Post Kenduri

The havoc has passed, and everyone had left. We had just dismantled the awning and moved the furniture back in place. The boys were still paying and Irfan especially had been asking when we would be back to Gombak. He wanted to watch Frozen the movie. Not tonight. Manchester United playing at 8 tonight.

Great that the maids helped us out with the washing and cleaning. We did the lifting and transporting the tables to surau and back.

I have selected the leftover to bring back home. That would be our dinner tonight. Too tired to go out to buy tandoori for the match, so you could blame me if United didn't win tonight.

Julia and her family just returned from their trip to Legoland and Sentosa. Looked like they had a great time. Don't think I could convince Anita to go since it involved rollercoaster rides.

Kenduri Done

The kenduri went very well. The weather held up even though it was drizzling just before Zohor. The main thing was, we ran out of food, and plenty of people turned up. Everybody was happy.

I started the day early leaving for Subang for my Sunday morning round. Then a quick stop at Park City before rushing back to Bukit Antarabangsa. I arrived back with plenty of time before the guest started arriving for the doa. That started at 11.

The ceremony started on time. It was for Idlan and his cousin Adam who would be having khatan - circumcision - next Wednesday. We recited Yasin and doa before lunch. And lunch was great. Most of the food were catered for, butyl cooked her famous gulai ikan kering. We also had extra laksa and cendol. Those addition were really nice.

We invited mostly relatives and neighbour. Plus a few of Idlan's schoolmates. Idlan didn't look worried about the whole affair so far. Hopefully he won't create a scene when the morning come.

At Mum's

For the Sunday kenduri, as planned, we packed up and leave for my Mum's place on Friday evening. We would be spending the weekend there. The boys seemed happy with that.

Clinic as usual for me this morning, and then we would be doing a bit of shopping in the afternoon. My Sister was still en route from their holidays in Singapore and would be joining us later in the evening. No doubt there would be more food tonight ....

We Caught Fire

We had the boys' regular Ustazah coming over to tutor the boys yesterday for a quick revision before their tajwid exam the next day. So what did myself and Anita do? We went out for a movie. We went to Catch Fire.

Catching Fire was the second instalment to the Hunger Games trilogy. All the familiar characters were back, plus some new ones. Since I read the books, I spent the hour before explaining the background to Anita, as I was sure the film wouldn't be able to do justice to the story. And I was glad that I did.

The main elements of the book were incorporated and the storyline stayed faithful to the book. Similar to the first film, the main strength of the film was the atmosphere. It really captured the doom and gloom of the oppression, while injecting elements of humanity. Too serious for my children actually. I don't think it was suitable for them yet.

The casting was near perfect, and the acting was just right. More subdued than what was described in the book despite some over-the-top scenes featuring the excellent Stanley Tucci.

The storyline flowed, and the two-and-a-half hour just flew by. There were a lot more which could be included but the story would be too long. Anita left the theatre with more questions and she couldn't wait for the final chapter. I heard that the last book would be split into two movies. They might just as well ...

I would definitely recommend the movie but it was best to observe the PG13 rating. It wasn't the scenes that were disturbing, but the actual story could be too bleak to stomach. Some parts of the story was just too depressing. Certainly the last part was a cliffhanger.

Plans for the Weekend

It would be a kenduri for Idlan this weekend at my Mum's place. The boy would have his bersunat - circumcision - next week, so we planned to have a gathering. The complication would be that I would be covering for a few colleagues. I would arrange for some cover during the time but I could imagine that I would have my hands full.

To make things simple, we planned to spend the weekend at my Mum's. That way Anita could help out and I would not have to rush through too many places.

So, we would be packing on Friday and leave after the boys were done with their Al Manaar exam. Looking forward to it ..