raya 2.8
after years of years having to travel and waste more hours on buses and mrts on our first day of rayas, alhamdulillah, this year we were able to have some comfort travelling and really, you’d be amazed how small singapore is, just because the journey took much less time in driving!! we could go from woodlands to bedok and back north to yishun, in less than two hours~ sorilah ye like jakun talking about the distances hehe.
but what’s most important is that i drove my family well and safe. of course i won’t deny some minor glitches like missing the exit at expressways, and the 2-3 times i had to emergency brake at traffic lights. but so far so good la right! even though had to fork out more money this raya spent on renting the car but well, it’s a good feeling able to drive my family around. :)) it truly is a nice feeling. and everytime our car passed another raya-ing car, my family would be waving and mouthed ‘selamat hari raya’ to the other family. some would wave back some are like blurrr. aper dah~
and the kamir family wishes everyone good days ahead! Taqabbalallahu minnaa wa minkum~
ramadhan meets syawal
alhamdulillah. syawal meets us again. thank You Lord for all the goodness You bestowed on me and family. thank You Lord for this chance to meet syawal with much rezki…
so people, i’m having a short breather here after the errands i did through and through the whole day! half day at work, which quite honestly, i didn’t do much except emailing e-cards to acquaintances, yes it’s part of the job, haha.
went to ikea to buy the boys’ carpet for their room and some other items. and collect this and that, and sent this and that, in the heavy rain nonetheless. and did some cleaning up of this room which, what seemed neverending is now complete. i feel i love my room more now, hehe. truly.
and in about awhile, will be helping Mam for her Sambal Goreng Pengantin with Mom’s touch~ that’s going to be the only dish we’re cooking for Raya. the rendangs and the ayam masak merah and the lontong whatnots, we ordered from my mother’s friend. and the kuih-kuih raya bought at geylang, foohh, everything ‘instant’.
all things nice in good hands…
and my wish Eid Mubarak for all my friends- esp the Girls with the many monikers (chantique, tf clan, mizaum, armouredpetals),
alma’arif friends, schoolmates all the way from 6 years old, like mahir and dayah and dyan,
assiiumers tak kiralah batch manapun esp the xcos and special mention for my halimah junior babes ;),
IIU-mates international esp Tawfique Mubarak who never fails to wish on birthdays or eids, and malaysians like best roomie Anna (i miss you!!), mrc gals, and those like amir and hairul and abg helmy for the occassional hi-s and hello-s.
colleagues from m.uis -YE and YG,
Teach (teacher and friend at the same time), Aishah of the YE Temps*,
and troopers from the new*med team,
colleagues from an*nahdhah education esp the teens trainers and the always changing youth trainers,
curriculum accomplices for hadith (assiiumers nonetheless) of assyafaah and project Y of alfalah- my fortune to have known intellectual people who’s helped and shared knowledge in so many ways esp ustaz yusri and yazid, amin and yousef, abu sufian – you guys are truly our leaders of the future,
and kenalan2 yang memang kenal dan yang tak berapa kenal ;), yang dekat mahupun yang jauh, yang tua atau muda, and acknowledging counterparts in the islamic call and mission, activists, scholars and thinkers alike–> salam aidil fitri maaf zahir batin.
and with this list of people, i hope i didn’t leave anyone out, but truly, all of you are in my thoughts on this beatiful day…
….and because my ericko-san blacked out on me, i have lost 100s of contact numbers, i’ve been receiving raya messages all day long, without knowing who the senders were, except for a few numbers which i recognised, thus! the *academy award* list of ‘thankyous’….
and generally, wishing all Muslims:
not a victor
my ramadhan is leaving
leaving with a slow goodbye
leaving with a heart longing
for ramadhan to stay
stay, stay a bit longer
if only time is in my hands
would i turn them back all over again
a servant at a losing end
a servant at a losing end
my syawal is only grief
grieving with a sad welcome
grieving with a heart longing
for syawal to come
come, come a bit later
but time is not in my hands
there is no turning them back all over again
a servant at a yearning still
a servant at a yearning still
have i lost this ramadhan?
shall i yearn for syawal?
and when ramadhan meets syawal
i am no victor.
forgive me Lord
on gear 1…no, not about f1
in approximately 13 hours or more, i’ll be going off to collect the car we’re renting for the week!! i so can’t wait for that. it’s going to be a mazda 6 car. i’ve always had this thought of driving a mazda car, and now it’s almost a ‘wish’ come true. even for a week. (the perks of renting cars is that you have the choice to try out different car models each time you rent). the first car i tried was a nissan sunny. hmm….next model would be a…vios? avante? oh yes, a honda jazz~ sweet.
but despite all that, pray for safe journeys. and at least, i know the car will be useful the whole week. there’s still some errands, things to buy or collect, quite a number of things to be done la. now that i almost have a say as to how to decorate my room, i’m like having a whole list of items to buy! hehe. i can say my room is only half done. but i’m loving the new look and arrangement of furnitures, there seems more space to move about. for three young ladies, you can’t even imagine the STUFFS we had to throw just to create more space. from mags to shirts to papers to nitty witty bits of items, be it accessories, bags, boxes and whatnots. and i honestly need a place where i can put all my FIRST mags, which i collected since day one they first published four years ago!
and still a hundred things at the back of my mind to be completed and done. hopefully, i could squeeze in some time to do these pending things. or else, just start a new this syawal~
keep up positivity, seri. :))
longing
i came into ramadhan with a prayer. and i’m left with 4 more days. will my prayer be answered within this short period?
and i do not think that my prayer will be answered. just not yet. but i’ll keep on praying.
Forgive me Lord.
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One tree hill is back with season 6 and i’m loving it!!
the first episode of season 6 is such a comfort after the turmoil and frustration that i, yes I faced, last season. just how much can you get affected with dramas~
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last ramadhan khutbah 2008
My dear brothers, may you be blessed by Allah,
The Holy month of Ramadhan will leave us in less than four days time. Let us make full use of what remains of this month. Let us strengthen our taqwa to Allah s.w.t. May we always be blessed with His protection in this world and the next when we truly are conscious of Him, Amin Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin.
My dear brothers,
When Ramadhan leaves us, Syawal greets us. Syawal marks the victory for Muslims after a whole month of fasting.
Certainly, many of us celebrate Syawal with joy and happiness. For some of us, the preparations for Syawal have been done much earlier. We decorate our homes, we prepare new clothes and a variety of delicacies to offer our guests. We await the coming of Eidulfitri.
But before we are overcome by joy and celebration, we should end our training and schooling in the month of Ramadhan with several important questions.
What did we actually set out to achieve and celebrate? How then should we celebrate these achievements?
My dear brothers,
I would like to remind us all that fasting has a clear purpose and objective; to develop mankind to become individuals who are fully conscious of Allah through taqwa. Allah s.w.t. says in Surah al-Baqarah verse 183:
Which means: “O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint.”
My dear brothers,
Do we still remember how we prepared ourselves early on in the month? Do we still remember how we spend our days in the month of Ramadhan?
We started our day with the pre-dawn meal with our family members. We performed our obligatory prayers in the congregation at the mosque. We did a lot of charity. We trained our eyes to look at, and read the Quran. We enlightened our hearts with understanding the Quran and listening to religious advice. We break fast with family and friends. We stand in prayer every night in the terawih congregation. We strengthened our relationship with our families. In the last 10 nights, we stand before Allah s.w.t. in prayers.
Therefore brothers, think about it. These are the sweet moments we had spent in the month of Ramadhan. But now, Ramadhan will leave us!
Should we rejoice at its departure?
The real rejoice and celebration is when we have succeeded to uplift our taqwa to a new level when Ramadhan leaves us.
This is the true achievement and success in the eyes of Allah. Thus, if we cannot make enough preparations for Syawal, we don’t have new clothes, or our homes are not as beautiful as last year, or we don’t have enough Hari Raya delicacies, we should not be remorseful.
But we must cry in sadness, we must be remorseful, if Syawal arrives but our hearts and souls are devoid of spirituality and taqwa. We must be sad if fasting has still not shaped us to become good Muslims. A whole month of fasting has still not elevated and uplifted us. The Holy Prophet s.a.w. said:
Which means: “There are many who fast in Ramadhan, but get nothing of it except hunger. There are many who stay up in prayer at night but get nothing except tireness because of no sleep.”
(Hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad)
My dear brothers,
I am sure we do not want to be among such people whom the Prophet described in this hadith. We do not want our fasting to go to waste, devoid of meaning and quality. So, how do we ensure that the impact of fasting on us lasts beyond Ramadhan?
My dear brothers,
First: We must continue with all good deeds and with efforts to uplift our devotion to Allah s.w.t. even after Ramadhan. Let us not become those whom Allah describes in Surah An-Nahl verse 92:
Which means: “And be not like her who unravels her yarn, disintegrating it into pieces after she has spun it strongly.”
For example, we have trained ourselves to fast and perform night prayers for the month of Ramadhan. So continue with these good deeds. Do not entirely abandon these actions once Ramadhan leaves us.
So let us remain steadfast. In the month of Syawal, we are encouraged to fast six days. Don’t waste this opportunity.
My dear brothers,
Secondly: When we celebrate Eidulfitri, do not ever forget to praise, thank and glorify Allah s.w.t. We praise Allah for His blessings by reciting the takbir as much as we can on the eve of Eidulfitri. When we recite the takbir sincerely, it shows that we are grateful to Allah and it is the best way to celebrate Eidulfitri itself. Allah s.w.t. says in the Quran:
Which means: “and (He desires) that you should complete the prescribed period and that you should exalt the greatness of Allah for His having guided you and that you may give thanks.”
Another sign of our gratitude is when we pay the obligatory act of zakat fitrah. Let us pay this zakat before the prayer of Eidulfitri. This act, if done sincerely, will complete our deeds and fasting in the month of Ramadhan.
Thirdly, we celebrate Eidulfitri by visiting our family members and relatives. This strengthens the bonds between us. But in visiting each other, we must not neglect the ethics of doing so.
For example, we must take care of our health. For the whole month, we have consumed good and healthy food. Do not be excessive during Eidulfitri. Be moderate in our consumption. Choose healthy food, such as fruits, and try to avoid sweet drinks. Remember, that fasting has enhanced our health, so do not reverse the process by consuming anything and everything after Ramadhan.
When we do our visits, we must ensure we stick with the ethics. Visit others at suitable times. Do not stay at one’s house until late at night, as usually, people need to rest, but may be shy to indicate that to you. Take care of the rights of our neighbours, so do not let waste spill onto their doorstep, or noise coming from our homes to affect them.
These are some examples which will demonstrate to us how far Ramadhan has able to shape us into good Muslims. Because Ramadhan offers us a comprehensive education. It strengthens our relationship with Allah. It also inculcates in us good relations with others.
InshaAllah, when we truly understand the significance of Eidulfitri, our fast will be impactful and powerful, and will serve us good on the day of judgement. We ask Allah to accept all our deeds and to grant us His forgiveness Amin Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin.
dreadfully cranky
but today was very very cranky. and the incident of tunang-ed friends who argued with one another, and out of nowhere, included my name in their issue. hey! apa nih??so nanti kalau dah kahwin, gaduh sikit, can use my name ah, and then can fingerpoint at me to put the blame on!! you want to joke around ke provoke one another ke, leave me out la. and kalau dah tunang tu, buat hal tunang la, why harbour old skool feelings??!! berfikir secara matang lah. honestly now, i felt betrayed by people i called friends.
i didn’t think this was serious when i first got to know about this, just some petty fights among tunangs. but then when i got to really think about it, i began to think i shouldn’t take this complacently. after all, they’re using my name!!
both of you have a little argument – got angry at one another – girl provoked guy (apparently including me as tool)- and guy ‘confessed’ of old skool feelings – girl tells me – i hunt the guy thinking the girl was wronged – but apparently the girl had always been ‘joking’ about guy and me- ni baru betul orang kata 2 kali 5 dol!alamaaak ni criter zaman biler ni? umur masih 15 tahun eh? i go and scold the guy like hell, and then much later the girl sms-ed me asking me to please not fight, everything is settled between him and her.
sorry girl, not that easy.
i don’t know why am truly angered by this, seriously, and very much sore still about this. it’s going to take time to forget.
you guys have been good friends, but even good friends have received the silent treatment from me. and to those who know, they’ll understand what silent treatment from me means…
…..
…
dreadfully cranky.
living nights
the past weekend has been a mix of blessings, beautiful experience and whatnots.
first of was the Iftar with Friends of Harmony centre on Friday which was a nice experience for me. truly. iftar with people of different races and religions, sharing experiences and whats memorable for me was the conversation circle we had after iftar with what i can proudly say, my own circle of friends made up of christians, bahais and buddhists.
only in this circle, we had a bigger group for guests from the Iftar joined us and it so happened that the topic for the night was on Prayer. and when every adherents of faith present that night said a prayer, it truly touched me. i realised every faith seeks one thing: to be embraced by God’s Love. seeks for His guidance and protection, seeks for His forgiveness and blessings. and i got to meet some very inspirational and knowledgeable people, sincere at hearts and minds, almost freed of the worldly wants.
and saturday was another memorable night. Cakap Pasal Remaja was in town for ramadan! with a skit performance by our talented youth leaders, whom i am fortunate to be acquainted with, people with aim and spirit, normal people with great hearts and minds. you know i was thinking the whole night : i’m looking at these very people who are and will be our future leaders. able to be role models for the young ones. and the drama was a good one, revolving around four friends who promised to be together.
however, when they grew up, things changed. (i don’t remember the characters’ names so i’ll be using the ‘actors’ names) ahmad model-turned-playboy, amin good boy turned bad, fairus leader-turned-samseng, and only one of them who stayed true to his words, he promised to be the one to help his friends in times of need, this was played by syakir.
so the story goes, with short intervals by ust fendi as the storyteller. syakir saw the changes in his friends and tried hard to help them realised their mistakes. [Al-Qur’an hudan linnaas]–> the key takeaway of the story.
i have to say you got to be there. the young ustaz-s can act i tell you!
it was just unfortunate i was on mc minallah, or i would have loved to stay on for the qiyam and get to know with the young ones, see what’s hip and happening for them~~share one or two experiences, totally miss school life! and i thought i was going to do a cinderSeri with a Birken’s Twist, for leaving the ‘palace’ at 12 am. haha, fat hope.
and last night was well spent… iftar with the girls only we missed shasha! we had mediterranean at Zac’s Place, having our dinner *under the stars* and the meals scrumptuous, service’s good enough and there will always be things to talk about! from daily life to upin and ipin, to MBMF, to children’s psychology! but hey we went back way before curfew time ok 😉 what’s with the anti-Huzah and looking for taxi all the way down masjid sultan, with a group of guys shrieking, and i mean shrieked at the sight of a rodent (YUCKSSSSSS!!) all of these memories in the span of 4 hours.
–and the weekend had been fulfilled with blessings and love–
and with that, i have upLOADS of pics to the various virtual channels which i own~
morale boost
Are you unhappy with your current job? Is waking up and going to work a daily burden with you? Then try these simple but effective tips on how you can be more satisfied with your work and remove the unhappiness and frustration from your current job. After all, if you are unhappy with your job, it will also affect all aspects of your life.
Be proud of yourself and your work
It doesn’t matter whether you are a restroom janitor or a president of a multi-million dollar company. Taking pride in the work you do is the first step in job satisfaction. Give it your best. Always go for quality work. At the end of the day, knowing that you’ve done your best gives you a feeling of pride and satisfaction.
Create an attitude of enthusiasm
Believe it or not, you can be happy with your current just by changing the way you approach it. If you think that your job is so boring and monotonous, it will be boring and monotonous. So start thinking that your job is exciting and challenging. Your attitude towards your job is the product of your thoughts. And since you are in total control of our thoughts, you are in control of your attitude. This is your daily challenge: Create an attitude of enthusiasm to your work, no matter what you feel. By changing your attitude, you change your feeling. And when you have that positive feeling, you will be satisfied. Try this and be prepared for a big change.
Creativity is the key
You feel that your job is so boring and monotonous. So what can you do to perk it up a bit? Examining what you can do to change the daily approach of your work is another way of bringing in a new challenge to your job. Be creative in your ideas and soon you will find out that there are numerous ways you can change the routine of your work. Ask yourself, what else can I do that no one has thought of? Or what can I do to be more productive in eight hours? Not only will you be challenged to engage in more work, but the possibility of management noticing your initiative is inevitable.
The specialist
Of course you have plans of career advancement, right? Then try this on for size: Study the work you do by taking down notes and practicing it even for just one hour a day. In a short time, you could be the company’s specialist in that discipline. By genuinely being interested in your work, you get a natural tendency to be enthusiastic because of the learning you have gained.
You are a professional
Yes, you are a professional. Someone who can be counted on when management needs your expertise. Your standards are high and you do not accept second best. You are very cooperative and approachable. A professional always does his work consistently right the first time. And when you are a professional, you enjoy your work.
The sky is the limit
Again, your attitude towards your work will greatly affect your satisfaction. So do not think that you are limited to this and that kind of job. You don’t have to box yourself in and produce less than what you are capable of. Utilize and maximize your abilities do work “above and beyond the call of duty.” Again, be proud of your work and have that enthusiastic point of view to break out of the things that hold you back.
You are a reporter
Write down notes and ideas you have learned through the years or through seminars and conferences you’ve attended. Keep track of changes in the workflow and always be updated on the latest trends and changes in the market. If your ideas can help the company, then implement it as soon as possible. All of these things will contribute to the challenge of creating a more satisfying job.
The grass is greener on your side
Most amateurs think that the grass is greener on the other side. And that’s what they will always be: amateurs. Being a professional, you know that the grass on your side of the fence is greener. You don’t have to look for opportunities on the other side when all of the challenges you need are in your own company. Again, be creative in finding them and stop looking at the other side of the fence.
Your thoughts, attitude and the way you handle your work will greatly determine how satisfied you are with your job. If you do your work right the first time—and if you do it with enthusiasm, creativity, professionalism and quality—then management will surely give you credit for a job well done. Your rewards may not come immediately, but you’ll be surprised how soon it gets to your feet.
extracted from http://succeedwiththis.com
living seri 