Den Haag.

Today was the best day I've had in Holland. Really. =) I cannot say the best day I've had in Amsterdam, because I spent the day outside of Amsterdam, for the first time, at The Hague.

For those who are unfamiliar, The Hague is the political capital of Holland. While Amsterdam is its capital, The Hague is home to the Netherlands' parliament house and is where most of the politicians reside. Why this is the case, I really do not know. I can only think that the only feasible reason is because Amsterdam has too many immigrants, rendering it unsafe for important political figures to stay here. Oh well. Den Haag is the Dutch name for The Hague by the way, in case you haven't figured it out. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is also located there. If the name sounds familiar, it's because you probably heard it on Channel News Asia before; that's where Singapore's dispute with Malaysia regarding Pedra Branca is being settled!

Why I went there is this; Fadhil received an invitation from the Malaysian Embassy, located there also, for the celebration of Maulidur Rasul s.a.w , so he asked me along. Now, i know some of you are going, "Ape ni sambut Maulud semue?"! I'm not gonna discuss that in this entry, insya Allah in future entries we'll have a debate about that. =)

Anyway, we went to Amsterdam Central to take a train to that city and we bought the tickets. Train was supposed to leave at 1411, subsequent one was at 1441. So we ran over to the platform, saw the train, but missed it by a matter of seconds. We were quite frustrated, but Allah knows best. It was for the best that we missed that train. Why???

Looking at train timings.


Saw this at Centraal Station. Sold both medicine and drugs. Hehe.


Because we took the 1441 train, and when we arrived at The Hague's station, we saw a Malay-looking couple with their daughter! So i approached them, and asked if they were Malaysians, and if they knew the way to the embassy. They said they were going there too, so we could go with them! So lucky! If not we wouldn't be able to find sey, coz it's so 'hulu'! Alhamdulillaah! And that 'Abang', as we called him, gave me his name card after we talked a bit. It read: University Malaya: Associate Professor Wan Suhaimi- Bachelors from Al-Azhar, Masters from Uni of Cairo, PHD from University Malaya. OMG!!!! He was that good! But you could never tell from his looks! He dressed normally! No way you could tell that he was an ulama'! He is in Holland (city of Leiden, not Amsterdam), because he's a research fellow at Uni of Leiden momentarily, while his wife does her PHD here. His wife is doing PHD in space law! As in outer space law! I didn't even know there was such a discipline! But they were so freaking humble! Masya Allah. I'm really impressed by them. If we had taken the 1411 train, we wouldn't have met them, and chances are, we wouldn't even find the embassy!

The time spent at the Embassy was fantastic. The food was great, the maulud I liked, the syarahan was good (though I didn't understand the need for a tahlil, felt like it didn't blend with the occasion). And guess who gave the syarahan? Mr Wan Suhaimi himself! They all called him Ustad over there! Me and Fadhil, after the event, started calling him Ustad too, instead of Abang! Haha. But it was nice. Really. I had fun. The people there were soo nice, despite me being Singaporean! One guy from the embassy asked whether I was a student there. I said yes, but I'm a Singaporean. Then he said,"Then what are you doing here???" Haha! But he was kidding, thankfully! Haha. He even said, anytime I feel like eating Malay food or just spending some time, I'm welcomed at the Embassy. They were really really wonderful hosts.

Everything about the trip was awesome. From the train ride (seeing all the sights including the countryside of Holland) to the company, and not least, the food! Alhamdulillaah!

I have so much more to blog about, about the 'Fitna' movie etc, but I'll wait till I finish my exams for this block on Thursday. So pardon the lack of inactivity on my blog, though in light of what's been happening, I don't think there will be inactivity at all on my tagboard.:p

Meanwhile, enjoy some pics of my trip.

In the train


Now you know how a Dutch police car look like.=)


The ICJ.

Photos for the Week.

Just some photos.=)

Central Station


Inside the tram


The Pakistani mosque I went to this week.



As you all know, Amsterdam is full of canals. Sometimes, when ships want to pass by, roads, bridges are lifted,as in this case.



I found an Indon Halal Restaurant! Malay food! Alhamdulillaah!




Multi-storey carpark, only that it's for bicycles!



One last pic.=)



Hope I've improved!

Kosovo.

Some time ago, I was speaking to 2 undergrads about random stuff, and somehow the Palestinian issue came up. I asked them their opinions with regards to it. Their response saddened me: they were both nonchalant about it, and didn't really took an interest in it.

Which begs the question: what happened to the 'ukhwa' (brotherhood) of the Muslims? I'm sure those 2 are not the only ones; in fact they be more of the majority than the exceptions. While there could be a thousand different reasons for such a phenomenon, the purpose of this entry is not to discuss those reasons: rather just to shed some light on the issue of our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters in Kosovo.

Some background: Kosovo is a region in the Balkans, near to Serbia and Albania. It has a population of about 2 million, most of whom are Muslims, while their ethnicity is mostly Albanian.

Kosovo was previously a self-governing region, under Serbia's rule. However last month, its parliament had a vote, and they have unilaterally declared independence from Serbia. The older ones among us might remember the genocide case that took place in Kosovo: "courtesy" of then Yugoslav PM Slobodan Milosevic, who died while in UN custody (he was convicted by the international court for his crimes).

Anyway, Europe and the US have moved swiftly to recognize Kosovo's independence. Few weeks ago, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal, which stated, and I quote: "The US have yet again ushered the path for the independence of a Muslim nation, not that the Muslim world is going to give them any credit for it." (By the way I cannot remember of any Muslim nation being "ushered" to independence by the US, maybe you guys can enlighten me) While the sarcasm is scarcely appreciated, I
have to concede that this time the US have indeed helped Kosovo aplenty (though deep down I question their motives; whether they really believe in right to self-determination or as always, they have a hidden agenda). However, if the US wants credit from the Muslim world for helping 2 million Muslims gain independence (and they have a right to demand so), then the US must also admit responsibility for destroying the lives of 27 million Iraqis, 31 million Afghans and 3.5 million Palestinians, among others, for its their policies which have caused utter chaos and destruction in these countries.

Back to Kosovo, it is unlikely that they will get UN recognition soon, since Russia, a permanent member of the UN security council and thus have veto power, is a close ally of Serbia, and both of them have strongly objected to Kosovo's declaration of independence, labelling it as 'illegal'.

What is interesting is that barring Turkey, Albania and Malaysia, most Islamic nations have not recognised Kosovo's independence. Most of them have given their official reply as,"Waiting for the UN's verdict." Now I don't know whether these nations actually respect international law and thus refuse to recognise Kosovo's independence without UN approval, or they are just spineless countries, who do not dare make decisions even if it was for the betterment of their Muslim brothers and sisters. Then again, if Muslim countries were not spineless, Palestinians would have had a country of their own long, long ago.

I hope that enlightened some of you about this issue. My take-home message is; Please bother about events around the world, when they involve fellow Muslims. Because if we don't, then who will?

Snowy pics.

Just some pics with regards to the 'snowy' condition. Haha. Makes me excited like a little boy whenever it snows.









Snowing lightly. Notice the playground in the background.



The view after the 7th time it snowed!



Close up view of the playground


Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Global Warming.

Had a chat with someone recently, and I got be a little disturbed. Just wanted to share my thoughts on this.

It is supposed to be spring now in Europe, but it's still snowing. Heavily in fact in Amsterdam. The forecasted weather over the next week doesn't look too good either, it will only get colder. My point? Global Warming is indeed taking place!

So maybe I would like to suggest a few measures that we, the laymen, can perhaps take.

1) Minimize the use of plastic bags. Seriously. Bring your own if you wanna go shopping.

2) For those who have your own transport, let's try to use public transport to sch at least once a week. Serious!

3) And for those who have bikes, especially RXZ bikes, please do something about your smoke emissions! Especially if yours is an old, ugly, red RXZ!

4)When going to very near places, avoid taking your bikes/cars. Go out earlier, and go public.

5) This I heard from the guy who won the Nobel Peace Prize this year together with Al Gore, the head of the IPCC(the group of scientists working on climate change), eat less meat! I don't know the mechanisms working behind it though!

6)Please try to use as little air-con at home as possible! And please, switch off ur lights when u're not using it!

7) Make it a point to recycle paper! Especially the junk notes from previous sem, don't just throw it away anyhow. Put it in the recycling bin.

I haven't become an environmentalist yet, haha, just sharing my worries/thoughts.

Super Sunday.

Well Super Sunday wasn't that super after all. Arsenal lost, and so did Liverpool damn it, despite promises by someone that they will dedicate this victory to all the "strugglers" in the Premier League! All that means is that the title should be Man U's. To borrow a quote from my former soccer coach; soccer has hurt me more than love has! But hey, at least Newcastle won! Phew! Rome is being built finally! King Kev has regained his throne! Now that Newcastle do not look as if they are going to be relegated, I don't have to migrate to Amsterdam!

Some updates. Was busy for most of the weekdays, finishing up on my assignment. The mods I'm doing are pretty heavy. The coming week is my break week, and after that, it's my exams week, for the first block. Time really flies ey. Oh well.

On Friday, me and Fadhil found yet another mosque. This time, we didn't have any plans on which mosque to go to exactly: we met at Central Station, and our plan was to follow anyone who wore a Jubah! Haha. And it worked, thank God! Haha. And oh, the mosque was the best I've been to. Not the mosque actually, more of the Imam. He was a young guy, probably only 2 or 3 years older than me, but he was so assured, so confident in his delivery. He had no script: totally impromptu, 100 percent eye contact with the audience. I couldn't understand a word, yet my eyes were fixed on him. He was that good! I really wished Singapore had more such good, confident Imams . And he wasn't bad-looking either! Haha. After the khutbah I went over to him, i shok his hand and wanted to kiss it but he didn't let me, and he straightaway hugged me. I asked him if he could speak English, he said a little bit. I told him that as a great khutbah, i really loved it. He was so humble, he felt so paisey and he sheepishly said thanks. I wanted to take a pic with him, but my handphone batt died on me!

And it was a bad time for my batt to die as well. Coz after the solat, it was snowing! And it was snowing heavily! And this time, the snow was really thick; the kind that took a good 2-3 minutes to melt once it touched your shirt. It was a magnificent sight to behold. I kept going out of the food place, while having lunch, to 'play' in the snow. Even the shopowner asked; "You like to play in the snow?" Haha. Fadhil was pretty nonchalant about it, having spent 3 years in the States for his bachelors'. The downside to it: when will spring come???? The locals are getting worried, telling me it's pretty unusual for it to be snowing right now. Plus, someone just told me spring officially starts on 21st march! :p Oh well. I sure am not complaining about the snow (not the cold though, it was 0.5 degrees just now at night!).


And it was snowing over the weekend as well. Just now itself, i was caught in the snow, both when cycling to Fadhil's place and while cycling home. But it wasn't really thick, and not as nice as Friday's. But was still good. Cheered me up a little after my Second Love had hurt me. Haha.

Can't wait for Champs League. To get today out of the system.

You Live By The Sword, You'll Die By The Blade.

The question everyone has been asking me, "Walid, what happened to your blog?" some comments include, "Dude, yours used to be a family-friendly blog," and "Ni orang yang takde adab dgn didikan agama je yang buat gini," among many others of course. Well, firstly, my blog is still a family-friendly blog, at least the comments by the non-impostor of course. Haha. And secondly, as I said: You live by the sword, you'll die by the blade. The way I started this blog off (for those who remember my first entry), it was a question of when, rather than if, this will happen. Haha.

Many of my close mates and family members have suggested to me to remove the tagboard and to screen for comments, so that the impostor cannot put up such irresponsible comments defaming others, and even MS for that matter. At the moment, I shall resist doing so. For a few reasons.

Firstly, the impostor generates ratings for me! Since he started doing his thing, my blog has averaged 400 views a day! Yesterday it was 406! Haha. Granted, 86 were by that impostor himself (more on this later) but even if u take that away, its about 300 a day. At this rate, it will be about 9000 a month, and over 100 000 in a year! Wohoo! That will definitely make my blog among the top 3 in NUS! Haha. And it's all due to him.=)

Secondly, I believe in being able to stand up to scrutiny regarding whatever i say, and i do not wanna prevent (responsible) people from commenting on my blog anonymously. Occasionally of course there will be the odd twisted person who will use vulgarities and impersonate others, but I definitely know how to tell who is who. So no worries on that one. =)

Thirdly, and most importantly, instead of condemning the impostor, we should embrace him. I know at this point in time it's difficult for you guys to do that, but hear me out first. This guy visits my blog an average of 85 times a day. Assuming that he sleeps 6 hrs a day, he visits my blog once in about 12.8 minutes! This can mean a few things. It might be that he came from a broken childhood, such that his upbringing is twisted and he believes in accusing innocent people, causing fights etc, or it can mean that he is a person who is greatly deprived of attention. Having been shut out from Latiff's blog (and rightly so I might add), my blog is the only place he can turn to. So if I myself do not give him that chance, I fear that without an avenue to express his disappointment and frustration at his depressing life, he might do something foolish to himself. So at the moment, I will not screen my comments yet. In the near future, who knows.

Anyway, I urge all of you not to get upset by his comments. Understand that he needs our help to change, and condemning him is not the way to do it. I am pretty sure also, my audience can tell which comments are the impostor's, and which are not. So there is absolutely no need to get worked up.

To those who have been at his receiving end, I humbly apologise on his behalf. Also an apology to NUSMS, for your name being dragged into this. But I am pretty sure MS members are gracious enough not to take his comments to heart, and are willing to help him change.

By the way, I urge all my family members and friends not to comment anything on this entry. Let's let the impostor and his different versions release their 22, 23, 24 years of deprived attention translated into hurt and vent his angst out.

At the same time, let us all pray for him. I think it's really sad that an undergraduate can stoop down to these levels, so let us all pray Allah puts hidayah in his heart, and let us all pray that Allah keeps his identity concealed, coz i fear the backlash he might receive by the people he has offended if his identity is revealed. Insya Allah. Amin.

History, culture and tradition.

Sunday night, at about 8.30pm, someone knocked on my door. It was the Iranian guy who lives at the 6th floor, and he said his wife and himself (his wife stays with him) wanted me to join them for dinner. I told him I already had dinner, but really appreciated the thought. 5 minutes later he came back knocking on my door, telling me that his wife insisted I join them, at least for tea. You see, the guy is a very mild and nice guy, and from the looks of it he's affected by the TB and QC "diseases" that plague some guys in relationships. Something like Ashraf and Hafiza probably? Hehe, no no, that's highly inaccurate, maybe more of Cassim and Farz? Haha, relax relax, just joking. Perhaps the more accurate representation would be Akmal and Rai? Hehe. Jokeng jokeng. But seriously. Haha. No, I'm just joking. Don't take it to heart. But.... Oh well. At least their girlfriends don't hate me! Hahahaha.

To the uninitiated, sorry for those 'inside jokes galore'. I just couldn't resist. Yang faham faham lah eh, yang tak faham, buat-buat faham!

Anyway, back to my story. I went over to their place, and another Turkish guy was there was well. I didn't know that there was another Muslim in my block apart from the Iranian couple. Dinner with them was awesome. Really. Well, I'm not referring to the food, coz I haven't had good food since I stepped in Europe, most of the food here are spiceless, but the company was great. You see, both the Iranians already have Masters' degrees in computer science, and was pursuing Masters in logic now, while the Turk is doing his post-doctorate studies: he already has a PHD from Turkey. So the conversations we had were wonderful. I felt in awe of such company at times. Really. They are really intellectual people, yet they are so humble.

And oh, they were talking a lot about Turkish and Persian history, tradition and culture. It was fascinating stuff. The Turks and Persians do have a bit of common history and culture. It was so embarassing since I didn't have any of those to talk about Singapore! Haha. But it was still fun. I spent about 2 hours there, we talked about politics, religion and anything and everything under the sun. It was truly splendid. =)


The night before, Jerome (the American guy next door) came to my room and said,"Dude, the guys in this level are having a beer in my room. I know you don't drink, but I feel it's only polite that I ask you along!" Haha. He stayed for a bit and we chatted for quite a while. He's really a nice bloke.

I feel so blessed that since I've been here, I've been surrounded by really really nice people, and I cannot thank God enough for that.

Freedom of Speech.

As an Economics student, I tend to look at every issue via the cost-benefit analysis: which is really simple, if the costs are more than the benefits, abandon it. Which is why I am highy sceptical of this Western-idea of freedom of speech; sometimes the costs it generates are far greater than the benefits.

A simple example: the Danish caricatures controversy a couple of years back. Is that sort of freedom of speech supposed to be supported, encouraged and promoted? Is that even freedom of speech, or is it just blatant disrespect? Is there a hidden agenda on the part of the self-proclaimed proponents of "freedom of speech"?

And the caricatures contoversy isn't the only example: many a time, people have distorted and misused the idea of freedom of speech, both knowingly or not. Some people use this idea to justify personal attacks, to justify describing other people as dogs even: maybe they really do believe in freedom of speech, and if that freedom itself is going to cause resentment, is going to promote hatred, I question the wisdom in pursuing with that "fight" or "quest" for "freedom". In fact, the meaning of the word 'freedom' itself is a highly contentious issue, up for debate.

I'm not gonna say which definition of freedom is right or wrong, I'm not gonna say that freedom of speech should not be pursued when it's detrimental, nor am I gonna answer the questions I posted in the 2nd paragraph. I leave it to you, the educated audience,to make your own judgments after analysing the issues at hand.

Some updates for the week. Was a busy week, as in busy with school. Haha. Only 2 modules I'm doing for this block, yet it feels so heavy. Really. And the thing is, in NUS, you feel pressured/motivated/encouraged to study when you see people around you, people at Forum, people at Central Library all mugging. Here, haha, you don't see anyone studying! Haha. I remember a saying from my "bro"'s cousin last week: "In Holland, in high school, everyday is a holiday!" And apparently, that's how the Dutch students treat their university education as well!

Ohh, I did finally settle my module mapping, Alhamdulillaah. Initially, the Economics Department people at NUS specifically told me that 5ECTS here(which the value of credits for each module that I'm doing btw) is equivalent to 4MCs. But when they found out that I wanted to do only 4 mods, hence 20 ECTS, they only allowed me to map them to 12MCs. Ridiculous. They don't want me to slack. Haha. So i'm doing 4 next block insya Allah, a total of 6. Next block is gonna be a very very busy one.

Abt the weather,in the early part of the week, it was terrible. There were wind storms for a few days. 1 time, I was cycling to school, the wind was so bad I my bike swerved and almost fell. I had to stop for a while, before proceeding when the winds cleared. But these past 2 days, the weather has been magnificent. Really. About 13 degrees in the day, about 9 at night. It's really wonderful. I just hope it stays this way, though the likelihood of such a happening is close to nought.

And here are some pics, as always. But not too many this time.

Finally, sunlight in Amsterdam!


Food place in the city centre


Interior view


A gathering at my faculty for Masters students


And oh, been thinking a lot abt someone lately (Shaza jangan perasan eh!:p)



By the way, abt the Champs league draw, as expected, Chelsea and Man U got easy draws: that's how they always make it so far. Arsenal and Pool are really unlucky, coz by my estimation, they are the 2 strongest teams left in the competition. I hope Barca will knock Man U out in the semis, though I don not foresee that happening. Dream final for me- Arsenal V Barca. Henry against his old club. Master VS protege. A saliva-dropping prospect.

2005: Liverpool VS AC Milan (Liverpool)
2006: Arsenal VS Barcelona (Barca)
2007: Liverpool VS AC Milan (Milan)
2008??? Arsenal VS Barcelona (Arsenal)

It's written in the stars.

Making Judgments.

After having a conversation with someone recently, I feel a burning rage inside me that compels me to write an entry about making judgments.

Firstly, this isn't my main point but since we're on the topic, this is for people who don't like to be judged, who thinks others have no right to judge them , who thinks nobody else should give a damn about what they do, here;s a message: if you don't want to be judged, don't do something that will make people judge you!!! Now, I'm not in any way saying that people have a right to judge others, all I'm saying is you must always be prepared for the inevitability of that. A simple, probably controversial example; some people who previously wore the tudung and have now taken it off. You know that people are gonna talk, so don't give that crap about how people shouldn't me judging you. Again, don't get me mistaken: I have no problems with people who do decide to take off their tudung, that's none of my business, but I do have problems with people who complain and whine about others judging them after they've taken off their tudung. You gave the dogs some meat, then you want to be angry at the dogs for eating it. This tudung issue is just an example, not directed at anyone in particular, I swear.

Now for the more significant issue. A problem that is widespread amongst all peoples, but especially the Malays. Judging others, when you have no idea what's going on. I mean, with regards to the tudung issue, there's not much to decipher: one moment the gal is with tudung, the next she's without. But this, I'm referring to instances whereby a person suddenly judges, then hates, then backbites regarding another, when he or she heard about the issue only from a 3rd party! This clearly indicates a shallowness in the intellect level, lack of values and simply put, a dumb-ass mind. I just cannot understand nor accept why educated people, university grads, undergrads, can behave like such fool.

Now I urge myself firstly, and all you educated people out there reading this: please, display some integrity, show that you have proper values and etiquette, and do not be like one of those typical 'Malays'. Please. If you believe everything you hear, then clearly you're an ignorant foolish soul. So take everything, no matter who it comes from, with a pinch of salt.

And yar, before anyone starts getting 'tersinggung' or 'terasa' and stop talking to me, I assure everyone in no way am I directing this entry towards anyone in prticular. It's just a show of frustation at how seemingly intelligent people can behave in a Flintstones-like manner.

Delusional.

I really cannot fathom, to the point that it actually irks me, why Man United fans are so delusional. Ever since they won the treble in 99 , which admittedly was deservedly so, they seem to think that they can and should win the treble every single season. What a joke! 1 clown even had his MSN nick as "United for the treble" before the Portsmouth game, and we all know what happened in that match.

You wanna know what United really is? They are bullies, big bullies. They are good when against the lesser teams, the small clubs (or clubs in transition for that matter), but when the going gets tough, when up against the big boys, they choke. They wobble. They are not up to it. Which is why they can win the league, coz they always gain points against the small clubs, but the Champions League is beyond them.

Really. Just look to last season. No doubt they got to the semis of the Champs League, but it was bacuse they faced Lille and Roma en-route to it. The first big team they faced, AC Milan, they got their butts kicked. Convincingly. And this year, they struggled to beat even Lyon. They better pray they meet Schalke or Fenerbahce in the quarters, if they wanna progress any further.

United fans, wake up. Please realize your team is not as good as you think they are. No doubt, United is a good team, undoubtedly one of the top 8 in Europe. But the best? You have got to be kidding me.

Now, I'm gonna make a bold statement; and an even bolder promise. I say United will not win the Champions League this season, and if they do, I will shut down this blog the very next day itself.

That is my promise.

Tourist-like.

I really feel like a tourist this past week; been seeing the sights of Amsterdam.
Started off with the history museum; Amsterdam, not unlike other big cities in Europe, have a really rich history. It really makes you feel so jealous, especially when our most significant piece of history is the sight of LKY crying on national TV.
Anyway, before London was the financial centre of the world (eventually replaced by New York though), Amsterdam was. Holland was the most powerful country in the world at that time apparently.

Here are some pics.




And ohh, perhaps the most famous piece in Amsterdam's jigsaw.


I did go ice-skating on thursday, and as expected, it was a joke. Haha. Enough.

On Friday, Myself and Fadhil did meet my 'bro' from 1 of my previous entries (Ahmed): he got his cousin to drive us arond town after prayers, and showed us the city basically. He's really a great guy, and I feel so blessed to have been around nice people since I've gotten here.

The bro


View of the new mosque I went to



And ohh, I'll end with this pic, just to remind you guys that I'm in Amsterdam.=)

A coffeeshop near the city centre

Snow in Amsterdam.

I know I might sound like someone who's really 'jakun', but that's just because I really am! I don't really belong to the higher-end of society, whereby you get private jet rides on your birthday(not!), and I'm sure most of my audience have the same socio-economic background as myself, which is why I'm confident of putting up this entry without getting ridiculed too much!

It snowed here yesterday, 3 times in fact, twice in the day, once at night. Really, it was a sight to behold. It was by far the most beautiful sight I've witnessed my enitire life. Too bad, the pictures I captured do not really show that how beautiful it was: in fact from most of the pictures you cannot even see it was snowing! Haha. But I'm uploading 2 pics, the ones that displayed any semblance of snow.

The view from my window. This picture doesn't do justice to just how nice it was, I assure you.


The aftermath


I wished you all could have witnessed what I saw. And, it's only right that I end this entry with a special mention of my beloved sister: thanks for giving me such an opportunity. =)

Ice-Skating....Not!

Here is my weekly update, plus some photos as usual.

On Friday, myself and Fadhil were supposed to go ice-skating gal with this Vietnamese gal, Traang. She is our classmate (she's from NTU by the way), and she's sort of been bugging us to go ice-skating with her. Now, I hate ice-skating, simply coz I suck at it. For those of you who wants to see how bad I am (or wants to have a good laugh for that matter) you can ask Shaza for the video clip. Erm, but since Traang is quite a nice person, we agreed anyway (Fadhil wasn't too keen either). We arrived at the place at 3, only to find out that it closes at 4. Haha. Myself and Fadhil were extremely elated in our hearts, but Traang was so disappointed I thought she was gonna cry. So we decided to go 1 of the days next week instead, just to appease her. But ni last eh. Seriously. And the place was also very near the Ajax training ground, so it wasn't that wasted a trip.

Outside the skating ring


Very nice pitch



Before that, me and Fadhil went to a new mosque. We wanted to go to a different one, but couldn't find it and ended up at another one. It was a Turkish mosque, and of the 3 mosques we've been to here, this is by far the most beautiful. But, the Friday prayers here are real fast. And I mean REAL fast. Khutbah was less than 10 minutes, and for the prayers itself, the Imam recited 'Inna a'toina...' and Qul huwalllah...'. Haha. It's just like the 'Mari Belajar Solat' book.







View of mosque from outside


It was a good week thus far, and on Saturday, I saw my entire family on via webcam. It was very nice to see them, and I really miss my family gatherings.

Other than that, Fadhil and myself were making plans to travel, but since it has not been materialised yet, I won't comment further on it. Hehe. But yar, if we do go abroad, this will be our ride.


Oh,I also saw something that reminded me of someone recently.=)


These few days there have been storms here; the winds are so damn strong. Really. Just now, I could not even cycle momentarily, due to the winds. Wonder when the weather will get better.

Thankfully, everything else is getting better. =) And, my corridor has started to smell of weed again after a few days' absence, so this means the Americans have started to party again!

And oh, people, please don't start rumours about saying how Mas Selamat disappeared because he has "ilmu" etc. Can't anything happen in the Muslim community without it being attributed to supernatural forces?

Finally, I am still in the process of research for my "Top 10 worst quotes on blogs anywhere", so you guys hafta wait a little more for that entry. =)