A gotong royong we will go

Blog 21 April 2007

Saturday.

Today started in the usual Saturday morning manner. We got up, got freshened up, argued over where to go for breakfast and went to the one that most agreed on. The difference today, Ira went for extra classes at school and I also went to school because there was a communal effort to clean up the school compound (a gotong-royong) as preparation for school sports next week.

I have to admit that this time I rather enjoyed it. I started by cleaning the base of the trees from parasites then moved on to cutting the mess of low branches of the many trees in the school compound. After that I helped to drag these branches to the pile and clean the area under the trees.

By 9.30 am we had a pile of branches, twigs and leaves about ten feet tall and, perhaps, fifteen feet in diameter, hiding the skip that was suppose to contain the pile.

We then went into high gear and decided to cut away the more dangerous branches of the trees while others worked on various areas that needed mending. For this one of the fathers there brought his chainsaw. We hacked off two branches that were danged and looked like they could be a danger. Each was about two to three feet in diameter. The chainsaw had to stop for minor repairs and adjustments three times before we were finished.

I think there is something innately satisfying about manual labour. By eleven, I was drenched in sweat, quite tired but enjoying the feeling very much. This kind of exercise beats jogging anytime, even weight training. In fact, I dare say that it feels better than martial art training.

After lunch, we went to my father-in-law's grave because the caretaker called yesterday to say that he has fixed the rehal. Rehal actually means 'holder'. The term is often commonly used to refer to two things: the folding table Quran holder we use when we sit on the floor to read it and the structure built to outline the grave. Its really a simple structure. You outline the grave with bricks then you build a box (only the sides) out of wood, marble or whatever material you like. Then you place the head and foot stone in the box. The purpose is to make the grave look nicer and make it easier to recognize. Ain chose to make the rehal out of Chengal wood which is a very hard wood. The caretaker said it should last about twenty years if not more which is why we need to have the brick as the foundation because if you place the rehal directly on the ground water would seep into it and rot it.

Tonight (its about 6.20 now) we are going out for dinner with Imah, One of Ain's best friends because the former is going to Mecca for Umrah soon. I think its also because they want to talk about Siti Maimunah, Ain's best friend who passed away about two weeks ago due to diabetic complications.

Anyway, I'll relate the dinner experience when I get back.

22 April 2007: the next day.

The dinner was relatively enjoyable. We went to a place called Chop and Steak in Kampung Baru. Its a place that mainly serves western food. I had chicken chop with black pepper sauce, as did Imah. Ain had chicken chop with mushroom sause, Ira had sizzling chicken rice (a Chinese dish) and Hanis had sizzling beef rice. We also ordered garlic bread with mushroom chicken soup. The dinner itself went smoothly but on the way back, Ain had a bad case of allergic reaction to something she ate. We went straight the restaurant to the clinic. She's okay today anyway.