Sampaikanlah Nota Hati

"Memberi lebih baik dari menerima," Sampaikanlah Salam 2012 rap version by SifarFaris.


Allow me to preface this post with a video that, albeit irrelevant, is very the awesome. And please excuse my bad grammar. Oh yeah, the video's in Malay.







Now on to the real post.


I have finally just finished reading "Nota Hati Seorang Lelaki" by Ustaz Pahrol Mohd. Juoi. And it is a very beneficial book. I recommend it to anyone and everyone, especially Muslims. 

Le cover.

I have been reading it on and off for almost a year. Not because the book is uninteresting. Au contraire, the book that is written in Malay is a very engaging read. It's just that my failure to manage my time well has resulted in me not being able to finish the book in one sitting. But enough about me. 

The book offers an insight into the musings of the author, much like us reading a person's compiled blogposts in book-form. And the musings of Ustaz Pahrol will have to be labelled as nothing less than powerful. There were a few chapters that even made me shed manly tears (during a public train ride with me exposed to all the other passenger's judgement).

It has definitely left a mark on my heart. If I could, I would read the book all over again, but other books on my "to-read" list await, so it is with great reluctance that I return this book to its owner (yes, I borrowed it for almost a year. Don't judge me.)

May peace and blessings be upon all of you.

Cheers!

Picture Post: December & January 2012

"Pejamkan matamu untukku," Sungai Lui by Aizat Amdan.

So this is the picture post I promised. CHECK IT!!

***

So on the 26th of December it was my first and possibly only Boxing Day in Sydney, Australia. Google it if you don't know what that is. 

Shot bajet stai.

 The line outside Louis Vuitton. Pretty much sums it up.

***

It was also my first and possibly only new year's celebration here.

 Some have waited at their spot overnight just to get a good sight of the firework display.

 Le watermark.

Le me and le friends. (Pic courtesy of Bagan)

(Courtesy of Bagan)

***

Boy came over for a 3-week visit, so I took him to a few places.

He got me a present. Awww.

 He wanted to go to a skatepark, but didn't have a helmet, so picture only.

 Boy being better looking than me in front of the Opera House.

 Me floating for no apparent reason.

 Le Bondi Beach.

 Le La Perouse blowing me away.

Le pose.

***

So I guess that's all for now. Don't want to get draggy now, do we?

May peace be upon you.

Cheers!

Hey, There's a Blogger App!

"You're not the only one," That's Where You're Wrong by Arctic Monkeys.

So I'm just trying it out.

And I can post pictures too! Woots!

Last week was a disappointing month here on the blog. Just one post. Sorry readers (if you're out there), been busy. Really disappointed with myself.

Hopefully with this app, that'll change.

Honestly, I thought that the summer break would be filled with boredom, but it has proven me wrong, and with less than a month still to go, I hope time will be available to me to read recreationally and blog more often. We'll see, inshaAllah.

I still have a picture post to do here, so that's number one on the list. I might even do it tonight, but we'll see.

Till then, may peace be upon you.

Cheers!

P/s- I find myself using cheers in real life more often now. Don't know if it's a good thing or not. Peace!

Boy Mai & Kerja

"Centottantamille, trecento quaranta cinque sogni,"Di Vino by Marta Sui Tubi.


MashaAllah, I find myself awake again in the wee hours of the morning. And so with no notifications coming up on Fussbook and lacking the motivation to think of something witty to tweet about, I decide to venture into writing my first blogpost of 2012.


So many things have happened within the last month, almost all of them interesting. But for the sake of keeping this post short and sweet, I'll just update some things that are going on right now.


I've been working as a filler at Franklin's for approximately two months now. In my latest video (#19 Salam) I wore my work uniform. Just the name-tag is missing. Oh, and proper pants. But that scene didn't require any. So kain pelekat sudeh. Muehehe


I usually wear kain pelekat when making videos. I'm more relaxed that way. Only when it is absolutely necessary do I wear pants around the house. But I digress.


My brother, Boy arrived here two weeks ago. Most of my free time has been filled by taking him around Sydney. Up until now, I've taken him everywhere that I have been to in Sydney and also to some places that I have never been, like Bondi beach and La Perouse. He'll be staying here until the second of February, inshaAllah, so we have another week to spend. But now I have no idea where I should take him to next. Suggestions, good people of Sydney blogspot?


So yeah, those two are the major things that are happening right now. InshaAllah, when I muster the will to upload pictures of the happenings within this month up in here, it will be done promptly. 


And I have also downloaded the blogspot app in the phone, so I expect myself to update more with the help of that app. Basically anything that is above 140 characters (untweetable content) will be uploaded using the app, inshaAllah.


So may peace be upon you.


Cheers!

KL and Melaka-ing Around

"Detik itu lalu meninggalkanku," Oh My Love by Awan Band.


So I just got back from Malaysia a couple of days back, so instead of wasting my time looking for stuff to write stupid comments on Facebook, I will update this blog with some of the stuffs that I did the whole 5 days that I was there. So if you guys actually wanted to read something interesting, go read Cinta SMS instead. Here goes..


Day 1 - 16 December


Touched down in KLIA at about 9.30pm (if I remember correctly). Took the ERL to Sentral to meet up with my family. Had dinner with them near Pudu and at about 11.30pm, AG (Hujan) picked us (my little brother, Boi and me) up to go play a weekly futsal league called Liga Ulama' (The Ulama League) at Subang.

Ai is not in dis pikcher.

We played until 2.30am, with me scoring 3 goals in 5 games (two of them against AG's team). My teammates were Boi, another Boy, Zul and Alif (all three I just met there). They were great. Then AG sent us back to our hotel and we slept like logs.


Day 2 - 17 December

Alhamdulillah, I got up that day and went down for breakfast at about 9am. Mat Luthfi and his father came and joined us for breakfast as well as a little chat.

ZOMG! MATLUTHFI!

After breakfast, we chilled in our hotel room for a bit before proceeding to have lunch. My father organized a little feast for friends and family at the Chicken Hut at The Mall. There I got to meet up with some cousins, aunts, uncles, friends as well as make some new friends. 

Some of the sights at Chicken Hut.

The little kenduri ended at about 6.30pm. Then my entourage of friends and cousins took off to Morning Rocket which was situated in Cheras, KL for a little shopping as well as a visit to Kamar Seni (AG's recording studio) which was situated just above Morning Rocket. Got myself a pair of shoes as well as a shirt (woots!). Unfortunately, no pictures were taken there.

Then I went to meet up with the family back at Midvalley Megamall. Then, off to rehearsals for tomorrow's event at Dewan Tun Razak 2, PWTC. Got to shake hands with Dato' Affendy (the creator of 1MalaysiaTV), Ahmad Idham and Cat Farish. Again, no pictures. The rehearsals ended at 2am.

Day 3 - 18 December

The day of the launch of 1 Malaysia TV. After breakfast, we went down to the hall and shook hands with a few people. Took some pictures and signed a few autographs.

Then I went up on stage to fail at speaking for 30 seconds in front of a few hundred people, not to mention the Prime Minister of Malaysia. *facepalm

Me (sort of) speaking.

Yeah, he was there.

Then we continued taking pictures and signing autographs until Mat had to leave at about 5pm. Had a good time with him as company. Crazy, he is.

 Mat & me.

 Ully, Awan Band's guitarist.

 Najwa Latif performing.

Me with Awan Band and Awi Rafael.

After dinner, we set off for Melaka. Checked into a hotel there and slept in anticipation for the next day.

Day 4 - 19th December

After breakfast, we went to my aunt's house for a visit and stayed for lunch. Then we headed to Dataran Pahlawan to join Cat Farish and crew for some 1 Malaysia TV promotional efforts.

 Me wearing my new Morning Rocket shirt with Aunts, Uncle and cousins.

Me with Cat merapu apa taktaw.

The turnout wasn't that high. The people that came were mostly people who happened to be shopping nearby. But some did come up to me and ask for a picture, so that was nice. 

Alang-alang you guys are reading this, if you have a mobile device (Blackberry, iPhone, iPad, Galaxy tab, etc.), try browsing "www.1malaysiaiptv.com" and download the application. If that's too much of a hassle, go straight to your app store and search "1 Malaysia TV". It's free (hooray!). It's an app that allows you to stream Malaysian TV channels like RTM1, TV3, TV al-Hijrah, etc. wherever you are in the world for no extra charge. It'll only use up internet, so watching using wifi is highly recommended. Support the Malaysian mobile TV industry!

Okay, iklan habis.

After wrapping that up, we went for dinner and then went back to the hotel to sleep. Early day tomorrow.

Day 5 - 20 December

On the road by 5.30am for KLIA. Nothing to highlight on this day. Just getting on a plane back to Sydney.

------------------------------------------------

So that wraps it up for the whole 5 days. It was exhausting, but definitely a lot of fun getting to make so many new friends as well as meeting up with old friends. Experiencing something totally new. All in the process of growing up. I ask Allah for guidance towards the straight path.

I wasn't kidding about asking you guys to support the Malaysian mobile TV industry. Please do. Plus, it's free, so it's not as if you lose anything from supporting. Orang Melayu kata, bukan rugi apa pun. It's really convenient, especially for an overseas student like myself who wants to catch up on what's happening back home. Paihni bleh la layan Tentang Dhia sniri daripada dok baca tweet ja. Eh? Dah habih dah ka? Alaa..

A big thank you goes out to everyone that made all that you have read possible. My family (especially Bapak), Cat Farish and crew, AG, Mat, friends that came to meet me and hang out, the people at erama, and everyone else that I may have left out. THANK YOU! May Allah bless you all.

May peace and blessings be upon you.

Cheers!

1 Malaysia Youth TV

"I've never done this before," Promises, Promises by Incubus.


Everyone is invited to attend:

All kinds of cool stuff will be there. Oh, but I'll be there too, on both days. So inshaAllah, just one uncool thing on schedule. It would be awesome if you guys could come.


Oh yeah, and a secret: Mat Luthfi is also scheduled to make a special appearance. So a BIG BIG reason to go right there. But you didn't hear that from me, yeah? 


But I wouldn't mind if you want to tell all your friends on Facebook or Twitter or even at your local kedai mamak. I wouldn't mind at all.


May peace and blessings be upon you.


p/s- Free food might just be given out, if you come early enough. Again, this stays between you and me, kay? :P


Cheers!

Goodbye Cohort 1

"I wish nothing but the best for you," Someone Like You by Adele.


With the end of the exams also comes the end of the semester, marking the end of a schooling term. We say goodbye (for a while) to lectures, classes, assignments, weekly readings and all the things that makes university what it is.


However, the end of this semester in particular is of exceptional significance to me because it also marks the end of my seniors' (Cohort 1) 2-year stint here in Macquarie University, meaning that they have to go back to Malaysia and complete their remaining 1 year of teacher training, and that makes me very sad.

You see, they were not just my seniors. They were also my friends, football teammates, guiders, and some of them my housemates. They were a big part of my life here in Australia, as I imagine they were for most (if not all) of the people in my cohort (Cohort 2).

 Sending Amir off. (From left: Azlan, Amir, Shariman & me.)

It's very saddening to have the people who have taught you how to cook, people who you watch movies with, people who guide you in your studies, people who have taken you around a foreign land, people who have invited you into their family as if you were part of theirs, people who you joke around with, people who you share stories with, people who you go out for a late night snack with go far away from you without the prospect of you ever seeing them again after this. When we get back to Malaysia, they would have already finished their studies and should be waiting to be placed in schools already, so seeing them again as students, not looking very likely. 

Goodbye Faiz, Farid, Pidi. (The rest are the sendoff team)

Last meal with Hilmi in Sydney.

Our friendships have come to teach me a deeper understanding of brotherhood in Islam. They have taught me to always respect others and that I am not alone in this world. I will always have people who I can turn to for help and advice. Always willing to help, they are. They will always have a special place in my heart.

 Razeen.

Yus.

I praise Allah for bringing them into my life. I honestly would not know how I would have survived without them. And I can only hope that the almost-one-year experience with them was as sweet to them as it was to me. I pray them the best in this world and the next. May they bring goodness to wherever they may go.

May peace and blessings be upon you.