perfection is overrated

The way I see it

2012-01-04T10:14:00.004+08:00

Looking back 2011, it was an extremely busy year from start to end, with defining moments in every month, so it really doesn't come as a shock to me seeing how fast 2011 went by and that it's already the 4th day of 2012( Happy New Year,folks!) the idea was to, like everyone else, write a long blog post about the things I did in 2012, be it great, mehh, or bad. That is, with several pictures. But obviously, I never managed to get to it by midnight. And this is not to diss anyone in particular by saying that,since i would've loved to have done it in time, but procrastination got the best of me, and I missed that moment.

Stop procrastinating(as much): Because what is life without enjoying a tad bit of doing nothing?

But I have since realised that getting attached to a material thing i.e., a moment, is not healthy . I read an article once which read something along the line of," If our inner state is dependent on something which is constantly changing and temporary, our inner state will be in a constant state of instability". So, i will try not to fret about petty things more, and know that it'll bring me more good than harm.

That said, I don't see any harm in listing down some amazing things that went down in the past year :)

Got chosen for PLKN. Wasn't ecstatic about it, but now feels that it was an amazing 2 1/2 month stay doing things other people wouldn't get the chance too. ( Come on, who honestly knows how to juggle? I do! I do!
Celebrated my birthday in PLKN, and family and friends were there to liven the entire day.
In March, got my SPM results, and Alhamdulillah, 10A+. "Extremely happy" wasn't even close to describe how thankful I felt.
Between SPM results and college, did a lot of running around to different interviews at different venues, which at one point, mum and I, we both just laughed at how much work is being put into all this-Early July, I got a scholarship.
College, such a different phase of my life. I was never very consistent with my work in high school, but everything changed drastically-too drastically, perhaps- when I entered college. Slowly getting the hang of it, but it'll take some time.
2011 was a blessed year.

I notice this trend among a few bloggers, including me, where the annual number of blog posts climaxes in the second year and starts decreasing. I have no explanation whatsoever for that, but you know what, I have had this blog for quite a while and I'm not giving up on it anytime soon. So, cheers to 2012 and a more blog-worthy year!

Trip to Cameron Highlands!

2011-12-26T16:42:00.006+08:00

College holidays are just different from high school ones. I have no idea why, though. It's already the last week of December, which means I'm 4 weeks into my semester holidays, but some good-for-nothing individual had to state the obvious i.e.,Good things never last. But in exactly 2 weeks I'll be starting college, which I have come to love, so hah, I win. Still, I've been spending way too much time during the holidays with a constant nagging feeling that I'm going to fail if i don't consistently stare at my books 24/7. Which kind of sucks, since that defeats the purpose of any holiday.

So, yes, one week before 2011 ends. So, I'm going to try and lose some blogging baggage, because I have a few things lined up for next year, and that I can't wait to try it out without having any old drafts to look into.

Like i mentioned in my previous post, I had such a busy week in college before the holiday even started, because KYUEM became the host for a leadership program, where a group of 16-18 year old teenagers from UK came to stay in the college's compound. I was one of the lucky few who got to experience and travel around a few places in Malaysia with them.

Pfft I made that sound as if I got to travel to Mt. Kinabalu.

We headed towards Cameron Highland first thing in the morning, and let me tell you, in this context, it really was the destination that mattered, and not the journey. If you have ever gone up the winding roads towards Cameron Highlands, you will definitely understand. At the risk of painting a gross picture in your mind, it's safe to say that some of us(excluding me, thank god) got a bit sick while on the bus.

All was well when we got off :) But Cameron Highlands is quite a bore if you go alone, so most of the time up there was spent fooling around. Haha.

A machine which helps in producing tea, for all you city folks.

Although the UK delegates arrived on Friday the week before, I never really had a chance to meet them because I was away for the weekend. So, it really was a bit difficult to mingle and start a conversation, especially when they are all generally very shy too! But a few of the senior delegates who came last year and happened to tag along this year, were more open to trying new things, especially food.

This, as a Malaysian, is our specialty. You can never go wrong with Malaysian food, I swear. Even in Cameron Highlands where truly authentic Malaysian cuisine is almost non-existent.

For every few miles, we would spot a stall which sells steamed sweet potatoes, which isn't really a Malaysian food per se( Our ancestors survived on potatoes back during the Japanese invasion, so that counts for something!). Anyway, the UK delegates haven't really tried it before, and they enjoyed it! :D

One of the weird things I found out about UK was, the ratio of citizens who drink and favour tea in the UK( which is a large amount),

to the number of tea plantations that UK actually has, which according to them, is really not that common.

Like I said, we fooled around on the slopes, and took so many photos, it looked as if we were the foreigners! -__-" Dahlah budak budak KYUEM, macam tak pernah nampak hutan, pfft since we practically live in a forest.

MashaAllah, this picture really shows the beauty of nature. The wind was so strong and calming, albeit not as cooling as before. I remembered the first thing I thought of when I saw the scenery above was, " damn, this would make a good place to study!" Serious nerd, I tell you.

By evening, we headed back to college. The ride down was smoother, and enjoyable, partly because everyone was sleeping! I was dead tired by the time we reached college, which was about 8.00 p.m, and though i try to make it a point to go for every event the college organises, I really was too exhausted to even contemplate going for the Christmas celebration that night.

Yes, my college had a Christmas celebration,

in November.

nearing the end; ( Of 2011, that is)

2011-12-22T20:08:00.003+08:00

Today is the 22nd of December.

It is also exactly 364 days before every living thing on Earth perishes to the floor, if there is even one by that time.

That is, if you're a Mayan.

I was just browsing through the internet the other day, and I stumbled upon a link on Yahoo, about the Mayan prophecy that was brought to life by that apocalyptic movie, which came out last year(I think) that easily described the 'apparent' apocalypse as "well, hey, if you're filthy rich, and by rich I mean by the billions, you could easily survive God's apocalypse, no problem whatsoever". Lies, I tell you.

I kept on reading the theories these group of people have that could justify knowing the exact date of the dreaded apocalypse ie: A whole lot of BS to attract more tourists to Mexico, and increasing their annual revenue. (But hey, that's just me!) Come on, I respect their beliefs, but why would God set THE date, and let all of his creations know about it? We will all just fool around until, say, 1 month prior, when we repent for all our mistakes. What is there to life then?

Or so I thought.

It got me thinking, and this is not to say that I believe in the doomsday prophecy even for the slightest bit,but,

WHAT IF we do have only another year to live? What would I change? How will I spend my life? Why is my priority now even a priority to begin with? Who am I choosing to please?

As I saw the prophecy at a new perspective, it became clearer that maybe, it is there to remind us to reanalyze our very existence on Earth. If I had only a year to live, I can safely say that i would do a few things differently. A LOT differently. But that's the thing, no one will ever know how much time they will spend here before they die. SO, how one chooses to live his/her life, in this one chance that they get, is crucial to ensure a happiness that will continue beyond life here on Earth.

So, how do you choose to live? And what does it cost?

Where The Animals At?

2011-12-04T14:02:00.002+08:00

I'm blaming the slow Internet connection for being away for far too long. That's logical, right?

End of semester holidays have officially started and loving every minute of it, except for the subconscious guilt I have every hour or so knowing each moment I spend on the TV could have been put to good use ie: Homework and such. I swear I'm going to get my act together, tomorrow.

The last week of my first semester in KYUEM( Can you believe it, it's already 1/4 semesters done!) was so jam packed with activities, it was both fun and super tiring. On Saturday, 19th of November, YK had a CSR event so after classes all 11 of us found ourselves heading towards KL where we spent a night in Lanson Place.

Arriving from KY, that place looked like a chunk of heaven. We registered ourselves, and went straight up to enjoy the bed.

It wasn't long before we all decided to take a road trip to KLCC since it was no nearby. We were all hungry, so we crashed the Little Penang Cafe, and ordered our food, and kept ordering, over and over again. And every time we assumed that whatever was on the table was all there was, plates kept coming. No one complained, so all was good. I have no pictures of us eating because I was too busy eating.

The entire night was spent eating dinner, attending a brief talk on the event that was to happen the next day, and a wonderful sleep.

TOO wonderful, we all overslept and woke up 15 minutes before checkout time.

The YK event was basically where us scholars became tour guides for a bunch of kids from the Yayasan Chow Kit( used to be known as Rumah Nur-Salam), and along with that, did some volunteering job around Zoo Negara, Taman Melawati. The ironic thing was, I live about 1km away from the zoo, yet I've never been to the zoo as a volunteer before.

We had breakfast as soon as we got there, and off we go cleaning cages and having fun at it.

This Nasi lemak was actually really satisfying.

My group was tasked to clean the turtle sanctuary , which was a bummer at first, because I thought we would've gotten something more challenging, but that was quickly overcame by how adorable and awkward-looking the turtles were.

We even got to feed it carrots and Papaya, although as turtles, they were generally never excited even when they saw the food.

And after all the cleaning up was done, I definitely gained a new found respect for all the rubbish collectors and the wonderful people who take their time and effort to sweep and rake leaves off the ground, all around us. Day in, day out, they do practically the same thing repeatedly, which keeps reminding me of this quote I read a few months ago, written by Helen Keller;

"The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes of each honest worker."

When you really come to ponder, you can have so many engineers, doctors, businessmen, politicians( Malaysia definitely has an abundant of this), but without this group of people, we might as well be living in junkyards. So, kudos to them!

Back to the Zoo event, I don't necessarily have any pictures of the kids that attended the other day, due to some terms and conditions which prevents me from uploading it online. Honestly,though, I couldn't find the time to take any pictures, because they were all extremely active for the most part( and can get distracted so easily), especially when it came to the ZooHunt. But, it was all for good fun, and there were no books around, so I was glad. :D

I miss college though.

Cooking Experience in College

2011-11-13T11:01:00.002+08:00

It's always about eating these days. Wherever you read, it's always about how good a meal tastes, or how expensive it was. Not that there's anything wrong with eating. But, once in a while, it's always good to be on the other side of the table. Or, shall I say, kitchen table? :)

This is where a disclaimer should come in, so that none of you will expect any form of cooking at par with the standards of the fancy cooking shows on TV( although MasterChef Malaysia is an exception- I really have mixed feelings about it) . It was just my group's turn to cook something this week under the Culinary Arts Club in KYUEM.

You see, my group consist of 5 guys and a girl. So, it was pretty difficult to decide what to cook, and we ended up baking cupcakes. So, obviously, the girl won. haha. But it was all for pure fun, so we followed through with the idea.

The really small spot the CAC has behind the cafe is highly under equipped. They do not even have a fan to start off with, let alone any functioning source of light. We started the baking process about 5.30, so by the time we were actually done with everything, we had several iPhones helping to shed some light.

They sort of lack any form of measuring instruments also, so everyone had their brains worked up to figure out whether 650g of self raising flour has been poured into the mixture. Don't worry, our baking intuitions weren't exactly far off!

The days leading up to Thursday saw heavy downpours every evening, but it had to be an extremely sunny evening on the day itself, and when combined with the lack of ventilation, the room became the perfect sauna. We had to make sure nothing else gets into the batter except for the ingredients, if you get what I mean! :D

Talking to Ayunie. You can sense how hot it was by the amount of sweat I was producing.

It was a basic vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting, so the ingredients weren't really difficult to meddle with, but we had a slight problem before we could even start with anything:

The mixer wasn't working. It was the most crucial equipment , and that itself took us a good 15 minutes to figure out how to assemble the parts. But, Nik came to the rescue and solved it, so he basically lead to the success of that evening. After getting the batter done, the only thing left to do was to bake the cupcakes, which partly was a bore, since the oven is small, and only 12 could go in at one go. We made 3 batches, so you do the maths.

We also had visitors checking up on us. First it was our CAC teacher, Dr. Bano, then we had our co-president, Lisa(if I'm not mistaken) just hanging out for awhile.

By 6.30 or so, when it was already getting dark outside, all 36 cupcakes were laid in front of us, ready to be frosted, which came the interesting part.

Instead of the only girl in the group doing most of the icing work, us 5 guys were being the more creative one that day and she just snapped pictures. I'm not stereotyping, but you really don't see this very often nowadays, so it's a good change :D

We had stars, and moons, and silver beads to use from, so we were all happy to put our imaginations to use. It was only for one day, so what the heck.

Although the entire process was so painstaking, but the product in the end was enough to compensate for the hours we spent on it. Although my group will have to reconsider what to cook/bake the next time our turn comes up.

________________________________________

I have 2 more weeks of college, and then I'll be having my long awaited holidays, so hopefully by then I'll have less drafts!

Bye for now!

Who's the victim?

2011-10-18T21:13:00.003+08:00

I might not be blogging very often, but I swear to god I'm not going to give up on this, like so many have. I find it therapeutic. Hello again,readers!

Final semester exams are not made to happen 5 months after we start college life, because it is just wrong. I hope you can identify the pain I feel after the past week of exams, and honest be told, it wasn't easy. Covering the "study" part is fine; all is well there, SPM taught me well, but when it comes to EXAMS, it's a 180 degrees shift and all that philosophy crap. Got to knock some sense into my head that this IS college, and not a silly playground no more. Ironic, seeing how I'm trying as hard as I can.

But WHATEVER. it's over and done with, for now. And I shall just wait for the results to come out.

I'm currently multitasking, trying to blog, and at the same time, updating my iPhone with the new IOS5. So, I thought I would just share with you this article, that as a whole, I do believe in the reasoning and concept. besides, what good is there when great things aren't shared, right?

I have always wanted to talk about this topic in this manner, and after watching My Name is Khan with my chaletmates yesterday, it reminded me of a previous draft( It's always a draft now, isn't it) I still have, and would hopefully find time to finish in the future. Do not jump to any abrupt conclusion and judge just yet, because I would love to point out my opinion also.

For now, enjoy the article with an open mind.

_______________________________
My Take: Muslims should stop apologizing for 9/11

Editor’s note: Aman Ali is a New York-based writer, stand-up comedian and the co-creator of 30 Mosques in 30 Days, a Ramadan road trip across America.
By Aman Ali, Special to CNN
New York (CNN) – As a Muslim, I’m sick of people asking me how I feel about 9/11. What do you want me to say, seriously?
Do you want me to say, “It was a great plan, mwahahaha!” before I fly off on a magic carpet?
I was born and raised in this country and was just as shocked as everyone else to learn there were people on this earth so vile as to commit such a horrific attack - or to even think about doing it.
But I didn’t do it. Neither did 99.999999999 percent of the roughly 1.5 billion people in the world who also call themselves Muslims. So why should I or any other Muslim apologize for what happened?
Nickleback is planning on releasing another album. Should I ask white people to apologize for that?
Just like Christianity and Judaism, Islam unequivocally condemns terrorism. Don’t take it from me, though. Grab a copy of the Quran from a library and find out for yourself.
Don’t rely on some cherry-picked crackpot interpretation of the Muslim holy book that you read on some Islamophobic hack’s poorly designed website. Speaking of which, Islamophobes need to put down the Quran and pick up a book on HTML programming and Flash.
When 9/11 happened, I can understand why the average person would want to know what Muslims actually believe. After all, the terrorists claimed they were acting in the name of Islam.
That’s why hundreds of Islamic organizations around the globe condemned the attacks and told the truth about how Islam doesn’t condone terrorism whatsoever.
But that was 10 years ago. Why are mainstream American Islamic groups like the Islamic Society of North America, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Public Affairs Council still condemning the attacks and just about any other act of terrorism that pops up in the news?
Weren’t we clear before how we feel about terrorism? If people didn’t understand us for the past 10 years, what makes Muslims think they’re going to understand us now?
If I have to explain 10 times to my little brother how to operate the toaster in my apartment, that’s not my fault because of inadequate messaging. It’s my brother’s fault that he’s dumb.
It’s ridiculous for Muslims to continuously condemn and apologize for stuff when every religion has their fair share of crazies.
Imagine you’re in the habit of partying with a group of friends. And every party you go to, there's a friend in your crew that spills grape juice on the carpet - the really awesome kind of grape juice that’s in the fancy wine bottles (we Muslims don’t drink alcohol but we still can party like ballers).
How would you feel if people stopped inviting you to their parties because your one friend kept spilling grape juice? That's how I feel. I'm really annoyed I have to keep apologizing or condemning Muslim extremists that keep spilling their grape juice of hate on the world.
Dictionary.com defines the word apologize as “to offer an apology or excuse for some fault insult, failure, or injury.”
When 9/11 happened, I was 16 years old and playing Tetris during English class on my TI-83 calculator. I’ll apologize for not paying attention to Mrs. Fulton’s lecture at my high school in Gahanna, Ohio, but that’s about it.
Just because people hundreds of miles away claimed they were Muslim and committed a terrible act doesn’t mean I should apologize for it.
Mike Tyson started sucking really bad in the boxing ring after he converted to Islam. Should I apologize for that? Oh, and I think I saw a few Muslim-sounding names in the production credits for the movie “Green Lantern.” I guess I should apologize for that, too.
I’m not trying to be insensitive about 9/11. Of course my prayers and sentiments are with anyone affected by the tragedy. The same goes for any act of terrorism.
But I’m not going to apologize or condemn them because I don’t need to prove my patriotism with some kind of McCarthyite litmus test. The Pew Research Centerreleased a study last week that found that Muslim Americans are far more pleased with how things are going in the United States (56%) than is the general public (23%).
That finding is not going to provoke me to question the general public’s patriotism. But please stop questioning ours.
The 9/11 attacks were a terrible tragedy that changed all of our lives. There’s no way we can ever forget what happened.
But what we Muslims can do is advance the conversation, rather than repeating the same old condemnations. Condemnations and apologies are like an out of style fashion trend, the parachute pants and neon hair scrunchies of civil discourse.
What Muslims need is an extreme makeover. Now that’s some extremism I can get behind.

Books, and MORE books!

2011-10-09T07:31:00.003+08:00

You know something is off when you wake up BEFORE 9 on a Sunday. Sigh, today marks the last day of my 1 week holiday, and by the time you read this, I will probably be back in KYUEM. Not that I am fretting about the prospect of it all, really. I'm excited to meet up with my friends again, and to get back into my study groove as fast as possible, since I will be having my finals for the next two weeks to come. Wish me all the best!

I just wanted to talk about what happened two days ago, Friday the..

*Runs to check the calendar*

7th. Friday the 7th! Thus, the effect of being at home is definitely visible.

So, yes, I was able to free myself form the study table to go for a book fair, named the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale with a couple of my friends. IF you haven't heard about it, you can browse through their website, but it basically is a really worthy book sale, where new(read: NEW!) books are being sold with their prices slashed to a minimum of 75% discount. It's heaven on earth for book nerds like yours truly.

But the ting was, I went without much expectation of the grand scale the organisers raved about the book fair this year in the papers, because I personally went( with the same group of friends, haha) to the one organised in 2009, and it was pretty modest, so I really didn't know how they would manage a larger scale event. Oh, I'm happy to say I was proven wrong.

At 4, we left for MAEPS in Serdang to avoid the supposed peak hours. As soon as we reached the doors of the hall, you could just feel that it would be a good day well spent. And I was right.

It was huge! the magnitude of the book sale this year, when compared to the previous time I went, was definitely quadrupled, or even more. It felt like Kinokuniya for a moment, with 1/4 of the price that is :D Stacks of books were sorted according to genre, sure, but I couldn't help but to feel a bit overwhelmed when we all split up to find our own individual books. I calmed myself down, but the excitement that was sure to ensue couldn't be contained. Hence, if you have spotted me in the halls that day( Or at least in the early parts of our time there) you would see me smiling and all cheery. It's books, what else can I say? :)

They had books of all kinds, besides academic books, which was a bummer, because I was also looking forward to buy a few A-Level books. But nevertheless, books were aplenty for the crowd present. If you read their article in The Star a few days ago, the organisers themselve believe that it might just be the biggest book fair in the world!

They even had a book for Steve Jobs.

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I'm pretty sure all you readers have heard about his passing recently, after battling with pancreatic cancer for a while now. He was, no doubt, a visionary , one of a kind man who revolutionised the way we communicate ie iPhones, iPods, iPads, Mac etc , and also the creator of Pixar. He definitely will be missed.

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We spent roughly 2 hours in the hall searching for books to buy, and I think one of the best tip you can take before going to the book fair is that you should free yourself from sticking to a certain author, and be open to trying new things. Ironic, seeing half of the books I bought ( 27 in total), were for my sister, and of the same author.

Behold,

The Nora Roberts Collection! Mixed in with a few of Cecelia Ahern's ( Author of P.S I Love You) books. You still owe me Rm60, sis! :D

I thought I was being over- enthusiastic about the whole idea of the book fair by bringing a large, IKEA worthy, reusable bag. But, mine was nothing in compared to the number of luggage I saw in the hall. God, it felt like KLIA at one point, but instead of clothes, they filled it with books. There were also some senior citizens ie Old makciks and Chinese Grandmas with their Pasar Tani( Wet Market) trolleys filled with cookbooks and what not. All that was left was for someone to shout, " hai, mari, mari, mari, lima 10 ringgit!" Of course it was more expensive that that lah

At the end of the day, I, together with Dhanya, had to carry a box full of books to the counter, and gladly found out how helpful the cashiers were. They definitely were attentive to the lost souls finding for an available cashier amongst the sea of crowds( read: me), and even offered to carry the box in my hands. Even when I was contemplating to buy this particular book, AT THE CASHIER( which Hannah didn't help at all, by saying "Eh, it's only 8 bucks!" ) they happily waited unti I decided NOT to buy the book. hehe. If I could give them a gold star or two, I would!

They even had this section where you could buy books and donate to the charity homes listed on the board. How cool is that? :D

Safe to say, I burnt part of my Duit Raya by coming to this event, but every penny was freaking worth it! If you're a book lover, and didn't know about this event until now, the sale is running from 7th to the 16th of October( Next Sunday), so try to find some time to go and grab a few books before the best ones run out, will ya?

I shall be getting my ass of this computer table and start packing for my trip back to college. I won't be blogging in a while, not until my exams are over. So, I shall leave you guys with the commencement speech Mr. Jobs gave, which had very good points that one can ponder. Bye!

Remember, remember, October?

2011-10-02T21:42:00.004+08:00

October, the month Green day jokes come in trendy again. I had a great September and am hoping for a better October. How was your September, people?

I am quite tired of apologising for the inconsistent blogging patterns, and although it is entirely my fault, I really have other priorities which are at the top of my list, higher than this this sweet escapade of mine. I do get bouts of blogging urges from time to time but it is all very instantaneous; comes and goes, comes and goes. I'm going to try and publish this whilst I'm still energetic at it.

I am on my study break now, for a week, and the proper term coined was " Semester Holidays" but who are we kidding, no one puts a holiday before an exam, it's like giving a group of people 10 days in heaven, all pure and cozy, but with a catch; "hey, y'all gonna enter hell in a week or so, so you might as well prepare". You get my point.

I brought back practically my entire shelf of books with me during the holidays, and hopefully, they will be of good use besides taking up pretty spaces in my room. In fact, my laptop is currently on a pile of the books, which are silently shouting to be read. I know, I know guilty as charge. I should be practicing what I preach.

Oh, for what it's worth, I recently got my Pottermore mail, and chapters after chapters, going shopping with Hagrid in Diagon Alley, getting my own wand (mine is made of Alder with Phoenix Feathers, and though it's all fairy tale and fiction to its max, I was excited knowing Harry's wand was also made of Phoenix Feathers. Now if i can just get a beam of light dawn upon me from above as I pretend lifting my wand in the air)

Oh, and I'm a RAVENCLAW . The house of smarty pants and overachievers. As if I'm not getting enough kiasu-ness from college already. But nevertheless, really happy :D

Okay, I'm sidetracking. I should really be heading downstairs to study.The main reason I wanted to write this blog post, was to bid farewell to a friend, and a classmate who's flying to Egypt tomorrow. Yes, One of the first few amongst us who is actually off to study abroad.

5N Class Reunion, 2010

Anis( in the middle, being all narcissistic, hehe) ,

May Allah bless you in your journey there, study hard and study smart, because medicine is not an easy course, but you should know that all your friends, including me, have faith that you can succeed in whatever you're about to do, if you put your mind to it (God, that was cliche). Just don't forget, whenever you're a rich and famous specialist someday, I shall receive free medical treatment :D Good Luck and hope to see you soon! Stay in touch!

1 down, many more to go.

Post from the past: When Raya came and ended

2011-09-06T18:22:00.005+08:00

Im currently blogging from my chalet room, with windows wide open, and the evening air enters, filling the room with warmth and peace. Can you believe it? It's already September. SEPTEMBER. where did all the previous months go? It's not new year's eve yet, but I can assure you, this has been a really hectic year. I looked forward to ending PLKN in the early months of 2011, then there was the SPM issue, the scholarship issue, then the college issue, which I won't complete, not until 2 years time, at least.

Had so much fun during Raya, that I've completely forgotten to upload any pictures on FB or even blog about it. But I suppose a Raya post year after year just becomes a little..mehh. It's a little late though, but Selamat Aidilfitri to all! (read: gaining back all the weight that you've lost)

Classes have started again, and, there's this uncommon trend that's been going around for the past few weeks; of how much hatred we( or at least I) have towards SPM after starting A-Levels. Everything is so different. Don't get me wrong, the difference are all for the better, but our lives are made so much more difficult after being indoctrinated by a system of a "dictating" education that when the right thing comes along, we tend to stick to our old ways. Just a few days back, I was in Chemistry, and got so fed up knowingthat some of the basic fundamentals that we learned during SPM that we thought would help us thrrough A-Levels was utter bullshit, for a lack of a better word.

Now, off I go for some tennis.

Ramadhan; what's been happening

2011-08-07T16:17:00.008+08:00

I am a terrible blogger. I hardly update and have probably lost my non-existent followers, so there is really no reason, except for that itch at the back of my head which keeps telling me to blog, one way or another. well, before I delve into any topic(college-related of course), I would like to wish all my Muslim friends a blessed RAMADHAN and may they take the full opportunity of this holy month to be at peace with Allah! It certainly is not the most important factor, but the bazaars and fireworks are, for the lack of a better word, significant to this month, so to my non-Muslim friends, may they take full use of THIS factor. No one, and I can assure you, NO ONE denies the greatness of Bazaar food. Or at least the atmosphere.

I think it's best if I talk about college and how it's been these past few weeks leading up to today, hardly to bore you, but to give you guys a glimpse of what really does happen in my college, which is in the middle of nowhere. REALLY! you would know if you've arrived if you see a toll without any cars. That's how deserted it is. At one point, you'd expect the Grim reaper to extend his skeletal hands and say, "Rm 1.50.."

~~and you pass through the gates of hell~~

:D I'm joking, obviously, because I'm not sure if it's just the excitement in the early stages, but I'm loving college, and the rush I get when it's 8.10 and classes start in 5 minutes time, and I'm still getting ready. And how after 7 months of almost complete nothingness, I'm suddenly catapulted into this sea of knowledge, and...

2 weeks later

Hello again. It's a wonder how I managed to even write those few paragraphs during college, since I hardly took the time to visit the blog, let alone write anything. My induction week has been like a thing in the past, and although we still feel very much a junior, I can safely say I've settled in perfectly. It took some time to get use to being away from my family for the first time during Ramadhan, but all is well( in honour of the late HP series-I'll talk about it some other time, REMIND ME!) It's already the last 10 days of Ramadhan. and honestly, this year's Ramadhan has been pretty challenging, and just feels different a bit. Oh, well, I guess that's life.

Adaptation is key.

Bazaar Ramadhan at Tanjung malim with Nik

I don't regret at all being in KY, so don't take my following sentences too seriously.

THE COLLEGE SCHEDULE IS GETTING ON MY NERVES.

no, really, when classes are from 8-4 every day( skipping of classes memang tidak akan berlaku selamanya mainly because the teachers are never NOT around), with tutorials, the need to fit in an exercise regime, all the house meetings and club activities, one needs to have god-like time management skills to get through( HAHA and it's me we're talking about, Ketua Pengawas who sometimes come late to school during Form 5). And at the end of the day, when all is done, I would return to my chalet to see my bed, all prim and proper, just calling my name, before I am reminded of the tons of homework left to be done. Hehh, I suppose it's Ramadhan, the timing is a little bit off in everything, and hopefully it'll get better once Raya is over. But come to think of it, I didn't know where the past 3 weeks went. Ramadhan is sooo fast this year, when I'm breaking fast one evening, I sometimes subconsciously think of what I'm going to eat during the next breaking of fast( tsk tsk.)

Ooh but, I got to say, buying of books was undoubtedly fun :)

i am getting stuck at trying to explain in detail about everything, so I'll just narrow down some of the college events that has been happening during the month of Ramadhan.

Well, first there was the sponsor video shoot( yes, we're cool like that, haha). Found out on that day that we have to do this group interview/fake studying video for a Berbuka Puasa dinner event a week later. We all ended up skipping our entire class from 12 pm onwards ( the only exception, trust me!)

Pn. Su was there to see it through, and to get a hold on how we juniors were doing for the first few weeks. It already feels like a small family, really :) we kid around and chatted before everyone had to go for a make-up session-not exaggerated, I kid you not. But I suppose the best part of hanging out with them was when a super senior( the term we use to refer to seniors who have left college -_-") came to join in the fun. I probably won't write his name here in case he is the self-goggling type and i can now just hope that he doesn't tumble upon this post, but MashaAllah, the path of which he is studying now is almost exactly similar to what I want, and hopefully, will be able to achieve, InsyaAllah.

Aiman: Hey, so where are you studying again?
M: In Uni of Oxford.

(I lit up a bit inside)

Aiman: Oh, what course are you doing?
M: Engineering, Economics and management (EEM)

( I shrieked a bit, i think. One of my dream course, SUPER TOUGH)

Aiman: When you were in KY, what subject combo did you do?
M: Oh, lets see, Phys, Chem, Econs, and Maths

( By the time he said that, I was SUPER SUPER ELATED, because for as long as I've been here, all the alumnus I have talked to said that it was nearly impossible to get into Oxf. without Further Maths, and when i was about to let go of the dream and settle for something less, he brought back that spark, although...)

Aiman: So, how did you fare in your A-Levels?

M: erm, I got 4A*

(Dies a little inside. It goes to show that it's quality, and not quantity-or in this case, further maths. NVM, self belief, self belief. I CAN DO THIS!)

Btw, that's my Physics teacher, Dr. Foord, the one standing on the far right. A little bit quirky, but pretty awesome really :)

I would talk about the event in full detail soon, but all in all, I had such a wonderful time with all my parents and with my KY friends, and it was refreshing to get some really good food after experiencing many days of buka puasa in KY.

Oh, and did I mention I joined the Culinary Arts Club? Well, I did, and it's been really great so far, especially when it comes to eating. It isn't my group's turn to cook yet( we're scheduled to be heading to the kitchen on October 21st) so, for now, it's been eating different kinds of food cooked by other groups. And might I say, they have all whipped up delicious EDIBLE food.

Dr. Bano, our advisor. I made her promise to teach me how to make Idlis before I leave KY :D

Some of my friends cutting the surprisingly good Kek Batik.

This isn't much, and time is limited to begin with, so for now, this is all I could write to just remove the dusts that's been accumulated from all the blogless days. this is the last week of Ramadhan, and I'm just now counting to the day when I will be able to go home, and get into my festive spirit with my family and hometown friends.

6 days to go !

KYUEM in its presence

2011-07-16T12:04:00.008+08:00

Quick Note:

Hey readers! Just a short note here. As you can see, I haven't been blogging since Monday, and that shall prove how busy I am as I start college. Yes, and after 7 months of lazy bum-ness and subsequent death of countless brain cells, I am officially enrolled in KYUEM, my house for the next 2 years as I try my ABSOLUTE best to rock my A-Levels. *fist pumping*

You won't be seeing me online much in the entire next week( or the entire 2 years in fact) because I'll still be here, and my schedule is jam packed with all sorts of activities, so weekends are really the only time I have. As for how the condition is here, I have to say these past few days have been pretty great. It's not a 5 star chalet or anything, but when it comes down to it, the teachers are awesome( I feel paying attention won't be much of a problem when there's British accents involved) and the facilities are well kept. And I'm here to study anyways-Oh, you have no idea the magnitude of responsibility I have to score excellent results here, but my parents shouldn't worry( Hi, mum!) because I am 100% focus in getting there and have made great super smart i can die friends to help me stay on the right track.

Brought along some picture frames of my Melawati people, just so I don't feel too homesick when I'm here. OH, and btw, as much as I would like to get a great head start in my A-Levels Education( and this is not to say I don't), you readers better not hentam me if you see me online on Facebook, or if you see new Blog posts here. There is no TV, no radio(except for my Ipod), and I'm basically living in a civilised jungle, so spare me if I take bits of my time being online ONCE IN A WHILE to release any future stress( That is for certain-The stress, not being online). And hey, I do want to tell you guys about my stay here :D

Now, where is my Carrot Cake?

Jayshree's farewell party

2011-07-11T17:21:00.006+08:00

This is it. College is starting tomorrow. I really don't know how to feel right now. The only matter I can actually think of is that by the time tomorrow comes, aiman-farhan.blogspot.com will become slightly empty, not to mention me foreseeing the prospect of each future blog post on college, college, and college. haha. So, might as well i use this free time that I have now since I've completed packing for tomorrow( so-so only lah actually) to tell you about the things I've been doing.

You see that girl standing beside me in the picture above? Yes, that's Jayshree, and why she's here is because last Saturday, I was invited to her farewell party. She's leaving to India to further her studies in god knows what- kidding, but I'm really not that sure, IT/Engineering?- so, I wasn't going to miss the chance to see her before she leaves for the land of Chapati, and besides, there'll be many Melawatians that I haven't seen for months prior.

(If you noticed, after years of being clueless on how to enlarge photos on Blogger, I finally found a simple effective solution!!)

Met so many people that day, including friends from TARc, BAC, Taylor's, HELP, etc so you could imagine the awkwardness every time I start chatting with someone:-

Friend: So, started college already?
Me : Nope, next Tuesday
Friend: Oh, where are you going to?
Me : KYUEM
Friend: Err, sorry?
ME : KYU... oh, never mind, it's a college in Perak.
Friend: Oh, right!

I can't blame them, seeing before the whole scholarship/college talk rendezvous started, I didn't know a zilch about the college.

There was food and good company, so no doubt it was such a fun night. Was kinda bummed halfway when I realized I don't have much in common with the group of people present since we rarely meet up, only now and then occasionally. Case in point: The last time I met Jayshree, I was on my way to get a haircut 0.0

Throughout the party, Nicole was still bitching about how I ditched them every time they had an outing in previous months. And to think I was genuinely busy doing something or really tired after doing something. You get the point.

BY 11.00, most of them went back home( By driving their cars, of course *jealous*) and for a moment, I kept thinking to myself, "Wait, don't these people usually do the whole party all night long and I am the one who goes back early?" but realized that we, or them at least, are already in their college phase of life, so there's the coursework,homework,exams,revisions to go back to.

Some of us continued chatting, asking Jays about her university, her future degree, and telling her to be extraaaa careful of the traffic in India :)

So Jays, if you do happen to come across this, you are such a good friend and it's been so wonderful to know you( God, this is sounding like an eulogy) especially the great times we had at the back of the class in 4 Efektif together with Komal, Nicole, and Jer Rick. Oh, crazy crazy times! I wish you all the best for the adventure of your life in India and hope to hear from you soon! I know you'll do all of us proud! :) See you in October!

and *ehem* if you eventually start working in Apple after a few years, I would require a discount.

:D

Student/Teacher day out!

2011-07-05T14:37:00.003+08:00

Ever since Mighty Minds last year, Teacher Safrina, who happens to be my form 5 English teacher told all 3 of us that if we ever placed in the nationals, she would give us a treat by bringing all of us out for lunch someday. The great thing was, none of us would forget such a deal, that up to the point where each time any of us bump into her or Teacher Rosyada, we would bring this up.

And most often than not, they would jokingly reply Mamak as an alternative. HAHAHA, NO. :D

Up until the other day, none of us could settle on a date that would suit all 5 of us, since the teachers' schedules were always packed, and we 3 had things of our own to do. But, knowing that Ghavi and Kaif were entering college soon, somehow we managed to go out and have lunch at KLCC.

It's always good to know your teachers as if they're friends, because at least you won't be severely punished when arriving late to a certain destination, which was the case last Saturday when I wasn't necessarily on time (Pfft, who am I kidding?) and it even felt like ages finding for the teachers and Kaif in Kinokuniya. It's BIG.

We went from the bookstore to Chillis, then to Ben's, then to Chilli's again because some of us( points fingers at Kaif) couldn't make up their mind. In the end, we got to beat the lunch crowd and got a place in Chillis. I thought it would be a little weird eating lunch with the teachers, simply because I keep thinking it'll be like dining with Jamsiah and having to agree to every single sentence she says- Highschool memory LOL- but everyone felt so at ease and the food was good, so I was happy :)

We all just sort of update each other about the happenings in our lives at the moments, the teachers asking us what we were doing, and what others were doing as well( If you're reading this, we most likely talked about you too!), but hey we all put out a good name for MOST of you guys, so don't worry! :D As for us, we just wanted to know how much suckier has the school gotten now that the amazing principal left for a better school, downgrading our school even more, and knowing that the school carnival day this year was as bad as it could be.

Us :)

After sending the teachers back halfway, we went to Cold Storage because Kaif wanted to get some stuff for college, and then headed to Marks and Spencers for some Chocolates. They wanted to go back early but I indirectly persuaded them not to when I told them about the Petronas Art gallery on the 3rd floor. I was quite surprised that THEY do not know this place. If you haven't been there, I highly suggest you do, even if you're not the type who looks at a swirl of poop as an amazing piece of art. For all it's worth, you feel such at peace in there.

Technically, that's wasn't the case for 3 of us. We went in and acted so pompous, trying to interpret every painting and figure sculptures in the gallery, and actually enjoyed doing it( Which is to say, it's not for everyone!) In the end, it felt like we were restaurant critics regarding a plate of Nasi Lemak being too spicy ( read: stating the obvious)

I'm going to miss doing nerdy things when I enter college.

The present sounds fine too.

2011-07-01T22:06:00.004+08:00

There has been times like this, a question runs through my mind thoroughly- As if I wouldn't be able to shake it off before I let myself sleep. And that in ways I can't even comprehend, links are form among the most random of subjects, events,music even. Part of me loves the thought process that happens within the time period, but the other half thinks I would be left better otherwise.

I was in the midst of watching The Time Traveler's Wife, and as Henry travels back and forth, my mind make up tricks in my head, like a form of virtual equation to answer the How,Why, and What of it all. And at that exact moment,...

I time traveled.

Fine, I didn't. but it reminded me of a question that was asked between myself, Nabil, and Ikhmal when we were sitting at the table in Ben's the other day for lunch( Food was OK, service was so-so, the setting was mehh, price pretty reasonable). They had this stack for cards on the table with question on each one of it, so we all took turns to pick one. After a countless of really odd ones,

Would you rather travel to the past or the future?

First thing first, to set things straight, before I answered, I know that without any supernatural forces, it is and will still be impossible to time travel, even in a million years. I am not much of a geek when it comes to Astrophysics, but I don't really buy the whole ''universe folded into two,space and time come together, form black hole,and the possibility to time travel"- although this video makes for a pretty interesting way to explain it. Hey, i wouldn't mind to be proven wrong, but I have a feeling by the time (if) it does happen, we'll all most likely be a pile of mush six feet under.

HEY, BETTER BE A PILE OF MUSH IN THE GROUND THAN SCATTERED IN SPACE TRYING TO SQUEEZE THROUGH THAT TINY, TINY HOLE, HUH?

But let's just say it is plausible, it is actually a fairly difficult question to answer.Think of it this way, you could either go to the future or back to the past, but the one rule you know can never change is the fact of the matter that you cannot change ANYTHING, no other consequences from different actions, no butterfly effect-that would make this all too complicated, and you have to consult Karin on that. just plain observation. With that reason, I didn't choose the future. Sure, one could go, " Ohh, I would like to know if I get my dream house,dream car, who I get married to, how many kids I'm going to have, etc". But you see, these are all the type of questions one would normally say/ask in the circumstances that there is a chance for them to correct their mistakes which would lead them to a better future. But that's not the case here.

All will be dandy and fine, until you find out something in the future which isn't so bright, and magical, that upsets or disappoints you, and worse, the fact that you can't change the course of which it would end up happening anyways. I would personally find it torturing to know a secret, let alone keep it from someone dear to me, and let's not even talk about knowing something bad that is going to happen to someone else, but not being able to tell them.

Or, what if I traveled into the future and the only thing I see is darkness? Does that mean I'm dead, or just stuck in a room which coincidentally has no windows or doors? Then, what happens?Because everyone knows, as far as even a theory might go to the lengths of explaining the plausibility of time travelling, none has gone to the distance whereby they mention Apolcalypse or the state after. With all that in mind, that's why I thought the future wouldn't be much of a hype if I've seen a prelude. It's like, watching a epic trailer of a movie which turns out to be less than what you've expected it to become. Paham tak?

Now, the past. Basically, the only fact why I chose this compared to the latter was on a basis that, if I do go back, I can tell my younger self that I've LIVED and EXPERIENCED the reality of what is to come. And that I survived. I might not want to tell my younger self that something is going to happen in the years to come, or even at a specific date & time, because that would defeat the purpose of not wanting to live life in a constant state of worrying,right?

I know I can't use the past to change something for the better, but at least I get to observe. and learn from my mistakes which sometimes, people tend to forget as life moves on. You learn from the past, and you form a better future. Nothing is set in stone and you make your own destiny kind of crap, ya know?

But hey, This is my opinion. What do you think?

With that, I shall sleep. The questions have stopped running in my head for now. And scientists say it's no good to be near technology an hour before you sleep. #epicfail

By the way, Happy July everyone :)

My NS Adventure: Part 2- Getting To Know

2011-06-27T11:09:00.008+08:00

Good Monday Morning, readers! It drizzled this morning, and as we speak, the sun is slowly shining out, making it such a wonderful day to begin with.

June is ending soon (It'll be July 1st this Friday), and I did promise to continue blogging on my NS adventure that I had earlier this year, so here it goes:

- If you're hoping not to get chosen for the National Service stint but luck wasn't on your side, choosing beforehand to suffer in loneliness and have an introvert-like aura beaming from you for the entire stay isn't a very practical idea, because a) you'll probably be dragged into doing something in the end, and b) you'll succumb to a brutal attack of the demons that are lurking behind the forest around you when you sleep.

Haha, OK the second reason isn't necessarily true, but come on, what fun does moping around brings you, in ANY point in your life? I knew I made a decision once I got there to take it as an opportunity and wean off from all the technology that prior to attending National Service, was a big part of my life( Hand phones, computers, Ipods, television, etc) and just enjoy the nature of finding fulfillment in things that do not include batteries or a span life.

It is always great if you commit and take part in your team's success, which is what I did, or tried to do at least. As the previous post on this topic mentioned, I was housed into the Delta group, and how it works is that, there are a series of competitions,whether sports,or character building, that takes place subsequently, and the officers in charge will tally your house marks and, if your house makes it to the top in the end, you are crowned the champion. Simple enough.

I'll be a little biased to say I enjoyed the spirit of being in a group because naturally, I enjoy competitiveness and the rush that it brings. One of the first things we had to do as a house was to design a flag and create a motto/prospective that will represent us for the entire stint. Since there weren't many creative outlets per se, so I helped along with the design of the flag and it was SO FUN! Through the process I met Faiz, who came all the way from Sabah, and he practically became one of my closest friends there!

The final product!

In the end, DELTA got last for the first competition which was such a huge blow for the whole team, but wait till the end of my NS post to see what happens :)

Some of the other things I did included:

Reading tons of novels/story books. Usually, it would've taken me two months to complete a book because I get distracted easily by everything that happens around me. But when I was at camp, either weekdays or weekends, any free time I spent finishing books one by one- Heh, I even got scolded once for secretly reading during a ceramah, but hey, you can't help it, right?! By the time March came, I successfully managed to complete 7 books- Kazuo Ishiguro, Tony Parson, Mitch Albom, etc. To date, I am still proud of that achievement, however minute it may be! :D
Getting to know a new sport- Ultimate Frisbee! But before I could talk about the sport, I have to tell you about the person who introduced it to me. In camp, we were all assigned a number( Mine was 639) and 640 belonged to Adrian, a guy from Damansara, so we instantly became bed buddies and pretty close friends ~~because we had the same interest of that a city a kid would~~.

Turns out, he plays this sport for his school, and even brought a Frisbee to camp two weeks in. Since there wasn't going to be any chance of tennis in the near future, I decided to give it a go. Week after week, I learned the basics, practiced my forehand, backhand, and now, I'm pretty awesome at it, in my humble opinion. ngehehehe :D
That became our go-to sport along with the other dorm mates every evening and boy, did we shed alot of calories out of it.

I wasn't at all aloof when it came to the generic sports ie: futsal,handball,netball. Heck, I can proudly say my DELTA house was one of the best in support system, for every match which included a team from our house, we fought valiantly, physically and verbally. Every time there was a match in the evening, we would gather, and cheer the best we could.

Now, I can vaguely remember the custom-made cheers our House had, but you know, one thing Melawati never had ( and this is to say I never do say anything negative about my beloved MWT High) was great sports houses, if compared to other schools. So, learning all the cheers and saying them out loud in a large group made me feel extremely excited each time we were up against battle( Ok, now i sound like a cheesy script pulled straight off from a war movie -__-").These were some of the things I did to make time past. There's really no use if you try to avoid the very fact that you get chosen, so might as well you embrace the group you're in, find something you're comfortable doing( and by comfortable, I don't mean playing Dota until 3 in the morning, that's just dumb) and join in the crowd.

Next: Friends/Family, Food, and Firearm.

Stay tuned!

Of Balls and Sticks

2011-06-24T19:25:00.003+08:00

Hi. Yes, you dirty minded person. No point denying. ( I'll explain later)

Thought I would tell you guys about a few things/events that are happening as I speak, which I am putting much interest in.

No, I do not want to bore any of you by saying how excited/nervous/chilled out/frantic/mehh I am about college, which happens to be starting in no less than 3 weeks time. So, here I am, first timer, new to this whole new experience, and I would like to THANK all of my college friends- High school friends who have entered college, and not literally "college friends" because I'm not that cool, just yet- who indirectly are the most supportive lot when it comes to expressing their current college life, which they sum up in words like " Disaster, Boring, Sleepy, Tough" and any other inspirational words you could muster. So much help lah you guys LOL. No harm done.

Pssh ran out of topic. Oh, right, I'm super elated that before I enter college, the last Grand Slam I will be watching happens to be Wimbledon( hence, the balls). What's not to like about Wimbledon? Even if you don't enjoy Tennis( or one of those few who watches generic sports due to peer pressure), you can't help but to feel some love for the

Immaculate, precisely cut grass
The traditional white attire
The eye candy( Sharapova has GOT to be one of the hottest female athlete out there.)
The ambiance surrounding the competition which just shouts "English in all its glory".
Come on, they eat Strawberry with a dollop of cream for crying out loud. If there was a Malaysian Open as part of the four Grand Slam, the athletes probably get stomach aches, since every breakfast include Nasi Lemak

Watching this, has somehow reiterated my commitment to one day, be in the crowd of spectators watching a match in center court. And that one way or another, I will go to UK, and study there, and clench my fist at the sight of a badass UK university that I will get into. InsyaAllah. Oh,and of course attend the Oxegen music festival, Glastonbury festival, and travel around Europe while I'm at it :)

_________________________________________________________

Do you know, there is EXACTLY 20 days to the final installment of the Harry Potter series.When I was at a friend's house the other day, we were talking about how close the last movie is already. A decade-long experience of such a fantastic series.

Aiman: (sighs) Maybe I tak sempat tengok the midnight screening of the movie when it comes out.
Friend: Why watch it so fast? Take your time, at least it'll last longer.
Aiman: Hmm, good idea.

The 2nd trailer of the much anticipated movie of the year, is SO EPIC, no words can describe it really. The only thing that might top that is this:-

So, go submit your email at the Pottermore site, and wait.

Ok, now, where's the owl?

Karaoke Celebration @ RedBox

2011-06-21T13:39:00.006+08:00

For my Dad's 54th Birthday, My mum and Sis decided that we should go spend the Saturday Night at RedBox in Pavilion, and I just reluctantly obliged. I have never been much of a karaoke type of person( The only one in the family who has never been to a Karaoke center prior to the birthday celebration), and the only time I really do sing in public was either during Choir practices in high school, or...

..yeah, that's just it. I spend most of my time belting out songs in the bathroom, because every human being is genetically predisposed to sound Ah-MA-ZING in the bathroom. Preach!

But most importantly, I don't see how one can have a good dinner, and sing at the same time. Chewing is made a 100x harder. But, everyone certainly has a liking for it, so, it wouldn't hurt to it a go.

Last Saturday, we all left the house after Maghrib, and headed to Pavilion. Right after entering the room, I started laughing. Those kind of rooms that they have reminds me of the countless Chinese drama shows I used to watch last time, which had gang members, mafias, and weaponry. But trust me, the only thing that could have brought murder was our singing voice later that night. Haha

The array of food served were pretty good, but you really can't focus on the eating when you're singing.

The choices of song that night were varied, from really easy ones ( Jessie J, Selena Gomez) to EXTREMELY difficult " why -did-we-even-choose-this-in-the-first-place" song like Adele and Leona Lewis. After literally shouting to " Rolling In The Deep", you tend to have a new found respect for Adele and how she looks so CALM when she sings. I would show you a video of us singing that voice, but let's put it this way; we didn't look very "calm"

It was still dad's birthday, so we spent half the time singing really old songs, which was a really good feeling, because nothing beats Sinatra and ABBA. Dad also sang a few Chinese songs, and we'll hum along, going " Chee Cheong Fun, Char Kuey Teow, Sei Fan,.."

Bought a cake from Baskin Robbin for us to indulge in. that night.

Dad and Mum

Oh, did I tell you, Jacklyn Victor was also there at RedBox on the same night? Wouldn't it be fun to crash her room, and hear her sing. She was probably scrolling through her own songs, but who cares if you're famous enough to HAVE songs at RedBox right? :D

We ended up going back around 1.30 at night, and as we walked towards the car park, I saw many people, families even, walking towards the mall. and the only thing that came across my mind was....,

WHAT HAPPENED TO SLEEPING AT NIGHT?

Mr. Jo

2011-06-18T11:30:00.007+08:00

This weekend will be extra special for my entire family. For all the fathers out there, Sunday(tomorrow) will be Father's Day, but my dad was born on June 18th, 1957, which makes him 54 years of age today.

To one of the most hardworking person I know,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD

By the way. I'm pretty sure you can RETIRE soon, just sayin' :D

No, but really, who else goes to work on public holidays?

My NS Adventure: Part 1- getting There

2011-06-18T11:27:00.000+08:00

I can still vividly remember the day the news about the successful candidate for NS came out, we were all in class, it was Pn. Safrina's English session-god, I miss her and all the other English teachers- and everyone was on their phone, texting.

Yes, usage of mobile phone in class. Don't be so surprise. It's a norm. Wait, where was I? Oh right, in the end, I found out I got it, and what ensued later was essentially me rebelling at the thought of having to spend 3 months in a camp. Judge me all you want, but I have strong reasons to believe that people die going there, and they actually do!

Over exaggeration,maybe, but the point is, getting to know that you'll spend 3 months as a NS trainee is as if knowing that all your post-high school plans will be forced to cancel.( Driving license,college, growing your HAIR long, etc). Basically, it kinda sucks.

A few weeks later, I found myself in front of the computer, researching and googling my campsite(Kem PLKN Princess Haliza) and nothing much came up besides a few Malay bloggers posting their past experience there, which didn't help much.

" yezzzz, sangat menyeronokkan lahzz", " sayer so sayangz semua kapten dan jurulatihz, best gilerr"

You get what I mean. So, here I am, recollecting my memories of my 3 months stint there, hoping that it'll be a little help for future NS trainees attending this camp, those who were in my position, when only Google comes up with Rempit talk. And I just wanted to do this, to get closure.

MY point of view.

Camp Site(Introduction)

The morning of 3rd January 2011 dawned upon me, i reluctantly got myself out from bed, and headed to the ZETRO building in Wangsa Maju. I wasn't as seriously, emotionally distraught as the first NS trainee I saw there, who was sobbing uncontrollably. I shrugged that off, but deep down, I know if I had it my way, I would want to turn the car around and go back home. Took a picture with Lemuel, who was there with his family, and not long after, went on different buses, different routes, and different hopes of what would be our destination for 2+ months.

Camp Princess Heliza has always been known as the celebrity camp, due to some local celebrities, namely Diana Danielle, Alif, and Suki , taking part in the NS stint during their years. So hey, for those who think they are imprisoning themselves by going, Just have in mind that these 3 went there before, and all is well. But, if you're such a sissy and can't handle the rough and tough, then wrong camp ah, brader! This one will suit you better, in this case.

Arrived there, and we were all quickly arranged in the nearby hall, which soon turned out to be, like, the most important place of your stay there, where before you eat, sleep, perform activities, hear countless speeches(will get back to this one), get lectured to, play games, you have to gather there.

The first day was a particularly long day, and I don't see it changing anytime in the future. this is when the registering takes place, and we start handing in things that might be suspicious for them, a.k.a Panadol. Then, its time to line up, and one by one, we will be sorted out into the four different groups in the camp, eg: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and DELTA, the last being my company for the entire stay there. Before we left for our respective dorms, two officials came and ask each one of us whether we were captains of clubs, members of the prefect board, and if we could play any sport.

Ok, this part was a bit tricky really, and honestly, I could see right through to their real intentions. All of our informations were recorded, so obviously what we say is going to be used as a reference to when they start choosing candidates for the Penghulu/Penghuluwati, ya know, all the high ranking positions in camp, well,for the NS trainee standard at least. Funny part was, when that guy asked me, " Dik, ada main sukan apa-apa tak?", I proudly replied, " Oh, ada, main tennis, masa Form 3 represent daerah lagi" just because I know NO WAY A NS CAMP will have a tennis court, not event this camp. Sure enough, he went " Oh, bagus tuu, tapi sorrylah, sini tak ada tennis". He could have just said,

" YO BOY, ONLY GENERIC SPORTS HERE",

and I would have just been on my way, huh? :)

The NS dorms for guys in this campsite, is as far as it can get within the confines of the campsite, at a corner, where you have to walk inwards, and if you're as unlucky as I am, which is to say, you become a Delta-ian, then your dorm would be the FURTHEST. I remembered lugging my bag of clothes and instant food, which was super heavy, and walked for what felt like miles. But hey, you'll get use to it, I did! and hell was it a good daily workout!

I settled in, and made friends with my dorm mates, and sort of took everything into perspective at once. What I felt was very important for me is to feel right at home as soon as possible, and to not be afraid of what's to come. Trust me, any negativity vibe wouldn't be of much help, so keeping cool was vital.

I can't possibly blog about all 72 days I was there in just one blog posts. So, I'll probably do it gradually until the end of June, hopefully. I look forward to telling you guys all about my adventures there!

étude létranger

2011-06-13T19:23:00.007+08:00

Direct translation: Studying abroad. Pfft, let me be fancy. It goes with the story.

A week ago, Syahidah FB and messaged me, telling me that she was having a small get together at her house, since she's leaving to US to further her studies there. So, last Thursday, I got myself to Tiara Kemensah even though I really didn't know who was going to be there. SO, here's the thing, Syahidah is a close friend of mine when I was in form 3, but later on, she shifted to another school for her upper secondary education and thus, we didn't meet alot after that.

Truth be told, I wasn't even sure of going, but up until the last minute, I thought, "Hey, when I leave to go somewhere in the future, god's willing, I would want all my friends to be there". So, I went.

Being quite early, I sat with a few guys whom I recognised as Syahidah's friends. One of them looked really familiar, but I really couldn't pinpoint his name until after he started talking to me. Biasalah, guna taktik, " Hi, how are you doing, lama tak nampak?" until I remembered his name. And surprisingly, further into the conversation, he told me he reads my blog. (Hi, Izhar, if you're reading!)

Usually, I don't eat much at night, but I certainly couldn't resist the Nasi Beriyani, lamb, fried chicken, and sate that was served that night. A good dinner that was. Like I said, I rarely do meet her, so when Syahidah was being her usual loud, funny self, I couldn't help but smile, remembering the times in my form 3 class, when she was...

....PRACTICALLY THE SAME! HO YEAH YOU COULD HEAR HER FROM ACROSS THE BLOCK! :D

Anyways, some of my other close friends came that night and we chatted, shared stories, and laughed at some.

Something funny occurred that night. By 10, 3 of us were already getting up, preparing to go back, taking pictures, wishing her the best of luck, the girls were hugging it out, and the guys standing awkwardly at a corner, and we walked to the door. Did I mention, that Syahidah has a sister who is so "2 x 5" like her? Not to mention, super hilarious, in a straight forward, no holding back manner.

We ended up standing just a few feet from the doorway, laughing our asses off at all their experiences, and the stories of them when they went overseas for holidays, and the possibilities of things that can and might happen when Syahidah is at the States, and also the most random stuffs. There were also some of her other guy friends there, and one of them is to be heading to France soon for engineering, so, yeah, we heard him speak French.

Note to self: There is nothing overrated when a Malay guy/girl speaks French. It's such a beautiful language!

I wouldn't even re-write the jokes of the night, because this is one of those cases where you had to be present to really enjoy the moment. Oh, and we went back 1 1/4 hours later :)

Amal was very kind to drive me back( I know, no license, don't rub it in my face) and her driving was so "safe" i kept shouting at every corner she took-she ran a red light, what do you expect!! :D.Much like when Nabil drives. Haha. After all that chaos, in the car, we were talking, and it hit me that, you know, this is just one of the first few send offs that will lead the many goodbyes that is soon to come, either in months, or in years. It's just really funny, that exactly one year ago, we were in high school, and now, they're on a soon to be adventure of their life abroad.

SO, to both Syahidah and Fahim(who is also already in the US by now, both in the same university, HOW COOL IS THAT?!), I wish you both the best of luck in your studies, may Allah bless you, may you study hard and smart, and at times, play hard too ;)

So, who's next?!

Of food, and....erm, food.

2011-06-07T11:51:00.010+08:00

Something ironic I read today.

A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that 'individuality' is the key to success."

-Robert Orben

I find this quite amusing.Moving on.

I've been going out quite alot lately. not that I mind, since the time I don't spend outside of Melawati, I spend cooping up in my room catching up with the season 7 of Grey's Anatomy(I've recently completed the whole season) which I also don't mind, since the episodes have been really, really, great.

BBQ at Nabil's house
We planned this quite a long time ago. Well, I didn't Ikhmal and Nabil did. Pretty enthusiastic lads when it comes to this. I was just in the picture when they keep asking, " Boleh tak we do it on (insert date)?" and they kept on saying how all 3 of us had to be present on the day every time I go, " mehh, you guys go ahead-lah" such wonderful friends they are :) It finally happened last Thursday.

I wasn't sure of the things they have bought prior to that day, and I KNOW how much work it takes to plan a party that revolves around a BBQ. So, I was kinda amused when I found out that they have gotten everything prepared beforehand. I sound like such a slob, haha I know. The mum even made Tiramisu- which was so good when I ate it later at night. Reached his house, and all 3 of us went to the kitchen and helped out with the cooking, and the baking, and the laughing, messing and goofing around.

In the process, we did baked potatoes, garlic bread, fried rice( Chef Ikhmal) and Nabil's backyard was turned into the BBQ/eating area. The evening was made more exciting when I found out a really good news, which I'll blog about very soon, don't worry! So, yeah, we ate, we laughed, and had a blast the whole night. It became a little bittersweet in the end, since the BBQ that we 3 have been talking about has come to an end, there's nothing else to look forward to.

2. Lunch with Dee and Eli

One of my good friends/neighbour, Dee, enrolled in UIAM just recently, and I was too busy to have a farewell lunch back when she was still around. So, when she came back last weekend, I though, "eh, why not?" and Eli, Dee, and I went out for lunch at Delicious during the weekend. I swear to god, they might not have the best food, but the ambiance is just so calming and designed perfectly. Makes you just want to sit there and not get up.

None of us could drive YET, so we had to take the taxi there.

The place was pretty empty when we got there- Lunch hour is the best time to go there- which created qualms as to where we were going to sit. Even changed tables twice -____-"

My chicken burger. Gosh, was it good. Above is the most decent picture of it, since all of us were too hungry to even snap shots of it. Only after half of the burger is gone, then only was I like " oh, crap"

We talked and talked our way through the entire lunch, but basically, I wanted to know how UIAM's orientation week would be like. For some reason, we all played charades. 3 of us -__-" and there were people sitting around us. but hey, that's the fun part right? Not caring what others are thinking, or sneering as long as you're having a good time :) Oh, WAIT, nowww i remember why we started playing that. That's because I showed them this Modern Family video. Watch it, guys, it's seriously funny! Sofia Vergara is super talented, I tell you!

MEATBALLS!

But of course, the highlight of the lunch had to be the dessert that each of us had, which was drool-worthy. We all couldn't agree on what to have, so we came up with a solution: Got 3 individual desserts, asked for a gazillion spoons, and tasted each one. :D For each bite, the only thing I could think of was "there goes the gym session" haha! But it was totally worth it.

Banoffee Pie

Sticky Date Pudding

Blackforest in a Glass

I was so full by the time we finished our desserts. Hanged out around there for a while, and went to KLCC's KinoKuniya to submerge ourselves in the piles of books before heading home.

Books and Food make for a really good combination; it sure made my day

I have a few things planned out for this week also, so I should be back soon enough. I shall end this post with the most random pic I took otw home.

Itte Kimasu.

Double Take

2011-06-03T16:07:00.001+08:00

Hey June :)

Spent my whole day in pavilion on Saturday.(Yes, last Saturday, and now its Friday, and its June, and I'm a little behind in posting).My eldest sister came back after a few weeks in Melaka, so, I thought it would be fun to bring her out around KL since she's back for the weekend, but the underlying reason being the need to go shopping really, and she was just an excuse.haha. We ended up going with the mother tagging along too.

Had lunch in Madam Kwan's, whilst being amazed at the real Madam Kwan in her absolute presence.Basically the trip was planned just to get myself something new to wear to a dinner party on Sunday, which I attended with my whole family sans my 2nd sister of course, who is in Australia. So, we walked around, and after countless shops I had to pull my sister out from, we finally got to the main objective of the trip. haha.

Whilst my sis shopped at Nichii with mum and I towing behind, Mum pointed out this lady who was in the shop with her two daughters. What would be a normal sightsee turned out to be utter ridiculous, and you would agree with me if you saw what the lady WORE. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about individuality, but she didn't just step beyond the line of trashy, she practically ran through it. An extra large work shirt, and...

well, nothing else. besides undergarments. I wasn't staring OK, it was almost sheer, I got a mini heart attack at a glance. The daughters dress better than she does. Religion aside(She's Malay btw), I don't think it is ever appropriate to wear something like that out in the public. What an example. And of course, i tweeted, flabbergasted, and the replies were mutual.

I allowed myself to get that scarring image out of my head after a while, and went back to shopping. But I have to tell all you readers about a particular incident that happened which was so profound, moving, and shocking at once, which occurred in the Pavilion's prayer room situated on the 5th floor. Mum, sis, and I got there, and when I was in the male prayer room, this guy was on the way out after finishing his prayers. He looked particularly weak for his age, but I sort of went "hmm, maybe he's just tired". He was holding on to the glass panels on both sides, using it as a support to stabilize his legs, but he just couldn't stand up properly.

Since the glass panels didn't stretch across the whole room, I held on to his extended hand, hoping he could get more support. but then it happened. Instead of standing upright, the guy, which I give was in his mid or late 20s crashed onto the ground, and I was still holding his hand. He started shaking, trembling, and honestly the first thing that ran through my head was, and this is without any over exaggeration, that he was going to die. really. But my thumb could directly feel the beating pulse in his veins, so maybe this was something else. The thing is, I've never had to deal with this kind of situation before, let alone fix it. There was practically no one around except for a Dato', i presume, and security officers were far away. The only thing close enough to reach withing minutes is my sister in the prayer room next door(which, come on now, has some sense to it, since she is studying to become a doctor!). But then, as he lied on the floor, he told me me to bring him up to a seating position and together with the other man in the room, we got him back into the prayer room.And he just sat there.

I did my prayers, but at the back of my head, i kept thinking how he's doing, why did he get to such a condition, what is going to happen, and especially, what have I done to help. As soon as I finished, I turned around, just to see that he wasn't there. Went out, met my dad, and told him about it. He said that the guy was walking right beside him, looking frail, but nonetheless, on his own. I never will know what the outcome was. I just hope he's fine and feeling better. And as I continued my day-happily in fact, because we did a ton of things after:-
~~forced~~ Got my dad to buy a suit for the dinner
Made him buy a new pair of shoe,thus reducing the events of me cringing at the sight of him wearing my shoe :p
Went to Victoria Station for dinner and had lovely food
I couldn't stop thinking of the guy, and I took in stride that it happened for a reason, maybe to teach me that I should be thankful for each passing minute and for the health I've been given, and for the ability to stand on my own two feet without support. Alhamdulillah.

Dinner Party at DoubleTree Hilton

Memories throught drafts

2011-05-23T11:03:00.007+08:00

That's true. It's like a small glimpse into the past, and reading it back, And with everything Karin has been talking about when it comes to The Butterfly Effect prior, today might just not be TODAY if I posted the what-could-be online. But then, I doubt a boring revelation of how a short haircut is better on me would change the very course of humanity.

UNLESS, if i didn't get my haircut that particular day, someone might have spilled water all over the floor, floor becoming really wet and slippery, a customer slips and falls down on his/her head, and dies. It's possible!

-You know, I've always wanted to talk about this. It's for certain that for once in your life(No, I'm not breaking into song), you must have seen or read a statement which goes something like this : "Oh, now he's a little famous, you say you know his music so well-lah, WELL I KNEW HIM BEFORE HE GOT FAMOUS!" I never stop short of laughing every time i come across this. it's so human to want to protect what they feel belongs to them, like a sole proprietor to an investment they've been laundering in for years before the shares went up and everyone started investing in it too(Did that even make sense? I just wanted to sound smart). But isn't it good to share what's great out there with the people around you, rather than enclosing it within your knowledge only? I find it slightly absurd.

There are days where as soon as I get up, I know that things don't feel right and isn't going to be for the next 17 hours or so. But then, I decided that self-worrying can be a little petty sometimes. And, with that, I plan to re-consider judging a day by the blink of an eye. I'm in a very peaceful state today. Got up feeling like I have a sense of purpose. But the sense to actually wake up from bed and act on that purpose took a little while longer. This long stretches of holiday has really deemed slightly discouraging for me to start college in July ( Oh, and I'm doing my A-Levels in KYUEM, for those who didn't know)
I thought I would want to create a checklist, the things I need to do in the span of this 1 month. So many people I know started college very early, and unfortunately couldn't do some things they wanted to. But heck, they get to come back home every day. So, it's a different case for me.

Anybody read today's STAR newspaper already? to commemorate their 5th decade into the business of informing Malaysian on news, either in the spirit of hope or despair, they have done an overhaul in terms of their layout and design, which I give a thumb up for the change. Even though the new look has an uncanny resemblance to NST's paper,like an homage, but it still stand out in terms of being very relatable. I was so excited by the arrival of the newspaper, that I actually took my time to read as many columns as I could. Before this, I would usually wake up in the morning, grab the STAR TWO section of the newspaper, and occasionally browse through the main headlines. But not today.

And there you have it. Old drafts. Well, some of it. I'm so lazy these days, I couldn't manage to put up a blog post withing the span of two days. Everything above is of the past. Woke up at 10 today, went online just to see the Californian preacher stating that October 21st, and not May 21st, is Judgement Day. He's really going on a trial and error basis, isn't he? -__-" What's he going to say when his future prediction doesn't come true. MATHEMATICAL ERROR?

Theory: Me waking up late in the morning is my body's defence mechanism in the future absence of sleep when I enter college. This is to make up for all the lost hours later.

I HAVE done some very productive things when I'm not sleeping. So, don't call me a couch potato just yet.

Went to Breadties the other day to celebrate Hertina's farewell to UITM, Puncak Alam. This is the first of many farewells to come, and you know what the "BEST" part is, I'll be one of the latest to go since KY's enrolling date is the second week of July.

Then, there was that outing with Anis and Zully. Went to pavilion to watch Nur Kasih The Movie. YES, judge all you want, but I followed the series religiously during the Ramadhan month last yer, so it's appropriate that I end it with the movie. A little soppy throughout, but a nice movie to enjoy, if you haven't read any of the spoilers. Lots of meaningful moral values, and pretty decent acting, if you can look past the horrible CGIs. And no, the cinema wasn't conquered by girls and old aunties, there were working men with shirts and ties(presumably from their office) who entered the cinema.

Oh, yes, we had Cream & Fudge later on in the day which was super yummy, though a tad expensive. I had the rocky Road which was a burst of Chocolate in every bite. Even with the rude sales person handling the store in KLCC, no doubt I'll have another go at the ice cream.

Picture taken at Nabil's house. Went there yesterday, fooled around with the other two stooges, and just chatted and cam-whored using his new HP Touch Screen computer. I'm going to miss them, and all my other family and friends when I leave for college. First of the many things I have to do in June:-

Print and create a picture album to bring to college. Orrr, since we have that Phillips Digital Photo Viewer...
But you know what, change is good. Change is for the better. I was watching HIYM that day, and they have a way to blend in memorable scenes and touching moments in spite of all the craziness that ensues every time Barney Stinson appears. And when this came on, it was an A-Ha moment, so to speak. So, I leave you lovely readers with the idea that we are all creating our own Butterfly Effect and well, hey, if today was OK, tomorrow's worth the shot, right?

"The future is scary but you can't just run back to the past because it's familiar. Yes, It's tempting... but it's a mistake"

When push comes to shove, you do what you got to do feel like doing

2011-05-19T19:28:00.004+08:00

Yesterday's evening sky worried me. When it rains at night, you have no idea what's going to happen since the sky is pitch black, and when it rains during the day, you expect nothing less but a Malaysian tropical rainstorm. But yesterday,about 7, there's that evil genius glow in the sky above, with a yellow hue, but covered with violent clouds and rains pelting on the rooftop for what seems forever.And then there's the mist far ahead, which by the standard of my imagination, large things might appear from it.

Besides the 2012 apocalypse resemblance that it brings, i try not to think of it so much, hence I pull down my curtains. Every 5 minutes or so, a flash of bright light seeps in between the gaps, and you hear a loud thunder.

__________________________________________________________________

Woke up this morning, did my usual breakfast routine, and grabbed the morning papers,and look what I found.

The picture above btw, was taken during the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award prize giving ceremony. And if you see closely, at the far right, there's Lemuel and Dhanya,(who's hidden behing another participant) who were chosen as the top 20 for the ultimate prize of a trip to Ireland. yes, yes, I was a little sad for not getting a place, but all the disappointment aside, I was so ecstatic when I found out two of my friends got it. In the end, an Indian guy won, but Dhanya did get a Special merit award and brought home alot of money(undisclosed). But for writing, that's a hefty sum. Kudos to both of you once more!

More news on the event itself here.

TBH, i still need to thank Dhanya's mum, because when the ad for the competition came out, she told Dhanya and subsequently, told me. I still remember, at the time I got the message, i was at NS camp's football field, walking around, happy, since it was a Friday and we all got our means of telecommunications back. When she told me, I felt so excited not because of the odds that i might be going to Ireland( Oh, heck, who am I to kid? I drool at the sight of Ireland's lush green landscape), but also for the fact that it was a dose of creativity that i needed as I voluntarily bound myself within the walls of the ~~prison~~ camp.

I never really did ask myself why I didn't get it, actually. I hardly put in much effort, wrote with utmost nonchalance, and it was more a rant rather than an essay. Since, the essay didn't get through, I might just use it as an excuse to put it up as a blog post. Though I still do think it's a bit boring, Dhanya would happily confirm that-we made a pact to read each other's essay and not let it be read by anyone else, and hers was no doubt Really good :) Mine on the other hand, had to do with what has changed throughout the era, what it would mean for the future realistically, and the rest was basically a little depiction of my with the idea of how some adults in the society think so little of teenagers, and their need to think that we have no brains of ourselves.Haha, practically called the lot bloody bastards.

In proper grammar of course.

Because the world needs to be a little bit rebellious, orally, or on paper. Whichever works.

Off I Go! TGIF!

HP 7

2011-05-14T09:57:00.004+08:00

I can't believe this is almost over. A relationship that has spanned for over a decade. Ending.

I just re-read the entire 2nd part of the book in two days. Haven't read that much in a short amount of time for months now, since camp. I've watched the trailer over and over, pausing every second or so, identifying each scene, and getting goosebumps every single time.

Scenes I'm looking forward most:-

The design of Ravenclaw's common room.
The entire scene of the Hogawarts battle, to each painstaking detail. I want everything.
The stone Pensieve scenes.
HP and the rest of them, 19 years later.
The best duelling ever in Hogwarts history
Ron and Hermione being together
professor Mcgonagall taking charge. HELL YEAH!
King Cross's scene, err, not so much.
Fred, Tonks, and Lupin dying.

15TH JULY 2011!

A part of me can't wait to see it, a part of me wishes it'll go on and on forever, don't matter if the next book is about the stories of their kids, Harry Potter as an adult, new and more evil versions of "Voldemort", or even a pre-quel about how the school was built, about the four founders of Hogwarts, about the other schools I DON'T CARE.

5 Nekad Reunion Party: The Grass Is Not Greener On The Other Side,

2011-05-12T09:33:00.013+08:00

If you've been following my blog from last year,you would know how much I love my 5 Nekad
class and all of the craziness that comes as a screwed up package.

The blurred face is the noisiest.

I am all about variety, and high school allowed me to experience different people in different surroundings, but as long as I remain in contact with friends from this class, it will still remain as a very fond memory. Which is why, even after only 5 months, our class was awesome enough to have a reunion. Who has a reunion the year after high school ends, beats me, but at least it was an opportunity for all of us to meet up again.Prior to the event, I barely met any of them, and only on rare occasions do we gather.

Hours before, I was still rummaging through the closet, wondering what to wear since it was a Hawaiian themed party. "siapalah yang pandai sangat bagi tema tu-__-"I have no floral shirt, and no coconut trees near my house.

We had a potluck at Ain's huge house in Kemensah, and we had it near a pool, so even though it was all cool and had a frat party vibe(haha, who am I kidding? :p), everyone couldn't help but wonder the possible victim that will end up going home soaked. And as the party goes on, Kaif was the most possible candidate to "slip" and fall.

Honestly, I was a little disappointed by the turnout of the party, since only half of the class came. It slowly hit all of us that while many wanted to come, they were busy either with college work and other priorities. The party was still very noisy, noisier than it has ever been for the past 5 months, and only half came. I'm pretty sure the neighbour would've screamed at us if everyone attended:)

I brought brownies to the party, since I was lazy to even cook anything, but the others were surprisingly handy in preparing dishes of their own that they brought. And I didn't get food poisoning the day after, which proves their credentials for cooking. :D

As Eli and Justin handled the grill*, we all sat on the gazebo and tables just catching up, talking about the colleges we're entering, the courses we're taking, the places we're going, you get the drill.

We're that boring! hah, but no, really, everyone was more interested to know how everyone has been, and in the midst of all that, alot of laughter.

We had a cake cutting session, and made a video capsule. So, everyone gather around, and started talking about what they miss most about the class, and I know, I know, it sounds so cheese balls, and cliche, but there were no one else around, so, no pretending.Some even started to tear up. 0.0 And at the very same time, a sad song started to play, Courtesy of Eli's play list(BIG SURPRISE) and it could've passed as a scene from a soppy movie.

Random things that happened that night:-

Weird "interaction" between hanif and Justin, one that you have to ask only both of them to know the answer. Weird things happened that night.haha
A lot of pole dancing. Everyone hugged the gazebo poles.

Alot of "almost" mishaps that would have sent people into the pool.
Me being so amused by Ain's super adorable cats.
Best dressed being Ofiellia and Hanif.

It ended shortly after 11. Everyone said their goodbyes, wished everyone well on their way, and went home. And that was it.I had such a great time, and I know, in 10 years time, things change, I might not remember them, this blog might not be here, but at least I had a past with them in it.

And it'll take commitment to keep in touch with them, because the grass is greenest where it is watered

nuff said.

*Was first a typo error which said " As Eli and Justin handled the girl" . SO. WRONG.

Hari Anugerah Cemerlang.

2011-05-05T11:33:00.012+08:00

Okay, okay guilty as charge.

Even the post below was written weeks ago, and as usual, I kept it as a draft, so now, I've gone through all those errands/events/interview sessions, all waiting to be blogged. But I think I'll start with the Hari Anugerah Cemerlang, since some of my friends couldn't be there to experience the day itself.

It was a rather dull event actually.

haha, seriously. It's at school, which makes things a little lackluster, but I'm not the type who will protest by not going, because I don't exactly see the point of that kind of attitude. besides, it was an opportunity for me to see my friends again, and that day, I was to be given the Tokoh Murid award. So, I was happy and excited(and a little nervous,to say so myself).

basically what happen was as I got there, with my mum, sis, and Intan, I went to meet my teachers and friends. For a moment, it felt like high school :) sat at our designated tables, we started chatting and chatting, to the point a teacher came to our table to shut us up. haha. I'm like" Okay, cikgu, sorry." and when she left, "err, where was I?". The VIP for the day was a BioTech Dato', and I found out is my classmate's dad. Just to show how 5 Nekad is super awesome lah kan :)

So, all of us with our robes, were listening to speech after speech, before the prize giving ceremony actually started. The PMR kids got their prizes first, which me smile a little, thinking two years back, I was just like them.

Oh, Muhammad Putera came to our ceremony also, so hah to any SBP schools out there, did the top Malaysian scorer come to your prize giving day? BTW, he's an ex-melawatian and he came to support his brother who was also getting a PMR award.

Smart big bro supporting smart lil bro.
-__-"

Then, our turn came. We all went up the stage proudly, received our prize, and had a picture-taking session outside.Then, the moment came for me, Dinie, and Kaif to get our Tokoh awards. Prior to this event, we were all interviewed and this year, they wanted to insert a video of each of us. Safe to say, we were all embarrassed when it came out.haha.

So, yeah, that was what happened. And below, are just some of the pictures of the event itself.( Since I cant upload the pictures from another camera)
I think the memories look better in colour.

Me and mum.

Btw, I couldn't keep the trophy, and had to return it to the school that day itself. Sigh, it should have been finders keepers.

But at least it's engraved.

Old News

2011-04-25T12:11:00.004+08:00

Hi world.

I'm writing this, in the comfort of baggy shorts and sleeveless t-shirts, minutes after coming back from Petaling Jaya. Seriously, I tell you, I want to blog, but i have had no creative inputs for a long time now, that "interviews" would pass as a blog post.sigh. This week is going to be another hectic week, almost everyday is gonna be filled with interviews and assessments, I might as well wear a shirt and tie to sleep.

~~Monday: UEM assessment~~
Tuesday: Axiata assessment
Wednesday: Preparing for Mara
Thursday: Mara interview
Friday: UEM interview( and the wedding of the century, who can forget about that, SO EXCITED, I'm already half British)
Saturday: Hari Anugerah Cemerlang
Sunday: Bask in the glory of freedom OR take my driving course

No, no, before you start thinking I'm a pathetic, non-appreciative brat, I'm not. I'm super blessed that I'm getting all the chances. It's just all packed in one. Not to mention the pressure. After the quiz just now, I sat with wonderful, not to mention smart looking people, got to know them a little, and by the end of, what, a 30 minutes chat? we started exchanging Facebook names, and hand phone numbers. Oh, and I found out, that a particular friend of mine has already gotten a scholarship, and when I heard the process that he had to go through, damn, TABIK. chosen from so many people.

If only I stayed in contact with him, I would congratulate him. But, I didn't.sadly. Heck, I've gone emo and back on this topic so many times, I'm a pro at feeling alone in a crowd of strangers. It's the typical stages actually, whenever I go to an event eg: interview,meeting, assessments and I meet a bunch of new people, I try to struck a conversation with practically anybody, in hopes that by the time this the superficial is over, the reality stays. I keep thinking one day, maybe, if it is align with my worldly provisions, I might get this, and end up being super close to these few people that I'm just about to get to know. And maybe, down the road 5 years time, myself and some others would laugh when looking back down memory lane.

But enough about that.

No offense

2011-04-18T22:01:00.004+08:00

To whom it may concern to,

I started Twitter to get in touch with Live News better. But i didn't know I signed up for your moaning and crying at night because your mum didn't buy you that thing you wanted at the mall, and your only pride and joy towards your dad when he got you the custom made sports equipment, when a few days back, you were hating your dad for not getting it. Sad, sad people. You need to know there are many things in life to be grateful about.

Sincerely, me

A 14 year friendship(and counting!)

2011-04-18T21:45:00.006+08:00

This is dedicated to them who have been friends with me from Tadika Taman Melawati, primary school, and all the way through high school. Thanks for all the car rides home from school, always opening your house for the "lepak" times, and in general, being such great friends who I can never replace.

Happy Birthday
Dhanya and Divya!

Welcome to the "Old" club :D May you all succeed in life and always keep in touch until we're 80.haha.

Part 1- Khazanah/ YTN

2011-04-18T20:24:00.006+08:00

Don't get me wrong. Interviews are super fun and exciting, like rushes of Adrenaline to the head. But, for the most part of it, you tend to get too nervous to even think about the highs and lows. After the SPM results came out(Alhamdulillah), I started working on the online applications for scholarships after scholarships, because I know the dream I have in mind doesn't cost very cheap. And I hear money trees don't grow very well.

The process has been such a strenuous. And here I am writing as if I've secured a money-depositing scholarship. HAH. I'm not Fahim(who practically can start packing already). I find studying in high school so much easier than this, since in high school, all it took was honest hard work and attention in studies to make it through, but things are taken up a notch now. Mehh, i suppose this is the "terms and conditions" that come with pursuing my higher education. I'll deal with it. Self-therapy FTW :D

Anyways, every time I try to check for tips for a specific interview online, not much comes out. So, i thought I would contribute, in the most minor way possible, any help for future people like me who'll go through the same thing.

Disclaimer: This, by no means, is full proof. It's just a slightly detailed and personal account of my experience.

1st Interview- Khazanah

Was lucky enough to be chosen from 5000 applicants for the 1st round of Khazanah Interview. It is a very coveted scholarship programme, so, I had a predisposed idea that the lobby of the UEM bulding, where I was headed towards to that morning, would be filled with brainiacs of all sorts. And I wasn't wrong. I wore a shirt and a tie. Some of them had briefcases. -__-"

I found out, that it wasn't an interviewing process but an IQ test, which didn't make me feel any better. Went into the hall, sat down, and started chatting( like you weren't expecting this from me!) to other participants. This guy that I was sitting beside, *Syed, looked fairly normal, and we talked about many things, and by the time the test started-it got delayed for 1/2 hour- I practically knew where he lived, what are his kind of sports, how many siblings he have, and etc. haha.

The IQ test had 5 different categories, which tested all of us there about out mental, logical abilities, and some numeric mambo jumbo.Oh, also some comic cartoons. And it had a time constraint. 30 Q's to 10 minutes kind of thing. FUN! I thought I did ok, but OK might not suffice when there's the "great" and "excellent" around. pfft.

Had a briefing later on, and was told that if I get through this, there'll be 5 more rounds to go.Sigh. What to do, what to do... I guess we'll just see if any emails come in next week.

*Btw, that guy I was talking about, wasn't just very normal. I did some Googling(Curiosity and stalker-ism is different OK?!) and found out he's the champion for the Selangor state "Nilam" competition.hah.

__________________________________________________________________

2nd Interview- Yayasan Tenaga Nasional

This was a totally different approach. I was asked to go to an Educamp organised by YTN/YM from last Friday and I just came back yesterday.

The camp was very interesting, to say the least. At first, I was slightly reluctant to go, because of the packing, and the short duration of time, which makes packing a little bit more complicated.

But I didn't regret a single day :)

Throughout, i was put into a group of 13 other participants and were given two facilitators for evaluation. So, yes, everywhere I walked, whatever I talked, felt analysed.Yikes. Talk about creepiness. So, we had a lot of sessions in a class-like environment between us, and we all shared stories amongst us, and even had to finish a "1000 pieces" Jigsaw Puzzle. and we started at 11 at night. So safe to say, I didn't get back to the dorm until after 3.00. The morning after, I felt so high, coffee wouldn't even do it.

Met so many different kinds of people there. There was this girl, who I thought was just the typical Malay girl, found out she lived in Glasgow for 5 years, and every time she speaks English, there's a Scottish accent to it. so, it's not Glasgow for her, it's GLASSS- GOOW. hehe. Oh, and Chin, an Ipoh guy, whom i think speaks Malay SO MUCH BETTER than i do. I swear, if I didn't tell you he's a pure Chinese, you would've thought dia melayu. haha.

On Saturday, we were given a task to construct a model which can contribute YTn in anyway. So, with a 30 minutes time span, we thought of an honestly ingenious,eco-friendly idea and presented it to the person in charge. But what happened next came as such a shocker to all 13 of us. He started to throw our model to the floor, and saying stuffs like " 13 kepala, model buruk gila". the first thing that to my mind was " damn, what just happened? he better be able to come up with something better!" :) haha. Mind you, bitchiness overflow.

But after he left, we quickly concluded that it was just an act to see how we would react to those kind of situations in the real world where everything isn't just dandy.So, it was a learning experience. Oh, oh, I forgot, you know who I met there?

(Left)Hanif and Qistina( It's been such a long time since I met them!) ; (Right)My AWESOME "E" group.

All in all, I thought it was such a good experience. Whatever results it may be, I'll be fine, knowing that I got to make more new friends, and had a blast of a weekend :D

*************************

Woke up this morning, went online..

Alhmadulillah :) Wish me luck!

Facebook

2011-04-10T07:45:00.007+08:00

Yesterday :)

I'm not a hypocrite. So, i won't dismiss social networking as a main part of my life nowadays. And it's probably true to whoever who's reading this. Waking up early in the morning, besides prayers, the first few thoughts that come to my head are the messages on my phone or any status updates. Or, heck, talking to Denise on twitter, since she's ALWAYS the earliest there( college girl, pfft.haha) Gone are the days where we snail mail each other, and replaced by things like Face Time. The biggest advantage to all this, is that when you get so attached to talking online ie: Facebook,Twitter, Friendster(wha?), or even MSN, you don't really interact with the person face-to-face anymore. Worse, if you meet some random new friend online, and start building a friendship through this medium, you start to wonder how far it can possibly go without you feeling so awkward to meet that person in real life.

Scenario: You coincidentally meet someone, somewhere you know in KL out of the blue, and you gaze in each other's eyes for a split second, but you never start a conversation until you reach back home, and Fb him/her, " Was that you in KLCC/Pavilion/Times Square/ Low Yat just now/? Hi!"

Case in point.

Which brings me back to the whole networking issue. it's awesome to have a million 'friends', but nothing beats sitting down at a cafe with a few friends, having light snacks, and laughing at just the stupidest things in the world ie Haunted Doors. Seriously, I had such a good time yesterday. I can safely say, I'm not a movie person anymore.Sure, cinemas are great and all ( coming from a hater of 3D movies) but, when I go out, I despise the thought of spending 2 hours in a closed up area rather than talking. I'm a talker, Deal with it! :D And at night, had dinner with the parents, and wrapped up the day with two episodes of Modern Family. Good times!

Off for now, friends coming over to the house to discuss some stuff. Bye!

P/S: Go to Lemuel's FB page and "Like' the Avril Lavigne video he made with his sis. Don't forget to watch it first! ;)

SPM results day!

2011-04-09T13:52:00.011+08:00

When I was in camp for 2+ months, part of it was spent thinking about SPM, especially nearing the end of February. It was either on the subject on when, or why( We contemplated this, and came up with a conclusion that we could very well just start college without having to go through the dreadful day), and even where because the last thing we wanted as drafted individuals were to get our results in camp.

We left camp, found out that 23rd was the special date, and EVERYONE i know, whether through words from their mouth or mass media, cursed their way each day, as if it would slow down time a bit for every f-bombs that fall.

But eventually, the day came.

And I thought it would be a super spectacular moment to see all my friends again, changed after a 3 month hiatus. But, nothing like that happened at all. Which in some ways, good. The familiarity of their presence is still alive.

I tried to be calm and composed for awhile, but as soon as we sat in the hall, that all went away.

Like some of my other friends, I got called on stage, and I was so grateful to have gotten unexpected results, which I have to thank my family, friends, and teachers especially for guiding me through my learning process.

But, I was as happy, if not more, to know that some of my closest friends, from Form 1, got excellent results too. Because you just can't help to be happy for them. After all, all of us have been on this same ride for such a long time, a good outcome becomes greater with them in it.

-But, like many have said, SPM, whether you score 20 A's or less than what you hoped for, it's really not the end of the world. Sure, life would probably come easier with an OK results, but i know my friends who didn't rock SPM results as much as they would've like to, even though they've worked their butts off for it, would ace college, that I'm sure.

But word of caution: 'erm, siapa yang cakap malaysian education tak bagus sangat, tapi memang tak belajar the whole SPM year, asyik main, and ended up getting bad results, you know who to blame. and college won't come easier to you if that attitude still remains.'

Just saying.

Moving on. Where was I? Oh,right. After a short interview by the school's magazine with all of my friends, went home and had a celebratory lunch-Chicken Rice :) At night, met up with some of the buds, went to KLCC, and had dinner in Madam Kwan's.

Had a piece of cake at Dome's right after that, and spent the whole night chit chatting, and just catching up with each other.Bliss

At 11, took a train ride to Sri Rampai, laughed our way to Wangsa Walk-technically, Karin and Nicole did, Ghavi and me,well, we just enjoyed watching their craziness. Played pool, and after a while, left for home.

The next day, I baked myself a carrot cake.

I could do this often.

aiman-farhan.blogspot.com turns 4 today!

2011-04-08T22:32:00.008+08:00

So, finally.

After long hours in front of the computer figuring out how to overhaul my blog, this is what I came up with,and I'm quite happy with it. Credits to Dee for fixing me up with the awesome blog header and being a great friend through this process( because come on, you didn't think I, Aiman Farhan-technologically dumb- would come up with something even near to such advance graphics right?)

By the way, the blog turns 4 today. And I hope it'll be another great year!

But, enough of all this. Probably spend a few more hours here tomorrow to blog about the many things that have occurred since, now.

Off to finishing the 500 Q's of Driver's Ed. JPJ test tomorrow, and I don't want to fail. That certainly won't be a good start.

Oh, before I forget, Happy 18th Birthday Nabil!

Not expired

2011-03-19T19:06:00.007+08:00

It's funny, the number of things that could happen in such a short period of time.

My prayers go to Japan and all the victims of the earthquake and tsunami that just recently occurred.

Well, hi. Officially back, for good i hope. The blog is obviously lacking any creative input, and it's not such a big surprise to say that camp and other happenings in 2011's first trimester have all contributed to my absence here. And, i think, purely from the writer's block I've been having now and again, i have had very little urge to continue. But, this blog doesn't really feel finished, so why stop eh?

Having said all that, I'm not going to start ranting alot anytime soon, before I've got to get things in order first. It hasn't even been a full week post-PLKN, so there are still bits of the withdrawal symptom that I'm currently experiencing, that of which I shall keep to myself. And I really have very little things to talk about, seeing that sleep, eat, and technology, has pretty much been the highlight of my days after the 3 month's journey.

Someone remind me to blog about this. You ALL know how i tend to forget things.

So, in the spirit of, not just a new year or a new decade, but a new phase in life(because as much self-denial you try to inject in yourself, high school is), I thought I would change the layout of this page, redesign the blog title. Had qualms about changing the title itself( I wasn't much of an original whiz when I thought of that), but I think I would just stick with it, because hey, you never know, I might just become famous with it(0.01% possibility, but you never know,right?

Will blog more after all the technical stuff gets done. Which shouldn't take long!

My not-so-CNY holidays

2011-02-07T11:26:00.005+08:00

For some obscure reason, we tend to forget that here, we just get the one life, you know. Just one. There is no point living someone else's or think it's more important because it's highly more dramatic. Whatever you do, or happens around you, matters. May only be to us, but it still does.matters.But, it all comes down to whether you accept the fact of the matter that for whatever choice you are to make in the future, you should be aware of how much it can change consequences. So, try to be present.

Just some food for thought. Talking about food, I have yet to go and buy cakes from Secret Recipe to indulge on. And i have 3 days left.sigh.

-and that, above, my friends was written exactly 3 days ago.in a few hours time, I'll be back in the compounds of the camp for exactly another month of hopefully pure fun and adventure(Though I've learnt how to juggle with immense awesomeness,just saying)

Anyways, my CNY holidays have been pretty laid back, just the way I like it.

1st day

The students were allowed to go back starting 9.00 in the morning. But being the usual rule breaker self( ah,that's a lie, I follow rules like mad), I told the camp officers, "pakcik,ayah saya kena pergi outstation,so dia kena datang awal sikit". hah, as if. But, all is well when I saw SO many parents came much earlier,they might have as well slept overnight.

ate my hearts out in the car.Mum brought Nasi Lemak and Karipap and Apam, so that part was fully covered. For some reason, all of us NS trainees-speaking on behalf of Lemuel, Adeline, and Hannah- made lists of stuff to eat before we have to return back.That desperate, I tell you. But beside that, my first day out was pretty usual,really. Came back, and went online, THE WHOLE DAY.The end.

2nd day

Thursday was highly more productive. Went out with parents and sis to Pavilion, walked about, contemplating on whether to buy that uber nice converse from ZARA, decided on buying it only to find out that the pair of shoe weren't of the same size, ate at the food court(I gained 2kg just by coming home,wth right?) and had a blast.I decided I didn't want to spend so much time in front of the computer.Hence, me not blogging as I thought i would've.

3rd-4th day

Rasyidan's brother got married and us family left on an Air Asia flight to Terengganu for two days. Reached there, had a chauffeur in the form of a cousin, who brought us around.It has almost been 9 years since the last time I left, and the first thing we saw was the stadium with the collapsed roof. See how far we've come from almost a decade ago.Anyways, no sightseeing was done, except for looking at the sight of many many plates of food-nasi dagang, keropok lekor,and ICT(Ikan Celup Tepung)

5th day

Home. Had satay for dinner.

6th day

Out and about with mum and sis. Went to One Utama,had lunch, and played baseball on the roof,which was part fun, part stressful -__-' Next, left for IKEA, which never fails to bring excitement,because seriously, how can anyone resist a furniture shop?trust me, no sarcasm there.

7th day

Woke up bright and early in the morning, went to Pavilion with Nabil,just because he wanted to get some DVDs. An excuse just to get out of the house, which I approve 100% :D Went around, visited TIMES-because no trip is complete without stopping at a bookstore(which come to think of it,I regret not going to KLCC one of the days and go to Kinokuniya,but there will always be a next time,right?). Hanged out with The Twins and Nicole,who I haven't seen for a long time, and that was fun.

You see, going out to experience the hustle and bustle of the city life is fun and all, but nothing beats walking around the neighbourhood, riding in Nabil's car to pick up his sister from school, acting like such a goofball with our heads above the sun roof, saying Hi to people, ducking our heads for low lying branches, ducking our heads again because Pn. Norain was in the car behind us, and laughing all the way back :) memories, I tell you.

Watched Glee at night, such a sad episode.

and today is the 8th day, and you know what, I'm not jumping for joy at the thought of going back, but I'm trying to stay optimistic and looking forward for something every week will just make time move faster. and hey, I'm turning 18 next week. So, I'm off to a good start!

See you when we take our SPM results :)

P/S: HAPPY FUTURE 18TH BIRTHDAY TO KOMAL(16TH FEB) AND ZULLY(10TH FEB)

2-0-1-1

2011-02-02T15:21:00.004+08:00

1 week and 3 days ago, to be precise-since joining NS, I've learnt to be- Dhanya and Divya and Nabil followed my parents and visited me at camp.We talked and chatted and updated each other about happenings either related to them or anyone I know. Dhanya mentioned about my blog and how it's so empty,and now, since returning, it looks that way too. Almost dusty,really.

Oh, and yes, I just arrived back home safely:),and even now, I'm starting to fret the lack of time I'll be spending time at home,away from camp, before I voluntarily drag myself back to camp.I'm that nice.Thank god I got the holiday extension of 3 days. *cue proud expression of being Half-Chinese.

Oh, if its alright, I don't want to talk about camp just yet. Am just going to type till I run out of ideas to type about. Anyways, in camp, whenever I get the chance to communicate via phone, I get to know about all my friends and them going to college/overseas/work and etc. and it just hits me a little, that the metaphorically big bubble we all once lived in is slowly disappearing-it hasn't really vanished completely, being that our results are yet to be received,oh,and for that matter, anyone knows when it is coming out?- and a new one is being formed.baby steps.

On my way back, i didn't even take a look at the patch on the field's ground, which used to be covered only with red soil. The time capsule is really working.I'm slowly forgetting about it.I read an article once about how friendships are taken for granted. It's SO easy to just mouth out to a friend during high school, that you are going to keep in touch/see each other/contact once in a while just to not lose contact. But even now, me being in NS, which however I look at it, is a phase in my life, I already find it difficult to always know what everyone is up to. Sure, there's always the backup plan of FB, Twitter, Blogs, but nothing beats knowing that when highschool was still a thing for us, we would know stuff instantly, daily in fact.That's why I'm lucky I have friends who are sporting enough to do something like a time capsule, just as a way to hold on to the fragmented pieces. They don't exactly rush here every time I count 2,3,4 backwards, but they're good people.

A few people are asking me to post my bald head on FB, or TwitPic it, or snail mail it. haha. Don't waste your time trying to get your pictures from nabil, because he practically vowed not to post it up.But I'll try to get a decent picture online soon enough, don't you worry.

On an unrelated note altogether, I'm super stoked that 2011 is lined up with so many concerts I'm dying to go to. There's Michael Buble, Maroon 5, and even Bruno mars is stopping by to hold a concert, all 3 in the span of 2 months(March-April). But it's so hard to make a decision as to if I should be going for MB's concert, because that's about the time results usually come out, and well, we can never really be sure of the outcome, you know? Sigh. But i can't stall any longer, because the cheapest ticket is already running out, FAST.

I have a ton of spammers trying to hog some limelight trough my chat box.it's so annoying, I suddenly miss seeing Lemuel, Jen, and Karin's name spamming it.

Oh, what else? I can't think of anything else to type about except for NS. What can I do, I just spent a whopping one month there, I barely get to read news.Talking about reading, I happen to read so much faster in camp than I do back home. I finished two books in the period of 1 month(which is super speed for me,go to hell speed readers) and I think it's because of all the free time I usually fill with TV ,Internet, spending time outside, and the Internet.So, coming back to a whole day in front of the computer is so overwhelming really, because it's like trying to fit in a month worth of updates and useless random stuff online in 4 hours, because, to the contrary, I do not want to spend my time here any longer than I should.Yes, I'm that holy.

Come to think of it, I should be spending this evening with a game of tennis/catching up with kindergarten friends/watch TV with mum. And it looks like everyone but me has harassed Karin at her workplace. Apa lagi!?

Will update again tonight about PLKN. till then.

GONG XI FA CAI! it's good to be back :)

Day: SaturdayDate: 1.1.11,

2011-01-01T01:27:00.004+08:00

I am,what I usually define as being hung without any alcohol influence, but I wanted to say,just right before I dose off, that to all my family,friends, acquaintances, and strangers who happen to pass through this site,

Happy New Year

and have a blessed 2011.

New memories we shall create.

P/S: I'm excited to see the archive containing a "2011" link.

A dose of '10

2010-12-27T22:49:00.004+08:00

I don't know about all of you readers out there- with hopes that readers from Zimbabwe,Zulu,or whatsthatplace start appearing again on the traffic feed- But I'm just a sucker for a new year. How do I put it into words that are a little bit more understandable? If you're the kind who sees 2011 as just 365 days rolling in and out, then maybe you won't get it. As 2010 leaves, and 2011 comes, there'll be a period in between where I,either anticipate to what's ahead, or look back at 2010 as a whole(or both), because, y' know, I've always found it funny to start going down memory lane, when, truth be told,

2010 hasn't really ended. As I'm typing this instant, I still have a full 4 days of '10. 96 hours can bring a lot of difference.

-But,honestly speaking, I used to really take in the moment when the clock strikes 12,telling that a new year has come, and wishing something different occurs, and a pizazzz travels across the room/car I'm in, signalling ,well,anew.-

On today's special menu,

I witnessed my second snatch theft in my entire life. It was like a scene in a miniseries really, car going up a slope, almost knocked down a speeding motorcycle, cursed them, went up a little bit more until reaching level ground, saw some good-hearted Samaritans trying to help a woman up form the ground, with her belongings all scattered. And we were wishing we really knocked those two douche down their motorcycles.
Spent most of my afternoon in a crowded clinic, just to rectify some stuff for my ns stint which is starting in exactly a week's time.oh, my 3 months.
Came back, ate pisang goreng, and went to the house of the Twins-much more dramatic when you say it like that:)- We chat, we laughed,and sneered at Tan, all for good, healthy fun.haha. and to think that by next year, we're all off to college.

object of gratefulness: accents to make fun of,but secretly wish i had 'em.

PS: Dhanya, this is not so invisible anymore,huh? :)

Off to make the most out of 2010.

i thot i thaw twitter

2010-12-10T12:01:00.006+08:00

I have got to be one of the last to watch the HP movie, and it's already out for a month, I better just buy a ticket and watch alone for the sake of watching it.before it comes out with a DVD. the horror.

Good morning to you.and if you've just finished school two weeks ago, you might have realised the scale of over rated-ness finishing SPM can be, since:-

1st day: YES, WE'RE FREE. NOW I GET TO DO A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS I WASN'T ABLE TO!

2ND DAY: YES, I COMPLETED EVERYTHING YESTERDAY, BUT I STILL WILL TRY TO DO A WHOLE LOT OF OTHER THINGS

3RD DAY: YES, I NEED TO ACT LIKE I'M FEELING FREE AND HAPPY, BECAUSE NOW IS JUST PATHETIC.

by the 4th day, you'll probably take longer naps to make time fly.now you know how much you miss paper 3 in the evening,huh?:)

I wanted to start Twitter after I've actually completed my EST next Wednesday, because I swore to sign up for it right after SPM is done. but I'm already feeling the post-SPM freedom,so to speak, and with that, what the heck, right?

Everyone keeps saying how people abandon their blogs because Twitter has either a)taken up most of their time or b) filled with all their current activities, writing it back in their blog will look stale. But it doesn't have to be like that, anyone can strike a balance in between those two right? just take a look at her site. and..

hmm, she's the only one i can find now. Karin, you better still keep blogging after that 30 days thing. or for anyone in that case. After the PLKN massacre, i want to at least come home to some reading material.yes, I have solemnly swore not to hate deep down in my gut to read about how lovely your 3 months were.hah.

ok, ran out of topic there,where was I? right, Twitter.I tried signing up, even had my name typed in already, but then a road bump. what the hell would be my username.ah,the confusing part.

I don't have a Japanese name.

I like almost all kinds of fruits

My name doesn't rhyme so catchy with food

and well, there's no "r" in my name to go all rawrr. -___-"

I'll put some more thought into that. Or, I'll just stick with the usual.it'll probably be easier for people i know or stalkers to track me down and not go " how the hell was i suppose to know your name had shingz or boomz to it"

When all is said and done, can someone teach me how to send a twitter through my phone? you're reminded once again how much of a newbie I am. But i don't snail mail.the boundary stops there.

oh, and i just read that Serena is gonna come to my house with a pen drive and force me to put all the pictures in there which weren't uploaded before.oh no. i read that on Twitter.

object of gratefulness: the "view you and whoever button" on facebook. that would serve the person with a million friends some purpose. hah, now you know you haven't been talking to the other 900,000.

oh,the horror

2010-12-06T17:50:00.002+08:00

BIOLOGY.

EVEN MY CAT KNOWS THAT.

oh,before I forget..

2010-12-03T09:03:00.001+08:00

Happy December!

well, how you doing

2010-12-03T07:20:00.004+08:00

I hate it that my body's state of mind is tuned to wake up early.This would be fine if i get to wake up and breathe in Melawati's fresh air-hazardous chemicals and all- and breathe a sigh of relief that it's a new today with pastures that are greener every time you turn around.

But no.

The first thought that went through my head was,'how am I going to survive this day studying?!', and i texted Nabil,thinking, 'oh,well, maybe i could go for a jog or a walk or just to move my ass around or something rather than slumping on the chair'. OBVIOUSLY, he was still seeping-i know that from the absent voice you usually hear on the other side of the phone- like any other sane minded(or in this case, tired SPM go-ers) would do. Scrapping off idea.

Just because stalking 20 people on Facebook in the wee mornings is a borderline crime or a penalty for being so lifeless, i despise it. I have a life.had one,but no worries, the drought is ending really soon and i see a bright futur..,ahh, crap, I have NS. These two events back-to-back are going to imminently bring my blog to a halt. it's already bad I have seriously nothing to talk about. So,the next time you see me profile pic upload in a post, i might just be bald. wouldn't that scare the living daylight out of you?

I should really get going and do what Karin is doing, ya know, the whole 30 days of topics, which at least gives you the comfort to know what you're typing about. Oh,and Jen and I are so happy and honoured that our names were in your post( But Jen is probably too shy to say that herself-haha). I read blogs quite often,like 'open mozilla, go to my page, click, click, click, look at the title, ah, same one from yesterday, shut down.' and i repeat that process several million times in one day, hoping to see some reading material, or at least to see someone in agony. hah. kidding.

Oh,did I tell you my sister is back?The one from Aussie,not the Land of Cows and Briyani. And she got me two new titles from Parsons collection, I can't wait to read it, but not before i read Mr. Ishiguro.

I know i should be focused when doing my exams in the hall, and I'm not saying i don't, because i really do, and how can you not,when if your mind suddenly strays, it inadvertently strays to the sight of Kaif writing down future A+ materials in the future. You tend to air slap yourself and return to that blank paper in front of you. But, when was it, oh,right, during Add Maths, I was in the midst of answering a question(which is always a good sign than skipping) when suddenly Glee played in my head. started of with this, then this, then random thoughts like where or which country I would like to visit.

This might sound like a bore,just because you're into the busy, people-frenzy Japan kind of thing, but i seriously think it would be so great if i get to go to Edinburgh or Ireland, rent a car(I was about to say hijack-LOL) and sight see. Get a book, and just lay your sight on the greenery-and if you still didn't know, lots of people say Ireland and Scotland brings the colour green to a new whole level. it's so much greener than any other green. (saying green 3 times has made it sound awkward when saying it). Oh, or just stand at the edge of a cliff looking at the pacific ocean-but don't jump into it like that stupid Bella. That would be so cool. Don't tell me you were not by the slightest bit captivated watching Ireland on screen when P.S I LOVE YOU was filming there. sad that they're on the verge of bankruptcy.

Well, i didn't think of all that when i was doing my Add Maths paper-lah. I wouldn't have finished in time( dare I say I'm quite proud of myself for at least finishing 30 minutes prior and being able to check the paper,for the first time-I usually finish 5 minutes before the bell rings,scared shit I screwed it up)

The invigilators assigned to Melawati are also a nice bunch. There's the two Chinese lady teachers,who I swear Jon looks at every time they pass him, the two Malay lady teachers, and my favourite would probably be the dude who goes,' masa menjawab kertas sudah tamat,sila letakkan pen-pensel ke bawah'. because it's just that fun to hear people go, 'oh,god I'm not done yet'.haha. But best of all, since we are not allowed to get up to pick anything dropped on the floor,they have to do it for us :) I can bet you someone probably have done it for the fun of seeing them do it e.g KOMAL.haha. her paper fell under my chair once, and by mere seconds a guy teacher had his hands under my chair picking up the paper for her. and Reader's Digest say we Malaysians are not a very courteous lot. Pfft.

The idea of the time capsule is still open btw, for anyone who's interested.Just because I think it'll be great to relive the awkward teenager experience 10 years down the road.I wonder if Pn. Sabrina( who is in need of a nickname) is awesome enough to dig a hole in the school field. That'll be great.

And i feel like throwing a New Year's Eve Party,wouldn't that be awesome? Just a bunch of friends hanging out, before I get sent to some obscure camp in the Peninsular or East Malaysia, god knows where. But before i could do any of that, I'll probably have to get back on the studying track,because it's the right thing to do. It's so boring to do the right thing all the time,right?

so,that's done. I'm gonna continue Google myself.

or design a t shirt that says " Kaif's Best Friend" and plan to wear it when SPM results come out next year. Since there's probably be media.

Goodbye,now.

object of gratefulness: the spell check button.

shaddap,i need to blog!

2010-11-25T14:17:00.003+08:00

SPM

In. The. Process.

Currently: 3 down. 7 to go.

and for those who have burned their komsas books,

BAM!

There's Maimun for ya!

unstoppable(yes,like that train movie)

2010-11-11T18:47:00.005+08:00

He's almost always punctual, if not all the time. 4.00 sharp,(whether I'm ready or still rushing to bath-yes,I've been late for tuition at my own house) he'll ring the bell,or knock the door, and start teaching a group of 5 of us add maths, for 2 hours straight. Then, he goes back. and, the routine comes full cycle every Thursday.

But today,today was different. just as he was about to sit down, he mentioned that..

"today will be the last class" and started teaching.

I'm not sure about the others, but in between that period, I day dreamt a little( which he was quick enough to ask me to pay attention = ="). How is he gonna end class? . Mr. Gopalan is a very mysterious person,coz he shows up, teaches, and leaves.I never knew where he lives, or how he gets here.he just does.MARY POPPINS FTW.

It literally felt like yesterday(Literally, as in not the kind of situation where you say "literally felt like yesterday" just for the fun of it, and that it is already a million light years away) that we were building a group of 5 to start classes ASAP in Jan,

and after so many stupid mistakes, so many times Nicole freaking out at the sight of my monstrous cat, the weirdly funny jokes he comes up with, the looks that we all give each other when we pretend to answer a question but actually couldn't(countless times) and how he calls all of us by terms like "darling" and "sayang" = ="-yeah, we all got used to that,if you were wondering,

it just ended.

Bittersweet it was. he gave us a mini pep-talk like all other teachers do, and for some reason, cliche or otherwise, we not just hear, but listen to pep-talks as a kind of motivation/remedy for what's ahead.

When he left, the air was left a little gloom,and it was raining, which made it even more. Then realisation hits me.

By next Monday, school is officially ending, other tuition classes are ending, we'll be arranging the chairs and tables in the hall, leaving the hall to be filled with an air of suspense until SPM starts.

*Last Bio class of 5N

this is just the beginning to the end.

oh.

2010-11-03T17:04:00.004+08:00

Enough has been said about high school ending, ended or in the process of it. Even in the confines of a web page, everyone is able to speak volumes about how they are conforming to the idea of a routinized way of life ending. there's no more continuation. a full stop with a meaning. come 3rd January next year, we see the form 4 Juniors take the overrated throne and self-proclaim themselves kings and queens of god knows what, and the naive, unbiased,and pure form 1 kids entering.

I could go wayy emo and start realizing how a phase of our lives are ending without us noticing it, but i can't. Everyone knows it's ending, but nothing can be done about it, since no one has enough time to think about that when SPM is the other option in the mind. and I think everyone is secretly thinking about the latter right now.

Heck, they should be, it's 20 days and counting.

Heck, I don't even know why I'm writing this. hmmph.

-Totally unrelated, i think the word LOL has been OVEREXPLOITED, ie,

Facebook comment

A: I am feeling kinda sad today
B: oh,man, sorry to hear about that LOL.
(No joke, I've seen this before, and if you're a more avid facebooker than I am, you've probably seen people LOL-ing at other weird comments.)

seriously? out of context.

Well, I got to get back. 3 tuition's back to back used to be an excuse to take the day off.but not today. SPM better be worth it.

there is no force on earth more powerful

than the will to live.

Title:SPM's adverse reactions or Missing Leona Lewis,studying

2010-10-30T16:04:00.007+08:00

THEY SAY YOU CAN'T CROSS THE SEA MERELY BY STANDING AND STARING AT THE WATER.

SO, I SUPPOSE YOU MIGHT JUST AS WELL STEAL A BOAT AND START ROWING. FAST, DAMN IT.

food for thought, soul, and mind

2010-10-15T09:28:00.004+08:00

You would assume,or at least get the opportunity to end something great with the only undeniable way to end it: How it started off in the first place. We all moan, bitch,and sometimes feel so utterly disgusted towards high school, but when it comes right down to it, there's a piece of high school we would always miss and a special file of memory it'll be in.

We begin, fresh 5 years ago, and it would be nice that we could really just sit down,chat, and collect singular memories of individuals, collective memories of the teachers, and general memories of,us. Having said that, it kinda sucks that with all the melancholy that's in our future,the last few days of high school are focused towards a major examination.We get too caught up with it,and as much as anyone wants to admit, it is the right thing to do. But not many gets to step back and really take a whole,contented look to,you know, wrap it all up. A closure,you might say.

Watching re-runs of Glee makes me happy.

And late morning has finally arrived,where procrastination stage ends,and rush enters.I better finish packing for this weekend. Wish us the best of luck,yeah? :) We're cautiously optimistic.

-Text me if you need any details on the event,assuming you want to come and support us,that is. :)

09 10 10

2010-10-09T18:07:00.004+08:00

There's a thing about this class,indescribable but mainly unpredictable that goes to say, some of the fondest memories of high school was lived in the very same classroom that contained(and at times,couldn't) those in the picture above.

Many keep wondering, " How do we top something that is already at its finest point?". But,you see, it has eluded many too, that there's no substantial reason to focus on making something better when it's already perfect, in this case the memory of the past. We shall all make different memories and for what it's worth, it might turn out to rake in as much joy as you had before.

October is already seeping to an end, and then there's November, and i don't even have to mention about SPM without realising that a few eeks from now, we'll relive the tantalizing,excruciating,soul sucking experience we had during our trials. Just multiplied by 10.But,the thing I'm looking forward the most, is to use the objective sheet wish has the word "SPM" on the right hand corner, for the REAL SPM.

Read the newspaper that day, and came across a small headline which read out, " School Starts on 3rd Jan in 2011". I read it and re-read it, and kept thinking to myself "something is not right with this headline". and then it struck me, we don't have school days anymore after this, only college days, university days etc.It's nostalgic,really.

**********

10.10.10

Tomorrow has so many activities lined up, it might as well be a public holiday.I get it that it's very special,and why shouldn't it be, since the date is only made possible every 100 years.But,because of that, many take 9.10.10, today, for granted.I think, what you make of that day counts and I believe,today has been a great day :) and that said, I already made a lasting memory.Have you?

Having a go at it, again: Mighty Minds

2010-10-08T15:02:00.012+08:00

I don't know if I have what it takes for everybody's regular plan. An un-startling conclusion.

Is it weird to spend free time completing career tests online? Or is it just weird that I'm not to any minute conclusive decision at which my future life depends on. I ought not to think about it so much, since SPM will define where I stand.But, I try to have wonderful ideas play in my head, being in a great university, a member of an uber alumni, and not hate what I do as a living. It's a mocktail of torture and excitement combined.

Enough of post-study emo sessions. It's like a malnourishment of life.I just have to believe that I'll be the person I know I can be.Trials ended yesterday,and like any inversely proportional life, once major exams are over(Yes,SPM is not the only major exam we are facing), the craziness sets in.

**************************

I might as well take the bits of free time possible now to post about my Mighty Minds competition,where, if you've been following my blog, would know that we got 5th last year.

The whole happy meets disappointment feelings we had after losing practically decided our entry this year.

Okay, that was a bit of a lie.We knew there was a possibility, but it'll be ironic,don't you think, to be all prepped up this year,SPM year, and all happy-go-not so lucky last year? We were very close to not enter this year,if it wasn't for Ghavi who was so persistent.We sort of made sure we kept the preparation to a minimum, just to keep expectations low.(secretly being superstitious) Kaif, especially, was pessimism from head to toe days before the competition, and I was the total opposite.

The Summit became our destination this year.Funny thing was, on our way there, or might I say,throughout the whole journey, Pn. Safrina's car bumper kept skidding on the road. Shall we just assume that the car is naturally low,and not gossip about how heavy the three passengers behind were? :)

Ghavi's GPS HELPED.and fyi, he was sitting in the middle.Just sayin' :P

Everyone there-to be precise,there were about 120 teams, 3 in each-lookes uber smart, Ghavi silently wished they were hopeless.haha. We waited for our turn, and as they called the Melawatis in, we nervously abide. Don't bother writing about the rules and regulations here.Just know that ghavi chose a spot on the floor which was wet and it almost looked like everyone could see that he was nervous :)

1st 10 questions were horrendous. But, in spite of all, our teamwork was awesome.Tallied up, and the Melawati team scored a 150/200 and surprisingly,ranked first among 30 teams.Score!

The story of the Mentos: We were sitting down,waiting for the RED category to finish before our turn comes up. Galaxie was given out during the event( paid for it,not free.and I bluntly asked the salesperson whether they were FOC). Then, Mentos literally started falling down from the sky, or the 2nd floor,whichever one sounds better. We got so excited and Kaif jokingly made it as an omen that we were going to win.Me and Ghavi, well, we did the above.

The timing of the competition was a little off,honestly,since we couldn't even go to the toilet in peace.The next challenge was starting in 5 minutes,and we HAD to be the last team to get ready,and risked getting scolded by the judges.

We were such in a hurry, Kaif's bag was on the toilet's floor :)

We build our model-an electromagnetic bird cage- and throughout the whole 2 hours we were given, the Mighty Minds producers decided that it would be really sadistically funny to zoom their cameras up our faces. It was a nice gesture and all, and who wouldn't care for a little attention, but the awkward transition between smiling to the camera,risking a blow off of the team's integrity, and getting our acts together,once we found out an hour has passed was rough.

We did what we could in that short amount of time.and the mind starts playing tricks in my head.There's the " Oh, someone's got to get through to the top 5,and why should your team be out of the loop,right?" and then, "really?really?!? 30 teams?and you get chosen?big dreams." and of all that when I was eating my Chicken Mc muffin,or whatever you call it.

We got through to the top 5 :) with the highest score in fact.

Oral presentation done, we had to go through a buzzer quiz challenge,which literally feels like a game show.Heck,this WAS a game show. with deduction of marks for every wrong answer, pressing the button doesn't come too easy as you would like it to feel like every time you're in front of a tv screen,shouting at "losers" in reality game shows to press the FREAKING button already. All 3 of us got the chance to individually answer 3 questions.I got to answer only one correctly,and Hitler being the answer.Apparently,as the emcee phrased, I shouted with exasperation. -___-"

All said and done, the prize giving session came, and what did you know, this year they'll announce each of the top 5 team according to ranking.You see, we assumed that we managed the 5th spot since our names weren't even announced.But this year, you might not know who the emcee will call out first. The First 2 teams were called out,and thankfully we are not one of them.at that moment in time, Kaif wasn't very pessimistic,and the only think all 3 of us could think of is nowhere near " May the best team win" but basically" OMG we need to win this,bad!"

3rd place went to a school from Damansara,which both teams from that school got through to the top 5.Pressure much.

Emcee: And 2nd place,(excruciating heart attack inducing pause) also goes to *a school from Damansara!

*******************
In life, winning isn't everything.but the will to win is everything.

endorphin rush followed suit.

Once everything settled(But the adrenaline rush never settled,not even when we got home,and slept at night), the interviews started coming in. Not gloating, but seriously, someone was talking to us, and that someone got scolded by the RHB officials because they needed to interview us for the daily TV show. I've been trying to find on youtube, but i really can't find it.

So, there you have it. What was first a unsurprising preparation turned out to be an attribute to our success that day.It still brings back memories and the pure and unprecedented joy to which we still reminisce about in our daily lives.More so these past few days, since Nationals are coming up in less than a week from now. That's why,

on Monday, I'll be making a few short announcements in class, because we as a team, we need the 5 Nekad's to help us, in so many ways. All of you will be such a great help to us.And whilst I'm not forbidding any of you to come and see us during the finals, don't tell us you all are coming. Kaif gets freaked out.:)

Time to paint the town RED,now that Trials is over,or at least until SPM jitters sets in.

*More pictures of us in action at The Summit here.

In a way,

2010-09-15T19:38:00.005+08:00

Many things have happened since I last posted. For what it's worth, Selamat Hari Raya to Muslims, and Selamat Menjamu Selera for the rest :)

There won't be time for me to upload any picture here, so you could just check it out on my Facebook page.

Eid Mubarak '10 - Day 1

Eid Mubaraka '10- Day 2

OMG, i just remembered that I have a list of drafts so long it would take me ages to really sit down in front of the computer to finish it.But that's the thing, I don't have a bucket load of time to spare.Even my win in the Mighty Mind hasn't been shared.(Yes, we won,if you were still wondering). The National challenge will be a week after my SPM trials(read: reason for all the soul-sucking) and the organizers had us take our somewhat official team photo. went to I got the email the day before the deadline ended so we managed to meet up,right before Ghavi went to Ipoh, just to pose.haha.

Yes, we were told to be creative -___-"

The final and edited picture is not there,so you've just got to wait and see when it does appear!

On another note, is anybody as excited as I am for the new season of Glee?It looks and sounds rockin', though by the time it reaches M'sia,I would've gone and came back from NS and have taken my SPM results by then. God,nothing these days, no words, are not non-related to SPM.bloody hell.

The rap part isn't exactly great,but who cares? :D

********************
After countless weird SPM-related dreams( it's amounting to 5 so far, latest being my inability to finish the BM paper because of an annoying sound,which really was my alarm clock in real life buzzing SUPER loud IT got into my dream), this is where I tell all of you that my blogging days will be put to a halt for now.

You see, I can't waste much time now, knowing that I want to be in the group of people who will have the joy of catching a plane in the future.

SPM Trials is in less than a week or so, and the point of "now or never" starts now.Don't worry,I'll be back after Trials for sure for a quick update of how the 3 weeks of Hell went.Goodbye :)

Don’t tell me you’ll write me, don’t tell me you’ll call
Just tell me you’ll see me in the Fall
-Brendan James,The Fall

Snippets,combined

2010-09-01T18:43:00.007+08:00

I got far away from my books now, enough to send out a distress signal and fire a flare up in the gloomy sky.

Help.

The list of "Things to Study" never really decreases.When one chapter is finish, there's the other chapters.When one subject is finished, there are the other 10. When you're done with that, you'll realise that everything in the past seems like a faded memory.The human brain works wonders on us, don't they?

I wish I could just be my cat.Sleep all day long and without a single care in the world.Except,probably, when it comes to figuring out why he's bowl is empty.And, that's all.

Went to the Bazaar just now,and this was what happened when sis(who just told me to announce that she's back from India, -__-") was driving there:-

(at a one way street)

Sis: *Drives* Eh, why is this car coming from the opposite side? apa nih?
Aiman: I dunno. Don't HON!
Sis: haih.
Aiman: No, Seriously,don't!
Sis: Why?
Aiman: that's my friend-lah,.. Karin.
Sis: Oh..

-And by the way(I resent using btw), after watching an episode of CSI two days ago, only now do I get what her blog title means by "LSD".and no, i didn't take my time to Google LSD,even though it appears top most in the search list.

My attempt in waving went unnoticed.she probably was daydreaming in her own car.haha.

"Feb. 26, 2009: A U.K. teenager was fired for calling her job "boring." According to The Daily Mail, Kimberley Swann posted comments such as, "First day at work. Omg (oh my god)!! So dull!!" and "All I do is shred holepunch and scan paper!!!" [sic]. Swann was canned after her boss discovered the comments. "

12 Ways to get Fired for facebook

I wonder if school works that way too.hah, if it did, instead of having 45 students in my class all jam-packed, it is certain to be empty by June. The question is, would anybody mind?See, got your mind thinking there, didn't I? :D

I've experienced loads of lunch,dinner, and breakfast outings in my 17 years of life.Enjoyed most of the time, loathed only a few.but nothing beats the thrill of a guy's night out, and whom I mean Kaif and the gang,so I expected laughter and jokes,the kind of which only we would understand.It's very indescribable in a way very memorable.

Best part of that night was :-

Realising that Kaif's attire was colour coordinated-Go Kaif!
Ghavi came and joined us in the end.(He usually NEVER attends)
Jer Rick and Edmund playing tap tap(top most,right) Don't they look sweet?haha
Watching PCK The Movie after that, which was hilariously boring.Seriously.Boring as hell.
Dressing up the Kurma

*************

I now believe that I could do whatever I want,with support from the people around me.Mum's pretty Ok with the idea of being a journalist/columnist(not that it's my first choice-nevertheless,still a choice).Thus, when the right time comes, I'll know what's right.

My books noticed I escaped.Time for school is now.See you there!

Genetically worried

2010-08-25T06:49:00.004+08:00

Are we genetically chromosomed to act a certain way, to decide on a matter,just to regret such behaviour later? Maybe, normal decisive human beings out there are the 1 in the " 1 in a billion" data you see everywhere.stats.

Unless my school board is secretly stalking this page,I'm safe to say I'm nowhere near school today,which by the sound of it, should instill some hype in anyone. But no, it rarely does these days.I'll tell you why.

I slept last night, but I might just as well stay awake through it. My head still shrieks of sleepiness after 5 hours of sleep-and let's be clear,it NEVER feels like 5 hours have gone by-and by the time my parents wake up, the books on my table should be open with a purpose, rather than oh-crap-they're-back-*runs upstairs*-open books-start pretending ( Truth be told, I rarely do it. Not even for the fun of it)

Spending good quality time in front of the desktop doesn't seem so appealing as it used to be. Everywhere I go-which doesn't do much,since i constantly constrain myself to the list of blogs I have- either have the same posts from 3 weeks before, a quick post about how they're keeping up under the SPM pressure, or just another countdown timer to remind you you're not suppose to even be here.

I've got to put a timer in mine.

I do not know how to explain all the things that are in my mind, for even I can't really tell what there is to think about, or to fuss about, or to act upon. But, I am certainly "not" thinking about future job and career prospect, back up plans, studying in the UK, getting it right with the mother load of all-SPM, and scholarship deals.

time for sleep just to realize it's wrong-and practically almost sinful-is now. If 5 hours feel like 5 minutes, could it possibly work the other way round?

What's going on

2010-08-14T18:50:00.004+08:00

Just a recap of day to day activities.I just can't stand the sight of Ghavi's face every single time i opened my blog(hah.just kidding).

Puasa month is here.So, Happy fasting to all Muslims out there! this is no doubt one of the highlights of the year.The Bazaar Ramadan is always,ALWAYS full(I wonder what makes people so crazy and addicted to it), Raya songs can already be heard in town-to the delight of many- and just the awesome feeling of breaking fast after a long day void of gossiping,swearing,and a long list of bad and prohibited stuff(not that it's anymore allowed after that-lah)

You have to be 1 in a million not to be reminded about SPM being 99 days away.2 scary looking digits.Now,that's all everyone's talking in the blogosphere (except for lucky retards who have finished their SPM already-GOOD FOR YOU).I can't believe I'm saying this though,but I can't wait for SPM.Not after it, but itself.It's like a once in a lifetime experience-having said that,i don't suppose anyone wants to live through it twice :)

A lot of weird things and dreams have been happening to me related to the whole shenanigan.

Funny thing is, I haven't heard of anyone who was late for a tuition in their own house.Well, I think I self-declare myself as the worst procrastinator.haha.hey,don't blame me. I was lagged by fasting that I completely forgot I had tuition(Maybe not forget,just didn't give a damn), if not for Mum who came up to wake me.I rushed down after bathing, sat, and laughed at myself.And the world,or at least everyone present,thought I was an idiot.

History Teacher in Kasturi: OK, Nabi Muhammad adalah seorang yang penyayang,..dia tolong menjahitkan baju, etc etc.

History Teacher in Kasturi: oleh itu,apabila isterinya saikit, baginda akan suruhnya berehata sambil berkata, " Takpe, saya akan tolong koyakkan baju."

Small,petty things that matter :D

Oh,did I tell you I was fortunate enough to be chosen for the awesome PLKN? Yes, TOO FORTUNATE.and I bet I was very out there amongst the 600 Form 5 students of SMK Taman Melawati.Great,I say.

And another thing, I recently deactivated my Facebook,which feels all too liberating.Which is great.There's no burden to keep checking for notifications now and then.So,yeah, just to let you know.DO support me! :D Now, I just got to check my FB to make sure it's how I left it.

Alright.that's all for now.the time to eat is now.Adios,amigos. May you have as much sanity as I do.

Well,I don't.
Goodbye.

YO,birthday boy!

2010-08-03T22:41:00.004+08:00

Tomorrows is another round of test(read: torture) and I'm stuck on the computer,being angry at Google for not being very Google-like and get me all my EST research at lightning speed.I feel a betrayal coming on.

Before 12.00 am, i thought I would just make a quickie birthday wish to a wonderful friend of mine.

Thanks for,

countless ronda(or more like ponteng kelas) around school
always making me feel relieved that I'm not the only who haven't studied.
all the gossiping and laughter about everything and anything.
tolerating all the Indian jokes on you(which we never get bored of,for some reason)
still not being able to pronounce V and W properly :)
understanding weird complicated stuff when no one else does.No,really.you-ah,very reliable in knowing all these things.

Welcome to the club,Indian! :D
It's been a great 5 years!

the big picture

2010-07-13T18:31:00.005+08:00

I miss this :')

IT is not a shocker that SPM is sucking the soul out of everyone,but i am fortunate enough to tell all of you that I still have a life.it shall be ending soon though.

Let us pause for a second in life’s marathon. No matter where we are, whether in the depths of the valley of despair or at the summit of hope, take in the scenery and imbibe the scents and the glorious masterpiece of life that has been endowed upon us.

Sometimes we may have forgotten to be happy.We might have gotten too busy trying to have what we want, rather than wanting what we have.We work so hard to make a living that we neglect to live the good life that we all deserve.

It will be ok.It's NOT the end of the world as I know it.

VOTE!

2010-07-12T16:23:00.005+08:00

Okay,now that it's Monday,and I finally can talk about it.

Remember the time I wrote a blog post regarding some contest I was entering,organised by Sunway University College?

My Success,My Dream: My point of view

I'm so excited to tell all you readers that I am one of the 10 shortlisted winners for the RM800 and Ipod prize.

But,here's the thing, now that I'm chosen,there is a voting system on their website to choose the grand prize winner,and as tebal muka as I can say this, it would be kinda nice to win :)

So,if you're a dear friend who has read my blog before or stumbled upon it,I am asking(read:pleading) you to please,please vote for me for a gazillion times.it's super simple,you would want to do it a gazillion times more :D

1.Just go to the Sunway University Website,which I have made a link below

Sunway website

You should arrive at a page similar like above.

2.My story is

Story 1

3. Press the "vote for this story" button,fill up the details,and then,you're done :).And then,you can simply start the process all over again.haha.okay,I just found out,you can only vote once.great.hah

Do tell anyone you know who has a FB,or an email.your vote counts(and no,I'm not becoming president of the USA).Spread the word,use whoever's email you can get hold of!haha.

THANK YOU!

Report Card day

2010-07-09T11:05:00.004+08:00

This actually looks good.hmm.

Good morning blogging folks.

Just came back from school.

Had the usual Report card day today.went to school,and though i wasn't expecting a big turnout, our class was super awesome that only 16 people came.haha.We had maths early in the morning.Tried to get teacher not to teach anything by pretending that we were cleaning up the class,tidying up the chairs.But in the end, we were made to sit down and learnt a new topic.

It was really weird,actually.everyone was so silent at first,listening to teacher,playing with the globe in front of us.very college-interactive. But that soon vanished,when we started having the attention span of a cat.We(read: me) would stretch,and plead to teacher, to stop.haha.

We decorated the white board.yes we did.It had funny stuffs written on it like, " the most awesome-est teachers" and "the most awesome-est parents". I added " Disclaimer: We did not guaranteed A+!".hehe. Oh,and Jon drew a sign,banning any form of violence towards children.hah.But hey,at least we were less corny than 5A:-

Don't make your children sad because of their marks,
make them happy with your remarks,
even though they fail,
failure is success.

Really "semangat".haha.

I didn't stay there too long.Dad came at 10 sharp.Talked to the teachers(yes,teachers,we had 3 of them,whereas other classes only had 1.KELAS HARAPAN!ha.ha) Bio teacher was uber nice,and when dad asked

" yang baik tak nak dengar,yang buruk apa?"

Teacher just smiled and didn't say anything.I was the one who told my dad up front, "I talk too much in class until THIS(points at Cg. Hasniza) teacher of mine would ask me to keep quiet" :D

___________________________________________________________

Practically every class is busy with their "Form 5 Leavers" section of Persada.So, there would be DSLR's everywhere nowadays.Not that anybody minds. Our class especially.That day, Justin brought his to class,and we ended up taking more than 400 pictures.in the period of 2 days.of our faces.These are only some of them,and you could go to the links below to check out more,if you're interested in seeing the same faces repetitively:-

5N camwhore session(1)

5N camwhore session(2)

geek convention :)

I'm actually still wondering why I wrote all this.i barely have anything to say except for what a boring day today has been,and to reinstate the fact that 5N's are an awesome,camera loving bunch.

But truth be told, I wanted to avoid seeing the same hate post I wrote a few days ago over and over every time I visited the blog.Really, no offence to whatever is below.I was just "in the moment"

Aiman signing off!

Have you ever fixed what's not broken?

2010-07-07T15:49:00.008+08:00

So, I read what Karin had to say about you know what being you know where. even if I wasn't a debater to start off with,I would've stood up to defend the idea and tradition which has been going on for what seems like years now.

But,this is the problem, you see.What they had to say to us in the early morning on Monday was pure nonsensical, I started laughing,to the extend of fussing to each and every word they were mouthing out.

At parts of their Oscar Winning Speech, they were very kind to tell us all to yang "cakaplah apakamu fikirkan" and "kami takkan marah punya" or other crappy propaganda's which contradicted whatever they said earlier.

" Kalau berani angkat tangan,angkatlah!"

-______-"

And then,as any older party would resort to, they ended up very cliched, using the fact that they're the teachers and we're the students.smart move.A+. Calling those who blog about what they have to say,their own opinions(which is why a blog existed in the first place,dummy) cowards.Even if so, who wouldn't be if what you say might bring a detrimental effect on you,right?Come on-lah.There's no such thing anymore of a fair democracy.It's all biased these days.They say it's all right now, we speak the truth, we get isolated for the rest of the year.Really?

They went on about how it's just right that the teachers are included in the whole planning process.But when I ASKED them about the date of the event(wondering if it would be too close to a test or something), the only thing they could come up with was,

" yang tu pun nak kami fikirkan?Dah kami buat semuanya".

Ha.Ha.Ha. By this time, i had hypertension.

About the reason, I'm still unsure why the idea of the party being done at a hotel would bring about such a disastrous effect(probably they were referring to the teachers getting back aches after the Limbo).If I was their lawyer,I would fire myself.Seriously?Silaturrahim? Again,this is absurd.Will Silaturrahim only be achieved solely in our hall?We paid for the teachers to come last year,but they didn't show up.So, how are they to judge that between the morning and afternoon sessions,that we do not bond ,since, well, THEY WEREN'T THERE? Doesn't that just show that the teachers are the ones who aren't putting the effort to

eratkan hubungan bersama badan pengawas?

Jaipreet standing up to tell her side of the story was one to be applauded of. She mentioned that the teachers wanted hotel reservations A.S.A.P early in the year,they went through so much trouble to get it, and now, after a really good deal(heck, I told them I'm willing to pay Rm100,if the money is such a big issue) ,the teachers sort of scrapped all the initial ideas and went with the hall.

"Ini satu proses yang kamu akan melalui pada zaman kerja"

I was thinking, "oh my god.If this really is how it'll be like in the future, you all are leading us in a wrong direction"

I don't care if someone snitches on me, telling the teachers I wrote this.Since they are the teachers, I'm pretty,pretty sure the magnificent lots have heard of the term "Freedom Of Speech" . Read up.

Just now in school,met up with a teacher who coincidentally was an ex-advisor for the school's prefects board.To an extend, I missed her presence,as she was totally sporting with the idea of the party being in a hotel.And she's an Ustazah. Now, they tell us,

"kami harus memecahkan tradisi yang buruk"

People of the world(hypothetically), what substantiate proofs do you have that it's such a big hoo-hah if it's done in a hotel?I'm not totally excluding the "Dewan" idea,but I suppose it would be nice to have a difference once in a while.Are they even trying to state that the teachers before them were making mistakes?ooh, bad idea.

" Kamu nak buat di hotel untuk lihat kemegahannya sahaja"

This is where we lose in argumentation.thinking straightly,there isn't any real reason why we want the party to be done in a hotel,but only because it's a nice place to be at.But,really?What is so wrong to feel good and enjoy a nice lunch(which doesn't just include Ikan Masin and Ikan Masin only) with a minute price difference?

"Ini kan tahun yang terakhir bagi kamu untuk merasa keadaan di sekolah?"

Doesn't mean,If we do it at a hotel, we'll forget totally about SMK Taman Melawati.Excuse me, I bought a badge that reads out," I *heart* MWT ".I wouldn't betray the school(if that is what they think we'll do) after a lunch.Gosh.If so, Why didn't they do the Hari Anugerah Cemerlang this year at the school hall?Why didn't they give the chance to the ex-form 5's to experience the wonderful school again?Why do it at a different venue?Obviously,for the special effect right,to fit the event?What is so different between that event and ours?Why?Tak ada pakaian yang seksi?

Haven't they heard of a dress code.Avoidance is never a smart move when you're at an obstacle.I'm not denying, some of the clothing may be inappropriate, but we can always have a tighter dress code.apalah.tsk.tsk.

I still have a feeling that the juniors are not against the idea of it being in a hotel.Do I hear a survey?

" Ini berkenaan masa depan anda"

HAHAHAHA.our future depends on a lunch.at a hotel.I'm not sure who I'm scared for now. myself or them.

I know I'm guilty of this too, but the teachers have got to put all their brains together to create better angles in which to head during arguments.Age difference is so yesterday.And,haven't you heard,we're the millennium children.We don't settle.

OH,and the best part is,

wait for it,

I didn't even know the point of our meeting that day.As if they really wanted our opinion.They must've made up their mind about where to hold the party,our suggestions,opinions,discussion were just a matter of allowing us to speak.(Freedom of speech.they were probably scared we used that against them too) But what in god's name was the point when anything we say doesn't take into account(rather were backfired by cynical clapping and "can burn hole in the face" stares.

Ok.Closure.Nuff said.

Disclaimer: All of the above was not adapted from any story whatsoever.As it is just pure fiction,any events resemblance to the story above is pure coincidental.No animals or humans were inflicted with any pain during the story.yet.Enjoy.

Parenthood

2010-07-03T22:58:00.005+08:00

Adam: So,what do I do?
Sarah: You've got to stop all phone calls, text message,email,everything.If that doesn't work, you go to plan B.
Adam: Which is?
Sarah: Leave town.

It's slightly weird to not have anyone to talk to about my current TV obsession,since everyone's just accepting it as another failure of a TV show,but I believe it has potential to become a satisfyingly good drama.I'm really pushing for it.Before I begin talking about how PARENTHOOD is such a feel good show, you people should know that,

Brothers & Sisters will come to mind when you see this show. Alot of family melodrama,but what separates this from all the other shows is that it is really on point with what it is all about.Parenthood.The series revolves around a family with four siblings ; Adam,Sarah, Julia, and Crosby.All of them are either married or tied up in a relationship.Sure, the sneak peeks on TV might show a more comedic side of this show, but don't be fooled as I think it will really have an emotional aspect to it.How not to?

Adam has a son(Max) who has Autism(or apparently,he does)
Sarah left her ex-husband and brought her children in the form of two rebellious teenagers back to her hometown,to live with her parents.
Julia is the workaholic of a mum who tries to balance her work life with her only child
And Crosby, well, he's the relationship-phobe one is the whole series,who just found out that he has a child.

It's not really a walk in the park,you see.

I don't know if it's just me and my addiction to melodramatic stuff, but PARENTHOOD it's what Chicken Soup For The Soul would be if it reformed into a TV series. Sob parts.Check.Happy moments.Check.And, I think everyone should have a go at this, even parents.because honestly, you'll be able to laugh at the uncanny similarities that they offer in the show in comparison to the lives we're living right now.It makes for a good manual.

Peter Krause as Adam and his family.That's the autistic son.

Laura Graham(Gilmore Girls) play Sarah, and the chemistry on set between the siblings are so close knit that you can't afford not to think how they think,feel how they feel, and laugh about petty matters only siblings understand between each other.It's that siblings language.

The show is still in the early stages,so don't be too fast in judging it just yet.Having said that, the show might get a tad uninspired if every episode gets too predictable.But predictability is not such a bad thing?hell no I don't want a TV show in the resemblance of Frost/Nixon.Clearly,PARENTHOOD needs room to grow.

But either in sheer genius or family stories,I keep joking to everyone that "Parents should watch this to know what they're doing wrong, and we should watch this,not to know that we're right,but to find out we're not isolated in any way"

"Parenthood," like the experience itself, is an evolving tale, and one worth watching.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows

2010-06-30T22:24:00.003+08:00

EPIC.

I wish this could go on forever.I'm already starting to imagine what it would feel like after JULY 2011.

They were spot on about this being the "motion of a generation".

Twilight can suck it.

Life's a huge complaint card

2010-06-27T21:23:00.004+08:00

As I sit at a table,witnessing a wrath which has been well hidden under skins of patience and humility,I glance on a complaint card,used to point out disagreements,And then I thought.I need a complaint card that I could post to life.I'm just a little disappointed at how it is running right now.I would stand by my right to disagree on everything and nothing, just to get back a "I'm sorry for all the inconvenience and assure that every possible step is taken to curb the problem" below the paper.Fake,unprecedented lies.But it is not that simple.there are no papers to fill.No one to write it to.

There are people around me.But, they're really not around me. So, I get scared and terrified to talk to anyone about the problems I have,whether reasonable or otherwise,because human habits have been defined as to reciprocate anything with judgement and fear and hypocrisy.If I wanted any grounded advice, I would ask for it.But I don't.I just need someone to listen to all of my crapping, and allow me to talk and talk with not a single face expression to resemble any possible emotions. And then, just leave me alone to my thoughts.

I wish Blogger had a "Like" button, I know people would agree with what I have to say.For instances, it just doesn't feel right to conform to the idea that it is always you who has to be the slave and bow upon every instruction just so other parties get stuff done their way.For so long now, I try to confront these people about their wrongdoings,the way they blur the lines between necessary and force,obligation and dictatorship.The simplest way to put it in their brains,is to speak out,but everybody's guideline and "Being Polite for Dummies" book are all of different versions.So,how do I know theirs? Is there something wrong with me?IS IT WRONG? to want things to be in accordance with what you believe is the status quo all this time, and to voice out discomfort to reassemble things again.For things to go my way.

And you know another thing I'm just mad about,is my expectation of people.I never, i repeat,NEVER, judge a person by their capabilities,for everyone is different.But the thing that just disappoints me, is when a person doesn't live up to the expectation i know they can reach,just because they don't feel like to.Don't Feel Like it. A little selfish,no?Worst when I have invested in their effort,just to be let down by their lack of initiative.Could have warn me beforehand.

I don't know why I'm like this tonight.Is it the rebellion,the fixation on the calendar which blatantly points out that tomorrow is another school day, or the fact that next Wednesday is my ICAS writing paper,and this is just an effort,whether productive or in vain, to be more creative.But, all that said, I am not just making up stories.I am really fed up about certain matters that needs to be taken to notice.You could argue,and bicker,and disagree, and damned me for being me. But i said my peace.And this is my space.Get lost if you feel the urge to.

Good night.

Why I skipped school.Other than just for fun.

2010-06-25T14:26:00.011+08:00

Good day people.It really feels like a T.G.I.F moment,with it being a rainy day and John Mayer on shuffle on Itunes.

Two days ago,I had to visit the doctor at Gleneagles again,because there were some tests that I needed to go through.All because of the stomach pain,nothing unusual.The last time I went there was exactly last year,during the H1N1 outbreak.Stayed there for a couple of days.And on Wednesday,I got to relive the ole' times(I even saw my old ward).Funny thing was,I lost all the pictures during my last year's visit.So,as funny as the thought of lugging around a camera in a hospital(Which shouldn't shock anyone since I bring my camera EVERYWHERE),I did.

Got admitted into the daycare center.I believe I'm pretty much immune to the poking and prodding of the needles,but it still gets to me every time the nurse takes it out.*cue evil laughter and funny looking faces*. Worst,apparently she couldn't' get enough blood from my hands,she had to take it again from my arm.

But hey,whatever it takes,right? -___-"

I was scheduled to do a CT scan,so we had to walk all the way to the imaging department,and through the way,we saw,

a fake fire drill.fake firemen.fake patients.

Whilst waiting to be called, I had some time to write an article for Persada.Won't tell you what it's about,you just have to wait to find out when it comes out next year.Don't go telling around,Dhanya,just because you're the H.O.D :)

I was scheduled to do a Ct scan that morning,so I was asked to drink a liquid which tasted like diluted Listerine.Not only a cup,but 5 freaking cups.It was so ridiculous,I started laughing.Brushing that off,I drank little by little,changed into the hospital clothes(At this point,everything seems like a set from "Grey's Anatomy") and entered the room.

I couldn't get any closer with the camera because the hospital assistants didn't look so friendly. What the hell,right? Whatever.When I was laying on the bed,they just asked me to do everything they say through the intercom.The experience was creepily fun,actually if you're into the medical stuff.The one point which was painfully horrendous, was when they injected me with some sort of a contrast agent(and cue crappy idontunderstand medical talk) to enhance the organs in the body.For me,that felt like an exorcism process.haha.seriously.The pain spread through the hands to the body and to the legs.

After,let's say 10 minutes, it was done,and I had to go do my second test.Went out,sat for a while to wait for the Barium Swallow test which involved more drinking.Thankfully,this one had a more vanilla taste to it-but,nonetheless it's still barium sulphate- and the doctor was nice :) Oh,and the fact that I had to lay down on a machine which felt like a roller coaster going up and down,up and down.

After all was said and done,we moved back up to the 6th floor to wait for the results,and look what I ran into.

My ward last year!Mine is the 1st door on the left (660) and Adeline is just down the road.We were neighbours! :D

This visit to the hospital was excruciatingly long(we came at 8.00 and went back at 7.00

The results took so long to be produced,the doctor was late,and the insurance company had some problem.I ended up playing Air Hockey on the Ipod with my mum.Oh,and did I tell you,she got through the whole "WaterSlide" game on the Ipod? Even I didn't manage to do it on my first try.

After the doctor's visit,we packed up and headed home.One whole day spent at the hospital.

Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky
Are like shooting stars
I could really use a wish right now
Wish right now, Wish right now

I like this song.

Toy Story 3: The best out of the lot

2010-06-23T22:34:00.013+08:00

So,it's official.The holiday is done and over with.Mixed feelings i must say.Never really anticipated school as much as I wanted to,but the sight of everyone else again was alright,I suppose.During the hols, didn't really have my supposed movie marathon.It never does happen.But I managed to squeeze in 3 movies,1 was mediocre,1 was fine,1 was epic.

It's,in a way, odd and also nostalgic to think that the last movie that aired in the theaters,we were barely starting primary school.In Toy Story 3, Andy goes to college and he's 17,so that makes it much easier to relate to for us '93 babies.We sort of grew with him.

For a long time now, I haven't watched such a complete,emotional,thrilling,innocent,charming,enjoyable,laughable,comical movie before Toy Story 3.That great?It really is.You might just find yourself tearing with joy at parts in the movie.Pixar has a thing to move their audience deeply with their characters.

Come to think of it,the story line was a pretty normal story line,and if it wasn't TOY STORY 3,I would have shrugged it off.but it is.and it was awesome.I wouldn't say i had teary eyes during the ending(read: maintaining ego),but it was such a bittersweet ending.Don't worry,I try not to spoil anything,contrary to what I usually do.

To relive back the characters-Woody,Buzz,both in English and Spanish,Mr. Slinky, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head,and everyone else-it brings back a lot of childhood memories.How sometimes you wonder if your own toys come alive when you're not looking.

My cinema,and yeah,I watched the premiere of that movie- was practically full of teenagers and adults.Not many kids,i guess,which was really funny.So,kids or no kids,it doesn't matter.It's a movie that caters for both adults and children.All in all,the movie was at the edge of being really dark and gloomy,and the baby bouncer was creeping up on me.

But, I'm pretty sure the main point of the movie was about losing and finding a home.I know it seems too far fetched to squeeze such a big moral value from a Disney movie,but I really do feel what they were trying to say.Some handles abandonment differently than others,and it takes time for people-and in this case,bears and toys- to realize that there's always a home for everything,though it may not be the same one.

But the process of finding for one is scary,and that's why I'm lucky to have a home.

Another thing I really loved about this movie is the legendary,Oscar-nominated song.It's so simple,but classic and,I don't know,doesn't it just want to make you smile and sing along?Plus,instrumental,with lyrics,or in Spanish,the song is so distinct and catchy,and moving all at the same time.

Spoiler Beware

Best moment: The ending.oh,wow,was it great.If any movies who are in the midst of their 3rd movie and ending as a trilogy,take a note from Toy Story 3.This has closure.It really brings about a sense of warmth that you don't really find in some movies.To show that being 17,doesn't mean you've got to forget what being a kid feels like.How reality doesn't have to be always be bad.and that Andy's decision might be just the right thing to do,to have the little girl possess all the toys.It was a bittersweet moment, and when Andy started playing with the toys for the very last time, i couldn't help but smile.It's common throughout this movie.Trust me.Sometimes,I leave the cinema after watching a movie wanting more and a little dazed,btu no.For Toy Story 3,it ended on a high.

Go watch this.It's truly worth it.

Pre and Post-exam

2010-06-10T15:18:00.012+08:00

Karin has a point.There's really no balance between having 3 weeks of pure torturous exams and only 2 weeks of holidays.i can't remember vividly,but I'm pretty sure a research has been done listing the benefits of longer school holidays-But I can't seem to find it anywhere in Google,the most trusted Search Engine,and that says something.The government must have banned it.At least they're not Banning it altogether(read: China)

I was going through some photos on FB,and for some time now,I've seen some of my friends going to the library to study there(well,by the way they put it,I'm not sure it's really studying there-lah :) -So,I thought "what the heck?" A week before the exam,packed my stuff and headed to the KL Library,just opposite Sultan Abdul Samad's building.

I never knew how close it was to Pasar Seni.And the place was pretty quiet too-No, seriously, I know it's a library,but it's like a morgue.Some days,there are practically no one.And fortunately,it was a good surrounding to sit down and study.Went alone,though.Coz' i know being there with someone I know,the only studying I would be doing is Having Fun for Idiots.

The view from my study table.It was really calming,

Well,all of that really gives an impression that I studied for the mid year exam like a maniac.Okay,I sort of did.But instead of using leisure time to STUDy,I actually used it to watch Tv shows,both online and in the TV.Oh,talking about that,American Idol Season 9 ended during the midst of our exams.How surprising.

This year's was really blah.REALLY BLAH.they weren't exactly any good singers-or as much as I would like to remember,most of my favourite's went out TOO early in the season.

This is Lee Dewyze.He won American Idol this year.YAY.

Exam=hell weeks.Weeks,not a week.Who in their right mind had 3 weeks of exam.Even University Exams aren't that long.Gosh.During some of the earlier papers,we were as focused,till the point where if someone was cheating,we wouldn't' care less.But,by PJK, most of us were turning around,talking toe ach other,laughing,gossiping,and generally creating havoc.How I love the bunch of misfits that makes up 5N.

Since it took such a long time to finish,I had so many ideas to spend my time,excluding the study part.that's not even a plan.that's just,that.

I witnessed my cat being suicidal before I injected it with a tranquilizer.hah.

when all was done, it was just a matter of time before PAvilion and KlCC became the next destination.

KArin finds best friends everywhere :)

I dont know why,but I really like this picture.Credit to the people in it,not the one taking it.haha.I secretly am trying to remember who took this picture.

-There's still a few hours and days left before shcool begins.And though school's all dandy and the fact that I miss my bunch of hooligans,to a certain degree,I can't seem to conform to the idea of going to school.

As much as this sounds overused,I need time to slow down to a halt.I need to make full use of it.Reassemble things back.

Let loose.