A New Start

It started with some kind of mild stomach and back pain after the Friendly Futsal and Bowling game on Saturday afternoon. But the pain grew stronger and stronger until I could not longer endure it and told my other half to take me to the nearest clinic at home. At the clinic, the doctor quickly diagnosed the pain as stone related although at that time it was not conclusive. I was then referred to DEMC Hospital for a thorough diagnose but eventually ended up hospitalised at SMC due to some medical insurance administrative issue.



However, alhamdullilah, on Monday I underwent Lithotripsy procedure at SMC to remove the stone from my left kidney. The operation took more than 2 hours to complete and I was ordered to be hospitalised at the SMC for three nights.


I don't wish to elaborate on the details of the surgery nor do I want to elaborate on my stay at SMC. Suffice to say that the stay was relatively pleasant but I think the room at the DEMC which I was temporarily assigned initially is much better :-)

What I learnt from this experience of being hospitalised for the first time in my life is that Allah gives us a lot of rezeki and ujian in this world that sometimes we take for granted. Rezeki that comes from Allah is not only in terms of money or power but simple pleasure such as feeling sleepy at night, able to eat freely without side effect, able to walk without pain in the foot, able to breathe easily or even able to pass urine easily are all rezeki that we as normal human beings, simply overlook many times. We always want more money, more power more anything but seldom that we cherish what we already have. In other words, we always count what we cannot get but we do not count our blessings.

Sometimes ujian like this, being hospitalise like I did, also can teach us that we must always be prepared for the ultimate. Allah can always take us away from this world at anytime and no amount of money can stop us from this to happen. We shall not fear the death itself but the life after death instead. As a moslem, simply put, we must stay focus on the herefater and must always ask guidance from Allah to lead our lives in this temporary world.

I also made a resolution that I want to stop smoking. Today is the 10th day for me going smokeless and I pray that Allah will help and guide me to completely forgot the joy of smoking so that I can become a better moslem and can become a better role model to my family and the people that I lead.



For my memory during my stay at SMC as in the above pic, I can only qoute the lyrics from the late (or is it Allahyarham?) MJ...

..for you don't need my now, I will stay in your heart, and when things fall apart..you'll remember someday....One Day in Your Life..

Challenges Ahead..

I would not want to categorise it as the best day of my life but suffice to say that it does make me happier than before. Yes, finally, on April 11th , I received the letter for my promotion to the management level albeit I still have about 3-4 months more of probabationary period to undergo. For me the first hurdle is now cleared but the next several months will be a challenging time as I still have to prove that I truly deserved it.

I also received few congratulatory messages from friends and bosses but I felt the cards and messages from my staff are the ones that really touched me. For me, this promotion is the acknowledgement of our success in convincing the management that together, we can deliver. The vacated post was never advertised and I feel that this is the signal from the management that everyone within the unit can take up the position qualifies as if we have the first right of refusal.I told everyone in my unit that this is a collective success and we should strive even harder now to achieve a greater height.

I know that I have not been blogging for quite a while. Partly this is due to time constraint but more pertinently, I tend to write on Moleskine journal more and more now. I feel that writing on a piece of paper is more personal and meaningful as compared to typing in the cyber space. I can also doodle and draw on the journal and that makes my entry more livid and easier to remember.


I was in Singapore yesterday attending the Joint Operation Meeting with our Singaporean counterparts. What I noticed was that there were not so many people patronizing the shopping complexes there. Perhaps, the global economic slowdown at the moment does have some effect on purchasing power of so many poeple. Or maybe, people are just a bit cautious in spending thier money in anticipation of further economic slowdown. Nonetheless, one good quality of the Singaporean business people is that most of them are very polite and helpful with thier customers. This is definely a plus point for them to ensure repeat customers in the future.