Alor Star (the Masjid Zahir look stunning at night)
Took the afternoon flight to Penang. Hired a car, and drove to Alor Star. There’s a meeting at a fertilizer plant in Gurun tomorrow.
Yesterday was quiet an eventful.
1. In the morning, there’s a project review meeting with my regional leaders two VPs and one Snr GM. Hah, these Singaporeans, they were trying to bamboozle our team by using paraphrases that seemed to misguide my local team.
Sitting beside my MD, I managed to tame them by projecting our voice and applying the 8th Habit.
"Brad, what I need from you immediately is to send me your full list of what you want me to do, complete with the action plans. I need all those creative thinking and juice flowing."
Boss, I thought you never asked. Anyway, it’s never too late.
2. In the afternoon, my immediate boss the Director, looked very gloomy.
"What’s wrong Boss?" Actually I knew what’s wrong. He had a hard time with the MD recently.
" The trick is, to always be in control. We must be few steps ahead of the issue, including anything to do wrt the big boss." I then blanja him lunch and offered some good tidings. He looks ok. But for the rest of the week he took some days off. Well, maybe he’s not that ok.
3. Just before Zohor, Jay sent me sms saying that my grand auntie has passed away. Inna lillahi wa inna lillahirajiun. It was a sad, sad moment. I rush to her son’s home in Segambut, only to find that the jenazah was already on its way to Sitiawan. I called my mom, and she consoled me. Called my sisters, they also consoled me.
I treat Jay at Sheesh Mahal in Subang Jaya. I just ordered mango lassi. Suddenly I can’t control myself (talk about control …), and Jay witnessed a macho man cried in front of the delicious spreads of Mughal cuisine. Even the reflection from restaurant complex mirror work, does not work on me.
Opah Ngah. That’s what I called her. She was my late Opah’s younger sister. Her life was full of sufferings, she was divorced by the husband, succumbed to mental illness, abandoned (almost) by the only son, treated badly by the DIL. Bloody hell …
It was my mom who took care of her. Most of Opah Ngah life. Especially when my mom still hale and healthy.
4. Late evening all of us went to Alam Megah (the traffic was damn macet, I’ll stick to Bandar Sunway, it’s five minutes to civilization) to pick up Ahwaz from his softball outing. It’s already nearly 8 pm.
There’s Mun Chen, Ahwaz’s school mate. She’s in the girls’ softball team. Offered her a lift. Mun Chen is the cleverest student in Year Six of SK SSJ, or perhaps the whole of Subang Jaya. All parents in Subang Jaya know about her.
"Do you know Najihah?" I asked Mun Chen, after all of us had take-away dinner from MacD.
"Yes Uncle. I know Nur Najihah. She likes Ahwaz, and I think Ahwaz likes her too."
5. Girlfriends. Of course they’re cute and adorable, and how I could ever forget any of them. Those wonder years. From the earliest in my childhood and through the teens. I wonder where are they now, and whether I’ll have a chance to meet them. Just to say "Hi, how’s life?"
