Thursday, September 07, 2006
Calvin and Hobbes
You can see that I ve been reading some of my "Calvin and Hobbes" collections again. This boy never fails to fascinate me. I love his wit, his humour, his thoughts on everyday life. But I also feel pity for him for being such a loner, I mean in relation to his social life with other kids, (except for Susie Derkins of course, for almost everybody thinks that Calvin has a mild crush on that sweet smart girl). Even Bill (Bill Watterson) thinks that Calvin might face a hard time getting a girlfriend considering the way hes treating Susie right now.
Ms Wormwood : Which state are you in ?
Calvin : Denial
There were a few ocassions where Bill tried to make Calvin join the scout and even the baseball team, but Calvin is not really a team player, he detests rules and he cant stand being ordered around, and I doubt that Calvin has any talent for sport actually. The only game he can play is "CalvinBall" which he plays with Hobbes (the rule changes as you play along and the only rule to be followed is that you cannot make the same rule twice).
In his own world, Calvin is never alone, Hobbes is always there for him, his partner in crime. The time he spends with Hobbes, their views about the world .... ahhhh... I can never get enough of this boy.
Too bad Bill has stopped drawing Calvin.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
I Swear
"Life's dissapointments are harder to take if you don't know any swear words"
Calvin and Hobbes
Do you swear ? Do you swear a lot ? Do you swear with every other words that come out of your mouth ?
I suppose swearing helps us go through life without having to suppress our anger and dissapointment . When you let 'em out, you clear your sub concious mind.
But the question is to what extend should you let your anger overcomes you. Maybe mere words help you from punching somebody's face or kick somebody's back, which may turn out worse.
I googled AskOxford and found this :-
swear :-
• verb (past swore; past part. sworn) 1 state or promise solemnly or on oath. 2 compel to observe a certain course of action: I am sworn to secrecy. 3 use offensive or obscene language, especially to express anger.
I dont mind if people swear but I try to make it a point to only use these words when I'm angry or dissapointed or when I bump myself on the doorway:-
Bodoh- Bangang-Gila
Yaaaa... my life is not that colorful when it comes to swearing ....
Yaaaa... my life is not that colorful when it comes to swearing ....
Monday, September 04, 2006
You Dont Know What You Have
The only way to appreciate a person is to think that we might loose him/her at any time without notice.
I would always use this trick sometimes whenever I want to have a sip of my sister's favourite drink or a taste of her food. Anis always says that I do not only taste, she's always afraid I might goggle up half of her drink or her plate.
"What happens if after this second I go out to the street and a car knocks me and I'd drop dead. You can never forgive yourself for the rest of your life for not letting me have a taste of your lasagna when I asked you for some a few minutes before my death. Hahaha"
"What happens if after this second I go out to the street and a car knocks me and I'd drop dead. You can never forgive yourself for the rest of your life for not letting me have a taste of your lasagna when I asked you for some a few minutes before my death. Hahaha"
I try to apply this with every person that I'm close to. I always try to set in my mind that death is never far away from any of us. And even when I cant come to terms with my loved ones I would always try to give in because I dont want to regret later.
"You dont know what you have until its gone"
And the trick works with Anis.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Women Can Keep Secrets You Know
Here goes the conversation .....
I rest my case My Lord .
AB: You know what... this friend of mine, ABC, at the office; he told me he doesnt actually love his wife and that he married her because the wife is his mother's choice... Nobody knows this except me. He said he has never told anybody about this.
Me : Oucchh.. My heart goes to the wife if she ever finds out about her husband's true feelings for her.Waa... he can tell you this kind of things eh..? To tell his secrets to you ... !
AB: Well... you know me.... guys can always tell me their secrets.. because they know I would never tell anybody. You tell me.... who would I tell all their secrets to.........
Me : True
AB: And please dont tell anyone about this ABC's secret
Me: Sure
I rest my case My Lord .
Friday, September 01, 2006
Merdeka !
From the mouth of cK:
Question:-
Is it because they want to eliminate any photos of the ex - Prime Ministers especially the recent ex ?
But along the way they must have forgotten to put Pak Lah's photo too.....
alahaiiiiii....
Merdeka Parades are meant for these three categories only :-Notice that this time around photos of YTM Allahyarham Tunku Abdul Rahman are all over ....
1. The Sultans
2. The Politicians; and
3. The Media
the rest are forced to ........
Question:-
Is it because they want to eliminate any photos of the ex - Prime Ministers especially the recent ex ?
But along the way they must have forgotten to put Pak Lah's photo too.....
alahaiiiiii....
I'm Kicking !
It's about time I change the layout of my blog. I suddenly realized that my blog was rather too plain and it was confirmed by my good evil (!!!) friend At80 last nite when she pointed out that my blog is "simple and 'pucat' (pale)". Its simple alright, because I actually like my blog to be neat and simple even though it can be the other way round with my house and office *ehemmm*. I dont like my blog to be bogged with all the blocks ....
But anyways, so as not to keep my blog pale, I thought why not I add banner and colors to it. I have always been envious of those people with their own banner at the top of their blogs. Didn't really know how to do it but I did my own findings and now... tadaaaaaa .... my own banner !! with the creativity of my own two sweaty hands ... (hahaha... berpeluh2 nak buat) because for once photoshop is "alien" to me but I knew I had no choice but to dive in and start kicking and paddling to stay afloat. Alhamdulillah I managed !
I know I can always ask people for help but after sometimes I have begun to understand that it is better to learn and find what you want to know by yourself. You can never always depend on people, well at least try not to in the first place.
Yeah... I'm still kicking at 5 am now. I have been doing this layout almost all night long. It should be easy to some, but well... Alhamdulillah I think I ve done OK.
If only I can kick some more to finish the files from the office ......
*Yawning*
But anyways, so as not to keep my blog pale, I thought why not I add banner and colors to it. I have always been envious of those people with their own banner at the top of their blogs. Didn't really know how to do it but I did my own findings and now... tadaaaaaa .... my own banner !! with the creativity of my own two sweaty hands ... (hahaha... berpeluh2 nak buat) because for once photoshop is "alien" to me but I knew I had no choice but to dive in and start kicking and paddling to stay afloat. Alhamdulillah I managed !
I know I can always ask people for help but after sometimes I have begun to understand that it is better to learn and find what you want to know by yourself. You can never always depend on people, well at least try not to in the first place.
Yeah... I'm still kicking at 5 am now. I have been doing this layout almost all night long. It should be easy to some, but well... Alhamdulillah I think I ve done OK.
If only I can kick some more to finish the files from the office ......
*Yawning*
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
I Want ......
A friend whos getting married asked me whether shes going to be a good wife or not?
I said to her:
"Insya Allah you will be one ! The reason being: because you want to be a good wife"
I truly believe if you want something , the first step is "to want" it.
You cant just be rich if you never wanted to be rich in the first place.
Once you set something in your mind all your actions will work towards achieving it.
You will only get what you set in your mind first.
And thats when your subconcious mind will catch your intention and trigger your actions.
So whenever you re up to something please check your intention and your want first.
I said to her:
"Insya Allah you will be one ! The reason being: because you want to be a good wife"
I truly believe if you want something , the first step is "to want" it.
You cant just be rich if you never wanted to be rich in the first place.
Once you set something in your mind all your actions will work towards achieving it.
You will only get what you set in your mind first.
And thats when your subconcious mind will catch your intention and trigger your actions.
So whenever you re up to something please check your intention and your want first.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
MalaysiaKu
You know why Malaysia still cannot be a developed country ? Because Malaysians have yet to reach the same standard of mentality. Malaysians have yet to come to the same level of thinking.
I truly believe that there are so may things that make us what we are today but on top on the list is the mentality which is derived from ones' exposure and education background. Mentality and our way of thinking differentiate us from one another.
Your mentality and your way of thinking come from your everyday exposure, your level of education and your family background too.
A person who comes from a lower family background tend to behave and think differently from a person from a middle class family even though when both are standing on the same platform. A person with various and vast exposure like A would be more relax and confident while a person like B sometimes would try so hard to look like A that they look so ridiculous.
Without any intention to undermine the kampung folks ( as I am also from a kampung ) we have to accept that our mentalities may never be the same as the city folks.
A kampung folk would be raving mad when they heard Amani said "I look stupid if I speak in Malay"
Whereas a city folk would take the remark "as it is" without being judgmental because most of the city folks do use English as their first language . But, they (city folks) understand that that kind of statement would make their kampung counterparts angry. Very angry .... grrrrrrrrr!
Like I said, even though most of these people like B's background are now living in a city like KL even for many many years, their exposure would still not be at par with people like A's background.
Like the famous saying:
"You can take a boy from the kampung; but you will never take the kampung out of the boy"
which is very true.
But you know what..... only the children of B will someday be at par with A when A's children would have ventured a few steps further (even from B) ....
The reason why Malaysia has yet to become a developed country is because it may take another generation of B kind of people to reach the same mentality and exposure like A. And can you imagine if B did not get to the university where he remains in the kampung and only his son gets to get out of the kampung and be an architect, which means that only B's grandson will be at the same level with A.
I believe that many of the developed countries have reached that stage .... where most of their citizens have come to that standard phase of the same mentality.
********************
But funny thing about Malaysia, we develop too fast materially whereas our mentality has yet to catch up with the material world.
I give you one example:
The treadmills I use in my gym. The treadmills are the latest ones but they are always out of order because those people screw them up, they do not know how to handle its complexity.
Unlike in the USA where going to gym has been their culture for more that a few early decades from us, the Americans grew up with the technology. Like they must have been using the basic treadmill and slowly change to use a later and later ones until the technology reaches the high-end treadmill.
Unlike us when we started with a basic treadmill we did not grow with the technology, we jump straight to the high-end-complex-hard-to-handle-machinery like the treadmills they have in my gym. Its like when you learn mathematics from the basic 1 + 1 and suddenly within a matter of one or two years you re shoved with calculus. And thats why the treadmills are out of order just like any student who would also be "out-of-order" if they have to learn calculus without going through the basic backgrounds.
And thats why when the internet and computer technologies catched up on us.... many of our youngsters are so taken up by this new technologies that we have to catch them at the internet cafe during school hours .
***********
But come to think of it, we have been independant for only 49 years .... whereas :-
1. Thailand _ Never been c0lonised
2.England - England has existed as a unified entity since the 10th century
3.America - 4th July 1776
4.Australia -1 January 1901
Ok I managed to Google only that 4 countries .... and thats in term of "Independency"
and we have yet to touch on civilization ...... which of course ..... we will never match:-
Chinese, Indians, Egyptians or what more Persians or even " orang putih" .....
And I felt like rolling on the floor laughing when "they" talk about Melayu Baru to conquer the world ...... Adehhhhhhh!
The problem we have is that we think "We are the best" not knowing that there are many other countries better than us .... well in many aspects ... but to discuss this will jeorpadize my sleep....
zzzzzzzzzzzzz.....
I truly believe that there are so may things that make us what we are today but on top on the list is the mentality which is derived from ones' exposure and education background. Mentality and our way of thinking differentiate us from one another.
Your mentality and your way of thinking come from your everyday exposure, your level of education and your family background too.
A is an architecht. "A"'s father is a lawyer, his grandfather was a civil servant who went to further his study in England. A lives in a city and went to a local university.Even though both of them are architecths in their own right, if you look closely at both of their personalities, you will find certain behaviours and characteristics that differ them from one another.
B is also an architect. "B"'s father on the other hand is only a farmer and his grandfather was also a farmer. B has been living in his kampung all his life until form six when he then managed to get into a local university just like A.
A person who comes from a lower family background tend to behave and think differently from a person from a middle class family even though when both are standing on the same platform. A person with various and vast exposure like A would be more relax and confident while a person like B sometimes would try so hard to look like A that they look so ridiculous.
Without any intention to undermine the kampung folks ( as I am also from a kampung ) we have to accept that our mentalities may never be the same as the city folks.
A kampung folk would be raving mad when they heard Amani said "I look stupid if I speak in Malay"
Whereas a city folk would take the remark "as it is" without being judgmental because most of the city folks do use English as their first language . But, they (city folks) understand that that kind of statement would make their kampung counterparts angry. Very angry .... grrrrrrrrr!
Like I said, even though most of these people like B's background are now living in a city like KL even for many many years, their exposure would still not be at par with people like A's background.
Like the famous saying:
"You can take a boy from the kampung; but you will never take the kampung out of the boy"
which is very true.
But you know what..... only the children of B will someday be at par with A when A's children would have ventured a few steps further (even from B) ....
The reason why Malaysia has yet to become a developed country is because it may take another generation of B kind of people to reach the same mentality and exposure like A. And can you imagine if B did not get to the university where he remains in the kampung and only his son gets to get out of the kampung and be an architect, which means that only B's grandson will be at the same level with A.
I believe that many of the developed countries have reached that stage .... where most of their citizens have come to that standard phase of the same mentality.
********************
But funny thing about Malaysia, we develop too fast materially whereas our mentality has yet to catch up with the material world.
I give you one example:
The treadmills I use in my gym. The treadmills are the latest ones but they are always out of order because those people screw them up, they do not know how to handle its complexity.
Unlike in the USA where going to gym has been their culture for more that a few early decades from us, the Americans grew up with the technology. Like they must have been using the basic treadmill and slowly change to use a later and later ones until the technology reaches the high-end treadmill.
Unlike us when we started with a basic treadmill we did not grow with the technology, we jump straight to the high-end-complex-hard-to-handle-machinery like the treadmills they have in my gym. Its like when you learn mathematics from the basic 1 + 1 and suddenly within a matter of one or two years you re shoved with calculus. And thats why the treadmills are out of order just like any student who would also be "out-of-order" if they have to learn calculus without going through the basic backgrounds.
And thats why when the internet and computer technologies catched up on us.... many of our youngsters are so taken up by this new technologies that we have to catch them at the internet cafe during school hours .
***********
But come to think of it, we have been independant for only 49 years .... whereas :-
1. Thailand _ Never been c0lonised
2.England - England has existed as a unified entity since the 10th century
3.America - 4th July 1776
4.Australia -1 January 1901
Ok I managed to Google only that 4 countries .... and thats in term of "Independency"
and we have yet to touch on civilization ...... which of course ..... we will never match:-
Chinese, Indians, Egyptians or what more Persians or even " orang putih" .....
And I felt like rolling on the floor laughing when "they" talk about Melayu Baru to conquer the world ...... Adehhhhhhh!
The problem we have is that we think "We are the best" not knowing that there are many other countries better than us .... well in many aspects ... but to discuss this will jeorpadize my sleep....
zzzzzzzzzzzzz.....
Friday, August 18, 2006
Call Me Crazy .....
This is the small fountain pool they have at the Masjid Zahir's compound. Its has been there for as long as I could remember. It holds a special memory of how crazy I used to be (and still am). I was about 8 or perhaps 9 when my Aunt brought me and my brother and two other cousins to the mosque. As we were outside waiting for her, my eyes suddenly fell onto that pool, and you have no idea how crazy I could be with water (I just cannot stand looking at any river, swimming pool or lake or even that small pool) I had this sudden urge to plunge into the pool.
Me: Cik (my cousin) Aku nak terjun mandi kat kolam tu
(I want to jump into the pool)
Cik : Wehh.. hang gila ka ?
(Are you crazy ...??)
Me: Tak pa lah Cik.... Aku tak tahan dah ni...
(Oh Come on.. its ok . I just cant stand it anymore)
As I the conversation went on, I was actually pulling the zipper of my dress and almost running to the pool.
And yes, in my only underwear, I jumped into the small pool and had the blast of my 8 years (maybe 9)life. I remember that I even dived under the water and only to come up to my Aunt's glaring angry face, shouting at me to come out of the water ....
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Happiness Is ....
Hanging out with my cousin, Adik , my adorable Adik. Shes always been the subject of my tug-n-war with my sister beacuse my sister and I both want her to be each other's gang ! The last time she was my "gang" because Anis was in KL., but when Anis and I meet, Adik would point out that she doesnt belong to any "gang".
Friday, August 11, 2006
The Three Articles
Article 3
(1) Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation.
Article 4
(1) This Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law passed after Merdeka Day which is inconsistent with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void
Article 11
(1) Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.
You cant do anything because the reason is you as a Muslim has failed in making this country an Islamic country. Whether you like it or not, the fact remains that Malaysia has never been an Islamic country, though UMNO has been chanting that it is. Why are you shouting now at Lina, because even when PAS has been making proposal towards HUDUD, not all Muslims have been behind PAS. The Hudud proposal may not be a perfect one but at least it is one small step towards an Islamic country.
But what you, UMNO did when Hudud was brought up by Pas? You shot it down. Instead of helping Pas in amending the draft, you even let all your non-muslims counter parts have their say when they should not interfer at all with Hudud, because Hudud is a Muslims' business.
Apostacy is not the only seven deadly sins. Drinking, adultery have been part and parcial of many Muslims' lifesyle now and what have we done to stop all these ? We havent. We cant do anything when the primary principle which we should have taken steps towards it has not been taken care of.
As per Article 3, Islam as the religion of the Federation has been implied only to rituals and not more than that.And nothing in the constitution mentions that Islamic Law is paramount because Article 4 clearly states that nothing is above the Constitution.
Having a Muslim Prime Minister does not make Malaysia an Islamic country.
Having an International Islamic University does not make Malaysia an Islamic country.
Having Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad does not make Malaysia an Islamic country.
How can Malaysia be one if the Constitution is the Supreme Law ?
Having an International Islamic University does not make Malaysia an Islamic country.
Having Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad does not make Malaysia an Islamic country.
How can Malaysia be one if the Constitution is the Supreme Law ?
Didnt we Muslims realize these before ? These are the roots behind all the troubles now. The non-Muslims are right to depend on the three Articles.
We should have fought the Article 3, Article 4 and Article 11 long before Lina's case. Instead of bashing Lina we should have bashed those who were behind the creation of the Constitution and those who never do anything to amend it.
And yes, I still uphold my view that those Muslims should not be among the groups who are for Lina and her rights. Let the non-Muslims fight whateverv they think are their rights, but you Muslims brothers and sisters shouldnt be in their camp.You should instead be helping your Muslims brothers and sisters to create an Islamic country.
If only Malaysia is an Islamic country, things wouldnt be the same.
(But to debate what type of an ideal Islamic country....thats another issue.....)
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Lina Joy Who Is Not Joyous
In the name of Allah, Gracious, Merciful.Surah Al Kaafirun
Say: O Disbelievers!
I worship not that which ye worship
Nor worship ye that which I worship.
And I shall not worship that which ye worship
Nor will ye worship that which I worship.
Unto you your Religion and unto me, my Religion
Do not interfer with Our religion
as we have never interfered with Yours
______________________________
You do not cross this line
And to you Muslims who are across the border:
Why are you there?
When you should have been with your Muslim brothers and sisters here?
Even if you you do not agree with some of your brothers and sisters views over here
it does not justify your choice of being in their camp
Dont you remember ?
Lakum Deenukum Wali Ya Deen
Let them be
But your place is here
You have helped them
You have paved their way into our ground
You opened the gate for them
....... you ve betrayed your family......
Whats in it for you?
Do you sleep better at night ?
Do you feel good ?
On what basis ?
On humanity ?
On individuality ?
On freedom of choice ?
But before you sleep tonite
Ask this question to yourself
(as I have been asking myself)
Where do I Stand In this Matter
As a MUSLIM ?
not as a humanitarian
not as a lecturer
not as a politician
not as a lawyer
not as a judge
not as any body you think you are
but only
AS A MUSLIM
Tujuh Nafas Lagi - On My Death Bed
Inikah diaI am on my deathbed, is this the feeling I should be having,
Yang kuimpikan
Dalam lambaian firdaus
Kali ini kuharapkan
Bukan fatamorgana lagi
I can see and feel the heaven; which I hope is not just a mirage.
Jiwa lama bersengketaIts this fight inside of me not to die
Sedang hakikatnya kita sama-sama redha
Hati hamba dah sedia
Perjalanan ini tinggal tujuh nafas lagi
But we (YOU and I) both know its a fact that we have accepted
I am now ready to go
My journey is left with only seven breaths
SepertimuJust like all of you
Aku juga pernah persoalkan kekuatan batinku
Dalam seribu kekalutan kucinta
Dalam sejuta resah kucinta jua
Dalam mimpi ngeri kulihat cinta
Dalam rasa paling rendah kuangkat cinta
I have doubts about the strenght of my inner soul
But in in all my unrestlessness I feel love (HIS Love)
In all my nervouseness I can still feel love (His Love)
Even in my nightmares I can still see love (His Love)
Even in my weaknesses I try to uphold love (Love for Him)
Rinduku bukanlah murahanI long for you Ya Allah
Jika mahu dianggapkan mainan
Kau tanya bilangan namamu kusebut
Jawapnya hanya sekali nafas tak terputus
and I'm saying it just not for the sake of saying it
YOU ask me how many times do I utter (remember) YOUR Names
Its endless Ya Allah because in just one breath the chain of your names are endless (inside of me)
Cintaku yang kumaksudkan
Seperti buih-buih di bibir lautan*
Seperti nafas yang meresapi badan
Seperti kenangan yang tak pernah luput selamanya
My love for YOU Ya Allah
is like the foams at the lips of sea
spreading over my body
like a memory that never fades.....
* the lyric in the booklet put "di milik lautan" which i think if you listen carefully to the song shoud be "di bibir lautan" because you can find loads of foam only at the beach, which is the lips of the sea
************
I have to make a correction with regard to my last entry, and after a discussion with my cK, the song has nothing to do with sex. Seven breaths actually refers to the usual term used by the Sufis to express their last breaths before death.
Contrary to its upbeat rythm "broadway like" (as put by Nora)the song actually tells a story of the feeling of one is having as he is nearing death, it may not necessarily be at his deathbed (because death is in fact never far from us), it can also refer to a feeling at the highest level of divine relationship with Allah where the Sufis would refer it as "die before you die" where when you get to that stage,nothing else matters as it is only you and HIM and when there is nothing else except HIM, you are as good as a dead man (thats how cK puts it).
The person is feeling Oneness with HIM in his Dzikir and that he is surrounded by HIS love..... and is ready to end his life journey to go back to HIM for he has been longing to be with HIM
I have now with me "The Conference of the Birds" by Farid Ud-Din Attar for me to understand "Tanya Sama Itu Hud-Hud"
Dear Sifu, if you are reading this, please confirm my comprehension of this lyric.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Tujuh Nafas Lagi
Inikah dia
Yang kuimpikan
Dalam lambaian firdaus
Kali ini kuharapkan
Bukan fatamorgana lagi
Jiwa lama bersengketa
Sedang hakikatnya kita sama-sama redha
Hati hamba dah sedia
Perjalanan ini tinggal tujuh nafas lagi
Sepertimu
Aku juga pernah persoalkan kekuatan batinku
Dalam seribu kekalutan kucinta
Dalam sejuta resah kucinta jua
Dalam mimpi ngeri kulihat cinta
Dalam rasa paling rendah kuangkat cinta
Rinduku bukanlah murahan
Jika mahu dianggapkan mainan
Kau tanya bilangan namamu kusebut
Jawapnya hanya sekali nafas tak terputus
Cintaku yang kumaksudkan
Seperti buih-buih dimilik lautan
Seperti nafas yang meresapi badan
Seperti kenangan yang tak pernah luput selamanya
M.Nasir
*****************************************************
Lets face it, M Nasir's songs are hard to comprehend. He just doesnt simply write songs for the sake of writing songs. There are always something behind the lyrics if you look close enough. And usually his lyrics are very close to sufism. Like the one in his song "Tanya Sama Itu Hud-Hud", youd think that its just a song, but I actually believe that most of his listeners have no ideas what Hud-Hud was he talking about.
This one too is no exception. What does he actually mean by the "Seven Breaths". Is it the seven breaths in respect to the Dzikir by the sufis. When MNasir talks about love he sometimes not necessarily mean the love of man-woman relationship, althoug the lyrics can sometimes be in that direction, but love to M.Nasir is more universal and I'd like to think that it is more towards the Divine relationship with Allah SWT. The Sufis would sometimes refer, in pointing out their views, to include something like "until his seven last breaths".
I'd like to think that this song particularly describes the feeling of the highest level of relationship one can have with Allah SWT. Like hes saying that as a servant he is now ready to face "HIM" at his deathbed "Hati hamba dah sedia .. perjalanan ini tinggal tujuh nafas lagi".
But when he said "sepertimu" I dont think hes referring to the other person as to a woman, I think hes talking to us in general, doubting his inner strenght, but through the love of Allah and the love he feels for Allah he could face everything even at his worst he could only feel the love of Allah.
When he mentions "rindu" he is longing for Allah and thats its not something he said for the sake of saying it .. because to long for HIM is to be able to remember and 'dzikir' HIS NAMES endlessly ...... dzikir which is part and parcel of sufism and of course of any committed muslims
The love for HIM is overwhelming him "seperti nafas yang meresapi badan" like when you re in deep thoughts of Allah, Allah, Allah ... the dzikir will be flowing through one's body ... into oneness with HIM
or
maybe it can also be something in relation to sex, but in a very subtle and polite way when the man is feeling that love can make him feel this way up in cloud nine.... heaven ... "dalam lambaian firdausi" and hoping that its just not an illusion that he cant have "bukan fatamorgana lagi". Because seven way of breathing according to some views, can boost your sexuality.
Oh how I wish I can get in touch with "the Sifu" himself to get into his thoughts....
and ahhh.. by the way before my wish is granted, I thinkI have to dig more into Qadir Jalani or Naqsyabandi or Rumi or Khayyam ..............
Yang kuimpikan
Dalam lambaian firdaus
Kali ini kuharapkan
Bukan fatamorgana lagi
Jiwa lama bersengketa
Sedang hakikatnya kita sama-sama redha
Hati hamba dah sedia
Perjalanan ini tinggal tujuh nafas lagi
Sepertimu
Aku juga pernah persoalkan kekuatan batinku
Dalam seribu kekalutan kucinta
Dalam sejuta resah kucinta jua
Dalam mimpi ngeri kulihat cinta
Dalam rasa paling rendah kuangkat cinta
Rinduku bukanlah murahan
Jika mahu dianggapkan mainan
Kau tanya bilangan namamu kusebut
Jawapnya hanya sekali nafas tak terputus
Cintaku yang kumaksudkan
Seperti buih-buih dimilik lautan
Seperti nafas yang meresapi badan
Seperti kenangan yang tak pernah luput selamanya
M.Nasir
Lets face it, M Nasir's songs are hard to comprehend. He just doesnt simply write songs for the sake of writing songs. There are always something behind the lyrics if you look close enough. And usually his lyrics are very close to sufism. Like the one in his song "Tanya Sama Itu Hud-Hud", youd think that its just a song, but I actually believe that most of his listeners have no ideas what Hud-Hud was he talking about.
This one too is no exception. What does he actually mean by the "Seven Breaths". Is it the seven breaths in respect to the Dzikir by the sufis. When MNasir talks about love he sometimes not necessarily mean the love of man-woman relationship, althoug the lyrics can sometimes be in that direction, but love to M.Nasir is more universal and I'd like to think that it is more towards the Divine relationship with Allah SWT. The Sufis would sometimes refer, in pointing out their views, to include something like "until his seven last breaths".
I'd like to think that this song particularly describes the feeling of the highest level of relationship one can have with Allah SWT. Like hes saying that as a servant he is now ready to face "HIM" at his deathbed "Hati hamba dah sedia .. perjalanan ini tinggal tujuh nafas lagi".
But when he said "sepertimu" I dont think hes referring to the other person as to a woman, I think hes talking to us in general, doubting his inner strenght, but through the love of Allah and the love he feels for Allah he could face everything even at his worst he could only feel the love of Allah.
When he mentions "rindu" he is longing for Allah and thats its not something he said for the sake of saying it .. because to long for HIM is to be able to remember and 'dzikir' HIS NAMES endlessly ...... dzikir which is part and parcel of sufism and of course of any committed muslims
The love for HIM is overwhelming him "seperti nafas yang meresapi badan" like when you re in deep thoughts of Allah, Allah, Allah ... the dzikir will be flowing through one's body ... into oneness with HIM
or
maybe it can also be something in relation to sex, but in a very subtle and polite way when the man is feeling that love can make him feel this way up in cloud nine.... heaven ... "dalam lambaian firdausi" and hoping that its just not an illusion that he cant have "bukan fatamorgana lagi". Because seven way of breathing according to some views, can boost your sexuality.
Oh how I wish I can get in touch with "the Sifu" himself to get into his thoughts....
and ahhh.. by the way before my wish is granted, I thinkI have to dig more into Qadir Jalani or Naqsyabandi or Rumi or Khayyam ..............
Saturday, August 05, 2006
We Come In Packages
Thats what we all are. We come in packages. We have our bads and goods, our ups and downs, but one thing for sure we are all not perfect. We have flaws. By accepting the flaws in one another we can become closer. You can have a best friend because that best friend can accept and has accepted your flaws too. If your friend can only acknowledge without accepting your flaws, she can never be your best friend.
When you make a choice you take everything that comes with that one decision you make. The choice comes in packages with all its negatives and positives , you either take it all or leave it. You can never be selective of the items in that package as to choose which item you d want to take and which one you wouldnt want to take. Like when you buy something that comes in a box, you take the one whole box with you home, even when you find out later that some items are to your dislike.
The same concept applies to even a love relationship. You chose the person you are now with because of all the good things you see in him. And as you get to know him better and closer his flaws will tend to come up to the surface. This is the time when you have to make another decision and choice. If you can accept his flaws and you know that his goodness are far outweighs his flaws, you will definitely keep him. And if you feel that you cannot take his nonsense, you have the option to walk away. You cannot blame the person for what he is, because thats his package, you can of course talk and discuss the thing with him. If you re lucky, he might change, and if he doesnt, its nobody's faults, it was never meant to be and its what they call "incompatibility".
People gets into relationship with lots of expectations and hopes. But we tend to forget that the only things that always left us frustrated and hurt are the things that we expect and hope the most. Like when you expected to get straight As in your SPM, when you get less of only one A, you ll get dissapointed and hurt and sad. But if you expect to get only a few As, a few more As with two Bs would be like a bonus to you. The higher your expetactions and hopes are,the more likely of the risk of being diassapointed, frustrated and hurt.
When we enter into a relationship with too much expecatiotions and hopes we open ourselves to being hurt and dissapointed. To keep your expectations and hopes and a minimum would help even only a little.
The best method I think in helping us go through a relationship is to pray. To pray that you can handle the relationship with open heart and wisdom, for HIM to give you the strenght and patient when the relationship is at its worst. To pray that no matter whatever happens you will both carry on the relationship with love and care so as not to hurt one another.
But to abandon hopes and expectations altogether is futile. How can we have no expectations and hopes at all... we are, afterall, humans ....
When you make a choice you take everything that comes with that one decision you make. The choice comes in packages with all its negatives and positives , you either take it all or leave it. You can never be selective of the items in that package as to choose which item you d want to take and which one you wouldnt want to take. Like when you buy something that comes in a box, you take the one whole box with you home, even when you find out later that some items are to your dislike.
The same concept applies to even a love relationship. You chose the person you are now with because of all the good things you see in him. And as you get to know him better and closer his flaws will tend to come up to the surface. This is the time when you have to make another decision and choice. If you can accept his flaws and you know that his goodness are far outweighs his flaws, you will definitely keep him. And if you feel that you cannot take his nonsense, you have the option to walk away. You cannot blame the person for what he is, because thats his package, you can of course talk and discuss the thing with him. If you re lucky, he might change, and if he doesnt, its nobody's faults, it was never meant to be and its what they call "incompatibility".
People gets into relationship with lots of expectations and hopes. But we tend to forget that the only things that always left us frustrated and hurt are the things that we expect and hope the most. Like when you expected to get straight As in your SPM, when you get less of only one A, you ll get dissapointed and hurt and sad. But if you expect to get only a few As, a few more As with two Bs would be like a bonus to you. The higher your expetactions and hopes are,the more likely of the risk of being diassapointed, frustrated and hurt.
When we enter into a relationship with too much expecatiotions and hopes we open ourselves to being hurt and dissapointed. To keep your expectations and hopes and a minimum would help even only a little.
The best method I think in helping us go through a relationship is to pray. To pray that you can handle the relationship with open heart and wisdom, for HIM to give you the strenght and patient when the relationship is at its worst. To pray that no matter whatever happens you will both carry on the relationship with love and care so as not to hurt one another.
But to abandon hopes and expectations altogether is futile. How can we have no expectations and hopes at all... we are, afterall, humans ....
Thursday, July 20, 2006
A Blog Friend
When you read a person’s blog almost every other day (and some days in a row) you would feel like your’re exploring their world, you feel like you somehow know them personally because of the things they write about their life. You would also get to read about their thoughts on certain issues and gain some new infos. You’d follow their everyday stories, their ups and downs …. their happy and sad moments.
I sometimes feel like a peeping tom …
...until you feel like introducing yourself and make friends with them … or “her”
Monday, July 17, 2006
EyeDrop
I was feeling a bit uncomfortable with my right eye. Went to the pharmacy to get some eyedrop.The Pharmacist gave me one and told me to use it three times daily.
I had this urge to ask him:-
"Sebelum makan ka .....lepas makan ..."
I had this urge to ask him:-
"Sebelum makan ka .....lepas makan ..."
Saturday, July 15, 2006
What Is Your Authority ?
My Boss said hes having a problem with the staffs. To him the staffs rarely come to him to discuss about work.
"I am not a difficult person. I can accept people's opinion. If you think I am wrong, you could come and tell me"
I was silent for a few seconds.
"Its not that they do not want to come and discuss with you. Even if they think they are right, they could never come and face you because they do not have some backings to support their views. You know how the attitude of some of the Malays are. Lets just take for example if we talk about Hadith. Its very rare for the Malays to quote a Hadith together with the "rawi" (the sahabah who originally trasmitted the Hadith). Most of us would only say that "Rasulullah SAW said this and that". Its very rare that we can relay the whole of the Hadith together with the name of the persons who trasmitted it, let alone the background of the Hadith and the calssification of the Hadith whether its Sahih, Hassan or Dhaif etc. And if another person were to argue the authenticity of the Hadith quoted by some of the Malays, they'd be stunned because the Malays only know only the text of the Hadith, but even then, some do not even know the whole text of the Hadith, they only know the gist of it.
Those who are knowledged and well versed would be dissapointed. How can you have a discussion if you do not know what you re talking about and come unprepared without doing your homework.
The staff would not dare to come to you, because most of them do not want (or perhaps lazy)to do their homework and they would feel lost when talking to you because you would definitely ask them :
"Whats your authority ?" "
"Boss, I know this because I had on numerous ocassion discussed with you and I have learnt a lot not to come to you unprepraed and even then when I think I have prepared with all my ammunities, you could still shoot my point straight away without me taking out my "guns""
"I am not a difficult person. I can accept people's opinion. If you think I am wrong, you could come and tell me"
I was silent for a few seconds.
"Its not that they do not want to come and discuss with you. Even if they think they are right, they could never come and face you because they do not have some backings to support their views. You know how the attitude of some of the Malays are. Lets just take for example if we talk about Hadith. Its very rare for the Malays to quote a Hadith together with the "rawi" (the sahabah who originally trasmitted the Hadith). Most of us would only say that "Rasulullah SAW said this and that". Its very rare that we can relay the whole of the Hadith together with the name of the persons who trasmitted it, let alone the background of the Hadith and the calssification of the Hadith whether its Sahih, Hassan or Dhaif etc. And if another person were to argue the authenticity of the Hadith quoted by some of the Malays, they'd be stunned because the Malays only know only the text of the Hadith, but even then, some do not even know the whole text of the Hadith, they only know the gist of it.
Those who are knowledged and well versed would be dissapointed. How can you have a discussion if you do not know what you re talking about and come unprepared without doing your homework.
The staff would not dare to come to you, because most of them do not want (or perhaps lazy)to do their homework and they would feel lost when talking to you because you would definitely ask them :
"Whats your authority ?" "
"Boss, I know this because I had on numerous ocassion discussed with you and I have learnt a lot not to come to you unprepraed and even then when I think I have prepared with all my ammunities, you could still shoot my point straight away without me taking out my "guns""
Saturday, July 08, 2006
My Trainer
I am back at the gym.... for about a month now and this time I thought its about time I get a trainer, Liza. Shes the wife to an ex-Mr Malaysia Jeffrey. I like the couple, they have such a lovely husband and wife relationship. Both are so passionate about body building and they would always train together even though Liza can never get into a competition because women bodybuilding competition has long been banned in Malaysia but it never fails to make Liza go for her dream body. There was one time when she was training with the husband for a competition, following his diet and all that on the day of the competition some had mistaken her to be one of the competitors !
I have been going to the gym for about three years now with more absents on the last year. I ve known them ever since I joined the gym but never intended to get a trainer at that time. But Liza is nice and helpful and I had once followed Liza's advice on my diet of which I successfully dropped from 70kgs to 62kgs. I was at my best until I decided that I do better at eating ! And my body went back to being... errr quite heavy. As being put by a freind, "You re not fat.. you re just bigger" Whatever it means ..
When I approached Liza and Hub they asked me what kind of body do I want ...? Told them I wanted some muscles ! Liza then put up her MO for my body and even listed down a diet for me to follow. I have to admit I did cheat in my diet and Liza has been wondering why I have not looked the way I'm supposed to as per her schedule. She trains me well during the trainings and she really pushed me hard. Never would I lift those big bells had she not forced me to. And I tell you her system is really hard !
But its working now ... I can see some difference... I can feel some muscles and all I have to do now is concentrate on my diet to have the dream cutting because the muscles are already there and I only have to loose more of my fats...
Help me.....
More cardio please !
Friday, June 16, 2006
Why Akademi Fantasia Again?
There is no balance in between our entertainments and the kind of education the youngsters are getting. Read NST (14-6-2006).
Why do we have to spend so much on entertainment when the education system is still haywired ?
Why do we let our yougsters believe that being in AF is the in thing in life?
Why do we have to have lots of concerts when so many of our graduates and youngsters are jobless?
Why do we still need to take our graduates for courses to equipt themselves to get a job (and pay them for attending the courses )? Didnt they learn anything in the campus?
Why do you give fish to the man instead of teaching the man how to fish?
Why do our Malay graduates are being stepped over by the non-Malays when it comes to job search?
Not that we are against entertainment but we are getting worried when our kids can't think any further than what they re getting for b'fast tomorrow and when s the next concert coming in
Why do the non-Malays cant get into the Universities because of the quota even when the Malays ourselves do not qualify to fill in the quota?
Please stop Sure Heboh.
Please stop Akademi Fantasia
Please stop One in a Million.
Please stop Senario
We have enough of these. Our youngsters are in deep need for mind stimulating programmes. Even if we cant produce one, just stop all the above for the time being.
If only you can balance these up with good education system, we will not want all the above for a long time !
Its the delusion that we are doing well. We are afraid to tell the truth. We are afraid to face the truth.
Because truth hurts.
Why do we have to spend so much on entertainment when the education system is still haywired ?
Why do we let our yougsters believe that being in AF is the in thing in life?
Why do we have to have lots of concerts when so many of our graduates and youngsters are jobless?
Why do we still need to take our graduates for courses to equipt themselves to get a job (and pay them for attending the courses )? Didnt they learn anything in the campus?
Why do you give fish to the man instead of teaching the man how to fish?
Why do our Malay graduates are being stepped over by the non-Malays when it comes to job search?
Not that we are against entertainment but we are getting worried when our kids can't think any further than what they re getting for b'fast tomorrow and when s the next concert coming in
Why do the non-Malays cant get into the Universities because of the quota even when the Malays ourselves do not qualify to fill in the quota?
Please stop Sure Heboh.
Please stop Akademi Fantasia
Please stop One in a Million.
Please stop Senario
We have enough of these. Our youngsters are in deep need for mind stimulating programmes. Even if we cant produce one, just stop all the above for the time being.
If only you can balance these up with good education system, we will not want all the above for a long time !
Its the delusion that we are doing well. We are afraid to tell the truth. We are afraid to face the truth.
Because truth hurts.
To Blog Or Not To Blog
I am going to write again, irregardless whether my entries are going to be read by anybody. Why do people blog if they want to be anonymous and at the same time secretly wish to be known for having a good blog. Not many have that thought but when they blog, they sometimes blog about the things that happen in their life which eventually will some times and most of the times happen to give the greatest clue one can find about who they are, and it turns out that the blooger is your neighbour.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Life's Life
You cant have everything in life. There are things you have to have, things you have to go through, things you have to let go, things you will never have... and sometimes you wish you never had.
Allah is fair. Nobody, nobody can claim otherwise. You win some, you loose some. HE cant just give you everything. If its meant to be yours, noone can take it away. If its not, no matter how much you try to grab it, it will sooner slip from your hand.
A mother who has a lovely, caring, handsome and loyal husband but have two sons who are drug addicts.
A wife with obedient, dutiful children who cant sleep at night wondering who her husband is sleeping with tonight.
A husband who is caring, lovely, loyal and handsome suddenly discovers his wife having an affair with an office mate.
Husband and wife with a big house with swimming pool, dream cars, up going careers but no children to share their abundance.
Lovely husband and wife with wonderful children but sleepless at nights hoping they have enough to pay the house rent at the end of the month.
Husband with beautiful wife wonderful children, but with cancer and counting the days.
A woman with good career, a house and a nice car but single.
I wonder how many times do we count our blessings and thank HIM for helping us go through everyday life despite all the ups and downs wishing all the things we wish we had and the things we wish we never had.....
Life goes on.
Allah is fair. Nobody, nobody can claim otherwise. You win some, you loose some. HE cant just give you everything. If its meant to be yours, noone can take it away. If its not, no matter how much you try to grab it, it will sooner slip from your hand.
A mother who has a lovely, caring, handsome and loyal husband but have two sons who are drug addicts.
A wife with obedient, dutiful children who cant sleep at night wondering who her husband is sleeping with tonight.
A husband who is caring, lovely, loyal and handsome suddenly discovers his wife having an affair with an office mate.
Husband and wife with a big house with swimming pool, dream cars, up going careers but no children to share their abundance.
Lovely husband and wife with wonderful children but sleepless at nights hoping they have enough to pay the house rent at the end of the month.
Husband with beautiful wife wonderful children, but with cancer and counting the days.
A woman with good career, a house and a nice car but single.
I wonder how many times do we count our blessings and thank HIM for helping us go through everyday life despite all the ups and downs wishing all the things we wish we had and the things we wish we never had.....
Life goes on.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Badang Kedah
I spent the afternoon last two days with Nora's students in their gym, the young and big weighlifters training for the coming SUKMA.
The upcoming star, Mohd Firdaus. A very promising athlete, young, determined, focussed, dedicated and handsome.
The Much Needed Break
When work is pressing me, when all other emotional stresses are putting me down and when I feel that I cannot take it anymore thats the time I really need to run away. Alone.
Time to find myself again. To reflect on the things I ve gone through and really focus on my feature ..... hahaha B*** S***. I just wanted to relax ease my mind
Hop onto the boat and head to any of the islands, take off my clothes for a swim.....
Finish my Sudoku.
And watch the sunset.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Cycle Of Life
Your life revolves around a cycle. It’s the cycle of the same old routine. You can never get lost in your own cycle. Some people are so used to his/her routine that they are afraid of changes. Changing is taking chances. You don’t change unless you have the courage because by making changes you are going out of your own cycle. Instead of making an “O” figure routine, you may now take the “8” figure routine. In order for you to grow, you can never escape changes, you have to go every phases of your life that has been destined to you. But the choice is still in your hand. Like I ve said before in my previous entry, life is funny because your choice would eventually turn into your destiny. Sometimes people do not change their cycle pattern, they just jump into another routine only to find that they still end up in a cycle, only a different routine but still a cycle nevertheless.
The cycle only stops when the time comes. You leave your routine, you leave everything, leave everybody and you will now take a walk into eternity without really knowing where the journey will end. And this time the journey wont be in a cycle anymore. And at this moment of time you will suddenly realize that whatever you did before has no worth except things that relate you to HIM.
Anak Mak
"A face only a mother can love". I ve heard this phrase sometimes ago. The phrase refers to someone who is so ugly looking that nobody else could have loved him except his mother.
Mothers will always be the one to accept you for who you are. No matter how bad a person can be, the only person he/she can turn to will always be the mother. To certain extent mothers are always so defensive of their sons and daughters (sons - always the case) .
The son can do no wrong. If the son commits a crime and gets caught, you can bet the mother would always say that its the friends, not her son, her son is actually good and is still not bad, its the crowd hes into that made him did it.
I think thats where the ego of most parents stand. If you admit that your children are bad, you are admitting your failure in bringing them up. Its not easy for any parents to come to terms with their failure, because children after all is a trust by HIM for the parents to take care of, "the white sheets for you to decorate the design" . If your design is awful, its yours still and you can only envy of others who have turned their white sheets into beautful batik. Because the sheet is your own design, it is natural that only you will like it or keep it.
So when the son is a useless criminal lad, the only place he knows that will accept him, even reluctantly, is his mother's place. A father can dismiss a son, but not a mother ..... the son will always be his baby.
Mothers will always be the one to accept you for who you are. No matter how bad a person can be, the only person he/she can turn to will always be the mother. To certain extent mothers are always so defensive of their sons and daughters (sons - always the case) .
The son can do no wrong. If the son commits a crime and gets caught, you can bet the mother would always say that its the friends, not her son, her son is actually good and is still not bad, its the crowd hes into that made him did it.
I think thats where the ego of most parents stand. If you admit that your children are bad, you are admitting your failure in bringing them up. Its not easy for any parents to come to terms with their failure, because children after all is a trust by HIM for the parents to take care of, "the white sheets for you to decorate the design" . If your design is awful, its yours still and you can only envy of others who have turned their white sheets into beautful batik. Because the sheet is your own design, it is natural that only you will like it or keep it.
So when the son is a useless criminal lad, the only place he knows that will accept him, even reluctantly, is his mother's place. A father can dismiss a son, but not a mother ..... the son will always be his baby.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Siti Nurhaliza and Dato' K
Now Siti is going to ger married to a young and hadsome Dato', nobody can say anything. If the Dato' is an old man, the whole nation would be judgmental and they would not hesitate to tell her off. Yes Malaysian can be very rude sometimes (and most of the times on the road).
A friend was telling me that since Siti is going to get married to a very rich man, she wouldnt need to do any single house chores because she can now have "Roberts" to help her.
(My friend was referring to one interview when Siti mentioned how busy she was and that shes not a "robert" when she actually intended to say 'robot')
A friend was telling me that since Siti is going to get married to a very rich man, she wouldnt need to do any single house chores because she can now have "Roberts" to help her.
(My friend was referring to one interview when Siti mentioned how busy she was and that shes not a "robert" when she actually intended to say 'robot')
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
A Very Late Valentine Song !
Tuai padi antara masak
Esok jangan layuan-layuan
Intai kami antara nampak
Esok jangan rindu-rinduan
Anak cina pasang lukah
Lukah dipasang di tanjung jati
Dalam hati tidak dilupa
Umpama rambut disimpul mati
Burung merpati terbang seribu
Hinggap seekor di tengah laman
Hendak mati di hujung kuku
Hendak berkubur di tlapak tangan
Kalau tuan mudik ke hulu
Belikan saya bunga kemboja
Kalau tuan mati dahulu
Nantikan saya di pintu syurga
Buah selasih permainan budak
Batang selasih dimakan kuda
Bercerai kasih bertalak tiada
Seribu tahun bertemu jua
Happy Valentine !
Esok jangan layuan-layuan
Intai kami antara nampak
Esok jangan rindu-rinduan
Anak cina pasang lukah
Lukah dipasang di tanjung jati
Dalam hati tidak dilupa
Umpama rambut disimpul mati
Burung merpati terbang seribu
Hinggap seekor di tengah laman
Hendak mati di hujung kuku
Hendak berkubur di tlapak tangan
Kalau tuan mudik ke hulu
Belikan saya bunga kemboja
Kalau tuan mati dahulu
Nantikan saya di pintu syurga
Buah selasih permainan budak
Batang selasih dimakan kuda
Bercerai kasih bertalak tiada
Seribu tahun bertemu jua
Happy Valentine !
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Me, Me and Me
Do you realize that people are only interested in their own stories? People dont actually want to listen to what you have to say. Almost everybody cant wait to tell you about their life.
I know this because I am a good listener and I am a good listener because I consider myself a very private person. I rarely let anybody gets into my world. And so when anybody wants to have a conversation with me, I would just divulge myself in their world, really listening to them, counsel them at times, advise them most of the times, giving them another perspective of their problems, laugh with them of their funny incidents. And at the end of the day, out of politeness and courtesey they would ask me how am I doing. And I would just tell .. " Oh not much... you know this and this and this .." with very little details as I possibly could tell, and even if they are really interested to know more and if my radar is telling me that I'm telling too much, I would just steer the conversation back to their stories.
I guess thats why when it comes to blogging, I face a bit difficulty because I am not always sure how much should I tell.
And I guess thats why blogging is so popular because People Cant Just Wait To Tell The World of THEIR Stories. And inside everyone of us it has always been about Me, Me and Me.
I know this because I am a good listener and I am a good listener because I consider myself a very private person. I rarely let anybody gets into my world. And so when anybody wants to have a conversation with me, I would just divulge myself in their world, really listening to them, counsel them at times, advise them most of the times, giving them another perspective of their problems, laugh with them of their funny incidents. And at the end of the day, out of politeness and courtesey they would ask me how am I doing. And I would just tell .. " Oh not much... you know this and this and this .." with very little details as I possibly could tell, and even if they are really interested to know more and if my radar is telling me that I'm telling too much, I would just steer the conversation back to their stories.
I guess thats why when it comes to blogging, I face a bit difficulty because I am not always sure how much should I tell.
And I guess thats why blogging is so popular because People Cant Just Wait To Tell The World of THEIR Stories. And inside everyone of us it has always been about Me, Me and Me.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Being Nice A Sign Of Weakness
Life is definitely weird.
Have you ever encountered this situation especially when youre dealing with the some people ? Like when you walk into an office asking and enquring certain things and the man/lady just look at you with blank expression. And it seems like they re reluctant to entertain you just because youre smiling all the time and talking to them nicely. It happens... it just happens all the times. Maybe that is why some people cannot help to flaunt their titles, all the Tengkus the Datos and Datins, the Tan Sris and Puan Sris .. its like an unwritten rule that if you dont flaunt it, people wont notice you. Thats why some are not hesitant to stress their titles when introducing themselves so that people take note and give due respect. In that sense I dont really blame them, because without the titles people just dont care about you. But then, once your title is known and acknowledged then only you can afford to be nice, and people will say that youre a very good Dato who still can be nice and humble even with the title.
And with the title you have youre excused for being rude and arrogant too because youre deemed to have the power and people are afraid of power.So when youre a Dato you have the previlege to shout at people or even if you dont shout you can lift your head and flare your nose while looking down when addressing someone so that the person youre talking to knows that your Da Man.
So ... if youre someone without a title, do not be humble and do not talk nicely, they will know that youre somebody !
Life is definitely weird.
Friday, April 01, 2005
Wu huuuu .. I'm excited ! I ve got two new basketballs now.The first one fits my hand well and I love the feel of it. I got the second one because I think its more suitable for the court where I'm playing now and with the Infusion technology created by Spalding it has its own built in pump.
Its not that I never had basketball before, its been more that 20 years since I last had my Mikasa Basketball. I was only twelve and Abah was in Singapore. He asked me what do I want from S'pore, instead of asking for a doll or teddy bear like any other girls would, I asked for a basketball. He got me a Mikasa and I carried the ball all around even to school, and my frens just love the ball. The kids around the house flocked my house to play basketball with me even though we didnt have any hoop at the time (never thought of one). I dribbled the ball everywhere I went. Its my first love, and now I'm falling in love all over again with basketball. Now that I'm working I can afford to buy a good one, two in fact.
The craziest thing of all is that I m now willing to wake up at the wee hours everyday before the sun rises and get in the car to go to the court which is about 7 minutes drive just to play for about 40 minutes before coming back and get ready for work.
And now I carry the two balls in my car wherever I go.
And no, you can never find any other crazy woman who would do that ...
Its not that I never had basketball before, its been more that 20 years since I last had my Mikasa Basketball. I was only twelve and Abah was in Singapore. He asked me what do I want from S'pore, instead of asking for a doll or teddy bear like any other girls would, I asked for a basketball. He got me a Mikasa and I carried the ball all around even to school, and my frens just love the ball. The kids around the house flocked my house to play basketball with me even though we didnt have any hoop at the time (never thought of one). I dribbled the ball everywhere I went. Its my first love, and now I'm falling in love all over again with basketball. Now that I'm working I can afford to buy a good one, two in fact.
The craziest thing of all is that I m now willing to wake up at the wee hours everyday before the sun rises and get in the car to go to the court which is about 7 minutes drive just to play for about 40 minutes before coming back and get ready for work.
And now I carry the two balls in my car wherever I go.
And no, you can never find any other crazy woman who would do that ...
Monday, March 28, 2005
The Trash Truck And You
Do you put a finger under your nose when you pass by the trash truck ? Do you make faces when you have to smell the trash and do you walk faster (or better still run) when you re nearing the trash truck ?
You may have a very sensitive nose which can pick any kind of smell from afar, BUT with due respect I think it is very inappropriate to put your finger under your nose, to cringe your face at the smell of the trash or to even pull up your car window especially when the trashmen are around. Its like as if youre looking down at their work, implying their work is dirty and smelly when all theyre doing is trying to make ends meet. I dont think its by choice, even if it is, dont we feel grateful that theyre around to clean up the trashes.
Do you put a finger under your nose when you pass by the trash truck ? Do you make faces when you have to smell the trash and do you walk faster (or better still run) when you re nearing the trash truck ?
You may have a very sensitive nose which can pick any kind of smell from afar, BUT with due respect I think it is very inappropriate to put your finger under your nose, to cringe your face at the smell of the trash or to even pull up your car window especially when the trashmen are around. Its like as if youre looking down at their work, implying their work is dirty and smelly when all theyre doing is trying to make ends meet. I dont think its by choice, even if it is, dont we feel grateful that theyre around to clean up the trashes.
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Phi Phi - Before 
the Pier
I was running on the pier on the 7th December 2004, because my sister left her handphone with the "handphone Guy" who s supposed to charge the handphone's battery. We were frantically crazy like hell, because the boat was about to leave and ours was the fourth ferry from the pier, we had to walk thru other 3 ferrys to reach ours. When I was running for the phone the 3rd ferry was about to leave and my sister almost cried ......
the Pier
I was running on the pier on the 7th December 2004, because my sister left her handphone with the "handphone Guy" who s supposed to charge the handphone's battery. We were frantically crazy like hell, because the boat was about to leave and ours was the fourth ferry from the pier, we had to walk thru other 3 ferrys to reach ours. When I was running for the phone the 3rd ferry was about to leave and my sister almost cried ......
Saturday, January 01, 2005
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Monday, October 18, 2004
Days in Singapore
I just got back from a 9 day trip to Singapore. Exhausted still and my body is aching all over from the heavy loads of bags and the serious walking and climbing and jumping all over town.
If given a choice I wouldn't have gone to Singapore (because a vacation without a good beach is not worth it for me), but since my Sister has been stationed there for a couple of months, I thought, why not ? The apartment she's staying is too big for her anyway. It was my first time there and I was a bit excited and nervous.
My passport was only ready on the 5th of October and my ticket was on the 7th at 9.00 pm, by coach of course. It took me more than 10 hours to get to Johore Bahru first and then another half and hour to get to the other side to Singapore. I was freezing to death all the time I was on the coach. It was cold like crazy! The coach was supposed to take me to Beach Road which is quite far from Hougang, so said the driver and he suggested me to take a cab or a bus or MRT instead, at Woodland Old. And there I was among the whole bunch of Singaporeans (and Malaysians working in Sg) who were going to work, waiting for the bus to take me to the nearest MRT station in Woodland. Riding the bus I had the first glimpse of Singapore, the clean and beautifully painted blocks.
I reached my sister's apartment at about 11 am, and the time taken also included the breakfast I had at McDonalds below her apartment. The fully furnished and serviced apartment was beyond comfort and not bad at all. The pool was big and they have a sauna and a small gym. My holiday had just begun !
Singapore is like one huge city, the whole of the country is a city and like many other big cities in the world, you'll find people rushing here and there running for the bus and for the MRT especially during peak hours, before and after office hours. In between these two times, the MRT wont be that packed and you get to choose anywhere you like to sit on the bus. I love the double decker and would always sit in the front row of the upper deck, simply to get the view of the beautifully painted blocks. I took many photos of the blocks and the people too. My sister bought me the EZ Link Card which is very convenient when you go around on the bus and the MRT. You can just tap the card on the 'reader' and you're off to go anywhere your heart desire. During my stay there I've topped-up the card for about three times which was SGD10 for every top-up.
There's a shopping mall in every MRT stops and the utmost heaven for all shoppaholics would be the "Orchard Road". My sister and I spent the whole day at Orchard Road and we still didn't cover everything. We took the Saturday morning of MRT and reached the famous road at about 9 am and by the time we got back it was almost 10.30 pm. We went again for a new dress for my sis and this time we dropped by first at Dhoby Ghout's MRT station where "Plaza Singapura" is before we took a 5 minutes walk to one of the malls in Orchard Road.
All the times when my sister was at work, my days would start with a morning swim at the pool. The pool was quite big and as everybody's working, I had the pool all for myself. I would later catch a bus to the nearest MRT station, that is Yau Chu Kang and would venture the malls at every MRT stops. I had lunch with my sis and her colleague one day and later caught the MRT to Pasir Risk Park for a walk. I rented an in-line skate and had a breeze rolling around the park which was situated next to the beach. No, the beach was not meant for swimming, but its still a beach anyway.
Mingling around the Chinese Singaporean I observe one thing, there's no aura of resentment towards the Malays, the minority, a contradiction as to what happens in Malaysia. The Chinese there are more relaxed towards the Malays. They have nothing to hate about the Malays; they have the power and the economy is on their side. Unlike in Malaysia where you can feel and sense the resentment among both races. The Chinese here resent the fact that they Malays get all the privileges plus the political power and they always feel that they are second class citizens. But the Chinese here unlike the Malay Singaporeans have control of the economy power which is to the resentment of the Malays in Malaysia. The Chinese in Malaysia turn their resentment towards economy and the Malay Singaporeans turn their resentment towards religion. It is only by my own observation and it's a very general statement. I feel that the Malays in Singapore are relatively more religious than the Malays in Malaysia.
One Malay taxi driver told me that the Malays in Singapore are oppressed because everything is controlled by 'them' the Chinese. I said to him "What didn't kill you, would make you stronger". The Malays in Singapore must be strong spiritually and physically just like the Chinese in Malaysia. But as almost all Malay Singaporeans are Muslims, it is actually one big advantage that they must never take for granted. The religion should be their source of strength hence my statement that they are more religious is not a matter of choice, they have to. It is sad because many young Malays in Malaysia take for granted of what they have here. They do not have to worry even if they don't get good results in their exams because eventually the government would somehow help them and get the jobs for them, unlike their counterparts, the Chinese and Indians where the quota for them to enter university is still not enough to cater their intake, even when strings of As are attached. Maybe what the taxi driver said is true "The spoilt Malays in Malaysia should be thrown here to Singapore, so they will learn a lesson or two".
As obvious as it looks, the populations of Singapore are mostly Chinese. The only time I saw many Malays was when I went to Geylang. As Ramadhan was nearing at that time, they had some sort of celebration to welcome the fasting month. There were beautiful lights everywhere and the place was crowded. We were there checking the curtains for Mom for the Hari Raya. I didn't know much about curtains and all, but I can bet that any moms would be crazy shopping there as the things they have there are all beautiful. It is still cheap even if the prices are converted to Malaysian Ringgit.
Talking about curtains, I must never omit to mention this one shop "Spotlight". Its from Australia and the material and all are from that country. My sister went crazy after discovering the shop as there are so many things to choose from. There was a sale at that time and my sister got a beautiful cloth for curtains for only SGD1.99 when the actual price was SGD8 something. You can find Spotlight somewhere in Tempinese on the basement next to Swensons and one at Plaza Singapura.
If you're a Malaysian, never try convert the SGD to MYR before you attempt to buy anything because you will end up buying nothing. The SGD is stronger than MYR. For SGD1 the MYR was about 2.38 ( at the time I was there ). So, a plate of "nasi goreng" (fried rice) there cost me about MYR10 ! Almost all fast food outlets in Singapore are Halal and you don't have to worry finding a Muslim stall in every food court, because it seems that they have some sort of requirement that every food court must at least have one stall for Muslims. There's one food court which are all Halal in Simei. I cant recall the name of the place, but its just next to Simei MRT station. You can have Chinese and Western foods and even Japanese which are all Halal.
I managed to experience the first two days of Ramadhan there in Singapore. On the first day I went to Bugis and found a nice big mosque, the Sultan Mosque. I had my 'solat' there and later visited the Ramadhan Bazaar next to the mosque. And while I was there I saw the biggest and ugliest curry puff, compared to the small and nicely trimmed curled on the side of Mak Pah's curry puffs. The crowd at the bazaar was not as big as the ones we have here in Malaysia. Again, the Malays there after all are minority. There were two blocks of shophouses near the mosque which were occupied by the Muslims. I saw a number of Muslims mingling around the bazaar and a few restaurants they have there, waiting for the breakfast. I bought a 'kebab' from the bazaar and got myself a light coke from the mamak shop before I went and had my breakfast somewhere near the Bugis MRT station. The moment I stepped out of the blocks and the Mosque area, the Malays are out of sight too. Maybe its breakfast time and they are all at home.
I wish I had more time and money to discover all of Singapore. Nine days were actually long enough, but I was so laid back and didn't make enough attempt to have a good adventure. Perhaps it was because of my notion, that a vacation must have a good beach. I forgot that I should take advantage of finding the soul of the country I was visiting instead of thinking that it's all about shopping, because for me and for most, Singapore is all about shopping. But the irony of it all is that I don't fancy shopping at all in the first place. I should have gone out of that thinking. I should have been me and be more adventurous. Maybe, insya Allah, my next trip to other countries wouldn't be the same.
Oh.. I cant wait to discover Jakarta !!!
cK: If you want to 'nganga' (hang around doing nothing) there, you might as well do it here in Alor Setar
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