RAW 264.7 cells

Let it be known that I am currently excited to do my cell work with RAW 264.7 cells. Yes it's 12:40 am in the middle of the night and I have to go to lab early morning tomorrow.

But I'm excited.

Of prayers

Assalamualaikum.

Lately I've been thinking about prayers. In usrah yesterday also we were learning about Nabi Musa a.s. and his beautiful prayers whenever he got into trouble.

His prayers were rarely specific. When he was on the run from Firaun's people, in Madyan, he prayed for Allah to Bestow upon him any kind of goodness He Saw fit. Mind you, he was on the run, he was hungry and tired, yet he didn't ask for anything specific from Allah. He was willing to accept anything God deemed good for him

Then an usrah mate mentioned that in the story of Hadis Ghulam (ghulam meaning like, an adolescent), in which a tyrant king tried to kill him thrice, and failed spectacularly to do so every single time. In each attempt, the ghulam prayed to Allah to save him, in whatever way He Preferred. And Allah Saved him, repeatedly, in ways unimaginable to an ordinary human being.

Point is, when praying for something, maybe we have to believe that Allah Will definitely Grant us our prayers. But it may be in ways that we don't expect.

*~*~*

In hindsight, I realized that I seldom pray for anything specific from Allah. Just a very general prayer for Him to Provide me with the best, for my life here and the hereafter.

And that makes it easier for me to face life, in general. Because if something doesn't go as I expected, well, then maybe that something is not the BEST for me.

A case in point: I didn't get to further my studies in the US for a Master's degree. Not gonna lie, I was disappointed. But hey, I ended up here in UM, pursing my PhD instead.

And due to me getting involved in UPM, a multitude of interesting things also happened, especially this year.

Had I been elsewhere, things wouldn't  have unfolded the way they have.

Obviously, I wouldn't have expected these things in 2013/2014, when I just graduated. But that's the beauty of life, is it not?

*~*~*

Hmmmm... And even now, I continue to pray for the best, in life and the hereafter.

Tak perlu terlalu berharap 100% kepada sesuatu, sebab ada kemungkin untuk hal itu berubah. No matter how badly you want it to happen.

And if it did change, then it would probably be for the best.

*~*~*

Allah Has always been Kind to me, I realized since ages ago. He Gives me so MUCH, and He continuously Does so until now. Always good. Always so much.

In retrospect, everything that's happened, EVERY SINGLE THING in my life, has been good. The acne problem, the car accident, the problems with labmates, the Master's rejection, the fickle superiors, the delayed response I had to a certain someone, the multiple rejections from possible engagements... And so on and so forth.

Every single seemingly "bad" thing, usually directs me to something better. Always.

Alhamdulillah.

*~*~*

Sekarang perlu belajar bersyukur, sebab Allah Beri terlalu banyak.

*~*~*

ISUPM has an interesting picture that is very much related to this post, but I don't think I can post it here. 🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈

*~*~*

P/S: Menjaga hati itu sangat susah. Saya sedang susah hati sekarang ini. 😡

Relevant to this post.

It's begun

Assalamualaikum.

I just came across a comic by CMU student in Pittsburgh, about an old man openly harassing her on the bus (she's a Taiwanese-American, mind you).

It's begun.

I never experienced any sort of overt racism while I was in the US, especially not while I was in Pittsburgh.

But that's not the case anymore now.

That's why I worry when Mr. Donald won.

US election 2016

Assalamualaikum.

Kinda late, but currently Donald (Trump) is President of the US.

I was doing lab work while waiting for the results. Really disappointing.

Now, people may say, it's the US, who cares? There's no effect on us or Malaysia pun.

Well, maybe not to you.

But what about the Muslims in the US? Not just them, but other minorities too? People of color, immigrants, etc.?

Mr. Donald represents racism, sexism, bigotry, intolerance, and it was pretty clear these were his ideals.

So the fact that he won showed that a majority of the US agreed with his stand, or even if they don't necessarily agree, they don't disagree with it either.

His winning just validated all the racist, sexist, intolerant notions that people have.

I read somewhere that after Brexit, violence against minorities in the UK rose up to 60%, and it has not quite decreased to the Pre-Brexit levels. Why?

Because bigots felt like their bigotry is validated, so they felt like they could do anything to anyone they dislike.

THAT'S what I'm worried about with Mr. Donald's win. The fact that people now would feel like it's okay to use violence against minorities, to overtly show their racist/sexist/intolerant self.

*~*~*

So, yes, Mr. Donald's win probably won't have any direct effect on me, or Malaysia.

But what about our brothers and sisters there? Are they living in fear? Can we not empathize with them?

*~*~*

Let's pray for the best for them. Everything comes from Allah, and to Him everything will return. Allah Had Decided on this win, so there must be some hikmah behind it.

Our duty is to try our best. Have faith, trust Allah, do your best in life.

To the Americans, let's pray for them. Pray that they will stay strong.

They've endured through worse, and they will emerge strong, I'm very convinced about this.

You know I'm a stalker right?

Sometimes being too good a stalker pun tak bagus juga.

I found what I wanted, but it ain't necessarily the best for me. My hati.

2016

Assalamualaikum.

For some time now, I made this blog private. I don't blog much now, since I'm in Malaysia already and I'm staying with my family. So I don't have to update my blogs to inform them of my well being.

*~*~*

Life's been... Interesting, I guess, since 2015, and 2016 is especially weird for me.

A few things happened these past few years: Continuing my studies, facing new challenges and new people, I had some moderate acne problem, took medication for it, had a few episodes of depression (mainly due to the acne medication), got into a car accident (my fault), and this and that.

Life's been good.

I'm still struggling with myself (as usual)--still the procrastinator, still the lazy person.

Masih bertatih dalam DnT (konon).

*~*~*

Here, have some cat pics.

A stray cat I found at K13, UPM. He was sleeping from Asar all the way til Maghrib. Must've done this multiple times already, he seemed comfortable.

Our fat cat, Tok Me (for Tok Merah). He likes to sit on the piano bench and buat muka kesian. 

Random big cat in UM. What is it with cats and sleeping? 

Our cat Grey, I was doing work when she jumped on the desk and nonchalantly sat beside the laptop. Thirsty for attention, this one is.

*~*~*

BTW, I miss Pittsburgh, and the US, lately. That blue Gatorade, couldn't find one in Malaysia. The blue one is the best!

Word vomit-naqibah

Assalamualaikum,

Lately terfikir, kalau mahu jadi naqibah ini kan... Mungkin sifat caring dan penyayang itu yang lebih utama?

Dan mungkin ramai yang tak sedar perkara ini. Subconscious thinking, tapi bila bercakap, akan terserlah pemikiran kita itu.

Contoh, kalau selalu cakap adik itu selalu "ponteng" usrah, atau "pandai" fikirkan alasan...

In fact, penggunaan perkataan "alasan" itu pun sudah menunjukkan connotation yang negative kita ada terhadap adik itu...

*~*~*

Mungkin sebaiknya kita lebih bersangka baik? Dan lebih penyayang terhadap adik-adik ini?

Memang tak dinafikan, selalunya susah, selalunya payah, sebab kita bergaul dengan manusia...

Tapi, itu kan memang confirm akan berlaku bila mula buat kerja-kerja DnT?

Jadi mungkin...

Mungkin aje ya...

Mungkin...

Naqibah perlu bersangka baik terhadap adik usrahnya...

Perlu lebih muayashah sebelum judge adik-adik ini.

Dan perlu lebih berhati-hati dalam percakapan apabila mahu describe mereka.

*~*~*

Sebab kalau awal-awal lagi pun kita sudah punya sangkaan-sangkaan tidak baik...

Maka...

Maka...

Maka...

Cemane nak bawa Islam kepada orang.

Kan?

Ke cemane?

*~*~*

Mungkin naqibah sendiri kena reflect diri sendiri la kot.

Sebelum mahu sandarkan semuanya kepada adik-adik.

*~*~*

Word vomit for today.