DRAMA ALAM MAYA!

Pernah tak anda mengalami keadaan ini : anda menulis sesuatu di blog samada suatu entri maupun komen, lantas disalah-ertikan oleh pembaca yang lain? Terus, dibalas dengan komen yang amat pedas sehingga pilu rasa nun di lubuk hati? Jika pernah, apa tindakan anda? Lawan balik komen yang menyakitkan itu atau delete komen 'gila' itu atau buat tidak faham saja seolah-olah komen itu tidak wujud di alam maya ini (read: anda balas komen-komen lain tapi sengaja 'skip' yang satu tu)?

Saya pernah mengalaminya sekali dan 'terserempak' beberapa kali di blog-blog lain iaini berlaku kepada pembaca lain. Beberapa ketika dahulu, saya telah menulis komen saya di blog kawan (saya sudah anggapnya sebagai kawan walaupun belum pernah bersua muka ). Entah macam mana komen saya yang saya rasa cukup senang difahami bahasanya itu telah disalah tafsirkan oleh seorang pembaca ini. Apa lagi dia terus melenting mengutuk saya. Komennya itu telah menuduh saya seperti katak bawah tempurung, tidak tahu dunia luar. Mujurlah ada kawan saya tuan empunya blog itu yang pandai menenangkan hati pembaca itu. Sejuk hatinya. Dan saya? Saya buat senyap sahaja tidak pon balas komennya itu.Cuba bayang kalau saya layan nafsu marah saya? Mahu meletup papan komen tu! hehehe

Sekali tu, saya terbaca di papan komen di sebuah blog yang sering saya singgah. 'A' memberi komen awal. 'B' memberi komen kedua sambil mengusik tuan empunya blog. Entah macam mana, 'A' ingat 'B' perli dirinya (saya pon tak faham macam mana 'A' boleh perasan sampai begitu sebab sekali baca saya dah tahu yg 'B' hanya mengusik tuan blog) lantas 'A' terus 'sembur' 'B' dengan soalan yang pedas. Ish ish. Kenalah si 'B' menerangkan keadaan sebenar. Baik hati 'B'. Kalau ikut saya, buat 'dek' saja.

Yang terbaru saya terbaca komen di blog kawan saya, seorang ni 'C' mengadu yang dia berasa kecil hati kerana seolah-olah komen nya tidak boleh diterima-pakai di blog 'D'. Ceritanya begini: 'D' buat entri yang 'C' tidak berapa faham bahasa dan maksudnya sehingga 'C' menegur 'D' sambil mempertikaikan perubahan pada stail bahasa dan makna yang mendalam sehingga 'C' tidak boleh ikutinya. 'D' pulak mungkin ada sedikit kurang senang di atas sikap 'C' lalu menulis satu entri khas tentang hal ini dan seolah-olah menuding jari kepada 'C'. Apalagi, merajuk lah si 'C' membawa diri ke blog kawan saya dengan nada sedih membuat satu 'ultimatum' iaitu: kalau dirinya dirasai tidak diperlukan lagi, beritahu sajalah maka dia akan berdiam diri tanpa meninggalkan apa-apa komen lagi.:) Yang terkini tadi saya singgah di blog 'D' dan dapat dia sudah delete entri yang dimaksudkan itu. Baguslah begitu. Alhamdulillah. Jadi bila 'C' masuk blog 'D' dan nampak yang entri itu sudah dihapuskan, maka sejuklah hatinya agaknya.Harap-harap begitulah.

Pada sesiapa yang terasa yang mereka mungkin 'A', 'B', 'C' atau 'D' yang saya maksudkan, harap maafkan saya ya! Tapi yang pasti 'C' dan 'D' tidak pernah ke blog saya ni, ngeh ngeh ngeh!

Itulah cerita A,B,C dan D dalam alam maya ini. Kelakar ada. Sedih pon ada. Pengajarannya? Kita tidak boleh melulu membuat kesimpulan setelah membaca sesuatu komen. Kalau tidak setuju, komenlah secara berkhemah. Jaga adab dan tatasusila. Walaupon bukan didepan muka, namun hati tetap terasa bila bahasa mengusik jiwa. Ceh wah!

IMAGES OF BALAKOT

Images courtesy of iKelah

Latest From Balakot

26/10/05 11.55pm: Masa di sini dah 2 strong tremor and 3 minor. Kesemuanya cause landslide and sinking of roads. 1 strong and 2 weak at camp. The rest we were at Mansehra. I am in moble team. Dr Wan stays in camp tx and dressings. I make contacts with ither NGO. Main route Naran Road, travel 15 km, 5 km short to Kawai, blocked, major landslide. Help Al Khidmat with clinic. Supply tents, shawls n donate power generator.

26/10/05 ,9pm: Hari ni tak gi moble ke Kawai. Stayed at camp and distribute tents. Berebut tapi ada yg kita tak beri sebab utamakan yg dari gunung, mereka jalan more than 2 days nak reache Balakot for help. Area ni 80K to 100K families homeless. 1 family ada 8 to 10 members. Supply makan ok. tents tak cukup. Winter ni tak tahu la nak shelter kat mana. Skang main share khemah. Budak2 pon turun gunung tlg family cari khemah etc. Tak da tremor hari ini. Debu kuat dari landslide.

27/10/05, 3.55 am: Pagi ni nak ke Batgram and Alai. Tgh hari ke Balakot semula utk distribute tents. Air muka ceria bebenor bila dpt tent. Depa ni jln in grps bila balik ke mountains sbb ada rimau kawasan tu. Sini subuh kol 5 am. Iftar kol 5.30pm. Sini banyak Bakri. Kita kerap bebakri kat sini. Getting cloder esp at nite. Hari tu hujan. Ada snow kat mountain. Air dia sejuk gila even siang esp kalau tak kena sun.

Help! My Mom's A Cheapskate!

I am a cheapskate to the highest degree! iFos once told me, 'Mak ni cheapskate la!' You see, when I buy things, I don't do it compulsively out of sheer urge. I'd look around, compare prices, weigh everything out and would settle for the cheapest but with optimal quality. It could take me few days to decide buying something pricey.

For instance, buying a book. I simply love Grisham. His court drama and it's intricacies are phenomenal. His is a truly un-put-downable, page-turner, gotta-finish-whatever-happens and all the bombastic phrases used by book-praisers to make them best-sellers. So each time, he writes a new book, I'd be looking out for it. For my birthday 2 years ago my 2 eldest daughter forked out 80 bucks from their duit raya just to buy me a new-realeased hard cover of Grisham's King Of Torts. "Thanks I said but why waste on hard-covers?" I lamented, sounding almost like an ungrateful prig. "Laa, mak. It's Grisham, your favorite author and it's your birthday! Why not a hard-cover for keepsake?'
'Well, you could have gotten me something else worth the 80 ringgit. I can wait for the paper-back', I quipped. 'But Mak, when you love reading something, how can you wait?' argued iFos. 'I can wait. It's not as if the books will run out of stock or something', I answered quick. Knowing iFos, I can't never win in such debates. iFos, queen of I-must-have-the-new-release- editions-or-I'll-die-of-shame! When JK Rowlings were about to release her recent book, The Half-blood Prince, iFos made a pre-order at Kinokuniya. Never mind that it is expensive (to my cheapskate standard anyway). The only consolation? You get a H.P.'s magic wand for free. Yeah, like you can do anything magical with it, eh! And her sister too bought another hard-cover of the same edition. Why do we need 2 hard-covers of the same thing, I asked myself. Why do we need to make JK Rowlings rich when she has problems addressing her wealth and fame? Beats me.

Once in a bookstore, we saw some paperbacks of the old Harry Potter and L.O.T.R. editions at half the price of the original edition. 'Wow!' I exclaimed, 'you should have waited for these, they're super cheap!' 'Mak! I can't wait 1 year for that! That's uncalled for!' she cried bewilderedly. 'What am I to say when friends discuss about the books?' 'Well, I can wait if it means only paying half the price,' the old cheapskate retorted. I don't care if I look dumb when people discuss about what happens to Harry or his friends in his latest book.

That's why I love sales! I just love the 70%, 50%,20% cut signs. It just give me sheer satisfaction when buying discounted items. Feeling smug, it's as though I have accomplished something out of this world!

My eldest son is truly brand-conscious. iFos has labeled him as being in the league of metrosexuals. Where did he get that streak from I wonder? Here I am a cheapskate and I have a son who is the complete opposite of me! Everything must be original labels! Even cars! Cars must be BMWs! Once I was admiring the new Volks beetle. When I found out that one costs a whopping (almost) 200k, I resignedly said, 'Apalah mahal sangat. Not worth it'. And he frustratingly responded, ' Mak, if you love it, you have to go for it!' 'I might as well get an MPV of about the same price. Can fit more people!' was my cheapskate response.

Sometimes I make jokes regarding his obsessions for brands. Once, I was buying titbits for him to bring back to college during the Ramadhan. I was picking up some Oreo biscuits when I accidentally picked another brand 'Stereo' or something, heheh. He looked at me, astounded. 'Why did you pick that for?'. 'I thought you like Oreos?' I replied. When he pointed the name, only then I realized it was different. 'Laa, biscuits, all taste the same what?' Talk about brand-conscious!

Even Luqman, my youngest, is starting to show his disagreement with my 'cheapskateness'. 'Mak, belilah yang mahal sikit. Elok lagi!' Why do people think that when it is expensive then it must be good? Well, my kids do!

I don't know. Am I doing this because of trying to practice 'zuhud-ness'? But then my son will give me a different interpretation of zuhud. So the best term for my 'appalling' behavior in my kids' eyes is 'cheapskate'. Are you too?

Latest From Balakot

24/10/05 4pm local time-
Assalamualaikum. Berbuka di Balakot. Makan roti homemade. Tadi tengok camp di Kawai, 15 km uphill, sejuk. Sini buka pukul 5.35 . Pukul 7 meeting. Buka apa? Balakot is the worst hit area- 100% flattened.

EYES WIDE OPEN

If you're wondering why I'm entering this post at this ridiculous hour, it's because I can't sleep. Why can't I sleep?. Probably it's the tea plus the pseudoepinephrine which I took for my blocked nose just now. Probably it's because my friend from US just called and we had a conversation that pointed out that I might be doing a lot of bida'ah in my daily practice. Probably I'm thinking about you-know-who.

I just contracted this flu from my daughter who is beginning to get better. So when I was driving to work tonight at 8pm, I was praying for it to be a quiet night. It was raining softly. That's a good sign. The patients were trickling slowly and when it was 9.15pm,everything was quiet and I thought I could go home on time. At 9.25 I packed my bag, switched off the PC, aircon and headed for the front door when the assistant told me "doctor ada emergency, luka besar di dagu". Oh no! Back in. Entered the ER.

"Darah lagi ke atau dah berhenti?" I asked the assistant. ' Ada sikit-sikit lagi". I examined the child and applied pressure to the laceration wound hoping the bleeding would cease and I could just administer the Glustich and send her home pronto. Oh God please make it stop I prayed. But the wound was too deep and the blood still oozing albeit very minimally. To stitch or not? Hmm finally..my patience got the better of me. So I said, "jahit, jahit!'

'Keluar dressing set, draw lignocaine, ambil nylon 5.0" I demanded fast. So I began suturing her up. 'Kena jahit rapat-rapat sebab di muka dan ni budak perempuan , nanti tak lawa, kesian dia, kalau lelaki tak pe la, :)" I said to the assistant half-joking (about the lelaki part i.e.), explaining, meaning we might get off a bit late. Anyway I've seen kids with scars looking like a fish-bone fossils, smacked right across the face! Poor kids having to grow up looking like a pirate wanabe! 'Ok siap' I told the poor kid. 'Lain kali jangan main lompat-lompat atas katil malam-malam hari!"

Anyway, I managed to settle fast and rushed home, hoping to pray Isya' and Terawikh in time and sleep early. But after Isya' prayers, I got the phone-call and here I am, stuck, eyes wide open! *sigh*

Messages From Balakot

A camp in Balakot

21.10.06- Arrived at Abottabad at 8 am. Proceed straight to Muzzafarabad via Mansehra. Arrived at 11 am, then off to Balakot. Damage at Balakot more than Muazzafarabad though the latter had more casualties due to denser population.

22.10.06- 7 am, ke kedai cari khemah, terus ke Balakot, klinik macam biasa. Then 15km jln kr Naran. Last stop at Kola, understanding dgn Jamiat untuk mobile ke Kg on foot. Ada 150 families. All well here except SIraj who is down with A.G.E. At the moment, khemah keperluan utama.

22.10.06-5pm. Buka apa hari ni? At army camp cari Malaysian grp. Sihat semua?

GLOBAL PEACE MISSION SENDS SECOND GROUP

GPM hantar sukarelawan kedua bantu mangsa gempa

KUALA LUMPUR 20 Okt. - Misi kedua sukarelawan Global Peace Mission Malaysia (GPM) berlepas ke Lahore hari ini untuk ke Mansehra bagi meneruskan kerja-kerja bantuan kemanusiaan sehingga 31 Oktober ini.
Pengerusi GPM, Ahmad Azam Abdul Rahman berkata, tiga sukarelawan yang diketuai oleh Dr. Azmi Mohd Ghazali ini akan memberi bantuan kecemasan dan perubatan kepada mangsa gempa bumi di Balakot dan kawasan perkampungan di sekitarnya.
Katanya, misi pertama sukarelawan GPM yang berlepas pada 13 Oktober lalu telah berjaya merawat 150 mangsa yang mana 70 peratus daripada mereka mengalami luka kecederaan dan patah tulang.
``Hampir 80 peratus struktur bangunan dan rumah telah musnah dan cuaca sejuk tambahan pula dengan hujan telah menyukarkan aktiviti bantuan.
``Vaksin anti-tetanus adalah amat diperlukan selain ubat-ubatan lain, khemah, pakaian sejuk dan selimut,'' katanya dalam satu kenyataan di sini, hari ini.
Menurut Ahmad Azam, misi ketiga sukarelawan GPM dijangka berlepas ke Pakistan selepas Aidilfitri bagi mengenal pasti projek bantuan jangkamasa panjang termasuk bantuan khusus untuk anak-anak yatim akibat gempa tersebut.
Sehubungan itu, GPM memohon bantuan masyarakat Malaysia untuk menghulurkan sumbangan khususnya bantuan kewangan untuk mangsa gempa bumi di Asia Selatan ini.
``GPM mengambil kesempatan mengucap terima kasih kepada rakyat Malaysia yang telah memberikan sumbangan ikhlas bagi menjayakan misi bantuan kemanusiaan anjuran kami sebelum ini,'' katanya.
Sementara itu, sumbangan kewangan boleh disalurkan terus ke akaun GPM (Bank Islam: 14-023-01-002922-4).
Bagi sumbangan melalui khidmat pesanan ringkas (SMS), orang ramai boleh taipkan GPM2 untuk sumbangan RM2, GPM5 untuk sumbangan RM5 dan GPM10 untuk sumbangan RM10 dan hantarkan kepada 39111.
Untuk maklumat lanjut, orang ramai boleh menghubungi sekretariat GPM di talian 03-61888409.

Daily Journal:
20/10/05- iKelah (head of second mission)reached Lahore at 1.00am local time. Headed straight to Islamabad by bus, 4 hrs journey. Then 45 min to Mansehra (probably 4x4).

21/10/05- 1st and 2nd mission met at Abbottabad at 8.10 am. Then straight to Muzaffarabad. Camp at Muzafarrabad.

WE SHARE YOUR SADNESS

Yesterday in between patients, I peeked out of the room to watch the live telecast of the burial ceremony of our late first lady. Through out, I was observing how calm and composed our PM was . Yes, I thought, he was trying to put a tough front to maintain his integrity as a country leader. But at the same I was sure he would cry in private as I've heard a lot of his love for Puan Sri.

Today I saw this picture in one of the tabloid. Yes, he couldn't control his tears anymore. The thoughts of not having her around him anymore and the loneliness, must be so overwhelming to have opened the dam and let go the flood of tears...

It's ok Paklah. This picture shows the human side of you, your compassion and your gentleness. We will still respect you as a leader.

May Allah s.w.t give peace to her soul and give him the strength to carry on. Insyallah.

BE THANKFUL FOR THE MYSTERIES OF LIFE

In his latest entry, Hiyoshi lamented on the many mysterious things that he has observed and noted mentally. I know I have adviced him to ignore these inexplainable things that cross our paths and not let our mind be boggled by them, however, I have also at times come face to face with these 'clueless' events which sometimes almost culminate to absurdity. But I don't dwell so much on them, only wanting to share them with you :)

Why do my face gets itchy immediately after I put on the disposable gloves to perform a procedure?

Why do my patients instantly turn their faces to the right when I instruct them to face the left?

Why do my physiological intestinal/rectal response prefer to perform its utmost action (by discharging its gas) once I have performed my ablution for prayers?

Why do my patients chose to exhale forcefully into my face when I just request them to say a simple 'aaah'?

Why do women drivers get labeled as bad drivers when there are many men too who drive just as bad?

How come I never see the public toilets for handicapped being used at all? What happens if we the non-handicapped use them? Or what happens if we act handicapped and use them?

Why is there no MPH, Kinokuniya or TIMES in Kuantan? We only have Popular, MBS and Hamid Brothers to search for books and most of the time, the book selections are nothing to be desired.

So you see Hiyoshi, I too, have an inquisitive mind but I don't give a hoot if I don't get any answers for the above 'mysteries'. :))

I want to share this lovely meaningful poem (maybe you've all heard it before)

BE THANKFUL
By Author Unknown

Be thankful
that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful
when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful
for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful
for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they can become your blessings

ONE FLEW OVER THE PIGEON'S NEST

Some pigeons have decided to nest on the roof above my bedroom toilet! It has been quite sometime since I realized this but have ignored it simply for the fact that they haven't caused much disturbances. Till a week ago, when I start hearing the noisy chirping of baby birds!!

Initially the noise was only occasional. Sometimes I would hear the 'cooing' sound of a pigeon. Have you ever heard of the sound? It's sort of a rumbling, low-to-medium pitch sound and often goes into crescendos. At other times, I could hear a sudden loud thud, made by the bird's feet when landing on the ceiling board (a mini version of the sound of airplane tyres touching the ground when landing). So it was acceptable and I kept mum about it.

Nowadays the noise coming from the ceiling boards are getting more intense and at times irritating. So annoying that I felt like taking a pole and hit the boards, just to scare them off. Each time I go to the loo, I could hear, relentless chirping sounds of baby birds, probably with their beaks wide open, waiting for mother pigeon to pop in bits of morsels into their mouths. At the same time, these are accompanied by exasperating sounds of birds' feet scratching and thudding busily on the roof floor-boards.

The other day, I called iKelah to prove to him that it's time to get rid of the pigeons. There is already some musty smell emitting from the roof. And there are brownish marks which are getting bigger on the white ceiling boards. These stains are probably made by their secretions. "We have to call someone to 'relocate' these pigeons" I said. And also to clean the roof. "Tunggulah anak-anak burung tu besar sikit" was his reply. "Hmm.." I replied. Well, it's true. If we got rid of them, would the babies survive? Especially now with the rainy and stormy weather.

Meantime, i have to bear with their chirpings, thuddings and scratchings and wait patiently for the babies to learn how to fly!

Talking about birds and nests, I recently contemplated on my own 'nest'. 3 of my eldest children have now left home, two studying abroad and one preparing to. I am currently left with two school-going kids at home. But if Luqman gets lucky to enter any boarding school next year and Aliah the year after next, that just leaves me,ikelah and the maid. And since house-hold chores would be less by then, I see no apparent reason to keep the maid. So that'll leave me and ikelah. And then my thoughts delved further. And when ikelah is on call at night, that will leave me all alone at home, at night, in a fairly isolated housing area, near the sea!! Arghhh!! No!!! I confided this to Luqman and this had him thinking. Later he asked me "are you ok with me going to boarding school? If not, I'll just stay at home" :) Felt sad and happy the same time. Sad because one day all my kids will eventually leave home, like what I did to my own parents. Happy because my smallest son is growing into a thoughtful person who worries about me being alone at home!

P.S Tonight out of habit I clicked on iFos' site and lo and behold I found that she had entered a new post. Well, well, I see someone has been busy at her blog and didn't ever e-mail me anything yet! tsk tsk.

THANKS! ARIGATO! JAZAKILLAH!

This is to say thanks to Kenakelayan, Pycnogenol, Nurelhuda, iKelah and Inositol (in order of response) for their responses to my tag! You five are have shown great camaraderie in this blogsphere of ours! Keep it up! To the other two whom I have tagged but haven't shown any slightest sign to ever response, "kalau kawe tahu awok tak nak respon, kawe tag orang lain :p"

To all you five great people, let's toast to a glass of teh tarik! Hmm, nothing tastes better than a glass of good ol teh tarik!

My Own Quotable Quotes

-It's good to feel young at heart despite our growing age. Despite every wrinkle, sag and droop, we still feel smooth, taut and firm. Our youthful inner-self is so full of energy that we can take on the world anytime (even backpacking!). That's why someone amongst us here dare say that he stopped growing at 16. So I was moving around feeling just twenty-something today when the boy at the petrol kiosk asked me, "nak berapa ringgit makcik?" "Arghhh!" Suddenly I had to look into the mirror to justify his words....oh well!

-Joy is the feeling when you savour every bit of morsel upon breaking fast!.

-Joy is the feeling when you are free of the headache that was throbbing in your head for the whole day!

Alhamdulilah!

His + Mine = Ours!

These are my nieces and nephew

belonging to my sisters OG and Ita.




















These are iKelah's nieces and nephews

belonging to Boogey, Pang5, Nona and Waboy.

AND THE ANSWER IS........

It's a bookmark called a bookworm. Came from Melbourne, Australia.

So Pycnogenol, you've won a whole bird of Ayam Bakar Wong Solo courtesy of yourself!
You can claim your surprise gift by e mailing me your address at drroza2004@yahoo.com .

Small Effort, Big Effect

I WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNER OF 'GUESS WHAT AM I' QUIZ SOON, MEANWHILE PONDER THIS:


A wonderful friend who resides in the US whom I befriended in a chat-room years ago, would send me CDs and tapes of lectures by renowned 'dhaie(s)' over there. She has a web-site that sells CDs online here. I find these lectures very enlightening and helpful in improving my Islamic knowledge and the lecturers very eloquent too. The latest I received is a complete set of 12 tapes by Imam Anwar Al-Awlaq (an American of Yemeni descendant) entitiled The Life Of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w., The Meccan Period.

There are so much that I can relate here but this morning , in tape 7, he was talking about Rasulullah's directive to his sahabah and us, his followers/ummah to convey to others even an ayah (ayat) from him. This is the 'gist' of dakwah (propagation of Islam). Imam Anwar was narrating about how a staunch sahabah, Abu Dzarr r.a. who was jusr an ordianry Bedouin but able to convert his whole tribe and consequently another whole tribe just by conveying what little knowledge he got from his very first short meeting with Rasullullah s.a.w.

Then Imam Anwar digressed further to relate about two incidences that he came across, personally. One was about a brother he knew in Canada, a revert. This person recalled that he was interested in religion at a very young age. In fact, it was at the age of 9 that he started pondering about life and religion. But at school he got negative images of Islam thus he never got near it. He came from a broken family, his father left his mom, who later became a drug addict. He himself became a junkie and later a dealer at age of 14. There was this park in the city he lived and the drug users would congregate there to smoke or administer drugs, intravenously. Once he noticed a fellow addict was folding the wrapper for the hash he was about to smoke, in a different manner. So he asked him where he came from and the man replied he was from Morocco and that he was a Muslim. This got the revert started. It reopened his old interest in religion. Thus for the next two hours, under the influence of drugs, being high and all, he kept on asking the Moroccan about Islam. So the Moroccan raved on and on about the tenets of Islam and every little knowledge he has about this religion. They talked till they were out of drugs but continued for another 2 hours nevertheless. Another muslim, a non-addict, who happened to be there, joined them and he would rebuke and correct the Moroccan what wrong facts he had conveyed. Thus the whole conversation went on for 4 solid hours, with the revert listening attentively and the 2 muslims, correcting each other. If one made a wrong statement, the other will rebuke.

With Allah's will, this whole incident opened up the revert's heart and he later embraced Islam, unknown to the other 2 men. You see, because of this unique chance meeting in a very unlikely fashion of dakwah, i.e. in a drug joint and under the influence of drugs, a man became a muslim. The revert later became a staunch muslim and gave dakwah to others. Once, he overheard someone made negative remarks about the Moroccan and he was quick to criticize them saying that the Moroccan had a hand in his conversion to Islam and whatever ibadah,solah ,dakwah etc he does, the Moroccan will get a copy of pahala from him till the day he dies! He may be still going around getting high on drugs, not knowing that all these rewards are being deposited for him everyday. Subhanallah!

Another miraculous true-story is about an African-American who were studying in Berkeley Uni.Like all other African Americans (we shall call him AA) he had had an early brush with Islam as almost all of them had a relative or a friend who is a muslim. However he was never interested in finding out more about it till one fine day. A muslim was helping in distributing out copies of Quran to students in the campus grounds, not thinking much or having any hopes for any of the students to really get interested in it. AA got a copy and whilst on a bus, he thoughtlessly opened the first page and read the opening chapter, Al-Fatehah. He thought this must be the introductory and nobody reads intoductory, so he flipped to the next chapter, Al-Baqarah and read the first verse, "Alif Laam Miim. This is a book that has no doubts in it". Wow! He exclaimed! What book is this that would make a bold proclaimation at the start? All the books that he had read would start with an apology for whatever mistakes and shortcomings it would have. But not this book.It shook his heart! (how many of us will feel the same way when we read the Quran?)He looked at the covers for the name of the author and he couldn't find it. Thus he kept reading on and on and finally he decided this book was not written by a human. This book is divine and must come from God, Allah swt. He later became a Muslim and a dhaie. So, you see, it all started from a person distributing the Quran without much thought or hope but this person, from this small deed, will rake pahala after pahala, each time AA does an act of ibadah! Masyallah!

So friends, remember what Rasululah s.a.w. has asked us to do: to convey from me to others, even an ayah (verse) and who knows what might transpire. Small effort with a big, tremendous outcome! Insyallah!

What Am I?

Question: Can anyone guess what am I? And where do I come from?

Prize: a whole bird of roasted Ayam Bakar Wong Solo courtesy of Pycnogenol! Hahahaha Plus a surprise gift from me, :))

Note: Family members are not allowed to enter this competition! Judge's decision is final. No amount of coercing and coaxing can change my mind. Proof of entry doesn't prove anything!

My Famous Backpack!

Boogey, this is my backpack that I am planning to go backpacking with. The rest of my stuff, I dah employ Sherpa straight dari Katmandu :) I'm all set!

Seven Wonder!

After Hiyoshi's famous 'SEVENS',I have now tagged myself

Seven things I plan to do, insh'Allah:
-continue to memorize Juz Amma which I stopped for some time
-do qiamullail more often (which I have not done for ages!Masyallah!)
-enrol in any religious class
-start on my garden project soon.Build a pergola when money permits.
-backpacking around the world. (I've wished it so many times insyallah it might come true, Boogey!)
-meet all fellow-bloggers one fine day, :)
-in short, to be a better muslim

Seven things I can do, subhan'Allah:
-blogging :)
-love others who love me
-smile to others even strangers
-drive carefully eventhough my co-driver is nagging endlessly!
-listen to my patients, patiently, ranting about their illnes
-stir-fry almost anything!
-hang in bookshops for hours


Seven things I can't do, astaghfrallah
-swim-yes havent learn how to swim yet!!
-bend backwards and touch the floor
-fly an airplane
-shoot a gun
-slaughter anything
-sleep with eyes open
-jump rope 100 times non-stop like the rest of the family (come to think of it, 50 times pon tak boleh kot!)

7 things that scare me:
-snakessss
-ghosts
-drunkards
-my imaginations!
-people who backbite me
-darkness
-old small lifts!


7 random facts about me:
-just like hiyoshi I have qualms when taking pics of meself- I have this silly habit of closing my eyes!
-I like green, blue and shades of pink.
-I love doing aerobics but don't have enough time
-I come from a family of 5 girls, I am the eldest. My youngest sis is a year older than my eldest daughter!
-I have sweet-tooth.When I was pregnant with Aliah I craved for Indian sweet delicacies and poor you-know-who had to comb Jln Masjid India to search for them and I love him for that!
-Alhamdulillah I did Hajj in 2001 and would love to go again, insyallah
-I love cycling but I need to get a new bike, any sponsors? Peugeot bike ke?

Seven things I say most often:
-sakit apa?
-kahak warna apa?
-demam dah berapa hari?
-ada allergy ubat tak?
-last period bila?
-Shima (my senior staff), jadual kerja dah siap? (yes I have to follow a weekly table of which clinic to go in the morning and evenings :(
-to you-know-who: boleh I pakai PC?

Seven people that I want to tag:
-ikelah
-pycnogenol
-inositol
-boogey
-kenakelayan
-p5
-nurelhuda

Of course, I want to tag the rest of my fellow-bloggers too! Not forgetting Paul Moss!

A Short Ramadhan Advice

Ramadhan is a truly blessed month. There are many goodness in it, known and unknown to us. Let's observe the coming Ramadhan with full conviction, more khusyuk in our ibadah and avoid things that may lessen our reward. For instance, we can try reading the Quran a page or two a day(the more the better of course), say, after fajr prayers. Then at other time, we can try reading the translation of what we've read. Read more books or surf websites pertaining to Islam to widen our horizon of knowledge regarding our beloved religion. This is the monthe of sadaqah, meaning , Allah swt will give bountiful rewards if we give charity in this particular month (not that we are not encouraged to do it in other months, no) And remember that sadaqah can be in various forms besides money and food. To help others, giving good advice,a shoulder to cry on, a helping hand or even a warm smile, these are all sadaqah. Observe sabr. Yes, be patient in what ever we do and whatever predicaments we face and of course the usual drill, not to gorge on food when we break fast and not to splurge when we go to pasar Ramadhan.

In essence, Ramadhan is like an 'open' institution that we go every year for a month. An institution to cleanse our physical and souls. A month of tarbiyah (training)to make us better and stronger muslims for the next 11 months to come. So let us not allow this Ramadhan to pass through meaninglesly.

For the non-muslims, why not join us for a day or two to experience the miraculous joy of Ramadhan? Why, you can even join us for iftar!

During Ramadhan, I would advice my patients on several things. The following are some of them. Maybe iKelah and Nurelhuda have more to add.

Those with Gastritis
-Sahur is a must and take it late.
-eventhough not in current pain, take medications as preventive measures especially during sahur
-avoid hot, spicy, sour food no matter how tempting those food look during iftar.
-lots of plain water.

Those with renal stones
-half/one glass of plain water evey hour after iftar till you sleep. It's ok if you urinate more. At least you keep it diluted and avoid new stone formation. This is to replenish the water you lack at day time.

Diabetics
-take your medications when breaking fast if it's a daily dose.
-discuss with your doctor how to adjust your insulin dose if you're on insulin.
-eat smart, don't binge on high calorie food when breaking fast. It's ok to take a small proportion of anything sweet as your first bite.
-lots of plain water too

Asthmatics
-medications to be adjusted at iftar, bedtime and sahur if it's t.d.s. dose. If mild to moderate then keep to b.d dose which is more convenient.
-there's a fatwa saying inhalers are allowed during the day (please re-confirm) so if you have attacks during the day, keep inhalers by your side.

Those On Antibiotics
-if you need to be on Antibiotics, request on bd (12hrly) dosing Antibiotics like Bactrim (if you have no allergy towards it) or Zinnat or a daily dosing ones like Zithromax
-try not to forget taking it cause you have to wait another 14 hrs to take it and it may render ineffective then.

Those with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
if you have IBS, avoid food from pasar ramadhan and leftovers. Eat freshly cooked food. Be kind and your tummy /body will be kind to you

iFos' Book Collection

This is some of iFos' collection. Found this pic while browsing through. I know you say NO PICS but this should be ok isnt't it? Does this mean I am missing you already??

A Balcony With A View

This is the view seen from my bedroom balcony. It gets so cosy sitting there especially when there's cool breeze...hmmm

A Joke A Day Sends The Doctor Away

O Game Oh O Game!

"I am quitting O Game come Saturday," professed iKelah subdued. "Are you for real?" I responded skeptically. "Yes, I'll be handing over all my possessions, the fleets, the planets and everything to the leader of my alliance." This leader, by the way , is a guy who resides in New Zealand. Yes, these gamers, all over the globe, play the game in the comfort of their homes and make strong alliances with others, regardless of race or religion. I feel a wee bit sorry when I heard of this self 'retirement' even though I have been nagging him relentlessly to put a halt to this cyber-game 'addiction'. " I am not addicted to it!" he retorted vehemently. " I have full control of myself and able to control my urge unlike some people." "Insyallah." I half snickered under my breath, not wanting to incite his angst.

iKelah was coerced by MFB, one day, few months ago, to join Darkthrone to help her banish an enemy. Later he was introduced to O Game and found it more challenging. Thus began a surge of online attaks. Whenever he's not working and has extra time in his hands, I would find him glued to the blue screen, unperturbed. He would diligently write down neatly, columns of names and numbers which I presume are coordinates of the planets/fleets he aimed to attack. Thus each time, after he's finished, I would find bits and pieces of papers (from old envelopes or used papers) with lists of numbers and words, strewn on the table. My hands would be so quick to throw them away but would often refrain, thinking, "What if he needed to refer them for his further attacks?" and feeling so much like the wife of Attila the Hun, a strong encouraging woman behind her warrior man, I would stash them away in the already stuffed-up drawer, :)

At times I would find him in deep thought, counting his fingers and jotting down numbers. Probably counting the hours for the next attack. Perhaps verifying the coordinates of the fleet for his next assault. Didnt bother to ask him. iFos had made similar observation and quipped," Mak, perasan tak abah, kekadang tu khusyuk benor, sampai kira jari, macam dalam serious mission je!" Well to him it was! " Do you know that this game teaches us how to strategize and plan?" he asked me once. "Should there be a war, all these tactics and strategy I've learned are applicable" ( Nauzubillah! Not a war in my lifetime!)

After some time, I find that his obsession towards this game has affected and at times influenced our daily activity. I can't be spontaneous and decide to go out somewhere in the spur of the moment. He'll frustratingly respond, "laa, kenapa tak beritahu awal? I baru hantar fleet. Nanti fleet balik susah la." or "Fleet dah nak balik ni sat lagi" Thus this lead me to ask him, " kalau you on-call 24 hrs, you tak takut ke fleet you hancur?" He was quick to reply, "kalau I on-call, I hantar my fleet to somewhere safe and let it linger there for a solid 24 hrs." Masyallah! If the real world was like this, then anyone can win a war, anytime, Sun Tzu or no Sun Tzu! And I can be the first-lady of a whole planet, pronto!

Sometimes when my urge to use the PC is so overwhelming and he is still strategizing away, he would ask me to be patient, saying, " Kejap lagi, give me 5 min (which is actually 10). And when I finally get to surf, he would interrupt me evey few minutes, "You dah check my fleet?" Then, I have to click his O Game window and see if there's any red writings which could mean soemone is attacking him. He once lost a big stong fleet. Later, he went all out in full vengeance to counter-attack and regain back his possessions.

Don't gt me wrong. This game is not all about attacks and aggressions. These people can be civil and chat with each other and exchange tips on war tactics. Soemtimes I see him smiling to the screen, probably getting a good feedback from soemone. But like real world, there are black sheep everywhere. These are those who can't accept defeat and would send profane messages.

So this morning, whilst I was surfing, he demanded that I let him use the PC, " you nak I berhenti main tak? Kalau Tak I berehnti next week, je" Not wanting to take any risk, I relented and gave the seat to him. So began the 'quitting ceremony. He handed over his possessions, his fleets, battleships, planets to his leader, giving him his account and password. He asid goodbye to his alliance members and to his 'civilized' enemies. I am sure there was a grain of sadness in his heart though he didn't show it. You see, iKelah is truly proud of his great achievement in this game although it was for a rather short span of time. He was a member of an alliance that ranked first in the world. He was personally ranked 40 something. Few weeks ago he ranked fourth in Millitary strategy or something. So I can't blame him if he has a hard time quitting.

Phew, alas, we can have more time for other things I thought. but I thought too soon, when I heard him say, 'lepas ni I nak main game apa pulak ye? *sigh* Boys will be boys!