Pre-wed memoir#5 - Conversation with Abah

Masa tengah makan malam (Ma tak makan sekali, dia diet kononnya)

 

Me: Abah, nanti abah yang nikahkan adik kan? (I am the adik,although not the youngest.Typical second child lah kan)

Abah: Haah

Me: Abah dah praktis ke?

Abah: (Berenti makan) hahahaa.. takyah praktis de. Senang je.

Me: Abah sure? Nanti kang lost of word kang. Ada kawan adik tok kadi yg nikahkan sebab ayah dia nervous.

Abah: Ala sebaris je kan..boleh punye.Bukannye abah pengantin pun

Me: Yelah atleast tengok laa skrip tu dulu..tak tengok langsung kang culture shock plak

Abah: Abah yakin, no worries

Me: Tapi takpelah boleh tengok teks kan.

Abah: Ye betul.Takyah teks pun takpe, senang je. Jangan risau..takde hal punya.

Me: Ok fine.

 

The one and only Abah I know, is the one who seldom showed emotions.Maybe he thinks showing emotion is not his cups of tea(atau maybe tak macho showing emotions?I just don't get guys).Once when I cried for whatever reason yg dah lupa, he just being plain ignorance (but I knew he actually cares too much) and later bombarded questions to my Mom on my well being.Does your Dad do that too?

 

I am just being a typical myself, minimizing the risk and considering all possibilities.

 

So kita tengok laa time akad nanti..

 

Halamak, I hope my Dad doesn't read my blog.Segan I! He is a well verse hardcore blog hoppers bytheway.

 

Pre-wed memoir#4 -Wed wishes

Thanks, cze!

Resurface later

People can see if you're not being honest.
It shows in your eyes.
It lingers around you.
It is obvious on your body language.
And the stutter of words.

Or even if it doesn't show, it will resurface later.. at the right place and the right time.

P/S: This is not a hatred post.I am just deep in thought and wondering the what ifs, while studying the people and their behaviours. Human is interesting creature, indeed.

Pre-wed memoir#3-Wedding gift

This is a note I wrote in my fb page this morning.

(this post is strictly for BFFs,best friends,good friends and everything in between.No room for judging whatsoever please)

Lately ramai orang tanye pasal ape wedding gift yg i nak.Based on several conversation previously, me and my friends agreed that despite adab org melayu yang pemalu dan tak meminta2, bakal2 pengantin kalau boleh specify kan apa yg dihajati supaye tak dapat hadiah yang same berdozen2 last2 semak kat stor atau bungkus balik bagi kat kawan lain (eh ni org cakap la, tak tau betul ke tak.huhu tapi agak kurang bermoral:P)Jadi setelah ditimbang2 tara I will list down beberapa items yang i `tak perlu' (sebab dah ade/mmg tak perlu, tapi sekiranya I still dapat I masih menerima dengan senang hati):

Wedding gift yang I TAK PERLU:
1. Steam Iron
2. Set pinggan mangkuk (tapi kalau nak bagi Corelle I nakkkk! hahaa)
3. Rice cooker
4. Peti ais (macam lah ade org nk bagi kan.haha)
5. Laptop/blackberry/tv (hahah ape ni perasan)
6.Towel mandi
7. Kettle plastik (kalo Tefal nak! i prefer metal electric kettle though)
8. Pasu bunga/bunga hiasan/teddy bear
9. Coffee maker
10. Sandwich maker
11.Kuali (kalo maxim n tefal ok kot..the non stick range)

Hmm basically tu je kot.Kiranya I still need most of home appliances as I am not buying anything for the new home yet..saje pas kawin baru nak cari.Nevertheless, your presence is the most important thing for my wedding :) love lots and see you ;)

Pre-wed memoir #2

Harini I nak capture satu lagi pre-wedding memoir. Berlaku semasa chatting through communicator with my friend just now.

 

A:

eh eh selamat pengantin baru

A:

aku ada 3 wedding on same date

Me: Tq2

A:

insyallah aku datang

Me:

wah yeke

Me:

flattered :)

A:

jgn lupa bunga telur yg kat tepi pelamin utk aku

A:

ha ha ha

Me:

mesti punyee

Me:

haha

A:

mesti ko nervous

Me:

nervous tapi taktau ape yg dinervouskn

Me:

huhu

A:

relax

A:

focus

A:

fikirkan rice mcm tulis ppa

A:

hahaha

Me:

wahahaa

Me:

application sungguh

A:

ha ha ha

I think it is genuinely funny.FYI for people who is not familiar with PPA writing, RICE is Result,Impact,Challenges and Efforts yang selalu kita tulis in details for our job utk yearly performance appraisal.And obviously my friend here is a HR background lady.Comel gilaa suggestion kau, kan..hahaa.

One special bunga telur is specially saved for you, dear :P You made my day :)

Anda semua dijemput hadir

DENGAN RASA RENDAH DIRI DAN PENUH KESYUKURAN KE HADRAT ILAHI, KAMI MENJEMPUT SEISI KELUARGA BAGI MENYEMPURNAKAN MAJLIS PERKAHWINAN KAMI:

MAJLIS RESEPSI SHAHIRA

12 Dec 2009

Dewan Majlis Perbandaran Seremban (MPS),

Jalan Yamtuan, Seremban, N Sembilan

MAJLIS RESEPSI AIZAT

19 Dec 2009

298, Lorong Titiwangsa 13,

Taman Bukti,70400 Ampangan,
Seremban, N Sembilan

I realized the blog contained more words than pictures nowadays. So I am posting this to balance things out. Hehe.

You are all invited! :)

Although most people knew this already.

When the exact date(s) is getting nearer, mulalah rasa nak gelabah kan.Walaupun hakikatnya takde ape pun nak digelabahkan, kan.

Haha. I wish to retain those words in my blog as my pre-wedding memoirs.

I just hope this blog will retain its identity although the author will change her status soon.

Status changed, but not identity.

Heheh sudah laa rambles aku (!)

Dear, transition period (my department was just been reorg) not necessary means I am inaudated with overflowing work.On the contrary, I am quite relax and even have time to count the days.Although I don't need a wedding ticker as a few of my friends will be ending their singledom on the same day as mine.So I just refer to theirs.Boleh? Haha

Sedang asyik menaip tetiba my boss came back to office, rushing and assigning me urgent work. And kept me occupied with meeting until Maghrib.

 

Typical working days.Can't wait for the long holiday to start~

 

Persepsi Perception

Recently, we often found in the newspapers what the mainstream calls perception politics.

In a layman's term, I understand it as some news conveyed to the rakyat (usually using the mass media including electronics and publications) that looks so real but more often than not, it is not too accurate.

 

Some examples are the TGNA's 'kononnya' graft case on somebody sponsors him for Hajj and the latest is Dato' Husam's, 'kononnya' (again), he wanted to quit PAS due to internal crisis.

 

Personally, and I strongly believe that both accusations are nonsense.

Why I said so? Go figure. Since I do not intend to elaborate on the cases too much, but more on perception that can create different impact than to different people.

 

Today, when I read one of my favourite book and the author gives an example on how perception can ruin someone's life if you actually let them, I cannot help but immediately relate it to the above issues.

 

The example is as simple as below:

 

An English professor wrote the words:

 

"Woman without her man is nothing" on the board and asked the students to punctuate it correctly.

 

The men wrote "Woman, without her man, is nothing"

 

The women wrote "Woman! Without her, man is nothing"

 

Now, you see what I mean?

 

Thus becareful on what you read especially in mainstream newspapers, tv news and random blogs whom you are unsure the author is.

OK, the above comment is directly for the political cases mentioned earlier. In our daily lives, this happen very often.

 

How many times you get irritated by a simple sms or emails or while chatting through social networking server?

 

How often you argue with your good friends on a simple remarks you read somewhere, often again, in sms or emails ?

 

And what happen when you instantly get mad without seeking for clarification from that particular sender? You tend to judge. Or even worse, you share them with your friends and obviously spread the hatred among you without the actual person knows.

 

I admit that I get annoyed many times and get mad by just reading a simple sentence in an email chain.Now I am thinking I am doing injustice to the person because sometimes I judge without seeking clarification.Obviously we do not want to jeopardize invaluable friendship for a wrong reason, and worse if the reason is actually far from true.

 

Conclusion is, go figure. heh. I think it is obvious enough where I am heading to.

 

Toodles.

 

Credits to Zabrina ABu Bakar, author of Life is an Open Secret on the examples of perception that can ruin lives.

Never take them for granted.

Spend time with people who make you feel good about yourself,and make time for them - Jo Richards.

I woke up early this morning,at my parents' house and found my brother's book on the computer desk.`Lift Me Up', by Ron Kaufman.I don't know this book actually owned by his friend (ehem, a special friend, or probably an ex?Owh I sounded like Melodi or Gossip Girl skarang) or a gift since someone's name is written on it.Either ways, I found the one particular quote as written as the first sentence and many other beautiful quotes in it, to lift me up and a good way to start my day.

I think the feeling is best known by people who had the similar experience with me. I lived a full 5 years of high school in a the same coed boarding school, and another full 5 years in uni (same uni, I never even attended any matriculation/form6 whatsoever) which has almost the same atmosphere as high school.So living with the same people, who initially were strangers for quite some time really created some special bond among us.We shared the thick and thin, the love and sorrow,the ups and downs together while soul searching and finding our own identity.

This is why, after I hit the working life for almost two years now, I think the ten years of serious(!) learning -high school and uni time are the best time of and should not be forgotten easily.

This is also why, I am usually in for any reunions,special occasions,weddings,get togethers, hangouts - as long as I have the opportunity to attend, I and my small circle of friends will be there. Sometimes even occasions hundreds of miles away, we will find some ways, even apply for leave just for the sake of being there for a friend.I know a few people who really can give their best to this extend, and I truly salute them for that. I sometimes, too, failed to fulfill all the invitation due to several other commitments.

When one day, my friend mentioned-`Does friendship ends when love starts?'
It really made me stop and think.
Does it?
Of course you can look at it in two different perspective.
But the one that bothers me most, is how some people changed when they changed their status, from Miss to Mrs.It seems like they shut their window off and just focus on the husband and newly build family.

Well, I am not pointing fingers but just an early reminder especially for ME as I will insya Allah moves to that stage soon. If ever I am caught red handed doing such mentioned above, just slap a yellow notes on my forehead reminding me about this post. Hahaa please, not literally okay..

The point of this whole post is actually straight forward:
Quality companions deserve time and attention.Never take them for granted.

Well for those who are curious; below is this weekend's itinerary:

Wedding Shashawn @ Bangi -Shashawn is my skoolmate who left skool mase form 4.will be going with Ci and expected to meet up Ben,Meon,Ricky,Papan and the rest of 85ers.
Wedding Amie@Temerloh - coursemate,unimate,housemate and roomate(until tomorrowlah) :P will be going with Zue Hajar, the rest Jan03 with own arrangement so we will meet each other there.

Bye,take care,drive carefully and love lots.

Financially comfortable Part 1 - Cashflow

Haip, semangat lak cerita hal financial kan.

 

Standard la, tengah baca Ke Mana Wang Anda - Hjh Rohani Datuk Mohd Shahir. One of the best personal financial book I ever read (macam lah banyak financial book i've read kan), not only rhetoric but most of her recommendation are practical and realistic.

 

First thing first, I memang tak faham orang yang suka berhutang.Adakah sebab it is the `in' thing? Or you want to spend more than you earn? Bukankah the ground rule is, to spend only what you have in your bank rimau(hanya contoh, boleh juga guna binatang lain). For housing loan and vehicle loan tu lain cerita la. But still, in this book Puan Hajah kita suggested if you earn RM3000 per month, your ideal monthly installment should be around RM350 to get yourself `financially comfortable'.Tapi come on la get real, MyVi pun installment dalam RM500-RM600 permonth, ni yg standard average ye, 5-7 years loan and moderate down payment. Still, personally I consider it quite comfortable. But what if we get a sedan car that is more trendy and luxurious with monthly installment up to RM900/month? I leave this question for you to decide.

 

That only touch on the hutang yg perlu (vehicle and housing loan).Belum cerita hutang yang kurang perlu (eleh nak sedapkan hati) dan tak perlu.Just look at our credit card balance monthly and think. Are you financially comfortable or not?

 

I myself had started to list down my cashflow every month, starting this year (sebab sebenar adalah perlu start saving utk kahwin-oops).But I am the type yang tak boleh buat benda too details ni, nanti I pening. Sebab tu I memang tak pernah jadi bendahari kat mana-mana even sekolah mahupun universiti.Kerja2 bendahari serah kat my roomate. Hahah iklan jap promosi u, Ami:P OK berbalik cerita my monthly cashflow, mine was quite simple. I did not even detail down my expenses monthly, just sum up and become-`perbelanjaan harian'.I am using blank excel spreadsheet with currently three main tabs:

 

expenses-perbelanjaan harian(termasuk sewa rumah),daily travelling,groceries etc

social obligation-fund,bagi duit kat parents,belanja orang,derma,zakat etc (ni penting ni, sebab boleh mengingatkan diri kalau sebulan    tu tengok you tak contribute langsung kat orang.penting utk keberkatan dan sharing with others:)

kahwin-ni pepandai la, tak perlu detail kot

 

..and each tabs' activities are tracked monthly.How did i do it? Easy.Print/copy paste the transaction details from the online banking platform.Tapi betullah, perlukan disiplin dan keazaman yang tinggi.Once I didn't track my expenses almost for 4 months and had a hard time tracking everything back from the transaction history.But seriously, you have to start documenting all your expenses to be in control of your financial (instead of vice versa). This also serves as an alarm in case you are over spending and found that one month you spend too much than the others.Puan Hajah pun cakap! :)

 

Sebelum itu..do you realize what is missing in my cashflow? DUIT MASUK. Hahaa sepatutnya you have to include this too especially when you have more than one source of income. Tapi since I just makan gaji je I did not actually track it... :)

 

OK ni baru one part, there are a lot more.The answer of our most common inquiries on personal financial, e.g. Macam mana menguruskan kad kredit, Macam mana nak jana ekonomi rumah tangga, Cara nak mengelak berhutang..banyak lagi insya Allah you can find, at least the hints and guidance towards the real answer.  Kalau rajin I will continue more in the future (tapi biasalah I ni janji je pastu tak bukak blog sebulan:P). The best part is... in every chapter Puan Hajah tak pernah tinggal menerapkan unsur-unsur keTuhanan, contoh kena bertaubat kalau dah sedar banyak sangat berhutang, banyak doa kepada Allah supaya kita istiqamah.. macam tu la. Best!

 

Hopefully I can manage Part2, Part3 and seterusnya.. :)

 

Happy planning :)

Career Conflict - Part 2 ke 3 tah?

I really can't escape this career conflict.

Even after I finished my brief plant attachment, I still can't make up my mind (of course, it is only a freaking short period!).

At one time I am ready to give up everything to start a family.

But, who, on earth ask you to give up EVERYTHING just to start a family?

And owh, I think I should become a field engineer just because I can't stand looking at the computer screen 8-5.

May a very dumb reason helps me to decide?

And how many successful people are successful because they follow their heart, and not their degree?

A LOT.

How can I determine and believe that there is a greener pasture on the other side?

Once I asked my Mum, " Can't I get everything I want in this world?"

" OF COURSE you can't"- a stereotype answer I received.

 

I am a planner by heart and this uncertainty is killing me.

 

 

(sekian babbles di petang hari.)

Happy 1st birthday :)

Hazim turns 1 today:)

 

As to date, he is

 

-very active!!

-plays alot, refuse to sleep during the day

-loves making weird noise

-loves listening to nursery rhymes

-expert in gliding

-can climb up and down a sofa safely

-can crawl up the stairs tapi tak reti turun lagi

-only has 1 tooth (1 on the way)

-still can't walk(standard lah tu, the family history-all my 3 siblings only can walk after 1 year 2 months..:P)

 

Aunty still wondering what to get you for your birthday...hmmm :)

 

May you be a soleh kid and be blessed and loved always :)

Saya di mana?

Salam and good day,

 

I did not abandon this blog intentionally. I just strayed away to have a peace of mind, besides my hectic schedule since after raya until now. And also, my blogroll feeds doesn't help at all (read:most of my buddies do not frequently update their blogs.Haha kecuali akak Bijou yg tetiba rajin dan menulis bahasa Melayu pula tu.Akak, it sounds weird, honestly:P)...until, when I realize that I had seldom practice my writing skills. (Eleh macamlah skillful sangat:P) The problem I always faced while opening the blogger.com site makes matter worse. Thus, only recently I activate my blogging via email feature (Why only recently?? Admit jelah malas kan). So next time, remind me of this post whenever I am lazy to update yea.

 

Where to start? Besides attending my good friends wedding three weeks in a row, and helped to prepare some of their hantaran,doorgifts and last minute wedding preparation (which is not usual for me, I must admit. I am creative (ceh perasan) but NOT in that sort of way), I felt blessed to being able to catch up with old and new friends and share latest stories on ourselves.Also to witness three solemnization and being there and heard most of the words, well you can't help but shivered. Those were moments of tears too for some, especially in one when I saw the groom shed a tear instead of the bride when he kissed his mother's hand. Well, weddings were such a beautiful occasion, and being in one is also such a beautiful experience (especially, when you are surrounded by your good friends in each). Also in these weddings that I met my old friends who happens to admit that they actually follow my blog quite frequently. Wahh hahaaa serious ke blog cam gini ade peminat :P Mekasih u alls!

 

OK that's all for now. I need sometime to regain my momentum to produce more lengthy post due to lack of creative writing these days. Oh, I read a few books these days and will share with you guys later,insya Allah. Some spoiler for your guys out there: Ketupat CInta-Musim Pertama(FT) is super cool!! Provided you are an avid lover of history, current issues, satire and politics-I filled all the criteria mentioned!, Maaf dari Sorga (FT) is just a simple novel yang sesuai untuk budak2 sekolah but full of peringatan indeed, Life is an Open Secret(Zabrina A.B) is always so sweet and mind opening as usual, Amy's Honeymoon (Julia Llewellyn) is so straight forward,predictable,light and fun as chic lit always do and now I'm in the midst of finishing Ke Mana Wang Anda?(Hjh Rohani M.S), wahh tukar angin,baca personal financial book lah pulak kan.. :P

 

p/s:Kak SHasha once mentioned about my style of writing informal things-that I love to include brackets in between.I didn't realize that, but when i reread this post (and most of my post..see! I'm doing it againnn!!), yes I tend to put brackets anywhere I can to justify my thoughts. Whatever lah Shah... :P

 

Bye and have a nice holiday! (Mine will be a very hectic one, though :)

So much to say, so little time (to write)

Ehem ehem.

 

After raya till now, its been three weeks in a row I witnessed solemnization ceremony of my good friends.

 

What those suppose to mean?? 

 

(post cubaan, post sebenar akan menyusul :)

2 hari sebelum raye

2 hari sebelum raye, Jumaat.

(tetiba berbentuk diari pulak..bajet dramatik la tu)

Saye masih bekerja walaupun housemates telah bergembira pulang ke kampung halaman.
Terasa amat malas nak gi kerja tapi paksa diri jugak..
Cuba untuk pergi kerja selambat mungkin (7.15..ni kira lambat gila la) sebab tahu jalan mesti clear, namun sampai opis selepas 20 minit!! ohh tidakkk kenapa cepat sangat sampai ni..walaupun rasanya average kelajuan pemanduan adalah 70km/cj (ceh,slow cam kura-kura)
Mujurlah training separuh hari kalau tak mati kutu gak dok ofis, takdop mood maa..dah pikir nak balik kampung je nih dan strategi camne nak menempuh jem sat lagi.

Sudah rezeki, GM bagi balik kul 3p.m..maka 2.50pm telah ku bersedia salam2 ngan ofis mates sebab nak melangkah keluar tepat 3p.m
Sebelum tuh dah survey kaki2 berkenaan yang tolong confirmkan jalan tentu jem punye.. nak2 KL-Seremban tu tak raye pun jem gak.Maka nekad suda, ikut MEX terus KLIA then ikut jalan lama KLIA-Nilai-Labu-Seremban dan berjaya tiba dengan selamat dan cepat, cewah (Alhamdulillahh).

Sempat kiss Ajim goodbye (si kecik tu gi raye umah nenek Grik dia tahun ni) dan teman ma pi bazar Ramadhan utk kali terakhir.. good bye bazar~jumpa lagi tahun depan.
Berbuka puasa ala kadar, was glad lauk seadanya je, tak berlebih2.tak perlu laa kite menyambut kedatangan kembali makhluk2 yg diikat sepanjang Ramadhan dengan meniru gaya mereka ye tak.
Kemudian bersolat terawikh utk kali terakhir..wahh syahdunye lagi setahun baru leh terawikh balik, entah ada umur lagi ke tak tahun depan kan..
Sesudah terawih, moreh ala kadar barang sedikit rojak buah dikongsi dua dan karipap serta dessert org siam tuh tak hingat namanya (kalau sapa tahu nama dia, alaa yg sengkuang cina hiris balut ngan tepung beras pastu makan ngan santan).

Kendian tutorial zakat fitrah,zakat pendapatan dan zakat simpanan (zakat emas ngan beras ngan kambing,lembu sume tak belajar detail lagi, sebab not applicable at this moment) bersama abah.Buat masa ni saya memilih utk bayar zakat lump sum (tak tolak bulan2) sebab nak tahu cara kira zakat ni, dah arif satgi mungkin akan dipertimbangkan utk tolak bulan2 pulak..
Ok tu je, pastu bukak internet and update kerja2 terbengkalai...

Rasanya hari ni penuh berkualiti,harapnya lebih baik dari semalam dan esok lebih baik dari harini..yeah.

Selamat hari raya Aidilfitri, Minal aidzil wal faidzin

Amazing Ramadhan

Its been a week since we celebrate the arrival of Ramadhan.

Ramadhan is a very special month, not only because the abundance of pahala Allah offers to the believers, but also the burning desire of doing ibadah that is seldom felt in other months.

For instance, during Ramadhan we do not eat from dawn to dusk, yet still we manage our daily ritual of work from 8.00 am - 5.00 pm (and sometimes even more), then settle for a while for break of fast and solat Maghrib, then attend tarawikh prayers for 8 or sometimes 20 rakaat!Then, to wake up at 4 a.m for sahur is such an easy task, whereas it was even hard to wake up for subuh during normal days. Moreover, quran recitation and solat sunat always fill the gaps in between, throughout Ramadhan- approximately 30 days.Isn't Ramadhan amazing?

Therefore, lets cherish the moment and may our enthusiasm to perform ibadah last even after Ramadhan ends, insya Allah. Who knows this might be the last Ramadhan for us?

Its 7.10 pm, am fasting although having slight fever for the past two days..hope will get well by tomorrow for work.Selamat berbuka everyone :)

Misi 20 hari menjadi engineer

updated! on 100909 with conclusion

I will put quotes I heard/invented/crossed my mind for each of the day I endured in Bintulu, during my 20 days mission to experience real engineer's work in an LNG plant.

Day 1 : Rasanya perempuan tak sesuai laa jadi engineer.. kerja teruk.
(pastu rupanya baru sedar, kerja teruk sebab attach wat kerja machine control.cis)

Day 2 : Baru la engineer..kerja tengah panas
(sebaik sahaja berkata demikian, orang tersebut terus masuk ke dalam FAR (bilik ber air cond) dan melihat sahaja vendor2 mengangkut panel masuk FAR)

Day 3 : Start dah sunburn. Is all this worth?
(manje. ni yang orang lain mengata pempuan takleh jadi engineer ni)

Day 4 : Yeay petang tak turun plant!
(pastu sibuk bukak email opis yg berkepuk dan reply email.Cis takleh lari betul dengan kerja opis.Dasar orang KLCC)

Day 5 : Eh, its gonna rain anytime."Yes but inside there (gas turbine house) got roof what"
(adeh cubaan mengelat tak menjadi)

Day 6 : Sabtu kerja (dan Ahad juga??) Tidakkk !!

Day 7 : Its never too old to learn
(So true, when a senior senior (memang senior lah kiranya) joined us during F&G System discussion)

Day 8 : Wonder why I thought the work is hard and rough? Baru perasan am attach to machine control.MC ni adik beradik Rotary Equipment (Mech Eng) ye kawan-kawan.Patut pun.

Day 9 : Langit tak selalu cerah.. (well, literally and not)

Day 10 : The only way to know the dates is to look at the daily breakfast coupons! How pathetic. (Baru faham kenapa kerajaan ( kerajaan Kelantan start dulu..saye tahuu) bagi 2 hari public holiday setiap minggu. Kalo kerja berterusan boleh jadi merengg sedikit sebanyak.)

Day 11 : The best engineer do not require a first class degree. What matter most are positive attitude and the right mindset.

Day 12 : Malu tak bertempat adalah merugikan diri sendiri.Persetankan awkward stares itu!

Day 13 : First day puasa, Saturday and work...well its not that bad after all.

Day 14 : Sunday, finally offday! Tu pun sebab kerja ahead schedule and contractors yang request.Bestnya!Masa dihabiskan dengan berfaedah..Eheheh rehat di pagi hari dan ziarah Ramadhan di Kuala Segan di petang hari.Hey, engineer needs balance life okay.

Day 15 : Things get more interesting.Assigned real work although just simple loop checks. Simple??? Yes it is, although I need some time to actually understand when to close and open contact, conceptually.

Day 16 : Dah pandai wat kerja sendiri siap ignore mentor ku hahah.. padahal.. -_-(To maximize your learnings, you have to cari kerja and bug other people.I bugged everyone, especially the contractors and technicians.)

Day 17 : Walaupun simple loop checks lead to major discovery of wiring problem. This is a good thing being an engineer, you can see the result and impact of your own hard work,almost instantly.Doing management work?? You give your very best yet nobody notice (let alone acknowledge.Sedih kan?)

Day 18 : You are not a good engineer if you don't master technician's work, no?

Day 19 : If you determine to learn, you will get what you deserve. An engineer told me that it depends on you,whether you want to be an engineer with indepth knowledge or just to know the necessary.Both are still called engineers,anyway.

Day 20 : Travelling home. Yes,an engineer needs to get use to travelling, and consequently logistics booking,claims etc etc. My senior's remark on the only thing that people will master eventually without any proper training is to make claims. How true.

OK, I managed to finished the attachment, alhamdulillah.Although right after I landed, I was downed with fever for 2 days (my body was shocked of the change on daily ritual,maybe). But my objective to actually favour one option than another, which is to become normal executive or an engineer is not accomplish. I mean, I can't favour one over another, even after I went to attachment for the pros and cons that both has.But really, this is a very good experience and the one that I will treasure, and hope it will help (alot) in my career development.

After this much effort and soul searching, I will leave the rest to Allah and istikharah for the best.

2nd August.

2 August.

My brother discharged from hospital after being treated for dengue.Confirmed case okay! This was also the first time one of my immediate family member gets warded, well minus ibu-ibu bersalin dan si kecik yang pernah kena jaundice, so just imagine how gelabah everyone were. The best part is, 2 August was also his birthday. Haha might be one of his most memorable birthday after all.

Besides, on 2 August also marked the latest 85ers reunion at Usop's wedding in Wetlands, Putrajaya.Beautiful weather,sceneries and people.Congratulations, both :)

The unmistakable wedding crashers. Haha

pic credit to Usop's photographer, tagged to me in fb

Tengok Panda

Kalau terer sila jawab soalan ini: Why Panda is endangered species nowadays?

*

*

*

*

*

*

Tau? Ke tak..?

*

*

*

*

Jawapan : Because panda is so so so lazy, it even lazy to mate. Some of the zoo let the panda watch blue movie (starring Pandas, of course!) so that they have some idea in mating. Seriously, this is an answer given by my Chinese tour guide..

Layan `Zalzalah' di Pilih Kasih

Malam ni I've got the chance to watch `Pilih Kasih' at tv2, ala yg Rosyam Noor jadi pengetua tu. Baru tau cerita ni kat tv2, ingatkan Astro.Rupanya yang Astro tu anak wayang.. Ni pun sebab tv3 kat hotel ni tak clear, sebab tu teralih ke tv2 pada sabtu malam yang jarang sangat tengok. Biasa layan cerekarama kalo balik rumah. Alah macam laa selalu tengok tv, gaya penonton tegar je.

Anyway, sebenarnya nak cakap pasal program ni. Kebetulan tengok malam ni, peserta2 dia pentaskan teater Zalzalah arahan Erma Fatima. I watched this until the end. It was great! Tentang pembalasan yang diterima di akhirat atas dosa2 di dunia..Walaupun peserta2 ni amatur tapi bagi saya mereka agak bagus. Macam biasa berlakon.. Tapi bukan nak cakap pasal peserta, nak cakap pasal teater tu. Memang best, I bagi 4 star kat Erma. Macam hakim pertama tu cakap, dah lama tak tengok teater Islam dipentaskan secara terbuka. So tabik springlah kat Erma!

Memang one of my wishes pun nak tengok Islamic theatre kat IB. Tak percaya, sila baca di sidebar :P Memang yang saya terbayang teater yang akan saya tengok (insya Allah) adalah teater arahan Erma. Orang lain jarang buat.. antara yang saya terkilan tak dapat tengok adalah `2 Jam Sebelum Sultan Alauddin Syahid Diracun', skrip oleh FT. Ahah, FT lagi! I saw some of you smirked and almost blurt out `budak ni memang fan FT'. Without a doubt, yes I am. Saya rasa FT antara karyawan yang berani mengangkat sastera Islamik menjadi komersil dan boleh diterima umum.

Malaysia memang kurang dakwah melalui karya seni kan? Mungkin bagi kita payah nak memenuhi garis panduan sebagai Muslim melalui karya seni, iyalah banyak sangat terms and conditions nya. Tetapi nama pun karyawan seni, this is a place to become creative without crossing the line. I am waiting, and will always wait for the time where people can enjoy Islamic arts, especially performing arts more often in this country.

Featured picture

This had been my featured picture since.. forever. I used the same pic in my YM and blogger. Some even commented I have a slight similarity with the girl, minus the fair-complexion of course :P I take it as an honour, since I really love the picture. Actually this is a picture of a Palestinian girl, that I fell in love with when I googled years ago. Her eyes tell many stories and reflect hopes that is always alive for them, the Palestinian. Just a few days back when I googled again to find the exact picture, I could not find it. Luckily I saved a few copies in my hard drive and my photo host.. can someone find it for me??

My Faithful Listener

Abah was always there to listen to my ridiculous and unexpected questions. Our best medium to converse is always in a car.

When I was a little girl, I was the one who seldom sleep in the car during long journey, and ask all sort of questions like,

"Abah, kenapa Pulau Pinang ni tengah2 negeri Kedah"
"Abah, macam mana kapal terbang terbang, dia takde jalan?"
"Abah, kenapa kereta mahal banyak kaler hitam?"

And lots of `kenapa' lagi along the way.

When I grew up, I still had this habit of asking all sort of questions to my dad. Surprisingly, he can answer almost 90% of them correctly. I asked general questions like insurance procedure, autopsies, how to place billboard beside the highway, court rules, bidding for special plate numbers, unit trust, stock exchange, basically anything that crossed my mind. And he will answer everything. I consider him as my walking dictionary. And I grew up very much interested in general knowledge and current issues.

And as I grew older, I tend to think on everything, critically and share with my dad.Eventually he has a neutral political views and also reads both mainstream newspapers and blogs, so okay, I guess he is not bias in that sense.

I wish to capture our conversation yesterday morning, when we went to work.

"Abah, one of Najib's gifts are to give 20% discounts untuk pengguna Touch and Go lebih dari 80 kali. Camana dia kira? Sekali touch dikira sekali ke, satu perjalanan dikira sekali?"
"Satu perjalanan la kot, pergi sekali, balik sekali.Satu hari dua kali"
"Kalau macam tu tak aci lah. Untuk pengguna tegar tol hari2 pun paling2 sehari 2 kali, darab 20 hari bekerja baru 40 kali. So pengguna lebuh raya hari2 pun takleh dapat diskaun unless dia pengguna tegar, satu hari naik 2-3 tol."
"Haah.."

Another one, kelmarin when he started a conversation (again, in a car).

"Nanti kalau kita drive pegi Penang, senang la.Tol kat Ipoh tu dia nak cabut, so bayar masa sampai kat destinasi je.Takyah berhenti bayar halfway kat Ipoh lagi."
"Oh yeke. Maksudnya kita kena bayar lagi banyak la.Sebab kita bayar tol ikut kilometer kan.Kiranya sekarang kita dah kena bayar untuk beberapa km yang dulunya free zone tu. Kira kita rugilah kan."
"Haah"

Agak2,if you were my dad, will you get piss off with my critical comments? Don't think so, cause he is my dad. Isn't it good to share everything with people without prejudice. And we learn, and we keep on seeking relevant information to support our facts and stands.

I hope to see our leaders from all political views share a stage and share their views with others, more often for the bettermen of the country.

Don't you think so?

Insecure

This newborn feels insecure when mummy went out to search for food.

It does't hurt to feel insecure, sometimes.
Infact, it is natural to feel insecure every now and then.
Insecurity makes us think, and strategically plan for the days to come.



But, there are rules, the do's and don'ts in reacting towards insecurity.
First, stay calm and connected to the source.
Second, never jump into conclusion easily.
Third, never make spontaneous decision that you may regret later.
Fourth, don't listen to one source, opt for others too.
Fifth, live with it and get the best out of it.

Or to think in different perspective, what if we don't live that long to feel the consequences? Thus, the worrying part did nothing but just a waste of time. Isn't it much better to worry on something else worth worrying than the uncertainties?

Ada hikmah sebalik setiap kejadian.

There is a rainbow after every heavy downpour.

There is a silver lining in every storm.

Allah takkan membebani hambaNya melainkan dengan kesanggupannya (Al Baqarah:286).

“Boleh jadi kamu membenci sesuatu, padahal ia amat baik bagimu, dan boleh jadi (pula) kamu menyukai sesuatu, padahal ia amat buruk bagimu; Allah mengetahui, sedangkan kamu tidak mengetahui.” (Al-Baqarah: 216)

The Almighty and wise men of the past had showed us the way.

P/S:If you're observant and bold enough, you will understand where I am heading to.

Voucher, anyone?

Dear all, if you/you know someone who want/need this, just let me know. Voucher valid from 01/07/09 - 31/08/09, delivery in KLCC only.

Blissfully married Couples

As usual, ramai mintak gamba kawen yg I attended last few weeks. So I letak sini lah ye. Pandai2 save sendiri okk.. :)

K Sumay's

Hajar's

Tiey's

The singlesss @ Tiey's..(eheh.except Afidah yg tertinggal husband kat umah)

There is one wedding yang I tak sempat amik gambar pengantin sebab rushing pi kenduri lain, which is Ina's.Alaa regret sangat, people said they looked adorable :)

Enjoy,people.

Awed by Tash

As usual, tonight i flipped through The Sun and it was among my few rare occasion of reading a newspaper from cover to cover(except on weekends,when I have all the time in the world to digest the contents). On the page of top ten hot seller books listed by The Borders, I noticed two books being listed by the same author, Tash Aw.

Wait..Tash who?

He is a Malaysian,literally, although was born in Taipei by Malaysian parents and experienced living in many part of the world. Two books as hot sellers at one time, this guy must be good. According to the article, he spent five and four years to complete each books.

The first book, Harmony silk factory was set in World War Two in Perak,whereas the second book, Map in of the Invisible World was set duirng a Confrontation period in Indonesia around 1960's. I read a brief synopsis of the second book and it sounds very impressive. About two boys, Adam and Johan whom were sent to orphanage by their mother and later separated as Johan was adopted by a Malaysian couple while Adam was taken by a Dutchman and continue his life in Indonesia. Tash later captured Adam's journey dealing with many difficultied especially in adapting in terms of skin colour and heritage. To quench the thirst of my secret passion in history(sometimes laa pun), I guess I will head to major bookstore and get my hands on the book,perhaps.

Lagipun ni menyahut cabaran AKJ yang mengatakan golongan muda buta sejarah sebab membaca (sebab tu tak cakna dengan isu LKY datang Malaysia dan buat roadshow), insya Allah tak semua..

Any of you have read either of the book? Share with me ok!

My Best friend's Wedding

Atas permintaan ramai...

This is a friend whom most of the time with me,through thick and thin.

She was there when I cried (which was very rare) , start dari hilang kunci keta masa 2nd year, depressed mase convofair mase 3rd year, perang besar ngan dia mase 4th year (intern..haha I think the most depressed person during this time is Jasa.Peace Jess~), kecik hati ngan member and abundance of workload mase final year, kecik hati ngan ayah mase pas uni..(masa ni kat umah aku pun hang ade.Magic pe hang ni?) she was always there to console me.

She was there gak through my unforgettable experience.Naik skuter dari uni ke Ipoh and Pangkor, merentas Jambatan Pulau Pinang, she taught me my first time fishing experience in Taman Negara P Pinang (monkey beach ke? lupa dah) sampai I jadi addict and taknak dah mandi laut pastu sebab asyik sangat mancing, our air kelapa moment (and tayar pancit) lepas balik keje mase intern, my first accident (selepas itu saya fobia bawak keta selama tiga minggu, dan tumpang moto dia gi keje everyday), and trip to balai polis dan jumpe pakcik polis sengal,my first ICU experience visiting Anih's friend(Anih is her sister yang equally funny and hilarious) .. not to mention our many roadtrips to Langkawi, Sunway Lagoon, Padang Besaq, Bukit Merah, jalan2 cari ayaq terjun and mandi laut (mase intern, ni memang kerja kami tiap weekend), Penang, Port Dickson.. aih banyak lagi lah.

She was a friend that I relied solely when it comes to assignments and projects in uni.. when I came back after various meetings at 2.00 am,my ritual was always bawak bantal and assignments pi room dia, and konon nak wat keje same2 padahal I slept 10minutes after my arrival huhu..and the main resource each time I don't have time to complete my assignments on time.Hahaa apsal hang ada dalam semua occasion hidup aku nih?

Therefore a long, miserable journey to your wedding is nothing compared to your hospitality and warmth as a friend. Happy wedding, Hariri! And may the best of everything in your new life, insya Allah.

p/s:Excuse the emotional post, I think sometimes ape salahnye.Hehe

Berapa bijik pearl dalam satu oyster?

Have you seen the inner side of a pearl oyster?

Can you guess how many pearls usually contained in an oyster?

Initially when I was asked this question, my answer was one (sebab terpengaruh dengan cerita Little Mermaid, biaselahkan)

*

*

*

But actually, one oyster contained many pearls!!

Yes, I just knew this fact recently. Segan I.

Picture taken in Pearl Centre, Beijing

Yet, knowing the fact, I am still wondering why pearls are still very expensive?!

Actually the lower quality ones are not that expensive..hehe

(ape ni, sendiri tanya sendiri jawab)

Last few days

Last few days, I am travelling

after office-Shah Alam overnight and whole day-KL-Seremban overnight tengok Hazim sat-KL.

KL-Parit overnight & visit Jasa-Pokok Sena akad-Alor Setar visit cousin-Pokok Sena reception-Georgetown makan at Padang Kota-Batu Feringghi-Georgetown supper at Gurney-Sg Dua overnight.

Sg Dua-Taiping for Doli kuey teow-R&R Tapah for iced latte-KL.

On Monday, dizzy and sleepy at work, blamed Monday blues for the lack of productivity.

After all, the journey worth every penny,which you wont get it kalo travelling by flight (yess, I tak menyesal).

P/S: Pictures? I dont want to be anticlimax, I always save the best for last :)

Di kala blank

What would you always do when you have so much in mind to blog, but when you see the blogger's entry template your idea vanished into the air?

Total blackout. Blank.

What I always do, is to click the add image button and surf for interesting pictures in my possession, and paste it here.

Just like this one.

The caption for this pic is, erm, if you have excessive money to spend this month, go get it. One of the best moisturizer I use so far..anyway, not performance wise. I think the moisturizing effect is just OK, but it does not irritate sensitive skin laa for sure. And works for cracked heels too (I was talked into buying this by the sales girl while searching for cracked heels cream). I think I love it because of its smell. Just because of that. Haha.

Enjoice.

You're in the right Blog

Yes, you're in Shah's Facts N Figures.

Like my new template?

Tak suka pun takpe, janji I suka.. dah bosan dengan template epal berumur 3 tahun itu.

We need change, right :)

It is B-city

Last two weeks, I had my annual ritual of family vacation, despite the heavy work load and the newly assigned project (which I just had to flash my sweetest smile to my boss as he had approved my leave three weeks earlier). This time around, Abah decided to go `oriental' and looked for a destination in Asia. And fair enough, the most tempting place to go where we never step our foot on, with a reasonable cost and also one of Malaysian's favourite shopping paradise, is Beijing.

So Beijing we went.

The Great Wall, after the second tower. Here you can get your certificate that certified you've climbed the Great Wall. But here in Beijing, nothing comes for free. You have to pay for the cert!

If you ask me to describe Beijing in three words, I would say Beijing is modern, busy and clean. My Mum (and most of us) admitted that she was initially quite sceptical with the city, in a negative way, as Beijing may sound ancient and historical with densely populated people ( about 23 million in the city alone). So in this case, a Malay proverb of `Tak Kenal Maka tak Cinta' explained our interesting and fascinating experience here,period.


Beijing is so exciting! There are Chinese Acrobatics, Great Wall, Forbidden City, the Tian-an Men, the pearls, jades, jewelleries, pandas, Bird Nest Stadium, silk, the souvenirs, the imitation goodies, the bubbly and Malay speaking tour guide, the various Muslim restaurants, the Muslim community, the structured and well planned town, the Beijing roses, the red dates and chestnuts, the historical mosques aged hundreds of years, the exotic food in the hawker street(gulp)..and many more! I wish I had a day off to blog about all of these... (you wish laa kan~:P)


However, I guess I will share in details my experience, perhaps later as I am struggling with projects and office workloads for these few weeks (already!).Its May, and now is always the time people finalizing the KPIs and improvement initiatives, and even the BAU (business as usual) is more hectic than ever.

Sneak peak : Me and my SIL with out tour guide and some of the tour members

Therefore, have fun, people!



P/S : Oh yes, next week is school holiday and the wedding fiesta is about to start! A lott of my good friends will get married. Congrats, dearies and I will blog more about this soon, insya Allah.

Tribute to teachers on Teacher's Day

It strucked me when I tried to recall my teachers' names since kindergarten, I failed to list down all of them. Thus, here in this page, I will try to list down all names that I can remember, for my reference now and in the future.

Kindergarten - Tadika ABBC
Cikgu : Cikgu Aya (ni je ingat.Ke dia sorang je cikgu ek?)
Kawan2 : Nadira Izaty, Asyraf (just married, Selamat Pengantin Baru),Fauziah,Zarina..( 4 org je ingat??)

Sekolah Rendah - Convent Seremban/SK Puteri
Cikgu : Cikgu Maznah (cikgu Tunas Puteri), Ms Jeyadevi (cikgu disiplin -ingat sebab pernah kena warning dalam bilik dia), Pn Siva(cikgu kelas sebelah mase darjah 3),Cik Zalina, Pn Ong (sains) Pn Ithniah (guru besar).. (kenapa cikgu kelas aku sorang pun tak ingat?cikgu kelas sebelah ingat pulak. Adeish)
Kawan2: Joyce Chiang, Syarafina, Ezati, Shazana, Azah, Lyn Yen, Tse Yee, Xiang Min, Lucy, Pooja,Idyani,Shida, Nadia,Diyana,Fazrin,Iman, Tunku Ida...(stakat ni je, nanti kalau igt dah letak lagi)

Sekolah Menengah - SMSTJ
Cikgu : Cikgu Kedah, Cikgu razak(yang suke rotan budak boys and selalu suruh kitorg lari round basketball court sebelah kelas), Frau Farajuita(ni bdk 3 Bohr my batch kalo tak igt taktau nak cakap pe), Lao Shi (cikgu mandarin,name tak hingat),Cikgu Kang, Ustazah Azni, Ustazah Maznah, Cikgu Jee,Ustaz Shamsul, Ms Umi, Ms Jess, Pn Norhashimah (terima kasih cikgu kerana mengajar saya Add Math hingga dapat A1 first time mase SPM),Cikgu Azlin, Cikgu Donan, Cikgu Bio tu ape ek nama dia?,Cikgu Fizik (alaa, asik panggil nama gelaran je dah tak igt name betul. Tapi saya takmo panggil nama gelaran lagi sebab dah insaf mase SPM tak score fizik), Cikgu Rozi, Cikgu Istika (cikgu klas mase form 4), oh ye, Mr Zack, Cikgu Karim..
Kawan2: Alaa baru lagi, rajin reunion lak tuh, insya Allah I ingat you all (wahaha play safe nampak)

Uni
Cikgu : Mr Balbir, Ms Suhaila, Ms Hazrin, Ms Kak Own, Ms Norashikin ( SV internship), Mr Fakhizan (SV FYP), Mr Mukherjee (sorry sir I found it difficult to score your subject huhu), Mr Sanif, Ustaz Nuri, Ms Ena, Ir Fadzil, Ir Nordin, Dr Norani.. (ala blank pulak dah. Will update from time to time)
Kawan2 : Baru sangat kot.. kalo lupa memang laa tak tau nak cakap pe

Lain2
Cikgu driving, ma ngan abah yang selalu menjadi cikgu mengajar erti kehidupan (cewah), my brothers (bergaduh ngan korang pun i always learn something), my SIL (akak still hutang saye cara-cara membuat karipap ye),senior2, junior2, member2 yang selalu ajar saya, bos dulu, bos sekarang, cikgu2 masa training,officemates dan semua lah..

Selamat Hari Guru saya ucapkan..
taktau kenapa saya asyik teringat moto hari guru masa bila entah iaitu `Guru Inovatif dan kreatif Menjayakan Wawasan'. Tahun ni ape ek moto hari guru?

Terima Kasih Cikgu, you all are simply the best.

p/s: Friends, Kalau you all nak tambah nama2 cikgu/kawan2 tadika dan sekolah rendah yang I ter miss, please feel free ok.

Summer's in the air

As ganas as I may seem, I still get fascinated by (real,fresh) flowers.

They are like, created especially and exclusively for women!

p/s : Ci, cepat teka tempat ni! Kalau betul aku belanje. Huhu

Am off.. but online!

Hye all,

As some of you already knew, I am on my annual ritual of getting away from work hassle to get a peace of mind, somewhere. Yang bestnya, I only applied annual leave for two days only, yeay :)

What ever it is, this is the first time I have a hotel room complete with a pc and internet connection! Yes, in the hotel room itself! Without any extra charge at all. So there is no hassle of going to a cybercafe or bringing your own notebook..I guess maybe it is because the city is considered a world-renown business centre of its own. And even I am away, I can get online everyday :)

P/s : Today also, was the first time I saw a fried (kambing) meat ball and accidentally termakan ia!! Oh tidakk saya tak suka kambing.

Meet My New Mate

Intel Atom N270 (1.6Ghz)
160Gb/2Gb RAM
Built-in Web Camera (1.3 Mpixels)
Wireless LAN
10/100Mpbs LAN
Non Explosive Lithium ion Battery
Cards Reader, Express Card Slot
3 x USB Port, 1 x VGA Port
Free Twinmate Sleek Case
Pre-installed with XP Home
1.2kg lightweight with 10.2" Wide Screen
*Fanless Design-An engineering breakthrough that has permanently eliminated the risk of overheating due to fan failure.
*Built-in Hardisk
*Non Explosive Lithium ion Battery

I got this out of necessity, since I don't have any laptop (melainkan laptop pemberian company yang berat itu). So far alhamdulillah, mamat nie menjalankan tugas dengan jayanya. Mine was exactly the same as above, only mine was black. I badly wanted the red one but kalau nak kena tambah RM200. Oh itu memang tidak perlu. I got a netbook instead of notebook to fufill my priority list as below :

1. Ringan untuk mobiliti
2. Murah mengikut bajet di poket
3. Comel dan cantik untuk memotivasi diri (haha.perlukah)

Mengikut aktiviti survey yang sempat diadakan pada PC Fair yang lalu, model ini (Twinmate NX10) adalah paling memenuhi tiga ciri di atas..oh yeah.Satisfied sungguh (setakat ini). I realized that netbook is the `in-thing' nowadays especially among ladies, so I look forward to hear comments or experiences from other netbook owners.

Toodles.

p/s: I put a lot of effort to italical the words in English.Anti PPSMI supporters, I am still one of you guys.

Bidadari Dari Timur..

I was so upset when I missed the launching of this book during the KL Bookfair last week. It was even attended by Tok Guru himself! Hmm, did I tell you that I missed the whole bookfair affair?? Initially I wasn't so devastated since most of the book that I aimed to get can be found easily in MPH or Kino, except this very particular book ( I assume, although I never actually try to find it in the nearest bookstore). However I managed to get hold of it from a friend, who happened to be a bookdealer.

So this morning, after my Subuh prayer, I read this 107 pages book that I was certain can be finished for a mere half an hour. This book actually acts as my Tazkirah Subuh on this wonderful early weekend morning, where most of the people are still cuddling their comfortable blanket -_- ( I was glad, I was very energetic this morning, or else I would usually do the same ritual as the others..)

OK, I actually wants to highlight some synopsis of this book. They called it `novelette' as it has the fancy words normally used in the commercial Malay novels.. :) I would suggest this book to all ladies, as I presume usually ladies appreciate fancy words (bahasa puitis) and it really touches the bottom of hearts and deepest of soul. For men whom enjoy novels, feel free to get hold of this book.

The book is actually a mini memoir of the beloved wife of Tok Guru (Datuk) Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, the well known ulama' and also the MB of Kelantan. Datin Tuan Sabariah Tuan Ishak, a soft spoken, brave at heart and a loving wife and mother of ten children, being a wife of a super busy and dedicated religious leader like Tok Guru for more than 30 years.. there are so much to learn from her valuable experience. Especially to wives and ehem, wife to be (to whom who may concern, haha).

It was filled with excerpts from the Holy Quran, and her real experience of growing up her 5 sons and 5 daughters, and handling the house chores. And she also gave a glance on how Tok Guru managed to spend time with his children and his hobby of hunting and farming (I suppose it is hard to find an MB with interesting hobby like this) despite his busy schedule. However, the thing that I treasure most in this brief novelette are a few doa that was recited by him every now and then. One of my favourite, was the one which he recited before the 13th GE. It surely will shed your tears!

Bottomline is, please read this book.. it is so touching and inspiring at the same time..and it is so thin that you can finish in few minutes, seriously. Enjoy!

Logik Etika Estestika

Logik
Etika
Estestika.

Tiga elemen ini merupakan aras tanda sesebuah karya seni itu bermutu atau sebaliknya, menurut Faisal Tehrani (FT) dalam majalah Muslimah keluaran Mei 2008.

Sebagai orang yang memperjuangkan karya seni sastera, beliau membincangkan tentang tiga elemen yang sangat kurang diterapkan dalam karya seni di negara kita, sama ada filem, drama, penulisan dan sebagainya. Tapi kali ini mungkin saya nak fokus kepada karya drama televisyen dan filem, sebab kalau masuk penulisan makin panjang hujahya.

Nilai pertama, logik. Kalau kita lihat memang banyak cerita yang dipaparkan di televisyen mahupun layar perak adalah tak logik. Bak kata FT, Ayat-ayat Cinta itupun tak logik. Sebenarnya nilai logik yang ada dalam sesebuah cerita itu turut membantu penghayatan penonton sekaligus mengaitkan dengan kehidupan realiti.Bukan hanya terperangkap dalam dunia fantasi yang entah apa-apa. Watak utama yang terlalu sempurna, kehidupan yang terlalu banyak kebetulan (baca:terlalu banyak!!), dunia yang hanya dipenuhi angan-angan dan yang jelita mesti akan berkahwin dengan putera raja dan hidup mewah, yang miskin pasti akan terperangkap dalam gejala sosial seterusnya menjadi perosak masyarakat. Memanglah tiada yang mustahil di dunia ni, tapi yang lebih penting apakah nilai yang boleh diambil oleh penonton (aundience’s take-away) di akhir cerita nanti?

Nilai kedua,etika. Ni amat kurang didapati dalam drama tv kita akhir-akhir ini. Asyik-asyik cerita skandal, putus cinta, korporat terlibat rasuah, gelap duit, bohsia, rebut suami orang dan sewaktu dengannya.Logik? Memanglah logik. Macam cerita Yasmin Ahmad, memang logik dan berlaku dalam masyarakat kita. Tapi perlu ke sisi itu yang ditonjolkan dalam filem, secara jujur dan telus, tanpa sebarang tapisan? Macam mana dengan penonton bawah umur, yang tak faham double meaning dan cheeky body gesture? Mungkinkah mak ayah mereka akan dibom dengan macam-macam soalan selepas tengok cerita macam ni. Pada fikiran mereka, mungkin budaya Melayu kita memang macam ni agaknya.

Kebanyakan cerita memang ada selitkan unsur-unsur keinsafan dan pengajaran buat jahat dibalas jahat pada penghujung cerita.Itu saya tak nafikan, tapi mungkin sikit sangat.. kebanyakan isi cerita lebih kepada yang berbentuk skandal dan sensasi. Cubalah bayangkan, kalau budak-budak kecil asyik disajikan cerita-cerita macam ni,lama kelamaan akan terprogram dalam otak mereka dan besar nanti macam nilah corak pemikiran mereka.Cita-cita nak jadi model, nak kahwin dengan orang kaya, nak jadi artis..

Nilai ketiga, estestika. FT kata estestika ni keindahan,nilai yang jadikan subah cerita nampak menarik dan bagus. Saya sendiri, sangat suka filem yang memaparkan shot alam yang cantik, dari sudut yang menarik dan peralihan plot yang kemas.Pendek kata, perfect cinematography (he art or technique of movie photography, including both the shooting and development of the film). Saya tak nafikan filem Yasmin memang cantik.. tapi sayang estestikanya ada, etikanya kurang.

Memang banyak filem dan drama sekarang, tinggi nilai estestika dan kurang nilai etika. Kalau filem `cantik’, maka mudahlah diangkat di festival filem dan menang anugerah filem dan drama. Tapi mana nilai sebenar sesebuah filem itu, kalau akhirnya penonton tak dapat apa pun. Sedikit pun tak bertambah nilai kemanusiaan, ilmu mahupun intelektual. Saya merasakan, dan mengharapkan orang-orang seni perlu lebih kreatif dan berfikiran jauh untuk menjadikan filem dan drama mereka mengasuh masyarakat menjadi lebih baik, bukannya tanpa impak. Jauh sekali menjadikan mereka lebih hanyut dengan dunia rekaan mereka. Mungkin saya boleh lihat lebih banyak program tv dan filem yang menepati konsep yang tiga ini, insya Allah.

Enjoying Allah's creation

At dusk, taken from the double skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur.

Anlene Concentrate

(malas nak amik gamba sendiri, ni ehsan afzanistrator.blogspot.com)

Whoever knows me personally, you all would know that I, being a self proclaimed health freak,am always promoting people at my age to consume milk, namely Anlene to avoid osteophorosis (excuse my spelling, please) when you are older. The powder form of Anlene is (for me) not as tasty as normal milk, but I managed to live with it anyway. But recently, they produce something that is much more better in taste, and higher in calcium content too.

To non milk lover (like me) but badly need some calcium supply in your body, I encouraged you guys to try this. Sangat sedap ok, tak rasa susu langsung, rasa vanilla! To milk (and vanilla) lover like Ci, you would love this to bits. Seriously. Its just that for this you need to pau your Mom more often, as it comes in mini packages of 125ml and priced around RM1.50 each.. hehe.

Sangat sedap! Cubalah untuk tulang yang kuat dan sihat.

Seindah bidadari syurga..

Sedikit perkongsian ilmu dari blog WP ladies

Antara pengisian yang dikongsi yang berpandukan buku tulisan ulama terkenal, Syeikh Mutawalli Sya’rawi bertajuk `Tazkirah Peringatan Hari Akhirat’ seperti berikut:

1) Orang yang paling banyak menerima ujian adalah orang yang telah mendapat Hidayah – sesungguhnya Allah menguji mengikut kemampuan hamba-Nya. Apabila kita telah mengetahui sesuatu hukum Allah itu dan masih lagi ingkar, maka dosa yang kita dapat lebih besar daripada orang yang tidak mengetahui

2) Ciri-ciri penghuni syurga:

I. Mulutnya sentiasa memuji Allah
II. Sentiasa beristighfar dan memuji Allah 70 kali sehari (seperti amalan Nabi Muhammad saw)
III. Salam penghormatannya adalah salam, penutup doa mereka adalah alhamdulillah
IV. Ahli-ahli syurga dan isteri-isteri mereka duduk di tempat teduh, menperoleh buah-buahan dan segala yang diminta
V. Allah dan malaikat memberi salam kepada ahli syurga
VI. Wanita penghuni syurga adalah isteri-isteri yang suci dan mereka kekal di dalamnya
VII. Rombongan pertama yang masuk syurga adalah seperti bulan purnama, yang kedua seperti bintang bergemerlapan dengan masing-masing dua isteri
VIII. Di syurga tiada yang bujang, semuanya berpasangan

3) Dalil-dalil yang dikongsi tentang ahli syurga :

i)Surah Yunus, ayat 10- percakapan ahli syurga
Maksudnya : Doa mereka di dalamnya ialah: "Subhanakallahumma", dan salam penghormatan mereka ialah: "Salam". Dan penutup doa mereka ialah: "Alhamdulillaahi Rabbil 'aalamin."

ii)Surah Al Zukhruf, ayat 87- Doa Nabi Yunus ketika ditelan ikan nun
Maksudnya : "..Bahawa tidak ada Tuhan (yang berhak disembah) selain Engkau. Maha Suci Engkau, sesungguhnya aku adalah termasuk orang-orang yang zalim."
( Digalakkan baca sewaktu bersolat hajat, sujud terakhir)

iii)Surah Al Baqarah, ayat 25- Ganjaran didapati ahli syurga
“Dan sampaikanlah berita gembira kepada mereka yang beriman dan berbuat baik, bahwa bagi mereka disediakan surga-surga yang mengalir sungai-sungai di dalamnya. Setiap mereka diberi rezeki buah-buahan dalam surga-surga itu, mereka mengatakan: "Inilah yang pernah diberikan kepada kami dahulu." Mereka diberi buah-buahan yang serupa dan untuk mereka di dalamnya ada istri-istri yang suci dan mereka kekal di dalamnya.”

4) Dalil dan hadis kehebatan wanita :

i) Surah An Nisa, ayat 32
“Dan janganlah kamu iri hati terhadap apa yang dikaruniakan Allah kepada sebahagian kamu lebih banyak dari sebahagian yang lain. (Karena) bagi orang laki-laki ada bahagian daripada apa yang mereka usahakan, dan bagi para wanita (pun) ada bahagian dari apa yang mereka usahakan, dan mohonlah kepada Allah sebagian dari karunia-Nya. Sesungguhnya Allah Maha Mengetahui segala sesuatu.”

ii) Sabda Rasulullah “ Wanita itu dikahwini kerana hartanya, keturunannya, paras rupanya dan agamanya. Maka pilihlah yang beragama”

iii) “Wanita yang berkat adalah wanita yang mudah dipinang, murah maharnya dan mudah rahimnya (mudah hamil)

iv) “Sebaik-baik wanita yang menunggang kuda dari kaum Quraisy adalah yang menyayangi anak kecilnya dan yang menhormati suaminya”

v) Jika wanita menunaikan solat lima waktu, berpuasa di bulan Ramadhan, menjaga kehormatan dan mentaati suami maka pastilah dia masuk syurga

vi) Lelaki yang mempunyai anak perempuan dan mendidik anaknya dengan baik, maka anak itu akan menjadi pendindingnya dari azab api neraka

vii) “Kesenangan dunia yang paling baik adalah isteri solehah”

Pesta Buku !

Pesta Buku Antarabangsa kembali lagi!

pada

17-26 April 2009
Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur

dari surah Al Alaq, ayat 1 hingga 5 :
[96.1] Bacalah dengan (menyebut) nama Tuhanmu Yang menciptakan,

[96.2] Dia telah menciptakan manusia dari segumpal darah.

[96.3] Bacalah, dan Tuhanmulah Yang Maha Pemurah,

[96.4] Yang mengajar (manusia) dengan perantaraan kalam.

[96.5] Dia mengajarkan kepada manusia apa yang tidak diketahuinya.

Personal Target :

1) Manikam Kalbu (FT)

2) Koleksi Pak Latip yang saya tiada - Umar Al Khattab, Abu Bakar Sahabat Sejati, Hikayat Amir Hamzah 1,2,3 (mengikut bajet di poket)

3) Original version of Slumdog Millionaire -apakah nama dia? tak ingat dah

English ke Bahasa Melayu?

Sebenarnya ni isu tentang PPSMI. Tapi saja taknak letak tajuk PPSMI sebab bosan dan macam dah muak (tapi tulis juga kan). Dah berzaman orang berdemo pasal PPSMI ni baru saya nak komen kan? Itulah, pada mula lagi sejak PPSMI ni timbul, saya tak faham apa relevannya. Tapi kerajaan terus melaksanakannya. Rasanya saya mula perasan pun masa adik saya ambil subjek EST (English in Science and Technology) dan cakap ramai kawan-kawan dia tak dapat A subjek tu. Lepas tu 2 tahun kemudian, tanya pula sepupu dia ambil tak EST, katanya cikgu cakap ni subjek tak wajib ambil. Pulak. Besar kemungkinan sebab takut peratus lulus dan rekod semua A (straight A’s) sekolah jatuh sebab ramai orang tak lulus EST.

PPSMI diperkenalkan kononnya supaya nak budak-budak pandai Inggeris, jadi bila bekerja lebih kompeten dan senang diterima syarikat multinasional.Tapi betul ke PPSMI ni jalan terbaik?

Saya memang tak sokong PPSMI, tapi saya sokong budak-budak belajar cakap bahasa Inggeris paling kurang masa sekolah menengah. Waktu sekolah rendah, bagi saya budak-budak ni baru nak belajar benda-benda asas. Ikutlah lidah (mother tongue) masing-masing, apa yang dibelajar di rumah, yang diajar oleh mak ayah (dan atuk/nenek/bibik?). Sebab tu sebelum ni selain sekolah Melayu, ada sekolah Inggeris, sekolah rendah jenis kebangsaan Cina dan Tamil. Tapi kalau dah sendiri pilih, contohnya anak Melayu yang ibu bapanya masukkan ke sekolah Cina, memang kena ambil masa sikitlah untuk sesuaikan diri. Awalnya memang susah, tapi lama-lama dah biasa dan jadi senang. Budak-budaklah katakan, mudah sangat untuk terima pelajaran dan pengetahuan baru.

Fikir balik, bukankah konsep ni sama je dengan usaha kerajaan melaksanakan PPSMI? Supaya para pelajar sudah terbiasa dengan bahasa Inggeris sejak kecil dan penguasaan mereka semakin baik bila dah besar.

TETAPI, konsep orang Melayu masukkan anak ke sekolah Cina, atau orang Cina masukkan anak ke sekolah Melayu, mungkin relevan untuk yang di bandar. I would say orang di bandar tiada masalah untuk PPSMI, mereka yang memilih sendiri corak pembelajaran anak masing-masing, tak kisah bahasa pengantarnya Inggeris atau Melayu.

Tetapi macam mana dengan mereka yang tinggal di luar bandar? Anak-anak orang bandar mungkin dah biasa diajar oleh ibu bapa tentang terma-terma Sains, belajar asas Matematik, dan zaman sekarang, ramai ibu bapa dah melatih anak-anak kecil bercakap bahasa Inggeris (walaupun kadang-kadang bahasa Inggeris sendiri berterabur).

Anak-anak di luar bandar, bahasa pengantarnya majoriti masih lagi Melayu. Perkataan sains usah cakaplah, sangat jarang didengar. Matematik pun setakat kira pakai jari. Maksudnya asas sebelum masuk sekolah kurang kukuh, sebab tu la nak masuk sekolah darjah satu supaya cikgu boleh ajar. Tapi kalau dah cikgu ajar terus bahasa Inggeris, budak-budak ni kena mula dari kosong. Lebih teruk kalau cikgu tu pun bahasa Inggerisnya tunggang langgang. Ada sesetengah budak pula jenis malu bertanya pada cikgu, balik rumah tanya pada mak ayah. Sudah kalau mak ayah pun tak faham, macam mana tu?

Sebenarnya bagi saya, terpulang kepada cara ibu bapa mendidik anak-anak dan persekitaran anak-anak tu sendiri. Kalau dari kecil dah rancang nak didik anak cakap bahasa Inggeris, kita kenalah belajar juga supaya taklah ajar `home-made English' kepada anak-anak. Grammar kena betul, vocabulary kena banyak dan penggunaannya tepat.

Kita sering dengar ibu bapa sekarang ajar anak kecil kononnya nak cakap English, tapi Englishnya sepatah dua je. Contoh macam `Come, come. Eat,eat’ bila nak suruh anak makan. Ataupun `Amin good boy kan. Sit,sit. Mama nak eat kejap’ bila anak taknak duduk diam. Perkataan yang digunakan seharian ni yang akan diingat oleh budak-budak, takut nanti dah terbiasa dan bila besar nanti ujian English pun teruk, Melayu pun hancur!

Still, you all can argue on that. Baguslah daripada tak tahu langsung cakap Inggeris kan. Sepatah dua jadilah. Apa-apa pun, terpulang. Tapi saya sokong bahasa pengantar Inggeris diguna di universiti. Sebab secara umumnya asas pengetahuan tu dah ada, contoh fizik, matematik, kimia (kalau ambil kejuruteraan) jadi taklah susah sangat walaupun kena usaha lebih sikit untuk faham istilah dalam bahasa Inggeris dan buku-buku rujukan tebal tu. Eh, nanti isu bahasa kebangsaan pulak, perpaduan lagi. Hmm, the choice is yours. Asal rajin belajar, usaha, ikhtiar dan tawakkal, insya Allah berjaya. Tak kisah la pandai English ke tidak, kan?

(Memang isu lama dan well-known. Saja terasa nak kongsi)

Hepatitis B

I had my first Hepatitis B jab when I was 24 yr 3 mnths, which was precisely last week.

My big brother even commented on me having the jab at the same time when his son was due for the jab, only that Ajim was having a slight fever therefore his session will be postponed to some other time(note: Nowadays, babies are compulsory to get Hepatitis B jab,not like our time previously).

Ajim with his Pak Su(background:cousin Adam is sleeping)

I only discovered last year, during a thorough medical check up that I have none ( read: zero reading) of Hep B antibody in my body,hence the doctor suggested me to take the jab whenever I'm free (or whenever I am eligible to be covered by my company insurance).

So I went to the clinic and the jab was quick, the only unpleasant fact is the jab is not covered by ING.Tipu betul.. since I've checked with them earlier and they said it was covered.Anyway, murah je pun.Health is the ultimate wealth, right?The other hassleness that you must bear is there are two other follow up jabs, one after a month,and another 5 months later.And in my case,my body produce none of the antibody thus I need to get the Hep B booster every 5 years. Sounds tedious?Well the choice is yours.

Well, hepatitis B is disease caused by hepatitis B virus which infects the liver of hominoidae, including humans, and causes an inflammation call hepatitis. Actually the virus most probably can be deadly for infants, whereas most adult (90%) usually recovered when attacked by the virus. More info can be found here.

So, don't forget to ask your doctor on your Hep B antibody next time you're having your medical check up or blood test.