MUST WATCH LIST

JOSEPH

The title says 'Joseph'. And I'm not talking about a guy whom I just met, or any relative or friend who goes by that name. This is a name that was shared by 2 important figures from the Bible, but again I'm not attempting to appear religious or pious. As I am doing my class record work here, this name appeared in my head and I keep on thinking about this name on and on.

I'm not a Bible expert nor am I the enthusiastic History freak, but I do like to know things that occurred in the past.

The Joseph that I want to talk about would be the Joseph son of Jacob (from the Old Testament, the book of Genesis) and Joseph the Carpenter, the saint who took care of The Virgin Mary and Jesus. To start, what do these two men had in common? First of all, they were mentioned in the Bible (duh!). Secondly, their faith in God (okay, I know, slightly cheezy!). But what I like about these 2 men is that both were associated with dreams. Joseph (who later adopted the name Zaphenathpaneah when he served the Pharaoh) was what Jacob and his wife Rachel called "miracle child". Rachel was thought a barren woman previously and it was an unexpected pregnancy when she and Jacob begat Joseph, especially when Jacob was old enough to be Joseph's grandfather. Jacob had 11 sons before his marriage to Rachel. Jealousy among the older brothers caused the young Joseph to be sold to slave traders; the price that he had to pay for telling his brothers about his dreams:

"...He said to them, "Listen to this dream that I dreamed. There were we binding sheaves in the field, Suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright; then your sheaves gathered around it, and bowed down to my sheaf." (Genesis 37: 6-7)

When Joseph was imprisoned after Zuleikha, wife of his master Potiphar, accused him of trying to rape her , he met the other two prisoners. Both told him of their dreams, the first one, a former royal butler, dreamed that he was at a vineyard full of healthy grapes on three branches and served the Pharaoh wine from the vineyard. Joseph interpreted his dream saying that he (the butler) will be summoned back to the palace in 3 days time to serve the Pharaoh. The other prisoner told his; he was a chief baker that served in the royal palace. He dreamed that he was carrying three cake baskets on his head and birds swarmed over him and ate the cakes. Joseph refused to answer but the baker persuaded him to interpret his dream. Joseph reluctantly told him that he was to be sentenced to death in 3 days time and the birds will be feasting on his corpse. The prediction came true 3 days later, but Joseph spent another couple of years in the dungeon. When the Pharaoh was troubled by his own dream, the royal butler remembered Joseph and told the Pharaoh about Joseph's gift of interpreting dreams. Joseph was summoned to the palace later. The Pharaoh dreamed that as he was standing by the river Nile, he saw 7 healthy fat cows feeding on grass by the riverbank. Suddenly another 7 sickly thin cows surfaced and ate the 7 fat ones but remained thin like before. Then the other dream he had; he saw 7 ears of fine and healthy grain on one stalk, and then 7 ears of thin ones blighted by the east wind, swallowed the fat grains. Joseph, who was a man of God, claimed that what would be coming out from his lips are God's words. So he told the Pharaoh that Egypt will have 7 years of great plenty all over the land and the other 7 years would witness great famine throughout Egypt. Pharaoh made Joseph a governor in Egypt.

The other Joseph, the carpenter, also a son of man named Jacob the son of Mathan, descendant of the King David. This man, was betrothed to a young virgin named Mary, the only daughter of Joachim and Anne. Mary, whom Catholics believe, was born without the original sin committed by Adam and Eve, miraculously conceived a child that was destined to be the Messiah. Joseph was shocked as he knew that he never touched his wife-to-be and he doubted the child was his. He even thought that Mary betrayed his trust. So when he tried to leave her, an angel came into his dream:

"..An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1: 20-21)

When Herod the King of the Jews ordered all the infants in Jerusalem to be killed for he feared the child whom the 3 Magis claimed would be a king one day, an angel appeared once more to Joseph in his dream, asking him to bring his little family to Egypt. Joseph, the Virgin and the Child spent several years in Egypt and when Herod died, the angel appeared again in his dream, telling him it was safe to come back and they settled down in Nazareth.

My point here is that, these two Josephs believed in dreams that guided them to their destiny in life. One of my favorite authors, Paulo Coelho, wrote about Joseph the Carpenter in one of the fractions in his work "Like the Flowing River” under the title 'The Man Who Followed His Dreams'. He wrote:

"Joseph goes against what common sense tells him what to do and follows his dreams. He knows he has a destiny to fulfill."

I believe I am quite a dreamer myself and I do know that dreams that keep a person feels driven to make his or her life better. So dream good and great dreams, my friends!

Eight is ONG what??

Yes, that's the number. The lucky number EIGHT! 8 months ago, my last post was written after the Eid trip to Batu Pahat. Within 8 months too many things have occurred, and I must congratulate myself for 're-surfacing' from quite a period of hiatus. Hello blogging world AGAIN!

To begin with, I'm currently in my break period from studies and am enjoying my work as children drama instructor in various schools around Klang Valley. It was tough at first, especially in terms of financial, but I'm thankful as things got better all along.

In the midst of joy working with kids, I went through phases that is in knowing myself during this holiday. Realizing true friends, or the ones who basically just want to "use" me for their own good. It's pretty daunting you know!

RAYA ALA JAWA

Bertandang ke rumah Nyi (nenek).

Halwa Maskat, macam dodol tapi lagi susah prosesnya dari dodol. Sedap!

Anak-anak bermaafan dengan ibu bapa.

Ayam masak merah masakan istimewa Ibu di pagi Syawal.

Ayah Ajis dan Ibu Ayit saling bermaafan. Lovely couple!

Munjung, adat orang Jawa yang beragama Islam di Johor.

Kegemaranku di musim lebaran...Kuih Batang Buruk! Terbaik dari Batu Pahat buatan Ibu Ayit (Jack)

Pelita cahaya kemenangan!

Rezeki Aidilfitri...masih aku tak sangka..aku layak lagi rupanya!

Aku dan zaman bachelors degree

Teringat mesej Facebook dari mak aku hari tu. Berkenaan dengan niat aku yang hendak berehat sebentar dari pengajian. Katanya, bapak aku bengang hingga mengeluarkan statement: Baik graduate masa umur 51 tahun!

Usia begitu krusial (crucial lah) sekali bagi sesetengah orang ya. Aku begitu kagum. Sebenarnya, aku sendiri tak pernah rasa yang diri aku ni seimbang dengan usia aku. Entah, bukan aku tak sedar diri, walau hakikatnya itu memang perangai orang tak sedar diri. Bukan nak perasan, minggu lalu aku bertandang ke rumah sahabat merangkum senior aku di fakulti di Bukit Kuching, di Meru rasanya. Adik-beradiknya tanya usia aku, aku dengan jujur membongkar usia sebenar (tidak perlu ku nyatakan di sini). Dengan selamba jawapan yang keluar daripada salah seorang adiknya: "(Kepada abang yakni sahabatku tadi) Apasal ko lagi nampak tua daripada dia?" Aku dan sahabat aku tu lebih kurang sebaya. Bukan salah sesiapa. Anugerah yang Esa. Cewah!

Aku terkenang balik zaman diploma aku dulu. Betapa kejamnya aku terhadap rakan-rakan. Aku dapat rasakan bahawa aku persis Adolf Hitler dalam jelmaan jasad seorang gadis comel. Ini kerana aku berjuang demi menebus balik kesalahan aku semasa aku bergelar siswazah jurusan pendidikan major TESL dulu. Aku sanggup berbuat apa sahaja demi merebut semula apa yang aku abaikan masa di fakulti lama. Semasa aku menerima skrol diploma di majlis konvokesyen 3 bulan yang lalu, aku sedar kekejaman aku dahulu.

Sekarang aku merasakan aku telah menjadi diri aku semula. Seolah-olah aku tak pedulikan hal di sekeliling aku. Kepekaan aku terhadap sesetengah perkara itu masih lagi sebati dalam diri aku cuma aku dah tak 'baik hati' macam diri aku masa zaman diploma. Zaman ijazah ini betul-betul memberi peluang untuk aku menjadi diri sebenar; seorang pejuang yang memberontak dan punyai pendirian yang sukar diduga. Akulah taufan gila dan akulah seniwati sewel yang tahu hidup ini cuma seketika untuk dinikmati.

I DON'T CARE. I JUST WANT TO BE HAPPY. SO BE IT!

Saya tak pernah hilang!

Lebih dari 5 bulan primadonna yang sorang ni tak menjenguk blognya. 15 Mac 2010. Tarikh yang tidak akan aku lupakan sampai bila-bila. Hari tersebut tanpa kami warga fakulti sedari, saat seorang ahli keluarga kami pergi menghadap Ilahi. Allahyarham Firdaus Mazlan, pelajar tahun akhir jurusan pengurusan industri seni meninggalkan kami buat selama-lamanya pada 16 Mac 2010. Padahal malam sebelumnya arwah sempat lagi menulis di halaman blognya. 15 Mac 2010 tidakakan pernah luput dari memoriku.

Aku ingin berceloteh panjang tentang apa yang telah berlaku sepanjang lima bulan ketiadaan aku dalam halaman blog ini. Mungkin aku akan menulis dengan lebih lanjut lagi dalam post yang akan datang. Aku sebenarnya sibuk dengan pelbagai aktiviti dan projek di fakulti dan di luar kampus. Oh ya! Aku kini mempunyai pekerjaan sambilan, iaitu pembantu guru drama di bawah syarikat Blubricks milik Puan Katrina Lau Wai Ping, seorang guru drama yang sangat dedikasi dan baik hati.

Jumpa di post yang akan datang. Ingat ya, SAYA TAK PERNAH HILANG!

Catatan Mencuit Hati dari Arwah Yasmin Ahmad dan Arif Sebol

Arwah Yasmin mencatat:

Eleh!

You tu memang gitu.

Kejap nak,kejap tak nak.

Takut I sentuh,takut I tak sentuh.

Bila I chakap hello,you mengeluh.

Bila I chakap bye-bye,you berserabai.

Sudahlah.I dah malas.

Tak de masa.

Banyak kerja lain.

Banyak mata lain yang gian nak ber-tango dengan mata I.

Banyak lidah lain yang hauskan bibir I.

Bibir I yang tebal tak tebal,

nipis tak nipis.

Senyum atau chemik,sentiasa manis.

Bibir yang basah

berginchu merah,cherah secherah-cherahnya.

Bayangkan,seperti yang you pernah bayangkan.

Bibir I, di bibir you.

Bibir I, di telinga you.

Di leher you.

Di dada you.

Di perut you.

Di pusat you.

Di peha you.

Di sana you

dan di situ you.

Bayangkanlah.

Jangan malu-malu.

Bukan I tak tahu.

Memang you pernah bayangkan dulu.

Eleh!

You tu memang gitu.

Dah tahu, buat tak tahu..

Stevie pula menjawab:

Tolonglah!

You memang macham tu

You ingat I tak tau

You nak lebih satu

Bila I pandang you

You pandang ke lain

You ingat I tak tau

You pandang dalam kain

Bila I nak pegang

You chakap

I mengada-ngada

You tak bagi I pandang

I tau you sengaja

Bila I kepit

You kata tak sempit

I duduk diam-diam

You kata tak ngam

I duduk kat atas

You pula malas

Tolonglah!

You memang macham tu

Suka buat I malu

Sampai tersipu-sipu

I geram kat you

Tapi I sayang you

You main chenta dengan I

Tapi now kata bye-bye

Rumah kata pergi

Kubur kata mari

Sampai bila nak macham ni?

Nak tunggu I mati?

Tolonglah!I dah lama bosan

Muka you tak ada perasaan

I bilang satu, dua, tiga

Kalau you maseh ada

From now on I dah tak ada!

You all bacha

I tak kesah

Bukan nak mengata

Cuma terlebih kata...

Stevie adalah sahabat yang baru aku kenali awal tahun ni, a very thoughtful and kind person. You guys can check out his cool blog here.