On my first Eid, I was still yearning to celebrate Eid how most Indonesians would: take the day off, visit family and friends, and eat lots and lots of yummy food! So for my my first Eid in Sydney in 2013, I cooked opor ayam and sambal goreng ati, which are staple Eid menu, to eat before we go to visit some friends at an Indonesian community masjid. At that time I wasn't working yet, so I had plenty of time to prepare the food and also bake Eid cookies like kastengels (edam cheese shortbread cookies), nastar (pineapple tart), sagu keju (sagoo cheese cookies), and lidah kucing (cat's tongue cookies).
On my second and third year, I only went for Eid prayer in the morning then immediately returned to office. On my second year (2014) I think I had to save my annual leave for the hajj trip. And on my third year (2015) there were some issues I needed to rectify at the office (yes, it is kind of annoying), so I had to return afterwards. And I haven't been cooking anything special for Eid because I was just too busy and the last time I cooked in a rush, the food didn't come out that great. So, I told myself not to cook Eid food in a rush - and if you have to rush, then better not cook at all.
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This year, the way I asked permission for Eid annual leave was a bit odd and awkward for me. Because my husband followed the proper moonsighting, we can't determine on what day Eid is going to fall on until we observe the moon on the night before. But I do know which days I'll be taking, so I've informed my manager that I'll be taking either the Wednesday or the Thursday off. Due to my low annual leave balance, I could only afford to take one day off, and I can't confirm until Tuesday night. Thankfully my manager was very understanding. I made sure that there is nothing significant happening at the office on that day and I reassured her that I'll be checking my email intermittently throughout the day in case I need make any follow ups. To be honest, I really feel bad about having to ask permission for annual leave this way, but this happens because I'm a minority. If I were in Indonesia, I'd already be on leave for a week, so it doesn't matter anymore when I'm going to have my Eid prayer.
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So for this year's Eid, I didn't cook anything special nor bake any Eid cookies. But I ordered some Eid cookies through my friend. I haven't had Eid cookies in forever and been craving for it really bad. I know they're expensive and I can make them anyway, but I thought, oh don't bother, just buy it. So then I did. I spent a good $81 for 3 containers of kastengels, 3 containers of sagu keju, and 1 container of nastar.
In the morning we went for Eid prayer at Masjid Al Noor, Granville. That was my first time there and the masjid is very comfy with the plush red carpet. Husband said that if we're going to pray Eid there, we'd better go from Fajr and stay there until Eid because finding parking there is ridiculously hard. True that - they closed their parking space behind the building to be used for jumping castle, so you can only park on the kerbside. Although we've arrived since before Fajr, hubby still had to go a bit further away to find a parking space.
After the Eid prayer, we went home and do what all Indonesians do after Eid prayer: ask for forgiveness and forgive one another. And as usual, we took a mandatory family photo like what we always do every year :). This year we have a new member, still in my tummy, making his 'debut' (sort of, haha)! I also tried to call mum to no avail. She's probably busy prepping this-and-that because the people in my house usually wake up late and go for Eid prayer in the last minute. And then when they return home, they'd be prepping to go to my relatives house to have that "asking for forgiveness" ritual.
This year we managed to visit IQRO (this is the Indonesian Muslim community where we're active in - but not active member) since our Eids fall on the same day. So we can enjoy the celebration and the food as well, unlike last year. Poor hubby - last year he had to grill BBQ although he was still fasting because the moonsighters hadn't spotted the mood yet before the Eid! The ibu-ibu of IQRO prepared yummy food as usual: BBQ lamb with potato salad and salad greens, soto mie, chicken porridge, and heaps of delish desserts. We arrived a bit late, around 11.30am and the chicken porridge was already gone! *cry*.
Afterwards hubby was helping IQRO clean up the masjid after the Eid celebration, and I went to a friend's place with another friend while waiting for him to finish up (no way I'm waiting at the masjid by myself). I had a really good catch up with my ladies since I haven't seen my friends in a while (long time!). This is what happens if you work full time. But if you don't work, you'd be begging God for a full time job, so just say alhamdulillah for everything :).
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So, all in all, I enjoyed this year's Eid very much. I really took the time off to unwind and enjoy my day off, although I must say I was quite guilty of checking my office emails and sending some follow ups because I had promised my manager that I was going to check my email intermittently. Hubby and I had a great time, great food, great company and I'm looking forward to celebrating Eid with family in Jakarta very soon (but looks like it won't be next year).
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