Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Look at the Time...
truth is peace of mind and falsehood is doubt
Good luck everybody with the summer... The sun's gonna fry you sooner or later...
Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Its amazing what the world has come to. First there was modesty now there's love. First there was truth now there are lies. First there was knowledge, now we're just a bunch of fools watching movies and advertisements that not only promote materialism but also demote modesty.
Now when you see this advertisement, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Who do you think are the audience?
Since I already mentioned materialism you would like to know where does the materialistic view come around in this ad. Well let's break this ad down to 3 different bits. The top bit with the Logo (True); the middle bit with the picture; and the last bit with the punch line.
The first (top) bit
When you look at the ad the first thing you might look at (depending on where your eyes go first would either be the middle or the top; either case you'd definitely look at the top before going down) would the word True with an underline on the letter u. Some that is True is consistent with fact or reality, or in other words real. The first thing that would pop up in almost every other guy's head would be like "I wish... let me check it out...". Why? because he thinks that this is real. Some other guys would think, who probably have had the experience, "Impossible... never happens..." but then he still go checks the ad. Why? because True does not only symbolise real but it has an underlined U... "It's for You"...
The middle bit
Its a bit self-explanatory so I wouldn't mention too much just the fact that its eye-catching.
The last bit
Now we have the punch line. "What's more fun than love?" Any kid who has gone through his teens most probably knows the meaning of love (which is due to the fact that every normal human has hormones). The kid knows that it was fun while it lasted so the kid wants to feel the fun more. He does not want to be deprived of the "high".
.... Lost my train of thought... That's what happens when you blog at work.
Monday, April 18, 2005
Conspiracy Theory
Taking a step back we need to look at what is happening... While America used to have investment in other countries, now other countries have investments in America... America's currency is slowly losing to the Euro... Debt is increasing by the minute...
Standing from this place we need to evaluate the present and the possible future. What is in favor and what is not? And how we can avoid whatever is not...
We have so many unsolved problems and they seem to keep on increasing. The fact that time is running out seems to not effect us at all...
While we sit at the TV and listen to the predicted weather which we are quite sure is not going to happen, we don't predict our own future...
President Bush's war on terrorism has been using Ariel Sharon's approach to fighting terrorism which is to find terrorists and kill them. But so far the more terrorists Sharon kills, the more Israelis get killed by terrorists. The current state of Israel which is in a state of horrible insecurity will probably be the future state of America.
What we are going to see (probably very soon) is a war. But this war is not going to be anything like the previous wars that have taken place between countries. This is going to be a huge war... A war of religions...
Why hasn't it happened until now? Well the fact of the matter is... the people are currently looking the other way. For example, Afghanistan was destroyed - Pakistan looked the other way; Iraq was destroyed - all Arab countries looked the other way.
Why will it happen? You see there is only so much you can fear... If you lock a person who is afraid of the dark in a corner of a dark room.. That person will try his best to come to the door and bang it... You can only fear so much when you gain the confidence... And this confidence is going to drive these people...
What will happen to the rest of us?
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Ice Cream
Only to my surprise I found no clean spoon available... At that second *TING* and idea struck and my eyes were focused on the lovely and lonely fork... ~Tan Ta Ra ra~ Mr. Fork saves the day.. I took the fork and started eating...
You cannot imagine how incredibly fun it is doing something new... And I had my few minutes of extreme fun... The fun although changed into frustation at the end when some of the Ice Cream that had melted just wouldn't get onto the fork... After a coupla tens of times of trial and error I finally decided to drink the remaining part... This is where a new challenge arose..
How exactly do you drink from a plate?
After the whole episode was over I decided that I'd be better off doing the dishes every time I eat.. Since I don't have much to do anyway...
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Animal Instinct
I also had birds, 2 finches and 2 budgies... Very noisy the finches... the budgies were okay... white, small, hopping around in their cage... The finches on the other hand would keep on fighting... One day I decided to thoroughly clean the budgies cage... So out of my complete illiteracy of relationships between animals I placed the budgies and the finches together in one cage and went on cleaning the budgies cage in the other room...
BIG MISTAKE
I came back and found that the birds had fought.. was a scene from a terrorist movie.. There was blood everywhere... One budgie badly hurt bleeding from the legs the other budgie was just sitting on the corner... One of the finches had blood on it and the other was in another corner... I quickly separated them and then examined each and every one real close... The budgie that was badly hurt and bleeding from the legs lost 1 leg and the other budgie died a few days after... The finch covered with blood is still alive whilst the other finch also died around the same time as the budgie...
Barbarism?
Recently I just started giving no heed to spoon and fork (forget about using chopsticks). Why has man created these tools when God has created hands? Why not just use your hands to eat rather than using two pieces of carved out metal.
In my experience, while using my hands to eat I feel more satisfied (fuller). On the other hand if I use a spoon I feel I need to more... more to eat... feel unsatisfied.
Am I going against evolution? Heck who isn't?
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Forgetful Jones
Its amazing how we talk to ourselves and think things over... and then we just tend to forget them... How many times have you thought of something and then forgotten it?
"To forget is human..." - Me (at least I think so)
Its always easier to forget than it is to remember. Remembering requires more effort than forgetting. Apparantly that's common with nature; earming requires more effort than spending; pulling water from the well requires more effort than drinking... etc...
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Work is tiring... Wish I could just do some managerial stuff, earn good money and find peace...
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Hope the people in Indonesia are doing better after the Earthquake... God what is happenin to this world? Tsunami and now this...
Saturday, March 26, 2005
My Dream Came True
Detroit-based African American journalist and PR woman, Angelene McLaren, has been a Muslim for six years. Upon conversion she took the new name Sumayyah bint Joan. Here she records her encounter with Islam.
Ever since I was a little girl, I've always had a profound relationship with God. Even though I was raised a Catholic, with all its ambiguities, contradictions and confusion, I did my best to stay God-focused and not to give in to the teachings of the Church, because even to me as a child, they seemed to go against the grain somehow.
During my high school days, I made a conscious decision to apply myself more thoroughly to my faith. I attended mass twice a day, every day, went to the confessional at least once a week, and did all the ritual practices my priest insisted upon; all in an effort to draw closer to a God. The church failed to me to answer all of life's most pressing questions; who am I, who and what is God, why am I here, and what should be my relationship with this superior being who created the universe? How am I supposed to live my life? Who is my role model, and how should I follow him or her? Why does God need to have a son now, when He was alone in the creation of all that is, and need no partner or intercessor before? My priest was unable to answer my questions, beyond stating that I should have faith, and that it did not all have to make sense as long as my faith was strong enough. This did not satisfy me, and on finishing high school, I left the church and set out on a quest to find the correct way, belief and religion.
I investigated a number of religions in an effort to get rid of this internal emptiness. I practiced Hinduism, Taoism, Zen Buddhism, and in later years even dabbled in White Witchcraft. Now, most people may find this crazy, but you have to understand that I was searching, truly searching, but all these left a void, and just never seemed to fit.
Then one day my sister came to see me and what I saw took me by surprise. She entered the house with a very long dress and was covered from head to toe. Her hair was covered by an opaque scarf and came over her breasts to right above her waist. After asking her why she was dressed like that in the middle of summer when it's at least 85 degrees outside, she explained to me that she was a Muslim.
Now of all the religions I looked into, I never thought of investigating Islam, mainly because there didn't seem to be a lot of information readily available, and because I carried a lot of the Islamic stereotypes in my head, that I now have to deal with in other people. So I left my family and moved to California, still without a religion, or a sound relationship with God. In the beginning a lot of stereotypes about Islam kept me from studying about this religion.
At that point I gave up, and just decided to go with flow, and not worry about it. I did this for two years, and although I found love and got engaged to marry to my college sweetheart; something was still missing. In the back of my mind, there was always that nagging voice that kept telling me that my life was out of order, but I would do my best to ignore it, until one fateful night.
Right before I was due to leave California, and return to my home state to be with my fiancé and begin building our lives together, I had the scariest dream I've ever had in my life. In this dream, two very tall men dressed in white were standing at the foot of my bed. As I looked at them, I thought they were either aliens or angels, I wasn't sure which, but I was very afraid and was trying my utmost to get away from them, but the harder I tried to get away, the closer to them I got. Eventually, we ended up on top of a very high mountain, with a sea beneath us as red as blood and as hot as lava. The two men pointed and instructed me to look into the sea.
What I saw will stay with me until the day I die.
The sea was full of naked people, being turned over and over, like meat being roasted over a fire, and they were screaming, "Help us, help us!" Needless to say, I felt I was getting a fist-hand glimpse of Hell, and I was terrified. I told my fiancé about the dream, and he just laughed and said that I had an overactive imagination, but I couldn't dismiss it so easily.
When I returned to Michigan, I found out that my other sister, and my cousin had also embraced Islam during my absence. This made me curious, so I asked my sister to give me some books to read, and one of the first was, Descriptions of the Hell Fire. Everything that was in my dream was in this book. I was floored.
So I began reading and reading, and going to lectures and asking questions, and the more I learned about Islam, the more my head and heart told me that this was what I was looking or all along. I had made up my mind to embrace Islam, but I had one small problem, my fiancé.
He was adamant that he was not going to be a Muslim, so I had to choose between the man I loved, and doing what I knew in my heart was right. Allah, SWT, says that if you say you truly believe in Him and His Messenger, (peace be upon him), He will test you, and this was my test.
Despite the great amount of pain it caused me at the time, I did choose Islam over my fiancé. That was almost six years ago, and Allah has since blessed me with a wonderful husband who loves Him and Messenger, and a beautiful son. Allah says for all who truly want guidance, He will lead them from darkness into light; and I know that is what He did for me.
Sumayyah Bint Joan
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Excerpts from an interview with Sumayyah bint Joan
Your family background
My family is from the island of Jamaica, and they immigrated to the US when I was six. My father, unhappy with the corruption of American society, sent us back to Jamaica to attend school, and I spent the school years there, and our holidays in America.
Education
I attended elementary school and high school in Jamaica. I then went on to the University of Michigan, where I studied Mass Communications. I am currently working towards my Masters in Mass Communications and Journalism. I also hold professional diplomas in Print Journalism, Broadcast Journalism, Photojournalism, Community and Media Relations, Electronic News Gathering and Newspaper Layout and Design.
Family's reaction to your conversion to Islam
I was the third of my mother's children to accept Islam, and although she was surprised, she did not treat me with any animosity, she felt as long as I was happy, she was happy.
A little about your husband
My sister's husband had a very good friend, who in turn had a very good friend (my husband) and he mentioned to my sister's husband that he had a friend who was looking to get married, and that's how it came about.
The books that had major impact on you.
I read many books before accepting Islam, and I had carried a copy of the Qur'an for about six years with me before I actually decided to sit down and read it. The Qur'an, the True Religion by Abu Ameenah, The Description of the Hellfire, The Description of the Paradise, and a slew of books by Ahmad Deedat.
How about your Dawah work?
My dawah efforts have been concentrated on the writings that I do for Islamic magazines like Islamic Voice and Al Jumuah magazine. I feel comfortable doing dawah that way and will continue to do so, insha' Allah.Common stereotypes that you encounteredThe most common stereotypes that I have to deal with, is the myth that because I wear full hijab, I am not educated, I am unsophisticated and I am oppressed. I hate this. But when I speak to people, and they find that I can string together a coherent sentence, they are at first surprised, but then they see the error of their ways. A lot of the problems, is because we Muslims have allowed outside forces to define who we are. Until we take the microphone and start telling people about Islam and the Muslims, they will always carry around the wrong ideas, based only on ignorance.Prospects for Islam in AmericaAmerica needs Islam. This country is so a-moral, that it boggles the mind, but the people are searching. The problem is that the majority of the Muslims who are here, are here for the dunya, and not for dawah, so you'll see the Muslims acting just like the disbelievers. So until the Muslims start loving Islam and come to grips with their responsibility to the rest of the mankind, things will only get worse. But despite our lackadaisical attitudes, Islam is growing here at a tremendous rate, and it shows no sign of slowing down.
Taken from: http://www.islamfortoday.com/angelene.htm
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
The week has ended and two days of vacation (i.e. no work) have almost begun. Its amazing that we always wait for the weekend to come. Its more amazing that we want it to come more because we don't want to do anything. But of course not all weekends are empty.
Last weekend I went on a road trip. Its sort of my favorite past-time (driving). I sometimes wish there was a road to everywhere in this world and I could be the only one who has driven on every street. Fantasies can be misleading.
That reminds me... I used to play a game called Final Fantasy... Lovely game... Nice story to it too... I wonder if they can make these kind of games more like reality... Or maybe I should start this kind of game...
In any case, weekend seems to be the only time where I can look back on the past 5 days and reflect. Being able to understand and being able to see the past are very important for planning for the future. In other words, you can only know (at least to an extent) what will happen in the future by completely understanding the past.
"The past moulds the future" - Wonder if anybody has already said that...
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Accidents
Accidents do happen.. and they seem to happen a bit too frequently... especially when you least expect them...
That reminds me of something that happened quite a long time ago with my cousin... my cousin had destroyed something and when you would ask him he would say no he didn't do anything wrong.... but when you ask him whether he did it accidentally he would accept that he had done it... Quite an interesting statement from a very young kid...
What are the causes of accidents? Most of them have to blamed at human error. Accidents from drunk driving for example seem to top the lists.
Others are just natural disasters such as earthquakes. But most of these kind of accidents are prevented by proper planning.
Some accidents on the other hand are just pure n simple coincidence. The big bang for example quoted by some athiests as being just coincidence.
It is amazing how people believe and disbelieve so fast these days. We believe Osama is dead and then all of a sudden there comes a video/audio clip. We believe that Iraq war is a great war to rid the threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction (in the wrong hands) and then we get to know there were never anything of the like anywhere near the place.
Why are people around the world so biased? Why is there hate? Justice needs to be served and the final justice is quite close.
Mea Culpa...
Monday, March 21, 2005
Plans
"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail" - Forgot who said this
Well I did plan but things didn't quite go the way I wanted them to go... This is a story of most people's lives... Not everything always goes as planned...
But Why?
Planning is always an essential part of life. The depth of one's perception can only be viewed by the person's plan. But how can one develop this depth? One's experience is a mirror of the depth that this person can plan with. The more depth the better the plan... However, there is always something that can go wrong... which is completely out of the perception...
"If something can go wrong, it will go wrong" - Murphy's Law
What can we do to avoid the problems that can erupt?
"Expect the unexpected" - Have no idea who said this either
Faith and belief... Most people say that having faith and belief in oneself is enough to overcome one's problems... I doubt that becuase it is not always true... It is faith and belief in something else that gets us through... Its faith and belief in God...
Have you ever noticed how many times you say God or Jesus or Christ or Pete or holy or any other religious thing for that matter? Its not because you are brought up in a "religious" household but its the fact that you believe (even though you might not act on it) but you do believe and you have faith that if not your plan... then it is definitely God who can help you with the problems that arise...
Wierd as it may seem the word God seems to comfort us... if you haven't noticed yet try closing your eyes and believe that someone powerful is watching you who has the key to everything and then whisper God...
Liked that?
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Blackout
Now different people experience different kinds of blackouts. For one it might mean a medical condition while for another its just a mood change. For me, however, it was time where I had a chance to look.
I looked at several things... I looked hard and for some wierd reason I felt safe... I felt safe within... and with this feeling I began to reflect... I began to think about my job, my life, my past, my present and my future... I began to think whether all the money I earn and the all the money I spend... what does it mean? I live to earn and spend to live... its a cycle that keeps going on and on and on...
Reminds me of a riddle during my school days... What goes on and on and has an I in the middle?
It is only those people who reflect that can see... The only thing I saw going on in this world was WAR... War on Terror... War on Iraq... War in Afganistan... It reminded me of my college days when we had a debate, the topic "Is war necessary for peace?" or something like that... There were many speeches and rebuttals... The only thing that prevailed in my thoughts was the fact that "War is necessary for Peace" but a war without vision... without faith... without mercy... is in fact not a War but a massacre...
All of us might remember the famous almost-irresistable have-to-watch movie Braveheart... What the guy (Mel Gibson) fought for was FREEDOM which obviously is misinterpreted in many ways. So let me just bring in the picture of Mr. Osama and place it on Mel Gibson... what is so different? Same thought... same vision...
This is getting a bit too far ahead... let me move one step back and go back to the point I originally stated... Not a War but a massacre... A war is usually done with a vision... The War on Terror for example is being carried out (amazingly by several countries - I wonder why they don't call it World War 3) with the vision: "Eradication of Terrorism". That is like saying you want to "Eradicate Burglary". Isn't mugging a for of terrorism? You want to "Eradicate killing of Innocent People"? Since when are the Palestinians not innocent?
A war is also done with faith... As history proves that many a war has been fought with a specific faith/religion being supported in the process...
And finally a war is not a war if there is no mercy... Mercy for the civilians... Mercy for the PoWs... Mercy for the country...
This is just one of the things I saw... and this is what I understood from what I saw... The who understands knows... And I for one... know what the near future lies (although it might not all be correct for nobody can really know the future)... for me and for the world...
I will be starting a new journey... I journey where I will ride on the saddle of patience...
Saturday, February 12, 2005
New record for me...
I have been told to constantly exercise my mind... And frankly, I really don't know how to exercise it... I stopped listening to music and found that my mind feels better... How do I know? I can think clearly, concentrate easily and... my heart told me... I still have this urge to watch movies 24/7 but I'm fighting it... well nowadays anyway...
There is quite a resemblance of humans with plants... You plant a seed and it stays in the ground for some time forming its structure... then it grows out of the soil and is exposed to the real world... It grows and grows and becomes a tree and then its finally cut down or takes part in natural disaster... In fact we're not very different... We grow out from seeds, form our structure in our mothers' womb... We're out in the real world after 9 months and we start growing... We have branches and fruits... and finally we just die... Quite an interesting resemblance...
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Ran away...
I ran away from my job coz I just wanted to.. I couldn't take it anymore... I had it upto here with that manager... So I just took off... obviously I had completed all my tasks before I left.. I had prepared a handover document before-hand and made it available but never showed anybody.. hehe... my secret run-away plan worked... well until now anyway..
Today was my first day with another company offering a lot lesser than I was getting.. but the team seems to be nice.. very friendly... no stress... just work as you want.. The hours are longer though.. but that's not much of a problem.. I barely have anything else to do anyway...
And so I took a turn towards an unknown road and caught up with several friendly travellers... maybe this road will take me to a better future...
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Annoying...
1 : to disturb or irritate especially by repeated acts
2 : to harass especially by quick brief attacks
Taken from webster.com
I seem to annoy tons of people, startin from my Manager all the way to the other half of the world. There are people all around me who just seem to be annoyed by me. And for some reason, I don't care. They can get all annoyed they want. This is what I am. I do want to change but I don't want to at the same time. You see, I'm in a crisis at the moment... My heart is telling me something completely different to what my mind wants me to do... I'm in a total state of confusion and I have always been since... well I don't really know...
My part-time employer is really pissed off with me because I left him hanging in front of a customer. But why did I do that? He thinks (well I sorta made him think too) that its because he didn't pay half of my "salary" when I was on a salary basis. Well that's one reason I guess... Another is that he took a responsibility and didn't do it... and now blames it all on me... well let him blame it... your loss... you lose the project... what are you going to do... sue it out of me?
Then there is another reason.... When I asked you a couple of hundreds of times to tell me the budget so that I can plan accordingly... you said we'll decide later... well hard luck dude, later is past and no word from you... time's up and the money's gone...
Well he has talked to my current manager who seems to be very impressed by his story... he's coming over so that my manager can hear both sides... Apparantly he tells me he was crying.. what a show... all his employees left him and I was his last hope maybe... now the fuel has dried up from the burning lamp... time to file in for bankruptcy or just continue with your jobs like you were doing before anyway...
So there you go... a story of a person I annoyed so much... There are definitely others but maybe I'll leave 'em for some other time...
Saturday, January 29, 2005
2 Weeks and nothing...
Two weeks I spent away from the computer and still my desire for it never decreased. For some reason I am tempted to turn every computer on and sit on it and do something... its always something... but that something turns out to be nothing because I never had a reason to put it on in the first place.
People properly manage their time but me... I have no management of anything whatsoever... I am not able to manage my career, my jobs, my life... Fear of management? ManagePhobia?
Lots of people in this world want to die because life is not good for them or every single thing is eating their head off... Although I don't have it that bad (even though I once had) I can't get myself to want to die... I mean you die and then... its eternal sleep (or resurrection), either way, its going to be a nightmare. I don't know about you but I don't like the feeling of living in a nightmare... and that too ETERNALLY....
I saw the sea for 24 hours continuously... It just keeps moving, just like time... There is no pause or rewind...
Love and Time
One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.
When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.
Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said,"Richness, can you take me with you?"Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."
Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!""I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.
Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you.""Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"
Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.
Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you." It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Realizing how much was owed the elder,Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who Helped me?""It was Time," Knowledge answered."Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"
Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is."
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Monday, January 10, 2005
Came across...
My mind was wandering around several things that I couldn't understand and now can't remember... I came across several different things that are unbelievable...
You know what? Maybe I am insane deep down inside and just show sanity on the outside... Maybe my heart is dead and my mind is controlling my body... or maybe its just the other way around...
Dreams make up a vital part of your life... Its a state of the soul where it can possibly see the future or show you signs so that you may understand what you should be doing...
If laughter is the best medicine then why does it hurt when you laugh?
Sunday, January 09, 2005
What is the point?
But there is NO happily ever after... no matter what you do in life you have to make decisions and these decisions (and the consequences of those decisions) end up molding you into a person... A person who has to face life as it comes to him/her...
Why do we do what we do? Why do we live to face life? What is the point of doing what we are doing everyday?
Every night I lie down on the bed thinking of what I have done today... What is the point of doing whatever I am doing... All those childhood dreams of being rich... of getting married... having loads of kids... being a good person... teaching kids... living a good life... They don't happen just like that...
The point is ... we are not doing what we are supposed to be doing... Our purpose is not clear... not when we were children not now... Obviously an arguable statement... I am helping 1000 people in Tsunami, I'm an aid worker... What about the rest 20000? What is your clear purpose? Are u part of a plan? How did you get here? What if there's a conspiracy behind everything being done in this world... What if America had exploded a bomb in the middle of the ocean... The question is Why... not How.. not when... not where... not who... but Why?
You don't have the Why? That is why you are powerless and I am powerful...