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Little Things 54 : Not Yet

December 31, 2012
Your life won't stop when : you failed your exam, lost your job, got divorced, rejected, ignored, announced bankrupt, missed a date, got left on the altar, got humiliated, figured that you are a gay, or even lost one foot or eye. 

It will stop when you die. 

Eventually you will die, and that is when your life stops. 
So for any misfortunes in life, learn to adapt and survive.
Please.


Doodle : The Machine

December 30, 2012

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Hello !

I was asked by a client to draw on wooden mirror based on my previous star & cloud machine to be given to her friend as a birthday present. It's been awhile, I enjoyed making this ! :D It reminded me of the time when I accepted a lot of commission works. 

I hardly accept commission works since I got a little busy with other things in my life. I also cancelled several orders and I am so sorry for that T^T 

The Machine
on 10 x 10 inch wooden mirror.









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I really hope she likes it !


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PS : Mom asked how I draw without any sketches and using ruler?
I said I got these awesome hand from my Creator, 
He gave me those inspirations and lines.

Event : CelebrateTv Anniversary


My sister and I were lucky enough to get an invitation to celebrate CelebrateTV's first anniversary at The Bee, Publika 2 weeks ago. We arrived quite early after finishing so many last-minutes preparation before going to Beijing on the day after.

We did not expected to meet and greet so many famous people in one go. I thought it was a small 'makan2' celebration. Nobody knew us, really, except Hafiz Flyfm that interviewed us in the previous DIY crew slots. When he asked about Awan, I was so excited - " He actually remembered Awan! ". 

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This was how 'jakun' I was :





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Ps : Thank you Kak Sity & Encik Azrai for inviting us ! 

Little Story 34 : Do'a & a Reminder

December 29, 2012

The do'a recited by my brother every morning in the bus while we were in Beijing reminded me of a story shared by our Mutawwif while I went on Umrah with my mom in 2009.

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In the do'a, I remember thanking for the chance of going to new places, to see the wonders of Allah's creation and to see the places where people were punished long ago as a reminder in our life. *I shiver every time*
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2009

We went to Mada'in Saleh. Mada'in Saleh means the city of Prophet Saleh, in a place called Al-Ula ( Higher Place ) because it was located 400 meter from sea level. It took about 5 hours bus ride from Madinah ( 300 km ), along magnificent hills of rocks, all deserted. It was a long journey to somewhere totally alien to us. 

I remember seeing an old town almost empty, we stayed at one of the hotel at Al-Ula that looked more like lines of hostel rooms for tourists than a hotel. We visited an old abandoned small village where all the houses were made of muds, rocks and straws. All the villagers were relocated by the government to a much safer place. It was an amazing feeling, walking in an empty village, seeing rows of old houses abandoned. When I looked up, I saw dusts under the sunlight. 







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Mada'in Saleh was located 20 minutes from the hotel. The whole place was guarded and surrounded by wire fence. Several years back, town people in Mada'in Saleh were given land, house and farm by the government to leave the cursed city. When entering the area, we were warned not to drink or eat, and also reminded not to talk aimlessly. We were also reminded to stay in the group and asked to leave the area before Maghrib.

It was winter. There were many little purple flowers carpeted on the sandy land. I remember the sunlight, and the cold weather.

The most interesting part about Mada'in Saleh was the tomb. There were 131 tombs carved in the rock mountain. We visited those tombs, wondering how people carved these remarkable tombs on mountain full of rocks, 2000 years ago? This town was almost the same as what they have in Petra, Jordan. 











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Brief Story of Thamud, as remembered by what being shared from the mutawwif :

It is believed that the Thamuds lived there thousand of years ago. They were the non-believer of Allah. Prophet Saleh urged the Thamud to stop idol-worshipping but they refused. They asked for a miracle as a challenge. Prophet Saleh prayed and asked to Allah, to give a miracle for a sign; as challenged by the villagers, a big healthy pregnant camel came from one of the rock mountain. Prophet Saleh reminded the Thamud to protect and take care of the camel. 

Ever since the camel was around, many people started to believe in Allah, and the Prophet Saleh's followers grew. Long story short, the town people put up with a plan and killed the camel. Allah cursed the Thamud.

On the first day, their faces turned to yellow. On the 2nd day, it changed to red and on the third day, it turned to black. Later the whole town was punished and destroyed by earthquake.

That was how the story shared by my mutawwif, it was a little bit different from what I read here. I believe there are many version, but the main storyline of the cursed city is there. 

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Many times in life, I remember this particular place. The story I heard while I was 9 in sekolah agama that seemed much like an afternoon storytelling that put a hold to my doubts when I grew up. Things like this, need to be experienced, and I can assure you, that it will stay in your memory. 

Beijing : The Great Wall of China




I wished I went there during Autumn or Spring. I'd probably enjoy walking around the area , and stepping on thousands of steps much more excitedly. But it was winter, it was blisteringly cold and windy, it was icy and slippery. From one point to the other, we had to cling on a long chain, slowly hiking up, putting our feet along a small drain. If my boots were spiked, it might help big time. 

White vapours came out from my mouth while I was speaking. We were a bit 'jakun',  and I kept on saying " This is where Karate Kid was filmed ! ", of all movies, I chose to remember Jackie Chan's Karate Kid. Very original.



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I took out my tin soldier and put it on the wall, backgrounded the view of the high peak of the wall tower. " This, is the Great Wall of China ! ", I whispered to myself.


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On our way back, we had to slide down. There was no other ways, it was too icy to walk. Some people had fun crawling all the way up several times to slide down on the icy path. I envy those joy of falling down, they made it look like fun.


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Along the handler, were hundreds of padlock chained, little red ribbon tied up to each padlock. Each padlock got its initial, later I found out from Google that it symbolized an eternal love. Usually couples come there to hang a padlock and throw the key away so that their love will be forever locked on the sacred place. But we used it as our chain to hike up ! :D 
I am so sorry , there was no other way !


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There is always a serene feeling when I go to old ancient places. Each place kept secrets and stories, some were told, some were forgotten, and some were never known. It kept old souls deep within. 




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Pictures were taken by using :
Lumix LX3
Nikon dSLR D40
iPhone 4s
I hate watermarks, so please be informed that
all pictures are mine.
Thank you.

Beijing : Modern Architecture

December 28, 2012

On the fifth day in Beijing, we finally visited their famous modern buildings , the National Stadium & the National Aquatic Center. 

It was cold, windy and a bit snowy. We walked for 150 meters from where the bus parked, before stopping to take some photos in front of those buildings.  

I asked my brother :

What do you think of the designs? Do you like it? 
I don't know. I don't feel anything. 
Well, I don't like it. I loved their old buildings very much. But the new ones are pretty ugly. If this is what modern architecture is, well, I don't like it.  

I'd probably love all old buildings, so I managed to come out with so many excuses to dislike modern buildings.


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Little Facts :

The National Stadium, also known as The Bird's Nest by the local people was designed by Herzog & de Meuron from Switzerland. It looked more like a huge cocoon, ribboned.


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The National Aquatics Center ( " Water Cube " ) looked like a lot of soap bubbles from afar. It was designed by PTW, Australia & CCDI, China. I didn't really like the design too.

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The China Central Television Headquarters ( CCTV ) designed to look like a 'continuous loop'. It was freakishly huge and odd.

Picture taken from Boston.com
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Around the area , snowy morning :


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New friends :


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Pictures were taken by using :
Lumix LX3
Nikon dSLR D40
I hate watermarks, so please be informed that
all pictures are mine.
Thank you.



Beijing : Niujie Mosque


We had a chance to visit the oldest Mosque in Beijing, China. "Niujie" means Cow Street. It was built in the 996 AD, during the Liao Dynasty, it was later reconstructed and enlarged during the Qing Dynasty. It is located in Xuanwu District, the biggest town inhabited by Chinese Muslim. The mosques is really big, it has the capacity of few thousands worshippers. 

When I walked through the main gate, I was mesmerized by the strong Chinese architecture and cultures, mixed with a little bit Islamic calligraphies. The cold weather didn't really stop me that one time, I felt the urge to walk around the area to see how different it is than mosques in Malaysia.

It was almost empty and silent. My nervousness of walking alone disappeared when I saw my brother snapping photos not so far from me. We walked around, taking photos as a reminder. I saw little dragons on the rooftops, beautiful colours, a nice maze to be lost in.

This has been a nice reminder, 
that we are not alone in this world. 
There are people from all part of the world, believe in what you believed in. 

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Pictures were taken by using :
Lumix LX3
Nikon dSLR D40
I hate watermarks, so please be informed that
all pictures are mine.
Thank you.