wishes for SERI

May 31st 1969 - it's my sisters's birthday today. Happy birthday Kak Ei!



The name is Saniah - but i call her Ei. i am the only one in the family who calls her by that name. tak tahu camana boleh mula, tapi since kami dua orang memang rapat (she is sister no. 7 and i am daughter no.8 ) and sentiasa bersama, that name memang lekat. the rest in the family call her Yah. the younger generations call her Seri. and she wants Along's son, Fird to call her Datuk Seri, hehe.. masa kecik, nama gelarannya "jambu penawar", bcoz bila dia nangis, her nose will be so pink and red like jambu air yang warna merah tu.

Apa yang unique about her? she is the only girl in the family who didn't go to ZS (zainab school) masa primary school. why? haha... ada ceritanya. when she was in standard one, we still lives in Kg Salor, and she and 2 other sisters were sent to the school there (tak tahu nape ayah tak hantar depa gi ZS terus). every morning, she (7) would walk to school together with our sisters Za (9) and Nadjee (10). tapi our sisters ni selalu jalan ngan kawan2 and left her behind. sebelum sampai that school, they would reach our grandmother's house. so oleh kerana dia boring jalan sorang2, she always melencong and went to the granny's house instead of going to school. yang peliknya, nenek tak marah pun. and she would sapu sampah and mainlah apa2 yang patut. bila orang balik sekolah, dia pun baliklah rumah. this lasted for few weeks until our parents knew about it. she didn't like school at that time. bila dia tak suka, dia akan masuk kelas k.za and stayed there. oleh kerana dia tak nak return to her class, k.za and couzin Mohd terpaksa sorok dia belakang pintu, or belakang almari. kelakar betul! i pun tak leh imagine camana dia boleh jadi that stubborn. but she was smart, ponteng kelas pun asyik dapat no.1 je. so, the next year, when we moved to taman guru, she was sent to the school with my mom. so, dia tak delah glamer cam kami yang sekolah kat ZS. sorry, jangan marah!

Masa kecik2, kami memang rapat. almost semua benda sama. baju memanglah sama, cuma color je beza. entah kenapa, i selalu dapat warna merah, and she always got blue. dalam rapat, kita macam rival, kalau ngaji quran, i cukup jealous kalau dia dapat baca ayat baru or masuk juzuk baru lebih cepat dari i, cukup jealous kalau k.za nak tidur ngan dia tapi tak nak tidur ngan i, tapi tak pernah gaduh besar. masa kecik, kak ei cukup seronok bila kami gi jalan2, semua orang akan kata i ni kakak and she is adik. why? because she is smaller than me, and thinner. masa tu, i harap dapat jadi kurus cam dia, kalau pakai jeans nampak cantik je..

lepas tu i masuk mrsm kuantan, and she went to mrsm seremban. kamilah generasi yang dah tak pergi oversea, belajar kat KL je. she went to UM, wanted to do dentistry but ended up doing physics. She is a physics teacher now. did her masters in physics, but still teaching in normal school. last year was involved in the national robotic competition, sorry yek, you tak menang. tak pe next year boleh try lagi.

we have a lot in common. we listen to the same kind of songs, sama2 turn crazy every morning time semester break sambil kemas rumah, time che' and ayah gi kerja. cuba macam2 resipi bila kita kena jadi cook kat rumah time cuti. ingat tak che' beli kita ayam seekor seorang untuk kita belajar siang ayam before she left us pergi mekah? macamlah kita tak pandai, padahal saje je buat tak pandai sebab malas. we enjoy watching movies and imitating the dialogues and the way they act. suka main computer games dan berebut computer zaman sekolah2 dulu. kita main 'Nyet' sampai sembahyang pun macam nampak je image tu kat sejadah. main dig-dug sampai berebut ngan nuha yang masa tu still kecik lagi, nampak sangat kita tak matured.

now she controls the PS2 in her home. she is the record holder for most of the games. and when i went to her house in Kulim last december, dalam banyak2 benda, dia tertunggu2 i datang, untuk main PS2 dengan I, nak lawan... tapi mana sempat, time cuti, mesti anak2 conquer. bila kita boleh nak lawan lagi yek?

in a way, i do miss you, sis. after you get married, everything changed. of course, we have our own committments and obligations. but, honestly, i tak pernah rasa we grow old. to me, we are still the same. bezanya may be bcoz you dah dapat title hajjah. tapi kepala kita masih sama, still cam gitu jugak.

but i never thought you can really jadi pandai buat cake, may be bcoz you dah tak de kerja sangat sejak ada maid. tak pe, nanti i dah masuk rumah baru, i will do the same thing. i pun nak jugak give good memories to my children, bake cakes and home-made bread for them and buat kuih petang2 cam che' selalu buat kat kita. nanti you ajar i ye!

i wish you happiness and many happy returns. May abg Ma makes you happier (sampai sekarang i jealous bila ingat abg ma presented you with a bouquet of flowers after you delivered). May imran, amir, irfan the prof and wafi be the best of children, i know they are all smart and brilliant. jangan dera anak you ngan tuition sangat, let them enjoy their childhood!.

i know you love ronan keating's when you say nothing at all, but i prefer to put a song that is close to us zaman kita single dulu. i think we both like rod stewart and i'm sure this song will bring some wonderful memories to you. enjoy it, on your birthday!

i luv you, now, then and forever. miss you!