The Raya post

This year is my second time celebrating Raya away from my kampung. Last year was the worst, as my Raya was spent in the classroom on my induction day. The bad part was that I didn't even know it was already Raya :p. Luckily there was that Saudi friend of mine who had to 'convinced' me that it was already Raya. That was our salam perkenalan heheh.

This year was a low key event with just us families, an almost complete "ecosystem" with the exception of my brother & co back home. Last time it was all of us in Malaysia, and him in UK. Now terbalik pulak hehehe. I initially looked forward to having just us for Raya. Maybe as I get older, I tend to be more anti-social. I dread going to crowded social events. And Raya can get really crowded. Most of the times, you only get to greet the host with few pleasantaries, eat and then it's hi hi, bye bye and on to the next house. So it has a nice feel to be able to spend Raya just with your immediate families, the ones that love you unconditionally. But upon hearing my brother's voice on pagi Raya, I found myself missing the Raya atmosphere back home. The sound of my dad hurrying everyone early in the morning to for the Eid prayer, the family breakfast before making our Raya rounds, the visits to the most important and closest relatives and of course the variety of foods.

However, there are a few things that I don't miss. I don't miss the hassle of securing my 'balik kampung' ticket and leave. I don't miss the hassle of having to prepare for Raya i.e. Raya clothes, tudung, shoes, handbag, etc. I don't miss having to give duit raya heheh (but my nieces & nephew here dapat la. In pound lagi :p). And most of all, I don't miss the fending off/deflecting of THE question.

It really amazed me how many people seem to really care about my marital status. I don't get how being married will serve anyone else except for my immediate families. Ok, some cousins just wanted an excuse to get together; though isn't Raya was meant to do that already? What sometimes bother me is the insensitivity of some people that pose the question in quite a condensceding way. I say insensitive because I would like to think they don't really meant it that way. But seriously, it's the same as asking a person who has worked 10 years "why aren't you a manager?". It's all about rezeki. Some people have it easy. Some people may get the managerial post within 8 years without doing any credible work at all. Some may work like crazy but it was just not 'written' for them. Similarly about marriage. And about having kids. You have them. Great. Your life is complete. I am happy for you. But don't go and preen over others on it. Though I know my friends who have not been given rezeki anak have it worst.

Heh, a Raya post just gone awry here :p. This part of life in Malaysia is something that I don't look forward to, and I am already bracing myself for the onslaught.

Anyway, today we had some special guests over - The TEKAD family. My friend and her family are off to Durham to start her own Masters journey now. So it's like a selisih di jalanan for us. After a year away from KL, it is nice to see some familiar faces here for Raya. My regret is that I won't get to meet her and hang out with her when I get back nanti. For another year . Wishing you all the best my dear. Enjoy your one year break :)

Hope it is still not too late to wish everyone Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Maaf Zahir dan Batin.

A goodbye kiss?

The thing about having non-Muslims around you most of the time is the problem of protecting your personal space. These people are very affectionate and touchy2 type. Even the Indians from India, which I know don't practise this culture back home, seemed to have adopted them as well.

So far, I have managed to keep them at arms length. Well, the good thing about wearing hijab is that it confuses them, heheh. Plus of course my mannerism is very controlled when I'm with the boys. So they don't really know to what extent they should be close with me, hence they are more careful and polite. So they don't try to hug me even though I can see they wanted to (out of habit, that is).

But tonight, we had a small gathering among my coursemates. And I was saying goodbye to most of them, esp this one guy who was my groupmate during my second term. While saying goodbye, he came towards me and I thought he wanted to shake hands with me, but suddenly he bent down and was about to kiss me! Out of nowhere I heard myself cried out "Don't kiss me!" Yes, I actually said that out loud. Well, I didn't scream it. But it was loud enough for him to hear it and startled him enough to stop him. Phewww....

The thing is, he's Greek and he's like THE most handsome guy in the class. Heck, I think he's the handsomest and the most attractive guy I've seen in UK so far. And at one time, he seemed to be interested in me. Until somebody let out my age, heh. For some reason everyone thinks that I'm a fresh grad. I guess I'm fortunate to have good genes that made me look younger than my age.

Hopefully there won't be this sort of incident ever again. I don't know if I can scream fast enough next time :p

Packing...packing...

Kotak - checked
Masking tape - checked
Vacuum bag - checked
bubble wrap - checked
Newspaper - err have to get more
laundry - done

Sigghhh....it's packing time now. My all time least favourite activity. Right up there with unpacking. I am a homey person. I hate moving. I hate changes. I like to make my nest just as I like it, and then just let things stay just the way they are. Including all the furnitures. Hence why all my furnitures are built-in :p.

Anyway back to packing. I hate it because I need to plan things out carefully. I am not the type that just 'campak' everything into the box. I like to know which box has which of my stuffs so that I can plan for which box to be opened first. And also which box that I can close last.

Complicated eh? Well, I'm a planner at heart. I go by the habit of "begin with the end in mind". I need to see as clearly as possible what is going to happen in front of me before I make the step. There's good and bad to it. Good because it gives me some peace of mind when I embark on something. Bad because, you can become a bit paranoid with things. Coz when you plan things out, you start thinking of all the worst-case scenario as well :p. Also, when things don't go as plan, you can get real cranky as well. Well, ok that could be just me. I remember the last few days before coming over to UK, I got to know that my flight to UK will land in Leeds rather than Heathrow. It was a misunderstanding between Mara and me. I thought since I'm going by MAS, it will go to Heathrow, which is what I want. But Mara thought, since I'm going to Lancaster, the nearest airport will be Leeds, hence they had made arrangement for flight transfer in Netherlands instead. In the end, I got the flight that I want, but it had to be two days later. The changes didn't have major impact to my plans, but the fact it did mess it up had me in a very cranky mood for that whole day. And someone wasn't very pleased with me about it as well. :p

Well, everyone have their quirks. Mine happens to be this one.

So, now I need to start my packing. Need to first figure out where to start from :p

Ramadhan is here again

It's Ramadhan again. I came to UK in Ramadhan, about 10 days before Raya last year, and now it's Ramadhan again. How time really flies.

Last Ramadhan was the most hectic time for me. Gosh, thinking back, I didn't know how I managed. Work was at the peak time for me, I was trying to complete as much as possible before I handed it over to another colleague(s) (was juggling a few projects at that time). Then there was the issue of trying to find tenant for my house. I think it was during Ramadhan or just before Ramadhan that I got one. And then having to do my passport, my student visa. I remember asking the guard at the visa center to let me go back to office for one hour because I had to attend a meeting, heh. Those were some of the craziest moments in my life. And then the packing, sigghh...dah la kena kosongkan office. Then had to kosongkan rumah as well. Then had to pack for what to bring to UK.

But through it all, I think a lot of things had been permudahkan oleh Allah. I am really thankful for that. When He gives you a rezeki, He will at the same time open the path for you.

I am thankful to Him that I get to fast with my friends in Lancaster this year; friends who have been like a family to me in this one year. And I look forward to submit my dissertation soon as well, insya Allah :)

Selamat berpuasa peeps. Mohon maaf atas segala kekasaran bahasa dan apa sahaja dari saya yang mungkin telah menyinggung perasaan mana2 pihak. To those that personally knows me, forgive me for all my wrongdoings and kalau ada terambil mana2 hak, harap dihalalkan. May this Ramadhan brings barakah to all of us, insya Allah.

It's getting hot in here

I am sweating.

I now feel pity for the people here (including me right now :p). You have to equip your house with heater AND air-conditioner here. And you can't even open the window due to the insects and pollens flying about.

My room being a university room only has the heater. I don't even have any fan. The only savior is the fact that the wall and the window glass are quite thick so at least the heat from outside doesn't get in that easily.

Even so, at 3am, I am sweating.
Who would have thought I would ever be in this condition here? Heh.

Friends that you can have

I have two people in my class that I would consider to be my close friends here. My coffee buddies to be exact. One is a Greek girl while the other is an Arab from Saudi Arabia.

Before coming to UK, I had never thought that I would ever be talking to a Greek, much less be friends with one. To me then, Greeks were ancient people that lived in textbooks and mythology stories. So it felt quite a novelty for me to be talking to one. I got excited as well when my friend taught me the Greek's alphabets, which are the symbols that we used in our Maths and Physics equation. Ulu tak? Heh.

Meanwhile, my Arab friend had changed totally my perception of Arab women. She doesn't wear the abaya and niqab in UK, but though her clothes are quite modern, they properly cover her that she can just pray in them (which is what she normally does). She's like a normal girl, who loves watching movies, knows most of the popular songs, even worked as a Network Engineer. I would say she is quite like me in this sense, hence why we get on so well. But the more I got to know her, the more that I admire her. And I think that she is truly a blessed person. For one thing, she was born and grew up in Makkah. That alone had me green with envy, masya Allah. Recently, while we were studying together, she mentioned in passing that she memorizes the al-Baqarah. My jaw literally dropped. If someone I know tells me that he/she memorizes Yassin, I wouldn't have blinked an eye. But al-Baqarah??? The longest surah in the Quran?? Masya Allah, la haulawala quwwata illabillah.

Last night, after reading The Tea Drinker's post on him meeting the descendents of Sy Abdul Qadir Gailani r.a., it suddenly triggered me to ask her one question -

"Are you by any chance related to Bani Hashim?" I asked her last night.

"My mother is," she answered, oh so casually.

My jaw dropped again. Wow. I mean, really, wow. In my circle of friends, a blood relation of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.?? I am still in a daze over this recent knowledge.

She also told me that her mother is coming over to UK soon so I'll be able to meet her.

I am really, really looking forward to that.

TeaD, thank you, thank you for your post that had triggered me to ask this question. :D

Weather talk again! :p

I saw a friend's picture on facebook today, a picture that reminded me of rain. Suddenly, I'm feeling homesick. I love rain. I love the sounds that they make, especially when they fall on the roof of your house. I love the fresh, cool air that comes with the rain. I love the fresh smells that whiff from the rain (err, except if there's a kandang babi nearby :p). And I especially love it when you woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of pouring rain, and the air is getting cold that you have to snuggle yourself under a blanket, and then you let the sound of the rain lulls you back to sleep. There's a calm feeling that just settles around you.

In UK, it rains most of the times, but it is very light. It doesn't make any noise and it doesn't drench you. It keeps the air cool and fresh but it just doesn't have the same aura as the hard, pouring rain that we have in Malaysia. I do miss the rain. Plus, when the rain pours, that is one of the times that doa is mustajab. :)

ps: Err, do I sound like a Brit who can't talk about anything interesting but the weather? heh, scary thought :p

It snowed!!!

I was walking to class today and saw some white, grainy-looking stuff on the side of the pathway. My heart just thumped a bit faster, is that what I think that is?

It was!! Well, it was very light, and not much that you could do with it. But, it was still nice.

Then, when I got back to my room again in the afternoon, I actually saw them falling from the sky. Except that it wasn't exactly the snowflakes falling but slush, a mixture of snow and rain. So it wasn't as pretty. But it gives me hope that maybe I'll get to see and play in the snow this winter. :D

I need to think now whether I should get a snowboot or not. hmmm....

A penny saved, is a penny earned

One of the major changes that I had to make when coming here is on my spending. I wouldn't consider myself a shopaholic nor am I a big spender. But I do like to buy good stuffs, choose brands that I'm comfortable with even if there are cheaper ones on the shelves. And I really like to spend on good foodstuffs and good restaurants. With my previous salary, I can still indulge in this. But now, with just 200pound per month, I have to really watch what I spend on. Now, it's all about finding the cheapest one for everything, regardless of the brands. I would even browse through a few shops before doing the actual purchase to make sure that I'm getting the best deal for the item. Eating out is such a luxury now. Even for a cup of coffee. So far, I've only eaten out once, and I felt like I'm paying through my nose for it, heh. I guess maybe because in this early days, there are just so many things that you need to buy and you feel that you've been spending a lot. Maybe later once I'm more settled, I can relax a bit on this.

Raya Di Perantauan

Raya this year was almost an uneventful day for me. We called up my sister on Monday night and asked her whether raya ke tak on 30th. She said the masjid that they followed said it will be on 1st. So my parents and I still woke up for sahur on Tueday morning, and still performed our fasting on that day. But later in the morning, I went over to the university for my course briefing, and there I saw one Arab lady in tudung was drinking coffee. And she told me that the mosque in Lancaster had already declared Hari Raya the night before and they even had the solat sunat Aidilfitri at the mosque that morning. I was at first hesitant to break my fast, wasn't sure which to follow. But in the end, since I am going to stay and follow the mosque here, I decided that I should Raya on that day as well. Just as I was about to open my fast, I got a text msg from J, ucap selamat hari raya hehe...I felt like you could read my mind then dear. Scary :p hehe.

Diana pulak, met a Malaysian, Kak Rina when she did her library card registration in the morning. Kak Rina also told Diana that it is already Raya and that some of the seniors are doing Open House that day. So that evening, after all our briefings, Diana and myself decided to just go over to the Open House and introduce ourselves. For our bravery, we get to eat Soto and lontong that day hehe...

And that was our Raya day. Alhamdulillah, though I didn't get to Raya in my hometown this year, I still get to spend the Raya morning with my parents. And for that, it is still a great Raya for me.

First day back to School

I am finally here. Wow. After all these years of thinking, planning and talking about doing my masters in UK, I am finally here. Alhamdulillah. Thank you God for this treasured opportunity, and help me make the most of my time here for me to be a better person in all aspects. Ameen.

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It is my first day of registration today. With the registration, i get my library card (which essentially is the student ID card), my Lancaster email, my library login id, but most importantly my network ID, yeayy!! Hence, I am now able to have internet connection everywhere I go, including from my own sweet room.

There are about 60 students in my course coming from all parts of the world. It is truly a united nations here. The highest are from India, about 20 of them, next is Greece about 10, 8 from Britain, and others are from Nigeria, Cameroon, Panama, Mexico and Cyprus. There's only 2 from Malaysia, myself and Diana, my now partner in crime hehe...some of them are doing their masters straight from their degree, while most have some work experience. Most of them have quite impressive background, working for consulting firms like Accenture, PwC and Infosys. Some even have their own companies. It will be interesting indeed working with these diversed group of people.

I hope I am going to enjoy the studying environment here. Most importantly, I hope I can cope with all the works given. All the lecturers that we have seen so far keep saying that it is going to be hectic. Hopefully, I'll still have the time to blog. :)