cold, wet morning today

it's a cold & wet morning today. well it's been raining on & off since yesterday so i pretty much expected the weather to continue this way till the end of today.
both me n mother slept thru our alarm clock this morning. we wanted to wake up for sahur to fast. she woke me up at 5.30am. Subuh is 5.35am so i didn't bother to wake up. i'll just continue fasting.
it was my brother's birthday yesterday. so HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY JO!!
had a peaceful day the past 2 days. the kid didn't come over. she called on tuesday but then she have not done any work yet so i told her to do some self study for 2 days. promised to teach her tonight.
something's wrong with my 'baby'. it won't 'wake up' after i put it to 'sleep'. my 'baby' is my iBook. something went wrong eversince i self printed my vacation pictures about 2 months ago. it went to sleep mode and won't wake up after i hit the mouse pad, keyboard or esc keys. now i've got to bring it to the service centre for a 'check up'. i've got loads of stuff in there. like songs & movies i downloaded and pictures i stored from my digi cam. the technician i spoke to said it could be a software fault. well as long as they don't reformat the computer i'm ok to whatever they want to do to it. hope i won't get charged for the service. it's still under warranty. i topped up another $300 plus for an extended warranty of 2 years. there's still another 1 yr plus to go.
last night i cleared my mails which i have not cleared for almost a year. mostly mobile phone & internet bills, bank statements and CPF statements. some cleaning bug took over me just when i was about to sleep. my mother's threat to just clear them also played a part to...heheeh
what i did was just sort them according to the category above but have not filed them yet. which reminds me to get another file. the current file is getting to fat to stuff more bills/statements in. this can wait till when i'm taking my leave in 1 month's time. exams coming and have to clear my leave. so the best time to clear leave is during festive season, in my case Hari Raya. will be taking about 2 weeks off, including exam leave. WOOOHOOO!!!
will get to greet my sis who'll be coming back for her summer vacation from studies. the last time she came home my exams haven't even started yet. only manage to spend some crazy time with her after my last paper. didn't sleep the whole night. she accompanied me not sleeping too. then father came back with prata. we had prata at 3am. then decided spontaneously to fast the following day. met up with her and a neighbour after my paper. by the time we were on the way home, we were literally dragging ourselves. at least i was...heheheh...
don't know when my bro is coming home though. said he doesn't feel like coming home now. this coming from someone who called home twice a day, sent messages on my mobile saying he misses it back home and feels like coming back. hah!!
let's wait and see who comes home first ok.

i'm frustrated

have you ever been so frustrated with somebody or something that you just feel like screaming or crying right there? i'm going through it now.
i'm helping a kid from my neighbouring block for her exams. she's taking PSLE next month and her mum asked me to help her revise. i'm not giving tuition at all. just helping as and when she needs help with her homework or revision. so i said ok, i can help only when i'm free. turned out she comes everyday till i'm neglecting my own work. i've got an assignment due on 8th October and i haven't even started on it yet.
so back to the kid. by coming everyday she's showing that she's serious about her studies. so i'm happy to help anybody who show's that they are eager to learn. it's a waste of time if you teach someone who's not willing to learn and only comes when they are forced to.
this kid hates science. i don't see why you can hate the subject. science is happening in our everyday life that you can't ignore it. the best you can do or show even if you don't like it is a slight interest of at least how something goes on. for her, everytime she brings her science books over, the way she's studying is making me want to tie her to the back of the chair to make her sit up. then she'll start yawning and yawning till you just want to slap her to make her wake up. i almost snapped yesterday when she said she don't know what 'flooding' means. oh my god!!!
i have been trying my best to make the lesson interesting to her by giving demonstrations and explaining slowly as much as i can. i can say i'm doing not too bad considering i took my PSLE 15 years ago. but it seems like this kid has switched off herself to science. she likes maths. she has at least another 4 years of science to go. if she doesn't start showing interest she's not going to make it at all.
it's nisfu sya'ban tomorrow night. here's something you can do on the night. ladies, if you are in your 'red light' then you can just recite the do'a.


Untuk makluman semua.... Hari Nisfu Sya'aban akan tiba pada hari Rabu malam Khamis (sebaik saja masuk maghrib), 29 Sept 2004 = (selepas maghrib pada hari 15 Sya'aban 1424H). Oleh itu, marilah kita sama-sama mengambil saat keemasan ini untuk menutup catatan amal ibadah kita kpd Allah dengan baik dan sempurna dan seterusnya berazam untuk memperbaiki diri kita untuk catatan yang baru.

Hari nisfu sya'aban adalah hari dimana buku catatan amalan kita selama setahun diangkat ke langit dan diganti dengan buku catatan yang baru. Catatan pertama yang akan dicatatkan dibuku yang baru akan bermula sebaik sahaja masuk waktu maghrib, (15 Sya'aban bermula pada 14 hb Sya'aban sebaik sahaja masuk maghrib)
Berikut adalah antara amal ibadah di hari Nisfu Sya'aban :

1. Selepas solat maghrib (15 Sya'aban, Jumaat malam) Solat sunat nisfu sya'aban, 2 rakaat.
Rakaat 1 : baca Al-Fatihah & surah Al-Qadar 1x
Rakaat 2 : baca Al-Fatihah & surah Al-Ikhlas 3x
2. Membaca Yasin 3x selepas solat Maghribnya (15 Sya'aban, Jumaat malam)
i) Selepas Yasin pertama : mohon dipanjangkan umur untuk beribadat kepada Allah.
ii) Selepas Yasin kedua : mohon rezeki yang halal untuk beribadat kepada Allah.
iii) Selepas Yasin ketiga : mohon ditetapkan iman dan Islam & mati di dalam iman & pohonlah segala yang baik. Kemudian baca Istighfar 11x & selawat 11x Baca doa nisfu Sya'aban (ada didalam Yasin Majmuk).
3. Baca surah ikhlas 1000x
4. Berpuasa pada siangnya (Khamis) Abul Khair Al Talaqaani r.a. mengira nama2 malam Nisfu Syaaban sebanyak 22

Antaranya yg termasyhur adalah:
1. Malam Dimustajabkan Doa
2. Malam Pembahagian Takdir
3. Malam Rahmat
4. Malam Berkat
5. Malam Pengampunan (Taubat)
6. Malam Penebusan
7. Malam Syafaat
8. Malam Penulisan
9. Malam Keagungan dan Kemuliaan
10. Malam Rezeki
11. Malam Hari Raya Para Malaikat
12. Malam Penghidupan

Antara kelebihan bulan Sya'aban:
1. Sesiapa berpuasa sehari dalam bulan Sya'aban maka Allah haramkan tubuhnya dari api neraka dan dia akan menjadi teman kpd nabi Allah Yusof di dalam syurga.
2. Riwayat dari Osman Bin Abi Al-As, Sabda Nabi Muhammad (saw): pada malam nisfu sya'aban setelah berlalu 1/3 malamnya, Allah turun ke langit dunia lalu berfirman: adakah orang-orang yang meminta maka Aku perkenankan permintannya, adakah orang yang meminta ampun maka aku ampunkannya, adakah orang yang bertaubat maka aku terima taubatnya dan diampunkan semua orang mukmin lelaki & perempua! n, melainkan orang yang berzina atau orang yang berdendam marah hatinya kepada saudaranya. Sebaik-baiknya minta ampun
dengan ibubapa sebelum hari nisfu sya'aban kerana amalan kita akan terhalang dari diangkat ke langit sekiranya kita derhaka/berdosa dengan ibubapa kita.

Wallahua'alam

had a fun day today

went to east coast park in the morning for a walk a jog. only Mar n Suzie registered. last yr Nora, Mai, Sharm n me went to MacRitchie for the walk a jog. this year, Nora has a project commisioning this week, Sharm has a meeting n Mai's plain lazy to come this time..heheh
well 3 of us walked the whole distance. we thought we weren't the last ones as there were several guys behind us. to our surprise when we turned at the halfway point we found ourselves the only ones turning!! oh well, it's the sportsmanship that counts rite :)
we saw the president who was taking his daily morning walk there with his bodyguard. he kept his head down most of the time except when members of the public greets him. after the event i hanged around the beach with some colleagues who i was hitching a ride with to go back to office. we had our brunch at the coffeeshop. the younger ones went to MacDonald's for their food. i'm staying away from fast food as much as i can now. the only thing i'm missing is french fries. i've been fasting the past month (on n off) and controlling what i eat. i find that i feel much lighter now since i don't eat much anymore. i feel really great. haven't been doing any exercises lately too so this is the best i can do to stay the way i am. it's harder to lose what you gain when you've hit 25. this is when your metabolic rate starts to slow down and not burn as much as before. once you hit 30 then you'd better be extra careful. that's when your body stops stops producing calcium, unless you take supplements. you will lose your muscle mass and gain more fat mass. therefore before all this starts to happen, i'd better maintain what i am right now...kwa...kwa...kwa...
so, anyway, i had plain naan with keemah (minced meat curry). the keemah was really 'power'. filled me all the way till dinner time. after eating we found a shelter to sit at and the guys started telling each other crappy jokes. guys will always be guys. no matter how old they are, and whether married or not, a father or not, their crap will never change.
afternoon was back in the office. back to work. i'm much more happier working right now than when i was first informed about the re-structuring done in my team. my immediate supervisor, the Project Manager is a 'by the book' guy. everything you do must go through him first. if not he'll definitely not be happy about it and will give u a very long n sour face. lately he's been a bit less sour and the reason was soon given when it was announced that his wife gave birth to their first child last week. so now it's less of a torture working with him now. thank god.
the rest of the day passed by without any incidents. i'm going to upload the pics i took at east coast now. will share them soon.
good nite.

updates

hello. haven't been blogging lately. just got back from a rather controversial wedding. 2 former colleagues of mine got married. his second marriage n her first but she's been engaged to another person before. kinda complicated but well this is a complicated world we live in.

anyway it went rather smoothly. this was the shortest wedding dinner i've ever attended. all wedding dinner i attended normally end about 10pm but this one ended at about 9pm. really early for a dinner but well she did say she's making a really simple affair. the couple looks happy. i really hope their marriage will last forever. then went out with 2 ex-colleagues after the wedding for a drink n catch up. both of them now have 2 children each. it's really nice to hear of people who still believe in the sanctity of marriage.

the week was rather uneventful. only highlight (other than just now) was on Thursday. i was supposed to do some auditing or ICT equipment to one of the specialised unit of the police force. it was suppose to be a whole day event but my part was completed around 11.30am. so my colleague, who was the one conducting the audit, told me i can go off but not to go back to the office. well that was my opportunity to go shopping. i wanted to get a hindi vcd so the best place is Mustafa Centre at serangoon.

after reaching Farrer Park station, i kinda lost my sense of direction and made one big round at Race Course Rd and ended up where i started from. turned out i made one wrong turn n missed my direction by just a few metres. this NEL exits are really confusing man. so reached my destination safe & sound and started my round. i ended up buying over $30 worth of food and another $10 on the vcd. food was mainly soup powder (bought tomato soup, mushroom soup & mixed veges soup). i'm so into soup right now. great way to fill u up without making u feel too heavy.

yesterday after my class i took the mrt back. sat next to someone having a cold n now my face feels soooo heavy and my head feels like it's double it's size. just sprayed some nose drops to clear the nose but it still feels like there's something trying to drill itself outside my face. really aching. even chocolates didn't help much :(

ok will have to stop writing now. have to get sleep. don't know how i can sleep with this ache but still have to get some shut eye. if this gets worse maybe i'll have to take MC on monday...heheh

signing off now...

what a wonderful day

it's monday again!! a brand new day, brand new week (well officially a week starts on sunday but a new workday is monday...if you know what i mean...)

it's an exceptionally sunny and clear day today. have you ever appreciated the the sun? i know i sure didn't appreciate it before whenever i want to sleep in and the sun will be shining really brightly to wake me up. heheh...

but then eversince a condo was built right next to my block and literally blocked the sunrise from my view i find that i miss the sun shining on my face. it also takes some eye opening incident to make me realise how short life is, and it can be taken from you in the blink of an eye, to make me appreciate the work of God. well i had another incident years ago but i'll tell you when i feel like writing it.

well had a surprise when i got in the office today. my boss' wife just gave birth a bit early (didn't even know she's pregnant), so he's taken the whole week off. so i'm left on my own for this week (YIPPEEEE!!!). lot's to do. i've got filing to be backed up and sent for registry filing. will take me a few days to complete but with no boss to add more work i'll finish this up in no time at all...heheh

anyway here's something that you should keep in mind. for those non-malay readers i'll try and translate this when i find the time ;)


Monday Blues ke???? Selalu biasa bagi kita merasakan demikian, bayangkan dah bertahun-tahun kita amalkan amalan tidak sihat ini dan sebenarnya cukup "mengaibkan" bagi kita kaum muslimin.

Sebenarnya antara banyak hari-hari yang Allah ciptakan, hari Isnin adalah hari yang penuh keberkahan kerana hari Isnin lah, junjungan besar kita, Nabi Muhammad saw telah dilahirkan, pembawa rahmat seluruh alam. Hari Isnin juga adalah hari di mana Allah SWT menurunkan wahyu kepada Nabi Muhammad saw melalui perantaraan malaikat Jibril.

Sebab itu, sangat digalakkan untuk berpuasa sunat pada hari Isnin dan kalau yang tidak mengamalkannya pun, perbanyakkanlah melakukan amal ibadah atau apa jua kebaikan yang dapat memuliakan dan mengagungkan kelahiran agung Nabi Muhammad saw.

Banyakkan bersenyum, bersedekah, bersyukur dgn memuji Allah, berselawat & berzikrullah......itulah hebatnya kita kaum muslimin jadi janganlah ada lagi ungkapan "MONDAY BLUES!!!!"

What do you see when you look at me?

i'm not sure who wrote this but i find this really good.

What do you see when you look at me?
Do you see someone limited,Or someone free?
All some people can do is look and stare
Simply because they can`t see my hair
Others think I`m controlled and uneducated
They think I am limited and unliberated
They are so thankful that they are not me
Because they would like to remain free
Well, free isn`t exactly the word I would`ve used
Describing women who are cheated on and abused
They think that i do not have opinion or voice
They think that being hooded isn`t my choice
They think that the hood makes me look caged
That my husband or dad are totally outraged
All they can do is look at me and fear
And in my eye there is a tear
Not because I have been stared at or made fun of
But because people are ignoring the One up above On the Day of Judgment they
will be the fools
Because they are too ashamed to play by their own rules
Maybe the guys won`t think I`m a cutie
But atleast I`m filled with more inner beauty
See, I have declined from being a guy`s toy
Because I won`t let myself controlled by a boy
Real men are able to appreciate my mind
And aren`t busy looking at my behind
Hooded girls are the ones really helping The Muslim cause
The role that we play definatley deserves applause
I will be recognized because I am smart and bright
And because some people are inspired by my sight
The smart ones are attracted by my tranquility
In the back of their minds they wish they were me
We have the strength to do what is right
Even if it means putting up a life long fight
You see, we are not controlled by a mini skirt
And tight shirt
We are given respect and never treated like dirt
So you see, we are the ones
Who are really free and and liberated
We are not the ones sexually terrorized & violated
We are the ones that are free and pure
We are free of STDs that have no cure
So when people ask you how you feel about the hood
Just sum it up and say
"Baby, it`s ALL good!"

i miss full time studying

i took a walk down memory lane just now. went to SP's new convention centre to collect a bursary awarded to my sister and cousin. they are both away studying in australia at the moment.

well while walking around the revamped side of SP and bringing mother up to block 14 for her to perform her solat brought back the memories of the time when i was still a student there.

lunchtime was always spend at the musollah of blk 14 with my friends. most were from the dept of electronics, computer and communication engrg and a few of us were from the dept of electrical engrg and mechanical engrg. there were not much malay girls taking electrical and mechanical but quite a number were taking electronics during my time so we always hang around the electronics side of the campus. that was where we really bonded during lunchtime and when it was fasting time we will sit and recite the quran together. for those of us who can't recite during the red flag we just read the translation...heheh..

i still remember when i first stepped into the poly as a freshie. that was July 1994, 10 yrs ago. and, well had a bit of a hiccup in the middle when i flunked one of my subjects and had to repeat one module. but after that i managed to pull myself through and finally graduated in July 1998. there was quite a lot of changes around there but some things still remain the same. i remember when i was performing my solat, the wind will blow away the mat. it's still the same now :)

life as a student was really simple and worry free. well i still have to worry but it was just over schoolwork and exams. after exams are over you feel this relief and then you can really relax during the school holidays. what i normally do after school is hang around in the library and finish up all the tutorials till it's closing time. then i'll head home and take my shower and dinner and hit the bed.

my generation experienced the best of both worlds. we knew of life without computers (what!!!), no MRT (how did you travel??), no handphones/pagers (can't imagine that). i had the pleasure (if you can call it that) of experiencing a classroom without aircons but only fans, no such thing as e-mails. those came about only when i was in my final year of poly so that's why i say i experienced both worlds. my friends and me didn't have the privelege of having an MRT stop right outside the poly when we were students. we had to either take the bus or simply walk from buona vista stn to campus. a 15 mins walk will take only 5 mins when you are late...heheh...

life as a student was really fitting me fine till the day i took my final exams and got my results. what was i going to do? what does life has in store for me now? those were the questions i asked myself back then. i thought i was ready for the real world. but the world had something in store for me. it was hard looking for a job when you are thrown into an economic crisis. it took me almost a year to land my first real job. in the meantime i did some temporary work here and there. did menial labour like data entry (where i learnt my typing skills), filing (literally filing - take files in and out the shelves for whoever asks for them) and even tutoring.

now i'm in my second job and in the blink of an eye (to me) i'm already working for 4 years there. where did all the time fly? after all these years of working, i still miss the simple life of studying. i miss all the friends i made there. most of them have started their own families and are also busy with work. i'm busy with my work and the part time degree i'm taking that i have no time to socialise let alone think of starting my own family.

now i wonder what life has in store for me the next 10 yrs. what will i end up by then? will i still be in the same job? i guess i'll just have to wait for my fate. we can only plan but the real action will be decided by the Almighty Allah. Amin.

i'm so happy

i'm so happy today. finally managed to configure my new broadband account. although i had to downgrade from 512k speed to 256k speed, i'm still happy.
took me almost the whole of last night to figure out but couldn't do it at all. found the modem manual somewhere in this computer table and did everything as stated and finally got this up...whew!!!

spent the whole day today listening to a tender presentation again. today and yesterday the company that came was from Israel. i'm really impressed with their knowledge and technological advancement. they are way advanced than the europeans. if only all the muslims in this world care enough about other muslim brothers and sisters instead of just themselves we can be stronger and create more advanced technologies then the Jews.

so after work went to town for a small mission but didn't manage to accomplish that. the aimless wander found myself at suntec city. i haven't been to suntec in ages. before the collapse of Nicoll Highway that's my lunchtime playground with my 2 sidekicks...heheh...

a few changes here and there but overall still the same. went to carrefour n stocked up on the junk food. i actually spent almost $15 on junk food alone. sheesh...gonna waste all the fasting i've done so far gorging on those junk food...heheh...but it's only once in a while ;)

went home n got started on the configuration and finally got it up just after an hour ago. i'm feeling really sleepy now so gonna catch my beauty zzZZZzzz......nitezzz or mornzzz since it's already 1AM now...

no more work on saturdays

today will be the start of a longer weekday for us in the civil service. finally my prayers of no more work on saturdays has been answered. i don't mind working longer on a weekday as long as i can have a full 2 days off on the weekends.

anyway today is my sister's birthday so : HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULI!! it happens to be Teacher's Day for teachers in singapore, so another wish to all teachers here : HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY!!.

it's my lunchtime now and after this it's going to be a long day for me cos i've got to attend this meeting for work that will drag till after 7pm. oh what torture!! good thing my mobile has some games so with the mobile in the silent mode nobody else except those beside me will know what i'm doing...hehehe...

anyway here's something for the day :

Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity
1. At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.
2. Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice.
3. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.
4. Put your garbage can on your desk and label it "in"
5. Put decaf in the coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once everyone has Gotten over their caffeine addictions, switch to espresso.
6. In the memo field of all your checks, write "for sexual favors".
7. Finish all your sentences with "in accordance with the prophecy."
8. Don't use any punctuation marks
9. As often as possible, skip rather than walk.
10. Ask people what sex they are. Laugh hysterically after they answer.
11. Specify that your drive-through order is "to go".
12. Sing along at the opera.
13. Go to a poetry recital and ask why the poems don't rhyme.
14. Put mosquito netting around your work area. Play a tape of jungle sounds all day.
15. Five days in advance, tell your friends you can't attend their party because you're not in the mood.
16. Have your coworkers address you by your wrestling name, Rock Hard Kim.
17. When the money comes out the ATM, scream I won!", "I won!" "3rd time this week!!!!!"
18. When leaving the zoo, start running towards the parking lot, yelling "run for your lives, they're loose!!"
19. Tell your children over dinner. "due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go."
And the final way to keep a healthy level of insanity.......
20. Send this to everyone in your address book, even if they sent it to you or asked you not to send them stuff like this.