Larian Kardio...

The media coverage tells it all.

It was a success - do read about it here.

Thank you to all who had supported this noble cause.

The amount collected as stated in the newspapers was as it stood on the event day itself. Contributions are still coming in.

Something that I want to share that really touched Ayah's heart - DYTM Raja Nazrin, Raja Muda Perak, donated RM100,000 to the Tabung Kardiologi, which brings the total collection to more than RM340,000! Ayah also relayed to me that the organizers had a pleasant "shock" when they opened the collection box a day after the event. They found a personal cheque for RM10,000 written by the son of one of the heart patients treated by the Cardiology Team at PPUM... God bless him, and all who had donated - big or small.

To those who still want to contribute, it is still not too late. The fund is still open. Please visit their website for details.

Thank you again, and Wassalam...

He dreams of me....NOT!

It's 3:15a.m, and I'm supposed to be sleeping, but I feel that I have to just write this now.

Ayah had planned to finish some work tonight, but he just could not open his eyes. Well, I can't blame him - he came back from the hospital at 4:30a.m yesterday, slept at 5:00a.m, and woke up at 6:15a.m, because he had to be at Sri Pentas by 7:30a.m. Meaning - he only had 1 hour and 15 minutes of sleep in the last 42 hours or so!

I insisted that he get some sleep and I promised to wake him up after two hours. He went to bed at 1:00a.m, and I decided to do some work on the computer while waiting for the two hours to pass (I did not want to sleep, as the chances of me hearing the alarm after only 2 hours of sleep would be very slim - they say that we would be in our deepest sleep in the first two hours?).

At 3:10a.m, I gently tapped on Ayah's hand and asked him - "Yah, do you want to wake up now and do your work? Or do you want to continue sleeping till 5:00a.m? I'll re-set the alarm for you, if you want?"

To which he answered, "It's okay, just let go for now..."

And I was like, "Huh?!" and I asked , "Let go?" I was smiling away and decided to play along and layan his "mamun". Hehehe!

"Nak let go apa, Yah?", I asked again.

And he said (eyes still closed), "Hmmm...no need to approach them yet for now".

I was trying very hard to control my laughter, but, I prompted Ayah again, "Errrr...approach siapa, untuk apa, Yah?"

"Untuk Larian Kardio", he muttered, and suddenly he opened his eyes.

He looked at me - somewhat confused. I looked at him - even more confused. And both of us started laughing!!!

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

.....and he went straight back to sleep after that....

So, when I wrote "he sleeps, he eats, he drinks, and he breathes Larian Kardio" in my previous posting, I forgot to write that " he also DREAMS of Larian Kardio"...

Bless him.

P/S : Zainal Abidin (YES! THE Zainal Abidin) paid a surprise visit to PPUM Cardiology Ward yesterday to show his support for Larian Kardio and spent quite considerable time with heart patients and staff there. Read about it here and here. You can also watch the video of an interview with him here.

It's here again...

The school holiday.

What does it mean to me?

Well, for a start - I won't be going to my office the whole of this week. I am still on my study leave and my work time is flexible. I have brought home with me materials to work on (and HOPEFULLY) I can do some work at home. We won't be going anywhere this time around as Hanna will be sitting for her UPSR exam the first week of September.

Secondly, when I said "home", I meant our (own) SD home and NOT Mak's house in PJ which normally would have been our weekday home. We would normally only sleep over at SD on Saturday nights - that's ONE night in seven. But, we've been home in SD for three days now... and I have to admit that I have not been able to do any (official) work thus far. This is because -

Thirdly, when we're home in SD, without any maids around - that means I become the "bibik" for the whole week! So, for the past three days, I've been sweeping and mopping the whole 2 1/2 floors of the house everyday, I've been tidying up the kitchen and the rooms, I've been cooking, I've been doing the dishes, I've been doing a bit of "gardening" (to those who have been to our house they would know that this should not be a big deal because we have an extremely mini garden, BUT to me, any gardening chore IS a big deal irrespective of the size of the garden!!!) I have also been doing the laundry, BUT have not been doing any ironing! So, you can just imagine the heaps of clothings in the ironing room waiting, pleading and beckoning to be ironed...

Fourthly, I can spend more time with the kids. I can cook their favourite dishes, and I can sit down with them when they do their revision, or practise playing the piano, and I can even sit down and watch "Spongebob and Squarepants" with them. In fact, both Ayah and I even had time to bring them to watch the Finals of the Youth Champions Cup at Bukit Jalil between Manchester United and Juventus last night. We support neither team, but a friend had free tickets to give away, and we thought - "Why not?" So, off we went - Ayah in his Newcastle United jersey, Hanna in her Chelsea jersey and me in Ayah's Barcelona jersey, Hasya and Hilman, errrrrrr..... in Barbie top, and HotWheels T-shirt respectively - supporting Juventus just for the night simply because they were playing against Man U...(Hahaha!) The results - too sensitive to be mentioned here...

Fifthly, I can go on my treadmill everyday here in SD. (Or maybe I should say "I should be going on my treadmill everyday, but, so far have not had the time and energy to do so?!") Excuses...excuses...

Sixthly, our grocery bills, and our utility bills will definitely be higher over the holiday period. The kids will be opening the fridge door and checking the contents every 5 minutes. I was in TESCO just yesterday, stocking up the pantry and fridge, but, by the look of it, I might have to make another trip to TESCO again this Wednesday! And when the kids are allowed to take a break from their revision and/or reading storybooks sessions, the PC will be on, both ASTROs will be on, and not to mention Hanna's CD player blaring Good Charlotte, Green Day, Simple Plan, Avril Lavigne and Linkin' Park back to back! And of course, when we're home 24/7, the airconds will also be on (nearly) 24/7...

Seventhly, despite the above - the school holiday means BLISS to me... because I'm home! Hey, at least in my own little ways I can still enjoy the school holiday with my kids...

Hmmmm....did I mention what the school holiday means to AYAH? Well, he sleeps, he eats, he drinks and he breathes LARIAN KARDIO... Bless him. (And that's another reason why we're not going anywhere this holiday! Hehehe!) It's less than a couple of weeks to go, and he and his team have been going all out for the last one month to make sure that it will be a huge success. Have you registered for the charity run? If you haven't, please do. The guys behind the scene have been working day and night and have not had any holidays at all for the last few months, going all out, giving their all for this noble cause... And we - we just need to register, pay RM15, and run (or walk) 5.5km, get FREE health screening (first come, first served - for the first 1000 visitors), FREE CPR Demo, FREE cardio exercise Demo, FREE entertainment (Anuar Zain, Zainal Abidin and Farah Ashikin OIAM are also supporting this effort and will be singing on that day!)

You might have the whole of this school holiday to think about it, but, why wait? Make a difference. You'll probably save one heart patient's life with your contribution without even knowing it...

Wassalam...

Matters of the heart (patients)....

I'm doing my bit to support Ayah and his team at UMMC a.k.a PPUM a.k.a UH to promote the upcoming Charity Run a.k.a Larian Kardio organized by their Cardiology Unit with the support of other units and departments at the hospital and University of Malaya.

The event will be held on Sunday 2 September 2007, with the objective of raising RM500,000.00 for UMMC's heart patients fund, to help heart patients who are less privileged and who cannot afford even the subsidised costs of treatment.

Those of us who may have had personal experience, or with our parents, uncles, aunties, relatives or friends, etc., would know that more often than not, in the event that an angiogram and angioplasty have to be performed on the patients, the costs would be REALLY high. To some, the amount may be insignificant. But, to MOST people - the fact that they could or could not afford the treatment is a matter..... of life and death...

The Larian Kardio will be a 5.5km run within University of Malaya's campus and running through its beautiful Botanical Garden a.k.a. Rimba Ilmu and DYTM Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah Ibni Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah, the Regent of Perak Darul Ridzuan, and Raja Puan Besar Perak Tuanku Zara have graciously agreed to be the Guests of Honour and officiate the event at 7:00a.m that morning.

There will also be a Health Fair, which will include free health screening (blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose checks, etc.,), cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) demo, blood donation drive, poster exhibition, free dietetic consultation, etc.

And check this out - Zainal Abidin, Anuar Zain and Farah Asyikin (OIAM) will be there, too, to show their support by doing their bits for this charity drive, i.e. doing what they do best - SINGING!!!

In short - macam- macam ada...

It is the hope that the Larian Kardio will kickstart the effort to help these patients.

It is the hope that the public could rally around to achieve this objective.

It is the hope that YOU could be part of this noble effort.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE visit their official website to find out more about this charity event.

SEE YOU AT THE LARIAN KARDIO!

Be there, or be square...