giving love always

Treasure those who matter, because we never know how long God is lending them to us. ☺️

We never know when our last time seeing them would be, nor do we know which Whatsapp message to them would be our last.

Give love, always!

not doing that

IT'S ONLY THE SECOND DAY KEEP YOUR PHONES AWAY PLEASE

And then we went to Ain's, where monkeys broke loose.

Um... ok... do whatever that thing you guys want...

"Let's do this!" someone exclaimed, demonstrating a certain pose. 

"Oh no no that's it I'm out of here."

Ok, that picture in the recipe book is totally photoshopped. I'm officially starting a stop-setting-unrealistic-expectations-2K15 movement.

May God accept it from us and from you.

take it back

Sometime in 2014, we were at the kampung. 

We had just visited Abah's uncle, who is about 70 years old, and is ailing. His children (aka dad's cousins) were all providing TLC for him - and Abah helps, too.

"Now, if I get sick when I'm older, you'd take care of me, like how I'm helping him."

I looked at Abah. He looked at me. 

It was a few seconds of silence, when I finally said, "No."

He was taken aback; No????

"I mean, like, you're not going to be sick, so don't put it that way. I'd care and love you and annoy you  forever, but you'd still be healthy when you're old, okay?"

"Take it back, daddy. Take it back."

"Say that I'll take care of a healthy and happy you, and you and Mama would go yachting and do all the things retired people do, you won't be sick."

"Take it back. NOW."

Abah looked it at me as if I had just lost my brain and stashed it somewhere I can never get it back.

"Okay... you'll take care of a healthy and happy me..." 

Good.

I believe that one should always, always, have a positive outlook on life, do good things, and let Allah handle the rest. 

Live good, pray good, and Allah will make it good for you.

I pray everyday that Allah will take care of my parents, keep them in the pink of health, and never let any harm touch them. 

I want them to be healthy; for them to be able to help others, to be closer to Allah by discovering more of Allah's magnificent creation in every country that they go as they travel, and to inspire their children to become better, exemplary Muslims as they go along. 

"My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up when I was small." (Quran, 17:24)

May Allah safeguard our parents always, and may kindness and compassion towards them be instilled in our hearts.

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surprise, surprise

Bismillah.

We constantly make du'as for ourselves, our siblings, our parents - but there is a simple act of kindness we often overlook; to pray for our friends. 

A sincere du'a from a good friend, without the knowledge of the receiver, it works wonders. 

A classmate has been struggling for an A+ in English? Ask Allah to let her through with ease.  

Your best friend is anxious about her upcoming interview? Make the prayer of need (solat hajat) for her sake. 

That girl you saw at the canteen, applying for a scholarship to go abroad? Extend your du'a so that she would receive the best from Allah. 

You've been feeling in the doldrums, and all of a sudden you're the epitome of happiness? Your close friend probably made du'a for you.  

Those straight As you've been getting, yeah? Could be Allah's gift for your parents and friends, those who have been keeping you in their remembrance. 

Really, it makes you grateful and giddy when you notice how delighted and blessed your friends feel as their wishes and prayers are accepted, and you kind of go all 'I made du'a for you too, man!' in the inside.

squarepants

When I was younger, my Mum used to make the three of us eat those orange chewy vitamins, or vitamin tablets in various shapes and flavours. I could recall being forced into thinking that blackcurrant vitamins were candies, and oh God... being fed with silly-tasting Scott's Emulsion. 

Now, Mummy's stepped her game up. She's introduced salmon omega softgels and adult-ish vitamin tablets. Honestly, why do people make vitamins that smell like uh... mushed veggie. With an unacceptably enormous size and not to forget, they're dark brown in colour. LIKE WHO WOULD BE APPETISED EAT THAT. 

Um, ok, maybe my parents and Afiq, but who else???!?!?!

Faiz and I, both staying on the safe side, prefer to never eat grown-up vitamins.

But apparently, Abah's not taking no for an answer, hence he came up with an alternative... 

He bought us spongebob vitamins.

THESE TASTE SOOO GOOD WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY HAVE SUGAR IN THEM THEY'RE VITAMINS THEY'RE HEALTHY.

I left my spongebob box in the kitchen, next to all its adult friends, before going upstairs. 

The next thing I know, Mummy came up into the room, telling me how sedap those vitamins are. HAH. Even Mum likes spongebob. 

I told you adults vitamins are uncool.

5 ways to make a sister disappear

I ought to teach him some sister-love. Pffft, as if he would ever dare to get rid of me before getting his head chopped off. By me, if you're wondering.

5 Ways to Make My Sister Disappear

If you read the article, yeah yeah, he sure sounded nice and kind and all, but wait until you read his first draft below, the one I told him to redo... into... um... a milder version. 

Read his first draft. Just. READ IT. 

How to Make Your Sister Disappear by Faiz R

You see, sometimes, sisters can be very annoying. They tell you to comb your hair, tie your shoelace, brush your teeth… and report it to your Mum if you disobey. The same goes to my elder sister. It makes me want to rage. These can be done if your parents are not at home.

 1: Go to kitchen. Grab a knife. Stab her. Burn her body. Beware because your mom may        

     scold you because you burnt the knife.

 2: Tell her to go outside because mom is calling. Once she gets out, lock the door. Then, call   

     the police. Say that your sister is a psycho killer trying to get in your house.

 3: Go on a vacation. When returning home, say that you forgot to buy the returning  

     ticket and you have no money. Then, run and board the airplane. When you arrive, say to 

     your mom she wants to stay.

 4: When she is in a room, place all of your furniture at her door. Just leave a small hole. Make   

     sure she can’t go out. Everyday, give her only rice with egg and warm water. Sometimes, 

     give her plain bread. 

 5: Send her to a military camp secretly. Say that she is going to meet her friends. Then, just 

     leave her. Make sure she can’t escape. When she returns after four years, pretend you 

     have changed and send her to another camp.

WARNING! WARNING! If you follow the rules, you’re dumb. Please don’t do these. You will regret it. If you are desperate, lock yourself in a room.

I wouldn't mind No. 3, though.

yay june!

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Goodness. Time flies so fast. It’s already May 2014, and soon it’ll be June (of course you silly, you’d think it’d be January after May???) but anyway, JUUUNE! MY BIRTHDAY.

You see the best thing about birthdays is… you know… sorting out your wish list. And then at one point, sometimes you want a watch, sometimes you think of a Barbie doll (cough cough), sometimes you say you need a new bag, and so on and so forth…

And then if you’re like me, you might end up not having any present from your dad, because you really don’t know what to choose. It’s the only time when your dad is going to buy that ridiculous thing for you, the one he said cannot fifty times, so you'd have to make a wise decision. 

Birthdays are nice, really. You’re literally showered with gifts, man!

But yesterday, on my way to school, I listened to an enlightening tazkirah by an Ustaz on the radio. 

He said something along the lines of;

“Birthdays… you think it’s so cool because people hand you presents. You expect them to spoil you. But if you think about it in detail - you’d realise that YOU are the one who should be giving out presents. To whom? To your mum, for carrying you in her womb until the day you were born. To your dad, who ran around frantically trying to find diapers and making sure the house is nice for you when you’re finally out.”

Wow. May Allah keep us all in remembrance of how much we owe Mum and Dad.

Uh... Ustaz should’ve said that after my birthday la. (Haha just kidding!)

But Ustaz… presents from friends ok or not?? Ok what, friends didn’t have to bear the burden of having me in their tummy, right? So um, Amalin, Ain, Alya, this from you ok??

so domestic

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

I love my Bibi. I do. Alhamdulillah I have been blessed to have (and had) two wonderful women taking care of me at home. 

picture off google

The first one was Bibi A, who sticked with me since my very first years up to the point where I was a jumpy 8-year old. When she had to return to Wonosobo, Indonesia, I was devastated. Fortunately, a few months later, my granddad and I had a lovely grandpa-granddaughter trip to Jogja and paid a visit to Bibi A's house. I was in tears when we departed to the airport, knowing that I won't be having Bibi A around (so what if I wailed, I was 9, get over it, haha).

Soon came Bibi Y, who replaced Bibi A. She is an amazing cook (she makes really good lasagna), a tech savvy, and one whom I insisted that she learn how to drive. Of course when she first came I felt a little distant, but now, gee I love her so much. Bibi Y flew to Malaysia when I was in Year 3, and is currently on a holiday in Jawa Tengah.

My parents frequently (and jokingly) mock me for the fact that I can't even fry an egg. Pffft I can bake and frost delicate cakes - could you do that when you were 16, Mama? Haa.

There was that one time in class when my Sejarah teacher asked me if I could make some ikan goreng and I had to sheepishly mumble "Boleh, kot..." and tolerate the whole class snickering. Oh, I bet you guys don't even know how to make ikan goreng, too. I'm not the only one, pffft.

Normally, when Bibi Y is enjoying her one-month holiday (probably off on a beach with a juice and the mini umbrella thing with her son right now), Bibi A will come to our aid. She'd fly to KL and I'd be the happiest person alive. Over the years, we grew very close and I used to have conversations with her daughters once in a blue moon.

However, Bibi A is nearing her senior citizen years and in order to respect her... I won't be having her as a Bibi anymore. 

and that, is, why, I am bibi-less this school holiday. 

or not really that bibi-less, as my aunt's Bibi, Bibi H, comes during the day on weekdays.

But Bibi H is at my cousin's on weekends, and even if she's here from Mon till Fri, she has my baby cousin to take care of, so yes, I can be considered as bibi-less.

So I learnt how to steam iron on YouTube! So proud of myself. (I bet you didn't know how to steam iron clothes when you're 16, Abah, haha). I also ironed Abah's trousers! I improved, the last time I ironed my tudung it got burnt and had to be thrown away - bibi Y laughed a little too much before blabbing on the proper way of ironing.

Abah thinks that I can't sweep. Ha, I swept and wiped the floor, it's squeaky clean now. *winks at Bibi for teaching*

I do laundry everyday! It's really easy, I mean, you just press a few buttons and voila, they're all clean. The folding part is a bit tricky, and if I can't resort on using hangers, those pants and shirts are going to look like a hastily flipped omelette. 

My bibi is garang, ok. Bibi Y would kill me if I ever messed the stack of clothing she meticulously folded. 

Despite her being strict and all, I am so, so, grateful to have Bibi Y, because otherwise the whole house would turn upside down, all the insides jumbled up as if our house had just been destroyed by a tornado (naudzubillahi min zalik). Cepat balik, bibi! Hehe.

My parents constantly remind me to love and respect our Bibi. They take care of us, bathe us when we're kids, teach us a lot of things that we can't personally get elsewhere, like being grateful for what we have and to count our blessings. Y'all crying for iPhone5s, my bibi's husband passed away when she was pregnant with their first son, can't afford to have a house, yet she's very strong, and she takes things in her stride.

God bless us with so much that we lose track of it sometimes, forgetting how He can take it all away in a flash.

move it

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamualaikum.

Instagram is brilliant, really. It's lovely how I could see my friends' life through their respective lenses.

I was on the pc website, and my hands were just resting on top of the keyboard (aside from scrolling down, of course, that's the right hand).

Abah told me to raise my right hand. It was so out of the blue, but I obeyed.

He continued, "Good. Now turunkan sikit..." and I did what I was told. "Sikit lagi..." and boom.

Guess what my hand came into contact with.

What a bummer. It was my chemistry reference book. It turned out that I inadvertently placed my Success book juuuuust beside my laptop.

"Not funny."

Then he laughed, grabbed his keys and entertained Afiq's continuous request for bread, at 9pm on a Thursday.

My End-of-Year exam is in 2 weeks. I flipped the pages, searched for interesting images, and it was barely two minutes before I slammed it close. I googled some useless stuff, and a few minutes later, I heard his car.

Immediately I shut the laptop, went back to the book, pretended I was reading.

Bhahahahah. Sorry Abah, you know I love you so much. (he reads my blog, creepy, I know).

living in aotearoa

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalammualaikum.

If there's a quirky thing about me (I mean, one from a whole lot of quirks), I'd say... I can never live far from airports without hyperventilating. What if something happens and I can't migrate? What if there's no decent store in town and I am unable to buy what I want? What would I do if I needed to fly on that very day? 

There was that one time when I told my man - he's my dad, I'm still as fine - I'd like to reside in New Zealand. He then inquired, which part? 

That question sent me down memory lane for a while.

Christchurch is a good choice. City centre, huge airport, shopping malls. 

Auckland is practical. The capital of NZ, after all.

Queenstown is absolutely magnificent mashaAllah. But it's surrounded by mountains (that's what makes it picturesque, you silly).

Twizel shines (the stars, of course) but then again... I need huge airports. 

My two fave guys trying to soak one another... maybe.

...and soon I was back in the pearls of New Zealand, namely Wanaka, Milford Sound, Fox Glacier... and such beautiful places I can always be amazed at for days on end.

By far, my favourite tourist destinations would be Queenstown and Vienna. My fellow peers would choose Paris or London - gorgeous, I admit, but classics are my cup of tea. 

As much as I love Queenstown for all it boasts - the skiing, the lakes, the buildings, I'd choose Christchurch/Auckland over that, for Christchurch and Auckland are hugely populated cities. The environment is just as considerably wonderful.

"But who's going to live with me?" Abah pretended to cry aka smirking with that mischievous look of his. I know when the time comes, he'd be like, go awaaaay. Haha.

"Fine, I'll just live in kl and buy a duplex." Pffft.

maples and mochi

Published on 08/03/2013 on nsmz

Assalammualaikum

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

-written before formative one, hence the word 'revise'-

Instead of revising, I decided to do a post on some of my recent travels - late 2012 and early 2013. It's okay, I call this 'taking a break'.

Around November 2012, I was given the chance to visit the Land of the Rising Sun.

I'm going to act like this is a travelogue, so this post would be exceptionally long but please kindly bear with it. Hah.

All praise be to Allah. We arrived in Osaka in the morning and went to the hotel. The hotel offered various services and facilities which includes Wi-Fi, business centre, free hot drinks at the lobby, pyjamas and much much more.

As it was not the check-in period yet, we dropped our bags and went to our first destination which was the Floating Garden Observatory aka Umeda Sky Building.

How lovely it is to be finding one of my favourite things of Germany- Weihnachstmarkt

For sightseeing, the Osaka Unlimited Pass for 2 Days came in handy. The pass entitled us for unlimited use of trains and buses on top of free admission for 28 tourist attractions, as well as other privileges at 14 attractions and roughly 40 hotels, shops and restaurant.

When buying the pass, we received a rail map showing which line to take and where to alight for sightseeing.

The OUP was (and is) definitely worth it. We managed to save a few thousand Yens.

Moving on to Number 2 on the list of 28 must-visits was the gigantic HEP-Five Ferris Wheel. A good rest after wandering around trying to find the Observatory.

Next was the Osaka Museum of Housing and Living, where the late Edo Period of Osaka is stimulated for tourists to experience. The setup felt very familiar, it was as if we slipped in time. For those who love Kimonos/Yukatas, you could put one on free of charge and wear it while you venture in the museum. We also witnessed a magnificent minute-by-minute transition of day to night Osaka.

The fee would have been 600 Yen. It is a bit tricky to find the museum, and there was not any English sign either, so I am sure that this detailed instruction will come in handy.

From the station's Exit 3, go through glass doors to the left of the escalator and take the elevator to the 8th floor.

((Hey keep in mind I'm pretending that my blog is a travelogue so don't laugh at the above statement))

This museum was and is my most-favoured. I'm so glad we made it here, it was so easy to overlook the museum.

So that sums up this post.

15 years of age

Published on 23/08/2012 on nsmz

I've been itching to publish this, but I never did. This was written roughly about one and half months ago.

And oh, Happy Birthday Alya, may Allah bless you always. Have a blast!

x

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalammualaikum.

Friday, 29th June, 2012
Something terrible happened, and because of it, I was terribly late for school. I was at a loose end, and I really did not want to attend school, until I remembered how Ain and Amalin kept reminding me to come... for reasons that I don't even know... yet.

I rushed, and Alhamdulillah, I managed to arrive at school on time. Still, it was slightly late for a prefect though. I was almost running, and as I reached 1 Hamzah, even Izwan had this "dude-you're-so-late" look on his face.

After the Quran-reciting session ended, I went to class and found a white, translucent plastic bag.

I smirked. Must've been Ain and Amalin's work. No wonder they kept bugging me with "Sab, please come tomorrow?" "You're going to school, right?"

I was secretly hoping for a whole cake... okay I'm kidding. So I shared the slice with the girls of 3 Abu Bakar. The boys were out as they had SUKANTARA, meh it's not like I'm going to share with them if they were present anyway.

After Mama fetched me from school, I waited until the Jumaat prayers was over at home. Abah planned to take me out to buy me my birthday gift, unfortunately the nearest place for me to get them was the Low Yat Plaza - well, let's just say that it's irrelevant to be going there on a Friday afternoon.

So instead of buying my birthday present, we went to Yummie to get some supplies for my Red Velvet cake pops.

Saturday, 30th June, 2012
Yay it's my birthday! Alhamdulillah for reaching fifteen.

Went to Being Me Conference, MATRADE. I suppose I am not capable of elaborating more. Perhaps you could go here instead. Captivating talks, kiosks, fashion show, manicure & pedicure, yadda yadda.

"Being ME – Muslimah Empowered embarks upon this mission to give Muslimah’s an outlet to express the reality of their lifestyles, share accomplishments that benefit humanity and inspire others to do the same. This is the inaugural Islamic Women’s Conference in Malaysia that allows the opportunity to address the daily challenges facing the Muslim Woman today." -from the website

Nothing much - cake pops preps, Abah flew to Oman.

Sunday, 1st July, 2012
More cake pops. Never thought it would be so exhausting. Final products were far off expectations, but there's always a first try so Alhamdulillah. Failed to produce something similar to Pint Sized Baker's.

Actual attempt: http://pintsizedbaker.blogspot.com/2012/05/how-to-make-teeth-cake-pops.html

Actual turnout looking disastrous

Picked up birthday cakes at the Mines, one for the class and one to be brought to Grandma & Grandpa's.

School

Home

Monday, 2nd July, 2012
Brought everything to school - cake, cake pops, paper plates, serviettes and disposable forks. Shared everything with everyone. I suppose the class was happy? Alhamdulillah.

x

Hats off to Mama, Abah, Amalin & Ain, Sarah, Hannani, the class, and most importantly, thank you Allah, for giving me the opportunity to live and breath in this world for fifteen years and more to come insya-Allah. Alhamdulillah.