Sunday 8 April 2012

shuffleISLAM :: Kembalilah wahai hati

Demi Allah Yang Maha Mengetahui,
Aku berlindung denganMu dari segala kerosakan, kekacauan, kerugian, kesedihan mahupun kealpaan.
Aku berlindung denganMu dari meminta atau mengharapkan kepada sesuatu atau sesiapa pun selain dariMu,
Aku berlindung denganMu dari hati yang meminta-minta sesuatu yang tiada hak bagiku,
atau dari perasaan yang berbolak-balik dan kekeliruan,

Demi Tuhan Yang menciptakanku,
Aku meminta kepadaMu kasih yang tidak putus,
Dan laluan dan jalan keluar paling baik dlm setiap perkara yang berlaku dalam hidupku,

Ya Allah,
Jika aku kesesatan, tunjukkanlah aku jalan kembali yang terbaik,
Bimbinglah hatiku menghampirimu sehingga, tiada suatu pun dapat menggoyahkan hidupku,
Sudilah menjadi temanku di kala susah dan senang wahai Ya Rahmaan, Ya Raheem,
dan angkatlah martabatku di sisimu.

Ya Allah,
Jika aku kealpaan, kembalikan aku ke jalan yang kau redhai,
Cahayai jalanku yang suram dan sepi,
Sesungguhnya hanya dengan berdzikir kepadaMu, hati ini akan sentiasa tenang.


Kembali kepada Allah 080412


Reference : http://www.fuadlatip.com/v1/2009/08/berlatih-kembali-kepada-allah/


Kematian itu datang bila-bila masa. Berlatihlah agar kita benar-benar bersedia untuk mati.
Ketika kita baring ingin tidur, berlatihlah untuk kembali kepada Allah SWT.  Pastikan kita mempunyai wudhuk. Rasai jiwa kita menuju kepada Allah SWT. Lupakan niat ingin tidur dengan menggantikannya dengan rasa kembali kepada Allah SWT sambil beristighfar memohon keampunan dan berzikir mengagungkan Allah SWT. Apabila rasa benar-benar tunduk pada Allah SWT, ucapkanlah dua kalimah syahadah.
Kemudian rasai jiwa kita keluar daripada jasad perlahan-lahan bermula dari kaki perlahan-lahan naik hingga ke leher kita. Serahkan kembali hak Allah SWT iaitu segala harta benda, anak, isteri/suami kepada Allah SWT. Tumpukan kepada jiwa yang akan meninggalkan jasad secara perlahan-lahan.
Teruskan merasai yang kita akan kembali kepada Allah sehingga kita ditidurkan oleh Allah SWT. Jika kita benar-benar kembali kepada Allah SWT iaitu ajal sampai ketika itu, Alhamdulillah kerana kita melepaskan nafas terakhir kita dengan benar-benar berserah pada Allah SWT.
InshaAllah, mengikut pengalaman semasa melakukannya mula-mula dahulu, mulanya kita masih terikat dengan segala apa yang kita miliki. Kita berasa sangat bimbang dan gementar. Saya seringkali terbuka mata dan tidak mahu melakukan lagi kerana jantung berdegup laju kerana bimbang benar-benar akan mati.
Tetapi perlahan-lahan, apabila latihan selalu dilakukan, kita akan berasa benar-benar bersedia untuk kembali kepada Allah SWT bila-bila masa sahaja. Kita tidak akan terikat dengan apa yang ada disekeliling kita melainkan Allah SWT. Kita melepaskan diri daripada terikat dengan harta benda, anak, isteri/suami dan segalanya di dunia ini walaupun di mana kita berada dan sentiasa bersedia untuk kembali kepada Allah SWT. InshaAllah.
Latihan ini boleh dilakukan ketika rehat sebentar setelah penat bekerja atau ketika duduk-duduk santai.
[nota] Saya menaiki motosikal ke tempat kerja setiap hari. Saya bersedia apa jua kemungkinan yang berlaku di dalam perjalanan saya pergi dan pulang daripada tempat kerja. Saya berdoa agar Allah SWT sentiasa melindungi isteri dan anak saya. Kemudian saya hanya ingat dan sedar akan Allah SWT dengan penuh penyerahan secara total. Saya mampu lakukan kerana saya telah serahkan anak dan isteri saya kepada Allah SWT.
Semoga di saat nafas terakhir kita, kita tetap teguh bersaksi dengan PENUH KESEDARAN bahawa tiada Tuhan melainkan Allah SWT dan Nabi Muhammad SAW adalah Rasul Allah SWT.



Wednesday 4 April 2012

shuffleLEISURE :: Rejuvenating Brighton!

It has been stormy for few months. I tried hard to get it all over and mould life back to how it was. The stable, earthy me. Finally, I felt a bit better after deep thoughts put up in mind.

As the Easter holiday started, finally I got the chance to rest my mind. Miss Diana and I decided to go to Brighton, a city near to Cardiff.

It was a big surprise that miss Natalia, my Colombian friend doing also the International Architectural Regeneration and Development (IARD) in Oxford Brookes University was also on board! Natalia and I has been a very close friend since she first came and started the course. Was definitely a great thing having her around for the trip!

After 3.5 hours of journey from Oxford, we reached Brighton. Surprised by the weather that was really gloomy and shady, we somehow thought its going to be bright and happy. Diana mentioned how she brought sunglass and shade to prepare the glare. But I instinctly felt that it was going to be a bit chilly and cloudy, and it was!

Later, we walked slowly by the bay, into Brighton Pier which placed the information centre, some gaming booth, fish and chips restaurants and an amusement park at the end of the pier. It was all built on steel frame structure, with some of the structure that touches the sea were corroded. That's what i learn that day, what time can turn things into. Steel corroded, and... people changed.

The sea was blue-ish, a glance of sea green tried to emerge out of the blue-ish background. A simple glance that created mystery to the observer. That's what i think about ocean, it was deep, and mysterious. You've heard how beautiful it is, you've learn how it become a huge heaven for unique, bizzare creatures through books and television. How beautiful the ocean creatures dance lightly, firmly swim and glow some light in the darkest part of the ocean. Its like the treasure box of the earth that contains all the miracles and wonders of the world. I always thought, and feel deep in my heart.

However, every treasure has always been guarded. Because its too valuable to be seen, there are natural danger that was set up to protect it from just anyone. The high-pressure air condition internally, and the harmful creature was designed to protect it from any stranger. Not just anyone could feel and experience it, knowing how beautiful it is on the other side of the world. The great news is, some brave man have successfully swam and dove to the deepest heart of the ocean for a glance, recorded it and share the experience with the whole world.

We passed through some stalls selling sea food. Natalia suggested me to try oyster, but i am never brave enough to try uncook food. Was never my culture, nor it suits my taste. Heard it was very nice, but i prefer it to be well cooked before eating, since I'm prone to food poisoning. And food poisoning was a big threat that I really dislike. Nauzubillah.

Later me and Diana decided to just stay at the beach. I just cant wait to sit and lay on the gravel beach. Its not sand, that's what makes it unique! Red, orange, grey and black-ish stone unlike other sandy beaches. Subhanallah!

The sound of the wave just drew me to a different atmosphere. Was always the sound that I really love, that erase all the depressing thing that I face in life at the moment. It just wash away all the bad thoughts and leave me smiling peacefully and gaining back energy. Really rejuvenating! :))

Had some home made lunch packed eaten. Later drew a sketch of a view at Brighton with colour pencil-watercolour touch up. It was cool to have Brighton sea water used to water-colour the sketch. Felt so 'local', reminding me definitely to the place I drew it. Few girls came running towards me as I was water-colouring the sketch and said, 'Wow, its beautiful? Did you use the sea water to colour it?'. I noded. They're really cute. Three sisters, blonded hair, blue-ish eyes, just girlish cute! Again they asked, 'Are you a professional artist?'  Their questions made me laughed full-heartedly and simply answered, 'No, I'm just an architecture student.'

Deep in my heart they touched me meaningfully, reminded me to the good old days when primary and high school friends use to say how beautiful my drawings are, and how they envy me everytime i won a drawing competition. How odd i that now I feel that the sketches I drew now wasnt as pretty as how it was back then. The previous drawings are illustrated and drew sincerely, without much thought of how people might view it. It was designed according to how i really felt at the moment, and really mean it. In contrast to now, that I felt more controlled and worried if it doesnt turn out well. I sometimes envy my past, that I hope to come back as the same brave girl who wear those passionate shoes that everyone envied. But I'm sure, as I was born again in my age of 25, I'll reappear into a better woman, emerge beautifully, facing life bravely with strength and sincerity. InshaAllah! I hope you (readers) would feel the same. Lets get encourage and dont give up in life! Even how hard you fall, how frustrated you are, lets jump higher next time!

The cold sea breeze made me realise how long Diana has been patiently waiting for me finishing my piece. I still got the first draft, but simply put my signature on just so she can take a picture of it as she wanted. I shall finish it later as  i reached home, i thought.

This short but meaningful trip to Brighton was great! It teaches me a lot of things in life, looking into the past that I am always scared off, and valuing how i could improve it in the future. I really hope all of us had this experience that really touches our heart, that we found values in life, at any circumstances we face. May Allah bless. Ameen.
                                                 The unfinished sketch on Brighton stone beach
                                                   The sketch with some touch-up done at home 

Monday 26 March 2012

shuffleSONGS :: Communication By The Cardigan

A beloved friend of mine, Miss Dayah has suggested me this song, 'Communication' by The Cardigan. I've heard it few times before but then forgotten it. When I delve into the meaning of this song, I found it really sweet. Communication isn't always easy, missed communication is is always bitter, but behind it,  there are always hidden hopes and dreams flowing slowly into love. Well as i can confidently say, many people avoid talking about love, as it sometimes seems too feminine to talk about, too vulnerable, too shaky, but dont you realised most of the greatest moment in this world comes from the theme of unconditional love - mother give birth to a child, country leader helps to risen the condition of the country for the people, teacher patiently teaches students until they could grow up and shine. All these are designed with the foundation of love.


As it is mentioned in the Quran, (An-Nisa' ; 1):
'O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah , through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer. ' (An-Nisa; 1)


Hearing his song  and its relation to the Quraan verse reminds me of Prophet Adam, on how much he really hope for a person by his side to accompany him. How lonely it was to be the only man, he was suffering of loneliness and emptiness that no one of his kind to talk to. As Allah, Our Creator created Hawa (Eve), Adam was so happy for the gift. Later they were separated in Duniya(earth), longing to meet each other again. The song 'Communication' made me think that, if we, as a woman(vice versa) ever feel connected to a man, but he keeps on denying us as the person who was created from him, we just have to keep on praying that one day he shall realise and recognise who we are. As Allah mention in His Quraan,

'And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought. ' (Ar-Ruum;21)


There are always differences between the man/woman that are created for us that separate from the others. WHich with them you feel strongly connected that how much you feel like avoiding or running away, he/she keeps coming back to you without no reason. Its like a gift, an unexpected miracle I could imagine. The beauty in Prophet Adam and Hawa(Eve)'s relationship is that, the connection that they feel towards each other are very strong, that he, Adam knows instinctly that Eve is the ideal woman, created to give him peace and tranquility in his life. So the 'Communication' in this song, isn't just about direct communication in which words and verbal components are involved. It is more of a soul connection that speaks to one another, calling, sensing and believing that both of you belongs to one another. This couldn't be reach if one of you keeps on denying, or not aware that the person in front of you has always be 'The One'. Time, surrounding and environment definitely plays its role in connecting partners that are meant for each other. It could be that you've met him once, but you didn't recognised, or you've talked to her few times but never realised, or simply, the time isn't the right for the greatest 'communication' to happen.
And one more thing to remember is that, the person who are created for us is who, from knowing him, it leads us to 'tranquility' as mentioned in the ayyat. Its not just anyone that keeps on creating problem by having doubts of you, but knowing each other naturally leads to a designed trust and loving environment out it.

So for all, keep on making duas and solah istekharah. May Allah leads us to the person our heart belong to, and granted happiness duniya wal akhirah inshaAllah. Ameen.




To be recognised by The One.

COMMUNICATION LYRIC
For 27 years I've been trying
To believe and confide in
Different people I found

Some of them got closer than others
And some wouldn't even bother
And then you came around

I didn't really know what to call you
You didn't know me at all
But I was happy to explain

I never really knew how to move you
So I tried to intrude through
The little holes in your veins
And I saw you

But that's not an invitation!
That's all I get
If this is communication
I disconnect
I've seen you, I know you, but I don't know
How to connect
So I disconnect

You always seem to know where to find me
And I'm still here behind you
In the corner of your eye

I'll never really learn how to love you
But I know that I love you
Through the hole in the sky
Where I see you

And that's not an invitation!
That's all I get
If this is communication
I disconnect
I've seen you, I know you
But I don't know
How to connect
So I disconnect

Well, this is an invitation!
It's not a threat
If you want communication
That's what you get
I'm talking and talking
But I don't know

How to connect

And I hold
A record for being patient
With your kind of hesitation

I need you, you want me
But I don't know
How to connect
So I disconnect
I disconnect 


Reference: http://kajiantentangquran.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/jodoh-di-tangan-tuhan.html
                 http://www.lyrics007.com/The%20Cardigans%20Lyrics/Communication%20Lyrics.html

Sunday 25 March 2012

shuffleLEISURE :: Sarah's Picnic!

We had picnic at Southpark, Oxford, just to welcome the warmth spring and blooming flowers.
It turned out to be a photoshoting instead. haha! Anyway, had fun playing and eating :)

Thanks for miss sarah and irma for hosting the picnic session. wee!~ :)



































shuffleSPORTS :: Squasy

Friday Night squasy game was fantastic. I've been playing squasy for few times now but it wasn't really as good as that night. The satisfaction of gaining marks almost reaching few good players' is a wonderful feeling. Wasn't feeling as delightful as this time.

Introducing squasy as an amature, squasy is a high-speed racquet sport, could be played single or doubled, within 4 walls. The first serving needs to always be of the higher line, and needs to bump back into the opponent box. The game shall continue, with a single bumping of the ball before it could be replied to the opponent. As long as the game keep going, the game shall only finish when the supposed player aren't able to reply the ball. I realised how energy is really needed to play this challenging game. Not just a simple run, but you have to always be alert on where the ball are going to bounce back. Some understanding on reflection are also required to play along smoothly. A great opponent will always help you to learn tactics on how to win the game. The more challenging your opponent are, the more you learn and develop your own playing skills.

It is important to try to control the ball from bouncing above the red line on both left and right hand side. It is consider as 'Out'.

Squasy is interesting enough for me, as similar as tennis, but much more easier to handle within the limited space. As tennis are more open, I tend to psychologically feel too spacious and more running and moving to be done in the big court.









Friday 23 March 2012

shuffleARCHITECTURE :: Procurement Method for 5th Year Studio Project

Today was great. Never thought it would turn out to be a productive one. I targeted to finish answering Question 4 for Architectural Practice and Management before rewarding myself with a giant fish + chip at Whitehorse with Miss Ida. Answering those questions was such a pain, but if i still have the passion to become an architect soon, it is always as important as any other difficult task i have to deal with. Sooner or later, I have to learn about it so instead of pushing it away and declaring how boring it is, its better to deal it with delight, that when i look at this moment 10-15 years from now i would smile. This difficult-to-understand subject might turn out to be a simple thing to understand. Just a small deal probably! hahah. :P
   
The question is on Form of Contract, in which I have to suggest to a client the most ideal form of contract for the Edilian Neighbourhood I designed on 5th Year Project in Jokulsarlon, Iceland. Reflecting back at the project, it was a challenging one yet tremendous effort needs to put in to design the Futuristic Experimental Society. I was never a very futuristic person, personally and ideally, i am a traditionalist and and quite conservative in terms of design approach, which humble architecture is always what i seek within myself as an architect. A simple yet meaning touch of architecture that- makes people feel happy and even non-architects could feel, understand and appreciate it is enough for me to feel the satisfaction as a designer. Well you could see how my rendering techniques in my project mainly of just photo-montage techniques- a combination of using Sketch up rendering and photoshop-ed it.It was a very hard journey to get to this design, but I was kind of surprised myself on how the project turned out to be one. It looks like a tree structure that holds the dwelling pods, elevated so that the dwellings will be safe under the extreme and  vigorous weather of Iceland. Never I know that I could really push myself to think about how future living might look like. Have a look. :D























So back to the question, I suggested a Design Built Form of Contract rather than the traditional method. This suits the partnership that we're having that soon to be transformed into a Limited Liability Company in which the idea of moving forward towards BIM, as the importance of the 'team' is to be taken into consideration for selecting the best approach on this project. Factors such as project type, experienced/inexperienced client, costs, time and quality are factors that will leads to the best,ideal contract.

By selecting Architect-Led Design Build form of contract, I highlighted the advantages of this procurement method that are:
1-  lessening the legal, administration and managerial responsibility of the client and reduce risks
2-  reducing costs
3- time saving

While the disadvantages of this method however are:
1- The client might feel that they are against the design-built team in which in the traditional method, both designer and builder are responsible in protecting the client interest before anything.
2- The quality is questionable since the tendering process in the Design-Bid-Build method is replaced by a negotiation in choosing the contractor for the contract.

I just realised its already 1.16 in the morning. It was quite late since we left gym for the squasy-badminton game quite late last night. I shall update things later. Hope the pictures are inspiring :P

Me