Role models

I have this whatsapp group that I play little to no active part in but i refuse to leave just cos im in awe at how beautiful their relationship is with one another. 

I shall give you examples: whenever a person posts something that is deemed kinda emotional on social media, almost everyone would spot it and then show concern and make doa for them etcetc.

When a guy isnt active for a while in the group, they would ask him if he's okay. When someone posts a pic of a family membership on social media, people from the grp would spot that his dad has changed and asked whether he's sick. Sometimes i do get a personal text from one of the guys. Sometimes from diff guys in the group too! They all just text me to tanye khabar and if im doing well. No hidden agendas. No ill intentions. Genuinely just tanye khabar. And thats it! Funny thing is that i dont even know them well(some, at all!). So sometimes i'd get random numbers texting me. Haha! I feel so paiseh not knowing their names even.

Furthermore, what's even more special about this group is that everyday they will make it a point to make doa for one another. Everyday one random person will greet good morning, then a bit of an uplifting message, then followed by a doa. And everyone else follows. Except me. Hahaha well i try too sometimes but its sooo awkward!

Best of all, we rarely even meet! When we meet(maybe once a year), I always get culture shocked. They are such humble, well-mannered people that they even talk with no harshness in their choice of words or tonality. Even when they're joking with one another! Just plain total Akhlaq awesomeness.

I mean these are the things that are qualities of a good muslim. Showing concern not just to a person, but the people in his life and the people he cares about too, making doa for them, being observant in your friend's life, constantly making contact. These are the things that our Prophet saw taught us. It's the way to foster good sillaturrahim. Unfortunately, we don't see this very often. It is very much lacking in society nowadays. 

Best of all, did i mention that these people are around our age. So really guys, what's our excuse??

Its soo inspiring. They are real life role models for me. I always aspire to at least be a touch like them. InsyaAllah. I pray for you too.

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Lambaian Kaabah aka Umrah 2016

#adventuresofyanparker this time round brings me to a special place.
Since I was young, I've always had great interest in the stories of our Prophet saw. Seerah and Akhlaq were two of my favourite subjects during the madrasah age. Back then, I could only imagine what was it like in those times. To finally be here and experience parts of Islam's history is just surreal. Alhamdulillah. I pray that all will one day visit this place, InsyaAllah.

#adventuresofyanparker #lifeasatravelagent #rafflesiasg

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Stories From Kampong Treas

Stories from Kampung Treas: His name is Omar. It was our final day in Kampong Treas. So we spent some time with the kids teaching them how to fold stars and battle cars.

While seated on the floor, teaching the boys, I noticed that Omar had isolated himself from the group. I thought he probably wasn't interested. However, 10mins later, he stood beside me, tapped my left shoulder and quietly presented me with a flower he folded from paper! As he doesn't speak Malay/English, he then pointed to the stars that we've made and gestured for me to follow him.

So, I followed him back to his corner while Hanif entertained the rest of the boys with their newly made battle cars. I witnessed him patiently crafting a box from paper and after which he gathered the stars we folded previously and put them all in.

The flower has a note which says 'Thank You' and the box has his name on it and also a Khmer saying which I forgot what it means.

I'm soo touched and humbled by this. As I've said before, we came there with an intention to touch their lives. However, we were moved even more.

It's even more awesome that this seems all too familiar ain't it. It's like deja vu. Hmm.

#adventuresofyanparker#StoriesFromKampungTreas#projectgivebackstories#projectgiveback2016 
#giveback2016

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Conquering Mt Rinjani

Men can cry. I blocked my face not that cos the sun was in my eye. Just that it was such an emotional journey for me. The #roadtorinjani started almost as soon as #conqueringsoutheastasia was done. I knew I had to train extra hard for this due to my medical condition and boy it paid off.

Furthermore, for a first timer, to complete it in just under 4 hrs from the base camp is a real achievement. This experience was surreal. The #roadtorinjani was tough. The road to the summit is extremely arduous. Many times I fell. Many times I felt like giving up. Getting up to the summit is the goal, the dream.

All in all, the lesson learnt from Rinjani: not for the faint hearted, only the strong willed. Adios, Mt Rinjani. You taught me that there if this is hell on earth, I'm scared of hell in akhirat.

I will do a write-up on my blog about my experience to the summit when I return.

So what's next for me? I'll be scaling Mt Batur aka Mt adik-adik aka Mt Peanuts in 2 days time. Pray for Alfiyan

#adventuresofyanparker #roadtorinjani#goal2016 #MtAdik2 #MtPeanuts#prayforalfiyan

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Sundown Marathon 2016 - Battling Demons

I may look like a Kenyan but due to my medical condition, throughout my life, I have always struggled with regards to fitness and especially running; even though I seem to play football every other day.

I will always be the first to run out of gas in any football game. I have always struggled to take the 2.4km run. Heck, I am still exempted from ippt. Years back, i told myself in order to enjoy playing what I love, I gotta build up my stamina and fitness level.

So with this goal in mind, I set myself to conquer my limitations. My condition will not be an excuse for not enjoying my football.

Years later; now, my fitness level is at its peak.

I'm not a fan of running. Never ran more than 5kms before. Never been a fan of going for marathons. I mean I why pay to run when you can do it by yourself for free? That's my logic(this logic still stands after I ran this race). However, UniSIM offered major discounts for Sundown Marathon. And my fitness levels are at its peak. So why not right? HAH

24 hrs before the race, I had 3 football sessions plus work. So I was already jaded coming into the race. My body was already shutting down even before the horn blew.

But I pressed on.

I didn't stop at all. I jogged all the way till the 9.3km mark @ 55mins. That's when all hell broke loose. We had to run across a bridge which has a gradual upslope.

Oh god, as soon as my feet felt the sudden change of inclination, every single leg muscle cramped up! It was crazy. I was in crazy pain. My lungs were still able press on though. However, my muscles were about to give up. I was scared that I couldn't complete the race. I felt so down.

So I stopped. Did some quick stretches and found myself some much needed motivation for that final burst. At that point of time anything will help. So I offered a little prayer, picked myself up, gathered all the remaining arsenal that i've got and I fought the inner cramp demons within me and limped all the way till the finish line.

Getting to the finish line not only meant that I had completed the race, it also meant that I had finally finish university studies. The feels of passing through that line was simply overwhelming. After 3.5 years, 1 final lap, 1 final mile.

Upon reaching, I immediately sought medical medical attention for my legs. And the rest is history.

My final time was 1hr 8mins. I aimed to complete below an hour but looking back, i think it's fine especially for a first timer.

So yeah.

Moral of the story: I believe to overcome odds and achieve success:

1) you have to have the belief.
2) commitment. Do the hard work. Put in the effort; practice, train.
3) make prayer. Always put God in between whatever you're doing. He listens.
4) tawakkal.

I've got another match today. #prayforalfiyan

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Building a Perimeter for Your Future

Recently, i've started to hear a lot about topics on being financially responsible. Not sure why now, but im already at that stage in life where it is important to think about the future. Pardon me, not just think, but have a plan for it. Plan for your future now before your future plans it out for you.

Being a civil engineering student, ive came out something that ive been thinking a lot upon. You know, a good, solid, strong building can only be achieved if it has the right foundation. So i have transliterated this to life itself.

One of the ways to determine whether you are ready for your future is whether or not you have built a perimeter for your future. 

What do I mean by this? This means that you do whatever that is necessary for yourself, by yourself for the future. In another words, build foundation blocks for your future.

These building blocks may be:

Level 1 Blocks. Enjoy

Live your life to the fullest. Go outside. Go travelling. Go hiking. Play football. Hang out with friends. Find your soul. Do whatever you want that fills your heart with the utmost joy. Shun away all the haters and negativity. Know that they're not good for your soul, for your heart. The main emphasis here is to have fun! Trust me, these are building blocks. If you dont enjoy the most now, especially when you're young and free, you may never have the chance again. NEVER!

Level 2 Blocks. Set Goals, Targets, Achievements. Dreams.

I have said this many times. It is so damn important to set all these. A 2,3,5,10-year plan is absolutely necessary. This must be written down in complete detail. However, you must understand that times change and it is okay if you dont achieve it. Try your utmost best to stick by it and achieve those set goals and dreams. Modify it only if necessary. Reward yourself greatly if you achieve it.

Level 3 Blocks. Knowledge (main bulk of your perimeter)

The typical sort of knowledge people might hear is to get certificates, a diploma or a degree. Although theyre important and theyre also apart of the building blocks, what i mean here is to learn about your future and what it will consists of. Your future challenges. What your future may involve. Learn how to be financially responsible, learn about your job, learn your job market, learn how to be effective people, learn how to be good employees. learn to be spiritually sound. learn about buying BTO houses, learn about insurances, cpf, medisave, life savings, investments and all those kind of adult terms and lingos that you will eventually, inevitably use in the future. Most importantly, learn from the people who have gone through all these so that you dont make the same mistakes they did.

Another type of learning is about marriage. Learn the difficulties in maintaining a relationship/marriage,  learn how to handle a baby, learn what it takes be a good dad/mom. Most importantly learn about your potential spouse probably even before you marry him/her. Learn what he/she likes and dislikes. Learn whether his/her life ambitions fits yours. learn his/her life values fit yours. Learn that whatever you do will have and impact on both parties. This is learning how to be responsible in a relationship. This is an absolutely important foundation in your building block. You see, the structural integrity of your life may crumble if this part you got it all messed up.

Look theres so many things to learn about. Different people are at a different stage/situations in their lives to learn about a certain something. The point here is to learn for your future!

Next: Application!

Now after getting your building blocks ready and your perimeter walls all strong and solid, You are ready to apply. What's the use if you have all the knowledge in the world but you don't apply it?

The point is....

Once you get all your building blocks of your life's perimeter settled, you are now ready to fill the empty spaces in the middle; with your soulmate. If he/she too has build blocks before then kudos to you! Both of you are well prepared for the future as both your foundation is strong and stable. You can now build a future together. If he/she doesnt have the same building blocks yet, its okay. Guide him/her! Since you have the foundation, it is easier to impart the knowledge to him/her. The key here is at least one party should have built the foundation first. (preferably this has to be done by the guy lah.)

The main point here is to be well equipped for future challenges that you may face and if you arent equipped or well versed in the future, you are not ready for it. Don't you ever try and get someone involved in your life yet if you dont have these building blocks yet, especially if you're a guy. Get yourself ready for your future now so that the future you will thank you later.

(Do note that these are just a walkthough. There are definitely in depth topics in relation to all the specific points mentioned.)

Alright that's all. I hope ive brought some enlightenment. If not much, a little bit will do. Hope you'd get some takeaways from this.

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Ngaji Days

I was inspecting a house just now when I smell something very familiar. It's somehow like a powder with flowery smell. Very hard to describe it. One thing I know was that it's unique. I spent a couple of minutes wondering where in my past memory that smell came from. Soon after, I realised it was my Nenek ngaji's house.

Gosh. A sudden rush of memories soon followed.

Still remember the time when i got whacked with rotan on the palms 10x just because I just couldn't get the tajweed idgham bila ghunnah right!

Still remember the time when there's this guy by the name of Muhd Nur Azam bin Zainal. He's a cool guy, fun to be with. The thing is his name is the exact similar to my closest cuz. The only difference between them both is their skin colour. So I named them Azam white and Azam black. Hahahaha! Since young already my tongue was as sharp as a sword. Haha

Still remember the time when I had a massive crush on a girl in my ngaji class. She lived right across the road from nenek ngaji's block. So, I posted post-it notes on walls on the linkway from her blk to nenek ngaji's blk. The main intention was to keep her reminded of me while she made her way to ngaji class. Hahahaha! I was so cute back then! Haha. She moved when we were about 11 years old I think and I no longer 'pursue' her as she stayed quite far (at that point of time). Actually, she just moved to another part of Bedok only. HAHA!! Too funny.

Another story was when she managed to hafal Surah ad-dhuha first. And I haven't even completed half the Surah. I was in another room with all the boys together with the fierce and tormenting datuk ngaji. She was in another room with all the girls and very gentle nenek ngaji. As she was tested, I could hear her voice reciting the Surah and completed it. So here I was, alone, bursting into tears after hearing that and till now everyone thought that I lost my lidi(pointer for quran). Padehal padehal... Got a good scolding from datuk ngaji aka the tiger

There was a time when I called my fellow ngaji brethrens mat names. "Eh. Kau mat arid kau mat lazim kau mat jaiz kau mat farii kau mat thabii. Aku mat Salleh!" Hahahaha!
This was actually not for fun or to degrade my fellow brethrens. I used it for easy recollection. I was such a genius back then. However, no one accepted my point of view. They regard it as demeanour. Hah! Now in uni, I learnt that this association is good for memory recall. Best thing about this is that I learnt that myself at that age. No one taught me such things before. Therefore, I declare myself a genius back then. Did I mention it twice? Yes I did. EL OH EL

Speaking of genius, I just realised that i was quite like a tiny Einstein during those years. My achievements are quite remarkable actually. (Ok this is a bragging paragraph.) So here it goes...

1) Was consequently the top 3 student in madrasah for my whole pri and sec school years. (Guess who's the other 2 persons? Yep. One of them is my crush. HAHA)

2) I khatam-ed the Quran before primary school. 

3) Completed learning tajweed before primary 3. 

4) Hafal all Surah from al-ghaashiyah till an-nas WITH translation by 15 years old.

5) Spent most of my past time reading story books about our prophets (and playing football)

These were and are such major achievements for me! I didn't realise how smart and knowledgeable I was until a few minutes ago while writing this. Hahaha. Also, not mentioning my religious education was really up there.

What happened to me now? Shit happens I guess. Now everything with regards to that aspect has remained stagnant except for a few. Hmm... How I wish nenek ngaji is strong enough to teach again. I think she's over 100 years old already now. Still living and quite strong. Datuk ngaji also. Still visit them every hari raya. Alhamdulillah.

Ok. I'll end the post by saying a prayer for our datuk and nenek ngaji, our ustaz and ustazahs, our cikgus, our teachers, our lecturers, our gurus, our mentors, our educators. They are the one who made us who we are. They played a major role in moulding us and we are forever indebted to them.

Let's pray for their health. Let's pray they can still touch lives as long as they live. Let's pray that their rezeki will come in many folds. Let's pray that whatever they had done, they will receive barakah. Let's pray that they will be housed in the highest of highs in heaven. InsyaAllah amin.

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