Week ending 26/11/2006

I hate it that the PTB (powers that be) have suddenly decided to ban blogspot and most of the other blogging web providers. i find that my thoughts seem to be flowing that wee bit better in the mornings.... bila dah malam timbul rasa nak releks je and any thoughts of venting or ranting just seem too tiring and energy consuming lol.

I still havent gotten back to the activity level that i want to be. of course ramadhan brought along with it an anticipated break in rhythm but the almost never ending fiesta that inevitably follows in ts wake is something most of us can do without. i dunno, we humans somehow have this natural talent for corrupting and desecrating anything thats remotely beautiful. take ramadhan for example, for one solid month we tout the virtues & wonders of fasting, abstinence and empathy with the poor & those less fortunate than us. then comes syawal and we're suddenly struck by a frenzy of eating, drinking and being merry and it goes on, with a vengeance, for the rest of the month. in some twisted & convoluted way we seem to be declaring to one and all, to hell with the fasting, the abstinence & the poor. that was just for ramadhan and this is reality.

Sigh. i've always wanted to vent about how syawal should stay as bulan ber'maaf2an' instead of evolving into bulan ber'makan2an' (such a word doesnt exist but you know what i mean). i think one of the major culprit is the newly adapted phenomenon of 'open houses'. out of convenience rather than necessity, city folks who had previously returned to their hometowns for eid, 'open' their houses so to speak at a certain date and time so that the joyous occasion can also be shared with neighbours & friends. the logic being, instead of having people drop by unexpectedly, it only made sense to invite them all in one go..... and of course once you invite people over you do the decent thing and provide them with enough food & drinks.

There are many who, like me, still prefer to leave the invitation open but judging from the number of invitations that i get come syawal, open houses have certainly come into its own and is a resounding success. the hosts are happy, the friends are happy, everybody's happy happy and its certainly a good thing. its just unfortunate that during the unfolding of this phenomenon, too much importance have been placed onto the merry making, the eating & drinking; so much so that it's somehow become the main focus. the shift has been gradual but unmistakable. tell me, what's the first thing that comes into your head when a friend calls that he/she's coming over? surely its 'la apa nak jamu diorang ni ya?' or something to that same effect isnt it? because societal expectation has been raised and the situation has evolved beyond the customary 'kueh raya' into the realms of providing something 'heavier' and more substantial. It shouldnt be our first consideration. both sides should focus on the 'bermaaf2an' part and propogating friendship & ukhwah. if by chance there's also fried mee or currypuffs then alhamdulillah syukur nikmat Allah :)

Now back to discussing my running.... certainly a long and winding road lol. midlife brings with it a certain tendency to be easily distracted. yes its been 2 months and sadly, i'm slowly moosying on back to my regular schedule. i have to squeeze in more of the morning runs because in the evenings, i've started taking my litlle girl briskwalking along the track. yup, taking full advantage of the school holidays and her burgeoning awareness of the state of her own body. heh, before long i'll be getting meself a new running buddy ( i hope).