Refreshed with Restart

Another year has passed. Another year has come. Alhamdulillah. The resolution this year will be.... nah.. frankly, I'm never good with this. Year after year I made promises I never keep, so this year I'd say, Let's play along. Yes, fate has already lined up some plans for me for this new year, and boy, I can imagine that this year too, will fly by very fast.

The eve of New Year was spent with Habibi and his gang (Adam & Hossam), in the most absolute memorable way. We were invited over to Adam's (Habibi's tunisian friend whose Moroccan wife is away for a holiday break) for a dinner invitation. I cannot tell you why we love to be invited by Adam so much. Well, firstly, he is really the most talented man in the kitchen that we know. When we saw the fettucine (with 2 choices of sauce) on the dinner table we thought, Ok, that was it. No, it was more like, that was it?? That is not very Adam. But that was better than what we were going to have at home, leftover pizzas we have bought in the afternoon. But Adam did not dissapoint us, he told us only at the end of our last strand of fettucine to save our greedy tummies for the next suprise. Then we were just bowled over - mixed grill bbq (bbqed on his new electric bbq in the kitchen), and the list of accompaniments and dips, not in any order - Hoummous, Baba Ghanoush, Curry with Quark dip, Yogurt dip, Potato salad and God knows what else we have stuffed our face into that night. I made it very clear to Habibi that I wished he has only 1/10 of this man's talent, but Adam was quick to save him by saying that He may be good at cooking but not at other things..for which I quickly retorted 'But THIS is an important thing to be good at!'. By god, he neatly laid romaine lettuces on a plate just to serve grilled chicken! Nothing could penetrate Habibi who is very contented with his no-skills and knowledge in the kitchen. I know that he is just happy to help with the dishes afterthat. Then of course the closure, hot tea and tiramisu... alah.. I had thoughts about moving in.

The least we could do is to invite them over for a chat and a round of game later that evening. No, we don't play cards but Habibi is very excited about his new anniversary gift from Ibu that I brought from Singapore - The Cashflow game. For those who are not familiar with Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad, this board game was designed to teach Financial Intelligence to us - the lay men. Unlike a game of Monopoly which teaches us nothing but to be a greedy capitalist, Cashflow is a practical experience for those stuck in their jobs and rat race. Month after month we receive our salaries, and spends them the same way - on rental, food, cars, loans, etc. This game teaches you to GET OUT of the rat race by teaching you about Investments and Businesses. (No scams here, I'm not selling anything...continue reading if ur already up to here).
The game is not commercially available in the nearest shopping centre near you, but was introduced to me by Ibu who have invested in it long ago for her work as a Financial Planner. (You can order the game from the Amazon or Ebay, but it's about US$200, there is also the cheaper alternative, the e-game). Anyone who has seen or played this game will know how beneficial it is as this game is a reflection of real-life - being downsized, or having kids, are just some ways we could increase our expenses when we least expected it. We could go on and on working our but**s off paying for the same bills month after month, OR, learn to earn your own Passive income (income aside from fixed Salaries) and eventually come out of the rat race and be financially intelligent. The good news is, You don't need an accountancy or business degree to be Rich, ANYONE can be rich, you just need to know how.

After I introduced the game to a few friends over 3 years ago, I know that most of them have started to seriously think about their financial lives and have worked on getting that passive income. Some invested their savings whilst others tried their hands in small businesses. One thing for sure, no one can ignore what you've just played on the board without trying to at least attempt it in real life. Habibi for one, started to seriously think about setting up a business after he tried the game for the first time at my house over 3 years ago. That was my excuse to invite him over for the first time to our house without making it so obvious as I have to gather a couple of friends to play together with Ibu as the 'banker'. The then single Habibi and my friends were so bowled over by it that we were meeting weekly for it. I remembered one time, he was returning from the Philiphines after a business trip and I was suggesting that we meet up. Here was what happened.

During a phone call from the Philiphines ....

Single Habibi : My flight is so and so..

Me : So, do u want to have dinner or something later?

Single Habibi : No, I don't think so. I'm very tired, I want to go home and sleep

Me : Oh ok, in that case, I will just be at home and invite some friends
over to play cashflow

Single Habibi : Wait, you're playing cashflow? I'm coming!

And so he came by taxi from the airport with his luggage, no not for me, for Cashflow. That was how romantic we were then. When we were engaged, he ever suggested that I should scan the boardgame and photocopy the cards/money for ourselves!!!Lerr....

Anyway, where was I? Yeah, and so that was how we spent last night too, another round of cashflow. Should I call Ibu to say thanks or should I complain about having to play this game thrillion times! Alhamdulillah, it was a nice evening especially when Adam came over with the leftover from the New Year's eve dinner and I made Harirah (Moroccan Soup) and some grilled lambs for break fast (they are fasting for 10 days in Dzul-hijjah).

This year, I predict we will be very busy with Adik's arrival inshaallah in March, instead of April as per earlier suspected. Binti Salma is getting pretty busy herself learning new things. And Habibi is in the midst of many changes in his career and we are expecting news by mid-this year inshaallah which will determine whether or not we will be leaving this place.

I know something strange has happened towards the end of last year for me. I felt like a new person since coming back from Singapore. I sure hope it isn't temporary but somehow I know I'm just different. For one, I'm much more at ease, more peaceful, more internally contented, maybe its the pregnancy, whatever it is, I just love it. Since coming home, I have been very patient and loving towards Binti, and didn't find myself guilty of snapping at her because I'm tired. It may have been the water 'accident' last month that made me change so drastically. Or maybe the nursing was taking a toll on me. Or perhaps, its because I spent a lot of quality time with the family last trip. Love is definitely in the air, lots of it. Mashaallah, this feeling is from the One above, and I absolutely am thankful.