Origin Of A Name

Salam Aidilfitri everyone! Well, technically it's not yet the first of Syawal but since it's the last day of Ramadhan already I suppose no one would complain kan? Tomorrow is the day when victory against lust will be celebrated, forgiveness will be asked for and pockets will be getting heavier (well, for one part of the family anyway :P) Kids will run around collecting 'cukai' and houses will be clean like never before. So, its the final few hours of Ramadhan and I'm now sitting comfortably in front of my laptop. Then, I suddenly had this idea to fulfil a friend's request as part of a deal (you know who you are :P). Oh well, here goes nothing...

"Kita kat sini semua datang dari tempat lain-lain, so aku nak korang semua cakap baku. Aku taknak dengar korang cakap pelet Kelate ke, Utagha ke...paham?!"

"Paham..."

Sesi di atas telah berlaku pada suatu ketika dulu tatkala aku baru masuk Form 1. Masa tu, aku memang budak yang skema (ya,aku mengaku). Manakan tidak, pertama kali terpisah dari mak dan abah...basuh baju sendiri pun terkial-kial, inikan lagi nak bezakan mana yang betul2 kena ikut and yang mana tak. Prefects di MC ni pun satu, mentanglah kami Form 1 tak tahu apa2...suka hati jer buat rules sendiri,hehe. Maka, nak disambung cerita...Form 1 pun semua ikutlah, tak ikut nanti kena confinement terus tak dapat nak keluar town, sengsara lagi. Jam berganti jam, hari demi hari semakin ramai yang tak ikut dan mula bertutur kembali dalam bahasa tempat masing masing. Orang Kelate dengan peletnya dan orang Kedah dengan 'cek-hang'nya. Dalam masa 3 hari terus dah balik macam biasa. Namun...

Kebanyakan orang mudah untuk kembali ke keadaan asal. Namun bukan semua bulunya sama, bukan semua lunak suaranya. Apakan daya, aku bukan yang tergolong seperti di atas. Akibatnya, bukan setakat seminggu lebih aku bertutur baku, malah hampir-hampir sebulan! Haa, masa tu prefects pun macam dah tak kisah (makes you wonder why they did it in the first place :S). Satu hari tu, aku dipanggil ke depan sebab kononnya prefect nak jumpa (Zarep namanya). Sebabnya tak dapat ku ingat, nak kata jambu ramai yang lagi comel,haha :P. Nak dijadikan cerita, borak-borak dengan prefect, tiba-tiba dia kata...

"Kau ni memang cakap macam ni ek? Panggil kau BAKU ah!"

"err...." (-_-")...

Mula-mulanya, dia seorang jer yang try nak impose nama tu. Tapi, masa berlalu, dengan pengaruh yang dia ada, nama tu cepat tersebar. Secara jujurnya, aku berbohong andai aku katakan yang aku suka akan nama tu. Sesiapa yang ku dapati sebut nama tu padaku, ku tunjukkan riak muka bengang (like that's gonna change much kan?haha :P) . Namun, lama-kelamaan aku mula senang dengan nama tersebut. Aku mula melihatnya dari arah positif, ia menjadikanku...unik. Lagipun, aku lebih rela namaku Baku dari nama Farhan ditukar menjadi Cipan, nama seorang teman se-batchku,hehe. For the record, sebenarnya aku nak namaku menjadi A'an, nama panggilan manja yang arwah atukku selalu gunakan terhadapku tapi yang ini pun bolehlah.

Masuk alam kolej, aku ada membuat cubaan kedua untuk mengubah namaku menjadi A'an. Malah, nama tu turut ku gunakan dalam majlis suai kenal dalam Diamond House. Apakan daya, aku merancang, lain yang jadi. Memandangkan Azu, Haqqa dan Meri (teman-teman seperjuanganku di MC dulu) pun ada sekali dan dengan personaliti bersosial mereka yang sungguh mantap, lama-kelamaan nama Baku itu lebih cepat tersebar dari nama yang cubaku perkenalkan. Haha, redha jerlah...

So, itulah kisah di sebalik namaku yang unik ini. Sekarang ni, kalau diperkenalkan kepada orang baru, ramai jugak yang responsnya, "laa, kau ke Baku? haha :D" Maka, lekatlah nama ini agaknya sampailah diriku tua nanti. Kata orang, nama ini doa kita kepada seseorang. Andai nama Farhan maksudnya kegembiraan...nama Baku mendoakan apa ek? hehe :)

Oh ya, memandangkan esok hari raya, saya ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan selamat hari raya Aidilfitri, maaf zahir dan batin, halalkan makan dan minum dan kalau senang singgahlah rumah ya. Cheers! :D

The Trip Down To The South

gambar keluarga lengkap yang pertama dalam masa hampir 2 tahun :)

"Along, Abah ajak pegi Johor tgk Yong. Along nak ikut?"

"Along ok jer Mak,hehe..."

Maka, pada pagi Jumaat yang lepas kami sekeluarga (termasuk Uncle John yang hendak ke assembly di JB) telah pergi untuk melawat adikku tatkala dia sedang menghadapi peperiksaan percubaan SPMnya. Dengan situasi berhimpit bagaikan sardin dalam kereta Citra Abah, kami telah bertolak pada pukul 3:15 pagi dengan harapan untuk bersahur dalam kereta. Setibanya di Hentian Bukit Gantang, barulah ku sedari betapa mengekspoitasi keadaan betul peniaga kat sini. Sepinggan nasi + 1 sosej + 1 telur goreng = RM 5.50?! Nasib baik ini bulan puasa dan aku tak sahur lagi, otherwise aku terus letak balik makanan tu semua,haha :P Oh ya, for the first time jugak Abah let me drive his Citra dari lepas tol Jelapang ke Hentian Sungai Buloh, farthest distance driven so far really.

kediaman adikku, Yoyong di SAMURA

So anyway, by pukul 12 Alhamdulillah kami selamat sampai di Muar. And yes, memang ada kubur di tengah-tengah SAMURA ni,hehe just like my brother told me. To be frank, Yoyong memang terkejut nampak kami sampai lagi awal dari yg dia ingatkan (pukul 3) so while barely packing anything, dia ikut kami ke JB utk jumpa my grandmother from Sabah yg datang ke Semenanjung also for the assembly. However, sebelum bertolak, Abah terperasan yang something is wrong with the car and as it so turns out, tayar belakang sebelah kiri of the Citra dah haus to the point of potentially blowing up at any point. So, lepas a quick service di kedai tayar, we were off to JB, this time with my uncle taking the wheel.

view dari bilik 2419, Hotel Selesa. Singapura nun jauh di sana

Kami tiba di JB pada kira-kira pukul 3 petang dan bersetuju utk menginap di Hotel Selesa (atau kalau ikut the signs, Hotel Sel...hehe) Sementara Uncle keluar untuk memotong rambutnya, kami yang selebihnya berehat di hotel buat seketika sambil menunggu hampir waktu berbuka. Tatkala matahari hampir terbenam, aku dan adik-adikku keluar utk membeli juadah berbuka di bazaar Ramadhan yang sangatlah sukar rupanya utk dijumpai. Setelah sekian lama, akhirnya terjumpa juga satu pasar tersebut yang terletak berhampiran dengan sebuah masjid utk Taman Sri Tebrau. Optionnya tidaklah banyak namun kerana kelaparan, kami langsung tak merungut (tak larat pun nak merungut,hehe) Tepat pukul 7:19, kami berbuka di dalam bilik 2419 sambil melihat view Singapore yg sungguh indah sekali di waktu malam.

aku dan Lolaqku, Emerenciana Dalmacio

Selepas menjamakkan Maghrib dan Isyak, kami bergegas ke hotel bersebelahan iaitu Hotel Paragon utk bertemu dengan makcikku dari Singapore yang bersama-sama nenekku. Setelah hampir 2 tahun tidak bertemu, nenekku memang sungguh gembira sekali utk menjumpai cucunya. Lolaq (grandmother dalam bahasa Visaya) sudah makin berumur namun dirinya masih lagi sihat. Untuk sesiapa yang musykil, assembly yang mereka hadiri ini adalah seperti sesi forum agama utk para penganut Protestant Christianity cabang Jehovah's Witness. Rupa-rupanya, satu hotel tersebut telah ditempah untuk para hadirin yang menyertai assembly tersebut. Atas sebab itu, bilik-bilik biasa yang ditempah telah di-upgradekan menjadi bilik eksekutif atas ihsan pihak hotel, dan memang bilik yang didiami oleh nenekku layak digelar bilik eksekutif. Sampai dapur sendiri pun ada disediakan! Selepas sekian lama berborak dan mengambil gambar, kami kemudian berangkat pulang ke hotel kami. Penat memanglah penat tetapi gembira utk berjumpa mereka setelah sekian lama :)

Bilik eksekutif yang dikatakan. Rotating TV pun ada! :)

Awal pagi, aku dan adik-adikku turun untuk bersahur sementara abah dan mak di atas masih nyenyak tidur. Buffet yang disediakan tiadalah mewah sangat namun cukup untuk mengenyangkan perut kami,hehe. Kami kemudian berkemas utk check out dari hotel tersebut sebelum pukul 12 tgh hari dan selepas itu menuju kembali ke Muar dengan Uncleku ditinggalkan di JB. Tatkala tiba di Muar, tempat pertama yang dituju ialah shopping market yang berdekatan utk adikku membeli barang-barang keperluannya untuk beberapa minggu terakhir di SAMURA. Rasa-rasanya, kira-kira 140 ringgit juga adikku gunakan utk membeli barangan tersebut. Katanya, abah jarang datang so nak jugak belanja lebih sikit. Alasan...:P Tidak lama selepas itu, kami pergi pula ke bazaar ramadhan yang terletak betul-betul di hadapan sekolahnya. Hanya ayam seketul dan murtabak yang diambil adikku sementara kami membeli nasi yang hendak dijadikan makanan semasa berbuka puasa dalam kereta nanti.

abang-abang yang prihatin atas kebajikan adik,hehe :P

Sekembalinya ke sekolah, bilik Yoyong digeledah oleh Mak. Hehe, mak kata sarang tikus lagi bersih :P Nak tak nak, mak pun mula mengemas bilik gerakan pengawas yang didiami adikku sambil diperhatikan oleh kawan-kawannya. Malu rasanya Tuhan sahaja yang tahu. Niat Mak baik tapi rasanya tak perlulah sampai dimalukan depan kawan-kawan Yoyong. Oh, aku sendiri pernah merasakan the indignity...lagi-lagi depan para juniors Form 3 ku. Tidak lama kemudian, kami pun mengucapkan selamat tinggal kepada adikku dan mendoakan agar dia mendapat keputusan yang terbaik utk percubaan dan SPM nanti. Godspeed brother! Kami kemudian mula beredar untuk kembali ke Kedah dengan perjalanan dari Muar bermula pukul 6:45 petang. Sepanjang perjalanan, kami sempat juga singgah Hentian Dengkil dari Selatan dan merasakan sate Kajang buat pertama kalinya. Alhamdullilah, kami selamat tiba di rumah pukul 3 pagi namun sesuatu yang tidak diingini telah berlaku...

pagar dawai dihadapan rumah yang dipotong

"Motor merah mana?!" rupa-rupanya, motor kesayangan abahku telah menjadi mangsa rompakan yang semakin menjadi-jadi di Pokok Sena. Kecewa di hatinya hanya Allah yang tahu tatkala Abahku melihat lubang yang dipotong oleh para perompak untuk menarik keluar motor tersebut. Sudahlah penat memandu, ini pula yang jadi. Keesokan harinya, abah pergi ke Alor Setar untuk membuat laporan polis namun dia hanya dikecewakan oleh jawapan polis yang langsung tidak memuaskan. Abah pun dah senaraikan nama suspek yang dicurigai kerana berdasarkan kesan yang ada, perompak seperti sudah begitu arif dengan selok belok rumah ini. Namun begitu, polis enggan utk walaupun sekurang-kurangnya menyoal suspek. Sepanjang hari abah sugul, sepanjang hari juga senyap rumahtangga. Time berbuka pun sama...hmm, mungkin bukan rezeki kami utk simpan motor tu lama-lama. Rest in Peace, oh si motor merah...

same individuals after more than a decade on. Yeah, we know we're not that cute anymore,haha :P

PS: post ini ditulis dalam BM utk mencuba kembali kebolehanku utk mengarang sesuatu dalam bahasa ibunda. truth be told, I'm getting worse really... :(

Wait...6 months?

Yeah, that's definitely how long it took for me to finally update my blog again. At this rate, blogpost may even have the power to take it down once and for all. Sigh, anyway it's been close to 4 weeks since I came back from London and since then I practically haven't done anything much really. Of course I keep telling myself and especially my inner lazy half to help around the house, practice on your flute, go swimming in Alor Setar or feed the poultry animals behind...but most of the time, I end up in front of my laptop (particularly on FB) or in front of the TV (to my surprise, Dad just subscribed to the movie channels HBO, MAX and the not-so-familiar other one. things that definitely didn't do much in helping me curb my laziness)

Luckily, my cousin has been coming to my house even more frequently now that UPSR is just around the corner. English classes as usual but to be honest, I'm not complaining even for 1 bit as its not like I have anything better to do really. However, a personal evaluation of my teaching skills somehow leads me to conclude that despite both of my parents being teachers, I don't think I inherited that teaching skill from them at all (if it was even possible to be inherited which I highly doubt) I find myself to be a rather mean mentor really, as I get quite easily agitated if something I taught him like only the past 24 hours was found to be wrong again. If in the good old days, one would usually use their canes to beat (ok not beat...reprimand) the student, I practically grabbed anything close by which in this case usually happens to be a football. Poor kid, maybe I'm the one who should be taking teaching lessons from my Mum. Then again, maybe not...well, not now at least. :P

On certain evenings, I actually do manage to get up and go to the garden close to my grandmothers house. I'll be honest, on most occasions its usually my Mums persistent nagging about my increasing waistline that does the trick while my Dad is usually the one reminding me about how slim he WAS back in the days of his youth,hehe. There, I usually get the job of using a lawnmower to clear up the growing grass around the lime trees while my Dad keeps an eye on his beloved group of goats. Seriously, he loves them so much I wouldn't be surprised if he starts naming each one of them and moves them into the house! well, not like that's going to happen...right? :S Anyway, as time passes by I find the goats kind of cool to play with too once I'm done with the lawn mowing bit as I get to hold them (only the small kid, mind you) while I feed them on the cut up grass bits. Only today, I had the chance to send one kid to the vet for a medical checkup on its nose. It'll live...InsyaAllah :)

The time is now 11:25 at night and everyone else is asleep for class tomorrow. Wonder what I'll do then...hmmm. Oh well, at least I have the whole night to think about it :) Before I sign out, here's a shot of me with the kid I was talking about. Till next time, cheers!

Me and 'The Kid', the sack was necessary to prevent it from kicking around in the car.

UK? Well, it goes like this really...

The last picture before takeoff. Needless to say, I was rather nervous myself.

Finally, one eye-opening term has come to an end. Took me long enough as everyone else was already way ahead with the fact that they began their long winter holiday last week. With the end of the Proteins and Enzymes test at 3:14 pm on Friday, my winter break has officially begun. Now, as I lay back lazily on my chair and contemplating the long chilly nights ahead, I finally had the 'strength' to post on this 'cobweb filled blog'. To any followers of my blog, I apologise for the long delay but I hope this will more than make it up to you.

Coming here in the first place was a big decision to make. For anyone who has been stalking me or just interested in knowing more about my situation, you might think that the choice was obvious as to which option was I about to take in determining my future.

Option A: Stay with Khazanah and study locally with the promise of being provided with the highest allowance around.

Option B: Accept JPA's offer and get the lowest allowance available for living in London

When deciding which one to take, I was caught in a real dilemma. For one, the fact that I may have to repay everything that I got for the past 2 years of my education was honestly one of the things that made me think back not just twice but even more than that. Then, there comes the additional benefits of sticking with Khazanah as I am entitled to even more of the self educating experiences offered. However, in the end, my dream of graduating in the United Kingdom was too much of strong pull for me. JPA's offer came at a time when I believed everything was lost. Then, on 1005 aboard flight MH004 on the 22nd of September, I was off to the promised land...

Ben the Big

London, a city built some 2 milennia ago as the Romans gained their foothold in the nation called England. It was known as Londinium back then and has since grown into one of the most well known cities in the world. For dear old, big London, I was a mere speck amidst all the other 8 million people here. For me on the other hand, it's gonna be a place I would call home for the next 3 years, InsyaAllah. As expected, like Kuala Lumpur is to Pokok Sena, London is exactly what I had in mind. I expected everything to be relatively expensive and I was not wrong in my guess. A fine example would be how a glass of cincau and soy bean would cost around 1.80 ringgit, the same price can be seen here...just don't try converting it back into ringgit. Places of interest are a plenty like Big Ben, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and of course the ever profitable London Eye. Overall, very nice place to visit, a pocket-boring place to live in. ( For your information, I pay 124 pounds for accomodation...per week!)

Yup, that white stuff is snow. Cool right?

The weather? Well, obviously it is almost nothing like in Malaysia. For one, you don't get the same sunshine all year round, believe me. In winter, expect temperatures to range between -3 and 1 degrees Celcius in which on any given day with the right conditions, snow (yes,that white stuff that regularly gets associated with freezing temperatures) will be there too. Then, there's the question of having short hours of daylight with the reverse happening in summer. Luckily for us, a happy chap called Benjamin Franklin invented Daylight Saving to help us maximize our sunny time here. Genius he is...

UCL's Main Library

What else...oh yeah! The university of course! UCL, as some of you probably know by now is ranked the 4th best university in the world (a fact the Imperial students take rather bitterly...) Anyway, besides being the first secular university in the UK, it takes pride in having one of the most diverse mix of ethnics in one institute of education which is clearly visible from the number of languages spoken here. You name it, we will most probably have it...Needless to say, the amount of work we are subjected to here is amazing especially the Electrical Engineering dudes.Just a small thing lacking though. The fact that we are a secular institute makes it impossible to have our request for a praying room certified. Instead, we have to resort to having a small room (really, really small room) as our prayer room...and this bring me to my next point.

London Central Mosque

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. I find this quote very true indeed as here, I have learned things regarding my faith that I never knew before. Enclosed back in Malaysia in a single 'mazhab' environment, I find the other ways of practising Islam as a real eye opener. Besides that, I have never before encountered such difficult conditions to perform our obligations. For example, taking your ablution with ice cold water is not easy and lest I forget, praying in very cramped up conditions is hardly any more comfortable. Yet, it is here that I begin to learn the real meaning of living as an ummah. Brothers and sisters of the same faith act as if you know each other for years even if you've just met like 3 minutes ago. Alhamdulillah, I find that this is the best opportunity for me to further understand Islam and be a better person, InsyaAllah....

What do you get when you reheat uncooked chicken and Krispy flour in a microwave? Chicken in bread!

For the first time in my life, I am literally living alone. I will no longer have any form of financial support from my parents, no-one is going to take care of my welfare and of course this includes cooking. I will not lie, I am a terrible cook mark my words. Cooking rice with plain fried chicken is the most common menu in my weekly diet, for the very simple reason that I can barely cook any other type of food well enough to taste good. Needless to say, there were a number of cooking disasters on my part but as usual I'll just laugh at it and learn from it. Mum told me to help out in the kitchen often, I should have listened. Hehe... :P

Arsenal vs Olympiakos, 2-0

Now, I am literally living up my dream. A dream which began 12 years ago and will hopefully be complete in the next 3 years. I have been thrown 70 meters above the ground here, I have lived the experience of being in Emirates stadium, I have also witnessed my home in Birmingham for which I spent nearly 2 years of my childhood...now, I am ready. Ready to prove myself once and for all that I am a somebody. With God's will, this I will achieve...Cheers everyone and enjoy your holidays! :)

My goals here....

It's Been A While...

So sorry oh dear bloggie...I'm currently in the process of settling down and stuff especially with my classes arrangement cz their really confusing. Got bank problems to settle and not to mention my accomodation payment date is due next Friday and my money is still in Malaysia! Other than that, cooking is something I'm definitely not good at at the moment so I hv to rely on takeaway food for now. To add to my troubles, I am still mourning the loss of my dear white external (please, MAS. I need a reply...anything will do!) Luckily enough, I've been blessed enough to have already been involved in a number of things despite being barely 2 weeks here. Soutussalam is a new name in my life, Emirates Stadium is now my sweet memory, Moodle and Portico are now my bookmarks on the Internet and Tower Bridge night with Adli and the rest of the gang...just blissful really.

Hope to tell more but like I said, I'm in not a good position to do so. Pictures will tell the rest of the story soon enough. Cheers! :)

Farewell Mak Long...

Call No.1, received during Pharmaniaga’s Monthly Assembly on my last day there

“ Assalamualaikum, Along ke ni?”

“ Ye Along ni, sapa ni ya?”

“ Pak Long ni, Ni…Mak Long Mariah dah takdak dah…”

“ Laa…Innalillahiwainnalillahirajiun…”

Call No. 2, received approx 15 minutes later

“Along, balik skaranglah ya Along?”

“Skarang? Naik flight ke Bah?”

“ A’ah…”

It was a really weird day actually. For one, I was actually looking forward to have my meeting with the MD so that I can say thanks to him for everything. Alas, I did get to do so albeit under such rushing conditions, definitely not what I had in mind…within a few minutes, Kak Maziah was already on the phone and Zain was ready to send me to the airport, pronto. My flight was scheduled to depart from KLIA at 1:55 pm and after the fastest goodbye to everyone I’ve ever done, I was in his Lancer Evo car, speeding along the highway at 210km per hour! ( wait, I hope there’s no cop reading this!). The ticket pulled me back by 349 ringgit but honestly, this was not a time to be miserly at all.

Call No. 3, Platform A6, KLIA

“Along ke? Ni Kak Long ni…Kak Long kat bawah TV kat A06 ni”

And she was there. From what I know, she took an earlier flight from Johor to come to KL and luckily enough, her hotel where she was working is next to the Senai Airport. My cousin seems calm enough though deep inside, I can tell that she was keeping her emotions to herself. The flight took 55 minutes and upon arrival, my dad was waiting to pick us up to my late aunt’s home, next to mine. My mom was already there and upon seeing me, sobbed inconsolably as she remembered just how minutes earlier before her death, she was talking to her like always, never realizing what was coming. Then, I saw my aunt’s body. By this point, my cousin’s emotions were too much to take. She wept beside her mother’s body and despite some of the elders advice against it, nothing could be done to stop her.

I left the house soon after, changed and went to the graveyard where it was already beginning to rain. Using a parang, me and my dad used it to cut some bamboo and used it to make a small shelter for the grave. It wasn’t easy at all, but in the end we made it. My aunt’s body arrived at the graveyard at around 5:10 and it was then up to me, my dad and 2 of my uncles to lift her up. Truth be told, I was really nervous to do so at first, fearing that my lack of experience would cause the simple loincloth at the bottom of the coffin to make way. Then, I also had the task of lowering the body into the grave. Despite some complications (my thigh was stuck under the coffin for a while) and after using balls of clay to keep her facing the kiblat, we began to bury her. Only then did I realize just how tiring this ordeal really is and so we took turns to cover her up. In the end, the Talkin process began and with firm reminders of what was waiting soon after the burial for the soul of the departed one; one cannot help but feel immense fear of what could possibly lay in store for me once my time is up. Wallahualam…

Farewell Mak Long Mariah, and may Allah have mercy upon your soul. Amin…

Mak Long Mariah bt. Mahmud

Born Friday, 14th of August 1959 - Passed Away Friday, 14th of August 2009

(yes, she was exactly 50 years old)

The Last of The Invincibles...

"Toure dah blah dowh?"

"Ye ke? For how much?"

"14M"

"Murah sangat r..."

The conversation took place at around 12:30 last night and for some reason I refuse to believe it especially for such a meagre amount of cash. Nah, it can't be true now can it?

Fast forward to this morning at work, took the time to open up Soccernet and found out that yes, he left for 16M. With that, spells the end of the last piece of the Gunners Invincible team. Toure will be missed and if Arsenal does'nt improve this season, I dare say that Wenger is losing his touch and his head will be on the guillotine by the end of the season. Toure's departure signals the end of an era and now is the perfect time for the young ones to stand up and be counted. COME ON YOU GUNNERS!

Bye, bye Toure and thank you!