What are you saying?

I have been giving a lot of thought recently to my practise of Islam. I have absolute faith in the religion and its teachings, it is the way we practise it in Malaysia that has bothered me of late.

The problem lies in almost all elements of our practise of the rituals of Islam - Prayer, doa, reading of the Quran, etc. One example: The thing has has been bothering me is that we are tought the entire 'text' of prayer, in this I mean what we read like the Iftitah, Al-Fatihah and other bacaan during sujud, rukuk, tahyat, etc. How many of us actually understand the full text of what we are saying, reading, uttering? Another example: We are tought to memorise many surah's and read them during prayer and other times of need, but do we actually understand what we are sayin?

My frustration actually lies with myself. If I am an isolated case, then I pray to god that I can correct my waeknesses. I sometimes find myself being annoyed at myself at saying 'amin' during recitals of doa when I don't know what it is I am saying 'amin' to..

I believe there is a misinterpretation in this: We were told that we should try to read the Holy Quran, we should try to understand it, even if we don't understand it, and if we can't do this, we should just listen to readings of the Quran.

My feel is that 'even if we don't understand it' means that even if we cannot understand the moral, the hidden meanings or even the statement that is being made - not that we can't even differentiate one word from the other, let alone their meanings.

To describe: In English, Synergetic alliances prolong executional excellence as a sentence may not make much sense if I don't know the context of it being said. At least I know there are 5 words and can understand what each word means, thus having a certain degree of assuomtion to what this means.

Now if I wrote in the Japanese Katakana characters: シナジェチクアラヤンサスプロロンッグエクセキュショナルエキセレンス。For those that can read it, can u make sense of it. For those who say pick up Katakana, do you think it'll make a difference?

Even listening, I don't the teachings meant to listen and not understand would mean to listen and not understand a single word!

Forgive me and educate me if I am wrong, but how many people actually read and listen to the readings of the Quran and understand (at least in my description of the word) what is said? I sadly feel like it is no more than appreciating the harmonious melody of the readings. Is that not the same as listening to a nice Japanese song that we can't make out the words but like the song anyway? Again, forgive my comparison.

I have taken onto myself that this is not the way I want to practise the rituals of Islam. Slowly, I am trying to find out what is it I say when I pray, when I read the doa's, etc. As an immediate measure I am taking these steps, I have changed by reading of the Yaasin to reading the 'Tafsir' or translation, when I read the doa after prayers, I read it in Malay or English.

I hope to one day master Arabic to get to perform these rituals and understand the teachings of Islam in a whole different light. For now, I just want to know what is it that I am saying, do you know what you are saying?

Na,na,na,na Terengganu Kite!

Looks like my blog is turning more into a 'Hari ini dalam sejarah'... the actual reason for this is that I don't have internet connection at home, not even a dial-up connection... Am looking to rectify that once I free some resources that I can allocate to subscribe to streamyx..hopefully in June.

Anyways, the past weekend, actually the weekend before that, we were in Terengganu to have the 'Aqiqah' for Ilhan. This is a symbolic ritual that is performed through the sacrifice of animals - cows, goats, sheep and other livestock. So, we as we performed the slaughtering of the two fine male goats (though the actual slaugthering was done by Ayah Teh), I actually picked up a few new words to add to my vocabulary of Bahasa Terengganu and some terms you would use throughout the entire slaughtering process. See if you know them as well:

Pam: Literally means 'Pump'. I never knew that this was how you skin a goat. You tie one leg to a tree (as in picture), slit the skin on one of the front feet, and place the valve under the skin, and start pumping. This is to get the goat bloated enough so that the 'skinning' can be made a lot easier. Now I know.

Layu Api: This actually takes skill. It is done by rolling up some old newspapers and making into a torch like thingie. You then sorta like wave it over the skinned goat. This is done to remove any hairs left over from the skinning process.

Katang: To chop off. This is done once the internal parts (stomach, liver, etc.) has been removed. It would mean to cut the goat into smaller parts to be passed over to the other group that would then cut them into even smaller pieces.

Gi Turut: Is to invite. Didn't understand this until I heard it 3-4 times, then finally got it. My young brother in law of 5 actually had some fun of his own when he 'gi turut'ed the neighbours to come again to our house in the evening, saying that it was my mother-in-law invited them to come again for the 'cukur jambul' session. And they came! A case of the little boy crying wolf.

Anyway, in the little over two years that I have been married, I must say that I am picking up the language steadily. I would like to say I am fluent, but I think I'll give a little longer before we can say that..

Where have I been?

I last wrote sometime ago..so where have I been, whats been going on? I look at other blogs that I regularly read, and enjoy the new stuff or the comments that they put up. Lemme see if I can back track the high's and low's on over the past 7 days...

Yesterday - well actually this morning, Liverpool beat Juventus 2-1 to set up what should be an interesting meeting next week in Turin - definitely a HIGH!

Monday - work as usual, sue was on call (always a low, and it being a monday meant we missed our regular sitcom nite on starworld - quality time), continued to read Angels and Demons, went to Mohsin with Kambing (Abdullah, my kohai)..so all in all I would say it was an OK day..

Saturday and Sunday - Sue was on leave this weekend, really enjoyed having her around as she usually works over the weekend, Ma and Abah from Terengganu came over Friday, we went to Long's house, we participated in the ALEPS bowling thingie (which left unimpressed, but will write about that in a later blog, hopefully), went to TImah's house for Mohinga (traditional Myanmar Laksa)..On Saturday nite, enjoyed Liverpool beating Bolton, and at the same time Sue enjoyed Siti Nurhaliza getting the award for most popular artiste, so I would say it would be a HIGH weekend.

Friday - Work as usual, don't actually recall what I did that day..Ma and Abah came over for regular check up at Sunway Medical, we went to the Sate Kajang at Uptown, and I went for futsal at Sunway - so whenver there's football invlovled, definitely a HIGH!

Thursday - Work, sue was on call, but a definite HIGH as we (Rapid DU Koloq-koloq) beat Duplix 8-2 in our futsal tournament..

Wednesday - We got Sue's Honda City 1.5 IDSI, so if you see me in a gold (they call it satellite Silver) WLU 3201, that's her new car, pretty nice drive actually.. So again another HIGH

So the past seven day's have been good actually, football results have been good, got a new car, in-laws came down (hmm, sure this is a good thing?), Sue had the weekend off...Let's hope every week is a good week!

Oh where, oh where can my baby be...

Plate no. WHH 4000, is no longer white. For some reason, the guy sprayed it gan-metallic (some sort of grayish colour), last seen in Hartamas about 2 years ago..

The Nissan Skyline R32 GTS-T. My story with her began in 1998, when i purchased her upon returning back from Malaysia after summer break. At the time, she was mostly untouched (or in japanese u would say junsei) I changed the stereo, the rims, the springs, the bodykit to make it look like how it is in the picture. I have got some earlier versions, but would need to scan them before I can paste them in this blog.

Before her, I actually had a series (and histories) of cars while I was in Japan. They were:

Suzuki something.. Kcar - lasted a day, actually half a day. I had picked up the car in the afternoon, then went to osaka to pick up under. So I got Kak Erni and Jai to drop me off at the station, and they were to pick us up in like 3 hours. When we arrived, we waited and waited and they had not come. After a while, they arrived, but not in my car. They had gotten into an accident, and the cost of repairs would have been twice what I paid for the car.. so apalagi, throw away..

Honda Civic 1.5 efi - Good reliable car, got it quite cheap. Lasted 2 months, this time it wasn't the car, it was me who got wrecked. You see this car was a manual car, everything was fine, until i got injured real bad in a football game in Gifu, and had to be in a cast on my left leg for a couple of months.. So that being that, there was no way I was going to drive a manual, so traded it for..

Honda Integra 1.5 - Now this was an automatic, very good car I must say. It has taken me all accross Japan - we actually went on a tour going from Wakayama through Osaka, Hyogo, Okayama, Hiroshima, Tottori, Kanazawa, Toyama and Shiga.. all in 7 days. But my affair with the integra can to a sad end. Atoi was here for a holiday after SPM, we were out for a drive when, somehow out of the blue (actually it was more of a blind spot in the small, tight allies of Japan) came a Toyota Celsior (a Lexus LS 400, for most outside Japan) and BAMM!! I hit the car, not that it was that bad (i believe if i took it to Yap @ D'sara Kim, may have cost like less than RM500), but after investigation and all, I was asked to pay Y1,000,000 - thats like RM 35,000 today. And thats not including the costs of repair of the Integra. By some kind twist of fate, the Yoshida's (the owner's of the Celsior, of which I still keep in touch and still convey my gratitude) had informed the insurance company that they will not seek any compensation from me. I still remember - You work hard, get some money to repair your car, and work hard in your studies here in Japan. So I did just that, repaired the Integra, and then let her go...

It was the kindness of the Yoshida's that had allowed me to use my savings to go to Europe that Spring. Without it, there would have been no Manchester, no Paris, no Florence, no Edinbrugh - no being stopped by the coppers yeah ;)

Anyway, I bought the Skyline later that year. bought her back to Malaysia in 2000. She was a great car, didn't give any problems, and was a dream to drive - not to mention the attention you get. None the less, when the time had come, I knew I had to let her go. I needed the resources. She has done well to contribute to pay for my wedding, put a down payment on the house, pay off the money i borrowed to pay for the taxes and actually have some money to put in the bank..

On Saturday nite, I got the closest thing to her from a dear friend - a replica of the sklyine. Someday, the time will come again my friend, when I drive to your place and pick you up for minum2 in my Skyline!

Yum, yum..

Good Food, Good Company.. what esle can one ask for on a Saturday evening. Had the poolside BBQ, which later continued to my apartment till late in the nite.

Alhamdulillah, the get together went well. I would liketo thank mafiz, harris, edrus, ernie, meng, under, lan, mal + families, companions, etc.. for taking the time to come over. Oh yes, there were a few of Sue's friends as well.. thanks guys.

Weather was great. Was a bit worried about the weather, but it being F1 weekend, I believe the organisers had got some bomoh to look after this..hehe. For those who came while there was still light, it was great to see raidi, azman, zidani enjoy themselves in the pool, though I must say the parents were a bit shy to get in..

Later in the evening, it was nice to see friends catching up on old times.. like nor and under have not met since we all graduated from Japan in 2000. Ilhan was introduced to his first ever party with daddy's and ibu's friends.. must have been wondering, who are all these people, where did they come from? None the less, he found good company in Auntie Nor.. so we have one number to call if Sue and I suddenly need to go and catch a movie yeah ;)

Alls well that ends well they say.. It was close to midnite by the time our final guests returned home. There was some cleaning up to do (not to mention, the chairs and tables still at the pool - thanks mal for helping out). By the time we were done, we were exhausted. Ilhan was sound asleep, and soon so were Sue and I...

Another one bite's the dust

Today I turn 29! I try to look back at my life and see what I have accomplished thus far. I tried to draw up my life's historical to see if i make any sense of where i've been and what I've accomplished thus far. Here goes...

1976 Born in Rangoon, I honestly dunno how much time I spent there..

1976? - 1978 Blur...no recollection, except for the sephia coloured pics..

1979 - 1982 Went to Manila, entered Kindie, then International School, first played football (and still lovin it!)

1982 Returned to Malaysia, moved into TTDI, went to Sri KL

1983 - 1989 Went to Sri Cempaka (Std. 2 - Form 1), started playing football for school when I was 10, did well for my Penilaian Darjah 5, entered scouts like in standard 4, learnt to ride a bike when I was 12, otherwise spent most of my evenings at 'Wembley' - the field in front of Jo's house

1989 - 1993 I guess a lot of stuff happened here, went to SMTTDI (yes, i entered Form 1 again - apparently DSAI at the time did not allow advanced students, so we had to play it by age), met most of the Kamcheng brothers, LP16 was great, albeit with its ups and downs, did fairly ok for SRP and SPM, continued playing football...

1994 - 1996 Rancangan Persediaan Khas Jepun,Universiti Malaya..2 years of hell, but met some of my closest friends there, was a real eye opener for me - the studying, the people, the environment, and of course, the japanese..

1996 - 2000 I often view my experience going to Wakayama University, Japan as a 'metamorphosis' of sorts. I came as a child, and left as a man.. Wonderful 4 years there.. the experiences, the cars, the travels - went to Europe for a month in '98, which was so cool, remember the snow storm we went through while driving from Manchester to Edinbrugh (the fog lamps thing was classic) and how Under & I went to Paris, we were standing at the glass pyramid of the Lourve and were wondering, what the hell is this? and decided to give it a pass - oh how ignorance is bliss.. of course, the football, who can forget captaining team Wakayama to 2 straight championship titles in 98-99..and the baito - from bento factory, english teacher, mannequin mover to security guard..hehe, good times, good money..

2000 Let's see if we can play it by year from here..hmm, got back, brought back my Skyline - oh how I miss thee, met Sue - oh how I do love thee, started work at Canon, the Marubeni, then Frost n Sullivan - yes, we are still in the same year.. started playing for DUFC and soon became a regular starter..

2001 Left for Deloitte, bought a condo - for the pure reason, I was not saving any money even though I was earning significantly more that my peers then, life was filled with dating, football, work..

2002 Travelled a whole lot, got engaged and married later that year, Sue was still studying, got injured real bad, had to the team as the injury and work didn't allow me to give my committment to the team..and yes, sold the Skyline - I will get u back someday...

2003 Sue graduated, we moved into our Condo, left Deloitte for MDC, finally went on our honeymoon to Japan...tried to get football back on track

2004 Didn't start off too well, my dad passed away, started playing for Rapid DU Coloq2, in the middle of the year we had the introduction of Ilhan - our little boy!, and for the first time since 1996 - this was the first year I did not go to Japan..

Syukur Alhamdulillah, I have had my share of ups and downs in life. And here we are today, I have 364 days before I leave the 20's, need to lose a whole lot of weight, get more regular exercise.. I pray that eveyone I know is safe, healthy and happy with whatever they do..Take Care, God Bless..

It's All About Mary!

The past week has been a real revelation for me and my long life self proclaimed 'Can't read fiction' block. All thanks to this man called 'Dan Brown'. In a matter of four days, I actually was hooked on reading the entire 600 odd pages of the Da Vinci's Code. It may not be something to shout about for an ardent reader, but more someone like me - it was some hell of a record.

I have always had this mental block that I cannot read fiction stories. Its not that I have not tried, but I end up sleeping after 3-4 pages, and get bored with the book after a couple of chapters. One evident example was my attempt at 'Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone'. I had seen the movie and have heard so much about how the book is even better, so decided to give it a go. It took me two weeks to get through like 50 pages, and eventually I ended up returning the book without even finishing the story. And so I returned to my usual menu of Biographies, History Books and Self-Improvement mumbo jumbo..

I had heard about the Da Vinci's code quite some time ago, but never bothered to find out what it was all about. Then all of a sudden, in the past couple of weeks, it seemed to pop up everywhere I go, and like hmm.. When Meng (Dr. M to most people) wrote it in his blog that the book's about history and culture, I thought well there's an interesting proposition.

So, I went out and got the book, started reading, and found myseld glued to this 'masterpiece of fiction'. I actually spent most of the weekend reading the book and by Sunday afternoon - was glad that it was done - I realy enjoyed the story, but most of all I have this satisfaction of saying I really enjoyed reading.

Who know's, I may end up putting 'reading' as a hobby... ;)

What have we here?

Your Brain is 73.33% Female, 26.67% Male

Your brain leans female You think with your heart, not your head Sweet and considerate, you are a giver But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Well, well, well..one of life's mysteries unfolded. Took this quiz after viewing Leena's blog, and noticing how she is a fine balance between the male and female. I thought that I may be similar in nature too, but no... it seems my brain is nearly 3/4 female. Gotta admit, at times I do lean towards my female brain (which seems to be the dominant one, hehe) and can relate to the feminine side of stuff. I guess being brought up in a family of three boys, one of us had to inherit that side of life, as i can relate to my mother's feelings and can be the sympathetic one of the lot..

That said, the final line is reassuring 'But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!'