Party of Five

“Ya Allah! Aku mohon pemilihan-Mu menerusi pengetahuan-Mu dan aku mohon kekuatan-Mu menerusi kudrat-Mu serta aku minta pada-Mu sebahagian daripada limpah kurnia-Mu yang sangat besar. Sesungguhnya Engkau amat berkuasa sedangkan aku tidak berkuasa. Engkau amat mengetahui sedangkan aku tidak mengetahui dan sesungguhnya Engkau amat mengetahui segala yang ghaib. Ya Allah, kiranya Engkau mengetahui bahawa perkara ini adalah baik bagiku dalam urusan agamaku juga dalam urusan penghidupanku serta natijah pada urusanku, kini dan akan datang, maka tetapkanlah ia bagiku dan permudahkanlah ia untukku, serta berkatilah daku padanya. Dan kiranya Engkau mengetahui bahawa perkara ini  membawa kejahatan kepadaku dalam urusan agamaku, juga dalam urusan penghidupanku dan natijah urusanku, kini dan akan datang, maka elakkanlah ia daripadaku dan tetapkanlah kebaikan untukku sebagaimana sepatutnya, kemudian jadikanlah daku meredhainya.”

Kredit: SirapLimau “Ya Allah bahawasanya waktu duha itu waktu duhamu, kecantikan itu ialah kecantikanmu , keindahan itu keindahanmu, kekuatan itu kekuatanmu ,kekuasaan itu kekuasaanmu dan perlindungan itu perlindunganmu. Ya Allah jika rezekiku masih di atas langit, turunkanlah dan jika ada di dalam bumi, keluarkanlah, jika sukar mudahkanlah, jika haram sucikanlah. Jika masih jauh dekatkanlah. Berkat waktu duha, keagungan, keindahan, kekuatan dan kekuasaanmu, limpahkanlah kepada kami segala yang telah engkau limpahkan kepada hamba-hambamu yang soleh.” Lafaz Niat Solat Dhuha "Aku solat sunat Duha dua rakaat kerana Allah Taala” Solat Duha boleh dilakukan dengan dua (2) rakaat sahaja atau boleh diulang sehingga enam (6) kali solat. Bacaan dalam solat dibolehkan membaca sebarang surah. Namun begitu dicadangkan untuk membaca surah al-Shams pada rakaaat pertama dan pada rakaat kedua surah ad-Duha Kredit: SirapLimau Nota IzzaProEdit: Lazimnya ejaan Duha ditulis s...

Novel terbaharu aku dah keluar akhir Jun lepas. Tapi belum ada di kedai. Penerbit menjualnya menerusi online dahulu. Jadi kepada sesiapa yang nak dapatkan Srikandi vs Arjuna, boleh membelinya daripada Karangkraf Mall ataupun daripada Novel Kafe . Kalau beli dengan Novel Kafe , harus dapat autograf kan? Hehehe...tapi kena mentionlah yer sebab aku hidup dua alam. Pisahkan kehidupan peribadi dengan kehidupan glamor sebagai penulis. Eh...glamour ke? Hahahaha....entah. Aku tak kisah bab glamour atau popular. Yang aku kisahkan ialah royalti. Hasil penat lelah aku berangan-angan kuharapkan berbaloi. Mungkin di Malaysia ni masih belum banyak penulis yang jadi jutawan kerana menulis. Hanya beberapa orang sahaja yang kukira berjaya menjadi jutawan buku. Mungkin aku akan menyusul jejak langkah penulis jutawan tersebut. Siapa tahu, kan? Saja nak kongsi gambar kat bawah ni. Bikin hati berbunga-bunga....hahahaha Ni betul-betul laris ataupun sekadar gimik marketing? Seandainya betul-betul l...

My precious.... Tahun lepas, hati aku terbuka nak cuba hantar manuskrip kepada Alaf21. Sebalum ni aku tak begitu ambil serius pun pasal dnegan siapa aku menulis. Janji buku keluar. Royalti dikira sebagai bonus hasil penat lelah aku menulis. Tapi entah mengapa, setelah mengambil iktibar daripada beberapa kejadian dengan penerbit lama, hati aku semakin tergerak dan kuat untuk menghantar manuskrip ke Alaf21. Siapa tak kenal Alaf21 yang bernaung di bawah payung Karangkraf, gergasi dalam dunia penerbitan negara? Aku nak masuk sana pun, rasa macam tak layak...hehehe. Tapi aku kuatkan hati. Aku pun hantar manuskrip bulan 6 tahun lepas menggunakan nama aku sendiri, bukan nama pena aku Izza Aripin. Tujuannya supaya jika aku diterima, biarlah aku diterima kerana kualiti manuskrip. Bukan kerana nama pena Izza Aripin. Benar jangkaanku. Pada mulanya penerbit tidak dapat teka siapa aku. Manuskrip aku diterima. Tapi Malaysia ni besar mana sangat. Nak sembunyi kat mana lagi. Sekali google, t...

Jika berminat nak beli, boleh hubungi Facebook Novel Kafe Akhirnya....yang ditunggu muncul juga. Maka terjawablah segala persoalan. Maka terlerailah segala perasaan gundah-gulana dan tertanya-tanya yang menghurung kepada otak aku semenjak PBAKL hari tu. Alkisah nak dikeluarkan semasa PBAKL, namun hajat tak kesampaian sebab proses penerbitannya baru nak bermula. Hairan juga aku semasa diberitahu yang novel ini akan ke pesta padahal prufnya pun aku tak semak lagi...hehehe. Walau bagaimanapun, buku ini sempat juga masuk Pesta Buku Selangor Jun ini. Moga sambutannya lebih hebat daripada novel-novel sebelum ini. Hei...semua penulis mendoakan begitu setiap kali buah tangan mereka berjaya diterbitkan.

Ahad ni aku buat majlis pembukaan rasmi kedai The Kids Locker . Akhirnya....buat juga. Sebab dalam rancangan asal memang tak ada memandangkan bajet ketat. Tapi ada rezeki sikit, buatlah doa selamat moga murah rezeki kami. Tadi plak aku tengok kat wall A21, promo novel baharu aku dah keluar. Gembira tak terhingga. Sebab tu dalam minggu ni ada sambutan berganda.

Dulu aku ada masalah fasal brand name syarikat, daripada FUKUKIDS WORLD kepada THE KIDS LOCKER. Hari ni aku ada masalah fasal nama syarikat pula, NOVEL CAFE. Tadi aku pergi SSM konon-kononnya nak tambah maklumat syarikat sebab dalam sijil asal tak ada pun nature bisnes yang aku jalankan. Alkisah, pegawai kaunter tu cakap, nama NOVEL CAFE tu hanya untuk kafe semata-mata dan tak boleh nak guna untuk jenis perniagaan lain. Maknanya mereka ni ikut makna secara harafiahlah yer. Bukan semantik atau anafora atau metafora hatta mistik sekali pun? Tapi mengapa nama Cyber Cafe boleh padahal mana ada semua pusat kafe siber menjual makanan dan minuman untuk patronnya. Macam tak adil je kan? Maka kenalah aku mendaftar syarikat baharu dengan nama yang lain. Kelam-kabut aku cari idea dalam waktu yang singkat. Thaqif pula mula dah mengamuk nak beli aiskrim dan tengok LRT Putra lalu kat luar bangunan. Jadi aku call hubby aku tanya. Dia suruh bubuh aje nama kedai. Aku pun malas nak fikir panjang,...

The Kids Locker, dua dari kiri. Nampak tak baju-baju yang bergantungan tu? Hari ini selepas beberapa bulan, aku terasa penat sangat. Walaupun semalam aku menerima dua berita yang begitu menggembirakan, tapi kalau dah penat, memang tak larat langsung dibuatnya. Minggu lepas, dapat kunci kedai. Maka berhempas pulas aku memikul barang-barang naik ke atas kedai tiga hari berturut-turut. Mau turun 3kg lagi...hahaha. Bukan itu saja. Aku penat juga ke hulu ke hilir mengambil stok buku yang dipesan. Alhamdulillah, Novel Kafe mendapat pesanan buku yang bertimbun-timbun semenjak pesta buku yang lepas. Kemudian sibuk pula uruskan hal kedai sana sini. Ulang-alik ke pejabat pos. Semalam aku terima 2 naskhah Mufin Manja versi terjemahan dalam bahasa Indonesia. Kemudian editor A21 telefon beritahu yang novel aku ditukar tajuk kepada ehem ehem ehem. Tak boleh announce dulu. Kut-kut ada pihak tertentu yang Google tajuk tu dan link terus ke blog rahsia aku ni, buat naya aje...hahaha. Tajuk no...

bukan tajuk dan cover sebenar The busiest weeks have already started. Today KLIBF 2011 starts until next week. As a writer, my busy schedule starts. As a retailer, my stocks buying also starts. I have to grab the best deals offered during the fest. Finding new supplier, products and prospects. That I will hopefully do today. Tomorrow, I will attend the fest as a writer~witnessing one of my writer friend's novel launching and collecting my latest royalty...hehehe. On Monday, I have to fetch the keys to The Kids Locker. Yup, the CF has finally released and we can move in. Yippie! Also I will have to visit my supplier at Klang and find new stocks. The next day, Tuesday and Wednesday, The Kids Locker booth will be opened at Wisma Tani, Putrajaya. Then on Thursday, I have an interview for BB ambassador's selection...hahaha. I will tell this story later if I think its worth mentioning. Then on Saturday, I will be back to KLIBF to meet few writer friends. We will have a disc...

Oven aku terbakar lagi. Dah lama tak membakar...hahaha. Kali ini aku membakar kek coklat lembab atau moist (moih?). Semenjak berakhirnya Ramadan tahun lepas, dapur oven aku tutup. Tapi selepas cik abang bawa balik kek coklat moist minggu lepas, anak-anak terus minta kek lagi. Maka aku selongkar gerobok yang dah berhabuk, cari stok untuk buat kek. Semuanya ada kecuali gula kastor dan serbuk koko yang dah tinggal tak sampai separuh. Tapi waktu tu hari dah malam. Kedai pun dah nak tutup. Demi tak mengecewakan anak-anak, aku buat ajelah kek guna bahan yang ada. Siap blend gula lagi supaya halus...hahaha. Sebelum mula membakar kek, macam biasa aku kenalah selongkar dapur online chef lain. Resepi ni aku dapat kat myresepi.com. Lupa pula nak salin linknya. Google ajelah kek coklat moist oleh Kak Izan...hehehe. Bahan-bahan kek ( 21 x 21 cm ) 2 cawan tepung gandum (aku guna terpung berserbuk penaik Bluekey) 2 sudu kecil baking powder 2 cawan gula halus (aku guna gula kasar yang dikisar...

K-J pop love? Hmm...sounds like something is not right. Well...let me explain before anybody conjured up weird ideas on my entry title. It's actually Korean and Japanese pop song. Not only song but their drama and movies. I was into Japanese anime long before Korean pop became such a phenomenon here. I still adored The Robotech Saga, known widely in America and few parts of the world. Originally it was known as Macross, the Southern Cross, and Mospeada. Long before that, it was Captain Future, Toriton, and many others. I forgot almost all of it since I'm older now...heheh. But with the Internet, one can simply google up all those long lost memories. But I pass on the past. I'm looking into the future now. Having plenty of free times these days, I started to pay attention to the current trend, which is Korean drama and music, that have become so popular especially to the younger generations. Well...my love for Japanese anime has not lessened since the yesteryears. I ren...

How do I spend my free time? Since I have a lot 'em, apart from managing my home business, I've decided to play around with HTML codes. This time around, I've decorated all my blogs with a cute and kawaii background. How do I accomplish that? Well, I found help from these blogger experts who love to decorate their blogs just like me. Just click the individual picture if you want to visit them. hotbliggityblog.com leelou-freelayouts.blogspot.com thecutestblogontheblock.com For business purpose, all my blogs must look cute and 'enticing' to the eyes of my customers. That was why I choose all the cute and feminine background...a contrast to my own personality...hehe. Unfortunately, not all my blogs can have cute and feminine type background. My e-novel blog, the Melarik Enigma , once used this cute background. But later, I felt it was all wrong. The background did not blend well with the content. So I search for the perfect blog background that can ...

The name Fukukids World came on the spot. Fuku in Japanese means cloths. Kids are, of course, means kids. Therefore, I'm combining those two words to become Fukukids which means kids clothing. Later I add the word World to add some class to the brand name. But after some time, I begin to realize that the name is pronounced wrongly, could mean something else. Something really not nice. Go figure. Hence, I decided to change it. After much thoughts, I have chosen The Kids Locker . At first, it was The Kids Closet. But somebody else has used it and we are in the same business. I proceed with  The  Kids Locker  after googling it to search whether anybody else is using it. The rationale of the new name: What's in every kid's locker? Cloths, books, stationery, shoes, socks, toys and maybe some snacks. All these items will be in our store soon. So, the name The Kids Locker spell out our business clearly.

As I woke up this morning, my mind starts racing to chart my activities for today. I started off with designing few logos for my company and brands. I came out with four new designs. But not sure whether I'm going to use it for official purpose or not. Hiring a designer for jobs such as these, cost quite a lot. So I better squeezed my creative juices and DIY. And the results are....   What do you think? Can I pass as an amateur designer? Hahaha...I love this job. If I had a chance, I will take up short courses just to master few skills in simple designing. Maybe after my shop is fully operating and when I can afford hiring hands, I will consider this idea. There's no deadline for studying :D

Bukan cover dan tajuk sebenar ALHAMDULILLAH! It's the best word that I can say today. After so many days counting hopes and prayers, Allah has made my utmost dream comes true. It supposed to be middle of this year. But the publisher decides to published it during the Pesta Buku Kuala Lumpur!!!!!!! I am thus joyous!!! The happiest writer on the planet!!!! I really need miracles and this is one of it. I hope, thus I pray that good news such as this will never stop. Greedy? Yes...now I have to be greedy to make my life more meaningful after such horrid event . Alhamdulillah...may all plans work as planned and be successful and blessed.

It's the beginning of a new chapter in my private life. No more talk about the past. It's all about me and my impian , here now and the future forward. We have been planning for this for quite some time. At first, we want to open it at his kampung...since originally it was his idea. Mine was to open a bookstore. But after the current unpleasant event, I have decided to proceed with his plan but with my ideas...eheheh. The lady boss rule!!! So here it is...our shop...soon to be opened. stairway to the 1st floor  Our shop is located on the first floor of the two-story building shop lot. plan to put little signboard up there for walk-in customer to see us partly done renovation work in progress from the front view straight to the back Lot's of renovation works need to be done. The partitions have not yet been install. I'm still thinking about the floor. With a limited budget, we can put parquet flooring or even tiles. I would prefer it wil...

End of last year, I went for an interview at some college in Negeri Sembilan. The post was for a lecturer. I was told to prepare 10 minutes mock teaching on any subject in management. So I choose the 4 functions of management. Very straightforward and easy to understand. I thought I was prepared. But when I walk into the doors, it was beyond my expectation. Before the mock-up, I was told to imagine teaching a second-year degree student. So I did was I was told. But then, one of the interviewees interrupted me and asking for a case study to be compared with the theory. What the heck? Am I supposed to teach degree students or masters students? Not only that, they kept on comparing our local universities, especially the public universities to the UK's. Saying that our own public universities were not to the UK standards, in academic achievement and academic excellence. I don't know what to say. I'm not the one who should be judging that. I thought I flop the interview ...

Talking about being entrepreneurial, I, without hesitation, as always, act on instinct, kamikaze, set up my own company. I have been thinking about this since 2005. At least I started doing online and soon perhaps have my own physical store. It's still on establishing phase and fragile. Lots of effort has to be pumped in and not forgetting the MONEY....hahaha. Prior to that, I have launched Jajan Packs (a brand under Novel Cafe). Now being run by my housewife sister. She also runs my renting outlet for Novel Kafe (a brand under Novel Cafe). And yesterday, I let my instinct takes control of my action again and as a result, Fukukids World was born.  Three love under one roof. What about my writing? Well since nowadays I was trapped in Facebook gaming center, I don't write anymore. Apart from busy setting up and running my small business, of course. But I know it's not the most right and wisest thing to do...letting yourself indulged too much ...