My dear Fidon...

I want to share with you a little poem I wrote.

My Angel O' My Angel

In times of trouble I asked for thee

In desperate moments I wished for thee

And now the world has turned

The moon has frozen and the sun has burnt

So why have not thee call upon me?

My Angel O' My Angel

In your wings I found my shelter

Come rainy days, drought or winter

And now the world has turned

The stream stopped flowing and the waterfall stopped falling

So why have not thee call upon me?

O' dear Angel

I would lift the world on one shoulder

With the sun and the moon rested on the other

And stop the tides of night and day

With all that there is to me, be it little as they may

If you so much as whisper it

O' dear Angel

I would gladly cut the earth open

And drink dry the whole ocean

And take air away from the wind

And water away from the stream

If you so much as whisper it

My Angel O' My Angel

Should your wings be clipped and you fall a thousand falls

I shall catch you a thousand times more

Should you lose your halo in deceit and vain

I shall be your guide till you find it again

Should you ever think that your miracle is lost

I shall show you that it is just as it was

If a fool I am then a fool I shall be

For a smile on my angel means so much to me

-If-

Buah Pisang Kaki

My Dear Fidon...

I dedicate this post to the fruit known in Malay as Buah Pisang Kaki (literally meaning Foot Banana Fruit) a.k.a the Chinese Persimmon Fruit or Diospyros Sintenisii. Earlier this evening my ignorance has led me to falsely conclude that this fruit is a type of banana. In my defense, the name itself is rather misleading since the fruit has not the least resemblance to a banana. As my brother puts it, it looks more like "a cross between a tomato and an orange."

It is a good source of vitamin C and fiber and is rich in antioxidant. According to one source, this fruit contains zeaxanthin which helps preserve the light-filtering function of our eyes. According to another source source, this fruit can help lower blood pressure level and increase blood flow in the coronary artery.

The fruit can be eaten raw or used as an ingredient in cooking or dessert preparation. Dried persimmon fruit especially, is often used when making cakes, cookies and puddings. I've even come across a recipe that uses this fruit as the base for a sauce. Being such a common cooking and baking ingredient, chances are, you may have eaten one without even knowing it!

So there you go, some 411 on Buah Pisang Kaki to keep you in the know :)

While it's not too late

My Dear Fidon...

On Monday a colleague of mine passed away. She was 52 years old. Since I took Monday off, I only learned of this news on Tuesday when I opened my corporate mail. May she be pardon of her sins; Amin.

Today her family came to take some of her stuff back. Upon seeing her mom's stuff, one of the daughter started crying. My thoughts were instantly focused on my own mother and the many times I've wronged her. And yet she never once turned her back on me.

Tonight when I get home I'm going to hug her and tell her that I love her from the deepest corner of my heart. I'm going to teman her makan and urut her kaki and hug her goodnight.

I saw the husband trying desperately to calm himself while holding back tears. I can only imagine how it feels like to lose someone that you've loved and have been in loved with for so long. My thoughts turned to my girlfriend and everything that we've been through together. All the ups and downs and the sweet memories we share raced through my mind. We may not have been together for as long as they have, but still, the thought of losing her kills me.

She has been the anchor that pulls all the different parts of me together whenever I'm faced with a daunting task. She is my shrink, my own personal councilor who helps me up again every time I crash. Unknowingly, she guides me through this maze of life and gives me reason to be fearless come what may.

I'm sure many others share the same thoughts of their loved ones. So make it known to them while they are still around.

Hunny I love you so. I know this is very selfish of me but when the time comes I wish I'll be the one taken away first.

For the time being, I'm just glad to be able to hear you say 'hello' at the other end of the line.

It really does feel good to know that you're there for me.

A better future?

My Dear Fidon...

Today I find myself constantly thinking of you at work. Hope that it's more or less the same on your side too. :)

Something has been bugging me in the head lately.

Everyday I see news of brutal crimes on the front page of newspapers. What is happening to this beloved nation of ours? Nowhere is safe anymore. These heartless criminals... Don't they have loved ones of their own?

I worry about my lover, my loved ones, her loved ones and the young ones.

The young ones... they never get to enjoy the kind of childhood I had. When my friends and I can ride our old bicycle with its colourful 'tayar mati' around the neighbourhood and the adjacent kampung without having to worry about being kidnapped or mugged or molested or raped.

Those were the days.

Days of being locked out of the house because our little 'roadtrip' keliling kampung got a little carried away and I failed to get home before the Maghrib prayer call. Days when I used to cycle to the shops to buy 'aiskrim potong' and never have to worry about some suspicious figure following me around and waiting to pounce at the first chance he got.

I doubt that parents these days grant their little ones as much freedom as I had when I was a nasty little bugger.

And then there is the most disgusting case of parents and siblings molesting and raping one of their own. I would personally choke the life out of these people if given the chance. What is happening to this beloved nation of mine?

Is it because of the sudden influx of foreigners into the nation? That's a really big issue these days.

But then again these cases that we see mostly involve of our own citizen. So what exactly is it that's driving these people to commit those unspeakable acts?

Is it due to the freedom of information that has been granted to us? Perhaps they should have defined what the term 'information' encompasses. Now that's a big 'Oops' right there.

Or is it due to the absence of religion in our hearts despite the fact that religion is getting more and more airtime as compared to before.

Whatever it is, I hope that we can find the correct mixture to solve this social, moral and religious crisis that we are facing. We need to act and we need to act now before this trend embeds itself into the fabric of our society.

My dear Fidon, will things change for the better in our future?

Hello World

Hello (again) World!

.... and you thought you've heard the last of me.