Hanizah. Nurul Ain. Marliza. Farah Ezlin. Mardziatun.
Naemah. Mardiana. Izafarhana. Farah Hanani. Mardiah.

A strong woman works out every day
to keep her body in shape.
But a woman of strength kneels in prayer
to keep her soul in shape.

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything.
But a woman of strength
shows courage in the midst of her fear.

A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her.
But a woman of strength
gives the best of her to everyone.

A strong woman walks sure footedly.
But a woman of strength
knows God will catch her when she falls.

A strong woman wears the look
of confidence on her face.
But a woman of strength wears grace.

A strong woman has faith that
she is strong enough for the journey.
But a woman of strength has faith that
it is in the journey that she will become strong.

Dedicated to all (aspiring) women of strenghts in my life

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart" ~Confucius

Our fun Trip to Bangkok & Pattaya:
Picture edition

BANGKOK

Left: My bro & I at Wat Po (Reclining Buddha Temple) in Bangkok, which is a famous tourist attraction for its history and beauty. We also went to Four Faces Buddha in the heart of the city. It was a working day, but there were so many Buddhist people praying. Thai people sure are a religious lot.
Right: Pic of Ibu & Bapak with our lovely tourist guide, Mdm Touk, having bird's nest cold soup at Bird Nest Restaurant in Bangkok. It tastes quite nice actually. Mdm Touk is very friendly, very welcoming and she made our stay there very smooth and fun. Ibu grew very close to her dan nangis mase nak depart with her. Heh.
Thenafter we went to Leather Factory selling leather products including kulit gajah, kulit kambing, ikan pari, buaya etc etc. We also went to a shop selling very good quality of imitation product hehe. There you can find almost every branded goods from Versace to Fendi.

Left: My bro & I, on boat at Menam Chao Phraya, a river bridging two worlds of Bangkok, the old city (where there were temples everywhere) and the new, developed one. Along the way, we went sight seeing, feed fishes (ikan2 ni cuma ada depan temple saja. Besa2 amat sgt. Thai ppl believe di situ tade hantu n Tuhan jaga ikan2 tu), and went to mini Floating Market (the real one in Bangkok dah takde. This mini one is purely designed for tourists).
Right: Me and Ibu trying on Thai traditional costume for 200 Baht each. Me bercita2 menjadi the 1st Muslim Queen of Thai. Teehehe.

Left: Foods glorious foods. It is a widely known fact that Thai foods are super delicious. We mostly had our meals at Mak Yah Muslim Restaurant in Bangkok, and the meals were superb. In Pattaya (sebab ia sebuah pulau), we mostly had yummy sea foods there.
Right: My parents di Chatuchak Market, Bangkok, which is the world's biggest flea market where you can find almost everything under the sun. Tak larat dan tak sempat nak jalan. We mostly did our shopping there, at the riverside of Menam Chao Phraya, and at Patrunam (which is the biggest wholesale and retail complex in Thai).

PATTAYA


Left: Daku berlatar belakangkan pantai di Pattaya. Very very beautiful indeed. Pantainya putih, airnya jernih.

Right: Me on boat to Koh Lan (Lan Island) which is Subhannallah cantiknya. There we went boat parachuting (my bro & I tried it), Bapak and bro went shooting, went for a boat ride tengok coral, and the best was that bro and I went snorkelling! Hehe not actually snorkeling, more like walking under water (tak pandai berenangpon), tapi dapat tengok ikan yang banyak dan lawa, dan coral yang amat cantik. Huhu subhanallah. Tak saba nak tengok gamba (which the underwater bodyguards took for us tapi belum develop lagi).



Left: That was me doing boat parachuting. "Look Jack, I'm flying." Amat sgt best! So I have had my taste of being a bird. Yeay.
Right: Ibu & I at Nong Nooch Tropical Garden in Pattaya. It was so beautifully landscaped & you can find many types of garden there, from European to Eastern. There, we watched Thai Cultural Show and Elephant Show (intelligent animal elephants are but I do not condone such show. Sian gajah!)
In Pattaya, we also went to a famous Honey store, which sells fresh products of honey, pollen and royal jelly, Gems Factory & Gallery, which is the biggest gem gallery in the world, where we bought some jewelleries for ourselves (because we're worth it :P), and to the Tiger Zoo where we got to see tigers & pigs living together (as they call it, as One Big happy Family), Scorpion lady, and crocodile show. Pattaya is a very very happening place during night time (macam Bukit Bintang kite, times 4) tapi amat sgt lengang di siang hari.
All in all, we had a great time, and we came home with satisfaction and fun new experiences. Magnificient Thailand.
For more pictures, click here.

To others, this may seem like an ordinary packet of tissues. But to me, they symbolize human courage and determination. Chewah.

Last weekends, along with my parents and my bro, I went shopping at BB plaza, only to be deeply moved. While window shopping-ing, I came across one OKU (Orang Kurang Upaya) on his wheel chair selling tissues. I walked passed him (without sparing him any change) but thenafter, his image kept coming back to me, maka saya patah balik ke tempat where he was doing his tissue business.

So I offered him RM2 (as derma la kunun) but as I was about to walk away, he called after me, to return back my RM2. Maka saya heran. He insisted me to take back my money, and told me that the tissue he was selling cost RM3. Saya tak nak tisu tu. Memang tak nak. Saya nak kasi je RM2 tu as derma. Dan masalah utamanya, I couldn't quite make up what he was saying to me (dia susah sikit nak bercakap).

To cut a longer story short, this particular man did not want derma ihsan & I was so so stupid not to notice that. He was a businessman, not a begger. I was so ashamed, & afraid I might have offended him, I apologised & of course, bought the tissues. He said "Takpe" & angkat thumb dia tunjuk sign 'bagus'.

There you go. Courage & determination. Here is one man who can not walk and can barely talk. And yet, he refused untuk surrender kepada kekurangan dia. Instead dia berjuang dan hidup dengan penuh keazaman. At least, that is what he had shown me on that day.

Huhu sometimes you find inspiration in the strangest places.

"The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. And that's what you've given me. That's what I'd hoped to give you forever."


"Look, guys. That's my sweetheart in there. I'm not leaving her. This is my home now. Your mother is my home."

The Notebook is a beautiful movie. A painfully heartwarming love story, the kind that will stay in your heart for a long long time. Nicholas Sparks provides a wonderful love story (as always) in his novel but Nick Cassavetes did a much brilliant adaptation of the novel into such a beautiful romantic movie.

And oh did you guys watch the MTV Movie Award 2005? They won the award for Best Kiss and they of course recreated the scene of the kiss. It was oh so so sexy!!

I love The Notebook. Even my bro likes it very much. If you are a craver for good romance, please please go watch The Notebook.

PS. It helps that Ryan Gosling *drool* and Rachel McAdams are two very beautiful people.

My orangy self with my new love, Nikon Coolpix.

My latest addiction

Hadapi Dengan Senyuman

Yesterday's NST features Mariah Lika, whose life reflects the typical lives of the people in the Jakun (Orang Asli) community in Rompin, Pahang.

She has 5 children, 4 of which are still in school. Her home is simply made from old planks and roofed with zinc sheets. Her husband's monthly income is only RM350. Their entertainment comes from only a small screen tv which operates on a generator, which also lights up their humble house. Her 23 year old eldest son who did not do well in school earns RM400 per month (much of which he gives to his family), working as a rattan gatherer. He aspires to help his family for the sake of his younger siblings in hope that they will be better of than him and their parents.

Despite their difficult life, Mariah is determined to give her children the much needed education, and when asked whether she has anything to complain, she merely giggled and told the NST reporter, "Tak adala hidup susah. Biasa je ni."

Many of us I believe (including especially me) complain to even the most trivial matters. One wise man once said, hidup ni seperti sebuah lanskap. In my own interpretation, bila kita berada dalm lingkungan lanskap tu, the grass always seems greener on the other side of the river, the flower always seems prettier at other landscapes. We fail to recognise the very own landscape we're in. Cuma bila kita keluar dari lanskap tu dan melihat keindahannya dari kejauhan, only then we'd learn to appreciate the beauty of the landscape we have.

"Tak adala hidup susah. Biasa je ni." Suatu anekdot yang mudah, tetapi amat menginsafkan.

"A man can never be just friends
with a woman he finds attractive"
- When Harry Met Sally

Kyung-min and Jung-eun are totally different in character. Due to certain circumstances, Kyung-min is taken in by Jung-eun as her "tenant" although Korean society does not look too kindly on boys and girls staying under the same roof. In this series, we get to see how Jung-eun tries her utmost best to change Kyung-min into a better person as she loves him. His self-centered, lazy and spoiled traits compared to Jung-eun's honest, hard-working and disciplined ways are very hilarious and heart-touching and at times exasperating.

I watched The Attic Cat almost religiously everyday. An adorable Korean soap, with brilliant (and good looking) actors and actresses.

So Harry said no such thing as 'just friends' between a man and a woman he finds attractive. Lee Kyung Min never finds Jung Eun even a bit attractive. Everytime orang tanye dia whether or not there is something between them (they live together and are the bestest of friends), his answer would be, "citarasa saya tak seteruk tu". Even his granny hated Jung Eun and called her ikan masin. He thought he was in love habis with the pretty Hye Ryun.

Only when he was about to lose her to another man (pengurus yang cool dan amat matang), he realised that he is very much in love with Jung Eun. And it was almost too late. But in the end, their love overcame everything else. Love prevails.

What else can I say? Happy ending gets me everytime.

Exhale
Whitney Houston

Everyone falls, in love sometimes
Sometimes it's wrong, and sometimes it's right
For every win, someone must fail
But there comes a point when
When we exhale

Sometimes you laugh

Sometimes you cry
Life never tells us, the whens and whys
When you've got friends, to wish you well
You'll find a point when, you will exhale

Hearts are often broken
When there are words unspoken
In your soul there's answers to your prayers
If you're searching for a place you know
A familiar face, somewhere to go
You should look inside your soul
And you're half way there

** I believe those wonderful friends of mine who have recently been broken hearted could find solace in the wisdom in this song. Like Gwyneth Paltrow, I too believe that only friends and time can heal a broken heart. And if you believe in your own heart and soul,
nothing else really matters.

Saat bintang tak mampu lagi berdendang

Saat malam menjadi terlalu dingin

Hingga pagi tak seindah biasanya

I was watching Siti Nurhaliza's Konsert Akustik when I was reminded to a conversation I had with my dear Far [I miss miss miss you, girl!] quite some time ago about Siti's song, Seindah Biasa. I remember debating with her [yes, we love small talks so so much] kenapa seindah BIASA? What is so indah about biasa? Normal is boring, kan?

But we came up with the conclusion that biasa is indeed sangat indah. Our normal life: waking up, going through our daily routine happily without devastating news or unfortunate incidents, meeting people in our lingkungan whom we love spending time most.. ain't that indah?

I believe the protagonist of the book I'm currently reading, [PS. I Love You, which is a gift from him (",)], Holly Kennedy, would definitely agree with me. She'd give everything to have back her normal life with her late hubby who passed away due to brain tumor. She'd kill to have back those silly little fights, rushing berebut toilet pagi2, whining to him every night about work etc etc.. all these normal things that we usually take for granted, which make us who we really are.

And as for me, I definitely love my biasa: eventhough if that means waking up as as early as 6.30 and not having chance untuk tidur balik lepas solat Subuh. Go to office and meet the rest of my friends. Go thru classes and workloads.. sometimes lazily, sometimes enthusiastically. Curi tidur di surau in middle of classes dengan alasan gi toilet. Lunch break when I get to borak2 with him outside our offices (",). Go thru some more classes. Tea break. Stay back at the office for unfinished work work work. Dinner with my dear friends. Supper with him. Go back home for late night tv and gossiping with my wonderful housemates. Sleep. So simple, so biasa, yet when I come to think about it, and how I have only another semester to enjoy my biasa, my biasa is indeed sangat INDAH.

But for now, my holiday is perfectly indah as well (",)

A wisdom well told

Yes, I said, but if aging were so valuable, why do people always say, "Oh, I wish I were young again." You never hear people say,
"I wish I were sixty-five."

He smiled. "You know what that reflects? Unsatisfied lives. Unfulfilled lives. Lives that haven't found meaning. Because if you've found meaning in your life,you don't want to go back. You want to go forward. You want to see more,do more. You can't wait until sixty-five."

An excerpt from Tuesdays With Morrie, by Mitch Albom

You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements.

Today I am going to write about tv commercials. As most people probably know, I only write on things I feel strongly about. And good tv commercials, I simply like. Be it funny ones, inspiring ones or especially effective ones. This is a passion I believe I could share with many people.

This writing is inspired by episode 3 of The Apprentice 3, in which both Magna and Net Worth sucked at their ads. We in Malaysia did not get to watch Magna's ad, tapi dari idea, macam agak bodoh la. They were using sexual connotation and taboo subjects (even for Americans evidently, as they all thought the ad is not appropriate). And Net Worth's ad was too cheesy and plain stupid.

As a layman (but a commercial lover), I think a good tv commercial must drawn you to watching them, and at the same time make you understand the product. And if you are lucky, your ad could inspire people. It is not enough to simply use pretty girls or hot guys and expect people to got inspired and buy your product.

There is a new tv commercial for shampoo, focusing on wanita bertudung. So the ad is catchy- one jambu guy studying at the library and saw one cute girl (wearing tudung) dan bermulalah sesi bertukar2 pandangan sambil tersenyum2 manja dan batting eyelashes sambil tersipu2 (dalam library ok?). Alaah serba-serbilah. Dengan lagu yang comel menghiasi iklan. Mungkin ramai yang suke, mungkin ramai yang berenti apa yang mereka lakukan untuk menonton iklan itu.. tapi persoalan utama adalah: Adakah mereka akan beli produk tersebut?

My answer is, based on the ad alone, I would not. Saya tak paham pun kebaikan produk itu untuk gadis bertudung seperti saya. Kenapanye? Akan harumkah jadinya rambutku maka menggamit jejaka di perpustakaan? Kalau setakat harum, semua shampoo pun offer the same thing. Keharuman. Oh ada sesuatu dalam shampoo tu khas buat rambut yang terperap sepanjang hari? Kenapa saya tak diberitahu melalui iklan (yang panjang duration nye) itu?

A good ad would offer me that information. I am not an advertising expert, but I am a consumer, dan ini pendapat saya seorang consumer yang selalu dan suke menonton iklan (dan kadang kala terpengaruh membeli dek kerana iklan yang bermutu dan berinformasi). Maka jika ada sesiapa dalam advertising line or suku-sakatnya terbaca penulisan ini, just regard this as a constructive criticism from a tv commercial fan. Boleh?

By the way, I think a slightly better (ehem) ad for the aforementioned product would be somewhat like this:

Di sebuah kolej, petang yang panas. Gadis bertudung A baru pulang dari kelas yang berlangsung sepanjang hari, lalu merungut kepada Gadis bertudung B. Gadis bertudung C juga menyampuk kerana mempunyai the same problem.

A: "Panas betullah pakai tudung all day long. Gatal kulit rambut aku ni haa. Rambut jadi flat. Kering tak bermaya."

B: "Ak aa lah A. Aku pulak, rambut jadi oily je asyik terperap dalam serkup, tapi duduk dalam air cond. Bukak tudung masa nak solat je. Not that I'm complaining pakai tudung ni. Sebab memang wajib and I am not questioning suruhan agama ke apa. But if only there is any product that could settle this problem."

C: (geleng-geleng kepala dan buat muke sweet. By the way, selalunyelah, Gadis C ni mesti yang paling cun sbb dia protagonist kan. So kite boleh letak Wardina di sini, cun and wise. Gadis A kite beri pada Bienda. Gadis B ialah Waheeda. Mengapa sume artis? Oh face it, we'll listen to them) "Laa. Korang tak penah gune ke shampoo baru from *toot toot*? Aku gune shampoo ni dan alhamdulillah works very well for my hair. Rambut taklah melekit, tapi tak jugak kering. Takde dah rase gatal2 kulit kepala. Just after few tries, rambut aku sangat bermaya, macam pegi buat milk bath untuk rambut pulak."

Everyone go: "Iye ke? Tengok2. Nak try." Sambil gigle2. Okay? Lalu gunalah imaginasi anda untuk seterusnya.

It may be somewhat cheesy, but at least it is fun (ada ramai artis cun ok?) and represents everything about the product. Maka gadis bertudung seperti saya will go, "Oh ye ke? Bagus tu. Aku duduk kat Honours office tu dari 7 pagi sampai kadang2 3 pagi dan terperuk je rambut dalam tudung (dan serkup ok?). I should give it a try." Mwahehehehe.

Okay, did I make my point there?