Do people agree when I say that procrastination is an enemy? Hopefully they do. One more day left before school starts next week. I feel like time went by very fast as if the spring break just began yesterday. My plan to finish up physics report during the break did not go well as I hoped. Still, there are many parts to be done. However, alhamdullillah, I already finished the open ended section this morning.

Well, it wasn't that I did not put 'a lot of effort' to write the report ( or maybe it was :P), it just happened that the homework given was so hard to complete- I mean I have to spend most of the time thinking how to solve a question that I have to search information on internet and open the textbook to find the answer needed. I understand that this is the challenge that I must face as a student but somehow I am bogged down by this situation.

However, my mother has kept telling me that other people may have the same problems as mine or even worse, yet they could finish their work and accomplish their missions as they wished. Therefore, I cannot give up and lose my motivation because of this 'petty' difficulty.
Ya Allah, please bestow strengths and bless upon me so that I would not easily surrender to have my homework done before the dateline. Amin.

Yo creo que yo puedo hacerla!! Insya ALLAH, si se puede!!:) Que esperas? Vamos a hacer la tarea!

It has been a long time since I posted my blog update in 2009. Now, it is already year 2011. Wow, it is unbelievable that I am almost 22 years old!! There are 2 more years to finish my studies in Arizona. Hopefully, I could get my geosciences bachelor with flying colors, Insya ALLAH and manage to get a job with Petronas.

Alhamdulillah, I woke up early this morning at 6.30 a.m. However, it is quite weird because I slept late last night at 2.oo a.m but still I could manage to get up early for subuh. Yesterday, even though I went to bed early at 11.45 p.m., I realized that I woke up late at 8.15 a.m. So, does this mean that I have to sleep late every night in order to wake up early in the morning?

What have I done during the Spring break 2011? On last Saturday, I went to Tucson Book Festival which is held annually in order to encourage Tucson community especially children and teenagers to have interest in reading books. To me, the festival was quite boring because most of the attractions were set up to appeal children and their parents to get involved in the activities provided.

I just bought a Spanish-English bilingual book because I wanted to improve my Spanish and to be able to write in Spanish better than before. Actually, I love books. I would have bought all the books sold at the festival if I had a lot of money. Nevertheless, I don't think I would have time to read all these books since I have more geology textbooks to read. Thank Allah at least I have interest in books.

Also, I have been to Student Recreation Center for three days since last Sunday for swimming. Swimming is one of my favorite sports. It is proven that this sport can help maintain our body in shape and increase our stamina and strength. Swimming is a sport that is encouraged by Islam besides archery and riding horse. I became in love with this sport since the first day I learned swimming basic techniques. Breast stroke is the most stroke I like because I don't easily feel tired when I swim using this technique.

Despite having been a student at the UA for 2 years, I have to admit that I've never finished exploring the rec center due to the fact that I just go there to play badminton. I knew where the swimming pool was, but the funny part was I could not find the way to get there. After I entered the rec center, I started searching for the way to get to the pool. I found a paper attached to the wall that stated: 'enter the swimming pool through men's locker room'. Finally, I could swim in the pool!! The water in the pool was perfect, clear and clean. The pool is designed with different depths ranging from shallow (3 ft) from one side to deep (9 ft I guess) in the other side. I hope to do more exercise at the pool more often since I already paid for it in the tuition fee.

I wish I could finish my physic report before the school starts. Alhamdulillah, I already started doing some of my homework. I will try my best to finish them! Amin..

Last friday night, all of us, gathered for the first time in this year at Abg Hazrul's house to attend halaqah (usrah). Alhamdulillah, I felt very thankful because it was like I was coming back to my hometown in Malaysia. As usual, we prayed solat isyak together and discussed some controversial issues regarding Islam.

The main topic of our disscussion was about dogs and swine (pork). According to mazhab syafiee, if we touch a dog or a pig or other things that have to do with them, we need to clean the part of our body that we used to touch them with water mixed with soil and clean water. However, for other mazhabs, their scholars opined that the touched part just needs to be cleaned with clean water and soap. Only if the dog licked at place, let say a plate, then the plate must be washed using the soil water and clean water.

Also, the other isues disccused were the rulings of coloring hair and wedding in Islamic perspective. After that, together we read surah al fath verse 1-9 and its meaning. Before that, Kak Ezfa had cooked for us some food. We were served mee sup, cake and grape fruits. Wani Khaliza brought a dish they had prepared at Sahara Apartment. All of the food was yummy, mouthful and absolutely delicious. I was pretty full last night. Alhamdulillah.

Besides, they were planning to have a trip to California this summer. Most probably to LA, Universal Studion and Hollywood. I attentively listened to their conversation for I was not really familiar with those places. They seemed zealous and positive about the trip. I surmised that it would be done after all of us have finished with final exams. Nonetheless, perhaps I would not join this trip if I did not have sufficient budget. Furthermore, I am still thinking whether to go back to Malaysia at the end of the semester.

I miss my family very much. I am craving to eat malaysian food especially cooked by my grand mother. Yeah.. but many things must be taken into consideration such as money, flight ticket, my accomodation for fall term and problems that might appear due to my 'unresolved visa'.

Insya Allah, I will try my best to resolve all of these matters wisely, step bu step. There's a will, there's a way.

I woke up early this morning at about 6.15 am and as usual I took a long shower in the bathroom- that is my habit everday for I dont know how to stop this.

My first class was comparative religion held at PAS building. I dont really like this class. The profesor, to me, talks very fast he is like mumbilng in front of other. Most of the time, I didn't get his jokes. It's kind of strange to me as the other students could undestand what he was saying. Furthermore, since this class is about religions, the profesor tends to interpret the knowledge based on his views. I still remember that he said that King Solomon was a killer. Absolutely, I oppose this opinion. I wish I had a chance to take another more interesting class.

My second class for the beginning of spring semester was indiv, which is about latin america. I felt lonely in this class though all the professors seemed attractive and eloquent in giving their lecture. Alhamdulillah, I suppose I will get to know more about south america by attending this class. Besides, this class does not requiere any textbook. That is one thing. However, it seems that I have to print out every lecture note posted on D2l, the same thing I did last year for Trad 101 eastern languages. I dont really like this part as Iwill be using lots of A4 papers printer inks. Insya ALLAH, I will try to find hispanic friends who are willing to speak spanish with me and the important thing is thatnb they are willing to be my friends.

Then, I went back to sahara Apartment and I took a nap for half an hour. Later on, I did solat zohor and I went to school again to buy notebooks. Since the price of western world religions is quite expensive, I borrowed a book from the library entitled world regions western traditions. Hopefully, this book would be helpful for me to acquire more information about world religions at the same time I would have more idea to write in my assignment. I regret that I had bought the textbook from amazon before knowing that Jenifer put the lowest-evr price for it which was 8 dollars!!!!!!! After thinking deeply, I decided to just wait the book from amazon even though the delivery would take about 8 days long!!!

Alhamdulillah as Allah had granted my prayers. Unexpectedly, I could chat with mi mujer amigo mexicano, Edgar rivera por la noche. I sent him the essay that I wrote about el viaje inovidable with him. And I suppose he's happy with it. At the same time, I had a chat with Nada. Lots of fun chatting with these two friends. Thank you Allah!

Spanish 201 winter session- I just finished it!!

Alhamdulillah finalmente yo termine mi clase de espanol hoy!! Y mi profesora me dijo que saque una A para esta asignatura. Muchas gracias Allah!! Ojala que despues vaya a practicar espanol con otras personas. Quiero escribir los nombres de mis amigos que tomaron espanol 201 para semestre invierno 2009. Ellos son:

1) Jenifer- su casa se encuentra dentras de la oficina del consutados de Mexico
2) Elena- le gusta boxear. Tal vez quiesera ser una boxeadora. Tiene un grande novio.
3)Rachel- se caso con un hombre mexicoamericano. Parece joven aunque tiene dos hijos. Su espanol es bastante bueno.
4) Isabel- Hermana menor de Lorry
5) Lorry- Hermana de Isabel. Ella es buena y guapa. Siempre sentaba al lado de Danny, un puertoriqueno (puerto rican)
6)Danny- es de puerto Rico. Pienso que su lengua madre es espanol. Por supuesto el habla espanol muy rapido con nosotros. Me fascina porque para mi, es verdaduro bilingue. Habla ingles muy claro como un americano.
7) Sarah- sentaba al lado de mi en clase. Es buena y le ancanta espanol y quiere haberlo como su segunda lengua.
8)Brice James- una persona de Phoenix. El es vegetariano. Ironicamente, el fuma todos los dias. Que extrano! Es comico tambien y siempre hablaba conmigo en clase. El esta estudiando filosofia. Sabe muchas informaciones de historia del mundo.

Que fue mi profesora? Se llama Morbila fernandez. Es cubana. Se translado a EE. UU para ganar una vida mas buena que en Cuba. Vive en Tucson con su espose quien es un investigador de ciencias en la Universidad de Arizona. Ella es cantarina- le gusta cantar y tiene buen voz tambien. A ella, no le gusta deportes. Tiene un hijo que vive en Cuba. Para mi, ella es buena, simpatica, amigable y trabajadora. Ahora ella esta ocupada con su disertacion por PHD.

Sobre todo, yo echo de menos esta clase. no se porque' . Cualquier, deseo practicar y hablar este idioma. Insya ALLAH si se puede!!

Oh, my laptop is broken!!

First of All, Alhamdulillah because i just finished my spanish test today and I think it was quite easy for me. However, this does not mean that I will get 100 points for the test. I hope that my mark would be more than 91 points in order to obtain an A for spanish course. Actually, I am having a problem that perhaps other people would think that it is a trivia. My laptop, acer, is broken and I just found out about this last two days when suddenly I could not turn on my laptop. Once I pressed the 'on' button, the computer immediately turned off itself.

Oh, What a weird thing!! Then, the next day, I tried to switch it on again. This time, I managed to have it turned on. The laptop could run as normal as it did before. Nonetheless, as I feared that it would turn off without giving any warning, so I decided to have it switched off, hoping that my laptop would be alright. It is like I was giving some time to my laptop to get a rest...huhuhu... So, I borrowed my friend's netbook (wani) to get my spanish homework done.

Unfortunately, it turned out that my laptop could not be turned on though I had pressed the 'on' button hardly.. and I did this many times. Moon, one of my chinese friends, told me the place at school that I should to get help for fixing my computer. I didn't know that MLK building exists at University of Arizona before. What a shame! Alhamdulillah, at least I already know about it right now. So, after I finished my spanish class, I went back to Sahara to take my laptop and bring it to MLk Building.

There, there was a man who checked my laptop. He said that there were two possibilities: First, my computer had a problem with the ram and the second its motherboard is damaged. At the moment, I was praying that everything would be Ok so that I could just get back home and use my computer as usual. As I already expected, its motherboard was damaged. The man, who wore an earring on his left ear, advised me to go to Acer center or factory or whatever related to Acer to get a replacement for the motherboard. I was like.. huh?? Where can I find the factory?? Do I still have the warranty?? The International warranty??!!! ..Oh, just forget it.. It seems that I have to get a new laptop right now.

The problem is that I don't have enough money to buy a new one. Tomorrow, which is friday, we (my friends and I) are going to Grand Canyon for a three-day trip. This means that I will be using money that probably costs about 200 dollars!!! I just did a survey with Arif's help. He gave me a link , tigerdirect.com, where cheap prices are offered for electronic stuff. Maybe for this time, I can only afford to buy a netbook and not a laptop (due to budget restriction). Let me see first, anyway. See how much money left in my account after coming back from the trip. Ya Allah, please help me to find a wise solution. Amin.

Belajar bahasa asing memang sangat baik tapi cintailah bahasa kita!

Mari kawan2, mari dengar cerita tentang pengalaman yang kurasakan perlu diceritakan kepada semua sebagai satu nasihat dan pengajaran. Kenapa tiba2 aku menulis dalam bahasa ibundaku?? haha.. tak pelik kan?

Ya, bahasa asing amat penting untuk kita kuasai. Namun begitu, bahasa ibunda jangan kita lupakan walau di mana pun kita berada. Melalui bahasa ibundalah kita mengenal erti hidup,belajar tentang agama,menilai erti cinta, serta menjalinkan persahabatan sesama manusia. Aku sedar bahawa bahasa inggeris dan bahasa sepanyol (spanish) penting di negeri Arizona, USA. Lagipun, alhamdulillah, banyak teman rapatku terdiri daripada orang Hispanic yang aku akui tampan dan cantik belaka sebagaimana yang pernah aku lihat dalam episod telenovela yang satu ketika dahulu menjadi satu rancangan TV bersiri yang popular di Malaysia seperti Rosalinda dan La usurpadora.

Dalam keghairahanku mempelajari bahasa sepanyol yang sememangnya aku minati setelah menonton telenovela la usurpadora, satu kejadian telah berlaku dalam hidupku yang langsung mengubah persepsiku terhadap Bahasa Melayu atau Bahasa Malaysia. Seperti biasa, setiap hari setelah habis kelas kalkulus 1, aku akan berjalan pulang dengan kawanku dari Mexico, yang aku kira agak rapat denganku. Maklumlah, inilah peluang yang harus aku gunakan untuk aku mempertajam kemahiranku berbahasa Sepanyol. Alhamdulillah, kini aku lebih berani bertutur dalam bahasa ini walaupun kadang kala kesalahan tatabahasa aku lakukan- sekurang-kurangnya aku mencuba untuk mempertingkatkan keupayaanku berbahasa sepanyol.

Pada suatu petang, dia ingin berjumpa abangnya di bangunan engineering. Dalam masa yang sama, aku ingin menunjukkan gambar yang kawan aku ambil semasa malam perasmian Homecoming. Jadi, aku pun ikutlah kawanku ini untuk mencari abangnya di bangunan tersebut. Dia sibuk mencari abangnya dan aku pula sibuk menunjukkan gambar-gambar kepadanya. Akhirnya, kami sesat dalam bangunan tersebut.. Hai.. nak dijadikan cerita dia temui juga bilik di mana abangnya sedang membuat kerja. Aku seolah2 bingung tak tahu nak kata apa apabila bertemu abangnya. Nak kata hai, takut tidak dilayan sebab dia kelihatan sibuk dengan komputer ribanya. Setelah difikirkan berulang kali, aku terus mengajak kawanku untuk melihat video yang aku rakam semasa Upacara perasmian Homecoming 2009 di University of Arizona.

Malangnya, video berkenaan tidak mempunyai suara. Aduhai, kenapalah dengan kamera aku ini? Kawanku mengatakan bahawa mungkin aku hanya merakam gambar tapi tidak sekali dengan suara. Ya, logik apa yang dia katakan. Dengan rasa malu dan sedih, aku meminta maaf kerana tidak dapat menunjukkan upacara gilang-gemilang di universiti ini. Beberapa minit kemudian, abangnya keluar dari bilik tersebut dan tiba-tiba datang seorang gadis berkulit sawo matang dan berambut hitam manis menyapanya. Sementelahan itu, kawan aku, abangnya dan gadis itu berbual-bual dalam bahasa sepanyol yang aku kurang pasti butirnya. Walaupun aku tahu berbahasa Sepanyol, aku masih 'merangkak-rangkak' dalam memahami apa yang dikatakan oleh mereka kerana sudah pasti mereka bukanlah menggunakan bahasa sepanyol standard tetapi dialek mereka.

Tidak tahu apa yang perlu dilakukan, aku berpura-pura membelek-belek kameraku untuk mencari butang yang boleh meninggikan suara rakaman video. Agak lama juga mereka berbicara. Ingin sahaja aku mencelah 'no les entiendo' ( aku tak faham korang), tapi kupujuk hatiku supaya bersabar. Aku rasa hanya satu perkataan yang bisa aku faham yakni ' depende' ( depend atau bergantung). hahaha.. sekurang-sekurangnya ada juga perkataan yang biasa didengari. Setelah habis mereka berbual dan mengucapkan selamat tinggal kepada gadis hispanic itu, kawan aku pun memperkenalkan diriku kepada abangnya. Pabila ditanya namaku, aku menjawab "Aliff". Kemudian, mereka adik beradik bercakap sesuatu mengenai namaku.. oh rupanya si abang kurang pasti namaku.. Si abang berbual denganku dalam bahasa inggeris. Si adik mencelah, " El puede hablar espanol".. (dia boleh cakap bahasa sepanyol). Aku agak gembira kerana kawan aku ini begitu bersemangat 'mempromosikan' kepada abangnya yang aku ini boleh bertutur bahasa mereka. Dia berulang kali memberitahu bahawa aku bisa berbahasa sepanyol. Akhirnya si abang seolah-olah akur dengan adiknya- dia memulakan perckapannya dalam bahasa Sepanyol. Alhamdulillah, aku masih dapat memahami apa yang ditanya oleh si abang tentang diriku dalam bahasa sepanyol. Mahu tidak mahu, aku pun membalasnya dengan bahasa ibunda mereka.

Aku menceritakan tentang bgaimana aku mula belajar bahasa ini, untuk tujuan apa dan di mana aku belajar. Aku juga memberitahu si abang tentang agama Islamku dan ternyata dia mempunyai pengetahuan umum tentang Islam. Dia menyatakan kepadaku, " Orang Islam baca Al Quran, kan?" Aku menjawab "ya". Kemudian, dia berkata lagi, "Kamu semua 'pray 5 times kan?" Agak kagum dengan ilmu amnya, aku terus menjawab, "yeah, cinco veces (ya, 5 kali )". Di kesesakan laluan utama pelajar di bangunan Student Union, si adik yang dari tadi tekun mendengar perbualan kami tetiba mencelah dan memberitahu abangnya, " He is proud because u know about his religion". Sudah tentu aku bersyukur dan berasa sangat bangga dengan keislaman aku. Islamlah agama dan jalan hidup yang paling sempurna.

Kebisingan dan kesibukan laluan di bangunan Student union beransur kurang setelah kami keluar dari bangunan tersebut.Si Abang bertanya kepadaku dalam bahasa Sepanyol tentang sesuatu tetapi aku tidak mengerti kerana butir katanya terlalu laju untuk aku yang baru dua tahun mempelajari bahasa ini. Aku mencebikkan mukaku kepada si adik dengan mnggelengkan kepalaku tanda aku tidak memahami. Lantas si abang menjawab, " Oh u dont understand??!!". Kemudian, dia mengulangi pertanyaannya dalam bahasa Sepanyol satu persatu bagaikan mengajar budak yang baru mula membaca! Pada dasarnya, aku berasa malu dengan tindakannya itu. Namun aku hanya memendamkan perasaan tersebut dengan niat ingin belajar. Biasalah, adat orang ingin belajar, kalau tak tahu mesti bertanya, kalau tidak akan sesat. Hmm.. aku lupa apa yang aku bicarakan dengan si abang.. oh ya , dia bertanya,"Que' vas a hacer?" Aku menjawab," Quiero ir a la oficina de espanol para preguntar sobre la clase de espanol durante el invierno." Mereka berdua menganggukkan kepala, tanda mengerti.

Seterusnya, aku meneruskan perbualanku dengan mereka tentang pengalaman yang aku rasakan pahit, manis, lawak, sedih, geram bagiku ketika mempelajari bahasa mereka di Malaysia. Aku menceritakan tentang... hmm rasanya biarlah ia menjadi rahsia.. Sebelum berpisah, aku seperti biasa akan bersalaman ala amerika dengan rakanku. Aku juga berbuat demikian dengan si abang. Tiba-tiba, si abang bertanya kepadaku tentang sesuatu yang tidak pernah aku fikirkan sebelum ini. Pada mulanya, aku tidak berapa dengar apa yang dia ujarkan. Aku berkata "what?" Dia pun mengulangi pertanyaannya, " How to say mucho gusto/ nice to meet you in your language?" Aku terdiam. Masa umpama berhenti seketika. Aku berfikir.... Namun, jawapan tak kunjung tiba... Aku berfikir lagi... Hampa.. benakku kosong.. tak tahu untuk aku terjemahkannya ke dalam bahasa Melayu (Bahasa Malaysia).

Dengan rasa malu, aku menjungkit-jungkitkan bahuku, tanda tidak tahu. Dengan nada sinis, si abang berkata kepadaku," You learn spanish but you forget your language?!!" dan dia terus mentertawakan aku. Hinanya rasa diri ini... Malu apatah lagi... api kemarahan makin menyala-nyala dan menjulang tinggi. Sebelum sempat mereka berlalu pergi, aku menahan mereka dan berkata," Es el idioma and each language has their own characteristics." Mereka menganggukkan kepala. Entah faham entah tidak. Namun, peristiwa ini telah meninggalkan kesan yang mendalam terhadap diriku.

Setibanya aku di apartmentku, komputer riba terus aku buka. Bertubi-tubi soalan kuajukan kepada rakan-rakanku di YM. Segalanya aku ceritakan tentang kejadian ini. Daripada A sehingga Z. Malah, setiap butir perkataan yang dilafazkan, masih segar dalam ingatan. Bak kata kawanku hazamir," nah, ambik ko! Kecepek!!!". Aku tergelak apabila membayangkan seolah-olah sebiji kek dilemparkan tepat ke mukaku.. fuh.. malu betul!! Marah, geram, lawak, rasa nak tumbuk dan macam-macam lagi rasa di hati.. Ingin sahaja aku lempang muka si abang... Huhu.. Akan tetapi, rasa sabar masih menebal di hati.. kita perlu berakhlak mulia dengan sesiapa pun walaupun mereka menyakitkan hati kita.. hmmm.. bagiku, amat susah juga untuk meredakan api kemarahan ini.. Alhamdulillah, aku akhirnya mampu juga membendung rasa geram tersebut setelah mendengar nasihat daripada beberapa orang kawanku.

Malam itu, sebelum tidur, aku menulis terjemahan 'nice to meet you' ke dalam Bahasa Melayu sebagai 'seronok bertemu awak' di atas sehelai kertas kecil. Aku menambah lagi beberapa perkataan mudah yang selalu digunapakai setiap hari seperti apa khabar, sihat, terima kasih, dan sama-sama. Kesokkan harinya, kuberikan kertas tersebut kepada si adik untuk diserahkan kepada si abang. Ketika si abang menerima kertas tersebut, lantas dia membacanya dan cuba menuturkannya kepadaku. Aku kembali ceria. Maruahku seolah-olah dibela kembali. Sebutan si abang agak baik, aku kira. Memang tidak dinafikan bahasa Melayu agak serupa dengan bahasa sepanyol dari segi sebutan perkataan. Jadi, agak mudah untuk seseorang yang tidak tahu Bahasa Melayu dan Bahasa Sepanyol menyebut sesuatu perkataan walaupun maknanya tidak difahami.

Aku juga memberitahu si abang bahawa aku tidak lupa bahasa ibundaku. Cumanya, jarang 'seronok bertemu awak' digunakan dalam kehidupan masyarakat melayu apabila berkenalan dan berjumpa untuk kali pertama. Si abng menegaskanbahawa walaupun dia sudah menetap di Tucson selama 5 tahun, bahasa sepanyol tetap tidak dilupakan malah dia masih mampu bercakap dalam bahasa tersebut. Ingin sahaja aku membalas, " Memanglah kau tak lupa sebab dekat sini banyak orang Mexico!! Apalah!!??"... tapi aku fikir, lebih baik aku mediamkan diri. Jadi, pergaduhan dapat dielak.

Yang hairannya, pada hari yang lain, si abang begitu ghairah mempraktikkan perkataan-perkataan tersebut apabali bertemu denganku. Aku sebenarnya ternyata berasa gembira. Ada juga orang yang ingin belajar bahasa ibundaku. Pangajaran yang aku peroleh melalui peristiwa ini adalah aku perlu memartabatkan bahasa Melayu ini dan tidak melupakannya. Aku berasa kagum melihat bangsa lain yang begitu bangga dengan bahasa mereka walaupun kepentingannya tidak setaraf dengan bahasa inggeris. Selain itu, penguasaan bahasa asing perlu dipertingkat dan dipertajam sentiasa kerana banyak kelebihan yang bakal diperoleh dengan mengetahui banyak bahasa.

Alhamdulilah, aku mampu mengajar bahasa Melayu kepada kawan Mexicoku dengan terjemahan bahasa sepanyol dan inggeris. Walaupun Spanishku tidak selancar bahasa Melayu, aku bersyukur ke hadrat Allah kerana dengan kebolehan berbahasa Spanish, aku mendapat kawan dari Mexico. Insya Allah, Aku akan terus berusaha untuk merperbaik kemahiran komunikasi dan menulis dalam ketiga-tiga bahasa ini. Yang penting usaha, dia dan tawakal!!