I knew from the very beginning that this was going to be an unusual day. I remember the Walter Cronkite preface: This was a day that would alter and illuminate time and you were there.” Well I was definitely here, no doubt about that. It is already unusual and it is only 11 20 Malaysian time – the worst time zone in the world if you want to reach the United States or Canada or London. Night and day is almost switched. But not everything is perfect.
Began the day with Fajr prayer. Then made coffee, sipping it contemplating my magnificent view. I shall attach a photo of the grey day that faced me. So instead of taking a photo I looked to an app on my iPhone QuranFaith.com finding this absolutely inspiring message: On the Day He will call you, you will ‘instantly’ respond by praising Him, thinking you had remained ‘in the world’ only for a little while. Quran 17: 52.
I am so comforted by those words despite the fact that at this moment I live an entirely blessed life. My blessings so numerous it is impossible to count – definitely do try to keep track as I give constant prayerful thanks to Allah (SWT).
The night before Devi had sent a message (Devi is Mohan’s sister and my tailor). Rather than sending a photo of the glorious sunrise (which was non existent) I would send the message to the growing group to whom I say: Good morning, followed by: Good evening. There used to be none, then one, and now six. Pretty soon I am going to have to use birth control to control the population. This is the message I sent.
The first response from Fazil: Alhamdulillah. Good morning. I wrote back: Fantastic to hear from you. I am facing a minor crisis. I think my pet lizard is dead. (More about that catastrophe later) The second response from a recent acquaintance Joan
She: Thank you….by faith we believe.
Me: Yes!!! I love your response!! Fazil the first to respond. He said Alhamdulillah Good morning. So Praise be to God. The same response as you basically, You a Christian, he is a learned Muslim
Then Shamir chimed in.
He: Good morning.
Me: Hi Guy. Been an eventual morning,. Yours is response three. Fazil number 1. Joan the woman that sort of looks like me at the restaurant was number 2. Sent it to six people.
He: Wow. Hahaha So I will pick you up a 10:30.
Me: Perfect. I will be ready able and willing to roar.
Mohan responded with two stickers. One saying Good morning. The other saying Thank you. We exchanged voice messages about our day.
The fifth response was from Din (my driver, who is retired and like most retired people he needs extra cash. I pay hourly) . I sent his response to all of the responders.
It was amazing how this all came together with everyone making contributions. The road forked at this time. Devi did send another inspiring message that was also sent to all. But we shall speak now of the forked road and the ongoing saga of my pet lizard. As I said to Fazil.
Me: I am facing a minor crisis I think my pet lizard is dead. I will take a picture and send it. He (Or she) is on the floor. Sent the photo with the caption (not moving)
He: (two laughing emoji) A natural death
Me: I may have contributed. I have the death of a pet lizard on my hands because I sprayed some ant stuff around. And maybe it ate the ants. If it keeps laying there I suppose it is dead. If it is gone it is alive, And then I will have to figure out how to dispose of the body. It is not easy having a pet Haahaha
I left the apartment, going to Shamir’s office and then to the Kashmir Restaurant for lunch. Of course, I spoke of the dilemma to Shamir. He then volunteered to add another task to his extensive list of job responsibilities. At that moment it was pet lizard funeral arranger. I shall get ahead of myself in this story telling by sharing a text with Fazil/
Me: The lizard story has a happy ending. EXTREMELY FUNNY. I am freed of guilt and responsibility with Shamir’s help. PHEW You solve wold problems I handle the domestic front with Shamir’s help.
He: How did he solve it?
Me: It is SO funny. I will send you a voice message but I have to be able to tell you without laughing or you cannot understand me (you have said in the past).
This the voice message
Me: So Shamir gave me a ride home after lunch. I told him about the lizard problem. And so he said do you want me to come upstairs and help you with the lizard problem. So I said yes please I guess we have to give it a proper funeral. Haha . So he came up and we looked for a minute it looked like it was moving. But he looked closer and said the ants seem to be moving it. Then he said get me a piece of paper and I will get it up with a piece of paper and then we said what will we do with it. We decided we would just throw it over the balcony. That seemed the best thing. In a minute I will tell you but I will laugh too hard and you not be able to understand me. Where would I be without Shamir?
So then another voice message to Fazil
Me: The question is this it might have been alive but it is not very happy. Why live it is a miserable existence? I do not know but I do not think a lizard has consciousness. I do not know but I do not think so. But when he threw it over it did not go all the way down to the ground, It ended on a balcony a few stories down. SO we decided that basically we gave the lizard a new home. So the lizard has a new home if it lives. And if it dies it is their problem. Hahaha. I no longer feel guilty. I am happy I gave it a new home with Shamir’s help. My life is so improbable. It is, that is true.
I used to WhatsApp in the past, using my real name. But I was communicating with people that lived in other countries, whom I had met but would not see again. They did not keep up their end of the conversation. So to get rid of a man who was taking up a lot of time I just deleted the app. He could not be bothered to email me, so that was the end of that. However, after living in Penang it became easier to be able to use it to communicate – first with my driver and then with other people, like Shamir and Mohan – now Devi and increasingly others. We talk constantly but I also see them all the time. The only exception is Fazil who lives in KL now. But that is only 45 minutes by plane. He has reasons to come back to Penang and I have reasons to go to KL (the Canadian consulate, banks, friends I made on my last visit there, the masjid etc etc etc. Whats App is a tool that can be used for good, or for bad. Just like anything. One can enhance a relationship with WhatsApp – but it cannot be a substitute when you spend too much time talking with a stranger and not enough time with the people around you.
We shall now move to another topic (“thank goodness” you are saying). The most unusual thing happened the other day. I was in the lobby waiting for Devi to pick me up for lunch and an air fryer purchase. A young couple were also there waiting for somebody or something. I went over and starting to talk to them. She said her husband thought I was cute. I just laughed and gave them my blog business card. You will not believe this, but it is true. Her name is Joanne Alexis. That is her last name. What are the odds of that?? Two people, not from Malaysia meet accidentally. One whose first name is Alexis and one whose last name is Alexis, whose husband thinks I am cute. Of course. we had to take selfies. Mine ended up in black and white and will be attached to this blog. Then another selfie of an interesting woman visiting here. Such fun I am having. Then a photo sent to friends, entitled the rejects. I bought a pair of shoes for walking on the beach. Tried on several pair – finally got a pair that fit perfectly for half off. I am going to start walking on the beach every morning rather than staying in and writing the blog, my habit for years and years and years. But it is so good for me and I am meeting the most interesting people. Perhaps Allah (SWT) is telling me that I can have a rest from blog writing. We shall see.
