Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination

The Journey: Part 2
The-sister-I-never-had, Kano and I have been planning our (respective) weddings together because (1) our weddings are scheduled to be berdekatan; and (2) our fiancés are both far, far away. Heh. I tell you, planning your wedding with another good friend is so much fun lah. We do our surveys together and talk about it almost everyday. Hahaha. Of course it would be lovely to make the preparation with your fiancé as your assistant (face it, wedding preparations are for the brides, the grooms hanyalah pembantu, ngee), tapi jika tak boleh, planning it with someone with (almost) the same taste/desire/budget/passion is the next best thing.

An update: Last Friday, Kano and I went berbuka puasa at Pelita Nasi Kandar (oh so yummy) and later met with another photographer, from the NeurMaya team and we fell in love with their job and the packages they offered, so much that Kano has already placed a deposit as her booking confirmation. But yours truly is still undecided (what else is new?!) Stay tune!

When something undesirable grows in my soul,
I ask God to give me the same courage mercilessly to pluck it out.
~ Paul Coelho in Like the Flowing River

Semerah Padi is clearly in a class of its own. I watched it the other day and was spellbound; it is a good movie with very good acting (by the legendaries P.Ramlee, Noordin Ahmad and Saadiah, to name a few), lakon layar dan arahan hebat dari P.Ramlee and I think what is most commendable (and most lacking in present Malay movies) is its uncomplicated approach to instill moral value and faithfulness to Islam.

Aduka and Dara,
played by P. Ramlee and the very beautiful Saadiah.

One of my favourite scenes in the movie was when Galak, played by Noormadiah and her lover were caught berzina by Pahlawan Semerah Padi (Taruna and Aduka) dan dibawa ke pengadilan before the Penghulu dan dijatuhkan hukuman sula. (Note: Dialog berikut dipaparkan secara kasar melalui ingatan penulis. Maaf atas sebarang kesilapan).

Penghulu: Di mana kampung kau?
Penzina Lelaki: Kampung aku di mana sahaja wanita cantik berada.
Penghulu: Mengapa kau berzina? Tidakkah kau tahu bahawa zina itu haram?
Penzina Lelaki: Nafsuku tidak mengenal halal haram.
Penzina Wanita: Nafsuku juga.

Pergh. Classic. And that ladies and gentleman, is one of the reasons why Allahyarham Tan Sri P.Ramlee is a legend dan tiada galang ganti.


Brothers and Sisters, let us all be reminded that the second ten days of Ramadhan are of forgiveness and they are here! :-)

The optimist and the pessimist both die in the end,
but each lives his life in a completely different way.
~ Quoted by Paul Coelho in the inspiring Like the Flowing River

The Lovely Bones is a novel by Alice Sebold about a teenage girl who, after being brutally raped and murdered, watches from Heaven as her family and friends go on with their lives while she herself comes to terms with her own death. I just finished reading it when Adik Nurin Jazlin went missing. Terdetik hati bahawa terdapat kemungkinan perkara sebegitu could happen to her, tetapi perasaan itu ditepis kerana berfikiran positif dan berdoa adalah jalan yang terbaik. This could be another Adik Yin's scenario.

Unfortunately, the DNA test result showed that the body found in the bag is apparently the missing Nurin. Innalillah. I could never imagine how her parents are feeling (and coping) but what I could never imagine most is what is going on in the head of the culprit?! How does his/her mind works? What is it that turned him/her dari sebaik-baik ciptaan Tuhan into some makhluk yang lebih nasty dan buruk dan rendah sifatnya dari binatang? What went wrong?! This world is not safe especially for women and children. This could happen to anyone of us. Nauzubillah. Al-Fatihah buat Adik Nurin Jazlin.

I’d like to share something from a very inspiring book (of collection of reflections and short stories) by Paul Coelho, Like the Flowing River, which I’m currently reading (with all my heart): We are all walking towards death, but we never know when death will touch us and it is our duty, therefore, to look around us, to be grateful for each minute. But we should also be grateful to death, because it makes us think about the importance of each decision we take, or fail to take; it makes us stop doing anything that keeps us stuck in the category of the ‘living dead’ and instead, urges us to risk everything, to bet everything on those things we always dreamed of doing, because, whether we like it or not, the angel of death is waiting for us.

Have a blessed Friday!

"Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories"
~ From the movie An Affair to Remember

After almost 8 years of leaving school, terasa ingin reminiscing the good old days during Ramadhan in STF; sungguh precious dan tidak mungkin berganti.

(1) Weekdays outing mengikut kelas/persatuan/dorm di mana air kathira, ayam percik dan otak-otak adalah antara juadah wajib beli;

(2) Berbuka puasa di dining hall beramai-ramai sambil mendengar ucapan2 hari raya yang telah direkod mengikut kelas masing2 dan lagu2 raya yang mensyahdukan (macamlah tak dapat balik raya?!);

(3) And believe it or not, makanan di dining hall kami was yummy, okay! Di bulan puasa terutamanya, adalah extra special;

(4) Kelihatan guru2 yang seksi/free hair akan bertudung litup;

(5) Bagi yang ‘haram berpuasa’, boleh lunch (makanan sahur yang dipanaskan) secara terbuka di dining hall. Teehee itulah among the perks of being in an all girls school;

(6) Ramadhan pasti akan diimarahkan kerana terdapat aktiviti kerohanian yang diwajibkan seperti tadarus, menonton Jejak Rasul dan solat tarawikh;

(7) Prep time was shorter - Thank God for that, I hated prep;

(8) ‘Round compound’ selepas solat tarawikh on weekends;

(9) Dan singgah sebentar di kantin sekolah untuk menikmati teh ais Uncle Joe atau ABC Coklat yang enak (dan wujud di bulan puasa sahaja);

(10) Berpuasa di STF during 1999 SPM weeks was so much fun kerana almost everyday boleh outing dan almost everyday ada guru-guru yang menyedekahkan juadah berbuka kerana mengasihani kami.


Dalam keriangan hati mengenang kenangan lalu, hati hiba dan berdoa kepadaNya agar mencucuri rahmatNya ke atas mangsa-mangsa gempa di Indonesia dan mangsa-mangsa banjir di utara tanahair. Ya Allahu Rabbi, rahmatilah mereka dengan pengampunan dan kasih sayangMu.

Memohon pada Tuhan diberikan kekuatan

Alhamdulillah, diberi lagi peluang untuk bertemu Ramadhan. Aah Ramadhan tiba lagi, suatu bulan di mana:

(a) Rumah-rumah ibadah dipenuhi jemaah (the main Masjid in my kariah was flooded with jemaah last night, melimpah ruah hingga ke luar);

(b) Kitab suci digunakan dengan lebih kerap dan bukan sekadar hanya untuk bacaan Yassin/Ar-Rahman/Waqiah (bacaan standard pemalas seperti gua);

(c) Pelbagai jenis variasi jenis/warna/rasa kuih-muih mudah didapati;

(d) Jubah-jubah Mekah gua yang berfungsi sebagai my official tarawikh uniform mula dikeluarkan dan digunakan selepas setahun berlalu;

(e) Traffic jams start earlier as most offices close earlier (mine - 4.30);

(f) Lagu Jejak Rasul mula berkumandang;

(g) Jualan hebat Raya akan bermula di situ sana sini. Yihaaa;

(h) Syaitan dipagar maka jika ada perasaan jahat yang bersangkar atau ada perilaku mazmumah, itu bukan external problem, itu internal. Ngeee;

dan yang paling utama

(i) Pahala berganda dan maghfirahNya dikurnia.

Tapi sesungguhnya, gua ni lemah dan hangat-hangat tahi ayam. Ngeee. Memetik words of Raihan & Man Bai, “Tuhan pimpinlah daku yang lemah, mengharungi segalanya dengan sabar, kita memohon pada Tuhan diberikan kekuatan, ku merayu pada Tuhan diterima amalan”. Ameen.

Ramadan rahmat dari Ilahi

Bertemu kembali dengan Ramadhan. Kurasakan bahagia menyelubungi.
Ya Allah daku bersyukur Kau pertemukan aku semula Ramadhan yang mulia. Di Ramadhan Ya Allah, rahmatMu ku rasa. Banyakkan beribadah.
Ku tahu pengampunanMu melangit tinggi. Ramadhan rahmat dari Ilahi.
Banyakkan beribadah dan berdoa. Hapuskan dosa tingkatkan pahala. Semoga beroleh maghfirah. Semoga kita menjadi hamba yang setia.
Ramadhan menyedarkan aku kesusahan yang dialami insan lain.
Ramadhan ujian Ilahi. Mengajar erti kesabaran dan kesetiaan. Andainya ini Ramadhan terakhir bagiku, kuharap ianya kan membela ku di akhirat nanti.

Listen to the beautiful nasyeed by Brothers:


Marilah kita memeriahkan Ramadhan!

Isteri cerdik yang solehah:
Penyejuk mata. Penawar hati. Penajam fikiran.

The Journey: Part 1
7 more months to go. Wedding planning gives me jitters, both in good and bad ways. It makes my heart jump with excitement and anxiety. Like every bride, I want everything to be beautiful and most importantly, special. I want to be able to have fun and most importantly, not be a monster bride. I want to be a beautiful, blushing, happy bride and most importantly, I want to be his wife. Important as the wedding may be, I know bahawa yang lebih utama ialah perkahwinan. I am aware that it takes so much more than a stylish kenduri and an expensive wedding ring to end up happily ever after. As the song How Do You Keep The Music Playing? goes: “If we can be the best of lovers yet be the best of friends. If we can try with every day to make it better as it goes. With any luck than I suppose the music never ends”. I certainly wish and hope and pray so.


6-8 months checklist:

(1) Berbincang hal-hal perkahwinan (adat perkahwinan) dengan ibu bapa dari kedua-dua belah pihak bakal pengantin.
(2) Menentukan perbelanjaan yang akan dikeluarkan oleh kedua-dua belah pihak pengantin untuk majlis perkahwinan tersebut.
(3) Menentukan konsep majlis perkahwinan.
(4) Rujuk direktori perkhidmatan perkahwinan (jurusolek, koleksi pakaian pengantin, bunga, kad jemputan perkahwinan dan lain-lain) di majalah, internet, buku atau melalui rakan-rakan yang telah berkahwin.
(5) Mengenalpasti baju pengantin serta tetapkan bilangan pakaian persalinan yang diingini dan tempah juruandam untuk majlis perkahwinan anda.
(6) Mencari rumah baru, sama ada sewa atau membelinya.
(7) Kenalpasti Jabatan Agama Islam, Pejabat Agama Islam Daerah atau badan-badan Islam yang berdekatan dengan kawasan anda, untuk mendaftar kursus pra perkahwinan.

Pergh we’ve got a long, long way to go. Stay tune!

Telah ku siapkan satu daerah paling sunyi

Permata Untuk Isteri by Kopratasa has always been one of my all time favourite songs. Sungguh indah dan realistik. "Kerana engkau isteri ku ingin kau mengerti bahawa hidup ini tak semudah yang kita janjikan kerana kau isteriku". Huhu. Pardon me, Kano and I bertemu wedding photographer AdamandHawa semalam and I just finished redoing our wedding budget and naturally, the figures give me demam sejuk. Ngeee.

Anyways, seperti biasa, I'd like to share the beautiful song:



And in the spirit of Jumaat, penghulu segala hari, I'd like to share suatu doa yang sangat kugemari. Have a blessed Friday!

"Allahumma inni a'udzubika minal hammi wal hazan. Wa a'udzubika minal 'ajzi walkasal. Wa a'udzubika minal jubni wal bukhl. Wa a'udzubika min 'ghalabatiddaini waqahrirrijal."
(Ya Allah, aku berlindung padaMu dari rasa sedih dan gelisah. Dan aku berlindung padaMu dari kelemahan dan kemalasan. Dan aku berlindung padaMu dari sikap pengecut dan bakhil. Dan aku berlindung padaMu dari cengkaman hutang dan penindasan orang).

Sesungguhnya manusia takkan bisa
menikmati surga tanpa ikhlas di hatinya
Sesungguhnya manusia takkan bisa
menyentuh nikmatNya tanpa tulus di hatinya

Click here to listen to the nasyeed entitled Ikhlas by Ungu from which the above title is taken. Sungguh soothing.

On another note, have you heard of the PostSecret? In case you don't, it is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. I am going to tell you something about me, PostSecret-style. Ngeee. They're no secret anyway.




Itu saja. Ngee. Thanks to Google for the photos and to Esnips for the song.

Love does not consist of gazing at each other,
but in looking together in the same direction.



Rahasia Cinta ~ Kerispatih

Saat ini tatap mataku
Adakah kesungguhan di sana kau dapati
Seerat mungkin kau genggam tanganku
Dan rasakan kehadiranku untukmu

Cintaku bukan cinta sempurna
Tapi cukup hati ini kau miliki
Demikianlah luasnya hatiku sayang
Di sanalah raga jiwa kupersembahkan

Kau jadi bagian hidupku
Saat ini dan kuharap juga esok nanti
Berharaplah kita selalu bersama
Di dalam cinta dan juga duka nestapa
Ingin kuhabiskan sisa hidup ini
Berdua selamanya

Ini sebuah cita cinta
Semoga bukan mimpi di siang hari
Atau kasih yang tak sampai



Song/Words (of Rahasia Cinta) by Badai
Photo (of Yours Truly and her sweetheart) by Aniz

I am not an impulsive shopper. But when I saw/heard Kerispatih on MHI today, I fell instantly in love maka tanpa berfikir panjang, I went and bought their album. The last original album I bought was Siti Nurhaliza’s Transkripsi; as that has been quite a while (plus the fact that I could easily download their songs from Esnips), you can conclude that there really is something about Kerispatih. No regret. Konklusinya, Kenyataan Perasaan adalah sebuah album yang mesti kalian miliki/dengari.