"An Ethan to go pls,thank u"

its amazing what a good sleep, late night solitary prayers, a good cup of coffee, and watching little Ethan laugh on utube can do when you're not feeling so good.

Thank You God for the little pleasures in life that make a huge difference =)

"We find a delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart to big for the body" ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

loose screws

its been awhile since i last needed my 'la tahzan' book. sara thinks this endocrinology block is messing with my hormones. she might be right =p anyway, i opened the book and randomly picked a page to read. spot on!

DO NOT DESPAIR WHEN FACING TOUGH SITUATIONS

if u find yourself in a tough situation, do the following:

1. ask urself , what is the worst that can happen?
2. prepare urself to cope and to deal with that worst case scenario
3. if something bad does occur, meet it with calm nerves in order to deal with the situation better. the Quran guides us saying :

" those people (the believers) unto whom the people(the hypocrites) said : 'verily,the people(pagans) have gathered against you a great army, therefore fear them.' But it only increased the believers in Faith, and they said : 'Allah alone is sufficient for us, and He is the Best Disposer of affairs for us'. " [quran 3:173]

"and whoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out of every difficulty. And He will provide him from sources he never could imagine. And whoever puts his trust in Allah,then He will suffice him." [quran 65:2-3]

"Allah will grant after hardship~ ease" [quran 65:7]

i feel better already =)
Alhamdulillah

the trip - a synopsis

kelantan was nice. Perhentian was a blast! =D

the food was superb! :)))

though there were many glitches along the way, it was quite inevitable, no? an event as big as this. but i do agree that alot could have been avoided had there been more careful planning. but then again, everything happens for a reason. and insyaAllah the next time we organize something, it would go smoother. quite a few tense moments though. heh.

but all was forgotten once we saw the gorgeous sea. i was the jakun-est. (as usual) the only other island ive been to before was langkawi. and i dont rmbr it being great. i was too young kot. i just rmbr we visited mahsuri's grave and climbed the bukit telaga or something.

it was my first time on a speedboat. loved it! i'd trade in the kelisa for a speedboat anytime! =)
my first time snorkelling. best experience ever! cant even begin to describe it.
first time on a looooong bus ride. this is one i would not like to repeat if possible.heh.

learnt quite a few things along the way. learnt first hand, that in times of trouble, only can u see who ur true friends are. who will stick by u through the hardship, and who will slip away hoping to go unnoticed.

people like to blame others. its become a habit. something bad happens, and instead of helping each other, trying to find solutions, we search high and low for someone to blame. we say we're all brother's and sister's. we're one big family. but sometimes all we worry about is that our once harum name is being tarnished. that people might think that the 'kids' mistakes are a reflection of their older siblings.

i believe in productive criticism. im all for it. i also believe that theres a fine line between that and just plain criticism. its in the way you deliver your complaints. your intonation. your facial expression. and when you say ure just trying to help us be better people but your face and tone of voice does not show it, we dont believe you.

i hate conflicts. i try to avoid it the best i can. and i hate when people pick on the underdogs just because they can.

all in all ~ i had a great time!perhentian would not have been as great without the people i went with. its really not where we go, but who we go with that make a trip beautiful. and i know that even if it was just pantai lido that we went to, i'd still think it was the best trip ever! =) the only downside would be that there'd be no cute turtles to stalk. ;)

Never do I argue with a man with a desire to hear him say
what is wrong, or to expose him and win victory over him.
Whenever I face an opponent in debate I silently pray -
O Lord, help him so that truth may flow from his heart
and on his tongue, and so that if truth is on my side, he may follow me;
and if truth be on his side, I may follow him.
- Imam Ash-Shafi'

We must begin looking at each other as brothers and sisters...and not walking brochures. We must see each others strengths and encourage those strengths....We must see each others weaknesses and be patient with those weaknesses... sometimes even look beyond what we see as "weaknesses" and move on with compassion and love and respect. That takes true faith.
- Dawud Wharnsby Ali

a thousand words

i love photographs. they can make u smile, laugh and feel all warm and fuzzy inside. they can cause anxiety, tug at your heart strings and make u cry.

the power of a photograph can even bring u to kill urself. like the south african pulitzer prize winner, Kevin something. He won for capturing the photo of a vulture stalking a starving little girl in Sudan. the little girl was crawling towards a UN food camp. He was criticized for not helping her. and he couldnt live with himself after that.

looking at this picture just makes us want to smack ourselves doesnt it? we have so much yet want so much more. We sometimes forget to see the blessings from the smallest things we find in life to the biggest. lets remind ourselves of some of the blessings we sometimes manage to overlook. the love of our family,our friends. the ability to walk,talk,breathe. our health, clothes, a sturdy roof atop our heads. enough (sometimes too much?) food and water. u fill out the rest. =)

Then I will certainly come to them from before them and from behind them, and from their right-hand side and from their left-hand side; and Thou shalt not find most of them thankful. (7:17)

Therefore remember Me, I will remember you, and be thankful to Me, and do not be ungrateful to Me. (2:152)

old photos have the ability to bring u back in time. it can knock u over with a tsunami of emotions. i always get butterflies in my stomach when i look at my old high school pics. i laugh when i look at the crazy pics we took during foundation. and i always always feel blessed, having good friends with me all the time. Alhamdulillah. =)

and i love how a photo may change its meaning according to who is looking at it.

so here's a few of my favourite cute ones. hope they bring a smile to ur face as they did mine!

zaman-zaman kene cucuk BCG. i love the expression! this one made my mum laugh till she cried. =D

cuteness!

even they yang x berakal ni can work through their differences! it wouldnt hurt to learn from them kan =)

While there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see.
-Dorothea Lange

What's really important

i read this in one of the chicken soup books this evening. and it made my day! =)

A few years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with the relish to run the race to the finish and to win.
All, that is, except one boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other 8 heard the boy cry. They slowed down and paused. Then they all turned around and went back. Every one of them. One girl with Down's syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, " this will make it better." Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line.
Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for 10 minutes.


ever wondered what we would do in the same situation?

of politics and children

i've never been fond of politics
i've never really kept up with all the hoohaas and haahoos
too many names to memorize, too many lies n scandals, too many 'they say's, too many things swept under the carpet, soooo many grey areas

but since i turned 21 , i realize my duty to vote in the next elections, so i have been paying attention to the on-goings in our political scene today. hoping that when the time comes, i can cast my vote confidently and wisely. insyaAllah..

but what im seeing is certainly not a pretty picture
in fact, its getting uglier by the minute!

so far, there is no one party i would gladly let rule this country.
i guess you could say im being idealistic - for wanting to have Malaysia ruled by people i can respect and look up to. some tell me its impossible to have a 'clean politician' these days. everyone plays dirty. some throw dirt at others. and instead of just smiling, dusting away the dirt and forgiving the person for their ignorance, they throw some dirt back. its a never-ending vicious cycle of backlashing and name-calling. in the end, everyone has a smudge or two on them. its like a freaking kindergarten yard where the kids are out of control.
so what? because of that, we're suppose to settle for these kind of leaders? just because we think it's impossible to have one who has dignity and respect for others, we settle for someone who lies and cheats 'once in awhile' ? as long as he does his job??
just to clarify, i know there are some leaders who are not at all as what i described. (at least i hope so) they are the rare ones in our country today. its just sad, thats all. they are the minority.

i wonder sometimes where these people come from. and why they behave the way they do.
were they not taught right from wrong when they were children? did their parents forget to tell them that this world is temporary and everything we do here will determine how we'll end up in the next world?

i worked in a kindergarten before. i used to be the one greeting the kids when they arrived. and everytime the moms drop their kids of at the gate, they'll ramble a long list of do's and dont's to their kids

share your toys
dont fight
no name calling
dont throw sand at your friends
dont jump of the swing
smile
be friendly
always help your friends
listen to the teacher
respect the teachers ....
you know the rest

children have these instilled in them. all these good values. the problem is, actions speak louder than words. and we adults,well, we dont really practice what we preach most of the time.
and these children pick up on our actions. they see us being rude to others. they see us fighting all the time. name calling. face making. they see us not respecting each other.

we dont share our food with our neighbours, and we expect our children to share their toys
we dont treat our parents right, and we expect our children to listen to and respect us
know what i mean?

i have a feeling these crazy childish politicians were not shown a good example growing up. so im not going to put the blame entirely on them. cause i think deep down, they all have the capacity to be good, loving, respectful figures. they just might not know it. cos probably no one ever told them that. that, or they do know it, and just choose to not be it. now, that calls for a tight slap or two.

so what can we do to try and save our future? we should really start with ourselves. lets start respecting each other more regardless of beliefs or gender. start being nice to our neighbours of all races n creed. lets start treating our parents the way they should be treated. in short, lets start living life the way Allah tells us too. the way our Prophet SAW showed us. they way it is described in the Quran. then maybe, insyaAllah, our future leaders can be of better behaviour than the ones we see today.

ps ~ u guys can start laughing now.

beautiful

" My heavens and My earth cannot contain me,
but the hearts of My faithful servants can contain Me"
~ hadis Qudsi

simple.yet so meaningful,no? =)