Di Pinggiran Aidilfitri

SELAMAT HARI RAYA ALL, AND MAAF ZAHIR & BATIN TO ALL WHOM I KNOW.

Alhamdulillah. Allah has granted me blessings of longevity such that once again I am able to complete Ramadhan and meet Syawal. May I get to meet many more Ramadhans and Syawals in my lifetime. Amin.

Raya is different this time around, with two new additions to the family; Sis' hubby Abang Hisyam and Zulfikri's younger brother, baby Zulhilmi. My family started our raya-ing rather late today, we left home for Pak Long's (Nenek resides there currently) at around 2+pm. But for some strange reason, it seems so did everybody else. My family was the first to reach there. After which, we left for Teban Gardens to visit Yayi, and we were abt 1-2 hrs later than we normally would have been there. As a result we visited very few houses, with visits to Nyayi Ketupat's house, Nyayi Abang-Ikmal-Tido-There's house, Yayi Potato Chips's house, and the traditional finale, Yayi Golf/Nyayi Rendang's house, for obvious reasons. The rendang feast. Oh I'm sorry if all these don't make much sense, I'm afraid it's a family joke that only my family and cousins would understand. Heh.

I don't know if I'm finally starting to look like an adult, or its the curse of the NS status once again, but Raya this time round isn't as errr...economically productive for me as in seasons past. Yes it's well shallow of me, I know, but everyone needs a financial boost of some sort every now and then don't they? Relatives come asking me in a casual manner what I'm doing nowadays (I suspect this is an old trick to find out whether I've started working yet), and when I answer I'm serving NS, they nod and talk as per normal. Like so:

Relative: So, which school are you studying in now?
Me: Urm, I'm in Tekong now actually.
Relative: Tekong? The 3 months BMT?
Me: Urm no. That period's over. I'm posted back there as a commander.
Relative: I see.

And that's that. Subsequently I didn't get duit raya! =(
Err hey man, NS isn't = working a full-time job.
Well, it IS a full-time job, but we aren't paid a salary, we're paid an allowance. And allowance is exactly what I got as a student! Sheesh. But hey, Hari Raya is all about celebrating victory over temptation, so I'm not complaining =) well, maybe not so much.

Saw eFinZ on TV on Danielle. Finally! I knew he's been acting quite abit, but it's still weird to see one of your bestest buddies appear on TV after all the time and things you've been through together, the adventures and err...misadventures. Called him up, had a little catch-up session, only to receive an sms frm Annisa as soon as I put down the phone :

"Ipin's on TV!!!"

Wow.My buddy's famous now.

Tomorrow is all about visiting relatives on my mom's side, just as today it was all my dad's. And so I leave u guys with one of my favourite Hari Raya songs, Dikir Temasek's "Di Pinggiran Aidilfitri"...

Pics to be posted up soon. Watch this space.