"Walaupun sejengkal," Keroncong Untuk Ana 2012 by AG & Co feat Noh Hujan.
So it was my birthday a few days back. I am apparently 22 years old, if you subscribe to the Gregorian calendar. I have very little idea of how old I am according to the Hijrah calendar, and I'm in no state to Google it.
2012 has been a year of many things, but one of the firsts would be being called a "man" by other people, particularly strangers who come to the store in which I work in. They would say to their friends or kids (or vice versa) "try asking that man over there," and I would conceal a giggle and a blush upon realising that they were referring to me. Needless to say, I took it lightly.
But now that I've turned 22, I have to ask that very serious question. Am I a man? My father got married when he was my age. Sultan Muhammad al-Fateh conquered countries when he was around my age. What do I have to show for myself? What makes me a man? Am I a man?
22 years old. So old. Yet, still so young. So much yet to do, so little to show for myself. If I've been a disappointment to anyone, it would be to myself more than anyone else.
But what does one do when one is down? What one can do. Get up. Crawl, if one has to. One needs to. For themselves. For the love of God.
May peace be upon you.
Cheers!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
Last NCG for Me
"But that's okay," That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed) by Panic at the Disco.
So I'm back home in Marsfield. I've been home for more than a day now, arriving in Sydney yesterday evening.
The final results for the NCG 2012 (Queensland) rugby competition is as follows:
1. Victoria
2. Queensland
3. New South Wales (my team)
4. Western Australia
5. Tasmania
We dropped a place from last year, effectively ending my brief participation in the National Conference Games in a negative gradient, result-wise.
As for performance, I managed to play all four games this time round, which is a big improvement from last year's one and a half, alhamdulillah. Our scrum-half got injured in the third game, so I had to fill in that role, since the team was short on good scrum-halves. I miss being a scrum-half. Scrum-halves see so much more action than standoffs do.
Even though we ended up dropping a place from last year, I feel that this year's team was actually better than last year's. This was because the training was better, the playing was more organized (not perfect, but better than last year's, in my humble opinion), and the boys worked really hard on the pitch. We won the first two games (WA & Tas) but due to spills in the rucks in the opponents' twenty-twos, we lost the other two games (Vic & Qld). They were very efficient in capitalising on our rare moments of sloppiness, and we paid the price.
Having said all that, of course I am to a certain extent saddened by our losses, but I am certainly happy I got to play four full matches with a good team. Alhamdulillah.
My whole body is still hurting.
God I missed rugby.
May peace be upon you.
Cheers!
So I'm back home in Marsfield. I've been home for more than a day now, arriving in Sydney yesterday evening.
The final results for the NCG 2012 (Queensland) rugby competition is as follows:
1. Victoria
2. Queensland
3. New South Wales (my team)
4. Western Australia
5. Tasmania
Le spoils.
As for performance, I managed to play all four games this time round, which is a big improvement from last year's one and a half, alhamdulillah. Our scrum-half got injured in the third game, so I had to fill in that role, since the team was short on good scrum-halves. I miss being a scrum-half. Scrum-halves see so much more action than standoffs do.
Even though we ended up dropping a place from last year, I feel that this year's team was actually better than last year's. This was because the training was better, the playing was more organized (not perfect, but better than last year's, in my humble opinion), and the boys worked really hard on the pitch. We won the first two games (WA & Tas) but due to spills in the rucks in the opponents' twenty-twos, we lost the other two games (Vic & Qld). They were very efficient in capitalising on our rare moments of sloppiness, and we paid the price.
Having said all that, of course I am to a certain extent saddened by our losses, but I am certainly happy I got to play four full matches with a good team. Alhamdulillah.
My whole body is still hurting.
God I missed rugby.
May peace be upon you.
Cheers!
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
First Day of NCG2012
"It is not your fault should you lose. It is your fault should you not give your very best."
So I'm here at Bond University, Goldcoast watching the handball competition. The picture is of a guy attempting a shot at goal in midair. It was shot with the phone camera, so please forgive the less the optimal picture quality.
It's the first day of NCG 2012, and I've been the spectator to four sports now, namely football, basketball, netball and handball. After not being in sport for so long, I have rediscovered why sports is so important to me. It teaches me a lot of things, but the most valuable lesson, in my humble opinion, is the quote that I started the post with.
It's never about winning or losing, because that's pretty much predetermined by the Planner of Plans. It has everything to do with the effort we put into our game. The preperation, the training, the communication, the performance, that's all left for us to do. It is our responsibility to give it our all, however much or little that may be. And leave the rest to Allah.
May peace be upon you.
Cheers!
So I'm here at Bond University, Goldcoast watching the handball competition. The picture is of a guy attempting a shot at goal in midair. It was shot with the phone camera, so please forgive the less the optimal picture quality.
It's the first day of NCG 2012, and I've been the spectator to four sports now, namely football, basketball, netball and handball. After not being in sport for so long, I have rediscovered why sports is so important to me. It teaches me a lot of things, but the most valuable lesson, in my humble opinion, is the quote that I started the post with.
It's never about winning or losing, because that's pretty much predetermined by the Planner of Plans. It has everything to do with the effort we put into our game. The preperation, the training, the communication, the performance, that's all left for us to do. It is our responsibility to give it our all, however much or little that may be. And leave the rest to Allah.
May peace be upon you.
Cheers!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Updates ba dum ts
"Ice age coming," Idioteque by Radiohead.
So the semester has come to an end. I dare say that this semester has been the hardest, the second half in particular. Nearing the end of it, all I could think was "Nak balik Malaysia!" This coming from the guy that didn't want to return to Malaysia for the whole two years that he was to spend in Australia but has nonetheless returned twice already. I just felt like I needed to escape the workload and constant thinking that I have to do when doing assignments here. I used to be able to write a one-thousand-word essay in less than two hours without breaking a sweat. But now five hours of furrowed-brow is needed to squeeze out a two-hundred word paragraph. But of course, back then I didn't need to do tonnes of background reading and substantiate my sentences with references, but still, not good. Not good at all.
Alas, that is behind me now and should be kept there. Lessons for the future? Third year is no walk in the park. It's more like a sprint-as-if-a-dog-is-chasing-you-and-you're-lunch-if-you-aren't-fast-enough. You really have to hunker down and get serious. That means less "celebratory 2 hour Facebook/Twitter sessions because you've written a paragraph" because the fact of the matter is you just don't have the time. Time management continues to be an issue and I really need to work on it, as any good student should.
So winter break is here. Plans for anak pak man?
Firstly I'm going to get back in front of the camera. Two long overdue videos are waiting to be shot while others will also have to done. I'm also thinking about making another channel to post videos that don't really fit into the "IniAnwarHadi" category (whatever that may be). The second channel will consist of random moments, travelogs, music (ooh, music), and basically everything else lah kot.
To help me stay on track and not just spend 90% of my time on Youtube/Facebook/Twitter, I have drawn up a "mutaba'ah amal" (daily "to-do list") of sorts that doesn't only include the ibadah part of my life but everything else too. It's still in beta mode, so we'll see how that goes.
I also have the National Conference Games (rugby) to look forward to. After only playing a game and a half last time around, I'm keen on contributing more this year, inshaAllah. The team is shaping up and we'll see how it goes.
While everything is going on, Ramadhan is drawing ever closer. Excited yet? I wrote about my thoughts on Ramadhan last year here. Click if you'd like to read.
I'll update this blog more regularly during this break (hopefully) because it's an item in my mutaba'ah amal thingy. I really should come up with a name for it. Soon.
May peace be upon you.
Cheers!
So the semester has come to an end. I dare say that this semester has been the hardest, the second half in particular. Nearing the end of it, all I could think was "Nak balik Malaysia!" This coming from the guy that didn't want to return to Malaysia for the whole two years that he was to spend in Australia but has nonetheless returned twice already. I just felt like I needed to escape the workload and constant thinking that I have to do when doing assignments here. I used to be able to write a one-thousand-word essay in less than two hours without breaking a sweat. But now five hours of furrowed-brow is needed to squeeze out a two-hundred word paragraph. But of course, back then I didn't need to do tonnes of background reading and substantiate my sentences with references, but still, not good. Not good at all.
Alas, that is behind me now and should be kept there. Lessons for the future? Third year is no walk in the park. It's more like a sprint-as-if-a-dog-is-chasing-you-and-you're-lunch-if-you-aren't-fast-enough. You really have to hunker down and get serious. That means less "celebratory 2 hour Facebook/Twitter sessions because you've written a paragraph" because the fact of the matter is you just don't have the time. Time management continues to be an issue and I really need to work on it, as any good student should.
So winter break is here. Plans for anak pak man?
Firstly I'm going to get back in front of the camera. Two long overdue videos are waiting to be shot while others will also have to done. I'm also thinking about making another channel to post videos that don't really fit into the "IniAnwarHadi" category (whatever that may be). The second channel will consist of random moments, travelogs, music (ooh, music), and basically everything else lah kot.
To help me stay on track and not just spend 90% of my time on Youtube/Facebook/Twitter, I have drawn up a "mutaba'ah amal" (daily "to-do list") of sorts that doesn't only include the ibadah part of my life but everything else too. It's still in beta mode, so we'll see how that goes.
I also have the National Conference Games (rugby) to look forward to. After only playing a game and a half last time around, I'm keen on contributing more this year, inshaAllah. The team is shaping up and we'll see how it goes.
While everything is going on, Ramadhan is drawing ever closer. Excited yet? I wrote about my thoughts on Ramadhan last year here. Click if you'd like to read.
I'll update this blog more regularly during this break (hopefully) because it's an item in my mutaba'ah amal thingy. I really should come up with a name for it. Soon.
May peace be upon you.
Cheers!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Ensemble So Far
"It's a tempting communion," Night After Night by Laura Marling.
So following up on my previous post, I just thought I'd post a picture of the instruments I have at my disposal so far.
None were priced over $50. For that, I give myself a high-five. The oldest one would be the ukulele, which I bought a year ago, while the newest addition to the ensemble would be the angel glockenspiel (xylophone), which I bought yesterday.
I haven't even got an amplifier for the Ibanez-wannabe yet. But rest assured it'll be on a strict $50 budget. Then we'll officially be in business.
But I haven't played the ukulele in so long, I've forgotten the chord fingering. And I still have no idea how to play the keys and xylophone.
Oh well, the holidays are approaching, so Youtube-teachers will be my good friends very soon.
May peace be upon you.
Cheers!
So following up on my previous post, I just thought I'd post a picture of the instruments I have at my disposal so far.
None were priced over $50. For that, I give myself a high-five. The oldest one would be the ukulele, which I bought a year ago, while the newest addition to the ensemble would be the angel glockenspiel (xylophone), which I bought yesterday.
I haven't even got an amplifier for the Ibanez-wannabe yet. But rest assured it'll be on a strict $50 budget. Then we'll officially be in business.
But I haven't played the ukulele in so long, I've forgotten the chord fingering. And I still have no idea how to play the keys and xylophone.
Oh well, the holidays are approaching, so Youtube-teachers will be my good friends very soon.
May peace be upon you.
Cheers!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Rugby, Scripts, Lyrics
"I know how you feel, I know it's not right, but it's real," Don't Ask Me Why by Laura Marling.
So today was one of the most tiring days I have ever experienced, and surprise surprise, here I am updating the blog. I have no idea how or why I choose the days that I do to write, but here we are.
Joined the New South Wales Malaysian boys' rugby team for this year's National Conference Games which are to be held at Goldcoast in July, inshaAllah. Second training session was this morning, and training drifted into midday. This time we didn't spend the whole session just playing touch (thank goodness) and did some actual drills. I was entrusted with handling the backline, and I noticed that I've been out of the game so long that it seems that I've lost the ability to speak rugby (yes, it's a language folks), and I hate that.
I used to love speaking to my team, giving feedback, listening, communicating, shaping individuals into a cohesive unit, but it seems that I haven't done that for so long that I've forgotten how that was done. I missed the game direly, but being out of the game after what seemed to be forever has taken its toll on me, and I don't like it. It doesn't help that we don't have a proper coach. Or any kind of coach, for that matter. Now I'm not entirely sure how I am to regain that "rugby Anwar" that I so love. Le sigh.
Moving on, I've taken up a script-writing role for the musical theatre "Malam Gema Malaysia". As if I don't have enough on my plate. That was my initial thought when asked if I wanted to do it. What with major assignments (plural, yes) being due in ten days or less now, family coming over, work and training to think of (not to mention pending video updates), I really should be swamped.
But I accepted the offer anyway. Why? Good question. I think it's because I haven't ever written an actual drama script (or anything close to it, for that matter). The only scripts I have ever made are the scripts for my videos, and those are for my indulgence alone (95% monologue). This is a new challenge that I think is hard to come by, so I'm eager to see if I can actually do it. It's a learning experience, and I like learning experiences. Plus, I miss theatre.
On another unrelated note, I'm thinking of taking music more seriously. Not a become-a-world-touring-Grammy-award-winning-rockstar kind of serious, but more of a record-own-songs-and-publish-them-on-internet serious. This is mostly due to me having Garage Band, and this puts all kinds of thoughts in my head. And I don't intend on getting famous and gig-offers from my songs either. I would just like to share my music with the world, and if it could make even a single stranger smile, then I'd be happy. But I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. I've published one song-less piece of lyric that I've written here (click it). Songs, still in my computer, uncertain of their future (that rhymes). We'll see how it goes.
And no haiku for this post. Or maybe just one.
Tiring days drift by,
Shoulders and legs want to cry,
But stay smiling. Bye.
May peace be upon you.
Cheers!
So today was one of the most tiring days I have ever experienced, and surprise surprise, here I am updating the blog. I have no idea how or why I choose the days that I do to write, but here we are.
Joined the New South Wales Malaysian boys' rugby team for this year's National Conference Games which are to be held at Goldcoast in July, inshaAllah. Second training session was this morning, and training drifted into midday. This time we didn't spend the whole session just playing touch (thank goodness) and did some actual drills. I was entrusted with handling the backline, and I noticed that I've been out of the game so long that it seems that I've lost the ability to speak rugby (yes, it's a language folks), and I hate that.
I used to love speaking to my team, giving feedback, listening, communicating, shaping individuals into a cohesive unit, but it seems that I haven't done that for so long that I've forgotten how that was done. I missed the game direly, but being out of the game after what seemed to be forever has taken its toll on me, and I don't like it. It doesn't help that we don't have a proper coach. Or any kind of coach, for that matter. Now I'm not entirely sure how I am to regain that "rugby Anwar" that I so love. Le sigh.
Moving on, I've taken up a script-writing role for the musical theatre "Malam Gema Malaysia". As if I don't have enough on my plate. That was my initial thought when asked if I wanted to do it. What with major assignments (plural, yes) being due in ten days or less now, family coming over, work and training to think of (not to mention pending video updates), I really should be swamped.
But I accepted the offer anyway. Why? Good question. I think it's because I haven't ever written an actual drama script (or anything close to it, for that matter). The only scripts I have ever made are the scripts for my videos, and those are for my indulgence alone (95% monologue). This is a new challenge that I think is hard to come by, so I'm eager to see if I can actually do it. It's a learning experience, and I like learning experiences. Plus, I miss theatre.
On another unrelated note, I'm thinking of taking music more seriously. Not a become-a-world-touring-Grammy-award-winning-rockstar kind of serious, but more of a record-own-songs-and-publish-them-on-internet serious. This is mostly due to me having Garage Band, and this puts all kinds of thoughts in my head. And I don't intend on getting famous and gig-offers from my songs either. I would just like to share my music with the world, and if it could make even a single stranger smile, then I'd be happy. But I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. I've published one song-less piece of lyric that I've written here (click it). Songs, still in my computer, uncertain of their future (that rhymes). We'll see how it goes.
And no haiku for this post. Or maybe just one.
Tiring days drift by,
Shoulders and legs want to cry,
But stay smiling. Bye.
May peace be upon you.
Cheers!
Friday, May 4, 2012
May the 4th
"Don't think I can breathe now," When Catching Butterflies by Delude.
Alhamdulillah.
So I let myself (and probably a few, very few readers) down again. Neglected the blog for only the thousandth time. Failed to keep to my Alahaiku schedule. It's not that I don't write them anymore. I do. It's just that I find it hard to rewrite them on other more mobile pieces of paper and snap a semi-good picture with it. I find that hard. But here I have a whole page of random (emphasis on the random) haikus that I have written since the last post.
Most of them were in fact written in a single session, but I probably shouldn't have told you that.
I have also been disappointing in the video-making front. Failed my 2-week-per-video-this-whole-semester quite miserably, as I have not uploaded a video iiiiinnnn (goes to Youtube to check) almost a month now. Astaghfirullahal'aziim. I have a script under construction and an episode of NTAH to record. Maybe I'll record and upload them both at the same time.
Of course, that would be easy peasy lemon squeezy stuff to do if it were not for all the uni work I still have to do. I have three essays ranging from 1500 to 3000 words to submit by early next month, not to mention school visits and other stuff that I have to keep up with (sleep being a good example).
But all of this wouldn't be on my plate if The Provider didn't think, nay, know that I would be able to lap it all up with swog.
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people." - Al-Baqarah [2:286]
I will do the best I can. Please Anwar, do the best you can.
Alhamdulillah.
May peace be upon you.
Cheers!
Alhamdulillah.
So I let myself (and probably a few, very few readers) down again. Neglected the blog for only the thousandth time. Failed to keep to my Alahaiku schedule. It's not that I don't write them anymore. I do. It's just that I find it hard to rewrite them on other more mobile pieces of paper and snap a semi-good picture with it. I find that hard. But here I have a whole page of random (emphasis on the random) haikus that I have written since the last post.
Most of them were in fact written in a single session, but I probably shouldn't have told you that.
I have also been disappointing in the video-making front. Failed my 2-week-per-video-this-whole-semester quite miserably, as I have not uploaded a video iiiiinnnn (goes to Youtube to check) almost a month now. Astaghfirullahal'aziim. I have a script under construction and an episode of NTAH to record. Maybe I'll record and upload them both at the same time.
Of course, that would be easy peasy lemon squeezy stuff to do if it were not for all the uni work I still have to do. I have three essays ranging from 1500 to 3000 words to submit by early next month, not to mention school visits and other stuff that I have to keep up with (sleep being a good example).
But all of this wouldn't be on my plate if The Provider didn't think, nay, know that I would be able to lap it all up with swog.
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people." - Al-Baqarah [2:286]
I will do the best I can. Please Anwar, do the best you can.
Alhamdulillah.
May peace be upon you.
Cheers!
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