i have just send megat to his classmate-cum-best friend nazmi's place. they invited him for iftar. its kinda first time for megat too to receive such an invite. he was sooooo damn excited since few days ago i tell you. even this morning when i was in parit buntar, megat kept calling and sms-ing me to discuss about it i.e. when to send him there, what suitable clothes to wear blah³...
5.30 PM SHARP nazmi already called megat of why he was not there yet ahh... kids! now megat was so worried.
alright, for me its ok to be about 5 minutes late or so. clocks are usually set between 5 minutes slow and 5 minutes fast, so arriving 5 minutes late should get you there "fashionably late!" being early to someone's house is rude (unless you're going out immediately after your arrival-then be there right on time). some people wait until the last minute to finish preparations for guests. giving your host(ess) that extra few minutes is usually appreciated. being more than 5 minutes late is rude. food may get cold, time with other guests may be interrupted, and/or the host(ess) may worry you're not coming or got lost.
but for megat's case, i guess its terribly ok cuz he was there for iftar. and his friend and his brother wanted him to be there early so that they could play together first. i opt to drop-by the local supermarket to get some chocolates for nazmi's family. thanks to grandma, luckily she reminded us about bringing some sweet gift.
since i was kinda busy, so no cupcakes this time like how i used to do! i.e. i baked some last week to bring them to kl. the most importantly, for redmummy and family who was terribly down since her son was a confirmed h1n1 victim. i made a quick visit at her place as soon as i reached kl that day. i would like to take this opportunity to thank ayu and rose for helping me! anyhow even if i won't make it to kl, i will still make an arrangement for my cupcakes to be delivered to redmummy as a gesture of thoughtfulness from me.
5.30 PM SHARP nazmi already called megat of why he was not there yet ahh... kids! now megat was so worried.
alright, for me its ok to be about 5 minutes late or so. clocks are usually set between 5 minutes slow and 5 minutes fast, so arriving 5 minutes late should get you there "fashionably late!" being early to someone's house is rude (unless you're going out immediately after your arrival-then be there right on time). some people wait until the last minute to finish preparations for guests. giving your host(ess) that extra few minutes is usually appreciated. being more than 5 minutes late is rude. food may get cold, time with other guests may be interrupted, and/or the host(ess) may worry you're not coming or got lost.
but for megat's case, i guess its terribly ok cuz he was there for iftar. and his friend and his brother wanted him to be there early so that they could play together first. i opt to drop-by the local supermarket to get some chocolates for nazmi's family. thanks to grandma, luckily she reminded us about bringing some sweet gift.
since i was kinda busy, so no cupcakes this time like how i used to do! i.e. i baked some last week to bring them to kl. the most importantly, for redmummy and family who was terribly down since her son was a confirmed h1n1 victim. i made a quick visit at her place as soon as i reached kl that day. i would like to take this opportunity to thank ayu and rose for helping me! anyhow even if i won't make it to kl, i will still make an arrangement for my cupcakes to be delivered to redmummy as a gesture of thoughtfulness from me.
this pic is courtesy of redmummy
besides redmummy, i also made some extras for my cousin yaya because she accompanied me during the iftar session with nuffnang. plus some others... (you know who you are) including a good school friend of mine whom we didn't meet for obviously 20 years! alright alright... i'll type a separate blog post for this one soon cuz she's so special to me ;)
for me, gifts are part and parcel of my culture and are not only for birthdays and special occasions. gifts may be given to someone who has provided a favour, to someone returning from a trip overseas, or simply out of want. the cost of the gift is not nearly as important as what it represents — friendship.
for me, gifts are part and parcel of my culture and are not only for birthdays and special occasions. gifts may be given to someone who has provided a favour, to someone returning from a trip overseas, or simply out of want. the cost of the gift is not nearly as important as what it represents — friendship.
so for nazmi's family, we just grabbed a cadbury classic collection 1930's - 1960's pack. i was not satisfied yet that time because no ribbon meh... so we made an another stop to buy a ribbon to be stick to the box *phew* by that time its already almost 6pm. you could see megat's sour face lol... but it was just for a while though...
and on the way to nazmi's place, i reminded megat of the do's and dont's while he's there:
and on the way to nazmi's place, i reminded megat of the do's and dont's while he's there:
- to greet all the members of the family especially the elders first by shake and kiss their hands; it is best to see if a hand is extended or not first.
- wait to be told of where to sit.
- table manners are continental.
- you will be expected to try all foods at the table.
- expect to be urged to take second or even third helpings. it is best to eat less on your first helping so that a second helping is possible. this shows your host you are enjoying the food and are being taken care of.
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