"Once again, we come to the holiday season,
a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way,
by going to the mall of his choice." - Dave Barry

Tiba-tiba pada jam 5 pagi ini saya ada perasaan untuk menulis. It’s the last week of Ramadhan and whilst everyone else sibuk sama ada pulun beribadat atau pulun buat kuih raya atau pulun shopping, saya sibuk pulun bekerja. Come Friday morning, tatkala semua orang berebut balik kampung, I’d have to go to the Court for a Certificate of Urgency hearing; yeah, Raya or no Raya, legal problems never cease. Tiba-tiba telah complaint di sini. Sebenarnya mahu tulis tentang observasi saya sepanjang saya shopping untuk raya. Observasi konon. Nak membebel sebenarnya.

Di Johor Bahru, kami tiada Jalan TAR yang maha meriah itu. Tapi kami ada Plaza Angsana. Kanak-kanak STF pasti kenal tempat ini sebab ia adalah salah satu outing outlets kami. Why the teachers chose Angsana, itu saya kurang pasti, sebab Angsana sebenarnya tempat untuk makcik-makcik. Maybe that’s the point. Mereka tak mahu kami bergaul dengan kelompok remaja cool. Seperti di City Square. Ngeh. Ke mana kanak-kanak STF zaman sekarang outing, ya? Enlighten me, please. Well, sidetracked.

Mahu cerita, Angsana itu seperti beberapa kangkang kera saja dari rumah saya; so just imagine having Jalan TAR sebegitu hampir dengan rumah. Natijahnya? Traffic jam! Oh God, minggu-minggu terakhir ini terutamanya, the traffic has been so bad! Nak balik rumahpun susah. Geram betul. Not once saya ke situ walaupun begitu hampir; takut mahu berebut dengan keseluruhan kaum Melayu di Johor Bahru. Kah kah.

Walaupun lambakan Crocs tiruan itu ada di mana-mana, saya kagum sebab ketika Suami saya mahu membeli di butik Crocs di Jusco Tebrau, terlalu ramai manusia! Semua manusia yang appreciate Crocs asli walaupun harganya 2 hingga 3 kali ganda harga Crocs tiruan. I don’t know lah apa perbezaan tiruan dan asli tapi tentulah ada. I am pretty sure of that. Oh Crocs telah even changed their packaging; they used to bungkus the Crocs in a plastic bag kan, nowadays sudah ada Crocs canvas bag. Perhaps to distinguish dengan Crocs tiruan; atau mungkin juga they’re aiming to be earth-conscious sekarang.

I wanted to get myself another Alice in Ruby but all Crocs stores have discontinued the sale. Kalau mahu perlu beli online. Kenapalah they discontinue one of their prettiest, comfiest designs? Lily is close but not as cute. So I got myself a Clarks instead! Clarks over here is so expensive; my Husband tak habis-habis cakap, in UK boleh dapat for 50 pounds or less saja; should have just ordered from his brother yang tinggal in London. But 50 pounds itu, kalau convert to our Malaysian Ringgit yang menyedihkan, masih mahal. So beli sajalah di sini. But yeay! Walaupun memang tidak ranggi dan bergaya muda-mudi remaja, tapi kalian tahu kan, I’m the kind of girl who chooses comfort over style. Ngeh.

But I think they’re adorable. I love my kasut raya!

Geramlah. Sejak ledakan popularity tudung Ariani or better known as tudung Ekin, sudah kurang choices tudung bawal dan tudung Italy Donatella yang cantik. Kalau adapun, mahal. I don’t think that tudung Ariani suits my face. Orang lain pakai cantik, bila saya pakai, nampak macam pelakon sinetron Indonesia. And not in a good way. Huhu. Besides, I think they’re overpriced! I never spent more than RM60 for 1 tudung. My tudung usually costs RM25 to RM40. The one RM50 tudung bawal I have was bought by Ibu so that doesn’t count. And the one tudung Ariani I have that cost me RM60, saya beli sebab terpaksa pakai for one Firm event. So I decided to buy a good one; maybe I can use it for gym or jogging nanti. Uhuks. Konon.

Kedai perabot everywhere sangat on sale. Accompanied my in laws the other day cari new sofa for their house. Memang geramlah. Rasa nak get new sofa for our new place. Oh yeah, we’re moving after raya. The same building, just different unit. Senang kan pindah? Heh. Anyways, I think perabot from Homelife dan perabot seumpamanya sangat cantik. I was so in love with this one large L-shape sofa from Homelife; teringat-ingat sampai sekarang. Kalaulah dapat bonus. Sigh. How does it feel to make USD10 Million for merely an endorsement?! Damn you, Heidi Klum.

Oh yeah, my Firm did give out bonus but it was for 2008 service and since I only worked with the Firm for 3 months in 2008, maka tak dapatlah. Sedih rasa di hati. Hopefully next year’s Raya, dapatlah. But alhamdulillah for the increment. Sungguh syukur. Seronok betullah dengar di radio; hari-hari ada orang beritahu dapat 2 bulan bonuslah, 3 bulanlah. Mesti seronok boleh settle all debts and raya dengan tenang hati. Kah kah government-lah paling murah hati. RM500 for kakitangan sokongan? Pegawai tak kerja keras, is it?

Camera juga adalah sangat murah sekarang. If you have been thinking of getting yourself a compact camera, now is the time. I followed my friend cari camera today and I was surprised that a good Nikon Coolpix only costs RM599. Before tawar-menawar. Murahlah. But my desire for a good compact camera telah hilang sekarang sebab I think my N97 camera is adequate enough for now. For important events, we have our basic D40 DSLR.

I adore my phone. I do I do I do. Ngeee.

Speaking of which, my Little Brother’s rumah bujang got robbed today and he lost his precious camera bag; yang di dalamnya ada 1 D40, 1 D90, lens, flash and what not. Complete set! How heartbreaking is that?! Damn you, perompak! It’s Ramadhan, for God’s sake! Syaitan tak adapun boleh jahat lagi. Memang hardcore jahatlah maksudnya.

Di manalah D90 ini ketika ini? Kasihan dia. Sigh.

It seems that walaupun the economy is reportedly quite bad and what not, when it comes to Raya, Malays tak berkira sangat. Masih mahu beraya sakan. My dad cakap, my Maktok selalu pesan, macam mana susahpun, wajib belikan malah sehelai baju baru untuk anak-anak. And because my dad was brought up in such a loving, generous family, he is a natural giver. Jadi dari kecil saya tak pernah tak ada baju baru, malah berhelai-helai. Dan lebih seronok, sampai sekarang he will get new baju for me setiap kali raya. Kah kah. Comel betul, saya beli baju untuk dia dan keluarga, diapun beli baju untuk saya. Maktok passed sikap mulia itu to him and he passed it to me.

Anyways, we haven’t done with our shopping yet. Kah kah. Perangai macam budak-budak nak baju raya, kasut raya bagai. Wanted to buy Levi’s the other day but the store was so packed kami tak sanggup nak berebut dengan muda-mudi semua. Kah kah orang raya, beli kebaya, saya mahu Levi’s. it’s just that I don’t really beli barang di masa lain, rayalah time nak spend sikit. I’m quite stingy, ingat kan? Ngeh. And I want those bekas kuih from Metrojaya Living Quarters; they’re a bit pricey but pretty, tapi tak apalah, mahu juga! Beli sekali guna bertahun! Justification. Ngeh.

*UPDATED* Got the bekas kuih I wanted! Yeay!

I guess it’s a good thing-lah I didn’t get the bonus; kalau tidak, keseluruhan MJ Living Quarters itu akan kuborong. Kah kah. Perlu bersabar. Got to save up for pindah rumah and for another very important event. Not telling. Ngeh.

*UPDATED* Oh yes, we also finally succumbed to social pressure (kah kah) and went to Angsana at 12.30 last night. Managed to get Hubby's songkok tinggi warisan Johor (comellah songkok tinggi, he looks like a YB with it) and gasp! My Levi's! Yeay! Kagum kan dengan Angsana? Ia seperti tidak tidur!

So anyways, kawan-kawan, are you done with your Raya shopping?