The quest for buah tanjung

When I was a lot younger, my late father would spend Ramadhan afternoons driving all the way across KL to the Pasar Ramadhan in Datok Keramat to buy all kinds of kuih for the breaking of fast, but the two I remember the most are buah tanjung and jala mas. These golden yellow, syrupy sticky sweet morsels hail from Kelantan, and at the Datok Keramat market could be found in abundance. I'm not quite sure what goes into their making, but I believe it must be copiously unhealthy amounts of sugar and egg yolks.

The first time I attempted to fast was when I was six years old. My fasting would start in the morning like everyone else, but around noon I'd 'break' for lunch then resume fasting till Maghrib, when I'd be the first to gulp down the air sirap bandung. One day I decided to go all the way and fast like the grown ups. I felt so weak, and spent most of the day sleeping until it was time to go to Datok Keramat. My parents told me it was okay if I wanted to break my fast earlier, but I was adamant to prove I could do it. Even then I was hanging on to my parent's arm like a limp rag doll (I can't remember whether it was Mak or Ayah). Finally, at one of the stalls, they managed to coax a piece of buah tanjung into my mouth, after which I felt a whole lot better. I lasted till 6 pm that day.

Ramadhan always evokes memories of buah tanjung. It is not very common at the other PR (Pasar Ramadhans) I've been to. When I found out a restaurant near my mum's house was selling traditional Kelantan kuih like akok (akak?) and lompat tikam, I went to have a look but found no buah tanjung there.I guess people here just cannot take its high sugar content. Even my siblings don't seem to favour it much.

Being pregnant, of course, has its privileges. Hubby didn't put up a fuss when I suggested we go look for this rare delicacy. If Mak was around she'd say I was craving or mengidam for them.

Last Sunday we visited the Kampung Baru PR to try our luck. The first stall we approached on Jalan Raja Muda Musa had an array of kuih not seen elsewhere, so I was expectant. A thorough scan of the spread dashed my hopes. We tried the whole length of Jalan Raja Alang as well but to no avail.

Our final stop was the Datok Keramat market. As soon as I rounded the corner to enter, the whole place was familiar to me. The sun's rays cut across the stall shades at exactly the same angle, highlighting all the goodies the way I remember it in my mind's eye. The buah tanjung I found in a small round plastic container at the first stall on the right, the last pack left of its kind. I quickly grabbed it, worried that someone might snatch it away before I did. 9 tiny orange balls of sweetness.

We walked around the market a bit more, and I discovered how foolish I was in my haste. There were at least two more stalls selling buah tanjung and its eternal companion the jala mas. I bought a piece of jala mas - it was selling at RM1.50 a piece. It looks like roti jala but is yellow-orange and really sweet. Not as moist as the buah tanjung though, which is why I don't like it as much, but I felt a need to introduce my husband to its glory.

If I remember to, and if there are any left at home, I'll take a picture and put it up here. My reaction to all those pictures of sushi and sambal udang other people have on their blogs.

An Engineer's Lament

To simulate or calculate
Those two words I love to hate
Alas, such is an engineer's fate
It has been so since time pre-date.

The numbers give me great affliction
When I face a complex flow equation
Dear Lord I crave some stimulation
To face my job with more affection.

Each time I try to do it better
Than past attempts at which I falter
But I always end up up with a fever
Simulate and calculate? I shiver.

Work under Construction

Today my blog has gone through numerous costume changes, much like a song-and-dance sequence in a Hindi movie. I've finally settled for a Blogger template and am experimenting with the colours. This has taken up a good 2 manhours of my time, but I still managed to get my work done this morning, so I shouldn't punish myself (I just hope no one from the Project team reads this and recognises me).

I'm not done yet with the colour experiments so please bear with me. Comments and suggestions are most welcome. Bear in mind I don't know HTML, and have just today stumbled upon some very resourceful web pages on html colour codes. So no complex IT-geek speak, please. Discussions on flow instrument selection, on the other hand, will be well received.

Bosannya...

For the past two hours or so I've been alternating between updating my Instrument Design Criteria, looking up Industry standards and reading other people's blogs. I am beginning to get very bored with my own blog's look and am in the hunt for a new, free, Blogger-friendly skin. An online personality quiz I took earlier said my blog should be teal (or was it purple?).

I am also getting very bored with work. This morning I half-heartedly told my husband that I didn't feel like going to work, and he said simply "Then stay home. You can take Emergency Leave or something like that." But workaholic, perasan responsible me gave him a funny look that said 'Be serious'. I should have just listened to him like any good Muslim wife would and took his advice.

As it is, I'm leaving the office early tomorrow to send Mak off for her umrah. I wish I was in her position to just take off and leave whenever and wherever I feel like it. This year alone, I think she's already been to Egypt, Moscow, St Petersburg and Surabaya. South Africa's on the list for next year. Of course, she gets a special deal from the travel agent for helping to organise the group of 20-30 middle-aged ladies who go on these trips, which is not a situation I'd like to be in. I'd enjoy the places they go to, but I'd want to go at my own pace, and I'm terrible at travelling with company. The last real holiday I went to was with my sister Ain to Bali back in 2001, and that was because the planned package to Spain, Portugal and Moscow got cancelled (the middle-aged ladies panicked from the Sept 11 incident, hence my current apprehension for joining them on any other holiday). My honeymoon doesn't really count because there was no sightseeing involved.

Hubby and I were talking about flying off to see Angkor Wat for the weekend, or a jaunt in Vietnam. Anywhere we can get to on a cheap Air Asia ticket. But in my condition now it doesn't seem very favourable. So I'll just have to look forward to Hari Raya in Alor Setar.

And get off my lazy bum to do my Zuhur prayers now.

Technologically impaired

I really need to get myself a supergadget - one that can make and receive phone calls, organise my life, remind me where I put my house keys and allow me to blog from whenever wherever. I keep mentally composing blog entries in the car, in bed, when I'm playing with Nuaim, sometimes even in the lift. Unfortunately I don't have a Wifi-Bluetooth PDA with a full QWERTY keyboard that would make mobile blogging a reality for me. Heck, I don't even have a mobile phone now!

Hubby's trusty 3310 finally went dead on him, and because I received a bigger bonus than he did this year he's taken ownership of my 3315 and left me phoneless. I've been going on about getting the 3G A1000 for ages, but I just haven't found an outlet that actually sells one (I haven't really been looking, I know). Besides, no one else I know uses 3G, so who can I actually have a teleconference with? And the one time I attended a Maxis 3G demo on live traffic video, the camera feed didn't come through.

So my supergadget would have all these features:

1. Access to my documents, spreadsheets and pdf files (really handy when I need to attend FAT)
2. Web access for blogging
3. Bluetooth connectivity so I can sync to my laptop wirelessly
4. IrDA so I can sync to my other laptop wirelessly (I've never tried this myself actually)
5. Camera - optional
6. Full QWERTY keyboard - or a foldable Bluetooth one that I can connect to wirelessly

Mp3s, radio and all that stuff I don't really need.

Now, is someone kind enough to read this and buy it for me as a pre-Hari Raya gift?

Marhaban Ya Ramadhan...

It's the fasting month again, and I'm trying very hard to stay focused at work. Obviously I'm not because I'm blogging right now, but I deserve a break after facing the PC for almost 5 hours non-stop, right?

As usual every Ramadhan I plan to attend the Terawih prayers and read the whole Qur'an. I think I'm already on the road to failure on both counts. The first time I attended Terawih at the mosque on the eve of Ramadhan, I was so sleepy that the patterns on the sejadah in front of me were dancing around and taking different shapes altogether. It's even possible that I was asleep with my eyes open! I could barely finish the 20 rakaat prayer that night. The second night I skipped due to a headache, and last night I only did 8 and waited for my family to complete the full set. And I haven't even started the Qur'an yet - my youngest sister has already read 4 juzuk!

The good thing about the fasting month is that we're allowed to leave the office by 4 pm. Of course, we're encouraged come in early and work through lunch, but who really checks? Besides, I still have last month's hours to make up for, the days when I sauntered in at 8.45 and still had the gall to leave at 5 pm sharp. Since Ramadhan started I've managed to make it here by 7.30 a.m. so that should more or less cover up for the lost time.

I really need to go to the shops and run some errands for Mak right now. She's going for Umrah on the 12th - that's a day before my sister's 21st birthday - and she asked me to get a battery for her free-issue Tabung Haji watch and a thermos flask. I bought the flask a couple of days ago at Parkson Grand, then discovered in their in-store magazine that I'm entitled to a free pouch and the flask should've cost about RM 14 less, so I plan to assert my consumer rights and politely demand that they provide me with said items.

Maybe I should buy a small Qur'an at Kinokuniya as well, so I can start reading at the office during my 'lunch' breaks. I've got a lot of catching up to do.

To all Muslim readers, Have a Blessed Ramadhan!

The World's Shortest Personality test

Your Personality Profile

You are pure, moral, and adaptable. You tend to blend into your surroundings. Shy on the outside, you're outspoken to your friends. You believe that you live a virtuous life... And you tend to judge others with a harsh eye. As a result, people tend to crave your approval.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Got here from browsing through other people's blogs. Lots of interesting stuff, some familiar and some new. Try it out for yourself.

I don't quite agree with the description though.