Category Archives: Everyday Life

Different versions of a person

Posted in Everyday Life, Parenting, Family and Relationships by

My sister was telling me the other day that our dad arranged an umrah trip for him and his missus. Meaning, our stepmother. It was a good package, fully funded by our dad. Of course, I would not expect any less from someone in the role of a husband (who has the money). But wait, why did this version of my dad not surface before? The version of putting the comfort of the wife in mind and not rubbing it in about how much he will be spending on the umrah. In fact, this version of him in this second marriage is totally different to how we remembered him treating our mother before.

Maybe this new wife befits his evolving taste for a woman with a career that he could parade to his friends and relatives. I have nothing against this lady. She has led her own fair share of hardships in life, as well as being a single mother. And her kids turned out to be great human beings. Or so we were told. The only thing I made clear to my dad was that I do not wish to participate in her life and her kids. That means if we are having a birthday party, with her being present, I am not going.

Anyway, back to the umrah story. This is not my dad’s first umrah trip. He went for umrah with our late mom many years ago, but I remembered him being a nuisance about it. Everything to him was either expensive or tedious. Up to the point that our mom, who was a housewife by the way, living on the pocket money that we (working) daughters gave her every month, said that she would fund the trip. In other words, she had saved enough money to fund an umrah package and proposed the trip to her husband to come along. She really wanted them to experience umrah together. Only to be met with defiance. Aisyah Retno’s song Tidak Adil is so fitting of the situation back then. Dad still went as a man with Nuisance as his middle name. Only Allah knows how it was there. My mother made the best out of the trip.

Hence, this different version of him is new to us. Maybe it is because he is getting older and is having more time with his pension money. Maybe his love towards our mother waned with time and they just decided to give up on each other. They were housemates who co-parents their kids.

Inevitably, it happens to the best of us when you don’t recharge the spark and keep the romance burning.

A small nugget of thought

Posted in Everyday Life, Ponderings & Personal Development by

Good mental health does not mean you have to be happy all the time. You must allow yourself to feel sad, angry, stressed out etc. This does not mean I am dismissing those with poor mental health status that could stem from feelings of extreme sorrow, rage etc. Everybody’s reaction towards an event varies, and this could be influenced by their previous experience, knowledge and personality.

Just because someone disagrees with you or their line of thoughts differ, it doesn’t mean it’s toxic. Nevertheless, differences in thought and behaviour does stir one’s emotions to a certain point. But always go back to a baseline where you could just sit and ponder the points. Then, take the good points from the confrontation.

I am not the best human being on earth. I am comprised of both positive and negative traits. Like I’ve always believed in – we can be either a villain or a hero in other people’s stories.

Disappointing aircon service

Posted in Everyday Life by

I am a person who is very particular with my time. And others. The clinic opening times start at 8am. I would be at my desk usually by 745am. In the afternoon, I would return after lunch hour at 2PM by the dot. Latest at 205PM depending on the traffic heading towards my workplace. The respect towards time extends to family occasions, school reunions, appointments and such. Of course, living in Malaysia, I still need to accommodate those who follows the Malaysian time. However, the most I could tolerate is 30 minutes late. After that, usually my internal punctual Hulk would start fuming.

I requested an aircon service recently. I asked if the company did weekend services. They said they do. And so I made an appointment for 2PM. One week in advance. I sent the location of my house via Whatsapp the day before as a form of reminder that we have an appointment the next day.

The day came.

I was already in my hijab by 2pm. At 230pm, there was no sign of them coming. So, I sent a Whatsapp asking if they are coming after all. They said they are ‘on the way’. Being the husnuzon person that I am, knowing that traffic can be wild over the weekend, I gave them the grace of time for another 30 minutes. An hour passed and there was still no sign. Sarcasm took over. I asked them, ‘on the way dari Siam ke?’ They arrived promptly after that.

The employees were a lady and a man. They sauntered into the house without an apology for being late. I was beginning to doubt if they actually knew what they were doing because of all the servicemen that has come to my home, none of them needed to take my blinders off. Yet, they had to take my blinders off. I was still being kind and let them be. Because maybe they needed this experience to be better at their job. It took them nearly 90 minutes to service ONE AIRCONDITIONER. The airconditioner was making noises as they were assembling the unit and they kept fiddling with the screwdriver to GOD KNOWS WHAT! Then they tried to blame the previous servicemen. Excuse me, the unit wasn’t making any sounds before you guys came. On top of that, I caught them VAPING inside my house!! While working!!! IN MY HOUSE, WE DON’T SMOKE OR VAPE!!

My inner Hulk could not take it anymore. I was still able to remain civil and calm. I did not raise my voice and told the lady grimly, “tutup je balik benda tu, saya rasa awak tak tahu awak buat apa. Saya bayar awak untuk servis yang awak dah buat”. They reassembled the unit. They preferred QR as a method of payment. I asked for a receipt or invoice. They could not provide it on the spot. The lady said Monday. I gave them time till next Tuesday. Let’s see if they could follow up on that. If they fail to do so, I am going to make a formal complaint.

For not providing an invoice.

For being late.

For vaping in a customer’s house.