in a hay mat

of life and death

2011-10-15T19:18:00.001+08:00

An apple farm in the States with my brother the Tellytubby

I'm turning 25 next week. 10 years ago, if you asked me where I see my self, I'd say I see myself as a young lawyer in training. I was quite keen in entering the world of law while I was in high school. At this point in life, I have no idea where that dream has gone. On paper I'm a civil engineer, in practise I work in the environmental industry (which still involves the construction industry fyi). Life is strange like that.

Today, I heard more bad news about a friend's parent passing away. Then it struck me; growing older is not just about seeing a stream of wedding invitations and photos on your Facebook feed (and newborn babies too), our parents are also growing older and our time with them is running short. But its a thought that I usually like to ignore because having the visions of it happening running through my head depresses the hell out of me.

I'll be honest though, having these morbid thoughts is not all entirely bad. It makes me want to be a better person so that they are happy with who I have become, it makes me want to achieve more things so that they can speak proudly of me to their friends and above all, it makes me want to spend so much more time with them.

In my younger days I would choose spending time with friends over my family. This has completely changed. I'd do anything to spend time with my parents. I'd drive four hours south (or spend money and fly) at every opportunity I get because at this age, I am scared. Time is moving by so fast...too fast. One day, they were driving me to school, now I'm driving them around town.

I can't help but have these morbid thoughts run through my head every time these kind of bad news come around. It is a reality that we all have to accept one day, but I pray to God that when the time comes, I'm ready.

I swear I have never said this out loud and if I did my parents would probably think I'm high hahaha (we're weird, don't judge! saya bukan manusia yang manja macam kucing). But in all seriousness,

Mama, Bapak...I love you guys.

what's cookin' good lookin'?

2011-07-30T20:10:00.003+08:00

It was only recently that I started baking. I was somewhat inspired by my friend Aim who posted a bunch of photos of stuffs she baked, my cousin Izzy who convinced me that baking is easy peasy and my colleague Sathya who introduced me to the bakery supplies store in USJ and gave me quite a handful of useful pointers on baking. Thanks guys! :D

Funnily, I started off with the simplest of baking recipes - the bread and butter pudding, and FAILED miserably. But that didn't stop me. I did bake the damn thing using a toaster oven. LOL. So, i put the toaster oven away and bought myself a proper oven.

I officiated the oven by trying a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe. It wasn't too bad...it could use some improvement, but it was nice fresh out of the oven. :) I came across a recipe that looked pretty scrumptious. The idea of a cinnamony carrot muffin topped with cream cheese and crunchy streusel, I can taste the awesomeness just by reading the recipe...

So I tried it, and I shall continue making them for the rest of my life and put a smile on someone's face. I made them again today and my mom enjoyed it. :D

Here's the recipe courtesy of What's Cooking Chicago? and The Delicious Life:

Note:
I tweaked the recipe a bit coz I don't like my muffins too sweet. The adjustments are stated in Italic.

Carrot Muffins:

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sugar (I used 2/3 cup packed brown sugar)
3 eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup shredded carrots (about 8oz of baby carrots)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I used 1 cup)
1/2 cup raisins, soaked in hot water or rum for 10 minutes

Grated Carrots

Walnuts. Don't forget to chop them!

All Purpose Flour and Packed Brown Sugar

Cream Cheese Filling:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened (about half of the 250g pack of Philadelphia cheese. I used 3/4 of the pack)
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar (again packed brown sugar, adjust amount according to taste)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Streusel Topping:

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar (I omitted)1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (I used 2 tbs)
pinch table salt
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoons warm, melted unsalted butter

Streusel

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare your muffin tins by greasing with cooking spray or using paper liners. (I cant be bothered to buy a muffin tray so I used paper muffin cups and placed them in aluminium foil tart cup thingy)
Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar; set aside.
In separate bowl, beat the eggs and oil together until lightened. Stir in the carrots, walnuts and raisins. In another bowl, cream together the cream cheese filling ingredients; set aside.
Fold the dry muffin ingredients into the wet egg/oil mixture and stir until just combined (don't stir in too much or else you muffins will be dense).
Fill each muffin cup about ¾ full. Top each filled muffin cup with a generous teaspoon of the cream cheese filling. (Here I filled the muffin cup 1/4 full of muffin batter, then a generous teaspoon of cream cheese, then topped it with some more muffin batter until about 3/4 of the muffin cup)

Before topping off with another layer of batter
Combine all the dry streusel ingredients in small bowl. Drizzle with the warm, melted unsalted butter and toss with fork until evenly moistened and mixture forms large chunks with some pea-sized pieces throughout. Before baking, top the filled muffin cups with the streusel topping.

Streusel on Top
Bake about 20-25 minutes*, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake part comes out clean.
*If making standard sized muffins, bake for 17-20 minutes.*If making jumbo sized muffins, bake for 23-25 minutes.

Before the oven:

After the oven:

Try it yourself! Or you can come over to my place and I'll make you some! :P

a moment of grief

2011-06-27T17:41:00.000+08:00

"I Go"

Pete Teo

It was a week ago from last Thursday when I visited my friend Apes in Rawang to see his newborn child, Afif Dzarif bin Hafedz (born 11 April 2011). The boy was the splitting image of Apes and his wife Wanie (as they both look alike too) and his cute little nose was a dead giveaway that he is indeed, Apes’ son.

I remember that as I left the house in a rush (my family was on their way to my house in USJ that same night), I had almost forgotten to say my farewell to his father since he was sitting quietly tending to his business in the other part of the living room. I turned towards him, and said my thank you and goodbye.

I received a call from Apes last Thursday. He asked me if I could pick him up at the airport that night and drive him back to Rawang, there had been an emergency. I was puzzled as to why he came back to KL, alone and in a rush. Then he broke the bad news to me. I was in shock and could not process what I have heard. An unexpected tragedy has struck & his father is no longer with us.

I myself may have not known the man well, but I’ve heard many wonderful stories about him from Apes, and he has a beautiful family that I am honoured to call my friends. I believe with all my heart that arwah Uncle Zakaria has been a wonderful husband, a loving father and grandfather as well as a brilliant man to many others.

I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of grief and pain the family is experiencing. Albeit there being many moments of sorrow, I saw a lot of strength in the family.

Aunty Leila, Apes, Kak Yanie, Abg Ben, Eizat & Faris; do accept my deepest condolences and I share this grief and sorrow with you. There’s not much that I can do or say to help ease the pain that you are all going through but I pray that Allah S.W.T grants you with the strength and courage to bear this great loss. My thoughts are always with you all.

Allahyarham Kolonel (B) Zakaria Salleh arrived safely in Rawang and was buried last Friday after Isya’. May Allah S.W.T. bless his soul and bestow him the highest levels of Jannah. Ameen.

Al-Fatihah...

News report from Bernama

News report from Metro

A Quote from Bob Marley

2011-04-26T22:41:00.002+08:00

redemption

I feel like I needed some inspiration and I stumbled upon this beautiful quote by one of the best song writers of our time...

"Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more.

You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself.

Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful.

There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever.

Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face.

In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby.

Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you.

You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon.

You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you.

You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life."

Bob Marley

The Justin Bieber Experience

2011-04-24T20:09:00.007+08:00

Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Freddie Mercury

and Jim Morrison must be rolling in their graves.

Photo courtesy of Farhana

How it Began

So about a week after my April Fool's prank (refer previous entry), I tagged along with my friends Farhana and Marlina to Rumah Nur Salam, Chow Kit where we wanted to do some volunteer work for the centre. In brief, RNS is a shelter and activity centre for underprivileged kids within the KL area. (I tried looking for their webpage that used to be existent, but now it seems to be missing).

For more information, you can visit the centre at:

Rumah Nur Salam

No 24A-B, Jalan Chow Kit

Kuala Lumpur

Or call them at 03-4045 4031

At the centre, we met with a very chirpy fella named Jamil. He has been with RNS for a while now and told us that RNS need volunteers to help out with many programmes held by the centre; mostly to chaperone the kids when they go for outings. On weekdays, the centre would usually need full time volunteers to educate the children in various subjects such as IT, math, english, Quran classes etc. Since me, Farhana and Marlina were unable to assist during the weekdays, we asked if there was anything coming up soon for us to join in on.

He sat there on the sofa thinking for a while and his face brightened up;
"21hb ni ada concert Justin Bieber. Nak tolong handle budak2 pergi concert tu tak? Theres a lot who will be participating"

The girls were overjoyed by the opportunity (although the weren't really fans of the Biebz) and I was thinking to myself merde as visions of my April Fool's joke on Facebook ran through my head like a bad dream. The IRONY. At that moment I admit honestly, I was a little reluctant but I said yes anyway. Everytime I do these kind of volunteer work I remind myself that it's not about me, but it's for the KIDS.

Biarlah badan penat, or duit habis. But at the end of the day, it's always a rewarding experience when you are around these kids. I really wanted to meet the kids and put a bunch of smiles on their faces. (yes, yes i know some of you at this moment are saying that i'm a closeted belieber in denial and using this as an excuse pfft).

The Somali Centre

Prior to concert day, we were informed that we were assigned to chaperone kids from the Somali Centre along with a few other volunteers. Did you know that there is a Somali Centre in KL? I bet most if not all of you, don't. The centre is established to shelter refugees from Somalia. If you were not aware, the country has been at war for 20 years now (click here for the wiki article). The centre is located in an apartment in Gombak, and coordinated by Mr. Shofie.

I had no idea what to expect from this assignment, but I was keen to learn something new. Upon arrival at the centre we were greeted by Shofie, he invited us into their 'classroom' where the kids were having Arabic lessons. I learnt from our head volunteer that they are renting quite a number of units to home the refugees and some units were used as centres for the children to be schooled. Fyi, with their refugee statuses the adults were not allowed to work and the children were not allowed to be public schooled. International schools were never an option due to financial constraints.

My first impression was that the kids are tall. Some of the girls were taller than me! At first I thought that they were 16-17 year olds, but I soon found out that they were mostly under 12! There were curious faces everywhere when we arrived and I can see that they were excited. The first challenge was getting the kids to listen to us. Luckily for us, they behaved well and understood the instructions we gave them. They were funny too! Girls and their drama, boys and their toys...that day I saw that no matter what colour we are or what language we speak; we are all the same.

The Man Behind the Scenes

We had an opportunity to chat with Shofie (pronounced Shafie'e) on the bus. He is currently a masters student in UIA and plans to do his Ph.D in Human Resources. Shofie and his family are also refugees. He is a man with a vision of peace and development for his people. He mentioned that initially the centre only homed the Somalis but he felt that it was wrong for the children to sit around and do nothing as they were not allowed to be schooled. So he established the centre to provide an opportunity for the children to be educated.

I must say, the kids' English was pretty darn good compared to most of our people who had the opportunity to go to proper schools. Shofie believes that it is of the utmost importance that his people are able to communicate in the English language. As a child in Somalia he had to work to earn US$1 to be able to go to English classes (Classes are US$1/month). He only managed to save up US$1.50 and went to the class for a month and a half; and did well.

Shofie envisioned that one day he would like to open up a university in Somalia where the courses are focused on Agriculture and Marine. He told us that Somalia has fertile land to grow crops and sufficient water bodies to sustain marine life, and yet many of his people are dying of starvation. There was a time when the Somalis had to chop up mango trees and turn them into coal to make some money. He believes that education in this line is highly necessary along side the already existing education in science and technology.

Shofie is truly a passionate man who wants the best for his people and country. I can't imagine all the hardships he went through during his time in Somalia. Yet, he manages to achieve academically and run a centre for his people here. I wish Shofie all the best in his quest for a better Somalia. My prayers are indeed with him.

I wish I had a picture of him, but I think we'll definitely cross paths again. Maybe next time.

The Concert

With the girls from the Somali Centre

Photo courtesy of Farhana

When we reached Stadium Merdeka (an extremely crap choice for a concert imo) it was raining hats and clogs. Most people sitting on our section donned the red tshirt the sponsors gave us. There were a bunch of Afghan kids (yes, there is also an Afghan Centre in Ampang) sitting behind us and by jove, were they good looking! :P

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

The stadium slowly filled up with a bunch of screaming teenagers and weirdly enough, BOYS (who did not come with their girlfriends). The concert was opened by Mizz Nina who sounded pretty good live. Couldnt see much from where we were sitting though coz the screens weren't on when she was performing. Then came the countdown for the Biebz to reveal himself on stage and the girls were screaming. then there were more screaming, and more screaming... and some more screaming.

Those who paid a lot to see him up close

Some songs were ok, some were meh that i spent most of the time on my phone facebooking (or at least attempted to as there was no coverage at the stadium). the Biebz sounded nasal. seriously...it was either that or the sound system was utter crap. i also felt that there could be more interaction between him and the audience rather than showing video snippets of his "world". Communicate boy! But then again I wouldn't know how things should go, this is after all my first POP concert.

The kids were having fun though. They were singing and dancing to the Biebz non-stop. They were so happy. But sadly, we had to take them out at 10pm. I guess to avoid the hustle bustle of crowd getting out of the stadium when the concert ended. If i'm not mistaken, Good Charlotte came out and performed when we were on our way out. I cant be too sure though. When we reached out and getting the kids in line, the Biebz hit song Baby came on. Some of the girls in our group wept because she couldn't see him perform the song. I felt really bad.

And guess what people, I'm gonna put my pride and dignity aside and tell you this...I SANG ALONG and made them sing along with me!! *falls into a black hole for eternity* BUT the kids were smiling again and enjoyed the song outside the stadium; singing and dancing to it. It was worth it. :)

And we made our way to the bus...

Goodbyes

When we arrived Gombak, we said our goodbyes to the Somalis. The kids told us how happy they were and never thought that they'd ever have this kind of opportunity. They just can't believe that they just saw Justin Bieber in person on stage. Shofie thanked us and told us that this is the first time they've been out doing something fun in a long while as they are not sponsored by any agencies.

And the day was over.

Despite having had to sit through a Justin Bieber concert, 21st April 2011 has been an awesome day for me. It wasn't about the concert at all. But it was about opening up our eyes, mind and soul to a whole different world you never thought existed, or simply choose to ignore. This has been experience I'll never forget.

Thanks Marlina and Farhana

for going on this adventure with me.

Never Say Never...No, seriously

2011-04-24T17:26:00.000+08:00

On 1st April 2011, I did the unthinkable...

Observe

Image courtesy of I haz Power Point skillz!

Little did I know that this would be a nightmare that will haunt me in the near future...please proceed to next entry for more dirt!

Play on Words

2011-02-24T19:59:00.005+08:00

pada pa pa paaa!

i'm NOT lovin' it!!!

and the story goes like this...

i asked my brother to take me to one of the country's low fare air terminal and since we got here early he asked if we could eat at this fast food joint located within the terminal. since i'm hungry myself i said yeah sure why not. and feeling a bit generous (despite being a bit broke) i wanted to buy him dinner.

here's the sucky part. i'm a bit drained today due to my current state of that-time-of-the-month. i also had to travel to pahang and back since early this morning and upon arriving my apartment, i finished up my packing and my brother came not long after to take me to the airport.

fast forwarding to the situation at the fast food joint...

observe the text in the above image. here's what it says...

MAKE IT A MEAL

Just add french fries and soft drink to these ala carte choices

5.55 (M) 6.75 (L)

in the absolute semak-samun-ness of this fast food joint, plus my gelabah-ness when rushing to give my orders coz there were people everywhere around me i felt so claustrophobic and my brother talking while i order my head computed the following:

RM6.75 = LARGE Value Meal = CHEAP $$$ding!ding!ding$$$

so, dengan murah hatinya i said, "ijam, go ahead and order the large meal (you best brother in the world you)"

Total amount for 2 value meals = RM30.

apparently they add up the ala carte price with the MEAL ADD-ON of RM6.75.

i only realised this when i saw the smaller add-on ad by the cashier which said:

MAKE IT A MEAL

Just add french fries and soft drink to these ala carte choices

FOR (i repeat, bleeding bleeping FOR)

5.55 (M) 6.75 (L)

now, doesnt ONE bleeding three lettered word make a MAJOR bleeding difference?

i paid. malas nak pikir. biarlah adik aku yg kelaparan makan dgn kenyangnya. but now i'm a bit broke-er lah ahaha. i cant wait for monday. :D

i bet that stupid mafia clown with the red hair who owns the restaurant said: YOU GOT SERVED!! (coz that's what my brother said -____-")

jinkies!

2010-12-12T03:32:00.003+08:00

scooby dooby doo, where are you?

it is absolutely without a doubt that i am a geek. i came to realise this back in my uni days when a friend of mine would often shout out GEEK in my face whenever i ramble on about the latest gadgets in store, obsess about star wars or describe how deep a song by the mars volta is.

i guess back in the 90s one would feel insulted by this. the geek stereotype is often portrayed as the steve urkel kinda guy, the comic book guy in the simpsons or velma from scooby doo. but personally i took it as a compliment. it meant that despite my non-dean's list GPA, i was actually somewhat smarter than the average chick in the bleeding uni (most chicks in my uni were geniuses).

we can blame my geekiness on my dad i guess. he is a gadget man. ever since i was a kid, i was spoilt with video games. there was the cartridge video game console where i'd play donkey kong, super mario, galaga, pacman, digdug and tetris. since then, my video game consoles have evolved to the sega saturn, playstation, PS2 and so on.

back in uni i was the chick who always had a novel (bukan novel melayu lelehleleh air liur meleleh ye), the ipod, a nintendo DS and a PSP and in my bag so i could play command and conquer and star wars: force unleashed (i couldnt finish this game coz i felt bad about letting vader kill wookies) way before they were cheap toys for everyone great and small. so far, i think i'm the only chick among my friends who has a PS3 and played MGS4 and know what the function of a HDMI and an optical cable is. self appraisal aside, notice that geek is the new chic?

kids these days all want to wear buttoned up plaid shirts, coke bottle frame glasses, casio watches with calculators, have scruffy hair and make music out of their vintage gameboys. it IS cool to be a gadget freak and a computer genius these days. mark zuckerberg may look as unstylish as our local uni kids walking around in his ASADI sandals but dude, he's the youngest self-made billionaire there is. face it guys who used to bully and make fun of geeks, WE OWN YOU.

photo credit here

click photo for larger image

according to the flowchart above, i would say i am in the following geek evolution categories:

Internet Geek: 1337 FTW. i can understand minor coding but i'm not that hardcore in this department.
Academic Geek: although i'm not an academician, but i find research papers and conducting research itself as somewhat rewarding.
Book Geek: i'm not a harry potter, narnia or a twilight fangirl (i absolutely DETEST twilight) but i read. ALOT. i love books. when i own my own house one day, i shall like to have my own mini library in the house.
Tech Geek: read paragraph 4.
Music Geek: i bow down to my friend Joey in this category but we do share the a common interest in music people have never heard of before like icelandic bands.
Video Game Geek: tot hardcore, but has played enough to qualify.
Star Wars Geek: do i need to elaborate on this?
Theatre Geek: theatre gooooood. the efforts on performing perfectly LIVE amazes me. beats going to the movies anytime.
Glee Geek: liking glee makes you a geek?? I just enjoy the song remakes and the oh so many eye candy in the series. i.e.; Finn Hudson and Jesse St. James. ^_^
Camera Geek: this one i'd like to add into the list. it is cool to have a dslr around your neck these days (which has somehow reached the point of pretentious douchebaggery). i dont do it for "cool" like most children these days. cameras have evolved so much throughout the years and it's a splendid way for me to capture moments as i love walkabouts. plus, i'm a sketcher. i used to draw people a lot and now i enjoy capturing people through the lens. i not only have a dslr, but i am also going back to basics and exploring analogue cameras.

So, what kind of geek are you?

the nega ninja housemate

2010-11-21T01:08:00.005+08:00

negascott
death to all hipsters

tonight i'm going to bitch.

it's going to be a long one because Dilod told me to describe in detail hahah!

a month plus ago i relocated to usj from damansara due to my new job. damansara is awesome (because i lived 5mins from the curve and one utama and it's closer to KL) but it's just too far away from usj. finding new a place wasnt easy, most rooms were either pricey and the cheaper ones were located quite a distance from the new office. eventually i found a nice, clean, pleasant looking apartment very close to the new office.

the perks of the apartment include sufficient parking space (and free too because i'm the only person in the house with a car), i get my own toilet with shower, rent is cheap, it has it has a nice peaceful surrounding environment, there's a guy who sells yummy samosas and guavas nearby, it's walking distance to the office and is located close to the elite expressway which makes it easier for me to drive or fly back to jb (no need to worry about avoiding rush hours anymore).

my friend suggested the place to me but when we went to ask if there were rooms for rent at the guard house they told us there weren't any. a week later i tried my luck in asking the guard again and they gave me my soon-to-be housemate's number.

i sometimes have this bad habit of stereotyping people. when i met the housemate and learnt a little bit more about her, a rush of stereotypes swarmed my thoughts and views on her. but since i liked the room and knowing that i might be spending a few years in the same house as her, i decided to be positive. boy was i wrong to hope for stars and glitters.

i dont know if i have the "housemate concept" wrong or something, but with my previous one we kept to our own business. we do enjoy the occasional chat while watching tv or having dinner, but i wouldn't say we were obliged to do things for each other and respected each other's personal space. there were no strings attached. and she was very neat and clean too.

but the new housemate, even before i moved in, has texted me and asked me if i could take her to the supermarket on the day i move in (she does not have transport btw). my stereotype of her was already proving itself to be spot on. and that was only the beginning of worse things to come.

TEIL EINS

the first two weeks i moved in i got a text from her asking me for favours to drive her here and there. and if not to drive her around she would ask me to buy her stuff whenever i go out (which she still does occasionally). most of the time she doesn't ask, but she tells me to take her places. which just pisses me off.

"iman, take me to the phone centre i need to pay my bills" (first day at the apartment. and yes, she did not say please - in the BM context that is)

"iman you have to bring me to the bank because i want to bank in rent money. pick me up from my workplace" (wtf moment because like her, i walk to work and back, what gives her the authority to tell me to walk home, pick up my car and pick her up from the office? lain lah kalau mak aku.)

"iman r u going out? i need to pickup my laptop, lets go to taipan" (another wtf moment)

"iman what time are you coming back? can you buy me food for dinner?" (whoops i'm coming back after midnight)

"iman i saw u go out, can u buy me bread?" (this was the ninja moment coz i swear the house was empty when i went out. i have no idea how/where/when she saw me)

i know i sound a little selfish for not wanting to do these deeds, but she just met me for 2 days and suddenly i'm her best friend? call me busuk hati, kerang busuk, jantung pisang, panda tak mandi, etc. but i think i have a right to say NO. for my friends, i'll do anything. but for her, i try to find a million excuses to let her down gently (because i have to live with her). but sometimes she really tests my patience.

at one point we were having a conversation about how her brother wants to buy a satria neo (while i reluctantly drove her to the bank because i want my money back) and i said "oh, like the gen2 the neo consumes fuel on a vampiric level. hence why i don't like to drive around in my car much unless necessary". she stopped asking me to drive her around since then. BUT developed the sly art of asking me to buy stuff for her whenever i go out. a nega ninja she is. :O

TEIL ZWEI

she's kiasu. takpe, i don't mind buying stuff for the house. i bought a washing machine, my cousin izzy gave me a fridge, i changed the doorknob, changed the broken light, planning to find a small dining table, a 3 seater sofa and metal racks for the kitchen. one has to build their life slowly. and my family likes to feel comfy when they come to visit.

but can't you spend rm10 for a nice floor mat in the kitchen? i really don't like stepping on that old raggedy towel and kain batik on the floor. rumah arwah atok & nenek aku kat klang yang rumah papan dan bertikar getah tu pun tak guna kain batik buat alas lantai. diorg beli je alas lantai ropol2 kat pekan. le sigh~

TEIL DREI

she is dirty. there's a distinct difference between being messy and being dirty. i can be messy. but not to the point where i make the whole house smell. the day i went to look at the house she told me that she's been busy at work lately hence why it has not been cleaned prior to my visiting it. i completely understand. sometimes we working people have our moments when there is just no time to clean the house. but since moving in, i have not seen any improvements.

the kitchen is still filthy. it is so filthy that i cant stand to be in there. i confine myself to my room. she promised to clean the laundry area but she didn't. the living room is ugly due to clutter and her occasional hanging clothes to dry on the window grills. seriously, we're not in uni any more. we live in a house, not a hostel. can we not make the house look like immigrants live in it? and since i moved in there is a date seed on the sink and it is still there. and a bowl of USED cooking oil next to the abandoned stove. hell no, i ain't touching it.

the architecture of the house itself is pretty daft. there's no proper ventilation in the kitchen area (the kitchen has no window gasp!) and the only place air gets out is in the laundry area. she has a habit of rendam-ing her laundry for days and when she hangs it to dry it stinks like sotong kering and spreads through the whole house. the problem subsided a little since i gave her the green light to use my washing machine. she also likes to rendam her dishes in the sink for a while before washing it. come on la...you use one cawan and one sudu you cannot wash it immediately ah? must rendam for 2 days in the sink before you wash ah?

since moving away from JB i discovered that i enjoy cooking. but at this house i don't really feel like it because of the kitchen condition. in order to make the kitchen fit for cooking, i must strip the kitchen bare, get rid of all the rotten wooden racks and replace them with metal ones and scrub the tiles with dettol that kills 99.9% bacteria with floral scent.

i just bought a metal stove rack thingy today, and i found another roach lurking about while putting the stove rack thingy together. hence my bitching on my blog here today. because i hate roaches. and she told me that she's going back to her kampung until early december and i saw her mangkuk in the sink. so um, does she expect the lipas to lick it clean?

TEIL VIER

the other housemate. such a mystery...never says hi when she sees me, confines herself in her room while listening to rock kapak, i dont even know what she looks like but she exists. she's moving out end of the month though and nega ninja found a new person to move in. i hope the new person is normal. i dont think i can stand another nega ninja.

tale of the brader lori

2010-10-04T17:32:00.004+08:00

wish we had one of these in the country

ihayat tune: Y.M.C.A

i finally moved 80% of my stuff to the new place in USJ. i found a nice apartment USJ22 which is very close to the office that i can literally just walk to it. but the place comes with a little baggage. the housemate. a little different than what i would normally go for and i do have slight concerns whether we can get along or not, but i guess it's too soon to say. (in case you were thinking male, lesbian, monkey or robot...you thought wrong.) maybe it could be a good thing. who knows ~ sounds like an "adventure".

the house is empty albeit having 2 people living in it (i've yet to meet the other housemate) so i went on a hunt to buy a used washing machine. i found a place in Puchong that sells them and they also deliver, so i decided to use the opportunity to transport my heavy stuff from Damansara as well. the thing is, the uncle said he only charges 30rm for the lorry and if i needed the truck to transport my stuff i can give the movers "duit kopi". sounds unrealistically awesome, but the naive me bought this anyway.

on Saturday, the lorry arrived FOUR HOURS late. they took my stuff downstairs, wrapped it up in that plastic thing people use to wrap luggage with at the airport and transported the stuff to USJ. the whole ordeal started off fishy as i noticed the deco on the truck screams (dry) food delivery truck rather than a delivery delivery truck. the movers was a man and two kids. my neighborhood friendly friend Fabor who happened to be with me that day to help me out interviewed the kids and we learnt that one was still studying in form 2 and the other was in form 4. they did the picking up, wrapping, loading and unloading. the brader lori did nothing.

after they delivered my stuff, i wanted to give them rm150 worth of "duit kopi". that's not so bad no? i didn't make them carry too many stuff...to be honest, i could've done it all with the help of a friend within half an hour but i didnt have a truck. then i was caught by surprise because brader lori said that he charges rm250 for the service.

bladihell man! the only stuff they transported was a small washing machine, my bedframe, a mattress, a small microwave and 2 small boxes. lain ceritalah if i made them carry all that plus a jati sofa set, an oak 4 door wardrobe, a grand piano with marylin manson lying on top of it, an iron bathtub and a baby hippo kan? AND i still had to pay the uncle's rm30!

cute baby hippo which i'd like to name Phil.

so after negotiating, we settled the deal at 200rm. which i still think is too much for a sleazy bum like brader lori. dah la guna child labour, then brader lori has the liver to say "mintak simpati la kt budak2 ni..." ME? why don't YOU be a real MAN and pick up the stuff yourself instead of forcing KIDS to do it. what a DB.

sigh...the joys of life's learning process ~ -___-"

speaking of which, the apartment at Damansara has everything so putting the appliances in place wasn't an issue. but now, i'm moving into an empty house and i can't figure out how to attach the washing machine tube onto the faucet. it has a screwy top and the faucet doesn't. @_@ i feel like jessica simpson. eek.

alice's adventure in zombieland

2010-09-24T21:02:00.013+08:00

alice's classic outfit

ihayat tune: a perfect circle - the outsiders

i'm not really a resident evil fan. most zombie based movies and video games are pretty much the same, be it of the horror, comedy, apocalyptic, etc. genre; not much difference in terms of plot. but i am a Milla Jovovich fan ever since i watched the 5th element way back when i was a kid (that was also when i fell in love with bruce willis...as much as i love rosyam nor LOL).

ah the good old days ~

i simply thought that she was awesomest bad ass female actress ever. she just doesnt flinch when she kicks ass. :P so i paid 7rm's at GSC Tropicana City Mall to see Resident Evil: Afterlife for 2 reasons;

1. Milla Jovovich blasting zombie brains

2. A Perfect Circle's song was used in the trailer. it's one of my fave song by them.

i cant be bothered to see it in 3D

despite the bad critics ive been seeing people give this movie, i was sure it wont be as bad as the time i watched black sheep. also that french movie me and my friend sid walked out of. oh and also when i watched SKRIP TUJUH TUJUH JADAH JADAH with ejad si penakut hantu tapi cerita tu tak takut langsung sebab pengarah dia razak mohideen (i still cant believe i PAID to see a RM movie D8). BUT i must admit, resident evil movies have extremely predictable plots.

as usual it begins with alice doing something badass. and here's the rest of plot (plot may apply to the 5th movie):

she flaunts her new outfit and hair.
something in relation with the previous movie happens before or after she encounters umbrella.
she fights an enemy from umbrella but with badass kickass scenes.
something that changes the theme of the story happens.
she and the enemy escapes in a big explosion. (she and enemy survives but goes separate ways)
she somehow finds survivors who are surrounded by zombies but are 'strategically safe'.
everyone makes her a leader
they embark on their journey for whatever
lots and lots of zombies attack. she kills the most number of zombies.
60% of the survivors die or turn into zombies and get into heart warming self sacrifice scenes
probably one survivor is a traitor/ impostor
one big somewhat intelligent zombie appears. they kill it but with more effort compared to conventional zombies.
they encounter umbrella again
more cool fight scenes. more zombies and zombie pets.
with help of what's left of her friends, she wins the battle against the enemy.
movie ends with the enemy not quite dead...cliffhanger for next movie.

i cant help but think to myself as i watch this movie several things such as:

where/how does she get fuel to fly around the world?
where does she get make-up and time to do smoky eyes?
where did she get all those catsuits for her clones? did she clone the catsuits as well?
where do the survivors find food that doesn't expire?
does she sneak into an abandoned salon to give herself a new 'do for every new movie?
if in this movie she's human again, how come she's still somewhat as strong as the time she wasn't? she only looked weak when she initially got the antivirus and got beat up by Albert Wesker. but then she survived a horrible plane crash (she didn't limp!!) and didnt break any bones when the xerxes-like zombie threw her to the wall. oh and her hand was perfectly fine after it got stabbed.
there was a scene where alice was trying to get to the shower room and the zombies don't seem to attack. but they just stood there surrounding her while getting their brains blasted instead of doing fast zombie attacks on alice. she was quite open and vulnerable.
Albert's character is very much like a zombified Agent Smith from the Matrix Trilogy. but with a very cheesy outfit.
i do not get why Albert had to throw his shades at the Redfields. sivaji the boss ripoff much.

yeeeeaahh...i can see why there was a lot of bad criticism towards this movie. it wasnt a good movie. but it wasnt terrible. somewhat entertaining with the boris kodjoe eye candy in it. :P

boris ftw!

this movie gets 6/10!

eid ul-fitr 1431h

2010-09-14T00:03:00.010+08:00

jalan hassan, kg. sg. udang, klang

ihayat tune: dendang perantau, tan sri p. ramlee

hulloo...i'd like to take this opportunity to wish all my friends a happy eid mubarak. same ol same ol this eid, i'd wait in the kitchen for my mum's awesome rendang (i tried to help but my dad halau-ed me coz he thinks i dont slice onions like a "pro") to be eaten with ketupat, lemang, sayur lode, kuah kacang and the sorts. kueh raya not so...a bit bored with the lack of innovation i guess. benda sama je every year tapi makin lama makin rasa macam manufactured. but i have to admit that i have a weakness for pineapple tarts tho. lol.

raya to me also means having the chance to travel with my family. penat but fun. this year we visited my mum's kampung in segamat and klang. sometimes we also visit my dad's hometown in penang. we love it there coz the food is awesome but the bad traffic not so. so we tend to visit penang during non-festive seasons.

back in klang i went out to look for chickens to lomo-fy but i only heard their cockadoodledoos. i finally found some but they were so far away and i did not want to redah the semak samun so i caught them on digital with the zoom lens. yes, my raya in kampung was spent looking for (live) chicken and photographing (stuffed) panda's.

i have until friday to lepak in JB so i'm a visit some school friend tomorrow. no more chickens i guess...but we'll see what my fifth and sixth eye and the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th eye can capture.

kita nk gi raya rumah siapa yang?

jom raya rumah datuk siti!

Anson Wong the Lizard King

2010-09-06T22:53:00.015+08:00

a retro Silurian from doctor who

(who looks a lot more handsome than Anson Wong)

ihayat tune: earth intruders [bjork]

when you see the title of this post, you'd probably imagine some kind of a folklore told for thousands of years about some guy who married a lizard princess and inherited some sparkly slimy lizard kingdom. or the title may refer to some sci-fi underground lizard species with a king called Anson Wong. but nay, there were no Silurians named Anson Wong in the history of Doctor Who episodes.

The man dubbed as the Lizard King earned this title because he is a notorious wildlife smuggler who has a knack for smuggling reptiles. true story. there's even a book written about him! (what next? a movie perhaps?) and the most inconvenient part of this true story is that he is Malaysian. and what's worse is that he has license to trade wildlife approved by our authorities despite all of his antics. he even owns two companies that supplies wildlife; CBS Wildlife and Sungai Rusa Wildlife which has a link to US Global Exotics (USGE). (Click here for information on USGE)

his evils go as far as trafficking highly endangered species on an international level where this animal smuggling ring sold over 300 protected reptiles. (Click here to discover how evil he is) he was eventually arrested in Mexico City in 1998. Three years later in 2001, Wong was sentenced to 71 months imprisonment. This man...no, monster pleaded guilty to "40 counts of smuggling, conspiracy, money laundering and violations of US wildlife protection laws. it was dubbed one of the largest cases if illegal trade ever prosecuted in the US" (click for source here).

if you had been paying attention to the media lately, you'd have noticed that Anson Wong was recently arrested for a case of snakes on a plane. he was carrying a bag filled with 95 boa constrictors, 2 rhinoceros vipers and a matamata turtle in an attempt to smuggle them illegally to Indonesia. His cover blew when his bag broke open at KLIA. (hang on, how can anybody not detect the snakes in the bag in the first place?? o___O)

for that, he has been sentenced to be jailed for SIX MONTHS (not years, MONTHS) and fined a sum of RM2000 per animal which sums up to about RM190k. FYI, the maximum fine goes up to RM100k per animal and a jail time of up to 7 years. so why not a fine of RM100k per animal and 7 years jail time? i doubt his current sentence will stop him from trading as his license was not revoked and i'm pretty sure RM190k is a small sum from what he makes in illegal wildlife trafficking.

my ranting here is for information. it is what we can do to ensure that evil villains like Anson Wongs be put to a stop. for those who care, here's what you can do to be heard...

Please help to protect Malaysian wildlife by sending the message below to the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Malaysia and all the other people listed below.

click here for larger image

and attach into your email

Minister of Natural Resources & Environment
uggah@nre.gov.my

Personal Assistant
ravi@nre.gov.my

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources & Environment
joseph@nre.gov.my

Personal Assistant
mohdramesh@nre.gov.my

Secretary General of the Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment
zoalazha@nre.gov.my

Head of Law & Enforcement Division, Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment
zurinah@nre.gov.my

Head of Corporate Communications Division, Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment
yamuna@nre.gov.my

Director General of Wildlife Department
rashid@wildlife.gov.my

Head of Enforcement, Wildlife Department
siti@wildlife.gov.my

MACC

Chief Commisioner and his 3 Deputies
a1@sprm.gov.my
a2@sprm.gov.my
a3@sprm.gov.my
a4@sprm.gov.my

focal point

2010-08-18T20:49:00.006+08:00

huru-hara

ihayat tune: make yourself, incubus

Shot with the Holga 120N
on
FujiChrome Provia 100f (x-pro)

2 days ago i did the unthinkable. i suprised myself that i did it. it took a lot of guts what i did. but i knew it was what i want, and not what others want from me. it's going to be a tough ride the next year plus. but i'm willing to strive until i succeed.

my vision of the future is still a blur, but this is where the next year or two will focus the blurs into a clearer image. if there's one regret, i regret not doing it sooner.

wish me luck.

goodbye KL. you've been brutally good to me. :)

eventful

2010-08-09T20:49:00.014+08:00

all the pretty colours

ihayat tune: original sin, elton john

i thought about reading a book tonight but it hit me that it's been a while since i last blogged. the past fortnight or so has been mad! i've been running around here and there snapping, clapping, laughing, and shed tears all the same. june & july had been quiet for me and i got kinda bored and lonely. so i looked out for events to attend and people to meet. i'll put it all into chronological order...and this is going to be a long rant.

18 July 2010

i received an invite from my friend raja, who is a tenor in the national choir, to see their Konsert Dir...Suara 1Malaysia at KL Live Centre, which is a tribute to the legend Sudirman. I myself think the sudirman is super creative and i love seeing the national choir's shows so i thought i'd drop by to support their show and snap pictures (as usual with their other shows).

nice stage!

the guys & gals have improved tremendously vocally as well as improved their showmanship (i noticed a certain someone can dance without looking so stiff anymore :P). my favourite performance had to be Toyol coz there was a little green kid in a diaper running around chasing the choir. lol. good show as always guys! :)

toyolllL!!!

did i meet any new people? yes i did. the nice people sitting next to me asked me to take their pictures and pass the photos to them online. so i did, and we became facebook friends. i hope to see them again at the next show.

23 July 2010

i invited my friend hanis to a book reading event at Silverfish Books in Bangsar. it was in conjunction with the release of the book 28 Hari: Jurnal Rock n' Roll by Mohd Jayzuan. the name of the shop itself caught my eye, so classic...so bookstore-ish. it took us a while to find the store, but when we got there we were greeted by a smiling face. i thought 'hey the bookstore salesperson's pretty nice smiling at us happily and all' but it turned out that the girl was hanis' junior back in uitm. her name was eja. it was the first time we crossed paths with her but it wasnt the last. :)

eja & hanis

this event was my first time being exposed to local youth in the literature art scene. this is something new to me as i rarely find our local youth who are into lit. i often find myself meeting people in the music scene; loud, bold and confident. but this was different...some of the readers come off as shy and content, but their minds are flooded with ideas, views and opinions on the world. much like how a photographer hidden behind his camera tells a thousand words from his picture. these people, you dont see them until they start expressing their deepest thoughts through a thousand words.

black and white expressions

on silverfish books, a small cosy bookstore that sells a range of pretty good books. you can find many local literature there as well as international. i found my star wars: a new hope screenplay there. :P

later that day, i got to meet up with my partner-in-crime during matriculation that night. AMIT! he took me by suprise when he IM-ed me and told me that he's in town and would like to hang out. it's been 5 years since we parted and hot damn was it good to have that mini reunion of ours!

part of the gang

30 July 2010

roar!

i received a message from WWF regarding a TX2 Freeze Tiger Trade Flash Mob. there were rehearsals and gatherings prior to the actual flash mob and the word Flash Mob itself excites me knowing that we will be doing something intriguing in public that will capture their attention.

i managed to come to one rehearsal prior to the event and found out what the whole thing is about. On Friday, 30th July 2010, a group of volunteers gathered at Pavilion and they froze in a position that represents the pain that the Malayan Tigers felt when they were killed and tortured in the hands of evil poachers.

freeze!

it was a complete success and the 4 frozen minutes gave me goosebumps (altho i was running around like mad snapping photos). the public were curious, they wanted to know what was happening. some joined in and froze. even kids!

dunno if u can see but theres a little kid who joined them

once the freeze was over, the volunteers started spreading the word to the public; double the number of malayan tigers or nothing! (fyi, we are at a point where there are less than 500 malayan tigers roaming our land. something must be done to preserve our heritage; our symbol of strength and bravery)

double or nothing!

then came the good part..music started playing, and the group of volunteers gathered and started a dance routine! with an encore and the public joining in! super credits to the people at WWF Malaysia for bringing about this grand idea. what a great way to bring up the public's awareness towards the issue at hand. bravo!

dance!

1st August 2010

as some of you may already be aware of, i took up lomography a few months ago. it's basically analogue photography where there is one simple rule; there is NO RULE. thanks to ROFLCam, i bought my first toy camera, the Holga 120N. to which i adore more than any digital camera i've played with.

the beauty of this art is that you just dont know what u've captured until u pick up your developed and scanned/printed pictures at the photo shop. the photos will almost always look great and NO PHOTOSHOPPING is done to the photos. it never fails to excite me. even the photo uncle knows how excited i get when i pick up my pics. (altho he doesnt seem to want to layan my perkiness most of the time...haha)

fave shot of the day

i went on my first lomowalk organised by ROFLCam and myLomo+ in the old school areas of KL namely, Petaling Street, Central Market, the KTM station and such. Perfect no? i met a lot of really nice people who were willing to share their experiences and friendship and it's probably the one time i genuinely felt happy in a long while.

my new found friends

photo credits to Aiman Vintagers

5th August 2010

my fascination towards indian food has also lead me to have interest in the music and culture. (i think my somewhat mamak background might have a role in this as well) i would skip class during my uni days with Aim and hang out at Kesavan's to munch on rava thosais. (kesavan has the awesomest rava thosai, puri and banana leaf rice in tmn univeristi). while eating i would often appreciate the artwork hung at the restaurant and sometimes the mellow music being played in the atmosphere.

crispian mills opening the show with sound of drums

one british band that ive been into since my high school days is called kula shaker. this band incorporates indian influences into their songs, be it the sound of traditional instruments or the use of sanskrit in their lyrics. they came to kuala lumpur (or should i say kula lumpur? lol) and i would not miss this concert for choclate ice cream! i went with my old roomate; mas and my seniors kontot and fet. i had an awesome time. they played a lot of their old stuff, and we sang along~ i managed to steal a poster off the wall. the band was just so effing awesome!!!

govinda

7th August 2010

the wall

another lomography event. the guys from the group lomokidS gathered a bunch of lomography enthusiasts to decorate the walls of the soon to be demolished Pudu Prison with their lomography artwork. the wall looked fantastic and it sure as hell caught people's attention! why we did it? to introduce the art of lomography to people as well as to unite lomographers; be they the old school rockers or the newbies like me. :)

my share of pics on the wall

at night i attended maskara shorties at Rumah PENA with hanis, eja and her boyfriend azam. it is a screening of 30 short movies by local talents organised by Sindiket Sol-jah. anyhoo, the event started at around 8pm and ended at 1am. i only managed to stay until midnight as Hanis had a workshop in the morning and i was just damn exhausted that day. i ended up sleeping over at ili's place in shah alam after sending hanis back and i slept summore at ili's place on sunday. hahaha. but the event was pretty awesome nonetheless. :D i also got myself a 2nd hand book by christopher moore called lamb!

me hanis & eja..maskara shorties?

photo credits to azam

9th August 2010

work. what else? told you this was going to be a long post. :P fin.

23 3/4 things you may or may not know about me

2010-07-26T21:32:00.014+08:00

read me

taken at silverfish books with a canon eos 50d

ihayat tune: rebellion (lies) arcade fire

i read ikabika's boyfriend's (pessa) post the other day and i tot i'd put in a similar post for fun. to celebrate my last quarter of my 23rd year (do the math, a lomography fisheye camera is on the wishlist).

1. i love food (you probably can guess by my plumpy exterior) but specifically, MALAYSIAN FOOD. nothing beats a good nasi campur with sambal tumis with kerabu mangga and and a dash of tempoyak or cincalok on the side. i also like indonesian food. anything spicy la! oh drools!

2. i somewhat think i am a hippy trapped in reality.

3. if i could have any animal for a pet it would be a panda, a (small) dragon, a hedgehog, a (fat fluffy) cat, a bat that i can feed blood through a syringe (oh that would be awesome!), an orangutan, an elephant (they're so loyal), a scottish terrier, a penyu or a sister i can annoy. oh wait i have a sister that i do annoy.

4. i have always been a person who carries a camera with me. because my dad did. ive played with cameras ever since the days where u have to wind the films urself (kodak) to when the camera evolved with an electronic exposure counter and an auto film winder (pentax) to when 3.2mpx digital cameras (kodak) first came out. My first DSLR was a Nikon D60 and then my sister was kind enough to let me play with her D90. currently i play with a Canon EOS 50d, an Oktomat and a Holga 120N. I would love to own a fisheye, a digital ixus, a juice box camera, a lomo lc-a and a tlr. but no money ~ :(

is it a bird? is it a plane?

no! it's a juicebox camera!

SO CUTE!

5. coffee makes me hyper, talkative and restless. shissha makes me numb...well the first few times anyways. my fave coffee blend is starbucks' tanzania blend. it is AWESOME.

6. i have a weird fascination towards the indian culture. the food, music, tradition and the colours. goodness gracious me anyone?

7. i've only fallen once but the feeling never had a chance to be shared. the feeling is gone but i've yet to fall in it again.

8. i grew up a girly girl with barbies and all, and then in high school i was a complete tomboy and now i'm a not so girly or a tomboy girl. so what does that make me? @.@

9. as much as i like my car for taking me places, i also hate herb for making a big hole in my pocket. (his mother was a petrol vampire)

10. i like to read...anything. shampoo bottles, back of cereal boxes, detergent instructions, books, magazines, labels on cosmetics, etc. among my first novels were enid blyton, roald dahl and jacqueline wilson.

my recent litbuy: star wars - a new hope

screenplay by george lucas

11. i may come off as unfriendly or obnoxious when people first meet me, but really i am a superbly shy person. my DISC PPA says i'm a Low I(nfluence) and a High C(ompliance) person. which means i'm not so sociable, but i will be once i warm up to the person/people.

12. ever since i was a kid, i feared growing up. and i was right to. but i try anyway.

13. the people i meet at art events have a hard time believing that i am an engineer. in fact i have a hard time believing it. among ambitions i had when i was in school was lawyer, photo journalist, archaeologist, anthropologist, marine biologist, primatologist, astronomer, cafe/bookshop owner and a fashion designer. engineer was never an ambition. it is a reality.

14. i find joy in helping anyone or anything.

15. i can draw. pretty well. other hidden talents? i used to be good at sports...until i landed in HOT & SUNNY malaysia.

16. i used to be the laziest person when it comes to cooking, but ever since i moved to damansara, i come to realise that the food here is plastic. i now enjoy eating my own cooking which i try very hard to make it taste like my mum's cooking. (because i miss it)

17. i hide my somewhat british accent because people here dont understand me. i'd probably get a slap in the face if i say "wa'er" instead of water or "mundee" instead of monday. lol.

18. my cheesiness has lead me to enjoy the spice girls, robbie williams, and dangdut.

19. i find myself talking a whole lot more when i meet up with people these days because i have no one to talk to at home.

20. i am a geek. i like electronic gadgets (when my dad can afford to buy it for me) and i think star wars is the best sci-fi series ever made. (ewoks FTW!) the second best sci-fi series ever made is doctor who. and david tennant is a scottish stud! *___*

tennant as the doctor and catherine tate as his companion.

tate is also another fave brit of mine.

21. out of all the chores, i especially hate ironing.

22. i enjoy being in front of a crowd and giving a speech/presentation/mc-ing. i miss public speaking.

23. i think everyone has some good in them. mentally and physically. you just have to look deep enough. but funnily i cant really see it in myself.

3/4. my sister is a smelly panda with funny dinosaur teeth...pandasaur!

pandasaur born and bred in johor.

photographed in front of the johor crest @ bukit timbalan.

little miss

2010-07-17T02:18:00.004+08:00

shanghai zoo on fuji pro 100s taken with a holga 120n

the strokes: heart in a cage

i miss my mom

i miss my college days

i miss not being financially independent

i miss believing people cared about me

i miss the days i didnt give a shit

i miss home

i miss the delusional thought that i can have him

i miss my old bedroom

i miss having arguments with my dad

i miss not having tears well up in my eyes everyday

i miss believing dreams and goals can come true

i miss drowning in songs

i miss the old me

the new me is broken...

in so many ways

black & blue

2010-06-29T22:10:00.003+08:00

everyone takes a ride on the same train.

but they all have different stops.

ihayat tune: maps [yeah yeah yeahs]

it's not easy hearing my mother, who in my lifetime i've only seen cry or show sad emotions two or three times tops; tell me that she cried at the dinner table last night. this is not an easy time for the family. the past month has been difficult for me, but it is much much difficult for them. the brat has very little option on his life's choices but is delusional thinking that he has choice. and whatever choice he makes will affect my next move.

I've been through hardships myself throughout the month and tried to pull myself together. i don't want to complain as much as i did before but recent incidences have driven me up the wall. i did finally break one day, when i finally spoke to my mother last week after days of no proper human communication. i don't think this loneliness is healthy. i used to have so many friends to rely on during hard times but now everyone is happily moving on and busy with their new lives that i dont want to bother them and be a drag.

things at home is a mess right now and i feel so useless not being able to be by my mother's side when she's down. and again, this rarely happens to her. so when she's down, she really really really is. my dad is trying to solve the problems the best he can and i'm constantly worried if there will be a solution or not and feeling useless knowing that there's nothing i can do to help and ease the burden.

i dont want to mess up their minds even more them with my issues. but my parents are the only people i can talk to these days. without them, i am alone...and right now, i am feeling very lonely in this empty house.

herb's chronology

2010-06-07T22:06:00.007+08:00

a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,

a proton by any other name will stink the same

the district sleeps alone tonight - the postal service

i remember the day when i found out i'll be driving herb...it was 3 years ago and i was at civil engineering during survey camp in lumut perak when my mum called me and told me that she has booked a proton gen-2, black as i had requested. but i was shocked nonetheless because i had opted for a myvi (due to it's bearable fuel consumption as compared to the gen-2). there was a long 8 month waiting list for the myvi, so herb the gen-2 it is!

i admit tho, i went to the uni i went to due to one of the reasons where my parents promised me a car if i did. to help them out with taking care of my sister as they both work. so i have been useful throughout the 3 years i owned a car in uni. example, one eid last year i had an EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING test at night, but during the day i helped my mum entertain her colleagues from school for they were our (small) open house guests. when my sister falls sick i can be home to look after her and go out and buy her lunch while my parents are at work, etc.

herb has been a loyal companion of mine. he's sleek, smooth and quite attractive i say. but he does drink too much and has his mood swings on some days. sometimes i think he has a mind of his own and is trying to be rebellious.

the first couple of months i had herb, his power window got jammed. we had to replace the whole power window member to get it to function again. then i noticed that the fuel consumption is crazy! it was the worst when i just fuelled up my car and 5km's later it was at half tank. here's a little estimate on a gen-2's fuel consumption; a KL-JB trip would require 3/4 of a tank...approx rm50. so when the meter went bonkers we found out that herb's fuel buoy was broken so it had to be replaced.

soon enough,the back door had trouble closing...why? because the rubber lining on the door fell out and was dangling everywhere. all of it. had to get the proton mechanic man to replace that too. herb's default key and alarm was also bonkers...it takes a lot of effort pressing the button to unlock herb, sometimes he only chooses to do that when it rains heavily. sometimes the alarm goes off by itself and i have to sit in the car and spend the next 43 seconds resetting it. we replaced the alarm system with a new one. where i can unlock herb from a mile away.

i've been reckless with herb too...back when i was doing my internship, i scratched the driver door that ran from the front to the back door. (it was a very tight parking space at changkat raja chulan) i have bumped his tyres countless times into kerbs and damaged his default rims. those were eventually replaced and made herb look sporty and sexy.

during our time together, we have ran into a dog, a kitten, a crow and a bat. yes, A BAT. i can only thank God that i'm alive. but the animals weren't too lucky though :( the dog has caused me to lose my fog lamp and cracked my bumper a little bit. the cat we loved and gave a proper godfather style burial, the crow took us by surprise and the bat...well i think its sonar squeak thingy was faulty coz honestly it ran into me! maybe herb wanted a pet...but i've given him a pet snake, a bearista, an orang utan, the occasional monkey george and just recently; panda. what more does he want?

as herb ages, he slowly loses his mind. sometimes when i hit the brakes (especially on highways and approaching the touch and go lane) the emergency lights will blink and the 'loose door' indicator (i'm direct translating hahah...pintu tak tutup ketat..?) will come on. sometimes the light inside will blink on and off to the rhythm of my foot hitting the brakes. herb's gone haywire i tell you! he needs medication pronto!

along the way, a skinny friend from uni had accidentally broke the seat adjustor lever, my idiot brother broke the driver door handle and got the back window jammed so it couldn't bewinded up, before my trip to shanghai i pulled on the car hood lever gently so that i can disconnect the battery wire and the lever came completely out of it's slot! and just last night; to my surprise, my very small timid gentle friend completely tore off the passenger seat door handle. was i angry? no. i laughed my head off all the way home thinking "who were your parents herb? a beer can and an orange juice bottle?"

when you speak of true love, think of me and herb. <3

may day

2010-05-25T20:36:00.009+08:00

black crow

captured with the oktomat on kodak ultramax 400 film

ihayat tune: heaven knows i'm misreable now, the smiths

i dont remember the last weekend i truly rested. may has been a wild ride. time flew by in a flash. the beginning of may i went back to johor and ate like nobody's business. spent time with my ma coz it was the mother's day weekend. wasnt able to buy her anything as there was a problem with my paycheck and i was broke. so my "good timing" took a detour. oh well, her birthday's in july, we'll get her something then.

came back to PJ and attempted to watch a french movie with sid but we were laughing our asses off at the chessiness, half an hour later we raided a different hall (robin hood style) and watched robin hood instead (with french people in it and a bit of the french tongue spoken so fair enough). me being a compliant person would've walked out and bought tickets to a different movie. -____-" i also managed to catch Coco Avant Chanel with a uni friend, Dilod. I absolutely LOVED the Italiannies' shrimp pasta thingy we had for dinner! we must do it again woman! :D

Coco Avant Chanel Poster

The week after i managed to persuade Wany and her sister Qiena into going to the 8TV Showdown...sounds lame on my part as it was pretty "mainstream" and it was "8TV" in my preferences but we had a pretty good time anyway. planned to go with FaBor initially but she had to cancel our date. :( we're gonna go to other episodes no? vip pretty please..! :D

the 8TV Showdown stage @ KL Live Centre

Me & Wany still in our workclothes... -__-"

come friday night me and my faculty seniors (kontot, ida, fad, fet, ejad) met up to see one hell of an awesome indie band from my high school days perform; seven collar t-shirt battle protocol. (altho at first i was stunned they wanted to see it coz i tot they were talking abt plain white tees LOL) great performance by the band, but lacking a little bit of showmanship. PLUS seeing a rock concert in KL PAC is kind of awkward. i preferred standing in front of the stage and looking up and jumping up and down at the band while they perform. the night ended with a yumcha session with shitloads of misunderstanding and miscommunication (that has dragged on til now) oh well...

stage deco was awesome.

the band's performance, awesome-er

in my venture into lomography, i twirled around PJ in search of the best (and cheapest) photoshop in town, Fotosun Digital Studio in SS2. they really get the job done well, fast service and definitely the cheapest so far. the oktomat has produced results so great that my FB friend Saifol has used some of my pics in his blog. :) cant wait to see the holga pics...got them developed but havent gotten round to getting them scanned yet.

while waiting for the film to be developed i decided to try out the Starbucks at JayaOne Mall to kill time...i think i've mentioned before that it's difficult to find a Starbucks here in PJ that i can call home and i think i've found one that i can! now i know where to leave my mug! :D

frank furter the pandapanjang testing the holga 120

(frank was bought to bribe my sister into lending me her D90 for my shanghai trip and my friends' weddings)

nothing else matters...

eclair and brewed coffee

afterwards, i hung out with some mates from high school and joined their jamm session. hanging with them again made me feel the "OMG have we left high school that long ago???" we're pretty much the same people, but...different. our yumcha brought us to jalan damai for some middle eastern shissha and crap food. note: if u ever want to eat good middle eastern food in the Jalan Damai area, go to al rawsha. had that with my dad recently and man the food there is unforgettable!

azim my junior yang hensem

fikri my classmate yang hensem...kot.

lamb mundy at al rawsha..simply irresistable

last sunday me and ili finally got the chance to see the boys at rumah aman (after 3 weeks) again and taught them how to make parachutes. they were happy running around and jumping around and decorating their parachutes. i was happy to know they remembered gravity and air resistance. :)

geronimooooo!

just when i thought that i could rest monday night, i remembered that i promised raja that i would accompany him to see a night of opera arias and art songs where the best of the national choir performed classical songs at panggung bandaraya kuala lumpur. syafinaz selamat's dress was the bomb that night. cant wait for the group pics to be uploaded. i currently have no DSLR, my point and shoot is broken and all events are shot using my camera phone...which is really crap.

a very blurry shot taken with my camera phone. note syafinaz's gorgeous dress

(if u can figure out which one's her...)

and that brings me to today...i am exhausted. i havent had a weekend where i truly rested and this coming weekend i'm off to shanghai! (well flight's on thursday moning at 1.40AM wtf) my brother won this Mountain Dew competition and got 2 VIP passes to the Asian X-Games with travel and accommodation expenses all covered! i'm so tired but i must pack tonight! will head to the airport after work tomorrow.

and i really really really a bajillion times reeeeaaaaaaaly hope i get to see this:

IN PERSON! or should i say IN PANDA!!

this sounds weird coming from me, but i'm looking forward to have a mellow june. see you guys in june!

PS: I AM A HAPPY LOMOGRAPHER, BUT I MISS HAVING A DSLR!!!!!!!

T_____________T

cikgu, cikgu saya sakit perot...

2010-05-16T00:16:00.005+08:00

nobody nobody but you! *clapclap - clap*

(NOOO THE SONG IS IN MY HEAD!)

my Mama is a primary school teacher and has been teaching for over 20 years. she enjoys her job and since ive been handling the boys at Rumah Aman, i gained great respect towards her strength and patience in handling kids.

when i was in high school, i used to hang around her school during the holidays to help her prepare her classroom for the new students. we'd clean up the classroom, lay out the vinyl mats and i get to paint murals on the wall.

she just recently told me she and the teachers in her group shall be dancing to the wondergirls song at school as part of the teachers' day celebration performance. wonder cikgu's. i think me and my siblings are glad that we dont go to the same school as her anymore hahahaha.

my bapak is an associate professor in construction project management in my uni. he loves his job too and is very good at it. he is also one of the popular lecturers based on the students' feedback on terms of quality and personality (really now? :P). he is my benchmark for many achievements to come. (although i'm not as genius as him)

without them, i'd be nothing.

and also not forgetting all my great teachers out there in different parts of the world who have taught me many things in life and made me what i am. (what am i now..? a civil & structural engineer ~ with a combination of great taste in art!)

HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY!!

Oh and i'd like to fit in today's highlight. Okto the SotongCam has a new buddy!! (still nameless) say hello to the Holga 120N!

hello ~ is it me you're looking for?

work life balance

2010-05-06T18:26:00.013+08:00

the corporate life i left behind

two weeks; grizzly bear

for the first time in my life i felt awkward in an airport. my last job required me to travel a lot, hence i go to airports for business trips frequently. there was once where we got backward flights bookings (our KL-JB trip was booked to JB-KL and vice versa) and my boss took me into the business class lounge, which was as pleasant as how my dad described it.

this time round i'm taking a flight back to johor, simply just to go home. i havent done so since i started the new job and i'm pretty excited coz i'm tired of the crap msg tasting food in my area. i want real meals. the ones my mum cooks AND the ones served at restaurants around town. yes, jb food rocks! (and some of my old colleagues agree!)

when i was onboard the KLIA Express en route to KLIA, i noticed that most people were wearing their business attires (and some were in some kind of rush); that used to be me. most people had blackberries and iphones and were checking their emails on it or making important business calls; i didnt have a BB/iphone but usually i'd be making calls related to work on my way to the airport.

when i arrived the airport i saw the ultimate reminder of the old job...2 guys were standing and had that bulky black IBM laptop in their hands and were adjusting their what i think was their 'proposal'. that's when i really thought to myself "omg that was soo me! i was married to that bulky black IBM laptop due to work!!" if we had a slice of time at the airport, we were always using up the time to do some work. to be fair, it wasnt because we were freaky workaholics or anything. there was simply too much to do that everything is a rush and time was never enough.

and here i am now, at the airport; blogging coz my flight is at 9.15pm (i got here at 6pm). i got here early because i had a meeting at the architect's office in plaza damas. my colleague sent me to KL Sentral right after the meeting ended around 5-ish. so now at the airport, i'm not thinking about work, nor do i need to make any important calls. i dont even have a corporate email address and when work ends at 6pm, it ends at 6pm.

no more late nights at the office and i definitely have time for my friends and family. i dont fear my phone anymore because it wont ring at midnight for a work related call when i'm trying to sleep and i'm too tired to pick it up coz i got home from work at 11pm. i have time to attend events and do a little bit of charity. i have time to work out at the gym and i have time for movies after work and not feel groggy the night before because i didnt get enough rest.

don't get me wrong, i do miss my old job, my old boss and my old colleagues that i do keep in touch with them. i dont hate the job, but i hated the fact that it was that job that many people try and try and try to get into (it was like the oil and gas industry for the corporate world); i had it, but it just wasnt me. but ever since i left, i feel content.

i'm not depressed anymore, but i'm not too happy. because i'm still not sure if this current job is IT. commitment to work is much like commitment to marriage i guess (except that getting out of a job u dont like is easier and less emotion is involved). you have to LOVE it. i dont hate my current job, nor do i love it. reason being that my plans after leaving the old company backfired. i'm not exactly in the situation that i want to be in. which leads to the question, what do i REALLY want to do with my life?

my mind is pretty blank now. well not blank, i chose to let it be that way. because the options deviate far from my initial plans and me being me, the options have grown larger in number. (i am multi talented :P) i dont know which path to choose and i feel like it's too soon to choose now. i am after all, in the second month of the new job. so i will TRY to give it a year. maybe the doors of opportunity will open up then and i'll finally be guided by a ray of light shining down the path that has been a dark alley all this while.

patience is a virtue that is a part of Iman; and with enough effort, Allah S.W.T. will definitely give us guidance.

until then, i plan to enjoy this free time with my friends and do the things i didnt have the chance (time more like) to do before. make the best of things. most importantly, make my time at the current job a hardcore learning journey. hey, even if i choose not to continue this career path later on in life, i still plan to be good at it while i'm doing it! ;P

PS: i know some readers may see the contents of this post as a very GEN-Y thing...but on the contrary i think i'm only being human in a world full of opportunities. :D

wookie

2010-05-04T20:14:00.003+08:00

HAPPY STAR WARS DAY

MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU!

labour day 2010

2010-05-02T00:05:00.008+08:00

THIS is a dish best served COLD.

ihayat tune: dave matthews band; #41

hello %$&@!,

happy holidays to you.

nice to see that you and i both enjoy the food at this swedish-based foodcourt. the thing about this fine saturday is that many people have come here not only to do some shopping, but they also want to enjoy the unique swedish delicacies here.

so many people, that i had to park my car outside and take a walk in the sun to the swedish shopping centre. so many people, that most of us were in line for at least 15-20 minutes to get our lunch. so many people, that i and many others had to circle the cafeteria many times to look for a seat while constantly asking random people like you, you and you "excuse me, is this seat taken? it is? oh well, thanks anyway."

well $%^*&, fair enough you're speaking the truth; you're saving the seat for your friend/boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/daughter/etc who is lining up to purchase the swedish food. i would have done the same too. the thing is; if my computations are correct, it would take your friend/boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/daughter/etc at least 15-20mins to buy the food. in fact that was how long it took me to get my food. but now the line is longer, hence they would take more time to get the food.

and if my observations are correct, most of you whom i refer to as @#$!% are still waiting for your friend/boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/daughter/etc to arrive at your table with the food 15 mins later. and i, am stil circling the cafe helplessly looking for a table to eat at. i even realised later on that some of the spaghetti tomato sauce had ended up on my CREAM coloured tshirt while i was busy seat hunting. one of you told me that the seat that your handbag is sitting on is reserved. funnily it's been reserved the last 4 times i walked past you.

now if you had said, "i'm waiting for my *fill in the blank* to buy food, but it should take a while coz we just got here. you can have a seat and enjoy your meal first". frankly, it would only take me 15 minutes to eat my food. out of gratitude i will definitely make my munching brief. i have other plans for my day anyway. so why are you worried that i will occupy this seat forever? NO, i will not be spending too much time at that empty chair that will remain empty the next 15-20 mins after you tell me it's been reserved.

i know it'd be awkward to be staring at a stranger gobble up some spaghetti, meatballs and a cake. but seeing that the condition is such a state of emergency, WHY NOT? i would say this is when we can actually use the spirit of 1Malaysia. so much for schools teaching kids about "budi bahasa amalan kita".

well i finally got a table with this pleasant chinese lady and her family. i wish all of you were more like her. i had my meal, but it was cold already. and the tomato sauce stain on my tshirt is probably permanent now. kudos to you for having your meal all nice and hot coz u were so "smart" to reserve seats. selfishness does pay after all huh?

good for you.

Boys Don't Cry

2010-04-29T21:16:00.009+08:00

the boys' solar system

ihayat tune: One; U2

They will ask you what they should give away. Say: "Any wealth you give away should go to your parents and relatives and to orphans and the very poor and travellers. Whatever good you do Allah knows it." (Al-Baqara, 215). Charity For The Pleasure Of Allah

Excerpt taken from the Rumah Aman Blogsite.

when i started my new job here in damansara, i joined my friend ili to volunteer at Rumah Aman (House of Peace) at Section 2, Shah Alam. Rumah Aman is a home for boys who are either orphans or come from needy families. there are 30 boys altogether, and on Sundays, we come to visit and teach science to a group of 17, aged 7 to 12 (the others are younger) as well as give them an opportunity to put theories into practical use.

if my memory serves me well, i think ili had been there a couple of times before i officially joined the bandwagon. the first science project we taught them was based on electricity and simple circuits. after exposure on the concept, we gave them the task of making a torch light out of a simple circuit and water bottles. once they made it work, they were running around the corridor with their lit torch lights.

my mum has been an elementary school teacher for longer than i have lived. sometimes i even tag along to her school to help her out with events or help paint & decorate her classroom (i like drawing on the walls). i've been around 40 kids before, but never really to teach or guide them. after my first day at Rumah Aman, i realised that albeit it being the most physically and mentally challenging task; it was the most rewarding experience.

when we taught the kids about conductors, the boys; being fast learners and extremely curious, ran around the room and kitchen looking for conductors. they tried to make the bulb light up using spoons, a potato, the fridge, their pencil cases...pretty much everything they can find! so you do know that they did learn something from you. :)

i love their curiosity and how they give attention and ask endless questions about the things we have taught them. from my experience, i do find that the western education system is far more effective than ours. so i do try to adapt what i have learnt from my previous teachers who have opened my eyes to the bigger picture.

i really dont know how to express the feeling when you see the light in their faces once you reveal next session's activity. they keep asking and asking "what will we do next?" and they cheer in excitement even though i told them that we're making a simple parachute (gravity and air resistance). shows how spoilt we were as kids with our barbies and train sets and toy helicopters and all. recently, they asked if they can make a volcano. looks like that will be for the coming session.

there were many touching moments while we were there. one of them was when we held a solar system model competition for the boys and gave them each chocolates and some extras for the winning team. one of the boys asked ili whether there was some for the little ones upstairs. that really touched me, that such a young boy knew the value of sharing and remembering others.

there was one other time when i was surrounded with the kids asking questions that i kept neglecting the one i was supposed to be focusing on. and he said in a really sad tone "kak, kakak x memberi perhatian kat saya pun..." (you're not paying attention to me) man!! X[ i think he was joking though...that was one of the funnier touching moments. haha.

i do believe that me and ili both have learnt many things from the boys while they learn from us. i love it when they wave hello and goodbye to us from their windows. and i especially love it that we have develop some form of bond with the boys. they will always be in my prayers and i hope to see them one day in success and happiness. Amin.

stay tuned for more updates on this topic WITH PHOTOS. i havent been able to snap before this due to handling 17 kids. haha :P

note: do share ideas for science projects if u guys have any..somehow i want to expose the environment and nature to them but i cant figure out how or what they can do as a project based on this. other science based projects are welcome! leave a comment or contact me via facebook. and if you feel like contributing to Rumah Aman, by all means, do! :D

Pak Belang, Bukan Pak Belalang ye...

2010-04-21T21:32:00.032+08:00

The pattern on the forehead of a tiger is very similar to a Chinese Character which means "king"

I do believe that many of us here are familiar with the name Pak Belang or in English, Mr. Stripes. The name came across to me during my childhood when I was exposed to the tale of Sang Kancil and Pak Belang.

Other than fairy tales, the tiger has been a significant part of our culture as a symbol of strength and bravery. Why did we choose the tiger over dragons, bigfoot and sang kancil? Because Pak Belang is a majestic creature that knows no fear, and will do anything to protect himself. That is the spirit of our country.

not only that Pak Belang is obviously on our Malaysian Crest (and Johor's :D), but if you look carefully around you; he is everywhere! On telly, we may have noticed that our athletes don Pak Belang's stripes on their uniforms.

Datuk Lee Chong Wei in his tiger suit

Our national car has been carrying Pak Belang as their corporate logo (macam Jaguar beb! haha). And we see Pak Belang everytime we go to our local bank.

the sexy black car i'm driving with the sexy logo :D

beware of tiger!

this one you may have not noticed, but at a meeting with the client the other day, i noticed that the fellas all wore the same Thursday batiks...it was orange with black stripes. i'm pretty SURE they were going for a tiger show. :P

need more convincing? The legend Tan Sri P. Ramlee once featured in a movie called Sitora Harimau Jadian.

1964 - over 3000 tigers roamed freely in
Peninsular Malaysia around this time

Our Royal Police force carries the symbol of the tiger wherever they go...

and our football team also borrowed Pak Belang's image in their logo:

and not forgetting...

yumm..!

little do we know (the people carrying the logos with them including) that while we're busy prancing around with images of Pak Belang as our symbol of bravery and strength; the numbers of Pak Belang's in this country is actually rapidly depleting.

FYI, globally there are only less than 3000 tigers left in the wild; a significant decline from the 100,000 that used to roam the planet 100 years ago. Out of nine sub-species (Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan, Sumatran, Siberian, South China, *Caspian, Balinese, Javan), three have gone *extinct. Today, the Malayan Tiger faces the great danger of extinction. it is believed that less than 500 are left in the wild; and why are they going extinct? US.

The decline of Pak Belang is mostly due to their loss of habitat, conflicts with local villagers and one of the most critical cases now; poaching. the tigers are illegally hunted and brutally murdered for their skin, body parts and bones to be used in traditional medicine. yes, just when you think medicine has been revolutionary enough with the blue pill and all, u'd be surprised to know that there are people still living in the stone age. :-/

if you wonder how brutal can it get, then have a look at this video. this tiger is obviously in extreme pain and anguish. think of yourself in that situation.

that tiger lost its leg and died not much later after the incident; one less out of the supposed 500. and if we allow this crime against nature to continue, we will end up being a country with an extinct symbol and heritage. people will start asking, "if the tiger is so important to you, why did u let it go extinct?" and all we can do about the situation is *blink blink*. wouldnt that be an embarrassment to us?

THIS IS CRITICAL. i often pondered to myself, what does it take to express our concerns about environmental issues (in this country) and be heard? it seems that most people (in this country) including "important" people whose voice is often heard; simply doesnt bother.

apparently there are more important things to worry about like who (in this country) to put in jail for sodomy rather than slammin' em poachers in jail WITH a hardcore-er punishment. according to Sara Sukor in the last Tiger Talk that i attended at WWF, our laws against tiger poaching are extremely outdated and are not scary enough. what's a few thousand ringgits for a guy who makes hundreds of thousands selling off the tigers.

Sarah giving the tiger talk @ WWF

are we going to let the "important" people just sit and wait and compose a speech on how sad they are that the tigers are gone, and that it has been good to us as a national heritage and how they wished that we could do something to prevent them from going extinct and that their spirits will live on forever? and then i suppose there will be a day dedicated to the tigers to show that they "care".

NO. if they really care, NOW is the time to show their affection. so let our voices be heard, and raise the issue so that the "important" people take great action to stop the decline of the Malayan Tiger. it's extremely ironic that the world out there gives a hoot about our tigers and we dont. so lets start now before it's too late.

we can start by showing interest

we can start by bringing it up in daily conversations

we can start by raising awareness of others

we can start by writing to the prime minister

we can start by volunteering in events

we can start by reporting crimes against tigers

we can start by supporting the initiatives

we can start by educating our people

HOW?

start by visiting the following pages:

MYCAT

if you see a crime against wildlife, call/text this number:

(you can get rewarded!)

Dept. of Wildlife & National Parks

TX2 campaign

WWF Malaysia

Malaysian Nature Society

and last but not least....

Planet of the Monyets

(i dont know why, but everytime i upload the picture it comes out like this...must be the monkey's fault)

who knows, maybe u'll get to meet the monyet king himself...i did! :D

me & dr bala the monyet king

The tiger is our national animal. Our heritage. But today only less than 500 of them remain in the wild. As Malaysians, we need to stand up and protect our heritage. Speak to your children. Speak to your leaders. Everyone of us can make a difference.

For further information, please visit MYCAT (www.malayantiger.net), WWF Malaysia (www.wwf.org.my) and Department of Wildlife & National Parks (www.wildlife.gov.my)

Tiger Blogfest 2010 - Prelim

2010-04-18T20:17:00.012+08:00

"When a man wants to murder a tiger he calls it sport;
when the tiger wants to murder him he calls it ferocity."
George Bernard Shaw; playwright, critic, political activist.

ihayat tune: eye of the tiger

a few months ago in february this year, we welcomed the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Tiger; a year that i was born in. the scene for me was exciting as most of my neighbours back in my hometown in JB are chinese. there were fire crackers, music, lion dances, candy, crates of mandarins and lively open houses everywhere.

while we were celebrating, the symbol and grace of this Lunar Year, the tiger (duh), started out the year looking like this:

and no, he did not party too hard. what really happened was reported in an article in the star dated 11 february 2010. this one of the very few malayan tigers left in the wild (currently there are less than 500 left in the wild) that was found dead by perhilitan officers in sungkai, perak. the tiger was trapped by a group of poachers and he went through a slow and painful death.

how would you feel when you hear of a fellow human being who was brutally murdered with five bullets; two in his eye, with poisonous spear wounds in his body and a torn off limb due to snares? of course any one of us (except for sadists) would most definitely think that it is inhuman, disgusting, abysmal, every other adverb that means sick.

well if we felt that way about the brutal murder of our fellow man, why not to a fellow living breathing creature? one that experiences the same pains as us, one that has a family like us, one that shares this God given land with us? they deserve to have a chance too. they are after all, the symbol of our country's strength and bravery. in case you havent noticed, this is what our Malaysian coat of arms looks like:

as a Johorean, i would also like to point out that our Johor coat of arms also has tigers on them:

and i'm not ready to see the tigers be replaced with bigfoot. :P

so here's one to kick off the Tiger Blogfest 2010. more will come this week. learn and spread the word from this. stay tuned! :D

For further information, please visit MYCAT (www.malayantiger.net), WWF Malaysia (www.wwf.org.my) and Department of Wildlife & National Parks (www.wildlife.gov.my)

mamaks, tigers, monyets & jazz with bridezilla

2010-04-18T02:29:00.009+08:00

banana basket with eating instructions

ihayat tune: mama mia; abba

life has been wonderful lately with all the free time i've been having. (wouldnt say my journey to self discovery has reached its concluding end though.) friday was spent watching a local musical spoof entitled Mamak Mee-Ah! with sid, hanis and tariq at the actor's studio@lot10. we ended the night with dinner at strawberry fields.

all this while i thought that the place was girly with fresh strawberry juice & strawberry based desserts on the menu until sid brought to my attention that strawberry fields is actually a beatle's song. so i DO have my clueless blonde moments~ haha!! :P

Mamak Mee-Ah! promo poster

in short, Mamak Mee-Ah! is about a rich singaporean lawyer, ravi (Sham Sunder Binwani) and his two assistants (Herni Helan & Karynn Yee) who find themselves in a mamak stall somewhere in KL and discovers the uniqueness of Malaysian food and culture through their new found friends mamak (radhi khalid), mak cik (shahila johan) and their two sons (Paul Wong and a guy who looks like my friend Ejad), ah fatt (joe zainul) and his geeky son chin (johan yusoff). along the way, they help chin win the heart of his college crush little miss wei lee (lee su yee).

this musical is very basic with a simple plot, a hint of local sarcasm, good music and great acting, singing and dancing from most of the cast (yes, one of the actors sang off key most of the time and one of the background dancers annoyed me). my fave song had to be the remake of Lonely Goat Herd from The Sound of Music that was re-titled as Low Class Bad Word where Mak Cik yodelled the word "alamak"...hilarious! i would say that she was the most entertaining drama queen Mak Cik ever! among other memorables were No Pork No Pork (New York New York), Sambal Nights (Summer Nights) and Bare Celebrities (Bear Necessities).

saturday was just as hectic. started the day by attending a talk on the malayan tigers (in conjunction with the Tiger Blogfest 2010) at the WWF office in SS23 presented by sara sukor from WWF. i had the opportunity to meet the monyet king himself, dr bala; the man behind the Tiger Blogfest 2010, as well as other participating bloggers and monyets. :D

some of the already 100-over participants of the Tiger Blogfest 2010

whom attended the tiger talk at WWF

i soon found myself in the heart of KL; at Alexis Ampang to be precise, celebrating aim's coming wedding with my friends from uni ili, mas and min. we enjoyed the night's awesome performance by the adil johan quartet/quintet and fell in love with their japanese (i think) double bass player. hot damn! notable tunes were jazzed up versions of oasis' wonderwall, incubus' pardon me, will i am's heartbreaker and boney m's sonny. i look forward to more of their shows.

"asha the heartbreaker"
i know u're going to curse me for uploading this pic aim

so here i am, mid april, out of moolah, out of energy but still smiling and content despite swimming in a deep pool of irony. argh i'm gonna spend tomorow (and the rest of the month) doing nothing!! 10 1/2 months to go...

oktomat! LOMO ON!!!

2010-04-06T21:47:00.009+08:00

i hope my spongebob shorts doesnt stand out. :D
judith; a perfect circle

today in history i bought a lomocam. a OKTOMAT to be precise. ^__^ not quite what i aimed for (i want a Holga 255 full mod 120CFN), but due to budget constraint this would do just fine for now...

it's so awesome (and super cute)!!!!

i struggled and fiddled a bit with the film tho (it's been a long time since i used film cameras...i bet it's been a while for most of us anyways). cant wait to snap pics of the kids running around tomoro! :D

march on

2010-04-03T12:36:00.006+08:00

ktm = life; slow & unpredictable

shine on you crazy diamond - pink floyd

1 month down into the new job already! i've learnt a few things but i know i'm a long way from really living, breathing it. i'm content with the fact that i have more time for myself, more time to be with my friends, more time to do things (i have my weekends and the sun's still up when i leave the office now).

truthfully though, i find it difficult to be myself. as the people at the old workplace would have probably said; my work mask differs extremely from my behaviour out of work. (i'm gonna check with them whether that's a valid statement or not) and i admit to mild frustrations due to my inability to blend in and be myself. i'm just not comfortable. i guess this time around, it's gonna take a lot of time for things to set in...especially in this deep pool of irony.

then there's the long wait for an answer. i've decided to postpone all my UK postgraduate offers to the 2011 intake, and i'm applying to several other uni's that fall under other scholarships. should things work out, i'll be in the UK by Autumn 2011. If not, i'll probably be in my old uni in june/july 2011...another irony i anticipate to hit me with a dump truck. it's not easy living all my life just settling...hence my lack of gratitude.

gloominess aside, march has been good to me. and i have my friends to thank for that. no signs of my usual series of unfortunate events, movie nights, great food, some music and hangouts. since i'm going to be around for the next year or so, i might as well keep my single self occupied no? among things planned arrrreeeeee....*drumroll* (warning, may not be as exciting as the drumroll may have fooled you to think so)

Eat at all the restaurants at The Curve...and explore other foodplaces in the area.
Join a gym. found a really nice Moroccan-themed spa/gym near home, non commercial too, hence cheap and no crowds.
LOMO ON! and join lomokids photography outings & events. (buying one next week)
Buy a new D90 at the end of the year...i HOPE.
Travel around the country. beaches beaches beaches...
Do a MESL part time (still under consideration)
Pick up the guitar again
Hang out at random places and not feel depressed that i'm doing so alone. on a brighter note, make friends at the random places. :D
Go to lots and lots of arts events (while i'm still in KL no?)
Do voluntary works for people and the environment
Read lots and lots of books. (this one seems to progress sloooooowwwly)
SHOP. hahaha

So...anybody want to join in the fun?

Tiger Blogfest 2010 [19-23 April 2010]

2010-03-16T21:56:00.006+08:00

Photo source: Planet of the Monyets

Dear Bloggers,

I have been following the blog Planet of the Monyets for quite some time now. This blog mostly touches on environmental (and sometimes quirky political) issues in Malaysia. PotM has filled me with laughter due to the author's witty banters and clever use of primates. (i REALLY like org utans and adore Jane Goodall FYI).

At times, i fall into tears of joy knowing that there are people who CARE (even though it seems like nobody does in this country). Tears of sadness and sorrow has also been shed as some of the posts and videos featured show how heartless we are. it puts me to such raging anger knowing that there are more villains than heroes in this battle for Mother Nature.

The author's recent post promoted a campaign; the Tiger Blogfest 2010, to raise awareness towards the conservation of our national icon, the Tiger. The following details of the event are in the author's own words:

The Tiger Blogfest 2010 [19 – 23 April 2010] is an avenue for the blogging community to contribute towards protecting our national heritage. All that is asked of you is to do what you are already doing so well… blog, blog and blog. Tell a story, write a poem, post a technical paper, draw cartoons, compose a song, relate your personal experience – anything as long as it convey the message of the need to protect our tigers.

I know you will all rise to the occasion. At the same, efforts are being made with the media and NGOs to give this event publicity and the conservation community to leverage on the heightened awareness.

Regards

Planet of the Monyets

Coordinating blog

So, what are we waiting for? Let's blog for the Tigers! Kindly visit the post at Planet of the Monyets here for more information on how you can register and participate in this good deed.

RAWR! :O