Manchester United

I dun think I've ever written an entry about them United. They drew Everton last night, conceding 2 goals in the last 10 minutes of the match. As much as I tried to be all positive about the draw, the frustration is eating me up inside. I hate Manchester United. I hate when I get my hopes up so high only to see it crash 30 minutes later.

The Morning Prayer

I was awaken by my brother this morning. He was praying in my room and I found it odd that he's up earlier than me. I looked at my watch and it was 5.50am. Found out he was working today. It's not a good feeling to see him up so early to work. No one forced him nor his brother to work, so I take comfort in this. My baby brothers have both grown up.

alhamdulillahil ladzi ahyana ba’da ma amatana wailaihin nusyur
Segala puji bagi Allah yang menghidupkan aku kembali setelah mematikan aku dan kepada Allah akan bangkit.

I also thanked Him for watching over us all this while. I got up, washed up, and prayed.

Little things I remember...

I was checking the mail at the mail box and saw a neighbor of mine - a friendly chinese uncle. A couple of years back, his wife bought us a tub of Meadow Gold's Cookies and Cream ice cream for no apparent reason. And the ice cream turned out to be heavenly. For some reason, that little act of giving struck me. Being the rational person that I am, I just couldn't see why she'd buy us ice cream. But I'm touched nonetheless.

That little act of kindness has taught me that kindness knows no boundaries and a simple seemingly insignificant act can leave a huge and lasting impression. I want to be someone like that. All it takes is a tub of icecream.

Lest I forget.

The Dreamer

I prefer to be a dreamer among the humblest, with visions to be realized, than lord among those without dreams and desires.

Kahlil Gibran

Conversations with Mum

Alhamdulillah. The end of a chapter marks the beginning of another. I've written countless times that life works in mysterious ways, yet I'll say it again: Life works in mysterious ways and usually, if you think about the events that took place in life, there's usually a reason why they happen. People will usually interject and say that I'm simply overly optimistic, but that's fine by me. Mama seems to be the only one who listens with an open mind and add in her take on the stuffs I share with her.

Alhamdulillah. A job offer was made to me yesterday for the position of Project Engineer - which I duly signed after much thought. I signed on the dotted line with a clear mind and hope that this path leads me to heaven. 6 days work week may seem overwhelming, but each time I'll simply try to convince myself that I'm doing it not for myself but for those around me.

Chanced upon a quote that goes, "Good character towards mankind is that you do not burden others to achieve your own desires, but rather to burden yourself to gratify the wishes of others, as long as these do not go against the dictates of The Divine Law." I hope to start seeing work as something that helps improve my character rather than a chore. At the same time, perhaps save up for the future - just in case dearest brothers decide to further their studies. And other stuffs.

I look forward to spending nights after work at the dinner table with my Mama. I'd tell her about my day, share some stories in the hopes that she'd share some of her personal stories. All along, my brothers will be nearby listening in to our conversation as they surf the net or watch the tele; the living room is their bedroom. And I'd secretly hope that my brothers subconsciously pick up lessons and advice from these conversations and apply it to their own lives. I told her to write down her stories whenever us children are out schooling or working. I'd really like that. There's this selfish urge to write a book just to see how many books I could sell.

I look forward to nights just like tonight.

PE: Project Engineer

O Allah!! Behold I ask You the good through Your Knowledge, and ability
through Your Power, and beg (Your favour) out of Your infinite Bounty. For
surely You have Power; I have none. You know all; I know not. You are the
Great Knower of all things. O Allah! If in Your Knowledge this matter be
good for my faith (Deen), for my livelihood, and for the consequences of
my affairs, then ordain it for me, and make it easy for me, and bless me
therein. But if in Your Knowledge, this matter be bad for my faith (Deen)
for my livelihood, and for the consequences of my affairs, then turn it
away from me, and turn me away therefrom, and ordain for me the good
wherever it be, and cause me to be pleased therewith.

A world without pictures

Toying around with the settings on Google Chrome resulted in me "turning off images". What this does is prevents websites from displaying images, thus reducing the loading time of webpages. In a weird way, it also makes the Net cleaner and less cluttered. It feels as though I'm walking through a wide and open and green meadow - free from distractions.

What seemed like taking a step backward begins to feel like taking a step forward. Slowly I start to realize that Facebook feels different without pictures. The absence of profile pictures allows the mind to paint the best pictures it could paint of my friends. The ever inquisitive and curious brain is no longer encouraged to take a peek at the lives of others. The mind feels freer. But I know, it's only been 10 minutes.

The Heart

“Ya Tuhan kami, janganlah Engkau jadikan hati kami condong kepada kesesatan sesudah Engkau beri petunjuk kepada kami, dan karuniakanlah kepada kami rahmat dari sisi Engkau; karena sesungguhnya Engkau-lah Maha Pemberi (kurnia).”
(QS. Ali Imran: 8)

Ya Allah yang membolak-balikan hati, teguhkanlah hatiku diatas ketaatan kepadamu.