Sunday, November 1, 2015

SYDNEY & GOLD COAST

 
Just came back from a short trip to Australia and still having post-Aussie syndrome. Main objective? Okay, you got me. It was for Bigbang "MADE' in Sydney concert + sight seeing. Oh, and yes before Sydney I also attended the "MADE' in Malaysia concert. So much of big talk on retiring...(-_-)

Been neglecting my writing for a few months which made me pretty sad to see these empty space and lack of updates. My schedule was just too hectic. I'm either occupied with my weekly boot camp & weight loss regime (I just lost a few kg, still far from my target), work commitment or just falling flat on my bed of being too tired from all these regimes.

Australia has been very kind to me. Everything went well during this trip with 2 of my gal-pal. Not to mentioned the Bigbang boys, as always, was awesome too. Travelling really teaches me to be patient and rational (which I am still lacking of). I need to travel more, even though I hate the after effect of long flight, body pain and lack of sleep. The post Aussie trip is not yet over, but I'll try my best to get back to writing again, soon.












US - AT DARLING HARBOUR BRIDGE

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Warming up and gearing up!

Good day and Assaalamualaikum to my readers (if there's any, LOL!)

It's been almost 4 months since I left Japan. Life in Perak is pretty mundane since I don't have much to do nor many friends left in my hometown. It's quite puzzling coz I don't have much friend in Japan either but my weekend was always busy! :) I didn't mind joining strangers doing activities or having a good day by myself, going to the cinema, shopping or even retreat at a resort! On the contrary, I can't do much by myself here coz it feels weird even to go for a jog by myself. I keep reminding myself, I must change the mode back to my Japan life. Talk about procrastination....

I'm going to write down what I did so far. At least I won't feel so bad of myself. LOL.
1) Finished unpacking 8 boxes of stuffs that I shipped from Japan. It took me 4 months! :(
2) Bought my new car after convincing the bank with my Japanese pay slip.  Teehee! :)
3) Bought a new mattress for my poor back. A freaking thick and expensive mattress.
4) Attended the 4th Being Me Muslimah Convention : Love, Aisya in Putrajaya. This time it's just me. No friends.
5) I've said Tokyo Dome in Dec'14 was my last one, but it happened that I went to see my boys again in KL after much persuasion from a friend. Oh! when will be my last..huhuhuhu..
6) Paid deposit for Europe Tour in Jan'15. Will be with 20 total strangers for 14 days. You go girl!!
7) Registered for 'Jom Kurus' weight loss program in this Sept with my colleague.
    Target : shed those excess kilos before my Europe trip and take gorgeous pics! #vain
8) Volunteered for my company's CSR activity : Science Project with school children. It was so much fun! :)
9)  Received an invitation as a guest contributor to write about halal in Japan from a travel and lifestyle blog Have Halal Will Travel (HHWT) based in Singapore. How cool is that! :D

There's a lot more to do and to achieve but being in a sluggish state that I am right now, I won't achieve much if I don't make a change fast. I was watching an Islamic TV programme while typing this entry. 2 of my favourite motivational speaker was on it. (Dr. Fadilla Grine and Prof. Madya Dr. Harlina Siraj). I'm gonna write some of their word of wisdom here and may it be a reminder for me in everything I do.

Be good emissaries for Islam. Be useful. Be a human being who can bring benefit to others.

Strive for the ultimate reward from Allah SWT in whatever you do rather than reward from human.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said : "The believer is like rain, where ever he goes is goodness."


XOXO,
-Tim-
Good to be back! (^_^)

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Pursuit of Happiness


If you ever feel down or distressed, remember this du`a’ (supplication):
 
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ الْهَمِّ وَالْحُزْنِ وَالْعَجْزِ وَالْكَسَلِ وَالْبُخْلِ وَالْجُبْنِ وَضَلَعِ الدَّيْنِ وَغَلَبَةِ الرِّجَالِ
Allahumma inni a’udhu bika minal-hammi wal-Ḥuzni wal-‘ajazi wal-kasli wal-bukhli wal-jubni wa ḍala’Īd-dayni wa ghalabatir-rijal.
O Allāh, I take refuge in You from anxiety and sorrow, weakness and laziness, miserliness and cowardice, the burden of debts and from being overpowered by men. [Bukhari]

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Japan Life : Enquiry about working in Japan

Salam from Malaysia!!
Just came back a week ago, and my stuffs haven't arrived yet from Japan. Huhu!
I want to share this email that I received last month from Adam (bukan nama sebenar..hihi) who will be undergoing his Industrial Training in Kanagawa soon. He wanted to know some know-how for Muslim working in Japan, hopefully it can benefit you too!

On Saturday, March 14, 2015, fatimah shamsuddin <fatimah-shamsuddin@hotmail.com> wrote:
Waaalaikumsalam WBT.

Hello Adam. Sorry for my late reply, I was quite busy coz I'm going back to Malaysia soon.
I was so surprised but honoured to receive your email.I will try to answer your questions as per my experience though it might not be suitable with your situation. As you know, I lived in Kyoto so I am not familiar with Kanagawa area. But if you look at Japan map, Kanagawa is very near to Tokyo.^b^
So here it goes!
1. When I googled Kanagawa, it stated that it is the main manufacturer of pork - should I be bothered with it?
Err..I don't think you should worry too much...Maybe in Kanagawa, they have variety of pork menu compared to other places, but that's all. My advise is:
- When you want to buy food at the supermarket or 7-E (konbini), etc, make sure to check the label carefully. If there is kanji like  豚 (ぶた),  ラード (lard), ショートニング (shortening),  just don't buy it.
- If you are eating outside, ask the cook first..."Sumimasen, syuukyou no tame ni, o'niku, doubutsu abura, aruko-ru, o'nuki dekimasu ka?" (Because of  religious reason,  can you not add any meat, animal oil and alcohol?) If they say yes, then just read bismillah and makan..:D. The rest is tawakkal.
2. I am still able to have halal food, right? (I might get a personal room during my internship, so I might be able to cook my own meal)
Of course! I'm sure there'll be 1 or 2 halal groceries shop where you can buy frozen halal meat, etc. But if you can't find any, you can buy online from www.baticrom.com. Their office is in Tokyo. You can order from their website and they will deliver to your house in 1-2 days! My advise is, as soon as you settle down in Kanagawa, try to locate the nearest Muslim centre, masjid or muslim community as soon as possible. That will help you to adapt fast!

3. Is Japanese employees ok about us having to perform prayers while working? How do you usually perform solat during work? Can we perform jama' & qasar?
Did you informed your employer about the things that you need when you apply for the internship? Like solat, muslim friendly food, culture, etc..
If you haven't, please do so before you come to Japan! Before I came to Japan, I made a list of things that I will need, the do and don't as a Muslim, etc..So I never faced much problem at work. My lunch time is from 12pm-12.45pm. I normally eat until 12.30, and the balance 15min I will do my Zuhur prayer. My boss let me use the filing room to do my prayer. My advise is, set a fix time for your Zuhur prayer everyday (jgn tukar2..) so that your collegue will also be aware of it. We must show good example and we can't be as "suka hati" as in Malaysia where people can go for prayer time as they like. Then you can do your Asar after working hours. About jama' & qasar, I don't do it on a normal days, only when I'm on a long journey business trip/travelling. Sometimes, I also faced problems such as stuck in long meeting, couldn't find proper place for solat when I'm on the go, etc, etc..in this case I will do jamak, but not qasar bcoz it's not related to the distance (~90km). Sorry I can't explain much about this..it is better you read the explanation from an ustaz..like Dr. Maza, UAI, etc.
Have you heard about nomikai (飲み会)or drinking party?? In Japan, it is common for co-workers to go for drinkign alcohol after work. If you are going to one, tell them you can only drink non-alcoholic drink. Orenji jyusu kudasai! :D. I go to nomikai all the time because it is the nature of my work. At first, I hesitated to but a friend advises me during the nomikai, try to 'selit' about Islamic values. Example, why Islam forbid us to drink alcohol and eat pork, why Muslim have to pray 5 times a day, and any other things..Japanese people are really interested to know about Islam! So this is the chance for you to explain to them. :D  
4. My Japanese proficiency is weak (N5 passed, N4 failed), do I need to work on my Japanese language? Can I survive in the work environment with that level of proficiency? (Please be honest, so that I could prepare myself early! T^T)
I will be honest with you. There is a HUGE difference between laymen Japanese and bussinese Japanese (sonkeigo). I have only JLPT level N3, and it is NOT enough for me to survive in my line of work. I work in the Purchasing Department, so we deal with Japanese suppliers in JAPANESE. (-_-).   I would have packed my bag and balik kampung long time ago if I don't have the google translater with me 24-7. Huhuhu.
BUT! It depends on the nature of your job as well. Some of my friends don't even have JLPT, but they can managed bcoz they uses mainly English than Japanese (system engineer, overseas sales, etc). If you are in enginering, please try to learn the common terms, machinery terms, parts and material name in Japanese. I keep a small note book to jot down  when ever I don't understand a Japanese word. It helps me to memorize faster.
Last but not least, if you face any difficulty in Japan later, don't be shy and ask for help! You cannot survive being a loner..(though I like travelling alone..hihi.) And do enjoy Japan as well..It is a very beautiful & systematic country, there's alot of things we can learn from them.
 I wish you all the best!! 頑張ってください!
~Kak Tim~

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Personal struggle

On some of my cold winter nights in Japan, I would just laid on my bed, thinking of the things that I have achieved so far, in my career and personal life. I think I have achieved quite a lot, though to other people it might seems small. And I am humbly admitting that I've lost a lot too.

There's too many to list out, but the most painful is that I have lost my old self. The one who used to have the will power to say NO to syaitan's whispers. I felt so helpless now. Every time I've sinned, I beg Allah for His forgiveness, but I didn't made an effort to change. I'm seeing people around me becoming better Muslims, which I really envy! They took a longer path than me, but I've failed to stay istiqamah (persistent) on that path. Why do I struggle so much?

 I want to run to ME again, to my 14 years-old self, whom once bravely told the choir teacher that she'll keep her headscarf on, no matter how awkward the choir team might look because of her.

It's cloudy here, in my heart. I'm scared it will turned to black. I want it to be white again, like the precious winter snow.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Japan Life : Winter Holiday in Japan 2014

This is my last winter holiday in Japan. I went travelling all around Japan with a friend from Malaysia. I had to brave the cold, the wicked snow, the high fever and non stopped runny nose for 1 whole week. I can say it was the worst holiday ever for me. There's not much of my photos because I looked half dead. Japan was a bit gloomy and snowy but beautiful, as always.


ODAIBA DRIVE CITY, TOKYO.










GUNDAM ROBOT



















HAKONE.

 




BIWAKO VALLEY ROPEWAY

BIWAKO VALLEY SKI PARK



HARRY POTTER WORLD, USJ.





HARRY POTTER WORLD, USJ.


Snowy morning view from 88HIROSHIMA HOUSE.



PEACE MEMORIAL PARK, HIROSHIMA.



TOKYO SKY TREE


TOKYO SKY TREE VIEW

TAKESHITA SHOPPING STREET



OMOTESANDO HILLS SHOPPING STREET, TOKYO.



SHIBUYA CROSSINGS




AKIHABARA ELECTRONIC CITY

Daisypath Graduation tickers