Buka Puasa Gathering

Alright, so this will be the final installment of our sahur/buka puasa gathering that we've been having for the past 2 weeks.


Please read carefully:
Unlike the previous 2 events, this event will be held on Saturday(Sept 29th)

Not Friday.


Anywaaayyyss.


The other details are as follows:
Venue: Carr Lounge (PAR)
Time: 6:30pm onwards
Menu: Chicago Style Hotdogs + Fries (Prepared by Cikmat)
Price: $5.00 (This includes 2 hotdogs + fries)
RSVP: By Friday Night


*You MUST RSVP to Alina or Nadiah either
1. In person (You can meet them at Is' housewarming)
2. by Email, or
3. by calling them.

See ya then! :D

Change of plans, Buka Puasa instead of Latenight Supper

Dear all,

Sorry for the late notice but tomorrow, we'll be having buka puasa instead of the latenight supper from 6.30pm onwards at Carr Lounge. The menu is still the same, Syauqi will be cooking nasi paprik ;) as always, its a fundraising, so it's still $3.50 . Please spread the words around just in case ada yang tak sempat baca email okay..

Thanks! See you ;)

Regards,
Nadiah

p/s: 100% profit from this event and next will go to the charity fund. So far we have collected $52 from last week and $100 from personal contribution from Dr. Gabriel Walter (my housemate). Our goal is to reach RM1,000 (equivalent to about $295). So spread the words guys. - cikmat

Iftar @ Masjid

SALAM TO ALL AND RAMDAN MUBARAK

THE PAKISTANI FAMILIES IN OUR COMMUNITY ARE INVITING THE WHOLE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND THEIR FRIENDS TO THE IFTAR TODAY, THURSDAY, THE 8TH OF RAMADAN.

from CIMIC mailing list...

Sahur No. 2

Assalamualaikum and hello again every one :)

On behalf of the UMNO committee,
I would just like to sincerely thank everyone who came out last Friday makan², donated $3.50 (or more :)) and made our first "sahur" together enjoyable.

So with that, I'd like to invite all of you to attend our 2nd Sahur :)
The details are as follows:

Date: Friday, 21st of September 2007
Venue: Carr Lounge
Time: 11.30pm - 12.30am
RSVP: To Alina Amir by Wednesday Night (11.59pm) Noon on Thursday (12pm)
*Please RSVP cause it'll be easier for us to decide on how much food to prepare.
Tak nak bazir kan? :)*

This Friday, we will dine with only the finest food, cooked by one of the finest chef (teehee),
Muhammad Syauqi Alias :)

Syauqi will kindly masak paprik for us to eat this Friday :D yuumm!!

So yes. Come come. Sila datang!
Don't forget, it'll be $3.50 /meal.

Any inquires?
Contact Shahiratunnawwar Mohd Sharkar [Shahira] at (217) 819-1568.

Selamat Berpuasa everyone! :)

$2-Show @ Krannert in September

One of the best kept secrets in CU.

Wednesday, September 19 at 7:30pm
UI New Music Ensemble
Eduardo Diazmuñoz, conductor

A program of newer music featuring A Mirror on Which to Dwell by Elliott Carter, who will be turning 100 in 2008. Also on the program will be Acta Non Verba by U of I graduate composer James Bunch, and other works by guest composers to be announced.


Friday, September 21 at 7:30pm
UI Symphony Orchestra
Donald Schleicher, director

Donald Schleicher leads this School of Music ensemble in Wagner's Prelude to "Die Meistersinger," Prokofiev's class suite from Romeo and Juliet, and Symphony No. 3 by Chen Yi.


Saturday, September 22 about 10pm
Afterglow: Screaming Salsa

CU's premiere salsa band will ignite the night with their electrifying Latin rhythms. This saucy eight-member ensemble features some of the area's finest musicians and vocalists and promises a salsa fervor that will have everyone up and moving (FREE EVENT)

Selamat Berpuasa

Quick note guys, insyaAllah puasa start besok, Thursday. Usually ada free iftar/buka kat masjid for students everyday, both for male and female. Terawikh start every evening at 8.30pm.

Lafaz Niat Puasa Untuk Sebulan:
نـَوَيْتُ صَوْم َ شـَهْرِ رَمـَضَانَ كـُلـِهِ لِلـَّهِ تـَعَالىَ
“Sahaja aku berpuasa keseluruhan bulan Ramadhan kerana Allah Ta”ala”

Lafaz Niat Puasa Harian:
نـَوَيْتُ صَوْمَ غـَدٍ عَـنْ ا َدَاءِ فـَرْض ِ شـَهْرِ رَمـَضَانَ هـَذِهِ السَّـنـَةِ لِلـَّهِ تـَعَالىَ
“Sahaja aku berpuasa esok hari menunaikan Fardhu Ramadhan tahun ini kerana Alalh Ta’ala"

Wassalam

Kelab UMNO Chicago Fundraising Latenight Supper

Assalamualaikum & a big hello to all, =)

Now that Ramadhan is heading near (in 3 days time actually), Kelab UMNO Chicago will be organizing a fundraising latenight supper for 3 consecutive Friday nights starting this Friday (14th)!

It's a big yaaay for the freshmen, i know since it's our first puasa here ;) but anyways, here are the details..

Date : Friday 14th, 21st & 28th

Time : 11pm - 12.30 am

Place : Carr Lounge (PAR block)

It's $3.50 per meal and half of the profit will be donated to Rumah Amal Limpahan Kasih (Charity Home of Flowing Love) back in Malaysia where they help the orphans, children of the poor and even the senior citizens. For more info, you can check out the website http://limpahankasih.blogspot.com/2007/04/ralk-introduction.html

and for those who are willing to donate more, you are most definitely welcome to do so and we will put 100% of your donation into the fund ;)

RSVP : Please contact Alina , aamir2@uiuc.edu by Wednesday night, 11.59 pm. If you'd like to pay before hand to Alina, you can. If not, (to make it easier for those who are not within the PAR radius) you can pay on the day itself.

Menu : Friday 14th, Cik Mat is sooooo kind to cook us Mee Jawa! definitely don't wana miss this guys! =) http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a236/hanieliza8/masakan/MeeJawa.jpg

For the next 2 Fridays, I'll constantly update the blog to let you know the menu and who the beloved chef will be hehehe. So remember to check it here ya..

Feel free to contact me, Nadiah at affendi2@uiuc.edu or lagi senang 217-819-1690 for any questions okay ;)

Hope to see you there! And Happy Fasting!

Merdeka-UMNO BBQ in Chicago

The "long" drive from Urbana to Chicago didnt turn out to be so long :)
At least it wasnt in the UMNO (Scooby Doo) Mystery Machine!
Lol. I'm not probably making sense. But oh well.

We drove around Michigan Avenue and checked out the awesome architecture of Chicago
And i sweartogod, i kid you not when i say they are amazing :)
*We didnt actually get to stroll down Michigan Ave. So pictures are limited*

Once we arrived at the BBQ Place (sorry, i cant recall the name of the place), we headed straight towards Lake Michigan.
It was breathtaking.
It's pretty awesome to see a lake so huge that it actually resembles the ocean. Complete with sand AND waves.
It was simply beautiful.

As usual, we spent the day eating chicken and playing football + Frisbee.

After that, we headed to Abg Ikrom's (apologies for any misspelling) place for prayers.

Of course, the day would not be complete without any money spent on shopping.
We actually went to Wisconsin! To the Prime Outlet.

Alhamdulillah, the day ended well and we arrived back in Urbana-Champaign a lil over 2am :)

Changes in the Passenger's List to Chicago

There have a been a few changes in the passenger's list to Chicago (who's going with whose car and all).

The changes are kinda minimal, and most of you guys are still going with the same people in the previous list, but just to be sure, check it anyways alright? :)

See you tomorrow! :D

Budget 2008: More Money Coming In?

"Effective September 2007, the Government will increase the COLA for students in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada by up to 97%, almost double the current rate". - PM tables three-pronged Budget 2008

Selalunya, kalau JPA naik, MARA, TNB and the rest would follow.

Chicago Trip This Weekend

Here is the plan on Saturday:

7.45am - Drivers will pick you up(passenger list***)
8.15am - All vehicles meet up at PAR to convoy to Chicago
12-3pm - BBQ at Northwestern University campus
3.30pm - Solat jamak in a masjid in Devon
4-6pm - Shopping in Aurora* (Chicago Premium Outlet)
8-10pm - Millennium Park in Downtown Chicago**
11pm - Drive pass through Michigan Avenue and Return to Champaign

* Check out the website and plan accordingly. You'll only have 2 hours.
**There will be a free classical/opera concert in the park.

Driving time to Chicago is about 3 hours. Feel free to bring your homework/reading assignment etc.

*** Passenger List:
A) Minivan with Syauqi (Depart 5pm FRIDAY)
Akmal Arif Abd Rahim
Amalina Nadiah Affendi
Mohamed Syazzwan Mohamed Nasir
Mohd Umar Mohd Marzuki
Muhammad Syauqi Alias
Khairil Azlan Rasemi
Muhamad Naquib Suhairi

B) Car with Hafiz
Mohd Hafiz Zainudin
Mohd Khairul Nizam Samingon
Muhammad Afiq Hamzah
Muhd Iskandar Shah Safar
Yeong Hoong Chieh

C) Car with Iskandar
Norshahida Ismail
Muhammad Isa Mansor (Six-Pack)
Ezra Zaidi Zainal
Mohamad Iskandar Yahaya

D) Car with Billy (All at Six-Pack)
Ehsan Mohd Saleh
Feisol Aqmel Che Hamzah
Abdul Azim Abdul Hamid
Billy Lau
Zainul Afkar Zainal Azim

E) Van with Cikmat
Ezamil Suhaimi
Alina Amir
Asma Zalykha Mohd Zahid
Mohd Rapik Saat
Muhammad Shafiq Abdul Majid
Nur Hafizah Mohamad
Nur Syahida Mohd Shafei
Safiyyah Mohsin
Shahira Mohd Sharkar
Wan Intan Suhaila Wan Ahmad Ridzuan

Friendly Match

Today, at the field behind the FAR building, our Malaysian UMNO team had a friendly soccer match between the Singaporean team :)


The sun was blazing hot. Yet, we marched on the field and gave it our all.
It was a tough game, no doubt.
Dehydrated and exhausted, our Malaysian team gave an incredible performance.
We scored a good 3 - 0 against the Singaporean team.
Good job everybody! And i mean, everybody!


P.s. Just wanna mention a very patriotic player..Ezamil Suhaimi.

He got injured by half-time. But he kept playing. And even scored the 3rd goal for our team.
So yeah. Bravo Ezamil! :)

Craigslist, Blue Book, Hospital, Working on Campus

been asked with a couple questions lately and think that i should share to all of u especially the freshmen

if u lookin for used tv, bicycle, car or anything that u can think of, go to http://chambana.craigslist.org/ note a "free" section under "for sale"

talkin abt buying a car, to get a general idea of a value of a used car, go to http://www.kbb.com for example, from craigslist, u can get the info on model, year, mileage and conditions...put that in the blue book and u should get the estimate market value, you should negotiate for a price below the value...the best time to get a used car here is in May when seniors graduating..

with car, come insurance...the best way to get a good deal is actually to deal with an agent, not a specific company's agent but an agent of all companies...give a call to agent like Sticklen Insurance in town, they will do the homework to find the cheapest insurance company for u..u can check the rate online, but most likely u can't beat them

if u got sick during weekday, go to McKinley..but if got sick on weekends when McKinley is closed, u need to know which hospital to go to..fyi, there are 2 hospitals in town, depending on your insurance,u need to go to the right one..as for jpa students, u need to go to provena hospital...mara, ytn with aig insurance i think should go to carle hospital...identify which insurance u got, and which hospital to go..this is super important guys, jgn nnti dah sakit br nk terhegeh to get the info...and of course, i'm at ur disposal if u need a ride in emergency

last but not least, workin issue..unless u r a u.s. passport holder, meant u were born here in the States, NEVER ever work off-campus like at restaurants, hantar pizza, painting or any labor job etc..even if the boss gonna pay u under the table, the risk is not worth to take..i can't emphasize this enough guys..i had a fren who got the same deal as mine - had an offer to do master and phd by his univ, but got deported home becoz the INS somehow found out he worked off campus briefly...

work on campus is ok, i'm sure some of u hv met some seniors working at dining hall..working on campus means ur employer is the university of illinois...i think for ur 1st semester, get urself settle down 1st, weigh ur credit hours vs free time...next sem, if u think u can handle it, can always try to get extra money by working on campus..the best source is at UIUC Virtual Job Board i like to classify on-campus jobs into 2 category: 1) juz 4 money; 2) for research/learning experience n 2 look good in ur resume...i've done both, and one is not necessaryly better than the other

my very 1st job, during the my 1st winter break, i work as an animal lab assistant for 2 weeks, 8 hrs/day (during break u can work up to 40 hrs/wk, 20 during school), then the next 2 wks i enjoyed myself in florida, all those disneyworld, miami, daytona, key west etc...then i worked at the library, abt 10-15 hrs per week for 3 yrs...these were easy jobs, and i just needed the money to travel n buy stuffs...

then before my junior yr, i applied to work as undergrad research assistant with a prof in my dept..this kinda jobs usually open a lot of opportunities even though when u start u'd just do some clerical data entry jobs...it may make it easier for u to get an internship or to go to grad school...this opportunity usually is very rare, u may ask around, ur advisor, ur profs etc

damn this is long...