Posing for the photo

Pre-Aidilfitri at Pasir Mas

As was blogged earlier, three days before Deepavali were spent at Lubuk Tapah, Pasir Mas. Not only were there the pre-Aidilitri preparations going on, but they were also getting ready for the wedding of Ain’s cousin some time after the festivities, which Ain & I will have to miss. What is there to report at Tok Bah and Tok Ma’s house? I really like the solok lada at dinners. Irfan hoarded all the pillows in the house and buried himself under them. Biscuits were baked (picture below). It rained quite a bit, which was pleasant. We didn’t even leave the kampung in the day, knowing full well that the traffic in the town of Pasir Mas would be horribly jammed because of the balik kampung season. Irfan discovered the joys of Cartoon Network on Astro. Here are some of the pics.   Irfan smiles for the camera at Tok Bah’s […]

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Maryland – Part I

Hisham’s reminiscing has prompted me to finally take action – all this summer I have been procrastinating making some family related entries. Vin’s family had several family-related occasions and I have been meaning to blog them. Rather than doing them in chronological order, I am going to organize it a little differently. In early August, Vin and I traveled to Maryland first to Bel Aire to visit with Aunt Joan and Uncle John, then to Crisfield to visit with Aunt Dolores and Uncle Dean. Our visit with Aunt Joan and Uncle John was short and amounted to a quick lunch with them, but stay tuned, there will be more on them in upcoming entries. In Crisfield, Dean took Vin and I fishing. For the second year in a row, I went fishing with Dean and Vin, and guess what? For the second year in a row, the girl beat the […]

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Irfan Goes To Opah Cu’s House

Earlier this year, when we were in Sitiawan we went Irfan’s Opah Cu’s house in Ipoh, the capital of Perak. As usual, upon arriving at a brand new location for him, Irfan took a dump in his diapers. (That never fails, by the way.) Besides that, he had a lot of fun with his great aunt, his aunt and two uncles. Perhaps this Aidilfitri he’ll find some time to return there. Hopefully, since it’s not his first time already, he wont crap in his diapers for the visit. [[image:ipoh01.jpg:Opah Cu’s sliding door:center:0]]A large yard! Much better than the no yard at his own house. [[image:ipoh02.jpg:Opah Cu’s yard:center:0]]Pak Cu trying to get close to Irfan, who’s still shy at this time. [[image:ipoh03.jpg:Opah Cu’s bathtub:center:0]]After finding out his steaming pile, we decided to give him a bath. [[image:ipoh04.jpg:Opah Cu’s bedroom:center:0]]As Cik Emma puts on his clothes, Irfan is unable to contain his […]

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5 years ago

5 Years Ago…

… Ain & I got married. Last night, after Irfan slept early and we left him in the care of his Cik Emma, Ain & I went to see Mr. & Mrs. Smith at GCS Midvalley (where they’re replaying the summer blockbusters for half price), got something to eat in a doggie bag, went home to eat it, and then I gave her the wedding anniversary card I bought earlier. It’s been a great 5 years, with hopefully more to come.

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Irfan, his dad and mom

Irfan Cuts His Cake and Eats It Too

“I want to eat the Happy Birthday Cake!” Irfan begged for hours after seeing the number three-shaped vanilla cake with the Tigger-esque toon on it. He wasn’t getting it until everyone arrived of course. There were, yet to arrive, his Mak Long and Ayah Long, and his Cik Eda and her roommates. So all day long, he staked out the cake box on the dinner table. More than once, you’ll see this happening and then the cry in the background, “IRFAN!!!” The box opens, much to Irfan’s delight. The cake had support by french fries, chicken curry, roti jala, chicken fingers and watermelon. Finally it was time to cut the cake. Irfan goes nuts. Irfan cuts the cake, aided by his parents. You can just see how happy he was. Now, Irfan’s probably thinking, “Wait! Why is the cake going to other people? I wan’t one.” And he lived happily […]

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Irfan with two new grandmothers

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY IRFAN!

The two new grandmothers, September 2002. Three years ago, Irfan Shafiq was born at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital. Within that three years, he’s given not just his mother and I a lot of joy, but a lot of other people in our extended family as well. We’ll be cutting cake in the next few hours, so we’ll have pictures of that soon. In the meantime, enjoy the announcement of Irfan’s birth (link dead) in the Star Wars Artists’ Guild forums from 3 years ago.

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Irfan Goes To The Zoo

Last Sunday, Irfan (along with a bunch of family members) went to the zoo! Here’s a series of photos that came out of our little zoo trip. [[image:zoo01.jpg:Immediately after insertion into zoo:center:0]]The crew lead by Irfan walks by the elephant paddock, away from it because he was spooked by the big pachyderms. [[image:zoo02.jpg:Stork lake:center:0]]Irfan and his Aunt Emma with some storks in the background. There’s one bird in flight in the background immediately behind them if you look carefully. [[image:zoo03.jpg:Pony ride:center:0]]Again, Irfan is spooked and refuses to approach a pony, RM2.00 a pop. He preferred to be elsewhere, like… [[image:zoo04.jpg:The jejawi tree:center:0]]…this ficus microcarpa a.k.a. the Malay Banyan a.k.a the jejawi tree. Oh hey, another group photo. [[image:zoo05.jpg:Emus:center:0]]Everyone referred to these as ostriches until we came to the plaque that says that they were emus. The ostriches, we discovered later, were in the the savanna open paddock along with the […]

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Mak & Abah at Dungun, Terengganu

Here we are over 100 posts in this blog and not once did even say that I worked for seven years at the East Coast of the Peninsular Malaysia. I hate talking about the place. No, I don’t mean Terengganu is an awful place. Far from it. It has some of the most beautiful beaches in the country. The people there are for the most part cordial and pleasant to be around with. A lot of unpleasantness stained in my mind came from the work. Politics at the workplace, mostly stemming from people from the West Coast. I could go on, but I’ll just sum things up: great place to be, wonderful friends there (and still there), terrible job. So here are some pictures of Mak & Abah visiting me while I was there. [[image:dungun1.jpg:Near ITM Dungun:center:0]] [[image:dungun2.jpg:Abah and Mak at Tanjung Jara:center:0]] [[image:dungun3.jpg:Geological analysis of Tanjung Jara:center:0]] [[image:dungun4.jpg:The southern […]

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More playing

What Happened on Independence Day 2005?

What happened was that a bunch of my old classmates and I (with some of our family) met at 1 Utama mall in Bandar Utama. We then proceeded to the open air Rainforest location of the new wing of 1 Utama, cobbled together 4 of the little round tables (and 1 square table) Burger King had scattered in their area and ordered some Burger King value meals for lunch, except for Teik Sing who had a heavy brunch, yo. Here follows a photographic account of the events that transpired today. I should have taken more pictures, but I was chasing Irfan all over the play area and out of the drizzle. Laksh’s daughter Priya and Irfan getting their Uncle Teik Sing to play Hot Wheels with them, while Chiew Kian looks on amused. Laksh, Yu Hoe, Wendy & Ah Bau. In the foreground is Chiew Kian’s cute daughter. Group photo […]

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Henna

Malay weddings aren’t complete without henna. Malay culture isn’t the only one to include henna in its rites and rituals. Henna is an ancient tradition practised by many ancient cultures, and is an integral part of weddings and childbirth for Hindu as well as Muslim cultures. I had hoped that one of the benefits of marrying out of my own culture would be that I would be allowed to skip some of the more tedious rites, but (un)fortunately, my aunts and cousin would have none of it. So whether we liked it or not, henna became part of our wedding. After the aqad nikah (marriage) ceremony, Vin and I both sat down for my cousin Ija (Kak Long) and she meticulously applied the ritual henna on our digits. Well, Vin only had to have the three fingers on his left hand hennaed. I had to have all of my fingers, […]

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Irfan’s Aunt Emma’s Graduation

As was reported in an earlier post, we were all at Universiti Malaya for Emma’s graduation ceremory. Irfan’s grandparents along with assorted uncles and aunts were there for the occasion. They spent the night at Rumah Universiti, booked many weeks earlier to avoid being sold out. I was worried of the day being ruined by thick, smothering haze that’d been plaguing us for the previous two weeks. But like a miracle, the air cleared. Not a bit, not even moderately… it cleared almost totally. So we had blue skies and could clearly around us during graduation day. [[popup:um01.jpg:(thumbnail):Coming down Rumah Universiti:center:1]] After eating lunch in the hotel room, we headed down toward the crowd surrounding the Dewan Tunku Canselor. Irfan was curious about the drains as usual. Because the the crowd hasn’t surged yet, I was on photography detail. Later, to ensure Irfan’s safety, I had to take him in […]

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Baseball Anyone?

What could be more American than baseball and apple pie? Why would a Malaysian girl even give a hoot? Because baseball is Vin’s obsession. (He likes apple pie too, and blasphemously, I don’t, but that’s a different story altogether). During the spring and summer months Vin eats, drinks, lives, and breathes baseball. During the off-season, he keeps track of the trades and developments in the Major Leagues. We started dating in August of 2000, and by the fall of 2001 (the first full baseball season, spring-summer of 2001), I could read a box score. And Vin and I had a long-distance relationship. Many baseball widows would probably reprimand me for encouraging this obsession but (un)fortunately for me, baseball means more than just something Vin is unnaturally fixated on. We met at a baseball game. What? What was I, the least-interested-worst-possible-athletic person in the world doing at a baseball game? Yes, […]

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Looking up

Excursion to KLCC

Today we went to KLCC for a picnic. Irfan, as usual, went straight for the extensive playground they have there, running up and sliding down the play structures. Later, I got to do what I haven’t done in a long time: spend an hour at Kinokuniya browsing and reading the first few chapters of several books, including Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash. Even read through the Marvel Spider-Man Encyclopedia. As usual I took a some photos, and here are some views of Irfan playing outside, and some view inside Suria KLCC.   Inside Suria KLCC Mall

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Redang 08

Honeymoon in Redang

As Hisham has faithfully chronicled in here, Vin & I got married in Malaysia recently. A few days after the big kenduri (feast) in Sitiawan, Hisham’s and my hometown, Vin & I flew to Kuala Terengganu, on the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia where we were picked up by a bus and driven to the Marang Jetty. There, we got on a speedboat and left for Pulau Redang (Redang Island) for a 3-day snorkeling adventure. My father had taken us on a few of these vacations when Hisham and I were in our late teens, but the last time I had been to Pulau Redang and its neighboring islands had been at least 10 years ago. I had been worried that the last 10 years might have brought “development” (and its evil twin destruction) and that tourism might have brought about the destruction of the natural coral reefs that surround […]

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The newlyweds

KLIA June 2005

Their time in Malaysia had come and gone. Vin and Sila left the country, back to their own lives in the United States last night. It had been a fantastic month, and we were all saddened by their having to leave. Irfan, on the other hand, took it well. Even after the evening claiming his Ayah Cik’s luggage as his own, Irfan waved his goodbye to my sister and brother-in-law without any fuss. Even this morning, when I asked him, “Ayak Cik mana? (Where’s Ayah Cik?)” Irfan cheerily replied, “Ayah Cik naik kapal terbang. (Ayah Cik got onto an aircraft.)” Here are pictures from last night sad event. Here are some general pictures of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport taken without flash and with long exposure.

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Sisters-in-laws

A Stay At The Hilton: Another Photojournal

For the last year or so, after sending Irfan to day care, we drive to work together. After the construction of Hilton KL Sentral, we drive past it every morning. Sometimes we wonder if we would ever get a chance to spend a night at the newest and state-of-the-art hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Then suddenly last week, newly-weds Sila and Vin booked us on what would be a 2 night stay there. After their honeymoon in Redang we were to rendezvous with them at KL Sentral. Soon after, we were enjoying the air-conditioned, luxurious rooms of the hotel. Here are pictures from our awesome stay at the Hilton. Here we are settling down into the hotel room. Irfan warmed up to the bathtub immediately. He had to have his Ayah Cik Vin around for him to fill up the tub with tepid water, before he takes a dip in it […]

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