In the late afternoon today, Nyai, 88 years old, fell, when she was trying to sit on the chair. We were all at Wak Jay's son, wedding, at the void deck. The back of her head must have been hit by the leg of the toppled chair and it was bleeding quite profusely. It became quite a scene, because there were some panic. The bridegroom called for an ambulance which took her to the hospital. I followed in my car.
I'm still thinking about what happened at the hospital.
It's not about Nyai, she's fine Alhamdulillah. The doctor gave her an injection, and stitched up the small cut, and she has since been discharged.
It was what we, Cik Alin, Kak Noor and I, saw at the A&E area, while waiting for Nyai to be treated.
A crying mother was being consoled by her relatives and then there was another family a distance away, also crying. We later found out from overhearing the discussions by the family and friends that a young man and a girl, had been involved in an accident. The girl's condition was very bad, she was unconcious when we saw her being wheeled away. The boy, didn't make it. He was only 23.
There were so many youngsters there, hanging around the A&E area, friends of the victims, I suppose . Of the many friends who were there, some appeared sad, some looked concerned, some were in discussion, probably about the accident, and there were some who looked like they were just in another normal gathering.
I wonder what's going through their minds. This afternoon they were just chatting and joking with him. This evening he is dead. When the time comes, we just go. There is no running away from it.
"Wherever you may be, death will overtake you - even though you be in towers raised high...."
An-Nisa 4:78
The friends looked sad. Yes, they lost a friend. But it's sadder and shuddering to imagine what would be his recompense after his death. Will he get good rewards? Or will the punishment of his Lord await him in his grave? There is NO MORE turning back. Whatever's done, will now be accounted for.
"Say: "The Angel of Death, put in charge of you, will (duly) take your souls: then shall ye be brought back to your Lord."
If only thou couldst see when the guilty ones will bend low their heads before their Lord, (saying:) "Our Lord! We have seen and we have heard: Now then send us back (to the world): we will work righteousness: for we do indeed (now) believe!"
As-Sajdah 32:11-12
Ya Ghaffar, don't make us and our children and our loved ones, be amongst those whose heads will be bent low, out of guilt and shame before you.
When the time has come for us, please let us die in Iman and in a state truly virtuous. Please forgive us, our many sins and save us from the punishments in our graves, and save us from Hellfire. Ameen.
Madame Blossom's Book of Poems
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Friday, May 26, 2006
Going on dutch
A few days before my colleague's last day at work, we went for lunch at Swensen's, to.. err.. celebrate?.. commemorate?.. or just have our 'last lunch' with her. We agreed to go on dutch. I was planning on not eating too much at Swensen's. I don't quite like the feeling of being too full. I thought I would just order Fries and Waffle with vanilla ice cream. Ok, that won't cost much.
However, when I was there, I felt some kind of 'internal mental pressure' to order a full meal. I wanted to avoid all the questions like 'why eat so little??'... 'you're ordering only THAT??', 'Aiyoh.. no wonder u're so small!' I was not in the mood to justify my lunch. I decided to go with the flow. Ordered a set lunch meal. Did my very best to finish it, up to the point where the mere thought of food makes me feel like puking. Then I hated myself for feeling too full.
When it was time to pay for the 'dutched' lunch, the payer divided the whole bill equally by (the number of people who attended, less the girl who resigned).
Hmm.... if I had ordered only fries and waffle - I would have been at the losing end. I'd still have to pay for someone's full meal.
Going on dutch. This term does not spell out the 'dutching' part clearly. How do you share the cost? Do you share it equally or do we pay for what we eat? If we are to follow our Islamic Mua'malat Rules - all terms and conditions must be clear to all parties - so as not to let anyone be at a losing end, unless he is CLEARLY aware of it and agrees to it.
So I started to mentally draft out... or now blogging, the furu' of Going on Dutch.
1. Going on Proportioned Dutch. (GPD)
This is where, the bill is shared in accordance to what the person ordered. The person would also still have to pay for the service charge and taxes that comes with the total bill. So the formula for each person would be.
(Cost of each person's meal/ Total Cost less taxes) * Total Costs with Taxes.
According to the ulama of 'Going on Dutch' (mua), - this type is most preferable.
2. Going on EQUAL Dutch. (GED)
This is where the whole bill, including taxes, will be divided equally amongst attendees, no matter who ordered what. So even if the person goes there to have a bowl of soup, he'd still have to pay part of someone's bigger meal, or more unfortunately a glutton's meal, if there were any in the group.
According to the ulama, this type is obviously not preferable.
3. Going on proportioned Dutch, less the person being treated for lunch by others. (GPD plus)
In this category the person will pay for his own meal, and the equally shared proportion of the treated person's meal, plus taxes.
The formula is a bit more complicated.
[(Cost of each person's meal + (cost of treated person's meal / (no. of pax - no. of treated person)) / Total Cost less taxes] * Total Costs with Taxes.
According to the ulama, - this type is 'harus' or allowed.
So there you have it.. Mua'malat on Going on Dutch. And if any of you ask me to go on dutch - kindly specify the furu'.
However, when I was there, I felt some kind of 'internal mental pressure' to order a full meal. I wanted to avoid all the questions like 'why eat so little??'... 'you're ordering only THAT??', 'Aiyoh.. no wonder u're so small!' I was not in the mood to justify my lunch. I decided to go with the flow. Ordered a set lunch meal. Did my very best to finish it, up to the point where the mere thought of food makes me feel like puking. Then I hated myself for feeling too full.
When it was time to pay for the 'dutched' lunch, the payer divided the whole bill equally by (the number of people who attended, less the girl who resigned).
Hmm.... if I had ordered only fries and waffle - I would have been at the losing end. I'd still have to pay for someone's full meal.
Going on dutch. This term does not spell out the 'dutching' part clearly. How do you share the cost? Do you share it equally or do we pay for what we eat? If we are to follow our Islamic Mua'malat Rules - all terms and conditions must be clear to all parties - so as not to let anyone be at a losing end, unless he is CLEARLY aware of it and agrees to it.
So I started to mentally draft out... or now blogging, the furu' of Going on Dutch.
1. Going on Proportioned Dutch. (GPD)
This is where, the bill is shared in accordance to what the person ordered. The person would also still have to pay for the service charge and taxes that comes with the total bill. So the formula for each person would be.
(Cost of each person's meal/ Total Cost less taxes) * Total Costs with Taxes.
According to the ulama of 'Going on Dutch' (mua), - this type is most preferable.
2. Going on EQUAL Dutch. (GED)
This is where the whole bill, including taxes, will be divided equally amongst attendees, no matter who ordered what. So even if the person goes there to have a bowl of soup, he'd still have to pay part of someone's bigger meal, or more unfortunately a glutton's meal, if there were any in the group.
According to the ulama, this type is obviously not preferable.
3. Going on proportioned Dutch, less the person being treated for lunch by others. (GPD plus)
In this category the person will pay for his own meal, and the equally shared proportion of the treated person's meal, plus taxes.
The formula is a bit more complicated.
[(Cost of each person's meal + (cost of treated person's meal / (no. of pax - no. of treated person)) / Total Cost less taxes] * Total Costs with Taxes.
According to the ulama, - this type is 'harus' or allowed.
So there you have it.. Mua'malat on Going on Dutch. And if any of you ask me to go on dutch - kindly specify the furu'.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Jerry Maguire on IT Projects
Sometimes I feel like Jerry Maguire when I go emailing my moral thoughts or sharing best practices with my colleagues and bosses. I used to do that once in a while, but now I've mellowed down A LOT, in fact I've totally stopped. I've decided to keep to myself, doing the work allocated to me, and not get involved in other discussions that I'm not put in charge of.
Answer only when being asked. Do only when being tasked.
I don't want to end up like Jerry Maguire. I'm not ready to lose my job and start my own business - although I would very much like to. Start a business, that is.
There is also another reason why I stopped. I realise it doesn't make a difference. If anyone really wants to improve, they would be going out of their way to find out how to and do it. They don't need to be pushed. But if it's just not in their heart to do so, you can send them to courses and seminars costing the company thousands of dollars and it still doesn't make a difference. It's the same whether you send them or you don't. Hmm this sounds familiar... yes.... teringat pulak satu ayat Quran..
As for the disbelievers, it is the same to them whether thou warn them or do not warn them; they will not believe.
Al Baqarah 2:6
Subhanallah, how it fits.
Well, back to the topic.. the reason why I thought of this matter, is.. I came across the following that I sent to my colleagues and our vendor, when we were starting a project .. (yup I'm still spring cleaning emails..). These are really good and real points to note on, for IT projects, and non IT projects. And in our project, we did all the 'don'ts' and ignored the 'dos'.
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=
Dear ppl,
I have recommended this book to some of you. The book is called "The Mythical Man-Month" by Frederick P Brooks.
I know at this time, nobody has the time to read books, or even have time to have a proper meal or sleep!! :( I've managed to find this compilation of 10 good messages you get out of the book which is so relevant to ANY IT projects.
It is more important to us now than ever. Some of the points may need you to read the book, in order to understand further - but you may also ask me personally - if I can still remember the details of that section.
But anyhow, let's keep up to what's expected of us and the schedules! Me included...
From Frederick P Brooks in "The Mythical Man-Month"
1. More software projects have gone awry for lack of calendar time than for all other causes combined.
2. Failure to allow enough time for system test, in particular, is peculiarly disastrous. Since the delay comes at the end of the schedule, no one is aware of schedule trouble until almost the delivery date.
3. Brook's Law: Adding manpower to a late software project makes it even later.
4. .. He found that his programming teams were missing schedules by about one-half each job was taking approximately twice as long as estimated. The estimating error could be entirely accounted for by the fact that his teams were only realizing about 50 percent of the working week as actual programming and debugging time. Machine downtime, higher-priority short unrelated jobs, meetings, paperwork, company business, sickness, personal time, etc. accounted for the rest.
5. The management question, therefore, is not whether to build a pilot system and throw it away. You will do that. The only question is whether to plan in advance to build a throwaway, or to promise to deliver the throwaway to the customers.
6. When one hears of disastrous schedule slippage in a project, he images that a series of major calamities must have befallen it. Usually, however, the disaster is due to termites, not tornadoes; and the schedule has slipped imperceptibly but inexorably. Indeed, major calamities are easier to handle; one responds with major force, radical reorganization, the invention of new approaches. The whole team rises to the occasion.
7. It is more important that milestones be sharp-edged and unambiguous than that they be easily verifiable by the boss. Rarely will a man lie about milestone progress, if the milestone is so sharp that he can't deceive himself. But if the milestone is fuzzy, the boss often understands a different report from that which the man gives. To supplement Sophocles, no one enjoys bearing bad news, either, so it gets softened without any real intent to deceive.
8. Sharper milestones are in fact a service to the team, and one they can properly expect from a manager. The fuzzy milestone is the harder burden to live with. It is in fact a millstone that grinds down morale, for it deceives one about lost time until it is irremediable. And chronic schedule slippage is a morale-killer.
9. The project manager's chief daily task is communication, not decision making; the documents communicate the plans and decisions to the whole team.
10. How does a project get to be a year late? One day at a time.
Enjoy the week ahead! =)
Answer only when being asked. Do only when being tasked.
I don't want to end up like Jerry Maguire. I'm not ready to lose my job and start my own business - although I would very much like to. Start a business, that is.
There is also another reason why I stopped. I realise it doesn't make a difference. If anyone really wants to improve, they would be going out of their way to find out how to and do it. They don't need to be pushed. But if it's just not in their heart to do so, you can send them to courses and seminars costing the company thousands of dollars and it still doesn't make a difference. It's the same whether you send them or you don't. Hmm this sounds familiar... yes.... teringat pulak satu ayat Quran..
As for the disbelievers, it is the same to them whether thou warn them or do not warn them; they will not believe.
Al Baqarah 2:6
Subhanallah, how it fits.
Well, back to the topic.. the reason why I thought of this matter, is.. I came across the following that I sent to my colleagues and our vendor, when we were starting a project .. (yup I'm still spring cleaning emails..). These are really good and real points to note on, for IT projects, and non IT projects. And in our project, we did all the 'don'ts' and ignored the 'dos'.
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=
Dear ppl,
I have recommended this book to some of you. The book is called "The Mythical Man-Month" by Frederick P Brooks.
I know at this time, nobody has the time to read books, or even have time to have a proper meal or sleep!! :( I've managed to find this compilation of 10 good messages you get out of the book which is so relevant to ANY IT projects.
It is more important to us now than ever. Some of the points may need you to read the book, in order to understand further - but you may also ask me personally - if I can still remember the details of that section.
But anyhow, let's keep up to what's expected of us and the schedules! Me included...
From Frederick P Brooks in "The Mythical Man-Month"
1. More software projects have gone awry for lack of calendar time than for all other causes combined.
2. Failure to allow enough time for system test, in particular, is peculiarly disastrous. Since the delay comes at the end of the schedule, no one is aware of schedule trouble until almost the delivery date.
3. Brook's Law: Adding manpower to a late software project makes it even later.
4. .. He found that his programming teams were missing schedules by about one-half each job was taking approximately twice as long as estimated. The estimating error could be entirely accounted for by the fact that his teams were only realizing about 50 percent of the working week as actual programming and debugging time. Machine downtime, higher-priority short unrelated jobs, meetings, paperwork, company business, sickness, personal time, etc. accounted for the rest.
5. The management question, therefore, is not whether to build a pilot system and throw it away. You will do that. The only question is whether to plan in advance to build a throwaway, or to promise to deliver the throwaway to the customers.
6. When one hears of disastrous schedule slippage in a project, he images that a series of major calamities must have befallen it. Usually, however, the disaster is due to termites, not tornadoes; and the schedule has slipped imperceptibly but inexorably. Indeed, major calamities are easier to handle; one responds with major force, radical reorganization, the invention of new approaches. The whole team rises to the occasion.
7. It is more important that milestones be sharp-edged and unambiguous than that they be easily verifiable by the boss. Rarely will a man lie about milestone progress, if the milestone is so sharp that he can't deceive himself. But if the milestone is fuzzy, the boss often understands a different report from that which the man gives. To supplement Sophocles, no one enjoys bearing bad news, either, so it gets softened without any real intent to deceive.
8. Sharper milestones are in fact a service to the team, and one they can properly expect from a manager. The fuzzy milestone is the harder burden to live with. It is in fact a millstone that grinds down morale, for it deceives one about lost time until it is irremediable. And chronic schedule slippage is a morale-killer.
9. The project manager's chief daily task is communication, not decision making; the documents communicate the plans and decisions to the whole team.
10. How does a project get to be a year late? One day at a time.
Enjoy the week ahead! =)
Saturday, May 20, 2006
It's over..
I still cannot get over my selengehness!!! I don't know WHAAAATTT I was thinking! No doubt this paper is the most challenging. But still, no reason to be all clumsy about it! Paper ni suruh buat 4 out of 5 sections, aku buat 3. And this paper is from the same very-nice ustaz soberi whose paper last year pun I did a similarly selengeh thing - but selengeh yang tak memudharatkan myself like this time .. last year it's do 3 out of 4, and I was happily doing the paper, forgot about the instructions and did all 4 sections. Tu da over confident sangat.
And this year.. out of the 2 balance questions that I DIDN'T choose to do.. one of them I'm sure I could have got half the answers correct!! and that equals to at least 5 precious marks!!! I didn't realise my selengehness until we discussed the questions right after we handed in the paper when time was up. Man! I felt like running to the front to get my paper back and scribble the answers....for a moment there I felt like Mr Bean.
AAAARRRRGGHHHHHHHHHH!
*deep breath*
But now, it's over. I think maybe.. just MAYBE, I can at least pass the paper. I hope.
Pink, Teddie, Baby Nur, Mariam, Titah, Wardah and me, we made our resolutions to start revising and study our subjects early in the next semester, and not wait for the last minute to sumbat everything into our brains. Well actually, we make this same exact resolution after every mid and final semester exams. Okay but this time we must ACTUALLY DO IT.
.......ok!............ do it......... yes.
ANYWAY - Alhamdulillah, this semester is OVER and I guess I did generally ok. Now, I can read other books without feeling the guilt of not reading my course materials instead. The feeling is great.. and if not for my selengehness, the feeling would have been better.
And this year.. out of the 2 balance questions that I DIDN'T choose to do.. one of them I'm sure I could have got half the answers correct!! and that equals to at least 5 precious marks!!! I didn't realise my selengehness until we discussed the questions right after we handed in the paper when time was up. Man! I felt like running to the front to get my paper back and scribble the answers....for a moment there I felt like Mr Bean.
AAAARRRRGGHHHHHHHHHH!
*deep breath*
But now, it's over. I think maybe.. just MAYBE, I can at least pass the paper. I hope.
Pink, Teddie, Baby Nur, Mariam, Titah, Wardah and me, we made our resolutions to start revising and study our subjects early in the next semester, and not wait for the last minute to sumbat everything into our brains. Well actually, we make this same exact resolution after every mid and final semester exams. Okay but this time we must ACTUALLY DO IT.
.......ok!............ do it......... yes.
ANYWAY - Alhamdulillah, this semester is OVER and I guess I did generally ok. Now, I can read other books without feeling the guilt of not reading my course materials instead. The feeling is great.. and if not for my selengehness, the feeling would have been better.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Authenticity
I was springcleaning my email at work, deleting old emails, which were suppose to be deleted a year ago, when I came across the following email, (names and message have been changed to protect the identity of the person(s), so as not to break any of my company's ISM - Internal Security Management rule.)
"Dear Peter,
Doris say, Harry say, Michelle say that Mr John Doe will have the cake and eat it too. "
You see.. this is what we refer to as 'chain of narrators' when we talk about hadith. It's non existent nowadays, except for what I found in the above email. Even then, it was laughed upon when my colleagues read it, if I remember correctly.
But they don't realise, that it can help verify the content of the message. The person, listed in that chain of narrators, will surely correct the content, if they find that the final narrator, have actually misunderstood his/her original message.
In the above email, the 2nd and 3rd narrators (i.e. Doris and Harry) were being copied in the email. Now even though Michelle was not in the CC copy, Harry, who would be reading this email, if he was really working, would be ensuring that he is being quoted correctly, especially when it is quoted that he quoted someone else.
Ensuring authenticity is an important task, that is not deemed as important or perhaps always overlooked, in the current westernised world. We don't have standard work flows ensuring authenticity.
Yup, I'm still very much amazed by the authenticity and how and how much Muslims do, to ensure it in our religion, Islam.
Al Quran is authenticated, as Allah SWT promised. Many a great Muslims memorise the Quran and any mistakes in print is always spotted.
Lo! We, even We, reveal the Reminder, and lo! We verily are its Guardian.
Al Hijr 15 : 9
As for hadiths, previous scholars have helped us do so (as I mentioned before), by studying the narrations and the narrators, and making classifications of those authentic, not very authentic and false ones. Read more about the Science of Hadith >>
Sohih Bukhari is said to be the most authentic book, after Al Quran. Imam Bukhari, sacrificed and worked very very hard in his lifetime in his effort to consolidate only authentic hadiths. ('work very hard' NOT in modern day context, where walking up 2 flights of stairs is considered hard work!) And it is said that before each single hadith is added into his collection of hadith sohih, he would do the 2 rakaat prayers, asking for guidance from Allah SWT. May Allah bless him and reward him for the tremendous effort.
SO, after all these, how can any of us, still doubt or not feel strongly about the truthfulness and greatness of our religion??
"Dear Peter,
Doris say, Harry say, Michelle say that Mr John Doe will have the cake and eat it too. "
You see.. this is what we refer to as 'chain of narrators' when we talk about hadith. It's non existent nowadays, except for what I found in the above email. Even then, it was laughed upon when my colleagues read it, if I remember correctly.
But they don't realise, that it can help verify the content of the message. The person, listed in that chain of narrators, will surely correct the content, if they find that the final narrator, have actually misunderstood his/her original message.
In the above email, the 2nd and 3rd narrators (i.e. Doris and Harry) were being copied in the email. Now even though Michelle was not in the CC copy, Harry, who would be reading this email, if he was really working, would be ensuring that he is being quoted correctly, especially when it is quoted that he quoted someone else.
Ensuring authenticity is an important task, that is not deemed as important or perhaps always overlooked, in the current westernised world. We don't have standard work flows ensuring authenticity.
Yup, I'm still very much amazed by the authenticity and how and how much Muslims do, to ensure it in our religion, Islam.
Al Quran is authenticated, as Allah SWT promised. Many a great Muslims memorise the Quran and any mistakes in print is always spotted.
Lo! We, even We, reveal the Reminder, and lo! We verily are its Guardian.
Al Hijr 15 : 9
As for hadiths, previous scholars have helped us do so (as I mentioned before), by studying the narrations and the narrators, and making classifications of those authentic, not very authentic and false ones. Read more about the Science of Hadith >>
Sohih Bukhari is said to be the most authentic book, after Al Quran. Imam Bukhari, sacrificed and worked very very hard in his lifetime in his effort to consolidate only authentic hadiths. ('work very hard' NOT in modern day context, where walking up 2 flights of stairs is considered hard work!) And it is said that before each single hadith is added into his collection of hadith sohih, he would do the 2 rakaat prayers, asking for guidance from Allah SWT. May Allah bless him and reward him for the tremendous effort.
SO, after all these, how can any of us, still doubt or not feel strongly about the truthfulness and greatness of our religion??
Allahu'alam.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Nadhrah turns 4!! (today)
Yesterday, we celebrated Nadhrah's 4th birthday and Cik Yah's (Cik Yah is much older than 4). The few weeks before, Uda kept thinking it was going to be her 5th birthday!? His own daughter?! But then again, it's probably because she's very smart, she reasons like a big girl - it's hard to believe she was 3 - ANYWAY now she's 4.
She has been looking forward to her birthday party since the start of this year. She has even decided on the cake she wanted since many months ago, and was adamant on it. That is until the last minute, AFTER we ordered the cake. Then she wanted Mama's Strawberry Shortcake cake. (Mama is not me.. I wish it's me, but errr.. I don't bake cakes, in fact I generally don't bake.) And so we ended up with 2 birthday cakes.
Cik Alin a.k.a. 'Mama' to the children, is a jolly good baker..
breaks into a song : For she's a jolly good baker 3x, and so say all of us!.
She has been baking all the birthday cakes for the family's birthday celebrations. Oh, and mother's day too. It's good to have someone in the family who actually bakes. :)
Thanks Cik Alin - we love you!
As usual there were loads of fun and food, and the food bungkusing session at the end. But poor baby Rushda and Ummul Rushda, had to leave early, to fix her dislocated elbow. Yup, the baby dislocated her elbow, and NO, we we were not having any WWF-kind-of-games for the kids. At press time, Rushda's elbow has already been fixed, Alhamdulillah, and she can carry baby weights now.
Pictures tell a better story, so here are some pics on Nadhrah's birthday >>
And by the way, in case you're concerned, last Saturday's exam papers were not too bad. Although there was one known silly mistake I made...... Aarrrgghhh!!!. But ok, it's over and done with. Don't know if the colours will fly.. but they'll be there, InsyaAllah.
And...while writing about the dislocated elbow , I'm suddenly reminded of a conversation I had with my girlfriends about 'simpul biawak' (cramps).
Somebody ( I forgot who it was..) was telling us, she had simpul biawak, and couldn't walk properly (I think she said something to that effect..). We asked her which leg. She said that it's not on her leg, but on one of her toes. MasyaAllah, a simpul biawak on a toe.
Mai exclaimed," alahai, cute nyer! "
Memang cute, I never knew someone could get simpul biawak on a toe.
She has been looking forward to her birthday party since the start of this year. She has even decided on the cake she wanted since many months ago, and was adamant on it. That is until the last minute, AFTER we ordered the cake. Then she wanted Mama's Strawberry Shortcake cake. (Mama is not me.. I wish it's me, but errr.. I don't bake cakes, in fact I generally don't bake.) And so we ended up with 2 birthday cakes.
Cik Alin a.k.a. 'Mama' to the children, is a jolly good baker..
breaks into a song : For she's a jolly good baker 3x, and so say all of us!.
She has been baking all the birthday cakes for the family's birthday celebrations. Oh, and mother's day too. It's good to have someone in the family who actually bakes. :)
Thanks Cik Alin - we love you!
As usual there were loads of fun and food, and the food bungkusing session at the end. But poor baby Rushda and Ummul Rushda, had to leave early, to fix her dislocated elbow. Yup, the baby dislocated her elbow, and NO, we we were not having any WWF-kind-of-games for the kids. At press time, Rushda's elbow has already been fixed, Alhamdulillah, and she can carry baby weights now.
Pictures tell a better story, so here are some pics on Nadhrah's birthday >>
And by the way, in case you're concerned, last Saturday's exam papers were not too bad. Although there was one known silly mistake I made...... Aarrrgghhh!!!. But ok, it's over and done with. Don't know if the colours will fly.. but they'll be there, InsyaAllah.
And...while writing about the dislocated elbow , I'm suddenly reminded of a conversation I had with my girlfriends about 'simpul biawak' (cramps).
Somebody ( I forgot who it was..) was telling us, she had simpul biawak, and couldn't walk properly (I think she said something to that effect..). We asked her which leg. She said that it's not on her leg, but on one of her toes. MasyaAllah, a simpul biawak on a toe.
Mai exclaimed," alahai, cute nyer! "
Memang cute, I never knew someone could get simpul biawak on a toe.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Peradaban sms
You sms your close friend : "Hi! You know what? I bought myself an interesting book! Show it to you later. Want to meet at 12pm, Starbucks?"
After about 1-2 mins or so, you hear your phone playing the silly song, alerting you that you have an incoming msg. You smile. There is a little bit of joy and satisfaction when someone replies to your sms fast. You open the sms from the friend.
It says..................... " k.."
'k'?.......hmm.... 'k'?.........'k'?!?!
No...no..no... You DON'T reply to a msg with a mere "k"!
It makes the sender feel that all the hard effort typing on that small keypad, and time spent on searching for the letters, to send you that sincere, hopeful msg, is unappreciated and that the you don't care much.
You can sometimes tell, how the sender is, just by how they reply and 'k' doesn't tell much. It's not even really the word for ok.. which is already short form for 'okay'. " k".. could also very well mean .. "kodok" or "keledek!" ... kaza wa kaza
Here is one of the unwritten rules about peradaban sms, according to mua:
If a person smses you with a one sentence question - it's ok to give a one word reply (word, mind you..). But if the person has taken the pains to write 2 full sentences.. the least you could do is to reply with 2 words, e.g. 'OK so-and-so!' If the person writes three sentences.. you could reply with a 3 word reply e.g. 'OK sure so-and-so!' For 4 sentences onwards.. it's ok, to give a sensible reply with at least 3-4 words at the minimum.
After about 1-2 mins or so, you hear your phone playing the silly song, alerting you that you have an incoming msg. You smile. There is a little bit of joy and satisfaction when someone replies to your sms fast. You open the sms from the friend.
It says..................... " k.."
'k'?.......hmm.... 'k'?.........'k'?!?!
No...no..no... You DON'T reply to a msg with a mere "k"!
It makes the sender feel that all the hard effort typing on that small keypad, and time spent on searching for the letters, to send you that sincere, hopeful msg, is unappreciated and that the you don't care much.
You can sometimes tell, how the sender is, just by how they reply and 'k' doesn't tell much. It's not even really the word for ok.. which is already short form for 'okay'. " k".. could also very well mean .. "kodok" or "keledek!" ... kaza wa kaza
Here is one of the unwritten rules about peradaban sms, according to mua:
If a person smses you with a one sentence question - it's ok to give a one word reply (word, mind you..). But if the person has taken the pains to write 2 full sentences.. the least you could do is to reply with 2 words, e.g. 'OK so-and-so!' If the person writes three sentences.. you could reply with a 3 word reply e.g. 'OK sure so-and-so!' For 4 sentences onwards.. it's ok, to give a sensible reply with at least 3-4 words at the minimum.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Hectic! & Mother's Day celebration
i'm glad to be on my bed now, alhamdulillah. It has been hectic, the last 4 days. Here's a rundown..
Thursday - after work rushed to Arab st to get some books at Muslimedia, met Maimunah, had dinner. Then 830pm or so, went home, get my girls and went to Fazilah's place to inai her.. Went home at about 12 midnight - gedebak gedebuk, I slept at 2am.
Friday - couldn't get up for work in the morning. Was very late for work. After work, last minute plan to pass book to Pink, had quick dinner. Went home, to meet the family, already waiting in his car. My ZH was frustrated. I was 26 mins late according to him. Actually I thought I was 15 mins late. But anyway.. then off to the mosque for our weekly classes. Then back from mosque - 1045pm, had to go back to Fazilah's place to touch up her inai. Hanaa & Nadhrah was still up! and wanted to follow.. so we all went, and got back home about 1 am.
Saturday - Got up late to catch up with a bit of rest. Fazilah's nikah was suppose to be at 12pm. I left at just after 11, and reached there 1130am. Oops the whole bridegroom troop and the kadi was already there! Had to pass through the guests AND THE BRIDEGROOM to get into the room. "I thought it's 12pm???!!!" "Yeah!! it was suppose to be! They are early!".. oh well ok. (some candid pics here..) Stayed with her and Elena and Mariani while waiting for Uda to come. Uda came about 145pm, we sat to have lunch.. then 230pm.. off to Al Khair to fetch the Hadi & Hanaa who was there since morning/late morning respectively.. There was a talk going on - on parents and youth communication. Stayed on to listen. Went home before Asar, because Bro & dearest Sis in law were coming over to our house to chill out.
Sunday - Faris' birthday at rumah Cik Anis. Left after zohor - went to get Faris a present and reached Cik Anis' place at 2.30pm. Rupanya, it's also Cik Anis' and Yati's birthday, but we only got one present. But anyway.. there was also another celebration rupanya.. Mother's Day celebration! And Cik Alin who is an expert with cakes already, made both the birthday cake and Mother's day's cake. I like the Mother's Day cake! The flowers on the cake are all edible tau!
Then baca doa sikit, potong cake.. bbq, berbual.. buat kelakar.. kaza wa kaza.. . All the children enjoyed themselves.. running here and there.. and the younger girls, they had their own chit chat session in the girls room.. hehe.. so cute..
..nanti Rushda da besar sikit can join the club!.
Then finally, after all the usual food bungkusing that happens after every gathering as such, we left about 8pm.
Now, I'm burned out.. and tomorrow I have to work!!! How I wish I can just stay at home.
Thursday - after work rushed to Arab st to get some books at Muslimedia, met Maimunah, had dinner. Then 830pm or so, went home, get my girls and went to Fazilah's place to inai her.. Went home at about 12 midnight - gedebak gedebuk, I slept at 2am.
Friday - couldn't get up for work in the morning. Was very late for work. After work, last minute plan to pass book to Pink, had quick dinner. Went home, to meet the family, already waiting in his car. My ZH was frustrated. I was 26 mins late according to him. Actually I thought I was 15 mins late. But anyway.. then off to the mosque for our weekly classes. Then back from mosque - 1045pm, had to go back to Fazilah's place to touch up her inai. Hanaa & Nadhrah was still up! and wanted to follow.. so we all went, and got back home about 1 am.
Saturday - Got up late to catch up with a bit of rest. Fazilah's nikah was suppose to be at 12pm. I left at just after 11, and reached there 1130am. Oops the whole bridegroom troop and the kadi was already there! Had to pass through the guests AND THE BRIDEGROOM to get into the room. "I thought it's 12pm???!!!" "Yeah!! it was suppose to be! They are early!".. oh well ok. (some candid pics here..) Stayed with her and Elena and Mariani while waiting for Uda to come. Uda came about 145pm, we sat to have lunch.. then 230pm.. off to Al Khair to fetch the Hadi & Hanaa who was there since morning/late morning respectively.. There was a talk going on - on parents and youth communication. Stayed on to listen. Went home before Asar, because Bro & dearest Sis in law were coming over to our house to chill out.
Sunday - Faris' birthday at rumah Cik Anis. Left after zohor - went to get Faris a present and reached Cik Anis' place at 2.30pm. Rupanya, it's also Cik Anis' and Yati's birthday, but we only got one present. But anyway.. there was also another celebration rupanya.. Mother's Day celebration! And Cik Alin who is an expert with cakes already, made both the birthday cake and Mother's day's cake. I like the Mother's Day cake! The flowers on the cake are all edible tau!
Then baca doa sikit, potong cake.. bbq, berbual.. buat kelakar.. kaza wa kaza.. . All the children enjoyed themselves.. running here and there.. and the younger girls, they had their own chit chat session in the girls room.. hehe.. so cute..
..nanti Rushda da besar sikit can join the club!.
Then finally, after all the usual food bungkusing that happens after every gathering as such, we left about 8pm.
Now, I'm burned out.. and tomorrow I have to work!!! How I wish I can just stay at home.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Guess where this is..
You'd have to walk, not just looking ahead.. but looking around above you, while still avoiding tripping over something on the road, to notice it..
I've been there a few times, but this is the first time I see it.. =D
I've been there a few times, but this is the first time I see it.. =D
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Dishonesty
The smallest dishonesty - is still a dishonesty.
Dishonesty, seems to be the standard operating procedure in most companies nowadays. Most sales tactics are developed not on providing the most honest service and required products, but on making impressions, in order to gain more money.
Advertisements - eeesshh.. jangan cakap ah.. 99.9% of them blatantly misleading people into thinking that their product will make u slim, will make u pretty, will make u cool, is required, is popular, is effective, is chic, is value for money, is the 'in' thing... is .. is.. is.. NOT.
Basically they just want your money - they want you to buy the useless product they have made costing $5 per piece - then when you BELIEVE that it's coolest - you pay $100 for it. Aren't you sooo clever?
Sadly these companies are targeting the younger ones this way.. They are sooo weak and don't have a strong personality or proper judgement. Just keep playing that idea to them in advertisments, on billboards, radio, tv, internet.. and the kids start to believe it and fall for it.
Another dishonest sales tactic is pricing a product at $199, or $1.99 etc.. think - isn't it a dishonest motive to 'trick' people into believing that they are buying something for about $100 plus or $1 plus, rather than $200 or $2? If you look at sales books talking about this concept - that is exactly their motive. The one that's priced with something.99 cents tu.. dah lah trick.. menyusahkan pulak tu nak kena simpan all the 1 cent coins.
Oh and BANKS! I hate those bank people who calls you to offer a better life with CREDIT CARDS!! Have you heard their adverstisements?? Giving impression of people having the means to buy anything they want - like they are so rich! Encouraging people to BERHUTANG! - the way banks make money is really another issue on it's own. I'm reading Theft of the Nation now - I'll tell you about it when I'm done. InsyaAllah.
An honest bank offering credit cards advert would read:
Make use of our credit cards to enjoy free gifts when you charge to your card. If you are not able to pay for your purchases in the same month, then we are happy to charge you spiralling interests - which makes the cost of the things that you buy even more expensive. Notice that we inform you 'minimum payment' in our statements, yeah, we don't mind you making only the minimum payment, so that you can keep owing us lots of money which enables us earn from the interest we collect from you while you still owe us the principals. Work your butt off for us. Apply for one now!
MasyaAllah, the world is spiralling into quite a sick place to live in, if you don't have faith in Allah SWT and in the Hereafter. Kalau ikutkan hati memang rasanya nak lari pergi tinggal kat pulau.. where people live simply.. have food to eat, have a shelter, have love, family and friends for entertainment. Yes alhamdulillah, most of the time, I can refrain myself from falling into their trap - but it saddens me to see others, so blinded.
Then think about this super rich people behind these companies - they already have enough money, bukan kata to live, but to splurge for the rest of their sick lives.. but are they now letting others have the chance to earn some wealth - OH NO.. they want to gather MORE, and for what? Do they not think that they'll die soon? InsyaAllah, in just a hundred years from now, everyone who is alive this moment, reading this very blog, will be DEAD by then.
And then..
And whoso doeth good an atom's weight will see it then
And whoso doeth ill an atom's weight will see it then.
Al Zalzalah 99 : 7~8
Woe to those that deal in fraud
Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact full measure,
But when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due.
Do they not think that they will be called to account?-
On a Mighty Day
A Day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the Worlds?
Nay! Surely the record of the wicked is (preserved) in Sijjin.
Al Mutaffifin 83 : 1~ 7
Nauzubillah!
Dishonesty, seems to be the standard operating procedure in most companies nowadays. Most sales tactics are developed not on providing the most honest service and required products, but on making impressions, in order to gain more money.
Advertisements - eeesshh.. jangan cakap ah.. 99.9% of them blatantly misleading people into thinking that their product will make u slim, will make u pretty, will make u cool, is required, is popular, is effective, is chic, is value for money, is the 'in' thing... is .. is.. is.. NOT.
Basically they just want your money - they want you to buy the useless product they have made costing $5 per piece - then when you BELIEVE that it's coolest - you pay $100 for it. Aren't you sooo clever?
Sadly these companies are targeting the younger ones this way.. They are sooo weak and don't have a strong personality or proper judgement. Just keep playing that idea to them in advertisments, on billboards, radio, tv, internet.. and the kids start to believe it and fall for it.
Another dishonest sales tactic is pricing a product at $199, or $1.99 etc.. think - isn't it a dishonest motive to 'trick' people into believing that they are buying something for about $100 plus or $1 plus, rather than $200 or $2? If you look at sales books talking about this concept - that is exactly their motive. The one that's priced with something.99 cents tu.. dah lah trick.. menyusahkan pulak tu nak kena simpan all the 1 cent coins.
Oh and BANKS! I hate those bank people who calls you to offer a better life with CREDIT CARDS!! Have you heard their adverstisements?? Giving impression of people having the means to buy anything they want - like they are so rich! Encouraging people to BERHUTANG! - the way banks make money is really another issue on it's own. I'm reading Theft of the Nation now - I'll tell you about it when I'm done. InsyaAllah.
An honest bank offering credit cards advert would read:
Make use of our credit cards to enjoy free gifts when you charge to your card. If you are not able to pay for your purchases in the same month, then we are happy to charge you spiralling interests - which makes the cost of the things that you buy even more expensive. Notice that we inform you 'minimum payment' in our statements, yeah, we don't mind you making only the minimum payment, so that you can keep owing us lots of money which enables us earn from the interest we collect from you while you still owe us the principals. Work your butt off for us. Apply for one now!
MasyaAllah, the world is spiralling into quite a sick place to live in, if you don't have faith in Allah SWT and in the Hereafter. Kalau ikutkan hati memang rasanya nak lari pergi tinggal kat pulau.. where people live simply.. have food to eat, have a shelter, have love, family and friends for entertainment. Yes alhamdulillah, most of the time, I can refrain myself from falling into their trap - but it saddens me to see others, so blinded.
Then think about this super rich people behind these companies - they already have enough money, bukan kata to live, but to splurge for the rest of their sick lives.. but are they now letting others have the chance to earn some wealth - OH NO.. they want to gather MORE, and for what? Do they not think that they'll die soon? InsyaAllah, in just a hundred years from now, everyone who is alive this moment, reading this very blog, will be DEAD by then.
And then..
And whoso doeth good an atom's weight will see it then
And whoso doeth ill an atom's weight will see it then.
Al Zalzalah 99 : 7~8
Woe to those that deal in fraud
Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact full measure,
But when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due.
Do they not think that they will be called to account?-
On a Mighty Day
A Day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the Worlds?
Nay! Surely the record of the wicked is (preserved) in Sijjin.
Al Mutaffifin 83 : 1~ 7
Nauzubillah!
Monday, May 01, 2006
Like mother like son
7629 X 38. He exclaims at the paper, " What?! Are u crazy?! This will take me a whole minute! Arrrgghhh!" And starts shooting paper bullets.
Oh man... my son is like me! He talks nonsense and laughs easily when he is stressed! He has 2-3 stacks of homework to do and here he is jabbering rubbish.. and laughing at his own silly jokes. (these symptoms appear, when we're too bored, too stressed, too hungry, too full, too free)
But he (and I) have to learn, to snap out of it.. and start! Like how I have to start studying for my DPI exams too, instead of updating this blog!
Oh man... my son is like me! He talks nonsense and laughs easily when he is stressed! He has 2-3 stacks of homework to do and here he is jabbering rubbish.. and laughing at his own silly jokes. (these symptoms appear, when we're too bored, too stressed, too hungry, too full, too free)
But he (and I) have to learn, to snap out of it.. and start! Like how I have to start studying for my DPI exams too, instead of updating this blog!
Car's looking good
Kesian.....
..this purple bug of mine, has gone on 3 weeks without being washed. The first 2 weeks, I was always rushing to get somewhere or get home, and there was no place with manual carwash that was along my way. By the time it got to last week, I was broke pulak..
It was then that I decided, I should wash the car myself. Afterall, there were numerous occasions at the carwash, when I felt like getting out of the car to wash the car myself - when they didn't wash the parts yang kat bawah-bawah or yang terselit..
So today, the first thing I bought with this month's paycheck, was those big sponges and a bottle of car shampoo. I was standing there at the shop for like 10 minutes, deciding which shampoo to buy. Hmm.. they don't have any with conditioner. Finally took one which allows me to use on all parts of the car. (there was one which advises against using it on windscreens - ala leceh!).
Uda is not home today, so to entertain the children, I let them help wash the car. They were so looking forward to it. After Asr, Hadi, Hanaa, Nadhrah and mua, equipped with a bucket, the sponges, a towel and the shampoo without conditioner, went down to the carpark to begin our task. (Eema didn't go - she decided that she was not born to do hard work.)
At the wash bay, at the carpark, there is a water dispenser. With 20 cents you get 30 secs of gushing water.. I should bring a bigger bucket next time.
In just 5 minutes, the children were already half wet.. it was expected. By the time I was done with the car, they were soaking wet.
But I must say, alhamdulillah, I think I did a pretty good job. Puas hati lah... cuci sendiri. Save $6. (excluded from this cost 'saved' is the cost of the shampoo and sponges that can be used again next time) Only, I don't know if I'd have the mood to do it every week. Nevermind that lah.. see how.
I remembered rose petals on the bed, while I was at Mama Yusof's housewarming. I've seen that a few times. It got me thinking.. perhaps the next time I wash the car, I could do it dengan air bunga. Maybe the last rinse tu.. letak some rose petals or even cut daun pandan.
Merapek? Oklah... tak.
Anyway, the car's looking good tonight.
[Today in history : *Sleeping Beauty* & *Prince Charming* had their first argument this evening.. err meaning yesterday evening (30/4/2006). Prince Charming was not aware of how strongly Sleeping Beauty would pertahankan her freedom. Today he got that idea.
Anyway, my nasihat for u adik2 out there, jodoh dah ditentukan pun, your destiny has been set since the day you were born. So, tak payah nak gaduh2 about small matters like this.
Ada hikmah disebaliknya.. insyaAllah.
May Allah SWT guide us all. Ameen]
..this purple bug of mine, has gone on 3 weeks without being washed. The first 2 weeks, I was always rushing to get somewhere or get home, and there was no place with manual carwash that was along my way. By the time it got to last week, I was broke pulak..
It was then that I decided, I should wash the car myself. Afterall, there were numerous occasions at the carwash, when I felt like getting out of the car to wash the car myself - when they didn't wash the parts yang kat bawah-bawah or yang terselit..
So today, the first thing I bought with this month's paycheck, was those big sponges and a bottle of car shampoo. I was standing there at the shop for like 10 minutes, deciding which shampoo to buy. Hmm.. they don't have any with conditioner. Finally took one which allows me to use on all parts of the car. (there was one which advises against using it on windscreens - ala leceh!).
Uda is not home today, so to entertain the children, I let them help wash the car. They were so looking forward to it. After Asr, Hadi, Hanaa, Nadhrah and mua, equipped with a bucket, the sponges, a towel and the shampoo without conditioner, went down to the carpark to begin our task. (Eema didn't go - she decided that she was not born to do hard work.)
At the wash bay, at the carpark, there is a water dispenser. With 20 cents you get 30 secs of gushing water.. I should bring a bigger bucket next time.
In just 5 minutes, the children were already half wet.. it was expected. By the time I was done with the car, they were soaking wet.
But I must say, alhamdulillah, I think I did a pretty good job. Puas hati lah... cuci sendiri. Save $6. (excluded from this cost 'saved' is the cost of the shampoo and sponges that can be used again next time) Only, I don't know if I'd have the mood to do it every week. Nevermind that lah.. see how.
I remembered rose petals on the bed, while I was at Mama Yusof's housewarming. I've seen that a few times. It got me thinking.. perhaps the next time I wash the car, I could do it dengan air bunga. Maybe the last rinse tu.. letak some rose petals or even cut daun pandan.
Merapek? Oklah... tak.
Anyway, the car's looking good tonight.
[Today in history : *Sleeping Beauty* & *Prince Charming* had their first argument this evening.. err meaning yesterday evening (30/4/2006). Prince Charming was not aware of how strongly Sleeping Beauty would pertahankan her freedom. Today he got that idea.
Anyway, my nasihat for u adik2 out there, jodoh dah ditentukan pun, your destiny has been set since the day you were born. So, tak payah nak gaduh2 about small matters like this.
Ada hikmah disebaliknya.. insyaAllah.
May Allah SWT guide us all. Ameen]
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