Relax, Recharge, Revitalise

Mid-term exams just ended. Finally! I've never felt so physically and emotionally drained from exams before. And I'm not sure if I did terribly well this time. Terribly, perhaps. Heh.

But anyway, exams and books aside for now. It's time for me to recharge my soul and energy. Because after the holidays, it'll be another torturous, exhausting cycle of endless homework, memorising, school hours yadda yadda.

Here's a list of things I will have to do in the next 2 weeks of holidays:

1. Finish up left over Nostalgia work. Find 30K of sponsorship for the mag. Ngehh

2. Complete NIE Mag Inc. project (the only reason I'm still doing it is because of the free pizza and extra English marks for trials)

3. Do Civic project -_-

4. 5 Angsana's photo shoot at a studio in Sunway Damansara. Yes, we're going all out and pro for the shoot. You'll see.

5. SPA TREATMENT! To revitalize myself. I need hot stone massage, body scrub and facial badly.

6. Shopping Spree with my shopaholic girlfriends *wink wink*

7. A belated birthday celebration with my friends. Got some stuffs planned already. Stay tuned!

8. Finish up incomplete homework. Gah!

9. And most importantly, catch up on my sleep. I have not been having proper night sleep for the past umm...3 weeks?

It's time to relax, recharge and revitalise!

We're not only debaters.....but also a family

Took a break from studying last night and celebrated Pn Mag's '16th birthday' at Marche, the Curve. The whole lot of debaters were there. Pn Koh too. And the dress code of the evening was 'formal' and so we were all dressed to the nines for a dinner at the market (Marche is market in French).

Puan Mag was pleasantly surprised with the dinner and the gifts and the cake. And it was a good time to catch up with the rest of us. I've not seen the 'Americanised Andrew' in 3 years and it's great to know that everyone is doing so well on their own now.

Andrew is in Swarthmore College, US. Kevin is doing business studies at NTU, Singapore. John is gonna read Law at LSE, London this coming September. Neal is leaving for UWC, India. And Michelle is heading to a college in UK too soon.

And for the current DJians, (me, Daryl, Keefe, Sophia, Rachel and Calvin) we have our own struggles to endure (namely exams and homework -_-) but I hope one day we too we'll get to go places like the seniors.

Happy Birthday again Puan Mag!

Tiramisu cake

The birthday girl. Isn't she the hottest teacher ever? =)

The debaters

After dinner

The gentlemen and Pn Mag

The ladies and Pn Mag

Zaf, Soph, Mich and Rach

Pretty Pretty

With Daryl

We learned how to pout for photos from Andrew

*pout pout*

7teenth Rebirth

I'm 17 today. Another minute passes by. Another day. Another year. How time flies!

My 17th birthday was celebrated with my parents at Senses, Hilton KL. It's an Australian cuisine restaurant with the signature 'Fresh From the Farm'. When they said 'Fresh From the Farm', they meant that alright. The food was darn expensive (the bill amounted to RM 600) but they tasted like they came straight from the chicken/duck coops. Raw and uhh...fishy. After the dinner, I felt like I have lost all my SENSES and wanted to vomit. Tak sedap langsung!

And the waiters came out singing a tuneless 'Happy Birthday' with a complimentary birthday cake, my name spelled as 'ZaRIfah'. Sedih betul.

But anyway, it was better than nothing right? I still enjoy turning 17 and I'm making a mental note not to go to this restaurant again. You should too.

And on my 'seventeenth rebirth', I just have one humble wish : That I will pass through the ordeals and trials that come along with being seventeen. Right now, it is with God's grace and continuous supply of vitamins that have kept me alive.

Wai Meng was the first to call me up to wish 'Happy Birthday' at 9.30 pm on 10th May. A lil too early but equally thoughtful. Thank you!

To those of you who wished me, thank you and I love you. To those who did not, well I forgive you. I know we're all too caught up in our exam moments now.

Happy Birthday, Nik Nor ZaRIfah! (eja nama pun tak betul)

The trio family

My duck dinner that tasted like real, raw duck. Ugh!


The cod tasted a little better

Dessert was too sweet

Hilton's pool

Like father, like daughter eh?

Birthday gal =)

Selamat Hari Ibu!

Niagara Falls, 2007 (look how my dad tries hard to cover himself! lol)

Ain't she classy?

Beloved momma

It's Mother's Day! Ok, I'm feeling really guilty for not having any gifts for my mum. Things have been crazy busy lately and I seriously didn't have time to go out and get her something. So, I decided to write her a poem (at 12.30 midnight), letting her know no matter how busy life is, she's never forgotten. Ibu, (that's what I call my mum) this is for you:

Ibu,
Your love is beautiful,
Nothing is more blissful,
Than the love you pour,
I couldn’t have asked for more.

Ibu,
You were there when I was sick,
Nursing me with a slick,
You were there everytime I fell,
Telling me everything will be well,
You were there when I brought home victory,
Never fail to be proud and happy,

With every Oprah show we watched together,
With every lame joke we laughed at,
With every heated argument we had,
With every cake we baked,
With every travel trip we made,
With every birthday we celebrate,
Comes ever-lasting memories,
That make us smile, frown, laugh, cry, grow and mature.

Forgive me,
For slamming the door,
For avoiding the housechore,
For making your heart sore,
I’m not the best daughter around,
But I’m working on that ground.

Ibu,
For all that you do,
THANK YOU!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

17...coming soon!

My Sweet 16 days are numbered. In approximately a week, I'm gonna turn 17. That's a pretty big number, no?

This year's birthday will be a modest one. I had a magician and floral tea-party for my Sweet 16 but this time around, it'll be a small, quiet celebration with friends or family, perhaps. What with exams coming and all, no time to party like a rockstar.

If 16 was the year to hoo-haa around, 17 is the time to ponder and reflect on who you are, what you have, where should you go, your dreams and ambitions etc.

I'm blessed with so many things. I had the opportunity to taste more of life and experience new things for the past 16+ years. I have a supportive, loving family and I'm surrounded by equally loving, caring friends.

I'm still searching for myself. It's too early to tell who you really are anyway. But I think I roughly know who am I. I'm a girl who has my own insecurities and fears and weaknesses. But at the same time I believe I possess some strengths and vigors that will perhaps bring me somewhere great in the future.

I sense that 17 will be an interesting, awesome year. You're not quite an adult, but you feel like you've left your childhood behind (reminds me of Britney Spear's "I'm not a girl, not yet a woman").

It's an awkward stage of adolescence: of multiple homework and SPM's stress, of cute, heart-warming crushes, of fights with your parents, of all-nighters, of fond memories of beautiful friendships, of tears and mood swings -- and hopefully, of non-stop new adventures and discoveries.

I'm slowly turning into a lady from a young girl. There'll be so many facets to being 17. And I can't wait to experience them all!

Sweet 16 days

Memories that last a lifetime

Me a year ago

Lovelies!

A woman of wonders

The last few days have been a busy one. Been busy studying for mid-terms (ggrrr!!) and also been busy playing host to my mum's Filipino friend, Baibonn who has been staying over our house for the past 2 days. She's a youth activist who works with Arroyo and handles problems related to the youths.

Went for a mini-shopping with her at the Curve on Friday night and I brought her to my favourite restaurant, Bubba Gump Shrimp. Even with the large age differences between us (she's 40 and I'm 16), we managed to have interesting chats all the way till 11 pm. She talked about her experiences travelling all over the world (Palestine & Israel, UK, Indonesia etc.), her views on the Islamic world, about men and love and also the bone-chilling story of her mother getting butchered during the Marcos' cruel leadership.

Baiboon is a woman of wonders. She had a tough life but that did not stop her from being where she is now. Now, she's just happy being a jet-setter and seeing the world from different angles.

Okay dokey! Time to get back to my books :(

With Baibonn at Bubba Gump