Alisha Rupa Anak Mat Salleh???

As I was lazing around on my bed today, I got a notification on my Facebook account. It was my friend from YMP who had just recovered from an almost similar viral fever that I had a couple of weeks back. He asked if Alisha was featured in Utusan today? I was like “what?”

I quickly asked the Bride to check out Utusan Malaysia today. She called me back saying that without a doubt, our baby girl is there smiling away in her car seat.

I told my mom and we went out in search for the paper. Went to one shop and they were out of Utusan. We went to another shop and she managed to get two copies of Utusan.

*Nasib baik dia tak tulis si Chempedak*

*closer view*

As we both went through each pages carefully, we suddenly saw a happy and smiling Alisha in her car seat, holding her sunshine toy and posing like a model to the camera. Besar ok gambar dia dalam paper hari ni! Aku pun tak pernah masuk paper gambar sebesar ni! Hahaha!

It is actually at page 7 under the Entertainment pull out called Mode Mega Utusan Malaysia. It is an article about going for the Raya holiday safely with a baby. “Balik Kampung dengan simanja”. The picture is from the Bride’s blog post here.

*original picture*

What caught my attention was also that this article was sponsored by Johnson’s Baby.

(Also, at the end page, Wahida and Akil Hayy is featured with Wahida wearing a purdah now! Aiyak!! *tepuk-dahi*)

Without wasting much time, I got our trustworthy operator to get me Utusan Malaysia’s number. Alhamdulillah, got through and after two transfers I was already speaking to the writer of the article itself. She apologised as she thought Alisha was anak Mat Salleh. Anak Mat Salleh? Muka Amoy macam ni dia kata anak Mat Salleh? Tang mana agaknya yang dia nampak iras Mat Salleh kat anak aku ni?

I guess, what went through the phone should not be shared here just yet as I have not decided what my next course of action is. I’m gathering proper legal advice for now.

Jeng Jeng Jeng

Her first Legal Action at the age of 11 months young???

Or should I just ask for duit raya? 

What’s your advice?

Blog adjourned.

Of Apam Balik And Reciprocating An Act Of Kindness

*This Mosque with the Kamar Musafir for those in need of a cheap place to stay*

Have you ever been to Ghufran Mosque during Ramadhan? You should give it a try. Complete with full air conditioned, the Imam there are really good. They do 8 rakaat of terawih at a reasonable pace and the mosque itself is very comfortable.

*Look at the size of the air conditioning system... No wonder some people come and pray wearing sweaters! hehe*

They have all sorts of extra stuff just for the special month of Ramdhan.

Knowing that a lot of people will be driving to the mosque, they have engaged young boys (and a few adults to supervise them) to take care of the traffic and car park. This is good as these kids at least contribute back to the society instead of just lepaking and not doing any good deeds. They are quite good as well. they really take their job seriously. Communicating via walkie talkies, they even work when it is raining with umbrellas and rain coats.

What I like most is that they provide apam balik for the buka puasa as well as the morey, or the snack time after prayers.

*Cafe Al-Ghufran, the makan venue*

I love apam balik. Even though the queuing system sometimes is very bad, (they should have made lots of extras during prayers so that people don't have to queu to get their apam balik... then again, maybe they have made the extras and those who did not pray witir prayers finished it off first... Oh well, I can never tell I suppose....) I would still stand there for a good ten minutes to get two of my favourite apam balik. Fresh and hot, I’d sit down and really enjoy my apam balik after Terawih prayers.

Speaking of hot apam balik, last three nights, as I was queuing for my hot apam balik, I ran out of the line to grab an empty plate. I noticed there was a “boy-behind-me” who did not have a plate. Knowing that the hot apam balik can actually burn your hands, I took an extra plate for him as well. As came back to the line, I gave him the extra plate. He smiled and thanked me for it.

Last night, I was again in my ten minutes queue for my apam balik. As I came closer to the apam balik, I thought about running to get an empty plate for myself again. Suddenly, before I could do so, the boy-behind-me popped out of nowhere with two plates. One was his plate as he had just eaten, and another was a clean extra plate. He gave the clean extra plate to me and smiled. I guess he was eating when he saw me queuing and decided to reciprocate my kind gesture.

I thanked him and smiled back at him.

Masha Allah…

That actually made me smile the whole night.

It’s amazing how a simple act of kindness can bring so much warmth and brotherhood love into you.

“Oh Allah, I pray that you reward the boy-behind-me for his effort in reciprocating a simple act of kindness. Please grant him a superb memory to remember and to do more good and grant him great success in this life and the Here After.”

Amin

Blog adjourned.

Ramadhan Mubarak And Brushing Teeth

Ramadhan Mubarak everyone!

Ramadhan is indeed the month of Quran. I hope you all are not wasting the bonus and extra reward that He has promised if you were to read the Quran!

You know, when I was a school boy, I remember being taught that one is discouraged from brushing one’s teeth when one is fasting. 

This act of not brushing one’s teeth is derived from the hadith when the Prophet saw said, “I swear by Him in whose hand is my soul, the Khaluf (I will explain what Khaluf later on in this post) of a fasting person is more pleasant to Allah (SWT) than the scent of musk." [Sahih al-Bukhari (1893) and Sahih Muslim (1151)].

Speaking to Muslim friends back then was about controlling my breath so that I do not inhale when he is exhaling so that I do not have to breath in his bad breath.

This got me thinking, if Islam is a religion of cleanliness, why does it discourages people to be clean and have good breath when one is fasting? At the same time, the Prophet (saw) also said: "Were it not for the hardship that I would be placing upon my people, I would have ordered them to engage in Siwak for every prayer." [Sahih al-Bukhari (887) and Sahih Muslim (252)]. The word "Siwak" does not just refer to the tree branches that are used as tooth sticks, but to the act of brushing the teeth itself. It is derived from the verb sak, meaning to rub, clean, buff, or polish. This hadith clearly includes the act of brushing one’s teeth EVEN during Ramadhan!

Imagine how a non-Muslim would feel when speaking to a bad breath Muslim? I’m sure they would be completely turned off to even learn about Islam if the general practice of sustaining a bad breath is considered encouraged during Ramadhan!

Coming back to the first hadith above, according to this website, the meaning of khaluf is the smell that comes from the stomach when it is empty of food and not the smell emanating from the mouth. In my honest opinion, I believe that the hadtih that Allah regards the khaluf of a fasting person also as a way to discourage other people from embarrassing the fasting’s person’s bad breath.

But that does not mean that the fasting person must continue to not care for his bad breath. If you look at it in one way, the khaluf of a fasting person is more pleasant than the scent of musk to Allah, but not to Allah’s creatures (especially me!)

This makes me conclude that my teacher was inaccurate in saying that it is discouraged to brush one’s teeth when one is fasting. Actually, I think that it is wrong to say so because there are no authorities indicating that the brushing of one’s teeth is discouraged! However, I stand to be corrected.

So, don’t forget to brush your teeth this month!

Better yet, reduce talking and read the Quran instead!

Blog adjourned!

S.T.R.I.K.E. 'Em Pins Down!!!

2010 has introduced me with a new hobby.

Bowling.

It all started when my colleague invited me to join his bowling team for the JALSOA Bowling open earlier this year. They didn’t have any name for the team so I suggested Suria Kencana. We didn’t win anything in that first tournament. 

*My throw*

*My Strike!*

Since I was already on sabbatical then, I didn’t get much updates on my team mates’ bowling progress. Apparently they had some serious training after that tournament. It even led them to go and get their own ball! Now three out of the four Suria Kencana’s had their own ball.

Suria Kencana then joined the Chief Registrar’s Bowling Open. We got the second place.

*What Suria Kencana won in the Chief Registrar Tournament. My team mates opened the hamper at the office so I didn't manage to get any of the munchies! Cheh!*

 My team mate scored 189 and got the best player of the tournament. I managed to get a turkey. I was informed that the Chief Registrar’s Bowling Open would be held every three months. If it does, you can bet to see Suria Kencana battling to get first and win the big trophy.

Since the second tournament, I have been practicing with my ex-schoolmates at e@Curve (formerly known as Cineleisure) Pin Junction. So far, my highest score is 186.

That gave me the boost to get myself my own ball (apart from my teammates pressuring me to do so as well!)

As I enquired around, I found that the Pro Shop at e@Curve Pin Junction gave the best package. You can get a straight ball, a pair of bowling shoes and a bag for RM299. That was just what I was looking for as my kind of throw is the straight throw.

Guess what?

*Tadaaaaa!!! *

That was just what I got for myself yesterday.

They had two colours for the 12 pound ball. I had to 3G call the Bride to choose the right colour for the ball and shoes. The Bride has been very supportive with my new hobby. (Thank you love!) I even had her colleagues in her office to help me choose by giving me the thumbs up. Haha. Thanks guys!

*My new bowling set*

*My new bowling shoes. It has two different sole on each shoe. One is for sliding and the other is for breaking*

*Haffiz, the Pro Shop owner, doing his thing*

Now all of Suria Kencana players have their own personal ball!

I was also very lucky to have the tawkey supplying bowling balls to help give me some pointers. He said that I am one of the first top 100 players to own this ball as it is a new ball in town. He told me about the five things that I need to ensure when bowling and some tips on my style. Unfortunately for me, using the correct professional style, I only got 94 in that game. I planned to go and try a hybrid style of the tips he gave and my style today but I am currently down with a mild fever. Not wanting to exert myself, I think I will constraint my bowling desire for one day and knock myself tomorrow.

Well, I better go and rest now if I want to be all ready for tomorrow’s practice session with my new bowling kit.

Let’s hope I can at least reach 200 points soon! That would be something for an amateur bowler like me!

Bowling adjourned!

I Just Can't Stop Loving You...

I was in the car with the Bride and Alisha the other day. She had her Michael Jackson CD playing (See here and here). As she had to go to do some shopping I waited in the car as Alisha was fast asleep in her car seat.

At that time, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” was on. I decided to listen to the romantic lyrics that Michael wrote a long time ago.

The lyrics (as you can see below) is very romantic. It is about a man and a woman confessing to each other that they have, for each other, unlimited supply of love and that they can’t stop loving each other.

This got me thinking, what would I be doing if I do not have the Bride to love?

I got blank.

I got blank because I don’t think I could live my life without her.

…

I told her once before that if I had a choice to rewind my life and pick any girl in the world to marry;

I will only choose her again and again and again.

The reason is simple…

And Michael couldn’t have sung it any better…

It’s because,

I just can’t stop loving her…

J

Each Time The Wind Blows
I Hear Your Voice So
I Call Your Name . . .
Whispers At Morning
Our Love Is Dawning
Heaven's Glad You Came . . .

You Know How I Feel
This Thing Can't Go Wrong
I'm So Proud To Say I Love You
Your Love's Got Me High
I Long To Get By
This Time Is Forever
Love Is The Answer
…
I Hear Your Voice Now
You Are My Choice Now
The Love You Bring
Heaven's In My Heart
At Your Call
I Hear Harps,
And Angels Sing

You Know How I Feel
This Thing Can't Go Wrong
I Can't Live My Life Without You
My Life Ain't Worth Living
If I Can't Be With You

I Just Can't Stop Loving You
I Just Can't Stop Loving You
And If I Stop . . .
Then Tell Me Just What Will I Do

'Cause I Just Can't Stop
Loving You
…

(I’m trimming the lyrics to only the parts that I feel is relevant to this post. You can get the full lyrics here.)

Blog adjourned.

The Yellow Vest

I got this vest when I volunteered to be a facilitator for MPF / YMP Youth Camp 2010. It was really unfortunate that I could not attend the whole camp but was only available on the first day. My best friend’s wedding was also in that weekend and it was extremely tiring to be at both the places at within one weekend so I had to forgo the exciting camp for the Walimatul Urus.

*The Yellow Vest without a facilitator**

Even being a facilitator for one day entitled me to my yellow vest.

*The Vest With A Facilitator*

I like my yellow vest.

*Heh Heh Heh... What can I say...*

Today, after lunch, my mom asked me to be her driver as she wanted to go to some places. As I went to my car to take my sunnies, I saw my yellow vest on the passenger seat in my car. I quickly took and wore my vest as I make my way to my mom’s car.

As I got into her car, the following conversation took place:

Why are you wearing a vest?

It signifies that I am a driver, I must wear a vest.

What for?

Didn’t you hear? There’s a new law in place this week.

What new law?

Remember I told you that if a car is without insurance or road tax, the driver AND the car owner would get a summon each. Well, the new law states that if you wear a vest, that means you’re a driver. This way, the police would just summon the car owner and not the driver.

When did this start? How come I didn’t hear anything about it?

It was announced yesterday. It starts today. Where have you been???

If it’s like that, than anyone can just wear the vest and get away with it.

Maybe laa. It’s just a leeway to help those drivers whose employer was reckless enough not to renew road tax or insurance. Besides, who would want to wear a vest to drive right?

Hmmm…

At this point, I was struggling to control myself not to laugh.

I think my mom bought the whole thing. But when dad comes back with the newspaper, she would realize that I had just pulled her leg BIGTIME!!!

Knowing my mother, she would not admit that she kena already and say that she knew I was bluffing.

Who cares? Haha!

As I was waiting for her, I went to this shop where they could use some technology to restore damaged old photos and make it look like new. Apparently the technology is used for museums. I can’t remember the name of the shop. Anyway, as I was asking the owner about the charges, he asked me why I was wearing a vest. I said:

I told my mom that if you’re a driver and if you wear a vest, you won’t get a summon but only the car owner would get the summon.

He replied:

Can I have one?

Boleh… 

Boleh Belah!

Hahaha!

Blog adjourned.