Posted by ADLIZA HIZAN ::
3:17 PM ::
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Wednesday, April 06, 2005
V.I.P Etiquettes 101
The credit goes to Ewok, for her fierce tirade against the ever-so-NOT-punctual Malaysians spurred me into writing this.
I was once a very active member of my high school's band. I was the trombone section leader, the treasurer, the conductor, as well as the drum majorette. It was all about the band, baby. I spoke band, slept band, ate band, walked band... I was truly the ultimate band geek and damn proud of it.
During one of the school's events, we had this very-very-VIP (won't name him, but he was in the Top 3 category person from the Ministry of Education to come and officiate the ceremony. Since he was a V-V-VIP, we (the band) were asked to perform a welcoming tune for him. Basically, as soon as he stepped out of his V-V-VIP car, I was to give the band the 'signal' with the mace (the long, heavy stick that drum majors normally carried) and they would start playing.
Half an hour before his supposed arrival, we marched onto the middle of the field and got into file. We stood there on the ground, under the hot scorching sun, full of pride and ready to impress, with me in the lead.
Half an hour passed by. No sign of him yet.
*That's fine, maybe he's slightly late. That's normal. He was, after all, a busy V-V-VIP.*
1 hour had now passed. Still no sign of him yet.
*OOooKayyy.. mana orang tua nih? We're getting tired here! And it's damn hot! Berpeluh dah ketiak aku ni...*
All this time, I repeatedly gave orders to my bandmates to go "At Ease!" and "Attention!", just to give them a chance to move around a bit.
You see, once a band marches out onto the field and goes into file, they are to stay there until they've finished the performance and only then they march back out. I think it has something to do with discipline, integrity, pride, yada, yada, yada,... but the point is, that we never march back out or go out of file before the performance was over.
If you've ever been in the band or the police/army cadets, or ever had the chance to be in a marching group, you'll know how tough it is to just stand in a file, waiting for the head's cue or order to move. But if you don't, just try to imagine this:
Each one of us had to stand perfectly still, body erected, under the full unforgiving sun, its brightness glaring in our eyes and its harmful rays penetrating through our thick cotton uniforms. We sweated buckets, and as our uniforms couldn't absorb them, the trickles of sweat from our armpits and backs emerged through the shirts, staining them in huge, smelly circles.
Not a pretty picture.
And don't forget, we had to carry our instruments. If you happened to play the piccolo or the flute, then it wasn't too bad. But you really had to sympathize with those unfortunate ones who had to carry the tuba, or the trombone, or the bass drum. I mean, those things were really heavy! And huge!
Most of us were silently fidgeting our toes inside the stiff, sticky white boots, praying that the V-V-VIP would arrive soon.
1 1/2 hours had already passed. Still no sign of him.
Thud!
Crash!
One of the saxophone players went down. She had succumbed to the dense heat and fainted face down, her (then RM 3000) instrument clattered unceremoniusly next to her. My officers & I automatically got out of file and helped her to the cooler shades. One officer stayed to attend to her while the rest returned to the formation. Not more than 10 minutes later,
Buppp!
Chinggg!
Oof!
Pang!
Boom!!
....one of the trumpetists had followed suit. Then came down our only cymbal player. Then a baritonist and a clarinetist. Then one of the snare drummers, then another player.... and another......
Almost all at once, we lost 7 - 10 of our comrades. One by one, they lost consciousness, unable to stand the heat and stress any longer.
*God, HELP US! Where the h*ll was the V-V-VIP? Batang hidung pun tak nampak lagi...?! *
He'd better show his face soon, or there would be none left standing. Not to mention the possible damages to those expensive instruments! Even I was starting to feel ill and collapse at that point.
Stupid V-V-VIP.
After about 2 HOURS PAST the supposed arrival time, the V-V-VIP's sleek black Merc. finally came into view.
Lifted my mace straight above my head, my remaining bandmates raised their instruments, I gave the cue, and they played.
And there you had it, the V-V-VIP's unfashionably late arrival was GRANDLY announced to the guests by some very loud, aggressive & disharmonious tunes - all courtesy of the now rongak marching band of TKC.
Served him right. V-V-VIP or not, your attitude sucked. And he never even said sorry.
A leader to aspire to? What do you think? I think NOT.
Disclaimer : Some (but not many) of the facts have been made-up or exaggerated. In actuality, I couldn't recall exactly who or how many had fainted, but I knew there were many - so many that it would probably be okay for me to say that we probably lost at least one player to each instrument's section. However, the part about the V-V-VIP arriving 2 hours late was, and is, TRUE. Swear to God.
Posted by ADLIZA HIZAN ::
4:51 PM ::
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Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Another Isetan Story
I don't know la what it is with Isetan, but this is my second post on my misadventures with them. Is it me? Or is it the staff in general? If it's me, how come I don't have any problems with the people in Parkson?
No, it must be them.
Anyway, went to Isetan to look for curtains for the house. Woodster and I recently purchased another carpet for the living room. Very nice rug, with stripes (we both got modern tastes), and you guessed it - it was on sale!
But unfortunately, this impulsive buy landed us in a living room with horribly mismatched color themes - we're now stuck with a white-blue-orange-brown carpet and blue-green-another blue-another green curtains!
Hmmm, pretty, eh?
So anyway, back to the story. There I was, browsing for ready-made curtains in Isetan when the salesboy approached me...
Chic Me : Hello. Is there a sale on this item?
SB : No.
Curious Me : Oh, too bad. I do like this curtain. Do you know whether it can fit 2 standard window panels?
SB : Samples over there. You can go look.
Went and checked the samples.
Confident Me : Hmm... I'm pretty sure it's not big enough la for my windows.
SB : It's big enough. That's for two panels maaaaa.
Still-Cool Me : Well, I guess my panel size is probably bigger than yours then. Do you have one like this, but wider? Bigger in width?
SB : Miss, you buy two lah!
Controlling-Anger Me : OK, no thank you.
I walked out, furious. SO RUDE!
Hey dude, if I wanted the obvious answer, I wouldn't have asked that perhaps-stupid question in the first place. You're the salesperson, of course la I asked you stupid questions like that. How should I know what kind of sizes ready-made curtains have?? Haiseh.
Not that it matters anyway. You should just answer my stupid question, instead of suggesting stupid solutions like that, which made me look like a very, very stupid & cheapo customer. Well, I AM cheap, but still... treat me with a little respect, will ya?
Bet you wouldn't treat me that way, had I been a pretty Minah Salleh.
Sorry to say this la dude, but perhaps, that's why you're still working in that stinking curtain section, where rarely anyone visits, instead of being moved up to the cooler, much more happening sections, like Toys, or Accessories, or Apparels! Dude, you need some serious attitude adjustments.
Go figure.
Why the hell am I getting so worked up for anyway? Hmmmm..... must be all the work stress getting to me lah.
*Mental Note : Call Debbie at Spa Mantra tonight!!*
Or, perhaps I'm just looking for a reason to get pampered?? Hehehe.
Go figure. Again.
Posted by ADLIZA HIZAN ::
5:19 PM ::
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Monday, April 04, 2005
What A Beautiful Morning...
Despite the rain, it was still beautiful. And for once, I managed to enjoy it!
My daily commute to work via the LRT does not involve waking up AFTER the sun rises. And of course, once aboard the train, who cares about the morning's sunshine? I need to make up for my daily lack of sleep! So naturally, I dozed away.....
So, what about those glorious mornings on weekends, you asked? Heh, what makes you think I would want to be up that early anyway? I mean, honestly... *No such thing as breakfasts in my household - only brunches! Hehehe*
But this morning, I didn't take the LRT. Woodster drove me. Smart move - yeah, right! We got stuck in traffic for almost 2 freaking hours! Reached the office at close to 9. Luckily, the Don was in a meeting. If not, teruk kena bambu la I.
But hey, at least, I managed to see the sun rises. *Simple pleasures in life - you gotta take it!*
Ok, anyway, I wanted to share this with all of you. Received this from a friend & I think it's a very, very good article and definitely worth your time. It only takes a few minutes to read :).
No, I'm not trying to be an ustazah and preach to you on this beautiful Monday morning, nor am I trying to be a feminist/anti-feminist. Cukuplah I jadi member of ACD Anonymous! *Hehehe*
What I am doing is merely sharing a well-written piece of journalism, and who knows? Perhaps it can be an eye opener to all. But I rasa rugi if you tak baca.. hehehehe...
And to all mothers out there, ENJOY!
Cheers & Happy Reading! :)
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A rather interesting response to the recent hype about woman leading a Jumaat prayer.
Read on to find out.
Title
Female-Led Prayers: A Step Forward for Women?
Question On
March 18, 2005 - Amina Wadud led the first female-led Jumu`ah Prayer. On that day, women took a huge step towards being more like men. But, did we come closer to actualizing our God-given liberation?
Date
2005/3/28
Name of Consultant
AAI Editorial Staff
Content of Reply
This answer was kindly provided by Sister Yasmin Mogahed, a member of Ask About Islam Editorial Staff. Yasmin is an Egyptian-American journalist based in Wisconsin, USA. She is currently studying for a Master's degree in Journalism.
Salam, Sarah. Thank you for your inspiring question!
Well, answering your question, I can say that I don't think so.
What we so often forget is that God has honored women by giving them value in relation to God,not in relation to men. But as Western feminism erases God from the scene, there is no standard left but men. As a result, the Western feminist is forced to find her value in relation to a man. And in so doing, she has accepted a faulty assumption. She has accepted that man is the standard, and thus a woman can never be a full human being until she becomes just like a man - the standard.
When a man cut his hair short, she wanted to cut her hair short. When a man joined the army, she wanted to join the army, and so on. She wanted these things for no other reason than because the "standard" had it.
What she didn't recognize was that God dignifies both men and women in their distinctiveness, not their sameness. And on March 18, Muslim women made the very same mistake.
For 1,400 years, there has been a consensus of scholars that men are to lead Prayer. As a Muslim woman, why does this matter? The one who leads Prayer is not spiritually superior in any way. Something is not better just because a man does it. And leading Prayer is not better just because it is leading. Had it been the role of women or had it been more divine, why wouldn't the Prophet have asked Lady `A'ishah or Lady Khadijah, or Lady Fatimah - the greatest women of all time - to lead? These women were promised heaven and yet they never led Prayer.
But now, for the first time in 1,400 years, we look at a man leading Prayer and we think, "That's not fair." We think so, although God has given no special privilege to the one who leads. The imam is no higher in the eyes of God than the one who prays behind. On the other hand, only a woman can be a mother. And the Creator has given special privileges to a mother. The Prophet taught us that heaven lies at the feet of mothers. But no matter what a man does, he can never be a mother. So why is that not unfair?
When asked who is most deserving of our kind treatment? The Prophet replied "your mother" three times before saying "your father" only once. Isn't that sexist? No matter what a man does, he will never be able to have the status of a mother.
And yet even when God honors us with something uniquely feminine, we are too busy trying to find our worth in reference to men, to value it or even notice it. We too have accepted men as the standard; so anything uniquely feminine is, by definition, inferior. Being sensitive is an insult, becoming a mother is a degradation. In the battle between stoic rationality (considered masculine) and selfless compassion (considered feminine), rationality reigns supreme.
As soon as we accept that everything a man has and does is better, all that follows is just a knee jerk reaction: if men have it, we want it too. If men pray in the front rows, we assume this is better, so we want to pray in the front rows too. If men lead Prayer, we assume the imam is closer to God, so we want to lead Prayer too. Somewhere along the line, we've accepted the notion that having a position of worldly leadership is some indication of one's position with God.
A Muslim woman does not need to degrade herself in this way. She has God as a standard. She has God to give her value; she doesn't need a man here.
In fact, in our crusade to follow men, we, as women, never even stopped to examine the possibility that what we have is better for us. In some cases, we even gave up what was higher only to be like men.
Fifty years ago, we saw men leaving the home to work in factories. We were mothers. And yet, we saw men doing it, so we wanted to do it too. Somehow, we considered it women's liberation to abandon the raising of another human being in order to work on a machine. We accepted that working in a factory was superior to raising the foundation of society - just because a man did it.
Then after working, we were expected to be superhuman - the perfect mother, the perfect wife, the perfect homemaker, and have the perfect career. And while there is nothing wrong, by definition, with a woman having a career, we soon came to realize what we had sacrificed by blindly mimicking men. We watched as our children became strangers, and soon recognized the privilege we'd given up.
And so only now - given the choice - women in the West are choosing to stay home to raise their children. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, only 31 percent of mothers with babies, and 18 percent of mothers with two or more children, are working fulltime. And of those working mothers, a survey conducted by Parenting Magazine in 2000, found that 93 percent of them say they would rather be home with their kids, but are compelled to work due to "financial obligations." These "obligations" are imposed on women by the gender sameness of the modern West and removed from women by the gender distinctiveness of Islam.
It took women in the West almost a century of experimentation to realize a privilege given to Muslim women 1,400 years ago. Given my privilege as a woman, I only degrade myself by trying to be something I'm not, and in all honesty, don't want to be - a man. As women, we will never reach true liberation until we stop trying to mimic men and value the beauty in our own God given distinctiveness.
If given a choice between stoic justice and compassion, I choose compassion. And if given a choice between worldly leadership and heaven at my feet, I choose heaven.
Posted by ADLIZA HIZAN ::
11:55 AM ::
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