call it fate
kismet
takdir

on Friday, while out in the city and on her way to the City Mosque/ICV
Amatullah bumped into this makcik from sg
who was also in search of the mosque
they ended up going to the mosque together
and later she joined us in our trip to the FAMSY shop at Newport

it was while having our dinner at the Fish & Chips stall in Newport
that the makcik, Cik Hayati, invited us over to her daughter's place for lunch

and so that's how we had our hearty lunch of home-cooked nasi lemak for today!
it was yummy!
complete with roti john for starter *grin*
and her daughter has 2 vairr cute and charming cats!
Bonnie and Clyde are their names

they're from sg but her husband's from Jakarta
and her daughter grew up in Jakarta
schooling at an American school
before coming here for her diploma at Deakin Uni
as such she's very westernized and modernized

Cik Hayati's leaving for sg this Sunday
we've exchanged our sg contact details just now so be in touch yea?

attending this over the weekend
with Ami, Imel, Aisyah, Amatullah, Cik Hayati and hopefully her daughter as well

Cik Hayati, with continued du'a from you, insya'allah her heart will terbuka some day

two weeks ago, before school started
Aisyah and myself decided to explore suburbs we've never been to before
namely Noble Park, Yarraman and Dandenong
these areas have quite a large number of Muslims living there
so you can typically find halal butchery or eating places

while at Dandenong, we came across this shop
that sells Indian clothes as well as... a'bayas!
for those of you who are not aware
a'bayas are clothes typically worn by women from Saudi Arabia or the Middle East
it's a tad like jubahs from our part of the country
but nicer me thinks

the shop has very little in quantity-wise though
but that's not the point
the point is, i found one that i could fit in!
cute lil me always have difficulty in finding jubahs or a'bayas that are my size
but i loike wearing them so Mum usually has them tailor-made for me

however, i didn't buy it then
coz it was expensive and i've already gone waaaayyy over budget for this month
what with the move and all

during the FAMSY lectures
they distributed leaflets which has ads for the FAMSY shop over at Newport
so off Aisyah, Amatullah and myself went last Friday night
there were more variety there
but none in my size
bummer

and last Sat
we had an impromptu window-shopping spree after having lunch at Nila
looking for a matching hijab for Aisyah
to go with the new a'baya she bought at FAMSY
saw several other a'bayas as well
but darn
none in my size again of course
should have bought the one i saw at Dandenong aye?

think shall go up to Dandenong again sometime before i leave
and buy myself one specially for 'Eid

btw, does anyone realise
it's 10 more weeks to Ramadhan
*can't wait*

the FAMSY lectures i attended on Fri and Sat night
make me ponder and think that at times, being here aint so bad after all

the lectures opened my eyes to what i have been missing back in sg
it's like being in sg, the islamic scene there is so.... sheltered..? protected...? guarded..? oppressed even?
or perhaps the best way to describe it is 'under scrutiny'?
like heck, you couldn't find a lecture or syarahan with a topic such as terrorism back home can you?
these are real-life issues which i think are just as important as learning tauhid, tasawwuf, etc
the latter of which you can find in abundance back home

my learning experience in Islam has really been enriched while i am here
which i find a tad ironic...?
because who would have taught that would be the case in a kuffar society such as this

i've always believed that everything happens for a reason
that no matter how bad it may seem at that point in time
somehow somewhere along the road
i would be able to look back and understand why it's happened

on Wed and Thur night i was feeling really down upon receiving my results
told myself not to think too much about it and just look forward to doing well
after attending the lectures
i realised that He has His reasons for keeping me here longer
perhaps this is why

whenever i am faced with a challenge
i always keep this mantra playing in ma head
it's a test from Him to prove my trust and believe in Him
and that He wouldn't throw me a challenge, if He did not think
i would be able to overcome it
it's like that last verse in surah al-Baqarah ya know?
and with every challenge from Him
it shows that i'm still one of those that He loves
that He watches over all the time

but sometimes it's just so *hard* to keep going
with the parents struggling to keep me here
i wonder if it's all worth it...?

it's *not* fair
it's not like i havent been studying at all
Aisyah was there with me all those late nights
where did i go wrong...?

these tears are long time coming

dear mom and dad
am sorry for being such a failure

*cries*

*wow*

after weeks of not catching up with him
he brought me pretty shocking news
one that's pleasant
the other makes me shake my head in disbelief

so
she's finally found someone
and will insya'allah
be getting engaged soon
that makes the two of us Fiz
feel really happy for her as well

as for the other news
change for the better ayte sweets?

Mum, Sis and Aunt left last Sat night
been a week of fun-ness i tell ya
homecooked food by Mum
chores done by Mum
heh

trip to Ballarat and Mt. Buller
with lotsa snow that fell the night before up at Mt. Buller
Sis tried skiing, albeit lotsa kissing the snow of course
huge amount wasted on chair lift ride
which we never took due to weather conditions
it was vair windy and foggy
cold too i tell ya

and ive moved too
with lotsa help from Mum, Sis and Aunt
still have some stuffs at old place
gonna make some phonecalls
and get that settled by today insya'allah

the family has met Hatice, Ami, Imel and Aisyah
the new landlady and housemate
as well as the sisters from IISCA
glad they did
now at least Mum knows who i mix around with over here

and oh
she's talked to Sis Mariati about him
and they've seen him as well
heh

Osman coming over later with friend
to take a look at some stuffs
better get the house decently clean