The Farewell Begins

Assalamulaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh...

It has finally started. I am now going around saying thank you and good byes to people. Last weekend, I visited an ex-colleague, Kak Safura and her hubby Razif at their new house. And on Sunday I managed to hang out with the girls and later round up few of my squad from batch 21 ROTU UiTM. We had a small potluck get together with our respective small families. Yours truly of course la sorang kan.. :)

The view from 29th floor, Twins Damansara

The spread: kebab in saffron sauce, kuih cara, garlic rice, chicken something-something..all are yummeh!!

The highlight of the day : Homemade cream cheese and cookies ice cream, extremely good, I had more than one serving of this. Enough said.  

With the man of the house

The lovely couple. 

On Sunday, few of my girlfriend gave in to my request to take a shot at archery. We went to Stars Archery, Sunway Pyramid. It was definitely fun as later after the session we went for Hunger Games 2. Semua feeling Katniss Everdeen sat..hahaha...I am guessing we are going to do it again.

Ready to rumble...?

All suited up!!

Katniss versi melayu in action.. :p

Our last shot...nak jugak amik gambar...

13 out of 15 arrows made it onto the board..not bad.. not bad at all. The sharp shooter feeling datang balik...hehehe...

Later the same day, I rushed over to Shah Alam, to meet up with my blood sisters and one brother ex ROTU UiTM batch 21. We had a simple potluck and chatted over till it was almost Maghrib. Of course, they knew that I am leaving, hence we have that gathering. I will definitely miss this bunch, next 4 years or so I will not be seeing them again. But the world is such a smaller place now, with all the social media available, I would still be in the loop.

Kumbang nan seekor..tu pun sebab we have it right at his apartment..kalau tak dia pon tak datang... ;p

The whole lot.

Yesterday, we had a farewell session for two ladies, yes, I am not the only one leaving. The Finance Manager is leaving to Miri, end of month and I will leave end Dec. The reason I am being celebrated much much earlier as the office would be quite a deserted place come Dec, people would most probably be clearing their leaves then.

Helping ourselves with the food

Mei Li, (in front of me) is leaving as well.

This is probably when the story about 'the chair' came out. SRC's own urban legend...

I was asked to give a speech..nak nanges dah time ni... ;(

Sweet cuppies ;)

main actress je nampak...extra kena overshadowed..hehehe..

Lunch buddy minus one. She's out on course.

All the SWAN ladies!! gonna miss them :(

Amek kaw...dah lama tak update, sekali letak dekat 20 pictures. You would expect more with the next coming weekends :)

Twins of Faith Day 2 Part 1

25th December 2011

I joined a Sister’s only workshop as a start for today’s activity.

The speaker, Dr Harlina Halizah Siraj with the topic Women in the Eyes of God. She started off with few verses from the Holy Quran that basically place women in Islamic perspective. Outside world perceive Islam as a religion that oppresses women, however it is clearly explained in the Al-Quran, both gender men and women are equal in the eyes of Allah, what differentiate us is our level of taqwa.

An-Nahl, ayat 97
Sahih International
Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer - We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.

Islam has never treated women as second grade creation; in fact, Islam is the only religion that strongly upholds women’s right. A whole chapter is dedicated to women in Al-Quran (Surah An-Nisa). Such details were drawn on how to treat women, up to the point of allocating the inheritance.

Dr Harlina draws her session more towards how women are in the current global society. She based her talk from a Millennium Development Goals Report. The Millennium Development Goals were derived from the United Nations Millennium Declaration, adopted by 189 nations in 2000. Most of the goals and targets were set to be achieved by the year 2015 on the basis of the global situation during the 1990s. Three out of eight goals are directly related to women. The goals are:
1. Goal 3 Promote gender equality & empower women
2. Goal 4 Reduce child mortality
3. Goal 5 Improve maternal health

UN conducts the research to see where the countries stand based on certain KPIs. Though the report only outlines the scores according to continents, the working team had access to the detail breakdown of each countries score. Sadly majority of the Sub Saharan African countries that score the lowest ranking in all the indexes are mainly populated by Muslim people.

Why is this happening? This is because Cultural Islam took over instead of living the life the way it is outlined in the Al-Quran and sunnah. As an ummah, this is a serious issue. Muslim women are not being treated fairly across the world even by their own fellow Muslim brothers, we are lucky we did not see that as big issue in Malaysia, but still there are people in the our Muslim community that fails to live up to Al-Quran’s guide when it comes to treating women.

Some interesting facts that was shared, so ladies, off to the Norwegian Woods I presume? ;)

I once had a girl~~~ thanks CS, now I cant stop humming the song :D

After that workshop, I returned back to the main auditorium and just in time for next lecture by the cute and cuddly Sheikh :) . The topic is Our Youth, the Foundations of an Exemplary Community. Majority of the participants are no doubt still can be categorized as youth. There are quite a few universities that sent few buses of students to join the conference. I say the organizer did a great job in catering the conference to all walks of life.

Main take away from Sheikh Navaid talks, there are 7 categories in a wheel to help us (the youth :P ) realize our true potential. Those are:
1. Deen – spend time and effort in investing in the hereafter. People who aim the akhirat will try their best to be on their best behaviour. It was mentioned good tongue leads to good heart, hence a person that properly guard his/her deen, will definitely has a good personality to begin with
2. Education – invest in your own education. His advice was to learn this 3 basic skills and you are good to achieve anything in your life:
a. Learn how to manage people
b. Learn how to manage time 
c. Learn how to lead people
One highly recommended book to be read by the Sheikh is Dale Carnegie’s – How to Win Friends and Influence People
3. Career – do what you enjoy and what you most passionate about, not what others expect you to do
4. Social life – you are the average of 5 people you surround yourself with, so what type of person are there in your social circle?
5. Health – take good care of your health
6. Finance – money should be in our hands but let not money get to our hearts. Earn as much as possible, spend in way of Allah, do not just pamper ourselves (note to self!!)
7. Family – keep good relationship with your parents, siblings, family etc.

We will reach our full potential once all of these elements are well balanced in our wheel of life, insyaAllah…
That’s it for now. I will continue with the rest of day 2 programme in the next post. Daa…

Perempuan Berkalung Sorban

Indeed another Indon movie review, a story of how certain individuals that claimed to uphold Islam and yet failed to acknowledge the fundamental of Islam. This story is about a girl, born and raised in the middle of 'pesantren' run by her orthodox father who treats women no more than somebody that her is job is waiting for the husband's hand and foot. Though girls were sent to classes, they were not allowed to think at all.

The story shows how a woman suffers to break from the cycle, its also about love, and later the fight to make the 'pesantren' a better place.

This movie should be shown to celebrate women's fight for justice, equality for all. We did not asked to be leaders all of the time, but we asked to be treated fairly and with respect. I was blessed to be brought up in an environment that allows me to do almost anything. So it was painful to watch the injustice to women, and these people use Islam to justify their action, even though its just a movie.

I could not stop myself from watching Indon movies, I really longed for another Yasmin in Malaysia, Erma Fatima still fell short :(

Happy 100th International Women's Day

It was this morning in the pantry, we walked in and greeted by president of cik kaks gang "Happy International Women's Day". And we continue to greet other women that came in next with the same gesture. It lights up my morning.

This year, I was not so lucky to be attending the yearly conference in KL but alas, I feel good just to be alive and kicking ;)

Did you know that today March 8th is the International Women's Day?
This year marks the 100th year that women start to stood up for their rights in some parts of the world. While in some parts till today still deny the womens' to the equal human rights as the XY fellow homo sapiens.

I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Sun, but will not elaborate here, next entry probably. But it definitely touches me as women right from the first page.

In the mean time, enjoy the video that celebrate the endless struggle, come on ladies!!! :d

Some not so fun facts worth to share. 

p/s: I wish I work in Madagascar, they declare this day as public holiday for women :D

Sisters

"Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter..

'Don't forget your sisters,' she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you  love the children you may have, you are still going to need sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them..'

'Remember that 'sisters' means ALL the women... your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too.. 'You'll need other women. Women always do.'

What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her mother. She kept contact with her sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her mother really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than 50 years of living in this world, here is what I've learned:

THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.

BUT.........

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girl friend is never farther away than needing her can reach.
When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end..

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you...Or come in and carry you out.
Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters,-in-law, Mothers, Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family: all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other..

Every day, we need each other still. Pass this on to all the women who help make your life meaningful.
I just did. Short and very sweet:

There are more than twenty angels in this world. Ten are peacefully sleeping on clouds. Nine are playing. And one is reading this post at this moment. :)

I dedicated this post to all my sisters out there ( I know of no brothers that read my blog :P )

Women of Independence : Day 2

Day 2 was kicked of quite aggresively when the chairperson introduce Major Patricia Yapp as the presenter. She came in second after Dr. Noeleen Heyzer Executive Secretary for United Nations.
Major Patricia's presentation was the most interesting as she took us with her journey on embarking a career as jet fighter pilot. She even taught us on how to symbolise F-18 and MIG-29 at the training ground ;) . She is very much entertaining, but does carry a big message. Anything is doable as long as you put your hearts and minds to it and mother's support is sometimes all that you need to succeed. So to all mothers out there, (if there are any), support your child in any field that they ventured into, even how impossible it may look. At least they have tried.

Another speaker that wows everyone was a teacher from Philipines that gets a planet named after her. Dr Josette Biyo gets the recognition when she won an education fair in US. The thing that commands people respect is that, after receiving her PhD, she was offered to teach at major universities in the US, but instead, she continues teaching at middle school in her home town in Iloilo, a rural part in Philipine (not even a city). She is determined to teach the students from young, and care less about the monetary reward.

Here are some pics from the two days ;)

Us with Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar

With the flying girl from Sabah bah..

With Dato Nooryah

All of us

The event was meant for networking, but I did not bring my name card, so I just collected along the way ;). I do have one though in my purse, and that one I gave to Houzan Mahmoud, when she promised to send the report of human trafficking and prostitution in Iraq. Below is the link to the organisation that she is with :

http://www.equalityiniraq.com/activities/117-prostitution-and-trafficking-of-women-and-girls-in-iraq

Its suprising though to see that most of these women do not have their own wikipedia entry. Considering they are the pioneer for women in general to be in their position. If you search for an artist name, you'll get the whole length of their career history, which is sometimes not really that significant, if compared to these wonderful women. That shows how society in general view women and how they achieve women's achievement.

Women of Independence : Day 1

Yesterday was International Women's Day. It was all over the radio. This year I had the opportunity of coming to this yearly event, Women of Independence. Shell sent 30 of us from all business in Peninsular Area. This is where leading women all accross the world were gathered to give their thought and shared their both success and war stories to inspire the participant. I got to know about this conference last year but after the seminar had passed. This year I grabbed the opportunity as soon as the email notification came out.

Its a 2 days agenda. First day today, I did not sleep a wink, not even dozed off. All the speaker were very remarkable women in their own rights. All together there are 7 speakers today, namely a Shell alumni, Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar, who is now heading the Securities Commission, glad that I at least spend 2 minutes personally to get her words of wisdom. The Chairperson encouraged the participant to reflect after each speaker had finish, what is our one action plan, that is realistic to be achieved in the next week, or in the next month. I thought that was easy but boy was I wrong. After hearing those inspiring women struggle in their own rights, it hard to put ideas into just one action.

The most moving speaker was Houzan Mahmoud. She is an Iraqi, her topic was Voice of the Voiceless : Tokenism or Activism,Exposing Gender Based Violence in Iraq. She spoke about her background being raised in the reign of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, the consequences of foreign interference (USA and its allies) in Iraq, and how Iraqis are living to-date. Sad to say in a war torn country, human rights no longer exist. Even though the west influenced media such as CNN and BBC applaud US 'assistance' to free Iraq from Saddam, they only created much more problems. Iraq is to date second highest corrupted country next to Somalia who is leading the top spot.

Such chaos has disabled a country to function properly, and with that the people has no rights at all. She brought tears to our eyes when she mentioned about human trafficking, parents resorting to selling their kids for prostitution for living, and many other injustice conducted. At that moment it hit me, we are too wrapped in our problem that the order of magnitude is way below than what other people across the world is facing. We complaint about our government, but how many of us actually do something? She is a political refugess, having lived in UK and all over the world, she still doing work to help the people of her country, fighting for their rights, urging the government to take action on all of the issues mentioned above. And, we complacent in our current situation, what are we doing? Nothing!!

She did said that what she and her friends is doing, its not a profession, its not a work, but its a cause. She lives for a cause to make her country as equal as other country, where people irregardless gender, race and any other diversities gets equal opportunity as the rest of the world. Do you have a cause for living?

p/s: my boss let me come on condition that I share this back with the rest of SWAN colleague back in PD. One of the reason I was paying very much attention, but its a blessing in disguise, I am truly glad that I came.