Goodbye 2021

We have reached the end of the year 2021. No, I'm not celebrating the new year but it is the cycle of social events (e.g economic activities and closing of accounts, holiday periods) that almost everyone will go through. For us, academics, we even have our academic year not even following the calendar year. How significant the new year is very much depends on the social context (please spare me the cynical remark about earthlings celebrating the full revolution of earth around the sun).

Let me however sum up what 2021 has been to me personally. I have lost two brothers (Ahmad Tajuddin & Aminuddin) and a nephew (Nasy) within this year. May Allah forgive them all and grant them Jannah. Here is an old photo of our family.

My three eldest brothers who have passed away are the ones standing at the back. Here is one relative recent photo with my third eldest brother Ahmad Tajuddin (standing on the leftmost).

His passing was just a few days after the unexpected passing of his son Nasy (standing in the middle with the red t-shirt).

Here is another relatively recent photo with my eldest brother Aminuddin (sitting besides me).

My other half also lost his eldest brother in the year before. But this year, she lost her favourite cat (normally will be with us in our room), Lily in July (see pic below).

Earlier in April, we lost our oldest cat Katie - she was close to my eldest son and stayed mostly in his room (see pic below).

Beyond our family, is the unexpected passing of a friend and former Head of Laboratory in the institute, Assoc. Prof. Mohd Bakri Adam. I remembered he had always asked me to apply for professorship and perhaps knowing my reluctance. Below is him, sitting on my right wearing a bluish shirt.

So in a way 2021 has been the year of losses. At the national scale, we also saw death due to Covid-19 peaked sometime in August-September 2021 (see https://covidnow.moh.gov.my/deaths/). Recently the flash flood tragedy in Selangor and now in east cost.

I certainly pray that 2022 will be a better year. I have less than a year left before I retire. I'm still attempting to reinventing myself to be a better person. I'm trying to be very conscious in what I do (not very successful but I'm trying) and avoid anything that brings any form of ill feelings.