.: its been a long time :.

last update : november 7th

hhmmmm...hope the following would explain my MIA-ness:

1. exams. exams. exams.
2. (overdue) assignments
3. work. work.work. (audits round the corner)
4. D&D prepz (i am in the committee - work commitment. again)
5. all of the above + my-first-ever breakout on the face (and no, this is not what ive been waiting for all my life)

its been (and still is) a roller coaster ride.

" Do you think that you may enter paradise before Allah tests those of you who had fought (in His Cause) & also those who are as- Sabirin?" Ali Imran 3: 142

oh, found solace (sementara tadi last min hafal sebelum exam)...

"O you who believe! Seek help in patience & as-Solat. Truly Allah is with the As-Sabirin (the patient ones)" Al Baqarah 2:153

best kan? Allah tells us He is going to test us and then gave us the-how-to-get-help manual. And then, He rewards us. Subhanallah

ok, i am starting to rant. Oh FYI, i won the 2nd lucky draw prize kat D&D. OSIM I-Gallop. Anybody wants to buy it? it costs $950 but i m willing to negotiate. i was aiming for the canon iixus, 6.8 megapixel digicam, which was the 4th prize. the alternative is to sell i-gallop to get a digicam. i need e-bay.

before i stop making any sense at all. shall stop. uploading pics reminded me of all the picture-accompanied stories i was supposed to blog about. but that shall wait.

:: marlina un-plugged, signing out::

un-plugged - a term coined by my dearest friend to explain that its an un-edited piece of writing

oh, my bro just came back from spain (work trip. i am envious) enjoy the pictures...

.: invitation:.

i invited my non-muslim colleagues over to my place last saturday. to avoid awkward & embarassing moments, i decided to send out an email:

dear all,
Just a few pointers for those who are visiting a malay/muslim house the first time ever (to avoid potentially embarrassing moments):

1. dress decently - anything below the knee is fine. avoid spaghetti straps/tube tops or anything else that is too revealing. short sleeves are fine.

2. do not shake hands with the opposite sex - its actually against the religion to have any physical contact with the opposite sex. a simple "hi auntie" & "hi uncle" is fine to acknowledge the elders

3. things to bring? i dont think there is any need to do so but in case you feel weird coming empty handed, past examples include food, fruits and chocolates. for malays, we dont really bring stuff when going hari raya visiting but i realised most of our non-muslim friends would. so, up to u!

4. take off your shoes when going into the house ( i think this applies to most asian homes)

other than that,
on a personal note, my dad is as crazy as i am. and my mum understands english but is not proficient in speaking in english.

.: a lovely surprise :.

ring ring..ring ring..

me: hello, good morning, marlina speaking.

vincent (a colleague who was covering receptionist duties) : marlina, i left you a voicemail! u never check ah?! no service quality! eh, got somebody dump item here. DIK (donation-in-kind) ah.

me: (to sharon) you expecting DIK item ah?

*sharon shakes her head*

vincent: better come down now ah. before the big boss sees it.

me: ok. (a little angry that i had to go down when i was happily doing my work on my pc)

vincent: better bring a trolley down. big item

me: ok.

*hang up the phone*

me: sharon, you want to help or not?

sharon: no, i have an important email to send. jasline (my boss) asked to do.

me: ok (by this time i was pissed)

*go down with a trolley*

when the lift opened, i saw a bouquet of flowers and a parcel. so, i thought that the flowers are from the dept - bday surprise lah konon & that the parcel was a DIK item. to my surprise (again), the card read:

Dear Pink

Just wanna wish you a happy 24th birthday! May Allah bless you with longevity, best of health, happiness & success. thanks for being such a darling! may this birthday bring greater joy to you & family. We love you lots!

From: bloss, tedd & S.B.

*above: the roses on my desk at work*

so sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet. *flashes a mega-watt smile from ear to ear*

vincent: happy birthday!!!

me:(flabberghasted) thanks. anyway, no need to bring trolley what, this kind of parcel, so light i can just carry myself.

*went back to office*

my dept was crowding around me, admiring the flowers which coincidentally matched with my pink kebaya. my boss asked to open the package, wondering what is it.

upon opening it, i saw ...


J.J.D.S Limited

To: Miss Marlina Bte Mohd Isa

Message:
please kindly acknowledge this parcel

Thank you

*by the way, J.J.D.S stands for Jasline. Jones. Dawn. Sharon - my dept mates*


there in the box is something wrapped with newspaper. ta da! a document bag (the bigger one in the picture below) which TOTALLY MATCHES my last-minute-bought hari raya handbag.

*I told you it TOTALLY MATCHES. 'touching' seh that my colleagues notice what i bring around - maybe they've decided that i shld be more feminine (i usually bring my bag pack to work) *

A double surprise. Didnt expect that people would go through so much effort for my birthday. My colleagues cracked their heads trying to think of how best to give me my bday present (esp Sharon) & my friends gave such a wonderful surprise at work, which was timed (engineered coincidence?) perfectly.

so sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet...

Really, it is not so much of the presents, but the loving effort that those around me have put in to make it such a memorable experience.

Nothing else to say but THANK YOU.

.: pink in bloom :: counting my blessings :.

all pictures courtesy of Samsung's SGH E530 hp camera =D