THE SIGNS OF THE COMING OF EID UL-FITRI

There were already signs Eid is just around the corner. I start to receive goodies from friends.

Cookies from Puan Radziah Hassan, an ex-colleague of SMK Dato' Jaafar.

Fruit Cake from Puan Sim Poh Mun, an ex-colleague of SMK Dato' Jaafar.

Another bottle of cookies but not from an ex-colleague, but from my gastronomic adventure buddy, Mr. Redzuan.

We have already fasted for 20 days for the year 1447 Hijrah [Muslim Calendar], another 9 or 10 more days to go.

 

THE FIRST PARCEL FOR EID ARRIVED TODAY

   28TH MARCH 2024    ~ A few hours before breaking fast time, a parcel arrived at the front door of my house. Unannounced delivery box is always welcomed with an open heart and the excruciating part was to figure out who the mysterious sender was.

Thank God the name of the kindhearted person was revealed as soon as the unboxing process was done. She was actually in the list of suspected friend as it was a regular kind of activity carried out regularly before the arrival of Eid.

Thanks a lot, from the bottom of my heart, Puan Zarinamahnum Alias [a friend of UPM TESL Class of 1993] for the Eid cookies. Only Allah may repay your good deeds in this holy month of Ramadan.

THE SECOND RAMADAN PARCEL ARRIVED TODAY

There was a parcel that welcomed me right on the front door [on 6th April 2023] when I arrived home. It was something unexpected as it was still a bit early for my Eid goodie but I was not complaining.

Thanks a lot Puan Zarinamahnum Haji Alias for the parcel. May Allah bless your kind soul and may you be showered with His love and compassion.

 

THE ARRIVAL OF ANOTHER EID PACKAGE FROM AN UNKNOWN SENDER

Do you know that the Poslaju delivery guy is still making his round a few more minutes before breaking fast time? That happened this evening when a Poslaju staff arrived at my front door at 6:50 p.m. bearing a package for me.

I am yet to find out who is the kind soul who had posted the box of chocolates, for Eid I supposed. There was no note indicating who the sender was. And I will keep you updated as soon I get the answer to this question.

UPDATE 22nd APRIL: The mystery has been solved. The person sending the gift was an ex-classmate/schoolmate of SMS Muar, Puan Rozana Ab. Manap. Someone was thaking her in our Whatsapp group and the name of the sender was printed on the inner cover of the box. One has to really read it attentively to find the name of the sender.

Thanks Puan Rozana Ab. Manap a.k.a Rozane for the kind thought. May you and your family be blessed in this holy month of Ramadhan.

MY EID GIFT ARRIVED EARLY THIS YEAR

17th APRIL 2022 ~ There was a surprise awaiting for me when I arrived home from school. One kind soul had sent my Eid gift earlier this year.

Thank so much Puan Zarinamahnum Hj. Alias, a friend of UPM TESL class of 1993. I am truly touched by your generosity. *tears of joy*

May you and your family be blessed in this holy month of Ramadhan. And only Allah may repay your kindness.

MY EID COOKIES ARRIVED EARLIER THIS YEAR

My Eid cookies arrived earlier this year and it was a sign the Eid was approaching. It was actually not as early as it should be as the school was ordered to be closed by the Health Department authority due to the pandemic so it was actually a wise decision of my friends to hand over them earlier.

Thanks to all my colleagues of SMK Dato' Jaafar, Puan Wong Minh Chjiat Isabelle, Puan Choo Sook Chein and Puan Tan Yuan Yi, for their thoughts and kindness. I am now happy I already have some cookies for this coming Eid celebration even though we are not sure how things are going to be this year as the number of C19 cases is on the rise. Let's just prat for things to get better.

 

A LABOUR DAY WEEKEND FILLED WITH SURPRISES

When the courier man called, telling me that he had left a parcel at the front door, I did not know what to expect as I did not remember buying anything online.

It was a box of Eid cookies which were nicely wrapped from a friend of UPM TESL class of 1993. The package had traveled all the way from Selangor, I think. Thanks Puan Zarinamahnum Hj. Alias for the surprise and I promise I will eat those cookies when Eid arrives.

Then later in the evening, someone arrived in front of the house, handing over other Eid goodies - pineapple tarts and "Serunding" [dried shredded meat with spices] from another UPM TESL friend, Puan Suhana Abdul Jamal, who is currently residing in Sungai Petani and her sister the delivery girl, Puan Hasanah Abdul Jamal, the one who has become a family friend.

Much earlier when I was in school expecting the visit from the officers from Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia [Health Ministry], a familiar face appeared at the office door on the 1st of May, a Labour Day public holiday. It was none other than Miss Shanu Lingam, an ex-student of SMK Taman Universiti [SPM batch 2010]. This should be a formal meeting so I had to maintain professional my demeanour even though I was excited to see an ex-student.

This should be one of the best Labour Day holidays for me, ever. Thanks again to my friends for the Eid's gifts and may Allah repay your good deeds in this holy month of Ramadhan. Even though we stay far apart, generosity and kindness know no boundaries.

CELEBRATING EID 1441H DURING PANDEMIC TIME

1st SYAWAL 1441H/24th MAY 2020 ~ The COVID-19 pandemic has already changed the way people live and breathe. We are now even forced to adapt to the new normal for the social practices during the celebration of Eid this year. We have to follow the guidelines put forth so as to prevent the spread of the disease but Eid celebration will never be the same again. 

Eid's house visit was limited only on the first day and there should not be more than 20 people at the same time. However, if your house is small, and cannot accommodate 20 people with social distancing procedure, then that would also prohibited.  Too much restrictions had made Eid less fun in a way but all the safety measures were just for our own good.

Due to the time limit, the place I had to visit was my sister's place at Taman Selesa Jaya. Her family was already a crowd so that should be one full house when every family member was there.

As I still have some time before I had to go home so I had to maximize my Eid visit because that would not happen again the next day. The next house visited was of Puan Rokiah Junoh's at Taman Nusantara in Gelang Patah which happened just to be 18 minutes' drive away from my sister's place. Of course she said it was alright for me to come over when we whatsapp-ed each other earlier. I am a regular visitor to her house for Eid and I am glad I still could make it this year.

At first, there was a guest when I arrived, then two more came and about four more a few minutes after. I decided it was time to ask for permission to leave. It was a short visit but it was good to be able to pay Puan Rokiah, her husband and daughter a visit again.

So that was all for the Eid visit report this year.

There will be no more never-ending posts of Eid visits in my blog like last time for sure. Let's just pray that this pandemic will end very soon. The new normal is definitely not something we have to live our lives with for more years to come.

THE SWEET SURPRISES THAT ARRIVED THE DAY BEFORE EID

One of the things that I missed the most during this month of Ramadhan was the act of kindness among friends. I used to get cookies, cakes and various other things a few days before Eid. However, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, movements had been restricted hence we could no longer carry out things we loved to do in the recent past.

Good deeds shall never be stopped though and today a Secret Recipe's chocolate cake was sent to my house by a Grab motorcycle rider.

I was already over the moon but my excitement had not yet ended. A few minutes after that. another Grab driver stopped by and handed over to me a Baskin Robbin's polystyrene container which housed two tubs of ice cream.

I guess I the best thing I could do is to thank my Chinese friends/ex-colleagues of SMK Taman Universiti for their kind thoughts and I pray may God repay their kindness. *tears of joy*

The literally sweet surprises have brought a ray of happiness and tomorrow, all these would be shared with others as well.

"Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy;
they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."
~ Marcel Proust ~

A BOTTLE OF PINEAPPLE TARTS DELIVERED AND RECEIVED

Mr. Mohd. Azmeel, the delivery guy

Today must be another lucky day for me. A student and his parents delivered to me a bottle of homemade tarts from Muar for Eid. The effort to get the cookies sent to my house is already something that I will remember for a long time.

Mr. Faizal, the delivery guy's father

Thanks Mr. Mohd. Azmeel, a form five student of SMK Dato' Jaafar, and both the parents for the kind thoughts. May Allah repay your kindness and award you with his blessing in this holy month of Ramadhan.

A SURPRISE ARRIVED ON THE 28th DAY OF RAMADHAN

It is not yet my birthday but there was someone at the door delivering a bouquet of something for me. It was definitely a huge surprise when an old friend who is staying so far away suddenly had Eid cookies (and a chocolate) in a bouquet sent right at my doorstep.

That should be one of the biggest surprises and I could only say "thank you" from the bottom of my heart. Thanks again Puan Sharon Taty Mokhtar, my UPM TESL coursemate (class of 1993) who is now residing and teaching in Kedah, for the kind deed. May Allah shower you and your family with His blessing in this holy month of Ramadhan and only Allah may repay you for your generosity.

THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR THE FIRST HALF OF 2019

How time flies! Today is the last day of school for the first half of 2019. We will break for a 2-week holiday and to add to the joy, we will be celebrating Eidul Fitri on the second week.

Everybody will be busy doing preparation for the upcoming festive season, or going on a vacation somewhere, and/or marking exam papers at the same time.

Do enjoy the long break while you still can. Believe me there will more things coming our way for the second half of the year.

*NOTE: the photos were taken on 16th May which involved all the teachers and staff of SMK Dato' Jaafar and the theme chosen was purple and its shades.

THE FIRST SMK TAMAN UNIVERSITI OFFICIAL ALUMNI GATHERING 2018 [PART ONE]

On the 7th of July 2018, the very first official alumni gathering was held at SMK Taman Universiti. Old students (a.k.a the alumni) and teachers of the present and the past were invited to attend the event, and the committee members had put in a lot of hard work to ensure the success of this reunion.

I was there to join in the moment classmates, teachers, friends and colleagues got to see each other again. I was a bit occupied with the Angklung Group and had the chance to meet only after the performance.

I only realized that I had met with quite a number of ex-students when I looked through the photos that had been taken throughout the event. I could still recognize majority of them (thanks to Facebook) and remember their names.

Miss Aqilah came all the way from Penang for the reunion but she was too late for the event. Nevertheless, I was really happy to see her again after all these years.

This should be one of the happiest moments for everyone present.

Looking back at these photos could bring tears to my eyes. *drama*

T O   B E   C O N T I N U E D . . .