All pink - part 2

All pink in the office

"So you wore pink - what difference does it make to a breast cancer sufferer? Wearing pink without putting in effort or contributing towards cancer research or as such, is simply meaningless..."

Someone uttered in a tone laced with disdain.

Ok, granted, I've never contributed financially towards breast cancer research.
And to my limited knowledge, no one in my family had suffered from breast cancer.
And that day when the whole sector wore pink, nobody suggested for us to make financial contribution towards cancer research.
But others from different sectors noticed us wearing pink and asked us why.
That to me, was our small contribution towards raising awareness of breast cancer.
It shows, in a small way, (perhaps insignificant to some) that we care.


Personally, I don't pass by the red cooking oil, Carotino in the supermarket aisle without remembering Auntie Umi, my friend Aidil's mother. It came as a big surprise when we first learned about Auntie Umi's illness. She breastfed all 4 children, no one in her family had been diagnosed with cancer before, she was an active person and pretty much lived and ate healthily. Proof that it could happen to anyone - regardless of what the doctors list as risk factors.

What I do remember about her -
She fought hard, but she did not became all hard and bitter in her fight.
She cried, but she also smiled, putting up a brave front so that others would not cry for her.
She must had gone through lot of pain, but I remember her jovial self more .
In her quiet tone when she answered questions about her pain , I could sense her strong determination to fight, fight, fight until the last drop.
She made a lot of changes in her diet and her lifestyle - Carotino and plenty of soy milk forming part of it.

I did not have the opportunity to visit her when her condition must had deteriorated towards the end of her life, but I'm sure that she must had gone in peace.
There was a lot of strength shown by someone who could accept her condition, fought hard yet still counted her blessings and at peace with herself.


So, yes, perhaps wearing pink might constitute a small, insignificant thing to do, when many are fighting the cancer and others are taking care of their loved ones who had been diagnosed with this cancer.
Still, the main intention is to show our support and letting those who are suffering to know that they are not alone, that people actually do care, and that some of them (like Auntie Umi to me) are in our heart, thoughts and prayers.

1 sektor 1 ingatan

"My Only Wish"

A poem read by an 8 year old boy at Criminalise War International Conference & Exhibition, Kuala Lumpur, 28 September 2009

My Only Wish

All your armies

All your fighters

All your tanks

And all your soldiers

Against a boy

Holding a stone

Standing there, all alone

In his eyes, I see the sun

In his smile, I see the moon

And I wonder, I only wonder

Who is weak, and who is strong?

Who is right, and who is wrong?

And I wish, I only wish

That the truth, has begun

* Picture taken from here

Rampai Raya 1430H - the pics

Some pictures taken during Raya season
Yes, I know, yet another belated post...
Still, late is better than never, kan?

Raya morning - when Humaidi went cranky and refused to stand still

Taken when Humaidi was calmer but apparently the baton had been passed over to Huzaifah. Well, looks like it's going to be some years before we can take 'proper' family Raya photo...

Raya afternoon - when the kids' baju melayu went all smeared with don't-know-whats

(taken during a short interval at MIL's place before we continued visiting others)

Hubby had a change of clothes too, because otherwise people keep mistaken his nephews and niece as his

(baju sama warna)

Ayah really enjoyed his newly found long-lost-favorite nasi kandar - licin pinggan, with my brother Amirul in a finger lickin' good pose.

Part of the Hj Hassan clan in a kopitiam in Penang

My brother Azrul, SIL Sarah (who was then heavily pregnant with baby Balqis) & Uwais

Baby Haniyya

Huzaifah and Humaidi watching TV

For some reason, I found the mock 'tie' that comes with Humaidi's/Haniyya's shirt to be quite cute

Chik Ma, Pak Chik, Ayah Tam and Mak Tam sharing a light moment during breakfast

The Hj Hassan clan basically 'conquered' all the tables next to the pool during breakfast.

Seen here: Teh, Atiqah, Ayah Lang - with Firdhaus and Eda in the background

Nyah, Ijan, Ain, Iman, Mak and Syahril

Among the male cousins

Huzaifah and Humaidi had a gall time in the swimming pool

Huzaifah especially loves basking in the sun and playing with the white beach sand

The 3 families reunion at Che Lee's place in Taman PKNK, Alor Setar

All Pink - Breast Cancer Awareness

SMS from the sectoral boss' Personal Assisstant last night read as:

"Dear Sir/Madam,
We in the sector have agreed to wear pink tomorrow to raise awareness of the Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Join us?"

Pink for the ladies is no big deal, yet for the guys could be quite a problem. Oh well, at least chances are, none of them would be suspended for wearing pink at work.

In the sectoral esprit de corp, I put on a pair of pink baju kurung. Not a big deal for me - I have two pairs of pink baju kurung. Although I'm not a fan of pink, I've been told that I look better in pink compared to more earthy tones which I preferred. Ehcheh.

Anyway - the main point is to raise awareness for Breast Cancer, and I think that's a noble cause worthy of support especially among the ladies. Turned out - four male officers wear pink today, with one wearing red striped shirt and yet another puts on a red tie since they have neither pink shirts nor pink ties. Well, I supposed that could still be considered as in support of the "let's wear pink" campaign. An elder officer joked that the nearest-to-pink piece of garment he owns is a pair of brief, but surely no one cares to see him wearing his brief in Superman style (urghhhh, nooooo...)

Anyway, why bother asking everyone's support? Well, according to the American Cancer Society, roughly 1,720 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. It might not affect the men as much as women but still, Breast Cancer affects everyone.

#####

* Risk factors of Breast Cancer

• Personal history: A woman who had breast cancer in one breast has an increased risk of getting cancer in her other breast.
• Family history: A woman's risk of breast cancer is higher if her mother, sister, or daughter had breast cancer. The risk is higher if her family member got breast cancer before age 40. Having other relatives with breast cancer (in either her mother's or father's family) may also increase a woman's risk.
• Certain changes: Some women have cells in the breast that look abnormal under a microscope. Having certain types of abnormal cells (atypical hyperplasia and lobular carcinoma in situ [LCIS]) increases the risk of breast cancer.
• Race: Breast cancer is diagnosed more often in Caucasian women than others
• Inactivity: Women who are physically inactive throughout life may have an increased risk of breast cancer. Being active may help decrease risk.

Easy steps to help curtail one's chances of getting breast cancer:

1. Stay at ideal weight
2. Exercise. As little as 30 minutes a day will help.
3. Follow a healthy diet, eat right.
4. No smoking.
5. Go for timely health check-ups; early detection is the best defense.

* (Source: Wikipedia)

P/S: While it's quite late in the month, I'll keep this pink template until the end of this month, insya Allah

Tragedi Oktober

Some stuff that happened in October...

• The ceiling fan in Mak's house went on fire one Sunday night.
• A thief forced an entry into MIL's house in Rasah.
• My biological mother broke her knee when she stumbled over a child bar meant for my half-brother's child at the toilet.

1. That night we were in Kampung Tunku. Hubby and I were both exhausted and planned on returning to Putrajaya after a nap. Next thing we knew, our helper was yelling "Pak Ustaz! Kakak! Api! Api!" Quickly woke hubby up and went down. The ceiling fan in the living hall glowed with fire as some flames dropped and crackled on the carpet beneath it.

"Air! (Water) Air!" Ayah shouted in the otherwise dark house, as Ayah had already shut the main electricity switch off. "Bawak anak-anak keluar! Keluar!" he ordered my helper

The house had partially burnt down due to a fire caused by electrical short circuit in 1987. Seeing the ceiling fan on fire caused a small chaos for a while.

Someone collected water in buckets (in the dark) and hubby was the one strong enough to hurl the water high enough to reach the high ceiling fan. I remember helping removing the carpet from beneath the blazing ceiling fan which had started dripping too.

I asked Mak who has called 999, but in the confusion everybody seemed to forget to bring our handphone. I quickly went up and groped for my handphone on the bed, found it and quickly went down. By then the fire had already been extinguished, so it was no longer necessary to call the fire engine.

"Call TNB," Mak (or was it Ayah?) instructed. I tried called the directory assistance number and asked for TNB emergency number. Was asked to call 15454, the 24/7 TNB Careline number. Could not call 15454 on my U Mobile phone, so switched to Mak's Celcom line. (In the chaos, Ayah's phone somehow got wet and could not be used) and succeeded in getting to TNB.

TNB was aware that something was wrong with the electricity supply in our house. Just when I uttered "No 8..." the guy on the line quickly finished reading out the house address. Hmm, impressive... He wanted to confirm to location of "Kampung Tunku" (in Petaling Jaya) and said that some TNB guys would be with us soon.

"Soon" turned out to be 40-50 minutes. Two guys, Siva and Ramesh, came and checked on the electricity main switch, reprimanded us for extinguishing the fire using water (as it could conduct electricity and cause electrical shock when the water reached the floor) and assured us that it was okay for us to switch on lights and all again.

While we had learned about water being electric conductor ages ago, and Ayah actually has a proper fire extinguisher in his room, none of us remembered these two facts when we first realized that the ceiling fan was on fire. (Yeah, blame it on being panic.)

No wonder there was a strong burning smell since early evening but we could not track its origin. According to my helper, at around 11 p.m., when the other helper (my brother's who later on ran away) started switching off the lights in the ground floor, the fan suddenly started moving. My helper asked the other helper if she had switched on the ceiling fan, to which she adamantly replied no. And then the ceiling fan started to emit some orangish lights, followed by some crackles, and whoosh - it was on fire!

To be continued

Rampai Raya 1429H - part 3

26. The highlight of the Hj Hassan clan gathering - BBQ night. At RM35 per pax, it was quite a feast. However, hubby had a headache and our helper wanted to stay with baby Haniyya in the room with Ayah Tam's helper, so I could not enjoy the food thorough and thorough. Not when I had to ensure that Huzaifah and Humaidi would not dive into the tempting swimming pool.

27. I had not a single photo of the BBQ night.

28. And it was not fun when hubby did not came down to join the BBQ at all. Hence he did not join the big family photo session. Really felt a bit awkward being in the family photo shoot without my hubby beside me.

29. Although I repeatedly told my aunts that it's hubby's normal reaction to sleep off his headache, my cousin Atiqah and Syifa' were both reprimanded by their respective mother for 'causing trouble for me with my husband'. (Interestingly, both aunt are also married to Ustaz)

30. One aunt in fact told me that I should cut down on all-girl's day out or lunch, when I told her that normally hubby has no problem allowing me to go for all-girl's day out.

31. Happened that on that particular day hubby was not too happy with me taking ages to get back to the hotel (because he had to take care of the kids. Our helper mistakenly thought that I was back with him so she sent the toddlers to our room and hubby found it difficult to handle the kids on his own)

32. The reason it took so long for me to get back? Massive traffic jam from Queensbay mall to Tanjung Tokong due to heavy rain. Our journey to Queensbay Mall lasted for about 30 minutes but the return journey took more than an hour. Good thing there were some DVDs on board, so the girls watched "Aliens in the Attic" while I struggled in the traffic jam.

33. However, I don't think just because I was late once I should be penalized from having any all-girl's day out ever. Truth is, I seldom have any and seldom get to have lunch with girlfriends too. Everybody is always so busy and so occupied that it's difficult to organize even one all-girls's day out. And sometimes, when a friend finally get to organize it, I could not make it due to other commitments.

34. Anyway, we had a better day the next day. Visited Ummi in Sungai Petani, had a reunion of sort in Alor Setar and spent the night in Pendang.

35. It was great meeting both Che Lee's family and Pokcik's family in Alor Setar. When Che Lee and Kak Ita found out that we were in Penang and going to visit my biological mother in Sungai Petani, they quickly invited us over to their home in Taman PKNK, Alor Setar. "Take the Alor Setar Utara exit and I'll meet you there," or so Che Lee promised.

36. True to his word, he did met us up at the highway exit, but after being held up in another place because his other guest confused a building in Taman PKNK with Wisma PKNK or something. No worry, we assured him. We were happy just being able to meet up with him and family.

37. And his other guests were no stranger to us - it's Pokcik Nasa and his family. While hubby and I had met up with Pokcik since we came back from Japan, we hadn't had a chance to meet up with Kak Mai and his kids, and it's been two years since we last met up.

38. As for Che Lee, Kak Ita and kids, they'd just came back for good in April 2009 and we haven't meet up since a year ago.

39. Kak Ita made us really delicious laksa. She said sorry for the famous laksa teluk kechai stall was not opened on that day or otherwise we could have a taste of the famous delicious laksa. But really, after almost a week of ketupat, lemang, rendang and stuff, her "laksa Taman PKNK" tasted like heaven.

40. The kids had really grown up so quickly. No wonder last time Ayah's relatives used to say "dah besar dah ye" everytime they visit my grandparents' place. I had the urge to say exactly the same thing to my friends' kids. The one thing that held me back was the thought that crossed my mind when I was greeted with such comment "Laa, it goes without saying that kids grow up. You don't expect them to grow smaller, right?"

41. I was especially impressed with Nazhan Ariq, Pokcik's youngest. Barely 3 years old and already he handles his dad's expensive DSLR Nikon camera expertly. "That's his toy," Kak Mai quipped. Hah, my guess is he is a chip off the old block in making, inheriting Pokcik's creativity and productivity when it comes to photography.

42. True to their adventurous nature, Huzaifah and Humaidi raised a small ruckus in Che Lee's house. Good thing that Che Lee kids have some stuff that could distract the smaller ones for a while - they keep some hamsters. Fascinated by the 'tikus' that he saw then, for a while Huzaifah keeps asking to watch the 'tikus' also known as "G-Force" DVD in the car.

43. "Yeay!" comment heard during raya: "You looked thinner" (from someone who hadn't seen me in a few month)
"Ouch!" comment heard during raya: "Nampak dah bertambah (berat) noo" (from someone who hadn't seen me in a year)
Truth: I'd shed about 2 kg during fasting month and gained about 600 gm since Raya.

44. Spent the night at hubby's friend, Ustaz Ghazali's house in Pendang. He had some trouble regarding change of scheme under the old SSB to SSM (he deserved to be graded as DGA29 but was graded as DGA27) Helped him out a bit some months ago and he told us that if everything goes well, he had been told by the state education office that he'll be getting his long overdue extra pay soon and he might get a time-based promotion too, insya Allah.

45. The next day was not a great day for us though. Huzaifah had an asthma attack. First took him to a clinic - and it was hard finding a clinic opened on Friday, the day off in Kedah. A patient in the clinic recommneded us to take him to the Klinik Kesihatan Pendang.

46. Took him to Klinik Kesihatan Pendang, but the government clinic was closed. No one manned the "Emergency" area. Went back to the private clinic, this time we waited patiently for our turn to be called in by the doctor. And told by the doctor that due to the seriousness of Huzaifah's condition, we had to take him to the hospital in Alor Setar.

47. So we drove all the way back to Alor Setar, to Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah. A real efficient hospital - Huzaifah got his nebulizer treatment in no time at all. In fact, right after he got his share of 'gas', he started wandering all around the A&E unit while I had to wait for my turn to see the doctor.

48. Well, turned out that every morning, my eyes went all itchy, really, really red (like those owned by ghosts/demons in Hong Kong movies), the lids went all swollen, with lots of tears and yellowish goops (or locally known as "taik mata") that at times seemed to stick the lids together, especially after sleeping. The doctor confirmed that I'd gotten eye infection and issued an MC for four days.

49. I got flu too and got a one-day MC after the first ended. The week after Raya week, I only went to the office once. I took two more days off - because my eyes were still red and swollen and I did not want to cause infection in the office yet I was not keen to spend another long day in the government clinic to get another MC issued.

50. But after all is said and done - it was a good Raya, alhamdulillah. One must never forget the blessings showered by Allah in so many forms and guises - family, friends, good health, laughter and all. Alhamdulillah.

Rampai Raya 1430H - part 2

16. The Hj Hassan (my late Tok Ayah) clan had a family gathering in Naza Hotel Penang sponsored by Kumpulan Sakata Berhad, a company owned and managed by children of Hj Hassan. There we were - 8 children (and spouses), 36 grandchildren (minus some who are studying overseas plus some with spouses) and 5 (and 1/2) great grandchildren, in a gathering that was held for the first time in a hotel.

17. We spent two nights in the hotel - 2 suites, 8 deluxe and 6 standard rooms. And yes, often my cousins 'conquered' the lobby area, playing congkak, chess and other board games. The grandchildren age ranges from 30's to one year, so the majority are tweens and teenagers, and one can just imagine how 'meriah' the hotel was being filled up with the Hj Hassan clan.

18. Since it was the first time for us to have such gathering, there was no itinerary planned out. No sports matches or sukaneka activities or as such. Next time, maybe?

19. Next time hopefully it will not be held in Naza Hotel again. Service was terrible. My brother told me that his room was not made up even once throughout the stay. Some of my aunts and uncles who arrived at about 2.00 p.m. which is the standard hour for checking-in had to wait until 5.30 p.m. to check in because they were told that there was only one person who was on duty to make up rooms in the whole hotel.

20. On the second day, we were told by the reception desk that some occupants in deluxe rooms may had to move to standard rooms because our reservation was only for 2D1N and not 3D1N. My youngest brother who was in charge of the reservation said he asked for "two days", the hotel misunderstood it as staying for 2D1N which translated into common man's language as "one night" where else my Adik meant "two nights". We were told that some reservations for deluxe rooms had been completed and that mean the seniors (those who occupied the deluxe rooms) had to move. Not sure how my uncle Ayah Tam sorted it out with the hotel management - but in the end none of the Hj Hassan clan had to move to other rooms. My guess is that the hotel had to refund those who made reservation for deluxe rooms but had to be placed in standard rooms...

21. Ayah had a field day finding an old favorite nasi kandar stall was back in business. Previously he went to that particular kopitiam only to find out that the old nasi kandar operator had stopped operating there.

22. Hubby had a field day snapping photos in Padang Kota area

23. I had a field day went outing with four female cousins - Firdhaus, Atiqah and Syifa'. Wanted to ask our cousin Syahril's wife Ain to join us but when we knocked on her door there was no answer.

24. It's amazing what my younger cousins could remember about the crushes (and the crushed ones) I used to have. Atiqah actually remembered that not only I used to have kuih raya sent to the office but one guy in particular actually sent some batang buruk (my favorite kuih raya) to my home in person - with the younger cousins watching/spying behind the front door that caused him to blush. Ha ha.

25. We wanted to visit Masni's family in Bayan Baru. Attempted once to drive from Tanjung Tokong to Bayan Baru at night but ended up back in square one after almost an hour of driving. However, the next day we ended up going to Queensbay Mall - which is not that far from Bayan Baru - in no time at all. Yeah, blame the poor signage in Penang, hi hi.

To be continued

Rampai Raya 1430H

It had been a busy month, and a rather stressful one, hence my posting the Raya entry long after it ended.

In 2007, we spent our last Raya in Nihon, so friends and family in Malaysia urged me to do a lengthy report on it.
In 2008, we returned to Malaysia during Ramadhan and spent our first-after-3-Raya's-in-Nihon in Malaysia, so friends and almost-family in Nihon wondered how it went, urging me to at least make do with an update.
This year, there was no real sense of urgency to report.
Still, all in all, it was a good Raya, especially in terms of get-togethers...

1. We went back to Kampung Tunku the night before Raya eve. My helper thought that we would drop her at her friend's place that night but it was really late so we brought her back to Mak's place. She insisted on being given a day off on Raya or "kalau tidak, aku mau berenti". Yeah, I was threatened by my own bibik on Raya eve, although I already told her that she could take three days later on. Not wanting to make a big issue of it, we gave her 3 days (plus half day on day 4) off for Raya.

2. Raya eve was spent cooking in Mak's kitchen - Mak cooked some traditional Raya dishes such as kuah kacang, kuah lodeh, nasi himpit and rendang ayam while I cooked Thai style daging masak merah and daging pipi rebus.

3. Mak said that there would be no takbir group visiting us on malam Raya to which I agreed. We used to have the takbir group visiting us before - back when I was still single. Now with four kids in the house - and boisterous ones too - not having a takbir group coming over seems like a safer option for now...

4. Ayah was still undecided about inviting the takbir group to the house even until after Maghrib, causing SIL Sarah and I to be in a dilemma - whether or not to prepare some tea and snacks for the takbir group. But alas - Mak won. Yeay!

5. Baby Haniyya went to sleep at about 11 p.m., giving hubby and I an opportunity to sneak out of the house while Huzaifah and Humaidi were engrossed with "Thomas the tank engine and Friends" upstairs. Destination? Jalan TAR.

6. If one does not mind the crowd, the noises and the inconvenience of quite-a-distance parking-and-walking, shopping at Jalan TAR on malam Raya could be quite an experience. We learned our lesson from last year not to drive anywhere near Jalan TAR itself, so we (illegally) parked our car at Jalan Raja Laut. We had to walk quite a distance, but beats being stuck in traffic jam for hours (like what happened last year)

7. We already bought our baju raya but not much kuih raya so main mission that night was to buy kuih raya. But since there were plenty of bargains, our final haul included a lot of unplanned purchases too. Yes, I blamed the gila-gila bargain.

8. Seriously, where else on KL could one get ready-made Baju Kurung for RM25 a pair? Or 3 tudungs with soft awning for RM 10? Or a look-like-feel-like-but-not-real songket samping for RM20? And almond london cookies which normally cost RM15 - RM18 for just RM10 a tray?

9. When we finally returned to Kampung Tunku, it was around 3.00 a.m. But the sale was still going strong, making me wonder when did the malam Raya sale stop?

10. Since hubby had agreed to lead Solat Raya in Masjid Rasah, we had to return to Seremban that very night/early morning. Our journey back to Rasah began at about 4.00 a.m., and we reached our destination at almost 5.00 a.m. Hubby had to stop by the road side because he was so sleepy that I had to drive the last quarter of the journey.

11. 1st day of Raya, we visited 9 houses. Considering we once visited 11 houses in one day, that was not so bad. Hubby's family is a really big one. MIL's siblings - from various mothers - amount to almost 40. So there.

12. Our family theme this year? Turquoise. My ready made baju kurung is not really turquoise, more towards light blue - but it seemed to match well with baju melayu worn by hubby and the boys. No baju melayu for Baby Haniyya though but he did not look too bad in light blue baby suit.
13. There seemed to be an awfully lot of families choosing light blue/turquoise as their baju raya theme this year though. We met with at least one or two families donning the same color at almost every house we visited.

14. Hubby's younger brother's kids wore turquoise on Raya too but the parents wore purple, causing some confusion about the kids' parents. Ha ha.

15. I got a long distance phone call all the way from Swiss. It was so good hearing Ju's voice. The line was not really clear, but still it was a delightful surprise. Ju would probably said I did the same thing to her when I was in Japan but still, I was touched. That was so sweet and I love you so much Ju!

To be continued

08101970

When I read this, I suddenly remembered why earlier on I kept asking myself that there was something significant with October 8th, but what was it?

Back when we were students in residential school, we used to keep our mugs/tumblers along the wall of the dining hall. When I was in Form 4 or 5, when girls my age were nuts about Jason Priestley, Luke Perry, Leonardo Di Caprio etc and one can find their names inscribed on many mug/tumblers (along with all the hearts, stars, flowers...), inscribed on my tumbler was

08101970
Hizairi

Yeah, I know, I was different that way.

Chances were girls in my form would know that I was nuts about Hizairi Othman's writing. They would tell me everytime they saw his writing appeared in Dewan Siswa, Fokus or in daily newspapers etc.

I used to write to him, commenting on his writing, in English, addressing him as Sir.
I can't actually remember what drove me to do so, but my guess was I wanted to be rather different compared to other fan letters he received.

I can't remember when I first started writing to him, but it was not until 1995 when I got his reply.
In that one typed page (in 1995, a typed page is not as common as it is today - it showed effort), he told me that he used to reply to all letters so as not to be labelled "sombong". But as time goes on and he got more girls writing "to learn writing" or "to get to know him better" or even to ask him to be their "abang angkat", he stopped responding.

But there was something different about my letters. All of them were written in English, with none inserting the "to learn writing"/"want to get to know him better"/offer to be "adik angkat". He admitted that he likes receiving my comments and that I was among a selected few of his favorite followers.

It wasn't until a year later when I first met him in person.
I just finished reading his "Spesimen β" when I learned that he was going to give a talk in Shah Alam. At that time, I'd just finished my A-Levels and was waiting to be called to NCUK so I had plenty of 'free time'. I decided to write my comments about "Spesimen β" and hand the letter in person to him.

I was the only one other than the teachers to appear in that particular school hall on that day who was not in school uniform, so the organizer invited me to meet up with Hizairi after he was done with giving his motivational talk. I took that opportunity to personally deliver the letter to him.

He looked at the envelope once and immediately looked up at me,
"Eh, you Azra ye? Azra Haida?"

I was speechless.
Simultaneously honored and humbled to realize that my favorite writer actually recognized my handwriting.

And from then on, the "fan-favorite writer" relationship gradually shifted to being friends.

We sent Raya card to each other. He would sent me copy of his writing when I told him I could not get my hand on them when I was in Leeds. Even when he won Formula Malaysia competition with "Bulan di Puncak Notre Dame", I found it difficult to find the story, so he made a copy of them and asked me to collect it at his pigeon hole in UPM. Back then, he was working as a tutor in UPM and my office was not that far from there. (Mak was on the interview panel when he applied for the post in UPM, and Mak told me that she could not understand why I was so fascinated with him and his writing - he was "biasa saja" as Mak put it, hehehe)

He came to my office once to collect his own birthday present. I remember buying him one dark blue kain pelikat and upon receiving it, he told me that he was just thinking of buying a new kain pelikat and it was just as if I could read his mind. Heh, he could be a smooth talker sometimes. But yes he could be really charming and it was not difficult to understand why he used to have so many fans 'wanting to know him better'.

Happy birthday Hizairi where ever you are. If your mother's hunch is right - that you are still alive and safe somewhere - my doa is that you will be under Allah's protection and in His guided path always.

First girl in the family...

My SIL just gave birth to their second child this morning at 1.03 a.m.
The girl, Balqis Raihana is just a year and a month apart from her elder brother, Uwais Sharif Al-Qarni.
My brother Azrul was born on 1 July.
His son Uwais on 1 September.
And now his daughter on 1 October.
I 'complimented' Sarah, my SIL, on the 'nice timing' of the birth, to which Sarah replied, "Abang yang harap sangat baby lahir masa 1 haribulan. Doa dia termakbul la tu..."

Yes, I know I should be posting an entry on Raya.
But welcoming my first niece/Mak & Ayah's first grand daughter (after four grand sons) is a big deal which takes priority over the belated Raya entry.

Ahlan wasahlan wa marhaban ya Balqis Raihana...

P.S: Al-fatihah for the earth quake victims in Padang.

Not feeling well

I should be posting an entry on Raya
But not feeling up to it quite yet.
Am not feeling very well.
Had eye infection since last Friday and got sick leave until yesterday.
Started working today and already colleagues are asking me what am I doing here when it's obvious that I have not yet fully recovered from the eye infection.
Plus running nose.

"Muka puan nampak sembap sangat"
Yes, tell me about it.
A swollen face.
With red eyes.
And almost equally red nose.

I probably should apply for a leave tomorrow.
But today, there's a big meeting coming up in the afternoon.
So I should make the most of my time in the office to day to get some things settled.

"Puan mata merah ni tak jangkit kat anak-anak dan suami puan ke?"
Alhamdulillah, hubby and the kids have been spared from getting infected.
I truly hope that my presence today in the office won't cause anyone from getting infected too.

But yes, I probably should apply for a leave.

Kad Raya 1430H

Eid Mubarak and may Allah bless always!

Ichi nen buri...

Guess who called us up on the very day we had the office's buka puasa session at my home?
Faizly, also (affectionately) known as Sabah.

"Kak, kitorang ada kat Alamanda ni."

"Mai la sini, buka puasa kat rumah akak lah"

"Errr, tak pelah. Kitorang dah buat reservation kat Secret Recipe untuk buka (puasa) nanti. Akak dengan Ustaz mailah sini buka puasa sama-sama"

"Akak tak boleh la, hari ni kawan-kawan ofis buka puasa kat rumah akak. Takkan hos pulak yang takdak. Sabah dengan geng muda-muda kan? Mailah buka puasa kat rumah akak"

"Eh, geng muda kah? Mama pun muda ke? Hahaha... Oh ada orang nak datang rumah akak ye? Takpelah, kalau macam tu nanti lah kitorang datang."

[Overheard by Sabah, Hubby saying "Bungkus je yang beli kat Secret Recipe tu bawak sini. Pastu bawak la baju-baju sekali. Beli lah saiz XL..."]

They - Sabah, his sweet (not-so-) little sister Faireza, mother, father and his friend came over to our place at about 10.00 p.m. I offered to pick them up at Alamanda - not actual pick-up, but rather to lead them from Alamanda by letting them trailing after me on the way back home. They agreed to wait at Alamanda.

I brought Huzaifah with me, knowing that Faizly must be keen on meeting the two boys he's familiar with. At the time I left home, Humaidi was napping - probably too exhausted from all his activities while the guests from office were present.

More than halfway there, I got a call.

"Akak, kitorang tunggu kat Masjid Putra la. Dekat sikit (dengan rumah akak) kan? Takut kalau datang Alamanda nanti berpusing-pusing pulak"
(Laa, bertuah punya adik. Dah nak dekat sampai dah pun...)

So, practically made a U-turn to Masjid Putra.

We first met in front of Masjid Putra's main entrance. Faizly looked oh so kurus, but I prefer his (short) hair cut than the one he wore when we last met. That was more than a year ago.

A year!
Oh how time passed by...

And just like I expected, Faizly was thrilled to meet Huzaifah. And to finally be able to converse and understand Huzaifah properly. "Kawaii," he kept exclaiming. Only that Huzaifah could no longer remember him - a year for us adult is not that long, but for Huzaifah, it must had been aeons ago...

It was good to meet Faizly and to finally meet up with his family members, especially his Mama. Hubby and I have met Faizly's elder brother, Fairuz and his fiancee Aza in Tokyo. Faireza, Faizly's younger (really tall) sister too had been to Tokyo before but we've never met up while we were there. Faizly's Mama bought the materials for our family baju raya last year, and more than that we are thankful for Faizly's Mama for sharing his son with us. I mean, seriously, he's been more than merely family friend, it's more like he's part of an extended family of sort.

Faizly did not came empty handed. There were fridge magnets from Tokyo, chocolates for Huzaifah and Humaidi and dried prawns from Labuan - because he remembered I once made a remark on preferring dried prawns from East Malaysia compared to the ones originated from Peninsular Malaysia.

On the other hand, because we did not know they were coming to visit us on that day, we had no gift to exchange. Adoi! Sabah, akak hutang ye?

Offered them to enjoy some kudap-kudapan (left overs from the buka puasa session) but all of them declined. (Adakah Faireza kontrol ayu? Bukankah Faizly selalu cakap adik dia kuat makan???)

Wanted to call hubby and ask him to return home pronto. But he did not bring the handphone to the surau. Tried calling Ustaz Rizal, one of the 'orang kuat' at the surau, unfortunately at that time Ustaz Rizal was in Shah Alam, not at the surau. He suggested calling Encik Fauzi, the chairman of the surau, but neither I nor him has Encik Fauzi's number listed in our phone's address book.

They insisted on not staying for long because Faizly's friend had to go to work the next day. I offered them to stay at my place, but Faizly replied that Putrajaya is too far from Mama's favourite shopping place - Jalan TAR, in particular SOGO. Apparently, since they arrived in KL, she had made the kids (as her escort of sort) returned to SOGO a few times.

"Sales assistant kat SOGO pun dah kenal Mama, ok? Dah jadi kawan-kawan dah..."

Owh. (I don't think I've been really chummy with any of the sales assisstant at Jusco Taman Equine, my favourite shopping place for the moment. Oh, unless one counts the Chinese auntie in charge of Windsir bed linens as chummy since she wouldn't mind getting additional 'free gift' for us when we purchase Windsir stuff)

Had he told me earlier that his Mama is big on buying handbags, I would've advised them to come to Putrajaya when the "Jom Beli Barang Raya" expo was held in Presint 3. Polo bags sold at 80% discount meh, not even SOGO could offer such bargain!

Next time Faizly, you must have at least a meal and preferably stay at least one night at our home, ok? We insist!

And yes, Huzaifah is as active as that night all the time - he simply does not understand the meaning of 'tired' or 'exhausted'. But yes, like you, I find it a bit disturbing when he insisted on playing with "kawan" at the end of the road when we could not see anybody and told him that "kawan dah tidur" only to hear him responding, "tidak, kawan tak tidur lah. Tu, kawan tengah main tu"...

Anyway, good to see you again dear brother. Sorry Pak Ustaz could not meet up with all of you that night. We hope it would not be the last visit yet...

The guests (plus baby Haniyya). Sabah, apesal pose kontrol ayu???

Faizly's family and extended family (ehcheh, perasan pula!)

Tengok tu - tak ke macam nihonjin dua orang ni?

Ujai, Akif, jangan gerak-gerak lah. Susah betul nak ambil gambar ni...

Nihon-style typical pose- PEACE!

Eh, Akif interframe!

Bila lagi nak jumpa ni?

P/S: The young people at the office upon looking at the photos of that night asked,

"Kenapa puan tak cakap ada tetamu cun lepas kami balik tu? Kalau tak, mesti kami tunggu..."

Oh, agak-agak siapalah yang cun itu?

Makan, makan juga...

The junior officers came out with the idea to hold one "buka puasa" session for the sector.
"Let's get all in the sector to buy the Nasi Arab Amal coupon and we can then buka puasa at an officer's home," Idy and Nabilah suggested.
When we checked with the support staff, they seemed to be reluctant to pay for the Nasi Arab coupon (at RM20 each). No surprise there.

So we came out with another suggestion - let's have a pot luck buka puasa then.
We got some lukewarm response from the support staff. But the boss agreed, and so it turned into reality.

The sectoral buka puasa was held at my home last Tuesday.

Tuesday itself was a busy day for the officers - having to attend meetings both in the morning and the afternoon. I went out during lunch, headed to Mydin to buy disposable cups, plates, bowls and spoons. Bought watermelon and honeydew too since hubby suggested we as the venue 'host' prepare drinks, dates (as in buah tamar a.k.a. buah kurma) and cut fruits.

Practically forced Anizz, a clerk, to join me when I returned home. Anizz helped a lot in the preparation - cutting fruits, arranging utensils, dicing the cincau for soya cincau drinks, etc.
Out of more than 20, 12 officers made it to the event - 5 female and 7 male. Good thing that the Executive Officer brought her family as well, so that we have more people to finish off the food.
And there were plenty of food, including:

1. two variants of Nasi Arab (bought by Nabilah from Saba' restaurant in Cyberjaya)
2. pizza (bought by Anuar at Domino's in Presint 8)
3. Laksa Sarawak (made by Encik Pauzan's wife, who however could not attend the buka puasa)
4. chicken wings (bought by Idy at Bazar Ramadhan)
5. mee bandung (bought by Yus at Brother's Corner in Kampung Abu Bakar Baginda)
6. two variants of cakoi (also bought by Yus)
7. samosa (bought by Fairuz at Bazar Ramadhan)
8. roti john (bought by Zul at Taman Warisan)
9. Ramly chicken nuggets (bought by Hardi, fried by Anizz at my home)

We were supposed to listen to a Tazkirah but both 'Ustaz' Zul and Fairuz arrived just in time for buka puasa, the tazkirah session was cancelled. Alhamdulillah, right after breaking fast, the male quickly performed the solat Maghrib in jemaah while the ladies prayed right after they were done. It's better to have them performing the solat first before hitting the main course since it's easy to get carried away once one starts feasting after fasting for a day. Besides hubby could not play host for the whole night since he still had to lead the terawih in Presint 14C.

Here are some pics of the buka puasa session:

The food

More food

Zul, my PP, could not tahan himself from really feasting

(his wife is in confinement, in kampung, making him a "solo sekejap")

The boss, Encik Pauzan, Zul & hubby

Serbu...

Anizz with the Senior Officers

Fatini, Yus' daughter who was born in France

All smiles (apesal Anizz kontrol senyum hah?)

I envy Yus for having polite and orderly daughters, huhuhu

"Aik, takkan terkenan dengan saya kot sampai jendol dengan remos anak puan pun sama dengan saya?"

- Zul

The balance food after everyone was already full

Plenty of food to be 'tapau'ed by everyone (except for the boss who returned early)

Yus packing the left over (macam berniaga lah pula)

Muka-muka puas dan gembira selepas kekenyangan

Dah siap nak raya?

Ju,

Raya tahun ini kami bersiap ala kadar saja
Pak Ustaz yang paling awal beli baju melayu (jenama John Master dengan potongan 50% di Jusco), jadi kami yang lain beli baju warna sedondon warna baju melayu itu, warna biru muda.
Betul, memang warna baju pengantin kami 5 tahun dulu pun biru muda, tapi kali ni warnanya lain sikit.
Untuk Huzaifah dan Humaidi telah kami belikan baju Raihan, jadi tak perlu nak bersamping.
Untuk Haniyya, tak dibelikan baju melayu pun, cukuplah berbaju warna sedondon.
Pengalaman yang lepas-lepas, kalau dipakaikan anak-anak kami ini baju melayu tradisional berwarna gelap pun bukannya lama dapat bertahan sebelum dicomotkan, inikan pula baju yang berwarna cerah.
Kita tunggu dan lihat saja nanti...

Meriah ke tidak pasar Ramadhan tahun ini, walaupun ada wabak H1N1?
Sejujurnya, kami cuma ke pasar Ramadhan sekali dua saja.
Selalunya cuma makan apa yang ada di rumah, dan sekali dua berbuka di luar untuk memenuhi undangan.
Yang istimewa tahun ini, pengalaman bertukar-tukar juadah berbuka dengan jiran-jiran. Sejak berkahwin, inilah tahun pertama ada pengalaman bertukar-tukar juadah dengan jiran-jiran.
Maklumlah, sejak berkahwin, inilah kali pertama menyambut Ramadhan dan insya Allah, Syawal di Malaysia dan masa di Asakusa pula, bukannya berjiran dengan orang Islam. (Takkanlah nak bertukar juadah berbuka dengan jiranku Makcik Jepun yang tak suka gaijin, lebih-lebih lagi gaijin beragama Islam)
Entah kenapa, walaupun terasa rindu ingin ke pasar Ramadhan bila di negara orang,
bila di tempat sendiri tidak pula teringin sangat nak ke pasar Ramadhan.
Mungkin ada benarnya kadang-kadang kita lebih menghargai apa yang tidak ada di depan mata.
Cuma, bagi kami, sebab utama tidak ke pasar Ramadhan agar lebih mudah untuk kami menundukkan nafsu makan/minum dan mengelakkan berbelanja berlebihan sehingga membazir.

Meriah ke tidak kompleks-kompleks perniagaan?
Oh, memanglah meriah sebab tahun ini kempen Jualan Mega yang selalunya berakhir pada 31 Ogos, berpanjangan sehingga 21 September.
Dan kalau pasukan pemantau pematuhan waktu bekerja untuk penjawat awam ingin buat serbuan, rasanya hari ini boleh cuba-cuba terjah ke tapak ekspo "Jom Beli Barang Raya" di Presint 2. Rasa-rasa, macam ramai yang mungkin 'kantoi'...
Memang betul-betul macam-macam ada... kuih raya, pakaian kanak-kanak (jenama Hamster, Poney dan World of Cartoons dijual dari harga serendah RM5 sehelai), pakaian dewasa, pelbagai jenis kasut, beg tangan dan dompet (jenama Polo dijual dengan potongan 80%), perabot, permaidani dan aneka makanan yang biasa dihidang di hari raya (kek, ketupat segera, lemang segera, ketupat palas segera, kerepek etc)

Persiapan lain?
Kami kan baru saja masuk rumah di Putrajaya bulan Februari lepas.
Perabot masih baru.
Langsir masih baru.
Oh, cuma TV bertukar baru (dan saiz pun dinaikkan ke 29 inci) kerana TV 'lama' (yang cuma bertahan 6 bulan lebih) bersaiz 21 inci itu telah ditolak jatuh ke lantai oleh Humaidi menyebabkan ada "jalur pelangi" muncul sepanjang masa di skrin dan boleh membuatkan penonton sakit mata menonton TV itu.
Harap-harapnya dengan TV besar yang lebih berat ini, Humaidi takkan memanjat naik TV dan menolak jatuh ke lantai lagi...

Di mana nak beraya?
Semalam, waktu menziarahi kami di Putrajaya, Ayah dan Mak sudah berpesan,
"Nanti malam raya mesti berkumpul di Kampung Tunku"
Maksudnya, insya Allah kami adik beradik akan cuba berbuka di Ramadhan terakhir tahun ini dan bertakbir Raya di Kampung Tunku.
Cuma, disebabkan Pak Ustaz telah dijemput menjadi Imam untuk Solat Sunat Aidilfitri di Masjid Rasah, malam itu jugalah kami akan berangkat pulang ke Seremban.
Jadi, mungkin hari Raya ke-2 atau ke-3 barulah pulang semula beraya dengan keluarga di Petaling Jaya.
Ada cadangan untuk adik-beradik Ayah bercuti beramai-ramai ke Pulau Pinang pada hari Raya ke-3.
Mak pun sudah menyatakan kesediaan untuk turut serta, jadi tengoklah nanti macam mana.

Di Switzerland sana bagaimana pula persiapan raya?
Jadikah rencana mahu beraya di Geneva?

Khatam Quran

The office's Puspanita held a Majlis Khatam Quran today. The third Majlis Khatam Quran after a 'divide & conquer' style of tadarus was conducted in all the different departments. Our department was asked to finish Juz 28-30, and we did it in a few days because the verses were further divided among the many readers as we were placed in groups of 3.

Personally, I prefer a more traditional version of tadarus. You know, a medium group of 5-7 people, each person taking turn to read while others listen and correct our reading and someoen will read the translation of the Quranic verses we just read. Sometimes there'll be a small discussion on what we've just read whether on hukum or on asbabun nuzul. But well, I have no problem with any different kind of tadarus groups. In fact I'm thrilled that I get to join one after three years of reading the Quran on my own in Ramadhan (with hubby checking on my reading every now and then...)

Yesterday we had a meeting among the department's tadarus group members and were told that some of us will be needed to help with the Puspanita's Majlis Khatam Quran, and we also need to send 2 representatives as reciter in the Majlis. The No 1 choice was unanimous - one clerk named Aju is a really good qari'ah. But I was quite surprised when my name was announced as the other reciter.

"Eh, tak ada orang lain ke?"

Apparently the meeting decided to pick one representative among the support staff and another among the officers.

I tried to nominate another more senior officer, Puan K, but she declined saying that she had to pick her son from school at 12.00 (the time of the Majlis), so I agreed.

For some reasons I find it quite funny. Long long time ago, back in my high school, my name would never be on anybody's list as the 'qariah'. Nobody would have thought that I would grow up to marry a hafiz too. Now, as an adult (and someone who is married to a hafiz) I try to improve my Quran reading by making it a habit. I usually read two pages in the morning, before I start working, in the office. Hubby once commented about seeing me picking up the Quran only during Ramadhan, but he was then not yet aware about this ritual I have every morning.

I didn't know that others actually paid attention until Encik Shukor, my next door neighbour in the office commented about it. In fact he actually thanked me for reciting the Quran every morning - as listeners also get the 'pahala' when one reads the Quran.

Hanum, who used to work in Mak's old office under Mak's supervision told me that when she first started working, Mak who was the Human Resource Manager in that Ministry reminded her to read the Quran everyday. Be it a page or two, but one must stay consistent in reading the Quran until it becomes a habit that's hard to die. Hanum recalls Mak telling her that we don't know what kind of trials, tribulations and obstacles we're going to face in our life, so having the Quran as a constant companion insya Allah will prove to be handy at difficult times.

Reading the Quran is good in Ramadhan. Joining a tadarus group is good in Ramadhan. But it would be even better if we could remain consistent about reading Quran on other days and become a life member of a long lasting tadarus group...

What we did on Ujai's 4th birthday

Nothing much really, just took the kids out to Alamanda.

Hubby was not around, had to attend a 2-day course in Hulu Langat.
So I thought, why not take Ujai out for a birthday treat of sort.
At first I thought of having a date just with Ujai.
But on second thought, I decided to take all the kids plus Bibik out.
And I invited my cousin Firdaus to tag along - partly because she's good with the kids, and partly because I've missed having a chat with her.

Here are some photos taken on that night...

Ujai and Akif in Black-and-Red suits

The birthday boy who loves climbing

And doesn't know how to sit still even for a while

(there were loads of 'shaken' photos because he kept moving about)

Akif learning a new trick from his elder brother on how to play the sliding board

(climb on top of it instead of sliding on it)

Owh owh

And even when they slide 'properly', Ujai made sure that there was an a'la action movie stunt of colliding with Akif

And here's baby Asim looking at his two brothers

"Ibu, I promise I won't grow up to be like them"

(Yes Ibu, dream on...)

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.

Islamic historical events in Ramadhan

Today, Ustaz Zamri (of "Ustaz Zamri Bercerita" & "Mari Mengaji") was the invited speaker for the office's Ihya Ramadhan program. It was my first time attending a ceramah by him, and I stayed awake throughout the program (which is a huge compliment for the speaker with my history of sleeping during lectures/class).

Just want to share about historical events in Muslim calendar that happened in Ramadhan (perhaps as motivation of sort to work hard and not being "lembik longlai" during this blessed month...)

- Battle of Badar took place on 17 Ramadhan, Year 02 Hijri, in which 313 Muslims, of whom only 60 were armored, faced 1000 well-armed and equipped Musyrikin.
- The Opening of Makkah happened in Ramadhan, Year 08 Hijri
- Battle of Al-Qadisiyyah was won in Ramadhan, Year 15 Hijri. The battle is regarded as the decisive battle in the Islamic conquest of Persia, and a key to the conquest of Iraq.
- Opening of Andalus under Commander Tariq bin Ziyad happened in Ramadhan, Year 92 Hijri
- Construction of Al-Azhar Mosque, which later became the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt commenced in Ramadhan, Year 361 Hijri
- Salahuddin Al-Ayubi led the Muslims in evicting European Crusaders from Syria in Ramadhan 584H
- The Battle of Ain Jalut was won by the Egyptian Mamluks against the Mongols (Tartar) in Year 658 Hijri. The battle is considered by many historians to be of great macro-historical importance, as it marked the highwater point of Mongol conquests, and the first time they had ever been decisively defeated. After previous defeats, the Mongols had always returned and avenged the loss, but after the Battle of Ain Jalut they were unable to do so. The Mongol Ilkhanate leader Hulagu Khan was not able to advance into Egypt, and the Khanate he established in Persia was only able to defeat the Mamluks once in subsequent expeditions, briefly reoccupying Syria and parts of Palestine for a few months in 1300.

Small things...

We went back to Seremban for the second time in Ramadhan during the Merdeka break.
Despite her loud yells and all (at the hyperactive grandsons who do not know when to stop) MIL was glad to have us back. Hubby was asked to lead the terawih prayer at the family's surau in Rasah. Since the request came from his Pak Teh, one of the most influential persons in hubby's life, he took a break from being the imam at Presint 14C2 for one night.

On Merdeka day, we brought MIL out to Seremban, hunting for a gas cooker. The one in the kitchen was all rusty and looked really "uzur", hubby and I thought MIL would appreciate getting a new gas cooker. Together with hubby's younger brother, we first checked the gas cookers/gas hobs in two electrical stores in Rahang area, just to survey the price. But having been to Jusco the previous day, hubby noticed that Jusco offered better products at a more competitive price.

So, we went to Jusco in Seremban 2. After a quick drop by at Tan Brothers Supermarket to look for a set of lesung batu. On her previous visit, Mak commented on the fact that I used to have a lesung batu set in Tokyo but none in Putrajaya, so I knew I had to get one fast. We found a nice set priced RM18.90 in Tan Brothers, but I thought what with the sale going on in Jusco, we might get it for a better price in Jusco.

And we did.

I got my lesung batu for about RM17.50.
And we got a good deal for MIL's new gas hob too.
Just RM278 for an Elba 3-burner gas hob which usually costs RM348.

It was not hard to tell that MIL was really pleased with her new gas hob. She said that FIL has been commenting on how old and rusty the previous gas hob was, but he did not go and buy a new one for her. So our pre-Raya gift for her is something that she really appreciates. Last year we got her a new washing machine. The new machine saved her the trouble of keeping track of the wash cycle because with the old machine she had to manually ensure that the machine is filled with water for washing and rinsing. The new machine enabled her to enjoy more time with her children and grandchildren.

She has worried about the old gas cooker causing her trouble some day - either through being dysfunctional or simply refusing to light up anymore. Now that the new gas hob is in the kitchen, we hope she won't have to worry about such stuff anymore. She looked really cheerful when she thanked us profusely for getting that gas hob.

I know that gas hob may not seem like a great pre-Raya gift.
It's not like we're getting her one of those super cosy massage couch.
Or sponsor a trip to Makkah.
But seeing her smiles, proof of her obvious delight with the small gift, really mean a lot to us.

#####

Mak is not feeling well.
I only learned about it last Friday when I wanted to check from where we could get more coupons for Nasi Arab Amal.
(The kariah at Presint 14C2 are keen to make contribution for the Iftar Ramadan in Gaza project through sales of Nasi Arab Amal. In fact my own colleagues at office are thinking of having one Iftar session for us using the Nasi Arab Amal coupons.)
Please join me in making doa for her and for my Ayah too - for them to be granted with good health during this blessed month of Ramadhan and thenafter.

My boy Humaidi is also not feeling very well.
First it was baby Haniyya - who had to give his 6-month jab a miss because he was down with high temperature and flu.
Then, it was Huzaifah - who was also down with flu.
And now it's Humaidi's turn.
Poor boy is now not as active as he usually is, but alhamdulillah he's showing signs of quick recovery.
Please make doa for him, yeah?