ReCap

Hi Peeps! Haven't heard from most of you for a while now. I totally miss everyone! I still have not overcome my laziness to write syndrome. Nevertheless, the laziness to do my mounting assignments surpassed my laziness to write. So here I am trying to come up with something decent enough to publish.

Let's recap what have been happening..

We're moving towards the end of another semester of the Masters degree. This semester it's phonetics and modern English. I really think Phonetics is the 'math' of language studies. There's no need to go into detail on my inability to grasp mathematical concepts. Suffice to say phonetics is killing me this semester. At least there's only the final exam left to go through. Modern English, despite the course name is dry and boring. I so prefer sociolinguistics and SLA.

One of my hommies got married on the 1st of August. She's one my dearest friend and I am very happy for her. Ahmad her husband is very nice and friendly and now has become one my friends to. The wedding was very nice. All the hardwork preparing for it paid off. I wish both of them the best of luck and happily ever after. I don't have the pictures but will update later. They used fresh flowers from Cameron Highland for the wedding. so it's something to fuss over.

I wish I can go to KL. Meet all the friends and catch a few movies. I missed many of the movies that I want to watch. Especially Harry Potter. Haih..

Anyways, next week Ramadhan Al-Mubarak will visit us again. Can't wait! (^_^) I've always Ramadhan. This month is magical to me. I always feel extra safe in Ramadhan. Don't know why. Hope this Ramadhan I can gain a lot of pahala.. I wish all of y friends and those reading an early Ramadhan Mubarak wish. May Allah blesses us all this month. Till then people, take good care!

Once In A Blue Moon

Talk about once in a blue moon ya?? I know that I'm not the most hardworking blogger when it comes to updating. Hehe.. However, this entry here is to tell everyone that I'm still alive and kicking. Life's been hectic.. not! The thing is I was just lazing around playing Mafia Wars and Pet Society on Facebook I just dont have the mood to write. Plus with all my siblings at home I find it hard to concentrate in writing. They are going back to their colleges soon and I know I'm definitely going to miss them terribly..

By the way, a humongous congrats is in order for my dear friend Nidana and her husband Farihan for the birth of their own little princess who is yet to be named. I saw the pictures and the baby is soooooo cute and cuddly. Lucky Dana is faraway or else I'll be kidnapping the little angel. Hehe..

Next week the new semester will be starting. New faces to be taught, new antics to be tolerated. I wish everythin would go on smoothly especially with the masters degree and Ramadhan all rolled into one giant madness. Huhu.. Wish me luck everyone.. Am going to need it.

I guess that's all for now. I'm going to go back to Mafia War.. heheh

Of Football and Boys

I just got back from class. Today a student of mine did his public speaking. His topic was football. He managed to deliver his speech quite smoothly and at the end of the presentation, he asked if the audience would like to ask him any question about football. He was very confident and said that he would be able to answer any question from football clubs' information, to the players right down to each of the players' jersies. I then asked him a question. "You seem to know a lot about football. Do you play football often? I mean the 'real' football?" He suddenly looked embarrased and admitted that he does not play football.

Well that's the problem with boys nowadays. They know everything about football but they may not even know the feeling of wearing football shoes. What a pity. They're no different than girls who like football. Boys just don't want to sweat and get dirty nowadays. I have brothers and they too rarely play the sport. The comfort of playing it in front of the computer is much more appreciated.

My point in writing this? Just to share my opinion. Sometimes I'm annoyed with boys who fought over which football club is better, which player is better, girls are not supposed to like football.. yada.. yada.. when in truth they themselves are only pretenders. Especially Man U fans. The 'poyo's. (^_^)

***Frustrated with the last result. Liverpool-Chelsea (2-0)! Damn!

Tagging Grudgingly

Haiyaaa..! Hana made me do this difficult TAG game again.. I will 'humor' you grudgingly, Hana (^_^)

1. Five characteristics of your dream girl / guy:

• Respectful (has to earn my respect)
• Smart
• Mature
• A gentleman
• Possess qualities of a leader but not being bossy.

2. Five characteristics that you have never liked in a girl / guy:

• Being lazy
• Being too talkative
• Being fussy
• Being rude
• Being too emotional (save that for women only please)

3. Five feelings that you have when you are out with the one you admire:

• Awed
• Respectful
• Admiration
• Nervous
• Cautious

4. Five places that you want to travel to with your loved one:

• Rome
• Venice
• Mauritius
• Sipadan Island
• Hong Kong

5. Five special things that you will give to your loved one:

• That depends..

6. Five songs that you will sing to your partner:

• My Valentine
• Always
• Dreaming of You
• From This Moment On
• Take My Breath Away

7. Friends that you want to tag:

• Amir
• Tya
• Jem
• Hannef
• Dana

A Heart-rending News

*** Hi peeps! Sorry for the long silence.. anyways, I just want to inform everybody who read this blog about the condition of Nik Mazrina aka Baby. Alhamdulillah, she had gone through with the operation and seems to be recovering nicely. Her baby is also OK and hopefully it is healthy. Just pray for her ya?

It has been forever since I last updated. I’m seriously considering terminating my blog account. I just do not have the motivation to write. I know this is like the umpteenth time I’ve said this. Bear with me will you?

There’s not much been happening that’s worth mentioning, really. I’m quite busy doing nothing at work. I’ve installed games in my laptop and since I only write my blog entries at home, I never got the chance. I’m trying to finish Sally’s Spa right now. Not to mention having to take turns to play the games with my brothers and sisters. No private time to pour my thoughts out. Yeah, excuses, excuses.

Anyways, this entry is actually to inform everyone about a friend of mine, namely Nik Mazrina a.k.a Baby as most of her friends know her. She is now in hospital because of a blood clot in her brain. It breaks my heart really to be writing about this. It just happened one day when she was in her workplace and suddenly she can’t move her whole body. Taken to the hospital, the doctor diagnosed her to have a brain tumor. Further examination revealed that she has a blood clot in the brain that affected the motor system of her body. Half of her body is now almost paralysed.

The saddest part of it all is that she is now 4 months pregnant. It was a shock to everyone of us. Just a few entries past I wrote about going to her wedding with Eme and Ina. It was such a joyful occasion and she was one very happy bride at that time. Looking at her smiling face in the picture makes me want to cry. I’ve visited her and she’s putting a very brave front for everybody.

Thus, it is my utmost wish for everybody who reads this blog of mine to pray for her and her baby. Let us hope that they both will be safe and be with us for years to come. My heart also goes for her husband, Nik Kamal and her family. They will have to be strong to support Baby and take this as a test for their faith on Allah almighty.

Diet

Recently, I finished reading a book entitled “The Adultery Diet” by Eva Cassady. It was about a family woman who went on a rigorous diet to get in shape before she met an old lover after years of not contacting each other. The book was OK for me. It was presented in a simple manner and I think most of the readers can relate to the protagonist’s struggle in achieving her target.

I say so because, well, how many of us who has failed in our quest to diet. Whatever your reason is, (be it to look better or for your health), how many of you really did achieve that target? How many of you followed your diet plan religiously? I know I always fail. Not that I really have a diet plan in the first place.

I do admit that I’m quite ‘heavy’ these past two years compared to my uni days. After getting a job and having my own money to spend instead of scrimping up on PTPTN and parents’ allowance, there ‘s nothing to stop me from eating. To say that most of my salary went to buying food and hanging out with friends (with food involved, no less) is not a proud moment for me.

To quote Eva in ‘The Adultery Diet’, “... You need something stronger than creme brulee, more seductive than chocolate, more powerful than hunger itself... something has to be eating at you.” In her case, it was the fact that she was desperate to ensure that her old lover sees her just as pretty and desirable as she had been when they first met. Well, I wish I have the same kind of motivation to. I mean not the lover part but a strong motivation to stop my desire to eat and get my butt off to start exercising. Any suggestion?

Selamat Hari Raya!

Selamat Hari Raya to all my friends who spent time reading this blog of moi!

Maaf Zahir dan Batin!

I Love You All!

15 Facts

Hana tagged me so I guess I'll have to comply. Here goes:
Fact 1 - I LOVE reading. It's my passion. I can read anything but I really like reading books with historical facts.
Fact 2 - I am not a multi tasker. I have to process something one at a time.
Fact 3 - I am a fan of Chelsea Football Club
Fact 4 - I can be short tempered sometimes.
Fact 5 - I have a loud voice. Good for my job, not good when in public.
Fact 6 - I hate people who talk dirty and sneeze loudly.
Fact 7 - I would love to go for a tour around the world before I die.
Fact 8 - I hate exercising or play sport but love watching it. Well, accept golf. I hate golf.
Fact 9 - I have a thing for Chinese culture. I think they are brilliant people.
Fact 10 - I was never involved in a serious relationship.
Fact 11 - I used to be a prefect in school but was demoted because I got caught giving my friends answers for English exam. My mum cried like hell. I felt like in hell. It was hell.
Fact 12 - I am hopeless in maths. I'm so stupid with numbers, I had to cheat throughout my form 4 and 5. I once stole a math test paper from my teacher's drawer. He was baffled as to why I managed to pass.
Fact 13 - My biggest fear is being left alone. I will die.
Fact 14 - I love the beach! But I'm afraid to swim in the sea. I have this sudden visions of sharks and octopus whenever I'm in the sea! (same with Hana!)
Fact 15 - I'm afraid that I'll be an old maid. HAHAHA..
Well I guess that's it. I'm tagging Tya, Eme, Amir, Jam and Syida. heheh..

The Might of the Chinese

The Olympic Games is finally over. After about 2 weeks being spoilt for choice in terms of channels to watch, we again have to settle with the boring and repeated programs being aired in ASTRO. I’ll definitely miss the different sports being played at its best by athletes from all around the world. The swift-ness of Usain Bolt winning the 100 meters race, the beauty of Isinbaeva as she broke the pole vault world record, Datuk Lee Chong Wei’s matches against all the powerful players.. Those would be the moments I’ll remember in this year’s Olympic.
Last night, I watched the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games being held at the ‘bird’s nest’ stadium. It was awesome. The closing ceremony was almost as superb as the opening ceremony. In my opinion, the Olympic Games being held in Beijing had the most beautiful and magnificent opening and closing ceremonies to date. The performance held was almost magical, at least from my seat at home watching it live via TV. To quote one of the commentators “ For the people whose ancestors had built the ‘Great Wall’, of course there would be no problem at all for them to organize this kind of great performance”. Very true, indeed. I was enthralled. Here’s one of my favourite performance in the opening ceremony.



China Dance Performance - video powered by Metacafe

In 2012, the Olympic Games will be held in London. London is a beautiful city with its own attractions and I’m sure the Games would be interesting there as well. However, I’d wish a very BIG good luck for London to come up with a better opening ceremony than Beijing did. During the closing ceremony, London prepared a performance to welcome people to their city in 2012. The performance was very dry in my POV compared to the extravagant presentation by the Chinese. I guess the vast culture heritage of the Chinese people really helped them to come up with such grandeur.
Well, in a different but not totally unrelated matter, I’m currently reading ‘The Last Empress: The She Dragon of China’ by Keith Laidler. It’s about the last empress who ruled China before the monarchy was abolished. It’s an awesome book. Very informative. I love it. It offers great insight on China pre-revolution era. Those who are interested in Chinese culture must read this book. I’m totally awed with how an English man can be so knowledgeable about a culture which is totally different from his. So, this book is highly recommended.
P/s: Now (only?) I’m watching ‘Princess Hour’ or ‘Goong’, in Korean. Adore it.

Past Few Days

These past few days I've been all around Kelantan. My friend Ina came for a visit from kedah so Eme and I took her for a tour. We only visited common places that people come to kelantan for. Wished I could've take her somewhere nicer but truth be told I'm not good in finding tourist spots even in my own beloved state.

By the way, Ina's main reason in coming to Kelantan was to attend a friend's wedding. It was the wedding of Nik Mazrina (Baby, for us) and Nik Ahmad Kamal (a fellow collegue). It was a nice event and we really had great time. Here are some pictures on the tour and the wedding.

The Bride (^_^)

Congrats!

Wayang Kulit

I remembered a scene from my past. It was night and my brothers and sisters were very excited. Our 'Tok Ayah' had promised to take us somewhere special that night. We were bundled into the car and after a short ride arrived at the special place. It was the field near our grandparents' house. That night we can see many people there. I wondered what was happening. Then, our 'Tok Ayah' found a place for us to sit amongst the crowd. Everyone was sitting on a 'tikar'. In front of us was a big white screen. After a while, the magic started. It was a 'wayang kulit' performance.

picture taken from www.cuti.com.my/Sub/Kelantan/culture5.jpg

As children, it was mesmerizing for me and my siblings to be watching such performance in front of us. The droning of the music at the background and the fluent story telling accompanied by shadows of past kings, princesses, villains and heroes swishing through was pure magic. The audience was transfixed to the screen. Time flew by unnoticed. We regretted the end of the show and our journey back. What happened to that magic now? I've never heard a 'wayang kulit' performance being held anymore even though I'm living in Kelantan. The young ones are missing a lot now. I asked my little sister if she knows what 'wayang kulit' is. She said, "Of course I do. It's like the ubat batuk cap Ibu and Anak ad!"

It's a pity.

Chelsea!

Chelsea's coming! Chelsea's coming! Chelsea's coming! Jump for joy! Hooray! Hoorah!......................


Dem! I wont be going!

Father/Mother-less

I just finished marking my students’ essays about themselves. Something I always do at the start of a new semester. I ask them to tell me about themselves. It’s always nice to be knowing a bit about your students before the lessons start. The students always manage to surprise me with their essays. One thing that I found from this semester’s essays is that many of the students came from a single parent family. They wrote about how they live in Malacca, for example with the mother while the father is in Terengganu. They wrote about how strong their mothers are for having to care for them and their siblings alone. They wrote about how they missed their father but they can always visit. They sound very casual like it’s the most usual thing to happen. I, on the other hand find it not as casual or normal. Coming from a family where my parents are always together and many siblings to accompany me growing up, I find it quite disturbing. Deep in my heart I pity these students. Maybe I’m wrong to pity them but I can’t help myself. I think there’s something lacking when they came from a single parent family. I don’t know why the parents broke up. I don’t know why the mother or father went away. I don’t know whether the students are truly casual and OK with their situation. However, I do know that by observation I can see more and more students don’t have their mother or father with them. Will this affect their personalities? The way they behave? The way they would react to others? Something must be wrong somewhere.. right?

Wari!

That's an informal way to say SORRY in Japanese actually. At least I gather that much after watching episodes after episodes of BLEACH the anime series. I just couldn't get enough of it! Bleach is one reason why I haven't been updating my blog. That and my apparent lack of idea + laziness to write. I just couldn't get myself to do it.. eheh.. I haven't been able to overcame my laziness yet so for the time being I'll just post this video clip here for you to enjoy. Contemplate this please!

I got this videoclip from their official website www.malaysianartistesforunity.info/ Nice song. It really touched me. Tho, I'm quite confuse as to why Afdlin needs to sound like an American Country music singer at the start of the song. To give it an international flavour, I gues?? Well, apparently they want us to spread the song and videos so just go to their page and download it. It's free.

Ideal World

In an ideal world, Chelsea should still be celebrating now. In an ideal world Cech saved every kick from the devils. In an ideal world, JT should be beaming instead of crying. In an ideal world, Chelsea never buys Nicholas Anelka. In an ideal world, Shevchenko played like he played for AC Milan. In an ideal world, Mourinho and Abramovich are best of friends. In an ideal world, Mourinho is still the manager. But now, in a less-ideal world, I'll have to settle with Grant being sacked! (^_^)

Rock You Like A Hurricane

Have you ever wondered how hurricanes got their names? I always do. Somehow, the hurricanes always got names of people like Katrina, Nargis, Andrew..etc.. Yes, Nargis was actually a name of a very popular Hindi artist around the 1950's and 60's, so I read from the newspapers.

Hurricanes can be devastating. No doubt about it. It bring sadness whenever it pass by. Such is the power of God through nature. Usually there are more than one hurricane in each year. I did a little research and found some information about how hurricanes got their names.

There is actually a committee being set up to name these hurricanes. This commitee is under the World Meteorological Organization. There are lists created for different parts of the world like the Atlantic, Central North pacific and Western North Pacific. In each of the lists, countries in the region usually contribute the names. For examples, in the Western North Pacific, our country Malaysia contributed names like Mawar (It hit the Philipines, I think), Sepat and Jelawat (names of fish), and other countries like Thailand contributes the names Durian, Hanuman and Chaba.

The lists usually will be used according to a 6 year rotation period but it may be changed. However, if a hurricane caused a massive death or costly number, the name that is being used will be omitted from the list. For example the name 'Katrina' that is being used for the hurricane that hit USA in 2005. This name is a 'retired' name in the list and would not be used again.

Well, I managed to get roughly that bit of information on the naming of hurricanes. You can read it for yourselves more about this on these websites.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/retirednames.shtml,

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames_text.html,

http://www.ksat.com/hurricanes/16239190/detail.html

Thankful

Just be THANKFUL, people! (^_^)

Twenteen?

Teacher: Ok students, now that we finished marking the exercise let me know your marks. Who got all correct?? Raise up you hand..
~Show of hands
Teacher: Owh very good John, Jane and Frank.. How about you Kim? what did you get?
Kim: 15 upon 20 teacher.
Teacher: That's quite good..and you Julia?
Julia: 11
T: Hmm.. Julia try your best ok? the test is coming soon..
~Julia shrug and grinned
Teacher: And how about you Rose?
Rose: Twenty
Teacher: Owh that's very good Rose! Why didn't you raise up your hand before? You got full marks.
Rose: No teacher.. I got Twenteen.. One.. Two.. (fingers show one and two)
~ Dead silence
T: Rose, there's no twenteen.. one. two. is TWELVE
~Class erupted into laughter.. Teacher led out a big sigh.. and the test was coming nearer..

Current Issues

*** Huhu.. there's a silly mistake that I made for this entry actually. Nargis hit Myanmar actually not Vietnam. My bad.. Thanks for the highlight Shikin! (^_^)


Today I have the luxury to be reading through the newspaper without any interruption. The internet connection is excellent and nobody is around at the office so I can read peacefully (I can't focus on two things happening at the same time) Well, from what I've read, I think these reports from THE STAR are interesting:

a) The government will allocate RM725mil to subsidize the import of rice to help maintain the retail price and ease the burden for us consumers. I think that's timely considering the ever increasing prices of not only our main staple but also everything else.. haih.. In relation to this rice issue, last few days, I went for lunch at our cafe and it's quite dissappointing to see that they used a different type of rice which I'm sure of a lower grade.. The rice tasted weird and it's like eating pulut with 'Tom Yam' (what I ordered that day).. huhu.. Can't really blame the cafe owner since I guess they want to maintain the price without doing any damage to their bussiness though I think it's better to pay a bit more than being served with umm.. pulut rice?

b) Urge for the government to make the report on Lingam's case public. Yes, I myself want to know what the investigation come up with. I mean it's quite interesting to know whether it's true or not that the appointing of judges in Malaysia had been tampered with.

c) There's a spy squad in MCA! I mean a real one. It's really not confirmed yet but from what I read it seems like there was a spy squad allegedly being set up by the president of the party to identify political opponents.. err.. is it Ok to be writing about this..? well you can read more of this here.

d) Mr Karpal Sigh statements regarding the Sultans.. Hmm.. Yes, I know that it's his personal opinion but I guess it's better if he can go directly to the right source if he has issues about the Royal Majesties and talk about it behind close doors. It's a sensitive issue, this.

e) The earthquake in China. It's quite big. 7.8 in Richter scale. Many people died. Devastating. Poor people and this is not a few days after Nargis hit Vietnam. Many people died there to.. haih.. I guess we're approaching the end of the world. Many catastrophe are happening all over the world..

d) Nicol David won at the British Open. Way to go! (^_^) I've always been a big fan of hers. Our Thomas Cup team also won against Korea in Indonesia. Good for them though it's quite shocking to read about the Korean plan to actually lose to Malaysia due to their strategic planning in light with the new format. Well, soothing news anyways to nurse my broken heart because Chelsea did not get the cup in the EPL.. huhu..

I guess that's all.. (^_^)

Tagged

Been tagged by Miss Tya.. Huhu.. so here it goes..


7 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME:
1) Bookaholic
2) Not into multi-tasking (^_^)
3) Living with my parents
4) A big fan of CHELSEA
5) Hate shopping
6) Totally into food. Live to eat!
7) Seriously serious person.. haha

7 THINGS THAT SCARE ME:
1) Being left alone
2) New places
3) Losing my loved ones
4) Ghost stories and movies
5) Being hated by people around (same Tya! =p)
6) My parents being angry with me
7) Death (err.. bekalan not enuff)

7 RANDOM MUSIC AT THE MOMENT:
1) The Way I Are- Timbaland
2) 4 Mins- Madonna & J.T
3) Mospeada- Hujan
4) No Air- Jordin Sparks & Chris B
5) She- Groove Coverage
6) Kerja LaLaLa- Meet Uncle Hussain
7) Thousand Miles- Vannessa Carlton

7 “FIRST TIME” THINGS I EVER DID:
1) Breathe- January 1983
2) Entered school-1990
3) Major high-stakes exam-1995
4) Got a job upon completion of studies- 2007
5) Read a book- 1988
6) Got a brother-1984
7) Entered University-2001

7 PEOPLE I TAG:
1) Tya can i tag u back?
2) Hanef
3) Wanie
4) Dana
5) Cat
6) Amir
7) You!