Project Puasa

and so ramadhan month is upon us once again! for one whole month beginning today, muslims worldwide will be observing the religious practice of fasting from daybreak till sundown. no food, no drink, no sex, no cigarettes, no nuthin’ in any natural orifices.

a long time ago, aira explained to me the reasons behind this muslim practice. firstly, she says, it is to seek closeness to God by relinquishing food and drink - two daily necessities that may distract you from seeking God lest you overindulge. secondly, it’s so that muslims will know for a month what it feels like to be a poor man who cannot afford to eat. this encourages charity, kindness, empathy and a general sense of fellowship in God.

damn noble. i’ve always been so impressed by that.

so! guess what i’m going to do this ramadhan month?!

i’m going to fast as well!

muahahahaha.

at first i had trouble deciding what i was going to give up. it ought to be my biggest addiction.

SO I SHOULD GIVE UP THE INTERNET.

i was very gung ho about the idea for like 2 seconds, then rationale and common sense took over and i realized that there is absolutely no way i can give up the internet for one whole month. wtf am i supposed to do??? not check my email for a month? give up busybodying at other people’s blogs? how can i not imdb a movie after watching one? how am i going to read my news? give up googling and wikipediaing? NO WAY WHERE CAN NEXT IDEA PLEASE KTHXBAI!

then it was suggested that i give up taking cabs cos i’m so reliant on them. i had to meet Yoe at Amcorp Mall today, so i decided to test out this idea by taking the LRT there. it was fun and all, but so impractical. yalar yalar so i saved like over RM30 cos i took the train instead of cabbing it back and forth, but think about it - it’s just so impossible to not take cabs! i mean it’s not like every single place i have to go to for the next month will be right next to a train station like Amcorp is! anyway blablabla to get to the point, if i give up cabs i am handicapped, end of story.

so, what else do i really love and need, that i can actually give up without totally killing myself yet will exert just the right amount of torture on me?

*lightbulb!*

… DESSERT.

and that is how i came to start Project Puasa 2006. i’m going to give up dessert (for clarity’s sake - cake, chocolate, brownies, milkshakes, biscuits, ice cream, pudding, sweets, tarts .. argh just about anything sweet) for a whole month. purpose : to instill charity and empathy in myself towards poor and destitute souls who dont/cant eat dessert. eg- diabetic patients, anorexic models, cranky old women with no sweet tooth, Martian.

sigh! it’s going to be a long, sad month. to hold me up for the next 30 days, i went to Baskin Robbins today and ate cookies&creme ice cream until i almost puked. my stupid friends think that i’m not going to be able to do this (except ivan, who believes in me. thank you ivan i love you!) and will cave after two days. HUH! i shall show you the extent of my willpowahhh!

*shifty eyes*

die lah there’s like all this chocolate on my desk and all these cookies on the dining table.

-___-

wei encourage me lah! i really wanna do this. if any of y’all meet up with me over lunch or dinner in the next month, you MUST make sure i dont touch dessert, okay? okay?????

eh seriously. you all think i can do it anot?

edit : i went to the ramadhan bazaar today and managed to ignore all the cute little green gula melaka kuihs! and all the cendol! and all the tepung pelita! and then when my neighbour gave me a kitkat i totally refused it! muahaha i rock. day 1 of Project Puasa - successful! :D

38 comments September 24th, 2006