11.11.11

I know... I haven't been updating this blog for a mighty long time (sigh...) Busy busy busy... However InsyAllah, God willing, I'll be 'retiring' soon, 17 days more to be exact and hopefully I will be able to write more often. Anyway, yesterday was 11.11.11 and I couldn't resist writing about the 'magic' date. For one thing, I bet hundreds, no maybe thousands of couples got married yesterday to have that date to remember as the sweetest day of their lives.. When we got married 29 years ago (in Cardiff. UK) at the exact date, we weren't thinking about any significant numbers but hey, 2+9=11 right? But I believe all these are just APOPHENIA (word for the day - I've just learned it today). Got this from the net (where else?):

The reason we ascribe significance to 11.11.11 is apophenia - the urge to find patterns in seemingly random data.

It is this that explains why we see clouds forming certain shapes, and why we often hear of people finding 'faces' in things like potato crisps.

Apophenia is also important in the psychology of gamblers. It can either encourage those on a winning streak to believe that it will continue, or convince losing gamblers that their luck must inevitably change.

While it can be a symptom of mental illness if taken to an extreme - as depicted in the film A Beautiful Mind - apophenia is instinctive to all humans as a way of drawing conclusions about the world.

This phenomenon helps us, for example, to recognise abstract drawings as representing human figures, and to remember phone numbers which seem to follow a pattern.

Of course, every year we celebrate the day with a special dinner. Last night we happen to be in Kuantan, so we dine at the Sultan Ahmad Shah International Convention Center. I guess having broken the habit of dining heavily, we could only manage a Ceasar Salad (the appetizer) and a Creme Brulee (the dessert). We decided to skip whatever's in between! Not only were we eating healthily but saving some money, too... LOL. And surprise, surprise we were serenaded as well! Pictures below:

The salad

The Creme Brulee

"Love me tender.." God, I wanted to cry..

Life is Like a Cup of Coffee

God, it has been a hectic week! The new semester has started and what with all 5 classes starting new syllabuses, I am quite stressed out gathering new materials for teaching aids. Thank God for the internet! Got this video clip as motivation for students. Love a good cup of coffee but don't drink much, prefer decaf... Anyway, happy viewing!

Supernatural!

Last week we went back to our home in Meru. We had been home 3 weeks before and when we got back to Kuala Terengganu then, I realised I haven’t got one of my rings with me. I assumed I must  have left it back home in Meru. So, the minute we reached our home last Thursday afternoon, I headed straight towards my dressing table expecting it to be there where I would have usually left it. It wasn’t there, and I searched here and there on the (rather cluttered) dressing table but in vain… I said to myself, never mind, it’ll turn up sooner or later (well.. thinking maybe I’ll find it somewhere where I’ve misplaced it. Anyway, it wasn’t a very expensive ring though it’s my favourite).

Well, the next day, as I was passing the dressing table.. there it was, sitting in a group with my other rings where I left them the night before. I was thrilled and immediately called out to the hubby asking him where had he found it. He asked me what I was talking about. I told him not to play a joke on me and he said honestly he wasn't joking and I believe him. Suddenly, "Oh no, it's happening again; it's the 'borrowing thingy'!". It has happened a couple of times before; me losing some personal article and after sometime it would turn up someplace that I've already searched high and low for, somewhere I wouldn't have missed. God, it freaked me out and it's still freaking me out when I think about it! The hubby suggested that 'it' probably hasn't got jewellery to attend some wedding or something, so it borrowed my ring (lol). Of course as Muslims I believe in the Hereafter and the Angels, which are things from the spiritual world. I don't actually expect to experience any unusual happenings in my daily affairs but this incident strengthens my believe that there are jinns (supernatural creatures) living amongst us and this particular 'thingy' amuses itself by borrowing things from people...

There it was with my other rings (probably thinking that I wouldn't notice its presence with the other rings there)

Reunion

I know I haven't been updating my blog for a long, long time (2 months!) what can I say? Had time, nothing to write; something to write, no time..bla bla excuses,excuses.. Anyway, here's something interesting that happened 4 days ago. I attended a reunion with friends who studied/lived in Cardiff, Wales around early to mid-80s. One of us had the initiative to text-message and email a few and it started the ball rolling. In the end we managed to meet at De Palma, Shah Alam on the 28th of May. It was a Saturday, I thought I couldn't make it as I usually work on Saturdays but Alhamdulillah, exams' just over and no more classes, so I took leave and there I was catching up with friends some of whom I haven't seen for over thirty years! Here are some pics from the event:

The food was marvelous too (too much and too rich, though)

2 teachers, a dean and 2 datins...

Us, Cardiffians

A Surprise

About 3 weeks ago, the second son gave us a surprise by coming back to Malaysia unexpectedly. He just loves to do that. Early last year he came back in the same fashion, nearly giving us a heart attack. This time around he managed to make it to Kuala Terengganu, arriving about noon 18 February. He went back to KL early the next morning -  less than 24 hours... Nevertheless we managed to take him out to have some typical terengganu 'seaside food' in the afternoon (and too full for dinner after that). He said he had some business promotions to attend to over here - he has a job as manager of one of the Secret Recipe's outlet  in Melbourne. He was in Malaysia for about a week or so I think. Anyway, he brought a souvenir from Australia for his old mom - an ipad (no,not ipad 2; it wasn't released yet, then. *sigh..*) Its fortunate that adik is here to help me figure out how to use the thing! (he's quite over the moon himself for he got his brother's iphone..secondhand - whatever, as long it's an iphone!)

By the way. adik is due to fly back to Cairo this Sunday, so the hubby and I are taking Sunday and Monday off. His flight is about midnight  on Sunday. Alhamdulillah, his flight is paid by the state goverment (Selangor)...

Pictures of bang ngah and adik:

Digging in..

The brothers fooling around for the camera

Eventful Days in February

15^th of January was the birthday of our beloved Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). Well, the dates vary if you are using the Gregorian calendar.  The Muslims also use the Lunar calendar and the prophet’s birthday is actually on the 12^th of Rabiulawal. Nevertheless there are some controversial issues concerning the actual dates.  Anyway, the prophet didn’t ask the Muslims to celebrate his birthday as such but the significance of the date reminds the Muslims of the prophet’s struggle and his traditions and at the same time strengthens our believes in our Deen. Incidentally, 3 days earlier than that; 12^th February is remembered by us as the day a great ‘mujaddid’ or reformer, As –Shahid Hassan Al-banna was shot to death. He was an Egyptian and his fight to uphold the Muslim traditions during the notorious Gamal Abdel Nasser regime is much acclaimed by most practising Muslims. His struggle continues to this day by the organisation that he formed nearly a decade ago; the Muslim Brotherhood. And incidentally, a day earlier than that:11^th February saw the fall of the regime which has been oppressing the Muslim Brotherhood almost since its inception. Yes, Hosni Mubarak has finally succumbed to the power of the Egyptian people! Allahuakbar! (And at last Adik is home – for a short holiday I hope. He has exams in July.. ) Have a listen to a beautiful nasyeed about  the Prophet (peace be upon him) titled Al-Muallim or The Teacher by Sami Yusuf..

Adik and Cairo

Quite an eventful week.. Started with what is happening in Egypt now. When they started the demos to oust Hosni Mubarak, my first thought was, oh no my baby's there! We started to call him almost every night just to make sure he's ok (telephone bill's atrocious!) Then things started to get worse and there were curfews and clashes between the demonstrators and pro-Mubarak.. only then did the Malaysian government started to talk about evacuating the Malaysians in Egypt; Cairo and Alexandria in particular (most are students, about what, 14,000 of them?) Anyway Adik's in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia now, in transit before flying back to Malaysia. Things are less critical in Cairo now but I do hope Mubarak would just GO and give the power to the people! Egypt's a great country, rich with history and a nation of prophets..

Here are some pics of our travels to Cairo 2 years ago..

Adik and his sister with camels we used to ride around the pyramids

Adik posing in front of Abbasiah Malaysia Hall

As tall as the pyramid..

Shopping for trinkets in Khan Khalili (ignore date-something wrong with the camera datings)

Kak Lang at Azhar mosque (ignore date - sigh..)