Easier said than done

Sometimes, keeping a record of our thoughts is good. Blogging is one of the ways to do it.
Just now, I reread some of the things I've written here before, since it has been a while since the last time I updated this blog. (as usual).

My thought while reading my blog was, waaa, it's super duper easy for me to write tazkirah but to practice the things I've written..? It somehow requires lots of effort.

I'm ashamed.

Somehow, it felt like the things I've written here was pointless. Meaningless.
It became like that 'cause maybe the 'soul' I had while writing those things isn't with me anymore.

Dear good soul, dear good part of me, please come back. dolawa~

Please get better. Please be better.

P/S: Final exam's next week! Fighto-oh!
Takmo tensen-tensen. Muram-muram cepat tua. Senyum-senyum awet muda ;D :P

Against your own self

Bismillah.

Salam :)

it's already a new Hijriah year. May this year be better than the previous years, insya-Allah.

A few months ago, I watched a Korean drama entitled 'Gu Family Book'. The main character in the drama is  Kangchi, a guy with a mixed blood: half wolf and half human. Haha ok yes, the drama is a bit merepek, illogical, fantasy, etc but that's not the point. There's a lesson that I really like in this drama.

Because Kangchi is half-human he couldn't balance his wolf and human part (in the earlier episodes). Sometimes he would hurt people without realizing it because the wolf part had overtaken him. However, after he become human again, he would regret it and be very sad. That's why he insisted on being human. Finally, after being tested and with the support from the people around him, he could control his power. His wolf part won't take over him again. He'll only become wolf to get stronger in a fight. He could finally balance being human and wolf.

At that point, I realized something. The life of Kangchi is actually related to us, humans, except that we don't have the wolf part. To Kangchi, the wolf is the bad side of him and human is the good side of him.  Us normal human too have a good side and dark side. We have both sides, but we ourselves choose to be which one. Be good or be evil? hmm. hmm.

The choice is up to us. The battle to be good, is the battle against our own self. Good vs Bad. Which one is stronger in us? The stronger one is the one that will be visible to others.

How do you get your 'good' side stronger?

I think that depends on our iman, because a believer (who believe in Allah, His prophets, His promises, the afterlife) would try as much as he/she could to be good.

Hence, let us try to get our good side stronger. heheh. Mujahadah li nafs. Fight against your own self. Master yourself. がんばって　ください！

That's all. Salam.

Journey in Queensland VI : Final

Salam. Hi~
Alhamdulillah I've settled down in Malaysia, settled down in my uni and classes have started.
Let's continue my last episode of going to Queensland. It's not good having things hanging, right? So I better finish it.

For my last weekend there, kak Aliya offered me to choose, whether to go to Sea World or Movie World. I chose Movie World, and I have no regret deciding that.

31/8/2013: Warner Bros Movie World, Gold Coast

Since it was during Merdeka day, I called it my Merdeka trip. Hue hue hue. I went to Gold Coast by train (Kak Aliya dropped me off at Park Road Station). After arriving at Helensvale station (it was about an hour of ride), I took the bus to Movie World. Again, I was very satisfied with the public transportation.

Wuwu~ I was there!

The Main Street

Since it was my first time there, I was a bit lost but luckily I have the map. So, when I stepped my feet into that place, I first explore the places for the rides by referring to the map. I planned to catch the Hollywood Stunt Driver show, but I had plenty of time before the show starts, thus I strolled around Movie World. I was there quite early, which explains the emptiness of the Main Street above. It got crowded quickly as noon approached.

Superman Escape

My first ride while waiting for the Hollywood Stunt Driver show was Superman Escape. The ride was super fast and I liked it. It wasn't that scary because it didn't go upside down, it just went very fast. I enjoyed it.

After that, I went to watch Hollywood Stunt Driver. The show was amazing. It was my first time watching stunt show live, so I was quite excited. Totally worth it.

The Green Lantern

 My next ride was Green Lantern. This one is more thrilling than Superman Escape, but I enjoyed it too.

Then, I went to ride Justice League 3D ride with other three Australian children. haha. Throughout the ride, we have to shoot something (don't know what's it called) with a laser gun and our scores will be shown on our seat. I guess I didn't really enjoyed it because my gun wasn't working properly T_T. Plus, I guess I'll enjoy the ride more if I ride it with my family or friends.

After that, I went to watch the Batman Show.

I also had Ben & Jerry's ice cream because I had never tasted them. It was so good!

I forgot to took a picture before I eat it, so I just took a picture after it had been touched.

Oh, when I was in there, I met several Malaysians. A group of Malaysian students from Melbourne and a group of Malaysian family. The Malaysian family is Ziela Jalil's family. She brought along her mother and children. She is quite friendly and called herself aunty to me. Her daughter, Julia, too is a nice person. It was good meeting them.

Scooby Doo's Spooky Coaster

At first, I was hesitating to ride this spooky coaster because I really dislike horror thing. However, after being asked by the Malaysians to ride it together, I agreed. I thought it will be more fun to ride is with fellow Malaysians, and I was right. The ride was fun. Fortunately it wasn't as scary as I thought and I enjoyed it too.

After the ride, I watched the Scooby Doo show. but I didn't really concentrate on that show because, hm I wasn't that interested. huhuh.

Arkham Asylum

The last ride I rode for that day was the Arkham Asylum ride. I reaaaally didn't expect the roller coaster to be hanging like that, but since I had already queued up up to the point where I was very close to the gate of the ride, I decided to just try riding it. I felt that this ride was the longest because it was very thrilling and turned upside down a lot. Fortunately I didn't feel dizzy after riding it.

I went to take some more photos, bid goodbye to fellow Malaysians, went shopping for a bit and performed solat at the musolla. Afterwards, I took the train to go back to Brisbane.

Inside the train

It was a fun day alhamdulillah. and I still like the public transportation *very satisfied*.


1/9/2013-5/9/2013: Last Days

My last weekdays there was just like the other weekdays, I still babysit them, etc, but during this last week, I took more pictures videos of Layth and Thauban. I knew I would miss them. These photos were when we were playing at the backyard.

Thauban with the broom (He likes to sweep the floor, like the grown ups do)
Layth with his favourite scooter.

Layth posed for the camera with his paper plane.

Thauban watching his brother, Layth.

Alhamdulillah I took videos of them, so I can watch them whenever I feel like watching. hohoho~


6/9/2013: Back to Malaysia
The day had arrived. The night before my departure, I weighed my luggage and as expected, it exceed the weight that had been pre-booked. kah kah. So, did web check-in and change the luggage weight with the help of kak Aliya. hehe.

That morning, kak Aliya sent me at the Gold Coast Airport. Since she was aware that I'm prone to motion sickness, she gave me pills for nausea. weee, alhamdulillah. Thanks kak Aliya.

I didn't feel air sick at all in the plane. I had my meal happily, watch movie happily and read book happily! I could even finish the reading of Surah Al-Kahfi in the plane (since it was Friday), alhamdulillah :D
I enjoyed the flight.

Mama, Abah, Mak Seha, Piah and Hanaa picked me up at LCCT.

Malaysia, I am home :)

--------------------------------------------------
Alhamdulillah.
Thanks Allah for giving me this experience.
Thanks Abah & Mama for letting me go to Queensland for 2 months.
Thanks Kak Aliya & family for accepting me as babysitter, and for everything.
Kak Aliya treated me a lot, and very well too. I liked to ask her a lot of questions and she answered each of them nicely. rasa macam budak-budak pulak. haha. aku memang budak pun kan? :P
Thanks Layth and Thauban. Sorry if I had ever been garang to both of you.
Thanks kak Iman Kasim for going out with me.
Being with Muslims who understands the concept of 'sisterhood' is great.
Thanks for family and friends who kept in touch with me and keep praying for me. hehe.
Alhamdulillah 'ala kulli hal.

Wassalam.

Journey in Queensland V

Salam.

This is the story from the last 2 weekend.

Since I didn't really have a plan for my weekend, I asked Kak Iman K out. Kak Iman K is studying in Uni of Queensland (UQ). I knew her through her blog and my friend, Athirah Kahar. I actually didn't know that she is studying here. When I uploaded my pictures on facebook, Kak Iman suddenly commented "you're in Brisbane? Let's meet up sometimes" <-- kind of like that. So we got in touch with each other, and I decided to meet her.

17/8/2013: Taringa and Southbank

Kak Iman and I met up at city. Throughout our journey, we rode the bus. The bus here is very efficient! It's like the LRT/Train/Monorail in KL but, it's a bus! It even has a busway.
We went to Taringa to attend an open house of Ustazah Asma'. She is someone kak Iman know. We filled our stomach there before we went to Southbank.

Queensland Museum
It's located in Southbank, very near to the Queensland State Library.

The entrance.

I think this dinasour is a must-take-photo-with

The museum is quite interesting. There are models of animals, historical things and collections. It is from that museum that I learn that Australia actually has a lot of its own resources. Well, it's the only continent down here.
I didn't take much photo there because some areas don't allow cameras and at other areas, I didn't really know what to capture. huhuh.

 Southbank
 There are a lot of thing in here. There are the ferris-wheel, restaurants, food stalls, BBQ, etc and during weekends, there is a market. Southbank is the place where the carnivals will be held. It is kind of like Danga Bay in JB but Southbank is bigger.

Southbank and the market.
The churros is very good!

I bought some souvenirs at the market. Most things there are handmade. Cool. After that, we went to enjoy ice-cream at the ice-cream shop called Cold Rock. Yummy!

and then we headed to kak Iman's house. I had a sleepover there. We went to the neighbourhood by ferry! On the ferry, we sat at the outer side, so I didn't get sea-sick. Alhamdulillah.

Southbank and the city of Brisbane, viewed from the ferry.

18/8/2013: University of Queensland
My wish to go visit a university overseas came true! hoho. oh, actually I went there because there was a Raya event organized by Malaysian UQ students and kak Iman was one of the committees. She's the one who invited me over. I had a great tour there with my tourguide, Kak Iman and Kak Liyana. Kak Liyana is Kak Iman's friend and apparently, she's also the cousin of my school seniors, Kak Farhana and kak Husna Zain.

I'm a happy tourist. *satisfied*

 UQ has museums, libraries, lakes, hostels, faculties and many shops. I wished I could visit the shops but since I went during weekend, most shops were closed. UQ is big, but I don't know if it is bigger or smaller than UTM. I think UTM is bigger.

Then, I went to the raya event called Riang Ria Raya Queensland. Raya food! Bismillah~ Omnomnomnom.. A lot of people came regardless of their nationality, religion and races.

People, people everywhere.

I hang out with kakak-kakak who handled Buku Jalanan Brisbane.

I had a great time chatting and hanging out with Malaysian students there. It didn't feel like I was overseas, but they probably did feel so because they are away from their home and family for a long time, while I'll be back home soon. Somehow, when I was there, I kept telling myself, "uuu, I'm surrounded by sponsored students here.. semua pandai-pandai ni.." Rasalah inferior sikit. haha. But yeah, I had a great time with them.

Then, kak Iman sent me to the UQ Lakes bus station and I headed back to kak Aliya's house. It was a good weekend. Alhamdulillah.

Last weekend, I didn't do anything much. Just went shopping for souvenirs. hoho.
My weekdays are just as usual, babysitting Thauban and Layth when he's not attending school, doing house chores, online, etc.

This weekend is my final weekend here. I am going back next week! Kinda sad that I'm gonna leave Brisbane but am excited to meet my family and friends too! and,, just a little excited to start the new semester in uni. uhuk.

That's it for now.
May Allah bless us.

wassalam :)

Journey in Queensland IV

Salam.

July passed and August came.
Ramadhan passed and Syawal came.

8/8/2013: 'Eidul Fitr
As what I've written in my Eid post, I only knew eid was on the day few minutes after I woke up that morning. so, Yeay, I got to wear baju kurung overseas! (p/s: it's not a new baju raya, just a casual baju kurung)

Here we are, at the masjid

in ladies' praying area.

As we walked out from the masjid, a few men lining up through the way and giving this to everyone.
This only one of the sweets they gave. There are a lot more kinds of sweets.
It's very delicious!!

My eid picture is also in my eid post. eheh.

Meanwhile in Malaysia...

Huntongla derang main bunga apiii~~
1st picture: My parents + grandmother + siblings present + brother in law + nephews + 2 cousins. Nenek is so cute making peace sign. heee. Love that picture because everyone is smiling happily.
Bottom-left: Iman Syuhada, my niece (Suhaib's daughter) watching her aunts playing with the sparkles
Bottom-right: Kauthar, my niece (Maimunah's daughter) under the coffee table.

I don't really feel homesick because I know I'll be back at Malaysia after a month. koh koh. But it does feel a little empty to celebrate raya without my family.

But I'm truly grateful that I'm here with a Malaysian family so I can still enjoy nasi impit and rendang :)
but no burasak this year. of course lah kan, it's only available at nenek's kampung.


10/8/2013: Raya weekend
I followed Kak Aliya to her friend's house, Kak Ain. Kak Ain held an open house. I enjoyed eating many raya food and sweets.

Then, we went to Gold Coast. It's only about 45minutes drive from Brisbane.

Dreamworld
Kak Aliya planned to bring her kids here so I tag along. kih kih. This is the opportunity that I just couldn't let it go.

The logo at the entrance

This is the first ride I rode. The buzzsaw.

Right after coming in, after settling down myself (study map, etc), I rode the first ride I saw, The Buzzsaw. I just thought about giving it a try, without thinking more that this is one of the thrilling rides. After queuing up for about 20 minutes, I rode this and man, I really regretted it while I was on the ride. I didn't prepare my mental enough. haha. There are times when my head was bowed and it was hard to raise it back up. Luckily I have a strong neck bone. It didn't hurt.

Then, went to the surau to perform zuhr and after that, had lunch. The lunch was a buffet. It is around $23++ per head and we can take anything we like. The food is halal and delicious! Of course, I tried to take as many food as I like, but I know I couldn't eat much because I was going to ride more rides. (so, that was the trick, huh?)

My second ride, motocoaster

I bought my photo from this ride. When the shopkeeper said, "just you, alone?" while cropping my picture, I felt a little lonely. haha. but anyhow, I like my photo there because I was smiling throughout the whole ride!
Then I went to walk more.

Kung Fu Panda town

At Madagascar's

Pandamonium. The last ride I rode.

 Oh yeah, I only got to ride three rides only because the queuing up took so long. I queued up to ride a roller-coaster called the Cyclone but the queue line is too long. Hence, I decided to go shopping. hoho. Didn't buy much thing though. After that, I went back to Kung Fu Panda place and ride the pandamonium. I was unaware that the ride is a thrilling ride, but I had fun. I think I was building up my confidence and self-esteem in there.
However, it made me very dizzy afterwards. I think it's because during the ride, I took off my glasses, and the ride is all about spinning, and someone smells on the ride. uhuks. Luckily I didn't throw up.

All in all, I had a great trip there. But I've always had the thought of 'what if's on my head. huhuh.

That's it for now.
Last weekend, I celebrated raya with Malaysian again. I shall share it in the next entry.

wassalam :)

P/S: Today is the remembrance of Al-Quds day.

Journey in Queensland III

Salam :)

Let's continue about this journey before I go back to Malaysia and start my academic life :3
I now have 3 more weeks in here. Time is flying fast.

On my second weekend here, I went to a park in Brisbane, the city I'm staying in.

21/7/2013
Roma Street Parkland
This park is in the middle of the city. It is kinda like what we call as 'hutan bandar' in Johor. This is a place where families usually hang out and have BBQ. BBQ is like a cultural thing for Australian. Most major parks here have the BBQ facility and people can use it for free.
Anyway, in here, there are trains, botanical garden, playground, lake and of course, restaurants.

the fountain at the lake

Standing awkwardly in front of the waterfall

Beautiful, right? :D

I like the garden best because there are lots and lots of flowers! It is veeeeery beautiful.

Then, on the next weekend, I went to visit Australian animals.

28/7/2013
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
When I first heard of its name, I thought it is the place for Koalas only, but actually, this place also has Kangaroo, Wallabies, Birds, Platypus and many other Australian animals. In short, it's like Australian animals' zoo.

Wajiblah ambil gambar Koala kan bila dah masuk tempat ni

I forgot what animals are these. Red fox? 

The kangaroo is let moving around freely in its place.

I've always thought the kangaroos are tall!

Oh yeah, we can feed the kangaroos. But I didn't feed them because I'm afraid that they'll jump suddenly.
Plus, nanti dia jilat tangan I.. agagaga~

Sheep sheering session. The sheep is very cute! omo~

Everyone's touching the wool.
The man who sheered the sheep said that touching the wool is good for your skin.
He said that.

I didn't take any pictures when I was in the platypus place because the place is dark. I only took videos and of course I wouldn't upload the clip here. ahaks. Anyway, I only know that moment that platypus is not that big. It's small, like the size of a cat. I thought it's as big as biawak.

There are a lot of other animals in there actually but I didn't take photos of all of them because I'm not really a fan of animals, but I enjoyed visiting them.

Well, those were my two weekends in July.
I shall continue about my August in the next entry.

Before I end this entry, let me share a picture of Thauban.

He fell asleep while watching The Wiggles. awww~

and, let us keep praying for our muslim brothers and sisters all over the world, especially in Egypt, Syria and Palestine.
May Allah bless us.

Wassalam :)

I am here and they are there

The sun almost set

Sometimes I feel guilty for having so much fun and care less about my brothers and sisters on the other side of the world.
while I'm laughing here, they're probably crying there.
while I have enough sleep, they stay up to protect their people.
I wonder if I ever deserved to be called as their 'sister'.

I know it's never wrong to have fun, because it's one of the ni'mat.
But I'm afraid I'll be too carried away and swayed by the happiness.

Alhamdulillah for this guilt, I try to be moderate in having fun and being happy.
I have to remember Allah always to lessen the guilt, and keep praying for the muslims.
and be active in fulfilling my 'duty'.
That's what I can do for now.

Only Muslims can destroy Muslims.
and only Muslims can help Muslims.

Which kind of Muslim will you be?


Let's keep praying for Egypt, Syria, Palestine and other Muslims in all over the world.

Journey in Queensland II

Salam.

During my first weekend in here, we went to Toowoomba. Toowoomba is like a countryside on a hill (or is it a mountain?), so because the place is high, the temperature is colder too. Luckily I brought a heater along. In Toowoomba, I went to Picnic Point, Japanese Garden, and a few other parks I don't know their names.

13-14/7/2013: Toowoomba

Picnic Point
This place is at the top of Toowoomba. Sight-seeing here is great. You can see the neighbourhoods and highways below. The scenery is very picturesque; beautiful!
Oh, we didn't have picnic here because we were fasting. But this is a beautiful place for a picnic. There are a few restaurant and playground here. People who live around here is lucky!

we can see this giant Australian flag from below. cool!

Look at the scenery at the background. uuuu~ feeling soo tall.

keep walking.

found the secret garden. eyceh. it was so beautiful I felt like taking pictures non-stop.

Next, we went to a
mini-museum of train. It's a model train showroom. It's located near a horse place (can't remember the name :P)

I like the mini city!

chuggington, chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chuggington~

The next morning, we went to another place.

Japanese Garden
It is located in the University of Southern Queensland. It was very cold the morning we went. We can't really see the sun too, so most of the photos look gloomy. But still, I had a great walk and time there!

Group of ducks at the lake. They're very cute.

Wanted to use timer. Didn't make it to the targeted rock.
Doesn't matter, had picture taken here.

So many different kinds of trees!

My favourite scene.

Beautiful wasn't it?
It must be a lot more beautiful during spring.

That evening, we went to a park. can't remember its name.

Park in Toowomba
I think this is another great spot for a picnic. It has playgrounds, good scenery and many spaces.

Lapangnyaaa~

The playground

Miehehe~

A very cool game station!
Actually, this machine(?) offers many types of games. it's fun.

While I was walking and taking pictures of the scenery there, I spotted a group of teenagers, hanging out with their friends, and I thought, "It would be nice if my friends were here too." Then I thought of the idea of having a picnic with my friends on that park. but then I realized that I was in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. koh koh.

Well, that's my first weekend in Queensland.
It was my first and last time in Toowoomba.

Insya-Allah I will write about other places I've been in the next posts.
Salam :)