ATTENDING A WEDDING RECEPTION OF THE SON OF AN EX-COLLEAGUE IN KUALA SELANGOR

I was invited by Puan Wan Nurul Afidah to the wedding reception of his son in Kuala Selangor. The event was held at One Plaza Ballroom in town. Puan Wan Nurul was an ex-colleague of SMK Taman Universiti who moved to Selangor in 2007. We had not met since then, which is already 17 years.

The hall was huge and the food was aplenty. Hence, we had to spend longer time there as there was a lot of food to eat.

Thanks to Mr. Ridwan Wahid, a friend of UPM TESL Class of 1993, who had taken the trouble to chauffeur me there and back, and to accompany me as well to the reception.

The only ex-colleague I met at the venue was Puan Aliah Hussein who was accompanied by an ex-student, Miss Rabiah.

Congratulations to Puan Wan Nurul Afidah on the addition of the new member into the family. Thank you for your kind thought of inviting me to the reception even though we had not been seeing each other for such a long time.

THE BOX OF HARUM MANIS MANGOES THAT ARRIVED TODAY

   30th APRIL 2024    ~ A box of Haru Manis Mangoes was couriered to my house this afternoon even though I did not make any online purchase.

Fortunately I was informed beforehand by the dealer of the fruits the parcel came from Puan Fadhleena Mohamad, an ex-colleague of SMK Dato' Jaafar, who had transferred back to Kelantan. It could be either an Eid gift or a present for my retirement.

Thanks a lot Puan Fadhleena for the kind thought. May Allah repay your kind deed.

EID CELEBRATION AT NEXUS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, PUTRAJAYA

  19th APRIL 2024   ~ I was accidentally  involved in the Eid Celebration at Nexus International School in Putrajaya. I was actually there for something else but I was excited to see how the celebration was done in a private school.

[According to my friend] First of all, the school would allocate some money for the preparation of the food. The committee member(s) would then order special food for the day from the canteen [due to health and safety reasons]. Some parents also contributed some other food for the students, teachers and staff.

The most amazing thing was that the teachers were not seen in the room when I was there. All the preparations were solely done by the parent volunteers [who are all mothers] and the committee members of the Parent-Teacher Association. On the other hand, in a public school, the teachers would be the one who shoulder the responsibility to get the party going.

Then students came into the room accompanied by their teachers to get the food and drinks. Other teachers and staff also joined the feast, happily choosing whatever was served on the buffet tables.

The desserts were really tempting and I had to really put a lot of effort not to try all of them. I did enjoy the Ketupat and Chicken Rendang, and the Lontong Medan cooked by the mothers who came to help.

Congratulations to all the dedicated mothers who came to offer helping hands for the event.

I got to thank my UPM TESL Class of 1993 friend, Puan Rozida Mohd. Ramli, for letting me join the celebration on the 24th day of Eid. I am not sure whether I will get this kind of opportunity in the future. 

THE FIFTH EID GRRETING CARD ARRIVED

As I arrived home from Kuala Lumpur, I was greeted by an Eid card in the mailbox.

Thanks to Puan Salmiah Mohd. Ghazali for her thoughtful gesture.

Now I have five cards altogether for Eid 1445H.

VISITING THE WAR MUSEUM IN PENANG

   25th FEBRUARY 2024    ~ One place that I had never been to in Penang was its War Museum. I had been in Penang a few times already so I had to list down the tourist spots that I had never visited. When I arrived, there were not many people. The entrance fee was RM22 for a local resident. One thing which I did not expect was the size of this tourist attraction.

Things you need to know before going:

[1] You need to have a pair of strong feet as you would be walking along a long distance treks, going up and down the hills. After paying RM22 I had no choice but to climb up all the way up the steep steps and walk down. There seemed to be no short cuts as you had to follow the one way directions to get to all the places in the museum.

[2] Bringing along your bottled water would be a great idea as the only place where you could get drinking water was at the ticket counter.

There was one spot in the museum where you could get a scenic view of Penang Second Bridge.

[3] This place was not for the faint-hearted. There were places that were quite spooky and I could feel the negative vibes, especially those dark rooms in the hill or the small tunnel that led to nowhere. Unfortunately, visitors were left on their own to explore the place, no staff or officers at all when I was there. In case of emergency, one would be left there unattended.

You can get more information about this place HERE.

I felt much slimmer after getting out of this place and prayed I did not do any damage to my knees. It was an interesting visit to the real World War ll remnants. It reminded me of my trips to similar places in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam long time ago.