Smokey Robinson

Imagine the number of babies that were conceived from this song. Why can't they make good songs like this anymore. Ni tak habis-habis sex,party,drugs, sex, girls,bling-bling,more sex, kill, kill, kill, die,die,die.

Record labels, I would like to have music back, please.

time ni..

Masa tengah stres ngan kerja
Presentation cuak bagai nak mati
Rasa insecure bertubi-tubi (haha, dah jadi pantun!!)
teringat kiwi

Rasa happy.



Maori culture 101. This is Moru. Moru is inspired by the shape of an unfurling fern, signifying reborn, or birth of a new life. I fell in love with the symbol once I knew the meaning behind it and bought one. I've never taken it off after the trip. Entah kenapa di bukak one day, and I start being careless with it and lost the necklace. Dammit, I feel like I need it now more than any time else.

Muslim Demographics

I'm in a mood for a lot of videos nowadays. Assuming that whatever that is in this video is true, this is such a whooooaaaaaa moment.



So here's what i get from this video.

1. The number of Muslims in the world is increasing. Alhamdulillah.

2. No wonder there are many attacks on Islam lately. I always wonder why these people are so hateful to Muslims, so now, I have my answer. They are afraid. Afraid that the world as they believe should be won't be around in the nest few decades.

3. Other people is planning to counter these growth. What are they doing?
a) Bad PR for Islam and Muslims
b) Increasing their efforts in evangelizing their ideologies.
c) generally trying to break our spirit in our Faith.
Which is all fair, in retrospect really. They believe that truth is on their side, we believe that truth is on our side. Fair game.

4. What we should do?
a) keep the supply up, keep the babies coming people!
b) Increase in supply is important. Increase in the quality Muslims is important too.
c) educate the Muslims that the faith is not a lost cause. Be true to the religion, and all that lah.

5. Seriously people, the answer does not lie in terrorism. It lies in us understanding the beauty of this peaceful religion. Come whatever provocation, maintain your cool, practice our religion just like how it should be practised. With kindness and a logic reasoning.

Kimi wa boku no tomodachi :)

I love the message in this song! Even when I passed this song to my non-Japanese freak friends, they agreed that it was the sweetest song. I guess it's true what the video is portraying, even if the whole world is against you, what matters is the relationship that you have with that other person. eisyyy, Ken Hirai's work has the tendency to make me cry!

It's amazing how music breaks language barrier. The first time I heard Ken Hirai's song was during an opening for a J-dorama, Love Revolution. I thought man this guy could sing. So I checked out his other songs. Love, love, love and Rakuen (which means Heaven in Jap) really speaks to me even without me understanding a thing that he said. Memang dalam hati ada taman lah when I hear him sing Love,love,love!! And yes, I cried when I heard Rakuen even before I got the translation to that song. His voice is able to translate the core meaning of the songs. Seriously, he is one of the best singers in my opinion.



*wipe tears*

Money CAN buy you happiness

Money can by you happiness.
It has been proven that money can even by you a soul
If it's the right price.

Damn me and my virtuous dignity.

Kalaulah..

Kalaulah dakwah cara mengaib dan memaki orang tu berkesan,
Dah lama dah Malaysia jadi negara paling Islamik,
Sebab kita ada Mastika dan Pesona dan whatever.

Kalaulah betul semua orang yang bencikan mungkar,
Pergi sound orang yang mungkar tu depan-depan,
bukannya setakat bersembunyi di sebalik skrin,
Takda maknanya budak-budak ni berani nak buat.

Tapi hakikatnya?
"fikir sendiri", kata ayahku.

Biar betul lu berani nak sound derang.
Aku tengok paling berani pun takat geleng kepala je.
Balik rumah mengumpat.
Pastu tepuk bahu sendiri,
"Alhamdulillah, aku tak macam tu."

Karang kalau anak korang jadi camtu,
aku tukang tepuk tangan je.
*clap clap*

Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha

I was browsing through some of the pictures in FB, and I came across the kad raya that I gave to Malin and in brought back fond memories..BABE, I RINDU YOU!!!!!hahah

Dear Sayang

Sayang,

Hari ni I malas sikit nak fikir benda berat- berat. Orang selalu marah I bila I sebut lain sikit dari orang lain. Ni I pakai I-I ni pun mesti orang geli. I dengar Steve Jobs pun nak saman I sebab I dah pakai preffix-I.


Sayang,

Hari ni I tamau la pikir pasal masalah dunia. Masalah kerja pun tamau. Itu lagi beberapa jam nanti baru I fikir. Malam ni I nak citer pasal U sorang je.


Sayang,

Time ni mesti kawan I semua dah nak pengsan. Mesti derang marah sebab I tak pernah citer pasal U. Dah la I tak pernah bawak U jumpa derang. Derang tak paham, U kerja apa, U belum ready, kan sayang? Bawak jumpa mak bapak I pun belum, takkan nak bawak jumpa derang kot.



Sayang,

I ingat lagi masa kita mula-mula keluar dating. You punyalah malu. Dah la time tu you masih budak hingusan lagi. I rasa seksa gila bila tengok you terhegeh-hegeh kat minah tu. Apa yang dia ada??? OK, I tau dia cantik, pastu kaki dia cantik bila pakai mini skirt, but kamon la, she's not me. Nasib baik last- last you tau sapa lagi awesome,kan?





Sayang,

I tau I jahat gila bila I tinggalkan you untuk laki lain lepas kita baru je kenal beberapa bulan. Tapi, percayalah sayang, sekarang ni I sayang you sorang je =)



Sayang,

U sangat tres chic okay!!! I ingat lagi dulu u suka sangat pakai shirt lumberjack yang besar2 dulu. Sekarang pun orang suka pakai shirt kotak2 tu. Ni suma Yuna nye pasal. Hehe. Rambut you pun dorky. Actually, sekarang pun u dorky lagi, tapi tu la yang buat I suka you!!


Sayang,

Macam mana you tahu bapak I suka kereta klasik?? Ni hadiah nak kasi bakal mertua ke? Eiii, you ni pandai la amik hati orang tua I....




Sayang!!!!

You tak kata pun you boleh cakap French!! Actually, I bukannya minat sangat bahasa French ni, cam nak terkeluar kahak je, tapi bila you nyanyi, rasa seksi la pulak...



Sayang,

I love you!!!! Sekarang ni I nampak muka you makin macam Heath Ledger. Jangan you jadik macam dia okay!! Dah la you ni rapat sangat ngan Nolan tu! I bukan tak suka you kawan ngan dia, I rasa dia memang pengarah yang boleh buat filem "orgasm minda", tapi movie dia ni, cam suwey sikit la, kena mandi bunga dulu kot.

Sayang,

I rasa mesti dah ramai orang muntah berbaldi-baldi sampai dehydrated. Ala, derang jeles je ngan kita, kannn kannn kannnnn!

Hijab and Me (Part Dos)

So where was I? (I told you it's gonna be a long one. haha)

I think I've covered the external hurdles quite alright. Moving on to what used to stop me from wearing the hijab. The reasons that came from my own self.

I used to say, I want to wear the hijab, but I'm not ready yet. In school, my time was "after I got married". You know, cause you want to wear those gorgeous Vera Wang wedding dress, and let's face it, baju kahwin melayu melampau sangat labuci and laces and what nots dia. No, you don't want to wear hijab before you get married cause your reception is supposed to be the happiest day of your life, and dammit, you wanna look good, and you can't do that with your head covered. Or so I used to think.

The other one was my lifestyle. Once you started hijab, you can't go out to the places that you used to go, you can't hang out as much with your guy friends (especially for the late night sessions). And being me, I'm kinda used to the "hey, ho, bertepuk tampar" thing with my guy friends, so memang tak eloklah kan kalau pakai tudung buat cam tu (honestly I'm still working to fix that, haha). Yep, I put off my decision again.

So yes, I had the same dilemma as what some of you are going through now. We know that the hijab is an obligation, but we're just not ready yet. Doesn't this sound familiar?

"Tamau ah pakai tudung, tapi buat perangai tak elok sume"
"Buat pe pakai tudung tapi muka terpampang kasi BJ kat mat rempit tepi longkang?"
"I think I'm not ready yet, maybe once I dah semayang, dah tak buat benda2 ni semua I pakai. Buat malu nama agama je kalau I pakai pastu buat benda tak elok"

Believe me, this things were always coming out of my mouth. You want to wear the hijab, once you feel that you are mentally, physically, and ibadah-wise ready. But there's a fallacy to that idea.

No one's perfect.

You want to wear hijab when you've become perfect, but no one's perfect. Ergo, when exactly will you be able to wear the hijab? Or to ask this question in a wider perspective, when are we gonna change into something good? I realised this one fine day, and it was the same day I decided to wear the hijab. It was nothing dramatic really, in the afternoon I was temaning my mom to buy a few scarves, then when we wanted to go to dinner I just decided "maybe I should cover this head of mine". Nearly two years down the road, Alhamdulillah, the scarves are still here to stay.

I think many have heard, read, watched testimonials of hijabis and how their hijab actually liberated them. I'm sorry, but at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'm one of them. Wearing a hijab was kinda like how a dash of cold water was like to a drowsy person. You know things are there, you know it's important, but you couldn't gauge how important some things were before. It made me more aware of my place in the society, and contrary to popular belief that hijab is a symbol of oppression to women, I became more of a "feminist", LOL.

I wanted to prove to people that this girl with the scarf wasn't oppressed, dumb or submissive. I became more competitive and I was eager to show people the other side of Islam, the side that wasn't always portrayed by Muslims, when the fact is, it should. I read more about the world and Islam, more about Islam really, and I fell back in love. it wasn't like I didn't care about Islam before, rather, it was sidelined,it wasn't the priority as much as it was now. Hijab made me want to be a better person, and in a way, I think I already am a better person, and could be even better in years to come.

All these long-winded grandmother stories was just to prove one thing: YOU CAN'T WAIT FOR SOMETHING GOOD TO HAPPEN BY ITSELF. Yes, you might think you're not worthy to carry the Muslim image now, but you have to start somewhere. The state of "readiness" that you're looking for is not about whether you're willing to let go of your lifestyle now, rather, it depends on whether you want to START to be that better person and take that leap of faith. I know I took mine, and it was one heck of an adventure. I'm still far from being perfect, I still curse A LOT, I'm still struggling tu cukupkan lima yang wajib (there, a confession!) and there are many many more vices that are unislamic or just screwed up with me really. But I took that baby steps, and I'm still learning to walk, and there are many "fall flat on your face" incidents, and many more to come, but for now,

This is okay :)

this song is on replay

I Don't Want To Live On The Moon
covered by Joseph Gordon Levitt



Well, I'd like to visit the moon
In a rocket ship high in the air
Yes, I'd like to visit the moon
But I don't think I'd wanna stay there
I would like to look down on the earth from above
But I'd miss all the places and people I love
So although I might stay there for one afternoon
I don't want to live on the moon

I'd like to visit the sea
I could meet all the little fish there
Yes, I'd travel under the sea
But I don't think I'd wanna stay there
I could stay for a day there if I had my wish
But there's not much to do when your friends are all fish
And an oyster and clam are not my family
So I don't want to live in the sea

I'd could visit the jungle and hear a lion roar
Go back in time, meet a dinosaur
There's so many places that I'd like to be
But none of them permanently

So if I should visit the moon
Well, I'd dance on a moonbeam and then
I would make a wish on a star
And I'd wish I was home once again
But I'd like to look down on the earth from above
But I'd miss all the places and people I love
So although I may go I'll be coming home soon
'Cause I don't want to live on the moon
No, I don't want to live on the moon
No, I don't want to live on the moon

Hijab and Me

CAUTION: THIS IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE ANOTHER LONG POST BECAUSE I'M FEELING KINDA SENTIMENTAL AND BEBEL-ISH RIGHT NOW.MUST BE THE PERIOD.NAHH, IT'S JUST ME.

Today, Cik Tasha passed me an article about Hijab, and you can read it here. It's a nice read, and I feel I can really relate to it as I only started to wear the hijab somewhere early last year. Basically, the article talks about the perception that the Muslim community has on women who does not wear their hijab, and how we should adjust this perception of ours.

Let me share my experience on donning the hijab the first time. I was born in a quite liberal family. Liberal in a sense that my parents never forced me to wear the hijab if I don't want to. My parents prefer me to find my own truth, at my own pace. When I was a kid, I asked my dad "why do we have to pray?", and he never gave me the standard answer that elders are fond to give, which is "sebab nanti Tuhan sayang" or "nanti dapat masuk syurga", rather, he said "fikir sendiri", and I can't thank him enough for that. My confidence in my faith came from that, cause I know now that whatever I chose to believe now comes from my own reasoning, not influenced by other externalities. Looking at some people, I think I won't have the same conviction if my parents were the one to force religion on me.

Now, that situation is fine if I were to stay in the same community I grow up in. TTDI people are quite open-minded in a sense that we respect individuals' stand and opinions, even if we disagree with it. But I was forced out of my comfort zone when I have to be in UIA. I had a hard time adjusting to the new surroundings because of one thing; PEOPLE JUDGE. I was forced to be who I am not, most of the time trying to cover the fact that I don't wear the hijab outside of the campus compound. It's hard and sad when you are judged by the people who insists to call you "brother" or "sister" (it's the culture to call someone bro/sis in UIA, supposedly it's to show the love that we had for one another and the unity of Ummah, but I digress). Once, I was literally given "the eye" when I said I was from KL, and the look from the two sisters were like I said I just got out of a rehab centre. One of the dumbest question that was directed to me was "Oh, orang KL, mesti selalu pergi clubbing kan, biasa la, orang bandar," and I replied "Aah, clubs kat sini memang besar mcm stadium pun boleh muat satu KL". Needless to say, these cowards never had the guts to say anything to me anymore :P

Let me ask you this my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, if we really are brethren in spirit, why are you cold-shouldering people who are different than you? Not only that, you demean them, you alienate them just because of a shortcoming? "Aku tamau terpengaruh terjebak sekali dalam maksiat". I say bullshit. If you're influenced, the problem lies in you right? Maybe your faith wasn't as strong as you think it is? Since you really are the "exalted" ones, why not you help out our poor tortured souls? Some people want to change, they just don't know how and they're afraid to and there's like 1001 more reasons why they don't change, and they do need help from you, yes you, the guy on that mighty high horse. There's no point in you only preaching to your tudung labuh/ songkok tinggi friends, cause they don't need it, but we, the lower scums of the Earth needs it and you just turn your cheek the other way. Bro/ sis, remember in the Judgement Day, you can also be held accountable if you have the knowledge but you don't disseminate it.

Really, during the early stage when I was in UIA, instead of getting closer to my religion, I was pushed even further away. But I think I'll write about it some other day. Hahahah.

food hunt!

Anith, and whoever that is interested. Let's cross this list off by the end of December!

1. Jagoya Japanese buffet

2. Korean Streetfood in Sunway Pyramid

3. Ikan bakar belakang Istana

4. Seafood kat Klang

5. FATTY CRAB AND CHICKEN WING TAMAN MEGAH!!!

6. Burger sepah, Ampang

7. Grilled burger, Wangsa Maju

8. Sup Daging bawah pokok, yg dekat LRT mana tah, and lupa jalan tu T_T.

9. Cheesecake tempat rahsia Lin yang SAMPAI SEKARANG KO KATA NAK BAWAK,TAK BAWAK-BAWAK LAGI..hmmpphhh

10. Red Wok steamboat and sizzling. Sedap sangat ke?

11. Pavlova Alexis Bistro. That huge piece of bliss. Le sigh.

12. Nasi goreng sotong Pak Cik PMS

13. Murni's last few rounds!!!

14. Dux De Lux's Seafood Jambalaya. Ok, ini mungkin tak jadi sebab ada kat Christchurch. I MISS THIS RESTAURANT!!!! *wails*

15. Popia Basah

16. Peking Duck.

17. Alexis' Seafood Pasta Wrap or whatever they call it.

18. SALMON!!

19. Nasi Lemak Cikgu.

20. Dan lain- lain.