Saturday 6 August 2011

Going back to my roots...

It has been quite a while since my last post. The new job I'm involved in now has really sapped up most of my time and energy. There have been times I have thought of giving up but that would've been the easy way out. Things have gotten a bit better the last few days and I guess it is fair for me to follow the sort of advice I normally give to others when facing similar situations. Going through tough times can only make you tougher... you won't learn much by doing things the easy way.

I am now working at a project located in the district where I was born. I can't actually say it is my hometown because I did not grow up here. I was born at my late maternal grandfather's house in Pontian, Johor but I grew up in Singapore when my father moved the family across the causeway the year after I was born. The only childhood memories I have of this small town are the times when my father took us back to visit our grandparents for Hari Raya.

My grandfather and grandmother of course, both have left us a long time ago but the old house is still there, now occupied by an uncle and his children. The story of this house was posted earlier here -> Day trip back to the kampung.

Now I find myself spending a bit more time at this small town, probably more often that I have ever done before.

After settling most of my work stuff earlier today, I had some time to kill and so decided to take a drive to Pontian and look for a place to break my fast. On the way, I stopped by a recreational park near Rambah to enjoy the beautiful sunset. There is this Bugis Museum nearby but it has already closed for the day. Maybe I'll drop by another time and have a look at what's on display.

Suspension bridge
The sky at sunset. The dark shape on the horizon is Pulau Pisang.
After snapping some photos of the sunset with a simple compact camera, I left the park and proceeded to Pontian town for some chow.

I'll end this post now with my first fasting month story. This incident actually happened last year and I am prompted to tell it after reading blogger-friend Kak Teh's status update in her Facebook yesterday...

The family and I were visiting a Ramadhan bazaar near our home in JB. We stopped by a stall selling nasi lemak ayam goreng berempah. While the seller was packing our order, I casually out of habit, picked up a kacang tanah goreng (fried groundnut) from the large plastic container in front of me and popped it into my mouth. I was happily munching away when I noticed the seller strangely staring at me. My first thought was... eh, tak kan kacang sebiji pun kau nak kira ke? Lokek sangat.

After paying for the purchase and walking away, I then realised he was staring at me for another reason! Orang tua ni tak puasa ke?! Hahaha....

18 comments:

Lili said...

Salam Oldstock,

Selamat Berpuasa. Takpe kerja teruk, janji masyuk...hehe

I thought I read this post earlier when I had this sudden urge to 'visit' you here..hahaha! And how I laugh at that '....kacang sebiji pun nak kira ke?'...when I knew the reason straightaway! Good one!

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Oh goodness!LOL!

HLiza said...

Memang teruk orang tua ni..hehe..kelakar juga. Selamat berpuasa Pak!

Pak Zawi said...

Salam Fathil,
Just bear the tough time you are facing with your job and consider it as a trade off to be with your family. That is joy enough to make up for it.
popping something into the mouth out of habit often happens at the beginning of the fasting month but just beware to not let it carry on for the entire month hehehe.

Unknown said...

..ditto LadyK..oh goodness..:)

Pat said...

Nice to have you back! And nice story ;)

3yearshousewife said...

Lawak sungguh. Nyaris tak habih satu plastik. Mau juling mata kakak nasi lemak tuh.

DrSam said...

Mon dieau! that was one experience worth sharing. welcome back to the blogosphere (that goes to me too :)

Salam Ramadhan al-mubarak.

Fadhil said...

Salam Lili,

Kerja teruk sebab nak cari rezeki... so kira ok la tu. Sampai nak berblogging pun dah mcm tak sempat.

Fadhil said...

Kak Kama,

And now when we go to the same stall, my sons would still laugh at me...

Fadhil said...

Ibu Hliza,

Nak buat mcmana... memang dah tua, heheh..

Fadhil said...

Salam Pak Zawi,

Thanks for the words of comfort. That's how I look at it when I feel like giving up.

Fadhil said...

Pakmat, part of the growing old process I guess.. hehe..

Fadhil said...

Pat, nice to be back..

Fadhil said...

As, the crazy part was of me thinking the guy was stingy, hehehe... that was bad of me to buruk sangka.

Fadhil said...

Dr Sam, welcome back to blogging too :-)

Mazny said...

Hehe... kelakarlah uncle ni! Tulah, lain kali jgn buruk sangka kat si penjual. Old habit die hard looooool!

Uncle, I dah survey dslr. Wow, harga kalah my lappy lol.

I think i'll just settle for the most basic. Canon 1100D jelah yang termampu buat masa ni... =(

Ok tak uncle? Oh pls check out my blog ...herrmm, malu jugak nak tunjuk but but but...

Just hv a cuppa @ Aku Dan Kafe Buku.. xD

Fadhil said...

The Canon 1100D is a good entry level DSLR. Don't worry, after a few years of taking pics, you'll get better and then can think about upgrades. Just master the basics first.

Ok, dah jenguk blog Kafe Buku. Will link you. Best of luck in your writing. I'm still dreaming of when i can write my first book.