Friends, food, fun

I just realized how awesome, talented, beautiful and fun my friends can be. Well I knew it before this. But today, it became clearer.

Had my Hari Raya open house and for those who know me well would know I prefer small, intimate affairs so pardon me if I couldn't invite more people to today's affair. But those who came, thank you and I love you!

We ate, sang, laughed, ate some more and we even had a discussion on syariah law and polygamy. That came from the nerdy debaters (haha kidding!). My mum invited 2 of her Nigerian students to join us for lunch. So, indeed it was a pretty colourful open house. Oh yes, we surprised the September babies with a birthday cake too. I hope the guys (Rauf, Fadzil and Syamir) and the girl (Alia) enjoyed the small gesture.

I loved it when we sat in a big group, with Keefe and Nunu sitting in the center, strumming their guitars while the rest of us sang along to the songs. It was so cool and at that moment, I felt blessed to be surrounded by these people whom I call as friends. Really and truly.

So thank you again to Faiz, Rauf, Nunu, Keefe, Alia, Wai Meng, Andrew, Daryl, Sophia, Fadzil, Shiqin, Calvin, Syamir, Rahman, Anis, Mimi, Rachel, Syira, Safwan, Naj, Ellya and Jabir for your wonderful presence.

Photos will be posted soon when I get them from the others =)

Raya oh raya!

I'm home! And oh Raya was so fun! It was chaotic, colourful, loud and everything else in between.

So, this year we celebrated Raya with a few of my mum's students. Well I'm not sure if 8 would be counted as 'a few' but heck we all had an incredible time. We had boys from Afghanistan, Mozambique, Palestine, Yemen and Tajikistan (yes, there is such a country). The Afghans painted my house and cooked dinner for the whole lot of us on the eve of Eid. And the rest were brought back to Raub to have a taste of Malay culture and Eid celebration in the kampung.

We visited the kampung houses, the graveyards of my dead ancestors, played firecrackers all night long, went for a boat ride and a swim in the river and of course we stuffed ourselves silly with lemang, rendang, ketupat and what not. Seriously, there was food everywhere and I reached a point where my stomach couldn't take it anymore. Bleehh.

I need to detox myself after this and lose all the Raya fats. Ohh well.

Photos! :)

Our house painters for the day

And here we have our cooks for the day. They made some Afghan rice and salad. Sedap!

Maghrib prayers 'berjemaah'

The 'additional family' on the morning of Eid, at my paternal grandparents' home in Kota Damansara

The three of us looking good in baju raya :)

Ohh la la! 'Vogue pose' Hehe

Cousins

The whole lot of us

And on my mum's side in Raub

My aunties. They are fearless, patronizing and everything you can think of. In a good way, of course.

These cousins of mine who think they are tall, not-so-dark and handsome. Mehh =P

Minah main mercun. Haha

This is how kids these days smile for the camera

Prayers for those who have left us

Hasan from Mozambique trying to climb the wooden stairs of the kampung house

Benny, my aunty's pet. Imagine having this deer as your pet in your backyard

The river

The guys enjoying their boatride

Yes, me too

Swim, swim!

Raya's almost here!

Oohh trials are practically over and Raya's almost here! It's a much needed break after the 5 long weeks of exams.

And this year, my family is hosting 8 foreign students from IIUM to celebrate Raya with us. Eight, imagine that! Hah. We'll have 8 on the eve of Raya and they will stay over our house. And we'll shoot to Raub, Pahang after lunch on the first day of Raya but we are only bringing back four of them then. Tak muat kereta la.

They're from Afghanistan, Africa and god-knows-where-else but I'm pretty sure it'll be as fun as last year's. My mum has already planned stuffs for them to do while they're here in KL on the eve of Raya. Some of them are gonna cook their traditional cuisines while others are gonna help paint our house. Domestic help much? Haha.

Oh yes, have a blessed, great Eid Mubarak everyone! May this Raya be a time for close family bonding and forgiveness.

From last Raya:

One of the traditional wooden houses we visited on the morning of Eid

The guys we brought back to Raub last year. (Left to right) Mahmoud from Palestine, Adnan from Bosnia, Swabry from Kenya and Ali from Central Africa

Oh no, white hair!

4 weeks into SPM trials and I'm still in the midst of it. One more week to go. Gah!

Personally, I think the whole system is pretty screwed. 11 years of formal education and the most we learn is how to memorise facts and taught to follow the ridiculous yet stringent schemes and guidelines set.

It's like eating packets and packets of nasi lemak, only to regurgitate them back. And even then, you gotta spew it in a certain way. Heh. I can't wait to get out of here. Out of here to search for something new and fresh.

One more week of trials and I couldn't be bothered anymore, seriously. It's not that I'm loosening my grip on SPM. Oh no, of course not. I'm just taking it easy for now. No point pushing myself to the brink too early of a time like this. My sight was always on SPM. Never so much on trials.

But I reached my ultimatum today when I was standing in front of the mirror, combing through my hair. I noticed I had 2 strands of white hair! And they weren't grey or pale white. They were white of the whitest white. And I was like, "WTF?! I'm getting old." Ok, so probably it's in my genes to have white hair. But it's also possible that the white hair came from all those stress and sleepless nights.

That was when I decided I have to take it slow and easy.

I don't want to be an old makcik with a head of white hair before my time comes. Hell no!

Should I or should I not pluck the hair? They say pluck one and two more will grow back. Uh-huh =\

Al-fatihah

There was a death in my family yesterday.

My dad's aunty, Tok Su passed away due to kidney failure and while it wasn't something so sudden, it still took us by surprise to know this great woman had left us behind. I guess that's what death does to us, no matter how well we prepare for it. I didn't even get to go to her burial, was in bed asleep when my parents got the news and they rushed off without me.

No one knew this but I cried for a minute for her when I found out about the news. I wasn't very close to her but I used to go to her house after school when I was younger, around 11 and 12 years old. She would always ask me after school, "Dah makan? Sekolah macam mana?" (Have you eaten? How was school?). Tok Su was always smiling, a woman who hardly hurt the feelings of others. It wasn't hard at all to fall for her kind-hearted nature.

But her death happened during Ramadhan so that tells you something, no? Only the most loved ones are taken away during the holy month.

May Allah bless her soul.

Al-fatihah.

Kittens

I never liked cats. Everytime a cat is nearby, I will move away or shoo them away. Yea, Zaffy is scared of cats. Heh.

Today, it was a cold day and when I peered out at the frontstep of my house, I saw this:


It kinda makes you go....awww. The black kitten saw me staring and it looked straight into my eyes, a little terrified, perhaps.

And I just looked back knowingly, as if to say 'It's okay. Go to sleep, little kitty'. And the black kitten yawned and slowly closed his eyes, bundled close to the mother.

The cat and its kittens found comfort on my doorstep.

What a profound moment eh? Cheh kononnya la.

Ramadhan's here

Ramadhan's here again. The month of patience, forbearance and perseverance is here once again to grace us with its presence.

It'll be a longer month for some of us, what with trials and all. Ahh well.

To my Muslim friends, Selamat Berpuasa.

May we become stronger Muslims after this. Insyaallah.

TRIALS and Tribulations

Ahh, yes, this IS it.

SPM trials.

34 papers. In one whole month.

This is where your sleep, sanity and everything else give in.

And this is where your tears, blood, sweat come in.

Good luck!

Anywhere BUT Here

*Just a random thought

I see myself up on the cold mountain of Himalaya looking down at the morning breeze.

I see myself curled up in my own cocoon, listening to Norah Jones rustic voice.

I see myself going away. Far far away to an unknown place, wandering mindlessly yet full of thoughts.

I see myself gazing at the sunrise across the blue ocean as the crashing waves compete with the exuberant yells of the seagulls.

I see myself frowning at the irony of life but smiling at the reality of it.

I see myself getting out of bed and thanking God for another fine day.

I see myself anywhere BUT here

Here it is....again

I'm sick. The virus is killing me. I'm exhausted but I can't seem to catch a proper sleep. Spent the whole night tossing and turning on the bed, my brain whizzing with unwanted details of the day. I feel like my oesophagus is being tied up and the peristaltic movement is being constrained making me feel that the food will get stuck in my throat. At least, that's what I feel. So now, I'm living on fluids, mostly water and fruit juices.

And I puked at school today, in Faiz's plastic bag. Heh. Tried to do some reading but my brain is hanging heavy on me. I probably got all this from my mum who was self-quarantined for suspected H1N1. But she's cleared off it and is back at work. Alhamdullilah.

It sucks being so unwell when your trials are just one week away. It'll be nice to skip them and all but it's very unlikely.

So I better get well ASAP or I'll have trouble for my trials.

Awarding Excellent Achievements

We had Majlis Penghargaan Kokurikulum in school today. I was there for English Language Society, Nostalgia Editorial Board and Wira debates. Oh and English Language Society won the Best Academic Club of the Year, 6 times in a row. How awesome!

The realization that this will be my last Majlis Kokurikulum came with a pang when I was gabbing and laughing away with friends today. But at least, we know we are leaving the school with achievements to be proud of and memories that will be remembered for a long time.

I'll definitely miss the debating team and Nostalgia Ed Board. So much time, effort and energy have been poured into these two and they have showed me there is life outside of classroom. If I were to look back at my years in secondary school later, my debate team and Nostalgia would be the first thing to come to mind.

And we cam-whored like no one's business too today. Ah well, after all there's no such thing as taking too many photos, is there?

SMKDJ's choir. They sang with such gusto

The energetic conductor, Rachel

Best Academic Club of the Year for English Society

And here we have the Prez of the club himself (Daryl) with the Vice-Prez =)

In deep thoughts, Keefe and I

AJK of English Lang. Society

I was trying to tie my own necktie for the first time. With Calvin's help

It's actually Syamir not Fadzil

Talk about Girl Power

Making the 'Fat People Are Happy People' pose with Daniel. That was the title of his award-winning public speaking speech.

Who else if not Miss ZharifZafran kan? Hah

Kisses for the trophy with Sophia

For memories' sake

Point of Information, Sir!

Awww!

Wira champs with the ever so lovely, Pn Mag

Great food and even greater friends

Amar and Amir, my good friends from my primary school years were kind enough to invite a bunch of us from DJ to their restaurant's opening, D'tandoor, an Indian cuisine restaurant. I've been friends with them for like 7 years and I've never set foot in the restaurant before. Huh, I wonder why?

But the food's good and the crowds were spilling on the roads for the opening. They have branches all over the world (Aus, Saudi, New Zealand etc.) and they're doing impeccably well now.

It was a good time to catch up with the twins (many are surprised to know Amar and Amir are actually twins when they look so different) and I miss those days way back when we were 10 year olds, keen on everything and anything that we saw. Remember the laughs and jokes we had during our agama class with Ustazah Faridah? We were such jokers la!

Here are some photos.

The inside of the restaurant

With Amir, one of the hosts

Yes, Fadzil dreams to be as tall as Amir. I believe Amir is close to 7 feet tall. Wow!

On the road

The flowers were not spared too. Hah.

Us

The other twin brother, Amar.

And this is my so-called 'twin', Syira. We are always mistaken as sisters. Righhttt!

The Death of the Storyteller

I almost choked on my breakfast when I read the news on Yasmin Ahmad's death in Sunday's newspapers. Everyone thought she would recover from her coma and continue making great, unique Malaysian movies and commercials like she always did.

But that wasn't to be.

I'm not a huge fan of her movies but her Petronas commercials are the best. I always look forward to what's in store for the next advertisement when it comes to Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali etc. So far, she's the only Malaysian director who could beautifully capture the essence of Malaysia's multiculturalism and put it into one simple advertisement.

And, for that I truly respect her.

Yasmin, may Allah bless your soul. While, we here continue to enjoy the legacy and art works that you have left behind for us.

Read my mother's little story she had with Yasmin Ahmad here.

Here's one of my favourite Raya commercials made by the woman herself. Petronas advertisements will never be the same without her now.

Looking back 3 years ago

I have a stalker. It's Syamir! Well, he doesn't exactly stalk me but he has been reading my blog posts dated 3 years ago and he seems to remember a lot of things about me that I, sometimes have forgotten.

So I took a time out yesterday to read my old posts (from 2006) to remember back the 'old' and the younger me. At times, the memories are so distant that you did not think they ever happened. That's why it's a good thing to keep a blog so 20 years down the road, you can still know what you did on the Saturday of 20th July 2007.

As I compare my latest writings to the writings in 2006, I notice how different they are. I used to talk about anything and everything there were, from the most significant stuffs (like winning competitions) to the little details (like how Chee Fai refused to comment on my blog) and at the end of every post, I would normally insert a 'moral of the story' line: fight against racism, appreciate your friends yadda yadda.

Now, I'm pretty discreet and reserve on the things I write about. I try to be as subtle as possible when talking about others on here as I know how feelings can be hurt easily when you're putting the person in a bad light.

Here are my Top 6 posts written by me when I was 14. Read them if you have the time (click on each title). It's pretty geeky and hilarious. Well, at least to me.

1. Frog Incident
Safwan put a frog in my shoes while I was praying in the surau. A real frog!

2. Awful Art
I was never good in art and this was a proof of my suckiness.

3. Shoelace at the Escalator
My shoelace got stucked at the Atria escalator and 2 guards had to help me pull the thing off in front of a whole lot of DJians who were having lunch at KFC. Heh.

4. Exam Results
I felt so smart looking at my Form 2 results now but they were never good enough for me back then. Kiasu me. Now, I'm more than happy to even get a B for Add Maths.

5. 4Ever and Ever
Back in 2 Belian, Jia Yi and I co-wrote a song (with the lyrics, rhythm and all!). The lyrics couldn't get any cornier than this.

6. English Oral Story
The boys in 2 Belian made a girl cry by saying something pretty 'sexual' and it showed how dirty minded they were even at 14.

Missing things

I'm perplexed. As to how you can lose your things at one time and find them again the next time.

I lost my Physics notebook and frantically searched for it everywhere. I almost lost hope when it appeared again a week later, at a place where I had looked for multiple times.

I couldn't find my thumbdrive which I needed badly to transfer some important files. Searched high and low for it but.....nothing. The next time around, it miraculously appeared on my desk although it wasn't there earlier on.

We all know that niggling feeling of mounted disbelief and rising panic that can swamp us when we've lost things and just can't find them. And we begin to think we have really lost them.

But when you have missing things that keep appearing again afterwards, you'll know that things don't go missing and get lost, they are just misplaced.

Check behind the sofa, sometimes that's where they are.

Me and Michael Jackson on Astro

Something interesting happened today. I was interviewed by Astro Awani for their Gala TV programme at my house. My mum, too.

And guess what was the interview on? Michael Jackson! Mhhm yea. Astro Awani is doing a special coverage on Michael Jackson for the next 2 weeks so we were both interviewed on MJ's influence on the entertainment industry and on us, personally.

Well, I was never a huge fan of Michael Jackson but I've been exposed to his songs since I was 5 years old. I related my kindergarten story to the reporter where we used to sing 'Heal the World' at our annual concert. And how I was constantly mesmerized with his incredible dance moves especially the sensational 'moonwalk'.

And so, when the news of his death came, I was surprised (like most of us were) but I was hoping that his death would be a kind of closure to his turbulent, troubled life.

Let us not remember him as Wacko Jacko, the plastic-surgery maniac but let us remember him as the legendary icon who not only entertained us with his beautiful music but inspired us in so many different ways.

Oh, and don't forget to tune in to Astro Awani (channel 501) this Sunday (or maybe next Sunday) at 6.30 pm for the interview =D

Your words won't hit me like swords anymore

I once dreamed of the day where people's opinions and talks won't matter to me. And I once dreamed of the day where I would stop trying so hard to please and impress other people just so I could prove myself.

I think that day has finally arrived.

A good friend told me what this other friend said about me. It wasn't pleasant and it struck a cord with me at the same time. But I see where he's coming from. For someone who thinks too highly of himself, it is of no surprise that he always see the fault and flaws of others but never his own.

I could have gone mad and ballistic with his unkind comments but I decided it won't be worth it. I'm done trying to please everyone, him included. I've learned that pleasing one person is never enough, you gotta do the same to everyone else.

So say what you want to say but your words will no longer hit me like swords.

Because the day where I turn my back to your ruthless, callous remarks and thoughts is finally here.

Chases

I'm tired of chasing after everything. And I can't help but wonder where is this all leading to?

Look up at the sky. Look at the animated faces on your left and right. Look ahead at the road far away. The answer is still not there, is it?

Because the answer lies in the search of it.

At least that's how I see it.

So I'm striving and struggling, hoping one day I would find the answer to all of my chases.

When there is NO money, there is frustration

[Before I start writing, I wanna warn you this will be a post peppered with profanity and uncomfortable use of language. Don't say I didn't warn you!]

I'm fuckingly frustrated! I spent the afternoon calling up companies and advertisers to invite them to advertise in Nostalgia magazine this year. And the responses: 'Disappointing' with a big ass capital D.

Some of them refused to even listen to what you have to say and just brush you off. Some even pretended that they did not receive the email you sent to them regarding the advertisements even though you've emailed them at least twice.

Admittedly, the advertisements aren't so much on garnering more business opportunities for themselves but more of giving back to the people. Companies (I'm so pissed off now I can't bother to practice anonymity) like WonderMilk, Hiestand (a leading internationally known gourmet bakery), Pensonic, Big Apple and I could go on until tomorrow morning but the point is these companies make money from people like us who buy their products and stuffs.

And they can't even donate RM 150 to a school! What is RM 150 to them, really? Even if you think RM 150 is just too much than say 'NO' politely la. Dumb asses.

I think we ought to be taught more on ethics and how to give back once in awhile. Denying us a few hundred bucks might be nothing to this business minded people but it's a step away from my school students from having a good magazine.

No money, no mag, remember?

Terror in DJ!

There was a Godzilla in SMKDJ! See for yourself.



Now, wasn't that cool?

Just one of the crazy, creative things the Nostalgia members did while we were on break from the photoshoot.

Notice how Pn Sharon, Pn Joyce and Pn Lim joined in the fun? Priceless!

Credits: En Lerk, Zhen Yang, Luke.