20102010 !

When i woke up this morning....i din even realise the date being 20102010....so went on the normal routine....breakfast...work....lunch....work ...and as i signed in my Facebook....saw a few friends excitement bout the date and even MPH bookstore putting up status messages bout the date and time 2010 2010 2010....and i was thinking ...yeah interesting number....still din think much of it....but i have to say that this day has actually brought some luck for me.....it had brought a turning point at work .....

i dont know if it was just a coincidence or if that number really works for me....whatever it may be....i will definitely remember this happy day ! and for that i thought of jotting it down here...not that i would forget what happened today ...but just for the pleasure of getting back to it whenever i wish to in the future....and thank god for this beautiful day :)

How was your 20102010 ? :)

Seen it yet ?

It was a dark morning....so chill and cozy...but i was all up and ready to go to school...i usually walk up to a junction at the back of my house to wait for my super old school bus.....the only advantage was that the engine was soo loud...i could hear it way before it comes to the junction...so sometimes i just run out through my back door once i hear it coming like a KM away... :) but that morning i was early...so walked out ..stood by the fence of a neighbours house...feeling really cold as it was about 5.45 am...

And looking left and right...each time a motor cycle or car passed by shining its light on me...and keeping vigilant while in the darkness that comes between them......and just then...at one moment...i decided to look up at the sky.....and to my amazement ...for the very first time i saw the magical Shooting star ....though it lasts only about 3 seconds maybe...i was looking at the sky for the next 5 mins ..as though the falling star had frozen in the sky for me to look at....

Did i make a wish ??...NOPE ! was too amazed to even think ....

Its been like 25 years since that morning...and i never got to see that beautiful sight again...today i suddenly thought about it ....and was thinking...that a falling star is soo precious coz it lasts only a few seconds....and it happens rarely for us to see....just like life.....its beautiful...coz u get one chance...and thats it..! like it or not ....youve got to do anything and everything you wish to do within this ONE PRECIOUS life ...

Now would you turn away one millisecond from the falling star...if you happen to catch one ! No you wouldnt...for you know that youve got to experience it ALL for as long as it lasts ...let it be...a few seconds...you still want to see the whole of it ....and will you be able to explain which part of the falling star was the most beautifull....NOPE...can u say its beautiful when it appears...or when it lights up the brightest or when it fades off....NOPE....its the WHOLE thing... a falling star is just the whole thing...no parts of it are different....right...now i choose to treat life just like that....every part of our life makes it beautiful as a whole...and i also choose not too turn away from life at any point...i am taking every moment of it through my heart.......remember we are the billion falling stars in Gods eye ...so give him the Fullest you could :)

Gasing Hill - Trail One

ABOVE : The entrance to Gasing Hills ( KL SIDE, from Hillpark)
BELOW: The beginning of the trail One
Note : i refer to this as trail one coz this is the first trail from Hillpark side entrance...the original names of the trails from Gasing side might be different..

Below : Lord Shiva residing on top of the hill..a view of the Shivan temple, halfway up the trail

Morning sun rays on a stretch of cement slabs and fence

Jewelleries of the jungle :) Palm buds

Sun shining on a bright yellow flower with raindrops on it (Stemmadinia Donnell Smithii)

Roots making the stairways

A swing by nature :) I love this the most !

Hope u enjoyed the walk with me .....will get pictures of the other trails soon :) A lot more to explore in here...

Baby in the jungle ??

Last Sunday....Nantha and i decided to go hiking in Bukit Gasing....though it had become our weekly outing now...this time was different coz we decided to go in the morning..and not eve as we usually do....coz we were just curious how the jungle feels in the morning...so we were off walking from our apartment by 8.30 am...and as we neared the hill...what we first noticed was ...the birds were chirping away joyously...louder than in the evenings...and as we stepped into the trail...ohh goodness ..we were shocked to see a never ending line of people in the trail....both ways...and we had to keep giving way to each other as the trails are narrow....there were just so many people in there...!!! that it didnt feel like a jungle anymore...hahaha...and as we walked along with the groups....people kept greeting Good morning...to everyone that passed by them...

And we too joined in the chorus with a big smile " Good morning......good morning....Hi ....hello....good morning...hi...and it went on non stop...hahaha...there were so many kids...happily walking with their parents and greeting good morning to us ....they were not afraid that we were strangers....simply because we all shared something ...WE LOVE THE JUNGLE !!!!

Then comes the most lovable thing in the world....the doggies of course....beagles...terriers...dalmations....all enjoying the stroll in the woods with their masters...and some would stop to sniff u as they walk pass...some would stop to check out whats in the bushes...ohh what a sight ! so...we walked on excited...and when we came to a part where it goes downhill with the stairways made of roots...its a little broader path there...so we overtook some people so we could walk a little faster...then the route we take comes to the Gasing side where theres an observation tower....and we usually stop for a minute there to enjoy the view of the temple and hill over the opposite side...

And thats when i saw the most inspiring sight in my entire experience of being in the jungles...there was this young white family...coming down the trail....first i saw the guy coming with a toddler...( about 2 years old boy )...the little boy was walking with a big smile , holding his father's hands...and when it came to a small step down at the roots...his father held both his hands and said....common boy...jump !! and the boy jumped and smiled wide happy at his early hiking experience....while Nantha and i watched this...thinking how sweet it was for the guy to bring a little child for a hike...then came a lady ....with a BABY on her back ( carrying like a backpack )....the baby must be nothing more than 8 or 9 months old....!!!!! and they were a family....! Now , that was an inspiring sight as we always hear people harping on ... " how difficult it is with kids...u loose your freedom...you cant go anywhere....its tiring..." and so on....here i see a family with a toddler and a baby ...hiking in a tropical rainforest...and they sure looked as HAPPY and COMFORTABLE as Tarzan and Jane!!! :) they din seem to mind the climbs or the mosquitoes or insects or monkeys or snakes even !! :)

I was so glad we decided to go hiking that morning...coz now i know theres no excuse for not hiking at any point of my life...for i had seen people as old as 70 still hiking in there and now as young as a baby...so i am pretty sure i would fit in anytime !! hahaha...

So for those who had been apprehensive about stepping into the beautiful woods....please be assured that the nature will embrace u with so much love...that you will be instantly addicted to her..please discover it yourself.... and tell me if i am wrong...

Once again ...i regretted not taking my camera along...so this time i am leaving it to your imaginations...but i wish i had snapped a picture of that beautiful family...anyway...i will sure take my camera in my next trip and share the pics with you all.....soon .

Till then...happy hiking to all those jungle people out there :)

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD :)

The Tree-Dwellers

Today...i came across a link shared by one of my friends on facebook...and realised it was such an interesting info, so coudnt help sharing with everyone...just browse the net, type " the tree-dwellers, Indonesia" and you will be amazed at what you see. Heres just a glimpse of it !

These interesting beings...thought they were the only ones living in this planet...they didnt know there are other human beings at all..!!! Now...tell me...if any of these terms would mean ANYTHING to them....religion, race, country, genocide, democracy, marxism, money, insurance, property, vacation, luxury, world cup ! business , bungalows, cars, flights, i phones, lap tops..cinemas, pubs, i can go on forever......now they can live without it....they dont even know it exists...whats real and known to them is ....PEACE !!! Which we too want but had simply drowned ourselves with everything else that we coudnt find peace anymore !

I do not suggest we go back to the jungles....but if only we knew how to balance up our needs wherever we are....then theres chance for PEACE in the city ! :)

So , relax....life is ALWAYS good !! just breath....smile...and let go...and you will float through it :))

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Ive been hearing bout this book for sometime....and people told me its fiction ...and since my interest is in reading memoirs or stories based on true events...i just didnt think of reading this book. But then i was curious as to why it was so popular. Saw it in MPH a few times...but somehow ended up buying another autobiography. Till last month , when i went over to my uncles house in Ipoh...and i was going through the books in the books shelves in the reading room....i came across an interesting Egyptian story book....and decided to pick that out...and went to the porch where theres a swing facing the garden...it was raining, so i sat there enjoying the breeze and was flipping through the first pages of this book....thats when my cousin Nithya came with another book in her hand ...gave it to me and said...Ka , have u read this book...you really should ...its awesome...and that book happened to be The Kite Runner. This time i thought....i better read this now...to find out why its so popular. So started reading a few pages there...and then brought it back to KL to continue...

And when i started reading it....i couldnt put the book down..i was going on and on...for hours...and finished the book in about a week....

And then i sat there wandering...Why on earth is this book categorized as FICTION ?? Its all too real...its based on the real life situations in AFGHANISTAN....yeah , a name i always thought to be the most beautiful . Such a majestic name...with so much pain contained in its soil that you can squeeze blood out of it...

Yes....there were times ...as i was reading...suddenly my view would be blurred...and i will realise it was my tears welling up ...then i close the book for a while...and then continue reading after a few minutes to let the reality of life digest in me.

It is appalling to know that the very same flesh and blood that i am made of is capable of inflicting such cruelty to its fellow humankind...and it makes me wander ..WHY ?????? Though the story was suppose to be fictitious...truth is , there are thousands of such little innocent children over there being tortured..ripped of their childhood and flung into hell on earth ...how are these children going to come out of it....while the rest of the world is too busy complaining about fast food not being served fast enough ?????!!!!! We must be insane to complain about ANYTHING at all...for God had chosen ( for some reason i really cant figure out) a paradise like Malaysia for me and not AFGHANISTAN ! Whatever the system of selection is based on ...i am THANKFUL a BILLION times and more to have been put where i am today ! Simply to have the privilege to be sitting at home, comfortable...with so much ease at heart...safe....reading about these beautiful people being tortured for NO REASON !!! And the scarry part is we co exist with it...its not something of the PAST...its happening while we sit in our car sulking bout the weather...!!!!

And now i realise that...though i had no intention to read this book...nature had somehow handed the book over to me...as a reminder of what life could have been...if only i was born a few thousand kilometres away...! and PHEW ! what a relieve it is...a relieve that comes with guilt for sometimes thinking life is HARD....

Though Afghanistan is a WELL KNOWN story to the world...going inside and living the daily happenings...and situations of the people gives a totally different view of it....a far too cruel one compared to what we gather from the news....

So if you think life is hard....go grab this book and read it ! I BET YOU WILL REJOICE in every minute of your life after that...

And ohh i must mention that Khaled Hosseini (the author) has written the most painful moments with the most beautiful words you can imagine...his writing heals the reality of its content...in fact made pain look appealing...great writing...awesome book...!!!

Why Brazil ?

I was 10 years old....waking up in the middle of the night since world cup was held in Spain that year...it was 1982....and i was determined to watch the games with my Uncle (fathers younger brother) at his new house....there were some chinese friends of his joining in to watch the game together....and i have no idea why i bothered waking up to watch it except that the thought of waking up like 2 or 3 am to watch TV was appealing...thats all...and the only name that sounded familiar to me at the point of time was...BRAZIL !! it was my Uncles' and dad's fav team...so my brother and i were inclined to believe only BRAZIL deserves the World Cup...!

So...as i managed to drag myself out of bed...washed my face and went to the living room...sitting as closely as i could to my uncle as i was feeling pretty cold...considering how skinny i was then...not much fat to keep me warm...haha...and then the game begins...my uncle and friends open a few packs of snacks...the kacang putih of course....and is watching and commenting on the game while i sit there waiting for someone to score a goal...for the only thing i knew about football then was that you have to score goals....i had no idea about what ...a penalty...or free kick or off side...or any of such terms meant !...so as i sat there staring at the screen waiting for the goals....i coudnt help noticing some sound like very loud blowing of horn...and sat there wandering where the sound was coming from...tried to figure it out myself...but eventually decided to ask my uncle " Babu...( i call him Babu which means papa ) ..whats that sound like horn..?" and he tells me.. " Ohh theres a vast sea behind the stadium and there a lots of huge ships sailing around...thats the horn from the ships" and there i was picturing ships going around the stadium...and thought how cool that was....hahahaha....and yes believe it or not....i never knew he made up that story untill the next 2 world cups at least....how naive can i be huh...poor me !!

And even now...this world cup ...i cant stop thinking of that first world cup and how i was fooled by my uncle...hahaha...so thats how the Brazil craze started with me and then it got stuck with my cousins as well...so we started watching it together on every world cup....

in 1998...when the finals was between France and Brazil....i was in Penang furthering my studies then...and another cousin of mine was in KL...but we made sure we came back to Ipoh for the finals so we could cheer together....so about 6 of us including my father and uncle got together and watched it at my uncles place....and what a disappointment it was...Brazil lost 3-0 !!! how sad we were....putting up a long face....we just went to bed quietly ....hahaha

then it was 2006 ! by then...i married and lived in KL ....while one of my cousin gone to UK for studies....so it was harder to get together to watch it...but still we were all watching it from our respective places and called and smsed each other each time a goal was missed or scored....my cousin Nithya gets sooo nervous for every Brazil game that she sends messages like....my heart is aching....i cant breath ....and so on....hahaha...we are nuts...and that year...we were in love with Ronaldinho ! But then again they lost in the quarter finals ....

And now its 2010....and time to cheer for Brazil again....i am still in Kl....and some of my cousins in Ipoh, some in Kl and one in UK.....but we are all geared up to watch it tonight though its going to be a 2 am game...and there will be some sms going on there again....consoling and cheering ...

Brazil playing the first game in South Africa 2nite....against Korea....hoping to see some sizzling samba...up to the finals again...:)

So anyway...thats why ....it is Brazil for me !!!!!!! What is it for you ?! :)