Officially, I still have another 1 hour on the clock before the long festive weekend sets in. As the clock ticks away, I’ve already consciously decided to ignore my work (yet another draft submission. We can never have enough of those, don’t’ we?) and chose instead, to type this post. This would be, after all, my first post since leaving my blog in self-induced coma back in October 2011. So yes, I unashamedly welcome myself back to the blogging world despite having almost a year gone without any written trace (I don’t know, would my countless status updates on Facebook count as any form of record? Unlike my long winded blog entries, the Wall limits my ramblings to few lines of wisdom).
With a steady stream of sms-es flooding my phone (I’ve gotten myself an iPhone, by the way. It may be a smart-phone but it is fondly referred to by my sisters as the ‘I(ce age)Phone’ because the owner is an absolute dinosaur with techno gadgets), those few Raya cards that came and made me wonder, “Wow, there is still Pos Malaysia for these people” and colourful electronic online cards spamming my e-mail before being chucked in the ‘Trash Can’ icon, I thought it is now a good time to resume blogging.
Just like previous Ramadhans, there were always the buka puasa dos to write about. But for this particular Ramadhan, I think I had more breaking of fast at home with my parents than walking down some glitzy buffet lines promoting displays of gluttony. Yet, I was not exactly a total recluse. I did enjoy myself eating out although I suspect that for buffets, one needs to have a strategy. From my own experience, one must always try to attend buffets during the first week of puasa and not the last few days. Once the stomach has shrunk, you can never really eat as much as you like. So in all honesty, you’re paying a high price just to stare at the food. Anyway, during those few buka puasa meets outside, I did have the chance to catch up with various groups of friends and each was entertaining in their own way. I believe we may not have managed to arrange for such meets if not for the fact that puasa is only for 1 month. So we had to find the time or risk another year passing by!
Clothes-wise, it’s always an accepted norm of wearing a new outfit for each of the first 3 days. And seeing that my mum and I were on trips to Bandung early this year, I’d like to think my clothes this year would be slightly more elaborate. But I shall speak no more as they are still with the tailor and I don’t want any jinx to rear its head! I’ll try to post pictures once I’m done stuffing my face with the must-have dishes. Which by then, would render those customized clothes as wrapping paper for bloated packages.
One can never write about Raya without touching on the cookies and delicacies. Well, I’m proud to say that my mum and I have not prepared anything yet. We did buy few bottles of cookies from trusted sources but that’s that. For our actual homemade cookies, its debut will probably be at the earliest, a week after Raya. Teehee~~ We have time on our side since we’ll be away for the first week of Raya this year J I’ll write about this in my next entry *crosses fingers as promises are always broken*
And what has become the most important aspect of Raya, at least where kids are concerned, is the duit raya. Last year, I completely forgot to change money and had to resort to giving old (tattered, bruised and some were even discoloured) notes to my nieces and nephews. To be fair, they didn’t complain (these kids must have worked with the Central Bank in previous lives or something. As long as they see the ‘right’ colour, they’ll accept the currencies as legal) but that was pretty embarrassing. I was almost tempted to give them IOU notes instead, the ones that say ‘Bearer of this IOU is entitled to collect RMx before the stipulated deadline. Otherwise, offer is deemed to have lapsed and no complaints/refunds will be entertained’. Well, not this year. Gotten a relative’s help to procure those colourful monopoly-like notes (other Malaysians call them our new legal currencies) for distribution. I have to find time to draw up a list though and list down the appropriate amount next to each name. Kinda like Santa. And yes, stuffing them into those colourful raya packets before writing down the recipients’ names. By the way, if you haven’t figured it out by now, I am slightly neurotic when it comes to these things.
Wow, the work day is coming to an end in a matter of minutes. I think that’s a cue for me to take my leave and pack up to join the homeward-bound exodus. Before I sign off, I wish everyone (especially my two sisters who are abroad and close friends) ‘Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri’ and Happy Holidays!
p/s: It is my personal choice not to ask for or offer forgiveness just because it’s Raya. I find much difficulty in trying to swallow the hypocrisy behind this once-a-year ‘Maaf Zahir & Batin’. But rest assured, if I’ve found in myself the strength to forgive those who’ve wronged me in any manner, I would have done so even without Raya.
With a steady stream of sms-es flooding my phone (I’ve gotten myself an iPhone, by the way. It may be a smart-phone but it is fondly referred to by my sisters as the ‘I(ce age)Phone’ because the owner is an absolute dinosaur with techno gadgets), those few Raya cards that came and made me wonder, “Wow, there is still Pos Malaysia for these people” and colourful electronic online cards spamming my e-mail before being chucked in the ‘Trash Can’ icon, I thought it is now a good time to resume blogging.
Just like previous Ramadhans, there were always the buka puasa dos to write about. But for this particular Ramadhan, I think I had more breaking of fast at home with my parents than walking down some glitzy buffet lines promoting displays of gluttony. Yet, I was not exactly a total recluse. I did enjoy myself eating out although I suspect that for buffets, one needs to have a strategy. From my own experience, one must always try to attend buffets during the first week of puasa and not the last few days. Once the stomach has shrunk, you can never really eat as much as you like. So in all honesty, you’re paying a high price just to stare at the food. Anyway, during those few buka puasa meets outside, I did have the chance to catch up with various groups of friends and each was entertaining in their own way. I believe we may not have managed to arrange for such meets if not for the fact that puasa is only for 1 month. So we had to find the time or risk another year passing by!
Clothes-wise, it’s always an accepted norm of wearing a new outfit for each of the first 3 days. And seeing that my mum and I were on trips to Bandung early this year, I’d like to think my clothes this year would be slightly more elaborate. But I shall speak no more as they are still with the tailor and I don’t want any jinx to rear its head! I’ll try to post pictures once I’m done stuffing my face with the must-have dishes. Which by then, would render those customized clothes as wrapping paper for bloated packages.
One can never write about Raya without touching on the cookies and delicacies. Well, I’m proud to say that my mum and I have not prepared anything yet. We did buy few bottles of cookies from trusted sources but that’s that. For our actual homemade cookies, its debut will probably be at the earliest, a week after Raya. Teehee~~ We have time on our side since we’ll be away for the first week of Raya this year J I’ll write about this in my next entry *crosses fingers as promises are always broken*
And what has become the most important aspect of Raya, at least where kids are concerned, is the duit raya. Last year, I completely forgot to change money and had to resort to giving old (tattered, bruised and some were even discoloured) notes to my nieces and nephews. To be fair, they didn’t complain (these kids must have worked with the Central Bank in previous lives or something. As long as they see the ‘right’ colour, they’ll accept the currencies as legal) but that was pretty embarrassing. I was almost tempted to give them IOU notes instead, the ones that say ‘Bearer of this IOU is entitled to collect RMx before the stipulated deadline. Otherwise, offer is deemed to have lapsed and no complaints/refunds will be entertained’. Well, not this year. Gotten a relative’s help to procure those colourful monopoly-like notes (other Malaysians call them our new legal currencies) for distribution. I have to find time to draw up a list though and list down the appropriate amount next to each name. Kinda like Santa. And yes, stuffing them into those colourful raya packets before writing down the recipients’ names. By the way, if you haven’t figured it out by now, I am slightly neurotic when it comes to these things.
Wow, the work day is coming to an end in a matter of minutes. I think that’s a cue for me to take my leave and pack up to join the homeward-bound exodus. Before I sign off, I wish everyone (especially my two sisters who are abroad and close friends) ‘Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri’ and Happy Holidays!
p/s: It is my personal choice not to ask for or offer forgiveness just because it’s Raya. I find much difficulty in trying to swallow the hypocrisy behind this once-a-year ‘Maaf Zahir & Batin’. But rest assured, if I’ve found in myself the strength to forgive those who’ve wronged me in any manner, I would have done so even without Raya.
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