APPS Taiwan: Sky Lanterns

A picture speaks a thousand words. I give you EIGHT pictures. So, EIGHT THOUSAND WORDS!!!

The Wonder of Braces

A random post again.

No, actually it is not that random.

Today is the 2nd of Ramadhan 1433, 22nd of July 2012.

My phone is still alive, and so am I, alhamdulillah.

I went to the orthodontist at Metro Specialist Hospital for my braces appointment. It was supposed to be at 4.30 pm and it looked like I was the last patient who was waiting outside the room. I could hear the doctor talking and nagging inside the room, drilling something onto the poor patient's teeth.

I brought Cecelia Ahern's 'A Place Called Here', of which I have read 3-4 years ago, but decided to read again. I must say, this book is one of Ahern's boring books. I love Cecelia Ahern! I have read all of her books! (though I haven't bought the recently released one, which is half A4-sized and a bit expensive, gotta wait for the normal paperback size). I've reread 'The Book of Tomorrow' the week before, and I was so captivated with the storyline that I decided to revise all her other books. 

Okay, enough about Cecelia Ahern. Back to 'Braces' story.

So, I waited and waited patiently and hungrily for the nurse to call out my name. Then, at about 4.55, the patient inside the room came out. I waited for the nurse to call my name. 

Just when I was about to close my eyes, the nurse called me and smiled upon seeing me almost dozing off. 

Went inside, took off my glasses, put the 'sunglasses'. sat on the yellow dentist chair, the orthodontist lowered the chair, followed his every instruction:-

Open wider!

Close!

Bite!

Open!

Bite!

Then he twisted some sort of wires, tightened my braces, which made my teeth and gum feeling sore. Your teeth are moving, of course it hurts!

Back at home for iftar, my teeth hurt as I chewed the Rendang Daging. But my hunger overpowered my pain and I successfully sliced and chewed through the meat! Yeehaa!!

At night, I couldn't really sleep because it was very painful. But nothing could beat the pain I first felt when I first got my braces last year. I couldn't sleep properly and I almost cried because of the intense pain! ALMOST okay, almost. I did not cry. 

Anyway, I survived, woke up early for sahur. My teeth hurt still. You want to know the sensation?

Open your mouth really wide, expose your teeth, then ask someone to punch your teeth. Yeah, that was how it felt like, I think. Because no one ever punched me, haha. But majority of those who wear braces describe the pain as being like that- getting your teeth punched by someone, or getting your teeth being hit by a high-speed baseball. 

I checked out my teeth at the mirror, and I was surprised (still surprised) and delighted to find out that the gaps had been half-filled in just one night! The wonder of braces, you see? Haha, I guess it will take another two or three appointments for the gaps to be fully closed. Another year to go, or maybe another year after that. I only got my teeth checked 6-7 times in a year. 

My teeth still hurt as I'm typing this. No pain, no gain, right?

Phony death

It's the first day of Ramadhan!

Ramadhan al-Mubarak everyone!

I have read several blogs and I must say, those that interest me are the ones which the bloggers posted totally random entries just to kill their boredom. LOL. 

I'm glad that there's not many people out there who read this blog so I could write as freely (not quite, there's still restriction) as I could!

Yeah, just returned from the 12th Asia Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium (APPS) held in Taipei, Taiwan. I'll post entries about it, insya-Allah. Maybe not in the short time period. Well, sooner or later. I shall post about my 8-days adventures and what I learned from the experiences! Yes!

Back to the title of the entry. I have been using my current phone for 4 years and 4 months. Yup. It is still functioning well. The screen, the keypad, etc are still intact. There are only minor scratches at the back, due to uncountable times of it falling to the ground, bla bla. 

The only problem is... the battery is weak! The heart of my phone is weak. I need to charge my phone once a day at least, because the power runs out very quickly.

Sometimes I got fed up and just left the phone lifeless for about 1 day or 2, which means that I couldn't contact anyone during that period. I'm so happy at home that I don't need a phone,yeah.

My parents are offering to buy a new phone for my birthday. That sounds agreeable, but not really. I couldn't bear to be apart with my fellow phone, the one who was with me through thick and thins. The one who woke me up every morning for Subuh prayer. Yeah, I love my phone.

So just now, I charged my lifeless phone again. It refused to come back to life. I tried pressing the 'On' button for 2 to 3 times, but to no avail. Hereby, I pronounced the time of death to be at around 9 something am on the 21st of July 2012, 1st of Ramadhan. 1433.

I was a bit sad initially, and after a few moments, I thought about my parents' offer. I was immediately comforted and delighted with the prospect of having a new, cool phone.

I went out from the room, thinking about the kind of phone that I'd like to have, and after I've made up my mind,  I came back into the room again to check out on my old phone. Imagine my surprise when I saw the screen was all lit up. 

Status: Charging

PFTTT. My phone faked its own death! Or perhaps it came back to live upon hearing that I'd be getting a new phone (we have 4 years worth of relationship, you see). So I couldn't get a new phone. Well, I could, if I wanted to. But no thanks. I'll use it until it is finally  unusable, then I'll buy a Samsung Android/Galaxy SIII or something (depending on the latest model at that time). Not Blackberry please. Blackberry is boring. Yup.

With that, thank you...

I think I shall make a wordpress account of which I could write serious stuffs on current issues or something. Something 'journalistic'. Haha. 

Okay, thank you. Assalamualaikum w.b.t. Eid Mubarak Ramadhan al-Mubarak to all Muslims around the world and happy holiday to the others! :) 

P.S. I miss writing these kind of stuffs. I don't have to check on the sentence structure/grammatical incoherence/spelling mistakes. Just write everything out. Ahh, it is so pleasant.

Stairs

Written during exam week (can't remember exactly when). Taken from my journal. 

I dreamed about stairs again. In fact, I have had countless dreams about stairs. 

In those dreams, I was really reluctant (AFRAID!) to take even another step up or down the stairs.

Why oh why?

Those stairs were depicted as being situated at a very high level, and there were spaces between each step where you could see the ground which further gives you acrophobia ( irrational fear of height) or just plain altophobia (fear of high places).

Macam mana kalau jatuh? Macam mana kalau kaki patah? Macam mana? Macam mana? Tinggi tahu!

What's more, the open spaces between each step are very WIDE. It's like, you'd have to leap or jump to reach to the next step.

Often have I succeeded in moving on to the next step, no matter how wide those spaces are, no matter how scary it was if you looked down, realizing that you're way too far from the ground. 

So last night, I dreamed of going to class with some of my close friends. On the way to our class, we had to climb up a series of stairs (that are widely spaced) up the way to the topmost rung.

I held on to the railings of the stairs firmly and ascended the stairs, trembling because of the height.

And voila! All of us reached the top of the stairs, where there was some sort of a landing. I reached there first. The stairs did not end there even thought it was the topmost step. In order to reach the class/ lecture hall, you were required to move another step DOWN.
 "Oh, no way!". The space between the landing and that lower step was very big. 

I couldn't do it! I thought, as I looked down to the ground between the space of the top landing and lower landing. My roommate, Dibah asked me 'Sarah? Kenapa tak jalan lagi?'

I said to her sadly 'Tak boleh! Aku takut!'

'Seriously Sarah?' bukan dah selalu guna ke tangga ni?

I felt like I should just descend the series of widely spaced stairs again and take the elevator instead. Anything but this, THE LEAP. But then again, I was scared of going down the stairs! 

Dibah then leaped to the lower landing with ease. Upon seeing her did that, I decided to try to take the leap. I told her 'Eh tunggu, tolong aku!' and she waited for me.

I slowly sat on the upper landing and I tried to reach the edge of the lower platform using my legs. Satisfied then, I quickly released myself. I almost fell, but Dibah caught my hands and I successfully landed on the lower landing.

As I looked behind, I realised that there were many people waiting to 'take the leap' as well. It's as though my indecisiveness kept them on hold. LOL. 

Dibah and I then walked through the door that was situated at the end of the lower landing and the rays of sunshine greeted us (I'm not kidding!) 

The dream intrigues me. What if this is a sign from Allah? I know I'm being ridiculous. But everything happens for a reason, am I right? There's no such thing as a coincidence, even if it's a dream (at least I think so, because this dream had been recurrent).

Climbing up, afraid of falling to the ground
Climbing up with fear, with every effort and courage I could muster
Nevertheless, the 'dream me' managed to reach to the top.
But that was not my true goal. To be so high up, far from the ground.
That is why I wasn't given any choice. It's either stay there or go down to reach your destination.

It was there. I need to jump! (in my case, I slowly go down) to the lower landing to reach for the door (my ultimate goal). Please note that the door was not situated at the top landing but instead, at the lower landing.

visual aid (because I'm really bad in describing T___T)

Sometimes, true happiness, your goals and dreams might not be achieved on the topmost level. For example, being the richest, most famous, cleverest, prettiest, in other word, by being THE BEST.

True happiness might be situated a bit lower than that level. Above the middle level, almost to the top. Well, it depends on people. At least that's how I interpret it.
Maybe Allah is trying to tell me that ultimate happiness is not by being the BEST. It's suffice to be AMONG the best, and that you are surrounded with people that you love and love you.
But then of course, you'd have to give your best, take your chances, carefully, not impulsively (or else you might fall to the ground) and NEVER GIVE UP.

Whatever it is, move on.
No matter how hard it is, no matter how uncertain you are of the future. No matter how big those gaps between the stairs is, just climb up slowly, carefully.

Don't just stay at the same place.
In life, there comes a time when you'll have to take chances.
Take a risk to move on towards your goal.
Or if you don't dare to take the risk, you'll just stay where you are.

Looking at the people behind me, I feel a sense of pride within myself for being able to take the leap, the chance.
Are those people feeling apprehensive on taking the leap?
Or are they just waiting patiently for me to take the leap so that they could move on? LOL.

Yes, work hard, Sarah!

On the other hand,

I'm off to this place, staying there for 8 days. Hint: The place of the second tallest building in the world.
Please pray for the safety of our 8-days journey there. Pergi dan pulang dengan selamat, insya-Allah. :)

With that, may peace be upon you! 

Al-Baqarah verse 155

 “Berilah khabar gembira kepada orang-orang yang sabar, iaitu orang-orang yang ketika musibah, mereka berkata; Sesungguhnya kita adalah milik Allah dan kepada-Nya kita kembali.” (Al-Baqarah ayat 155 )

Yup, Alhamdulillah!

Just got my results. I'm happy!!! Kegembiraan bukan datang daripada result yang gempak, tapi datang daripada kesyukuran. 

Alhamdulillah again. Nampak sangat Allah tolong. Betul! If you asked from Him, if you just have FAITH in Him, he'll help you!

Again, I couldn't believe it. My prayers had been answered. Diri yang banyak dosa ini pun Allah sayang, Allah makbulkan doa. I feel soooo.... touched! :')

Bersyukur tak bermaksud being complacent with what I have. I have to work more! Work harder! We need to have this certain degree of dissatisfaction with ourselves, with our own efforts. At the same time, give thanks to Allah for the results!! :D

RT @ShahilaShaifful "Yang penting bukan Dean's List, tapi Deen's List, I'd have to agree on that!". 

...... and If your prayer is not answered, He has something better for you. 

One thing for sure, He will never let you walk away empty-handed, feeling disappointed. If only you believe in Him. :) 

Pulau Payar aka Pulau takde Freshwater

Assalamualaikum, hello there!

Okay so, my mom's school's Persatuan Sejarah dan Geografi organized an educational trip to Pulau Payar Marine Park. It is located within the vicinity of Teluk Benggala , situated near Pulau Langkawi. My mom tagged along bringing yours truly, and my three brothers Syafiq, Danial and Haziq. My father and sister couldn't come. The five of us plus other schoolteachers with their family members, also 100 students from Form 3-Form 6. So ramai gila orang. (Guna simple English je malas nak check grammar dan google words). 

That 'important person' said this particular island is called 'Payar' because there is no natural fresh water available on the island. And thus, we have spent 3 days bathing in seawater that leaves your body feeling sticky afterwards.  When you turned on the water pipes, clear water would come out but don't be deceived by its look because as you tasted it, it was salty!! HAHA.

Oh yes, the rate is RM200 per person for 3 days and 2 nights. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, provided. For the ladies, you could choose to sleep in the closed area of information centre-of which they said could be quite hot and musty at nights (plus with the 50+ students of various races and religions- aurat, aurat) or you could live your life in the nomad way, aka sleeping in tents, of which we (my family and I) did. 

The tourists who came from Pulau Langkawi had to pay RM100 for just a 4-5 hours stay at Pulau Payar. Ok fine, expensive. But still worth it la. T__T

BABY SHARKY!!!! 

Five stars hotels overlooking the sea...

 Walking along this track, and you'll find,

Abandoned old hotels at its end... O__o

And a really nice private, secluded beach!!!

Three musketeers...

POSE!!!

SWIM! 

POSE!!!

POSE AGAIN!

POSE!! My favourite picture!! xD

Small fishies, if you look closely. 

Nampak cetek tapi sebenarnya dalam okay!!! Especially waktu air pasang.

 I only took pictures of them snorkelling on the 3rd day. I've had my fun share snorkelling from morning till evening the day before. All of us went hiking up the Pulau Payar's Hill and went to the Langkawi Corals. While swimming along the rope, I could see the corals beneath me and I even beckoned over to touch them. Hehe.

This is not the first time of us snorkelling. So, we are kind of experienced in this. Acece. Thus explains why Haziq, my 8 years old bro was so confident swimming up to the deep places in the sea with his brothers.

Syafiq even wanted to take a scuba diving license. I wanted to but I feel that it is not necessary. At least not for me.

To tell the truth, it is quite difficult for the girls to go camping in places like this. You share toilets with 50 other people, soaking wet in seawater (no fresh water, remember?) your hair sticks together and your scalp itches. Of course, you couldn't go around sitting by the beach and let the wind dried up your hair. Yup, aurah. So I suggest that you cut your hair really short to avoid feeling uncomfortable.

Even when you sleep in a tent, wearing a long sleeved T-shirt and pants is a must. You need to open the tent to let the wind comes in because it was really hot at night. People will walk to and fro, passing in front your tent. So, cover your face/head with towel or just wear tudung la.

Your feet are wet and there is sand between your toes, so quite uncomfortable to wear socks right? So buy a fully covered Crocs- like shoes. Beli sandal ASADI je. HAHA. Or just wear socks after you cleaned your feet. Wearing socks can prevent sand from accumulating between your toes. It makes your feet clean! I really want a plastic socks!!!

Nevertheless, I didn't complain at all throughout my stay there. I like this kind of thing. Adventures. It had been quite a long time since I went camping. The last time was in 2004. At the foot of Gunung Jerai. Kem Kepimpinan Pengawas.

Freshwater is so valuable and precious there. This experience taught you not to use water unnecessarily and to be grateful with what you have. Try picturing our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters in Palestine living in conditions worse than this.

I often woke up in the morning feeling dry, dehydrated, thirsty! But oh, no freshwater. The only solution is to buy the mineral water there, which costs a freaking RM3 for a SMALL bottle! Oi, mentang-mentangla ni pulau takde fresh water hang nak charge mahal mahal pulak.

Oh yes, silalah buat LASIK Surgery atau Ortho-K treatment jika anda rabun macam saya kerana ianya menyukarkan pergerakan dan quite impossible lah kan nak pakai contact lens dalam khemah dan dalam tandas yang dikongsi 100 orang. Pakai contact lens waktu snorkeling oi bahaya tahu tak seawater masuk mata pun dah pedih.

Tapi nasib baik saya masih boleh nampak dan bukan rabun teruk sangat sampai terlanggar tunggul (kalau ada tunggul) waktu jalan. Alhamdulillah.  

Next time my mom wanted to bring us (the whole family) to:

Pulau Tioman!!!! CANTIK!!!  Confirm ada freshwater!!! Yup, I tak pernah pergi Pulau Tioman. You dah pernah pergi ke? Tahniah!!

Cuti-Cuti Malaysia je. It's cheaper and affordable. :D 

Distinction

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful. 

I love this quote, SO MUCH! Allah is testing me right now. Currently, I'm not just taking the Pharmacy final examination, I'm taking the exam of 'Iman-Trust and Belief' as well.

Even if I do not get what I want in the former exam, I hope I could get distinction in the latter which is much more important.

Come what may, I will always love Allah and Rasulullah more, more than good grades and CGPA, more than everything else in this world, insya-Allah. 

Thing goes up, thing goes down, but at least Allah is always around. 

I could always rely on the words of Allah. Words from Allah to His believers. To comfort us whenever we're in distress. To let us know that He is always there for us.

"...sungguh, Allah mencintai orang yang bertawakal," (Ali-Imran: 159)

"Jika Allah menolong kamu, maka tidak ada yang dapat mengalahkanmu, tetapi jika Allah membiarkan kamu (tidak memberi pertolongan), maka siapa yang dapat menolongmu selepas itu? Kerana itu, hendaklah kepada Allah saja orang-orang mukmin bertawakal," (Ali-Imran: 160)

" Dan milik Allah-lah kerajaan langit dan bumi; dan Allah Maha Kuasa atas segala sesuatu," (Ali-Imran 189).

"Sesungguhnya keadaan-Nya apabila Dia menghendaki sesuatu Dia hanya berkata kepadanya, "Jadilah!" maka jadilah sesuatu itu (Yassin:82). 

Yes, He is just testing me. Insya-Allah, I'll be strong. Please make me strong dear Allah.

Again,

Whatever it is, whatever happens, you have Allah. Remember that, Sarah. 

May Peace be Upon You! 

P.S. SIX subjects for MCQ tomorrow!!! The final battle!!! Please pray for me, thank you and may you be blessed always! 

'THE LEAP'

Interpret the picture above.

Hint: How I Met Your Mother Final Episode Season 4. 

And everything happens for a reason. GOOD REASON, that is!

Imagine this. I'm working as a clinical pharmacist at Hospital X.

One day, there is a chronic smoker with chronic obstructive airway disease coming to the hospital, complaining of fatigue and weakness. The doctor diagnosed him with hypertension of 140/90 mmhg and his heart beat reads 110 b/m. The smoker had been given Salbutamol and also Furosemide before. But now, just after the diagnosis, the doctor then decided to prescribe him with  Metoprolol for the treatment of Hypertension.

What if I, the pharmacist just agreed with the doctor's decision?

What if I just carried on, giving the patient Metoprolol without any awareness of the side effects that might occur?

Even after I've graduated from IIUM with a Bachelor of Pharmacy, even after I had my clinical practices for two years, what if I still think that Metoprolol could be given to Asthmatic patients because it is a Beta One selective antihypertensive and thus it does not block Beta Two receptors at the bronchial smooth muscle? That it will not give any effect of bronchoconstriction at all??? 

I think Allah had just saved me from committing even severe mistakes in the future. The mistakes that involve humans' lives. The mistakes that might make my patients died because of my own ignorance and carelessness! *shudder*. Mistakes like this! *deskpalm*. 

It's okay to commit mistakes now. At least you learn. That is the true value of knowledge. You could still gain knowledge from your mistakes IF ONLY you learn from your mistakes. Yup!

So, Alhamdulillah. Thank you Allah! In the future, if I encounter such patient, I'll offer another alternative, which is ACE Inhibitors! Please let the doctors be competent enough as well! :P

With that, may peace be upon you! 

EDIT: Some of my friends are still debating about this. Among the significant answers: METOPROLOL could be given to Asthmatic patients but their conditions need to be monitored. Okay, gonna ask Prof Tariq for the answers pronto! This is a matter of life and death! *gasp*

From Last Week...

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

In the name of Allah the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful.

Last weekend, I had taken the opportunity to get involved in the English Reading Programme (ERP) as a facilitator.

Actually, it was a requirement for the section 3 students to handle it. I'm not from Section 3 but yes, I volunteered because I have nothing else to do on that day (HAHA) and I thought 'Teaching students how to read/ English huh? Why not?' Besides, I love teaching small kids. In fact, I had a very memorable experience of teaching Primary schoolers English for 1 month (everyday!) when I was sixteen and definitely, it was very rewarding when the mother of the kid thanked me, saying her son seemed to have taken some interest in learning English to a greater degree, and that her son said 'Kak Sarah best!' LOL. I don't clamour for the praises and compliments, seriously. I feel that it is my job, our job, to give even a bit of benefit to people who need it. Yeah, jadilah orang yang bermanfaat.

Why do I love teaching small kids? Because they're still not conformed to the typical Malay society where shyness and the feeling of inferiority clouded their hidden sense of confidence and curiosity. Kids are curious, the nearest example would be my littlest brother, Haziq who is only 8. He loves asking all sorts of questions, some of them mind-wrecking, some of the really funny. Haha. Of course, I'd try my best to answer all of his questions. I wanted him to keep asking for more, I don't want to diminish his confidence by saying 'Haziq ni banyak tanya lah! Diam lah!'. Yes, it is probably one of the reasons of most Malay students developed a low confidence level.  I don't know. It's just my theory.

Okay, moving on! This time, let the pictures do the talking. Yes, PICTURES!!! :D

Madam Hayati briefing the students. She reminds me of my mom. LOL

The group of kids from kindergarten to Standard 6? I guess. 

Yang hujung dua orang tu bukan Standard 6. 

Zimah and Fatin handling the games

My other group. I was involved with two groups, the first one- kids from 6-12 years old and yes..this second group, Form 1 students. Seriously, mereka sangat malu, especially the girls! Most probably because of the presence of those guys there. Normal la tu. 

Actually, there are lots of pictures. Ni je yang termampu untuk upload. Muahaha. You get the gist la kan?

Overall, I am very happy, really satisfied! Eh, no, not that satisfied, upon seeing their level of speaking in English, with their confidence level. 

My friend Najwa said 'Mula-mula nak kena handle program ni rasa macam terpaksa. Tapi bila dah buat rasa macam tak puas hati. Simple words pun diorang tak tahu'.

Yes, she's right! But that was the least that we could do, passing even a tiny bit of knowledge that we possess to the people who need it. It's one of 'amalan anak adam' yang takkan terputus walaupun kita meninggal dunia.

I stressed on the importance of reading to them. Reading is very very important. If you love reading so much, trust me, you can survive in this world. Why is that so? Through reading, you could gain knowledge! And having that particular knowledge is even more important and beneficial than having a degree. Just watch 3 Idiots la (though that Amiir Khan was not portrayed as somebody who loves reading, LOL).

Oh yes, just had our batch's 2nd Annual Grand Dinner last night. It was awesome, seriously! To think that stick through thick and thins with your comrades for 2 years, and there's another TWO YEARS left. Sedih, kan? The dinner was held at the Megaview Hotel. The foods, not bad la. :D

Everyone of us who attended the dinner received our own distinctive award. LOL.

Look what I've got:

LOL! It shows that I'm a true Star Wars fan! Muahahaha. 

There's a cactus in the bag! =) I hope this cactus will live for a very long time, so that when I look at it in the old times, I'd remember the great time I had during my undergraduate years :') 

Till then, au revoir! 

One Day

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful.

Early Twenties

'That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it and think how different its course would have been. Pause, you who read this, and think for a long moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on that memorable day.' 

                                                                                 Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Late Twenties

'We spent as much money as we could and got as little for it as people could make up their minds to give us. We were always more or less miserable, and most of our acquaintance were in the same condition. There was a gay fiction among us that we were constantly enjoying ourselves, and a skeleton truth that we never did. To the best of my belief, our case was in the last aspect a rather common one.' 

                                                                                  Charles Dickens, Great Expectations 

Early Thirties

'Sometimes you are aware when your great moments are happening, and sometimes they rise from the past. Perhaps it's the same with people.'

                                                                               James Salter, Burning the Days

The Day 

'She philosophically noted dates as they came past in the revolution of the year;...her own birthday; and every other day individualized by incidents in which she had taken some share. She suddenly thought one afternoon, when looking in the glass at her fairness, that there was yet another date, of greater importance to her than those; that of her own death, when all these charms would have disappeared; a day which lay sly and unseen among all the other days of the year, giving no sign or sound when she annually passed over it, but not the less surely there. When was it?'

                                                                         Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Ubervilles  

 All these quotes were taken from a very memorable book.

"A totally brilliant book" indeed! It focuses on the platonic relationship between two people who never knew that they actually love each other for the past twenty years. Typical? Yes.

Actually, it's more than that. It's a story about dreams.

In the early twenties and late twenties, you had so many vibrant dreams and wishful thinkings of how terrific the future would be. To think that you could have total control of shaping events the way you like it. That you have the means and power to do what you want. But as years went by, you got older, there are people who came and go, you're occupied with a life entirely different than what you have dreamed before. The good old youthful days filled with zeal, passion and determination are now forgotten. Dreams remain as dreams. Without you realising it, there is now a strand of grey hair amidst the once raven black. The fine wrinkle that began to take its form, permanently residing on your guise. You're old now. The time of which you'll be called upon by Allah to meet Him is imminent. Anytime now. Anywhere. To think that you spent oh-so-many years on this Earth without actually doing anything.

I love this book. I'm going to read it again. My heart aches for these two people on how things do not turn out as they planned them to be.

The title of the forum is  'In 10 years time, who should we be?'

My answer: ' We should be someone who is beneficial to others. It doesn't matter how small that benefit is'.

'Jadilah orang yang bermanfaat, tak kira sekecil mana pun manfaat itu'.

And thus, I constantly remind myself  "It's okay Sarah. Allah knows best. You may dislike what is good for you, and like what is bad for you. Allah knows best. Do everything for the sake of Allah.Make use of what you have to help others in need'.

We, the humans, the chosen ones, are appointed as khalifahs by Allah s.w.t, to bring upon prosperity and peace in this world. It saddens me to witness the you-know-what events that currently happen in our Muslim society today. The so-called Muslims who are not abiding and adhering to the rules of Islam. The so-called good and pious Muslims who left their so-called Muslim brothers mentioned above 'to live in so-called kekafiran' due to 'Differences. In.Political.Understanding'.

May Peace be Upon you, my brothers and sisters! :D