Hingga Ke Menara Gading....

I’m planning to pursue my post-graduate study. Ayu is about to finish her MBA. She is now struggling to start her thesis and I hope she can complete it on time. I envy her because every time she gets her results, it has been nothing short of straight A’s. My ego ‘terganggu’ further when her accumulated CGPA is just 0.03 point from the full mark. I think I will sabotage her thesis to bring down some points. This would be much easier than trying to beat her current result! Hehehe. What ever it is, I’m glad that she’s been scoring. We finance the tuition fees ourselves and so far, I feel very satisfied with the return. I would encourage her to continue with her PhD. She’s got the potential.

Would I like to be left behind? I don’t think so. I told Ayu that I’m currently doing my Master’s and it is a lifelong course. This Master’s program costs me only about RM5 a year and I can choose to major in any subject. Just go to the National Library and you have access to thousands of books. There’s so much information that you can absorb under one roof. All you need to do is read. Don’t just read romance novels. This is how I usually pacify my ego whenever Ayu come’s back home with her examination transcript. But no matter how much information or knowledge I can gain from reading, I can never substantiate it with a certificate.

What to do? People don’t really judge your qualification by the number of times you visited the library. Recognition must be earned by means of a piece of paper which I think in today’s standard, valid only for a couple of years. What we learn today in class can be obsolete in matter of years. Furthermore, certificates or transcripts today can be forged! Hmmm..

So I’m contemplating to register myself for an MBA course. Which university I want to go to is not an issue. My biggest concern has got to be with time. Doing the course on a part time basis requires me to sacrifice my weekends. Attending seminars, sitting for exams and completing assignments would be very time consuming. Even today I’m complaining to myself for being too busy and not spending enough time with the kids. What else if I start my post-graduate studies? Raidi is going to be in standard one soon and Zidani will have two more years before he starts schooling. In Zidani’s case, I’ve got only 2 years to prepare him. Much attention is needed to help him catch up with his development which is delayed. If I start my MBA, I don’t think I can give him the amount of attention that should be given.

Still, I have set a target for my self. I’m determined to complete my MBA before the age of 35 and if all go well, get a PhD by 40. This one incident occurred at the HUKM cafeteria inspired me to do my PhD. While I was paying for the food, the cashier actually charged me with the staff rate. She really thought that I was working in that hospital. I felt guilty so I told to her that I don’t work in that hospital. "Takpelah Doctor, saya dah punch ni” she said. My colleagues who were queuing behind me heard the whole conversation. The look on their faces was priceless!! Hahaha. What a feeling! Since that day, I always thought I should continue my studies and get my PhD..hehehe

Knowledge is not only power. To me, more importantly, knowledge enriches the soul, broaden your perspectives and act as a mental protein that will help you to develop into a more cultured and respectable person. The Jews are known to be the smartest people. Their race constitutes less than 0.5% of world’s population and yet, they have world geo-political and economic control. We Muslims represent a quarter of the world’s population and thank Allah that many Muslim countries have access over the world’s major oil reserves. But what happen then if the oil wells dry up?? Even today, when Muslims have control over these energy sources, we are being subject to continuous oppression. Without the black money (oil), can you imagine the fate of our future Muslims generations?

I choose to continue my studies not only because I want to be recognized professionally, but basically, I just want to be knowledgeable. If I don’t get to pursue my studies, I hope my kids will strive hard to achieve this. But remember kids, be sincere to yourself and to Allah in your quest to gain knowledge. You study because you want to develop yourself into a better person. If you have a brain of a genius, remember to be humble because Allah can anytime take that away from you. Remember your roots. It doesn’t matter what paper qualification you have, as long as you live as a good human being, people will remember you for a long time. I cannot stress more on the importance of knowledge so please continuously feed your mind with them ok? Don't stop until you reach the 'Menara Gading'. Go beyond it!

"The Fortune At The Bottom Of The Pyramid"

I just finished reading this book written by C.K Prahalad. It’s about how Governments, NGOs and the corporate sector can work together to eradicate poverty. We think that serving the low segment of the markets brings little or no profits. The poor are always not the targeted customers; our usual assumption is that they can’t afford our products or services. On the contrary, with innovation, companies can make lots of money from selling their products and services to the so called Bottom Of The Pyramid ‘BOP’ customers.

The fact is there are 4 billion people in the world who live on far less than $2 a day. And this 4 billion people actually represents 80% of humanity! We always see call for money to help the 4 billion poor and the cry is so constant. Most of the time we think that various aid agencies and governments should tackle this issue. However as we enter the 21st century, poverty remains one of the world’s most daunting problem.

The book changed my perceptions that the very poor actually represent resilient entrepreneurs and value-conscious consumers. The key towards eradicating poverty is to achieve a sustainable win-win scenario where the poor are actively engaged and, at the same time, companies providing products and services to them are profitable. This collaboration between the poor, NGO’s, governments and large firms can create the largest and fastest growing markets in the world.

I read today in bernama quoting Prof Ungku Aziz how he considers the current PM different from his predecessors due to his ambiguous priority for the dejected rural people. "Abdullah has also come out with a noble aim with the help of his Cabinet members in redressing the imbalance of rural poverty," said Prof Ungku Aziz. In a way, this is an example of how we put the whole burden of alleviating poverty in this country on the Governments shoulder. Governments can provide various grants, training opportunities, conduct business programs and other noble ways to bring them out of the poverty cycle. But what about the role of the corporate sector? Surely they have a part to play in the fight against poverty? I don’t think the corporate sectors contributions to the poor should only be reported as part of their CSR initiatives. In fact, with the right business models and processes, the BOP could be a major contributor to the company’s bottom line.

The truth is, at the ‘BOP’ the so called demand and supply economic curve haven’t really intersected. The corporate world never treated this segment as profitable and the customers in the segment never really trusted companies as they think that the companies are only interested to make profit out of their subsistence income. Furthermore, they always feel that companies are only interested to serve customers at the top of the pyramid where the profit margin is. They feel that they haven’t got any opportunity to access the products and services consumed by the middle class with better purchasing power. Now if they have access to products and services equal to the developed world, we are not only enabling dignity and choice through markets, but we are opening up opportunities for this segment to evolve and climb up the pyramid.

The book tells readers how we can equate the demand from the BOP markets and the supply coming mostly from the 1st world markets. The organization structure, business model and processes today are developed to serve the segments with better purchasing power. So the trick in doing business in the BOP market is to innovate. It is interesting to read how a private eye hospital in India had made tremendous profits from providing eye care services. A cataract operation may cost $3500 per operation in the US, but in India, it only costs the patient a mere $50. The Aravind Eye Hospital uses the most modern equipment available in any facility in the world and still with only 40% paying customers, the hospital remained profitable and debt free. They managed to cut down their costs by its ability to use the equipment effectively, as it specializes only in eye care and every doctor and nurse team performs an average of 50 surgeries per day. Other success stories ranging from micro-financing facilities, energy resources, agricultural services, information technology, health care, retailing are well illustrated. Now I know how we can bring these services to people who earn less than $2 a day and the company can still make a hefty profit.

The underlying impact is great. With collaboration from all sectors, the market oriented system can be used to develop wealth in the BOP market. Alleviating poverty doesn’t rest on the governments shoulders alone. Social transformation of the very poor is about the number of people who believe that they can aspire to a middle-class lifestyle. The question is how we can bring this middle-class lifestyle to the poor. C.K Prahalad wrote that our best allies in fighting poverty are the poor themselves. Their resilience and perseverance must give us courage to move forward with entrepreneurial solutions to the problem. He believes that with bold and responsible leadership from the private sector and civil society, world poverty and deprivation elimination is possible by the year 2020.

Very interesting book I must say. It gives fresh thinking about emerging markets. The private sector can be put at the center of development, as a real engine of services for the poor. It all boils down to innovation. Read this book if you want to know more about fighting poverty with profitability.

Raidi's Graduation Ceremony

Dear Raidi,

Today Abah and Mama would like to congratulate you. Last Sunday, both Abah and Mama attended your graduation ceremony held at the Damansara Utama Multipurpose Hall. That day, you woke up very early in the morning and made sure that Abah and Mama got prepared early as well. You did not want to be late for this important event. I saw how happy you were and you just can’t wait to go to the hall and meet up with all your friends. You looked very handsome in your purple baju melayu suit.

Abah and Mama got to see you perform on stage with your friends singing a Nasyid song about Nabi Noh. You kept on looking towards Abah (I was standing by the side of the stage, busy taking photos) when you are supposed to look towards the audience! But it was really fun watching you performing on stage though.

The best part was when I had the opportunity to talk to your friends Raidi. I would like to put on record that a girl by the name of Shafiqah turns out to be your first crush! All your friends that I met talked to me about this girl that you admire (all caught on video, see them below). You even asked me at home whether I managed to take a picture of Shafiqah that day!! Hmm.. to tell you the truth, it reminded me of my crush that I had when I attended my pre-school in Bangsar! I wonder what happened to that girl..emmm. Anyway, I can see how close you are with your friends Raidi. I understand now why you even want to go to school on Sundays! I’m really glad that you are enjoying your pre-schooling days. You would certainly miss your friends nanti but not to worry, Abah will keep their contact details. Maybe we can invite some of your friends to come over to your future birthday parties.

In January you will be attending your primary school at SKTTDI(1), the school behind our house. For your information, I attended this school too! It’s common when parents and the kids go to the same boarding school, but what about primary school?? I think it’s seldom. Aunty Tasha, uncle Harris and uncle Helmi studied at the same school! Only Uncle Husni went to SKTTDI(2). I hope your brother Zidani will join you in 2 years time, when you are in Standard 3.

One thing for sure, I want to be active in PIBG and contribute in anyway that could bring good education to my kids. It’s a way for me to give back to society. Not only Raidi is going to study there, the father is also an ex-student. So I think I’m more than compelled to contribute something right? Anyway, you going to SKTTDI(1) would certainly bring back old memories of my own schooling days. One day I would give you a tour in that school and tell you about my own experiences. Hehehe, I can’t wait to have lunch with you at the school canteen!

Pictures of graduation: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mafiz/sets/72157594365698367/

Interview 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sit2b6hZRp4

Interview 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c4A89P4rxQ

Interview 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mQOnE3qJkg

More Raya Pictures....

More group photos taken during Hari Raya. People in these photos are my relatives from my father's side. During the first week of Raya we have visited most of them already. The 2nd week, we should be covering Mak's side relatives plak. Till today, I've uploaded close to 100 Raya pictures and there will be plenty more to come. Luckily I've upgraded my flickr account and now I've got the motivation to take more pictures. Todate, I had only used 10% of my monthly uploading quota!! So by month end, kira wasted the other 90%. Perhaps I should start sharing some of the uploading capacities that I've bought. Anybody interested?? Boleh kongsi kalau nak...

All my cousins with Atuk excluding my borther Harris and Mak Long's 4 kids

Hari Raya 2006 Part..III

Perghh... last night we brought KLCC new year's eve celebration to Jalan Athinahapan 1!!..check out the video clips below... Uncle Taufik sponsored the firecrackers and my brothers and cousins took charge of the 'show'. Raidi was the only kid who was playing with the safer little bunga api. Next year we're planning to put up a much better and bigger show!!

Highlight for the night : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RtSkXfhVvw
Some other clips : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQa-85HspB0

Hari Raya 2006..Part II

Today marked the 4th day of Syawal and so far, the celebration had been great and very tiring as well. Day before yesterday, Fiqar and family, Nurleena, Frieda and hubby, Pak Usop came by our house for Raya. In the evening, we went to Azad’s place in Shah Alam and Zidani really enjoyed that ketupat with kari kambing. I went back home that night, feeling a bit dizzy. I don’t know, maybe this kambing is a bit too much for me. Better do my medic check up soon and check my cholestoral level. Manyak takut wooooo..

Beraya dekat KLIA....

We picked up Abah, Mak and Atuk today at KLIA and everybody converged at Abah’s place in TTDI including relatives from JB. We are glad that they’ve managed to come back home safely from their Umrah and get to celebrate Hari Raya with the rest of the family. While having lunch together, everybody listened to their interesting experiences in Makah. Abah and mak told us about how everybody in Masjidil Haram, just before the Friday prayer’s, heard loud noises coming from the top of Kaabah. It sounded like a carriage of horses running across the grand mosque and many thought that it was actually the Angel. Abah also told us a story when he had this conversation with a male Caucasian. Judging from his British accent, he really thought that this guy originates from the UK. Apparently he's actually a Malaysian and lives in Mutiara Damansara! Haha..what a small world.

Makan time...

Tonight Raidi and Zidani had a great time playing with firecrackers with their uncles and aunties. Even I enjoyed the fireworks display. My brothers and my cousins bought them in Taman Datuk Keramat so it really was like a mini new year’s celebration right here in Jalan Athinahapan 1. I was a bit worried if the neighbors complained and called up the police. But I guess it's part of the thrill isn't it?. Now this is what I call Hari Raya. Although we were not in Muar or Kluang, but it felt like an exciting family gathering. Everybody enjoyed themselves. Mafeitz and Fiqar dropped by my parent’s place and Raidi made sure that their kid didn’t miss the fun.

Dam dam dum..bunyi mercun!

Tomorrow, I think I will take the kids to Raya at Mak Long’s house in Seksyen 6 Shah Alam. Ayu will be working so it will just be me and the kids. It’s going to be tiring I’m sure tapi setahun sekali kan? But to tell you the truth, tekak ni gatal nak berkaraoke sebenarnya…nak je esok gi BSC and melalak! heheheeh

More gambar at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mafiz/sets/72157594343989165/

Hari Raya 2006

At first I thought I want to write another episode of the ‘Voyage Of The Super Hero Robot’. However, Raidi has lots of Robot in his collection today, writing a story about each one of them would be too daunting for me! Besides, this Raya’s edition, Abah, Mak, Atuk and Raidi himself is not with us to celebrate in KL. My parent’s will only be back from Umrah this coming Friday afternoon, while Raidi is having a good time in Penang with Ayu’s mom. Yup, he followed his grandmother up north to celebrate Hari Raya. So here we are today, just me, Ayu and Zidani together with my brothers and sister celebrating Hari Raya. This is the first raya that we celebrate without Abah, Mak and Raidi around and it surely feels different. Nevertheless, we did have a joyous celebration visiting uncles, aunties and friends around KL.

At Uncle Yoh's place in TTDI
Zidani certainly had a great time. He gets full attention from the parents and the others. I was amazed looking at the amount of food that Zidani eats. Semua dia pulun!! We went to Uncle Yoh’s place after prayers, visited Ibdil and his family the same morning, had lunch at Auntie Huda’s place in Subang Jaya, Uncle Azmi and Untie Oyah’s residence in Kota Damansara in the afternoon and singgah at my borther’s apartment after that. We ended the 1st raya rounds at Nurleena’s place in TTDI. We overdosed the ketupat, rendang and kuih, we woke up really late today feeling the effects from our mentekedarah. Now, it’s nearly 3pm and Ayu’s watching Castello on Astro, Zidani is having is nap and I really really feel like sleeping again! Hahaha..baru lepas makan ketupat palas lagi!

To be continued

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Dan Batin….

Tackling, Headbuting..How About Biting??

Ref: Oii..apa gigit gigit ni???
Defoe: saya geram ref...dia tackle saya

I never thought this could ever happen in football. At least not in the EPL. Tottenham striker Willam Defoe did a Mike Tyson thingy on a Hammer's player and now, he's being criticise by the footie fraternity. Defoe said that the incident was blown out of proportion and Martin Jol, his team manager consider it nothing more than a comical nible. I wonder what goes in Defoe's mind when he did this act. If you want to over-react on the field, make another tackle laa like what any other sane footballer does...Or baling Pizza ke. But biting your fellow opponent on the arm?? That should only happen in other close contact sports like Boxing. Sure kawan-kawan dia kutuk and ejek baik punya hahahaha..Eeeee...Defoe..Ggggrrr..Auummm.. auummm..Bite me!!!

Manchester United Back On Top! Yummy!

A bowl of sweet strawberrys, dip them in Hersheys Choc syrup together with some whipped cream, it's simply mouth watering! This is what I had while watching MU played against Liverpool live on Astro last night. Congratulations to Paul Scholes for playing his 500th game for Manchester United. He scored again at Old Trafford and the timing couldn’t be any better. I think this should boost this guy’s confidence and he’s going to start scoring regularly. I was really hoping for Ronaldo to play but I guess there’s a blessing a disguise. To me the man of the match should go to Darren Fletcher for his will and determination to win every ball possible. Kudos to Rio who scored the second goal that made him looked like a capable striker. Right now, looking at how things are going for MU, my weekly groceries list won’t be without a pack of strawberrys!

Selamat Hari Jadi...Selamat Hari Jadii....

Its 2.30 in the morning and I can’t sleep. I just finished watching a DVD and Zidani suddenly woke up and he’s eating choc chip cookies right now. No problem Zidani, you can teman Abah for awhile. Raidi is still not sleeping as he is re-arranging all his hand crafted toys from his Art Attack classes. Today, he has not got much space in his room to display all his art creations. He also puts up his drawings on the door to his room and there’s no more space left either. Hmm..he asked me for a new door but I told him to start using the wall instead.

Today is the 22nd of October 2006. It’s a significant date for me because today marked the 1st anniversary of my blogging activity!! Goosshhh…how time flies. I can’t believe that it’s been a year already! Mafeitz, if you feel that the month of Ramadhan pass by in a flash, I think the past one year pass by in a blink of an eye!

So how am I feeling about this anniversary? Honestly, I feel happy. I’m feeling happy because I think I’ve accomplished something today. I’ve managed to put on record many of the important events in my life. This is great because to tell you the truth, I’m not really into writing and reading had not been my favorite past time either. But due to blogging, I’ve been writing and I’ve been reading people’s blog too. Interesting and entertaining indeed.

I initially thought those who blog are people who don't really have a real life to live in (because they are busy blogging)!! hahaha..Now my perception is totally different. To me it’s a place where we can blog about the beutiful life itself. I think, in a way, blogging had changed our lifestyle. Have you ever done anything interesting just because you feel you should do it so that you can write it on the blog??? Answer this question honestly…if your answer is yes, I think you’ve taken the blue pill. Welcome to the matrix!!

It’s a great feat for me to write about my life for the past one year. I get to read back about all the goodies and the not so bad stuff about myself and others. There’s one thing that blogging had made an impact to me. It made me realized and constantly reminded me that I have 2 other blogs written by Allah’s Angels (Malaikat Roqib & Atid). They must have started writing about me at least for the past 15 years. Every single detail of my life had been written by them, all my good and bad conduct. We bloggers write about what we only want others to know and we leave the skeletons in the closet. But this is not the case for the two Angels. I’m scared that majority of the entries in my books had been made by Malaikat Atid. I really hope Malaikat Roqib is writing a little good about me right now because I’m doing something good here to a remind everybody!

My motivation to blog is simply for my future generation. It would be interesting to read about your great great great grandparent’s life isn’t it? I hope that this blog website will exist for many generations to come. If one day they decide to charge surfers for some fees, I’m willing to pay for it! I really do.

Hopefully, you have enjoyed reading my blog. I know there is nothing much in here compared to the other blogsites. But I think I’ve tried my level best to make it interesting. What I wrote came straight from my honest heart. I will continue blogging for as long as I can. I will try to write and capture all the important and significant moments in life revolving around me, family and friends. Like I’ve written before in my first entry, this blog is actually a dedication. It is a way for Mafiz to say thank you for making him the person he is today. So make sure you are nice to Mafiz all the time…If not aaa…not only Mafiz will write something bad about you on his blog… Malaikat Atid would surely make his entry too!!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY TO MY BLOG!!

Kamcheng Iftar 2006

Today we had our annual Kamcheng Iftar at Mal's place in Sunway Damansara townhouse. He just shifted two weeks ago so he voluntered to be the host for this year's buka puasa. So it was a combo Iftar and house warming thingy. Majority of us came to this function this year and we truely enjoyed the gathering. As usual, food was aplenty (I LOVE WAN EDRIN'S CHOCOLATE CAKE!!!!! CHAMPION!!!! Wife dia buat..so kena order lepas ni) and the kids had so much fun playing with each other. Edrus son's vomitted-he ran in circle non-stop, Azad's daughter fell on the floor head first, Harris had to changed his daughter's soiled diapers and Raidi's hand melecur main bunga api. Yes, the fathers got to play with firecrakers too (courtesy of Nor)! I think for first time in 15 years, I get to lit up a moon traveller!! What a feeling....

It was funny when we had to help Mal in the kitchen to prepare the dinner table. All the utensils were still in boxes! Now this is what I call house warming! Kid's vommit, soiled carpet, waxed benches.. hahahah... habis rumah ko Mal. To those who went back early, you missed out on Mal's specially made ice blended coffee! I must say, it's not bad at all Mal, I can still smell the aroma. We officiated this brand new blender so that made it even extra special. hehehe. Thank's to everybody who contributed to this gathering. Maybe next year I would like to volunteer plaks! See more pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mafiz/sets/72157594338420752/

Raidi playing with bunga api

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

On behalf of my family, I would like to wish everybody Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Kami sekeluarga menghulur empat puluh jari sebagai tanda kemaafan sekiranya ada kesalahan dan kesilapan samaada sengaja atau pun tidak. Hopefully everybody will have a safe and great Hari Raya holidays.

To my badminton geng, sesiapa nak datang court badminton hari Selasa nanti jangan la pergi sorang-sorang ye? Jemputlah kawan-kawan seperjuangan yang lain sekiranya sudi ye...hehehe

Q & A With Kids....

Two days ago, I saw this billboard about the National’s Space Program in the city. On that billboard, Raidi saw this astronaut wearing a full space suit carrying an oxygen back pack.

Immediately Raidi asked me this question. “Bah, kenapa dekat space tak ada oksigen??”. I thought very hard to come out with an answer so that he could easily understand and absorb. I paused for awhile, scratched my head and he suddenly came up with an answer. “Sebab dekat space tak ada pokok ke Bah?” Perrghhhhhh…bijaaakk bijaakkk (TO THOSE WHO STILL DOESN’NT KNOW THIS, PART OF THIS PLANET’S ECO-SYSTEM, TO SUSTAIN LIFE, PLANTS PRODUCES OXYGEN FOR US TO BREATHE). “Yup Raidi, that is partly correct, infact an astronaut carries an oxygen tank for life support”. “Habis dalam beg dia tu ada pokok ke bah??” Peerghhhhh.. Susah nak jawab Raidi! Blurr kejap bapak ko dibuatnya! Below are some of the challenging questions that Raidi had asked me before:

1. “Kenapa Bulan ikut kita mana-mana kita pergi?”
2. “Kenapa pokok warna hijau?”
3. “Nak pergi bulan naik roket ye Bah? Kenapa?”
4. “Kenapa Anakyn Skywalker punya R2-D2 colour biru?”
5. “Yoda tu dah tua ye Bah? Dia berapa tahun? Kenapa dia mati?”
6. “Abah umur berapa tahun nanti dah tua?”
7. “Nanti Abah dah tua nanti siapa nak hantar saya pergi sekolah?”

Raidi is at the age when kids have tons of questions to satisfy their curiosity. He’s very perceptive. It’s quite challenging because they ask honest questions and we’ve got to make the answers as simple and logical as possible. When we talk to these kids, we’ve got to scale down our mentality just to be in the same wavelength. Sometimes, I felt very surprised by their level of maturity and understanding. I noticed that all the kids that I met today have strong mental ability. They are good at anything that they do. I’m sure you have noticed this too.

I feel that the era of great thinkers, innovators and inventors are upon us. The era when we saw Muslim Scholars excelled in Science, Philosophy and Literature. An era of great inventors with the likes of Wright Brothers whom invented the first flying machine. Thanks to these great thinkers, we get to live the life that we are living today. I guess the next leap in human life development is in the hands of our children. Humanity had collected so much data and findings and with the computing power available today, it allows us to simulate models with countless scenarios. With so much information in our hands, the generation to come will use them to make many of our fantasies becoming a reality.

It’s just that today there are so many fields that people can excel in that their inventions are only publicized or known to certain community. So someone needs to invent something like a ‘Warp Drive’ to get a global attention or maybe from beyond our solar system (who knows maybe the Vulcan’s are waiting for human to invent this technology). I just hope that they use the knowledge for the goodness of mankind. So Raidi and Zidani, if you want to invent something, Death Star is out of the question, Millenium Falcon, good. Star Destroyer is a no noo. Invent something useful ok?

Lambaian Kaabah...

My parents together with my grandmother will be celebrating Hari Raya in Makah this year. They flew to the holy land to perform their Umrah last Wednesday morning. I decided to take the express link from KL Sentral as I need to be in the office in the afternoon. Besides I had never been on the ERL during the day so I took the opportunity to experience the ride in daylight.

Aunties, cousins and all my siblings were there as we bid bon voyage to them. They’ll be flying back on the 27th of October, the first week of Raya. So basically me and my siblings will be celebrating Hari Raya in TTDI this year. To Abah, Mak and Atuk, we pray and hope that you will have a safe trip to perform the Umrah. We will be waiting for you to come back home and celebrate Hari Raya with the rest of the family. I dont' know, maybe we'll prepare something special for your homecoming.

Family Picture

Adik Beradik...

While I was in KLIA, was informed by Dil that his Wife had safely delivered a baby boy at Pantai Hospital. So I went straight from KL Sentral to the hospital and visited Dil and Ezah. Congratulations Ibdil on your latest edition to the family. Check out his blog at http://cocodilly.blogspot.com/2006/10/imann-areef-bin-ibdilillah.html on this latest event.

My Favorite Dessert....

Yup..you are actually looking at the picture of my favorite dessert. It’s home made! I love TGIF choc mud pie, I would die for a California Pizza Choc brownies and I would always drool over any chocolate ice blended or smoothies. But this is still and will always be the Champion. Juara carta dessert ku. Why I like it so much? Couple of reasons:

1. Easy to make. Making it yourself is as enjoyable as eating it.
2. It’s Cheap. All I need to buy is one tub of chocolate ice cream, a can of whipped cream, a bottle of hershey’s chocolate syrup (I sometimes mix this with Coke), a tin of oats and some strawberries or bananas. Usually, this would last for a month.
3. I can eat it while wearing my sarong…you can’t do this at Friday’s or Coffee Bean. Nak pergi kedai mamak pun skarang ni kena jaga. Pakai kain pelikat kena kutuk babe!
4. It tastes even better while watching MU winning a football game. I don’t know why, but it always tastes the best whenever they beat Liverpool. Hehehe
5. I get to share it with my kids. You should see them fighting for every scoop from me. Macam anak burung lapar..hahaha

Good Luck Raidi! All The Best

This week Raidi is having his pre-school final exam. Raidi is attending his pre-school at the Mujahideen Religious School in Damansara Utama. He loves to go to school and I’m glad that he's enjoying this experience. Raidi is very hard working and he would usually finish his homework at school while waiting for Atuk Seth to pick him up. He has many friends there and the teachers love him too. According to his Ustazah, Raidi is very lively in class and he likes to ask many questions too.

Although he’s just in pre-school, I’m now experiencing how other parents feel when their kids are having their exams. You have put high hope and wish that your kid would do well. I know Raidi had prepared for this, but still I don’t feel that I have done enough to help him with his studies. What I’m proud of is, he himself took his own initiative to study and would seek our help when needed. I never force him to study as he enjoys learning and that is very important.

In his last mid-term exam, he managed to score straight A’s. In a class of 50 students, he was ranked 7th in the overall grading. I hope he would improve this position. I’ve promised Raidi to buy more Transformers or Star Wars toys if he can get straight A’s again. I really really hope so because I’ve been dying to buy that Hasbro Snow Speeder ship from the movie Star Wars-The Empire Strikes Back..hehehehehe

Buka Puasa At Sharil's In-Laws...

Raja invited us to break fast at his in-laws place (DSAI residence) in D'mansara Heights. I know this fellow since primary school and I remembered how me and Azad always 'singgah' by his place in TTDI after our morning school and played ping pong together. Today, Raja plays badminton with us and believe me, we sometimes see his his ping-pong skills spilling over in the badminton court!

Ibdil, Raja Ahmad and me

Stayed back after Tarawikh prayers and we got to hear Datuk Seri Anwar and Datin Seri speaking about their aspirations and their thoughts on the current political development in this country. He stressed how important it is to keep on believing in what they are fighting for. He reminded his supporters to work hard for the party. People always told him that he's party is fighting a loose cause. He might loose now but he feels it is not going to be forever.

DSAI with the geng...

The food was great. Mafeitz (and family), Ibdil (cayalah la Dil, pasal kawan sanggup kena marah ngan KJ! haha), Izzat, Zaini, Reezan, LanMi were there too and we get to see DSAI speaking after he came back from the United States for his back problem. I admire him as someone who is highly knowledgable and a good leader. After listening to him for a shortwhile, I understand why some people feel he is a threat. The way he speaks, he could move mouintains. Wish I could attend more of these 'gatherings' for entertainment sake, and to learn how to become a good public speaker!

From Amateur to Pro..

I’ve just upgraded my flickr account to a pro account. Meaning, I had paid flickr for a bigger storage capacity. The amateur account limits users to store up to 200 pictures for free. So now I have a 1Gb upload capacity monthly and this translates to about 12,000 pictures a year (assuming a picture takes up 1mb using a 5mpixels camera). This new storage costs me USD25 a year. I think it’s justifiable. Here’s why:

1. Assured of access to a secured and big storage.

2. I have a digital camera, where else can I keep all the digital pictures. That’s 12,000 pictures a year you know.

3. It’s online. Anyone can view it. It will be there for my kids and the next generation to view them. I can access them anywhere and anytime in the world via the internet.

4. I can manage the storage, group them, give them titles and I can even write stories about them. It’s an alternative site to my current blog.

5. I do have a CD writer, but I’m too lazy to ‘burn’ the pictures. Besides, what if the CD is preceded by a better media? So irrespective of technology, the online pictures will always be downloadable.

6. Photography is a hobby to me. I love landscape photography. With this new account, it gives me further motivation to shoot more pictures.

7. Also, it justifies me to upgrade to a Digital SLR. Heheh..That new Canon 400D SLR camera is really cool! With 10megapixels, I can definitely fill up my monthly 1Gb upload quota quickly. The camera costs RM3,200 and comes with a 18-55mm lense. Perfect package for an enthusiast like me. Azad..can you loan me some money??? Hehehe. Dil, sebab tu aku tak nak beli basikal..gila kooo..baik beli SLR camera!!! No matter how many gears your bicycle can have, can it take pictures?? Cannot maaaa....

View all pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mafiz/

Salam Ramadhan 2006

Mama..get well soon…and take care of yourself..

Dear Mama, Raidi want you to get well soon. Raidi and Zidani want Mama to be well so that you can take us jalan-jalan. Take us out to have dinners and to the toy shops. Abah doesn’t want to buy us toys! He always buys toys for himself and he don't let us play with them! We hope that you don’t fall sick again.

Me & Mama at the hospital...

Mama, please take care of you kidney ok? Drink water all the clock. Raidi know Abah has batu in his kidneys, but at least the batu is not in Abah’s head. Mama, you are so stubborn, keras kepala. Raidi told Mama before don’t eat junk food but you don’t want to listen to me. Today, Raidi don’t want to eat junk food anymore because I don’t want to fall sick like Mama. But it’s ok Mama as long as you buy me toys, you can always eat junk food as much as you want. But if you go back to the hospital, make sure you come back home quickly ok?? Raidi hope Mama will get well soon and don't forget to take your ubat ok? Raidi and Zidani love you...

Btw, I want to say thank you to everybody who visited Mama at the Hospital. Thank you also to all the UH doctors and nurses who took care of my Mama. Particularly, I want to say thank you to the inventor of this antibiotic that not only treated Mama's infections, but made Mama's skin acne free! hehe Ok...Raidi got to go...Raidi want to play with my Robot. I want to play for many many clocks..bye byeee...