Pictures of the week.....haha....
Trying to ride a motorbike but not being very successful without the keys.


Al-masjid-ul-Aqmar: A place I really want to visit to explore the Fatimi empire.

I apologise profusely to all those faithful readers who have been coming back day after day but have not seen any new entries and had to read old stuff or stuff from other blogs.

Despite July being of the busiest months of the year, I am actually quite happy it arrived. For one thing, it means I have 10 more months till ORD. Another thing, throughout the work, I'm having lots of fun. There is the NYJC LTC facilitator's training day coming up, a week later I'll get to meet my group for the year. My project with the force will be ending at the end of this month and I'm looking forward to organising the closing ceremony.

Well, another thing is because Mr You nominated me for the Friends of VS award and I got chosen for it and I will be receiving it at VS Speech day this year. BOA elections are also going to be held soon and I don't think I'm going to run for a second term of office as chairman so I'm looking forward to my "retirement". I really dunno how I'm going to end up feeling leaving the club after 7 years. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

There are lots of things and oppurtunities waiting for me once I leave BOA. I guess we'll take it one things at a time. :)

I miss my sweetheart so much. :)

Have fun and stay healthy.

-HoZe-

Ok, I think I shall not continue on my story about my trip to India. Coz then I'll never get down to it and never post another entry.

I was really dissapointed i something that has happened recently. To make things worse, people who are not at fault are being made to seem at fault. Sigh. Sometimes I wonder, when will these people grow up? Or rather, when would this specific person grow up? You could spend a lifetime explaining something to someone yet he would still come up with dumb stupid arguments. Really, sometimes I don't even know why I bother.

I've been trying to get myself back on my excercise programme coz I seem to be really getting out of shape. Starting to feel tired very easily and stuff. Just bought a gym ball for training but can't seem to keep it anywhere in the house.

Cannot wait to organise the CT bbq. Just waiting for the correct time? Yo 02S7C people, you ready to go? I love you guys.

NYJC shall now remain NYJC. Thank god. Can you imagine it being renamed to CCJC? Goodness knows what came over some people. But what really touched me is the thousands of NYJCians that immediately came forward to sign the petition to retain the glorious name of our glorious college. NYJCians, you're the best. And credit goes to Song Kwang for getting things organised for the petition.

NYJC LTC also coming up soon. Can't wait!

See ya guys!

-HoZe-

Ok, I'm back!!! Went to India for the last 8 days or so and had a great, but physically exhausting holiday. I'm gonna write about my trip here but i think writing everything in one post would deem this post too long so I'll just break it up and write out the whole story over the ext few days in separate posts.

My pre-trip days were very very hectic, as you may have surmised from my earlier entries. There were lots of things to do and packing my bags were just one of the many things written on my to-do list. Finally, on the night before my trip, I managed to get everything I needed to bring to fit into my bag and after repeatedly checking my packing list, I was convinced that I had all my stuff and went to sleep. The next morning, I went to work with my bags, met Aziz for lunch and then got ready to go. My warrant officr was kind enough to drop me off at the airport. I then boarded the plane and started on my way to Mumbai....

Will continue tomorrow. Take care guys. :)

-HoZe-

Things have been quite an organised chaos nowadays. So many different things happening simultaneously. I think never in the history of the universe have so many things happened at the same....probably causing an overload on the 'universal' server and slowing time down as we know it.

I dunno....sometimes I think I seem to get a rush out of being so busy. It just keeps me occupied, allowing me to be doing something at every point in time. I seem to thrive on a schedule bursting at the seams. I'm able to perform my best when my daily planner is full.

But on the other hand, I always complain that being so utterly busy deprives me of personal time which I would really really love to have. It seems that since my JC days, I have been spending more time with other people than spending time with myself. I miss the times where I could just walk into a cafe with a good book, order my favourite mix and sit down for perhaps a few hours just reading or writing. Now when I go to places like orchard road or suntec, I'll defintely run into an aquaintance every now and then, depriving me of my much-wanted personal time.

But another thing....I never have enough time for my close friends. I have many close friends, and it's very difficult to spend time with all of them. I'm just lucky that they call me once in a while to keep in touch. :) Ever since I left JC, my social life has definately taken a dive. Hopefully it picks up the moment I go to uni.

Now I'm busy packing to go overseas. Still lots to do, so much to complete and many things still left unsettled. Time to get busy again. Haha.

To my friends, you're not fogotten. Take care guys. See ya around :)

-HoZe-

After being repeatedly told to update my bog, here I am again after almost three weeks of absence.

As you may have concluded, while searching for answers to why I have been absent from the blogging scene for so long, I have been really really really busy. Which is the usual story. But I'm not complaining because being busy is good, it makes time pass faster when things get really boring. Haha.

Celebrated Mothers' Day yesterday. I was completely puzzled as to what to give my mum for Mothers' Day. Gifts have to be perfect. They have to mean something. So I thought since my mum is an executive, she needs a classy pen to carry around and use. So I got her a Stainless steel, airbrushed, roller ball Parker Pen. Which actually looks pretty cool. Hope she liked it. Happy Mothers' Day Mum!

Will update sommore later. Haha.

-HoZe-

Today is the sixth day in my 11-day working marathon. Thankfully I'm holding up well but it seems that I'm going to sleep earlier and earlier as the days go by. Haha. Didn't think that I'd be that tired.

Weekend before last I went to a beautiful island resort in Malaysia at Pulau Sibu Tengah with my Mosque Youngsters Group. It was quite an exciting trip. The drive to the ferry terminal was really exciting with so many bends, turns and uphill and downhill roads. We finally got to the ferry terminal but I lost confidence in the ferry when they made us wear life jackets. Anyways, we made our way to the island, had lots of fun the first day playing games, swimming, dunking ppl and stuff. We went snorkelling the next morning and the sight was just beautiful underwater. Its like nature hid its brightest colours in the sea. Explored the off shore island and then went back. Packed up and went back home.

It's gonna be my first anniversary with my darling soon. I cannot believe that it has been a year already since I met her. It seems just like yesterday when I was mesmerized by her and fell in love. :)

Will be meeting the guys this saturday. It seems this has become the unofficial homepage of the ngee-geri-jonny-keng-hoze club. haha.

-HoZe-

here and there

Yesterday I was reading the forum section of the newspaper and I was really ticked off by what some self-righteous idiot wrote in his letter. He was complaining about Singaporeans' behaviour in the cinema and how irritating it was to have them sms-ing and giggling and god-know-what-ing while the movie was playing. Yes, I agree, common courtesy was missing in this select group with which the author, was watching the movie with. But what sent my temperature up was what he wrote. I qoute: " We claim to be westernised and affluent. However, most of us do not have the basic social graces that distinguish most Westerners." Excuuuuuuuse me! So what the heck is this guy trying to tell us? That only westerners have 'basic social graces'? How dare this person even try to imply that! Let me tell you one thing, I proud to be an Asian and I assure you I'll never swap my asian values for western ones. As least I didn't devolve a couple of millenia and have sex with every girl I meet like some kind of animal. Asians at least still value the sanctity of marraige and our values teach us that pre-marital sex is wrong. Our values teach us to respect our leaders instead of making fun of the very people we elected everyday in the newspapers. Our values teach us to respect the culture of other people and not just invade any country whose values differ from ours. So, to this author I say: I'm very happy with my values, thank you very much and I don't need the so-called social graces of westerners.

Sigh... I tell you, the cheek of some people to even write that and the cheek of the newspaper to even print that!

The VS Inter-primary school web design competition's briefing day was held last saturday at SCDF HQ and it was pretty good. I was really proud of the sec 3s who did a great job in organising everything.

Yesterday I met JS and michi to discuss the activity for the LTC. Our ideas turned out quite ok. Hopefully the PE dept will think so too.

Dun feel like typing out much now....perhaps later. Take care and have fun.

-HoZe-

Lord of the Rings

Finally, I've finished watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy DVD special edition in the comfort of my own home.

LOTR is like one of my favourite movies ever! I thought Star Wars would be my all time favourite but LOTR is my absolute favourite! Evevn though this must be the third time I've watched all three trilogies, I'm not bored at all and I could watch it all over again right now.

I suppose what makes LOTR appealing to me is the real story that underlies it. The story of hope and true courage. The story of bravery and selflessness. The story of friendship and loyalty. The story of how the spirit of men, at times so divided, will come together as one to fight a common enemy, to fight evil and save good. How kings, who are the true leaders in the story, lead their men into battle, sometimes into the prospect of certain death but never allow the men to lose hope. To keep fighting, keeping in mind that their cause is a worthy one worth dying for. Whats also draws me is the close friendship that the fellowship of the ring kept. How, although they were far away from each other in times, they trusted each other and remained loyal to each other and remained strong against the enemy.

Truly, there may be times in life where we may find ourselves in impossible situations. Times when everything has gone wrong and things don't seem to be getting any better. But by keeping hope, courage and determination, all can be overcome, Inshaallah.


-HoZe-

oh well

As if there aren't enough problems in the world already, I have just found that I'm putting on weight, which is not a very good thing (contrary to what many of you would think). I have not been excercising for the past 2-3 months so it seems that I'm getting out of shape and in no way that could possibly be good. Well, it seems that I'll have to get back on my excercise regime soon before I become a big blob. Haha.

I have just realised that there are very few days and nights in a week that I'm actualy free. Out of the nights, I go to give tuition three times a week, attend religious class once a week leaving me three days in which I'm too tired to do anything anyway because I would have just come back from work. And out of my two off days, I'll probably spend 1.5 days doing voluntary work somewhere or the other. well, the good thing is that I'm fairly occupied and that time in NS is passing fast. It's March already! In around a year I'll be counting down to my ORD date, Inshaallah. Like I have said over and over and over again, I simply cannot wait to start university!!!!

I'm kind of missing my class 02S7C. The part I miss most about my college life is my CT. It's like so totally fun. We could click with each other so well, talking crap, having fun and doing strange things. I remember all the lame songs we used to sing and all the funny jokes we cracked....haha. Although we've had one solitary CT outing during our time in JC, we definately bonded as one class and I love it for that. Hoping to organise a CT outing soon guys!

Ok, I dun think I have much to write today so I'll sign off now leaving you in deep thought after reading my words.

-HoZeFa-

More stuff

I am having a serious lack of time. A very serious lack of time. And the amount of stuff I have to do is getting more and more and more. I have to do something about it otherwise I'll never stop chasing the clock. And never stop feeling so darned tired. The worse part: I'll never meet up with my friends!

Met up with Jason last Sunday. It was great. I hadn't seen my bro for quite some time and it was great catching up with him. We talked about a lot of stuff and crapped a lot...haha.

Too tired to type now....maybe will type sommore later.

To my sweetheart: I love you dear.

See ya guys and take care.

Hozefa

Stuff

And so life goes on....as it always has.

Been quite busy this past few weeks. So busy that I've had aboslutely no time to catch up with my social life, as is my usual complaint. But I think this time it's really bad. People have been messaging me, calling me, emailing me, asking me if I still exist on the face of this earth, or in the case of the telephone callers, whether they need to pay extra for the long distance call to another dimension far far away. Sigh, I breally didn't know life could be this busy. But there is hope....I'm gonna drop a few commitments soon and hopefully I'll have more time for the things that really matter to me in my life after that.

And so now i've started to learn driving, which is not as easy as it seems. It takes quite a bit of getting used to and requires you to take a deep breathe and try to understand that you will not necessarily wreck the car. I've been through four lessons but unfortunately my progress has been really slow thus far. I've really gotta cncentrate more on this if I plan to hav a driving license by august.

And I really miss my sweetheart. It seems that everyday, my love for her grows more and more. It was her birthday a few days ago...Happy birthday dear. It's so wonderful to have you in my life dear and I'm thankful to Allah everyday that you're with me. :)

Ok people, I rpomise you that I will from this moment onwards try to stay more in contact with all of you. Promise from the bottom of my heart. So here goes....

Anyway, take care and have fun.

-HoZeFa-

Ya Husain

It's now the middle of Ashara and now the days are getting less and less. The days in which we remember the the ultimate sacrifice of Imam Husain (AS) for the salvation of all mumineen. We remember how he sacrificed his life along with his family and followers so that our sins may be forgiven and that we achieve peace in our hearts and walk on the right path. We remember how his sister, Maulatena Zainab, grieved upon her dead brother and told people about his ultimate sacrifice. We remember how his daughter, Maulatena Sakina cried and cried each night, unable to sleep without her father and kept on asking for her father until the enemies brought out his holy head and Sakina unable to deal with her grief died crying upon her father. Ya Husain! We remember the ehsanaat of Aqa Maula, who showers us with barakat, day and night and calls the faithful to remember what Imam Husain sacrificed his life for. For the ideals of Islam which is mercy, peace, goodwill and submission to god. Ya Husain!

For three days, the enemies had kept the House of Imam Husain thirsty on the sandy plains of Kerbala by blocking their path to water. How could they forget that who this was? That this was the grandson of the holy prophet?

The enemies had no mercy. They killed all of Husain's male followers. They killed Maulana Abbas Alamdar, who was trying to get some water for Imam Husain's Daughter as he was unable to bear to see his niece thirsty. They killed the youngster Maulana Ali Akbar, Imam Husain's son. They killed even Imam Husain's 6 month old son, who Imam husain brought out of his camp to show to the enemies how his infant son was trembling due to lack of water. He asked if anyone had a son, they would know that a baby boy needs water. Instead of water, these enemies shot and arrow that landed on the infant's throat, killing him. Ya Husain!

Personally, it is a time for me to remember and reflet. To reflect upon my actions in the past and learn and realise how to be a better person. How to be a person worthy of Imam Husain's Dai's blessings. How to embrace what is good and throw out what is bad. Maula, I beseech you, in the last few days of Ashara, grant me the strength to pray, to grieve, to do matam and to attain your hapiness.

-HoZe-

Can't think of a title no more

I think its pretty weird that each blog entry should have a title. I mean its like whenever I type my blog I dun type it with a specific title in mind. I just let my thoughts flow into my fingers which reciprocate by pressing the correct keys on the keyboard to allow masterpiece posts on my blog.Maybe I should start naming every post on my blog, "My Life". Sigh.

The last few days of working have been great. There is less tension in the office and people are starting to co-operate with one another. Its not perfect but hey, something is better than nothing at all.

Going to NYJC later to meet geri and talk to her about setting up a website to help bio students cope with the A level syllabus. I think its going to be a fun project to work on and I cannot wait till it gets up and running!

Also have my first bio class with the j2s this year today. I'm pretty nervous because j2 topics are much more difficult and with the a levels around the corner, the students expect a lot more from you. Similarly, I expect a lot more from them so lets see how it goes.

I went for my second driving lesson today! Driving is pretty fun but I tend to get very nervous sometimes and that slows me down in the learning process....I'm being assured by the parental units that the nervousness is temporary and very soon I will lack the patience in waiting to get a full driving license. Well, lets hope so. A few days ago, some people were talking about speeding on the Malaysian highway and they were saying that it was worth paying the fine just to feel the speed. As they were my aquaintances, I couldn't help but tell them off. I mean, what kind of stupid, absolutely stupid dumbass and irresponsible behavious is that? When you speed, you tend to do things like tailgate slower cars and srive recklessly. There's a reason they ave a speed limit. It's so other people don't have to die from raod accidents. So that other children dont get orphaned and people don't get crippled for life. I mean, don't you read the papers and see how many lives are changed forever because of the irresponsible behaviour of a few? I make a plea right now to all road users to make safety the first priority instead of reckless fun.

Ashara is coming closer and closer. Aqa Maula (TUS) will be in Surat to shower upon mumineed barakat and more barakat. I'm now preparing mentally, physically and spiritually for these ten days of prayer, rememberance and spiritual cleansing. To think of peace and love instead of hate and anger. To listen to Aqa Maula's divine message of remembering the Lord and his Imam. To understand that only through love of God, and mankind, that we can hope to achieve enlightenment.

Take care guys, and have fun.

-HoZeFa-

Life as of now

Life right now is pretty hectic (whats new?). I feel like its more hectic now than it has ever been. There just seems to be so much work for me to do and I do not have the time to do it all and in some cases I'm desperately trying to catch up with some of my work. I used to be pretty carefree, going out with friends and constantly expanding my social circle. But recently, I have absolutely no time for that and my social life hgas come to an absolute standstill. Johnny called me many times to invite me for an outing with the 'gang' but for a while now i've been deciling every single invitation. That's weird, coz I'd usually jump at an invitation like that and accept it immediately. And there are still so manyt things I want to do. There are some things I'm doing now that I don't find very meaningful anymore but I have to hang on for a while longer because I haven't finish all I need to do there. I'll still continue to teach at NYJC because teaching over there has become a passion with me and I really enjoy doing it and helping the students. I'll still participate actively in mosque activities. I'll still be involved in youth organisations and I'll still busy myself with picking up new skills. I guess that leaves one or two things which are left. Some people already know what they are and know when I'm gonna cease doing those things.

Went to Malaysia last weekend and met my sweetheart and fell even more deeply in love with her. Sometimes, it just takes one person to completely change your perspective on life. Or at least some perspectives if not all.

I passed my basic theory test! Woohoo! I'm so happy. Now I can apply for a provisional driving license and start learning how to drive. It would be completely fantastic! I cannot wait till driving lessons start.

Ashara is coming and I'm getting pretty anxious about maintaining my voice to pray marsiya. God willing, hopefully my voice will not give way during ashara and will remain ok for the zikr opf Imam Husain.

Take care guys....and have fun.

-HoZeFa-

Unwired

Woohoo! Finally, the wireless system in my house is working and my computer is finally connected. No more hogging mum's laptop. Haha. Thanks mum, for all the online time.

Was quite busy these past few days. I dunno what exactly I've been doing but I've been doing lots of stuff. Yet, I'm still not doing the things I should be doing like arranging and tidying all my stuff in the room, exercising regularly, watching what I eat and engrossing myself in studying. Sigh....where does all the time go?

I seriously gotta watch less TV.

Went back to NYJC last wednesday to meet Mr Chan about Bio and ended up doing lots of other stuff. Checked out the ongoing orientation. I must say that the 27th student council is doing an amazing job with this year's orientation. They've really got things going. Mr Tan brought me to see the new teacher's room and saw some LTC photos. Met Mr Singh and had an awkward silent moment before he tols me "Life must go on" and we talked a bit about Mr John Lim. Mr Lim...still so dearly missed. It seems Mr Singh took over his table so that there wouldn't be an 'empty space'. Sometimes you just gotta give it to Mr Singh. He really knows what to do in almost every situation. I would say, he's as wise as Gandalf. Also, I finally met Mrs Ho! Talked about lots of stuff with her.

Anyway, the next day the NYJC orientation participants came over to my office at the CDHG and it was pretty fun trying to entertain them. Made the day a lot more enjoyable. JS also came over with a bunch of 26ers.

We'll see what the week brings ahead. I'll also get some photos of the memorial service tomorrow so I'll put that up on my blog.

See ya guys!

-HoZe-

Aftermath

As I read more and more reports on the damage inflicted by the tsunami, the full extent of the whole thing finally hits me.

Sometimes, its just too painful to think about these things.

To think about children who were on holiday with their parents, a happy family and then suddenly thrust into the sadness which is orphanhood. Then there are children who were just living their carefree lives which were destryoed the moment the tsunami killed either them or their families. Then there are the children who lived a very hard life, trying to work very hard so that they do not go hungry at the next mealtime, who are now in complete despair after the tsunami.

It's just so painful to think about them. But whats the point of just thinking about them? Whats the point of pitying them? How is that going to help them?

I'm gonna try to donate as much as I can to the funds which help the victims of the disaster. And I urge you to do the same if you haven't done so.

One of my aims in life is to set up an organisation which helps children in poverty and aims to give them the same oppurtunities as other children. If you have a similar goal, do let me know, perhaps we can do it together.

Let us be one with humanity, by saving humanity's joy and future.

-HoZe-

P.S. Do leave a comment or a small message at the tag board! Starting to feel quite empty!

Tsunami!

The tsunami that hit many parts of asia on boxing day was certainly a major disaster. When I found out about the news, I just couldn't believe it. The death toll has climbed beyond 100, 000. Houses destroyed, families torn apart, lives changed forever.

But from the devastation comes new hope. People have put aside their differences and have started contributing towards the relief efforts, many spending thousands of dollars to help people they never knew existed. Countries have suddenly put aside their differences and have offered aid to each other. Instead of focusing on needless wars killing innocent lives or focusing on politics of the world or focusing on day to day pleasure, the people of the world finally unite after such a long time to help the people affected by this tragedy.

This is God's way of telling us to always have hope, to always rely on the human spirit and always focus on what we have in common, instead of our differences.

To the individuals who have been affected greatly by tragedy, my heart goes out to you, really it does. I just lost a friend few weeks ago, and I know how devastating it is to lose a dear one. But I cannot fathom what it must be like to lose your way of life, your families and your homes all at the same time. This new years' eve, I pray that the Almighty give those affected peace and hope and also pray that the world never forgets the lessons of the need of unity, a lesson we have learnt from this disaster.

-HoZe-

ACM

Today my officer-in-charge let me go to the Asian Civilisation's Museum at Empress Place to do some research for him on museums! It was so cool. I used a special corporate card that allowed me to go inside for free! Yipee!

It was totally fantastic.... the displays were cool, the artefacts were amazing and the atmosphere was so condusive you actually felt that you were back in time.

I must admit though that it was a bit scary going to some of the exhibits alone because of the big monster-like statues that ancient people regarded as art...well, who am i to talk about art anyway.

Stayed there for around two hours and then had to go to HQ to get some stuff done.

Pretty cool day I must say...

-HoZe-

Whirlwind

Things have been going really really quickly lately. So many things going on that I'm panting just trying to catch up with them. (Maybe I'm panting because I'm just not getting enough excersice....mental note: add to new years' resolution) Whatever it is, it seems like life was in a whirlwind this past week.

Went 'coffeeing' with Ms Foo last Tuesday. We met at the Starbucks at Toa Payoh. I almost couldn't recognize her in her funky shades and cap, coz I'm so used to seeing her in shirts and carrying a big pile of books. :p She printed out some photos of Mr Lim in NZ and gave them to me, which was really nice. Talked about many things and managed to deal with recent loss. I think it was really nice of Ms Foo, helping me out when I'm sure she must also be trying to cope with the loss as well. Thanks Ms Foo! :)

Tried to study some biology in between work at camp. Managed to actualy start understanding what Darwin's darn theory is all about, though I don't really agree with them. I mean the thought of you evolving from a monkey is enough to turn anybody away from the idea. But sometimes after dealing with some weird people, you can't help wondering if Darwin was really getting at something.

Did some last minute card-searching for some christian friends of mine but I seriously doubt that the cards would reach them in time for christmas :p. Maybe monday. Sorry for that.....but it's the thought that counts right? :P

Had a rush BOA meeting on Friday night and after that did more rushing to Geri's place where Geri, jon, sweengee, xk and me hung out and stayed overnight for a lot of movie watching, prank-playing, talking, singing (mostly my hopeless versions of songs) and lots of FUN! But there was a few minutes of silence and sadness as we watched the beginning of the first movie of "Lord of the Rings" when we realised that Mr John Lim' s final days were spent on the set of Hobbiton (the commercial name of the Shire), the exact same place we were watching on the movie. Anyway, we had lots of fun, unfortunately had to run off the next day.

Didn't get much done on Saturday. Was too sleepy from the night before.

Today spent the whole morning buying hardware for the house. Now I'm slowly trying to install everything everywhere.....!!! Went to Shabbarbhai's new house today. Talked to my darling :). Happy seventh monthsary dear.

Hopefully the week ahead turns out as great as this one ....and perhaps a bit slower.

-HoZe-