Sexiest In Pink

This is the Haleconia Chartacea 'Sexy Pink' from my garden which is among my favorite from the Heliconiaceae family.
I visited Sg Buloh some time ago and found one nursery that is manned by a few Bangladeshi (of course I have a story to tell for each plant kan..) & the Bangla offered me a good price for the plant. I nickname the place the "spitting nursery" as the Bangla really did spit anywhere and everywhere without prejudice..

Fortunately unlike my waterlily, I didnt have to try planting this haleconia many times before it did begin to flower. But a friend came by when the plant was only a sexy green - it had not flowered then.. She's from Penang & she said - awat hang tanam yang jenis ni? Yang ni memang susah nak berbunga hang tau. Kalau nasib tak baik langsung dia tak berbunga. Hang patut tanam yang macam kat rumah aku tu. Cepat je dah ada bunga blah.. blah..

Moral of the story? Do not let anyone sway you from what you want to do regardless how confident they may sound. You plan your own path or in this case, plant your own patch. Allah yang menentukan segalanya.

ps - such a serious lesson from a simple story, huh? And this photo is not taken in my garden but it captures the flower in its full (sexy) glory.

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Star Trek & The Final Frontier

I know a few people who just adore Star Trek. They never miss the movies, the series and the repeats. A friend who is very much into this while she was pregnant delivered a baby boy with an ear exactly like Spoc himself!

Anyway, remember Star Trek's tagline? It says Space ~ the final frontier. But a programme I caught on tv about the universe claimed that space is not the final frontier; the earth is. It said we've always been too busy looking up to the sky that we have forgotten to look at what is really beneath our feet deep into the center of the earth.

And the other day I read a book that said the final frontier space is not; life is the final frontier. Sounds plausible. Just ask yourself if you know all there is to know about your own life.

There is so much to do, so many dreams to realise, so many goals to achieve. Are all the things we have planned for ourselves and family worthwhile? Think about it ~ seriously. Let's not live life by chance ~ plan it & achieve the goals.

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If You Dont Succeed, Try Again

This is the waterlily from my garden. Scientifically waterlilies are known as nymphaea. I tried looking up the rest of its name but cant find it. There are too many waterlilies on the net and I cant identify which is actually mine. According to my mum who is a plant enthusiast, its Malay name is telepok.

There is a story behind this pot of plant ~ I think this is the third time I tried planting this waterlily. Failed miserably everytime. Whenever I stopped to look at any waterlilies (let alone buy!) some smart guy by my side would say oh-oh, not again.. But nevertheless waterlilies continue to draw me.

That is why it was so surprising, and such a pleasure, that this time the plant not only survived, but even flowered. This pix was taken some time ago. It had flowered a few times since. These days the plant has lots of leaves and I'm waiting for it to flower again. I also have a plant with white flowers in that pot somewhere given by a friend's mun - thanks, Fatin.

I am thinking that I should start a catalog of the plants in my garden.

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Just A Matter Of Interpretation

Anybody who has problem with putting ideas for dinner please raise your hands.. yeah ~ I understand the issue totally.

The other day I asked my daughter what she'd like for dinner. Well.. it is the weekend and I do try to make extra effort since the children are home. And she said, entah.. but something different ma. A big help that response is..

So out came the lasagna with the parmesan cheese and paprika. And also the mushroom soup with garlic bread. Dinner did turn out well.

The other time I asked the man himself, what would you like for dinner? He said fish. Err.. anything specific? I asked again. He replied no, but something nice. A big help that was too.

We had fish & chips then with all the works ~ with onion rings and mustard and apple cider and lemon slices and tabasco and mayo and pickles and .. I had my fish with cuka tamin & salt. It's nicer that way.

If I ask my son what he'd like for dinner, he'll say ~ anything ma, but nasi goreng or mee goreng & yang sama waktu dengannya. I had more than enough of those at campus & I cant take them anymore he added. Okay.. that means rice for dinner with traditional lauk-pauk for him.

Try asking Eirfan what he'd like for dinner and he will just smile. Which means maggi mee it is! & if he has his way, it would be maggi everyday.

So ~ moms, ladies, we can make it as easy or as difficult as we like. It's all just a matter of interpretation.

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"Cikgu Saya"

His opinions ~

On public being conned by the pyramid scheme ~ If they had not been greedy and tried to make fast money then they would not have been cheated anyway..

When being cautioned on donating towards worthwhile causes that could be scams ~ If there are eight scams and two genuine cases out of every ten pleas, contributions just cant be overlooked for those two.

On time management ~ Whoever was it that came up with the phrase "to kill time?" Killing time is as good as killing oneself because the dead dont have time on their hands anymore.

When asked about future plans ~ I am not in my last lap yet, I plan to live till 90.

On music appreciation ~ Classical piano. Il Divo. He said, I like Destiny's Child too.

When being cheated out of a parking bay by another driver ~ Who would have guessed that driver would do that? Let's drive round till we find a bay. (They went round 3 times before they found a spot to park).

On speeding at the yellow-to-red lights ~ We are conditioning our children that it is ok to break the rules, especially when the enforcement are not around to catch us.

He is almost 60, aiming for his PhD because "it seem nice to be called a Dr" and tries hard to contribute towards a higher national productivity. He said if he could cause even a small stir of change within each person in his class then that in itself is a big achievement.

I mulled over what I should title this posting when I remembered Eirfan had to write an essay about his class teacher a couple weeks back. Well, sounds befitting enough. This is about my very own cikgu-cum-facilitator at EPL. He might be old, but he's dangerous - he could psych you up till you eat, sleep, dream and live EPL.. And I am not even talking about the premier league.

ps - Thank you to Mr Wong for much aspiration.

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Great Expectations

This is not the first time that I am going through this in life. Maybe that's why I remain pretty unflutterred. I try to recall others who are also facing what I would be facing. Some friends and sisters. And of course thousands of other parents.

The SPM results would be out, come Monday. There are bound to be joy and maybe some disappointment. My friends and I already agreed we would not ask each other about our children's results. We said, biarlah sebagai rahsia keluarga..

When approached with the matter my son said, don't raise your hopes too high ma..

If only children realise that parents only ever hope for the best from them - if they had given all that they can, then we as parents would not ask for more. And that the reason we want them to do the best is because we want what is best for them.

But of course deep within us we'd love it very much if our children could be the best student in school or the best swimmer in his class or the best footballer among his friends. We dont expect them to be world-class; just the best within their own class. I believe, we have to win the small battles first before we can hope our children to win the war.

Good luck to Haslina & daughter, Lina & son, Khalidah & daughter, Da & Jiehan, Leli & Izi and of course my own Luqman come Monday.

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The Quiet Frontier

It was Friday evening at the office. Time to say bye-bye to the professional me and say hi to the more mellow/easy me.

The expected call have not came in. Give it another ten, I told myself. If my mobile doesnt ring then I will have to make the call myself. Sure enough the phone rang less than five minutes later.

She said, ma, ingat Iman tak balik hari ni..

Oh, why? You've forgotten - I have that dinner tonite, remember?

Oh yeah, that's right. I've forgotten about it. Cant imagine why since she bugged me enough about the dress she wanted to wear for her big do..

Later while driving home I dialed another number. Yeah, yeah - it's not safe, it's against the law etc, etc. I would definitely nag if I were sitting beside a driver who does that..

The call was answered almost immediately - oops, he must be in the middle of class. He said, I'm in the studio completing my final project... no, you need not come by and pick me up... cant come home today... have to finish this for submission.

Okay, that's that. My fingers hovered on the mobile key pad - should I make the other call? I decided not to. He would be somewhere on the football field this time in the evening. Anyhow, he wouldnt be coming home this weekend either.

Well, it is going to be a quiet weekend.. I wonder if this feeling is a prelude to the empty-nest syndrome..?

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Love, Hate, War & Peace

A guy in his fifties said, let me tell you about my friend, a 19 year old girl. And he went on about her vocation and dreams to be a concert pianist. Her aspiration to be the best.

Sounds like love to me. And admiration and amazement that someone so young could have the strength, the determination and absolute belief in one's chosen path.

I met some acquaintances from previous life (because those days seem so far away now). We were never able to hit the right note, the synergy was never there. Was never there and never will there be I suppose from the recent meet-up.

Not really hate, but there is no love lost there either. The Malay phrase said tak kenal maka tak cinta. But on the other hand, familiarity sometimes do breed contempt..

And the news that the former Yugoslav President Milosevic died and was mourned was just astonishing. Ada jugak orang nak mourn dia.

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