Little Stories 281 : The Raya, the Raya Books, and Getting Pierced

Ever since the last stretch post, a lot of things happened to me. I am still processing the hiccups and turbulences, it was hard and confusing at times - that explained my hiatus. But most of the time, I was just too busy surviving the chapter. My brother asked me why I'm not updating anything - I couldn't, I am still processing.

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First Week of Raya

Raya was triggering, as per usual. I was back at my mom's and it wasn't that great (because I couldn't avoid it this time, I had to go through it without any distractions). I think both my younger siblings can agree that this Raya was a bit dramatic because we didn't have our buffers. It was intense, messy, and triggering. We were all wishing it would end as quickly as it possibly could. I would need a different strategy next year, we couldn't keep up with this, we are just too old for this.

I slept early on both nights because I just couldn't process the emotional dramas Raya brought. It was overwhelming at times, but seeing that my younger sister was struggling way worse than me, I decided to just tune off most of the time. We would definitely need therapy, especially for Raya season. 

I finally ended my caffeine fasting after more than a month - then I started having indigestion on the first and second days of Raya (not sure whether it was from all the Raya food or the beautiful caffeine shots that my brother made for us). The first week of Raya ended fast for me, I spent most of my extra holiday calmly reading books and more books ♥

Books During Raya:

Suddenly I managed to catch up with my book consumption. I started with only 3 books just 2 weeks ago.

I finished reading Elif Shafak's 10 Minutes 48 Seconds in this Strange World and then I bought The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante on Kindle for $2.99. Always with backup, always. Then I also finished Dostoevsky's The Double. This leads me to question why people like his books, they don't appeal to me. 

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Peaky Blinders

I finished Peaky Blinders and I'm glad I finished it. It was exhausting - I think it was around a month for the whole 6 seasons of Peaky Blinders and almost nothing else. I think in the end, Thomas Shelby is only fighting with himself and no one else. He made an enemy of himself, he was in the war until the very end. I hope the final movie will do him justice. Or it might not. 

To test whether it is the Thomas or Cillian effect, I watched Quiet Place 2 and decided that yes, the fictional character Thomas Shelby is uniquely attractive and I'm confused as to why that is. I'm not usually interested in a bad character, so this is a space for me to think through and analyze that part of me.

I'm confused. 

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Ear Pierced for the 3rd Time

When I was in Nilai, Ma jokingly asked to get Sofi's ears pierced (which I said no to assuming Sofi didn't want it because of the pain). But I wanted it for myself, so I asked her to accompany me to get my ears pierced - for the third time. Long story short, I don't really wear jewelry because our weather is quite brutal and I get rashes all the time. I think the last time I wore earrings, I got an allergic reaction because of the material so I didn't wear any for more than 10 years. So both the earrings' holes closed up - I got pierced twice so I got 4 closed earring holes. 

This time, I hope I learned my lesson.

For RM 55, I picked basic stainless steel sphere earrings and asked to get them re-pierced at the same old spot. Sprayed with cooler and anti-septic, I sat in their little surau in the jewelery shop and asked Sofi to watch me get my ears pierced one by one. After I was done, I told her that it was a bit painful, but it was done, and I gave her time to think before deciding on whether she wanted it for herself. 

Then we went off to go shopping, and she said she wanted to get her ears pierced - so I explained the process again, told her it would be a bit painful, and let her think again. We shopped around then before we went back I asked her again, she still wanted to get her ears pierced, so then we went back to the shop and booked her slot. I let her choose her own earrings and asked the sellers to pierce both her ears at the same time so she couldn't change her mind. 

It actually went well, she was so brave. I was surprised because I knew she was scared of everything and I think 5 years old is still a bit too young to be manipulated into getting her ears pierced if she doesn't want it - knowing her, I assumed she wouldn't want it. But I was wrong to undermine her determination. She knows what she wants, I didn't even have to manipulate her into believing that she can do it.  

So then, we went back home with both our ears pierced ♥

I kind of wanted a double helix piercing all my life, and might actually do it this time.

 

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Anyway, Raya has always been challenging for us, it isn't something new.

I hope it has been great for you ☾₊ ⊹

Salam Aidilfitri.

Work Related : Busy June + Eid Season

Heyy,

I just compiled these video snippets for the whole June yesterday.

If you follow my Patreon page, you should already know how busy I was in June T^T I was focusing on my Melaka Travelogue project that I was supposed to submit before Eid (but I failed). There are another 10 pages to go as I am typing now. 

Anyway, I rested for 2 weeks since that first week of Raya. We went back to Pekan on Raya and we went to Kuantan again the next weekend for my cousin's wedding. We stopped by at Pantai Air Leleh near our village and there, I felt so calm, that peacefulness that I forgot exists. Because I've been working so hard and stressed out in this 2 months, I forgot there is this-kind of feeling. It was crazy and exhausting T^T We need more of this, peaceful nature and less heat (dear God, the weather nowadays is challenging).

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In this video :

• My Etsy stuffs packing session
• CNY Angpow for reference (Melaka travelogue) 
• First iftar outside (instead of at home almost everyday) at Sushi Zanmai
• Melaka Travelogue update : 41/100 page
• My packing station (postcard used for thanking each customer, tapes, stamp & sticker collections for personalised packages)
• Frannerd's parcel that I ordered 3 weeks before from Hasting. I bought 3 of her zines (1 on her doodles + 2 of her travel zines) + free postcard
• The evening when we just arrived at Pekan, we stopped by at Pantai Air Leleh (the nearest beach from my village). It was clean and beautiful and serene. 
• Umang-umang !
• Little baby crabs making holes.
• Starfish crawling and making doodle on sand.
• We hunted for a sunrise on the 2nd day of Eid. We woke up at 6am, washed our face and did Subuh prayer, and headed to Pantai Air Leleh to hunt for a morning sunrise. We got that right !
• A lot of starfishes in the morning, I saw more than 7 :D
• Around 130k steps of walking and jogging sessions all around.
• Food fiesta on the 2nd day of Eid at my aunt's open house.
• Clear stamps repacking for this Saturday's event at Battery Acid Club.
• Short stop for Mango Cheese Cake at Kula Cake by Lila Wadi in Kuantan before we headed back to KL
• Page 76/100 from my Melaka Travelogue and Awan !
• Baby-faced looking Awan thanking youuuu, my Patrons.

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Small shout-out about my Patreon :

• There are also free posts for any of my Patreon followers without any pledges. 
• I post random videos, podcast and updates for Patreon pledges as well. If you are interested in following my work progress or just simply want to support an independent local artist, you can do so and I am forever thankful.
• I'll be posting more things on my current workloads and projects and items that I'm making and plans for the future as an independent illustrator ! 

Little Things 195 : This Eid

Eid isn't days that I usually look forward to.

We all have our stories, and for us, this particular festive season was always about little arguments, hassles and drama. We play our role as someone responsible enough to make these days work for those people that cherish Eid in their lives. As much as I want to feel it, I do still feel those bitterness in my mouth, the taste of things that were never enough. 

But things slowly changed, this Eid, I'm celebrating with AF and his family. 

I'm trying to feel things according to how they feel instead of how I usually feel. I wanted to enjoy these days, to cherish this religious celebration of ours, more than a yearly tradition. I wanted to feel what a family should feel. I've been waiting for almost 10 years, I knew there must be something in these days that make people get so overly attached and emotional. I wanted to understand those feelings. I wanted to see things that other people can see clearly. 

Having another new family is a bliss, a whole new chapter, a chance. 

I'm really thankful for these days. 

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri,

Maaf Zahir and Batin. 

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