I'm Yours by Jason Mraz

Well, you done done me and you bet I felt it
I tried to be chill but you’re so hot that i melted
I fell right through the cracks, and i'm tryin to get back
before the cool done run out i'll be givin it my bestest
and nothin's gonna stop me but divine intervention
I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some

I won't hesitate no more,
no more, it cannot wait i'm yours

Well open up your mind and see like me
open up your plans and damn you're free
look into your heart and you'll find love love love
listen to the music at the moment maybe sing with me
Ah, la peaceful melody
It's your god forsaken right to be loved loved loved loved Loved

So, i won't hesitate no more,
no more, it cannot wait i'm sure
there's no need to complicate our time is short
this is our fate, i'm yours

*scat*

I've been spendin' way too long checkin' my tongue in the mirror
and bendin' over backwards just to try to see it clearer
my breath fogged up the glass
and so I drew a new face and laughed
I guess what I'm a sayin'is there ain't no better reason
to rid yourself of vanity and just go with the seasons
it's what we aim to do
our name is our virtue

I won't hesitate no more, no more
it cannot wait, i'm sure
(there's no need to complicate
our time is short
it cannot wait (this is our fate), i'm yours 2x

no please don't complicate, our time is short
this is our fate, im yours.
no please don't hesitate no more, no more
it cannot wait, the sky is yours!)

well open up your mind and see like me
open up your plans and damn you're free
look into your heart and you'll find love love love love
listen to the music of the moment come and dance with me
ah, la one big family
it's your god forsaken right to be loved, loved, loved, loved
open up your mind and see like me
open up your plans and damn you're free
look into your heart and you'll find love love love love
listen to the music of the moment come and dance with me
ah, la happy family
it's our god forsaken right to be loved loved loved loved
listen to the music of the moment come and dance with me
ah, la peaceful melodies
it's your god forsaken right to be loved loved loved loved...

Life is Wonderful by Jason Mraz

it takes a crane to build a crane
it takes two floors to make a story
it takes an egg to make a hen
it takes a hen to make an egg
there is no end to what i'm saying

it takes a thought to make a word
and it takes some words to make an action
it takes some work to make it work
it takes some good to make it hurt
it takes some bad for satisfaction

la la la la la la la life is wonderful
ah la la la la la la life goes full circle
ah la la la la la la life is wonderful
al la la la la

it takes a night to make it dawn
and it takes a day to make you yawn brother
it takes some old to make you young
it takes some cold to know the sun
it takes the one to have the other

and it takes no time to fall in love
but it takes you years to know what love is
and it takes some fears to make you trust
it takes those tears to make it rust
it takes the dust to have it polished (Yeah)

ha la la la la la la life is wonderful
ah la la la la la la life goes full circle
ah la la la la la la life is wonderful
ah la la la la la la life goes full circle
ah la la la la la la life is our love
ah la la la la la

it takes some silence to make sound
it takes a loss before you found it
and it takes a road to go nowhere
it takes a toll to make you care
it takes a hole to make a mountain

ah la la la la la la life is wonderful
ah la la la la la la life goes full circle
ah la la la la la la life is wonderful
ah la la la la la la life is meaningful
ah la la la la la la life is wonderful
ah la la la la la
it is so wonderful
it is so meaningful
it is so wonderful
it is meaningful
it is wonderful
it is meaningful
it goes full circle

Family Ties 2

Sunday dawned and the first order of business was the tent. Two yellow tents had been put up on Saturday prompting fears that the white theme had been replaced by yellow. The ice kacang vendor who was supposed to provide dessert for the wedding feast that would stretch from noon to dusk, could not confirm their presence. No one had spoke to the caterer since the initial negotiations just to make sure that they actually
remember our order. Plus, we had to add tables to make sure everyone had seats even though the plan was that guests would arrive in stages and manageable groups.

The flowers for bridal chamber still had to be arranged and the programme, script and speech had yet to be finalised. The stairs must be decorated at the last minute to avoid sticky little fingers from pulling out the organza and flowers. The table was laid with the dinner set and cutlery bought especially by my late grandmother to serve royalty. Aunts went through the house, tying up loose ends and clearing eyesores. The event was designed to be simple, intimate yet elegant. A wedding lunch cooked especially by the oldest and most experienced aunt, flower petals lining the path of the newlyweds, a simple speech by Brother No. 1 and prayer for all to hear using the local sound system and technicians imported from KL (grandsons and son-in-law), were all part of the grand design. Parking was organized and signage procured also with the help of imported free labour.

At the same time, we were experiencing mechanical glitches – a burst pipe, a faulty telephone, insufficient fans for the tent and as the day wound down to evening, the tent had yet to be decorated satisfactorily. What was worse, the tablecloths were purple but the chairs were red. Somehow, the supplier thought that we would not mind replacing white with purple. By evening, we managed to get white cloth that was used to cover the tables as two separate pieces stapled down the middle. My mother threw up her hands in despair until I suggested that we put white or cream tablespreads from SSZ and SSNun, Aunts’ home supplies; the same source for fans and even furniture and decoration for the bridal chamber The tables could only be settled tomorrow morning and the bride’s entourage would be arriving at 12 noon. But we were confident we could make it. A good omen was the arrival of Major domo's best friends who drove through the night to make it to the wedding. Even the platoon of tabligh (religious group)duly announced by walkie talkie - in their hearing - stopped by amid the preparations to wish us well.

The bridal chamber was almost done but a sacrifice had to be made. We needed runners of the same colour-white and gold for the both chairs but there was only one long runner belonging to my aunt Zaiton. The only solution was to cut the beautifully embroidered runner, imported from Syria into two. With one snip, the problem was solved amid promises that we will get a better replacement. All right, we were still in control. We tumbled into bed past midnight, exhausted yet still confident we could make the deadline, prayers on all our lips that everything will go smoothly tomorrow.

That night it rained. A storm with thunder and lightning that broke the hot spell we had been experiencing the past week. The sound system and television were outside covered by a plastic sheet. The chairs, tables and fans under the tents. Major Domo and hubby dashed out of bed and rescued the sound system and television from the rain as the plastic sheet had been blown away by the rain. As lightning flashed and thunder cracked, my brother-in-law managed to pull at least thirty chairs into the centre of the tents, before he finally heeded his wife’s shrieks of fear that he may be struck by lightning.

The casualty list tallied the next morning came to one stand fan, 20 soaked banquet chairs, one loose scallop and tablecloths that were muddied by the rain. Under my mother’s directive and direction, we tucked in our caftan sleeves, took out our scissors and cut the muddied hems of the tablecloths. The men carried the wet chairs and fan out into the sunshine to dry off. As the morning wore on inexorably to the noon deadline, aunts and cousins arrived steadily with the lace tablecloths to prettify the tables, flowers to scatter in front of the bride and groom. Sound tests were conducted, chairs dried out and slowly but surely the pieces came together. By eleven o’clock , tables were laid, food for the bride and groom’s lunch was ready to be served. However, there was one problem; the caterer was missing. Frantic phone calls established that they were on their way but the massive jam due to school holiday visitors were slowing them down. The bride’s entourage was scheduled to arrive at noon and our guests at one p.m. We had to have more time. The groom called his new family and requested an additional half an hour. 30 minutes later, the caterers arrived and a hugh sigh of relief reverberated through the family. Okay, we are go!

Once the bride and entourage arrived, everything went on smoothly and everyone knew their cue. Flower girls, usherers and guests. Even the ice kacang van finally arrived albeit at the same time as the bride's family! Once the guests were seated, food served, prayer read and speech given, all the problems we had faced seemed to melt away. Guests kept arriving and the food was plentiful. The bridal chamber was beautiful and the stairs, painstakingly decorated with organza and baby’s breath by Irina, Farisa and assistants, remained intact. I was designated to wait on the guests of honour and did fairly well even though I did miss the cue for the closing pantuns until reminded by my uncle!

There were other minor glitches but the family rallied together and presented a united front to ensure that everything go smoothly. With God’s Grace, everything did. Still, there were those whose presence we will continue to miss greatly, my late father and grandmother especially. Through it all, although tears were shed, voices raised, tempers flared, we still laughed, worked and even sang together in a hilarious late night karaoke session at the end of the day.

The moments that made this wedding unforgettable were not always the happiest ones. But the tears made the joy more intense, the glitches and mishaps made the success all the sweeter. Family ties strengthened not just through the union of two individuals and families but within our family as well.

A Special Dedication To:
Razin and Zie, congratulations and thank you for providing an occasion where we strengthened our bonds of love and tolerance. To our aunts and uncles, thank you for the unstinting support in every shape and form, To our cousins, we appreciate the time and effort taken to help us all in the greatest and smallest of ways. A special vote of thanks to Ozzy for the wonderful images of almost every member of this family. To my children, I love you all for your patience and willingness to work cheerfully. You made me look good! To my siblings and their better halves, you are all incredible and I count myself lucky and privileged to be a part of ths family. To my mother, you are the glue that binds this family together and the brains behind it all!

Family Ties 1

It was a throwback to two generations ago – our grandparents were second cousins and now my youngest brother was marrying his second cousin who is also the youngest in her family. Two families already bonded by blood now bound by the marriage of the youngest son to the youngest daughter, both sharing the same profession. It wasn’t an arranged marriage. It had been a tempestuous courtship and now it was looking to be the family wedding of the year.

My mother supervised all preparations for the house, reception, guest gifts, bridal chamber, made major decisions regarding wedding arrangements and personally sent out 300 invitation cards (can’t trust the postal service). Sister No 3 a.k.a Major Domo took charge of decoration for the nine trays of gifts or hantaran for the bride and the design and look of the bridal chamber, invitation cards and envelopes. Brother No 2 liased with the workmen for the house renovation, and assisted with the preparations for the wedding feast and handed out 50 invitation cards. Sister no 1 and Brother No 1 took charge of clearing the house, preparing the bridal chamber and helped both the Major Domo and the CEO (my mother) with the overall preparations. Sister no 2 (that’s me) was in charge of the cake to be given as a hantaran and handled its transportation by road from KL to KB ( we drove back with the cake). I tried not to feel too guilty as I had sent my sons earlier as cheap labour to help with the painting, fetching and carrying, three weeks earlier. My contribution later was mainly tying up any loose ends that I could spot. It was a good thing my mum and other siblings plus numerous aunts, uncles and cousins were so efficient as they left very few for me to find.

The wedding would stretch over four days – Day 1- the akad nikah (solemnisation of the marriage), Day 2 - Family reception on Bride’s side, Day 3 - Reception for friends also on the Bride’s side and Day 4 - Reception on the Groom’s side (our event). The groom’s side basically had to make sure the gifts were ready for Day 1 and the house was ready for Day 4. In between all we had to do (seemingly) was make ourselves and the gifts, look pretty! The wedding photographer was appointed through nepotism - a cousin-in-law who has been a part of the family for a mere 10 months. Discreet and perceptive, he captured images of family members and events; candid, touching and thoroughly professional.


The day of the akad nikah ceremony arrived faster than expected and we rushed to get ready only to discover the groom struggling with his sampin, surrounded by five of his siblings. After organising the trays of gifts in order of importance and the women of the family to carry the trays (only those in yellow), we were finally ready to go once the groom’s sampin was satisfactorily tied. The bride’s home was 10 minutes away but we were still late by eight minutes which is early by normal wedding standards. However, the imam was already in attendance when we arrived.

The ceremony was held on the sprawling grounds of the bride’s home where the bridal dais , a small guesthouse and white, canopied tents for guests were part of a garden party theme wedding. The trays of gifts were handed over by the ladies in yellow to the men in blue from the bride’s family and arranged on the beautifully decorated bridal dais.

The groom sat down surrounded by the menfolk from both sides and the ceremony began immediately without the normal rehearsal with the imam. The already flustered groom paused a little too long to the dissatisfaction of one witness and had to repeat the akad statement or vow. With the completion of the sermon and the prayer, the akad nikah was over and my youngest brother was a married man. The bride was sequestered in the guesthouse and her signature duly sought by the imam for the marriage certificate. After shaking hands with his new father-in-law and uncles, the groom turned to the most important woman in his life; his mother for her blessing.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur of photographs with members of the family on both sides. My eldest son who was suddenly designated as best man, became a third wheel and managed to squeeze into some photographs. As it meant being around his new aunt who was looking radiant, duty became a pleasure indeed.

Time to get out the lace dresses in shades of pink for the bersanding ceremony or the family reception on the bride’s side! The glittering bridal dais and the grounds transformed by the fairylights, impressed guests who came from near and far. The merenjis ceremony where guests of honour sprinkle the newlyweds with rosewater and bunga rampai to signify their blessing for the union was followed by the cake cutting event. The groom struggled to saw through the heavily iced cake only to sigh with relief when the photographer signaled for him to feed the bride with whatever crumbs he managed to pinch through the icing.


We came in force, whole families to celebrate the union; parents and children of all ages for everyone knew that this was the youngest daughter and nothing would be spared to make this a very special event. Plus everyone knew that the bride’s mother would definitely serve the scrumptious fruit tarts that guests would sneak into napkins as extra dessert. Ladies in pink lace of all shades and men in maroon or
shades of red

As the formal festivities ended and the bride and groom left the dais to say goodbye to the guests, our family took the opportunity to take family photographs. There were so many of us, it had to be taken by category , gender and age restrictions! Siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews posed boisterously until someone remembered the newlyweds should actually be in the photos. A son-in-law was despatched to fetch them and they smilingly posed with a myriad number of relatives until it became too late to continue. We left in high spirits, laughing at those who smuggled out the fruit tarts and at ourselves for taking over the grounds and bridal dais that night.

In fact, upon arrival at home, family photographs continued to be taken to capture everyone dressed in their best. Lipstick and makeup assiduously reapplied, we took family photos well into the night. We still had one more day befor D-Day.