SORRY FOR NOT WRITING FOR SO LONG

Hi guys!
I just wanna share this awesome video by DiGi. It's called "Dear Malaysians".

How often do we say sorry to our loved ones, even a stranger?
I mean do we even realise that what we do in everyday life might have hurt some people in some ways?
And even if we do, do we care?
Do we even care that we hurt these people?

The answer is simple.
If you care enough, you will make an effort.
If you care enough, you will put aside all your ego, and do what is right.
If you care enough, "sorry" will not be the hardest thing to say.

Say sorry for driving recklessly on the road.
Say sorry for not spending enough time with your parents.
Say sorry to our Harimau Malaya football team for not supporting them all this while.

This is what the video is about.
Saying sorry to our loved ones and fellow Malaysians, who, most of the time, we take for granted.

Start saying sorry. Be a bigger person.

NO GUIDANCE NEEDED

I can still remember the first time mak tok brought me to get my first telekung.

I was 5 or 6 years old.
That place was called "Jua Morah". Well, that's how it's pronounced in Penang accent. But I think the real name was Jualan Murah kot. So we went there, and mak tok stopped at this one kedai.

"Mami, telekung besaq dia pakai punya ada juai?" mak tok said, pointing at me. Aku pun pulled off the cutest face possible.

"Ada... sat na," that mami said, looking for "telekung besaq aku pakai punya".

Then she took out one telekung, mak tok tried it on me, and it was perfect.
So later on, we went home with my first telekung, and a small prayer mat.

So the next step was to pray la kan. Takkan nak pakai telekung pi main hambat-hambat, polis sentri, boya-boya apa semua. But the problem was, the 5/6 year-old me was confused. "What am I supposed to say anything during the prayer? What do I say? I don't even know the steps! I need guidance!" I thought back then.

Mak tok made it easy for me.
She said, "Ikut ja mak tok buat apa." So that was what I did. I stood beside her. I heard her baca Al-Fatihah. I followed. When she rukuk, I rukuk. Dia sujud, aku sujud. But I didn't know kena baca apa when you sujud and all, so aku baca baca alif ba ta. Hohoho..

Later on, when I could memorise the steps, I started to pray on my own. At that time, I felt so grown up. I could pray on my own! I don't need guidance! It was so exciting.

One day, mak tok was about to finish cooking when azan Zohor berkumandang. (ceh, formal pulak).

Then she said, "Anis! Pi amik ayaq semayang, semayang lekaih. Ni dah bang dah."
So aku pun dengan confidentnya pi masuk pancoq (bathroom) and amik wudhuk.. I was so happy that I didn't need to ask mak tok bahagian mana nak basuh dulu. Konon dah expert la. Tak yah guidance la katakan.

Then aku bentangkan sejadah dekat area katil mak tok. It was in the kitchen compound jugak. So I started to pray...

Then, I heard something.
It was Abg Bob. To those who have read the post "AKU DAN BANJIR", you might recall who he is. For those who haven't, GO and READ! Anyway, Abg Bob is my cousin who lives just beside my house. He was in primary school at that time. About 8 or 9 years old.

"Ajam! (that's what he called my mak tok)" he shouted.

Aku *dalam hati* ni mesti kat luaq ni depan rumah ni. Apa dia nak?

"Awat Bok?" I heard mak tok tanya. Thank you mak tok for verbalising that for me.

I was in my second rakaat when I heard him replied, "Ni Bok nak pinjam beskal Anis sat. Nak pi kedai."

Aku *dalam hati* alamak aku sayang beskal aku tu. Aunty Bayah beli kat Amarica! kalau dia pelingkop macamana?? Abg Bob kan samseng Dhoby Ghaut! Balik-balik nanti tinggai handle beskal ja macamana?! Ahh tidak!!!

Dengan pantasnya, dalam rakaat kedua tu, aku kalih belakang and shouted, "TAK BOLEH PINJAM BESKAL ANIS!!!"

Lalu sambung rukuk.

Tak yah guidance la sangat, kan?

ONLY ONE RESOLUTION?

So here we are, in 2012.
Many people talk about new year resolutions. Some want to buy a house, some want to change their cars, some want to get promoted, some want to get married. Ok, let's not go to that whole "getting married" thingy. I wouldn't want to fall into my own trap :p

As for me, my new year resolution is only one - to be a better Muslim.
What? Only one resolution?

Aha.. you must realise that being a better Muslim also means:
- Being a better daughter
- Being a better grand daughter
- Being a better sister
- Being a better best friend
- Being a better friend
- Being a better worker
- Being a better colleague
- Being a better knowledge seeker
- Being a better driver on the road
and the list can go on and on.. so it's actually not only one resolution.

You see, that is the beautiful thing about Islam.
It's not only about praying 5 times a day, fasting during Ramadhan and going for hajj.

It is so much more than that.

So let us all be better Muslims.
Let us strive for Allah's love and His blessing upon us.

May Allah be with us.
Amin.

DID I JUST SAY...

"Ya Allah sejuknya!!" I said once I stepped into the apartment, almost wanted to jump on my client, Nina (bukan nama sebenar) who was there with me. Then I thought... nah.. we're not THAT close yet. Give it another year.

I walked to the balcony, admiring the beautiful scenery of Cameron Highlands.
Yes, we were at Cameron Highlands for a photo shoot, people! And it had been a while since I was here. I think the last time I was here was like, more than 10 years ago. So it was good to be back, to get some fresh air. And a good escape to clear my mind.

After we were briefed about tomorrow's shoot, we all said good night and headed to bed.

Around 6.30am the next morning, we went down to get some breakfast. Just a little... I didn't have appetite to eat that early. I mean I just had some pancakes, chicken sausages, some bread, beef bacon, and some more pancakes, I think. Not much.. just a little.

*clear throat* hurm.. ok, that was when we met Shahir, a 6 year-old boy talent for the ad. OMG, he was SO cute. SO handsome. If only he was 24 years older. Yeah, these are the kind of guys I'm attracted to. It's either they're too young, or too old, or not attracted to me at all. Story of my life.

Anyway, Shahir seemed to be moody that morning. I was quite worried that he could not pull it off during the shoot. So, since I have always been good with kids, I knew exactly what I was supposed to do. I started to create a conversation with him.

"How old are you?" I asked.
No answer. Didn't even look at me. No, no. Didn't even look at the area surrounding me.

"Are you hungry?" I asked again.
Still so quiet that I could hear his breath.

"Are you sleepy?" I tried again.
No answer. He seemed annoyed a little. I don't blame him.

Then it hit me. Get him to play a game! And we are in the year of 2011, where children don't play galah panjang, buaya-buaya, batu seremban or kahwin-kahwin (my favourite, by the way) anymore. They play Angry Birds.

So I took out my phone and handed it to him. "You wanna play Angry Birds?"
He looked at me, smiled, reached out his hand and nodded. We became best buddies a few minutes after that.

See, told you I was good with kids.

After breakfast, we headed to the location - the tea plantation.
Subhanallah.. the view was awesome. I could stay there forever *cough* iftheyhavegoodinternetconnection.

Actually, before we came to the location, we were all worried that the weather was going to be a challenge. But, thank Allah, He brought us sunshine that morning. It was so beautiful. It was perfect.

The man talent for the ad was Peter Davis. He was the dad and Shahir was the son. They really looked like real father and son. Both are gorgeously gorgeous, and both are professionals! Within 2 hours, we called it a wrap. Peter and Shahir were truly awesome. That's the good thing working with professionals. They know what they need to do, and they deliver it perfectly. Made everybody's job easier.

It was time to go back to the apartment.
We all went into the van which brought us there. It was a Mercedes, 14-seater van. Yeah, it was huge!
Shahir and his mom were sitting in the front row seat, me and Nina in the second row and Peter was behind us.
While we were heading down, Peter mentioned something about soap. Then I remembered the incident where I gave soap to Datuk. (those who have no idea please refer to "me and my new stool" entry and you'll know what happened)

So I told him and Nina the story "...bla bla bla bla....then I offered Datuk a candy and he took it. And then we ate it together at once, and then he spit it out and said 'THIS IS NOT CANDY THIS IS SOAP!' and I was like 'SHIT'!"

Nina looked at me in horror and said, "No way you're coming near my kid!"
I was like, why? What's wrong? What did I say...? Oh shit! OMG I just said "shit" in front of a 6 year-old kid?! Ok, damage control time, Anis!

I quickly went to Shahir and asked, "You didn't hear I said 'SHIT', did you?"

Yeah, that's how good I am with kids.

Shahir playing some serious Angry Birds before getting ready for the shoot.

Me and Peter Davis the night before the shoot.
We went to the night market and I was freezing my a** out. So I stopped at every stall that was frying food. I needed the heat.

Peter getting some final touch up before the shoot.

Me and Nina having a photo shoot of our own.

Just look at this. If you need to escape from the city, from the stress at work, go to Cameron Highlands.
Sit here, get in touch with mother nature, clear your mind.
We have it all in Malaysia. Go travel!

Working time. They were doing this for 2 hours. Shahir was saying "Yay" for the entire time.
I don't think he'll ever say "Yay" again.

Awww... me and Shahir. Isn't he cute? I would so recommend him. He's a very talented young boy.

Me demonstrating how the "locals" pluck the tea leaves. The face is... whenever there's sunlight.

*Disclaimer: The last question to Shahir only happened in my head. But saying the 'S' word in front of him was real. ACCIDENTALLY saying.

AKU DAN JPJ

Pada suatu pagi ni, aku dh lambat nak p keja. Aku pun bawak keta dengan gaya samseng sebab dah memang lambat gila.

Selepas aku menyusur keluar ke federal highway dengan gaya Transporter, aku ternampak truck JPJ dok bawak kat lane kiri tak lebih 80km/j. adoi.. menurut perintah betoi.

Disebabkan aku lambat, aku pun discreetly memotong JPJ tersebut. Tapi dalam hati, dok takot kena tahan dengan JPJ sebab bawak laju. Cukup la pengalaman kena tahan dengan pegawai smart tunnel dulu. Tak mau aku menangis depan JPJ pulak.

Lepas aku dah menghilangkan diri dari pandangan JPJ tersebut, aku terjumpa lagi satu truck in blue kat depan aku. Aku just nampak logo saja.

"Alamak... another JPJ???" I said to myself. Ok la.. aku jadi baik la.. aku bawak la pelan-pelan kat belakang truck tu.

Ya Allah.. depa ni bawak keta tekan minyak ka, tolak dengan kaki? kalau aku turun TOLAK keta aku pun lagi laju dr depa bawak. Adoi.. takpa-takpa. sabaq Anis. Hang tak mau menangis depan JPJ, kan??

Tetiba, phone aku bunyi. Nombor tak kenai. Alamak.. ni mesti orang yang nak deliver katil aku nih. Aku pn angkat la, put him on loud speaker. Punya takot JPJ tahan aku sebab cakap phone while driving.

So lepas cakap dengan mamat tu, I was approaching the toll. Truck tu menuju ke arah lane "Tunai". Yay!! Aku bebas! Aku pun pederaih la p Touch 'N Go. Masa kat toll tu, aku nampak truck tu melepasi toll. Then, aku tengok truck tu balik - CAREFULLY.

Kat truck tu, tertulis....

"MAJLIS PERBANDARAN PETALING JAYA"

IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE...

It's been a while since I had a crush on someone.
Usually it only last in a blink of an eye. But this time, this time it's a bit serious than I thought it would be.

And you know the best part is?
I know nothing about him.

That's why I keep asking myself. Why Anis, why? You might not even like him when you find out how he really is.
But still.. I can't get him out of my mind.

I do hope this feeling will go away soon. And never come back!

And to that someone, this song is for you.
Enjoy it while it last, cause this ship is sailing soon, mister!

A PICTURE THAT IS WORTH A MILLION WORDS

they say a picture is worth a thousand words.
to me, this picture worth a million.

it's a picture of my hand holding mak tok's hand when she was sick in the hospital.
mak tok took care of me since i was a little baby. she raised me to be who i am today.

when i took this picture, she was so weak but she knew i was there, i was reaching out for her hand.
she was so weak that she couldn't open her eyes but she tried to grab my hand and hold it as tight as she could.
she heard me talking to her, but she couldn't speak. so she took my hand and put it on her chest.

i kept talking to her. saying that when she gets well, i would bring her back to our home in Penang.
we could stay there for as long as she likes, eat whatever she likes to eat, and go wherever she likes to go.
she nodded, still holding my hand as tight as she could. i could see that she was happy. happy to know she was going home again, happy that i was there with her, happy to even just listening to my voice.

i prayed. i prayed and i prayed to Allah so that mak tok would be ok. so that i could bring her home. so that i could listen to her laughter again. so that i could hug her whenever i want. so that i could make her happy.

but Allah loves her more.
we said our goodbyes in 2009. and i have been missing her since then. every single day.

because nobody holds my hand like how mak tok did.
because nobody hugs me like how mak tok did.
because nobody laughs at my jokes like how mak tok laughed.

because nobody loves me like how mak tok loved me.

anis rindu mak tok.
anis rindu mak tok sangat-sangat.

al-fatihah