the one where i have to draw the line and slap myself umpteen times in order to achieve it

for the 1st time in ramadhan this year, her royal highness will be breaking her fast away from home tonight. not that i totally shun breaking fast outside. i was never one to begin with. i recall i am someone one who liked to break fast outside, trying food at different joints, continued with shopping or just window shopping after that and all that jazz. back to now, when i have to think about where to perform solat maghrib and maybe age is catching up fast with me…nowadays i get tired very easily. i have to face it, i am not that agile as i used to be.

i will be 31 next month. now, that is not exactly when one will call the ageing phase does it? but yet again, 31 is no longer a youthful era or is it?

the real deal is actually, that big aussie boss of mine is back in singapore and he has asked for a get together dinner tonight with the rest of the team. so my manager, realising how “cerewet” and “selective” i have become over the years when it comes to food, has enstrusted me to make the dinner arrangements. trust me, it has not been easy, really.

initially i got flaks like
“but g, last time u also got eat there wat”
or
“but that restaurant doesn’t serve pork but not halal certified lah”
or
“never mind, we don’t select menus which got pork lah, we can settle for chicken, beef or veggie”

yeah, i should just slap myself there and then. like I’ve said in my previous entry, we are our own walking contradictions. we are the cause of misconceptions. it can never be any truer than that. yes, i have misled them. most shameful thing is, i have misled myself. and now i am facing the music, tasting my own bitter medicine. i have persevered since, and alhamdulillah they begin to understand and nowadays should there be any makan sessions, they will consult me first before making any reservations. or better yet, i will be more than happy to make the reservations for i can be sure that all criterias are met.

so back to tonight makan session, i enlisted few options for him, in the order of my own preference (hehehe…aku yang in charge per..ikot selera oden laaa) – carousel @ royal plaza on scotts, straits kitchen @ grand hyatt, kintamani @ furama, sofra and samar.

“i leave it to you G, you decide okay”….sesungguhnyer itulah jawapan yang ku nanti nantikan wahai tuan manager. aper lagik, i called the reservation lines but too bad – carousel & straits kitchen fully booked. next bet, kintamani which alhamdulillah dapat. so indonesian cuisine it is!
ok, settled the makan part…maghrib nanti camner pulak?

fyi, all the restaurants which i’ve contacted do have prayers rooms prepared for by the hotels. so there. no worries frens. we can still be in society, mixing with people of different races and cultures while keeping our Islamic obligatory duties intact at the same time. bak kater pepatah,

dunia pun nak, akhirat pun nak….

all it takes is a little bit of arrangement and common sense. i guess should there be no prayer room provided by the hotel, then find out the nearest mosque in the area.
99 out of 100, i am sure there is a mosque in the vicinity.

the least you can do is try