Night of Power

My budget was about $300 for the curtains and other stuff for Hari Raya. I ended up spending about close to $500. Talk about burning a hole in one's pocket. I think I spent more than 1k this Hari Raya. Fortunately it comes once a year or else I probably would have to get another job.
The 27th night of Ramadhan is the night of power according to most Muslim scholars. One should spend the night in worship of God. I manage to spend a bit of it only. Well at least something I guess.
I've been getting a lot of weird dreams lately. One was about watching a serial killer dumping a body into the drain, another was about a talking baby and yet another one was I was playing pool with giant size cue sticks. However I had one of the best dreams in years.... the one with Jessica Simpson in it. Nope, I am not going to elaborate any further ;-)

Gearing up for the big day....

Spring cleaning starts today. I spend the whole afternoon cleaning my windows. I usually do it once a year. I wonder if there is anybody out there who does it more than once a year. Anyway there is still loads to do ... cleaning the furniture, polishing the doors etc etc . I am going to Geylang tomorrow. First time I am going this year. I hope I don't go overbudget.

North Lake

It took me about 30mins to find the place. Armed with a picture of a map I took using my mobile, I made my way down to Dorset road. I realized later that the mosque was located at the inner road, a junction between Carlise road and Bristol road.
Built in 1907, the mosque was looked after by a caretaker whose house was annexed to the mosque. He said he has been taking care of the mosque since 1967, way before I was born. He told us stories of how they use to pump water to get water for ablution and daily necessities. The picture above is an old one. It was recently renovated but still has a maximum capacity of about 120 worshippers which makes it among the smallest mosque in Singapore
Tasek Utara ( North Lake ) mosque reminds me of the old Majapahit mosque which was taken down years ago. Me and the brothers who frequent the mosque fought very hard to keep the mosque open yet our efforts were in vain. They already had plans to build roads there and the mosque was in the way. The mosque had a 'kampung feeling' with its zinc roof and wooden structure. The caretaker even reared chickens in the backyard. I spend many happy moments there when I lived in Jurong West. The memories would always remain fresh in my heart.

Deja vu

Its hard to wake up when someone is hugging you tight :-). Nonetheless I manage to drag myself out bed on a cold October morning and get ready for work.
As I was waiting for my bus something brush against my neck. Instinctively I grabbed it and threw it down. It was a small little bee. I wanted to crush it with my feet but then it didn't sting me and it was dying anyway so I just let it be. It couldn't even fly .... it was writhing at the pebbles near my feet. A few years ago, during Ramadan, another insect landed on my neck. That time it did bit me. It was a small praying mantis. Strange though mantis seldom bite people. Maybe it doesn't like the way I smell. Anyway am gonna be bitten or harassed by insects every fasting month? I guess we have to wait till next year to find out.

My French Name is ...

Your French Name is:

Corbin Bruyere

What's Your French Name?

Glimpse of the Leader

At around noon all of us were asked to leave the facility. The police were going to do a sweep for bombs and all lockers had to be unlocked and checked. When I got to the lobby I noticed about 50 policemen with dogs and metal detectors all over the place. We were only allowed to come in back to the building after 2+ and that is after going through the metal detectors and a name list check.
I was standing after the air-shower talking to my colleague who was doing the demo when he came in. I saw his face as he entered the air-shower compartment, signal to my colleague to get ready and zoom, disappear. Too bad I was told not to linger around cos I didn't get a chance to ask him what I was suppose to ask him. Ah well, maybe next time.

Rush

Every Ramadan there will be one day where me and my wife either skip sahur(late supper) or wake up late. This year it is no different. We woke up at 510am and azan(prayer call) was at 530am so we had 20mins to eat. Alhamdulillah we manage to do it on time.
I've been watching a lot of Japanese anime lately cos I just subscribe to animax. Witch Hunter Robin(above) is one of those which I follow. I got too much channels on cable now ... I can watch until my eyeballs pop out.

Breakdown

My bus broke down yesterday .Its been a long time since I too a bus that broke down. It seems to echo what is happening around the world to day. I mean the world is literally falling apart. There was the tsunami in Acheh, hurricanes in America and now earthquake in Pakistan. Alhamdulillah Singapore is spared of any natural disasters, save for the denggue outbreak, we don't have much to complain about.
Every fasting month I am tested by God Almighty with my patience. This year is no different. Still I am trying my best in the fasting month. I joined the terawih prayers till the end and reading the quran.
I had a great time at my parents place last week. My brothers and sisters came together for the first time in a long time to break-fast at my mom's house. We were talking, laughing, teasing and I felt the warmth of family togetherness that used to be there regularly. Not that it is not there anymore but everyone got married and moved on and we hardly got time to get together. It was whole lot of fun.

3rd Day and still ok

I heard the Prime Minister is going to visit my work place. Maybe that would be the right time to ask him about the bonus at the end of the year.
Meanwhile this is the third day of fasting and so far so good. Yesterday seventy nine 13kg bags of diet came and despite the fact that I have not eaten for sometime Alhamdulilllah ( Thank God ) I manage to hack it.
I'm trying to do more Terawih prayers this year and keen on starting the quran. First I have to finish my Harry Potter book first. Can't wait for the upcoming movie, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

The start of the holy month.

Today is the first day of fasting. Its a good time to catch up with my spiritual needs. I've been quite lacking in my quran reading and think that there may be chance to finish the whole of this time before Ramadan ends. This time I am not going out for ten days.