Everything Has Its First

On Sunday, 18th April 2010 at 9.30 a.m. I will be departing by Qatar Airways to Turkey. I decide that today, I should write something about it because this is kind of a huge deal for me. This is my first flight, and this is my first time stepping on a land that is not called Malaysia. This is my first time looking at clouds beneath me. This is my first time visiting a country that has been a dream since I was first introduced to it in my first year at university.

People traveling abroad often keep complaining about jet lags, panicky flight, bumping heartbeats, feeling like they're constantly being thrown up and down on the Space Shot at Genting Highlands. I don't know how it's much better or worse for me out there, but what I'm sure is, this is my first time experiencing those. The next time when people talk about feeling sleepy in the daytime, and wakeful in the night time after traveling, I'd know how to jump in and contribute my piece of mind.

Well then, 'til we meet again. See you in May. Wish me luck in my travels.

Little Friendships

"It's the little things that only I know. Those are the things that make you mine..."

Westlife's Flying Without Wings has been going around my head in this past few days. Perhaps because there is something that these two lines I quoted above want to tell. These past few days too, my thoughts have gone back and forth about the real deal with friendships.

If you take a look at any TV shows, what is the first thing that glue two friends together? It's more likely the huge conflict, life major problems, accident, fire incident, being kidnapped, murder, etc. Usually when big thing happens between the two friends in TV, then they become closer to each other, or develop best-friendship.

But in real life, the different thing is counted for. Take a look again at the lines I quoted above, and what do you understand from these lines? If you guess it right, it's about how small things, not major occurrence, but small things, like liking the same food at one particular cafe, or having the same opinion about human trafficking, always bumping into each other at a corner of a building, liking the same sports, knowing that he doesn't like jams on waffle, or learning that she likes to add colors in notes; all these things that are actually more likely to glue two friends together.

So, if you think that it's no biggie, that it doesn't matter, that that one friends wouldn't care, think again. Perhaps tagging your friend in a little note or status in Facebook, including one friend in a mass funny sms, saying 'hi' in e-mail, treating one friend a small warm cookie, sharing with your one friend a cool mango milkshake, or sitting down for awhile when bumping into your friend in cafe; all these do matter, more probably unconsciously, than consciously.

That said, take your time appreciating your friends by doing the little things that matter more because,

"Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things"

Clairvoyant Much

Something TV-ish happened to me a few days back when I was trying to get stamps for authentic copies for photocopies of my documents at Turkish embassy. When I went there, my Turkish friend, Alparslan helped me liaise with them and from their facial expression and voice tone, it didn't look or sound good. There were two officers working on that day and both of them had been amazing without my knowledge, especially I thought they were doing horrible job.

When one of the officers finally spoke to me in English, she said that to obtain stamps of authentic copies, RM35 was chargeable for each document and since I had 6 documents on that day, she charged me RM210, which was far beyond than my capacity. My face turned to something that technically showed, "I am strapped with money, lady! How am I supposed to pay it??" She actually could read it and asked Alparslan how my financial condition was. Of course he answered it wasn't good.

Then, because of my emotions, I became blind and somehow my emotions had been overinflated that I had the constant need to raise my voice to the level of yelling. The amazing part of these officers were they kept their professional and polite sense that they never reacted to my yelling. Then I went out to the place and I made it clear to Alparslan that I wanted to cancel all applications (yes, that was how emotional I was). Alparslan said that there must be something that we could do, there must be a solution. I made myself clear once again that it wasn't fixable and that NOTHING could be done to fix it.

Then, something hit me when Alparslan asked, "Okay, Taufik, tell me what kind of a solution that you really want to happen now?" I replied that those stamps were to be given for free, because of many good reasons I'd not want to list down now. Suddenly, a few minutes later, one of the officers called Alparslan and informed that he had talked to some people and I didn't have to pay for the stamps. He apologized for the inconvenience. I was very taken aback and never really thought how God materialized your prayers so quickly that way. I honestly believed how impossible it was for the solutions to happen, but then I hadn't learned that we weren't that much of a...

CLAIRVOYANT

No, we all are not clairvoyants. At best, we could predict the future by our knowledge in the past and present. Who are we to say what can or can not happen? Who are we to put ourselves in the position of giving up? We DO NOT deserve to give up. Perhaps that's why what is asked in the Day of Judgment is how much effort we have spent, not what we have got out of those efforts.

Then, I guess the common advices that I can repeat here after your sister, mom, or boss have said are be positive, and don't give up. It's as simple as it sounds, isn't it?