Kammys Musing

Blog In Colour

  • 7th day of Ramadan

    • We are on the 7th day of Ramadan 1447 Hijr and a few days of summer left in Perth (summer officially ends on 28 Feb).
    • For summer, those are just dates. It will still be warm for the next few days, if not weeks as we transition to autumn.
    • I have been inundated with evening works, so I’ve been missing taraweeh for a few nights.
    • So far we have been blessed to perform iftar/break of fast at different venues.
    • Need to get back on track with my eating and sleeping pattern, I have been pretty “undisciplined” as well.
    First night of taraweeh at Iqro Centre Perth, WA.
    • It reminds me that as humans, that’s how it is – there are ups and downs.
    • What’s more important is how we continue to strive, to get back up after a fall,
    • A good article I read recently reminded me that our act of worship in the month of Ramadan is a marathon, not a sprint.
    • We want to build the consistency up to the last days/nights of Ramadan. Especially the last 10 nights.
    • I pray that Allah grant us strength, health and time to make our worship Ramadan way better than past years.

    Until then, stay hungry, stay consistent.

    , , , , ,

  • My approach to budgeting

    • I’ve been privileged to read and learn from a few so called financial gurus.
    • In my case, they are Mike Wachowski, Ramit Sethi & The Barefoot Investor (Scott Pape).
    • I own their books and at time, gifted them to my kids,
    • If there’s one lesson all 3 shares the similarity, is that you need to automate your expenses/savings.
    • Setup one transaction, say $50 every 25th of the month from your main account to your savings account.
    • Boom you are done. Just watch the money grow.
    • This can also be done to several “buckets” – holiday, emergency, education.
    • Just make sure you have enough cash in the main account.
    • Be disciplined in “not touching” other accounts for reasons not related eg taking Emergency fund for your 5 days Bali trip. Come one man! (In the voice of Charles Barkley the basketball commentator).
    • Over time, you’ll start building more confidence. Then you can increase your bucket savings or the number/type of buckets you need.

    Until then – start saving, start living.

    , , , , , , ,

  • Rindu yang tak kesampaian

    • Nak iftar tadi, Asyalin cakap “it’s nenek’s birthday today😍”. Ingat pulak tu.
    • 22 Feb tahun lepas (2025) mak sambut hari lahir ke 81.
    14/12/24. Wedding anak sedara (cucu lelaki mak).
    • Masa tu dia dah lemah sangat. Tidur aje, dah tak makan, cuma masuk susu ikut tiub hidung.
    • Sebelum2 tu aku pernah tanya mak, rindu tak pada bapanya (Hj Ketot).
    • Mak kata, ye rindu. Tapi kalau rindu orang hidup, kau masih boleh telefon, tulis surat. Boleh berhubung.
    • Rindu pada yang mati ini, tak tau nak ke mana. Tak boleh nak buat apa. Jem.
    9/9/24. Main doktor2 kat KK Tengkera. Lepas u naik ambulans admitted GH 🙂
    • Adik beradik mak 8 orang; sekarang yang tinggal 5. Itulah tempat kami menumpang kasih, merasa lauk masak rumah, dengar kisah2 lama.
    • Sepupu aku ramai, tak usah cerita. Meriah duduk minum kopi bila berhimpun.
    • Ada kawan mak dari zaman kerja polis pun kami masih berhubung. Sesekali dapat melawat, layan sesi air mata dulu.
    • Mak aku ni boleh tahan garang. Sepupu aku panggil “Champion”:)
    • Tapi di hujung hayat, dia banyak mellow down.
    • Ada sepupunya di Klebang Kecil meninggal. Dia kata, “Nilah yang tidur sebantal, main sama2 dulu. Gaduh macamana pun, mesti berbaik balik”.
    16/7/24. Selepas melawat jenazah di Klebang.
    • Masa aku ada isu dengan bisnes partner aku, dia yang beria suruh berbaik. Walhal aku rasa kalau dia sendiri, memang tak nak kalah:)
    • Dia teringat sepupu dia kat Sabah; katanya kalau ada rezeki ke sana, cari lah pak sedara tu.
    • Dia dengar cerita orang gaduh anak beranak/adik beradik, dia kata “mana lah ada orang benci anak sampai macam tu”
    • Dah setahun berlalu, macam2 kisah ada. Aku azam ambil yang baik2 sahaja.
    19/4/24. Mak check out IKN Putrajaya, aku nak gi check-in balik Perth.
    • Tadi (Ahad 22/2) lepas Subuh tidur, pun ada mimpi jumpa dia & adiknya (Mak Lang). Kami ke Kuala Kangsar melawat bapa angkat aku, Pakcik Yahya. Pun telah dijemputNya Sept 2025.
    • Ada tourist hartawan aku kenal masa 2017 kata :
      • “Kamarul, kita ni kaya macamana pun, paling kuat pun nak pergi tempat sama je – London lah, New York lah, Paris lah etc. Berpusing situ je.
      • Jarang kita dengar orang nak pergi Uganda ke, Nigeria ke (negara2 Afrika).
      • Syurga lah target kita sebaik2 nya.”
    • Aku suka dan aku pegang ayat2 tu insyaAllah.
    • Moga Ramadan ini lebih baik buat kita dan dihimpunkan semula dalam syurga Firdhausnya. Ameen.

    Until then, stay hungry, stay grateful.

  • Saying goodbye to our family car

    • We sold our family car this week – a spacious, ‘classic’, reliable 1998 Honda Odyssey.
    • We got this car within a year of us arriving in Perth; making it a longer family member than our 2 younger kids.
    • I joked with friends about the age of the car – “the year Anwar Ibrahim (current Malaysian prime minister) was sacked from his position – he was deputy PM at the time.
    • We have travelled far and wide in Western Australia with this car. One time, a friend drove it further than we ever had – to Wave Rock:)
    • Took my family and in-laws to the beautiful Busselton/Margaret River region over one weekend. Little did we know that the AC compressor was kaput – no wonder the air wasn’t cold. Blessed my family and in-laws, they never uttered a word of complaint.
    If only the car could talk.
    • With me taking the bus or hopping a ride to/from work with colleagues, the car has been sitting around most of the time these few years.
    • The past few weekends I would park it at my office. Come Sunday morning, I’ll run from my house to the office (about 10km) while my wife is on her bicycle (rescue team if you like). We’ll then chug the bicycle to the spacious boot and drive back home.
    • I thank all who contributed in us owning, maintaining and being together with us in the journey with the car.
    • We had the opportunity to help others through this car – we are blessed and thankful.
    • I pray that the car would serve its new owner in many more years to come.

    Until then – stay hungry, stay moving.

    , , , , , ,
    , , , , ,

  • Welcome O’ Ramadan

    • Ramadan is the 9th month in the Muslim calendar and the current Hijr year is 1447.
    • Thursday, 19 Mac 2026 marks the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan for Muslims around the world.
    • There are places where Muslims starts earlier or later.
    • Muslims believe that our good deeds are rewarded multiple times in this holy month, so you may encounter people people making extra efforts in this much ie prayers, donations, feeding the poor, feeding the breaking of fast in mosques etc.
    • “When the month of Ramadan begins, the gates of the heaven are opened, the gates of Hell are closed, and the devils are chained.”
    • In a nutshell, daytime activity –
      • No food, no water, no smoking, no intercourse. Dawn to sunset.
    • Nightime activity
      • After breaking fast, we will offer additional prayers after the night prayers.
      • There’s a flurry of night time activities around the mosque
    • It is called the fasting month, but if you travel to Muslim countries, Malaysia for example, it is actually a “feasting month” 😀
    • There’ll be food markets/stalls opening 3-4 hours before the the break of fast (Maghrib) time.
    • There are also food usually cooked and found in shops during Ramadhan. Oh what a blessing.

    Until then, stay hungry, stay fasted.

    , , ,

  • End of a streak

    • I looked up at the clock beside the TV – “12:36am”
    • Aww mann, I forgot to put a post on this page.
    • There goes my “36 day streak” of a daily post.
    • I know it’s bound to happen somehow; it was only a waiting game.
    • In my case, I got a bit sidetracked with a public holiday, catching up with friends, food, nap. You name it.
    • So how do I avoid this again – or at least make the next streak longer?
    • I need to have a better system of posting a blog entry.
    • Currently my strategy for weekdays were to write something and schedule a post at 5pm.
    • Moving forward, I’ll try to allocate a specific time of the day, just for writing something out. No dragging for hours. Just sit, write and post.
    • Wish me luck. And yeah, welcome o’ blessed Ramadhan.

    Until then – stay hungry, stay fasted.

    , ,

  • Empires come and go…who will be next

    • Just came back from viewing “The Voices of Hind Rajb”.
    • 355 bullets shot to a car, and when the ambulance came, even the paramedics were slaughtered.
    • Only 12 days after that were the bodies recovered.
    • The paramedics helpdesk were not on te ground, per say, but even they are getting PTSD.
    • Has been and will always be disgusted with evil empires.
    • We will remember the complicit ones.
    • We will remember the hypocrisy and double standards.
    • We will remember the lies, manipulation.
    • History has shown, that empires, no matter how big or strong, will reach its time limit.
    • It might not be in my lifetime, but the time will come.

    Until then – stay hungry, stay strong.

  • What I am currently …..

    • …Watching
      • The Witcher Season 2 (Netflix)
    • …Reading
      • A Very Short History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict (Ilan Pappe)
    • …Listening
      • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Audible)
    • …Planning
      • family trips for 2026 (while avoiding school holidays)
    • …Preparing for
      • Ramadhan 2026 (starts 19 Feb 2026)
    • …Youtube-ing
      • Simple cooking shows of steaks and chicken
    • …Testing for supplement
      • Magnesium in tablet form. I heard that they are good for muscle recovery.
    • …Clearing Out
      • Old, unused, damaged stuffs in the house.
    • …Doing on early Sunday mornings
      • 10km run
    • …Rehydrating
      • LMNT (especially after the Sunday run)

    Until then, stay hungry, stay sane.

    , , , ,

  • Flexibility in making plans

    • We planned to drive to South Perth foreshore this morning with the bike in tow.
    • Once parked, with my wife on the bike and myself running, we plan to complete a 10 km round route traversing through Perth CBD, South Perth and Victoria Park.
    • Couldn’t get ready on time, so we changed plans back to our routine path.
    • Half on our normal route, the other half is just a circle back to our place but via a different path.
    • I love taking different routes every now and then; makes it exciting and fresh by looking at new scenery.
    Reminds me of a scene from “No retreat, No surrender”. Hero chasing is friend on the bike.
    • Just like life, we can’t always get what we want.
    • There are times when we “just bulldoze through” our original plan. Persistence would be the word.
    • Then there are times when we just accept our shortcomings as humans, that our plan simply cannot move forward as we hope. This requires one  to adapt to changes.
    • I believe there are merits in both ways. The tricky part is to tell which action to take – being persistent or being flexible.
    • Experience and willingness to accept advice from others would definitely help when one needs to decide the best course of action at different times.

    Until then, stay hungry and stay persistent.

    , , , , , ,

  • Slow is smooth… And a torture.

    • My current aim for Saturdays are to do some weights/resistance training.
    • With the coming Ramadhan month, I’m curious on how I should schedule my gym sessions. Closer to iftar/breaking of fast I reckon.
    • Based on some videos I saw online and the instructor’s guide, there are times when you go slow and there are times you go fast.
    • Today I tried several things. First, I went slow on some reps and it was a torture.
    • If only I could see internally how my muscles stretch, snaps…and then repairs itself.
    • I tried out working out without any meals prior or any electrolyte before/during/after workout. Just a few sips of water from the water fountain.
    • I even went into the sauna afterwards for 15 minutes.
    • My break of fast was a cup of coffee at 1030am, then some noodles with meat at 11am.
    • Took a nap at 2pm for 2 hours. Even on a tiled floor with a thin carpet, it was a really good rest.
    • I guess with age, the level of rest/recovery needed is way more than when you were younger.

    Until then – stay hungry, stay consistent.

    , ,