I have been wanting to visit this new sandwich place in town. We finally got extra cash for the week so we went for some sandwiches. However to save money, we only bought two – takeaway – and no drinks. The restaurant was cozy and had a nice ambience, found on one corner of Capitol Square. The smell of freshly baked bread wafted from the door. Also, there was freshly-pressed coffee. We might be back for a proper dining experience here later. We ordered the cheesy beef salami and the garlic chicken sandwiches. When we got home we divided them into three parts each, so Irfan, Ain and I were able to sample equal measure of each sandwich. I believe there were more cheese in the garlic chicken than the cheesy beef salami, and I have no complaints about that. Maybe I will try the Thai mayo chicken next.
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On top of spaghetti all covered with cheese
A list of our family’s adventures through this simulated universe. Strangely, this is represented by several methods. Firstly, my thoughts in words and then a host of two-dimensional images configured for the human visible spectrum. Finally the blog itself as a medium of information. Also, sometimes there is cake.
Suddenly, The Emergency Room
… but upon my return home from my three-day hospital stay, I discovered that Opah Irfan had a high fever and could not sit up. She was extremely weak from illness. So, we took her to the Klinik Kesihatan downtown before it closed, leaving Irfan alone at home to do his homework. When we arrived, Ain and Atok Irfan got a wheelchair for Opah. After a blood test, the medical personnel there discovered that Opah’s blood sugar, blood pressure and body temperature were sky high. The nurses there had to inject some insulin into her system. Then, they called an ambulance to transport her to the Emergency Room of the hospital next door – escorted by Ain – while Atok & I returned home to get her medical records. What followed was a six-hour wait at the ER for the lab to return a new blood test to see if […]
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Finally, A Surgery
Atok and Opah Irfan came to visit last Saturday for a medical reason. The photo of them above along with Irfan was taken the day they left for Sitiawan on the 12th. Several days earlier, on Monday the 7th, I was hospitalised and surgery was scheduled for the next day. There I was, once more unto the breach. This was my fourth attempt at surgery. A FESS to remove what was left of a couple of polyps and a septoplasty to fix my right air hole which was apparently too small. The first attempt back in early 2016 was postponed because of high blood pressure. The second was postponed on account of getting sick while under observation in the hospital ward, and I missed a work excursion to Terengganu in vain because of it. I was unable to go for surgery the third time earlier this year because of a […]
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Nia Nia’s Hari Raya in Kedah
En route back to Perlis, we stopped in Kedah where Nia Nia and family were celebrating Aidilfitri this year. Also present were Nia’s cousins Nawal and Adenin. Nia of course was a busy little girl with a lot of self-appointed assignments and jobs to complete. (Usually with toys.)
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Aidilfitri 2017 at Pasir Mas
Eid Mubarak from Pondok Lubuk Tapah! Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitir. Maaf Zahir & Batin! Our family were clad in blue this morning, as Irfan demonstrated in the picture above. I’m wearing my old baju raya from several years ago, by the way. Irfan with Ciksu, Ayah G, Tok Ma and Tok Bah. Us in blue with Ayah Long, Aiman, Mak Long and Zara decked out in brown. The following photos were taken by Ciksu: Ciksu could not believe Irfan’s height. A trio of sisters. The entire roster of people at Tok Bah & Tok Ma’s house during Hari Raya in a single photo!
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Driving Towards Kelantan
Two days before Eid, we drove to Pasir Mas. We had planned on departing at 2 a.m. but we all overslept. So, we left and headed east after Subuh prayers. A notable feature of this journey is that Ain drove for more than 80% of the way. She took the wheel from Changlun. She drove from Changlun along the North-South Expressway, got out at the Gurun exit, drove past Jeniang, Kuala Ketil, Baling, Gerik and went up the East-West Highway over the mountains. She became sleepy near the Titiwangsa rest stop, so we parked the car for a while. Irfan massaged his mother’s back, which was knotted up no doubt caused by the extra long driving. Then I took the wheel while Ain slept in the back. The only place where a traffic jam occurred was near Bukit Bunga in Jeli, caused by Friday prayers traffic. I drove on towards […]
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Final Iftar Outdoors
Ramadhan will end in a couple of days and soon we will head to Pasir Mas for Aidilfitri. A new outdoor eatery popped up nearby, across the main road from our residential area. Nothing extraordinary to report except that this would be our last breaking of fast before Eid. Also, some great lighting in the photos below.
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Early Ramadhan in Perak
I drew the artwork above while in Sitiawan. It was the start of the second week of Ramadhan when we all drove to Perak for a long weekend to buka puasa with Irfan’s grandparents. Also, there was some business to be had in Ipoh with Wan Cu and family facilitating said business. It has been a while since we drove to their house in Ipoh from Sitiawan. I nearly got lost because the phone could not acquire the GPS signal long enough to tell us which direction we should take. But because of the ordeal we underwent, I think I will be able to remember it from now on. We left for home from Ipoh, heading north and parting ways with Atok and Opan at Wan Cu’s place.
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Comes A Nia Nia
Rania and family came back to visit us from Kuala Lumpur during the long weekend. We picked up Ayah Cik Farid and Cikma from the airport and had dinner with them at Kepala Batas. Nia Nia was asleep when she arrived, but woke up just in time for a meal. Nia Nia was still groggy from her sleep, but soon got her head back in the game upon spotting a cat and toddling excitedly after it. At home, Irfan began teaching her to operate his Rubik’s cube. Then suddenly there was a power outage! Thankfully Nia Nia did not give a crap. The next day, we went for a dinner at Kuala Perlis. We hung out at a restaurant across the road from the beach. Ayah Cik Farid showed Nia Nia the incoming tide, and she was impressed (and quite vocal about it too) with the rising tide and the […]
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A Vacation of Some Sort
And So It Begins The vacation began when Ivan came a-visiting from Petaling Jaya via the ERL. I picked him up at the Arau station and he gave me an early birthday present: the Rogue One Ultimate Visual Guide, which will eventually be its own blog post. Because of work, I had to spend the first day of vacation grading papers. But we did take Ivan out by the sea where we had some grilled lok ching and laksa. Gua Kelam With me on call for the grading work, we managed to take a trip to Gua Kelam. It was a work day so there were not many people at the park. Here are Ain and Irfan at the mouth into the dark tunnel of the shadowy realm. Once we got to the park grounds on the far side of the cave, Ain identified the spot where Irfan, Ayah Cik, […]
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A Hometown of Sorts
…Sitiawan! We drove from Pasir Mas to where I grew up and where nothing now looks familiar, except for the old house. Because I was not able to go to Kuala Lumpur for vacation earlier, I figured we should visit Atok and Opah in Sitiawan during Maulud Nabi. Of course Irfan was glued to his grandparents desktop computer for hours, even late into the night. So he was pretty tired in the mornings. It was a chore to wake him up in my old bedroom. We mostly chilled out and relaxed in Sitiawan. We wanted to visit my cousin, but they were not in town. Irfan’s Atok and Opah also took us to dinner, before I went to GM a Star Wars RPG session. Wait what? The pasembor and rojak place under the rubber trees had quite tasty food, even if there was a swarm of flies in the area. […]
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A Send Off to Mekah
For the first time ever, Tok Bah and Tok Ma in Pasir Mas got the opportunity to go on an Umrah pilgrimage in Mecca. We drove to Kelantan to see them off. En route, we got to see a herd of elephants, pale and monolithic, at about three a.m. along the Grik-Jeli highway over the mountains. They must have just crossed the road as their butts were to us. No, we did not stop the car to take photos. Tok Bah and Tok Ma would join a group of pilgrims from Terengganu and be escorted by Ain’s cousin and her husband in their journey. Many came from Pondok Lubuk Tapah and other places to see them off at the Kota Bharu airport. Yes, Ain shed tears at the airport. Irfan should get to know his cousins a bit more. Though I think his extraordinary height (and his somewhat introverted demeanour […]
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Ain and Irfan Go To KL
It came to pass that Ain and Irfan went for vacation back in KL but I was not able to join them because of work. A side effect of given a new position at work after one has planned one’s year end vacation and bought travel tickets. So while I held the fort during exam season, the anak beranak spent their time with Ayah Cik, Cikma, Ciksu and Little Rania. Here are some of the photos of what happened during their away mission. Mouseover the images to read the captions. They had a fun time there, visiting some folks including Zara and Aiman, and Irfan’s former uztazah, our old neighbour back at the tenth floor. Hopefully I would be better at planning vacations next year after I have acclimatised better to my work schedule as a teacher.
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16th Anniversary Dinner
Tonight is our sixteenth year together as husband and wife, so we took it upon ourselves to go celebrate with a dinner at a restaurant known as MaiCafe. As far as anniversaries were concerned it quite an enjoyable dinner and our second here in Perlis. I have said it once and I will say it again: I am blessed to have Ain beside me as a partner for 16 years. Though we began four years earlier, so this is actually our 20th anniversary together as a couple. Also, where would we all be without the presence of one Irfan Shafiq who is old enough to earn the Legion Flight Ring. Ain ordered her favourite meal, chicken chop with black pepper sauce. The portion was quite large that Ain was unable to finish it. Thankfully, Irfan was present to obliterate the chicken. Irfan’s spaghetti and meatballs were also quite delicious, especially […]
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Another Rainy Dinner by the Sea
In the past I have posted an blog article of us having an early dinner along the road by the sea at dusk in Kuala Perlis before. Again, it was raining but this time there was a spectacular sunset on display for us to view. The sun was about to set, although at first thick clouds over Langkawi Island blocked our view of it. Meanwhile the rain fell sporadically in fine droplets that we easily ignored. Irfan and I ordered the lok ching, which is various seafood and sausages on a stick, roasted over an open fire and dipped in various sauces. The sun revealed itself while the clouds arranged themselves in an aesthetically pleasing way for us to see. Other patrons of the roadside eatery walked into view on the wall of rocks that separated us from the beach, so I took a photo of them against the epic […]
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And Then It Was His 14th Birthday
Irfan’s fourteenth birthday came and went. So did Irfan’s grandparents from Perak. It would be easy to say “I can’t believe how tall and how far he’d come” but the truth is that I am not surprised. With the opportunities and facilities available to him here – as opposed to the Klang Valley where he would have to fight with the sheer number of students in school for available teaching and learning resources – Irfan is surely and gradually turning into a young man with the powers and abilities of a teenager. What would be best for us to celebrate a fourteenth birthday? I have no idea, so we decided on going our for pizza! When the pizza arrived it looked appealing and it was quite delicious. My personal criteria for “delicious” was fulfilled thanks to onions. We took a group photo with our prey, before we finished it off […]
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