Happy 55th Independence Day!

It is 31st August again and this is the day we always look forward to. My country achieved its independence 55 years ago on this day after 170 years under colonial rule. Today marks the 55th independence day.  It is the pride of every Malaysian to say that our country is progressing well  in developments and economy.

Malaysia is a multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religous country. Here, we live in peace and harmony despite our diverse backgrounds.  There are so many races and ethnics; the three major groups are the Malays, Chinese and Indians.  We are also multi-lingual but united by the official language Bahasa Malaysia (Malay language).

My country with a population of 28 million people is comprising of 13 states and 3 federal territories; 11 states with 2 federal territories in Peninsular Malaysia, 2 states with 1 federal territory on the island of Borneo which is shared with 2 countries, Brunei and Kalimantan Indonesia. West and East Malaysia are separated by the South China Sea.

I love my country and  proud to be a Malaysian.  I wish my fellow Malaysians, "Selamat Hari Merdeka!" (Happy Independence Day!) May our country progresses well and achieves more in future and may we always live in peace and harmony and economically stable. Let there be truly a one-Malaysia concept which is inspired by our beloved Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Selamat Hari Merdeka!


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On another note ....

This month is also my 3rd blogversary.  Part and Parcel Of Life came into blogosphere in August 2009. I must say that I really enjoy blogging all this while and enjoy meeting bloggers from across the globe. It is a very nice experience being able to share so much ideas, opinions, literature, arts and many more. My wish is to improve my writings. To my followers and visitors, thank you so much for your visits and support. Your presence have made my blogging world more beautiful!

To my baby....

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Thursday's Thought

An eye for an eye ends up making the whole world blind.
                                - Gandhi

Lovers' Cove Challenge #4

It's time for another challenge at Lovers' Cove.

Find out for more details.


My line :

"The fragrance of eternal flowers of love permeates this fluttering heart....I feel beautiful."


Good luck to the next participant.

The Moon On My laps

a night so starry
looking for the moon - it has
fallen on my laps

balqis
Aug27'12


** "A moon falling on the laps" is a  Malaysian saying which literally means getting something very precious or meaningful which one really expects. For the first time, I am using the saying in my Haiku.


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Beautiful Sunday

beautiful Sunday
on a cold drizzling morning
natural beauty


*I was doing some errands this morning. On the way to the mall, it was drizzling. I looked from my car the little crystals dropping slowly from the sky. They looked like snow flakes though I haven't seen one in real.

It was like a perfect setting; the sky wasn't really grey while on the other side of it was quite bright. As usual, I saw beauty because I love nature.

The idea for this Haiku comes from what I saw.

I didn't take any photo. This image is chosen to complement my Haiku.
I got it from here.

It's Sunday night now. To my dear friends who are into Sunday morning, wishing you all a great Sunday!

Just Another Day...

Going to the shopping complex, where else could you find me other than at my favorite spots - ladies’ wear, handbags and skin care products. These are ladies’ stuffs which I just could not resist. Sometimes I do not buy anything but just looking at what is on sale is enough to “please” my eyes!  It is therapeutic being able to go around making choices of any product at the same time, I have to watch my purse from thinning out!

I was at a shopping complex this morning and there was this woman who was looking for blouses. I was somewhere around making my pick for cotton blouses. The woman went to the fitting room and I  waited for my turn. A few minutes later, she opened the door of the fitting room, still wearing the blouse she wanted to buy.  She looked at me and asked whether the blouse was suitable for her. I gave a sincere comment by saying it really looked good on her. She seemed undecided and asked me again whether it was the right choice.  I told her it was a good choice. And this time she said not to compliment her too much or else she would buy more blouses of different designs!

Later, I went to the bookstore. This is also a must-visit place whenever I go shopping.  I am addicted to books, magazines and what not…in prints! I went over to the magazines’ shelf and got hold of “Shape”.  There are so many good topics related to health and one that caught my eyes is “Your most common exercise injuries – solved!”.  I need to know more on this as I am exercising regularly. In the blaring music, I follow the aerobic steps of the instructor and this is my exercise regime, an hour a day for 5 days a week.

My visit to the store would not be complete without buying a novel. I walked among rows of books and finally picked “The Sky Is Falling” by Sidney Sheldon.  It is really spellbinding and once reading the first page, it is like gluing to my hands because I feel I cannot put it down even for a minute!

Another day had passed by and now, I am waiting for tomorrow.  :)

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Mirror O Mirror

mirror on the wall
that speaks not but tells a lot
unleashing the truths


balqis
Aug25'12

Credit : Google Image

Happy Eid Mubarak

Wishing my Muslim friends, Happy and blessed Eid Mubarak I hope this is not a late greeting as we are still in the festive mood of eid which was celebrated yesterday here in Malaysia and elsewhere.

To my friends in Malaysia, Selamat hari Raya. Maaf zahir batin. :)

The Passageway of A Prince

Little Maya looked admiringly at the beautiful rainbow in the evening sky. How she wished she could touch it and and play among the beautiful colours. Her grandmother was nearby watching her.

"Grandma, it's a very beautiful rainbow," said Maya.

"Yes," replied her grandma. "But, remember you must not point at it." 

Little Maya was curious. She asked, "Why is it so, grandma?"

"It's a sacred passageway of a Prince from the kingdom in heaven. Whenever there is a rainbow, the prince comes to visit earth. If you point at it, your finger will be maimed for life," she reminded her.

Little Maya blinked because she could not make sense of it.

Her grandma continued, "A prince doesn't want a girl with a maimed finger. Do you dare to try?"

Maya looked at her grandma and then looked again at the rainbow.


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Haiku : Nature

dancing in the breeze
the flowers at the back yard
a perfect picture


balqis
Aug17'12

Image Credit

Wordless Wednesday

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Yuna - Terukir Di Bintang

This is a very beautiful song by Yuna, a young Malaysian singer and song-writer.
I love this song which is presented in a classical way. It's entitled "Terukir Di Bintang", literally, Engraved In the Star.

Here's the lyrics in Bahasa Malaysia :

Jika engkau minta intan permata tak mungkin ku mampu

Tapi sayangkan ku capai bintang dari langit untukmu
Jika engkau minta satu dunia akan aku coba
Ku hanya mampu jadi milikmu pastikan kau bahagia

Hati ini bukan milik ku lagi
Seribu tahun pun akan ku nanti
Kan... kamu...

Sayangku
Jangan kau persoalkan siapa dihatiku
Terukir di bintang tak mungkin hilang cintaku padamu

Hati ini bukan milik ku lagi

Seribu tahun pun akan ku nanti
Kan... kamu...

Sayangku
Jangan kau persoalkan siapa dihatiku
Terukir di bintang tak mungkin hilang cintaku padamu

I try to translate it, so literally, it would be lke this :

If you ask for diamonds, I can’t afford it

But my dear, I’ll pick the star in the sky for you

If you ask for one whole world, I’ll try

I’m only able to say I’m yours, 

I’ll make sure you’re happy

This heart doesn’t belong to me anymore

Even for a thousand years, I’ll wait for you

My dear, please don’t doubt who’s in my heart

Engraved in the star, my love for you will never die


Take a listen! I hope you'll enjoy it. :)

Little Diamonds

fireflies dancing
little diamonds in darkness
fast asleep, the moon

balqis
Aug13'12

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A Saying

When a finger points at others, three more fingers point back at yourself.


Image : Google

The Precious Gifts

I like reading inspirational and motivational quotes because some are really very meaningful which I could use as a jump start of my day. Even if I cannot follow closely and practice all the quotes but reading them could enlighten me and give my soul a feel good feeling. It makes me see the beauty of life, the differences it could make into others' life, the love it spreads among we children of the earth, the peace and harmony we could achieve by giving little gestures and the fulfillment we get when we could smile, at the same time bringing smiles to other faces.

I am sharing with you this beautiful and meaningful quote which I found  here. Everything is well-said in it  and I just love it!

The best gifts to give :

• to your friend - loyalty
• to your enemy - forgiveness
• to your boss - service
• to a child - a good example
• to your parents - gratitude and devotion
• to your mate - love and faithfulness

                                 -  Author Unknown

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Let The Stream Flow

swiftly flows the stream
soft ripples, a melody
early morning treat


 balqis
 Aug10'12

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The Butterfly Effect

Words are hard to find,
Stunning natural beauty,
Speechless, I'm speechless.


balqis
Aug9'12

Image Source

Rescued

Scurrying for shelter -
the dark clouds keep marching  in
a bare, parched pond smiles


balqis
Aug8'12

Image Source 

When The Leaf Falls

flying in the breeze
brown with age - completed life
another life begins


balqis
Aug7'12

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Another Tag

There is another tag for me and it is from a dear friend, Sui. She tagged me on 28th July but I was not able to answer that soon. I had told her that I won't let her down, so today I would like to fulfill my promise.

Sui is a creative writer and her posts at Imaginative Spiral are simply awesome! She has 11 questions for me, so let's look at them one by one. :)

Here we go :

1. Do you enjoy being tagged or is it annoying?
I enjoy it that's why I answer you! I don't find it annoying not unless the questions are irrelevant. I hope it doesn't annoy you when I can't follow all the golden rules of tagging. That's my weakness. However, I never forget to link back to the person who tagged me. Being tagged is fun and an honor indeed as long as the questions are not putting me in a sticky situation. 

2.  What does hardship mean to you?
Hardship is when all efforts to achieve dreams are futile no matter how hard we try. It's really difficult, too, when we intend to move forward, we are being constantly pushed backwards by certain quarters. Constraints in life could also cause hardship. Apart from that, the country's economic instability, diseases and war fall into the same category.

3. Is it reasonable to be judgmental?
It depends a lot in what situations and the rationales behind it. We can't be too judgmental when we, ourselves, are below par than the persons being judged! On the positive side, being judgmental would be reasonable when it is intended to bring good to the person concerned. The right approaches such as using diplomacy should be taken so as not to hurt his/her feeling. Make sure, we have the concrete reasons why being judgmental.

4. Would you be friends with a person who disagrees with your opinions and beliefs but doesn't mind hanging out with you?
Let's be open-minded on this. I would still be friends as long as I'm not facing the danger of getting stabs in the back! Personally, I think it's ok to disagree on certain issues because we all have the right to speak out our minds. Regarding beliefs, we should be tactful in bringing up questions so that the other person is not hurt. As we have the right to believe in what we think is best for us, due respect should be given to each other. When disagreeing on certain matters, one should not cross the line in order to avoid it from  becoming too sensitive.

After any argument, we should reconcile, so I would still hang out with that person.

5.  What are the actions that make you believe that you are treasured by a certain person?
The attention given to me by that certain person, the way he/she accepts my flaws and weaknesses, who easily forgives me for my silly mistakes and most importantly, accepting me as I am. 

6.  What do you prefer to do in your free time?
There are quite a few things I love to do such as reading, blogging, blog hop, day dreaming, listening to music and thinking of  the blue sky and everything nice!

7. What is it that cheers you after a day of hard work?
Being able to accomplish a challenging task, I would heave a sigh of relief and contentment.  It definitely cheers me.

8. When is your birthday?
Born under the zodiac Taurus, it's on 20th May. I'm a bull! You didn't know? Listen - Snort!Snort!

9. What do you think about the current state of the world?
It appalls me a lot. Many things happen which sadden me and I'm worried of our future generations. How will  it be for them in decades to come? I wish there is always peace in every nook of the world besides having the economic stability, healthy and pro-active world citizens, free from human trafficking etc to make this world a better place to live in.

10. You had been saving money to buy an item that you had been eying for days. How would you feel when you finally buy that item and found it to be defective item?
OMG! it's a hard-earned money, surely I would become poorer by a few hundred ringgit (for instance). But everything happens for a reason. May be I was dying for that item that had made me very careless, thus forgetting to scrutinize whether it's defective or not. Whatever it is, there's a lesson to learn. May God forgives the person who sells such thing.

11. As far as you have come to know me, what type of person do you perceive me to be?
Cheerful, brilliant, funny, friendly and a very good writer.


Well, my job's done! I hope Sui is satisfied with my answers. I would like to apologize to her for being unable to follow all the tagging rules. Do pay Sui a visit at Imaginative Spiral - a place to dabble with creative writing. It's worth it!

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Awards And Tags

I was awarded the Liebster Blog  award by my sweet friend, Dana. It takes quite some time for me to answer her tagged questions as I was too tied-up with work. Dana  has a very cool blog and her posts are wonderful. Please, take a visit to her blog, Pure. You will feel so refreshing being there.

Here are my answers to her tags:

1. Who do you love most?
My family is the closest to me. They are always there to catch me when I fall and going through this journey of life together through thick and thin. I love them the most as they understand me better than others.

2. Who's your inspiration in this world?
I'm always inspired by what I see happening around me. Literally, it's happening here or elsewhere in the world. It amazes me to see the successes or differences people could make to make this life more meaningful. In two of my older posts, I did mention the person who gave much inspirations and  this is within my family member. As the question asked me "who's", so I'll tell only one person, that's my late father. I'm inspired by his diligence who never gave up to difficult situations in life. He was not a highly educated man but he gave everyone of his children the education we needed till we reached the higher level of institutions and with his blessing we are now in a much better condition than what it used to be. He is not here to reap the successes  of his children but he left the legacy to my beloved mom.

3. What is your definition of love?
Love is a many splendor thing. That's what we use to hear. To me, love is indescribable when it brings much joy and makes us feel as if we're always on cloud 9. Love could bring pain and pleasure, sweetness and sadness, leaving an ever lasting impact in our life but...I should say, the real meaning is ambiguous.

4. What is your goal in this life?
My goal is to have a fulfilling life.

5. Who is your closest?
Again, I would say it's within my family circle; my sister but we are now staying far away from each other as she is residing in Manchester, England. She is my confidante. :)

6. What is the best thing that ever happened to you?
I will never forget the day I graduated from a local university. It was the best thing so far when I walked up the stage to receive my scroll from the vice-chancellor. Apart from that, it was a relief after a 4-year study where I faced so many challenges to ensure myself going through till  the final year.

7. Do you have pets?
I am a feline lover! Yes, I do have a kitten at the moment.

8. What do you dislike most?
I dislike plagiarism. Respect and credit should be given to the owners of any work of arts or anything else. When we  read others' works,  we should realize that they spend time in their creativity. I used to say it's through their "sweat" we are able to enjoy reading or admiring their works. At my side bar, I put up a reminder, Plagiarism Is Unethical, and I mean it.

9. What is your favourite season?
I'm living in a tropical country so there are only two seasons here; wet and dry.  Neither one is my favourite! Too wet is not good, neither is too dry.  Let's say, if I could go to the west, I would love to experience spring, summer and autumn.

10. What is your favourite food, if you have one?
I have many favourite food but one of it is beef and chicken curry.

11. What makes you angry?
Lots of things could make me angry! I'm not a quick-tempered person but I would surely get angry when I see something is wrong or when injustice is done to me. Would you believe me, I don't seem angry even at any certain moment I'm really angry? It doesn't show on my face or actions. :)


To my dear friend, Dana, I hope you're happy with my answers. Some of the facts about myself could be found in the answers above. Being tagged means you're thinking of me, so I would like to say thank you for your thought. You're a friend indeed. :)


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Another award is from Andy David, the owner of Lovers' Cove. It's so kind of him awarding such a beautiful award to all the participants of Lovers' Cove Challenge #3: PAINTED LOVE. This is the second time I took part in the collaboration and the final poem is simply awesome! I would like to thank Andy for his effort in hosting the challenge which unites bloggers from across  the globe. I would recommend my readers to drop by Andy's blog, Lovers' Cove. You won't regret! See you there! :)

Congratulations to all the participants of Lovers' Cove Challenge #3!

Blog Hop Saturday! #4

It's always an honor being invited to blog hop again. Thanks to Andy David, the host. You can join in, too. Find out more here.  Get to know other bloggers and their amazing posts. It's fun!

Wishing everyone a great weekend!

The Scent

a beautiful day
scent of white musk in the air
pleasant memory


balqis
Aug1'12

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