Today’s FRIDAY!! (There’s actually a tune to it which I made up..my MNL friends are familiar with it because I keep humming it when the weekend draws near). But this Friday is different because it’s the beginning of a a festive season and can you bloody believe that it’s a whole week off??! Suddenly I feel like I am in Uni again coz that’s the only time when you can actually have the whole week off i.e. during semester break.

It’s not like I am taking Monday off, but it’s the mood that counts. And I so long for the time where I can see KL roads free of the hustle and bustle of traffic. Imagine, no traffic jam at Connaught! Believe you me, KL shall be a ghost town next week.

Last year was my first experience celebrating Hari Raya with my husband. This year will also be a special Hari raya for me as this is my first experience celebrating Raya with my li’l Munchkin :o)

So to all my friends out there, I would like to wish all you Selamat hari Raya Aidilfitri and Maaf Zahir Batin for all my wrongdoings. Minta dihalalkan segala makan minum. Sudi-sudilah beraya at my house :o) To those yang balik kampung, have a safe balik kampung journey!

Firman Allah: "Dan sempurnakanlah ibadah puasa kamu mengikut bilangan hari dalam bulan Ramadhan (29 atau 30 hari), dan bertakbirlah (membesarkan Allah) atas petunjuk-Nya yang diberikan kepadamu, supaya kamu bersyukur." (Al-Baqarah : 185)

Sabda Rasullullah s.a.w. pula: "Hiasilah Hari Raya kamu dengan takbir dan tahmid."

SUASANA HARI RAYA - SHARIFAH AINI

Hai Selamat Hari Raya kami semua ucapkan

Menikmati hidangan yang kami sediakan

Sila jamu selera dengan bermacam hidangan

Pilihlah yang mana suka sila janganlah segan

Rasalah ketupat ini dengan rendangnya sekali

Sudilah rasa kuihku pilihlah yang mana satu

hai di hari begini kita menjamu selera

Kita bermaaf-maafan di suasana hari raya

It’s been a while since he last called me. It’s been a while since we last met. When I said it’s been a while, I mean 10 donkey years ago.

Didn’t think he’d still have my house number. He called home and asked my sister for my mobile number. And suddenly my message box was filled with 3 messages from an unfamiliar number. And when he introduced himself in the text messages, I honestly couldn’t remember him though he was a big part of my teenage life. Until I called that number and heard his voice.

It’s good to hear from old friends. It’s also a good feeling..knowing that your old friends are still thinking about you. Some things never change. Thank you for making my day an eventful one..feelings ranging from confused, amused, delighted and warmth :o)

Yesterday I turned 28. It’s been 28 years since I came out into this world and alhamdulillah I have so much to be thankful for..loving parents, happy home, good health, enough food on the table, good education, friends, career to name a few.

Funny, I appeared in the local newspapers on my birthday :o)

I received an sms wish from my good fren, Zetty which says, "May all your dreams and wishes come true. I know one did..Faiq!" Yes, indeed my dreams and wishes which came true was Rafiq and Faiq. And on my birthday, I wish that my family will be blessed with all good things in years to come, insya-Allah.

Due to office administration, I didn’t get to see my munchkin at lunchtime and I find myself missing him terrible. And I’m thinking, "what is it gonna be like when I go for my 6 months course in January?"

I dunno why but I suddenly thought of one of my favourite song taken from my favourite soundtrack, My Bestfriend’s Wedding :o)

Artist: Mary Chapin Carpenter
Song: I’ll Never Fall in Love Again

What do you get when you fall in love?
A guy with a pin to burst your bubble
That’s what you get for all your trouble.
I’ll never fall in love again.
I’ll never fall in love again.

What do you get when you kiss a guy?
You get enough germs to catch pneumonia.
After you do, he’ll never phone you.
I’ll never fall in love again.
I’ll never fall in love again.

Don’t tell me what is all about,
‘Cause I’ve been there and I’m glad I’m out,
Out of those chains, those chains that bind you
That is why I’m here to remind you

What do you get when you fall in love?
You get enough tears to fill an ocean
That’s what you get for your devotion.
I’ll never fall in love again.
I’ll never fall in love again.

What do you get when you fall in love?
You only get lies and pain and sorrow.
So, for at least until tomorrow,
I’ll never fall in love again!
I’ll never fall in love again!

Had to buka puasa on the road again yesterday. Was stuck in the jam for a different reason tho..not so much of rain but because of the heavy traffic in Putrajaya where people came from all over to bid farewell to our First Lady (Al-Fatihah to Puan Sri Endon).

Tried the food at a stall next to the one we went to the previous night. The food was not so good and the environment pun tak best. Besides Faiq was wide awake..my poor li’l munchkin had a runny nose and was coughing!

He kept me up all night because dia tak selesa nak tido due to his runny nose. Only managed to sleep for about two hours. Thank God today is Friday so I didn’t mind staying up because the fact that wekend is here is such a huge consolation. Slept on the way to Kampung Baharu this morning. Meant to take Faiq to the clinic but that didn’t materialise coz we both ended sleeping :o)

The most dreadful feeling in this holy month of Ramadhan is to look outside your window at 4 p.m and seeing cloudy skies. If you are working in KL, it is a sure sign that you won’t make it back home in time for buka puasa.

I was only able to leave Presint 2 at about 5.30 p.m. yesterday. And I knew I will be breaking fast in the car when I saw that the jam had started approximately 3 km from the exit of Putrajaya. Rafiq called and said that I should pick him up at Sungai Besi LRT Station. Things were running smoothly on my side once I entered the highway.except when I was about to reach Mines and somewhere along the way, Rafiq called to inform me that we shall be breaking fast at Sungai Besi because he knows for sure that Connaught will be jam packed as well.

So there we were, breaking fast at a restaurant while the rain was still pouring outside. Alhamdulillah, Faiq was such a good boy, he slept from the time we left Putrajaya until we reached home (after performing Maghrib prayer in Sungai Besi and stopping by Econsave Balakong to buy his diapers) at about 8.40 p.m.

Mazura, my dear six months old pregnant friend has requested that I write about my experience giving birth to Faiq to get some insights of the delivery process. She is actually looking for a story which tells her that it is not painful. You are never gonna find that story, lady!! If not, people wouldn’t say that being in labour and giving birth is the second most painful experience. But do not fret my friend, because all the pain will be COMPLETELY forgotten when the doctor placed in your arms, one of God’s miracles..your bundle of joy whom you have been anticipating for the last nine months :o)

Here’s my story:-

I was admitted on Thursday, 11 Aug 2005. That didn’t come as a surprise coz the doctor had already indicated that my delivery will be induced at my last visit the previous week. He also informed me that the induce process will take place the following day and that I was admitted for observation.

At 8 a.m. on 12 August 2005, I was induced. The nurse told me to rest but didn’t say that I could just lie down. My food was just delivered and I was hungry so I happily sat down and ate my breakfast. So I guess the medicine didn’t work coz I didnt feel any contractions. They induced me again at 2 p.m. and I started having contractions around 3.30 p.m. Rafiq came after office and so our family. Being a government hopital, they didn’t allow Rafiq to stay on after visiting hours tho I was in pain. They informed us that when I am about to go into labour, they’d call him (HAH!!) straight to the labour room. So Rafiq left at about 8.30 p.m. At about 9.30 p.m, I was really in pain and when the doctor checked my dilation, he said that it was time to break my waterbag. They broke my waterbag at about 10. I nearly fainted when I saw the accidentally saw the equipment. Yes that was painful. Before walking back to my room, they asked me to pack for delivery (baby clothes, blanket, diapers).

People told me that contractions and labour pains is just an extended version of a period pain and you feel that you wanna defecate. Let’s just say that thank God I didn’t drop Faiq in the toilet bowl coz I wasn’t informed that I should just "duduk diam-diam" and wasn’t supposed to push until I was brought to the labour room.

At about 11 p.m, I was about to be pushed to the delivery room when the nurse had the cheek to ask me, "Dah call husband?" I felt like saying, "EXCUSE ME, CAN’T YOU SEE THAT I AM IN PAIN? DIDN’T YOU KNOW THAT MY BRAINS STOPPED WORKING IMMEDIATELY AFTER THEY BROKE MY WATERBAG?" So I ended up calling Rafiq anyway.

In the delivery room, I was left alone. One of the nurses heard me pushed and asked if I was about to give birth. I felt like killing her. DO I LOOK LIKE I KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON DOWN THERE? Then again, I can’t blame her. She probably didn’t know that this was my first delivery. I just told her that I feel like defecating. They probably heard me pushed again and they came in to check, suddenly I heard a commotion, "WEY MANA DELIVERY SET. BABY DAH NAK KELUAR DAH NI!!" kat In my mind..that little corner of my mind where I could actuallt think a little about something else other than the pain, I suddenly remembered a comic strip of a surgeon who asked his nurse to check the internet for "What to do when you are lost".

I remembered pushing twice and then "PLUP" (I swear to God, that was the sound I heard!) Faiq Khan was born :o) Rafiq was really devastated when after driving like a maniac from Kajang to Putrajaya, he was informed by the nurse that I had given birth, barely 20 minutes after he received my call.

People say that because of the indescribable pain you experienced during labour and the fact that you have safely given birth to a healthy baby who is now in your arms, you will not feel the pain when they are stitching you ups. However, I think the stitching up part was more painful for me. And the fact that the nurse was nagging at me for not sitting still didn’t help either. But I couldn’t be bothered. It’s my body and if I am in pain, I can wince and jerk all I want. And the only thing that matters then was Faiq and Faiq alone :o)

Mazura, I think you probably heard zillion of times that each person experience in giving birth is different from the other so I am not going to repeat that (didn’t I just say it already?) Nevertheless, during that crucial moments of life and death, just think and pray to Allah Almighty. He is the only one who can help you lessen your pain. Banyak-banyak berzikir..it helps a lot! By Allah’s will, insya-Allah you are going to be just fine :o)

5 a.m. - Wake up and boil water (so traditional..a kampung house without a heater)

5.15 - 5.30 a.m. - Bath time

5.30 - 6 a.m. - While waiting for Subuh prayers, do something in between..kumpul sampah2 that needs to be taken out/ sterilise feeding bottles, check Faiq’s nursery bag to see if I left something out

6 - 6.50 a.m. - Get ready for work, jemur kain (and silently praying that it will not rain..not that I jemur outside but taknak laa kain sejuk jer and tak kering properly), wake my beloved, change Faiq’s diapers, feed him, take out his milk from freezer, make sure that all doors are locked etc

6.50 a.m. - Off to work. Drop my beloved at Sg. Besi LRT Station

7.30 a.m. - Drop my li’l munchkin off at nursery and looking forward to the next 5 hours till I can see him again.

12.30 noon - Time to feed Faiq

5 p.m. - B.A.L.I.K!! Pick up Faiq, pick up my beloved at Bandar Tasik Selatan LRT Station, beli food (dulu masa pregnant boleh ler masak..sekrang nih..hmmm..).

Welcome to the real world!!