The Company of Friends

Life is quite strange. Most of us are working and living in KL yet we hardly meet. It takes two friends all the way from China to get us all together. Sometimes, when I think of it, it kind of hit me hard. Are we really that busy or we are just too lazy to make the move to get together. But I guess it has been part and parcel of a city life. We are too occupied with our separate lives that we tend not to think of other things which we deemed "less" priority. Well, at least, that rings true to me and me alone. What a shame. It was great that at least some of us got together recently. I finally got a chance to meet eyeballs to eyeballs with my friends' active little baby boy, Le Le for the very first time and a cute daughter of another friend. Heng even took a bus and came all the way from Melaka to make it to this particular gathering! It was really thoughtful of him. After talking and catching up with friends, I only began to realize that each and everyone of us is leading a very different yet similar sort of lives. We all have hopes and dreams, some have achieved them and some of us are still searching for that little magic in lives. Most of us have our own stories to tell, be it good or bad. Each experiences is unique yet we all belonged and live in this same big circle - the circle of life and I could only hope that with each passing day, it is more eventful and unforgettable.

Rising Above Charity Campaign

This has been a hectic week. We were involved in the shoot of this charity campaign called Rising Above at Bangsar Shopping Centre (BSC). Though it was their first attempt, but I thought it was quite a good effort. It was also a tie in with the premiere of this local film entitled The Red Kebaya, which is in cinemas at the moment. We were at BSC to shoot the charity dinner, which featured quite a few singers like M Nasir, Nora, Ferhad and others. They even auctioned a ride with renowned Malaysian F1 racer Alex Yoong at the Sepang International Circuit - all these for a good cause. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and felt great to be able to be a part of such interesting and meaningful event.

A trip to the past

After almost 8 hours of drive, what passed us by were granite caves, vast green padi fields, small kampong houses and later on, a familiar small town of Kota Bharu re-emerged. It is as if all those memories of where I grew up all came flooding into my head all at once. I was immediately excited at the prospect of exploring again. Meeting grandma gave me much relief as I could see that she is still very strong and alert - almost looked like how I had remembered her when I was very young. Left home for so many years, this time back home was mainly to celebrate her 80th birthday. I was determined to rediscover the whole town, to rekindle my memories of this place that is alien to some. Meeting old friends, sight seeing, visiting the temples, the beach, the infamous market, watching the people, living the lives that they have been living really amazed me. I became a tourist in my hometown, as if visiting for the very first time. I have long pulled myself away. I felt I did not belong here anymore every time I headed home during the semester break. This time, apart from having built some new buildings here and there, everything else looked and felt the same. I felt as though this place is in a hypnotic state, and I had fallen into a trance. I took a sip from a glass of the past, poured from the bottle of history. It tasted a strange combination of bitter sweet. My biggest reward of the trip was that I met up with my old English tuition teacher and my old neighbour and school friends. All of them remained unscarred by the passage of time. They hardly aged much and exude the same simplicity and warmth. They glowed with certain contentment. I was only glad that I had made this trip back home for it made me realize where I truly belong – to treasure my past and to embrace the future of a hustle bustle city life where I now called home.

The Two Superheroes

Patrick's Cousin, Justin came over to our place for a visit the other day, after his Australia trip. He brought along a small present each for the two boys - a superman blue t-shirt. It made them so excited that both Ryan and Aidan decided to put them on to sleep that night. Since then, they have grown attached to it. Such a simple gift, yet it brings so much joy to the boys. Ryan and Aidan are very much into movies and entertainment. I guess we influenced them a great deal. In fact, they loved the animation, Flushed Away a lot. Ryan said that it is better than Open Season. I didn't watch that one, so I don't really know (the grand parents took them there). But I am glad that they are growing up enjoying their time spent with us, the family and with each other.