The electric candles are kind of adorable

19th Anniversary Dinner

It has been 19 years since Ain and I were wed. Unlike last year when we had to go see a doctor during our anniversary, this year was fairly uneventful. However, it was the first time we celebrated our anniversary at a Middle Eastern restaurant. I had always wanted to fine in a such a restaurant with the family back […]

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All done

The Parliament of Dreams

Once upon a time, I sent Irfan to school for the first time. It was more than a decade ago and hundreds of kilometres away from here. He had had two years of kindergarten experience beforehand. How trivial that day seem to be now. He is now a young man with his own interests and opinions. After years in both […]

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Final artwork

Painting Exercise

Irfan asked me for some training in watercolours and poster colours. He had already pencilled the artwork in school and he wanted to see me paint it with poster colours. I showed him how to block the colours and he tried it out himself, starting with the sky. Then, I did some more and he did some more. I told […]

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The birthday man

A Seventeen-Year-Old Irfan

Many years have passed since we were blessed with Irfan. He came into our lives and made it much better than it could have been. He still gifts us with this. Today, this young man turned 17. Although we had an earlier birthday celebration with his grandparents the previous week, we had our own little commemoration at a restaurant nearby. […]

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Godzilla on the shoulder

Early Irfan Birthday Dinner

Atok and Opah came a week before Irfan’s 17th birthday to celebrate it early. For that purpose, we visited their favourite Thai restaurant in Padang Besar. As usual, Godzilla and the Rubik’s cube came along for the ride. Here are Irfan with his grandparents reviewing the menu beforehand. Here are Ain and I posing for a photo. This former infant […]

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Photo op by the stream

Exploring Lata Seri Perigi

After watching Angel Has Fallen at our usual cinema, we headed down south from Alor Setar. I looked up interesting picnic spots on the internet and discovered Lata Seri Perigi, which translates to Beautiful Well Waterfalls. We were not geared for any picnic, so this was just a scouting mission. Someday we will return with picnic gear. Here are some […]

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Second day lunch

Meals for a Party Divided

And so it came to pass when Ain had to travel to KL to tend to Cikma’s surgery and recovery. (Spoilers: The surgery went well and she is recovering nicely.) Irfan and I were unable to come with her as we had work to do that we were unable to put off. Irfan had tuition classes to attend while he […]

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Irfan takes a hike

Photos from Irfan’s MFLS Week

Irfan was chosen to go to Malaysian Future Leaders School, a 10-day programme that was not unlike my own Outward Bound School programme back when I was his age. There were team-building events, kayaking (at Timah Tasoh), hillwalking (which is basically hiking through the jungle for a day up a hill), abseiling at the Kangar fire and rescue station (no […]

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Team Perlis

Irfan Camps Out at Timah Tasoh

From last Friday to last Sunday, Irfan attended a uniformed bodies co-curricular camp at the Timah Tasoh camp. Each uniformed body from his school sent 10 personnel to take part in the programme. He was one of ten Scouts from his troop to attend. After the camp, Irfan told me there were physical and mental activities that he enjoyed participating […]

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The PIBG committee

Marching Orders for Irfan

This might be Irfan’s final year at Semsira, his secondary school, and mine as the vice president of the PIBG (Parents Teachers Association). I was invited to attend the school’s Sports Day and I took some time to head there before a class. I was invited to sit up on in the gazebo with other members of the executive committee. […]

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Farewell to Sitiawan team

To Sitiawan and then Home

And so it came to pass that our vacation came to an end. But before that, we had to depart from Nia’s house. There was a flurry of furtive but sad goodbyes. We headed north towards Sitiawan using the old road we used to travel from KL. I thought I would try using the back roads via Kampung Kuantan. Ultimately […]

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Everyone poses!

More of Melaka

After the zoo exploration, we left our fate in the hands of Ayah Cik Farid and family as we journeyed to further nooks and crannies of the state of Melaka. We had lunch and stopped for zohor prayers. Then, our next stop was the Submarine Museum at Klebang Beach where the Ouessant, formerly of the French navy, resided. It was […]

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The team plus one hornbill

Zoological Exploration of Melaka

Today is not only my birthday, but it is also Federal Territory day. Kuala Lumpur day. Ayah Cik Farid and Cik Ma both work in Cyberjaya, so they both got the day off. They invited us for a drive to Melaka. Since they live in the south of the Klang Valley, Melaka is just a hop skip away via the […]

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Before departing Pandan Jaya

A Two-Day KL Reconnoitre

After the visit to the Translation Institute, Bazi and I split up. He would return north later that evening after the benchmarking, while I had more than a week left to my vacation. First thing the next day, we headed back to Nia’s place from Aiman’s place. Since we were early, we explored the area near their house and chanced […]

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Lunchtime

Chicken Stalking During Lunch

Upon our arrival in the Klang Valley for vacation, we headed for Nia’s house. We thought we would spend the night there as my work appointment in KL would not be until Monday. The night we arrived, a belated birthday party was held for the three sisters whose birthdays were close to each other’s. Meanwhile, the cousins quickly started playing […]

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