1. kuih raye.. i bake and brought it back to kampung.. those itsy bitsy cookies were cornflakes crunchiesfinished on the 2nd day of raya. i'm absolutely happy. the less said, the better. i leave it to the taste buds of those who tasted it. the comments and remarks were lovely tunes to my ears.

baking/cooking shows on the TV (during Ramadan) were my favorites when i was a kid. i would spend my evening after school during Ramadan watching chef wan bake a cake or a hundreds of cookies, and that somehow cure my hunger pangs. LOL. i don't do that much often now that i have classes to attend and those shows seemed to slowly die. chef wan does not occur so much to me now that we have nigela ;) dont get me wrong chef wan, i just don't see much of you on TV anymore. i guess you have so many other projects out there. whatever it is, you're my idol since i was a kid. =P

i wonder, besides the reason of teaching people baking raya cookies and cakes, is relieving hunger pangs another reason for the existence of Ramadan cooking shows? =P

2. baju raye.. got a few.. baju kurung and kebaye.. they were okay.. but it does not really matter to me. i guess after living for 24 years now, i do not see the point of getting new shoes, new this, new that during every shawal. what's the point? if it only costs you half your monthly allowance. i'd rather get new shoes or new clothes when i need them or when i have the extra cash. but things were different back then when i was a kid. obviously. =P i understand somehow, if i put myself in the place of the "me" years back, the "me" that insisted on new this, new that each year. people are just going with the groove, the hari raya mood, the whole idea of a new you di pagi raya.

3. duit raye.. got so little this year.. getting older means getting lesser duit raya.. and sooner or later, i won't be getting anymore of it.. sigh..

what's the criteria used to determine whether a person is liable for a duit raye? still schooling? small kids running around in diapers? children chasing after the chickens and ducks under their granny's house? those still drooling and sucking on milk bottles? sigh unfair! LOL

and what's the criteria to determine whether one is needed to give out duit raye? working? OLD? wrinkles and sagging skin? white hair? rich? have children or nephews/nieces? past 25 years of age? what? what? what?

4. homework.. yea i bet those in college and schools would have this same thing to think about during this raya break.. or you don't bother? HAHA.. well, i got things that i have to settle before i go back to class next monday.. oh.. there's a question that i have yet to ponder. when can malaysia provide free education to its people? in future post, insyaAllah, will discuss my thoughts..

5. trip back to KL.. dung! there are all sorts of people from different walks of life, from different job scope, different ways of traveling, different schedule, different number of cuti raye days, different temper and driving manners. i just hope the trip back this coming weekend would be a smooth one. please God.

6. kampung.. i miss penang so dearly.. i admit living in big towns like penang, i grew up not knowing much of kacau dodol, the making of lemang and how to weave ketupat.. apetah lagi meriam buluh, teng-teng, galah panjang, masak lodeh.. raya in penang is - ketupat instant, kuah kacang, spagethi/macaroni, tomato soup, nasik tomato, bunge api cap kucing tu main dalam gate rumah yang kiri kanan jiran cine, kuih raye sume beli.. but raya in penang, though different, in our own ways, we enjoyed it.. with friends, close friends, malay, chinese, indians.. God, i miss them, i do.. so dearly.. sigh

7. i think the raya spirit is dying as we grow older. it's all about stuffing yourself till you fall flat the night after. or worse with a bad tummy ache the next morning. we have to tune our mind set back to the right track. i wont say much as i am in the same boat as many.