hey

eid break passed in a blur.

so a couple of things happened. i was supposed to study for an upcoming anatomy test but i succumbed to the desire of resting and could only finish half of my target in the designated time. like last year, as well, i cut a worth of 5 kg meat along with my great granny and strained my trapezius.

this year, we celebrated first eid @ my paternal side of family, then i had to endure unsolicited advices from my paternal grandfather. nothing really changed, i am still awkward with my cousins... and again became the sore thumb sticking out. they're really nice and sweet, especially the daughters of my first paternal aunt but i personally think the timing is too late for me to blend with in the clique, and when you don't have common grounds it's even harder to strike decent conversations. we only got to visit one relative's house this time, and as we came back to my grandparents' house, the eldest brother of my dad whom i had not seen in ages were there with his three daughters. 

the next day, had to assist in the kitchen as my mom and maternal granny cooked a feast for the teeming guests (no exaggeration, it began eight in the morning and people did not stop coming until dusk fell). my hair and baju kurung literally smelled like salted fish because mom fried a bunchful of them. at times, my bored little brothers would run downstairs to the kitchen, and once a guest's son was calling his mom but my mom thought it was one of my brothers so she yelled what do you want completely unaware of the kid being a guest's son lol. one of the little boys that came brought a binder full of boboiboy cards and was so proud of it. as a fellow collector of seventeen photocards, i can relate.

that's how the 2nd eid went... it was really tiring for me bending down to the low sink and washing the dishes to the point that my feet numbed and one of my toes curled inert for a few minutes, but i know that my mom must had been more exhausted as she did laundry as well afterward. the kitchen was hella messy with seabass scale as the econsave worker refused to clean the fish due to the load of customers and my mom was descaling about eight to nine seabass total. meanwhile, my eldest younger brother was out and about with his friends to watch the movies. thankfully my second younger brother and aunt came to help. we ended up not going to our relative's house at all. 

we still had to prepare food for the guests on 3rd eid. honestly, the guests number weren't as crazy as when i was little. i remembered people coming until one to three in the morning, and how spent everyone would be as they left. my late maternal grandfather had a vast social networking of friends and relatives given his number of siblings, so a lot people even from different states used to come until my grandpa passed away, and the head of the families who came passed away as well. so now, my mom would lock the gates by 7 pm max. after all, my great granny and granny are getting older, and my uncles and aunts all have family and commitment, the household can't handle as much guests as it used to be. 

anyway, a younger brother of my late grandpa visited. he shared the most resemblance with my late grandpa, almost like the same man in a different font. actually, i thought the same about my dad's male siblings. they're really alike to each other, but the differences stand out as well. mom bursted out in tears as soon as she shook hands with that uncle of hers, as she was reminded of her late dad who truly doted on her. indeed, he was the best grandpa one could ever ask for. sometimes i miss him too. he passed in 2010, so it will soon be 14 years, and i only had little recollection of him intact. 

then at night, we had the annual salam raya session and family photoshoot... but it's a story too long i couldn't bring myself to write. only some things like. one petal of the polymer clay orchid pendant i baked broke before the photoshoot session. my dad telling me not to be too depressed about my study and hugging me. giving duit raya to my siblings and cousins as the first grandchild. my duit raya count made me happy and i got some really cute envelope designs... yeah. the sleepiness is talking. it's 1 am right now and i have pbl tomorrow :/ till then.