Pages

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Settling down?

Assalamualaikum wbt..

When we were in schools, life's like a long way to go.. We only concerned about our friends, studies etc.. When we were in college, life's start to change.. We view it in different way, and we started to bother studies and familiy more seriously.. Like "where am I going to further study after this" and "i wish my family understands me more" ~ typical rebellious thought of a typical teen, aye?
Now, when we were in uni, the study becomes harder, yes, but then, observing the fast-moving environment and people around us, we feel the urge to follow their trend..
Okies, before you people start to think "mende yang budak ni duk ramble nih?" and such, let me go straight to the point (kan senang) :
Some people who is in transition phase (bru start uni life) tend to think about settling down (like having their own family n such) ~ and this includes me as well... (Well, tipu la kalo x pernah terfikir kan..)
And since this is a hot topic (agak r) among friends at my level, i'd like to draw your attention to this fine article, and mind you, this article is not only about "Mencari solehah atau Menjadi Soleh?" only, but also "Mencari Soleh atau Menjadi Solehah?" ~ it works in both ways.. =)


sumber : http://muhrizrahmat.blogspot.com/2009/03/mencari-solehah-atau-menjadi-soleh.html

Saya sering membaca kisah kehidupan orang yang ingin menghabiskan zaman bujangnya, namun gagal meninggalkan kepompong kebujangannya itu oleh kerana dilanda masalah pilihan jodoh. Mereka mencuba sedaya upaya sehingga habis ratusan ringgit mengupah tok bomoh profesional berataraf antarabangsa namun jodoh tidak kunjung tiba. Pada waktu itu mereka mula mempersoal hakikat taqdir Allah. Saya bukanlah agen pencari jodoh untuk anda pada pos kali ini, cuma ketika berada di tahun akhir pengajian di sini saya selalu dipaparkan dengan masalah kegagalan mencari jodoh yang meragut ketenangan jiwa saya. Memang perasaan cinta agak sukar untuk diterjemahkan. Ada orang suka itu dan ini, pendek kata ada pelbagai rasa dalam satu masakan yang tak mampu diolah dalam bahasa kamus.

Susahnya mencari jodoh!
Jika ditanya, anda mahu mencari jodoh yang bagaimana? Tentunya akan dijawab, “dia yang paling baik dalam akhlak dan budinya”. “Pandai jaga hati”. Baik dari segi itu dan ini. Sebenarnya jika anda cuba bertanya kepada penari-penari kelab dangdut, mereka juga akan menjawab dengan jawapan yang sama. Tiada wanita yang suka dibelasah oleh suaminya setiap hari walaupun suaminya itu bukan bekas ahli tinju yang mahir. Sudah fitrah manusia mencari yang elok dan tidak busuk. Cuma bayangan kefahaman mereka disebalik makna perkataan‘baik’ itu yang berbeza. Bagi mereka, orang yang selalu tersenyum itu adalah antara orang yang terbaik walaupun berasal dari kumpulan peninggal solat yang terkenal. Adapun kebaikan itu sebenarnya hanya terzahir bila kita mentaati perintah Allah.

Bagaimanapun setiap kita mendamba cinta dari seorang kekasih yang sangat sempurna sifat keinsanannya. Sifat sempurna yang mampu menutup lubang-lubang kecacatan walaupun setengah meter. Banyak sekali mereka yang telah lanjut usia gagal untuk mendirikan rumah tangga kerana memikirkan perkara ini. Yang ada di hati mereka: “Betulkah dia ini baik atau sekadar berlakon.” “Ooh mungkin dia cuba bantu aku sebab hendak mengambil hati”. “Emm pakai tudung dan cuba-cuba buat solehah agaknya itu”. Akhirnya, semua sifat orang habis diselidiki tanpa memikirkan sifat diri sendiri.Kita yang tidak punya sifat dan perwatakan yang 'baik' cuba untuk menilik mereka yang 'paling baik' untuk dijadikan pasangan hidup. Seboleh mungkin kita mahukan seseorang yang punya sifat seperti malaikat. Sedangkan kita antara orang yang selalu bermuamalah dengan syaitan setiap hari untuk melakukan maksiat. Ini tidak adil! Bagaimana sifat syaitan dan malaikat boleh bersatu? Akhirnya setiap detik berganti masa yang lama tidak juga mendapat pasangan yang secucuk. Lamunan untuk mendapat itu dan ini tidak terzahir di depan mata oleh kerana sentiasa melihat yang negatif pada orang lain.





Jadilah yang soleh, anda akan mendapat yang solehah!

Cuba selidiki diri sebelum mencari orang yang kita bayangkan sifatnya dibenak kita. Adakah sifat yang berada dibenak sendiri itu, wujud dalam diri kita? Atau dalam erti kata yang lain, jika ingin mendapatkan seorang yang solehah, maka kita juga perlulah menjadi yang soleh. Kalau ingin mendapat jodoh yang soleh, kita perlulah solehah. Dari sini kita dapat fahami bahawa menjadi sesuatu itu lebih mudah dari mencari sesuatu. Kita setia mencari pasangan yang berperwatakan seorang yang soleh dan solehah, sepatutnya kita sendiri perlu punya perwatakan itu. Janganlah anda menyalah orang lain jika pinangan anda ditolak. Siapakah yang ingin mendapat pasangan punya 'kakinya berbotol' dan peninggal setia solat fardhu? Sememangnya dijanjikan Allah setiap yang baik itu kepunyaan yang baik. Dan yang buruk itu akan mendapat yang buruk. Penzina yang setiap saat bergelumang dengan dosa tidak akan mampu untuk mendapat pasangan seorang lelaki yang soleh. Ini adalah realiti. “Jangan cuba masuk ke dalam istana untuk bertemu dengan puteri raja dalam keadaan pakaian anda compang camping”. Oleh itu jadilah yang terbaik untuk diri sendiri selain ingin menjadikan orang lain sebagai yang terbaik untuk diri kita.

Belajarlah menjadi sifat orang yang kita ingini. Kelak kita sebenarnya yang akan dicari. Bukan kita yang mencari.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Story of Bostwana + Greek + German labmates..

It's Fri again... (ketawa bahagia).. means tomorrow Sobota (Sat) n then Nedele (Sun)...
And Sobota + Nedele = weekend (huhu... heaven)

I used to dread Fri (up till now, i think), because i have Prof B first in d morning!! Histology can be an intriguing subject during lecture, n freaking subject during prac/seminars.. Prof B can be very unexpected n highly demanding... So it means :

No background reading = Suicide attempt
*ditambah pulak dgn spine chilling stories from sniors bout Prof B, scare my pants off...

But, cut out that Prof B part... The main focus here is the last prac class for this week.. Biophysic lab... The class starts at 2 pm, n exactly 2.11 pm Izyan n i went to the biophy building about 3 / 4 blocks away (dekat je ngan apartment).. N we arrived at the lab at 2.17 pm (after half walk n run though), n found 3 guys who are our labmates (they r not our groupmates though) working on the Hills catathermometer, ventilator etc, looking all tensed..

D - the Bostwana guy who looks tired all the time, but always greet Izyan n i whenever we meet him; "Hi ladies..."
K - the 18 yr old Greek guy who is fun loving (though i thought he is weird at the first place) n always have things to laugh about
J - the 19 yr old German guy who is super genius n helpful n cutie with unpredictable aura (sometimes cloudy sky n d other times as shining as bright sun ~ hyperbola, i know).. he'll just stare n won't start conversation unless u start it 1st, but when u do, he can be an interesting person to talk to ~ this is my generalization after 4 labs with him...

Okay, then Izyan n i were late n we were completely dumbfounded with the bioPHYSICS experiments when our labmates seemed to be out of mood. I thought, "whoa, tension is in the air.." n sat on chair near the working desk with Izyan, bewildered at the progress of the experiment. I felt like saying; "Excuse me, would somebody care to explain?" but of course i didn't (ye r, dh r dtg lmbt, sesedap oren je suruh org explain psl experiment, dlm prac book kan ade).. Even so, i somehow managed to ask D about the experiment... (Nsib baik hang ade D ooii)

Then of course Izyan n i (berapa byk izyan n i la~) discussed about their weirdness... n Izyan managed to "tegur" the Greek guy :

K : (Looking at Yan)
Yan : (Looking at K)
K : (Looking at Yan back)
Yan : (somehow managed to put some words together) Hey, you looked tired. Are you ok?
K : What? Tired? Me?
Me : (suddenly chipped in) Yeah, u don't laugh as usual, not making jokes either..
K : (Boyish grin) Owh, I had a headache..
Yan @ Me : (Frowned) Headache?
K : Yeah, overslept last night (laugh)
Me : (To myself ~ good, he's now back to himself)

Then i decided to "tegur" J ~ the German guy, when he was staring at my report sheets :

Me : J, u looked tensed.. (concern tone)
J : Owh, i got anatomy test next week.. Why did u asked me that?
Me : (casually) Well, u didn't speak much, n u didn't even say hi to us... (snyum sgaris)
J : (Raised eyebrow) I don't know that our relationship is that close...
Me : (felt like splashed with H20) (monolog : ayark.. did i said something wrong? i was just trying to be friendly)
Me : Urm.. We are (blinked) classmates.. (blinked twice) Groupmates... Er, (blinked thrice) labmates..
J : (smiled) Well, hi diyana...
Me : (ape lagi, sengih je la)

Bewilderment :
1. Did i asked the wrong question @ did i said something wrong?
2. Did the tests pressured him that much? EVERYBODY got anat test next week.
3 . Did i showed d ugly side of me? (saying something like "u didn't even say hi to us") as if i'm terhegeh2 nk berkawan ngan dia?

Someone told me that perhaps it's not their culture to be that friendly to strangers (stranger? i thought i'm a friend @ at least a labmate ~ which u supposed to acknowledge at least if u r courteous enough)..
But, in one way, i can see the differences between westerners n easterners ~ particularly malaysians, as well as muslims n non muslims... frankly speaking, the freshies x knal pun muka seniors sebijik2, but everytime we come across malaysian face (malay + chinese + indian), we'll smile n say hi n greetings.. n everytime we meet girls with hijab, we'll smile n exchange salams.. n sometimes we even shake hands, hugs n take pictures together (seriously, ukhwah between muslims sgt kuat di sini, although we are strangers to each other + we are minority community)... n we do say "dobry den" ~ goodday~ to our unknown neighbours n maintenace men who came to our apartment.. (x caye tanye qurratul ain, setiap kali pak cik "momento" dtg, mesti serve drinks punye)

Then i came to a conclusion : people come with all shades of grey, so we can't expect them to think like us.. especially when they r totally diferent from us.. But that's what makes life wonderful... =)

P/S : Proud to be a Muslim, a Malay n a Malaysian... (3M)

Monday, October 26, 2009

Mind over matter...

You can judge me... For everybody can judge, and being skeptic...
But I believe only in Him, because he is the only judge whose verdict matters...
That's the ultimate truth, for all I care..
And knowing the truth, judge me if you dare...

(Note : This is the modified version of Olivia Foxworth's quote in Garden of Shadows by Virginia Andrews... Now the quote is mine... huhu...)

Friday, October 16, 2009

what does your aura look like?

I took this fun(?) personality quiz at a website... random... it's kinda sappy, i know but IDC...

(Question) : What's your personality like?

(Selected answer) :I don't know... It's all just so confusing and I wish I could understand the world better
(Real answer) : What a question.. I wouldn't spend 5 minutes of my life answering this if I know what my personality like...

(Q) : Favorite season?

(SA) : Don't know
(RA) : I haven't even finished my 1st autumn yet!!

(Q) : Favorite colors?

(SA) : Purple
(RA) : Corny... Does my fav color really have something to do with this quiz?

(Q) : How would you react if you found out your best friend was planning a huge prank on you?

(SA) : I'd avoid the area that the prank would take place in and give him/her a second chance.
(RA) : I would plan another giga big prank so that the curse backfires... (evil laugh)

(Q) : Are you a friendly person? Will you message me?

(SA) : I don't know, do you consider yourself a good person?
(RA) : Give me 1 gud reason why would i do that...


RESULT :

Troubled Sky (Prague's sky?)

You are the sky before a storm (whoa, hyperbola sungguh), or a clear blue sky surrounded by dark clouds all around (hujan + ribut petir?). Your life seems perfect on the outside (huh?), but closing in is a fate you're unsure of (unsure fate, unsure destiny... like that... nobody's sure about their fate anyway.. no biggie..) You're most likely troubled (it's "most likely", and i'd say that i'm not) and though you think you are over something, there might be darkness (Darth Vader slash Voldermort) just on the horizon (hehe... cam tajuk TOK essay). Personality-wise (grin), you're probably a generous (yep, with my choc balls) and fun person with a dark secret (erk?) that keeps you awake at night. (i'm not that disturbed, thanks)

Note : Since thiz quiz puzzled me and brought me to the start point all over again, i'd rather go with Virginia Andrews e book... No anat, histo, latin, czech language @ biophy for today...

Thursday, October 15, 2009

random...

It hurts so much when you are all alone... And those who used to listen to you refuses to do so...
Times do change people, but sometimes they change to be only aliens to you...
These are the times where you know who'll be there for you...

But fear not, worry not... You got Him, for He always listen to your words and ramblings...


Okies, meh kite cite pasal mende lain plak.. Erm... The differences between the Malaysian students and the locals make them keep staring at us... Especially those with hijab.. Perhaps THAT is the ultimate difference between us and them... Now I know what the foreigners feel at foreign land.... But the difference shouldn't be a big thing...
And this song describes what I feel right now, in and out...

Try Try Try

T-R-Y
Oh baby we can fight like dogs we can fight like cats
a dirty laundry needs a laundry man
maybe the king and the queen should lay off the caffeine
baby breathe before you react

sometimes we do forget to behave
and we regret what we say
cause words are too weapons
if we don't choose'em carefully
ladies and gentlemen this is instrumental
if life's to be a bed of roses

i know i gave you everything you like
because you still give me butterflies

if we just try try try
just to be ni-ni-nice
then the world would be a better place for you and I
if we just live our lives
putting our differences aside
oh that would be so beautiful to me

Are we just dangling in the middle of a galaxy
Well i'm stoked on gravity
To be stuck with you like flowers on the dew drops
Now let it in my direction
My direction is up when everybody's down
cause i don't mind being anybody's clown
I love a little lift cause i'm an optimistic
In an altruistic way

Cause basically this place is needing instruments of harmony
Spreading my philosophy of love and inspiration
Oh these words I speak I commit to like a crime
with a rhythm i deliver i'm giving them a picture
of the reasons why

We should just try try try
Just to be ni-ni-nice
So the world could be a better place for you and I
If we just live our lives
Putting our differences aside
Oh that would be so beautiful to me

well it wouldn't cost a penny but could save so many lonely lives
from teary eyes
if we just try try try
to open up a can of understanding open up your heart
i'm just planting seeds
cause i believe

We could just try try try
Just to be ni-ni-nice
So the world would be a better place for you and I
If we just live our lives
Putting our differences aside
Oh that would be so beautiful to me

if we could try, just to be nice
that could be so beautiful to me
I believe,
Oh that could be so beautiful to me

Saturday, July 18, 2009

first terrible experience...

Assalamualaikum...
Sape rase yg die njoy cuti tnpa perlu belajar, sila angkat kaki!!! eheheh... seriously, memang rase bosan thp kolestrol tinggi mlangit bile duk umah and do nothing... but, the truth is, i miss my friends very very very very very (quoting cgu khomah) very much!!!
erm, 13 july hari tu g MARA HQ and amik smua docs segala bagai... kepala pon dh pening smcam tngok berkajang-kajang paper yg kena diisi.... maka, plan pon dibuat dgan wani utk mluang n mmbuang masa di Sunway Pyramid... one might asks, "why Sunway?" and i'll reply proudly, "the ice skate, bebeh.." i was looking forward to ice skate a LONGGGGG time ago... rase sronok plak bile tngok actors and actresses kat dlm tv (especially korean dramas) skate ice... So, i went off to SP (bukan seremban parade ek)
Alas, it turns out to be a terrible experience... kalau nk difikirkan, dlm byk2 benda yg bru prtama kali dibuat, this is the worst.. and i have few words to describe it : lousy, clumsy and sappy...

why?? because i happened to fell not once or twice, but so many times:
1) Fell off when Wani was far in front of me, can't catch me like she did many times before... Jatuh camne?? Terduduk.. Hasilnya??? Seluar basah... (ces, x sampai 5 minit dh jatuh)

2) Fell of when Wani was completely on the other side of that ice skating rink.. Wani was circling the rink 3 times already, and i was just about to start my 2nd round. Jatuh camne? Style katak duduk... Hasilnya??? I nearly fracture my tleg bones... dan kena gelak ngan sorang budak India!!! Chao Phraya punye budak.. gelak x cover... time tu rase mata ni dh sakit duk jeling2 budak tu (ptanda konon tgh kuar aura naga), tapi budak tu mintak maap pon tidak... try bngun, tp x boleh gak disebabkan Encik Tibia dan Puan Fibula yang meraung sakit.... dan telingaku menangkap lagi gelak Budak Chao Phraya tu.. Ces.. Hampeh tul masyarakat Msia skrng ni... Kalo x nak tolong pon, jgn r gelak2... Kalo nak gelak, jgn lbih2.. Dan diriku yg hopeless and helpless ni pon mula berimaginasi....

Doraemon tiba-tiba muncul di ice skating rink entrance dengan menggunakan Pintu Suka Hati, dan NobiDi pun menjerit dengan girang... "Doraemon my saviour!!! Kasi aku jadi terer main ice skate, kasi Budak Chao Phraya ni terbisu dengan ketereranku...." Doraemon pun menjawab, "Okie dokie NobiDi..."

NobiDi akhirnya berjaya ber"ice skate" dengan jayanya... Menjatuhkan Budak Chao Phraya itu dengan jayanya... Lalu NobiDi pun gelak jahat... "Ahahahahaha!!!!"

Tapi imaginasi tinggal imaginasi, mimpi tinggal mimpi... Dan mimpi itu berkecai bila budak Chao Phraya itu melintas di depanku seraya membuat spin sebanyak dua kali, dan angkat kening tunjuk bagus... Maka walaupun hati ini menjerit, "Jerk!!", tetapi kepala ini tunduk ke bawah, menginsafi diri yang memang x reti nak skate, tapi berhajat nak menjatuhkan org... Astaghfirullah... x baik betul niat tadi...

3) Fell off when Wani was about to grab my hand!!! Camne jatuh??? Terduduk.. Hasilnya??? Cik Koksik yang pendiam mengeluarkan jeritan nyaring petanda sakit petala kelapan....

4) x sanggup nak kira dah...


Kesimpulannya... Kalo dulu org sebut psl ice skate, mesti gumbira segumbira gumbiranya.. Kalo skrng org sebut psl ice skate, maka akan terkenanglah Encik Tibia, Puan Fibula dan Cik Koksik yang teraniaya di Sunway Pyamid pada petang itu... Serta RM13 yang terbang tanpa mengucapkan bye bye... Lagi baik kalo kite baca buku... Kan? Kan? Kan?



Note : Encik Tibia, Puan Fibula dan Cik Koksik adalah ciptaan semata-mata. Mereka bukanlah karakter yang melambangkan objek hidup atau bukan hidup, tetapi hanyalah nama-nama tulang adanya..

Monday, July 6, 2009

bila cikgu khomah bagi message

Assalamualaikum

1745, 6 july 2009.. IB May 2009 exam results are out (unfortunately, its GMT time.. kalo ikut time msia, 0145, 7 july 2009...) cmne nk check kalo umah ku x der internet!!!!
sedang aku gumbira mlyan cerita boys b4 flowers n mnatap hero ksukaanku si Gu Jun Pyo (my mom says Jun Poyo.. eheh..) tibe2 msg cgu khomah masuk... (NOTE: cgu khomah is my chem teacher yg prnah mngajar from 1st to 3rd sem sblum bliau further studies utk masters).. she said i got ** points... i was like "huh? cgu slh send msg ke nih? jgn la nk buat aci gempak pulak... bleh sakit jntung nih..." so, i texted her n asked.. "teacher, is this for real?" when she said that it is, serious rase nk mlayang2 kat langit... eheheh... sbb, dgn result internal exam yg x bgitu mmbransngkan (35, 34, 34, 37 for 1st, 2nd, 3rd sem n trial), rs mmg x bleh nk prcya dgn result final yg mcm tu... even cikgu khomah pon ckp die trkejut... bcoz my result is beyond expectation... mmg TOK n EE byk mmbntu...

what else can i say??? ALHAMDULILLAH! ALHAMDULILLAH! ALHAMDULILLAH! once again, God opens my eyes with His infinite power (1st, time my laptop hilang dulu.. now, this)... tibe2, rase malu dgn diri sndiri yg dh lame culas solat sunat n tadarus smnjak cuti ni... tak mcm kat kolej, time nk exam, bgai nk rak baca quran, solat sunat, qiyam... memang btul la kata org, kita igt tuhan bila rasa susah je... bila dh senang (in my context, after abis IB yg susah thp x igt nih), lupa semua... teruk kan manusia ni?? (erm, maybe this applies for me and me only)...

dear friends, ssungguhnya jgn terlalu diminta nikmat dr tuhan, sebab dugaan memang dh terang2 purpose nye utk mnguji kita, tp nikmat pon sbnrnye dugaan jgk.. malah lg kuat sbb kite hnye fikir yg nikmat tu adlh reward yg dberi atas susah payah kite, but kita kena ingat, everything that God gives comes is package... Means kite kna perceive nikmat tu as dugaan jgk n bkn reward smata-mata.. kenapa? sbb x ramai mnusia yg igt bhwa kejayaan tu dtg dr Allah, bkn dr usaha kita.. usaha kita hanyalah asbab utk Allah beri kejayaan tu.. (wah, mesti Husna bngga gile dpt naqibah camni.. eheh.. ni smua hasil didikan ahli2 BADAR n cik Husna yg gila pangkat n kuasa tp x brjaya digulingkan... hehe...)

okay, back to topic... celebrate, celebrate gak, enjoy, enjoy gak, gumbira, gumbira gak, tp kna ader limit... sape nk set limit tu??? sndiri2 le... in a nutshell (cam esei TOK plak), sgala pujian yg dtrima ats kjayaan kita hndaklah dipulangkn kmbali kpd yg lbih berhak... who? u guys know better than me.. i'm not a good person either.. but mmandangkn skrng ni ader ksedaran sket, so i jot it down.. next time when i read this post... ZAPP!!! biar trsentap sket hati ni... anyway, love me @ hate me; i live.....

rightio, skrng tgk blik title this post.. psl cgu khomah.. so, i wud like to express my highest gratitude to the people below:

Cikgu Azizah - Guru Malay A1 ku.. Terima kasih cikgu atas segala tunjuk ajar yang cikgu beri di dalam dan luar kelas. Maaf juga atas esei panjang dengan tulisan-tulisan yang sukar dibaca seperti huruf Sanskrit, dan ayat-ayat yang panjang sehingga membuatkan Cikgu hampir putus nafas membacanya...
Mdm Rothnamala - we don't really know each other, but you were a big help during my English oral (on war and music)..
Cgu Rahimah - guru business yg sgt2 dedicated and commited... thanks for all your teachings and prayers.. and forgive me for my study style in your class.. (mndengar lecture smbil menutup mata dan menulis pada masa yg sama... menghasilkan karya agung brupa tulisan sperti cacing kerawit yg senget benget dan hanya boleh dibaca oleh tuan punya badan.. eheh..)
Cgu Khomah n Cgu Halimahtun - guru2 chemistry yg x kurang hebat komitmen dan dedikasinya.. buat cikgu khomah, maaf sebab selalu tidur dlm kelas secara terang dan nyata.. buat cgu Halimahtun, terima kasih atas tunjuk ajar yg x trkira nilainya (lbih2 lg psl electrochemical series... hehe..)
Puan Foziyah - i was quite cheeky in ur class, but seriously i like ur class very much!!! tahap petala kelapan.. hehehe... if anybody happen to ask me what subject i like most during IB, i will proudly say that it is your subject... Biology... Andrew Allot di hatiku... hehehe..
Puan Azian - Math subject was a nightmare to me sjak sem 1 smpai sem 4... ayik skor 3 n 4 je.. cume time trial ok skit.. but terima kasih banyak2 cikgu!! bcoz of u i got 5 for final.. tu dh rase bersyukur sgt2...
Puan Hindon - thanks for the awesome discussion we had together.. cracking our brains, saying quotes, et cetera... although i got even more confused.. like pak lan says, when one gets confuse with TOK, that's when the learning of truth takes place!!!
Madam Juriah - ants, sugar and cloves were my toys and game under with u to supervise me... sorry that sometimes i ran away from u.. sbb takut kena interrogate psl EE.. but thanks to you that i scored my EE... luv ya!!
Dr Noraini - credits to her for the final editing of my EE... thank you!!!

to all my friends... congrats!!!