Disturbia

I have read of people believing in black magic and sorcery, witchcraft even, and putting their trust in charlatan and shaman and all that hogwash nonsense ‘practitioners’ but had never met or known anyone who actually visits these practitioners. But very recently, I learnt that someone I just knew is a firm believer in all the black magic voodoo nonsense and I was very shocked, to say the least. To read about it is one thing, to actually know someone who believes in it is another. Especially since the person in question is supposed to be a Muslim. OK, we all know that not all Muslims are practising Muslims but still surely to believe and place one’s trust in other ‘powers’ besides God would tantamount that person to be syirik, to be a polytheist. In case you’re wondering, this person has been trying very hard to make our lives miserable.

There have also been many instances of irregularities ranging from the recruitment of people from questionable background, the extravagant purchase of non-value adding merchandises, the focus on minor unimportant things, the extra hours put in at the office by certain characters until ungodly hours to do only God knows what, the covert closed-door meetings, to lies and lack of transparency.

As if those are not enough, my colleagues and I just found yesterday afternoon that our PCs had been hacked into. All our personal emails, file documents, even online banking transactions and pay slips were on the World Wide Web for the world to see*. We have a good suspicion as to who the perpetrators are but we have no proof as there is no CCTV in the office and, in our panic, we had immediately reprogrammed our PCs so now we probably could not trace any activity or illegal transaction (so you don’t have to start googling for us) nor make a police report because we had wiped off the evidence ourselves.

When I found out about the hacking, I was strangely devoid of emotions and feelings. I just concentrated on removing all the files that had been made available online. Then as my PC was being reprogrammed, I felt my knees turn weak. And I felt so drained and strangely famished later as I told my mates what had happened. When I got home and thought about it, I felt angry and outraged.

Oh, we’ve had our suspicions that our PCs had been hacked into for about a fortnight now after some new blood joined in but we didn’t know that hackers could still retrieve documents saved on thumb and external drives and emails sent to the management. And call me foolish, call me naïve, but I never knew anyone who could and would stoop that low to commit such a blatant invasion of privacy. A vile act like that could only be done by despicable, diabolical, sick, mental people.

I used to think that people are born good and they are shaped by their environment. That people basically have well intentions but they may be tempted by lust, desire, pride, envy, jealousy, power and greed. I want to think that people are honest and trustworthy with no hidden agenda but I have been proven wrong again and again. Because the past couple of months have shown me the darker side of human nature – deceit, malice, spite and ill will.

It will take some time before I can trust properly again.

* I was just informed that the online files were only available for viewing within the office and not outside, no thanks to Google Desktop. But still... I can’t help feeling a part of me have been exposed without my consent (and while I am google-able, that google-able information is given with my consent).

Not A Snooty Snob

My colleagues and I had to stay back for the past two days to get some job done. The first evening, we started out together and about an hour later as the job was nearing completion, I realised there were only me and another girl left. So I headed back to the office to surf the Net while waiting for evening prayers. Before long it dawned on me that I was alone in the office with some new blood. I did wonder what happened to my colleagues - one of them had ordered pizza to be delivered – and guessed they must be in another room devouring the pizza. I was starting to feel hungry but not hungry enough to leave my online game.

While in the prayer room yesterday, somehow this (the fact that I was absent when they were enjoying pizza) crept into our conversation and the colleague who ordered the pizza remarked, ‘You really should join in more next time.’ I was a little stunned and stung with this remark. Yes, I’m a bit of a Lone Ranger in the sense that I do go off for lunch alone sometimes – a quick pop to the nearest departmental store, or to Jalan TAR to browse things, or to send some shoes for repair to the cobbler. And if I don’t have any lunch appointment during Friday lunchtime, I usually go off to BB or sometimes KLCC alone. And I normally buy a packed lunch (lunch to go) as I prefer to sit in the air-conditioned office than at the eatery and I can play Scrabble or read newspapers or do some work as I eat. But this doesn’t mean I shun the company of others although yes, there are some people whose company I do not enjoy.

What did she mean by that remark? I don’t think I did anything wrong by not joining in and if I deliberately did decide not to join them in the pizza fest which I didn’t, surely it was my loss and I should be the one making a big deal out of it, not the other way around. True, I don’t usually join other people for lunch at times – because we have different diet or food preference or I have an errand to run – but surely this doesn’t mean that I’m a snooty snob who snub others or look down on them. It’s just that I have always eaten lunch to go (unless my mate and I decided to go to some resto for lunch) and usually go off on my own during Friday lunchtime and this has never been a problem to me or to anyone else. Until now.

Now I wonder if people have been thinking that I’m a snob and all because I prefer to do my own activity during lunch – be it having lunch on my own, running errands or doing a bit of window shopping. Really, surely it is a non-issue. But I decided to make an effort today anyway and joined them for lunch (I think they were a little surprised with this). I did notice I was the only one using cutlery, just like at the fish head lunch the other day, but hey it’s not a crime to be different.

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Arsenal recorded another 3-0 victory over Newcastle only three days from their last encounter with goals from buoyant Adebayor, flaming Flamini and fabulous Fàbregas. I’m delighted with this and especially with Fàbregas – the last time he scored for Arsenal was almost three months ago in the match against ManUre on 3 November 2007. Let’s hope Walcott will start scoring soon too.

Not Just A Meaningless Chat

I had the opportunity to meet up my mate recently – our respective schedules had not permitted us to meet earlier – and as usual, we caught up with each other. Then we got to talking – not meaningless gossiping, not speculating, not just sharing sensational news but really talking about real issues we face in life. We’ve had chats like this before and there is an unspoken agreement that we would keep our conversations in confidence.

I find it refreshing and enlightening to be able to talk, listen and bounce off opinions and views with each other. It doesn’t matter if one party has never experienced or been in the situation the other was in: what matters is the sharing and unburdening of oneself in the secure knowledge that the one party would not condemn or judge the other, hold the other ransom with the confided information, nor listen with prejudice and grudge.

And through the course of recent conversations, we realised that we had helped make each other realise something about our parents. We both realised that our parents still care very much about us even though we are all grown up. That they still want to be a part of our lives even though we may feel that we have our own lives to live and want to live our lives the way we want to. As parents, they still feel responsible and want to continue playing their roles as parents and want us to continue playing our roles as their children, even if we are no longer children and some of us may even have children of our own already. And if they offer their opinion, or seem to interfere in our affairs, it’s because they have us in their best interests and because they still feel, or want to feel, that their opinions still count and matter.

Our parents are growing old and I guess even at their age and with their vast experience, they feel a bit insecure (as are we, or at least I am) and still want to feel wanted and needed, to feel important, to feel that they still matter, to feel they still have a place and still play a part in our lives. And the sad thing is that we may not see it that way, we may not appreciate their approach and may even interpret their well-intended actions and intention as interfering. But they must also be lonely in their old age and miss being the source of reference, miss being asked for advices and so they miss their children who not only have grown older but have also grown apart. That’s why I think old people are grumpy and grouchy – because they long to talk to someone and they long for someone to listen to them. In short, they long for company.

I’m glad that we both realised this about our parents now, before it’s too late, before they are gone and before we continue to have the wrong perception of them. One fine day, we will be in their shoes and will likely act the way they do now. So I thank God that I still have my parents’ attention, love and care. Yes, they are overprotective and overbearing at times, but they have well intentions and they’re only showing their love and care to me in the best way they know how.

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My mate also mentioned keeping himself fit of late. Inspired by this and by how agile and fit and healthy sportspeople look (think of football and tennis players who run a lot), I dragged myself out of bed yesterday morning for my morning walk. It has been a while since my last walk and this time I was prepared with a pedometer that F gave me. And guess what: I walked a total of 5.05 kilometres or 6323 steps yesterday! Add this to my trek in and out of malls on Saturday (yes, walking in malls is also a good way to keep fit and no, I’m not kidding), I figure I must have walked at least ten kilometres over the weekend. Which is all very good and fit in with one of my new Hijrah year resolutions: to be fit as Fàbregas!

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Arsenal ended Newcastle’s FA Cup dream on Saturday, thanks to a brace from Adebayor and an own goal butted in by Nicky Butt (I actually felt sorry for him; no one would like to be in such a situation). We’ll meet Kevin Keegan’s men again on Tuesday.

Pride And Prejudice

My current work environment is challenging with new blood trying to exert dominance and ostracising us, the minority. I have no problems with new people but these are really different species of the workforce whom I’ve been fortunate not to have encountered before until now. The sheer stupidity of doing duplicated work seems to be lost on them and they are also too proud and arrogant to ask us for information which we have. Man, I don’t know much either but what little I do know, I will share if asked. But none of them has asked either me or my other colleagues.

I call it stupid pride. Because that’s all it really is, stupid, silly pride. And as we know, pride goes before a fall. I hope I will never been that stupidly proud and arrogant to ask people for help. And I was lucky to have bosses who encouraged me to ask questions.

On another note, we suspect the new blood have been hacking into our computer. My colleague told me her place has been messed last week. And I came this morning to find my computer has been disturbed too. I can’t imagine people stooping so low to actually hack into another’s PC but now that it’s happened to me, I can believe anything now. God help us.

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My niece and nephew changed schools in the middle of last year for logistical convenience. I don’t think my active and gregarious nephew had any problems settling in his new environment but his sister didn’t fare so well. My sweet and shy niece apparently had her new classmates telling each other not to befriend the new kid on the block.

It disturbs me that children, as young as eight, can already be prejudiced, hostile and spiteful to one another. Whatever happened to that innocence we think is inherent in children?

The Amazing Phrase

I have been looking forward to Monday and Thursday evenings for a few weeks now. Yes, you got it – The Amazing Race and The Amazing Race Asia are shown on those evenings. And it’s the season finale for The Amazing Race tonight. I was sad to see siblings Azaria and Hendekea and goths Kynt and Vyxsin leave but I was only too happy to see the last of Nate and Jen. They actually thought Taiwan was in Thailand. How ignorant!

The open display of emotions and affections between team members (especially in The Amazing Race rather than The Amazing Race Asia) never ceases to amaze and amuse me. I find Americans always more open and transparent and forthcoming in their feelings and don’t shy away from showing them, be it anger or frustration, or love and affection, to each other. It got to the point where I find myself wishing I can be as open in demonstrating my affections and expressing my emotions to my loved ones. I don’t normally have any inhibitions in expressing my emotions but as for affection, I may have held myself back sometimes.

I still kiss my parents’ hands and cheeks when we part – yes, even at this age – and of late, have been hugging them too. I have no qualms doing that even in public although I think my brother-in-law looked amused and a tad surprised when he witnessed me in action once. However, I still have problems telling my parents I love them.

Why, I wonder. Why do I feel uncomfortable saying those words to those I love most and who matter most to me? Is it because of my Asian background because I don’t think Asians normally express their love either to their parents or their children (they prefer to nag more to the latter) although I don’t think we have any problems saying how we feel to our partners. Am I the only one with this problem? I don’t think I had problems telling my parents I love them when I was small but why is it difficult now, when I should be more intelligent and matured than when I was a child? Is it because of my ego? I wish I can be more like Christina who has no hesitation in saying ‘I love you, Daddy’, ‘Good job, Daddy!’ etc to her once-difficult, grumpy and fault-finding father.

I don’t want to leave it too late to say those words. Yes, they know I love them as I know they love me but sometimes we need to hear those words. At least, I do. I want to hear my parents tell me they love me even now. And I think they would want to hear the same from me too.

And I wonder how my parents will react when I tell them eventually. Will they be surprised but delighted? Will they be wondering and secretly worrying if my days are numbered (some Malays have this belief that those who just died behaved peculiarly before their death)? Or will they just accept it happily as they know it anyway and as usual I’m just worrying over nothing?

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Arsenal thumped a 3-0 victory over troubled Fulham, thanks to two goals from Togolese Adebayor and a volley from Rosicky. Am I glad that Togo is not in the Africa Cup of Nations!

Malaysian, Truly Asian

I’m used to being told that I don’t act or behave or think like a Malay (or even Malaysian at times). I’m not sure why this is so. Surely I’m not the only lass who speaks and thinks in English. Like I’ve mentioned before, I do eat local food, I do (occasionally) eat with my hand (I can also use chopsticks so yes, I’m a Malaysian!) and I can speak my mother tongue fluently.

I was persuaded to go for lunch with my colleagues on Monday and guess what the menu was: fish head curry. All my life, I’d never ever eaten fish head curry; I was invited to join some colleagues for a fish head curry lunch some time back but upon seeing my expression, my colleagues correctly concluded that I wasn’t one of those fish head curry fans. Don’t even ask me why I agreed to follow them to lunch on Monday.

I almost shuddered when the two gigantic fish heads arrived. Fortunately, the plate on our table was placed such that I didn’t have to see the glazed fish eyes (and to think a colleague suggested that I suck on the eyeball of the fish. She must be joking!). My colleagues looked happy and contented as they dug in the fish and sucked it clean while I gingerly tried to find some non-head flesh. Half-way through lunch, I confessed that was the first time I ever ate fish head curry (and staying away from the head) to which my colleague remarked, ‘Gosh, are you even a Malaysian?’ Wow, now not only do I not sound like a Malay, my being a Malaysian was also being questioned - just because I’d never eaten that delicacy before! I was also shocked at the cost of our lunch. I didn’t know a fish head curry lunch for eight people could set you back by so much. Definitely not your typical cheap hawker fare. Yes, naïve, silly me.

Surely the ability to have the appetite for some local delicacy is not a measure of whether I am a Malaysian or not. But if it is, I guess now I’m really a Malaysian, truly Asian. I doubt I will go for another fish head curry lunch anytime soon though.

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I have always been amazed at the length some people go to in search for good food. Nor do I understand why Malaysians have this thing about food. It’s almost all we ever do is eating: in fact, we seem to need an excuse just to eat. Potlucks at the office, open houses, family events, reunions etc, all seem to involve and revolve around food.

One lazy summer evening back at varsity, a mate suggested driving to Malacca for grilled fish when we went back for summer hols. I tried to make sense of this and asked, ‘We are going all the way to Malacca just for grilled fish?’, hoping my mates would see what a crazy idea it was. They looked at each other, looked at me and said ‘Yes’ in unison. Like, huh?

But I guess some would say the same about me and could not comprehend the length I would go to when it comes to bargain hunting.

Rose Of The North

10 January 2008/1 Muharram 1429 Hijrah
We left KUL for The Land of Smiles quite early in the morning. After a three-hour flight, we landed at Chiang Mai International Airport at 1030 local time (Thailand is one hour behind or GMT+7), 20 minutes earlier than scheduled. Clearing immigration was a breeze and we were reunited with our bags before long. We also parted with some Thai Baht here (yes, already!) by signing up for airport transfers and tours with The Travel Team Co. Ltd., a local tour company.

The airport was only 3-4 km south-west of the city and before we knew it, we were already in the city. A bit on Chiang Mai: it is 711 years old, having been founded in 1296 AD. It is definitely older than Bangkok and used to have its own kingdom and culture. Its isolation until the 1920s due to its location on a plain at an elevation of 316 metres above sea level and 700 km north of the capital has helped Chiang Mai retain its distinctive charm. Sections of the ancient city wall still remain (Chiang Mai means ‘New Walled City’) as do the moat encircling the old city.

We would see a lot of both Thai and yellow flags (the latter symbolise Buddhism, the natural religion, or the royal family) everywhere throughout the next few days. See, King Bhumibol celebrated his 60th year on the throne in June 2006 and celebrated his 80th birthday on 5 December 2007 and the Thai people still fly their flags with pride. There were also shrines at some buildings paying tribute to the late elder sister to the revered king, Princess Galyani Vadhana, who passed away on 2 January 2008. Most TV stations that we tuned in to had short documentaries of her and the TV presenters were all clad in black as they observed a 15-day mourning period. The Thai people clearly love and respect the royal family.
We managed to check in early despite it being only 11 something in the morning. After freshening up, we wet down to the hotel lobby for our welcome drink while waiting for our guide to pick us up for our ‘home industries’ tour to the following:
- Jolie Femme silk factory and showroom, where we were given a brief guide by a teenage boy who spoke good English complete with an American accent
- Laitong Lacquer Ware showroom (there was a mosque, Masjid Darulbin, located just across the street from the showroom). I prefer Vietnamese lacquer ware though
- Gems Gallery where we spent time admiring the exquisite jewelleries
- N.B.K. leather showroom where accessories from ostrich, stingray, elephant, camel and crocodile leather and sheep skin were sold
- Sa paper showroom where beautiful hand-painted silk, cotton and sa paper umbrellas and hand-held fans were sold
- An shop selling an ethnic table and bed linen
- and last but not least, P Collections Silverware showroom.

We returned to the hotel and went in search for food as we were famished. As luck would have it, there was a halal resto nearby selling Punjabi food, some 200 metres from our hotel.

That evening, we ventured out to Kalare Night Bazaar and Pavilion Night Bazaar. We also managed to locate Ban Haw mosque on Charoen Prathet Soi 1, very near to the Night Bazaar and some halal Yunnanese Muslim stalls along the same soi (lane) but the dishes were pre-prepared and didn’t look warm. The cook kindly advised us to search for halal food three lanes down so we retraced our steps and finally found Roummit Restaurant, a Yunnanese Muslim restaurant, next to Arabia restaurant (also halal) in Anusarn Market. Turned out there were at least five halal restaurants at Anusarn market alone (but only Roummit was a Yunnanese Muslim restaurant; the others were Pakistani/Indian restaurants).

A bit on the Yunnanese Muslims: unlike the Muslims in the south of Thailand who are mainly dark, the Muslims in Chiang Mai are very fair as they are descendants of Yunnanese Muslims from the Yunnan province in China. As early as the 15th century, they had been using Chiang Mai as a ‘back door’ entry and exit for commodities transported between China and a port in Myanmar. The main means of transportation for these Yunnanese caravan people were mules and ponies which contrasted with the usual South-East Asian preference for oxen, water buffaloes and elephants. The Chinese Muslims who dominated the caravan traffic owed their preferred mode of conveyance, as well as religious orientation, to mass conversions during the Mongol invasion of Yunnan in the 13th century. The equestrian nature of these caravan traders led the Thais to call the Yunnanese ‘jin haw’ or galloping Chinese. We met a family of Yunnanese Muslim customers and as in other parts of Thailand and China, the ladies were all covered.

11 January 2008
It would be a long day today as today’s tour was to the north, to the Thailand-Laos and Thailand-Myanmar borders. Our guide, Maya, and driver, Shin, finally showed up after we waited 40 minutes in the lobby. After picking up a few others, we were finally ready to set off. It was a Beautiful Day today with azure sky and not a cloud in sight.

Our first stop was the hot spring area. It comprised of a few wells of hot spring water. No swimming was allowed but visitors could boil eggs in the wells. We left after half an hour for our next destination, Chiang Saen, passing through the city of Chiang Rai.

It was a bumpy, winding two-hour ride to Chiang Rai and Chiang Saen. A bit of history: Chiang Rai was the first capital city of the Lanna kingdom. ‘Lan’ means million and ‘na’ means rice farms, hence the name means a million rice farms. And indeed, we drove past many paddy fields. We drove through Chiang Rai to Chiang Saen, a city bordering Laos and Myanmar. This is where the notorious Golden Triangle is. First, we stopped at Wat Chedi Luang, an old ruined Buddhist temple, it was ruined when the Burmese attacked the city and has never been rebuilt. It was here where I sighted teak trees (for teak furniture) for the first time.

Then we drove along the mighty Mekong River and stopped at a jetty (for lack of a better name). Mekong River is the third longest river in Asia after the Yangtze and Ganges Rivers and forms a natural border between Thailand and Myanmar, Myanmar and Laos, and Laos and Thailand. I managed to persuade Mummy to take the boat ride so we paid the ticket and boarded the boat up the river and that was the day when we saw three countries - Thailand, Myanmar and Laos - in an instant. We cruised up along the Myanmar side before turning back and stopping at Don Sao village on the Laotian side. No passport needed here though we did have to pay a 20-Baht tax (Thai Baht accepted here). We spent half an hour at the village and apart from the usual souvenirs of silk shawls, t-shirts, postcards and bookmarks, there were also bottles of snake, tiger penis, scorpion and gecko whisky on sale.

As we know, the Golden Triangle was notorious for its opium trade. There is a sandbar along the mighty Mekong and free trading of opium was conducted here. This sandbar is ‘free land’ and traders could carry out transactions freely – until they returned to shore. And the payment for opium was its weight in gold. So if you bought a kg of opium, you must pay 1 kg of 100% gold (not 916 or 750 gold) and if you bought only 100 grams of opium, you must pay 100 gram worth of gold and so on, hence the name Golden Triangle.

We went for lunch shortly after returning to the Thai side at Golden Iyara Resort. Then we drove to Mae Sai, the north most city of Thailand at the border with Myanmar. We were not allowed to cross over to the Myanmar side as Maya explained her tourists were once detained for five hours there. We spent about 45 minutes there. It was a small border city, with hawkers selling fruits, vegetables, dried mushrooms etc and the shops selling gems and occasionally we saw some monks and some Myanmar people: the men were dark and wore sarong while the women had some face paste on their faces.

Then we drove to Nana Pao (spelling?) village to visit the hill-tribe people. These people are migrants from Myanmar but now have certificates/papers saying they are Thai citizens. This village was built on Government land and the people are encouraged to farm and sell merchandises to tourists to prevent them from planting and selling opium. There were the Karen people whose long-necked women sport a brass ring coil around their neck. They started wearing these coils when they were five and have more added when they were 10. And the brass coils were heavy, mind you, about 5-8 kg apiece! There was a Karen woman who had 27 coils around her neck (the most number of coils)! According to Maya, Karen women wear the neck ring to protect themselves from being bitten by tigers in the forest and to protect them from spirits. They also believe that elongated necks are beautiful just as swans are beautiful birds with their long necks.

There were also the Balong people who have black teeth due to their past-time habit and fondness for chewing betel leaves. They believe black teeth symbolise beauty (black is beauty, y’all) and that chewing betel leaves would help strengthen their teeth. There were the Lahu people and the Lahu women we met had big earlobes to fit in their big earrings and had some paint on their faces. There were also the enterprising Akha people with their head gears and decorations. Akha people can also be found in Chiang Mai peddling their wares.

We also had a peek inside their houses and it was a simple life indeed. No refrigerator or oven in the kitchen of course, instead there was a coal stove. There was no mattress in the bedroom and only one light bulb to light up the house.

After about half an hour and some Kodak moments, we left for Chiang Mai. It was already getting dark then and we drove for more than three hours in the Starry Starry Night before reaching Chiang Mai.

12 January 2008

Another Beautiful Day and this morning, we set off slightly later at 8.30 am for our Elephant Safari trip at Maetaman Rafting and Elephant Camp, about 75 km north of Chiang Mai. We arrived just in time to see the elephants having their morning bath. After that, we were entertained by the intelligent animals: there was the elephant procession with a couple of them carrying a Welcome sign and the others walking in a single file behind holding on to the other’s tail with its trunk. Then they showed off their skills and tricks, played football and basketball, gave a trainer a massage with a foot and a trunk, and painted pictures (I dare say they paint better than I can!). It was all very fun and entertaining although I doubt a PETA activist would feel the same.

After the show, we went for bamboo rafting down the river. Our four-km trip lasted an hour. Mummy and I were fortunate to sit in front of the raft as the front seats were drier compared to the middle and back seats. Then we drove back to the camp for lunch before going for an elephant ride to the village of the Lisu hill-tribe. Mummy refused to go though so I went with Mario. Our elephant was a 32-year old female by the name of Anika. It was a bumpy ride to say the least and I was quite terrified that the bar that held us in place would give way or break.

The ride lasted for half an hour and we spent about 15 minutes at the village before returning to the camp, this time by ox-cart. We then bade farewell to the gentle and adorable giants.

We stopped at a snake farm en route to Chiang Mai. Mummy and I weren’t too keen on them slimy reptiles hence decided not to sit through the show. After the show, we went to an orchid and butterfly farm nearby before returning to Chiang Mai.

That evening, we went to Anusarn Market for dinner at Roummit Restaurant and after that, we spent some time at the Night Bazaar doing some shopping.

13 January 2008
I went for a short stroll to Anusarn market in the morning. It was quiet unlike the night before but at the end of the market, there were some stalls selling fruits, vegetables, meat and cooked food. There were also some halal stalls and a halal butcher.

Our driver came shortly after 9 and drove us to the airport. Check-in process was slow and painful but at least it deterred us from spending too long at the duty-free shops. We arrived at the airport at 2.40 pm but we had to wait a while before getting our bags. Anyway, all in all, it was a very enjoyable trip.

Life

Life is unpredictable. And fragile.

One minute you could be walking confidently up the road and the next minute you could be paralysed waist-down after being hit by a drunk driver. Or one minute you could be lying on your back on a white sandy beach somewhere and the next minute you could be lying helpless on a hospital bed with tubes and support system feeding your body. One minute you could be as fit as a fiddle and as healthy as a horse and the next minute you could be ill and depressed and contemplating suicide after being diagnosed with a dreaded disease.

One minute you could be rich and wealthy and powerful and the next minute you could be destitute and bankrupt. Or one minute you could be earning megabucks or at least earning comfortably and the next you could be scraping for your everyday existence.

One minute you could be the toast of society with everyone vying to be your friend and the next minute you could be a social pariah. One minute you could be envied and the next minute you could be shunned.

Of course the opposite can happen too. Like one minute you could be living from hand to mouth but the next minute you could hit pay dirt or strike gold and be filthy rich.

Because the only thing that is certain of life is that it is unpredictable. It’s funny how life works out. Not ha-ha funny but strange funny.

Of late, I have been reminding myself of the above - of how life can change so drastically seemingly in the blink of an eye. And I think it’s important for me to remember this lest I become arrogant, cocky, proud or riak and forget about myself and forget about being humble.

Because God works in Mysterious Ways and He can take away from you any time He wishes to just as He can give generously.

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Thanks to Facebook, I am now in touch again with long-lost friends. I have also made new friends besides reinforcing friendship with my current mates. It really is a marvellous tool to help us stay in touch with friends. In fact, I know of two people who used to date, got engaged, broke up and moved on with their lives with the girl now married with kids. And now, they are Facebook friends. When I found out about it, I couldn’t help thinking and marvelling at how mature they both are.

Heck, after all, life’s just too short and unpredictable to be bitter.

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Arsenal hammered West Ham last weekend and over the weekend also won over Burnley to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup.