Tengku Ahmad Irfan's Blog Site

This morning received an email from Irfan's mum who is my niece about a new blog site being set up by his dad for Irfan .  So to promote my grandnephew's blog site about his activities while in New York I had it linked to my blog and to anybody out there who had an inkling who is Tengku Ahmad Irfan please visit his blog site here.  The intention of putting up this blog site is to put out facts but to keep it simple.

The latest news of Irfan when he received both the 2012 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award and the 2012 Charlotte Bergen Award for his winning composition, 'String Quartet No. 1' at the ASCAP Foundation's 17th Annual Awards Ceremony on December 12, 2012.

 A bit about ASCAP Foundation..it was established in 1975 and is a publicly supported charitable organization dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging their development through music education and talent development programs.   Jason Mraz, the popular singer  was honoured with the Champion Award in the same ceremony in recognition of his commitment to vital causes to make  a better world. 

ASCAP Foundation President, Paul Williams with Jason Mraz, The ASCAP Foundation Champion Award recipient. — at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Happy 100 Days!

Tahun baru sudah masuk minggu ke-dua... hari demi hari berlalu namun ilham untuk menyusun ayat-ayat di blog ini terasa teramatlah susah.  Ok, the blog has been given a new facelift...dah jemu tengok template layout yang sudah outdated and to start the ball rolling or rather the blog rolling let's start with this one....

A Happy 100 Days is specially dedicated to Baby D....today you are a 100 days old..Alhamdulillah!  Sitti (Baby D will call me with that title :)) has been meaning to do a little write-up about Baby D and it seems appropriate to do it  today and Sitti will overcome this 'malasness' of blogging and get this published...yeay.

Baby D finally made an entrance into the human world on the 2nd October 2012 after giving Ummi (your mum Baby D!) a very tiring labour of almost two days.  The doctors called Ummi's pregnancy as a 'precious pregnancy' because after only 6 years of marriage you are conceived.  Sitti still remember the night in late January 2012 when Ummi sobbing excitedly over the phone delivered the happy news we have been waiting for so long is now realised.

So, when you were born Sitti was not there to  be with Ummi to give her some comfort and  to greet and hold (while staring in wonder at you) in my arms, my very first grandson.  Sitti and TokBah were in Makkah to perform the haj...but only Allah knows how Sitti felt at that time waiting anxiously and praying Ummi will not have any complications in the labour room.  At one point Sitti felt if it is possible to just fly home and be with Ummi but TokTeh (bless her) knocked some sense into Sitti with a message...'hey you are in the most coveted place in the world right now....sujud dan doa di depan Kaabah tu dan minta selamat semua'.  

Alhamdulillah you were born normally all 3.67 kg of you, even though the doctors had to use the vacuum method (tu yang kepala nampak lonjong sikit) but Ummi lost some amount of blood and later needed 2 bottles of  blood transfusion to make her stable again.  Ummi said your voice is the loudest crying among the other babies in the hospital room (there are 3 other babies) and you are impatient and cries when Ummi's flow of  breastmilk runs slow.  Sitti dapat dengar jugak suara tangisan Baby D walaupun di Makkah sebab Sitti made a special request to Ummi to telephone when you cry...tak nampak rupa dengar suara tangisan pun jadilah.

Look at you Baby D... you have learn to babble (a lot), suck your chubby finger (you look cute doing that).

Your favourite position to sleep..mula-mula Sitti bimbang tengok Ummi letak Baby D tidur posisi macam ni tapi ummi cakap tak apa Baby D pandai alih kepala dengan sendiri ke kiri ke kanan semasa tidur, ini semasa dalam pantang lagi.

Baby D....even though Sitti cannot see nor follow your progress of growing up everyday because Sitti and TokBah lives far away from you, you will always have a special place in our hearts.  TokBah hari-hari sebut nak pergi KL jenguk Baby D tapi tunggulah Sitti pencen tak lama lagi nanti boleh takeover daripada Nenek jaga Baby D :).  Sitti doa agar Baby D diberi kesihatan sepanjang masa, grow up to be a fine and responsible young man to your Ummi and Abiy...In Shaa Allah.

SCAMMED!!!

Well who would have  thought that I would fell into this telemarketing trap????  Do not ever think that everyone of us cannot be a victim to all the wicked ways of this world in one way or other. 

That's it I didn't think it could happen to me...itu lah kita ni manusia yang lemah, lalai dan adakala bodoh di masa itu lah datang segala mak datuk syaitan yang bertopengkan manusia menduga kebodohan ini.  Well..nasi sudah jadi bubur lagaknya kali ini...

Sudah ada rasa was-was sebelum ini dan bila membaca blog ini   memang sah keno doh weh!  I am not going into details as it happened exactly like what is detailed in the said blog above.  

Mungkin ada hikmah jugak perkara sebegini berlaku sebab memang sudah lama berniat untuk membatal penggunaan kad kredit ni.  In Shaa Allah semoga Allah permudahkan segala urusan ....

Once In a Lifetime Journey ...The Hajj (Madinah)

View of the now famous clock tower (other than the other famous clock tower) taken from my hotel room window and it served to remind me of where I was at that moment ... Makkah Al Mukarramah! A place where all human beings who professed Islam as their religion had in their hearts and by the grace of Allah to be here once in their lifetime to complete the 5 Pillars of Islam ...not counting those who had  continuous opportunities to come here though.

I have put on hold for so long to publish something about my pilgrimage because I feel there is nothing extraordinary to write about since most of us have gone to perform the haj or the small haj..umrah. At the insistence of my dear sister (she's being at me for so long nagging for some write-up of what's happening while I was there), I will try to jot down some memorable happenings.

 It was in February 2012 when we received letters from Tabung Haji (TH) both hubby and I were selected and offered to perform this year's haj season (1433H/2012).   I was having some doubts about leaving  No. 3 and No. 4 'Sunshines' since they will be facing their major exams SPM and STPM come November and  No. 1 'Sunshine' is due to deliver her first baby in early October, a few months  later   No. 2 'Sunshine' told us that the date for his convocation ceremony might be in November too.  Hubby was steadfast in his decision that come what may we go on  haj this year. Putting doubts aside we decided to  make a plea  to TH to put us on  an earlier flight citing our personal reasons as above minus the delivery due date of my eldest daughter...that can't be help because she will be delivering her baby before the day for Wukuf.  The TH staff to whom we submitted our plea was negative in her answer saying our reason is not strong enough but Allah Knows Best  when the schedule date letter from TH arrived  we were among the first batch of pilgrims (KT 01) to leave for the holy land on 16 Sept 2012 and  be back home by November 1. 

The bonus of being the earliest among the pilgrims to arrive in Madinah was that Masjid Nabawi  was quite deserted for a few days before the exodus below begins..haha.  

The flight from KLIA flew direct to Madinah and we arrived in the early hours of 17 Sept. at Madinah airport.  Had a glimpsed of Masjid Nabawi with all its lights on from above before landing...such a beautiful view.  There was a small reception when we arrived at Hotel Movenpick since we were the first pilgrims to arrive from Malaysia.  If I am not mistaken KT 01 pilgrims was  officially greeted and welcomed  by HRH Prince Abdul Aziz bin Majed bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of Madinah. Each pilgrim was handed a small box of dates and tasbih in glittering colourful sachets by the Governer himself just as we stepped off the bus.  Cameras started clicking, TV cameras zooming in and female TH officials strewn petals of roses on us as we walked towards the hotel... tak pernah dalam hidup ini disambut sebegitu rupa.  

Grand hotels along the perimeter of the gates of Masjid Nabawi

We were in Madinah before when we performed the Umrah in the year 2000 (that was in early December and the weather was a lot cooler) and over the years old buildings/hotels were torn down to make way for grander hotels just like in the picture above.  The roads are now wider with more new buildings under construction, hubby and I cannot recall which part of Madinah we stayed before.  It was a small hotel located somewhere in one of the back streets and was about a 10 minute walk to Masjid Nabawi.  

I was placed in a room at Movenpick for two occupants and the husband of my room mate shared a room just across ours with my hubby and another male pilgrim.  For reasons unknown in Madinah and Makkah I shared rooms with my fellow State man or rather ladies, might be that because more than half of the pilgrims of KT 01 comes from Kelantan.  

Even though the masjid is just a stone's throw away from the hotel one has to walk across a vast expanse of tiled marble floor to reach the masjid, it was a bit of shock when the hot dry afternoon heat  seared my face when i stepped off from the hotel's corridor to enter the masjid for zohor prayers... well it was September and the weather is still hot.  

Like I say before, Masjid Nabawi was quite deserted for the first few days before  pilgrims from other countries and other KTs from Malaysia (5 KTs a day) started to arrive in droves and I had the opportunity to pray in the first saf (row) at every prayer times.  Only 3 days in Madinah and I was already feeling a bit hectic with the prayer times since they were only 3 hours apart except for Subuh and Zohor prayers and falling on the bed to rest for a while between solat was a luxury.  Apart from fulfilling the 40 prayer times over eight days, the visit to our Prophet's mausoleum and Raudah (Garden of Paradise) is of course looked forward. 

Pics above were taken by hubby picturing the situation at the Raudah, see the men praying on the green carpet.  Everyone prays to have  a chance to pray on this green carpet as it is said every prayer (doa) you asked for will In Shaa Allah be fulfilled by the Almighty.  When I was on Umrah twelve years ago there was a very large crowd of women pushing and shoving and I did not get to solat properly but this time Alhamdulillah the crowd was less and I get to solat twice on the green carpet and offered prayers for everyone at home... healthwise, longevity etc.  One could not help but feel humbled praying here and tears flow without bidding.  

Arab children praying in Masjid Nabawi.  

One thing that I did not look forward to was the frisking/checking of our belongings  by the women's guard at the masjid.  Shrouded in black from head to toe they stood guard by the masjid's doors, blocking the entrance to the women's section prayer hall.  Men have the real deal in the holy land, they are free to visit Raudah at all hours and were spared being frisked before entering the masjid.  Itulah saya malas nak ambil risiko bawa my android masuk masjid sebaliknya beri kepada hubby untuk snap gambar-gambar dalam masjid.  At one time my ball point pen diambil si jubah hitam ni...I looked at her with resignation, she said...'afteerrr solat' meaning I can collect it back after solat....apa dah....ballpen pun kau nak ambil bukannya kita nok buat conteng dalam masjid Nabi, cuma nak tanda dalam notebook tempat berhenti baca quran.  Kau nak ambil sangat ambil lah...at least something of mine is left behind at Masjid Nabawi :).  Masih terngiang  dengar suara nyaring si jubah-jubah hitam ini semasa dia orang control jemaah wanita yang semakin ramai  memenuhi ruangan solat hingga ke pintu masjid..'Ibu-ibu...jalan-jalan...duduk-duduk...kanan-kanan.. dalam bahasa indonesia bunyinyo hehe. Panjang pulaklah cerita, ni kesah di Madinah saja...

Bab shopping pulak, ramai di rumah pesan baik beli belah di Madinah sebab pilihan untuk jubah cantik-cantik.(naik mabuk nak pilih adalah)  banyak di sini.  Tok arab dalam gambar bawah ni tau kita orang Malezia....terus tersengih-sengih sebut "Siti Nurhaliza....1 Malezia" ...popular jugok Mek Siti ssano weh hahaha.

Biasalah breakfast di luar bilik dengan Che Abe tiap-tiap pagi.  Jiran-jiran bilik sebelah pun berkelah rioh rendah tiap pagi.

Kebab (sedap di Madinah), roti arab, nasi arab boleh dibeli di kedai-kedai sebegini, kebanyakannya orang South Asia yang jual.  Makanan yang disaji untuk jemaah Muasassah di Madinah maaf cakaplah....tak sedap tapi telan jugaklah...

On the 9th day in Madinah kalau tak silap 25hb September bertolak ke Makkah selepas solat Asar.....

A Reason To Smile - Graduation Day

It's nearly the end of  the year and I am still in my hibernating mood to blog, the urge to post/write here has waned a bit after returning from the Haj ... just put it down as plain laziness on my part :).  Anyway back to this business of posting a bit about my second sunshine's glory day ... his graduation day.

The event took place at Dewan Agong Tuanku Canselor at UiTM Shah Alam last 25 November 2012 and we were there to share his happiness  and at the age of  22 he has a  Bachelor in Arts & Design (Hons) in Graphic Design Second Class (Upper).  You did your best Azri and we are proud of you and your perseverance paid off and you got a little star there right after your name :).  

Some happy moments captured on the said day....

With elder sis, Dini and my cucu Daiyan

With Sunah, the one and only helper who looked after Azri when he was a baby when I'm at work

Alhamdulillah for all Allah SWT's Mercies..

With both  ears feeling plugged due to the altitude changes and no amount of swallowing or sucking medicinal tablets for sore throat to ease the plugged feeling, there's also my spouse raging with a high temperature besides me and heavy coughing enveloping both of us throughout the 9 hour journey, the plane carrying the Haji and the Hajjahs from KT 01 from Jeddah landed safely in KLIA around 9.30 pm (local time) on the 1st of November 2012.... not exactly the picture I had in mind on how our state of health would be when we first flew into Madinah on the 17 of September 2012!  I feel like kicking the man who was seated in the opposite aisle for looking so healthy and in a jovial mood and I noticed too he had the time to change his casual attire into a crisp white jubah with spanking black polished shoes  just an hour before landing!  

We were the last few to leave the plane due to hubby's high temp but somehow he was left behind when I managed to pass a few others on the way out.  I kept glancing back when he was nowhere in sight when I heard my name announced to please return to where a group of Tabung Haji's personnels were on hand to greet the pilgrims when we left the plane. 

 Rupa-rupanya suami ditahan oleh petugas TH untuk diperiksa kesihatan yang sudah tampak jelas uzur untuk diperiksa oleh seorang doktor yang sememangnya ditempatkan disitu sekiranya ada jemaah haji yang nampak lemah dan tidak bermaya.  Selepas dibuat pemeriksaan, ubat segera diberi.  Malam tu kami bermalam di KLIA bahagian domestik untuk penerbangan esok pagi-pagi balik ke KB.  Terima kasih kepada petugas TH yang sedia melayan kami semasa di KLIA sehingga ke check-in counter untuk penerbangan ke KB.  

But there's a bright spot waiting for us in KB albeit our discomfort on our return from the Haj....

Our first cucu... Wan Ahmad Daiyan.  After six years our eldest daughter gave birth to him when we were in Makkah on the 2nd of October 2012.  

Berteka teki macam mana rupa cucu bila di sana handphone tidak dapat menerima gambarnya.  Alhamdulillah bila seorang anak sepupu juga ke Makkah untuk tunaikan haji bawa bersamanya gambar yang dinanti-nanti pada 16 Okt...

Will blog a bit more about our pilgrimage later and this piece is written on the insistence of my sister and daughter....dia orang kata lama-lama tak blogging you won't get any readers to read your blog..yelah tu.... blog ni pun bukannya ada ramai viewers.  Mula-mula balik dulu memang tidak ada keinginan langsung nak tulis apa-apa...berjalan pun macam atas angin tidak berpijak ke bumi yang nyata...but for the families' sake...here I am back again :)

All Packed n Ready To Go...

SEMOGA SEGALA URUSAN DIPERMUDAHKAN..RABBI YAASIR WALATUASIR!