Kobe Bryant, Rookie Card ..mint condition

It seems not too long ago, my hobby was to collect basketball trading cards, spent countless of my parents money on them, and I had a pretty good collection too. One of the most valuable was a mint condition Kobe Bryant rookie card. That card had quite value actually. After checking my monthly Beckett magazine, it was worth around 200 USD . Wow.

That story was actually not really true. I did collect the cards, but I never had the Kobe Bryant Rookie Card ...mint condition. Its just that I somehow I thought of my basketball card collection while I was in the waiting room, with my WIFE , both waiting to see the doctor for her first PRE-NATAL checkup. Oh my mind blasting. I am a husband, and a father to be. These things takes a while to sink in. The realization, and the impact it gives me when mind gets blasted always gets me pumped up to be a better man. 

So, mind already blasting, we get called in to the doc's office. She was an aged woman, tall, middle eastern looking and quite scary.headmistress scary. I went in there with a mind set to not sit back and be proactive and ask as many questions possible. So she asks my wife 

Doc : So why are you here ? Why do you need to see me?

Aslina: (looks at me puzzled , thinking the nurse would have told the doc our purpose) Errr...for    my first check-up

Doc : Oh ok, So what  was the date of your last period? 

Me: (Thinking the doc wanted to check if my wife was pregnant...because that was what the first doctor asked when we wanted confirmation ) Ermmm, doc we actually know she's pregnant , we're here for her first pre-natal...

Doc : I know that ... (buat muka cikgu disiplin).. I want to know the date so I can calculate myself.

Me : (Face shy .. and intimidated) Oh , my app says 9 weeks 5 days.

Doc : No ! No..I need the date...I want to calculate myself

Me: (Shuts Up)

Anyway, she warmed up in the end, and after getting the answer she wanted , calculated the same as my app. (she used an oldskool paper dial with numbers on it) 

So the wife gets on the observation table behind the curtain, and I think, ok, she's getting her tummy checked. But then the doc calls me , and I see the ultrasound scan machine, and there it was another Mind BLASTING moment, I see my baby in my baby's belly. It was so clear at first, I could see the arms swaying, feet up and a head shaped head on the screen. Felt emotions like none before, wanted to shed a tear of joy, but for once my macho gene stood firm. The printed picture wasn't that clear tho, but here it is.

Its really not clear, its the white blob above the bottom text. I thought it should be immortalized on the web, officially the first picture of many InsyaAllah.

So the journey starts, monthly checkups, zig zagging appetites (at the moment) and back aches. 

To anyone reading this, share a prayer for us. Pray for the safety of my wife Aslina, and the baby inside her, may they be safe in this wonderful journey that Allah has given us. Aminn

Rendering

This must be a norm for motion designers, file is rendering....estimated time to completion : 4 hours. That, or I was delusional thinking the laptop is powerful enough to handle heavy video editing. Another thing to consider upgrading for my dear FLOW

I have been wanting to write something for a while now. Thanks to the auto analysis of the blogspot engine, I can safely say that these posts wont even reach 2 or 3 pairs of eyes. Long gone are the days that I knew people were reading this blog, for one reason or another, partly due to a lack of interesting content, and also the lack of posts. Probably kicked off a few lists too. Heh. Even if that is the case, It gives me more freedom in the mind posting my thoughts, rather than just writing it on microsoft word. Probably it symbolizes that my thoughts would be sent into the universe and reach , even though no one reads it.

In a space of 2 weeks, I have given advice to 2 close friends on relationships. After the second person, I had a random thought that I could maybe be a psychiatrist or a school councilor. Hahaha. I feel I got through to my friends , and gave them sound and logical advice based on the almighty. It felt good as always. These weren't the first friends. I think I miss being the reliable friend in subang sometimes. Living outside of Subang Jaya has taken a toll on the amount of time I spend with my friends. When I do sit in, I felt the same feeling the first time I came back from NZ, sitting there not knowing and not willing to butt in. A brother called me out on that once , and his words are coming back to me these days. 

I think the stress and frustration of not playing any futsal/football/soccer is causing the nostalgia. That one or two hour futsal session and hot tea after with the boys are enough to keep me in the loop. This has been the longest I have gone without playing the beautiful game. 6 weeks if tonight is cancelled as well. I understand everyone has priorities these days, I have them too. Just want that one constant in a week. I have even tried reaching out to other groups for a taste of the sport, but even they cancel each week. Oh man... Only video games and BPL matches satisfy a humongous craving. In all actuality, like smaller drugs, it increases the hunger even more ! Dah tak tau main bola kot by now. 

The majority of us Kakibangkus are now happily married Alhamdulillah, The demographic has changed significantly this year, with no less than 6 that tied the knot. Last years unions have already shown dividends in the baby department, one delivered, one any day now, and 2 more are expecting early next year. I am humbled and privileged after so many years, our core friendships are still here, and continuing to the next generation. It is refreshing to see that our individual silent vows of staying friends are being kept. InsyaAllah.

Dangg, this actually worked. Feeling much much better. My brain is probably too small, need to unload to have full optimization.