Migraine

I endured my second official migraine earlier today (unofficial being the ones I don’t recall) after the first early 2005. That time, I initially thought it was merely due to lack of sleep so I slept long, long hours to make the extreme headache go away but it didn’t. And then I remember asking Baba (Antonio Fernandes) on how to go about it. His response was, “You’ve gone beyond sleep as a cure, my friend. This one requires time off and relaxing moment like spending time in Jacuzzis or spas or something.”

I took his advice and slowly strode towards 8-days-a-week as I always did when I was hungry. I spent that quiet afternoon all by myself not thinking about anything. I was just gazing at the surroundings. Nodding to the shop owner, a signal on how good the food was. And then I walked back to the lonely apartment not realizing that the migraine had gone. Lo and behold, it worked.

Give yourself a break. Give yourself a credit.

Overheating

When you computer freezes or shuts down unplanned, you have to put it in a freezer.

The 5-year old Presario needed a higher rate of heat transfer out of the laptop to stay on while we backed it up.

*****

We spent time at Uncle Umar’s place. Dokong. Nasi minyak. Tapai. Ketupat-palas. Many more.

Full.

You’ve Got Mail

While browsing through my files and folders, I stumbled upon an archive of mail envelopes and whatever documents that came with it. The trouble is, I do not remember how much of an effort I gave to reply any of those. Thanks for all the cards and letters. Sorry for any no-show or no-reply.

• Cards and letters from Jln Mengkibol (but posted in Ipoh), Skudai, Kg Hutan Kulu, Serimas Condo, Melaka*, Bukit Beruang, Volgina Street of Moscow, and a fifth former in 2003 (name of whom combines two senders below)
• An Eid card from the sweetest lady I know in Kuala Kangsar (now happily married, good for her); was the one and only card I ever got from her.
• A special 10 Oct – typed front face for address – several handwritten pages front and back received after I went to Singapore (Sep 26 – Oct 07). I have to re-read everything a couple of times to digest the contents.
• A good luck card from k.Sanisah, Thanks k.Chah
• Meticulous birthday cards received from all close friends during college time. Now I remember the cakes baked for me. Thanks a lot. I don’t rigorously celebrate birthdays but a lot of people around me do, so hey, if you want to cherish it still, I welcome the gesture, thanks.
• “Who Wants to Free a Billionaire” and “Worry About Getting Old? That’s Silly” cards. I think the senders remember who sent what. Thanks mates.
• Graduation card that says, “Degree dah dapat, bini bila lagi?” and another one with flat Teddy bear embedded inside
• Postcard from Ireland to check up on Malaysians at TU, and one from KLIA selatan, written during the flight back to Malaysia
• Postcard from Ground Zero that says, “Hey if you look closely to here and here, you’ll see my name written there..” and from DC that says, “What’s up dude. Late postcard – waiting for Esso stipend to buy stamps.”
• A letter from Superior court, county of Kern, north division, Shafter/Wasco Branch declaring mandatory court appearance. There is an actual clause inside mentioning: “Your Case will not be heard unless you are dressed appropriately shoes and shirts required. No shorts, tank tops or tee shirts with alcohol or drug related pictures or slogans.” Apparently, that seems to be a problem in that county court – people showing up in shorts and t-shirts that print, “Even when I’m sober, you’re still ugly.” L. Doson, the citing officer, was very approximate. I did not have a chance to thank him. Eventually, the judges granted to waive mandatory court appearance for a bail.

*She never provides her address and I could never write back. (She knew I wouldn’t even if I had the address.)

The days of cards are going to be phased out by SMS, MMS, etc. Just like letters phased out by e-mails. A simple reality check on Raya greetings I received this year: 30 SMSs, several chat/blog remarks, and a whopping 1 physical card.

Mechanical Failure

I might not be able to go online as frequently as always. There seems to be a problem with the Airport Express – it may have been zapped by the lightning jolts. I don’t know. The light turns on but it doesn’t connect. Let me see what Apple Limited Warranty Worldwide says…

Marathon

Quite a marathon. Tom Yum Goong, Man of the House, The Da Vinci Code, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Promise, Fearless, Munich, and many more…

Hey, give me a break. I’m taking a break.

See Munich. Then you’ll start researching, going for debates, (image courtesty of imdb.com)

Raya Activities

Mowing the lawn during 2nd Syawal. It was quite a workout. Despite the Eid, nobody came. And we were not too convinced of visiting others either for everyone was with their nuclear and extended families somewhere else celebrating. Then we headed to Low Yat for some computer parts. In fact we managed to sort through a series of food-hunt (specifically Nasi Lemak) at namely Kg Baru, Chowkit, Sri Serdang, R&R stops, UPM, Sg. Ramal, and Bangi with hilarious incidents and moments. You should never scout for a specific food in the middle of second Raya. That’s a lesson learned.

I have been revamping the communication with Abg Long through Messengers and video calls. Basically to establish teleconference using whatever technology available. He has mentioned the functionality of net-meeting, which OS X doesn’t have, so we turn to YM and Skype instead. In fact some of you had the chance to view the webcam-DV Camcorder I set up. If it was all Macs, then iChat would have solved everything with a click of an icon.

Eid 2006

Salam Aidilfitri!

Ramadhan passed by quickly, in fact, among the fastest one I could remember. More reason to believe that we have very little time left. Hope we can meet another Ramadhan next year. In the mean time, let us maintain the discipline, the strength, and the diligence that we have acquired during the fasting month.

In any case, I apologize for any misdeeds or wrongdoings that I have exerted unto any of you. None was intentional. I never meant to hurt anyone or mistreat anybody. I’m really sorry.

Happy Eid everyone.

All 15 if we include Abang Long, the reason for empty spot between Muzani and Ashbi. Looks like we’re gonna need the marvel of photo-engineering to bring him there.

Beginner

Hey, I figured out a way to put 5 queens on the board to cover all spaces. Not bad for a beginner I guess.

Thinking Different

Excellent choice.

A fellow friend, Awang, has recently switched camp to Apple and Mac OS X. Welcome aboard.