Let's make a change

Selected Excerpts from 2pac's (Tupac Shakur ) song- " Changes "

We gotta start makin' changes learn to see me as a brother instead of 2 distant strangers
and that's how it's supposed to be
How can the Devil take a brother if he's close to me?
I'd love to go back to when we played as kids but things changed,
and that's the way it is

That's just the way it is
Things'll never be the same
That's just the way it is

I see no changes all I see is racist faces
misplaced hate makes disgrace to races
We under I wonder what it takes to make this one better place, let's erase the wasted
Take the evil out the people they'll be acting right'
cause both black and white is smokin' crack tonight
and only time we chill is when we kill each other
it takes skill to be real, time to heal each other

We gotta make a change...
It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes.
Let's change the way we eat,
let's change the way we live
and let's change the way we treat each other.

You see the old way wasn't working so
it's on us to dowhat we gotta do, to survive.

London-In shock

It started out to be a normal working day for many commuters like myself.

I arrived at Paddington station around 8.45 am oblivious to what would happen next.

The tubes were packed as usual.

I arrived at Embankment station 9.09 am totally unaware that there had been a blast at Aldgate East station.

As I got on the district line tube to Blackfriars, we were told that there were delays on the line. We were stuck in the tube for about 30-40mins..the tube driver told us it was related to the power failure. Most people were unaware that there had just been 2 other explosions on the tube and an explosion on the no 30 bus near Tavistock Place, Russell Square.

The carriage moved in what I can only describe as "jerking movements".

The driver managed to get the front of the carriage to the nearest platform on Blackfriars station. We were then told to move up to the front of the carriage in order to safely get out of the station.

Alhamdulillah, I was one of the lucky ones and I am grateful for that.

As I arrived in the office, my colleagues were on the internet for updates on what had happened. The mobile network was down as everyone was trying to contact their loved ones.

The Met office told everyone working in the City that we were in security alert. We were told to stay put and not to go out for a few hours.

Everyone was shocked ( myself included ) in what happened today.

We left the office early around 3.45pm trying to make our way back home. Bus services and tubes had not yet resumed at the time therefore most people made their way on foot to the nearest railway station.

I made my way to Waterloo station by foot with my friend. It was eery to see that there were no familiar double decker red buses and masses of people walking on foot across the Waterloo Bridge.

I managed to get a train to Reading and made my way back to Slough. Although it took me three hours to get home, I consider myself very lucky compared to what other people had to go through today.

London

London has been in the media spotlight this week: firstly it was the Live 8 concert (which was wicked!) at Hyde Park and today London won the 2012 Olympic bid.

Despite it's unreliable tubes and pollution, I've grown to love London with its people and the 'buzz of the city'.
Even after 5 years in London I'm still discovering new spots around London which is great. My fav part of London is the London Eye.The view of London Eye in the shuttle on a clear day is spectacular.

We heard London won the Olympic bid in the office around 12.45pm via the help of some of my colleagues who logged onto the BBC website to hear the live telecast. After the announcement we saw the Red Arrows team fly over our office...spectacular display! Celebrations had already started early at Trafalgar Square and they will still be partying throughout the night.

The majority of us were pleasantly surprised although there were still a few pessimists who think London can never host the event.

Maybe they will finally fix the London public transport ( long overdue! ) once and for all.
I don't know whether I will still be in London in 2012...but it will be interesting to see how the city will be transformed in the next 7 years..... Let's hope the change will be for the better..

Where do I go from here?

Since results came out last Friday, I have been thinking about my life and where do I go from here.

At the moment I feel fed up..I have put all my effort to succeed and at times I feel as though nothing is coming out of it. It's as if someone up above is telling me that maybe this isn't for me..and maybe I should start thinking about doing something else.

I feel I've been here too long..I have seen friends come and go and I'm practically a 'veteran' here in London.

I know the most 'logical' thing would be to stick with it for another year but I don't know whether I can keep up with it anymore.

At times, I feel I'm wasting my years here doing something I'm not even passionate about. I'm also losing out spending time with my family who I do not see very often. I think I have spent about roughly 15 yrs of my life abroad already...Do I want to spend more of my time here??

A friend advised that I should stick with it to the end...if not I'll regret it for the rest of my life. I know the advice is right. The only thing is I need to have the motivation to keep going..and I don't know if I have that at the moment.

The weekend has been good...did some retail therapy on Saturday and watched Live 8 but Monday is coming..and I have to face the world and make my decision........

An advice that was given to me was this:

" Failure is just a speedbump..not the end of the road.
Your journey is what u make of it..
Put life in perspective ..decide what you want to do in
life and what you would do in order to have the satisfaction in
life"

I hope that I make the right decision.....

Heatwave strikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week has been the HOTTEST week I can remember in London!!

If you have experienced travelling on the tube during the summer months the following may sound familiar:

a) You feel hot and sticky. You come out of the tube as if you have just done a gym workout

b) Getting blisters on your feet from wearing- " those shoes and sandals"

c) Annoyed at the person who obstructs the window at the end of the carriage. He/she blocks any air flowing into the tube.

d) Instead of using the Metro/magazine as a fan don't you think the Underground staff should give us all free mini portable fans instead??!!

e) There should be a ban for guys to travel on the tube without a shirt/t-shirt unless u are a Brad Pitt lookalike. There is no need for you to show off your beer belly..thank you very much!!

London Underground is one of the oldest networks in the world yet Mayor Livingstone & the Underground still have not figured out a solution to this problem!

Yesterday, some tubes had reached temperatures as high as 46 degrees celsius!!

The remedy the Underground have suggested is to encourage people to take showers in the morning. It's shocking this is one of the few solutions they have come up with so far....

Asians are used to taking showers in the mornings anyway so I just find that comment hilarious!

Countries like Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia have been able to install air conditioning sytem on their tubes so when is London implementing a similar system before we all suffer from extreme heat and dehydration on the tubes??!!!

Tok Volvo 

A sad day

Today is a sad day for the family. I received a phone call today from home my tok passed away today. His health had deteriorated in the last few years due to old age but he remained strong right to the end. It is all takdir Allah "He is the one who gives life and also the one who can take it away."

I wish I was back home right now to be with the family. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone there.
I did not spend as much time as I would have liked to with Tok as I have been living abroad most of my life. Throughout the day, I was thinking of the time I spent with him.

When he was feeling energetic we would go for morning walks around the condo and get the morning newspapers. Sometimes, we would just sit kat rumah watching the Star Sports channel cuz he didn't get Astro in KT. Tok can watch any sport but his favourite would have to be bola. Suka sangat tengok bola especially Italian football.

He also taught me many things about the Qur'an. He was the one who inspired me to include the verse 35 of Surah An-Nur in the wedding speech. Everytime I read the verse, I discover a new dimension to the parable.

For those people who do not know why he was called Tok Volvo, I might tell the story behind his nickname for another day.

Tok "Volvo" will be greatly missed by all and may Allah bless him always.

Amin.

papa

Happy Father's Day

It was another working day and as I got on the train listening to my ipod ...

I started thinking about my dad and I've decided to dedicate this blog to him as part of Father's Day :

Papa

I've always admired him. He is my inspiration! ( corny but true! )
A kampung boy from Losong, he went to RMC and trained to be a Naval Officer and has served the Navy for more than 30 years now...
Even without going to university he has embraced life and made the best of the opportunities given to him.
He has sacrificed a lot for the family....he will sacrifice everything in order to give us all a good education and achieve our dreams.
If it weren't for him, I would not have had the chance to experience the various places we've been to and obtain the best education I could have asked for.

He has taught me many things in life:

a) "Never forget your religion and your culture "
b) "Always be humble "
c) " Dalam dunia ni memang ada dugaan....we treat these challenges as a test from God..it will make us stronger people"...
d) " Always be grateful with what you have "

We're very similar in character and I miss our conversations about politics, religion and life. He makes me want to suceed and do the best I can.
Whenever I'm feeling stressed or down with life, I think of his wise words and how much he has sacrificed for me...and I pick myself up again to face another day!

As any daughter would, I want him to be proud of me... so Happy Father's Day Papa!

If ever I feel down about stuff I often think of the chorus in Aaliyah's song -

"Try again "

Chorus:
If at first you don't succeed
Dust yourself off and try it again
You can dust it off and try it again

A great song to cheer yourself up again! :)