Akhirnya aku di sini..

Hampir sepuluh tahun yang lalu, aku sering melewati daerah ini. Setiap kali, entah kenapa aku pasti akan merasa bosan melalui daerah ini. Mungkin kerana kiri dan kanan aku agak sunyi. Tiada apa yang menarik untuk dipandang. Yang ada cuma pokok-pokok besar berdaun hijau, kuning dan oren yang menyejukkan mata aku pada waktu siang. Pada waktu malam, kalau perlu sahaja aku melewati kawasan ini. Itupun dengan keadaan pecutan yang sangat tinggi. Kelibat manusia? Kalau ada pun, sesekali sahaja kelibatnya akan kelihatan. Itupun pada waktu siang. Malam? Kalau berani…

Di selekoh itulah aku sentiasa memerhatikannya. Bangunan putih itu kelihatan sungguh bangga dengan dirinya. Bangunan putih itu seringkali mencuri perhatian aku setiap kali aku membelok menuruni bukit yang tak berapa nak cerun itu. Aku memang kagum dengan bangunan putih itu. Aku juga kagum dengan penghuninya. Bukan calang-calang mereka yang berani menghampiri bangunan itu. Mesti mempunyai ilmu yang tinggi di dada, semangat yang kuat sahaja aku percaya.

Ada juga aku mendengar kisah taulan aku yang menapa di situ. Ada yang singgah seketika. Ada juga yang mencuba nasib namun tak lama mana. Ada juga yang tak keluar-keluar dari bangunan itu. Entahlah…. Bagi aku yang tidak pernah mencuba, aku rasa sangat gementar. Terlopong aku mendengar cerita kawan-kawan aku yang pernah menapa di sana. Indah khabar dari rupa. Kalau tak kuat semangat jangan dekat kata mereka. Buruk padahnya.

Walaupun ada kalanya, aku merasakan bangunan putih itu seolah-olah melambai kepada aku. Mencabar aku menghuninya. Namun, cerita ceriti yang kedengaran memaksa aku seringkali berfikir.

Bangunan putih itu terlalu jauh untuk aku. Tak terjejak aku rasanya. Walaupun aku teramat ingin menghuninya, aku tak mampu.

Kini, selepas sepuluh tahun, aku kembali ke daerah ini. Kembali melewati kesunyian ini. Setiap kali aku menoleh, kiri dan kanan aku pemandangannya masih sama. Pokok-pokok dengan warna yang sama. Kelibat manusia masih lagi jarang kelihatan. Mungkin ada sesekali. Tapi selalunya mereka tidak bersendirian. Setelah sepuluh tahun daerah ini aku tinggalkan, aku kini kembali.

Di sini tersimpan cinta dan cita-cita aku. Sepuluh tahun impian aku terlerai di sini.

Aku kini di sini.

Di bangunan putih ini.

Aku masih di sini..

Hati aku tergerak untuk menulis apa yang bermain di fikiran aku tatkala membaca entry http://mywanfai.wordpress.com/2008/12/15/ohhh-kuala-lumpur-sudah-jauh-meninggalkan-aku/. Mungkin cerita aku agak berbeza dengan apa yang ada dalam entry tersebut cuma sekadar meluahkan perasaan aku di sini.

Hampir 2 minggu yang lalu aku ke bank Islam Medan Mara menguruskan beberapa hal mengenai buku akaun aku yang dah dorman sebab bertahun tak diisi dengan RM. Selesai urusan di BIMB Medan Mara, aku lantas ke SOGO bersebelahan dengan Pertama Kompleks. Ala sebut aje Pertama Kompleks, semua orang yang sesebaya dengan aku pastinya tahu. Tempat yang selalunya menjadi hub pertemuan dengan kawan-kawan sekolah lama. Maklumla dekat dengan Jalan TAR, Semua House dsb. Mungkin remaja sekarang ni destinasinya Mid Valley, KLCC tapi bagi aku Pertama Kompleks adalah lokasi yang sangat istimewa.

Anyway, itu bukanlah cerita yang yang aku nak kongsi.

Selesai urusan aku di Bank Islam, aku melepak di Tingkat bawah bangunan SOGO sambil menunggu 2 rakan yang sedang asyik membeli belah hadiah perpisahan seorang rakan sepejabat aku yang akan ke US selepas krismas nanti. Seronok aku dengar dia nak pergi buat PhD. Selepas minum kopi O kurang manis dan menjamah 2 keping roti bakar, kami bersedia untuk pulang.

Semasa berjalan menuju askelator, mata aku tiba-tiba terpandang kelibat seorang manusia yang aku kenal. Tak berubah muka makcik ni. Dah lebih 7 tahun aku tak jumpa dia. "Makcik apa khabar?". Selepas beberapa saat dia merenung aku, dia lantas berkata.. ye makcik ingat... ni Wan, kawan Nong kan? haah.. Makcik sihat. Nong apa khabar makcik? Nong takdek... Nong dah pergi UK buat masters. Dah 2 minggu dia pergi dengan anak2 dan suami. Nong takdek bagitau ke?

Aku terdiam.

Kata-kata makcik yang aku masih ingat seorang ustazah itu aku dah tak berapa nak dengar. Terbayang aku muka kawan aku si Nong. Jauhnya kau dah meninggalkan aku. Aku dan Nong berkawan rapat sejak di bangku sekolah lagi. Selepas tingkatan 4, kami terpisah namun masih berhubung dan selalu bertemu. Pertama Kompleks lah selalunya tempat pertemuan kami. Selepas habis pengajian di Universiti, bebanan kerja dan keluarga mengurangkan pertemuan kami. Selepas anak pertama aku lahir, aku memang langsung tidak pernah bertemu Nong.

Kisah kedua..

Sewaktu hari sukan sekolah anak aku tahun lepas, aku bertemu dengan kawan lama aku sejak dari bangku sekolah rendah. Aku namakan Lila. Lila adalah kawan baik aku yang duduk bersebelahan dengan aku sejak aku darjah 4 namun kami terpisah apabila Lila ke MRSM Perlis. Selepas SPM, Lila ke Sheffield dan aku ke UM (Pandai jugak kawan-kawan aku nih sumernya pegi oversea he he).. Kali terakhir aku bertemu Lila adalah 5 tahun lalu sewaktu dia datang rumah terbuka aku hari raya. Selepas itu, kami terus tidak berhubung.

Ketika bertemu kembali dengan Lila, kami banyak berbicara mengenai kawan-kawan dan alam persekolahan dahulu. Apabila bercakap tentang kerja, kata Lila, aku baru start kerja balik. Dah 3 tahun aku ikut suami bekerja di India. yang kecik ni pun lahir di sana.

Aku terkedu.

Lamanya aku tak contact Lila sampai dia ke India 3 tahun pun aku tak tau. Apa la punya kawan.

Kepada Nong, kalau kau terbaca entry aku ni, contact la aku yer sebab aku rindu sangat dengan kawan-kawan lama. Alamat email aku ada kat sini.

Lila pun sama, kalau pergi India lagi, bagi tau aku ye. Sebabnya aku memang suka makanan India. he he..

Anyway, aku masih di sini..

Chan kin phet dai (I can eat spicy food)

I never like soft drink. I think last time I tasted the carbonated drink was 2 years ago during fasting month. The reason why is that I was soooo thirsty during daytime as I could see many small kids drinking coke. I only had a can of coke and thats all!

But in Phuket, I can say that I had a lot of Indian food. Especially beriyani chicken and dhal makhni. I always ask for more spicy. Finally after finish my beriyani, my tummy felt uncomfortable. he he.. Also nice tom yum and sea food.. yummy!!

Delicious Chiken Beriyani

Dhal Tadka

Potato with Ginger



Tom Yum in Coconut Juice


Fried Squid with salad

Hannah is also enjoying beriyani

Oyster

I tried to find ENO ginger, but its not easy. I manage to get the sachet at Watson in Carefour near my hotel on the 3rd day. Imagine.. so what did I do?

The answer is simple. I drink coke!

Coca-Cola has a policy of avoiding using children younger than the age of 12 in any of its advertising. This decision was made as a result of a lawsuit from the beginning of the 20th century that alleged that Coke's caffeine content was dangerous to children. However, in recent times, this has not stopped the company from targeting young consumers.

Coke or any soft drinks are not good for health. Someone put a broken tooth in a bottle soft drink and in 10 days it is dissolved! Teeth and bones are the only human organs that stay intact for years after death. Imagine what the drink must be doing to your delicate soft intestines and stomach lining! To all COKE / PEPSI LOVERS, think again the next time before you say " CHUP.

Well, I know a guy I met in Japan who is crazy drinking coke. He drinks at least a can of coke everyday. Scary me! After 3 years, I am not sure what happen to him. Still drinking coke I guess?

Mee rot thaek-see thee nail? (Where can I get a taxi?)

If you are looking for fun rather than relaxation, Hat Patong is the place to be. Its clear waters are great for swimming and snorkelling, and there are banana boats, jet skis and parasailing to keep you occupied. Along the beach road are shops, bars and restaurants, and Patong itself is almost like a mini town but without any of the cultural attraction. I will upload the video soon.

But what I wanna share here is the Phuket Carnival 2008 in Patong. For six on-going days of this fun and vibrant festival, the Phuket Carnival returns to Patong Beach from 15-20 December 2008. Visitors and locals will be entertained by fancy parades, firework display, street performances and can participate in beach volleyball or football or various water sport competitions as well as a mini-marathon.

We had the chance to see the spectacular parades that was held on the first of the Phuket Carnival starting from Loma Park. The famous Soi Bangla has become a well lit-up walking street with arrays of food and souvenir stalls, art exhibits, stage shows and other cultural performances and activities organised by participated Patong hotels.

Held on ten different zones around Soi Bangla and Patong Beach, a program of daily activities, complimentary vouchers, entrance tickets and souvenirs will be provided to all participants.

We saw most mat salleh make the most of their stay by soaking in the sunlight during the day and roaming around the festive Patong streets at night.

It was super totemo interesting!! Although tired, me and the girls keep on moving to see this incredible festive ever!

Mee rot thaek-see thee nail?

Sawadikap!!

Hat Patong (Patong Beach)

Last week, we had a chance to visit Phuket, one of the most amazing place in the world map. Together with the kids, we came to this island and stayed there for 4 days.

Phuket is known as the ‘Pearl of Andaman’ due to its 49 km long and 21 km wide pearl like shape, as well as its physical beauty. Phuket is Thailand’s largest island, and smaller province.

The view from the Three Beaches Viewpoints

Sunset at Patong Beach

Phuket’s peak season is predictably, in the middle of the dry season, which coincides with Christmast and New Year. The island is always at maximum capacity at this time and we were so lucky to be there in the middle of thousands mat sallehs. He he..

Hat Patong (Patong Beach) is the most popular beach resort, the place to head to if you are looking for action. Most of the island accommodation, as well as restaurants, bars and shops are located here.

Transport around the island is mainly by tuk-tuks, which can easily found in numbers around the beaches, town areas and main points of interests.

Soi Bangla (Bangla Road)

Many visitors to Hat patong make at least one night time visit to the notorious Soi Bangla. Bangle in Siamese is Villange (bukan jalan yang penuh orang Bangla yer!). The action-packed street is a frenzy of bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants and street stalls. The street is open to traffic throughout the day but becomes pedestrian-only at night, making it a lot easier, - and safer – to stumble own.

Patong Boxing Stadium, at the far end of Soi Bangla, holds Muay Thai kickboxing fights between Thais and foreigners at 8 pm every Monday, Thursday and Saturday.

James Bond Island

One of the must-visited excursions is James Bond Island, familiar to many due to its dramatic destruction in the closing scenes of the 1974 Bond Movie, The Man with the Golden Gun.

The food? Very interesting!!

Lobster!! Yummy

The girls were so happy and we already plan another visit in April 2009!

Irashaimase!

In this post I would like to share with you guys one of my 'used to be' favourite food. Before I went to Japan, I always went to the Sushi King almost every fortnight just to have sushi. And when I had the opportunity staying in Japan, I didnt miss the chance to taste the sushi made by original Japanese people. he he..

I tried sushi almost every restaurant I visited and finally my instructor recommend a very best restaurant in Tokyo.

Maybe because I ate too much or I am getting bored of this dish, after visiting that restaurant, I stopped taking sushi.

Until now, I dont have any feeling of entering any restaurant selling sushi. Well, errr.. maybe for now.. I dont know.. But lets share some information about sushi. I gathered these informations through reading some websites in the internet.

SUSHI

Sushi is the most famous Japanese dish outside of Japan, and one of the most popular dishes among the Japanese themselves. All sushi has a base of specially prepared rice, and complemented with other ingredients.

Some popular ones are:

Nigiri

Small rice balls with fish, shellfish, etc. on top. There are countless varieties of nigirizushi, some of the most common ones being tuna, shrimp, eel, squid, octopus and fried egg.

Gunkan

Small cups made of sushi rice and dried seaweed filled with seafood, etc. There are countless varieties of gunkanzushi, some of the most common ones being sea urchin and various kinds of fish eggs.

Norimaki

Sushi rice and seafood, etc. rolled in dried seaweed sheets. There are countless varieties of sushi rolls differing in ingredients and thickness. Sushi rolls prepared "inside out" are very popular outside of Japan, but rarely found in Japan.

Temaki

Temakizushi (literally: hand rolls) are cones made of nori-seaweed and filled with sushi rice, seafood and vegetables.

Oshizushi

Oshizushi is pressed sushi, in which the fish is pressed onto the sushi rice in a wooden box. The picture shows trout oshizushi in form of a popular ekiben (train station lunch box).

Inari

Inarizushi is a simple and inexpensive type of sushi, in which sushi rice is filled into aburaage (deep fried tofu) bags.

Chirashi

Chirashizushi is a dish in which seafood, mushroom and vegetables are spread over sushi rice. It can resemble domburi with the difference being that chirashizushi uses sushi rice while domburi uses regular, unseasoned rice.

Sushi rice
Sushi is made with white, short-grained, Japanese rice mixed with a dressing made of rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and occasionally kombu & sake. It is usually cooled to room temperature before being used for a filling in a sushi. Sushi rice (sushi-meshi) is prepared with short-grain Japanese rice, which has a consistency that differs from long-grain strains such as those from Asian countries like Malaysia. The essential quality is its stickiness. Rice that is too sticky has a mushy texture; if not sticky enough, it feels dry. Freshly harvested rice (shinmai) typically has too much water, and requires extra time to drain the rice cooker after washing.

Nori
The seaweed wrappers used in maki and temaki are called nori. Nori is an alga, traditionally cultivated into the harbors of Japan. Originally, algae was scraped from dock pilings, rolled out into thin, edible sheets, and dried in the sun, in a process similar to making rice paper.
Nori by itself is an edible snack and is available with salt or flavored with teriyaki sauce. The flavored variety, however, tends to be of lesser quality and is not suitable for sushi.

Omelette
When making fukusazushi, a paper-thin omelet may replace a sheet of nori as the wrapping. The omelet is traditionally made on a rectangular omelet pan (makiyakinabe), and used to form the pouch for the rice and fillings.
Toppings and fillings

Fish
For culinary, sanitary, and aesthetic reasons, fish eaten raw must be fresher and of higher quality than fish which is cooked.
Professional sushi chefs are trained to recognize good fish. Important attributes include smells, colour, firmness, and being free of obvious parasites that normal commercial inspection do not detect (many go undetected).

Seafood
Other seafoods such as squid (ika), octopus (tako), shrimp (ebi and amaebi), clam (mirugai, aoyagi and akagi), fish roe (ikura, masago, kazunoko and tobiko), sea urchin (uni), crab (kani), and various kinds of shellfish (abalone, prawn, scallop) are the most popular seafoods in sushi. Oysters, however, are not typically put in sushi because the taste is not thought to go well with the rice.

Vegetables
Pickled daikon radish (takuan) in shinko maki, pickled vegetables (tsukemono), fermented soybeans (nattō) in nattō maki, avocado, cucumber in kappa maki, asparagus, yam, pickled ume (umeboshi), gourd (kanpyō), burdock (gobo), and sweet corn may be mixed with mayonnaise.

Red meat
Beef, ham, spam, sausage, and horse meat are often lightly cooked.

Other fillings
Tofu and eggs (in the form of slightly sweet, layered omelet called tamagoyaki and raw quail eggs ride as a gunkan-maki topping) are common.

Condiments
Shōyu
The common name for soy sauce. In sushi restaurants, it may also be referred to as murasaki (lit. "purple").

Wasabi
A piquant paste made from the grated root of the wasabi plant. Real wasabi (hon-wasabi) is Wasabi japonica. Hon-wasabi has anti-microbial properties and may reduce the risk of food poisoning. The traditional grating tool for wasabi is a sharkskin grater or samegawa oroshi.
An imitation wasabi (seiyo-wasabi), made from horseradish and mustard powder and dyed green is common. It is found at lower-end kaiten zushi restaurants, in bento box sushi and at most restaurants outside of Japan. If it is manufactured in Japan, it may be labelled "Japanese Horseradish".
In sushi restaurants, wasabi may be referred to as namida ("tears").

Gari
Sweet, pickled ginger. Eaten to both cleanse the palate as well as to aid in the digestive process.

Ocha
In Japan, green tea (ocha) is invariably served together with sushi. Better sushi restaurants often use a distinctive premium tea known as mecha. In sushi vocabulary, green tea is known as agari.

Nutritional information
The main ingredients of sushi, raw fish and rice are naturally low in fat (with the exception of some rolls, especially Western style rolls), high in protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.

Specifically:
Fats: Most seafood are naturally low in fat; and what fat is found in them is generally rich in unsaturated fat Omega-3. Since sushi is often served raw, no fat is introduced in its preparation.

Proteins: Fish, tofu, seafood, egg, and many other sushi fillings contain high levels of protein.
Vitamins and Minerals: These are found in many of the vegetables used for sushi. For example, the gari and nori used to make sushi are both rich in nutrients. Other vegetables wrapped within the sushi also offer various degrees of nutritional value.

Carbohydrates: These are found in the rice and the vegetables.

Health risks
Some fish such as tuna, especially bluefin, can carry high levels of mercury and can be hazardous when consumed in large quantities
Consuming raw or undercooked seafood presents the risk of anisakiasis. Uncooked seafood also often carries the bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which can cause diarrhea. Also, sushi carries the risk of transmitting parasitic infection and other pathogens. In addition, some forms of sushi, notably puffer fugu, can cause severe poisoning if not prepared properly. Sushi is usually eaten with salty condiments such as soy sauce, which are added by the diner in whatever quantity is desired. Those with hypertension or renal disorders must take care not to eat too much salt inadvertently by overusing such condiments.

Presentation
In Japan, and increasingly abroad, conveyor belt sushi/sushi train (kaiten zushi) restaurants are a popular, cost effective way of eating sushi. At these restaurants, the sushi is served on color-coded plates, with each color denoting the cost of the sushi serving. The plates are placed on a conveyor belt or boats floating in a moat. As the belt or boat passes, the customers choose their desired plates. After finishing, the bill is tallied by counting how many plates of each color have been taken. Some kaiten sushi restaurants in Japan operate on a fixed price system, with each plate, consisting usually of two pieces of sushi, generally costing between ¥100 and ¥200.
More traditionally, sushi is served on minimalist Japanese-style, geometric, wood or lacquer plates which are mono- or duo-tone in color, in keeping with the aesthetic qualities of this cuisine. Many small sushi restaurants actually use no plates — the sushi is eaten directly off of the wooden counter, usually with one's hands.

Etiquette
Sushi can be eaten either by hand or using chopsticks, although traditionally nigiri is eaten with the fingers because the rice is packed loosely so as to fall apart in one's mouth, and would disintegrate on chopsticks. Condiments (soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger) are used as desired, though one connoisseur counsels, "adding wasabi to soy sauce is a disaster. It reduces the spiciness dramatically and masks the taste of the fish.

My Great Travolta and Cyrus in Bolt Movie

I don’t know about the girls but I went in to the theater with fewer expectations about the movie. It’s definitely just because the girls really want to go movie. And because John Travolta is my favorite actor and also Miley Cyrus I always seen her as Hannah Montana on TV, I tried my best not to sleep in the theatre.

The movie is about a dog named Bolt (John Travolta) is the title character of a hit television series called Bolt, co-starring with his loving owner Penny (Miley Cyrus). In the show, Bolt has various superpowers such as super strength and speed, heat vision, invincibility and an ultra-sonic "super bark," and constantly thwarts the evil plans of Dr. Calico who kidnapped Penny’s father. However, the filming crew has intentionally kept Bolt ignorant about the fact that he is being filmed to create an effect of realism on the show. As such, Bolt not only doesn't know that his superpowers aren't real, but he is deprived of living like a normal dog, much to Penny's dismay.

I did enjoy many aspects of this film, I loved to see the scene in which Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino traveling through the United States from East to West, it was really interesting. I really admire the animation quality of this movie. I felt the animation and settings were outstanding. The plot of the movie was interesting and for me, it’s really a nice movie no matter what your age or your location you will find something special in the movie. It was extremely touching.

I think this movie is much better than Walle and worth the money.

The kids are really laughing and they really enjoying themselves.

Siapa lagi?

Aku masih ingat lagi sewaktu aku berada dalam tingkatan 5. Waktu itu adalah kelas mata pelajaran Kimia. Tajuk yang kami belajar pada hari tersebut adalah susunan Okted. Guru Kimia aku pada masa itu ialah cikgu Farah. Sebut nama cikgu Farah, satu sekolah tahu betapa garangnya cikgu Farah. Suaranya yang sangat lantang dengan pitching yang sangat tinggi memang cukup membingitkan telinga aku. Jangan berani-berani nak tidur atau berangan masa kelas cikgu Farah. Memang mencari nahas. Tambahan pula kelas aku pada masa itu hanya ada 20 orang sahaja.

Entah kenapa pada hari itu aku merasa sangat bosan. Tajuk yang menarik itu aku rasakan sungguh tidak bermakna. Mungkin disebabkan pada masa itu, cikgu Farah sedang mengandung. Mungkin keadaannya yang kurang sihat menyebabkan dia hanya duduk di meja guru. Tidak seperti kebiasaannya dia akan mengajar sambil meronda sekeliling kelas mencari sampah-sampah yang ada untuk dibuang. Kesempatan ini aku gunakan untuk mengulangkaji add maths. Aku masih ingat lagi tajuknya ialah Janjang Geometri. (Sekadar makluman.. aku tak terlibat dengan PPSMI). Memang aku terlalu asyik membuat soalan dan secara tiba-tiba aku mendengar nama aku dijerit dengan kuat.

“Apa yang kamu buat tu?” Tanya cikgu Farah sambil membesarkan biji matanya ke arah aku.

“Err… tulis nota cikgu…” Jawab aku dengan nada yang sungguh tidak meyakinkan.

“Mintak sini nota yang kamu tulis saya nak tengok..” Sambung cikgu Farah.

Alamak… kantoi!!!
Dada aku berdegup sangat kencang. Aku dapat rasakan masa itu jam berhenti berdetik. Suasana kelas aku tiba-tiba menjadi sunyi sepi. Aku rasa kalau ada jarum jatuh pun sure boleh dengar. Semua mata tertumpu kepada aku. Dahlah aku ni Ketua Kelas. Sah sah aku kena marah ni.

“Ini nota semalam!!! Saya nak tengok nota harini yang kamu kata kamu tulis!!” Pekik cikgu Farah. Aku rasa biji mata dia semakin besar tapi aku tak berani nak pandang muka dia.

Alamak… mangkuk betulla. Memang nota tu semalam punya sebab masa semalam dia mengajar takdekla bosan macam ni. Bolehla aku salin nota. Harini dia mengajar macam baca berita. Manalah aku nak kosentret.

Aku hanya menunduk ke bawah. Bersalah la tu.. Umm nak buat macamana.. memang aku salah. Tapi bukan salah aku sepenuhnya sebab dia memang mengajar tak best harini.

“Kamu jangan ingat saya tak tau kamu tak dengar apa saya cakap. Lain kali saya taknak tengok lagi kamu tak beri tumpuan masa kelas saya.” Aku tak pasti samada itu satu nasihat atau ancaman. Tapi yang pasti, aku dah kena blacklist..

“Baik cikgu. Saya minta maaf.”

Sewaktu berjalan balik ke tempat duduk, sempat mata aku mengerling ke arah beberapa mangkuk hayun classmate aku yang menyeringai macam kerang busuk. Cis bedebah!! Tak henti-henti aku menyumpah cikgu Farah dalam hati aku. Ko ingat aku tak pandai yer.. Tak guna punya kawan korang gelakkan aku ye.. Nantila… aku study giler-giler aku score baru padan muka korang yang menghina aku.

Tapi itu dulu…

Itu cerita lama… Kira-kira 18 tahun yang lalu. Terima kasih kepada Cikgu Farah yang begitu garang menyergah aku. Akibatnya, sampai kini, aku masih ingat lagi bagaimana cara melukis susunan 8 elektron di petala terluar atom bagi membentuk susunan okted tersebut. Kalau tidak kerana cikgu Farah tak mungkin susunan itu masih melekat dalam ingatan aku sehingga sekarang.

Kini cikgu Farah telah tiada. Aku mendapat berita cikgu Farah telah meninggal dunia pun hampir 7 tahun selepas ketiadaannya. Berita yang aku dengar selepas pantang arwah pergi berenang. Arwah meninggal dunia akibat lemas kerana kejang kaki semasa berenang. Al-Fatihah kepada cikgu Farah. Aku memang sayangkan cikgu Farah dan semua cikgu-cikgu aku. Walaupun cikgu-cikgu aku dulu macam-macam ragamnya, aku tetap sayangkan mereka. Jauh sekali untuk mendendami mereka.

Kisah cikgu Farah mengingatkan aku semasa aku belajar di Universiti dahulu, kami selalu berjalan kaki ke kolam renang berhampiran pusat sukan berhampiran kolej aku. Waktu untuk perempuan setiap Selasa dan Khamis malam. Aku belajar mengapungkan diri dan berenang sikit-sikit daripada kawan-kawan yang expert. Namun, aku pernah sekali mengalami kaki kejang sewaktu berenang. Mujur aku berenang berhampiran dengan dinding kolam. Walaupun aku panic, perlahan-lahan aku bergerak ke tepi dinding kolam dan terus terus naik ke permukaan. Sebab itulah sehingga sekarang aku agak fobia dengan kolam renang. Walaubagaimanapun, aku tak pernah serik.

Sekarang anak-anak aku kalau pergi mana sekalipun, baik percutian di Cameron Highland ke, Genting Highland ke, Kota Bharu ke, Alor Star ke, Port Dickson ke, soalan pertama yang akan diajukan ialah..“hotel tu ada kolam renang ke tak?” Jadi, walau ke mana kami pergi, aku terpaksa pastikan bahawa kolam renang wujud di radius yang berdekatan dengan lokasi penginapan kami.

Aku sangat risau bila mengingatkan keadaan ini. Sebab itu aku menghantar kedua-dua anak aku ke kelas renang, Hannah nampaknya sudah boleh mengapungkan diri dan berenang short distance. Kadang-kadang aku terlihat dia berenang secara kuak lentang. Zeqah pulak, baru nak belajar mengapungkan diri. Aku bukannya apa, teringat bagaimana aku pernah kejang dalam air dulu. Nauzubillah.. Sebab itulah syarat aku, kalau nak pergi swimming, mama dengan ayah dua-dua kena ada, barulah dua-dua anak boleh sama-sama swimming.

Cuti sekolah ni aku ambil kesempatan menghantar anak-anak aku ke kelas renang. Aku sangat berharap mereka pandai berenang, Aku ingin bina keyakinan dan semangat dalam diri mereka. Aku tidak mahu mereka ada perasaan takut.

Aku sayangkan anak-anak aku. Dan aku sanggup buat apa sahaja.

Siapa lagi kalau bukan aku?