Not quite a real entry

Sorry for not posting an entry for so long.

The main reason?　

Still no internet line at home. Cancelling YahooBB was quick and easy, with no fuss at all. But trying to install @TCom using existing NTT line at the mosque proved to be a real struggle – that in the end we decided to cancel our application to join them. We have decided to go back to YahooBB but the line would only be installed in early October, so there.

During the past one month or so, it was a cross of lots-of-things and nothing-much. Highlights would include:

- Attending and witnessing hanabi taikai (fireworks display) in various places. Hanabi Taikai is a common way for most Japanese to enjoy summer. It’s also one of the best time to witness lots of Japanese wearing yukata (summer kimono made from cotton). And it is a lot more enjoyable than the common at-most-15-minutes-with-not-much-variety firework display we get to see in Malaysia. In Tokyo, the display usually lasts for an hour or so and a friend of ours said that in Sapporo it lasts up to 3 hours…

Ø Went to Kita Senju for Adachi-ku Hanabi Taikai (rather family friendly because it was held on the last Thursday of July, not during the weekend, hence not too crowded or drunken-filled);

Ø Viewed Sumidagawa Hanabi Taikai – the big one which was shown on TV annually – from the rooftop of Asakusa Mosque with hubby and some friends (no Muslimah gathering this year during the last Saturday of July, instead we had a meeting on the second Sunday of August);

Ø Viewed another hanabi taikai from the rooftop from afar – we were not sure whether it’s the one in Matsudo or Iitabashi, but they must had been rather grand because we could still enjoy it from miles away.

Ø Went to Odaiba for Tokyo Wan Dai Hanabi Saimei (Tokyo Bay Grand Fireworks Display) with a few friends, cruising from Asakusa to Odaiba using Water Bus (for the first time), and returned by train (and took about an hour lining up to board the Yurikamome train). It was by far the most colourful fireworks display compared to Sumidagawa Hanabi Taikai, with lots and lots and lots of different types of fireworks. We went at the last minute, so didn’t managed to “book” a nice seating area – and it became worse when pedestrians who were supposed to pass by actually stopped right in front us and simply ignored the loud “mienai” (can’t see) protest by a child sitting right next to us. Hubby went on his own to look for better photography spot, the friends took Huzaifah to a higher spot, leaving me with Akif at a lower area, forcing me to be satisfied with mere glimpses of the actual fireworks while bracing lots of personal “fireworks making” embraces right in front of me. Yes, the fireworks was nice with lots of varieties – resembling smiley sign, sunflower, hearts, great waterfalls, great fountains, planet Saturn – but I don’t think I’ll come back again next year unless we find a really great place to view it way ahead.

- Visited by one esteemed blogger – Kak Lela, accompanied by this blogger, I already told Kak Ani to bring Kak Lela for lunch – but Kak Ani told me that they were coming on the night before they came, when I was in Ichikawa Ono attending a majlis for Isra’ Mikraj, which meant I could not plan the menu well ahead. So that explained the simple menu – plain rice with asam pedas, ikan gelama masin and sayur goreng, with pudding and nashi (Japanese pear) for dessert. Never mind the food – what mattered more, was we – hubby included - hit it off so well, that three hours just flew by in no time at all. Huzaifah too took an instant liking to Kak Lela, “bullying” Kak Lela like he used to “bully” his Embah. Kak Lela remarked that my son is like an ant – wiggling there, wiggling here, never stopping for a minute. Well, that was a first – previously, Huzaifah had been called the Energizer Bunny – as in “dah lah Ujai, auntie dah tak larat, auntie ni bateri biasa je, Ujai ni Energizer…”. Thank you Kak Lela and Kak Ani for making time to visit us. And for not complaining being served lunch and tea in mismatched tableware. Kak Ani – I will never forget your “beg siam” story – thank God I have friends who feels secured enough to wear identical handbags bought at Watson’s.

- Reading lots of story books. I know, I know, I should be doing my literature review – or studying for PTK. But I am a self-confessed procrastinator after all, and old habits die hard and all…

- Hosting one “bakar sate” session which initially was meant for a handful of friends but ended up enjoyed by lots of friends over two days period. It was a request by Syafiq, who brought lots of ingredients from Malaysia – lengkuas, serai, bawang merah, jintan, ketumbar – the works. Basharan, Syafiq, hubby and I spent one whole evening (that morning we had some guests to whom I served some spur-of-the-moment mee bandung which tunerd out okay, alhamdulillah) dicing meat (chicken, beef, mutton) blending spices (for the satay as well as the kuah) and cucuk satay. While Basharan and Sayfiq had previous experience of making satay, it was a first for me. Luckily, the kuah making part is not that difficult since Mak had always shown me how to make kuah kacang during Raya, and I had prepared nasi himpit in advance too. Basharan’s friend, Chee, had to play nanny for Huzaifah for a while and after that become tourist guide for hubby’s father’s friend, a Dean from UKM who was in Tokyo for business who wanted to buy some stuff in Akihabara. Then, Syafiq’s friend, Rinie and her boyfriend Nohara-san, had to babysit Humaidi and Huzaifah respectively while watching us preparing the satay feast. Rinie alleged that Nohara-san is not that good with kids, but I must say that he did okay with Huzaifah, maybe not as brilliant as Syafiq (who must have gotten some tips from Super Nanny), but given that Huzaifah is an Energizer bunny, he wasn’t too bad... Anyway, it turned out our 5kg of chicken, 2 kg of beef and 1 kg of mutton satay (and 1 kg of bbq chicken on a side) was too much to be consumed in a night by 8 adults, so we continued the “bakar sate” thingy the next day with different set of guests – Basharan’s friend, Salehuddin who works for Petronas, Syafiq’s Muslim Japanese friend, Isa-san who married a Tanzanian, Ziah and 3 fellow teachers undergoing Nihongo course (in various universities) and Zafran and family from Hachioji. Basharan had to leave early to meet up with his brother who came to Tokyo on business, but Syafiq stayed through it all. We didn’t have rice for two days because there was plenty of satay to go by, with extra at the end of the day – to date still waiting to be barbequed in the freezer.

School will reopen end of September – so if I didn’t get to update this blog earlier, at least you have been warned…

And last but not least - Happy 50th Merdeka Day to all Malaysians wherever you are...

The meaning of kids' names

The tag on the meaning of one’s kids’ name (and the history of naming them) reached me over a month ago, courtesy of An, an old schoolmate… Sorry for the late response, ye An...

First, some background. Long before I was actually married, I thought that when the time comes, it would be cool if I could be given the right to name the boys and the father to name the girls. I wished to share my initials with my sons, and there were two names that really took my fancy – Azmi Hakimi and Azri Hafizi. No, I had never known any individuals with these two names, but I just thought they sounded cool, with nice meaning.

As it happened, I married someone with the initial MA. After some discussions, we finally agreed to share responsibility in choosing names for our kids, regardless of gender. The rule of thumb is simple – for a boy, the initials would be MAH, the M for Muhammad and a girl’s initial would be AH – as a combination of both parents initials.

1. Huzaifah

In the case of our first born, since we were expecting a girl, we thought of naming the baby Aliyah Hanani. (Aliyah – noble, Hanani – mercy). As it turned out, we got a boy – so the baby remained unnamed for a few days although I was fixed on naming him Azmi.

Why Azmi? Mainly to honor my Ayah, the same way he honored my late Tok Ayah by naming his first son after my Tok Ayah. Azmi (determination) is not Ayah’s formal name, but it is a name used by the family to refer to him.

Hubby had no problem with accepting the Azmi part – but was quite unsure about the Hakimi part. So he referred some kitab, and seeked his uncle (the current Mufti of Negeri Sembilan, who also graced our wedding by reading the khutbah nikah) for some help. Hubby presented three choices of names beginning with H – Hakim (wise), Haziq (intelligent) and Huzaifah – and his uncle quickly chose Huzaifah.

Huzaifah is taken after a sahabah’s name, Huzaifah Al-Yamani. He was one of the select few Rasulullah entrusted with the knowledge of identifying Munafiq. It was said that during his time as Muslim ruler, Saidina Umar would observe whether or not Huzaifah Al-Yamani attend one’s funeral, before deciding whether or not to lead the jenazah prayer for the deceased, as Huzaifah’s absence from a funeral was taken as a sign that the deceased was a Munafiq.

So we named our first son Muhammad Azmi Huzaifah, and I hope, like his namesake, he will grow up to be highly trustworthy too. I already know that he is highly determined －with his gambare spirit obvious…

2. Humaidi

There was no surprise with the gender of our second child. We had been expecting a boy all along, so hubby prepared a list of possible names.

The H part was easy – it was either Humaidi (of praise, commendable) or Husaini (after Saidina Hassan and Hussein, the grandchildren of Rasulullah). We both prefer Humaidi.

The A part was a bit tricky. Hubby thought Aqil (intelligent) would be nice – and so did most of our family members. But I thought Akif (one who iqtikaf in mosque) would be more appropriate to commemorate the fact that we were living in a mosque when he was born. Another point is that since we are in Japan, both the ‘ain and qaf pronunciation of Aqil would be lost when the name is written in katakana – it would end up being pronounced Akiru. However, Akif would not sustain much injury through its katakana pronunciation – Akifu. We even asked our visitors at the hospital as well as friends through emails for a vote – in which, to my delight, Akif eventually won. (Pokcik, who voted for Aqil said that I must had won by extortion, to which I smilingly replied, “tak guna paksaan… guna pujukan je”.)

So there, that’s how we end up naming our second son Muhammad Akif Humaidi