25th Anniversary Charity Dinner was a SUCCESS!

What a day it has been for all of us here in En-Naeem Mosque when our MEGA project of the year hit a huge success with people congratulating and giving positive comments abt the whole event. It takes loads of hardwork, perseverence, determination, patience to organise such an event. It is indeed a challenge for me having to plan everything which includes marketing, publicity, hunting for sponsorships, meetings after meetings, its administration... etc etc. However, i must admit that i wont be able to do all this alone. I shall mention their name later.

Before the dinner starts @ 8pm, all of us were busy with rehearsals,
sound checks, mic checks, lighting checks, all check, then we can
play around not much, just a little.

The 2 man that made everything possible, Encik Mutaliff and Me.
(we worked hard for this) The Venus Ballroom

En-Naeem Mosque was chosen by MUIS to be the centre for Muslim Thinkers in year 2007. Lots of things has taken place in the mosque to further educate and creating awareness among public of the great inventions and discoveries that our fellow muslim thinkers had achieved thousand of years before, during the time when europeans historian called it as the 'Dark Ages'. So during last Sunday's 25th Anniversary Charity Dinner, we launched our Muslim Thinkers products and introduce to nearly 500 guest what's Muslim Thinkers is all about.

Mum, Dad and Sis came to show their support.

Muhammad, E.Mutaliff, E.Ismail and Ridzuan

As you can see, this project is a huge project, with huge hopes, with huge budget, with huge objectives, simply said, everything abt this project is HUGE! that includes me too. heheheh. The charity project went well, with performances from Bukit Panjang Government High School, Alias Kadir, Suhaimi Yusoff, Zubir Abdullah and the wonderful En-Naeem Mosque corporate video done by Jannah Entertaiment sure leave a smile on everyone who came that evening. Our G.O.H was Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs & Mayor Northeast CDC, distinguished guest from MUIS, Kovan CC and all previous chairmans of the mosque.

Not forgetting my performance with Mr Zubir Abdullah singing "Teman". It was a great honour for me to be able to sing with a professional singer like him on stage. Thanks to everyone for their support. hehehehhe, sweating all over...... The song which means "Friends" was a tribute to all those who had left us all who had shown their commitment, sacrifice and many things that they had done for the benefit of the community and the mosque. May Allah bless their souls.... Al-Fateha........

Zubir Abdullah and me on stage singing "Teman"

Lastly, i would like to extend my sincere thanks to these people who has made all this possible. They are, Mr Mutaliff, Mr Ismail, Mr Anis, Ust Muhamad, Ust Qusairy, Ustz Zuwainah, Bro Ramdan, Bro Anwar, Bro Rahim, Bro Syafiq, Ustz Rayyan, Ustz Sakinah, Teacher Suhana, Teacher Sanifah, Ustz Karmilah, Ustz Sulastri, Kak Maria, Cik Sapiah, every MMB, staff and volunteers of En-Naeem Mosque, May Allah bless us all. Let us all continue our support for En-Naeem Mosque, Ameen.

*To that special person, thank you for being there for me, motivating me and giving me the strength all this while. May Allah keep us under His Love, Care and Concern always.

UnderWater World trip

Muhammad, Ameera, Hisham, Nadira, Hajar and myself went for trip to Sentosa Island and headed towards the Underwater World. All of us met up at the Harbourfront MRT control station at 10am before going up to VivoCity level 3 to buy tickets for the monorail to Sentosa Island.

Hisham, Muhammad and myself have known each other for 2 years already when all of us were working together in En-Naeem Mosque. Muhammad is the Islamic Thinkers Programme Excutive, Hisham the Youth Development officer and me, the Operations Manager. It was a memorable, fun and exiting period for us getting to work together as a project team. Hisham left the mosque this year September for another mosque. Muhammad will soon leave the mosque too for a job position in MFA. Best of luck my dear friends in your future endeavours. For sure, we'll meet again.

So the 6 of us had our breakfast in Delifrance, before entering the UnderWater World. We had so much fun together, camwhoring, having fun at the touch pool, learning, viewing, laughing and teasing one another. After 2 hours, we headed towards the Dolphin Lagoon to see the lovely dolphin show. We headed back to mainland, had our Zuhur prayers @ Temenggong Mosque, Hisham and Nadira went back earlier, Muhammad, Ameera, Hajar and me went to had our lunch @ Secrets Recipe before going home sweet home.

Thanks everyone for the trip. Well, like Hisham was suggesting, lets have another trip before Muhammad and Ameera leave Riyadh next year March. Picnic maybe?????

I'm now 26 :)

Hi everyone.... How's everyone been doing? Good? Well guys, on 12th November 2008, i've celebrated my 26th birthday and my age now is 26 years old. Wow, time really flies fast nowadays. Most of my best buddies are already married. hehehehe.

Btw, there's nothing much i wanna say abt my birthday, thanks to those who stay up till midnight to be among the first to wish me. Tak bnyk orang pun yang wish...... Special thanks to my family, for all the gifts, shoes, cake, dinner............ Thanks to my friends........ and thanks to those who wish me a happy belated birthday, thank, thank ,thank you so much.

My deepest thanks to you, for the lovely wallet. But i guess, the best birthday gift i got this year, was a special birthday card from her. I'm touched by your words. May Allah bless us.

Farewell Dinner

Just last Thursday, Encik Mutaliff, Kak Mas, Muhammad, Ameera, Zuwainah, Juliana, Daeng, the two kids, Ashraf, Aisyah and myself went for a farewell dinner @ Seoul Garden in Tampines Mall. The farewell dinner was for Muhammad, Hisham and Juliana, just that, someone SOMEONE cant make it last minute, so disappointing!! Nonetheless all of us had so much fun, cooking, eating, chit-chatting, joking around, camwhoring....... Btw thanks to Encik Mutaliff for treating us to the dinner last night.

Muhammad is going to be transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this coming 1st December for his 2 1/2months training before going to Riyadh for his 3years 3 month attachment. Hmm, bro, get me all the rich and famous people contacts alright. Ameera, look after your husband well, he's crazy at times. hheehehehehe. JOKING! Btw, All the best bro, i'm sure going to miss you and your jokes in the office. Well dont forget your promise alright!! SKYPE me ok!!hehehe.

Hisham! He is now the imam executive of Al-Mukminin Mosque in Jurong. He started working there on the first day of Ramadan this year. All of us miss you here bro. So how's things? Getting any taller? hehehe, JOKING! Well, people say, when we got to go, we got to go, right! Hehehe, thanks for still keeping in touch with us all. Anytime, you need help,a call me ok!!

Hisham and Muhammad are my project teamates, so for nearly 1year 8months we worked hard, together in many projects. Going through all the hard times, good times together, sure do bring us closer to one another. I'm going to miss both of you very mcuh. Wonder how am i going to go on in this office without you guys... hmmm. May Allah bless this bond among us to be forever strong and full of wonderful memories.

JULIANA!!! hhehe, she's someone i cherish so much that its hard for me to accept the fact that she's leaving for a better career opportunity. hehehe. Still can remember the day when she handed me her resignation letter, :) its a very very sad story :'[ hehehe, Am i right Ju?. Readers dont get the wrong idea alright!! Juliana is my personal assistant. Anything from my contacts, meetings, letters, files, appointments to important documents, she knows it better than anyone else. The first three weeks after she left was hard for me. Gotto do all things alone. Now, i finally got a new personal assistant, her name is Ain. Take some time for me to train her before she can reach Ju's standard. Well, nonetheless, i'm happy for you Ju, be happy always at your new workplace alright. Friends will forever be friends. Daeng! jaga Ju baik-baik ah! hehehehe.

No matter what, to Muhammad, Hisham and Ju, no matter where you are, if anything happens to any of you, that you got no one else to turn to, please remember this cute friend of yours exist! I'll always be around when you need me alright. Though i may not be beside you physically, will always be with you spiritually and you'll always be in my Dua, InsyaAllah. May Allah forever shower all of you with His Love, Care and Concern. Ameen.

cd

Deepa Raya

Yesterday was Deepavali and it was a public holiday. Happy Deepavali to all my Hindu Friends!While the indians are celebrating their Deepavali, the malays too take advantage of the public holiday to go Hari Raya visits to those homes they that they can't make it before. So yesterday was kind of hectic for me, but at the same time, i am very very happy. To that person, i must say thank you very much, you've made my day.

At 11 am, my family and i went over to my aunt's house in Bukit Batok for her 'open house' then at 3pm, i, went to Bedok Reservoir before proceeding to Zuwainah's house in Bedok North. Zuwainah had invited all 'Azam' tutors and mosque staff to her place. So, by 5.30pm, everyone came and crowded her place, hehehe luckily, there's enough space for everyone. Nonetheless we've enjoyed her hospitality, the food. Thanks Zu!

Project Azam Tutors

At 615pm, all of us decided to make our leave, I then sent her home first before heading back home. What a day! Driving here and there all day long. Despite all that driving, i must say, its worthwhile!

I Like You

Should i tell you i like you?

the reason my heart keeps on jumping..
the reason my heart keeps on asking..

the reason my heart keeps on waiting..

this strange feeling that keeps me nervous all day long..
is this the start of love?
i keep laughing, what am i to do?

anything you do is beautiful, you are too cute,

i just like you all the way

i think i'm in love, i think i'm in love.
i only see you, i only hear you, i wait for you, it's just you all over
i'm happy when we're together, to have you as my special one
as if this moment is everything, i'm gonna fall for you...

The Gathering

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."

- Anais Nin

Aminur, Wati, Isnaen & Ridzuan (06/10/08)

Just 2 weeks ago, Wati, Isnaen, Aminur and myself met up at Jalan Kayu to have a mini-gathering among us. Aminur was the one who called for this meeting. He wants to inform us of his plans on his wedding day, what time to meet, who's the best man and such.... Haiiizzzzz How time flies..... From our secondary school days in Upper Serangoon, to tertiary instituitions, NS, working adults and now settling down. Wow! I miss school days!!! Hahaha!! Isnaen is getting married next year January, Aminur is now married, Iskandar next month!! Looks like its left with Aiman and me being the 2 singles left in the pack. heheheh.

The meeting lasted for nearly 4 hours, 3 rounds of drink, hehehehe. Not forgetting, Wati! a fishbone got stuck in her throat and made us all panicked!!! And it takes me again to save her by forcing her to swallow large riceballs made by me! hehehe. Wati, saved your life twice now!!

Selamat Hari Raya

Me & MyRide

Me, Mother & Sis

Syawal this year was a different one compared to those Syawals i had before. This is because, this is the first year i will be celebrating Syawal without any grandparents when my grandfather passed away this year February. It was hard for me and my family. Nonetheless, Syawal this year went on as usual, house visits to the elders, kueh, green packets, colourful baju kurungs on the road and so may more. This Syawal, i am so so so busy, attending to invitations from organisations, friends, contacts, family that i have to turn down a few offer, sorry guys! To all my friends out there, Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir & Batin!!!

Random Pics of Cousins, Family, Nephew

Ramadhan Random Pictures

Assalamualaikum to all my family, friends and fans (if any) out there, how are you guys doin? hehehe... Miss me? Well i sure do miss all of you.... I'm so so so so very sorry for not updating my blog for the past one month!!! Gosh!! That long!! Sorry guys, was too busy seriously. Alright then, let me update it now. For the following few posts, i'll let the pictures do the talking. For this post, i'm sharing with you all random pics of all the activities that i wan involved in during the Holy month of Ramadhan. Indeed it has been a wonderful experince and i really do hope that i'll get to meet next year's Ramadhan. Please pray for me InsyaAllah. Following are pics during Youth In Charge, Iktikaf Camp, Qiyammulail and so on.......

Loud Music On the Streets

Last Night, Anwar, Ramdan and me went to sempang bedok and had early sahur. Around 12midnight we decided to go back to the mosque and head towards my car at the carpark. Together we decided to do something to get the attention of probably everyone there in Sempang Bedok. And trust me we managed to do it!!! What did we do?

Well, i wind down all my car windows, turn on the volume to its maximum and played Hari Raya songs. Hahahaha! So you can really see the heads of all the mamats moto and minahs turning their head to see where the loud song came from. hehehehe! Not enough! We head down towards Geylang where the crowd is, hehehehe. Stupid, but its fun.. who cares!

"Iwan Oh Iwan" by Nurhayati

Another story about me, written by a good and close friend of mine Nurhayati. Enjoy & Comment!

I was talking on the phone with Iwan the other night. It has been quite some time since we chatted. It was nice, conversation flowed easily as normal. We were giggling and gaggling like mad as usual. Then at one point of the conversation, he told me about the gal who wrote about him in her blog. After giggling and gaggling further, we decided to write something about each other in our blogs, just to irritate each other. he even came up with some opening lines which were so funny, we end up laughing even harder.

Iwan is the pet name we gave him as I remembered that back then there were a few Ridzuan's in the group. So we decided to use pet names for them so as it is easier to identify them apart.
We were not close back in poly. I know him by face and talent (he has a wonderful singing voice), and he knows me as a friend of a friend. We only grew close only while he was in NS, and me already working. Actually when we found out that one of my god-brothers is his uncle, then we grew close. And the mischief that we did... hehehe. Pity abg Zai has to tolerate our nonsense and our fail attempt to matchmake him wif one of our friends.

We were the prepeptual bachelor and bachelortee of the group. Never feeling pressured when others in our group started pairing off and stuff. We always know that we can always count on the other to go to a function together, have a great laugh, without having a partner. He is one of the rare guys which I feel safe with, which is a compliment to him.

One thing I find very enduring about how he got so irritated with me about my sense of direction. I forever getting lost. After an incident of me getting lost in tampines, my own hometown, he dropped the bomb, "Sudah, next time you just wait for me kat the bus stop, i gi fecth u." hehehe.

I remembered when he was down about the certain someone who irritates me whenever i hear her name for being mean to him, I was on the phone with him often to cheer him up. I mean to nag as well. hehehe. We always turned to each other for advice, as we believe that we could always give honest opinons to each other. He was like my male mirror, telling me his honest opinons through a male's eyes.

Iwan is a self-less person, helped me alot back in those days when grey clouds loomed over the sky. I also remember our trip to Toa Payoh to buy shelves for my class. I remembered on the way back he asked me,"Yati, u tahu mana the new Irsyad will be?" Dengan sardine I jawab,"Tahu... kat Bradell" Hearing my remark, he shake his head," you sebenrnye tak tahu kan... itu kat depan mata lah". He pointed to me the construction site in front of us. We laughed, coz obviously my sense of direction has not improved.

I remembered when I went to Abg Zai's wedding with Jufri. Iwan tried to talk to Jufri, even carried Jufri. BUt that little boy just totally acted dumb and ignored him. Poor Iwan, buat penat aje u layan dia.

That night conversation brought back alot found memories of my dear friend. I always like to refer him as a teddy bear. Always fun, loving and kind. Except when it was his turn to nag at me...hehehe.

I hope our friendship will remain intact as we are moving into different things in our lives.

.....The End.....

Befriending The Folks 2008

I am an alumni member of NurIkhwan, a student body in Temasek Poly which is also known as TPMSS back in year 2000, that time I was a member, still studying in TP. Even though it has been nearly 5years since I’ve had already graduated from TP, TPMSS/NI will forever be with me in my heart. There are just too many fond memories that is impossible for me to forget. That’s why, no matter how busy I am working, I will always try to make time for its activities.

Last Saturday proves to be one of the days in Ramadhan that I won’t forget. Why? Well in my previous post, I was telling you all that I am looking forward to last Saturday’s event organized by my friends in NurIkhwan. It has already been 4 years in a row that we had this BTF project in Chai Chee. What is BTF? It is an acronym to Befriending The Folks.

What made it more special is because, my brothers from Al-Fataa, En-Naeem Mosque youth group, manage to join me in this community project. It’s a double joy for me. Meeting up with my juniors was indeed wonderful and being able to bring my youth group along was great. We managed to clean 10 old folks homes in Chai Chee that day. That achievement is admirable.

What more can you ask for…. Putting smiles into each of these folks in Ramadhan is a wonderful experience for us all. I’m sure all of us had learnt something valuable from this experience. All of us will grow older day by day, and what lies ahead is something that we will never know. Who’ll be there to take care of us when we are old? Will you be lonely? Don’t you have kids? You do… Where are they?

May Allah shower His blessings and love to us all. Ameen.

Ramadhan Experiences

Salaam Brothers & Sisters, how's your fasting and ibadah this Ramadhan? Hope everything goes well for all of you. Alhamdulillah, i wish all of you the best and my prayers for you that you'll be better Muslims than you are in the previous Ramadhan.

As for me, lot things have happened around me, though it doesn't involve me, but it does effect me spritually and emotionally. It is not easy working in a mosque. It requires lots and lots of patience, the challenges and obstacle that you’ll face here is double than what you get outside. This is truly based on my personal experience. Well, an Ustaz ever told me this “Wan, as we are moving closer to our Creator, the test is greater, go through each test with lots of patience and iman, trust me, you’ll grow to be a better Muslim.”

Working in a mosque does open my eyes to see and experience myself how working with the community is like. Not everything about working in the mosque is bad; there are lots of great and wonderful things to talk about too.


First Day:

First Day of Ramadhan, everyone came into the office, quiet, restless, weak and sleepy. Just two hours sitting and working on the desk, you can see everyone trying hard to keep themselves awake, putting a toothpick in between the eyelids might help i guess, hehehehe, in the end, hmmm whats wrong in taking a 5 minutes powernap, hehehe yeah rite, and some even took 15minutes. Who? Ok ok, it’s me, I admit. Heheheh……

The volunteers are busy preparing Ramadhan porridge for the jemaah. This year En-Naeem is giving away four huge pots of porridge!! And like many other first day of Ramadhan, everyone would be rushing to get porridge from mosques till its very last drop. So, usually by 5.30pm, there’ll be no more porridge left.

So, one 'pakcik' (uncle) came to collect porridge, too late that is, only to be greeted by four empty pots. We apologise and told him to come another day, and we told him to come earlier. He got so frustrated and said this "I've been regularly donating to the mosque, can't even get a packet of porridge!" Astarghfirullah....... So are you expecting something in return for every cents you donated the mosque or what! What a comment!


Zakat Fitrah :

Everyone understands that the payment of zakat and zakat fitrah is obligatory upon those who can afford it. Among other things, zakat purifies wealth and its owner. Until the obligation to pay zakat is met, it must be understood that the person is keeping what rightfully belongs to the poor and needy and other recipients of zakat categories or beneficiaries. Alhamdulillah, i will be an amil zakat again this year and is authorised to collect zakat harta and zakat fitrah from the jemaah. This year's zakat fitrah is priced at $4.50 and $6.50.

I was touched one day by an old man who came to me to pay his Zakat Fitrah. His face seems very familiar, when i continue to look hard then i realise that this man used to appear on TV during Ramadhan, being one of those family who receives zakat money monthly to help them as they were considered to be under one of the zakat beneficiaries, Miskin. He is blind, his wife is half-blind and they are poor. I'm touched to see someone like him that earns very little income, understand how important it is to perform Zakat. The little income that they had, they willingly shared part of it by performing their Zakat.

Looking at them, those who can afford to do Zakat but prefers not to, should be ashame of themselves.

I'm certain that if people in the Muslim Ummah carry out their zakat obligation faithfully in obedience to the Commands of Allah, there will be less poverty in society.

Alhamdulillah, may Allah continue to bless us and guide us through the obstacles during this month of Ramadhan. May Ramadhan this year make us better Muslims. As for me, i'm certainly looking forward to this saturday's community service with my juniors from NurIkhwan cleaning 10 homes in Chai Chee area for the old folks. On the 19th Sept, there'll be Youth-In-Charge programme for the mosque youth wing Al-Fataa. On the 20th to 21st, there'll be Iktikaf Camp, Nuzul Quran, Malam Lailatul Qadr, Qiyammulail........ lots more.

Brothers and Sisters, please Dua' for me. May Allah give me guidance and the strength to perform ibadah in this Holy month of Ramadhan, Ameen.

MEGA Briyani Amal 2008

MEGA BRIYANI AMAL 2008

Just 2 weeks ago, i was busy handling one of the major fund-raising projects this year which is the "Mega Briyani Amal 2008". Yes!! It is damn tiring!! But, nothing beats our spirits that day. Everyone was busy with packing, cooking, chopping, dicing, delivering and many more. Everyone enjoyed themselves that day, laughing, joking, talking and working together as one whole team.

My personal thanks to my project team and all lpm and staff of En-Naeem Mosque.

To my dearest group of volunteers from Khalifah, An-Niswa and Al-Fataa, thanks.

To my assistant, Juliyana, you've done a great job.

Alhamdulillah! In total we managed to raise $38840.50 for the mosque. Hopefully the mosque debts of $250,000 can be settle off by end of this year. Please pray for us. Thank You.

Ramadhan Kareem

Assalamualaikum to all my beloved brothers and sisters in Islam, wishing you all Ramadhan Kareem. May Allah accept all of our prayers and good deeds and forgive us from the sins that we've done.

Alhamdulillah, Ramadhan this year for me had been good so far. Terawih in the mosque, meeting my old friends, work hand-in-hand with the volunteers, pack porridge for the jemaah, preparing for iftar, so many things, so much love, so much bonding, May Allah bless us all in this blessed month of Ramadan.

We should think of others that are less fortunate than ourselves on this beautiful day of Ramadan (Ramadhan) Eid. Not everyone has such a wonderful day. It is a day of celebration, but take a moment to stop and think of those who are less fortunate than ourselves by following the Sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

To my dear friends, happy fasting!

Lessons in Life

Salaam my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, may you stumble upon this humble blog of mine in good health and best state of iman. InsyaAllah i will try my best to come out with motivational articles as and when i have things to write on or came across some interesting things to share. :)

Dear friends, how many times in life did we do things according to what others told you to, and not according to what your heart really wanted? Ever came across someting that really made you angry, that you wanna punch that person's face? Ever felt disheartened and discouraged by people talking behind your back? Ever been backstabed before? Ever felt not being appreciated? All these are the normal things in life that sooner or later we will face. What do we call it as? A problem? An omen? A bad luck? yes.... NO! Please, dont do that...... instead, Lets us all look at it as lessons in life.............

Alhamdulillah. Well, fret not, for behind every dark cloud lies a silver lining. In this case, there's hikmah behind every obstacle that we faced in life. I agree that its not easy for us, being normal humans to take things coming our way with full of patience and determination. Its not easy, but let us all take the baby steps to learn how to cope with our "nafs" and "amarah".

Every situation is a lesson to be learned. From the most mundane chores to the most complex projects, life is always ready to teach you something. Life is ready to teach when you are willing to learn. And the more you learn from what life offers, the better life becomes. The lessons are usually not all that obvious. Yet they are there if you will think to take a look. The lessons are there in every moment, in every dilemma, in every frustration and every joy.

They are there in every sadness, every victory, every discomfort and every pleasure. Each lesson you learn paves the way for a new and even more valuable one. Each lesson you ignore keeps coming back, again and again. One way or another, life will teach you its lessons. When you're a willing student, those lessons are pure gold.

Let us take some time to ponder on this verse from Al-Quran:

On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns and it suffers every ill that it earns. (Pray): "Our Lord! condemn us not if we forget or fall into error; our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which Thou didst lay on those before us; Our Lord! lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Blot out our sins and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. Thou art our Protector; help us against those who stand against faith."

(Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse : 286)

Are you the a Carrot, an Egg or a Coffee Bean?

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life, and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it, and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first pot, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what do you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they got soft. She then asked her to take the egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to smell and sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she smelled and tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What's the point, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity- boiling water-but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When trials and adversity knock on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a passive heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside, am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Or, am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you become better and change the situation around you.

When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level?

Coney Island Fishing Experience

Good Day friends..... How's all of you? Doing fine i suppose.... heheheh, my best wishes for all of you, InsyaAllah. Alright then, just had a long weekend last week, spending my weekend from Saturday 4pm to Sunday 10am, where?....... I went fishing at Coney Island together with Bro Kassim and Daeng. We had so much fun together, fishing, cooking, making coffee, chit chatting and of coz, last but not least SLEEP!!!! hahhaah.

Had a close encounter with a wild boar when it appears all of a sudden from the jungle while Daeng and me were happily eating bread and 'sambal' sardines. Hmmmm, you know what Daeng, guess you were right, maybe the smell of the sardines lure it to come close to us. Daeng and me were like nearly jumping over the fence when we saw that thing!! Gosh!!! Its not just one or two, its the entire family of wild boars there, the mother the father the brother the sister!!!!!!! Finally we managed to throw some rocks at it to scare it away. Phew!!!!

The rest of the day was more focused towards fishing. Bro Kassim keeps on getting the good catch like stingrays, garoupas, and its big ok!!! Daeng and me keeps on getting small catfish, catfish and catfish... nothing else. Hehehehe, its ok, i'll make a comeback, i'll treat this as my learning trip first. Here are the pictures that i managed to take.......

True Love Relationship Advice

“Of Love--may God exalt you! -the first part is jesting, and the last part is right earnestness. So majestic are its diverse aspects, they are too subtle to be described; their reality can only be apprehended by personal experience. Love is neither disapproved by Religion, nor prohibited by the Law; for every heart is in God's hands.”

Ibn Hazm

A Love Advice

unknown author

I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me. Once when we were sitting by the beach when she stoods up and walked towards the sea, she filled the palm of her hand with some water and held it before me, and said this: "You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love."

This was how I saw it: As long as you keep your hand caring-ly open and allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you attempt to close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will spill through the first cracks it finds.

This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love... they try to posses it, they demand, they expect... and just like the water spilling out of your hand, love will retrieve from you. For love is meant to be free, you cannot change its nature. If there are people you love, allow them to be free beings.

Give and don't expect. Advise, but don't order. Ask, but never demand.

It might sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to truly practice. It is the secret to true love. To truly practice it, you must sincerely feel no expectations from those who you love, and yet an unconditional caring.

A good companion is not like the rain, which comes and goes. It's like the air, sometimes very quite!

Motivational Thought

"I've Learned"

unknown author

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be some that can be loved. The rest is up to them.

I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back.

I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.

I've learned that it's not what you have in your life, but who you have in your life that counts.

I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do.

I've learned that you can do some thing in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I've learned that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I've learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I've learned that you can keep going long after you can't.

I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel. That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I've learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done regardless of the consequences.

I've learned that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I've learned that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I've learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I've learned that no matter good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I've learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I've learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I've learned that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

Kesepian

Dygta - Kesepian

kurindu disayangi

sepenuh hati

sedalam cintaku

setulus hatiku

kuingin memiliki

kekasih hati

tanpa air mata

tanpa kesalahan

bukan cinta

yang melukai diriku

dan meninggalkan hidupku

lagi

tolonglah aku

dari kehampaan ini

selamatkan cintaku

dari hancurnya hatiku

hempaskan kesendirian

yang tak pernah berakhir

bebaskan aku

dari keadaan ini

sempurnakan hidupku

dari rapuhnya jiwaku

adakah seseorang

yang melepaskanku

dari kesepian ini

Nasyid Recording

Last Saturday i went for a nasyid recording. Aiman called the day before telling me that since we are only recording vocals, we dont need the other boys (percussionist) to come. Ok then, but the thought of going to the recording studio alone was dissapointing.... me alone..... so boring! Luckily for me, during the last minute, Ramdan and Rahim decided to tag along. Hahaha, finally, there's someone to accompany me. The recording took 2 hours, just for one song..... well, an experince that i'm sure not to forget. We were recording "Keluarga Bahagia" song by Saujana. For those who want to hear me sing, please go to my previous post on 13/05/08 "Nasyid Performance in En-Naeem". Ramdan managed to capture some pictures during the recording.... so here goes... Hopefully the song will be ready by end of July.........

Who's the murderer?

Just last 2 weeks ago, we had a camp for Project Azam students and i was put in charge of the ice-breaking games and a short education talk. We had so much fun and laughter, as usual, Ramdan, Daeng, Zul will be there to make things crazier than ever, hahaha. During night time, we planned a game for the students, it is called the "Who's the murderer?". So, the scenario was, someone murdered Bro Daeng in one of the classrooms in the mosque, and they had to investigate and find who among the 4 suspect was the murderer. Guess what, one of the suspects was me. My hobby being one of the suspects was "COLLECTING STONES"! Hahahaha, how hilarious can that be!

The outcome was, i am the murderer! How? I throw stones at Bro Daeng till he bleeds to death! What da! Hahahahahaha! hehehe, the blood on Daeng's forehead, using a whiteboard marker, looks so real, that the stain remains there for hours, even after a few wash, look like one patch of birth mark to me. Throughout the camp, the kids will be calling me "Abg Wan, MURDERER!" hehehe kind of cute isn't it...... Yeah, My name is Wan, and i am always WanTED!

The One and only Wan's Story

Alright, i will publish the story ok. Well, my dear friends and readers out there, someone wrote a story about me, abt how she knows me, abt who i am to her and everything shocking to me that i myself never knew i was like that. Well you see, Huda, also known as sotong and eventually kangaroo was someone i knew 2 years ago. Very shy, kind of introvert at first, but now very extrovert! She's damn good in writing stories (see her blog), her language, way way way above me! So because of that talent she had, i asked her if she could write something abt me, she agreed and so here goes, the story titled "About Wan". Hmm... please be advised, there are some things written in the story abt me that might shock you. Please avoid any assumptions! Hehehehe....... Dont forget to add a comment alright..... Thanks.

ABOUT WAN...........

Reflecting back to the year 2006...

I was at my brother's house at that point of time and one night while cuddling up on the sofa bed, pillow all around me, laptop on my lap and my sister (Lisza) beside me, she suddenly voiced out about this particular guy name Wan. Not really voiced out la… She (Lisza) showed me his friendster and said she wants to know him coz he is cute. You see, he is chubby and to be able to pinch his cheeks will be good. But sadly, even after 3 years, none of us have fruitfully done that. Oh well…

How my sister (Lisza) manage to know his friendster? Simple. Of course la from friendster. Than what? LoL. K , K, stop starring at that lame joke ok. I know. Phew!! That Wan's uncle is my sister(Lisza) 's god brother. (Abg angkat). And yes, so from him she (Lisza) got to know Wan. They exchanged MSN at first. You see, I was not in the picture yet coz I am not la. Not yet. All I did was just to see what both of them were chatting. Well, I was beside my sister(Lisza) mah. So kpo je la… He he…. It was an engaging conversations with him although I cannot remember what they chatted. And only the next day, then I was brought into the picture.

Wan was ok. At that point, I still did not know him la. But first inkling, he is a witty guy. Seriously, he will just make you laugh at nobody business. My sister (Lisza) and I had that good laugh back then. And his ear exercise joke did bring tears to us. Yap, tears of too much of laughing. Cannot tahan seh Wan…

Constant chatting with Wan, we found out slightly more information about him. Well, you see, when we got to know each other, he was in this despondent state. Wait… Depressed but still can make jokes. Hmm guys!!! Hahaha… But seriously, he was at that point. And my sister (Lisza) and I had a rough time trying to advice him or cheering him up. Seriously hard time man… lol…. So from that moment, every day conversation will just be about his melancholy (of course bit of jokes were there la) and that was when, we labeled him Wan Emo. Lol… candidly la… he was… hmm…..

How he get my number was also bit eccentric. Not going to divulge here but short reiterate will do. My sister (Lisza) told her god brother that I want his number and so he give. Tada. And that point, seriously I got no intention of having his number. Ha-ha. But I took it down la but never message him until he said this to me "tunggu Huda message, tak msg2 pun". Hah… how blunt can he be? So I message him that night. Just a forward message and he started to call me every night ever since that 1 message. Talking to him on the phone is ok la. Fun and interesting. He will jokes one moment and next, he will be in dismay and shoot me will all the bombastic questions like "Huda, ppn skarang semua suka lelaki yang jahat2 eh?" Ha-Ha… I find it so cute that he asked that kind of questions. Oh well, talking to him, I get to know more about his family and his brother. Well, I talked to his brother as well. Just like Wan. Kelakar seh… Every night, talking to him, I always hear noises from the brothers.. He-He.. Cool! Cool!

Wan loves to sing. Yes.. He has great voice but he always said he don't have. And I have to force him to sing for me every time. But when he starts to sing, there will be no stop to it. To start only, he is shy… After that, like professional already. Ha-Ha. But he always sing the chorus or just the beginning part. Not fair.. And he wish to be a singer too… Hmmm…. Even now he still sings for me.. Awww cute kan… He is la…

We decided to meet after that. The four of us. We decided to go to Lucky plaza. On the day itself, both my sister (Lisza) and I were looking around secretly for them actually. Ha-ha. We ate at Ramen Ten and we had great laugh for no reasons. That is how contagious he is. Ha-Ha. And we know something about that uncle-nephew relationship. Both of them were talking about CC. Trust me it is not about bike or car CC but about girl CC. To be exact Minah Tudung CC. Huh?? (I am not going to elaborate on that ok)… After lunch, we went to watch Nacho Libre (I think that is the spelling la). After buying tickets, it was time to distribute the change from the ticket money to each of us and I still remember it very clearly that on that day, Wan was the one trying to calculate how much each of us should get. Seriously, I never see anyone takes so much time to calculate. He was even sweating la. Sweating in an air-conditioner place?? Hmm… Even after sweating out, he still cannot figure out the amount to return us. Haiyoh!!.. Pening, Pening.. Other than Wan Emo, he is also called Wan blur.. Hehehe.. Seriously, you should see his reaction and his behavior then you will know what I mean. It was super hilarious…He paced himself up and down with the money in his hand lagi. He-He… Even Abg Zai geleng kepala seh Wan …. Of course my sister (Lisza) and I had a great laugh… So after that commercial period, we still had an extra time so we all were hanging around. Wan was so shy, yes, I repeat SHY that when Abg Zai asked him to sit beside me, he smile and walked into the arcade arena. Ha-Ha-Ha… Malu kape pakcik… blah arr…

During the movie is the best part. The best part was that the Nacho was actually Wan. I mean, my sister (Lisza) and I teased him that. Lucky he can take jokes seh. Ha-ha……. We had a great laugh in the theatre. After all, that first meeting was fun. And that is also the last time we meet. Now, after 2 years, we haven even see each other yet.

For a year and half, no contact between him and me. Not even through MSN or even SMS/CALL.

But everything is back now… Well, he is definitely a new Wan after 1 yr plus. He learn to let go and he is no longer dismay actually… which is good. And so the phone conversation started back after I forward a good night message to him. Wait!! Why all the phone conversation starts only after I message him ehh? Weird… Now then I realized it…

He is still funny and he always makes me laugh. More laughter than before. At 3am, he is still with his crappies jokes and ideas… I always laugh till my jaw is numb. He has his seriousness as well at times. He is more open-minded now… More sarcastic now… and he is brave enough to voice out his opinions and he is no longer holding on to the past. That is good… He is thinking about himself now. I mean his happiness. He started to flirt around now. He started to woo girls now. So much difference… And at least now, he no need to go back before 7pm la. (when I get to know him at first, he told me he must be at home by 7pm).

He is no longer active in badminton in which he was so proud of last time. He even showed me his old pictures when he was, small size, playing badminton. Semangat seh tunjuk…. He did asked we all to attend and give support to him when he had tournament la but too bad la Wan, it falls on Sunday and Sunday is family day for us la… Anyway…. Wan, go back to your badminton k… Don't let it go…

Wan's craziness can be unpredictable. Sometimes on the phone, we had nothing to talk to but still hang on to the conversation although we both know that this conversation will end up of me putting down the phone coz Wan is already fall asleep. He-He… but when he is not sleepy, he can create tons of jokes in term of stories also. What to blame? Ayat-Ayat Cinta… Ha-Ha… based on that story, he created another story that happened in Singapore. Super long and even Angelina Jolie was involved. Boleh tahan Kekek… And if Ayat-Ayat Cinta took place at Mesir, this one took place at one of the Reservoirs in Singapore. And how Wan (the main lead actor) turns from stubborn and vain king to TMNT to HULK and back to HUMAN FORM, was a miracle. That is mainly the story but I am so sure that you will NOT understand the story at all. But if you still want to read it, then click here. Go ahead....

Do you all know that Wan has many split personalities? Yes, he does. Scary you know but kind of cute in a way la. I talked to all his split personalities before and it was so kekek. Some of the names are Andy, Muthusamy, Gunawan, Tomato-San, Sheikh and so forth… (Cannot remember all la but he has 7 split personalities in him). Surprising right?? But it is true and harmless.

The End.

So, there goes, a lovely, cute and shocking story abt me. Whatever it is, i would like to take this opportunity to thank Huda, for the time taken, to write a story abt me, hahahahahhahahahaah! THANK YOU HUDA SOTONG!!!!!!!!