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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Sunday At The Wedding

The weekend was filled with wedding stuffs. It was a rather pretty wedding; small and nicely planned from the floral arrangement to the seating, the cake, to the arrival of the pengantin.

Unfortunately a photographer I am not. These are all the decent photos that I had managed to take.

From top left are my sister (Datin - woohoo..) Poji of Sunway; the other sister, Nari, and two of her kids Shasha & Farhan arriving; the butterfly was worn as a button by the family instead of the more traditional ribbon flower (a pretty good idea); and Alia, one of the many nieces.

From top left, a glamorous purse I saw (and like! but just not me..); Pak Cik Zain, a favorite uncle; the pretty girls of Anti Leli, nieces; and the adorable wedding cake topped with pink and lilac hydrangea.

Maybe I'll be much luckier next time and get better photos.

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Have a Super Fun, Frivolous (Albeit Fruitful) Weekend

What's you plan for the weekend? I have loads -

There's a family wedding (thus the photo above, the cake that I would so love to bake..) and follow this link for the most luscious wedding ideas! http://www.projectwedding.com/

Seriously need to sit with mum!

The beading on the kurung got stuck after about 2 inches of stitches (seriously need to get that done too); but I've got eyes on a different design for a different kurung already now..

Been meaning to visit Ratu for the past 3 weekends but was perpetually deterred (Met a makcik at the pasar tani with a gorgeous red printed tudung recently and said, cantik tudung makcik. She said she got it at Ratu, so thus..)

Need to put up paint at the old house (this is getting serious too)

Shopping for baju raya is only half completed now. There is this cooking class I signed up for in UPM next weekend. And the weekend after that I'll be in Penang. Then it'll be Ramadhan already!

Time surely flies (when we are having fun..?)

Have a wonderful weekend wherever you'll be.

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Pada Hari Jumaat Ini

I thought the contents were priceless when I read this in the email. And the first thing that came to my mind was that I must share this. Bacalah..

Dalam tidak sedar setiap hari kita memohon didalam solat kita. Tetapi sayangnya, kita hanya memohon tanpa memahami.. sekadar tersebut dibibir, tetapi tidak tersentuh dari hati kita selama ini.. Marilah kita mula menghayati ketika kita duduk di antara dua sujud semasa solat..

Dengan rendah hati nyatakanlah permohonan ampun kepada Allah.

Rabbighfirli (Tuhanku, ampuni aku)

Diamlah sejenak. Buka dada dan diri kita untuk menerima ampunan dari Allah seperti membuka diri ketika merasakan hembusan angin sepoi-sepoi atau menerima curahan air hujan ketika kita masih kecil.

Tetaplah membuka diri kita untuk menerima ampunan Allah.

Ulangi permintaan itu beberapa kali hingga kita merasakan ketenangan. Kemudian sampaikanlah permintaan kedua,

Warhamni (sayangi aku)

Diam dan tundukkanlah diri kita untuk menerima kasih-sayang Allah yang tak terhitung besarnya. Bukalah dada kita seluas-luasnya agar semakin banyak kasih-sayang Allah yang kita terima.

Ulanglah beberapa kali hingga kita merasa cukup. Berturut-turut sampaikanlah permintaan2 berikut dengan cara sebagaimana tersebut di atas, satu persatu..

Wajburnii (tutuplah aib-aibku)

Warfa'nii (angkatlah darjatku)

Warzuqnii (berilah aku rezeki)

Wahdinii (berilah aku petunjuk)

Wa'Aafinii (sihatkan aku)

Wa'fuannii (maafkan aku)

Setelah selsai, diamlah sejenak lalu sampaikan rasa syukur kita. Betapa besarnya nilai sebuah doa ini.. sebuah doa yang kita hanya lewatkan begitu sahaja.

Isnt this beautiful?

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Life Could Never Stay That Simple Part 1- Imagine

I've been thinking about putting in ink about days gone by; of younger days. Carefree days. Unburdened heart. Of innocence. In fact, I've been thinking about writing this for quite some time but I guess there is a time and place for everything. And I guess this is the moment.

And in a way Zana's post on John Lennon made me start this as I too have a story to tell concerning John Lennon during college days. Who'd have thought?

I only knew of John Lennon as a guy from the Beatles. Vaguely. Bangs that almost (or actually did) cover the eyes. Glasses. Or something like that.

When I was doing the Advanced English classes at college I got to know him a little better. Our instructor Mary Pascall, gave us the Imagine song lyrics one day as part of our lessons. She turned on the cassette (sorry dude, there were no CDs during those good old days) and made us all sing the song together in class. It was a song I never knew before then (oh what a sin that was as far as I am concerned!) And Mary told us about Lennon. His life. Yoko Ono. I cant say why I remember this till this day. There must be something although I cant say what (kalau tak ada apa yang significant takkan ingat sampai hari ni).

And I can actually still see Mary standing in front of the class. Blonde. Shoulder length hair like 'maggi-mee', us locals would say. Her favorite outfit was her deep purple dress with black opaque leggings that semester. Or her black vest with her khaki pants.

There is something about her that made myself and Naza, my classmate laughed. She's funny in a way. Orang Amerika ni kadang2 exaggerate so badly. And that in itself is so weird* to the rather more reserved Asian I suppose.

*and I learned of the word weird in the early days at college too. Strange is perceived as a somewhat more formal word; or maybe used by the more reserved Englishmen I suppose. And you have to learn to roll your tongue too the way Americans do. Otherwise mat sallehs tak paham jugak kalau kata weird pun.

Anyway. Mary is one of the ok instructors. Maybe because she is younger than the rest (?). More open. She loves Rolling Stone (I had wondered why, oh why? Coincidently do you know Mick Jagger is knighted and is now known as Sir?) She was so excited about the Rolling Stone concert at Folsom Field (that's the name of the college football field), that autumn. I checked and yes, Rolling Stone did perform at CU Boulder on the 3rd&4th Oct that year. If I am not mistaken Mary attended the concerts on both days. That's how crazy she was over the Rolling Stone.

I dont remember that weekend but most weekends at college were noisy anyway; with football, parties or mat sallehs being plain drunk. I dont remember what kind of weekend I had that week, but I suppose it wasnt as loud as Mary's. Not even close.

(And as of today I have a new label called Memoir where all posts with similar sentiment will be parked.)

And yeah, life could never ever stay that simple. That easy. Now I know.

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Cerita Ramadhan Lagi

I dont necessarily understand all that I read. Kadang-kadang tak nampak apa yang tersirat..

And I dont necessarily get the pantun below. But there is something pretty about it, in a way - after all, yang indah itu bahasa.

Sambungkan Aku Ke Cinta Itu

Kata-kata yang berbunga di pagar
adalah aku yang terlantar,
Dicurah hujan, tertidur-tidur berembun
bertindih rindu

Terpintal sewaktu-waktu melontar pandang
ke langsir tertiup,
Kekasih yang lama ghaib di jendela
Cuma zahir dijelma renda,
Terimbas terlintas-lintas
di wangi Ramadhan,

Bunga di pagar yang terlingkar,
Adalah aku yang tertinggal,
Izinkan aku mengejar,

nantikan aku di Maghfirah,
Sambungkan aku ke benang Arasy
yang terlilit di pagar waktu,

Sambungkan aku ke perca cinta,
Kerana dia kekasihku...

Anbakri, 10 Ramadhan 1429

Gotten from the book Nasihat Ramadhan Dari Orang-orang Yang Soleh written by Sulthan Hadi which I am currently reading. After all Ramadhan is merely 35 days or so from now so I am sort of moving into gear. After all, kalau boleh bersiap-siap in advance untuk Syawal, why not the same for Ramadhan, if not better?

And words from an ustaz comes to mind. Kata ustaz, jangan ingat Syawal je kena siap budget. Ramadhan pun patutnya ada budget jugak - untuk sedeqah, menderma dan beri makan buka puasa. He definitely does have a point.

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Ibunda

I've been speding a lot of time at IJN late last week / weekend. Mak masuk hospital lagi. And again with heart problem.

According to the doctor it is quite amazing that she is ok looking at her previous heart history. She had a couple minor strokes. She has a pacemaker too. Mungkin takdir umur panjang..

She always looked pretty healthy at home. At least as healthy as she can be at her age. But at the hospital she looked so frail. Getting in and out of bed seem so difficult for her. Kalau nak tolong sangat nanti dia kata, mak boleh buat. So we have learned not to fuss over her so much.

It seem like only my adik can 'bully' her (in the good way of course). Even if she said no but if my brother thinks it is best for her then he'll do it. And she'll let him. She said (of my brother), dia tu ketegaq (kami orang utara che' oi..).

Alhamdulillah she's now out of the hospital at my brother's place. But according to him she seem more tired at home than she was at the hospital. But the hospital was so cold. She was under 3 layers of blankets, with socks and sweater before she could sleep. And the water was like ice; her hands and feet felt like ice too after wudhu'.

Like it or not the worst will come, sooner or later. But mak is talking about spending Ramadhan in KL and also menghitung nak beraya di rumah siapa. I suppose that is a good sign.

Prayer is the best (and the only) thing to do at times like this.

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