Little Stories 29 : Aunty Mas

Aunty Mas was diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago.

In the first year I worked at the Lab, I learned about Aunty Mas. She worked at the Lab for her next big project, she was there almost everyday along with her team. I was not very friendly and I don't usually make the first conversation.

Everyday when she arrived, she will pushed the button on the intercom and I'll answer to her, opening the door. She learned my name, and she soon called me 'sayang', like she usually did to almost everyone. 

She talked to me about her cancer and how she was fighting it. She told me how important it is to teach yourself about healthy food, she  said one thing she regretted was how she did not started early. So she reminded me to eat healthy food and take care of my body. She reminded me to eat less processed food especially those fast foods & soft drinks. I told her I stopped enjoying fast food several years ago. I don't even drink carbonated drinks anymore. I guess I really have an old soul in me. 

She said everything has a solution, maybe we have not found it yet, so we need to find it. Don't give up. 

Sometimes at 3pm, she called my name and said "Let's make sandwiches for them!". So we went into the pantry and make sandwiches for the whole office. 

I did not know her long enough to know about her past or even how many grandchildren she had. It was only a year, before she stopped coming to the Lab. Many times during this year, I thought about her and wished she would stop by. Maybe I missed her a bit. 

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A week ago, when I woke up, I read my whatsapp message. I found out that she was hospitalized and her condition was bad. I knew right away. I went to meet her the day after. I stayed for awhile, I kissed her forehead and said 'thank you'.

Yesterday, at 7.07pm, she took her last breath, in her last smile, she wished us all goodbye.

Al-Fatihah.

Little Story 28 : Taxi

As I sat in a taxi yesterday, the old Chinese taxi driver asked me :

TaxiDriver : Do you smell durians? 

Me : Well, no. Why ? 

TaxiDriver : Yesterday it rained. A customer wanted to bring in the durians that he bought. I wanted to say no. You know how it is, rain plus air-cond , in a car. The smell will stick. Foreigner will complain. It is not good for me.  

Me : Well, it smells nice, uncle. 

Both of us remained silent. You know those awkward silence when you don't know whether to continue talking or not. So I asked him, trying to maintain the conversation that usually I don't know how to keep up. 

Me : You don't like durian? 

TaxiDriver : No, no, I do ! I love durians. 

I don't know how to respond afterwards. I was just silently hoping that he wouldn't ask me whether I like durians or not.

Because I don't.

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A taste I failed to understand even how many times I tried. 

:(

Doodle : Before Short Vacation

Hello !

Anyone want to buy any stickers sets before I'll close my invisible online store for a week ? 

I'll be off from the net : 15 - 23 December 2012, any orders made on the date will be processed after my short trip, okay? Final post day would be on the 13th of December , so any orders should be made and paid before the date. 

Any blog posts on the week of my absence come from my automated scheduled posts, just to keep you entertained. Like the old saying, you should not leave your house for more than 3 days, empty :D

Sticker sets collections can be viewed from the right-side links in this blog !

And here is a link to my Travel Memory Collected !

Little Things 51 : Escapism

6 years ago, I said to my mom.

Let's sell everything here, and we will go to someplace far together.

The idea was rough and dreamy. Something everyone loves to think about every now and then. Escapism. My mom excitedly said 'yes' !

5 years passed and when a huge opportunity came. I said to my mom again,

Maybe it's time. Let's start anew !

But I guess it is not that simple. As any other normal rational human would think, they won't take such big risk and leave their comfort zone easily. It is not fair for her to be forced to leave what she is used to. It is not fair if I expect everyone to follow my path either.  

But it is also not fair if people stop me from having what I want to have. 

As much as I never want to interfere with what other people want, I expect everyone to do the same to me. Just give me my freedom and respect my needs. 

Easy said than done. 

My mom is not a mean person. She is a very supporting mother, I love her very much. But mother being a mother, that loves her children more than herself. She wants the best of us as I want the best for her.

I don't want her to worry about me. 

So I am here, by her side.

I asked my mom, whether there is any express ticket I can take , that will hurt her less if I ever want to leave a bit longer and meet her a bit less ?

And so she said  " Yes, if you get married. "

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Mother knows how to twist the game.

Online Tracking Issue

Here is a video by Gary Kovacs, the CEO of Mozilla Corporation on Online Tracking Issue. Behavioral tracking is something that is not quite known for most Internet users. 

I am quite aware of it maybe because I majored in Information Technology and I used to have a paranoid friend that shared to me stuffs about internet security and my interest in learning human's behavior via the net ; mirroring me back to how other people can actually track and analyze me the same way. 

So I am pretty much aware of it, but I didn't feel like doing anything with the fact that there are people that keep tracking everything I do and keeping all the data.

I once said to my sister that loves to share and pour everything online and she said, " So? I don't mind really. There's nothing interesting much about me. "

Well, probably true. But with all the data collected about you, they are breaching your privacy and probably taking advantages over it. But we will never know for real.

Why those side advertisement in my Facebook wall usually about Travel & Books. Or why I keep on getting spam emails on art supplies & travel deals. 

When I'm rich enough, I'll be off from the net and live my slow life away from it and read good stuffs from books and meet inspirational people all around.  Right now, I just have to take advantage of it, my business and works relied on it, big time. 

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Little Story 27 : Safi & Signs

There was this little town in the middle of no where. For years, the town did not received any rain.

One night, a young man called Safi had a dream. In his dream, an angel came and told him a flood was coming and the angel told him not to worry because there will be signs to help him get through the town alive.

So days after, a heavy rain started to pour. It did not stop for days, weeks, and soon the town was slowly flooded.

The villagers were starting to pack their stuffs and left the place. They stopped by at Safi's house and asked him to come along. But Safi said;

No, I dreamed of an angel and he said a sign will help me. I'll be fine.

The rain did not stop for many days forward and more villagers were starting to leave the town using little boats. They stopped by at Safi's house and asked him to come along. But Safi said the same thing.

Days later, the rain was still pouring heavily and a search team came using a helicopter to find any remaining villagers and saw Safi on his roof top of his house. They shouted at Safi;

Safi, let's go! You will die if you stay there ! 

No, I had a dream and an angel came and said I will get a sign and I'll be safe ! 

The search team thought he was crazy and left him there.

Soon the whole village was flooded and Safi drowned. 

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Little did he know that the angel did sent him signs to help him.

The angel sent the villagers, the boat and even a search team by a helicopter.

But he failed to see those signs as 'the sign' and ignored it.

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This 1 minute story was retold, taken and inspired by Paulo Coelho's blog post several months ago. I keep remembering it so I felt like sharing it here because I failed to find the original post. This is the edited version.

Many times in life, we get signs to help us get through this life, almost like a cheat code, but we choose to ignore it. We no longer believe in intuition. A life we live based on only what we choose to learn and accept. 

Little Stories 26 : Curious Boy

There was one boy named Ahmad. He was one heck of a curious boy. He asked a lot of questions and always demanded for answers.  Up to the point where his parents were annoyed to answer all his questions and ignored him.

But Ahmad found unanswered questions and riddles disturbing, so he put on a quest to find a man who knows a lot of things about a lot of things. 

He searched high and low, far and near for the man. 

After years of searching, he finally gave up.

He met his old friend and told him about his failed quest.

And so his friend said ,  " I actually know such person ! ".

Ahmad was happy and can't believe he didn't ask his friend earlier.  

" Can you tell me his name and where can I find him ? ".

" Yes, his name is Mr. Google and you can find him on the net ".

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30 seconds story inspired by my twitter post & the reply.

Little Things 50 : Sad Stories

How many times did I cried while watching or reading stories? Not so many. It is countable by my fingers. I tried to find stories that I found so sad that make me cry. I  remember the first movie I cried to was My Girl. 

Give me any sad stories about children, and I'm pretty sure I will cry. I knew that already. Give me children in pain, and I'll weep like they are real. Who would cry watching The Bridge to Terabithia? I did! - my sister would laugh if she finds out that I cried watching that ! 

See this list and it is monopolized by children ! :p

Stories that make me weep :

• My Girl (1991) *
• Artificial Intelligent (2001) *
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
• The Grave of The Fireflies (1988) *
• One Litre of Tears (2005)
• The Bridge to Terabithia (2007) *
• The Little Princess (1995) *

and too many of this particular series :

• Grey's Anatomy

Books that touched my heart :

• Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger *I felt so gloomy after finished reading it. The movie didn't give me the same effect tho.
• For One More Day & Tuesday with Morrie by Mitch Albom *I learned about the importance of loving your family and appreciating time that we have in this life. 
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

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There is this movie clip I watched from the youtube.  La Vie en Rose ( 2007 ) , a biography of Edith Piaf,  the legendary French singer. See the final clip of the movie here and if you are not touched by it, then you are not humaaaan. 

I can't stand watching children and old people die.

They are so fragile.

:(

Little Stories 25 : Weddings

I dislike wedding.

Why?

1) I don't feel comfortable among so many jolly people. 

2) I usually feel out of place.

So last weekend, my sister asked me to accompany her to a wedding.  Like usual, I refused and she pleaded and I  finally said "Okay, with one condition : You have to take me to meet Tasy for the winter coat". She agreed.

While on the way to the wedding, we failed to find any gas station and the car's fuel symbol already blinked so many times. So I said, " If the car stop anywhere because of the empty tank, you have to bring me to Big Bad Wolf next week ". 

"But that was not in the agreement ! ", she exclaimed.

"I know". 

But we found gas station afterwards.

Later that night, she had to meet several possible clients at the wedding and seeing I had to tagged along, she felt sorry and said, " I am so sorry, it will take some time, and we will get home ". 

"Yes, I know, and you will take me to the print shop to print my works later, and also post my mails, and also do everything I ask you to. I'll think of something! ". 

:D

PS : I didn't really intend for her to do it. 

It was just an annoying joke sisters do to annoy each other. 

But she still need to take me to Tasy this week.

Or I'll have to take a bus to her house and bring home huge winter coat by bus ?

So kesian.

Doodle : Sleepyheads

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Sleepyheads - the long version

RM 2 each piece.

Printed on glossy sticker paper.

Postage :

Normal - RM 1

Express - RM 4

Please send me an email :

azreen_31@hotmail.com

Other sticker collections can be viewed at the upper right corner of this blog.

Thank you :)

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