Jalan2 KL Ambil Gambar di Bulan Puasa

taken while I was back in KL about 2 weeks ago






















terima kasih!

Wendy di Hawaii dan kisah seorang pengusaha restaurant vietnam di Everett

Cerita 1

Hari ini aku membuat panggilan kepada Wendy , kawan aku yang tinggal di San Francisco. Harijadinya baru lepas di tengah bulan September lalu aku call dia semasa makan di restoran vietnam kegemaran ku , Pho on Broadway (sila rujuk cerita 2 di bawah)

Wendy menyambut harijadinya dengan lawatan ke Hawaii selama 4 hari. Aku lalu bertanya kepada dia 'How was Hawaii?' dia berkata dia jatuh cinta dengan laut di Hawaii. Aku tanya dia kalau dia sudah pandai berenang kerana sebelum ini dia tak pandai berenang , tapi dia kata dia masih tidak boleh lagi berenang. Aku bertanya juga jika ada banyak surfer di area Wakiki beach - dia kata banyak surfer pegi North Shore (40 minit utara dari Waikiki Beach) kerana ada big swell yang datang dari Alaska.

Aku jeles dengan orang yang dapat pergi Hawaii.

Cerita 2

Al kisah nya aku suka makan soup vietnam untuk lunch break di sini.

paling kurang dalam seminggu itu mesti pergi sekali untuk mendapatkan sup itu yang lebih dia kenali sebagai 'Pho' ( di sebut 'Fe' bukan 'Fo')

hari ni aku pergi semula ke restaurant itu setelah sebulan tidak pergi di situ kerana puasa dan balik ke Malaysia. Seperti biasa aku order Pho Ga bersama Shrimp Spring Roll. Semasa membayar makanan aku , pengusaha kedai tersebut tanya kenapa dah lama tak datang lalu aku jawablah aku puasa sebulan lepas tu balik Malaysia. Pastu dia terkejut dan berkata 'I was in Malaysia for one year!'

Aku terpikir lah kisah2 yang dia pernah bercerita yang dia ini dulu jurujual kereta di Seattle etc lalu aku bertanya 'were you working in Malaysia that time?' pastu dia gelak 'HA HA HA no I was a refugeee..at Pulau Bidong in Terengganu'

tambah dia lagi 'I used to sell food to the malay there..they taught me how to count in Malay .. Satoo, DUA..teega...ampattt..limaaaa'

rupanya dia ni seorang pelarian Vietnam pada masa itu dan lepas Malaysia dia dapat pergi ke US dan memulakan hidup baru, jadi jurujual dan boleh buka restoran di sini. Kita ni yang hidup senang pun mungkin takkan berjaya seperti dia..

itulah kisah kali ini

ya aku sudah pulang ke tanah kelahiran Starbucks dan music grunge ( dah balik Seattle le)

lagi beberapa bulan lagi harap2 lah dapat balik Malaysia for good

suratan takdir dan gadis baju kebaya merah di little penang cafe KLCC

cerita 1

hari ini aku lunch bersama beberapa orang kawan

aku mengambil seorang kawan di tempat kerja nya dan dalam perjalanan ke KLCC aku memasang lagu Gersang 'Suratan Takdir' yang menceritakan kisah seorang player di tahun 80an terpaksa memilih antara dua kekasih

kawan aku M (yang nama nya akan di rahsiakan) berkata bahawa bekas kekasih suka lagu ini kerana bekas kekasihnya perasan lagu itu pasal dia. Aku yang mengetahui kisah mereka sedikit sebanyak mengangguk kepala dan setuju dengan pendapat nya itu

cerita 2

di KLCC hari ini penuh dengan gadis2 comel belaka yang masih berada di dalam perasaan perayaan ('in festive mood' le)

ada yang berjalan2 di KLCC lunch memakai baju kurung , ada yang memakai baju executive dress work (Seperti satu gadis cina di Kinokuniya bersama handbag LV dia - sungguh la lawa dan elegan)

aku makan lunch bersama beberapa kawan hari ni dan ternampak satu kumpulan gadis2 tengah lunch break.. mereka duduk di belakang kita orang

lalu aku tanya pada Mariq : 'tu baju merah .. 7 O'CLOCKK..comel tak?'
mariq menjawab : 'boleh tahan'
kawan perempuan yang lunch bersama kami terdengar dan berkata 'have you seen her freckle?'
sorang lagi yang bekas kekasih nya peminat lagu Gersang (rujuk cerita 1) berkata 'baik you date i je'

entah lah..gadis kebaya merah tu nampak comel :)

oh selamat hari raya semua! :)

maaf fizikal dan mental!

desperado

Why don't you come to your senses?
come down from your fences, open the gate.
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you.
You better let somebody love you.
before it's too....late.

Seksyen 23

This mobile phone picture was taken about last Saturday at the Darul Arqam mosque which is about 15 minutes away from my apartment. This is one of the mosque available for us Muslims around the north Seattle suburbs - for Friday prayers, terawikhs and other Islamic activities. Now I'm not really that religious but I do make it a point to go there for every Friday prayers and since everyday Friday I get to work from home - it is easier for me to attend the Friday prayer.

Anyway what's the relationship of the above title with the picture you might have asked? Well you see, during last Friday's Solat Jumaat, the head of the mosque community have asked to us not park our car along the road blocking the path to the our neighbor's entrance because some of the neighbors have complained about this issue to the city councils and the city councils have asked the mosque committee to limit the number of people in the masjid because the mosque compound is technically licensed to hold bout 100 people at one time or about 75 cars. As you know in the States, city councils are pretty strict with fire hazards/safety and all so hence the limit on the number of a people (Depending on the size of the compound).

So the mosque's head of the committee asked us to please park at the proper place and if we can't find any, park somewhere further away and walk to the Masjid so not to bother the neighbors. He pleaded saying specifically 'brothers, I ask you to do this for the masjid as we are at risk of being shut down by the city councils for violating the fire safety code, please do not allow us to be left without masjid especially during this Ramadan'

So I hope the brothers would understand this and park carefully in the future while the mosque committee should look into expanding so that it can cater to the growing number of Muslims in the area. Such is the pressure for the surrounding community - is it due to how Islam is stereotyped? Maybe yes or maybe not but I actually think the fire hazard safety code is actually quite good for us and the complaints from neighbors would help us stick to all these safety code for our own good.

I also remember back in Michigan, about 8-9 years ago while I was studying there..I've read a news article about how a few Muslims tried to open up a mosque in the nearby city. These are professionals Muslims doctors/engineers etc looking for a place so they can congregate for Friday prayers together. However some of the local American community is up in arms against the idea of having a mosque in their city. Kind of like what my Economic professor would say - the NIMBY attitute ( 'not in my backyard'). Some in the local community said 'the mosque would bring influence of terrorism' lah , 'the mosque would be funded by terrorist' 'our small town way of life is 'threatened' by the existence of this mosque' etc. I mean wait a minute , we are not opening up a drug den or something , just somewhere peaceful where people can congregate and practice our religion. Is the sight of a guy with Kopiah or veiled ladies would send them shivering or something? Destroy their way of life? I don't this so...the most funny thing is due to the pressure from local community , the city council is actually thinking of paying these Muslims to have their mosque somewhere out of town!(but that idea got shot down)

so how does all these relate to the topic of this post? well my friends, whatever that has happened to our Muslims brothers all over the world, the stereotypes and prejudiced and all that have happened to our fellow Malaysians of Indian descent in Shah Alam Seksyen 23. Some of these ultra Malays are acting just like some of those Americans who are against the idea of having a Mosque in their town. They're using the 'sensitivities of the Muslims' as a reason for being against the mosque etc. Where in Islam does is that 'sensitivities' is defined? Please don't hide behind our religion and us it as a weapon to argue your way through these issue. Your Muslims brothers overseas are facing the same issues/prejudice as these temple-goers , brothers you should now better.

Shame on you

(going for Chicken Tikka Masala for buka puasa tonight)