR72 Malindo from Subang Skypark to Kuala Terengganu, many times as I'm currently doing the KT MRO project.

• Boeing 787 Dreamliner JAL from KLIA to Narita, and another Dreamliner to Nagoya.

• Boeing 737-800 Malindo to Lahore, the Fort, Badshahi Mosque, Anarkali Bazaar, Sheesh Mahal (the real thing, not the restaurant) etc.

• Admal Cessna 172 round and round Kuala Lumpur.

• North Americas Tour of 2019 - I was doing an intercontinental round trip marathon flights of 41,263 km from KUL-DOH-ORD-YYC-IAH-DOH-KUL for some meetings with the oil & gas people in Canada and the US as well as attending the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston. Taking Qatar's Boeing 777 (300 & 200) and United's Boeing 737-800. The distance travelled was more than Earth's circumference around the equator which is 40,075 km, just like what al Biruni has calculated in his Codex Masudicus written in 1037.

Qatar 777-300

United 737-800

• Tokyo (and Fuji-san) with Wife and Kids cruising the Boeing 777-300 Cathay Pacific from KLIA to Narita via Hong Kong.

1. 2022 AirAsia: KLIA-Changi-KLIA Airbus A320neo
2. 2022 AirAsia: KLIA-KKIA-KLIA Airbus 330-300
3. 2022 Turkish: KLIA-Istanbul-KLIA Boeing 777-300
4. 2022 Saudia: KLIA-Madinah, Jeddah-KLIA Boeing 787-9
5. 2023 Saudia: KLIA-Jeddah-Rome, Frankfurt-Jeddah-KLIA Boeing 787-9
6. 2024 Saudia: KLIA-Jeddah-KLIA Boeing 787-9

My Dream Airplanes:

• Antonov An-225 Mriya (Dream). Saw this the first time during the Farnborough Air Show in the UK.

• Airbus A400M (TUDM already purchased 4 units)

• Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor VTOL, STOL (you name it)