Goodbye dear friend.

Assalamualaikum.

Recently, i was hit with a news, a news i didn't expect to hear anytime soon...my cousin, my friend, my buddy passed away. 
He had some medical illness and was hospitalized for about 50+ days. He was a warrior, faught bravely through all the procedures in the hospital. 

When i first got the news, i didn;t know how to react. until my brain kept replaying the message "he's gone, your friend is really gone" over and over. I broke down and cried outside my lecture hall. 
He was a great friend, best buddy one can hope for. Strangely, he was more a friend, than he was a cousin. 

Anyhow, I didn't get the chance to say goodbye to him for the last time, and i guess that was a blessing. I shall forever remember him as the fun, outgoing, happy boy he was, and not the miserable, sick boy he became. 

So, i hope this would be therapeutic for me, a way of saying goodbye to him. 

*kindda wrote this in the plane, one the way to his funeral*

Dear Buddy,

You have been a great friend. More than great actually. You're kindda my best buddy, the one I run to when I hhad to scream and shout and curse, and you;d understand. You;d even be on my side, and curse the other person just to be supportive.

I know we didn't meet after you've been hospitalized but i am still grateful to not see you in such condition. The last time we met was a blast, we all got together for my sister's convocation and you were very helpful indeed, specially with my father's condition at that time, I coudn't thank you enough for all that you;ve done for me. 

Even now writing this down, i am not sure that you're really gone, Some part of me wishes that this isn't true.

But Allah knows best. 

I shall forever remember you in my doa and whenever i see something we both used to talk about. 
I can promise you this; i can never watch Despicable Me, Premium Tush, 50-50, Inception, Tangled and so many other movies without thinking about you, laughing at the silliest things we used to talk about. 

I shall in the future have a pet cat, a black one, just like Mama Kucing and name it Toothless, just for fun. Coz that's what we see in black cats. But only if my allergies are in check. If not, I'll find something else and name it Toothless. Haha...

I am tryly grateful that we've remained friends over the past 7 years, and we didn't have to meet so often to maintain the friendship.
Thanks for being a great friend, willing to accept my coocooness and craziness in my life. 

Goodbye, buddy.

I am okay now. It's just that the emptiness is still there, and maybe will remain there forever. 

Let's just pray for him. Al-Fatihah...

Talk of the future: bedtime stories

Assalamualaikum, people.

I think I'm gonna start a trend on my blog-talking about the future.
I think it'd be a great way to reflect on my thoughts 5-10 years from now when things have changed so much in time. InsyaAllah...

Today, I'd like to discuss on bedtime stories for my future kids.

Growing up with Disney fairytales, I'd like to tell stories about fairytales too...but not all about the lovey-dovey stuff. Nope.

1. Beauty and the Beast

I think by now a lot of you would know I'm obsessed with this story. I loved the fact that Beauty fell in love with Beast because of his kind heart and not his looks, like all the other fairytales.
Cinderella liked Prince Charming because he was handsome and was being a baby when she was prevented from leaving the house from the evil stepmother.
Ariel transformed herself into a human because she fell in love with the handsome prince.

Belle was a total opposite. She was smart, hardworking and loved her father. She would read the books she borrowed from the library over and over again because she loves to read. She would defend her dad when the rest of the town were calling her dad "lunatic".
She even took her dad's place to be held captive by the Beast, because she loves her dad.

She fell in love, yes. But not because of the look of Prince Beast.
But because he was nice, loving and funny.

This is what I wanna plant in my kid's head. To fall in love with someone is more than just superficial beauty.

2. Mulan

I loved this story because in the end, a lot of people, heck, the entire China respected Mulan, a normal girl from downtown who wasn't married even when she's older. I assume she's older, since her family were so desperate to marry her off.

She wanted to honor her family, went to war dressed up as a man, faught like a man, and found love by accident.

She was a brave fighter, whereby she put herself last when it came to protecting the emperor. She had guts. And the reward for that is priceless.

She brought honor to her family for generations to come.

From this story, family is utmost important in life. Stand up for what you believe in, even when the whole world is against you.

3. The Prophet Muhammad and anbiya'

I want to raise my kid the Islamic way, whereby I tell them stories about the hard work each Prophet went through to bring Islam where it is today.

How they were tortured and Allah helped them every step of the way. How they prayed and seek His forgiveness every time they faced hardship in spreading Islam.

Hopefully with the endless stories of The Prophet and Anbiya', my kids will grow to be patient, kind and loving...even to the haters. somehow i have this yucky feeling that my kids will be bullied in the future. It could be because they are super smart, friendly, fat or because they have me as their mummy; I'd embarrass them in school events. Ahhhh...too much thought into the unknown future.

Basically, these are my preferences, but who knows, maybe we wont even be reading these books in the future. I might forget about this entry I posted...years ago. haha...
Just sharing my thoughts.

Let me know if you have your very own line of stories you prefer with your kids or niece/nephew.

SIMPLE FASHION TIPS FOR FASHION VICTIMS

Have you been called or labelled a fashion victim by your friends and family members before?

Do you mix and match the same outfits over and over again, not knowing how else to spice up your look?

No worries. Here's a few fashion tips to help you stay away from being a victim.

Fashion tip 1: accessories

Anything ranging from a bandana, hair clip, earrings, rings...put them on and you have already changed the way people look at you.

Have you heard of statement jewelleries? Statement pieces definitely help better your look and make it more fashion forward. You can either pick a piece that has similar colour to your outfit or be bold-pick a totally different colour!

Fashion tip 2: fashion magazines

Get a magazine at the newsstand and flip through the pages. There's endless ideas on how to style and make an outfit work better. The magazines discuss on different colours and designs that are the in-season. Did you notice the ads that are in a magazine? You can also check out how the models work the clothes in the ad! If you like the style, you can use them in styling your outfits.

Fashion tip 3: stay simple

With too many information on what's trending in fashion world, sometimes, one can get too excited and put on an outfit that is too much. Try to keep it original by being true to yourself. Maintain your own style and do not over accessorize.

Get a close friend's opinion on your style, as they know you best! 

Last but not least, have fun and be confident. Happy styling!

Baitul Muslim Online?

Assalamualaikum, people.

Salam Ramadhan kareem...

This morning, we were having a study group session for an upcoming quiz, and out f a sudden, a friend told the rest that she went online and ALMOST signed up to Baitul Muslim. To those who don;t know what this is, it is a group of people, working like matchmakers, matchmaking the right Islamic way. They claimed that they would match us up with the candidates and the two candidates will exchange a few words, see where it leads them. If they like each other, then, they shall proceed into marriage or whatever plans they have.

We are around 23-24 years old in the group, and the pressure is on! most of our friends either are in a relationship or interested in someone, engaged or married. One is even pregnant with her first child!
personally, if you;ve been reading my blog, you;d know my personal views on marriage. I'm not looking to get married anytime soon, because i know i'm not ready!

However, i helped two friends fill in the forms online, and at one section, they asked the candidates to explain a little bit on themselves. Then, it hit me, what if someone would like to know me, and he asks me what am i like, what will i say?

- i'm crazy. seriously, no kidding. ask my friends
- i'm hyper, like a child who ate 10 cotton candies for breakfast...every single day! deal with it!
- i'm short and slightly plump, but i take no actions to reduce my weight. i'm that lazy.
- i love music, watching my favourite bands play live on Youtube, and I'd be singing along, clapping my hands, cheering them for the other side of the screen
- i love watching horror movies, even though i get scared easily, but the thrill to know the level of horror gives me the adrenaline
- i am a strong minded person, once i put my head onto something, there's no way you can change my mind
- i love kids! chubby cheeks, Auntie Ema's here!
- i love to cook, but either too lazy to get in the kitchen or too lazy to do the dishes after that. Love watching cooking shows, love how chefs do their thing!
- i am a sucker for love stories! i crack up watching guys trying too hard to get a girl's attention. so when someone tries to flirt with me, i'm constantly smiling or laughing, coz i'm laughing at how desperate the guy is at getting my attention. Sorry guys! don;t get the wrong idea!
- oh, and i'm flirtatious! with all the smiling and giggling, guys ALWAYS get the wrong idea.
- love guys in uniform! *faints*
- i wish i could travel, but my parents are pretty restrictive
- i love animals, growing up i thought i'd be a veterinarian, but because i have sinusitis (i guess?) my Abah put his foot down and told me to pick dentistry instead
- i'm a drama queen. I watch all sorts of drama on TV and would apply it in daily life. Guilty as charged!
- i'm addicted to caffeine. everyday, i need a cup of coffee to keep me going
- i am super friendly, you'd know me right away after a few minutes of conversation.
- i call myself Bubblyema, because i brighten up people's lives! *cough*
- i'm very flexible, i don;t mind your educational status, work, salary-as long as you are willing to accept me and my career, i will stand by you no matter what happen. *heart aches* (i'm being honest here, man) 
- i'm pretty honest. if i like you, i like you. if i don't, you'd know.

there you go, pretty much everything about me!

anyone interested? hahaa...

Wassalam...

"Having a boyfriend means bad person eh?"

Situation: In the OT. Specialists crowd by the patient and we can't see anything. 

"Do you have a boyfriend?" A Chinese friend asked. She battled her eyelashes. Even from behind a mask, I knew she was grinning.

"No la..I'm a good girl" 

"Huh? Meaning having a boyfriend makes you a bad girl?" She has a boyfriend.

I pat her back. "I'm not saying you're a bad person because you have a boyfriend..."

The chaos in the OT stopped our conversation.

Assalamualaikum, readers.

This topic has  been an issue, something I debated with myself over the past years. And each year, or with different situations I encounter, I would have different opinions about it.
When I was in lower secondary, I believed that I will date a person before I get married. Because I wanna know how good/bad they are, and if they are bad, I would eventually stop the marriage from taking place.

When I entered matrics or 1st year in dentistry, I realized I wanted to get married to someone my parents choose for me. That way, I would get blessings and I simply love surprises. 

When I was in matrics also, I came across friends who were dating. Some didn't let their parents know about their relationship with boys, and I believed this is wrong. That we should never embarrass our parents and make sins behind their back.
Most of them were dating and their family knew about it. I thought it was okay, since the parents already knew about this, nothing could go wrong. And the parents have given their blessings anyways.

Boy, was I wrong.

Ever heard of stories of good girl dating supposedly-good-boy and after date #16 the girl didn't come back home that one night, where she had a not-so-consensual-sexual-intercourse with her boyfriend? Even worse, the parents knew this boy since he brought her to prom and date night every weekend. *gasp*

How does parents acknowledgements have anything to do with the event that has scarred their precious daughter's life forever? 

Ever since then, my perspective changed 360 degrees. 

That's when I decided to not fall in love, go dating or whatever. Arranged marriage was definite. Probably would never go out on dates with my future husband, or maybe go out with my brother accompanying me or even better my dad. hahaha...

Again, it's a choice. 

You wanna fall in love, go out on dates and love marriage, I pray for your happiness. InsyaAllah...

Wallahua'lam...