To my beloved Hootie... I will always love you...

I think by now almost everyone that knows Hootie, knows that he is currently in Neuro ICU, General Hospital, KL.

The doctor diagnosed him as having cerebral aneurysm (google it up to find out more about this). The doctor suspects that he had this for quite a while but we had never suspected that anything was wrong since he never showed any symptoms. Unfortunately for Hootie, his aneurysm leads to rupture of the arteries, which in turn causes bleeding in his brain.

Don't ask me what had happened for I'm also in the dark. He was found by a group of good samaritans, already feeling sick and they sent him to the GHKL. According to the attending nurse in the emergency ward, the group of friends just sent him, explained that he was already in that state and left. No name or contact no. was given. And they were very honest as they did not taken any of his belonging nor a single cent of his money. The attending nurse at the emergency ward was the one who contacted me and my in-laws to tell us about his conditions.

He was brought in at around 10.30pm on Friday night and was operated immediately at 11.45pm. The first operation ended at 4 am, Saturday morning. They managed to remove all the blood and stopped the bleeding. At around 8.30 am, when the doctor was doing his round, he noticed that his right pupil was bigger that the left pupil. They did another round of scan and noticed that his right brain is swelling and this causes the face to bloat. So they did another operation in order to stop the swelling. And alhamdullilah, he looks better now although he is still unconscious.

To all friends who came to visit and to all the wellwishers, thank you for all the morale support and prayers. Will keep you guys posted on his conditions.

P/S: As cruel as it may be, please take Hootie's experience as a lesson. It doesn't mean that when we are healthy, we will not get what Hootie has. Also it doesn't mean that by having a healthy lifestyle, we won't suffer any other health problems. Do go for regular check-up and invest in "life saving" devices such as blood pressure monitor and sugar level monitor (which I found out will cost only a couple of hundreds and easily available at all the major pharmacies). Do not be such a cheapskate when it comes to your health for any amount of money can never replace your health and life.

When honesty is not the best policy

As a kid, I was told not to tell lies. But as I grow older, I suddenly realised that the very person that told me this, has somewhat tell lies, let it be big ones or small ones (what we call "a white lie").

I often ask myself, why do I sometimes have to lie or being lied to (yes, I am guilty of this sin people, but like I said, I have yet to find someone that is as pure as saint). I mean, is not that I want to lie, but sometimes, lying seems to be the best option around.

Don't get me wrong, I am not a liar nor do I condone to lying. But, there are instances where I feel that by not telling the truth, the outcome of the situation would be 20 times better. This is normally when I am torn between trying to please the other person or suffer the consequences myself. Take for instance, when I want to go out clubbing (during my single days), I admit that I had to tell a white lie to my mother so that I can spend sometime (and money) at clubs. Imagined if I had told her that I am going clubbing, I wouldn't even get to the front door of the house, let alone the front door of the club!

People lie for different reasons. Some are just are purely liars (yes, I have come across people of this sort). Some lie to protect the feelings of others, while some just want to keep peace. Many a times that I have been caught in situations where, in order to not let hell loose, I have to tell a white lie.

I guess, at the end of the day, we are given the option to tell the truth or to lie. Whether we choose to tell the truth or a little white lie, is entirely up to our conscience. As for me, the golden rule I always apply is that "Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others". Hence, most of the time, I will tell the truth, no matter how hard it is for me as I do not appreciate being lied to straight in my face.

Superb!!!

Seriously guys... go check out this movie... and don't be a cheapskate and buy pirated DVD because nothing beats the special effects that can only be experienced on big screen with surround sound.

Synopsis of the movie (quoted from rottentomatoes website)

For both comic book fans and those who can't tell the Green Lantern from the Green Arrow, IRON MAN is the type of summer blockbuster whose appeal lasts far beyond the season. Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark, a billionaire playboy and genius who puts as much effort into chasing skirts as he puts into chasing his next big idea. A trip to Afghanistan to sell weapons quickly devolves into chaos, and Stark finds himself at the mercy of a warlord who wants him to build a missile. Instead, Stark creates a powerful suit of armor, turning him into Iron Man and allowing him to escape. When he returns to America, his assistant Pepper Pots (Gwyneth Paltrow), friend Rhodey (Terrence Howard), and right-hand man Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) all marvel at the change in the man they knew. IRON MAN is the first film to be self-financed by Marvel Studios, and they should be proud of their freshman effort. They didn't take any obvious routes with choosing the cast or crew, and it pays off. Director Jon Favreau, who also has a small role in the film, is best known for directing ELF, but his first action-driven effort is nearly flawless. Casting Downey was gutsy but inspired: this is his first big action picture as well, but the wit he displays in films such as the cult hit KISS KISS, BANG BANG works perfectly for the character of Stark. IRON MAN features nods to its beloved source material, as well as to the classic animated series of the 1960s. But even for the uninitiated, this film provides an interesting entry into the Marvel superhero's universe.

What I think of the movie? Excellent...

1. Robert Downey Jr. is soooooooo good looking and witty. I was literally drooling while watching him on screen;
2. The special effects are superb
3. The gadgets were all the latest, state of the art technology. Even the cars and accessories were to die for (you can really see that there is a very good product placement effort)
4. Apart from being another comic-turned-block buster movie, the issue that was brought forward in the movie makes one question his/her own conscience (well at least, I did)

Nonetheless, was rather disturbed by the potrayal of Afghans as the terrorist in the movie. In the movie, we can also see that actually Stark's company is the one behind all the terrorism. When Tony (aka Robert) had a "wake up call" and found out the truth, he tried to change the world he had created.

Some lessons to take home:

• Always be mindful that every action we make/take, there will be some repercussion, no matter how small or how big it will be;
• Giving up is not an option. Failure is also not an option.
• Always keep your friends close but your enemies closer. You never know who you can or can't trust.
• Have a heart. Trust me, this is the only thing that can keep you alive at the end of the day.
• True friends are the one who stays when you hit rock bottom and they never ask for anything in return.

Happy watching guys!

HAPPY BELATED MOTHER'S DAY

To all mothers around the world,

HAPPY BELATED MOTHER'S DAY!!!

(Note to self:- need to upgrade internet connection at home since currently IT SUCKS!)

Now, back to some serious matter.

Mothers are supposed to be God Sent. I'm sure majority of us have great mothers and special in their own personal way. Many of us have also expressed our love and ever lasting gratitude to our mothers and why we feel that our mother is the best thing on earth.

Nonetheless, can't help feeling angry and disgusted when reading/hearing about mothers who fail to be what they are supposed to be. We often read and hear about abusive fathers but there are many, many abusive mothers around. The most common would be "baby dumping". Too many of this story have been covered in the media. Babies showing up in garbage bag, get eaten by wild dogs/animals, flushed down the toilet etc. I mean, where is the maternal instinct in that? One might argue that it could be the father who is responsible, but as a mother, wouldn't you do anything to fight for the life of your baby? Why bother going through 9 months of pregnancy (not to mention the excruciating labour pain), only to dumb the kid at the end of it? I'm sure there are many childless couples out there who would die to get these abandon babies. Or the very least, abort the baby at the early stage of the pregnancy. (Note: I'm not condoning abortion nor am I a big fan of it, but I do believe that this is the better option compared to treating the baby as if it is rubbish and throwing the baby, after it being born, in a dumpster. Or better still, go look for adoptive family for the baby!)

Maybe it is easier said than done. I've never been in such position nor have I met any of the mothers who decided to "throw" their kids, hence I wouldn't know what they had to go through and why such action was done. There are always two sides to every coin. But, what I do believe is that mothers are supposed to be a comfort and safety zone for their kids.

Hopefully, when I am a mother, I will be a good one. Maybe not the best in the world, but in the eyes of my kids, the best in their world.

How time flies...

I'm still waiting for Hootie to pick me up from work and all of a sudden it occured to me. It is already May and almost half of the year had gone. I still remember clearly celebrating New Year's eve with friends and having New Year get together with the Gymfreaks (well, I spent the whole evening doing 160 small pieces of begedil and rush my ass to Wine Room to celebrate New Year's eve... And of course running out of gas while frying the begedil to be brought over to Kak Ani and Doc's new pad the next day, and the incident whereby Kak Ani has everything in the kitchen except for a bottle of soya sauce.)

I am not a person that do yearly resolutions so I have no resolutions to reflect upon. However, whatever I was trying to achive at the beginning of the year, seems to be miles away. Work wise, the IB team have been diligently forwarding deals for my team to execute. Hopefully we can justify to the Head of Department on why a hefty bonus should be paid to us next year. Family wise, there's still me and Hootie but I've stop worrying about it and instead, focus on enjoying our time together. I mean, if I'm currently pregnant, I would have to stop going to my favourite BodyJam class and obviously clubbing. Financial wise, slight improvement on my debt situation but still need to dicipline myself to not shop till I'm broke. Fashion wise, managed to expand my collection with whatever little budget that I allocated to myself.

Nonetheless, I've had many memorable get-together with the Gymfreaks and the rest of my other friends for the last 5 months (and many more to come, speaking of which, for those interested, bila nak karaoke nie?). Even managed to piss a few people off within the short period of time. But the one thing I'm looking forward to is my confirmation (due on 19 May), which would mean a very minimal payrise. But at least I'll get my pay on the 25th of each month, instead of the 30th.

So, what do I expect for the remainder of the year? Nothing much except good health for both Hootie and me and not forgetting my family, Gymfreaks and other friends out there, more wealth and blessing from His Almighty.

PEACE OUT...