1. Birth name Juliana Suryani binti Abdul Rahim . ……
aka “ kak Juli” to most people……
”kakak” to my siblings…..
“Juliana” , “Nana” or “kakak koko” to my childhood frens in Kedah…
”Along” to my nieces n nephews….
“Sepi” to my sister’s Indon maid (???)
”Juliana Suryani anak suria cucu tok ani” (tu dia!!) to my childhood neighbour
“Ju” to most people in Kemaman…..
”ibu” to my 3 kids….
2. Eldest in a family of 7 kids…..Born in Alor Setar GH & raised in Jitra, Kedah . Lived in 290,Jalan Masjid with parents (both cikgus), grandparents(grandpa retired police), siblings and 2 cousins…..all 13 of us lived comfortably in a 5 bedroom one bathroom half batu half papan double storey house…how nice…I can only dream of having this extended family life now…….
3. Since babyhood I sleep with my grandma @ tok until she passed on….
4. Grandparents always been the anchor of the family, parents out working, tok cooked all meals from breakfast to dinner (back then in the 70’s goreng pisang pun kena buat sendiri) , cousins (much older than me) helped with house cleaning and babysitting…grandpa raised chickens (I didn’t eat chicken back then, they were pets ,not food!) and managed a sawah padi (quite a distance from where we lived) and maintained his small backyard orchard of petai, rambutan, durian and manggis trees…also landscaping around the house….roses, orchids, bunga cina, jasmine, kenanga…….I owe every skill I know to my grandparents……they are my true idols!!
5. Around 5 to 7 yrs old I used to follow grandpa to the mosque on his bicycle for Maghrib and Isya’ mass…I didn’t pray , only listened to the prayers while patiently waiting for him at the mosque corridor….Can’t forget the scent of his minyak attar and how he skillfully lilit his serban...he3…at times I wished I were a boy so I can dress like him and join the atuks praying…( confirm ada identity crisis masa ni…heee)
6. Always amazed by my grandpa’s neat wardrobe…despite all the attires that he always receive from his frens and family,he kept only two sets of baju Melayu, two batik shirts and pants and two jubbahs which he wore during the two hari raya celebrations….(he usually distributed his clothes to his bendang workers )..now i understand the true meaning of "less is more..."
7. At the end of each rice harvest season, my grandparents always bring me and my 2 other adiks traveling…..got my first airplane ride experience in 1980 to Kota Bharu….We also get to go Singapore, Penang, KL….night train rides were fun too…visiting relatives or simply makan angin….syiok!
8. Lately always thinking about my glorious childhood activities back in Kedah where every evening I used to play ‘tuju kasut” , “police entry” , “datuk harimau”, “lompat tinggi” , “batu tujuh” with frens …boys and girls….Sabarina , Biyah, kak Not, Gee, Shah,Nae, K Nayah, K Ida, K Ina …..we were all soooo ecstatically happy then….
9. Still a vivid childhood memory, “stealing” tok’s food strainer (penapeh) and smuggling to mengaji Quran class sebab after class nak ikut the boys and my partner in crime, Babuni, to go tangkap anak udang kat tali air bendang (maybe only Kedahans are familiar with this, whenever they pumped out the water from the sawah back to the irrigation system to let the padi masak, it’s a fiesta for kids to catch anything that came out with the water rush!)
10. When I was small always had recurring nightmares of being chased by a buffalo (kerbau) in a bendang setting... Nowadays don’t remember having any dreams at all…
11. During weekends I woke up 5am to go jogging / walking while picking water lily and lotus flowers along the sawah padi with my grandpa , adiks and best friend /neighbour , kak Not ……..still remember the magnificent picturesque view of sunrise and inhaling realllly fresh morning air at the sawah ……
(Kak Not is arwah Norlaili Osman…she passed away of cancer 11 yrs ago at age 30)
12. Despite all my fond memories related to sawah padi, I still haven’t had the experience of actually planting a rice tree…he3….takut lintah …!! I only stepped into the sawah when it’s dry / harvest season).This could be added to my to do list in the future…hope its not too late!
13. I am tone deaf and failed miserably in the singing department, but still remember playing ‘impersonation of artists” with my sis and our superstar Kak Nayah (Liyana Ishak , now with Bank Negara) my highly talented neighbor who used to impersonate Sharifah Aini and Uji Rashid in singing or acting…she’s the best! Sometimes we became “Boney M’ or ABBA….those days…..heeeee
14. I took a few weeks of organ lessons in primary school , I guess challenged by my sister’s high flying talent in music. …and my cousin , Kak Siti had to send me on her bicycle of course….but parents finally accepted the fact that I’m melodically handicapped…can’t remember a note…...would rather cangkul tanah or conteng dinding….he3..I have the highest respect to people who are musically gifted…singing or playing any musical instruments…tabik springggg!
15. Another memorable childhood activity back then was playing “masak2 “ where my grandpa’s pudding trees were victimized by us to prepare our colorful ‘dishes”……still remember the scent of the sliced leaves….and the sting from the cut on my finger….ouch! The same 5 cent blade was also used to carve my “art work” on the house dinding and lantai papan….and a few unfortunate tree trunks…..the beginning of my artistic career…he3
16. During standard 6 I belonged to a group of kamceng buddies ….Ani, Ta, Nita , Eny , Khodat, Dek Yah and Mas (did I miss anyone??)….we were classmates and school dance team…..who sometimes played Sherlock Homes @ private investigator……we usually lepak at school after tuition class and talk about girl things , “period”, puberty, jerawat…all naive and innocent….somehow we were not boy crazy at all, unlike some 12yr olds nowadays….
17. One evening while we were playing “sepak bulu ayam” (biasa budak lelaki je main ni…) I accidentally stepped on the nail …! Couldn’t remember who pulled the nail out of my tapak kaki but we all went to the clinic together…. Bicycle convoy!
18. Mas is my bestest fren and thanx to her we never lost touch since we were 6 yrs old until today….! I never thank you enough , Mas….you’re the best!
19. The last day of primary school…. I was the last one to receive my offer letter to boarding school….TKC….an all girls school(???) I was numb for about an hour …then cried miserably to separate from my kamceng buddies….never thought I would have to be so far away from my family and frens …uhuk….the end of my childhood days in Kedah…felt like the end of the world….I wasn’t at all ready for this ……!!
20. First day in TKC was the scariest day of my life !The seniors seemed all gigantic and boisterous!! I felt homesick the minute I stepped into the school ground….constantly thinking of changing school back to Kedah, somehow persevered the first year…and later glad that I stayed on until the end…Those 5 years were the best times of my life!! Also had another group of kamceng buddies whom i miss a lot..you know who you are gurls:-)
21. The next phase of my life were KPP and US days….lots of memories , met lots of wonderful people (am glad that we’re now reconnected thru facebook)…..and not so wonderful people too..he he….therefore don’t feel like elaborating much further.
22. I graduated from OU in Spring 1993, landed my first job as trainee architect in Langkawi, then KL,yada yada yada ....then in 1997 married a “Ganu Kite” chap and moved to Kemaman Terengganu for a new beginning .
23. Dream of having many children and re-live my childhood life with an extended family like I had before..…however, God has other plans for me….
24. Granted with 3 wonderful kids and one understanding husband , living a simple kampong life in a small 3 bedroom house we call HOME...and reaching the age 40....phew... I have nothing to complaint about.....
25. By the way, my late grandparents never get to see me even finish secondary school ,or graduate, or get married or have my babies …..They both passed on in 1985 .Arwah tok passed on at home one evening after 4 yrs of cancer and my grandpa passed on the morning after in KLGH… of stroke. Such a rare incidence that we had two burial ceremonies 2 days in a row…….May Allah bless their beautiful souls….ameen.
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