"You Live You Learn"

Wow, its been a while almost a month or so since I last wrote. My humble apologies as I have been busy trying to be a super mummy eversince the school holidays started. Its more of me making time for them. However, the main reason is since the last entry, we has been away on a family holiday. Then soon after, I have been pre- occupied and adjusting to my new life...working. After 1 1/2 years being on my own, now I am working for other people.

I chose to reflect with Alanis's song - You Live You Learn. Inspirational and makes you know that everyone goes to the same shit. It is how you choose to rise above is what matters the most at the end of the day.

I have been meaning to share this important phase in my life with all of you. Being that it has been such a year that I have been tested by Allah The Al-Mighty. I have been tested in ways that I never imagine possible in terms of work, friendship and most especially my faith & beliefs. When I look back on it, I'm kinda relieved that 2008 is coming to an end in like 8 minutes or so. I just want to leave that dark period of my life...far far away. I made a vow to myself to never go there ever again. 2008 was really a trying time for me.

Anyhow, on a brighter note, I am currently attached with Sunway College. I am in position as The Head for The Language Programs and also lecturing at the same time. It was kinda difficult for me to get into the routine. Nevertheless, Alhamdullilah after 2 weeks or so, I am adjusting and really like it. Everyday is a learning thing for me as I am left on my own to figure things out. Kinda taxing and makes you mentally drained but as you know, I have been missing that adrenaline rush so I am pretty much getting all that in my new frontier. Figuring out things makes me more alert and I am pretty much trying to get into the swing of things. Insyallah, give it time I say, I'll get there sooner than I thought I would.

My typical working day in Sunway would start as early as 8.30am where I have to clock in (mind you, the punch card system...crap, I have never been good with these stuff). Then I would go through my emails and do all administrative stuff since the the term will only be commencing on the 5th of January 2008. I have 5 lecturers under me and 3/4 of them are way..my seniors in terms of age. So you can imagine what I have to deal with. Generally they are quite accomodating but sometimes its hard to get them to accept change. Don't really blame them though, since they are "older" and more resistant to change. I on the other hand, am constantly figuring out things on my own and everyday since I had reported for duty on 15th December, I have never failed to be SURPRISED on a daily basis (no shit) in all forms possible. I must say it is nice though to learn things this way.. Nice but not easy. Well, I thought to myself, I went through hell and back in 2008, a few challenges had never stopped me.

I'll be going through a whole new phase in 2009. I am hoping for the best and will not settle for anything less. I guess sometimes my expectations towards myself is wayyyyyyyyyyyyy to ambitious. Its ok, the skies the limit for me and I am not going to let anyone or anything be in the way of me regaining my life back. My ego, self esteem and will power had been battered to the maximum in 2008. I crumbled, cried but I never gave up. To me anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. However, I learned to keep it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart. That my friend is true strength. I thank My Adlil for always being there for me, cheering for me when there is really nothing to cheer about. Adlil has never failed to believe in me and my capabilities so why shouldn't I.

Two important things that I learnt from all of this are - True Genuine Friends are Hard To Come By These Days and that failure makes you even more competent in ways you never thought possible.

BTW, I am glad that my really close girlfriends and I got together after all these years and now that we have matured, we realize how valuable our friendships were and still is. So, we have made a pact to stay as tight and celebrate our successes, joy and failures together. I am so glad that we have connected after all these years. One thing's for sure, we are going to grow old and still be as strongly connected, magical but very surreal.

I had made some resolutions for myself for 2009 which all sums up to this -I am going to try very hard to become a better person in every sense of the word thus making myself and my Harfy Bunch proud. I have learnt though the hard way that success is having the courage, determination and will to become the person that you believe you were meant to be.

I leave you to usher in the New Year with this - “Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what? Shit Happens. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” Happy New Year and Cheers to A Prosperous Year!!

2009, here I come with a vengence to rise up high.

Aidiladha is here again!!

Tomorrow will be Aidiladha. We are now at our in laws place to celebrate Aidiladha. Furthermore, my F-I-L has a broken wrist. He fell off the ladder that was due to be scraped while trying to change the light bulb in the toliet His left arm is like major swollen and it has been cemented. Poor soul. However, the good news is that he is getting better. I guess when you are as active as he is at that age, its easier to get better. The force is strong in my F-I-L and that's without a doubt.

We'll be off for a short holiday to Port Dickson, its basically more for the kids. Staying at the Avillion Admiral Cove. Just to bring the kids and Mak to unwind and relax. As for the kids, it will be swimming galore la as usual.

I am kinda looking foward for this PAC thing that I will be going to on the 11th. For some of you, you might now that I actually passed the PTD exam..Kinda psyche myself as I thought that I would not get through the exams. Now, we have to go to this PAC thing that is part of the whole process. It may come as a surprise to some of you, I am actually kinda nervous about going to this PAC thing as I really don't know what to expect from this kind of thing. Adlil was sweet enough to get me the required attire - a new track pants, jogging shoes complete with a new pair of socks and we were asked to be in white collared t-shirt. So, I have gotten all the assemble in place and all ready for the 11th at INTAN in Kluang. I'll be sharing the experience with you guys in the next entry , Insyallah.

Last weekend, we had a lil reunion with my TESL 6 frens. It was really fun meeting up with friends who I have not met for almost 10 years or so. I was responsible for this small but intimate reunion together with my partner in crime, Bobo. Glad everyone was happy and contented with the humble but happening reunion. Had great fun!! We may have grow apart, as most of us live in different parts of the country. We got older, wider (huhuhhu) and all of us have gotten more matured ;-) but one thing that is still the same is the NOISE as well as the tightness, so much noise, good conversation with great company and fun all at the same time. Totally wicked!! Loads of fun. To me old buddies that I have are the one for keeps, they are the one who knows you inside out and would be there for you. No pretence and non judgemental.

Here's wishing all of you and your families a Happy Aidiladha. A good time to reflect and tafakur.

P/S: Donno why but I'm having some problems uploading the pics right now..will do so soon. Now I have to head down to the kitchen to help MIL as the guests will be arriving soon for Takbir Raya.

Looking Foward To Brighter Skies Ahead

It was indeed a productive week for us and the kids in the Harfy Household. Apart of us celebrating our 11th Anniversary. we have been busy busy. I managed to surprised Adlil by sending him a bunch of flowers but never did I thought that I was up to another surprise, Adlil sent me a bouquet with 11 stalks of beautiful red roses, he couldn't find tulips, my fave flower to be delivered on short notice, So basically we surprised each other..cute. I am finishing my last 6 holiday courses before I embark on my new journey at my new work place. I am teaching another 18 more hours of Creative Writing class which will end on the 4th of December. The new job came as a fluke but I guess that's rezeki from Allah for me after undergoing 1/2 a year or all sorts of drama. Alhamdullilah. I'll fill you in n that nearer to time. For now its my lil secret..hehehhee.

So, from 4th to 14th of December, one day before I report for duty, we are planning on a family holiday, to bring the kids for jalan - jalan as they have been complaining that we have been too busy with work and they are bored to death...aahh that's just an excuse..they have been enjoying their holidays on the computer and indulging in their PSP battles.

Alhamdullilah for Adlil, eversince he moved to his new office, he has been really busy with back to back events which is good. He has also branched out into events since many had persuaded him to do so. I guess it is also to keep me occupied. I am currently his person - in - charge, handling his events. We gone through a few in the last past month. However, Adlil is more comfortable doing his AV stuff which has been his forte that he is brilliant doing it. The events organizing part complements his business. I am busy training his staff the nukes and corners of events coordination and they pretty much have got the hang of it. I help him with the details and cordination. Pretty satisfiying since I really enjoy doing it. His staff of Suara Rasa are also enjoying it quite a bit although now they have to do paperwork too.. which previously Adlil managed on his own with his temp girl and me. We are pretty booked up till end of this year.. Syukur. Wuth a new logo and branding exercise, I must say that we are so proud of it and Alhamdullilah Insyallah will continue to bloom rapidly. He's currently away in Desaru for an event and will only be back tomorrow night. Kinda miss my Panjang.

At the same time, I am also busy organizing my TESL 6 batch mini reunion which will be held on the 29th of November. Tough thing to do to get all approx 90 of us together at the same time since all of us now have our own life and also we are all scattered all over the world. So me and Bobo who is helping me get this thing going, tough. I told them that it is easier for me to handle a RM800k event rather than this..We have been changing the plans to accomodate, till one of my fellow TESLian told me to just go on with it and not to try to accomodate. I guess I am just that la..I would go out of my way to make other people happy although I have to cross the seven seas.. literally.We had altered the plan like 6 million times just to accomodate everyone. However, we are determined to make it work and people who knows me know how determined I am. Will post pictures to share with all of you after the event. Kinda excited to see some of them who we have not seen for 10 years!! Its a pity that some of my kakis like Intan who is in a the Kingdom of Dubai, Ray and Roy who has commitments that they couldn't slide their way through. Its gonna be really exciting and noisy. It has been a known fact when TESLians get together, the rock the house down. Even when we were in Uni, you can always locate a TESLian amongst the group. I guess our loudness and outspokeness is evident indeed. Kinda miss Uni years where we need not have to think much about adult stuff, just constantly enjoying the moment and the cool company. Best!!

Our trip to Penang was good. The flight was good accomodation was really nice, we were even upgraded to the Junior Suite. We had like what we call our mini honeymoon, just the two of us. Had a blast just reminising and spending quality time together. We make a point to go on "US" outings at least once a year. Next if rezeki lebih we would love to go to Krabi or Koh Sa Moi or Bandung or somewhere out of Malaysia. Insyallah if time permits. We had loads of fun going round the Island in our rented ride and just spending quality time together. We indulge ourselves to massage sessions and also makan makan and makan. I am just a fan of Penang food.. went to Gurney Drive to eat our fave food. Me and my Char Kuey Tiaw, Muar Chee - wow!!, Rojak Buah and Fried Oyster....drool drool amd met up with our Passembur geng, Adlil's Favourite. We went to the Feringghi market like every night we were there even saw the upcoming Hard Rock Hotel that is currentle in construction. Hopefully it will be ready by the time we have Rock to Rock so that we can go to Penang again but this time on our bike.

Getting late now.. really have been tiring week. Gonna try to catch up with some sleep. Tomorrow planning to cook a welcome home dinner with the kids for Adlil. Hope that I'll be able to share some pictures with you on the activity the next time around. Cheerio!!

The 11th Year

A lot of things has happened since the last time I checked in here..my humble office is ready for action..Qyra had her final kindi concert..& what a night it was for my little princess....Alief nervously sat for his final 4th year exam....As for Ryan, well lets just say that everyone is playing catch up with the little dude....me & wifey did some pretty exciting stuff...Penang was one hell of a trip. But nothing beats today cause this was the date that changed my life forever..........the day we tied the knot. Exchanging vows & promising each other that we're gonna grow old together & become soulmates.

Soraya had stuck by me even when the chips were down...yet still kept believing in me that nothing is impossible. She showed me the true spirit of going against the odds & making me a better man. Sure we all have our ups & down in marriage...who doesn't? ...its the making up session that I think we all enjoy the most...! anyway what I'm trying to say is I truly love this woman that I've married 11 years ago .

Could still remember the first time I laid my eyes on her & knew she was the one. Her charm, personality & her beautiful smile was all it took to make me realise that I want to be with this woman for the rest of my life.

Thank you for being a wonderful & loving wife. Thanks for wanting to have kids with me....3 of them. You 're a great mom to the kids & I just love you for everything that you are .

Happy Anniversary To My Wifey!!!!!!!!!

An Exciting 11 Years Voyage of Love

Blissfully Exciting. That is how I sum up my marriage of 11 years. Today is our 11th Year Anniversary. Pewhh, how time flies, 11 years my friends and still going strong. I guess when your hubby is more than just a hubby, its a different journey all together. Adlil has been my best friend, my staunch supporter, my gossip buddy, my number one fan, my shoulder to cry on, my pillar of strength..my everything.
We have been through hell and back and that is without a doubt. Some people are even amazed on how tight we are even after all these years. I myself believe that a marriage that does not go through stormy weather and is a smooth sail all the way - really not my definition of an intense, tight solid marriage. No element of adventure, not my cup of tea. We both have always been the one that are more of a go getter type so my marriage of 11 years has been all that. Full of adventure and love..
I guess what makes my marriage life so blissful is that Adlil and I share the same passion and we take time to appreciate each other, share the same interest, take the initiative to learn and understand each other and take pride in each other's leisure pursuit. We are also ardent fans of each other, we support each other's infactuation. Our love for each other is so strong and keeps getting stronger as day goes by..So you know how intense we are towards each other..

I really consider myself as being blessed having a husband as supportive, loving and tolerant as Adlil. I'm amazed at how much he believes in my talent and capabilities, more than I could ever imagine. He never stops me from exploring and to him the sky is the limit for me. He constantly encourages me and has always raise my spirits. He has faith in me more than I do most of the time. He never fails to make me feel how special I am. For the past 11 years, Adlil has taught me to believe in myself and has showered me with unconditional love. He is and will always be my hero. His tolerance level with me is just amazing. He has taught me the real meaning of life and appreciating what you have thus enjoying the moment as it comes. That you need to believe in yourself and your instinct to make everything work which is so true.
Thank you for being such a wonderful Papa to our 3 kids. You have been great in being a Papa who tries his utmost best to always be there for them and catching them when they fall. You try so hard to keep everything together and trust me, you have succeeded in doing so. You are indeed a great father to our children and we could not ask for more.
Honne, thank you for giving me the best 11 years of my life and I love you more than you could ever imagine. We are destined for eternity and forever is where we are heading. Thanks for all that you have done for me and you are my eternal soulmate. I thank my lucky stars that I hav you for keeps. My love for you is rock solid and I am so lucky to have you to wake up next to every morning and that puts a smile on my face. Looking foward to more happening years to come for the both of us.

A lil something for you, straight from the heart...

Adlil, you do not know how thankful I am;

To be sharing a lifetime with you,

You are my pillar of strength,

I remember the times that you've been there for me

And I see how your care, love and wisdom

Have helped me through

I look back on all the times we had spent together,

The tears, laughter, happiness sorrow,

Reminds me how much we have always meant

For each other, always and forever,

Honne, I love you more than life; you are my life

Happy 11th Anniversary Sayang..

Here's to eternity...here's to forever...

Homemakers Out There, You Guys Rock!!!

Sorry everyone for not being able to write lately. I keep telling myself that "tonight I am Going to write" but by the time Ryan is settled, I will be so extremely tired that I also get myself "settled". I am one of those people that loves to write and be it on paper or on the comp, I find writing very relaxing and such a stress buster. This past 2 weeks has been extremely taxing. With my teaching, housework I just do not have space for anything else. On top of that Alief is having his Final Year End Exam and I was busy coaching him.

Like today, I am home alone with the Kids. Mak is in KL and My Adlil went riding with his Harley Buddies to watch the Sepang Motor GP and some other things in between. That's him having his ME time. However, the weather is not too good and I will be here at home worried sick like I usually do when he goes for these day trips as it is tiring and the weather now is no help either. I would usually wait up and will only be able to sleep only when he is safe home. He'll tell be sharing it with all of you soon. He has been extremely busy with work and especially the kids. He has been wanting to write and says that he has been too busy and tired by the end of the day. Oh Yes, I was also busy helping him putting things together organizing things around for his office. I had fun doing it since I know he's very proud of his office. Now, his office is all set up and ready to go. That I will leave to him to talk about his new office. Donno what I will do without him, its amazing how he manages to keep everything together. I love him to bits for that.
My utmost respect to all the Homemakers out there, especially to our non working mothers. Now, I know that the work of a homemaker is so much under rated. Really guys, it is a lot of hardwork and patience. Amazing!! Hats off to all maidless homemakers. Honestly, since my maid is out of the picture, I appreciate homemakers who function without maids. I appreciate what they are doing and their hard work. Mind you, its not and easy task, putting it together and still regain your sanity at the end of the day. Homemakers are really under rated and under appreciated. People tend to think that a Homemaker's job is easy, very Tai Tai like, lepak at home, go pick up the kids, cook, go to the Spa (NOT!!), and lil bit of this and that. How bad can it be compared to an accountant's, engineer's job. At least for these jobs you do not work 24-7, but a Homemaker is on 'standby' 24-7, its more complex n taxing than you could ever imagine possible. Being a house wife is like any other profession. If you want it to work you need to run it like a well oiled machine. Which includes every element I need to feel like I am functioning at my best, I try really hard though being a part time homemaker (coz I still work what for 3 days a week) and boy it is not easy being a Home Operations Manager, mummy and wife. Still I consider myself lucky having my mum around and Adlil who are so much of help. Life is not so dandelife. Some days I say I can't complain and other days I think I feel miserable. A lot of moments during some of the days are good and I believe that we need to try to make it good or life becomes meaningless.

Just to share with all of you; yesterday, I had an interesting chat with my very very olddddd schoolmate. We practically went to 11 years of school together. It has been like donkey years since I last spoke or even met her. What started off as a what seems to be like a casual chat as she wanted to get someone to do up a 3D cake like what Ryan had for his 1st Birthday, went on for an hour or so. She use to practice medicine but quit her job as she couldn't get anyone reliable to take care of her toddlers. It was interesting to hear her daily run down of her schedule and she's not really having it easy with her kids and now she says the only time she goes out of the house is to perform "children related chores". How true, when you are a full time Homemaker, your life revolves around the chores, kids and the home. Regaining sanity is pretty absurd!! Thank god I make a point to have some ME time doing my thingy and hanging out with my friends every now and then just to unwind and get away from the routine. Kudos to all homemakers around the world!! No matter how people think you job is easy, I can vouch against that.
I am up for a really busy week with Alief's exams and work. I will also be busy with coaching Qyra who will sit for her Primary One streaming exam, her Art Class exam and her Final Year End Concert which she has been practising so hard on. As for myself, I have also some writing that is long overdue to complete, which I have been procrastinating not because I am lazy but because I cannot find the time to really sit down and do it. Now I wish that there are more hours in a day. I still have a pile of laundry waiting to be folded and organized. Sigh....Here's to a crazy week ahead guys..

Racial Sentiments..Very Unlikely

I had never grew upor brought up having racial sentiments towards other races. I respect and tolerate other people's religion as I was brought up not to ever to have prejudism or any racial sentiments towards ant race. No worries, this entry would not be some crappy racist entry but more of how we should respect each other as human beings not because of our colour.

I really do not understand how people can be racist or prejudice and not tolerate other people's belief and race. Why I say that is because, this year alone I had encountered this sticky situation, twice. I find it hard to reconcile in my brain, how can we, Malaysians, living in a multicultural community can become intolerant to one's belief. How can a person be labelled incompetent and unsuitable for a job, not because of his or her ability, experience, competencies, education background or other related capabilities in seeking for a job, but rather be access due to his/her race. Funny isn't it but reality bites, that is what had happened to me, my friends.

Take for instance this one scenario that I have experienced. I was contacted via email urging me to call to set up an interview for this job that I enquired on. So, I did just that, called them up. Then, they told me that they were looking foward to meet up and have an interview with me. So, to cut the story short, I was set with an interview, the following day. When I arrived at the premise, I went up to the receptionist to introduce myself and asked to see the HR Manager that I had an appointment with. I handed her my CV together with duplicated copies of my certs. She then noted down my name, took my resume and told me to sit down while she called the person that I was scheduled to see, to know the next course of action. At first, I could hear her voice telling the other person on the line, that I was already at the lobby. Then, out of sudden, I felt like her voice was getting softer by the second and by the end of it all, I couldn't decipher what she was mumbling over the phone.

10 Minutes passed...nothing, no reaction from anybody. I waited anxiously for any movement or for someone to call out my name or whatsoever. I kept looking at the receptionist but I could see that she was trying to avoid whatsoever eye contact with me. Hmm..something smells fishy but I was still optimistic, hey..they were the one who were so anxious and persistent that I come for the interview. Tak pe Ya, wait so more, but I felt really uncomfortable with the "chi" that I am sensing across the room. I continued to pretend to be oblivious to my surrounding and continue reading intensely to a 2004 issue of some crappy Free Health Magazine. However, I didn't fail to notice that there were no Malays in the whole organization except for the cheerful tea lady who was kind enough to offer me a drink.

20 minutes passed, now I am getting kinda irritated that my presence seems to be ignored, like I was just some potted plant sitting at one corner looking pathetic. So, I decided to go up to the receptionist and asked, how long more I had to wait and who was I supposedly waiting for me. Not even wanting to establish eye contact, this A-Moi dresses very the Ah-Lian like said to the monitor of her computer, You wait aaa, they got meeting..

I almost gave up after 45 minutes of waiting (yeahh, I was that tolerant) when that A-Moi of Receptionist said to me, Miss, You wait at Room No 3. I looked around and asked her. "And where is that?" Still my eyes was still wondering around looking for room No 3, just incase it was in my face but I was too annoyed to notice it. She said "You go straight, turn right and when you see the blue door, don't go in, walk straight and you open the door next to the black door, go up the stairs and Room No 3 is the no-3 room on your left" I paused for a while trying to get it all into my head. So I said to her, "up the stairs and its the 3rd room on my left". She said no3 room..I said to my self..Duhhh Bite Me!!

Then finally I was in Room 3. It was a small cubicle sized room filled with boxes of god knows what. I could have sworn I smell the odour of a dead lizard. After again waiting for 15 minutes, to muy surprise, the HR Manager was the chick that was seating two tables behind the receptionist. She wasn't in a meeting, she was there all along and didn't move an inch throughout my waiting there.

She didn't establish positive eye contact and her body language was very hostile. So, I said, what the heck, I wasn't keen in joining this moronic Organization even if it paid me 1/2 a mil monthly. So, not wanting to hold back anymore, I said " Don't mind me asking but why is that everyone here seems very hostile and unfriendly? Do you have anything against me? Look, I didn't want this job, you guys came looking for me, so what's the deal?". She paused, looked up to me and said "Actually we donno you are a Malay, I thot you are Eurasian, you sound like that..You English too good for Malay." I was beyond stunned although I could see that it was coming from the very beginning? Huh? Nursoraya Abd Rahman sounds Eurasian to you??? She paused and said "But your email and the way you talk on the phone like Eurasian, then when you come you are a Malay with tudung, so we donno what to do. Our Boss don't LIKE Malays working here.

Ya Rabbi at that time I felt like slapping the bitch and passing some sarcastic remarks , but I said to myself, No I am not going to be as petty as they are. So, I asked to see the GM or whoever is in charge. She had no choice but to oblige. So, to cut the story sort I went in to see him and he told me that the CEO didn't like Malays working for him. I said why? He said very leceh, a lot of excuses, cannot do work cannot speak English well, cannot interact well. Then I said to him :then, what do you call me then and wow your English is certainly beyond impressive??" He was perplexed beyond words..I gave him a piece of my mind which all sums up to - You live in my f#$^&*@ country and your CEO is making money from the resources and my people and how there you instill such racial sentiments in your company. You should have this sign at your lobby " No Malaus beyond this point" Makes things easy for my people and I don't have to waste my time waiting like a dumb fool. He has that dumbfonded look, and I left..

I left the company feeling annoyed, not because I didnt get the job but more of why on earth is this still happening in our country, and this a multi-national company owned by a foreigner making the big bucks from our people, our country.. This was my 3rd experinece encountering racial sentiments siruations like this. Ya Allah, never imagined how these people capitalize on us yet look down on our people not more than just a speck. I felt beyong insulted..spasm to the max..

Like Mr President as I would like to call him, Obama, I feel for him, everyday he's dealing with crap like this, I feel for him. Being coloured, underestimated and ridicule are some of the many crap he is facing everyday, day in day out and even constant death threats. I have high respect towards him and I know, he's the Man who would finally make a difference.

Comments anyone?

Raya with The Harfy Bunch

I guess everyone is still in the Raya mood. As for me, this Raya, is full of mixed emotions..full of complexity. I have to admit, I had fun celebrating Raya as for the first time in 10 years or so, my 2 sisters and I plus the other half and the 7 Bambinos ( Kakak's 4, Ours 3) got together to celebrate Raya with Mak. Mak was really excited and happy to have us all at the same time together with her grandchildren. It was written all over her face. For that, I am glad.

On Hari Raya morning, I was woken up by the smell of Mak's Beriyani and rendang. Delicious..yum yum. Got my boys, Adlil and Alief ready for sembahyang Raya. Ironed their sampings and all. There after when they came back, they had makan Raya - ketupat pulut, beriyani, lemang and rendang. Then when everyone was ready (we had to get the kids ready first ). Ryan looking all adorable with his baju Melayu and Songkok Bujal and Qyra looking princessly pretty in her baju Kurung. Then, it was salam Raya time. It started off with Mak, my sisters, B-I-L and then the Harfy Bambinos followed by the nephews and nieces. Then came the finale, really don't why this year I was teary eye when I seek forgiveness from Adlil, usually I do feel sedih but this year is a bit different. I guess it is because this year has been quite a challenging year for me, I got all soppy and slushy this year. I guess that's good, it is sincere, comes straight from the heart. Corny, but it does makes you realize all the things that you have done, a moment of reflection...Deep..

After that, we headed down to Ayah's grave at Mahmoodiah. I guess is also happy to have us all visit him all at the same time. All over us were all trying to contain ourselves, not to cry but the atmosphere is really sombre. I really realize how much I miss him and hoping that he is happy as we want him to be. Amin.

Then we headed down to Kak Antein's house over at Kampung Melayu. As usual, we would eat, drink, gossip and ridicule each other - Bobby, Olin, Hannah, Ijal, Adlil, My Sisters, Pak Mat Tongkol, Kak Eda, Yus and all. Seeing all our Aunts, Uncles, Toks and Neneks made us realize that we will reach that point in time, sooner that we expected. While chit chatting, we were actually trying to picture how would we be like when we are in our 50s or 60s. Simultaneously agreed that we will be just as loud, bitchy, laser and the swearing rawkss on. the last time we had everyone all together was during Zaza's and Fifi's Wedding. The amount of noise and the mockery that took place was out of this world. Didn't bother to watch our tongue, just went on shooting our victims with our bullets. Best gila.. Hehehhee. You should experienced being with us, its mind blowing..full of noise and sarcasm all over the place. These are people that you will grow old with...simply divine. Lepak there till before Maghrib where we headed home to just relax. Our whole family just wanted to go home rather than go visiting. We also had to pack since tomorrow, The Harfy Bunch, Mak & Mackie will be heading up to Malacca where we will be taking Mak and the kids for a short break. Kakak and her family will be heading to Negeri Sembilan to my B-I-L's kampung. Adlil will be filling you up on the details to the trip, while I summarize the whole Raya week in this entry.

The next morning we went to Hwa Mui at Taman Sutera Indah (yup, its the new branch) coz, my B-I-L kept thinking of the Mee Goreng Mamak, simply delicious. Just two days before Raya, we brought them for berbuka there - Yup all 13 of us!!. So, we decided to go there again since, there is no Hwa Mui in KL, so better fufill my B-I-L's craving. We started off by ordering 15 sets of Roti Bakar, all of us had our main dish of our choice and at the end of it all, we were contentedly stuffed to even move.

So, we made our way to Malacca and surprisingly the traffic wsn't that bad untill we got to Malacca town. My goodness, it was jammed from just after the Ayer Keroh toll plaza till the waterfall/feature inter-junction. Other than that, we had a lot of fun there in Malacca only that we always found the roads in Malacca being a bit "challenging" despite the numerous times that we have been there. Honestly, I have always had this thing for Malacca. To me its really a nice almost clean city. It has that modern facilities but still restoring the authenticity of the historical city. Kudus to too the government of Malacca whom in my opinion, did a good job in developing Malacca to the way it is. There was one period that I was constantly bugging Adlil to move to Malacca since we both equally like the place but reality check.. I guess not now. Like my aunt who lives in Malacca said, it is a nice place to grow old in. I guess I'll be revisiting that idea again when the kids are all grown up..We had fun while staying at the Everly Resort which has just been renovated. Nicely made up with new coat of paint and some improvisation of the facilities.

By 5pm the next day, we were on our way to Beranang where our in laws were all eagerly waiting for the arrival of the Harfy Bunch. M-I-L cooked Lodeh which happens to be my favourite Hari Raya indulgence. Did not go anywhere - beraya and all, only went to Mid Valley the next day to get some stuff and bought Adlil's youngest brother Irfan's birthday present. Unfortunately, we had to go back earlier than expected. We had to drive back to JB at about midnight, that day as Adlil had some last minute function set-up that needed his technical expertise.

Well, I guess The Harfy Bunch had a reasonably fun Raya. Raya to me now is more to the kids' enjoyment and fancy. To me it is more of a time for reflection and spending quality time with family. Hope you guys had a great Raya, we did.

A Dash of Everything

Salam fellow friends. My apologies for not writing in a while. Been pre-occupied with a lot of upcoming events as well as my new office. Yup! My new office is almost done. The cubicle, partition and chosing furniture is done. Today, is the last round of painting to do as me and my boys will give it a final layer of paint. I am really excited about it. Will post pictures of the office once is all made up. Gotta say a big shout out to my staff of Suara Rasa namely Acul, Ohm & Naim for helping out. Could've not done it with out u guyz...alamak almost forgot to thank my bro Trex for the fine finishing & areas that only he could reached - the advantages of having a taller brother!!

Hari Raya is almost around the corner. Wifey hasn't really been a fan of Hari Raya especially when we beraya in JB. I feel for her and I understand what she is feeling. Don't really blame her though. I know its hard for her, my S-I-L and my M-I-L to go through Hari Raya without feeling the void. So, I try my very best to ensure that she's happy on Hari Raya. Thank God for the kids I guess she has learn that she needs to shift her energy to the kids. So my bet is for this year mcm biasa after semayang Hari Raya we'll probably go to Mahmodiah & visit my F-I-L 's grave , then off to Kak Antien's house & spend almost half the day there. We'll chit chat..almost everybody from my wifey's family will be there. I would probably stuff my belly till it exploded. You see, before this, my wifey's grandma used to stay with us so in their family tree she is considered the O-tai of the pack so on Hari Raya everyone will be there. I can still remember when grandma was still around we couldn't even get out from the house..& I mean the 1st Hari Raya we really do not get to go anywhere. Now, that she has left us to be with Allah. Kak Antein's house has always been a favourite with relatives as one of the reason being is she serves..yummy food since Tok Dad is also not around. Glad that Nikki is out of the hospital, for the second time. Nikki, our prayers are always with you..

I also do think of Ayah especially when I was just getting to get to know him better. Before he passed on, we were clicking quite well and I really regret not been given more time to get to know him better. He is a great man with a really good heart. He has taught me quite a bit about life and appreciating your family. Ayah, I just want to know that I am doing my best to keep the family going and looking after Mak as best as I could. I believe on the saying that "only The Good Die Young". So, part of me I am glad that he is at better place, where a man of his good nature deserves to be.


Now, as promised I'll fill you in on my hometown Beranang. Who says that life in the Kampung is "cheap"? Well that statement cannot be applied for life at Beranang. I have to admit that I love to go back there to experience the serene and calm surroundings that you don't really get when you are in town. I love spending time ZZzzzzZZZzzzz there. Total relaxation.

Why do I say that it isn't that cheap to live in my Kampung? I guess that can be applied to other kampungs but not mine. My dad has been complaining that things in Beranang are expensive. We also realize that but didn't think too much of it coz if sometimes we need to buy some marketing stuff for Mak, we'll do it in TESCO, Econ Save or Jusco all of it about a max of 20 mins drive to get there. Didn't really think there was a vast difference untill we experienced it first hand while buying for berbuka at Beranang's Ramadhan Bazaar .

Ya Allah, everything was so expensive compared to JB where we can still buy kuih for 4 for RM1 or the common 3 For RM1. This is Beranang a small kampung. I can still accept it if it was in KL or some big city but this is beyond reasonable for Beranang. You would think that everything is cheap since it is to cater to all the Makciks and Pakciks, but NOT!! The kuihs are all sold at RM 2 for 5 pieces. The sizes of the kuihs are much smaller compared to the ones in JB and the best part that I cannot reconcile in my brain is that not only it is RM 2 for 5 pieces but they actually cut a piece of squared kuih (the common size sold nationwide) into two - check out the pc above, sorry hlf of the portion missing, it went into my tummy before Soraya decided to take a pic of it. So basically the picture is half kuih short for RM2 for kuih in Beranang). So, what is a piece in JB or for that matter any where I could think of, is 2 pieces in Beranang. My Soraya and I went on and on complaining even to the kuih sellers that it is so ridiculously expensive. To make matters worst, tak la sedap mana and mahal melampau!!

However, the sate at Beranang Cafe is something that you must have if you are here. Very juicy, succulent and delicious. It is 50 sen a piece but its really nice so we don't really complain as I think that is the universal price for Sate now. The Roti Canai here is our favourite too..well my Soraya & Alief actually craves the roti canai everytime we would balik kg. Typical kampung roti canai. Make sure you try it if you happen to pass Beranang, They usually start selling at about 5 pm till late night. While we were there, My Soraya managed to drag me out of the house at 2am to have the Roti Canai for Sahur, which she was really looking foward to having even before we arrived.

I am sure that some of you did recieve this email that was meant to be a joke as it shows that this joint coined its name from the famous coffee joint, Starbucks. Everyone says that it is in either Kelantan or Terengganu but today, I'll state my claim that it is situated at my kampung, Beranang. But there is something peculiar about Setarbak Kopi is that it isn't really a coffee joint and right up till now, we don't really know their main nature of business coz it is never opened. If it is, there will only be a small portion ...something is definitely going down in there. (look at the pic above).

Psst : We think that it is doing some "funny" business, but no one knows that for sure anf the regular O-Tai is just not telling..hmm we'll further investigate and let u know ok ;-).

I went riding with my fellow Motorheads last Saturday for berbuka at Umbai. Only eight of us were there...let see there was me, Sham, Awie, Fendi on his new ride, a Road King he just bought from Azman.., Arman, Brader Amir, whom I just met & Azmi. So, there we were at Petronas Skudai around 4.15pm hoping that others will come but after a while & a few phone calls it was only the seven of us that would be going on the berbuka ride. Ooops make it six,..Azmi only rode with us till Ayer Hitam cause he was going to spend the weekend with his family in Kluang, furthermore was his daughter, Dini's birthday.

It was great having the wind up in your face again & blasting down the highway to Umbai. This ride actually is a must for me during Ramadhan..I mean eventhough with being the month of Puasa it doesn't mean we can't go out for rides. Some say that its a bit too far to go there for buka puasa but as the old saying goes "its not the destination, but the journey". We arrived in Umbai at around 6.30pm. The place was packed with people who wanted a taste of fresh seafood with a reasonable price. This the only place that you would eat nasi lemak with a variety of seafoods. As we were there eating our way two fellow Melaka Harley bikers Zaini & one other guy (whom I forgot his name on his sportster) came & joined us. After a while we decided to head out to Melaka town to check out the scenes there on a Saturday night. We came to a spot where we had our drinks or "ngeteh" & after a while it was time to go home.

We were off to Ayer Keroh & made our exit there to JB. We reached JB around 1 am & Alhamdullilah on this trip, no mishap happened as all of us came back home in one piece. By the way I managed to tapow the nasi lemak ( 5 bungkus actually ) to share it with the Harfy bunch.I also managed to treat my staff for Suara Rasa's Ramadhan ritual; berbuka treat - SEAFOOD GALORE last Friday at Gelang Patah. This has been a ritual eversince I had my company to make a point to break fast all with my Suara Rasa clan together with my first born Alief who had 2 plates full. Enjoyed the session. We had good food and good company.

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir & Batin To All My Brothers and Sisters especially fellow bikers all over the world!!