I woke up this morning with a terrible headache.
And my body felt weak, due to the flu pill I took before I slept last night.
But then, I'm looking forward to a great Saturday.
Will be making my way to Singapore Expo with my love, to look for our honeymoon destination.
I'm not so picky actually, as long as I'm with Shahreil, who cares where we are right?
My parents had their honeymoon at East Coast Chalet (which my mum still grumbles about), and my p-i-l had theirs on a sampan. Hahahah.. (KIUT!)

Then, its buka posa time with Shahreil's kozens @ Amirah's Grill.
Then, I believe we will be watching a movie after that.
In the middle somewhere..I will try to trick Shahreil to go Geylang with me.
I know he hates Geylang, especially Ramadhan time.
But this is crucial ok, we still need that baju raya!

Last, a few observations I made this week:

a) Far from courteous and gracious people
I've been taking the MRT a lot this week, to go Tiong Baharu. It's been nice, cos for so long, I havent been cuci-ing mata on the train. Reminds me of NUS days. *sigh*
Anyway, I still can't believe those people who stands smack infront of the train door, wanting to get in, while knowing that those people inside to get out FIRST. I'm so DISGUSTED by their behaviour! AND we are not talking about children ok, it's the ADULTS we are talking about. And some of them well-groomed, in their high heels, solemn ties, briefcase in their hands. I stand there shaking my head, putting on my I'm-so-disgusted-with-you face, but of course, they are all too busy fighting for their seats and space to notice. I repeat, DISGUSTING!

b) Proud of your own culture/language
I have noticed for a long long time, and especially so when I started teaching. Orang Melayu ni, tak bangga ke jadi orang Melayu? When I was in sec school, most of my friends found it kental that I read the Malay novels.. So boring, they said. Well, too bad that your Malay marks sucks then. When I started teaching, its perplexing that students can even FAIL their Malay. 'Cikgu, I don't speak Malay at home lah..' (in their fake mat saleh accent) And when I asked about their English marks..its not even an A grade either. So, you are neither good in English nor in your own Mother Tongue. How sad.

It's sadder that when I wear baju kurung to school, my kids will cheekily say, 'Selamat Hari Raya or Cikgu, hari ni kan bukan hari Jumaat...' What? We can wear baju kurung ONLY on those days? It's sad that when there's concerts, Malay kids will be so excited to do their Missy Elliots and 50 cents and Maroon 5. Why not zapin or Abdullah Chik or dondang sayang? Is our own budaya so down there that it's embarassing for you? And you know what's the saddest? When I did a unit last semester with my Sec 2s on traditional Malay games.. they do not even know sapu2 ringgit, or bang selebu or enjit2 semut!

I'm not saying that you have to wear baju kurung EVERY day, or read Ahadiat Akashah's books (I bet you don't even know him) daily, or burn all your Nelly Furtado's CDs. I just hope that you will at least see the beauty of the Malay culture, and not be embarrased to embrace it.

I think, there's only so much the Malay Language teacher can do.
I hope, parents will do their part also.
Kalau bukan kita yang memartabatkan bangsa Melayu, siapa lagi kan?
Kalau tak, Hang Tuah's 'Takkan Melayu Hilang Di Dunia' will be so wrong...