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Sunday, December 23, 2007

Eid'l Adha and beyond ...

It has been two years already. How time flies.

I have a mole below my left ankle. I remember during my childhood days, my aunt Busu ( now known as Nek Busu to you my boys) interpreted that as I would travel far. I believed her. How could I not? I was told she was the one who chose my name for me. That sounded like a big deal to me. So I grew up with a self fulfilling prophecy that I would travel far because 'Busu' predicted so.

I am now residing in Rawang, working in Mutiara Damansara, commuting daily on the NKVE - hmmm.... doesn't that count as traveling far? I've only used the car for 3 - 4 mths now, and I checked this morning it has already clocked about 15,000 km already. That shows I do travel far, don't I? Ahhh... I digressed.

Yes, I wanted to travel far. Not just between Rawang & Damansara daily. I wanted to travel the world over if I can.

Soon after marrying Ayah, I found out that he too wanted ( actually he still does) to travel the world over. Specifically, he wanted to visit the 7 ancient wonders of the world. Busu was right after all! Now we both husband and wife would travel far together-gether.

As we progressed in our own careers, it soon became apparent that my jobs were mainly desk-bound. You know, shuffling papers here & there, meeting and talking to people now & then. The farthest would be Sabah & Sarawak. Oh yes... overseas, but South China Sea only. That was it. Ayah on the other hand, with his IT background, backed with the much sought after software license and project management exposure, could easily secure jobs or assignments that involve traveling to anywhere in the world. That's if and only if he really wanted to. But that would mean him traveling on the job on his own. Concern is, the traveling far was supposed to be done together-gether by Ibu & Ayah. Attached to the hips if possible. Not one here and the other elsewhere. Tried it once - away from each other for about 9 months. Ayah in Jeddah and Ibu in ...where else? Rawang. The absence of each others' company was too much to bear. We've decided we have to be under the same roof, well... at least most of the time.

That didn't kill our desire to travel the world over. Except that the vision became clearer - it cannot be solely dependent on work related ( i.e 'sponsored') travels because that would be synonymous to both of us traveling to different directions at different times on our own agenda, mostly business. We want to travel the world over together-gether. I snap your photo. You snap mine. I hold your hands, you hold mine, and my luggage too please :). Get the drift?

There is another twist. Not only do we share the same desire to travel far, but without necessarily influencing one another, we both also came to the same conclusion that our travel destinations must be prioritised. We made up our mind to go for hajj as soon as 'possible' before we travel to other worldly desired destinations. They say, great minds think alike. But hey... fools seldom differ either.

We figured Eiffel Tower would not get any shorter. The dome of Taj Mahal would not be any less shinier. Stonehenge would not lose any of the stones. The leaning tower of Pissa would still stand, though tilted. The Sphynx, well.. it may be further eroded year after year - but it too will still be dusty just the same. And the Sydney Opera House - my choice this one - would not move on its own.Not visiting any of these during our lifetime would not be a major 'non conformance' in our books. After all, it's the 5th pillar. So we thought, let's get the priority right for both us.

Some of our friends and relatives said, that must be an early calling for us both. The beaconing.

Some others said, you two rugi lah... Enjoy first gua cakap lu! Still young what? What's the point of going too early? There would be too many remaining years after you return, hence the higher chances of you two still committing sins after sins. The idea (perhaps) is live your life to the fullest, then go to hajj & repent. Upon return, go to surau often, concentrate on ibadah and start preparing for the life hereafter.

Well, what can we say? Everybody is entitled to his or her own opinion.

We had one of our own. And we were sticking by it. Our priority got further self reassured, at least while we still can and while we were still able-bodied to do so.

Is being able-bodied good enough though? Is having enough savings to fund your pilgrimage sufficient? Apparently, for "young people", that may not be good enough. Not quite. Not just yet.

So for some good number of years after Ayah & Ibu embedded our desire to prioritise our travel destinations, and for many moons after we carved in stone our commitment to perform the hajj while we were still able-bodied, we were kept waiting for the invitation to be the guests of the holy land.

The waiting that we dutifully obliged with. Without much fuss.

To be continued ......


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15 comments:

D said...

ooohh.. interesting thoughts. Hope we don't have to wait for long for the continuation!! Happy eidul Adha Ibu!

zabs said...

Salam Ibu,
You and Ayah have made a good decision in deciding that performing the Hajj, is your first priority in travelling together, on your own sponsorship.
Bekerjalah kamu seolah-olah kamu akan hidup seribu tahun lagi, dan beramallah kamu, seolah-olah kamu akan mati esok.
So, we don't know when our time is coming to an end. The earlier we perform the fifth pillar is the better for us. Another thing is that if our intention is to repent only after going to perform the Hajj, what made us so sure that we will be given that opportunity? Who are we to decide that?
Re: Travelling the world; I think I have made quite a good choice of "joining the navy and see the world". The govt. have been generous enough to sponsor quite a number of my overseas stints, some with my families accompanying too.
Alhamdulillah.

Cherry said...

aku lost le ... kau dah pergi ke belum haji ni tahun ni. ke ayat-ayat ni sempena musim haji ?
bwtw - we did the 1st step that is to do the registration. our's is registered for 2011. we're not doing anything to push it forward ... nor to push it further.

elara said...

Hi Ibu,

Thanks for dropping by at my humble 'abode' yesterday (virtually). I could see that your abode is more or less using the same template..deco lah tu but my 'furniture' is a lot less..still Testing! testing!. It's a noble intention to perform the 5th pillar since sacrifices need to be done, ought to be our 1st priority ideally but I can't speak much about that; I have not performed hajj myself.
Anyway, Selamat berhari raya & Happy new year. May god bless you & family with good health,wisdom & his great rahmah & mercy.

Anonymous said...

Dear Ibu,

Your words of wisdom really keep my spirits up. Mula2 rasa takut sgt utk start the 1st step..especially because this is my 1st time in everything..rasa mcam tak terhandle dek badan....tpi bila read back all the blogs from an inspirational people (including you...;D)...Rasa bersyukur sangat sbb dipilih untuk melalui jalan yang sukar ini...dlama byk2 hambaNya...kita yg terpilih utk menghadapi ujian ini....semoga ditunjukkan jalan , dipermudahkan perhitungan hendaknya.....
BTW....MBA good what.....increasing the dose of happiness in your life.....(not to mention the headache that come with it...heheheh)

Anonymous said...

Ibu,
Yah, some said enjoy first and then repent. But the question is are we sure to get the time to repent?
My advice is just go when you are abled that include all: physical, mental and economic. Another thing is when you keep saving in Tabung Haji without registering for haj, your saving accumulates but your turn won't come, so remember to register..
For myself and from my experience, it is much much better to go when you are able and 'young'.
Here I am at Your service, O Allah, here I am at Your service, here I am at Your service. There is no associate with You; here I am at Your service. Verily all praise and grace is due to You, and the sovereignty (too). There is no associate with You....

Lee said...

Hello Ibu, I see you have a new blog page design.
I read thru your very interesting post here and allow me to say, go where your heart wants you to go Ibu. Go perform your Haj first...the Taj Mahal, The Great Wall, Sydney Opera House will always be there.
I believe you and Ayah will feel better, feel good after the Haj, then go see the world.
I now wish you and Ayah the best of seasons greetings and a very happy new year.
Best regards, Lee.

Mummy Rizq said...

quite a long time since i drop at your blog.. intersting entry! cepat lah sambung...

Pi Bani said...

Ye lah Ibu, go young. Time I pergi dulu (that was in 1996 and tambang for muassasah was only RM5,600 then) I was the youngest in my room. Kesian tengok makcik-makcik yang tak berapa nak larat tu. Nak bawa diri pun jenuh, kan pulak nak bawak beg. From originally kena jaga my own mother aje, last last ramai pulak yang mengekor I time tu. (puaslah makcik-makcik tu I sakat... hehehe)

Nowadays alhamdulillah ramai yang pergi muda. No such thing as rugi pergi awal-awal.

Apa-apa hal pun, go register first! Giliran lambat lagi kalau register sekarang pun...

warrior2 said...

Hi,

It has been a bit while since I last blog and post comments. The desire is there but other needs took precedent.

I have been too many (pls dont take this as a brag but a statement of fact) countries and I have learnt many things about these countries and thier citizens. Have been to the poorest of countries and the richest.
Go if you can, I encourage you.

Go to Haj if you can and able. Age is irrelevent to me.

Unknown said...

ibu...:-)

really ur style of writing....and made even better with such a personalized and captivating subject....

together-gether ...hehehehe....i can relate to this one so much!

may ur wishes come true soon...

A.

IBU said...

D,
I'll try.... but unlike you, words don't come easy to me. Kena perah otak to susun ayat. hehe... jgn betulkan screen anda kalau banyak sgt grammar error ... uhuk! uhuk!

Pak Zabs,
Thanks for the encouragement. Kadang2 tu, kita semua kerja bagai nak rak, tapi lupa pulak about what if tomorrow never comes?

Ninuk,
Sabar lah... baru nak belajar nak buat episodes cerekarama Ibu & Anak. hehe... Semuga you & hubby dimurahkan rezeki dapat pergi as planned.

IBU said...

Elara,
Very true indeed. A lof of sacrifices needed. Sbb tu 10 Zulhijjah kita panggil 'Hari Raya Qurban'.

Jan_Abdul,
Thanks for your kind encouragement & advice. Azam mesti mau ada kan?

U. Lee,
Thank you, you are very understanding indeed. By the way, I also want to see Niagara Falls (again ) laaa... so sapa la yg ada kat Canada tu eh? ehehe...

IBU said...

Mummy Rizq,
Long time no see. I pun sama lah. Iyer lah... nak cuba try test cepat sambung la ni. Tapi enjin semput. hehehe.... Stay cheerful!

Kak Hajjah Pi,
Banyak pahala you, tolong jaga mak & mak2 orang lain to complete their ibadah. I'm sure you were a favourite amongst them eh?

Warrior2,
Whooaa.... you've traveled far & wide indeed. Now I know who to refer to in case I need some travel advice. Thanks for your steer!

Ayah Su,
Ibu pun "Busu". Thanks for your kind wish. Agak2 boleh ke Ayah & I singgah sebentar di Dubai on the way back? hehehe...

IBU said...

Thank you all for hopping by. Banyak lagi ni cerita re cabaran2 yg mendatang. Hopefully I can finish off the episodes soon.

Your kind words, wishes & encouragement is much appreciated!