Brother. And wife.

Complete.

Almost everyone know how close I am with my brother. I had spent most of my time growing up being with him, always being by his side and looking up to him in many ways. It is not that I am not close with my other siblings, but most of it was actually spent with him.

When I was a little girl, at around the age of 6 or 7, he was the one who taught me how to ride a two-wheeler, abandoning my third wheel. It was the best feeling ever, being able to achieve something for the first time. I remember running to the kitchen and told my mom about it, and went back outside to play with my brother. At that time, we usually go outside to play, me on the bicycle, my brother on his roller blade, and my sister... Well, she was still a baby at the time.

Then, at the age of 9, he brought me into the realms of online gaming. Ah. I remember our first online game, it was Dragon Raja Online. I, as per usual, played the priest while he played thief. And our outside days seem to disappear just like that. Haha. I guess we are geeky brother and sister. Then he introduced me into many other games, like Gates Of Heaven, Knights Online, and so on. We spent most of our time in DRO or in Ragnarok Online.

Sometimes he would just bully me in-game, and sometimes also he denies that I was his little sister while in-game, which is hilarious, to be honest, when I think back about it now. It was ridiculous how much time we spent just with games. He was also the one who introduced comedy, like Whose Line Is It Anyway?, The Big Bang Theory and so on. He introduced many things to me, like his love for music. I remember trying to learn how to play one of his songs on the piano (and I still fail up to this day) and from that moment onward, he would still play the piano, ask me to record for him sometimes, and sometimes just shares videos with me.

Photo credit : The MYTP

Many things I have shared with my one and only brother, and he is irreplaceable by so many means. I sound like an overly-attached little sister, because I am. I don't mean to sound so mushy-mush, but I am not ashamed nor embarrassed of the reality of this, and I could really tell this story any other day, but today is a special day, and I will tell you why.

24th of July 2015.

Today, my brother is successfully a married man. Married to a beautiful and marvelously awesome lady, and thank Allah for granting him the happiness to be married to the woman that he loves dearly. It is remarkably not weird if I didn't get emotional on this very day, because my brother is an awesome man. Despite everything, he is still standing and the same brother that I know and love.

Photo credit : The MYTP

Today my beloved brother will embark onto a new world filled with new responsibilities and today he is no longer a single man. He now has a wife that loves him dearly, and a new set of family. With his solemnization ended just now, he now is a husband, but forever he will be my brother. A brother that I look up to, a brother for me to love and care. And to top it off, this brother of mine introduced a new wonderful person into our lives, and now I am able to call her my beloved sister-in-law. A person who had successfully brought happiness and contentment into my brother's life. And with that said, praise to Allah for this moment. For all the moments.

Congratulations, abang! And welcome to the family, kak Sue!

We all love you both a lot, and your happiness means a lot to us. May Allah bless and shower your marriage with grace and love, and may your love of each other bounds together to go hand in hand towards Jannah. I love you both, and I really mean it.

Sincerely,

your overly-attached little sister.

Book review : Gone For Good

Gone For Good - Harlan Coben

Title : Gone For Good

Author : Harlan Coben

Edition : Paperback

No. of pages : 383

Goodreads rating : 4.09 out of 5

My rating : 4 out of 5

Book synopsis :

Will Klein lost his brother and the love of his life on the same day. Eleven years ago, Will's ex-girlfriend was found brutally murdered. The prime suspect : Will's brother, Ken. With overwhelming evidence against him, Ken disappeared and his family believed he was gone for good.

Over a decade later, Will is still convinced of his brother's innocence. And when the new woman in his life disappears, Will is pulled into a dark and violent mystery. He can feel himself coming closer and closer to a terrible secret, a secret someone will do anything to keep buried. And, as the lies begin to unravel, Will uncovers startling truths about his lover, his brother and even himself...

My review :

When I first picked up this book, I had expected it to be like any other crime-based book : There's going to be an obvious protagonist, an obvious antagonist and an obvious crime and story-line. I had expected reflection from either the protagonist or the antagonist, but this book went beyond my expectations. In fact, it made me pace my room with excitement and anticipation.

"He's alive."

Those were her exact words. And if they were true, I didn't know if it would be a good thing or bad.

Harlan Coben is indeed the King of plot twist, and indeed, this book really is worth its wonderful reviews from people. With every turn of events, I held my breath and my mind was filled with many expectations, but Coben wonderfully created a plot that I can never in my right mind can think of. This book focuses on Will Klein and the mysteries of his past that involves his brother, Ken Klein.

A decade passed, and Will is still certain of the innocence of his brother, until his current girlfriend was also murdered. (Sorry, a small spoiler.) To be painstakingly honest, I never really had a closure for the bond of Julie Miller and the Ghost. I was a little bit disappointed on the method of revelation towards the ending of the book for I had expected some more action-filled revelation kind of thing. (I am a fan of action filled stuff, you know.)

But then again, this book really did challenged me in my knowledge of psychology and criminology. I had tried to really involve many kind of theory, practicing my own understanding, but I had failed in many ways for this book. I understand that the Ghost is, well, like his name due to his upbringing, but the plot twist made me speechless and just gasp in awe at the magnificent way Coben led the plot. It is challenging indeed!

What made me really love this book was when Will found a really crucial evidence from the Julie Miller's case. From then on I began to change my perspective about many characters. Judging my own judgements, and in the end, the character that I had despised from the beginning began to change into my favourite character.

WORK!

So, here's an update from my life!

It's my second week of work, and boy, it feels different from my practicum days.

My current job is something far from counseling, but it's a start. I guess.

Honestly speaking, I am feeling impatient somehow with my job. Maybe it differed so much from counseling or teaching that it made me feel like crying. Yes, I did hope I got a job in the field of education or administration, but Allah has written that life would go in this path for me.

My job description would be to assist my employer and help with sales. I also help out with a few tests and assessments and stuff like that. It's completely new for me, and to be honest, I don't feel like I am being beneficial. The only downside at the moment would be I find it hard to find the correct time to stop and pray or to even find a decent spot to pray, since the pantry room is always packed with stuff (Yes, the company is still brand new!).

Maybe I'm just being too impatient at the moment. I should really learn to hold it all in and be stronger! I still miss teaching, though, so I might consider teaching tuition. I should start looking for some teaching jobs, since I do not know when will I start to further my studies.

Keep on smiling, lovelies!

Speaking of furthering my studies, I should start applying to some universities now, but I am completely blank on which. I am still considering whether to continue with counseling, or pursue in psychology. I even considered going into education, like Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) or maybe go into Counseling (Education). I also had thought about furthering into the realms of linguistics.

Ah. I have many things to sort in my life, don't I?

But, I won't quit. Never.

I still believe that I can be a clinical psychologist. Let's hope for the best and ask from Allah!

Everything comes from Him, and to Him we shall return! Happy grin.

And PS : It's almost the end of Ramadhan. Time flies so fast, doesn't it? And also, my convocation day is getting near! Smiles.