Dinner story

People come and go. The memories remain. Hee. Do I sound a little emotional? :P Iman has left for Malaysia, spending his short two weeks break at home. I'm gonna miss him!  Nonetheless, I don't feel too sad as I have Alang back in Sydney! Yeay!

After I finished working at 5pm, I straightly went to the boys' place and Iman made me his signature dish (well, it's more to a drink) -- Oreo Milkshake! It was me who actually requested him to make it before he went home! Haha. While enjoying the milkshake, Iman, Hafiz and I had a good long talk about marriage and dowry.  It's cool to hear what guys thought about marriage. At the same time, it scared me to realize that getting married was such a complicated thing. I mean it should be simple as according to Islam, the most important think is the solemnization or the akad. But living in this modern world yet still attached to traditions and culture, family's expectation could be a stressful thing especially when it comes to the value of dowry and the kenduri itself. Okay enough of that, not something I should be worried about just yet I guess. *wink*

Then we had dinner together with Alang and his friends from Newcastle, Ridho and Imran. Alang being a good cook, prepared a lip-smacking black pepper lamb dish and omelette pizza for us. He also baked delectable chocolate brownies.. which I ate them while it was still hot with vanilla ice-cream and maple syrup. Simply delightful! It was way better than I imagined!

I just used my E71 camera, so the quality of the photo wasn't too satisfying.

I guess it is just that for today. I don't have anything in mind to talk about really, I just feel like writing something. Good night everyone. :)

Desserts. Mouth-watering one.

I was chatting with my brother Alang just now when he suddenly said to me that he felt like eating brownies with ice-cream. Since I have a very imaginative mind, I then straightaway thought of hot chocolate brownies with walnuts.. Covered with melting hot chocolate syrup and completed beautifully with vanilla ice-cream on top. Oh Alang, please come back fast and bake me some hot brownies! I even googled for a picture of the brownies like the one I imagined of.. I got one!

Gosh it looked so yummy..

And this suddenly reminds me of Suchan (a cafe in Empire Subang). My friend, Farouk, who loves to explore nice places for food, told me they serve the best brownies ever! Okay it's a bit exaggerating I guess since I have never been there myself, but I am seriously tempted for food now! Farouk, if you are happened to read this, remember you promised to bring me to Suchan! Haha Gosh I can't wait to go back! :D

Another friend whom I was chatting with (I chat a lot hey?), Dilla, also gave me a blog of a lady who gave away lotsa cool recipes. I've copied a few of them.. Will try make them soon. Something good to do this long holiday I reckon. :) Cooking is good but eating? Doubt that. Hee. Here's her blog http://nanirostam.blogspot.com/ . Just type in the word 'recipe' in the Google bar on the top right corner on the page and voila! the recipes will appear.

Malaysia.... Food...

And oh, since it is 9 Muharam today.. Where Muslims are highly encouraged to fast on this day and tomorrow (the 10th of Muharram as well), I'm planning to cook Nasi Tomato and Ayam Masak Merah at Kak Zaima's house.

We are also going to have a small makan-makan event at Iman's house tomorrow evening, for breaking fast. Iman, me and Kak Zai are going to cook Turkey sumbat! Haha. Hope the turkey turns out well. *crossing my finger*.

Till then, have a good day everyone!

Craving for food........ Although I already had two slices of pizza for lunch.

I'm writing this in a very enthusiastic feeling.. Haha. I can still feel my hands shiver. Too excited! Haha I'm in a rush actually, promised Kak Zai to go out teman her shopping. Yeah I will only TEMAN her. Not gonna shop again today. *crossing fingers secretly*

Thousand words (with a lil sense of linguistics)

As the title tells, this post will touch a bit on Linguistics issue. Well yeah just trying to make my brain works during this long break. ;)

It just occurred to me that there were more words to describe certain things in English than we have in Malay. I went to Bondi beach two days ago and was sitting alone by the sea when I heard these two women next to me talking to each other.

Woman A: Hey look at the tanker over there.. (while pointing to the sea, to a big tanker ship that passed through far away)
Woman B: That must be gigantic, from here it already seems so big..

What attracted me when listening to this conversation was the word 'tanker' used by her. Well, personally if I were to talk to another person, I would definitely use the word 'ship'. As for me (who have a very limited vocab, mind you), a 'ship' represents all kinds of sea transportation be it a vessel, an icebreaker or a schooner.. They all are the same to me. As in Malay, we only say 'kapal' for any 'ship' right. I mean we only have 'kapal minyak', 'kapal kontena' or the code-crutching** version of tanker which is 'kapal tanker'. Hmm.

This is a tanker.

A vessel.

 

An icebreaker (It breaks ice, obviously)

A schooner

I would love to know more words that can describe things more specifically. I suppose as a future English teacher I would need to widen my vocab knowledge, don't you think? Guess I should read more. Oh yes, have to read and look at pictures at the same time. At least I won't be confused of what do a squid, cuttlefish and octopus look like. Cause at the end of the day, they are all sotongs to me. Anyone, can surprise me with a little picture dictionary? Hee.

P/s: code-crutching is using a word or phrase from other language (to tell the same meaning) because we don't have it in our language e.g globalization--> globalisasi, obsession --> obsesi

To change, it's not easy, but it's not impossible

Salam, and hi to all. I suddenly have a thought that I want to share with all of you. Since it is the New Year according to the Islamic Hijr Calendar, firstly I would like to wish everyone a very blessed new year.. Like the Arabic saying.. "Kul 'Am Wa Antum Bikhair" - May you always be blessed and well each year.

Hijrah or Change. The new year marks the journey of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) from Makkah to Medina to spread Islam.. Hijrah itself means alot to a Muslim, individually.

Sitting alone in my room while waiting for Maghrib prayer just now.. makes me wonder whether have I changed, to a better person since the past year? To change into a better person is harder than to turn into a bad person. Because it requires a deep thought, it doesn't come instantly. Unlike being bad where we always follow our instinct, usually without thinking. Like what Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h once said... "The believers whose faith is most perfect are those who have the best character" (Abu Dawud, Darimi). Only those who think deeply, who have a strong faith or iman, will know the importance of being good.

Just to share my experience.. Some of you might know that previously I was not like who you see me today. Alhamdulillah Allah gives me the chance to change.. Before death comes to me that nothing can be changed anymore.. Alhamdulillah. The month of Muharram marks one year of this new image which I am truly grateful of, and feel so blessed to be given the realization of my own responsibility as a Muslim. May Allah give me the strength to be istiqamah in this journey insyaAllah. I need your du'a my friends.. :)

At first, I was worried of what people would say of my change. I was worried and self-conscious of my own image, how I would look like as I didn't have many scarves to be worn and I didn't know how to wear them good. I was worried and scared to leave all the things and clothes that I'd been wearing all my lives. (I mean the not-fully covered ones). I was not confident of my own determination to change. I doubted myself that my change was going to remain long. The only person that I told of my intention during that time was mom. She was very supportive. Thanks Mak. You are always my strength.

To be honest, to be a full-time Hijabi girl is a major change in my life. I can say it is a major thing in any girl's life. But to keep you going in performing a big change, I mean a good one, is your own willingness and intention. Do it for Allah. Then everything will come to ease. There will be some challenges, it's undeniable. But don't think of other people. Do it because you want to. If we do something for the sake of other people, let's say the person we do something for is gone.. We might not continue doing the good deed, right? But Allah is always there.

To all girls out there, who might have thought of shifting to a new image, a hijabi image.. Trust me, wearing headscarf doesn't make you look less pretty. In fact, it makes you more beautiful. More special. Cause you are different from others. You'll feel it insyaAllah. :)

I'm sharing my own experience here not to show that I'm good. No I'm not good enough, there's still so many things to improve within myself. But the main point I would like to share is.. If we want to change, or do something good.. Don't be afraid. Don't think twice in performing good deeds. But think twice in doing the opposite.

Salam 1432 Hijrah. :)

Holiday, and New Year.

Mood to update this blog suddenly comes again. Well to be honest I don't feel so good now. I mean I don't have a good mood now. I'm currently listening to Westlife feat Mariah Carey's Against All Odds and suddenly feel a bit mellow. Haha I don't know why but maybe because it has been a tiring day for me. No not 'day', but 'week', in fact. Stressing myself for exam. Hihi.

Alhamdulillah I'm done with this semester. Since last week's Wednesday I have been busy studying a.k.a compressing all inputs that I can for the exams. Whatever it is, I'm happy that it is all done. Now I need to keep on praying that I pass all the papers (if I were to get better than Pass, alhamdulillah :) )...

So, the holiday has started. Many of my friends will leave Sydney this weekend, yeap to spend their summer break in Malaysia. Me? Well I decide to stay here. At least until the new year celebration. Celebrating new year is a significant event for my family and I. It's because since the past 4-5 years (I can't really remember), we will spend the eve (and do countdowns) in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, which is Bukit Bintang. Since we (me and my cousins) are mostly girls, my aunts and mom are worried of our safety to let us out for the night. So they decide to book hotel rooms for us to stay for the eve (with them as well... and Opah too!). It has been a tradition. So this year I decide to stay here instead of going back too early, to experience Sydney's new year celebration. Luckily I have few friends who intend to witness the fireworks and experience the event too. So I'll be occupied. Don't worry. (I don't care if you don't :P )

This year will be different, celebrating it without them. I truly miss them all. But I am not sad. Cause I know deep within their hearts, they miss me too. :)

p/s: I tried to upload few pictures of 2010's NY celebration but the server just won't let me. :(

My Favourite Part of the Semester.

This is the time that I love most in each semester.

THE ASSIGNMENT WAVE!


4 major assignments to be submitted accordingly.

4th November : EDUC 265 Educational Assessment

5th November : LING 219 Introduction to Sociolinguistics

 10th November : EDUC 267 Introduction to Curriculum and Pedagogy

 11th November : ECH 131 Arts in Early Childhood.

Plus I have other commitments as well.

On the 4th of November, as the Cultural Director 10/11 of MSA (Malaysian-Macquarie Students Association), I need to help masak-masak for the DeepaRaya event that's going to happen on that exact day.
So I'm the one in charged with all the cookings and preparing meals for the event. Need to get ready for it starting this weekend. Yeah I need to cook for 200 people. *sweating*

Next upcoming event, a Farewell Party for our beloved Cohort 5 seniors on the 10th of November (the night before my ECH131 assignment is due).
They're going back home for good thus we Cohort 1 juniors are organizing a special (special ke? :P) farewell dinner for them.
The best part is, I'm going to perform that night! 
I'm excited for the event but a bit worried for the assignment. I heard that they are having a test too the next morning. Gosh I guess all of us are going to attend the dinner with worries heavily loaded on top of our heads. *giggling*


Juggling with so many things now. But keep on saying Alhamdulillah. :)

Cause in the Alquran is already mentioned in Aya 2:286 -- the translation -- "Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope..."

atau Bahasa Melayunya.. “Allah tidak membebani seseorang melainkan sesuai dengan kesanggupannya……..”


I can do this. InsyaAllah. :)

These few days I have been spending some time in the Musolla to do my assignments. Papers are everywhere! This is how I study by the way. Mess here and there. ;)

And shut! I know I resemble a makcik.

... and that messy handwriting!

 

 Kurikulum Malaysia tidak kulupakan..

And oh, for the first line, I was being sarcastic. In case you bought that. :P

Courtroom experience

Yeah it's been awhile since my last post. As usual, when I have tonnes of assignments, then only the mood to update this tiny little blog will come. Ideas flow like water, for the wrong reason at the wrong time. ;)

One of my assignments requires me to go observe a courtroom session, to see how people use language in the court. Yeah it's my Sociolinguistics subject. Thus it's related to how people use and choose different kinds of languages to be used for different social reasons. Some of you have fallen asleep heh? Hee.

Thanks to our driver, Faiz, we managed to arrive at Hornsby Court House by 10am. It was a 30-minutes drive from our home. It was so interesting to be on the road at such an early time, cause it reminded me of driving my Abah to his office every morning back in Malaysia.  *Abah I miss you muchoz. Trust me I would willingly drive you next time if you wanted me to! You didn't have to force me after this :P

The officer at the court house gave us a warm welcome. I felt like I should be a lawyer cause the staffs were so nice towards us! They made me feel special! Haha. Other people (even the defendants! - I know they were the defendants cause their cases were being heard in the court later) were also so nice towards us, they smiled when they saw us walking down the alley to the main courtroom. *I felt like a superstar*. We managed to get the permission to write down some notes for our assignment. You don't usually get to write or record anything in the courtroom, as a privacy matter. So, yeay!

Okay guess I won't talk about what I wrote down. Cause after a few minutes the session started, my eyes were almost closed. Haha. The magistrate's Australian accent was so strong that I hardly understood what she talked about. But of course, to cover myself up, I nodded knowingly a few times when she made eye contact with me. Lol

Out of the 6 cases that we heard for the morning session, there was this one case that caught my attention. Two relatives were fighting over hot water system. Can you believe that?? The defendant was charged for assaulting the victim by biting her hand and pulled her down. And the reason of the fight was because she turned off the water heater. JUST THAT! Gosh what's wrong with people nowadays?

When the court had a morning tea break around 12 noon, we also cabut lari lah! I managed to capture a few photos outside the court house as kenang-kenangan. I wore my super-expensive-but-worn-only-once blazer tau! Motif la taknak capture gambar kan. :P

So here they are :)

our driver of the day - Faiz -

With my girlfriends in front of the Court - Asrin (middle) and Mira (right)

 

 It was drizzling when we took this picture. It was an old building, just a small local court. I knew some of you might be surprised seeing the building, cause I was surprised too!

Then...

We headed off to Top Ryde to get our lunch as the stomach was calling for food! I had a beef burger with chips. Enormous size! It kept me full till night that I didn't have to take dinner.

I wanna go there again!

I mean the burger shop, not the court. Haha

Nikmat Iman dan Islam.

Hmm. tadi terbaca status Hilal Asyraf di fb.

"cuba mencapai nikmat iman dan Islam".

mesti indah kan perasaannya?
masih mencuba...
InsyaAllah.

The season has changed. So do I. :)

Spring.
Yeah spring has arrived!
It's very very colourful here.
All the flowers, macam literally, berebut-rebut untuk keluar menunjukkan diri masing-masing.
Yeah seriously.
I just wish all of you (those in Malaysia or any other places that don't experience seasonal change), could be here to witness it.
It is very beautiful, SubhanaAllah.

We always see in the movies where during spring, all the flowers blossom, the leaves grow fast and the animals start to show themselves, right?
Well, I never thought it is real.
Okay I know that they ARE real, but what I mean is I don't think that they are real in a way. erm.
Erm.. okay, abaikan.
*sorok muka*

Spring really brings the cheerful and happy mode.
Colours are everywhere, and living things are alive.
The weather is not really cold, and not that hot.
It's just perfect to go out and play in the sun.

Unlike winter, where all the leaves die, leaving the branches by itself.
And the weather is chilly, dark and gloomy.
Just by reading this, it affects your mood right?
Well at least, it affects mine.

The other day I was walking to a senior's raya open house and I took a chance to do a little spring photo shoot around the housing area.

So here's the pictures.

Hope you'll enjoy, and see how beautiful the world around us - that Allah has given to us to appreciate and value... if we are among the thinkers.

There's a parrot! Unfortunately I didn't get a shot of him from the front.

Dia tengah makan madu mungkin?

And rabbit starts to appear again! 

(Seriously I don't see any during winter)

 To be honest, I don't know names of flowers. 

But I love this one, tiny little flower on the grass.

 

Haa you must be familiar with this lalang kan? hehe 

Saja je snap, to show we have lalang juga in Sydney tau ;)

The bee is eating honeyyyy ( Lebah sedang makan madu)

*okay ni adalah direct translation*

 Ha pokok ni, bunga dia special. 

My flatmate Zeda said "macam pencuci botol susu baby"

Ha that's me. These two pictures were taken outside my apartment. 

Pretty heh? (Yeah I mean the flower, obviously)

p/s: If you notice, I've changed the background image too. :)

This post is dedicated specially for my beloved little sister in UiTM Kuala Pilah. I keep my promise to take pictures of every season kat sini, kan? Hope you enjoy the pictures. Love you ;)

What is the purpose of life? - the video

Remember my previous post regarding the interview of me and Aliah for the Islamic Awareness Week?
The one that they asked us 'the purpose of life' and 'if it were our last 3 days on earth what are we going to do'.
Well if you have an old mind (like I do!), here's the link to the post.
My last day on earth

Naaaa now the MUMSA (Macquarie University Muslim Students Association) has launched the promo video for the upcoming event, which is going to be held very very soon!
And the best thing is, I appeared in the video! yeahuuu~~

Honestly I'm so excited as I will be one of the volunteers.
It's gonna be a whole new experience for me.
InsyaAllah. :)

So, the video was recorded around the campus area. Catch me and Aliah at 1:50! :)

My personal comment regarding the video --- Well, it really touches my heart.
Seeing different people responding to the same question, with different reactions, but everyone was stunned hearing the question.
It really made us think, ain't it?
Lets pray Allah shows us the right way.

Amin.

Raya di Sydney.

As mentioned before, we had our own open house. (Yes it was the first time in my life organizing such a big party!).
I had great experience and fun in cooking, preparing all the food, cleaning up the house, memang tak tidur malam tu!
Okay exaggerate pula.
I did sleep for 4 hours that night.
Hik.

So, here are few pictures taken during our open house a.k.a housewarming party held last Friday. :)

Our house decoration - frame gambar kami berenam

Another house deco. 

We lighten tea candles up. Sweet and romantic kan kami gadis2 Zara Airyss? ;)

the menu:

Nasi Impit + Kuah kacang (asrin and mira)

Side dish - Batagor (ala2 wantan di Malaysia) this is originally from Indonesia.
Thanks to Teh Noy for the recipe.
This was a hit dish at our open house! (prepared by Zawa)

Tadaa the main dish!

Nasi Tomato (Aliah + Zeda)

and Ayam Masak Merah ( Zawa + me)

Ha ni ayam masak merah I dengan Zawa buat tau ;)

Tapi I tukang kacau je hik

Jelatah.
I bancuh ni! ;) *sengih2 kembanggg*

Nasi Tomato yang super yummy.

Seriously, it was a tough work for Ali and Zeda.  

Diorang masak sikit-sikit dalam periuk nasi biasa then transferred it to the big kawah.

p/s: Thanks Rya for the recipe, though we had to adjust sikit2 sebab kadang2 nasi mentah, but it was delicious, thanks! :)

Family photo Zara Airyss. with Farouk and Iman.  Haha

Semua orang bising - "Kenapa Farouk and Iman masuk gambar Zara Airyss?"

*paling stress bila kami baru sedar yang lupa angkat towel kat belakang, malu2*

 With our lovely Cohort 5 seniors. 

They will fly back home for good this December. sobss T_T

*Pic taken at our backyard*

 My handsome brother Alang (right) with our cohort leader Afiq (left) and Razeen's happy face in the middle

Our remaining guests for the day. Time was almost 530pm during this time. :)

Now, it's time for the host to eat, after a day melayan tetamu!

Look at my happy face dapat makan :p

Sekian. Lotsa <3 <3 <3 from Sydney :)

Salam

Alhamdulillah, bakal bekerja.

Syukur pada Allah.
Dalam masa 2-3 hari ni, saya rajin juga jenguk Gumtree Sydney (website untuk cari kerja).
Akhirnya dapat juga kerja.
Cleaner untuk apartment.
Gajinya okay lah untuk beginner yang takde experience langsung ni (takat cuci toilet time agent nak inspect rumah je minggu lepas je, hik hik)
Tempatnya pun alhamdulillah tak jauh sangat, 20 minit je naik bas depan rumah ni.
Time pun flexible, Alhamdulillah.

Cuma..terdetik juga nervous dan cuak di hati.
Bukan apa, kerja nya kan cleaner rumah orang, so..
Nervous sebab majikannya adalah 3 orang lelaki yang tinggal kat apartment tu. Hmm.
Moga Allah melindungi dan berkati kerja ni..Amin.

Hanya berserah dan tawakal pada Allah.

Belaian Jiwa.

Okay tadi tiba2 ter-mainkan lagu ni di Youtube. And... touching sendiri.

Maybe I've forgotten Him, That's why.

My open house went great, thanks to my beloved Zara Airyss housemates.
Well I'm not really in the mood to talk about the open house, maybe later with some pretty pictures uploaded along with the post.
Tiring day, happy yet stressful.

And I made a confession to my brother Alang and my very-supportive-girlfriend Kema. Well I intended to ask for their opinions regarding it actually, that's why I confessed.

Both of them gave me advices, good ones I must say.
I shall keep them to myself.
Pray for the best -  that's the conclusion.
If we think that this one particular person is the best, the most suitable for us, yet Allah doesn't grant us them, just wait. He has something better in future.

Whatever happens, we never lose anything kan? We will always get the best thing from Allah, provided we perform the best effort... InsyaAllah.

Allah knows best, we shall trust Him, in everything we do. :)

Maybe I've forgotten Allah in my days and nights.. thus He gave me challenges in this way. The way that I'm most weak at - the heart matter.

Alhamdulillah, all these confusions lead me back to Him. Syukur.

I guess my angau days are now over. Get back to reality. And Rod Lane. ;)

Realization.

Today I realized something.
The person I like, remains as 'the person I liked'.
What happened the other day was just my own 'perasan-ness'.
I je terperasan hari tu.

Hope this feeling will go away soon.
It affects me.
I'm not myself. haha

I'm always out of words.
When he tegur, I just smile and walk away.

Hope that isn't obvious.
I hope.
But I like him.
;)

p/s: dear housemates, please pretend like you never read this one, malu lah ai. hehe

My babies :)

Here! My babies. Mr Woody and Sir Shrek!

If you know me well, I'm totally obsessed with Toy Story and Shrek! Not just recently, but has been forever! *okay exaggerate dah budak ni

I bought Shrek well not say bought, but Shrek officially became mine when we met at Movieworld in Gold Coast last winter. I went there for my semester break. Yeah, it was love at first sight. Since then, he always accompanied me especially during bedtime. He never left me. The furthest he had ever been was under my bed. Hee.

And just few days ago, my darling Amirah, set a special date up for me and Mr Woody. I was about to sleep when Mira suddenly asked me to cover my head underneath the quilt. I was confused with her request, but I followed anyway. In my mind, I thought 'budak ni nak salin baju ka, beria suruh aku tutup muka, macam aku ade selera je kat dia ni'.

It was a raya gift for me. What a sweet girl she was, and is. :)

Now Mr Woody and Shrek (and me) are always together, inseparable, especially during bedtime!

And yeah, our bed is totally full with our babies! :) :)

Woody, Shrek, BabyBunny & Koko (mine) 

Alfonso (white polar bear), Tigger and Donkey (Mira's)

I got Koko from my bestie Iylia Kadir on the day I flew off to Sydney. *Miss you darling*

BabyBunny - I got from a game booth at the Royal Easter Show last April. Although I didn't win, the guy gave that little prize to me anyway.

I hug them all tightly when I sleep! :D

Bahaya.

Ye, bahaya. I'm in danger.

Lately, someone has constantly been on my mind.

I'm worried, and confused with my own feelings.

Hmm.........

My last day on earth.

Today I had two raya open house invitations.

First, Afiq and the boys' house and the second was Nina and the girls' house. Lotsa food to eat, yuummayh!

Before that, I went to Macquarie Centre for a while before our 'Ops Raya'.

me in front of the Event cinema. ala2 GSC la kat Msia.

 

Zeda and I - ambil gambar while waiting for the other girls

Okay jauh dah menyimpang. That's not what I wanted to write about. On our way to the open house, we walked pass the campus to meet Ali's friend, Nadia, because Ali wanted to pay her the entry fee for the upcoming futsal event. (Yeah I didn't join, but would be there to support my girls). 

Back to the story.. Nadia was there with a bunch of people, Muslims particularly. They were there doing promo video recording for the coming Islamic Awareness Week which would be held on 11 Oct- 15 Oct. I registered to be the volunteer, by the way. :) 

*Islamic Awareness Week in our campus, mainly aimed to correct people's views about Islam. About the Quran and about our daily lives. It's really interesting. :)

Back to the story.. then one of the brothers, approached us and invited us to get involved for the recording. 

"Just some simple and basic questions. Like 'How is the weather today?' ", Nadia said. 

I was there with my housemates (5 of us). We were so nervous to do it. My main reason for being nervous was - I was conscious of my English fluency and I was afraid that I would lost for words.

Seeing they were like really hoping for us to be interviewed.. So Ali volunteered, and I joined her. 

After getting ready, (I held the microphone! :P).. There goes our first question..

"What is your purpose of life?" asked one of the brothers (who was behind the camera - in front of us).

I was stunned. And yeah, as expected, lost for words. Ali then suddenly answered. She gave a brilliant answer I must say.

"My purpose of life is, to obey Allah's rule, follow the guidance .." (and few more things which please forgive my old mind for forgetting).

Then she turned to me and I looked at the brother. He said "What about you?"

Okay I was nervous. Because.. it was really a simple question, the most basic thing that we should know - the purpose of our own lives. But I suddenly realized. I never know what my purpose of life is. I never thought of it. Like seriously, we live our days, everyday, do we really know what our purpose of life is? Honestly I don't. The question really made me think.

So I answered.

"My purpose of life, is to be the best person I can ever be. with Allah's guidance".

That sounds simple. But personally it affected me muchoz. Yeah, that's my purpose of life. I just realized it now.

Then, the second question.

"If you knew that it was your last three days on earth, what would you do?"

Ali looked at me, like saying 'min cakaplah dulu'. Okay I knew I needed to answer this one. I thought if it were really my last days on earth, what I would do.

"First, I would ask for forgiveness from my parents. Second, pray a lot, definitely (I said it with a little giggle, and they laughed too). The third, I would cherish the day."

And I heard Ali said "Same as her". *what a safe way out for Ali, heh? :p

Well, they really asked for basic and simple questions. But questions that we never thought of. At least for me. We never ask ourselves about it, really. Sometimes we live our days without reflecting back to our own self. Why are we chosen by Allah to live in this world?

Have you ever thought of it?

my housemates

from left: Ali, Zawa, me, Asrin, Zeda (my other housemate, Amirah was not in the pic, unfortunately)

Salam. :)

p/s: Selamat Hari Raya, maaf zahir batin

Bersedih? Jangan.

Have it ever crossed to you, that suddenly, out of nowhere, you became depressed and feel terribly down? Padahal baru sebelum tu kita bergelak ketawa dengan kawan-kawan. Okay honestly, we can't feel down like so sudden, bukan? Yeah something happened to me just now, that I feel depressed sebentar. Tapi takpa. At least, this depression gives me an idea of what to write. 

How to overcome a depression (atau 'down' bak kata orang putih)

1.       Pujuk diri sendiri.

a.       Oleh sebab takda siapa lagi dalam dunia ni yang boleh pujuk kita.. (kecuali mak kita, tapi mak mesti bosan hari-hari min call mak, ye tak? ;) - I know you'll be reading this one).

·         Macam saya.. Saya cakap "tak pe lah, semalam kan dah happy sangat.. Kan hari ni dah down, sebab tak bersyukur atas ke-happy-an semalam agaknya".

·         And.. Kadang-kadang kita marah diri sendiri - kenapa aku asyik tak happy? Kenapa aku asyik down?? Tak boleh ke perasaan ni pergi? Jawapan dia : kita yang bertanggungjawab atas tindakan kita sendiri. Perasaan tak happy itu akan sentiasa melanda manusia.. Dalam masa nilah kita perlu yakin pada Allah.. Dia tahu segalanya. Bak kata lagu Zain Bhikha - Allah Knows.. Mengadu lah padaNya, Dia dengar. :)

No matter what, inside or out

There is one thing of which no doubt… ALLAH KNOWS.. ALLAH KNOWS.

ni link untuk lagu nya. Try lah download dan dengar liriknya, best :)

 http://www.4shared.com/audio/ckPjVWkl/Allah_Knows_by_Zain_Bhikha.html

 2.        Bersyukur. 

·         Bersyukur apesal pulak, kita depresi ni… hmm. Baru tadi terlintas dalam fikiran saya, kita rasa down, sebab mesti dah terlupakan Allah.. Mungkin ada part kita terleka sekejap. Cuba reflect balik.. Bila kita down, baru nak mengadu pada Allah.. Ha sebab tu kita depress, sebab Allah bagi kita titik tolak untuk sedar balik. Bersyukur lah, sebab kita diberi kesedaran. (Cuma antara kita nak sedar dengan tak sedar je lah) :)

3.       Bersyukur lagi.

·         Ada pernah sekali dulu.. Saya dilanda kesedihan yang sangat teruk. Sangat down. Sangat depresi. Kemudian saya call mak. Dengar suara lembut mak, dah cukup untuk buat air mata menitis. Mak suruh cakap "Alhamdulillah". Saya terkedu juga mula-mula.. dalam kita ditimpa bencana.. Mak suruh cakap macam tu pula. Tapi bila dah matang sikit fikiran ni.. Mak tak pernah salah. Alhamdulillah, praise to Allah. Di sebalik setiap keburukan.. Ada kebaikan, percayalah. Bukan percaya pada saya, tapi pada Allah. :)  
  
4. Mengadu pada orang yang boleh memahami
 INGAT! Bukan sebarangan orang nak dengar luahan hati kita.. Percayalah. Saya dah kena dulu masa sekolah menengah. Kawan tempat mengadu tiba2 satu hari cakap kat saya "Boleh tak ko stop cakap pasal benda tu? Aku bosan dengar". Terkedu. Sampai sekarang, saya trauma nak cerita pada orang, tapi Alhamdulillah.. Saya dikurniakan kawan-kawan yang sangat mulia hatinya.. Moga Allah mengurniakan rahmat atas mereka.. Amin..

5. Berdiri dalam realiti.

·        
Truth hurts, but they are the truth anyway. Saya gunting keratan surat khabar kat bawah ni sebab sangat membantu saya cari balik semangat yang hilang. :) eat a concrete and harden up! Concrete sangatlah tak sedap, keras, buat patah gigi je. Tapi telan je! Dah telan nanti jadi kebal. Gitu lah falsafah saya. (falsafah pulak dah...adoyai)

6.       Baca Quran. Dan tafsirnya.

·         Kita ni diuji dengan ujian kecil je.. Rasul kita Muhammad besar sungguh dugaan baginda.. Kita cuma jaga hati kita seorang, Nabi jaga sekalian umat. Seteruk-teruk cabaran kita, ada lagi orang yang lagi besar dugaan dia. Again.. Bersyukur dengan apa yang kita ada..

Hmm. Sebenarnya, cara nak overcome depresi ni banyak, tapi semuanya, bagi saya, bertitik tolak dari ingatan kita pada Allah. Dekatkan diri denganNya. Kasih sayang Allah lebih dari cukup untuk hambaNya.. InsyaAllah.

Salam Perantau 2010

Alhamdulillah, I've successfully posted a Eidul Fitri wish for my family and friends in Malaysia through our mainstream newspapers. Utusan, Kosmo, Berita Harian and Harian Metro. this is the link for one of them.

http://xtive.utusan.com.my/salam_perantauan/display.php?id=1280

For all the four newspapers, the wish and picture is the same. *The girls in the picture were my housemates :)* So I decided to post only one here.

Years before this, that column of the newspaper was my favourite one - the one that I was always eagerly waiting for to read when Ramadhan started. Well, it still is. It's very entertaining and inspiring to see all the faces and places of Malaysians around the world. I still remember when I was around 9-10 years old, I have a cousin who used to study in the States. Can't really remember which uni she was in, but she posted a picture of herself (and her friends) on that page during the month of Ramadhan. Our big family was so excited and so proud of her. Since then, I always read that column and look at the pictures and people overseas. Now it's my turn. I'm the one who will be in that column. Being away from the family is hard, but knowing I'm in their hearts, it makes it thousand times easier. Pray for my success, insyaAllah. :)

Not the first time.

Hey everyone, thanks for dropping by at my blog. This is not my first time writing blogs, in fact I had two personal blogs previously but I got tired of writing (and started to write nonsense things), so I decided to close them up. But now I realized the world is too beautiful to just be kept to myself, as I feel I want to share what I see, know, feel and think of the world around me, with all of you (those who care, obviously). My method of writing, yeah I started with writing the drafts on my MicrosoftOneNote, they helped a lot.

Just a glimpse of my drafts on OneNote

Thanks to my friend Ali, she inspired me to post my writings on the blog, as she accidentally read them over my lappie the other day.

So, how did you start your day today? Drive to work? Walk to campus? Or take the bike to class? (like my housemates and I do) :). In any way we start our days, do we ever take note of the world around us? Do we really see the blue sky and the white clouds? Do we hear the birds chirping when we step out of our houses? Do we notice that the leaves on trees, they have a variety of green colour? Or at least.. do we feel grateful when eating the food for our breakfast?.. Sometimes we are too busy with our lives that we forgot to see how beautiful the world around us is. So here I would like to share my favourite line from the Quran.. the meaning is:


Sesungguhnya dalam penciptaan langit dan bumi, silih bergantinya malam dan siang, bahtera yang berlayar di laut membawa apa yang berguna bagi manusia, dan apa yang Allah turunkan dari langit berupa air, lalu dengan air itu Dia hidupkan bumi sesudah mati (kering)-nya dan Dia sebarkan di bumi itu segala jenis hewan, dan pengisaran angin dan awan yang dikendalikan antara langit dan bumi; sungguh (terdapat) tanda-tanda (keesaan dan kebesaran Allah) bagi kaum yang memikirkan. 

Al-Baqarah:164 

The environment around us should make us feel grateful. Just look at the shift of the moon and the sun, the touch of wind on our faces, the animals that are alive... They are all signs of Allah's power.. if we are among the thinkers.

Till then, Assalam. May Allah bless and shower all of you with His love and berkah during this Ramadhan. :)

Here is one favourite video of mine, hope you will get some inspiration from it insyaAllah.