12.4.13

Family Day (11 years later)

The last time I updated this space was soon after my mak left us. That was mid last year. And then I got busy and I updated most happenings in FB. Lagi senang.

But this space has a special place in my heart.

And the last time we had a family day of sorts were in 2002 - both for my side and Yan's family. And then we all got busy with our lives.

Until recently... when Kak Zai suggested a family getaway together. It was meant to be a "celebration" of sorts too for my BIL has recovered from his bypass operation he underwent last December. So the Cheras gang took the lead and organised the trip.

The venue was chosen - a three day two night stay at a Pantai Seaview Resort in Jeram Selangor. The date: late march (of course to coincide with the school holidays la)

The agenda was pretty basic... relax and makan-makan... lots of it. I mean the eating part. Three out of five families were there and it was a riot. We have had major fun! And two weeks down the road, I'm still reminiscing the wonderful moments we share together.



1.9.12

Missing my Mak!

Last July, we lost our Mak. It's heart breaking even to post this entry, still. So here's Asma's account on what's transpired (as per her FB note) ...



The last two weeks have been probably the most heart wrenching time I remember having in my life.  You see, my Opah Temoh (grandmother) passed away on July 18th, 2012. What made it more heartbreaking was the fact that this is the first close family funeral my sisters and I attended.

Certainly one expects grandparents to pass away, even when they live a healthy long life. But trust me, nothing prepares you for the time that you must say good-bye.  Opah had been ill for quite sometimes. In fact, she became progressively ill right after she received news that her best friend had passed away in Ipoh. That was about three months or so ago. She was at our place then.

She became quite reclusive after that, refusing to eat and even converse. And one day in late May, she fell down in front of the bathroom. It was lucky that my sister was nearby to grab hold of her. From then on, she became bed-bound. In early June, we sent her to my uncle’s place in Shah Alam as my mother, sisters and I went back to visit Opah Kampar (who then wasn’t feeling too good either).

One and half months at my uncle’s place, Opah Temoh seemed to be coping well. Her appetite kinda returned albeit she only ate porridge twice a day and survived on milk on a regular basis. In fact, Wan Chor said that Opah Temoh appetite seemed to be getting better by the day.

Until two weeks ago when her condition deteriorated. She was clearly and seriously ill. She had problems breathing. And we converged at my uncle’s place - us and my other uncle’s family (Ayah Lang). My Bapak and two uncles even took turn sleeping by her bedside.
That was about a week before Opah Temoh’s passing. She was in really bad condition and we took turn reciting Yassin and whispering shahadah into her ears. She slipped in and out of consciousness. What’s sad was that tears streamed down by her cheek – she must be in great pain and she couldn’t talk anymore. Whenever she’s conscious, we also took turn asking for forgiveness.

And Bapak texted my Opah’s nieces and nephews informing them of her health situation. Before long, scores of uncles and aunts (my Bapak’s cousins) came over. My Opah Temoh’s brother and sister in laws also came by all the way from Penang and Ipoh. Even my Opah Kampor and Mak La came over from Kampar on the last Sunday of Opah Temoh’s life.
It’s just that by that weekend, Opah Temoh’s condition improved a little bit. In fact, on Saturday night, my mum said she waved her hand upon seeing mak entering her room and she smiled.

Alas, that was not to be for long. By Wednesday morning, she was already unconscious and by noon, my uncles and Bapak decided that she needed to be hospitalised (despite Opah Temoh’s frequent requests to not send her to the hospitals).

By 5.30pm, we received a call from Bapak from the Klang Hospital asking us to come. The doctor asked all close family members to come over. We rushed through the evening rush hour and reached the hospital around 7.10pm. And we were greeted by the sight of Opah Temoh lying on the bed fighting for her life. It was heart breaking.

And around 8.20pm, Opah Temoh left us. Forever. It was numbing, us watching her breathed her last breath.

What happened next was blur of activities - us rushing back home, readying the house to receive Opah Temoh to spend the night at our place for the last time, the mandi jenazah and kapan and the solat jenazah at the Masjid An Nur, USJ 4, the funeral at the USJ 22 cemetery and a tahlil at my place that evening.

And today, almost a week later, I can’t help wondering if we ever remember to thank you enough for all you have done for us.

Opah, 

Wherever you are now, one thing for sure, you’ll always be remembered.  If we have forgotten to show our gratitude enough for all the things you did, we're thanking you now. And we are hoping you knew all along how much you meant to us.



Rest in Peace, Opah Temoh! Al Fatihah!


20.3.12

Arissa's Artwork!

This, obviously,  is a notebook. A normal notebook where you can pen down your notes and what not! It came throughout our mailbox last week, courtesy of PT Foundation. They have produced this notebook as part of their campaign to raise awareness of fight against HIV/AIDS.

 Below are their foreword. Go read. Am too lazy to explain.
 So youngest daughter, Arissa, was invited to participate and this is her contribution:




6.3.12

Bila anak belanja makan....

Alhamdulillah!

Last weekend, Alia, our first born, treated us to a Carl's Junior amazing burgers. For those not knowing, she's been working at MBO Cinemas in Subang Parade, manning the concession stand (which also means its free flow caramel popcorn for us, oh yeah!) since last January while waiting for her SPM result.
The mak and her Alia

And she got her full salary last week. And she decided to 'belanja' us makan. At Carl's Junior in Subang Parade, which is located just next to MBO cinemas. How adventurous!!!

The sisters Asma and Arissa are also so sibuk to join in

 The wife and I can't really remember if we have set foot at Carl's Junior (the girls apparently have a couple of times when they were out with their friends) ever but I must say the burgers, although a bit bigger than what we are accustomed to (read: McD), are to die for!!!

The juiciest burger ever

16.2.12

Balik Kampung Version 1.0 (2012)

On the last weekend of January recently, we decided to balik kampung. For some reasons, balik kampung is a huge thing for us nowadays. We don’t get to do it as often as we like. Why we can’t even “afford” to do so during Raya (these last three years), which is really a bummer.

So when opportunity to balik kampung presented itself last January (with some tweaking with the family’s monthly budget and work off-days for Bapak and daughter number one), we jumped into the car and drove off. Excitedly.

I tell you that we were mightily grateful for that “once in a blue moon” trip and even after almost a month, we are still reminiscing about it.

Anyways, here’s our trip in pictures….., which of course turned into jalan-jalan cari makan trip as well….

First stop - Rawang R&R, makan lunch and beli menatang ni....

After picking up MIL at my sister in law's place, we made our way to Kampung Perak, Temoh, the kampung halaman and visited my home, my childhood home. Sayu jugak tengok rumah tinggal ni - the kampung pun in a very sorry state, there is only a handful of houses left. Even more sedih is the fact that this house will soon be leveled as my younger brother (he owns the house now) intends to buat kebun kelapa sawit or something. Oh! Well....

And this is what's left of my wife's old home (at the other end of the same kampung).. lagilah sedih... tinggal tangga batu sahaja....,
 later that night... masa untuk bersuka ria pun bermula ....

MIL belanja dinner at satu restoran ikan bakar in Kampar.... but we were so hungry lupa nak snap photos of the makanans.. and anyways, keadaan adalah agak gelap gelita kerana al-fresco la keadahnya mlm itu. Yang penting, segala apa yang terhidang - licin-licap.
Tukang belanja and her cucus... sorry ya semua gambor dia tutup mata punya...hehee
The next morning, we got ready to attend a wedding in Taiping (wedding anak Kak Enon - Yan's cousin)

But on the way over, we stopped over makan breakfast di Malim Nawar and had this awesome nasi lemak... sangat2 sedap. Trust me, its very sedap.
Upon reaching the dewan kenduri, maka sessi bergambar raya pun bermula... here's Alia with the wedding planner's punya mini cooper

Us and the mak bapak pengantin - Kak Enon and Abg Aziz

Sisters and Cousins - anggun la 
The girls and their Abang Mi, who is the wedding planner and also the brother of the bride.

Me and my anak bongsu Arissa

Abang Mi took them on a ride in his mini cooper... semua2 ni masuk dalam satu kereta yang cenonet tu (as if they are aiming for some record or something)... praq or not, I don't know?
Dah sampai Tepen, tak sah la tak menyinggah di Lake Garden yang gorgeous itu la kan..

Arissa berpayung-payung di Lake Garden Tepen
Posing-memosing
More posing memosing
The trees around the lake are somewhat amazing and unique, yes?
Contoh bercanda di taman bunga... kalau belum kahwin, bercandalah dengan adik beradik ataupun sepupu  atau kengkawan yang sejenis sahaja,  ya adik-adik!

Or if you are older, boleh duduk sahaja di kerusi  menghirup udara petang sambil memangku cucu yang sedang tidur, or eat ice cream (by the way, the ice cream itu sangatlah sedap, bertambah sedap kerana harga dia RM1 sahaja)

 After that we made our way back to KL ... but not before we singgah Kuala Kangsar to makan-makan lagi...
The food we had - laksa kuala, rojak buah, ketupat palas and rendang daging, apam, interesting looking keuteow goreng and we brought kuih putu bambu (ye ke?) and dodol and wajik durian. One word - pengsan!!!

Lihatlah dua beranak ini sedang menikmati hidangan di Kuale...
...dan seseorang menantu sedang membodek mak mentua.. But she's the most gracious lady that I've ever met in my life.
 Lepas tu we went separate ways... we finally headed back to Subang Jaya, short trip balik kampung but fantastic to the max. Alhamdulillah.

but of course, upon reaching Tanjung Malim, we stopped for solat and  pekena pau tanjung malim yang famous itu la plak.
 And then after almost 4 hours of driving (lebih kurang la), we reached home and our two cats..... and the next evening, we ended our makan-makan excursion by having Nasi Arab kat Restoran Saba di Cyberjaya. Saja je kan...

Yummeh to the Yes!!!