I first noticed that most of the other webloggers I've gotten to know as of late use blogspot as their weblog support, so I ventured over to their website earlier today. It's quite a handy tool - it can be stand alone or work as part of your website.. and you can update as you go via ftp. Good on you, Blogger.com.. swell piece of application you have here!

Arghhh... came in to work at 0653 hours, boiled water in the pantry.. went back to make Milo - no more 3-in-1s left; looked around for Nescafe - NON-EXISTENT! Tidaaaaaakkk.... Now I will have to wait until 9am to go for breakfast to get some caffeine into my system

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Thursday is a good day. No lectures, usually no meetings, and no stress of having to prepare for lectures. There is a lot to do, however - need to clean out the room, for one. Methinks it is best to bring stuff back to Bangi in stages.. this week I'll bring back some of my books that I won't need for the rest of the semester.

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Perplexing things that puzzle lectures, #8809454
Do students in general have no access to staplers to staple their assignments with?

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0758 hours: Found coffee. Yes.. yess.. yesss!!!!

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I've managed to settle the plagiarism matter with the students. I think the punishment I meted out was fair. The damning thing is, though, I don't want the guilty students to feel as if I am singling them out for further punishment, because I'm not. I'm all for letting bygones be bygones and turning over a new leaf and all that.. with my history, I'd be mad not to believe in second chances. BUT they keep letting me down.. handing in shoddy work; not studying for their quizzes.. the list goes on.. I'm all up in arms over this. What else am I expected to do? But it's true.. Allah won't change things for us unless we strive towards that change ourselves. *sigh*

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Oct 2, 2002

The Internet was down almost all day yesterday. This rarely happens nowadays, but when it does.. argghhh!! How does one communicate when one is SO isolated from everything else that is happening out there! Alhamdulillah, it was up and running when I came into work this morning - 6.45am as usual; albeit this time, intentional given the amount of work I had to get done before my 8am lectures.

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Am getting a lot of positive support from the other online journalers on the mailing list that I am on. Very helpful, thoughtful and constructive comments that gives me ideas about what to write on these pages.

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Received news from HR yesterday. They have approved my application for paid study leave. Was in such a rush yesterday - needed to check ticket prices, book a flight, send confirmation of arrival emails.. and the Net was down. Managed, however, to book a flight out from KLIA on 2 November, direct to Manchester. The good thing is, I'll be back in Lancaster. So I won't need an entourage to pick me up at the airport - all is easily manageable because I don't plan to bring much luggage and I know my way around. The basic essentials like the rice cooker, duvet and stuff which I left for Lina to use in 2001 will now be left by Lina for me to use again :D I've sorted the basic luxuries - a computer :) , TV and hopefully video.. Insyaallah if I have spare cash then I could consider upgrading to a DVD player.. hehehhe. Tak cukup duit... kerja kat Pizetta, ye tak?

Oct 1, 2002

I've devised a new game. Did you know you could check your summons online these days? Click here . You can check by I/C number, vehicle registration number, passport or company registration number. SO. Have you ever been utterly pissed with drivers of luxury vehicles who zoom past you in the third lane on the highway at a speed you know is absolutely excessive? Or, worse still, while you yourself are encroaching on the effective speed barrier, driving in the third lane, these cars flash their beams at you, expecting you to move out of the way? It's acceptable if you were going at a slowpoke rate, but when you are driving at 115km/h and counting... well.. shouldn't they be adhering to road rules as well? Or does the fact that one could afford to drive flashy cars means one is technically untouchable by the laws that govern our highways and byways? Well anyway.. I've started to memorise their plate numbers and key them into the system through the website. Is it legal? I dunno. What do I get out of it? Nothing, except the satisfaction of looking at the list of summons they need to play, and staring at my own clean record at the same time :)

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And so dawns a new month. Got quite an interesting comment in the guestbook today about my ultimate intention for this weblog to be a way to tell the world what a Muslim's life is about. It sort of got me thinking.. how do Muslims live? To me, well, a Muslim doesn't live much different from others; in essence, that is. I mean, yes, Muslims don't drink alcohol or eat swine, they pray 5 times a day, should not indulge in sex before marriage and all that. But underneath these rules and a multitude of others, which we don't find burdensome, by the way, we lead lives pretty much the same as everyone else.

Based on conversations I've had, the Isareli-influenced media and the general outlook - the world seems to think that Muslims are secretive, obsessed people who spend every spare second devising new ways of how to attack America, the UK or any Western civilisation. There is also this perception that Muslim women are oppressed; not given the chance to explore their potential, and the required dress code is a violation against women's right. This is the view I would like to change. Granted some people are crouching in their basements downloading bomb making material off the Internet - but there is no blatant proof that these schemers are all Muslims, and more importantly - has America ever asked itself why it was attacked on Sept 11? I'm sure they didn't enjoy the answer to that one, which is why they have totally left it out of it's so called War against Terror.

Just because we follow a set of rules in a time when it is fashionable to be bound by none doesn't mean that we don't have lives like other people. To say that I live the life exactly the way a Muslim should would be arrogrant, presumptous and ignorant. I will never proclaim this. I've always been a moderate Muslim - taking the middle road. I do most things people do within the bounds of Islam, but in moderation. I do my best to pray 5 times a day - sometimes more, although admittedly this hasn't happened in recent times - I fast during Ramadhan, I adhere to a moderate Muslim code of dress and I try to make sure I've covered all the bases regarding my duties to Allah.

I also listen to music, but try not to be influenced by it. I watch movies, but make myself aware of the issues in the movie that are not parallel to my faith. When I was at university, I socialised with non-Muslims, but drew the line when it involved going to the pub at night, or eating at non-halal eateries. I go to the cinema - but only with members of my family, a female friend or in a group. Some people would say this is unIslamic based on their interpretation - I am fine with that; because my parents have taught me to live this way and I am comfortable with it. They have also taught me that smoking could be wrong in Islam, because we are deliberately harming ourselves - just like bungee jumping. I guess these views may not sit well with most Muslims :)

Admittedly, there are flaws in the way I live; as there are flaws in the way we all live. I remember one of my ustaz (or was it an ustazah?) saying.. "Yang pakai jubah tak dijamin masuk syurga, yang selalu ke masjid tak semesti solatnya lebih diterima..." It's also important to recognise these flaws and take the necessary actions - because knowing and not doing is a greater sin than not knowing at all. Wallahua'lam

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On a slightly less self-righteous note :) did you know that Malaysia holds the record for the most goals scored in a football game at the Asian Games? 15-1, they beat a Philippines side in the 1960's. What a long time ago that feels, and what a long, downward spiral we have fallen into!

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Got THE call. It's official. I'm leaving for Eng-er-land! Lancaster .. tunggu... aku cabar kau ! :D