Bukit Tinggi ~ 6th of December 2014

It was long due short vacation for us. After being postponed many times due to some unforeseen circumstances, finally by God's grace we were able to visit this place for the second time. Located at Berjaya Hills, it is a perfect place for relaxation. I didn't see much difference after many years, may the one thing was we saw less fish in the pond at the Japanese garden :-) 

The entrance fees for this place was RM12 for adult and RM8 for kids. It will be refunded during your checkout from hotel Colmar Tropicale. We reached at around 3pm, check-in process was slow due to many visitors. The room (1 bedroom suite) was huge and nice. We got the view facing the mountains. It could accommodate one family, but I think for family of 3, it is more than enough.

We could not immediately start visiting places as it was wet, wet evening. Managed to go for 6D motion picture though. I think it was cool, with my little one screaming all the way till the end :-)

The next day, we went to visit the Japanese Garden, Animal Park and Botanical Garden. The little one enjoyed watching the rabbits but got weary when the deers started to chase her for the food.

I think one can fully visit these places in a day. Nevertheless, it was a good break for all of us.  

Ain't Enough Of Appreciating

Life is made such that it teaches you endless lessons which may leave you ponder sometimes. Even though you may not understand at the beginning, but you will finally accept what it got to offer for you. Why exactly you are here? What are your goals? What are you trying to achieve? There are lots of questions. But you may not have the answers for all these questions. You may need to be patient and wait for it to happen. 

There is no point to hurry. The best is to go with the flow. Sometimes it may just be the way you wish for. Living a normal life is good enough sometimes. As we compare ourselves with others. There will be lots of differences, however, should we compare? It does not make sense to compare as we are meant to be unique, our lives are unique and in whole, this one life is heavily customized. The one who complains will continue complaining. Shall we bother? Never!

If we analyse carefully, each day brings you a new experience. Each day teaches you something that you may not realize it is important for you to know. All we need to do is to embrace and count your blessings daily. People from all walks of life. From the outer layer, it seems so perfect but do we know that no one is perfect? They face challenges in their own ways. 

Rather than trying very hard to understand, it is much easier to accept this is the way it is. All we need to do is the maintain the equation so things do not blow out of proposition. Act of balancing. Life is complicated if we make it complicated. If we think it is not, then it is really it is not! It is as simple as that. Counting my blessings every day, it makes it worthwhile and helps to find pieces to finish up the puzzle. That is the end game.

Demise of true scientist

Just a few hours ago, I received a very sad news about my ex-boss who passed away. I knew it when I read a comment on FB by one of my friend who was her ex-student back in university. If you google on her (Prof Farida Shah), you can find many news about her. Before I found my current job, I worked on freelance project which Prof was heading. She won the grant to implement the project which was one of the initiatives by Ministry of Science and Technology. I had the opportunity to work with this wonderful lady for 1 year before I moved on. She was a very passionate in her work as a molecular biologist. Very enthusiastic about science and technology and women well being. In spite her busy schedule, she dedicated her time to volunteer in other organizations especially related to women.The first day I met her, I still vividly remember, she spoke to me about her ambitions for the project, very positive and full of energy. I have never met such person in my life who are so energetic, full of inspirations and ready to take all the challenges. I still remember her first advice to me -  "look around you, observe what you see, there are so many informations you can get which can enrich your knowledge". 
During my one year stint with her, she taught me many things. She taught me how to be brave, how to face challenges and most importantly she instilled the thought in me, that we, women are capable of doing and achieving many things which we may think impossible. She would tag me along whenever she goes out to meet the stakeholders for the project. I met many important people during this time. She opened my eyes to the outside world. I learnt a lot during this time. When I was selected to join my current job, she didn't want to let me go. She insisted I should stay, but I couldn't. She even said she would talk to my company's HR to postpone my employment. Sometimes she was funny, she would crack jokes. We kept in touch via Facebook even after I left her.
This lady had contributed a lot to world of science. It is priceless. We have lost a true scientist. Rest in Peace, Prof! May God Bless your Soul.

Disney Live! ~ Three Classic Fairy Tales

It was time for Disney Live! again with this year's show of beautiful princesses of 3 classic fairy tales - Beauty & The Beast, Snow White and Cinderella. It was Mickey Magic Show which we went last year for the first time. It was held at Plenary Hall, KLCC Convention Centre. The show was beautiful and nicely executed with wonderful lightings, props, sounds and of course music. It was very entertaining. This time was not any different, more for cute little girls as most of them dressed in their favorite princess dresses. Although the cheapest ticket was sold at RM98 for category C seating (there are early bird prices too) but I think it was not too bad. The stage was not too far from our seats. My little girl was very excited to see her princesses in action. The show started at 11am and lasted for 1.5 hours with an interval in between. Too pricey for 1.5 hours show? Yes, I think it is. For a once in a year event, I think it is okay :)

There was plenty of Disney merchandises being sold at the entrance of the hall which attracted many people especially the little ones. Bet their parents could't get away from the nagging from the little ones to get something for them and I was not spared either! Overall, I think last year's Mickey's magic show was little bit more better - more hilarious and funny, could be due to the theme it self. Looking forward for next year's show, we shall see ... :-)

Bought these 2 items for my little one.

This princess doll and crown was RM55 and RM45 respectively.

 A bit special crown with colorful running lights, perfect for kids :-)

Stage from our seats

5 ways on how to make yourself happy

As a working mother, I hardly get time for myself. My life is such a routine and sometimes I wonder what values do I bring to myself and others. This is life of a woman. Be it a working woman or SAHM. We have our own set of challenges. You have so much of things to do that you don't have time for yourself. You have to think of your kids, your house chores, your work and of course your husband! You see, we wear many hats in a day. As a mother, wife, daughter, sister and a worker. This isn't easy! Your mind is always occupied with something. Sometimes, you even dream about it! Have you ever had this thought? Can I pause for a while and think how do I balance up my life?

1. Always find time for yourself
In the 24 hours allocated to us, can we find at least 15mins for ourselves ? Do something you really like. It's hard though. Buy we can prioritize to make sure we have this time everyday. My passion is reading. I try to make time to read. Although it takes months to complete 1 book compared to  few days when I was single. It is still an achievement to me. 

2. Get a time out
Arrange for someone to look after your child. Go and catch a movie. Or meet up with your friends. It may sound selfish sometimes because you may feel you are neglecting your children but you deserve this break.

3. House chores can wait!
Working mothers always feel they don't spend much time with their kids. After a hectic day at work, they often need to choose whether to finish up house work or to be with the kids. Choose wisely, spend quality time with your kids. House chores can wait. Kids should be the first priority. What do you get by doing this? Contentment!

4. Break free from routine 
Life is never ending cycle of works. Sometimes it gets too routine that we just keep going and going without realising we forgot to pause. When we keep doing the same thing over and over we get bored too.Try to break free from this cycle. Maybe a weekend gateway with family?  Or even a day's trip to somewhere ? 

5. Reward yourself cautiously
I think this is very important for every human being. We are just normal humans with feelings,  right? So we just pamper ourselves with some 'materialistic' items whenever we can afford it. Buy a branded bags, watch or jewels or whatever you wish for! (Of course within our means). We must not feel guilty for doing it because we deserve this kind of treatment, as I said we are just an ordinary human with senses. If it makes ourselves feel good then it is a good thing. 

~ life is wonderful, full of meanings, it's up to us how to make sense out of it ~


4. 
    S

Sri Bestari's Info Day

Sri Bestari's Info Day was held on 27th of Sept 2014. Just couple of days ago, we visited Sri Utama private school located at Setapak area. Our intention was to check out both private and international schools. The Sri Utama's principal told us she is not getting many parents registering for private school as opposed to international. I reckon the main reason being most parents are now losing trust in Malaysian syllabus. Therefore, they rather send their kids to international schools even though they have to fork out quite a hefty amount of fees. In some circumstances, parents are also forced to change their kids to international schools due to the school is not able to form a class due to more and more parents are pulling out their kids from private schools. Or for those who are unable to afford it, they have no choice but to switch their kids to government schools. So, this is the reality we have to face. Another main reason why international school is favored is because the government has switched back teaching of Maths and Science in English to national language. 

Now, coming back to Sri Utama, the principal told us the school is due to increase its fee in year 2015. Therefore, she was only able to give us the fees structure for Year 1. One time payment was RM4,500 (pre registration is RM500, enrollment fee is RM1,000, security deposit is RM3,000) and per annum is RM11,700 exclusive of food (RM700 per semester), books (RM500) and uniform (RM300). The international school fees is the same as the private for the first year, however this is subject to change next year and also increases every 2 or 3 years. The syllabus for private school is taught in national language. But I was told the teachers would also use English to teach Maths and Science during the same time.

At Sri Bestari, the school looks like an ordinary school. We were greeted by few primary school ambassadors dressed in green-white uniforms. They took us for a tour before the briefing by the primary school principal. She highlighted the key features of the school which includes teaching of World Maths and World Science in English. This would be taught in extra hours but within the school timetable.Their core subjects are language classes (French/Japanese/Mandarin), PA (Performing Arts) and abacus.  The one time payment is RM2,700 (registration is RM850, deposit is RM1,700, entrance exam is RM150). Per annum the fees would be RM12,410 from Year 1 till Year 5. This is exclusive of food, uniform and books (approx. RM1000). For Year 6, the fees would be slightly higher - RM12,935. They have 2 classes for Year 1 and their entrance exams are scheduled in October. The school surroundings are green and also registered as Eco-School. 

Well, how shall I say? Life is not easy.When it comes at each milestones for your children, you will have to do lots of thinking taking into considerations of each factor and of course, money being the most important. There are times that you want the best for the child. But, only you know if you have tried best enough to give what you can. 

3 sure ways to save money

Are you eyeing for something ? Maybe a gold necklace? A silver bracelet? Or anything ? But you are not sure how you are able to save ?  You are struggling to make ends meet and you are not able to fulfill your desire to buy things you like? Fret not, all you need is determination and confidence that this will work for you. 

1. Make a point to save 10 dollars everyday. In a month you will be able to save 300 dollars. Promise yourself you will never miss a day of saving and at the end of month, you will have 300 dollars. 

2. Cut down your visits to restaurants & cafes. Yes, you heard it right. This one surely will add on your savings drastically. With most of the restaurants imposing service and government tax, eating out has become expensive now. Pack your own lunch or cook up simple dishes at night, these meals are much more healthier than eating out. Plus, you are able to save money by adopting this habit.

3. Revisit all your auto subscriptions. You might have subscribed to magazines or satellite TV stations. But, are you making use of all your subscriptions? It is time to check and ask yourself again do you really need it? Is it really worth the money? Terminate it if you are not using it, you could save few bucks. Or check your satellite TV channels again, switch to packages or customize it so you are maximizing the use. Every single cents count.

There are many ways to save money. It is important to understand your own spending habits and work out a plan which will work for you. Start small, soon you shall be reaping the benefits if you are determined to achieve your goals.

Angels in the sky

Tomorrow will mark another important day of all Malaysians. They are returning home. Unfortunately and sad to say they are returning to their homeland as angels. This unforgettable incident indeed very hard to be remembered. These innocent people lives were taken abruptly. They had no chance to think nor to say bye to loved ones for one final time. Too many kids who hoped to live longer and wished for great future were all perished in this horrible accident. Who were to be blamed ? Who were responsible ? Were they remorseful ? We have no answers for these questions. Only tears of their loved ones flowed freely to show the sadness on their face. They have to face the truth now. Their loved ones were gone. Their last moments were unpredictable. Too many sad stories. It is hard to accept. Why all this happened to us? We have no answers. All left were bits and bits of remnants. Too hard to be digested. Will this pain go away? All we have to believe now is they became angels in just nick of time. Angels in the sky. Rest in peace MH17 passengers. Hope the God gives the strength to all the family members to go thru this trial.

An extraordinary Thursday....

Today was an extraordinary Thursday for me. Different from the normal routine working day. Today was the day we were granted an opportunity to meet our well known public figure Dato' Bridget Menezes, a music teacher turned to motivational speaker, an author and self empowerment guru. She doesn't seem old for her age, full of positiveness and speaks with confidence. She says below, summary of what I understand :

1. "Always breed positiveness in your mind and actions"

2. "Never let your mentality to be challenged by things which you cannot control"

3. "Accept irritations from people. Treat is as normal. Don't let it to interfere in your life"

4. "Don't let problems to overpower you. Take control of your life. You are the master of your own destiny"

5. "Train yourself to be content of what you have. We have to be "OK" with whatever"

6. "There are 2 days in a week which are very important - Yesterday and Tomorrow. Stop worrying about past which already happened and future which you have no idea what is in store for you"

7. "Free your mind from clutter and worriness. And solution will come to you in no time. Clutter-free mind helps you to think clearly and make wise decisions"

8. "Always remember the Law of Justice. In everyday life, observe what do you do and what do you think"

9. "Avoid ego, anger, possession"

10. "Keep giving. Giving is receiving. Remember Nature of Law"

11. "Be Happy, No Matter What!"

Dato' Bridget ended the talk by giving a card to everyone of us. She said the message written on each card reflects our own state of mind. And I think she was right!

KL Bird Park ~ 6th July 2014

Our weekend getaway was the KL Bird Park. Located nearby the famous Lake Gardens, this bird park promises serenity and peace for those who wish to escape from hustle and bustle of the city. The entrance fee was quite reasonable for MyKad owners(RM25). With the current ongoing promotion, a child's ticket is free of change with purchase of an adult's ticket. There are plenty of birds species here. It is said that this place is the world's largest free flight aviary. It is a nice place to bring children along, to educate & expose them to variety of birds species. To explore the entire place including watching the bird show (0.5 hours) would take 2.5-3 hours (depending on how fast you walk, we entered at 9.30am and exited at 1pm). There are lots of places to rest in between of your walk. There is also a playground for kids. Below are the few pictures taken by unprofessional photographer :)

Time to plan for the next weekend gateway soon!

The Return To Self

Should we remind ourselves everyday that one day we will no longer be in this world ? That we all will eventually return to the earth to where we belong? After all we are nothing but just a clump of clay? Would it matter then how you lived in this world ? Would it matter then how much money or richness you made? Would it matter then how many properties you own? All the physical wealth which you have painstakingly made cannot be brought to where you belong. How are you giving to make yourself remembered ? Or does it really matter? We compare our richness with others, we push ourselves to make more money. We compare our children with others' kids, we push our kids to work harder. We see people driving brand new vehicles, we want it too. We see people buying luxury condo, living lavishly, we want it too. Everything is just revolving physical, physical and physical wealth!!! Money is everywhere. Everything we touch and see is money. When are we going to start living a real life ? When are we going to realize we, each of us is an image of the One? We shall all return to Him one day. Why should we have hatred? Why should we have jealousy? We think so hard everyday. We think about ourselves and people every minute from the moment we rise up everyday till we sleep. We worry about our future. Our minds never stop working. We remember we should we pamper our bodies but we forget our souls. We forgot our souls needs rest too. We forgot we need to surrender to the One everyday as we shall return to Him when the day comes. Instead, we concentrate so much in our daily chores and focus endlessly into worrying about things we cannot control. We need to calm our inner soul. We need to provide enough rest to the soul everyday. Get a quiet moment everyday whereby we think nothing. Just nothing but feel the peace within while we seek the guidance from Him. We should be reminded everyday that what we need is a simple life not a complicated ones.

Life's lesson

It has not been easy to write. But when the ideas start to flow in, it would be endless till you don't which one to write first. This time I decided to write something about what I experienced recently. I thought it would be something easy but it was not. I remember when I was a child, I had fear of standing at the stage and giving a speech. It was not about delivering the speech it self. But it was more to fighting the fear within.  To face the crowd, looking at the faces staring at you, it was a nightmare. It happened to me, it was still vivid in my mind and made it worst, I forgot my lines! But when you were forced to do it, you had to do it anyways. Back then, there were no one to motivate you, to understand what you were going thru or even your feelings. That was long, long time ago. 

And it felt like the history was repeating itself when my little one still in preschool was selected for the finals in story telling. It came as a surprise to me though. But it was partially my responsibility to ensure she remembers her story well. I didn't know why I got so worried. Rather than being happy, I was in stress! You can't explain to a six year old how important it was! All she knew was to have fun. I had tough time coaxing her to memorize her story. I hate to do it but I had to promise her to get favorite toy if she listens to me. I kept telling her she had to do her best. But deep in my heart, I wished she 
would really do well. I had to admit I pushed her quite hard. The thought of her forgetting her story keep coming to my mind. I had the same fear which I had long time ago. I kept reminding myself I should just let go my fear and let my little one be herself. The time finally came. I thought I wouldn't be able to compose myself to see her performing on stage (but I had to save my pride too! ). Her turn came and my heart started to beat so fast.  What's happening ?! I never felt like this before. It made me thought how my parents would have felt for me when I was young. It made me to think this moment was special and there are more things to face in future in parenthood. My little one as I expected did forget one of her lines but she managed to pull thru. This is why we should always think positive and stay away from negative thoughts. Let the kids be themselves, not to push them too hard, allow some space for them to grow naturally. This would be the best for them!

Duality

Everything in this world comes in a pair. Sadness, happiness. Healthy, sickness. Poor, rich. Positive, negative. Isn't it up to us to choose which word describes us ? Often we are intimidated with situations around us and tempted to choose to live by values which are not useful to us. We feel we don't have a choice but to go by the flow. We get influenced by people. We speak more about negativity. It seems to be more interesting though. Why is it so hard for us to change ourselves? It is ever harder to motivate ourselves. When we are surrounded by negativity, we instill fear and doubts. Unable to speak for ourselves, we shudder in limitations. To keep ourselves sane is a challenge sometimes. Unless we are really determined we want to win something. To choose over negativity requires a strong will. To train our mind to sway away from thinking unnecessary things remains a challenge. Most importantly, to remain calm and positive at all times seriously not an easy thing to do. Keep asking ourselves, you have 2 choices today. Do you want to be cheerful, bright and positive ? Or do you want to sulk over your past, being unappreciative of what you have right now and influence others too? The choice is ours to shape our lives.

Every Beginning Has An Ending

Every beginning has an ending, as people said. How true it can be, only to be witnessed when it happens. There were lots of happenings for past few weeks. First, there was an expected death in our family. That is how the title of this post starts. Endless sufferings and tortures has finally came to an end when the God decides this is the time for you to leave the world. He proves that He is the controller in this world. He who creates the life is the one who decides what should happen in your life, including the moment of parting from this world. This death incident in our family brings to our consciousness how we should treat our own life. Basically, it was excruciating moments of more than 5 months where I witnessed a person who was dear to us suffered right in front of our eyes. How fast can a life change? Just in a nick of time, the answer is.There was nothing much we could do. All we offered was the best we could do. We wished we could have done more, but we were helpless. We tried our best. We saw the sufferings. We wished the time arrived sooner. But it didn't. The God still had some of His dues to be paid. He took her away when His dues were settled eventually. All left were lifeless body and to those are who alive - lesson to be learnt. This person was someone close to my heart, even though we didn't spend much time together, but in a way I knew I was special to her. During the last 5 months was a challenging and trying period for our family. There were many questions asked and some we ourselves could not find the answers. We came to know we had to go through this as part of learning what life is all about. No one knows what is in store for you till the time comes. Are you being arrogant and selfish when you are on top of the world? The world is round they said. You could be at the peak of your life, enjoying your fortunes. Think twice. You will fall one day as nothing is permanent. Young will grow old as time pass by. Do you know how your life will end? Do you know who will be at your side when this happens? No one knows. Now at this moment , all you can do is to cherish what you have and do good to people. You reap what you sow. We should remember these words all the time.

A Reminder To Self

Have you ever woken up one day and wondered what have you done for your self? What purpose do you bring? How are you going to make yourself worth? Each time I wake up, I wondered how the day will be for me. How will I solve my problems? What are the challenges lined up for me? All the time, we go through the same routine. How different have you thought today? Do you ever think you should make a difference everyday? Should we be reminded rather than focusing on challenges and fulfilling your daily needs you must also think of your values? Why are we so selfish sometimes? To us we must concentrate in our problems. Make it go away. We need more money to survive. We need to earn our living. We need that and this.

Little we realized we are belittling ourselves. We are confining ourselves into a small world where only two things exist - ourselves and problems. Solving our issues made us to think creatively. This is how your brains are wired anyways. But we need to teach our brain to learn and accept that not just problems exist. There are more than that. There is the Creator. He who gives and takes it away. The power of Divine whom we should lean on. He who throws the challenges on us and entrusts faith at the same time. He who complicates matters but shows you the way to entangle it. Our goal should be to instill an acceptance. An acceptance where you will open your heart and say 'I shall be positive and train my mind to think good all the times'.

How important it is for us to maintain same level of positiveness ? Believe that you can. Nothing is impossible, everything is possible. Say the mantra you should do good everyday. Let it engulf you with good feelings reflecting you are making a difference directly or indirectly. It is a reminder for myself too!

Oh where, oh where ?

The flight has gone missing for more than 2 weeks now and no where to be seen. Least we thought it would happen to a small country like Malaysia. How are we suppose to know such an unfortunate thing would befall ? The life of entire passengers are shrouded with question marks. How could the plane vanish? Would we find any survivors? When would we find the craft ? What happened to the airplane? These questions runs in everyone's mind. And it is still running. The issue does not belong to one nation. It has grabbed the entire world wide's attention.
The anguish and heartbreaks of all the family and friends of the passengers is indescribable. The wait seems to be too long. Every moment seems like an eternity even for us who are not directly related. We can just hope for the best. Prayers are with all of them, wishing we can soon find a conclusion and an ending for the misery. Hope the God will show us the way and lead us the right path.

Hoping for miracles

When you are doing good and building up wealth , share it with others they say ! You are supposed to share it with less fortunates as this is where your lifetime happiness will grow. God didn't give you wealth for you to boast. Or He didn't give you wealth to compare yourself with others. Therefore, understand this truth and share your fortunes with the rest whenever you can. Making others happy should be your ultimatum. You are not going to bring your wealth to your grave. As such, making sure you are doing your bit to help and support others creates life time impact, provides inner sense of achievement and peace within yourself.
Talking on the other point, at this time, the fate of MH370 is still unknown. We hope for miracles to happen. On this unfortunate incident, we are praying for the safety of all on board wherever you are. Hope the God will show His mercy on us and end this painful wait soon. The sorrows of all of the next-to-kins are deeply felt by all of us. Their grieve and miserable waits are painful for us. God, let the plane be known !

The beautiful 5 years

Yesterday, my daughter completed 5 years of her life and started a brand new 6th year. It was her 6th birthday. An age which we all would love to go thru again , if given the chance. An age of innocence, running around happily, eagerly expecting presents from adults. It seems this year this bubbly girl knows how to ask 'Where is my present?' compared to the previous years where she was sort of less 'questionable'. 
She was all smiles when she was able to choose her own birthday dress (a privilege which was given to her intentionally). I guess this little girl has matured a little bit where she chose a purple color dress  compared to the traditional pink which was her all time favorite. Kids do change all the time. I think nothing is priceless to see this back then little bundle of joy has grown up so much over the time. Not sure if I should say time flies fast or we are getting older. Maybe both. I remember vividly on this very day 5 years ago, being a new mother and having mixed feelings and reactions. The emotions were just simply cannot be described. 
Fortunately, I was able to come out of the temporary trauma and experience what other mothers would do. It was a chance which I truly feel blessed. Even though there are lots of ups and downs. I think I have grown over the years. Life has taught me many things. This little angel of mine walked thru with me, showering with many experiences which I never imagined. I see my transformation of myself, learning thru difficulties and still learning lessons of life. I'm able to see life in different ways and how it should be seen. There are lots more to see and change. For good for sure. Hope more blessings to come in future so I'm able to carry out duties as a person.

It's time of the year again!

Each time the month of February comes, we will have special extra thoughts. It's not because of Valentines, unfortunately, but it's more than that. It is our little sunshine's birthday we are talking about here. As the chatterbox turns 6 next month, she is most in control of what she wants, happily makes her own decisions. Unlike few years ago, we decide on everything, our preparations and stuffs. Now, she's really growing fast and we are unable to catch up with the pace. Gone are the days when we say 'Why not you wear this blue dress, you look nice in it?' or ' Why not you tie your hair this style, it's much nicer!'. Right now, we will just respect whatever decision she makes for herself, and if that gives her sense of independence and self control, we will go with it. There were times where I miss those good old days, little I know I would be wishing for it again. It's time to let her grow, appreciating each moments as it comes. She taught us many lessons in life and the journey continues. Some are inarguably astonishing to realize how life changes with time. Today, she helped me to decorate her birthday goodie bags. It was a fun filled evening with no phrase said 'I'm bored, what can I do?'. With coloring and cutting, we managed to finish up our assignment for the day !

Simple act of kindness

Yesterday, I was at the bank queuing up to deposit some cash at the kiosk. In front of me there was a lady and her daughter (I guess so because they looked alike). Nationality was unknown. In front of them was another customer. Suddenly, the lady turned and gave me smile. I smiled back. In my heart I thought maybe she likes to smile at strangers. Then her turn came so she and her daughter moved up to do their deposit. There was some problem with the deposit as some notes couldn't go thru, she turned back to look at me and said sorry. I said it's ok. Now, I feel awkward. Why would she want to be sorry? They continued with the transaction and it took maybe a minute or two to complete it. When they were done, she looked at me and said thank you. I was taken aback by this lady's actions. There were times when I waited so long for the person in front of me to complete their transactions but they never apologized. But this lady was kind to say sorry to me because she made me to wait (even though I didn't wait for long!) 
It made me realize there are bunch of good people in this world. People who care about others. Genuinely. It was good to know. Hope this generation lives forever. They can be the role model to the rest. A simple act of kindness made me day! 

Believe In Giving

As an ordinary person, no one can deny that we are more comfortable in receiving than giving. In fact, it is much easier to do. Giving seems to be something hard especially when we are clinging to it. A quote from Winston Churchill goes like this ' We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give'. Sometimes we just have to accept that we are born not for ourselves but for others. We work hard for our family and children. We try to please them as much as we can. We are running day to day life in a routine. Giving just being regarded as something not so important rather than necessary. We need to realize the power of giving. You reap what you sow. If you give kindness, you will get kindness in a different form. We have to train our mind to accept this fact.
There were times, I used to ask myself, why should I give money to beggars. There are beggars who just sit by the road side and beg. There are few who are disabled but sell some stuffs and gets money in return. For those who are just begging , am I encouraging them to do more begging when I slip a dollar or two into their coin box ? I have stopped giving money to this kind of people not because I'm selfish but because I don't want to be the contributor to begging culture. I used to stand by this rule for many years till recently. When it doesn't matter anymore when your heart is all out to help the needy. It doesn't matter anymore when you feel some kind of contentment when you give be it financially or something which can't be measured like kindness. Indeed, it takes an effort to make people feel that they should give. It is just a feeling which comes naturally without any force. It is the best feeling of the day when you know that you made a difference in someone's life. This good feeling should continue as long as you are alive in this world. Hope the God gives me an opportunity to do that!

Spiritual Trip 2012

I was glad and feel blessed when I was given the opportunity to fulfill my mom's long time wish to visit the temples in India. It was truly a chance which I grabbed at the most suitable time as I myself never  believed I would step into India for the second time in my life :)
Our family's spiritual journey started on 28th of June 2012, a day after we reached Chennai, capital city of Tamil Nadu. We travelled to Kanchipuram, on the way visited Melmaruvathur Aathipara Sakti temple. We had lunch at Pondicherry and proceed to Chidambaram. It was already quite late in the evening, just nice for another temple visit to Nadaraja Perumal temple. It was quite undeniable that the temples are much more grand and huge compared to the ones in Malaysia.

Temple at Chidambaram

A road side view at Chidambaram

The next day, 29th of June, we headed to Vaitheeswaran temple and a place well known for Palm leaf astrology.  We were not spared either, we checked out how our future lives going to be. Whether it is true or not I'm not quite sure about it, nothing much to comment :)
On the same day, we travelled to Kumbakonam. On the way, we visited few more temples - Sani Bhagavan Sannathi (Thirunallar), Sri Ramalingeshwarar (Kumbakonam), Suriyan temple (Kumbakonam) and Thirunageswaram Sri Rahu (Kumbakonam). We put up a night at Kumbakonam and we had some time to do some preliminary rounds of shopping ;)

A view at Vaitheeswaran temple

We traveled to Thanjavur the next day. One of the most visited and famous temple located here was Brihadeeswara temple. This temple was huge and magnificent. The weather was hot and so windy. It was said the month of June/July brings strong wind. We spent some time with the local tourist guide who explained some history of the temple to us. One of the most noticeable thing about the temple was the whole structure was made of granite. 

The magnificent Brihadeeswara temple

Another view of Brihadeeswara temple

Undeniably beautiful view at Brihadeeswara temple

Our next destination was to travel Ramanathapuram district at Pamban island. We reached here quite late in the evening and visited the city's most historic temple , Ramanathaswamy temple, yet another huge one. There are many holy water bodies in here, one should not leave without 'purifying' themselves in these water. The next day day morning, we visited the temple again, this day which I never forget when I accidentally dropped my camera and the lenses broke :(

A view from Pamban bridge

We travelled to Thirucendor on the same day. Another famous temple which would be my favorite of all -  a temple by the sea side. It was such a beautiful temple with glorious surroundings. This is one of temples which is worth visiting and should not be missed. 

A view at temple in Thirucendor

Sea view at Thirucendor

We headed to Madurai and put up a night in the city hotel. The next day morning, we visited the Meenakshi Amman temple, Madurai. We travelled to Palani. It was a long wait to go up to the temple situated on top of a hill. We had options either to walk by the stairs or train or cable car. Unfortunately the cable car service was down at that time so we took train to go to the hilltop. Here, we got the opportunity to view the deity from near. It was a blessing though. We travelled to Tiruchy the same day. The next day, we visited the Maalaikottai Uchhipillayar, Rockport (Thayumanaswamy) temple. It is quite noticeable that the temple was built on top of big slab of rock. We took many steps to each atop. The city view was visible from here. Our next destination was Sri Rangam to visit Sri Ranganathaswamy temple, where the idol was said to be seen in form of coiled serpent (we were not gifted to see this, subject to note for our next trip :) )

Train trip to the hill at Palani

City view from Rockport

Temple located on top of huge rock, Rockport

We also visited Samayapuram Amman temple before heading to Thiruvannamalai. The Annamalaiyar Temple was located at the foothill, the most famous temple in this district. Yet another huge temple with amazing backdrop of hills. The journey to this place was very pleasant. There were trees at both sides of the road and very cooling environment to our eyes. We went to Vellore and put up a night there. Here, we visited the magnificent Golden Temple at Sripuram. A very well kept temple located a the middle of a huge pond.
Next, we went to another temple in Vellore, Jalagandeeswarar Temple and then travelled to Kanchi. A very famous temple, Kama Kotti Kamatchi Amman temple located in here. It was quite hard to get the blessing, as usual all the temples were extremely crowded with people. Then, we went to another temple called Varadaraja Perumal temple which is also famously known as Golden Lizard temple. There is a golden lizard embedded on the ceiling and it's believed one's sin will be washed off by touching it. Hope I did wash off some of my sins on that day ! 

A view at temple, Thiruvannamalai

A night view at temple, Kanchi

The last destination for the day was Arulmigu Kachabeshwarar temple before heading to Tirupathi. This hill top temple was said to be very powerful, the journey up to the hill was awesome with scenic breathtaking beauty. It was an quite an experience for us visiting this temple , of course self explained 7 hours long wait to see the magnificent deity. Something which we  might not be able to forget in near future. Our last temple in the list was Thirutani which we visited before heading to Chennai. It was a tiring day for us as we spent most of the time shopping for goodies to bring back home. It was quite sad that finally we had to head back home although few of us couldn't wait to break from vegetarian fast :) But most importantly, we missed our dearie homeland food. All in all, the trip was wonderful and the experience was an eye opener for all of us, especially to our parents. Can't wait to have another family trip again in future!

Expecting the Unexpected

We are always on the move. We are always expecting something at all the time. Can you pause for few seconds and think what are you not expecting? Will you be able to give an answer? We expecting everything in our lives to be perfect. Well, things don't go as we planned all the time. That is when we should prepare ourselves to expect the unexpected. If life is meant to happen as we plan, then it should not be called as life anymore. Preparing ourselves to face uncertainties opens up our world. It helps us to think out of the box. It helps us to think broader and in a more larger perspective. It helps our mind to grow. We are no longer limited and self contained. We will be stronger than we think when we started to prepare ourselves mentally first. Therefore, lets face our fear. The feelings which has been engulfing you for many, many years.Yes, it requires extra energy to think of possibilities that might happen but it does no harm. Preparing ourselves to expect unexpected is just as important. 

Accept, Embrace, Move On

Sometimes in this life, we have to learn to recognize what are the things you need to attach yourself with and things you need to detach yourself. There are many things you often cling on, unable to let go. It makes it hard for us to even think or visualize.
Why this happens? Why we are unable to accept the fact that things change constantly ? Why our heart is so stubborn ? Why does it keep listening to inner self to hold on to it? Why are we not opening up ?
When we are fighting within ourselves with our feelings, it makes it difficult for us to live. This is going against the flow.We are not willing to follow the way it is designed for us. Rather, we cling to what we wish it should be or happen. Life becomes harder. We feel we are being like an enemy to ourselves. We are being disliked for our differences. We start questioning ourselves. How different are we ?
Rather, don't let your heart wander. Accept things as it is. Go with the flow. Don't row the boat in the opposite direction of the current. You feel tired mentally. Finally, it tires you up physically. By accepting, you are telling your brain - 'what I had is enough. I'm going to just observe and let the flow begins'. This is much simpler way and easy way out from having a stressful life. Learn to let go. Accept how things should be and will be. Don't start the fight within yourself.