I believe in only ONE chance

On the 3rd day of Ramdhan, my throat suddenly felt so painful, swollen. Trouble sleeping. Took wood peppermint cough syrup and sucked in lozenges. Shivering. Took panadol. Still shivering. Took another panadol. Slept.

The next day, I took MC and went to see my doctor. Hey.. I was still fasting, okay. Just a little pain doesn't hinder me from observing fasting in this holy month. Alhamdulilah... I still managed to make it.

I don't mind driving further from my new house to see my doctor whose clinic is near to my old house. It's worth it, I tell you!

I told him what's bothering me and he examined me. He took his pen, started drawing on his writing tablet and on his computer screen, appeared an uvula with 2 little circles on the side. I asked him, what's that little circles? He said bacteria! Hahahaaa....

If you flipped through my medical records in his computer, you will see uvula picture in each page. I once read article saying that according to my birth date, my weakness lies on the throat. It's indeed true. My throat is quite sensitive.

Dr Thong: How's your new house?
Me : Ahaa.. you know
Dr Thong: Your mom came last time and told me about it.
Me : Oh yeah.. Well, it's good :-) See.. I still come to see you even though
it's further.
Dr Thong: You know why? I always prescribe good medicine. Many other doctors and even some of my friends, they simply prescribe normal medicine. Easy to claim. For good medicine, you need to itemize it. And you have to login to the computer system and submit the claim within certain time else the claim forfeited. They are too lazy and don't want to be bothered with this tedious work. My friend asked me "Why do you bother to do that? Simply give normal medicine and then if they are not well, they will come again. I said to them, "I believe in only ONE chance"

"I believe in only ONE chance". That's what my doctor said to me. And that's what make him so different than any other doctors I have met.

Dr Thong is like my family doctor. He knows my whole family. We visit him every time we fall sick.

There was the time, when my throat and coughing recurring and I visited him a few times. Still not getting well. He then gave me a strong medicine and advised me that he only prescribed this to asthma patient. But I'm not. So, take wisely and stop immediately if I feel it's too strong. Few days later, I got a call from him. I was surprised that a doctor called me! He asked whether I get better. And I said yes. My aunt said maybe the doctor likes me. Not bad to have Chinese husband for me since I have Chinese look a bit. So funny. Of course not. He just concern whether I get better or experience any side effect due to strong medicine. And I believe he's married too. Hahahahaa..

There was also a time when I asked him for a particular medicine I used to take when I was in Singapore. Dr Christine in DBS Building, Tg Pagar, Singapore, is my favorite doctor. What I like about her medicine prescription, not only they are good but also they come with full drug name printed label. So, I know what drugs I am taking.

For coughing : Phenexpect cd expectorant
For sore throat: Mac dual action blackcurrant flavour hexylresorcinol
(Ernest Jackson)
For flu : Chlorpheniramin tablet 4mg
For phlegm/sore throat: Korzen sinsia serratiopeptidase 5mg (this is my most favorite. It's very effective!)

Unfortunately, I can't find these drugs in Malaysia, not in pharmacies and not even in clinics. So, I asked Dr Thong whether he has such drug supplies. No, but he will check it up. You know what, in my next visit, I got Mac dual action blackcurrant prescription from him :-)

Read more »

He got married this month

He got married this month :-(

“Dan di antara tanda-tanda kekuasaan-Nya ialah Dia menciptakan untukmu isteri-istrei dari jenismu sendiri, supaya kamu cenderung dan merasa tenteram kepadanya dan dijadikan-Nya di antaramu rasa kasih dan sayang. Sesungguhnya pada yang demikian itu benar-benar terdapat tanda-tanda bagi kaum yang berfikir.” (Ar-Ruum :21).

Read more »

Siapa yang rugi?

Ambiga...
Semuanya bermula dgn desakan Ambiga utk membersihkan proses pilihan raya melalui gerakan Bersihnya.

Pembangkang...
Apa lagi... Tentunya melihat ini sebagai peluang keemasan utk bersekongkol dgn apa sahaja yg memperlihatkan kecacatan kerajaan, terdesak utk meraih sokongan menjelang pilihan raya

Polis...
Dalam keadaan kelam kabut dgn ribuaan org mara dr semua sudut dgn gerombolan penyokong yg ghairah dan naik seh, sudah tentu apa sahaja boleh berlaku atau ter-berlaku pada atau oleh sesiapa sahaja yg berada di situ. Pihak polis yg bertugas terdesak utk melakukan sesuatu utk menghalang kemaraan kumpulan atas dasar mempertahankan diri dan menyelamatkan org awam dan mungkin terlepas pandang akan asas atau principal pertahanan sesuatu kawasan tertentu yg perlu diberi perhatian khusus.

Najib...
Mungkin terdesak utk mempertahankan pihak polis, sekaligus mungkin menidakkan apa yg sebenarnya yg berlaku. Mungkin ya, mungkin tidak... Wallahualam...Allah SWT sahaja yg tahu...

SEMUA TERDESAK DGN KEADAAN

Akhirnya, siapa yang rugi?
KITA SEMUA yg rugi!
- Negara kita kelihatan buruk, busuk di mata asing
- Polis yg cuba menjaga keamanan cedera dan dikecam
- Mereka yg sertai demonstrasi juga cedera, fizikal dan emosi
- Kecederaan emosi dirasai oleh setiap lapisan masyarakat di seluruh Malaysia (SEMUA ORANG yaa... semua rasa sakitnya dan juga bersedih dgn apa yg berlaku)

Wahai seluruh rakyat negaraku yg tercinta....
Tak bolehkan kita semua duduk berbincang dan bermusyawarah?
Fikir-fikirkanlah...

Read more »

Traditional Islam in America

As I mentioned in my earlier post, one of my resolution for this year is to make time for Majlis Ilmu. Last night, I attended a talk titled 'Traditional Islam in America' by Imam Finch (Muhammad Abdul Latif Finch). It was my second talk channeled through Brother Mahdar from Arabic Academy Malaysia. From time to time I get talk invitations from him and I will try to attend whenever time permit.

Imam Finch is the imam at the Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland, California. He is a teacher and program developer for Deen Intensive Foundation. He also works with SeekersGuidance and assists Zaytuna College's annual Summer Arabic Intensive program in Berkeley, California. He is one of five students who comprised the first graduating class of the Zaytuna seminary program. Born in El Paso, Texas and raised in the south, he embraced Islam in 1995 in Atlanta, Georgia when he was 20 years old. He graduated in 2008 with an ijazah in basic sciences of Islam.

'Traditional Islam in America' is indeed quite a tough topic to discuss. The speaker himself admitted this fact. He said that Islam in America has just reaching 50 years and that's not long enough to form a traditional Islam.

Wait a minute... what is 'Traditional Islam' really means?
I was puzzled myself.

Wikipedia defines 'Traditional Islam' as cultural Muslim, that is a general term used to define a group of people who are identified by association with a Muslim community rather than Islamic faith or rituals.

Okay, now I get it. In other words, what are the norms or traits which give the impression that a person or a group of people is the Muslims.

The discussion with Imam Finch was not as structured as the first talk by Shaykh Afifi Al Akiti which I attended sometime ago. To be honest, I'm quite disappointed :-( Imam Finch didn't really explore the topic sufficiently and simply rest with the fact that America has no traditional Islam. Which I can argue with his own fact which says traditional Islam evolves over time.

Traditional Islam Evolution
Traditional Islam evolves over time, transforming the way people live their lives, the fashion and style they put on, the way they speak and think.

People change and we ourselves can be foreign from our traditional Islam in which we came from. Imam Finch asked "How many are Malays here?" - Majority put up hands. "Who feels more confidence conversing in English than Malay?" - A few put up hands. "See.. you are foreign yourself, different from your tradition."

If traditional Islam evolves over time, it can exists as early as a second and start to evolve from then onwards. Hence, there must also be traditional Islam in America which has started since the last 50 years, although it is not pretty distinct like any other Islamic countries.



I once read an article in Al-Islam magazine which says that the niqab (purdah) is a custom or common practice in the Arab countries of the Arabian Peninsula such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and the UAE. So, I would say that's what defines traditional Islam in Arab countries. I believe there are distinctive values or style in other Islamic countries as well. But, the essence is still the same that is to cover the aurat e.g covering the head and bosom in this context.

I went for sight-seeing at Suomenlinna Island in Helsinki last month and met a Malaysian family, a couple with 4 kids. FYI, there are very very minimal Muslims tourist over there. During my 1-week work-stay, I only saw Muslims women twice! So, seeing someone with hijab (tudung) is very obvious among the people in the city. I remember the wife said to me she recognized me as Malaysian by my hijab style. So, I would say that's our traditional Islam in Malaysia, I guess.

Nevertheless, lifestyle, customs and cultural practices covering as small matters as food, drink, dress code to bigger matters like jurisprudence, administration and everything we believe, do and say, has to fall back to the essence of Islam, that are Al-Quran and As-Sunnah Wal Jamaah.

Deen = mind + body + soul = Iman + Islam + Ihsan

“Say: If you all love Allah, then wholeheartedly follow me, and Allah will love you and forgive your sins” (Koran 3:31). Man is body, mind, and soul all together, and does not find the deep inner peace of true religion without Islam, Iman, and Ihsan all together. It means observing the law (shari‘a), knowing the faith (‘aqida), and realizing the soul’s potential (tariqa).

P/S: What's written here is from my shallow and little knowledge and understanding. After all, I'm a learner myself.
Wallahualam...

Read more »

Kenduri Kesyukuran & Doa Selamat (House Warming Event)

Last Saturday, we organized a house warming event (Kenduri Kesyukuran & Doa Selamat)in conjunction of our moving to new home sweet home and to thank Allah SWT for His blessing by offering and sharing a feast together. We invited family members and close friends. Alhamdulilah... the event went well with good weather.

The feast is really delightful and glorious with plenty of food until you feel hard to choose. In addition to my mom's menu, my aunties, grandma, some family members and friends also sponsored some food. Thank you all. May Allah SWT bless you all :-)

My mom's very-own-cooking menu:
Nasi Tomato
Ayam Masak Merah
Daging Kicap Pedas
Jelatah
Nasi Putih
Gulai Nangka
Ikan Masin
Sambal Belacan
Satay
Tembikai
Bubur Cacar
Air Oren

Sponsored food:
Kuah Pecal
Kuaci
Tapai
Karipap
Pulut panggang
Agar-agar
Kasui
etc

My cousin's husband (Abg Asri) who is a soldier, sponsored the tent from his camp which comes with banquet set: tables, chairs, table cloth, food tray, drink container etc. Even with the gold color ribbon wrapped around the chair rest just like wedding banquet. Hehehehe.... I was surprised coming home to see it and feel like a wedding ceremony. Plus, on the very same preparation day, the workers came to install the wardrobe in my room. It adds the feeling of wedding as if preparing the bride's room. kuikuikui... Perasan santan jerk!

The event started with Doa Selamat & Tahlil by Imam and a few jemaah after Zuhur. Followed by the feast. In the afternoon, my mom's marhaban group continued with Yasin recital and Selawat to Rasullullah SAW.



Alhamdulilah... May Allah bless us all with hidayah and rahmat. And may we, one whole family live in the new house happy ever after.

Thank you for all of you whom willing to spent some time to visit and join the feast with us. Thank you!

Read more »

4 - 12 Jun 2011: Helsinki, Finland

4 Jun 2011, Saturday
Touched down at Schiphol airport, Amsterdam from KLIA after my very first loooooong flight (12 hours). Transit flight to Helsinki, Finland for another 3hr 25min. Only now I understand why people hate long flight. I did walked to the back of the plane to just stand on my two feet, can't take the seating anymore!


Checked-in the hotel. Going up to the room is a discovery itself. They have a "weird" lift ('hissi' in Finnish), see picture. It has frozen-fridge-like door which you need to open before entering! With big luggage, max only 2 persons can fit it at one go. kuikuikui... With the heavy trolley bag, I squeezed myself into my very-small single room. Imagine, half of the room is a single bed and another half is a narrow space as small as the width of the single bed. Too bad I didn't take picture of it.

And, You know what??
After the very first hour of the first day in hotel, just before I went out from the room to go to the city, I dropped my camera on the floor! Oh crap.. It's gone! I can hear crackling sound when I shake it. There goes my old camera (Ricoh) which I purchased in Singapore. What to do? In the city, I ended up buying a new camera (Canon IXUS 220) at EUR219!!

That day we discovered almost all sightseeing spots in the city.

Esplanadi Park (Etelaesplanadi)



Market Square
At the end of Esplanadi facing the sea, this open-air market sells fresh fish, vegetables, berries and other produce and souvenirs too. I was busy choosing the magnet and keychain when the seller greet me with salam. I was surprised and happy at the same time to meet the Muslims in the foreign place. The father and daughter, they originally from Middle East have been living in Helsinki for 20 years.

Watch out for the seagulls! They can scoop your ice-cream or snatch your berries out of your hands in no time.


Senate Square
Senate Square houses the palace of the Senate, as well as the main building of the University of Helsinki, both of which were designed by famed architect Carl L. Engel. The center of the square has a statue of the Emperor Alexander II. The square's neo-classical design makes it one of the most attractive squares in the European continent.



From left:
- Ateneum Art Museum and National Museum - Under renovation
- Lutheran Cathedral
- Uspenski Cathedral (Uspenskin katedraali)
- Aleksanterinkatu (Aleksi) - Rows of shops and department stores.

6 - 10 Jun 2011, Monday-Friday
Working...

On Wednesday, we had a Finnish-Scandinavian tradition fine dining with the customer at Restaurant Hvitträsk (Ravintola Hvitträsk) which is surrounded by a breathtaking and mesmerizing view of the countryside.



11 Jun 2011, Saturday
During the final weekend before leaving for Den Bosch, we took a ferry trip to Soumenlina Island, the amazing sea fortress. It's like a township of military occupants. I explored through its deep, dark and cold tunnels. I wasn't prepared for it. Exploring through the darkness without torch light, I bang my head against one of the arch. Ouch...



Check out more pictures in my facebook

To be continued with the adventure in Den Bosch in the next post!

Read more »

Europe trip

Just got back from Europe last Wednesday.
I never thought that I'll be stepping my foot in Europe this soon!
Alhamdulilah...rezeki from Him :-)

If you see from my travel plan here, Europe is #4 in the list. Somehow, it shot up by mere luck :D

Well, to start with, I did told you last time that I was working hard on customer project, a postal company in Helsinki, Finland. Finally, modeling phase completed and it was time for 70% demo at customer site. So, my team and I went to Helsinki, Finland for a week for the demo and ID kickoff and then we flew to Den Bosch, Netherland, our company headquarter before heading back home.

Oooppsss...wait... just before we heading back home, we took 2-day off plus the weekends and did a sprint tour to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam! Gosh!! Yeah... I know it may sound crazy. But, we did it!

Considering all QSs (the programmers) went there together, we cant afford to have plenty day-off. So we just have to make do with 4-day Europe sprint tour.

Here's just the glimpse of my Europe trip. I'll posting day-to-day experience soon. Stay tune.

Read more »