Friday, March 01, 2024

On my road to recovery

 It has been over 4 months saya diuji dgn masalah kesihatan. Berkat doa everyone, the progress is good. I started going out again whn Z and R came to visit last Dec and left soon after my birthday. From thereon, I would make it a point to keluar at least once a week.

Yesterday it was with my NZ alums. Only 9 turned up becos the rest were either overseas, gone on umrah or too far to come. Zac said dia jaga mak dia. 

Met Salome in years. She pun struggling to get a good maid. Haha. All the best. Menteri Wanita sepatutnya proaktif dalam menangani keperluaan homecare ni. Not only for working women but also for an aging population. We do not want a tired, stressed out, angry nation because thr isnt enough support for work-life balance. 

Friday, August 04, 2023

Post retirement trip to The Netherlands

 Nik wanted me to join the trip. Tak seronok jalan sorang, he said. So we agreed to visit Z and R for 2 weeks July 16.

First week Josine and Jan took us to a seafood lunch in Rotterdam. Very nice catching up with our besan. Then we dropped by Faya's home. Leroy pandai pulak menghidang air and macaroons and cakes. Faya takut tengok kita dtg ramai sgt.

Selang beberapa hari Bertjan and Arlineke pulak took us to Amsterdam visit family museum mrk. Jan Six Museum. We enjoyed this. Rasa personalised sgt. We met Jan Six yg ke 10. Had coffee with him, saw his 17th century garden. Then we had a huge Indonesian lunch not far from the museum. 

Alhamdulillah then we took short trips to Lille in north France (slept 2 nights) then stopped by Ghent in Belgium. Cuaca dah mula sejuk. Patut summer. Rhodes was burning.

Another day another trip to an island north of The Netherlands called Texel. We loved this island. Had we knwn earlier how beautiful it was, we would hv put up a night. Go fishing, go boating, cycling, etc. 

Then we saw Barbie, heret reluctant Nik and Robert. Nik snored 3x.haha.Film mrk tak naik at tht cinema. Too bad la kan. 

Then we invited Uncle Joe, Mail and Nani pi Minang lunch downtown Den Haag. Pedas sgt for me.

We had a busy schedule daily tht by the time we boarded our flight home, I rasa lunyai. 

Still recovering now, 4 days later. But syukur everything went well and we enjoyed spending time with our family members. 

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

So I'm retired

This is rather belated but I retired from IIUM on Jan 11, 2023. The first week felt like liberation. Total freedom. Masuk Week 2, I started feeling lost. Rang up a few friends,  long time retirees. Is this normal? Im feeling down. Lost. They said it was normal. Just get into a routine and I will be ok.

So I found my routine. I still give talks, write papers. Then makan tidur makan tidur. I picked up pilates but now tht it is Ramadan, I stop dulu. Pilates is good. I hv a good personal coach.

Wht I love about being retired is tht I hv more time for friends and families. Priceless!

And I shld go bck to writing fiction. And painting. Sibuk juga persaraan ni sebenarnya.

Alhamdulillah masih bernyawa to do good things. 

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Bicara buku UKM


 Terima kasih Prof. Madya Dr. Mawar Safei dan pelajar-pelajarnya kerana appreciate novella ini. Hanya Allah membalas kebaikan anda semua. 

Sunday, September 18, 2022

Post ZafgotRob wedding receptions

 Some of you were there on Aug 6 and 7, 2022. Alhamdullilah diizinkan Allah we held both receptions dgn selamat. About 700 guests (500 +200) were hosted.

Im happy tht some of my friends from USA, Vietnam, Qatar flew in to share our joy. Friends from my uni days, IIUM also came. It was as I had dreamt it to be. I loved the band which I had carefully identified 2 years ago. It lived to my expectation. Our guests enjoyed it too. 

Post all these, Im slowly recovering. The empty nest syndrome is definitely here. Z and R pulak semakin busy in their career. Sorang di Barat, sorang di Timur. R is in NY for 3-4 months. Z continues to travel on work. I feel so static. But alhamdullilah jobs keep coming sampai I rasa sesak nafas with deadlines. Makin nak pencen, makin byk itu ini. 

Sunday, June 05, 2022

Art exhibition and book launch


Done on May 25, 2022 at Dar al Hikmah Library, officiated by Tan Sri Rector.

We had fun because it was also a raya gathering with friends and colleagues. 



Wednesday, April 06, 2022

Sent to the publisher

 Alhamdulillah after much consideration, I decided to go with publisher X (you will know once the book is out). I learnt much about the book industry, met more people and I think it will be easier to publish again in the future, inshaAllah.

I'm just relieved it's happening in Ramadan. Semoga mendapat baraqah untuk saham akhirat.