Backdated Diary of 28th Dec

OK. This new year's eve, let me tell you a story. A story of the things that happened on the day of my engagement =) (terasa macam fairy tale narrator pulak.. haha)

We all woke up early that day. I could not sleep so well because my hands were aching from cutting the pandan leaves to be made into bunga rampai. Mom wanted to have bunga rampai as it is one of the Johor customs, to give them away to the guests later. Moreover, Fairuz's relatives mainly hail from Johor. So I thought it was a great idea. Thank God Auntie Rahmah and Opah were there to help. Kalau tak, sure pagi tu dah nyanyi 'jari-jariku sakit semua, kerna memotong daun pandan.. lalala~'

The canopy man came quite early to install the scallops around the canopies and to arrange the tables and chairs. My mom's ex-student-cum-chef then came to send the chocolate cake that I ordered for the hantaran. It was (self-proclaimed) really pretty. Why chocolate cake? Because Fairuz loves it. I have posted the hantaran pics in Facebook, if you guys wanna have a look at them.

About 1 pm, Qin my makeup artist came. Then Mel my photographer came with his assistant, Shah at 1.30 pm. I received a message from Fairuz saying that they have already arrived at the nearby surau. Well, I was starting to feel a little excited, with Mel beginning to snap and snap. Fatin came at 1.45 pm, which was to my relief, cuz I needed a companion around. Kira macam my VIP la.. haha.

My cousin Mona appeared shortly after that. She was one of my VIPs too, since she was appointed to accompany me to the dais. Qin continued to make-up my face, without me looking at the mirror. It felt really awkward when I looked at myself in the mirror with heavy make-up, but I knew I had to trust Qin, Mel, Ain, Fatin and Mona who said that I looked pretty. Oklah, percaya je la kan.. tengok2 Fairuz's families have arrived. And I have not yet dressed up! Actually I was taking my own sweet time, since I thought that the discussion between the two families will take long. Thank God Ain urged me to get dressed. If not, I would have gone down late!

After the discussion and doa ended, then it was the time for me to go down. I was excited at first, especially when I saw my dad and my Uncle Shah. But as I arrived into the living room, and I saw unfamiliar faces, I started to tremble. I was trembling even more when I saw Fairuz's aunts and cousins in front of the dais. I was like "My God, ramainyeee aku tak kenal..~" They were all dressed in red. Gigil seyh! Haha. But then, when I saw his sister smiling at me, I managed to cool down a bit.

Then Fairuz's mom came to the dais to slip the ring onto my finger. It was really touching inside. But I promised myself no matter what, I would not wanna cry, because I would look ugly if I did.

And so the rest of the day was filled with taking photos. Fairuz came later, in Baju Melayu attire of the same color like mine. Yeah, it did feel like as if we were getting married, haha. But we only wanted to make the day a little special for the both of us, and so, we chose to wear the same color.

I managed to get to know a few aunts from Fairuz's side, which I think is a good start for me. I can't wait for the official photos to be edited by Mel. Kinda excited to look at the photos and recall back the wonderful day.

I just want to express my deepest gratitude to Auntie Che Yah and family for the wonderful sirih junjung and potpourri and for the help they offered to make the ceremony go smoothly. Special thanks too, to my most beloved uncle and aunt, Uncle Shah and Auntie Ju, Auntie Ain, Mak Long and family, Uncle Yem, Auntie Adawiyah, cousins Aris, Alisa, Mona, Nazrin and Fendy for staying back and for the nice chat with me, Dib, Fatin, Liza and Zuhairy. Thank you too, to Zuhairy for being the unofficial photographer after Mel has left, you made it at last to my house :)

My deepest gratitude goes to Fatin, Dib and Liza for coming. Believe me, our photos captured by Mel were really pretty. Tak percaya?

Sweet tak, hehe..

And to my parents, thank you so much for making this possible to happen. May God always speed His love and blessings for you both.

Last but not least, to my friends, thank you for the wishes. I'm deeply touched :) Peace from us!

Feliz Año Nuevo

You know I have totally forgotten that there will (always) be celebration to welcome the New Year. Well, yes, one of the reasons being I never actually celebrated one, and I can't really see the joy of being another year older.

Yes, 2008 has been another great year for me. Conflicts, tears, laughter, new people, experiences and places, different jobs, everchanging bosses, a new status.. it was all complete. And I can't be more thankful to Him for helping me going through everything patiently. The different perspectives in handling them somehow taught me maturity and control over myself. I'm glad.

Life's short. With the increase of age it would be shorter. And for many, with the increase of age, the number of things we wanna do before we die also increase. And as years pass by, we come to notice that time is ticking even faster than we imagine. And yes, everyday, we are running out of time. And yes again, my mind is quite troubled thinking of it.

Lately I have been thinking about problems. Well, they are not exactly heavy problems that I have to crack my head to think of solutions. They are everyday issues that I have to deal with. Work, commuting, money management, relationships, conflicts, bills, etc. Yes, I call them problems. Realize it or not, problems will never subside. Only that the complexity of the problems differ from one to another, and not necessarily the older we get, the easier we can solve or deal with the problems. Problems are just everywhere in life. It is how we view them and how we take proactive actions to make things okay. Woh, I am starting to speak like a motivator, duhh.

But, yesterday, watching the burial of Yang DiPertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan made me think, that the worst ever problem for a human is when he is going to face God. Especially if he is not prepared to die. There, there will be no room for corrective actions anymore; only reward or punishment we will get for the deeds we did during our lifetime. And personally for me, yes, death is scary. Even though I recite the verses everyday, I know I won't be able to compete with others who perform better as a Muslim. In the end, I am just hoping for His forgiveness, if He can grant me that.

We never know how long we will live. That's the scariest part. It is either we live everyday to find His blessings, or wait till we are left with very little time to prove that we are among His worthy slaves. With accidents and diseases here and there, the uncertainty to live longer is definitely high. We can't say we are not going to be affected because we can't predict the future..

So, for the New Year, I wish to improve myself to be a better Muslim. I know I have the right people around me to help. I will keep reminding myself of these resolutions. How to gauge? Perhaps by the way I think, speak and act. Or perhaps by the satisfaction I would feel at the end of the year. God willing.


(Fairuz, you can help me with this, I know..)


SALAM TAHUN BARU~

Smiles :)

Welcome tahun baru Hijrah 1430! Welcome to the soon-arriving 2009. Welcome to a new status: engaged :)


Another year to go. I wish us every happiness for every day that we are together =)

Thank you to my parents, family, future families, cousins, friends and neighbors who came to witness and cherish the day.

May the coming days teach us maturity, patience and understanding, and may love grow.

Above all, thank you Ya Allah. Nothing encompasses Your power and Your blessings.

Sg Buloh Country Resort = Bukit Antarabangsa??

The nation was struck with grief when Bukit Antarabangsa stole the front page with the landslide tragedy.

Remember my Auntie Rahmah? She has evacuated her house now.. and I basically don't have any idea to what extent her house is affected. But since Dato' K's bungalow is still alright, so I presume her house is okay, cuz hers is just nearby.

My ex-boss, Kak Zi, whose house was the place where we held our midday barbecue, has also evacuated her house with her family. Thank God they were not in when the landslide occured (oh, I texted her to check). Since the houses in Taman Bukit Utama were reported to be damaged, I suppose hers is damaged too.

Oh well, talking about other people, I guess the hazard is not that far from my family at all. Today, as reported in The Star, the hill behind my neighborhood experienced soil movements, though less vigorous compared to that of Bukit Antarabangsa. A few neighbors were already told to evacuate their houses to ensure safety. And there is also a water tank on top of the hill. I hope that it won't tumble down. I pray everything is gonna be okay.

(now I really feel like singing the old nursery rhyme "Rain rain go away, come again another day!")

-the picture of the linkhouse opposite my house lane, with the covered slope behind them-


God, save us, please..