came across this
blog of a sister from Iraq

and her Sunday, April 3rd 2005 entry i could identify with
especially this particular part

Furthermore, I don't understand the worlds fascination with reality shows. Survivor, The Bachelor, Murder in Small Town X, Faking It, The Contender... it's endless. Is life so boring that people need to watch the conjured up lives of others?

I have a suggestion of my own for a reality show. Take 15 Bush supporters and throw them in a house in the suburbs of, say, Falloojeh for at least 14 days. We could watch them cope with the water problems, the lack of electricity, the check points, the raids, the Iraqi National Guard, the bombings, and- oh yeah- the 'insurgents'. We could watch their house bombed to the ground and their few belongings crushed under the weight of cement and brick or simply burned or riddled with bullets. We could see them try to rebuild their life with their bare hands (and the equivalent of $150)

I'd not only watch *that* reality show, I'd tape every episode.

cynical, and piercing
i loike

that would be one show i would faithfully follow too

the maternal loved ones will be gathering at Papa's place today
for Nyai's kenduri, who will be leaving for umrah next week
heard from Daddy that the menu's something like
bubur pulut hitam, ayam masak merah, nasi tomato and the likes *drools*

be a darling dear sister and take many many pics hokay?
of the food, Nana, Adek, Humairah and everybody else

on an entirely different note
talking to my Daddy is like talking to a Malay teacher lyddat
i asked what time is the kenduri, his answer was
"sejurus lepas Asar"
erm... sejurus Daddy? what's wrong with just lepas Asar? *sheesh*

orange, red, yellow and brown
colours of autumn that i loike!

falling leaves, wind blown leaves
sights of autumn that i loike!

okay so i'm not cut out to be a poet, sue me?

today i found out two very big news
Diana, the sister from Emirates, got hitched on the 12th!
Imel my dear friend, is getting hitched on August 27th!

nice nice! i loike hearing news like this *grins*

this morning was so cold and foggy!
as if we're up in the mountains like that! i loike!

for the record, can i just say that
Aishwarya Rai is one absolutely, positively gorgeous babe
more beautiful than Paris Hilton could ever be even if she was naked

they had an interview segment with her on 60 Minutes on Sunday night
she looked good man, minimal make-up and all
she came across unassumming and friendly answering the questions
and oouhh, she deftly NOT answwer the all important question
whether she was attached or not

my sister can cook! albeit with help from mother! *heh*
and dear miss kucingpink, i miss reading your entries lah!
how's your preparations for leaving?
please re-blog when you're there okay?
coz i wanna read all about what it's like over there

allrighty, final game of Stratapoly for now
Matt has got a strategy that hopefully will work
may the force be with you, Profits R Us!!

toodless~

the lines of privacy and freedom of speech
are exremely blurred in the blog-sphere no?

ever wondered what would happen if big shot CEOs were to blog?

this would be food for thought

1) in which CE(Common Era) year were the Muslims expelled from Spain?
1492
2) what is Bukhari's real name?
Muhammad B Ismail
3) in which sura is the mention of the changing of the Qiblah?
al-Baqarah
4) Abu Huraira said that the Prophet s.a.w. said 'beware of envy,
for envy devours good (deeds) like
fire devours wood'
5) who was the Prophet who grew up in his enemy's house?
Musa a.s
6) which is the greatest sura in the Quran?
al-Fatehah
7) who was the first martyr in Islam?
Sumayyah, the mother of 'Ammaar Ibn Yaasir
8) how many years was the Prophet Ayyub sick?
18 years
9) which Khalifah died of a natural death?
Abu Bakar asSiddiq
10) in which year did the Ottomans conquest reach all the way to Venice?
1682
11) Ibn Rushd's Tahafat al-Tahafat, The Incoherence of the Incoherence,
was a reply to which book written by al-Ghazali?
al-Tahaful al-Falasifah

sometime ago, was asked by Kakak
between going back and staying on
which one do i want more
i wished i didn't have to choose, was my answer

another sister asked about 3 weeks ago
if i am going back for good
i hated the sound of that
going back for good, sounds so final
i replied sure i'm going back,
but i don't want to say it was for good

the impending inevitable i.e. going back is getting to me
and i question why, why do i want to stay so much?

the reasons for not to stay are so clear
away from family, loved ones, friends etc
yet, why? what is it about my experience here
that makes it worth it not to be there by my loved ones side?

life here is not so rosy after, that's a fact i learnt
Kakak has been here for a year, and is stuck with a super underpaid job
her search for a better job is continuous albeit on the verge of giving up
she's already planning to go back to Malaysia
once her PR requirements of staying here for 2 years is fulfilled

her friends, a married couple from Malaysia
are also stuck with jobs which, you could say
are not befitting to their qualifications
the husband has an MBA and is currently working at ANZ's call center
the wife on the other hand, is a degree holder working as an ANZ secretary
they too, are planning to go back next year to search for better jobs
another acquantaince of hers, an IT graduate, is also doing call center job
and has been here for a while as well

why then, despite knowing the above,
this wish of mine to stay?

so what's the big deal you ask
apply for PR if i wanna stay so much you say
i'd done that in a heartbeat, if i can afford it
as it is, i'm living off my parents
jadi mana nak korek duit to apply?
i'm not one of those rich Chinese Indonesian kids
whose parents would have no qualms
about forking out two to five K for the application

thinking about all this business of staying on
has made me envious of people like Rukiya
who came here on a refugee status from Somalia
despite the circumstances of her family coming here
i can't help but feeling how lucky they are

i realise however, that i have to grow up
start living out my responsibilities
to my parents, to my siblings
it's time i stop living off my parents
and help contribute to supporting my siblings
it's time i stop being selfish about what i want
and think of what's more necessary for my family

imelda's words of advice kinda hit the nail
if you think that you are able to find
the caliph of your family here, then stay
after all, she reminded me wisely,
seburuk-buruknya orang Islam kan mereka yang mati tak bernikah

i've supplicated, and He somehow has made me realise, go back i must
back for good? i sure hope not
i wish to come back here in the future, be it as a student or otherwise

everything that happens, happens for a reason
a reason for which, at this point in time, i may not see and realise
but i trust in Him, and i know, further down the road, in the future
why things are the way they are, will be made crystal clear to me
this is a mantra that i firmly hold on to
and pray will see me through this journey in life

friday nite was fun-ness

Inter-Varsity Islamic Quiz at Clayton campus
'twas fun and uber enlightening experience for me
a challenging journey it took to get there though

waited for the shuttle bus by 6pm
bus didn't come, but nature's call did
of course had to answer that first
waited again after that
but oh boy, the wait was excruciatingly irritating
a real test of the patience
wanted to just ditch the whole idea and go home
but with memories from last year's event, persevere i did
besides, experience told me these kinda things never start on time

bus finally came and reached Clayton at 7.30pm plus
only to be told by Sadaf that they just started
thank god for that, making my wait worthwhile and sweet
coz wallah, i really wanted to attend it

anyways, Caulfield sisters won! yeay-ness!
but *boo* overall we came in second
brothers brought us down *boo*
Sadaf and Aseel were disappointed when they heard the news
they were looking forward to organising it next year if we win
but oh well, maybe next time perhaps

saw familiar faces and made new acquaintances
even ordered a MUIS t-shirt for keepsake
will come in handy for my jogging routine
which i hope to continue back home

Sadaf, Aseel and myself left before it ended
for fear of missing last bus to station
while waiting for the bus, a sister offered to send to the station

interesting conversation on the way home
she has planted some food for thought in me
will have to think it through, supplicate many many for guidance

some questions i managed to scribble down from the quiz

1) in which CE(Common Era) year were the Muslims expelled from Spain?
2) what is Bukhari's real name?
3) in which sura is the mention of the changing of the Qiblah?
4) Abu Huraira said that the Prophet s.a.w. said 'beware of envy,
for envy devours good (deeds) like .............'
5) who was the Prophet who grew up in his enemy's house?
6) which is the greatest sura in the Quran?
7) who was the first martyr in Islam?
8) how many years was the Prophet Ayyub sick?
9) which Khalifah died of a natural death?
10) in which year did the Ottomans conquest reach all the way to Venice?
11) Ibn Rushd's Tahafat al-Tahafat, The Incoherence of the Incoherence,
was a reply to which book written by al-Ghazali?