Raya Posting : Raya Day 1

This is the first posting of mine on Raya. I didn’t have the urge to write about it earlier because...you don’t write about Raya I guess...you just Raya and will end up having no time to write. Hehe. At least that’s what happened to me.

The magic of Raya, to me, only happens during Malam Raya and the morning of First Raya. Come late afternoon, the magic wears off, hence encouraging us to glue our butts in front of the TV for hours on end and pile up on the kilos by munching them kuih rayas while watching the tv.

My first raya was in Ampang, thanks to my bro who arrived back in Malaysia malam raya, at 2am to be exact, unenabling us to travel to anywhere. We woke up to the sight of him slumped on the couch, his luggages scattered on the floor, his socks still on. That was a sign for us not being able to go anywhere that day-he will be sleeping the whole day..sigh...

I woke up at 5 that day, showered and went straight to the kitchen to cook. I already told my sister many days before that I will cook the rending, not her, not bibik, but me. She can cook everything else, I won’t kacau, but leave them rending to me. So I cheerily walked down to the kitchen that morning and found my sister and bibik already up, preparing the needed ingredients. The smile I had on my face was wiped off when my sister said ‘Kite kene masak 2 kuali rending ok?’. Shit. ‘Why so much la? Only 4 adults and 2 children what..’ She simply replied ‘To bring to kampung’. Darn. I stared at the ayam in this big basin and I can already feel the pain my feet’s gonna have standing up cooking them. The rending was successfully cooked by 7:30 and I was so happy that it turned out well.

Since my bro was still sleeping, this time in his room, my sister and I decided to go back to our hometown in Kajang to visit ‘home’. We went to the kubur, said our prayers and then went to the old house. Entering the house, I just sobbed. Ok, that’s a lie. I cried. Like a baby. I can remember how that house looked like when Papa and Mama were around. I can see the table set, the curtains hung, I can see us eating together that morning. There’s Mama’s signature dish-roti jala and tapai pulut, rending ayam, lemang and of course, I can see Papa and Mama smiling. I swear I can still hear their voices too. I swear. I can see Papa on his favourite seat, and Mama fussing over everything. I see all of us taking photos in our baju raya, the ones Mama used to sew herself.

But that morning, the house was empty. It was quiet. So quiet that we can hear the clock ticking. There was no movement at all. We kept the door open to let fresh air slip in. That’s the closest to life the house can get now. One of the rooms were already occupied with stuff belonging to our future tenant. I saw pillows, cushions, kitchen utensils and everything else in between stacked neatly in the room-a sign that they’re moving in soon. The tenants will be having their first baby soon and I am pleased that the baby can call our house her first home, just as it was mine.
I took the photos of Mama and Papa and all other photos in that house, to bring back to Ampang.

After a while in the house, we decided to visit our neighbours. The first house that came to mind was the house of our family friend, our parents’ friend, Mak Nya. Mak Nya is no younger than 90, so is her husband Uncle Gani. Mak Nya was on wheelchairs the last time I visited her and Uncle Gani was in diapers. We were greeted by their daughters, the ones we knew all our lives, they’re just like our sisters. We came in and saw Mak Nya on the wheelchair, looking out. I came to her and she asked ‘Siapa ni?’, to which I replied, ‘Ayu, anak Mahmud’. Her eyes got teary when I said that and I hugged her. ‘Where’s uncle?’, she said ‘He passed away in February’. I was shocked. ‘Innalillah..I’m sorry Aunty, I didn’t know’.

We sat and talked, about Mama, how she had a beautiful garden, how she was a good cook. I didn’t know Mama had admirers. It was heart-warming to know that Mama’s friends remember her as a very pleasant person. ‘It was nice for all of you to come. Feels just like the old days’, the daughters told us, as we were leaving.
We went to other of our parents’ friend’s house. And their reaction was the same. ‘Terima kasih la datang. Nanti bila senang datang la jenguk lagi Aunty kat sini’.

Driving back to Ampang, I remembered and Ustaz saying that one of the responsibilities of children to their parents after they’ve passed away is to maintain and foster relationships which the parents have built with other people-friends, colleagues, acquaintances. So besides being a pleasant time for us visiting these family friends, we also get lotsa pahala doing it! Cool!
We went back and received visitors at the house and the day ended with me going to bed with a tired body and stuffed tummy. :)

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Eagle Eye

Ok I know it's been months since I went to the movies, (2 months to be exact) the last movie being The Dark Knight. But when I recently had a reason to go to the movies recently, I have always had this one in my head, Eagle Eye (EE).

Any of you who has watched Wanted (Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman), could probably see the resemblence of EE in this movie. Supposedly being an action, suspense movie, it lacked every sense of them. Like I said, maybe it was because I have watched Wanted before, that this movie became predictable and a tad boring.

It is about a story of a few people who have been 'chosen' or in this movie they use the term 'activated', to do the things they are not well equipped or trained to do. Their failure in completing the task they are responsible for, will result in them losing the people they love or even their own lives.

These 'activated' people receive directions from a 'lady' through the phone, whose identity is kept secret until the second half of the movie. Quite a bummer when you get to know who the real lady is...sigh...The objective of them completing the tasks they're given are also a kept secret until the second half of the movie; and, THAT was also a bummer. Just like Wanted, when they had stupid reasons for killing people, EE has the same bummer effect on me. At the very least, Wanted was a movie you want to watch until the end, because there was Angelina Jolie. EE, had Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan. Go figure.

So, what can I conclude? Cliche, too many 'i-knew-it' and 'what-the-f***' scenes. If you have boring weekends or if you just wanna cuddle with your special someone and have run out of reason to do so, go to a chilling cinema hall, cuddle up and watch this movie. Trust me, you can kiss and still catch up on the plot between the kisses without missing anything. That's how prdictable the movie is. Hehhehe..

But, don't take my word for it. Go watch it and form your own opinion. Click Here to Read More..

To: Kak Angah, 115 Gurney St., Dunedin, New Zealand

31st January 1995
Well, it’s been months since you’re gone and rase macam rase macam lambat sangat masa berlalu. Gong Xi Fa Choy. Banyak la cerita Cina kat TV ni. Boring betul. Eh esok puasa. Dah habis ganti ke?

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1st February 1995
Sakit perut la puasa ni

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2nd February 1995
Right now I’m writing to you at 11:18 am in the morning. It’s been a while since we heard from you, Mom and Dad are disappointed. If you have any problems, please tell us. Jangan simpan takut jadi parah. Ataupun Angah takde duit stamp? Maybe itu salah satu masalahnya juga. OK lah, Angah nak tau tak, sejak kebelakangan ni, Ayu ke surau untuk sembahyang tarawih, kadang-kadang 20, kadang-kadang 8 je.

Anyway, Raya Puasa will not be the same without you. It will be sad and pretty boring without you around. I miss you a lot.

Angah, even though I selalu quarrel dengan you, I still love you as my sister. Call la reverse charge kalau takde duit.

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Another aerogram ......

7th February 1995
7:00 pm sharp
Haven’t had a phone call from you since so long. Mama was worried that you might have forgotten us. (Betul ke grammar ni?) So how’s life? Or should I call it studies?? For me, boleh lah, exam is coming up next week. Please pray for me.
7:10 pm

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8th February 1995
10:57 pm
I have a joke to tell you...I don’t have a joke to tell..hahaha...I kena buat banyak homework tau. Busy. Sejak Angah pergi Ayu dah takde mood dah nak dengar radio or anything I used to do when you were here. Anyway, jangan lupe hantar gambar kat Berita Harian ade segmen Salam Dari Seberang untuk raye.

I want to give you a birthday present tapi takde duit lagi. Tapi kalau Ayu hantar lepas Raya mesti dah terlambat kan? Tapi tak pe lah. If you don’t mind please tell me what you want tapi pada kadar RM 12 which I can get you a cassette or a card. Well, apa nak buat, itu je yang I can afford. Tengok lah kalau raya ni dapat banyak duit raya Ayu belilah something expensive and send it to you by air-mail. (WOW) .

I wish we can talk often in the phone. Dah lama tak borak dengan Angah. Masa birthday Ayu nanti call lah ya, sudi-sudikan lah.

This letter is getting boring ain’t it?

Mase dalam phone dulu, masa Angah cakap ‘I miss you’ I wanted to say ‘Me too’ but I controlled myself and said ‘mmm’. After that, I duduk kat meja makan and cried silently.
11:32 pm

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21st February 1995
10:55pm
Hi how’s life? As for me, I am sort of er...making preparations for the big day (Raya). Mama, me and Along pergi KL beli baju untuk kerja Along. Ayu Cuma beli 2 t-shirts...I’ve nothing to talk about.

Anyway, me and Along cannot get together apatah lagi bila Angah dah dah pergi, dia besar kepala. She does not hear what Mama says or hear Mama’s ‘pendapat’, semuanya dia nak contra. Let’s not talk about her because I hate her and mengumpat ni berdosa.

Ok, Kumpulan 4U2C akan datang ke Auckland untuk buat persembahan. Best kan? Tapi tak tau lah sampai ke tak ke Dunedin tu. Right now I'm listening to Radio Muzik and taping songs.

Right now Along is arguing with Mama dalam nada yang mengada-ngada-‘Tak nak lah’..you can imagine how it sounds right?

This aerogram is getting long and the only thing I’ve talked about is Along.

Betul ke Angah nak balik August ni?

Good night...I mean, good morning to you.
11.23pm


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As I Am, Now

The crack of dawn does not scare me anymore
Unkept promises do not, too
I have turned deaf
To what the world has to say
Or give

The nights lure me into sleep easier now
The eyes are not anymore afraid of what I will see
In my dreams
My feelings are free
From hope and expectations

I walk now, after I’ve run too far, too long
Chasing something I was not sure I needed
And I see the road better
Now that I’m walking
And humming, to my heart’s content

I give more now
And I receive even more
Gratitude, I know now, is sharing
I only have myself to be grateful for
And what I can to for others

I give up more now
On the wars I know I cannot win
I keep my thoughts to myself
And spared a few hearts from breaking
With my words, should I have said them

I am calmer now
Like those Sunday mornings
When you have a whole day
Having the possibilities of doing things
But not necessarily doing it

I shall remain, maybe for a long while
In this state I’m in
Where the worries of the world
Do not anymore occupy my conversations
With my mind

Copyright ©2009 Aida Rahayu Mahmud


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Easy on the Heart, Please

Him : She left me. I caught her cheating, and by then she already ran out of ideas to fool me, so she ended it. And that happened a month before we were supposed to get engaged. Everything for the ceremony was ready. My mom was devastated.

Me : Okay...sian u. Must be hard. I can only imagine.

Him : Memang la susah. Sian lagi kat mak I. Tapi nak buat cam ne...(silence)..I rase I ni persinggahan je la. Because, mase I jumpe dia, she was trying to run away from another guy, her ex. She admitted it, and I, tak tau lah nape, I accepted her.

Me : Oh. So the guy she cheated on was her ex tu lah?

Him : Nope. Orang lain.

Me : Pulak...Takpela, nasib baik Tuhan bagi petunjuk kat you sekarang rather than later. Itu yang you Nampak depan mata, yang belakang you?

Him : Yup. I’m trying to see it that way, too. So Nampak sangat la I ni sekadar tempat mengadu je, sebab she find someone else pulak bila ngan I. Maybe I’m not her taste, kut, entahlah...

Too many of these stories have reached my ears; this is not the first one. I am ashamed to admit that there are girls like these, who drive men into thinking that they are into them, when their pure intention is only to get rid of their loneliness. I’ve learned the hard way, that, there is no excuse for breaking someone’s heart, it is just not an option. I did it before, and the guilt lies with me for as long as I can remember. It is still with me now, too.

I pity this friend of mine and I hope that his heartbreak will heal ASAP, I pity his family, the pain they have to go through, but I am glad, in a way, because the girl didn’t wait to have children with him before she cheats. Good riddance of bad rubbish, I would say.

To the girls out there who are with someone, please make sure that you are with that person for the real and correct reasons; not because you’re lonely or on rebound. The head can sometimes trick the heart into thinking that you are in love when actually you are just lonely. Just a kind reminder to not make a fool of someone’s feelings. Please. I’ve been on both sides, I should know.
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Raindrops On My Head

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed
Nothin' seems to fit
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'

So I just did me some talkin' to the sun
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done
Sleepin' on the job
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'

I can't stop but have this song from BJ Thomas on my head when I was put in an awkward situation at work recently. You see, we don't really 'like' our boss, I mean, we don't hate THE BOSS, we might mock THE BOSS during our chit chats at the office (which seem to be aplenty since THE BOSS joined our organization) but deep inside, I truly feel that we don't 'hate' THE BOSS. We just wish that we can be as bitchy as THE BOSS is and get away with it like THE BOSS does; all the time. Yes, the bitching and getting away with it seem like luxury to us-we can never afford to have. So since we can’t follow THE BOSS'S trail, we mock THE BOSS. I mean, we need to react to this luxury THE BOSS has, and certainly acting the way THE BOSS does is just not the perfect reaction- we needed to react with whatever we have, in this case our mouths-to mock THE BOSS.

Now you must know that the mocking, I shall admit with shame, is therapeutic. The mocking sessions shall end with us sighing almost always simultaneously, continued with the very familiar ‘Nak buat macam mana, dia boss. Ikut je lah’. And then we sluggishly go back to our places and continue doing the things THE BOSS have asked us to do, often in a short time-frame. That, my dears, is how we cope with the torment from THE BOSS on a daily basis.

I do regard THE BOSS actions (not coming to work and asking people do THE BOSS’S job and THE BOSS taking credit for them) as something morally disgusting. They decrease THE BOSS’S value as a human being, at the same time shadowing whatever the rights THE BOSS may have done. To my personal humble opinion, I think THE BOSS is not ALL that bad. Since THE BOSS joined my organization, THE BOSS has made bold, drastic decisions, which have opened the eyes of the BIG BOSS, as THE BOSS projects often fish money in. Apparently, it is not only the eyes of the BIG BOSS were wide open-ours were too. You see, if we were given an ultimatum, on which to choose, our jobs or the profit/awards the organization gets, we would choose the former. We don’t really care if our organization has the highest rate in branding or the ability of the organization to reel in revenue 50% higher than it did last year, because, our pay were never affected by them, good or bad. Given that, THE BOSS’S grand projects and ideas on how to rev up the company’s image or revenue are always followed by too much work in too little time for US. THE BOSS will, as always ‘delegate’ the jobs and shall give us a humble time frame to complete it. That’s when our eyes become wide open, looking for THE BOSS flaws so that we can mock THE BOSS and do our jobs reluctantly, as a reaction.

Now, all this, has taken a toll on me. I want to make peace with the situation I’m in. So I have a boss with no conscience. So what? I’ll just do my job and let God deal with THE BOSS, like Papa used to tell me, ‘Let God deal with them, you just be you’. So, in pursuit of achieving tranquillity, I have to make peace with the situation I am in now. My approaches include taking lesser time joining the office chit chats, because they will be filled with ‘You know what THE BOSS did? I can’t believe THE BOSS did THAT! Omigod. I’ll make the boss suffer after this. I’m not going to finish the report THE BOSS has asked me to do’. I also try to not listen to one side of the story, should the story of THE BOSS reach my ears. And, I shall, complete my work.

These approaches of mine have not been welcomed by my colleagues. They might not have said it, but they sure look it. They don’t share with me the latest office gossips or drop in my room to say ‘Hey what has THE BOSS swarmed you with lately?’ or ‘Omigod, THE BOSS asked you to do THAT? How dare of THE BOSS’.

My justification, should they decide to interrogate me for not being rebellious, will be-hey, look, I can mock THE BOSS, I spit on THE BOSS doorway (no, I’ve never done that), I can puncture THE BOSS’S tyres (haven’t done that one too) and I can burn THE BOSS’S laptop. But why should I? Why? It’s bad enough that THE BOSS’s a bitch, but mocking THE BOSS everyday and end up doing your job reluctantly won’t be good in the long haul. It will make you lose your respect for your work, it will ridicule your superb working ability and it too, will turn you into a bitch like THE BOSS, without the luxury THE BOSS has (ability to skip work and get away with it). So you have two choices-To perform or to rebel. I chose the former.

Ok, I might not the most pious person on earth, but I do believe God has plans. I decided to do my job, with the desire and intention to learn, and hope that one day, even if my job is not being recognized, as THE BOSS will be claiming that THE BOSS did the job, I will still have God who is my witness and that is enough. However, this heroic leap I’ve taken has caused me to lose my colleagues’ trust .But then again, God as my witness, I have no bad intention. I just don’t wanna be a bitch like THE BOSS and I’m doing it for me. So I guess they just have to live with it.

When I was in the shower, one late afternoon after work, I had that song in my head. How apt, I thought-‘Just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed, nothing seems to fit’. I try to perform, but that has cost me my colleagues. And now I don’t ‘fit’. Funny how the world works. Very Funny. Even funnier that I have a theme song for the situation I'm in now!

Please note that the words 'bitch' or 'bitchy' in this post should not suggest the gender of the THE BOSS. They don't necessarily mean that THE BOSS is female. They are terms used for dramatic effects, to replace 'horrible' :) Please take note.

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What Makes Me Smile

It makes me smile when
I listen to your favourite songs
Which you often sing off tune

It makes me smile when
I pass by our familiar places
Where we used to share and care

And I smile when
The movies play the lines
We used to say

Or when I hear jokes
I used to hear from you

And I smile when
I remember the things that made you pout
Or my antics that made you laugh

I smile remembering all of you

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