The day has finally come. It’s August the 2nd and I’m officially 25. Dreadful, really, coz I still haven’t made any progress in my life (read: get a decent job *sigh*). And you know what's SUCKS? my simcard is blocked eversince krishna entered the wrong PIN over and over again. So its my birthDAY n i cant receive calls n sms from my friends. Suck, suck, suckitysuck.
Well lets not ruin the moment, its time for: NEW AGE RESOLUTIONs!
1. Get a decent job. (d’uh..)
2. Exercise more often
3. get on wit the program (AutoCad, 3D n Driving lessons)
4. Less outcome, more income, PLEASE
5. be a bit more religious
The last one was probably an aftereffect of my last journey to Mecca for UMRA. See, Krish’s mom invited me to join her mini-group of 4 (krish, tante ike, ario n herself) for Umra (its UMROH in bahasa), 23-31 July ’06. So off we go, with an addition of 2 people (an elderly male with his son-in-law. Funny man, really).
The trip wasn’t that bad, aside from the weather (it’s a grueling 50C) and the non-stop shopping trip. K’s mom gave a new meaning of Shop-‘till-you-drop. I mean, I love shopping, I really do, but to go to a mall in a suburban area of Mecca by cab at 10pm til 12 n woke up at 3am for a tahajjud @the mosque, it was more than I could handle. Sleeping is a privilege, I tell ya.
Of course I’d be more than happy to join her if it wasn’t for the cash I had left in my possession (SR 16 only -or US$5-, thank you very much.).
Stories! Lest see..
1. Rio lost his sandals @Masjidil Haram
2. followed by Krishna two days later
3. What kind of God’s creature would stole sandals on a –supposedly- holiest place on earth?
4. but then again, I got 5 female robbers stole my PDA at the same holy place two years ago
5. I finally got a chance to pray @these “Multazam” (sacred) place, around the Ka’bah, n kissed the infamous Hajar Aswad.
6. Speaking of Ka’bah, I cried when I touched it. It felt so real, n I felt so small.
7. I saw the footprints of Nabi Ibrahim(?). It’s smaller than I thought.
8. We went to Jabal Magnet (Magnet Mountain). It’s basically a rock mountain in a deserted desert (rhymes!), and it has an unbelievable gravity. At a certain point, the driver put d car on ‘Neutral’, release the gas pedal, n the car moved by itself for 120km/hour. Amazing.
9. went to Jabal Rahmah (they said it’s a perfect place to pray for your soulmate to come. The Monument was full of writings. I’m not a fan of vandalism so I told K not to write my name there. *stern look*)
10. We all got chapped lips, feet n face. The weather was inhuman. I poured a glass of water on my shirt n it dried in less than 5 minutes.
11. I bought an Indonesian Translated Holy Qur’An straight from the production place for SR 31. Worth d price, considering its value.
12. There’s a small Starbucks shop outside of Masjid Nabawi @Madinnah. I got meself a good ol caramel ice blended. Oh and they had a different logo. They got rid of the women and kept the crown on the logo. Sumtin to do with their policy concerning women and commercials?
13. Rio was a huge gay-magnet for Arabian males.
14. the hotel we stayed in @Jeddah (the Holiday Inn) is soooo 70s! I got d pics! Check ‘em out!
ANYWAY, here’s an interesting bits n pieces I’ve gathered during my trip. Enjoy d pics!
ps: thanks a bunch for my prescious friends who called (home number / esia) and or texted me to say happy bday.. it means a lot to me.. thankyouuuu =)
