The Reunion

Hubby has been away to the eastern cost for almost 2 weeks now in the name of work & professionalism and also to the possibility of a promotion (Yiippeeee!!). During his absence I have been keeping myself busy ( frankly I could not sleep at night without my other half with me. So the plan is to exhaust myself tremendously until I drop dead rather then forcing oneself to get a decent shuteye when all other attempts failed). A friend of mine is back from 'London-bridge-is-falling-down" for 6 weeks to attend to her wedding preparations. Coincidentally, I have just moved back to my hometown and currently on semester break. As fate seems to be on our side, the girls and I decided to get together to catch up on current breaking news, updates and hot gossips on who's doing what around the neighbourhood.

The initial idea was that for everyone to meet up at Starbucks at 9:30 pm. Somehow, along the way there was a change of plan and I ended up picking up everyone in my car instead ( thank god we live nearby each other). Gina (short-message-service provider), Dianne ( Lady D )and myself got there first and made ourselves comfortable. We shared drinks and a slice of blueberry cheesecake while waiting for Cynthia ( Digi - I-will-follow-u-yellow-toyol) to arrive. We interrogated Dianne on her new man and husband-to-be and of her wedding preparations. I was so happy to see Dianne talking to us about her love life and to see that sparkle in her eyes with the look of utter happiness and bliss. It was just wonderful to see her this way. To see all of us - together after all this while - just enjoying each other's company. A girl's night out.

After a while, we received a lovely surprise when my aunt, alang and her inseparable husband, paklang, who dropped by to get a frapp for themselves. This is what happens when you live close to your family. Sooner or later you are bound to cross paths and bump into each other. (Although I suspected alang just wanted to check on my whereabouts while her Friday Boy is away from home just to make sure I am not gallivanting all over the place with a good looking 6 feet something tall, tanned bloke and looked just like Clive Owen draped all over me ..WooHHOooo !! :) ). The girls and I are very close so much so that we knew each other's family right down to their aunts, cousins and etc. So it was sort of a wonderful mini reunion when we all met up. To alang's delightful surprise, we all apparently grew up, managed to get out of those bloody hideous school uniforms and survived to tell the world our story.

Wondering how we got close to each other? Let's see now.

Cynthia, Gina and myself were classmates in high school. Dianne was in the next class. I knew Gina way back when I was in primary when we attended the same tuition class in section 10. Cynthia and Dianne were from the same primary school. Dianne's mother and mine are friends and used to attend the same religious classes and high teas/functions together. We all attended to same tuition class for accounts at Cikgu Tengku's. We used to ride the bus back home together and since we resided along the same bus route, Gina usually goes down first at her stop, followed by Dianne and myself next and lastly Cynthia. We used to do study group and play badminton at Gina's house. Also since the pasar malam (night market) is near Gina's house, naturally her crib would be a one stop center for all of us to hang out(although frankly speaking, the main reason why its always Gina's place and not any of ours is because there were a group of young men ( Uni boys ) renting the house next to Gina's. I can't very well remember whether they were good looking blokes or not but since we were young high school girls back then , I guess you can say we were all teenagers with raging hormones and anyone that is male, older and drives a satria is basically a heartthrob!! :) ) .

That night we talked for hours. We talked about everything that we could just think of. Friends. Classmates. Gossips. Family. Work. Future. We were one of the last customers to leave Starbucks. Even when they were already switching off the lights and arranging the seats, we were still sitting there, our butts glued to our seats , talking and talking and talking - trying to get as much information off each other as we could. Finally it was time to go. On my drive back, after sending the girls back to their homes, I mused to myself.

Amongst us, only Dianne and myself left our hometown. Dianne pursued her studies in London and eventually built a career for herself there. Myself, left after tying the knot and have since been to few places due to work commitments. Cynthia has always been here and Gina returned home after completing her studies. We have all been buzy with our lives, doing our thing, achieving our goals. But it seems that now, at the the end of the day, we are all back here again. Back to our hometown.Back to our roots.

Back to where it all began. Sixteen years ago. Plus minus here and there, of course. (Calcalus has never been one of my strong subjects) ;P.

p/s: More pics can be viewed at my fotopages.

Phewwwww...

It's been a while since I last sat for an exam and mind you, this is no laughing matter. Since I am no Einstein nor am I a Pulitzer winner, it requires a lot of effort and a rather huge chunk of my personal sacrifice just to pass the exam - no, even to just manage through the scheduled classes.

I have always known that I would want to be involved in science social studies. At one time I even thought of becoming an ambassador, proudly representing my birth country to preferably one of the European countries. But alas, father had already formulated a plan for me, so I was then shipped off to UK after completing my SPM to major in computer studies. God knows how I even manage to make through the course when half the time I don't even know what the lecturers were talking about.

Fast forward to present time, I told myself if I were to decide for a career change, now would be it. The fact that I had to both work and study at the same time, plus manage the family does tend to take a toll on me sometimes. But then again, like I always tell myself, I am not the first one to walk down this path. If others could do it, then so can I. Still, thank god for the ever dependant support system from 'ma familia', especially hubby dearest a.k.a my walking legal dictionary for enduring wifey's late nights from classes while indulging in not-so-healthy dinners all by himself.

I have still a looong way to go, but then after the first exam results, I can now proudly say, optimistically speaking of course - despite the earlier doubts I had of my capabilities to complete my first semester, the future does indeed looks promising now, doesn't it .... :)

Backtrack

A rather lonngggg due post.

Eldest sister wedding on 27th May 2006. Beautiful wedding. Beautiful people. An unforgettable event.

Photos are finally up. Thanks to the photographers from Prettypeektures. Min, you're a life saver! :)

http://prettypeektures.fotopages.com/?entry=1186778&back=http://prettypeektures.fotopages.com/?page=0#CommentsTop

Our original photographer had to pull out 2 weeks prior to the wedding date - due to some unforeseen circumstances. But thanks to Effa (my junior back in STF) and her husband, Min who managed to squeeze us in at the very last minute, the event was beautifully captured. The pictures were gorgeous and above all, the service was excellent!!

Thank you again Prettypeektures ~ from your very satisfied customer... :)

*Note : Sadly, late grandmother passed away on the anniversary of my sister's wedding. Poor along. It was hard on both my sister and bro in law - they already made plans to held a kenduri to celebrate their wedding anniversary but instead, that day we had a kenduri 'tahlil' for arwah nenek.

Thank you Min for your wishes. We appreciate them.

The Lovely Surprise

Last Saturday, I went back to visit mum-in-law with dear hubby just to say hello and to see how she was doing.

As I entered the house and greeted her, she gave me a wide smile and told me to sit down while she went into her room. Upon her return, she presented me with a l-o-v-e-l-y surprise.

Bling, Bling!!

I asked mum-in-law why would she buy me a ring, since it isn't even my birthday yet.She just gave a little shrug, smiled and said that it was merely a gift and that she just felt like giving it to me.

WooHHhooooooo...tak sia-sia jadi menantu tunggal ... :)

Ladies, do try to control your jealousy....Muahahahahahah ;)

Soya Bean

...that was what my late grandmother used to call me. She was the only person to call me with that name. She had poor eyesight with blurry vision and she could only see in monochrome (black & white). In order to identify a person she had to ask them to come close to her so she would be able to see them clearly. She called me by that name because according to her, I am as white and milky as the soya bean drink.

'Was' is the keyword here. Arwah nenek drew her last breath peacefully in front of all of us, her family members on Sunday, 27.05.2007 at 2:00 pm.

What can I say about the most beautiful person in the whole wide world?

Hjh Hapsah bt Hj Shafie was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother. A woman of substance, she was like a breath of fresh air, a light in the dark - shining the way for everyone. She was the kindest person I have ever known. As far as I can remember, she always had something nice to say about everyone. She may look like a timid docile woman on the outside, but inside she was strong and hearty. A true perfect example of how a woman should be. The one lesson that she had taught me well was to always have faith in god. To be sincere and everything that we do, to never-ever give up in life and that patience is a virtue. Despite not being educated formally, she was a brilliantly smart woman.

Prior to this I was blogging at Friendster. And for those who have read my blog there, I'm sure you remember one of my previous post on my grandmother, entitled "Super Gran".

I can't go back there now. Not to read that post. Not yet. I am scared that I might breakdown again and cry like a baby just like the night after they have buried her. When the Imam was reading the talqim, it finally dawned on me that nenek is no longer there with us. She will not be there sitting on her bed surrounded by her pillows looking faraway deep in her thoughts. No one to ask my husband why he shaved his head bald, no one to ask me to make mashed potatoes just like the way she wants it, no one to tell me about the story how she got married to my late grandfather with a borrowed ring during the Japanese invasion. No one to call me Soya Bean anymore......

On the day she went away forever, I made a promise to myself not to cry and to there for my family as they needed me to be strong for them. God knows how badly I wanted to cry for her, to voice out my grief and sadness of losing her. But I needed to comfort my family - my aunts, cousins, sisters. To help them to let Nenek go, especially my father. My dear, dear, dearest father.

He was her favourite, the jewel of her eye. Don't get me wrong, she loved all her children and her children's children. But somehow Zakaria was her favourite. Father used to be away for a long, long while. When others were angry and frustrated with him, arwah nenek stood by her son. Never to scold him but constantly prayed to Allah Almighty that her son would one day return to her.

After 18 years of hoping and praying, he finally did. Even if it was only for a short while, I am sure she was happy. That they were both happy and that her last days were filled with wonderful memories of them together with the family.

I shall never ever forget her. We all will never forget her. Her faith, strength, and wisdom shall always be my guide in pursuing life's conquest. And insya-allah, if god would permit, I shall try to fulfill the promise that I made to her - long before this day is to come. I shall make her happy and proud. Me, her grandaugther - the 'Soya Bean'.

Al-Fatihah.