Double rainbows en route to Rod Laver Arena

Somewhere.................. over the rainbows.......

I love Eva Cassidy's "Over the Rainbow" rendition, kinda classic, melodious, soulful....

So before I continue my little photoblog on double rainbows that I get to witness in the heart of Melbourne last year's September (on the 26th September 2007, Wednesday to be exact), one fine spring evening, I'd like to invite you to click on the youtube videoclip of Eva Cassidy live performance as the musical background.

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I just finished the Chemeca2007 conference at Sofitel Melbourne, packed all my stuff, and still had some few hours to kill before I got into the shuttlebus all the way to Tullamarine Airport. I called the concierge and the porter came and collected my luggage and kept them all tagged at the concierge counter as soon as I checked out.

The weather was fine, not too cold, not too warm, little bit sunny and dry. There I was, making my way downtown, walking fast, faces passed into St.Kilda Street heading towards Rod Laver Arena, the Australian Open tennis grand slam stadium. It is like my second favourite grand slam arena next to Wimbledon ( London SW19). The New York's Flushing Meadows falls third follows by Paris' Roland Garros in the fourth place. Anyways, as I was walking down the street, I saw rainbows....ok that is so Mariah Carey's looney talk (pre-emancipation of mimi album), but yeah there it was, two beautiful rainbows, one to the left and another one stretched out its arch to the right of my path. I was mesmerized by this awesome phenomena, something I have never seen in my life before. Two rainbows side by side! That must be like another quirky australian thingy i thought. It's like seeing a kid's drawing or some funny abstract canvass painting but it was real. Never would i ever thought that rainbows can exist in double at the same time (technically speaking would be: simultaneous visualization).

#1. Sofitel Melbourne, the brownish tower, interlinked with the Telstra tower right behind the Herald Sun greyish silver tower from Exhibition Street view

I stood there, marvelling God's natural phenomenon that took place right before my eyes. I so much wished that I had a better digicam or a more sophisticated digicamcorder model that would let me shoot those scenes for as long as i was standing there. But nope, i was still using (and still am) my old faithful fuji FinePix E550 , 6 Megapixel digicam.

#2. Left view . The bottom stadium is the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) not far from Rod Laver Arena

#3. left view

#4. Still on the left view

#5. Fading rainbow on the left view

#6. Double rainbow : one to the left view and another one goes to the right view



#7. I'm still trying to capture the other twin/mirror image rainbow on the right view but the direct sunlight coming from my right side was so glaring

The last 2 pictures were not that sharp enough but if you look carefully, you will see the end points of each rainbow. The right one had to "penetrate" through the blanket of woolly looking cloud before it appeared in a more defined shape. However, what you have seen in the #6 and #7 pictures were just a small portion of what i saw as the sun shone brightly from the right view. Consequently, my camera could not get a good shot of the right rainbow. I probably did exclaim " what a beauoooody" in Steve Irwin's style, but I was glad I didnt say it out loud (on the pretext of displaying some aussie accent mockery)....and followed by "Subhanallah" (All glory to Allah), praise the lord!



It was almost dusk, the twilight zone that was. And i was there on the bridge, watching as the rainbows slowly ebbed away, fading into the sky as the night fell.



And not very long after that, I quickened my path towards the Rod Laver Arena. During that time, the grand slam tour has faced the final curtain as the final of the tour legs ended in early September 2007 in Flushing Meadows. Roger Federer won three grand slams and lost one to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros (and so does Pete Sampras, who has never had the opportunity of lifting the Roland Garros cup throughout his professional career).



As I wrote this, the Australian Open 2008 is now in day 5 which saw big names and former champions Amelie Mauresmo, Marat Safin and Andy Roddick threw in the towels as their battle have come to an end.


(Someday, I wish that I will be able to get my chance to watch the games L.I.V.E at Rod Laver Arena and especially Wimbledon. Angan-angan yang akan menjadi kenyataan inshallah)

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A little but totally ROTFLMAO videoclip: White and Nerdy by Weird Al Yankovic.

Enjoy!

Another New Year: 1 Muharram 1429 H

Muslims celebrate the new year 1429 H according to the hijriyah calendar today, 10 January 2008. Just like a couple of years ago when we celebrated eid fitri twice a year, i.e. in early january and in the end of december, this year, we will observe an almost similar event for Awal Muharram ( The beginning of Muharram).

Common knowledge to many muslims, the hijrah calendar marked the day our prophet nabi Muhammad (SAW) made his flight of journey with those muslims from Makkah (termed as the muhajireen) to Madinah (and welcomed by the muslim people of madinah, termed as the Ansar) after the 13th year he was raised and chosen as the final prophet to preach the completion of the Abrahamic religion where it was declared as Islam.

Firman Allah in Al-Maaidah 5:3 (translation):

"This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion".

At-Taubah (9:100):

The vanguard (of Islam)- the first of those who forsook (their homes) (i.e. Al-muhajireen) and of those who gave them aid (i.e. Al-Ansaar), and (also) those who follow them in (all) good deeds,- well- pleased is Allah with them, as are they with Him: for them hath He prepared gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein for ever: that is the supreme felicity.





I was asked yesterday by Prof. AK on what would my resolution be and I told him as a matter-of-factly: To be better than i was in 2007. Short answer yet it summarized what i wished and desired for.



I need to redeem myself, especially that I still owe some technical papers to write and to be published in the online chemical engineering journal. And I need to shed off some more weight to get fitter, healthier and sexier. I also need to learn on improving myself on the time management skills as in less procrastination, more productivity and I need to manage whatever little savings I have in order to continue my next "mega" project on my new house.

Anyways, Awal Muharram is a national public holiday today, and I am off to visit my old friend Rashid Saharudin to see his first born baby, who is already a 6 months old boy called Mohd Danish Haiqal.

Here's wishing everyone a great year round, both 2008 and 1429 H. May we achieve better things and overall a better year than we had in 2007.

At the dawn of The New Year 2008, I shall...

Hmmmm.......let me think.....lotta things in my mind but I guess I will strive to better whatever necessary for the greater good of all human kind the survival (of the fittest).


Here's a clip from one of my all-time favourite movies: When harry met sally, during the moment they met once again during the new year eve and Harry began confessing all what he has felt for Sally all those while:

One thing for sure, I've been blogging for over 3 years now, but I only made the blog public in 2006. It was a bit jumbled up, contains haphazard sort of entries, not really something you should be checking down the archives but they reflected what those times were for me. It might have been one blog malarkey had i not seen what it would implicate in my life.

There was one time I wrote on my disappointment of not being able to attend the graduation day in the middle of 2006 but thank God, I made it this year. I only came to realize it recently when I did my own archive browsing. But please, under any circumstances, refrain yourself from going through them (rather inarticulate to put it mildly). After all, this is a biasa-biasa-sahaja (petty and trivial presentation) blog and does not even deserved to be remembered when was its 100th, 200th postings, anniversaries and so on.


But I've made friends with some of the bloggers in my "hot spot" list. Some I have met in the real life while others are cyber mates or somewhat close to that. Some are actually my real life old buddies/colleagues and I hope I aint giving some impression that I am here to open a can of worms.


I neither have a proper list of the New Year resolution nor do i really stick to everything that I've thought of as my own personal goals, but nevertheless, I do make my own mental notes of what I would really, really want to achieve in this year. Call me incorrigible but I reckon as a muslim, we are taught to persevere to do the best we can and when we have come to a certain point of our efforts, we execute them by tawakkal (submission with all our faith) to God for He knows better and He is the Almighty One, The omnipotent and the ever living.



Silent wishes and prayers they may be to any mortal but I never shy of asking them to be granted by Him. If he allows it, then so be it.



But above all, what i really do know now is that I am S.I.N.G.L.E again! There you go, my own personal declaration statement and not an iota ashamed of it (dalam hati please please please pretty please let there be single, available rightfully man for me!!!!!!!! ). Of all the things, MJ has chosen to uphold his traditions and would rather prefer to let his parents match him up with his local birds. A bit sad innit, but we are friends nonetheless. Ala2 teman tapi mesra, TTM.


(another clips: Single by Natasha Bedingfield , please click here).



Bismillahirrahmanirraheem, in the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful, I am hereby stepping into the year 2008 with refreshed spirit, revived mind and rejuvenated soul and hoping for more good things to come inshallah. The wiser, the sexier, the fitter, the healthier, the better, ameen.