yesbashtiahwrites

Sekali dengan announcement Ramadan, semalam juga PM announce Tempoh Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan (PKP) dilanjutkan hingga 12 Mei 2020 . The third phase is supposed to end this 28th April... So, yeah. Fourth phase coming up. How's PKP treating you so far? Ok silap. How are you doing in this PKP? I MISS DRIVING. Okay silap lagi. I miss going out. I'm typing this on 1 Ramadan, by the way. Tengah tunggu Isyak. This is supposed to be a Ramadan post. * * * Hello. 3 Ramadan dah today. Tak sempat habiskan posting ritu sebab Sofia dah bangun.  Anyway... 1 Ramadan 1441 haritu, my mum suggested (told) us to recite Quran together. Try to finish reciting one whole Quran this Ramadan. The sequence is mum, me, Iz, and Chairin. The first day while dividing pages, my mum was saying okay 7 helai. And I was actually counting muka. Faham tak beza muka dan helai. One helai got two muka. Depan belakang. I didn't really realize this until Iz asked, "7 helai ke 7 muka?...

Ah just a normal day... Getting stuffs to cook. Put inside the cart and then line up to pay at the cashier. My mum carried Sofia around while waiting for me to pay. Sofia threw a fix before that by the way because she wanted a book. Okay, other than Kinder Joy and other chocolates, please don't put children books at the counter. Hm. Not that Sofia knew already what Kinder Joy is anyway. #notintroducingtoher Until, some random auntie hugged me from the back. Okay, not the cuddling type la. But more like hugging my shoulders to membawang. Whoever created that term la. Tau-tau je dah hot at socmed... "Ni... Nak bagitau ni... Tu.. Benda tu..." (mouth pouting towards my stuffs at the counter) "Ha? Yang mana?" (Looking at my stuffs.  Got blueberries, chicken parts and some other things la can't remember really) "Tu... Apa tu nama dia.. Daging tu" "Oh turkey slice" "Haaa... Yes yes. Auntie nak bagitau jangan selalu ...

My husband brought these home yesterday; the office cafeteria is closing temporarily for Ramadan so they gave away these crackers. Mum upon seeing it, gave me a very meaningful look and laughed her heart out. "HAHAHA! Macam kau jugak Tiah, tapi ni up sikitla- cafe..." I was almost laughing. Heh. Not sure what she was refering to. Ooh.... Yes. It was a sad story la. Back when I was in university, by the end of the semester, when my friends were packing their bags and stuffs, I would take their biscuits. I remembered bringing back home one big bag of biscuits... All sorts of them from not just one friend. From friend A, friend B, friend C... Back then, biscuits is a luxury. Heck, I even did my friend's assignment just to get one Kit Kat Chunky... Later on I had a talk with mum, "Teruk betul kan... Biskut je pun" "Dah tak mampu masa tu, nak buat macamana.." Thank you Allah for always reminding me of the past to make me thankful with wha...

Something I got from watching Al-Kuliyyah last week, Ustaz Elyas Ismail. Got it? Keep yourself busy by doing good things until you are too tired/ exhausted to do bad things. It's not about keep doing good things until you are so used  to it, but more to keeping yourself busy and using up all your energy. Like, using up all your voice to recite the Quran until no more voice to gossip. Can ah?  Anyway, that, worked really well on me once. Except the fact that I made myself busy with something else to avoid from doing another thing. I like to text message (zaman sms, no whatsapp) my then boyfriend; who is now my husband, about almost everything. Bercerita. Telling him about how I misplaced my purse, what I think of the economy (cewah), and all sorts of things. Well, lelaki. He didn't quite like that. One of his point that I remembered until now is, "Kalau cerita semua sekarang, nanti lepas kahwin takde benda nak cerita dah" Sentap. So I thought okay fine I ...

On ranting on social media. There was this one time during the first week of Ramadan when I had a really tough time coping with Sofia. She woke up as early as 8.30am and didn't sleep the whole day... Around 6pm baru nak tidur, and that, was with the help of a hammock- buai. Before that, I got so stressed and tired (because I was fasting, too) that I uploaded a picture of her with the caption, ' Dari 8.30am bangun tak tidur-tidur and I cryyyyyy.... Penat gila!' Waited few minutes, why no one like my picture? Come on, where's the support.... I waited some more; look at my phone, look at the ever active Sofia, look back at my phone. Oh baru 1 like! Nah! Then it hit me. What am I hoping for? Why am I waiting for people to LIKE my picture? As if lagi banyak LIKES, lagi cepat Sofia will sleep. Here I am, checking my phone now and then to see how many likes (bertambah one or two more), but still Sofia wasn't sleeping. And... At that moment, I haven't even perf...

I just had my wudhu for Zohor prayers. On the way to the praying mat, I heard my handphone ringing. There was an unknown number flashing on the screen. I wiped my wet hands and face, and immediately answered. IRenang? Oh, potential student ni. Cakap, cakap, cakap... Explain, explain, explain... Letak telefon, ready to go pray. Suddenly Sofia woke up. Nak menyusu pula dia. How on earth I'm going to pray? Dah la sekali menyusu agak lama juga. But Sofia is not the one to blame here. No. Not Sofia. I should go pray first. Utamakan solat. Walaupun angkat telefon on time pun tapi tak jaga hubungan dengan Allah, pemberi rezeki, tak dapat juga. Sambil menyusukan Sofia, istighfar banyak-banyak... 

Motherhood is tiring and so challenging. It is a 24/7 job. No break...  Yes I love my husband and I love Sofia, but it has come up to one point where I needed a break. Sometimes I purposely spend more time in the toilet. But even so I still feel pressured when I hear Sofia crying, even when her father is watching her. I told my husband I'm stressed, I need a break. I want to swim. I NEED A SWIM. Alhamdulillah, last weekend I got the break I wanted.  I didn't change a single diaper, I didn't wash a single plate, I didn't cook a single meal, I didn't hang a single cloth. No we didn't go for a vacation. Going for a vacation would just add more work for me. Packing unpacking, balik rumah nak kemas rumah basuh baju lagi. While I had a good time swimming, he did all the housework. Before I went into the pool, I told him, "Kalau Sofia menangis, I buat tak tau je tau". Apparently Sofia didn't wake up until I'm done swimming. Lucky, pap...

Just a simple reminder to myself.... Mum has been advising elder brother, rajin-rajin bersedekah supaya murah rezeki. He took it seriously. Alhamdulillah, semakin mencurah-curah rezeki dia. Few days ago he came home to have a talk with mum, as usual. Like mother-son talk like that. He told her about him frequenting sedekah now. One thing that got me thinking is this; "Ustaz kata kalau nak bersedekah, bagi duit yang paling besar kita ada masa tu" I've heard about this before. "Haritu I tengah makan, ada orang minta sedekah. Dalam purse I ada singgit and lima puluh ringgit je" Guessed what. "I teringat cakap ustaz. I bagilah lima puluh ringgit tu" Mum said, by hearing this she was actually thinking, seriously budak ni... Baik bagi sini je. HAHAHA. But don't get us wrong, he did gave mum money semua. Just that. Ala macam tak biasa pula. Bagi peminta sedekah RM50? A stranger? I was thinking the same too. But not really ...

I think yesterday I deserved 10/10. I managed to bathe early in the morning, prepare packed lunch (spaghetti okay, bukan scrambled eggs macam biasa) for my dearest husband, had a decent breakfast, got the laundry out to dry, AND wrote an entry for the IRenang blog. Feels so good when mum asked, "Dah mandi?"  Dah. "Dah keluarkan kain?" Dah. Bring it on.... Semuanya dah! Hahahah! Okay, I might be cheating a bit as the spaghetti sauce was actually frozen. The other day I cooked spaghetti and freezed some of it. I only had to heat it up and boil some pasta in the morning. The bread in the other tupperware? Mum baked them earlier at night. Laundry? I already hang them to dry the day before tapi tak sempat kering sebab hujan. Simply sidaikan semula ke luar je. Ah. Tak kisah. I still give myself 10 marks.

Am I happy now? Hahaha... Can't believe I actually questioned myself. What is not to be happy about? A good friend of mine is migrating to Kelantan to follow her husband. They both worked at the same place but the husband apparently had a business in Kelantan. Somehow maybe he finally decided to just focus on that business. The friend also quits her job to follow him. She said, "I choose happiness" Quitting from a good job (lawyer kut), to follow her husband back to Kelantan and just be beside him, is happiness, to her. Somehow I understood. A stressful job. I know some might object, though. It all depends on what is happiness to you. Maybe for some, having a lot of heels is happiness. But not for me as I rarely wear them. Having a lot of swimming suit is happiness to me, instead. Hahahah. I've been in a nearly similar situation before. Hm... Quitting a good job to work on my own. My first real job after graduation was at a private school. I got paid...

Earlier this morning at the mosque after performing the prayers, the ustaz gave a short tazkirah...  He was really smart to be able to relate current issues in his talk. He said this one thing about us, loyally following every episode of sinetrons and TV shows that we forgot about our own life episode. We wouldn't miss even one episode. But we forgot, we might be dead even before watching the final episode. Scary right? We kept on following that.other.story, that we forgot to manage our own story. We kept on thinking and wondering what might happen next in the next episode that we forgot to think about what might happen next in our life. We kept on blaming the bad characters in the TV, but did we realize our own actions ? Each.One.Of.Us... has got our own story. But what's the ending ? Well ... Think. Yeah I've been heartbroken. And just like the character in any TV show we watched, the character most of the time didn't know a lot of thing...

The event was a success! Well if it wasn't then how could we receive  FULL MARKS for this project? ;) I'll share more later!

Pertemuan yang tidak disangka... Back when I was studying in Melaka, there was this one semester where we spent 3/4 of the Ramadan fasting month in college. At the university's mosque, the tarawih is only performed 8 rakaat. Even so, I always felt reluctant to go as it was stifling hot. Berlengas, berpeluh-peluh...  Getting used to sleeveless, one day I wore a striking yellow racer back. Yes, like the picture above. Only a bit more striking, and I was wearing a pair of long pants instead of a mini skirt. Yes, yes, yes... I wore a striking yellow racer back underneath the white telekung.  I walked to the mosque with a friend of mine but she didn't say anything about it so I guess it's OK. But... When I stepped inside the mosque, sat at the very front line, not long after that a girl about my age called me. She looked at me up and down, and said; "Ini pakai singlet kuning ni TAK BOLEH. Lalu dekat depan muslimin nanti muslimin nampak. Telekung awak ni...

Few days ago on the way to class, I saw a really pretty, stylish woman. I was waiting to cross the road and she was standing right in front of me across the road.  So pretty; tall, nice body shape, stylish in-trend clothes that matched her, and a great handbag to match it all. A fair complexion and a straight, silky shoulder length hair. Oh yeah, totally hot . And there I was standing across the road in a lousy t-shirt and a pair of aerobic pants. NO handbag. Just a lousy black canvas bag. Honestly, my focus on getting across the road somehow shifted a bit as I was in awe of her. I kept on looking at her. Okay, more to staring actually. It seemed that I'm not the only one attracted as she got honked now and then by car drivers. Then the line cleared and both of us started to cross the road. I kind of got a bit excited to see her from close. Seriously. Like, come on...  *Ahem* Bila mata bertentang mata... The she is actually a HE ! Pempuan okayyy, bukan ...

People's perception: Girls who spend too much time with boys are wild , bitchy , and very social . Partly true. Bukan semua. Well,  I've had some experience being surrounded by the male species. First: I'm the only daughter in the family. Second:   During high school I went to a private tuition class with 4 boys; I'm the only girl. As a matter of fact, one of the boys' mother invited me to join in. She , invited me to join in. See? Even adults think it's okay. And mind you, the mother is a teacher teaching religious studies (ustazah).  But of course, it doesn't mean that we had class in a closed room. The class was held at the dining hall , and we always switch between his house and my house. Like today at his house, then the next class at my house. My mum's also okay with it. I also walked to and from school with these two boys who were my neighbours. One of whom were the one I had the private tuition class with. I also played badminton wi...

Cheapskate: Someone who spends as little money as possible-used to show disapproval.  (Longman Dictionary) Face it people, everyone loves cheap stuff.  Including me. And most shopkeepers seemed to understand and are very well used to this habit, or shall I call it disease ? Because it's hard to get a high quality stuff with a low price, yet we still insist. Nak juga. There was this one occasion where my mum and I were at the hardware shop (duh! where else?). We were looking for a steel hand saw. First, we saw one which is RM 5.50. It looked a bit like this: Steel hand saw, the blade can be changed/ replaced (Google-ed). RM 5.50 , people, is actually quite cheap for a steel hand saw that size. I took it off the rack already when I saw the saw blades sold separately in boxes. So I thought, "Eh, why don't we just buy the blades?" We're going to use it to saw a padlock je  (we lost the key) anyway, guna tangan pun boleh... And so, there were two ...

In response to 360 on TV3. But first of all, Happy Belated 54th Birthday Malaysia ! The TV show started by showing kindergarten children waving Malaysia flags while wearing their sort of patriotic school uniform (red and white). The reporter asked three children, "Apa erti merdeka..." All three children interviewed gave almost the similar answer, "Bebas dari jajahan/pengaruh orang luar" I bet if asked in detail they sure couldn't explain more. I'm afraid they don't even understand what 'jajahan' means. But putting all that aside... They are still children. The eldest would be, err maybe 6 years old? So yeah, couldn't put the blame on them. The owner of the kindergarten, as I've seen on TV, looked like he believed he has succeeded in instilling much patriotism in those children. Excuse me if I made a wrong, biased judgment, but it seems like he believed he himself is very patriotic. If you're so patriotic, why not name the kind...

...On relationships. I heard lots of times that your partner must be your opposite, only then the relationship would be interesting.  Find someone different! The relationship would be exciting! Opposites are better! You complete each other! Active with passive. Beauty, and the beast.   Ever heard this? "Kalau pakwe dia hensem, yang perempuan tu mesti tak cantik" Honestly, I've once wondered; am I the gorgeous one or the ugly one? HA-HA.  Okay enough. But don't you think opposites means trouble ?  You don't understand each other. Seperti ayam bercakap dengan itik , like a hen talking to a duck. Cluck cluck cluck! Quek quek quek?  Just now, a friend called and said he's having a meeting with his band at 11 pm. He was really hungry, starving, but he couldn't eat too much because his meeting is starting in less than 30 minutes. I couldn't understand what's the problem of eating a lot before a meeting ?  Him:   Nak mela...

An incident on Eid Ul Fitr, 1 Syawal 1432 H. The morning of Syawal, I woke up feeling frustrated, uneasy, and unsatisfied.  The reason: Baju raya tak siap.   (I've mentioned in my previous post that I have to sew my own baju kurung) My mum and I had been busy cooking the whole night that we really, really, really didn't have the energy anymore to lift even a single needle. Sulking as I walked down the stairs, I couldn't help but smile at the sight of my mum. She, too , was wearing last year's Raya baju kurung . Ha-ha! But that didn't change my mood completely. Yeah. Tidak  sepenuhnya . I was still a bit sulky, a bit moody...  But my mum promised she would help sew my baju kurung for me. Okay, deal! Still... That didn't make feel better completely. I was still moody. And unsatisfied. Still. Honestly, I was really silent on that day. I felt mad. It was only a matter of a baju raya , but I was really, really, really frustrated! Until the exten...

*Perasan Hebat * Being frequent customers at hardware shops, my mum and I believe we are oh-so-great and fit enough to be called contractor s. Plumbing, wiring, woodworks... Name it, we can do it! At the hardware shop yesterday, this one man was looking for a grass trimmer. Man: Mesin rumput pakai bateri ada tak?   (Is there a lawn trimmer that use batteries? ) Salesperson: Tak ada encik, yang ni adalah. Pakai kat belakang. (We only have this one, you have to wear it on your back)   The salesperson showed him this one grass trimmer, mesin potong rumput gendong , they called it. The one you see carried on their backs, with a long pole. My mum and I had a great laugh thinking there IS NO such thing as a grass trimmer that use batteries. ALL grass trimmers use electricity (including ours). Duh! We really, really had a great laugh.  Like, "Eeeyew... Dah la lelaki, itu pun tak tahu~" "Nak potong rumput kat ma...