My visit to the church and temple

The title might surprise you. Why on earth would I want to visit a church and temple? Am I converting to another religion? Is that why. No is the answer. It is all part of trying to understand another religion, so that I can truly understand my own religion. I went there under the Friendly Comparative Religion (FCR) program held by the Islamic Information & Services (IIS).

During our school days the non-muslims were introduced to the Islamic world during our history classes. There they learned about us, but we never really learned about them. So this is kinda like returning the favor, but not just because of that. I wanted to learn more about other religions, why is it that they do what they do and why they believe in it.

We went to visit the church of St. Thomas in Sentul, where they practice the Orthodox doctrine of Mar Thoma. Amin picked me up at Monash University and we arrived quite early so we decided to have a light breakfast. We came back at around 9.15 am in time for the Bible Studies. I can't remember which verse in the Bible the father was talking about but from just one verse, he was able to elaborate it until it took almost 45 minutes. By that time the church was filled with people and the mass was about to begin.

One thing I have to note is before entering the church, I was filled with hatred and contempt and I wanted to question the christians everything about their faith. But the moment I sat at the church, I saw the father prieching to his disciples, I saw the christians so devoted to their religion, my mind suddenly changed. I stopped looking at it Islam or Christianity. I started looking at it as devotion to God.

So the mass was filled with all kinds of ritual, the weirdest I've seen is the use of incense and the candles, looks like a Jewish ritual. This is an Orthodox church, where they're rituals follows similarly to the Catholic church ( Though I was misinformed it's going to be an Anglican Protestant church). It lasted quite long, almost 2 hours. Even Bro Shah Kirit said that it is very long, he expected it to be only an hour. Having said that, it disrupted the plan and we had to make some arrangements. The Q&A sessions was cut very short so we couldn't ask much. So we left for the temple at around 12.



The temple we went to is a Sri Lankan temple of the Theravada Buddhist sect. They're beliefs is quite different from the chinese beliefs. They don't believe in all the gods and praying to ancestors. It's Buddhism to the purest. We were greeted by Mr. Tan and a couple of Sinhalese Monks. Then we were given lunch inside their main hall, it was supposed to be very simple vegetarian lunch until the KFC shows up. Yeah they probably know we malays are suckers for KFC. But even the veggie food was delicious, they have dishes originating from Sri Lanka. So after lunch we we're brought around to visit the temple. We were shown the Buddha statue, the Boddhi shrine, and among many other things. It was very interesting, until the questions start to come out, which destroys the time planning. But Mr. Tan was very patient, he doesn't get angry when we ask all our questions, even ones which was designed to test his faith.

After the tour is finished we went back to the hall for a Q&A sessions. Mr. Tan was probably the most impressive non-believer I've ever seen. He knows about other religion and he really have faith in his own. Even when the questions was getting very offensive, he kept a smile on his face and he explains it in a way that everyone could understand. Bro Shah said that if he were to revert to Islam, he would become a huge asset to Islam. I mean, everyone was amazed by him, for his knowledge and for his his patience. He is doing what Islam is telling him to do, 'berpesan dengan kebenaran, dan berpesan dengan kesabaran'.



The trip to other religious sites was an invaluable experience. Without this FCR I don't think I would have ever thought of going there. But now I want to expand my horizon, to free my mind and become closer to Allah because of it.

Exam dh habis!!

Exam is over people. Freedom is now here. Wow i don't remember when I've felt this relieved. My blood is rushing from excitement.

Wow, this semester has been quite a challenge. And nothing gives me more challenge than electricals. Surprisingly I managed to do fine for the exams. Structures was fucking shit. Fucking hard as hell. I cannot believe they actually come out with that. Too much calculation, not enough time. Computing was alright I guess. Good thing I did that hand calculation exercise.

I think I wanna go for jamming, release some tension. Going to jam with Dr. Herbert tomorrow, play some oldies. Then maybe jam with Faiz, play some metalcore.

2 down, 2 more to go

I have just finished my electricals and professions exam. i think electricals was tough but alhamdulillah i managed to do all, thanks to circuit solutions from Irwin-Nelms. The one that saved me in professions is doing past years. Everyone else seems to struggle since most look down on professions, but actually there is a lot to remember.

See the way I study is to practicing. Always practicing. I can never just open and book and read all the way, wouldn't even last 2 hours. That's why I did badly in Biology. Even if there is a chapter I have no idea of, when I look at the questions and understand them, I can always do well. That's why I need solutions to any tutorial problems. Practice, just like how I practice my guitar.

So 2 more papers, structures this wednesday and computing this friday. After that I will be free as a bird, ha ha. Might wanna get a job, maybe at ACE Hardware or Best Denki. But first must go jamming, have gotten very rusty already.

Metal : A Headbanger's Journey

Hi how r u? Yeah it's been quite a while since my last entry so I'll make this one somewhat a good entry.

Metal: A Headbanger's Journey. I've been meaning to make a review of this documentary. It is seriously good, it really touched me. It was a documentary made by Sam Dunn, a serious metalhead from the age of 12 about metal and it's origins. It portrays the history of metal, the controversies such as satanism and violence and also the effect it has on the fans.





Metal is widely accepted as being originated from Black Sabbath, Tony Iommi to be more precise. The song "Black Sabbath", features the usage of tri-tones which a provide a dark and grisly atmosphere. This pattern was actually prohibited by the church during the medieval times, as it is related to satan.

Satanism has always been a problem to the society. Unfortunately it's always being connected to metal, that's major stereotype. Not all metalists are satanists, in fact people who writes songs about satan are most likely not satanist. For Example Slayer and Venom. The reason why they wrote it is because they wanted to make they're songs darker than everyone else's. It's not like they mean it at all. Tom Araya of Slayer sings about God Hates Us All, but he's a devout catholic who goes to church every week.

The Norwegians wrote songs about satan because of the rebelling towards christianity. Well hatred towards christianity in Norway stretches out to their Viking roots. Church burnings, killing is a problem with this group. I don't knnow man, I'm not really a fan of black metal so I'll just leave this out.

Death metal is my most favorite genre. Unfortunately gore and violence is always connected to this one. Cannibal Corpse often depicts violent imagery on their cover albums. The reason why they do what they do is to shock people, but in reality they're just like you and me. Humble and down to earth type of people. They know things like this will never happen in real life.

This documentary demonstrates the effect of metal to the fans. Metal doesn't judge, doesn't discriminate and it sure is comforting when you have a trouble. Being a metal fan myself, I cannot get through life without metal, just as I cannot get through life without Islam. You may not understand what metal means to us, it's more than just a bunch of songs with heavy drum beats, distorted guitars and over the top screaming. It's a way of life.

Australia!

Just got back from my week long holiday in Australia. Man it's hot here, over there it's 13C. heh 13 going to 30. But man it was really enjoyable. Not to mention very expensive. I wasted 400 Ozzy dollars.

Time to recall some precious memories. It was a beautiful sunny day in Melbourne when I arrived. The sight of whities everywhere reminded me of the time when I used to travel the world, visiting foreign countries, meeting new faces and introduced to a new culture. How I miss those days. But now I get a chance to relive that moment, and experience the joy of being a foreigner, where everyday is an excitement.

I love winter. That is my favorite season. I love the cold and the chilling wind and the sight of empty trees. I never experience winter before, and may I say that it is everything that I expected, everything that I wanted. Being a husky guy, I tend to have larger amount of fat than what is supposed to, so it's only logical to say that my body is a good insulator. In Malaysia, due to the sweltering hot weather and humid atmosphere, I usually drown in my own sweat and suffer the unbearable amount of heat generated in me. But during winter, I can relax comfortably while others shiver in the mighty cold.

I must say that I shopped a lot. Went to lots of places but I especially like going to Victoria Market. Things are dirt cheap but still maintains a certain level of quality. I bought most of my clothes at Target since they have them at big sizes. I got a cotton pants which costs me around 70 AUD, damn that's expensive but it is one of the most comfortable pants I ever wore. Better I got sports shoes for 4 bucks, that's like 10 Ringgit. Went to DFO, visited Rivers and bought me a boots for 35 bucks. Supposed to be 70 but I got it half priced.

We rented a Holden Statesman for the 3rd day. Seriously that is the best car we've ever rode. It's so wide not to mention having a 3.5 litter that would probably produce around 250 bhp. Our first trip was to go to Mt. Buller. I have to say that it was my first time experiencing snow and it was the best time of my life. I went skiing with my sister, not knowing it was terribly hard to do it. After managing a couple of laps on a gentle slope, I decided to tackle the big dog and slope down the whole mountain. So there I was, sitting all alone on the ski chair with the chilling wind, strikes down right to my bone. I was beginning to have doubts whether I could come down alive, seeing how I performed before. But hell it went well, too well so I decided to go again. Not knowing I took the wrong ski chair, before this it only went half the mountain, now I'm heading way to the top. Not many people went there because the slope is very steep and it needs massive amount of control. Since I don't have that the only way I could stop is by falling down, in this case, rolling over. But I was having the best time of my life. My family was getting worried why I wasn't down yet since I'm only expected to go down once. They thought of getting someone to rescue me but luckily I came down safely.

The next day we went to Ballarat to visit Sovereign Hill, an old mining town. Too bad we came late so we only have an hour and a half to explore the place. But seriously it was worth every cent, as none of us regretted going there. Took lots of photos and videos and seen things we've never saw before. It looked like a Western cowboy town. We didn't manage to go on the underground mine tour as we were to late but it's a good thing we came late, since we were the only people there so it was peaceful, apart from a couple of schoolgirls.

Other than that we get to see a couple of other places with the car. We went to St. Kilda at night. My god it was so beautiful seeing the waterfront at night. It was so peaceful, it is a perfect place to bring your girlfriend on a date. My sis thought it was a good idea to watch the fireworks at Crowns Casinos, although it was rather short but seeing the hotel itself is good enough. The most wonderful lobby I ever been in. No words can describe it, it was just so wonderful. On top of that I saw the girl of my dreams. Joe met up with one of his Indonesian friends there, and that guy brought a long his girlfriend. She is so beautiful, she looks like a beautiful model and a great face indeed. But hell, I know I can never get someone like that, so I can only spend the rest of my life imagining being with a girl like that.

Went to a couple of guitar shop. Allan's Music at Bourke St. Tested a couple of amps, Orange Rockereverb 50, Vox AC30CC2. Damn nice. I also tried a couple of Ibanez Prestiges and some GIBSON Les Pauls. Bloody hell the Gibsons are so cheap compared to Malaysia's price. They showcase their Gibsons like we showcase our Epiphones. But of course I don't have any money to buy anything. Would love to go there again and actually buy something.

Going to Australia is so wonderful. I really miss it and I sure wish I can go there again. Hopefully I get to go study there next year. So pray for me aite!

Jamming Jamming!!

Last saturday I went out jamming with Joe's brother and his friends. We went to a studio called Hot Stuff, which is located somewhere in Taman Tun. Damn the studio was nice, well since it's because we picked the nicest one, RM40 per hour so each have to pay RM10. They got Marshall AVT cabs, Carvin cabs and a keyboard. Soundwise, top notch. I used the Marshall cab since I thought of leaving the Carvin stuff to the lead guitarist. But I don't know why Daniel, who is a much better guitarist than I am, chose to use a Hughes and Kettner amp.

Man that guy is damn good, he can really shred and I'm not talking about pure wanking, it's about putting theory into practice. I don't know much about theory, so that's why I signed up for guitar lessons at Music Master yesterday.

The jamming went well, although there are a lot of mistakes made. But all is well, I was really satisfied with the outcome.

But hey don't listen to me, here are some few clips. Yes I made a lot of mistakes



Ni aku main Open Your Eyes Solo (ALter Bridge). Ye ada byk silap ngan mistiming.




Ni Sweet Child o Mine duel solo. Ye aku silap dlm first half.



Rock You Like A Hurricane. ni aku x main solo tp ko tgk Daniel pny playing...flawless

Gi Lepak kt Rasta smlm...

Yesterday i lpk2 with Amin, Wari and Emir. Amin and Wari brought their girlfriends along. Hell good thing Emir didn't otherwise I'll be lonely like shit. But hey it was still fun hanging out with them since we can't do this very often. And as usual they laugh the shit out of everything I say, damn I feel like such a clown.

But hey Wari seems FATTER, so I'm not alone. Relax man I know you hv ur reasons. Tak kisah la kan sbb ko yg ada awek. Aku sebatang kara je. But seeing how romantic those 2 couples are, it makes me think, will I ever get the chance to do something like that? Or am I going to die alone? Insyaallah not but I still cannot help wondering. Nothing has ever came out so far so why should it starts now?

Feelings aside, had fun last night. It was a mistake to order that damn shisha. Cost me some greens and those two girls seems to be bothered by the smoke. Good thing I didn't took out my sin sticks. Went back at 2.30, I believe this is the latest I ever came back ever since college.

PS: fuck you man!!