Most rejunevating

Had a great time with my ex office mates this afternoon. It was a spur of the moment thing. I was on my way out to send in my CV and the practical reports when i received a phone call from my ex colleague . So killing three birds with one stone, I took them up to the hills to send in my CV, then back to my old working place to fetch another colleague and we headed to lunch at a most wonderful outlet in Sri Gombak. the fish head curry was out of the world,wonderfully thick and spicy.

The batter dipped prawns were huge and crispy . First time I had petai with sardines. The otak-otak was equally wonderful .So was the mango salad. It was great, sitting and talking, talking and eating and laughing over silly things.

It was most de stressing and rejuvenating.To be amongst close friends. Friends who think alike on most matters. Never mind if we beg to differ on professional matters, but when it comes to other non professional stuffs we have alot in common.

Felt guilty leaving my mum with my daughter, but after a week being cooped up in the house doing household things which seems never ending, its good to break away for a few hours . But daughter was able to get lunch ready for her grandma. So , I suppose its okay then.

Way to go! Must do this again soon.

Something old yet new

Traditions . That's old and handed down from generations to generations. And unique for each own ' s race. Culture. also part and parcel of one's own race. Traditions and culture. Where do one draw the line to differentiate these two. Culture and traditions. They do come hand in hand .So, of the two, which one undergoes evolution, in the sense that it changes as time passes on. The essence of the thing is the same but how it is being interpreted changes with new ideas, new approaches, new innovations.

Take for instance in my Malay culture. During wedding, it is the tradition of the bride's and bridegroom's family to hand out gifts to their guests who come to celebrate their children's big day. Malay weddings are a big and lavish affair. From the hantarans (wedding gifts) to the food served and door gifts , everything must be done to perfection.

Collection of doorgifts from 3 weddings I attended last saturday and sunday

Matching paper bags and doorgifts - a muffin, a porcelain cup and boiled egg in pink basket

Doorgifts or bunga telur ( Egg flower - direct translation) are given to guest. Why boiled eggs? If I am not mistaken it is symbolic of fertility with hope that the newly weds will be blessed with child the soonest possible.

But times has changed. Boiled eggs are seldom given to guests. So it is no longer a traditional must. Instead alternatives like cupcakes, sweets, traditional cakes , crafts are placed in paper bags to be given to all guests.

The essence of giving is there but the must give bunga telur is slowly being replaced with other gifts.

Is it good to do so . Shouldn't we be holding on to what is traditional ? The die hards are trying hard to hold on to the past but old traditions are slowly evolving into new ways of doing things, modernisation of culture , i.e modernisation of the way we do things.

I suppose its ok, as long as the tradition of celebration is still upheld.

Wonder what sort of doorgifts will be the trend come 2010.

Its finally done, but he's still there and I'm still here

Finally he gave up!!

Since my last write up on this matter, it actually gave some signs of hope of recovery. But alas,... it finally gave a total shut down.

In case you re wondering what, its my hubby's notebook. He bought it a couple of years ago. Since then, it had gone back to the manufacturer twice. Hardware problem.

Finally, after days and weeks of trying to get it back on the road, it finally shut down and refuse to even bling on the power.

i suspect its one of those terrible virus threats . The final straw was when one his students extracted some stuff from his notebook.

Now its back to using the notebook he bought for first daughter Aisyah for her varsity assignments way back in 2004. She has since graduated and has passed it to his brother who is now using mine, bought in 2008.

And i am using his netbook which I bought for him in July of this year. But because it couldn't handle heavy graphics, its more or less mine now.

But whatever the circumstance, he is there sitting on the bedroom sofa typing away on the old notebook , and here I am on the bed busy blogging away on his net book.

Occasionally we would communicate . He's busy with his assignments and I am suppose to be starting on my assignment too. Well, soon.... maybe tomorrow. Maybe later.

Its only the third and yet...

Too many were not around. Almost missed the full brigade for the hantaran boys. Missed Mah's 4 heroes, Amal's 2 heroes, Atam's hero and of course Aziz's and Kak"s.

So much so, Kak zai, my sis-in law got her girls to be dressed in black, just in case there were not enough boys to manage the hantarans.

But we managed to get just the right number , all seven of them . All dressed in black baju melayu except for son-in law ( who was in dark purple) .

Why the big fuss? Because this is something that is unique in the Omarian family , a tradition being passed down from one generation to the next, a tradition that I hope will not be compromised except of course when the Omarians menfolk have diminished in numbers.

We have many more bujangs ( girls and boys ) in the family.

Not only a tradition, this is what will bond us all brothers and sisters, sons and daughters and soon the cucus.

Don't know what the future holds for the Omarians but my hope is that we will always be there for each other, come rain ,come shine.

He is there, I am here

Darling hubby has been at it for almost 2 weeks now. Looking, trying , managing to do something about it. Almost there and then, back to the starting point all over again.

The cycle has started . Right after subuh prayers and his cuppa, he is there and I am here.

Waiting for the moment when he 's done with it.

You Are So Right

Don't know whether darling hubby ever visit this site or not. But all the same dearest darling hub of mine, you are so right.

Am feeling the anxious energy creeping in, so so slowly and not slipping away. .

The first month or so was great . Kinda of like a well deserved break. But come third month, am itching to get into some serious work, serious thinking, serious decision making. To feel the adrenalin being poured into the bloodstream, the heart beating faster, the nervous energy getting higher and higher and at the end of it to sit back and heave a sigh of relief once things are done the way you hope it to be.

Hubs thinks i ought to go into administration line once again. But seriously am not too keen. It was good while it lasted, but I don't think so. It saps all your energy and at the end of the day leave you drained and tired and exhausted.

Both roommate and I are thinking of compiling our experiences into a book.Still in the draft stage.

Am hoping to get my research on the how to minimize the problems faced by heads of schools in the managing the school funds. Perhaps compile a complete report on the areas that heads need to be aware and cautious of. Still reading to get a clearer overview.

Just typing this thoughts is making me all excited all over again.

Well, the break time is almost over ...

Busy socializing

Ya, that's it. Caught the bug .Am busy socializing on the face book. Long lost students and friends, and relatives.

The wonders of cyberspace technology . The ability to connect with everyone and anyone who has signed in on the FB. Got a few surprise remarks from former students. They never thought that a person like me would be surfing the net especially on the FB. They are in for a surprise. Lots of my colleagues who are within the same age range are on . This is how we connect .Even faster than the SMS via the mobile phone.

And its getting much more interesting . So much so I kept postponing my cybber diary . Well, blogging is something very personal . This is something that I don't announce to everyone. Except for one junior, who I am close to, in my former workplace, and my sisters and children.

Its nice to be putting all my thoughts here. One day, this will be archived materials for my children and their children to remember me by.

Going in Circles

That what what happened to me yesterday after the three day course at the palm oil plantation resort.

I just couldn't find my way our to the high way . It was just driving round and round and ending at the same spot. The roads out looked so unfamiliar from the first time I drove in on Tuesday afternoon. Maybe then it was quite dark when I left my office. Due to the monthly meet which ended at 4, I managed to leave office at 5 pm. The skies were almost dark by 6.15 pm. Perhaps it was because i had company I wasn't aware of the surroundings, busy talking away. The road signs were there , but I couldn't remember the particular junction I should turn into.

That was the biggest mistake that one could ever make when in unfamiliar surroundings. I should have kept my eyes opened and took notice of strategic landmarks. It was something that my late father used to tell us , to be aware of one's surroundings especially when one is behind the wheels .

Lesson well learned. What was supposed to be a 2 hour journey turned out to be almost 4 hours. The roads were narrow and winding. Big lorries, fast cars with drivers who think they own the roads .

I 'm very sure there will be more trips to this place since it is one of the institute's favorites 'hide out'. A nice place, far into the countryside, away from the mainstream. Who would have thought there would be a nice hideaway smacked in the middle of the oil palm plantation. The ambiance is nice, they have many outdoor facilities, Flying Fox, basketball courts, tennis courts, volley ball court, of course a golf course and a nice swimming pool. The food is good, home cooked . The famous river fish, patin was served on the first day, and it was so good, I went for seconds.

The course, well, it was ok. Lots of things to do once the participants report for the 4 credit hour course.

Another full week ahead

Back to work today after a fully packed weekend. Firstly because Saturday and Sunday was my neighbor's big day. They had their first daughter's wedding in the family. Saturday was the nikah day followed by Sunday the reception day.

Sunday was also the day my big brother called for a family meeting to discuss hiss son's marriage scheduled on the 25th December. The groom's side will be having their reception on 2nd January 2010. Abang and kak Zai prpepared a scrumptious brunch - hot hot burning hot nasi lemak, keropok lekor trengganu, Kak Zai's lovely bread pudding with custard ( The best in the world), Cu's delicious marble cake, fried beehoon all washed down with piping hot Myanmar tea.

Then it was straight back home to attend my neighbor's reception. This time around I managed to savor the food served by the same caterer that served on my daughter's wedding reception, which my guests enjoyed very much.

Tomorrow will be the start of another round of tight schedule right through Thursday. A 2 hour English proficiency test in the morning, followed by a 2 hour monthly meet. Then off to the inland of Pahang , a 2 hour drive .

Will be back on Thursday afternoon, insyallah.

ALMOST A YEAR

Time flies. It was like just yesterday both hubby and I gave our daughter hands in marriage to her partner in life. It was like just yesterday that the house was filled with my all my siblings, chipping in to celebrate the first wedding in the Omarian family . Mah and Rufa busy busy with the pelamin ,the hantaran, the rush to get fresh flowers for the stairs and the hantarans. Azizah and daughters with the meja pengantin on the nikah night and the day of the reception.

Of course not forgetting Kak as the penyelaras for the whole event , busy busy seeing to things, discussing with the MC, discussing with whoever that she felt needed to be reminded , so that everthing will go smoothly as planned and discussed.

Of course Dah who came a little later and immediately went on to wave her magic wand and transform the bridal chamber into a masterpiece. Most original indeed.

Mustn't forget kak Zai and her bunga rampai girls. of course Na and Aziz who came all the way from Astar. Na preferred to be one of the dapur ladies.Dearest youngest member of the family , Amal is the official runner cum everything that needed immediate attention.And my nieces and nephews, syuhada and shahirah ( thanks for the lovely cards design), adam,adrian,danial, kelly, nadjwa, Iman, Omar Luqman,nana,lin,yah,aye, wan nor hamidah.

Mah despite her time spent on the pelamin, still managed to arrange and move house from Rawang to Bukit Jelutong. And on top of that to make sugar boxes for all the close aunts and friends who came to witness the nikah ceremony.And the lovely wedding cake.

And darling Rufa, I had no idea the renovation on her house was major and massive.Everynite she and Zubir had to mop the house before hitting the sack.

The boys , all dressed in black baju melayu ready to carry the hantaran down the stairs and up the stairs . The cute cute flower girls Sofia, Farhana and Athirah, dropping petals on the stairs followed by Aisyah all radiant and beautiful in her dream wedding dress.

It was like yesterday that it all happened.

But come tomorrow it will be a year ago that it all happened. Still fresh and vivid in my memories.

Such lovely lovely memories .

Words cannot express my sincerest thanks to all my sisters and brothers the Omarians. I salute you all. I would have never being able to pull through if not for them. Wished father was here to see us all siblings working for one another.

I hope this practice will be part of the Omarian tradition to be handed down from one generation to the next.

Tomorrow on the first anniversary of my daughter's marriage, the Omarians will be meeting again at abang"s place to discuss and plan for the next wedding on the calender, that is Wan Mohd Zahier, sometimes in January if I am not mistaken. My duty? To get the kuih for the reception, to bring all the spras, to be one of those to greet the guests. wonder what color theme it will be this time.

Looking forward to the meeting tomorrow.

Looking forward to celebrating my daughter's first wedding anniversary.

Looking forward to celebrating the arrival of the first of the next generation , insyallah.

Looking forward to meeting my dearest dearest mum and all my siblings once again.

4 days, 3 nights

A most tiring session. Being gruel-ed to the core. Non stop activity from the word go! To say i enjoyed all the sessions is not true. Some of the times being thrown sarcastic remarks and treated like we are a troubled group is most annoying.

i think the 160 of us are ok. Except for the usual 5 % at both ends of the sigmoid curve, the majority are here to stay, to contribute and to carry out our duties to the best that we know.

The occasional hiccups is acceptable and i would say the norm.

But the message that the motivator was trying to convey was that we are a group that needed to be brainwashed and polished well.

Perhaps that was not his fault.

He was also doing all that based on his experiences as a former lecturer at the institute where according to him was full of back stabbing, jealousies and all the negative elements one can ever imagine. So he thinks our presence in such a big number will accelerate the matter to a higher degree.

i suppose those top people are being cautious.

But after that , having got feedback from the participants did he realize that the immediate and up most attention ought to be given to gelling all of us, the new and the old , to do away with all the suspicious thoughts if at all that is lurking in the minds of the seniors, that we are here to help contribute, to bring the institute to higher grounds, to help realize the mission and vision of the organization and not to be high and mighty just because some of us have come in with grades much higher than some of them.

Anyway , am looking forward to better times under the new director.

The winds of change is blowing strong . Lets hope he is here to stay and not as a transitional place until the next higher post comes along.But if that means a move to a higher grade , who are we to stop him.

Quite simple but too complicated

I have never really spend real time going through the book on our Family Tree Keluarga Wan before.But the interest to do so came about after having met another Wan from my workplace. We stumbled upon this topic after I went to see her to get her signature. So after a few rounds of Q & A , I was quite at lost for words on how to go about explaining our roots. Until she mentioned one name from Sri Gombak i.e Wan Zaidah whom our dearest late father use to be close to. I understand then she is family. And Wan Zaidah is my colleague's aunt. Anyway , I told my colleague that that was a good starting point.

I was determined to come home and dig out the book to understand more.

So page one, explained the present Wan Kedah were traced to three pahlawans who served the Sultan of Kedah in 1797 , Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah II , ie. Doto' Seri Paduka Laksamana ( Wan Sosai) dan Dato' Bendahara Seri Paduka Maharaja Sura ( Wan Mohd Sidek Wan Johan ) and Dato' Maharaja Temenggung Desa Wan Sulaiman .

The Dato Laksamana and Dato Bendahara are brothers and cousins to Dato Temenggung .Dato laksamana Wan Sosai and Dato' Bendahara Wan Mohd Sidek were both killed at Kuala Bahang ( now Kuala kedah) when the Siamese attacked Kedah. Their graves were never found.

On further reading, I discovered the post of Temenggong, Bendahara and Laksamana ( 3 of the 4 main ministers in the Sultanage of Kedah) were posts held by the Wan family, being passed down from one Wan to another until 1858.

An important information that I found was that the title Wan adalah keturunan( family name ) and not gelaran ( not a title bestowed by the Sultan).There were lots of theories on the origins of the family Wan. Some traced to the Funan Kingdom. To name a few Funan Kings - Fan Shin Man was Wan Sulaiman, Fan Chan ( Wan Hassan?).

Now I know where i got my chinese look from.

Wan Mohd Saman , the man who build the Wan Mohd Saman canal ( in the history book) was the last Prime Minister of Kedah.

A 100 years later the posts of Temenggung, Laksamana and Bendahara was revived but the titles were confined to the immediate members of the Royal family and non functional in nature.

The present Sultan of Kedah 's great grandmother is Wan Hajar ( Mak Wan Besar) who married Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin (1854 - 1877).She is great great grandmother?

So the next step, of the three warriors, my late father's descendant was traced to Dato' Bendahara Wan Mohd Sidek. Now I understand why father used to mention that we are from the Bendahara line .

But the complications when I wanted to trace my line of generation starting from Wan Mohd Sidek. According to my calculation, I am the 5 th or 6th generation.But having said that, when one look again at the family tree, the Wans all practiced intermarriage amongst themselves. And the names were all from the same pool of names. So much so , it became complicated. Wan Saad bin wan Musa. Then another Wan Musa bin Wan Ismail.especially the menfolks, their names can be confined to about maybe 15 .
My mother's line of descendant also originated from the Bendahara line.Mother and father are cousins, of course.

So i gave up trying to understand more. So what I am going to do now is to bring this family tree book and show it to my colleague and let her untangle the web herself.

Also made another discover. Tun Mahathir's mother Wan Tempawan was placed under the line of the Dato' Temenggung, also another Wan. So, if she had married another Wan, then it would have been another story altogether.

One fine day, when this headache has cleared, i will make another attempt to read and unravel the family tree. Until then, that's it.

STILL VERY MUCH AFFECTED

Last night's Natrah theater performance is still affecting my thougthts this morning. The show was based on a true story about the life of one dutch girl way, back in the 1940s , who was left in the care of a malay lady from Trengganu, Pn Aminah. Of course, being a muslim , she quickly did what she thought was most appropriate , that is to convert this girl to the teachings of islam. Little did she knew that this girls's dutch parents were trying to get in touch again with their daughter.But that happened after they both left for Holland.
http://malaysiana1.blogspot.com/2009/07/maria-hertogh-natrah-malaysias.html

So, whether the reasons for wanting her back were because they wanted her back, full stop or because of the fact that Bertha ( her dutch name)was slowly being islamised ,that is something to ponder upon.

But what bugged me is the after effect of the whole situation. The story that happened to her in her later years until her death, it is so sad.

COLD , FOGGY AND WET

That is the weather up here . Extremely cold and misty. Don't know the temperature reading but it must be extremely low. the lowest so far. The whole sky surrounding the buildings is grey and misty and foggy. The fogs are flowing in through whatever openings there are, through the door, the windows.

Too bad, i had to shut the windows because of the smoke from the tractor that is doing the roadwork just outside my room. Otherwise, its cold breeze, most pleasant.

This kind of weather takes me back to memories of the winter months in Durham. Just when the snow was about to fall, the temperatures would dip real low. Then suddenly, soft papery flakes of snow coming down from the sky fast and plentiful. And before you knew it, the grounds would be covered with a white blanket.And of course, when the blankets got thick enough, the sledges would be out.But darling hubby , being his usual innovative and creative self, would just bring out a few of those thick black plastic garbage bags as sledges for Amir and Aisyah. And those two sure had a whale of a time sliding down the slopes. And me, I would be watching them from the kitchen windows.

Talking of kitchen, winter months would mean roasted leg of lamb laced with pips of garlic and bay leaves.And the four of 4 would finish off the whole 3 lb lamb leg at one sitting. The side dish would of course be piping hot white rice and sometimes just chips. Gotta keep oneself warm during those dark , cold winter months. But lamb during summer months was a no no cos' the heat from the lamb would induce migraine attacks.

My hands are freezing from the cold. Gotta put the kettle on .This would be my third cup of hot drink since 8 this morning. Gotta keep warm. No leg of lamb . Just good ole Nescafe with ginger and honey.