Maher Zain wuz ere!

Ok. Cerita kahwin belum. Cerita honeymoon pun belum. Tapi nak cerita pasal showcase Maher Zain malam tadi. Boleh? Hehe.

Maher Zain datang Malaysia bagai bulan jatuh ke riba bagi peminat tegar lagu-lagu beliau. Kebetulan pula tarikh showcase beliau adalah pada minggu saya masih cuti kahwin dan baru langsung kenduri di belah Seremban. Maka bagai bulan jatuh bertimpa-timpa bagi saya. Ngee. Paling seronok ada encik suami sebagai pendamping (dan penaja). Wah, pertama kali pergi showcase artis dengan suami.

Siapa tak kenal Maher Zain memang la. Sudah promote berapa kali pun di blog ini. Lagu-lagu dia pun sudah banyak keluar di media. Needless to say, best amat showcase dia. We had a really good time. He's a great performer and yet very humble. Communication skill pun sangat bagus. Pandai joking, at times sangat naughty usik audiens. Baru berapa hari di Malaysia pun dah pandai cakap bahasa Melayu. Saya tengok makcik-makcik yang hadir semua layan habis, siap berdiri tepuk tangan nyanyi sekali. Ish2, penangan Maher Zain.

Pengantin baru. Aww.

Aishah, excellent voice as always.

Opening showcase ada persembahan dari Inteam dan Aishah. Pengacara showcase si cantik manis Wardina dan Farah Deeba. Saya tak berkelip pandang jubah Wardina. Hehe. Suka la dengan Wardina, semangat dia bercakap malam tadi. Tema showcase ini Save the Soul, usaha Raudhatus Sakinnah melihatkan masalah sosial dan pembuangan bayi yang menjadi-jadi sekarang.

Showcase mula pukul 8.40 malam tapi pukul 9.30 baru la si Maher Zain keluar. Hai, semua orang dah tak sabar-sabar nak dengar dan tengok dia secara live. Kami duduk di barisan keempat dari hadapan. Memang excellent view lah.

Memang seronok dengar dia nyanyi. Lagu berhantu beliau bagi saya Ya Nabi Salam Alayka. Second song yang dia nyanyi malam itu. Wah, memang best. Sempat telefon adik saya bagi dengar sekali sebab dia pun minat lagu tu. Hehe. Paling sweet bila dia nyanyi lagu For the Rest of My Life dan dedicate kepada wife dia. Lepas tu dia minta semua suami yang hadir dedicate pada wife masing-masing. Aww. Encik suami awal-awal start music dah dedicate =)

We want more!

Tapi Maher nyanyi sembilan lagu saja dari album dia sebab dia kata ini showcase, bukan konsert. Kalau dia dah nyanyi semua lagu nanti orang dah boring nak dengar konsert dia T____T Mana mungkin orang boring dengan lagu-lagu dia. Ish2.

Maher said definitely he will come back again for a concert next time. Yey! He really like Malaysia so much that he claim it's like his second home. That night he also shared a few ideas and lyrics of his next album. Great, can't wait!

More pictures? Mari-mari ke facebook saya =)

p/s: Picts taken with my new Canon S90. One of my hantaran kahwin. Not bad huh. Too bad hubby left his dslr battery charger at Kuching. Otherwise we could zoom closer. But we're really satisfied with the picture quality of this compact camera.

Salam 1 Malaysia!

Hehe. Tajuk poyo. Alhamdulillah, telah selamat kembali ke Malaysia hari khamis lepas. Tak sangka sangat rindu pada Malaysia, terutamanya makanan. Ahaha.

Saya pergi ke New Zealand atas ajakan seseorang dari tahun lepas lagi untuk sama-sama bercuti sambil menghadiri konvokesyen adiknya di Universiti of Otago. Kembara 2 minggu kami di New Zealand dan kemudiannya transit di Melbourne, Australia adalah sangat seronok dan suka untuk saya kongsi di sini. Sepanjang perjalanan juga saya menulis travel log untuk membantu memori. InsyaAllah bila berkesempatan akan dikongsi, banyak juga pengalaman menarik berjalan di negara yang majoriti bukan muslim. Apatah lagi kembara kami secara 'roadtrip' iaitu kami memandu kereta sewa dari satu hujung NZ ke satu hujung lagi. Cara paling mudah untuk truly absorb the places and scenery=)

Tapi mula-mula saya nak kongsi penemuan terbaru saya di sana. Adik encik boyfriend telah berkongsi sebuah album nasyid yang sungguh indah. Penyanyinya Maher Zain, berasal dari Lubnan tetapi menetap di Sweden dari kecil. Saya jatuh cinta dengan musik beliau. Nasyid moden dengan irama segar tetapi mesejnya sampai terus di hati. Sepanjang roadtrip kami, cd itulah yang dipasang berulang kali tetapi tak jemu mendengar beliau memuji Allah, berselawat ke atas Rasulullah S.A.W serta menyampaikan mesej-mesej Islam yang lain. Suara beliau memang lazat lah.

Ini yang paling saya suka. Selawat ke atas Rasul kita, Nabi Muhammad S.A.W. Subhanallah, sayu mendengarnya.

Yang ini juga sangat indah. Mendengarnya sambil mata menatap keindahan bumi NZ dalam perjalanan panjang melalui gunung ganang, tasik dan pokok-pokok hijau yang sememangnya sangat indah Subhanallah menerbitkan rasa syukur dan keinsafan pada kebesaran Allah. Alhamdulillah.

Saya berusaha mencari di YouTube kerana rugi rasanya kalau tidak berkongsi dengan muslim yang lain. Oleh itu, anda boleh la meneruskan mendengar lagu-lagu beliau yang lain. Semuanya ada di YouTube dan semuanya sangat indah dengan makna yang baik dan memberi keinsafan.

InsyaAllah =)

~At the Beginning~

Been flipping through my dear old notebook again and I found the lyric of this song. One of my favourite from the movie Anastasia. Have you seen the movie? A great loss if you haven't. Hehe. I am so a fan of this fantasy romantic comedy. It was an animation but it was fabulous, the whole movie with absolutely excellent music score. Enjoy the music, folks! (please turn off another music player at the bottom of this page first though..heh=p)

We were strangers..starting out on a journey

Never dreaming..what we have to go through

Now here we are..and I'm suddenly standing

At the beginning with you..

No one told me..I was going to find you

Unexpected..what you did to my heart

When I lost hope..you were there to remind me

This is the start..

c/o And life is the road that I want to keep going

Love is the river I want to keep flowing

Life is the road now and forever

Wonderful journey..

I'll be there when the world stops turning

I'll be there when the storm is through

In the end I want to be standing

At the beginning with you

We were strangers..on a crazy adventure

Never dreaming..how our dreams would come true

Now here we stand..unafraid of the future

At the beginning with you..

I knew there was somebody somewhere

Like me alone in the dark

Now I know my dreams will live on

I've been waiting so long

Nothing's gonna tear us apart

(sung by Richard Marx and Donna Lewis)

At The Beginning - Richard Marx And Donna Lewis
FREE MP3 DOWNLOADS @ MP3-CODES.COM

Anastasia and Dimitri ~(^_^)~

Durian oh durian

Semalam telah pulang ke kampung sebelah emak setelah berkali-kali makcik Tijah menelefon, "Kome balik la, amik deroyan banyak ni". Begitu bersemangat makcik. Makcik Tijah pemilik tanah bersebelahan dusun emak. Jadi setiap kali musim buah, dia akan tolong mengutip buah-buah durian yang gugur. Kalau sedikit, biasanya emak sedekahkan saja pada dia. Musim kali ini, agak lebat pula. Makcik Tijah pun dah tak larat makan. Maka, semalam bersemangat la kami balik ke kampung di Parit untuk mengutip durian.

Pergi ke dusun rasa macam buat 'workout' pula. Untuk ke dusun emak, kena merentas dusun Makcik Tijah dulu. Aduh, jauh juga berjalan. Mana nak mengelak selut, kerengga dan pacat lagi. Makcik Tijah 'the leader' berjalan punya laju. Sambil bawa parang lagi untuk membelah durian nanti. Sempoi pakai kain batik dengan baju kurung kedah saja. Saya bertanya umurnya. Sudah 72 tahun! Tapi cergasnya, masyaAllah. Tabik betul dengan Makcik Tijah. Orang sudah biasa kerja kuat, malah boleh nampak urat-urat di kaki dan tangan. Rasanya memang tiada lemak malas langsung di badannya.

Hasil kutipan durian kami, dapat dalam 15 biji. Excellent! Di rumah adik Makcik Tijah pula ada beberapa balang tempoyak hasil dari durian dusun emak juga. Wah, sakan. Hehe. Nampaknya kena pakai mask sepanjang minggu ini. Kalau tak, kesian patient kena ambil bau nanti. Haha=p

ooh la la~

Siapa yang tidak suka durian? Ish2, ruginya. It's the king of fruits guys! Sesungguhnya saya tidak faham orang yang suka makan ikan patin masak tempoyak, suka makan cucur durian, suka makan kuah durian cicah dengan roti paun (nyum, lazatnya=p) tetapi tidak suka makan buah durian. Duh, sama je kan.

Anyway, ada banyak fakta menarik mengenai durian sebenarnya. Typhoon durian pun ada tau. Sila lah baca di sini, di sini dan di sini. Saya malas mahu kumpul dan rumuskan. Mahu pergi makan durian la. Hehe=p

Just being alive is such a lovely and wonderful feeling

~Aya Kitou

Huhu. Indeed I cried 1 litre of tears watching this drama.

I just finished it today. Suddenly I’m more grateful with my life, especially my healthy body! Such simple things to us, talking, walking, eating even breathing could be really difficult for someone else. This drama is based on the true story of a girl, Aya Kitou who suffered spinocerebellar degeneration disease. It’s a rare, progressive, degenerative disease which affects the nervous system that control movement. Initially patient will experience failure of muscle controls in their arms and legs resulting in lack of balance and clumsiness. Slowly, patient will lose control of other fine motor skills such as speech and eye movements. Usually a patient with this disease will end up needing to use a wheelchair and will need assistance to perform daily tasks. The age of onset and progression of the disease varies between each patient but generally patient retains their full mental capacity as they lose control over their body. So, this disease somehow is like a prison.

Currently there is no known cure for this disease.

Aya was diagnosed with the disease when she was 15 years old. At her doctor’s suggestion, she wrote a diary of her experience with the disease, recording every day how the disease was affecting her daily life. This was a way for her doctor to monitor the progression of the disease. But later as the disease progressed, it became an outlet for her to pour out her intense feelings and her struggles in coping, adapting and trying to survive her disease. She kept writing until she could no longer hold a pen. The diary was published two years before her death and it inspired many people. It was based on this diary that the drama was made.

The published diary

Aya Ikeuchi in the drama was an active normal teenager who excels in her studies and active in sports. She was only beginning the most exciting phase of her life. It was really painful and difficult for her at first to accept the disease. To slowly lose her ability to do things she love, to let go of her social life and to become more dependent on others. The drama successfully depicts the pain Aya goes through because of the disease. It must be really frustrating to not be able to move your body as you want it to even when you've tried your very best. But she stays strong till the end and it was really heart wrenching to see her trying her best to get on with life. There is not a single episode that I do not cry. And so excessively that my eyes are swollen right now T______T

This blogger has written a review of the drama which I feel described it best. Please read here. Please watch this great drama too. Seriously, it’s good.

Working in a hospital environment also has got this effect on me. When I met those unfortunate patients especially young children with rare, incurable eye disease. Or babies with developmental delay or other syndromes that came for eye assessment. Every time I became more grateful that I may not have so many things that I want but at least I am healthy and living this beautiful live. With that I should be happy and be more appreciative towards many other things that I have. Let’s cherish this life more people!

I am so emotional right now. Huuu..

p/s: Tisu Tesco sangat fragile, tidak memuaskan. Sila gunakan jenama Kleenex atau Scott untuk lebih efektif semasa menonton drama ini=p

Whenever we are down
And we feel that everything is going wrong
It is just Allah's way
To make our spirit strong

When I was in form four, I kept a hard cover notebook in my desk. You see, one of the coolest thing about boarding school is that we don't share classes so we don't share desk as well. Each form has their own classes. Each classes has lockers provided so we don't have to carry all the heavy textbooks every day. Plus there's prep hours every evening and night held at the class itself, dedicated to finish homeworks. So, if all homeworks are really finished in those prep hours, we get to go back to the dorm in the night and to class the next morning happily 'lenggang kangkung'. Haha. I even didn't have any backpack back then because I only carry a small sling bag which is enough for me. A complete change from the years of primary school.

Ok, back to the point. I kept a hard cover notebook in my desk which I used as a jot down book whenever I feel like I want to. (Usually during prep when I'm so bored and felt so sick with all the homeworks and latih tubi=p) I wrote down anything that comes to my mind. Drawings, favourite songs, events of the day, my feelings, wisdom words. Sometimes interesting poems or quotes that I found. All of that written not plainly but with colourful pens with doodling here and there on the pages. It was like an escapism for me, the pleasure to get engrossed in writing and creating something to clear my mind.

At first, it was only me and my notebook. Eventually, it became something shared by the whole class! My classmates also enjoyed writing and doodling in my notebook whenever they feel like doing so. So, every now and then I would get a request, 'weh,pinjam buku nota ko' or 'weh, nak conteng2 blh?' in which the 'buku nota' tak lain tak bukan refers to that special notebook of mine. Sometimes they just borrow it for the sake of reading. For me, it was great reading what they have to write and it was a nice feeling having something I can share with others.

The book continues to serve its duty until I was in form five. It is such a dear thing to me that I kept it until now. I came across the book recently. Flipping back through the pages makes me smile and remember all the memories in school with my greatest friends. That's when I decided that I would like to share what I wrote and what my friends wrote ten years ago here in this blog.

This is one of my favourite poem of all time. I found it in an english newspaper and copied it to my notebook. Unfortunately I didn't write down the author's name so I have no idea who he/she is. Should anybody know please inform me so I can give the due credit.

I've held on to this poem ever since I found it. Whenever I'm upset or disappointed on anything, I tend to be grumpy or cried miserably. But this poem never fails to remind me to always be thankful even if things didn't go the way we want to because surely everything happens for a reason and though the reason unknown to us, it is what Allah knows the best for us. Well, let the poem says the rest ^^

Allah Knows Best~

Allah knows what's best for us
So why should we complain
We always want the sunshine
But He knows there must be rain

We always want the laughter
And the merriment of cheer
But our hearts will lose their tenderness
If we never shed a tear

Allah tests us often
With suffering and with sorrow
He tests us not to punish us
But to help us meet tomorrow

For growing trees are strengthened
If they withstand the storm
And the sharp cut of the chisel
Gave the marble grace and form

Allah tests us often
And for every pain He gives to us
Provided we're patient
Is followed by rich gain

So whenever we are down
And we feel that everything is going wrong
It is just Allah's way
To make our spirit strong

:: *sigh* Isn't it true?=)

The day of IKEAnism

It’s our very first visit to IKEA last weekend. We were pretty much awestrucked with everything. God, they’re beautiful! Simple, clean cut and looks so organized. Everything I look at I was like ‘eh, cantiknya’, ‘wah, cantiknya’. My official chant of the day. Hehe. I want a house like this one day pleaseee=p

Lurve the stripy wallpaper

ooOOoo

Alamak, berat terlebih sudah=p

Smile!=)

IKEA is a must visit place for those in love with art and design. But please bring extra cash too. Belek-belek katalog je sambil berangan pun boleh juga. Hehe.

A thing or two I learn from IKEA:

i. Use the wall. Lots of thing can be wall mounted. This way you can save space and store more.

ii. Stack. Use boxes or furnitures that can be stack on top of one another, yet convenient to take or keep things. Another saving space tip. Ala-ala konsep Tupperware tu. Hehe.

iii. If you don't have nice pictures or paintings yet you want to hang a beautiful frame, use fabrics instead. Just frame a beautiful piece of fabric.

::Ironically::

Saya : Adik, tumpang tanya IKEA kat mana?
Adik 1: depan the Curve kak..

******************

Saya: Adik, the Curve kat mana ye?
Adik 2: oo..depan IKEA kak..

Haish. Grrr..

Quando, quando, quando

17 May 2009

Pulang dari Port Dickson malam sebelumnya. Selsema dan demam sampai sakit-sakit kepala. And it's Sunday! Huhu. Nasib baik baru balik dari NS bukannya US. Kalau tidak sungguh akan kena kuarantin. Ceh, perasan. Uhuk..uhuk

18 May 2009

Feeling better. Berjaya pergi kerja. Come evening, definitely feeling better. Singgah McD after work untuk makan besar selepas baik demam. Hee..

19 May 2009

Planning to buy birthday present for ayah. Hmm, I want to give something which he really wants. Then I remembered my father's request for me to download Engelbert Humperdinck songs from the internet for him. It's his favourite singer eversince I can remember. I grew up listening to his songs too.The cassette is so worn out from repeated playing. Great singer, great songs. You must have heard him. (e.g: Release me, Can't take my eyes of you, What a wonderful world, Quando quando quando, Have I told you lately) And I found the greatest hits cd at the local supermarket. Yey! Can't wait to surprise my old man=)

Engelbert, we love you! =p

~السلام عليكم~

نام ساي ماءي رافعه بنت م. ازهر. عمور ساي ماسيه ٢٦ تاهون. ساي سوك ممباچ، منونتون تيليۏيشين، مڠهابيسكن ماس برسام كلوارڬ ترچينتا، ممبوات كرجا-كرجا سني، مماسق، منجاهيت، ملنچوڠ دان ماچم-ماچم لاڬي. طمعڽ. هيهي. تتاڤي سلالوڽ ساي اڬق ڤمالس دان ممبري السن تيدق چوكوڤ ماس. اخيرڽ ساي هاڽ مليڤق منونتون تيليۏيشين سهاج. ساي ماسيه بروسها ممبأيقي ديري ساي دالم اسڤيك ايت. هيهي. اين ڤرچوبأن مڠڬوناكن توليسن جاوي دالم بلوڬ ساي. سرونوك تق ممباچڽ؟ ساي هارڤ اندا تياد مسئله ممهميڽ. والاوڤون انته اڤا٢ يڠ ساي مرڤك د سيني

Cool huh? Now you can start blogging in Jawi. Heh=p I found this cool website which allows you to convert rumi (romanised) to jawi script. But it's only for Malay language. Pretty useful especially when you don't have Jawi keyboard. It's a good way to learn Jawi too. As I have to admit that my writing and reading skills in Jawi is not as good as before. I used to be fast and excellent *sigh*

Well, it's really fun guys. I loike! Have a try yourself here! =)

Rule the World

You light the skies, up above me
A star, so bright, you blind me, yeah

Don’t close your eyes

Don’t fade away, don’t fade away..Oh

Yeah you and me we can ride on a star

If you stay with me girl

We can rule the world..

Yeah you and me we can light up the sky

If you stay by my side

We can rule the world..

If walls break down, I will comfort you

If angels cry, oh I’ll be there for you

You've saved my soul

Don’t leave me now, don’t leave me now..Oh

Yeah you and me we can ride on a star

If you stay with me girl

We can rule the world..

Yeah you and me, we can light up the sky

If you stay by my side

We can rule the world..Ooooooooh

All the stars are coming out tonight

They're lighting up the sky tonight

For you, for you

All the stars are coming out tonight

They’re lighting up the sky tonight

For you, for you..Ooooooooh

Yeah you and me we can ride on a star

If you stay with me girl

We can rule the world..

Yeah you and me, we can light up the sky

If you stay by my side

We can rule the world..

All the stars are coming out tonight (oooooooh)

They’re lighting up the sky tonight

For you, for you..

All the stars are coming out tonight

They're lighting up the sky tonight

For you,for you..

__currently on the top of my fav list=)__

:: sung by Take That, this song is one of the soundtrack for the beautiful movie Stardust. Really really love it! And I could never get bored with the movie as well. I already have the book too, haven't had the opportunity to read it yet=p