I just came back from my Saturday pasar tani routine this morning, sorting out things in the kitchen when I heard the James Bond ring tone from my hand phone. That’s my PLWHA-assigned ring tone. Since Fuzi had been calling me very frequently of late, I thought it was Fuzi again, and my first thought was, “Wonder what problem she has now…”
To my surprise, when I got hold of my phone, I saw Ifa’s name instead. I haven’t been in touch with her for quite some time now.
Remember Ifa? She was one of my clients who did not have enough support from her family, particularly her father. Due to her problematic teenage years, her father lost his trust in her and even said “Biar dia mampus” once when he got fed up paying for Ifa’s medication. Thank God, later the medication was given free.
Ifa had at one time suggested to me that she wanted to stop taking medication so that she’d just die and therefore would not trouble anyone anymore. I told her then that if she didn’t take care of herself, she’d trouble others even more!
Due to the lack of family support, Ifa became such a pessimistic person. During the early months when I got to know her, whenever she called me she’d usually cry because she got so tensed up with her family, particularly her father. Thank God her mother was supportive enough to keep her going. Ifa back then easily fell sick. When I suggested that she should maybe find herself a job to keep her busy so that she wouldn’t worry so much about her HIV, her 2 main excuses were:
- She felt too weak to work
- Her father didn’t trust her enough to let her go out and work.
I remember for our 2006 Family Day in Teluk Batik, I had to personally seek permission from her father to let her come with us. I had to put on my most angelic face then…
Last year for the Family Day at Lost World of Tambun, I simply couldn’t get hold of her. Whenever I called her at home, she was not in and the guy who answered the call sounded as though he wanted to eat me up…
Back to the present… when Ifa called me this morning she asked if I could fetch her as she wanted to come to Ipoh to go to her sister’s house. Since I had not met her for quite some time, I thought it was indeed a good idea for me to fetch her and then send her to her sister’s house. At least I can get some updates on her.
So this afternoon I went to meet up with Ifa. And guess what? The Ifa I met today was a totally different person.
I was happy when Ifa told me she’s now working as a shop assistant at an electrical shop. She is no longer staying with her parents but instead renting a room at the small town where she works. To answer my curiosity, I asked her direct how she got permission from her father, not only to work, but also to stay by herself.
Apparently, too many people, including the doctor, had been asking her when she’d start working. It seems everybody else but her father had suggested that she should find herself a job to keep herself busy. Her mother finally managed to coax her father to let her work.
And the results I must say, is truly amazing. Ifa says she now doesn’t want to even think about her HIV. There are others who are worse off than her, she says. And she doesn’t easily get sick as she used to. Last time all you had to do was to sneeze right in front of her and next thing you knew, she’s down with the flu! But nosirree! Now, she no longer has to worry about that. She’s a much tougher person this time, physically and mentally.
Ahhh… positive thinking… at last! Positive thinking is the best medicine, don’t you think?
What’s that you say? Laughter is the best medicine? Well yeah, maybe, but sometimes if you laugh too much people may think you have gone nuts!
Speaking of going nuts, I think at times people may think I have gone nuts too. With my bluetooth piece worn at my ear hidden underneath my tudung, and my hand phone hidden inside my pocket, sometimes when I answer calls, I may look as though I’m talking to myself. Nobody could see the phone, nobody could see the bluetooth ear piece. All they saw was me talking. Worse, if the caller makes some jokes and I end up laughing myself silly… ALONE!
Aiyohh… what a scene… I must have looked like a makcik-gone-bonkers! Yikes! Look what technology has done to me!!
To my surprise, when I got hold of my phone, I saw Ifa’s name instead. I haven’t been in touch with her for quite some time now.
Remember Ifa? She was one of my clients who did not have enough support from her family, particularly her father. Due to her problematic teenage years, her father lost his trust in her and even said “Biar dia mampus” once when he got fed up paying for Ifa’s medication. Thank God, later the medication was given free.
Ifa had at one time suggested to me that she wanted to stop taking medication so that she’d just die and therefore would not trouble anyone anymore. I told her then that if she didn’t take care of herself, she’d trouble others even more!
Due to the lack of family support, Ifa became such a pessimistic person. During the early months when I got to know her, whenever she called me she’d usually cry because she got so tensed up with her family, particularly her father. Thank God her mother was supportive enough to keep her going. Ifa back then easily fell sick. When I suggested that she should maybe find herself a job to keep her busy so that she wouldn’t worry so much about her HIV, her 2 main excuses were:
- She felt too weak to work
- Her father didn’t trust her enough to let her go out and work.
I remember for our 2006 Family Day in Teluk Batik, I had to personally seek permission from her father to let her come with us. I had to put on my most angelic face then…
Last year for the Family Day at Lost World of Tambun, I simply couldn’t get hold of her. Whenever I called her at home, she was not in and the guy who answered the call sounded as though he wanted to eat me up…
Back to the present… when Ifa called me this morning she asked if I could fetch her as she wanted to come to Ipoh to go to her sister’s house. Since I had not met her for quite some time, I thought it was indeed a good idea for me to fetch her and then send her to her sister’s house. At least I can get some updates on her.
So this afternoon I went to meet up with Ifa. And guess what? The Ifa I met today was a totally different person.
I was happy when Ifa told me she’s now working as a shop assistant at an electrical shop. She is no longer staying with her parents but instead renting a room at the small town where she works. To answer my curiosity, I asked her direct how she got permission from her father, not only to work, but also to stay by herself.
Apparently, too many people, including the doctor, had been asking her when she’d start working. It seems everybody else but her father had suggested that she should find herself a job to keep herself busy. Her mother finally managed to coax her father to let her work.
And the results I must say, is truly amazing. Ifa says she now doesn’t want to even think about her HIV. There are others who are worse off than her, she says. And she doesn’t easily get sick as she used to. Last time all you had to do was to sneeze right in front of her and next thing you knew, she’s down with the flu! But nosirree! Now, she no longer has to worry about that. She’s a much tougher person this time, physically and mentally.
Ahhh… positive thinking… at last! Positive thinking is the best medicine, don’t you think?
What’s that you say? Laughter is the best medicine? Well yeah, maybe, but sometimes if you laugh too much people may think you have gone nuts!
Speaking of going nuts, I think at times people may think I have gone nuts too. With my bluetooth piece worn at my ear hidden underneath my tudung, and my hand phone hidden inside my pocket, sometimes when I answer calls, I may look as though I’m talking to myself. Nobody could see the phone, nobody could see the bluetooth ear piece. All they saw was me talking. Worse, if the caller makes some jokes and I end up laughing myself silly… ALONE!
Aiyohh… what a scene… I must have looked like a makcik-gone-bonkers! Yikes! Look what technology has done to me!!
19 comments:
Kak Pi,
People like Ifa is indeed hard to come by these days. People who are just don't care, that is a whole different story lah.
Have a nice day, and don't laugh sorang-sorang too much hehehe.
Akmal:
Frankly speaking, when I first got to know Ifa, I thought she'd never get out of her depression due to the lack of family support. Indeed it was quite a pleasant surprise to see a more positive attitude coming from her.
And oh, I'll try not to laugh sorang-sorang too much. Cakap sorang-sorang okay kot? :)
Pi bani, now many people are seen to be talkingt o themselves - hands all over the place! Kalau dulu, yes, memang tak betul di atas tu kalau cakap sorang.
anyway Pi bani - keep up yr good work..behind tudung and baju kurung and everything - good things are being accomplished.
Kak Teh:
If I was holding the phone in my hands, taklah rasa weird sangat bercakap sorang-sorang... but when everything also hidden, tu yang nampak ganjil sikit tu. But I guess now if ada orang yang sungguh cakap sorang-sorang pun, orang ingat tengah cakap talipon kot... :)
Helo Kak Pi,
Ya...support and positive thinking is important. It can make or break a person.
Thank God she is doing well now.
Blue tooth some time can be something....few times i thought a person was talking to me but they were using blue tooth....:)
Haha! Kak Pi...
Makcik giler ya? No worries...We all do it...I actually do talk (and a lot of muttering) to myself, and sometimes don't realise I'm out in plain sight...=)
As for Ifa, cool! Yes, positive thinking does alot of good...The mind can be 'fooled' by pumping in plenty of good or bad thoughts...
If you believe you're good, you're good...If you believe you're not, you're not! ;)
Nightwing:
You too tricked by bluetooth, eh? I guess they may be times when people think I was talking to them too...
Daphne:
Hmmm... no need bluetooth oso you selalu cakap sorang-sorang ka? Never mind, let's just call it "thinking aloud".
And yes, you are what you believe you are... except for people who are nuts - they usually don't believe they're nuts... hehehe...
Salam akak...
U have a good medicine there akak...
Wah ada bluetooth eh balik tudung...patutlah sebatang gigi warne biru...ahahahaha...
Glad if is positive about her life now..yesterday I read a book about Expect A Miracle and one of the stories is about someone with HIV who was able to beat her odds...all is with her faith and stronger belief in her God and religion...See where faith takes us actually...itu pun medicine gak tu...
You tengok2 keliling tau bila nak gelak sorang2...hehehe
Raden Galoh:
Betul tu... if your faith is strong, the positive thinking comes quite naturally. And it can do wonders!
As for nak tengok keliling bila nak gelak sorang2, ish... kalau dah nak tergelak tu mana sempat nak tengok keliling dah?!
good to hear tht Ifa is working now and tak sedih sorang2.
Pi, once (here in cali) i saw this middle eastern woman driving with something sticking out of her tudung. it was her phone! she was talking on the phone and i think malas nak pegang while driving so she just place the phone celah her tudung. hehe.
Salt & Tumeric:
Farina, letak phone celah tudung? Tak payahkan that middle eastern woman, this southeast asian woman pun pernah buat!! Kira handsfree lah tu kan? Yep, done that... :)
I guess I'll never know will I, unless I wear a jilbab (apasal di Indo what Mayshians pass for tudung is called a jilbab?) to find out.
What I do know is you're not alone in cakap sorang sorang. At least you have someone at the other end. I have no one. Does this mean that I'm...?
*Arrggghh....*
P/S Are you sure the ring tone isn't MI Pi? Ha, lagu apa! :)
Mat Salo:
Selalu cakap sorang-sorang eh? Takpe lah, people may just think you're talking with someone on the phone. Jangan pegang kasut you buat macam phone dah lah (macam cerita Get Smart!)
p/s
My ring tone all theme from movie or TV series... James Bond for PLWHAs, Beverly Hillbillies for fellow volunteers, MacGyver for office-mates, SWAT for business clients, etc, etc. So dengar lagu je I dah tau which group of people yang call...
makcik-gone-bonkers?
i think i may hv seen u driving around before
ha ha
just kidding
zz
anonymous(zz):
What do you mean just kidding? That MGB (makcik-gone-bonkers) you saw could have been me! Haha!
But if you're talking about an MGB driving recklessly, nope, it wasn't me lah... hehehe...
Haha, I can see you talking and laughing to "yourself"!! Ya, I am sure some might have thought you were nuts! Hahah, such a funny thought!
Puteri:
Tu lah pasal... after the phone conversation baru nak terfikir what people may think of me...
The thing is I don't like to use handsfree kit yang bersirat tali sana-sini! Bila pakai jenis wireless dah lah pulak orang ingat I punya wire upstairs yang putus!
As'kum. This is my first time visiting your blog and I couldn't agree more on positive thinking. I have been practising it lately and alhamdulillah it works to an extent.
Keep up with your goo work.
P/s. With the technology now I think people will assume you are on the phone when you 'cakap sorang2' but its even worse if you hold a phone on your ear and pretened to cakap to someone but actually no one. hehehe
ydiana:
Wa'alaikum salam and welcome to my blog.
Eh, kalau hold a phone to your ear and pretend to talk to someone, tu kira kita sorang je tau. Others won't know we're nuts... unless tengah cakap-cakap tu suddenly the phone actually rings!!
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