I know... I haven't been updating this blog for a mighty long time (sigh...) Busy busy busy... However InsyAllah, God willing, I'll be 'retiring' soon, 17 days more to be exact and hopefully I will be able to write more often. Anyway, yesterday was 11.11.11 and I couldn't resist writing about the 'magic' date. For one thing, I bet hundreds, no maybe thousands of couples got married yesterday to have that date to remember as the sweetest day of their lives.. When we got married 29 years ago (in Cardiff. UK) at the exact date, we weren't thinking about any significant numbers but hey, 2+9=11 right? But I believe all these are just APOPHENIA (word for the day - I've just learned it today). Got this from the net (where else?):
The reason we ascribe significance to 11.11.11 is apophenia - the urge to find patterns in seemingly random data.
It is this that explains why we see clouds forming certain shapes, and why we often hear of people finding 'faces' in things like potato crisps.
Apophenia is also important in the psychology of gamblers. It can either encourage those on a winning streak to believe that it will continue, or convince losing gamblers that their luck must inevitably change.
While it can be a symptom of mental illness if taken to an extreme - as depicted in the film A Beautiful Mind - apophenia is instinctive to all humans as a way of drawing conclusions about the world.
This phenomenon helps us, for example, to recognise abstract drawings as representing human figures, and to remember phone numbers which seem to follow a pattern.
Of course, every year we celebrate the day with a special dinner. Last night we happen to be in Kuantan, so we dine at the Sultan Ahmad Shah International Convention Center. I guess having broken the habit of dining heavily, we could only manage a Ceasar Salad (the appetizer) and a Creme Brulee (the dessert). We decided to skip whatever's in between! Not only were we eating healthily but saving some money, too... LOL. And surprise, surprise we were serenaded as well! Pictures below:
 |
| The salad |
 |
| The Creme Brulee |
 |
| "Love me tender.." God, I wanted to cry.. |
