Suicides...

Tonight, I’m moved to write about suicides... an issue that has been bothering me for some time. NO, this does not mean that I am suicidal :P But, don’t you feel concern or worried about this issue? Nowadays, I read quite a number of news about Muslims committing suicide. This is not right. Something is not right. In fact, something has gone terribly wrong in our society... that’s why this problem occurred even more often now.

If I remember correctly, last year there were a few cases of suicide attempts... I think there were even successful attempts *sigh*. But, I didn’t pay much attention to this problem last year because the reason those people attempted suicide were most of the times, ‘stupid’. I’m trying to express my opinion as nice as I can, but to me trying to kill yourself just because your boyfriend ‘balik kampung’ without informing you or because your sincere love was rejected were not really ‘clever’ reasons. We have an old sayings right? Bunga bukan sekuntum, kumbang bukan seekor... so, come on! If you’re really heartbroken, just give yourself some time. Do something meaningful & significant, so that you feel like you have achieved something. It will take your mind off your love problem. After a while, you’ll be healed... Heart break because of love is not terminal. It is curable *wink*

So, I’m not going to worry so much about those ‘not so clever ‘reasons.

What triggered my deepest concern was when I read a news about a 13 year old teenage boy who committed suicide in his home bathroom. He was just 13. Astaghfirullahalazim... and the night before that, my friend wrote that her husband’s ex-student committed suicide because he didn’t do well in school. He was 16. Today, in the news, a young woman committed suicide after 2 months of being laid off from her job.

This is so, so sad!

I can’t identify the reasons of those suicides... although, I sometimes think that I would make a good member in ‘Criminal Mind’s BAU team :P In real life, I’m an outsider who knows nothing about those people. So, I can’t comment anything.

All I can say is that, us, the people living in the same society... we can do something. If we pay a little bit more attention, be a bit more concern & caring, a little less selfish. Suicidal people are depressed people. Maybe we don’t understand how people can become suicidal, but we have experienced depression haven’t we? It’s something that we cannot miss in our lives. So, we have some ideas how to deal with depression... this is where we can help.

If we see someone, especially someone we know, looks troubled or worry, try and ask what’s bothering them. Who knows, we might be a bit help at that moment just by asking. But, don’t be all busybody or judgemental. We’ll ruin it. If we don’t know how to ask, then don’t. We should get someone else to help us if we can’t get it out of your mind. If we are not the type of person who contributes to pleasant environment, then please don’t be the ones creating unpleasantness. If we are a parent, don’t be such a grumpy, ridiculously high expectation and avoid favouritism... don’t just complaint. If we are not going to show our children a way out, then we should critic ourselves first.

I used ‘we’ and ‘us’ because again, this is a note to myself as well...

To everyone out there, please... suicide is definitely not the solution to your problem. If you have a problem, get help. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. Make sure you go to the right person. Avoid those with condescending tones or judging looks or cluttered unhappy lives. And remember, alcohol, drugs, clubbing, partying are not the answer either. Choose something healthy.

To my fellow Muslims... please... if you ever thought of suicide, pleaseeeee... don’t! Life is hard, yes... it is the same for ALL of us... Life has its ups and downs... when you hit rock bottom, hang in there. Pray, have faith in Allah for He is always fair and loving and caring and everything. The wheel will go up again...

I have to repeat what I wrote before;
Whatever happens, keep the faith... Remember, there is always hope and ALLAH is never unfair.

I pray for a sane life for all of us.
We can all help to make a difference.

Good night all! Wishing you guys great days ahead.

Blog, Life & Brain :)

and of course 'Laksamana Sunan'... heheheheeee...

Huh... I didn’t post anything in March... I can’t believe it. Can you? I remember having so many ideas... but apparently I didn’t blog them. Weird...

But you know what is even weirder? I wasn’t too busy in March, if compared to other months. This kind of made me wonder about one thing... Does my brain work better when I’m not idle? How about your brain?

I got a new comment on my post ‘Falling in Love with Laksamana Sunan’... again. He’s such a hottie... heheheee... I think that post is the one getting most comments. This time I got a reminder that the 4th book is coming out. ‘Cinta Sufi’... wah sounds so pure... to anonymous, thanks for the reminder. I definitely won’t miss a date with Saifuddin *wink*

Marilah kita berkejaran ke Kinokuniya... gathering kat situ nak???

How are you guys doing? I honestly hope that all of you out there live happily, safely, successfully & blissfully. So many things had happened in our country and in our world. Both good and bad. But the bad ones are really bad. I kind of get scared reading the newspapers. But I can’t not read them. It’s like being tortured reading the news. Crimes are getting worse each day... Please be careful out there ok!

Nature’s behaviour is also becoming truly unpredictable. Storms, hurricane, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, heat waves... I believe it all happened because of us, human species. Who else?

Of all the species on earth, human is the worst. Seems like human brain has lost its functions *sigh*

But, human species is also the ones working on making this world a better place.

I shouldn’t simply say bad things about my species...

So you guys, take care ok. Life isn’t always good... there will always be ups and downs. Whatever happens, keep the faith... Remember, there is always hope and ALLAH is never unfair.

See you guys again in my next post. Take really good care ok!
*kiss kiss*

Yolanda Adams - I Believe

They said you wouldn't make is so far uh uh
And ever since they said it, it's been hard
But nevermind the nights you had to cry
Cause you have never let it go inside
You worked real hard
And you know exactly what you want and need
So believe and you can never give up
You can reach your goals
Just talk to your soul and say?

(Chorus:)
I believe I can (I can)
I believe I will (I will)
I believe I know my dreams are real (know my dreams are real)
I believe I'll stand (Oh yea)
I believe I'll dance
I believe I'll grow real soon and (That's why)
That is what I do believe

Your goals are just a thing in your soul uh uh
And you know that your moves will let them show
You keep creating pictures in your mind
So just believe they will come true in time
It will be fine
Leave all of your cares and stress behind
Just let it go
Let the music flow inside
Forget all your pain
And just start to believe

(Chorus:)
I believe I can (I believe I can oh yea)
I believe I will
I believe I know my dreams are real (All of my dreams are real)
I believe I'll stand
I believe I'll dance (I gotta dance)
I believe I'll grow real soon and (ooo)
That is what I do believe
Whoa oa oa YEA?

(Music break)

Nevermind what people say
Hold your head high and turn away
With all our hopes and dreams
I will believe
Even though it seems it's not for me
I won't give up I'll keep it up
Look into the sky
I will achieve all my needs
I will always believe?.OoOo

(Chorus 2x)
I believe I can
I believe I will (I can)
I believe I know my dreams are real (I got strength)
I believe I'll stand
I believe I'll dance (I gotta dance)
I believe I'll grow real soon and (watch me watch me watch me)
That is what I do believe (I do believe in me)

I believe I can
I believe I will (oh yea)
I believe I know my dreams are real
I believe I'll stand
I believe I'll dance (I gotta dance)
I believe I'll grow real soon and
That is what I do believe (I do believe! yayeeyay)

Through the eyes of a child...

everything is beautiful... even the smallest, the simplest thing...

and looking at the eyes of a child, you can't avoid to feel that everything is nothing but beautiful...

doesn't this smile just melts your heart? so sweet...

that's the magic of a child... something so pure, so innocent, so sincere... lovable...

Fiqah Berinteraksi Dengan Non-Muslim

A Muslim guide to interaction with non- muslim...

A very good & a very useful book. I've seen this book a few times on the book rack at the book stall. Each time I said I'll buy this book and never did buy it. Until recently when I have a doubt on whether I can or cannot carry pork last month, I straightaway bought this book without stalling. I needed help and I can tell you that this book is a great help.

I just finished reading this book and I can tell you that it answers a lot of questions on how we Muslims can mingle freely with our non-muslims friends, colleagues, neighbours etc without scratching our faith, our beliefs and obedience to Allah. This book is especially helpful when you have really good non- muslim friends. There are times in our friendship that we have doubts on whether we can or cannot do a certain thing. Take my dilemma for example...

However I feel like this book doesn't really go into depth on explaining certain areas. So, you still need to get help from the expert... just make sure you go to the right expert ok... Do not go to the liberal ones *wink*

This book answered/ discussed some questions with regards of the followings:

1.   Swine/ Pork

2.   Dog
3.   Halal meat/ food
4.   Alcohol
5.   Funeral
6.   Marriage
7.   Neighbour
8.   Greetings
9.   Medical/ Health treatment
10. Celebration
11. Business
12. Aurat
13. Converts

and a lot more...

I'm really grateful that Mohd Nidzam Abd. Kadir wrote this book and Telaga Biru for publishing it. In a world where interactions between muslims and non-muslims cannot be avoided on a daily basis, especially in our beloved country where we strive to live as harmonius and peaceful as possible, this is the kind of book that we, muslims can rely on as a basic guidance.

When boredom strikes...

If you think that boredom can only strike when you have nothing to do, well I can tell you that is not true. You cannot convince me otherwise because I am the living proof! Muahahahhaaaa...

I have a lot of things to do. A lot! But unfortunately, when my brain tuned to the 'i'm so bored' channel, I do everything other than the things that I'm suppose to do.

OMG! It's a dangerous sickness this boredom... and I hope I will be cured by tomorrow morning :)

So what did I do during my boredom?

I redesigned my blog... I tried a few cute free templates on the internet... I changed this, I changed that, I changed this again,  then I changed that again... in the end, the only thing I changed was the picture on top... but still, I hope you like it even though I think it's not really suitable. The picture was shot by me & I call it 'Misty'...

I'm still a little bored while writing this and I think you can sense it...

So, I better stop now...

Memorable Ulsan & Busan

Anyeong hai seyo!

I was only in Ulsan for 4 days... and a few hours in Busan... but, I can honestly tell you that it was a memorable experience.

I went to Ulsan for work of course, for Ulsan is an industrial city, not so much of a tourist spot. When I was in Seoul, I was not very impressed with the city because I think it is almost the same with KL (I believe a lot of people disagree... but hey, this is my personal opinion. I'm entitled to it *wink*)

But when I get to Ulsan and went around the city... I was so impressed. The petrochemical complex in Ulsan is huge! Nothing compared to the one we have in Malaysia.

I was especially impressed with Hae-un dae shipyard. OMG! Truly impressive.

Picture from the internet

My trip to Busan was really a short one but enough to make my mouth opened- wide at the sight of Busan from the Rainbow bridge. I was in a moving car and the night was dark... so I didn't take any picture. But the sight was like the picture below.

Rainbow Bridge is the one on the far top left.

Picture from the internet

So, what made my trip to Ulsan and Busan so memorable?

It was the PEOPLE there... I met so many nice people in Ulsan and two very nice ladies in Busan. Those in Ulsan are my Korean colleagues and the two in Busan are the friends of Mr. Heo who cooked very delicious Korean Curry *nyum nyum*... massissayo!

My colleagues in Ulsan are mostly guys... engineers, technicians and chemists. Somehow I'm in charge of a system modules where the users most of the times are guys :) There are pros & cons... but so far, I've seen more pros than cons. Fortunately for me, they are nice guys. So, when I was in Ulsan, there were definitely more pros... lucky me!

Mr. Park & Mr. Lee took me to a Korean Seafood Restaurant (a pork free restaurant in case you wonder). So I got to taste a few of traditional Korean foods, including the famous Kimchi... My favourite was Al-bab rice... so yummy! Cho aiyo!

Thank you Mr. Park & Mr. Lee!

Al-bab rice... like the one I enjoyed... minus the egg yolk...

Picture from the internet

If I didn't meet all the nice people in Ulsan & Busan, I'm pretty sure my trip would have been a plain one. So, I'm really really grateful that our paths crossed even for just a few days... or a few hours. Because of the pleasant encounters, I wouldn't mind going to Ulsan again :)

So, please remember to be nice to everyone we meet because we never know what kind of impact we might have on them...

I always smile whenever I remembered my business trip there... so nice...

Not to forget, my big thank you to Mr. Heo for driving me around... showing me the place... he even braved the extremely, icier than ice, cold winter night at the beach just because that one crazy lady insisted to visit that place... heheheeee... You must be very proud of your country... and the drive to/from Busan was so much fun! :)

You'll make a good tour guide Mr. Heo... *wink wink*

Please enjoy some photos of Ulsan and some misc photos that I took during my trip...

Petrochemical complex in Ulsan

Winter Nights & Days...

Kamsahamnida!