The sunset at Pulau Kapas must have been really beautiful today.
13 days out of sea water.
Sigh 😦
The Happenings Of Last Week
Last week Friday (22nd June) I discovered that my youngest child, Noorunnisaa, has one streak of grey hair. I wonder what earthly problems does she have to think about. I have one above my left temple too but I am spared looking like a platinum blond probably because I hardly have hair.
Then on Saturday (23rd June) I went for the DAN O2 Provider course with John Goh (jgshuwei), Leonard (SuperKingKong), Halimi, and Najib (Bijan). Before that I had nice breakfast. Lunch there was nice too but I didn’t eat much because it would have made me feel sleepy then.
I went to meet someone after that for some private discussion before making way to my mom’s place for a double celebration: my parents’ 46th wedding anniversary and my sister’s 45th birthday.
46th wedding anniversary…and this is my 3rd marriage since leaving totally single life 16 years ago. Damn!
Pulau Kapas Blues
Do you know what is depressing? Looking at my watch and it showed 10 to 9.00am, and I can imagine people gearing up to go for their first dive. If this was Perhentian, I would be going to either Tukun Laut (Tokong Laut to some) or the Sugar Wreck. If this was Redang, I’d be going to Turtle Bay. If this was Tioman, I would have insisted on Chebeh’s north side; Aur, Pinnacle 1 or 2. Either that or donning my twin set and a EAN50 tank for accelerated decompression to dive somewhere deeper than 40 meters around Tioman.
I SMSed Deepblu reminding him about the time, and he replied saying he was also gearing up: for office. How sad life can be. He wants to go diving but does not have the time, and I have all the time but cannot go diving.
Do you know what’s even more depressing? When someone SMSed me about getting ready to go for the first dive at Pulau Kapas.
My Next Medical – Part 2
Went for it this morning.
I am not happy with the result.
Now my medicines alone cost me more than RM1k.
Dang! 😦
My Next Medical
Thursday – 28th July 2007…my next medical…JENG! JENG!
People come, people go! How long I’ve got I just don’t know!
Saving Corporal Choy
Choy a.k.a Metalized will be coming back from China on 10th July, oneday after my 41st birthday. Maybe he’s finally tired of the “dragon ladies” and reading Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book of Fables. I got to know this from Icecool a.k.a Tony. So I have forwarded the following message from Icecool to Countloon and Mocha:
Fm: Icecool
To: SeaDemon, Countloon, Apek Ming
Info: BAKAT
Perjenisan Keselamatan: RAHSIA
Nombor Penghantar: G/01
Op Saving Kpl Choy. WNGO 01/07. One. Bde is to conduct attk on en posn & save Kpl Choy. Two. Three Hour Notice to mov fm Delta minus 101750H. Three. OGP at Bde loc at Delta minus 101800H. Four. No mov before Delta minus 101750H. Five. To bring one day attire n enuff $. Ack.
Countloon replied with the following:
Saving Kpl Choy brought to you by Icecool, producer of Terminator 9, RMK 15, Jangan Pandang Pandang, Sepet Sikit and Transformer TNB.
Hahahaha!
She’s Passed Her Exams
My friend, Najwa, has passed her medical board examinations. Congratulations, Naj. All your hard work and time sacrificed have been worth it. I am so happy for you. I hope Hui’s passed hers as well.
It was a nice surprise getting an e-Card from Naj just now which she had sent to inform me of the good news.
Again, I’m so happy for you, Naj. It’s time now to move forward. Choke dee na khrap!
Gathering Of The Damned – June Edition
I was asleep with the notebook on my chest when Besut Stud buzzed me informing that he would be having lunch at Uptown. So I sent my kids to school and went to join him and the rest at this new restaurant. Azlan Chao a.k.a DITC had wanted to join us as he was nearby but because he was with 4 other colleagues, he decided to show that he is potentially a good employee.
What did we have for lunch? Well, if you want to taste a fish that sweats, has three distinctive tastes including sour, this is the place to be.
Or maybe it includes the sweat of the chef.
Hitting The Sea Again – Part 2
It was almost three months since the last time we dived together. Gee had arrived from Brunei and rushed to meet us at the Gombak Projet (McDonald’s). We finally left Gombak at 2.00am on Friday the 15th, took the Jerangau-Jabor road, stopped thrice: once at the Gambang R&R, then at Jerangau for a toilet break, and Kampung Pela, a short drive away from Jerangau, for the Subuh prayers. We had breakfast near UMT (formerly KUSTEM) before finally making our way to the Merang jetty.
Upon departure I knew viz was excellent as I could see the bottom of the Merang river. Definitely good dives ahead. We did two dives on the first day (including a night dive that Gee and I and a few others did). Three dives the next day.
A storm hit us on the final night, but the tents of my children and I were okay.
We left Bidong at 6pm on Sunday the 17th June, had an early dinner at Merang, another stop to refuel my Naza at Batu Burok, another toilet break near Dungun, and Gee had to stop to refuel at the Gambang R&R (Westbound).
We arrived back in KL at around 3am.
Mad Mullahs Talking – Part 3
For those who received a SMS message from me early today would have read the following interview by The Star – Farish: Look to Indonesia.
Thursday June 14, 2007
Farish: Look to Indonesia
By LOH FOON FONG
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and the rest of the Muslim world have much to learn from Indonesia’s progressive approach in Islamic education, said political scientist Dr Farish Ahmad-Noor.
Indonesia had a big number of moderate scholars that even if a few radical groups emerged, the mainstream groups would quickly silence them, said Farish, an Institute of Strategic and International Studies consultant.
During the Suharto era, the Muslims expanded on cultural Islam rather than dogmatic politics-based Islam, he said. After that, it was taught in a scientific way.
In comparison, Islam in Malaysia is politicised and there is no independent space for it to be in the public domain, he said when interviewed at the ISIS International Affairs forum on “Jihad revisited? Shifting dynamics of radical movements in Indonesia” yesterday.
While banning militant groups worked, he said he was concerned that if there was no deep understanding of religion at the public level, the state would continue to be the “big brother.”
“What if one day the state is replaced by a fanatic prime minister? There will be no mode of civil defence underneath. This is where Indonesia is different from us.
“The rejection of terrorism in Indonesia did not come from the state but from the people. They didn’t want to see mosques or churches or Bali or Jakarta bombed,” he said.
Farish said Malaysia, in the 1920s, was more open, with people discussing the applicability of syariah law in the modern world and the role of Islam in politics.
Syed Sheikh Al-hadi, for instance, wrote Hikayat Faridah Hanum, the first modern Malay literature about women’s rights.
Farish, a visiting professor at the Sunan Kalijaga Islamic University in Jogjakarta, said he is often asked: “Why is the interpretation of Islam so narrow in Malaysia when historically and culturally we (Malaysia and Indonesia) are similar?”
I would agree with him that most Muslims have a narrow yet shallow understanding of Islam because to them, what the ‘scholars” say goes, and to go against the “scholars” would be regarded as unIslamic.
They fear the “scholars” more than they fear God Himself. Now, what does Islam say about blasphemy?
SeaDemon Says 
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