~~It is a small world after all..~~

Another story for today, I met somebody during this event. While I was wandering around the colored rice project, suddenly my eyes linger on somebody. I've seen her before, but didnt know for sure whether my guess is right or wrong. I put myself together and walked towards her... hih, jeng.. jeng....jeng...

Me : Assalamua'laikum... I think I know you, Kak Naemah kan?? (sambil tersengih kerang busuk)
KN : W'salam... a'aa... sape yer?? Macam pernah tengok..
Me : Dulu.... Syed Putra kan..??
KN : A'aa, yer yer... batch?
Me : Batch Tazli... hihi.....

then, bla...bla...bla..pok..pek..pok...pek....

There'd you go, I met my senior by a year back in Syed Putra, what a small world really. She just came here 2 weeks ago, continuing her study in Phd - Computer Science.... See, I told you, we'll meet new people when we're willing to get involved in public oriented project (^-^). I took her contact number already, will keep in touch with her after this...

My dingy face and Sis Naemah (^-^), she closed her eyes accidentally, huhu.

~~A path to paradise~~

-A path to paradise- This is actually a theme of Arfa's project. Who is Arfa? A friend of mine who is studying Master or Art (Art is Public Space) at RMIT. This is a continuous project for 3 semesters if I'm not mistaken (Arfa, pardon me if I'm wrong). After weeks of planning, today she has to work out the project. Taken place at Bowen Street, RMIT City Campus, there'd she go. As a friend, I went there to give her moral support and to help her to materialize the project. Unfortunately, I was a bit late, and to my suprised, lots of people were there during the project was running. It's a 2 way communication project, where Arfa encouraged people/student to take part in this project. I kinda love this kind of project coz it gathered people together- from students, lecturers, RMIT staffs, priest and even the tresspassers... what a wonderful day where various people can gather around. And I also managed to get to know new friends from this event (^-^). What was the project all about?? This one I quote from Arfa's project flyer - A journey of discovery : a journey that leads from the hustle and bustle of campus life to peace and tranquility. Objective : To create a vibrant symbolic artwork through the use of brightly colored rice. So, that's about it... congrates Arfa, you did it!! Lets enjoy the pics (^-^)... daaa!

They who were taking part. Well done!

Each of the flower represents an ancestry religion in this world, couldnt really recall what they were, hih! (really i dont want to give a wrong info). But they are beautiful, arent they?

The whole project

The artist (^-^)

~~Ramadhan, Quran & Islam~~

While flipping over my Quran Tafseer just now, I came across these few sentences.. suddenly I remember I used to recite these few holy sentences years ago, during Al-Quran Recital Contest, hih.. long time ago, when I was in standard 4 if I'm not mistaken. And during that time, there was my mom's friend who recited so well. I adored her a lot and since then I practiced to recite, just to be like her (^-^). Owh, that's not the point of this entry, just want to share with all of you, the meaning part of the few sentences from holy Al-Quran, Al Baqarah , Juz 2. Hope this little info will give us new meaning and prespective of Ramadhan ,holy Al-Quran and Islam.

Terjemahan :

183. Wahai orang yang beriman! Diwajibkan kamu berpuasa sebagaimana diwajibkan ke tas orang yang terdahulu daripada kamu, supaya kamu bertaqwa.

184. (Puasa yang diwajibkan itu ialah) beberapa hari yang tertentu, maka sesiapa antara kamu yang sakit, atau sedang bermusafir, (bolehlah dia berbuka), kemudian wajiblah dia berpuasa beberapa (hari yang dia berbuka) itu pada hari-hari yang lain, dan wajib atas orang yang tidak terdaya berpuasa (kerana tua dan sebagainya) membayar fidyah iaitu memberi makan orang miskin. Maka sesiapa dengan sukarela memberikan (bayaran fidyah) lebih daripada yang ditentukan itu, maka itu adalah suatu kebaikan baginya dan (walaupun demikian) berpuasa itu lebih baik bagi kamu (daripada memberi fidyah), jika kamu mengetahui.

185. (Masa yang diwajibkan kamu berpuasa itu ialah) bulan Ramadhan yang padanya diturunkan Al-Quran, menjadi petunjuk bagi sekalian manusia, dan menjadi keterangan-keterangan yang menjelaskan petunjuk itu dan membezakan anatara yang benar dengan yang salah. Oleh itu. sesiapa daripada kamu yang menyaksikan anak bulan Ramadhan (atau mengetahuinya), maka hendaklah dia berpuasa. Sesiapa yang sakit atau dalam musafir (lalu dia berbuka maka wajib baginya berpuasa) sebanyak hari yan ditinggalkan itu pada hari-hari yang lain (diluar bulan Ramadhan). Allah menghendaki kamu beroleh kemudahan (dengan ketetapan yang demikian) dan Dia tidak menghendaki kamu menanggung kesukaran; dan juga supaya kamu mencukupkan bilangan puasa (sebulan Ramadhan), serta kamu membesarkan Allah kerana mendapat petunjukNya dan supaya kamu bersyukur. (Al-Baqarah : 183-185)

Pardon me, i'm not so good in translating the meaning of the surah in English and my tafseer is in Malay. From the sentences above, the concept is simple, you pay for what you take, but unfortunately, there are among us who still take this ibadah for granted, come with many absurd excuses. And Islam itself is a considerate religion, it wont put it's followers into something which they themselves can't handle it. How beautiful is Islam, isnt it? Hmm, I cant talk much, coz me myself is not perfect, still searching for His 'nur' and hidayah. Hopefully we are all been blessed.. InsyaAllah.

~~Half way of Ramadhan~~

Believe it or not we are at a half way of Ramadhan now. Alhamdulillah, I still manage to perform this ibadah with a good health and tawaduk. Talking about Ramadhan, apart from the ibadah and tarawikh, it's a month where people been blessed with foods, I mean a variety + lotsaaa of foods here and there, especially in my home country (owh, how I wish I were there right now, miss going to Pasar Ramadhan, I miss going tarawikh with my dad at a mosque, I miss 'more', I miss preparing foods with my mom for iftar, I miss everything about Ramadhan back home, sob..sob...). And sometimes, I feel like buying the whole Pasar Ramadhan if I go there, hih, yeah I know..... it's just a 'bad strong desire'. It is like a norm, people crave more in this month, hihi, including me. Unfortunately, living in a country where less than 15% of the community are practicing Islam, I dont have many choices of foods, or in other words, it's just a waste of time for me to crave this and that, knowing that I wont get it here, unless u prepare the dish by urself, hehe.

Well people, I'm staying alone now, in a shoe box, hihi, I mean in a small studio unit, somewhere in inner suburb of Melbourne. Like it or not, there's nobody else to cook. I really2 crave 'kuih pau' since last 2 weeks, huhu... and it took me for quite a while to prepare it. I think I made it, eventhough the taste is only.... so - so.... (^-^), and luckily I didnt burn down the house, hih. So, today....I had quite simple menu for iftar - Blue Pau, meehoon tomyam and dessert (actually I'm very2 lazy to cook, huhu, hence I only prepared these unfiddly menus). Alhamdullilah, He is still bless me with a good 'rezqi', it's more than enough for me, I'm alone afterall, so no need for a round table of foods (^-^). It's just a bit sad that I got nobody to accompany me for iftar.. really... I feel sad and lonely. Ok, Ok... no more tears for today..... lets have a look.. what I had for iftar tonight.... enjoy!

'Blue Pau', I intentionally added few drops of food coloring into the doh to create a temptation for me to eat, hihi

'White Meehoon Tomyam', took only 20 minutes to prepare, I chucked everything in the sauce, heh..

Simple but yummy dessert, fresh strawberries + yogurt + raisin....