12 inch

Dallas as the doctor walked into the small hospital room of Diana Blessing. She was still groggy from surgery.

Her husband, David, held her hand as they braced themselves for the latest news. That afternoon of March 10, 1991 , complications had forced Diana, only 24-weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency Cesarean to deliver couple's new daughter, Dana Lu Blessing.

At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound nine ounces, they already knew she was perilously premature. Still, the doctor's soft words dropped like bombs."I don't think she's going to make it," he said, as kindly as he could.

"There's only a 10-percent chance she will live through the night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does make it, her future could be a very cruel one."

Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor described the devastating problems Dana would likely face if she survived.

She would never walk, she would never talk, she would probably be blind, and she would certainly be prone to other catastrophic conditions from cerebral palsy to complete mental retardation, and on and on. "No! No!" was all Diana could say. She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin, had long dreamed of the day they would have a daughter to become a family of four.

Now, within a matter of hours, that dream was slipping away.

But as those first days passed, a new agony set in for David and Diana. Because Dana's underdeveloped nervous system was essentially 'raw', the lightest kiss or caress only intensified her discomfort, so they couldn't even cradle their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer the strength of their love.

All they could do, as Dana struggled alone beneath the ultraviolet light in the tangle of tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay close to their precious little girl.

There was never a moment when Dana suddenly grew stronger.

But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of weight here and an ounce of strength there.

At last, when Dana turned two months old, her parents were able to hold her in their arms for the very first time. And two months later, though doctors continued to gently but grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living any kind of normal life, were next to zero, Dana went home from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted. Five years later, when Dana was a petite but feisty young girl with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for life.

She showed no signs whatsoever of any mental or physical impairment. Simply, she was everything a little girl can be and more. But that happy ending is far from the end of her story.

One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her home in Irving , Texas , Dana was sitting in her mother's lap in the bleachers of a local ball park where her brother Dustin's baseball team was practicing. As always, Dana was chattering nonstop with her mother and several other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent. Hugging her arms across her chest, little Dana asked, "Do you smell that?"

Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana replied, "Yes, it smells like rain."

Dana closed her eyes and again asked, "Do you smell that?"

Once again, her mother replied, "Yes, I think we're about to get wet. It smells like rain." Still caught in the moment, Dana shook her head, patted her thin shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced.

"No, it smells like Him. It smells like God when he hold you."

Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Dana happily hopped down to play with the other children. Before the rains came, her daughter's words confirmed what Diana and all the members of the extended Blessing family had known, at least in their hearts, all along.

During those long days and nights of her first two months of her life, when her nerves were too sensitive for them to touch her, God was holding Dana and it is His loving scent that she remembers so well.

--

out of topic, check out my new header, guys! Featuring FT Island!

Cool LaptopS

Think tablet PCs are too expensive? Prices for Hewlett-Packard's Compaq tc4200, which was first released in February 2005, start at $1,599, which is $44 less than a similarly outfitted Compaq nc4200 notebook. Credit: Hewlett-Packard

Lenovo's X41T tablet is the first ThinkPad with a screen that swivels around to make a tablet PC. Retailing for $1,899, the tablet is Lenovo's first offering following its purchase of IBM's PC business earlier this year. Credit: Lenovo

Microsoft loves tablets. Here is CEO Steve Ballmer holding up the new ThinkPad X41 Tablet, from China's Lenovo Group, at Microsoft's TechEd 2005 back in June. Ballmer was quoted as saying that the tablet will run on Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005.

Gateway's new CX2600 notebook family, starting at $1,349, has a 14-inch wide screen that swivels around on a titanium frame. The 6-pound tablet comes with a flash card reader, wireless networking and slots for batteries that last for up to nine hours. Credit: Gateway

At just 2.2 pounds, the Fujitsu Siemens P1510 LifeBook convertible manages to squeeze in an 8.9-inch wide screen, 1.2GHz processor, 60GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, Wi-Fi and Blue tooth. The notebook was released on Aug. 8 and retails for $1,499. Credit: Fujitsu

Acer was one of the first computer companies to make a tablet PC. Its fourth-generation TravelMat--the C310--retails for $1,649.99 and features a 14-inch screen, an Intel Pentium M processor, 8.5 hours of battery life (when the battery extender is used) and a two-spindle convertible tablet design. Credit: Acer

My Virtual Look

Semuanye bermula dengan jemputan Kak Fairuz to Dorkistic Design as a co-designer.

“Send me your picture or avatar so that I can introduce you to the visitors," kata Kak Fairuz.

“Uh, takkan la nak guna avatar Taemin ni pula”, fikir Nana.

Lalu Nana terus buat request kepada Kak Nani : “Kak Nani, tolong lukis Pynkfaery! Rambut pynk, muka comel!”

Introducing,

Pynkfaery, desu!

[I'm holding Taemin close to my heart..]

Hand-made, custom-made, specially made for me by my beloved Kak Nani.

Sangat comel, deshou?

(p/s : Q-chan, sila jealous!)

To Kak Fairuz, you can use this picture to introduce me in DD next sem ^^!

Special thanx to Kak Nani kerana menghasilkan Pynkfaery yang sangat comel!
Sayang kamu! *Virtual Hugs x 1000!*

Haengbok Hamnida! (I'm Happy!) .::. Version 2

Bermula minggu lepas, Nana sangat busy!

- Perlu siapkan proposal leadership
- Leadership’s final presentation
- Script and props for drama
- Drama performance

Hari-hari kena buat props, hari-hari kena practice.
Hari-hari kena edit skrip.
Kejap potong kat sini, pas tu nak tambah kat sana pulak.
Tiap-tiap malam tido lewat.
Nana tak dapat kerjasama sepenuhnya dari beberapa group mates drama.
Jadi, practice tak berjalan dengan lancar.

Bila semua group mates dah mula sedar maksud ‘tanggungjawab’, banyak pulak masalah lain yang menimpa.

Yang ade test, yang kene buat assignment, yang ade presentation, yang ade kelas malam, yang ade meeting.. semua orang banyak betol komitmen.
Jadi, practice tetap x dpt dijalankan dengan lancar.

Sejam sebelum drama performance pun, kami masih buat latihan.

Masih ada yang tak ingat skrip, lighting pun tak tentu hala. Oleh sebab tak pernah practice, Nana pun tak tawu kat mana part Nana, memang kelam kabut. Nana yakin yang group Nana tak dapat perform dengan baik. Semua tunggang-langgang. 15 minutes sebelum drama performance, props kami tak siap lagi. Huru-hara, guys..

Akibat terlalu risau dgn performance tu, Nana tak makan sepanjang hari.. sangat lapar, oK!
Nana sangat miserable.. Sesiapa saja yang tengok our final practice, memang tawu betapa problematicnya our group. Sangat tak tersusun. Allah je yang tawu betapa kecewanya Nana dengan group Nana yang tunggang-langgang tu, kecewa dengan diri sendiri (I’m the director), kecewa sangat-sangat that I cried few minutes before the performance!

Nana sangat bersyukur sebab Nana dapat sokongan yang tak berbelah-bahagi dari kawan-kawan Nana.

“Relax.. ure going to do just fine. I’m giving u my full support! Don’t u worry, darl..” – Q-chan

“Nana, what ever happens, Nik tawu semua efforts Nana towards the performance, and it’s not your fault..” – Nik-san

Oh yes, some ‘ganbatte’ wishes from Kak Didi and Ecah.

And also a hug from Syasya, my dear friend.

Sharp on 8.10pm last nite, my group was the first to perform. Somehow, entah macam mana, I think I did great. Our performance was not as bad as I thought it would be. Yes, ada yang lupa skrip, tapi pandai-pandai cover la. It supposed to be a serious performance (well, the play is about jual-jual organ badan, ok? Scary!), but somehow, tiba-tiba audiens ketawa a lot during our performance. Entah macam mana ter’transform’ ke drama komedi. I think we did great. Yeah, we did. Masa Nana turun stage, I heard something.

“Nana comel!!”, shouted Fredie.

Hehe, thank you, Fredie. I know I am.

Drama dah habes.
Proposal leadership dah hantar.
Leadership’s final presentation dah lepas jugak dengan jayanya.
Nana dah boleh senyum lagi ..
Haengbok hamnida!

p/s : Kenapa version 2? Sebab sebelum ni memang Nana ade post satu entri dengan tajuk yang sama.

Laundry

Pernah tak rakan-rakan alami kejadian macam ni?

Masa nak amik pakaian di jemuran, pakaian kita semua ditolak ke bahagian tepi ampaian. Sebab ada orang jemur pakaian dy di tempat tersebut.

Nana dah banyak kali lalui perkara macam ni. Hidup kat hostel, pandai-pandai la bertoleransi. Baju tu, kalau dah kering, kutip la. Buat apa jemur dua tiga hari. Orang lain pun nak guna jugak ampaian tu.

Nana tak pernah marah kalau Nana tengok baju-baju Nana dah ditolak ke tepi. Memang Nana lambat amik pakaian kat jemuran, sebab kelas Nana habis lewat petang. Lagipun, baju-baju tu dah kering, buat apa Nana nak marah. Lain la kalau baju still tak kering, orang tolak ke tepi, memang x kering la jawabnya. Tapi kejadian macam tu tak pernah terjadi lagi la setakat ni =]

Pagi tadi, masa Nana nak jemur pakaian, ampaian penuh, tak de ruang dah. So Nana cari la baju-baju yang dah kering, lipat elok-elok sebelum tolak ke tepi (kang renyuk pulak baju orang~). Lepas tu Nana gerak ke mahallah Maryam, buat props drama.

Petang baru balik, dalam pukul 5.30 macam tu. Masa Nana nak masuk bilik, ada la sorang perempuan ni terpacak tepi ampaian. Muka macam tak puas hati betul, takot Nana tengok. Tiba-tiba, dia menjerit dengan suara yang sangat kuat dan nyaring, bergema blok tu!

“Celaka betol, sape tolak baju-baju aku ke tepi!!?? Gile ah macam ni! Eeeee, geramnya akuuu!!”

Nana dah faham~ dia marah sebab Nana tolak baju-baju dia.. Belum sempat Nana nak mintak maaf, rakan-rakan bloggers tawu tak ape perempuan tu buat? Dia sentap baju-baju Nana dari ampaian dengan kasarnya, dan buang ke lantai! Perangai ape ni..

“Bodoh betul, jemur la kat tempat lain! Buta kot! Tak nampak ke baju-baju aku kat situ! Memang bangang!”

Mulut dia memang tak henti-henti memaki-hamun. Dahsyat betul perempuan ni, begitu fikir Nana. Nana pun kutip balik baju-baju Nana dari lantai. Dia terdiam bila tengok Nana amik baju-baju tu.

“Ni semua baju saya. Saya yang tolak baju-baju awak, sebab tadi tak ada tempat nak jemur. Lagipun baju-baju awak dah kering. Dah LAAAMA kering, dah seminggu kat ampaian. Buat apa jemur baju sampai seminggu? Ampaian ni bukan awak sorang je yang guna. Dua puluh orang kongsi benda yang sama. Nak angkat baju pun tak larat? Bukannya guni beras, baju je pun. Kalau otak saya macam otak awak, saya dah buang semua baju-baju awak dalam tong sampah. Menyemak. Nasib baik Allah bagi saya otak yang waras.”

Reaksi si dia? Terkejut + ternganga + dan membisu seribu bahasa. Biarlah. Suka hati je maki hamun orang. Entah apa-apa. Nana kena gi laundry lagi sekali. Baju-baju Nana yang dah kering dan wangi dengan bantuan softener Daia, dah kotor balik sebab dibuang ke lantai oleh perempuan tersebut.

Solat Tiang Agama

Diriwayatkan bahawa pada suatu hari Rasulullah S.A.W sedang duduk bersama para sahabat. Kemudian datang pemuda Arab masuk ke dalam masjid dengan menangis. Apabila Rasulullah S.A.W melihat pemuda itu menangis, maka baginda pun berkata, 'Wahai orang muda, kenapa kamu menangis?' Maka berkata orang muda itu, 'Ya Rasulullah S.A.W, ayah saya telah meninggal dunia dan tidak ada kain kafan dan tidak ada orang yang hendak memandikannya.' Lalu Rasulullah S.A.W memerintahkan Abu Bakarr.a. dan Umar r.a. ikut orang muda itu untuk melihat masalahnya. Setelah mengikut orang itu, maka Abu Bakar r.a dan Umar r.a. mendapati ayah orang muda itu telah bertukar rupa menjadi babi hitam.

Maka mereka pun kembali dan memberitahu kepada Rasulullah S.A.W, 'Ya Rasulullah S.A.W, kami lihat mayat ayah orang ini bertukar menjadi babi hutan yang hitam.' Kemudian Rasulullah S.A.W dan para sahabat pun pergi ke rumah orang muda itu dan baginda pun berdoa kepada Allah S.W.T. Kemudian mayat itu pun kembali kepada bentuk manusia semula. Lalu Rasulullah S.A.W dan para sahabat menyembahyangkan mayat tersebut. Apabila mayat itu hendak dikebumikan, maka sekali lagi mayat itu berubah menjadi seperti babi hutan yang hitam.

Maka Rasulullah S.A.W pun bertanya kepada pemuda itu, 'Wahai orang muda, apakah yang telah dilakukan oleh ayahmu sewaktu dia didunia dulu?'

Berkata orang muda itu, 'Sebenarnya ayahku ini tidak mahu mengerjakan solat.' Kemudian Rasulullah S.A.W bersabda, 'Wahai para sahabatku, lihatlah keadaan orang yang meninggalkan sembahyang. Di hari kiamat nanti akan dibangkitkan oleh Allah S.W.T seperti babi hutan yang hitam.'

---

Di zaman Abu Bakar r.a ada seorang lelaki yang meninggal dunia dan sewaktu mereka menyembahyanginya, tiba2 kain kafan itu bergerak. Apabila mereka membuka kain kafan itu, mereka melihat ada seekor ular sedang membelit leher mayat tersebut serta memakan daging dan menghisap darah mayat. Lalu mereka cuba membunuh ular itu.

Apabila mereka cuba untuk membunuh ular itu, maka berkata ular tersebut, 'Laa ilaaha illallahu Muhammadu Rasulullah, mengapakah kamu semua hendak membunuh aku? Aku tidak berdosa dan aku tidak bersalah. Allah S..W.T yang memerintahkan kepadaku supaya menyeksanya sehingga sampai hari kiamat.'

Lalu para sahabat bertanya, 'Apakah kesalahan yang telah dilakukan oleh mayat ini?'

Berkata ular, 'Dia telah melakukan tiga kesalahan, di antaranya;
1. Apabila dia mendengar azan, dia tidak mahu datang untuksembahyang
2. Dia tidak mahu keluarkan zakat hartanya.
3. Dia tidak mahu mendengar nasihat para ulama. Maka inilah balasannya' .

Nana-chan : Rakan-rakan, jangan lupa solat, ya?

Tension + FTI's Heaven

Nana sangat busy.
Skrip drama tak memorize lagi.
Assignment G.A belum siap lagi.
Props drama pun belum siap lagi.
Belum ready untuk presentation leadership this coming Saturday.
Saye sangat tension.

SHINee International Forum is organizing their first graphix contest. Nana nak join (walaupun saye budak baru belajar, tak sehebat mana pun lagi photoshoping ni), tapi nak join~ the deadline is this coming October 24th. Dengan kerja yang sangat banyak ni, Nana tak sempat nak cari masa untuk siapkan graphix Nana.. uh.

Kak Fairuz, mesti kakak pun join the contest, kan?!

---

New header, guys!
Featuring Taemin from SHINee.
Sebenarnya header ni berkembar.
Kembar dari segi design.
U can view the other one here : Kak Nani's Ginevra Un-interrupted~!

---

FT Island’s Heaven


FTI’s Colorful Sensibility : The Repackaged Album will be coming soon! One of the track, titled ‘Heaven’ memang betul-betul meruntun jiwa =]

The MVs are great. But honestly, I prefer the second part. Jaejin is the main star at last! Each of the FT Islander dah penah jadi main star in their MVs.

We can see Hongki as the main star in nearly all of their MVs [he’s the lead vocal].
We can see Minhwan as the main star in ‘Thunder’.
We can see Jonghun in ‘A Man’s First Love Follows Him to The Grave’, and again in ‘Heaven : Part I’.
We can see Wonbin in ‘Until You Return’.
And the latest one, "Heaven : Part II", it's Jaejin! Jaejin sangat comel.

Attention to Q-chan : Do not spoil the fun by watching the MVs on Youtube! Nana ade yang kualiti cun punye, lengkap dengan English sub (=^^=).

Amazing Striped Icebergs

Icebergs in the Antarctic area sometimes have stripes, formed by layers of snow that react to different conditions. Blue stripes are often created when a crevice in the ice sheet fills up with meltwater and freezes so quickly that no bubbles form. When an iceberg falls into the sea, a layer of salty seawater can freeze to the underside. If this is rich in algae, it can form a green stripe. Brown, black and yellow lines are caused by sediment, picked up when the ice sheet grinds downhill towards the sea.