Random Rambles of Lotfi

1st day of the new Islamic calendar year. 1st day of the month of Muharam. Alhamdulillah, sempat baca doa awal dan akhir tahun semalam. So, I thought I won't wait till January to make some new resolutions. New year came early for us, so why not? Let's see... what resolutions shall I make. 1. Be kinder, have kind thoughts of people. More often than not we have , I have pre-conceived notions of people. Dia ni nampak sombong, tak mau tegur..dia tu poyo, yang tu kerek, that one too quiet, this one too noisy..hahahah. I am a kind person, but I aspire to be kinder this year. I have always practiced good thoughts of people, even if some of the things people do are less than kind, or almost spiteful. I just hope to be given the strength to be even kinder to them. 2. Give more often. Today I started by donating. No details necessary here. I just want to give more often, whatever I can afford, maybe monetary, some days materials, other days..my time and also, my energy.  3....

Exactly 5 months since my last post. Exactly 5 months since my last day in full time employment. How has it been?  I am still busy...I keep myself busy. There are lazy days. There are productive ones. But, I'm more relaxed these days, more than I like though.. Alhamdulillah, last Ramadan was wonderful not having to go to work 9-6. And Raya was wonderful, not having to think about going 'back to work after Raya holidays'. I get to see Mak in JB more than before :))    I get more time with Aisyah before she leaves for the US. Daily, I see more of the kids. I plan my outings and meetings around non-peak hours and avoid the traffic, so much so that driving at peak hours irks me now. I take on projects I like and I say no to those I couldn't spare time on. I get to cook more often, I read more books, I get to spend more time on spiritual practices. I ran a full marathon last month cause it's just nicer not having to go to work the days after. I water th...

There... I was just lurking around looking up stuff on the www and then I remembered this place. My last post was last year. So I told myself, why not? Maybe this is just a visit, maybe I will stay. Time will tell. Alhamdulillah it's Friday! TGIF!! Last day of the work week. The weekend's looking busy, as always.  Life as a full time employee. You only have that two days weekend for yourself and you try to squeeze in as much as you can. Monday you go to work like a zombie. Hehe, sounds familiar? I've done that for the last what? 17 years!! Giler la..crazy life!  So that's gonna change for a bit. I'm figuring out how to have more Me time, more home time, more kids time, more hub's time, more cat's time and above all more time for the Almighty, Insyaallah. Here's looking forward to a life full of blessings, more berkat. Is it possible to have more by having less? I would like to think so. Ini pengorbanan namanya, tapi cuma pengorbanan dun...

Assalamualaikum and hello, Yes, yes...am back...how long for, I don't know... This blog has been long idle...I'm beginning to question its existence...so many times I have contemplated looking for the "delete blog" button and then I re-read my past postings, decided against it. This is my syok-sendiri sanctuary when I need it..what gives? So many times, in the last 6 months since my last posting, I had wanted to revert to it...alas..with so many things happening that needed my limited attention, I have to admit that this santuary of mine has taken a back seat. Life goes on..with significant and insignificant happenings...some worth mentioning, some totally not worth any attention. Just to share what's been up or down with my life, if you care to read.. MAK Mak turned 73 in June last year. She has always had heart arryhythmia since she was 40 with blood that are too thick and an abnormal valve condition (which we only discovered recently)  She is slow i...

28 days since the start of the new year...Why was it that I struggled to recall 2011, what is the significance of 2011, or the lack of it... I suddenly feel so sorry for 2011. It doesn't deserve this..My mentor told me that with the start of the new year, the first thing I should do is to declutter my life..declutter the spaces around me. Get rid of old, unneeded stuff, donate them, throw them away...just clear the space. Clear the area so that you will have the space for all the abundance and blessings that's coming your way in this new year. This does not only apply to physical space but also mental space. Be rid of all the negative, old programs in your brain so that they can be replaced with new vision, better, upgraded programs that will propel you to excel! So she actually asked us to write all our mental baggage, the things that we regretted in pieces of paper, crumpled up the lil notes and throw them away in the bin..Somehow that felt good! 2011, was a year of tough ...

Salam....and hello! To you who's reading...hope you're having a great day! Miss me or not?? I miss blogging...I've been super busy! Super, like Idon'thavetimetoorganisemyhair busy! Which is a great thing, coz now I don't have to! No hair organising needed, coz I have recently started wearing the hijab!!!! Yeay!!! I super like!! Alhamdulillah! 26th Nov 2011, a day before my husband's 43rd birthday, a day before the new Muslim calendar year. I've been planning..planning for the longest time..after I came back from Umrah in 2010 but they say "we can plan, but HE decides". I have more than a big drawerful of shawls and scarfs to prove that I have been planning long for this hijrah, not that it matters. What matters to me, was when I finally did it, my head clear, my heart was calm and it has continued to feel so...for the last one plus months. Happiness much.. Till this day, I still wonder why I waited so long to do this? I should've ...

I was late this morning..but the traffic was kind. Received a call from Adit,a work acquaintance turned friend "Assalamualaikum kak..I hate to be the bearer of bad news but i got a call that Kharis has just collapsed.. I hope it's nothing but the prognosis is not so good..." After asking of his possible where about, which was en route my way to work, I told Adit, I would go to the site...and wham! the road is jammed up again...I texted Adit, asking if it's possible that he's no longer there and would have been taken to a hospital...and he texted..he doesn't know. I was imagining that Kharis my friend would be sitting up after being given help and when I see him I would joke about the whole thing..I actually had the scene playing in my head...A short drive later, I reached the road near the Kelana Jaya stadium and my heart skipped a bit to see an ambulance and 2 police cars...Then I saw Yanthy, his wife sitting on the tarmac with his head on her lap..My frie...

26th July...He would have been 43 today...Al Fatihah...

It has really been that long huh? Kalau pokok dah tinggi, kalau baby dah boleh gelak...(which is true coz my sister's baby, Najla can hold baby talk with me and she's not even 3 months yet) My life has been going through phases of change within these 3 months...From my last post on Aisyah's SPM results, she has gone through the stress of applying for uni, choosing, rechoosing the courses and finally being accepted for the 5th course of her choice. Diploma in Artistic Writing...What is that? We were confused and was wondering about it as well. But the fact that the faculty is FACT - Faculty of Arts and Creative Technology, we guessed that the course would be connected to the Performing Arts...my..my... my child is going to be artistically, entertainment, media inclined...Ke mana tumpahnya kuah...(where does the gravy spilt???) Campus is at Puncak Perdana about 10km from home, but it didn't stopped me from missing her whenever she's not home. Been almost 2 months ...

"I love it here but I'd rather be somewhere else..."

2nd week into the new year..so how has it been to everyone? I didn't make a resolution to update this like, everyday, so this is a good start. I made a deliberate effort to somehow welcome 2011 differently, not that there was anything remotely wrong with how we did it in the recent years. We've done city hotel stays before watching the fireworks from the 15th floor of Impiana KLCC, we've taken the opportunity to make a trip to Singapore at least 2 years in a row, even if it was a few days before the new year and there were countless "stay at home, watch fireworks from the front gate" which was cool as well, at least it worked for us.. fussy lot we're not.. G ENTING Having spent the Xmas weekend in Genting with the kids, the week before convinced us me that ok, enough spending...seriously Genting can be quite a spent, especially with food. But our stay at The Club Room was very pleasant and my ride on the Space Shot (the only ride I have the guts  ...

Yesterday morning, hubs received a text to say that a mutual friend of ours has passed on. Allahyarham Abdul Kadir bin Daim was 33 years old and he passed away from cancer of the brain. I was there the week of the diagnose of the cancer and later before his first operation to remove the tumor. He was calm perhaps not knowing the seriousness of his illness. That was the last time we met, in his hospital room in SDMC about less than a year ago. After that he moved back to his mum's place and apparently his condition worsen after the series of chemo. Arwah, extreme right..somehow always in the background (pix courtesy of Zaid's fb) I was not that close to him. I met him through another friend and we met occasionally. Kadir was a reserved person but that doesn't stopped me from shamelessly asking him for an invitation to his home after knowing that he is a really good cook. The first time, dinner was in another friend's home, but Arwah did all the cooking. I can st...

AL FATIHAH....  always loved and fondly remembered  by family and friends....

These are the 2 TVCs directed by the late Yasmin Ahmad for ntv7 when I was working there. I had loads of  fun being at the shoot which took 2 days...a day in TTDI Rimba Park and another Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital in Ampang. I undertook the project with much enthusiasm knowing that we would be working with Kak Min and her team.

Incidentally, i was looking at my post at about this time a year ago here and saw that it was exactly almost a year ago that I wrote that I wanted to start running and it took me ages to actually register for a run.. And as I go through my rambles then, I saw this , this and this .....reading my past posts on the events that lead to the actual passing of Kak Min and still feeling that lump in my throat, thinking of Arwah. We knew each other briefly for work... met up for a few discussion which involved a lot of laughs, smokes and teh tarik. Not a prayer escaped without me saying her name after my late husband's, my late father's, both my late mother in law's and both my grandmother in law's...in that order. She's not related to me or a close friend...she was an acquaintance who left me in awe every time we met. I was privileged to watch her creation "Muallaf" in the Leo Burnett's office, even before it was really completed. Kak Min was l...

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. Maria Robinson Yes, a new beginning. Monday is coming InsyaAllah..slowly but surely... My ritual for beginning something new.... 1. Change to new wallet/purse...ey...nak simpan duit banyak nih...InsyaAllah 2. New shoes - 2 pairs at least hahaha! Kopak! 3. Spring cleaning the wardrobe - which could mean new clothes...fingers crossed..insyaAllah) 4. Trip to Peekaboo done - (my hair days are numbered..hijab soon...insyaAllah) 5. New knick knacks for the new office - a painting or 2 for the wall would be great and plants to match the green wall! 6. Visit Mak - which is easier coz she's in town! A mum's blessing is uber important! 7. New phone???Hmmm...still contemplating the iphone... Have always loved 7 so let's stick to that list... The last few days have been so fulfilling...More time with the smaller ones...more time at home..I guess this is...

"don't cry because it ended, smile because it happened" dr seuss I twitted this today...I felt like it today...So many things has come to their end in my life...so many...countless. If I look back and cry for them...they will never come back. So I chose to smile and rejoice because bad things has come to an end and good things has come and will hopefully recur.. Not saying that bad things won't but there's always a silver lining behind every clouds. I strongly, truly believe that. Too many things has happened in my life to prove this. When I was growing up, I remember thinking "ek eleh...berapa kali nak cakap nih...Nih dah dengar banyak kali dah.." each time my Mak says "Dulu masa Mak umur macam awak, bla, bla, bla.. and goes on and on to tell me what silly things she didn't do. And i told myself when I have kids I'm not gonna pull the same trick, but today I found myself uttering the same exact words that she said...OMG, OMG, OMG!!...

You've got a lot of choices. If getting out of bed in the morning is a chore and you're not smiling on a regular basis, try another choice - Steven D. Woodhull

I'm typing this on my bed, at home...No countdown celebration for me...after all these years, the turning of a new year seems like any other day except for the fact that One Utama was exceptionally overflowing with people early this morning when we went to catch "Alvin and The Chipmunks 2" with the smaller kids...Really we are avoiding even driving near any of the new year revelers...must be the age...hahahaha... I'm looking forward to driving back to JB tomorrow and whatever comes after that down south on Saturday and hope to be back in KL on Sunday. Monday is the start of the school year for the kids... 2009 has been kind, Alhamdulillah. Except for the passing on of Mummy...I could live with the stuff that happened this year. 2010 will be meaningful...I expect it to be so. Not only it is the turn of a new decade, it will also be the turn of the new decade for me...the big Four Oh..Looking forward to that...after all they say 40 is the new 30..hahaha.. 2010...

November and December is somewhat months of reunion. After all the school reunion that I went to, plus the trip back to JB to see Mak, my brother came back from Abu Dhabi to visit his sons, Aliff who will be starting Uni (habis lah tergeliat lidah budak tu nak kena cakap melayu..) in Malaysia and Owish, who just finished his SPM in a boarding school in Melaka (habislah budak tu kena balik to the desert soon). My other brother and his family came up from JB for the school hols and slept over at our place together with 4 of his 5 girls (kesian budak2 tu tidor sempit2 dalam bilik Aisyah). All these reunions, made me realised (ek eleh baru nak sedar ke?) that time has really passed so swiftly. My nephews and nieces are almost grown ups. I can still recall holding them in my arms when they were just babies and now most of them are taller than me. And where does that leave me? Should I be feeling old? Is that a negative thing to feel? I am enjoying too much of what life has to offer tha...