Monday, June 30, 2008

Neighbours

As I was walking out from my house, a pakcik, who had just arrived in front of my doorsteps told me that my neighbour has passed away. I am not too familiar with the neighbour as he is a middle-aged man who lived several houses from me. Apparently, he had died while he was on a fishing trip to Lumut. Innalillahiwa innailaihi rajiun. I couldn't believe my ears. It seems that just a few days ago, I saw him driving past my house. Now, his wife is left a widow and his 9 children are orphans.

That is life. When our time comes, DEFINITELY we will be called to His side. Whether we like it or not...no matter whether we are prepared or not. What I really regret is the fact that I have never been close to my neighbours. Not just this particular neighbour but almost all of my neighbours. Somehow, because we are all working women, I feel that it is justified that we seldom talk or visit each other.

Secara logiknya, kalau kita bekerja dari 8pg -5 ptg, bila kah masa yg kita ada utk bertandang bertanya ikhabar dengan jiran? Apa lagi kalau jiran kita pun sama2 bekerja. Tentu bila pulang dari kerja, hari pun dah petang, mereka pun sibuk dgn tugasan2 rumahnya. Hujung minggu pula, kita masing2 ada program...mungkin pulang ke kampung, ziarah keluarga, membeli-belah ke pekan atau berjalan2 makan angin. Pendek kata, walau pun kami sudah berjiran hampir 5 tahun, sangat sedikit kesempatan utk kita bersuai kenal atau beramah mesra.

Masya Allah. Ini semua alasan atas kelemahan diri saya. Jika saya benar2 usahakan, pasti dapat saya pergi ziarah mereka dan bertanya khabar. Lemah betul sifat ikram pada diri saya ini. Mulai hari ini, saya berazam akan mengubah keadaan diri. Mungkin saya akan gunakan ilmu masakan dari teman di http://perutkenyang.blogspot.com. Mana lah tau, dengan masakan2 nie, boleh jadi pembuka bicara dan dapat jadi asbab utk saya penuhi hak2 jiran tetangga.

In actuality, our next-door neighbours have vast claims over us. I fear, in the hereafter, their demands on us will prevent us from entering jannah. Astaghfirlahalazim.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Ultimate Laziness

Dear friends,

I do apologize for my looooong silence. Hmmm, there is definitely no excuse for my disappearance. I've been visiting and reading from the net, but, I have stayed incognito.

Entahlah, takde ilham nak tulis n3 baru. I am glad that some of my friends have started their own blogs. Reading their updates forces me to come out of my lazy spell.

Lately, I've finished reading the novel Ayat-Ayat Cinta. Amazingly, it was inspiring. Frankly, I've been reading romance novels since I was 12. I've completed rows & rows of M&B books in my hometown library. From M&B, I've graduated to Harlequins, Silhouttes and many2 others. My hubby used to tell me that my head is permanently in the clouds and I have unrealistic love expectations from reading too much romance books. Furthermore, now that I am much older, this genre of books seemed too idealistic. Thus, I stopped reading romance.

I was introduced to the idea of reading the book because the movie takes such a long time to appear in our cinema. So, I searched thru google and got a copy of the e-book. (I promise to buy the original book). Initially,I was quite sceptical about the book. I heard all the fuss about the book and the movie. I was definitely not convinced. Come on, I've seen quite a few of the Indonesian love stories ( albeit not full-length, only some parts and peices) and frankly, I do not believe in their values. Watching Indonesian movies make me question about the spiritual values of the actors/actresses/producers. Although I believe that most are muslims, their movies definitely do not potray muslim identities and beliefs. I am quite disappointed with all of them.

However, to my amazing surprise, the book Ayat2 Cinta has none of the stereotypical "western" love scenes and nuances. Alhamdulillah...I salute the author who managed to relay his message of love thru his beautiful phrases. He manages to simplify abstract values into everyday occurences. His analogy works. Although there are a whole bunch of Indonesian words which I do not understand, I still get the big picture/story.

I've seen the teaser/trailer for the movie. I do not think that I will be going to watch it. I believe that the movie did not manage to capture the spirituality of the book. From the few trailer scenes that I have seen, the movie seem to have betrayed the actual "feeling" and "values" of the characters. Alas, I guess the movie producers have compromised quite a bit to make the movie more commercial. I prefer to keep the story pure. I'll stick to my novel and I will not want to watch the adapted version of Ayat-Ayat Cinta.

Well...that's my 2 cents review of the book. What's your views ?

Adzan zuhur dah pun berkumandang kat PC nie. Time for me to go. Do leave your mark :)