MGS gals

I could not download these pics earlier cos' my blog got hacked. I have figured out how to upload pics without going through the conventional way I usually do so here's me documenting my friendship moments with my childhood friends. Some pictures make me smile.

Lay Har, Jenny and Deputy Commissioner Kausalya

Shamni (once Asia Pac stewardess, Annabelle and Utar Dean, Dr. Sia)

Gambar curi (DJ Dave in the background but
later someone asked him to take pics with us)

From kindy days - Christine, Mano and Siva

Can you imagine we were friends from kindy to 50 something?

A beautiful day

There would be some bad news..but there will also be some good news in our lives. You just need to pick your best moments to continue the struggle (I'm referring to my fund-raising programme during these hard times). Here's an image which should cheer you up if you are having a bad time.

The Week That Was

My mid-sem break went like lightning but I was everywhere - from Kuala Tganu attending a wedding to almost all week conferencing in Putrajaya mengekor Shaykh Dr Umar Faruq and the Gala Dinner at TPC, Bukit Kiara and feeling disappointed I didn't get more thought provoking speeches from the two Shaykhs.No more chasing after this. Dengar je youtubes.

My first day yoga class was not as easy as I thought it would be but glad to know the group was more of my age group.

And on Saturday, a pleasant surprise from Maher. He's back from Qatar, married with a child! My mom had loved him so much (along with the other boys of the first batch) and ingat juga dia nak visit kami after all these years.Dia cakap ni mcm rumah kedua dia. He brought us pure madu Yemeni and wife dia Judd cooked some Yemeni dishes and cake pisang. The clan buat yassin after the big makan.

Alhamdulillah for the week that was.

Floating Mosque

Crystal Mosque

With DJ Dave and the MGS gals

Ali from Qatar

First day at yoga

East Coast Weekend

BFF

caught counting footsteps

Friendship made in heaven

the families

We got up very early on Saturday to catch our flight to Kuala Terengganu at 7 am.The hotel we were supposed to be was all booked up so Nik's friend booked us a hotel downtown.We had a nice seaview from the 14th floor.But no time to swim even in the hotel pool.We were busy checking out things...best stuffs to eat (nasi dagang tganu!), best beach to eat ICT..ikan celup tepung but we found overratedlah.Best keropok lekor and satar (somewhere in one of the Losong areas).

We went on the river cruise near Masjid Kristal.Enjoyed it so much.Pas tu Wan Ismail told Nik to check out his great great grandad's home now a museum owned by the state government.We went.It was worth going.Cantik betul seni pembikinan semula rumah tu and oh! So huge.Haji Su was a wealthy man..from his dad..mereka towkay kapal and bijih timah.Rumah pertama dibina 1850 and the second one (they are all connected as one home) was before WW2. The businessmen had traded in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.Some people 2017 pun belum pergi Singapore or Indonesia.Mmg dasyat hebatnya orang Tganu zaman dulu.

Ahad tu (today) Che Nor and Syed Azman picked me to go to the akad at Zah's plc.Z and her dad would come later sbb nak sleep in lagi.Akadnya pagi bebenor la pulak - 9 am.We had to go by 8 something.I'm glad I went.Zah had been good to me.Tak ramai kwn mcm dia (or Che Nor).And it was nice knowing their family members.In between akad and lunch, Che Nor took me to her home. She told us we could have stayed there.Next timelah. :)) Rumah dia dekat dgn beach yang ada lagoon...safe to swim.

After the lunch reception, we went to Pulau Duyung and had some drinks at the Marina Resort.Mmg cantik tempat ni.But Z said the grandeur was superficial..kosong, she said.I said sometimes you don't need to hv functional stuffs all the time...there should be some space for beauty..aestheticism..just pretty view.She said and spend millions for something the rakyat cannot benefit from or use? I said if there's money for beauty, why not? Better than having a gold jamban for yourself.Ni rakyat boleh juga duduk2  tengok boat lalu sambil mkn rojak buah and drink fresh juices..dgn angin sepoi2 bahasa membelai tubuh yang penat. Yeah...our family conversations always go this way. :)

Pasar Payang was also a joy.I thought of the market in Tashkent.Rasa mcm sama.

Muslim Scholars' Roundtable

I must record my thanks to Dr Yusri for allowing me to attend the Roundtable of Muslim scholars despite it being by invitation and it being full.People who registered to come and make that 100 audience ramai yg didn't turn up, depriving genuine people who wanted to learn from the guru, Sheikh Hamzah Yusuf. Anyway, we felt so lucky to learn so much from SHY.Justin was the mc.He's part of the organising comm which was responsible for bringing SHY and all the scholars to RIS in Msia. I could not make it to the weekend but those who went said it was also electrifying.

I had to ask the good Sheikh of his stand on jgn lawan pemimpin.Sempat juga la kita berbalas-balas "pantun" which my ASA geng sambung in our online discussion.Well, Sheikh is a tasawuf or maybe an usuli man..asking him to rebel is like expecting a petani to be a jurutera.Dia takkan reti. Sheikh is a peaceful soul wpun stand dia tu buat I tak berapa peaceful.But lepas talk tu, I sebagai murid pi la bertegur sapa with my guru of one day.Dia tanya ajar apa, subjek literature apa. Dia gembira I said Renaissance Lit and said father dia pun Prof of English. I told him I tau (dok stalk dia doh). Cerita itu, ini and dia minta my card.Kalau ajak sabbatical kat Zaytuna, ok jer. Haha.

Pastu at tea time, a new friend came looking for me nak sambung kisah i tanya soalan jgn lawan pemimpin tu.We had a nice bantering.Dia pun minta my card sbb nak ajak I give a talk kat tempat dia. Mmg fun bila scholars meet like this.Especially when we respect each other's differences.How I miss this world so much but bak kata SYH, scholars yg dasyat2 ni dah tak jumpa dah sekarang (banding zaman mula dia belajar Islam at 18 and now dia dah 60 and yet looks 30). 42 years menuntut ilmu.I rasa mcm my life is so wasted banding dgn how he memanfaatkan masa dia.

I

Down the memory lane

Saturday, 4th March - the PIBG of my old sch invited me to officiate their 44th AGM at the school.Nik and I drove back to Raub after breakfast.We arrived 30 mins early so dropped by to visit my sister.

It was a nice time, walking down the memory lane.The school has grown so well (being one of the oldest schools in Msia - built by the Brits in 1908 and got its name in 1939, it is older than UM's formation in Spore in 1949).Sudah tentu ramai alums yg hebat2. Tan Sri Ghazalie Shafie was one of them, the former KSN, former Tabung Haji chairman, various politicians, scholars, etc.

I met my friend Maimon...a math genius who rejected government scholarship to study abroad (dia yg paling pandai dlm ramai kita tu). Salute.So we exchanged gifts..I gave her what she needed for her teaching aid, she gave me this super yummy carrot cake. :) Nik and I had a great time going on a school tour.PIBG and alums have done a good job. But we can do better IA.People need to give
more.

Lunched at Long's - diumpan dgn rendang ayam hutan which she got frm some one.Rasa mcm ayam biasa..I said maybe ayam belaan pekerja kelapa sawit tu kena jerat.

Part Two
Sofia anak aruah Rohani Yusoff came to dine with me. Bibik and I masak lauk kampong. Her hubby to be came along and we went down the memory lane talking of Sofia's late mom. Sambil cerita sambil tambah nasi...ada cerita sedih, cerita lawak pun banyak.Sofia is such a fascinating storyteller. Cantik susunan Allah..He took her mom but gave her Aznan who is such a kind person that he even looks after his aging dad.I'm glad he's there during Sofia's bereavement.