I'm thankful.

Its been awhile...

(I think that this should be my new catchphrase for future posts..hehe). Its been awhile since I last wrote mostly because it was quite hectic with things moving and happening so fast, that it really feels like a blur to me right now. Staying up late like what I have done these past couple of days gave me the chance to think and contemplate. It gave me the chance to really analyze stuff (and yeah it really wasn't an analysis per say, it was mostly my mind just wandering around). And based on my "analysis" I have decided to be thankful. Its one of the things that I think an individual should do just as an act to really count their blessings (although we can't exactly calculate it, we should at least acknowledge that there were chances and blessing thrown our way).

1. I am thankful for the chances thrown at me.

I have been given the opportunity to attend the best school and university without any big sacrifices. I have also been given interview opportunities (job searching ended - thankfully) and I have also been given the chance of having great people around me at all times. This would bring me to my second point.

2. I am thankful for the people around me.

I have known and still know people who are great intellectually (always challenging to carry a conversation with great minded people. The topics we have been talking about have been either really educational or really downright dumb fun. but whatever it is, it was good), who are great personally (you people are fun) and who really have my back in everything I do. (thank you people!!!). and this would bring me to my third point.

3. I am thankful for my family.

I think without my family I am not the person I am today. My grand parents contributed a lot to my personality and mostly my dad. So thank them it you guys think I turned out ok. haha.But in all seriousness, I am thankful that although there were rough patches along the way, I ended up with the family that cares for me. (By the ways, I would really love it if every youngster nowadays have that old malaysian values that made Malaysians known for their politeness.. whatever happened to that?). And this brings me to the last and final point but is actually the most important.

4. I thank you god.

Nuff Said.

So guys. Those are the things that I am thankful for. What are you thankful for? Maybe I should do this more often (But most definitely it won't go into this blog again since repeating content is lame.. haha).

My final advice is:
Be thankful. It would make your day better and it would totally help you through stuff. Everything happens for a reason. It could be clear to us sometimes but it won't be clear all the time. So don't fret, don't frown, don't sigh, don't groan since whatever it is there will be better days. Other than that remember that when you're down there is nowhere else to go then up, right?

So,

SENYUM LA KAWAN?! :)

The norm of reciprocity...

Today i heard a song by jason mraz called life is wonderful. The lyrics really hit me. One thing leads to another and there are always the good and the bad. Like what is in the lyrics, these are some that i could list

it takes silence to appreciate the sounds,
it takes loneliness to appreciate a company,
it takes death to appreciate the living,
it takes sickness to appreciate health,
it takes being stupid to appreciate knowledge,
it takes hunger to appreciate the taste of food,
and it takes losing something to appreciate what we have

I could go on and on about this and I could still be leaving a few things out of the list. Even the Quran states some of these in its writings. For it to be forgotten is a shame since it is always in front of us. It is a norm in our society and it has even been said in some of the proverbs or sayings like "if you get sick it shows god loves you". See that there is a positive side to a negative one. Even the phrase used commonly by parents like "i am only mad at you because i love you" and so on and so forth shows how true this is.

I think we should all be grateful on all the things that happen to us be it the bad or the good since without it we wont know the other. Say alhamdullilah or just appreciate good things and say astaghfirullahalazim when it is otherwise. When the darkness falls know that light will come soon.

what i think of malaysians...

Its been a while since i wrote my last blog entry. This entry is just my point of view and you can give your thoughts on it if you would like to. The first thing in my mind is Malaysia is a great country. No matter how you see it, we have all seen how good our country is. For a small nation of just 26 million people approximately, we do quite good in the world arena. Did you know that there are at least three people that have won the noble prize for certain studies that come from Malaysia. We have reached the tops of Everest, sailed across the globe, held F1 races, Le tour de Langkawi, and other various events that are really big and substantial. We boast our diversity, our differences, our heritage and our history. To say Malaysia is small is quite true but is ironically quite wrong. The leaders of our country have been involved in world politics for a long time and we have a really great effect in how certain international bodies act like the UN and other bodies like that. We should be really proud of our country. That is what i think.

The sad thing is, people often don't realize how great we are. We tend to look at the west for their culture. On how modern they are. On how fun it could be if we were like them. I think this is quite hypocritical and is a stupid idolization of the western community. We have our values. Our lifestyle. Our distinctive way of life. I know its not quite as fun. No parties like raves and discos are really associated with our actual history and lifestyle. But then again, that kind of fun is defined by the western culures. It is not of our own. In the US for instance, i see people go to parties, have drinks, fool around and "have fun". I dont know why, but i dont think it is fun. I see people come back from parties puking, getting into fights, walking around while chanting and uttering stupid stuff. Is this fun? i really dont think so. There is so many other ways to have fun. Playing soccer is fun. You get a good workout out of it. Injuring yourself once in awhile. But what the hell right? Im spending those time with friends. So it is fun. Will i be uttering stupid things? maybe but at least i have the concious of knowing what i uttered. Well i could go on an on about this and the examples of cases where we idolize the western culture in our daily lives could go on forever. I admit, i myself sometimes prefer a little bit of western culture but i have never idolized their lifestyle or wanting it to be part of mine. The fact that i am writing this in english might persuade you guys that i want to be western but the thing is, I could really convey this in english and more people could understand it when it is in english.

You know whats so great about our culture? the feeling of having a kampung. Sadly i have only felt a small portion of it in my life. But the events of slaughtering a cow for hari raya haji with a lot of people from around the kampung is quite an experience. Having going to weddings where everyone helps out in making the food, the decoration, the entertainment and everyone knowing each other. That is a good experience. I wish i could give that to my children ( although this is quite far in the future i really hope to at least give them a taste). Have you experienced that? Nowadays i see weddings done in hotels with entertainment done by a band, with people coming that even the bride and the groom doesnt really know. I hate that. We are really different nowadays. I dont even know my neighbours nowadays since they are too busy and most of them are too distant from the community. There isn't really a community at all. Theres only individual families.
Other than that, we are often mislead by our own idealism. Malaysia is diverse and different in a sense that the country is made up of different ethnicity and they make up a huge portion of the community. We often boast on how we could live in harmony. But i dont see that nowadays. There are often groups of people. The chinese often spend time with only the chinese. The indians and the malays are the same way. It is quite sad. During the olden days, my grandfather always said that he had frineds with indians and chinese and that they were really close. Have you ever realized that in certain parts of the country that the chinese could speak fluent malay and some malays could speak chinese and indian. They converse with each other every other and have connections and interactions with them. That is what diverse and living in harmony really means. I dont know about you but i have often encountered these really racist stereotypes like malays are lazy, chinese are hardcore liars and the indians smells bad. No offence to the people that are involved, i am just trying to state a fact. How could we live in harmony when these little stereotypes are imbedded in our minds. Each race are just trying to look out for themselves and there is no sense of nationality in them. I cant help but to think in times of great challenges we would falter and the country would break. We need to step in to fix this. This is oing to be cliche in so many ways but the fact is, you who read this could make a change. Though it is hard and there are so many obstacles in changing this, we can do it.

From this entry i hope that i stated a point and get these issues out there.

my history and i....

Its been awhile since the last time i blogged. A lot of things happened and i'm glad its all okay now. This blog is about history, dedicated to those moments when you wished you had done something, the moments where when you look back you wished you could do it differently and the moments where you regretted that decision. But its not only those bad moments i'll be talking about. I wish to also touch those moments where you would cherish it forever, those unforgettably-totally-life-changing moments in our lives.

For me, i had a ton of those moments. The bad ones in particular are always the most memorable since, you know... it kinda scars you for life. Its ok right? its all been said and done and usually your already over it.... right?..haha...WRONG!! In truth is... its actually playing on a loop in your mind from time to time. Like an old broken record that wont stop playing the same old part of a beautiful song. I regret these moments. These moments of absolute weakness. And those moments when my dumb side comes out. And also those wrong time moments where you wished you were never there. I've stolen stuff ( i admit its bad- but that was when i was just ten i think and am not doing it anymore.), i've lied (yes i have.... a lot... trying to change that.) yes, i have talked smack about someone that i was not suppose to and yes my decision making processes aren't perfect and has a bad record. The list goes on and on and on... I know a lot of you people do these kinda of stuff too and have these kinds of situation happen in any particular moment of your lives, but hey, these stuff makes us human. And another thing with regrets is... you wont want to repeat it again. How crazy is that? haha.

The other part of history, which are the good moments are always the ones that are over shadowed by the bad one. Like always, we tend to see the black from the white. I loved these moments. I cherish them dearly. The great moments with my siblings. The moments i had with my friends. The great feeling of being a part of something big. These are all moments that i would like to live it again. It keeps me going. But the problem is, i tend to forget it. Forget about the moments that led me to the memorable ones. And the bad memories keep repeating back. I'm also afraid that history would haunt me one day. I know most of it was when i was younger and more naive and stupid, but the fact that there is a probability that someone out there might remember is just scary. I dont want to be the guy that loses everything because of one little dot in my history. Or be alone because of what ive said in the past. It's all so overwhelming.

So, what can i say from all this stuff? Well, firstly, nobody is perfect. There was only one record of a perfect human in this world and everybody is trying to follow him. The history that we make is a part of us. It defines who we were and what we had learnt and it affects our personality today. Without it you're not you.

Secondly, be thankful for you history. Without them, you might be doing those stupid stuff today or maybe in the future where it affects more. Without them, maybe you wont know how good it is to score in an exam or how much it hurts falling from a bicycle or how great it feels to be in love. Those moments gives us appreciation of what we have now, so be thankful.

And lastly, live life to the fullest. Honestly, you can't live life with no regrets. Its ignorant and its selfish. Living life with no regrets just shows how much you dont care about what you did in the first place. Live life to the fullest. With this, you would avoid mistakes that you had done in the past. The things that made you regret. And continue doing things that spur those memorable moments in your lives.

My history is not much. But its full of ups and downs and i'm thankful for it and the beautiful part about my history is.. I'm still writing it. I hope you have the power in you to write it yourself too. Goodluck to you...

More than words...

words.
its the basis of a phrase or a sentence and is a particularly important thing in speeches and written materials. It's one of the most simple thing to us but without it, we're nothing more than mere mammals.
For me, i find it really interesting how this simple little thing that could just consist of two letters combined together affect a persons day. The word "hi" for example could put a smile on someones face and if you're lucky, could be just the thing to start a conversation that could transmit into something that could affect your happiness for a lifetime to come. You see, its so simple. But yet, its usually underrated and unappreciated. Misused language and sometimes bad words ( i myself admit of having uttered those words numerous times in my everyday life) are often a part of our everyday lives making it a little bit worse than its supposed to be. Its the essence in a persons life that portrays his personality. Its the little thing that could be used for your success or even for your own demise.
I like words. Hell, i love it. Its the thing that i certainly use to transmit my feelings. Its the thing that makes me happy. I talk a lot. I admit it. I even sometimes annoy people with my words. But you need to understand, i love it. Words are so beautiful that it is needed to represent and identify beauty itself. So how beautiful do you think it is? Its the very thing that could define another thing. How significant is that. Songs and poetry and essays and resume's are all here because there are words.
I especially love words because of the connections that it has helped me establish up to this day and for the days to come. I've met friends and special peoples and teachers and others in my life because of it. I've even had the chance to appreciate others for what they did for me using words. I'm really thankful for that. They convey what i need to tell people of how i feel. It really lifts the burden of having this pressure building up in you when you need to get something out of your chest. Having said that, i' really thankful for the creation of words and language. Without it we may have to communicate with just grunts and facial expression which would be really difficult and not fun at all. Imagine an old lady trying to ask you to help her pick up somethings for her from the store. Wouldn't it be a long process and uncomfortable with a lot of confusion in what the lady wanted in the first place if not a single word were used. Sign language could help but without words how would you know what sign means what. The signs in itself are a form of words.
Words need to be appreciated. Its the building blocks of our civilization and society. Without words no religion could be spread. No idea can be transmitted. There would not even be classes or marriage or laws or technology for us to live the way we live today. We should avoid using words in vain.
Since the ramadhan month is here, i think it is a good time for me to give a few advices about words.
1. Avoid using words in vain.( it could hurt people sometimes and it isn't comfortable when that happens)
2. Practice the words that are great. (the alquran contains tons of it for your information)
3. Study the words that are important. (be it on the subject you need to learn or the subject that you already know)

so thats it for now.. HAVE A GREAT RAMADHAN PEOPLE!!!

Beautiful Girls...

As the title suggests, this entry is dedicated to all the ladies out there.. (partially kidding)
The actual reason for this entry is to clarify a few things about guys and their perception of beauty. We're often misunderstood when we're admiring something and we never meant to hurt anyone in the process. haha.

First things first, a fact needs to be stated here so that you people (girls) can understand the basic way that a man operates. The fact is: Guys are attracted to stimulation from the outside, whether it be visual, or sound, or even touch. It's a proven theory, be it man or animal. We are kind of a little bit disconnected from the touchy-feely things that most girls feel. Don't get me wrong though. We do feel things sometimes, its just that its not the main thing that provokes us to act or do something about it (and the fact that most guys try to hide it in the effort of maintaining their 'macho'ness doesn't really help in us being in touch with our feelings). So mind us when we start appreciating beautiful things. It's really actually in our genes.

We like beautiful things. We watch in awe when a beautiful car is passing by, or when we hear beautiful sounds from music, even the sound of the recital of the Quran and not to forget the occasional awe when we see a really beautiful girl pass by. The fact that we admire these things actually doesn't mean we're probably going to make a move on it (occasionally maybe, but not always). It's just plain old admiration towards beautiful things. Yes, we sometimes utter things we're not suppose to, like, saying a girl is hot in front of our girlfriend (sorry to those girlfriends out there who had the chance to go through this), but you have to understand, its just admiration. Nothing more, nothing less. We still think that the girlfriend is beautiful in her own way (most probably better) but its just because the other girl passing by is also beautiful. Are we at fault for appreciating what god made? (and in certain cases: what man had a hand in helping make it beautiful?). Surely you don't think that right? haha.

In my perception, a beautiful girl is a girl that could pull off a white baju kurung, in the most blissfully innocent way possible. A girl that could talk with confidence but at the same time is really aware of what is going on and actually knows what she is talking about (ditzy girls are just plain). A girl that could just smile in anyway possible for her at the moment. A strong girl (not in the physical aspect but the emotional one). A classy one who knows how to bring herself with the manners and etiquette thats expected in a real woman. I know she's probably hard to find. Hell, she might not even exist. But why not have a perception right? It's only a view. A point from my perspective. I might have already seen the girl or something but, who knows?

On the same subject, I also know another thing. It's an old saying (you might have heard it from a certain advert or something) which goes: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" or so they say. So the person in question should be the judge. Don't let peoples' opinions sway you from what you think. Are you actually beautiful or are you not, the answer is of your own choosing. The guys just have their opinions. Nothing more, nothing less. Besides, a girl with confidence is surely attractive (not kidding).

So to the readers,
for the guys, try to hide some of your admiration of other things (or other girls) when you are with your loved ones and maybe even try to appreciate the things that are right in front of you ( I really think i should take my own advice) and for the girls reading this, its always and forever will be an honor and of utmost pleasure for us guys to see YOU.

p/s: This blog is written in my own perspective and has nothing to do with the guys who don't really feel like what i have just described and the facts are from my readings and perspective (so no one is actually accountable for what I think except myself).

summer time in nashville

Truth be told, summer is boring. I am writing this blog just because i'm bored. nothing thats really important or matters happened in this last two months... Just classes(which are boring), trips to places like Kentucky (went to nashville, was fun, but it was just overwhelmed by the boredness of summer), picnic(which was also fun but just lasted like for the night), and other unimportant stuff. i can just go on and on and on about this but what can i do... it just is.. haha

On a another note, summer made me realize, im f***ing lonely... haha.. how sad is that. The feeling just gets worse as the day comes to a close. The fact that i have now two roommates plus one helps a bit, but working just makes me lonely some more... even my roommates are busy working now... haha.. so what to do?? u tell me..

But on a positive note, a road trips coming up. I surely hope it would be a memorable one. i cant wait for the beach, the company, and the long hours of driving across the country(to those who are going for road trips, please be careful and drive safely cause i sure hope to see you guys here when i come back) .. hehe.

so as always i'll include something a little bit emo and maybe inspiring for those readers who are always thinking i'm a little bit emotional or for those who appreciate a good word or two...

See.... theres this boy whose life has been all but trouble... he grew up thinking no one was by his side. there was the mother who left him while he was young... a father who was always busy with his work... grand parents and relatives who are loving but still feels distant...he feels alone and unsure of who are the people that he really knows...
But on one normal day his grandfather said... "although you feel alone.. theres always going to be someone by your side.. even for a short while and a few in the long run and some that will surely be there.. rest assured.. you will know who they are".. this grandfather of his pasts away a short while after that, while he was in school ... how lonely he felt then... but like his grandfather said... theres always someone around him no matter what.. he starts to realize this...his friends helped him study, feel included, were there during the bad times and the good.. the teachers thought him nearly everything he needs to know.. and the parents has always provided with everything he needs no matter how hard it was... and his life goes on knowing this...
Although the this boys life story has yet to come to an end... there are somethings that could be learned from it.. remember at least these four things:
1- No matter how hard it could get, somebody has it harder.
2- The people around you are there for you in whatever situation you have ( it wont be the same person in every situation but there will be a person for any situation)
3- Be grateful for what you have and what you will get cause you will never know when you'll lose them.
4- And finally, you need to remember that you will always have that one sanctuary that no one else could take away from you... its yourself and what you believe in.

So thats it for now... signing off.. me