the fortune-teller...?

As usual, my weekend is almost incomplete kalau tak pergi merayau kat tesko dekat rumah tu.  I was pushing my trolley along the pet food area when i saw an old man choosing a bag of cat's food.  I assumed he's about CikguMat's age, clad in a blue shirt with a kopiah on his head.  I pushed my trolley passed him, loaded the 8kg cat's food into my trolley and was about to walk away when he called me.  I stopped and turned, tried to be polite to an old man.


He asked me how long will the food last for my cats.  A difficult one to answer since the food is not for my FCs.  Those are for the cats at the parkings, PK's parking lot and mine, and also for any other stray cats and sometimes dogs.  So, since he suggested a time frame, i pun ye kan aje.  He looked at me and said that he predicted that i'll be going for umrah next year.  I was shocked.  Nganga kejap.  He said one of the cat will pray for me.  Okay...i tak percaya pada predictions2 ni semua; of course we can't, syirik tu kan.  Anyway, prediction yang ala2 baik gitu made me just said...Insyaallah.  He continued describing 'the cat', the one who'll be praying for me.  I assumed that pakcik ni sangat sayangkan kucing dia, one of them died sebab accident, and he was wiping his tears as he told me.


Pakcik ni ajak i sembang lagi, pulling my trolley along with him.  He asked about my work and if my husband loves cat too.  I could've just lied kan, but i see no point in lying to an old man.  So, i told him that i don't have a husband.  He told me that i was lucky since he is the only one in his family yang suka kucing.  He told me that kucing dia selalu mengadu kena pukul dengan penyapu.  Haaa? That part buat i mula rasa takut.  He went on predicting that i'll be married in two years time.  He described almost everything about 'the man', his hair, height, perangai, plat motor, macamana i yang akan selalu marah dia (kesian betul, belum apa2 dah ada orang predict my husband asyik kena marah...hahaha)...etc... See...sapa tak takut kan?


I offered myself to return something that he doesn't want to the shelf, hoping to excuse myself from him.  He reluctantly handed the ikan kering to me but still pulling my trolley along with him.  He predicted few other things but in the end i managed to free myself; clinging so hard to the ikan kering takut dia ambik balik and pushed my trolley in a different direction.  I don't even know where the ikan kering belongs in the supermarket, so i just dump it somewhere and continued my shopping.  I must've been thinking a lot about the old man that i forgot a few things in my list; turned my head a few times...mana la tau tiba2 je muncul kat belakang or mana la tau if i was only imagining the conversation with him.


Anyway, i saw the old man again when i was queuing to pay for my things.  So, at least i knew that i takde schizo ke apa, that he really exist.  I tried to avoid looking at him takut dia tunggu i nak bersembang lagi.  I don't want to be rude, lagi2 dia orang tua, but i'm not comfortable with predictions.  I don't know if he really 'saw' things in my face or he's slightly mentally ill or whatever the reason yang menyebabkan dia cakap benda2 macam tu, but i hope not to continue the conversation.  I never want to know my future, betul ke, tipu ke...i just don't, not anymore.  Dulu I always thought that seronok jugak kalau tau what'll happen in the future, adakah hidup i akan senang or susah, with whom will i be living with, how will i look like...macam2 la, but now i know that knowing the future is not something yang seronok.  You'll tend to worry and hope for the thing to happen/not happen and along the way, kita akan kurang berusaha.  But, no worries...i don't believe apa yang pakcik tu bagitau, and it doesn't affect me in any way.  I just hope that kalau dia betul2 di anugerahkan dengan kebolehan tu, he'll use it in a proper way...jangan le tetiba approach orang yang tengah tolak trolley kat pasaraya; or kalau dia ada mental problem, i hope family dia akan treat dia dengan baik, and of course tolong jangan pukul kucing dengan penyapu lagi... hmmm...

f r i e n d s

 I saw my friend's requests and suggestions at my pesbuk today.  Ada la dalam 20 orang semua.  I have no idea what to do.  Some are from my school days, some from uni days, ada jugak yang nak berkawan sebab dia awek my brother (adakah nak mengambil hati kakak ipar...ohh!), ada yang suggest anak sendiri and ada jugak yang i memang tak tau dia tu siapa.  Those from my old-days tu was mostly suggested by friends.  I can hardly count berapa kali je kitaorang berkata-kata masa zaman sekolah dulu and i wonder if there's anything to say or talk about in pesbuk.  I know some are proud by number of friends but i think, apa la gunanya memenuhkan wall sendiri dengan benda2 yang kita tak bother nak tau pun.  Some might think that i ni sombong & memilih kawan.  Apatah lagi sekarang ni kekawan sekolah ntah macam dirasuk apa, asyik2 ada gathering, kejap2 potluck, kejap2 jumpa, sat lagi ajak bday party anak, tak lama lagi berjumpa-jumpaan dekat dengan sekolah & ada visit to maktab lak tu.  I am interested to go back to maktab, saje nak tengok macamana rupa dia sekarang, i reckon the building must be old, asrama dah tak cantik lagi, tempat dating2 dulu dah nampak macam tak best...but, to spend the night bersama kawan2 yang i dah tak berapa kawan...macam tak best je.  Tak cukup dengan invitation kat pesbuk, i dapat sms lagi, bukan satu, tapi dua orang yang hantar...ohhhh.  I ni betul2 anti-sosial kan.


In my opinion, being friends di alam internet ni doesn't give us the opportunity to show our ability to be real friends.  I know that i'm willing to be around if i'm needed, to lend a hand, to share my ears and shoulder, to give opinion when needed...and it can happen when u are face to face with that person.  Of course you can always email, sms ke apa tapi only on certain occasion that i think we can be good friends dengan orang yang kita tak jumpa, contohnya macam kita dah memang kenal lama & rapat dengan orang tu.  Kalau setakat dah 20 tahun tak berjumpa, nak kawan2 di alam cyber ni i don't think it'll work.  Not for me at least.  I know i have friend that'll only look for me bila ada hal, meaning hal2 dia la kan; and it is only of his/her interests.  There are times that made me feel annoyed, but then again...it is all about being sincere kan.  We try our best to be there for them but since we can't rely on them, so we can always turn to other friends for attention.


People may become friends simply because they are in common current situation, share same interest, common background etc...but it takes more than just a 'hi' or 'hello' to become very good or close friends.  Doesn't have to be someone of the same gender, ethnic group or religion.  A true friend should be someone who can support, sympathize, built your self esteem and to be able to encourage you in every aspects. It is all about share and care, being honest and understanding.

I believe that having good friends doesn't only apply to humans; i know my Cipoi has her own best buddy, Tam-Tam.  Kawan yang baik is different from kawan baik.  Kawan yang baik can be a really nice and good person, but he/she might not have what it takes to be a good friend.  Kawan baik is someone that you know will always be there for you; someone who you can call at any time of the day if needed, be it at two in the morning pun, kalau rasa nak call, you know you'll be entertained.  I know how does it feels to contemplate and hesitate just to make a call; worried that my call would cause stress, depression and mood commotion, thus affecting me after that but, we can't expect everyone to suit themselves to our needs kan.


I'm grateful for being blessed with such wonderful friends, and to have a great best friend, whom i can always count to cheer me up, make me laugh and always make me feel better about myself ~ ~ ~