"A Little Fun in Tangkak"..........

Roses are forever....

It brightens up life in moments of hardship and occasional tribulations. As I enter into the final stages of life, I became a little less troubled by difficult times. Alhamdulillah, I have friends around me who are well read and well experienced and learned in many facets of life who advised me how to live life "comfortably" in spite of difficult circumstances.

So one morning when my friend in Tangkak suggested that we should look for a new house to ease out some of the problems we have in staff-housing for SmarTop, I was more than excited to agree.

So we drove around looking for a reasonably "comfortable" house not far from our Pre-School with low rental. By the grace of Allah we found one in this beautiful neighborhood, at the foot of Gunong Ledang....almost!

That is the mosque for the neighborhood...a place of peace and tranquility.

The rent is rm400 a month and we consider it reasonable considering the fact that it is a new house and we are the first tenant.

It is a small house by comparison but it serves our purpose. But soon we were saddled with the problem of how to furnish the house. Our personal bank account is almost in the red and the school is also facing a deficit in expenditure.

We literally stood still for a few days, but we were determined to go ahead somehow.

But how.....

We started sending S.O.S messages to friends and relatives looking for soft loan. My husband thought it was a crazy idea if not totally a bizarre one. All our resources are for the school and there is no way we can depend on it., and here we are trying to rent an unfurnished house and "have fun" at the same time. But we believe that there is no harm trying. Maybe some "miracle" would happen.....

True enough.....praises be to Allah alone. Alhamdulilah. My son whatsApp me and was happy to give me some kind of a launching grant, and payable when able. Later he told me it was a donation. I was very excited and told my friend to get started to buy things  we needed. I was in Petaling Jaya and she did all the job. 

She went hunting tirelessly at second hand stores for beds, dining tables and all that were needed.

Great!....Eureka !

We bought the air conditioning system brand new, though, paid by installment because we did not have a choice. But the rest were second hand stuff or bought at impossible bargains. 

Then the "fun" started.

The owner of the house promised to change the toilet facilities for the second bathroom from the 'traditional' one to a 'modern' one but took too long. So for sometime we shared the main bathroom. It reminded me of my hostel days at school when we have to 'queue'.....

Then my bed bought at a bargained price collapsed the first time I sat on it...
Who would believe this.We went to the store and had a "quarrel" before we could return it with our money back. We laughed together as we left the store. We never did that before. It was an unpleasant experience but it was 'fun' if we look at the bright side of things.........

This my 'new bed' donated by a friend.  A nice old vintage ...
But strong and stable. And I need not worry about it collapsing under my weight...hu..hu..

My friend has yet to find an appropriate new alternative bed for herself. She slept on just a second hand mattress. We smiled at the episode...
Who would believe at our age we went scrambling for second hand household things. I supposed that is what sacrifice is all about....

Our gratitude for what Allah has made things possible for us  is beyond mention. Allah is all knowing and all Caring...... and this new house is a perfect fit for our purpose.

So we had a thanks giving dinner before the school holidays began to share our gratitude and happiness with our close relatives in Tangkak and our teachers and staff and their families. We sat on the floor as we have no table and chairs, and no means to rent them. We had chicken cooked western style for a change prepared by my friend's daughter. It was an amazing get together amidst jokes and laughter at our way of doing things.

Alhamdulilah....We are now almost perfectly happy with our new house by the lake,  about 10 minutes quick walk from our house and half an hour's drive from the foot of Gunung Ledang, a tourist attraction, local and foreign. It is the highest peak in Johore state of Malaysia and if you are lucky you may get a peek at the mountain's Legendary Princess, Puteri Gunung Ledang.

Come and see it for yourself..... A little adventure in a small town which my friend likened it to The Payton's Place, a popular TV series some two decades ago.

Come and visit us, we can try to go fishing at the lake.....my friend can take you fishing and I can make you sandwiches..... 

And may Allah watch over us with His Guidance and  Blessings.....

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