Hello 2017

Yes, I know.. it's been some time since I've last posted and I think that I want to be more focused this year in 2017. Here are some initial goals which I've drafted out for 2017:

1. Read more surahs (every week)
2. Train for marathon (13 miles) and Ultra marathon (50K) (By June and December). I'm planning to sign up for 5 races so far)
3. 6 pack abs (by March, and yes I'm that vain)
4. Try Crossfit gym (by September)
5. Read 20 books (by December, check out my Goodreads profile)
6. 1min 30 sec planks everyday (increase duration if needed)
7. PMP certification (31st March)
8. Upload a mixtape once a month (currently my Soundcloud section's empty and need some mixtapes)

​I'm currently using iCloud notes and the Productive app to track some of the items above. We'll see how this go and yes, I'll be blogging more often from now on to document the above journey in 2017.

Of White and Pink

Lately there had been heated debate between both sides of the WearWhite SG movement and the Pink Dot SG (LGBT) Movement. We've seen the ugly side of people on both sides of the fences with each side hurling incendiary remarks, judgements towards each other. This is something definitely hurting especially the Muslim community in Singapore.

As a caveat, I have to admit that I'm no Islamic scholar and this writeup is more of my personal opinion towards this issue.

Let's look at the timeline for the WearWhite movement (http://www.facebook.com/wearwhitesg/timeline). It started in June 6th and I started to see something from this movement from my Facebook timeline feed. I have to admit that during that time when it appeared, I thought that it's a noble thing to do since Ramadhan is approaching. FYI, 1st day of Ramadhan falls on 29th June and the 1st terawih prayers falls on the night of 28th June, the same day where the Pink Dot SG movement is having their yearly gathering at Hong Lim Park. Also, initially, I feel that the WearWhite SG movement is kind of reminding us of the coming fasting month, the time for us to cleanse ourselves to be back to the pure (fitrah) state. And what better colour symbolizes purity other than white

Things start to turn sour when the Wear White movement decided to release their press statement on the 20th of June. They declared formally that the main objective movement is to raise awareness in opposition to activities promoted within the LGBT community. Here's an excerpt from their press statement:

"The movement's genesis was from our observations of the growing normalization of LGBT in Singapore. However, we recognize the conduct and it's support among Muslims is due to the lack of understanding and connection with Islam and our fitrah. We thus came together initially with the expressed purpose of reminding Muslims not to participate in the LGBT event on 28th June."

Err what's wrong here? Why suddenly the focus/objective of this WearWhite movement becomes an opposition to the LGBT movement? And you're getting people to be dressed in white, to show to the public that you're wearing white via the social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, whatever)? What has the "niat" or intention become? Please be clear in your objective from the very start of your movement and inform people what is the agenda about. Having it to focus on something else along the line is certainly not right here.


The Muslim holy month or Ramadhan is when we Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. It is also the month where good deeds are heeded and everyone is encouraged to increase their good deeds "bank account" to reap the benefits of Ramadhan. This can also include the recitation of the holy Quran, giving alms to charity, or even simple deeds like being courteous, respecting others, etc.


Also to be upfront, I oppose whatever the LGBT people are doing/practising but I don't judge them. Only God can judge, not us mortal humans. And as what Mahatma Ghandi said, "Hate the sin, love the sinner". People can sinned all their lives and it just takes one "ah ha" moment to receive guidance that God can wipe out their sins and they return back to their natural state (i.e. fitrah state). So no point judging people now as their sins can be wiped out before you know it. It's easy for them to have such strong feelings to oppose and even impose judgements on the LGBT group. But have they ever considered what if the tables are turned and their offspring, siblings, close friends suddenly "come out of the closet" regarding the sexual orientation? Would they disown their children, parents, friends? Easier said than done folks.

Lastly I'd like to share something from Mufti Menk. A powerful reminder especially in the social media age.

Have a blessed Ramadhan ahead folks. 

And it's been 1 year...

Just realized that it had been a year that I had this micro-discectomy surgery done (at L5-S1). Praise to God that I'm well and there's no more nerve issues at my left leg. Guess that I will have to take care of my back (literally) now. 

Alright, c'est tout... I'm going for the surgery option!

After months of sciatic pain in my left leg (from my glutes to my hips and down to the pins and needles on the sole of my left feet), I decided to go for the surgery option at Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital next month on the 12th of April.

What makes me decide on this is because of the following factors:

1. I've gone for physiotherapy treatments at Core Concepts since October last year after the first occurrence of the sciatic pain on my leg. There were some days where I don't encounter pain in my left leg during that early period. It got worst in November after I went for a Legoland trip with my family. I've also visited the subsidised specialist doctors in KTPH and received some painkillers. Dem painkillers do not work...
2. It got to a point where I'm feeling miserable from the afternoon onwards as it affects my mobility for my work, my time with my family over the weekend. I have to lie on the bed to relief that pain. 
3. I can't walk for more than 5 minutes unless I stop and rest for a while and wait for the pain to disappear. 
4. My M.R.I report are as follow: 

• L4/5: posterocentral annular tear and focal disc protrusion mildly indenting thecal sac. mild disc dessiccation
• L5/S1: Large left paracentral focal disc extrusion causing severe left lateral recess narrowing, impinging the left descending S1 nerve root. Moderate central canal stenosis. 

After much thought and normal conservative treatments does not work for me, I decide to go for the surgery option called Minimally Invasive Discectomy. Hopefully after this surgery, it can ease my misery and regain my mobility. Your thoughts and prayers are welcome..

Attaching a video below from You Tube about this Minimally Invasive Discectomy procedure by a doctor in John Hopkins

What's In My Bag

Alright, I decided to do a post on this. Here's a peak of what's inside my current bag.






And here's all the contents inside:



Hop on to the Flickr site to view the details of all the contents inside!

Iffah and Akif

Both are different in their own ways. Iffah, now going to Primary 2 level next year and Akif will turn 4 next year January. Felt that time passed pretty fast this past few years. Things are going to turn out to be more challenging for Akif as wife was suspecting that he could be suffering from Asperger's Syndrome.

Came to this conclusion after finding out that he does not seem to communicate well with other people and keeps saying / asking the same questions to people he know (us and our parents). He also seem to exhibit certain behaviors like lying down on the floor (in class), difficulty in talking 'normally' like other 3 year old kids and others which can be found in kids with Asperger's Syndrome. Both of us decide to send him for some developmental assessment checks by referring to the therapists in KKH (appointment made for Jan 22) and will have to see what things we can do to facilitate him to be 'normal'. Let's see what the therapists can do...

Iffah had ended her Primary school year with a good academic record. She got 2nd in her class and an award for the Best In Malay Language. Kudos to her and hopefully she can sustain her academic achievements later on.

She's good in her ballet too. But heard from her that she does not want to continue with her ballet next year onwards. Hopefully she can continue with this as well.

 

Going back to Akif, it appears that the reality of him not being able to live a "normal" life like other kids later on sinked into both of us parents. There were occasions of guilt, regret in both of us. Questions like:

• "Why we didn't detect it earlier?"
• "Why he doesn't seem to have any emotions like empathy, etc?"
• "Why he's not talking / communicating to other kids"?

There's also the guilt that I have when I scolded him. Several times I wonder whether he learns anything from the times we scolded him. It seemed now that I have to refrain from doing so to him and explore other ways of communicating with him.

We're hoping that by intervening at an early stage, he can go to a mainstream school later on. There was this case this year of a PSLE student with Asperger's Syndrome, in Pathlight School, scored 273 points. Well there's still hope for him and now it depends on both of us parents.

It'll be a long journey for us to assist him all the way and I'm hoping that I can dedicate 100% of my time and effort to his development. To end this note, I read somewhere that children with disabilities can't differentiate between what is right and what is wrong. And as such, they are "automatically" given the passport to heaven by God. So what I have with me right now is also my "passport" to heaven later on.

 

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I'm Back

I'm back... after more than a 2 year hiatus. Lots of things had happened during this time. Here's the things which happened during those two years, starting with my career path:

1) Me leaving Thomson Reuters (in September 2011) after 4 years with the news/media company

2) Me joining Hewlett Packard after that and only to leave HP after a short stint of 8 months due to company restructuring. 3) Me joining HCL Insys Pte Ltd after that (from 28th May 2012). Thankful to God that I managed to secure another job before my last day with HP. Not so lucky for my ex-colleague in HP who is still finding a job now. Will not go into the details on what happened in HP and why there's the restructuring.

Here are the things which happened on the persona side:

1) Arrival of my third son, Ariz Aidan on 19th January 2012

2) Bought a Fuji X-Pro 1 camera after a hiatus from the Canon EOS 3. That will be my main camera from now on and it's definitely sweet with the 35mm / f1.4 lens.

3) Besides the Fuji X-Pro 1, I've also got hold of the Digital Harinezumi 2+++ and a La Sardina camera as well.

Well, hopefully I can keep up with this blog. Will try to contribute more often now.