An elegy for Zuhairy

2009 will end in less than 2 days' time. I hope nothing outrageous will happen until the new year, after the surprising news on Zuhairy's mom's departure yesterday. Nobody in the family was ready for it. Sudden loss, hearts crushed. Rest in peace, Auntie Mashitah..

My dear Zuhairy, yesterday marks a new beginning for you and your family. I sincerely hope that you will go through this phase with an open mind and heart. Remember, everything that we have in this world are all temporarily given to us. It only differs in time, the moment they will be taken back. I remind myself that constantly, to help me move on, to help me realize and be 'redha' with what He has destined for me.

As your friend for over 16 years, I do have my own memories of her, especially when we were in school. I regard her as not only a friend's mother, but someone I could share stories with, especially when I was tired of waiting for my dad after Girl Guides class on Saturdays. She was one of the aunties I know who kept that competitive spirit in us classmates burning. She was one of those aunties with creative cooking ideas, and she was definitely a loving mother. I still recall how she made the effort to come to school nearly everyday to give you your breakfast box during recess time. And I do believe you inherited the looks from her too.

Be strong Zuhairy. Being the eldest son, I know you have a heavy role to carry on your shoulder. Fear not my friend. Life is full of unexpected things and uncertainties that, if we are afraid, we can go nowhere. Now that your mother is gone, you can help to lessen the missing in your siblings' hearts by filling the emptied space with love and care. Make certain that her departure does not end the blessings she could receive by continuously praying for her. That is the best thing that parents could receive from their children - the prayers, even after they are gone.

As a friend, I will be there for you. I am sure lots of friends will do be there for you too. The friendship that all of us have is very strong, and I can tell it by observing the friends who paid their respect yesterday. We want you to know that you are not left alone.

You will start a new beginning very very soon my friend, and I wish you all the best.


.. Sincerely from your loving old friend.

Sale sale sale! Beli beli!

(I have always wanted to refrain from talking about my upcoming wedding, but the things I wanna talk about evolve around me when I am working on the preparations. I hope I won't flood the blog with soapy wedding stuff. Enough the links)

Since the big day is drawing near, and what's more, the Year End Sale is still on high tide, En. Tunang and I made a series of shopping exercise. From Pavilion to Suria KLCC to Jalan TAR. From surveying and deciding what to buy, and the next few days were just buying-the-things-we-have-spotted, and we did a good job adhering to our allocation. It was fun to go shopping, I seriously can not deny that. But what I am more interested in is not the part when we got the things we wished for (memang seronok, but I did not say "Yes! Yes!Yes!" like the girl in Confessions of a Shopaholic), but the shopping behavior that shoppers have. I am awed. Awed in mixed feelings.

Yesterday, En. Tunang and I went to a well-renowned fabric shop in KL to get the fabrics for our pengapit during the receptions. It was Christmas, so yeah, I kinda expected Jalan TAR and its surroundings to be packed with swarms of people. It's shopping season kan!

After we got what we wanted, we waited for his sister who was queuing to pay at the counter. That was when one of the fabric shop staff hollered "Happy hour, happy hour! Murah2~ semua RM50 sepasang! Kain lembut2 kak.. tak payah gosok, mari2~!"

The aunties who came in are not all from KL I suppose. There were those from Kelantan, Terengganu (noting from their accent) and I was like "Whoa.. they come here to shop for kain? I thought city folks travel to their places to find kain? Hmm I guess that is called 'shopping assimiliation', haha.

I could feel the excitement in the makcik2's eyes upon hearing "kain sepasang RM50 je". They were delving into the rolls of cloth, picking one after one.. and I was bawling my eyes out. Deep inside my heart I yelped, "Auntie, don't buy, those pieces are unpretty. Tak cantik! It's a waste!" But if I were to open my mouth, I would definitely be kicked out of the shop, haha. So I tried in hesitation to watch them reaching out for the so-called cheap-but-pretty textile, knowing that I would turn them into rags to clean my kitchen if I were to buy one. And I was thinking too, every second the textile merchant gets richer and richer. Oh dunia~ how easy it is to get rich.. just rake the money out from everyone's pockets! Weapon? Good marketing and promotion! Barang tak best pun pembeli bukan pandai sangat nak tahu.. dia tahu dapat diskaun je..

So after all is done, out we go. Suddenly I was into this kinda-stupid idea. "Ain, let's check out that tudung store. I wanna find out what's there.." En. Tunang and family went their own way, leaving Ain and I to do what we wanted to do.

Tudung. Scarf. The trend now: Tudung Indon, that is being restyled and rebranded into brands like Ariani, Ratu and Fareeda; just quoting a few names. Don't say I have not tried, I have, but let's just say that I like scarfs with no awning. Afterall, the style in wearing tudung is not limited.

And so, Encik Kedai Tudung promoted the different names of scarfs that they have, telling us why we should opt for their tudung. Thai silk covered awning, swarovski beaded, face shaped to perfection, and so on. But referring to one of his statements, I will never agree that ladies who don't wear tudung indon-like style is out of trend. It's just that someone like him has been 'intelligent' enough to stick the thinking that branded indon-scarfs is the in-thing and make so-called trendy ladies pay RM200 just to take an average scarf out of their store. Some marketing they have there..

So, what kind of lesson learnt can we get? Make your own product, promote it to the sky, entice people, and your pocket will be thick in no time. Well, some time jugak la kut..

And I'm glad that I have great resistance to spend.

My Unwind

The 3-day training in Kuala Terengganu was a really needed getaway after the Instrument Forum, the changes in my wedding arrangements, the pre-shopping activity (4 days straight!), the tiring-but-finally-I-get-what-I-want-kain-hunting and my family's kenduri. Should I call it one of the last few moments that I enjoyed my life being single? Eh, I mean unmarried :D Yeah, it was one of the perfect getaways.

Why? Because there were great friends as company, great food, great hotel, much things to laugh about, pillow talks, many unexpected things, no rules to play by, and the list goes on. Sitting on the beach with the cold night's breeze biting the skin, admiring the dark sky pierced with glittering stars, sharing good stories and silent moments.. I couldn't ask for more. I call it rejuvenation process, haha.

(Seriously, the tension got my skin to age somehow. Don't say it's not visible ok)

I must admit that I really treasure the happenings around me right now, and that I would likely recall them this way "ingat tak a few months before our weddings.. we did this and that.." (Oh, a few friends-cum-colleagues will get married around the same time like mine, so we're kinda celebrating our single life together). I suppose after marriage, a different type of life could be expected. Not to say that I am viewing marriage from a not-so-positive angle, I DIDN'T say that! Let's just say that life later will somehow change. Priorities especially. I guess it will take some time for me to adapt. But anyway, I always believe that discovering something new or going through uncharted waters bring colors to life. Afterall, I am getting myself a great partner :) And I look forward to it.

Tomorrow, I'll board the plane again. Oh, have I ever mention I love airports? Yes, I do (love airports) :)

P/S: Thanks to Encik Nazim for the great training (specially edited for you ok~ hehe)

Prelude after the break

Here I am, sitting alone in Primula Beach Hotel lobby, just got myself connected after like 3 days of not accessing the Internet. Tomorrow I will head home, and will start my long untaken annual leave (yay!). 3 months more, and so much things to get done. Enough of planning!

It has been more than a month since I seriously wrote something. Oh well, not that I can really recall what happened throughout the 4-5 weeks, but I was damn busy and tired. Busy with work, family affairs and wedding affairs too! I'm not talking about my upcoming wedding, but my friends' weddings! Even this weekend I will have three weddings to attend, two on Saturday and one on Sunday, and that one being held in Bandar Baru Kedah. Wuhuu.. balik daripada Terengganu ni kena pergi tukar minyak hitam la jawabnya...

I guess I'll separate the things I have in my head into several posts (wah, adakah rajin?) If not, my idea will be so messed up!

P/S: Esok birthday Aishah. Happy 23rd birthday my sista!

No, not yet

It's hard to accept that I left my blog with all the cobwebs for nearly one month. Wuuhuu..

.. for the next post.