What keeps me going

Salam Aidilfitri dan Salam Merdeka!

Sekarang I dah boleh ucap Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri Maaf Zahir Batin untuk semua orang sebab Wollongong pun dah raya sekali. Yahuu! It wasn't that bad I tell you. Tiada adegan melalak bengkak-bengkak mata. I managed to control my emotion very well. Ain't that surprising?

Well, tahun ni tak ada drama airmata cerekarama seperti yang semua orang jangkakan. I sendiri pun tak sangka. Meleleh sikit-sikit tu comfirm lah ada. Tapi tidak lah sampai hujan.hehe. Terer lah Amirah sekarang. Mungkin ini petanda maturity growth. Eceh!

Ohh, I declare cuti untuk diri sendiri selama 3 hari. So bangun pagi tadi siap-siap macam semua orang dekat Malaysia nak sambut pagi raya walaupun I masih berpuasa. Then, tunggu depan skype sorang-sorang sampai semua orang ready untuk sesi bersalam-salaman. Syahdu tau!

Walaupun jauh di mata, tapi tak bermakna I tak terlibat untuk sesi pagi raya bersama keluarga. Taking turn hulur tangan salam thru skype. Sounds funny huh? Tapi bagi I, itu semua sangat bermakna and buat I terasa dekat dengan semua. Thanks everybody at home. I love you all very very much.

They are so sweet, aren't they?

Family portrait

Look at how they made me miss them even more.

Goodbye Ramadhan Kareem. Welcome Eid Mubarak.

Assalamualaikum,

Salam 1 Syawal buat seluruh umat Islam di seluruh dunia terutamanya mak, bapak dan kaum keluarga di Penang, Malaysia. Sebahagian besar umat Islam meraikan 1 Syawal pada hari ni namun nampaknya tidak bagi Wollongong Australia yang hanya akan menyambutnya pada hari Rabu, 31 Ogos 2011.

Ini merupakan pengalaman ke-2 saya menyambut Eid sebagai anak perantau. Let me be honest with you, the feeling is so much different compared to having all your beloved person around. Sungguh berbeza. Namun tetap bermakna. InsyaAllah.

Sekarang I tak berapa ada mood nak kongsi apa-apa. Mungkin mood tu dah kena kidnap akibat  semua orang Malaysia dah raya dulu tinggal I sorang-sorang raya hari Rabu. Sedey oo.. Buat yang seangkatan dengan I, mungkin ini rezeki kita untuk tambah pahala extra satu hari lagi di bulan Ramadhan. Anugerah bukan? :)

Whatever it is, I just want to wish everybody a very happy Eid no matter which part of the world you are now. Let's have the most blissful celebration shall we? 

Rutin keluarga yang paling I rindukan.

Takbir raya bersama-sama.

Where flowers bloom, so does hope.

Assalamualaikum,

Ramadhan 1432. The point in time when I see the strongest part in me. I know that I have not been quite myself very lately. Everybody noticed that I suppose. Especially the ones around me.

Generally speaking, everything falls right into place. Thanks to those who have been supporting me quite a lot. Even without understanding the details, you guys were right there with me. Thank you so much. I'm spiritually and emotionally supported. Really.

Life is full of lots of ups and downs. All of the times when everything is wrong, you can't just give it up. Work it out and carry on. That's what I have been telling myself all this while. Alhamdulillah it works.

Owh by the way, flowers start blooming now. The sign that spring is peeking through the other corner. It usually takes me only 12 minutes to walk to uni, but today, it took me almost half an hour. Mana tidaknya, hampir setiap pokok berbunga kat tepi jalan tu I berhenti belek. Takde keje punya orang. haha.

My favourite.
They're beautiful, aren't they?

An evening at the park with Adam

20 minutes with Adam at the park is certainly quite a challenge, but very fun indeed. Berpeluh jugak dibuatnya main kejar-kejar dengan dia. It's amazing to see how a toddler could win my heart with no matter what he did.

Adam camwhoring lagi.hahaha.

Kalau dah nama pun main dengan Adam, sila letak tepi you punya sopan-santun atau ayu-ayu. Let alone nak jalan slow-slow lemah gemalai. Takde maknanya! Habis satu play park tu I berlari kejar dia. Wedges tak wedges. Semua aku belasah. kahkahkah. 

Adam busy playing

I noticed that toddlers tend to throw tantrums in order to attract our attention. It seems like they do have such a strong emotion and try to let us understand, but do not know exactly how to express themselves.

When this happens, it's either you set off the tantrum or calm the situation, both will definitely work. But I will choose the latter one. Calm the situation by looking at the soft side of him.

Merajuk peluk tiang taknak balik sebelum aksi guling-guling

For instance, masa nak ajak balik, Adam berguling-guling kat tanah sebab taknak ikut I naik atas. Kalau biar lama sikit mau bertukar warna budak tu jadi coklat sama dengan tanah. Habis comot anak teruna putih melepak ni nanti. So, what I did was to pretend a fake cry. 

Sebab I tau itu dia punya kelemahan. Kalau buat-buat nangis, nanti dia akan datang pujuk, peluk kita konon-konon suruh diam la. Macam yang orang selalu buat dekat dia. Bila dia dah datang peluk tu, I terus dukung, cepat-cepat bawak dia naik atas. hahahaha. Sorry Adam sebab main tipu!! :p

Hmm, look at how emotional triggers can easily touch a person's heart even just for a little one. I wonder if there is any possibility that emotional tears are made of different chemical components that relay chemical messages to the heart? If so, yes, somehow I do agree that tears are words the heart can't express. Very meaningful.

How special we are?

It's a beautiful day. A really beautiful Monday. I believe if you spice up your life on Mondays with positive vibrations, then the rest of the week will be encouraging as well. As for me, I started my day with a very big, fat smile. Like these. :D :D :D

You want to know why? I have no idea why. Really. Hmm, mungkin tak semua perkara mampu disampaikan melalui kata-kata. Hanya hati yang lebih memahami. Jadi, cukuplah sekadar hati. Kecuali kalau ada yang pandai berbicara melalui hati..=)

Owh btw, are there people in your life who are significant to you? Mesti ada kan? Parents adalah yang paling utama dan tiada tolok bandingnya. Buatlah macam mana sekali pun, ibu bapa akan tetap menjadi ciptaan paling indah yang Allah SWT kurniakan untuk kita.

What about the others? People come and go. Nobody will be forever there. Even so your most beloved someone, death will take you apart. What we don't realize is that they just might have the potential to become so much meaningful to us.

And for me, once they're listed as someone of consequence in my life, they'll be there forever. Maybe it's not just the happiness that I feel when I see them, but also the pain I feel when I miss them. Selagi nikmat daya ingatan tidak ditarik kembali, selagi itulah semua insan penting akan terpahat dalam hati. 

Walk me through the maze of human life. Confusing and uncovered.
[photo courtesy]

Di mana matahariku

Assalamualaikum,

Hari yang sangat dingin. Chilly inside out. It was raining quite heavily when I was about to fall in my not so serene slumber last night. And this morning, I woke up and peeked through my window just to see how damp and freezing the weather had been.

Hujan yang tidak henti-henti. Bagaikan langit yang menangis. Mungkin tidak memberi kesan kepada sesetengah orang. But to me, I am emotionally disturbed to the rain. Hati ohh hati. Kenapa begitu lembut dan mudah tersentuh? You promised me not to be so fragile, don't you?

Again, stop being so downhearted please. Where is that cheerful Amirah that everyone knows? Come back and contribute the world with your smiles. You always say that a smile is something that you can always give away, and yet you can still keep it as yours. So, give them away girl!

Ehhhh, there the sunlight comes. I know it won't be there forever. The rain might come again at anytime. But at least, may the sun shines into the eye and the heart, even just so for a little while.

Please bring me to a place like this

A special time

Assalamualaikum,

Sedar tak sedar, hari ni dah masuk hari ke sepuluh umat Islam di seluruh dunia berpuasa. Hmm, nampaknya fasa kerahmatan (Mercy) baru je meninggalkan kita. My ohh my, look at how I have missed that phase. Nobody could tell whether or not we have chance to meet another merciful phase in the next Ramadhan. Wallahualam.

Now we are entering the next phase of this holy month, Forgiveness. Keampunan terutamanya dari yang Maha Esa. Tak lupa juga sekian makhluk di seluruh alam. With this, saya dengan rendah dirinya ingin memohon maaf sekiranya ada salah dan silap daripada sesiapa sahaja yang ditakdirkan membaca tulisan saya buat kali ini.

Mungkin ada perbuatan atau kata-kata saya yang menyinggung perasaan mana-mana pihak tak kira secara sedar atau di luar sedar, maaf dipinta. Dan Jika ada kesalahan dari pihak kalian, InsyaAllah, telah saya maafkan. Dengan harapan, hati saya turut bersih dari sebarang perasaan yang kotor.

Buat yang terlepas peluang merebut segala imbuhan di dalam fasa rahmat, mari kita sama-sama cari keampunan dalam 10 hari fasa pertengahan ini. Dan semoga panjang umur kita untuk mencapai peluang masuk ke fasa penghujung, Freedom from Hellfire. Ameen.

Time is running out. Make it fast! [photo courtesy]

Indahnya Ramadhan di perantauan

We are now entering the second quarter of Ramadhan. And being the typical me, I started to undergo severe homesickness since past few days. Tengok apa sikit je pun boleh meleleh air mata. Besar betol empangan air mata dekat mata ni agaknye. Tak pernah kering.

Please la Amirah. Be strong, get out from the gloominess and try to overcome the feeling of melancholy. You have been handling things very well for the past two years, and the miserable parts will end sooner than you could possibly thought. Trust me! :)

Owh btw, let me share with you how awesome my weekends had been. Siapa cakap duduk di luar negara tak dapat rasa macam duduk di Malaysia? Totally wrong! Bezanya takde bazar Ramadhan yang best je, the rest, semua sama.

Sabtu lepas, I dengan kawan-kawan bukak puasa sama-sama dekat rumah Madoline. 9 of us. Berebut-rebut di dapur siapkan juadah berbuka. Sampai bersilang-silang tangan semuanya cuba siapkan tugas masing-masing. Perasaan dia sama macam dekat rumah bila juadah tak siap lagi padahal waktu berbuka dah masuk. Nostalgic!

Lepas siap semua lauk yang dibuat dalam tempoh yang paling pantas tu, semua duduk bawah makan sama-sama atas lantai. Passing lauk ke kiri ke kanan, tambah itu tambah ini, berselera betol jadiknye bila dapat makan beramai-ramai. Serius rasa macam satu keluarga yang besar. 

Bila semua dah terlantar kekenyangan, Abang Sham cepat-cepat call for Maghrib prayers. Bentang sejadah penuh hall, tunggu giliran ambik wudhuk dekat toilet, siap-siap untuk solat Maghrib berjemaah. Bukan selalu dapat peluang berjemaah macam ni. Sayu sungguh masa tu and the sensation is beyond words. Inexpressible!

Ignore the mess. Focus on the crowd.

Bila dah masuk waktu Isyak, kami solat berjemaah lagi sekali dan lepas tu terus ke Omar Mosque untuk solat Terawih dengan umat Islam yang lain di kawasan sekitar. Biasanya I solat sendiri je dalam office. Sekali-sekala bila dapat peluang berjemaah, rasa bersyukur sangat.

Sesudah solat terawih berjemaah di Omar Mosque

Semua selesai dalam pukul 8 malam. Cepat kan? Bila dah malam sikit, semua pun dah mula lapar balik, kitorang goreng cucur udang cicah dengan sambal sardin. Kira macam moreh la tu.hehehe. That's how my Saturday ended with all close friends around me. Thank you everybody for making my Ramadhan here a little extra meaningful!

Photoshoot Salam Perantau

Assalamualaikum,

Sedikit highlight tentang photoshoot beramai-ramai sempena Aidilfitri 2011. Tujuannya nak ambik gambar untuk hantar ke newspaper dalam ruangan salam perantau tu je. Tapi last sekali dah jadi macam ambik gambar family dekat studio pulak.

Semua orang  pakai baju raya warna-warni. Mula-mula ingat nak ambik dalam uni atau botanic garden. But we finally decided to go to Wollongong Harbour for photo session. There were 14 of us, Abg Din, Abg Shahrul, Abg Sham, Ungku, Kerol, Kash, Rauf, Rem, Syaril, Aimy, Laili, Mala, Fatin and myself.

Macam-macam aksi, gaya, telatah yang menghiburkan sepanjang penggambaran. Bukan senang rupanya nak handle group photo session ni. Bila kanan ok, kiri pulak tak ok. Orang depan senyum, yang kat belakang pulak tak ready. Tiap-tiap kali pun mesti ada aksi kelakar pecah perut gelakkan orang lain.haha. Overall, best gila! Sebab semua pun sekepala.

Yang berusaha: Our official photographer, Rauf.
Thank you for all the photos. Simply beautiful!

Behind the scenes. Memang meriah.

My favourite. The girls.
From left: Mala, Fatin, myself, Aimy, Laili

Group photo 1

Group photo 2

Group photo 3

Thats all I could share I guess. Tak boleh tunjuk banyak-banyak nanti tak surprise. Gambar yang submit pun tak attach dalam sini, biar surprise.hehe. So, kalau agak-agak ada nampak muka-muka ni keluar di Utusan Malaysia, do inform me okay. Sekali sekala tepek muka kat surat khabar apa salahnya kan? :p 

Segala ucapan adalah ikhlas dari hati. Harap sampai ke semua yang mengenali diri saya nanti.

p/s: Photos courtesy from our main photographer, Rauf. Good job bro! And some from Laili's FB. Thank you very much guys.

Ramadhan ke-3 di bumi Australia

Salam 1 Ramadhan semua,

How is your day so far? Mine is not too bad. Alhamdulillah I baru je lepas berbuka kat sini. Anyway, jom kita sama-sama tingkatkan amalan yang baik dan cuba reduce kan apa-apa yang boleh mengurangkan pahala puasa ye. Rebut keberkatan dalam bulan yang mulia ni sebanyak mungkin.

Juadah berbuka di MAWU hari ni
Nasik goreng, ayam goreng, lasagne, fries, salad. Alhamdulillah.

Well, this is my third Ramadhan here in the land down under. And Alhamdulillah, setakat ni I tak pernah menghadapi sebarang masalah sepanjang berpuasa di sini. Paling best, berpuasa di dalam musim sejuk. Memang tak terasa langsung and masa berpuasa yang singkat sebab siang pendek.

Sayu jugak rasanya bila fikir hidup sorang-sorang di perantauan. Lucky me because I still have all good and supportive friends with me. Life could be so dull without having them around. Cuma yang tak bestnya I tak dapat nak mengada-ngada request bapak dengan mak masak lauk favourite I je la. Sedih~

Tapi bila mengenangkan balik ni antara pengalaman hidup yang I akan appreciate bila dah pulang ke tanah air nanti, buat I kuat sedikit nak meneruskan hari-hari tanpa keluarga di sisi. Sikit je lagi ye Amirah. You go girl!

Hence, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a blessed and meaningful Ramadhan. May the spirit of Ramadhan light up the whole world. Ameen.

My all time favourite. Harapan Ramadhan.