Al-Nisa' 4:17 and 4:18

"Allah accepts the repentance of those who do evil in ignorance and repent soon afterwards; to them will Allah turn in mercy; for Allah is full of Knowledge and Wisdom." - 4:17

"Of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil, until death faces on of them, and he says, "Now have I repented indeed," nor of those who die rejecting faith: for them have We prepared a punishment most grievous." - 4:18

If you can go anywhere you like at the moment, where would you wanna go?

There would be times when the class gets sooo boring during high school (it'll usually be either a BM class, or History for me HAHA sorry :P), when my best friends and I decided to skip it. I know, the head girl and the head of disciplinary bureau skip class?? What the heck right?? hahahaha But like emm, we were still high school students at that time, and being superficial ALL THE FRIGGIN' time is FRIGGIN' tiring, so cut us some slaaaaack.. haha :P So yeaa, we skip class sometimes, and we would either go to 'bilik wudu' ' (cause the room is very cooling, clean, and only girls are aloud in there, more privacy hahah) or this small pond behind block D where somebody was breeding guppies lol. We would sit together, and talk. Talk about our problems, family matters, our past, and of course, our future. I've always been the 'what if' question-er lol. To me, its kinda nice to actually listen to other thoughts, and understand them. It gives me the vague illusion of the whole picture ya know.. So one day, this particular question came up, of course, from me lol.

Me: Korang, if you can go anywhere at this very moment, korang nak gi mane? Or say in the future ke.. Where would you wanna live your life?

Syakirah: I don't really mind, but I would prefer somewhere peaceful, macam a small town, by the beach or something. Macam Australia ke..

Syahirah: I wanna go back to Paris kot. Jumpe balek my relatives there, my friends :)
Elissa: Hmmm aku nak stay Malaysia, I like it here, and I love my country. I wanna be near my family jugak semua..

Syahirah: How about you, Yasmin?

Me: New York City.

And if that question were to be asked now, I'd still answer the same thing. New York City. Call me a poser, take me as a person who doesn't love her country, but i've been there, lived there, and regardless of how things might not be the same, I love it there. I love the place, I love the weather, I love the air, I love the people.. I love New York City :) I love Malaysia, too, don't get me wrong. Its just that, I miss that place soo much, and I've been missing it for too long already, so YES, I'D LOVE TO GO TO NYC AGAIN!! hahahahahaha :P

I used to live on this island back in NYC, its called The Roosevelt Island. Its not an island with the beach coast skirting its perimeter, no lol. But it is surrounded by the East River, and thats where you get an island, in between Manhattan and Queens. Its not a huge island, so you can actually take a bike ride from one end to the other, and it'll only take you like 20 to 30 minutes. In this picture, Roosevelt Island would be the island in the middle, under the Queensboro Bridge (U'll see a lot of this particular bridge in movies)

On the Island, we live in 20 River Road. Its one of the Manhattan Park buildings opposite Gristedes (our supermarket). There are 4 Manhattan Park buildings, 10, 20, 30, and 40 River Road, and in the middle of these buildings is a small, shady, and peaceful park where you'd always see fluffy squirrels carrying acorn lol. I remembered we had to make a model of our dream town out of clay in 6th grade, and that was where we gathered to create it. In winter, that area will be covered with snow, and thats where my sister, my friends, and I would come down and build snowmen.. hmm :)

The 3rd picture on your right is a picture of 20 River Road, the building i used to live in. The building to your left is 10 River Road, and the trees in the middle would be the park i mentioned earlier. A picture of the park is shown in the 2rd photograph on your right. I think it was took in the earlier days of Manhattan park coz the trees aren't as big as how they were when I got there, which was about 10 years ago. Imagine how they may be now lol. Gristedes is our supermarket, opposite my building. The building at the far end is 40 River Road. My best friend Rabia who was from Pakistan used to live there. I have another best friend, Sue Menon, who lives in 30 River Road, the building next to mine, which is the 2nd building in the 2rd picture. Everyday around 5, or sometimes 3 ish to 4, it depends really since they don't really have a fix time for sunset unlike here in Malaysia due to its position on the globe lol, all of us, plus another 6 to 7 kids would come down with out scooters (the kind that has two wheels, and you push it with your leg haha mine was a red 'razor', and i still have it), and a ball to play.

We play all sorts of games. Make no mistake about it lol. Behind 30 River Road, next to the pool is where we would play baseball. Yup, I used to play baseball hahaha I was no great batter, but i can definitely run bases. Baseball would be played if Sid Menon or Sue Menon comes down to play with their baseball bat. As for the ball, we would usually go with a normal tennis ball hahaha :P Another game would be 'kick ball'. Theres an area in between 20 and 30 river road with 4 lamp posts. Kick ball is very similar to baseball, where you'd have to run bases, but instead of batting the ball, you kick the ball haha and we'd usually use my scooby rubber ball for that :) Some of the days, when nobody brings a ball, we'd go with the traditional 'hide and seek tag' game. I love hide and seek tag.. hahaha and since you can actually hide ANYWHERE in Manhattan park, the game can be dragged till its time to go home. I would usually hide with Sid Menon, and Sid tends to cheat a lot. We would hide on the 2nd floor haha which we shouldn't be hiding. Sometimes, we would hide in people's yard, in the laundry rooms, behind bushes$ at the concierge counter haha, Gristedes! Anywhere!! lol. Funny huh.. There's a sand box behind 20 River Road with monkey bars as well, and there was this time where we just LOVE to play there. Sandra Sirp, Farhana, and I would usually go there, and we'd hang on the monkey bars until its time to go home. I used to be very very flexible haha we did all kind of flips on those bars, and I ain't kidding. We've jumped from bar to bar both hands! OH i miss those days.. During autumn, there will be a soccer league held in Octagon park. The park is behind 40 river road, and there's a soccer field. Yes, there are a lot of parks on Roosevelt Island lol. I would usually go watch my friends play soccer, and specifically had my eyes on this guy i used to have a crush on. His name was Rafik, an Algerian with grey eyes.. He's by far the most handsome looking crush I've ever had. But I don't think I'd see him the same way if i were to see him now. Anyway, he was player number 12. LOL. And thats when I started to like number 12 initially. Pathetic, I know.. And i could switch with any other number now, but like I decided to keep 12 as my favourite just to remind me how wonderful life was then :) During summer mornings, Rabia, her sisters, and I would take a bike ride to the lighthouse. There's a lighthouse at one end of the Island, and its very peaceful there.. With the open space, and wind in your face, plus the sound of rushing waters hitting the black rocks.. And the seagulls flapping their wings, enjoying the morning ray.. its just a splendid way to spend a summer morning. There would be this one spot by the river where we would stop, and wait for a speed boat. Coz when there's a speed boat, the waves would be huge, huge enough to go over the railings haha We'd wait for that huge wave, to get the splash of water on us lol. hmm.. :)
So the first picture on your right here would be the sand box, followed by the spot where we would wait for the speed boats, and then the Octagon park where the soccer matches are held, the four lamp-post where we would play 'kickball', and last but not least, the light house :)

During winter, we would occupy most of our time doing indoor activities. I took pottery classes where I was taught to make pots out of clay lol. It was fun! I also took up karate at my school but i didn't get to finish it. I only made up to green belt and then i had to go back to Malaysia. Sometimes, we would just chill at the Island's library. My pottery class, and the library is situated on Main Street. A bit further from Manhattan Park, where my home was, but its definitely within walking distance. After the River Road buildings, would be where my school was. PS/IS 217 The Roosevelt Island School. I did my 5th, 6th and a bit of 7th grade there. I love school. I love the students, and teachers, the staffs. hmmph.. After the school, would be where the Main Street houses are. There are a row of shops, a pizza restaurant, the library, a thrift shop, a hair salon, a small grocery store where i would usually go to buy chocolates lol, the youth center and a number of other things. You'll find the church there as well. They actually filmed a horror movie here once, I forgot what its called, but it is a remake of a Jap horror movie where there's this ghost of a kid wanting the mom of another kid to be her mom. Dark water? or somethin' like that. At the other end of the Island is where the tram station is, and the subway station. Its where the RIOC swimming pool area is as well, where i would go for my swimming lessons in the winter.. HAHAHAHA SEJUK GILER KOT. So the first picture here is a view of Main Street, and the bottom picture would be my school.

Theres a lot more to share about this place, and I shall do that from time to time. But whatever it is, its such a lovely place to grow up in, and I might be too selfish to dream this, but I'd love my children to experience their childhood in a lovely place, with lovely people as how I had experienced mine. It doesn't necessarily have to be the same place (but if its up to me, I seriously DO NOT MIND living here and raise them here lol), it doesn't necessarily have to be the same way, but i hope it'll be as meaningful as how I see my childhood is uptil today.

I hope I'll see this place again someday.

Why did Hitler hate the Jews so much?

11 years ago, when i was about 10 years old, I had a homeroom teacher back in New York City, Miss Alana Pollack. During class, there would be a period called 'read aloud' where she would read to us. She would go chapter by chapter each day, emphasizing each point, each intonation. Whenever she reads, we would all gather at the rug, some of us were on those beanie pillows, playing each of her words in our minds, like a mental movie. 'The Devil's Arithmetic' was one of the earlier books she read to us.

Before she reads it to us, she asked what we thought the book would be about. And considering the title, plus the previous book she read to us being the first harry potter book, i thought this time, it would be about ghosts and demons LOL Oh how bluntly wrong I was. It wasn't a fantasy book with fairies and flying brooms lol, it was about this girl who was brought back in time to the holocaust years (1941 - 1943 ish) and got trapped in one of the concentration camps. I didn't quite know what the holocaust was all about at that age. But then was when i was exposed to it.

11 years after that, specifically yesterday LOL, i was browsing thru the movie channels and stumbled upon another holocaust movie entitled, 'The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas'. Its about this 8 year old son of a leader of one of the concentration camps (too many 'ofs' hahaha :P), who befriend a jewish boy in the concentration camp. And at that time, he had a tutor who kept on teaching him how the Jewish people are the enemies, and them being Germans should despise the Jews for the love of their country (or something like that). Of course, to the kid, who's pure and saw no difference between races/colour, there's nothing wrong in befriending a person who's nice to him, and so he continued his friendship. Long story cut short, one day, he decided to help the jewish friend to find his dad who seemed to have been 'missing' (obviously, the dad was already killed, but the jew kid was around 8 and didn't know any better perhaps). So the German kid disguised himself as one of the prisoners in the camp, he wore one of the camp clothes (there's a name for it, but i forgot what it is, sorry :P), dug a hole under the camp's fence, and entered the concentration camp. As they were happily walking to search for the Jewish kid's dad, the Nazi soldiers started to barge into their huts, and called everybody in that camp to gather. The two kids were stuck in the middle of the group of people, as the whole group was being pushed into a room. They were told to take their clothes off and enter another small room. By then, the German kid's parents started to look for him, but it was too late. That small room happened to be one of the gas chambers and he was killed along with the other 200 prisoners. Imagine how the dad must have felt, being the leader of that concentration camp and having his own son to die there.. I'd go mad if i were him..

Regardless of my personal views towards the people who were held as prisoners in those camps, them being good views or bad, i would still say that its still monstrous to treat other people that way out of pure hatred. But Hitler did it, and not only that, he also managed to influence all of Germany to believe in this crazy ideology of his. Yea, he's freakin'ly cruel, but you gotta admit, he's one great man to do that. To be able to make the whole nation share his hatred, to be able to make the whole nation believe that his ideology was right regardless of how insaaane it was. And so after I watched that movie yesterday, it suddenly occur to me to wonder, why did Hitler hate the Jews so much? What did they do to him? I googled it, and below would be the information i found. It may not be useful to any of you, but its something to know considering how it effected the world for so many years huhu :)

Why did Hitler and the Nazis hate the Jews so much?

(http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_Hitler_and_the_Nazis_hate_the_Jews)

• Jealousy. Some Jews were successful and held "visible" positions in Austria and Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. In the Great Depression. Germany was hit the hardest by the worldwide economic depression, and successful Jews were envied.

• Some Germans believed that "Jewish bankers" were responsible for the Treaty of Versailles.

• Jews became a scapegoat for Germany's economic problems. (According to this racist sentiment, "international Jewish financiers had plunged the world into a war and the Depression for their business profit.")

• Hitler and many Nazis were influenced by the notorious anti-Semitic book called "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion."

• Hitler lived in Vienna from 1907 to 1913 and those were the most difficult years of his life. Hitler was trying to become an artist or to make himself a name in field of arts. He was twice rejected from the Vienna Academy of Fine Art. He claimed that the professors that rejected him were Jewish ... [However, none of the members of the selection panel was Jewish].

• The Nazis had a vision of an Aryan German race that did not include Jews and many other groups of people.

• Here is an example of Hitler's anti-Semitic racism from a speech given in Munich in July 1922: "His is no master people; he is an exploiter: the Jews are a people of robbers. He has never founded any civilization, though he has destroyed civilizations by the hundred...everything he has stolen. Foreign people, foreign workmen build him his temples, it is foreigners who create and work for him, it is foreigners who shed their blood for him."

• Some say Hitler and the Nazis were opportunistic demagogues. Inciting hatred of the Jews was the means to an end. The Nazis used hatred of the Jews to unify the German people and create a new German empire. Nothing unites a people more than when they believe they are constantly under attack and fighting a common enemy. The Jews were convenient enemies. After propagating this idea of Jews being the scum of the earth so passionately, Hitler and the Nazis may have deluded themselves into believing it.

• Christianity had traditionally blamed the death of Christ on the Jews. One can see in the Bible the statement that the Jews demanded the death of Jesus, and said, "let it be upon our heads and that of our children." This became an excuse to abuse the Jews for more than a thousand years. It was not until the 1960s that the Catholic Church stated that the Jews were NOT to blame for the death of Jesus. Antisemitism was deeply embedded in European and American culture.

• In the 1930s there was a lot of anti-Jewish feeling and resentment in the Western world. Many Jews who tried to escape the persecution in Germany were refused entry into the US and other European countries and also many countries further afield.

• Antisemitism has been rife throughout European history, largely because the Jews were a distinct, identifiable group, who did not integrate. (Those who really wanted to integrate converted.) Of course, many now see pluralism as a virtue, and a variety of ethnicities and religions as a positive thing. However, in the inter war period diversity was often regarded as divisive and "disloyal".

• Another key element of a dictatorship is fear, and a visible scapegoat experiencing the wrath of the state is a good way to keep people from stepping out of line.

• Hitler stated: "The war is to be a war of annihilation". His henchman Heinrich Himmler declared: "All Poles will disappear from the world. . . . It is essential that the great German people should consider it as a major task to destroy all Poles."
• The Jews did absolutely nothing to deserve the treatment they got. Like the Africans and the Indians the Jews were just picked for hatred and unjust things but again they did absolutely nothing!

• Since the 1870s the Jews had been the object of a new wave of demonization and conspiracy theories. On the whole this wasn't taken too seriously in Germany, but in Austria anti-Jewish conspiracy theories were spread by extreme right-wing politicians and also by the Roman Catholic Church, which knew perfectly well that these theories were rubbish. Young Adolf was a server (altar-boy) and may have been influenced by this.

• Well, there were more "sub-humans", as Hitler called those poor people, than he could handle. He had to find ways to kill them without making it too obvious. That's when the real Holocaust started [1941]! He built extermination camps, where he could kill many thousands of people at a time.

• Hitler blamed Germany's defeat in WWI on the Jews, and he hated them. When he took power he started rounding them up. He did the same when he started taking over other countries. He used the Jews, Poles, gays, gypsies, Russians and mentally challenged people as slave labor and then started to annihilate them in gas chambers. His reason - hatred. He classed the above mentioned people as sub human and basically in his Nazi world there was no place for the "sub human", only the Aryan (blonde hair blue eyed Germans)

• To understand the Holocaust you have to understand the Darwinian biology of the time. There was a growing sense, particularly since Ernst Haeckel, that there were those in society who were 'biologically' inferior and that for a 'fit' world to survive and thrive, those who were 'unfit' should be done away with. Instead of letting nature take its course, there was a unspoken sense that humans could take matters into their own hands. I am obviously not supporting this twisted logic, but that is a key to understanding how a number of things converged to create the nightmare of the century. [However, 'biological inferiority' is subjective. In Britain, for example, many Social Darwinists, especially those active in education, were most impressed by the achievements of Jews in schools and universities and concluded that they were a 'superior breed' ... This view was to some extent echoed in Nazi conspiracy theories, which painted a picture of diabolically cunning Jews].

• Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany's defeat in World War I.

• Not only did Hitler thank the Jewish doctor who treated his mother, apparently he allowed the doctor to escape Nazi Germany without repercussions. (Doesn't sound like he was too angry at the man).

• He didn't only kill Jews. He killed Communists, liberals, homosexuals, gypsies and many other groups, including millions of victims of warfare. Why he did is up for debate, but I'd guess a mixture of antisemitism and stereotypes of the as Jews as Communists, subsersives and all kinds of other things - as a means to an end. A common way to gain power is to spread fear and panic about an enemy (real or imaginary), stir up hatred and present yourself as the only person able to 'save' the country.

Who's team are YOU with??

I love collecting jerseys, especially ones with my name on them :P And so yesterday, when my sister told me Elli was selling World Cup jerseys for 25 bucks, I immediately said, "Nak!! Nak!!" lol. But when she asked me for which team, I was a bit confused. Truthfully speaking, I'm no die-heart soccer fan.. As a matter of fact, I barely know the players! Lol.. But I do enjoy watching the game, any sports game, even golf regardless of how I find it such a bore haha. But i went with Brazil anyway, coz green and yellow is such a unique colour combination to have on a jersey! :Db Pathetic, i know, but it didn't hit me so bad until I talked to Aidzat that night.





Me: Hey, your sister is selling world cup jerseys for 25 bucks!

Him: Oh yea, are you buying a pair?

Me: Yup! A pair of Brazil's! lol

Him: Hah! Do you even know who plays for Brazil??

Me: I have an idea of one or two players lol, but biarla. I love the green and yellow combination hehe

Him: My goodness, u ni. Konon nak beli Brazil but tak tau the players. Name me one of their defenders?

Me: I don't know

Him: Fine, an easier one. Their striker?

Me: Ronald something??

Him: Hahahaha u're such a poser. Their coach?

Me: I don't know. Now you've just made me feel very stupid.

Him: You know, I feel stupid all the time. Which makes me wanna read more. So, you should read more.. Okay?

Me: *Silence*

Hahahahahahahaha! I felt like the stupidest person on Earth at that very moment.. And truthfully, with him, I always feel stupid and timid, coz he knows sooo maaany things!! (And if this post is meant to be all mushy, here's the part where i'd say, I'm grateful he's that way :) But this post ain't suppose to be mushy, so lets move along ahhaha :P ) And so, this very evening, I've decided to do some reading on the Brazilian national team and would like to share it with all of you! haha It's also for me so that i won't forget :)

BRAZIL

So erm, yea, thats the logo of the football team. Personally, I love the colour combination. Yellow, Green, Blue, and white hahahah but apparently, that's not a good enough reason to like the team :P The colours were taken from their country's flag. According to their flag, the green represents nature, or more specifically the 'forest', yellow represents mineral wealth, and the blue on the flag is to depict the sky of Rio De Janeiro on the day The Republic of Brazil was declared. Im not sure about the five stars, but the stars on the Brazilian flag represents each state. And whenever they add new states, they'll add more stars on their flag, cool huh! If you take a closer look, the arrangement of the stars on their flag is scattered, and out of random. But actually, their positions are taken to account as well and are based on how central each state is to the country. CBF, I would say, is to represent the football association, Confederação Brasileira de Futebol, or in simpler terms, The Brazilian Football Confederation. The football team has a number of nicknames including Canarinho (Little Canary), A Seleção (The Selection), Verde-Amarela (Green and Yellow), and The Samba Kings.

Here are a few fast facts on the team

- In 1914, they had their first match against and English team, and won 2-0

- During the early days, they were far from how they are now, and its mostly due to a complication with the association between states that they couldn't really get good players.

- They've hosted the world cup once in 1950, the first international tournament after the world war II, and they managed to get 2nd place. They'll be hosting again for the next world cup in 2014.

- 1966 was one of their worst world cup performances, securing at 11th place.

- They're the only team to make the world cup every single time, and they've won 5 world cups (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002). They didn't do pretty well in the previous world cup, ending up 5th, due to the lack of performance by what the coach called, the "Magic Square" which includes Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka, and Adriano, after got beaten by France with 1-0. Ronaldo was not in good shape at that time as well, and the whole team only made one attempt against France's goalkeeper, Fabien. Still, it ranks first by FIFA and ELO ratings

- Their present coach, Dunga, is a 1994 world cup champion, replacing Perreira.

- Brazil ranks 1st in the World Cup 2010 qualification standings with 34 points

- No 'Ronald's will be playing this year. No Ronaldo! No Ronaldinho lol. No Adriano either.

- The 23-men squad for the 2010 World Cup has been unveiled to be as shown bellow:

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Doni (Roma), Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham)

Defenders: Maicon (Inter Milan), Dani Alves (Barcelona), Lucio (Inter Milan), Juan (Roma), Luisao (Roma), Thiago Silva (AC Milan), Gilberto (Cruzeiro), Michel Bastos (Lyon)

Midfielders: Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Felipe Melo (Juventus), Josue (Wolfsburg), Elano (Galatasaray), Ramires (Benfica), Kleberson (Flamengo), Kaka (Real Madrid), Julio Baptista (Roma)

Forwards: Robinho (Santos/Manchester City), Nilmar (Villarreal), Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Grafite (Wolfsburg).

- Brazil has been drawn into group G, which many takes as the Group of Death, with Portugal, Ivory Coast, and Korea DPR

- First match would be on the 15th of June, against Korea DPR

And thats about it, lol. Im not sure how the players really play, I shall find out soon after watching their games in the world cup.

So now,
tell me,
who's team are YOU with???
8-}

Run, Run, RUN!!!!

I shall have to complete another 30 sets of suicide drills this morning
WISH ME LUCK hahaha :Db