"The one with hail-ing the storm and the newlyweds.."

I found that I've been neglecting this space lately. Blame it on ongoing work in the lab and the usual daily routines. There has been substantial prepping going on as far as my research goes from last week. Slow, but nevertheless a significant feat.

The weather's been equally erratic as well. An outing in the open nowadays often requires second-guessing an ambiance of wind-clouds to current temperature occlusions. Numerous times I've witnessed - what seemed to be a great day with the sun striking out, suddenly turning gothic black with thunderclouds appearing out of no where. Before you know it, shuddering rain befalls bleaching the daylights off. And before you could make yourself a cup of steaming hot coffee (in part of the chilly weather), the rain suddenly comes to a stop and out comes the sun in all its glory once again. This is Melbourne's weather at its best; crazy and totally unpredictable. True story.

The past few days have been cold, real cold. Combined with that fluctuating rainfall, you'll eventually witness one of the most sakai-inducing phenomenons the world has to offer.

Hail.


First it was exhilarating. Second time, fun. Third, cute. But as you get to the next few occasions, it gets rather boring. It's darn cold, and it's raining reminiscent of rocks. At these times I feels remorse for all those times I've cursed Malaysia's hot steamy weather. What I'd give up for anything close to warmness now. Records show an even chilly weather as the week progresses, with occasional torrential rains and hails a common sight. Mt. Buller, a nearby Victorian landmark popular for its snow and white landscapes had already marked minus temperatures. Yesterday it was -8 degrees. Snowing, of course. Just talking about the weather gives me the chills.

Anyways, then there was the one that got hitched...

[ Photo courtesy of Siti Nor Aiysha ]

The last bachelor of them siblings, the Bentong clan was all joy when Pakcik said his nikah vows and was safely wed on the blessed afternoon of 6 June 2009. Now officially married to his wonderful wife Sharifah Nor Asilah bt Syed Basir, we're all happy for you Pakcik, congratulations!

Here's wishing you guys a wonderful new life as a married couple, and that with this brings more fortune and blessings into your lives. May the both of you always complement each other, in good or bad, and be happy for the rest of your lives. To Sharifah (or Makcik from now on!), welcome to the family.

This weekend (agaknyer!) the kedua mempelai shall grace the proceedings in Bentong; this time with the now antecedent-chemoboy around. It might be another family gathering that I'll be missing, but I'm all wishing for great and wonderful times for them then. It'll be nice having chemoboy this time around, more not for being the best man.

-JeP

P/S : Dengar cerita lagu nazam akan berkumandang lagi kali ni. Wonder who'll be our successors? :)