Monday, September 29, 2008

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri



Wishing all muslims, Selamat Hari Raya, maaf zahir dan batin. This has been a wonderful and memorable Ramadhan for me and I hope this is the same case for all of you. As I'll be working on the eve of Syawal, a lot of preparation work like cooking rendang and baking cakes and cookies need to be done here in Shah Alam. So, assisted by my Labi, we did a lot of stuff. Cooked 2 kg daging of rendang tok, 4 bijik fruit cake, 3 types of cookies - kuih samprit, kuih makmur and choc chip cookies.

For this Hari Raya, I'm leaving all of you with something that I posted in my friendster last year - a quote that I found as very true. Eidul Fitri is about forgiveness. Hence, let's offer our forgiveness to those who has wronged us. May we find the strength to do this even how hard it is to forgive someone who really hurt us. Semoga sinar Syawal memberikan keberkatan kepada kita semua, Amin.

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Every Hari Raya, our Muslim friends will use a greeting so simple in its execution, many forget its significance. The greeting ‘maaf zahir batin’ which translates loosely to ‘I seek forgiveness (from you) physically and spiritually’ for Hari Raya means a time to reconcile and renew relationships with others.

Forgiveness is something we should all practise. Not just for Hari Raya but every day. We should celebrate it and embrace it as an essential part of our lives. There is nothing so bad that cannot be forgiven. Hurt will never heal until you forgive.

If you are at war with others, you cannot be at peace with yourself. You can let go and forgive. It takes no physical strength to let go, only courage.

Forgiveness is the single most important process that can bring peace to our souls and harmony to our lives. Forgiveness is not something we have to strain ourselves to do. Forgiveness helps you move forward. No one benefits from the forgiveness more than one who forgives.

Give yourselves the gift of forgiveness today. Maaf zahir batin to all.

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong" - Mahatma Gandhi

** The above message is the courtesy of Crush Communications

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Friday, September 19, 2008

Cempedak, Timun, Durian dan Sotong

What a topic huh? I have 3 strories to share today.

First, about cempedak. According to Wikipedia (heheh), Cempedak or chempedak (pronounced "chem-pe-dak"; syn. Artocarpus integer (Thunb.) Merr., Artocarpus polyphema Pers.) is a species of tree and its fruit in the family Moraceae. The taste of the fruit is similar to the related Jackfruit and Breadfruit with a hint of Durian. A sweet, mild, and juicy pulp surrounds the peanut-like seeds in a thick layer between the husk and an inedible core.

What has the cempedak to do with my story? Nothing! This is my blog..ikut suka lah kan.. Anyways, there's a Malay poem "Buah cempedak di luar pagar , ambil galah tolong tunjukkan, saya budak baru belajar kalau salah tolong tunjukkan". Translation.."yada yada ..about a student who is learning new things which needs guidance from the expert". I have a student, let's call him Cempedak. A very adorable, fine looking cempedak..grr..nyum nyum. The expert in the story is me (tenkiu tenkiu). I just taught Cempedak a new skill ie blogging. But my my my! What a student! The day that Cempedak creates his blog, he posted 8 entries on the same day on different stories. Amboi amboi.. lawan tauke nampak.


Then come the second story. There's this kind hearted-loving-sweet-amazing timun (cucumber) who taught a eager-intelligent-yummy durian on a new skill , say blogging again. So the durian is so into the blogging arena until he sleeps at 4 am due to this new found skill. He is now a sleep deprived durian and guess what? He looked at timun and said, "This is all your fault... because of you.. I now have less sleep". Sigh. Being a timun - even if she rolled over the durian, she'll hurt herself. And still, she'll hurt if the durian rolled over her. Ajar susah..tak ajar susah.

So moral of the story from 2 stories above. If you want to be a fruit - choose to be a fruit with torn. Boleh buli orang. Tapi kalau dah born as human tu, just be human lah. Apasal nak jadi buah pulak? Mendee lah! Plus, puasa2 ni..banyakkan makan buah. Elok untuk kesihatan.. ha ha ha ha. Cakap pasal buah ni lapar la pulak. Bukak puasa dengan cempedak goreng, rojak buah dengan pengat durian pun alright jugak..! Why am I talking nonsense? It's because of the third story. Hampeh!

The last story I have is on sotong. Today, in two different occasions I have to deal with a lady, let's call her sotong lah. This sotong is very blur. In fact, tahap blur tu boleh dikategorikan tahap sotong kurita. She is so blur that she choked me with all those hands and made wonder why am I wasting almost 2 hours of my time today talking to her. Because in the end, I do not know what she want, I definitely know that she do not know what I'm talking about because when she repeat what she thought she hear me saying , she said totally different thing (she even thought I'm someone else..suara sedap macam ni pun tak kenal..susah betoi), and she has left 9 poor souls in the meeting so confused that they did not say a word.

I have a friend on the same meeting, let's call him Smarty Pants (SP), a Sabahan living in Sydney, who instant messaged me during this meeting saying repeatedly "just say yes.. do not answer her.. do not say another word.. you're making her dragged us into a deeper maze...say u have to leave for other meeting...end this misery, tolong la... ". And the meeting has became a joke because we are started instant messaging each other trying to understand what is going on. When I told SP that I think Ms Sotong is not on the same page with us, the response was "don't talk about the same page, she is in a different library".

Actually I ended the misery... MY MISERY. Told Ms Sotong, I'm late for another meeting and I have to leave (which is true btw). SP sent me instant message immediately, "Tell her to release me too", which I replied "save your own *ss". Sigh. I do not know how Ms Sotong has survived in her life. Then again, may be her blurness brought her to where she is right now. Oh Life.... ! I'm amazed...

OK lah..malam ni dah malam ke-20. That means the pursuit of lailatul qadar starts tonight. May all of us get the barakah... Insya Allah.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

If You Know The Meaning of This Message, This Is For You

This post is dedicated to someone I hold so close to my heart. If you read this post, you know I love you so much. You found me!!!! One down... 2 more to go!!!! The other 2... takkan jumpa punya... ha ha ha. Muuah

Monday, September 15, 2008

The Almost Perfect Weekend

Last weekend was a reunion of Hj Zakaria's family with exception of Kak Chik and Idi who can join due to other commitment. Mama and abah were happy to see their 2 sons, 2 daughters, 1 son in-law, 2 daughter in-laws and 4 grand daughters around for bukak posa. They'll do another round on the last day of puasa with everyone except me coz I HAVE TO WORK!!!

On Friday, after terawih, I went to see Amir at his house in Cheras where he's waiting for me. Original intention was to leave KL by 10 pm. But at 9-ish I realized that I have not done the laundry for the week. Pressed wash option (huh 80 minutes? boleh tido satu das nih). Msg Mir saying that I'll leave home approximately 11 and got the greenlight. In the meantime boleh melayan my darling on line.

Bertenet sekejap and then dozed of. Woke up, took shower, and sidai baju. Left Bukit Rimau almost midnite. Took me less than 1/2 hour to reach Bandar Permaisuri. Abah called when I entered Amir's apartment compound. Kena nag - "Kata nak bertolak after terawih.. Ni dah pukul berapa?" Ye lah bah... lepas terawih la ni.. Solat terawih start kol 11 nak buat camno..ikut Mekah..he he he.

We left KL around 12.30 and reached Kulim almost 4 am. Sahilatur Rizqi is awake watching tadarrus. Baik anak sedara mak chaq sorang ni. She has grown quite a bit.

Mama was heating the lauk - kari ayam and ikan terubuk sumbat... Nyummy. During sahur abah told me that tomorrow I need to follow him to order kad jemputan and the day after to sign declaration form at Pejabat Agama. Sapa kata nak kawin ni senang, nyah....

Various shots of Rizqi, the youngest of all grand daughters...


And of course the ever adorable, Samihah Humaira..


So after subuh, took a nap and left house with abah to see the card. Simple and cheap one dah la. Kad ni orang campak jugak akhirnya. I've never heard anyone who has a collection of wedding cards. Kalau ada, sama ada orang tu tgh frust (awek2 dia kawin dgn org lain - so simpan jadi kenangan), or pengantin itself, or orang yg amatlah tak mempunyai hobi - get a life dude!

After card, we went to furniture factory to look at wooden doors. You see, Taman Bersatu where my parents stay will be visited by heavy rain and followed by flash food once a year. So pintu2 kat rumah tu dah tersengih2... ada yang dah menyeringai (imagine rimau nampak lembu..sengih dia camno?). So abah planned to replace the door of the house. But if want to replace..tak boleh la replace one only..must be all the doors - at least my house first. After the visit, abah buat mesyuarat tingkap untuk colllect cukai pintu..ha ha ha. Ada satu muka budak tu sudah kelabu..hahaha... abah siap offer bayar installment. Sapa yg kelabu..dia la yang terasa..ha ha. Muuah!

After meeting is over, labu without the labi..have to start cooking for bukak puasa. My labi..I miss you! Pandai ngelat tak balik kampung yeee? Ingat akak tak tau trick Kak Chik? Basah kuyup akak kat dapur sorang2 tau! What's the menu for the day? Nasi daging, dalca, terubuk sumbat (bila dah siap jadi kelapa sumbat la pulak..sbb kelapa lagi banyak dari ikan), keropok, air asam, and jemput2 jagung + sambal cicah. I've outsourced air asam and jemput2 jagung saja - the rest.. mak yang masak, nyah. Hai..untung laki mak. Ni kena up sikit duit belanja ni..! (Lawak je honey..tapi kalau nak kasi extra... stadium Shah Alam i tadahkan he he)

Ni lah hasil penat lelah si labu... Apa kata survey? Of course la sedap.. Mende lah!




Abah getting ready to berbukak.

Ghani aka baby sitter. Anak2 sibuk menyanyi. Bapak layan baca paper. Yo Yo all..

Air tembikai + sprite = Sodaaap seeeeh

Control hensem ke control bunciiit??

Mesyuarat tergempaq menantu pompuan Cik Com. Semua ni kaki bodek seh...

Proud mothers...

Finally a tired aunt, sis and daughter. Tapi senyum tetap senyum!

The next day, as planned gi pejabat agama. Alhamdulillah semua dah clear. Then went to Bertam to buy ubat batu karang for a friend. Saw huge resort there in the middle of no where. Aduhai Pak Lah.... resort apa la kat tengah Kepala Batas ni. Tak de tourist attraction langsung! Kot2 dekat laut tak jugak..kot2 dekat gunung, hampeh, kot2 dekat tasik, kering kontang.. parit ada la. Orang dok resort tu nak jumpak Pak Lah ke? Tu la.. tido banyak2 lagi. Approve project semua yang tak masuk akal!

On the way nak gi Bertam, slow talked with abah on cik abang's visit this October and also on the plan for kenduri. Alhamdulillah lagi..dapat greenlight. Balik dr Bertam terus gi hantar abah cabut gigi. While waiting, I went to post office to collect fuel rebate. Guess what.. my giliran is 1411 and the counters are serving 1247. Mak ooi. Terus msg abah to tell him to msg me when he's almost done as I have long queue. Suddenly got a reply "Ye lah nanti abah tunggu. Meantime abah duk luar hisap rokok kejap". Hisap rokok? Mende.. Isssh! Cik abang mak sorang ni! Dlm tgh tido tu sempat loyar buruk. Rupa2nya...terantar msg kat silap orang...!

Left Kulim around 2pm. Mir drove all the way while myself, Huda and Samihah merehatkan mata yang berat. Smooth sailing and reached KL before 6pm. Decided to bukak puasa @ Pizza Hut but dilemma in choosing the location. Akhirnya mak buyung cadangkan Mid Valley and that's where we went. Pizza Hut fully booked, so we settled for Dominoes instead. Had a good hefty meal. Time nak solat , punya la panjang queue nak masuk surau. Alhamdulillah...... So to make sure we can still solat jama' we went to Kampung Baru and prayed before heading to Bandar Permaisuri.

I picked up my car from Amir's house and reached Bukit Rimau around 10pm. The almost perfect weekend ended when Abah called me at 11.30 pm saying that he met an accident on the Penang bridge - 3-cars piled up, he drove the last car. His kancil all badly damaged and they've been waiting for crane for the last 1 hour. Man obviously, missed his flight and they headed home around midnite. Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiu'un.

Told honey and he asked me to ensure abah go to a doctor to do check up. Abah said..he'll go if he's still in pain next day. Called again next day but he said..we'll go if the pain does not go away the following day.. Adooi! Start nagging and called him every 1 hour until they went to see doctor during noon. I told honey, we now established where the stubborn genetic comes from... He he he he.

To people out there.... take care while driving for Hari Raya. Bak kata pepatah.. biar lambat, asalkan selamat.... Adios

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Reflection on 13 Ramadhan

Alhamdulillah, sedar tak sedar dah 12 hari umat Islam berpuasa. How time flies. Alhamdulillah also that Allah has given me health and strength to jalankan ibadat terawih. Had been doing my terawih at surau in BU during weekdays and at home during weekend. For couple of days I had my iftar in BU. In between solat Isyak and terawih, the imam will give short ceramah ugama. Muslimah will pray at the ground floor, equipped with TV to see what is going on the 1st floor where the muslim are praying. Very the canggih one... Did I forget to mention that it's fully airconed? Kalau tak nak solat jugak tak tau lah. Just couple of days lately, mengantuk amat waktu solat terawih. Hmmm kena nap sebelum bukak puasa ni.. Tidor lagi? Ikut motto Pak Lah lah.. TIDO TETAP TIDO..!

I'm heading back to my hometown tonight after terawih with Amir and family. Since I can only go back to my hometown on Hari Raya 1, this is the only time that I can iftar with the mama and abah. Lina and Man will also be there with their families. Only Kak Chik and Idi are missing.

Next year, I may not be able to bukak puasa at all with the family, so, I'm going to enjoy this weekend as much as possible.

Ada citer nak bukak... Last Sunday, I almost lost Joey. Ceritanya, I've left my windows all open on Sunday so that fresh air masuk rumah. Si Joey loves to sit at the window and sometime will jump out and then in again. I dozed off after solat Maghrib and woke up around 10ish. Went to close the window without checking whether Joey is around and terus solat isyak and terawih. Joey has this habit where he'll come and sit on the sejadah everytime I do my prayers. When he did not come until I completed my witir, I concluded he's not in the house. So ibu mithali ni pun bukak lah tingkap and waited at the living room for the boy to come back. Last2 around 2 am, I went to kitchen to have a glass of water and nampaklah sesuatu sedang merenung I dgn tajam dari bawah pokok bunga accross the road. (macam citer seram la pulak). Bila mak bukak pintu, lari la pulak si Joey ni. Lepas pujuk punya pujuk, last2 masuk lah rumah. So since Ahad ari tu, member dah selsema and tak nak berlekang langsung. Suara yang dulu ala2 kepit sekarang ni punya la nyaring. Tu la Joey, merayap sangat. If I ever lost Joey, rasanya dah tak nak bela kucing kot. Too many heartbreaks already due to the felines...
My Joey...... mmmmmmeeeowww


Enough about the furry guy...

Next couple of weeks, my weekends will be filled with agenda membuat serunding, rendang and kuih muih. Seronoknyeeeee....... Sama ada hangit ke, bantat ke.. itu secondary la. My sister, Kak Chik will be my partner in crime. Semangat mak, nyah.... Also, need to spend 1 day to iftar with Kak Faz and family. May be during Nuzul Quran. We'll see how lah hooor..

More to update after my return from Kulim.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Ramadhan Al-Mubarak


Do'a malaikat Jibril menjelang Ramadhan " "Ya Allah tolong abaikan puasa ummat Muhammad,
apabila sebelum memasuki bulan Ramadhan dia tidak melakukan hal-hal yang berikut:

* Tidak memohon maaf terlebih dahulu kepada kedua orang tuanya (jika masih ada);
* Tidak berma'afan terlebih dahulu antara suami isteri;
* Tidak bermaafan terlebih dahulu dengan orang-orang sekitarnya.

Maka Rasulullah pun mengatakan Aamiin sebanyak 3 kali. Dapatkah kita
bayangkan: yang berdo'a adalah Malaikat dan yang mengamiinkan adalah
Rasullullah dan para sahabat, dan dilakukan pada hari Jumaat.

To those who know me, I'd like to take this opportunity to seek for forgiveness for all my wrong doings, baik yang tidak disengaja maupun yang disengaja, semoga
kita dapat menjalani ibadah puasa dengan khusyuk, diberkati dan dirahmatiAllah S.W.T, Insyaallah.
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Ya Allah
Panjangkanlah umur sahabatku. Kurniakanlah kesihatan yang baik padanya, terangi hatinya dengan nur pancaran iman.
Tetapkanlah hatinya, perluaskanlah rezekinya, dekatkanlah hatinya kepada kebaikan, jauhkanlah hatinya pada kejahatan, tunaikanlah hajatnya baik hajat dalam agama, dunia dan akhirat

Ya Muhaimin Ya Salam
Jika dia jatuh hati izinkanlah dia menyentuh hati seseorang yang hatinya tertaut padaMu agar tidak terjatuh dia dalam jurang cinta nafsu. Jagalah hatinya agar tidak berpaling daripada melabuhkan hatinya pada hatiMu.
Jika dia rindu, rindukanlah dia pada seseorang yang merindui syahid di jalanMu

Ya Allah
Jangan biarkan sahabatku terjatuh dalam perjalanan panjang menyeru manusia kejalanMu jika kau halalkan aku merindui sahabatku, janganlah aku melampaui batas sehingga melupakan daku pada cinta hakiki, rindu abadi dan kasih sejati hanya untukMu.

Ya Allah
Kurniakanlah sahabatku kesenangan, ketenangan, kecemerlangan hidup di dunia akhirat kelak..

AMIN YA RABBAL 'ALAMIIN....

KALAM HIKMAH :
"Agama buat kehidupan di akhirat, harta buat kehidupan di dunia. Di dunia orang yang tidak berharta berasa susah hati, tetapi orang yang tidak beragama merasa lebih sengsara."
-(Saidina Abu Bakar As-Siddiq )

" Jangan engkau bersahabat dengan sahabat yang mana dia begitu berharap kepada engkau ketika mahu menyelesaikan masalahnya sahaja sedangkan apabila masalah atau hajatnya telah selesai maka dia memutuskan kemanisan persahabatan.
Bersahabatlah dengan mereka yang mempunyai ketinggian dalam melakukan kebaikan, memenuhi janji dalam perkara yang benar, memberi pertolongan kepada engkau serta memadai dengan amanahnya atau sikap bertanggungjawabnya
terhadap engkau. "
-Imam Umar bin Abdul Aziz
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