I Love Fridays

Assalamualaikum,

I love Fridays at my office. Why?

Because in the morning we have potluck where everyone is welcome to bring food or buy food as breakfast up until noon. Sometimes around 6 people will bring food and sometimes only 1 person will bring food for about 20 people in the office. But that does not matter. What matters is that the whole office can interact informally whether you're the boss or staff and comment on the food, morning news, etc. Plus we get 'pahala' for doing it won't we if consider the food as sadaqah to our friends.

And in the afternoon for about 1 hour and sometimes 1 1/2 hours, the ladies in the office will gather around for tazkirah session or should I say an 'usrah'. Normally my boss will chair the session and right now we are discussing on any issues relating to the ummah or if we have anything interesting to discuss with others. Starting next week we will have a silibus to follow so that our tazkirah is conducted in an orderly & consistent manner.

With our age ranging from 23 to 45 years old, you can expect there's a lot of discussion going around. It is the best medium I should say to dispense what Islam says about certain issues which in my opinion the younger ones does not have anyone to turn to ask in detail. With the informal ambience and my boss's husband being an Ustaz (which is an added bonus as my boss usually provides info base on discussion with her husband) we usually can go on for hours, untill we realise that we were hungry! Though I suspect some of them are unwilling participant, but lets lets not go there shall we...

The Images Tag

Assalamualaikum,

Thanks Mynie, for the tag.

“The rules are simple. Use Google Image to search the answers to the questions below. Then you must choose a picture in the first page of the results, and post it as your answer. After that tag 6 people.”

1) I am

2) I really want to go to

and

3) My favourite place

4) My favourite thing

5) My favourite drink

6) My favourite food

7) My favourite colour

8) I live in

9) I was born in

10) My college was (and still is...)

11) My favourite story

12) My hobby

13) I wish

And now I want to tag: Norhazwanie, Ryehanna, Nuha & Raiyan

Tag - Letter to a Friend

Dear Norhazwanie ,

"...I don't really know how to tell you this, but I dislike you. I think I realized it when your dwarf bit me in your camping car and I saw you knock out Bill Clinton. I'm sure you're ashamed enough to understand that Santa doesn't exist. I'm returning your memories from the military service to you, but I'll keep my virginity as a memory. You should also know that I hate your guts, Oprah Winfrey imitations. Good luck on your short-term leave from jail.."

-AinaAna-

rules die cenggini :

Answer the questions below;

1. What's the color of your shirt?
Blue - Our romance is over
Red - Our affair is over
White - I'll join the monastery
Black - I dislike you
Green - Our horoscope doesn't match
Grey - You're a pervert
Yellow - I'm selling myself
Pink - Your nostrils are insulting
Brown - The mafia wants you
No shirt - You're a loser
Other - I'm in love with your sister

2. Which is your birth month?
January - That night
February - Last year
March - When your dwarf bit me
April - When I tripped on sesame seeds
May - First of May
June - When you put cuffs on me
July - When I threw up
August - When I saw the shrunken head
September - When we skinny dipped
October - When I quoted Santa
November - When your dog ran amok
December - When I changed tennis shoes

3. Which food do you prefer?
Tacos - In your apartment
Pizza - In your camping car
Pasta - Outside of Chicago
Hamburgers - Under the bus
Salad - As you ate enchilada
Chicken - In your closet
Kebab - With Paris Hilton
Fish - In women's clothing
Sandwiches - At the Hare Krishna graduation
Lasagna - At the mental hospital
Hot dog - Under a state of trance
None of the above - With George Bush and his wife

4. What's the color of your socks?
Yellow - Hit on
Red - Insult
Black - Ignore
Blue - Knock out
Purple - Pour syrup on
White - Carve your initials into
Grey - Pull the clothes off
Brown - Put leeches on
Orange - Castrate
Pink - Pull the toupee off
Barefoot - Sit on
Other - Drive out

5. What's the color of your underwear?
Black - My best friend
White - My father
Grey - Bill Clinton
Brown - My fart balloon
Purple - My mustard soufflé
Red - Donald Duck
Blue - My avocado plant
Yellow - My penpal in Ghana
Orange - My Kid Rock-collection
Pink - Manchester United's goalkeeper
None - My John F. Kennedy-statue
Other - The crazy monk

6. What do you prefer to watch on TV?
Scrubs - Man
O.C. - Emotional
One Tree Hill - Open
Heroes - Frostbitten
Lost - HighHouse - Scared
Simpsons - Cowardly
The news - MongolicIdol - Masochistic
Family Guy - Senile
Top Model - Middle-class
None of the above - Ashamed

7. Your mood right now?
Happy - How awful I've felt
Sad - How boring you are
Bored - That Santa doesn't exist
Angry - That your pimples are at the last stage
Depressed - That we're cousins
Excited - That there is no solution to this
Nervous - The middle-east
Worried - That your Honda sucks
Apathetic - That I did a sex-change
Ashamed - That I'm allergic to your hamster
Cuddly - That I get turned on by garbage men
Overjoyous - That I'm open
Other - That Extreme Home Makeover sucks

8. What's the color of your walls in your bedroom?
White - Your ring
Yellow - Your love letters
Red - Your Darth Vader-poster
Black - Your tame stone
Blue - The couch cushions
Green - The pictures from LA
Orange - Your false teeth
Brown - Your contact book
Grey - Our matching snoopy-bibs
Purple - Your old lottery coupons
Pink - How awful I've felt
Other - Your memories from the military service

9. The first letter of your first name?
A/B - Your photo
C/D - The oil stocks
E/F - Your neighbour Martin
G/H - My virginity
I/J - The results of your blood-sample
K/L - Your left ear
M/N - Your suicide note
O/P - My common sense
Q/R - Your mom
S/T - Your collection of butterflies
U/V - Your criminal record
W/X - David's tricot outfits
Y/Z - Your grades from college

10. The last letter in your last name?
A/B - Hate your guts
C/D - Never will forget
E/F - Always wanted to break
G/H - Never openly mocked
I/J - Always have felt dirty before
K/L - Will tell the authorities about
M/N - Told in my confession today about
O/P - Was interviewed by the Times about
Q/R - Told my psychiatrist about
S/T - Get sick when I think of
U/V - Always will try to forget
W/X - Am better off without
Y/Z - Never liked

11. What do you prefer to drink?
Water- Our friendship
Beer - Senility
Soft drink - A new life as a clone
Soda - The incarnation as an eskimo
Milk - The apartment building
Wine - Cocaine abuse
Cider - A passionate interest for mice
Juice - Oprah Winfrey imitations
Mineral water - Embarrassing rash
Hot chocolate - Eggplant-fetishism
Whisky - To ruin the second world war
Other - To hate the Boston Celtics

12. To which country would you prefer to go on a vacation?
Thailand - Warm regards
USA - Best regards
England - Good luck on your short-term leave from jail
Spain - Go and drown yourself
China - Disgusting regards
Germany - With ease
Japan - Go burn
Greece - Your everlasting enemy
Australia - Greetings to your frog Leonard
Egypt - F**k off now
France - In pain


Based on the chosen answers, just fill in the blanks in this LETTER MEME :


Letter Meme:

Dear ________(the last person who left a comment on your blog/journal):

"...I don't really know how to tell you this, but ___1___. I think I realized it ___2___ ___3___ and I saw you ___4___ ___5___. I'm sure you're ___6___ enough to understand ___7___. I'm returning ___8___ to you, but I'll keep ___9___ as a memory. You should also know that I ___10___ ___11___ .___12___..."

-Your name-


Then, tag no less than 5 other people, and leave them a comment, informing them that they have been tagged.

Assignment Framework

Assalamualaikum,

I have been doing my assignment for 2 weeks now and I'm still stuck at 4 pages not progressing anywhere. And I have to submit next week!

I take back my words, MSc. in Management Facilities is not easy. You see the subject Framework is about managing the business. It's about identifying the core & non-core business, key & non-key player and core & non-core facilities. Mind you while I'm mentioning this, I have NO idea what it's about! The question of my assignment is not directly related to what I stated above. It is the elaboration of these 5 issues:

1. Providing healthy workplace
2. Adapting to changing business needs
3. Assimilating the potential of new technology
4. Ensuring full use of diminishing resources
5. Minimizing environmental impact

I'm stuck at page 4 because I'm blur about the core & non-core thing of my company. Luckily, my Contract Exec. is in his final semester on the same course, so he provided me some points, which unfortunately for me, I have to RE-DO my assignment!

Arghh!! Can I panic now?!

p/s: I still have this mindset that FM is about maintenance. How to change it?

Chinese New Year

Assalamualaikum,

Heavy rain or not, the Chinese never fails to light up their fireworks come 12 midnight on Chinese New Year. It can be very noisy & loud if you are not used to it. Plus the fireworks can go on for 2 hours. So be prepared to get annoyed & irritated.

I have lived in a predominantly Chinese community area for 9 or 10 years now so I'm used to it and somewhat immune. What I normally would do is to sleep in early, say at 8pm so that when I awoke at 12pm by all those thunderous noise, I already had my rest. Or I can sleep through it.

It can be fun sometimes as you get to see all sorts of fireworks and it'll continue until Chap Goh Mei if I'm not mistaken (that is the 15th day of Chinese New Year). At my previous house, we usually get to see the Lion Dance group performing at my neighbour's house the next morning.

Oh yes! and then there's the 'mercun papan'. That one will surely get on your nerves..haha

Assalamualaikum,

I found this interesting post from this website a while ago. Note the sarcarsm

Rule #1: In the Middle East, it is always the Palestinians that attack first, & it's always Israel who defends itself. This is called "retaliation" .

Rule #2: The Palestinians are not allowed to kill Israelis. This is called "terrorism".

Rule #3: Israel has the right to kill Palestinian civilians; this is called "self-defense" , or "collateral damage".

Rule #4: When Israel kills too many Palestinian civilians, the Western world calls for restraint. This is called the "reaction of the international community".

Rule #5: Palestinians do not have the right to capture Israeli military, not even 1 or 2.

Rule #6: Israel has the right to capture as many Palestinians as they want (around 10,000 to date being held without trial). There is no limit; there is no need for proof of guilt or trial. All that is needed is the magic word: "terrorism".

Rule #7: When you say "Hamas", always be sure to add "supported by Hezbo-Allah, Syria and Iran".

Rule #8: When you say "Israel", never say "supported by the USA, the UK,European countries and even some Arab regimes", for people (God forbid) might believe this is not an equal conflict.

Rule #9: When it comes to Israel, don't mention the words "occupied territories" , "UN resolutions", "Geneva conventions" . This could distress the audience of Fox, CNN, etc.

Rule #10: Israelis speak better English than Arabs. This is why we let them speak out as much as possible, so that they can explain rules 1 through 9. This is called "neutral journalism".

Rule #11: If u don't agree with these rules or if you favor the Palestinian side over the Israeli side, you must be a very dangerous anti-Semite. You may even have to make a public apology if you express your honest opinion.

And I have stated my choice for Palestine against Israel. So what? I have to make public apology now? Think not!

What now, after Gaza ceasefire?

Assalamualaikum,

GLOBAL TRENDS by Martin Khor

Israel claims victory while announcing a ceasefire in its military actions in Gaza. But the effects of its aggression have damaged its image and the peace process.

AND so Israel has finally announced a unilateral ceasefire in its war on Gaza, after 22 days of the most violent and aggressive bombardment of Palestinians trapped in the small and overcrowded strip of land.

However, Israel is not pulling out its troops and tanks. Its re-occupation of Gaza thus continues. Neither is it lifting the siege, raising the question of bringing supplies to a people who have been starved of food and deprived of medical care and electricity.

So long as troops and the siege continue, the war on Gaza is not yet over, and the plight of the Palestinians continues.

Another immediate question is the response of Hamas. It has vowed to fight on as long as Israeli troops are in Gaza. Whether rockets will still be fired into Israel will be closely watched.

For weeks and years ahead, there will be heated debate on the Israeli military action of the past three weeks, the disastrous effects on Palestinian lives, and the political impact on Israel, Palestine and the region.

In announcing its ceasefire, the Israeli premier claimed victory, saying its enemy Hamas had been weakened militarily and taught a lesson.

However, Israel’s political goal of either toppling Hamas or shattering its hold of power has failed. The reverse happened. Most analysts believe Hamas has emerged with a much stronger political standing among Palestinians and the Arab world, with its prestige having risen for having stood its ground and resisted Israel’s overwhelming force.

Casualties of war: Palestinians carry a body killed during Israeli strikes on Saturday. — AFP

Israel has indeed done a disservice to Hamas’ rival, the Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, whose image and legitimacy diminished increasingly the more the war continued.

While Israel and its supporters tried to portray it as a war between equals, the rest of the world saw it differently. It was a one-sided onslaught of a powerful war machine using the most deadly and sophisticated weapons against a defenceless people who have been deprived of weapons, food and health care.

One of the atrocities has been the use of bombs that release clouds of white phosphorous, which cause the most painful injury and death, burning the skin to the bone.

As the borders were sealed, the Palestinians were unable to flee from the war zone. They just became captives awaiting their fate. Over 1,200 died and more than 5,300 were wounded, with grossly inadequate facilities to treat the victims.

Israel’s audacious action in the face of popular outrage around the world was only possible because of the staunch support of the US government. The Israeli Prime Minister even boasted how he phoned President George W. Bush to insist that the US abstain in the UN Security Council vote calling for an immediate ceasefire.

The Bush administration supplied Israel with most of the weapons and aircraft used in the war against Gaza. European countries are also not blameless. While they decry the civilian deaths, they did not put pressure, such as aid withdrawal, on Israel.

The double standards and hypocrisy are staggering. While billions of dollars of funds and weapons are constantly supplied by the West to Israel, there is a ban on any weapons to be obtained by the elected government in Gaza. The Palestinians are thus prevented from defending themselves, while they have to absorb the most horrendous bombardments.

For almost two years there has been a blockade of Gaza, preventing food and other essential items from crossing the borders. When the Palestinians build tunnels across the border with Egypt to enable the inflow of food and essentials, it is portrayed as a crime.


Many people across the world asked these questions: Why deny weapons to Gaza to protect itself while supplying such deadly and sophisticated weapons to Israel which used them to such deadly effect?

Why grudge the people of Gaza to obtain food and medicines through the tunnels when these essentials are blocked from entering by road or ships?

Perhaps the incoming US President, Barrack Obama, will act differently from his disastrous predecessor who gave a blank cheque to Israel. The speculation is that Israel decided on its ceasefire before Obama took over office, as it is unsure whether the new President will be as supportive as Bush.

But even if he wants to be more even handed in his approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Obama faces the power of the Israeli lobby. The US Congress on Jan 10 voted overwhelmingly (390 to 4) to fully support Israel in its war action.

Another issue that will long be the subject of public outrage is the heavy onslaught on civilians. Israel’s propaganda machine insisted that its military never targeted civilians, and blamed Hamas for “hiding among the people” and causing the civilian casualties.

Few bought this blame-the-victims story, since the majority of those who died or were injured were civilians, including so many infants and children. The head of the United Nations’ relief agency expressed his increasing anger on the effects of Israel’s actions.

Israel claimed its bombing was based on pin-point precision, and avoided civilian casualties. If there was such precision to avoid civilians, why did its missiles hit United Nations facilities three times?

First, a UN school was hit, killing 40. Second to be hit was the headquarters of the UN relief agency where hundreds were seeking shelter. Just days later, two people were killed when missiles struck another UN-run school, prompting UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon to express his “outrage”.

Ban had been assured by Israel that the UN’s premises would be fully respected. Perhaps Israel wanted to “teach a lesson” not only to Hamas but also to the United Nations, whose officials had become increasingly critical of Israel.

Many experts have described many of Israel’s actions as war crimes. United Nations senior officials have asked that the Israeli military be held accountable for several incidents that caused the deaths of civilians. Will there be follow-up actions to hold Israel to account?

That Israel’s image in the eyes of the world has plummeted to a new low may be one of the most important effects of its war on Gaza. The peace process is in tatters.

Palestinians understandably hold a deeper grievance against a cruel power that killed and wounded the family members of so many of them. Millions of people around the world came out in protest to show their outrage.

At the end, it is hard to see what Israel has gained from its “victory” in Gaza, while there are so many negative effects. The verdict will likely be that this was a senseless and counter-productive three weeks of aggression against an oppressed and defenceless people.

Source: The Star

Date: 19/01/09

Ting..ting...ting

Assalamualaikum,

"Ting..ting..ting..tok..tok..ting.."
"Bermulalah kisah Ah Hen"
"Ting...ting..ting..tok..tok"
"Berhijrah dari Tanah Besar China ke Malaya"
"Tok..tok..ting...ting..ting.."
"Dalam perjalanan dia bertemu Ah Mo"
"Keting..keting..keting...ting..ting..ting..."
"Mereka sama-sama mencari tongkang yang akan membawa mereka ke Malaya"
"Ting..ting..ting..tok..tok"
"Ting..ting..ting..tok..tok"
Diselang dengan nyanyian kisah mereka belayar di lautan gelora..

Begitulah agaknya 'kisah' wayang cina yang dipersembahkan dihujung jalan rumah ku...ting...ting..ting..!
Dah masuk 4 hari dah ni..ting!
Bila nak berhenti?..Ting!

My Rubbish Bin

Assalamualaikum,

As strange as it may sound, my rubbish bin is my PERSONAL DOMAIN okay! Don't throw your rubbish into it!

That's why I brought my own rubbish bin from home to the office. I hate it & get very annoyed when someone else throw their rubbish into my bin. You see, I'm into recycling and I separate my rubbish - food & paper - separately. Everyone else in this office mix it up & don't bother to recycle. For food stuff I'll even wrap it up nicely in paper & plastic. That way my bin will be clean, doesn't smell bad & doesn't overflow. Even the cleaning lady commended me on my small amount of rubbish and not having to change the rubbish bag all the time (I think she changes it only once a month).

So there..hands-off my rubbish bin and get your own!

I'm Confused Too...

Assalamualaikum,

If Aini is confused with PhD, I am also confused but with this Master thing. So I YM my mentor, the Wise Man (WM):

Me: En. busy ke? Nak tanya ni, apa beza MBA & MSc.? Mana yang susah? Or dua-dua susah?

WM: Masters level dua-dua tak mudah. Dua-dua memerlukan analysis of the fact. Cuma yang satu not so technical and the other is very technical. contoh: MBA in Construction Business (UIA) and Msc. in Project Mgt.

Satu mengajar construction bisnes n the surface. Belajar jugak project mgt tapi sekadar untuk kenal dan ambil tahu. Msc akan mengkaji benda tu sehingga that detail, mcm mana buat, software apa, dan scenerio2 lain. Mcm juga MSc tu ada belajar Finance, tapi sekadar memahami mcm mana nak interpret kedudukan kewangan kontraktor, ada idea mcm mana nak buat project finance dan kegunaannya, tapi tak lah sehingga memungkin kan seseorang itu menjadi penganalisis kewangna. Mcm tu la lebih kurangnya

Me: Oohh..paham-paham.Tengah duk pikir nak buat disertation apa utk final sem, walaupun lambat lagi. Kalau boleh nak choose tajuk yg MAYBE LATER ON boleh buat phd Angan-angan tinggi nih..haha

WM: Angan-angan tu akan jadi cita-cita kalau diusahakan. Tapi kalau setakat tu je, dia jadi mat jenin la

Me: Tu la En..saya duk memperhalusi option yg ada ni. Saya bab-bab dissertation ni kena start awal.Kalau tak, nanti final sem dah blur. Scope jadi general sangat. I really want to do dissertation that is something worthwhile that can be contributed to the industry

WM: Wish u luck. I am glad u have that vision

Me: I guess MSc. ni suits me fine la En. I love going into DETAILS! Tapi takut juga if I lost the big picture. That's why I'm planning dissertantion now instead of next year.

WM: Master memang le gi detail. Tapi I rasa U ok

Me: Semua cakap macam tu kat saya..haha..well I guess I have to accept that i'm ok

So finally I've reach to a decision. I'm going to start looking & collecting materials for my dissertation from now on. I intend to use my current project as a basis for my dissertation. (Macam nak buat PhD pulak..)

Oh no! This means more reading! I get sleepy & distracted when reading academic articles or books *sigh* not good...not good (shaking my head) Guess I have to draw lots & lots of mind maps Buzan style.

Quotable Quotes

Assalamualaikum,

Below are quotes said to me from friends & family:

1. Hobby no. 1: Buy books. Hobby no. 2: Read books - The wise old man
   
2. You're the different one in the family - Mom
3. You can do it - Nearly all my friends
4. Why not pursue your Ar. qualification? - About 50 people
5. Are you sure you don't have German blood in you? You're so efficient - David Meacock, the senior Draftman at my previous office
   
6. Huda garang - my sisters
   

How Much I Spent

Assalamualaikum,

I'm dissecting how much I spent last year in buying books.

1. I went to bookshops & bookfairs 32 times.
2. There was a lull in February, March & October. I didn't buy books.
3. There were 5 times that I spent more than RM100 in one receipt. The highest amount I spent is RM 197.10.
4. There were 8 times that I spent more than RM50 and less than RM100 in one receipts.
5. The most buy was in April 2008 during the KL International Book Fair at PWTC.
6. The total I spent on books for the year 2008 was RM2,033.51!
   

I'm ...

Assalamualaikum,

My 1st class today was a no show as the lecturer cancelled it at a moment notice. To while away the time (other than reading 7 Habits) I decided to 'beramah mesra' to the lady sitting next to me (FYI, INFJ are hard to get friendly with strangers). And what a surprise once I got to know my coursemate, Kak Intan.

She is working with Putrajaya Holding as a Planner, as in planning work sequence & monitoring work progress on site, but her qualification is Civil Engineering. She is 3 years older than I am and has 4 kids (doesn't look to me she has that many :D) and she happens to be her own boss as well. She has a Kindergarten and employs staff to work for her kindergarten. This semester part time students only took up 3 subjects but she took an additional next semester's subject this semester. Plus she lives in Greenwood, Gombak! She says that she is 'tawaf-ing' every week. From Gombak [home] to Putrajaya [work] to Shah Alam [UiTM] to Gombak [home].

I mean..oh  wow! I'm really sure I've been doing my best all this while and then suddenly along came this person who is doing extraordinary things and taking risk while at it. She makes things look so easy! I'm not jealous of her, I'm really, really inspired.

Flu Season

Assalamualaikum,

I have not been feeling well this past two days. Been on MC due to flu and the never ceasing fever. Sometimes I'm cold & sometimes I'm feeling warm. Including today I'm on MC for the third consecutive days. But still I went to class last night but a bit unfocused. I got class tonight & I hope I fare well than last night.

This by far is the worst flu I ever had. The most is I would be better after a day. With 3 time the trip to the clinic & nearly RM80 worth of medication I'm still not nearing feeling better. Even sleep does not help. Hope I'll be better by noon insya'Allah.

Help the Palestinians!!!

Assalamualaikum,

As the world weeps as the plight of Palestinians deepens, I would like to call on all my friends and readers to contribute what we can for the Palestinians. In the time of crisis today, I think what we suffer is incomparable to those of the Palestinians in Gaza.

Pertubuhan Jamaah Islah Malaysia [JIM] akan mempergiatkan dan memperhebatkan kutipan bantuan Palestin melalui Tabung Bersamamu Palestin dengan pelbagai cara, kempen, gesaan, website, sesi penerangan di sekolah, pejabat, tempat awam, surau, masjid dan lain-lain. JIM mengharapkan sokongan seluruh rakyat agar menghulurkan bantuan dengan menyalurkan sumbangan melalui akaun Maybank 562209608847 atas nama Pertubuhan Jamaah Islah Malaysia

What's a RM10 or RM100 to us if our brothers and sisters in Palestine are in pain & being inflicted with the most horrendous sufferings? Look in your heart and ask your IMAN

Mindless

Assalamualaikum,

- Why is there so much 'bintik-bintik halus' on your forehead?
> Pimples
- You never had it before
> I haven't been drinking much water lately

1430H / 2009M Goal

Assalamualaikum,

My goal for this year will be:

1. Buy Nikon D90
2. Annual holiday in New Zealand
3. Achieve good grades for this Sem 1 & 2 MSc. In Facilities Management

That's about it I guess. No resolution as I think I'm setting resolution every week and trying to achieve it every month. However I do have one dream, that is to run as in running a marathon.

Now Huda, be good this Maal Hijrah ok..