Thursday, October 27, 2005

If only I could turn back time..

Most people wish they could really turn back time.

Myself included.

Some people hope to undo some things they have done, but for this moment right now, I don't think I'd want to do that. Instead, if I could only turn back time, there are lots of moments in my life I'd love to capture in still life and keep them some place where I could one day just sit down and bask in the memories that come with them. A time when I could be reminiscing about every smile and laughter that has found its way in the path of my life. A little peek of joy here, and a burst of pride and triumphant there.. *sigh*

But I realize that I'm human. Most of the time, we'd rather be in the moment and savour every second of it. We don't excuse ourselves just to step back and really watch these moments while taking into every single detail. Instead, we stay put and try engraving every detail of it in our hearts. Maybe we'd say, I'll remember this moment, but its not always that we remember the exact feeling that came along in the moment.

For major events, MAYBE, we'd remember it all. I still remember how I felt on my graduation, though I'm not sure how 'much'.. yeah, AS IF we could measure our feelings! But what I'm talking about is the small things in life. A friendly gesture from a total stranger, a caring thought from a friend or precious time spent with a sibling..

Truth is, these are the things that make life worthwhile and for now, I wish I could recall all those moments that might seem small, but in reality gives a great impact in us. Sadly, we can't really remember all that, could we? Thats why I wish I had captured the moment while it happened, so at times like this, I could flip through and smile at all the memories.

Why am I talking like this?

Lets put it this way.

Kak Kathy is getting married and won't be staying with us any longer after December..

Kak Shima is waiting for her viva and plans to resign as an RO next month..

Yun has completed her thesis and will be going home for good tomorrow..

HiTEG will cease to exist (temporarily la until there's a new grant) come January..

Izati will be taking her SPM when I still feel she's my too little sister..

And I'm suddenly feeling so lonely, as if too many changes are happening now and I don't seem to be ready to face them..

But I know changes happen. And though I also know I take it quite hard, I know its about time.

Thats why I wish to grasp all those memories and time together to the tiniest detail, and lock them up in my heart forever..

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Its a small world after all!

Yesterday, me and my housemates along with kak Zura and kak Zai went to buka puasa at the Sunway Hotel, Seberang Jaya. I wouldn't have tagged along if I didn't realize that I would be eating alone if I stayed behind. The fact that Lani (this cute engineer- not HANDSOME tau, CUTE! Errkk.. ok la, more like COMEY!) was the one who organized the whole thing was a plus hehe.. makanan tak sedap takpe, kenyang tengok dia je hahaha <-- Ayu gatal!

Initially, I was supposed to drive with kak Shima and kak Kathy but at the last minute, kak Shima, kak Zai and kak Zura wanted to shop for kak Zura's wedding preparation while kak Kathy decided to go with her Shidi. I was about back out from the plan since I didn't quite know the other guys (Shidi EE penah la sembang.. ngan Lani {eventhough dah banyak kali jumpa} and Aizad tak penah.. I told you I'm quiet with 'umfamiliar' people.. then Aizad was bringing along his unknown girlfriend whom I imagined was a leggy and breathtaking model <-- don't ask me why hehe..) But kak Shima assured me that they won't enter the hotel as long as I haven't arrived so half-heartedly, I agreed (Remember, tengok Lani was a plus kan hahahah..)

Kak Kathy called me just before I finished my class, telling me that she had cancelled her plan with her Shidi so she was going with me. I felt a bit relieved here so as soon as I finished my class, I rushed back home to fetch kak Kathy. Throughout the way, I was fretting about eating with people I'm not quite close to. Heheh, malu lagi la kononnye! Kak Kathy just laughed and reminded me that she herself, her Shidi, kak Shima, kak Zura and kak Zai would be there too but still, knowing me, I'd have my mouth shut throughout the meal. At least when we ate at Lani's house, I'd be able to hide from everyone else, but this time we'd ALL be sitting at the same table Lani had reserved.

I was already regretting my decision to go eat with them, Lani or no Lani hahah (Okay, I'm overusing his name now!) when we arrived. Kak Shima, kak Zai and kak Zura hadn't arrived yet so we called Shidi kak Kathy to ask about the buka puasa. He told us that he had already arrived and was getting his food so we went inside. Shidi EE had also arrived along with Lani. Aizad, who went to perform his Asar prayers, had also arrived with his still-invisible girlfriend.

Now, as I entered the dining area, I heard someone call out my name. Knowing that 'Ayu' is such a common name, I chose to ignore it until I noticed someone waving at me. I couldn't really place the face before me at first, but upon close inspection I discovered a very pregnant Irin and I nearly shouted in joy! The last time I saw her was in our final year and no offence here, but she wasn't in the list of the people whom we thought would be the first to marry. But congratulations to her! She really glowed! Seri ibu mengandung maybe, but she looked so radient, I felt a stab of envy inside of me (okay la, plus the fact that she already had someone la tu kot hehe..)

Kak Kathy was laughing at me now ("Haa, kata lagi takdak orang yang Ayu kenai!") when someone touched my shoulder from behind. Turning around, expecting a total stranger who wanted to pass through (okay la, kitorang tengah sembang tengah jalan.. biasala, when old friends meet up, mana nak tengok kiri kanan dah), I was pleasantly suprised so see Aida a.k.a Chipunk da Great. Two old friends at one time, how are the odds to that? Before long, we were all buzzing like bees, talking all at once hehe..

My first thought was that Aida had come with Irin. They were best friends during our undergraduate years so I guess it was a normal assumption.. UNTIL, I noticed Aida put her bag beside my seat! Then Shidi kak Kathy asked me if I knew Aida and of course la I admitted. Aida was my dormate (her bed is practically in front of mine) in KMK and we continued to be quite close in USM. By then Shidi kak Kathy (not Shidi EE) had this twinkle in his eye that made me realize I was missing something here. Aida keje kat Celestica, Kulim.. Shidi kak Kathy at Dell, Penang.. Hmmm, how ARE they connected?

Then it downed to me --> "Haaaa.. Aida, awak ke girlfriend Aizad?"

Aida laughed out loud at my precise guess of her status at our table, and I was trying to keep my mouth shut from the suprise! Yeayyy, so I now have someone I PERSONALLY know!

Throughout the dinner, we must've not eaten much. There was so much to tell, so much to 'korek'! I must've suprised some of the group since I was usually quiet when I'm around them. We were gossiping, laughing and eating all at once to the point of not noticing the others around us. She kept stopping me from calling her Chipunk in front of Aizad (Gatai hang, dulu masa belajaq, dlm satu USM ni hang sorang ja panggil aku Aida.. apasal sekarang tetiba nak panggil Chipunk nih?) and I kept saying,"Chiiiii.." just to get on her nerves!

After the 'first round' (yup, rupenye ade second round lagi pas tuh), we went up to pray. Irin tagged along after asking permission form her husband as they were seated a bit far from us. Once again, we were bumblebees. Buzy bumblebeez hehe..

I went back home that night with a smile on my face. Haha, I kept talking about her to kak Kathy on our way home. Remebering all those times we had once.. especially part, "Ayu, malam ni aku nak tidoq ngan hang bleh?" Not many people knew that the brutal Chipunk, who was the dorms unofficial postgirl, was quite a coward at night hehehehe..

Yeah.. I love a great reunions, especially a suprise one like this! I wish the best for both Irin and Aida, and hope we'd still be friends for a very, very long time!

And yeah, its a small world after all!

Saturday, October 15, 2005

I've been tagged

I was browsing through other people's blog while Hasrul was doctoring my poor, poor PC. Browse punya browse, I came across Farah's blog and found out that she'd been tagged by her friend. I had a good time reading her answers when I noticed, she had tagged me *huh*

So here goes

7 Things I plan to do before I die
1. Be a sincerely good Muslim, with a sparkingly clean slate (I wish la..) when I go to meet Him
2. Realize my dream of opening a.. opppss! Err, should I really write it down here? Only 3 people in the entire world know of this dream and I'm still kinda afraid of 'announcing' it here.. sorry!
3. This dream I can say out loud though. I wanna open a library cum book shop, complete with an IT corner, snack bar and review corner where you could find or make you own review of any book. I'll have throw cushions and comfortable chairs for a reading corner on every floor (yes, its a multi-storey one). In the kiddies corner, I'd have balloons and a story-teller every week to entertain small children while opening their eyes to the joy of reading. For teenagers, I'd make my own newsletter that would be handled by the teenagers where they could learn firsthand about journalism and writing. For adults.. err, well, I haven't really thought much about them haha.. but I will! Err, why do I have a feeling of seeing the book shop from You've got M@il?
4. Have my own childrens book series which I have written myself
5. Have a relaxing kayak expedition with my friends.. at least, kayaking around Malaysia for a start!
6. Bungee jumping.. anywhere would do!
7. ..and yes! Btw, I should get married too, right?

7 Things I could do
1. Annoy my friends with my very off-key singing, especially when driving, while pretending to NOT notice their horrified looks (or confused faces which indicates, "Ni Ayu menyanyi ke bunyi kucing bergaduh ni?")
2. Cry.. and I mean REALLY cry. The slightest thing could reduce me to tears but I'm getting better, I mean REALLY better at controlling it now!
3. Spend a whole day in my room, curled up with a couple of good books and read, read, read..
4. Get so absorbed in a book that I don't notice anything around me and get totally clueless when someone suprises me --> So I'm a bookworm.. got a problem with that?
5. Spend a whole day in the cinema watching movies, in plural here, back to back (any genre is fine with me)
6. Daydreaming while blocking the whole wide world on the outside
7. Have a giggle fit so severe, my tummy would still hurt hours later

7 Things I just can't do
1. Live without books
2. Talk in front of (more like addressing) a large crowd --> The last time I did it was in form 5 when I had to brief the whole school about the English Week. I was trembling from head to foot, and I ran to my class as soon as I finished. Sir Chong commented on my pale face hahah..
3. Live without McDonalds --> so I'm a fast food junkie.. any remedy to overcome this bad habit?
4. Live without chocolates! --> Hmm.. yummy!
5. Stop worrying about how people think of me and stop being so self conscious of myself!
6. Relax with people whom I've just met --> I'm usually jumpy and pretend to be quite reserved with them.. Aisehh, I kan pemaluuuuu hahah..
7. Spend a whole day WITHOUT the radio on!

7 celebrity crushes
1. MacGyver --> when I was 8, I wanted to be MacGyveress hahah.. don't ask me his real name tho, I don't really remember
2. Superman --> Ni pun tatau nama, but not Christopher Reeves OR yg Smallville nyer.. the other one!
3. Yusry KRU --> Haha, if I don't write this down, Sentot would just taunt me with this! Tapi kan Baizurah, what did we SEE in him? I mean, when I saw him in the papers the other day, I was laughing myself silly thinking of how we were always competing on who knew more about him. Hehe.. my guess now is, we had more fun 'fighting' over something sebenarnya, NOT really a crush! Tul tak?
4. Raja Nazrin --> I met him when I was in form 4, was mystified by his looks up close and became speechless when he asked me questions about school and stuff..*sigh* I was in cloud nine in no time and it took me a long while to get back to earth.. and yes! I don't care if he's 50 or 100 :-p~
5. Prince William --> Aahhh, royalty! And having a cute face doesn't hurt too ;-)
6. Kurama --> believe it or not, this is a character from a Japanese comic book I liked in seceondary school, tho' I can't really remember what comic book.. Err, can he be considered as a celebrity?
7. *blank* and *blur*

Ok.. ok.. I don't really know THAT much celebrities since I live in a cave here haha.. I'd rather have crushes on real live people I meet in my REAL life, NOT in my dreams!

7 most over-used words
1. Huh? --> Okay, so I'm a bit blur.. err, always!
2. Lorrhh..
3. Ambooooooooooiiii.. --> didn't realize I was overusing this word until a few weeks ago, after hearing some cheeky comments by my students, I turned to them with my hands on my hips and promptly the whole class chorused, "Amboooooooooooooooooooooiiiiii..", leaving me gapping at them since I was intending to say that to them haha.. other versions include, "Amboi.. amboii. amboiiiiiii..!"
4. Mengong!
5. What the..?
6. Shoot!
7. Bongok tul.. -->Newly acquired word used while driving tho' I dunno the meaning ;-)

7 traits I look for in the opposite sex
1. Must be able to be an Imam for solah --> Yup, somehow I've noticed the differances between those who can and those who can't!
2. Older than me --> I'm really obsessed with age, even months can make a big differance to me. Note to some 'certain people': Don't EVER set me up with someone younger, klau tak nak kene BLACKLIST!
3. Taller than me --> Haha, that's not hard to find, eh?
4. Smiles a lot.. and makes me smile too!
5. Romantic (Ooooooh...) and could bring out the romantic trait in me haha.. --> the most I've done is to make some curry puffs from scratch all alone (didn't let Mama or Izati help me) just because I knew he loves them! Btw, you can stop laughing now, Sentot!
6. Someone who'd help make me a better person. Bold enough to point out my weaknesses and helps me change them. Tapi one at a time la, not all at once or I'll think he hates me or he's the 'macam bagus' type.
7. Most important: Must really, really want me for who I am.. and manages to convince me about it ;-)

7 tags (Aaaahhh.. *rubbing hands together* some victims here..!)
1. Sentot/Amin --> Okay, I'm cheating here.. They HAVE been tagged by the same person, though technically, Amin was not tagged haha.. so Amin, sile²..
2. Soraya --> ngelat lagi here haha.. Soraya, you're double tagged!
3. Un --> How come I can't access your blog?
4. Jida --> This is an idea for a new entry in your very dusty blog! A-tish-shoo!
5. Pojie --> Cepat² buat!
6. Ayeen --> You too, Ayeen!
7. Illis --> This one for your new blog, gal!

Okay.. now I'll just wait and see how the others fair in this tag game ;-)

Friday, October 14, 2005

A tale of the twitching eye

My right eye has been twitching almost all the time since 2 nights ago, and I'm really irritated now!

It happened two nights ago (I THINK la its two nights ago, might be earlier), while I was preparing to go to bed. Suddenly my right eye was twitching. Normally I would've ignored it, I mean, all of us know that sometimes our muscles have this sudden urge to go all funny, right! But it came back after 10 minutes, and continued to keep coming at constant intervals (I feel like I'm writing a paper on traffic engineering here) until I fell asleep half-thinking of it as an early sign of a stroke. Yup, it worried me to sleep, tapi kire ok la, takde la sampai tak bleh tido hahah..

The next morning, guess what was the first sensation I felt--> yup! My twitching eye. This time I was REALLY worried. It would twitch once in a while, but constant enough to make my mind go back to the stroke theory. Don't ask me why I kept thinking of it as an early sign of a stroke, I mean, I'm still 25 la.. muda lagi! But somehow, I only thought of S.T.R.O.K.E!

Back at the office, I told kak sue of my 'plight'. I was really starting to panic now. However, she turned my worries into this great burst of laughter when she said, "Orang tua² kata, kalau mata kanan bergerak, maknanya ada la orang yang kita bakal nak tengok tu!" Hahah.. ada ka? Then Man added other old wives tales of the twitching eye and before long, I was laughing at the absurdity (ade ke perkataan camni?) of it all. Heheh, takde scientific explanation of all that la.. but it was fun to listen anyway!

Last night, I expressed my worries to kak Shima and kak Zai but they assured me that nothing was wrong. However, kak Kathy suggested that if I was still worried, I'd better go give a visit to the doctor, and really, maybe she's right. Problem is, I don't really have the time to go to the specialist, and what if its nothing? The doctor would probably laugh his head off seeing me worrying over it..

Still, I'm worried! It still hasn't stopped though its getting more seldom now. Any suggestions?

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Master Disaster Pt 2

"Boleh antar your thesis by this December tak?"

Rasa cam terdengar² lagi suare Dr Wan tanya soklan tuh heheh.. Suprised? Maybe.. maybe not!

It started yesterday morning when he called me, asking to see me. The only thing that was going in my head was,"What have I done now??" I woke up late and only arrived at the campus around 9. His call came in when I was right in front of the campus gate so as soon as reached the school, I pratically ran to his room.

I was quiet for a while after he told me the problems with the grant. Well, truth is, I should've finished my M.Sc sooner.. tul tak? Somehow, I don't think I was really worried. In fact, I was a bit relieved, knowing this dateline would just help to motivate me on completing my masters but I DID feel a tad pity to my superviser, he seemed so worried thinking about all of us (his postgrad students, ROs an RAs).

Just as I thought, that afternoon, he called all the RAs to go see him one by one. All of them had just got to know about our 'fate' and all wore this troubled expression never seen before on their faces. Dr Wan told them the same thing, they had only until December to find new jobs but until then, he'd still pay their salary. All of us even joked about opening a food stall or something haha.. Hasrul, who seldom joins in the jokes gave his two cent worth by suggesting a car wash centre, with kak Sue and kak Bibah taking care of the accounts :-)

Watching them, I realized how serious this is for them. I mean, kak Sue, kak Bibah, Hasrul, Man and Zul all have families to support so they were really worried. As for me and Erwan, when we complete our Masters, we'd just have to hunt for suitable jobs without much worrying about family expanses or whatsoever.. ok, tipu la kalau kata tak worry, but at least we have more options than the RAs.

The whole day, I couldn't do anything. Erwan kept asking me if we were really up to the challenge of writing up in just a bit more than 2 months, while I was going through this blank phase where everything was swirling in my head.

That night, while waiting for my tuition class, I suddenly realized that if I really concentrated, I WILL be able to complete my thesis to the last dot. Lets say I submitted the thesis in December, my viva might come around March or April. Then I'd have another month of final corrections before submitting the 3 copies of my final thesis AND I'd be able to graduate in next years convocation. The time is just right, isn't it! Next year, by this time, I might already be starting a new job which for the life of me, I can't even imagine what yet haha.. that, I guess, would be a mystery only God knows for this time.

I suddenly found myself with this silly grin on my face, and joy beyond words growing in my heart!

Truth is, the past few weeks, I've been praying for the 'strength' to fight away my laziness and really do my thesis seriously, but not everyday turns out like it should. Sometimes, I won't really be doing anything for a whole day so I really prayed hard that I'd be a bit more rajin la. I get frustrated when I realize how much time I've wasted, and I confess, I didn't feel like God was watching over me since he just let me be the lazy me. But all along, He was there, only slightly hidden by my blindness. This is really a blessing in disguise, as I already am doing A LOT of things I've put aside before haha.. nampak sangat malas sebelum ni, needed this great shove to put me back in the right direction!

Well, cross your fingers, and pray for me, k!

M.Sc, here I come!!!

Friday, October 07, 2005

Sejadah ooo sejadah..

Last night, I finally got the chance to perform my tarawikh prayers at the Taman Pekaka musolla. I was nearly jumping in excitement (cam budak²) at the prospect of performing tarawikh there hehe..

Anyway, though we didn't eat much during fast breaking, we were still a bit late in arriving at the musolla, just in time for Isya' prayers. We quickly spread out our sejadah and prayed along with the jama'ah.

After the prayer, while getting ready to solat sunat, I felt the person beside me touch my arm. Turning to her, I realized it was my old housemate in Tronoh, As (whose also my dorm mate in KMK). I laughed at myself for not realizing that I was praying beside her all the while and she replied by telling me, she didn't realize it was me until she noticed my sejadah (This is WHILE praying tsk.. tskk.. As niii.. hehehe), "Saya perasan sejadah ni tadi, terus tau awak tengah semayang sebelah saya. Kenal lagi sejadah ni tau!" It suddenly downed to me that my sejadah has somehow become an item that people can relate to when referring to me.

Hahah.. ape ke mende la citer pasal sejadah? Yup, I can feel the question coming outta your head but I just can't help in hehe..

This sejadah was given to me by Abah when he got it from Uncle Ibrahim who had just come back from Makkah. I was in KMK at that time and since I didn't have my own sejadah at home (I was staying in the hostel back then), Abah gave it to me. I liked it because it wasn't your usual sejadah gambaq masjid. It was more like a geometrical carpet pattern and I loved it since my mind won't be wondering on the mosque everytime praying. It wasn't really THAT vibrant or eye catching, it was just a simple sejadah!

In KMK, I always took it when praying at our musolla until my friends recognized my sejadah at sight. I was never in fear of leaving (ye la, I'm quite forgetful!) it since my friends would always come to the rescue when they notice I left it. In my first year, it was this sejadah that I took when having Qiamulail for our orientation week. While praying, this gross frog came hopping in the mosque and SAT ON MY SEJADAH. I tried my best to shoo the eecky frog away MASA TENGAH SEMAYANG TUUUUU!! Yucccckkkkyyyyy!! Hahah.. I'll never forget that incident :)

During the semester break, I nearly lost it when someone took it from my room, thinking I had purposely left it in the empty room. I frantically searched for it but with no avail until I put up a notice, practically begging for its return. It turned up in my room an hour later while I was out.. thank God!

In my second year, my sejadah was the one my housemates used when praying (I guess thats why As remembered it so much). The room we used for praying (which was also our sorta-like-a walk-in closet hahahah.. c'mon la, rumah 2 bilik untuk 6 orang.. one room was for sleeping while the other one was for our clothes and praying) was too small anyway to pray all together at once so it was practical to have just one sejadah at a time.

Even in my final year, my sejadah continued to 'serve' me right up till now, and I've had countless people coming up to me telling me that they just knew I was nearby when they saw my sejadah around. My current housemates are just like my friends to so till now, I never fear leaving my sejadah around coz someone's bound to pick it up if my clumsy mind forgets it.

Hahah.. why la the sudden talk about sejadah eh? Maybe its remembering how my friends can always relate me to this sejadah.. maybe its because what As said.. maybe coz it reminds me so much of my undergraduate years with my friends.. and maybe coz right now, I really miss them a lot.. :'(

Waaaaaaa..

Nak tarawikh kat mane ni?

Yesterday was the first day in this Ramadhan that I was able to tarawikh with jamaah. I was already picturing myself and my housemates at the Taman Pekaka musolla. One thing I like about this musolla is that they sometimes let foreigners be the imam, then we'd get a chance to listen to different 'rythms' (boleh ke nak kata rythm?) of Al Quran recitals from different countries. Very interesting, if you ask me! However, there's a saying (that everybody is quite tired of) that goes, "Not everything wll go as planned!"

I had my tuition until 6.30pm. After my class, I rushed to kak Zura's house to help around with our buka puasa. Kak Zura and kak Zai were in the kitchen with their ayam masak taktau (as opposed to the black peper and soy sauce chicken initially planned) while kak Kathy and kak Shima were at the Pasar Ramadhan. I came just in time to cook the sayur campur (Aisehh, ingat leh rilekkk..). Kak Shima and kak Kathy arrived just a few minutes before azan and we sat down to eat la, nak buat ape lagi time bukak pose kan?

After clearing up, I went back home to take a shower before getting ready to go for Tarawikh. By 8.15pm, me, kak Kathy and kak Shima were ready in our telekung, waiting for kak Zura whom, until 8.33pm hadn't arrived at our home. Apparently, there was a miscommunication. She thought we were picking her up while we thought she was picking us up so we rushed to her house, knowing we were already late, and headed straight to Taman Pekaka. However, as predicted, the musolla was full. We couldn't even squeeze in.

Knowing we hadn't performed our Isya' prayers yet (while the whole musolla had already completed it), kak Zura's first thought was USM. Hahah, ok, a few bad experiences we had last year has made us a bit weary of going there but it seemed like we had no other choice then. Another reason is that, when kak Kathy asked about going to the USM mosque, kak Shima blurted out, "Malam ni tak bleh, ade CSI!" Hahah.. okay, at least she gave an honest reason!

But then, me and my big mouth just HAD to tell them about my book on Tarawikh (which I've been referring to the past two nights) and suggest we prayed at home with one of us as the imam. I instantly regretted the suggestion when all of them agreed to ask me to be the imaam. Ade ke adik yang jadi imam? Ampehhh!!!

Anyway, at the traffic light, we suddenly remembered the Ampang Jajar musolla so we thought of checking first to see if they had started or not. Luckily, the elders were still lepak² outside the musolla so we still had time.. or so we thought! Almost jumping towards the musolla, we started our Isya' prayers.

Halfway through, the imam was already starting the tarawikh, making all of us go from a relaxing pace of solat to a very-rushing one. It must have been hilarious seeing us praying as fast as we could, just so we could catch up with the imam.

We finished just in time, right after the imam had already recited the first AlFatihah. However, it seemed that our fast paced solat Isya' was just the beginning. The imam for Tarawikh read all the surahs pretty fast, that I nearly couldn't follow him.. and I thought Pekaka was fast! Just imagine, by 9.10pm, we had already finished 8 rakaat of Tarawikh. But the imam's voice was loud and clear enough for a relaxing solat, especially if you compare to some imams who's voice is so soft and likes to, what we say, baca meleret! <--nope, not putting names here! C'mon la, everyone has experience with this kind, right?

Anyway, that was my first Tarawikh with jamaah for this years Ramadhan. I hope we get to Tarawikh at Taman Pekaka tonight though, I miss the place!

P/S
Reminder to self: For tarawikh, GET OUT OF THE HOUSE by 8.15pm, or you'll regret it!!

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Ramadhan AlMubarak

Today is my brother, Adi's, birthday! 5th October 2005 and 23 years ago he had his first peek of this world he is to live in.. Happy birthday, Adi!

Today is also the 1st of Ramadhan 1426 (bukan Ramadhan Syah Puterajaya tauuu hehe..!) which signifies the first day for all Muslims to fast for a whole month before 1 Syawal where we'd be having our hari raya (yeayyy.. hahah!)

Last night was the first of solat tarawikhs. I didn't perform mine at the masjid/surau since I promised my form 2 students to go and teach them.. diorang yang mintak tau! So, though a bit frustrated that I had to perform mine alone, I drove to Bagan Serai for the class. Believe it or not, NOT ONE STUDENT was in sight *Oh God, grant me patience!*

I was a bit irritated but wasn't really mad. Hahah, konon tak nak tarnish my Ramadhan with being mad la! I mean, I told them to tell me if they didn't want to come since I knew we'd be busy with tarawikh, but they told me that they had to have the class on as usual.. very hampeh one aahhh! At 8.30pm, after being sure that they won't turn up, I just went home. I was a bit glad though, since it would mean that I won't miss my tarawikh berjemaah every Tuesday like I thought I'd be missing :-)

Arriving home around 9.00pm, I quickly took a shower before performing my Isya' prayers and Tarawikh. It was a bit funny though, its only been a year since the last Ramadhan but still I had to refer to a book for the surahs, zikir and do'a hehe..

After that, I went to Nuar's with kak Shima, kak Zura and kak Zai for a bite. All of us took the nan and tandoori set though mine was the cheese nan and kak Shima's was the Chetty Nan. Don't ask me what it means, Nuar said it's a place in India. Back home, we watched a bit of Desperate Housewives before retiring for the night.

This morning I woke up at 4.30am, then readjusted the alarm to 5.00am hehe.. :-) Kak Kathy woke up just after I washed my face and together we had sahur while talking about this years Ramadhan. I was complaining a bit about having to buka puasa in Bagan Serai alone tonight since I had my form 1 class, but I wasn't really irritated. I'd like to see how it'll turn out though, since I've never really buka puasa 'on the go' yet! Its always in the comforts of home so this could be a first. Hmm.. wonder how it'll feel like?

By 5.25am, we'd already finished eating so we took our wudhu' to perform some solat sunats. Heheh, yeah right! Dah nak Imsak, baru nak semayang haha.. but still, I don't think its that bad. I believe what we do in the early Ramadhan would shape our amalan throughout the whole month <-- Okay, NOW I sound like POYO jek heheh..!

After subuh prayers, we had a bit of a shut eye before getting ready to come to the campus! Truth is, I'd really like to use this 1st Ramadhan as an excuse NOT to come haha.. but when I think of my still unfinished dissertation *sheesh*, I guess I have to abandon that idea, huh?

Anyway, to all Muslims, I wish all of you Ramadhan AlMubarak. May we become better Muslims starting from today (This is a reminder to yours truly jugak since I've noticed that I've been neglecting some of the small things I've been doing during my student years.. *sad*)

And yes, Selamat berpuasa :)