A heavenly encounter too many

It was one fine Sunday, by Bolehland standard. Bright bluish sky, cloudless troposhere , and with God's blessing you can see heaven staring directly into your eyes. The scorching heatwave and the hazy atmosphere caused by many 'secret' open burning, of which we should be thankful to the many 'expats' working in the construction industry didn't dampen my spirit to plan few family's weekend activities.

Last weekend my parent came back after two weeks performing their umrah to the motherland. My kids were really excited to go to the airport to greet their tokki and che' (nenek). The kids behaved very well and got themselves ready as soon as the sun started to rise. They even couldn't bother much to wait for their favourite cartoon show 'Hagemaru" to finish and with astonishing speed, seated themselves comfortably in the car.

We arrived earlier than ETA and have to wait for another two and a half hours before we could see the first glimpse of my weary but very contented parent. Ther recent outbreak of H1N1 put everybody into a higher alert state. A more thorough screening and some miscalculation on the ground staff in handling the baggages had caused the delay. It was a big relief though to see both were in a very good health. Even though my mother had just recovered from a flu, I was very thankful and glad to see her having steadfast recovery and as cheerful and compassionate as ever.

Another five hours of transit time before they embarked a domestic flight to the Keropoklekorland had given us ample time to get together and to catch up on many interesting things. As usual several common paraphernalia from the Holy land changed hands very fast in the airport itself. This included air zam-zam, dates and other dried fruits, par fumes and even jeweleries - things that every woman in this earth can't resist for. Even though I'd on many occasion reminded my mother especially, not to buy many thing (as in their previous trip - the dates she bought could feed the whole jemaah in our kampung for the next five year!), still my parent had to pay for the domestic excess baggage. Off they flew and we will see them again in the next couple of weeks, when I once again plan to visit my home town during this coming school holiday.

On our way back home, I stopped by at one of our blogger friend at Shah Alam to deliver some item she asked me to buy for her earlier. I purposely didn't inform her of our visit because firstly I didn't intend to stay long and secondly I wanted to surprise her. And a surprise we got as she was still donning in her weekend white 'bedak sejuk' - a rare sight to behold! Even her hubby look bewildered and was still yawning when he opened the door. Luckily he wasn't in his pyjama. Sorry Maria & Faizal for gatecrashing into your house! I know that was quite uncivilised of me, but given another opportunity, I would love to do that again :)

Having chuckling and giggling of the funny thought (cheeky me), I continued our journey back to Subang. It didn't take long for the karma to happen. A heavenly wrath befell on me, more precisely on my car. All of a sudden, the car stopped and the engine died at a traffic light not too far from my house. Having a similar situation earlier, I checked the fuses (fuel pump fuse) but this time the fuses were all intact. I suspected the fuel pump kaput beyond repair. Since I didn't have the correct tools to rectify the problem and nothing much I could do, I called my regular mechanic to tow the car to the workshop.

Even though I am a member of AAM, our Bolehland motoring association, a previous mishap experience told me it was better to trust my friendly neighborhood mechanic rather than waiting for them (AAM), dangerously beside roadside, not knowing how long it will take to reach you - sometimes it could be forever. My suspicion was later confirmed and it was a faulty fuel pump that caused a dent to my wallet.

Lesson of the day - never, never gatecrash into your friend's house (and having a very big smile after that) - because karma is just waiting to greet you anytime, anywhere. If not sooner, it will come to you later.

At last we saw familiar faces emerging from the crowd after a long waiting hour. It was a big relief to see both my parent managed to perform their umrah flawlessly. I was a bit relief also to see my mother didn't push any cart this time :)

My second son greeted his nenek, closely watched by my significant half. The youngest member of my family didn't realise the importance of this event, was helping himself with snicker - his lunch of the day.

There was a lot to catch up and a good few hours to kill before my parent embarked their domestic flight. Both my sons were too excited to see some exotic produces from the Holy land, unaware to their surrounding.

Earlier, my kids posing in front of an exhibition at the departure hall knowing that waiting longer down stair at the arrival hall will almost increase the chance to contract airborne bugs. These days, in that very hostile environment, you have to take all the possibilities into account. Even extreme measure like sticking cotton into your nostril!

When God says kun fayakun, all the creatures will obey and the car stop! Luckily we had a very good rapport with our neighbors, they ferried my family safely back home while I attended the car with my mechanic (seen here attaching a towing tool at the rear).