One bad guy on the phone really ruined my day today. At about 10 in the morning, a man with a very thick South Asian accent called my number and said that he wanted to talk to the owner of the house. Sure, whatever. He told me that I was lucky to be selected to receive a free gas card which worth about $300. My first response was "Wow! Am I that lucky?". If you own a car, you will understand how tempting the offer might sound to you. And about to graduate, I'm saving every penny as hard as I can.

The guy went on and on about his representing a company called Ez1rate located in Carson City, Nevada and his worker id was 3442. Then, he started asking me all about my personal info, my name and home address. Gosh, this guy was really freaking me out. Wanted to dig deeper on my details, he was asking about my debit card number and so on so forth. This scammer really pissed me off this time!! He thought I was so stupid to buy his story. You are to receive a FREE promotional offer and all you should do was to give your card details out?! Trying to sound naive, I told him to hang around for a while so that I could get my card upstairs. I immediately googled the company up and unsurprisingly found out tonnes of complaints regarding this rip-off. I ran downstairs, hung up on him and quickly unplugged the phone cord from the wall. You have to do this even though it is rude because these scammers will never stop harassing you until you fall into their traps. Soon after that, I notified my bank not to authorize any payment if it happens to come from this company.

This is so sad. We all know that the economy is really bad right now and there is a lot of desperate people out there looking for money. But, I really cannot tolerate with somebody who cheat people out of their hard-earned money. A while ago, one of my beloved family members did an online investment after being persuaded by someone and only to lose not less than $15 000 when the scamming company suddenly disappeared. For me, enough is enough. When it comes to money, be suspicious and be very suspicious.

p/s: That guy called me again for the second time right after I plugged the phone cord back into its place. I argued with him saying that I didn't really need what he had to offer me. This is really freaky okay. I feel like I had been spied on all day. Should I report this to the police?

So, my life in fall had been great and as it neared towards the end I panicked a little as I often did. Indeed this fall to me was the moment to be remembered. This might be the last fall I'll ever have in the US even though I have plan to further my grad study here later on (or maybe in Canada). But life can be a bit unpredictable sometimes. All my life, I've come to learn to not expecting too much from something I expect will be coming. Most of the time, it's always something I'm not expecting coming to me. And it makes my life sweeter that way. When I was a little kid, I never thought that I would leave home and stayed in the boarding school, never thought of being able to study abroad, never thought of moving to Kedah after spending my whole life in Johore and the list goes on.

Fall this time had been emotional for me. Within these two months alone, I had sent off three good friends of mine who had to fly back to Malaysia for good. Pujen cried quite badly on the day we sent her off at the airport and I wept shamelessly when I sent Dilin off. While for Amy, she burst into tears when our car slowly leaving Troy for Rochester after wishing Fariza our final goodbye. Sad because we didn't know if our paths will ever cross again. People don't just meet, they leave too. And every time we meet someone, it happens for a reason which we could barely understand until they leave us.

Before all these emotional departures took place, I had a chance attending a wonderful AlMaghrib class in Virginia together with Dilin, Fariza and Azie. We're taught about the names and attributes of Allah and how by knowing the beauty of His names and attributes can bring us closer to Him. My only disappointment was that I didn't understand Arabic even the basic to really get the best out of this class. Luckily Dilin was there to offer me her little help. I'm so glad that I've learned a great deal from this class. Some of them were totally unknown to me until I attended the class and all were things that I should have known a long time ago. To top it all off, we learn about the need of having sincere love in our heart.

Memang dahsyat la malam nih. Gamat abis rumah kitorang dibuatnya. Kepala sampai naik pening tengok peluru bersimpang-siur depan mata. Bom pon meletup tak agak-agak. Darah...ooo. Yes, it was that scary. Tambah lagi dengan jeritan kitorang yang sure kalau sesape dengar boleh jadik partially deaf. Naseb baik Campus safety tak datang sound kitorang. By 2 am, mata kitorang dah merah-merah, dada rasa sesak and tekak pon naik kering sebab asyik jerit-jerit. I know it sounds so exaggerating. Hahaaa!! Tu ler harunyer kalau main Call of Duty kat Wii. Boleh sakit jiwa dibuatnyer main straight a few hours. Nasib baik Amy yang main, aku bagi moral support jek walaupun tak membantu. War games are so not my cup of tea and I thought Prince of Persia was better tapi lagi kurengggg rupernye. I don't know why they make it so hard for people to play it even though I was playing the easiest level of the game. No sufficient clues were given and the not-so-charming prince started to acting weird because he was so depressed he couldn't find the way out. Sometimes, he tried to commit suicide himself. Hopefully, Amy tak return game tuh lagik sebab aku tak puas ati naper Prince tu loser sangat kali nih uhuhu. Tapi best ler jugak main games sekali-sekala after dah bertahun-tahun lamanya tak main. But I hope, I won't get easily addicted to games (huaaaa janganla!!! Dah tanak dahh!!!) because addiction is so so EVIL. Okay, now it's time to get a really good rest after torturing my soul by watching that horrendous war game.

I had a great time staying at home today even though nothing great was really happening. I woke up and got out of bed surprisingly early without the assistance of anybody. Dilin must be proud haha :D She's been the one who patiently wakes me up every single day since my first day in Riverknoll. But she wasn't around for the weekend because she got some important things to do in Buffalo. Feeling quite energetic, I went downstairs and ransacked my fridge trying to find something to eat. I pulled out the milk, butter and the eggs. Nope, I'm not in the mood of making omelette.

I heated the pan up, poured in the milk, added in some butter and let them boiled over. Then, I removed the pan and dumped everything into the beaten-eggs plus sugar mixture and mixed them thoroughly before sending it into the oven. Haiyaa, I waited for almost one hour for it to get done. Bloody oven!! Haha, actually it's not the oven's fault, it's just me being impatiently excited. By 9.00 am, me "laju-laju lari" downstairs to take a peek at my first ever Creme Brulee!! When I pulled it out from the oven, it looked okay but a bit oily...mmm. This is what I hate the most - when I don't have enough cooking ingredients all I could do is to resort to anything that might work out.

To my forever beloved sister, Kak Ina and her husband, Abang Hashim, I would like to dedicate this slideshow to reminisce the sweet memories we all had together on your special days. I'm so sorry I wasn't able to stay long in Malaysia and had to fly back right after your wedding. May Allah bless your life with happiness and barakah. And may both of you complement each other well. Stay strong in navigating your life ahead. Chaiyok!!!

Coming back from meeting with JPA today, I was immediately reminded by my housemate that I had a package waiting for me in the hall. I can't remember buying anything online for the past few days. When I tried to guess the content of the package, I could tell right away that it was a book. Huh, since when did I buy a book? For sure it's not a textbook.

But I was wrong. I did order a book and it was on Wednesday. Haha, what a memory I have!! Actually, I expected it to be thicker since I paid 20 dollars for it. Uh, never mind. I remember ordering a copy when listening to live Ilminar from AlMaghrib Institute entitled "Navigating Through Volatile Times". One of the speakers is the co-author of this book.

Puas sudah aku memaksa diri untuk tidur. Kejap lelap kejap celik, lelap dan celik lagi. Bosan. Lantas aku turun ke bawah mencari-cari apa yang boleh dimakan. Dilin sudah nyenyak tidur, Amy masih lagi gigih bersengkang mata. Kembali ke kamar tidur, aku hidupkan kembali komputer riba.

Rindu buatku susah tidur. Aku rindu saat yang telah berlalu. Saat yang sangat istimewa. Aku rindu Ramadan yang lepas. Tahun ini, penangan Ramadan benar-benar terasa. Sedih mengenangkan dosa yang aku himpun selama ini. Takut mengenangkan apa akhirku nanti. Malu mengenangkan aib yang akan terpampang di depan himpunan manusia kelak. Namun begitu, aku lega dapat mengalirkan airmata ketika meminta. Meminta kepada yang aku yakin Maha Mendengar. Meminta kepada Tuhan yang berkuasa ke atas hidupku. Aku juga bahagia dapat bertarawikh bersama teman-teman. Kadang-kadang bergilir menjadi imam. Hafalan mereka bagus apatah lagi bacaannya. Gembira ketika bersahur dan lebih-lebih lagi ketika berbuka. Paling penting, hidup terasa aman kerana hatinya tenang.

Minta diampunkan dosa diriku dan keluarga, mohon diberikan perlindungan dan petunjuk, harap dibukakan hati kepada hati yang ikhlas keranaNya, minta itu minta ini. Seronok meminta seperti anak kecil.

Lega. Sekarang baru aku terasa ingin lelap. Andai kata esok masih hidup, semoga adalah peluang untukku beramadan lagi.

It's difficult for me to like writing. I mean, serious writing. Not just jotting down class notes, that's a totally different story. Penning down my thoughts can turn out pretty haphazard. My brain is not used to transcribing and translating ideas into words (hahaa sounds like the Central Dogma). Sometimes, it could take ages for me to do so. Yes, I know, my brain is that slow. That's why I never enjoyed any writing class I attended before. I wonder why some people find it so easy to just write. Luckily, I still have the interest in reading books and learning language. So, I guess that would be enough to compensate for my lack of interest in writing.

Anyway, talking about writing or writing system to be specific, it has long intrigued me why some languages of the world do not have writing systems that are uniquely their own. Needless to go far beyond the national border. As far as I know, our very own Malay language had never possessed one either. Yes, we are using modern alphabets nowadays but I'm just curious where the original Malay writing system had gone.

Is it because our ancestral root is relatively young compared to much older civilizations like the Chinese or the Indian? Being historically young and susceptible, we are often subjected to more dominant influences at the time. All this while, we've been adopting foreign writing systems such as the Jawi script and the Latin alphabets. Some said that literacy among Malay people in the past only prevailed after the arrival of Arab traders. There is no valid answer for this because no one knows what really happened prior to that. Records tell us that the tradesmen brought along with them the religion of Islam and their Arabic literature. Some of them eventually settled on this land, married to locals and a number of preachers started teaching the Holy Quran to the masses. Consequently, education was no longer exclusive to the nobles and people started to read and write.

Or it might be that a long period of political instability and a series of foreign conquests which had suppressed the establishment of the writing system. For a society to establish its own distinguishable writing system, it must have a stable, strong and independent government. Before the age of globalisation, seclusion from the rest of the world can also give rise to a unique identity of a nation. Since writing is the culture of learned society, world's writing system usually originated from societies where knowledge is highly regarded. And it becomes increasingly sophisticated when there is need for documentation. Administrative records, academic publications and accounts to important events all need proper documentation. We hardly see these evidences in nations that are unstable and prone to foreign conquest even though there are some exceptions.

Since the beginning, writing has been driving our world towards progress. Writing is such a powerful tool used to deliver knowledge, ideology and philosophy. It moves people. It stirs emotion in people. It widens up perspective. When abused, it causes people to do the unthinkable. So, beware of those who are gripping the pens. They could be academicians, mavericks, tyrants, secularists or even commoners. But be even more aware of those who intend to make us stupid and subservient through their writings or anything equivalent. Be selective of what you're reading and of what you want to believe for sometime they can lead you astray.

Ya Allah, Tuhan yang Maha Mengetahui , sesungguhnya aku tidak mengetahui apa yang ada di depanku, maka berilah aku petunjuk yakni apa yang lebih dekat kepada kebenaran.

Ya Allah, Tuhan yang memasukkan cinta dan kasih sayang ke dalam hati manusia, sesungguhnya aku memohon cintaMu, dan cinta insan yang mencintaiMu serta cinta terhadap perbuatan yang mendekatkanku kepadaMu.

Ya Allah, Tuhan yang Maha Pelindung, aku memohon perlindungan padaMu Ya Allah daripada kejahatan bisikan syaitan dan daripada kejahatan diriku sendiri.

Amin...

Salam,

I read this from Khutbah.com and I thought it would be good if I could share it with everyone. Quite busy lately so this is the best I could do. Sharing is caring :D

Source : Khutbah.com by Muhammad Alshareef

It was narrated that in the days that Musa alayhis salaam wandered with Bani Israeel in the desert, an intense drought befell them. Together, they raised their hands towards the heavens praying for the blessed rain to come. Then, to the astonishment of Musa alayhis salaam and all those watching, the few scattered clouds that were in the sky vanished, the heat poured down, and the drought intensified.

It was revealed to Musa that there was a sinner amongst the tribe of Bani Israeel who had disobeyed Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala for more than forty years of his life. “Let him separate himself from the congregation,” Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala told Musa alayhis salaam. “Only then shall I shower you all with rain.”

Musa alayhis salaam then called out to the throngs of humanity, “There is a person amongst us who has disobeyed Allah for forty years. Let him separate himself from the congregation and only then shall we be rescued from the drought.”

That man waited, looking left and right, hoping that someone else would step forward, but no one did. Sweat poured forth from his brow and he knew that he was the one. The man knew that if he stayed amongst the congregation all would die of thirst and that if he stepped forward he would be humiliated for all eternity.

He raised his hands with a sincerity he had never known before, with humility he had never tasted, and as tears poured down on both cheeks he said, “O Allah, have mercy on me! O Allah, hide my sins! O Allah, forgive me!”

As Musa alayhis salaam and the people of Bani Israeel waited for the sinner to step forward, the clouds hugged the sky and the rain poured. Musa alayhi salaam asked Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala, “O Allah, you blessed us with rain even though the sinner did not come forward.”

And Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala replied, “O Musa, it is for the repentance of that very person that I blessed all of Bani Israeel with water.”

Musa alayhis salaam, wanting to know who this blessed man was, asked, “Show him to me O Allah!”

Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala replied, “O Musa, I hid his sins for forty years, do you think that after his repentance I shall expose him?”

Note : Allah The Merciful, hiding our sins when we're sinful and accepting our repentance when we ask for it. It's never too late to ask for forgiveness even though we sometimes feel that there's no longer hope to turn back.

While surfing through the Internet, I came across this amazing webpage about a guy who went traveling around the world in 634 days and capturing the essence of life of the places he visited along the way. Looking at all the beautiful pictures snapped and reading some of his commentaries suddenly made me feel like quitting my studies and traveling around instead. What fascinated me the most was that he daringly went off the beaten track. From Karakoram Highway to the mountainous parts of Nepal to surprisingly beautiful city of Isfahan Iran, you name it.

I love traveling. I'm used to it since I was a kid. Seeing great places gives me some sort of satisfaction. Sometimes, I can get a bit overwhelmed when I see the pictures of mega-structures like the ones of ancient Rome and Egypt (or other ancient civilizations), so much so I wish to meet the people living at that time. Just looking at the legacy they had left behind easily tells us that they were once among the greatest and strongest nations ever existed on earth. If I were one of them, I would have been proud.

But accidentally listening to Muhammad Alshareef's "Perished Nations" lecture hits me hard. The stories of nations that came before (Aad, Thamud, Lut, Firaun) have been repeated so many times in Holy Quran so much so Prophet Muhammad SAW's hairs had turned white. These so-called great people of the past need no glorification over their architectural prowess nor their mightiness. These were the people who were arrogant and turned their back to Allah. Indeed, their stories need our attention.

Yeay!!! Finally I managed to start my own blog. I'm not really familiar with how this thing works. However, been reading people's blogs for quite a while gives me a glimpse of idea on how I should get along with this. I can't promise to myself to update this blog regularly since this is merely an escape from my non-virtual life. Yes, people. We do have life to look after after all. I'll catch up with more updates later.