Escapism To Surrealism

Ten Good Reasons To Date A Nurse

2009-02-15T02:27:00.000+08:00

Saw this from a friend's facebook note.

1. They can help you get over a hangover or sickness.
2. Bedbaths!
3. The uniform.
4. They are exposed to so many xrays, it’s like a form of birth control.
5. You will never need to buy condoms, paracetamol, toothbrushes or any hospital supplies.
6. They know how to handle bodily fluids!
7. Nothing shocks a nurse, they have always seen smaller or indeed bigger!
8. They won’t be disgusted by your toilet habits.
9. They are experienced in manual evacuation when you are full of you know what.
10. They know how to handle the human body.

So, any takers? Hahaha!

13 Feb 2009

2009-02-14T19:52:00.000+08:00

Nothing a guy does on 14 Feb - huge teddy bear, bouquet of 12 red roses, heart-shaped cakes, four course Italian dinner and what not - will make him seem original. The solution? Go out the day before. Cos I hate crowds lah, basically.

Raffles Place UOB Plaza facing the Singapore River. The right pitch of darkness. Not too dark, not too bright. Cold breezes blowing. Facing the River. What more could one ask for, right? And to top it off, wishing at the stroke of midnight. Sweet.

Happy Vday, "best friend"! :)

30min

2009-02-05T09:53:00.000+08:00

I guess I'm NOT really back to blogging, like what I said in my post on 19/1 at 2.44am. Haha!

Anyways..

It was nice to have met up. Thou it wasn't as long as our first meet up, it felt just as pleasureable, nonetheless. I guess the supposedly initial miscommunication worked in our favour in the end, best friend. :)

Best Friend

2009-01-19T03:31:00.003+08:00

We met at ard 8.20pm. We went to StarBucks. We bought some drinks. We ordered diff sizes. Tall for u, and grande for me. But end up, both looks de same je.

We left at ard 1.20am. Meaning that we talked for abt 5 hours. I'm surprised we did. We talked abt so much lah.

And to be honest kan, I dont really remember what we talked abt. Maybe it's just me. I'm a guy after all. Im not THAT into details. Maybe u do, and remember almost all that we talked abt. What I DO remember would be de main points.

Not wanting to jump and rush into things. U'd rather us being 'best friends'. U being prepared to open up to me. U telling me all those things, that u've never told any1 b4, let alone a Malay guy. U trusting me not to go ard telling any1 else. I'm touched. Thank you. U hoping that I'd go to Sultan first, so that u could get smthg for me, but in de end u nvr did. I don't mind. A sweet thought indeed. U telling me that I looked cute trying to figure out de combinations to 7 Wonders. And when we were politely told by de StarBucks staff that they were closing, and we were moving to where we moved, u asked me to hold on to The Box, and said to me, 'U hold on to this my dear'. I must admit that smthg stirred in me. Heh.

Insha Allah, we'll reach de common point that we have, my best friend. Ameen.

Girls, Shawls & Vests

2009-01-19T02:44:00.006+08:00

Quite a lot of things happened yesterday.

First up, as I was otw to somewhere, an sms came in. 'Hello, cn i ask u sumting?'. I didnt recognize de number as I had sent my phone for repairs, so I asked who de person was. It turned out that it was somebody fr sch. So what exactly did she wanted to ask? It was matters of de heart. It wasnt me she was asking abt, thou it'd be great if it was. Haha! It was someone I know. And quite close to, I must say. It didnt matter that she was asking abt him, furthermore for a fren. Girls. Yeah. De things they do, guys just dont get. Including me sometimes. Haha!

She was quite evasive abt it initially. But somehow I was able to guess who her fren is. It's quite easy to see lor. I mean, girls just dont talk abt who they like to ANYONE, right? I see girls nodding as they read this, and guys looking at me with de 'how do u know?' look. Don't ask me how I know. Sometimes, I dont really know how I know stuff. Esp these kinda things. Anyways, to summarize, it turned out that my guess was right after all! All from just knowing that girls dont talk abt who they like to anyone. Cool or what! Haha! If u're reading this, relax, I didnt tell him. I promise I wont k? I wouldnt wanna make things bad. :)

Next was that after putting it off for a long time, I FINALLY went to JB. What's de big deal u may ask? De big deal is their new Customs, Immigrations n Quarantine building. Been hearing stories abt how inconvenient it is and all. Inconvenient as in that there's only two lanes for vehicles to pass thru, compared to many more lanes with de previous CIQ building.

It turned out that de CIQ is damn huge lah! Arriving at de Arrivals halls, it simply wowed me. I wanted to snap a pic of it. But knowing these kinda places are quite sensitive, I actuali asked a guard if I could take a pic. She said no. Looking back, I'm amazed. Amazed cos I asked if I could take a pic. Usually I'd just sneakily take a pic. I dunno why either. And I'm kicking myself for it now. De scene of de Arrivals hall keeps playing in my head as I'm typing this. De closest thing I can compare it to is de T3 at Changi. Smthg like that lah.

And unlike de previous CIQ where it's damn small, I got kinda lost. Was walking here and there for a while. But it was ok. Sometimes de feeling of getting lost itself isnt bad. De experience of smthg new felt nice. I managed to find my way to City Square, and I just window shopped there, like I usually do. FOS is one great shop. Saw many interesting shirts and tees, but had no money to retail therapy there. Haha! One particular shirt I liked was this red, long sleeved Chinese shirt. It's called Qipao, if I'm not wrong. Damn nice lah. RM59.90. In S$ abt less than $30. Worth it, right? Maybe next time I guess. If it's still there. Next wk? 25th? Perhaps. Hehe..

And de toilet there is not bad. Had a slight stomachache, went to de toilet, couldnt hold it any longer, so I relieved myself there. When u gotta go, u gotta go, right? Sempat! Yeah I know. Haha!

As usual de journey back home entails going to Kranji, and like on days where I got sch, I alighted at CCK. Otw to de int wanting to board 172, I remembered Cotton On having this scarf/shawl/throw that I like when I was there last Tue, so off I went there.

Was window shopping there for a while first, when there's this girl who came up to me and started asking me abt shoes. She asked smthg abt de price. I was kinda shocked, but I just said to her that I wasn't a staff. Quite embarrassed, she apologised. From de direction she walked off, I could hear some laughter. Looking in de direction, she was talking to her friend, who was looking at me. I guess she told her fren abt her predicament. Quite a laugh really. I got de Cotton On staff look meh? Sigh..

In de end, I got de scarf/shawl/throw that I wanted, and it was only $1o! I was shocked when de girl behind de counter told me it was $10. De price tag mentioned $19.95. But it somehow escaped me de big $10 sign above de scarfs/shawls/throws. Shocked pun shocked jugak, but dah $10, bagus lah kan? So just paid for it lor.

And de way how I choose which one I wanted was funny lah. As there were many of de same things, I was checking all de scarfs/shawls/throws, almost one by one. Since I'm buying, might as well I really look before I buy, right? There was this one particular piece, which was quite different fr de rest. It was smoother than de rest. It somehow just spoke to me. As if saying, 'buy me Sham. Buy me'. That was de one I have now. Quite a peculiar way of choosing it, for a guy, right? Haha! And when I walked out of Cotton On, there was this one fair by Guardian at de atrium of Lot One. Guess what? I saw shawls! Aiyoh.. I just bought one sia. But it was really nice de shawls there. To cut de story short, I have TWO shawls. You can never have too much of anything, right?

And de next thing I bought was a sweater vest. In black. Thou I already have one, in blue. Black gives more mileage. Can be mixed and match with more colours. That's not to say that blue isnt mixabe. Blue goes well with some colours, and not some other colours. Black goes with almost everything. Justified! Like I said earlier, you can never have too much of anything. Haha! Retail therapy once in a while never hurts. ;)

And lastly, I'm back to blogging. Haha!

Lucky

2009-01-18T01:59:00.002+08:00

Do you hear me
I'm talking to you
Across the water across the deep blue ocean
Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying
Boy I hear you in my dreams
I feel your whisper across the sea
I keep you with me in my heart
You make it easier when life gets hard

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
Ooohh ooooh oooh oooh ooh ooh ooh ooh

They don't know how long it takes
Waiting for a love like this
Every time we say goodbye
I wish we had one more kiss
I'll wait for you I promise you, I will

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
Lucky we're in love in every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday

And so I'm sailing through the sea
To an island where we'll meet
You'll hear the music fill the air
I'll put a flower in your hair
Though the breezes through the trees
Move so pretty you're all I see
As the world keeps spinning round
You hold me right here right now

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
I'm lucky we're in love in every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday

Ooohh ooooh oooh oooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooooh ooooh oooh oooh ooh ooh ooh ooh

***

Insha Allah, best friend. Ameen. :)

Dikir Puteri

2009-01-16T01:11:00.000+08:00

Twinkle Tots Graduation. So cute, isnt it? Hehehe..

The real version of the song

Ramblings

2009-01-12T01:46:00.001+08:00

It has been a really long time since I blogged. Which I'm so regretting now. Should've updated regularly. But I can't turn back time, so life goes on, yeah. Will just write what I can recall.

First up was de ICAs for de second semester. Both went surprisingly well, I must say. Was surprised when both lecturers said what they said abt it. It was really a challenge doing it. Alhamdulillah :)

On de topic of sch, all de tests I sat for also went well. Didn't really studied much for de first nursing lab skill, and didn't study at all for de second one. How did I pass, u may ask? For one thing, it helped that in nursing lab classes, there was sufficient practice. This was true for me in de second lab skills test. So glad. But I'm just not sure abt de Bio theory paper. Don't think I did well.

De SGH SES Chritmast 'party' was ok. It wasn't really a party, but more of a gathering. Thx to a particular someone, I was waaay late to arrive there. When I was there, I was assigned a particular grp. It helped that Nadiah and Rachel were in de same grp too.

I guess that's all for my ramblings for now. Will try to update regularly, like how I did de last time. :)

The best 5 hours!

2009-01-10T20:35:00.001+08:00

9/1/09 2020hr - 10/1/09 ~ 0120hr

The best 5 hours of my life so far. Thx for making it so!

:)

And also thx to those who've helped. Much appreciated indeed.

Youth Camp/Retreat 08

2008-12-19T10:55:00.000+08:00

Had a totally great time! Enjoyed throwing water bombs at grp Haha! And splashing water at everyone else. Esp those ambush splashes at Aliff. LOL! My bandaging skills were put to de test, and good use. Kinda feel great being able to do so, and at de same time sorry for Nurul. Hopefully de injury is getting better, with no further complications.

Till then, waiting for next yr's event!

Yan's Birthday

2008-12-19T10:30:00.000+08:00

Hari Raya Korban 08

2008-12-19T09:40:00.000+08:00

Helped out at MA's Hari Raya Korban 08. Overnight-ed at MA de Sunday before.

Brings back sweet memories

3hr German dai dee drew amazing cards!

Muhyie doing what he does best! Haha!

Haslene's Wedding

2008-12-19T09:17:00.001+08:00

Look at Adam's right leg! So very de laid back..

Grp photo!

The guys

The guys n Fiza. Queen bee much? And just what is Dickson doing??

Most of NR0811~!

I guess they liked de drink so much, they took a pic with de jug! Haha!

Camwhoring in de bus!

Additional pics taken from de facebook acct of Hawa, a facebook addict. :D

Khai's Wedding

2008-12-19T08:37:00.001+08:00

More photos here.

Randomness

2008-12-17T13:19:00.000+08:00

It's been really some time since I've updated ETS. Just been feeling lazy to, thou there were quite a number of things that I'd love to blog abt, and reminisce on reading later on in de future. For one thing, there were consecutive tests on de 3-5 Dec. All, except on de 5th, I aced. De Socio MCQ was ok, and so was de Nursing Lab meds test. It was not really good, the Nursing Lab theory paper. De MCQ was ok lah, but I don't think I did pretty well for de SAQs.

Two presentations are done. Two graded ones at least. And Alhamdulillah, both went quite well. I really didn't expect them to go so well lah. Quite a surprise. :)

Offhand, these are some things I remember. There are quite a number I've forgotten, so I guess I'll just have to let those pass. Nothing I can do, right? Just hafta be more diligent in updating, and not so lazy I guess. Haha!

In the blink of an eye..

2008-12-04T02:10:00.006+08:00

Sometimes ur loved ones can be taken away fr u in the blink of an eye. Just like that. Without warning or whatsoever.

It's kinda better if someone were to be hospitalised, for some days before passing on. At least within those few days of being hospitalised, if de worst were to happen, at least mentally, one is prepared for it.

But when someone were to pass on because of hitting smthg on de road, which caused him to flew off, and passed on, on de spot, Ouch! That hurts. A LOT.

An accident? Yeah, I guess. A very sad one. Ofc, being hit by a car or another motorbike doesn't make it any more better of an accident. But just cos of hitting smthg on de road and flying off? Which exactly is de lesser evil? I wonder..

It seems so surreal. Just last Sat, I was de one who was helping out my fren in his wedding celebrations. De next day, during another wedding, I rec'd de news of his passing on.

Sigh..

Treasure ur loved ones. Sometimes ur loved ones can be taken away fr u in the blink of an eye. Just like that. Without warning or whatsoever. U may never know..

WTF???

2008-11-24T00:46:00.002+08:00

I'm seriously damn fed up abt what happened last Fri!

What happened to going to KFC? U said we were going to KFC. Fine. Then wth were we all doing, dilly dallying after we got down fr Conference Room? Shouldn't we have just left de place and went to KFC instead? Then Ade came, and we somehow had to stay for a while. U said 'menghormati'. Fine again. Then we end up leaving only at 2135++. After all that, u changed ur mind, just cos A was riding a bike? Like wtf?? Bike can park there, right? Since he's living at Bedok anyway. Couldn't he have just ride his way to de KFC at Bedok? Even if he DOESN'T wanna park his bike there, could've also came back for de bike later on at night pe. U all are living in de East anyway..

Even if u wanna change de venue, at least call me and ask for my opinion. NOT call me to tell me that u've made up ur mind to change de venue. If that's de case, why bother calling me in de first place? Yes, I admit I was walking fast that night. My reason for doing so? If I had not walked fast, I think u and N would be dilly dallying even more lah. That's ok for u guys, but not for me. Where do I live, and where go U guys live? I'm not whining here, but have u ever spared a thought for me?

Sidetrack a bit here: I think I'm NOT going to bother coming down for anymore meetings. Reason being is that it's almost always de same faces anyway. And I feel I'm NOT contributing much. So why bother, right?

U always say that it's hard to get ppl to come down, right? My answer to that is: I think de prob here is making ppl WANT to come down. I mean if u only call them when u need de numbers, and don't bother calling or smsing them at any other times, would ppl WANT to come down? What happened to those times when u sms me just to tanye khabar? Thinking and looking back, that was rather nice of u to do that. But now? Busy? With this and that? Takkan ah so busy sampai mcm gitu kan? Byk nah benda nak mark ke? And de thing that makes me damn pissed is, yesterday when u rhetorically asked 'Besok nak buat apa, eh?'. Seriously lah, WTF???

Dear brother 2

2008-11-22T08:24:00.003+08:00

Dear brother

To be honest, I'm seriously damn pissed with u. And to think u even have de cheek to make it seem as if u're de better one! Not forgetting ur frens after getting into a relationship with someone, is not just abt calling them to ask for cigs, when u're out of cigs. U call that not forgetting ur frens? Sial lah! Utter rubbish sia! Not forgetting ur frens would mean still hanging out with them, even after u have a someone special. NOT hanging out exclusively with her, and her group of frens, only.

And also, just now otw to de mosque, talking to u, it just feels different. It's no longer de same like last time. It may just be me lah, but I feel really hurt after what u said in ur sms. Sape yg tak layan sape skrg? Lau aku tak layan kau, aku tak sms kau hari tu langsung lah. Tak amik kisah pun apa kau nak time kau call aku lah..

Whatever it is, I guess only time can tell if things can be de same like last time. I guess I need time.

Your brother

Crap!

2008-11-16T23:48:00.003+08:00

This is crap! Total crap indeed!

But then again, what can I say, right? After all, like what u said to me, this IS YOUR house. At that point in time, just fyi, I wanted to retort to u, "Ye lah Yan. Nie kan rumah kau". U know how tempting it was for me to say that to u, in ur face? Let me tell u, it WAS VERY tempting indeed... But I held myself back. I held myself back from using de most sharpest sword that could cut thru ur heart. Cos it'll only make worst the already bad situation in YOUR house now. And somehow I didn't want that.

There are so many kinds of ppl in this world. Not every1 fits into ur ideal. Not every1 is like Adib. So what if he's not like Adib? He can't come over just cos of that? What utter rubbish! For one thing, Alhamdulillah I'm glad that MY poly life is great so far. And I'm enjoying it, while I still can. And whatever happened to "bawak je lah kwn adik"? So now I must ask u first? YOUR house. Yeah I remember that. Whatever lah ah. I'm sorry if I irked u. But hey, U didn't tell me of ur change of stance. So it's not totally MY fault, right?

For one thing, I hate whatever is happening in YOUR house now. It's been so long, I've even forgotten what is it exactly that we were fighting abt! U don't feel de same way? It's been said that home is where de heart is. So why don't I feel at home?

This is crap! Total crap indeed!

Happy Happy Happy

2008-11-16T12:41:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was a happy day for me indeed.

Firstly, I attended, FOC, 2 workshops. One starting at ard 0940, and another at ard 1440. De first one was great. I really enjoyed myself there. Falicia, de one who ran this workshop, was really knowledgeable in her subject matter. And de activities were really enlightening. Who knew that just by playing a simple game of throwing 2 balls for ice-breaking could achieve so much?

Just to share with every1.. It's easier to say throw de ball to someone u DON'T like. Reason being is that when u say throw to someone u LIKE, ppl may find it weird. Weird as in what if there's NO ONE that u like? Haha! And it's not just throwing balls ard. U must remember who u pass de ball to, and who u rec'd it from. So it's making it easier to get de ball ~~rolling~~ throwing. And it's making it easier to remember de names, too? Cool stuff, right?

And when u have to elect a leader, ask every1 to raise their index finger, and at de count of three, point it to someone who they feel is most suited to be de leader. So it makes it easier too, as de conductor doesn't anyhow arrow anyone. And this method is used too when choosing someone who has to come up to present. Cool stuff again, right?

Second, I rec'd an sms from a particular someone who hasn't been replying to my smses. Waiting is smthg really unpleasant to do. And I've been waiting to receive smthg, anything fr this particular person. I was very glad indeed to receive de sms from that particular someone. It was smthg I didn't expect. Nevertheless, it really made me smile. :)

Next is actually getting to meet de particular someone! How cool is that, right? Remember I said abt attending 2 workshops earlier on? Well, this particular someone attended it too. De 2nd one. Was kinda surprised that this particular person would be there. So after de initial shock, was actuali happy that this person was there too.

Fourth is being de first person to know that a fren, and de girl that he has been wooing, are officially together! First person leh! It's always nice to be de first in anything, right? Haha! Hearing how he roped in his frens to set up a surprise picnic by de beach at Sentosa for her, was such an 'Aaawww' moment. So touching. Hehe.. Congrats, Mim. I'll take u up on ur word for being PTS, aites? ;)

So that was how it went. A happy day for me indeed.

Dear brother

2008-11-14T00:45:00.004+08:00

Dear brother

First and foremost, I know u anggap me as a brother (at least I think so lah), even thou I don't call u that in person. Mcm so kekok gitu nak panggil kau 'brother'. Feels so weird. Anyways, I hope u take what I'm going to say positively, and not take it to heart.

*Clears throat*

I know u like her, and she likes u too. Hey, it's good that de feeling's reciprocated, but then again, I guess u already know better de current situation, right? Why take, or I'd rather say, attempt to take, someone who's rightfully someone else's?

It's no issue that she's older than u, but then again, has it ever crossed ur mind that her current squeeze could be older than her, and hence, older than u too? And that he probably is a biker too? I'm just guessing here, but I guess he is riding a bigger bike than her. And thus, he has his grp of bigger bike frens. And if somehow he got wind of what is currently happening in sch, if he were to come down to NYP with his frens to look for u, u're just a small fry to him?

De best situation could be that u both are serious abt each other, and stay together lah. That I'd say, is de BEST situation. But de situation now is far from being de best. Has it ever crossed ur mind too, that if she can do this with her current squeeze, she can also do this with U? Then what are u left with? Nothing? And u'd be feeling damn disappointed? Is that what u want? I'd definitely NOT want that to happen to u, for sure.

And I see u're now mixing exclusively with her, and her frens. So now ur other frens mean nothing to u anymore, zit? What happened to MCG? What happened to wanting to perform during de Lunchtime Show that just passed? What happened to studying together? What happened to going swimming together? Or gym-ing together? It's not that I don't wanna sms u and ajak u anymore, but with everything going on now, I'd rather not disturb u. It seems u're either busy with BBDC, or with her. So what's de point, right? I defly don't see any point in doing so.

Whatever it is, I just hope that u know what u're doing, and what u're getting urself into. I pray that nothing bad comes upon u. Ameen.

Your brother

Right Here Waiting

2008-11-13T08:59:00.002+08:00

I dedicate this song to u, N..

Mahligaimu Dari Air Mataku

2008-11-13T08:57:00.000+08:00

5? 10? 15?

2008-11-11T01:37:00.002+08:00

Dear ???

I was totally shocked when I got wind of what u said. 15? When was it ever 15? It has been 5 once, and 10 subsequently. But 15? Were u dreaming or smthg? Dreamt that it was 15? OMG. Don't tell me it's been misappropriated? And by u? That's like de last thing I'd expect U to be doing lah.

Whatever it is, I hope u noe what u're doing.. That's all I can think of saying. What else CAN I say, right?

...

Study in sch

2008-11-11T01:31:00.000+08:00

My inaugural attempt at studying in sch went well, I suppose. If u consider sleeping fr abt 4.45 to 6pm to be 'well' that is. Haha! De thought was there lah. I seriously can't study at home for sure. Once de telly is on, that's it! All hopes of studying goes up in smoke.

Thou I've been meaning to get a good 6hr of sleep every nigth, that's smthg I've NOT been able to do. Distractions, distractions. It's either de telly or de Net. That explains why I'm blogging at this unearthly hour. So as a result, I get less than 6hr of sleep. And sometimes even only 4! So I'd be sleepy in sch. And de vicious cycle carries on and on everyday.

So for yest, as soon as my Bio book was opened, coupled with de somehow more soothing than normal music coming out fr my K800i, it was shut-eye time. "Just for a while" I reasoned to myself. And that "a while" turned out be until 6! Haha!

Oh well.. tml's another day. :)

CLEAR

2008-11-10T01:35:00.000+08:00

I am seriously considering leaving my CLEAR card at home. Never to take it out and bring with me wherever I go. It's such a double-edged sword. It can be a really handy lifeline. It can also be a forbidden fruit. And mind you, when it's a forbidden fruit, it really tastes damn nice!

But that's de thing. I've been using it more as a forbidden fruit, then as a really handy lifeline, only to be used when in seriously dire times. It's so tempting.

Leave. CLEAR. card. at. home!!!

COTTON? ON

2008-11-10T01:12:00.000+08:00

For a brand that's called Cotton On, some of their tees are made of 65% polyester and 35% cotton. Talk abt misrepresentation! Haha!

And check out their Refund and Exchange Policy, printed on their Tax Invoice: You can choose between a refund, exchange or gift voucher where goods are faulty, wrongly described, different from a sample shown to you or don't do what they are supposed to.

Wrongly described? I wonder if I can go back and ask for a refund, citing that their tees are wrongly described, cos they are made of polyester and cotton, whereas de brand is called Cotton On. So in a way, it's implied that stuff from them SHOULD be made of cotton, right? Haha!

Subaru's put-ur-hand-on-de-car

2008-11-09T00:24:00.001+08:00

At ard noon yest, marked de start of de Subaru put-ur-hand-on-de-car competiton. I serious shit can't recall what that event is called. De aim of the event is to be de last person standing, with their hand on de car, and in so doing, winning de car.

While I admire de competitors' determination in wanting to win de car, I can't help feeling they are but just pawns in Subaru's game of chess, in their marketing n promo blitz. I may be wrong here, but I guess all those who are taking part, CAN'T afford to BUY de car. So they wanna WIN it instead.

Come on lah.. If u can't afford to BUY de car, do u think u can afford to OWN it? And by own, I mean as in having to constantly top up petrol, maintenance, COE, road tax, parking, and all other technicalities associated with owning a car. If u can't afford to buy it, do u think that by just winning de car, u can suddenly afford it?

Sure u may have de support of ur family of frens in it, but isn't de time spent putting ur hand on de car be better spent enjoying their company instead? What's better than being with frens n loved ones, right?

I guess those who CAN afford to BUY de car, WOULDN'T be doing such things just a for car. For one thing, in de future, if I do intend to get a car, I'd be getting one that I know I can afford to own, as opposed to being a pawn..

Kak Jun's Wedding

2008-11-08T23:33:00.000+08:00

Congrats Kak Jun, on ur wedding!

This is what I hate abt asking others to take pics with my K800i. Confident sia de photographer take with one hand! As I guessed, it turned out blurred. How disappointing!!

Kalau Jodoh Tidak Kemana

2008-11-07T05:57:00.003+08:00

Andai masih ada masa
Kalau jodoh tidak ke mana
Pasti suatu hari nanti
Kita akan bersua

Walau sampai bila
Walau siang berganti senja
Walaupun seribu tahun
Menunggumu aku rela

Want the song? Click here.

Yesteryear

2008-11-07T05:36:00.003+08:00

A cousin sent me these pics over msn abt 2 days back. He was tidying up his room some 2 weeks ago, when he chanced upon old photo albums. Having scanned de pics, he was actually waiting for me to come online to give it to me. So sweet, right? I'm so touched. Hehe! Ofc, he could just email it to me. I don't see y he can't just do so, but I guess that's another matter altogether. Point is, I have de pics already. :D

I look so diff, and cute, right? Hehehe!

Kompang Show at Fort Canning, Oct 08

2008-11-06T02:13:00.000+08:00

Here are de pics. Enjoy!

De formal shot

De informal shot

Nursing for life, babe!

De Legals

De Illegals. Haha!

For more pics, click here.

Obama! Obama! Obama!

2008-11-06T01:35:00.000+08:00

So Mr Barack Obama won! Yay for him!

I actually wanted him to win. Not for anything, but simply cos he's black. Or to put it in a more politically correct way, cos he's African-American (AA). To be de first President of USA from his race. Simple reason? Hey, life doesn't always have to be so complicate, so chim, right? What's wrong with being simple? :P

I can't predict de future - heck, no one can - but being AA, I guess he'd be championing de AA cause. Which isn't really bad. I guess after so many presidents thus far, de AAs deserve to have someone from among them being president. To be their voice. Or smthg like that lah. That was what one AA lady mentioned when she was on de news just now.

So yeah. I guess like de rest of de world, I'm kinda excited abt Mr Obama winning. To see what changes he'd bring abt. Maybe too, he'd win de next Presidential elections, and maybe serve more than 2 terms, hence surpassing his predecessor? I guess only time will tell.

The story of: Baju kurong kain songket

2008-11-05T01:02:00.000+08:00

I've been wanting to write abt this immediately after de story of Hishamim, but I've just been too lazy to, so finally, here goes. Heh.

Like Hishamim, some ppl have asked me abt my baju kurong this yr. Y de same baju in all de pics? Well, de reason is that I simply luuuuurved de feeling of wearing kain songket. Like seriously lah! Serious shit! It feels so nice and comfy wearing kain songket. No wonder then that so many ladies like wearing it.

It went like this.. I wasn't planning to buy new baju kurong at all this yr. But as I got de cash at de last minute, I was kinda forced to buy lah. So off I went to Geylang. Past experience has taught me that I shld look ard first, b4 finally deciding and settling on any. So that's exactly what I did.

At one stall out of so many, I saw it. I was really captivated by it. I find it to be very unique indeed. A guy's baju kurong, but in de design of kain songket worn mainly my girls. Fair enough, I thought. Maybe I shld still look ard, and smthg better may come up. But after going to so many other stalls, Tanjong Katong and Joo Chiat included, I couldn't stop thinking of de baju kurong kain songket I saw earlier. So I found myself going back to that particular stall, and $70 poorer later, it was mine. I found out from grandma and an aunt that $70 for it was quite a good price. Was happy with myself hearing that. :D

Wearing it to visit frens and relatives was such a nice experience. De only time I saw another GUY wearing a baju kurong kain songket was ONCE, at Wdlds. His wife, his kid and him wore de same outfit. (Btw, sweet right? Heh.) It was nice being unique. Being de only guy, as far as I know, to wear baju kurong kain songket.

And as for wearing it so many times, it's not like I was sweating buckets or anything. De Syawal that just passed felt cooling for me. As in not hot or humid. So upon reaching home after visiting, I'd hang and air it, and wear it again. And ofc, I DO wash it lah. It's not like I DON'T wash it at all. And as for de jln raya right after Perjumpaan in sch, I actually took de trouble to wash it late at night. All cos I wanted to wear it again, de next day. Sanggup. Yes, I know. Haha!

To all my guy frens, u shld try too. It's really nice, de texture of kain songket. And it beats wearing plain, old, ordinary baju kurong with samping. Really!

So that's how de story is lah. And next yr, I plan to buy baju kurong kain songket, again. Ofc, in different colours lah. Maybe 2 pairs. So plus this yr's, I'd have THREE to rotate ard. Simply looking forward to it!!!

The story of: Hishamim

2008-11-02T00:35:00.002+08:00

Some ppl have been commenting and/or asking me abt one of my posts. To be specific, the one titled Hishamim. Lemme set things str8: I'm not gay. Period. Haha!

So what's de story behind that post/pic, u may ask? Well, de story goes like this... As de pic says, rather loudly I might add, it was taken on 20102008. It was after kompang practice, and de guy in qn and me were watching our frens practicing for Pesta Raya. We somehow got into that pose. He was sitting/squatting somewhat behind me, and I decided to lean in on him. I was quite surprised that he didn't push me away, so I continued leaning in on him. After some time, I suggested to him, 'Eh, take pic ah?', which he agreed to. Another fren helped to snap that pic.

De 'Love Forever Hisham & Shamim 20/10/2008' thingy was an idea of a joke from another fren, who suggested that to me when I showed de pic to him de very next day. De idea was to add those words, and post it on my blog. And de rest, as it is said, is history. So, nothing hanky panky or whatsoever here, aite? :)

U, thx for understanding, and not kicking up a fuss over that post. I appreciate it so much.. ;) Haha! Like real!

Hari Raya '08

2008-10-23T07:52:00.008+08:00

Hari Raya this year has been an enjoyable one so far. So far, cos it's STILL Raya. Satu bulan berpuasa, satu bulan berhari raya, mah! Haha!

De Perjumpaan Hari Raya at sch was an eye-opener for me. Cos nvr been involved in such an event before. Sure, there were mistakes aplenty, but ofc, must make an effort to improve, right? There's still abt 2.5yr left for me in NYP, so insha Allah, I guess that's more than ample time to improve, ya? :)

And de jalan Raya? Lagi best lah seh! Was out every weekend! Always have somewhere to go this yr. And this DOESN'T include de houses of relatives yet! Which is kinda sad. De not going to relatives' house part, I mean. Maybe by next yr, hopefully I can get my Class 3. Then like that, jalan raya would be lagi, lagi best lah. Haha!

And alhamdulillah this yr, I got collection. Funny or what! Haha! Thou de sad thing is, usually de case would be I get collection money, and it would be used up on de very same day, cos of transportation. Jalan late until de nite, then kena take cab home lor. But nvm, cos de most important thing is de silaturrahim and de bond that's strengthened when going visiting. :)

I guess that's abt all for now. Let's enjoy some pics!

At Azura's

We conquered half de cabin! Cool or what? Haha!

Brothers Of The Light

Me-er, Mim and me having an eating competition. I won this one, btw. Hehe..

De scenery from outside Nadiah Moley's house. So serene..

Look at that sparkle in my eyes! ;)

Group shots. I like..

And another..

And another, informal one

At my place

I'm so in love with kain songket!

I am so, so in love with kain songket!

BFS. Best Friends Sementara!

A sincere smile from me

Another one from me

For more pics, click here.

It's a steal!

2008-10-23T00:58:00.001+08:00

Extensa 4620Z-4A2G32Mi
Intel Pentium Dual-Core processor T2390 (1.86GHz/1M)
14.1" WXGA LCD
2GB DDR2
320GB HDD
DVD-Super Multi
56K Modem
10/100/1000 Base T LAN
802.11b/g
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1

All for $999. Definitely a steal!

HiShamim

2008-10-22T07:21:00.002+08:00

Attachment at NUH Ward 58

2008-10-05T21:54:00.002+08:00

It started with this..

and it ended with this..!

NYP Yr1 '08 15/9 - 3/10 with Beatrice

Just us guys.

It has been a great posting. I've enjoyed each and every single day of this 14-day attachment. A very big thx to all who have shared with me ur knowledge:

AN/SN/SSN Ash, Bee Kuan, Bincy, Christine, Diyanah, Diona, Gina, Kitnet, Leah, Loretes, Mr Yeo, Mummy, Poh Hoon, Roann, Radin, Rose, Sri, Yama, Yi May, Yiyan, and ofc, de big mama, Clinical Instructor Beatrice. And a Sister who caught me wearing uniform with sandals. Hehe..!

Last Fri marked de end of de 3-week attachment at NUH Ward 58, since de 15th of Sep last month. I totally enjoyed myself during this 3 weeks. Somehow it was more fun to be actually putting what I've learnt in sch to practice - with real patients, as compared to just learning it in sch. I'll defly miss being at 58. De ppl there are such a nice and fun bunch!

Hari Raya Eid '08

2008-10-05T21:29:00.001+08:00

It was a tiring but fun first day of Hari Raya Eid for me this yr.

First up in de morning was helping out for de Muhammadiyah solat raya at Toa Payoh stadium. Was supposed to sleep at Pusat de night b4, but due to some miscommunication, never did go there. Slept at home instead. Thing is, I overslept lah. Haha! But did made my way there in de end, thou a bit late. As usual, set up de place. And by that, it meant putting up those blue plastic thingies. Rolls and rolls of them, which are duly discarded after one use only. A waste really, but it doesn't make sense to clean and keep it for use another time. Cos there'll be a logistical headache as to where to keep it. Sigh..

I was somehow made de official photographer of the event. I had a great time going ard and snapping, as compared to doing de tabung rounds. Ofc both roles have its importance lah, but I just find taking photos more fun. Imho, I took nice pics lah, but as it isn't my cam, I nvr got to see it uploaded to a computer. Pics look diff on digicams as compared to looking it on a computer. I hope de guys up there are happy with my pics, and find some pics suitable for publication on Tajdid. Hehe..

De clearing up of de stadium only ended at 11+, and when I was at Toa Payoh central, I realised I had forgotten to take my red baju kurong. So I made my way back to de stadium. Met with Qai, who told me he didn't see any red baju kurong. So alas, it was in vain. But somehow losing that didn't matter much to me thou, cos that baju costed me only $10, as it was only de top. Heh.

Back home, it was helping my mum to entertain de guests. Topping up of de kuih-muih, serving drinks, going down time and again to Sheng Siong cos not enuf chicken for chicken rice, an uncle asking me to buy for him cigs, cos his ran out blah blah blah. My mum's de eldest, and since de passing of both my maternal grandparents, every1 comes to my place on de first day of Raya. It's quite sad, cos I miss those times when on de first day, every1 including myself, would gather at my maternal grandmother's place, and de atmosphere would be so jovial and joyful. De first was Bik Wati and family, and after they left, de guests kept coming and streaming in. Abg Ipar's family came too. So it was like so kecoh lah seh. Which ofc, was fun lah. It's like as if de jovial and joyful atmosphere being at my maternal grandparent's, but de only diff was that it's at my place.

At night, I followed Cik Oli and family in his car to Yai Dol's place. Since my maternal grandma has passed away, Yai Dol is de next eldest, so every1 would go to his place, after mine. It was nice to at least go to ONE place on de first day of Raya, and not just be stuck at home.

So yeah.. that's how it was for de first day of Raya this yr. Tiring, cos of entertaining de guests, but fun, cos of getting to meet cousins.

Cik Mail & Cik Oli and families.

Bik Wati and family.

Top JC?

2008-09-23T23:56:00.000+08:00

Imagine this: u're late for work, and ur bus just came. In fact, this is de third. U missed two b4 this. As u tried to board, u can't. Cos it's jam packed with ppl. As de bus leaves de bus stop, what do u see? There's plenty more space at de back! Cos those inside DO NOT want to move to de back. Typical Singaporean behaviour. For some reason, to play safe, they stand near de exit. As if de exit would somehow disappear! Irritating, isn't it? Could it get any worst than this? Well, it could. In my opinion, that is.

In de bus home just now, I think I saw smthg worst than what I've just describe above. I was seated right at de back, and de bus wasn't at all packed. Every1 was sitting, and there wasn't any1 standing. Except one, that is. This bugger, for some reason why I dunno, decided to stand just beside de entry! If that wasn't enough, this guy was from one of the 'top' JCs. All-grey uniform, with de JC emblem/logo in red on de left side of the shirt. I don't want to name names lah, but I guess I'm very detailed enuf here, right? And he alighted only at de 5th stop after de interchange!

Just wtf were u thinking?? Scared can't alight, izzit? Pls lah, even if de bus was packed like sardines, which it was not, u CAN still say 'Excuse me', and alight, right? Standing there like a fool, and making it hard for others to board, is what u were doing. And u came from a 'top' JC? Ofc to be fair, not ALL would be like u lah. But wth?! Cramping too much for de As, and not much brain cells left for some basic courtesy, izzit???

Docs

2008-09-19T18:19:00.005+08:00

Today, I just have a thing against docs lah! Thou I DIDN'T do it on purpose. Both were slips of de tongue. Serious. I swear! These (this?) is how it went:

Doc 1
Location: enclave
Although I'm fasting, I go to de enclave whenever I'm on break. At least being with de team beats being alone in de day room in de ward. De enclave is de staff canteen at NUH, fyi for those not in de know. So anyways, after everyone were done eating just now, we just chatted. Not chatting all de way lah. Intermittent chats and silence. During one of de silence, my thoughts wandered to some of de docs I've crossed paths with in 58. So I said 'Some doctors have this air of arrogance'. And de best part is that I dunno why, I forgot that de table beside us are doctors! It just slipped my mind lah! One of them got so embarassed (I think), she stood up, said to me 'Do I even know you?', and walked away. I was feeling kinda weird sitting there too, so in de end, everyone went back. Thou we still had some time left for our break!

Doc 2
Location: lift
There was these two doctors with us on de lift. It was obvious one was much senior than de other. Reason being his paunch and his receding hairline. He mentioned to her smthg abt not limiting her choices. Smthg like advising her lah. Halfway from basement to level 5, some healthcare assistants shooed us away. Cos we were in de Patients lift, and they had to transfer some patients. De senior doc had already left lah. So it was us, de younger doc n some others. This younger one, a female doc, I was looking at her during de time we were in de lift. She's this petite lady. If not for her NUH staff pass n lanyard, I wouldn't know she's a doc. So outside de lift lobby, as another lift was opening up, I said to a fren:

Me: Just now that one doesn't look like a doc.
D: Which one?
Me: The girl.
R: Shut up! As she was saying this, her eyes were pointing to someone behind me.

And wanna guess who was behind me?

De petite lady doc! Nice one, right? She came from behind me, and walked into de lift.

This time round, in my defense,I didn't see her lah. She was behind me, what.. And D and me broke out in laughter! Guffaw would be a better word lah!

So you see, I DIDN'T do it on purpose. Both were slips of de tongue.

* * *
On a serious note thou, some docs ARE like what I said as above. Arrogant. I dunno why. Yes it's true that ppl generally look up to them, but I don't see why they have to be so stuck up on that, right? And for sure, you docs don't have to look down on nurses like they're some lowly runk on de health services ladder! It's just so putting off!

Q

2008-09-13T17:39:00.002+08:00

Overheard while queueing to pay for some stuff at NTUC just now.

Man: This queue so long.

Cashier: If this queue so long, next time don't go this queue lah..

I let out a little laugh hearing that! But I guess it's not little enough lah. Cos both man and cashier turned and looked at me. Paiseh a bit, and as I was sms-ing, I pretended to be laughing at what I was reading on my hp. Dunno if they bought my pretending thou. Heh.

On a slightly more serious note, NTUC should really, seriously consider having Express Lanes. If I'm right, Carrefour has this Express Lanes thingy. For ppl who're buying say 10 items or less. Wah lau, de queues were damn, damn snaking long lah! At least at de NTUC at Jurong Point that is. Idk abt other NTUC outlets.

And de funny (or pathetic) thing is, some were queueing to pay for one or two stuff only! Like this man I saw, he took a basket, and all that he had in it were two 1-litre HL packs of milk. Pathetic, right? And in front of him were these ppl with tons and tons of stuff. And he? Waiting like some idiot fool just to pay for two 1-litre HL packs milk? Wt*!

Singaporeans have grown accustomed to queueing I think. Singapore is a fine city? Yeah I guess. And a queueing one at that. :)

Any1 knows where to write to NTUC? Heh..

Fly our flag up high

2008-09-13T07:27:00.002+08:00

"Do you know what's it like to be a ___ ___?"

"Yes".

"You will be our ambassador, and fly our flag up high".

She has such a philosophical view of it. Pfft. Can't really blame her lah, I guess. She is de deputy director after all. So she's like just one step below de biggest f***. Up to your interpretation what that word is. Heh.

And, two weeks? More like two days. Whatever it is, it's good news lah. I think.

YCK will nvr be de same again..

Numbers

2008-09-13T07:20:00.001+08:00

I don't have any 'favourite' or 'lucky' or 'special' numbers. Thou I do like de number zero, cos it's a number and also NOT a number, depending on ur opinion of it. Some maths hocus-pocus lah. Integers, if I'm right.

But I guess one number combination that I don't really like would be 611. This time, it's some NS hocus-pocus lah. Too lazy to describe/elaborate. Suffice to say that some things are better left the way they are. Never to be re-visited, or looked back on. Some things lah, NOT all of it.

10 years to ROD. Faster get it over and done with lah! Gggrrr..!

Blessed Ramadhan Mubarak!

2008-08-31T23:27:00.008+08:00

It's now approaching 2300hr as I'm typing this. Abt 4 hours ago, at dusk, marked de beginning of de fasting month of Ramadhan for Muslims. At least for Muslims in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei lah. I'm not sure about other countries thou. Cos of de difference in time zones and all that.

To all my Muslim brothers and sisters (thx for reading! ^_^), here's wishing us a blessed Ramadhan. May Allah accept our ibadah and shower us with His rahmah, blessings and love. Do not waste this opportunity to reap all the benefits this special month has to offer. We just do not know if we will live to see the next Ramadhan. May this Ramadhan be better than our previous ones. Ameen.

To non-Muslim readers of my blog (thx for reading too! ^_^), below are some articles I found explaining de concept of this blessed month. Pls do read fr de bottom first and top last, ie to say - 'Welcoming the Arrival of Ramadan' first and 'Eat and drink, but be not excessive' last. That way, u'll get a clearer picture. Sure they may be lengthy, but I find that these articles are quite detailed in their explaination. May these be of some help in your understanding of this blessed month. And who knows? If Allah so wills, it may move your heart to become a Muslim too? God willing yeah.

Of course, that doesnt mean de articles are only for non-Muslims. To my Muslim brothers and sisters, may these articles be a reminder of Almighty Allah's graciousness to us in this blessed month of Ramadhan, and motivate us to strive and perform as many good deeds as possible to reap all the benefits that this month has to offer. :)

This is actually an animated gif pic. Click on it to see de animation. Dunno y it doesnt work when I posted it up..

Eat and drink, but be not excessive

2008-08-31T18:48:00.003+08:00

Allah says: “O children of Adam, take your adornment to every mosque. Eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess.” [Sûrah al-A`râf: 31]

There are a number of etiquettes related to fasting. One of these is for the fasting person to be moderate in his eating and drinking during the nights of the fast.

Alas, we see that some people – indeed most people – turn the month of Ramadan into an annual season for exuberant table spreads filled with copious amounts of exotic foods. They go out of bounds, exhibiting every possible manner of excess. You see them going out to the markets to spend dearly on culinary delights that they would almost never think to purchase at any other time of the year.

The result of this behavior is that a lot of money gets wasted and a lot of people fall ill on account of overeating. Even worse, people find themselves too sluggish and tired after gorging themselves to engage in worship. We should also think about the valuable time in Ramadan that gets wasted shopping in the markets and preparing all that fancy food, much of which ends up in the trash bin.

The exhaustive culinary preparations for Ramadan that most Muslims engage in are contrary to Allah’s orders and contradict the true spirit of Ramadan. They are also unhealthy and uneconomical.

If these people would only conduct themselves appropriately, in accordance with the manners taught by Islam, and eat the foods that they usually eat, they could spend the extra money in charity, as they are supposed to do in Ramadan. They could feed the poor, the needy, and the orphan. They could give those who find themselves in restricted means a chance to break their fasts on something nice as well.

Almost every affluent person who spends lavishly on his Ramadan menu has some poor neighbors. These neighbors have the greatest right to his charity. If some affluent person has no poor neighbors, then there are still many other avenues open to him.

If the squanderers on fancy food and drink would do this instead, they would add to their fasts another noble way of drawing closer to Allah, which is to do good to those who are in need. This would have a great affect on society. It would bring the hearts of the people closer together in this blessed month. Everyone would feel that this is indeed the month of goodness, mercy, and brotherhood.

We should also consider the consequences of indulging all of our appetites. It leads only to misery and sickness. Sometimes a doctor imposes upon his patient a specific dietary regimen to allow the body to rest, to cleanse and reinvigorate itself, and to restore its inner balance. It is a regimen for health.

This, in fact, is one of the obvious wisdoms of our fasting. How can we turn this upon its head and make Ramadan into an occasion for eating more and more?

Allah says: “Eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess.” [Sûrah al-A`râf: 31]

Some scholars have commented on this verse, saying: “Allah has gathered together all of medicine in this verse.”

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The child of Adam fills no vessel worse than his stomach. Sufficient for the child of Adam are a few morsels to keep his back straight. If he must eat more, then a third should be for his food, a third for his drink, and a third left for air.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhî (2380) and Musnad Ahmad (17186) and authenticated by al-Albânî in Sahîh al-Jâmi`]

No sensible person can be heedless of the negative consequences that overindulgence in food and drink has for our religious and worldly lives. These consequences go far above and beyond what we have already mentioned. Overeating dulls the intellect and impairs our thought processes. It leads to indolence. It hardens our hearts and inspires our basest passions and desires, giving Satan a chance to take over.

Ibn Taymiyah writes:
It is established that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Indeed, Satan runs in the son of Adam in the way that blood circulates.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî]

There is no doubt that blood is born of what we eat and drink Therefore, when we eat and drink, we broaden the avenues for Satan. This is why it has been said: “Constrict his avenues with hunger.”

When Satan’s paths are hindered, the heart is inspired to do the good deeds that open the doors of Paradise. It finds it easy to abandon the sins that open the doors of Hell.

In Ramadan, the devils are chained and their strength and power is diminished. They cannot achieve in Ramadan what they are capable of achieving at other times of the year. However, we cannot say that the devils have died or have been slain. They have merely been chained. A chained devil can still get up to some mischief, but not as much as usual. The power of these devils is diminished according to how completely we observe our fasts. A person whose fasts are observed in the best, most complete possible manner repels the power of Satan far more than a person whose fasts are deficient.

There is a clear correlation between abstinence from food and drink and this other ruling that is founded on it.
Luqmân said to his son: “O my son! If the stomach is full, one’s mental processes go to sleep, one’s wisdom is dulled, and one’s limbs refrain from worship.”

`Umar observed: “Whoever eats a lot finds no pleasure in the remembrance of Allah.”

`Umar also said: “If you have a paunch, then consider yourself chronically ill.”

Ibn al-Qayyim writes:
Overeating leads to all sorts of evil consequences. It quickens the limbs towards disobedience while making them lazy to work righteousness. These two consequences are sufficient to show just how bad it is. How many are the sins that have come about as a result of satiation and overeating. How many are the good deeds that have failed to materialize on account of it. Whoever safeguards himself from the evil of his stomach has indeed saved himself from a great evil. Satan has his greatest influence over a person with a full stomach…

If the only consequence of a full stomach were that it leads to neglecting Allah’s remembrance, then know that the heart’s heedlessness of Allah’s remembrance for but an hour is opportunity enough for Satan to beset it with promises, false desires, cravings, and every manner of discontent. When a soul is satiated, it becomes restless and goes about seeking opportunities for indulgence. When it is hungry, it becomes tranquil and shows humility and submissiveness. Those who go to great lengths in seeking their culinary pleasures actually find food less delicious than those who restrain themselves.

Ibn Taymiyah writes:
Those who show moderation in eating find greater pleasure in their food than those who overindulge. When they become addicted and habituated to their indulgence, they find no great pleasure in it anymore, though they might suffer for want of it when they do not have it and endure ill health because of it.
I address my esteemed brothers and sisters who are fasting and say: With the situation being as we have described it, why do we not make this month of ours an opportunity to moderate our eating habits? Our inner selves are always probing, never content with a mere modicum of pleasure. If we exert our efforts to get our inner selves under control, then they can learn self-restraint and we can rein in their passions and their incessant pursuit of pleasure. Otherwise, if we choose to go forward in this pursuit and give in to our every whim and fancy, it will lead us to our ruin.

Article taken from here.

When the Night Equals a Thousand

2008-08-31T18:46:00.000+08:00

It was narrated that in the days that Musa (Alahi salaam) wandered with Bani Israel in the desert an intense drought befell them. Together, they raised their hands towards the heavens praying for the blessed rain to come. Then, to the astonishment of Musa (Alahi salaam) and all those watching, the few scattered clouds that were in the sky vanished, the heat poured down, and the drought intensified.

It was revealed to Musa that there was a sinner amongst the tribe of Bani Israel whom had disobeyed Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) for more than forty years of his life. “Let him separate himself from the congregation,” Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) told Musa (Alahi salaam). “Only then shall I shower you all with rain.”

Musa (Alahi salaam) then called out to the throngs of humanity, “There is a person amongst us who has disobeyed Allah for forty years. Let him separate himself from the congregation and only then shall we be rescued from the drought.” That man, waited, looking left and right, hoping that someone else would step forward, but no one did. Sweat poured forth from his brow and he knew that he was the one.

The man knew that if he stayed amongst the congregation all would die of thirst and that if he stepped forward he would be humiliated for all eternity.

He raised his hands with a sincerity he had never known before, with a humility he had never tasted, and as tears poured down on both cheeks he said: “O Allah, have mercy on me! O Allah, hide my sins! O Allah, forgive me!”

As Musa (Alahi salaam) and the people of Bani Israel awaited for the sinner to step forward, the clouds hugged the sky and the rain poured. Musa (Alahi salaam) asked Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala), “O Allah, you blessed us with rain even though the sinner did not come forward.” And Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) replied, “O Musa, it is for the repentance of that very person that I blessed all of Bani Israel with water.”

Musa (Alahi salaam), wanting to know who this blessed man was, asked, “Show him to me O Allah!” Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) replied, “O Musa, I hid his sins for forty years, do you think that after his repentance I shall expose him?”

Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) revealed the Qur’an in the most blessed month; the month of Ramadan, the month in which the Qur’an was sent down.

On the most blessed night, the Grand night: Laylatul Qadr; “Verily, we revealed the Qur’an on the night of Qadr.”

Ibn Jareer narrates, on the authority of Mujaahid that there was a man from Bani Israel who used to spend the night in prayer. Then in the morning he would fight the enemy in the Way of Allah during the day, until the evening and he did this for a thousand months.

And so Allah revealed the Surah: “Verily, We sent it down in the night of Al-Qadr” until the verse “The night of Al-Qadr is better than a thousand months” That is, standing in prayer on that night is better than the actions of that man.

Sufyaan ath-Thawree reports, on the authority of Mujaahid (also), that the night of Al-Qadr being better than a thousand months means that the good deeds performed on it, fasting on it, and standing in prayer on it are better than a thousand months’ good deeds, prayers and fasting. (Narrated by Ibn Jareer)

It is reported from Abu Hurairah that he said: “When the month of Ramadan came, the Messenger of Allah said: ‘The month of Ramadan has come, a blessed month in which Allah has made it obligatory for you to fast; in it the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained. In it is a night better than a thousand months, whoever loses the benefit of it has lost something irreplaceable.’” (Narrated by Imam Ahmad and An-Nasaa'i).

It is reported on the authority of Abu Hurairah, that Allah’s Messenger (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Whoever stood in prayer on the night of Al-Qadr, in faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, he will have all of his previous sins forgiven.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

This one night surpasses the value of 30,000 nights. The sincere believer who worries day and night about his sins and phases of neglect in his life patiently awaits the onset of Ramadan. During it he hopes to be forgiven by Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) for past sins, knowing that the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) promised that all who bear down during the last ten days shall have all their sins forgiven. To achieve this, the believer remembers the Prophet’s (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) advice in different sayings wherein he used words like “seek”, “pursue”, “search” and “look hard” for Laylatul Qadr.

Laylatul Qadr is the most blessed night. A person who misses it has indeed missed a great amount of good. The Mu’min should search for it in the last ten nights of Ramadan, passing the nights in worship and obedience.

For those who catch the opportunity, their gift is that of past sins wiped away.

The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) illustrated for us some of the things we should be doing on this Grand Night. From his blessed Sunnah we find the following:

Praying Qiyaam (night prayer):

It is recommended to make a long qiyaam prayer during the nights on which Laylatul Qadr could fall. This is indicated in many ahadeeth, such as “Whoever stands (in qiyaam) in Laylatul Qadr [and it is facilitated for him] out of faith and expectation (of Allah’s reward), will have all of his previous sins forgiven.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim; the addition “and it is facilitated for him” is recorded by Ahmad from the report of ‘Ubaadah Bin as-Samit; it means that he is permitted to be among the sincere worshippers during that blessed night.]

Making Supplications:

It is also recommended to make extensive supplication on this night. ‘A'ishah reported that she asked Allah’s Messenger (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) “O Messenger of Allah! If I knew which night is Laylatul Qadr, what should I say during it?” And he instructed her to say: “Allahumma innaka `afuwwun tuhibbul `afwa fa`fu `annee - O Allah! You are forgiving, and you love forgiveness. So forgive me.” [An authentic Hadith recorded by Ahmad, Ibn Majah and at-Tirmidhi.]

Abandoning Worldly Pleasures for the Sake of Worship:

It is further recommended to spend more time in worship during the nights on which Laylatul Qadr is likely to fall. This calls for abandoning many worldly pleasures in order to secure the time and thoughts solely for worshipping Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala).

‘A'ishah reported: “When the (last) ten started, the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) would tighten his izaar (i.e. he stayed away from his wives in order to have more time for worship), spend the whole night awake (in prayer) and wake up his family.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

And she said: “Allah’s Messenger (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) used to exert more (in worship) on the last ten than on other nights.” [Muslim]

Have we estimated Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) correctly?

The opportunity of Laylatul Qadr is coming in the next few days. Life is about people that take advantage of their opportunities to win the love of Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala), and this is indeed one of those chances. Abu Dah Daah was one of those who found an opportunity and won that which is greater than the heavens and the earth. An adult companion of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) cultivated his garden next to the property of an orphan. The orphan claimed that a specific palm tree was on his property and thus belonged to him. The companion rejected the claim and off to the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) went the orphan boy to complain. With his justness, the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) measured the two gardens and found that the palm tree did indeed belong to the companion. The orphan erupted crying. Seeing this, the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) offered the companion, “would you give him the palm tree and to you is a palm tree in Jannah?” However, the companion in his disbelief that an orphan would complain to the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) missed the opportunity and went away angry.

But someone else saw the opportunity, Abu Dah Daah - radi Allahu ‘anhu. He went to the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and asked, “Ya Rasul Allah, if I buy the tree from him and give it to the orphan shall I have that tree in Jannah?” The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) replied, “Yes.”

Abu Dah Daah chased after the companion and asked, “Would you sell that tree to me for my entire garden?” The companion answered, “Take it for there is no good in a tree that I was complained to the Prophet about.”

Immediately, Abu Dah Daah went home and found his wife and children playing in the garden. “Leave the garden!” shouted Abu Dah Daah, “we’ve sold it to Allah! We’ve sold it to Allah!” Some of his children had dates in their hand and he snached the dates from them and threw them back into the garden. “We’ve sold it to Allah!”

When Abu Dah Daah was later martyred in the battle of Uhud, Rasul Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) stood over his slain body and remarked, “How many shady palm trees does Abu Dah Daah now have in paradise?”

What did Abu Dah Daah lose? Dates? Bushes? Dirt? What did he gain? He gained a Jannah whose expanse is the heavens and the earth.

Abu Dah Daah did not miss his opportunity, and I pray to Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) that we do not miss our opportunity of standing to Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) on Laylatul Qadr.

Dear brothers and sisters, we do not obey, worship and revere Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) in a way befitting of His Majesty.

Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) revealed: “No just estimate have they made of Allah, such as is due to Him. On the Day of Resurrection the whole of the earth will be but His handful, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand: Glory to Him! High is He above the partners they attribute to Him” (Surat al-An’aam, Ayat 91).

Everything that we have belongs to Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala). When someone dies we say, Inna lillaahi wa inna ilayhi raaji’oon, Indeed to Allah we belong and indeed to Him we shall return. This is not a supplication just for when a soul is lost. It is a supplication for every calamity that befalls a believer, even if his sandal were to tear. Why? Because everything belongs to Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) and everything shall come back to him. Sit and try to count the blessings Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) has bestowed upon you. Have you ever tried to count stars?

“And He giveth you of all that ye ask for. But if ye count the favors of Allah, never will ye be able to number them. Verily, man is given up to injustice and ingratitude” (Surat Ibrahim, Ayat 34).

We have not understood the weight of this Qur’an that we rest on our high shelves, this Noble book that was sent to give life to the dead. For even if our hearts were as solid as rock they would have crumbled to the ground in fear and hope of Allah’s (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) punishment and Mercy. Could it be that our hearts are harder than that mountain?

“Had We sent down this Qur’an on a mountain, verily, thou wouldst have seen it humble itself and split asunder in fear of Allah (Surat al-Hashr, Ayat 21).

Dear brothers and sisters, as you fill the Masajid for Qiyamul Layl in the last ten nights of Ramadan, remember what Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) wants you to know:

“Know ye that Allah is strict in punishment and that Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.”

There shall be a night, some night in your life that you shall awaken in Jannah or Hell fire. Anas ibn Malik, on his deathbed, prayed to Allah, (Subhanahu wa ta’ala), “O Allah, protect from a night whose morning brings a journey to hell fire.” Think about that morning.

Peace shall descend on Laylatul Qadr until the dawn. It may be that you shall leave the Masjid after Fajr one day soon forgiven by Allah, Glorious and Most High.

Article taken from here.

Important Lessons From Ramadan

2008-08-31T18:36:00.001+08:00

Allah – the Most High – said: "The month of Ramadaan in which the Qur’aan was revealed, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance of the Criterion between right and wrong. So whosoever of you sights the crescent for the month of Ramadaan, he must fast that month." [Soorah al-Baqarah 2:185]

Allah’s Messenger, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, said:

"Islaam is built upon five: Testifying that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing the Prayer, giving the Zakaah, performing Hajj to the House, and fasting in Ramadaan."

He sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said:

"There has come to you Ramadaan, a blessed month, in which Allah has made it obligatory to fast. During it the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hellfire are closed, and the rebellious devils are chained. In it is a night (Laylatul-Qadr) which is better than a thousand months. He who is deprived of its good truly has been deprived."

From the many important lessons to be learnt from fasting are:

[1] Gaining Taqwaa

Fasting has been legislated in order that we may gain taqwaa, as Allah – the Most High – said: "O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed upon those before you in order that you may attain taqwaa." [Soorah al-Baqarah 2:183]

Talq ibn Habeeb (d. 100H) – rahimahullah – said:

"When fitnah (trial and tribulation) appears then extinguish it with taqwaa." So he was asked as to what taqwaa was, so he replied: "Taqwaa to act in obedience to Allah, upon a light (i.e. eemaan, faith) from Allah, hoping in the Mercy of Allah. And taqwaa is leaving the acts of disobedience to Allah, upon a light from Allah, due to the fear of Allah."

This is one of the best definitions of taqwaa. For every action must have both a starting point and a goal. And an action will not be considered as an act of obedience, or nearness to Allah, unless it starts from pure eemaan (faith in Allah). Thus it is pure eemaan – and not habits, desires, nor seeking praise or fame, nor its like – that should be what initiates the action. And the [goal of the] action should be to earn the reward of Allah and to seek His good pleasure." So fasting is a means of attaining taqwaa, since it helps prevent from many sins that one is prone to. Due to this, the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said: "Fasting is a shield with which the servant protects himself from the Fire." So we should ask ourselves, after each day of fasting: Has this fasting made us more fearful and obedient to Allah? Has it aided us in distancing ourselves from sins and disobedience?

[2] Seeking Nearness to Allah

The Prophet sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam said:

"Allah said: Whosoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, I shall be at war with him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the obligatory duties that I have placed upon him. My servant continues to draw nearer to Me with optional deeds so that I shall love him."

The Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said:

"Whosoever reaches the month of Ramadaan and does not have his sins forgiven, and so enters the fire, then may Allah distance him."

So drawing closer to Allah – the Most Perfect – in this blessed month, can be achieved by fulfilling one’s obligatory duties; and also reciting the Qur’aan and reflecting upon its meanings, increasing in kindness and in giving charity, in making du`aa (supplication) to Allah, attending the taraweeh Prayer, seeking out Laylatul-Qadr (the Night of Power and Pre-Decree), a night which is better than a thousand months, attending gatherings of knowledge, and striving in those actions that will cause the heart to draw closer to its Lord and to gain His forgiveness. Our level of striving in this blessed month should be greater than our striving to worship Allah in any other month, due to the excellence and rewards that Allah has placed in it. Likewise from the great means of seeking nearness to Allah in this month is making I`tikaaf (seclusion in the mosque in order to worship Allah) – for whoever is able.

Imam ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751H) – rahimahullah – said:

"Allah also prescribed I`tikaaf for them, the objective being that the heart becomes fully preoccupied with Allah – the Most High – concentrated upon Him alone, and cut-off from being preoccupied with the creation. Rather, the heart is only engrossed with Allah – the Most Perfect – such that loving Him, remembering Him, and turning to Him takes the place of all the heart’s anxieties and worries, so that he is able to overcome them. Thus all his concerns are for Allah, and his thoughts are all directed towards remembering Him and thinking of how to attain His Pleasure and what will cause nearness to Him and what leads him to feel contended with Allah instead of people. This in turn prepares him for being at peace with Allah alone, on the day of loneliness in the grave, when there will be no one else to give comfort, nor anyone to grant solace, except Him. So this is the greater goal of I`tikaaf.

[3] Acquiring Patience

Imaam Ahmad (d.241H) – rahimahullah – said: "Allah has mentioned sabr (patience) in over ninety places in His Book."

The Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said: "The month of Patience, and the three days of every month, are times for fasting."

Ibn `Abdul-Barr (d.464H) – rahimahullah – said: "What is meant by the month of Patience is the month of Ramadan …So fasting is called patience because it restrains the soul from eating drinking, conjugal relations and sexual desires."

He sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said:

"O youths! Whoever amongst you is able to marry, then let him do so; for it restrains the eyes and protects the private parts. But whoever is unable, then let him fast, because it will be a shield for him."

So fasting is a means of learning self-restraint and patience. With patience we are able to strengthen our resolve to worship Allah alone, with sincerity, and also cope with life’s ups and downs. So – for example – with patience we are able to perform our Prayers calmly and correctly, without being hasty, and without merely pecking the ground several times! With patience we are able to restrain our souls from greed and stinginess and thus give part of our surplus wealth in Zakaah (obligatory charity). With patience we are able to subdue the soul’s ill temperament, and thus endure the ordeal and hardships of Hajj, without losing tempers and behaving badly. Likewise, with patience we are able to stand firm and fight Jihaad against the disbelievers, hypocrites and heretics – withstanding their constant onslaught, without wavering and buckling, without despairing or being complacent, and without becoming hasty and impatient at the first sings of hardship. Allah – the Most High – said: "O Prophet, urge the Believers to fight … So if there are one hundred who are patient, they shall overcome two hundred; and if there be one thousand, they shall overcome two thousand, by the permission of Allah. And Allah is with the patient ones." [Soorah al-Anfaal 8:65-66].

Thus, without knowledge and patience, nothing remains, except zeal and uncontrolled emotions, shouts and hollow slogans, speech that does not strengthen, but rather weakness, and actions that do not build, but rather destroy! So in this month, we should strive to develop a firm resolve for doing acts of obedience, and to adorn ourselves with patience – having certainty in the saying of our Messenger sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam: "And know that victory comes with patience, relief with affliction, and ease with hardship."

[4] Cultivating Good Manners

The Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said: "Whosoever does not abandon falsehood in speech and action, then Allah the Mighty and Majestic has no need that he should leave his food and drink."

He sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam also said:

"Fasting is not merely abstaining from eating and drinking. Rather, it is also abstaining from ignorant and indecent speech. So if anyone abuses or behaves ignorantly with you, then say: I am fasting, I am fasting." (15)

These narrations point towards the importance of truthfulness and good manners. Thus, this blessed month teaches us not only to abstain from food and drink, but to also abstain from such statements and actions that may be the cause of harming people and violating their rights – since the Messenger sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said whilst describing the true Believer: "A Muslim is one from whom other Muslims are safe from his tongue and his hand." Thus it is upon us as individuals, to examine the shortcomings in our character, and to then seek to improve them – modelling ourselves upon the character of the last of the Prophets and Messengers, and their leader, Muhammad sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam – aspiring also for the excellence which he mentioned in his saying: "I am a guarantor for a house on the outskirts of Paradise for whoever leaves off arguing, even if he is in right; and a house in the centre of Paradise for whosoever abandons falsehood, even when joking; and a house in the upper-most of Paradise for whosoever makes his character good." So by shunning oppression, shamelessness, harbouring hatred towards Muslims, back-biting, slandering, tale-carrying, and other types of falsehood, we can be saved from nullifying the rewards of our fasting – as Allah’s Messenger sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said: "It may be that a fasting person receives nothing from his fast, except hunger and thirst."

[5] Sensing Muslim Unity

The Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said: "Fast when they fast, and break your fast when they break their fast, and sacrifice the day they sacrifice."

Imaam at-Tirmidhee (d. 275H) – rahimahullah – said: "Some of the People of Knowledge explained this hadeeth by saying: Its meaning is to fast and break the fast along with the jamaa`ah and the majority of people."

Thus, in this blessed month we can sense an increased feeling of unity and of being a single Ummah due to our fasting and breaking our fast collectively. We also feel an increased awareness about the state of affairs of the Muslims and of the hardships that they endure, because: "During the fast, a Muslim feels and experiences what his needy and hungry brothers and sisters feel, who are forced to go without food and drink for many many days – as occurs today to many of the Muslims in Africa." Indeed, the unity of the Muslims – and their aiding and assisting one another – is one of the great fundamentals upon which the Religion of Islaam is built, as Allaah – the Most High – said: "And hold fast altogether to the rope of Allaah and do not be divided." [Soorah Aal `Imraan 3:103]. Allaah – the Most High – also said: "The Believers – men and women – and friends and protectors of one another." [Soorah al-Tawbah 9:44]

Shaykhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728H) – rahimahullah – said: "The welfare of people will not be complete – neither in this world, nor in the Hereafter – except with ijtima` (collectiveness), ta`awun (mutual co-operation), and tanassur (mutual help); mutual co-operation in order to secure benefits, and mutual help in order to ward off harm. It is for this reason that man is said to be social and civil by nature."

Thus we see that Islaam lays great importance in bringing hearts together and encouraging ijtima` (collectiveness). This is not only reflected in the month of Ramadaan, but also in the other acts of worship as well. So, for example, we have been ordered by the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam to pray the five daily Prayers in congregation, and that it has been made twenty-seven times more rewardful than praying it individually. Likewise, this similar collective spirit is demonstrated in the act of Hajj (Pilgrimage). Even in learning knowledge and studying it, blessings have been placed in collectiveness, as Allah’s Messenger sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said: "No people gather in a house form the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it amongst themselves, except that tranquillity descends upon them, mercy envelops them, the angels surround him, and Allah mentions them to those that are with Him." Likewise, even in our everyday actions such as, eating, Islaam teaches us collectiveness. Thus, when some of the Companions of the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said to him: O Messenger of Allah, we eat but to do not become satisfied. He replied: "Perhaps you eat individually?" They replied: Yes! So he said: "Eat collectively and mention the name of Allah. There will then be blessings for you in it." Indeed, even in the etiquettes of sitting the spirit of collectiveness is demonstrated. So, one day the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam came across the Companions who were sitting in separate circles, so he said to them: "Why do I see you sitting separately!" Similarly, Abu Tha`labah al-Khushanee radiallahu `anhu said: Whenever the people used to encamp, they used to split-up into the mountain passes and valleys. So Allah’s Messenger sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said: "Indeed your being split-up in these mountain passes and valleys is from Shaytaan." Thereafter, whenever they used to encamp, they used to keep very close together, to such an extent that it was said: If a cloth were to be spread over them, it would cover them all.

Thus, Ramadaan is a time to increase our sense of unity and brotherhood, and our commitment to Allah and His Religion. And there is no doubt that this sense of unity necessitates that: "We work together as required by Islaam as sincere brothers – not due to hizbiyyah (bigoted party spirit), nor sectarianism – in order to realize that which is of benefit to the Islaamic Ummah and to establish the Islaamic society that every Muslim aspires for – so that the Sharee`ah (Prescribed Law) of Allaah is applied upon His earth." So we must examine ourselves during the Ramadaan and ask: What is my role – and each of us has a role – in helping this precious Ummah to regain its honour, and return to the Ummah its comprehensive unity and strength, and victory that has been promised to it? Likewise, we should reflect upon our character and actions and ask: Are they aiding the process of unity and brotherhood, or are they a harm and a hindrance to it?

So we ask Allah to grant us the ability to change ourselves for the better, during this blessed month, and not to be of those who are prevented from His Mercy and Forgiveness. Indeed He is the One who Hears and He is the One to Respond.

Article taken from here.

The Meaning of Ramadan

2008-08-31T18:24:00.002+08:00

Fasting during Ramadan, the Muslims holy month, was ordained during the second year of Hijrah. Why not earlier? In Makkah the economic conditions of the Muslims were bad. They were being persecuted. Often days would go by before they had anything to eat. It is easy to skip meals if you don’t have any. Obviously fasting would have been easier under the circumstances. So why not then?

The answer may be that Ramadan is not only about skipping meals. While fasting is an integral and paramount part of it, Ramadan offers a comprehensive program for our spiritual overhaul. The entire program required the peace and security that was offered by Madinah.

Yes, Ramadan is the most important month of the year. It is the month that the believers await with eagerness. At the beginning of Rajab --- two full months before Ramadan --- the Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, used to supplicate thus: "O Allah! Bless us during Rajab and Sha’ban, and let us reach Ramadan (in good health)."

During Ramadan the believers get busy seeking Allah’s mercy, forgiveness, and protection from Hellfire. This is the month for renewing our commitment and re-establishing our relationship with our Creator. It is the spring season for goodness and virtues when righteousness blossoms throughout the Muslim communities. "If we combine all the blessings of the other eleven months, they would not add up to the blessings of Ramadan," said the great scholar and reformer Shaikh Ahmed Farooqi (Mujaddad Alif Thani). It offers every Muslim an opportunity to strengthen his Iman, purify his heart and soul, and to remove the evil effects of the sins committed by him.

"Anyone who fasts during this month with purity of belief and with expectation of a good reward (from his Creator), will have his previous sins forgiven," said Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam. "Anyone who stands in prayers during its nights with purity of belief and expectation of a reward, will have his previous sins forgiven." As other ahadith tell us, the rewards for good deeds are multiplied manifold during Ramadan.

Along with the possibility of a great reward, there is the risk of a terrible loss. If we let any other month pass by carelessly, we just lost a month. If we do the same during Ramadan, we have lost everything. The person who misses just one day’s fast without a legitimate reason, cannot really make up for it even if he were to fast everyday for the rest of his life. And of the three persons that Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam cursed, one is the unfortunate Muslim who finds Ramadan in good health but does not use the opportunity to seek Allah’s mercy.

One who does not fast is obviously in this category, but so also is the person who fasts and prays but makes no effort to stay away from sins or attain purity of the heart through the numerous opportunities offered by Ramadan. The Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, warned us: "There are those who get nothing from their fast but hunger and thirst. There are those who get nothing from their nightly prayers but loss of sleep."

Those who understood this, for them Ramadan was indeed a very special month. In addition to fasting, mandatory Salat, and extra Travih Salat, they spent the whole month in acts of worship like voluntary Salat, Tilawa (recitation of Qur’an), Dhikr etc. After mentioning that this has been the tradition of the pious people of this Ummah throughout the centuries, Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi notes: " I have seen with my own eyes such ulema and mashaikh who used to finish recitation of the entire Qur’an everyday during Ramadan. They spent almost the entire night in prayers. They used to eat so little that one wondered how they could endure all this. These greats valued every moment of Ramadan and would not waste any of it in any other pursuit…Watching them made one believe the astounding stories of Ibada and devotion of our elders recorded by history."

This emphasis on these acts of worship may sound strange --- even misplaced --- to some. It requires some explanation. We know that the term Ibada (worship and obedience) in Islam applies not only to the formal acts of worship and devotion like Salat , Tilawa, and Dhikr, but it also applies to worldly acts when performed in obedience to Shariah and with the intention of pleasing Allah. Thus a believer going to work is performing Ibada when he seeks Halal income to discharge his responsibility as a bread-winner for the family. However a distinction must be made between the two. The first category consists of direct Ibada, acts that are required for their own sake. The second category consists of indirect Ibada --- worldly acts that become Ibada through proper intention and observation of Shariah. While the second category is important for it extends the idea of Ibada to our entire life, there is also a danger because by their very nature these acts can camouflage other motives. (Is my going to work really Ibada or am I actually in the rat race?). Here the direct Ibada comes to the rescue. Through them we can purify our motives, and re-establish our relationship with Allah.

Islam does not approve of monasticism. It does not ask us to permanently isolate ourselves from this world, since our test is in living here according to the Commands of our Creator. But it does ask us to take periodic breaks from it. The mandatory Salat (five daily prayers) is one example. For a few minutes every so many hours throughout the day, we leave the affairs of this world and appear before Allah to remind ourselves that none but He is worthy of worship and of our unfaltering obedience. Ramadan takes this to the next higher plane, providing intense training for a whole month.

This spirit is captured in I’tikaf, a unique Ibada associated with Ramadan, in which a person gives up all his normal activities and enters a mosque for a specific period. There is great merit in it and every Muslim community is encouraged to provide at least one person who will perform I’tikaf for the last ten days of Ramadan. But even those who cannot spare ten days are encouraged to spend as much time in the mosque as possible.

Through direct Ibada we "charge our batteries"; the indirect ones allow us to use the power so accumulated in driving the vehicle of our life. Ramadan is the month for rebuilding our spiritual strength. How much we benefit from it is up to us.

Article taken from here.

Welcoming the Arrival of Ramadan

2008-08-31T18:19:00.002+08:00

The month of Ramadan has arrived again, the month of fasting and prayer. It is the month that provides an opportunity for forgiveness from Allah and emancipation from our sins. It is the month for performing good deeds and giving in charity. It is the month when the gates of the heavens are opened and the rewards for our deeds are magnified many times over. It is the month wherein prayers are answered and the status of the worshipper is elevated. It is the month wherein sins are forgiven.

Allah bestows so many blessings upon his servants in the month of Ramadan. This is the month of fasting that is one of the five pillars of Islam. The Prophet (peace be upon him) fasted during this month and directed his followers to do the same. He told us that whoever fasts this month with faith, seeking Allah’s reward, will have all of his past sins forgiven. He likewise informed us that whoever stands in prayer throughout this month will have all of his past sins forgiven.

The month of Ramadan contains within it a night that is superior to a thousand months. Whoever is denied the goodness of that night is indeed deprived.

We should welcome this month and embrace it with happiness and joy. We should have the truest resolve to observe the fasts and the prayers and to compete in doing righteous deeds. During this month, we should ardently repent for all of our sins and encourage each other to engage in virtuous deeds and call to what is right and forbid what is wrong. In this way, we will succeed in attaining the blessings and the great rewards of Ramadan.

The fast provides us with many benefits and is full of wisdom. It purifies and strengthens our hearts. It rids us of our baser tendencies like exuberance, arrogance, and stinginess. It reinforces our good traits like fortitude, clemency, and generosity. It supports us in our inner struggle to please Allah and attain nearness to Him.

Fasting teaches us about ourselves and our needs. It shows us how weak we are and how truly dependent we are upon our Lord. It shows us how much Allah has blessed us. We are reminded of our brethren those who are less fortunate and are inspired to treat them well. We are compelled to thank Allah and to use the blessings He has provided us in obedience to Him.

Allah draws attention to these many benefits when he says: “O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it has been prescribed for those who were before you that you may learn self-restraint.” [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 183]

In this verse, Allah makes it clear that he prescribed fasting in order to purify us. Fasting is a means for us to learn self-restraint and cultivate our piety. Piety is to observe the commandments and prohibitions of Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) sincerely out of our love and reverence for Allah, and to avoid His punishment and anger.

Fasting is a great act of piety in itself and a great means of increasing our piety in all aspects of our religious and worldly lives.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) pointed out one of the benefits of fasting when he said: “O young people, whoever among you has the wherewithal to marry should do so, because it assists us in lowering our gazes and safeguarding our private parts. Whoever cannot do so should fast, because fasting diminishes sexual power.”

The reason that fasting has this effect is because Satan flows like blood through our veins. Fasting constrains this flow while and acts as a reminder of Allah and His greatness, thereby reducing Satan’s influence over the fasting person while at the same time his faith strengthening. He naturally starts engaging in more acts of obedience and fewer acts of sin.

There are many other benefits of fasting that we can discover with a little thought and reflection. Fasting is good for bodily health. It gives the body a chance to purify itself of accumulated poisons, a fact which has been confirmed by numerous doctors.

The sacred texts speak quite extensively about the virtues of fasting in the month of Ramadan and about it being a duty upon the believers. Allah says: “O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it has been prescribed for those who were before you that you may learn self-restraint. Fasting for a fixed number of days… The month of Ramadan in which the Qur’ân was revealed, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and the criterion. So whoever witnesses the month should fast it. And whoever is sick or upon a journey should fast the same number of days (later on). Allah wishes ease for you and he does not wish hardship upon you. He wants that you should complete the period and that you should exalt Allah for that to which he has guided you that perhaps you may be thankful.” [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 183-185]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Islam is built upon five things: testifying that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing prayer, paying Zakâh, fasting the month of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to the House. [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]

When the angel Gabriel asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) about Islam, he replied: “Islam is to bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to establish prayer, to pay charity, to fast the month of Ramadan, and to perform pilgrimage to the House if you are able to make the journey.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhî]

Gabriel then said: “You have spoken the truth.” Then he said: “Tell me about faith.”

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) replied: “It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and divine decree, both the good and bad of it.”

He said: “You have spoken the truth. Tell me about excellence in faith.”

Allah’s Messenger replied: “It is to worship Allah as though you see Him, and though you do not see Him, you know that He sees you.”

He said: “You have spoken the truth. [Sahîh Muslim]

This hadîth is of considerable importance and deserves serious thought and consideration.

Once Mu`âdh b. Jabal said to the Prophet (peace be upon him): “Tell me about some deed that will admit me into Paradise and distance me from the Hellfire.”

The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: “You have asked about something great, yet it is very simple for one for whom Allah makes it easy. Worship Allah and do not associate anything with him in worship. Establish prater, pay Zakâh, fast the month of Ramadan, and undertake the pilgrimage to the House if you are able to do so.” Then the Prophet (peace be upon him added: “Should I not inform you about the gates of goodness? Fasting is Paradise. Charity extinguishes sins like water extinguishes fire.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhî]

Fasting is a most virtuous act with a reward commensurate with its greatness. This is especially true in Ramadan, since Allah has made fasting therein an obligation upon the believers and a means of their attaining salvation.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Every deed of the human being is for himself and its reward is multiplied for him from ten to seven hundred times. Allah says: ‘Except for fasting, for truly it is for Me and I alone will reward it, for verily he abandoned his desires, his food, and his drink for my sake.’ The one who fasts experiences two joys, one upon breaking his fast and one when he meets his Lord. Surely the breath of the fasting person is sweeter to Allah than the fragrance of musk.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “When Ramadan commences, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are bound in chains.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]

The Prophet (peace be upon him said: “On the first night of Ramadan, the devils and rebellious jinn are bound in chains, The gates of Paradise are opened until not a single gate remains closed. The gates of Hell are bound shut until not a single gate remains open. Then a caller calls out: ‘O desirer of good, go forth! O desirer of evil, restrain yourself! Allah is emancipating people from the Fire every night’.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhî]

On the eve of Ramadan, the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave a sermon and said: “O people! A great and blessed month is coming upon you, a month containing a night better than a thousand months. Allah has made fasting in its days an obligation and observing prayer in its nights a voluntary act. Anyone who seeks nearness to Allah in theis month through any virtuous act will be like one who carried out a religious obligation at another time, and anyone who performs an obligatory act of worship in this month will be like one who performed seventy such acts at another time. It is the month of patience, and the reward for patience is Paradise.” [Sahîh Ibn Khuzaymah]

We must seize the opportunity presented to us in this blessed month and appreciate the greatness of this time by engaging in all the worship that we can. We must hasten to perform good deeds. Allah has made this month a time for worship and for competing with one another in righteousness. We must increase our prayer and our spending in charity. We must busy ourselves with reading the Qur’ân. We must hasten to help the poor, the needy, and the orphans. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was the most generous of all people and he was even more generous in Ramadan. We must follow the good example of our Prophet (peace be upon him) by redoubling our efforts in this month.

We need to safeguard the blessings of our fasts from our sins and our shortcomings. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever does not leave off false speech and false conduct, Allah has no need of his leaving off food and drink.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “When any one of you is observing the fast for the day, he should neither indulge in obscene language nor raise his voice. If someone insults him or quarrels with him, he should say: ‘I am fasting’.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]

We must beseech Allah for forgiveness in this month and do all that we can to take advantage of this precious time. We must avoid committing any offence against the fast that will diminish its blessings and invoke Allah’s anger. Therefore, we must not be negligent of our prayers or stingy with our Zakâh. We must not consume interest or the property of the orphans. We must not steal, oppress anyone, or disrespect our parents. We must not spurn our kinfolk. We must avoid backbiting, slander, lies, and falsehood. We must eschew false oaths and claims. We must not shave or trim our beards or leave our moustaches to grow. We must not listen to song and musical instruments. Women must not make a wanton display of themselves and men should not mix with them. These sins are forbidden throughout the year, but in Ramadan they are even more forbidden and more sinful.

We must fear Allah and avoid what Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) have prohibited us. We must be upright in our obedience in Ramadan and throughout the rest of the year. We should call one another to this and by doing so attain the success and salvation that this month promises us.

Article taken from here.

The Female Brain

2008-08-31T01:07:00.005+08:00

Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)

A female has a larger PFC, thought to be responsible for both conscience, and self-consciousness.

Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC)

The ACC is the brain's "fretting center" in charge of assessing sexual risk. Women have larger ACCs than men do.

Insula

Gut reactions are produced in the insula, which is larger and more active in women.

Hypothalamus

A control center in the hypothalamus orders the rush of testosterone that initiates sexual attraction. It's much larger in males than females.

Amygdala

The amygdala is a viscreal core of the brain. It's larger in a male bain. Because it's held in check by the PFC (smaller in men), guys tend to be more impetuous about sex.

Hippocampus

The hippocampus, a memory processor, is also larger and more active in women. That's why she remembers the details of your first date and you forget.

Pics adapted and text taken from menshealth.com.

MCG Chalet 08

2008-08-29T10:32:00.003+08:00

It was at..

.. and it rawk-ed! Had a great time!

I got a very good hand when playing tai-tee. These, plus de 3 of Diamonds and Hearts. And yes, I won de round. :)

Will put up more pics when I get hold of them, eventually, somehow.

Not at night, pls?

2008-08-27T01:06:00.002+08:00

It's not my intention to be mean or anything. I know that S'pore is a multi-racial, cosmopolitan country. I respect others' customs, practices and religions. There may be practices that I may not understand, but it is not my position to belittle them. I'd rather know more abt it, and understand them.

In all respect, if you have to burn anything in this particular time frame, can you pls not do it at night? De smell can be overpowering, esp so if at night. At bedtime. A time where ppl go to bed. If it is overpowering, ppl can't go to bed. So pls. Not at night, can?

Sudoku

2008-08-24T18:39:00.002+08:00

I tried my hand at Sudoku. Was very happy that I FINALLY managed to solve it after hitting de Refresh button so many times! And it helps that it is de online version. I think I'll take much, much, much longer if it wasn't! Haha! Sudoku's quite fun after all. Heh..

Try your hand at it here.

It's a small world after all

2008-08-24T00:43:00.002+08:00

Earlier yest, I was blog-hopping. Went to a fren's fren's blog. Read it. Read her short bio and all. No big deal. Just a fren of a fren.

Met up with another fren in de afternoon. Talked for quite a fair bit. Somehow, de topic came to be abt marriage. And whether there is any1 he has a liking for. And OMG lah! He actuali likes de girl whose blog I just read earlier!

At first, he just mentioned her dad's name, and it's de same name as de girl's dad's in de blog. How many R****s can there be, and maybe it's de same person, I rationalized. So I asked whether it's A*****. It IS her lah. Such a small world! Looks like I've just met her biggest fan. :)

All de best, S***** and A*****! May everything work out, and menjadi sebuah kisah klasik, insha Allah. Ameen.

Ye lah tu..

2008-08-24T00:01:00.003+08:00

The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. said:
kau tak gi class/

The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. said:

?
NAZMI said:
salam
NAZMI said:
aku takgi class
NAZMI said:
kau lagi buat ape
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. said:
asal?
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. said:
kau ada exam lagi ke?
NAZMI said:
yupz
NAZMI said:

this tues

The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. said:
oh
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. said:
ye lah tu..
NAZMI said:
wud u mean ''yelah tu''
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. said:
thats exactly what i mean lah
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. said:
y?
NAZMI said:
takdelah cara mcmkau ckp mcm aku ader jer reason
NAZMI said:
kau pulak asal balik rumah?
NAZMI said:
bnyk assignment ehh?
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. said:
smthg came up last min ah
NAZMI said:
oh..

The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
dok
NAZMI says:
yes..
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
nvm
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
takpe lah
NAZMI says:
ehh share ahh
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
takde pape lah
NAZMI says:
betul ehh
NAZMI says:
ok
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
actuali ada
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
aku malas nak bual
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
:)
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
at least im not lying kan?
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
:)
NAZMI says:
:)
NAZMI says:
ok
NAZMI says:
btw yg pasal kau nak kena gi hosp for 3 weeks tu ape story
NAZMI says:
what ever it is u take care bro
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
actuali it's abt tadi
NAZMI says:
tadi?
NAZMI says:
part mane
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
de WHOLE thing ah
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
kalau tak cukup org kan
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
might as well tak ada kan, right?
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
then kau kata ada org tak reply msg
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
y not u call n confirm dorg leh dtg ke tak
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
last2 4 org dtg
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
and end up juz a discussion
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
mcm apa kan...?
NAZMI says:
its adib instruction to gon on with 4 person
NAZMI says:
* go on
NAZMI says:
yg tk reply aku n adib dah call
NAZMI says:
ada yg kerje, sibuk etc
NAZMI says:
for saufi dier tak angkat phone pon
NAZMI says:
aper nk buat kan?
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
oh..
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
so instructions to go on ah..
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
but still i feel mcm redundant ah
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
min need 6
NAZMI says:
yup
NAZMI says:
we noe
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
to go on to decide n stuff
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
then turn 4
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
ada point go on ke??
NAZMI says:
sebab lagi pon on dat day ade blood donation drive and class,so might as well just come
NAZMI says:
yg pasal 4 person its beyond our control
NAZMI says:
takkan kerana tk cukup org meeting dibatalkan
NAZMI says:
i noe its not fair for u,adib,me n shamin
NAZMI says:
y not u speak n discuss toadib directly?
NAZMI says:
nanti kalau aku jumpe adib i will raise your concern
NAZMI says:
its a good point raise by u,
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
adib not online lah dear..
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
at least not now
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
i dunno abt shamin
NAZMI says:
maybe in future u can share any suggestion shold we have shortage of ppl n msg havce to be pass across
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
but if he were to explain things
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
i'd understand
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
as in adib were to explain
NAZMI says:
ok
NAZMI says:
u mean wc part do u want adib to xplain in detail
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
since not enuf to meet de cuorom
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
wanna proceed or not?
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
dari terus adakan
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
but cant really decide on thngs n all
NAZMI says:
wc part yg cant really decide on thngs n all?
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
de part yg tak cukup ppl to meet cuorom
NAZMI says:
yg tak cukup ppl to adib dah decide to go on
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
dok u dont get my point
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
what i mean is
NAZMI says:
but to makle it informal as tak cukup
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
bcos we dont have enuf to meet cuorom
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
we cant make decisions
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
tu yg aku maksudkan
NAZMI says:
oh.
NAZMI says:
ok
NAZMI says:
at least kite dah tau 4 org dah confirm n setuju abt the 6-7 sept nye event etc.
NAZMI says:
wud ever it is im sorry if we have trouble u to come
NAZMI says:
i really appreaciate u coming
NAZMI says:
hope the others can see that
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
u really know how to sweet talk
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
mana kau blaja ah?
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
haha!
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
and de 4 org tu
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
ya lah at least 4
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
but still......
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
tu je lah all i can say..
NAZMI says:
aku tau
NAZMI says:
whatever yg kau feel i felt rather e same
NAZMI says:
b4 we start pagi2 aku dah tanye adib yg confirm cume 4. nak go ke tak?
NAZMI says:
adib bilang still go but to make it informal sebab tk cukup org
NAZMI says:
maybe in future i'll speak to adib dat kalau tak cukup org kite call the other pemuda n discusss on the phone
NAZMI says:
there r pro n cons of cuz
NAZMI says:
nanti aku akan discuss dgn adib pasal benda nie
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
kau betul ke tak
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
nak call n discuss on phone
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
kau nak use sape nye line
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
?
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
kau nak call how many ppl
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
?
NAZMI says:
tempat kerje aku nhye line
NAZMI says:
or my hp kalau no choice
NAZMI says:
this is just n option
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
cannot lah
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
dont misuse work stuff
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
just cos u can
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
doesnt mean u should
NAZMI says:
okok
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
lagi pun
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
u mean u wanna conference?
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
brpa byk org kau nak conference at de same time?
NAZMI says:
tu boleh di discuss but nt easy
NAZMI says:
but can still be done
NAZMI says:
aku nak mandi n sambung blaja
NAZMI says:
i will bring this up to adib
NAZMI says:
kau take care
The real self and the ideal self. Working towards alignment. First steps taken. says:
k u too

Pls don't call me!

2008-08-22T23:33:00.009+08:00

Yes, that's right. Pls don't call me up for reservist. At least not now lah. Cos I've just blew most of my credits on unnecessaries. Haha!

See? So little credit left.. All spent in one go!

Went to The Chevrons just now. Wanted to get just a new pair of shoes n sandals. But de range of Army polos they have there is huge lah..! So can't resist buying a few. And I really mean a few lah. 3 only. That's a few, right? To me it is. Cos I was buying de shoes n sandals mah. I think if I had not bought them, I'd have grabbed MORE polos instead. Haha!

Here's what I bought..

This has gotta be my fav, cos at de back it says..

.. Seek Save Serve instead of de usual 'ARMY', which is so bleah..

Too bad thou, I can't wear de polos now. Must lose a lil weight and tone up a bit. Then I'll look nicer lah in them. Hehe.. It IS white, after all, and white isn't really a forgiving colour. That explains de shoes. For jogging. Jogging, and fasting mth coming up soon. So hopefully will lose weight a bit. Yeah. And to top it all of, nursing student uniform is in white. Not enuf time to lose weight a bit lah.. Sigh..

It's already over...

2008-08-22T01:32:00.005+08:00

... so why ain't I happy?

Yeah. I'm not happy that de tests are over. While doing de FAMCOM paper just now, out of a sudden, from where I dunno, I got this hunch/gut feeling/intuition/sixth sense/watcha ma callit that I gotta go back and start re-revising. Y? Cos I'd have to sit for de inevitable sub papers. Notice de plural here. So it's > 1.

Scary lah. I just hope that that is all it is. Just a hunch/gut feeling/intuition/sixth sense/watcha ma callit, and nothing more.

Ameen.

$1=2?

2008-08-20T23:31:00.001+08:00

Can it get any better than this -

PowerValue 100 Student plan
$24/mth,
100 min outgoing talktime,
free incoming calls all day,
UNLIMITED SMS/MMS,
every $1 spent = 1 loyalty point?

Well, it can, and it just had gotten better! How? When $1 = 2 loyalty points! Yup, yup, that's right. That is getting twice de points for de same amt. Cool, right?

StarHub is having this promo, and I remembered applying for it ard a mth ago. Wanted to know if it has been approved, so I called them up. It has, and it's effective next mth. Coincidentally, when I checked de mail box later in de day, de letter informing me of my successful GIRO application just arrived. So kinda redundant lah my calling them up. Haha! So to all my frens, and whoever reads this, if you're with StarHub, go apply for it too! Wasted if u don't lah..!

Pic a bit dark lah.. Heh. :D

Blog-hopping these past few days, I notice most of my frens are talking abt de papers in sch. I can't be bothered to do de same lah. Y? Cos nothing nice to talk abt. Except to say that de papers were do-able. And hopefully, they are pass-able. I'd be thankful if I pass all. Yeah. Next term onwards, I'd heed my cousin's advice abt studying in poly. He said smthg abt it lah, and I find it inspiring. Not really easy to do, but do-able if done consistently. Yeah.. :)

And I did smthg I really regret this morning. Still can't believe I did it lah seh. So disgusted and still traumatised by it. Note to self: stop whatever things associated with it. Period!

Silver, finally!

2008-08-18T03:15:00.002+08:00

Finally, after a 48yr drought, Singapore has finally brought home a medal - silver- from de Olympics. Watched de match just now. Can't help being patriotic in this instance. So how was it? Quite disheartening, to say de least. To put it in a nicer way, China won in 3 straight sets lah. Get what I'm trying to say? Heh.

Granted it's not gold, and it'd have been better if it was, but still it's smthg to be proud of, right? And de fact that those who represented Singapore are originally from Beijing, will set tongues wagging. That happens each time there are Games, be it SEA or Olympics or whatever, and I just tire of hearing that argument lah. Get over it, can?

Silver, finally!

De customary 'bite de medal' pose.

I'm posting this cos I'm bored of studying Bio. Taking a break. Hehe..

Managing Director Nor Hisham

2008-08-15T22:14:00.008+08:00

Just to share a piece of good news.. I've been promoted to MD. Managing Director in charge of Nursing Students in NYP.

As if! In actual fact, I just rec'd my name tag. Haha! My grp mate passed it to me after de Psyche paper just now.

That said and done, I'll talk abt de Psyche paper instead. It went well. I could do it. Thx in huge part to de lecturer who gave A LOT of hints. And I really mean A LOT. I shall not elaborate, in case I get any1 in trouble. Lol! No worries there for Psyche. As good as passing, if not acing de paper. So it's down to 3 papers more. I can't wait for de tests to be over. I really need to tidy up my room. Not that it's in a total mess or anything lah. Just wanna make it nicer and all, throw out all de unnecessaries and de like.. It's time for some groom my room, a bit of designer guys and some small space, big style. Haha! Nice shows, but too bad Ch5 doesn't have much, if any ID programmes on TV.

This is so random, but Singapore made it to de Finals for table tennis womens. Yeah I'm happy de Weis made it, and are assured of at least a silver medal and all. But surely no need to pre-empt Ghost Whisperer, right? Was looking forward to watching it lah.. So patriotic sia Channel 5.. Sigh. Guess I'll just watch it on sidereel. Been sometime since I watched anything there, after Heroes. Just too lazy to wait for de eps to load and all.

Beijing 2008 Olympic McD glasses

2008-08-15T00:16:00.002+08:00

Finally, I've managed to collect all 5. Yay! And I like how de pics turned out. :)

De glasses arranged according to de Olympic Rings.

Went to YCK Swimming Complex and swammed (duh!) yest. Been eons since I swimmed! Never swam much. Cos had to rush to sch to meet someone. More on that later. So how was it swimming again after so long? Refreshing lah seh! Gliding past de water and all. Should do it more. Yeah. It'd be more fun though, if I had not forgetten my SSC SVC card and my goggles. It's only $0.90 per entry with de SVC card, versus $1 with cash. And swimming without goggles, eyes pain sia! But I couldn't not swim juz cos forgotten these two, cos I was really looking forward to swim. Note to self: remember these two de next time go swimming!

Done swimming, showered and head to sch. Meet Z to accompany him for lunch at McD, cos he wanted to get de Swimming glass. Haha! He had a Meal, while I just had a Double Cheese. After that, watched de Olympic badminton match btw Indonesia n Malaysia. If swimming eyes pain, watch de Indon guy play heart pain lah! His strokes were more of setting his opponent for smashes, and when he had de chance to smash, his shuttle just went wide. Lost straight sets.

Someone was late for meeting up to study. Promised time was 1100, and at 1200, he just woke up! Suffice to say, we met at a much, much later time - at 1300 plus! Ate at North, went outside for a smoke, and went to lib to study. Met up with two of our classmates and sat together with them. They went off early, and we stayed on. Told him tips for psyche, and after that, played CS! Haha!

And to wrap up this post, on de topic of McD, I got this from a fren's fren's blog.

Get de joke? Haha!

080808

2008-08-13T23:55:00.008+08:00

First of all, let me brush away de dust, spiderwebs, cobwebs and what not. It's been some time since I posted anything. Haha!

SHS's National Day cum Nurses Day Celebrations

On de 6 Aug, SHS had this National cum Nurses Day celebrations thingy. Quite a lot of SHS students were on de ball and wore red. This wear red on 6 Aug thing was an initiative of de SHS Academic Club. Cool idea. I remember eating at McD that day, and quite a lot of seats were in red. It was almost as if those who wear red were on one side, and those not wearing red, some other place. De celebrations was alright. Some lecturers danced, got pledge taking and singing of national anthem. So sec sch lah pledge n anthem! Haha! 7 female lecturers did a dance. To a Hindi song! Cool or what sia! Some very enthu, some blank faced, and de rest dunno what else to say. And I dunno what other things they had for de celebrations. Cos as soon as they say de food was ready, a few frens n me made a beeline for it. N after we ate, we left. Cos we were only there for de food. Haha!

So many cakes, n I only got to eat a little. Which is no big, cos sesly, de food was so much better Haha!

De 7 lecturers dancing. Seeing them in a diff light indeed.

Me calefare-ing. Lol!

Me so happy!

Me so happy again, but can only see my teeth. :D

Notice how every1's head is tilted to de left? Hehe.. A pity de whole class didn't take a pic thou, cos it'd be nice. Every1 in red and all..

080808

This has to be de highlight of this yr. For some reason I forgot why, de Chinese consider de number 8 to be a lucky number. And hence on this day, some got married, some got engaged, those who were born on this day made it to de news on TV and so on..

Closer to heart, congrats to Abg Hafiz who got married, and Idah for getting engaged!

Abg Hafiz n wifey, who happens to be a nurse at KK. On de way back to de guy's side, de nurse frens were talking. Ward politics. Haha!

Idah. She has trouble spelling f-i-a-n-c-e. Haha!

I'm so touched I'm not one of 'so many others'. :D

Lepak-ing with Bik Comel n A'an on Sat during rewang. Nvr before seh lepak with an aunt. Cool! And for this vid, my cousin not used to using SE phones I guess, cos his is a Nokia. So that's why it's shot like this. But look at how confidently A'an opened de box and took out de cig from it. I wonder where he learnt it from? Hehehe..!

NDP 08

This yr, I didn't catch de NDP. Cos I was helping out at Abg Hafiz's wedding. I so wanted to watch it lah. But only de parade n de SPDS. De rest nvr watch, nvm one. Haha! N I was so confident that de repeat telecast would be this coming Sat. But it turns out de repeat telecast was on de very next Sun. So there goes NDP 08! But nvm. Cos it was so much more fun helping out. Been some time since met up with all de cuzzies lah! :)

Besides de fireworks, I very much much wanted to see this. Nice, right?

And so sorry to some of my frens. I didn't mean to pang seh u guys lah. I also wanted to go see fireworks. But then was helping out with my cousin's wedding mah.. Next yr we go see, k? :)

Randomness

2008-08-03T23:54:00.006+08:00

FAMCOM ICA presentation. I only knew how much powder was in my hair when I saw this pic. So much lah! Haha!

___

This is so late. So? Anyways, 1st Aug was Nurses Day! To all ENs, ANs, SNs, SSNs, Nurse Manager, Sisters (Brothers?) and what have you: A very Happy Nurses Day to all! Ofc not forgetting all those Nursing students too lah, right? Like myself! Lol! And also those whose heart is 50-50, ai mai ai mai wanna go into Nursing too. You should join! It's a noble profession. :)

And talking abt Nurses Day, a fren wished me yest. Quite touched, really. Cos I wasn't expecting friends outside of my course to know abt it. Yeah. Sweet gesture. Thx!
___

White is such an expensive colour. To wear white, u need to buy at least a minimum 2 or even 3 of de same tee/shirt or whatever it is. And once it's stained with anything, it's as good as gone. Cos it's not de pristine white like how it was when it was first bought. Sigh.. But I still like white thou. So pristine, so innocent, so pure, so divine.
___

I shall not even put up de formal pic. It's so BLEAH..! Good cam phone, but ...

De shortest show ever just now. But seriously, I don't like having walimah, or wedding reception in CCs. De space so limited, how to put many tables? And for de walimah just now, if u wanna put 10 chairs to a table, that kind of table too small lah! Aiyoh..

Hurt

2008-08-03T01:27:00.005+08:00

Hurt. Deep. Badly. Shattered.

N, all de while, I thought it was smthg reciprocated.

Guess it's not..

Happy Birthday, Mum!

2008-08-01T04:21:00.004+08:00

It's now 0403hr as I'm typing this. I just got off de phone with some1, and I don't seem to be sleepy yet. Which is like, so screwed, cos de cycle will repeat itself. Sleeping late, waking up early, sleeping in de train otw to sch, getting sleepy in sch, sleeping for a while otw back home in de train, not feeling sleepy at home and so forth. And I've been wanting to get 6hr of sleep everyday, cos that's de optimum amt I need. But sadly, I've not been getting that much lah.. Sigh..

Anyways, barely a week celebrating a birthday in de family, it was another birthday. This time, it was my mum's. Happy Birthday Mum!

Pizza is like de rigueur for any celebrations lah. Haha!

It's been some time since we had this..

De birthday cake. And my mum isn't 21 btw, if going by de number of candles! Impossible, right?

Ein's head hit my cam as I took this shot. I like how it turned out anyway.

As usual, with kids, it's hard to get them to look at de cam at de same time.

Blowing de candles.

Cutting de cake. So sweet right, every1 cutting it at de same time? Hehe..!

Once again, Happy Birthday, Mum! :)

Snapping in sch

2008-08-01T01:48:00.007+08:00

I was trigger happy yest. Took quite a fair bit of photos in sch. Smthg that just happened, and not planned or anything.

Defn of cataract. Doing slides for Famcom presentation.

Consolidation for Safety. Too lazy to be flippin' those pages, so I snapped instead. Clever me? Haha!

This is in no way related to de pic above. Just playing ard with angles.

Playing ard with horizons. See how de binding rings seem to meet de further it is? Nice, right? Thx to u who helped with this shot!

This shot's done with flicking a pen, and snapping it while flicking. Is this Johnny? Lol!

De SPF and SCDF had this mini job fair thingy in sch, and so went to take a look. The SPF booth garnered more interest thou, cos they brought along 2 K9s and a TP bike. Cool lah.

I didn't see it for myself, but H said that to command de K9s to lie down, all de instructor, or whatever he is called, had to do was to point to de floor, and de K9s just lay down. Obedient much?

SPF lanyard. So much cooler than de green Health Sciences one lah.. :D

I just had to have this when I saw a fren took it. I find it cool, thou I don't know exactly why.. Haha!

And this is like, de ultimate! If the boys in blue weren't there, I'd have put on de helmet, and sat on de bike for this pic instead lah! I so look like a policeman, right? LOL!

See de TP guy in white? He smiled this 'acknowledging' smile to me. I guess most prob cos I was wearing de blue SPF tee lah. Maybe it gave him de impression I was in SPF for NS. I think so lah. Which is so not true, btw. Pistols are toys. And playing with water is only for when you wanna shower. Haha! Juz kidding. :)

Crossroads

2008-07-31T00:57:00.000+08:00

As much as I do NOT want history to repeat itself, it looks like it is. Slowly, but hopefully not surely. I sure as hell do not want it to repeat itself. It's so scary if it does. What'll happen to de future generations?

As much as I do NOT want to do it, I DO like doing it, to a certain extent. I guess it's just human nature. I think. Not doing it in de younger days sure isn't a good reason to be doing it now.

Crossroads.

Oh Allah, help me pick de right road to cross. Amin..

Marriage and skin change

2008-07-27T19:04:00.002+08:00

If you're thinking abt what's de link btw marriage and skin change, there's none actualy. Haha! I decided to change my blog skin. Technically, I DIDN'T do a skin change lah. Just that I tweaked de colours here and there. As you can see, I've gone pastel this time round. Brown, brown and more brown! Had quite a hard time figuring out which shades of brown to use, and after some rounds of trial and error, finally made up my mind. Really liked it. Calming and all to de eyes. At least to me lah. And I like de photo collage I did. By myself. No asking anybody else. No using of fancy schmancy photoshop or whatever. Painstakingly done with Paint. It's really a nice collage, if I say so myself. If you're going 'self praise is ultimate disgrace ya dah ya dah ya dah', whatever lah ah..

And what abt marriage, u may ask? I had a nice talk with my mum over lunch earlier today. She was having her salad and me, my nasi lemak. A cousin is going to get married next mth, and while talking abt him, de topic changed to what I'd want to have when I got married. We talked abt where to have de solemnization, whether or not to have a dais/DJ/where to have de makan2/ whether or not she'd wanna move in with me and all that. At de risk of sounding girlish/gayish or whatever, it was really nice talking to my mum like that. It's been so long since we just talked. What with sch and all that.. :)

Happy Birthday, Ein!

2008-07-25T23:55:00.000+08:00

Yup, yup, happy birthday to my younger niece, Insyirah, or Ein for short. I'll let de pics do de talking..

De birthday cake

Ein trying to put out de flame by hand

Blowing de cake

It was so hard to get every1 to look at de cam at de same time

Somehow she wasn't happy..

.. only cos she wanted to cut de cake herself..

BBQ Chicken Supreme Starbites Cheesy Extreme

Meat Galore

Sweet & Spicy Drumlets

Once again, Happy Birthday Ein! :)

Ibda' Bi Nafsik

2008-07-21T00:27:00.003+08:00

De Ibda' Bi Nafsik Retreat at Austin Hills Golf Resort was great.

De talks and discussions were ok. I contributed some points, thou I feel it's not a lot.

De food was nice. De best of all I think was de lamb on de first night! Damn superb!

De scenery was really breathtaking.

And taking a warm bath at 1 in de morning sure feels heavenly!

De sign that welcomes guests to de place..

Scenery from de room.

I like how this turns out. Didn't expect it to be so.

Had this, cos KR back at home not halal. Not bad. Quite nice.

Will upload more pics when I get them, cos thou I did snapped some pics, it wasn't using my cam.. I need a new cam. Anyone? Hehe.. ;)

U want me to help or not?

2008-07-18T23:42:00.000+08:00

I really don't get u.. When I don't help, u say I don't bother. Always sitting in front of de computer. But when I do wanna help, u'd say things like 'Why u wanna help? Don't we have bibik for that?'. Screw u lah! U want me to help or not? Stop playing stupid mind games can? Bloody irritating u know that!

And what's with not talking to me? Cold War zit? I seriously can't be bothered lah..!

Good and bad..

2008-07-18T01:20:00.003+08:00

Yest was kinda a bad day. Accompanied my mum to Peninsula, cos sis don't have anymore leave/off to utilize. And by Peninsula here, I don't mean to those shops selling tees, jeans and what not. No. Y de hell would she wanna be there, anyway? What I mean are those offices at those high floors. Some stuff she had to do, of which I'm lazy to talk abt here. I had planned to skip de 9-11 lecture and had asked someone for help (thx so much!), and just go for de 1pm lecture instead.

In de end, de stuff took longer than I had expected and I was only on de train to YCK at 1! So defly I had to skip de 1pm lecture as well, right? Ok fine, so I had my lunch at sch. Bumped into a fren and talked while I lunched. He had just finished running fartlegs in de sch stadium. Damn siao on lah! Congrats on getting that perm downgrade, btw. Good life during reservist eh? Lucky bastard u! Haha!

So at ard 3, met up with sub-grp 3 (I meant to do that. Lol!) members to discuss Safety ICA. Asked if there was anything important I need to know. There was none. So far so good. But de most f-ed up part was when SH told me that during de 1pm lecture, Wong called out my name! Damn sway lah..! I nvr skipped Safety lectures before, and when I skipped cos of valid reason, MY name had to be called out?! Wtf??!! So I guess every1 in de lecture grp knows I skipped yest?

It has happened and I can't do anything abt it, right? Nasi dah jadi bubur, makan je lah. Spilled milk, just wipe lah.. Sigh..

It was not all bad, thou. Safety ICA discussion was good. Only de wound care chart left. And I'm not doing intro this time round. Smthg new. Nice. Someone remarked smthg abt my typing. One word for that: MSN. It helps a lot! Hehe!

And de best of all, to top it all of, I finally got that adidas water bottle I've been wanting to get. Yay! Haha! :D

MCG Workshop vidz

2008-07-18T00:30:00.002+08:00

Click on de vid to watch. Click on de title to download. Enjoy! :)

Champion's Juara

Dayak's Tribal

Relak Sua's I Love U

Sampoi's Jgn Amik Dadah

Final Critique

Happy Birthday!

2008-07-17T08:18:00.000+08:00

Worth all de effort! Happy Birthday!

W, J & R

2008-07-14T00:09:00.000+08:00

10J, 20W.
20J, 10W.
30J.
10R, 20J.
20R, 10J.
30R.

I'll be feeling better by then, insha Allah.. :)

Ward 58 v2.0

2008-07-10T12:41:00.003+08:00

I'm going to Ward 58 after all. Some changes were made, and everyone fr 11 except 1 is going there. See you there, Ana!

It's nice having DOs on weekends. Thank God for yr1. :)

NIE TIC 08

2008-07-09T23:51:00.001+08:00

1st of all, let me say a big THANK YOU to XP for being understanding. :)

A fren had his Teachers' Investiture Ceremony just now. In other words, graduation lah. Congrats, teacher! Haha!

Some of de pics, for now.

De invitation card.

De schedule of events, as well as de list of graduands.

He is de GOH.

He is de valedictorian.

He is de graduand.

He just had to do this. Haha!

See de difference how I wear it and how my friend wears it? I look so laid back lah!

Sucks! Better?

2008-07-07T20:25:00.006+08:00

This totally sucks! At ard 11 just now, I realised StarHub has disabled me from making outgoing calls and sending out sms/text msges. All bcos I haven't pay my (outstanding!) bills. In my defense/defence, I WAS going to pay it soon lah. Never knew they were so impatient. So my hp is some sort of a white elephant now like that. This also means no more Twitter-ing on de go. Just when I had just set up my Twitter acct! And it had to happen now? What a very bad timing! Cos I was just planning to get myself a pair of Havaianas. Guess it's just not my luck. Sigh. Oh well.. Bukan rezeki aku lah nie katakan..

On a (slightly) happier note, had de HS 4106 ICA today. My yr1 elective. Basic Conversational Mandarin For Healthcare Professionals. First was a 50-qn paper. De lecturer said out some Mandarin words, and we had to choose de correct choice, and shade it in de OMR answer sheet. A grpmate didn't have a pencil, and for a while, wanted to use pencil lead (just de lead) to shade! LOL! So how was it? Not bad actually, cos I did manage to answer some qns, even thou I didn't flip thru de manual at all to revise! Haha!

Next was de grp presentation on some scenarios given beforehand. It wasn't that bad. Every1 knew what had to be said when, and it did went well. But I guess de most amazing thing was de lecturer saying that my grp was one half of two better grps! Which is so amazing lah! It was quite a last min thing our presentation, and she said that? Better grps? Haha! For one thing thou, a Chinese (I mean as in from China here) classmate helped us to translate our scripts. So if anything, I guess by better, she meant de language lah. Heh.

That's one module I don't have to worry abt anymore! Yay! :D
But on de other hand, Mondays is now just an hour lecture fr 11-12, and I'm done for de day. :O

Me and another grpmate taking turns to be de patient, Mr Tan.

Our script that we had to submit.

Cos I deserve it!

2008-07-06T23:48:00.001+08:00

I've finally made use of my Growth Package (that's what it's called, if I'm not wrong ) money. Had really put some thought into how I'd use it, cos it's not really much. I paid off some debts I owe to some frens, and bought some stuff. Some quite essential, some nice to have. I don't have much left now, but tml I'll be buying another smthg 'nice to have'. While it feels nice to be rid of some debts, I feel it'd be a 'feel good' thing to spend some moolah on myself. What good is it if I don't see smthg I spent on myself, right? If anything, it's cos I deserve it! Hehehe..!

;)

The mystery of 5G solved!

2008-07-06T01:33:00.003+08:00

It all started innocently enough. Was in de train, otw home just now. In came 3 nurses. De next stop was Tiong Bahru, so defly they were fr Outram Park, and hence, from SGH. So I decided to listen in on them. I Nursing student mah, so in a way, it's justified, right? Quite interesting, what they were discussing. Patients, fellow nurses and what not. In short, ward politics lah. Haha!

Got quite bored, so I smsed an ex sec sch mate, who is now doing Adv Dip in nursing, abt my listening in. From there, we started talking abt when's my attachment, when she finishing, she currently on attachment and all that. When she said she'll be finishing her AD soon, I rememberd she being with NUH. So I asked her abt de Ward 5G thing. Cos I already went there, and there was no such ward listed. It turned out, as she told me, that it's actuali Ward 57. Just that it's divided into med neuro and med onco. So de med onco is called 5G. So that's how it goes. Which means it's still onco for me for my first attachment lah.. Just when I thought that there was an error or smthg. And that I'm going to 58, which is an air-conditioned ward. Oh well..

Speaking of attachment, on Wed, de class had an 'argument' of sorts with a tutorial lecturer, abt being paid while on attachment. His point of view - de hospitals are already being generous to let us, Nursing students, who are not on their payroll, to go there and learn and get on-de-job experience on their patients. We should be de ones to pay de hospitals instead, he reasoned.

Our point of view - we're 'working' during our vacation leave, and so should get paid for that. Which I still believe lah. But it's hard not to see de lecturer's point of view, and to somehow agree. Cos he does make sense here. But then again, he's a lecturer already, and NOT a student. So, ...

And still on de topic of attachment, and to end this post, I went to see de Nursing course synopsis. And omg lah.. Yr 2 and yr 3 attachment so much! Take a look. It's 'Nursing Practice':

Finally!

2008-07-05T17:04:00.003+08:00

To everyone who mentioned that my blog is dead, or been silent, or it's time to update, or anything along those lines on my tagboard, well, you're right! It's been a loooooong time since I put up anything. Just been lazy to update anything, even thou quite a lot has happened. A dry spell, you might call it.

Ok.. first up, I got myself a new phone! An SE W910i! Yay! My contract with M1 isn't up yet, but I have passed the 21mth threshold, so I'm eligible to upgrade my line. When I saw that the W910i was going for $0, I decided to get it, no qns asked. I did thought of trying smthg new and getting a Samsung, but I figured I'm so used to the features of SE phones. Yes, the W910i isn't really a new model, but I really like it's slimness. There are other SLIMMER models, but for now, they're not really within my budget, yet. A week after buying it, the price went back to $68! Luckily I bought it when it was a 'This Week Special' at $0!

It's only been a week or so using the W910i, but I'm already missing my K800i. Walkman and Cybershot phones are so different lah. I think I prefer Cybershot phones. Cos I like taking pics. And Walkman phones are not really geared up for taking pics. Maybe for my next phone, I would go back to the Cybershot range. For now, making do with the new phone.

I got a part in this yr's NYP MCG's Layar Andayu production! I'm one half of a couple in the P Ramlee scene! Sungguh tak expected lah! My audition went well, thou I wish it was better. For the script reading, I got the role of Syamsul. Cos my name's Sham, according to the judges. I was expecting Didi, but oh well. For the spontaneous acting, I was first asked to play a five year old. Sucked lah. Haha! After that it was a 'fatherly' role. I acted out a dad concerned for his son who is on attachment. Not bad. Among everything, that was the only one I was rather pleased with for my audition. So I was initially shocked when my name was called out lah seh! I've only been involved in a production once, when I was in sec sch, so here's looking forward to my 2nd!

Nursing Lab test wasn't really that good, but it wasn't really that bad either. Thou there were some qns I couldn't answer, there are some qns I could. Which is amazing really, considering I didn't really study for it. The next hurdle now for that module is the practical test. Congrats to everyone who has cleared the practical test, all the best to those who haven't (including me. hehe!), and do better for your second time for those who failed it the first time round. I'm really anxious to clear it, cos I can't go for clinical if I dont. Speaking of which, I've already bought my NYP uniform. Too bad there isn't an 'XS' size. 'S' is still a bit loose lah! Sigh..

Ok then. I guess that's abt it for now!

W910i with an iPhone theme. Haha!

A really nifty device - an M2 card reader. Makes life so much easier.

Quite big for an 'S', right? And I look so dark in this pic, taken with the new phone.

Geng! Kawan-kawan! Korg..!

2008-06-22T23:52:00.001+08:00

Had an enjoyable time!

To shift to neutral gear on a bike, u can't just press on de green light. And to move, must play ard with de clutch as well, and NOT only de throttle! And u don't juz put a bike on de ground, unlike a bicycle! Haha!

Black Book

2008-06-21T16:08:00.000+08:00

A really nice WW (I forgot 1 or 2) movie, Black Book proves that such a show doesnt always have to be abt bullets, bombs and what not. It was more of de covert side of de war. Abt espionage. It's not always a movie is made abt spies, and I really enjoyed BB

Ward 58

2008-06-19T00:12:00.001+08:00

If you understand de significance of this, good. If you don't, it's ok.

Went to NUH earlier in de day yest. Someone I know was admitted there. She was admitted to ward 53. Knowing it is so near to ward 58, I juz couldn't resist de urge to take a look at it lah. Heh. So I went with Ira in tow, she in her pram. It was quite a maze de wards on that 5th level. Was kinda taking chances going thru de diff wards. 58 like very far, tucked away in a corner like that lah I tell you! Maybe cos it's an onco ward? Possibly lah, I guess. And also, 58 was damn cold inside. Dunno why. I asked one of de HCAs if I could bring de pram in. Cos I couldn't possilby just put it one side, right? She said ok, but just don't let her wander ard. So I did. But thing is, one of de nurses advised me against bringing in de pram, as it was mostly HDU units in there. Haha!

So ya, it was quite satisfying (for lack of a better word here, actuali!) to have taken a look and have a feel for how de ward where I'll be will be. :)

Preferential treatment even in death?

2008-06-17T01:46:00.000+08:00

In de span of just two days, two s/e/r/v/i/c/e/m/e/n died in de name of defending de nation. Tragic? No doubt ofc.

But to me, and I dunno if any1 sees it de same way as I do, what's more tragic is de treatment these two s/e/r/v/i/c/e/m/e/n got AFTER their deaths. And also de coverage in de press one got, and de apparent lack for de other.

Take a look..

De c/e/r/e/m/o/n/i/a/l vehicle.

De c/o/f/f/i/n

Juz bcos one was a R/E/C and de other was an O/C/T, de only mention de former got was one article, while de latter got a few articles related to him. De O/C/T got a m/i/l/i/t/a/r/y f/u/n/e/r/a/l, and what did de R/E/C get? Nothing was mentioned abt de R/E/C thou. What gives?

Really tragic that even in death, preferential treatment is given to de rank. Whatever happens to de file? It's always 'rank and file' right? Without de file, what good is de rank, no matter how high his/her rank is?

KTB

2008-06-16T01:08:00.000+08:00

Thx for this, bro! My colour, my size. I'll defly enjoy wearing it, thou I DIDN'T go there. Hah.

PC Show 08

2008-06-16T00:56:00.001+08:00

Went to de PC Show 08 last Sat. Not really crowded, still got room to walk ard. Unlike de IT Show ard March. And also, unlike IT Show, there were no babes. A fren told me it's called IT and PC Show cos of diff organizers. I wonder if it's cos one has babes and de other doesn't. Haha!

Wasn't planning to get anything, but another fren called my fren who I went with, and asked to help get him a thumbdrive. I decided to get one too, cos it'll be useful for sch. There was quite a queue at SanDisk, and we had to 'order' what we want first. So we did, and queued. Two 1Gs for de fren, and a 2G for me.

Surprise surprise.. de guy made a blunder, and instead got us two 8Gs, and one 2G! I kept de 8G. De fren took de 2G, and de fren I went with still has no idea what to do with de other 8G!

SanDisk cruzer TITANIUM 8GB

De view of Suntec from my fren's bike on de road. Very Transformers..

If I could have afforded those ex IT toys, I wouldn't mind paying another $2.50 or $3 to book a cab. So much better than waiting for so long..

Pics

2008-06-16T00:40:00.001+08:00

Iin, my niece. Very vogue in this pose, no? :)

My very first attemp at panoramic pictures. Nice? Heh..

Allah's Love

2008-06-13T17:05:00.001+08:00

Sahih Muslim Book 32: The Book of Virtue, Good Manners And Joining Of The Ties Of Relationship (Kitab Al-Birr Wa'S-Salat-I-Wa'L-Adab), Chapter 46 Number 6373:

Abu Huraira reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: When Allah loves a servant, He calls Gabriel and says: Verily, I love so and so; you should also love him, and then Gabriel begins to love him. Then he makes an announcement in the heaven saying: Allah loves so and so and you also love him, and then the inhabitants of the Heaven (the Angels) also begin to love him and then there is conferred honour upon him in the earth; and when Allah is angry with any servant He calls Gabriel and says: I am angry with such and such and you also become angry with him, and then Gabriel also becomes angry and then makes an announcement amongst the inhabitants of heaven: Verily Allah is angry with so and so, so you also become angry with him, and thus they also become angry with him. Then he becomes the object of wrath on the earth also.

Doors

2008-06-13T00:01:00.001+08:00

In life, when one door closes, another one opens up somewhere else, sometimes almost immediately.

Thing is, should one go in the door that opens up somewhere else?

Or should one knock on and try to somehow open the door that has closed?

By doing so, would one be depriving oneself of the opportunities that presents itself in the other door?

Or should one simply go to another door altogether?

HTA

2008-06-11T00:49:00.001+08:00

I went to HTA yesterday. Two of my NYP friends were enlisting. Actuali, it's 3, but surely I couldn't be at HTA AND CDA at de same time, right? Thou we've juz met during MCG in sch, since it's de hols and HTA's just nearby, I thought I'd drop by.

It's my 2nd time there, my 1st being my cousin's enlistment last yr. Missed out on de facilities tour. Not by choice really. The program had to be started earlier. No big. I won't be lodging there anyway. Haha!

Waiting for de program to start, I was eagerly awaiting for de drill presentation. It's different de drills in Police and in de Army. Really enjoyed it when my cousin enlisted, and also enjoyed it this time round. De formation was somewhat similar to what my platoon did during our BMT. (We won 2nd place, btw. Hehe..) But sadly, I didn't thought of recording it. Dumb, right? Sigh..

While I was there, I couldn't let de chance slip to grab some tees from POLWEL. That's like their equivalent of e-mart in SAF camps, some sort. I overspent by $12 thou. Haha! Couldn't help it lah, cos their tees were really nice. And dri-fit some more! Two tees, and two polos, of which two black, one each white and blue. Can wear to sch. Nvm that I was fr de Army. Hah! :D

The main entrance.

The Visitor chop.

I was getting more as a LCP during my time..

Dok and Cheesedale. Cheesedale so enthu shave even before enlisting!

The Affirmation of Allegiance. Symbolic of giving your life (2yr only lah) to de Govt. :D

I

2008-06-05T23:10:00.001+08:00

I dunno if I've made de right choice. And I dunno if I'm at de right place. But one thing for sure is I don't wanna lose all that I have gotten thus far.

---

I know who I am. And I know my current situation. But what I surely DON'T need, is for it to be pointed out. Pls? Thx!

---

I am quite surprised by what a friend told me. Kinda touched by it. Amazing what serving de nation together can do to ppl.

Updates

2008-06-05T02:30:00.004+08:00

It's been some time since I've REALLY updated ETS, and I sure got a hell lot of things to rant abt, but as de time doesn't really permit, cos I'm blogging at 2am plus on a school night, which is like super crazy, cos I know I'll be sleepy later on, I'll just do a short one.

First up, my bday! 25. Silver jubilee liao loh! Quarter-life crisis? Hmm.. got some things quite bugging me lah, but that's not for here. Hehe..

Rec'd 2 presents this yr. One, from my mum, an adidas bag. Black and red combo. My fave. What I really like abt it is de base of de bag. Can take de load of notes better than my PS bag. Cool. Thx mum!

Two, and I juz rec'd it yest, an M-sized X-LARGE tee. Confused, right? I meant to do that! Haha! De brand is X-LARGE, and de size is M. Better, right? I really like de colour. Light, greyish-blue, with de words X-LARGE splashed on de front. Cool too. A diff and refreshing addition to my wardrobe. Thx girls!

Thank you to every1 who wished me, be it on de day itself or belated, be it through sms, on my tagboard, friendster comments or whatever means I left out. And thx Hawa and Idah! For wishing me on ur blogs! Peculiar thing I noticed abt those who wished me from my grp on de actual day, it was mostly de bloggers. Is there link somehow, somewhere? Guess it's one of those things that an answer will be obtained. Heh.

A very big THANK YOU, to all those who turned up yesterday at Seoul Garden Causeway Point, to celebrate Amelia's as well as my birthday. In no order of merit, they are: Dickson, Maria, Xiao Ping, Shu Xian, Pei Qing, Hui Yu, Ling Li, Hadi and last but definitely not the least, Amelia and me, the birthday girl and boy (age is but only a number, right? LOL!) It was great! Hopefully the next one would involve the WHOLE group!

FON presentation on Breathelessness finally over. I had this idea of adapting Allan's (like he my fren like that sia! LOL!) way of teaching to intro de presentation. Quite well received. Some ppl answered. Hopefully that scored SOME brownie points with Ms Chee. Hehe.. Overall, I think everyone did better this time round. Mala's part was damn detailed lah I tell you! De only regret I have is of not passing de floor to Sara when it was her turn. Damn! But what to do? Spilled milk just wipe lah hor?

And it was really a slip of de tounge that I out-ed myself as a smoker to Ms Chee lah! When I said 'even I don't smoke that much', in my mind it was like 'F***! S***! Did I really say that?' But seriously, 20 sticks a day for de past 30 years is damn a lot! Thx XP for de honesty de best policy thingy. :)

And someone in MCG said yours truly, sans specs, look like de current karut, and ask if I'm interested to take it up. I was like 'Huh? Really? Me?' Quite interested lah. Karut must be thick skinned one leh. And I think somehow that can make me break out of my shell. I'm juz kinda awkward ard ppl. How I wish I'm like more relaxed. And more outgoing. But I not sure leh. Yr1 student taking de limelight? No one will say anything, but I think surely some Yr2 will red/green eyed, right? Sigh..

To round up, 'short' turned out to be quite long after all. :D

De bag.

De tee.

It came in this. I like de wrapper too.

RICHES

2008-06-01T23:25:00.000+08:00

DO get your copy! It's flying off the shelves fast in newsstands!

LOL!

Haha!

2008-06-01T02:04:00.000+08:00

Someone actually finds my poem nice!

Haha!

Thx eh.. So kira kira ada bakat jadi poet tak? Haha!

When?

2008-06-01T01:38:00.002+08:00

When you meet someone new
What's your relation to each other?
Friends?
Acquaintances?
'Someone I just met'?
When does 'someone I just met'
Become an acquaintance?
Become a friend?
Or do you draw a line somewhere?
Acquaintances for everybody else?
Friends for those you are closer to?
And God knows what other term
For those you have an inkling of liking to?
So the question is: when?
When?
When?
When?
When?
When?

That You'd Be Mine

2008-05-30T01:05:00.002+08:00

12 Feb 2007
7.27pm
That was the day
It came full circle

I sent you a message
And you first replied
From messages in Friendster
To messages on the mobile

From mere text messages
It lead to calls
Talking about anything
Under the sunny sun

You've asked me before
Do you find me attractive?
Yes, I said in reply
Both physical and cognitive

We have gone out before
Quite a couple of times
These are the moments
That I will treasure

Throughout all these
I began to like you
And now I dare say
That I love you

I'd like to make you mine
Thereby making me yours
I'm ready to say I'm yours
Are you ready to say

That you'd be mine?

Stupid ward!

2008-05-27T01:00:00.000+08:00

Luckily it's NOT a real ward. LOL!