Beaches along the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia are heaven for aviation sports enthusiasts. The main attraction is the long stretch of white sandy beaches along the coastal line. The view from 500 feet above the ground looked like a straight road heading to somewhere mysterious, my favourite view while flying Paramotor here in Terengganu and Kelantan.
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Another lockdown. MCO 2.0.
A week into Malaysian MCO 2.0 (started 13 Jan) and seeing C19 cases in Selangor at its record high, close to 1,500 cases per day while total C19 cases for the whole country had reached its highest so far at 4,029 cases per day (today is at 3,631 cases). I am not sure how our battle against this pandemic will end, will we win or will most of us succumb to it.
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2 days more towards 2021. Cringe …
Even with C19, time passed by without slowing down.
2020 is almost gone while 2021 is just around the corner. Gone were all my unaccomplished plan for year 2020. “But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners.” [8:30]
So, how my 2021 would look like? Continue cringing … I guess 2021 would be as bleak as 2020.
Staying positive is hard but that is the challenge.
To stay motivated in 2021.
Cheers
MM
It has been a while since my last post. I am enjoying every second of my “stay at home” moments due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “I need my long rest from the outside world,” as I tried to convince myself to accept the fact that the C19 would be around for the next few years. And, I would be trapped here at home.
Call me paranoid, but I do not want to take my chance caught messing with the C19.
I am an introvert anyway. Home is always my heaven. “Changing your perspective changes your experience.” Stuck at home is not the end of the world, right?
Then, I started writing again.
I re-worded and re-organised the articles that I wrote for NST, all 36 of it on the subject of photography tips. Compiled it into an e-book and decided to sell it to generate some income during this hard economic time. “This is better than just sitting and complaining about my loss of income,” I told my BFF.
Yeap … 36 articles over the past three years. An achievement from someone who started from zero. A boast to my confidence.
Some sneak peeks from my Basic Photography Tips e-book. I made it simple, straightforward and presentable so that you won’t get bored while reading the 75 pages of the book.
If you feel that the articles could add value to your photography passion as it did to mine, support me by clicking the orange button above and buy my book there.
Extra careful y’alls when you are at the outside. Follow the SOP … 1 meter apart, mask on, sanitise your hands. Stay safe and stay cool under the mask!
Cheers!
MM
Fallen sick during the Covid-19 lockdown (MCO) was not an easy experience at all.
You’ll be treated as guilty with the virus until proven innocent. Especially when the symptoms relate to anything with sore throat or flu, regardless of whatever explanation that you have.
On 15.04.2020, I was unlucky as I developed an allergy reaction to “something” that I could not figure out at that time. The symptom was a sore throat. It started as a slight irritation in my throat for a few days but turned into a sore throat.
Since a sore throat was one of the SIN signs of Covid-19 infection, I was scared that I could be wrongly diagnosed if I seek help so I left it untreated. It went bad to worst.
When I tried to seek preliminary treatment from the nearby clinic, the doctor chased me away like I was a filthy dirty human infected with the virus without even bother to help. One of the nurses suggested that I get treated at the nearby private hospital instead. My throat was badly swollen to the point that I could not drink or eat at all for 2 whole days.
I am glad that I have a good health insurance. So, I have the luxury to check-in to the nearest private hospital. I seldom fall sick, alhamdullilah and a random visit to a clinic or a hospital is a rare occasion for me. Being admitted to a hospital as a suspected Covid-19 patient first rather than as an allergy patient was painfully difficult.
When the Covid-19 test came out negative then things started to get easier for my allergy to be treated. I was admitted for 6 days and treated for severe allergy due to late aka delayed treatment. Allergy to what?
The culprit is … Virgin Coconut Oil or VCO. Yes, the doctor was puzzled too.
I ‘think’ I had an allergic reaction to VCO. I took 2 tablespoons of the oil at night every alternate day for 2 weeks before the incident. And each time I took the VCO oil, it would irritate my throat for a few hours. My doctor asked me why I didn’t stop consuming the oil as soon as I felt the irritation. My answer was “I thought that the VCO is harmless, who have ever thought that the oil that has been well used for generation can create such havoc to one”.
Strange but true. I actually googled on any allergy incident after consuming raw VCO and yes, there were a few cases where people complained about throat irritation after consuming the oil.
Falling sick during lockdown (MCO) was a self-realization experience for me. I am not trying to create a “drama sangat” moment out of the incident, ok. But it is interesting to see things that randomly happened in your life from a different perspective.
“Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn’t matter. Explore the world. Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough.”
Richard Feynman
Due to the MCO (movement control order), cross-state border or interstate travel was restricted. During emergency case like mine, your loved ones could not reach you on time. And being physically isolated from my family, my loved one and the people that honestly cared about me during my most fragile time makes me rethink of how lonely life could be.
For an introvert like me, I don’t see isolation as a problem but being left alone when you are terribly ill to the point that one couldn’t tend to oneself is sad.
In the end family matters the most.
I do not own many friends as I don’t easily open up to people. But among those little friend groups that I have, I am blessed with some that helped me out during my sick days. Thank you and alhamdullilah. Jazzakhallah khairaa. May Allah (SWT) return your kindness.
There is always one spoilt apple in a barrel.
The one so-called best-friend-ever that showing your true color. All the sweet words and the sweet thoughts vanished through the thin air as I passed through my fragile moment. The thought that this gutsy girl has a Covid-19 symptom therefore she has the virus (because she wanders around a lot) overrule your humanity judgment.
Yep … that BFF abandoned me when I needed help to seek treatment for my near-fatal moment. Completely “krik krik krik” moment from your side. The virus scared the “toot” out of you, you damn scared that you would lose out when you helped me. It struck me that I had made a wrong friend choice.
I forgive you … my little friend. But hear this, that train has left the station. You have shown your true color. And your true color does not match my brilliant color. I shine. Ahhhh finally I managed to let out all the words that stuck in my chest to the open –live and learn!
Cheers
MM
MATSUDA MASHIMARU 