Halal issues

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freedom!holidays!Austria!

privet!
i've been busy being free i couldnt find time to write,hehe..here's a bit of what happened recently:
FrEeDoMM!i finished my exam on tuesday at 1.30pm,kinda late i finished with the last 8
guys,man it felt good..after that i went to beatrice n li fans' house(made a wrong
turn,and so walked from the University-vokzal-ploshad lenina(Lenin Square) and back
in the cold weather,hehe)..and then to vokzal( the train station),bought the bus
tickets,went home..played video games(dynasty warriors-based on the legend of the
three kingdoms-a historical novel during the fall of the Han dynasty..maybe i'll
tell u later)..went online a bit that night,read a little(zam got a new book from
ahmad.it's indonesian,but the concept was interesting).
Usen,g-mie,samfai,ete,suraya,kham,farah,lin already went to moscow that evening by
airplane..i couldnt get to the house in time so didnt meet them,but bon voyage!,i
myself am going on a little trip to austria(vienna n insbruck[goin' skiin'!])...so
the next day i overslept,went to get my visa (main bulding-kozlovskii-alfa
bank-main), went to parkhouse( buying supplies)

the weather:-drop-dead freezing..it's happening all around.we saw news concerning too much snow
& cold in europe,about last month a skating rink building collapsed because of the
snow,in japan lots of aeroplanes were delayed, S.petersburg is even in
'darurat',causing Dmitry,our Dean to forbid a few 2nd yr msian students to go
there( he didnt sign their papers)..in volgograd the temperature is still as chilly
as the first day i wrote about it..only today was a little warmer..around -15 i
think.temperatures below -20 happened a bit too many times- believe me every time i
go out i see the digital clock and temperature announcer in front of volgograd
hotel,and when i dont,i see the thermeter on the window,or found out from russian
neighbours,russian&msian friends..i said it was like in my 1st year,but i stand
corrected..it's worse..we had only about 2 days of temperatures nearly -30.it's
very bad, as the last time this kind of temperature stayed that long was a long
time ago.i dont know how long..but i can safely say that in world war two,the
german tanks passed straight through the Volga River(insyaAllah i'll take a picture
of this soon)...imagine how cold that was..but then there was no tramvai(the
electric trains) or electric stations,or any of the technology we use now..at park house just now,the upper floors were closed.we(me,zam,falah,bear,shafiq)
met with kak syasya n mawaddah who were asking the same question as we were-why are
the upper floors closed?..after asking some tired but still friendly& helpful
workers,we found out that it was bcos of the cold..there was an electrivity
shortage..so they closed early(at 6pm),prioritizing heat for the surrounding homes.the weather makes me hungry,but i finished my food supply,today,and the kitchen is
soo cold nowadays(in fact the coldest..it's balcony door is not sealed..)ps:still, i think the weather's beautiful..see my winter pics on friendster(If i have
managed to upload it now).the cold is an adventure,an experience maybe once in a
lifetime..and i'm thankful for it.

the emulsifier issue:-will be discussed later...safe to say we should be careful what we eat,especially
in other non-muslim countries..and nestle products do not used animal by-products
unless stated..got this from a few internet sites[a theory is that it's a big
company,so it uses quality products[e.g. industrially processed mono- and
di-glycerides (E471) from soya & other common plants for this emulsifier are used
instead the by-products of any animal fat(meaning used stuff,since they are
slaughtered not for the fat,so it's actually harder,lesser but more cheaper this
way]i'm saving this topic for a later issue(i wanna write it nicely,with all the
links,and maybe add some more info)..but i'll do it soon insyaAllah..


the bat cave:-that's our house...the hallway had already been dark for some time due to wiring
problems,then the kitchen lamp grew weaker until we can barely see anything rite
now..and finally our(me,zam,usens')room's light bulb blew off..right when we were
happy and getting ready for holidays..hehe.plus our rooms turned out to be the
coldest..the relatively warmest room being the living room..and we now close all doors,trying
to prevent heat from escaping or cold winds to enter..
the spyder:-got it free when i bought some extra batteries for my cam in parkhouse..it's cool!it's from lego,and it was fun building it,and it moves and the legs are strong
enough to grip suitable surfaces..i'm thinking of taking pics of every little toys/figurines/plushies in my house and
put it in an album/entry..if the pics dont come out now, maybe i'll put my spyder
there..maybe i should make another blogger photoblog..i've taken lots n lots n lots of
photos(200 photos on the 1st 2 days,then a pause when the batteries were charging,n
i'm still trying not to take pics,so that the batteries will be fully charged
during my departure)..it's like my lightsaber..but i still dont have a modem..


austria:
to moscow by bus-9pm 27/1 reach moscow around 1pm,9pm take flight to vienna, vienna-insbruck 1 night,insbruck 4 days ,then vienna, 4th feb to moscow...

the best pics of these frost are in the early morning as they catch the different rays of the rising sun- a beautiful day starts in a beautiful way..

beautiful frost pattern on thankfully sealed but still cold window- u get a lot of these on the windows, but it's most annoying in the mashrudka,when u wont be able to see where you are,and dont know when to stop..

my family on hari raya in labuan.....

my current table/workplace/corner/mini studio

the car hijrah/roman/chinese calendar

peak winter!parcel!!

3 days ago started another phase of winter i'd like to call the peak of winter..i dont know any common english/russian words for it but it was mentioned as peak winter by my seniors during my first year here,so i think we should call it that.it's the time characterized by one of them as 'so chilly you'll feel cold no matter what you wear'.anyway this is the time russia shows us what a 'harsh winter' really means..when the temperature gets below -20degrees(sometimes below -30 and even -40),the winds blow so much u'll regret not wearing warmer clothing,or not sealing the window with cellotape like the russians told us to in the 1st year,and if u're unlucky you'll fall on the ice(well,that's common throughout winter)...
maybe later i'll get back to that as time is against me now(exams!!and i'm still writing this,besides doing other things,hehe),the temperature was like -27,-29,-23 and i think it got to -30 in the nights..one of our rooms,recently nicknamed the 'peti ais', was virtually vacant for a night or 2...yep..it's like living in a giant deep freezer..
my exams continued today with ENT..and after that i went straight to the hostel to get the form/slip for my parcel from malaysia!..haha i spent nearly the whole day going through the things(the camera mostly,hehe..everything's in perfect condition!thanks mom!),alhamdulillah..
after the exams,i was actually quite tired,and had a headache, but that parcel certainly lightened up my spirits,i wasnt sure was it the coffee or the camera, but i couldnt sleep and was probably in a state of euphoria playing with the camera(i think i took nearly a hundred photos,maybe more..hehe)
other than that i mostly watched scrubs(actually i was trying to sleep with the tv on..we finished season 3!),leaving me with another wasted day..well, i was tired anyway..
here's my parcel,thanks!

catching ups

hello, i'm having my examinations now..so time is really...
anyway here's some catching ups,written in tidbits,but never posted for lack of time..

i just wanna say happy aidiladha...it's the last day when the takbir mukayyad( meaning the takbir follows every prayers..different from the takbir in aidilfitri- something i just learned,hehe.well u learn a little every day rite?)

as a 'family time' thingy..somehow my house came up with watching shows together..usually at dinner,hehe.currently we're watching the show 'scrubs', an extremely funny show about med interns...hussein's sister recently sent 4 seasons(!) worth of cds for her dear little brother & co to watch!nice!
if u want to know my favorite character of the show,i'd say i like dr kelso..he's real,and actually is a good man.picture this..he has the ability to run a hospital into such a good shape,he's indifferent,he scares people but pushes them to do a better job,he follows every protocol,he makes the tough decisions everyone is afraid to make,but is necessary,making him the bad guy(like the insurance policies).okay,so he's got some personal problems,like getting kicks trying to make every other character's life miserable..but he never breaks the rules,he has a family,his career is at its peak and he is in control,with the ability to maintain it(and dont forget-he's still a doctor,that means he still treats and saves peoples' lives)..sounds like a great,stable life, compared to others like the dr.cox, an underpaid divorcee doctor who gets depressed and drunk once in a while..

the big break-up
no, i dont mean that couple, boy-love-girl thing..3 days ago we(the house inhabitants) had decided not to cook as a group.this was a mutually accepted decision,athouhg it initially had some objections,and was something initially thought of long ago.in december shuk decided to cook by himself because of health problems( the doc told him to get a vegetarian diet,hehe),and early this month,gmie also wanted to cut down on his meat,with the same health reasons.i wanted to eat more veggies too,and try something new( like eating clams as a main dish,of a whole chicken by myself,hehe..but not yet).another reason was that we were going our separate ways this holiday,and it seemed reasonable and less a hassle if we stopped taking turns cooking for everyone.besides,the holidays mean more time for cooking without classes,exams and everything.(this could actually be the main reason,as i could just cook my own veggies even if we cooked together)
whatever the reason it's fun anyway cooking by yourself for a change.i think everybody should welcome change once in a while.
heck we even changed the furniture in our room..now it looks all nice,big n cosy..well,for the 1st few days,hehe..

i had my ophthalmology exam yesterday..it didnt went as well as i expected,but mostly it's my fault..ah what the heck,i'll still like ophthalmology as one of my favorite subjects.rite now i'm studying for ENT(ear-nose-throat)on the 19(or maybe 18th),and later operative surgery(still no.1 on my list of current favorite subjects) on the 24th..after that i'm going to moscow..and austria(insyaAllah)


the long wait..
my family sent me a parcel about 12 days ago..usually it arrives rite about now,but maybe because it's from Pulau Labuan,the parcel is late.at least i hope it is.i'm a bit excited about getting this parcel,as they had actually sent me a camera(!!)..i was sms'ing my mom a few weeks ago, telling her that i was thinking of buying a camera when she said my sister had got one for me =D
how nice of her,but maybe it's kind of a risk i'm taking here,God forbid there might be some problems in it getting here,but i got too excited,so excited that i actually asked my mom to post it for me(along with some other things)
(poor silly excited me,hehe)

if u wonder why i have the time to make this rather long blog and change my friendster profile(i've been wanting to do that for quite some time now),i'm wondering it too,but i "have nothing to do" rite now,and i've been stupid enough in that last exam to start studying at the last minute again,automatically rendering me incapable of finishing reading all the lovable(seriously) material(the sadistic procrastinator strikes again),but i've been worse..so it's ok and please pray for me that i wont be that procrastinating now,in the near future, and forever(now wouldnt that be a miracle,hehe)..

blogspot vs friendster

i told my family about this blog..but almost immediately we found a flaw if i move to this place, a quite important one for my family- they cant see updates of recent blogs from here.the one in friendster sends emails of blog updates to all my friends
it's quite a problem,but i like this current blog too much, i'll find a way

blogspot deficiencies (am i correct here?please tell me if i'm wrong,and help me if u can solve it!):
1. no updates! --> i dont blog everyday,sometimes i dont write at all..this could be a problem, since they open my friendster only when notified.if i'm going to keep this blog,i've got a few choices-
a)update my old blog everytime i make a new post here..a simple hi with a link would suffice..or
b)find a blogthing,or something that could help me notify friends who want to read my new posts..
i can think of another option c) tell them myself everytime i post,but hey,what if i forget or am just plain lazy?

2.no friends' updates --> to a lesser extent is a problem,but i usually open close friends'/interesting webpages almost every time i surf.

3.no community pages --> no buletins,no other people..from a certain p.o.v. this could be an advantage..but i bet there are blog communities,out there..even if not..i'll just create one,adding my blogging friends links and making my own group

4.no stats --> i cant see my friends/family unless they comment..i dont know if anyone sees this page.but that's a small problem..i myself choose to be anonymous at times..and even the friendster blog(unpaid version) doesnt have this feature

advantages:
the friend links!
the you-can-do-anything-with-me templates!the links!
the chatterbox!
the people here!
a simpler and editable url!
u can miltiple blog easier!
the connection with picasa(later on you'll know why)!learning about it is aready half the fun(like computer programming),it's cool,it rocks

the friendster blog setbacks:
1.the rigid template --> u're not as free to change the layout as this blog...although it is easier to add changes in the friendster blog
2.we've got friend links,and other blogs link,but where's the link to favourite/friends' blogs?
3.we got to pay for all the cool goodies?
4.sometimes,i dont see any updates notifiers,eventhough a friend had just added a new post.
5.that long url seems to be permanent..(sigh)(http://zyryx.blogs.friendster.com/my_blog/)--> see -panjang kan?
6.with the opera browser, i cant open the updated blogs from my hotmail(ok, so this is not friendsters' fault..but it's a glitch and they should look into it)

advantages:
the photo album,
the connection with the friendster profile and homepage,
the updates announcer(139 people get notified if o so much as put an 'e' as a new post..cool),
the community
the long personal history with friendster

the 2nd post

keeping 2 blogs might just be a nuisance,i dont think i have that much time.creating a new blog requires time..thanks to some friends,my blog is starting to look and feel nice..things i've always wanted to put are slowly getting into place..this sort of feels like moving..well,it is, in a cyber sense.
i decided that fancy fonts are not necessary for me..it can be fun,but right now i dont feel like it..what's important is the contents,and the atmosphere of it reflecting ME, and not some loner trying to get attention,although at times I do feel that sentiment rising in me..
a friend asked me why must i write in english?well,it helps me practise..my english was getting rusty and needed sharpening, and there is no limit when it comes to mastering a language..at school, i wrote in malay,because that was a weak subject,now i realise that my english is mediocre at best,me only managing to retain the level of english i had from Form 3.i love my native language, but it's a fact that i learn in english, and this language will be an important factor in my line of work,hopefully giving an edge on my side..