2013

It's the final hours of 2013.

I don't really have much to say. I mean, come on, you really can't summarize the whole year in one post, can't you? Well, I'm pretty sure I can't.

Obviously, a lot of things changed, as always. No surprise there. We learned new things, we met new people, we experience different journeys. But at the end of the day, it's all in Allah's hands.

So what should I do?

I can't really answer that question. Allah knows best.

For the time being, let's just pray that exactly in one year time, we'll still here breathing. InshaAllah.

Sate Ikan

So, last Thursday, my sister and I went to the pasar malam to buy some food. As usual, we would only go to this specific row that has everything that we want ie. Yong Tau Fu, air limau asam boi, corn in cup, jagung rebus. We were ready to leave when at the end of the row we saw a sate galore! A sate stall that sells sate ayam and sate daging at a very cheap price. 40 cents per stick only! But.....

 Look what we found right next to the sate stall!!! YESSS SATE IKAN IT IS!!

I would personally say that sate ikan is Malaysia's very own street snack! You know like how Shihlin sells Taiwan's, then sate ikan is ours la! #MalaysiaFoodPorn gituuuu. Hahahaha.

Anyway, that's not the main story here. You see that abang up there? Yeap, the one selling the sate ikan. Let me tell you the story now.

So, the sate ikan is 20 cents per stick. So cheap right! My sister decided to buy 6 ringgit worth of sate ikan. Yeah do the calculation, it's 30 sticks. It was quite a queue in front of us but it's okay, we waited. I was watching every step the abang did to prepare the sate ikan. Honestly, it didn't look that hard but of course, a set of repeated movements. Definitely requires a lot of effort! But the abang looked so calm even though more orders are coming in and he's working alone okay! It wasn't even a stall, it's just a motorcycle! He grilled 5 sticks at one time, turn the sticks around so that all sides is evenly cooked, if it's overburned he'll throw it away and start again. Me and my sister were so focused, we observed the abang very closely.

Well, this is my personal observation lah. The abang was sweating, he looked tired but he never stops. Getting his orders, turning the sate(s) around the grill, dipping the grilled sate(s)  in the sauce, packing it. No doubt, he was multitasking and definitely working hard. I can't help but wondering (lama okay tunggu) who's he's working hard for, probably for his family. There was quite a lot of scenarios in my mind (buy school clothes and books for the kids, buy groceries for the wife etc). I probably watch too much Malay dramas this holiday but hey come on it could be true right? Okay so back to the story. Every now and then, he'll say to my sister, "Kejap ye kak" We were like "Eh takpe takpe". I don't know how to explain it, but he seems so sincere. He doesn't look like the kind of sellers who are veryyyy talkative, something like less words, more action.

Our order is finally ready, 30 sticks of the delicious sate ikan! My sister handed in a 10 ringgit note and she got her balance. We were walking back to the car when my sister and I had this conversation:

Me : Aku rasa sate ikan tu patut lebih mahal doh. 20 sen je tapi nak buat kemain susah.

Sister : Tu lahh. Dah lah lama nak buat, leceh.

Me : Satu satu dia pusing. Kesian pulak kat abang tu, penat-penat dapat 6 ringgit je.

I really wish that he was paid more than just that. I mean come on, 6 ringgit? You can't even get a cup of plain black tea in a cafe but we got 30 sticks of sate ikan! Delicious ones, that is.

I learned that I should be more grateful. Looking at how hard the abang works for 6 ringgit, it really opens up my mind. I could easily waste 6 ringgit on something useless when he works damn hard for it. Wow. Really, just the thought of it makes me cringe.

Bersyukur Bihah, bersyukur. Alhamdulillah.

Alhamdulillah also for this delicious sate ikan! (gone down the tummy in approximately 3 seconds!)

PS : Reminiscing back during the housetrip when a friend of mine (I think it was Shahir) treat 10 of us with 1 ringgit sate ikan each! Good times :)