Broken & Gratitude

I'm too far from home, all alone on the road
Trying to figure out who I am now the the stardust has turned to sand
And the sand has turned to stone on the starmaking machine
I'm 31 years old

That ain't the end but it sure ain't where I began

"Stephenville, TX" - Jewel

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The last photo before I broke my Lumix

At a bbq party on Xmas, after stuffing down some chicken & salmon, I was all excited for a group photo. I tried to set my camera timer so that everyone in the gang could be in the photo. In split second I tripped and my hand lost grip of my camera and it fell on concrete floor. The camera was 'on' and it landed on its extended lens! I think I screamed out loud that a friend who sat on the other side of the lawn texted me to bring my camera to him and see if he can do anything. But nah... it was beyond our layman knowledge to repair it. Nak nangis tau! That was my favourite toy. It was compact cam, not a flashy DSLR, but that little Lumix gave me more than what I expected of a compact camera. The camera has gone home to M'sia. I hope it is repairable without needing too much cost. Sedih lagi nih....

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After I left primary school (or earlier than that), there were no balloons at my birthday parties. Wait, have I even had any bday parties? *think & tap fingers on table*... hmmm yeah, may be once or thrice... This year, at 31 (ker 13 ek? I lost count! :P), I had these - red and black- my two favourite colors at my 'surprise' birthday party. Those who were present were clad in red and black too! wheeeee.... Thank you very much to everyone who took the trouble to cook, decorate, manually inflate the balloons, etc. etc. etc. and from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for the great company! Love y'all!

I also wanna thank YOU for the cakes, prezzies, cards, wishes (verbally / sent on txt, YM, friendster, blog comments, email, facebook... ape lagi ye?). I appreciate your thoughts. THANK YOU! thank you, thank you.

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Ubi: partying with 3 friends : runny nose, phlegmatic cough & cramps....

time to celebrate!

takde gambar lembu for raya haji.. strawberry boleh?

...wishes....

to all Muslim friends,

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha


and 'tis the season again...

Merry Christmas!


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exactly a week to go before I add another number to my age *sigh*
I want to turn 13, not 31, can I?


ubi: *stressed, stressed, stressed!!!*

pet peeve

It is not hard to live with me. I think.
I do not complain unnecessarily.

My Malaysian flatmates (now on holiday in Malaya, *I miss you girls*) may not agree with the above statement as I nag a lot to them! hehehe... Tapi kan adik-adik, kalau seorang kakak membebel, tu maknanya dia sayang.

Anyway, I try my best to make who ever that comes to live in my flat feel at home.
Yes, you can use my things, eat them or do whatever with it. By all means, use it. I'm happy to share. I am tak berkira that way.


but...

When you come to live with me.. I have ONE request
could you please do the dish washing properly?
I could go hysterical if I find food traces on supposed to be clean forks, oily table knives and icky plate. That puts me OFF.
Please please pleaseeeeeeeeee do your dishes properly.

I'm sick of having to re-wash things. I'm sure my other flatmate, PuppetMaster feels the same way too.

Now if you see me in the kitchen and I don't greet you with a smile, go check the plates/cups/cutlery, especially when I know that you were the one who did the unclean cleaning.

Previously, in another flat, I had an Aussie flatmate who washed plates and cups with soapy water. Just that. Sponge & soapy water, all bubbly and be left to dry on dish drainer.
No rinsing at all.
That made my other flatmate come up with the theory - Aussie washing detergents are edible.

Now should I post 'wash a plate: step by step instruction' up on the wall?

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Cloudy night. No stars. No meteor. Frustrated.

look up the sky

If you are a sky-crazy person like me (read: follows moon phases, gets high just by watching stars, full moon freak, marks meteor shower dates on year calendar), you might want to take a look at these articles (click on it).

1. Best Meteor Shower of 2007

2. Geminids in December (for New Zealand)

3. 10 tips for Geminids meteor shower

4. 2007 Meteor Showers and Viewing Tips

in short,

Watchout for Geminids meteor shower.. 13/14/15 Dec 2007.

Peak time depends on where you live (northern/southern hemisphere/timezone).

Anyone wanna join me lepak on a field watching meteors?

I'll supply hot coffee in a thermoflask :D

To 'the Gang' who reads this, Saturday, 15 Dec, come to my place just after midnight (very early Saturday morning). Boleh? Kita picnic malam lah pulak.

Ubi: Meteor shower reminds me of him. :)

Gi ppata

evening at Sumner...

I miss the salty breeze of South China Sea... dah lama tak mandi pantai. So off to the beach yesterday evening with some spring rolls & pizza in picnic bag (read: plastic bag), too cold to take a dip in the water but I love the view.

So there, facing South Pacific Ocean, not South China Sea, a beach sans kerepok lekor & sotong celup tepung stalls.

Oh I miss home!

Iqra'

highly recommended!

I went to claim a parcel at our post/bookshop yesterday, and I received Mohd Kamil's 'Travelog Haji'. A BIG thank you to a blogger friend. I've read more than half..... and yes, as the sender recommended, I needed tissues to go with the book! Insya Allah.. may we all one day get to be His guests in the Holy Land. I'm putting that in my prayer from now on. Now I feel bad that I don't even have a Tabung Haji account yet! teruk kan...

I heard a knock on my door this morning. Received a home delivery of Dina Zaman's 'I am Muslim' and Awang Goneng's 'Growing Up in Terengganu'. The books travelled from KL-Dunedin-Christchurch. I asked MsVios to buy 'em for me and pass it to L who was coming to NZ. I wanted to pay but I received a reply from MsVios- no need to pay, those are your (advanced) birthday gifts! Thanks pal.... muahhhhhh!! thanks k.Su for sending them right to my door.

How would you feel when an excellent writer thanked you in a great book? Hmmm... it feels like your name mentioned in Academy Award acceptance speech!!.. hehehe... ni nama dia orang tak glamer menumpang glamer!

Now I hate to see this pile of work that needs to be done before I snuggle up with the books! *sigh*

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I was walking out of our uni library this afternoon when a guy walked in and I went 'terpana' for a few seconds. I swear he looked like T0m Cruise, only taller! oh siapakah gerangan???

Auckland

Just photos...

Parnell

Oh, he's halfway to the top!

looking down

Harbour Bridge

Auckland City Skyline

sunset

a year

I was talking to Mak on the phone when I reminded Mak that a year has passed since my cousin breathed her last. Mak was quiet for a moment there and I noticed the sudden change in Mak's voice tone after that. Mak was sobbing. Everyone in the family missed her dearly.

I dialed my aunt's number but I hang up before the second ring.

I'm sorry CikNgah, I wanted to talk to you, but I just did not know what to say. I'm sure you remember the day...

*Al Fatihah*

Simah, I miss you. Really miss you.



masa ni jugaklah baru perasan tisu kat meja dah tinggal kotak aje

staring fear in the eye

3-2-1 terojonnnnnnnn!!

I am afraid of height. V.E.R.Y afraid.

Tapi, bak kata 'pepatah' yang aku jumpa kat satu skydiving brochure:

Be brave. Even if you're not, pretend to be, no one can tell the difference.

I did that yesterday, pretended to be brave.. but NOT the skydiving, (I'm too chicken sh*t to jump off a plane with no strings attached) I did the one captured in the photo. I jumped off Auckland Sky Tower (192m high) WITH strings attached.

The skydiving brochure is now up on my softboard. I'll look at it everyday... hoping that one day I'll have enough courage to jump out of an aircraft at 12000 feet.

Would you skydive?

this and thats...

Saw this while walking around the small village reserve...

Hi Bill... I love the place too!

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"Di suatu senja semusim yang lalu.. ketika itu hujan rintik...."

People normally think that women tend to remember anniversary dates and birthdays. I think it is not that the ladies are putting much effort 'to remember' the dates... I kinda believe that it is our innate ability. We ladies (not all) can detect certain 'anniversaries' without knowing/remember the date of events.

The proof - one day, I've been asking myself why the hell I had certain someone appearing in my mind so many times on that same day. I was very sure that I neither dug my dirtpile of memories nor rummaged through old photos. While checking on some other stuff, I accidentally found notes of things that connects to certain place on certain date. laaaaaa..... ulangtahun tak penting macam tu pun otak ni ingat. pftttttttt.... my memory stores loads of rubbish! *sigh*.

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NZ celebrated Guy Fawkes last weekend. Ape lagi, I pun tumpang sekaki buying fireworks while they were on sale. They cut the sales period from about 2 weeks in previous years down to just 4 days this year.


I brought my 'explosives' to my friend's place, kononnya to let her kids have some fun with fireworks. It was the kid in me who was more excited to play. Budak-budak tu lepak aje...

Bahan letupan yang dah tinggal half. Choosing the next one to burn.
I lurve the 50 shots missile!
MamaRock, you were in my thoughts when I bakar these things :)

It was a very windy night, the fountain fireworks ended up like this!

Fireworks show at New Brighton Pier on the following night. It was freezing cold out there on the beach. Beku!! There were raindrops on my camera lens when the show started.

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SPM will start tomorrow. My three nephews, yang dulu I basuhkan berak, salinkan nappies & buatkan susu are now handsome young gentlemens. They will sit for their papers tomorrow. I pulak yang risau lebih... Irsyad, Azahan & Muhaimin, you guys do your best! Makcu will pray for you.

jambangan

I...

love...

...Gerberas!

Thanks to our lovely guests who brought this beautiful bouquet to our flat.

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I had a freaky dream last night. I was chosen to be the first angkasawati! *ROTFL* I swear, at the rocket launching, I was thinking "sape lah yang bodoh sangat pilih aku naik ke bulan ni?" Yes, I love the moon, but picking me as an astronaut? *ROTFL sampai pengsan*

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He came to me when he saw me working in our studio one weekend, he looked concerned and said,


"Eh, tadi Z pinjam motor aku, dia kata nak gi dating kat Perak. Kalau dia gi Perak, kau buat ape kat sini?"

"La.. kalau dia nak gi dating, takkan aku nak ikut"

"Habis tu dia dating dengan siapa? bukan kau ke awek dia?"

"Hishhhhh.. bila masa la aku jadi awek dia, awek dia kat Perak"

"Laaaaa bukan ke?"*tepuk dahi*

That was Sheikh, he had no qualm in lending his big bike to his friends who then own kapcais. (CD, if you're reading this, laki kau pinjam motor dia la pegi bercinta dulu-dulu!) And like others who did not know me well, he thought I was my best buddy's girlfriend.

I did not know Sheikh well, we only exchanged hi and bye and short chats in our Studio 100. I was shocked when a friend informed me, he was that Sheikh who passed away yesterday, he was the astronaut's brother.

Rest in Peace, Sheikh Mustafa. *AlFatihah*.

Condolences to his family.

When the Moon Kisses Town

.moon. syawal.1428.

Move along now, don't look behind
There's nothing to forget, let it lie
Move on now and don't turn around
When the moon kisses town

When the Moon Kisses Town - Fool's Garden

demam

.langit petang. Cashmere.

Finally, after a cold bath, followed with a bag of ice on my head, paracetamols & aspirins, I felt a lot better tonight. Amazingly my appetite was ok, fed myself yesterday's nasi minyak leftovers. Worse colds and fever this time compared to the last time I had flu... luckily after enough dose of analgesics, I managed to pull myself out of bed for some raya do at open houses all around Christchurch on Saturday and in this small rural uni town on Sunday. For yummy food & great company, sakit tak sakit, jalaaaaaannn!!!

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The Springboks won the Webb Ellis Cup again after 12 years. I didn't watch it the whole game, I turned the tv loud enough to be heard from my kitchen while I kacau my beef rendang and tried to remember what Mak put in her special nasi minyak. The next World Cup will be in NZ, but I will not be here anymore. Boleh start booking ticket to NZ from KL in 2011 tak? hehehe

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Ramai yang tanya.. aku marah siapa in the last post. Well.. bukan sesiapa yang ku kenal melalui blog. To cut the story short, aku dah tak marah. Dah tutup buku. Cuma suatu ketika tu aku kecewa lah sangat dengan sikap Dia. Tapi tak payah lah ku ungkit. Akhirnya, di satu majlis lewat minggu lalu, setelah kulihat dengan mata kepala sendiri kehadiran mereka berdua dan aku pasti aku tak rasa sakit apa-apa kat rusuk ke, hati ke, jantung ker, tak der pulak detik jantung aku nak tertinggal satu degupan (skip a beat? boleh gitu? hehehe), aku pasti aku dah tak marah pada Dia... maka kuhulur tangan ini pada si gadis di sebelah (yang dengar ceritanya sangatlah takut nak berjumpa aku, kenapa ya takut? aku ni makan orang agaknya?), kuperkenalkan diri "hi, saya ubi", gadis itu sambut salamku, senyum, angguk-angguk (takde geleng-geleng), sepatah haram pun tak keluar dari mulut dia. Cuma senyum. Hmmm.. tak per lah, terkejut tengok aku agaknya. At least kau tau aku tak makan orang, kan. Gadis itu menepati stereotaip gadis dari negara yang satu itu, lembut, sopan, menurut kata. Aku pasti Dia suka. Kerana dulu asyik Dia yang kena ikut kata aku... ;D

Dan aku sudah bagitahu pada Dia, tak perlu lagi bersembunyi dengan alasan "aku tak mahu menyakiti hatimu, kau akan lebih terluka melihat aku dengannya" (bluwekkkk! ish.. lagi kuat kesan loya bila diterjemah ke bahasa ibunda aku rupanya), pasal aku dah tak de rasa sakit hati kerana Dia... tak der perasaan ok. Sekarang, aku batuk, demam.. memang sakit, tapi bukan kerna Dia.


.

Raya & tetamu senja

Eid Prayer at Hagley Park

Salam Raya to everyone. I bet you readers in Malaysia are still feasting on ketupat rendang. Sabar-sabar sikit makan tu ya. My raya was a good two days of meeting friends, eating and lotssssss of eating do. To all friends who jemput me, thanks for all the invitations (and the foods!) and to those who came over to my place, thank you for visiting my humble abode.

To all yang still bercuti.. stay safe on the road, go easy on the food!

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Note: Karangan geram 3 Syawal telah ditarik balik oleh penulis. Hehehe.. well.. after some muhasabah diri (ye lah sangat aku ni bermuhasabah kan...), saya tersedar sesetengah orang kenal watak utama dalam karangan.. maka itu dah masuk kategori mengumpat dengan satu dunia kan.. dan lagi pulak boleh menjatuhkan air muka seorang lelaki. Not that i care pasal air muka dia, tapi nanti nak kena mintak maaf susah lah pulak kan. Karangan semalam di buat pada tahap kegeraman dan kemenyampahan memuncak... when I'm pissed, I can bitch!

Eid Mubarak

Masjid Makmur, Losong. KT.. that's where I wanna be

pack your bags

It's over for the All Blacks...

dan saya sakit hati pasal saya baru sempat tidur sejam, lepas tu bangun balik nak tengok match.. pastu KALAH?!!!

pffffffttttttttt...

Ubi: Don't cry Dani.. big boys don't cry...

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tears of a captain

Teek, this one is for you

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this was T0m Sc0tt's cartoon before they left...


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ON SALE! a disappointed fan's way of coping with loss ;)

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Mike M0reu's stages of grief
(I'm still in a little bit of everything)

the 'break'

To keep up with my yearly 'tradition' of putting food pics during Ramadhan (click one of these * , * , *, *, *, *, * , *, * , * , & * to get to past years saje-sukahati-letak-food-pic posts), here goes some of my recent Ramadhan dish. Nothing much to shout about, not even close to become a drooling factor.

Yesterday's ayam bakar/golek/percik? I donno what to call it.

Sahur 2 days ago, ala kadar.. toasted muffin splits with tuna & gherkins

potluck dish brought to iftar at a friend's place: baked pasta with smoked salmon

does this look familiar??? super malas dish: instant noodles

Vegetarian 'chicken' fried rice (very oily!). Didn't cook this one, I tapau from a vegetarian restaurant. Those meaty looking things are fake chicken bits.


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We are now in the 10 final nites of Ramadhan. As a person yang tak terkira banyak dosa, I may not be the chosen one to be able to find Lailatul Qadar but I always promise myself that I would try my best to make the most of the nites even though my mind kekadang (ok, the exact word is selalu) wanders to 400 different places on earth WHILE doing my terawih and all the solat sunat. Yes, my head is full of my own setan gondol! The malas in me Tuhan saja yang tau but I'm up to try my best & do what I'm supposed to do. Who knows, I may not get to see the next Ramadhan. Dah la bulan-bulan lain tu sibuk kumpul dosa aje kan.

Maka..... when I discovered that I got my 'monthly MC' an hour before iftar today... my flatmates heard a loud "ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" from my room. Oh dear 'bestfriend' why do you come so early? Huk huk huk....

No wonder lah emo semacam aje these few days. Hmmppppphhhh.

Rākaunui

Rākaunui, Ramadhan 1428

*Rākaunui: full moon on the fifteenth night (Maori)

self-conversation

I was a bit dizzy after my terawih and decided to take a nap. An hour later I was woken up by my flatmate's voice in the kitchen saying she bought bread for me.

How much issit for the bread?

93 cents... oh by the way, I met XXX just now, I think he lost so much weight.

I didn't ask any further question. Was half awake but in the next minutes my mind started to wander. It has been almost 3 months since I last saw him. Why did he lose so much weight? Ah may be he just wanted to look better, did he? Or is he sick? Is he ok? Is he coping well with life? She's there for him, she'll take care of him, wouldn't she? Oh, his lung problems, I hope it does not get any worse. Oh God, please, not his lungs.
Had so many questions on my mind and gave myself my own answers when finally a rational voice in there spoken;

Why are you so worried about him when he doesn't give a damn about you anymore?
Why do you even care?

Grow up, woman!

Farewell little princess...

Condolences to Nurin's family... *Al Fatehah*

I cried reading about the girl in the bag (unidentified at that time). What's going on? What's wrong with the world today?

Parents (and non-parent), please take care of your children.... wait, not just YOUR children, keep an eye on other kids too. Lets go back to 'anak orang pun macam anak kita' creed. Even if you have to be busy body, just be.

***

Early this year when I was in Malaysia, my brother called from his office, he had to handle something in the office in the afternoon, so he could not pick up his children, nieces and nephews from school. My nieces and nephews from 3 different families go to the same primary school and they would go to Mak's house for lunch and change for their afternoon Ko-K/Fardhu Ain/Quran classes. I had just arrived home from Kedah that same morning and had a throbbing headache. I was a bit cranky, but I said, OK, I'd go get them. Ten minutes later I was in a car with 6 kids. I drove past my (very) old Tadika Kemas, just next to their school.. and I told them "tau tak, dulu MakCu gi tadika kat situ, MakCu balik rumah jalan kaki sendiri, Tok tak payah pun ambik MakCu kat skolah. Ini.. dah besar pun kena berhantar berambik lagi". Ain, my cheeky niece replied "elehhh.. Makcu nak tunjuk dia berani la dulu tu...".

At that time, I grumbled to myself that my nieces and nephews were too pampered. I thought they should learn to walk home together. Now I take back my words. It is not safe. anymore.

5th Ramadhan

I'm not into roses... but it does not mean I don't like 'em.. saya suka!!!

No food pics so far for Ramadhan this year.. I cooked nothing special and I just couldn't be bothered to capture what I cook/eat but we still have another 20+ days to go, kan.

I ate like a cow for buka puasa today. It was not grass on my plate, thank you but I had asam pedas salmon, udang goreng kunyit, stir fried veggies, telur dadar and finished off with trifle. Yumssss... my flatmates cooked everything, all I did was just goyang kaki in my room and waited for iftar! hehe.. I'm not the cruel step sister flatmate-lah, but these young girls would be uncomfortable if I was around in the kitchen coz they said that I could be a 'fussy mother-in-law' with my gourmet dos and don'ts. Macam lah aku ni pandai masak kan.

Salam Ramadhan

Selamat Berpuasa to everyone... as we enter the holy month, I seek forgiveness from everyone... maaf zahir dan batin.

We'll start fasting on Friday here in Christchurch. I don't know why but I'm so not mentally ready for Ramadhan this year, too much dark spots kat hati agaknya. Gosh.. looking back over the year that passed, I've not been good, banyaknya dosa.

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photo from flickr

My lil bro is now a father to a baby girl (born on 23rd Aug)... I am yet to see my niece's photo. Sometimes I just can't believe my lil bro has grown up to be a man, a husband and a father.

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The prayer of a coffee addict: Dear God, give me the strength to go through the day without caffein!

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Ku mengharapkan Ramadhan
Kali ini penuh makna
Agar dapat kulalui
Dengan sempurna...

Ramadhan Kareem!

"abangs"... and a sad note..

My two favourite stars!

they met in Marseilles

Abang Zek & Abang Dani ;D



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All Blacks vs Italy
76 : 14
A damn good start!

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Received a sad news on Friday. A friend's husband passed away. When I read the news, I was hoping that it was a mixed up info. I could only wished... but it was a confirmed fact.

I texted my condolences, telling her to be strong. That would not help much, would it? I wanted to call, but I really didn't know what to say. Talking to other friends about what happened was enough to make my tears rolling. I can't imagine how she feels and how their little angels take it. May Allah give my friend strength to go through the dugaan.

Al Fatihah to Mazariwan.



Ubi: To family and friends... I may not get to say this to each and everyone of you, probably you'll never hear me saying it, and you may not think that I do... but I love you! really.

Sunny Sunday

Beautiful sunny Sunday. Decided to take a walk through a farm lane that lead to the nearest town with my two flat mates. They must have misunderstood what I meant when I said jom jalan-jalan (lets go take a walk). They actually went for a jog while I, armed with a camera took a sweet time enjoying the view, took photos, checking on wild birds and beautiful shrubs and grass I couldn't name (tak hafal la nama pokok kat NZ nih). I walked slowly admiring the blue sky, neatly trimmed farm shelterbelts, green grass and cottages in a distance. After a while, I noticed that I was left alone. The other two were nowhere in sight. Tak kisah, retilah diorang kat depan cari jalan balik.

I walked past my previous 'home' on my way back and peeped at the garden. I didn't really like living there with a grumpy untidy landlady but things were not too bad for me. At least I never had any loud verbal confrontation with her like what MsChina and MsMyanmar had. I endured her antics as I knew she was suffering from menopausal symptoms and loneliness. She has two sons but none of them visited her throughout my stay. She vented her frustrations at us, tenants, through countless nags and illogical requests that drove us up the walls. There were times when I was so close to snap and say nasty things straight to her face, but I did not do it. I stopped and reminded myself that one day, I might grow old and lonely, just like her. Besides, I still had that kena hormat orang tua creed in my head. A girl moved in the next day after I moved out. I was informed that she left after staying there for a week. I must have had a super-high tolerance for staying there for 6 months... and Ma'amLandlady told me that I was welcomed to stay there again if I want to. Thanks, but no thanks, ma'am.

Now that spring is here, I'm gonna miss the small garden at that house. The tulips, magnolia, daffodils, snowdrops, jonquils, camelias, rhododendrons...you name it, you can find 'em there. All the lovely flowery thingy would bloom in the garden and never failed to get my attention. A short journey of just about 10 metres from the front door to my car would take me more than 5 minutes! Mana tak.. jalan setapak, belek bunga, jalan setapak, tengok bunga, jalan setapak lagi sengih-sengih kat bunga. Aaaanyway... glad that the spring is finally here, bye bye snowless winter.

Karangan sempena Kemerdekaan

Foto dari wikimedia

Tunku,

Saya masih ingat masa itu. Umur saya belum pun masuk 10 tahun. Cikgu kelas saya di Sekolah Kebangsaan Paloh masuk ke kelas mengumumkan ada rombongan sekolah ke Kuala Lumpur, Pahang, Melaka dan Pulau Pinang dengan bayaran $80. Empat negeri. Dalam keempat-empat itu, saya hanya pernah sampai ke Kuala Lumpur pada ketika itu. Apa lagi, "inilah peluang!" detik hati saya. Berhari-hari juga saya memujuk Mak untuk membenarkan saya pergi. Akhirnya, Mak dan Ayah benarkan.

Masanya tiba. Cikgu maklumkan pada kami yang megikut rombongan, di Pulau Pinang nanti, ada sesi makan malam di kediaman Tunku Abdul Rahman. Masa itu, tak banyak yang saya tahu mengenai Tunku. Tapi saya tahu, Tunkulah orang yang ada dalam gambar laungan MERDEKA itu. Gambar Tunku ada di dalam buku teks 'Alam dan Manusia'. Orang panggil Tunku Bapa Kemerdekaan tapi ketika itu saya tak pasti apa itu merdeka.

Jujur saya katakan, saya tak ingat apa perasaan saya berjumpa Tunku, saya tak ingat apa saya katakan semasa saya bersalam dengan Tunku, tapi saya ingat rupa Tunku malam itu. Ada perkara yang saya lebih ingat, saya ingat ada kepala harimau dan kulitnya terdampar di ruang tamu, saya ingat ada sepasang gading besar di satu laluan (pada umur 9 tahun, semua itu lebih lekat dalam memori saya), saya juga ingat saya tak sukakan lauk kari Penang yang dihidang pada malam itu kerana berlainan sekali dengan masakan mak (tanpa saya ketahui lebih 10 tahun selepas itu saya akhirnya biasa makan dan bercakap macam orang Penang).

Tunku, semasa di sekolah menengah barulah saya belajar Sejarah Malaysia dengan lebih jelas, itupun sekadar mengikut sukatan buku teks. Kalau penulisnya berkata benar, itulah yang saya percaya, kalau penulisnya buat cerita dongeng, tertipulah saya masa itu. Namun ketika itu barulah saya terfikir, alangkah baiknya kalau saya masih berpeluang untuk bercakap dengan Tunku, berbicara tentang sejarah negara, bertanyakan pengalaman dan pengajaran dari Tunku. Tapi ketika itu, Tunku sudah dijemput pulang oleh Yang Esa.

Tunku, pada Ulangtahun ke-50 Kemerdekaan negara kita ini, saya ucapkan terima kasih pada Tunku dan semua pejuang kemerdekaan yang lain, tak kiralah sama ada nama mereka tak pernah masuk buku sejarah ataupun tidak. Saya pasti ada pejuang yang tidak pernah dikenali umum.

Tunku, saya dan teman-teman berkumpul malam tadi. Hanya bacaan AlFatihah, Yasin dan doa yang mampu kami hulurkan untuk semua pejuang kemerdekaan dan juga semua arwah yang pernah mencurah bakti pada negara. Disaat mengaminkan doa, saya teringatkan Tunku. Mungkin kerana hanya Tunku saja tokoh kemerdekaan yang pernah saya temui.

Kami mewarisi negara ini dari generasi yang lepas, dan kami tahu, masih banyak yang kami perlu lakukan sebelum meninggalkannya pada generasi akan datang.

Selamat Hari Merdeka ke-50!

Sejahteralah Malaysiaku.



Post Merdeka tahun sudah di sini dan di sana.

Itik

Ducks & ducks everywhere!!! I was looking at ducks while eating my plate of yummy nasi lemak at Groynes Park when suddenly 'telur itik' came to mind and all the Ganu traditional desserts from duck eggs flashing in my eyes. They have so many ducks but why can't I find a shop selling CHEAP duck eggs around here?

I'm craving for 'jala mas'... ni tahap terliur sakan nih... I really want to make some for myself but I need loads of duck egg yolks for that.. and the egg whites can be turned into 'tahi itik'! I mean the kuih/dessert, not the duck poo lah! Sape tau kat mana ada jual telur itik murah??

Ubi: nak balik nak gi gerai kuih Gong Kapas... huhuhu....