There's an article in today's The Star Online about a young man who has the ability to screen other people to see if they are under the influence of or being disturbed by djinns. You can read the full article -> here. But let's steer away from any more `cerita seram' for the moment.
Here's something lighthearted. I am copying here, my response to a Facebook tag that I received from my friend Zarinah Salleh early this month.
--------------------------
Paste the sentences into a note of your own, change to your answers, then tag me and ten other people.
1. My ex..... girlfriend was so HOT that she could melt butter just by looking at it. I’m kidding… there never was an ex-girlfriend.
2. Maybe I should... stop thinking of my procrastination problems and get off my butt and do something about it. Hmm… maybe after solve my other problems first.
3. I love... to read and relax.
4. People would say that I'm...... snobbish. Yeah, that’s the first impression that I give to most people.
5. I don't understand... calculus, the periodic table, electromagnetism, finite element analysis, deoxyribonucleic acid… and a host of other things. But I do understand women, though ;-)
6. When I wake up in the morning... I thank God that I’m still alive.
7. I lost... my virginity when I was … (crap, I can’t remember my wedding night. The wife is gonna be pissed!)
8. Life is full of... challenges. Some people have it easy while others are made to grind. For me, I’m about par for the course.
9. My past is... colourful. I’m putting the bits and pieces in written form. Hopefully, it will be an interesting read. Otherwise, who cares?
10. I get annoyed when... people jump queue. Impatient people are real jerks.
11. Parties are... those group or association of people who stand for election, who think they are the best person to lead, who claim to have the solutions to all the problems, who think that they are the only ones that are RIGHT and anybody else who are not in their party are WRONG. Ooops! I’m not answering this part correctly, am I?
12. I wish... can play the piano. Or at least, any other musical instrument. Luckily, I can sing not too badly, heheheh.
13. Dogs... are a man’s best friend. At least, that’s what I learnt in school. But now for me, a man’s best friend is a WOMAN.
14. Cats... are now straying into my compound and are becoming a bloody nuisance. They crap all over the place! I’ve tried chasing them out but they keep coming back.
15. Tomorrow... is a period in time when things that should’ve been done today, would maybe (I repeat, maybe) be carried out. I just love tomorrow! It’s a mystery!
16. I have a low tolerance... for stubbornly ignorant people.
17. If I had a million dollars… then I won’t tell you.
18. I'm totally terrified... (sorry, can’t think of a good one to answer this. Yes, I’m terrified of certain things, but I can’t think of something that I’m TOTALLY terrified of.)
So there you go, Zarinah. A bit more info about me that you wish to know :-) And I'm not tagging anybody. Tapi kalau ada sesiapa yg sudi... silakan.
Monday 30 March 2009
Friday 27 March 2009
Another `Cerita Seram'
As an extension to the earlier post, here is another eerie story. And this incident is quite recent.
My 26 year-old niece (my sister-in-law's youngest daughter) is pursuing further studies in Kuala Lumpur. One weekend, about a few weeks ago, she returns to her hometown in Mersing to visit her parents.
She sleeps on the double bed in the spare bedroom. In the middle of the night, she wakes up to go to the bathroom. In the dim light, she sees her mother sleeping on the bed next to her. Her mother must have laid on the bed after she had fallen asleep.
She softly calls to her mother, "Mak...?".
Without turning, the mother replies, "Hmmm..."
My niece gets up and goes to the bathroom. On the way back, she sees the light of the television still on in the living room. She walks to the living room to switch off the TV. To her surprise, she sees her mother asleep on the sofa.
If her mother is sleeping on the sofa in the living room, then who is sleeping with her in the bedroom?
Daughter wakes up mother and tells her of what she has seen. Both mother and daughter quietly walks to the bedroom and switch on the lights. The room is empty. Whoever or whatever that was sleeping on the bed is no longer there.
Mother takes her holy Al-Quran and recites some verses. Outside, the sound of barking dogs fill the night air...
This is not the first time my niece has seen things that other ordinary people could not see. So far, alhamdulillah, there has been no physical harm on the family.
I sometimes wonder why is it that some people have the ability to see things that are normally unseen. Or do these other beings make themselves visible only to certain persons.
If you do know why, then you need not tell me.... because I actually don't really want to know. I'm happy to leave it as a mystery.
My 26 year-old niece (my sister-in-law's youngest daughter) is pursuing further studies in Kuala Lumpur. One weekend, about a few weeks ago, she returns to her hometown in Mersing to visit her parents.
She sleeps on the double bed in the spare bedroom. In the middle of the night, she wakes up to go to the bathroom. In the dim light, she sees her mother sleeping on the bed next to her. Her mother must have laid on the bed after she had fallen asleep.
She softly calls to her mother, "Mak...?".
Without turning, the mother replies, "Hmmm..."
My niece gets up and goes to the bathroom. On the way back, she sees the light of the television still on in the living room. She walks to the living room to switch off the TV. To her surprise, she sees her mother asleep on the sofa.
If her mother is sleeping on the sofa in the living room, then who is sleeping with her in the bedroom?
Daughter wakes up mother and tells her of what she has seen. Both mother and daughter quietly walks to the bedroom and switch on the lights. The room is empty. Whoever or whatever that was sleeping on the bed is no longer there.
Mother takes her holy Al-Quran and recites some verses. Outside, the sound of barking dogs fill the night air...
This is not the first time my niece has seen things that other ordinary people could not see. So far, alhamdulillah, there has been no physical harm on the family.
I sometimes wonder why is it that some people have the ability to see things that are normally unseen. Or do these other beings make themselves visible only to certain persons.
If you do know why, then you need not tell me.... because I actually don't really want to know. I'm happy to leave it as a mystery.
Wednesday 25 March 2009
The other unseen occupants
Two weeks ago, my 14-year old son went for a 3-day field trip to Kuala Lumpur organised by his school. When he handed me the consent form for me to sign, I read through the itinerary and noted that the students would be staying at The Heritage Station Hotel.
Since the trip was fully sponsored, it is understandable that the school would book a budget hotel. But I felt that putting up the kids in an` old' building is not without some risks. The Heritage Station Hotel is located within the old KTM train station. Photos in the hotel's website show reasonably well-furnished interiors but the hotel's unique selling point is its historical attachment.
On the second day of the trip, my wife called up my son to check how he was getting along. Generally okay, my son said, except that one student experienced `disturbances' during the night. "Gangguan mahluk halus", were his exact Malay words. My son himself did not see any ghosts or spirits or whatever... but my wife advised him to be careful just the same. `Jangan lupa sembahyang' was the standard reminder of mothers to sons.
I couldn't help but smile when I overheard the conversation. In my course of work, I have stayed at numerous hotels in many parts of the country and also overseas. Most times alone. The types of accomodation range from the very basic to the very plush. So far, I have been fortunate enough not to encounter any spirits or other beings `not of our world', except for this one incident at a hotel in Cameron Highlands, around 5 years back.
I can't remember the name of the hotel but it is a fairly big one and built more than 10 years ago. I was in Cameron Highlands to visit one of our projects and stayed alone at the hotel that night. Initially, I had difficulty in falling asleep but the tiredness of the day's work and traveling finally took over and I drifted off. Sometime in the middle of the night, I felt difficult to breathe.... as if a heavy load was resting on my chest. I struggled to push the load away but my arms felt liked they were pinned down. I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out. It was suffocating, my heart was pounding... and I was in real fear.
And then I started to recite the relevant holy verses of the Quran that I have in memory, as taught by my elders. Initially my recitation was gibberish... like my mouth not following the instructions of my brain. I tried and tried... until I can actually hear the words come out right. And slowly, the heavy load on my chest lifted, my breathing returned to normal and I drifted off to sleep.
I woke up at early dawn and quickly switched on the lights and looked around the room. I could see nothing out of the ordinary. Did an unseen being sit on my chest last night or was it all just a bad dream? Hard to say...
Another hotel that is in the heritage category is the impressive Eastern & Oriental Hotel in Penang. The hotel has undergone extensive refurbishment over the recent years.
I stayed there once, three years ago, despite having heard a first-hand account of encounters with other unseen occupants. But that's a story to tell for another day.
Since the trip was fully sponsored, it is understandable that the school would book a budget hotel. But I felt that putting up the kids in an` old' building is not without some risks. The Heritage Station Hotel is located within the old KTM train station. Photos in the hotel's website show reasonably well-furnished interiors but the hotel's unique selling point is its historical attachment.
On the second day of the trip, my wife called up my son to check how he was getting along. Generally okay, my son said, except that one student experienced `disturbances' during the night. "Gangguan mahluk halus", were his exact Malay words. My son himself did not see any ghosts or spirits or whatever... but my wife advised him to be careful just the same. `Jangan lupa sembahyang' was the standard reminder of mothers to sons.I couldn't help but smile when I overheard the conversation. In my course of work, I have stayed at numerous hotels in many parts of the country and also overseas. Most times alone. The types of accomodation range from the very basic to the very plush. So far, I have been fortunate enough not to encounter any spirits or other beings `not of our world', except for this one incident at a hotel in Cameron Highlands, around 5 years back.
I can't remember the name of the hotel but it is a fairly big one and built more than 10 years ago. I was in Cameron Highlands to visit one of our projects and stayed alone at the hotel that night. Initially, I had difficulty in falling asleep but the tiredness of the day's work and traveling finally took over and I drifted off. Sometime in the middle of the night, I felt difficult to breathe.... as if a heavy load was resting on my chest. I struggled to push the load away but my arms felt liked they were pinned down. I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out. It was suffocating, my heart was pounding... and I was in real fear.
And then I started to recite the relevant holy verses of the Quran that I have in memory, as taught by my elders. Initially my recitation was gibberish... like my mouth not following the instructions of my brain. I tried and tried... until I can actually hear the words come out right. And slowly, the heavy load on my chest lifted, my breathing returned to normal and I drifted off to sleep.
I woke up at early dawn and quickly switched on the lights and looked around the room. I could see nothing out of the ordinary. Did an unseen being sit on my chest last night or was it all just a bad dream? Hard to say...
Another hotel that is in the heritage category is the impressive Eastern & Oriental Hotel in Penang. The hotel has undergone extensive refurbishment over the recent years.I stayed there once, three years ago, despite having heard a first-hand account of encounters with other unseen occupants. But that's a story to tell for another day.
Friday 20 March 2009
Dan Sebenarnya...
Gosh, it has been a terribly busy week on the work front... to the extent that this blog becoming a bit stagnant.
Before I post the next story, here's a still video of local singer Yuna performing her self-composed song called Dan Sebenarnya.
I heard HotFM deejay Faisal Ismail interviewing this young lady early yesterday morning while on the drive to KL and decided to do a quick search on Youtube once I get back. On the drive home just now, I was thinking about this particular post. As I turned the last traffic-light junction towards my house, this song played on the radio. How's that for a good example of synchronicity.
Hope you enjoy the song. Not bad for a debut indie effort.
Dan Sebenarnya - Yuna
Oh bulan, enggan melayan diriku lagi
Pabila… air mata membasahi pipi
Dan lagu2 di radio seolah2 memerli aku
Pabila… kau bersama yang lain
Adakah perasaan benci ini sebenarnya cinta
Yang masih bersemadi untukmu
Dan sebenarnya ku mengharapkan
Di sebalik senyuman mu itu
Kau juga merindui aku
Ku enggan berpura pura ku bahagia
Ku enggan melihat kau bersama si dia
Oh ku akui cemburu
Mula menular dalam diri
Pabila… kau bersama yang lain
Adakah perasaaan benci ini sebenarnya cinta
Yang masih bersemadi untukmu
Dan sebenarnya ku mengharapkan
Di sebalik senyuman mu itu
Kau juga merindui aku
Pabila kau merenung matanya
Ku rebah, jatuh ke bumi.....
Di saat kau benar-benar mahu pergi
Seperti ku bernafas dalam air
Adakah perasaaan benci ini sebenarnya cinta
Yang masih bersemadi untukmu
Dan sebenarnya ku mengharapkan
Di sebalik senyuman mu itu
Kau juga merindui aku… Oh
Dan sebenarnya...
Dan sebenarnya...
Aku rindu......
Dan sebenarnya....
Dan sebenarnya....
Aku tak mampu...
Tanpamu
Before I post the next story, here's a still video of local singer Yuna performing her self-composed song called Dan Sebenarnya.
I heard HotFM deejay Faisal Ismail interviewing this young lady early yesterday morning while on the drive to KL and decided to do a quick search on Youtube once I get back. On the drive home just now, I was thinking about this particular post. As I turned the last traffic-light junction towards my house, this song played on the radio. How's that for a good example of synchronicity.
Hope you enjoy the song. Not bad for a debut indie effort.
Youtube video from antumotor
Dan Sebenarnya - Yuna
Oh bulan, enggan melayan diriku lagi
Pabila… air mata membasahi pipi
Dan lagu2 di radio seolah2 memerli aku
Pabila… kau bersama yang lain
Adakah perasaan benci ini sebenarnya cinta
Yang masih bersemadi untukmu
Dan sebenarnya ku mengharapkan
Di sebalik senyuman mu itu
Kau juga merindui aku
Ku enggan berpura pura ku bahagia
Ku enggan melihat kau bersama si dia
Oh ku akui cemburu
Mula menular dalam diri
Pabila… kau bersama yang lain
Adakah perasaaan benci ini sebenarnya cinta
Yang masih bersemadi untukmu
Dan sebenarnya ku mengharapkan
Di sebalik senyuman mu itu
Kau juga merindui aku
Pabila kau merenung matanya
Ku rebah, jatuh ke bumi.....
Di saat kau benar-benar mahu pergi
Seperti ku bernafas dalam air
Adakah perasaaan benci ini sebenarnya cinta
Yang masih bersemadi untukmu
Dan sebenarnya ku mengharapkan
Di sebalik senyuman mu itu
Kau juga merindui aku… Oh
Dan sebenarnya...
Dan sebenarnya...
Aku rindu......
Dan sebenarnya....
Dan sebenarnya....
Aku tak mampu...
Tanpamu
Saturday 14 March 2009
A fragrant bloom called bread flower
In my garden there is this vine-like shrub which I planted more than five years ago. It was given to me by my cousin who told me that the plant's flowers are very sweet-smelling. She mentioned the name of the plant but it was too odd-sounding for it to be registered in my memory at that time.Throughout the years, the shrub grew healthily with the vines spreading long and wide, to the extent that trimming need to be done. But it never bloomed... until a few weeks ago, that is. The plant has produced bunches of small white flowers that emit a fragrant smell. If I were to hazard a guess, I put the cause of the blooming to the very hot and dry weather spell that Johor Bahru experienced at the beginning of the year.
The Malay name for this flower is bunga sikudangan, at least that's what it is called in Johor. I have just learnt that is called by other names in other parts of Malaysia : bunga kesidang, bunga kerak nasi and bunga tikam seladang, among others. For the fancy and peculiar names it has in Malay, the English name is a plain-sounding `bread flower'. Scientifically it is known as vallaris glabra.
A single flower is only about 15mm wide and is made up of five petals. For such a small flower, the scent it releases is quite intense.... very close to that of pandan leaves. As such, it makes a perfect complement in bunga rampai, the shredded pandan potpourri normally found at Malay weddings.
I picked some of the flowers early this morning and placed them in a small ceramic basket (actually a bekas bunga telur) to create a mini bouquet. It is placed next to my work desk at home and I'm enjoying the aroma as I type this post.Hmmm... sure smells nice.
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