The Amateur Writer

Against the Malice: Chapter 2

2012-01-24T07:31:00.000-08:00

Chapter 2: Forestof Luna

The surroundingseemed to loom over her. She felt as if she was trapped in a black vortex andeverything seemed to be spinning. A few eternities later, she realized that shewas actually on solid ground. She must have hit her head pretty bad when shefell from her father’s horse. As expected, the horse was long gone. The girlinwardly cursed when her rucksack cushioned the wrong part of her body ratherthan her head.

Slowly standing upand regaining her composure, she made her way through the dark forest. She knewof this forest as it was forbidden for the villagers to enter unless one is trainedto survive through it. The total of people who made it out alive isaround five. But that was centuries ago. Nowadays the villagers tend to avoidthe Forest of Luna.

The forest is sodense that sunlight barely made it through to its floor. This helped littlewith the temperature since she felt it continuously dropped every passingsecond. She knew venturing into the forest was risky but she needed to startmoving or she will freeze to death. The forest was eerily quiet, the onlysounds was the gust of cold wind that passed through the trees.

The girl startedwalking towards what she assumed was north, although she didn’t know where thisdirection will lead her. She used to hear travel stories that travelers tend tohead north, she was unsure why. But this was her best shot.

After walking forwhat seemed like hours, the surroundings of the forest changed little. The girlwas tired and she did not pack any food. She did not imagine freedom would bethis…difficult. She looked around for any indication of food but the plants aroundher were foreign. None of them were anything like she was used to. She found a nearby bush bearing fruits, theylooked like apples but something was different about them. There were sparklinglike crystals, their bright color contrasted with the dull background of theforest.

“Pretty.” The girlsmiled and was about to pick one when a voice stopped her.

“Touch them andyou’ll die.” She turned to the direction of the voice. Standing in front of herwas a child.

“Humans aren’tsupposed to be here. Are you lost, human?” The child asked, slowly walking towards the girl. As the child gotcloser, the girl could finally see the true features of the child. First off,the child appeared not to be human. Not full human that is. Her skin is greenwith scales that lightly glimmer from the reflection of the crystal fruits. Redwavy hair was slicked back to reveal no ears, only narrow holes that stretchedbackwards. Aside from her skin and earless feature, the girl has all the humanfeatures.

“Are you doneanalyzing me?” The child raised an eyebrow, her tone snarky. “You’re definitelylost since you obviously have not seen my kind before.”

“Your…kind?”

“The great serpentrace of course! We are the strongest clan in this forest! Our Raja has powerover this land…and beyond!” The girl boasted. She put both hands on her hipsand gave an obnoxious laugh.

Upon realizingthat she received the unexpected response from the human, who just make asilent O with her lips and a careful nod, the serpent child ended her laughwith a cough.

“Human, you are inthe presence of Seraphina and—

“Nice to meet you.My name is Marie.” Marie did not actually mean to cut Seraphina off but she wasexcited to meet another person after all those years trapped under her father’scontrol. Not one person dared to befriend her, let alone to tell her theirname, because of the curse.

She offered a handto Seraphina as a sign of friendship but was slapped away by the child.Seraphina was not amused with being cut off.

“How dare you cutme off human! You are in the presence of a superior race. And I don’t need toknow your name, Marie. It is not ofimportance for me to know your name for you will be my prince’s food.” Thesurprised look on Marie’s face widened Seraphina’s smirk.

“I’m sure…I’m notthat tasty. I barely have any flesh on my body.”

The childdismissed Marie’s statement by grabbing her wrist and pulled her down. UntilMarie’s eyes were leveled with hers. Seraphina’s yellow eyes scanned her face before disappointment dawned.She brushed back the blonde hair that covered Marie’s left eye and cheek forfurther confirmation.

“You won’t do.Man, this is a waste.” Seraphina sighed.

“Why?”

“Because you’reugly. The prince doesn’t eat uglygirls.” Her matter-of-fact tone did notoffend Marie a bit. She was used to that description. All her life she wascalled ugly. The left side of her face carries an old scar from her childhood.Her once beautiful face was submitted to hot coals as part of her father’stemperaments. It was the reason why the skin looked as if it melted from herface.

Marie went back tocover her exposed face with her hair. This does not mean she was ashamed withher scar. She had wholly accepted this as part of herself. She knew the scarwould make people uncomfortable and that is why she covered it.

I mean really, why would I be ashamed of it whenpeople avoid me since I was born?

She once reasonedwith herself when she first got the scar all those years ago.

The only thingthat bothered Marie was that no one tried to get to know her in the first place.And that is why she is happy regardless the obvious insults that seemed to rolloff from Seraphina. All those years of loneliness made her desperate for socialinteraction.

“Well thankgoodness for that! I don’t want to be snake food!” Marie laughed out loud.Clearly her laughter was not amusing since Seraphina only glared.

Several secondspassed and Marie was getting uncomfortable. Whatshould I say next? Should I apologize?

Seraphina sighedagain and started to walk back wherever she came from. Marie wasted her time.The prince needed his hundredth sacrifice soon. Her Raja is growing impatient.She could not fail him.

“W-wait! Where areyou going?”

“I’m going to lookfor another beautiful girl. Goodbye.”

“Wait Seraphina!You have to help me! I need food and a place to stay.” Marie begged her newfriend. “We’re friends aren’t we?”

“Haaah?!”Seraphina was shocked by the notion. Clearly this girl is crazy.

“You… stay awayfrom me. I’ve got work to do.” She took a step back, motioning for the humangirl to stay put. But as she took a step back, the girl took a step forward.This was definitely not going to work.

“Pleaaase don’tleave me. I’m hungry and I need a place to rest.”

“You should’vethought about that before entering this forest! There is nothing for you here!You can’t eat anything from this forest because it will only kill you.Goodbye.” Seraphina ran.

“Seraphina wait!Aren’t there any humans in this forest?!” Marie chased the serpent girl. Shewas unexpectedly fast…especially for a hungry girl. Seraphina knew she neededto deal with Marie before she could continue with her search. She could notpossibly bring Marie to the Serpent lair unless she’s food.

After what seemedlike hours of running, Seraphina finally faced Marie head on.

“Alright, I’llhelp you.”

Marie tried tocalm her beating heart and gasped out a thank you.

“I’ll take you toLeo’s place. After that I’m done and don’t look for me again. Got it?” Marienodded obligingly.

“Who’s Leo?”

“The only human inthis goddamned forest.” Seraphina sighed.

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side Review

2012-01-18T06:09:00.000-08:00

Synopsis taken from Goodreads.com:

The undead can really screw up your senior year ...

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction.

I don't know why I read this book in the first place. I must have run out on things to read lately. I was surprised that I actually made it to the end really. Anyway I enjoyed the book purely because of the chemistry between Jessica and Lucian. I was at a point addicted to their exchanged banters about each other. Obviously Lucian has this mysterious charm that makes any girl weak at the knees (typical but nevertheless enjoyable). So that's the major reason why I stuck to the end.

I can't really say much about the book because it has no extraordinary factor that is worth discussing. I would say this though, I would say Fantaskey has a knack for creating pretty interesting characters. There are a lot of problems with this book but her ability to create a some what interesting set of characters (I'm talking the main characters, not the secondary ones) gives her work a redeeming quality.

My main problem with this novel is Fantaskey's writing. It's obvious that JGDDS is her first novel because the writing is quite...amateur-ish (CHECK OUT THE TITLE FOR GOD SAKE!). The story is better published on Fictionpress.com rather than becoming a paperback novel. She obviously has a lot of room for improvement and I'm sure with her knack for creating mysterious heroes and amusing heroines, her works will be celebrated on the commercial market.

She reminds me a bit like Meg Cabot but she seriously needs to work on her problem spots in order to come up with a well-rounded novel.

Now would I read the rest of the series?

No.

But I would like to give Jekel Loves Hyde a shot. Apparently it's a much darker read so I would love to see how she has grown.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Against the Malice: Chapter 1

2012-01-15T05:31:00.000-08:00

I'm finally living it up to the blog's name! I'm finally writing! For those who don't know this, the blog is originally for me to put up my writings. But as you can tell, that effort was quite unproductive for quite some time. And so here I am to introduce the first chapter of Against the Malice, a side project I've been working on all summer!

Chapter 1: Torture

I’ve had enough.

He threw her across the room and grinned atthe sight of her small form shaking as she tried to stand up. His breath washeavy and his body reeked of alcohol. He made his way across the room to whereshe was and with one beefy arm, pulled a handful of long blonde hair, forcingher bowed head to look up to him. She winced and her blue eyes tried to avoidhis wild ones.

He opened hismouth only to utter one word,

“Die.”

Then he slammedher head against the wall which knocked her unconscious. The last thing sheremembered was her father’s satisfied grin.

It must have beenhours since she passed out since it was almost dawn. The cottage was dark andshe could hear her father’s snores bounced off from the walls. It seemed to becoming from the kitchen. No doubt that he passed out while rummaging thecupboard for more rum. She tried to pull herself up but she can barely standand used the wall as her support.

Author's Note: The picture poses no relevance to the exact description in the story. Rather it is used as representation of an idea in the specific chapter.

I must go. I have to leave this place before he wakesup. She told herself. Butbefore she leaves, she remembered her mother’s necklace underneath her pillowwhere she would kiss the locket every night before she goes to sleep. Draggingher injured self as quietly as possible, she peered through the entrance of thesmall kitchen and just as she thought; there was her father passed out on thefloor. The whole kitchen was a mess with broken plates and cups strewn on thefloor. She took a deep breath and slowly entered the kitchen. She had to crossthe kitchen in order to get to her room.

Avoiding the bits of glass on the floor, shefinally made to her room and slowly opened the door. Her room was small, likeany other parts of the cottage, with only one old bed and a small cupboardwhere she keeps her clothes. Not that she has that many clothes since she onlyowns a turquoise colored cloak which its color had faded through time and twoold dresses that used to be her mother’s. Grabbing the only memory she had ofher mother underneath her pillow and stuff all her clothes into an oldrucksack, she quietly closed her bedroom door. Her eyes glistened with tears asshe looked at her bedroom for the last time. After all these years, her roomwas her sanctuary where she would hide from her father and the rest of the world.It was hard enough that her father would abuse her but the thought of thevillagers hating her was enough to kill her. When her mother was alive, thesepeople loved her and treated her kindly. They often talked about her beauty,how she surpassed her mother’s beauty who before this was the most beautifulwoman in the whole region. Everything changed when her mother died and left herwith her father. He is the cause of how she looked now.

With her mother’s necklace safe around herneck and her rucksack in hand, she took a deep breath and quietly crossed thekitchen again. Her father was still unconscious, his snores had labored alittle but he did not show any indication of waking up soon. Again she avoidedfrom making any sounds and carefully avoided the broken plates and cups on thefloor.

She safely made back into the living roomwhere her father abused her earlier and was about to open the front door whenone beefy hand wrapped around her right arm and an angry but drunk voicegrowled, “Where do you think you’re going wench?!”

“Let go!” Shepushed him away, causing him to stagger a bit. She opened the door and made herway to the small stable behind the cottage. She didn’t hear the door slam, thatmust mean her father was hot on her trail. She opened the stable doors andquickly mounted her father’s horse. The horse was never fond of her from thebeginning and it started to fight off her from its back. She pulled on the reinstrying to calm the horse.

“You fuckingwench! You’re going to leave just like your mother did!” Her father’s drunkenface was red with anger. The horse was getting harder to control and whathappened next was too quick to comprehend. The horse practically leaped out ofthe stable and jet out away from the cottage. She managed to catch a glimpse ofwhat happened to her father. She saw his beefy body lay on the ground,motionless.

She triedcontrolling the animal by pulling hard on the reins but it seemed to make it gofaster. “STOP! STOP!!”

Judging from theway it headed, the dark forest loomed over them but it was better from thecottage. “Anything away from him.” She muttered to herself.

Favourites of the Week + Update

2012-01-10T03:13:00.000-08:00

This 2012 started off pretty chill for me. I'm down to my last month in Malaysia before I have to go back to NZ for my final year at Otago. I'm starting to get the jitters now, as of how my life would be like after graduation. Haha, I barely started my third year I'm already thinking about what would happen afterwards. Arghh....take time Yang....take your time. Ok. Right. Favourites.

These are the things I'm currently obsessed about.

Favourite Album

I'm a big fan of Epik High. I got their [e] album a few weeks back and I have to say I love it! No surprise there since I practically collect their albums. Epik High is a Korean hip hop group that produces unique sounds and meaningful lyrics. They are one of those artists that I actually listen to their whole album and LOVE it. So [e] comes in 2 parts and I especially enjoyed Part 1. So if you're interested in some intellectual rap in a foreign language, give Epik High a shot.

One of my favourite tracks on it are Shopaholic and Oceans.Sands.Trees.

Favourite Game

Now let me set something straight before I ramble about Assassin's Creed. I don't play ANY of the AC series (except AC: Bloodlines on PSP) because I don't own an Xbox 360. But I'm still obsessed with the game especially the latest installation, Revelations. I'm in love with the characters, the history, the gameplay and most importantly, the story! My God I just burst into goosebumps just talking about the plot!

So how do I satisfy my needs seeing I don't own an Xbox? I watch walkthroughs on Youtube instead. Sad I know but it helps. :)

Now I just can't wait for the LAST INSTALLATION!

Ezio Auditore Da Firenze is so foine!! Haha! I can't stop fangirling about the assassins with Shira. She's the one who introduced me to the game!

I put up their Revelations trailer just to give you guys a heads up on the coolness.

Favourite Finds

I am probably the girliest girl you'll ever meet. Aside from my nerd-like tendencies, I'm still into the vainest of all pursuits...shopping. I'm into two things as of late. Shoes and lipsticks.

I'm so excited to have find oxfords that actually carry my size! I've been wearing them back in NZ to the point there are holes in them so I'm in a dire need of getting some new ones. I'm a big FAN of Vincci (watches, hangbags, shoes...you name it) but it sucks when they don't really carry size 10. So most of the time, I can't find my size. Luckily the Vincci at Fahrenheit 88 carries size 10 and whaddaya know...

DEEP RED OXFORDS~!

I got these cute patent flats when I was out with mum. Simple and shiny! I love them!

I've been collecting lipsticks lately. I don't know why but I feel I'm at the right age to start wearing them. Don't ask me why I feel 21 is a perfect age to start wearing lipsticks...

Revlon is the particular brand of lipsticks that I adore. I think it sort of happened because most of my lipsticks are from them. However I always find it difficult for Revlon to carry the perfect shade of nude for my lips. They always make me look too pale so at the end, I gave up.

Now my search is over when I tried Sara's lipstick for this wedding we're going to. It is the perfect shade for my lips and I knew...I have found it. So to make matters short, I went and got it la.

Silkygirl in Pure 24

Alright guys, short update! I've been...chilling and busy at the same time. I'm currently busy renewing my student's visa at the moment so I've been rushing getting some errands done for it. I have also been spending a lot of time with family and friends...so financially, I'm a bit broke to go anywhere. No road trips this time around...gotta save for the BIG ONES! FIJI AND KOREA!!! Woohoo!

Till then. :)

A New Beginning

2012-01-04T07:10:00.000-08:00

I'm a bit late (as usual) but Happy New Year everyone! May this new beginning give you prosperous ends. :)

2011 was an amazing year for me. I made NZ a home, I directed a full fledge theatre production, I met some amazing people, I got my first job, I led a (somewhat) healthy lifestyle by exercising (although there's no significant weight loss) and eating healthily, I got my first A for English, I gained some lifelong friends (Secret Club wohoo!) and basically...I grew as a person.

I'm very happy of where I am at this point of my life.

So I'd like to keep my new year's resolutions simple.

a) I want to take my time and experience. I always feel like I rush through my life and never look back. Although this is good in certain aspects, I really should savour my life more. You only live once after all. (And my undergraduate days are about to end!)

b) Travel. I want to see the world more before I settle down with whatever I have in Malaysia. I already have two confirmed destinations to go to and I.AM.EXCITED! Fiji and Korea...LEGGO! :D

And so I start 2012 with... BISMILLAHIRRAHMANIRAHIM.

Divergent Review

2011-12-30T08:25:00.000-08:00

It took me about a month to go around into actually picking Divergent up to read. I am very disappointed with myself at this but I must say, it could not have been a better timing. I almost lost my reading drive, seriously. I managed to get a lot of books over the holidays but so far I haven't been loving what I read. Divergent was a quite recent purchase about a month ago so obviously it's on the end of my reading list. Thank God that I bumped it up on my schedule and it got me out of this dry spell! :D

On to the review!

Gosh. Where do I even start? I could gush about Divergent on and on but I'll put on my English major hat and analyse this beauty in one (hopefully short) blog post!

One of the reasons why I love Divergent is because of Roth's ability to create such profound sentences. I have a few of my favourites and I will list them down later. To be honest I did not get hooked by the first page but by the end of Chapter 1, I find myself continuing to read. That is always a good sign. Given my experience of encountering such bad (a very strong word) novels, it's hard to find an un-put-down-able book. Especially from a Young Adult genre.

This could be an exaggeration by me but Divergent is dystopia at its best. Roth manages to bring forth issues or thoughts that have been on my mind for quite awhile. It even support my theory that I've been developing about the world. You might think, "Aren't you being a bit dramatic? Drawing such conclusions from a children's book?" But really, it is such a good piece of work if it could draw me some conclusions. Honestly only God knows how much answers I need right now.

"You chose us," he says. "Now we have to choose you." (pg. 73)

I got goosebumps when I read this sentence. This particular line really shed light on the workings of democracy. The West has been giving other countries sh*t for not upholding democracy in their countries; making it seem that democracy is the RIGHT or humane way of governing. No one really focuses on the negative effects of democracy. If democracy is so right, why are people still unhappy? I have been thinking a lot of politics lately given the elections are coming up soon in Malaysia. So it's no surprise why this line struck home.

Roth raises a point in the consequences of democracy. We choose a leader, choose a system that we want to be in and when we do get what we want--it is the government's turn to decide whether we ARE eligible to be in that system. If we are given a right to choose, why are we still being tested? If democracy gives the people power, why are they still being oppressed? I guess it takes a dystopic society to illustrate the major consequence in choosing our governments today.

"It is a beautiful thought." (pg. 207)

Ideals. Idealisms. It is interesting how everything starts out as ideals. Ideas/beliefs become the basis of government or way of life. And yet none of us are able to carry it out perfectly. And soon enough, it becomes a thought. An idea that fails to manifest into a product becomes a thought. I guess it is in our nature, we are not perfect beings. Our flaws balance out the good in us which makes this reality. Now does that mean all that is good are just thoughts? Obviously our main character may think like that but her actions show hope. No matter how bleak the situation is, I guess Roth shows that humans are hopeful beings. We still try. ~~Although when I read Divergent, every bit of hope in me may have been sucked out dry.~~

Divergent makes me philosophical. Haha!

Brash summary of my ramblings: Everything starts out good and then people f*ck up. We have problems but we still try to fix it.

"Peace is restrained; this is free." (pg. 250)

I have this theory that the world will never achieve total peace. (I remember that this thought popped in my head when I was cutting onions while making dinner. Intense thinking done in the kitchen I must say.) A sad worldview I know. This particular line in Divergent sort of sums up this theory perfectly. I always think that once the world solves a major problem, the solution will open up to a whole new set of problems. So in a way, it is a never ending cycle. And even if total peace is achieved, sooner or later someone will create problems because that is the true nature of our existence. We are curious and hopeful beings. We destroy, create and move on.

Main Character

When I first met Tris, I had a bit of an expectation that she would be like Katniss from The Hunger Games. Not that I want her to be like Katniss but seeing that the format is somewhat the same, I imagined that she would be a bit like her. Basically I was starting to stereotype the heroines for this particular genre but it's good that Roth did not exactly work with the same mould and break off the chain. Tris is a strong character but I appreciate how Tris seems vulnerable at the same time. She has her doubts and she thinks about her surroundings. And I love how she can be such a girl sometimes!

I really find the concept of grouping the masses into groups of personality very interesting because it emphasizes the fact that humans are complex beings. No matter how many similarities we share, we are just different. Intentional or not, Roth manages to accentuate this point very well. Basically we are all Divergents.

The Romance

I'm a sucker for forbidden romance. Even though Four and Tris's relationship is not exactly forbidden, the whole teacher-student dynamic got me excited. Too...excited.

Now if Four is just a tad bit older...than Tris. Then it would be reaaaaaally forbidden. :P

I mean seriously, how HOT is Four?

Ahem.

My only complaint for Roth is really superficial. I just hate her choice of names for the main characters. No offence to anyone named Beatrice but really, can't you just give her a much cooler name? Also Four's real name killed the fangirl in me...just a bit.

But then again, Beatrice and Four's real name (I'm kind. No spoilers here!) are total Abnegation names. So that must be her reasoning.

The Verdict: 5 out of 5

2011-12-27T22:19:00.001-08:00

Fan of this book?

Check out my review!

Coming Soon

Wondermilk

2011-12-26T06:33:00.000-08:00

I know I'm late. WM is not exactly new but it seems I'm the only person who has yet to check out the cupcakes (and more importantly, their coffee). And so last weekend (after a wedding if you read my previous post) my friends and I decided to pop in for some cuppies! We went to their Damansara branch.

Part of WM's charm is its cute vintage interior. It has a relaxing ambiance which makes it perfect for a hangout with close friends. While everything is immaculate, I cannot help but find this place a bit similar to this cafe I love back in Dunedin called Modaks. Although the decorations are more put together than Modaks. After all, I doubt Malaysians would appreciate a messy (although in my opinion, artsy) cafe!

I decided to try the rainbow coloured cupcake. Nice.

I can just feel how it goes straight to my waist with each bite I take.

I went with my usual order. A cup of Mocha. Price wise, WM is extremely pricey. As I was ordering, an accountant (Shaza) and an actuarist (Shira) were discussing how much profit WM is making with just their cupcakes. Now, I don't understand financial talk but I heard something about a 300% profit? I might hear wrong but conclusion, very pricey.

The mocha is extremely delicious. Maybe it's the chocolate they use because you can really taste the chocolate. As for the coffee, not so much. Also the consistency is not really thick so it should be nice for some people. I particularly like this mocha.

So that's two great Mochas in Malaysia! :D

A cup of mocha will set you back around RM4.50. Not so bad if you think about it. It can be considered luxury coffee so for this price, I guess it's not that bad.

My only complaint about WM aside from its price would be the portion. I find it a tad...small. Sometimes you will find yourself paying a ridiculous amount for something that is very little (or overly hyped) and the product will not be up to your expectation. So a heads up for interested WM customers. Like for example, Shira ordered an Irish Cream milk and it costs her such damage that it got her complaining and the thing tasted like ordinary milk.

I tasted Sara's Iced Long Black and it's pretty good. A bit strong for me but I know many caffeine addicts who would just ENJOY it.

Datin Sara.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. :P

Wondermilk is definitely one of the unique cafes you can find in KL. My overall judgement on the food and coffee is that it is delicious but nothing special. I guess it's more famous for its beautiful decor and chill ambiance and coupled that with our fascination with cute vintage things...you will get a successful cafe! An extremely well thought out concept but you might find yourself going there just for the hype.

4 girls after a wedding

2011-12-25T05:57:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

Hawa invited us four to her sister's wedding on Christmas. Shaza received her call when the four of us went on a shopping spree on the 24th. Quite an impromptu decision but it's been so long since the foursome get to do something together so a chance for a second day of AWESOME FOURSOME is a definite HELL YEAH.

We were a bit lost and after a car ride full of kecoh-ness, we arrived at the wedding...starving. I'll spare the details on the damage done but we were um...satisfied. :P

But it was soooo good to see Hawa after our 2 years of separateness. Haha. Thats what happens when your holidays don't meet. I can't wait to spend some quality time with her before she leaves for Japan again.

After the wedding, the foursome find themselves at Wondermilk in Damansara. I'll let the pictures do the talking but it's been a long time since I had a laugh with these girls. Too long I'm afraid.

What happens when the camera flashes before you're ready. I love this picture! It's so US!

Got a bit sesat here and there and the girls soon sesat to my place for some rambutan.

This picture is not a 100% posey-posey ok. They do act like this at my place. No shame these girls.

Sara with my youngest cousin, Baby Noura! They were a bit obsessed with her quite a bit.

Shaza being annoying about her facts. One thing about her is that she tends to go ON and ONNN about statistics. This time, she was trying to prove that the number of men is actually more than women in Malaysia. Thus why it shouldn't be hard for the three of us to find a boyfriend. As usual, we ignored her. It's for her own good anyway.

It's moments like this that makes me miss Malaysia. AWESOME FOURSOME REUNITE! :D

My First Job

2011-12-23T02:15:00.000-08:00

I was an inexperienced noob. I've never worked before in my whole life. Well I did help my dad loads of times with his business but working with your own dad hardly counts as a real job. So this summer I was dead set on getting myself a job. I had a plan to work with this company (I even send in a resume and even got myself an interview!) but plans had to change because I had some time issues. Given that I went to Egypt right after my flight back home, it sort of changed everything I had planned for summer.

So what is my job exactly?

If you've read my previous posts, I did mention that I am a teacher. If you personally know me or been reading this blog, you would know that I'm an English major with a minor in TESOL. So for this job, I am an English teacher. What makes this job a whole lot special is that I taught students from poor and struggling families. The whole program runs for 4 days and it is basically like summer camp. Students will study Math and English, play and make new friends. I worked for a month so that means a program a week. This project falls under Lembaga Zakat Selangor and was organized by Fauzul Azmi, the company that hired me. For the first two weeks, I taught 13&14 year olds while the last two I taught 16 year olds.

What a whole day of teaching does to you. I look so haggard! XP

How I got the job:

It was quite sudden to be honest. I was sitting across my dad, three days after we got back from Egypt and I was complaining about what to do with my time when he told me about this job. Actually he got a text from his friend who was looking for an English teacher. That friend turns out to be my boss and we had my first job interview the next day. It was sudden to the point that I didnt have time to be nervous.

Because I even had time to look for proper interview shoes an hour before the interview! I settled with a rubber bright baby blue Bata flats that clashed so horribly with my outfit! My mum actually asked whether I was serious and from the look of her face, she was worried that I'm not going to get the job...because of my shoes.

The nervousness finally hit when I was waiting for my dad's friend to arrive. I also realized that I should have followed what my mum said about the shoes...I looked so...kiddy in them. (=3=) This is my first OFFICIAL job interview after all...

Thank goodness that the interview turned out to be at a Mamak restaurant! Haha!

(I later found out that other candidates had their interview at my boss's office while I had mine at some mamak. Phew!)

What I learnt:

Teaching is hard. My first day on the job went so bad...I felt like ripping my hair off! I felt like throwing the grammar books and burn all of them. I wanted to apologize to the students for my incompetence. Basically I overestimated myself and the students. To make matters worse, I actually wanted to tell my boss to just fire me. But I didnt. Because that would be stupid. And so I went home with a fake smile and a heavy heart.

I persevere.

Day 2 and onwards went surprisingly well. I learned to adapt to different classroom situations and various questions. I also learned to use the theories I've learned throughout my studies which was helpful. But what I learned most was to appreciate what I have. These students taught me to be happy. You would think that they are unhappy given to their situation but every time I asked them how they are or simply ask them to write a short essay about their life, they never cease to convince me how happy they are with their life.

And now I'm sick of people who kept on complaining that they don't have enough stuff or money (or that they're BORED!) because that's just ungratefulness on their part. :(

The best part of becoming a teacher is when you get to see their faces change when they actually understand something. BEST FEELING EVER.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Pn Nora who gave me this opportunity. Not only you gave me my first job but you gave me a chance to rediscover my original passion...English. Thank you!

Besides, beating other candidates who have a Masters degree is a HUGE ego boost. ;P

Coffee Planet

2011-12-19T05:30:00.000-08:00

I decided to go out and have coffee with the "gang" at the new cafe that just opened in Shah Alam called...

Coffee Planet is a coffee franchise from Dubai and according to the owner, this outlet is the first branch out of Dubai ever. Which is pretty cool. Considering that I ALWAYS go out and have coffee with my friends back in NZ, my coffee intake has been really low ever since I came back to Malaysia. A good friend once said that the coffee is really nice and it is cheaper than Starbucks. That's why I decided to try out Coffee Planet.

Just to let the word out, I really do like Coffee Planet and that's why I'm doing this review.

Let's talk about the price for a bit.

When I said it is cheaper than Starbucks, I meant it a TAD bit cheaper. It is still quite on the pricier side for a cup of coffee but if you're really posh about your coffee, then I'll say you're paying your money's worth. I'm a mocha person and my goodness, the mocha is sooo good. Ever since I'm back in Malaysia, I realize we don't have that many good mochas out here.

Have you ever had a mug of melted hot chocolate before? You know how it's real nice and thick? Well I find the mocha at coffee planet is the same but the coffee taste is really distinct. Which in my opinion gives a real kick!

I've got a real buzz after a mug so that shows how long I've been without caffeine. :'/

The concept of this cafe is really similar to that of Starbucks. Nothing really different. Although I feel that they focus more on coffee, given their drinks menu. Their non-caffeine drinks are quite limited. Aside from that, I like the ambiance. Very chill and I love their choice of music. I recently got converted by my brother to become a Nujabes fan and I realized that this cafe plays nothing but Nujabes. Call it coincidence but a pretty darn good one I must say!

Shira ordering her food

Mocha Hazelnut

Me with my Iced Mocha. I've had my hot mocha before and I wanted something cold so I opted for this. Like I said, the caffeine kick is still there!

Shira at her second round of ordering!

My Roasted Beef Ciabatta

The bread is good! It's almost as good as Coffee Club's sandwiches!

Shira's Brown Nasi Goren with Roasted Beef. I'm surprised how good it was!

Later Aniyah and Shaza joined us.

Shira and Aniyah

Shaza and Me

I realized it has gotten quite hard for us to get together now. I mean, if there's effort we can always meet up but given that we all have different schedules...I really do appreciate meet ups like this. Pretty easy going and chill. Just regular updates on each others lives. Although it's pretty funny how we seem to know what goes on in each others lives anyway.

I have exactly 2 months before I go back to New Zealand!

Also just to let you guys know that I'm going to start a new series! I've decided to do cafe/coffee reviews from now on. Although most of it will be done when I'm in NZ. I will call it my Coffee Diaries from now on! So STAY TUNED!

Favourites of the Week

2011-12-17T23:14:00.000-08:00

I've been loving a few awesome things throughout this week. Sharing time!

Favourite Song

I love fresh music like this. I don't really get why people feel the need to categorize which is the REAL music. I enjoy the electro genre very much and I don't really mind auto-tune if it's done tastefully. I've been a fan of Clazziquai for awhile and it's no surprise if I like this song as it is by DJ Clazzi.

Favourite Game

This is a shout out to my sister, Yang Soraya who is craving for some good RPG games! I'm loving Brave Story! I have not been able to put down my PSP to the point that I play it in between breaks when I was teaching. I admit it is no Final Fantasy but the graphics is nice and the plot is interesting. Most importantly, it has a turn-based battle system which I LOVE!

Favourite TV Show

I know I'm a bit late on joining the bandwagon but I love The Rachel Zoe Project. She is a famous stylist to the stars. Since I love fashion, I can really appreciate the work she does. Most of her drama is work-related so I can handle that. Although I hate Taylor so so much (I'm watching Season 2 right now). The hectic-ness in her life is what I want for my career in the future. Also you can tell how much she loves her job which I can relate to. Workaholic anyone??? :P

Favourite Buy

I know I should stop with the turquoise but how can you resist silver and turquoise! My mum bought this bracelet with me at Amcorp Mall. Vintage accessories are just amazing at their flee market there. I got another bracelet covered in precious baby blue stones and a silver+turquoise necklace. But this bracelet is my favourite out of all.

This concludes my Favourites post. I admit it's not much but now you know what I'm loving half of the time I'm here in Malaysia!

Wither Review

2011-12-16T01:02:00.000-08:00

Time for another book review! Right now I have the opportunity to read tons of books since it's my summer holiday. In this post, I will be reviewing Lauren DeStefano's first novel in her trilogy called Wither. I first saw this book at one of my favourite bookshops in Dunedin. I was struck by its cover which is so pretty and coupled that with an interesting synopsis, I was sold.

Synopsis:

Imagine a world where somebody created a cure for cancer thus produced future generations that are cancer-free. But with a price. Men can live up to 25 while women can only live up to 20. In this world where young girls are kidnapped to become brides for rich men who marry as many as they can afford. Or else suffer poverty or see the human race extinct.

Rhine finds herself kidnapped and chosen to become a bride for Linden, a rich man. From thereon, trapped in a lavish but empty life; Rhine tries to escape with the help of a servant named Gabriel.

Despite a beautiful cover and a kickass synopsis, Wither did not manage to deliver as much as I hope it would be. I find it quite disappointing that DeStefano manages to cover all the basics of a good YA novel; beautiful cover, nice gimmick, interesting material, good plot and believable characters. My problem with it is that I hate HATE the pace of the story. Now that I think about it, it's not exactly slow or too fast but I just get really bored by the time I reach the middle of the book. I don't want to spoil the story for you if you're interested in reading this book but let me just warn you, YOU WILL FEEL LIKE NOTHING HAPPENS FOR QUITE A WHILE. And by the time you reach where something actually happens, you will realize that you're almost done with the book. Yes, granted that Wither is actually a part of a trilogy but how the story develops initially makes me not want to purchase the second book.

The Romance

If you're an avid YA novel reader, just by my synopsis you would have guessed who is Rhine's romantic interest in this novel. The development between Rhine and Gabriel is minimal in Wither. I'm pretty sure this section will be developed in other books but the disappointing bit with this tactic is that you won't be as interested in Gabriel as you should be. His character seems one-dimensional and borderline boring. To be honest, I prefer Linden. He is way more interesting than Gabriel since he has the whole tragic figure going for him.

The Polygamy

The only part I like about Wither is its exploration of the lives of Rhine and the two of Linden's wives. You will be able to see the dynamics between the wives and their husband which is really interesting. In some weird way, they become a family. Obviously the jealousy is there but the camaraderie between Rhine and the other wives is quite endearing.

I had a couple of WTF moments while reading this book, for instance the wedding scene, which I really enjoy.

The Verdict

The concept is great. Dystopic novels are becoming the IT genre in the YA community which is what I'm loving. It is like a breath of fresh air and takes us away from the whole Paranormal scene. But I will not be purchasing the rest of the books in this trilogy because I am simply unamazed by the plot progression in Wither.

Although I might change my mind in the future...who knows.

Rating: 2/5

Kalumpang

2011-12-09T05:29:00.000-08:00

This week I went on my first "outstation" for my job with Fauzul Azim. It was a bit nerve racking for me because I've never been on a trip with a bunch of people I don't really know. Luckily my boss was real nice and said I could bring my family along. And so I dragged my mum and Adam with me.

Yeah. Real cool. Everyone just came by themselves and I brought my mama with me. :P

Orientation with the kids

Adam inside our cabin

This is the place where we stayed for 5 days. It's small but ok la. Although to be honest Kalumpang Resort should really do some major quality control. I found the mattress has those mildew spots on them which is disgusting and the room smells really bad. I'm proud that it's a Bumiputera business but if they really want to succeed then they need to amp up on their quality control.

Vent. Vent. Vent. :P

One of my many meals there

Untung, the monkey

Teacher Yang baby!

In action? :P

I got the students to study some lyrics and analyse them. It's part of their training to get themselves familiar with the literature section for SPM.

Next week will be my last week of working for Lembaga Zakat. More information on this will be up soon when I'm done with my job. Like I said in my Egypt post, I'm pretty caught up with my work right now but I've got some summer reads that I'm trying to go through and their reviews will be coming up.

Till then.

Malaysia + Egypt (But mostly Egypt)

2011-11-25T03:36:00.000-08:00

Hello! It's been awhile and I apologize. A lot of things have been going on in my life at the moment and I admit, I'm having a swell time. I'm finally back in Malaysia as suggested by my previous 2 posts. I was only in Malaysia for a day before going off to Egypt with the family to see my sister, Sabrina. She's studying in Alexandria now in hopes to become a legit doctor. Yeah...baby sister is a big girl now or as she puts it, "Me big girl now". A lot to take in as the big sis but I'm proud of her. Her blog should be up in my My Reads section so check her out.

This is a REALLY REALLY long post and it is basically one of those pictorial posts so Imma let the pictures do the talking.

PS: Things have been real busy for me because I've got myself a summer job! I'm currently working as an English teacher for Lembaga Zakat Selangor! For my non-Malaysian readers, this is an organization in Malaysia that helps Malaysians in need. (A post on this will be up soon when I'm done with the job).

**Beware of my ugly face. There's too many of them and I couldnt care less to um, edit or separate them from the nicer ones. I dont really care but I just dont want to...surprise you.

KLIA: Before our flight

This is my conclusion after my Egypt trip. I freaking hate Egypt Air. Not because of its service but what the hell is wrong with the plane? It has no freaking VENTILATION!! I was a freaking roasted pig(?) throughout that 18 hour flight! 18 hours because I've combined the hours of going and coming back.

Our first view of Egyptian soil at 7AM after a 9-hour flight

Cairo is so empty in the morning. Did you know there is roughly 20 mil people in Cairo alone? Malaysia has 30 mil people. Yeah. Imagine how crowded it is on a normal day.

This is one of the buildings that suffered from the Egyptian Revolution (ER) late last year? The first round.

Us at the now empty Tahrir Square. Funny how right after we left Egypt, the current ER happened. Although throughout the trip I do see a lot of those election posters with their political candidates. They look like old greasy men to me so I always make fun of them. And no, I don't mean anything bad by this. :P

I find the architecture of this building below so....interesting. It reminded me of the big bank at the end of In Time. This building is actually a place where all the ministers work. Well that's what the tour guide said.

So we made our way to Alexandria and lets just say we were sooooooooo tired. I mean 9 hour flight + no sleep + 3 hour drive to Alexandria all in what felt like one day. Look at my face yourself. That was how tired I was. This is us at one of those RnR place.

I was so jakun about their tolls here. Since we were heading towards Alexandria, the greek features start to come out. Fancy fancy.

ALEXANDRIA!

I'm not going to say that don't let the pictures fool you but um, no offence but Egypt is not that clean?

Cleopatra's lighthouse or guard or something. Yeah, I'm a bad travel blogger.

We got really lost looking for our hotel and finally we found it. And yes, the hotel came along with Yang Sabrina and Fatihah.

Dumped our bags and it's time to EAT! Our first Egyptian meal at our first Egyptian restaurant.

The best word to describe Egyptian food is EXTREME. It can either be extremely salty or extremely bland or extremely sweet. Yeah you get the picture. By the end of my stay in Egypt, let's just say I'm not the first person to line up to eat a kebab.

One of the things that amazes me about Egypt is the irony. Everywhere you see in Egypt are in shambles and people here live poorly but my goodness, the locals dress up. They LOVE to party and dress up to the point it's kinda *cough*tacky*cough*. It's like the exact of opposite of New Zealand. Everything is BEAUTIFUL in NZ but um...the people there have some nasty B.O. Not generalizing but yeahhh....

DAY 2

At breakfast

Alex's Central Station

Outside of Ina's flat. It was like a huge shock for us because we just can't believe our daughter/sister is living in this kind of condition. Call us smotherers or "memanjakan" but it's human nature man....you just can't bare looking at one of your own living so...harsh.

Ina's front door

Aya could not believe Ina's situation. The flat is dingy and the landlord is pure evil and the list goes on...

FLATMATES

Then we stopped by at Ina's fave local joint. Abou Rabie's pizza and burgers are super cheap by Msian standards. Pronounced = ABU RABIK

At Sultana, a famous gelato place

After all of that, that night we decided to tour the city. See the Egyptian night life.

This lovely girl is Hadeer, our friend who showed us around. Shoutout to Jie Ning, she's your age!

Just so you know, we adopted Fatihah as our sister throughout our stay here. She even sleeps at the hotel with us! 7th member baby!

Day 3

Visiting Ina's Uni

Found a Gen-2 on Uni grounds. Gen-2 is a Malaysian car btw.

In front of the Faculty of Medicine

The Children

Shopping in Ibrahimiah

We had a funny experience in getting to Ibrahimiah. It took us so long to find the correct street because we were just simply lost. At this point, Ina and Fatihah's Arabic is not competent enough to help us around so we found ourselves in a tramco ( a van taxi). So 7 Malaysians got on a tramco filled with locals and we um, didn't know the name of the street. Driver asked where we want to go and we said, "Ibrahimiah." You see, by saying that is like saying I want to go to New York. But where in NY? Thing is, we don't know.

So everyone was trying to help us but we just don't understand a thing. At a point, my mum started speaking to this man in Malay and I was her signal language expert. Meaning I was literally playing charades with the locals. It was too funny and ridiculous.

Day 4

On the way to the Alexandria Museum

Tasting Arab Coffee. I DON'T LIKE IT! BITTEREST SHIZ EVAR!

Egyptian reality. Our constant surroundings.

Lunch with Ina's flatmates

Bestfriends

My Glassons flip flops reduced to this. I threw it away.

My dad with a friend he made. He owns this pizza shop with a friend. We bought countless pizzas from his shop.

Last day in Alex. Saying goodbye is hard.

Finally...THE PYRAMIDS

Just look at mum. Seriously, look at her. Shah Alam aunty versi Indiana Jones.

On the way to the airport, we stopped by to look at Saidina Ali's mosque...I think. FAIL i know.

I end this post with a pic of this Arab businessman who was very sleepy to catch his late-night flight. Imagine...I was in the same clothes as I was at the Pyramids and I flew all the way back to Malaysia in them. SO yeah....I smelled funky.

Whoops, last pic. Museum tickets anyone?

2011-11-06T01:11:00.001-07:00

WATCH THIS SPACE

I'LL BE BACK WITH SOME COOL UPDATES!

HAPPY EID-UL-ADHA!!

Coming Home

2011-10-31T02:49:00.001-07:00

Exams are over. It's time to head home.

Not Enough

2011-10-19T05:16:00.000-07:00

So today I decided to go to library REAL early (Is 10AM early? No? Maybe just me...) to meet up my friend, Josh for like a study discussion thing. My exams are in a week and I can safely say that I'm starting to freak out. Jie Ning said something funny like, "Uh oh. You know Yang's panicking when she's all quiet" during our study group today. But that's besides the point. And so Josh and I were discussing all the novels for our upcoming American Contemporary paper which is on the 29th. And THEN he said something which caused me to think quite a lot throughout the whole day. It frustrates me. It worries me.

"Did you know that Rochelle (our lecturer) said that she expects us to not use the lecture notes and just be creative with our answers? She wants to leave it up to interpretation."

And you might be thinking. "So? Just do it lah."

Again, that's not the point. What Rochelle expects from us is making me question my efforts in studying lately. Have I done enough? I know I've done a lot of work but what's the point of work when the product is not up to expectation? My constant explanation to my peers who are not an English major is that it's subjective. What I'm doing is different from what you're doing. 1+1 doesn't equal to 2 for me. Deep down I wish though. I wish it's as simple as 1+1 but it's not. In terms of my studies, I just don't know where I'm going. I'll be honest, I'm not going to settle with just a B or a B+. I know people back home won't accept it and what's more important is that I can't accept it.

I sometimes envy my friends and sisters who are doing Science/Law/Commerce. I'm not saying they've got it good but they know what the end product is going to be like. It's like "If I don't study this, I won't score this exam" mentality that I miss. I've studied so much and tried to immerse myself with all sorts of different disciplines but for me, it all boils down to what I think.

I don't know what I think.

Today I look at the books scattered across my table and thought, "What's the point of criticizing these books? The authors wrote them, they try to imply something but at the same time readers can interpret it in a different way so yeah, there's that...so what? Why do you need to argue? Why make it so complicated? It's a good piece of work because it makes you think but why do you need to make it such a big deal? You have no life is it to bend over a book?" I admit these are just frustrated thoughts. I have bigger respect for literature than this.

In a typical Yang Safia manner; after having all of these thoughts running through my head, I started to rationalize. One thing I learned from studying literature is that a) now I know why authors these days make things overly dramatic to the point it is almost cliche. It'z because they want their books to sell and also to make their story memorable even if it's cliche. This is because I have actually read books in my course which tells about nothing. Nothing exciting happens. And I find it so difficult to remember what actually happens in the book because...nothing happens. b) No matter how much I bitch about literature, it does have some good points even if it doesn't produce money in the near future nor it cures cancer (actually it can. Can you think how? ;P) Literature helps you look at things from different perspectives. I guess that's why I'm good at putting things into perspective sometimes. But obviously this has to have a limit because what I'm dealing with my course right now is crazy! I'm just so sick of people arguing ALL THE TIME. I mean, make up your mind damnit!

What makes me feel frustrated with myself is that I feel that the effort I put into my work is spread out into different things which causes it not to have a focus. I look at my friends and sisters and they're trying very hard to get to their point B. And the effort and energy they put in are channelled towards one direction. If you compare that to my situation right now, I AM doing work but where is it heading? I know I want to get an A but how do I know I'm moving towards the right direction?

Mind you, this is not exam stress. I'm just frustrated. I feel like there's no definite answers to everything anymore.

This frustration is really messing up with my confidence right now. The worst feeling I know I could have is intimidation. I just hate that feeling. And for some odd reason right now, I'm losing my confidence for myself. I don't feel like I'm good enough for anything.

Again, what is the point?

I just hope I can have things figured out soon.

Boy

2011-10-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

This is not the main poster but I just love Rocky so much!! He's too adorable!!

When Boy first came out last year, I didn't give it much thought because my friends described it as "THE KIWI MOVIE". I mean, how could I relate to a Kiwi movie?

Today I had to sit for my Theatre paper and I had to watch this movie again and again, to sort of do a close analysis on it. The usual. Anyway, Boy is such an endearing movie and I assure you it will touch your heart. I'm a fan of Taika Waititi now. He is like the Yasmin Ahmad for New Zealand. He's able to make something so culturally New Zealand but is able to attract a non-Kiwi viewer at the same time. Besides, he writes, directs and acts in the movie!

This video is one of my favourite scenes in the movie. I'm pretty for most people who has seen it, it is theirs too. Psst! Waititi is the guy who's wearing the MJ costume.

How can I not love this dance number? It has Haka and Michael Jackson in it!

I suggest you go check this movie out!

Muallaf

2011-10-10T23:00:00.000-07:00

I know I'm about 3 years late of watching this movie but I'm glad I finally watched it. I was feeling really swamped with assignments so I sort of decided to chill and watch Yasmin Ahmad films the whole day. God knows how many times I've watched her movies but for some odd reason, I never wanted to watch Muallaf. I admit, when it first came out I was a bit...scared.

Also for the fact that Malaysia banned this film so it wasn't exactly accessible.

Muallaf is a beautiful movie. I don't understand why Malaysia banned it in the first place. Faith is a beautiful thing and I believe this is Yasmin's main message. Despite what religion you believe in, to acquire faith is a blessing. I can see why Muallaf can be seen as controversial but honestly, I don't see the point of people getting worked up over it. (Malaysian critics, you sure your judgements are not clouded from political influences ah?)

Yes, the film shows Islam and Christianity co-exists and things work out. What's so bad about it when it is the truth? I believe as long as each religion respects each other, things will be fine. Did not Islam teach you to respect other religions too?

One reason why I love Muallaf is that it shows the two sides of both religions. The good and bad "Muslims" and "Christians". I love the scene where the Muslim Datuk and Datin (who drink alcohol openly) demanded to have dogs away from them because they are haram. Ironic because alcohol is haram in Islam too. It is little details like this that I have respect for Yasmin because her social criticism is subtle and is done tastefully. It is not too provocative and instead of offending anyone, her works make you think.

Muallaf is not too idealistic in my opinion. This is for you sceptics out there. Co-existence can be done and I believe Malaysia has hope. We have been co-existing for so many years and the difference of our race and religion have never been a barrier. It is when we have perversion in racial and religion practices (+ politics), that's when the problem starts.

Yasmin delivers another message which I absolutely love. Help can come in the most unlikeliest places. There's the scene where the girls who ran away from home due to their abusive father, it is their principal and teacher (who are Christians btw) who helped them. Another scene is where a GRO helped to conceal the heroine's whereabouts and risked her life for this information. Muallaf shows that it does not matter who helped you because when we have love, faith and respect, your background does not matter.

Honestly there's so many things you can get from Muallaf. I believe this is Yasmin's best work. She manages to tackle such a sensitive topic (in Malaysia) and creates a beautiful story that's laden with messages of hope. For the Muslims, Yasmin encourages for us to learn more about Islam in the movie. This is what Muslims in Malaysia need. Nothing good comes out of believing what others say about your own religion.

Muallaf makes me want to be a better Muslim. Honestly. :)

Brian looking curiously as the girls pray at a mosque. Beautiful scene.

Sisterly love

If you haven't watched this movie, GO! Btw, I'm sorry if my writing is really shitty. I'm so juiced out. Just handed in my last essay of the year today so it's time to focus on finals. LEGGO!!

PS: 3 more weeks till HOME!! Malaysia~!!!!

One last OMSA! (I promise)

2011-10-09T06:03:00.001-07:00

Otago Uni has its new OMSA 2012 committee and what else to do but for us 2011 folks to CELEBRATE(!) and properly put an end to our responsibilities :( . Our private FB group had been buzzing for weeks, some of us kept asking when will we have our committee dinner. Proper goodbyes aside, we do deserve a treat after all the hard work we've done!

Location: The Reef

Time: 7pm

Pictures courtesy of Liling Cheah

First group shot

We had TONS of food it's not even funny. Let's just say it was a complete 3 course meal. The food you're about to see is like quarter of the food we ate that night!

Smoked Salmon Salad

Alia with Garlic Prawns

Chua with the Crayfish

Seafood Platter

We sat there till the restaurant is about to close. Good people, good food and good laughs. What more could you ask?

Thus concludes this period of my life. My time with OMSA is truly memorable. I learned the true meaning of teamwork and what it means to have shared goals with other people. My life here in Dunedin has been truly amazing and it is all thanks to OMSA. God bless. :)

Typical RWC Weekend

2011-10-03T00:15:00.000-07:00

Just a short post showing you how weekends in Dunedin are like during the Rugby World Cup. I've never seen Dunedin so happening like this before!

This is a video when England played against Romania (?) two weeks ago. This was also the weekend when Zara Phillips came down to Dunedin to watch her husband play. And yes, the whole cheating scandal in Queenstown was the rage here.

This is during Ireland VS Italy yesterday. This game takes the cake because it was CRAZZZZY in Dunedin. But it was fun nevertheless! I took this video when I was on my way home from dinner. The environment was just electric.

Favourites of the Week

2011-09-28T07:06:00.000-07:00

I figured I could do a favourites post where I share with you things that I've been loving this week. Aside from my attempts to keep this blog alive since I'm honestly swamped with essays right now...to be honest I haven't been going out of the house much. So nothing exciting to report! =_= Anywho...these stuff are pretty random. Quite general actually.

Oh well.

Favourite Photo of the Week

I know it's pretty vain of me to love a picture with my face right smack in the middle but I love how Mark/Vivian managed to capture the moment. I was just BS-ing (90% of the time I do speak BS anyways) with friends at Golds Awards but the shot made it look as if I was discussing world peace or something. :P

Favourite TV Show of the Week

How I Met Your Mother

Season 7 kicked off last week and it was awesooomeeee! I don't care if people say how overrated this show is because this is THE TV SHOW OF THE GENERATION! This whole show freakin define my Uni years and 20s. It's like Friends to the 90s generation. HIMYM is that to people of my generation. I have never met anyone (from Otago that is) who does not watch HIMYM. (Jie Ning, if you're reading this. SHUT UP!)

Favourite Music of the Week

I discovered Rizzle Kicks through my good friend, Divanesh who posted this first video on Facebook. I was really dying at that point and I needed a pick-me up. Rizzle Kicks represents a style that I really love in music. I may not seem like it but I.LOVE.RAP! Especially smart rap as in they actually tell a message or just freaking smart. I love how they're very witty with their lyrics. And how cute are these guys!!! >_< Also it's very british. Got all the slang and accent going on so that totally stimulates my geeky language-driven brain. Note: Expect to be really really tongue tied when you first listen to Rizzle Kicks!

My favourite cover from them. It's so soothing and uber cool at the same time. RIZZLE'S RAP IS SICK!

Anyways that's it for now. I would love to do a favourite book of the week section but I have none. So far I've only read boring literature (yes modernist books....I'm talking about you).

Looking forward to the weekend!!!

Lit Rant: New vs Old

2011-09-26T23:36:00.000-07:00

NEW, CONTEMPORARY, DIFFERENT, MODERN, TECHNOLOGY, JOYCE, FAULKNER, PYNCHON, KINGSTON, DOCTOROW, RACISM, ATHEIST, NOTHINGNESS, PHILOSOPHY, NOW.

OLD, ARCHAIC, ANCIENT, MEDIEVAL, VICTORIAN, EDWARDIAN,DONNE, WILDE, SHAKESPEARE, CHAUCER, BRONTE,LOVE, HEROIC, RHYME, DEATH, MOORS, KING, CLASS, THEN.

Literature has always been my passion. I love the idea of timelessness that seems to be in these works. And over the years, my interests just sort of grew around it. I love reading about the classics, music and performing arts. And I'm lucky to be majoring in something that I love, I really do.

But

I encountered contemporary literature. For this semester I had no choice but to take up some contemporary literature papers since I've done all the "ancient" ones. You might be thinking, "Heh. It's contemporary how hard could it be?" And before I correct you...don't worry. I had the same thinking as well.

Often people are intimidated with literature because they might not understand it. The usual complaint that I hear is, "The language is too difficult." or "It's sooo boring." And I get it. One thing I learned in my lectures is that to "get" literature is to become a competent reader. To become a competent reader, you have to actually undergo some training. Nothing physical, obviously,but a training that requires you to shift your perspective in such a way that the way you read is aligned to how the author wants you to read it.

Of course I also found out that if you're well versed with a certain type of genre, namely the classics...literature would be a cinch. My problem when I first started this degree is that I don't read literature. And this is coming from a girl who reads Meg Cabot and Sophie Kinsella growing up. Luckily I'm interested so no matter how difficult the text is...I am willing to spend time on it.

Right. Enough digression.

I'm doing a modernism paper which deals with Joyce's Ulysses and a contemporary American lit paper. I got a heads up by a couple of lecturers that modernism is going to be tough but I didn't expect American lit to be so...difficult because well, it's contemporary. I've never dealt with contemporary literature before so it was difficult for me to adapt to it. Like trying to adapt my way of reading to it. Especially with Joyce (I've gotten a lot better though). Contemporary literature by every aspect is modern but modern is never simple.

Think about it. We live in a modern era and can we actually say that our life is simple? Far from it I'm afraid. You have all these external influences that disrupt your life which makes it really difficult to comprehend. And this basically applies with contemporary literature (CL). My biggest issue with CL is that the topic discussed is really complex in such a way you involve various philosophies and key human aspects like religion. Note that most modern literature reject the presence of God and mind you, it's really hard to sit in a lecture that discusses why God doesn't exist when all your life, you've been taught that religion is your foundation.

In terms of language, there's no thou(s) and thee(s) so that's one less problem for those who struggle with literature. ;) But then you encounter writing styles like minimalism where you probably encounter a chapter that only has one line in it and they expect you to understand what the author is trying to say. IT'S MADNESS! Especially when you realized that you have no clue what the book is about because the theme is so freaking difficult.

I love old literature (anything before modernist lit) because the times was a lot simpler and their problems are too. The topics are simple like love, friendship and family so it was easy to get. The challenge lies in the language but that's what I like. I love to see how people structure their words to make a sentence so beautiful...also the works are mostly lyrical. I guess I just love things that are of high aesthetic value.

Well what do you expect from a materialistic girl after all? :P

SO yeah...that's my rant. This semester is...a lot harder than the previous but it's okay. At the end of the day I'm happy that I got the opportunity of learning a new extension of literature. I'm starting not to HATE it as much but I really do prefer old lit.

Fun Fact(!) : Did you know that modernist literature actually covers from 1900s-1920s! SO think twice when you enroll to a "MODERN" literature class! :P

PS: Just finished writing my American Lit essay! It's on death and surprisingly the words just flowed nicely! I wonder what does that say about me...

Beautiful Voice is Beautiful

2011-09-25T08:55:00.001-07:00

Meet Silvana Omar from Germany. I think her voice is just divine. I've decided to share two of my favourite covers from her. Also, standby for some pretty wordy posts coming your way...I've got some drafts up but I will get around to complete them after I'm done with my assignments. Should be soon! Till then, enjoy some good music. :)

Otago Golds Awards

2011-09-22T02:45:00.000-07:00

So this literally happened about 3 hours ago. I rushed home right after the event+dinner to edit and write this post! Ahem. Let's start.

The spring air was cool and the flowers are looking more fabulous than ever. It had been really cold these past few days despite the sun. But the evening was just...perfect.

The Golds Awards is this highly prestigious event where the University honour students and clubs that have contributed to the arts and culture in Otago. OMSA got to be the finalist of this year's Society of the Year award for the third time running. We won the title last year so we were stoked to become a finalist again.

SO yeah....beautiful spring evening.

Cherry blossoms everywhereeeeeeee and what's waiting under the tree?

TWO CUTE GUYS! Haha!

Imran and Mark won the individual award due to their contribution to arts and culture scene here. They 100% deserved it! I'm so happy for you guys! :'D

From left: Imran and Mark all schnazzy in their suits to receive their award!

Me and Imran

The whole OMSA executives were there at the formal event. Not just to support these two but we just want to know who wins the club title!

The event was held in the council's chamber at the Clocktower. Pretty schmancy event, pretty much all the important people were there. God. One thing you should know about me is that I.ABSOLUTELY.HATE.FORMAL.EVENTS like this. Take me to a formal dinner...um yeah, I rather stay at home. Seriously.

Me and Mark!!

Ms Chua Yee Min - OMSA's Secretary II

Shaz! One of my good friends. I'm sure you've seen her around this blog!

ARGHHH JIN LIN!!! *fangirl scream* I don't know what but I love working with him!! He's OMSA's treasurer so he advices me on money stuff. SO yeah. Anybody who gives me worthwhile advices are good in my book.

*SIGH* I know. I need to have a close up picture of myself because I am that vain. Well...I maybe vain as a person but I do not like being in front of the camera! Video-wise yes but I HATE TAKING PICTURES!

Yes, Yang. We totally believed you...after how many pictures of yourself plastered in this post!

In front of the entrance of the Clocktower

So we finally part our ways and my god, I was hungry. I didn't exactly had lunch and I thought it was going to be a dinner thingy but no, they put us in a room (which we have to stand btw!) for two hours without proper dinner! LOL. I sound like one of those cheapskate people BUT I have a complaint that I need to make!

The finger food in that room was AMAZING but how come the waiters never come to me?! I ASK YOU WHY?!! (And don't you dare say because I'm fat and they're trying to help me lose weight because I will murder you...)

SO yeah...spring evening. I've been eyeing those cherry blossom trees for weeks now and how I want to pose with them. But I'm always in my ugly clothes (or looking a lot less cute) when I see them so...what to do? Also it's kind of pathetic to camwhore all by yourself and I'm kinda shy to ask my friends to take pictures for me. IT'S COZ I HATE POSING OK! >_<

But um...yeah. Enjoy my night spring collection photos.

PS: The 2nd picture is my favourite! I wanted to make it my FB display picture but I think that will scare off any potential suitors so...I chose the last one instead. =_=

Mahsuri: After Party

2011-09-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

We had the Mahsuri and Intenational Cultural Night after/appreciation party roughly about two weeks after the show. My whole concept for the night was to just sit back and relax while watching the show (edited by our Mahsuri's official media officers) together. I love to see the cast's reaction from watching something that we have worked on for the past 6 months together.

And yeah, we had an abundance of good Malaysian food on hand so that was amazing!

The thing was, I went through a period of post-Mahsuri depression and I missed seeing my actors' faces. I missed having a reason to see them and just hang out although it is kind of hard to shed off the director role after all of this. (I try being more like a friend now. I really do. :'D ) I guess that's why I love doing theatre because you get to work with a group of people (with and without problems) and work towards this common goal. I like this concept very much. In a way, it's a very family-like situation and out of all the groups I worked with on this project, the actors are the closest to me. I see them every week for the past 6 months so to stop seeing them suddenly was...a shock for me.

That's part of the reason why I wanted to have this party because I was turning into such a corn ball. I missed them! :(

Me and Eric. Ignore Jie Ning. =_=

Chris! Don't be surprised if this guy starts speaking in Malay to you because he CAN! Awesome actor!

Danny (lighting guy) was um...having fun by himself with the pillows. Haha!

My Diva No.2 - Zariq. My very own bruno mars! He's one of the lead singers for Mahsuri.

Hafiz and Khairah (dancer)

From left: Eric, Me, Kaidi and Loh!

Some cast love. This is the type of naughtiness I had to deal with every rehearsal with the actors. The majority of my actors are guys and my god, they can be children sometimes. They would literally play tag and run around the studio. They caused me to pull my hair numerous times but never fail to make me smile. :)

Jane and Diva No. 1 - Fadzrel. He's one of my divas for Mahsuri. His deep soulful voice made Anuar Zain's Lelaki Ini his own.

Me and Sarah (Mahsuri!). She surprises me with her retardness constantly but her professionalism is...amazing.

Michelle Vincent. Beautiful girl with a beautiful voice! She's one of my lead singers as well.

Aaron!!

The OMSA committee was supportive as always. I get the feeling they knew it was kinda my night so they ended up organizing the whole thing! So NICE! Imran Fauzi and Jin Lin Wong, you guys are awesome! Despite all the shit I say/give you guys sometimes. :P

Mahsuri on big screen

Exactly how I imagined it to be :)

24 Hour Booksale + RUGBY WORLD CUP 2011

2011-09-09T02:55:00.000-07:00

It was such a beautiful daaaaaay todaaaaaaay!!! This picture above was taken by me at Octagon, as I made my way to the annual 24 hour book sale here in Dunedin. Lucky enough, this year's sale fell on the same day as the start of 2011's Rugby World Cup. New Zealand is pretty much synonym with the All Blacks, their pride and joy, so everyone's gathered for the opening tonight (well NOW, as I'm writing this post). The place just had a good vice since people of all ages just gathered to join in the excitement.

I took this picture of the kinder kids because I overheard the excited teacher explaining the importance of rugby to the kids. Seemed like the teacher used the field trip excuse just to join in with the fun (or trying to nab some last minute tickets). :P

This is the Regent theatre where the book sale is always held. Too bad it falls on the same day as the Rugby cup because not many people (according to Natasya) showed up.

This is my first time going to a book sale so I was pretty much pumped. Apparently in previous years, the books were placed not just on the stage but around the vicinity. It was a pretty low key book sale lah.

But that doesnt stop from people bringing huge bags and grab all of the books. I saw a really really really old lady dragging a huge bag of books. The bag is even bigger than her!

Books! Books! Books!!

I didnt grab anything because I already have something specific in mind but I didnt find it. I'm looking for a copy of Nobakov's Lolita.

I got a bit lightheaded from the books and people so this is taken when I was just resting at once of the red seats in front of the stage.

Much later after the book sale, I was hanging out with Secret Club at Meridian Mall when we were lucky enough to catch a flash Haka that's been taking NZ lately. IT WAS FREAKIN AMAZING!!!! I LOVE HAKA!! I LOVE FLASH MOBS!!! HAKAAAAAAA!!!

For a girl, you just go weak in the knees from watching the Haka. I personally believe (what the heck, all of the female population in NZ think the same too!) that Haka is freaking sexy. It's just hot. Besides, it's amazing how much respect people have for Haka here. People can do haka and the traffic will stop. Dont believe me, youtube it. It's everywhere!!

My personal favourite flash haka! <3

Pre-Raya Festivities: Dendeng

2011-09-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

I woke up with HOPE that the dendengs this year will be a success. I've never cooked it while fasting so I'm a bit worried. Hence, I'm relying on apek and amoi to taste it for me.

We prepared the ingredients the day before so the whole cooking process was chill. I didnt want to get sentimental over this raya so Tim played his Nicki Manaj playlist while we cooked. Haha. The dude is into Nicki Manaj so much it was...shocking.

Amoi showing one of her rare smiles. :P

The ever happy apek

After boiling the beefs and setting aside the stock, we're marinading them with sweet soy sauce.

Dunedin has been awesome lately. I think we've finally gotten out of our winter so spring is coming and my god, the days are so sunny! And surprisingly hot sometimes. I LOVE SUNSHINE! This is a view from my balcony.

Always assuming the role of "pengarah" (director), I direct lah. With the cooking.

Hammering the fried (marinated) beef to soften them up before cooking them again.

Time to eat!!! We found A&W rootbeer at this Asian shop and we got a bit excited. Iftar time!

We burned our tongues. Turned out that I cant trust apek and amoi in tasting because my god, the dendeng is H.O.T!! Of course the finger pointing turned to me because I was the head chef but this blog post is my space so I'm telling this story in my own interpretation!! >_> I was a bit generous with the blended cili kering....but generous is good! I want more flava!

I blame JIE NING for saying it's already nice and TIM for saying it's already sweet! Hence, I put more chili coz I need to balance the flavour wat!

Anyways, this is the least bit of raya stuff I'm involved with this year because the next day we're off to Queenstown!

I ski-ed on pagi raya. Like a total badass.

But that's another story. ;)

Avenue Q

2011-08-26T05:03:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if you're familiar with this broadway show called Avenue Q but it's been on for agesssss and finally the franchise came down to Dunedin! I think it's the first time the show ever being performed here because I know it's been performed quite a couple times in Auckland and Wellington. I was mad excited when I saw their ad in campus so I didn't waste any time to get the tickets!

To watch Avenue Q was one of the things I wanted to do before I turned 30 so that's one thing crossed off the list! I've been singing to the show's tunes ever since I got interested with cosplay (not that I cosplayed but I was really into it at one point) because people tend to sing Avenue Q songs at conventions.

The showing that I went to was on the last days of Ramadhan (man, I'm bad!) but it was on the first night of Spring break so me and Nings sort of planned a special iftar to celebrate both! Okay, it was more on my part because I was really really really excited! This is after all my first time going to a real musical and people really raved about the show. I was hoping to learn a few things from it...

We decided to iftar at this swanky restaurant in Dunedin called Bennu. Last time I wrote about it was the time I went for desserts because theirs are TO.DIE.FOR! We decided to go a bit flash that night because we're oh.so.sophisticated.

DINNER @ POSH RESTAURANT + THEATRE = SOPHISTICATION :p

Jie Ning and I have been spending a LOT of time together since the rest of Secret Club are away for the holidays. At one point, the night felt like a date...which was disturbing! Haha

Jie Ning in her natural element

My Chicken Quasadilla

Ning's Vegetarian Lasagne

Dinner finished quite early so we had some time to kill before the show...so we walked around town and eventually found ourselves having coffee and desserts at Tagente Cafe. It is next to Fortune Theatre after all...

One thing about Nings is that she's obsessed with anything Paris. One day she's going to have her dreams crushed when she finally get to Paris. I heard some pretty gruesome stories about Paris, especially about its cleanliness. For this picture, she coerced me into taking this shot of her with this plastic Eiffel tower on some shop.

I like the vibe in Tagente but the food is mediocre. In my opinion it's not even worth your money. The coffee and dessert was meh. Also, I only went there for its quirkiness and I find everything about it weird, even their opening times. They open real early everyday but close at 3pm. Fridays are the only time they close late and they have a band performance on Friday nights too. So we came on the right time...or so we thought la.

The chocolate fruit cake is nice coz it's not too sweet but it's too squishy and the fruits you can tell that it's not fresh. Love the chocolate but hmmn...it's just nothing extraordinary.

I find it so funny how the band took such a long time to set up but they only performed like 5 minutes. =-=;;

ON TO AVENUE Q!!

Look at what I found in my toilet cubicle! Haha!

I was surprised of how small Fortune Theatre is. Ridiculously small. I guess I just have to accept that everything in New Zealand is small compared to Malaysia. :) Not that I'm saying it's a bad thing but it's just different.

The only picture I could get coz I realized that you can't exactly take picures.

In my opinion, Dunedin's Avenue Q was a disappointment for me. Maybe because I had a high expectation from the rave reviews it got from my Theatre lecturers and Critic. I find that the cast failed to really bring the puppets alive (because Avenue Q is all about its puppets) and I felt the ventriloquies did more acting than the puppets themselves. I realized that they are not professional puppeteers but the director could have asked them to attend puppet seminars just like the Broadway cast. Also I notice some of the jokes are very american so it wasnt as funny for the Kiwi audience. The energy from the cast was lacking big time.

I know for a fact that Jie Ning didn't enjoy it at all...which was sad! I was really hoping that the show would prove her wrong! :D

Avenue Q by Dunedin Cast = 2/5

The End of OMSA = End of a Chapter

2011-08-20T03:51:00.001-07:00

Committee after Mahsuri

Today OMSA had its annual general meeting (AGM) which means I have officially stepped down from my position in OMSA. I really had a great time working with the 2010/11 committee this year. Despite the stressful times and disagreements that we had this year, it was such an amazing experience for me. It taught me patience, perseverance and being organized.

Just because it is the end of a chapter between my work with OMSA does not mean my support will end there. I will help with whatever I can but it's good to see new faces take over the reins and lead the club to a new direction.

OMSA has been my family ever since I came to Otago. They give me a sense of belonging in New Zealand and gave me opportunities to pursue my passion. 30 years down the road, I will come back to Otago Uni and show my kids that this is where everything started. My life with OMSA and how I grew as a person. Hopefully by that time, I will get to where I want to in life. Insyallah.

But for now, I will enjoy the time I have left at Otago Uni and OMSA-a family away from home.

A more fun side of us shown. Not easy to get us like this. I think. Haha

OMSA circle :')

On a brighter note, Cheers to next year! Hopefully filled with travels and meeting new people!

PS: I AM AN HONORARY MEMBER NOW!! LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP MAN! TALK ABOUT BEING IMMORTALIZED BABY! haha. I'm sorry, it's kind of late here and I.am.delirious.

White Dunedin

2011-08-13T19:34:00.000-07:00

Dunedin received a weather forecast that said that a snowstorm is going to Dunners quite badly. The reason why we make snow such a big deal here is because we don't get snow often...well ever. The last time it snowed heavily was in the 70s. Dunedin is seriously screwed up with its erratic weather but to get snow is really something for us. I figured Uni will close down for a couple days since it's really hilly here and most people won't be able to get down their hill...including me.

Thank god that I managed to stock up on food yesterday! :D

To be honest, this is the second time we received snow. I think people are more prepared for it. The first time was about 3 weeks ago and my god, the whole city was a bit crazy. I had a pretty bad time because I wasn't prepared for it at all!! I didn't have food and I was stranded. :(

Now that I'm more prepared, it's time to enjoy the snow! :D

My first snowball! Fresh snow is so fluffy!

My first snowman! It's a modern snowman coz it looks like a robot!

The following pictures are from the time when it first snowed. I was walking around town to do some last minute errands (bad idea). I took some pictures around campus so enjoy~

Clock tower in white

Path to Archway covered with snow. I usually have my lectures at Archway.

Union Lawn in white! This is where the Uni hold its events.

That's the central library. My library! We have a couple of libraries around campus, ie: Med library, but Central is the main one.

Note: Um, I got the videos in reverse so if you could watch the second video first...it would make better sense!

Right, off to study now!!

Don't Forget Your Roots

2011-08-12T03:58:00.000-07:00

I think this video shows the Scarfie lifestyle at its best especially during the first few seconds. I'm not much of a Scarfie but heck yeah, I have the Scarfie pride. University of Otago FTW! For those who don't know what a Scarfie is; it is what Otago students call themselves. From what I understand, we are called Scarfies because of the thick scarfs that people back even the day used to wear due to Otago being really cold. And the students back then don't wear just any scarf, it's the Uni of Otago scarf with blue and yellow (these 2 colors are Otago Uni's official colours).

I love how this video shows all the local sights that you will see around campus. Also, I saw Strawberry Sound in the video. That is an audio company that I hired for my Mahsuri production. Awesome people with awesome service!! They just know what I want and I love their laid-back professionalism. God knows how panicky I can get when the show gets nearer and nearer.

PS: Chopsticks 101, a famous Chinese restaurant in Dunedin decided to air my Mahsuri in their restaurant! HAHA! I'm so honoured! XD

The Dilemma

2011-08-11T01:59:00.001-07:00

I don't consider myself emo because of my sense of awareness. Yeah, that must be it. That's why I hardly write about the struggles that I go through because I am usually capable of picking myself up in a matter of hours. The longest would be like three days. Usually I should be fine by then. Yes.

I'm not sure if you've noticed but the blog seemed less personal lately...especially the time leading up to Mahsuri and after it. Well the thing is, I have been down. The best way to describe how I was feeling is similar to having all the motivation and aspirations sucked out of you, leaving you numb. Suddenly I found myself being timid with the things around me and I felt so helpless. I didn't know what to do with myself. Suddenly I was scared. I was scared to go to class, I was scared to talk to people and all I wanted to do is to get away from anything English-related.

At first I thought I was just having one of those post-production depression (the one where you realize that you don't have to be responsible over people and things anymore) so I gave myself a week to recover. It was difficult because suddenly I realized how difficult my subjects are this semester. Well, they're not super difficult per say but the pressure to perform well is eating away my confidence. I started to doubt myself.

Am I that good at English anyway?

Being an English major, I am definitely taking the road less travelled. Especially being what I am. I have never regretted taking this path because I know, deep down that this is what I wanted to do. But at the same time, I am not stupid enough to disregard what the reality is. The most difficult part of being me at the moment would be...how much do I get to have things my way? So far, I am blessed to have things go according to plan (Alhamdulillah...) but now I feel it's time to take the next step. Where should I go now? I have so many possibilities but I am torn between self-growth and being "realistic".

Realistic.

If I were to ask one of my English professors, they would definitely throw back the question at me. What is realistic? Does realistic means conforming to what society expects you to be? Does it entail security? Does it entail happiness? Do the things that are realistic to me are the same for you?

Self-growth.

Shouldn't I grow as a person in order to understand the realities of the world? Shouldn't I provide myself an edge that will separate me from other people? But does self-growth can be delayed? Is it okay for me to put my self-growth on hold so that I will conform to what society think what I should do first.

What is the rush? I asked.

But money and time are of the essence. Another part of me answered.

I had all these thoughts running in my head for the past month. What made it worst was that I felt so guilty for thinking all of these thoughts. At the end, all I could see was that I am this selfish person.

But am I so selfish for wanting to be the best in what I do? Am I so selfish for going after my goals?

After battling all of these thoughts, alas God has given me the answer in the form of my father. No one can put things into perspective like my father can. He is one amazing person and I pray everyday that Allah will bless him for he is an angel.

**I am fine now! I figured it would be good if I share a different side of me. I'm back to old Yang Safia!Also I don't want to put unnecessary stress on my health now! I have been sick on and off these past few weeks so it also explains why I haven't been "active".

Basically what I wanted to say is that people will always go through a period where they doubt themselves and that is normal. Especially when you're a 20-something like me. You are about to step into the real world after all. I believe that ultimately, it is up to you because it is your life after all. You have the power to shape it. Although this doesn't mean it is wise for you to ignore what others are trying to tell you.

In the words of Mior Azli, "Don't accept an idea completely nor reject it completely."

Koran by Heart

2011-08-08T23:42:00.000-07:00

A beautiful documentary! It's about the International Quran Recital Competition held in Cairo every year and this documentary shows the journey of three young children (who are all tahfiz) from different parts of the world, entering this competition. It will totally warm your heart during this Ramadhan. I know I'm a week late but better late than never! Ramadhan Kareem everyone!

Secret Club

2011-08-07T02:36:00.000-07:00

The Secret Club was founded early this year, when four Malaysian(+ one Bruneian! Whoops! :P) girls decided to make a tradition. Yes, a tradition whereby every Friday evening they will put everything on hold and have coffee together. This is a club where everything is out for discussion and the best part, it stays within the group. We laugh, cry, panic and create dramas wherever we go. Yes, we fight constantly but just like real sisters, we make up at the end. I love this group because we all have different personalities and yet, we compliment each other perfectly.

Adeline: The most KIASU (competitive) person you'll ever meet. An over-achiever by nature but her KIASU-ness can be very funny at times. She'd like to think that she's a cross of Donald Trump and Mother Theresa. And yes, she's very serious about this. =_=

Alia: The most DRAMATIC person you'll ever meet. I'll be honest, it's hard to like Alia at first but when you DO get to know her, it's hard not to love her. Her crazy ideas coupled with good intentions makes Secret Club what it is. AN AWESOME FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN 5 GIRLS!

Jie Ning: She's old. The oldest member in SC. Also by now, you can tell that I LOVE to annoy her. She's a grumpy mommy but when she laughs, my GOD. You just can't help but laugh with her. The most kind-hearted person I know. She who loves passionately and HARD; makes Jie Ning a beautiful soul.

Shaz: The baby of the group. It's safe to say that all the members are very protective of her. But this baby got some edge man because my god, someone wash this girl's brain. The things that come out of her mouth are pure unadulterated AWESOMENESS!

Yang: Because I'm Yang Safia. ;)

We'd like to think we're a sorority but that's just us being lame. Two weeks ago, one of our members decided to spread her wings and do an exchange to America. She'll be gone for six months so it's no biggie right?

But my god, some of the sappy ones just HAD to be all dramatic about Adeline's exchange. Haha.

Then again, that's how we roll.

To the girls, I know it's late but I figured I'd be different and do it a bit late. :D

Each of the girls decided to do a personal page thingy and compile it into a scrapbook for our darling Bock-bock. Some of the pages are super creative I tell you!

Secret Club at Good Earth

Mahsuri 2011

2011-08-03T05:06:00.000-07:00

It's finally here! Credits to all photographers!

My dream came true! Finally a choir for my play! Mark did a wonderful job with the music for the show. I owe this guy a lot!

First scene

From left: Chinese Merchant, Orang Kaya Deraman and British Merchant

Mahsuri getting praised by her seniors while Sri Jinjang enviously looks on.

Tuan Bendahara is angry over Mahsuri's terms

Haha! I find this very funny. Orang Kaya Deraman tries to win Mahsuri by using his Western ways...but of course, fails.

Pak Wida: "I don't know son. I've received an intriguing piece of news. Very intriguing indeed!"

Sultan Mahmud Shah is excited over Mahsuri!

Mahsuri is sad and confused over her feelings for Wan Darus

Our rendition of Yuna's "Dan Sebenarnya"

Mahsuri: Orang Kaya Deraman or Wan Darus?

Zariq's amazing rendition of Forget You+Grenade mesh

In charge of the live music for the night, THE AWESOME BAND!

Wan Darus and Mahsuri, happily married and being oh-so-mushy!

Their wedded bliss is short lived when a war with Siam breaks out!

Mahsuri's Death Scene

A symbolic Indian dance ended the show

Sadly I don't have ALL the pictures from Mahsuri. The batch that I got wasn't really satisfactory so if you want to see more pictures and a better understanding of the show, go here.

Also,

exclusive footage of minutes before the show, pictures from the after-show and Mahsuri Screening Party are next!

Mahsuri: Behind the Scenes

2011-07-17T16:15:00.001-07:00

It's finally over. The show was a huge success. :')

But at the moment, the official pictures of Mahsuri are still not with me so stay tuned for that! This is going to be a couple of posts long so bear with me! :D

So for now, here's a glimpse of what went on BTS for my production of Mahsuri. Despite it being a committee video for OMSA, it pretty much sums up our week long rehearsal at the auditorium.

Mahsuri in The Star

2011-07-07T02:48:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile. :) Malam Malaysia is next week so as expected, I am busy running around; tying loose ends and making sure everything is perfect! Today I got a pleasant surprise as our full page ad is out on The Star community newspaper.

The quality of this picture did no justice to the awesome rush I got from seeing it first hand.

Check out our OMSA website http://www.omsa.org.nz/ for ticket bookings and information. Our homepage is turned into a Malam Malaysia shrine; just to show how excited we are for this event!

Forbidden Review

2011-06-25T06:02:00.001-07:00

‘So nothing is taboo any more?’ I interrupt. ‘You’re saying there are no two people who, if they

love each other enough, should be forced apart?’

Francie thinks for a moment and then shrugs. ‘I guess not. Not here, anyway, thank God. We’re lucky enough to live in a country which is pretty open-minded. As long as one person isn’t forcing the other one, then I guess any love is allowed.’

***

Forbidden is probably one of the most provocative YA novels there is in the market right now. It can be difficult to stomach for some readers as it focuses around one of the oldest taboo in the world right now; incest. Aside from that 80s YA novel (I forgot the title) that is famous for its portrayal of incestuous relationships, I have been wondering whether there will be any authors who would be brave enough to tackle on this topic, especially when it requires them to delve into that sort of emotions and almost taking a neutral perspective on the whole matter.

Often I encountered novels that play with the idea of incest but it is never a full-on incest (if you know what I mean) because most of the situations are still legal and possible. That's why when I came across Forbidden last year, I was really intrigued and could not believe my eyes. Finally an author who takes up the challenge. And to make matters more interesting, it is a YA novel.

Although I think certain parties would debate where they would place Forbidden.

Summary:

Lochan (17) and Maya (16) are responsible for taking care the rest of their siblings after their father abandoned the family. The situation got harder when they have to deal with an alcoholic mother who is busy chasing other men. They relied on each other as they become surrogate parents to their younger siblings but their sibling love turned out to be so much more when foreign emotions start to take over the two.

The story is told in alternating POVs. I'm not a big fan of alternating POVs because I love the suspense of not knowing what the other think but for Forbidden I think it is crucial for us to know the thoughts of Lochie and Maya. To see their thoughts on delving into something so... forbidden.

Oddly enough, I understand. I understand their feelings for each other, and their struggle to do the right thing. But how can they ignore their feelings when they only have each other to rely on? Readers can draw upon the lack of adult supervision in their situation that eventually lead to this sin. Even though the characters denied this fact and insisted that they never had any sort of sibling feelings for each other in the first place. Which makes it even more heartbreaking for me.

The portrayal of the characters are raw and very much real. Suzuma makes it impossible to hate these characters; we might even end up cheering for this couple. It's true when people say, "You will never know how I feel until you've been in my shoes" and Forbidden will make you cry for this couple because you know what it feels to be in their shoes. I dont think it is a big deal if you find yourself defending the couple because from the start of the novel, it is apparent that these two are never brother and sister. I often find myself forgetting that they are brother and sister and see them more like a star-crossed lovers of the legal kind (if that makes sense).

I love Lochie. At first I thought he would be annoying but my love for him grew with every page turned. His tragic view of the world is so heartbreaking that you would just want to hug him. But this is balanced out with his immense love for his family. A self-less character that is so flawed and tragic that makes him perfect for Maya. Maya is an exact opposite of Lochie with her optimism and how she presents herself to the world. But you will later find that they are both so similar that their similarity and differences make them perfect for each other. Thus the BIG question would be why? Why is the world so unfair?

Now to the more technical aspect of the novel: I'm not a big fan of Suzuma's writing style. Without a controversial topic like incest, I think her novel would be very bland. And her metaphors or analogies are quite weak and not well thought out. I would get the basic idea but they are a bit too amateur-ish. I think Forbidden would be the only novel I'll read from Suzuma.

However Suzuma provides a good balance of emotions for such a difficult topic: the balance of disgust and struggle coupled with an exciting romance is perfect.

I don't think Forbidden is a pro-incest novel. I think to see it like that would be so shallow and undermines the credibility of the novel. Which is why I highly recommend for you to read this book and draw your own opinions on this topic. For me, Forbidden shows us that things are never as black and white as it seems.

Rating: 4/5

Malam Malaysia 2011 Official Poster

2011-06-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

It's finally here! May I present to you the official Mahsuri poster designed by me, with the skills of Tahfiz Taffazani Ahmad Zamri who made my vision come true.

For people in Dunedin, get excited and book your tickets now (well when the details are up on OMSA website that is...which is SOON!)!!

Click picture to enlarge.

City of Fallen Angels Review

2011-06-18T22:14:00.000-07:00

Note: If you haven't read the first 3 books, I suggest you skip this review. Just to be on the safe side. But if you're the type who's okay with spoilers, by all means. Although I'll try my best to spare you guys important details so I won't spoil your reading.

NO!!! That was my reaction upon completing the book. I really tried my best to take my time with this one. But it only lasted me three days. After devouring the first three books (one book per day), I know that whatever the ending is in City of Fallen Angels will crush me because I'm going to have to wait like a whole year for the next one to come out.

If you've read up until Book 3, readers would know that City of Glass would make a good conclusion to the MI trilogy and that would be the case for readers who read it when it first came out. When I read City of Glass, I know there's going to be City of Fallen Angels so it wasn't like I was preparing for the end. But just to put the word out, City of Glass would have been a good conclusion to the series.

To be honest, I'm just happy to be back with the characters in Book 4!

Book 4 opens with all the characters being absolutely in love with their respective partners. Love is in the air and life is back to normal. Almost. City of Fallen Angels (CFA) gave me the impression that the focus has shifted from Clary to Simon. He is after all a Daylighter now, trapped in a love triangle and who at this point, seemed the most restless compared to the rest. And I was entirely convinced up until 2/3 of the book that MI will focus Simon's story now and Jace and Clary are somewhat taking the backseat on this one. I was a bit sad at first.

But clearly that's not the case if you read on, of which I will let you guys see for yourself. Clare manages to tie in all the loose ends perfectly at the end and everything makes sense. I can't help but feel that CFA is a lot similar to City of Bones because both books serve as an introduction to the Big Conflict. You're given all these random (not really) daily stuff that the characters go through and you're going to be like "Okay...right. That's cool. So?" for quite a bit before everything falls into place. I really don't get like that with Book 2 and 3 because the Big Conflict is clear. So just a heads up for this one.

One of the main reasons why I love Mortal Instruments so much is because how realistic the logic for the characters are. I think Clare has crafted a well-balanced set of characters who are neither too extreme to the point of being annoying but not too realistically boring.

If you're well versed with YA books (or most novels really), I'm pretty sure you're used to the whole I-have-a-problem-but-I-don't-want-to-tell-you-because-you-might-misunderstand tactic (or even worse, it-slipped-my-mind move) that authors LOVE to use. It's like one of those moments where you're practically screaming at the book and go, "JUST TELL HER DAMN IT!" and the character will only tell after they solve the BIG CONFLICT at the end. And use that as an ending. GAHHH! Fortunately, CFA is not like this at all. In overall, MI pretty much doesnt have this problem. I've always had the fear that Jace, for example will never talk about his problems with Clary but he eventually did. And quite early into the novel too. The timing was just right.

In fact, I'm amazed how the characters are open to discussing their problems with each other. None of them tried to be the hero. I love how they work and solve the problems together, as a team.

Upon completing this book, I can't help but compare Clary and her friends to the Famous Five, if they have supernatural powers and fight demons and more badass-looking I guess.

THE ROMANCE PLOT SO FAR:

Alec and Magnus are finally together! And they're soooooo cute! I've always loved reading about them. ALEC+MAGNUS 4 EVA for me!

Luke and Jocelyn are so cute too. That's the thing with the MI series, you will just get obsessed with the characters. They're just so lovable!

Simon+Izzy+Maia+Kyle = ??? (^__~)

Jace and Clary. The main couple. I love their relationship. Aside from the out-of-this-world problems that they have to face, their relationship is the epitome of how all relationships should be. I have so much respect for Clare for not making their relationship so...fickle and overly dramatic. I love how they talk about their problems and just be there for each other. And this respect that they have for this relationship transcends these two people because in return, Clary and Jace would take care of each other's loved ones. For instance, Jace would do anything to help Simon because he knows what a big role Simon plays in Clary's happiness. Despite their jabs at each other, which is super funny I tell you, you can really feel the respect these two guys have for each other. And this aspect comes through very clear in CFA.

And Clary as a person is very admirable. She's just strong (mentally and physically) and I love how Jace allows her to be strong. It's not like he protects her or vice versa, they just work together as a team. Clary doesn't play up to the damsel in distress role and Jace is not some heroic figure. I love this equality aspect and you just don't see it in most novels these days. Especially in YA novels.

Well, there are attempts to make couples' relationships seem equal but no one delivers it as perfect as Clare.

***An excerpt that shows how REAListic their relationship is***

He smiled, the ghost of a smile. "And I've thought the same thing. If you died, I wouldn't want to live. But I wouldn't kill myself, because whatever happens after we die, I want to be with you there. And if I killed myself, I know you'd never talk to me again. In any life. So I'd live, and I'd try to make something out of my life, until I could be with you again..."

***End excerpt***

Romantic and realistic. Sigh. :)

Right, there are so many other aspects of the novel that I would want to discuss with you. But that wouldn't be fair. Might as well I leave you to find out things for yourself and develop your own opinions on the matter. I just focus on the romance aspect because a) i'm a romantic and b) it's just so different. For once YA romance plots are not annoying.

But please don't see Mortal Instruments as a romance-driven plot because it's not. I think it's very rare for authors to strike a perfect balance between action and romance. Clare did it beautifully and I can't wait for the next book to come out.

Thank god for the Infernal Devices series. ;P That's the prequel to the Mortal Instruments and it is only in CFA that the main character from the prequel is mentioned. But alas, I need to take a break from Clare's world for awhile before I turn this blog into a shrine for MI. My obsession for MI has already gone borderline creepy so I need to stop. Sigh.

Rating: 5/5

Jom Belajar!

2011-06-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

Just some random shots of the work. I finally made it to the library. Those who know me know how much iffy I am about studying in the library. I mean, I love the smell of books but it's soooo quiet. I like my music and I tend to do this weird arm dance while I study so how am I supposed to do both in public? But then I realize that it took me one day to finish one article so off I went to the library.

It was surprisingly not bad. In fact, I was so productive I finished everything in four hours. O_O

If you're an English major prospect, one of the things we do is analyse poems. Or in this case, a Patti Smith song.

Alia, my sometime study partner. Only for that first day lah. After that I rather study alone.

One of the best things about studying at the library is people watching. In particular if there's a hot guy near you. I find guys that study are incredibly hot! Haha!

Day 2 @ Library. OMG I was super productive! This small pizza place is where I go get my lunch sometimes. See that? That exam special? One of the best things living in Dunedin is the student discounts. Since it's a student city, everything is just cheaper!

BELAJAR!

Going through some past year exam papers. Since it was on reserve, I was too lazy and cheap to photocopy it so I took a picture. =_=

Yes, I'm done with Book 2 in one day and I bought Book 3 an hour before I sat for my first exam. Taking my time with the 3rd book, I'm going far too fast but it's sooo GOOD!

Nice day today!

Two down, One more to go! LEGGO!

The Mortal Instruments Series: City of Bones review

2011-06-11T05:16:00.000-07:00

Honestly I didn't even notice the topless guy on the cover. I hate that they have to put a naked guy there just to reel in the girls. The book deserves more respect.

TIP: Just to avoid spoilers, I would suggest that you refrain from reading other books' synopsis at the back until you're done with the book before it. Does that make sense? I hope so...

Finally. Finally I have found the book that got me this excited since...The Hunger Games. Yes, you heard me. Since The Hunger Games. That's why by the end of this review, YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK!

By the way since this book is that epic, I will avoid spoilers for this post. Because I don't want to ruin it for you, because it's THAT good.

Book lovers of the YA genre must know about the current literary epidemic that has spread among the YA community lately. The Supernatural craze (aka werewolves/vampires and recently angels) has not left us. Publishers are producing supernatural books just for the sake of their content regardless of their quality. Thus explains why I haven't been reading much. Especially when I've become extra critical of the things I read lately.

Now the mortal instruments series (MIS) is not entirely free from the supernatural because that is still the market's selling point at the moment. But I'm just going to say that MIS deserves to stand on its own as a separate entity because it is THAT AWESOME!

City of Bones is everything that I'm looking for in a YA book right now. It's exciting, fast, adventurous, witty and most of all...unpredictable. People can totally argue with me on the last point but hell, Clare is one helluva writer. Her plot twists are constantly hammering the back of my head since the start of page 5. She leads you on like how a totally hot badass would and screws your head by dropping huge bombshells one after the other. City of Bones made me go WTF! more that the amount of time Stephenie Meyer describes how beautiful Edward Cullen is in Twilight.

The romance in City of Bones is quite minimal but I'm sure it is the ultimate factor that will hold readers till the end of this series (There's going to be 6 books in total). You just need to know who Clary (the main heroine) will end up with because the love plot is super forbidden. Props to Clare for going to extreme with the forbidden card. It's super awesome and it just breaks my heart. If I were to be Clary, I wouldn't know how to choose. Okay lah, I'm treading on thin ice here. I should spare you the spoilers and let you guys see for yourself. I love how Clare made it super vague for us readers to figure out who Clary likes.

Just stating a fact: I'm Team Jace no matter what happens. No matter what happens. *shakes head* :/

As I progressed I noticed how witty the dialogues between the characters are. It's not really obvious in the beginning but as you get to know the characters more it gets pretty clear; they are so witty. Their comebacks at each other are certainly right up my alley. It's pure sarcasm combined a touch of wit. There are some references that nerds such as myself can relate to as well like anime and video games.

***

An excerpt of the novel to illustrate how witty the dialogue is:

"The 'hey' thing that guys always do. Like when you saw Jace and Alec, you said 'hey,' and they said 'hey' back. What's wrong with hello?"

..."Hello is girly," he informed her. "Real men are terse. Laconic."

"So the manly you are, the less you say?"

"Right." Simon nodded..."That's why when major badasses greet each other in movies, they don't say anything, they just nod. The nod means, "I am a badass, and I recognize that you, too, are a badass," but they dont say anything because they're Wolverine and Magneto and it would mess up their vibe to explain."

***

If that doesn't make you want to read the book, I don't know what will.

The book is retailed at $22.99 but I got student discount so I got it a bit cheaper. Man, I'm starting to love my University's bookstore. In Malaysia the book should be about RM 57++ but I'm pretty sure there are other versions so prices may vary.

At this point, I'm cutting my weekly budget so I could get all the books tomorrow.

Rating: 5/5

Virtual Birthday Celebration

2011-06-07T22:13:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I received a text from Shira at about quarter to midnight. Notice how in the last post I said I missed her?

Well, her text was like the answer to my prayers. She asked me to get on skype but skype proved to be unreliable yet again (seriously, what's up with Skype this year? Their service is so sh*t!) so we got on Oovoo (it worked but seriously, oovoo's layout is soo tacky. Ala... memilih la pulak! :P ).

It was five mins to midnight and when her video pops out, it was dark. I was like, "Shira, turn on the lights la. I cant see you." And then she came out with a cake (turned out later to be a choc souffle) and she sang me happy birthday. Yeah, my reaction was a total WTF and I was busy snapping pictures. SERIOUSLY, TOO AWESOME!!

My virtual attempt to blow out my candle.

Souffle time! Too bad technology cant help us with this one

Makan!

The truth is, Shira has been MIA for such a long time. Very busy woman this one. She's so busy even Shaza who's in Shah Alam barely sees her. But what to do, that's uni life for you. Especially when you're doing different things. All of us have different commitments but it's really nice when we come together for special moments like this. Usually my family and the girls would call/text me birthday wishes around the same time every year (since school days) so it was like an expected thing. But this year, Shira didnt. And I was worried.

"Hidup ke mak cik ni?" was what I thought.

And then this happened. Her reason for not contacting me was because she wanted to be the last person to wish me at the end of my birthday. Funny girl but that's Shira for you. She always comes up with these random sweet things. I love you mate. Super crazy la you.

God bless technology.

21

2011-06-07T02:28:00.000-07:00

I realized that as you get older, the less excited you are about your birthday. Or maybe that's just me who are away from home, away...from sunny Malaysia. Oh dear, I hope this wont be an emo post because the last thing I want to be is sad on my birthday. Besides I have to keep my emotions in check for my upcoming finals thats in...4 days.

Oh God, let's just move on.

Things have been weird for me over the past few days. That's because I've hit rock bottom as an Arts major. Not that I'm failing any of my papers (I'm still in the run for Honours yay!) but I'm completely juiced out. Like no ideas. Nada. Zilch. So you can imagine how screwed I am for finals.

Anyways, I want to jot down the epiphanies that I've gotten over the past 12 hours. It's amazing what sort of thoughts that come to a new 21 year old mind.

a) I'm amazed that I've made it this far. Twenty-one. And I'm amazed that I'm not that excited about it. A bit sad actually.

b)Could I have developed Gerascophobia?

c) I need to stretch more. This scoliosis is killing me.

d) Malaysia is getting whack with all this religiotics stuff. Obedient Wives Club? Seriously?

e) I find RM 20 pricey. o_O

f) Money. I want money. My own money.

g) Okay this sounds a bit noble of me but I've been thinking about what sort of things I would spend on my parents. I'm actually thinking about their portion out of my pay check.

h) Aya admitted that she's emotional. And girlier. Oh geli nya~

i) I've gotten emotionally colder. And more cunning. In fact, I feel like I'm losing my sense of humanity it's scary.

j) I attempted to do a simple quadratic equation and it took me 15 minutes. It was a Form 2 question by the way. Hell, at least it's better than my record in my lecture last time.

k) I get frustrated when I can't sort out my feelings sometimes.

l) I find it harder to be myself when I meet people these days. It's like I lapse into this serious person. It's annoying.

m) I'm highly prone to annoyance these days and patience? Apparently it doesn't

grow with age.

n) I've been reading on anti-ageing. Preventions and the works.

o) Wrong grammar and floosy writing annoy the shit out of me. Ironically, I think I'm a floosy writer.

p) Oh kiasu-ness. I'm so kiasu. So so Kiasu.

q) I miss Shira Saadon.

r) My dad is such a sweetheart. God bless him. I've never met a nicer man.

s) I'm becoming more like my mom day by day. It's kind of...scary. Haha, God bless her.

t) Now, will I make it to 25? I wonder where I am on my 25th...

u) I've been listening to a lot of BEP and Jay-Z lately. RAP IS AMAZING!

v) Doing English screws your head. Majorly. It sucked you dry; leaving you being over-critical and boring. I'm starting to miss ignorance.

w) I don't go out bare faced anymore. This is...good?

According to Shaza I can join the Obedient Wives Club now. And by law, I can vote!

Definite NO to both. XD

Overall I'm thankful for this blessed life. Alhamdulillah. :)

SNEAK PEEK of Malam Malaysia 2011: Choir

2011-05-31T20:35:00.000-07:00

28.5.2011-1300Hrs

This is the last installation of SNEAK PEEK for Malam Malaysia 2011. For more information on Malam Malaysia and OMSA, go to http://www.omsa.org.nz/

SNEAK PEEK of Malam Malaysia 2011: Dancers

2011-05-29T17:08:00.001-07:00

23.5.2011-2100Hrs

For more information on OMSA and Malam Malaysia, go to http://www.omsa.org.nz/