THE WARRIORS OF THE RIVER

We are the great warriors,

From this river,

We fight asunder,

Sharing our plights together,

Full of spirit, love and matter,

Stones in hand symbolize strength we've gathered,

A generation to another,

Crystal clear water is the passage we take,

Tainted with blood, a martyr we'll make,

Of great fighting spirit,

Full of steel, with ceaseless fire,

Never surrender, never falter,

Cause the great Warrior's blood flows in us, ever,

In this river, we shall rise, together!

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*note: everyone is invited to make a caption for the above pic

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Kenakelayan has a new entry regarding the sad situation of 'cartoon portrayals' of our beloved Rasulullah s.a.w. And Bergen was very apt in answering to why we must rise up and display our anger.

OUR SECOND MEET

My youngest sister is only a year older than my eldest offspring. Last Sunday her previous college held its second convocation and she was one of its graduands. Incidentally I was in KL to send Muhammad back to his college. Mak persuaded me to accompany them to the scroll-giving ceremony. I was a bit daunted to comply due to several experiences I faced during my own convocation, decades ago. You see, at that time (due to naivety) we were told that once you were in the hall, you were not to leave it till the auspicious occasion was over. So we had the impression that we had to prepare for hours of hunger/thirst and bladder retention! It was as if you were in a temporary state of complete isolation from the outside world. And I can't imagine myself sitting in the hall from 7.30 am till 4 pm, listening to continuous barrage of chak-lempong sounds hitting my eardrums!

But Mak profusely begged me with her "mak dah banyak korban untuk awak, tak kan awak tak boleh korban satu hari untuk mak?" look. And my sister, OG, didn't help either, by reminding me, how she spent hours outside my convo hall, eons ago, looking after 2 months old Muhammad then, just to let me recieve my scroll in peace!

So, I relented. So Mak, Bapak, Subky (I leave to your imagination to guess who this guy is) and I, marched into the vast hall and chose seats as near to the exit as possible, so that Mak can access the loo easily and I can leave when I decide that I've had enough of chak-lempong music, :))

7.00am- started out from mak's place

7.30am- entered the hall after being given a small bottle of mineral H2O and 2 cupcakes to share amongst 4 people!

8.00am- no sign of the event rolling off as stated in the agenda. The gay sounds of chak-lempong playing a myriad of popular tunes, by then were filling up the sombre air.

8.30am- boredom seized me and I started texting messages to a blogger friend, telling her that I am being held prisoner and starved to death!

9.00am- marching in of the college chairman Datuk *****, YB Dr Masyitah and dignitaries.

9.20am- the chairman gave his speech

9.23am- I entered slumber zone zzzzZZZZZZ (didn't ask mak regarding my sleeping manner though. But I am sure I didn't snore nor adopt the open-mouth posture or did I??? (that would have looked very distasteful on the 2 big screens on the wall!)

9.30 am- Dr Masyitah gave her speech and I was still unconscious, occasionally aroused and heard her sweet voice reading her english text and dozed off again...

9.40 am- the graduands filed up to receive their scrolls and we had a tough time guessing which was my sis, as we were very far up. As sis is short and petite, we had mistakenly thought it was her each time someone of a similar built appear in line.

It was then that I realized that my blogger friend had tried calling me whilst I was asleep!! Her husband and her, had felt sorry that I had to endure the hours without breakfast and decided to go all the way and brought me lots of foodstuffs and drinks!

I rushed out and met them downstairs. What a great surprise. Meeting them for a second time, brought back sweet memories of our first fellow-ship meet at BTSH.

It was embarrassing indeed for I didn't think that my text: "....tak breakfast lagi. Lapar!..." had caused them to take all the trouble and brought me all the goodies! Sandwiches, cookies, chocolates, buns, pisang salai, drinks...if I had mats, I would have picnicked by the stream under the shady trees nearby!

To both of them, I can't thank enough! Jazakillah hairan kathira! Allah has blessed me with another two beautiful friends. Alhamdulillah!

*this entry is dedicated to Pycnogenol and Beloved.

HARI ASYURA

Assalamualaikum,

Sahabat blog semua. Esok dan lusa, 9 dan 10 Muharram, disunatkan kita berpuasa. Saya mengajak semua termasuklah diri saya untuk sama-sama mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengerjakan ibadat puasa sunat yang digalakkan ini bagi mengenang segala peristiwa yang berlaku pada 10 Muharram. Sila rujuk kepada blog Keng tentang peristiwa-peristiwa tersebut.
Kepada yang memasak bubur Asyura, tolonglah hantar sedikit (walaupun semangkuk) kepada saya (note: saya suka style Kelantan yag berisi daging siat serta berempah, sedapnya!)

Wassalam.

I'M MOVING ON, BABY....TA TA

A scene in a medical consultation room.

Patient (with eyes half-closed): I'm having severe giddiness. Bad spinning sensation. Nauseus. Vomited twice already.

Doctor: How long? Is this your first time?

Patient: Few days. Yes. (looking pale and started to slump in the chair)

Doctor: Had enough sleep?

Patient: No. Can't sleep well at all.

Doctor: Since when? This sleeping problem?

Patient: Years. Only sleep for 2 hours each night.

Doctor: Hmm..insomnia....what's bugging you? Feeling depressed?

Patient: Nodded and closed eyes.

Husband: I think she is worried about something and that's the real culprit.

Doctor: I see. (not wanting to probe any further as patients 'dah berlonggok' outside and can't waste time)

After physical examination, Dr gave I/M Stemetil and prescribed some oral anti-vertigo. Patient limply stepped out. But husband stayed on.

Husband: I am her problem. I am the reason she can't sleep.

Doctor: Oh..ok.

Husband: You see. I have an affair with another woman and I want to marry her. But she would only marry me after I have divorced my wife.

Doctor: hmmm...

Husband: So now I am preparing my wife to be independent. I will divorce her but I will leave her the house, the car and a fixed monthly income. I still love her, though. She doesn't have to work. And I'll start a new life with the woman.

Doctor: (tolonglah, patient dah bising/ gelisah di luar. Dia ni tak nak keluar ke? He's taking other patient's time) But this marital situation of yours, it's nothing that I can fix. But I can help to refer your wife to a psychiatrist if her mental status gets worse (who wouldnt? can a wife stay calm when the hubby is telling her that he is about to divorce her for another women despite promising her all the worldly comforts?)

Husband: I hope you understand. I need to think of myself too. She is at that age where there's a great tendency to neglect the man's needs.

Doctor: Yeah. (whatever) (needs/ nafs). Just tell me when she needs the referal.

Husband leaves the room and Doctor presses for the next number. *sigh*

~Some of you might have missed a point here from this entry (I know some of us due to time constraint wil brush through reading an entry, only extricating the gist). You see I am not discussing poligamy here. Polygamy is not an issue. It's halal. The issue here is that he is divorcing his wife for another .Can a man divorce a wife without any valid reason but simply because he wants to take another who demands he divorced the first??? ~

NOSTALGIC SUNGAI LEMBING

Kuantan is quite a small town and many a time, we will find ourselves exhausting the list of places to visit and unwind during Sundays and public holidays. But in actual fact, there are numerous interesting sites that are available for the adventurous ones or even the not-so-adventurous but claiming to be one (like yours truly) simply because not wanting to be left behind!

Besides the popular spots like Teluk Cempedak, Pantai Cherating, Pantai Balok and Pantai Sepat, there are more secluded haunts like Sungai Bekelah, Air Terjun Pancing, Sungai Jin etc.

It has been almost two years since we last went to Sungai Lembing, an old tin-mine town which is now just an old semi deserted shire, almost ghostly if you asked me! It has the biggest underground tin-mine in the world but unfortunately due to the drastic fall in the price of tin ore, this mine was closed down in the '80s.

The entrance to the mine.

The mine is situated at the farthest end of the town and nowadays it is left to crumble in solitude. In our recent-most visit, the ruin constituted of dilapidated wooden structures with thick undergrowth surrounding it. We dare not venture in, only viewing it from afar, fearing the possiblities of unstable ground above the mine. Within the vicinity are old wooden quarters, some still occupied.

The museum

There's also a museum nearby, perched on a hill, probably displaying all the historical artifacts pertaining to the old mine. We didn't get to visit it as it was closed.

The ghostly town of Sg. Lembing

Now, the town is perculiarly unique, I daresay. The main town-square consists of two rows of mostly wooden shophouses with a giant old-tree dividing the road in the centre. Most of the shops are quaint and dark with minimal lighting which doesn't seem to daunt the shop owners nor their customers. There's this shop ( I can't bring myself to label it as a restaurant due to it sad state) called Kedai Makan Warisah which sells Mee Jawa that is so tasty that I'd crave for each time I'm there.

The town mosque. notice the water-level marks for the flood in the year 97 and 2001, I think

On the way out, you'll find the town Mosque on the left side with a tower that has markings of water level painted on its wall. You see, Sg Lembing is at risk of flood each time the monsoon comes when the river outflows its banks. Five years ago, when the monsoon poured its wrath and the road badly flooded, there was total communication breakdown. There was shortage of food supply as the town was almost submerged in water and could only be accessed by boats and helicopters.

Muhammad and Luqman having a great 'brotherly' time.

We spent some time at Sg Jin, wading and frolicking in the cool water. Beautiful rocks and pebbels of all shapes, colors and sizes fill its banks on both sides. The water was fairly clean but slightly murky compared to our previous trip. They must be logging again up in the hills, *sigh*

The hill where Gua Charas is situated.

Not forgetting, on the way to Sg Lembing, there's this chalk-hill (I assume it's chalk from the whitish hue, afar) which house a famous cave called Gua Charas (on the right side). As you ride through, you will find this rather odd shaped hill with a huge dark opening in the centre and that's the cave. If my memory serves me right, there's a Buddhist temple there, too.

So the next time, you're in the mood for the taste of old, quaint town with a mining history and not forgetting the 'bowl-licking' Mee Jawa, try Sg. Lembing.
It might just fulfil your crave for nostalgia!