Sunday, June 27, 2010

Packing!

Salam guys.. I'm currently packing for my winter trip, which will cover Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra. Yeay! The most awaited event for this year!! Well, apart from being able to go back to my homie sunny Malaysia. ^_^

My room now is a total mess. Every space of my bed is covered with clothes. I need to pack for this trip and also my returning to Malaysia. Owh! Lot of stuffs to be done by tonight. Yes, by tonight. InsyAllah..

Owh, I need to make a video call at 11 pm (aka 9pm Malaysia time) with my family right after this. Ayah nak menyampaikan amanat2 terakhir sebelum berjalan - jalan ni. Hee..

My flight is on this Tuesday morning and almost all of us (biotechnology batch 2010) join this trip. And my flight to Malaysia will be on 16th noon of July. Pray for my safety and the barakah of the knowledge that I will gain from this trip. InsyAllah.. =)










Friday, June 25, 2010

Fraser Island

Good morning and salam guys! Today's weather is great. Ok this entry is about my field trip to Fraser Island. It's compulsory for my Field Ecology course assessment as we need to write a full report about the ecological part of this island. It was on my autumn break (Lame da autumn break tu tapi aku baru nak terkedek2 buat entry.. Hehe..). This 6-day trip was full of fun and excitement!

So what's so special about this island? Fraser island is the biggest island in the world that formed solely from the sand! It is a great place to study how succession and retrogression occur, and for Fraser island this 2 process is happening on the same place which is very rare! (Oke, those are ecological stuffs, just ignore it if you can't really make sense of it.. Hehe..) All 4 of us; Ernnie, Atiqa, Mazni and I (all are doing plant biotechnology) were lucky enough to join this trip. Very lucky indeed!

If you go to Fraser island on your own expenses, it can be very expensive. Just google it and you will know how luxury and high standard it is to have a vacation or honeymoon at Fraser Island. Alhamdulilah! We went there for 6 days plus transport, bunk house (ala2 chalet gitu..) being served by the best caterer in Brisbane 5 times a day, for only AUD 430. Owh! sangat la murah oke... ^_^

Enough babbling. Let the pictures do the story. Credit to Ernnie for all the pictures. I did bring my camera but forgot the batteries. Adess.. =.="


Ferry ride that we took on our way to Fraser island from the mainland. Muke excited!

On our way to Dilli Village by 4WD. Our bunkhouse on the bottom picture. Not bad right? 2 people per bunkhouse.


Gum tree (up) and Satinay tree (bottom).


Eucalyptus tree (up) and sun-bathing iguana (bottom).


Aiseh.. The 4WD got stucked. Let's push!!


Suddenly there was a desert out of nowhere! Hehe.. This is what we call movement of sand dune across the forest driven by the wind. We've been to Lake Boomanjin too. Go google it! This lake was panoramic!


Ernnie with Mazni (up) and with Atiqah (bottom). Love them!!


4 of us with the plant lecturer. Oke Asian mmg pendek, harap maklum. Our course mates (bottom). Around 80 people all together.


Salam winter from Brisbane,

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Gold Coast

Salam everyone! I've finished my last paper sharp at 8 pm just now. Alhamdulillah Allah ease all the questions for me. =)

Tomorrow is gonna be one long fun day! Wehuu~ I will be heading to Gold Coast again for the second time. Last time it was an awesome trip guided by my senior, Sis Zatil. We went for a Warner Bros Movie World theme park and tried all crazy rides.

Sis Zatil also took us to her favourite Malaysian restaurant! The tom yam was lovely except that they did not serve sambal belacan. Haha.. ;p And did some shopping too. =D


The Superman's ride, Escape..

Batman's turbo car..

Before.. Sempat lak peace2 kat situ..

Oke, jom jerit!!

After, with teary eyes.. Sebab penat jerit2. Haha..

The Shrek!

Yeay! It's Malaysian food..
Tak kisah la mahal ke, yang penting aku da kempunan oke..

Girls night out! =)

I called my father, "Ayah, ayah, bole dengar tak bunyi ombak pantai ni?"


Owh! I almost forgot that I have 2 marked assignments to be collected tomorrow! And need to do some shopping for the cheese cake ingredients. =.=" Ok, got to go. Till the next entry..

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Just because you're smiling..

Salam guys! =D I just got back from the uni. One paper down and 2 more to go. Alhamdulillah the questions that came out were very2 similar to past year question. Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah.. =)

This post is about what had happened to me just now on my way back. It was like 20 minutes pass 5pm (da gelap sangat macam awal pkul 8 malam kalau kt Malaysia) when I've done with my mahgrib prayer at the uni. So, I waited for the bus. And because it's Saturday, the bus only arrive at 30 minutes interval.

Minutes passed, and to keep the story simple (ehehe..) the bus finally arrived on time, punctual as they always do. =) I was just about to secure my feet on the bus, when I heard the bus driver greeted his passenger cheerfully. He sort of yelled, "On board guys! On board! Happy to see you tonight. May you have a good blessed day. Come and have a safe journey with me". Lebih kurang camtu la bunyi nye, laju sangat die cakap plus Australian slang yg pekat.

And when it came to me he said, "What a beautiful smile you have". Hee~ Maybe the relief and happiness from being able to answer the exam questions just now still apparent on my face. Plus the bling bling shined from my braces that gave an extra effect to my smile. Huhu.. When it was my turn to touch the Go card on the reader, teet teet "insufficient balance" appeared.

So I showed him my 2 dollar coins as a sign to purchase the paper ticket (kat sini paper tiket mahal beberape sen dari Go card). He grinned back to me and whispered, "Owh that's okay. No need to pay for this ride". I was like, "Aaa... (lambat sikit nak register pe yg die maksudkan) Owh! Okay, thank you!" =DD

With a happy feeling I leaved him and searched for a seat. And I managed to glimpse to a woman lined behind me, she need to pay for her ticket. I got a free ride, again just because I smiled.. =)


The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has said, 'Your smile for your brother is Sadaqah. Your removal of stones, thorns or bones from the paths of people is Sadaqah. Your guidance of a person who is lost is Sadaqah' [Bukhari]


So smile even you have braces like me. Hehe..
(Miss you Aida~)

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

3 more days to go

Alhamdulillah, 3 more days left to final. (Bersyukur plak kan? Tak cuak ke aku?) Yup, I feel gratitude because from 2 weeks of study weeks, it's now down to only 3 days. Yeay! Da nak habis..

I'm looking forward to the reward I'll get after this final exam ends, Winter Trip to Melbourne! ^^ Which means I can play with the snow! Weehuu.. By thinking about the reward I'll give to myself after this exam, I'll never stress up with a situation like, "Owh, banyak lagi tak cover ni!" =)

Nah.. Examination and assignments are all worldly things. As a Muslim, why should we worried and too stress up with the things that will not ensure our life in Hereafter? Ask ourselves again. I'm not saying that all this academic stuffs are not important and you can be someone by not having the knowledge. Allah said in His well known verse about the importance of knowledge:

"Read in the name of your Lord who created you. He created man from a clot. Read and your Lord is most Honorable. Who taught (to write) with the pen. Taught man what he knew not"
[Al Alaq: 1-5]

The key thing I want to emphasize here is, the NEED of having a good score is not the GIST of being a Muslim student (Well, excel in your academic is definitely a bonus.. Alhamdulillah..). It's about how you appreciate the knowledge that Allah gives and your attitude toward that knowledge. Are you benefited from that knowledge? How do you use that knowledge to make you closer to Allah?

No need to grieve (very very much) about the thought of not having a sufficient time to cover all lectures. Until up to one point you're almost crying (for some of my friends they already cried) for being too stress up! Because Allah says:

"O you who believe! Seek assistance through patience and prayer; surely Allah is with the patience"
[Al Baqarah: 153]

So when you stress up due to exam workloads, pray, read Quran, dzikr. Maintain your hablum mina Allah (your relationship with Allah). At the end, who will help us in the examination hall? Allah. Believe in Him, we've work hard toward the success and we've done our part. The rest is tawakkal tu 'ala Allah. Amin.. =)

And to all my friends, I know you are stronger than me and you can bear this tension-ness. =)

"Allah does not impose upon any soul a duty but to the extent of its ability......"
[Al Baqarah: 286]

Good Luck every one!


Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Study week has begun, final exam is getting near..

Starting from yesterday, study week has officially begun. It's a week left before my final started. Rewinding back my memories to 2 weeks ago where there were assignments to be submitted every single day. Fuh.. Alhamdulillah that part was done. I manage to get through. =)

When I think back about the misery I've felt 2 weeks ago, now I realised Allah never break His promise. He says in Inshirah verses 5 and 6:

"Maka sesungguhnya bersama kesulitan ada kemudahan. Sesungguhnya bersama kesulitan ada kemudahan."


When I wanted to submit my biochemistry write up, there was like 2 minutes more before the due and we just finish printed out the assignment. Any submission after 2pm will be penaltilised 10%! We've been running like crazy from the printing shop to the chemistry and bioscience building. I whispered, "Jangan la kene 10% penalti sebab lewat 2 minit, aku da tak tido 2 malam semate2 nak siapkan ni!" And I prayed, "O' Allah ease our job today"

And Allah says, verily with the hardship there is a relief remember? Yup, we arrived late like 3 minute pass 2pm. And with Allah's will the barcode scanner to record our submission time broke down. (Aku da senyum sengih2 kat depan ofis tu sambil tercungap2 tarik nafas dek penat bermarathon dalam uni) That's the relief from Allah. Alhamdulillah! senyumkenyit At that moment, any submission was handed in by hand and no submission time will be recorded. Yes!

A week after that, I started to receive one by one, the marked assignments from other subjects which have been submitted earlier. And I scored a very good mark (I would say.. sengihnampakgigi) for every piece of assignments. Alhamdulillah lagi!

Owh yah, felt very grateful when 2 of my friends offered themselves to proofread my writeup for Field Ecology. Thanks to Sharon Edgley and Paul Emmanuel. Love you guys! Alhamdulillah lagi dan lagi.. =D

Ok, now it's time to fight for final. Biochemistry has lot to cover, I mean a LOT! Ecology and biostatistic? Under control. Hehe..

Safwanah don't stress up darling. You have Al Quran, you have Mathurat. Use those to ease your stress. Insyallah..



P/s: Mintak maaf kat sume kalau ade salah silap, halalkan makan minum, berkatkan ilmu yang korang pernah ajarkan kat aku ye..

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Video call 2

Yesterday was my 2nd video called to my family. Catching up some updates with them. Nenek already fully covered after her treatment at the hospital for high blood pressure and diabetes. The fishes that were nurseried by my father for about 6 months, some of them have been sold!

My cats are doing great, even though they took sometimes to recognize my brother back after his 6 months of absentia. (Aku yang 6 bulan lebih da x jumpe dorang ni lg la, ntah kenal lg ke x kucing2 aku tu..)

*Mamat*

*Tengah layan nasi goreng sambil tengok cite pe ntah*

*Safwan baru habis exam, semalam smpai umah dr UTP*


And the sad part was, I just found out that they will have a vacation to Singapore next week. Owh! Nak ikot tapi x bole sebab da nak final exam..

Don't leave me.. ='(

::(

Friday, June 4, 2010

Alhamdulillah - Maher Zain


I was so far from you
Yet to me you were always so close
I wandered lost in the dark
I closed my eyes toward the signs
You put in my way
I walked everyday
Further and further away from you
Ooooo Allah, you brought me home
I thank You with every breath I take.
Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah
All praises to Allah, All praises to Allah
Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah
All praises to Allah, All praises to Allah.
I never thought about
All the things you have given to me
I never thanked you once
I was too proud to see the truth
And prostrate to you
Until I took the first step
And that’s when you opened the doors for me
Now Allah, I realized what I was missing
By being far from you.
Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah
All praises to Allah, All praises to Allah
Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah
All praises to Allah, All praises to Allah.
Allah, I wanna thank You
I wanna thank you for all the things that you’ve done
You’ve done for me through all my years I’ve been lost
You guided me from all the ways that were wrong
And did you give me hope
O Allah, I wanna thank you
I wanna thank You for all the things that you’ve done
You’ve done for me through all my years I’ve been lost
You guided me from all the ways that were wrong
I wanna thank You for bringing me home
Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah
All praises to Allah, All praises to Allah
Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah
All praises to Allah, All praises to Allah.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

That morning..

That morning I woke up and mourned
Deeply mourned
I was weeping, I was crying
I've lost the battle again

O' Allah gives me strength

Help me

Help me

Help me


I've lost the battle again
I've missed another day to perform my qiyam
I've set up the alarm at 3am
I've slept early yesterday
But I still woke up at 6am

And I mourned, again
Frustrated
Another day without qiyam
Make me feel empty inside out
Like I didn't achieve anything

What's wrong withe me?
What's wrong with me?!
I hate who I'm now

I miss the old me
The old me who can easily wake up
And perform my qiyam
Facing you O' Allah in the middle of peaceful night
While the rest sleep soundly
While the rest in their dreamworld

I miss the old me
I miss the old me
Owh I miss the old me
Can I turn back the time?
No

To whom should I blame?

To her for disturbing my sleep cycle
and causing me to have insufficient sleep hour?
No
To her for making noise in the toilet during night?
No
To her for slamming the door hard and woke me up?
No
No
No

Blame yourself
Blame syaithon laknatu Allah
Blame yourself
Blame yourself

And I was weeping again
To the greatest despair
And I reached for my ma'thurat that morning
Seeking for peacefulness
Seeking for answer
Kept on questioning myself
The same question

Why were you unable to wake up this morning to perform qiyam Safwanah?
And I traced my khilaf back
And I tried to find the rationale behind this
And I tried to understand the hikmah behind all this

And I failed again
O' Allah why?
This servant want so much
To feel again
The strong bond and connection
Between You and her
That she used to feel when she perform her qiyam

O' Allah, your servant is not strong
Only to You she turns to
O' Allah, gives her strength
Gives her strength
To wake up and qiyam again
Cause she really wants to cry in front of You



From the weeping heart who misses her Creator,