ATTENDING AN AQIQAH EVENT ON THE 8TH DAY OF EID

28TH APRIL 2026 ~ An Aqiqah event was held by two ex-students [of SMK Taman Universiti], Mr. Ahmad Khairy and Ms. Nurul Atiqah, who are now a husband-and-wife couple. The event was held to welcome their new baby boy. It was held at Lavender Event Space somewhere in Kempas Baru.

 

Aqiqah refers to the Islamic tradition of sacrificing an animal (usually a sheep or goat) to celebrate and express gratitude for the birth of a child. It is a recommended Sunnah (practice of the Prophet Muhammad) that serves as a symbolic welcome for the newborn.

SOURCE: Google AI Mode

As expected, I met quite a number of ex-students, a few are actually the family members of the hosts, and one ex-colleague as well.

Congratulations to Mr. Khairy and Ms. Atiqah. May your days be merrier with presence of the baby boy in the family.

DONATING BLOOD FOR THE FIRST TIME FOR THE YEAR 2026

I decided to carry out the social responsibility of donating blood today. I had been receiving phone call and messages from the HSA Blood Bank during the fasting month to come and donate. However, I did not feel I was fit enough to do that when I was fasting.

This time, I went to a centre at Mid Valley Megamall as there was a Blood Donation Suite. It was my first time and surprisingly, there were many people when I arrived at about 2:30 p.m.

The place looked new and modern, if compared to the existing centre at the hospital.

Everything ended in no time and I was glad I went there today. I might come back to this same place in 3 months.

THE 12TH DAY OF EID 1447H

The one and only visitor of the day was an ex-student of SMK Taman Universiti [SPM batch 2005], Mr. Mohd. Faiz. He was here at 10:30 a.m. and I decided to ask him out for lunch as it was almost noon before he left.

The chosen restaurant was Abang Ujang Nasi Ayam Gepuk in Kampung Melayu. It was my second time there, eating an Indonesian rice dish, and the first time for Mr. Faiz. The place was popular as more people started arriving for lunch as we were about to leave.

I will be seeing Mr. Faiz more frequently after this as he is now assisting me with some business matter, which I will tell later.

 

THE 11TH DAY OF EID 1447H

Puan Farah Sabina Safiai and her husband, Mr. Azlin Shah Omar, came for Eid visit on the 11th day. Puan Farah is a friend of UPM TESL Class of 1993, and she is married to someone who happens to be my neighbour and also the alumnus of Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, of the same residential college, Fourth College. They are now residing in Seremban.

Guests who come could now also visit the garden at the back. Puan Farah managed to get some chillies to bring back home today.

We are now actually in the second week of Eid, about 19 more days to go. I am not sure if there will still be more people coming to visit after this.

THE WEDDING RECEPTION ON THE 8TH DAY OF EID

   28TH MARCH 2026    ~ People have already started holding wedding receptions once the fasting month has ended. The second reception attended in the month of Syawal/Eid was of the daughter of my neighbour opposite my house.

As usual when it came to reception of neighbours, I attended the event with surau-goer friends. That would be the time I socialize with them outside the surau [small scale community mosque] once in a while.

Do expect more reports of wedding receptions attended coming your way.

THE 9TH DAY OF EID 1447H

    29TH MARCH 2026    ~ Two more groups of guests came visiting on the ninth day of Eid. The first one was the family of Mr. Shavarein Sulong and his family members, the regular annual visitors. Mr. Syazwan Shavarein is an ex-student of SMK Taman Universiti and because of him, I get connected to the other people in the family circle.

This year, the Eid visit was concluded with the visit to the garden in the backyard and the photoshoot was done outdoor.

The second smaller group was another ex-student of Asrama Semai Bakti Felda, Mr. Solihin Ramli, whom I taught him English when he was in Form 3 in the tuition class there. He now came visiting with his wife and 6-month baby boy.

So far, those were all the people who had come during the nine days of long Eid break [for some people]. As tomorrow children will be going back to school and adults to work, I am expecting less people to come. And I still have a lot of Eid cookies at home.

MY HOMETOWN GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE STARTED AFTER THE END OF FASTING

My gastronomic adventure with my buddy started on the 9th day of Syawal - 9 days after fasting in the month of Ramadhan ended. My gastronomic adventure buddy, Mr. Redzuan, was also free to go food hunting so I decided to ask him out for my early dinner.

Initially we wanted to go to this one place but it was not opened yet after Eid, or had closed down for the day. It should be operating according to Google Maps but we were deceived by the information. It happened to us recently when the information of an eating place was not correct on Google Map. Hence, we made a return trip to Restoran Tomyam Syafiq in Taman Pulai Mutiara, our second time here.

We had the meal set for two, which was actually quite a lot. The Thai food was good and it was worth the money.

Thanks to Mr. Redzuan for the time. Hope he is ready to continue with our regular meeting for all kinds of food after this.