Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

It's been a while since the last entry. Honestly, there's a lot to say, and a lot more to ponder. But I digress; this would not be the best time to immerse myself in them.. I must be happy!

So, what have I been up to in absence? Ramadhan has come and gone, and we are now in the second week of Syawal. For my Puasa research, I'd lost an unnoticeable 4 kg.. I found that rice really is my enemy, which cause me to limit consumption to once a week. Imagine being malaysian and living on pasta el dente six out of seven days...*shiver*

Also, next year fasting should start a week before ramadhan, so that my body won't get so shocked and fry my brain with distress signals! my first day of fasting this year was damn awful, my headache was to die for...

This Ramadhan also saw my first attempt at a more solid ibadah. The trials of tarawih, quran reading and kiamul lail every odd nights the last ten days in the hopes of catching that elusive 'night of a thousand nights'... I can't say I've done them all that well, but it was an improvement from last year, which incidentally was the best ramadhan I ever spent (I was in Kuantan). In any case, it was more than I could hope for.

I'd spent the first and second day of Raya in Tampin with my mum's family (my favorite side ^.^), which happened to be quite special this year. I got to visit my mum's very old kampung where she grew up. It was like visiting a completely different world... It's green, with creeks coursing through this way and that.. and paya everywhere! (I'm a nature person, so this type of scenery is highly conducive..)

I met many of my mum's old bendang friends - those who knew her since she was born - and visited their homes. Their wooden houses were so cute, you could touch the ceiling if you raised your hand! It felt like they were living in doll houses! I wanted to take pictures as proof, but that would be rude... I also found out my affinity for felines may be genetic afterall, because in each and every house I went to, there is a well loved cat. At least one... Or maybe, orang negri memang suka kucing!

Ah, this year, to commemorate my first meager gaji, I'd sponsored half of the bunga api and mercun rations used in my family's annual Raya Eve Fireworks Battle against the jiran sebelah (who lives about two acres away from us). It's childish, I know, and I probably shouldn't encourage such behavior, being the eldest... But whatthehey, no harm in indulging the nakal in you every once in a while, right? by the way, luv the fireckrackers pictured...

Raya days 3 and 4 were spent at Tanjung Malim with Opah, where we'd celebrated Pura's birthday. Back in KL on the 5th, worked on the 6th, Conference from 7th-9th... But, I will stop here for now. It's almost 3 am, and I have to drive to Kuantan for a wedding in 5 hours time. Can't wait to be back in Pahang tho... the scenery en route is simply heaven!

Next entry will talk about conferences, cinemas and everything in between... Ciao!

p/s: I've been tagged by Pojan... I sure hope that's a good thing!