Selamat malam

Got this from a student. He must have gotten the memo 10 days too late.


Still it was so sweet of him.
Wonder how he is in China.

Anyway, it's the end of Day 2 of Eid and the weight I've lost in fasting month is fast catching up. No...stay away.

This year, the mother didnt go through much hassle (there's still some but not as much as previous years where every Hari Raya morning she looked like she had gone to war and back!). This time round, instead of the usual lontongs and the traditional works, she decided to do potato beef balls in spicy soup.



Oooh money+ang pows.

Yesterday (Friday) saw us leaving house at about 1500hrs. I was up till 0600hrs that morning and woke up a few hours later with a swollen right.




We're all tired and all so naturally, we would take the time to space out at my aunties' places haha.


Horrible, I know.

Second day was no better though we managed to cover more houses - a meagre total of 5.








*Suck in guts...release*
Oh well.

The right eye is in slight pain. Swollen. Think it's (a) lack of sleep, (b) must have been infected when I was cleaning the bloody dusty room on Thursday night/Friday morning and (c) wearing contact lenses.

On a random note, here's a pic of my 9-month-old niece in her Man U garb.


Nur Emma.
Stay away from her, Wayne Rooney.

Okay it's almost 0200hrs. My head is beginning to spin. Need to wake up early cause I am meeting Liah and we're heading to KBox for a fast karaoke session (Hari Raya songs!!)- KLunch before continuing my Hari Raya walkabout in the afternoon when the father comes home from his morning shift work.

Oh...talking about karaoke and all, I've fallen in love with this Malay song by Faizal Tahir. Oh, I've already liked him from the start ...


Married, dammit!

...but this song..
It's just..aaaaaaaaaawwwwww!!!!



Biarkan berlalu (Let it pass)
Semua kepedihanmu (All your bitterness)
Lelapkan matamu (Close your eyes)
Biarkan mimpi membawamu (Let your dreams bring you)
Ke mana kau mahu (To wherever you want to go)

Selamat malam (Goodnight)
Tidurlah sayangku (Sleep, my love)
Siang kan tiba bercahaya (Day will come and glisten)
Bermula baru semua untukmu (Renew your everything)

Biarkan berlabuh tirai kisah semalam (Let the curtains of yesterday fall)
Yang indah itu ada padamu (The splendour is found in you)
Dengan setiap impian dan harapan (With every aspiration and hope)

Selamat malam (Good night)
Tidurlah sayangku (Sleep, my love)
Siang kan tiba bercahaya (Day will come and glisten)
Bermula baru semua untukmu (Renew your everything)

Kan ku menjadi arjuna (I'll be the hero)
Dalam mimpi-mimpimu (In your every dream)
Kan ku panah tepat ke jiwamu (I'll shoot an arrow to your soul)
Atas nama cintaku (In the name of love)
Pari-pari ku utus (I'll send the fairies)
Bawa kau ke sini lagi (To bring you here again)
Terhapus semua air mata dengan senyuman (Wipe the tears with a smile)

Selamat malam sayang (Goodnight love)
Selamat malam kasih (Goodnight dear)
Selamat malam sayang (Goodnight love)
Woooo... (Seriously???)

Selamat malam sayang (Goodnight love)
Selamat malam kasih (Goodnight dear)
Selamat malam sayang (Goodnight love)
Woooo...

Tidurlah sayangku (Sleep, my love)
Siang kan tiba bercahaya (Day will come and glisten)
Bermula baru semua untukmu (Renew your everything)

Selamat malam (Goodnight)
Tidurlah sayangku (Sleep, my love)

- Selamat Malam, Faizal Tahir


You know that I seldom listen to Malay songs but this is *heartfelt* beautiful to me. Yay!


P/S: Guys, especially Jason Woo, I hope your Malay will improve slightly with that translation of mine hahaha.


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Salam sayang

It's almost 0600hrs!! I finished cleaning my room at 0400hrs, then showered and ah....finally..get to eat the lontong (courtesy of Meiling!! Thank you!). Now I am sleepy.

Selamat Hari Raya, people!!


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Air mata Syawal

I am so excited about Hari Raya that I'm not sleepy at all. I spent three hours sorting out my old baju kurungs because, as expected, the clothes which were sent to the seamstress are still elusive. Also took the opportunity to clear and rearrange the clothes in my wardrobe. It's a jungle inside that wardrobe. It's like...Narnia!

Anyway, Raya excitement (actually I'm excited for Raya to be over because my Spain trip is exactly after Raya ends) aside, there is also a void in my heart which is laced with sadness and longing. First time in my 30 years I dont have my auntie celebrating Hari Raya with me. Every year before, I always looked forward to meeting her on the first day, us sitting down and chat and making fun of her son (my cousin). Now, I dont know how to face her son and her hubby. Looking at them will make me so so sad.

But ah...my sadness can never be as harrowing as their grief.
They lost her...a wife, a mother.

To my Bibik, I hope Allah is protecting you and keeping you safe. I hope nothing is disturbing your sleep and that I wish one day, we will meet again - you, Grandma and me. Both of you were my guardians and my playmates when I was a child and I'd never would forget your love and kindness. It's been 20 years since Grandma left but she has been in my thought every single day. And you have been too since your departure 9 months ago.

Selamat Hari Raya , Bibik.
May Allah bless your soul.
I love you.



And I know you like Siti Nurhaliza...and this is my personal favourite.



To my Muslim friends, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri...maaf zahir dan batin. Hope the season see you be in the company of your loved ones. Stay blessed.



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Miss Sarajevo

Been getting calls from this 'It's Only Lunch' dating agency. No idea how they got my number and email address but ... yeah..they have been pushing me to meet their other waiting clients. I'll ignore their calls but once in a while I may forget and answer (hoping that it's from a potential new employer)...and then I'll hang up. I'll go "Hello? Hello? Hello?" and put it down. Childish, I know.

 

Back to the dating agency...me???

*slaps tigh, snorts, farts*

 

Me...on a date? Havent been on one since *counts fingers and toes*...Think I've become a date-idiot. The idea of spending time with someone whom you dont really know is too much of a gamble for me. My time is already so precious and yada yada..okay I am tired of explaining already.

 

Later.

 

 

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Spinning the wheel

Been feeling kind of funny lately ~ well, mostly tired, pissy and bored. Guess when you combine them together it can be funny, I suppose. Okay lame.

Last Saturday saw me running to Geylang with Liah after work. Although the mother handled the Hari Raya clothes aspect (at least the ones worn on the first day) - she sent them to the seamstress - we still havent seen them yet. So yeah, considering I have given away/thrown many of my old ones, I figured I needed to get a new one in case the seamstress couldnt deliver. So there i was ... in Geylang Serai...smack in the sticky Saturday afternoon.

So we went around and God, that was like the most tiring day ever. Being the stingy poker me, I refused to spend more than $80 on a Hari Raya clothes (my parents pay for the clothes usually but this time, since I didnt want to bank on the tailor-made ones I have to fork out my own). Before you accuse me of being spoiled, let me explain.

Before, I didnt see the need to buy Hari Raya clothes because I always wore them once..twice and then they would be chucked at the back of the wardrobe. Even if I were to buy, 90% of the time, they would be in blue (or various shades of blue).

The mother, afraid that other people would think that the daughter couldnt care less, would then hustle everyone to the shops to get nice, expensive-looking (and sometimes, real expensive ones) baju kurungs. Then she'll hustle the father to pay.So there...

Anyway, back to the Scrooge-y me, cause I was so uninterested and all, I just grabbed one black suit from First Lady/2nd Chance (Why must a boutique be called '2nd Chance'? Why cant it be the 1st choice? Malays and their inferiority complex..gah!!). Now this is a first from the boutique. Havent told the mother yet cause I think she would blow her top. She hates buying clothes from that boutique. "The quality is bad and you will look just like many other Minahs on Hari Raya," she said.

Well, sorry Mother.
It's Minah Mona this year.

At least next month, I'll be going to ESPANA!!


P/S: 31 more days.

P/P/S: This is a really lame attempt at blogging.


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Don't know why

When we were younger, much younger than today, we threw many cares in the wind. But some did linger around for years.

I waited till I saw the sign
I don't know why I didn't come
I left you by the house of fun
I don't know why I didn't come
I don't know why I didn't come

When I saw the break of day
I wished that I could fly a way
'Stead of kneeling in the sand
Catching teardrops in my hand

My heart is drenched in wine
But you'll be on my mind forever

Out across the endless sea
I will die in ecstasy
But I'll be a bag of bones
Driving down the road alone

My heart is drenched in wine
But you'll be on my mind forever

Something has to make you run
I don't know why I didn't come
My field is empty as a drum
I don't know why I didn't come
I don't know why I didn't come
I don't know why I didn't come - Norah Jones


So long and goodnight..so long and goodnight.


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You make me feel mighty real

It's 0605hrs on Sunday...5th of Sept. We're about 4 days to the end of the fasting month and..hah..you know what's next. I am also 34 days shy of my holiday - my Castile, Andalusian and Catalan adventure. Oh the excitement...

...and the eventual financial nothingness which will ensure. Haha.

Days have been crazy since the last entry. Late night prayer sessions saw me sprawl on the bedroom floor at weird hours of the dead morning in my praying garb...too tired to make it to the bed each time. Waking up in the morning and dashing to work. Work...let's not go there. It's perpetually crazy even though I have "merdeka"-ed.

No, I didn't quit.
I wish.

My department - consisting of all 4 of us - has managed to break away from the BUSINESS mothership. We are now known as the Timor Leste of TooMuchCrap. We're independent now. We used to fall under the almost communistrule of the The Gulag and being treated like factory dogs...now, we're our own dogs. Still a dog, but an indie one. We're indie dogs. Yay?

But of course, nothing is made of pure joy in the office. Idaho, Abercrombie and I (that makes 3 out of 4 Mass Comm lecturers) are still teaching business comm and marketing subjects because according to The Gulag, our teaching hours will be too little if we dont teach business subjects to beef our schedules. I say bollocks to that because I dont see her asking the Psychology lecturers to teach business subjects when the department was still under her. So it goes to show that Mass Comm lecturers are better at teaching those subjects than her supposedly highly qualified and academically excellent Business lecturers. Pooh!

So yeah. That's the story. I love teaching (I love it, I do!) but I abhor the system...the inefficient, manic-depressive, passive-aggressive management style. Everyone's tired and we're expected to do things outside office hours all the freaking time. We're practically told what to do in our not-so-free time. Most of us walk around with dead, zombie-like expressions...like extras from the set of Zombieland or The Crazies. Or any George Romero's zombie flicks for that matter. Madness.

And now...I should really get myself some sleep.


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What did you learn in school today?-

"The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth." (Dan Rather)

My friends and students know me well. I dont sugarcoat and you can always count on me to bring home the truth. So yes, I hope my students (wherever you are, all over the world)have enjoyed some "truths" I might have dispensed along the way.

Mentioning students, two Saturdays ago (21st Aug) was the school's graduation ceremony. Being someone who loves a good celebration, of course I was ecstatic.








Then we attacked the buffet line and more photo op ensured







Ah...to be young and happy. Happy graduation, guys. And hah' Happy Teachers' Day to us all!


"Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task." (Haim G. Ginott)


P/S: Watched Berlin 36 and I thought it could have been more meatier. It did pull the heartstrings with Jewish oppression in Nazi Germany... but I thought, if they put in more sports action it would have been better.


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