.: Timely departure :.

The demise of my granduncle.

Days went by, but the air was still stifled with streaks of grief and anguish. Only today do I feel as though normalcy had returned to our household.

~

Since my toddler years, my late granduncle fondly calls me "Siti Kaya" whenever I feel heavy in the dumps. The pet name was a reminder of my inability to pronounce "S". I used to get really peeved each time he calls me that, until one day he propped me on his lap and said;

"I initially did that to tease you, but I truly hope that one day you will grow up to be someone who is "Kaya" *rich* in values. :)".

His last words on 20 Nov were;

"Are you leaving already?"

That was when he looked pass me and I knew it won't be long until I lose him. That I can no longer hear my beloved granduncle calling me "Siti Kaya" anymore ...

انّا للہ و انّا الیه راجعون

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un

Verily we belong to God and to God we shall return.

May Allah S.W.T accept his good deeds, forgive his wrongdoings and place him among His beloved.

Resuming working life.

2.31pm Malaysian Time

.: Kolam :.

Bedazzled.

These magnificent vibrant "Kolams" were part of the Deepavali @ Diwali celebrations decorations displayed at the concourse area of Midvalley Megamall. Just by looking at it, I can't imagine the amount of time it took to create these laborious designs.

I was perpetually bowled over by its splendor.

1.16pm Malaysian Time

.: Eid Al-Adha :.

临潭县.

Malaysia will celebrate Eid Al-Adha tomorrow, Insha'Allah. Although it had been several years since I performed my pilgrimage, the memories are still very much intact. Seeing the pilgrims in the telly only intensifies the longing to go there again. Perhaps God will give me the chance to do so within the next 10 years.

Commonly Muslims will do their qurban if they can afford to do so during this time. Coincidentally, I found out that one of my friends from Lintan, Gansu China organizes the qurban yearly at his hometown. If anyone wants to do their qurban there next year or need further information, just shoot me an email and I'll link him to you, Insha'Allah.

With that, I take this space and time to wish everyone ...

Selamat Hari Raya Haji @ Qurban!

May you have a blessed holiday with your loved ones!

The journey begins.

8.46am Malaysian Time

.: 累 :.

Tired.

Just occurred to me that I haven't been blogging much here; which is a stark contrast to my private blog. I had been occupied with work and classes, therefore leaving little time for me to do much of anything else. No material equates to nothing spectacular to post about. :)

In one way or the other, I supposed throughout the last few weeks I have joined with the ranks of the bored, monotonous and the restless. Even so, I just want to tell my readers that I am still alive and well. I know that I haven't been prudent in responding to emails, but I will get on to it Insha'Allah.

On this bright and clear Monday, I hope everybody starts this brand new week with a positive spirit. :)

Time sure flies.

12noon Malaysian Time

.: Monumental eclipse :.

Scattered here and yon.

Sometimes ten seconds feel longer than a quarter of a century.

Sometimes.

11.22pm Malaysian Time

.: Scavenger :.

Dirt and rubble.

He diligently rummaged through the piles of rubbish. The foul stench and scorching sun didn't matter to him. A decent looking young man who couldn't possibly be more than his late 20s, he finally grabbed 2 toolboxes, a couple of garbage bags and placed it on his carrier. Seemingly satisfied with his haul of the day, he left the premises.

... ~ ...

I was doing my work from home when I heard the postman delivering the mail. Half an hour later I decided to check our mail. As I was about to step out of the house, that was when I saw a man loitering around our garbage bin. He didn't look like the garbage collectors, so I decided to peek through the curtains and observe his behavior.

In some areas in the city we can still find someone rummaging through rubbish looking for recyclable materials. However, this was my first time seeing someone doing that at a residential area. I had mixed feelings. Part of me wanted to go and offer him assistance of any kind. Another part restricts me from doing that because of safety reasons.

Just hope that whatever he found then, will be useful for him and possibly his family.

Oscar the Grouch.

11.13am Malaysian Time

.: 伊斯兰教 :.

Islam.

Pls click on the images to enlarge it

Brother Ikhwan wrote a blog entry relating his experience at PERKIM HQ; [A Trip to PERKIM HQ], where he also posted some images of the Islamic reading materials he obtained while he was there.

As I have a small collection of my own written in Chinese, I felt called upon to share it here particularly to my Chinese Muslim friends since I've heard it's not easy for them to get it. Some of these books were published in Malaysia while others were brought over from China, Singapore and Turkey.

If anyone wants to read any of this, I'm not too sure whether I can purchase/source the overseas publications since it was gifted to me some time ago. However, I am willing to lend, photocopy or scan the contents for you. Should you require additional reading materials, I can try asking friends in PERKIM and MACMA.

Sharing knowledge.

10.34am Malaysian Time