Bistro Akfive

Alhamdulillah wa syukurillah! I’ve completed my Basic Theory Test(BTT) and Final Theory Test(FTT), and that leaves me with just practical to cover. That means that by mid march i’ll be getting my driving license. W0ohoo!!!

It’s been 4 mths plus for me, time flies so fast that it’s almost time for me to pass out from camp so that I can lead a more “normal” life. Staying in is not that bad, but if given the privilege to choose, I prefer to be outside. I can’t wait to perform my job as a P.O..

It’s been very challenging for me to carry on with my design stuffs currently as I only got my weekends to spare and that isn’t enough. Further more, my weekends are divided into spending time with my family, having to attend DPI, resting( “recovery” time I call it), soccer, and many other things. To be exact, just 48 hours to spend. If you minus off 6 hours of sleep(Sat and Sun), only 36 hours left. Very rushing. But insyaallah i’ll be free from all of that and a new chapter of my life will soon begin.

I was doing my research on the courses that I might be applying for in uni but am still unsure which one is best for me. I was eyeing at ADM in NTU but based on what I hear, many modules are repeated and you can’t just skip em’. Plus it’s 4 years. Is there any other better alternatives for me here in SG to pursue studies in the Digital Media field?

—
You Came To Me- Sami Yusuf

You came to me in that hour of need
When I was so lost, so lonely
You came to me took my breath away

Showed me the right way, the way to lead

You filled my heart with love
Showed me the light above
Now all I want Is to be with you

You are my One True love
Taught me to never judge
Now all I want Is to be with you

You came to me in a time of despair
I called on you, you were there
Without You what would my life mean?
To not know the unseen, the worlds between

For you I’d sacrifice
For you I’d give my life
Anything, just to be with you

I feel so lost at times
By all the hurt and lies
Now all I want Is to be with you

Showed me right from wrong
Taught me to be strong
Need you more than ever
Ya Rasul ALLAH

You are my One True love
Taught me to never judge
Now all I want Is to be with you

Showed right from wrong
showed me right from wrong

This is a logo design that i’ve done for my squad. Almost final, waiting for approval…

Just want to share something I find quite intriguing that happens in everyday life. I was quite attracted at how the characters in the story manage their problems. Quite interesting for me.

trailer

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Salam everyone..I’m back! Yes, it’s been almost a week since I came back from the indo trip and I’m fully refreshed =) . I’ve observed many things while I was there. Many things that you can never find back home. Before I continue, I would like to say that i’ve fallen in love with Bandung(city on a mountain).  So much that I felt sad to leave, coz I know it’ll probably take me a long,long time to revisit the place. The place is calm,green and serene. Such a good place for you to relax your body,mind and soul, although it took us quite a while to travel there from Jakarta.

My family and I arrived at the Soekarno Hatta International Airport at around 1.45pm. As soon as I stepped out of the plane, I felt so different. The environment and all, was very much different from our city. The airport look kinda classic to me. Very 60’s. And the people on my left and right are speaking in their own tongues. Although it’s a lil’ like malay, it’s totally different.So different that even a word can make a person misunderstand your whole sentence. But alhamdulillah, I managed to speak like them, though a bit rusty at first.

Off we went to meet our tourist guide, after all the checks and baggage have been cleared. His name is Andi, I called him ‘Om Andi’. He’s a Christian who reads Quran, and is very knowledgeable about Islam and respects the religion and Muslims. We were very glad to have him as our guide. He’s very experienced too. He’s been working as a guide for 23 years already! Quite concerned about our prayers, he drove us to mosques come prayer time, even though we can just pray at the musholla/hotel since we are considered musafir.

The roads/highways in Indonesia are never free from traffic jams or ‘ma-chet’ (*traffic jams in Bahasa Indonesia). And during those jams, you can see people including kids, selling newspapers,tidbits,toys etc. on the road for a living. Quite a pity. I mean, it’s such a pity to see them, especially kids, working day and night just to ensure their rice bowl is filled. I don’t think it’s fair for the kids. They should be studying in schools instead of doing what they are currently doing. While at the backlanes of streets and even under flyovers, you can find the poor searching for something in rubbish dumps to bring home. There’s nothing much I could do to help than to just pity them, at the same time giving thanks, syukur to Allah for what he’s blessed me with.

Some parts during the trip, we were at this mosque called At-Taubah. I love that mosque. I noticed that the people at the mosque are very approachable. They are not stingy in giving salam even if they don’t know the person. Once I approached a male worker(noja) at the mosque asking what time is maghrib. He replied to me politely with a smile. This is how Islam should be practiced.

[Not like how some ppl here (in mosques) behave, even ustaz...what a shame. =(

What's the use of knowledge if not practiced?]

 When it’s half an hour before maghrib, a hafiz will sit at the front and start to recite certain ayat/surahs from the Quran with khusyu’, followed by a tafsir of it. After he’s completed everything,which took about 15-20 mins, he’ll give a tazkirah, asking/reminding the people around that it’s almost time for a fardhu solat, and to prepare for it.

One thing that Iwas fascinated about his tazkirah was that he sounds as if he was pleading, in a sincere tone, calling muslims to perform solat. It’s so sincere that I can feel the calling in my heart! It’s so amazing that I guess if there’s a group of people who don’t usually perform solat happens to pass by, they’ll also feel the calling and join in. I felt that this should be practiced here. How I wish we could have an environment like this.

We also visited a ‘Busana Muslim’(www.rabbani.co.id). It’s a mall selling a huge collection of muslim’s apparel. Nice designs of shirts, kopiah, telekong, tudung etc. . There’s also a bookstore selling islamic based knowledge books and softwares. And when it reaches prayer time, the mall will pause for a while. They’ll make an annoucement to invite shoppers to perform prayer at the allocated musholla as a jema’ah. Only after solat has been performed, business resume as per normal. I love this very islamic environment. =)

To wrap up, this trip has really broaden my horizon, making me reflect that we are really fortunate to be living in Singapore. Of course, as  Muslims, we should view this as a test from Him. Regardless of our backgrounds and where we live, we should always remember to strive in His cause. Never forget syukur and give thanks to Him for all that he’s given us.

There’s so much more to share but I think that’s all for now. Can talk to me if you wanna know more. Anyway, more photos can be found on my facebook account. Ma’assalamah. =)

Ya Allah Tuhanku
Yang merubah kalbu
Tetapkanlah hatiku
Moga sentiasa dalam agama-Mu
Jua taat akan perintah-Mu

Tuhan
Usah bebankan kami
Dengan bebanan yang berat
Seperti yang pernah kau berikan
kepada umat yang terdahulu dari kami

Tuhan
Jangan pikulkan kami
Yang tidak kami terdaya
Maafkan salah kesilapan
Ampunkanlah dosa-dosa
Rahmatilah kami

Ya Allah,
berikanlah cinta-Mu kepadaku,
jadikanlah orang yang mencintai-Mu
mencintai aku,
dan jadikanlah aku mencintai segala sesuatu
yang membawa kepada kecintaan-Mu

InsyaAllah, i’ll be leaving for a short 5 days trip to Indonesia tomorrow(Wed,11 am). It’s been 18+years since the last time i’ve been there. I’m expecting this trip to help me change certain perspective about life. I want to learn how other people who might not be as fortunate as us live. I think this will be a great opportunity. I’ve already had some views of my own, and I want to learn and experience more. I’ll try my best to keep my eyes open and play close attention to my surroundings when i’m there. I’ll make the best out of my 5 days there..

I’ve recently bought a photography guidebook called “Hot Shots -make every photo your best” by Kevin Meredith. My intention is to learn as much as I can, about ways to improve my photo-creating techniques. Yeah, photo-creation. Why do I call it photo-creation? Reason is because, when you snap something, you don’t just “take” it (photo/s), you “create” it.

Creating photos means you snap a picture with all the thoughts and ideas of telling something/story to the audience, in mind. Then, you execute it through your shots, not forgetting the principles of composition etc. to further enhance it so that viewers can have a better understanding what you’re tryin’ to tell.

I’d always like to play around with my camera-phone coz it comes in handy. For instance, if you found something interesting that comes along your way, you can just snap it. It’s a great tool, however, you can’t expect a very high-res output. Whatever it is, it’s still a good tool for experimenting and practice.

Anyways, I hope to get myself a dslr-camera(Nikon, D-5000) soon, Insyaallah. =)

Here’s some of the photos I created using my camera-hp:

Beautiful nasyeed by Kamal Uddin.

Illallah, illallah, illallah, illallah x2

Sallallahu ala sayyidina sallallahu ala Rasoolillah
Sallallahu ala sayyidina sallallahu ala Imaamul ambiya

Laa ilaaha, laa ilaaha, laa ilaaha illallah x2

Most merciful are you, King of all the kings
have ownership to all of each and everything
Indeed I am your slave created from the dust
a traveller in this world I shouldn’t feel such lust

You blessed me with Islam to me this is a gift
I’ll store deep in my heart or it may leave me by drift
This world is not my home about this I must learn
it’s from you that I came and to you I shall return

At times when I’m in pain, at times when I can’t cope
when calling out your name my heart is filled with hope
When life for me is dark you sprinkle me with light
as long as I shall live always I will recite

Sallallahu ala sayyidina sallallahu ala Rasoolillah
Sallallahu ala sayyidina sallallahu ala Imaamul ambiya

Illallah, illallah, illallah, illallah x2

It’s hard to have a nice khusyu’ solat nowadays, especially during weekdays(if u know what i mean). That’s why, i’m always looking forward to weekends. In there, I feel that it’s just too busy for me to even do that. I’m somehow glad that I made this decision. For I know if i’ve chosen my initial decision, it could have been worse. But either way is good, I think. From this, u’ll get to learn how to perform solat in a manner that u’ve not done before. I think i’m quite weak in this and I shall improve.

I’ve met people from almost all walks of life in there, and i’m really thankful that Allah has given me this opportunity. From here, i’ve learnt some reasonings of human behaviour. Some things about why people react this way, or another. I came to realise that not all people are like you, and you are not like them. If you’re too nice, people will tend to take advantage. You need to balance out. For most cases, you need to think and react fast, and at the same time, do things right. Coz you may be doing the right thing but you are not doing things right.

People noticed that i’m somehow a “changed” person. I don’t think i’ve changed that much. I think i’m still who I am before. Even if i’ve changed, for me I think i’ve changed for the better. The only difference is that i’ve learnt to speak up. However, for all that have been said, i’m still a normal, dhaif human being who always needs to be corrected. So guys, correct me if i’m wrong, and guide me along the way as i’m still learning and am very eager to learn. Dear Allah, please guide me in this blessed journey of life… Please show me the right path, the path of Rasulullah and his companions…Amin Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin.