MY TRIP TO 10 DOWNING ST

well, i could hardly believed myself when i saw this email from the labour students:

"we have a trip to 10 downing st, which somehow everyone has forgotten to mention. please give your name as soon as possible.

well, i don't have any lecture on friday, so why not. i signed up for the trip..

hmm, i had to buy my own train ticket, and all other expenses over there will be paid by myself..

friday 9.30 am:

here i am, temple meads station. i guess, the labour students must be there, near the platform.

9.40 am:

chatted with this middle aged man. he's going to london for some accounting stuff, and going to have lunch with his friend, a bristol MP.

9.50 am:

well, no-one has turned up. maybe this is a prank joke for new labour member. maybe they do this every year.

9.55 am:

it must be a prank. you can't go to 10 downing st that easy.

9.58 am:

hey, i know this girl.. "are you going to downing st?".. " yes.. elin".. "yep, i know, we met during the NUS conference"..

10.00 am:

train left bristol temple meads to london paddington.. what a promising day ahead

11.40 am:

arrived in london.. went to norfolk salehuddin trust mosque for jumuah prayer..

1.55pm:
outside downing st.. "can i see your ID please"..
"well, i only have my student card and malaysian driving license"..

2.00pm:

start trip, wow, this is a huge house.. with so many statues, remnants of maggie thatcher's administration..

err, can't believe churchill managed to squeeze himself into this little sofa.

"unfortunately, we can't enter the cabinet meeting room now.. there's a meeting going on. we'll comeback later"

4.30pm:

well, now we are outside, we can take picture..

cheese.. to be continued...

underachiever

i spent 19 years of my short 60-10 years life in malaysia, and i sincerely felt rather dissappointed. i have not achieved much.

and now, 22 years old... still i am the same boring me.. and i really think i have not achieved much..

very little compared to william pitt, the younger..



( or maybe one should not compare oneselft with him?)

William Pitt, the Younger1783-1801, 1804-06TORYSon of William Pitt the Elder, Earl of Chatham, this William Pitt is the youngest prime minister on record, winning the post at the tender age of 24 in 1783. As prime minister he is remembered for his tough policies against corruption, fiscal reform, shifting power toward the House of Commons and the union with Ireland.

Pitt was precocious, entering Cambridge at 14 and Parliament at 22. He was chancellor of the Exchequer in the government of William Petty, Earl of Shelburne (1782-83). The Tories and friends of George III helped him become prime minister.
Unlike his father, Pitt the Younger had a talent for finance. He restructured Britain's finances, negotiated new tariffs with France and faired well in office until 1793 when France declared war - the beginning of years of conflict. In 1798 the Irish revolted against his policies. His solution, the Act of Union 1800, included Catholic emancipation which was rejected by the king. Pitt resigned in protest in 1801.

Returning as prime minister in 1804, he gained the support of the Austrian, Russian and Swedish leaders in an attempt to defeat Napoleon's armies. The news of Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz in 1806 is said to have caused Pitt's death.
PHOTO CREDIT: Detail of painting in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

raya: hari ini atau esok?

assalamualaikum..

teringat aku, syaaban yang lalu. ada mesyurat di bristol, soal bila kita akan mula berpuasa. terdengar dari mulut orang melayu:

"majoriti puasa hari rabu, cuma muthanna(presiden islamic society) nak juga puasa hari selasa".

(statement ini sendiri tidak substantif, memandangkan, ada pendapat yang berkata majoriti adalah sebaliknya)

maka, islamic society dan kebanyakan student pun berpuasa hari selasa. kecuali umat melayu yang berpecah. ada yang ikut perisytiharan islamic society (kumpulan A), ada yang ikut kumpulan B.

tiba musim raya:
terkejut aku. aik, ramai pula raya ikut islamic society. bukan kat bristol ni majoriti raya hari jumaat? setelah secara tak langsung mereka meragui kredibiliti presiden islamic society, kali ini ramai pula yang ikut beraya. pelik bin ajaib.

tertanya:
dalam kes pertama tadi, kita memberi kepercayaan bulat kepada kumpulan B, kenapa bila berhari raya kita tidak beri kepercayaan kepada kumpulan B? bukankah ini satu inconsistency?

kumpulan B akan tetap kumpulan B, dan kumpulan A akan tetap kumpulan A. cuma, di tengah-tengah, ada umat melayu yang bergoyang ke sana dan ke sini.

jangan ketika berhadapan dengan Allah kelak, kita akan dituduh orang yang sengaja mengambil ringan hal ehwal agama. kategori mengelak dari melakukan tanggungjawab.

salam eidulfitr,
pohon maaf,
wallahua'lam

PERBUALAN EIDULFITR

assalamualaikum,

2 syawal, 1426H

semalam, satu syawal.. lama betul aku tunggu kat bilik, sampai la masa yang sesuai, sekitar jam 7pg waktu malaysia..

sempat jugak bersembang dengan adik-adik aku yang masih mengantuk, cuma mak aku je yg fresh, maklumlah, nak siapkan breakfast anak-anak etc. adik aku sorang lagi tengah main NFS... hmm takpe la, masing-masing tengah cuti, biarkan mereka berseronok sedikit.

sambil bersembang dengan mak aku, banyak jugak la benda yang dibincangkan, hinggalah..

"zaki, ummi nak tanya sikit la"..

" ye, apa dia?"

"kamu ada nak ummi pinang anak sape-sape ke?"

erk, ape mak aku bukak topik ni..

"hmm, takde, kenapa?", aku cuba bertanya..

"takde calon ke? kalau takde ummi boleh carikkan"

alamak, apa aku nak jawab ni..

"calon ada, nama je takde.. orang nya ada, cuma namanya je yang tak tau lagi" pelik pulak bunyi ayat ni..

"la, macam mana pulak tu? kalau betul nak ummi carikkan, ummi boleh la tanya-tanya"

aku pulak pening, takkan anak 'makcik-makcik' (kawan-kawan mak aku) kot. tak nak la aku..

"takpe la, ki baru 22. boleh keje jauh-jauh, kat oilrig pun boleh untuk 10 tahun lagi. kalau ki 32, then barula ummi patut risau. ummi carikla. baru kita fikir"

well, 10 tahun lagi la nampaknya...