Irfan's birthday gift wrapped

21st Birthday

Once upon a time, Irfan learned how to walk. It was an evening at the 10th floor many centuries ago. He had been trying to stand and walk, I guess, in the interim. Suddenly, he was able to ambulate in what later became his own room, on the brown parquet […]

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The home team

Two Decades of Irfan

It seems incredible. Our son is twenty years of age today. Where did the time go? Oh, I forgot. Time was sucked in and consumed by the singularity known as the Covid-19 quarantine, also known as the plague year. In any case, our mic testing, Vietnam roll making, galactic smuggler […]

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Birthday cake

Nineteen Years of Irfan

It’s that time of the year again! In the morning, Ain made telur bungkus for breakfast with French fries. Later that evening, we went to the cafe at a hotel in town for a birthday dinner. We ordered something nice. I liked the ice cream cheese cake that Ain got […]

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Happy birthday, Irfan

18 Years of Irfan

I still remember the day of Irfan’s birth like it was yesterday. When we left for the hospital, when she was wheeled into the labour room, when I went to see his birth and when I recited the azan in his ear. I cannot believe it has been 18 years […]

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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, […]

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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 […]

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Cake cutting time

Irfan is Sixteen

Once again, the arbitrary day based on an arbitrary timing system returns after a long cycle known as a year. Because we appear to honour the system, it was time just like last year to celebrate Irfan’s birthday. He turned 16 today. Atok and Opah visited from Perak to celebrate […]

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Cake cutter of doom

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 […]

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13th Birthday Gift

Is that 13 Solar or Lunar Years?

And just like that, our once-newborn son is a teenager. As Irfan is so fond of reciting, “Masa berjalan begitu saja.” Although Atok and Opah had treated us to an early birthday dinner with Irfan back in Sitiawan, we went to Burger Republik once more to commemorate the day. From […]

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12th Birthday Boy

A Birthday Once More

It’s Irfan’s 12th birthday. We were supposed to set something up for him, like allowing him to invite his friends over. But because of low resources, we had to cancel. But Cikma and Ayah Cik The Younger came with a cake anyway, so we held a small gathering. I was […]

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Roll for melee combat

Irfan’s Eleven

Irfan’s eleven now! It started when we thought about inviting Emma’s forthcoming family-in-law for dinner. It just so happened that it was on Irfan’s weekend’s birthday! So unlike other years, Irfan had more people over for his birthday than before, including the aforementioned forthcoming family-in-law of Farid’s, Irfan’s cousin Aiman […]

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Spaghetti consumer

A Decade of Irfan

Once upon a time, this baby thought it’d be a good idea to come live with us. Ten years later to the day – last night, he’s celebrating his birthday with his parents and aunt by having dinner at a restaurant. He’s been wanting spaghetti and meatballs for some time […]

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Weapon and shield

Birthday Cake Transforms Into…

Well, the birthday cake was transformed into digested matter submerged in digestive fluids in our stomachs. However, the box with which the cake was transported was transformed into… …Captain America’s shield, after an unscheduled crafting session. The Nerf gun was the one he bought from Richard Chua’s booth during the […]

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