Greetings from Germany

Farizah, Kham and I took midnite flight to Frankfurt.Lucky it was a smooth 12 hours flight.Excellent service.European flights would allow one bag je..lebih kena bayar.Lucky the guy benarkan my one nighter bag yg berisi makanan Brahim.If not I would have to pay 150 euro nak mengangkut Brahim sesaja.

Kita dok ingat KLIA 1&2 kita tu besar sangat.In Frankfurt and now Munich...nak tercabut kaki kami berjalan.But when it comes to food...Malaysia tetap no. 1. I miss Msia already...time waktu makan. :))

Pics later.Internet connection lembab.

School guest speaker

I went an hour early because I was not sure if I'd get the location right.Found it easy cos' it was not far from my home.Damansara Damai 1. Nama sedap but the school, said Mdm Pam, was a B grade.They have 300 students (Form 5 sahaja).140 came to listen to me.Luckily my short notice preparation went well, alhamdulillah (well...I had studied the texts earlier but the actual materials for presentation was done yesterday, polished up last night).

Teaching 140 unwilling, literature resistant crowd! Nak putus rasa nyawa I. First I had to correct their mindset.They had to repeat after me "I love Literature!" beberapa kali then one anak Cina jerit sekuat hatinya "I hate Literature!" Haha.Dia meluahkan isi hatinya.But I had to be firm.I pegang kerongkongnya (metaphorically speaking) and said hey look, if you keep saying that, your system will shut down and nothing you do will make it easy for you to answer Section D (20 marks je but that can determine your pass/fail, B or A yada yada).I looked into his eyes and said firmly now say after me: I love Literature. He did! :))

So you know it was like that...trying to make the horses drink dirty water.But you know what..the second hour I let them think and discuss, form their own opinions (something they never do I'm sure since sekolah tadika) and the things they came up with...memang dasyat.If only we are not afraid of young people speaking up their mind (look at what happened to the boy who said I hate literature>haha.Niat I baik OK? Bukan nak menindas..I want him to be able to write something in his Section D nanti).

Penat weii ngajar kat sekolah ni. My heart goes to all para pendidik negara. My prayers for all of you for staying back and affecting change on these poor kids.

Balik UIA, one of my River project friends showed gambar hantu pakai boots during Earth Day's tree planting day.Will put it here in a bit.

2015 Earth Day Closing Day

The fun run was supposed to start at 7 am.By 8 am the tree planting should begin.I arrived 7.30 am.Not many runners yet.Went to have my breakfast.Bumped into a UMW lady whose hubby was a runner..pantang ada run, he would join (not an IIUM staff or alum). So we started talking...dari kisah maids sampai kisah environment. Then time to go...tree planting session.The feeling of doing it...hanya Allah sahaja tahu nikmatnya. We all had fun but I after a bunch of Japanese bamboos and one big tree (pegang daun je) ..I dah tak larat.

Lucky the guys frm Educare, Daya Bersih semua ada.Lebih 86 pokok kita tanam and beautiful benches installed.People said cantik.

Then the band boys performed again. Dato Mizan came and we all had a relaxing time.He gave additional RM2k on behalf of Daya Bersih. And people are still pledging for trees.Alhamdulillah.

Penat woi.But we love the new landscape.

http://www.sinarharian.com.my/mobile/edisi/selangor-kl/iium-earth-day-dorong-pelajar-cintai-bumi-1.

http://news.iium.edu.my/2015/04/27/always-sing-from-the-heart-says-songwriter-fynn-jamal/

https://thebenlinsider.wordpress.com/interview-specials-iium-earth-day-2015/prof-nor-faridah-abdul-manaf/

Deputy Rector Dato Mizan.He gave us additional RM2K at the
Closing.Thank you!

Canopy tu menyibuk..the benches and pokok kelapa dah cukup puitis
bagi kami

Students who worked as hard as we did got to plant the trees.
How lucky! Besok bila dah jadi CEO, ingat la pokok masing2.

Kalau Daya Bersih workers takda, mmg pengsan nak tanam
 pokok2 ni semua

Rakan setia from KOE, Dr Fadzlin.

Next year it will be very pretty

Teaching the young ones the love for nature

Gang from Educare

Another semangat kental, Dr Amani, anak Mufti Penang
(used to work with NASA before returning home to serve
the nation)

Pokok ini saya tanam sendiri. :)

Benches yang di order oleh Dr Fauziah, another semangat kental
of whom I could not do without

Lelaki-lelaki berhati mulia yang banyak membantu, Asuad, Man,
Zaima and another guy I tak kenal

Semangat kental terakhir yang macam my shadow.Ahaks.Lin
from Sociology.Kalau ajak buat" jaha"t, dia always say yes.Haha

For reasons only known to them, they call me Datin.Sibuk
 kejar I nak bergambar. I didn't want to give all the Datins a bad name so I said OK. :))

More pics of Earth Day - sekitar songwriting competition

Our technical teams from Development, Daya Bersih
and OSHU 

lunch hours jamming at the songwriting competition
on 22/4/15

The Barbers: Farhan and his friend

Mardia who came to the rescue and they got 3rd place

Azim and kawan2 : The Overnighters (rappers)

The winners!

Fynn teaching wannabes tempo and performance

It got crowded when it got noisier.Uniq - next to Tastebud

I love their music, performance but the lyrics too kabur
for English speaking audience/judges

a great performance, really

Macam kat Duta Mas ke, Bangsar ke

happening buat kat sini

Antara my students yang terkenal.Fynn Jamal
(a real talent - I remember her MSL class
with me and me asking of her poem: did you copy this from somewhere?
Fynn: no mam, I wrote it myself) Haha and we spoke about this on 22/4
Fynn went overboard by telling the crowd: you do not have to study overseas, the best teacher is here
(ahem...terima kasih lah Fynn.It was a pleasure teaching you)

Syahir ni is another great talent but dia pemalu (he got second)

Earth Day pics

Happy Earth Day

This planet needs lots of caring. But first, the awareness of how bad the situation is must be there.Read this http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/Short-termism_and_the_threat_from_climate_change

More news of our Earth Day activities tonight in sha Allah.

Laporan lengkap 2015 Earth Day @iium

We didn't sleep many nights planning, chatting, gossiping on preps of ASA's Earth Day (today).Our WA group got bigger each day as the D-day grew closer.I was running around like a zombie on this, on my day job at the RMC, my promise to Ainin I'd give a talk at her sch.Mereng! That is the word so close to what I was feeling..we had to raise our own fund for the young inventor competition (cleaning tne river), songwriting competition, this that.By launch time at 9 am by Dato Sri Rector, we were still short of RM5k out of over RM12k for the inventor competition.We put up a brave face.Tiba2 dgn takdir Allah...Rector now so happy with our green efforts pledged Rm5k lagi for the inventor competition without knowing mmg itulah kehendak hati kami!

Still the money for songwriting was not really sorted out but I was prepared to sponsor it.Tiba2 one energy company rang me up and said although they knew they were late, they would still want to give and asked me what was needed. MasyaAllah...Allah knew.Betullah my firasat to my KOE colleagues: do not worry about money...Allah is always with those who want to do good.Even whn the money was not thr at launch time, we were set to have fun and refused to be worried about our
money problem.We had planned to set up gerai jual air come Ramadan.:))

Alhamdulillah everything went well.From the river competition to songwriting.Fynn Jamal came and sang and gave tips on songwriting.MasyaAllah she's a real talent! We had the competition at the newest and yuppiest cafe Uniq.Mmg happening.The 5 group contestants mmg awesome.Farhan pun competed.

Petang IIUM horticulturalist picked a fight with me over order of trees for Saturday.That really spoiled wht was a perfect day for all of us.Last min cancellation of order of trees just because I told her I could get cheaper trees if she insisted on gst (ni company uia ni). When she agreed with my price semlm, I cancelled with the other cheap nursery.Takkan last min mcm today nak kata order is off.I think everyone was under pressure. Dapat pulak client like me. Poor DB guy had to pick up the mess.

Pics later.

Demonising Islam

The world is set to demonise Islam. I wake up to news from all over on this.Yesterday it was the Pope   - repeating that the genocide against the Armenians during the Ottoman rule was the first in the 20th century. I was wondering why he'd start with 20th century.Go back to the times of the Romans slaughtering otherslah BC.But my friend Fadzilah said Armenia still exists, Carthage does not and no one wants to recognise the issue.Fine but is not he a man of peace? Why incite hatred? Read, and you will know that there are allegations and there are negations.It's not as though casualties were only with the Armenians.My Turkish student wrote about her great grandfather whose family members were all killed by the Armenians and at the age of 8, he went to hide in the mountains and survived as a shepherd.

Today, a Prof in Spore (Indian expatriate) was talking on how Spore dealt with terrorism saying that as long as terrorism exists in the Middle East, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia...the region (SEAsia) will always be under threat. You see the unwritten/unspoken? He didn't mention Israel, Sri Lanka, India (Kashmir). Apa punya turr!

Waking up to cough

It's back! This cough yang perit tak berhenti-henti.I suspect it's something in the air.Some racun!
Anyway, Z left last night (we saw her off at 6 pm).

Nik dah mula sad anak dia dah balik so I ajak dia makan at Ahmad & Co. a bistro owned by bdk2 muda.It's trending..cafes owned by gen y.Laku la pulak.Next to it lagi laku.I thought mesti lagi sedap cos' gelap with bdk2 muda.Then Nik told me kedai tu everything was RM2 (source: Zafirah).If you want more, pay RM5 and you can eat as much as you like.Patut la penuh! Everyone can eat (concept everyone can fly).What a brilliant concept...bdk2 mana ada duit but if they don't want to go to pubs etc and just want to chat with friends over dinner, this is a superb alternative.

Why?

Too many why and how questions this week. Do you have this feeling of all of us being wheeled down the rabbit hole? It's good that Tun Mahathir is still around - dulu dia juga yang nakkan sangat PM sekarang (main tunjuk- tunjuk je..not elected pun). Dia juga mengajar buat apa anak dan cucu cicit dia buat sekarang..tangkap sana, tangkap sini.BROOM sana BROOM sini (it might have been called other names during his time). But I am still grateful he's the little boy yelling at the naked emperor.Orang lain dah takdak teloq to call a spade a spade. Kita doakan dia berjaya to undo what was done during his time.

Wa manyak mosan.This nation has so much to offer.Those who can do, tak dipandang dua kali.Mana yang cerdik habis tersungkur. Bak kata Shakespeare, the fish rots from head down.I feel that wherever I go..it's a rabbit hole. Nak lari pun tak terlari...nak kejar, tak terkejar.

Teater Melayu

I had planned to join my MSL students to see Khaled Salleh's "Kena Main" play at Istana Budaya on Friday evening.But I thought I would only return frm Kuantan on Saturday morning.Rupa2nya balik Friday petang so sempat la pergi.I went back to pick Z.Nik got stuck in a massive jam so could not join us.Nasib dia tak boleh pergi!

The play was boring dari segi weak plot, setting, costuming, lighting.Harapkan Eman Manan and Sudin je to menghidupkan the bangsawan-like theater.No intermission.Z and I wanted to balik kalau ada.I guess it has something to do with not having Tiara's budget.But Z said there had been really good Malay plays in the past so she was of the opinion "Kena Main " was wht it was because it had the oldies (possibly trained in the bangsawan tradition) in control.Kalau bdk2 muda yg produce, lain sikit.Wallahualam.But we loved Eman Manan.Hidup lakonannya and he's funny.

I was in Kuantan on a research roadshow.Alhamdulillah IIUM got 11 frgs flood research grants and 2 PRGS grants with the total amount of RM851,200. We had a few new records.I belanja my team at Tanjung Lumpor and lunch ikan patin in Temerloh as my appreciation of their hardwork. We knew late so 13 grants tu kira baguslah (over 50 people applied but budget for flood grants was only RM20 million - to be shared satu Malaysia).

It won't be a lazy weekend this week.

Kena Main cast

Terima kaseyy!

RIU's orang kuat at Zenith, Kuantan

Ikan Patin at Temerloh

Sungai Temerloh after the big flood

Ganti puasa

I have been doing this since last week.It feels like a marathon.There were days I balik lembik especially on days I didn't bersahur (like I just drank at 2 am or 12 midnight cos' too lazy to get up.Or too tired.Or too full to eat again so early).

Well, in sha Allah another day to go if today goes well as scheduled.There were times I wanted to just grab a glass of chilled orange juice and break my fast but the thought of replacing it another day..puasa gets to be more challenging as we age.It used to be so easy.But I intend to do Mon & Thursday - good to detoxify the body naturally.

Z is busy with job interviews.Kesian juga.She didn't want to do her Shell's now (nak tunggu August when she returns for good) but we persuaded her to do it now (less competition kot since orang belum graduate.By August ramai dah keluar).When you have kiasu parents, you'd be so pressured.But if she does not get it, it's easier to make other choices as they come later.Less to choose from. Smart mom, heh heh.

Need to bawa bekal once  GST starts.Happy saving!

Waking up to guilt

I am not over with my uncle's demise.There's this hardened little cube (mcm maggie mee cube) in my heart.It looks strong but waiting to dissolve completely.I keep thinking of Pak Embong (that's what we call him) and his last moments with my cousin, Ida.

After the funeral, my siblings berkumpul at my 3rd sister's (looking for food..sgt lapar cos' some of us left home without eating..like Mek and her son from JB) and we spoke of Pak Embong, his wife who is suffering from acute dementia..she has lost her sense of memory, speech.She was not at the funeral and even if she were, would not have understood that her partner of close to 50 years was no more.I still think the children should have allowed her to see through the process..at least let her see the jenazah but she was still on the way and stuck in Ampang with Ida's hubby.And she didn't think they could delay the jenazah up to 2 hours.Kesian betul.He never gave up looking after her in her times of sickness.

Semasa tahlil di kubur, something strange happened.The day was perfect.At one point, I saw the cloud mcm mengadap the perkuburan (mcm looking down to the burial..my uncle's lot was paling tepi -where all his siblings and mom are buried..ingat dah takda ruang but my god...so rezeki).Hari sangat cantik then semasa ratib tahlil..tiba-tiba angin ribut yang sangat kencang datang dari arah belakang..I thought bumi akan terbalik...I wanted to run sbb takut the tree branches or trees would fall on us..I was nicely seated on a tikar with Mek beside me.But the imam continued to read as though tiada apa yang berlaku.It was only me whispering to Mek in a panicked voice: what is this? What is happening? Is it malaikat mengembangkan sayapnya to be with us? Mek sssh-ed me telling me to buat tak tau..ignore it, she said.Ini ganjil, she whispered back.So I tried to stay calm.Masa tu tak setitik hujan turun.Dried leaves turun mcm snow atas kepala kita.Sekali sekala ranting kayu kecil.

After the tahlil was over...some 15 minutes later, hujan mula turun.I went to solat a late Asr at a mosque nearby.By the time we came out, hujan dah lebat.

Sal recounted Pak Embong last moments at Kak De's (Ida told her at the hospital cos' Sal and Daud were there to help urus the jenazah...having some experience doing it at mak's.Ummi and Sob were there earlier so they were the ones who told Ida and siblings where to go etc).So sad.It's like playing last year's record.My mom and her youngest brother ni memang close.She looked after him since young...helped find him his job (via my dad..my mom was a smart woman... she knew how to use her connections).

Ida was the one who looked after her dad more di saat-saat akhir.The night I was supposed to visit (Sal even told him I was coming), he could not sleep cos' he could not breathe (air byk dlm lungs).Pusing sana, tak kena.Pusing sini, tak kena.He said give me your arm if I could have some sleep (asking Ida). Tak boleh juga.Then he asked Ida to urut his back.Ida said besok he would be fine after dialysis.Pak Embong lit up..he asked so I could breathe, ya? Ida said yes.He felt comforted.Ida stayed till morn but becos' they would not allow anyone to stay during the dialysis (special room), she said she'd go to work.Ida's other siblings were there to take over. But they waited outside the room.When PE had his heart attack after 4 hours of dialysis, he was by himself and I guess the nurses/docs.

This is what is most humbling...he was hopeful he'd come out ok -like his sister who continued to live up to 4 years after her first dialysis.The reason why I didn't visit immediately cos' I thought like my mom, he would live on.SubhanaAllah...mati datang tiba-tiba.We go as we are.Amalan apa yang ada.

Finally driving home after my event in KL (mlm), I broke down.That little cube finally had started to dissolve!
Semoga Allah cucuri rahmat ke atas PE and that he's happy reuniting with his whole family.For me, the cube finally dissolved cos' his death rep. the last link to my mom.We have nothing left to connect her to her life and past.That little brother who stole rice from the Japs cos' they were too hungry, that little one who looked for love from their stepfather, that boy who slept with her on the tree (not a tree house..just a tree..I can't remember why...maybe to escape from being kena rotan) is no more.And raya will be different after solat raya cos' the first home we'd visit would be Pak Embong's.We'd miss his gentle smile and his queries: bila balik dari Kuala Lumpur? Zafirah sihat ke di England? A man with few words.
As I kissed his forehead,I whispered maaf, tak sempat ziarah.Al fatihah untuk Muhammad bin Maimunah

Alfatihah

I had guests from Paris on an event I helped organise so I  switched off my phone.At 1 pm I saw sms-es..my uncle (the only left of my mom's siblings) died at 10 something in the morning.I had wanted to visit last night but was too tired lepas berbuka and said after the talk, I'd go over to HUKM where he was warded.

Waiting for Sal to pick me to attend the funeral cos'  jenazah akan dibawa balik ke Raub.

Satu sesalan...if my mom were around, mesti dia marah sebab didn't make time for Pak Embong...kerja sampai bila tak habis...

I sempat baca yassin for him with Zafirah semalam.And I wrote about him here http://puisifaridah.blogspot.com/

Z and the younger gals

I suspect Z balik to spend time with the younger gals especially Nadra. So she spent 5 hours with them on Saturday.On Sunday we had barbecue lunch with my puak2 pulak (and baca yassin and tahlil for our loved ones). The usual suspects: Sal and family and Kak Ngah and Sharul and family.The rest ada hal ..wedding lah..ipar datang la.I had only 2 hours to prepare for the barbecue.So tak berapa nak masak. :))

On Saturday, Nayli was screaming goodbye from the car: bye Aunty Nor, bye Uncle Dee.I can't believe you have only one child.

Haha..apa maksud budak umur 7 tahun ni?? Last time she told us: why do you like to come to my house? I think it's high time you have children of your own.I think you two should get married! (pada dia, kalau takda anak tu maknanya tak kawin lagi). :D

We had a good laugh dgn budak berdua tu.But I cabut to do my eye treatment and body massage.Z layan sampai 5 hours.Bila Z nak tidor je, Nadra would come and disturb: Kak Ra, are you assyeep? Pas tu ajak main playdough lagi.

As long as everyone's happy. :)