It's the 2nd day of Ramadhan, the fasting month. I look forward to Ramadhan every year due to a few reasons.

1. I feel close to God. Most of the time, I'm too self indulgent and religion always takes a back seat. This is one month when I keep God in mind whenever I do anything.

2. I feel closer to my family. Ramadhan is the only time when everyone in the family makes a conscious effort to come back home and break fast together. It's a very nice feeling. And weekends are spent with my sister's family coming over or sometimes, we go to my aunt's place to break fast and the whole extended family will be there. And we will all eat on the floor cos there's simply too many people to eat at the dining table. Very nice.

3. It tests my patience and resilience. It might look easy, but mind you, it's not. We go without eating and drinking for almost 15 hours straight. It's no joke. It used to be really bad when I was teaching cos I had to continuously talk while in the classroom and I can't drink. And my lips get dry and chapped. And your mouth feels so dry and throat's parched. That's horrible. But I feel a sense of satisfaction when I manage to get through the day without succumbing to temptations.

4. You tend to be more appreciative of food. The simplest things like cookies, or ondeh-ondeh, or muffins make you look forward to beraking your fast.

5. Fasting month also means preparations for Hari Raya itself. This is the month the family gets together to bake cookies, (I'm making 4 kinds of cookies this year: Tarts, Cornflakes, Peanut Cookie and Cho Chip Hazelnut Cookies), spring clean the house, bring up the new curtains, bed sheets and carpet and buy Hari Raya kebayas, shoes, bags, and what- nots. Love it.

6. You cleanse and detoxify your body. My body feels light when I fast. Like I know I'm not putting in junk in them and I'm letting my body rests. Your body's like a blender. It's on working mode all year round. Fasting month is a good month to let it rest.

7. Fasting month is the one month where I feel like a real Malay. Going to Geylang is a normal thing. And being in Geylang during the fasting month is the best. The dendengs (bbqed beef strips), the flowers on sale, the baju kurong and kebaya on sale, carpets, Hari Raya cards, green packets, the various kuehs and cookies being sold. With Hari Raya songs playing in the background. I love it!!!

8. And of course, you lose a lot of weight. Ok not exactly a lot. But a fair bit. 3-4kg maybe? People always get surprised when I tell them I was fat once before, I was 17 then. So when I was in JC 1, I was really tubby. But I managed to lose so much weight during the fasting month that year and I just kept losing and losing after that till I was in uni 2nd yr. Now, my weight has stabilised. But if there was no fasting month, I will probably still be a fat slob. Urgh...

So yeah, the month might seem like a chore, but I actually enjoy fasting..Maybe except for the fact that I can't exercise...

Selamat Berpuasa people! Enjoy the month...