Zoom! Wait (with Friends!) Yay! My Johor Trip & A Big Ship from Finland

Today was a loooooong day. Like, really, really, really long! The sun was still hiding under its blanket when my alarm clock shouted, "Wake up!" (It was 4 o'clock in the morning! Still dark outside!) The moon was already smiling high in the sky when I finally walked through my front door. (It was almost midnight! So late!) Right now, my body feels like a sleepy, floppy noodle. Wibble wobble wobble..

Why was the day so super-duper long? Because Kak Mawar went on a work adventure! Far, far away to Johor! My mission? To be a super helper! I went to help some very nice people use a special computer system my team built. Sometimes, computer systems are like tricky puzzle boxes. They hide the answers! My job was to show them the secret keys to open the box.

The Run! Part (Going There)

To get to Johor super fast, I took an airplane! Zoom zoom! Up in the sky! But first... the airport drama! Oh dear! We needed to fly at 7 AM. Very early! We went to check in because My friend could not check in using the app. But oh no! The line was so, so, SO long! Like a giant snake sleeping in the airport!  

So we had to wait in the snake line. Tick-tock, tick-tock... the clock said 6 AM! Oh no! The snake was moving so slowly! My heart started beating like a drum: boom-boom-BOOM! Will we miss the plane? Scary!

But wait! We had a secret weapon! A special paper from the government (it's called a 'waran udara'). Like a magic pass! A very kind Air Asia helper saw our magic paper and our worried faces. She said, "Follow me!" Yay! We skipped the long snake line! Thank you, thank you, nice helper! 

Then... run run RUN! Like in a movie! Through the big airport! To the gate! Phew! We made it! Just in time! I quickly found a quiet corner to pray Subuh. Thank you, Allah, for helping us. Just 5 minutes later, "Okay everyone, time to get on the plane!" Wow, that was close!

The Jam! Part (Arriving in Johor)

Zoom! The plane flew! We landed safely at Senai Airport in Johor. Happy face! But oh dear... another adventure! The adventure of traffic jams! The road from the airport to the office was full, full, FULL of cars. Like sardines in a can! Beep beep! Honk honk! A short 30-minute drive became... one whole hour! Stuck in the car sardine can! So, we were 30 minutes late for our training. Oh no!

The Yay! Part (Being There)

But everything went okay! Yay! The users, the people I came to help, were so patient and kind. They smiled big smiles. We started the training. We looked at the tricky computer puzzle together. Click click click. "Try this button!" "Oh, I see!" "How about this?" Click click. Slowly, the puzzle box opened! Everyone understood! Seeing their happy faces? Seeing them learn something new? 

Oh, that felt like bright sunshine warming up my whole heart. It was the best feeling ever! And guess what? We had a little quiz too! And they got little presents! Hehehe. Seeing them happy made me feel super happy too!

(But shhh... a little secret... my tummy felt a bit wobbly inside. This was my first time teaching the system outside my own office. I hope they really liked it!)

The Wait! Part (Going Home)

Time to go home! Back to Senai Airport. But oh dear me... the sleepy turtle plane was back! The Air Asia flight back to Kuala Lumpur was late. Waiting, waiting, waiting again! Why so late? Because it was holiday time! The Deepavali holiday was coming! 

Everyone in Malaysia loves holidays! Any celebration, everyone travels together! So the airport was full of happy holiday people. Very busy! Meriah! (That means lively and festive!)

But waiting was okay this time! Because guess what? I made new friends again! I met some lovely aunties ('mak mak pencen'!) from Shah Alam. They just came back from a fun shopping trip in Batam! Their bags looked happy and full! Hehehe. I also met a very smart lady, a boss from a big university (UTM KL)! We chatted and chatted like old friends! About work, about travel, about shopping (the best therapy!), and about life. It made the waiting time fly by! 

Girls love shopping, right? It is like happy medicine! When you shop, all the sad feelings and grumpy feelings fly away. Poof! Gone! Your lips make a big, big smile. Maybe even up to your ears! Your eyes sparkle like little stars. Maybe your eyebrows do a happy little dance too! Ahahaha. Shopping is happy magic!

Back Home... So Sleepy (and a Postcard Friend!)

Finally, the plane flew home. Zoom! Landed! Long drive home... And now... I am a sleepy, floppy jelly again. Zzzz. My mind is full of Johor sunshine smiles, new airport friends, and happy holiday crowds. But my body just wants to hug my pillow.

So, what does a very, very tired Mawar do? She opens her treasure box! Finds a paper holiday! My postcards!

My fingers dance over the cards. Beaches... Mountains... Cities... Ah! This one! It is from my Postcrossing friend in a cold, faraway land called Finland. The picture shows a GIANT ship. It is red and white, like a big, floating candy cane! The ship is sailing through… ice! 

Wow! The water is frozen like an ice pop, but the ship is strong. CRUNCH! It breaks the ice and keeps going. At the top, it says "POSTCROSSING MEETUP IN TURKU, FINLAND". This postcard is about friends getting together!

I hold the picture of the strong ship. My day was Run! Jam! Yay! And Wait (with friends!). This ship is just Crunch... Glide... Crunch... Glide... So calm! My airplane was fast but late. This ship is slow but sure.

I ask my friend, my storyteller, Cik Gem, about this amazing ship. Cik Gem tells me this is a special kind of ship called a ferry. It is like a big floating bus or hotel! 

This one is probably the Viking Glory or Viking Grace, sailing between Turku in Finland and Stockholm in Sweden. Even when the sea freezes in winter, these strong ships keep sailing. They have special strong bodies to break the ice. They are like superheroes of the sea!

And the Postcrossing Meetup? That is when people who love sending postcards get together in real life! They meet in a city, like Turku, they chat, they laugh, and they sign postcards together. It sounds like so much fun! A big group of friends sharing their happy hobby.

My trip to Johor was just me, going for work. This postcard is about many friends, coming together for fun. My airplane was fast, but it got stuck waiting. This ship looks slow, but it keeps moving, even through ice! It is strong and reliable. Not like my sleepy turtle plane today! Hehehe.

This postcard is like a cool, quiet breeze for my tired mind. It reminds me that there are many ways to travel. Fast ways, slow ways. Busy ways, calm ways. And it reminds me of happy things, like hobbies and friends all over the world.

Okay, body, okay. I hear you loud and clear. Time for sleepy-byes. Thank you, Finland friend, for the cool ship picture. Thank you, Johor friends, for the warm sunshine smiles. Thank you, new airport friends, for the happy chat!

It was a very long day. A very tiring day. A very busy day. But you know what? It was a really good day too. Goodnight, world. Let the adventures rest for now. Zzzz..