And I am watching this....

1. Confession time: I have an appalling fixation on reality shows. There I said it. I don't know why but somehow I find these shows are very compelling... enough for me to keep on watching or at least following it rather religiously online.

2. Take the recently concluded American Idol for instance. I don' t really get to watch it every week and even if I did, I somehow would miss one or two performances (incidentally I missed quite a few of Adam Lambert's showy performances). But I make sure I follow all the gory details in the countless websites and blogs. In fact, I'll be on standby on Thursday mornings awaiting the elimination results on www.realitynewsonline.com as Astro would only screened the results show later that day. Does that make me an addict? Or simply a weirdo?

3. Speaking of American Idol, I'm sure all are aware that Kris Allen was voted as the latest idol, much to the chagrin of my wife and daughters. But not me. I'm a Kris supporter. Naturally, I gloat... big time. Which of course, further annoyed the wife. And I gloat some more. What fun!!!!

4. But now Britain's Got Talent is all the rage at home. (Yeah, I know its rather unpatriotic but really we can't stomach Akademi Fantasia anymore, sorry). And no, it has nothing to do with Susan Boyle. Sure, she can sing. True, her story is .. urm.. grippingly interesting. But there are other better talents. Like Diversity... a dance act group who wowed audiences with their out of this world choreography. We were simply blown away...

5.  Of course, the girls are rooting for Shaun Smith. And the wife is all for Shaheen Jafargholi. But collectively, we are all for Diversity.

6. Coming back to the other reality shows, admittedly, there are many lousy and rather stupid shows like Wife Swaps, Paris Hilton's My New BFF,, The Bachelors, America's Next Top Model, and Extreme Makeover, among others. But still, sometimes I find myself watching them anyway. ("Gawd! I can't believe I am confessing to watching these ridiculous shows.")

7. But we do get inspired from some of these shows. We find recipes (Top Chef), go to countries we only dream about (The Amazing Race), get pointers on how to deal with devilish bosses (Hell's Kitchen and The Apprentice) and watch designers create outfits (Project Runway).

8. And then there's The Biggest Losers. This one gives me HOPE!!!!

Peringatan Hari Jumaat

Ini ada satu joke lama... but I still find it funny. Dan sempena hari Jumaat yang mulia ini... marilah kita sama-sama hayati...

Kisahnya macam ni,

Ada lah sorang lelaki Islam ponteng sembahyang Jumaat. Sebaliknya dia masuk hutan untuk memburu ayam hutan. Sedang dia terhendap2 di dalam semak, tiba2 dia berlanggar dengan seekor HARIMAU yang sedang lena tidur.Dia begitu terkejut sehingga senapangnya tercampak lalu tergelungsur kedalam jurang. Dia pula tergolek ke arah lain, jatuh ke atas batu dan...


KRAKKKK!


Kedua2 kakinya patah.


HARIMAU tadi terus menghambatnya, sedangkan dia dah tak boleh bergerak lagi.


"Ya Allah," doa lelaki tersebut,


"Ampunilah dosaku kerana ponteng sembahyang jumaat pada hari Jumaat yang mulia ini...Ampunilah aku ya Allah... makbulkan hajat ku ini... jadikanlah HARIMAU yang memburuku HARIMAU yang beriman...tolong la ya Allah! Aminnn.."


Tiba2 guruh berdentum!


HARIMAU tadi tiba2 terhenti betul2 di hadapan lelaki tadi. Tiba-tiba....Sambil menadah kedua2 kaki depannya ke langit .. HARIMAU tersebut pun berdoa,



"Allahumma barik lana, fima razaktana, wa qina azzabbannar. Amin"

Romantic but....

I never see us (the wife and I) as a romantic couple. Best friend, yes! But not romantic, especially not me. That's because I hardly spring any random act of romance - like buying flowers bla bla - to my unsuspecting better half. I guess I should do more of these kind of acts, you know, just so to keep the fire burning!

But there are a few of those who knew us thought that we are ... urm.. romantic. I say, romantic ikut mana?

That's why both of us were quite stumped when a certain someone (a few years ago) had this to say about us:

"Walaupun mereka gemuk tetapi mereka romantik!"

Okay, tell me, how do you respond to that?

Fadhilat Jumaat

Kata Kata Hikmah Buat Pedoman Hidup

ALBAZZAR meriwayatkan bahawa Nabi s.a.w biasa memotong kuku dan menggunting misai sebelum keluar untuk solat Jumaat.

Nabi Muhammad s.a.w bersabda: Siapa yang membaca surah Ali Imran pada hari Jumaat maka akan didoakan oleh malaikat hingga malam.

Nabi Muhammad s.a.w bersabda: Siapa membaca pada pagi Jumaat sebelum solat Subuh, Astagh Firullahalladzi la ilaha illa huwal hayyul qayyum wa atubu ilahi’ tiga kali, nescaya Allah akan mengampunkan dosa-dosanya walaupun sebanyak buih di laut.

Dari Abu Hurairah r.a katanya, dia mendengar Nabi s.a.w bersabda: Janganlah kamu berpuasa pada hari Jumaat melainkan bersama satu hari sebelumnya atau sesudahnya.

Pada hari Jumaat dijadikan ada saat mustajab; tiada seorang berdoa bertepatan dengan saat itu melainkan pasti doanya diterima selagi tidak berdoa untuk kejahatan atau memutuskan hubungan keluarga.

Nabi Muhammad s.a.w bersabda: Siapa yang berwuduk sahaja untuk menghadiri solat Jumaat adalah sudah baik (memadai), tetapi siapa yang mandi maka adalah terlebih baik.

Nabi Muhammad bersabda: Sesungguhnya hari-hari yang utama bagi kamu iaitu hari Jumaat maka perbanyakkanlah membaca selawat padaku kerana bacaan selawatmu itu langsung disampaikan kepadaku (pada hari Jumaat).

Untuk Mak!!!

Untuk Puan Hafsah Mohamed Yusof

How much I love you I can't say:
It's more than words can hold.
You're all at once my rich, red clay,
My potter and my mold.

Yours the words that shaped my voice,
The spirit within mine.
Yours the will that shaped my choice,
My fortune, and my sign.

How lucky I was to have had you
At the core of me!
Wise and good, you always knew
Just what I could be.

And so I came to be someone
Whom I could be proud of.
For this I give my swollen sum
Of gratitude and love.

I have been busy...

These past few days, I've been rather busy....

1. covering assignments not only in the Klang Valley but also in Johor Baru and Kuantan. Tiring but I welcome the break away from the office

Me and the group of journalists at the P1 Wiwax event down in Danga Bay, JB.

2. wasting my time phoning TMNET complaining about the near non existence coverage of streamyx and I finally gave up but ...
3. then wasting another week trying (aka again phoning the P1 customer service centre) to get my new W1Max connection working (which unfortunately is still not working properly... Can someone please help me?????)
4. trying to stay calm over what have been happening in Perak. But I think my blood is rising la.
5. trying to meet the deadline (and what else is new!!)
6. helping the wife with her Internet business
7. thinking of ways to make more money (so that I can pay off my mounting debts etc)
8. thanking my lucky star that I don't have to travel to Las Vegas this month (what with the swine flu and the sorry state of my bank account)
9. finishing books bought from the MPH and Times warehouse sale
10. trying to figure something clever to write about for this blog
11. getting on my daughters' nerves
12. trying to become a biggest loser (with no apparent progress in sight though but I must, I must and I must!)