Monday, September 01, 2008

Ramadhan Is Here

Ramadhan is here again and these are the things that I look forward to in the holy month of Ramadhan:

- The sahur time - seems like I have more time at hand since I don't normally sleep after sahur. Very handy when one has to finish up a report or need time blogging and facebooking. Me likey!

- The food, what else? The endless variety of delicacies from the PaRams (short for Pasar Ramadhan) around. Our favourite PaRam spots include the one in front of Masjid Saidina Abu Bakar in Bangsar - look out for the killer Rojak Penang and cendol ; in front of Giant kecik in Kelana Jaya - try the Ikan Bakar Fend and murtabak from Man Bess; in Pantai Dalam - for my favourite cucur udang and of course, in front of Taman Tenaga, Puchong - various dishes from Q-Caterers. Nope, don't go to all of them before breaking fast. Pick one (or two, if you have the time) and go with that! :) (Sorry, Ayoi and Zara.. You all ambik bau je la... heh heh heh)

- The earlier release time of 4:30pm from work. Yeay! More time to melawat kawasan - kawasan PaRam.

- It's been a kind of a tradition for our household to spend at least ONE fasting weekend at my in-law's place in Kubang Kerian. The PaRam at the Kota Bharu stadium is just insane. Sooooo many stalls and soooo many GOOD FOOD! I just can't wait! Oh, we are going to KB this Thursday, y'all!! Yum Yum..

- The Ramadhan buffet madness in Klang Valley. I don't normally go to many, the few that I go to are carefully planned and serves as a catch up session with various groups of childhood friends. ;) (Yes, Amy .. I am talking to you.. Get that IKEA thingy going, girl!)

-Getting our Raya cards out. I believe in the snail mail. It's sooo old school, I know but I love receiving Raya cards too! I still have the list from last year, but if you have changed addresses since, and you wanna get a Raya card from the Azrul clan, drop me your address.

- Time for ibadat. Khadra and Khaleeq are excited to follow us to the mosque for Tarawikh. Khadra was with me at the Tarawikh tonight and she was just doing the motions. Of course, she did complaint that she was sweating la... her head is itchy la... But, at least she kept her telekung on until the last rakaat. Good enough for me.. :) I'm trying to get every Tarawikh night this year. Should also try to read as much Al-Quran verses as possible. I hope this does not turn out to be yet another one of my infamous HHTA plans...

Though my list does not seem to agree, but to me, it's not ALL about the food. Personally, Ramadhan serves as a little check point in my life.
In 2002, I had my first Ramadhan with my new hubby - adapting to a new way of Ramadhan and another place to call kampung. I was at the early stages of my pregnancy with Khadra then.
In 2003 and 2004, our family grew from 2 to 3 to 4. :)
2007 saw me carrying Khaleeda in my tummy while trying to maintain a sane household with Khadra and Khaleeq running around.
This year, my two kids are already big enough to follow us for tarawikh and start on their half-day puasas.

It just got me to thinking, you know.. Will I be there for them next year? Have I done enough? In all honesty, am I actually prepared? In the busy-ness of our day-to-day lives, I hardly ever think about the future. Always trying to resolve the now, firefighting.. The report I have to write, the bug that had the whole family vomitting and having diarrhea, Khadra's field trip, Khaleeq's haircut, Khaleeda's biscuits, Parmi's passport and permit, etc, etc, etc.. It just doesn't end.. Ramadhan gives me the chance to pause and prioritize. Beef up on the insufficients. Make ammends. Be calmer, breathe more..

So, maaf zahir batin and have a blessed Ramadhan y'all.. Make it count , this time round..

-dillz blogging out-

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

auw kak dilla..you almost made me cry. but it's true, ramadhan does give me time to pause too...

waking up earlier. finishing u earlier at night too.. sbb by 8 dah habis makan. terawih.. dah tak tau apa nak buat.

but it always reminds me of puasa kat MMU.. masa tulah menyiapkan assignment macam nak gila.

dillazag said...

klynn --> in my case today, i woke up at 2am and made the occasional boobie trip to bed for khaleeda.... heh heh heh

in all seriousness, though.. tu la.. lain2 kali tak hingat dunia akhirat... nah rasakan..

i am so out of focus now.. am actually contemplating whether i should visit the bangsar or pantai dalam PaRam this evening.. heh heh heh

Along said...

Selamat berpuasa!!

Unlike you, hubby and I have made a vow NOT to visit any PaRams this year. Serik la..the ones at my place kind of suck. Last time I bought otak2 for buka..out of 5, 3 basi!! Uwekkk...

dillazag said...

Along --> We are taking it slow on the stuff bought from the PaRams too. Kalau tak too much wastage. Always, always ask for second opinion, coz dekat-dekat time buka ni nafsu membuak-buak.. heh heh heh

I am NOT ashamed to ask for only 2 karipaps and 3 otak-otak.. heh heh heh

~ayoi~ said...

Dillz: Aku nangis kang.. Hehehe. Dah jauh beribu batu ni, bau pun tak sampai. Lain kali pegi PARAM, amik gambar letak kat blog or FB yea. Buat ubat rindu orang merantau ni.