Abraj Cooling's CNY Dinner @ Beijing Restaurant

Yesterday, my company invited its employees for a get-together in conjunction with the upcoming Chinese New Year. Dinner was held at Beijing Restaurant, Madinat Zayed and we occupied three tables. Since service was rather slow, everyone basically hoovered down their food the moment the dishes touched the table. We had soup and various other dishes that went well even with our local partners. Haha, them Arabs had Wong Lo Kat (herbal tea) for the first time and the loved it ... who would've thought eh???

After stuffing our bellies, most of my Chinese colleagues gave a short speech of sorts ... generally just to extend a few nice words and wishes to everyone. Even met some of my friends there ... Abu Dhabi is indeed a small place I guess.

Anyways, yours truly shall be heading home pretty soon, so see you back homeeeeeeee!!! :D

If only I can ...

If I can't be your burning sun
if I can't be that special one

Then I'll be the wind that soothes your soul
The calm in the air that keeps you whole

I'll be the warmth that fills the empty space
The whisper that puts a smile on your face

I'll be the gentle breeze that dries your tears
The cleansing air that clears your fears

I'll be the soft echo of your tinkling laughter
The calm before the storm and your strength after

If you ever feel no one's there to care
Close your eyes … the wind is always there

We're ONE!!!

From our 'ceasar salad' days to coffee at Starbucks, from movie dates to my nightmarish days at the hospital ... one thing remained the same ... you've always been there for me. You were there to share my joys ... you were by my side during times of reckoning. It has only been one year, and yet it seems we've come so far together. I'm so glad I've found you b. If I could have my way, we'd be together this very moment to cherish each other on this special day of ours. I'll be back soon k, so till then ... here's wishing you a very HAPPY 1st ANNIVERSARY and looking forward for the many many more to come. Sarangeyo.

Dreams

The windows creak open,
The curtains gently sway,
Drizzling, the night dampens,
I slumber, wishing for day.

In a dream, a banshee shrieks away,
I cower, hoping not come what may,
Where's the sun and its almighty ray,
To cast demon astray and bring me blue jay.

With dawn feeling so far away,
I cringe, I tear and slowly pray,
To hear a mighty steed's neigh,
Who'll appear and sweep me away.

I rode on hidden paths and lost my way,
Met a jester, who's acting all gay,
Landed in a kingdom of far away,
Enchanting magic, keeping evil at bay.

I then stared at faces of fays,
Hide-and-go-seek amongst the hay,
I ran to them, I crave to play,
But they vanished and I said its okay.

For a knight, who has never slay,
Came to me and said "Hey",
A secret I'll share, but a price you must pay,
For once I'm gone, come back next May.

A map he gave, which will lead the way,
So I walked from Monday till the following Friday,
Finally, I saw it and shouted "Yay",
A sleeping beauty, there she lay.

I stroked her hair, like golden rays,
She opened her eyes, and began to say,
I've waited long, countless nights and countless days,
Let's go now, let's not stay.

Into the horizon, ever so bright,
Of orange and yellow but never grey,
She leans on me and holds me tight,
I kissed her cheeks, as smooth as clay.

A rude stray's bark,
And a grouchy toad's croak,
I woke up feeling stark,
In my four poster of oak.

The loveliest of dreams,
A dream so real, oh so real,
Coffee now, two sugars no cream,
And maybe later, a bowl of cereal.

Been having weird dreams lately ... some pleasant ones while others I'd be pleased to do without ... nevertheless, it reminded me of this piece I wrote a long time ago. Any dream intepreters out there??? ... Tell me what you think.

That 'melting' feeling ...

I used to gym almost everyday when I was back home but ever since being 'sold' to the Middle East for work ... I've been robbed of this 'luxury' that was once upon a time ... my temple of solace. There are gyms avaialble here ... good ones too but to fork out an equivalent of RM7000 for a year of membership ... now that's crazy talk.

Anyway, the point of this entry is ain't to whine about the absence of gym. So to make do, I've been trying to do jog around the villa area to try keep the jelly belly / muffin top at bay. Strictly damage control.

Mornings are my favourite time to run. Getting up before the sun rise is hell but once succeeded, the breath of fresh cooling air inside the lungs is a divine feeling like no other. The weather nowadays have been chilly to say the least and by the time I'm done with my rounds, the joints and muscles tend to be stiff ... almost robot-like.

This is where the best part comes in ... HOT SHOWER. The instant the blast of sizzling water droplets hit your body, it washes away all the rigidness ... it literally feels as if it's melting away and flushed down the drainage hole. All the stress of yesterdays cleansed ... leaving only the sparkling freshness of today. Now that's how I like to kick start my day. :) How bout you???

Arigato

To everyone who had extended their well wishes, words of encouragement and care, both SY and I, thank you sincerely. You know who you are. When emotions were running high, your support matter loads. Things are all well and good now. :D See you peeps when I get home soon.

If it doesn’t kill you, it’ll only serve to make you stronger

Gomenasai ...

Today, I did what I promised myself never to do. I hurt her. I became the person I detested in the past. I let the monster within surfaced and destroyed what I cherish the most. I viciously spat out hurtful words I would give anything to take it back. Words so carelessly uttered ... though wasn't meant ... can't be retireved. Regret means nothing now.

I fear this crime of mine, so hideously commited have scarred her. I vowed to protect and to love ... but now it's me who pulled the trigger. ME!!!!!!

The tears have dried ... but the eyes sting with heat.

I selfishly pray for this nightmare to end ... to stop the hurt. It pains me to see her hurting.

The pieces of my heart beats for you ... :'(

Abraj United

A couple of days ago, Khalid, our client's engineer invited my company for a friendly futsal match between both our companies. Hence, we laced up and headed to the Jordan Society Building, a 20 minutes drive away from our villa. Representing Abraj Cooling (my company la) were Zudki, JJ, Eddy, Kanesan, Latif, Amir, Prathap and yours truly. When we arrived at the open pitch, we were greeted by Khalid who embarassingly informed us that none of his other colleagues were coming. Apparently some forgot while others were fasting bla bla bla.

Well, less men more share I guess. :) We kicked off with a four on four while one waited on the sidelines. It was intense right from the get go and a few of em' shined over the rest. The star players included Zudki, Eddy, Amir and Khalid. After 30 minutes or so, players on both sides were gasping for breath like a fish out of water. I guess we need to work on our endurance huh. :p Players tackled, players skidded and players tumbled but all within the good spirits of the game. There was a moment where JJ and Eddy were caught doing the 'hanky-panky' on the pitch ... hahaha, you had to be there to appreciate the moment. :D

Goals were aplenty ... 5-5 at one point and the match was settled with a golden goal. Anyways, I trust everyone had fun and a rather good workout by the end of it ... so there were only winners after the final whistle. Besides, this worked well to bond the team and with this, a sports club of sorts was set up right there and then with funds collected to 'finance' future games.

Ole Ole Ole Ole ... Abraj Bolehhhh!!! *lame* :p

Noodle House @ Al Wahda Mall

The night before SY was due to return to Malaysia, I took her to Al Wahda Mall. I reckon it's the only mall she hasn't been to in Abu Dhabi. Famished, we headed straight to Noodle House. A very decent Chinese restaurant with authentic decor and ambience to put us in a happy appetizing mood.

From the kitchen staff to the waitresses, they were all dressed in traditional chinese attire and what suprised me was the music being played at that time ... a blend of Chinese classical, oldies and pop. The sounds of George Lam's Wong Fei Hung theme song made the both of us grinning silly in fond reminiscence.

The menu is however kinda limited variety-wise but they made up for it in terms of delish quality. Order cards were placed on each table and we simply tick the items we wanted on the aforementioned menu cards.

At the end, we decided on a bowl of hot and sour soup (our staple whenever we go for Chinese), tom yum goong, ma po tofu, thai chilly chickcen, salt & pepper calamari and steamed rice. Drinks came in the form of flavoured ice teas.

The soups both worked wonderfully in whetting the taste buds for the mains and the calamari's dip of chilly mayonaisse complimented its dish splendidly. The chicken tasted really flavoursome and authentic infusing a lot of chinese condiments such as ginger and lemongrass while the uniformly cubic to fu stir fried in ma po sauce went deliciously well with the bowls of steaming fragrant rice. A real yummilicious meal all together. :D

We enjoyed the food there and service was rather good too. I foresee us coming back here again plus they have a new branch opening soon in the spanking huge Dubai Mall.

2008 X'mas Loot

A rather belated entry this one. Simply to share with you peeps my 2008 X’mas haul. Parents got me a Hugo Boss XY Eau De Toilette. Younger bro, Shaun bought me Cecilia Ahern’s latest, This Gift (which I so nearly bought at the HK airport) while youngest bro, Ryan generously presented me with Anchee Min, The Last Empress and Where Rainbows End. Looks like I'll be a busy boookworm in the near future. Finally, I got a Mark & Spencer’s Autograph series Eau De Toilette, deodorant and aftershave from cousin Angie. Conclusion, people around me thinks I need to improve my vocab and that I stink ... literally. Haha. :p

So there you have it folks. What did you find in your X’mas stockings??? Did it made you go HO HO HO??? :D

A tribute from a son to his father ...

Yesterday, as many others ushered in the New Year with joy and laughter, a close friend of mine suffered the loss of his father. Hence, he wrote a short tribute to his dad as a token of rememberance and respect.

My Father

As I feel the keyboard under my fingers tip, I froze at the thought of not finding the right words to describe a man you know all your life.

My father, a man I (all of us) came to respect, turned to in times of despair, looked up to for inspirations, feared (when us “angels” accidentally got into troubles) and taken for granted but most of all loves very much. A man who lived life to the fullest and having his own principles in life, who barely barge from his belief. He has been described by many as being bold, brave and courageous but most of all for having a heart of gold.

Growing up, we often took our parents discipline, lectures and nagging as a form of disagreement in view or of irritations, only to realize how valuable those lessons are when we are on our own. There is just too many lessons that I have learnt from this man and I can’t think of any better than the following to epitomize the person that he is…………

(1) 12 or 13 yrs old I was, often after reading the newspaper, my father would cut out articles in the paper of peoples (regardless of race) appealing for donation or charity due to illness and disasters. He would then take RM30-50 and with the article, pass to his friend who happens to work for the papers to help submit his donation. Being the smart-alec at that time, I used to think that is a silly thing to do as the people are asking for ten and hundreds of Ringgit, how can a mere RM50 help them. Showing lack of wisdom, I told him what I thought and that day change the way how I feel about charity. My father told me that we human being must help each other whenever we can cause not everybody are as lucky as the next person. My contribution may be small but if the required people do the same, then a life might be saved and that is priceless. I always remember this saying; “If you can, always offer an extra place for someone during dinner, why waste leftovers when you can finish everything by sharing”.

(2) I have always admired my father for the many friends that he has, whenever he goes, there’s bound to be someone he knows. He has helped quite a few and a few has come to help or offered it when he did not even ask for it.

One day after school, I was having some problem with a friend and I complained to him that I do not want to friend this person anymore. Instead of being supportive, he taught me what being a friend is all about. Apart from family, one can’t live without friends, especially close friends. Making friends is easy but having good friends is not. Not only you have to respect, believe and be kind to your friends but the most important thing is to be honest to them. Sometimes your honesty may not be well received and may even be harsh but as long as you are true to yourself, then you have done what you can as a friend. Always remember that it is better to be told that you can be trusted than to assure people you can be.

As your last journey end at heaven's gate, your next chapter will begin ...

Your son,

Alfee

May you find rest and peace Alfee Sr. God bless ...