“Why do you ONLY hear from some people when they want you to do something for them or when they have some kind of issue with you? It is odd because when you make overtures towards them or ask them for help, they seem to make themselves scarce.”
It is hard to do acts of goodness without expectations of any recompense – even acknowledgement, much less gratitude – but this is something we as Muslims must learn to do.
Taqabbal Allahu minna wa minkum dear Muslims!
`Eid Mubarak! Selamat Hari Raya Haji!
We’ll be headed to the masjid soon in shaa Allah. Looking forward to packing and distributing the meat, frozen yoghurt, beautiful greetings, a trip to the village and Bento-boxing (my kids’ idea LOL!). I hope you all have good days ahead!
Fruitful Fusion, you so read my mind! I was actually thinking this morning that it’s been a while since I’ve been tagged or done a meme! I invited myself to your little questionnaire :) Better late than never eh?
1. Do you have any pets?
Yes, Rocket – our cat who believes he’s really a dog.
2. Name 3 things that are physically close to you.
My elder daughter’s backpack of outdoorsy and survival things (don’t ask), shelf of homeschooling books and materials, passports (we are applying for a visa extension).
3. What’s the weather like right now?
Pleasantly bright and yet cool – winter’s coming! – nice enough for my smally to eat her lunch out on the terrace :)
4. Do you drive? If so have you crashed?
I don’t drive… I get driven. :P (I don’t know how to drive!)
5. What time did you wake up this morning?
5.00 a.m.
6. When was the last time you showered?
Just a few minutes ago.
7. What was the last movie you saw?
I don’t really watch movies anymore… urm… let’s see… Oh yes! Driving Miss Daisy on the plane!
8. What does your last text message say?
A message from my husband saying that the accountant would come by to pick up his cheque at 10 a.m.
9. What’s your ringtone?
Boomdeyada from Discovery Channel.
10. Have you ever been to a different country?
Yes, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, the USA… I’m actually living in a different country, Pakistan.
11. Do you like sushi?
I don’t like it… I LOVE IT!
12. Where do you buy your groceries?
Mostly at the little local stores in the neighbourhood. There is a large supermarket called Metro that we go to every few months.
13. Have you ever taken medication to help you fall asleep faster?
No alhamdulillah… I can sleep even after a cup of coffee. :)
14. How many siblings do you have?
Two – an older brother and a younger sister.
15. Do you have a desktop computer or a laptop?
Laptop.
16. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
Oh must you ask… OK, 41 next year in shaa Allah.
17. Do you wear contacts or glasses?
Glasses – I quit contacts because I kept dropping them down the sink :P
18. Do you color your hair?
On occasion :)
19. Tell me something you are planning to do today.
Get some winter clothes for the kids, cook zereshk polo for break of fast and squeeze in some raspberry tea time sometime in shaa Allah.
20. When was the last time you cried?
Don’t remember… or maybe I don’t want to remember.
21. What is your perfect pizza topping?
Cheese, tomato and pepperoni.
22. Which do you prefer – hamburgers or cheeseburgers?
Hamburgers.
23. Have you ever had an all-nighter?
Oh yes!
24. What is your eye color?
Dark brown.
25. Can you taste the difference between Pepsi and Coke?
Yes, but I don’t drink soft drinks as a rule.
… is hard to get.
Dear Internet Service Provider,
It has taken me all of 20 minutes to download a document of less than 10MB. I honestly feel like I’ve gone back to my dial-up days … you know, back when we had those modems that made those ridiculous dialling sounds? Yes, you must be looking back fondly on that good old era when you charged even crazier money for even worse connection speeds. You can’t really believe that the service you are providing actually qualifies as broadband connection. Now quit being muppets and fix the silly thing already.
“Do you really mean to tell me that Perrier isn’t natural?”
Sometimes… sometimes, you need to embrace your inner dictator.
I DON’T have a headache. I DON’T need tea. I need you to back off and STOP undermining me and making stupid jibes about my parenting methods. You don’t know everything, so get over yourself already.
Honest enough for you Umm Z? :)
I’ll go have my tea now then.
From a freecycle mailing list I am on:
Just asking if anyone’s got a crystal ball or any type of crystal which you no longer want and can offer to me. Thought it can change a person’s luck and I seriously hope so. Or I can put it in the fish tank.
LOL!
Who are these people anyway?
Dreadfully tardy or should I say fashionably late, Digital Jewel? *S*
I have been tagged… Yippee! Someone actually reads my boring blog!
7 Random Things About Me
1. I have more than 2 gmail accounts. OK, OK… I have 5 6.
2. I consult a doctor named Wicky Wong about my asthma.
3. I have never felt comfortable with my given names – my first is not used by family and my second can also be a masculine name. Either way, both make me feel awkward about my identity. I don’t know what I would name myself if I were given the option.
4. I often forego sleep because there are so many things I would rather do instead.
5. I went backpacking in India in 1997 and had the time of my life.
6. I wanted to be a neurosurgeon when I was a child. I now want to be a writer… sadly, the only books I have published are educational assessment books! (place track laughter here) If you live in Singapore and know my not-used-by-family-first name and masculine middle name you might have seen some of these… heh…
7. I love tea, don’t you? No? Sorry, can’t talk to you anymore…
… redesigning the site.
I do this every time I get anxious.
I shouldn’t… I have enough on my plate as it is.
OK someone just give me a SLAP upside the head!
Farzana, this is for you!
I’ve got a long way to go, but I’ve updated my stash of links. If you look at my sidebar, homeschooling links have been reorganised.
Must run… my first-born is enamoured with pirates now…
Ms M: Baba, I will teach you how to make salad, OK?
The Dad-Man: OK, sure… and I will teach you how to make salaat…
*S*
“Ummi, may I call you by your first name?”
“No, you can call me Atticus.”
“Ummi, may I wrap the pages of my book up so I can read them in water?”
I’ve been a long time lurker at Sister Tasmiya’s blog. She writes with such honesty and humour that I’ve learnt quite a bit about parenting in a most enjoyable fashion! Check it out! It’s wicked!
Anyway! I decided to step out of lurkdom and participate in her Interview Game. Here are the questions she asked me … followed by my rambling (as usual) answers:
1. What’s your favourite meal?
Hmmm… where do I begin?! *S* Maybe it is being away from Singapore and missing my life there… but I will say that my favourite meal is the `Eid feast that we have there. There would be delicious pilaf accompanied by a host of dishes – prawns cooked in a chilli and tomato sauce, chunks of beef in a rich and spicy coconut gravy, grilled chicken and a thick lentil gravy cooked with meat. My favourite though is kuzi – a delectable dish of chicken, aromatic spices, some mince meat, raisins and almonds. My mother had once tried to change the menu but I remember raising a big hue and cry, protesting that the `Eid feast just would not be right without kuzi.
My mum and aunts come from a long line of wonderful cooks so the food is nothing short of gratifying. I must be honest though… it is not so much the food that makes this meal so special. It is that it stirs up many beautiful memories. When my father and grandmothers were alive, our house would be packed with guests on `Eid. My relatives would come over and it wouldn’t matter if they had already eaten or had been invited to a meal elsewhere… they would HAVE to eat at our home or face my grandmother’s wrath. Very few could get past my father anyway – he would keep urging them to “have more”. Resistance would be futile *S*
My grandmothers and father have passed away. I am now in Islamabad; my sister is in London and only my mum and brother are back home in Singapore now. I miss those `Eid meals.
2. What’s the one thing about you that you want to change (if anything)?
ONE? *sigh* OK I guess I have to narrow it down then… I would say that I would want more patience and ‘stickability’. I have so many ideas running about in my head… so many projects I have running… so many dreams and goals I want to fulfil for my children… I want so much that I sometimes I allow the stress to get to me and forget that I have to go about these things with love and a LOT of sabr. I forget that lofty goals need dogged perseverance.
3. What’s your favourite book (or movie if you hate reading)?
I do love reading… and my favourite book has to be the Qur’an. It is truly a miracle… beyond compare. I keep learning something new and find it profoundly beautiful.
4. What do you love about being a mother?
The love…
My friend Maria, who is a mother of 3, mentioned once how having children has changed her life. She said that before she had her first daughter, she would get pangs of loneliness from time to time. She added emphatically, “I’ve never ever felt lonely since Shabaani came along. Never.” I thought it was beautiful…
Anyway, for me, I know that I feared having children – I was afraid of the responsibility… afraid that I would completely botch it up and afraid of being accounted for that on the Day of Judgement.
I have just had my second child (alhamdulillah) and I still get those panic attacks sometimes, but I’ve learnt to look at motherhood not as a burden or something to be feared but as a challenge. It IS hard work and ever so taxing mentally and emotionally but every once in a while, you stumble across a gem and you are reminded of the blessings that Allah has promised.
I said before about my first, Ms Muffet – she has opened up deep crevices in my heart that I never knew existed. She taught me about unconditional and unlimited love… Now I have another daughter, I feel even more positive about motherhood. Alhamdulillah.
5. If you could be “boss of the world” for one day (no restrictions on what you can and can’t do and everyone has to do as you say – you’ve got political, financial and moral clout) what would be the first 3 things you’d do?
(a) I would get rid of all the dictators and corrupt politicians and individuals and institute an Islamic state. I think about the how the Messenger of Allah 
and the 4 caliphs ruled and wonder how we have allowed ourselves to fall to such lows. `Umar radhiallahu `anhu took his job as caliph so seriously that he said: “If a camel died at the coast of the Euphrates out of negligence, I would be afraid that Allah would ask me for it.” I would want people like that looking after the people.
(b) I’d establish an Islamic economy – no more riba! I’d want an economy where the poor would be taken care of… not this crazy dog eat dog world where everyone wants to get ahead no matter what.
(c) I’d make everyone and I mean EVERYONE study Islam, the life of the Prophet and the lives of the pious predecessors. There is a saying where I come from, “You can’t love what you do not know”.
OK, I think I’ve talked too much already *S* I’m done!
The best things in life aren't things.
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