SHARING : By Nouman Ali Khan

Yousuf AS was incredibly good looking. Musa AS was unusually strong.

Yousuf’s gift was turned against him. It became the reason for so much grief in his life. Musa AS s strength became a great trial and brought him so much pain.

What Allah has gifted you and me with can be the source of a lot of good in our lives. But it may also be connected to our greatest turmoil. May be that’s what Allah will test us with most. But there’s more.

The devil knows your gifts too. And he wants to use people around you to turn those gifts and make them feel like a curse. Allah hasn’t just blessed you with outwardly goodness like looks, bodily strength, wealth or intellect. Sometimes He’s given you qualities like empathy or patience or kindness or a giving nature or a love of spreading goodness or an ability to be good counsel etc. The devil observes these qualities in you and he wants to rob you of them. How does he do it?

If you’re kind, the devil might incite some people in your life who you’ve been nothing but kind to, to be the worst towards you. If you’re a helper he may incite some you helped to strike at you as if you’re an enemy. If you’re a giver the devil might use someone you gave to accuse you of being greedy. If you’re a teacher he might use a student to call you ignorant. The bottom line is, he might use those you served or were good to in some way and get them to be bad to you. Our prophet SAW came with the message that binds hearts together and strengthens the bonds of kinship and family. Those closest to him in his family accused him of breaking families apart.

And why does the devil do this? So those gifts Allah gave you…the gift of giving or teaching or helping or being merciful or empathetic or caring or patient etc.. that you say to yourself that those aren’t gifts. They’re just something people take advantage of. They’re a curse instead. You should stop wasting your time and just care about yourself. Live your own life.

And in doing so he robs you of the gifts Allah gave you that you were supposed to use to please Him. Remember that those gifts are there so YOU find purpose. He wants to see how much you cherish these gifts. They’re not cheap and they’re not free. What pain caused by people are you willing to overcome to not let go of what Allah gave you? That will show to you and to your God what value His gifts hold in your heart. Don’t let the compassion that drives you to serve people be poisoned by their lack of appreciation or even their unjustified venom.

Don’t let your mind be overrun by those who hurt you. Let them be a dot in your rear view mirror that keeps getting smaller. You have much bigger things to do in life than letting the devil preoccupy you with those who tried robbing you of your gifts. Your best response to them is to ignore them and to do more good than you ever did before. Nothing burns them, and the devil, more.

Reflections before year end 03.

Sometimes you expect something from your dear one so much… but when they fail to do so, it hurts you so much! However, I realise that, we fail to notice that it may actually be done by someone else, or others !!! And the reason we fail to notice is because you are waiting for that dear one!

So in future, instead of getting hurt because of that dear one, appreciate and feel happy from that someone else instead, life will be good ❤

2.0 – Minor Spoilers Alert !

2.0 fever isn’t over yet !!! I’m still mindblown by the fact with Shankar’s brain !! Woahh that man 😱

It was an impromptu movie date and treat by a very good Friend cum movie buddy! Thanks babe !!

Nahhh this is not a movie review ! I suck at it !! I didn’t had that much of an expectation for this movie… But I found myself saying “wow-s” several times ! Maybe some of you’ll might find me exaggerating.. but to me I was MINDBLOWN by Shankar’s innovation… woahhh DAMN COOL are the words for the movie !!

Well first half of the movie, we didn’t know where the movie was heading to! Despite saying many wows- till my jaw ached(actually because of the minor surgery I had) me and my Friend nudged each other and were busy commenting on how stupid and ridiculous certain scenes were.. “in terms of logic” But second half of the movie picked up and answered all our questions !!

Akshay Kumar, totally stole the show !!!! He was so so so so apt for the role that I can’t think of anyone else who can pull it off!!! His face structure and sharp features were really apt for his role in that movie!! Sometimes when you are surrounded with a certain structures/living things, you just evolve around them… & that’s why I feel that he was really apt for that role. Especially his facial features ! I honestly have no idea if Shankar chose him considering that, but kudos man!!!!

Chitti v2.0 …!!!! Well what can I say????!!! Honestly I found the stadium scene really ridiculous!! But who cares??? Nobody can pull off the SUPER IRRITATING YET SUPER COOL robot role !!!! And the dialogues 🤣🤣🤣🤣 !!

Are robots considered supernatural?? Actually I’m not sure. But Dr Vasi didn’t have much of a role in this ! It was dominated by the “robots” … Oops TMI ! Sorry 🙂

This movie is worth watching for it’s innovation, cinematography and entertainment!!!

To end with a very good note, Shankar also taught and shared with us a valuable lesson in this movie 🙂 Do catch it !!! *salute*

Ps : WATCH TILL THE END !!!! That kutty is by far my FAV !!! Cutieeeeeee❤️

My ‘Holiday’ – Holiday Trip to Perth & Bangkok

My love for travelling goes a looooooooooong way!

That feeling of being on top of the world when you step foot in another country! WOAHHHHH….

Sometimes you get to know yourself or your travel partner/s even better when you are travelling. Moreover, one will learn from new experiences and cultures.

Interesting, very interesting indeed 😀

When I read travel blogs, usually it is always about the picture perfect locations, or the astonishing views and the yummilicious food images. But what happens before a particular journey? How does one prepare? (Actually ME). What happens during the flight? What surprises awaits you ?? How is like to travel with your friends/ acquaintances?

This time round, it was a work trip to Perth City and ex-colleagues trip to Bangkok.

Pre-Trip Perks

Unlike other years, this year we had our Annual Meeting held at our Perth Office. Which means we were going to meet our colleagues from another side of the world.

My very first official trip. Sounds exciting eh!!… But trust me, I really wish I was on holidays. There were so many places that I wanted to visit but all went in vain.

Likewise, on another note, how would you feel when your ex-travel chat group suddenly revived almost a year and a half later and decided to travel again?? Yesss! A Friend came back from US and decided to hit us up! Poof! Our group revived !

Looking back to the trips with family especially, it had always been mad “rush” at home before leaving to the airport. My dad – being an “overly” punctual person, always expects us to be at the airport at least 3 hours before the flight!!!! But for these two trips, I was working till last minute before heading to the airport…!! Now that is the real #madrush

In Flight “Entertainment”

To be honest –  I am not a big fan of flights. Yeah! Contradicting I know.. Loves travelling but not a fan of flight!! It’s the feel of claustrophobic. Sometimes it feels like suffocating. But as always, decided to settle down and make myself comfortable! Just when I turned to my left, my colleague was already browsing the channels in that small tv infront of her!!! Apparently SIA has not change their tv and remote control for the past “don’t know” how many years !!! By the look at the screen, it was pretty obvious that it was “aging”! – maybe aged!

Unlike Android, our (iPhone) EarPods cable is different hence I couldn’t use them to connect to the sound cable in the plane!! 🙄🙄 Like do I have a choice???! Just had to wait for the air stewardess to distribute the headset. However, it was a waste!

I started browsing the channels, but nothing, NOTHING caught my attention. Yeahh!! I do have a problem in starting something new… it needed a proper time, situation and venue, even when it’s just a show! Hence, I don’t consider “flight” to be one !! I decided to switch to the map, chuck the headset into the seat pocket in front of me. I took out my earpods, put them on, made myself comfortable. Thank god I had my kindle and THE ONLY SIX SONGS I HAD IN MY PLAYLIST to accompany me throughout my journey to Perth.

On the other hand, flight to BKK felt like I was in a car race !!! – It was a “swift” journey! I Guess it happens when you are engaged in conversations 🤣🤣

Perth City

Just like in Mersal, the moment Vijay exits the airport, a car stops right infront of him to pick him up, the car stopped right infront us to pick us up! – rewind ….. (*dreaming).  Actually it happened but not the way I dreamt.

Suddenly someone approached as we came out after collecting our luggage. With a highly spirited voice – Australian??? American?? or a Strong British accent, “Denaaaa, he hugged my colleague….. and they started talking… They were literally having a conversation. I stood there awkwardly like a lost kid. Though I thought  he wouldn’t know or recognise me, I was wrong. When Dena introduced me, again in highly spirited voice, “ohhh you must be Jame’s niece!! again with that strong accent. Before he takes the next step, I waved a BIG HI to him. *awkward* !! Its a challenge to be put in such a situation.  o.O I became conscious. Only god knows why was I blushing! Not sure if it was to my advantage or disadvantage, but I got that “princess” treatment. !! Moreover I also felt as though they treated me like a kid. Not too sure if it was my height. However, these people were so welcoming and hospitable. It was indeed a pleasant and memorable moment.

We headed straight to the hotel which was just about 20 minutes away from our office building. That district is posh compared to our office here in Singapore which is an industrial estate. Though it was a luxurious hotel, we weren’t able to fully utilise it as we were busy with work.

Since transition was taking place, we did nothing much but  work. However, during the weekend, I managed to visit my friend at Madeley, a suburb, she lives in Perth.

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This district is too beautiful and serene to live in. I could do my happy dance there, without being afraid of being watched.. *chuckle* ….. My friend almost convinced me to migrate there. As much as wanting to visit my Uni campus, I couldn’t find time. – ” I am so going there for my convo!!!”

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This shot was taken during Maghrib. *Madeley in ❤ Love ❤ . It was indeed a quality time spending with my friend and thanks for the lovely scrumptious meal !!

Well, Sunday was a family day! Went to my cousin’s place and spent my time there with my nephews. The last I saw the two when they were toddler and baby. Now they were all grown up with a number 3.

Bangkok – The Shopper’s Paradise

The last time I went Bangkok was in the year 2013. I remember having a certain amount of budget to spent for shopping and ended up splurging till I was broke when I came back. Well this time was better I guess!!

These people go Bangkok frequently that they know the places in and out. By the time we landed at BKK, it was almost dinner. We went to check in at the Lemontea Hotel which was located at Pratunam, few minutes away from the BIGGEST MALL.  I had the BEST welcome drink, lemon tea in my life! During our First night itself, after dinner, we started shopping at the night bazaar behind our hotel. It was almost midnight when we came back to the hotel. But our night didn’t end there. We had a lot of things to catch up on and ended up sleeping almost 4+ in the morning!!

This trip was all about shop and eat and bonding sessions. We had so much to catch up, since all of us were separated???

BKK was a short, brisk and fullfilling shopping trip.

Official trip – Checked

Shopping trip – Checked

R & R – Coming soon !! *happy dance*

~Travelling is not something you’re good at. It’s something you do. Like BREATHING~

En Iniya Pon Nilavae – My Sweet Golden Moon 🌒

It felt so strange. We were sitting in a big circle initially. My cousins and my brother were there as well. However, I didn’t know the rest of them !

Me : heyy so you guys gonna announce now???

(they were gonna announce about me singing)

My only concern was my family. Conservative and staunch. Definitely there will be some unhappiness. I could imagine my mum wailing and telling me that I was going to tarnish their reputation…

Believe me, I can totally sense and remember vividly the way I was feeling. I took a peek at my Brother and cousins. But they looked ordinary to me….. “Enoda pillae namma maanathae vaangaporaaaaaa” (Our reputation is at stake because of our daughter !!!!!!) was already ringing in my ears. My facial expression showed it all… The tension and anxiety were pasted all over my face. I can see it like from a mirror.

However, there wasn’t any announcement yet. But..

Andrew : heyy a surprise for you.

Andrew started singing. He sang “Konji pesida vena” …. Well it sounded nice but it didn’t come across to be a surprise to me. Hahaha like I mentioned above, my facial expression showed it all, like a mirror.

However, just right after his lines, a girl started singing ! OMGoodness! It was Jane…!!! She’s my favourite singer… I love listening to her. The excitement was overwhelming! I was seeing my favourite singer right infront of me… Thou she was a little surprised by my reaction, I thought I had the best day in my life !

Thereafter, a band walked in to the stage. Seemed like the whole setting changed. It was no longer the circle but instead everyone was looking at the stage. Anthony was one of the band members.

He totally took me by surprise. He was looking right at me when he was performing. All I could think of was “what the hell was he doing here?” I don’t know why, but I wasn’t comfortable with The Eye contact. When I moved to the right, he moved to the right. When I moved to the left, he moved to the left. All I could think of was run away from there. Run away from him… but I felt I was caged! Helpless! ! Soon after I saw him approached to my direction. He was coming towards me, eyes pointed at mine. My heart was palpitating. I was shivering. I just sat quietly.

Anthony : We need to talk

(This phrase is every girl’s nightmare) .

I refused to look at him. Obviously I didn’t want to go with him.

A Friend of his approached him to have a conversation with him! ! Ahhh ! Just the right time, when I thought he lost me, I took off !

My Brother : Akka !!!

Oh shit.!

He turned to my direction and caught me running away. I quickly dumped my heels and ran. I ran as far as possible.

I ran, and ran and ran….. But no matter how far I ran, he was always right behind me. Like Edward Cullens in Twilight! I went up the stairs, I ran through the corridor, went down the stairs, I zig zag in the carpark, tried my level best to lose him. But to no avail.

There came a point, where I was running up the stairs and slowed down because I was really tired, he was walking up the stairs whistling and singing “En Iniya Pon Nilavae” – I was nearly caught but wasn’t caught, because……..

I woke up! 😳 Yessss!!!! It was a damn creepy dream!!! I quickly looked at my iPhone and the time was 5!!!!!!!! I just had an hour to sleep! Crap!!! But unfortunately I couldn’t! I could remember every single details till now that I’m able to blog even after work today! 🤦🏽‍♀️

And the song!, “en Iniya Pon Nilavae” haunted me the entire day! … LITERALLY ….. Now this song is giving me a ghostlike 👻 feeling…!!!

Tsk tsk !!! My brain is forever active – especially with all these dramatic dreams 🤭😭

Disclaimer : Andrew, Anthony & Jane were supposed to be unknowns 😳

Tawakkul

Tawakkul. I have learnt to accept that there are my plans and also Allah’s plans for me. My plans are according to my wishes and His are according to His infinite wisdom. I need to trust Allah with all my heart and always remember that He knows what is best for me. Always. Inshallah ❣️