Day 1 - West Wind hits the road again

It's the first day after the West Wind came back from repair. It has got new RD (Acera) from Shimano as the good 'ol Tourney was bent and damaged. 

West Wind used to serve as a commuter bike from Desa Anggerik to IBL. Just a few weeks in his service, Tourney had to give way due to irregular (kinda rookie) cycling and shifting by its master. 


Inspired by TdF, Leadville 100 and some other prominent races, West Wind was sent to TrailRiderMad for repair after more than 18 months of dormant hibernation.


And the cycling starts today, regardless of Ramadhan. Well, its only about 7 kilometers P17,P3 and P18. Not too bad for a start. Plus, M bought me Folker F1 helmet, one more reason to cycle today. 

Hope that this journey will continue (istiqamah). Vamos H!

in retrospect

      old display set of dining table 
      cheapest dates for ramadhan
      inflatable mattress
      minced meat
      floor mat from nilai 3
      empty living room
      proton wira
      many more...


dear God, we do realize how life's improving and things are moving. your blessings are countless, that impossible for us to count every single one of them....

Enter Ramadhan

“…enter ramadhan, the gates of Heaven are open, the gates of the Hell are closed and the evil devils are chained…”                                                                       (Bukhari, Muslim, Nasaaei)

Ramadhan is very special. Not particularly because after that we have Eid, ramadhan's full of blessings. 

Beside the fasting, iftar and taraweeh prayer,Quran was descended in this month, al-Qadr lingers among nights of ramadhan. We are more prone to do good deeds in this blessed month.   

Culturally, in a muslim nation such as Malaysia, ramadhan is much celebrated. Mosques are filled with activities, and people. These bring good drive for many relatively inactive people to go to mosque or to multiple his prayers at home. Most people fast (non-muslim find it a good time to diet), and they can fast for 12-13 hours a-day, better than committing the daily 5 times  prayer.


Free food is everywhere, just you be in any mosque upon maghrib. For the people of business, this could be a month of good return too. Smokers can stop smoking for at least 12 hours, and many would find it weird to do bad deeds. 


Well, tomorrow is the first day. Hope for a great day. Dear God, bless us.

Uncle Cotton Pillow (Pakcik Bantal Kekabu)

it was late when we left Fendy's wedding (we were actually delayed due to happy shopping merry-go-round at amcorp mall). on our way back, not over the highway, we stopped at a stall (well, a small shop by the road would be a better description) to buy cotton pillow. 


it was no one as we slowly looked at the hanging pillows. well, cotton pillows are good compared to pillows made of synthetic fiber, duck down is not suitable because it is always hot here. later came an old man (not too old maybe) from the back of the shop. he is uncle cotton pillow.


"sorry, i went for the toilet. i thought of closing, but here you are. so, what are you buying? have a look first, we can discuss the price", said uncle cotton pillow. 


he was pretty talkative, or we can better say entertaining, asking we we from and such. my better half also bargained a good price for two cotton pillows. kinda good, i think, as we drove home happily, two fat pillows heavier, leaving RM 62 to uncle cotton pillow. plus we learnt that there are three typical types of cottons (for pillow); the gold -, the dry- and the cheap cotton.


despite all, we were touched as he told us his story. he was in service, a navy. just retired few years back. you know that these people have some extra allowances during their service, he had a business. he owned a petrol station in cheras. he was pretty "buck" those days. 


he told us, he can't sit in a proton, he didn't do warung (roadside stall selling food). he drove either merc or bmw with his income above 25k a month. decent, flashy life. 


but in god's will, he became a loan guarantor for someone. that someone went away in the dust, we supposed, leaving him that time with a large amount to pay on that someone's behalf. he was in a deep trouble and later declared bankrupt. 


that bankruptcy brought him back on earth, right at his cotton pillow roadside shop. he said what happened taught him, made him a better person. he is now an easier to be approached man, uncle cotton pillow, unlike mr. petrol station. he talks to people with respect. he learn to know god.


he told us, "if you want to seek tranquility or if you want to release some steam out of your mind, don't look for music, karaoke, dancing or whatever therapy you might know. just wake up deep in the night, perform tahajjud prayers and recite zikr. maybe you'll find what i've found".