Poor Jack

Jack in his manja pose, with bandaged leg and all....

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About a month ago, Jack came home limping and with a bloodied rear right leg, making Lina thought that he had been in a fight. She took him to the vet and the vet said that most likely he had been run over by a vehicle. The vet shaved the fur on his right rear leg and it was a mess. There were real concerns that he would lose that leg. The vet told us to go to the animal hospital in UPM in Serdang. It was already late so Lina had to wait till the next day and took Jack home.

Since he was unwell, we let him sleep in Sofia's room. The first night at home, he attacked his bandaged leg and he bit and scratched Sofia. Imagine Sofia calling me at 4 am, crying and saying something about Jack going crazy.

Dr. Nurul at the animal hospital at Serdang was a big help. I was impressed on how she and her assistant handled Jack, claws, teeth and all. Yes, Jack was badly hurt. We had to leave Jack for a few days there. The house was not the same without him.

Three days later, he came home. We, with Lina leading, we had to change his bandages every day. Make him eat his medications every day. You should see him with his head turned all the way to the back, trying to avoid eating his pills.

He's much better now. He's still limping but he's still King of the house.

Well people, go to that animal hospital in UPM Serdang. Those people know what they are doing and thank you Dr. Nurul, Dr. Tan and all you people there.

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Hutang

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Hutang.

Bila pinjam duit, bayar balik. Tu aje. It is not rocket science, it is not nuclear physics, it is just common sense. Tak dapat bayar semua sekali, bayar sikit-sikit. Bak kata orang-orang tua, lama lama jadi bukit...... Senang aje. Masa pinjam tu janji nak bayar kan? So, tunaikan janji.....

With the intentions of borrowing money, promises were made. Oooppssss, I forget (yes, I forgggeeeettttt), promises are made to be broken. Hahahahahahahahaha......... Of course, masa meminta, bulan depan bayar. Minggu depan even. Dalam masa dua hari pun ada. Tapi bila dah dapat duit, hampeh. Yang bagi pinjam nak sebut pun takut, takut nanti di kata mengungkit. Hahahahahaha......... mengungkit? Atau bagi pinjam sikit dah bising. Sikit ke empat ribu tu? Sikit ke lima ribu tu? Empat ringgit mungkin sikit. Tiga puluh lima sen tu sikit.

Yang bagi pinjam jadi pesalah. Masa meminta, datang selalu rumah. Talipon selalu. Cintalah katakan...... Memang macam bercinta, nak something kan? Orang bercinta tu nak kawin lah........ ni nak duit. Hahahahahaha....... Bila dah dapat, usahkan tak datang, call pun tak jawab. Hantar SMS? Sorry lah brader, tak kan jawab.

Anyway, just a reality of life.

Unpaid debts. Neither a lender nor a borrower be...........

Uh oh, do I owe anyone any money?

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Moving On.........

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When it’s time to move on, we move on.

I am in the midst of taking a very big step in my life – I quit my current job.

While I don’t want to dwell on the reasons why, it is just something that I have to do. Well, let’s call a spade a spade. Over the last 2 months I have been carrying two pieces of paper with 28 reasons to quit and 11 reasons to stay on this job. The pros thumped the cons. Plus sembahyang istikharah and doa banyak2 minta petunjuk etc. etc. etc.

Two days from now, on 7 May 2011 will be my 21st anniversary with this company. While it has been fun, worthwhile and insane at times, it’s time to move.

Lina gave me her blessings, in her own words, “You do not seemed happy in this job anymore, not like before”.

I might have told her a thing or two about my current job but I never really brought any real worries home from the office. I never worry her needlessly. Let me carry some of the burden alone. To which she replied, “You do not have to, I can see it in your face. Remember, we have been married for more than 20 years, I know… why don’t you just move on…...”.

So there. A potpourri of feelings, a mixed bag of emotions and the corresponding highs and lows. Well, I do have that 2.8 acres of land that I could work on. I heard cili api, serai and papayas can pick good prices nowadays. I reckon an acre of cili api, an acre of serai and half an acre of papayas would be enough to pay for electricity, water, phone, the internet and a small car……. I have my EPF, we have our little bit of savings, the other pieces of land that I bought, I could cash in the insurances that I have been ploughing money into all these years and God knows it’s time they do their bit for us and maybe work as a security guard for a few additional bucks….. or jaga workshop or store somebody else punya.

It was a hard decision to make but once I made that decision, it’s not unlike the skies cleared up after a heavy thunderstorm. The calmness is surreal sometimes. But with the corresponding anxiety and apprehension at times. Apa apalah, as a friend used to say. Ah well, what will be will be.

But then, rezeki ada di mana mana, insya Allah.

I need a new drug.

Definitely.

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