BY THE RIVERSIDE 4

I used to go to this village when I was small, accompanying my parents whenever my cousin had a 'kenduri jijak tanah' for her children. My cousin is married into a Rao family that still practises this age-old tradition and for those those who don't know, let me explain briefly what 'jijak tanah' is all about. It is actually a ritual when a baby (usually when the baby is one year old or has started walking) can finally walk and step on 'real soil'. There will be certain 'accessories' that have to be prepared before this ritual takes place such as flowers of different types and colours (yellow is a must), bertih, beras kunyit, ibu kunyit, soil and a few others that I have forgotten. The house that belongs to my cousin's mother-in-law is located behind a small river that goes under the main road to Cameron Highlands. My cousin was back a few days ago and as usual, she would call my Mum. My Mum was the one who took care of my cousin and her older sister when they were small after their mother passed away. Actually, my cousin had been asking me and my siblings many times to take a look at a piece of land that belongs to my Mum and to do something about it since my Mum's property is adjacent to hers. Without much planning, I called my friend, FooArt and asked him if he would like to accompany us to my cousin's mother-in-law's place. FooArt who had earlier decided not to go to work on that day excitedly agreed to come with us. I tried to call my cousin a few times to inform her about our visit but could not reach her at all. I assumed that she was at her 'kebun' where there was no reception so I decided to go on with my plan. I was pretty sure that her mother-in-law would be at home. We arrived around 1.00 p.m. and luckily, she had just gotten back from her 'kebun' (just like I thought). Leaving my Mum to chat with my cousin, FooArt and I went to look around. The scenery really took my breath away. The village is still beautiful as ever and there is a certain air of peace and tranquility surrounding it. The river bank has also been fortified with big rocks (I think the whole thing is called revetment but I can be wrong) to prevent soil erosion. We crossed the small river which was really cool and refreshing to get to the other side. I really wish I had brought my shorts with me so I could really get in the water without worrying whether my clothes would get wet or not. Too bad I had forgotten them. Otherwise, I would have been splashing in the water! The visit was short but memorable and I'm going to make sure there is going to be another visit (a longer one of course) in the near future.
 

1 MUHARRAM 1435H

Today is the 1st of Muharram 1435H, the first day in the Muslim calendar and it's a holiday too here. To keep the good vibes going, I tried to do as many things as possible. It's definitely not a day of leisure day for me. To some people, I might not be doing anything at all but we all live different lives, right?. So here are the 'useful' things that I did today:

1. Went to the market in the morning. Could not find a spot where I usually parked my car so I had to drive around for a while before I found one. The market was buzzing but most of the fishmongers were 'on leave' today. Luckily, I still have enough fish in my freezer. Bought some red and green chillies, anchovies, coconut milk, parsley, green onions and some veggies.
2. Washed and hung out my laundry to dry including the curtains that I took home from my workplace. It wasn't that sunny this morning and I was truly hoping that it was not going to rain today. It did drizzle a little bit later in the evening but I had already taken all my laundry and the curtains in at that time.
3. Washed the veggies that I bought at the market and stored them properly in the refrigerator. Prepared lunch for me and my Mum. 'Gulai lemak ketam' for her and 'ikan bawal masak cuka' for me. No veggie dish since I put cucumber in the 'masak cuka'. Not forgetting my Mum's favourite dish at the moment : crispy fried anchovies with lots and lots of shallots and chillies.
4. Sat and talked with my Mum while she was having her lunch. I had already taken a very heavy breakfast so I did not feel like eating at all. Made sure that she took her pills after lunch.
5. Mopped the whole living room and sprayed some lemon-scented air freshener. Should have bought some fresh flowers this morning at the market though.
6. Went to the car service centre to have the mechanic look at my car. There is a slight vibration on the gas pedal and it's probably nothing at all but small things like that can really make me paranoid. Was told that everyone was busy at the centre at that time and somebody will be coming to my house later to get the car. It looks like I have to walk to work tomorrow morning but it's going to be good exercise for me anyway.
7. Went to the vet to check on my tomcat with FooArt. 'Hitam' had been missing for a few months and when he came back during the Eid celebration, he had cuts all over his body. His sporotrichosis is quite severe and he is going to stay at the vet for another week before I can take him home. He was pretty excited and kept meowing when I came to see him. He looks better now and his appetite has definitely come back. The cuts are healing well but recovery is going to be slow. 
8. Ate a piece of chapati which was quite nice while FooArt had a very late lunch.
9. Went to the ATM to send some money to this guy from whom I'm buying some CD singles. Can hardly wait for the CDs to arrive since I'm planning to make some new karaokes using the instrumentals. This time, I'm planning to do 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' by Savage Garden.
10. Went to the pharmacy to buy a few things which I do not want to mention here.
11. CoCo and Yen came over for a while. CoCo looked a bit worn-out and Yen was engrossed with his 'we-chat', as usual.
12. Did some ironing and was only halfway through when CoCo called to ask me and my Mum out for dinner. He said that he was craving for some seafood.
13. Went for a very lovely dinner with my Mum and CoCo. While waiting for the food to arrive, I went to check out this new restaurant serving hot chicken wings. The wings do look good on the menu so maybe, I can try them later.
14. Went back home and started this post.
14. Gave my other four cats some light 'supper' before going to bed.

So that's how my day went and so far, no unnecessary drama at all. Hopefully, I will be able to get a good night sleep since there will be lots of things that I have to do at work tomorrow. I pray the year 1435H will be as smooth-sailing as today and I will try to be better in everything that I do. InsyaAllah,