elite garage

Just got back from Suzy's Corner@Ampang. Ordered the Peach Lasse- they put mamak style yogurt, "adeh, susah nak telan". Ajoi as usual, seeing the yummy roasted chicken wings, ordered a plate.

Jangan la main lumba-lumba habiskan ayam tu, memang lah awak yang menang!
~heh. Love you Sayang.

*rewind*

Tarawikh tonight at Surau Kemensah a.k.a Surau Orang Kaya. Why do I say so? Because that's the only surau here that you can see Beemers, Mercs, Porsches, Range Rovers, Ferraris and one time, a Lambo parked in the courtyard. For the ladies, you can choose between the indoor arena (10ft X 20ft)- with walls fixed with 42" plasma showing the live telecacst of the Imam, 4units of 2hp airconds and ceiling fans or an option of the wide open space (roof-covered) balcony area with wall plugged fans.

As we were about the start isyak, one mak datin asked me to sit next to her untuk rapatkan saf. Well, since her face is thick with make-up, fingers lined with gold and a very expensive looking telekung wrapping her body- I assume she couldn't be any less. Right after Isyak, she whispered to me, "rapat sangat dengan orang depan, susah nak rukuk". I turned to her and replied with a smile, "dah jemaah makin ramai, memanglah baris kena rapat sikit". She gave me a sneer. In my heart, I just went, "whatever.."

But that does not change the fact that the Imam memorized some very impressive versus from the Quran and didn't waste a single moment to complete his duties.

Overall experience- fabulous!

p/s: thank you everyone for the various job offers. I'll decide soon ok. Love you guys. However Ajoi kept insisting I'd be a suri rumah.

p/p/s: Awak nak simpan saya kat umah ye sayang? =)

khemah

Noris: Khemah mana?
Kerol: Kat depan tu.
Nora: Ada khemah ke kat sini beb?

As we were venturing the location, we finally saw the said venue, RASTA KHEMAH- right smack in our faces- funny. Memamng betul namanya KHEMAH. heh.

Sempat singgah kejap malam semalam after tarawikh to sama-sama celebrate Faiz's 23rd birthday. Nice location dearie. Ala-ala arabian setting. So the 10 of us lit the candle at midnite and wished:

Dear Faiz, have a wonderful 23rd birthday, may you pass your exams with flying colors and a great future awaits. Love from all of us.

So anyone wants to have a quiet get together for very affordable price (starting from RM2 per dish) ranging from all kinds of cuisine- shisha juga ada, make your way to Rasta Khemah@TTDI. Easiest route via Penchala Link.

Got a ride home and a quick mamak from Ajoi- Thank you Sayang.


*Accompanying mak soon to meet-up with Kak Liza, our wedding planner.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

2nd of Ramadhan

I guess it's a habit that I carry, suka testing. Food joint, new malls, surau or masjid. Be it for solat wajib or even sunat.

Personal favorites:
Masjid Saidina Abu Bakar, Bukit Damansara - kuliah subuh dia best
Masjid TTDI - air cond dia best.
Surau Jalan I, Taman Melawati- best for kids nak tarawikh (surah pendek-pendek)
Masjid Jalan B, Taman Melawati- orang lama yang nak khatamkan Al-Quran dalam tempoh Ramadhan.

So just now I went and tested Masjid Al-Hidayah Taman Melawati.
It is spacious, 3 days ago, went for Asar- not bad. Imam was clearly heard. Decided to give it a shot for tarawikh. Arrive at 8.20pm to catch the Isyak berjemaah. Full house in the ladies department, they had to extend until corridor area which is a norm for men's department but I guess, it is a culture in Taman Melawati for the whole family to come. Kids and teenagers usually will have fun cause they can also meet their friends there. Right before azan, I heard the urusetia masjid (i think he is-dengan gaya confidentnya) saying, "siapa tak tahan boleh naik ke atas, lebih selesa". As they corridor area is ventilated via standing fans, upstairs are well equipped with ceiling fans and all the windows are open- sejuk angin malam.

So I made my way to the staircase- saja nak rasa tingkat atas pulak. At the same time, the urusetia came passed me and he said, "awak naik ke atas ya". I replied, "ya, nak ke sana ni, terima kasih". He smiled and we part ways. Upon reaching the upper floor, I quickly made my way to the first row of the saf. Wah! lucky dapat betul-betul selari dengan imam and first class view of the whole jemaah.

Got short khutbah before tarawikh.
Imam is good.
Qari was assigned for tarawikh- lebih muda, lebih bertenaga.
1 juzuk every night so can khatam Al-Quran by end of ramadhan.

Good experience. Ramai orang seronok juga.

Having difficulties sleeping now cause 2 of my neighbors tengah mengaji. I can tell because their tarannum are different. They probably live in a different block sebab dengar sayup-sayup aje.
Nonetheless, both are extremely talented- layan pulak.

Ajoi kata "bunian mestilah talented"

~Chet! ke situ pulak dia.~


Salam Ramadhan Al-Mubarak!

Start Early- Protect them

1. Teach our children not to talk to strangers.
2. Teach them not to accept food or drinks from strangers.
3. Teach them to say no to strangers.
4. Teach them to memorize your contact number.
5. Teach them to walk away from strangers.
6. Teach them not to wander far from home.
   

nigerian jewel

It was a day just like any other. Stretched myself out of bed, showered, put on my favorite blue jeans, the all too familiar routine of makeup and body care, one more look in the mirror and with a soft whisper,

"ok, i'm good to go."

Reaching for the car keys and sunnies, i reminded myself again not to forget to take the laundry. As I walked to my car, something -or rather someone, caught my eyes. There he was, on a red and yellow tricycle- a boy no more than five years old was just staring at my car. What made it more peculiar was that he is not from around here. Curly hair, dark tanned skin and immediately I thought to myself,

"I didn't know we have a Nigerian neighbor."

We don't.

I walked over, stood right next to him and squatted down. Not to scare him away, as gently as I could, I said, "Hello."

He didn't reply. He was slightly shaking his head and avoiding eye contact. I figured he was taught not to talk to strangers which I agree is a very important lesson for all kids to remember. But there he was. He didn't paddle away. So I held out my hand to him and said, "Hi, my name is Nora. Where's your home? Do you want me to send you back?"

Again, he avoided my gaze and looked everywhere at nothingness. Then it hits me- this kid is autistic.

Being a woman, my 'naluri wanita' immediately kicked in and I was worried that he may not be able to find his way back all by himself.

"It's ok, sweetheart. Do you need help? I can help you to look for your parents."

Steadily, he turned his head towards me, "Yes! eye contact, this is good", I said to myself. However it was just for a brief second and he was back to losing focus.

"I'm gonna go inside my house and take a a drink. Would you like to have one?"

"No", he said while just playing with the ribbon on his handle bars.

I hesitated for awhile, then I stood and walked over to my house. I slotted the key into the lock and opened the door. As I was in the kitchen, I figured I might as well carry another pack of green tea just in case he changed his mind. Closed the fridge after grabbing two packets of the juice and head over to the front door.

To my surprise, the boy was standing right there. As I had left the key in the lock, he was fiddling with it and enjoying the sound of jiggling keys. So I slowly approached him and said, "I have one drink for myself, would you like to have the other one?". Patiently, I waited for his reply.

"No."

"Ok, where do you want to go? I can take you there"

......

"Are you going out?", he asked.
"Yes dear."
"Ok, I'll get out of your way"

Now, for an autistic kid, this boy can communicate well enough. That's good.

"But what about you?". I tried to continue the conversation and get him to participate. Carefully, I locked the door and offered him my hand. He took it and we walked towards his tricycle. "You know it's very dangerous to be all by yourself. Bad things could happen.. Now look at the sky."

I pointed his hand to the dark clouds above, "It looks like it's going to rain soon" - truth is, it seemed more like a storm is coming and I'm really not comfortable leaving him roaming around by himself.

"No. No. Don't worry. Are you going out?"

"Yes, dear, I have to go. Please let me take you home. Or do you have a phone number that I could call to speak to your parents? I'm sure they're very worried."

"No. I'll get out of your way. You go."

Looking at a 5 years old-autistic kid, trying to act all mature and in charge, tickled me in a way.
Well, maybe his family is just visiting one of my neighbors and this neighborhood is really a safe and great place to grow up. So I smiled at him and said. "Ok then, have this drink so you won't go thirsty".

"No. Don't worry, I'll get out of your way.. See". He hopped on his bike and took it three steps back.

Seeing this, I unlocked my car, stepped in, turned on my engine, wind down the window.

"Ok, I'm going now. Please find your parents before the rain starts to pour."

"Ok. I'll get out of your way. You go."

"Promise?"

"Ok. You go."

I smiled at him, waved him goodbye as he paddled away.

I stole a quick glance at the rear view mirror as I reached the opposite end of the road.

..He was gone.

I'll always remember that little Nigerian boy on his tricycle jiggling with my keys. I do hope he went back to his parents.

As I was on my way to the store, I called Ajoi to tell him about it and he said...

"woooaa, voodoo boy"


*Apalah awak ni!

"Epic ending" - DL

Mariah Carey - Can't Take That Away (Music Video) HD