At this moment in time I am sitting in seat 12K of a Singapore Airlines flight traveling between Jakarta and Singapore. A handsome older man boarded the plane, sitting in an adjacent seat.
Me: I love the color of your hair.
He: I love yours too. Mine is natural
Me: So is mine.
We both have white hair which is very rare in these parts. Yesterday Baby treated me to a blow dry – so my hair looks most stylish. You shall see photos of me at my finest. It was slightly curly but the curl came out during the night.
I absolutely LOVE Singapore Airlines. They are the greatest. Shamir makes my plane reservations and does an excellent job.He is amazing, there are no two ways about it. (An idiom used to say that something is definitely true. This usage found on the web. “There’s no two ways about it; this is a significant, substantive change in the way this court carries out its constitutional oversight responsibilities.”— Jack Kelly and Matthew Defour, Journal Sentinel, 30 Aug. 2023)
When my WhatsApp was working Shamir and I exchanged good morning greetings. I had witnessed a beautiful sunrise from a huge bathtub, then was clad in a terry cloth robe made myself coffee and was texting him.
He: It sounds like Jannah on earth.
Me: Exactly it is. Unfortunately I am not dead and leaving this spacious Langham room and going back to Lyf.
A few minutes after my WhatsApp went, as the expression goes, south. Asked Google for the meaning of this and received this:
“It went south” is an idiom that means something failed, deteriorated, or took a turn for the worse. It’s often used to describe a situation, plan, or project that was initially going well but then encountered unexpected problems or outcomes.
Perfect use of the idiom. Everything was going great but then no WhatsApp. All of my communication is on WhatsApp – do not have a storehouse of telephone numbers for people. It was a disaster because Boy Man was coming to drive me to the airport but I was unable to reach him, unable to reach Baby. Helpful people at the Langham unable to get a verification code. In desperation I sent Shamir an email.
Got a strange message from an unknown hotmail contact.
He: I already inform Auntie Baby.
Had no idea what that meant during my moments of absolute panic, Langham staff suggested I hire one of their limos to take me to the airport as my flight was to leave in two hours. Handy credit card paid the way, off I sped.
A miracle happened, my phone rang. It was Shamir – said he used my other telephone number or something. Told him that all was well. It was for the strangest of reasons. Jakarta traffic is usually a nightmare, bumper-to- bumper, incessant traffic jams. It usually takes hours to get anywhere in this city. The riots/disturbances have had a beneficial effect. There is no traffic. We got to the airport in record time.
Another example of no traffic occurred yesterday when Baby generously treated me to a blow dry. She said the trip from her home took her 15 minutes, the usual travel time was over an hour and a half. Therefore, out of bad came good. The hardship/benefit wisdom of the Islamic Faith.
Now I am not exactly sure what great benefit is going to ensure from my WhatsApp dislocation. Shamir gently assured me that we will get a new phone plan or repair what is lost. Patience is absolutely mandatory and I do have to admit that patience is not one of my virtues. But steadily it grows and am amply rewarded, my patience is paid back.
I now have wifi connection and can get on Instagram. My goodness and incredible blessing is now with me. Alhamdullah.
An announcement that my August recap is ready.
They announced: You crushed it in August.
19 K reeks and posts, That is 178% more than July. Your content is really getting noticed.
53 percent from non viewers. That is 169% more from July .
This notification sent me thinking, determined and inspired. One particular post received 1.3K responses More than any other post you shared.
This was the post.
In Islam a child’s name is not just a label….it is a prayer, a compass and the very first gift parents give their child..
The post went on to say: And it doesn’t stop at names Mothers nurture faith in the home through something as simple as(and powerful) as bedtime stories. I even filmed myself reading one, proof That guiding the next generation can start with a story before sleep
When one swipes the post you see the book that I was reading from, coupled with this caption.
I even filmed myself reading one!! You’ll find it on my Youtube channel. Bedtime Stories by Alexis . Not a selfie, Shamir, my unshakable cameraman, kept the iPhone steady while I read aloud. Proof that storytelling really does take a team effort.
This so meaningful as that is the direction in which I was heading but did get a bit sidetracked. Readers will need some background. Will search for that and then I promise to Allah, that I will do what I am destined to do. Get with it, I will.
This is being written the next morning, from my perch at the breakfast bar of Mojo where I have enjoyed their Eggs Benedict Gravlax.
Somehow Shamir was able to do everything to insure my smooth arrival back to Penang. I was met with a driver as Shamir gave him my other number. Shamir called twice to see if everything was okay – then after I got back to Lyf I was to call him and he said he would come and fix my WhatsApp.
Guess what?? He did like magic. He has particular gifts, we laughed about them by text this morning. Shamir sent me an amazing GIF. We had reached a compromise (at my suggestion.)
I got joke of the day, he said. (You will hear it later). Then he sent me a funny GIF (you will see it later).
He: Perfect and sent me a GIF of two ‘people’ shaking hands.
Me: Which one an I. Oh the one with blue eyes. Amazing how you do this.
He: Yes the blue lens.
Me: Allah has made you the greatest GIFer of all times. You should have prayed for something else, Stupid. Anything else actually Hahaha
He: Yes, Hahaha I got the useless gift. But Allah knows best.
Me: No dear. It is a great gift and Allah does know best.
He: True. Your gift is being a genius and I got a gif gift.
Me: We are a great team. I am a fancy rear-end intellectual and you remind me that I also have a sense of humor. And actually you are very smart too. Extremely so
He: Danke
Then some personal stuff. You do not get to eavesdrop on all of our texting conversations, and none of our personal conversations. Hahahaha
But here is my joke of the day.
Me: I have a riddle for you.
He: Shoot
Me: How is laughter and Covid the same?
He: Both have a positive result.
Me: Hahaha Almost
He: Tell me. Hahaha
Me: They are both contagious.
He: OMG that’s good. I need to call the funny police. Because u kill me.
Then he sent the funniest GIF ever.
That led to me getting the joke of the day award and he the GIF of the day award. Such a team!!! Rather unlikely. Totally – the chance of our meeting each other like a billion to one. It HAD to be Allah. A lot of hardships along the way, but good is prevailing over evil, truth over lies, joy over sorrow.
Photographs include two of the Langham Jannah on Earth, one of a cake with Hope you will be back soon from Fiona of the Langham, then one of me with great blow dried hair courtesy of Baby and the award winning GIFs. By the way, In Shaa Allah I will be back at the Langham soon. I met with Stella of the Sales Team, asked for and received a special rate. Shamir agrees that I ned to be writing. The conditions at the Langham are ideal – the peace of mind and existence from there are superb. All praise to Allah
