Ramadan this year is so different than previous ones. This year, I’m no longer a student. I haven’t landed on a solid job either. I’m in a somewhere-in-between situation where I’m only working part time and getting paid below the minimum wage. I may say that this is the lowest point in my life, economically speaking. Coincidentally (or not?), I haven’t got any iftar invitation this Ramadan. Usually, my weekends in Ramadan were fully booked with iftar appointments at least a week before the fasting month even started. This year is a surprising exception.
Yup. Pretty much what I’m suspecting right now. But anyway… Ramadan mubarak to all my brothers and sisters out there! (Especially to all the brothers who are currently playing the World Cup while still fasting. God bless you!)
Last year, I failed my 2013 Reading Challenge on Goodreads. I set my goal to read 15 books, planning to read one book per month plus three books to be read at a slower pace. I ended up finishing eight books; only half of what I had planned. Due to that failure, I set fewer books as my goal for this year’s reading challenge. I set only 10 books and promised myself that this time, I would try my hardest to complete it. One or two months ago, Goodreads told me that I was two books behind schedule to finish the challenge. But then I sped up and now I’m two books ahead. Yay, me!
For the past few months, I have read If I Lie, Eleanor & Park, Confessions of a Murder Suspect, The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line, and just last night, I’ve finished reading Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour. (I’m intending to write a review for each one, so just wait around.) I must say that I owe Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner big time because I love her reviews and recommendations. In fact, I read If I Lie and Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour because of her. I have added more books into my to-read list based on her recommendations and now I’m off on my quest to hunt them all.
I also decided to join a book club held by Kristin from My Life as a Tea Cup called NovelTea (see a badge on my sidebar?). Starting July the 1st, we are going to read Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. Psst… I actually cheat and have read the first 20 pages this afternoon because the cover is just too cute that I can’t keep my hands off of my tablet and I ended up reading it >_<. I am now confident that I will complete my 2014 Reading Challenge. I can’t wait to read all the books!
What books have you read this year?
Mata Ilmu has been operating for almost two years now. It started as a small group of friends teaching private courses to several students, and now we’ve grown to having twenty-ish teachers and fifteen-ish students. To celebrate this, we held our very first annual gathering on Sunday. Sadly, there were only several teachers who could come. We took pictures together, had a meeting talking about our progress so far and our plans for the next academic year, and then we had lunch. The gathering was actually a sort of picnic under a palm tree. There was also a stray cat joining us for the lunch! 
And unlike four years ago, I’m not really into football anymore right now. My team (which is Netherland, by the way) played two matches nicely but I didn’t watch them. They will go on to the next round after sending both Spain and Australia home. This round of World Cup has been surprising as for today. Spain, Portugal, and England have all gone home. I’m waiting for other surprises.
And I found this gem on 9GAG:
I want to believe that pet heaven does exist. After losing Bill & Lily in November last year, I vowed to myself that I would take better care of Luna and Molly. But today, I had to lose Luna. She had been constantly sick for the past four months but always managed to get healthy after being sick for about a week. Eight days after her birthday, she once again got sick. I took her to a clinic on Sunday morning. The vet told me that she needed to be hospitalised, so she stayed there that night. I visited her on Monday morning. At that time, I thought she was getting better because she could move her legs. I came back in the evening, hoping that she was already strong enough to be taken back home. But it turned out that she still didn’t want to eat, so she still needed to stay. I told her then that she would come home the next day (=today). This morning, however, I got called by her nurse, telling me that she was no longer with us. I cried all the way to the clinic. I held her in my arms for an hour before finally letting her go to be prepared for the funeral. We took her and buried her in my aunt’s backyard.
I miss her so much, but perhaps it’s for the best that she left us. She had been in a lot of pain for months. If pet heaven exists, maybe she is now once again playing hide and seek with her siblings. Just like the old time.