I’m smiling

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Peace and blessings be upon prophet Muhammad SAW, his family, companions and those who follow his footsteps till the day of Judgement.

Life is just a test. A means to differentiate those who are obedient to Allah from the rest. A means of determining the righteous and the sinners. A loan from Allah SWT.

There are those who knew this fact, and live their lives as a mukmin. There are those who knew, but are ignorant. And there are those who are clueless, and does not even care to know. May Allah protect us from being the latter.

Me at NUIG Clinical Science Institue

A period of silence

Yeah, its been quite a while since I updated my blog. Again, I wanted to write, but either I dont know what to write or im just in the mood to do so. I actually drafted a few entries, but it ended up not finished and published. Heh.

I have returned to Galway about two weeks ago (15th August). Some might wonder, why did I go back so early? The story goes like this..:

When I bought the MAS return ticket, it was quite cheap (compared to normal price, but still more expensive than other airlines). It was about 700 Euros, from Dublin to KL.  The departure date was 15th of May. I thought I had to repeat my paper again, so I selected the 3rd of Aug as the return date.

But Alhamdulillah, I passed all my papers, so I tried to change the return date. When I contacted the travel agent (whom I bought the ticket from), they said that my ticket have  a 3-month validity period, so the latest I can fly back to Ireland is on the 15th of Aug. After discussing with my parents, and calculating the predicted loss, I (or we) decided to go for 15th Aug.

Another reason was, the IMU students (twinning program) arrived in Galway on the 15th too. and they are staying at the house that I am renting. Furthermore, I do think my presence will help them a lot (in terms of helping them to buy stuff, show the around, etc2). May Allah accept this as a good deed.

Moving to a new house – ‘Raudhah’

My house in Corrib Park

Last semester, I stay at Corrib Park. Its a small, old but comfortable house. It has been rented by Malaysians for many2 years now, and the rent is among the cheapest in Galway (for a 4 bedroom house). I stayed in the smallest room, and I like it a lot. The housemates are great and the electricity bill is always very low (compared to other houses) since we like to cut down electricity usage.

But just before this Summer, Dr Afendi approached me, asking me to stay at his house and be the ‘acting landlord’  representing him. He bought the house a few years back and does not plan to sell it in the near future. He is now in Dublin, finishing his last two years of  traning to become a GI consultant. most probably he’ll return to Msia or work in Canada after that.

My new house is located in a housing area called Gleann Dara, a bit far from the university and hospital, but still within walking distance. Dunaras, the private accommodation where 1st Year MARA students stay, is located just next to Gleann Dara. All three of us bought a bicycle, to ease travel. Its easy when we’re cycling from home towards town or the hospital, but its a bit difficult when cycling back home since we have to go slightly uphill and against the wind that comes from the sea (we are not that far from the shore). We named our house ‘Raudhah’. =) I really like this name, since Syukur 21 movie. Thinking of naming one of my daughter with that name, insyaAllah. (will this cause a quarrel with my future wife, heh? the dilemma of choosing a name. astaghfirullah, huhu.. how sweet would that be. =) )

My new home at Gleann Dara

Front Door

Scenery in front of my house

Kitchen

Living room 1

Backyard

Kitchen 2

Living room 2

A new beginning

Physical exam revision session with IMU students

My 3MB3 classes starts tomorrow. I left the life as a full time student for almost  a year now and heh, for sure it needs some getting used to. This year insyaAllah I will focus more on my studies, and try to reduce my attention on anything else. After seeing those who study really hard, but still having to repeat their 3MB3 exams, it gives me a (or the) chill. I’m sorry but I’m gonna be a bit passive. I have reached a point that I realize I am not like everyone else. I have a very poor memorizing capalibity. I have to read many2 times. I can’t focus on many things at once. I thought I can, but apparently I can’t. May Allah help and assist me. I need to get unimportant (for now. it might be important in the long run) things out of my mind. and I hope the thought of marriage that keeps on haunting me without fail, will eventually fade away. But looking at the current situation, it looks like thats not gonna happen. Guess I just have to live with it. haish..

Looking forward for a great and wonderful year.

Hugs and kisses,

Azri Bohari

@raudhah, Galway