Remembering Ninie

So it's now been 2 years since Ninie's left. If she was still around, Gib, she'd be known to you as your Aunty Ninie. Kecoh, beautiful, lively, always the life and soul of a gathering/outing. She lived her life as she wanted, and very seldom cared about what people thought or said about how she lived it.

Her most often-said advice to me was; "Biarlah ****, don't care lah what they say!!! Why do you want to care?!"

Here we were at Shaggy's wedding. Me as bridesmaid and Ninie, her usual carefree and confident self. Our gossip and laughter brought the house (hall!) down.

If I had one phrase to explain how she lived, it was to..
"Never explain yourself to anyone. Because the person who likes you doesn't need it; and the person who dislikes you won't believe it."

That was Ninie. Our friendship was such that it never mattered if we didn't see each other for months. Once we did meet, it was as if not a day had passed.

Somebody said to me today; do not "celebrate" the day she passed away like it is an "anniversary". This is not what I intend to do. I simply want to write about her here because I want to remember how much she meant to me, and how her passing had changed our lives. Most importantly; I want Gib to know this one day.

Husband and I have always had specific ambitions in life. Middle 2005, I had finished my masters and was looking for a job in Melbourne. My path was clear; I was going to make it BIG in my line of work. I knew I had the potential and the drive. A great career path with great returns; I'd be able to repay my parents for all they'd done. I was confident I'd meet success at a young age.

Then Ninie died. No warnings. And nothing stayed the same.

Instead of staying on in Melbourne, we opted to come back to our families. Instead of a high-level corporate job, I opted for a part-time job that would allow time with family and friends.

Most importantly, instead of postponing the course of nature, we decided to start a family. So along came Gibran.

And that's how Allah has taken us on to this path :)


A very young Ninie on her wedding day, ignoring everyone who was critical of her marrying at such a young age.

I constantly hear questions asking why we didn't choose our paths differently.
"Why didn't you stay in Melbourne? What a waste!"
"Taknak kerja betul-betul ke? Buat rugi aje buat masters?"

Well! :)

Thank you Ninie, for always reminding me to not care :))