Mak is 63

It's Mak's 63rd birthday today, alhamdulillah.
(Yes - May is usually when we have some family makan-makan since Ayah's, Mak's and my birthday are just days apart - Ayah's on 5th, mine on 10th and Mak's on 12th)

Mak, we wish you the best on your birthday (and everyday);

No one has earned it like you
You try to enrich everything you come near
You try to give your everything selflessly
You provide the love and care
that makes my, Abang's and Adik's dream
of a happy home came true.
May you'll always feel the gentle cloak of Allah's rahmah and mawaddah on your shoulders,
and may you be shielded, guided and protected by Allah all the time.
Thank you Mak
We love you.


Lots of love, hugs & kisses from:
- Kak, Amin, Ujai, Akif & Asim

100510

"Thirty five is when you finally get your head together

and your body starts falling apart" - Anonymous

It's my birthday today.

Someone wise once asked, "What right do you have to celebrate your birthday?"

Well, I don't know.

But I do know that birthdays could be a good time to reflect and to grow...

It goes without saying that as we grow older, and hopefully wiser, we view things, people, happenings, the world, differently.

We've gone through a lot more than we used to when we were younger, and that in turn enable us to reflect on how little we actually know after all.

We move a step closer towards death, and we would remember those selected ones - who were born in the same year we were born - but had gone to meet The Creator earlier than us.

But we can't despair for we also need to remain energetic, zesty, full of life so that we can keep on playing our role, commit and give back - to our family, loved ones, friends, community, religion and all.

So, it is my hope and my do'a that while I'll grow wiser and act so , 

I'll also remain 'young' enough to keep living, loving, learning and giving, insya Allah.

#####

Undated picture, probably taken when I was 7.

With Ayah Tam, Tok Ayah, Pak Su, Ayah woohoo - rambut afro ala Alleycat, Tok,

my cousin Syahril, Adik & I

Yeah, yeah, now it's obvious whose mischievious grin Ujai takes after..

Standard 6, with Kelas Agama classmates 

(two classes were combined, the non-Muslims for Kelas Moral and Muslims for Kelas Agama)

I was in the same class with Wan Azlan Abdullah - a good swimmer and a minor celebrity of sort in school who would grow up to swim for Malaysia in 2 Olympics - Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000

 

Eidul Fitri 1988 - in Kelang Lama, Kulim with Tok, Tok Ayah,

Ayah Jang's family, Ayah Tam's family, Teh and Pak Su.

Eidul Fitri 1989 - in Parit Semerah, Pontian with Mak Tua, Mak Long, Pakcik Me'at, Mak's cousins and Kak Ina - the longest serving 'kakak pengasuh' we ever had.

SRP 1990 candidates - right after we were done with the exam. For the record, yellow baju & white kain was the uniform for KPs(prefects) while light blue baju & white kain the uniform for Resource Center-related  committee members

Eidul Fitri 1991 - with Tok, Tok Ayah, Nyah, Teh, Chik and more cousins since Teh and Chik had gotten married while Ayah Lang had remarried in the previous year. I got 4 new cousins in 1991 alone, 2 of them girls. finally Firdhaus and I had new female cousins - yeay!

English class classmates 1992 (during English and Arabic, the classes were divided into "Set"s)

As it happened, many from our class furthered our studies abroad - if I'm not mistaken,7 of us did our 1st degree in UK, 3 in the US, 1 in Canada, 1 in Jordan and 1 in Egypt.

Heh - who says budak sekolah agama usually fly to Middle East je?    

In the exam hall - SPM 1992

5 Biru 1992 - During those years, it was almost a tradition for Kelas Biru to be the naughtiest in the school.

I must admit that while we were no angels, we were not that naughty, but maybe we were, if measured by a 'sekolah agama' standard...

Poor Ira and Ara - being prefects on good terms with their 'naughty' classmates, they were usually given the task of 'jaga gate' when spot-checks were on. But of course, we the naughty ones were quite good in hiding our 'prohibited' walkmans, romance story books, cassettes, posters and usually got away with it, hehehe. 

Ayah is 63

It's Ayah's 63rd birthday today.
I love you Ayah.
I may not say it often, since you don't too but I do.
And I am happy to see that Huzaifah and you have formed such a close bonding, something that remind me of my own close bond with my own Tok Ayah. I know you spoil him rotten, but oh well... who am I to complain much when I too was spoiled rotten by my Tok Ayah
It's inherited, I guess - what with you being the eldest grandson and really close to your Tok Wan.
And then I too was the eldest granchild and grew really close to Tok Ayah.
And now Huzaifah and you.
It's a repetition of sort, but that's okay.
It's beautiful.

So Ayah, I make do'a that may you always feel the gentle cloak of Allah's rahmah and mawaddah on your shoulders, and may you be shielded, guided and protected by Allah all the time, along with all of us - Mak, your children, grandchildren, siblings and all...


Lots of love from us,
Kak, Amin, Ujai, Akif, Asim

Happy Belated Birthday dearest Pak Ostad

Happy belated birthday to my darling hubby who turned 37 last Friday, March 12. It did not hit me that I forgot to write an entry on his birthday until I realized that he checked on my blog at home last Saturday. Alamak! Sorry ye Abang!

Here's making lots of do'a that he will be blessed all the time; that he will remain the good man he is and keep improving with time; that he will be as (and even more) caring, loving and giving as expected from him; that we will keep loving each other as part of loving Allah al-Mighty and keep growing together as a good team of husband/wife, parents to our children, child/child-in-law to our parents etc

My darling Abang,

"Because you're such a good man,

In spirit, and in charm.

I'm so lucky to be your wife,

By your side, arm in arm.

Of course, you know I love you

And you surely must know, too

That my very happiest moments

Are those spent with you

For when we're together

Or when we're apart

You're first in my thoughts

And first in my heart"

- J Bratton

Asim is 1!

Alhamdulillah, Baby Haniyya turned 1 on February 17, 2010.

We were supposed to go for his 1 year immunisation yesterday, but he is still on medication for running nose, so the immunisation has to wait. Now that he is one, Baby Haniyya ...

• Weighs more than 10kg now.
• Is an expert at 'cruising' - walking while holding onto furniture
• Could stand alone momentarily.
• Could not yet walk on his own - but had already took the first two tentative steps on his own a week ago.
• Love walking by holding onto an adult's hand
• Could descend from the bed on his own, tentatively
• Could shake his head 'no' (which by the way is also his reaction when we chants "La ila haillallah")
• Could usually join in his two big brothers's meal time because he already has 6 teeth (4 upper, 2 lower) and growing more
• Could drink from a cup, but still mostly drink from his bottle.
• Needs at least one feeding in the middle of the nigh
• Could use his thumb and index finger to pick up small objects - like a piece of Koko Krunch or crumbs of his brother's Chipsmore
• Love nibbling on a cream cracker/biskut marie on his own (I miss the good ol' Hai Hain akachan senbei - both his big brothers loved it)
• Love banging the toys - especially if it light up or make a musical sound as a result of the bang
• Love gazing at his own reflection (as we point out the different body parts)
• Looks really cute whenever he imitates "sujud" (or combintion of ruku' and sujud) as he sees us performing solat

Here's making a do'a for Muhammad Asim Haniyya to grow up as an anak soleh yang mukmin, a qurratu a'yun, showered with lots of Allah's blessings, good health, prosperity and in time will bring benefits to his family, community, country and Islam... Ammmiiinnn...

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Bought a pack of 5 CNY cards.
Sent one to Fee Cheng, my partner-in-crime for Jalan-Jalan Cari Makan Japanese food (or at least, Sushi King)
(In fact - at first I only wanted to buy one card to send to Fee Cheng tapi gatal tangan beli yang 5-in-1 pack pula sebab kad tu kiut,boleh?)
Sent another to Phan, who is one of the 'usual' invitees (from other agencies) for retreats held by our sector.
3 cards left.

Then met Ms Khor for the first time (although I've heard of her before) last week.
Turned out she used to work for Mak and was happy to meet me in person - "So you are Puan's daughter. I've heard so much about you before..." Only the good things, I hope. (I know Mak has a lot to complain about me what with my many shortcomings, but Mak also taught us not to discuss a family member's weakness with others...)
So, one card was sent to Ms Khor.
2 cards left.

I tried googling my former bosses - Ms Chan, my former KPSU and Mr Teo, my former SUB. who also used to work under Mak's supervision. Yes, the world of PTD is not that large - many seniors/my counterparts in the current office know Mak either by reputation or had had encounters with her in the old days when she was still in the service.
Apparently Mr Teo is now Dato' Teo and the CEO of one commission in Cyberjaya.
I was hesitant at first whether or not to send him a card. Don't want to be misinterpreted as "oh, now I am a Dato' only you want to send me a CNY card" since I hadn't send any since I left the old office. On the other hand, he is one of the best bosses I've worked for so I guess it's okay to pay a courtesy call of some sort - even if it's just in greeting card form.
So, sent him a card.
1 left.

As for Ms Chan, the search through Google found her name listed as the Deputy Director of a Hospital in her hometown. Called up the hospital to confirm and was told that she's still there.
So, sent the last card to her.
(But later on received a call from a colleague in P*nang and was told that Ms Chan is no longer the TP for the hospital - she had already opted for early retirement... Oh well...)

Here's wishing all CNY-celebrating friends (that includes you Cubie and you too Kit) peace, good health and double prosperity (McD beef prosperity burger is yummy) this new year and always
Xin Nian Kuai Le
Gong Xi Fa Cai

P.S: That "Happy happy CNY. Happy happy U & I" advert on TV is so catchy, kan?

P.P.S: An old friend is coming to visit us - first time in 5 years - during CNY weekend insya Allah. Can't wait!

Salam Maal Hijrah

Picture taken from here

To all Muslim readers,

Happy New Hijri Year 1431

Ya Allah,

Most Gracious, Most Benevolent

Please forgive us for all our sins

Grant us the strength to live in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah

Grant us good health so that we may continue to make more good deeds

Grant us prosperity so that we can give more to those in need

and shower Your blessings on us

and keep us on Your guided path at all times

so that we may die in Iman and in Islam
Amin ya Rabbal Aa'lamin

Go nen me no kinenbi

5 years!
In some ways it feels like forever, in others like it was just yesterday.

Alhamdulillah I must admit that it has been a wonderful and unforgettable 5 years of marriage.

1 plus 1 in 2004 now equals 5!

Baby Haniyya is going to be 10 months, Humaidi is 2.5 years and Huzaifah 4 years.
We have three children, have gone through different life experiences together (living apart in the 1st year, living as Mombusho-student-with-an-Imam-husband in Tokyo for 3 years and a year of what many would consider 'normal life' as government servants)
Alhamdulillah, I am happy to say that we are still moving forward together in our life journey, strengthening and maturing our bond and love for each other.

Oh yes, of course we get exhausted from our boisterous and highly energetic children and we might squabble about different viewpoints but alhamdulillah, so far we managed to work it out.
Oh yes, occassionally we found somebody telling us that I might have annoyed hubby, yet others would point out that I have higher tolerance and patience for his temper bursts compared to most women. Somebody would say that I made a lousy daughter-in-law and another would say that he made a lousy son-in-law too. We don't usually scream at each other, but admitedly, there were moments of resentment, 'bengang' and stuff every once in a blue moon.
Squabbles - what would married life be without them, eh?
"Gaduh-gaduh, bawa bahagia"...Or as Abraham Lincoln put it, "no matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens" (aww shucks...)

Anyway, while it might be easy to get lost in little frustrations and annoyances, when do we remember to look at things from a broader perspective, it really makes us thankful for what we have and are together...
Alhamdulillah.

I love you Abang.
More now than 5 years ago.
And looking forward to many, many more years for us to keep loving each other.
And keep falling in love with each other.
Again and again and again.
Insya Allah.

Salam Eidul Adha

Selamat hari raya Aidil Adha.
semoga yang menunaikan ibadah haji tahun ini beroleh haji yang mabrur.
semoga yang menjalankan ibadah korban tahun ini diterima korbannya di sisi Allah.
dan semoga yang lainnya - termasuk empunya diri - sama-sama menghayati nilai dan memahami erti pengorbanan di hari raya Korban ini...

Mak & Ayah's 25th Wedding Anniversary

They say that it calls for a celebration when a couple remain together for a quarter of a century, so I guess that's what prompted Ayah - who for the first time ever, made it a point to celebrate his wedding anniversary with us the children.

We had dinner at Paya Serai Restaurant in PJ Hilton, after my younger brother Abang (who btw has been featured in this month's International Business Journal) reported that the restaurant Ayah was hoping to go to in Section 14 was closed. So PJ Hilton was it.

It was quite a quiet family dinner with just us kids minus the grandchildren. The food was okay (I expected it to be better - proof that it has been long since I last had a meal in PJ Hilton), the price reasonable (less than RM50 per pax) and the chic interior design with metallic and silver shades made an appropiate setting for a dinner celebrating a silver wedding anniversary.

Dear Mak & Ayah,

Twenty five (or twenty four plus one) years of marriage is an amazing feat, especially in this world where statistics had shown that half of all marriages end in divorce. Alhamdulillah, yours remained.

We hope that the ups and downs, the good times and the bad times, the trials and the joyous ocassions, the laughters and the tears, the itches, glitches and gleeful moments, happiness and sorrows, joy and losses that you have endured and gone through together shall serve as the glue that will keep you together with the blessings of Allah subhana wa taala.

Here's a loving do'a that Allah will keep on blessing you with love, patience, courage and strength for both of you to keep on being committed and dedicated to each other.

"In marriage, do thou be wise;
prefer the person before the money,
virtue before beauty
the mind before the body"

With love,
Kak & Amin
2 November 2009

Kad Raya 1430H

Eid Mubarak and may Allah bless always!

Ujai is 4

(image from Law Memo)

4 years old. Already?

And to think that I remember this story oh-so-vividly.

Oh my – that first moment, the first time I was able to hold him
close in reality after carrying him inside me for nine months – it was pure heaven. There is nothing quite as unique – the feeling of joy, wonder, thankfulness all mixed up together. I even tried to shut my awareness that I had only 11 days before I was going to leave him, just so that I could enjoy our first moments together more. I lied on one side, feeding him, and all wrapped up in taking note of his features – his innocent huge black eyes, his tiny long fingers (like that famous Bollywood heartthrob Hritrik Roshan, my baby has a dual right thumb – so in his case he could even raise three thumbs up!) his soft dark hair, his birth mark, and all

And today Muhammad Azmi Huzaifah a.k.a Ujai is 4.

A really active, mischievious 4-year old who is always on the go, go, go.

Ask anyone who have been to our home and they will have all kind of stories to tell about Ujai. About him climbing the 2-door fridge without using any tools/ladder just to get the ice cream tub out.

Or him climbing the kitchen cabinets, to get at the supposed-to-be-hidden jar of sweets.

Or him walking/cycling on his own along the street side - not on the lane where we lived, but on the lane behind ours.

Personally I believe, in our neighborhood, Ujai is among most well-known boys for their streak of independence. Which at times could be a blessing and at other times, something to worry about.

I'm glad to note that he is more socially adjusted now compared to a year ago - when he was the culprit who bit other kids in his playschool. But he still has a lot to learn about sharing his toy and not treating other people's toys as his own.

He could recite a bits and pieces of Al-Fatihah now, loves climbing, sliding, and running.

He's very cheeky - if I sang (to the tune of Aliff's "Jangan Nakal")

"Please, please, please, Ujai jangan nakal. Kalau Ujai nakal, nanti Ibu marah",

he would sing back to me, "Plis, plis, plis, Ibu jangan nakal..."

He still loves "Thomas and Friends", and also very fond of "Transformers" and "Tom and Jerry". He loves his "Tom and Jerry" pyjamas, and proud owner of 3 pairs at the moment. He used to pester us on getting new Transformers toys at Petronas when there was a campaign going on while "Revenge of the Fallen" was showing at the cinema a few months back. Just two weeks ago, he gave me a RM5 note given to him by his Atok, asking me to buy "mainan Transformers". When we bought him a pair of Transformers rubber slippers using the RM5, he asked back - "mane mainan Transformers?". It's like he was reprimanding us "The RM5 was for a toy lah Ibu, not a pair of slippers. And I don't care that Ibu had gone and spent that money on some slippers, I still want my toy. Remember, Ujai asked for a toy, okay?"

Well, at least RM5 is a huge improvement compared to him giving me 40 sen, saying, "ini duit beli mainan Thomas" when I told him earlier I could not buy one because "takdak duit".

He still has lots of twinkle in his eyes, especially so when he has something up his sleeves. I love his ready smiles and his gleeful giggles. I'm still touched everytime he gives me a peck on the cheek or kisses the back of my right hand. Although we use the cloth hanger as a substitute for a rod, he's never hit unless it's really necessary.

Mak's friend, Auntie (Datin) Hendon once remarked something along the line of "if a kid grows up a happy and well-balanced person, he's going to be all right." Her own son was raised up according to the "happy kid" method - and while he strugged to read at 8 years, more than 20 years later, he became more successful than many others, a live testimonial to his mother's principles.

So yes, while my son Huzaifah is not a whizz kid who memorize verses from the Quran, or can read and count perfectly, or play a musical instrument or a well-trained acrobat or something, my husband and I believe in guiding him towards being a happy, well-balanced person.

We hope and pray that he, and the rest of our children, will be all right in this world and in the hereafter.

Hopes for this Ramadhan

I hope that Muslims will make the most out of these especially blessed 29/30 days...
to repent for all kind of wrong doings
to apologize and grant forgiveness to others
to increase all kind of ibadah and good deeds

I hope that Allah will make it easier for those in places experiencing summer to fast throughout the month.
The long day, the heat, the humidity...
I'll pray that Allah will make it easy for them
And that those who have it easy and still refuse to fast to learn a lesson or two from their Muslim counterparts in those countries experiencing hot sultry summer...
(yes Ju, you are in my prayer...)

I hope that Allah will grant those who have just learn to fast the strength and patience needed.
Be them small kids, new reverts or adult born Muslims who have just started to fast after failing to do so before this.
Let their start be a fruitful one that will lead them to be closer to Allah...
And I hope that there will be less born Muslims trying not to fast during this holy month and drift further away from Allah AlMighty...

I hope that those who are venturing into new areas - wearing tudung, trying to quit smoking, nibbling on food all the time - will be granted strength and self-discipline needed to keep continue doing the good things even after Ramadhan is over

I hope that there will be less Muslims who claim that they fast but missed the real significance of fasting in Ramadhan...
Like those who overspend at Pasar Ramadhan (PaRam) and waste a lot of food at the end of the day
Or like Muslims who 'fast' yet break her/his fast with alcohol
Or like that Muslim couple who asked in an Aunt Agony column, what is the 'kifarah' for an unmarried couple who fornicated during the day in Ramadhan
Or like those Muslim girls (tudung-clad or otherwise, but especially the tudung-clad ones) and their partners who continued all sort of 'ringan-ringan' activities despite not eating or drinking during the day
I pray that Allah will guide them to learn and understand the real meaning of fasting and not continuing getting simply thirst and hunger in their endeavour

I hope that all the great not-to-be-missed bargains in Ramadhan -
the night of 1000 months,
the super extra blessings,
the promised rewards in the hereafter
will entice all Muslims to do good and do better.
And that we will keep the momentum going even after Ramadhan leaves...

Ahlan wa sahlan wa marhaban ya Ramadhan

Selamat...

Took a leave yesterday because Baby Haniyya is down with cold/flu/cough.
Poor baby was taken to see a doctor on last Saturday when he was given a nebulizer treatment there in the clinic and we returned home with three different kind of medicine - for high temperature, for pleghm and antibiotic.
His temperature is not stable - sometimes it's high, sometimes not quite.
But there were a lot of tossing at night (and loss of sleep) as he keeps merengek at night.
Poor Haniyya.

So, he sets the record so far among my sons, to be the earliest to receive nebulizer treatement.
Both hubby and I are asthmatic and now it seems that all our children have some respiratory problem too.
Huzaifah had his first nebulizer treatment when he was about 9 months if I'm not mistaken, in Tokyo. Since then there had been subsequent treatments including two ambulance rides due to asthma related incidents.
Humaidi had his first nebulizer treatment when he was 1 1/2 year old, not long after we returned to Malaysia last year.
Baby Haniyya had his first nebulizer treatment at 6 month.
Poor baby.

He's supposed to get his 6-month jab yesterday.
But there was no point taking him to the clinic because he won't get any jab in his current condition.
Not while he's still down with cold/flu/cough.
Not while he's still on medication.
He's not as boisterous as his two big brothers were at his age.
But now he seems even less lively.
So tak bermaya.
Poor baby.

Please make doa that my baby will recover soon.
It's worrying - especially now in the wake of the H1N1 pandemic/epidemic.
May Allah protect us from any harm, and may we be among those blessed and protected by Him always...

*****

Now that Ramadhan is only a few days away, I hereby seek forgiveness from my readers - family, friends, strangers and all.
Selamat berpesta ibadah di Ramadhan mubarak
dan semoga kekal istiqamah berpesta ibadah di bulan lain...
(I've failed the second part again... and again... and again... I know, I'm so weak that way)
I pray that Allah will grace us to meet, greet Lailatul Qadr wisely and make the best of the extra special night.
Have a blessed, blissful and meaningful Ramadhan.
Ramadhan kareem!

The other AHB

* Both my younger brother and I share the same initials - AHB (or AHBB), hence the title

When we were small, people used to ask us - "which one of you is older?".
It could be confusing to others since I call him "Abang" (elder brother) and he calls me "Kak" (elder sister).
That's how we are referred to in the family - I am Kak, he is Abang and our youngest brother, Adik.
Kak. Abang. Adik
(And that's why among the children of our maternal cousins, we're called respectively as Chik Kak, Paman Abang and Paman Adik)

He turned 33 yesterday, on July 1st.
Up until now, most of his friends and colleagues still thought that he is the real "Abang", as in he's the elder brother and I'm his younger sister.
Which could be flattering at times, yet also embarrassing.
Flattering because it might be a sign that I look younger than my age (ehcheh!)
Embarrassing because it might be a sign that I'm not as mature as my own younger brother.
But, never mind.
I'm ok with people mistaken me as the younger sister.
Hihihi.

He's 33 now.
Masya Allah, how time flies.

Once we swapped clothes.
(Back when we were innocent children who knew nothing about the hadith that forbid us from wearing clothes meant for and imitating opposite gender)
I wore his boy scout uniform
He wore my school uniform, complete with the tudung.
We looked at ourselves in the mirror.
"Hey, I look more handsome than you"
"Hey, I look sweeter than you. See, I have dimples."
Oh well, I don't have dimples.
He won, I guess.
(But seriously, I was more handsome than him in boy scout uniform)
Hehehe.

He's 33 now.
Masya Allah, how time flies.

We talked about the latest Transformers film.
He already watched it on the opening day, 24th June with his pregnant wife.
When we were small, we used to save our pocket money so that we could buy our own "toys".
(Back in the days when kids watched "cartoons" and not "animated series", and no one understand what "action figure" stands for.)
We were each given 60 sen a day as pocket money - back then, 60 sen was enough to buy a glass of cordial drink (syrup or orange) and a plate of nasi lemak/mee goreng in the school canteen.
We were nuts about Transformers - and challenged each other to save more so that we could buy better 'Transformers toy' than the other.
Being quite tomboyish, I was a big fan of Transformers and M.A.S.K. (Mobile Action Strike Kommand?) and later X-Men.
I remember having this dream of owning the biggest and most complicated 'Transformers toy' so that Abang could no longer beat me in that department.
It took weeks to buy a single toy (the cheapest Transformers action figure cost about RM20 back then, and the most we could save up each week is RM3), so the 'competition' was really tough.
And now, there is no single trace of all those toys we bought back then.
Unless one counts my brother being a producer of animation series as a trace left by his fascination with all those cartoons he watched as a child
Hahaha.

He's 33 now.
Masya Allah, how time flies.

#####

Happy Birthday my dear brother.
May Allah bless always.
Love you lots (even though I seldom say it in person)

Of birthday & Mother's day

"Keluarga abang tak biasa sambut-sambut birthday ke apa day ke."

That was what hubby told me long time ago, when we were newly married.
It was a warning of sort - not to expect much from him regarding birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
I told him that in my family, it's a tradition to have some makan-makan to sort of celebrate our birthdays. I said "sort of" because it's not necessarily held on the birthday itself, but still it was called "rai birthday". Since Ayah's birthday is on the 5th, Mak's on the 12th and mine on the 10th, May is one month we seldom miss having at least one makan-makan session (usually it is just one makan-makan session, anyway).

This year, my younger brother Abang decided to play host for the family makan-makan session to celebrate Ayah's, Mak's and my birthday - on a day that happened to be Ayah's birthday. Since I was already at my parents' house in Kampung Tunku, just finished attending a short course in Bukit Kiara, we decided to just go some place in PJ although initially Abang was thinking of giving a treat of Nasi Arab at Saba restaurant in Cyberjaya. Mak and Ayah are big fans of Nasi Arab aka Nasi Mandy lately, and Mak prefers Saba in Cyberjaya than going to the famous Al Rawsha in KL. Besides we had some bad experience there - really bad service and an incident involving Huzaifah and a little girl with a rude father. Anyway, there's another Middle Eastern restaurant that Mak recommended to us - Al Diafah in Seri Petaling (note to self: maybe should take my parents there as my treat), but that night, since we did not make any reservation ahead in time, we decided to just belasah ajelah any suitable place in Sunway Pyramid.

We ended up having dinner at Thai Thai. Abang, who was in Cyberjaya for a metting, picked hubby in Putrajaya, and his wife and kid in Kelana Jaya before meeting the rest of the family - Mak, Ayah, Adik, my kids and I - at Sunway Pyramid. What can I say about Thai Thai? Good food, not bad service, reasonable price with staff who are quite friendly and patient with hyperactive kids. Ayah really enjoyed his meal, Mak had some complaint about the staff who started cleaning up the area (the shop was already closed, we were the last to leave the place) even before we finished eating, but all in all it was a good makan-makan session.

#####

Since my birthday this year is on the second Sunday of May, it was also Mother's day.

Mak never taught me to celebrate Mother's day.
"A mother should be celebrated everyday, all year long. Not merely on one day, every year," or so Mak claimed.
And I couldn't agree more.

Mak too said that one should not be too keen on celebrating his or her own birthday.
"What right do you have to celebrate your own birthday? You just happened to be born on that day. It was your mother who went through all the pain of bringing you to the world," or so Mak would repeat the words of Sheikh Yusof Estes.

Hubby thought of taking me out - just the two of us - for a birthday treat. I had to take a rain cheque on that because on my birthday, he was in Seremban while the kids and I were with my parents in Pontian. My aunt's husband, Pakcik Me'at was admitted to the hospital for diabetes, so when Mak invited me to go balik kampung to visit him, I agreed. It's the weekend off for our bibik, so I thought being with Mak and her helper is a better option than having to care for all three kids on my own, and hubby reluctantly agreed.

I thought of a few things on my birthday, among others, to call my biological mother to thank her for going through the pain to bring me to this world.
Unfortunately, I left my handphone in the office, so that had to be postponed.
I asked Huzaifah to sing "happy birthday yu yu" to Ibu, but everytime I prompted with singing "happy birthday to you...", he smiled cheekily and started singing "A B C D E F G..." instead.
Bertuah punya anak.

We ended up having an even bigger makan-makan on the night of my birthday.
Two retired teachers who used to teach in Sungai Batu identified my uncle Ayah Jang as the grandson of Che Uda, the Penghulu of Sungai Batu back when they were teaching there. They contacted Ayah Jang, who still remember them and then held a family gathering in Putrajaya Lake Club. A jejak kasih reunion of sort for the teachers (with their respected family), my grand uncle, Tok Lang, Ayah and his siblings. The younger generation - my cousins and I- merely enjoyed a makan-makan session with the family. I left the kids with Mak's helper at home, otherwise I don't think any of us could eat in peace at the Lake Club. Ayah Jang ordered lots of dishes to go with rice, but I opted to sit at the far back, the assigned a la carte area, and had Cantonese Kuey Teow as per Mak's recommendation. Although the makan-makan was not held to celebrate my birthday, it was one I really enjoyed. Away from the kids for a while, able to sit back, relax, chit-chat with aunts, uncles, cousins on various matters. I found it quite amusing to notice that none of my aunts got my age right when I told them that it was my birthday - all of them thought I'm younger. Hmm, I wonder if that is because perhaps they think if their niece hasn't age that much, then they too could not have aged that much...

I used to think that age is just a number. But not anymore. Age is something that happens only once. Like Mak always point out to me if she's not happy with the way I take care of the kids, "They are only 3 year old once in their life". The same goes whether one reaches 10, 20 or 30 years old. At any particular age, we must try to achieve something so that it counts; age is a blessing that must not be wasted on too much lying around doing nothing. Or too much sleeping.
Which means I have to start doing something because I don't think I have achieve something significant yet this year. And that might start with losing some weight, since I really need to lose those baby fat I've accumulated when I was pregnant with Haniyya...

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This morning, as I walked in the office and checked on my phone, I found 3 text messages wishing me happy birthday and a few others wishing happy mother's day.
I found myself praying that all those prayers and wishes sent my way will come true, insya Allah.

Selamat Hari Raya Korban

Wishing all Muslim readers, wherever you are, a happy and blessed Eidul Adha.

Here's praying that those on hajj will get haji mabrur,
while the rest of us will ponder upon the significance of Prophet Ibrahim's sacrifice...
He was not merely asked to sacrifice his son, but his most beloved son - as noted in the way he addressed Prophet Ismail, "ya bunayya" (my beloved son) and not "ya ibni" (my son)...

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Hubby had been asked to lead the solat raya Eidul Adha in Seremban this year (after two consecutive years of being the imam in Tokyo). Hopefully Allah will guide him to produce (or at least edit) a khutbah that will give lasting impression on the jemaah this year...

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Note to Che Lee - our stuff (and the car) from Tokyo finally arrived at Port Klang yesterday, alhamdulillah. We've already gotten the AP - so if all goes as planned, we might get the stuff out from the port tomorrow and the car by next week or the week after. Please pray that everything will go smoothly and the tax bearable...

Note to Basya, Hiday, Emi and all who had left a message for me through FB - I have not been able to access FB lately, so feel free to email me; aezack.at.gmail.dot.com.

Random thoughts on one's (30++) birthday

1.
It rained all day long - not a sunny birthday for me this year
But being able to enjoy listening to the sound of falling rain (when the boys were asleep, while hubby and the parents-in-law went sightseeing) was kind of nice...

2.
Thank you Faizly for that special entry on your blog.
Thank you Husna for that special status display on YM
Thank you everyone else for birthday wishes/cards/virtual gifts - by email, YM, FB...

3.
It's good to meet old friends again on FB, especially on one's birthday.

4.
Happy birthday to Mida in Odaiba
Happy birthday to 'Abang' Syafiq Anas in Sarawak
Happy birthday to Sue - who used to be in the same college with me, but I have no idea where she is now.
Happy belated birthday to T.I, Imah, Farid - all from SMAPL class of '92 - on May 7th, 8th, 9th respectively.
And congratulations to Fendi and Liya on the birth of their second son this morning, alhamdulillah... (obviously it'll be easy for me to remember the kid's birthday)

5.
I want to improve in at least one area of my daily life, but still undecided on how to exactly persecute it...

6.
I want to write a book, insya Allah. Jennifer Chan, a researcher from British Columbia University visited us a while ago and had a really long interview with hubby and I. After listening to our stories (as the Imam of Asakusa Mosque and the Imam's wife), she took a look at our photo collection - of nikah ceremonies, syahadah ceremonies, 'tahnik', iftar jama'ie, maulidur-rasul - turned to me, and exclaimed, "You should write a book on being a Muslim in Japan, you have all these wonderful resources!"
Maybe I should.
Maybe I'll start by taking a writing course when I return.

7.
If I ever get to write and publish a book on being a Muslim in Japan, I intend to use some, if not all, of the proceeds to help funding Islamic activities in Japan...

Happy New Year

My first post in the new year - it's already maghrib here, so makes that for both Gregorian and Hijri calendar...

So, what's up huh?

During the two-weeks new year break, apart from what I'd written in previous entry, I 'd managed to

• finish reading "Judges & Jury" and "London Bridges" by James Patterson, "The Broker" by John Grisham and "Number 10" by Sue Townsend. I know, I know, I should be reading academic books, not story books, but old habits die hard and all that...;

• take advantage of New Year bargains offer to buy Kose Sekkisei stuff for myself, a pair of glasses for hubby, as well as won a small Kaeru-chan toy for my baby and an "Ai Nori" mug in two separate lucky draws. "Ai Nori" is a Fuji TV reality-show involving a "love wagon" which goes around the world, and when they were ready, players were supposed to ask one player of the opposite sex who they were interested in, to return with them to Japan. Some ended as happy couples, some left devastatingly alone, and some simply retired after being in the game for some time without finding anyone they could be interested in.

• visit Asakusa area on New Year. It was already after Asar - so it was quite surprising to see the line for people to enter Sensoji (one of the oldest temples in Tokyo area) was still very long (think about 500 meter) and growing. The place was still crowded, most of the shops on the main streets closed, the streets opened only for pedestrians and we took some pictures in the middle of the usually busy main street a'la "ini jalan bapa kami yang punya" style. I should have not been that surprised though, after all most Japanese only pray once or twice a year. There were plenty of Christian missionaries all over Sensoji neighboring areas, both nihonjin and gaijin, holding placards urging people to learn more about the eternal life of Jesus, the death of a savior, with loud speakers repeating some recorded messages about Christianity again and again. I told hubby, maybe we should suggest to AMIR or IPIJ to invite those who are free and their Muslim nihonjin friends to come and distribute brochures about Islam too in this crowded area next year. There is so much that we still need to do to right the misperception most nihonjin seem to have about Islam and Muslim, and maybe we should learn a thing or two from those Christian missionary who stood up all day long holding their respective signboard.

• visit the Imperial Palace on January 2 (the only other day the Palace inner ground was open for public was on December 23, the Emperor's birthday). Very tight security. Do not bring any liquid in cans or plastic bottles - they had to be thrown away or else you will have to keep your bag in safe keeping at a counter manned by police officers. I was first asked by a young lady officer to either finish up or throw the content of feeding bottle for my baby. I tried persuading my baby to finish the bottle up; but another elder gentleman officer said that it was okay to enter with the bottle still half full, since baby might cry without his bottle. Oh, and no plastic container of any kind - the police inside the palace compound checked on Humaidi's toy twice to ensure that it was just a toy and not some explosive or something. Those with baby stroller and wheelchair get privileged treatment - so even though we were rather late, we were ushered to the front line. Hubby who wanted to take a better shot of the Emperor's family exchanged place with Faizly who had been manning the other stroller for a while just so he got to be on the front line. Granted, the Emperor is not my king, and I earlier thought that the place would be crowded with old people who are known to be more loyal to the Emperor than the younger generation - so I was surprised to see lots and lots of young people - singles, in groups and with families, all together chorusing "banzai" and waving the Japanese flags (freely distributed before we entered the security check area) oh-so-proudly and happily right after the Emperor made one of his hourly appearances and gave ultra-short new year greetings speech that day.

• visit Palette Town in Odaiba after the visit to Imperial Palace ended. Oh, we had a long, long walk that day... and Faizly must be very exhausted playing baby sitter for the kids while the parents berhoga-hoga, especially at Toyota Mega Web. I tried out the rally racing simulator machine and oh my - it was really difficult to handle compared to real life driving. Despite the "gelong-gelong macam mabuk" bumpy ride, I managed to finish it before the 3-minute-limit was up, so was pretty satisfied (it took a 30-minute wait after all). Hubby asked me to join him entering the simulator theater - and it was much, much better than trying out the simulator machine. No dizzying experience, and we managed to have a 'feel' of how one racer overtook not one, but four cars, to emerge the winner of the competition. Huzaifah had some fun in Venus Fort, very much mesmerized by the ever changing sky scenes - from twinkling blue and green stars in a dark-dark night, to the yellowish evening sunset and clear morning sky. The only "down" side to the trip is that dogs were allowed to be unleashed in the first floor of the mall. It's not that we don't like dogs, it's just that we have to go through some hassle of special cleansing ritual if the dog lick us, or if wet dogs make contact with us. When I was in UK, I really hated it when a dog suddenly appeared in front of me and the owner would casually say "It's okay love, he won't bite, he just wants to play...", always made me felt like replying - "I don't care if your dog wants to play - but I can't, okay?"

• watch all 17 episodes plus "the making of" Korean drama "Coffee Prince". I don't usually watch Korean drama, but my cousin Firdhaus loves them, and had in the past influenced me to watch "Full House" and "Wonderful Life". Zyrin's musings on "Coffee Prince" kind of prompted me to watch it - and yup, I enjoyed it. I still sometimes hum to the tune of the song the lead hero sang over the phone to the boyish-looking heroin (believably so too, unlike the heroin in J-drama Hana Kimi who still very much looked like a girl) just before they were supposed to be apart for 2 years.

Okay, now that the holiday is over, I should be concentrating on my thesis now. I mean, seriously...
Oh by the way, Kit, thanks for your do'a (winks).
Note to Kak Lela - "ada masa cecair merah yang dikeluarkan oleh jasmani wanita boleh menjadi tanda gembira, dan saya telah mendapat petanda itu! Syukur, alhamdulillah..."

Happy New Year 1429 Hijriah to my Muslim readers
May it be a better year, and may we be blessed by Allah always.

Kahwin, kawan-kawan, jalan-jalan

The last 9 days of 2007...

1. The Wedding

We got a call a few days before Eidul Adha, from an acquaintance who shared similar name with hubby. Brother Amin, a Jordanian married Naoko-san, a Nihonjin through civil ceremony in October 2007. Naoko-chan had not formally converted to Islam yet at that time, and Brother Amin told her that until she become a Muslimah and they go through a proper Islamic nikah, they could not live together or have normal life as married couple. Nao-chan agreed .

Brother Amin tried getting some help from the people at his Embassy, but they advised him to return and bring Nao-chan with him to Jordan for the formal conversion and Islamic marriage, since no such arrangement could be done at the Embassy. Since Brother Amin knew that they could not afford to go back to Jordan, he started looking for other alternatives.

It was then when he remembered that he actually knew a non Arab Imam who could speak Arabic, so he called us. Understandably, he was very excited upon learning that we could help him with both conversion to Muslim and Islamic nikah. "Thank you brother, thank you sister. I didn't want to bother you, but Allah had answered my prayer by guiding me to contact you..."

After he received the list of necessary documents/preparation needed, he called us again, to make appointment to see us on Saturday, 22 December 2007, for both conversion and nikah ceremony. Hubby quickly agreed, since it also happened that the Nihonjin kids he usually teach on Saturday had earlier asked for leave that day. We asked if he could bring two Muslim guys to act as witnesses for the wedding ceremony, but he could not, so hubby promised to help him on that matter.

Thus, when we were at the Embassy for Eidul Adha celebration, hubby asked around, to get some volunteers to act as witnesses for the coming wedding in Asakusa.

Saturday saw me preparing the 2 kg of qurban beef hubby collected from the Islamic Center in Setagaya the previous day. I was not sure what to cook at first, but somehow I ended up making Nasi Minyak, with Khuzi Daging Lembu and Acar Timun/Carrot. For dessert, I just peeled some mandarin oranges, diced some apples, sliced some kiwi and mixed them all with sugar and yoghurt, ala Pakistani style dessert minus the masala/chilli powder. (I still have trouble understanding why our Pakistani brothers always finish preparing the yoghurt-and-fruit dessert by adding a dash of masala/chilli powder...)

So, alhamdulillah, Basharan, Hadyan, Lutfy and Shahreeza came to help out with Nao-chan's conversion and Brother Amin-Nao-chan's wedding. Since there were four of them, two acted as witnesses for the conversion while the other two for the wedding.

Funny moments include - our surprise to see photos of various poses cut into passport size instead of the official passport-sized photos we needed to stamp on the respective certificates; how one of the witnesses excitedly posed for a photo with a wedding certificate; and how the same witness admitted to feeling rather nervous just before the wedding ceremony, although the groom himself had no such trouble whatsoever. Oh, by the by, the same witness is darn good in imitating the groom explaining stuff to his wife about Islam using Level 1 Nihonggo - "kore wa dame... kore wa daijoubu... kore wa Allah ga suki..." Although hubby had asked those who are fluent in Nihonggo to explain this and that during the conversion ceremony, Brother Amin took it upon himself to do it, using simple Nihonggo - which even to my not-so-jouzu ears sounded not quite right, yet the main points were there. So while Brother Amin acted as interpreter for the Imam; the rest of us glanced at each other, thinking similar thoughts, "Ok... that's right, but, but...". Thus, the nervous witness sometimes helped in interpreting hubby's word to Nihonggo, when words seemed to fail the enthusiastic husband.

After some deliberation, Nao-chan chose Sara to be her Muslim name. Brother Amin was obviously interested in naming her Nur, " you will become Nur Amin, the light of me", he grinned as he persuaded her. I told her it would be okay for her to use Nur Sara as her Muslim name, but Brother Amin asked her to choose one or the other. Sarah is what her mother-in-law wishes to call her, and since Sarah/Sara is a common universal name, Nao-chan finally chose Sara.

There was a break between the ceremony and getting the official certificates ready since the newlywed needed to get some official passport-sized photos first. The witnesses were invited to our home for late lunch/2nd round lunch (two guys arrived earlier and had already lunched at our place). Must be the berkat of qurban, the khuzi was a big hit that day. I received plenty of compliments such as "lembutnya daging ni" (it was on slow heat for ages, plus the beef was rather fresh), "akak masak macam mana ni, sedap betul," (my guess is khuzi is not something most single guys would cook. curry maybe, even kurma, but I have yet to see khuzi instant seasoning by Adabi) etc. I smiled as the boys kept adding the rice and beef, feeling really pleased to witness them enjoying the food thoroughly.

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2. Jalan-jalan ziarah kawan

(Another version of this could be read at Faizly's blog)

On Sunday, 23 December 2007, together with Faizly, we went to Gyoda, Saitama on Kak Ita's invitation. Spent most of the 1-hour ride on Takasaki line being glared in between flipping pages of her novel by one obachan sitting opposite us. Then, not long after we arrived in Gyoda, one hit-and-run incident happened involving the Nissan Serena we were in.

It was sunny in Gyoda as opposed to rainy and chilly morning in Tokyo. At first we thought of visiting the Emperor at the Imperial Palace (23 December is the current Emperor's birthday, one of the two days the Imperial Palace inner ground is opened to the public, apart from January 2, for New Year Greetings) but changed our mind upon reading the weather forecast. We ended up watching the Emperor and Empress greeting the visitors flocking the palace on the television in Kak Ita's living room.

Hubby had a great time mikan gari (mandarin oranges picking) under the sun, while I tried to ensure that Huzaifah was not leaving any permanent damage in Kak Ita's house, or should I say Kak Ita's hubby's rumah warisan. Kak Ita prepared lots of food, since she was also expecting other guests. We were served with mouth-watering mee rebus, rice with telur masak rempah and acar rampai, puding roti bakar, dango and freshly picked mikan.

Kak Ita's dad used to stay and teach in Mak's hometown, Pontian. She called him up while I was there, asked me to talk to Tuan Haji myself and what do you know - he knows my Mak, and Mak's elder sisters - all of them used to be in the teaching profession too. Small world, eh?

We left after Asar, after a brief introduction to Yan and Walid who had just arrived then. Kogure-san, Kak Ita's husband agreed to drive us to the eki, but not without having to make a U-turn first because I'd forgotten Humaidi's bottle. Oopss...

Next destination - Ageo, to Kak Pah's house. Fetched by Lutfy on his Honda Fit (Jazz in Malaysia), we were taken to Kak Pah's impeccably clean and organized home. Really enjoyed Kak Pah's, her son and her husband, Mura-san's (aka Abang Din) hospitality. Okay, maybe not just hospitality - but also the laksa, kuih seri muka, Kedah-styled asam pedas keladi (aka asam rebus by those from southern part of Malaysia). Even Humaidi enjoyed the beef soup tremendously. Huzaifah tried to "help reorganize" stuff at Kak Pah's kitchen, all of his efforts smartly thwarted by the well-experienced Kak Pah.

We joined Lutfy and Shahreeza leaving Kak Pah's home after Maghrib. Instead from Ageo, we returned to Tokyo from Omiya, where Lutfy dropped the rest, driving back alone to Higashi Omiya. We bid farewell to Shahreeza who took Saikyo sen to go back to Toda, while we took Takasaki line to Ueno.

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3. Christmas visitor

Koseki-san, the detective who is almost a frequent guest of ours now, came by on Christmas to drop two Disney-themed 'christmas stockings' filled with snacks and cookies for Huzaifah and Humaidi. We already told him earlier that we do not celebrate Christmas, but he insisted on bringing a cake for us. Turned out he was late in ordering a cake, and he couldn't buy any suitable cake by the counter on Christmas Eve, so he ended up buying the snacks and cookies instead. I told him that he shouldn't have, but he said it's his pleasure. Nothing religious - it's just that Christmas cake has became part of Japanese culture in the past 30 years or so.

Christmas is not a national holiday here in Japan - but yes, it is definitely celebrated here, simply because as Koseki-san put it "we Nihonjin like to party and Christmas is a good excuse to party"

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4. Kodomo no Kuni

This deserves an entry on its own. Initial verdict - a great place for kids, definitely a Kids' Kingdom!

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5. Unexpected visitor

AMIR held sort of winter gathering in this Mosque, from 29 - 31 December. (The girls even stayed back for an extra night - cool way to usher in the new year, if you ask me.) Then on 31 December morning one Nihonjin guy suddenly entered my house without knocking first (which was really rude) which caused me to shout "don't come in, wait outside!" in half-surprise half-irritated tone.

After I was properly attired, I went and asked what was it that he wants, and he said that he would like to ask some questions regarding Islam. Hubby was not feeling well, so I brought him to the mosque, asked him to wait for a while and went down to ask for some help from the AMIR program participants. Baim and Kuchai volunteered. Upon entering the mosque floor, I saw the Nihonjin smoking, so I asked Baim to advice him that the mosque is a 'no-smoking' zone.

I am not one who usually dislike someone on first meeting, but there was something about the guy that just didn't sit well with me right from the very beginning - the entering without knocking, then smoking in the mosque without asking for permission...

Turned out he was not really interested in finding out what Islam is all about. He was more interested in confirming his own belief. One of his first questions was "is it true that Muslims are allowed to kill Christians?". Followed by other questions/discussion on the creation of the universe, the "love" message in Islam, the differences between commandments in religions, et cetera.

Hubby reported that he was kind of arrogant, that he was not really sincere in asking questions, but more to put forward his own views, as he cut in while others were speaking and sometimes he just refused to listen to what others had to say.

There were a lot of twisted statements here and there, some self-contradictory points made by the Nihonjin. Baim and Kuchai were very gentle and careful in answering questions, as hubby assisted with getting evidence from the Quran. When the AMIR slot was over and more people joined the 'discussion', one guy named Halim could not control himself but provoked the Nihonjin, by referring to his own twisted statements, to which he had no real answer, but just showed the "peace" sign instead.

Hubby said if he had known Nihonggo, he would have done the same himself. It is one thing to treat a non-Muslim who wants to find out the truth about Islam from Muslims gently and politely; but here was someone who openly showed his arrogance (and ignorance about Islam) to Muslims in a nearly provocative manner in a place considered holy by Muslims. That was why Halim was rather perturbed and could not wait to be given a chance to 'tembak' the Nihonjin guy a little.

Definitely an interesting 'latihan amali' in discussing comparison of religions for the AMIR guys.

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Shinnen akemashite omedetou gozaimasu.
Yoi otoshi wo.

(Happy New Year and wish you a good year ahead)