Jottings

My cousin Een and I could agree that Year 2000′s Hari Raya was the best Hari Raya so far!

Let’s do a little recap: We somehow stopped talking to each other when we were 12 years old. Up until this day, the reason for our silence remains a mystery but a possible reason could be because of the “I-Am-Now-A-Teenager-So-It’s-Awkward-To-Talk-To-You” reason. Even during our grandmother’s funeral, we didn’t talk to each other and this is the same cousin that I’ve been close to since four years old? We are like childhood friends, except that we are cousins!

We talked again when she visited my home in Guangzhou, China. We didn’t strike a conversation right away, it actually took a few days before we started to talk again. We went to a place outside of Guangzhou, something happened (my brother and I broke the tailor’s ruler), so somehow because of that incident we talked again!

After her visit, we kept in touch via email. Remember, this was 10 years ago. No blogs, Facebook and Twitter just yet. I came back to Malaysia in December to celebrate Hari Raya and we had so much fun! I stayed over at her place and we just chit-chat non-stop. During the firstfew days of Raya, we would follow the adults to various houses but we would still be talking to each other. In the car we would open the green envelope and checked the money inside. Once we were back home, we would play board games and all with my brother.

So many things happened we even did a list just so we could remember. I wanted to write about them here but due to privacy issues, I better not! LOL! (Hint: it included bugers and farts! Disgusting right? See, I better not write about them here!)

I guess this was my most exciting Raya because I was able to enjoy the true spirit of Raya, to experience real togetherness and not forgetting the irresistible food. It was also exciting because I was already feeling homesick in China so coming back to Malaysia to visit my family was just meaningful. I guess when you’re overseas, you realize what you miss most.

What about you… Share your most memorable Hari Raya moment!!

My paternal uncle passed away on the 17th Day of Ramadan. For most, that’s Friday, August 27th, 2010. As mentioned in my earlier blog post, I knew about the news in the afternoon after returning back from ISIS.

I have to admit something here: after the death of my father, I’ve never been close to the majority of the family from my dad’s side. Don’t get me wrong, I do see them once in a while (especially during Hari Raya) but if you ask me to name my cousins from my dad’s side, I’ll fail.

However, this uncle of mine holds dear to me.

I call him “Mamak”. My dad died in late 1990 and we returned to Malaysia for a short while before going back to our nomadic lifestyle of living overseas. But during the short period when we were back, this Uncle of mine constantly kept in touch with my mum to ask about my brother and my self and how we’re doing and sometimes we would hangout at Jusco / Alpha Angle. KLCC was not around yet at that time, Alpha Angle was one of the must-go mall during the early nineties. I even bought my first pair of roller-blades with him.

Obviously, when we moved away from Malaysia, we didn’t get to see each other again but every time we returned back to Malaysia for holiday, Mum made sure to pay him a visit. It was only then he could see the growth of us from a kid to a teenager.

I went back to Malaysian in 2003 but as I was busy with classes and later, work. I never had the opportunity to visit him on a regular visit. Two years ago, he had a stroke which left him paralyzed. I visited him sometime last year. Even though he couldn’t move, he could still recognize people.

He passed away peacefully on Friday morning. For years, I’ve been close to Mamak and his family. Without him now, I wonder how can I ever be close to my father’s side.

Unfortunately there weren’t a lot of entries from my old blog CURIOUSSYAF on fasting. However, since it is the holy month of Ramadan and since togetherness and family are two important things, I have decided that today’s CURIOUSSYAF entry is going to be a review for the movie Click! (remember that movie back in 2006?). Enjoy the entry below!

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August 13, 2006

Just when I thought that Click is going to be one of the lamest Adam Sandler movie that I have ever watched turns out to be one of the meaningful movie with its message of FAMILY COMES FIRST!

So Newman is trying very hard to be the partner of his boss, and thanks to his remote control, he founds out that he will be made as a partner – a year later. Much has happened within the year. He then fast forwarded his life years on and he finds out that his father has died, his wife has divorced him and is happily married with the speedo dude. His young boy has flourished into an architect just like his dad. His daughter has turned into a hot blonde chick. Of course, he did not get to live in the moment to experience it. He knows his future, but never get to experience each second of it.

Expect the unexpected in this movie. Whatever that is.

Family has always been important, especially my one and only mum. My mum had a fall recently. Even though it was not so bad and was not so dramatic as what my peers imagined it to be, I felt that it was all my fault. It has been a week and she is on medication but the pain is still there. She was supposed to sleep at Crowne Plaza Hotel after her Methodist Girls School’s 110th Anniversary Dinner. However, she has forgotten her medication and decided to go back home and sleep.

I was very sleepy. It was at 12 midnight when she called. I grabbed my keys and asked me brother to follow. He didn’t want to. I had to drive all the way to Crowne Plaza Hotel all alone. She has done a lot for me and the least that I could do is to drive her back home, even though I really want to sleep at that time.

Family is important. No matter how busy you are, try to spend as much time as possible with your family. When we are busy with our work, assignments, friends and so forth, we tend to forget the people that are closest to us. Our bloodline. We tend to take them for granted because of the fact they they are related to us. We assume that they will always be there for us.

Don’t live with regret, just like Adam Sandler’s character. You can’t turn back the time unless you have a remote control to do so and once they are gone, they are gone for good.

Cherish the moment.

As usual, Tuesday is CURIOUSSYAF day! Again, I feel that it is appropriate for me to post something that is related to Puasa and Hari Raya. A few years ago, my friends and I had this tradition of exchanging raya cards (yes, an actual card!). Sadly, we kinda stopped this tradition after graduation.

A mental note to myself: Syafique, please continue this tradition. Please post Raya cards to your friends!

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October 21, 2006

Nowadays, many are just not into the tradition of giving one another Raya cards. A simple text message and e-card would do the trick. I especially do not like SMS messages since it is a mass medium. One message is the same for all of its recipients. It is not personalized.

I still love Raya cards. I love it since it is personalized. I love it since the people who sent it to me has put a little effort to it. I love it since that person has put an effort to go to the shop, picked a card, wrote on the card, sealed in an envelope, took the trouble to go to the Pos office, put a stamp and have it mailed to me.

On the other hand, I will also try my very best to give cards to the people who have sent me a Raya card. It is a two-way thing. It is not fun just sending out Raya cards. It is also not fun just receiving Raya cards. We must reply to each other’s card

The personalized notes is the reason why  I love reading Raya cards; it reminds me of the notes that you write in each other’s yearbook back in high school! Remember that? It’s the same feeling, and the words will stick to your heart forever. Recently, I re-opened the cards that were sent to me last year and it brought so many memories.

A few days ago, I received an online card, created especially from my reader, Xis! We do not know each other at a personal, face-to-face, level. We know each other by reading each other’s blog. A special thanks to him for creating the card and for remembering! Now that is what I call effort!

Tuesday is CURIOUSSYAF day!

Since tomorrow is the first day of Ramadhan, I went through CURIOUSSYAF and found a post I wrote about fasting!

Here goes….

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October 2, 2006

SYAF CONFESSES

So when no one is around and when nobody is looking, I would go to the kitchen and get myself a glass of cold water from the fridge. Just imagine how refreshing I must have felt. When it is time to break the fast, my family members asssumed that I have fast for the whole day.

I was seven when this little incident happened.

I also remember another incident when I was studying at Sayfol International School. I was eight and this was the last Raya in Kuala Lumpur before we moved to Medan, Indonesia. I was still in class and it was just before lunch. From the classroom, I could smell the nasi lemak. The best thing about Sayfol is that morning tea and lunch is provided free since it was already part of the fees. My mum does not usually give me pocket money during fasting month but I could still eat. The moment it was lunchtime, I quickly went to the canteen and got myself a plate of nasi lemak. My friends questioned me but I could not care less. The nasi lemak was superb. I swear, Sayfol has the best nasi lemak as far as I could remember.

When I was living in Guangzhou, China, I had the cravings for bubble tea. The bubble tea there is different than the ones that you can get here (especially from the Monash cafetaria). I would always go buy two packed bubble tea at the nearby shop after school. It was the best drink to break our fast.

Now, I love bubur pulut hitam. My brother did not know this and when I got home, there was a bowl of it. My mum said to my brother that it is my favorite and my brother’s response was funny. He said, “You still have the Malay-ness in you!”

Obviously.

In the past, I would eat lots and lots of food, especially local delicasies during buka puasa. Then I would eat junk food and cookies before eating rice. After someone told me that it was not a sign of alim-ness, I try to eat as minimal as possible. It is true that I still get full even though I have not eaten a lot. I realize that there is no point in fasting if we are going to eat until we are so full during the break of the fast, RIGHT?

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This posted managed to get a few comments: Here are some of the noteworthy ones:

From XiS:

bubur pulut hitam? Gosh.. used to be my favorite ages ago.. but I don’t know why I don’t like it anymore. Well, guess back then when we’re still kids, we did things we’re not supposed to do esp. during fasting month. But then, that’s part of being kids, and fasting during our childhood year.. I remember one incident, I was so craving for raya cookies my mom baked that one evening. I ate a few of them, and my mom caught me. But I always came out with an excuse – “oopsss, lupa la hari puasa..” and normally that’s accepted. But if I ever do so nowadays, my dad would shoot me with senapang gajah, I guess..

From Feeza:

hello syf..!!

u know wut..!
i always bug my mum to make bubur pulut hitam..
i can have it for the whole month i dont mind..!

as much as u chat during puasa..
i think everyone does the same..
i use to drink from the tap when i was 9..

tak boleh tahan..!!!
at dat moment..
i always feel that tap water is the best drink ever..!!
bodoh gile..!!

From Azhan:

i get bloated sometime but never gained weight. lol. i remember when relatives on my dad’s side came over, the ladies was preparing food bought from outside. i opened the firdge and wanted to take out a mug of orange juice which i accidently drink it later because in my mind i needed to taste it. then i realised i was still fasting and that was when i was 9. *giggles*

From Ken:

I believed you forgot to comment on one of my comments… hahahaa… YOU!!!… anywayz, in guangzhou, did you really fast? from what I know and saw, you were eating… hahahaha… well, maybe coz you got stomachache or something lahhh – good reasons, right? anywayz, regarding the bubble tea, you drink bubble tea? I never see you drink bubble tea b4 in china… hahahaha!!!!! I always see you drink something else… hahaa….
Ok lahhh, cia for now.

Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net