Tales of Ramadhan

A Full Moon
I noticed that the moon is full this morning at dawn. It was luminous, its light illuminating the skies around it (although we know that's the effort from the sun, not the moon itself). Anyway, must be mid month already - without realising it do you know we are already into the 15th day of Ramadhan? Hope you are having the most peaceful Ramadhan ever.

The Wonder of Nature
And as I was driving today I saw amazing blue/pink hues across the early morning eastern skies. Masya'Allah, it was a wonderful sight. I didnt stop to watch it turn colors; although I did the last time I saw that same wonder. I took photos too that morning, from the car; above.

Funny
Funny. Or was it unfortunate? Anyway. A couple of days back, while coming home from fetching the young man from school and stopping to get some keuh for iftar my hubby saw a car that broke down in the middle of the street. Helpful as he was (chewwwah.. siapa lagi nak puji?) he stopped and dua beranak tu tolong tolak kereta, with another guy who also stopped to help. Even pushed, the car refused to start. My hubby said the wife and a couple of young teenagers were in the car. The kids were maybe aged 10 or so. Sehat-sehat belaka. I said dalam kereta? Cant believe anyone can sit in the car while others are pushing it. My elder son who was also listening to the story said, Gila diva..!!! (at that point I went like, what the..? And gave a big laugh.) That was the funny part. But now our hero has sprained his ankle/foot sebab menolak kereta (dengan penumpang nye sekali..) Unfortunately. Ingat lah kawan-kawan, kalau kereta rosak tolong lah keluar kereta. Kalau tak nak tolong tolak pun berdiri je lah kat tepi. Lagipun orang berpuasa. Kesian.

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Salam Ramadhan

And we are already into the second week of fasting. How's your Ramadhan so far? Mine is sluggish at best, at worst - I dont even want to go there!

And Masya'allah, the kids have been wonderfully kind, behaving themselves, berterawih, mengaji. Allah has been benevolent indeed this Ramadhan. I want to ask for more, but realising at the same time things could be worse. I have so much already. Namun masih juga berdoa untuk rahmat Allah.

And Alhamdulillah for a very supportive husband (puji hubby tak boleh banyak2 because men always let praises go to their heads.. hehe)

And Alhamdulillah also that city traffic has not been bad at all this Ramadhan (surprise, surprise). I got home latest by 6 which still gives me ample time for iftar preparation.

Would love to write some profoundly inspirational, motivational words on 'amal, ibadah here but I concur that I wouldnt be able to write anything that big.. (siang2 lagi dah surrender.)

But I hope our Ramadhan this year will be better than our best Ramadhan to date - whenever that was (mine was like 2 years back. It was a most wondrous Ramadhan ever. Tenang.)

All the best to you my darlings, in search for rahmat Allah. Keredhaan Allah. Keampunan Allah, di bulan Ramadhan kali ini.

(photo from http://www.boston.com/)

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When in Rome..

While in Penang attending Luqman's convo last week we took the opportunity to visit some recommended mamak stalls. What's a trip to the island without nasi kandar? In fact, come to think of it, all our meals were at one mamak stall or another throughout our three-day visit.

First we went to Padang Brown because Luqman swore by the soups served there. He was right, the soups were scrumptious - light and has an aromatic smell. I think it is the rempah they use - served with rice or roti banggali.


If you are interested to go, the stalls are somewhat behind the Balai Polis at Dato' Keramat. Guna GPS lah senang.. we didnt have one but we survived on the couple of quick calls Luqman made to his Penang born and bred friend.



And as usual, we definitely had to visit Nasi Kandar LineClear - there's just something about the kari.. We got lost in the afternoon traffic in the city. The one way streets definitely is a maze (and please tell me again, what is it about men and asking for directions? *I wonder if my hubby reads this post as he occasionally reads my blog to check what I've been up to! haha*) but we finally found the place after we (he decided to?) asked for help.

Their signboard has changed - this is a photo from our previous trip..


We also went to try the Nasi Kandar Beratur. It only opens at 10pm every night. And before 10 the queue is already building. The funny thing is the same place is being used by another mamak selling nasi kandar also. The earlier guy will clean and literally wash the stall (like you wash your car) before the the night Nasi Kandar Beratur officially opens.


The restaurant is old - operated since 1943! - I wasnt even born then. The street is lined with kedai emas. I remembered when I was young my mother would take me to the island and we'd ride on the beca to the jewellers. I wonder if this is the street we went to (forgot to ask my mum the other day).

Anyway. That night we had our dinner at about 1045; we got there way before 10 but unfortunately although the line was reasonably short the first few patrons had many orders. Letih menunggu. The nasi kandar was good and different from LineClear, but I dont think I'll go again because of the late hours and the FRUSTRATION (!!!) of waiting.


That's the queue. While queuing a guy came up and said loudly, sesiapa ada park kereta di tepi jalan, ubah kereta tu. We discovered later ada balai polis bergerak dan operasi saman-menyaman sedang berjalan. There was a few who left the queue to save themselves their hard earned money.

To get to the Nasi Kandar Beratur all you need to look for is the Masjid Kapitan Keling. The place is just next to the masjid. The masjid seem like nice from the outside; quaint (sebab masjid lama kan) and well lit in the night. I managed to get a few photos while waiting to be served.


.. unfortunately we were not in Rome and cant do whatever the Romans do; therefore we just ate what the mamaks do..?

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A Lovely Occasion

So Luqman graduated. And I told my husband that this is another milestone in our lives..



When we got the letter from his university about the convo, Luqman gave me a long hujjah why he didnt want to go for the ceremony. I was rather concerned initially. Nevertheless, he nicely ended his long reasoning with kalau mama nak Luqman pergi, Luqman pergi lah. (Sejuk hati mana-mana mak pun kalau dengar anak cakap macam nih.) I compromised and said, why dont you send me the link and I'll read up on this subject. (But obviously his mum had said pergi..)



I actually like convos. It is like an achievement day and everybody was recognized for the (hard?) effort they had put through the years at college. I like to see my kids go on stage and receive their scrolls (are they still called scrolls? Because that flat thingy they received arent scrolled anymore..) - anyway - take pictures, watch the kids laugh with friends. It is something nice to see. Maybe a day where all parents feel proud. I dont know - but it is nice.



The ceremony that day went through efficiently. Since I am already a veteran at this (haha) I didnt experience any prickle of tears.. that is, not until the pro-chancellor gave his closing speech when he paid tribute to the sacrifices all mothers make and said, graduan2 USM sekelian, renunglah ke mata ibu anda. Lihatlah.. I dont remember all he had said, but they were beautiful words in a very meaningful speech (walaupun speech dibaca dalam Bahasa Melayu yang penuh dengan slang dan tonggang-langgang..)



That evening at the hotel room I sat on the balcony and looked out to the horizon where the vast sea meets the (even more vast) skies and thought, Masya'Allah. Life is surely short, where have all the years gone by? It didnt feel like almost 22 years since he was born. I pray for the best future for him. For the best di akhirat. Untuk rahmat Allah. Untuk keampunan. Robbana atina fiddunya hasanah, wafil akhiroti hasanah..

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