Nak mama, nak abang...

Rindu.

Nak duduk berbual dengan mama, nak dengar nasihat dia, nak teguran dia, nak peluk dia bila tiba-tiba rasa macam nak peluk orang, nak main masak-masak lepastu tengok mama makan bila dia balik kerja, nak bongkar-bongkar plastic bila mama balik pasar, nak ngoyok-ngoyok kat mama untuk belikan keropok, nak mama buatkan bubur kacang yang sedap, nak ajak mama makan ice kacang kat luar sebab cuaca panas, nak dengar mama jerit sebab asyik main-main kat rumah, nak pandang muka mama... 

Nak dengar suara abang bising, nak bongkar bilik abang, nak angkat baju-baju dia yang selalu atas katil, nak petik guitar dia sesuka hati sebab tak tahu main, nak gaduh dengan dia untuk pakai kipas atau masuk bilik air, nak petik taugeh dengan dia bila mama balik pasar, nak baring kat katil dia walaupun selalu berserak, nak makan dengan abang kat shopping centre, nak jalan dengan abang untuk pergi kedai mamak prata bila lapar waktu tengah-tengah malam, nak pergi masjid dengan abang, nak abang pilihkan baju dengan tudung setiap kali nak keluar...

Nak semua tu. Nak mama, nak abang.....


Sekarang baru kenal erti rindu.....

Pujuk-pujuk

With friend #1


"Awak, kte goreng telur tak cantik. Takde org nak jadikan kte isteri."
"It's okay awak, it's a new era. People look for deen."
"Tapi goreng telur tu kan benda basic?"
"Tak apa, nanti hari-hari suami awak mesti terhibur tengok shape telur goreng yang lain-lain."
"Hah." ^__^"


With friend #2


"Awaaak, kte tak pandai goreng telur!"
"Alah, telur je. Kan lain boleh masak? K k, kalau goreng telur, masak je dengan sambal. Terus tak ada org pun nampak telur dia."
"Haaah." ^__^"


By the way, kelmarin bila goreng telur... jadi bentuk macam triangle! Hah hah tak tahu buat kan. *muka gembira untuk pujuk diri sendiri*


Lastly...

"Awak, people will like you the way you are. 

You can't debate or negate on that. Just one fine day, it will come."

Thank you for enlightening. =)

Semua orang kan tak sempurna

Lepas sehari belajar, tiba-tiba rasa macam nak bercerita! =)

Hmmm. Pertama sekali...

Bila ada orang sebut telur mata lembu, mesti kita bayangkan telur yang ni kan...

Cantik, bulat... memang selera~ Mmm, nak tahu apa kena mengena tajuk pengisian ana dengan telur? Baca k, ada cerita ni! =)

Pada suatu petang, ana sedang duduk dalam bilik. Lagi 2 minggu lebih dah nak masuk fatrah imtihan, jadi konon-kononlah cuba baca buku untuk muraja'ah. Tak sampai sejam... perut pun bunyi....

Masa: 4.12 petang. Pandang kawan satu bilik.

"Laparlah..."

"Kan banyak makanan kat dapur. Pergilah..."

"Ok ok..."

Ana pun masuk dapur. Macam tak ada apa-apa... jadi ana pun masak nasi dengan kobis air sikit. Lepastu goreng telur, boleh letak kicap. Tada! Cepat, sedap, sihat insyaAllah! Lepas setengah jam dalam dapur, terus masuk bilik. Kawan ana tengah pandang laptop sekejap lepas penat belajar. Ana pun tak ada kerja... jadi ana tunjuk telur yang ana goreng.

*tunjuk telur*

"Cantik tak..?"

"....."

5 saat berlalu. 

Kawan ana tenung telur. 

Suasana terdiam sekejap.

"Um... atleast....." 

"...??" *ana ternanti-nanti*

5 saat lagi berlalu. (Rasa macam 5 jam!)

"Atleast... atleast... masih nampak macam telur lah."

"Tapi ni yang paling cantik saya pernah goreng tau..!"

"Takpe lah. Kan telur je. Makan, terus hilang. Bukannya apa-apa pun."

Kalau ana... lauk-pauk lainnya insyaAllah boleh masak (itu pun antara sedap atau tak sedap... terpulang pada yang makan). Cuma... segala macam telur, belum pernah ana dapat goreng dengan cantik. Abang ana yang lelaki pun dapat goreng telur yang jauh lagi sempurna daripada ana. Memang rasa kurang sempurna sebagai seorang perempuan. Tapi... semua orang tak sempurna kan? Mungkin dengan pengisian kali ni, banyak persepsi akan berubah tentang ana. "Hah, telur pun si Fairuz tak tahu goreng??" Tapi ni Fairuz yang sebenar... terima ana seadanya k. Dengan telur-telur kurang cantik yang bakal ana goreng sekali. Dan ini cuma satu daripada seribu kelemahan yang ada... Allahu a'lam. =)

Hingga lain kali, assalamu'alaikum. =)

Fading, but fighting hard

I knew it would come… it always has been. And every time, every time, it’s prior to exams. Just weeks before it. But we know that when we face something so difficult - even if it comes with the possibility of having no solution – we just… do whatever we can, with whatever strength that we have inside.

Today I took a long walk by myself around Raba’ah, hoping to find my favourite flower. The sunflower. Which has managed to make me pull through all this while. And like this special flower which always faces the direction of the sun, I wish to be able to see the light always, even during the darkest moments.

But 45 minutes passed, and I still couldn’t find a sunflower…

All that were there, weren’t real, living ones. Why have something so unreal, one which is replicated. That wouldn’t do… it never would. I’d only want one with much resemblance, one which lives just like me.

And being outside, the men around here – they’ve never made days better. But all thanks go to Allah, to the One who protects. Because He knows my limits. He always has. And always will.

The walk back home was made with the heart feeling the same as when I went out.

But the littlest hope is still shining, though it fades from time to time. And I still choose to believe, no matter what the circumstances are. Do you?

About tonight

Just a few minutes ago I was lying on my bed and holding my laptop like a book while reading some article. I felt sleepy, and I think I lost my grip, so... 


My laptop fell right on my face.
It hurt... and I suffered a few moments of confusion~


Lesson learnt: don't hold your laptop like a book while lying flat on your bed...
Take good care of yourself, especially when exams are around the corner. =)


Rabbunaa ma'akum. 
Would like to turn in for the night now.
Till later, assalamu'alaikum. =)

E-x-a-m-s!

*pretends to be a commentator* Yes, yes! We're going to run for a marathon, and it's starting in 27 days! 8th January! The countdown starts! And rooms become messed up! ^__^"

^ Current scene in one corner of my room. 

Picture taken due to boredom and for self-entertainment. ^__^

Oh, and those things I drew on my white board? Just in case you got alarmed, I wasn't doodling alright, I was studying. Yes, studying! =) it's something normal for me, because I remember and memorize things by visuals; drawings and pictures of any sort. So for example, if I'm revising about a poet who was a soldier, I'd draw a sword beside the points. Ahuh, those kind of things! =)

I'm currently studying linguistics, and the following is the definition of 'language' >

But then it'd turn out to be something like this... easier for me to memorize, yay!

I really think those who can memorize directly from lengthy notes are blessed. Oh, and those who can memorize directly from the book itself? More blessed! If you're among those, then alhamdulillah. Really, really, thank Allah! =)

But, nonetheless I believe that one should go by his or her own pace. It doesn't matter if it's at walking pace, because what matters is that he or she is taking steps forward. Another thing to share... identify your learning style. Without any doubt, preparations for exams are dry and nerve-wrecking, but insyaAllah after you've figured out what kind of learner you are (visual, auditory or kinesthetic), you'll find it easier to digest information and remember it throughout your life! InsyaAllah, revising will be fun and entertaining because you'd be more hyped up to discover new things. =)

Last but not least,

We study, we revise, we go through exams... all is for His sake.

Lillah lillah lillah. 

May we not forget that. =)

With all the love in Egypt,

Fairuz 

P.s.: Rabbunaa yusahhil umuurakum! =)

Of begging for prayers and seeking patience.

Due to the upcoming exams happening next month, frequent dizziness and the constant feeling of discomfort which are caused by things only known to Allah [ =( ], I strongly feel that most of the following posts I'm going to write will be of short ones...

There's been a lot that I want to write about, but they're either half-written in my notebooks, saved in blogger as drafts, or simply left in my mind. 

And this post is composed just to ask for your prayers. Doakan k.

Please pray for my well-being, and that wonderful achievements await me here in Egypt. =) Thank you. And Jazaakumullaahu khairal jazaa'.....

P.s.: If things don't go the way you want it to be, ask Allah to bless you with more patience and strength. Ask Him to show you the ni'mah and hikmah behind every single thing... and place it in front of your eyes. We are helpless beings. Wakhuliqal insaanu dha'iifa. "And Man was created weak". That's what our Creator, Allah said in Surah An-Nisaa', verse 28. So we just raise our hands and ask Him for every single thing. Even if people say it's unimaginable, or even impossible. =)

P.s.s.: Just a thought... Sometimes I wish that certain people are actually the person deep inside them, and that they would really let out the thoughts and feelings suppressed in their little hearts. =)

P.s.s.s.: At times when you look up to a person and hold him in high regard by who he portrays himself as, yet finally discover that he actually is another person; the opposite... makes you feel disappointed. But we've to understand that every one has his own share of weaknesses, gather all the strength that we have and continue on searching what it means to be close to perfection, don't we? =) Rabbunaa a'lam. I apologize for the rather confusing arrangement of words. Am feeling dizzy. =)

That's If.

If you could have what he has

And she could be who you are;

Then all hearts would be the same,

'Special' won't be heard again;

If everything was in our hands

Perhaps no prayers would be uttered,

The Almighty much forgotten,

All dreams would die,

And that child

At the other side of the world

Wouldn't wish upon a star;

He wouldn't learn to yearn

or appreciate what comes around;

She wouldn't seek and go beyond

to place things where it belongs;

The imperfections are perfect;

leave uncertainties as such;

Let the world dream;

Let there always be this scene

of people

Sitting, wishing and praying

Wednesday, December 1, 2010, 1:32 am

Cairo, Egypt

It's cold! (Really)

Friday, 1.26 am


Me: Sejuknyaaa macam kat snow city! =( *jalan ke sana ke mari*
Roommate: Melampau. Snow city 4 degrees lah. -_-"


... and to think that it's going to be colder. 
At times like this, you just can't help but think of sunny Singapore more. =)

Allah knows.

(( اللهم ارزقني رجلا صالحا لا يحزنني ولا يؤذيني... ))

(= ...It's never wrong to keep wishing and praying

Tentang Mama, si kuih bakar, dan menjaga hati.

Sedang ana letih mengarang bahath ana, teringat satu cerita kelakar yang tersangat menghibur hati! Cerita lamaaa waktu ana sekolah menengah, rasanya. =)

Pada suatu hari, mak ana terasa nak buat kuih... jadi dia pun keluarkan recipe kek chiffon.

"Ok dik, mama nak try lah buat kek ni!"

"Wah bestnya, nanti kita takyah beli chiffon cake lagi!"


Dalam fikiran ana... ana dah bayangkan chiffon cake gini... 

Bila adunan siap, mama pun bakar, letak dalam microwave oven. Lebih kurang 45 minit berlalu, oven pun berbunyi! Tapi terdengar satu suara pula dari dapur!

"Alamak adiiiiiiik! Tak jadi...!!!"

"Alamak! Abih jadi apa...?"

Yang ana nampak, bukan kek yang gebu, tapi kuih warna hijau gelap. Atasnya warna coklat. Semacam terbakar sikit.


"Mama, ni apa?!"
"Mama pun tak tahu!" *cocok kek seakan-akan ia benda hidup*


Kita pun tenung 'kek' tu. 'Kek' tu pun tenung kita...

"Err...."


Tiba-tiba...

*ding dong* Rumah ada tetamu!

"Mamaaaaa! Busu datang!"

"Eh dia tak cakap pun dia datang. Adik, serve aje lah kuih ni..."

Pakcik ana duduk, berbual sambil minum air teh dan makan kuih.

"Sedap betul kuih bakar ni! Beli kat mana?"

"Tak beli... ni tadi aku yang buat." *gembira*

"Ha'ah, mama yang buat! Actually tu kan busu... chiffon cake tau. Hehe."

"Adik ni... lain kali janganlah bilang!"

"Eh, tapi dia jadi kuih bakar. Sedap!" *pakcik ana selera*


Bila abang ana dapat tahu pula... mulalah dia~


Abg: Waaah ma, lepas ni mama bolehlah buat kuih bakar pakai recipe chiffon cake!
Ana: Hehehe, adik agree!
Mama: Muhammad dgn adik tak baik lah... 
Abg: Adik, sekali adik dah besar pun jadi macam mama.
Ana: Eh and what's so bad about that??
Abg: Takde pape~
Ana: Geram geram geram!
Mama: *sibuk fikir macam mana cake boleh jadi gitu* Agaknya kan dik... *teori satu bermula*

Lepas tu, mak ana terus tak bakar kek chiffon lagi. ^__^"

Ada pengajaran dari episod ni... ana buat silap. Sepatutnya, ana tak seharusnya beritahu pakcik ana tentang apa yang berlaku. Sebab tanpa pengetahuan tentang apa yang terjadi,  pakcik ana merasakan kuih yang mak ana bakar sedap, dan mak ana pun gembira. Bila ana cerita tentang apa yang jadi... mak ana terkesan, dan kegembiraan tu pun pudar. Faham kan...? K, jangan buat k kesilapan ana. Kita jaga hati-hati orang yang sekeliling kita! =)


Hingga lain kali, assalamu'alaikum semua! =)


P.s.: Mama, bahath adik dah habis. Syukran sebab doakan...


P.s.s.: Syukran juga untuk semua. Mohon terus mendoakan k. =)

Bergurau senda.

Sewaktu ana di Singapura, ana teringat satu syarahan yang mak ana paksa ana dan abang ana untuk pergi. Tajuknya berkaitan dengan kekeluargaan dan cara mendidik anak. (Jangan tanya k? Faham aje mak ana. ^__^") Jadi ustaz tu sedang bercerita lah tentang bergurau senda dengan isteri. Ceritanya begini...

"Pada satu malam kan hadirin sekalian, saya dengan isteri saya sedang duduk-duduk... mulalah perbualan. Yalah, penat kan kerja sehari suntuk, bergurau lah sikit..."

'Hmm, sayang... awak nak tahu apa?'

'Apa dia? Abang, apa dia?'

"Muka isteri saya, beriya-iya tau hadirin sekalian! Saya pun katalah dengan muka serius..."

'Saya sayang awak cuma 16% aje.' 

"Saat tu, tuhan aje yang tahu macam mana sakitnya isteri saya cubit, muslimin! Ya Allah. Saya kena marahhh!"

Isteri saya kata: 'Hah abang yg lain pergi mana?! Abang nak nikah lagi ke?!'

"Hah muslimin, lepas saya dah eksen dengan dia, Saya pun kata..."

'Yang lain untuk Allah, Rasul, kekasih-kekasih mereka, keluarga, dan muslimin lainnya. Sayang Allah, mesti yang jauh melebihi makhlukNya. Eh, 16% macam banyak pula utk awak. Saya kurangkan lah...'

"Nak tahu apa isteri saya kata? Sejuk betul hati saya. Isteri saya kata..."

'Eh abang, jangan. Saya redha...'
'Saya pun redha... memang mudah bagi saya untuk redha bila awak isteri saya.'

[Ana suka sekali cara ustaz ni! Halus gurauannya... =) ]

"Tersipu-sipu isteri saya, muslimin muslimat sekalian! Hehehe. Gitulah... saya cuba bergurau, sambil mendidik. Bergurau, sambil selitkan hikmah. Sesuatu yang boleh diambil sebagai pengajaran. Bila isteri kita gembira, dia akan ikhlas mendidik anak-anak kita, yang suami pula akan bersemangat bekerja. Yalah, sebab hubungan itu dijaga dengan baik, diserikan dengan gurau senda yang berpatutan. Saya pasti muslimin muslimat dapat lakukan yang lebih baik... insyaAllah."

Bila dengar cerita ustaz ni, ana pun terhibur bila nampak makcik-makcik duduk dalam dewan musolla tu tersipu-sipu ketawa. Ana ingat lagi waktu tu, tiba-tiba ana dapat sms daripada abang ana yang duduk di musolla lelaki di bawah:

"Alamak dik. Mati ah kalau abg kene buat gitu. Geli seh!"

Abang ana niiiiiii. >__<"

Sebelum syarahan bermula pula, ana lihat yang hadir semua ibu-ibu! Ada yang bawa anak kecil, tak ada yang sebaya ana pun! Ya Allah... hampir semua pandang ana hairan. Ada makcik yang bertanya...

"Eh sorang aje nak? Datang dengan suami ke?"

"Tak cik... suami tak ikut..."

"Kenapa tak ikut?

"Suaminya belum ada..."

"Ya Allah makcik ingatkan suaminya kerja! Kamu ni, ish..."

"Hehehe."

Bila balik, ana tunggu abang ana di luar masjid. Lambat sangat nak keluar!

Datang seorang pakcik menegur.

"Nak, tunggu siapa? Dah malam ni. Tunggu suaminya ya?"

"Tak... tunggu abang. Hah, tu pun dia!"

"Oh, pakcik ingat suami..."

.................

"Abang, ada pakcik ingat yang abang suami adik."

"Ya Allah! siapa entah nak jadi suami adik!"

"Nak cakap juga! Ya Allah! siapa entah nak jadi isteri abang!"

"Ada. Banyak. Adik je tak tahu. Abang ni, dahlah cool..."

Eeee. Malas, malas! Gerammm dengan abang ana!

K sampai di sini aje... Assalamu'alaikum. 

Hingga perkongsian seterusnya k! =)

On doing bahath.

I miss times when I'd be doing my bahath back at home; typing and going through resources late at night on that very table, and my mum would come into my room from time to time, to check on me.

"Adik... dabis buat bahath?"
"Belum..."
"Masih banyak ke tu...? 
"Boleh juga..."
"Dah pukul berapa ni... esok kan sekolah..."
"Okay... sekejap lagi k..."
"Mama..."
"Hmm?"
"Nak milo?"
"Buat sendiri."
"Alah..." 
"Semuaaa nak mama buat..." *goes out*


Mama, adik penat sikit. 
Walaupun mama tetap tak nak buatkan milo malam-malam, tetap rindu.
May Allah ease my efforts in doing the bahath I'm currently doing... 
Amin yaa Rabb.
Doakan k.
Assalamu'alaikum. =)

Of beautiful thoughts.

And when sometimes you get tired of reading kuliah books and doing bahath, you just let your mind flutter off to somewhere else and simply have... Beautiful Thoughts. =)


And the current thought in my mind? Educating my children. =)


Imagine teaching my children how to read the Quraan. 


Me: Okaaay, ummi kira sampai tiga, semua kena baca k! 
Them: Okay ummi!
Me: Satuuu... duaaa... tiga!
Them: Aaa! Baa! Taa! Thaa!
Me: Eh kenapa jerit jerittt ni?
Them: Tak apaaa biar semua orang dengar anak ummi baca!
Me: Haa dah menunjuk nunjuk tu~
Them: Bukan ummi, kita bangga lah dengan kitab Allah!
Me: Ohhh~ ^__^


Next is a scene where my little son is beside me, attempting to follow how I pray.


Me: *after giving salam* Amad, amad buat apa ni?
Amad: Amad ikut ummi solat lah. 
Me: Kenapa amad tak ikut abah solat?
Amad: Kan abah belum balik keje...
Me: Eh betul juga. Ummi ajar amad solat ok? Suka tak?
Amad: Naaak! Amad nak bilang bilang Allah banyak benda, macam ummi jugak!
Me: *smiles* K, mula mula....


Suddenly the thoughts disappear.


And I feel scared and sad. Because I really really hope that my children will turn out and emerge as wonderful Muslims and Muslimahs, those who are able to defend this religion, and do much better than what I'm trying to do. It may seem far-fetched, but my future children whom I imagine are somewhat my motivation too for me to study and be a good person. Because I want to contribute something to Islam; and the very least I can do is to let my children be among those whom the ummah can benefit from. And so these two doas are always what I recite after my prayers:

رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا
ربي اجعلني مقيم الصلاة ومن ذرياتي رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَاءِ

Regarding these doas, I started reciting it only after having the usual 'Ustaz kata...' conversation with my mother... around a year ago. =)

Mama: Adik, ustaz kata... doa doa ni bagus tau.

Me: Mama, ni nanti bila dah nak kahwin kan baru baca...

Mama: Tak apa, kata ustaz kena baca... insyaAllah bila Allah lihat kesungguhan kita berdoa, nanti Allah bagi kat kita. Betul kan dik?


Hearing that, it all made sense... =) And the second doa - I believe it's essential too. Because the prayer is the pillar of Islam. The base. How strong it is, defines the building. And one's prayer - it somehow shapes him...


Oh, and when narrating all my Beautiful Thoughts to my friends, they'd always laugh.


"Ah ya, sibuk sangat fikir pasal anak, bapak dia yang mana satu?"


Oh. ayah dia... kadang terlupa. Tapi gambaran dia lebih kurang ginilah... 

^__^" Allahu a'lam. 


Okay, now it's back to reality... Assalamu'alaikum all. =)

My brother the annoying Ah Beng. ;(

This is by far, the sweetest email from my brother. =)

... but I think that 'being sweet' and 'sincerity' needs to be redefined now. :(

At times he's meaaaaan but I miss him just the same. 

Mean moment #389576:

Abg: Adik, nak tahu something?

Me: Naaak! Ape ape?

Abg: Adik tak lawa je pada abang.

Me: ... =(

Abg: Serious sey dik, tak lawa.

Me: Takpe lah~

Abg: Abg lagi lawa dari adik.

Me: Kalau gitu adik lagi handsome dari abg. 

Abg: Fair enough. Tapi adik nak ke jadi handsome?

Me: *caught* Huhhhhh. =(

Mean moment #389577:

Me: Abang, you should join the Singapore Debaters Association.

Abg: Debating is pointless, adik.

Me: But that's what you always do with me.

Abg: Yes... which is pointless too.

Me: ... =(

See what I mean when I say he's mean?

But even so... I like his company. He's a great listener. And... he gives great advice. No one can ever ever replace my brother. Because he's among my favourite people. Thank you Allah. =)

My Number One

My number one. 

Where ever you may be... 

Although you have absolutely zero table manners (or should i say floor manners?),

always always sniff everything in my room,

roll around the living room,

run behind the table top and meow loudly pretending to be lost just to attract people's attention...

I love you just the same. 

And I miss you so much.

My father, my abah

Cairo, Egypt >>>>> Tampines, Singapore

"Hi mama I miss miss miss you! Ada baaanyak nak cerita!"

"Wahhh adik nya cerita ni tak habis habis eh."

"Mesti lah." ;p

"Dik, bila nak email abah?"

"Eh everytime adik dah cakap dengan abah kat tefon."

"Hari hari dia ngadap computer tau, nangis nangis semua sebab tunggu adik email."

"Mamaaa drama lah~"

"Betuuuuul."

"Okay okay nanti adik email k."

And so I found myself typing an email. This time, for Abah.

   From: Siti Nur Fairuz Bte Mohd Anis (snfairuz@hotmail.com)

   To: Abah (.........@gmail.com)

   Subject: For my Abah

   Sent: 30 October 2010 19:35 PM

Bismillah

Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullah

Hi Abah!

I hope that as you read this email, you are in the best state of health and iman insyaAllah...

Alhamdulillah all is well and I'm doing great here in Egypt. Lectures are getting more interesting as the days pass by. Being here for almost 4 months, I can quite understand the colloquial language now (although it's utterly difficult). Oh by the way... the internet connection here is rather slow so that quite puts me off sometimes... and that's the reason why I don't go online quite often. When I do, I'd just go through my emails and that's about it... your email - however - really made me smile. what with the stories about your workplace, and about atok... thank you abah. For spending time to write to me :)

There's not much going on here.

Hmmm. Though lectures are interesting, it's proving to be rather difficult. Do pray for me...

Abah, has it finally come to you that your daughter is studying abroad in Egypt?

Somehow I think it'd be better, if I don't return next year..... the expenses will be too much......... plus, I'd like to search all opportunities to seek knowledge during the holidays here. Let me know what do you think about that alright.

I'll be looking forward to your reply :)

Lots of love,

Fairuz 

It feels quite nice to write to someone who sincerely cares... =)

Days after, I saw an email in my inbox. 

From: Md. Anis Md. Arif (........@gmail.com)

To: Siti Nur Fairuz Bte Mohd Anis (snfairuz@hotmail.com)

Subject: Re: For my Abah

Sent: 08 November 2010 22:20 PM

wa'alaikumussalam warahmatullah.

I'm glad that you are well and I hope that Allah will always keep you in the best of health, provide you with all your needs and ease all your efforts to study. Worry not about us here and just concentrate on your studies. We are doing well here, alhamdulillah, thank you.

If you ask me if I have got use to not having you here with me, NO, I have not.

I guess it will take me a long time before getting use to it, maybe in 4 years time?

or more perhaps even when you have finished with your studies and returned home? heheh...

Now that you are away, I miss your antics and tantrums... Anyway that's what parents are supposed to do when their child is away. 

But I trust you are in Egypt for a reason to study and I am glad Allah permits and has given you the chance to carry on studying where i had stopped, you continue my dreams to reality.

Expenses aside, if you wish not to return home but continue study next year, you'll always have my blessings, you know that. Just don't forget to tell me what your plans are and as long as you are not alone by yourself there, i don't mind, even happy that you have the interest to learn.

Spend what you need which is important, don't worry. 

If you ever got bored with nothing better to do, take pictures and e-mail me. Being a father, let me remind you again, lest you forget, that I have all the rights to be kaypoh! but you do what you need to do. Remember, that my needs are secondary. Your priorities to study comes first.

Here I am again telling what you already know... heheh...

You might have guessed that i write a lot more than talking to you on the phone. I leave it to Mama to do all the talking for me. Besides, I don't think I'm strong enough to pry the phone off her hands. When the two of you are talking, I'm fine with sitting near and just listening to the conversation. Anyway, it's not worth the risk being attacked and injured by Mama for taking the phone away from her. VERY THE DANGER!!! heheheh...

I'll catch up with you again sometime later.

Got to sleep for tomorrow's work.

All my love and prayers to you always,

Your father,

mohd anis.

For some reason, my father likes to write in English. I don't know where the interest for that language came from; he only studied in a Malay school. He's just an ordinary man, who went to some machinists' institute after his O levels and so, works as a... um, machinist (again, let me emphasize that a machinist is not the same as a mechanic). It's very much amazing how his English is actually better than mine when I was the one who  formally studied the language. This is unfair. =( I think he owes it to the thousandsss of documentaries, infotainment programmes, and those English drama series on the telly. Oh, also to reading the Straits Times every single day without fail.

That's my abah for you.

Only when I'm in Egypt, I can see this soft side which was hidden in him for so long.

Okay then... till later.

Rabbunaa ma'akum. 

May Allah take care of all of you. Always. =)