Kawan bila dah berkahwin dan masalah rumahtangga.

Dalam podcast Episode 7 United Moms Club (Podcast autoplay dekat sidebar sebelah kiri ni, boleh tekan pause. Sorry kalau terkejut).. okay podcast yang dimuatnaik minggu lepas bercerita tentang hubungan dengan kawan-kawan bila dah kahwin, dah ada anak. Memang dah lain.. kita takda nak lepak macam dulu. Kalau dulu time belajar, boleh lepak berjam-jam kat cafe borak pasal apa tah. Tak duk kat cafe, lepak dalam kereta pun jadi. Hahaha, those were the days. Entah apa-apa yang dibuat. Pergi sana sini, pergi mall, even bercuti pun sama-sama. Kepala serabut pun masa tu, kot ada assignment ke, exam ke, tu je lah, other than that memang enjoy habis-habisan dengan kawan.

Bila dah kahwin, segalanya berubah, ada anak lagiiiiilah. In touch dengan kawan pun, guna whatsapp, komen dekat facebook ke, ig ke. Kalau berjumpa pun, ada birthday party, kenduri, akikah dan sebagainya. Itupun, tak dapat nak lepak borak lama sebab melayan anak. 

Kadang kawan yang rapat gila pun dah jadi awkward, borak tak semacam dulu. Mainly kerana, keluarga kita, suami dan anak-anak yang dah ganti tempat kawan menjadi peneman hidup. Dan yang penting, kita tokleh lah nak share lebih-lebih, ada aib dan rahsia rumahtangga dan keluarga yang harus dirahsiakan. Tidak semua yang boleh dikongsi. 

Tapi kadang tu, ada masalah dan isu yang timbul dalam keluarga. Antara suami dan isteri. Macam mana nak selesaikan? 

1. Seeloknya, bawa berbincang sesama pasangan. Jangan asal ada problem je up dekat media sosial ke, group whatsapp ke, kawan ke. Selesaikan secara internal.  

2. Kalau masih berterusan, dengan ahli keluarga, parents kita, mertua kita, adik-beradik kita. Saudara-mara? Itu.. harus dipertimbangkan, kerana risau aib keluarga kita akan tersebar secara sengaja atau tidak.  

3. Kawan rapat yang dipercayai, kalau option pertama dan kedua tu tak jalan-jalan jugak. Tapi tak perlu bercerita lebih. Ingat, kita sebagai isteri wajib menjaga aib.  

4. Kawan pun tak jadi.. ha ni bahaya... tapi..... ada masanya boleh membantu. Forum-forum, atau group yang ada secara online. Tapi banyak mudarat la bila tengok komen-komen yang dilemparkan bila ada yang meminta pendapat secara online. Makin pening jadinya. 

Tapi takat benda seperti, eh kat mana ye tempat percutian best nak pergi? Lepas bersalin, korang berpantang macam mana ye? Botol susu apa ye nak bagi kat anak, sebab dia taknak hisap susu botol, macam manalah bila dah mula kerja nanti. Hahaha. Gitu okaylah.  

Paling tak boleh blah, page KRT dekat Facebook tu. Haduiiii, yang ceritanya boleh tahan, yang komen waduh waduhhhh. IIUM Confessions okay-okaylah, itupun ada yang tersasar juga. Jadi kalau boleh platform media sosial ni seeloknya dielakkan dari menjadi platform luahan perasaan dan masalah okay?

5. Rujuk kepada pakar, tapi yang ni kadang susah sikit, nak jumpa pakar, ambil masa, mungkin wang, atau tak tau mana nak rujuk kan. Pakar tu termasuk mereka yang berilmu dalam hal rumahtangga. 

6. Dan yang ni of course, sentiasa berdoa dan meminta petunjuk dariNya. 

Kadang takut tengok trend, asal ada masalah je update dekat Facebook ka, Twitter ke, lepas tu jadi viral. Share screenshot perbualan whatsapp mengantoikan sesiapa yang terlibat. Rasanya tak membantu pun kalau viralkan benda gitu. Makin merumitkan keadaan adalah. Tapi itulah realiti dunia zaman sekarang kan. Jadi kenalah menjadi netizen yang bijaksana supaya tak terjebak sekali. Orait, baaaai. 

{Sue Anna Joe}

United Moms Club on Ais Kacang

United Moms Club on Ais Kacang

Hi! So, thought I'd blog about this. A few months ago, one of my best buddies Marina, recommended me to do a podcast on this thing called Ais Kacang. It's a podcast under Media Prima Sdn. Bhd. What's a podcast? It's an online talk show in audio. Podcasts have been around for quite some time. In fact, I did once upon a time ago on imeem. But being me back then, it was just a one-off kinda thing. 

So anyway, I started to think of the things I'd like to have on my very own podcast. It's been a very long while since I've been out there. So, I thought, hey why not try this whole podcast thing out.  Didn't want to the podcast alone, thought it would be better if I teamed up with someone else. As they say, two heads are better than one. It was not hard to think of who would be my partner... Maria Elena! We did a web show on YouTube called "We Say Well... (we "sewel") back when I still had Itudio Studio. Sadly, we only managed to do only one episode. Time constraints, busy, e.t.c... 

It seems that dah dijodohkan me and Maria to finally team up and make something happen! So I approached Maria, and ya know whaaaat, Maria already had intentions to do her own podcast, so apalagi, without any hesitation she agreed. Weeeee. So we brainstormed of what will our podcast be about. Ended up being a talk show about motherhood. We recorded a sample of our show, and it was accepted, and we were in! Had a meeting at Media Prima, and mwalah, our very own podcast is now up online. Fast forward to the present, we are now hosts of our very own podcast called United Moms Club. 

As I'm writing this, 4 episodes have been uploaded online. Week 1, we talked about life after marriage, choosing to be a work/stay at home mom. Week 2, moms and depression. Being a mom can be taxing. Week 3, about kids and safety. Nowadays the safety of our kids is really an issue we parents face. Week 4, kids and education. So do have a listen.  

Oh and we received some really good news about our podcast. We were kinda worried about our listener ratings, but waaaaahhh turned out it was very good. Alhamdulillah.  And we will still be around for quite a while, In shaa allah. I've embedded the player on this blog's sidebar. So you can have a listen to the episodes we've done so far. If you've any ideas or issues you want us to discuss, please please do tell us. Thank you so much. 

{Sue Anna Joe}

Solat 5 Waktu

الأحد

03 MUHARRAM 1439H

Assalamualaikum.

Tiba-tiba rasa terpanggil untuk menulis entri ini. Tengah syok tidur, di pagi yang hening, Anna dikejutkan dari tidur. Bukannya sebab alarm clock, tapi sebab binatang kecil yang menganggu. Seekor binatang yang pernah memasuki otak Raja Namrud, dan menjadi punca kematiannya iaitu sang nyamuk. Tau kan betapa annoying bunyi nyamuk yang lalu dekat telinga. Kecik-kecik cili api, memang rasa nak maki. Hahaha. Tapi terima kasih wahai nyamuk, kerana sudi menjadi jam loceng semula jadi pagi ni.

Solat 5 waktu. Tiang agama. Yang ni semua tahu. Semua juga tahu, kalau tak solat, segala amalan kita dianggap, zero, invalid, disqualified, kerana solat itulah amalan pertama yang akan dihisab kelak. Rugi, rugi, rugi! Okay, bayangkanlah kan, bagi kaki game. Setelah sekian lama berhempas pulas, berjam-jam korang duk main game tu, tiba-tiba blackout atau bateri habis, tak sempat nak record high score tu. Ataupun, penat tulis assignment, sekali tak save. Mak aih, dia punya bengang, aduhhhhhhh. Ha, jenis yang kaki shopping, jumpa kasut ni, lawa gila, pergi cuba, memang rasa perfect, cuma terlebih satu saiz saja. Sekali tanya dekat akak salesgirl tu, dah habis stok dah. Kah kah kah. Sadis kan. Nak makan, tengok menu, jumpa mana yang nak makan, time order, waiter bagitau, dah habis dah... padehal orang kat sebelah baru je order, ghopenya customer sebelah tu dapat yang terakhir. Kah kah kah.

Jadi macam mana tu, di Padang Mahsyar kelak? Kita dah buat bermacam-macam benda yang baik, menolong orang, bersedekah, berbakti kepada parents, tak tipu orang, berpuasa, menutup aurat, dan sebagainya.. sekali semua yang baik kita buat dulu dilupuskan begitu sahaja sebab kita tak jaga solat. Boleh kah, kah, kah lagi ke ini macam? Boleh ke kita post dekat Twitter ka, Facebook ka yang kita rasa sedih dan bengang macam masa di dunia bila tak dapat benda kita nak? Sudah tentulah, tidak boleh. Game over bro. Eh bro je ke? Sis pon tak terkecuali, walaupun terkecuali setiap bulan ketika bulan mengunjung tiba.

Nikmat apabila berjaya menunaikan solat tu sangat besar kan? Dia punya kepuasan tu, Allah saja yang tahu. Akan sedikit terdetik, kalaulah aku mati lepas ni.. sekurang-kurangnya dah solat. Kan? Kalau time malam nak tidur, dah solat Isyak, Ya Allah dia punya rasa puas hati dan lega dan nak tidur tu best yang teramat. Tenang je. Samalah, bila dah solat Subuh. Pergh, padehal rasa berat dan mengantuk mata tu, tapi dah selesai tu, rasa semangat dan yakin untuk menjalankan urusan dunia pada hari tersebut. Bila mana dapat sempurnakan solat 5 waktu tu, aduhai... rasa seperti satu achievement yang besar! Jiwa kita telah diberi santapan yang indah sekali.

Tapi, untuk mencukupkan solat 5 waktu tu, memang mencabar. Mengantuklah, sibuk dengan kerjalah, leka berhiburlah. Banyak sebab manusia tak menunaikan solat. Ada perempuan yang malas nak tanggalkan mekap dan pakai balik. Leceh tau. Nak tonyoh buang mekap tu, lepas tu nak pakai balik, dengan berebut depan cermin, nak adjust balik tudung bagi mendapatkan lilitan dan lipatan yang sempurna. Wah kalah semangat kita nak menyempurnakan tertib solat tu tau. Haa, apa lagi, ni yang biasa, duk tengok wayang, terlepas waktu solat, sebab masa tu dalam panggung, sayang nanti kita termiss part yang best, dahla tiket mahal, seating dah terbaik. Sambil mengunyah popcorn. Pergi, rugi weh kalau tak tengok sampai habis. Ish ish ish apa nak jadi dengan kita ni?

Kita dah tau semua ni, but why, whyla bro, whyla sis, you no jaga solat? Padehal berapa minit je pun. Dahla dosa kita semakin hari, semakin berbukit. Haa, you tak buat dosa ke? Wah hebat. Dekat Facebook jah, dah berapa banyak dosa dah dikumpul. Komen itu ini, kritik itu ini, share itu ini,  lompat sekali dalam keretapi viral. Tak perasan, sebab orang lain pun buat. Niat kita nak kongsi je, jadikan pedoman dan contoh yang tidak patut diikuti. Bila orang kata, heiii tak baik mengaibkan orang, kita jawab, tak kan nak dibiarkan orang macam ni, biar orang lain takut untuk buat juga. Yelah tu, takdanya orang nak jadikan benda tu teladan. Moral of the story, moral of the story ye jah. Jah oh jahhh, keep it to yourself. Istighfar, berdoa, agar kita terpelihara dan dijauhkan dari perkara sebegitu. No need to spread spread or comment comment. Dosa dihujung jari namanya.

Susahkan nak jaga solat? Nak khusyuk tu lagilaaahhh. Otak duk melayang, pikir nak makan apa, nak masak apa, nak itu, nak ini, masalah dekat tempat kerja, masalah percintaan, nak beli apa jap lagi dan sebagainya. Kalau boleh nak solat cepat-cepat. Walhal paling lama pun, berapa minit je. Tapi kita buat benda lain, amboihh kemain lama, sampai tak perasan pun masa dah berlalu. Apa la nak jadi dengan kita ni? Dunia sekarang memang makin mencabar. Banyak sangat distraction. Berjam kot boleh layan newsfeed, baca artikel itu ini, sekali duk scroll jumpa pulak video yang kelakar. Aduh dah jumpa video, ada lagi video kat bawah tu yang lagi kelakar. It's a neverending story... until the day you dead bro, and sis. Are you ready to die? 

Jadi kesimpulannya, ayuhlah kita pakat berusaha untuk menjaga solat kita. Semoga kita semua berjaya di dunia dan terutamanya di akhirat. Jangan sia-siakan yang ada. Jangan kejar sesuatu yang merugikan diri kita di akhirat kelak. Ingat, dunia ini sementara. Mati pun tak tau bila. Kumpulkan pahala, kurangkan dosa. Syurga atau neraka, itu pilihan kita.

Sekian. Wassalam.

{Sue Anna Joe}

On Being a Mom

الثّلاثاء

22 ZULKAEDAH 1438H

Son with a paper boat.

The pregnancy

Being a mom has always been something I wanted. Have always loved kids since I was a kid myself. Even my answer to the "what do you want to be when you grow up" was being a babysitter. And so, in 2010, my lifelong dream came true and was blessed with a son. The first four months of pregnancy wasn't easy. I had really bad morning sickness. To the point that I was hospitalized for a whole week. Zofran was my friend back then. No more throwing up like a waterfall. Though recent studies have shown some negative side effects of the drug, Alhamdulillah son turned out fine. The next 5 months was quite a breeze. Ate as much as I wanted. Only gained 9kg though. My son was about 3.1kg or was it 3.4kg, or 3.14kg? Either way, the doctor said, my baby is normal sized, but I'm like an XS and baby is like an M sized. So it's quite big for lil' petite me. 

The labour

Labour was not too bad, but I had difficulty at the end. The vacuum did not work, and my legs got super tired. My doctor told the nurses to prep me for a c-sec. The midwife nurse was concerned, she was saying "alaa kesiannya...", so she got up on a stool, and with the palm of her hands, she started pushing on my stomach, I didn't feel much pain (was on Epidural) as she pushed, but felt a whole lot of pressure, I moaned "Allahuakbar".. and finally the baby came out. 

A mom mistake: iPads and social media

Throwing and arrow thingy into a pot thingy.
Namsangol Hanok Village, South Korea.

As of now, it's been 7 years since I've been a mom. How does it feel? Wonderful yet challenging. There have been many many times that I feel like a terrible mother. Many many times where I've made mistakes. One of the hugest mistakes was giving my son his own iPad. At first, I thought it could be a great educational tool. Showing videos of the alphabets, apps and games that are meant for learning. Huge mistake. 

Only realized this mistake when Luqman started kindergarten. Very short attention span and tantrums. With the iPad, everything is fast paced. You can just skip when bored, in school, there isn't such a thing as "Skip Ad". This whole instant gratification via technology is bad. I've already seen numerous videos, where a baby was crying over a phone because he/she wanted to see a video, and a recently a kid threatening his grandfather with a chopping knife because of some online game. 

Sad thing this negative impact does not only affect the kids but us adults. Being so caught up checking social media accounts; Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, e.t.c.... the percentage of attention you give to your kids have decreased. Or perhaps you'd shoo away your kid when he/she wants something from you while you are looking at your phone. That shooing away, even if it's only for a second or two, does have an impact on them. 

It was only when I took a long break from the Internet (about 2 years), where I deleted all my social media account, blogs and whatever online presence I had, I realized the damage it can cause. Not only it affected me, but my son as well :( It seems that we have more eye contact with our phone screens rather than on our kids these days. It's sad really what technology have moulded us into. The problem is, it's extremely addicting and seems harmless. Why? Because everyone else is doing it. 

How many of us take photos of our kids, only to ask them to keep still cause mommy wants to post them in their cute outfits on Instagram? What are we teaching our kids? After the photo is taken, we would take the time to edit and figure out a witty caption to go along with. How much time does this take away than real, direct interaction with our kids? So much precious time wasted, just because we want to be on the bandwagon of social media junkies. It's just as bad as drug and alcohol addiction. 

-------

Being a mom ain't easy. It requires a lot of patience, energy, and a whole lot of love. I only have one kid, and it's tough but so worth it. I do want more kids. I've had two miscarriages (something I will share about in another entry). I try not to share too much about my personal life like I used to. But I am willing to share things that can help and hopefully be beneficial to others out there.

Pretty much why I find it harder to update my blog as I am very selective of the things I post online these days. Alright, till my next post, bye!

{Sue Anna Joe}

Pemenang Jiwa

الْجُمُعَة

07 RABIUL AKHIR 1438H

Setelah sekian lama menanti, Anna nak umumkan pemenang bagi Pertandingan Puisi Belantara di Antara Jiwa. Terlebih dahulu, Anna ingin mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Siti Aishah Mohammad Razi, Mohd Fariz Abdul Rahman, Sura Zakaria, Mohd Faizal Zakaria, Suria Zakaria dan Nur Azalea Rusni yang sudi menyertai pertandingan ini. Terima kasih juga pada yang turut menyebarkan perihal pertandingan ini di Facebook.

Dan pemenangnya adalah... 

→ SURIA ZAKARIA ←

Hening malam bintang merata

Menata sinar tersuluh jiwa

Namun kelam gelap gelita

Tertanya tanya bilakan bercahaya?

Kau susuri belantara jiwa

Berselirat, sesak terasa

Mentari terik menjengah jua

Tetaplah teguh menjadi perkasa

Jalan bercabang buat kau terpana

Terus melangkah tuntuni jiwa

Pekikan ia pada yang Esa

Hanya Dia yang Maha Sempurna

Karya oleh,

 Suria Zakaria ©️ 2016-2017

Tahniah buat Suria Zakaria. Puisi ini terpilih kerana dapat menyampaikan apa yang Anna sendiri rasa ketika membuat lukisan ni. Pada yang pernah mengikuti dan membaca penulisan Anna di blog lama, Budu dan Belacan, banyak luahan hati terutamanya mengenai konflik diri. Anna masih lagi, mencari diri. Jatuh seringkali, bangkit jarang sekali. Banyak yang perlu dilawan, banyak yang perlu ditawan. 

Setelah lama menyepi dan menghilangkan diri dari dunia alam maya, sekarang Anna dah kembali. Tapi jujur dikatakan, bukan mudah hendak bangkit. Rasa kecewa, kesal, seringkali hendak mengibarkan bendera putih, pasrah pada kegagalan. Selama Anna hidup di mukabumi ini, rasa seolah banyak masa yang telah dihabiskan dengan sia-sia. Tapi Alhamdulillah, masih diberi nyawa untuk meneruskan hidup di dunia yang sementara. Ditemukan dengan seorang yang mengejutkan dari tidur dan mimpi indah yang kosong. Realiti itu pahit, tapi pahit itulah ubat. 

Waktu tengah gah, rasa macam merendah diri, tanpa disedari, ego itu melangit, sombong dan meninggi diri. Itulah mainan dunia, godaan nafsu dan tewas dengan bisikan pawana. Terlalu mudah dikaburi dengan perkara yang memakan diri kerana lemas dalam nikmatnya. Lama-kelamaan, hati yang asalanya bercahaya, menjadi kelam. "Hening malam bintang merata, Menata sinar tersuluh jiwa, Namun kelam gelap gelita, Tertanya tanya bilakan bercahaya?" Suria Zakaria (2016). 

Apa jua sekali pun. Hidup mestilah diteruskan. "Kau susuri belantara jiwa, Berselirat, sesak terasa, Mentari terik menjengah jua, Tetaplah teguh menjadi perkasa" Suria Zakaria (2016). Sakit macam mana pun bila jatuh, kena bangun dan jalan. Tak larat nak jalan, merangkak. Tak larat merangkak, mengesot seperti suster ngesot. Hahaha. Harap ada yang pernah tengok Suster Ngesot, kalau takda.. aku gelak sorang-sorang je la. Hmm. 

Nami Island
25 November, 2015

Jadi macam mana ni nak teruskan perjalanan hidup yang sementara menuju yang kekal? "Jalan bercabang buat kau terpana, Terus melangkah tuntuni jiwa, Pekikan ia pada yang Esa, Hanya Dia yang Maha Sempurna" Suria Zakaria (2016). Berbalik padaNya. Segala sesuatu yang kita lakukan kerana Allah. Bukan untuk yang lain, bukan untuk memuaskan diri sendiri. Manusia tidak akan pernah puas. Tak terkejar kepuasan dunia.  

Jadikan kebiasaan untuk menyoal diri "Aku buat ni untuk apa?" Kalau tujuannya kerana Allah, kita tidak akan rasa terlalu sedih dan kecewa bila tidak dapat apa yang diingin. Contohnya, pergi temuduga untuk mencari kerja, dengan harapan yang tinggi, sekali tak dapat. Nak mendapatkan zuriat, bertahun-bertahun mencuba tetapi masih tidak mendapat anak. Jika kita niatkan dan landaskan pada Allah, kita yakin ada hikmahnya, kita yakin ada yang lebih baik untuk kita. Mungkin tidak di dunia, tapi di akhirat kelak. 

Dengan itu, kita harus tetap bersemangat untuk berusaha walaupun gagal. Gagal tidak bermakna kalah. Jadikan kegagalan itu satu semangat baru untuk teruskan usaha dan berikhtiar disulami dengan niat keranaNya, bukan kerana manusia mahupun dunia. 

{Sue Anna Joe}

Being Creative (Part 2)

Greenilicious Lime

Thought I elaborate a bit on my previous Being Creative post with a sample of one of my old work. This photo above was taken using a basic digital camera mounted on a tripod. Tools used: a green lime taken from my mom's garden, a digital camera, a bathroom hose to spray the water and a sharp metal object that was poked into the lime to keep it in place. Below is a rough sketch of how this photo was taken.

Behind the scene of "Greenilicious Lime"

So this sketch above is pretty much how the set up was. I set the camera on timer and kept holding that position. Looking at the finished result, one would assume I threw the lime into mid-air, when it was actually supported by a sharp metal that was poked into the lime. Because I used a basic camera, I wasn't able to set the shutter speed to freeze the moment, so I used the built-in flash. Usually I avoid using the flash, I prefer natural lighting, but in this scenario it was necessary to take the shot. If it wasn't for the flash, the image would have been a blur due to the motion.

I took several shots, and finally got one that I was satisfied with. Then, it came down to the editing. I had to edit out the sharp metal object. Besides that, the background was originally white bathroom tiles. Using Adobe Photoshop, I edited the white background and turned it green. And got rid of the tile lines as it was distracting. You see, when taking photos, it's important to focus on the subject and eliminate any distraction. If possible it's best done at the scene. A lot of people do this, easy example is during group shots at a cafe. There would be cups, plates on the table. So these cups, plates, e.t.c.. would be set aside so it doesn't appear in the photograph. However in some cases, it is impossible to remove certain elements, thus editing softwares just like Adobe Photoshop come in handy.

Tools in Adobe Photoshop such as clone stamp, healing tool, patch tool can be of assistance when removing such unwanted elements. For beauty shots, especially in magazines, these tools are used frequently, to remove blemishes, acne, scars, to make the skin look really smooth. These days, there are a number of phone apps that have this removal option.

This photo did require me to be creative. I had to think how would I make it as though as the lime was in mid-air. Wouldn't have looked nice if I held it. If I had proper equipment at that time, DSLR, studio lights, with either a green backdrop or green filters I could just throw the lime, and quickly snapped photos at a high shutter speed to capture it.

So.. what was that "sharp metal object"? Jeng, jeng, jeng...

Blackhead remover (image source)

Hahaha. Yeah I know it's kinda gross, but that's what I used bruh! So I used the pointy sharp end and poked the lime so I could hold it in position. And with the magic of Adobe Photoshop, it vanished in the final image. I would share the original photo, but I don't have it anymore. I can't remember when but this was taken yearssss ago.

Well that's about it. Just thought I'd share my creative process. Limitations should not limit you, it should be used to squeeze that creativity juices out of your brain.

{Sue Anna Joe}

Being Creative

Being creative is a part of survival. It helps us manoeuvre through our daily lives. Especially in challenging situations. I've heard people saying, "But I'm not creative". Nope, you're wrong, you are creative. It's just a matter of you being able to harness this power within you. When talking about creativity, people would most likely relate it to those, say who loves to draw. Create pieces of art. Or maybe, architects, graphic designers, fashion designers, and well you know those kind of people of do those kind of things.

Parenting, requires a high level of creativity. A mother with a kid who is a picky eater, would think of the different ways of trying to make their kids to eat. So she decides, instead of serving the regular looking bread in the mornings, the mom would make the bread look like it has a face using, using cereals. Arranged to have eyes, a nose and a smily mouth. Perhaps in a situation where the kid refuses to go to bed, the mom or dad would make up a 'factual' story such as, "If you don't go to sleep, you will forever be small, when everyone else is growing up", or simply just scare them "Haa, kalau tak tidur nanti nenek kebayan datang". The scare tactic is not recommended though. It ain't good for the mental health of kids.

Have you seen those survival guides on TV? I can't quite remember the names of the show, but there are a few. Not long ago, I watched this show, where there were two guys, one a chef, and the was one was a hunter, or was it a survival specialist. Well anyway, this episode I watched was filmed in Malaysia. They had to travel by a tiny wooden boat to a secluded area deep down in the swampy jungle. The hunter guy wanted to take water from the river. Somehow he lost the only cooking pot they had. So, the chef was of course furious, but he still managed to come up with a solution. He used bamboo to cook. He made holes and put in the shrimp they caught inside. And it actually made it taste better. And this is yet again, creativity. If he wasn't creative, they would have starved.

"Murder victim" (image source)

Teachers use creativity. How do you make students interested in their lessons? Read an article not too long ago, an English teacher from Sarawak, created a murder scene, and the students had to solve the murder mystery. He left 'evidence' with words and sentences, like puzzles. And so the students had to read and understand, and figure it out. Those who were able to solve the case, had the chance to take photos with the prop. One of them was a huge sized knife. I would definitely want to participate in that class.

For a person who love to take photos, creativity is an important tool other than the camera itself. I've been in many situations that I was forced to be creative due to the limitations I had. I started with a basic compact digital camera, a 5-megapixel Sony Cybershot. I did not have any special equipment, studio or lighting. I used whatever I had in my house as props or set up. For example:

1. The carpet became the background for my portraits
2. A bag, a skirt, a t-shirt was turned into a hat
3. My night lamp became my studio lights
4. The bathroom became my studio
5. I've even used garlic as a prop for one of my conceptual shoots

I did not have to invest in so much to come up with an interesting photo. All I needed was creativity. Without it, I would have just given up. Now that I am in the kitchen more often, I have to think of what to cook for my husband and son. It's quite a task of figuring out the menu of the day. And at times you just don't have enough ingredients based on the recipe. So, tadaaaa, here comes creativity. You have to figure out, what ingredient you can use to substitute what you don't have. You have to think would this go with that, would that go with this. And at the end of the days the lack of ingredients you had, actually made your cooking even more delicious. Nyumm nyumm nyumm.

We all are creative. We just don't realize it. Don't go "Alaaa, tapi saya tak kreatif.." Hello, hello wake up. Awak tu kreatif sebenarnya. Tinggal lagi nak menjana kuasa kekreatifan tu haaa. Terlampau kreatif pun tak elok juga sebenarnya. Yelah, sampai ada yang jamu orang makan dalam diapers la, mangkuk tandas la. Erkk. Hahaha. So make use of that creativity within you in your daily lives, but please don't go overboard. Moderation is key. It would be such a waste not to harness that power of creativity of yours. Now go be creative!

{Sue Anna Joe}

Rezeki di dalam perniagaan.

Baru-baru ni Anna tengok rancangan Assalamualaikum di TV Alhijrah. Shamsuddin Kadir menjadi tetamu jemputan pada hari itu. Dia berkongsi tentang rezeki di dalam perniagaan. Terus rasa tertarik dengan topik yang dibincangkan, sebab Anna pun meniaga sekarang ni. Alhamdulillah, walaupun sekejap je segmen dia, tapi banyak ilmu yang Anna pelajari. Jadi Anna pun rasa nak berkongsi sedikit-sebanyak apa yang Shamsuddin Kadir perkatakan di dalam rancangan tersebut.

Jujur di dalam perniagaan 

Shamsuddin Kadir menyentuh tentang penjualan produk perubatan/kesihatan/kecantikan dan sebagainya. Katanya, nak jual sesuatu produk tu, mesti jujur. Jujur dari segi informasi yang dikaitkan dengan produk tersebut. Beliau memberi contoh tentang produk perubatan. Kalau kita tengok  dan amati ubat-ubatan moden hari ini, turut tertulis kesan sampingan kepada penggunanya selain dari kegunaan atau fungsi ubat itu. Kemudian Shamsuddin Kadir memberi contoh tentang satu produk yang lain. Produk tersebut tidak menemui kesan sampingan. Walaubagaimanapun produk tersebut ada menyatakan "kesan sampingan belum ditemui, tetapi kami yakin ada kesan sampingannya".   

Bak kata Aziz M. Osman di dalam satu babak filem arahannya yang bertajuk XX Ray (1992), "Setiap apa di dalam dunia ni, ada kesan sampingan, begitu juga dengan helmet ni". Jadi setiap benda atau produk mesti ada kesan sampingan. Contoh yang lebih mudah, gula. Gula ni sedap, manis bila dibancuh dengan air atau masakan, tapi kalau berlebihan boleh mendatangkan penyakit kencing manis. Oleh itu, berpada-padalah apabila menggunakan sesuatu. 

Menurut Shamsuddin Kadir, kalau nak claim produk kita ni yang terbaik, No. 1 di Malaysia, paling terlaris dan sebagainya, kena pastikan ia benar-benar sahih. Biarlah ia berdasarkan fakta yang benar, dan bukannya rekaan semata-mata. Ada juga kes di mana terdapat testimonial yang diupah. Dibayarkan sekian-sekian harga untuk buat testimonial positif tentang sesuatu produk walhal orang tersebut tak guna atau pakai produk tu. Tak molek la gitu kan? Seharusnya testimonial itu datang dari mereka yang menggunakan produk tersebut.   

Yang menjual dan menghasilkan produk pula, seharusnya berpada-pada dengan cara mempromosikan sesuatu produk itu. Jangan berikan jaminan 100%. Ada satu produk tu dikatakan boleh membunuh 99.99% kuman. Baguslah gitu, harap benarlah apa yang dinyatakan tu. Banyak juga iklan produk kecantikan yang menyelitkan disclaimer kecil di bahagian bawah skrin televisyen menyatakan statistik keberkesanan produk mereka. Contohnya *berdasarkan analisis 357 wanita di Malaysia. Gitulah lebih kurang. Cuma kadang tu tak perasan sebab terlalu kecil dan beberapa saat je ditayangkan di skrin atau di bungkusan produk. 

Jangan risau. rezeki sudah ditetapkan 

Adalah kebiasaan perasaan risau dan takut bila ada persaingan di dalam perniagaan. Nak-nak lagi kalau orang tu menjual produk yang sama. Jangan risau, Allah S.W.T dah tetapkan rezeki masing-masing. Jadi tidak perlu khuatir dan pening kepala. Tetapi, haruslah ada usaha dan semangat tidak putus asa yang tinggi. Shamsuddin Kadir memberi satu contoh, duk nak makan nasi ni, dah ada nasi dalam tangan, tinggal nak gerakkan tangan ke mulut dan suap. Kalau kita sendiri tak gerakkan perbuatan tersebut, siapa lagi nak lakukannya. Yang nak makan tu kita, kalau tak suap masakan boleh kita kenyang dan riang. Kesimpulannya, rezeki tu memang dah ada dan di tetapkan, cuma tinggal sahaja untuk kita berusaha untuk mendapatkan rezeki tu. Ingat, duit tak datang bergolek atau jatuh dari langit. 

Jangan tamak

Ya, jangan tamak di dalam perniagaan. Shamsuddin Kadir berkongsi pengalamannya sendiri. Dia telah ditawarkan untuk membuat tiga bengkel/kursus. Tawaran itu diterima, tapi yang diambil hanya satu bengkel/kursus sahaja. Kita tengok dulu macam mana katanya. Kalau okay, baru boleh teruskan yang lain-lain.  

Apa yang Anna faham di dalam perkongsian tersebut, kadang kita ni kabur mata memikirkan profit yang banyak, dan dalam sedar atau tidak kita menjadi tamak dan rakus. Macam kalau kita pergi pusat membeli-belah, kita nak cari parking yang dekat je dengan pintu masuk, punyalah nak juga yang dekat, habis di pusing berkali-kali, walhal dah ada parking kosong tak jauh mana pun, nak juga parking yang dekat tu. Habis tu, di pusingnya lagi sambil melihat cermin belakang lalu berkata dalam hati "haaaa, keluar pun kau". Sesampainya di situ, dah ada kereta lain yang masuk. Maka berjalanlah sedikit ke hadapan dengan perasaan yang hampa, tetapi disajikan dengan satu harapan yang baru, lalu berkata di dalam hati "Yes! ada juga kosong" hati melonjak keriangan. Rupa-rupanya terperdaya dengan sang kancil (Perodua Kancil). Parking yang tak jauh mana tadi tu pun dah di kebas orang. Dah membazir masa dan minyak kereta. Jadi bak kata pepatah Melayu, "Orang tamak selalu rugi". Ini semua berkait juga dengan rezeki yang sudah ditetapkan. Tak perlulah tamak, rezeki tu dah tersedia. Cuma sabar itu disulam usaha dan buat sesuatu biarlah bersungguh. Janganlah kita ala kadar bila melakukan sesuatu pekerjaan. 

Rasa bersyukur sangat dapat menonton segmen ni. Banyak juga teguran untuk diri sendiri. Kadang tu, secara tidak sedar kita terlalu sibuk memikirkan untung, kita ambil remeh isu-isu sebegini. #IslamIsFirstClass. Assalamualaikum.