Entertainment in Islam

My friend from the Comm Dept invited her friend to speak on Entertainment in Islam.Prof. Zul focused on music.I learnt much on the position of singing and performing music in Islam.The Prophet was not against it if it's done in celebration of something or if people were expressing their happiness over good things as long as it does not go against the moral framework outlined by the religion.In those days, women played the tamborines.They also sang.

But I raised the issue of why must we narrow down music to entertainment only.Music opens up to other worlds..in the old days,the subject was placed under mathematics..you have to be a good mathematician to be a good musician.Al Farabi was the first to write a book on music and he used music to cure sick people.Music as therapy is not something new.Al Farabi introduced it centuries ago so how could we say music is a western import? And I pointed out to the medical discovery made by a Medical Prof. in Tokyo who did a study on gamelan..that only gamelan produces a certain pitch which could trigger our intelligence cell.

Meanwhile in Sheffield...Z pi dentist..dentist katuk..patut tak perlu buat root canal, dia buat without consent.Mungkin ingat just because kita beli London mcm kita kaya sgt, semua orang Malaysia kaya dan patut dikatuk.

She confirmed once again on Skype, she didn't miss us.I asked her to balik winter break ni, she said you send me the money.I said so you can return home? She said no..so that I can keep it.Bertuah punya budak.

You know, at first I was like so cool, kan? The feeling of loss dtg tiba2... one senja after my power nap, it hit me! Wough, rasa nak nangis teringat Z jauh beribu2 batu.It reminds me of me coping with my dad's death..my sister's...I didn't cry immediately..it took me months...when it hit, tanpa disangka2.Tengah dlm shower.Tengah drive.

Terok.

Ma'thurat Ayat 9

"(All) faces shall be humbled before (Him), the Living the Self-Subsisting, Eternal: hopeless indeed will be the man that carries iniquity (on his back).But he who works deeds of righteousness, and has Faith, will have no fear of harm nor of any curtailment (of what is his due)." (Taha:111-12)

Ayat Melayunya lagi menusuk jantung: "Dan barang siapa yang mengerjakan amal-amal yang salih dan ia dalam keadaan beriman, maka ia tidak usahlah khuatir akan perlakuan yang tidak adil (terhadapnya) dan tidak (pula) akan pengurangan haknya."


Orang yang solih sentiasa confident yah? Perhatikan anak2 sekolah tahfiz.Suka menengoknya.Dan imam2 yang bercahaya airmukanya.Tenang kita memandang wajahnya.

Syukur alhamdulilah raya haji dah semakin hampir.Dulu masa kecik2, paling boring ialah raya haji.Takda happening.Semakin terdedah akan ilmu agama, saya rasa Raya Hajilah yang bermakna buat kita sebagai manusia.Sebab kalau tidak kerana kasihsayang Allah, kita semua akan disembelih oleh ibubapa kita sendiri sebagai tanda syukur mereka kpd Allah.Itu tidak berlaku.Digantikan Allah dgn binatang yang boleh pulak kita makan dan boleh pulak kita tambah pahala dgn bersedekah kpd yang tiada.Takbir!

Tetapi yang menjadi kemusykilan saya ialah cara kita menyembelih binatang2 korban ini.Adakah mengikut adab yang ditetapkan oleh Islam (tidak menyakitinya, daging benar2 diagih2kan kpd yang miskin dan tidak berlaku pembaziran/over eating)

Siapa yang memantau semua ini?

Ma'thurat Ayat 8

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.Alif Lam Mim.Allah! There is no God but He, the Living, the Self-Subsisting, Eternal" (Ali Imran:1-2)

When you are in trouble, you'd know how small you are!
Almost a high drama at work today.Everything was almost confirmed when yesterday's email might change our plan slightly different.It is not something of a great worry but would involve some diplomacies on some quarters of the committee I'm in.I told them oh no..the breaking of news to the big boss won't come from me.

Yesterday someone from the Press asked if I'd like to have my own column.Waaaahhhh...is this for real? We'll see.

Today, a phone call from New York said they had approved me to be in their prestigious Who's Who.Tapi kalau nak life membership, kena bayar USD900.Apa ke jadah faedahnya when LinkedIn can do the same job for free,yah? So selepas being interviewed berjam2 (it felt berjam2), I finally said I have to run now...my friend's waiting at the door (ni selepas dia ckp life membership is USD900). Kah3.

Nov. lagi gila with guests arriving from the USA and NZ.Semua nak berlaku pada hari/tarikh yang sama.

But I look fwd to seeing them.

Ma'thurat ayat 7 (long)

"To Allah belongeth all that is in the heavens and on earth.Whether ye show what is in your minds or conceal it, Allah calleth you to account for it. He forgiveth whom He pleaseth, and punisheth whom He pleaseth.For Allah hath power over all things.

The Messenger believeth in what hath been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith.Each one (of them) believeth in Allah, His Angels, His books, and His Messengers. :We make no distinction (they say) between one and another of His Messengers." And they say: "We hear, and we obey, (we seek) Thy forgiveness, our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all journeys."

On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear.It gets every good that it earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns. (Pray): "Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget or fall into error; our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which Thoud didst lay on those before us; our Lord! lay not on us something greater than we have strength to bear. Blot out our sins, and grant us forgiveness.Have mercy on us.Thou art our Protector; help us against those who stand against Faith." (Al-Baqarah:284-86)

I'm giving you small doses every day so that we could absorb better what Allah is saying in Ma'thurat verses.

This long bit is particularly apt this morning as I think of those people wasting their time doing things which move them away from God.All you need to do is read their fb statuses and postings!

I love the last line: help us against those who stand against Faith.Kadang2 kita nak buat baik tapi kawan2 pulak ajak buat jahat.But alhamdulillah, I carefully choose my friends now. :)

Ma'thurat Ayat 6

"Allah is the protector of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness.He will lead them forth into light. Of those who reject faith their patrons are the Evil Ones: from light they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness.They will be Companions of the Fire, to dwell therein (forever)." (Al-Baqarah: 257)

This is another powerful verse.Again Allah reminds us that He will only protect and help those who believe in Him.Sapa tolak, masuk neraka and hidup merana. Ngeri, kan?
My students and I were discussing this last Friday.One is from Jerusalem.Sure byk lagi cabaran dia, kan? I asked pernah tak you all rasa mcm why lah Allah kasi dugaan macam ni dan macam tu? They said yes.Then I asked stop questioning that cos' segala dugaan dtg cos' Allah loves us, etc etc.So just say alhamdulillah and take home the lesson/s so that we become better people and closer to Allah.

rain on

This cake sedap giler

                              

Just the two of us

 decor of the restaurant

 macam Venice! This is ancient time China

Sapa tiru sapa?

Potongan rambut Itali.

It was difficult getting up for my monthly ACCIN meeting...and I was late.But working with ACCIN under PERKIM as the pengerusi is fun.Just as I had loved PUM, Perkim pun bestttt...I learnt a lot every time we met.I hope everyone will agree Perkim should remain as Chair when its term ends this year.

An old friend wrote saying his dad had just passed on and his mom wanted to spend some time in Malaysia.So he's coming home to teman her after living away for the last 30 years.I don't think he will return, having married a foreigner.It's funny how our lives turn out to be, kan? My friends and I will organise a little reunion lunch with P. P bkn Melayu.Dia Cina Msia. I have many Chinese friends who migrated.But many also chose to stay back.Macam juga kawan2 Melayu lain.Ramai dah migrate.Ada yg lepas beberapa tahun,balik semula.Ada yang tidak. It is a choice.But I am impressed with P menjaga kedua ibubapanya.He brought them over duduk bersamanya.Nice, kan? Orang Cina amat mengambil berat hal2 jaga org tua ni.I was once scolded by my Indonesian Chinese friend for not holding my mom in law's hand as she was going dwn a slope in Seoul ( she followed me on a conference in Seoul).Marah betul Melanie masa tu.I walked fast,OK? But Mama and I are good friends. :))

Taking Nik out on a bday treat this evening.Will review the new eaterie.Said to be the best in town.Watch this space.

Just came back from Qing Zhen.It's just a bad evening..someone booked the place for a bday party and the guests were a noisy lot..their kids invaded our little corner..berlari2 mcm rumah datok mereka.If there's anything which irks me mucho,it's noise during meal time. I told off a little boy hiding under a table next to mine..I told him hepp..this is not your home.Haha.Geram.But ada budak ni kisah?

But the food was not that bad.Their chef is from Kunming, China.Chinese Muslim so the cuisine we had was a fusion of Arab, Mongol,Indian cuisines.Not your typical Chinese.That is why I tak suka sgt.I like the Chinese restaurant in Tanjung Malim called The Garden Seafood Restaurant

Anyway,Nik and I had a nice time just talking and enjoying his bday cake.Semoga terus diberkati Allah.

Ma'thurat Dose 5

Let there be no compulsion in religion:Truth stands out clear from Error:whoever rejects Evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trusworthy hand-hold, that never breaks.And Allah heareth and knoweth all things. (Al-Baqarah: 256)


Yesterday's IOK class was lively with Osama (from Jerusalem) and Azmi (from JB) and I arguing and analysing IOK as an intellectual movement, the failures of the 1977 Education Convention and way fwd to reinstate a culture of knowledge in the Muslim world. I was inspired to write a book entitled "English can kill" as we discussed language policies in some super-power/developed countries in Asia: Japan, China, South Korea, etc and tied it up with what Edward Said and Robert Phillipson said about Linguistic Imperialism and other forms of imperialism imposed on the 'South', 'East', 3rd world countries etc.

Education policy makers got wordy on the aim and objective of education (revisited).The Quran has only one expression: to perfect our akhlaq.Bringing back morality in our lives is prime.End purpose.Ultimate goal.In whatever we do.Why get wordy?

Ma'thurat Dose 4

Allah! There is no God but He, the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal.No slumber can seize Him nor sleep.His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) Before or After or Behind them. Nor shall they compass ought of His knowledge except as He willeth.His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatique in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory). (Al-Baqarah: 255)

The Malay translation of the last verse is more beautiful: Tidak berat bagi Allah memelihara langit dan bumi, Allah Maha Tinggi lagi Maha Besar.

Sometimes we forget this...so all you have to do is ask Allah to take care of you in good times and bad.If good, you won't get carried away.If bad, you do not lose faith in Him.

Islam and Film

going through the questions before going on air: talk show for an Iranian

TV prog. (pic is months old)

The panel discussion I helped organise at IIMU's Islam in Asia and Oceania went well,alhamdulillah..all my cronies were there..dari speakers sampai ke moderator sampai ke Director of the conference (Prof Waleed is an Egyptian..dia cerita kat Sheikh Afeefudin how I rang him up when he was in the US and pressured him to invite the good Sheikh who is the 19th descendant of Sheikh Qadir al Jailani). I thank those responsible for these good contacts.

Tapi my Iranian film maker friend baguslah.He's the one responsible for interviewing me for Iranian TV.He said dah nicely edited the talk show and it should be aired soon.Hai..malulah pulak eden cos' it'd be aired in the US, UK dan di mana sahaja ada satelite dish...ahaks.

We all had a good time at this session.The no. 2 guy from FINAS was superb too, alhamdullilah...berbaloi organising this.We now have created awareness and interest of our forthcoming Islamic Film Fest next year.


Gist of the roundtable:

1.To do dakwah through films, they must bring in emotions (through music, content, acting etc)
2. Islamic cinema is not about Islamic rituals or themes..it must reinstate our fitrah (wahh..so beautiful..my Iranian fren said this)
3.Iran did well with their films cos' there's no governmental control.Film makers are independent.
4.If governments won't promote Islamic cinema,the least they can do is not to stop people from producing creatively and making things a bit more easy for them to market and screen their films.
5.The shariah compliant framework needs thorough study.
6. Films about great historical Muslim figures must be made.

Byk lagi.Tak cukup masa nak tanya soalan.

Al Ma'thurat dose 3

In the name of Allah. the Most Gracious. the Most Merciful

Alif Lam Mim.

This is the book; in it is guidance, sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah; Who believe in the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them; And who believe in the Revelation sent to thee, and sent before thy time, and (in their hearts) have the assurance of the Hereafter.They are on (true guidance), from their Lord, and it is these who will prosper. (Al-Baqarah:1-5)

Seringkali saya tersentak bila Allah berkata Quran hanya utk org yang beriman, yang percaya kpdNya...it makes sense, kan? Kalau tak percaya, mesti cari kesalahannya...tak mau ikut (dan huru haralah hidup sebab tidak ada panduan/tidak mau mengikut panduan dari Allah..maka amat rugilah kita kerana berlaku sombong)

Al-Ma'thurat, your daily dose

the straight path

Semoga yang menulis dan yang membaca mendapat pahala.Mari kita ber-ma'thurat setiap hari unless I have other happenings yang perlu dikongsi in between our daily doses.Ada 47 ayat Ma'thurat.Fadilatnya sangatlah banyak (diceduk bulat2 dari :http://hatikering.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/kelebihan-membaca-al-mathurat/)

Kelebihan membaca Al Mathurat:


1. Tidak dihampiri syaitan

2. Rumah dan keluarganya terselamat dari perkara yang tidak diingini.

3. Allah mencukupkannya apa yang sangat diperlukan dari urusan dunia dan akhirat.

4. Orang yang membacanya kemudian dia mati pada hari atau malam tersebut maka Allah akan menjamin untuknya syurga.

5. Selamat dari segala sesuatu.

6. Allah menyempurnakan nikmatnya ke atas orang yang membacanya.

7. Allah berhak untuk meredhainya

8. Tidak ada sesuatu yang mendatangkan mudarat ke atasnya.

9. Terhindar daripada syirik.

10. Selamat dari bisa atau sengatan semua makhluk yang beracun.

11. Dimudahkan menyelesaikan hutang-hutang.

12. Berhak untuk mendapat syafaat pada hari kiamat.

13. Sesiapa yang membaca di waktu pagi,akan dipelihara oleh Allah hingga ke waktu petang.Dan sesiapa yang membacanya di waktu petang akan dipelihara hingga ke waktu pagi.

14.Mengamalkannya umpama mengamalkan Sunnah Rasulullah dari sudut zikir dan berdoa, dan berbagai lagi kelebihan.

* wirid ini amalan harian junjungan besar kita s.a.w.

Mulakan dgn bismillahirrohmanirroheem dan alfatihah:

1. I seek refuge in Allah the All-Hearing the All-Knowing from Satan, the rejected one.

2. In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds; Master of the Day of Judgement.You do we worship, and Your aid we seek.Guide us to the Right Way.The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger, nor those who went astray. (Al-Fatihah: 1-7)

Al-Ma'thurat

Al-Ma'thurat in English lies staring at me on my desk.Published by IIUM's Public Relations Office (year not stated),nyata it is a gem.They must have placed it in one of those door-gift bags in one of the many functions I attended.

Things you need to know about al-Ma'thurat:

1.It refers to a compilation of wirids which are inherited from the Prophet (pbuh), compiled by Syahid Imam Hassan al-Banna (Tariq Ramadan's granddad).

2.It is usually recited at dawn or dusk as suggested in Surah Taha (130): "And celebrate (constantly) the praises of your Lord, before the rising of the sun, and before its setting"

*bukan celik je mata, fb-ing.Ahaks.

3. Al-Ma'thurat is a comfort for the diseased heart as alluded by verse 28, Surah al-Ra'd: "Those who believe and those whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of God: for without doubt in the remembrance of God do hearts find satisfaction."

4. There are two forms of wirid al-ma'thurat:

i)  al-kubra (compilation of all the wirids)
ii) al-sughra: wirids for those in a hurry.

To be continued later.

Happy Teacher's Day

 Aishah and Nora helping out with the cupcakes :)

 Assoc. Prof. Dr. Che Noraini, long time friend

the lunch with the gang

What a day!Today is Unesco endorsed Teacher's Day.ASA ( read: me) took the opportunity to examine the status of the academe and teaching as a profession.

Alhamdulillah, the halfday seminar I helped organise went well.Lots of intellectual discussions on teaching and learning at tertiary level and our 3 speakers delivered well their lectures.Datuk as always came early.As always our security guards screwed up the welcome.Geram je.Nanti I nak report kat En. Hamdan, their Director.

Otherwise, things went as planned except a pail of my 100 roses airnya tertumpah dlm bag cupcakes wondermilk i..haha...nasib tak basah cakes tu ...I have to thank Nora and Aishah of my former office at Alumni who found ways on how to dry up the boxes.The cleaners came to assist as well.

Putri's coming in to help out with the lunch arrangement, etc etc eased up the burden of me feeling like I was alone organising this.I mc-ed as well sampai lupa cv Aslam and Che Noraini.So kaypoh!But the guys were great..Dr. Mazslee, Prof  Farid, Dr. Tunku Mohar, even Prof Rosli from UM came to show their support.The gals Dr. Maheran,Prof Ainul, Dr. Haslina were sweet darlings as well.

The gist of the seminar: lecturers in Msia are paid low ..hence, we are not able to retain best talents.Those best who stayed back are either simple people or true teachers/scholars.

Aslam: most of my friends are in oil and gas but I do not like their lifestyles.
Touching,isn't it?

Rosli: let's go back to embracing liberal education.

Mazslee: we educate to transform society

Che Noraini: no money, no talk, no knowledge ( on how knowledge is a commodity..those who have a higher purchasing power,will go far)

Datuk Razali: we must not look at braindrain in a negative way.The focus should be on tapping and maximising these networks of our best talents abroad to benefit us.

Of cos' there was much other info esp from Datuk Razali who came from various industries.He spoke like a typical aerospace engineer,I thought..despite him being everywhere. :))

Lunched out at Booker's.Mandy rice,mandy lamb.Air longan.Aiyooo...on the road!

Happy Teacher's Day, folks.

Oh Ibu...

I was on the phone with an old friend a while ago.We went to Uni of Liverpool together.While catching up with each other's news (I rang him to ask about choc Swiss tu, Mawar.Haha.I sampai gaduh2 dgn Nik over nama choc. ni.Kalau dah takda anak macam nilah..wrapper choc pun boleh jadi isu.I told Nik let me ask my friend sebab dia yang selalu beli choc tu.Haha)

My friend ni dah lupa.Byk sgt chocs dia beli kat sedara mara and friends..mana nak ingat semua. :))  Anyway I asked if his mother was still around.He said bulan April baru ni dia meninggal.Innalillah and al fatihah.

Zac never married and he's very close to the mom.Dialah yang berulang alik, belikan mak dia apt so that mak dia selesa tinggal dekat dgn anak2 in KL. Masa mak dia pi Mekah, Zac jugalah yang temankan.Tapi yang pengsan naik kapalterbang, dia dulu!
I have always been in awe of this mother-son relationship.Berapa ramai anak2 lelaki hari ini yang sanggup jaga mak dia mcm ni.

But the story on the death of his mom pun menyedihkan.That particular weekend was the first weekend Zac could not travel down to KL to be with his Mom.And she was extra not well so Zac told the brother to take her to the hospital.He did.After lunching on her fav. meal, she said let's go home, I'm very tired.

Then she collapsed.The brother recited the syahadah to her, she closed her eyes and ..gone.

Zac switched off his ph as he worked through that busy day.Satu Penang cari dia! sampai ke Boss no 1! When finally they managed to locate him, it was petang dah.Nasib ada flight to KL.Sampai dah 10 mlm lebih.Nasib tak tanam the same day.I would have pengsan if it happened to me.

Such is life...and no matter how much we try our best to care for our parent, it would never be enough.There would be regrets.Bukan senang jaga orang tua esp. kalau dia sakit.Zac and I were exchanging notes on this.

Sedih, kan? (jadi orang tua and feeling dependent on anak2).We must see the world from their eyes.

So please be nice to your aged parents.Menyesal after they are gone may be too late.

Dating again

I do not know how long it will last but we are dating again, Nik and I. Sebab Z takda nak kami kecoh2 over lagi.

Today I ikut dia kopitiam with his two friends from the press.Azam and Kamaruzaman.I went to get some gifts for friends I'm seeing over the next few days.Business is real badlah.I felt like I was in Greece already.To my Greek friends reading this: apologies but we are heading your way too.

KLIA was so quiet when we came back.Even Changi as well but it was busier than KL of cos'.

Anyway, it was fun listening to the 3 boys doing their own kopitiam talk.Kelakar giler!
Balik, Z pulak nak skype.By 4 pm her time, she's bored to death where she was.Dah planned nak pi ke Spain pulak dah.Swipe je credit card tu ke? Fat chance! :))

I found a nice gift box for Dato R and another one for Prof Che Noraini.Aslam punya gift belum jumpa kotak but it's been nicely wrapped.These are for my Friday event.Ramai nak dtg..UM will send 2 reps but a group of teachers will join us too...Reporters from the Education Desk pun will come.I pray that all will go well.

I have to collect 100 roses ptg besok.

Another suprise in the mail box...someone from the uni I wish to spend my sabbatical next year wrote to ask if there's a plc for her at my dept.Wah..tukar suka sama suka je nanti.Madinah, OK? You see my Arabic blinking? Exactly! :))

Allah Maha Mendengar.

Well done IIUM!

I must congratulate IIUM students and staffs for a calm re-election today.Marah betul budak2 tu sampai sapu bersih pro-students' seats.There were 3 for the opposition in the last election.With this re-run, they were determined to show who the bosses were.

Ah well, campus elections are always fun.I just do not understand why the powers that be refuse to let these kids enjoy their youth.They were in that position too.In fact they were allowed to be tear gassed and all.I remember being caught in one in KL as uni students were gassed on the streets for their street demos.Pedih woh bijik mata.

Ni nak mengundi pun nak kontrol.Apa daa.

It would be silly to raise hell again out of this latest dev.I hope no one is that desperate.I need to focus on educating the kids.Please leave us alone now.

Back at work

and my car's here too.Alhamdulillah, it looks like new.

A lot of happenings while I was gone.The stories on students' election memualkan.The world must know IIUM was the first uni to go e-voting and we never had glitches before and what more, phantom voters!

The students have been circulating pleas to lecturers to assist them to fight for a fair re-election.Kesian dengarnya.I told my friends nanti kat akhirat, we will all be questioned by Allah if we do not assist people to fight for honesty and integrity.Kalah tak apa.

Tak tau lah.But I have faith in this institution.Badai bukan sekali telah kami harungi.We will survive, InsyaAllah.

Home

Upon arrival...

From the air looking down the green kelapa sawit, Nik and I got excited, "Venice! Venice! Kita dah sampai di Venice!"

Haha..we got a bit crazy in the head after our brief European trip.I forgot to tell ya, at the Marco Polo airport, I asked the guy if I could get on a bus shuttle to Venice.He said that's not possible Ma'am, you'd need to get on the water taxi..Venice is surrounded by water...

But of cos'.Ingat aku bodoh? Haha.

Ohhh..it's so good to be home.Nak migrate ke hapa ini macam? Baru 2 minggu dah macam mamai ingat rumah.

Kat airport lagi dah cari nasi lemak.I had laksa penang cos cari mee hoon tak jumpa.Apalah airport Msia ni.Tak international langsong! :))

Almost home

arrivederci



until next time

Almost home, Heathrow, Terminal 3

 Stll at Sheffield Train Station

 Do not feed the pigeons

 St Pancras

(teringat perkakas dlm perut..)

St Pancras scene..

I must tell you that my best holiday was sleeping my way home through Singapore Airlines! Bukan sahaja airliner ni murah dari Malaysian Airlines, it is comfortable, serves good meals, nice assistance from both air stewardesses and stewards.Where did we go wrong again?

Sampai kat Changi Airport I told Nik, let's find a job in Singapore.Kalau kita travel, tak payah nak tunggu connecting flights to KL.Haha.Will beep friends in Spore if they can find me a job there.Or at least one for my sabbatical (sementara Z is in the UK).

It's great to be in the sun again.
It's great to be home.
Well, almost.

Back in Sheffield

Z and her high sch. gf, H. They are doing the same course!

Both parents are so grateful for this coincidence

Uni. students start to pub crawl on weekends

Yang kelakar jug air panas for Nik's tea.We use this utk simpan air tahlil at home

We arrived Manchester from Milan last night on Monarch Air (which was better than Jet2.Ingat tu).From Manchester Airport we caught an Express Train to Sheffield.Travel is easy in UK and Europe.Semua dalam satu bangunan.

Sampai Sheffield, we got on the cab to Z's apt.Dah tak sabar nak balik KL.Sejuk giler kat sini! (I also miss Italy..hahaha..konon!)

To make things worse, I am down with a bad flu (must be that cafe in Milan..I immediately got sore throat.The place didn't look too clean.Kita kena hati2 bila makan salad mereka.Kuman senang hinggap dlm makanan tak bermasak dan org2 Itali ni tak la begitu bersih esp. in big cities like Milan).

Nik always travels with bekalan ubat mcm sebuah klinik.Thank God for that.I duduk bawah duvet all day while dua beranak tu keluar shopping (lagi!).Z says byk lagi barang2 apt perlu dibeli and while parents are here, she tak perlu keluar duit sendiri.Bertuah punya budak! But she has started cooking (mukanya masam masa memasak kat dapor..clearly it's not something she enjoys.Haha.But her spaghetti not too bad and I gave her instructions to cook us mee kari tadi..kari ayam from the can..rebus je mee maggie tu then add curry from the can.Like mother like daughter. Kami mmg pandai memasak! :))