Us Against The World

"Like a river to a raindrop, I lost a friend

My drunken as a Daniel in a lion's den

And tonight I know it all has to begin again

So whatever you do, don't let go"

Have a lovely Friday!



Have a lovely day!



Push on through



Swimming through. Nusa Penida, Bali. September 2011

"It's easy to give up, or start over, but it takes strength to push on through, and when you do, when you fight for it, when you pay attention, when you shut up and listen: you get to where you want to go, and you feel like a winner.

So when you're feeling frustrated, when you are about to give up, remember 'this too shall pass', and push on through"



from Its the little things and tacos

BFF

from LoveQuotes

My Days of Gratitude - Day 3

to get to hold hands

"You made me laugh, wiped my tears, hugged me tight, saved my life, watched me succeed, seen me failed, cheered me on, kept me going, put up with my mood swings, has said that everything will be alright when things get tough, kept me sane"

I am lucky, to be given the chance once again to love and be loved without intention, to care and be taken care off without expectation; I take you as the promise from God that I will always have a best friend, forever.

No second chance

A good read

"Abe recalled hearing medical examiners say a person who died lost twenty-one grams of weight - the measure of a human soul. He realized, though, holding his daughter in his arms, that the scale was all wrong. Loss should have been measured in leagues: the linear time line he would not spend with her as she lost her first tooth, lost her heart over a boy, lost the graduation cap she tossed into a silvered sky.

Loss should have been measured circularly, like angles: the minutes between the two of them, the degrees of separation"

Weight and Measure by Jodi Picoult in Stories edited by Neil Gaiman & Al Sarrantonio.

Life has taught us one thing and that there is only that one chance, to everything in it. There is no guarantee of a second nor a third chance, as certain as death of loved ones, death of everyone, death of all of us.

We have one life, the one and only life. We only need that one chance of a lifetime to live life to the fullest, to love and be in love, to stay happy, to let our loved ones know that they are loved, to do good things, to learn and gain knowledge, to cure cancer, to climb that mountain, to realize our dreams, and many more great things.

Let's not waste this one chance. Carpe diem! 

Created and Creates

Two months ago..

"Cam aku, I have faith. I'm like Professor X of X-men hehe. OK abaikan contoh di atas. Aku yakin je ada Tuhan and religion to me is a lifestyle, and logic, setakat mana yang aku buatlah. Yang tak logik, bodoh semua tu come from the followers. Aku just yakin there's a creator and I can speak directly to him (praying, etc) and that's it. Benda-benda lain tu, tah".

"In some society that's called delusion, heh. Joking."

"HAHA! You know me, aku kan spiritual konon. Aku kan suka observe alam and logik untuk aku, semua benda ni ada penciptanya"

"For me, I believe in chaos and randomness, and that the universe is an accident"

"Tula, accident. Aku mula ingat camtu gak. Just that aku kagum, dengan keindahan alam, anatomi manusia, so aku percaya, kepada apa tu aku tak sure sangat (in how to explain it).. "

" I understand - you believe that something so complex must have a designer, and cannot be the result of many mutation"

Project AWARE: Dive Against Debris

Check this out!

Joining an impromptu clean up by Spheredivers Lodge, Mabul, Sabah

DIVE AGAINST DEBRIS PROJECT

"Calling all dive geeks and ocean warriors: the ocean needs you (and your underwater data).

Since the first Project AWARE International Cleanup Day events in 1993, AWARE divers organized thousands of cleanups to protect underwater habitats and marine species. Cleanup dives from the past 18 years have been a true inspiration, placing scuba divers in the spotlight, key to addressing debris issues on a global scale.

But cleanups alone are not the answer. Now, we’re moving beyond International Cleanup Day, introducing Dive Against Debris, a year-round data and debris collection effort to reduce the devastating impacts of debris each time we dive. But in order to be successful, we need your help in testing and providing feedback about the new program!

If we’re going to help change waste management policies, we need underwater data that paints a true picture of debris issues beneath the surface. We hope you - the dive leaders, volunteers and citizen scientists - will join a growing movement of scuba divers in 180 countries collecting and reporting the underwater trash you find to help protect the ocean against the onslaught of marine debris.

5 Steps to Dive Against Debris:

1. 1. Begin with the Dive Against Debris Self Study Guide – it provides all the info you need to successfully complete your data and debris collection dives. You may also like to browse the FAQs.
2. 2. Download a Dive Against Debris Data Card and other resources to support your debris collection efforts.
3. 3. Already organizing a group Dive Against Debris event? Put your activity on the AWARE Action Map. Invite and manage volunteers by creating a My Ocean profile.
4. 4. Go diving and report your data! Your local actions will contribute to a better future for the ocean.
5. 5. Help improve the new Dive Against Debris by sharing your feedback with us."

Morning

Image: Incidental Comic

To Love

from appleinmyheart

My Days of Gratitude - Day 2

..to fall in love with scuba diving. Mabul May 2011

 Sipadan April 2011

 Mabul May 2011

 Perhentian June 2011

There's this sense of ultimate tranquility and freedom that can only be achieved by being underwater, while allowing yourself to be enveloped by an entirely different world of a liquid form, engulfing yourself in its abundance of habitats and inhabitants, seeing nothing you have ever seen on land before.

This is truly my love at first sight

Would I

Parkour - Photo by Albert Gonzalez Farren

.. be able to do this in 3 months time? I don't think so... *intrigued

My Days of Gratitude - Day 1

to live another birthday 

June 27
The day I turned 28

my life was moving at such rate

that makes me feel very much lightweight,

with a hint of a clean slate

when all storm is to abate.

The day I turned 28

I started to count my absentee rate.

In life in labor in my sparring mate.

Now It’s time to circumnavigate

to succumb and fully participate 

to always be au fait

and start filling up life’s photographic plate

no more just lying in wait

The day I turned 28

I remember to thank my line of fate

for bearing me no hate;

my mind my life being in such wonderful state

The day I turned 28

it just felt so great

as I am alive and awake

and I am not done living in fete

Inspired by a friend's "365 days of gratitude", I am starting one too! It’s too easy to take blessings for granted, especially those too common that we tend to forget, hence it is forgotten.

Here's to years of happiness, good health, good life and everything great *cheers

I Love My

Photo credit: Mike Joos Art

Asking for More

Guitar + Cigarette: AWESOME
when loneliness / boredom / restlessness gets the best of you, when you don't feel like doing anything else

Mummy and Daddy loves Jane.

Jane loves Mummy and Daddy.

Mummy and Daddy used to have dinner with Jane every night,

and afterward Jane would go out and hang out with her friends.

Mummy and Daddy used to show Jane how much they loved her.

She knew, and felt how much they loved her back then.

They talked, and spent time together, watching TV, reading books, eating chocolates in bed.

They were the best of friends, they enjoyed being together.

Weekends were spent at Mummy and Daddy's place.

Even if Jane was to sleep all day long, it was the happiest days in her life,

as she slept in the arms of Mummy and Daddy

Then Jane moved away, and lost her close sets of friends.

She naturally became more dependent on Mummy and Daddy,

from just best friends to treating them like super BFFs.

But Mummy and Daddy got busy.

and they got bored with having to cater to Jane's needs all the time.

They now hate spending time with her,

but they never neglect all the important things.

College fund, allowances, insurance and good education,

are all well taken care of.

Soon Jane is not welcome to stay at their place anymore.

Not even on weekends.

Not even when Jane practically begged to come over to watch TV as her own TV was broken. They asked her to watch TV at her aunt's place instead, in another town, when their place is just few blocks away.

Not even when Jane, at the verge of crying, saying how sad she feels having to come home to an empty house of hers 7 days a week.

Jane knows Mummy and Daddy love her still.

Jane knows how much Mummy and Daddy have done for her, just because they love her, and love her they still do.

She just yearns the attention, the companionship, the human contact, and the need to feel loved again,

and she's coping to the change in routine.

No more weekend at Mummy and Daddy's place.

No more dinner with Mummy and Daddy every day.

All she needs is a hug some times.

And as she can't even get that from Mummy and Daddy.

She is now trying very hard to adjust to spending weekends on her own. 

To try and be independent.

To try and embrace loneliness.

To accept that there is no one other than herself.

Not even Mummy and Daddy.

She is trying very, very hard.

Inconsistency can definitely breaks a child's heart. If you can't even ask for the time, and even a hug from your loved ones whenever you need one, then who else can you get it from? 

Again it is all about how much they have done for you, and how you should count your blessings and shouldn't ask for more, sigh.

Happy Wednesday

from Ice Cream is Better with a Fork.

Better With You

Make a Mark

Tagged

Tagged by Ushna and Mama, it has been a while, should be fun :p. 

1. Do you sing in the shower?

All the time!!! Alongside other things.. Sometimes I dance too

2. What song?

This morning, it was Laskar Cinta, dengan penuh perasaan dan perasantan

3. Do you believe in love at first sight?
When it comes to love, whatever works for you baby

4. What was the name of your first pet?
Tompok. I named my first and second pets Tompok, both were stray cats found by the drain. I was 4-year-old, I thought every cat should be called Tompok
 
5. What is the last movie that you saw at the cinema?
127 hours, AWESOME. I had climber crush on Aron Ralston back then, so yeah

Aron Ralston and James Franco

6. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where would you go?
Right now - India, from Goa all the way to Delhi, Agra, Jaipur to Darjeeling, Ladakh and Kashmir, retuning back to KL from Tibet.

Next would be Barcelona and Amsterdam.. 

7. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
More of an owl. Early morning counts as night too, no?
 
8. Do you always wear a seatbelt?
Now, always. It was a NEVER back then but a very close friend was very anal about having me wear the seatbelt all the time, and he wouldn't stop nagging until I did so, so thanks to him, it is now a habit.
 
9. What is your ringtone?
Across the Wire by Calexico. I got it from a free CD - Greetings from the Boss: 15 tracks handpicked by Bruce Springsteen.

10. What curse word do you use the most?

I don't curse :p. Fine, I lied.

11. Flip flops or sneakers?
Sneakers. My feet get cold and bruised easily, so I prefer them covered

12. What color is your room?
I grew up in a pink room. Now it's plain white *yawn

13. How many hours of sleep do you need to function?
In average, 6 - 8 hours, like normal people.


14. Are you picky about spelling and grammar?
Grammar, yes. Spelling, not so, typo is acceptable :p. Not in official or formal documents though


15. Do you sleep on your side, tummy, or back?
Side most of the time, on my back sometimes


16. What is your favorite TV show?
Survivor!

and anything with Ian Wright in it. Also Project Runways, the Simpson, How I Met Your Mother, Miami Ink and others

17. What is the weather like? 
It's all cosy and cold inside the office, don't really what the weather is like outside

18. Are you shy around the opposite sex?
Not really. Uncomfortable maybe, sometimes, with some men

19. How often do you remember your dreams?
Rarely. I should've written it all down once I woke up I guess

20. Do you think people talk about you behind your back?
In general everyone talks behind everyone's back, bad things, good things, factual things, so I guess they do, when I am interesting enough for them to talk behind my back.

Whether I like it or not, that's a different thing

So now I am tagging: 

One of the OBC sisters
Another one of the OBC sisters
Mariamah Tijo
The new addition to the OBC clan
the Hot Mama san

Ours, Yours and Mine

Leaders are people's asset. They are "public properties", not just their wife's, family's and friends'. Just like celebrities, they know that there are a lot at stake by being one, like losing your privacy, your free time, and even the freedom to do whatever you like, wherever, whenever and which ever way you like it. It has its perks but not without hefty sacrifices; something not commonly exposed and well known to public in general, critics in particular.

They have to constantly learn, and stay open for criticism, and there is no room for a bad-hair-day or PMS, or even the Monday blues; it is a 24-hour job. From a housewife complaining about his husband having an affair with a widower, to as big as the Budget, it is ALL YOURS.. all yours baby..

So if you think your leader is not up to par, it is YOUR responsibility to criticize, to get involved and ultimately take over. Ada berani?

Cakap kalau mahu cakap. Piket kalau mau piket. If you are not even a registered voter, why bother to even complain?

"When we say that our government is inefficient, our laws are too old, our local councils have not stepped up to he plate, the Internet connection is a joke or the transport system is a laugh, can we also reflect on our own roles in each of these situation? What have we each done about it beyond saying, saying and saying?

The system isn't someone else's problem.. It is ours, yours and mine.

In the word of Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam, the 11th President of India: If a country is to be corruption-free and become a nation of beautiful mind, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.

I would add just three more; you and me and all of us"

Mohd Sidek Hassan

Indonesia: 2009

Real Life Survivor

Survivor Stand Up

Tiru Meniru

My Three Months

"Manusia pinjam meminjam. Pakai memakai. Anak semua bangsa bercampur dan bergaul. Tidak ada sesiapa yang boleh mengakui bahawa ini hanya milik bangsa dan budaya mereka. Kita telah bercampur gaul. Kenal Mengenal. Tiru meniru. Ini hakikat dunia hari ini. Ini bukan cerita Ultraman" 

          Hishamuddin Rais

 

You Know