Creative and Innovative??

This is the result of quick thinking and limited resources. If the cable doesn't work the way it's suppose to, make useful in another way.

A Third Chance in Paying For Summonses...

According to The Star Online today, traffic offenders such as myself who haven't yet paid their summonses would be given until the 10th of March to do so with a 50% discount.

Image retrieved from http://www.legaljuice.com

Alhamdulillaaah! Now I just need to get the money to pay, then I'll be alright.

I might probably commit another traffic offense as soon as I've settled all the payments. I think speed is very subjective... Whose to say that 120km/h is the safest speed to drive on the highways? Some people think that 90km/h is already fast while others think that 140km/h is still slow and manageable. I think that the ministry needs to also consider the capabilities of the driver as well as the cars. Germany has no speed limits, yet their rate of road accidents is much lower than ours. I don't think that driving between 120km/h and 150km/h is an offense.

Am I on The Right Track?...

Retrieve from Flickr by jimmy adams

Will my ability to communicate in English only be limited inside the classroom? I hope not. I want to go out. I want to talk to native speakers.

I like teaching. When I teach, I get to be full on American with my students. I like teaching because I get an audience to listen to me talk about things that matter. I like teaching students about new ways to generate ideas and be creative and critical.

But somehow, I don't feel like it's enough. It's like a soldier, after being trained with all the skills in combat, the soldier doesn't get to go out on the battle field. Instead, he was assigned to train other soldiers.

But if not teaching, then what?

Love For Muhammad SAW...

The Prophet Muhammad SAW was, and will always be the greatest man who have ever lived. He was sent to the human race to ensure that his ummah, his people, the people of the end of days would all be freed from the terrifying pits of hell.

Everything that the Prophet SAW did and said was a lesson. He was perfect in every way. Nothing that he did was for nothing. His companions would all watch the Prophet very closely to make sure that they don't miss a single aspect of the way of living. The Prophet's way of life is the only way that is acceptable to Allah SWT.

Sadly today, the details of the Prophet's life are not taught to our generation today. Young Muslim children aren't taught to love the Prophet SAW in a deeper level. Some don't even know who the Prophet is. In fact, when there are those who do have a strong love for the Prophet, by follow his way of life, they are considered as extremists.

The Prophet's SAW way of life is THE only way of life. Is it not sensible to idolize the greatest man in history that is most loved by Allah? Than why are you so obsessed with all the celebrities out there? Are they greater than Muhammad SAW?

Remember my brother's and sisters, the Prophet has left us with the guidelines and the map to Jannah, the only way to stay safe. Follow it fanatically. Do not see life the way a non-Muslim does. See it in the way the Prophet has shown us.

Salam Maulidur Rasul

Didn't I Tell You About V-day Last Year??

Response to this article in The Star Online. PAS Youth’s Valentine’s Day crackdown draws flak

Every year we have to remind everyone in the Muslim community to not celebrate Valentine's Day. The saddest part about it is, it's the same people every year whose skulls are so thick that you have to keep reminding them year after year.

Anonymous: But it's not wrong to celebrate love.

Nobody said that it's wrong. It's the way you celebrate it. Why must you choose Valentine's Day? Who is St. Valentine to a Muslim?

And another thing, I don't think that there's anything wrong to have a campaign that teaches the Muslims why we should not celebrate Valentine's day. It's not like it's banning Valentine's Day for the everyone else, just the Muslims. I just don't think it only be done on Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day does not promote free sex and what not. It's how they celebrate that day. Most youth couples prefer to go out together and watch movies. Some would sneak out and meet their lovers and have secret activities. But this happens everyday, not just on Valentine's day.

A campaign that trashes another culture is something I'm totally against. Don't trash Valentine's day. It's a special day for the those of other beliefs. If the purpose of the campaign is to educate Muslims about why they cannot celebrate the day of Valentine, it should not be advertised in a way that it makes the non-Muslims uncomfortable or even offended. But if the purpose is to stop free sex and so on, you don't have to wait for Valentine's day to do it.

Suicide is Never a Joke...

In today's The Star newspaper, two cases of suicide made the headlines. One was a 17 year old girl and there other was a mother and her infant. The tragic thing is these women have both mentioned about committing suicide before but no one took it seriously. Some of the 17 year old girl's friends even dared her to do it. Retarded if not stupid. They must've either thought that they were so good in reverse psychology or they that their friend was just kidding. But, in certain context, when someone says they want to commit suicide, it can be a joke.

"I'd rather slit my throat than wear that ugly dress."

That can reasonably be a joke. But I guess some people are just not aware of the the state of the person saying they want to commit suicide.

I think it's safe to say that if the person threatening to kill themselves have just gone through some emotional stress, they will do it. Don't dare them. Find them, inform their families to keep a close watch on them. Talk to them.

Emotional stress should never be underestimated. It can lead to many terrible things. Emotion can be overcome by rationality, but it also works both ways.

The Function of the Signal Lights...

Some call it "indicators". In Malaysia, we call it "signal lights". You know, the orange bulbs which are fixed at the front and the rear on both sides of a car. It has no specific function though. There's a lever behind the steering-wheel that makes it blink if you push it either upwards or downwards for either the right signal or the left signal. Basically, it's just there for you to see it blink like it's Christmas.

There's a myth about there lights being able to prevent road accidents. Crazy right? I mean, how can using the lights and letting people know when you're going to slow down before making a turn prevent road accidents RIGHT?? Besides, those things are so hard to use. That's why many people are more willing to crash and die rather than use the darn things.

Confronting The Problem...

Usually when an employee is facing problems in the workplace, the first place they should seek help is the HR department. Of course! Why didn't we think of that in the first place?

So this Tuesday, the lot of us are planning to meet the Head of the HR department to raise certain issues concerning our welfare.

The most crucial issue is regarding our part-time claims. So far, we've been told that all that can be done has been done. If that is true, that whatever they have already done is obviously not enough. So we want to make sure that we, ourselves have done all that WE can do to get our part-time claims.

Most of us were loured into this jungle because of the promise that we would be paid extra for extra hours. Because of this promise, most of us rejected other offers to teach elsewhere much nearer to civilization. However, with the way things have turned out so far, it seems that our sacrifice was all for nothing, if not, even worse. Do they think its so easy to come work in Jengka? It's almost crazy. Why do they think its so hard to get new lecturers to come here? When you get lecturers, you treat them as if they are not wanted there. You take advantage of the new young lecturers and make them work like dogs promising them extra doggy snacks in the end but kicking them out of the house when they've finished their work. Some professional institution this is. World Class? More like Third World.

Not everyone contributes to these degrading comments, so I apologize for any collateral damage. Like anyone actually reads this.

Things to Consider...

I heard that some of my friends planning stop teaching in Jengka. One of the reasons is because the pay is too low and the workload is too much especially because part-time claims are not yet absolute. In the context of this semester, that's very much true, but I believe that when we get upgraded to "Contract" from "Pakage", the pay will be increased and part-time claims is definite. Therefore, this makes teaching in Jengka quite worthwhile.

Recently, I've heard rumors that the new ruling is that Jengka will be taking B. Degree graduates as full-time lecturers rather than "contract". Which means that we will be receiving ALL the benefits of a full-time staff. If this turns out to be true, than this makes it much more worthwhile to live in the little forest.

Fear...

"Everyone understands fear. Like the fear of getting caught by JPJ or Police officers when we forget to bring our driver's license. As soon as we see blinking lights from afar, our heart stops and our faces become pale. Some would even turn around and take a different road. Everyone understands this fear. But why is this feeling is absent when we are about to commit a sin? We know that Allah SWT forbids it, but we do not feel the fear that stops our hearts and drains our faces of colour." Maulana Johari