If one had but a single glance to give the world...

one should gaze on Istanbul.


I wish I was travelling with Alphonse de Lamartine, but back in my uni-days, I used to go travelling with my friends, and we landed in what was once upon a time Byzantium and Constantinople. Visitors take their photographs and have their own stories to tell - well so do I. My pictures are in a photo album somewhere, my stories in my head.

I still remember vividly two conversations we had in the centre of Istanbul, in the vicinity of the stunning Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.




*******

“Sirs, you looking for a place to stay?”

Not wanting to sound too eager, my friend gave a nonchalant “Yes we are”.

“You should stay at our place. Price is good, and we serve seven items for breakfast.”

A few minutes later, all in, it sounded like a reasonable deal. Food too was an important consideration, considering we were nearly on a shoe-string budget. And so we stayed at the motel recommended by this guy.

The next morning, we were extremely upset. We didn’t have the seven items for breakfast as promised by the guy.

We tracked him down somewhere near the motel, as he was looking for more tourists to stay at his ‘we serve seven items for breakfast’ place.

“You promised seven items, there was only bread!”

The guy looked genuinely concerned.

“No seven items?? No coffee, tea, jam, butter, marmalade and milk??”

...

We managed to convince him to buy us some papaya for breakfast the next morning.

*******

“Have you visited Haleh?”

We looked at each other. Among the five of us, we had done enough research to know every corner of Istanbul, but none of us has read about Haleh.

“You haven’t heard of Haleh?”

“No.”

“Ah, but no visit to Istanbul is complete if you haven’t visited Haleh.”

To say that this guy had our attention was an understatement. How could we have missed out on visiting a gem of a place in this historical city? Maybe we were too caught up reading our travel guides that we failed to connect with the locals like this kind gentleman?

“What’s Haleh?”

“Like I said, you must visit Haleh if you come to Istanbul. Please, please follow me.”

“What’s Haleh??”

“Haleh is my carpet shop…”

*******

I have visited so many places I just wish I had more time to write about the amusing people I’ve met, the crazy things people have made me do (and done to me), and the unforgettable experiences that colour my trips.

May your marriage and your life together...

be as beautiful as the love that brought you to this day.

This is something I wrote nearly two years ago... I probably didn't acknowledge it at that time, but it looks like I had a hidden agenda... :-)

*******

Hobby: Wedding Speeches!

13. I’ve spoken at 13 weddings.

It’s great when someone asks you to speak at their wedding. It’s something which I love doing. And my friends and family have given me the honour to do it that many times.

The preparation is exciting. I get to speak to the bride and the groom, sometimes together, sometimes separately. I get to ask all sorts of questions: how they met, what attracted them to each other, how they knew the other was the ‘one’…

“I really don’t know what attracted me to him… I just knew he was the one.”

“She doesn’t know this, but that one time, when she…”

“We’ve known each other for many years, but when he appeared on my doorstep that day, I knew this was the man I wanted to marry.”

And one couple, when I separately asked them to describe the other, they both used the exact description! :-)

Sometimes, I get to chat with the parents too! Their take on their children is amusing as well. A friend said that a parent’s greatest happiness is when they see their children happy. And at every wedding I attended, the parents were happy.

It’s amazing some of the things these people did, the time they were willing to wait, the ups and downs they experienced… but I guess certain things are that worth it.

Some of the stories are normal, some of the stories are amazing, and some of the stories can be made into movies…

All are wonderful though – coz it has led to a marriage.

Weddings itself are fun, although it can be stressful, what with wanting it to be perfect, and having so many people involved. But we gotta remember that behind every wedding, there’s some sort of magic that has brought two people and two families together…

As much as it’s for the guests to get to know the couple, when I speak at a wedding, I try to make it something special for the couple. A gentle recollection of how they came together and a sharing of their family and friends’ joy with their decision to take, god willing, the eternal promise. Something the couple can cherish… (hopefully!). And it’s usually easy to do when you’re talking about people who are close and important to you too.

I’ve got some good friends who are getting married in 2008, and it looks like I’m going to be missing most of their weddings.

It’s ok :-)

My wish, as always, is that their marriage and their life together will be as beautiful as the love that brought them to their wedding day.

To those who are creating their stories now, you may not know how it’s going to turn out, but one day, you too may get to share your stories with some of us, happy ending and all...

Happy 2008!

*******

The number has since increased to 14.

Whether I will be allowed to speak at what would be 15 and 16, is left to be seen.

All I have to say is, it feels good to finally share my own story :-)

Happy 2010!

Because I'm...

worth it.


As I walked into the convention centre, I tried to avoid eye-contact with anyone. I could imagine the questions that would be asked, but I hadn't thought of an answer that could explain the situation.

Avoiding people was quite impossible, and the questions rained in.

"Hey... you look like didn't sleep last night... you ok?"

"Yea, yea, late night..."

"Have you been crying?"

"Haha... of course not..."

"You ok?? Anything bothering you?"

Sigh. This is crazy.

You see, I've been shaving since I was, 18? Yea, therabouts. I therefore have a habit of lathering shaving cream all over my chin and face, and manouevering the blades, so on and so forth to get that close shave feeling.

This time, a close family friend gave me a cream that she said would do wonders for the dark circles that have been forming around my eyes.

You guessed it. I went to bed one night, having generously lathered the area around my eyes with this miraculous cream. I was a bit perplexed though that it came in such a tiny container, 3.5ml to be precise. Wouldn't last me three days, I thought to myself. Went to bed, happy that miracle cream was doing what it should.

Woke up the next morning, with the area around my eyes feeling supple. Hmmm...

Went to the mirror and oh my god my eyes were so puffed up it wasn't funny. I tried to depuff my eyes with my fingers, but it didn't work.

I stood there staring at my eyes... wondering what the heck was I thinking.

Maybe that's why the container was so small, you twit.

And I had to go to work in a short while. How could I possibly explain this?

Man... that's the problem. Being a man.

The good thing to come out of all this - the ephipany.

I now understand completely when ladies have those mornings. I never understood the 'bad hair day' phenomena, but now, I get it. It can happen to even the best of us. I emphatise with you, girlfriends.

To all the ladies out there, I have stopped laughing.

The moment I wake up...

before I put on my make-up.


Celebrating Halloween in the office with your colleagues on a Friday: Cool

Shaving only the left-half your face to become Two-face (sort of), with an old, loud checked shirt instead of an office shirt and a belt with a massive buckle and large initials; and not having to go rent a costume for the celebration: Brilliant

Being summoned to meet the CEO on the same day, and not being able to remove your costume like your other colleagues: Say a little prayer for me…

The conversations...

people have.


Guest: Hi, I don't think we've met.

Me: I don't think I've met you before either...

*******

A girl was celebrating having gotten her driver's licence by bringing her friends for a joy ride. She was turning into a car park from the main road, and oncoming traffic seemed clear.

She didn't reckon with our pizza delivery guys. As she turned into the carpark, a pizza delivery guy on a motorbike promptly appeared out of nowhere and smashed into her car.

A doctor I knew happened to be at the scene of the accident. Although there was some blood, the guy was not badly injured. The guy also had a colleague of his (having appeared on a motorbike out of nowhere, naturally) tending to him. After calming the near-hysterical girls down, the doctor went to stabilise the guy who was still on the road. Oddly, he noticed that the guy's colleague had disappeared.

Doc:
Mana kawan adik?

Pizza delivery guy:
... aduh... dia.... aduh... ambik pizza saya... kena deliver....

*******

Interviewer: So what course would like to do?

Me: Medicine.

Interviewer: Oh. Unfortunately we don't offer scholarships for medicine.

Me: Oh. I don't mind engineering either...

*******

Germany, 1973

My Dad: Can I have some water please?

The German waiter, after finally understanding what my dad wanted, pointed to the river outside the restaurant.

Apparently, drinking water was not common in German restaurants then. You drank beer for everything.

******

I was in the neighbourhood grocery store, and called home to find out if anything was needed for the family. Cappucino was our then cat.

Mum: For Cappucino, two cans tuna flavoured, two cans chicken flavoured.

Me: Ok...

Mum: Get the biscuits for him also, any flavour. Two boxes.

Me: Ok...

Mum: Why not buy a few more cans, we can keep it. Get the smaller cans, he may not finish the big ones, and it may spoil if we keep it too long.

Me: Ok. Anything for us?

Mum: ... hmm... a loaf of bread.

Me: That's it???

Mum: Yes. Thanks.


Cappucino oh Cappucino. How I miss you.

Hehehe...

Listen...

to them.


I didn't know her well at all. In fact, the first time I sat across the table from her, it did occur to me that I'd seen her somewhere before... but I couldn't place her.

Only later that day, I realised that she was the then to be legendary, and now the late, Yasmin Ahmad.

Two things about this woman struck me.

One, she always talked about her parents.

And two, she was always willing to hear ideas and willing people to share their ideas. Nothing was too silly for her. Perhaps Yasmin's advertisements and movies were not only a reflection of her brilliance and ability to seem to have her finger on our pulses, but her brilliance and ability to get the best out of the people around her and produce masterpieces.

A trait that more of us could display. Too many people think they know what’s best for everyone. Or don’t have the patience to listen to a young mind fleshing out ideas.

Have patience, and listen, people!

Sure as hell going to miss those ads on tv...

Rest in peace, dear Yasmin. May Allah bless your soul always.

11,443...

days later.


I've learnt that...
I should never recommend my dad watch a pirated Hollywood DVD before I've watched it first.

I've learnt that...
if water coming out of the water-cooler smells like durian, it's probably not the water.

I've learnt that...
respect must be earned. And kept.

I've learnt that...
if you're looking for something, it helps to know what it looks like. Or at least what it should look like.

I've learnt that...
contrary to popular belief, there are some things lawyers can't do.

I've learnt that...
it really is mind over matter.

I've learnt that...
there are some things that will only make sense when you go through it yourself.

I've learnt that...
women's lack of a sense of direction is not a myth.

I've learnt that...
speaking clearly and to the point is becoming a lost art.

I've learnt that...
too many people I know want things they know they will most likely not get.

I've learnt that...
many happy people I know did not have things going the fairy tale way.

I've learnt that...
I should not question the plots in Hindi movies.

I've learnt that...
dates and anniversaries (save a few) are not as important as they are made out to be.

I've learnt that...
for some of us, time is running out :-)