Rampai Raya 1429H

Yet another belated entry - some pictures from Eidul Fitr 1429H.
Morning of 1st Raya was spent in Kampung Tunku, before we rushed back to Seremban right after Zohor (hubby was quite unhappy since I earlier promised to leave Kampung Tunku before Zohor - but relatives kept coming and there were all the omiyage's to be distributed and all...)

2nd day of Raya was spent visiting relatives all over Seremban and nearby areas - we went to 12 houses that day!

3rd day of Raya we travelled up north (from PJ) to Penang, to visit allahyarham Tok Ayah's youngest sister, Tok Chu Teh. (It also marked the first time I met up with Abang, Sarah and their newborn Uwais since returning from Tokyo). Ayah Jang made arrangement for his family, our family, and three other cousins to spend the night in one "rumah hinggap" in Penang that belongs to Mak Jang's uncle.

4th day of Raya we visited Ummi and my half brother Karim in Sungai Petani. Meera, my half-sister did not balik kampung this year. Then we went to visit my grand uncles, two of allahyarham Tok's younger brothers in Sungai Batu (not far from Gunung Bongsu, the setting of Azizi Abdullah's "Seorang Tua di Kaki Gunung"). Ayah gave us a treat that night- paying for 4 rooms in Hotel Continental, Penang - one each for Abang's and my family, one for Ayah, Mak & Adik and another for my MIL and Neni, the helper.

5th day of Raya, we jalan-jalan around Penang a bit in the morning before started our journey home. One of the longest journey home ever - left Penang at around 2.00 p.m. and arrived in Kampung Tunku at almost 11 p.m. with a one-hour stop in Ipoh. (It usually takes only 4 hours to drive from Penang to PJ) I advised Adik to stop for petrol in Ipoh rather than in any of the petrol stations at R&R because the queues were frighteningly long. Hubby later on drove all the way back to Seremban because MIL had promised to take care of one SIL's daughter the next day, and we finally reached Seremban at around 2.30 a.m.

Makan-makan after Solat Sunat Eid. Teh's family was the first to arrive

Teh's daughters - Izzah, Syahidah & Atiqah with the 'kung-fu panda' (as called by Huzaifah) that I received as a birthday present from hubby a few years ago.

With Iman (Nyah's grand daughter), Nyah, Teh and Ijan (Nyah's youngest son)

We forgot to take a proper Raya picture of the family. This was taken just before we left for Seremban. This year family's sedondon outfit were courtesy of Faizly a.k.a Sabah's Mama. Thank you Auntie - the picture is proof that we fulfilled our promise to wear your gift!

Another family picture - yes Sabah, you can save this and show to your Mama :-) I tried to find a matching tudung, but it was very difficult to find a tudung in this color, so I ended up wearing just black tudung... Ok lah, kan?

With my cousin Syahril and his daughter Iman, who is only two weeks older than Humaidi.

The Hj Baharom's Clan, The Hj Alayuddin's Clan with two of Teh's kids and Ayah Tam's eldest son Imad, in Penang.

The Hj Baharom's clan - so far...

Sarah, Uwais, Mak, Humaidi & I

Huzaifah had already 'lari berjabu' before we could say "chiii-zu"...

With MIL and Ummi in Sungai Petani

Hubby with Karim

Ummi with four of her children, her son-in-law, her besan, two of her grandsons and one cucu angkat

Voluntary...

Once upon a long time ago - before marriage, children, Japan - I signed up as a volunteer for OMBAK (Women Against Violence Organisation). Went for a one-day crash course (mostly talks) organised by Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development. About a year or 6 months after that, I received an invitation letter to join as a registered volunteer for All Women's Action Society (AWAM) which is located not that far from my parents residence but by then I was busy with wedding preparations and the rest, as they said, is history...

Nevertheless I still want to become a volunteer. I've seen Mak voluntarily working with orang Asli, with the masjid and all, and I know I want to become a volunteer even before I reach retirement age. I feel like I haven't been giving back to the society enough and I want to play what small part I can to make this world a better place (yes - blame it on all the Chicken Soup books I've read)

Mak told me over breakfast this morning, of her friend Auntie Shidah who volunteers as a Masjid guide for foreign visitors at Masjid Negara.

"I told her that you can speak Japanese, and she said they are looking for volunteers who can speak other languages than English"

"Uh-huh"

"You should go there and offer your help. It doesn't have to be on weekly basis. Once a fortnight or once a month is good enough"

"Ok"

A chance to introduce Islam and to practice (improve) my nihongo - double yay! Alhamdulillah...
Will discuss this with hubby and simply can't wait for his green light...

Change...

* I should learn to do things faster, and now that I am a mother of two (soon three, insya Allah), I need to allow for more "masa kecederaan" too.

* I should learn things faster at work. Should decrease answering queries with hesitant "err... jab ye, saya check"

* I need to eat more iron-rich food. Already, been twice 'gently advised' by the nurse at the clinic to do so in order to improve the hemoglobin content in my blood.

* I need to exercise - get so easily tired nowaday, and sleepy early (and I know it's unfair to Mak and Neni the helper, because they have to look after Huzaifah and Humaidi all day long, and I should be looking after them after work but sometimes I fell asleep first before putting them to sleep)

* I'm not the only one who need to change... but for things to change, I guess I might as well start changing first...

Sotsugyou shiki

I know, this entry is long overdue. Sorry.

It was a simple ceremony - no graduation robe, pesta konvo and what nots

But it was special in its simplicity - at least for me, since I got to bring Huzaifah on stage to accept the degree with me. (I wanted to take both Huzaifah and Humaidi on stage, but there was some 'miscommunication' problem with hubby, ending with me just taking Huzaifah)

Here are some pictures taken on the not-quite-big-but-significant-anyway day.



Commencement ceremony for Graduate School of Asia Pasific Studies, Waseda University sign board. Next to me is Piseth, who upon arrival at Narita Airport in September 2005, thought I was "orang kurang upaya" since I was using the wheelchair (it was 11 days after I gave birth to Huzaifah, so JAL arranged for me to use the wheelchair from the moment I checked-in at KLIA until just before I left Narita airport).

Hien and I donned our respective traditional costumes. I had already bought a new knee length knit dress and matching long-sleeved top, but couldn't find any suitable pants, so ended up wearing last year's baju raya. Which is not bad - it matched Huzaifah's and Humaidi's identical blue shirt. Managed to wear a new pair of shoes though - a black leather Made-in-Japan pair. In the past three years, I had only bought sneakers in Japan because trying to find a decent pair of shoes in my size often made me feel like Cindrella's step sister - all the nice ones did not fit and those which fit were not that nice.

Returning my student ID card. The graduation day also commemorated the fact that the graduates are no longer 'students' of Waseda

With Alice, the President of GSAPS Student Association 2007/08. One of the nicest girls in our school. Picture was taken right after I returned my student ID Card back to the school.

It's been a kind of tradition to have at least one Malaysian among the Dean's List recipients (in fact last year, my sempai Daud was also the valedictorian). Here is a picture of hubby with Amin, who gave quite a memorable 'performance' upon getting the Dean's List conferment (he shook the paper with a'la Oscar-recipient pose, and the paper flew away on the stage which drew a roar of laughter from the audience)

With Ali, a brilliant Afghan from whom I learned a lot about the real situation in Afghanistan...

Jess, the valedictorian, likened getting our Master to climbing Mount Fuji. "At one point of time, we asked ourselves - what are we doing here? Why are we putting ourselves through all these pain and trouble? But getting to the end, being at the peak - we all realized that it's worth it. All the pain, the trouble, the sacrifices..."

Accepting the degree from Professor Amako, Dean of GSAPS, with Huzaifah right next to me. (The round of loud applause we got was akin to those usually reserved for Dean's List students.)

Right after the ceremony, in the auditorium.

With Emi and Yuko - part of my 'support system' during the critical moments of finishing my thesis.

Class of Fall 2008. Hien and I opted to be at the back during the group photo session - so that it'll be easier to locate us among all the graduates and professors.

With Mega and Hien - both Hien and I got our respective bouquet not from our husband, but from thoughtful friend (Thanks Basharan and Hadyan for coming to the ceremony and for the nice bouquet - really meant a lot to me). I was hoping that hubby would give in and bought one for me - after all, I don't usually ask for much, not even for flowers on my birthday, but hubby just shrugged and gave the usual reply, "bunga bukan boleh makan pun..."

With Siyi, my zemi-mate, who's also on my 'support system' list during thesis writing. We usually found ourselves seated opposite each other in the computer lab - ocassionally checking on each other's progress. Siyi once complimented my 'slim, long fingers' (her words, not mine), that as a piano player, how envious she was of those with fingers like mine. "I don't play piano," I told her. "Then you should learn how to - you are born with piano player fingers..." Oh well...

Jealousy in moderation

"You might want to be careful. There are a lot of ustazs out there who marry their students or someone related to their students... Kalau dah berkenan, ada saja makcik pakcik nak offer anak dia lah, anak buah dia lah, apa lah..."

To be honest, yes, I sometimes worry about hubby receiving all these 'offers'.
But the fear of 'exposing' him to others have to be balanced with the acceptance that I must share him with others. It is one of his responsibilities to spread the message of Islam, to share his knowledge with others, thus it is my responsibility to give him my full support. And with that I have to put my trust in him too.

Anyway, I admit that I do not trust him 100% - a lot, but never 100%. Been advised by others to keep being a little suspicious all the time, not to the extend of ruining the relationship, but enough to be aware of 'unwanted possibilities', because one can never be too trusting... And yes, I've read/heard of so many stories of wives being surprised by their trusted-to-be-faithful husbands' "unsangkarable acts"... Nasty surprises.

Ok, so maybe one have to be careful and be a little 'jealous' (cautious) all the times, but sometimes I wonder - what ratio of trust:jealousy is 'balanced' enough?

Change, eh?

Ken (I know you read my blog even if only ocassionally) must be very happy with the US Presidential election result. Oh, maybe not just happy - overjoyed is more like it. He has never been too happy with having 'an idiot' (his word, not mine) as president.

Barack Hussein Obama's speech gave goosebumps not just to Americans but million, if not billion, others all around the world, as the hunger for a change in American leadership is as strong outside the US as in it.

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Change was what Blair promised with the New Labour's landslide victory in 1997.

Change was also what people hoped for when Pak Lah led BN to a big win in this country's election in 2004.

Well, it's my hope that Obama (and others who called for "change") learn some lesson from others' mistakes...

Having said that, this blog remains an apolitical one...

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I'm glad that Lewis Hamilton won the F1 World Champion, while hubby has to be satisfied with Ferrari winning this year's constructors championship. He would be even more delighted if Massa had won the driver's championship. I admit that Massa is a good driver, but I feel more for Kimi Raikonnen...

F1 is one of the things I have started to enjoy after marriage - one of hubby's likes that I have grown to like too. He also enjoys watching EPL matches, which is not a difficult thing for me to appreciate, since I used to watch (and discussed) EPL back when I was in Leeds.

But we do not have to agree on everything - he supports Ferrari, while I prefer McLaren (Raikonnen used to drive for McLaren before he joined Ferrari, so that explains me having a soft spot for the Iceman) Hubby is a big fan of Manchester United, while I would support any other team but MU (with exception of Chelsea). Both my brothers too are fans of the Red Devils, and in fact I'd had to buy a lot of souvenirs from Old Trafford for them and my younger cousins before I returned home from UK.

I have nothing againts MU - only that I think that they are over rated.
Just like Ferrari team is over rated in F1.
Or roses are over rated among flowers.

On doctors...

When I had trouble to pee a few months back, I went to Asakusa Hospital. I must had been the youngest patient of the day that particular day because all around me, I only saw obaachan and ojiichan in their golden- if not platinum- years.


I didn't have to wait that long to see the doctor. Answered several questions and the doctor told me that I was suffering from "chi". I knew that chi is blood in nihongo, but I didn't quite understand this other "chi" the doctor was talking about. The nurse who was assisting him quickly went in search of an English-Japanese dictionary while the doctor began to explain 'chi' in greater details, using a small anatomical model to help make things clearer for me.


It wasn't long before the nurse returned with a dictionary and she showed me the word "hemorrhoids". At the time I was not familiar with the word, but thanks to the doctor's explanation using the anatomical model, I understood that I was having trouble due to poor muscle tone in the southern region, which might be due to increased straining during bowel movements, and that this is rather common for pregnant women. I was given some cream, and advised to drink more fluids, eat more fiber and practise Kegel exercise.


Later, when I consulted Ailin (a doctor who is on unpaid leave, accompanying her husband doing his Master in Tokyo) I learned that hemorrhoids is what we call buasir in Malay, also often referred to as 'piles' in Malaysia.


Despite language barrier, the doctor went to great length to explain the symptoms and causes of piles to me, until he was satisfied that I understood his explanation. Although I am sure that he must had been rather frustrated that I did not immediately grasp the meaning of his explanation, he never once raised his voice to me. He treated me with respect, and I found comfort in knowing that the doctor cared enough to explain things in details, that he is well qualified to properly identify and respond to my specific needs.


#####


Fast forward two months later.

I found myself in PPUM's Paediatric Emergency room, being talked to as if I was daft for bringing Humaidi to get stitched up.


Well, Humaidi accidentally hit the edge of the bed last week, causing a rather nasty cut on his left eye. Our first response was to clean the cut on his left upper eyelid with minyak gamat and cover it with a band-aid. Hubby and I took him to see Dr Johari, my family's trusted GP right after his clinic was opened, at about 9 a.m.


Dr Johari cleaned the cut and changed the band-aid with a more proper dressing. He advised us to go to the hospital if we want the cut to be stitched up, so that there'll be less chances of infection, but he doubted that Humaidi would be stitched up since the cut is on the upper eyelid and needed very fine needle which is often reserved for plastic surgeon and Humaidi's case is not an emergency. He tried to connect the cut together with a tissue glue plaster - which Humaidi managed to take off as soon as we reached home.


Mak and Ayah did not want to take any chances - Humaidi hit his eye on the edge of the bed, and for all that we know, that might cause some delayed effect on his vision. We called up some relatives, and one of my uncles got a recommendation from an expert paediatric to call up Dr Razak, a paediatric surgeon in Damansara Specialist Hospital. Called up Dr Razak's clinic and we were advised to bring in the child to the hospital's ER, where they could call up Dr Razak on his handphone to attend to Humaidi.


But by the end of that day I was not feeling well, and hubby too was suffering from toothache, so we postponed taking Humaidi to the clinic.

First thing the next morning, I went to see Dr Jo again - this time because I was down with flu. Right after that, Ayah drove me and Humaidi to see Dr Razak in Damansara. Dr Razak checked the dressing on Humaidi's eye, and already there was some whitish infection on the cut. It was quite a struggle for the doctor to check on my son's eye, but he managed it despite Humaidi's gelupur.

The doctor's advise - to minimise risk of further infection, it would be better to get the cut stitched up. But in order to do that, the doctor would have to make another cut, clean the current wound and only then stitch it up. They will need to put Humaidi to sleep for about 45 minutes using anaesthetic, thus will need the operation theatre to perform the surgery. The doctor was even willing to circumcise Humaidi for no extra charge too, but they need to get the boy admitted for the surgery.

The cost?
Dr Razak estimated it to be around Rm4000 - RM5000.

Ayah and I looked at each other. That's a big amount for us. Ayah thanked the doctor and told him that we need to discuss this with the boy's dad first. I knew that hubby would never agree to pay that much for a 'minor' surgery, so I suggested to Ayah to try going to a government hospital. Ayah agreed, but by then it was nearly Zohor, so Ayah brought us back home first, for lunch and prayer.

It wasn't long after Ayah sent me back home when Mak returned from Huzaifah's playschool and asked me to quickly accompany her to the hospital. Huzaifah had an asthma attack!

On the way to PPUM, Mak briefed me that the playschool management had called her up to come and pick Huzaifah since he was wheezing. Probably from eating too much rambutan. There's a rambutan tree in the playschool's backyard and Huzaifah has been asking the teachers there to get him "buah mbutan" all the time. (The first time, my jakun boy actually ate the whole fruit, pit and all - to his teacher's amazement. They quickly pitted the fruit for him first after that). Huzaifah has no problem with eating watermelon or ice, but I forgot that eating too much rambutan could trigger an asthma attack, so not only I did not warn the teachers at his school, my parents and I in fact bought him a lot of rambutan over the weekend after seeing how much he enjoyed eating the fruit (and Huzaifah has always been a fussy eater). Only after he got the asthma attack that we remember how hazardous rambutan could be to an asthmatic child (and since then we have substituted rambutan with canned longan)

Mak left Huzaifah and I at the PPUM's Paediatric Emergency area, at which he was quickly attended to. I didn't have to wait at all as the doctor in charge quickly asked the nurse to prepare the nebulizer. For the first time, Huzaifah was very cooperative in using the nebulizer. Probably because he couldn't wait to 'attack' the playhouse available in the waiting area. (Which he did even before the gas was not quite finished but he has stopped wheezing, leaving my lap, insisting to be allowed to go "main-main")

Mak returned back with Ayah and Humaidi - to let the doctor take a look at Humaidi's eye. By then I managed to perform my Zohor solat, but hadn't pick Huzaifah's prescribed medicine yet. Turned out Mak had already briefed the doctor in charge (a different doctor, not the one who attended to Huzaifah, I guess his shift was already over by then) , so the doctor wanted to check on some details with me.

I was far from happy with the tone that the doctor used.
Apart from repeating "awak faham tak..." as if I was daft, he was not keen to listen to what I have to say. But I said it anyway

"Look, I know that my son is not in dire emergency need. I know that his cut might already started healing. But I also know that there are chances of infection happening. It already happened earlier but a doctor cleaned his cut this morning. And I am worried that such infection could occur again and somehow affect my son's vision. It is not so much the scar that I'm worried about - it is his vision that I'm most concerned about"

The doctor went quiet for a while.
"Okay, let me consult some eye specialist then," he said.

When I returned to the waiting area after getting Humaidi's registration process completed, Mak told me that already there were two doctors who came to check on Humaidi. They were away to consult an even more senior doctor.

The eye specialist that I met was firm and kind. He explained that since Humaidi's cut was already more than 24 hour old, the healing process has started so it would be difficult to stitch the cut unless they make another cut on top of the current one. But it would be more a plastic surgery rather than a necessary one and they would need to use the operation theatre to do that and well we all know how the operation theatre is needed for more urgent cases. Even a tissue glue could not do the trick because the eye would be bunched up weirdly.

"He will be okay, the cut will heal on its own, but there will be a scar" the doctor assured me.

"I'm okay with the scar. After all, he's a boy" (Boys and scars - inseparable)

The doctor smiled.

"What about chances of infection?," I queried

"We will prescribe an ointment for the eyelid to help prevent infection."

I nodded my head.

"And if you are not happy with the progress, I can arrange for an appointment in the eye clinic next week," he said further.

#####

A week has passed.
Humaidi seems to be healing well.
Huzaifah too is back to his old jumping-there-climbing-here self

But the memory of being treated like I was daft by a doctor lingers on...

7 facts about me

Ahkak Zurr tagged me last month. I'm supposed to share 7 facts about myself, some random, some weird. Here goes...

• Perceived differently by different people

Some told me I'm one of the most kelakar persons they've ever known while others have asked me to be less serious. Personally, I think I am usually more on the merapu meraban side than serious because those who told me that I'm funny (ha ha, not funny weird) usually are those I consider to be rather close to me and know me better...

• Hate folding and ironing clothes

A mountain of laundry waiting to be attended to was nothing extraordinary in my household (and Mak's household too, when we do not have any helper around) I suspect that a lot of people shares my sentiment about folding and ironing clothes. I mean, I've heard a lot of people declare their love for cooking, baking even vacuuming, but I have yet to hear someone enthuses, "Oh, I just looovvvveee ironing. It's so soothing/relaxing/calming..." Back in Japan, the iron was rarely used - only for hubby's jubah (for Friday prayer), baju raya and on several 'special ocassions'.

• Used to have a diary named Ricky Alden Chan

Ricky - from Richard Dean Anderson (of MacGyver), Alden is the middle name of Tommy Page (yeah, yeah, so I used to like Tommy Page, so what?) and Chan is after Jackie Chan.

• Could take ages to decide whether or not to accept someone as a friend on FB

Partly due to the fact that Facebook is banned in the office, but sometimes I do take my own sweet time deliberating on whether to accept or ignore some invitations. Like that guy from high school who caused a terrible heartache when I was 16 (who was finally accepted because a girlfriend said that his asking to be on my list might be deemed as an apology of some sort - besides we are both married with kids now) or a senior from college who deemed I was not 'good enough' to be 'introduced' to her hubby's anak usrah (who happened to be my ex). Despite being forgiven, that was a little harder to forget, so her request was finally ignored. By the way, I can be bad at remembering names and faces, so usually invitations with some introduction messages get the clearing faster than those with none.

• Love trying out new dishes.

So long as they are halal, of course. Been trained by Mak to develop an adventurous tastebud - so food is seldom a problem for me if I need to travel overseas since I am not a masakan melayu-reliant person.

• Not a fan of shoes or handbags

I know, I know, if they can afford it, most women are expected to like and owe several pair of shoes and handbags. Preferably branded ones. I 'owe' some nice ones on FB, but am not really 'into' them in real life. (Yeah, yeah, hubby is indeed one lucky fella, hehehe...)

• Not quite as quick at adapting back to the job scene

I wish I could pick things up faster, or get the hang of things more easily - but after 3 years of study leave and was more like a stay-at-home mother than a studious graduate student - I found myself not as quick at learning stuff at the office as I expected. And I miss being able to spend all day long with my boys... (I know I should be grateful for having a stable job and all, alhamdulillah, but oh well...)

Should I tag others? Most seem to have already done this tag, but in case they haven't, I am passing this on to Theta, Hanny, Ina, Faizly, Zarin, Kit and Kakaq.

Been awarded...

Received this cute "award" from Faizly.

Maybe it's not a big award that comes with the title Datuk like the one Shah Rukh Khan received from the government of Melaka, (One 2 Ka 4, filmed in Melaka was not even a hit, ye tak Masni?), I'm still touched by the sincerity of this dear brother of mine. Excerpt of his "award conferment speech" read:

So,I hereby to give away the award to the person I find them very supportive,encouraging,charismatic and the utmost to whom I often share my ups & downs and in some exorbitant grim circumstances throughout my student-life-journey.

* Kak Azra aka my beloved Kakak angkat

Thank you dik!

I hereby pass this "award" on to:

* Kit
* Ahkak Zurr
* Kakaq
* Jaja
* Kak Lela
* Kak Ita & Che Lee

Hope this will help bringing a smile and brighten your day the way Faizly's did mine...

Contoh jawapan...

(Based on actual answers in Pendidikan Islam Tingkatan 4's final exam...)

Nyatakan contoh nikmat kurniaan Allah...
* Sumber air dari sungai yang mengalir dan roti telur

Nyatakan cara lain untuk mendapatkan petunjuk dari Allah selain daripada berdoa
* Berdoa

Hikmah Allah memberi dosa dan pahala pada manusia berdasarkan amalan masing-masing
* Berani buat berani tanggung

Bahagian kefahaman tulisan jawi
* Golongan yang tidak beragama digelar mahar/malahad
* Allah sayang mereka yang menzalimi qiamullail

"Brother, you should be behind me..."

He suddenly cut in the line.
Not right in front of me, but in front the girl who was standing in front of me.
“Hey!,” I almost blurted out loudly, but I turned back instead and looked for hubby. Hubby had just found a table for us, sitting down while attending to our purchases that night.
The guy was an Arab, so I motioned to hubby, pleading him in sign language to ask the guy in front to follow the queue. Hubby shrugged and pointed at the shopping bags instead. Yes, this is Malaysia – we can’t leave our belongings unattended simply like that, and it would be quite a hassle for hubby to come up to me with all the bags and finding another table after that.

I asked the girl in front of me – did the guy in front of her returned to his original position or did he just jump the queue. The girl clarified that it was the latter.

“Why don’t you ask him to follow the queue then?” I suggested.

“Ish, takutlah akak, dia besar…”

“Eh, apa pulak nak takut. Bukan kita yang salah, dia yang salah. Tegur je,” I further encouraged her.

“Takutlah... ”

She was right. The guy was over 6 feet tall, and looked “gagah perkasa”. In contrast, the girl in front of me was rather petite, and could easily pass for a high school student.

“Takpe dik, kita berani sebab kita betul, bukan kita yang salah,” I said just before I tapped on the guy’s shoulder.

He turned back.
“Brother, you should be behind me. There’s a line here in case you didn’t notice, so you should be behind me,” I said firmly.

He did not apologize, but quickly muttered “Okay, okay, okay”. While he did not move from his position, he made way for the petite girl and me to get our respective orders before him.

I looked at the girl, “See, it’s okay. We’re only asking for what is right and we should not be afraid of asking for our right...”

The girl was afraid of creating a scene - she had this image of this guy barking at her or something equally bad if she was to ask him to follow the queue properly. To be honest, I too was rather intimidated by the guy's size. But I guess I could not quell the part in me which simply wanted to shout out "Hey, that's not right!".

Well, at least the Arab guy did not create a scene by arguing back.
At least he did not pretend to be ignorant of the queue and acted bodoh sombong.
At least he made way for us to be ahead of him.
But I have a feeling that this kind of incident would never ever happen in Japan…

Am back...

Sorry for not blogging for so long.
Hope my Muslim readers had had a great Ramadhan and Eid this year.
Been back in Malaysia since 26th September 2008, 4 days before Eid. After 3 years of spending Raya abroad, we really did Raya sakan this year. Mak and Ayah were especially excited to spend their first Raya with three grandchildren - Huzaifah, Humaidi and Uwais, my brother's first born.

Am now posted in Putrajaya, while hubby too gets to be posted in Putrajaya, alhamdulillah. It's not easy for a teacher to get posted in Putrajaya, but as it happened, one ustazah was about to accompany her husband who has been posted overseas, so it was a timely opening for hubby to fill in her vacant post. Besides, male teachers are in great demand everywhere now, thus he got his posting even earlier than I got mine.

Huzaifah is attending Babah and Ummi playschool, not far from Mak's place. Mak said that while he seems to be getting along fine with his schoolmates, he hasn't been communicating with them the way some of his peers are doing. Other three year olds have been asking questions like "what's your name" and "where do you live", which Huzaifah just shrugged off as he continued on playing with whatever toy he got in his clutch then. Huzaifah is so active playing there that not only has his skin turns darker (even berkilat a bit) but the other day, his teacher also reported to Mak that Huzaifah was caught climbing on the small fences separating the classes - which nobody ever attempted before. Well, anyway he seems so happy to be able to jump around after years of staying in a small place like our home back in Asakusa. The day after we were back in Kampung Tunku - both Huzaifah and Humaidi went 'tawaf'ing around their grandparents' place a few times, in a few sessions. It might seem like a jakun thing to do - but understandably so after being confined to a place so far smaller than their current residence...

Humaidi is getting spoiled a lot now - asking to be picked up and 'dukung'ed all the time. His Ayah Lang, my youngest brother Amirul, is a favorite 'victim'. I still do not know what exactly to say when people remarked that Humaidi does not seem to take after neither me nor hubby but looks more like a Japanese kid. Most of the time I jokingly say that he might take after Kimura sensei who helped delivered him.

Been more than a month since my graduation day - will try to post some pics of the memorable day, a few of those taken before we left Japan and some Raya pics later, insya Allah. Can't promise to write often now I'm already back in office and all, but will try to update this blog at least once a week...

Ｅｒｒ．．．

Ｊｕｓｔ　ａ　ｑｕｉｃｋ　ｎｏｔｅ　ｔｏ　ｌｅｔ　ｙｏｕ　ｋｎｏｗ　ｔｈａｔ　Ｉ　ｍｉｇｈｔ　ｎｏｔ　ｂｅ　ａｂｌｅ　ｔｏ　ｂｌｏｇ　ａｓ　ｍｕｃｈ　ａｓ　Ｉ　ｌｉｋｅ　（ａｎｄ　ｐｌａｎｎｅｄ　ｔｏ）　ｎｏｗ　ｔｈａｔ　ｔｈｅｒｅ　ｉｓ　ｎｏ　ｉｎｔｅｒｎｅｔ　ｃｏｎｎｅｃｔｉｏｎ　ａｔ　ｈｏｍｅ．　

Ｔｈｉｓ　ｅｎｔｒｙ　ｗａｓ　ｐｏｓｔｅｄ　ｆｒｏｍ　ｓｃｈｏｏｌ　－　ｈｅｒｅ　ｔｏｄａｙ　ｆｏｒ　ｔｗｏ　ｒｅａｓｏｎｓ；　ｔｈｅ　ｍｏｎｔｈｌｙ　ｓｉｇｎ－ｕｐ　（ｆｏｒ　ａｌｌｏｗａｎｃｅ）　ａｎｄ　ｔｏ　ｓｕｂｍｉｔ　ｍｙ　ａｐｐｌｉｃａｔｉｏｎ　ｆｏｒｍ　ｆｏｒ　ｒｅｔｕｒｎ　ｆｌｉｇｈｔ　ｔｉｃｋｅｔ．　Ｉ　ｓｈｏｕｌｄ　ｈａｖｅ　ｓｕｂｍｉｔｔｅｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｌａｔｔｅｒ　ａ　ｌｏｎｇ　ｗｈｉｌｅ　ａｇｏ　－　ｉｎ　Ｊｕｌｙ，　ｂｕｔ　ｔｈｅｒｅ　ｗｅｒｅ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｐｒｏｂｌｅｍｓ．　Ｆｉｒｓｔ，　ｔｈｅ　ｎｏｔｉｆｉｃａｔｉｏｎ　ｅｍａｉｌ　ｗａｓ　ａｄｄｒｅｓｓｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｍｙ　ｏｌｄ　ｏｆｆｉｃｅ　ｅｍａｉｌ　ａｄｄｒｅｓｓ　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｉｓ　ｎｏ　ｌｏｎｇｅｒ　ｉｎ　ｕｓｅ．　Ｔｈｅｎ，ｏｎｃｅ　Ｉ　ｆｉｌｌｅｄ　ｕｐ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｆｏｒｍｓ　ｆｏｒ　ｔｈｅｍ　ｔｏ　ｐｒｅｐａｒｅ　ｔｈｅ　ａｃｔｕａｌ　ｆｏｒｍｓ　（ｎｏ　ｄｏｕｂｔ　ａｂｏｕｔ　ｉｔ　－　Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　ｓｉｍｐｌｙ　ｌｏｖｅ　ｔｈｅｉｒ　ｐａｐｅｒｗｏｒｋｓ），　ｔｈｅｒｅ　ｗａｓ　ｔｈｅ　ｍａｔｔｅｒ　ｏｆ　ｇｅｔｔｉｎｇ　ｔｈｅ　ｐｅｒｓｏｎａｌ　ｓｅａｌ　ｏｆ　ｍｙ　ｓｕｐｅｒｖｉｓｏｒ　－　ｗｈｏ　ｈａｓ　ｇｏｎｅ　ｔｒａｖｅｌｉｎｇ　ａｎｄ　ｗｉｌｌ　ｏｎｌｙ　ｂｅ　ｂａｃｋ　ｉｎ　Ｊａｐａｎ　ｂｙ　ｌａｔｅ　Ｓｅｐｔｅｍｂｅｒ．　Ｔｈｅｎ，　Ｉ　ｗａｓ　ａｓｋｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｇｅｔ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｅａｌ　ｏｆ　ｅｉｔｈｅｒ　ｏｎｅ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ａｃａｄｅｍｉｃ　ａｄｖｉｓｏｒｓ　ｉｎ　ｍｙ　ｇｒａｄｕａｔｅ　ｓｃｈｏｏｌ．　Ｃｏｎｔａｃｔｅｄ　ｔｈｅｍ　ｂｙ　ｅｍａｉｌ；　ｏｎｅ　ｒｅｓｐｏｎｄｅｄ　ｂｙ　ｌｅｔｔｉｎｇ　ｍｅ　ｋｎｏｗ　ｔｈａｔ　ｈｅ　ｗｏｕｌｄ　ｎｏｔ　ｂｅ　ｉｎ　Ｔｏｋｙｏ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｗｅｅｋ，　ａｎｄ　ｎｏ　ｒｅｓｐｏｎｓｅ　ｗｈａｔｓｏｅｖｅｒ　ｆｒｏｍ　ｔｈｅ　ｏｔｈｅｒ．　Ｔｈｅ　ｏｆｆｉｃｅｒ　ｉｎ　ｃｈａｒｇｅ　ｏｆ　Ｍａｍｂｕｓｈｏ　ｓｔｕｄｅｎｔｓ　ｉｎ　ｍｙ　ｓｃｈｏｏｌ　ａｄｖｉｓｅｄ　ｍｅ　ｔｏ　ｃｏｍｅ　ｔｏ　ｔｈｅ　ｏｆｆｉｃｅ　ａｎｙｗａｙ　－　ａｎｄ　ｈｅ　ｈｅｌｐｅｄ　ｍｅ　ｇｅｔｔｉｎｇ　ｔｈｅ　ｑｕｉｅｔ　ｐｒｏｆｅｓｓｏｒ’ｓ　　


Ｌｅｓｓ　ｔｈａｎ　ａ　ｍｏｎｔｈ　ｂｅｆｏｒｅ　ｗｅ　ｒｅｔｕｒｎ　ｔｏ　Ｍａｌａｙｓｉａ　－　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅｒｅ　ｉｓ　ａ　ｌｏｔ　Ｉ　ｗａｎｔ　ｔｏ　ｂｌｏｇ　ａｂｏｕｔ．．．　Ｌａｔｅｌｙ　ｗｅ’ｖｅ　ｂｅｅｎ　ｓｈｏｗｅｒｅｄ　ｗｉｔｈ　ａｌｌ　ｋｉｎｄ　ｏｆ　ｓａｙｏｎａｒａ　ｇｉｆｔｓ　ａｎｄ　ｔｒｅａｔｓ，　ｔｈａｔ　ｈｕｂｂｙ　ａｎｄ　Ｉ　ｃａｎ’ｔ　ｔｈａｎｋ　ｅｖｅｒｙｏｎｅ　ｅｎｏｕｇｈ　ｆｏｒ　ｔｈｅｉｒ　ｋｉｎｄｎｅｓｓ　ａｎｄ　ｇｅｎｅｒｏｓｉｔｙ．　Ｍａｙ　Ａｌｌａｈ　ｂｌｅｓｓ　ａｎｄ　ｒｅｗａｒｄ　ｔｈｅｍ　ａｃｃｏｒｄｉｎｇｌｙ．．．　

Ｏｈ　－　ｂｙ　ｔｈｅ　ｂｙ　－　ａｌｈａｍｄｕｌｉｌａｈ，　Ｉ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｇｏｔ　ｍｙ　ｆｉｒｓｔ　ｎｅｐｈｅｗ，ｎａｍｅｄ　Ｕｗａｉｓ，ｙｅｓｔｅｒｄａｙ．　Ｔｈｅ　ｆｉｒｓｔ　ｓｏｎ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｈｅ　ｆｉｒｓｔ　ｓｏｎ，　ｂｏｒｎ　ｏｎ　１ｓｔ　Ｒａｍａｄｈａｎ　／　１ｓｔ　Ｓｅｐｔｅｍｂｅｒ　ｉｎ　Ｒｏｏｍ　ｎｏ　１．　Ａｙａｈ　ｉｓ　ｓｏ　ｈａｐｐｙ　ｔｏ　ｇｒｅｅｔ　ａｎｄ　ｍｅｅｔ　ｈｉｓ ｔｈｉｒｄ　ｇｒａｎｄｓｏｎ　―　”ｅｓｏｋ－ｅｓｏｋ　ｂｏｌｅｈ　ｌａ　ｄｅｐａ　ｐａｋａｔ－ｐａｋａｔ　ｍａｉｎ　ｌｉｇａｎ－ｌｉｇａｎ　ｋａｔ　ｒｕｍａｈ　Ｔｏｋ　Ａｙａｈ”　Ｂｏｙｓ　ｂｅｉｎｇ　ｂｏｙｓ，　Ｉ　ｂｅｌｉｅｖｅ　ｔｈｅｒｅ　ｗｉｌｌ　ｂｅ　ｍｏｒｅ　ｔｈａｎ　ｍｅｒｅｌｙ　”ｍａｉｎ　ｌｉｇａｎ－ｌｉｇａｎ”　ｉｎｖｏｌｖｅｄ．．．Ｅｖｅｎ　ｒｉｇｈｔ　ｎｏｗ　Ｈｕｚａｉｆａｈ　ｉｓ　ａｌｒｅａｄｙ　ｓｈｏｗｉｎｇ　ｓｉｇｎｓ　ｏｆ　”ｂｕｌｌｙｉｎｇ”　Ｈｕｍａｉｄｉ　－　ｂｕｔ　Ｈｕｍａｉｄｉ　ｓｅｅｍｓ　ｔｏ　ｂｅ　ｇｒｏｗｉｎｇ　ａｔ　ａ　ｆａｓｔｅｒ　ｐａｃｅ　ｔｈａｎ　ｈｉｓ　ｅｌｄｅｒ　ｂｒｏｔｈｅｒ，ｓｏ　ｗｅ’ｌｌ　ｓｅｅ．．．

Ｗｅｌｌ，　ｔｉｌｌ　ｎｅｘｔ　ｔｉｍｅ　（ａｎｄ　ｎｏ　ｇｕａｒａｎｔｅｅ　ｗｈｅｎ　ｔｈａｔ　ｗｉｌｌ　ｂｅ）　－　Ｒａｍａｄｈａｎ　Ｋａｒｅｅｍ　ｔｏ　ａｌｌ　ｍｙ　Ｍｕｓｌｉｍ　ｒｅａｄｅｒｓ．　Ｓｅｌａｍａｔ　ｂｅｒｐｅｓｔａ　ｉｂａｄａｈ！　　

The Jeruk Kelubi Thief

We were out that day - attending a small birthday party in Gyotoku, if I am not mistaken.
Mida and Acoi had left some jeruk for me at home that evening.
I was really looking forward to eating some jeruk - but we only left Gyotoku at around 9.30 p.m. and when we arrived home about an hour later - there was no sign of the jeruk.

No sign of it on the first floor.
Nor on the second, third, fourth or fifth floor.

Checked the first floor again - on the shoe racks, at the back of the door, in the office area.

Nothing.

Texted Acoi - asking where did he put the jeruk?
Mida called me back almost immediately.
"Dekat pintu depan masjid, kat bawah."

Oh dear, I should have advised them beforehand to put it in front of the house, on the fifth floor.

"Tak ada ke? Orang dah kebas ke? Alaa... kitorang dah bagi semua jeruk yang ada kat rumah ni..."

So there, no rezeki lah kot. I thought I just have to wait a little while longer as I had also asked Mak to post me some jeruk from Malaysia...

The thing is - sometimes hubby and I left some stuff for homeless ojichans next to the masjid's door, but so far, nobody has taken anything left for us on the masjid's door. Stuff like non halal milk (two cans of Meiji Hohoemi formula that I received after giving birth to Humaidi), non halal sweets (containing gelatine, mistakenly bought by hubby), non halal chocolate (containing alcohol, given to us by non Muslim friends) or non halal crisps (mistakenly bought) and as such.

Anyway, right after Mida called, I went back down, and looked at the spot where hubby and I usually leave some stuff for homeless ojichans - and what do you know? There was a white plastic bag containing several disposable bento containers filled with jeruk!

I excitedly texted Mida again, explaining that I found it at the spot where we usually leave some stuff for the homeless.

"Ada jeruk salak, kelubi, mangga 2 jenis, kedondong, pala..." Mida explained the supposed contents for me.

Salak. Checked
2 variety of Mangga. Checked
Kedondong. Checked
Pala. Checked.
Eh,eh - no kelubi lah...

"Hah? Jeruk kelubi tak ada?"

Nope, not one single kelubi was among the assorted jeruk left.

"Agaknya pakcik homeless tu ingat kelubi tu umeboshi kot..."

I hope that ojichan, whoever he is, did not get stomachache from eating jeruk kelubi which might have been mistaken for umeboshi...

Long Time No See

Apologies to all - KI and Che Nah included - for not updating earlier...
As many have suspected, I have been 'melepek' due to vomiting/nausea/headaches.
Sorry for abandoning this blog for some time...
I've been away from blogosphere for so long that I don't know where to start...

#####

Condolences

... to Kak Shaz and Akhi Amin on the loss of their beloved son, Amir Ashraf.
Kak Shaz, one of the kindest, gentlest souls I've ever met, used to be in the same dorm with me back in high school. It's been ages since we last met so the news was really shocking. Her first born is austistic, so Amir Ashraf, the second child used to play the role of the first born - a protective, caring big brother who enjoyed making toys from recycled materials for his siblings. Too often we think of children as gifts from the above - but they are only temporary loans from The Creator - it must had been hard to return this particular loan back to the rightful Owner, but then we are only humans, and we all belong to The AlMighty...
Our doa for the family and the innocent child...

... to Kak Lela on the loss of her beloved mother.
May Allah place her among those blessed by Him always.

#####

Congratulations

... to Rosli and family on the arrival of the latest member of the family, a healthy baby boy and to Kamarul and family on the birth of Adia's baby sister. Mabruk, and may they both grow up as anak soleh/ah

#####

Thesis?

Got five questions during the oral examination - two each from the second and third examiner, and one from my own sensei, the chief examiner. Got some critics and comments from the third examiner too - he seemed to be the only one who actually read the thesis in full. When the second examiner asked a question I didn't expected (as I believed it had been discussed in details in my thesis), the third examiner actually defended me by saying something along the line of "she had written one whole chapter on that..."
Heh.

#####

More later, insya Allah... I really want to share the story of the jeruk kelubi thief...

Acknowledgements...

All praises go to Allah; it is with His blessings that I managed to complete this thesis.

My sincere gratitude goes to my supervisor, Professor L H S, who has shared a lot of his expertise and research insights. I am also indebted to various GSAPS lecturers for their guidance and assistance, and I warmly thank Professor S S, for useful advice and thoughts shared while attending his class on Globalization of Cultures. Yes sir, I agree that often “cultural diversity should come first”.

I especially owed it to Normizan Abu Bakar and Ganjar Nugruho for thoughtful advice and constructive criticisms which often helped me to find the “jigsaw frame” for this thesis and the pieces of puzzles to fit in the said frame.

My gratitude goes to the people and committee members of Homestay Pelegong Cooperative, especially Puan F B, Pak Wan, and Encik B S for sharing extensive discussions and interesting points to ponder upon. I must also thank the girls at the Tourism Services department of the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism; Izamalina, Siti Afeefah and Hamdiah Ismail for friendly help and valuable inputs.

My heartfelt thanks go to all my friends, old and new, near and far. Still, some special ones deserve mentioning here – Che Nah and Sarina for sharing tips on how to simultaneously manage both graduate school and growing family, Kak Marsita Yunus for sharing insights on homestay tourism, Iffah, Jue, Masni, Yam, Nita and Kamarol for distant support and encouragement, and last but not least, Siyi, Mega, Hien, Emi, Yuko, members of Professor Lim’s zemi and the usual lot at GSAPS library whose concern and presence had given me the constant moral and practical support I needed, particularly during the eleventh hour.

My family have been a long lasting source of energy during this exhaustive research. Grandparents, uncles, aunties, cousins, in-laws all have given me a loving environment where to develop. Brothers, Azrul and Amirul, sister-in-law Sarah, half-sister Ameera, half-brother Abdul Karim and almost-brother Faizly included. My parents, Baharom Hassan and Ngasobah Seliman have always supported and encouraged me to go further than I had thought possible. Lastly, I owe my loving thanks to my husband Mohd Amin Mohd Tahir, and my sons Muhammad Azmi Huzaifah and Muhammad Akif Humaidi for being a source of inspiration and motivation for me. To them I dedicate this thesis.

Central Kyushu Masjid Project

The Beppu Muslim Association is urgently seeking donations and financial assistance to build a masjid.
The payment deadline is on July 23, 2008; 10% of the payment would be forfeited in case they can't pay in full.

Why build a mosque in Beppu?
Muslims face difficulty to perform congregations for prayer, especially for Friday and Eid prayers; they usually rent halls for such events, but of course they can't rent any place easily.
Then, some Muslims, especially children and new generations, are affected by the Japanese culture and other ideologies, and grow up with no idea of true Islamic teachings.

The project so far?
They have already signed the initial contract for a four storey, centrally air conditioned, concrete building in
Ishigaki. The place overlooks the Beppu seaside and is in proximity to major departmental stores, restaurants and bus stops/railways station, not to mention surrounded by many Muslim residents too. Previously the place was used as an office.

Total cost of building : 27 million Yens
Paid up amount : 5.4 million Yens (20% of total) in April 2008

For more Information, following persons can be contacted :
Japanese, English & Urdu : 090-2082-5541
Malaysian : 090-3417-7084
E-mail : oitamasjidproject@ gmail.com

Funds can be transferred to the following either Bank or Postal accounts of Beppu Muslim

POSTAL ACCOUNT
Account No 17220-17632791
Account Name BEPPU MUSLIM ASSOCIATION

BANK ACCOUNT
THE OITA BANK, LTD
Branch WASADA (わさだ支店)
Account Number 0183-058-5264818
Account Name BEPPU MUSLIM AASOCIATION

Done - for now...

Submitted the thesis this evening - finally! Alhamdulillah...
Was I fully satisfied with the end result?
Err... Hmm... Urghh...
(Anyway, Ganjar kept reassured me - so long as u submit something that resembles an academic paper with the required word counts - chances are you'll pass...
I hope he's right...)

The thesis had been haunting me for quite some times now - felt like i was eating, drinking, sleeping, even dreaming thesis... So, yes, am really glad that I'm done with it. For now. The oral exam is going to be held by the end of this month insya Allah, but... I'll think about that next week, I guess...

For now - I just want to go home, and unwind.
Maybe read a book - just received Nisah's "Tawarikh Cinta" (thank you so much dear, for both the novel and the Dewan Sastera) yesterday and there's a copy of Sue Townsend's "Public Confessions of a Middle-aged woman" I have yet to read...
Hmm, decision, decision...

By the way - anyone knows where can I get some "jeruk" here in Japan without having to resort to asking somebody to post them from Malaysia? Not cili jeruk or bawang jeruk - just any preserved fruit jeruk. Salak, kelubi or kuini, preferably, but mangga or any other is okay too...

Anak itu rezeki...

On FB

"... anak kan rezeki
rezeki ko sampai jepun
rezeki duduk kat jepun
and another one Insya Allah
rezeki utk ko balik Malaysia.."

Once upon a time...

I am allergic of exams and datelines.
The nearer they are, the more feverish I become, and I even vomit.
I used to vomit on the mornings of exam days back in my undergraduate days
Now that the dateline for my thesis is impending, the nausea bouts are back...

#####

I used to say "tak nak belajar dah, nak kahwin lah" while I was doing some last minute revision before sitting for an exam during undergraduate days.
Mind you - that only happened during exam fever - other than that I was not so keen on marrying at early age, ha ha...
Donner aka Dr Aida once asked me "Kak A.Z. masih dok rasa nak kahwin lagi ke?" a week after I finished my final exam, and I looked at her quizzingly, which made her retorted "Laa, kan akak yang sibuk dok cakap "nak kahwin, tak nak study" hari tu?"
Rather embarassing really, especially since Donner was my main masseur (the nausea bouts came with headaches and all) during last-minute revision period... and I must had been repeating myself again and again during all those hours
I even planned not to sit for a paper once, felt like my mind had been wiped totally blank, but Donner firmly told me to go to the hall and just answer based on whatever remnants that remained inside my blank mind...
I actually got a 2.1 for that particular paper, alhamdulillah

#####

Now that I am married with kids and struggling to finish writing up my thesis,
I am glad I grabbed the chance to further my studies, here in Japan.
There are so many things yet to be learned, to be discovered, and I believe in taking every chances one gets to learn and improve oneself...
No more uttering nonsense along the line of "tak nak belajarlah..."

Trivia...

1.

(During lunch in the student lounge, in Japanese,
with a mature PhD Japanese student whose kids are in their twenties)

Y-san: So you make your own bento everyday?
Me: Yes, I have to cook for my family anyway...
Y-san: Your family is with you? Must be tough then...
Me: I have two kids, boys. It is not easy, but I don't mind the extra chores so long as we get to be together.
Y-san: But it must be hard to handle both studying and caring for the family...
Me: That's why I am here in school - can't get anything (academic) done at home...
Y-san: What about your reading?
Me: Most of it done on the train...
Y-san: Sugoi ne, yokudekimashita...
Me: Oh, there's no such thing - I just do what I have to do...

#####

2.

(With Amy, who's currently pursuing her Masters in Sydney on FB)
Amy: A.Z. I dreamt of you last night
Me: Good dream, I hope
Amy: Oh, it was a good one. You came to my home, in Sydney, with other friends, and we caught up on old times.
Me: I hope your dream will come true
Amy: Me too
Me: I've never been to Sydney yet, hehehe
Amy: Must be I was ralat sangat that we did not get to see each other when I was in Tokyo, sampai termimpi-mimpi jumpa u...

#####

3.

A friend shared her experience as a volunteer Bahasa Malaysia teacher in the UK for expatriate Malay kids under 7 years old;

"... puas kita cakap "A untuk Ayam"
dia org jawab ramai-ramai "Noooooo, A is for Apple"
kita kata ye la that's for English but for Bahasa Malaysia,
A is for Ayam
2-3 orang lagi pula kata
"Teacher, that's not Ayam, that's Chicken!!!
CHICKEN, TEACHER!!!!"

ada mak ayah bagitau
anak dia eja buku, "booku"
ni dah balik Malaysia dah la ni..."

#####

4.

Closer at home, Yam's 9 year old daughter, Khadijah Najwa scored all A's in her mid-year exam except for BM.
Yam told me, one of Khadijah's sentence read as:
" Jovan dimarahi kerana mencuru tuan punya epal"

#####

5.

SMS from Fauzee, a fellow PTD who is currently pursuing his MA in GRIPS (and already has 2 girls before the newborn arrived) read as;
"Salam. Alhamdulillah saya telah dikurniakan seorang lagi anak perempuan pada 16 Jun jam 9.36 pm"

The reply;
"Alhamdulillah. Omedetou gozaimas. Mudah2an jadi anak solehah penyejuk mata ayah ibu. Kirim salam kat Ailin, lepas ni kene tukar senduk aar nampaknya (^-^)v"

I said it, but I still couldn't figure out what on earth is the co-relations between baby's gender and cooking ladles?
(Mothers of all boys are sometimes advised to exchange ladles/spatulas with mothers of all girls and vice versa before trying to get a baby of the other gender...)

More notes on this and that

Over YM (on the effects of Malaysian civil servants being paid twice monthly)
dt : makin ramai orang susah hati duit tak cukup
makin ramai mengular dan cari part time
makin turun produktiviti di ofis
makin tambah beban org kerja kewangan
makin tambah kos pengurusan

#####

"Civil servants should change their spending habits..."
If one is getting less than RM1500 a month, with 5 school-age kids, living in a small apartment with no place to grow own veggies and herbs, plus loads of this-and-that loans to be paid, how could one still justify paying the meager salary twice a month (in this days when everything is expensive) as a move to help such persons manage their spending better?

#####

The poor in Malaysia are doing poorer than the poor in Japan or UK.
At least in Japan, the poor here have the options to shop at discount stores and 99/100yen shop. Beggars won't mind eating food brought from discount stores because well, at least they still get to eat whatever the richer ones are eating - rice, noodles, bread, veggies, canned food - although in lesser quality and lower prices
Similary, in UK, the poor can shop in discount supermarket chains like Aldi, or Lidl or Netto - to get food at discount prices.
But we don't offer that kind of option in Malaysia...

#####

Once not too long ago, I used to take 2 hours, riding my bike all over Gyotoku for best bargains.
One shop would be selling cooking oil at reduced price, the other offers good quality eggs and bread at 100 yen, yet another would be selling detergents and toiletries at half the normal price. I went shopping from one shop to another, tried to stretch my yen as far as it could.
It was not easy, though we managed to save a little by the end of the month.
It must be harder for those in Malaysia who rarely gets to buy stuff at discount prices from different shops located near to each other...

A day in the life of...

Huzaifah and Humaidi (aka Ujai and Akif), as 'told' to their Abang Sabah, can be read here.

It's in BM, a light entry on my children's antics -
including stuff like Humaidi cheering himself on, saying "tateh" as he walks;
or Huzaifah's "unique" pose with Peace sign (using one whole hand or L-shaped sign instead of V);
or Huzaifah's quick reply of "amau" whenever Ibu asked him "nak hanger tak?" after an episode of misconduct...

Of grave digging and knife frenzies...

Our condolence for Ariffin and his wife in Kochi, Shikoku, for the lost of their third child even before she was properly born - may they get to be reunited with their precious little one in heaven one day, insya Allah...
Al-fatihah...

#####

Ariffin came all the way from Kochi with his little one flown in a special container yesterday. Hubby and En Amin, the Consular from Malaysian Embassy picked Ariffin and his little one from Haneda Airport and managed the janazah in Islamic Center in Setagaya before going to the Islamic Graveyard in Enzan, Yamanashi.

It cost 70,000 yen to get a burial plot there, and another 30,000 to get the graveyard dug, so the three of them decided to dig the grave themselves, manually digging using the shovels provided there. The caretaker of the graveyard area is a monk, who later hosted a sushi lunch for the three of them after the burial was over. Hubby had his first experience of giving a talqin, as he had never sent any janazah to the graveyard in Japan before.

#####

Not able to find a babysitter, I had to give my zemi session a miss yesterday. I know my sensei would not be pleased with my absence, now that we, the final year students in our last semester, are in the critical period of writing our thesis. Not that I didn't try to get some help - but Faizly happened to have a replacement class yesterday too, so there...

Well, I guess funeral is a bigger thing than just missing zemi, and besides Mak always told me to make things easier for others, while praying and hoping that Allah will make things easier for us...

#####

The amok in Akihabara is the worst street stabbing case in recent years. This sick psycho guy is tired of his life and thus he decided to take 7 others, injuring 10 as well. He drove a rented truck all the way from Yamanashi area, which is about 3 hours away from Tokyo, bought the dagger he used to stab others in Fukui and even consistently posting timely messages on a mobile phone site, among others to record his stopping at a rest area in Kanazawa, announced his arrival in Akihabara and declared "It's time" 2o minutes before his killing spree.

Some experts claimed that the guy might had posted the messages not as a way to declare the attack to the general public, but more as in updating his own realtime blog. Realtime bloggers often update their sites several times an hour, posting entries regarding their activities and feelings.

#####

There were 67 multiple stabbing rampages in Japan between 1998 and 2007, and at least 5 cases this year alone.

The scary part is that usually the guy running amok just wanted to kill, not caring who the victims are (dare demo yokatta). Random stabber ranged from as young as 16 year old to 40 year old - all within the usually 'baligh' age, when they are able to tell right from wrong. But I guess when they do not believe in God - there is no real sense of right or wrong

#####

In a way it must had been something akin to a slap for the Japanese National Police Agency - now that the G8 Summit is near, they have been busy opening Counter Terrorism counters all over the country, usually suspecting gaijins to be possible threats, and one day - a Nihonjin killed 7 and injured 10 others in Tokyo.
Dush dush.

#####

Many Nihonjin interviewed in the TV said that, "...this is unforgivable. It doesn't make sense."
I hope they will also take time to think about similar "unforgivable incidents" happening daily in other parts of the world.
In Palestine, for example...

#####

One respected Muslim Nihonjin from Nihon Muslim Kyoukai will give a talk in Asakusa Mosque this Saturday, 14 June. For more information, please go here.
Invitation is open to all...

The obligatory entry on Malaysian fuel price hike

(harga) minyak naik = (rakyat) naik minyak?

#####

"Now that fuel prices have gone up, some bus companies have followed suit and more than doubled their fares." (The Star, Saturday 7 June 2008)

That, despite bus operators still receiving subsidized diesel.
And it has been increased to 100% subsidies too, rather than previous allocation of 70% of fuel consumption...

#####

With the fuel price rise, people would expect a better and more reliable public transport system.
Got really surprised to learn that (the already not so efficient) KTM Komuter have reduced their frequency from every 15 minutes during peak hours to every 20 minutes all day long... Eh, they are not getting 100% subsidized fuel ke?...

#####

No more subsidized fuel for IPPs. It doesn't make sense that they get to pay so little yet make so much profit from electricity tariff. And electricity tariff hike is next in agenda...

#####

If the rakyat is expected to pay the 'real-world' price of fuel without subsidy,
I guess it's only fair for the rakyat to pay 'real-world' price for cars too.
The rakyat has already paid a hefty tax as a price for the 'subsidy' in advance.
So if the subsidy is lessened, then the high tax on cars must be lessened too.

#####

If the government wants more people to "change their lifestyle",
then they must also promote radical cyclist-and-pedestrian-friendly measures
Top of the list would involve introducing a much more efficient, reliable public transport system, reaching to a wider possible commuters.
And introducing safe pedestrian/cyclist pathway along the main roads, as well as
introducing stricter law that will ensure motorists to be more cautious of and courteous to pedestrians/cyclists (rather than honking at people using zebra crossing from a mile away, refusing to slow down even a bit...)

#####

And what about alternative fuel/engine?
Here's an interesting article - "Gaza Cars: From Cooking oil to Batteries"

Shorter notes on this and that

My friend Nisah has written a short story based on this entry of mine.
I was made to understand that it might appear in Dewan Sastera this month
It's a worth-to-be-pondered-upon cerpen, so you might want to go grab a copy of Dewan Sastera and find out for yourself how Nisah had interpreted my entry into a (published) short story

#####

message by a friend over YM

"kadang aku pikir
buat masters susah2 pun
bukan boleh naik gaji
buat PTK baru boleh naik gaji..."
oO (kalau macam tu, baik tak payah ambik cuti belajar buat masters)
oO (ambik je cuti belajar buat PTK)

#####

Not that I am an expert on religious stuff,
But I do agree with Faisal Tehrani regarding this issue raised by Dr Asri
Surely there must many more Muslim scholars that we can refer to than just Ibnu Taimiyyah, Albani or Ben Baz...

On a lighter note -
what's with Dr Asri and people named Faizal?
First, there was his public comment on Faizal Tahir
and now Faizal Musa (Faisal Tehrani's real name)

#####

It's tough being a tudung-clad Muslimah in a country where the police are suspicious of Muslims. The other day three Malaysian girls who came all the way from KL for a one week holiday in Tokyo went to Tokyo Dome, intending to watch Larc-en-Ciel in concert. But they had been interrogated by a police detective, who asked for their passports and asked all sort of rather disturbing questions.

"Will we be all right in Narita when we leave Tokyo?," one of them asked me anxiously over the phone after they cancelled their plan of watching the concert and went straight back to their hotel near Shinjuku.
"Yes dear. They will only be too happy to say bye-bye to any person with the slightest hint of being a terrorist suspect"

Yes, Tokyo - although maybe to a lesser degree compared to Hokkaido - is also becoming a virtual police state now that the G8 Summit is near. All (ridiculous) kind of security measures are taken as the government, the police and the mainstream media harp on and on about possible 'terrorist attacks'...

I wish Arudou Debito was there to help the girls...

Notes on this and that

1.

I can't blog often now not only because I am in the midst of thesis writing/copy-n-pasting/editing, but also because the internet connection at home has gone haywire. Which is good - in that it prevents me from wasting my precious time playing Scramble on Facebook - but not so good since I can't make use of Waseda Library off-campus resources.

2.

The in-laws returned home last Thursday. I hope the good times here outweigh the not-so-good ones, and they won't be complaining too much about us or Japan to others. They went places - covered most of Tokyo's tourist-must-see areas, as well as Yokohama (Mak Rasah had a great time at Rose Garden in Minato no Mieru Oka Koen, and we visited Aka Renga for the first time after numerous visits to Yokohama), Hakone (the 'normal' Hakone Freepass schedule - Pirate sightseeing ship, ropeway, cable car, mountain train - with better and improved facilities in Hakone, unlike our trip back in 2006) and Disneyland (good: hubby and I managed to take lots of rides; not-so-good: Abah Rasah wanted to return home as early as 6.00 p.m. and Mak Rasah trembled from cold weather even when it was rather warm for Tokyo in May. We finally went home at about 8.45 p.m.)

3.

Unlike most asthmatic kids, Huzaifah is most prone to asthma attack in summer rather than in winter or spring. His first asthma attack happened in summer, and last week, on a warm Wednesday (25 C) when even his Nenek did not have to wear her cardigan, he got an asthma attack. He could eat ice-cream on cold winter nights, or play in a pollen-infested field in spring with no worries at all, but come summer - he would start coughing out of the blue, which lead to wheezing and all.

Faizly was with us in Ueno when it happened. After trying to look for a clinic and failed to find one, we decided to ask for direction at a Koban (police kiosk) in Ueno Koen. The policeman at first showed us direction to a clinic about 800 metres away, and should the clinic be closed (it was already past 5.00 p.m. then, and many clinics are closed at 5.00 p.m.) we were advised to go to a public Hospital which is about a further 1km away from the clinic. I was already tired of looking for a clinic and asked the policeman to call for an ambulance, "My child needs it"

At the mention of the word "kodomo", the policeman almost started panicking, asking me back "kodomo? kodomo?" a few times, as he suddenly realised that I was not asking for direction to get help for my asthma attack but rather my child's.

The ambulance arrived about 5 minutes after I filled up some forms (Japanese and their love for paperworks...)

4.

Huzaifah was not admitted in the hospital, alhamdulillah.
The thing with my son is that even when he is under asthma attack, he still has lots of energy. That's why I believed that much more of the nebulizer the was prescribed for him vaporized in the air rather than inhaled by him. Alhamdulillah there was this one friendly obachan-like nurse-san which kept encouraging Huzaifah to inhale his nebulizer properly (through various means - cheering him on, teasing him, warning him sternly etc)

5.

I finally ate some birthday cake, more than a week after my birthday. Faizly brought a Nutty Chocolate ice-cream cake at Baskin Robbins on the way back from the hospital. (Thank you Sabah - you are the best!)
Of course, we didn't let Huzaifah had the ice-cream, just the cake portion, and he was okay the next day, so no worries.

6.

Mak was admitted to PPUM for a mild heart attack on Sunday. At first she was told that she might be warded for a few days, but yesterday the specialist who looked at her case said that she could be discharged, and so she was in late evening. Mak said it is nothing to worry about really - it's only normal for people with high-blood pressure problem to face this next. She has been very busy lately doing voluntary charity works, in fact, she started feeling "berdebar-debar" since Saturday when she visited an orphanage in Teluk Intan, but it was not until Sunday night when she finally asked Ayah to take her to the hospital. It goes without saying that she was one of the first to get to see a doctor in the Emergency section that night...

And her observation upon leaving the hospital?
"We need more doctors, especially local specialists, we need more hospitals, we need more efficient and daring administrators, and not some lame and lazy ones who keep giving excuses on why we can't make all these things happen..."

7.

While I can't answer the question of "Why aren’t Malay men these days like our fathers?", I for one am glad that my husband and many of the male friends I know are not like our fathers.

Since Malay women these days are not like our mothers, I guess it is inevitable that the same applies to Malay men.

I mean, let's be honest, how many Malay men in our father's generation would have supported our mothers pursuing an MA or PhD course? Or sharing household chores/taking care of the children/etc. My Ayah used to ask for "air, air" even when the glass was already laid in front of him and the pitcher was just next to him. Abah Rasah, according to Mak Rasah, simply refused to help in the home for fear of being labeled "kena queen control".

While he hates cooking, hubby usually helps with the laundry, cleaning the house, and doesn't mind taking turn preparing baby's milk at night. And sometimes he even offers making tea/Milo for me instead of just requesting them all the time (from the wife) like his or my father does. (yes, I know, hubby could be very sweet at times, and I thank Allah for being blessed with him by my side) I also know a few male friends/relatives who are better cook than their wives, and doesn't mind making meals when guests show up unexpectedly. Maybe not all are as efficient or effective with household chores like the wives would have expected, but the point is they help and do not tell the wife back, "eh, ini kerja orang perempuan lah"

And let's not even discuss public display of affection. Mak once received a long lecture from Ayah after she impulsively gave him a peck on the cheek at the airport just before she went overseas. I think most Malay husbands nowadays are more open when it comes to showing PDA - holding hands, a peck on the cheek, cuddles, hugs - all within 'acceptable' range of course, none of those which might incite "Oy, get a room!" response from other onlookers.

I don't want Malay men to be more like our fathers, I just wish that they become better practising Muslim. Practising Muslim men try to follow the examples set by Rasulullah in that he did not feel ashamed to do household chores himself - he sewed and patched his clothing himself, repaired his shoes, kindled the fire, swept the floor, milked the cows etc. Practising Muslim men does not only remind their wives from time to time that the husband is numero uno, but also remember that Rasulullah has said, "The believers who show the most perfect faith are those who have the best character, and the best of you are those who are best to their wives".

Al-fatihah...

... for Ina's beloved little munchkin.
May Allah bless him, and grant the living ones strength and courage in this difficult time.

Not good, not good

The good news first,
I've been informed that Sonoda sensei - the professor I'd originally wanted as my supervisor - is going to be my 2nd examiner. Yay, alhamdulillah!

The not-so-good news,
At the end of Q&A session of my presentation today, my sensei remarked - "I don't think you can come up with a solid academic paper based on your presentation today. Are you confident that you can come up with a good thesis?"

Ouch!

But my zemi-mates were very supportive - they made suggestions and came up with constructive criticisms on how, where and on which areas I can improve my paper.

Maybe I'm too sensitive - but the other day my zemi-mate presented, he presented less facts, data and figures than I did, and our sensei didn't made any scathing remark like that. What gives?


#####

In the midst of being busy with my dissertation, I found the temptation to check things out on FB too alluring, and seldom resisted it.
Yabai...

#####

I am tired.
Not that I don't want to be a good wife/daughter-in-law/hostess, but there have been moments when I wished hubby could see that I am not a superwoman. Sometimes I slipped - like yesterday when I fell asleep while putting Humaidi to sleep before I served dinner for the family. It was unintentional. I hadn't slept since 4.30 a.m. - and the kids were extra 'active' all day long, with only me to look after them, and I was tired of 'perah otak' trying to edit my presentation and worked on the presentation notes.

Now, if only hubby could understand that, and simply listen and emphatize when I said "I am tired", instead of replying harshly, "You are not the only one who is tired. You don't know how tired I was...". Of course I can imagine that he was tired too - playing tourist guide in Tokyo using public transport is tiring and I have first-hand experience of that - but sometimes all I need is just to be listened to, and my feelings affirmed.

Is that too much to ask for?

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...

Mak pesan... 4

"Many of us fall into 'victim syndrome', excusing ourselves for being lesser becauyse we are underprivileged - oh, he is good in English because he studies overseas, oh, she can do lots of cooking experiments because her kids are big enough, oh, he is good in reading Quran because his Mom teaches Islamic studies... What we often forget to do is to look at those underprivileged who yet managed to do the impossibles and challenge ourselves to do the same..."

Jalan-jalan Golden Week 2008

1. BBQ in Saitama

Place: Gyoda, Saitama
Date: 3 May 2008



Kak Ita: Ini dah ada futomaki, haru maki, kalau tak sedap memang nak kena maki...

Good thing I brought some jelly. Or Agar-agar Pandan to be exact. Not in the usual green colour though, since I only have Artificial Cochineal color in stock, so red it was... Not many people - but it was really sunny in Gyoda as opposed to wet rainy Tokyo.

Pictures could be seen at Kak Ita's fotopages and summary by Faizly could be read here

2. No more Panda... Bye-bye Ling Ling

Place: Ueno Zoo, Tokyo
Date: 4 May 2008



The symbol of Ueno Zoo, Ling Ling the panda passed away on 30th April 2008.
Thousands flocked to the zoo to show their love and appreciation for the giant panda, bringing lots of flower bouquets, candies, chocolates and fruits and arranged them in front of the now empty 'Giant Panda house'. The place was terribly crowded, the weather a bit gloomy - as if to enhance the mourning mood in the zoo. Huzaifah seemed to enjoy the trip, and Humaidi repeatedly kept kicking his shoes - and by the time we left the place, he was wearing only his right shoe. Nice zoo, the many 'forests' which house the animals somehow made the animals seem to be more at home than sparse zoos I'd previously visited. Oh, and there's a monorail connecting the East and West area of the zoo (1 minute ride)

3. Party in Odaiba

Place: 4th Floor Lounge, Block C, Tokyo International Exchange Center, Odaiba
Date: 6 May 2008

Shukrat, an Uzbek who's currently doing his MA in GRIPS invited us over for a 'small party' at his place. Took that opportunity to first visit Syah and his family who have moved there since end of March. Nice apartment, but not so nice view as their balcony faces the Yurikamome rail line. Nor made some meehoon sup, and later we were joined by Acoi's family. We joined Acoi to Shukrat's party since they are living in the same block. The 'small party' turned out not to be so small after all with Shukrat friends and their families of various nationalities attending it - Japanese, Egyptian, Kazakhs, Russians, Turks, and our two families from Malaysia. Lots of food - home-made bread, noodles, pilaf rice, three different kinds of salad, tomatoes salsa on fried eggplant, baklava, some Russian confectionery, cakes, fruits and chocolates for the kids. Huzaifah performed a dangerous act of bergayut from the spiral stairway and Humaidi broke a plate - but at least they were not the only boisterous kids around...

Doki doki

I'm feeling quite nervous right now.
In a few hours time my parents-in-law will be arriving in Tokyo.
"But you've been married for more than 3 years!" some of you would exclaimed back.
Yes, while that is true, before we came to Japan, hubby and I did not have a place of ours.
We were staying either at his parent' place in Rasah or my parents' place in PJ.
And to add to that - I've never really cooked for my parents-in-law in my own place.
When I was pregnant with Huzaifah, I could not stand any kitchen smell.
When I was back for short breaks in Malaysia after that, I've never felt comfortable enough to cook in Rasah, so I just helped out with preparing stuff and washing dishes. Yes, I know, I am not exactly a dream daughter-in-law.

It's a cross-culture thing, this classic case of a daughter-in-law hoping to be able to fulfill a mother-in-law's hopes and expectation. Somehow, some way, it always seem like no female is ever acceptable to the sons, although the sons themselves are not perfect creatures. This doesn't seem to occur too often in the son-in-law and father-in-law's relationship . Maybe it's a male bonding thingy. Oh well...

I pray and hope that hubby and I will be able to 'raikan' our Mak and Abah Rasah to their satisfaction during their two weeks stay here...

Jalan-jalan tengok Tulip - part 2

Place: Hitachi Seaside Park aka Hitachi Kaihin Koen (entrance fee 400 yen per person)
Date: 26 April 2008

Friends in Chiba already told us that we were already late for real tulip viewing pleasure since most tulips in and around Tokyo were past their best viewing time... But when Liya and Fendi said that we would still be able to view nice tulips (300,000 stalks) with lots of varieties in Hitachi - we just went ahead and joined them. Called up Jan and Syeih in Hitachi, and they said that they too were planning on going to Hitachi Kaihin Koen at the same time, so we made plan to meet in the park. Faizly could not join us because he had some other things to attend to at school, so Liya & Fendi invited Zahid, a 1st year student to tag along. Radzian and family could not come since they were entertaining a Malaysian guest from Singapore.

Took the Tsukuba Express train to Tsukuba, and Fendi fetched us there before driving us for more than 2 hours to Hitachi Seaside Park. Lunch was yaki udon by yours truly, plus nasi goreng and super yummilicious cheese chocolate brownies by Liya. Told Liya that she might consider going into cakes and confectionery business one day since she is really skilled in making them, no kidding.

Umar and Huzaifah had a whale of time playing in Tamago no Mori (with Zahid as their baby sitter) while Jan and Syeih had some fun with their adorable daughter Sakura in Pleasure Garden, an amusement park with a 100-meter high ferris wheel (cheap as it cost only 500 yen per person as against 700 in Yokohama or 900 in Odaiba) and other. Wanted to snack on some Bear castella, but the oil used is a mixture of plant and animal based oil, zannen datta. When we first arrived there was a teenage rock concert going on - but as we walked further away from Tamago no Mori (the Tulip World area) it became more serene and pleasant. We didn't even managed to cover half of the whole park, but we were the last to exit the park's west gate - the security guards in the parking area even lined up to greet us bye-bye, huhuhu...

Had dinner at Jan & Syeih's place - a cozy 3-roomed City Council apartment on a hilly area which cost them less than 15,000 yen a month. Told them that we could just eat the lunch leftover, but Syeih insisted on cooking chicken curry for us, assisted by Jan.

By the time we reached Tsukuba, it was too late to catch up the last train back to Asakusa, so all the three adult guys spent the night at Zahid's room. The mommies however had some difficulty sleeping as the kiddies - Umar, Huzaifah and Humaidi - went on an 'orchestra' of crying, sobbing, wailing and weeping until early morning...

Nice things about Hitachi Kaihin Koen:

• Accessible by public transport, 10 minutes by bus/taxi from Katsuta eki on JR Joban Line.
• Lots of outdoor facilities - cycling courses, athletic fields, safe playing area for kids made from rubbery material (the bonggol-bonggol thing in Tamago no Mori is not made from stone)
• Lots of different park areas for different kind of flowers, including a nice lake
  
• In case of rain, there is also a greenhouse, a gallery and some restaurants area spread out in the large park
• Features an in-park amusement park with a ferris wheel

Like other national parks, there is no entrance fee on May 4th (Midori no hi aka Green day) and a few other selected days. In fact we went there a day before it was open for free (the last Sunday of April, which is supposed to be the best time to enjoy the tulips there). We enjoyed the many colors, variations and arrangements of tulips there tremendously, alhamdulillah...

Jalan-jalan tengok Tulip - part 1

Place: Kasumigaura Park, not far from Tsuchiura, Ibaraki
Date: 19 April 2008

Went there before we went to JAXA Tsukuba Special Open Day, driven by Fendi who fetched us from Tsukuba eki. Radzian & Rini's family in another car followed Fendi's lead. Faizly joined us too, having spending the night before the visit to help with making some bento (two varieties of sandwiches - tuna & egg, as well as roasted chicken wings and drumsticks). Liya brought yummilicious carrot cake (yay!) and meehoon kicap which Huzaifah simply could not get enough of. Serious, I've never seen him gobbling up anything like that ever before. (Note to self : Hmm, maybe should give Liya's recipe a try after this...)

Plus factor:

• Next to Kasumigaura lake, the second largest lake in Japan.
• Features a windmill and the tulips were color/type coordinated, giving it a Holland-like feel (Upon seeing our photos, Mak made a passing comment on how Japanese sometimes seems to have nothing better to do than to imitate others)
  
• Features a watermill (which was not functioning when we were there, but still...)

Minuses:

• Quite difficult to reach by public transport
• The tulips area is actually not that big (photos could be deceiving)

Although initially I was quite upset to see some of the tulips already in ' lunyai' condition, since we had traveled all the way from Tokyo, hubby and I just went on "happy-snapper" mode. We tried making the most out of the best we had there - and alhamdulillah the pictures turned out quite well....

And if it was not enough, the following tulip-seeing trip was really great, subhanallah...

Further reading/photos:
Liya & Fendi
Faizly