New Updates : First Time Visitor, Disclaimer, Sponsored Ad and Tags Done
1) On the right, there is a new column which is "Fist Time Visitor". It is dedicated for both new visitor and my fellow friends, to know the blog better by reading through previous post arranged in order.
2) I've also put up a disclaimer to this blog in that column which generally describe the rules and some rights I reserved.
3) An email was sent to me that there will be an advertisement from Hitz.FM to be displayed under Sponsor section starting from 2/9 to 8/9. Just FYI... :)
4) I've finished two tags assigned by Azuwachan and PuteriEzza. There is still one more pending from Syahidatul (which I will do ASAP :)) The tag done were listed below, or you can reach it via the "tag" link above.
Labels: New
The Best Way To Celebrate Merdeka..
Summary - Just remember one thing.. just one thing.
This past few days, I am more eager to watch tv. Not because of the movies, but actually because of the sponsored advertisement, all giving different angle on how to view Merdeka. Yes... Finally I decided to say something on Merdeka.
There are so many ways to talk about Merdeka, The News Straits Times is giving copies of reprint newspapesr from the year 1957. The Petronas as always, come up with a brilliant advertisement where the children were asked to spell dinosaur, and I guess you understood what I meant.
Kudos to all, because we really need to be reminded of all that. The struggle, The long way we have come, The peace etc.
So what more can this entry in this humble blog add to the inspiring celebration through out the country.
I guess, that's the whole question now isn't it? What more can WE add to all this?
We can celebrate all we can, we can be touched by the ad, We can feel lucky, free, and thankful with being a Malaysian. But like all celebration, it will be over with time.
So what can we actually do for our country? So many ways.. believe me. But I believe there is one thing which if done, will be the equivalent to all the message in Merdeka campaign, tv ad, and everything. If you do this, will be more significant than all flags being raised this day in the whole country. You just need to remember. Remember what we are celebrating, remember where we come from, remember the struggle, just remember.
You don't need to remember all. How can everyone remember the history of Merdeka, Take one piece.. and hold on to that. If you like to remember Merdeka for its flag. Do not remove the flag when Merdeka is over. And please don't leave it be to rot as well... maintain or change it to new if you must. What I'm saying, choose one thing you learn from all this.. and stick to it for the rest of your life proudly. That would be so much better than the celebration once a year.
It doesn't have to be flag. Remember the Petronas advertisement, where the children doesn't know what's the meaning of race? even associated race with racing. Eheh really funny. If you choose this lesson, practise the idea through out your life. Make friends with all races. Remove the racism in your heart entirely. You don't have to put up a flag if you don't want to. Just do this.
Hopefully you understand my message. So can I ask, how do you wish to remember this Merdeka? My humble answer is in the additional idea. Please share yours
Labels: Lesson, Malaysia, Merdeka
Happy Birthday Filantera!
Today is my brother, Filantera's birthday!!! Happy birthday to you. And I pray that you will be blessed with happiness your whole life. Present?
hmm I wonder what's the weather in Africa now? :p
You may not know it, but you really are the backbone of the brotherhood. We have been saying all this while, that you are actually the best of both of us. And I believe it is still true. :)
All your sacrifice does not go unnoticed. Remember that.. Only Allah will be able to repay them.
Time sure flies.. right?
p.s. I think it's raining in Africa, don't you think so Pocket? :)
Two Steps To Realizing Your Dreams
I have a dream, to save RM12,000 by the end of the year.
We always have this kind of resolution very early in a year. By the end of the year, we usually already forget the resolution entirely and start a new one. Where do we go wrong? and why am I talking about resolution when it's no where near the 1st of January? :)
It's because, there should never be a specific date for planning your future. It is more achievable and easier if we keep reviewing them all year long.
Oh ya, so where do we go wrong? The reason our resolution always left incomplete is because we never plan the details.
Confused? well don't be, what I'm saying is that we must always know what we want. If we want to be successful, define what do we meant by successful, is it money? if yes.. then how much money? when should we have that amount of money?
In short, instead of saying we want to be successful, detail it with another format, maybe - "I want to have RM10,000 by 31st December in cash"
Of course there are other definition of success, the above are only examples. Maybe you can say this, "I want to reduce my weight to 60kg by 31st December", or "I want to finish 2 books, both done in 2 months."
Note : Set realistic goals.. you just can't dream of saving RM1 million, when you only earn RM5K per month,
Let me take the dream to save RM12,000 by the end of the year. So don't stop there, how are you going to save RM12K? break it down, you will need to save RM1000 per month. Ask again, how to save RM1000 per month? This will be very tedious, I assure you. But if you cannot save RM1000 per month, how on earth are you going to achieve that RM12K by year end?
Check all your expenditure, where can you reduce.. maybe you don't need Astro after all, since you just don't have the time to watch, That would already be RM100 saved. Maybe change your postpaid line to prepaid. Check these things.
If you hit a dead end, when you have just squeezed everything and still not enough to save RM1000 per month, change your end of year target. Maybe reduce it to RM9000.
That goes the same to all target, whether to reduce weight, or to get that promotion. Anything! Let's do this first, shall we?
One of my first dream achieved was to buy a pc. I dreamt it for a long time and when I checked my saving, it was only RM100 above. I was frustrated. Then only I realized this method from my reading. And I went for a very sudden change in my lifestyle. No more going to movie, or weekend trip to Ipoh. My diet also changed to save. Alhamdulillah, not long (still about a year) after that, I bought a decent PC priced at RM1600.
Basically you want it, you have to do something to get it. :)
Labels: dream, ideas, Organize, tips
Don't Worry Be Happy :)
Summary - Don't worry on things we cannot control
I have missed two days of posting. :) Sorry, well as the saying goes, we can always plan.. but in the end He will decide how everything will happen.
Does this mean that all our plan in our life is pointless? and that we might as well do nothing and let everything happen, since in the end He will decide for you?
Eheh even we know immediately right that this is wrong. Allah had never taken away our right to choose. Instead we decide everything for ourselves. It is only how things happen is decided by Him. We choose a road to travel, whether or not that road will suffer major traffic jam is never in our control. We decide to eat, however how our body react to it, digest it is totally beyond our control. But we still need to travel to go to somewhere. We will never get anywhere if we don't travel. We still need to eat, whether or not we will still feel hungry afterward is totally up to Him,
Now that we clear that up, why oh why should we be bothered by those we can't control. We are going to office, when suddenly it rains heavily and flood the whole area. we will not be able to go to work, and the boss might scream at us afterward. Think logically... what else we can do? Can we get to the office any other method? No? then call the boss, tell him what happen. Why do we spend the rest of day worrying about getting scold tomorrow... when we know for sure, there's nothing we can already do. Isn't it better if we spend the day off with the family happily. At least you are getting something out of this, a happier family.
My point is simple.... always try to control our wandering mind. Things go wrong, you have done everything humanely possible. And there's NOTHING else can be done. Why spend your energy worrying until it upset everything, your family suffered, your work quality deteriorated, your stress level increased.
Other application that I may think are as follows
- Traffic jam, there's nothing you can do about it, please don't cut queue through the emergency lane.. I will hate you for that :) so why curse and get angry. Do something else maybe rehearse for Akademi Fantasia audition by singing the song in the radio, or come up with idea for your blog.
- Your friend have a misunderstanding with you, and you had tried to reconcile by apologizing (eventhough it's totally not your fault) for for about 3 months already and still he don't want to talk to you. Why worry and blame yourself. You cannot control people's feeling. move on.
- etc
Don't you agree that we spend a lot of time doing basically nothing (worrying)?
--------------- Personal Note --------------------------
Do you remember the time I mentioned to you that I made a terrible mistake in my line of work. I accidentally authorize the cutting of wrong tube in a boiler. The manager was furious. And for the first time, he screamed at me in front of other people. I was so stressed at the time. The only thing come up to my mind is me being sacked from the job. Seriously very stressful. Of course I had called up contractors to repair the damage, yet my mind is torturing me with all the negativity. For about 1 hour I feel like that when I think the last thing I could do is to write an apology letter. I admit my mistake and claim that I will take full responsibility.
He called me in the evening. And to my surprise instead of being sacked, he said that he had shown my letter to his superior (who was by the way there) and the superior was actually very impressed with me taking the responsibility. However he said that this is a very expensive lesson to be learnt and not to be repeated. I nodded appreciatively.. Fuuh lega! :)
Labels: Experience, Lesson, Mind
Bagai Menarik Rambut Dari Tepung
Summary - The correct method of giving advice
warning is basically a harsher way of advising. So what is the correct way of giving advice?
I'll explain through a story. One fine day, two boys were at the mosque when they saw an old man perform the ablution (taking the wudhu'). Now these boys were quite knowledgable about wudhu' and they knew immediately that the way the old man was taking the wudhu' was wrong. They knew they had to advise him. So what they did was to go to the old man...
Boys - Sir, if we can have your time, the two of us are actually discussing, I'm saying that this boy is taking the wudhu' wrongly, while he said that I'm the one who do it wrongly. Can you please be the judge of that?
Old man - sure, why not.
The boys each then performed the ablution, each took wudhu' the correct way. After both of them were finish. The old man embarassingly admitted that their wudhu' were actually perfect, and that his was the one which is wrong. He understood that the boys were trying to advise him and thanked them for that.
/end story
Giving advise is a good thing to do, it usually will benefit both of the giving and the receiving ends. Sometime the person giving the advice may actually be the one who need to be corrected. However, the method of giving advice is my main objective here.
I believe everyone has pride or ego. Everyone will feel attacked and humiliated if being told that they were wrong. It's human nature.
We cannot give advice in hidden meaning like the story at all time, sometime (usually) they might not get it.
We just need to consider the person's ego at all time. Because if not, he might feel offended and throw away the advice blindly out of ego. In the end, nobody will benefit. Isn't it more important for the person to at least hear the advice and think about it?
Of course there are always exceptions, some people, you just need to give it direct to their face. :)
Examples of where ego will be affected, children advising their parent to stop smoking, wife advising the husband to help in the house and vice versa, workers advising the boss on how to manage better.
By the way, the story above is actually a true story. And the boys are actually Hassan and Hussin, the grandchildren of Rasulullah :)
Have you ever given out any advice, brilliantly delivered? Or are there any other methods / examples of giving advice out there that can be shared?
--------------- Personal Note --------------------------
There was one time, my boss drafted a letter, But maybe he was in a hurry, there were a lot of grammar mistake. And this letter is important because it is addressed to the DOSH (department of safety and health). I'm not that good in English but I have no choice. I corrected it and inform him about it after. I said that the letter was placed on my desk, and that I thought he asked me to correct it. He just smiled. And from that time, every letter he drafted goes through me first. (padan muka) heheh
An Accident That Should Happen, But Didn't.. I Wonder Why
Have you had an accident that when you think back, you were actually the luckiest person in the world at the time. Any minor changes in the accident may resulted in you being ... well, dead.
Yesterday, there was an accident involving one of my tankers. Leaving the details out, I can say that the driver was very lucky. Any wrong action at the time, he will be dead for sure, plunging into a cliff nearby. The pictures above showed the trailer disconnected from the prime mover (the front part of a tanker). Alhamdulillah the driver was not hurt and all palm oil were recovered. Happy ending.
Back to the topic, I personally have had a lot of near (death) experience. Not that I am seeing the light or anything, like there's one time, I was driving back from Kedah to Johor. I am very sleepy at the time, suddenly I realised there's a lorry approximately 100 meter in front of me. I hit the brake immediately and manage to stop exactly behind the lorry. (the lorry was moving very slowly). Shocked, I headed to the nearest RnR and sleep for over two hour there. Apparently I'm down with fever, not any fever - the dengue itself. But that's another story.
In my opinion, there are two ways you can react to this.
- You will be braver, and eventually become those of Mat Rempit or Tokyo Drift material.
- or you can do this. Imagine that the near miss "fatal" accident is actually a warning given by the Almighty, probably it would sound like this - "If you doesn't change the way you drive or do things... that exactly what will happen in a day or two. Don't say I didn't warn you then."
Labels: accident, Experience, Islam
Kids Say The Darnest Things
Summary - Wednesday smile
Not all forwarded emails are junk. I actually have a folder in my pc for those interesting ones. The problem about sharing forwarded emails is that most of the time people are already familiar with them. :) Here's one I would like to share with you...
Source - Forwarded Emails
Subject - Kids Say the Darnest Things
What Is The Proper Age to Get Married?
"Eighty-four, Because at that age, you don't have to work anymore, and you can spend all your time loving each other in your bedroom." (Judy, 8)
"Once I'm done with kindergarten, I'm going to find me a wife" (Patrick, 6)
What Do Most People Do On A Date?
"On the first date, they just tell each other lies, and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date." (Mike, 9)
When Is It Ok To Kiss Someone?
"You should never kiss a girl unless you have enough bucks to buy her a big ring and her own VCR, 'cause she'll want to have videos of the wedding." (Jim,10)
"Never kiss in front of other people. It's a big embarrassing thing if anybody sees you. But if nobody sees you, I might be willing to try it with a handsome boy, but just for a few hours." (Kally, 9)
Is It Better to be Single or Married?
"It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need somebody to clean up after them" (Lynette,9)
"It gives me a headache to think about that stuff. I'm just a kid. I don't need that kind of trouble." (Kenny, 7)
/end forwarded emails
Do you guys have any experience with your children, when they said the darnest thing? :)
--------------- Personal Note --------------------------
Do you remember the PETRONAS advertisement for last Hari Raya, where the couple actually hates the grandfather. They even set up another table for him to dine alone. In the final scene, the children play tea, and set up a table for their parent. "Nanti bila mama abah dah tua, mama abah makan sini", "Abah jangan lupa pakai pampers tau"
Funny, how so much we can learn from the children
Labels: funny
Forwarded email that is dangerous to muslim's faith, an explanation.
Summary -Don't forward emails blindly
I again received this forwarded email yesterday. Actually, this has been around for quite a long time, and it is my belief that the email is very dangerous to muslim's faith and it must stop. I will explain why. I have attached the full version of the email in the Additional Ideas section. (Why? because I want to keep the entry short, I was hoping you read my opinion on the matter first, I don't want it to be further forwarded... blindly)
However, to sum the email up... There is this person who claim he had seen Rasulullah in his dream, and Rasulullah gave him a few points, asking him to convey them to all muslim around the world. And the emails are followed by a warning, that bad things will happen to those who choose not to forward and that good things will happen to those who did.
My explanation on why the email is very dangerous
- The last "wahyu" from Allah (Surah AlMaidah Ayat 3) generally translates - "Pada Hari ini telah Kusempurnakan untuk kamu agamamu, dan telah Ku cukupkan kepadamu nikmatKu, dan telah Ku redhai Islam itu sebagai cara hidup mu". Saidina Abu Bakar actually cried after the verse is read. Because he knew that Rasulullah's responsibility to teach Islam had been completed, and it is a sign that Rasulullah had reached the end of his life.
- So if Rasulullah appeared in the dream of this person, telling him to distribute the message, don't you think that this shows that his work /responsibility is not yet finished?
- Even when he is still alive, obviously there are people who did not accept his teaching. Does it mention anywhere in the hadis or HOly Quran that these people were doomed with unfortunate events? No... so why is the email if not forwarded will then bring bad luck?
- The major portion of the email is actually describing the fate of those who received the email, whether good or bad. And I believe, those who forwarded it, did so not because he/she wanted to convey the message of Islam, but because of fear of being cursed. Am I right? Is that the foundation of Islamic teaching? "Berdakwah" out of fear or to gain rewards.
Labels: Islam
Things You Need To Know About Marriage
First of all, on behalf of my dear wife, I would like to say thank you for all the wishes. All those kind words and wishes are actually prayer (Doa). And we pray to Allah that we will be given the strength for the years to come and the same blessing if not more is given to you.
We are just one year old. Very new if compared to some of you. There's so much to learn about marriage. And I sincerely hope that maybe you guys can throw in any tips on how to live a happier life as husband n wife.. Tips from bachelors /bachelorettes are also equally welcomed. I have met some of my bachelor friends who actually offered great tips. Maybe you read it somewhere or from your observation of your parents. Do share... however insignificant you may think it is. As for myself, I've seen a movie that actually gave a great tips to happy marriage.
Argument in a marriage is very common. If you never come across an argument in your marriage, something is very wrong. So why we cannot continue the argument tomorrow? Simply because sleeping is when our subconcious mind works the best. Have you ever wonder about a problem until you sleep, and you found out that you know the solution exactly tomorrow. Or how dreams can actually show your innermost desire and guide you.
Subconcious mind is a very powerful tool. However like any other powerful tools, if used wrongly, it can be very dangerous. You see, if we go to bed, hating each other with the argument unsolved. The mind will start trying to solve the problem. Since the solution actually requires the two of you to sit down and talk, the mind will not be able to solve it. And thus, it will revert to the next method which is to write it down somewhere for the mind to work on another day.
Subconciously your hate and anger to your spouse will be recorded, and accumulate with more arguments. It will be no surprise, if one day, the both of you will see that there is no more love, only hate. Which is why you should never go to bed angry at each other. Solve everything before hand
Labels: Marriage, Relationship, tips
Pickles on Sunday
Hey it's Sunday... One of my hobby is to read comics in the newspaper. And collect those that immediately make me laugh. Like this one... It's published in The Star, on 16th September 2006 if I am not mistaken.
Hopefully I can grow old with the Mrs like this couple.. Amiin
Opal (wife) is sewing, when Earl (husband) approaches her
Earl - Opal, where's that measuring tape of yours?
Opal - It's right here
Earl take the measuring tape and start "measuring" his waist
Opal - Wow. I'm impressed
Opal - You're finally paying attention to what that extra weight of yours is doing to your health and appearance. I'm proud of you!
Earl - Don't be. I just couldn't find my belt
--------------- Personal Note --------------------------
:) :) :)
Labels: sunday
Happy Anniversary dear wife :)
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Summary - Tribute to my wife..
Yes, one of the happiest moment for me in a day is when I see the mrs smile.
Today (18/8) exactly one year ago at about 9.00 pm, is maybe the happiest moment in my life. The mrs and I were joined together as husband and wife. In other words.. today is our first anniversary as husband and wife. :)
So do excuse today's entry as this is a tribute to the love of my life, my wife. Hopefully she will read this tomorrow...
Hm I got stuck here for a long time, trying to find any words to describe how special you are to me. Typing and deleting paragraphs countless times simply because I think there are better ways to show how much I appreciate you.
When the truth is, there are certain things in life which description is beyonds any words, with beauty.. no colors in the whole universe can replace.
And by now I have given up trying to write my feeling for you. This is simply what I want you to know.
You really are the most amazing thing ever happened to me. My life changed when you came into my life.. if before I sleep very late at night, surfing the web, now no more etc. And what amazed me is that, I gladly make the change for you. I will surrender my life gladly if you'd just ask.
And that's not all, it amazes me even MORE when your life had changed exactly one year ago, and you gladly make the changes for me. No words can describe how I appreciate all the sacrifice you made. I praised Allah for this. It's like being handed the heaven itself. Seriously.
To my dearest wife... love is like the sand in a glass filled with water. If no one is stirring, the sand will settle at the bottom of the glass. Hopefully, both of us will keep stirring the water in the glass. It's not an easy job.. but no body will stir it if not us.
I love you my dear... Happy anniversary
How to Systemically Have Happier Days
Summary - Day in day out.. why be emotionally normal? be happy!
Referring to previous comments, each of us has our own favorite type of movie. Some love horror, some favor romantic comedy or others. Basically we love these movies because of the way they bring up emotion within us. Some people love to laugh, so they watched comedy etc.
I was thinking... if we can actually identify what make us happy. I mean what really make us happy. Maybe if we can do the thing a bit more often than other things in a day, our day will be a happier day. I hope you understand. No?
I have a question. I would appreciate if you would enlighten us with your answers. But if you think it is too personal, just answer it in your heart. :)
What things or action that once done or seen will immediately make you smile and happy?
Of course there are a lot of things. But I personally am very happy if I can make another person happy. Seriously... I would go great length to make others happy. especially children. (You should see me with my nephew and niece hehe)
For your information, it took about 10 minutes just to figure out what really make me smile. Different people will have different answers and there are a lot of happy things in the world. So don't just be influenced by people... Search your heart for the one thing that will keep you smiling and happy (even laughing) for the rest of the day.
Once you have identified this, why not do it everyday?
Like myself, maybe I should try to stop by at the local kindergarden here few times a week and entertain the children there. (Everytime I drove my motorcycle pass the kindergarden, I will look at them playing.. and immediately smile)
or I will go back to Kedah as often as possible to see my dearest grandmother (Maktuk). She definitely will be excited and that itself will keep me ":)"
Other people may find watching sitcom is the happiest moment (with all the genius joke). Then you watch sitcoms everyday. Buy DVD of those you really like.
My point is
- Search your heart on what really make you happy
- Do it at least once a day (Mandatory)
- Why bother doing other things that have no emotional value
Other things that make me happy.. (eheh just writing about them is exciting)
- the Mrs's laughter (it's highly contagious)
- chatting with my dearest brothers. Can't stop laughing everytime YM'ing with them
- training in Silat (I'm obsessed)
- reading comments and message in shoutbox :)
- etc
13 Going 30... 30 going 13
Summary - Appreciating is a hard thing to do
Hectic hectic day... So hi guys, hows life?
Yesterday I was watching a movie "13 going 30" on RTM2 with the mrs. Did you watch it? Well no fear, this is not a movie review. It is about one 13 years old wishing to be 30. And like every thing else in a movie, the wish come true.
I'm not sure about you, but when I am at that age, I cant wait to become adult. No more studying, no more exams, a lot of money every months. Can do anything we desire without the need to seek approval, Wow! that would be heavenly.
Not that my childhood is no fun. Believe me. It was the best time of my life. With all the drama, the rebellion, the awesome company, SO MUCH free time, I sometime wonder what to do... Now that I'm working. every once in a while, I start wishing to be given the opportunity to turn back time, and maybe this time I will appreciate the time more.
I believe every one, if given the chance, want to do the same. Am I right? Why ya?
I'm thinking this all through out the movie. And this is what I can come up with
- We really are so bad at appreciating and be thankful. when we were kids, we don't appreciate all the wonderful things we're given and jealous of all the things adult do. It actually not a surprise because we were just not that mature at the time. But why when we were supposed to be more mature now, the "bad at appreciating" seems to still be there.
- It doesn't stop there, we always find eating at other's house is more delicious than our very own cooking. We always envied other people for their perfect life, when in fact they were doing the same on you.
- any other examples guys?
--------------- Personal Note --------------------------
I know somebody may find that the movie is so ewww heheh. Well unfortunately I really like that type of movie. For me movies should satisfy my imagination. If I want to see war movies, I am better off with the evening news :). Anyway my kind of favorite movies are those that are imaginative like Harry Potter, LOTR, Highlander etc. Comedy is another genre I love. Ya la, if you are going to sit there for 2 hours, you are entitled to a happier you after the movie... :)
Labels: appreciation, movies
How Some People Change Cars Every 5 Years
Summary - Some people change new cars every 5 years, how did they do it?
Today I went to the bank with a friend of mine. He is one of the main supplier for the mill and I know him way back when I'm still in Johor.
He is driving a new Hilux (very expensive and new). I remembered only few years back he was driving another branded new car (I'm not sure what the car was but it is definitely quite new)
When I asked him, he said it is his practice to change a new car every 5 years and this will be practised until he died.
According to him, he had fixed a monthly payment of RM800 just for his car. When the car is 5 years of age, he will trade that in when it is still high in value for a newer car. However the monthly payment shouldn't be more than RM800. Meaning, he will pay RM800 every month for the rest of his life.
According to him, this is better than maintaining an old car because -
- He will be able to drive any car he wanted
- People will see him as a successful businessman
- Almost no maintenance cost
- The money forked out for maintenance for old cars usually just as much as buying new car
- He does not have to worry a bit about maintenance of the car and its reliability. It's brand new..
- Some cars come with free bonus such as free roadtax and maintenance for couple of years.
- Almost everyone suffer from debt through out their life, why not enjoy from it.
One thing for sure he is a non-muslim. We muslim, were raised to try to avoid or settle all debt at all cost. If for example, we die with some debt unsettled, the debt will be a burden for us in the afterlife.
I am actually not very sure how other religion view debt unsettled, is it accepted?
For us muslim, what do you think of the idea? Agree / Disagree? :)
--------------- Personal Note --------------------------
When will I finish paying all my debt. Sometimes, it feels like it is a never ending juggling. One debt settle, another waiting. After I'm done with my car, I'm hoping to straight away use that allocation of money to buy a house.
Are debt really becoming part of our life already? How do you guys manage your debt?
An Ant on the Windscreen
Summary - A tribute to one great event in Islam, Israk Mikraj
This is a story derived from mere imagination.
One day I drove back to KL which is about 100 km from my place. The journey usually took me about 1 hour maximum,
Apparently I was not alone, there was an ant hitching a ride on my windscreen. I completely ignored it after a few attempt to knock it off with my wiper fail.
After I finished my task in KL, I drove back home. To my surprise, the ant was still there.
When I reached home, the ant (now known as ant A) somehow reunited with its friend (another ant B) and they started chatting
A - do you know where have I been?
B - Kitchen?
A - Wrong!! hehe I know you wouldn't believe this, but I was in KL just now?
B - KL? that was like 10,000,000 cm away!!! You must be crazy
A - it's true... And I was there about an hour ago, now I'm back..
B - you must be dehydrated. Go find yourself some water (still does not believe ant A).
/end story
Do you believe ant A? There's no reason why not. Since we know the whole story, and it is not only possible for us to travel 100km in 1 hour, it is actually considered slow by some people.
The same question was raised over 1400 years ago. How could the Prophet Muhamad was taken on isra' mi'raj journey. All the way to Sidratul Muntaha in one night.
Isra' Mi'raj happened on the 27th of Rejab which was on last Saturday. This is a tribute to the great event.
Disclaimer - AT NO POINT, I'm referring the Prophet Muhamad as an ant, the story was just to describe how the travel is actually possible and that we just don't have that level of technology or knowledge to even understand it yet.
Hopefully we will benefit from other great lesson from the event.
Labels: Islam
Darul Izah Orphanage Charity - The Report
Alhamdulillah, the blogger visit at Darul Izzah Orphanage is successful. This is my story.
The Memes compiled. Kudos to all contributed :)
The event started off with games. The boys were put into groups of five. And the first game is to break other group's balloon attached to their feet. A lot of strategy involved, one of which they tied the balloon way at the knee. Very hard to break that one :)
Mr Idham himself conducting the games. This is before Amy taken over. She is very good in this game thing.
Finishing up the puzzle, all rules go out the window with this one hehe
This is my group. Group "White". We actually won the building the pyramid game.
Merdeka game - each group have to recreate the Tugu Negara with only newspaper and salotape. Then they each have to pose just like the statue. Seriously very creative children. We even had soldiers that look like Fasha Sandha :)
all of us sit down on the floor, eating lunch like one big family. We were having sambal udang, fried chicken and mixed vege. yum yum
Mr Idham presenting the compilation of memes done and a * donation of RM27178 to the Darul Izah representative
After Solat Zohor, we performed the Yasin recital and tahlil. This is a picture of us, bloggers taken from Mr Idham's blog. The names are intentionally omitted as per request
There's definitely not much picture here, as I am just as busy as the children hehhe. However you can check out Mr Idham's blog for more "clear" picture and full event.
Like I've mentioned before, it is not my intention to show that I am more noble with all this. I'm just a man who have nothing but his blog to promote this. Hopefully we can all do our small part of giving in our life. Cheers :)
* Corrected by Mr Idham
Labels: charity
Correction - date of charity changed to sunday 12/8
Ive just been informed that the charity at darul izah orphanage will
be held on sunday 12/8, NOT today.
my additional leave had been approved and thus i will still be there tomorrow.
anybody wishes to join but having a problem, tell me about it here,
maybe i can help
see u there.
ps - today is isra' mikraj :)
A Better Person
Summary - Charity is never about money
Today is the day. The charity at Darul Izzah Orphanage. It will be from 10.30am to 1pm. Again, if you can make it, let's..
So why am I so excited about the event.
1) This is my first charity I joined. I have been on the receiving end for a long time already. I believe it is about time that I be on the giving end instead. I cannot offer a lot of money to these poor children, What I can do is to go there and help out the event. So that everyone will be as comfortable as possible, so that the children will be happy for at least today(I am quite good with children hehehe),
2) In Islam, You get "pahala" just by touching the orphan on the head, in other word, by giving a pat on the shoulder, or by any means to show that you care for them. Imagine, just by mere caring you will be appreciated by Him, what if you lighten up their day. I am not in any way looking for ways to get "pahala". But, if Allah love the act, it must be something good, right?
3) In addition to all that, I will be able to get to make new friends. Strangers that actually connected via keyboard and monitor. Why? Don't I have enough friends? No... I like to smile at people and have them smile at me back. :)
(Yerp like what you are doing there... :) )
The point of this post...
- I am not trying to show off that I am a very noble person when I go tocharity. I highlighted it in this blog so many time to encourage other people joining in. One of the many small things I do to help out.
- Charity does not mean you will have to gather 100 friends, giving out money, etc... As long as you touch somebody else's life, in any way... you will be appreciated (by HIM)
- So let's be a better person. You and more importantly me. (A self advising post)
Labels: charity
Trust in Working - Lesson Learnt
Summary - Trust is a must in working, but need to evaluate once in a while
Yesterday I learnt a valuable lesson from my day's job. Sharing here, maybe you guys have better advice for me.
THE ITEMS INVOLVED
The mill has two pumps. In every pump there are two parts, let us named them part A and part B,
THE MISTAKE
One of my staff told me that the two pumps are under repair. Apparently Pump 1 had a faulty part A, and pump 2 had a faulty part B. So both cannot run.
I believe the staff. Solution would be simple. Dismantle both pump and use part A and B which is still in good condition in one pump. So technically I will then have one running pump and one faulty pump.
So I sent my foreman to go there and do that. The foreman came back and say that the information is wrong.
There are two pumps, but pump 1 is still in good condition. Pump 2 is not (both the faulty part A and B is from pump 2)
THE RESULT
A bit embarassed that I sent people to repair without knowing exactly what's the problem. The staff is called and I later learn that he may misunderstand the whole problem.
THE EXCUSE
1) I am actually very busy for the past one week. Don't have time to check everything myself.
2) It will be not efficient for me to do everything. I'm delegating task, and in order to do that, I will need to trust my staff
THE LESSON LEARNT
1) I have to recheck my staff credibility from time to time. Cannot just trust them entirely
2) My staff need to know that I'm checking on them. That way, they will think twice before giving me wrong information. It is always better to admit not knowing, than to lie
Do you think the lesson learnt is accurate? Or do you have any other advice for me (and for other friends reading this)?
--------------- Personal Note --------------------------
Mistake happen all the time in any job, As long as lesson learnt it should be ok.
I am currently back in KL for the charity tomorrow. So I am posting this entry from my phone. Please excuse all typo and allignment error. They will be sorted out.
I Know I Forget Something.. But What?
Summary - Six strategies not to forget things
A friend of mine had just left her purse in a taxi, Remarkably she not only take it very well, she manage to look into the half-full side of the glass :)
I believe everyone must have their own method to remember things. Not how to memorize things like my previous post. More on to remember things we brought (to avoid left behind), or task to do.
These are my strategies so far -
1) Always minimize the amount of bags
Most people are already doing this. If for example, you have 5 bags of groceries, put it all into each other making it into two bags. This way, you know exactly that both hands should be carrying something each
2) Create a ritual before going somewhere
What I did to remember things in my pockets, which consist of keys, handphone and wallet is to make it a practice to slap gently on all pockets before making a move somewhere, to the mill or anywhere. This way... I feel something is not right if I didn't do the ritual. :)
3) Learning from OCD people
OCD stands for Obsessive Compulsion Disorder. If you ever watched the tv series - "Monk" or "As Good As It Get", you will understand it. Simply, these people are very particular about everythings. Everything must be organized and be done their way. Lesson to learn from them is to organize. For me, I put up all my bills and things to do on one desk. Some things are left as a symbol of things I must do, like in order to remember to bring cash tomorrow, I will simply leave the money there. The desk will soon be crowded and with the intention of clearing up the table, I will do every task each items represents. :) It works by the way hehe.
4) Car Alarm Dilemma
I always had this problem. (the word "had" is stressed eheh), I already locked my car with the alarm, but just after 5 minutes, I will start guessing, "did I lock my car?", "Did I hear the alarm clicking?". It's very troublesome when you are already far from your car. So what I do is, whenever I lock my car, I conciously force myself to see that the car is locked. So far, problem solved.
5) Record
One and a half years ago, I used a cellphone so ancient, it can only be used as a phone and SMS. Spoilt already I bought the one I'm using right now, There is a voice recording function embedded. So another way I remember things is simply by voice recording it. At the end of the day, I will upload everything into my computer and take action. If you must know things that I recorded, they are stuff like, blogging ideas, direction to certain places, the self-repeating song in my head, and hey.. I even compose song huhu (which I'm sure will be taken to grave with me).
6) Look for something else
I write this out of experience, when you forget where you misplaced something, it is almost certain you will not be able to find it. Try pretend to look for something else or stop looking entirely, Usually then you will find them :)
So there, 6 private strategies I used to remember things in my daily life. I'm sure there's more. What's your strategies? Please share :)
--------------- Personal Note --------------------------
During my working days, I have accidentally locked myself our of my house quite a couple of times. I often had to resort to break the lock by force. Then I tried hiding spare keys. But I kept thinking that my gardener may eventually found it. My brother gave me one suggestion, to buy those Solex lock. You know, the one with the keys will always be with the lock unless you lock it. Solved my problems. I guess sometime the simple solution is out there.. we just keep looking the harder way :)
apology
guys, i apologize that i cant update today, theres a breakdown
yesterday that kept me until 2 in the morning. really appreciate u
coming here :).
see u tomorrow?
Slow Mo and Fast Forwarding Time
I was checking the calendar to check out this week's charity at Darul Izzah Bangi (Deliberately written to persuade you going hehe), when I suddenly realize that today is already the 23rd of Rejab. It seems like just yesterday, I notice of the coming of Rejab. Counting... there is only 36 days left to Ramadhan.
(Rejab and Ramadhan are Islamic months. Muslims all over the world will be performing the fasting during Ramadhan.)
If you notice, time sure fly faster when you are not paying attention.
- When we are just so busy with works, We will not even notice that we've just missed lunch.
- When we start fasting when we were children, we are holding a clock and see every second goes by. The longest time is the last 30 minutes :)
- When we got stuck in a meeting with the boss talking so slow, you can hear your stomach.. time feel like stopping. and yes you are hungry..
- and many more examples of this
Funny right? If we dreadfully hated what it is we are doing, we are doomed to "enjoy" every seconds of it and time move so slowly, you would check whether there's something wrong with the watch every 5 minutes.
And if you love what you are doing, before you even begin to enjoy it, it's already sunset.
heheh time really has a good sense of humor. Don't you think?
I remember very clearly the day I started fasting. Our "Abah" (Father) could see that we were going to lose the battle when we started going to the kitchen observing what new food magically appear on the table. He then took us out to the "Bazar Ramadhan" (A place to buy food to break the fast). There we were rewarded with RM5 of our choice of food and drinks. We really feel energetic then. With so much money, we bought a lot of food. I can still remember it covered almost the whole table. When we came back from the bazar.. it turned out only 30 minutes gone by. We still need to wait another 1 hour or so. All the energy previously had, had now vanished. And there we were looking "terhele" (very tired) with an alarm clock by our side. hehe
So what's your first day of fasting looks like? There's got to be funny stories in each of us :)
Labels: fasting, funny, Idea, Mind, time
Pointless and Stupid Question
Summary - Leave the pointless question alone
There is one question as old as the time itself. It had been discussed again and again in each generation of mankind. But still nobody can come up with a satisfying answer. The question is - Which comes first, chicken or egg?
You may think it is funny but yes, it was really asked again and again when the person asking know exactly that there is no answer to it. So my question to you now, why do we need to ask the question in the first place?
To be funny? Acceptable, but to what end?
For the sake of science? Unless you have better option or supporting prove, it is better to leave the question alone.
So if I think that the question is not supposed to be raised, why do I raise it in this blog? Aha!!!
My point exactly. There are a lot of pointless question out there. Those without any satisfying answers. One that I want to highlight is the favorite question of which is better, man or woman?
Let's assume we are not taking any side in this. For once, we are not defending either man or woman. What is the question supposed to achieve? to prove that one is better than another? Then what? Yes, there is a lot of male chauvinist and feminist out there. Are we going to be one of them?
In my opinion, these people are no different in term of stupidity than a racist. Why I call them stupid? Because when they were born, were they the one who choose to be a boy or a girl? If the choice is not theirs to make, who give them the right to to say one gender is better than another.
It is very true, that even now, one gender is treated as if it is inferior to the other. If this happens, by all means fight for your right. But please don't go to the same level as the stupid people who consider themselves superior.
It is very true, that there will be bad apple in a gender group. Have a look at ourselves. Do you think it's fair if you were called a thief, simply because there is a person next to you who is caught stealing? In the end.... it all boils down to the individual.
A man killed another man. Is it fair to say all man from the beginning of time have the tendency to commit murder?
A woman killed another woman, Is it fair to say all woman from the beginning of time have the tendency to commit murder?
Conclusion - Sexist are far worse than a racist, sexist consider themselves superior than the other half of the world. You hate racist? Then hate sexist even more. Don't be one.
Labels: question, racist, sexist, stupid
Award for Work Excellence
Hey it's Sunday. These are some pictures I found on the net. Generally they show the extra length people would do for their job. Enjoy! :)
"Remember!! you drop one box and you're dead!!".. this guy take the warning very seriously :)
Inter coach services excellence
Transporter's transporter
Rail Damage Detection Manager :)
Labels: sunday
Listening is 40 Times More Important Than Speaking.. Why 40?
Summary - How Friday prayer highlighted the importance of listening.
Thanx for those who replied to my question in the previous entry. It is really a difficult question, I must say... to figure out what to say to the world. And the fact that the world is listening is not really helping.
If for example, you are asked to speak to thousands of people on a gathering, and you know for certain they will not be listening. Maybe you speak in another language, or that the microphone is faulty. I believe you will be able to kill the time effectively with your speech. Am I correct?
The fact is, listening to what people say is actually 40 times more important than giving the speech. Why 40? This is my personal opinion. If we look into the Friday prayer (for muslim), one of the condition that must be fulfilled for the prayer to be valid (sah) is to have 1 person delivering the "khutbah", and 40 people actually listen and understand the "khutbah". If only 39 people listen, then technically the whole group's solat will not be valid.
There is no survey to check after the solat whether there is enough 40 people, or 40 people assigned to really listen. It really comes down to the individuals. They should know better that the "khutbah" is given to be listened and understood. Nobody should enforce you to listen.
Then there is a "hadis" always read before the "khutbah" saying that you must not speak during the khutbah, even with the intention to shh others. My personal interpretation on this is that, even if you are not listening, you must not interfere with other people who does. The message must always be respected. It took great courage to speak, advising and teaching people. If we disrespect the action, sooner or later, there will be no person to teach or advise. Think of the chaos that will do.
I'm not saying that we must be silent everytime other spoke. Both speaking and listening is important, that is without one of them, the Solat will not be valid. I'm just saying that listening really is 40 times more important.
Hopefully those who read this, will understand (listen to) the message.
--------------- Personal Note --------------------------
I'm not trying to boast about what I do, but people do come to me asking my opinion on things, usually it's relationship based. Not that I'm an expert. It's just that I learnt from other people's experience and make it a personal lesson for me.
The thing is, the people who I had previously advised on a problem, usually will come across the same problem over and over again. They just won't listen. Yes, I completely understand that my opinion may not be the best, but he/she should at least listen and think about it. Not later come to me and say, "I should listen to you".
Had this happened to you?
Labels: Islam, listen, Relationship
What Would You Say To The World
Summary - If the world is listening, what would you say?
I was invited to become one of the contributors for World United Bloggers (which generally means I can submit entries there). I take this as an opportunity for me to make more friends and expose myself to the many different ideas or point of view from the representative from around the world.
I'm still monitoring how the whole blog is being run. What's the blog strategy to achieve what's aimed. As I earlier stated in my post - Tips for first day at work, we cannot started trying to change everything. We must first observe the culture, adapt and learn as much as possible before anything.
I am curious though... Please tell me what you think.
If you were given one chance. Only one chance to talk to the whole world. And not only that, the whole world is listening. What would you say?
Are you going to promote Malaysia? or you will attempt to talk about peace, and love? Or you will try make friends first? Really... please think about it and enlighten me.
I've already submitted my first post there. The same post is attached below as I really think you, my fellow friends deserve the same appreciation, if not better.
Title - Connecting in Blog
Greeting.. This is my first post as a contributor. I'm banji from Malaysia and it's an honor to be here with all of you. Don't worry I'm not going to bore you with my details.
First of all, compliment to the blog starter, the idea of one blog to unite us all is amazing. So what else would I say in a first post?
1) I salute all of you
If you can see me typing this, I'm actually giving all of you who read this a standing ovation. You each is authoring your own blog, but in the name of unity and love, you took the time to write for WUB. Not many people around the world want to do this.
2) WUB is all blessed NOT ONLY by people who blog, but those who leave comments.
Every body can blog, you just create an account, type away.. But not everyone reads, take the time to understand the message and connect to the author by leaving comments.
Kudos to all WUB members, you are all actively participating. This is not an easy thing to do. Most of the time, entries are very hard to understand. But you try your hardest to figure out the message. This itself shows that you are very committed to achieve what WUB's aim.
Not only you do that, you appreciate the author by leaving comments. Appreciation or acknowledgment is in my opinion, another key to unity. As this will allow every one of us to connect with each other.
Conclusion - It is my humble opinion that connecting with each other is one of the many ways to unity and love. It doesn't always need to be comments to entry, a simple hi at the shout box will be more than enough.
banji (Immortal Wisdom) of Malaysia
Desire and The Ability to Think
Summary - "Nafsu" is not a bad thing
A very busy day... Too busy that I don't even have time to check my phone and reply the shoutbox. Again, I'm very sorry.
Still, while working one thing come to mind. let me share it with you. And maybe you can further develop the idea with me
So why do we work? There are a lot of answers to this question but in general, it is because we want more for our life. More money, more excitement, more experience, better status etc. This feeling of wanting more is better known as desire or "nafsu"
The thing is people almost always like to think that desire is the path to corruption. People want more money, so they received bribe. Teenager curious about sex took the wrong path. "Desire" were blamed for all these.
Then these people who blame "desire" started doing extreme thing to repair the damage. People who used to take bribe, suddenly realize the sin he committed.. then decided to throw away all money, because according to him, money corrupts. His family is now in danger of starvation, and his children left unschooled.
Then there are also people who get fatter because of their love for eating. They were convinced that they look unatractive by their friends. Trying to be thinner person, they stop eating entirely in the name of diet... perhaps die in a week or two.
What the examples are showing are how people tends to blame their desire when something bad happened. In my opinion this is partially wrong. Meaning... desire is not entirely responsible for the corruption. Let me explain..
I remember this saying back in high school. Human is claimed by Allah in Surah AtTin to be the best of his creation. (sebaik2 kejadian). Why not the animals? Because they have "nafsu" (desire) but no "akal" (the ability to think).Why not the angel (malaikat)? Because they have "akal" but no "nafsu".
If an angel is assigned to manage the rain all over the world. He will do it until the judgement day without objecting. He will not trade his assignment with other angels for the fun of it or because his job is getting boring. That's because he doesn't have any desire to achieve more.
Human are the best creation because we are given both "akal and "nafsu". Then we will strive to better ourselves motivated by our "nafsu" but we know exactly when to stop, because of our "akal". It is when we do this we will be the best of creation.
In the same time, if we continue to satisfy our "nafsu" ignoring our "akal", like killing our own flesh and blood because of shortage of money. or having sex with prostitute without thinking of Allah's wraith and of course STD. Aren't we then the worst of creation?
Conclusion - Don't blame desire for everything bad in the world. It is almost always because of the "akal" is being ignored. Wear them both proudly and of course equally balance. Come to think of it, "nafsu" if used in balance with "akal" is what make us a better.
--------------- Personal Note --------------------------
As you know in a palm oil mill, we strive to extract as much oil as possible. For the past few days, the amount of oil extracted is declining. Yesterday, by calculation, the amount of oil extracted is just 16%, which is very low. Upon investigation, we found where the problem lies. You see, there is this one big tank which we used to separate water and oil. Technically, we just pour in the mixture and as we all know, water and oil don't mix. So with time, the two separated naturally. This is where we suspect the source of the low percentage. To make things short, almost half the tank is full with fine sand and soil. This will prevent the mixture of water and oil to separate properly because not enough time. Cleared everything... Let's see how's the figure tomorrow.
ehehe My attempt to explain what I do :)
Labels: Idea
New Highlight : Charity at Darul Izzah Orphanage Confirmed
The charity for Darul Izzah Orphanage is confirmed on. I've already updated the details in my page. Please check it out via the "highlight" link above.
Some of the major updates are as follows
- A total amount of RM27178 will be handed during the ceremony.
- There will be NO games, sukaneka, treasure hunt etc. Instead lunch and Yassin recital will take place
- I am confirmed going, already applied leave :)... Really hope to meet you guys there. For those without transport, I will gladly take you there from Bangi Komuter Station.
--------------- Personal Note --------------------------
I'm terribly sorry for not updating yesterday. A major breakdown occured at the mill, and safe to say, I didn't even have time to sit. To make things worse, the internet connection today is horrible. I'll call Digi first thing tomorrow. How's the life at your end? in other word... How's everyone? :)
Labels: New