it started with a fart.

Salaam.

One of my most memorable trip was a post-exam recreational trip to Sukang/Melilas, Ulu Belait, three years ago. One scene I can't seem to forget was the one when my best friend farted (don't bother knowing who :p ).

I can't remember how much it stinked, probably because something else made a greater impact to my long-term memory. In case you don't know, LTM lasts longer if the memory input has meaning and strengthens older information (Aku ada psychology exam tomorrow, pardon the academic writing tendency HAHA). The scene went on like this...

Bestie: HEHE I just farted! *giggles*

Me and another bestie: OH MY GOD!! Ughhhh [insert bestie's name]!!

Us: *LOL

So like, it was either our loud laughter or the "OMG" caught people's attention. Pokoknya, we were loud lah. Yes, not very exemplary of me, I must say. A supervising teacher (no names mentioned) came up to us the very instant and said something like this, "Do you know what that means? Do you know what Oh my God means? You're just following what you hear from the TV. If a westerner hears you all saying that, they all laugh at you. You don't even know what it means. If you're a Muslim, say whatever you Muslims have to say laa..." Mind you, she's a non-Muslim, if that matters here.

Us three (+ EVERYONE): *cricket*cricket*

Us three: *looks around* (Dlm hati: Okayyyy so uncool! Kana marah dapan semua orang. Great!)

Me: Uhh okay... *turns away*

Awkward, I know. Everybody else made this sympathetic face that says I-wouldn't-want-to-be-in-your-shoes-right-now-but-heck!-she-was-exaggerating-things! Lucky I had 'the most understanding' group of friends around, so they tried comforting us by mocking her behind her back. Everyone hated her even more (yes, more. She wasn't much of a favourite teacher to any) especially because people sayang me :p

But honestly, besides much help from friends who've made me think now ( :p ), I have to thank her for that. Not exactly the whole embarrassing-us-infront-of-our-peers part but yeah, the "Do you know what that means?!" part. I'm still not sure if there's any hidden meaning to it but what I know for sure is that I, and every other Muslims, have something better to exclaim. And yes, as much as I hate to admit it, I was being such a wannabe for ikut-ikutan orang putih cakap OMG.

Do we know what we've been saying all along? Yang tani ikut-ikut dari TV ah? Segala OMG, Holy Cow!, Geez, curses and segala-galanya lah. Oh yes, not to forget crossing your fingers for luck or when you're lying, knock on wood and such. KAMU TAU KAH APA ERTINYA? To be veryyyy honest, I hate dislike wannabes. Bida wah usulnya mun ketara ikut-ikutan orang putih ani just for the sake of being 'English'/ white/ civilised/ cool. I don't wish to continue beyond this,now.

Like me, I was unaware of the value of understanding many things fed to us by the media. I'm not sure how acceptable that reason is but what I know, Islam has our own way of life and guidelines so why bother living other's?

Since the telecommunication medium has introduced short messages service (SMS), instant messages (IM) and the likes, world have adapted a new way of 'saving time'. That is, by using abbreviations. I, myself, utilises this method. Jsyk= Just so you know; Ttys= Talk to you soon; Idts= I don't think so; Imysm= I miss you so much etc. Exclaims include the infamous OMG=Oh my God; ROFL= Roll over floor laughing; LOL= Laughing out loud etc. I received an email some time ago, that even 'bye' stands for something umm... un-Islamic.

So, as for a baby step towards promoting an Islamic way of life, I suggest we start (promoting) our own abbreviations.Atleast its a step forward, better than sayings that does us no good. Even better, abolish foul words like OM*G, *curses* and etc.

 LM= Laughing moderately / LS= Laughing silently ; or better yet,

 SIS= Smile, Its Sunnah

 YWMC= Yawning with mouth closed

Orrrrrr EVEN better, use Arabic words to promote yeah, Arabic ;)

SJ= Syukran Jazillan (Thank You)

BW= Bittaufiq Wannajah (Good Luck!)

JZKK= Jazzakallah Khairan Khathiran (May Allah repay you with greatness)

UF= Uhibbuki Fillah (I love you because of Allah)

Uhh... I can't think of anything else. Suggestions? :)

ps: Correct me if I'm wrong. Please do.