are we there yet?

this is my final post...

2005-10-16T07:20:00.000+01:00

...on blogspot.

so change your bookmarks, blogrolls and feed readers, and fasten your seat belts.

prepare for [are we there yet?] version 2.0.

i fell in love

2005-10-13T09:51:00.000+01:00

love you.

South Asia Earthquake

2005-10-09T17:07:00.000+01:00

Donate here.

so we meet again..alhamdulillah

2005-10-04T00:00:00.000+01:00

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Messenger PBUH sais: "Whoever observes Sawm (Fasts) during the onth of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping to attain Allah's rewards, then all his past sins eill be forgiven."

Agreed upon.

Harapan Ramadhan - Raihan dan Man Bai

Ku mengharapkan Ramadhan
Kali ini penuh makna
Agar dapat kulalui
Dengan sempurna

Selangkah demi selangkah
Setahun sudah pun berlalu
Masa yang pantas berlalu
Hingga tak terasa ku berada
Di bulan Ramadhan semula

Puasa satu amalan
Sebagaimana yang diperintahNya
Moga dapat ku lenturkan
Nafsu yang selalu membelenggu diri
Tiada henti-henti

Tak ingin ku biarkan Ramadhan berlalu saja
Tuhan pimpinlah daku yang lemah
Mengharungi segalanya dengan sabar
Kita memohon pada Tuhan diberikan kekuatan
Ku merayu pada Tuhan diterima amalan

Selangkah demi selangkah...
Dengan rahmatMu oh Tuhanku...
Ku tempuh jua

to all my colleagues in ireland, let us try to get the most out of this glorious month, insyaAllah.

postsecret

2005-10-03T07:54:00.000+01:00

PostSecret. what's yours?

hmm...must be a new kid

2005-10-02T23:52:00.000+01:00

The genuine knowledge originates in direct experience.

Mao Zedong

Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.

Oscar Wilde

people will know you're new around here when you:

1. don't buy that soda, calculating that if you convert the price to malaysian ringgits, you could get a satisfying lunch back home.

2. walk slow. people here move around pretty quickly. don't know how many times have old ladies carrying their groceries overtook me when walking along the streets of dublin. eventually, we follow suit and will be walking as fast as the old ladies, at least.

3. have a camera in your hand everytime you go out, even when going to class and buying vegetables.

these are not mistakes. they are just something that you'll learn as you go along the path of life. all of the above and more are from my own experiences as a fresher not so long ago. and i'm still learning everyday.

visit

2005-09-28T22:43:00.000+01:00

A : how jsljsjajs asljsahbjblbd ajslahun dihd adnansn ?

B : i snkabdh hdalhfiuah anjdjaklh ahdhalhd nbajkb.

C : oh!

me : haha... (then i smiled..again)

best referee

2005-09-26T19:11:00.000+01:00

watch it and judge for yourself.

retro games

2005-09-25T11:38:00.000+01:00

remember duck hunt? remember doom? here's duck doom. brings back old memories.

get it here.

[via boingboing.net]

a saturday in dublin

2005-09-24T20:08:00.000+01:00

I took my mind a walk
or my mind took me a walk—
whichever was the truth of it.

Norman McCaig (1910 - 1996)
Scottish poet.
"An Ordinary Day"

right after the brief talk on the "future collaborative directions of medical studies and developments in malaysia and ireland" and lunch at rcsi, i went to the city centre by foot just to soak in the atmosphere and think about this and that.

yes, that's something i like to do once in a while. if a few weeks ago, you can find me walking almost aimlessly through the streets of kuala lumpur, now i can be detected on mary street or camden street, sometimes with a camera in hand.

so, below are a few pictures that i took today, for your viewing pleasure.

selling art, outside stephen's green

street performer, grafton street

street performer II, grafton street

chess

2005-09-20T22:58:00.000+01:00

chess - rivers cuomo (pre-weezer)

people asked me what have i been up to during the 3-month summer break. well, in between my busy schedule of doing nothing and watching tv, i managed to participate in a couple of chess tournaments and boy! was my chess a little rusty. i lost quite a big chunk of my games, including some to primary school kids. not the best feeling in the world to have after those incidents!

i believe that some chess in life is a good thing. it encourages us to do something that we often avoid, that is to use our heads. we often look for the easiest way out. but often in chess, the easiest way out is the fastest path to your king's doom. imo, chess will improve your awareness, patience, memory, decision-making, planning and even time management; the attributes that will benefit us certainly.

that's me in action in the selangor allegro. should have won that game. check out the cool hair.

that's also me but with shorter hair. that was at kyuem in lembah beringin. i won that game!

all pictures were taken without permission from gilachess. btw, gilachess beat me fair and square in the kyuem tourney. (hehe.. must bodek la)

useful links:
chessbase - the main source of international chess news on the web
gilachess - where else to get comprehensive info of our local chess scene?
gilachess web log - expect to find live coverage of malaysian chess tournaments here.
the chess network - malaysian chess federation official website
the daily dirt chess blog - insider news and views from chess writer mig greengard
fide - the world chess federation
chesscorner - learn to play chess!

don't you just love broadband?

2005-09-15T05:36:00.000+01:00

with just a couple of clicks you can connect with your family and friends at the other side of the world. seeing and hearing your little sister gleefully shout your nickname on the little window in msn messenger is enough to get you through the day of lectures about nerves and bones and dissections of bodies to view the superficial fascia and the trapezius muscle.

new chapter

2005-09-09T17:35:00.000+01:00

this is where a new chapter begins.

mersing, pulau rawa and pulau besar

2005-09-05T14:37:00.000+01:00

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever says, 'Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi,' one hundred times a day, will be forgiven all his sins even if they were as much as the foam of the sea.

(Book #75, Hadith #414)

more pictures, here.

useful links:
outta the way, but worth it
Mersing
Besar Island
Pulau Rawa
Tioman Island Complete Guide

2005-07-16T10:56:00.000+01:00

you fight
then you'll die

or you don't fight
but you'll die also

better die without the fights.

2005-07-01T08:42:00.000+01:00

still haven't seen her yet.

a thousand things i learned

2005-06-12T02:20:00.000+01:00

this will most probably be my last post before i return to malaysia. wow! what can i say. what an interesting nine months i had. so many things that i learned, so many people i met, so many places that i went to. priceless stuff.

i'll take the opportunity this holiday to recharge, to prepare for the tedious road ahead, to reconnect, and not to forget, to eat 'real' roti canai and teh susu.

so see you in malaysia, god willing.

hairy post

2005-06-10T03:50:00.000+01:00

my last haircut was on december of last year. maybe that's not a long period of time for you, but for me, that's a long time, considering i used to visit the barber every 2-3 weeks when i was in school. now my hair is somewhat afro-like and i look like i'm just out of bed all the time.

it's funny how people's perspective on you change with your hair. it seems like people do judge a book from it's cover.

my hair is so uncomfortably irritating that i've considered cutting it all the time, but decided to keep it out of curiosity.

one interesting thing is that my father used to have big hair when he was in varsity also. there's one blown up black and white potrait of him that'll make us smirk a little everytime we see it. maybe it was the hair that attracted my mother to him, and what a great mum and wife my mother is.

hmm... maybe i'll keep the hair for a little bit longer.

trip to belfast - a pictorial report

2005-06-07T16:33:00.000+01:00

belfast, was great, especially in bright days.

dome

town hall

fish with a message

inside the university

queen's university

ulster museum

greenhouse effect

macro

x&y

i had a blast.

the beautiful game, but not so beautiful fans

2005-06-04T18:56:00.000+01:00

tonight's game is the international friendly of northern ireland against germany, in belfast. i'm in the heart of the city. the match is at 8 pm and right now it's a quarter to seven. hundreds of northern ireland faithfuls are outside of the house i'm staying at, drinking beer and singing and chanting, interrupting the flow of traffic. already i saw 5 people urinating anywhere they find suitable. police in bullet proof jackets are everywhere. armoured vehicles are parked at the corner of nearby streets just in case. apparently, the national stadium is just a stone's throw from where i am. the singing gets louder, and now i'm hearing horns.

now it's 6.55 and i'm getting drowsy. i wonder if i can have a nap in this noise.

let's see...

belfast

2005-06-02T23:38:00.000+01:00

here are some pictures of my first day in belfast. maybe i'll write a report later.

birthdays

2005-05-23T19:22:00.000+01:00

happy birthday to you. i know you don't read this blog, but happy birthday anyways. hope you'll have a fine year ahead.

and happy birthday also to my roommate whose birthday was yesterday (22nd May).

love doing the laundry

2005-05-20T11:24:00.000+01:00

yes..i really love doing laundry.

great!

better!

!!!??

if you're late just for a wee bit, your clothes will be disposed of to the most interesting of places.

just love doing the laundry. do you want me to do yours?

crossroads

2005-05-18T13:56:00.000+01:00

a friend of mine is in the same position as i was a year ago. she's at the point in life where she needs to decide what'll she do in the next 10 years or so. at the point where she chooses the plot for the next chapter in her life book. it's not easy. especially in her case, with her spectacular qualifications, she has a plethora of paths to take.

for me, i didn't get what i iniatially sought after. quite an unexpected break knocked on the door and i accepted it (not really with open arms). they told me it's not going to be smooth sailing, and boy... are they right. there's a reason i'm here and i'm going to find it.

so all the best to you. you've a bright future ahead. just watch out for the potholes in the road, and nasty unscrupulous people.

an evening of recitation and praise

2005-05-16T13:56:00.000+01:00

[here]