such a jojo

Fav picks: Melaka

2011-10-22T14:18:00.002+08:00

A friend of mine once said that student life is the longest vacation one can ever take. And I had an awesome, totally spectacular student life. Thank you God.

Being a student in a branch campus , I might not had experienced the typical student life as students in the main campus but my student life was amazing due to awesome friends and great classmates.

And of course, the historical yet whimsical (at least for me), Melaka.

It is one of my favourite destinations in Malaysia. Maybe because it is small, closed, colourful and the foods are amazing. Fantastic.

I studied for 4 years there, and I surely have my own favourite picks that made me fell in love with Melaka at the first place.

#Jonker Walk

My favourite place during weekend nights and weekdays. This is a must-go place whenever my friends visited me in Melaka.
They have night market every weekends night. You can get rare and cheap accessories here and delicious hawker and Baba food.
It is a home for magnificent buildings. That survived maybe hundreds of years. The details, interior deco are astonishing.
So many cute cafes nicely decorated with mouthwatering menus.
Lets present the menus!

Getting ready for the night market

CNY 2010

My Borneo girls with the spring potato while watching karaoke at Jonker

A tattoo parlour

Museum Cafe 88 for authentic Baba Nyonya food. Must go!

Museum Cafe 88

useum Cafe 88- Assam laksa. Must try!

Museum Cafe- Durian cendol Definitely a must try!

Fried oyster in the making yo!

Fried oyster walla!

Limau limau Cafe

Limau limau Cafe- Banana sundae.

Limau-limau - heavenly apple crumble 5 stars!

Jonker Street at night- without the night market

#Cheese naan with tandori chicken Pak Putra, Kota Laksamana

The best cheese naan in Malaysia so far. (Aween, that one in Bangi would be at second place, this is still the WINNER).
Succulent tandori chicken. But you must try the chilli garlic chicken and butter chicken also. Equally satisfying.
This place could be my dinner place 3 days a week and I never got tired of it. Oh rindu!

courtesy onestopmalaysia

#Pantai 1 Malaysia, Klebang

Located at the Straits of Melaka, this beach is quite newly-upgraded. It's an artificial beach actually.
There's nothing much here. But I love to hang out with my friends just enjoying the moment, the quietness and maybe the darkness of the place. There's not much lights to see here compared to Stulang Laut in JB.

Dont have the picture facing the sea. kinda-white sand and newly grown trees at Pantai 1 Malaysia, Klebang

#Cheap cheap karaoke places!

Dreambox, Dataran Pahlawan- cheap if you come during the day and u have membership card.
The Jetty, next to Holiday Inn Hotel - A beautiful place on a jetty. Cheaper if u dont have the Drambox membership card.
Intan KTV - Cheapest! Like craazzyyyy cheap. Like RM12 for a huge room with a washroom inside it for 4-5 hours! Crazzy gila cheap.

#Kebaya Nyonya

Melaka offers various elegant kebaya nyonyas starting with a very affordable price. I bought one from Toko Che Ros, just as a souvenir of this land of colours and culture :)

Kebaya nyonya sulam penuh

#Cultural and dance scene

I adore the effort of Melaka's gov to preserve, sustain and promote their cultural heritage.
I got doses of my passion in Melaka where they welcome beginner dancer to perform shows with the freelance teams.
They also provide classes for traditional dance, gamelan, musical instruments and singing with rm20 for 6 month as fee! Now everybody can dance.
They also send teachers to schools for free, teaching Malay dance to them kids. Johor should do that. Really.

During an event called Dunia Melayu Dunia Islam. A cultural event that involves Indonesia, Brunei, Spore and Malaysia

1 Malaysia themed -performance for Tentera Diraja Malaysia

Joget performed for Royal Air Force

Dikir 1 Malaysia

Hah kau hado?? haha. Modern dance guna lagu JLo Lets Get loud tuuuu.

Dondang sayang and dikir something2 for UiTM Pre-grad lunch

#Buildings

Magnificent, Glorious might be an understatement for the kind of vibe Melaka historical buildings can give us.
4 years there and I still found new place each time I explore.
I dont have enough pictures for the buildings. but seriously, if you are a vintage soul with soft spot for cultural value, u need to see em yourself. Go to Melaka!

Mahkota parade!!!!!

Visit Melaka means visit Malaysia. Cewah.

Rindu Melaka.

Quarter life crisis much?

2011-10-09T16:45:00.000+08:00

I was having my late lunch at a kopitiam one late afternoon. Sitting next to me was a group of 3 ladies, waiting for their order. It didn't take long for bitter reality to strike me. These ladies are young (probably early 20s), dress nicely, decent complexion, wrinkle-free and seem to enjoying their nice closed tea together.

Then, as if I were snatched into another person's body, I look at myself from a third person point of view.

There, sitting beside a table full of vibrant, young, problem-free looking girls, was a lady sitting alone right at the corner. She was having her katong noodle alone, with some frown on her face in a 10-year-old faded jeans and a messy hair. Sadly, that lady was me.

I snapped my thinking back to my body. Faced the reality. I am 24, not working, not even a decent student and I ate the same lunch in this same kopitiam (alone most of the time). I miss having friends around me at all times. I miss feeling more alive everyday because of the laughter, the jokes, the crazy stuffs we had done during study years. I miss those youthful times.

Suddenly a song auto-played in my mind. Zee Avi followed by Ida Maria then came Ingrid and the list went on. And a slight curve appeared on my lips.

As if a great comforter, a caring friend, this mind is a wonder. In all that gloomy thoughts, it came to soothe me and give me comfort through the smallest act, music.

Maybe I should have uttered Alhamdulillah. Maybe it is better to smile and find gratitude even in the smallest thing, like some mind-playing music that can ease that edge and restlessness.

But yeah, if there is such thing as quarter-life crisis, I hate you.

Fav picks: Johor Bahru

2011-10-07T14:28:00.000+08:00

Sometimes I feel like there is a huge stamp on my forehead stating 'JB'. I think I portray a typical JB girl thus my friends from school to uni will always remember that I'm from JB. A true Johorean I am, for them.

JB city

JB view in Perling
credit: Nadia Rasik

You know how much a Johorean loves Johor. Like so so much we will turn down NY for JB (then scream 'JB rocks!!'). But sometimes when people ask 'If we go to JB, what's interesting?' or "Apa best sangat JB? Danga Bay?', I really take a minute to think "Hmm.. emm.. ahem.. aaa.. krit2 (cricket sound)". Sometimes I get so lazy to think I would just reply "You come first and I'll bring you to the best ABC place in the WORLLDDD", just because it is simply THE best in the world and yeah, it's nearby my house :p. And then I'll divert the topic to food-related stuff. That will take me from Johor all the way to Melaka. Eheh.

So today I'll give you some of my favourite places in JB, what I personally love, what I think cool about JB. Literally, JB IS cooler (in terms of weather) than some place I've been to during my study years. Li-te-ral-ly.

#1 Roost Juice and Bar

Roost: the balcony

Roost: the interior and the awesome mango yogurt drink

My favorite place to have dinner, hang out with friends. Amazing amazing deco concept. It's so amazing, I have to type 'amazing' twice.
Not only it's a feast for the eyes, they offer feast for your tummy too. My favorites are Roast Chicken and Mango Tango - mango yogurt drink. The hainamnese noodle, yogurt drinks, coffee and this one rice dish (I forgot whether it's nasi lemak or nasi ayam or whatever they call it) are nice too.

Miss Irene Homemade Accessories
credits: Nadia Rasik

They have their own boutique called 'The Girl Next Door' and a home made accessories boutique on the top floor. The stuffs, the deco are so breathtaking makes you feel angry at yourself for not being born tastefully creative like the owner.

#2 Kg Melayu!

The best ABC in the worrrlllddd

Famous for delicious authentic Malaysian food such as the best ABC in the world (air batu campur, jgn buat2 innocent kata ABC alphabet ke ape ye), murtabak Man Tomok and mee bandung Muar.
I don't want to sound bias, but this post is all about my favorite things in JB, so biasness is a must! The ABC is to die for, you need to try it yourself. Search for ABC Azmie wawa lot at the medan selera. They even have their own FB page walawehh!

#3 Celup2 Dataran Bandaraya

Celup-celup or cucuk-cucuk is the local name for steamboat. My fav would be lorry no. 8. But some of my friends like lorry Majidee. They said No. 8 soup is nice while the Majidee's gravy is the winner.
Eventhough the current spot for cucuk2 is not as nostalgic as the old one -Pantai Lido, it is still a nice place for outdoor supper and snacks with friends.

#4 Kebun Bunga Istana

the view looking over Lido
credits Mya El Qayreena

Stupid confession #1 : When I was 16, I wished that if I ever have a boyfriend, I would bring him here, sitting on my favourite bench on a nice morning, looking over Pantai Lido, enjoying the breeze. Blergh!
This one a nostalgic one for me. I used to date-jog here a lot. Yeah, my wish did came true when I sometimes spent mornings looking over the nice view and swayed by the soft breeze.
And yes, I do have a favourite bench here. It's a nice place for a picnic. Well, it defeats the purpose for having bihun and drummets after that 10 minutes jog, but quality time with family and loved ones is priceless i tell you. PRICELESS with that kind of view.

Zaman2 high atas pokok

#5 More cute cafes

Thats Cafe

Gambar remaja

That's Cafe, Jln Dhoby. Their Thai chicken chop rice- nice, even without the rice. Interior deco that makes you feel like a child again. All innocent and cute and problem-free.

Eats and Beats

Eats and Beats, Jln Dhoby. Famous for its sandwiches. I tried the lasagna. Deliciasooo. It's been quite a long time since my last visit. They must have updated their menus. Nice pop deco.

At Cheeliscious

Cheeliscious, Jln Kuning. The cheese cake is to die for! It's so nice, you'll know it at the very first bite. The English interior is so neat, hommy and makes me feel like a successful magazine editor having nice organic tea for my snacks. #NotGonnaHappen.

#6 Stulang Laut

Ye, ini Stulang. Semasa zaman innocent saya.

Yet another nostalgic (ehem dalam hati ada taman betul) place for me.Used to walk and just doing nothing around here. Just looking at people and the Singapore's light. Prefer to come at night so that I don't have to see the polluted beach.
I know it sounds gross, but my family used to picnic around here once, long long time ago. I went with my auntie, while playing in the water, there was this boy harassing with my shorts, underwater! Luckily my aunt was there to whack him before anything else bad happen. What to say, I got perverted from early age. This what I have become *tekup muka dgn sebelah tapak tangan*.
People say there are nice foods around the food court. I believe them by looking at the crowd but am not fond of the level of cleanliness. No offense but I can lepak for hours but have not really tried eating there.

#Junk Sale!

credits Nadia Rasik

Held once a month, this event sells from pre-loved items, including clothes, accessories, bags, to vintage, new and rare stuffs.
The location changes every month, from Jalan Tan Hiok Nee to City Plaza to Holiday Plaza. Just need to keep updated by them through FB.

So these are the places I visit regularly. But these below are my current scene of pride in JB :)

#Psychedelic Store

courtesy hentak berlipat dan peti suara

A chic, uber cool boutique located in Jalan Dhoby. Just started operating this year and am so loving it. Not a regular customer (yet) but definitely on my suggestion list for people looking for new and unique trends in their wardrobe.
Check them out here!

# JOHO

I've written about this awesome, determined organisation over and over again. Like in here.
Their effort, ideas, determination, creativity, attitude, vision and most importantly what they bring along through their journey and present it to the public - what i adore and respect the most about them.
Check them out here :)

Me in one of JOHO tees. That's my bodyguard behind there :p

So there you go. What and why I love about Johor, The list is actually extremely longer than this long post. Put aside personal attachment to JB, this is the physical reasons for my love towards my hometown.

I'm living up the 'soul' of JB :)

It's raining.

2011-06-08T22:40:00.001+08:00

I've been digging and searching and reading and re-reading.

But it is still so hard for me to start writing.

Sometimes I feel like giving up. Sometimes I'm acting like I don't give a damn. Sometimes I'm full of complaints.

But most of the time I just regret that it slips my mind that His help is everywhere. I forget I can ask Him for anything at anytime.

Astaghfirullah.

I wish I can get out from this ignorance and idiocy, ya Allah.

Of a Workless Job

2011-04-11T21:41:00.002+08:00

That;s me, being jolly.

I was feeling a bit jolly today at work. I'm not sure was it because of the RM7.30 lunch I had or the keropok lekor I ate later that afternoon. But yes, today's 4 hour stay in the gallery disn't feel as bad as always.

I am the keeper (ecewah) of the Galeri Permata of UiTM. When I told people that I work in a gallery, most of them would either say "Wahh, it's like a curator is it?" or "Tak boring ke jadi jaga?". The answers are No to the first question and Super Yes to the second. It is not actually a 'gallery' even though they call it gallery. Galeri Permata is a small area, with pyramid-like architectural design. Freemason-ry much? It is regulated under Art Education Program. So it houses children's work of art, Naive Art and othe art piece dedicated to children.

Galeri tak?

My Supervisor just rearranging the place by putting mats, some tables and chairs and other art equipments. This re-organizing of the gallery took place because they want to set up art classes for children to attend during weekends. The place looks a bit cluttered than before, but I like it. I always feel more comfortable in a messy, cluttered space.

So, today I want to take you for a stroll to my work place. Don't be surprise to find out how un-gallery looking is the gallery! Tehee

I tried to figure out what the kids were trying to create here. It looks too surreal for me to interpret though

Apesal nampak gemok sangat la gile. Yes, I was acting there.

RM15 each.

Saja letak gmbr ni nak korang percaya muka aku gemok, bulat gila

I think it's quite impressive for the lil kids to be able to build such things.

The materials for the art class

The kid's work

Ubat batuk cap ibu dan anak~~ Uhuk2

You know what. The picture makes me think that it's not a boring job at all. But yeah sure, in reality, it actually IS. But I'm still happy though. At least I don't have to care about all the clerical, filing works like some of my colleagues have to bear. This actually can be considered as lucky after all! Hehe

Eh so hungry. So bubye!

Puppets

2011-04-08T22:07:00.000+08:00

It took me YEARS to realize something that was so obvious to other people. When I sit down alone, thinking, going back to memory lane, I kept wondering why I had made that decision instead of this. I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, though I love to think that I only have little regrets. Once, I kept on telling myself that I need to be responsible in each of my action. Yes, I listened to that, hence the little regret I felt despite the tremendous amount of mistakes.

Sometimes I blame myself for being too blind, too deaf of imperfections, of destructions. But some other times, I am glad that I was being ignorant. I learn a lot from ignorance. I learn a lot from stupid mistakes and stupid people. I know there's a silver lining in everything that had happened. Even the path you've crossed with stupid people also has its meaning. It's for you to define the lesson.

I'm currently feeling a bit mellow, listening to Bic Runga's Sway, thus I wrote this post.

I am currently smiling.

Picturing the faces of dear people who love me.

I am currently smiling.

Noticing that at least I had made one correct decision in my life.

Remembering the day I put a fullstop to a lame story that only brings misery.

Today, at work

Earth Hour 2011

2011-04-06T00:24:00.000+08:00

People around the globe celebrated Earth Hour 2011 on last 26th May. I've never celebrated it outdoor before because there is just no nearby celebration going on.

Like last year, my housemates and I celebrated (if you can call it a celebration) it by switching off all of the lights and electrical appliances in our house. Ten minutes after the lights off, Nilam started to beg to watch the TV. 'Just the TV, pleaseee', I remember her saying. I tried to be a strict kakak2, but Nilam never bother to be take me seriously. Hey, I actually CAN be very firm and fierce you know. Plus, I am a teacher, if you know what I mean! But Nilam found it more interesting not to obey wise educator like me. So, we just stay lying on the floor, without the fan, without the lights and internet but with the TV turned on.

image taken from JOHO

But this year, I got to celebrate Earth Hour with my friends, outdoor, at the coolest place, JB. JB held the Earth Hour celebration at Bukit Timbalan, a beautiful and splendid place indeed. Like a well-kept secret. Actually, it is kind of a secluded place. Every JB peeps know the name 'Bukit Timbalan' but most of us are quite vague about the entrance and how it actually looks like. Even my mom, a pure Johorean was not sure how to enter Bukit Timbalan. But with the effort of Johor UPEN and JOHO, Bukit Timbalan shone its glory on the Earth Hour Night, the second event held there after GEGO (GEGO is an event hosted by JOHO too).

photo taken from asma

So I went there with my friends, Mel, Sheril, Belle, Munek and Asma, joined later by Khai. We arrived just few minutes after lights off, so the place was dark, only lit by pelita along the driveway. They had cultural shows, Aizat, Fynn Jamal and Statik as performances. The performances were awesome.

statik performing at Bukit Timbalan

the Angels and candles :)

JOHO tanglung in the making

the black shirt was the emcee

belle. asma. jwa

Overall, the event was a pleasure. Just because it was slightly different from other event (if we had any) in previous time. I would love it more if they allowed more junk-sellers to stay for the night. The crowd would have other activities to do instead of just watching the performances. And I would appreciate it if the emcee would be much kinder and less offensive on stage. I don't know if it was only me, but I found the emcee was annoying, and some of his words lack of respect. But, biasalah, maybe he was very used to be on stage and got a little too comfortable with it, or I'm just being overly sensitive.

I think huge credits HAVE to go to JOHO because without their effort and promotion, it would be definitely a silent event. I noticed that most of the crowd were people connected to JOHO. I didn't even see banners and buntings to promote the event by the main organizer, the government. The event might have been able to attract more people, regardless of age and race if it were promoted earlier, and wider.

I love the fact that a set of interesting events have finally set foot in JB scene. Yes, we did have events previously, but don't you think they were quite.. hmm.. due to lack of proper words, BORING. Those who have read my post in JOHO portal knew how much I appreciate the effort of the JOHO movement in creating interesting scenes, bringing up the quality and celebrating the glorious vibe of Johor Bahru.

taken from JOHO fb. they even have their own portal

For those who are still in a daze, JOHO is a creative organisation in JB that supports and outlive the passion of JB youths, especially in arts and culture. To know more about them, check their blog or FB. They even created a monthly event, the CarBoot Sales, so that JB has something colorful every month. They've done something different, that should've been done years before for youths in JB.

us during March CarBoot Sales

Singlet setiakawan @March CarBoot Sales

I'm not saying this to kiss anybody's ass or to show that I'm so into a scene. No. I just personally think that honest efforts deserve acknowledgement and appreciation. This effort is the only of its kind in Johor, or maybe in Malaysia. It's OK to venture things out. It's already there in front of us, it looks delicious, so why don't we try to taste it instead of staring blankly at it? We don't have to conform, but some things deserve our benefits of doubt.

p/s Due to low-effective compact cameras, not much pictures from the Earth Hour.

Hye (again).

2011-03-30T00:54:00.000+08:00

Hye!

I would be lying if I say I was too busy with my study or work and that's why I didn't update my blog. That, my friends, will be the GREATEST LIE OF ALL I can tell the world.

Yah. I 'supposed' to be busy with my work, my readings and writings. But, to be truly honest, I keep on piling my works because I am officially stuck in this thick stinking situation, called my RESEARCH. Condolences to me for being not-yet-smart-enough to handle things I should have concerned.

Stressul things aside, happy thoughts inside!

So. I've been having several significant, wonderful weekends lately. My deep gratitude to God for being so generous with happiness and great friendships to be poured upon me, despite my flaws and imperfections. Thank you Allah.

I always love to hang out with friends at nice eating places. I believe with great company, good food, fantastic ambience, time doesn't fly. Time floats. One time you just mentioned to your friend how comfy the couch is and how amazing the taste of music the owner has, then the next thing you know, your mom calls you asking why you are not home yet.

Of course I have several favorite eating + hang out spots. I always come to the same place over and over again sampai dah naik muak tak tahu nak order apa.. until I don't know what else to order! (Hah, effort x nak translate tu.. hehe). However, early this month, I went to a place for the first time, and it awed me so much I would love it if more people know about this place.

If you happen to be in JB, try to make a visit to Lost Malaya: Gallery and Lounge. It is located near Pantai Lido, facing the beach, along the way to Danga Bay. Easier said, nearby MSuite Hotel. The owner of the gallery and lounge is Chris Thompson, a professional photographer, hence you will find amazing photos and art work being displayed in Lost Malaya. The first floor of the building is the gallery and the upper floor is the lounge.

Got this fron their FB group 'Lost Malaya:Lounge and Gallery'

photo taken from JBCool.com

What attracts me most is the concept of the place. I think this is one of a kind we can find here in JB. Despite being struck by the decorations and interior of the place, I am so attracted to the ambience it possessed. It feels like a humble, closed-knit bar but at the same time you won't feel intimidated or intruded by the feeling of closeness it produced. The menu are mostly light menus, just suitable for chilling with friends. But the best part is that they have the coolest, old-school band performance ever (at least in JB)!. That, for me is enough to define a good hang out place.

Us girls :)

My friends and I went there for the band. We ordered drinks, listened to the band and played cards all night long. Like I said before, with great companies and amazing ambience, everything seems perfect :)

Got to love the 'jendela'

She's concentrating on the Poker.

They even have pool table

Got to love what's hanging on the wall. Got to love the chair also.

The hommies. Chewah. Geli.

So peeps, if you are open enough to experience something different, something not form your era, try Lost Malaya!

Such a self-stalker

2011-03-05T02:30:00.001+08:00

Should I poison myself now.

Or I should read the literature instead.

:
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Yes, I really should be reading literature at this moment.

But I'm too busy stalking myself on FB :p

Dreams come true

2011-02-25T20:43:00.000+08:00

Salam and hello readers :)

My family, close friends, not-so-close-but-still-wonderful friends and my FB stalkers (gotcha! haha) were (partially) deafened by my whine and cry and babble and ramble of how lost I am now adapting in Shah Alam. Whenever people ask how am I doing, though I tried to resist, but still the whine and cry and babble and ramble blurted out from my sexy, juicy irresistable lips aka FAT MOUTH. Some pitied me, some gave supports while there were others who ignored (hnss!). These extra others, people I love, but who have no heart or humanity told me something like this:

"It's not that I don't pity you Jua. Even if I were in your place I would be scared and sad too. But, the thing is, that IS YOU!. All those things like walking alone, eating alone, taking buses, eating yesterday's KFC chicken and have instant noodles for 3 consecutive nights, THESE ARE YOU!"

Stop!

That's not my point for this post :p

So, yes, I whine a lot about adapting to my new environment as well as my study. I'm so so sorry to people who had (and will have) to listen to my ungrateful ramblings. I should have been stronger and more positive, yes I really should.

While I was sitting in Rapid bus, daydreaming to the melody of the ever-repetitive 1Malaysia song, a pink thought crossed my mind.

This whole thing, me being stuck here was actually part of my growing up dream. The dream I had always hoped to come true. The dream that excites me whenever I was to discuss about it with people who concerned. The dream that vanished in the middle of my journey because I once thought it would be too late to make it possible.

Since I was 12, I dreamed of going to the same school as my sister, Ngah. It came true.

Since 17, I dreamed of studying and staying together with Ona for our uni years. It is a reality now, even though we are not living together.

Because of this, that we call fate, Ngah and I are somewhat going to the same 'school', same institution. It's just that she's a staff and I'm only a noob. We get to meet more often, having lunch together, check out stores and shops together and we even have our own Maggy Goreng Ayam Day, which happens once a week. Tehee.

Because of this, that we call fate, Ona and I... hmm how should I describe it ya? We are not used to be easily accessible to each other. And we are not used to have short hang outs like lunch date. So, this almost-no-distance distance is indeed a revelation to us. And we're still trying to get use to short lunch together, cutting stories into half and save it for the next day when we'll see each other again. Ona, apart from being my shoulder, chest, ass and biceps to lean on has now become my coolest aerobics partner! As if I have any other aerobics partner.Bleh!

And I thank God for His blesses and grace for this dreams come true. Alhamdulillah :)

Ngah

I told you kan, she's the everything to lean on :D

Clearer

p/s Sometimes we need to see the white dots, instead of the black spots.

Man vs Corruption

2011-02-25T00:32:00.001+08:00

I am currently reading a book, a travel log by Morris West entitled Children of the Sun. He is an Aussie who wrote about the less-known dark side of Italy during the 60s. The book was based on his experience and research staying in the dark, filthy alley of Italy where he witnessed unspeakable destruction of moral and social life as a result of corruption and poor economy.

Italy has always been Ona and my dream vacation place. When I read the short story "Lotus Eater", I too was amazed by the description of beauty of Naples and Capri. When I watched "Eat Pray Love", it made my desire went wilder to realize our dream to go and taste Italy. My lecturer, Mr Jeya told us that Italy was a country full with high-fashioned people. They are so stylish that they can make our so-called celebrity embarrassed of what they are wearing.

However, Children of the Sun disclosed a very surprising troublesome life of some part of Italy. The bad economic pressure and high cost of living (food are quite expensive there) threw people to the street, jobless. There were tens of thousands of unemployed married men. In Naples alone, approximately 200 000 were jobless. There were homeless people everywhere. Adults, children slept on the street and getting sick. Died of tuberculosis mostly.

People there were used to having large families, despite the economic depression they were facing. Therefore, children were left to linger, searching for food and money in hunger and ragged clothes. The boys begged and sold illegal cigarettes and stole and even pimped! Yes, you heard it right, these street boys called the scugnizzi had to pimp at the age as early as 12 in order to get money and go on living. Usually they would recommend the tourist to go to nearby brothel and got their tips from there. On the other hand, the little girls were 'sold' by their own parents to become prostitute to provide extra income for the family. The facts and details presented in the book were devastating. It was heartbreaking to see the society had become so accustomed to such collapse in family institution, social and growing process. And I pity the kids so much for their distorted, painful, tainted growing up process. They didn't receive any education. Let alone 'proper' education, they even picked up the lifestyle that a child should never supposed to be exposed to at the first place.

I still haven't finished reading the book. The book progressed to West truthful story about Father Borelli. Borelli was a priest who saved hundreds of urchin boys, the scugnizzi, from the street. He provided a house called House of the Urchins for the boys to sleep and shelter themselves. He sought odd jobs for the boys since he can't afford to provide proper education to them. Borelli's journey in saving the boys was extraordinary story. He disguised himself as an urchin and lived in the street doing what other scugnizzo were doing in order to understand more about these poor boys' life plus to gain their trust in order to make them follow him to a better choice of life. His kind heart, so pure, strong and full of compassion touched me. And I believe, he already touched hundreds, or thousands of hearts and lives by now.

The situation had gotten so bad because of none other than CORRUPTION. I know this disgusting act is nearly unavoidable in any large institution, but seriously I am very afraid if one day Malaysia comes to a stage where the citizens and poiticians are defeated by it. We know it exists, we already saw a glimpse of its evident effects but the game is being controlled by the haves. They are the one who are pulling the strings to make the puppet show going. While we as the have nots are either ignorant or feel too powerless to do anything. Maybe more to powerless, as I say, those up there are the one who control the strings.

I am forever grateful for our peace and harmony now and will continue hoping and praying that this is the safe country best for my parents and family and friends to continue living.

Burlesque

2011-02-18T14:58:00.000+08:00

I am not a good movie reviewer. I am picky in choosing favourite movies and movies that worth watching. Some people might see my choice of movies are a bit depressing and boring. So, I don't really have the expertise to comment on movie's quality.

Watched Burlesque last night with Ona and Fy. Personally, entertainment wise = excellent, storyline = sucks. Personally.

What I love about the movie was of course the uber hot, sexy Cam Gigandet. I swear, he was THE force that made us went ooh-ing and aah-ing and haish-ing. Hot gila!! Christina looked gorgeous too in the movie. Nice thick blonde hair, flawless skin make up, super skinny body = HOTNESS.

The songs, the dance routine, the costume, the make up, Alan Cumming, Christina Aguilera's incredible vocal and the sultry dancers and their bare hot bodies were other stuffs that made the movie quite entertaining to watch. Yeah, Cher didn't make it in the Good list.

The BAD thing about the movie was the very predictable story line. Ona can even predict the exact script! It was also very frustrating to me to not being able to see any glimpse of Cher's aura and talent as the so-called living legend. Aura Mak Ayam memang ada, but other than that, nope, didn't see any.

So how many stars for the movie? I'm afraid I can't decide on the stars. For entertainment and face value, it got a big YES! Thanks to that bad boy Cam Gigandet. Haish. Bak kata Ona, she would watch it again just to see that handsome devil boy. Just for him. Yes, he's worth that much! Hehe. Tapi just watch and enjoy the view. Tak payah penat2 fikir nak analyse movie tu. Tak perlu pun :)

Haish engkau ni.

Pendek

2011-02-17T15:48:00.000+08:00

Galeri ada nyamuk. Aku pelik.

Sebab aku ke?

Eh. Aku mandi kot pagi tadi.

Kot.

p/s Entry pendek, diilham oleh Mushi.

p/p/s Jual 2 painting hari ni. Pencapaian!!

The Most

2011-02-11T23:41:00.001+08:00

The most beautiful baby in the world.

She's perfect.

Leia Elmyra.

Alhamdulillah

"Heyy apa ni CikWa, haritu cakap Harith yang most beautiful, sekarang cakap orang lain pulak! Ape cerr."

Eh, Harith janganlah possessive sangat. Harith most beautiful gak tapi versi lelaki. Myra kan girl, pun most beautiful. Kat dunia ni banyak benda dan manusia yang bukan sekadar beautiful tapi, the beauty cannot be expressed through simple words only. And both of you are actually BEYOND BEAUTIFUL. Harith and Leia are cinta, hati, kasih dan sayang and the list goes on beyond imagination.

"Tapi kan, kalau aku beranak lagi lepas ni..."

"Kalau kitorang, kalau kitorang!!"

"Haa, kalau kitorang beranak lagi lepas ni, apa lak justification kau? Hah, jawab2!"

Lah, relax lah Ngah. Long, kan baru lepas operation, sila behave ok. Aku cakap jela, "These are the most beautiful babiesssss in the world. Pastu aku ulanglah balik ayat yang "..dalam dunia ni, banyak benda yang bukan sekadar beautiful, tapi blablablabla..."

"Yelah kau. Pendirian macam lalang!"

"Ish, tak baik kata gitu. Mana boleh choose siapa yang lebih most beautiful. Ianya seumpama suruh choose between Mak dan Abah. Hah, kau mampu??"

"Ish, geniuslah Jua. Memang tak mampu! Maafkan kami. Ibu muda memang competitive kadang2. Sorry ye sorry. Bulan depan aku belanja kau satu dress kat Old Blossom Box. Kak Long katanya nak belanja satu top kat The Girl Next Door. Ok?"

"Ok. Aku tak mengharap pun Ngah, Long. Tapi yelah orang kata tuah ayam nampak di kaki, tuah manusia terikat pada janji."

..........

Eh, Myra nangis! Bubye!

*p/s Cerita pendek ini hanya rekaan semata-mata. Tapi mungkin boleh terjadi jika ada sebarang kejadian ungkit mengungkit di masa terdekat nanti.

*p/p/s Nanti I post gambar2 myra, ok, Sabar ye noks!

Bandung Trip : Part 2

2011-02-07T01:30:00.000+08:00

Jom sambung! Lets continue!

Day 3

Morning call with bakery's smell! Heavenly!

Hwaarrrgghhh. Another early morning for us. This time we slept at a different hotel. Nearby Mutiara Hotel but a lot cheaper. Unik Hotel is a decent hotel, not that unique though. But the best thing about it is that it is situated just in front of Kartika Sari factory! It is just a few steps away from the bakery!

Back is Kartika Sari's factory

Kartika Sari is one of the famous bakeries in Bandung. I was so excited because I was so looking forward for Kartika Sari. My sister asked me to buy this hard bread called 'Bagelen'. It is the same like roti kok plus butter and cheese on top of it. So the first thing in the morning was to go straight to Kartika Sari. I bought some chocolate and chocolate cheese brownies and a few bagelens. The chocolate brownies was AWESOME!The bakery offered variety of traiditional kuihs and other local snacks and cakes.

After a quick visit to Kartika Sari, we prepared ourselves for a journey to Tangkuban Perahu. The journey took about an hour to reach the mountain top. It was a pleasant sight-seeing because of the blessed weather and chill breeze. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think we paid Rp60,000 to go up and another Rp250,000 for an hour tour down hill.

That is the biggest crater there, Kawah Ratu

It was freaking cold up there and I felt like a bimbo, going up without any jacket! We did not expect the place to be that windy and cold and the way downhill was quite tiring.

On the way down

Below was the destination, Kawah Domas

I was stepping on actual lava.

The 'assistants'

We were accompanied with at least 12 locals.These locals were actually sellers of souvenirs and other stuffs. They would help you along the journey down hill and would be so nice, courteous and extremely helpful. When you reached the destination, Kawah Domas, they would be begging for you to buy their stuffs. It was heartbreaking to see them begged, trying to sell their things. To make it more sad, these people can only go down with the tourist once in a week. So, if luck was not on their side and they were not able to sell anything, that means they do not have any income for a month. They can't go to the town because it would piss the town sellers, as if they have violated the territory rules. They can't go to Bandung City to look for jobs because they would have to risk getting cheated and blackmailed by the people in Bandung City. So, when they can't go down, they just stay at the village doing handcrafts or just staying home. If you would like to help them, I suggest you to please bargain. Their first price are somewhat ridiculously marked up, but if you bargain politely they would lower the price based on your demand.

At Kawah Domas, The only still active crater there

Putting mud mask and soaking our feet in the hot water.

Bargaining prices with the 'assistants'

I pity them much. But, I also can't be supportive for the massive amount of immigrants in our country. We have plenty of job opportunities that they can never imagined in their homeland. But, living in JB, and Melaka, I think we can't afford to add up the number of immigrants just because of sympathy.

Tangkuban Perahu was nice but with the 'assistants' following us, it actually distracted us from enjoying the view, especially in Kawah Domas. But it was a whole new experience though :)

After Tangkuban Perahu, we went to Rumah Mode, a famous factory outlet. The place was very nice, very pretty. If it was in Malaysia, it was a perfect place to lepak dan cuci mata. Awek cantik ramai juga.

Rumah Mode's entrance

After Rumah Mode, we went back to Jalan Dago for our lunch and to continue some shopping. I was famished so I ordered 2 dishes for my lunch. Mie Tektek and Ayam Bakar. Haha I know, weird name eh MIE TEKTEK. But it tasted good though. It was like our mee bandung but the gravy was not that thick and the noodle was like maggy mee noodle. Extra spicy, that was the best part. The ayam bakar was equally satisfying!

She's drooling over mie tektek. Haha

Mie Tektek

Ayam Bakar

Jalan Dago, second round

Back from Jalan Dago, Fatin asked Pak Sapri where we can get cheap CDs, so Pak Sapri bought us to this street, simillar like Meldrum Street, JB. I don't know the name of the street but I don't see much of tourists here. But it was nice to blend in with the authentic environment where the locals hang out and do their work regularly. For once, it was nice to not being treated as a tourist.

Borong baju Bandung!

Cowok ganteng!

Ohoo!

It was night already, so we went for dinner in this famous Padang restaurant, Restoran Simpang Raya. The price was moderate but the selection of lauks varies. They served all the available lauks to us and charged us only on what we had eaten. I think I can adapt with Indonesian cuisine, because I love how extreme their definition of spicy is, but I can't help to notice that some of the dishes are a bit salty to my liking. But the juices are awesome though! Ngetop!

Simpang Raya restaurant

The dishes

With a happy tummy and a smiley face, we went back to the hotel and prepare for our leaving day tomorrow. Uuuuhh.. sad2.

Day 4

Since our flight to KL would be from Jakarta, we didn't have any time to spend in Bandung anymore. We had our last visit to Kartika Sari and went off to the train station in this one rainy morning. The feeling was unexplainable. Maybe because of the gloomy weather, I too was feeling gloomy to leave Bandung, and after that being separated with my friends. We said goodbye to Pak Sapri and off to Jakarta. This time I slept throughout the whole journey!

We spent the rest of the time in the taxi and in the airport. Luckily, we met this great lady that offered us to stay in their lounge for Rp50,000 only. You can eat, drink, surf internet, enjoy the massage chair or just hang out until your boarding time. It was all UNLIMITED!

Enjoying hot coffee at the lounge.

Overall, the vacation was very pleasant. I was looking forward for another one with the Moogongs, or Ona, or Mel & the angels or my Supababes. It will be a great moment when you share it with the greatest people in your life :)

*photo credits to Syuhada Radzi. Thank you pwincesh!

Bandung Trip: Part 1

2011-02-03T01:24:00.003+08:00

RM120 for two way ticket to Bandung! Korang hado??

Haha. We were astonished with the golden opportunity that flew straight right in front of us. With no hesitation, we purchased 6 tickets for our long-dreamed vacation. This time we decided to go to Bandung. Throughout the years studying, living together all 7 of us; The Moogongs, always longing for a vacation together. We planned, did research through Internet about gorgeous islands, calculated the budget, got extremely excited but the end product always turned out frustrating. Wuu~ But NOT this time! We are determined, whatever happens we HAVE to go! We purchased the ticket almost a year earlier, so to have strong cause to stick to the plan. Nothing can stop us this time, if we didn't go, it'll cost us the 120 bucks. Dan sesungguhnya membazir itu amalan syaitooonn..

But yeah, man proposes God disposes, when the actual date came, only 3 of could make it through the plan. Yeah, I was quite disappointed because it would be sweet if all 6 of us could make it. But, WTH, 3 is a party too! I really hope on one fine day all 6 (or desirably 7) of us could go for an enjoyable vacation together.

Day 1

On January 10, we, Fatin, Syu and I, went to Bandung. It was an awesome vacation! Thanks to these two awesome company. Neither of us had been to Bandung before so this was a totally new experience for us. We went for 4 days and 3 nights. Our flight touched down in Jakarta, so we took a bus to the railway station and took the train for an almost 3 hour journey to Bandung. We bought first class tickets to Bandung, so the journey was as smooth as it could be. Though it surprised me that the journey was quite time-consuming. But it's OK, the tickets were quite cheap. Rp60,000 per ticket, around RM20.

Welcome to Indonesia!

Just arrived at Jakarta's train station. Fatin figuring out how to make a call to Bandung

On our way to Bandung!

We arrived in Bandung around noon. Considered early since our flight from Malaysia was at 6 am. It was such a relief to at last materialize this one dream of us. To actually be there with your lovely friends was worth the anticipation felt throughout the long train journey!

We met Pak Sapri at the rail station. Pak Sapri was our driver and guide during the trip in Bandung. Actually we never planned to have a driver for our first day. Pak Sapri was a surprise favour from Fatin's boyfriend, Izzudin. He was the one who asked Pak Sapri to pick us up at the rail station. It was indeed mutual chemistry between us and Pak Sapri. Love at first sight! We havent' had the clue how Pak Sapri was dead sure that we are Bapak Ijjudin's friends. That man, I tell you never let us down even once in terms of being punctual and being right! Huhu. If anybody needs a tour guide for your Bandung trip, I recommend Pak Sapri for you to hire. He's not over-friendly, but informative enough, very courteous and very2 punctual. He gave useful advice and tips too!

Pak Sapri idaman kalbu :D

So we straight away went to our hotel, Mutiara Hotel after we bought our lunch cum breakfast in McDonald's. The hotel was pre-booked to make sure we had a confirmed place to stay for our first night. It was a sweet, cosy hotel with a moderate price. Around RM180 per night. And it was located right at the heart of Bandung City.

Mutiara Hotel, Bandung

After we had our lunch, we went to Jalan Dago. It was 5 pm already so we spent our evening in Jalan Dago. Jalan Dago houses many Factory Outlets but the most popular was Episode, Central Park and Grande. All the shops were very nice, exclusive and the prices were very affordable. Slightly cheaper from Malaysia's prices. The atmosphere there was so pleasant. Chilly and refreshing.

In front of Central Park, one of the FOs

A van selling cakes and brownies at Jalan Dago. Though I looked v. jakun in this photo, it did not flattered my taste bud that much. Plus, it's quite expensive.

Later that night we went for dinner at Warung Pasta. It was highly recommended by Izzudin's friend. The food was generous, the ambience was very very nice. The same interior and menu in Malaysia would make the lasagna I ate cost around RM15 at the cheapest. But at Warung Pasta, the beef lasagna with overly-generous cheese, highly scrumptious though, cost only Rp18,000, aroung RM7! Gile baaaabbss.

Our delicious, underpriced dinner.

Inside Warung Pasta

Warung Pasta

Candid: Failed #1

We went back to the hotel afterwards, to revive and recharge, but mostly to indulge ourselves in good comfy rooms and beds. We chit chat a little, in fact EVERY NIGHT all 3 of us never failed to chat and had a great laugh at our lame jokes about how Fatin and Syu would go on seducing Pak Sapri. Hehe. It was indeed very romantic (in fun, non-lesbian kinda way) that 3 of us can share stories, laughters and fantasies before we took off to our slumber land.

Chilling out by the pool at the hotel

Candid: Failed #2

Day 2

We woke up early that morning to go to Pasar Baru. We intentionally planned to go to JUST Pasar Baru for the second day. It is a 6-storey mall and Fatin's mom told her that 1 day is simply not enough. So we decided that for the second day, we would concentrate only on Pasar Baru. We started our day with a nice and light breakfast and photoshoot moment around the breakfast area and the pool.

Breakfast

Breakfast area. Pak Sapri!

Pak Sapri drove us to Pasar Baru. Before the trip, I was quite sceptical about Pasar Baru since it was popular for textiles and pasar-ish kinda stuff. But hell I was indeed underestimated Pasar Baru. Heaven wehhh. I felt so makcik2 when I ooh-ing and aah-ing at the products there. Pasar Baru was huuuugee with I think thousand of shops in its 6-storey building. Each shop offers different things, designs and stuffs. You could never got bored with it. The prices were relatively a loooottt cheaper considering the quality of the materials. Even a boutique owner in KL and Euromoda people shop there. So, you can imagine how the Gulati's people mark up their prices here in Malaysia.

Behind was one of the taukehs

Free teh botol anybody?

It's a banana wrapped inside filo pastry, with caramelized sugar outside. Nice!

Borong telekung.

At the entrance of Pasar Baru

We were there at Pasar Baru from 9 am until 5 pm. Dah macam orang kerja ofis dah, I tell you. It was indeed a shopping frenzy, for Syu and Fatin mostly. We even had to find ATM and money changer to satisfy the shopping hunger! Haha. At 5 pm all 3 of us were exhausted, oily, stinky but most importanly, SATISFIED. And Fatin's mom was indeed right about one day is simply not enough!

Fatin's exhausted already, but not syu! hehe

Can you see the satisfaction beneath that tired face?

Exhausted and acting exhausted at Pasar Baru! Tehee

We decided to go to Bandung Indah Plaza (BIP) to get our lunch cum dinner and to visit the salon. The girl in one of the shops told us it was very cheap to get hair rebonding there. So Fatin was so excited to find the salon. But when we arrived, it was not that cheap. The price was more or less the same with Malaysia's. But the hair treatment was cheap though. RM10 only, complete with wash, hair cream, massage, steam and blow! Cheap tak cheap lah weh. Then Fatin decided to AgnesMonica-rized her hair. She cut her hair so short yet so chic! I love her new hair!

Bandung Indah Plaza

Fatin's gorgeous pixie :)

Outside BIP

Cheap2 stuff. 3 for RM5 only. I bought several but I lost it!!

After the salon session, with clean, fabulous and healthy-looking hair, we strutted to find dinner. We hadn't had any meal after our simple breakfast at 8 in the morning, but I swear we hadn't felt hungry at all! Amazing how retail therapy can affect a woman! Hehe. Despite the I'm-not-that-hungry statement, I did have 2 plates of dinner that night. Hehe. We went to Texas Chicken. I had a small plate of spaghetti and a plate of fried chicken and fries. You have to trust the Indonesians when they say it is spicy, it is INDEED spicy! The hot and crispy fried chicken was totally burning my mouth and lips and my stomach! Giler kaw pedas dia beb.

My dinner

End of Day2

It's hard being a woman, you see. So many needs and wants! And Bandung is the perfect place for a woman. You have 9 lusts? They offer hundreds of desires! Haha.

Going to blog on the second part of my trip later. Hope you enjoyed reading :)

*p/s feel free to check out promotions by Air Asia at www.airasia.com . They can be surprisingly generous to offer out-of-mind cheap tickets!

Takde hal lah beb!

2011-02-01T23:34:00.001+08:00

My sister has exceeded her due date for almost 3 days. We're quite worried because... we can't wait to have one more adorable baby in our family. But yeah, of course we're worried for my sister too. And plus, I'm worried I can't be with her when she's in labour 'cause I have to go back to Shah Alam this Sunday, and start my first day at work on Monday. It would be ridiculous if I want to ask for leave on first day working. Plus, there's no such term as 'leave' in my work. It's Skim Khidmat Siswazah and we are not allowed to take leave. It's clear that they want us to be just grateful for the short working hours. Dah kena kerja 8 jam je seminggu pun kau nak cuti lagi? Kau ingat kau chantek?? Maybe that was the point. Heh :)

Jusco Melaka. Acting alone and reading.

So today I went to Jusco to shop for some tops and pants. That's the first commitment I made to settle down for my study and job. Ehem. I went shopping alone because neither of my mom and sister wanted to join me. And I don't feel like bothering my friends to accompany me with my fussiness in picking out things.

I met a couple of friends there and both of them said "Eh, you came alone? Jalan sorang pun boleh layan je ek kau". Seriously, really, memang boleh layan. I never felt uncomfortable walking, eating and shopping alone. In fact, I did that most of the time when I was younger. Not that I'm that old now. I'm just more.. what they say, MATURED nowadays. I still remember sometimes my family did not believe me when I said I went out alone. They thought I must have some sneaky plans with hunky lads going out for a romantic stroll along Pantai Lido. Nahh! No la, they just thought that I went out with some guy I wouldn't dare tell them about.

I notice some of my friends can't and will not go out alone especially when having their meals. Lagi2 kalau Zaza or Amin tu, they have my sympathy whenever they tell me how sad it is to have to eat alone and starve since there is no one to accompany them for dinner. But when it comes to me, it's normal to see me eating alone in Mamak Subaidah or McDonald's. (Sometimes) My housemates cannot tolerate with my unhealthy diet. And I cannot stand eating noodles everyday. Hehe.

Since the assault case that happened to me back in 2009 (or is it 2008?), I am more conscious, a bit paranoid to walk alone. I may not learn my lesson yet if my family and close friends did not forbid me from walking alone. I used to think that I'm a very plain girl that will not be touched by danger nor accidents that would make my life's story line more 'interesting'. But hell yeah, I'm WRONG. After the assault, I forced myself to be extra conscious and to think that it is OK to be a bit paranoid sometimes. The people living in this world is getting worse by day and only God knows how many bandits , felons and criminals we walked pass daily.

Regardless of several encounters with useless, brainless maniacs (yes, this include that masturbating uncle in front of my house in Melaka), I still find being on my own at times comfort me much. I love the feeling of walking, being silent (people know how I'm such a talker when there's company), drinking coffee and being able to watch people, colourful stuff, new decorations in the mall, trees, and the pavement. It's like giving my sense of sight more opportunities to appreciate and to be appreciated.

I really love the company of wonderful people, amazing friends. But I'm also loving the fact that I can give an honest smile and be truly grateful with the company of none other than me, MYSELF.

Takde hal lah beb :)

Eating WHILE standing. heheh.

(Uwais alQarani mesti marah nampak Jua makan berdiri :) hee)

Rainy Sunday

2011-01-30T14:00:00.001+08:00

It's been raining NON-STOP since yesterday afternoon. At first I was glad because yep, I love rain. It's the most perfect time for a daydreamer like me. But then, as told by Nurul Huda Nadirah, it was getting heavier and heavier. And Sunday came, the rain still does not stop. This sure going to be a very loooonngg day for me. Staying indoor, depending on the Internet when lousy Astro can't find their freaking signal. Ok, I don't blame them. They give us cheap rate to watch more than 15 channels, so it's their right to have limited coverage and overly-redundant programs that can make a couch potato to even think of getting a job.

I've been quite busy for the past few weeks. I need to blog about my Bandung Trip, but I simply can't find time and mostly, EFFORT to do it. I'll update about it soon (yeah now I owe 2 pending posts to my own blog).

I'd been running back and forth for Shah Alam and JB lately. The 5 hour trip is really getting on my nerves. I hate long bus trip and I personally does not favour Transnasional, which happens to be the only decent bus to Shah Alam from JB. When I reach SA, I found myself a bit too dependent on other people like my sister and Ona and anyone who happens to be around them. Sometimes I felt frustrated of myself, being helpless, lost, dependent and all. But I can't help feeling so GRATEFUL for their kindness to me that makes my life a LOOOTT easier and smoother there. Kalau tak, banjir dah SA sbb kita nanges.. wuu~~ *Ah gedik lak kau. (But that's a true story I tell ya).

I've come to the time where I really need to work my ass on my research. The series of seminars I'd attended made me more confused with my decision. Is my topic is of my own interest? Am I cut for this kind of thing? Am I in the right track? Is education really in my line? What about my desire to learn more about linguistics and literature? These questions linger endlessly in my mind but simply ignored by my conscious mind. Even the 'less difficult' stuff I have to deal with have not yet settled, I can't find any room to find answers to those questions.

The initial plan was to rent a room in Sek18 where it's much closer to my faculty. I've been offered Skim Khidmat Siswazah (doing some office works for the faculty), so I assumed I should get a room nearby to the fac rather than main campus. I had confirmed with the other girls from the house only to discover later that I have to work under an Art Prof. where my duty is to look after the Art Gallery in the main campus! Duhh.. now I have to decide whether to just stick with the Sek 18 room or find some guts to cancel my confirmation. But I really like the room and the house.

My solution for now? Avoid discussing about it. Find ANOTHER time to talk with Mak. And hope for Mak to make the decision for me :) Hee

Sayunya hati dalam bas UiTM seorang diri :'(

Jinx vs Luckayh!

2011-01-06T02:06:00.000+08:00

Can you be a 'jinx' and a lucky person at the same time?

Sometimes I do believe so. Because when I think about what I've been through, be it as mundane as a person can live through, I can't stop admitting that I can be both a jinx and a lucky girl. I guess thats what they call the balance of life. It may also happen to you and every single human on earth. I'm just pointing out the ideas with me as the most valid sample (thus produces reliable findings - can't help it, just finished reading my sister's thesis).

People closed to me especially my family (or lets narrow the scope to siblings, even narrower to SISTERS) know how I can be stuck in silly situation and so jinxed at times. I know jinx is not a polite word to use, but I guess I can put aside the offensive-ness to show the accurateness I'm trying to portray.

Example 1:
Of all the students, why should I be among those who got locked up inside the school building? It happened when I was in Standard 6. My friends and I went to the toilet in this new block because the toilet was less scary than the other toilets in the school. We were waiting for our turn to receive the prizes, it was Hari Anugerah. So we went there and guess what, in less than 10 minutes we were in the toilet, we were locked inside the building. To make things worse, our turn was approaching. The teacher was busy in the hall, and we were panicked when there were no one around to seek help, we even considered to jump from level 1!

Example 2:
My parents went to Haj on year 2001. My sister just finished school and wanted to try to drive my Abah's car. So my other sister accompanied her driving around the kampung. After her second or third round, she was confident enough to send me to school. And yes, on the way to school the car, with us in it, went straight into a large drain, just nice beside my cikgu mengaji's house. I was already late to school and I have to walk even further than the actual walking distance because the route for cars and for those who walk to my school was different. Great. Of all the time, I should be in the car for it to make a free jump into the drain. Why?

Example 3:
My friend, Zaza, and I were going back to JB by Zaza's car. Along the way, we were stalled twice because of punctured tyreS (yes, 2 kali maksudnya 2 tayar). And to top it up, reaching JB, I had to push the car in the middle of the Skudai tol because the car stopped so suddenly. It was different to be on the limelight this time because hundreds of cars were queuing for the tol! So now imagine me yang kudut pendek pale faced some more cuba nak tolak kereta kancil (kancil je) tapi tak bergerak! Ye tak bergerak.

There were so many examples but I just cant extract tonight. But if you ask my sisters, yes without a doubt they will say I can be a jinx magnet sometimes.

But as I said, when I'm doing my 'deep thinking' (ye, bukan berangan, deep thinking ok) I know sometimes God helps me so much I would gratefully consider myself as lucky.

Example #1
My family. Yes, I am so lucky to have a family like mine. Though we are (or should I say I am) different between each other, in terms of perceptions, views and so much more, they give me support during times I least expected but most needed. My Abah always mad at me whenever I came home late but he never shouted or scolded me in my face. But I'm sorry because my other family members are the one who have to bear with it.Sory urm.

Example #2
God is very generous to help me especially in my academics. In percentage, I know a tremendously big chunk of it was God's help. And only tinee winee was from my own effort and ability. Thank you Allah for Your Grace and Blessings.

Example #3
I have such wonderful friends. And I am glad I have a bunch of them, plurals, not singular!

Moogongs :)

Amin and Zaza

Onaliza

Ogy, Cathy, Nana, Ina

My lovely Mel

So when bad things happen, always count back the blessings you received in your life.

It makes you think that life and God are indeed very fair to Its creature.

We have our share on happiness, obstacles and so much more.

*p/s Saja spelt 'lucky' menjadi 'luckayh' utk menyelitkan unsur funky :p

And what?

2011-01-02T20:17:00.000+08:00

I have lotsa stuff to share.

But am too lazy to write.

So what now?

Just wait for boredom to strike me then?

The Chosen One?

2010-12-21T15:27:00.000+08:00

I don't think there's any tiger that died and left its stripes behind. So, takkan tiba2 carcass dia jadi bogel sbb belang dah tanggal kan? Mane ade.

By the way, that's NOT the point.

This morning I borak2 with my Mak and it occurred to us my journey as a 23 year old ~~girl~~ lady has come to many pitstops. Mak said that it's God's will to let me taste every possible opportunity I can experience along my way as a student. This is what I've 'tasted' so far:

Apart from the regular kindergarten, primary school and Sekolah Agama, I went to

1) Regular daily school which used to be one of the 'black-listed' schools in JB.

2) A very good boarding school where the good students did not only study but PLAY SPORTS. And I, as the not-so-good-student sat beside the longkang eating keropok lekor while watching them play. Teheee :D. I was happy to be stupid and silly during Form 4, but my life tumbled when it was actually very humiliating to be the backbenchers in my Form 5 class. It's not a good news when you discover you're THE ONE who had been pulling down the collective marks of your class. Thanks to me (and my bad results), my other classmates had to strive harder and get better and higher grades to make sure our class is the #1 class of the batch. It paid off really when more than half of my classmates went to further their study abroad!

4) PKN. Where only the 'chosen one' got selected. (I always wonder in all the percentage between those who got selected and not, why should I be in the smaller percentage for people who got selected?)

5) Matriculation. The place where all nerds went. And the not so nerds (or should I say 'not-so-bright') quit. Yep, I'm one of it. This time I was not chosen, but I chose.

6) Pre-degree. Dapatlah merasa alam 'diploma'

7) Degree. Again, I was among the smaller percentage. Only 30 students were selected to be the pioneer batch in Melaka.

8) Postgraduates.. The journey I've yet to discover. This time I'm alone since there is no single mate I know took the offer.

So Mak and I went calculating after that for what's next for Jua? Maybe an oversea offer for her doctorate? Haa.. siapa tahu kan.. Doa ibu tu :)

I realized that along the journey, I've gained so many precious things. Not only knowledge and experience. But the most precious is of course FRIENDS. I made good friends along the way. When I left the place I was glad I brought along 'something valuable' to be with me for the rest of my journey, it's FRIENDSHIP.

I want to write about the beautiful friends I've known along the way but there's something wrong with my camera so I can't put the old pictures of my old friends who some of them are still good friends of mine till today. So I guess I've to write a sequel for this post when my camera is ready. Time ni lah nak promote kawan2 :D

So.. tungggguuuuuuuuu~~~

Too comfy to leave

2010-12-19T15:59:00.000+08:00

In my 5 years of studying in uni, I can say that doing Academic Writing (AE henceforth) is the most challenging assignment I have to bear. Thanks to my natural talent to PROCRASTINATE, it went from 'challenging' to 'disastrous'. I know I'm not alone, I guess my other classmates would also agree with me. I think 65% of it was our fault. We procrastinated, not pulun enough, took for granted of the semester break and kept making excuses to escape the work and to see the supervisors. Another 30% was the fault of the faculty for putting AE in the final semester together with other killer courses. We had to deal with so many projects, write ups and reflections. Honestly, with a schedule as hectic as a medic student I don't have any heart to do any reflection. We already did those in our past semesters. As seniors, I don't like to be told twice. Cehh.

So what about the last 5%?. Hmm it would be miscellaneous reasons like we preferred to go out and spend last bit of time with our best friends and housemates.Or... hmm.. actually I don't have any explanation for this 5 %. So, boleh abaikan.

Nampak dark circle? Nampak perkatan 'panic'?

Fatin tunggu order pun boleh tido. Hehe

I was quite traumatized (no, I'm not exaggerating) from the ermm.. experience or process or the completion of the AE. The sleepless nights, the writer's block, the rejection and endless corrections, the LITERATURE REVIEW!, the loss of appetite, the increase of vulgar words in daily use. I was sooooo looking forward for it to end and when it finally ended, there were tears of joy in my eyes, right after I left my supervisor's room. The feeling was so liberating. Yes, no, I'm not exaggerating.

Can't you see I'm 'smizing' with gratefulness?

So I went to register to further my study yesterday at UiTM Shah Alam. After the registration, I'm still blurry about what I have to do next. Yes, I know, the research proposal. But I still can't believe that I'm back in the doom's hell again. Though the feeling is not as horrible as before, 'cause I know I have much more time and I gained a bit experience but I'm still feeling as LAME as a nerd should be like. Huhu.

I know I can get through this. But, am I ready for it? I have a feeling I'm not ready yet to behave as I am expected to. I might have survived my Degree and thanks to God for all of His generous blessings. And I hope so for now and later.

p/s Thanks to friends that give me support and good wishes. Thanks for the faith :)

The greatest act of love

2010-12-14T00:42:00.000+08:00

"When you love someone, love with an open hand. Don't ever clutch"

"The greatest act of love someone can ever make is to let go"

This is why I love watching Hallmark aka Diva. Free quotes.

Oh, and self-reflective too :)

Suicidal song

2010-12-13T01:27:00.000+08:00

Have you heard about "Gloomy Sunday"? One of the most popular suicidal songs ever written. The song was written by Reszo Seress during 1930s in Hungary and it was said to spread a strange trend of suicidal occurrences. Though the phenomenon was said to be unsubstantiated, there were one too many of coincidental suicides had happened that could be related to the song.

The police found a copy of the song sheet nearby a suicide victim who hung herself to death. A young secretary in New York gassed herself and wrote in her suicide note for people to play the song Gloomy Sunday during her funeral. Seress's ex-fiance also committed suicide and by her side, a copy of the sheet music was found. Even Seress himself committed suicide at the age of 69, about over 30 years after he wrote that song. Seress jumped out of a window but survived. The next day in the hospital, he choked himself to death with a wire. Huishh.. determine gile nak mati. Baguslah, buat kerja tak separuh jalan.

By the way, the song was banned from BBC and other radio stations. BBC only allowed it to be played during 2002. They believed the song carried depressing, disturbing mood that might encourage distressed people to commit suicide. Worlwide, there were roughly 200 cases of suicides relating to the song. Hebat tak hebat penangan lagu ni? So seram tak nak try dengar?

I first knew about this song from my friend Syafiq Ikhwan. He told me about this song during my 'depression' era (Ceh!). So I was quite scared to listen to it at first. Hey, after reading the history of the song, siapa yang tak terpengaruh? Lagi2 orang depressed macam saya yang dulu. Adalah cuak2 tu.. Macam kita tengok cerita hantu Korea yang hantu handphone ke video tu.. Yang siapa tengok video tu dia akan mati.. Haa masa tengok tu mesti korang terfikir, "eh aku tengah tengok ni, pun dikira jugak ke?" . Kan.. mesti korang terfikir kan.. Tipulah tak terfikir.. takkan saya je yang terfikir.. Takkan..

So. Berceloteh pula. So I was quite cuak lah with the song, but I listened to it anyway. Hmm.. nothing happened.. But I think I can imagine why it was possible for people to commit suicide after listening to the song. The lyrics was so encouraging and the melody... hmm.. yeah disturbing. It does not only portrays gloominess but I think there is some sort of hopefulness in the melody that made suicidal people felt "I think, suicide is not that bad. I might be happier than I am now if I just die'. Because the way I see the song is not all sad, tears and anger. But more to hope, please, it-won't-hurt-that-much. So maybe that's why people could be influenced by the song.

And in the Western, tragedies relating to suicidal songs are not that isolated like here in the East. It's either they were dam good songwriters that could come out with tragic, influential masterpiece or the people are just that dumb and easily influenced. Click here for the top 10 suicidal songs.

All in all, I'm glad being a Muslim I have stand and beliefs to hold on to. Suicide is not even an option. No. We only have one option that is to continue living. But in this option we meet many paths, alternatives on how we should lead our life. Life has so much to offer. It would be such a shame to cut it short and being at loss of not able to explore the full possibilities in front and beyond us.

Read full article about Gloomy Sunday here.

Weekends Yay (Not!)

2010-12-12T23:17:00.000+08:00

It's understandable if people say they hate weekdays, especially manic Monday. And it's also widely acceptable that weekends are more preferable than weekdays by most people.

But being a... hmm.. how should I put it in a nice way... haaa.. Being a person who is still searching for the best option to commit to, a commitment that yet to be discovered in order to apply my skills, talent and knowledge acquired through my whole educational life, I found that my weekends are pretty bit boring than my weekdays. Sucks eh? While people are anxiously waiting for weekend, I'm hoping my weekdays will never end. While people are getting excited, dressing up for weekend events, I'm staying home, keep changing the channels and come to conclusion that weekend's TV programs suck big time.

Then I go online and there is no one, no interesting updates because everybody is going out, enjoying weekends and maybe has a nice date watching movie blalala.

Bored face, big nostrils.

I don't know why.. yes, being ~~unemployed~~ a non-committed (yet) person makes me feel everyday is the same. I tend to forget the dates and day like once in a while (maybe not once, maybe twice, or thrice. heh). But I realize that I'm usually quite occupied during weekdays, thus making my days so lively and nice. But when it comes to weekend, I found myself crippled in front of the TV, getting grumpy on the absence of good TV show. I know I can resort to other stuffs to make myself occupied like going to kenduri with Mak and call my friends to hang out. But I just don't. I let myself hanging in the clouds of boredom and at the end of the day too exhausted and too moody to work on something else that's interesting.

Oh. Maybe I'm that lazy bum. I sound like a jerk whining about my laziness.. Arhh.. weekendssss.... why...... dish!

Oh! Btw tomorrow is Marvellous Monday. I think I need to do a medical checkup. And it would be nice to hang out with a friend tomorrow. Hope you have a great weekdays.. and weekends!

p/s I'm suck at writing closure, isn't it?

Of Today

2010-12-09T02:12:00.000+08:00

Today was fuuuuull of surprises, good news, bad moods and.. oh, no 'and'. Tu je. Hehe.. But despite the so many variety of things happenned today, I just picked one to share lah.

My day started early today because my family and I wanted to indulge ourselves with J-card Day offerings. So I woke up at the sound of my alarm clock and zasss off we went to Jusco Tebrau. Tapi kami MANDI ye.The parking lot was already almost full and we were amazed by the people's 'support' towards the mega sale day. Because all of us were positive that we would be the early birds.

After the exhilarating activities of shopping and watching people shop, we went home and were greeted by an unpleasant surprise. Our veranda was in such a mess my Mom got so angry because something knocked on her pots and flowers etc. My Dad panicked when he realized that one of his little kittens was missing. So we searched for the culprit and we found... TADAAAA!!!

Beruk!!!

I don't know where the hell he came from because it's been a long time since I saw beruk around my neighbourhood. It got the kitten and the beruk held the kitten so firmly we just didnt have any idea how to take the kitten back. When we came close to it, I don't know whether it''s angry or it's actually laughing at us. But as I saw it, I think it was some sort of evil laugh, an accomplishment because he's gotten his hostage. Then the neighbours came to my house and some of them said we should not disturb a beruk thats holding a kitten because it will piss them off. But pity pity pity the kitten weh. The neighbours also said that the beruk will take hold of the kitten until the kitten gets 'lembik, lepastu dia buang'. Damn! Jahatnyeeee.. Anak kucing tu comel ok..Helpless some more. I'm pissed because I can do nothing about it. Beruk can be very dangerous when they're mad.

My neighbour trying to do some 'negotiation' with the evil animal

That orange thing it's holding on its stomach was the kitten!!

I think it was not interested to nego

The beruk climbed the tree when it saw more people coming

Later that day the beruk took another kitten. My favourite pulak tu! Haish. Now there is only 1 more kitten left, the white one. I felt like I just want to shoot the beruk with a rifle. I was wondering madly why the freaking hell the owner abandoned him like that. So you move out from the kampung, it is not appropriate for you to leave this creature behind. Not only the creature's welfare is being abused, but also the neighbourhood! Tak semua orang suka ada beruk berkeliaran kat depan rumah and making a mess, peeing on your verandah, ok.

Haish.. Apa patut buat? Telefon Jabatan Perhilitan, is it? Or is it not?

I am ready for... NOTHING

2010-12-08T03:05:00.000+08:00

I've always loved to act upon impulse, instinct and the flow of nature. It's either I believe in POSSIBILITIES or I am too lazy to THINK. My instinct agrees on the latter idea, but my optimist side prefers the first option. Tehee.

That's why when people ask me questions on what expected action would I take, I usually do not have immediate answer. It's either I let them decide for me or I just say "We'll see". I am not ready, or to be more accurate, I never prepare, make myself ready for upcoming situations. I prefer to see the consequences of impromptu actions. Because to me, either way, it was meant to be and apart from serious matters, I think I can handle both situations equally, so what's the use to move my brain nerves? Hehe..

But now, finally, I have to deal with serious matter.

I'm in an intersection, a VERY IMPORTANT junction in my life. The choices, the alternative links are vast but the choice remains to be ONE. I can only decide on ONE thing. And I know how suck I am in deciding. This time around I guess the flow just stops and challenges me to freaking decide for this ONCE. And why I still have the guts, too stubborn to choose and use my own judgement? Sometimes I think it's immature of me to let the world, be it to be any kind of force that people thought exists, to decide for me.

What should I do with my life now? What valid, most appropriate option should I choose?

Tiba2 saya kena jadi serius dan saya x sedia. I'm not ready.

So I have a deep thinking session to attend to. This time I'm using my brain, heart, beliefs and rationale instead of chocolates, spider solitaire and TV to achieve the ultimate life-changing decision. Chewah. Takdelah life-changing sebegitu.

But a bar of chocolate would be helpful though.

And before I start using my rusted brain, maybe I should work out the gears by spider solitaire-ing? No? Ok.

Please find me.

2010-12-06T16:21:00.002+08:00

Hye, I'm Najwa. Jom berkenalan. Kaunter dah buka. Sila isi borang dulu ya :)

For my future husband, I have an important message for you. Actually, my mom has an important message for you. Whoever you are, you are encouraged to find me within 3 years time. Why? Because MY MOM SAID SO.

This scene happened on a Sunday night while a mother and her two daughters were watching a Malay drama.

Mak : Jua, ko da ada boyfriend?
Jua : Belom.
Mak: Ha cepat2lah cari.
Jua : Lama lagi kot. Jua rasa Jua jumpa pun agaknya masa umur Jua da 30 camtu.
Mak : Eh, apasal lama sangat? Mak kasi masa 3 tahun je. Nanti mak dah pencen da boleh terus langsung.
Jua : 3 tahun kawen ke 3 tahun baru cari?
Mak : Kawen.
Jua : ... Drama kat sini lagi menarik dari drama TV3 nampaknya.

Ok. I think I better start off with my resume first :p

Tarian Cuti cuti Malaysia

2010-12-04T20:31:00.000+08:00

There are things that will never change, whether you're a student or a~~n unemployed~~ fresh graduate (that hasn't graduated YET). Things like Saturdays! Haha. I'm having an indulging Saturday, coiling on my bed, inside my cold cold room, listening to good music, watching Eat.Pray.Love and playing endless Spider Solitaire. Uhh heaven can never be this simple :)

Btw, have you heard about 'Tarian Cuti2 Malaysia'? The Tourism Ministry (at last) decided to spice up their working environment (Yes, I wrote 'their' because it's about time they ACTUALLY do something new and move their lazy bottoms to do something fresh) by inventing a very nice dance move to be some sort of the nation's identity. I guess the concept is similar to J-Robik; a set of dance routines that had been a trademark routine for Johorians where it combines all sorts of dances from three prominent races in Johor, the Malay, Chinese and Indian, the routines comprise of steps from joget, zapin, some wushu and silambam moves and others that I can't remember.

Panjang lak perumpamaan dia. Senang2 klik sini, ya, sini untuk tengok video Tarian Cuti2 Malaysia.

So, they are going to launch Tarian Cuti2 Malaysia tomorrow at Dataran Merdeka. If I'm not mistaken, the event will start at 6.30 am until 12.30pm. Before this they done the same thing in smaller scale in Putrajaya. I also heard that they (the Tourism Board) will hold this kind of event in all parts of Malaysia. But when I googled it, I don't think they are holding one in JB. So, this is quite frustrating.

It's not that I would sacrifice my sleep time and wake up at 6.30 in the morning. But, if they are holding one, I'm more than willing to sacrifice half of my morning and wake up at 7.30! Ye betol, tak tipu! But I guess tomorrow is going to be another quiet, silent Sunday morning for JB. Ok. Whatever.

Oh! Maybe not so silent anymore because my friend, Carl Samsudin and his friends are organizing this interesting events for photographers, especially those in JB.

credits: Carl Samsuddin

So maybe there are going to be quite an interesting, fun morning around Bandaraya JB tomorrow. Starting from the Post Office Foyer and God knows where they will end up their quest tomorrow. Trust me, these photographers are one hyperactive, creative, contagiously happy and enthusiastic bunch!

But if you're not a photographer (like ME), maybe you can join and be the strangers and portraits for them to snap.

So, start practicing your pout and strut! :D

p/s To all Class of 2010, how's your cuti2 so far? Do you feel any weird sensation for not having anything to think of or to be completed?

Ride out the wave

2010-12-02T20:10:00.002+08:00

Currently I'm obsessed with this!

Kings of Leon is just so sexy. Maybe I'm not a good music reviewer but their songs make me feel like I'm not in this era. There is some sort of a 'breeze' lingering amongst their songs. And Caleb's voice is so so sexy lah. Hish.

The band is actually a family band and the name King of Leon is in honor of Nathan, Caleb and Jared's father and grandfather, who were both named Leon. The only thing I can say is that they are destined to be a rock star because of that name. Imagine Kings of Karim or Kings of Spears or Kings of Cook.. Hah sesuai ke x sesuai? Despite their father was a preacher, they continue doing what they love most and enjoy the lifestyle they were denied before (when their father was still a preacher). It's just the same like Jalaludin Hassan lah. Walaupun ayah dia orang Alim, dia still go with his passion for acting. Ok tak comparison ni? Background knowledge checked?

Ok.Got to go layan some other hedonism things :)

p/s Kalo korang jadi artis, apa nama glamour korang rasanya?

Of Passion

2010-12-02T01:30:00.000+08:00

I can be a fan of a lot of things. But I'm a lover for only a very very few things. And one of them is dancing. Dancing is one of a few things (other than sleeping :p) that can sooth my anger and calm my restless heart IMMEDIATELY . I've tried it several times, and it works aaalll the time to calm me down.

Traditional dance is like a therapy for me. No matter how mad, troubled and restless I am, whenever the delicate music starts, it has always managed to bring me to another dimension, yes, I sound exaggerated. Dancing helps me to focus my mind into something else that's deeper and no unnecessary thoughts could get through me while I'm focusing on the steps and appreciating and indulging the beat and rhythm of the music.

I have always loved dancing, especially traditional dance. But I believe I was not given (and gain) ample chance to be more involved in this particular branch of culture and art. I started dancing during my kindergarten year which was a vague memory for me. I remember some details like going to Holiday Plaza KFC and Kerry's McDonald to get our rewards after a hard day of training or competition. I remember how fierce my dancing instructor was. She slapped me because I forgot the steps! But I think maybe because of her strictness and discipline, that made us the Johor Champion :)

*sorry for the bad quality pictures. old very old pics

sleepy face off stage

sleepy face on stage

I just don't know how to appreciate victory YET. I only saw McD after show.

Hey, that was me back then. In the newspaper! Korang hado??

During my schooling years, I got very little chance to dance. Maybe you heard about how active the cultural scene in Johor is like but in reality, I think they tend to take for granted of the perception. During my time, the Cultural Body in JB was very popular of its achievement and how awesome their dancers and routines were. So I guess they took it for granted and expect for people to come to them, where in my opinion they were the one who should go and search for hidden talents, especially the youths in schools. When I was in Form 1-3 my high school was very choosy in choosing the dancers. Once I went for the audition and got selected but then during the first day of training, they said I can't join because I was a Form 2 student. They preferred Form 4 and Form 5 students. Wth? So what's the purpose of holding an open audition at the first place? So there went my chance to join the dance team, and I was quite frustrated because I know my school had the good reputation to be one of the best dance team in JB then.

Standard 2. Kudut je.

Then I went to MRSM and I know there was no where in earth lah kan I can be active in dancing since my school was so popular with the title MRSM Agama. And all my best friends who stayed in JB managed to join the school's dance team!! Apakaahhh??? I was so jealous, I didn't ask them much about it. But I got my first Zapin lesson in MRSM as we had to perform during a jamboree held in MRSM Muar. Kalau bukan sebab event tu buat kat luar sekolah kitorang, tak akan merasalah nak menari ye. Because 'such performance' was a big no-no in my school back then. So thanks to Ashamira who taught me some of Zapin's basics and I fell in love with the dance at once.

I got my second exposure to Zapin when I was in PKN. My team mates were great. Most of them, especially the boys never danced before but they gave full commitment to learn and never felt shy eventhough some of the rascals of PKN kept making fun of them.

The first REAL exposure I got to SERIOUS dance competition happened when I was in my Matriculation year (err... half-a-year). It was an experience I never forget. We had our own professional choreographer from Taman Budaya Melaka and our team had serious chemistry among each other. At last I could experience the real feeling of the tiring training, the thrill of going to major competition and we had our own professional make up artist! I learned not only about dancing, but also about dramatizing and expressing feelings and emotions through body movement and rhythm. I learned a lot about team work, I loved my team mates so much back then and was proud of every single of them. The bond and trust created among us was something so special and my Matrix year was a blast because of them! It was the highlight of my Matrix year. And yes, dancing had become my utmost priority I lost interest in the science subjects. My study went to the drain so bubye Chemy and Bio and Maths and Matrix. I left for something better, TESL :)

Sanggar Sri Pasma

The sad thing was when the team decided to do tarian jawa and zapin right after I left Matrix! Arghh.. I always dreamed of dancing the javanese dance! Once again, I went green with envy. But I came to the show to give my support, with teary eyes and burning heart of course. But my life in Lendu was not that bad. I learned tarian Asyik. And I SUPER LOVED it! It was so soothing, sensuous and it felt like a dream. As suggested by its name "Asyik". I would really love to dance it again if I were given a chance.

Kesidang's Team. Muka kanak2 betol.

Then I went to UiTM KBM and my life was filled with colours again. I joined the Cultural Club and ISMMA. I got sufficient dose of culture and art where I learned different kinds of dances, I learrned a bit about gamelan (being able to watch my friend do gamelan was priceless moment) and performed for not-so-international event, Dunia Melayu Dunia Islam, where we got to know dancers from neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Brunei and Singapore. ISMMA provided me with enough experience though I wish I could have more. But I kept reminding myself that this time around, it should not interfere with my study. That was why I kept pushing away opportunities given by my choreographer. I was busy, and I know I can't juggle and maintain commitment for both my study and my dancing. And yes, if I were to just go for it, of course the latter would win, which was not a wise decision I might say.

KBM's Dance Team. Fun bunch!

As usherer for Indonesian delegates: DMDI

Performance for Pre-Grad Dinner

My friends and Gamelan

Show for TUDM

My life as a student ended in a pleasant way. I learned to dance the ethnic dance of Sabah and Sarawak. The Sumazau and Ngajat! Thanks to Katherine and Canne who introduced this pretty dance to me. And it was awesome because I had the coolest team in the world! My own classmates + Aiman (adik kami!)!We had serious fun performing the dance. What a glorious closure to our 5 years of being together.

Yes, I have passion. But it seems un-alive now. No, it's not dead. Yet.

Popular Mega Book Fair

2010-11-30T00:55:00.000+08:00

If I were given a thousand bucks.. 1000 only, I would be MORE than satisfied to shop here.

The prices are very2 affordable and some are even CHEAP. Being able to buy cheap books are the same like buying 7 banana fritters for RM1. Very satisfying. Hehe. The choices of the books are better than last year. Books from various choices and genres, excellent condition and surprisingly, there are sections for books with RM16.90 only! And they are not classics or 50-page thick novel! They are normal books normal people read. Exciting, interesting with nice cover some more!

I strongly recommend everybody, yes, EVERYBODY, especially those in JB to drop by and say hello to the book fair. It's impossible to not buy something here, or at least, it is double impossible if no single thing catch your interest. So, come come!

p/s The book fair will be held until 5 December 2010, at Expo Danga City Mall, JB.

Nasi lemak, sambal udang and fried chicken

2010-11-27T00:19:00.001+08:00

How delicious is nasi lemak? I can never tell since I never ate one. But based on my observation on other people's expression when the word 'nasi lemak' came out, I think I know nasi lemak is serious business among food lovers. But no offense, to be honest I really don't have any desire to try. Nasi ayam, ketupat and lemang caught my attention though but am never brave enough to try. Haihs. Give me $1 million maybe I'll be more motivated to try. I'll be motivated to do anything! Hihi.

Oh actually we (my family) are having a kenduri this weekend. Doa selamat. And nasi lemak, sambal udang and fried chicken is the menu. Having kenduri in our family always give me some sort of a jump, an excitement because I swear, the seniors (avoiding using the world 'elders' here) in my family are really really really good cooks sometimes they make me feel I'm at the losing team because I can't eat rice. But sometimes only, sometimes. Most of the time I'm content with what I'm eating. There are enough reasons to be grateful for what's available for me.

Sambal udang.

Sambal udang, see you on Sunday!

My Trip to Kelantan- Part 2

2010-11-22T15:01:00.019+08:00

I am thrilled when Fatin said we will be going to see the famous sleeping Buddha that day. And luck was on my side when Fatin and her cousin, Yoh, brought me to see three different infamous Buddha statue, i.e. the sleeping, sitting and standing Buddha. Just like a holiday package, man.

So we woke up early in the morning and found that the weather was quite gloomy. But I thought that it was ok since I love walking and sight-seeing in the rain. Eheh.

Our first destination was the sleeping Buddha, Wat Pothivihan. The place was empty, with five of us as visitors and a few stray dogs. I was excited to witness the 40m long statue in front of me. I googled for some info but some sources said it is the largest in SEA while there were some said it was the 2nd largest.

The sleeping Buddha. That yellow thing is Fatin :p

Besides the giant statue, there are a lot of other statues of Buddha there. They show various forms of meditation positions. The details of the statue, its inscriptions, murals and even the small cloths hanging along the lane were awesome.

Other statues of Buddha in various meditation forms. There are 12 Buddha symbolizing 12 Chinese zodiacs.

Am wondering why my eyes look so sepet here. Hish.

One of the temples there

This reminds me of Mulan's guardian dragon, the one that Mushu broke.

I don't know why there was a cocoa tree there.

Dig my (cool) shirt! *JOHO*

Next we went to Wat Machimmara. I imagined the sitting Buddha would be all in gold. I guess that's the other statue. Eheh. This temple's compound was smaller than the first one. There were only 2 small groups of visitors (including ours) and a friendly and informative auntie who was a volunteer there. She keeps the temple clean, provides information about the place and Buddhism for visitors and she does all that for free. Her explanation about karma and good deeds and rewards and punishment were very insightful. And I simply love that kind of good-hearted people. So honest and sincere in everything they do.

Wat Machimmaram houses the largest Sitting Buddha statue in SEA; 30m high, 47m wide. The brown Buddha was said to have pure gold lips sits crossed-leg in meditation pose on top of the temple. Pure gold weh. Boleh kikis dan gadai! Ish2.. Apelah Jua ni.. Tak ingat ke auntie kata "Buat baik dapat baik, buat jahat, dapat jahat".

The gold statue at the back was a gift from the Siamese King to Kelantan. Fatin (unreliable source) said that it could be real gold.

Inside the temple you can find shrine for prayers and paintings that depicted the life in hell and heaven. Since I came through the left side of the temple, I got to see the Buddha's depiction of Hell's life and I didn't get to observe more on the Heaven's life. Hmm.. pengajaran di situ.

above are the depictions of Hell in Buddha's perceptions.

Everything within the compound was deeds from people who contributed either with money, donation or even materials. These contributors' names are displayed on the building structures they helped to build.

"Buat baik dapat baik"

People who donated for the temple

The last temple we visited was Wat Pikhulthong. It is the home of a standing Buddha statue. this was the most deserted temple of the three where we didn't see anybody else in the compound. It was getting late so we didn't have much time to explore. And I think Fatin was anxious since the place was so quiet. So we just took picture from afar.

So that's the end of the Lost Temples Quest (not that lost anyway, maybe forgotten, or under-appreciated). I discovered that Tumpat has a very unique demographic and setting. I don't know what the term is, but it's building, environment and nature are very unique. Quite clutterred, but people who know me know how fond I am with disorganized, disarranged things :)

What a long entry (again). Thanks all my tourist guides for this trip. I feel like I'm Samantha Brown or something. Hehe.

My trip to Kelantan, 'The Land of Lightning'

2010-11-21T19:40:00.033+08:00

As a symbol of freedom and liberty of the evil force of Academic Exercise (AE), I rewarded myself with a nice, low budget trip to Kelantan this early November. I mentioned 'reward', didn't I? But to be perfectly honest, I was forced to take this trip by my ever so lovely life-planner, Fatin. She bought me the return ticket BEFORE I can get my hands on the KUL-KBR ticket. So, seems like I don't have the choice lah kn. But come to think of it, it was an effective way (by Fatin) to stop me procrastinate. Hehe thanks Atin!

Kelantan treated me well with very comforting weather. I really didn't mind if Fatin decided to stay home, crouching on the couch watching Korean series all day long. Seriously, I wouldn't mind. Because the weather was sooooooooooooo seductive. Haih. But a tourist has to do what a tourist has to do. Hehe.

So I went to several popular places in Kelantan, must-visit places like Pasar Siti Khatijah, Wakaf Che Yeh, a beach near Pangkalan Kubur I guess and the popular Buddha temples.

For this particular post, I'm not going to talk about my visit to the three famous Buddha temples in Tumpat; i.e. the sleeping Buddha, sitting Buddha and standing Buddha, because I think it would be a lengthy one with the descriptions. So I'm saving the best for the last. Ok? Ok.

This is what Pasar Siti Khatijah looks like from its second floor. I went there to search for Mak's iron belt. Apa kamu ingat wrestlers je guna tali pinggang besi? Mak saya pun guna hokeh. Jangan main2 dengan cikgu Sains ye. Ok, so I was so happy that I found the iron belt for only RM13. Nowadays you couldn't find it anywhere else except in Kelantan and Terengganu. I doubt that people nowadays still using it. I mean, if you're not a traditional dancer or 70 year old woman, you actually don't have a reason to use the ancient accessory. But my mom is so culturally preserved like that.

This cute adorable building is called 'Bank Pitis' or the direct translation is Money Bank. It's the oldest historic building outside the palace, Istana Balai Besar. It was built around 1889 and was used as a bank by the Royals. Hmm.. I wonder how exactly they cramped all 'bunga emas' inside there. Because I think for a bank, it was quite small, wasn't it?

I don't specifically know where this was. But I know that the kerepok was absolutely tastier when you eat it in Kelantan, its own land. Eheh.

Fatin's sister, Baby

So we arrived at the beach, Pantai Cahaya Bulan, when it was raining. It was actually more to drizzling. The mixture of colours of the evening (mostly greys) set a unique mood for the beach. When I was standing watching the tide and the sea, i thought "Wow, this is a perfect beach for those who just had their break ups". Hehe. I don't know about others, but I saw the beach as somber with furious waves crashing hard on the still, indifferent rocks. A lot of emotions out there. Thank God I had a good heart then, not the broken one. Hehe.

nampak tak ombak emo disitu?

After that we went for a nice evening tea at the nearby stall. The tea taste like cigarette. Like they diluted a cigarette instead of tea leaves. YUMMY!

Teh rasa rokok. Ahah!

So now, lets talk about..... the glorious foods!

I waz zo ikzzzaiiteedd (was so excited) when I found THIS!

Sate ikan depan sekolah! Sape ingat lagi?? Ingatlah please.. nostalgic ni! I still remember when I was little, as my dad dropped me at Sekolah Agama, I would buy this sate ikan while waiting for my friends to come.

Me: Pakcik, nak 3!

Pakcik: Kuah manis ke pedas?

Me: Campur!

**Once pakcik handed me those sate ikan, I would gobble it in just seconds!**

**10 seconds later**

Me: Pakcik, nak 3 (lagi)!

Me trying to be friendly with the pakcik.

But I guess pakcik had better things to do, so he ignored me. So, no more publicity for you pakcik, the camera is all mine. Huh.

It's hard to find sate ikan in JB anymore. So when I found this in Kelantan, I was overwhelmed! So I bought like 10 cucuk of it, very greedy of me. But sadly they were not as tasty as I imagined it would be. Maybe pakcik tu bukan expert or the sauce did not taste as tasty. Pasrah. But it was still fun though, finding a piece of your childhood in a foreign land :).

The third day I watched Fatin and Mek making air batu jeruk pauh. I had never eaten this before I went to Kelantan, so I was quite excited. Plus, I am a jeruk freak aka 'hantu jeruk purut'. Eheh. I love jeruk like I love chocolates. My mouth literally watered whenever I see a pile of jeruk or any colourful pictures of jeruk. Haish. Ni yang buat terasa nak jeruk ni. So, how was the experience making your own aor batu jeruk and eating it without limitations? Haish. gembire tak terkate..

jeruk pauh

ready to be put into the freezer

The best thing about Kelantan is that (most of) everything is a lot cheaper than other places. Where else can you get your hair trimmed for only RM3?? Tell me? Ada? Where can you get 60 cent garlic bread? A decent one some more. Fish & chips for RM5, chicken chop for RM6.90, steaks range in prices below RM10 and local fast food restaurants selling quite impressive foods at very2 reasonable prices. Kalau nak jimat dan simpan duit untuk kahwin, bolehlah menetap di Kelantan. Memang jimat.

Of all the things, this is the most expensive one. RM3 for a very thin strip of squid, not the one hanging there.

I love the doodling on the packaging.

Another thing I love about Kelantan is the concept of including Jawi scripts in their signboards. It's so pretty and such a relieving scene when you're able to see the caligraphy spirit still lingering in your surrounding. And one more thing, the vintage buildings in Kelantan, awesome!

I had a great time in Kelantan. Thanks a lot to Fatin and family for great hospitality. Thanks Atin for this chance to visit Kelantan, though we didn't go find the Mak Yong place. It's ok, I will be back again in the future, for my Mak Yong quest. Jyeah!

I'll be back for you, "land of Lightning" and for you too Mak Yong!

That's Part 1 of my journey. Oh btw, for those who started their holidays, Happy Holiday peeps! Have a nice, wonderful, relaxing one ya! As for me, I'm well-satisfied with my current lazy holiday. Simply blissful!

Come Back

2010-11-21T00:51:00.014+08:00

I am a true procrastinator, I tell you. 'Cause I've been procrastinating this come back since like forever. They don't call me "The Benchmark" for nothing I guess *My friends put me as "The Benchmark" whenever there are assignments due. That means they better move their asses before mine because I should be the last person to finish the assignments.. or at least the last to start it off. In other words, they should be VERY scared dan cuak berpusing2 kat perut if I have started the engine before they do*.

So, what should I write for my come back post? Oh, lets talk about this blog.

I noticed that my dear friend, Mamu, pronounced my blog as /sukajojo/ which is quite.. cute. *ahem*. However, despite the cuteness of Mamu's interpretation, it's actually pronounced as "such a jojo". Why "such a jojo"?

Actually I was inspired by my housemates, especially my voluptous Raz who loved to use the phrase while yelling at me. Back then, they used to call me "Jojo", a name derived from "JOa" initiated by Tok Peng. You should forgive that old man because he loved doing things his own way. *Peace TokPeng :D*. But actually i kinda found the name JOa as adorable (tak macam saya). So my housemates had a good laugh on my 'new' name so they kept repeating it and at last it became 'Jojo'. And whenever I was being a bit nasty and mischievous or what Nilam would say 'beyond bongok', they loved to scold me and shout "You are such a Jojo!". So you can say lah that Jojo is my alter ego. When I'm all good, nice and ayu (like I always do), I'm Najwa. When I'm funny and friendly (like most of the time :p), I'm Jua. But when I'm bad, non-sense and moral-less, then I'm Jojo! Haha. Happy rasanya ada banyak2 character. *Korang hado? Mampu?*

So when I set up this blog, the name fast stroke me like a bullet going pew pew pew through my chest, like all relevant ideas always do. So, whenever I wrote something crappy, irrelevant, angry and things I always wrote, I think I have a defense to say that "Hey, that's not me writing, that's my uncontrollable alter ego, who most of the time is totally different from me. Na'ah, I'm sure she's nothing like me. Hish.. she's such a Jojo!".

Ha. Macam itulah defense saya. Ada bantahan? No? Good.

*Btw, I miss my housemates so much. Can't imagine starting back a life without their silly jokes and laughter.

credit: Wanie

snail mail

2009-11-16T01:05:00.002+08:00

i am one of snail mail fans.. i have this positive attitude on snail mail

i think snail mail is cute.. it's a cute way for love and words to travel, and you can make it looks cute too

i think it's more confidential than other means of communication. i don't know why i think about it that way.. but i would feel more comfortable and confident to send a letter than a message to my scandalous lover :D..(as long as his girlfriend doesn't move in with him)

you can write longer and more specific

you can decorate and draw silly pictures! and also 'draw' your feelings.. which u cant do in hp..

compared to messages and phone calls, the recipient can't delete or reject it easily.. huhu.. she or he has no other choice than to open the letter! especially when you disguise you handwriting..

it's more ROMANTIC... because it's a lot tedious and unpredictable than phone communication

but it's been a while since i send a snail mail..

guess i'm NOT in love anymore :D

in a happy rainy day.. :)

2009-11-15T16:58:00.003+08:00

Please don't forget me, I'm going away.
I'm taking a taxi to Kentucky, where they don't even know
all about me; I just need to feel safe.
I've got a thousand sweaters, and shoes, and paintings to hide;
the skeletons in my way, (don't ask where) I'm going

I'm going away, I'm going my way.
Finally, it's my time, to be lonely enough. Unloved and I can't wait.
Dont forget what I said; don't forget my letter.
every night I pray for you.
I don't got a religion. Isnt that something? I miss those days.

I see that bottle; it's now ten years aged.
I've got the marbles I could sell for money;
got a pair of fresh shaved legs.
Wont you baby come with me?
I've got a extra space
in my car, in my heart, in my mind
Look there's the passenger seat by the boat that you gave
Don't know where I'm going...

I'm going away, I'm going my way.
finally it's my time, to be lonely enough. Unloved and I can't wait.
Dont forget what I said; don't forget my letter.
every night I pray for you,
I don't got a religion. Isnt that something? I miss those days.

Well he said, slow down; slow down;
Think it over; weve all got wretched closets.
A silly girl pride kills more than AIDS
lately I say come on, I've thought it over,
I don't wanna die here; I've no desire to get married.

I can't read the others anymore.
Alone; I must learn to race myself

I'm going away, I'm going my way
finally it's my time, to be lonely enough. Unloved and I can't wait
please forget what I said, please forget my letter.
Every night I pray for you;
I don't got a religion to think that something will make those days.

I, I'm not going halfway
I'll find my way
I, I, Every night I pray for you,
Don't believe in Heaven or that it could be a happy place
I, I'm going away

pasal lelaki

2009-11-12T14:38:00.006+08:00

last sunday i went out with some male friends. some of them i just met, but i really enjoyed their company. they are very nice guys and good friends too.

once, i knew a boy who is very kind, nice crazy, funny and gentleman. i think he's the only boy that at such young age i regarded as 'gentleman'. and in my environment, you dont getto see gentleman frequently. he was so sweet and he was a dear to my heart. i fell in love with him after we befriend for years. for me, he's a very rare, unique man, different from the others. there are lots of good, nice men out there but he WAS different. he had all the things i am looking for in a man. i always thought that it would be hard for me to find a friend, a male friend like him. its ok if i cant be together with him because it would be enough to just be his friend. because i dont want to lose someone 'rare' like him.

but last sunday changed my perception. there are still lots of nice guy, 'rare' guys out there. maybe not many but the chances are there. i dont know what i saw in them but i know what i feel. these friends of mine realy strucks the idea in my head that 'hey, ade lagi la org yg nice mcm *** yg dulu!'.

it makes me realize how narrow minded and obssessed i am with the idea of 'rare' guys. come on la jua, mmg susah for people to impress me, but do give the benefit of doubt to the men. ok, x sume korang ni 'samee' je, ade gak yg maseh ade ciri2 yg best.

oh and what hapenned to that person that i fell in love with?

he 'died'.

life went silent

2009-10-09T12:13:00.002+08:00

i dont have the mood to write about anything..

because i'm not using my own lappie..

R.I.P to her (my late lappie)

but somehow i feel happy because yesterday i had the most unexpected crazy experience

lu mg masok air!

bob the builder!!

2009-10-01T23:47:00.004+08:00

okeh.. hari ni seronok gile sebab....

sebab...

selain dpt beli 2 pairs of jeans for only RM80..

seronok sebab...

dapat naek and tangkap gmbr dgn mini buldozer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

excited gile muke

eh kene serius2.. kang berlanggau dgn kenderaan len kang.. lesen da la gua x bwk neh

apesal cm x laju je bnd ni..??

i'm so cool!!

haha

dan juge sebab sume moogongs ade skali hari ni.. :D

tag dr fami

2009-09-29T21:32:00.002+08:00

Satu : Apakah yang sedang anda lakukan ?
.>>jawab tag, facebook-ing

Dua : Apakah yang bermain di fikiran anda ?
>>saketnye tekak.. saKet tekak.. haih saket tekak..

Tiga : Siapakah yang sedang bercakap dengan anda ?
>>tiada

Empat : Siapakah yang ada kedua dalam activ5 anda ?
>>nombor yg salah key in

Lima : Apakah yang sedang anda pakai ?
>>kaften.. aka baju kelawar

Enam : Apakah yang anda lakukan sebaik saja bangun tidur ?
>>mengeliat.. kdg2 megeluh ((sbb xnk g kls))

Tujuh : Siapakah Lelaki yang selalu bersayang sayang bersama anda ?
>> xde lelaki nk bersayang2 dgn aku..

Lapan : Apakah Coklat Kegemaran Anda ?
>>kisses.. cadbury.. toblerone.. zip.. seakers.. coklat2 lagkawi.. semua coklat la sbenanye

Sembilan : Aktor Paling HOT yang tidak anda Gemari
>>Megan Fox (sama dgn fami)

Sepuluh : Orang yang paling LAST anda bersama ?
>>insan.. had early dinner with him

Terakhir Sekali , Soalah Cepu EMAS !

Tag kan 5 orang dalam Tag ini
>>takde sesape