A little Intrusion Anyone?

Pleasant looking? Chirpy and friendly? The answer is still.....NO!!!!

Pernah tak kita terfikir dalam kehidupan sehari-hari berapa kerap privacy kita kena ‘invade’ tanpa kebenaran, samada dalam sedar atau tak? Tah kenapa ari ni I was really irked bila some dude called me to offer pakej insurans. Yang pertama......hellooo! Where did you get my number? Nasib baik dia polite in the conversation but how about the usual attempt at small talk......."Apa khabar? .......oooo abang sambung belajar? Bagus tu", then followed by some probing questions..... "Umur berapa yer bang? Anak berapa? Gaji berapa?"....... then finally we came to the very reason why he called me…."Kita ada pakej insurans ni….pre-approved…bla..bla..bla. Abang cuma perlu setuju dan kita akan buat semuanya". Anyway, this was not the worst of them all obviously. Nasib baik dia cakap baik2, ada tu dengar kita tak interested terus hang-up.....bengkek betul!!!!

Kita tak ada pilihan kekadang tu, nak marah tak sampai hati…….tapi bila orang dah kata tak berminat dia tak faham2 lagi. Yes, I’m a little soft-hearted when it comes to dealing with these strangers telemarketing people so I normally try not to be rude and just say that I’m not interested. Camna nak interested dengar ceramah pasal “penternakan ikan Arowana yang ditaja oleh kementerian so and so......yang diadakan di Teluk Intan......or was it Taiping” when I am actually in KL and has no intention to leave the government any time soon. These Arowana farming folks have called me at least 5 times already. So if any of you Arowana gang read this......STOP CALLING ME OK!!!!

Dan yang satu lagi ni keep calling me to offer a special package since I’ve been such a loyal customer of Visa or Mastercard or whatever. Ok..... So since I’m such a good customer how come you need to verify the name of the bank that issued me the cards and had the cheek to ask me for the 16-digit number on those cards. I guess I’m not such a great customer after all. Bugger off and......STOP CALLING ME OK!!!!

How about the emails, FB messages and sms saying that I’ve won a zillion dollars and just begging me to simply reply in order to confirm my prize. Then I guess I must also thank my lucky star bila ada heir of some super rich folk who died recently yang tersangat desperate nak transfer duit berzillion dollars masuk my account sebab tak nak kena re-possessed by whoever. Wow......kena panggil 007 ni utk selesaikan nih. For you guys who have sent me such messages......get a life and STOP BOTHERING ME OK!!!!

Then there’s the flyers in the mailbox, promosi yang diselitkan dalam newspaper........Nak ubat kuat? Nak buat loan tapi blacklist? How about........kehidupan saya susah dahulu tapi setelah berjumpa so and so......di lokasi so and so..... kehidupan saya terus berubah menjadi kaya raya!!!!!! Yeah, I wish it were that easy.......dan boleh pula mintak tolong sebarkan. Tolong ler….LET’S SAVE THE PLANET AND USE THE PAPER FOR BETTER THINGS SHALL WE???

Ni apa kes? Cantik ke? Ada korang yg buat keja ni kisah ke?  I guess not:(

Some even hired amateur actors menyamar jadi students ke, budak praktikal ke kekonon buat survey......then dengan muka terkejut teramat sangat......."Abang, woo you suda menang ini satu kereta...... saya amat terkejut kerana saya sindri tida pena melihat sesiapa memenangi-nye” Then he called his “supervisor”......dan kata “supervisor saya juga amat terkejut kerana dia sindri tida pena melihat sesiapa memenangi-nye”. Come on!!!! I then said, let’s do it this way. How about saya sedekah pada awak kereta tu sebab saya tak perlu pergi ke so and so tempat untuk jumpa supervisor awak. “Abang, you jangan mara sama saya maa......tadi orang ruma belakang suda mau hantam sama saya” and guess what......”Abang bole kasi saya ayir ke, mau minum suda penat jalan jauh ooo”. Ini macam pun ada ke? LEAVE ME ALONE OK!!!!

Tapi yang kekadang hati saya jadi lembut ialah bila ada mereka yang datang minta derma di stesen minyak ke, jual keropok dari rumah ke rumah ke, kutip derma di shopping kompleks ke dan macam2 lagi. Saya tau kekadang tu ada kemungkinan mereka ni ada sindiket yang berselindung di sebalik kaedah “minta derma” ni tapi bagaimana pula kalau memang betul2 mereka memerlukan? So rasanya yang penting niat kita ikhlas untuk bersedekah, dan kalau yang menerima tu buat tak betul itu biar mereka jawab dengan Tuhan. Amalan kitapun masih banyak kepincangannya hopefully dengan bersedekah secara ikhlas dapat jugak kita tingkatkan pahala.  So bila rasa ikhlas saya bagi, tapi kalau terdetik macam rasa sangsi dan curiga......saya just cakap "tak pe, terima kasih.....atau it's okay, no thank you" berulang kali sampai the person goes away.

Anyway, I know yang saya akan berterusan kena approach dengan pelbagai kaedah untuk jual barang ke, minta derma ke, minta sedekah ke, atau untuk diperdaya. Harap2 the last one tu dijauhkan Tuhan.

Sebenarnya just mumbling away coz saya sedang mengalami “mental block” untuk menyiapkan assignment yang saya dah tau apa yang nak ditulis, bagaimana nak menulis cuma tak dapat transform them into words yang sesuai untuk short essay of 2500 words.  Tengah2 tension tu pulak tiba2......you guessed it, a telemarketer called...lagi ler tension.:)

Anyway, I just wish essays boleh campur bahasa rojak like I just did for this entry.  Sonang kojo den.  U faham apa yang saya explain kan, so what's the problem kalau my essay if of mixed language? Hahahaha..... Kepada those fanatic advocates of Malay language or even English language for that matter......sorry kerana tak guna proper bahasa to communicate.  Hahahaha, just gimme a break ok. Tolong jangan ganggu saya, atau cuba2 call me........GO BOTHER SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE OKAY!!!! (pun intended).

Causes for an ‘Absolutely Normal’ BP Reading

My latest BP reading post-Solat

 

I encountered a little health scare recently.  During my encounter with the back pain incident a few weeks ago (link to the entry here), I also discovered during the admission check at the military clinic that my Blood Pressure (BP) was high.  The staff said that it was probably due to my being in pain and the anxiety I felt from my ordeal.  The Doctor who took my case also observed the high BP but she said in order to be sure I must conduct BP monitoring routine for at least two weeks.

And I did just that.  My father-in-law has a portable BP kit at home so I borrowed his.  So for the past two weeks I’ve been taking my BP at a three times a day interval.  Alhamdulillah, although some of the BP readings were fairly high the first few days during my recovery from the back pain, they have pretty much returned to normal trend now and have consistently remained there.  I have also rejuvenated my enthusiasm to lose weight and exercise more often following the ‘gentle’ reminder about this potential health risk.  With my late father’s long history of having high BP and my mother currently under medication for the same problem, I must consider myself being in a high risk category due to hereditary reason at least.  So less food intake, less fatty and oily food, more vegetables and fruit.  I am also adding a new routine of taking apple cider twice a day to add to my already established habit of taking Quaker oat in the morning.  Good stuff this apple cider I tell you….. if you can stand the smell and taste that is.

The most enlightening discovery from doing this BP monitoring has been on how my BP can actually dip to the ‘absolutely normal’ zone due to two activities.  We are talking 108/68 here folks with my record lowest being 104/64.  That’s my systolic/diastolic readings, just Google it to find out what they mean. 

Predictably, one occasion when my BP regularly drops is after an exercise.  I usually take my reading a little over an hour after coming back from an exercise.  That’s done normally after completing my warm-down routine, a short 10 minute session of putting ice pack on my knees to reduce pain and swelling (I’m a PCL surgery survivor and experiencing early ‘osteoarthritis’ so swelling and pain are my loyal companion now), followed by shower and light dinner.  So far, although my heart beat is still between 80-95, the BP reading has been a nice one to look at.  Yeah!!!

The most surprising discovery however is how both my BP and heart beat can go down to the ‘absolutely normal’ zone shortly after..........performing solat.  Initially I thought it was a coincidence but it has happened quite a few times now (those few times that solat didn’t have the same effects were probably due to my own less than khusyuk state while doing it).  My yet again another encounter with absolutely normal BP reading post-solat just now has convinced me that praying to the Almighty has led to this incredible effect.  I know I don’t have the scientific proof to show it (must do it in a controlled environment, must also have means to rule out the other probable influencing elements ie food, rest, pressure, must get it published and verified etc. etc.) but I’m absolutely convinced nonetheless.

There are new things to be learned every day.  And for that I am thankful.  Alhamdulillah.