The Amateur Writer

Gone Away

Yang Safia On Monday, August 30, 2010

Hello Hello! I'll be away for an amazing roadtrip to Doubtful Sound with my good friends, Adeline and Rique. Will be back this Friday, hopefully with a lot of footage! Have a good Ramadhan peeps and to all Dunny students, have a great spring break!

Currently I'm skyping with Shira and it's already 4AM. D:

Ok lah, gotta listen to Shira's latest dish about her drama. Ta~!

Mockingjay

Yang Safia On Friday, August 27, 2010

That's right kids, I've finally got my hands on the final installment of The Hunger Games! IT.IS.MOINE!!!! Mwahahahahaha~! Asked the shop assistant whether they have it in paperback but nooo. Looked at the price and did a bit of converting before deciding that it's not any cheaper or pricier, just about the same price back in Malaysia. Apa lagi, I don't think I can bear the thought that the siblings back home beat me to it so I treated myself to Mockingjay lah!!

If you've been reading my previous blog posts, you'll know I've raved about the series since I read the first book last year. READ HUNGER GAMES!!! IT'S JUST PLAIN AWESOME!

What a vain person has to do when she has an hour till iftar and Mockingjay in hand...camwhore lah! That is after I texted my sisters not to get the book.

...

Looks like I'm going to have to finish King Lear first before I give Mockingjay a read. :(

Look Ma and Abah, this is what Uni life has done to your daughter. I look soooo different back when I was in Sunway. :( *sad+ngade face*

Panda eyes and acne begone!!!!! GRRRRR!! *slaps tons of OXY on her face*

Acquiring an Accent

Yang Safia On Thursday, August 26, 2010

When it was set that I'm going to study in New Zealand, I was actually determined NOT to get the accent. I know it's quite the opposite when you study overseas because part of the reason you're there is because of the accent. Back in Malaysia, I used to think people with accents are so cool like British for example. Obviously being the most dominant English accent in the world, to our ears they always sound so posh.

Now talking about NZ accent is a whole new story. People always make fun of it and describe it as "weird" and "alien". But when you think about it, it is a lot nicer than the Australian one. I guess people say NZ sounds weird because it is overshadowed by the Australian accent.

Robin Williams described the accent as, "an accent that sounds like Australians on Prozac and basically [they] sound very happy all the time". How is it weird and alien that people here sound happy all the time? When I think about, Kiwis do sound cheery and that's reassuring. Especially when you first arrived in the country. (Although this doesn't apply to Kiwi teens. They always sound gedik and boring. (=_=) )

Some random words that are distinctively Kiwi-sounding:

[yes] = /yis/

[weekend] = /wi:kin/ or /weekin/

[here] = /heer/ (My "here" is starting to take this form according to Anna)

[sex] = /siks/

[beer] = /bier/

They also have their very own version of "Lah" and that is "Ae"

For example:

Malaysian: "I donno lah"

Kiwi: "I dunno ae?"

You know words/phrases such as "potluck" and "bring your own" are very Kiwi and according to my tutor, they originate from here. One of the most overused phrase aside from "awesome" (I actually think awesome is very American) is "sweet as".

If you ever decided to visit New Zealand, this phrase will most likely be in your guide book.

"Sweet as."

I was actually quite offended when people say this because I actually thought "Sweet Ass". I stopped myself from saying "excuse me" quite a number of times that is until my fellow Malaysian said this to me.

"What the hell man?" was my reaction.

That was when I found out what it meant. "Sweet as" actually stands for "sweet as pie" (yeah, very innocent I know) and Kiwis use it in such a way we Malaysians use "best" to describe things that are well...best.

Example:

Kiwi #1: Ey mate, how was the movie?

Kiwi #2: Sweet as. I'm going to watch it again.

Okay, last example! If a Kiwi asks you to go on a Tiki Tour, don't expect a Hawaiian tour or anything because it actually means to go "jalan-jalan"! (^.^)

Basically at this point, I'm open to acquiring a Kiwi accent (slowly but surely). It may not be a British nor an American one but it's good to come back home and show your capabilities. For overseas students like me, coming back home with an accent is not something to be frowned upon or to be jealous at; it just shows that you've fully utilized and experienced everything you should be experiencing when you're abroad. So throw away those kampung views and stop patronizing your fellow sister or friend that suddenly has an accent. Though if they purposely rub it in your face and tetiba cakap melayu pon pelat, that one memang kena penampar lah. Haha.

I think I have a slight accent now but it still remains all jumbled up with British, American and now a bit Kiwi and still very Malaysian. Seriously, if you skype with me I can fully guarantee you that I sound the same. I have 10 people who can vouch for me. :D Though I might sound different if I speak to Kiwis lah...Shira the other day said I sounded different when I was talking to Yejung. I don't sound like "kiteorg" dah. But it's all good so far.

Now...before I let you guys enjoy this video (Kids speaking with a pelat Kiwi accent!)...

FUN FACT! : Did you know Manglish is already established as a vernacular form of English by linguists? So technically, our lahs and rojak-ness are not wrong. So apa lagi, get your Manglish on people!

International Food Fest

Yang Safia On Tuesday, August 24, 2010

This entry is long overdue. This event is right after my Auckland trip and as you know, my team got on TV because of this. This is somewhat the behind the scenes for the event, well for our part that is.

Note: Man, I used the word awesome a lot. So fair warning and bear with my limited vocabulary!

Adeline and I decided to fool around and cheer everyone up while they were working. Hey, the things you have to do when you're the leader...I'll do random crap just to keep everyone energized! Huk HAH! *rapid kung fu hand movements*

And yeah, excuse the messy look. It had been a long loooooong day for me.

What I would do...

Yang Safia On Saturday, August 21, 2010

...to be there at the time. *sighs*

Fun Night Out: Hanami and Bennu

Yang Safia On Thursday, August 19, 2010

Ooooh, look at me spoiling the blog! Updating everyday now? Ooooh~! Well the reasons are quite obvious; it's either I'm bored out of my mind and I don't have any work to do OR I'm suffering from post-election depression and I'm procrastinating from studying for my Linguistics midterms next week.

What?

The latter?

Smart reader.

Anyways, been meaning to update this blog with the events in my life so far and I just have to tell you guys about my night out with my friends. As you know, we just love to eat. So a week before Ramadhan we decided to go out and have dinner together and just catch up. At the time it had been awhile since we've seen each other due to studies. My usual gang usually comprises of Jie Ning, Tim, me and our latest addition, Adeline. Figured I should give them a formal introduction to the public and all because they deserve it! They're awesome like that! :D

We all agreed to meet at this new Korean/Japanese restaurant that just opened called Hanami and according to Yejung, it has the ambiance of a typical Uni bar in Korea. OMG, obviously I have to check it out! And I must say, I'm impressed. I love the vibe, very cosy and chill.

Ok lah, piccie time!

Memang sah kawan Yang Safia....

....asyik bergossip. :(

While Adeline was busy filling in the Pak Cik and Mak Cik with her latest drama, I got bored so camwhore la. Damn camera, it made me look tired. Well, I was since it has been a long day but dont want la look so tired.

Appetizer before the main course.

Ms Bock who looked so hot that night (thanks to me!) because she had a date that night, thus ditching us three after dinner. :(

The lovely, Jie Chi!

We ordered seafood steamboat and its very different from the usual steamboats we have in Malaysia. This one is very Korean and I must say, it was soooooo GOOD! (It had ddokbokki (Korean rice cakes) and kimchi!)

A dinner later, Adeline soon left for her date while Jie Ning sent her sister to the library while Tim and I waited for her to come back. Tim proudly showed off his newly-bought Spongebob Squarepants toaster (that's what you get when you've moved out of the house, you get excited over kitchenware and furniture) and I had to tinkle (why am I telling you this?!) a couple times before Jie ning gets back. Jie Ning came back and we spent the next hour having our usual trivial conversations before deciding that we should get dessert.

Hanami proved to lack on the dessert department and so, Jie Ning suggested we go check out Bennu. Actually she suggested a couple of places but they proved to be either too far, or too tak sedap or whatever lah. And apparently, I needed to tinkle again. =_=

We drove around town (God bless Automobiles! or friends that have automobiles! wah wah, so retro) quite awhile, looking for a parking because it was a Friday night and it's the time to partay for the Dunny kids. Eventually found one on George St but we had to walk all the way to the Octagon just to get to Bessou. It's ok lah, it's not like Malaysia. You actually don't mind walking (even if it involves a hill) here.

I must say, I love Bennu. Yes, it looks fancy and there were a lot of old people but it seems safe. I actually don't like going to restaurants that have a lot of young people because it always tend to become rowdy and they just don't behave. Tsk tsk. Ish, I sound like an old lady. Hahaha!

Before I start rambling on, the desserts are to DIE for. They cost a bit (but hey, everything is costly here! but you have to live once in awhile) like $10 a pop but it's really really good. And you have to give props for presentation. Arghh, I'm salivating now.

My warm chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream on top, surrounded with passion fruit sauce

All of us ordered one of each from the dessert menu (apparently they serve three desserts at a time and they always change their dessert menu) so we swap them around and share. OMG, soooo GOOD!! *looks at my perut and sighs*

After that we left and sang as we walked down towards George St. They say if you act drunk, the drunkards will leave you alone. Apparently drunk people don't bug other drunk people. All in all, we had fun and it was nice catching up with the gang. :)

My NZ TV Debut

Yang Safia On Wednesday, August 18, 2010

This was taped during the International Food fest and it was for a NZ show called Asians Down Under. Sorry for the amateurish recording but it seems that viewers from outside NZ can't watch it online. Thus, I took the liberty of taping the best bits....FEATURING ME AND TIM! ok fine, not much airtime but who cares. I'm on TV! LOL

PS: Ma, look I brought your nasi minyak to the international scale! I bet you're crying rivers right now, proud of me. Hehe. To think you had to drag me into the kitchen a few months ago. The hard work paid off!

Hana no Namae

Yang Safia On Sunday, August 15, 2010

To those who know me well, I'm a big fan of mangas. I've started reading them around when I was 14 (peak of my anime fanaticism) and this hobby sticks around even until now. Now that I've started uni, I barely have time (nor the appetite) to read novels anymore. I probably end up reading what I'm supposed to study so mangas are perfect for my leisure-reading cravings. You can just enjoy the art and they're very easy on the eyes.

About 2 weeks ago I stumbled upon this series while going through my daily website checks (Mangatraders FTW!) and the summary of this manga got me interested. Usually I would find these type of summaries very cliché but it has been a long time since I've read any mangas so I decided to give it a shot. And I'm glad I did.

Summary from Mangatraders:

Devastated by the loss of her parents, 18-year-old Chouko loses her will to live. After staying with several different relatives, she settles in with a handsome young writer named Kei and finds solace in tending to the flower garden. Kei's a solitary person who doesn't quite know how to deal with this emotional young woman, but Chouko's dedication eventually leads him to accept her presence. Will their mutual affection grow into something more?

A fair warning though, this manga can get so angsty that it can be quite unbearable. I read it during "that time of the month" so it totally works for me. I mean, I cried man. So the hormones might cloud my judgement at the time but I have to give props to the subtle romance that develops between Kei and Chouko. Nothing too forceful and the big age-gap is yummy(!) in my opinion. Makes you feel dating a guy 12 years older than you totally not awkward and acceptable. I mean, it is acceptable but...it is awkward when you're that young.

I'm twenty and a guy who is 12 years older would be...32. Is that even legal? (=_=)

To be honest, towards the end of the plot just didn't make sense for me but it's good to know that it's a happy ending (HA! spoiled it for ya!) I suggest you read this when you're totally tengah emo about your marks or your life in general. You can totally dapat feel with this manga.

Basically, I enjoyed it.

Rating: 3.5/5

PS: Sorry that the fonts are all wonky in this post. Blogspot is being really gay at the moment.

Med Revue

Yang Safia On

Last Thursday, I went to my first play directed by Otago students. Specifically the med students here in Otago University. Every year the science faculties especially Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy will host a night dedicated to performances that their own students directed. This year's play is called Disease, a parody of Grease but laden with medical and their faculty's jokes.

I was there that night with Adeline to show support for our good friend, Tim who was in it as Doody. One of the boys in T-Cells. Basically I had a blast and any initial worries about not getting the jokes was dispelled by the actors' performance. Yes, the jokes can be raunchy and I doubt Malaysia would approve any of them but it was nice to see what their sense of humor is like. I laughed to most of them and I don't find it insulting (not that much) so it was worth my $10. It felt good not being involved with the background work and just be the audience for once. :)

The highlight would be seeing Tim embarrassing himself (props to the guy for having guts!) and the live band. I love those guys! Who knew med students can be so creative? They changed the lyrics of current songs like Lady Gaga's Telephone and One Republic's Apologize with med jokes.

At the end of the night, I came up with a conclusion: Med students make Arts students feel like shit. Not only they have the brains (and a loaded future), they're freaking creative too. Now somebody tell me what's left for Arts students? Haha.

I managed to capture the footage of the band and the first act of the play.

PS: You're now looking at OMSA's vice president! Next year is going to be fun! :)

Selamat Berpuasa

Yang Safia On Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Hello children. I'm sorry I've been MIA for awhile now, I'm just wiping off the dust that has been accumulated on my blog. *wipes off dust* I know you're tired with listening to the usual excuses (essay writing + OMSA activities) but I'm still caught up with that so bear with me. Actually I have loads of material to write on from reviews to my experiences here in Dunedin but again, when you have three journals due by next Monday you can't exactly blog (tho this doesnt apply to the outrageous amount of time I spend on Collegehumor.com). But I had to stop what I was doing and wish all my Muslim readers, Happy Fasting this Ramadhan. God Bless.

As many of you know, this will be my first time spending my Ramadhan and Eid sans the family. To be honest, I don't really feel it. Yes, I whine when my parents call but that's just to lepas rindu. Lucky for me I have amazing friends here who are willing to make my first Ramadhan away from home a good one despite not being Muslims. They even plan to make this break fast get together thingy at my place this Saturday, though I'm not sure whether it's my food they're using or potluck (I have to check). Last Sunday I went grocery shopping to prepare for the sahur and break fasts with Adeline. She was just tagging along because she wanted to buy eyeliner (random I know) but it was all good. At one point I remembered telling her that I have never felt so matured until now. Shopping for my own food to break fast and sahur with.

Do I sound sad?

No, I don't think so.

Anyways, Selamat Berpuasa everyone and let's all doa for each other this Ramadhan. :)

PS: expect more posts after this! I just need to have to this week through and I will be free to blog!

Beautiful Day

Yang Safia On Sunday, August 1, 2010

Imagine waking up to a view like this. This is one of those times that I feel so blessed to be here in Dunedin.

That day was sunny, which is surprising for winter but we are in Dunedin so I guess that's normal. So that day I tried being mat salleh and used my free hour to soak up some UVs.

This is the famous river that Otago Uni bragged about. Like I said, looks like a big sewer to me. And yes, I was a bit gayat so I moved to a bench after this picture.

I wish sewers in Malaysia look like this. :)

I was being very English major-like, reading Richard III while soaking some UV rays when a pair of ducks came over to watch me. Haha.

Budak Shah Alam jakun tgk itik so mesti amik video lar.

The Amateur Writer

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