Weather

When I read novels, or newspaper clips (from Life section, most prolly), or some random articles on social interaction or motivation, I would sometimes come across excerpts stating that weather is always a topic for small talk. Y'know, to 'break the silence'. I would pause and think, really? People do that?

And so, lately, I start to notice that people do like to comment about the weather. Like, when my colleague was driving and I was sitting beside him.. and he mentioned something like.. "it's raining" "hot, isn't it?" or another colleague who said something about humidity and the weather being inconsistent. (or was it the same colleague? Heh.) Honestly, I am not interested in that conversation. But I would reply politely, go with the flow, as one would say. I prefer to just keep quiet or answer questions that are meaningful.

I wonder why can't people talk about things like..

1- So, what did you do yesterday?

2- What music do you like to listen to?

3- I was reading an article about ______

4- Do you know that _______

5- I heard you have a cat, what's its name?

6- Hey.. if you don't mind, I want to ask you about your religion.

7- Do you play sports?

8- Tell me about ________

9- What do you think of _________

10- Any interesting stuff you read from the net?

11- Oh! I bought (I watched, I went to..) ________ and it's awesome! [description, review here]

I am not saying that people are not chatting about these at all, what I am saying is when trying to bridge a conversation gap, let's pick a topic from which you and the other party can share further, rather than the weather. C'mon! Even if you don't know that person very well, surely you can find other common themes. And even if you both won't elaborate more, at least one would learn a little something new from the other and vice versa. Why talk about something damn obvious?!

Writing this, I really hope I won't be someone who brings up the weather topic in any conversation. 

I usually keep my mouth shut and look out the window during car rides. It is either because I simply do not have anything to say, or that I feel slightly awkward being in the same vehicle (the latter usually applies to people I am not close with). So I would like it if that person asks or share with me any of the above, except no. 5. Coz I don't have a cat. No pets.

Speaking of weather, I recorded a short clip while waiting for the rain to recede at Biopolis. We were stuck there for about 20-30 minutes. Last Monday. I want to show how heavy the rain was. Could hardly see the Fusionopolis building!

p.s. the gals in the vid are my colleagues and attachment students. Hee~~

The Room where I sat for a writing competition

Who would've thought I will be coming back here, after.. hmm.. let's see, 7 years?
I think, the first and last time I stepped into Madrasah al-Arabiah's old campus (now the building is Muhammadiyah's HQ) was on the day of the English essay competition. I think I was in secondary 2 or 3. On Sir Kamar's recommendation, if I am not mistaken (Eh? Mana Aszafirah, eh? For all I know, she's better  at writing stories in English than me. Or, maybe she participated also? Hmm.. tak ingat) I cannot remember what were the topics available, and definitely cannot recall what I wrote - narrative or descriptive or argumentative - and I am pretty sure I got saguhati. Hee.. What I remember clearly though, is that I did not do well, because of nerves and/or I couldn't think/create plots in my head fast enough.

Lemme try to find if I blogged about this event..




Nope, can't find any post even mentioning about it.

So yesterday I went to a camp briefing at no. 14 Jalan Selamat. We performed maghrib at level 1 (the prize giving ceremony for the English writing competition was in that hall too!). Was looking for kain, so kak Munirah directed me to the room in the video. I immediately recognised it! hee.. So yeah, was reminiscing about that day. In my memory, I somehow see Zafeerah Zakaria and Huda Ibrahim's female (younger) cousin.. Maybe Zafeerah was the rep for Madrasah al-Arabiah?

Anyhoo, speaking of Muhammadiyah.. I've bought a Muslimah swimwear. Like, finally!! *suker* Bought at Ova, Thaya brand. Expensive, in my opinion. But, 1) I guess that's the market price (even if I buy in Malaysia) and 2) I have saved up for this, so I did not mind. Aqila got hers from Andalus. Too bad that the smallest size Andalus has is 4-XL. We decided to purchase it, though, coz it is unknown when the new stock will come, and we do not want to wait. We've postponed our plan to enroll in a swimming class back in September, due to Aqila's chicken pox, her school exam, her O Level exam and my own busi-ness. So.. this December.. semoga Allah izinkan kami belajar berenang. nak fulfill sunnah ni~ =D


15 minutes after this post was published --------

Found it. I mentioned about the writing competition in a somewhat, errr.. pessimistic rant. Gosh! When I read those words.. I just thought.. wow.. I really sounded inferior, negative.. didn't I? Yet, I know that what I was feeling in that particular moment was frustration.. tired and pressured coz it was one thing after another. I wonder if my blood pressure was ever on the rise during my sec 3 year. Or maybe it was not inferiority - It was merely comparing oneself with something or someone bigger and better. So.. was I being realistic, but also a bit too hard on myself? I don't know. Am trying to analyse this note written by a 15-year old me, trying to look from the outside.

I think I've changed. A bit.

Alhamdulillah, Aqila lulus!

Kite pun tumpang gembira~

Pakai kasut hitam lah tahun depan =D

Abang's post-nikah

I was flipping thru Abang & kak Maya's wedding album at around noon today, while frying the spring rolls (heh). I realised that I like these two pictures.. May Allah bless our family with sakeenah, mawaddah and rahmah.. =')

I have always liked Abang's smile ^__^ I think it's because of his incisors. He also has a dimple.
And kak Maya looks cute when she smiles.
I love it all the more whenever I see them laugh.
Subhanallah..!

Now there are 6 of us, since 8th May 2010
(Mak and Ayah got married in May too!)

"Yeah, but.."

Am having a FB conversation with Shikin.. Been a loNg time since I last saw or even talked to her. Topics range from uni degree, working life, interest, travel, migration, money... aahh.. We have the same problems, the same sentiments!

She just tagged me in a post about a blog article on "3 reasons to travel while you're young" by Jeff Coins. Sungguh terkena my batang hidung! Ohhhh, I reeeeaaallly cannot wait!

Patience, Liyana, patience..

Lovely

I like this picture, and I like the two people here. I jussst noticed that my nose looks a bit red. I remember that I had cried quite a bit before we ate ice cream and posed for picture. Why I cried? Because I was very happy to see kak Huda, coz suddenly I realised I had missed her. I remember something else - I felt sadness too, when I was hugging her tightly. Sad about something. Quite overwhelming. Hmm..

And right now, I miss her. Saw recently on Facebook that she has given birth to a baby girl. Gosh! I think I have not seen her for more than a year!

Kak Afifah, too. The last time I saw her was... in early March. She gave birth recently as well. Alhamdulillah.. =)

Baarakallahu feehinna~ Baarakallahu feehinna~

In Time

I watched In Time movie trailer a couple of hours ago. I must say.. I like the plot! A future where people don't age past 25. Yet, those who are poor will die young. And rich people can buy time to live longer.

I am intrigued by the idea. I wonder who came up with it (director? producer?). People's imagination, ey?

Reminds me of The Island, starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. At first, I thought "whaatt seh.. is the storyline?" Then, I got it! Rich people make clones of themselves to harvest new organs. The thing is, they did not know that the company that does the work actually grow real, fully-formed humans. When promoting the program to potential clients, the director says that they only grow organs, or something like that.. But when someone came (I can't remember who.. a person from ethics committee, or a top-secret police), he had to explain that when they tried to grow and maintain a human (or rather, preformed human) in a 'vegetative state', it dies, and so the organs cannot be used. The solution is to grow adult humans, educate them at pre-school level so that their intellect is child-like and they will not likely to question things, and lock them in a facility so they won't know a real world exists. Read the movie plot here.

One of the scenes from The Island that made me go, "what?!" and then, "ohhh!! Now I know what's going on!" is when a pregnant woman felt she was going to give birth. So everyone was happy.. and she was wheeled into the operating theatre, where she did give birth (or was it caesarean.. I can't remember). But! The doctor immediately took the baby away, despite protests by the mother who wanted to hold him/her, and injected something into the woman's bloodstream. Then, she died. The doctor carried the baby to a waiting room, and guess what??? The exact same woman and her spouse was there! They were delighted at the arrival of their baby. Get it?

Sick, sick, sick. If this ever occurs in real life.. But I believe it will never happen. We humans will never have the ability to clone humans successfully. It is just soo complex, so awesome, that only The Creator knows how to do it. Maybe we can engineer organs and tissues, but a human being? Na-ah. But then again, I wouldn't know, would I? If Allah says "Kun", if He allows this to happen, it will. Bewildered as I will be, I must know that His Wisdom surpasses everything, and there surely is a reason. Istidraaj for the Kaafiruun, maybe?

Back to In Time.. I think I will watch the movie (online of course) when it is released. Wanna know how it turns out.

"I may be valuable. But I am not indispensable."


Lately I have been saying this to myself when at work. I still can't make up my mind whether to stick around, or move on.

childhood songs (part 2)

Mula-mula, dengar lagu Hanzalah nyanyian Rabbani kat Youtube. Kemudian, klik lagu nyanyian Nadamurni. Live performance. Allah..! Dengan jubahnya, serbannya, mata yang bercelak.. itulah trademark rijal Arqam dulu, kan? Walaupun kite masih kecil mase tu.. memori ni tetap ada. Bila tengok video tersebut tadi.. terdetik kat hati, "alangkah sopan dan cermat penampilan mereka!" Sejuk mata memandang, kan?

Selepas tu, klik pautan2 lain pula. Terjumpa lagu ini -


Kegelapan Malam - Nadamurni

Sangat-sangat nostalgic! Rasanya, tak pernah dengar lagu ni selain dari kaset. Kite ingat lagi, kite ada kaset lagu2 dari Arqam, termasuk Nadamurni. Tapi dah lamaaa hilang entah ke mana. Kalau jumpa pun, bukannya boleh dengar, sebab kat rumah takde cassette player. Jadi, boleh dikatakan, tak dengar lagu ni sejak 13-14 tahun yang lalu. Reaksi bila dengar lagu ni kat Youtube, setelah sekian lama? Something immediately clicked! "Oh..Ohhh..Ohh!! Ni dia..! Pernah dengar!"

Terharu kite tau! Dapat jumpa balik lagu2 ni semua.. sebab masa kecil dulu kite sukerrr dengar.. sedap! Dan bila dah besar ni, baru lah dapat dengar betul2 dan hayati liriknya ^_______^


Rindu - Nadamurni


Pemimpin Tiga Darjat - Nadamurni

Tak lupa juga lagu2 daripada Soutus Sofwa~ Senarai lagu2 mereka dengan kemudahan 'download' ada kat laman ni http://elfaizi.blogspot.com/2010/04/soutus-sofwa.html (kepada saudara Zulhafizi yang mengumpulkan info ini, jazaakallah!)

Required document.

I have found a course which I reeeeeaaaalllyy think is suitable for me! But!

Hmmmmm.... I do not have a mahram who is a student or applicant from that university. Takde chance ah ni ='(
And if you see point #5.. My time is running out lah, can?
Allah.. ujian.. ujian..

Saya rindu nak ke sini...

InshaAllah, soon!

Never heard of 'Hair Brushing Syndrome'

Tak sangka penyakit macam gini pun wujud!

--------------------------------------------------------

No Rapunzel, schoolgirl may die if she combs her hair

By Indo Asian News Service | IANS – Thu, Aug 18, 2011

London, Aug 18 (IANS) A schoolgirl in Scotland has a rare condition following which she has been asked not to comb her hair too vigorously as it could lead to her brain shutting down.

Megan Stewart, 13, has a rare condition - Hair Brushing Syndrome - which means she must avoid wearing polyester or touching balloons. Any contact with electrical charges could confuse her brain into switching itself off or sending signals to her heart and lungs to make them do so, Daily Express reported.

Stewart has to dampen her hair to reduce static and lie down before combing it and is banned from participating in school science experiments.

The teenager, from Wishaw, Lanarkshire, Scotland was diagnosed three years ago, after she collapsed as her mother -Sharon brushed her hair.

Her mother Stewart, 41, said: 'I was brushing her hair when she flopped over and her lips turned blue. I thought she was having a fit, so we called the paramedics. It was really scary.'

The girl was taken to a hospital where medics revived her. It was two months later that neurologists made the diagnosis.

Doctors at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill in Glasgow, believe birth complications may be responsible for the condition.

She also suffers from asthma and dorsal stream dysfunction, a problem with the connection between her eye and brain which means she can't see fast-moving objects.

But the determined girl says: 'I know not to brush my hair too fast and if I feel unwell to stop doing it. I think I know what my limits are. I don't let it affect me and I can still live a normal life.'

My first time..

To LDMM's Art Studio at Bukit Timah Shopping Centre



It was national day and Abang, kak Maya, Aqila and I were on our way to our cousin's place for Iftar. Kak Maya had to drop by her workplace to take something. Since I had not yet seen it (the rest of the family have, except Ayah), I followed her. It was my first time stepping to Bukit Timah Shopping Centre as well. Bila dah masuk, I thought "ohhhh... begini rupanya!" Not a place for retail outlets. I saw maid agencies, a pedicure/manicure shop, a shop selling shoes. I think ni memang tempat untuk service providers (like, renovation companies, music school..) and stockists.

I like the ambience of the studio very much! Even though it is small, it is bright with colourful artworks. Kinda cozy too. I just hope it doesn't get crowded, you know, when students are there.


To a car inspection center at Sin Ming Road



This was 2 days ago. Followed my colleague to inspect her car (but turned out she didn't have to. Just had to pay road tax) en route to Toyogo. Her car is not the blue one by the way. The vid ended abruptly coz a pak cik suddenly appeared from behind and said that I may be caught for taking a video. Yikes! I freaked out and quickly pressed the stop button.

A Sunday in The Lab

This was back in February. Morning of 27th. I think there were 2 things I had to do. But I remember just one - adding antibiotic to the LC3 cells.

By the way, in the video the setting looks very dark and dim, but actually it is not. And there is this one moment where I did not pick the forceps right the first time. Mind you, I was looking into the cameraphone, so I thought I was reaching for the forceps but ter-overshot plak. heh.

After everything's done, I went to masjid Muhajirin for the camp run-through.

There are people who don't have fingerprints? I didn't know that.

Mutated DNA Causes No-Fingerprint Disease

Genetic difference found in people with immigration-delay disease.

The rare condition adermatoglyphia causes people to be born without fingerprints (file picture).

Photograph courtesy Eli Sprecher, American Journal of Human Genetics

Rachel Kaufman

for National Geographic News

Published August 9, 2011

A genetic mutation causes people to be born without fingerprints, a new study says.

Almost every person is born with fingerprints, and everyone's are unique. But people with a rare disease known as adermatoglyphia do not have fingerprints from birth. Affecting only four known extended families worldwide, the condition is also called immigration-delay disease, since a lack of fingerprints makes it difficult for people to cross international borders.

In an effort to find the cause of the disease, dermatologist Eli Sprechersequenced the DNA of 16 members of one family with adermatoglyphia inSwitzerland. Seven had normal fingerprints, and the other nine did not. After investigating a number of genes to find evidence of mutation, the researchers came up empty-handed—until a grad student finally found the culprit, a smaller version of a gene called SMARCAD1. (Get a genetics overview.)

The larger SMARCAD1 is expressed throughout the body, but the smaller form acts only on the skin. Sure enough, the nine family members with no fingerprints had mutations in that gene.

Being born without fingerprints doesn't occur simply because one gene has been turned on or off, Sprecher said. Rather, the mutation causes copies of the SMARCAD1 gene to be unstable.

That mutation is also the first link in a long chain of events that ultimately affects fingerprint development in the womb. The rest of the links in the chain are still a mystery, said Sprecher, of the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.

(See skin pictures.)

No-Fingerprint Disease Not Harmful

Other inherited diseases that result in a lack of fingerprints—such as Naegeli syndrome and dermatopathia pigmentosa reticularis—are caused by problems with the protein keratin-14.

(Related: "Born Without Fingerprints: Scientists Solve Mystery of Rare Disorder.")

These conditions "manifest not only with lack of fingerprints, but also with a number of other critical features—a thickening of the skin, problems with nail formation," Sprecher said.

By contrast, immigration-delay disease doesn't come with any side effects besides a minor reduction in the ability to sweat. In general, people with the disease "are otherwise completely healthy, like you and me."

By further studying the Swiss family, Sprecher said, it might be possible to solve the mystery of fingerprints overall.

"You go from a rare disease to a biological insight of general importance," he said. "We would never have been able to get to this gene if not for the study of this family."

The fingerprint research was published August 12 in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

From the outermost to the deepest

Oh wow! Simply amazing, what this infographic shows. I love the way all this information is presented. Ilmu baru nih! Among other things - Didn't know one kind of bird can fly above the death zone, and that it takes 18 minutes to boil an egg at Everest's altitude, and that temperature rises as atmospheric pressure increases. Didn't know about Mariana Trench as well.

Read on ok? ^___^

p.s. and, it is my first time coming across ouramazingplanet.com. Some of their contents are interesting!



Source OurAmazingPlanet.com, Exploring the wonder and beauty of planet Earth through exclusive news, features and images.

from http://srikandiislamiyyah.blogspot.com/2010/12/ketika-akhwat-jatuh-cinta.html via Marliyana's blog ---

Yang mereka rasakan adalah penyesalan yang amat sangat, atas sebuah hijab yang tersingkap...
Ketika lelaki yang tak halal baginya, bergelayut dalam alam fikirannya, yang mereka rasakan adalah ketakutan yang begitu besar akan cinta yang tak suci lagi...

Ketika rasa rindu mulai merekah di hatinya, yang mereka rasakan adalah kesedihan yang tak terperih akan sbuah asa yang tak semestinya…

Tak ada senyum bahagia, tak ada rona malu…
Yang ada adalah malam-malam yang dipenuhi air mata penyesalan atas cinta-Nya yang ternodai…
Yang ada adalah kegelisahan, karena rasa yang salah arah…
Yang ada adalah penderitaan akan hati yang mulai sakit…

Ketika Akhwat Jatuh Cinta…

Bukan harapan untuk bertemu yang mereka nantikan, tapi yang ada adalah rasa ingin menghindar dan menjauh dari orang tersebut…

Tak ada kata-kata cinta dan rayuan…

Yang ada adalah kekhawatiran yang amat sangat, akan hati yang mulai merindukan lelaki yang belum halal atau bahkan tak akan pernah halal baginya…

Ketika mereka jatuh cinta, maka perhatikanlah, kegelisahan di hatinya yang tak mampu lagi memberikan ketenangan di wajahnya yang dulu teduh…

Mereka akan terus berusaha mematikan rasa itu bagaimanapun caranya…
Bahkan kendati dia harus menghilang, maka itu pun akan mereka lakukan...

Alangka kasihannya jika akhwat jatuh cinta…
Karena yang ada adalah penderitaan…

Tapi ukhti…
Bersabarlah…
Jadikan ini ujian dari Rabbmu…

Matikan rasa itu secepatnya…
Pasang tembok pembatas antara kau dan dia…
Pasang duri dalam hatimu, agar rasa itu tak tumbuh bersemai…
Cuci dengan air mata penyesalan akan hijab yang sempat tersingkap...

Putar balik kemudi hatimu, agar rasa itu tetap terarah hanya padaNya…
Pupuskan rasa rindu padanya dan kembalikan dalam hatimu rasa rindu akan cinta Rabbmu…

Ukhti… Jangan khawatir kau akan kehilangan cintanya…

Karena bila memang kalian ditakdirkan bersama, maka tak akan ada yang dapat mencegah kalian bersatu…

Tapi ketahuilah, bagaimana pun usaha kalian untuk bersatu, jika Allah tak menghendakinya, maka tak akan pernah kalian bersatu…

Ukhti… Bersabarlah… Biarkan Allah yang mengaturnya...
Maka yakinlah... Semuanya akan baik-baik saja…

Semua Akan Indah Pada Waktunya…

very well-expressed. the description is spot-on. Allah.. please strengthen our hearts.

oh. my. god.

i cant believe it.

i just got to know that my TP senior is the cousin of my alsagoff junior who is now in TP.

i dont know why this ticks me off.

i guess it's because my world is getting too small.

singapore is getting too small.

dont tell me, 'it's just a coincidence'. save it.

way too small.

i want to fly away and start afresh somewhere. seriously.

maybe im being overly dramatic.

gotta chill, yo!

(and for the record, this has nothing to do with the senior or junior)

Yeay!!

I have succeeded in rotating the 'Twister in a Bottle' video!

All thanks to an anonymous person who commented on that post. Sorry, Mr Wiredless, I only noticed your comment today (which turned out not to be an spam ad). And I did watch your video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWZSR11r20Q. I think I get it - spin the top bottle as the water is 'going down' halfway, so the vortex inside increases. Right? Nice!

And thank you, for recommending Corel VideoStudio. I just downloaded it. Will use it to rotate my other videos =)


p.s. I have replaced the original 'Twister in a Bottle' video with the edited one.

Sunset on 18 July 2011

It was 7.38pm. I had returned to the lab after performing maghrib prayer at level 8. After taking my labcoat, I went out to the lift lobby, to go to level 6 cell culture lab. And I saw this.

I stood there in awe. It was just soo.. magnificent! Especially the rays.. Clear cut rays. And the sunset hues - shades of orange, yellow, blue, reddish.. - were... beautiful! I don't know what to say. Several seconds later, I decided to capture it. I want to remember this. And I want to share this with other people. ^________^

I know that recording it with my cameraphone wouldn't show the reeeaall thing, the real burst of colours, but it was the best I got. Nevertheless, I am satisfied.

I am fortunate to have nice sky views from where I am working. If I am in the lab, I can enjoy the view outside the window (like the last two pictures below).. say, when I am washing the labware, or making PBS, or washing my hands, or while wearing my labcoat. If I stand at the small balcony near the lift lobby, I can see Anderson JC, the MRT track.. and yes, a clear view of the sky. I will look up and ponder. and wonder at the beauty of it all. If it's raining hard, whooaa.. what I see is enough to make me shudder. Like this one -

Subhanallah.. Subhanallah..