Sunday, August 26, 2012

Erti kekeluargaan...

Ada orang gelakkan aku

sebab tak ada abang
tak ada akak
tak ada adik

Tapi mungkin dia tak sedar
dia salah seorang 'adik-beradik' aku

Memang la tak sama
Jauh jurangnya simpulan ikatan DNA tu
takkan dapat serapat keluarga sebenar

Bahkan sebagai apa-apa yang paling rapat sekalipun aku takkan mampu capai
Lantaran gaya perhubungan dan batasan dalam keluarga aku
beza daripada kebanyakan orang

Namun perasaan kasih sayang terhadap mereka ni tetap wujud
tetap benar
Lebih daripada keluarga

Lagipun melalui peringkat-peringkat hidup
yang pernah dan sedang aku susuri
memang mereka ni aje lah pun
'keluarga' yang aku ada

Jadi aku harap
korang dapat terima
bila aku kata

"Aku sayang ko"

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Dilema Raya...

Waktu Raya ni lah masa untuk kita eratkan silaturrahim, baik dengan sedara mara mahupun sahabat handai.

Tapi ada satu benda yang aku ralat sikit-

Sepupu sama sepupu tu bukan mahram
apatah lagi bini sepupu
tambah lagi anak pompuan sepupu
serta segala hubungan bau bacang, bau deghoyan dan yang sewaktu dengannya...

AlhamduliLlah
Sedara mara pompuan geng sepermainan masa kecik dulu ramai yang dah sedar perkara ni
jadi kitorang air kiss dari jauh aje

Namun ada gak yang mungkin tak faham atau tak berapa kisah

Haishh... Kalau lah cukup kuat iman
pasti dah tegur dan terangkan yang kita tak boleh salam salam ni
dan mereka sepatutnya terima

Cuma aku tau bagaimana rasanya termalu depan orang
hulur tangan untuk bersalam tapi tak bersambut

Oleh itu

Mana yang boleh
aku elak

Yang dah hulur tangan tu
aku sambut dengan hujung jari jemari lentik ini :p

>_<"

Babak pengimbas logam dalam Ra.One
.
.
.
buat aku gigit jari...

Monday, August 20, 2012

Glimpses of 'Eid

"Just enjoy the photos and captions, k?"

Takbir and doa selamat from house to house. Yes, we live in brick houses here but it's still a kampung :p

The obviously popular Raya cake. No, we did not make it but we got it from the same makcik every year.

Main dish is spirelli pasta with curry tomato gravy (makaroni sup our style) and condiments.

Side dish is nasi himpit and condiments: peanut gravy, rendang beef (though I suspect it's Indian beef i.e. buffalo meat), percik chicken and beef serunding.


Representatives of the Kamsiah-Sulaiman clan (Pa's side).


Representatives of the Asmah-Jamingan clan (Pa's side).


Representatives of the Muzir-Zaiton clan (Pa's side).


Representatives of the Endon-Ismaon clan (Pa's side).


Representatives of the Ahmad-Maimon clan (Pa's side).


Representatives of the Muzir-Rohana clan (Pa's side). Yes, the very same Muzir mentioned above. This 'company' has two big branches :p

Absent on the first day this year are representatives from the Mokhtar-Ramlah clan, Kamaruddin-Salmiah clan (Ma's side), Supiah-Amir clan and Suratman-Tuminah clan (the 2 latter clans usually drop by at a later date).

I've also invited a few friends who are 'around' this eid but none turned up. Hopefully, they will later...

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Di penghujung Ramadhan ini: Catatan 'seorang' Panda

Aku sebenarnya dalam keadaan keterhutangan tidur (sleep debt) yang agak kronik.

Akibat daripada waktu tidur yang luar aturan lagi tidak teratur.

Ditambah pula dengan azam aku di bulan Ramadhan kali ini untuk terus berjaga selepas Subuh (berjaya!!! n_n) dan mengelakkan tidur selepas 'Asar (boleh la... 4/5 bintang :p).

Salah satu kesannya aku rasai waktu solat Jumaat kelmarin.
Selepas qiyam untuk raka'at kedua, tiba-tiba aku terfikir,

"Eh, tadi aku duduk antara dua sujud ke tak ye..?!" >_<"

Kalau betul la silap, ya Allah, ampunkanlah hamba mu ini...

Sekian coretan akhir Ramadhan ini (yang aku curi-curi masa untuk mecatatkannya di celah-celah kesibukan membuat persiapan ~ya-ampun mak!!!). Bagi pembaca Muslim sekelian...

Selamat Menyambut 'Eidulfitr!

Di penghujung Ramadhan ini: Jalan-jalan

Ramadhan kali ni menyaksikan aku kesuntukan masa untuk melencer.

Biasanya aku akan ke beberapa pusat membeli-belah untuk merakamkan suasana serta rekabentuk hiasan dalaman terkini.

Aku sempat jengah Suria. Nampaknya Suria pasang semula rumah kampung yang dibina tahun lepas, cuma ubah decor aje... Masih kelihatan gah dan menarik!

Itu pun kebetulan sebab aku ada keperluan mendapatkan stok standby untuk 'mekap' yang hampir kehabisan...

...serta mengutip 3 naskhah manga yang dipesan daripada Kinokuniya (campur lagi satu manga, satu komik dan satu buku~melayang duit den!).

Walaupun begitu, hati aku agak terisi oleh telatah dan kehadiran P.

Dah lebih 2 tahun kami berkawan. Aku sendiri pun tak sangka sebab P ni jenis yang cepat bosan sedangkan aku adalah antara manusia yang agak membosankan juga...

Entah kenapa, kerap pula dia mahu berjumpa aku Ramadhan ni. Aku ambil gambar ni masa tunggu dia cucuk duit kat KL Sentral.

Mesti makcik jual emas tu heran tengok aku dok tertonggeng tiarap tepi gerai dia untuk cuba dapatkan shot ni :P

Kalau pasal jaga rupa dengan penampilan, si P ni memang tak boleh kalah! Tapi yang aku pelik dia lah juga yang paling mengelak kalau nak diambil gambar.

Aku sampai kena snap curi macam ni, baru la dapat kenangan keluar lepak dengan dia. Kat lens belah kiri tu boleh nampak P tengah pilih sun specs masa kami kat Jalan Masjid India.

Atau aku ambil apa-apa shot yang luar biasa semasa jalan-jalan dengan dia, "Bro, tolong kutip tangan aku jatuh..."

Semasa tunggu P try baju kat fitting room Parkson Bukit Bintang.

Gambar ni P yang ambil! :D Haha! Masa ni dia yang suruh orang ajar camne nak guna kamera aku tu tapi lepas tu dia naik segan dan terus berhenti.

Lintasan pejalan kaki berdepan dengan Stesen LRT Masjid Jamek pada hujung minggu terakhir sebelum eidulfitri.

Ketika ni, dia dan abangnya dah selamat sampai pun kat Kedah- alhamdulillah.

Panjang umur, murah rezki, harap dipertemukan lagi...

Di penghujung Ramadhan ini: Hope...less?

There are a few ways to describe what hope is like but that's not what I'm about here.

Tell me what would you do if this happened to you:


"Ah... Finally there's light at the end of the tunnel!"

"Wait! That's a train..!!!"


(adapted from a joke my colleague told me)

Di penghujung Ramadhan ini: Pelangi senja

Wahai sang pelangi indah
muncul seketika
Sayang, tak ku lihat
kini tiada

~Pelangi Senja (Stacy)

Jika telah diqadakan, kita sebagai hamba perlu redha.
Namun di hati insan lemah ini
ada kalanya terdetik

"Kalaulah aku menolak permintaannya ketika itu
mungkin
kami dapat terus bersaudara dengan lebih akrab kini..."

Pada awal pertemuan, aku tidak sangka dia mahu mengenali aku.
Maklumlah, dia siapa- aku siapa.

Walaubagaimanapun, tidak jauh mana kami sempat berkawan.
Abang Man dengan blunt telah menyatakan bahawa aku sebenarnya telah dipergunakan olehnya.

Permohonanku yang paling kerap kepada Tuhanku

agar disuburkan lagi
persaudaraan
jika ia adalah yang terbaik bagi kami dunia akhirat

dan

jika adalah lebih baik untuk membawa haluan masing-masing
maka lenyapkanlah
segala ingatan terhadap satu sama lain

Namun aku masih rindu

Tetapi jika tiada juga gerakbalas kepada tanda ingatan yang ku kirim itu
maka aku perlu teruskan hidup ini dengan sabar...

Moga diberi aku kekuatan

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Melodi menggamit memori...

The worth of a song (in my personal opinion) is how it catches your attention and sticks with you until you are compelled to learn more about the song.

These two tunes may have been around for a while but I've only begun to hear them very recently. And what a pleasant surprise :)
more so because they are sung with feel, depth and clarity that belies the fact that they are non-native speakers of standard Malay.



Stacy, you should do more of these type of songs. I believe these were the kind of soulful music that captured the hearts of your listeners and bagged you that AF6 win.

It doesn't have to be slow numbers as long as the lyrics have depth. I agree that tunes like Jahat, Kasanova and the likes are catchy but the essence is too simple.



And Suki is reminding us why she deserved that One In A Million title over Faizal Tahir.

This song's by Ajai! No wonder I loved it straight off the bat!
The lyrics by Jeremy Chong are poetic, done in classic dulu-dulu Malay style, which gives it an Indonesian sounding twist. Very well done!

What ever may be though, you're both excellent musicians. Do keep it up and all the best in future!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Character flaws

almost perfectionist

time optimist

Being someone who's almost a perfectionist is less grueling (to others as well as your own self) than being a perfectionist plus person.
However, combined with a time optimist outlook, it could be rather crippling.
This I could heartily attest to.

The vicious cycle flows thus:

Plan project
V
Discover numerous additional details that could 'enhance' the outcome
V
Cannot meet deadline
V
Delay project completion
V
Hibernation period
V
V
V
V
V
Regain enthusiasm for shelved project
V
Plan project
V

...you see where this is going don't you?

AlhamduliLlah, this year, I finally managed to complete 2 delayed personal projects.
These were supposed to be wedding gifts, but now they are:

2nd anniversary gift

1st anniversary gift

Kalau tangguh-tangguh koje gitulah jadinye...

P.S. there's still more on the back burner >_<" *sigh~

Monday, August 13, 2012

Sunyi...

Ke mana mereka semua?

Tahun ni surau kawasan kejiranan aku luar biasa sunyi.
Hari pertama Ramadhan sekalipun, paling kuat 5 saf. Sedangkan sebelum ini mampu mencapai 9 saf penuh- malah melimpah ke luar!

Bila aku fikir-fikirkan kembali, aku dapati beberapa punca:

1. Ramai jiran berumur yang telah meninggal dunia.
Tiada ibubapa, tiadalah lagi anak, menantu dan cucu yang datang berkunjung.

2. Ramai jiran muslim yang telah berpindah.
Ini yang paling sedih. Disebabkan kenaikan value rumah, ramai yang mengambil keputusan untuk menjual rumah mereka lalu pulang ke kampung. Dan yang mampu membeli, rata-ratanya adalah non-muslim.

3. Kawasan parkir yang sempit.
Almaklumlah, bermula dari surau kecil kini telah dinaik taraf menjadi surau Jumaat. Permainan musical chairs di sini memang sangat mencabar! Oleh itu, ramai yang memilih untuk ke tempat lain.

4. Banyak masjid yang berhampiran.
Terdapat hingga 3 ke 4 masjid utama di sekeliling kawasan kejiranan kami yang menawarkan imam-imam tahfiz muda dengan alunan qiraat yang lebih menarik serta tazkirah yang lebih menyengat.

Daripada itu, aku sangat faham akan situasi surau kami kini. Tapi perubahan yang begitu mendadak selang sekadar setahun sahaja amat mengejutkan dan mampu membuat aku sebak.

Bagaimanakah agaknya keadaan di tahun-tahun yang mendatang?

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Delayed (giler) Entry: Trip to the North

This trip happened in early July 2012. Wan is already done blogging about it here.

"I'm tired- okay? See how tired I am?!"
Nuff said :P Photo by courtesy of Wan.

DAY 1
Late afternoon break at Tapah R&R. Acceptably delicious food here. Not all drinks advertised were sold though- Pa wanted ABC but had to settle for iced tea...


Late night at Gurney Drive. Also went the opposite way, to Batu Ferringhi area for midnight snacks. Didn't think I still had it in me (at my *cough*ahem*ahem age)...

DAY 2

Heading out north. I love knowing how long more you have to wait at traffic stops. Penang sure maintains the timers well (probably as concession for the horrendous going to- and coming from- work jams?).

Home to cousin Enon, near Bandar Darul Aman, Jitra. The houses overlook the river and each home maintains a mini dusun on their share of the bank.

Home to cousin Ati, at Taman Ihsan, Jitra. Still a developing housing area though not that new. The house was a real steal at the time she bought it in 2008.

Ma picking up durian at cousin Enon's in-law's dusun near Padang Terap, Kuala Nerang.

Aku pun mana boleh kalah! Hahaha! It was a cute durian, almost heart shaped but spiky as hell!
Photo by courtesy of Wan.

One of the gate posts at cousin Enon's in-law's family home. Not sure if the unique patterns were due to termites or corrosion.

Wan attempting to capture the beauty of the tiny bendang behind cousin Enon's in-law's home. Streaks of sunset could be seen at the edges of the getah tree tops.

Durian party! The durians we bought at home were usually the bittersweet kind, to Ma and Pa's taste, so I eat very little.
Here they also have the sweet and creamy kind. I tucked into that and, to Ma's surprise, polished off quite a lot.

DAY 3

Morning saw a chicken resting on roof of a cove-side food stall off Jalan Wee Hein Tze, Tanjung Bungah.
These are wild chicken- they sleep in trees and can fly quite some distance at some height.

There's a shop selling imported Japanese koi at the entrance to Tanjung Bunga Park.
The environment is very relaxing and the fish are very beautiful to watch, some as big as your thigh (*hmm... depending on who's reading, this may be inaccurate though).

Afternoon by Teluk Bahang Dam. Yes, you may find us photo buffs in rather compromising positions in order to get a shot.
This one's actually quite tame and in fact, has an editorial quality to it...

View of Teluk Bahang Dam from below.

At the (very pricey) Butterfly Farm, Teluk Bahang. Group of kindergarten kids observing butterflies, at very loud volumes.

The place has upgraded quite a bit and injected a semblance of classiness into the establishment. Ticket price justified.

Late afternoon- Hungry! To me, this was the best Penang assam laksa ever and served in such cute porcelain bowls! I'll never look at another assam laksa the same way again :P
Zarie's Laksa House (drain-side stall, actually) at Batu Ferringhi.

Fishing village off Jalan Teluk Awak, Teluk Bahang.

Beach along Jalan Teluk Bahang, opposite Tropical Spice Garden and Tree Monkey Restaurant.
Wan sets up with his tripod and filter to capture foamy seas.

Toy figurine of Verdande @ Belldandy, a central character in the manga Aa, Megami-sama!
The Toy Museum is along Jalan Tanjung Bungah.
For all the variety displayed, I was rather disappointed by the presentation- it was more like 'trying for a quick buck' rather than a loving display of prized collections.

Late evening, wandered around Georgetown and wondering- where is the Georgetown Festival? So different from Malacca, the place is barely alive at night.
Stopped by Masjid India at Jalan Acheh (if I remember correctly).

Kids playing basketball by Fort Cornwallis. They used to open the fort to visitors at night but no longer, I guess. Could be a safety issue.

Late night dinner at Gurney Drive hawker centre. You're like fresh meat as soon as you enter. The waiters will pester you by reciting a list of menus to you all at the same time until you make your order.
After you've got your food, it's as if they strive to ignore you. Damn hard to call up a waiter to make new orders! Tak mau bisnes kah??

DAY 4
Time to go home. Bye Penang! It was a very short and tantalising trip. I may come back some time in future...

From the top of the observation tower at Sungai Perak R&R. Was risking life, limb and phone to get this shot :P Cool huh?

Home by 6.00pm. Thanks to Wan for lending us your services and my cousins for their warm hospitality.