Choo! Choo!

I am trying very hard to doze off yet the familiar continuous clanking sound forces me to recall  old memories, the last one perhaps 3 years ago when I headed to the city of Ipoh for a job interview.
Yes, as I am writing this, I am on a train ride to my hometown, Johor Bahru. I am riding on a sleeping coach with beds, since it's a 6 hours journey to my destination. However, this wasn't my preferred option more than 10 years ago.
The first mind-recorded experience of me riding a long distance train was in 1994, when I rode with my newlywed brother for their unofficial honeymoon to Penang. Why was I there in his honeymoon? I just can't remember why. Anyway, prior to that, I only rode the train for short distance journeys to Singapore.
I remember during that 1994 journey, I had an overwhelming impression for the rail service. Before that, all the short journeys to Singapore were on the 3rd class coach, that translates to poor sensory experience. In that journey to Penang, I remember we had evening tea at the canteen coach while enjoying the passing scenery which was a new experience to me. It left an everlasting impression to me that a long journey train ride allows me to enjoy the scenery more than the boring highway ride.
In 1998, while I was still living in Johor Bahru, a scenario occured that made it best for me to take the train instead of the express bus. I had to be at the higher education department in Kuala Lumpur the next morning to urgently resolve an administrative issue for my admittance to the university. Being young with strong sense of curiosity, I spent most of the time standing at the door, wide open, enjoying the scenery naturally with strong wind gushing through my hair. Ever since, I'm hooked.
The next recorded memory was when there was a calling - a calling of the heart when I was madly in love. The love of my life at that time was living in Kuala Lumpur. Whenever the heart calls, off I went on a train. It happened to be that one of the journey, I shared it with my roommate who of course for anybody being a roommate of mine is also a good talking partner. We ended up sitting by the door throughout the whole journey, again, of course the door was wide open, having one of the best conversations I had in my life. And I still remember as we arrived, it happened to be that I was riding on the first train to arrive at the then newly opened KL Sentral. There was a group of press photographers already clicking their shutters as we slowly came to a stop, trying to catch the first batch of passengers to use the new station.
Another good experience was when me and my wife were travelling across Java. The trip from Surabaya to Bandung took 14 hours and we did a return journey.  A cumulatively, we were on Indonesian train for 28 hours. Anyhow, we got to enjoy the landscape of Java in an express way.
We figured out that we couldn't be staring out the window throughout the 14 hours journey, so we decided to drop by at a bookstore in Surabaya the night before and grabbed a few books to read. Incidentally, the book I picked partly told a story of the characters were experiencing a lesson in life while riding in a standard class train, travelling across Java. The way it described the scenery, the common people who use the train as their main mode of transportation and how the atmosphere inside the train somehow felt very much related to what was I experiencing at that time, only, with a very big exception, that actually I was travelling in an executive coach. There's a big difference riding between the classes in Indonesia.
Definitely, if I ever have the opportunity to visit other country, I'd first look for its rail service as I strongly feel it is one of the best way to experience a country.
Present day, here I am 2 hours into the journey still restraining myself from going to the door and open it. There have been many calls for me to take the train ride, be it for my education, my love and even for my career. For now the call is no less important, in fact of the highest priority. I was informed that my mother has been warded. Seriously, I need to catch some rest now.

Moment of the Day - 03/05/12

Lira was trying to play a CD for Dhea using a CD player when somehow the sound didn't come out through the complex connection of the amp. Sufy, being a 1 year and a month old curious little boy joined in to see what was happening. I was watching them lazily from the sofa when suddenly Sufy appeared to have an idea. He turned and walked towards me like a penguin (it's really cute) still with that beaming face when I noticed his eyes were locked to the thing I was holding in my hand. It was the remote control for our pay TV. He grabbed it from me and brought it closer to Lira who was still struggling to get the sound out from the amp. With his unique version for the sound of the remote, he 'clicked' the remote pointing to the amp. He actually thought it was the solution for whatever problem Lira was facing. Oh, my boy. I am amazed.

Our New Baby

Alhamdulillah, my wife has safely delivered a baby boy at 9.15 pm on the 15th of March 2011. Both mother and baby are fine. The baby weighed at 4.2 kg when he was born. I was there the whole time in the operating room watching how doctors worked to welcome the baby into this world.

We are very excited to welcome the new member to our family!

Boo!

On one fine night, my daughter browsed through the book shelf looking for something worthy to look into while I found it as an opportunity worthy to shoot.

We Love Our Ride!

We love this car so much. It has brought us to many places especially to the many seasides we have been as if it was part of the entourage. If only it could step along side with us when we were strolling all the beautiful beaches. Somehow, I would always try to get this car as closest as possible to the water, so close that it has once got stuck in the fine sand of Cherating. Latest, the jagged rock!

Surprise! Surprise!

4th of January annually is a meaningful day to me but for most of the years, it wasn't really much celebrated. Since I was little, I wasn't hoping for any present or celebration on that special day.

I remember a photo of me, standing in front of what it seemed as a birthday cake, complete with 3 lit candles and a very familiar table fan at the background, the fan that I've been trying to keep as it was the only tangible thing I can hold on to that reminds me of that sweet moments in the photo, until I lost it somewhere few years back. There's a note at the back of the photo, like an EXIF data stating it was taken when I was celebrating my 3rd birthday. At least, I know long time ago, my birthday was joyfully celebrated.

Years after that, only few times worth remembering on this special date. One was when I repeatedly begging to be bought a toy as my birthday present - a Matchbox-like trailer sold at a stationary shop I passed every day returning from my religious study, which I presume in present value is only about RM10.00, and I really had to beg for it.

The other birthday celebration that I remember was when my only sister brought me to a fast food outlet in KOMTAR at my hometown - because she was asked by my mother when she just got home after an hour ride from work in a public bus - at that KOMTAR, so basically she just had to repeat the same journey just to make it a special day for me. At that time, it was really really a big deal for me (and my family basically) to be able to eat at fast food outlet.

Then came my varsity days, when this date was still special but scary at the same time. I had to endure the unimaginable tortures thrown at me. At worst, I had my back splashed with chill water (real cold water) and later with hot water. Later, I felt my skin was burning and discovered that someone had poured lacquer all over my back. My cloth literally glued to my skin and it was hell painful to detach it. But hey, at least that's the way they celebrated me and I really enjoy it until today.

Nowadays it is celebrated differently unless my wife opted to celebrate like how I had stated above LOL. For this year, like any other before this, there's no cake for me because I am no fan of it. However, as I lay my head on my sleeping mattress when I wanted to go to sleep, I felt there's something boxy beneath my pillow.

Thank you dear for the manly present for my birthday :)

Expecting

We are all excited!

One Fine Afternoon

The morning was a long wait for Lira's check-up when the doctor had to leave his clinic to deliver a baby upstairs in the maternity ward. We finished around 2, that meant we won't be able make it on time to attend a wedding of a friend in Port Dickson. Since suddenly we have time to spend, I decided to bring Dhea for a train ride to KLIA. The weather was really nice though despite occasional heavy rains for the past few weeks. We were happy!

Busy Times

After quite a long hiatus, I'd love to write as long as possible but time would prohibit me from doing so as evidently, for the first time since its re-establishment, there was no post for the month of November. Been busy with works at the new office hence the shelving of my beloved camera ever since. Whenever it's possible, I'd bring along my camera and shoot. Here are some updates.

Dhea's Blurb!

Finally, something that I have envisioned even before I actually start clicking the shutter is to have it printed out represented in the best medium I can afford. I found out this book making service and been wanted to make one ever since. It does require a stock of photos to be included or else it won't be a book, so I had to wait for a while before this could be realized. Initially, I wanted to include all of the photos that I have but I think it's better to dedicate Dhea a book of her own. After almost a month of waiting finally the book has arrived.

What We Did On A Good Saturday

While she was sleeping...

...Mama baked this...

...and Abah cooked this.

Al-Fatihah

Darah daging menziarah asal datangnya mereka. Al-Fatihah

Dhea at Home at 1.4

She really wanted to play outside. I really wanted to test the new 1.4.

It's mutual.

Spirit of Celebrating

This is her first time holding a fireworks. I'm getting her ready to join the other relatives when Aidilfitri arrives.

Sisters

My wife and her sister wearing the color of the beach during our recent visit to Cherating. Coincidently or pre-planned?

An Evening In Cherating

Last weekend we went "balik kampung" to Kemaman. As usual, we passed by Cherating with its few stretches of beautiful beach just before we reached Kemaman. We arrived at around 5.30pm and the timing was just perfect. The evening was beautiful. And the beach too. We had a lot of fun wading through the shallow water.

However, as we were leaving the beach, we had a scare when our car's front set of tyres got stucked quite deep in the very fine sand of the beach. Luckily due to my expertise in WRC (cewaah!!), I managed to get it out safely but to a shocking face of a lady who was walking towards the direction of our car.

Surely, we are going to drop by again.

Dear Lira

Taken while bringing Dhea for a load of splashing fun in the swimming pool (and I was in the pool).

Dear Dhea Again

Previously unpublished. Some of few that luckily were still in the camera.

Happy Birthday Dhea Batrishea

It was supposed to be a fun day for her as what I had imagined and planned but unfortunately she got sick. Hopefully she'll be okay by tomorrow or else we have to get her admitted to the hospital (again).

As much as I'm sad over this as we were really looking forward to celebrate her birthday, I'm so frustrated seeing her becoming passive on this special day.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Dhea Batrishea, I love you so much.

Our Little Project

Another Saturday is here and this time around I decided to do something different instead of going out. Why not get Dhea involved in a little project?

We bought her a table with two chairs two days ago after I spotted the Ikea's sale advertisement in the paper. Since it's for her, I thought of having her involved in assembling the table so that she would feel the sense of belonging to it.

It was fun and quite sad for Lira as she wasn't there to witness it.