Madras:The missing entry

Dr Amani and I went to Madras/Chennai in Feb 2019 (she said frm Feb 15-19). I'm surprised that the writeups and photos I thought I did were never published here.

We had a great time inspiring young South Indian Muslim girls as we made our rounds as keynote speakers. I was the Humanities lady. Amani the NASA scientist. Luckily Amani still keeps the photos. 

Indeed 2019 was my busy year. I was travelling overseas non stop. Then I got sick. Then covid. Wow. 

My fb entry 30/8/24

The year was 2019. The month was Feb. I had more photos but they were not documented in my blogspot entries as always. I hv to thank Dr Amani for these photos. We were invited as keynote speakers in a place not far from Madras. We met young Muslims at uni and school level.Amani took care of those in Stem, me in Humanities. Mcm celebrities bersalam dgn begitu ramai young fans. Haha. The men treated us with much respect.. Took us to their leather stores.. Pilih apa kita nak, kata owner tu. Kasut? Handbag? How many can we wear.. Amani and I bkn suka melaram mcm tu but we took wht we liked. Rezeki jgn ditolak, babe.

But what I enjoyed most was the trip to the orphanage. Prince Charles and Prime Minister Najib had visited this plc too. So kemas so clean so organised. We spoke thr too. Storage brg2 bdk2 dia mcm IKEA. Tht is how organised they are.

Our Indian friends dropped us at this sari shop. Punya byk we bought for friends and families that the owner kasi Amani and I bags free. . Sari murah banget tapi cantik ok?

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June Place girls' reunion

 We were neighbours at June Place in Hamilton, New Zealand - Anidah, Zurina, Kamsuri and me. Saniah was at another apartment not too far from us.

They had planned to visit me because I had been so unwell the last 7 months but could only make it after my surgery in June so August 25 it was. Anidah said we (she and Tall) would cook Maqlubah and a mutton dish. I prepared the dessert the night before. Had to do 2 takes. Custardnya berketul-ketul. Trifle akhirnya success, alhamdulillah.

Only Yon could not make it. Yogi is in town but in Penang. We gave gifts to each other, Anne gave us handmade purse (tempah from her other friend's daughter), I gave them batik coaster, Suri bawak sebakul durian from her orchard, Saniah bawak rempah O from Kedah. Ziad's samosas arrived late cos' he informed the sisters lewat. Tak sesedap biasa and masin but Zu loved them.

We celebrated an early merdeka day. It was fun, fun, fun. Saniah was the last to leave so was watching Netflix with her. The ending The Gentlemen is so, so disappointing

My return to creative writing

 It has been a while since Wanita Rawa Terakhir. Or writing short stories in Malay.

This is my latest https://www.utusan.com.my/gaya/sastera/2024/04/ria-raya/

It is about our lack of preparation in addressing an aged population. Old people live alone, die alone. Don't leave it to NGOs to clean up the dirt. The government should be championing the cause, have clear policies, great infrastructure, go high tech in old age security - both financially, physically, medically.

I wrote another one here on maids and maid agents

https://www.bharian.com.my/rencana/sastera/2024/06/1254691/cerpen-bh-ahad-ejen-dagang

On my road to recovery

 It has been over 4 months saya diuji dgn masalah kesihatan. Berkat doa everyone, the progress is good. I started going out again whn Z and R came to visit last Dec and left soon after my birthday. From thereon, I would make it a point to keluar at least once a week.

Yesterday it was with my NZ alums. Only 9 turned up becos the rest were either overseas, gone on umrah or too far to come. Zac said dia jaga mak dia. 

Met Salome in years. She pun struggling to get a good maid. Haha. All the best. Menteri Wanita sepatutnya proaktif dalam menangani keperluaan homecare ni. Not only for working women but also for an aging population. We do not want a tired, stressed out, angry nation because thr isnt enough support for work-life balance. 

Post retirement trip to The Netherlands

 Nik wanted me to join the trip. Tak seronok jalan sorang, he said. So we agreed to visit Z and R for 2 weeks July 16.

First week Josine and Jan took us to a seafood lunch in Rotterdam. Very nice catching up with our besan. Then we dropped by Faya's home. Leroy pandai pulak menghidang air and macaroons and cakes. Faya takut tengok kita dtg ramai sgt.

Selang beberapa hari Bertjan and Arlineke pulak took us to Amsterdam visit family museum mrk. Jan Six Museum. We enjoyed this. Rasa personalised sgt. We met Jan Six yg ke 10. Had coffee with him, saw his 17th century garden. Then we had a huge Indonesian lunch not far from the museum. 

Alhamdulillah then we took short trips to Lille in north France (slept 2 nights) then stopped by Ghent in Belgium. Cuaca dah mula sejuk. Patut summer. Rhodes was burning.

Another day another trip to an island north of The Netherlands called Texel. We loved this island. Had we knwn earlier how beautiful it was, we would hv put up a night. Go fishing, go boating, cycling, etc. 

Then we saw Barbie, heret reluctant Nik and Robert. Nik snored 3x.haha.Film mrk tak naik at tht cinema. Too bad la kan. 

Then we invited Uncle Joe, Mail and Nani pi Minang lunch downtown Den Haag. Pedas sgt for me.

We had a busy schedule daily tht by the time we boarded our flight home, I rasa lunyai. 

Still recovering now, 4 days later. But syukur everything went well and we enjoyed spending time with our family members. 

So I'm retired

This is rather belated but I retired from IIUM on Jan 11, 2023. The first week felt like liberation. Total freedom. Masuk Week 2, I started feeling lost. Rang up a few friends,  long time retirees. Is this normal? Im feeling down. Lost. They said it was normal. Just get into a routine and I will be ok.

So I found my routine. I still give talks, write papers. Then makan tidur makan tidur. I picked up pilates but now tht it is Ramadan, I stop dulu. Pilates is good. I hv a good personal coach.

Wht I love about being retired is tht I hv more time for friends and families. Priceless!

And I shld go bck to writing fiction. And painting. Sibuk juga persaraan ni sebenarnya.

Alhamdulillah masih bernyawa to do good things. 

Bicara buku UKM

 Terima kasih Prof. Madya Dr. Mawar Safei dan pelajar-pelajarnya kerana appreciate novella ini. Hanya Allah membalas kebaikan anda semua.