In remembrance of Dafullah...

This post is especially dedicated to Mr Dafullah, a man I knew for only 3 years , or so.

You see, if you have not known him, or you have never met him, that's it. You'll never meet him, you'll never get to know him. He's dead. He passed away last Thursday (10th Nov 2011). He fell off a building on which he was working on. It was a sad news, indeed.
I just got the news through our warden this morning, saying that Dafullah passed away ,and that the Welfare Committee would go to his house this Sunday. I cried really really hard reading the mesage. Called my DH and cried again. The images of him kept pouring in, and I could still see his smiling and his sense of relief, a great relief whenever he got his payment after he's done doing something for us. I knew he really needed that money, he had a family; a wife and 3 children. I remembered him telling me his wife delivered a baby last year. That baby must be around 1 year old by now. I feel sad for his family. For his wife. To hear that you husband died falling off a building, when he just said good-bye that morning; maybe with a kiss and a warm hug, promising to return that afternoon. I cried again when I tried to imagine how she'd reacted to the shocking news. How heavy and heartbreaking she must have felt when she looked into her childrens' eyes. How did she tell the children?

Dafullah was nobody special. He's just a general worker, a position that nobody really care if it hadn't existed in our residence complex. You would just need him to do all the 'general' thing. You know, helped carry the tables, chairs, help with all the not-so-important stuffs around the complex. His position and the things he did didn't need any special skills or certification. Maybe that's why he lost his job. The company who hired him needed to cut cost, and Dafullah and several others were simply terminated. They didn't need him anymore. I knew about him losing his job after I came back from my summer vacation in July 2011.
I bumped into him, and he said that he's been terminated, meaning he's no longer working in our complex. He told me that he's looking for a job,and that if I ever needed him to do work around the house, I could still call him. I knew that he was desperately needed some money to support his family. I was thinking of what chores around the house that I could offer him to do. Unfortunately, we were quite mobile this time around  and I didn't really have time to sort out things. Although DH kept telling me to call Dafullah to help sort the stuffs we have in the store, I didn't manage to call him. I procrastinated. I bumped into him several time in Khartoum though. Once, I was in the van coming back from school at noon, and the driver said that he wanted to stop to say 'Hi' to 2 friends he saw on the street. When the van stopped I saw the 2 guys, and one of them was Dafullah. He was looking for a job. He must have found a job in a construction site somewhere. Yeah, it would be easier to get a job there. They don't need qualification. They just need your gut and your willingness. And Dafullah needed money. Desperately..


You see, Dafullah always gave his brightest smile when he sees you. I also think that's he's brilliant. He could speak a little bit Bahasa Malaysia, and he kept learning new words day by day. That's cool for someone who hadn't had a formal education ,not even in his own language. I remembered asking him to help with our store, rearranging the bottle, cans and what nots, washed carpets. I knew of other madams who asked him to hang the curtains, deliver food to the office, bring in the chairs and tables for the bazaar, etc. He'd do anything you asked him to. Besides money, I used to give him clothes, cutleries, diapers, all the dry food/canned food. Also electrical appliances;-). He accepted them generously. You know, with a wide smile, and a very happy look. The next day, he would tell you that his wife was overjoyed with all the gifts. To know that you are a part of someone's happiness, is a joy, too.


Now, Allahyarham Dafullah, may Allah has mercy on your soul. May Allah rewards you for all the good things you have done for us. Semoga Allah merahmati kamu. Semoga Allah melimpahkan rahmatNya ke atas keluarga kamu,dan melindungi mereka. Semoga Allah melimpahkan belas dan meringankan bebanan yang ditanggung oleh mereka. Amin.


Selamat jalan Dafullah, semoga kita ketemu lagi..

holidays in malaysia- jjcm

Woohhooo..we are going home .Balik kampung...

It's not that we haven't balik kampung for years ..saje je nak rasa seronok, though we just came back from kampung on 4th Aug this year. The thrill of balik kampung is always there, no matter whether you balik kampung from Kajang, or from UM ( uni days) or from JB ( in laws).

In fact, I feel the same thrills if we were to balik kampung JB from Kuala Kangsar ( KK- my kampung). I guess it's the travelling that makes me so excited. Betul la kata orang, it's not the destination, but the journey that matters!

We will be in Msia from 27th Nov till 15th Dec. A bit over 2 weeks, and already i can see us rushing to go here and there, meeting relatives, friends, makan-makan, buying stuffs, settling our unfnished businesses, paying bills, etc. This time around , i am so determined to get the keropok lekor on board. Musti, musti..

During our previous trips back to Msia and coming back here, we bought the fish crackers, but never managed to bring it here, because of excess baggage. Keropok lekor were never really our priority because there were always books (mommy's and childrens') , food stuffs, other food stuffs, more food stuffs but not keropok lekor.

So, yes, this time, your time will come keropok lekor! ( Ya Allah, permudahkan lah urusan membawa keropok lekor ke sini. Amin) I am now thinking that once we have keropok lekor in our current house, alangkah indahnya petang hari, makan keropok lekor, cicah sos cap Pah Bedah , minum teh -o panas, mata bertaut, senyum terukir , oh alangkah indahnya sekali lagi). Hee.hehe..

Oh yes, we will be bringing lots of paratha as well. Memandangkan saya tidak pernah berjaya membuat roti canai yang menjadi roti canai, maka keputusan ini telah dicapai. Dan burger, frankfurter, fishballs, meatballs, crabsticks, etc. Bayangkan kalau keadaan memerlukan, dan anda agak liat untuk mengeluarkan duit sebanyak RM15 hanya untuk mendapatkan 6 keping burger patties, bukankah lebih baik membawa bekalan dari Msia, where it is much much cheaper and InsyaAllah, kualiti terjamin, halal dan bersih? We bought quite a lot of those from HPA, or Az-Zain or any muslims products available. It's just my personal options.

Once in Malaysia, we'll be doing lots and lots of makan-makan. I once went to Laksamana Cheng Ho's restaurant, ( ehm not once, twice) but it was closed. This time around we hope to be able to sample their food, dengar macam sedap sangat??! Ye ke?

Anyway, even in Bangi (we live in Kajang-near Bangi), there are lots of reataurants/ food outlets opened recently. It's very much welcomed by us hehe. There are Wong Solo- ayam penyet, Nasi Ulam with their scrumptious nasi kerabu and nasi dagang breakfast spread, Ghazali Nasi Bryani Gam- i love their kambing and ayam masak merah, and a few more kopitiam and what nots. Memang gantung periuk, senduk and kuali.

I shall make a list of where to go, what to get now. Recommendations of outlet makanan sedap very much welcomed.

Yeeha..


Life has been good.


Alhamdulillah, things are going very well with the kids and oh yes, i have only Lutifl to accompany me during my morning march to morning coffees, arabic class, badminton lessons, cooking class ( last Tuesday's was Kek Gula Hangus, siap tapau lagi). Bunyi macam banyak giler aktiviti kan? Eh, memang banyak pun. Oh ya, tidak terkecuali my dear Playgroup classes every Monday and Thursday..The other 2 boys are at schools from 7.15am to 1.30pm.

Umar is now in Year 1 @K1CS, Khart0um Int'nal Community Scho0l, while Hafiz goes to KAS ( Khart0um Amer1can School). Yup, they do go to different schools. Why? For Hafiz, I wanted him to go where he is going, and Umar wanted to go to his current school- the fact that they offers swimming lessons and horse-back riding contributed a lot to his choosing the school.



Anyway, seeing that they enjoy schools and coming back with stories of friends, teachers, current projects, books they are reading are enough to convinced me that they should be where they are now. The 2 schools look so different in appearance and 'feel', but i am sure they provide just the same best quality education and nurturing them just the way it should be. hehe..emak-emak biasalah, semua mengharapka yang terbaik, anak-anak harta kita wehhh..!!

I take Hafiz to school everyday at 6.45am, with the block van ( ya macam van pekerja kilang di tanahair kita).Now that i have 2 schoolgoing children and DH's workplace doesn't have any cafe ( ok, tipu, bukan takde cafe, but not the type yang dia boleh beli and makan- terlalu local taste, withflava beans and local salads, and he's an expat - eh betullah kan?), so i have to prepare breakfast and meals ( to bring to schools/office) for 3 .

Lihat menu-menu di bawah ini:

Breakfast: Cekodok pisang ( DH), cereal (Umar), Roti with Nutella spread ( hafiz).Lunch box menu: Nasi goreng (DH), cucur pisang (Umar- percayalah, inilah yang umar bawak ke sekolah..habis!!), hafiz- roti sapu nutella( kalau Londobisco roll cake habis, atau kalau yang chocolate flavour habis , dan yang tinggal strawberry aje-which he doesn't fancy! habis tu siapa nak makan yang rasa strawberry tu?!!).

Atau, set yang ini juga: Breakfast: Nasi goreng ( DH), cereal (Umar), susu (Hafiz)- sonang bona!Lunch box: Nasi goreng ( DH), Mee goreng - for both Umar and Hafiz.Umar and Hafiz ni tak reti makan nasi goreng, tapi mee goreng ok. DH plak tak suka mee goreng, nasi goreng dia sukaaaaa!!Kadang-kadang DH bawak nasi putih dengan lauk-pauk, ( fish fillet goreng tepung with some sauce, or daging masak asam pedas with lots of tomato chuncks, fried thin-sliced beef mixed with some long beans, etc.

Harap-harap teman-teman semeja makan DH ku itu tersangatlah impressed dengan my cooking dan mungkin menyuruh wife-wife mereka memasak yang serupa: fish fillet goreng tepung? ikan bilis goreng? sheessh!! ahahah- tak lawak!!Tapi jangan adalah yang menjeling dan mengkomen dalam hati kalau nampak hubby bawak nasi lauk telur mata bersos kicap atau emm..bawak cekodok pisang!! heheh...Pagi-pagi memang sangat gedempun-gedempang kitchen kitorang, sampai kakak rumah bawah tu dah biasa sangat tanya: apa lah yang kelentng kelentang pagi-pagi tu ?:. eh, masaklah kak,western ada, thai ada, menu panas panas!! Kang orang tak tau pulak saya masak untuk seluruh ahli keluarga terchenta! heheh( sekali tengok DH bawak roti sapu coklat je pi ofis, akak ni mesti tau sebab hubby dia seofis ngan DH, maknanya lunch partner jugaklah! Bocor rahsia !!
Tak habis lagi. I take Hafiz to school, DH still at home, and i really , really like it if Lutfil has woken up from sleep by this time. Biasanya i hint to my DH, "hari ni ada arabic class at 9.30am, or morning coffe at 9.30am,or badminton lesson at 8am". I f i am lucky, he'll give Lutfil a bath, and that usually is a BIG relief! Susah gilerr biasanya nak mandikan dia, dengan amuknya, dengan rengeknya, orang lain start badminton pukul 8am, i datang 9am. Patutlah 'stroke' i tak pernah improve!Asyik lambat sampai training ..heheh. Kalau morning coffee tu, asyik mkan dessert je lah, pasal main menu dah habis! Not complaining here..i memng suka target dessert dulu pun..
Tengah makan dessert kat acara minum kopi tu, mata asyik tengok jam, pasal at 11.30am kena naik van lagi ambik Hafiz at school. Bawak Lutfil dan bersama geng Van Sekolah, kami menngharungi panas terik dan bahang, merentasi.... Eleh, Mohammed yang drive pun rileks je , madam-madam ni nak kena bukak mulut and bukak cerita je sepanjang jalan tu. Tapi i pernah jugak tertidur selama 15 minit dalam van tu, penat beb!! Sampai rumah biasanya i goreng mee je ( mee kicap ), atau kalau tanya Hafiz, dia mungkin cakap" Ibu feeds me roti canai for lunch" hahha..buleh dipercayai jugaklah dia haha.Hafiz kalau mintak i buat apa-apa yang dia nak makan, it's either roti, or mee or donuts! Kalau kek coklat, dia makan semua , except yang i buat! Ngapalah anakku ni. Eh, Ibu buat sedap tau! :D

Umar is more on the cheese-pizza-bread-fresh milk-cereals types of food! I think he has sweet-tooth just like me. Tapi i suka pengat, dia suka tak eh?

Oh ya, I have this resolution to finish the current stock of cream cheese. I have been doing this creamcheese buttercake for the past 2 weeks. I have made this 6 times already, and i still have about 400g of creamcheese that could make about 2 butter cakes. Patutlah my pants and khakis yang selama ini elok-elok muat dah tak muat.Okay, lepas ni berkain batik. Tak pun pakai seluar punjabi yang pakai tali je, verryy flexible! haha. On the other hand i managed to gain the 6 kgs that i lost ( and thought that would be forever!!) isk, isk !! Jangan berani congratulate me. Nahas anda nanti! Dari mana agaknya all those kgs/pounds came from? Emm..let me wonder !! Ye lah tu..!!