Sarah is not Sarcastic

Star Wars Episode I-VI short reviews

2012-01-27T21:11:00.002+08:00

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

Ratings: :) :)

To tell the truth, the middle part is quite boring. I don't like that Anakin kid (Jake Lloyd) as he seems 'mengada-ngada'. Love all the fighting-using-light-sabers scene, especially the climax , which depicts the battle between Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul. ESPECIALLY the time when there's only Obi Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

Ratings : :) :) :)

MUCH better than the previous prequel. Each moment makes your heart beats fast and faster! I love the love theme (Across the Stars). I love Natalie Portman, I hate Anakin Skywalker because of his arrogance (he reminds me of someone). I love Obi Wan Kenobi though I hate his hairstyle. I LOOOVVVEEEE C3PO and R2D2 duo. Not a boring moment in this movie, only the times when you got really annoyed with Anakin.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Ratings: :) :) :) :) half

The best movie out of those three. This time, I was feeling a bit emotional upon watching the Anakin+Obi Wan scenes. Plus, reminiscing about the old times when Obi Wan was still a Padawan, his role almost insignificant in the first movie (because Qui Gon Jinn was still alive, then evolving into a really vital character in the story, training Anakin since he was 9 till he's 20 something ( I guess), making Obi Wan an older man too. Their relationship is so profound, even empowering Anakin's own love relationship with Padme.

Anakin falling into the dark side that he would even kill Obi Wan, the closest person he had as a father!

Obi Wan saying 'You were the chosen one! You were my brother! I loved you!' almost choke me to tears. Then Padme died after giving birth to Luke and Leia Skywalker. Obi Wan giving Luke to Owen Lars (Anakin's stepbrother) and walked away.

It's EPIC I TELL YOU!!!!

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

Ratings: :) :) :)

Princess Leia looks old. That was my first impression. Moving on to C3PO and R2D2's adventures where they met Luke Skywalker. Then Obi Wan Kenobi appeared! My favourite Jedi! Han Solo, played by Harrison Ford and Chewbacca added the flavours.I love Chewbacca! I even attempted to roar like him(?) it.

Not much thing going on. Personally, I think this episode is overrated. Most of the scenes were filmed at space (duh!) But definitely better than Episode I of course. But less light-saber fighting scenes! :((

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Ratings: :) :) :) :)

Claimed as the best Star Wars movie of the original trilogy. Well, I don't think so. After watching CGI Yoda from Episode I-III, Puppet Yoda seems odd. Yoda in this episode looks and behaves like a mad man (not a man, he is of course). I don't really like Yoda's voice in this movie (although he is voiced by Frank Oz in ALL the movies). But definitely better than A New Hope.

Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi (1983)

Ratings: :) :) :) :) half

Now, this is the best movie of the original trilogy. Right from the start, every scene gives me a jaw dropping moment. I love Chewbacca (again, LOL) and this is where Luke told Leia that he is in fact, her twin brother. Then there's the EFFIN CUTE EWOKS!!!! They are so cuddly like teddy bears! This episode is a bit emotional because Darth Vader dies after taking off his mask (and throwing off Darth Sidious down to space-well, something like that). The final scene is supposed to be memorable but it turns out funny as HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN is in it, which later makes me realized that I'm watching the edited version of the episode, LOL.

Upper side: Original Lower: Edited

So, in a conclusion. I really enjoy watching Star Wars. I know it's kind of late already but heyy, better late than never! :P I must admit that the characters of 'How I Met Your Mother' pretty much influenced me into watching Star Wars, hehe.

This..

I've been wanting to get myself a light saber. So last week I went to the Toys R'Us in Singapore (Malaysia also have, but not at my place) and is flummoxed to find that it is EXPENSIVE!!!! Freaking S$ 35+ of which when we converted it to Malaysia ringgit, it's like RM 80+!!! And that's just an ordinary light saber. As for the Light Saber FX, it costs RM100+!!! My mom would kill me (with her words) if I were to buy it.

So, I bid goodbye to the light saber. *sob*. Bila kerja nanti baru nak beli.

Geek.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

2012-01-18T11:56:00.005+08:00

In my own definition, a tiger mother is someone like what my mom used to be, only awfully extreme. HAHA.

This book is some sort of mother-daughters memoir written by Amy Chua, a John M.Duff Professor of Law at Yale University, about how she raised her daughters (who are by the way, Chinese Jewish American-she married a Caucasian) according to the Chinese parenting. There are several rules in Chinese Parenting, some of them are:

The children are not allowed to:

1) Get any grade less than an A (Even A minuses are not acceptable! I'd be dead by now if Amy's my mom)

2) Play instrument other than piano and violin

3) Not play the piano and violin (it's compulsory!)

4) Not watch TV or play computer games (horror!)

By reading the book, I can relate her to someone who share the same fiery passion and enthusiasm. Who? Becky Bloomwood the Shopaholic. SERIOUSLY!

The children MUST practice Piano and violin EVERYDAY, on vacations and birthdays, after dental surgery, no mercy! The funny thing is that before the whole family went to any places, Amy would phone the hotel and asked for them to reserve her a PIANO! Everyday without fail, the children were required to practice for 3 hours! Or 2 hours at least!

Of course, everything paid off when Sophia (her eldest daughter) won a prestigious competition and got to perform at the Carnegie Hall.

Sophia at Carnegie Hall

If you read the Shopaholic series, or even at least watched the movie and if you read this book, you'd find some striking similarities in their behaviours. It's just that Amy Chua is not a shopaholic. She's more towards the kiasu-type of woman. KIASUHOLIC or Achievement-holic.

Basically, 70% of the book's content is about piano piano piano, violin, violin, violin. Sometimes I couldn't help but to agree with Amy's way of parenting yet somehow, I think she's being too harsh on her children. Anyway, Motherrrrrr knowssss BEST! (sing).

Scary face! Muahahaha

Then there were some rebellions shown by her youngest daughter, Lulu. There was a lot of shouting between mother and daughters, of which I think is highly inappropriate.

Sure, according to Amy (indirectly), her daughters could shout to her, could talk back but their achievements come first!

Well, according to me, achievements are indeed, important of course. But there's no way I'd let my children talked to me that way! I wouldn't blame her children, they were feeling extremely tensed and stressed out. But again, Amy knows best, of course.

Sophia, Amy, Lulu

There are some funny parts in this book. The family bought a Samoyed (a dog) and Amy began to show her achievement-holic side when she actually made some research about the capabilities of a Samoyed and that she decided to impose the strict Chinese parenting (by training, etc) on her dog too! Of which later on she came into a realization that the dog is just a dog. Not a human. I laughed out loud (literally) when I read that part.

This book is kind of a guide book (at least I think so, though Amy denies it) to the Western parents on how to discipline their children. If you watched the Disney movies, there will be this one part where the teenage children organized a late night party when their parents were not at home. And when the parents found out, guess what's the SEVEREST punishment they'd execute on their children?

"YOU'RE GROUNDED!!!"

Pftttt..

It's no wonder that the children turned up to be like this (okay, not Luan, but the kid at the beginning of this video, LOL)

The Western parents are too soft with their children! They found physical and verbal punishments as highly uncivilized. I'm not saying ALL Western parents. At least, those who are depicted in the movies. Bear in mind that movies usually illustrate the norms of the society, which includes 'grounding your children' if they made mistakes.

Although,

Nowadays; you can witness the transformation of the once strict Malay parents (in the days of our grandparents) into those Western parents. Mat Rempits, rapists, delinquents, all sorts of crimes in Malaysia are mostly committed by the *smack head* MALAYS!

I'm going to say no more about this. Just think. Reflect.

Oh yes, take a look at Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld's blog. http://tigersophia.blogspot.com.
Thanks to her mother, she's now an undergraduate student of Harvard University. And she's really pretty!!! :D

AND THIS BOOK IS A MUST-READ!

With that, thank you and may peace be upon you!

Images are Googled.

Across the Stars

2012-01-17T07:42:00.001+08:00

...is the love theme song for Star Wars: The Prequels. Eh, Star Wars also got love story eh? Ahem, yeah. Though it is not as profound as Twilight (gag).

I'm gonna practise and play this song! Woohoo!

Have an awesome vacation, y'all! ;D

Y-O-U

2012-01-15T00:02:00.004+08:00

Yes, you. YOU.

I would really appreciate it if you would investigate the matter deeply before arriving to a self-made conclusion derived from the oh-so-analytical mind of yours.

For if the matter you claimed to be right when it is actually wrong, then it is a fitnah!

You, don't believe every word you read from those political blogs

Political blogs are biased. All of them. But oh yeah, you could read any of it, as long as you have the power of comparing and analyzing, the power that you claimed you have.

(Political blogs are blogs that directly stated that they are the supporters of this and that party. (often with the respective party's flag as the banner) The respective bloggers of these blogs tend to be irrational, immature people who don't really know how to convey their messages effectively due to their inability to choose the appropriate words and stringing them together into sentences; thus resulted in them using profanities instead)

You. Don't entirely believe the rumours you've heard. Especially it they are passed through the grapevine.

If you do want to try to analyze the political situations in Malaysia. Then I suggest you to at least, be like this guy.

This guy:

-Loves reading all sorts of articles from different sources just for the sake of wanting to know more. Not for the sake of finding points to bash out other people's points.

- Instead of being a person who reads only the title of an article from an opposed party's newspaper and immediately rejected it-though claiming he reads all news from all sources, this guy actually read and analyzed the matters he read from different sources critically.

- He reads books. Not just fictions. GOOD books. I stumbled upon his blog when googling about 'My Name is Red', which is a novel by Orhan Pamuk. Yes, from this, we know that he is a voracious reader.

-He's very matured and rational in arguing over matters and in presenting his ideas. Not at all emotional.

-You could know more about him from his blog. http://thechukaiinsider.blogspot.com

I wish I could be as matured, analytical and observant as him but politics is not really my cup of tea.

THE END.......

Whoa, why so serious? Check out this video! Very entertaining, this video is.Yoda approves!

May peace be upon you!

The 'Beautiful People' List

2012-01-14T13:34:00.003+08:00

The time when I truly comprehend the meaning behind the phrase ‘Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’.

“I don’t think she’s pretty,” my roommate, Dieb commented as she watched ‘Mean Girls’; referring to Amanda Seyfried.

“Hey, why not?!” I totally disagree with her. To me, Amanda Seyfried is one of the prettiest women I’ve ever seen.

“Maybe it’s because she’s blonde. That’s what made people think she’s pretty. There’s something about her eyes that makes her look less appealing,”

Her eyes is the feature that makes her pretty! Why do people find her large eyes unattractive? Why did my roommate find her eyes unattractive?

I could tolerate it if we were arguing whether Lindsay Lohan is pretty or not (not really, in my opinion). Or even Oprah Winfrey (people don’t really perceive her as being pretty but rather, attractive).

Yes, that’s it! Pretty and attractiveness, both are almost similar yet different. A pretty lady might not necessarily be attractive. Another not-so-pretty lady might have the higher degree of attractiveness that emanates out from within her mediocre looks. But we shall get to that later (Part 2, maybe?)

Now, let’s discuss about the phrase ‘Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’. What’s a beholder? The seer.

That's what Mr. Rochester said to the plain Jane Eyre, whom, in his opinion, is far more attractive than the snobbish oh-so-beautiful Blanche Ingram.

Let’s face it, each and every one of us has our own criteria that define whether that person is beautiful or not. If she lacks any of those qualities, or if she doesn’t possess any of it, that’s it, she is not eligible to be labeled as a pretty person. This whole statement is harsh all right, but let’s be honest, shall we? Don’t tell me you don’t have those criteria in your mind.

Bear in mind that everyone’s criteria of ‘to determine whether that person is beautiful or not’ is different.

Most often that the criteria is based on their own interpretation of beauty, or are influenced by the one figure that they feel is pretty. That person could be a world famous actress, their own mother, sister, teacher or friend.

For example, Person A who had always feel that Song Hye Gyo being the person who has all the qualities of ‘being beautiful’ might look at others who possess oriental, Korean/Chinese/Japanese-like looks, albeit the nose is flat or prominent, albeit the teeth is crooked or not, as pretty. And thus, yes, the person who doesn’t realize she is being scrutinized and judged by Person A made it into the ‘Beauty list!’

On the other hand, if Person A sees someone with a bit of Aishwarya Rai-like look; no matter how delicately structured her nose is, no matter how big and attractive her eyes are, no matter how thick her lashes are, would say ‘She’s not that pretty to me!’ .

Quite contrarily, Person B who had always watched a lot of Hindustan dramas would perceive those who has the slightest Aishwarya Rai feature as very pretty and seeing others with Oriental looks as ‘Okay la, not that pretty to me,’.

In short, our judgment on whether that person is pretty or not is clouded by our own definition and interpretation of beauty. Thank God for that. Imagine if the criteria of being beautiful is firmly defined with no changes made, I repeat, absolutely no changes made just like Stoke’s Law of Diffusion. It is getting worse if every person has a firm, unchanging belief towards that ‘Law of Beauty’.

The world would be in chaos and those who do not possess any of those qualities would remain alone and single until their old age, with 20 cats as companions. Everyone would want that person with thick lashes, white skin, above 160 cm of height, dimpled cheeks as their lifetime companion. How on earth is each of us going to find that particular person who meets all (at least, any of) the defined criteria?

Have mercy to those with dark but healthy skin, slanted eyes, chubby figures and flat noses!

That is why, Alhamdulillah, God has made each of us different, made us have our own definition of beauty.

That’s where you see the skinny man married the plus-sized woman, the Caucasian American found his other soul in the form of an African woman and many others.

So if you feel that you’re not pretty, you’re wrong! God had created each one of us with the best of functions and appearances. We are the best of all creatures. It’s just that different people have different interpretation of beauty. Out of Person A, Person B, Person C, maybe only one of them will find you pretty. We can't please everyone, anyway. Even in terms of looks.

Bear in mind that your one, true soulmate will find you beautiful, regardless of how chubby your figure is (he might find it cute and huggable! :D), how flat your nose is (he likes it as he feels prominent nose is too urmm…pointy?), and many others (I don’t know la how men’s minds work).Next time, I'm going to talk about inner beauty, which is the true, everlasting beauty.

Be grateful with the way you are. I know I do, Alhamdulillah.

And remember! Your Rabb caused to be declared (publicly): ‘If you are grateful, I will add more (favors) unto you; but if you show ingratitude, truly My punishment is terrible indeed.’” (Qur’an 14:7)

Yes, if you stop complaining about how you look and be grateful with the way you are now, then Allah will give more blessings to you in terms of maybe 'less acne on your face', or 'less wrinkles' or even 'radiance that exudes out from your visage although you do not wear SKII, LOL'.

Besides, it's no use of wanting to have Naomi Watt's looks as naturally, we are from different parents and heritages, kan? Be proud of the way you look, for your physical appearance now is some sort of combination from your parents', grandparents', uncles, aunties', ancestors' looks! So you're unique!!! We are all unique!

As for me, one important criteria that could change people’s looks from Ugly Betty (no, she is really cute to me. How could people says she’s UGLY??) okay, from grumpy Uncle Scrooge to Prince Eric from Little Mermaid (my favourite Disney prince) is….

THE SMILE!!!!

Smile is the cheapest way to improve your looks.

My Ustaz had once said “Orang takde gigi pun, kalau senyum nampak comel je,”

So, no matter how so breathtakingly beautiful people said about that particular woman, if she looks so arrogant, and couldn’t even offer a slight bit of smile to the people she met (and knows)- orang kata, ‘muka sombong’. Then sorry, she’s not in my ‘Beautiful People’ list.

That’s why I tend to smile a lot. To improve my looks. AHAKS…

Madam Jagdish was my Level 6 English Teacher for the 1^stsemester 1^styear in CFS. So, after the semester was over, I hardly saw her anymore.

Until…. the 2^nd semester of the 2^nd year in CFS (one and a half year later), where I stumbled upon her in the café.

I greeted her and she was pleasantly surprised to see me and we chatted for quite a while. A few moments later, I asked her to make sure of something;

“Madam, do you still remember me?”

She smiled and said “Of course! I remember your smile,”

Wahhhh. That’s even better! She didn’t remember my name but she remembers my smile!!!

So people, smile a lot okay! (But be careful not to smile too much to the members of the opposite genders as this might create misunderstandings if you know what I mean).

P.S. Amanda Seyfried IS pretty, am I right????

What? She's not pretty to you? Fine, fine. We have different definitions of beauty then. She made it into my 'beautiful people' list though. :P

With that, may peace be upon you!

I want to grow old gracefully. Amin. :)

Star Wars Dream

2012-01-09T18:30:00.003+08:00

I want to become a Jedi.

I want to have my own light saber.

I should get myself a light saber. Blue! OBI WAN KENOBI! That, and a cream kimono-like garment with a dark brown robe on the outside

To my siblings, I shall ask "Which one of you is worthy enough to become my Padawan?"

I shall ~~force~~ ask any of them to get a RED light saber and a black hooded cloak and to paint their face red with black stripes.

We shall fight till the end. With the Star Wars' theme playing in the background.

Yes, I shall do just that.

But to become a Jedi, I must be cool; to be really calm in any situation. I get panic easily. Not a trait of jedi. This is a trial I have to undergo.

Thank you. May the force be with you.

Musically Sarah

2012-01-06T00:54:00.001+08:00

Assalamualaikum and hello all. :)

Alat muzik hanya haram bila ianya melalaikan-Ustaz Azhar Idrus.

Yeah! Apa-apa pun haram bila melalaikan kita daripada bersolat ke, yang boleh mendorong kepada maksiat.
So there you go, you 'haram' polices. I hate it when people said 'Eh, benda ni haramm, harammm!!!!' without actually explaining (and giving acceptable reasons) why is it haram. O___O

As for me, I could play a number of musical instruments. Just for fun la. For my own entertainment. Haram ke? LOL. So, here it goes, 13 years ago:

THE DIFFERENT MEANING FOR ORGAN

I was 9. My parents took me and Syafiq (he was 7) to Yamaha Music School, Sungai Petani. My mom asked 'Nak main piano ke organ?' Bukan organ badan manusia ye.

I wasn't so sure but that person said 'Organ is better because you can make lots of music, many kinds of sounds with it. It is an electronic instrument,'. My mom agreed, saying 'Piano tu common sangatlah'.

I wish I had taken piano instead, but really, if you could play organ, you could play piano. Organ requires the use of both hands and your feet, where you'll have to step on various pedals (it's really difficult, especially when you're wearing shoes). Piano only has 3 pedals. :P

THE BEGINNING

So, Syafiq and I joined the class. There were two other Chinese girls. The piano instructor, Miss Teoh Soo Tin. is a really sweet and kind and she would reward us with sweets and fancy stickers to stick on our music books whenever we performed well. She loves to smile and laugh. :)

The first Chinese girl was about the same age and height as me. She was quite passive. The other girl was extremely fair (Chinese, kan). She's younger than Syafiq. 6 years old, if I'm not mistaken and we were always competing with each other (Tapi last-last saya menang :P)

Halfway through the series of lessons, the first Chinese girl left us, leaving me, Syafiq and the putih melepak chinese girl.

HAPPINESS AND JOY

Throughout the lessons, I gotta say that I was the best performer in the class (this is a fact okay, not bragging, LOL). Setiap kali habis kelas, my mom would ask Miss Teoh about our performances in class. Miss Teoh said 'Sarah is good! I'll train her to become a music teacher!' LOL.

Syafiq pulak 'Urmm, he's a bit slow'. Memang ah, Syafiq malas practise waktu kat rumah.

My mom was very strict with us. She would want to hear us practise practise and practise everyday in the afternoon. I don't really mind because I love music. But for Syafiq, music is not really his thing. My mom even said 'Ajar Syafiq sampai pandai main. Nanti Mak bagi duit,' HAHA.

Setiap kali kelas organ, mesti rasa seronok. I was steps ahead from my other friends (including Syafiq, haha). Kadang-kadang, lagu tu teacher tak ajar lagi tapi dah belajar main sendiri dengan practise. Bila Miss Teoh dengar, dia cakap 'Wow, that's good, Sarah!'

Miss Teoh then decided to teach me other songs (those that are not included in the syllabus). I was able to play The Carpenter's Top of The World, Bengawan Solo, Cyrano de Bergerac and other traditional folk songs. Okay, not cool. Now I dah lupa lahhh.. I could play a number of Waltzes, Irish dances, Spanish dances, a song that's still stuck in my head till today -Rock'a My Soul.

In 2001, the three of us performed together in an organ recitation (as in piano recitation/performance) watched by many people, including my mother. Waktu tu best! Semua orang tepuk tangan.

EXAMINATION

For my first organ examination, there were TWO female instructors, both of them Chinese (naturally, of course).

First I was required to play the song with the musical accompaniment. Then, the instructor tested my hearing.

She would play some notes and ask, what is it?

Then I'd say DO MI SO LA TI RE FA

Okay, correct!

Whoa, to think again, how on Earth did I manage to do that? +___+

So, I scored A for theory, A for practical A for-I forgot and a B for hearing (tone deaf)

Syafiq scored BBB, there's a C. Not a single A. HAHA.

SYAFIQ STOPPED GOING TO CLASS

Then, by the time I was 11, my mom decided that Syafiq should stop taking organ classes. She said it was a waste of time since Syafiq was lazy and everything. Furthermore, the fees were expensive back then. RM90 per month. The two of us totalling to RM180 per month. That was in the late 90's and early 2000's. Now the fees are much higher, I supposed.

So, I continued my music lessons without Syafiq. Even that Chinese girl had stopped.

I was able to play more songs, more and performed well in my organ examinations.

THE TWISTED TURN OF FATE

2003. I was 13. Form 1; meaning, I'd have to go to school in the afternoon, gahh! So I skipped lots of organ classes. It's due to bloody sports practices (in the morning) and other school stuffs (music classes). Miss Teoh kept on calling me, asking when will I be free? It's quite disheartening to think about it now.

My last class with Miss Teoh. She said that she'll be transferred to Alor Setar and there will be a new music teacher teaching me. I was feeling quite sad at that time since she has been teaching me since I was 9 till 13 and now, some stranger will replace her?

THE TORMENTS (LOL)

So, the next lesson. A chubby Chinese woman came to teach me. I don't really like her from the moment I set my eyes on her. She seems hostile, though she did make lots of jokes that are not really funny. T__T

The first lesson turned out well.

The second lesson, the HORROR began. For the first time, I dreaded going to organ class.

I don't know why, maybe that day she got PMS or some fluctuations in her hormones or something. But throughout the one hour lesson, she kept on scolding and yelling at me, even tapping my fingers hard when I played some notes wrongly. It's difficult la, WOMAN!

I tried my best not to cry. Then, after a series of scoldings and physical abuses (tapping of fingers), I couldn't take it anymore. I quickly RAN to the toilet and locked myself in it. I cried and cried and cried. I miss my old teacher. I hate my school for having afternoon sessions, LOL. The woman came knocking at the toilet's door but I wouldn't let her in.

She finally gave up and returned to the studio.

After about 5 minutes, I stopped crying and washed my face. Reluctantly, I headed back to the studio. Lesson's over. She laughed for a while, trying to make amends with the awkward situation. And she said

'You know what, I think I'm not going to like you,' and laughed. I wasn't even offended with her statement as I disliked her too!

THE END

But for the next 2 lessons, she seemed to be a bit more lenient towards me. And on the 3rd and last lesson, she said that she's going to resign from Yamaha Music because she's getting married.There was a shortage of music teachers at that time and there was no one available to teach me. So, I stopped going to organ class for good. I didn't complete my music education.

TO CONCLUDE:

So well, that's my story. I still know how to play organ and piano (they are quite similar) and thanks to the basic education that I received when I was still a primary schooler (the time where everything that goes in, stays inside), I could play some songs by myself. :D Now I could just download music scores from the internet and try to play it. So, no needla to spend more money to get formal certificate that says 'Sarah is highly proficient in music or something, Grade 8.

As you can see, those who sent their children to this school are mostly Chinese. Maybe you Malays would say 'it's a waste of time and money'. Should send children to kelas agama instead. Sure, kelas agama is wajib, compulsory, even I (and all my siblings) went to kelas fardhu ain every afternoon after school. But your children need to have other skills too. Sending him or her to music classes doesn't mean that you're encouraging them to become performers in the future. It's good for brain development, you see. I think I was smarter in primary school then I am today (naturally!).

It's way better than to just watch TV all day long. But yes, I understand, not all could afford to send their children to these extra-skills classes (the term 'could afford' does not necessarily mean that the person is rich or wealthy). I just gotta say that I'm pretty lucky. Alhamdulillah.

If music class is expensive, you could send your kids to other cheaper classes like Art classes (my mom sent us both to art classes as well. My mom is very ambitious, haha) or even language classes. Or the least you could do is to bring your children to the public library every weekend (of which my mom did too; she's awesome, isn't she?) :D.

With that, thank you!!! :D

P.S. I find writing and pouring my heart out very relaxing, especially in the midst of examination period! :O

T___T

2012-01-04T18:27:00.003+08:00

Two papers done, another FIVE to go. I really want to go home quickly!!!!

P.S. Phosphorescence masuk exam. Auxochrome pun. Alhamdulillah.

A cat just peed in my shoe. Hahaha.

Just when I'm about to throw the shoes out. >__<

Predictions

2012-01-03T16:20:00.006+08:00

Kalau soalan-soalan ni masuk exam esok.

First question: What ~~the~~ ~~heck~~ is fluorescence?

(Ahem, in my own words). Fluorescence is the emission of an electron ( that was originally paired with another electron) from singlet excited state to singlet ground state in the same spin state. Meaning, the direction of emission is opposite to the direction of its pair electron of the ground state. High energy is needed for this to happen.

I shall draw diagram and label them to make it easier to understand.

Want more?

Internal conversion occurs from singlet excited state to a higher excited state. The electron then undergoes vibrational relaxation (thus making the duration a bit longer than the normal emission) by the loss of some electrons that are known as radiationless energy. Then, it will return to its singlet ground state a little bit longer than in phosphorescence.

I shall draw a diagram.

Second question: What is phosphorescence then?

Phosphorescence is the emission of electron from a triplet excited state to a singlet ground state in different spin state. Meaning, the direction of emission is at the same spin state as its unpaired electron from the ground state. Higher energy (even higher than fluorescence) is needed for phosphorescence to occur. But once the energy is withdrawn, the electron spin will flip back to the opposite spin state and quickly return to singlet ground state.

I shall draw a diagram.

(more) Intersystem crossing occurs from singlet excited state to triplet excited state. Vibrational relaxation then occurs, where some of the electrons are lost in the form of radiationless energy. The duration is the longest (longer than fluorescence). Then, after the energy is withdrawn, the triplet excited state returns to the singlet ground state at the highest speed (higher than fluorescence)

Draw diagram again.

If you don't understand, never mind. I hope Dr. Helal understands, at least. Haha.

I hope this comes out in the exam tomorrow! It'd better be! This is the most vital part kott!!!

Yup, we Pharmacy students learn this kind of things.The above thing is needed if we wanted to venture in the Pharmaceutical Industry. We study anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, drug design, physical pharmacy (lots of physics), organic chemistry,biochemistry, medicinal chemistry (structure of drugs, how to make aspirins, paracetamols- the real drug dealers, hoho), the drugs (generic and brand names!), herbal medicines, pharmacy practice (dispensing, counselling, making creams and ointments) and many many more (all chemistry, physics, biology plus social skills, ahaha) ALL in four years!

Korang budak Medic belajar biology parts je banyak. Only the exploration of human body. (okay, why this sudden grudge towards the medical students and doctors, LOL).

Because people do not acknowledge the importance of pharmacists.

Public perceptions:

Question: Amik apa?

Answer: Pharmacy

Question: Oh, jual ubat la ye? (dengan tone tak boleh blahh)

Answer: *mengipas-ngipas diri kerana panas-exothermic reaction*

In Malaysia, pharmacists are usually viewed as anyone who opens a pharmacy (community pharmacist) or that guy who gives the medicines in hospital (clinical pharmacist).

You know who manufactured the paracetamols? Pharmacists.

You know who screens all the drugs for toxicity? Pharmacists

Who ensures that the drugs are effective and safe to be used? Pharmacists

You know who established Kiehl's (the cosmetic/self care products)? A pharmacist.

You know who established Loreal? A chemist/ pharmacist

Pharmacist is also a chemist. The advantage of a pharmacist over a chemist is that pharmacist has the knowledge of both biology and chemistry.

There's no such thing as doctors being superior to pharmacists (though in Malaysia, this is the scenario). We complement each other. The same goes with allied health practitioners and nurses.

It's just kind of frustrating when those medical students complained
'Kita orang susah tau. Mini Test. Lepas tu kalau tak lepas block exam, kena repeat block, yadda yadda,'

bla bla. Then 'Lepas tu kena hafal dengan tahu sebijik sebijik benda tu benda ni,'

Yelah fine. Susah...Korang je lah yang belajar paling susah kat dunia ni... As if!

No hard feelings, aite, medical students? ;)

Okay, may peace be upon you!!!

Double 8

2011-12-31T17:20:00.003+08:00

88 marks the number of posts for the year 2011.

And yes, this is the 88th post.

I'm not going to list out the stuffs that happened to me in 2011, partly because I couldn't really remember most of the stuffs that happened; or most probably because I'm too lazy to recall the strings of events that occurred from the 1st of January 2011 till today, 31st of December 2011. Maybe you could check out my archives- 'The Honourable Craps' of which I doubt you would.

I do remember buying and reading lots of books, and eating lots of good (and new) foods, yummy! ; Garrett's Popcorn (caramel with cheese popcorn), dubbed as the best popcorn in the world by Oprah Winfrey, Pizza Hut Cheesy 7(salivating now), Taj's Roti Nan Cheese with Tandoori Chicken and many others la (I eat a lot, okayy).

I remember going to Universal Studios, and took 4 rides of Battlestar Galactica (Cylon) and a ride of Battlestar Galactica (Human)-those are roller-coasters, took a picture with a semi-naked Pharaoh/ tomb keeper with a well-toned body (what?). The part where the Puss-in-Boots was angry (supposedly) with my sister when she patted its head. The incident where I ran from the fake Charlie Chaplin, refusing to shake hands with him (bare hands!).

Also, getting my articles published in a real paper for the first time (The Torch is a real newspaper whatttt). Of which the 2nd issue won 'Best Team Effort' for New Straits Times' Young Writers' Award, and I got a certificate with my name on it, a cash voucher that has yet to be cashed out (sigh) and movie tickets that I plan on using to watch a really good movie with my brother aka best pal, Syafiq.

I got my braces in the same year.To be truthful, it doesn't really hurt.

Okay enough. The statement' I'm lazy in recalling stuffs/events/facts' doesn't really mean that I'm unable to recall any of them. If I start recalling, then this post will be long and we wouldn't want that, am I right? :P

All in all, 2011 had been a blast, Alhamdulillah. So many wonderful memories. My family members and my loved ones are in healthy, good conditions and it would be the same thing that I want for 2012 and for the following years.

2012 resolution?

1) To improve myself in every aspect.

2) To create more wonderful memories ( to try my best to reduce the number of not-so-wonderful events caused by yours truly, muahaha)

3) To remember names. HAHAHA.

It's funny that I could remember the names of drugs (most of them anyway, :P) but I couldn't really remember people's names.

The most recent event that happened this morning.

I was on my way walking for a few hundred metres from M5 to Talhah Cafe, and I spotted someone familiar. Oh yes, her! My classmate from the good old foundation years. She's in Dentistry now, isn't she?

Being Sarah, I flashed her a huge smile and greeted 'Hi!' stretching the 'I' sound for 4 seconds or something.

She smiled back upon recognition and said 'Hi Sarah!!!!'

I continued to smile and as soon as I passed her, the Oompa Loompas in my head frantically searched (and sang/danced)for the file labeled 'The name of the girl who was once your classmate' amidst all the disorganized files of drug names, atomic emission spectroscopy and zeta potentials (revision week laa)

'What's her name again???"

NO!!!

That girl's name! I must find out! Her name is something like Nabilah, I guess. I hope I'm right. Memalukan jer panggil nama orang silap.

EDIT: Just checked facebook. Her name IS Nabilah! Hurray to me!!!! *throws confetti*

That's all for now. I wish you all the best for your exam and may all of us have a very blessed year ahead. Amin. :)

Auxochrome

2011-12-29T10:30:00.008+08:00

If you had a single piece of advice to offer young journalists, what would it be?

“The issue is not writing. It's what you write about. One of my favorite columnists is Jonathan Weil, who writes for Bloomberg. He broke the Enron story, and he broke it because he's one of the very few mainstream journalists in America who really knows how to read a balance sheet. That means Jonathan Weil will always have a job, and will always be read, and will always have something interesting to say. He's unique. Most accountants don't write articles, and most journalists don't know anything about accounting. Aspiring journalists should stop going to journalism programs and go to some other kind of grad school. If I was studying today, I would go get a master's in statistics, and maybe do a bunch of accounting courses and then write from that perspective. I think that's the way to survive. The role of the generalist is diminishing. Journalism has to get smarter.”

-Malcolm Gladwell-

P.S. UNGS at 3 pm! Wish me luck! :)

Not just mere talks and no action

2011-12-26T14:14:00.001+08:00

Assalamualaikum and hello all. :)

To prove the statement above:

We got the highest marks!!!! :D :D :D
Though it's not exactly high but syukur!

Thanks to my team of researchers;
Syau, Ana, Aida and Fatin Hanani

also to Dr. Zakiah.

Alhamdulillah. :)
Dear Allah, please let all of us get solid A for UNGS, pretty please! 3 credit hours!!! :B

Study study study! Relaxation is....the KEY!!! LOL

"Good morning sunshine..."

2011-12-25T07:49:00.002+08:00

".....the earth says hello!"

-Willy Wonka, (played by Johnny Depp) in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Madam Jagdish (we called her Madam J), a really awesome English lecturer from foundation, said

'You can get something depending on how badddd you really want it'.

On the other hand,

" The time when you don't care about minor things (so-called problems, ahemm), that's the time when you've grown matured (or at least, maturing)"

Dear Emak,

I MISS HOME-COOKED FOODS!!!!!

P.S. Dah beli tiket bas! :P

Just invented a new catchphrase slash my own trademark whatsoever

Before, I'm known to always say 'Yes, you're right!!!!' (not much of a distinctive catchphrase anyway)

Now....

Sarah: Relaxation is the......

Syau: KEY!

Syau: The key is....

Sarah: RELAXATION!

HAHAHAHA, LOL. BY that, we mean, relaxation (handling last-minute pressure of last-minute studying) is...the KEY to success! Pfft!!! I mean, don't panic! Relax, there's still time. The first core course paper and the following will only start in another 2 weeks so it's not exactly last minute if I start studying now la kan?

With that, may peace be upon YOU!

Summary

2011-12-20T17:52:00.000+08:00

This week.

PENAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PENAT!!!!!!!

PENAT!!!!!

TIRED!!!!!

EXHAUSTED!!!!

LETHARGIC!!!!!!!

BYE!!!!

untitled volume umpteen!

2011-12-14T20:47:00.001+08:00

Assalamualaikum and hello all. :)

4 years ago, after SPM, I signed up for blogger.com and created this blog. It was first titled as 'Sarcastic is My Middle Name' with overly dramatic description like 'she is dangerously sarcastic, you wouldn't want to mess with her, yadda yadda'.

Nope, this is not my first blog. I created my first blog when I was 16.

Oh yes, at the age 16, I signed up for friendster, myspace, FACEBOOK (I'm on facebook longer than most of you do! :P-not that it's a real achievement haha). My 'internet era' began at that age.

So, my first blog's url is

http://xxxxx-the-journalist.blogspot.com. I knew back then that I wanted to become a journalist. Haha.

It did not last. The second blog was hosted in livejournal. I remember writing something about Dr. Sheikh heading off to space in the Soyuz. I was proud of him (LOL) and Malaysia that I gotta write about it somewhere to express my feelings. Livejournal is quite complicated la. So I stopped blogging. And thus, almost a year later, this blog was born and created by the then zesty, outspoken, loony Sarah Sarcastic.

My earlier posts were written purely, directly straight from my heart, unfiltered, with only 2 or 3 people reading this blog (my blog buddies- Jem, Farhana, Maddy). We had a splendid time, commenting each other's posts, making charade games, spamming each other's cboxes. *sigh* I miss those wonderful moments.

When I was in primary and secondary school, I poured out my feelings into my diaries (of which I still keep but could not open because I lost the keys. Yeah, locked diaries). It helped me to undergo those tumultuous period of adolescence. Writing prevents me from turning mad and insane. Writing is therapeutic

And so, when I started to write a blog to substitute those good old diaries, I tend to forget that this time, it's not only me who's going to read it (though my siblings once read my diary and told my mom almost everything inside it!), but that other people too, could read it. Thus, I felt slightly uncomfortable.

I began to filter my posts, deleting those entries that I was rather ashamed of. In a way, I grow matured and I learn to think thoroughly before even writing something and posting it out for the whole world to see. Sometimes I even made this blog private for 2 months or so. My circle of readers expanded. Most of them do not really know me in person and thus they might have judged me wrongly based on the things I wrote. My writing style also changed gradually.Before, I like to just write in Manglish, using intangible expressions like eeyerrr (to express disgust). Paisehhh (It's like damn! in mandarin/hokkien I dunno), aiyoo! GAGAGAGA ( this was before Lady Gaga existed) and many others.

Why do I keep blogging anyway?

It's just hard to leave something that you grow attached to. FOUR YEARS.

Besides, blogging ni best la... :P

So, this blog was born on the 14th of December 2007.

Today is the 14th of December 2011.

4 years of bittersweet memories. Thanks for being with me, bloggy. :D

And to all of you readers, silent or not (haha) thanks for reading! Keep on reading! :P

P.S. I reread some of my earlier posts and I can't believe that I was so immature back then. Ah, people changed!

Architectural metaphorssssss

2011-11-29T21:32:00.007+08:00

My bro the architecture student forwarded the emails of his conversation with our uncle, the experienced architect.
The excerpt from the mail:
What my uncle said to my bro:

"Voice of freedom doesn't allow for a good metaphor for architecture.It may even shoot you on your own foot because sometimes we have to capture these animals and put them in conservatory to save them. Zoos,for example, are not your best 'voice of freedom,' but provides people the platform to learn and understand, and even love animals. Get what i mean? Your thoughts are still not developed and still one dimensional. Architectural metaphors are layered, multiple-dimensional and really meaningful when translated into spaces. Good architectural metaphors eg- .....shifting and folding, twisted, friction and tension, tight and loose, precariousness, balance and imbalanceness,torsion, ....get the idea? These are metaphors that allow you to mould your spaces, play with planes and light and shadows, create layering in your work that will give more meaning to your design"

Sounds complicated, isn't it?
My brother's asking my help to 'decode' the hidden meaning between those sentences aka reading between lines.

I don't know. I'm just too lazy to read and comprehend.I'm merely skimming through the mail. It's more complicated than Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy and Atomic Emission Spectroscopy. It's too subjective. It's too metaphorical. What's with the constant usage of 'metaphors'? I would like to conclude that being an architect/architecture student is like being a 'literature' student. Only that they knew how to draw and build. Oh yes, my uncle is so literature-ish. My brother is so straight-forward-ish. He could not read between lines because he rarely reads books (except True Singapore Ghost Stories >__<)

Still, there's time. He's only in his first year. He should be able to develop his way of thinking in years to come, insya-Allah.

I don't know why but I really feel the sudden desire to read Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy upon reading the reply email.

So I ask my brother to ask my mom for further clarification. My mom is as almost as literature-ish as my uncle.

But here's the good thing. My uncle wants my bro to think! To really think deep, not to look at things as a mere 1-dimensional or 2-dimensional. But 3D or 4D! This is good.

I'm glad I'm not taking architecture. Don't you feel stressed out by just reading these emails? Anyway, that's the path you've chosen, little bro. I'll get back to you tonight after I've finished revising AAS.

I hope my uncle is not reading this. >_<

P.S Boleh dah faham sikit2, if I try to understand it. HAHAHA.

P.S.S. I like this small font. People would have to squint in order to read each word. :P

Death 'Wishlist'

2011-11-27T23:10:00.009+08:00

Assalamualaikum w.b.t and hello all. :)

Don't be scared of the title.

I'm a paranoid kind of person. If there is something wrong with my health or whatsoever, I'd quickly google the symptoms that I'm experiencing (have experienced/ thought/think I might experience) and would be surprised (in totally dramatic way) to find the list of diseases that I might have. Some of them;

Multiple sclerosis (upon tripping here and there sometimes. I'm a klutz)
Hyperthyroidism (I always get nervous and my hands are shaking- naturally shaky, pfftt)
Parkinson's Disease (shaky hands-it runs in the family, according to my granduncle. MTV VJ Utt also has naturally shaky hands so I guess it's nothing serious >__<)
Cancers of all sort (I'm overreacting, I know)
Ophthalmic diseases that would result in blindness (stay away from computer).
Hypertension ( I eat a lot >__<)
That disease where you get old in a young age.
I'm afraid I might get bacterial infection or something because the mahallah's toilets and shower stalls are sooo dirtyyyy.
Kidney disease because I boiled tap water which might be free from microorganisms but not from harmful trace metals from the rusty pipes that might accumulate in my nephrons thus damaging my kidneys. Our mahallahs still do not provide water filter. Nak tunggu tulis surat kat main camp kat Gombak ke????
And many others, sheeshhh...

Then, some major things happened. You know about the 'choices' I mentioned in the previous post? Lately, it's been kind of easy for me to make that choice. Only that it's not me. Several circumstances forced me to make that choice. Like I said, 'someone' had played some tricks on me.

This leads to a reflection. Am I going to die young? With diseases or something? Oh no. I haven't even completed my degree yet. I haven't finished writing that novel. My degree of Iman is still at a (I dunno, insert one appropriate word) stage. NOOOOO!!!! My family needs me!

And thus, that leads to this list:

I wish not to die horribly, detached, deformed in any way.
I wish not to die in accidents of any kind.
I wish not to die unexpectedly like in accidents.
I wish to die on the Thursday Night (Malam Jumaat) or on Friday.
I wish to meet my Creator in the best physical, emotional and mental preparation and presentation of myself.
I wish my parents and siblings would not be devastated with my death but rather, view it as 'Allah loves me and he wants me to be with Him and soon He will take all of them together with Him and we will be reunited once again'.
I wish I had brought some good changes in this world, or that I've changed someone.
I wish I do not suffer much before finally breathing my last breath. For example, if I were to die because of a disease, I wish to die quickly and not suffer much.
I wish not to trouble anyone who needs to make some time to tend to me on my dying bed or something. I wish to have some degree of independence (except of course, total dependence only towards Allah) as I reach my last moment on Earth. Tak nak menyusahkan orang.
I wish that I have reached the highest level of Iman I could ever achieved in this world when it's time for me to go.
I wish that majority of my tasks had been fulfilled before I die.
I wish not to die being murdered or tortured by people/animals. Nauzubillahiminzalik.
I wish to die in Malaysia because it would be easy for my family members and friends to visit my grave. If I were to die in overseas, my family would want my body back in my tanah tumpahnya darahku thus there will be that horrible procedures where they 'clean' up the corpse's body before sending me back.

But of course, I need to pray a lot and to make many efforts in order for the list of wishes in this 'Death Wishlist' to come true (or at least, most of them. No accidents/murders please, huhu) I need to love Allah so that I would have some degree of happiness (and reda-what's that word in English? :P) when it's time for me to go back to Him. Funny, isn't it? But really, it is something that you need to think about.

I wish not to die young (how young is young anyway?) because I have many responsibilities and tasks. I'm the eldest in the family, my parents vouch me to take care of my siblings if anything were to happen to them ( I always pray for my parents' longevity and prosperity), I need to fulfill my parents' needs first, I need to make my parents happy, my family happy, I need to change the world in many ways (women's rights, for example)

I want to achieve many things like completing my Ph.D, write my books and get them published, I want to meet my soulmate and to travel around the world with him, exploring different cultures and getting to know the other sides of the world that I've never seen nor experienced,

I wish to meet new people, exchanging various ideas, to give them the good impression about Islam and what this religion of peace is really about.

I wish to be like Ahmed Deedat, who died at a prosperous age of 80 something. But of course,he has numerous reasons to live. But what about me? How will I be so sure that I will do something as great (or at least, something beneficial) as what he did if Allah were to grant me a long lifespan?

If you were to live up till that age, make sure you have achieved something. If not, those long years would be a huge waste of time. You'd be better off dying young. This is a reminder to me, of course.

For now, I need to

1. Eat less fatty foods and carbs ( I love rice and bread!)

2. Readjust my biological clock

3. Exercise more

4. Take more supplements

5. Pray a lot

6. Study for quizzes and exams (stepping stones towards changing the world, you see!)

With that, thank you and may peace be upon you!

'The man who decided to change on the 12th hour dies on the 11th'.

Neverwhere

2011-11-25T13:00:00.001+08:00

It's like, somebody has played some tricks on me.

Surprisingly, those tricks narrowed down my choices or even, helping me to choose which is the best for me.

I'm a really indecisive person. Now, I have two choices. But I don't know which is better than which. I'm afraid that I could not live up to people's expectations when I finally have chosen one of those choices.

Oh yes, I've almost forgotten. Please no one but Allah.

And again, that somebody who 'played some tricks' on me. I'm sure you know who that 'someone' is.Or maybe just a small percentage of all of you. Teeheee...

Two choices. Choose one. To tell the truth, it's nothing big. Just a small matter brought into exaggeration by an abnormally dramatic drama queen.

Neil Gaiman is so awesome. Can't believe I haven't read any of his books before. HUHU.

He's like, the modern-age C.S Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia) and Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland)

Remember

2011-11-24T23:13:00.000+08:00

Between stimulus and response, you have several choices- Stephen R.Covey in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People..

wordless wednesdays are so overrated.

2011-11-23T20:11:00.001+08:00

He is right!

2011-11-22T15:30:00.002+08:00

Went to Dr. Razak's room to discuss about the anti-infective agent seminar.

Dr.Razak: (talking about endocarditis) bacteria tu ada dalam heart dalam bentuk thrombus lepas tu bila thrombus tu pecah baru keluar kat valve. Lepas tu baru antibiotic kat luar tu attack before bacteria tu masuk circulation dan terus jadi septicemia.

Sarah: Oh, maksudnya bila thrombus tu pecah, antibiotic tu ada kat luar dah eh?

Dr. Razak: Jangan fikir macam tu. The problem is, korang selalu fikir step by step. Semua benda boleh berlaku pada masa yang sama.

Honestly, I think he misunderstood my question. My real question was 'Maksudnya sebelum thrombus tu pecah lagi antibiotic tu ada kat luar dah la kan? Bukannya nak tunggu thrombus tu pecah baru nak inject antibiotic?' Kan? Kan? Dr. Razak selalu misunderstood dengan saya. Hukhukhuk.

Dr. Razak : (sambung lagi). Contohnya Prof. Noriah kata kena settle semua sekali, baru boleh kahwin (Prof Noriah disapproves of students getting married while studying) tapi kalau saya, tak payah step-by step. Waktu tengah belajar pun boleh kahwin (memang ahh. Dr. Razak pun kahwin waktu study, LOLZ)

Dr. Razak: Okay dah. Sambung-sambung.

First, I disagree with him about that marriage thing. Getting married while studying. I agree with Prof. Noriah regarding this.(don't ask the reasons why) Hey, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, am I right? If everyone is having the same way of thinking, then where's the fun? We are all unique in our own ways, we can't always expect everyone to have the same opinions.

But then, I kinda agree with him regarding 'Tak payah step by step'. You see, I'm the kind of person who had planned out what I wanted to do. For instance, after completing my degree, I wish to work for a year or two, then pursue my studies to higher level, become a lecturer. Or even, I wish to do something else. I wish to take Journalism or media studies. I had it all planned step by step. Unfortunately, most of the plans did not went according to plans. Hmmm..

Everything that happens is the best, directing us towards our true goal, our real destiny. For example in How I Met Your Mother, if Ted didn't meet Robin, broke up with Victoria and Stella, quits his job as an architect and becomes a professor instead (and many other things), he wouldn't have met his wife (of which we still don't know) and wouldn't have told the whole story to his children about how he met their mother!

I think it's okay to plan. It's just that we don't have to get too upset when those plans did not work out. I feel that it's also good to just go with the flow. Yes, plan and go with the flow. Don't get too rigid with the plans, and don't dilly dally by just waiting for the next flow. If we feel like doing that certain thing, then just do it! Life is too short and precious to have them all planned step by step, which would take like, more than 10 years.

Four years of studying, then want to take journalism (LOL), want to write stories the year after that, want to complete the music course I've abandoned 8 years ago. It will take years and years. I might be around 80 (if I managed to live up till that age) to complete the list of things I've planned.

Of course, those are my plans. But then again, Allah is the best planner. (whoa, banyaknya word 'plan').

For now, I would like to cherish each moment of my life. Planning stuffs give me headaches. I wanted to become like Forrest Gump. Though born with a below than average IQ, he becomes more successful than any of his friends of his school years (though of course, he didn't have any school friend except Jenny). When he feels like playing Ping Pong, he'll do his very best in it. When he feels like running, he will run. He did his best in everything.

Of course, to cap this all. Life is like a box of chocolates, you'll never know what you're gonna get' (unless of course, it is fully stated that it's a Black Forest chocolate then of course you know what you're gonna get but don't ruin this beautiful quote please).

Oprah Winfrey said 'Yes, you can have everything. But not at the same time'. BINGO!

Plan. At the same time, don't be too rigid. Try to adjust yourself with the flow.

With that, thank you and may peace be upon you!

Currently listening to: Oxford Comma by Vampire Weekend.

P.S. I feel like trying 'Bungee jumping'.

Precious lessons

2011-11-21T21:59:00.000+08:00

- Don't crack under pressure.

-SMILE! SMILE! SMILE wherever you are, whatever situation you're in! :D

-Your pics will not look the same as you really look because face it, you're not photogenic. HAHA

- Being dramatic has its own advantages, but when it becomes excessive, it is not healthy. Na-ahh...

With that, thank youuu.... :)

How horrible is horrible?

2011-11-19T23:54:00.004+08:00

The dinner just now could be summarized in one word. HORRIBLE. Or maybe, I'm just exaggerating. :P

A few hours before, I felt like complaining about everything in this blog. There's so many people to be blamed, LOL. I just ABHOR last minute, disorganized preparations. But never mind. Thank you dear supportive participants and supportive committee members, Fatt, Kak Sarah, my MC-ing partner, Firdaus, my friends back there- Tiqah, Paris, Aina, etc. Thank you to the sweet Bruneian lady who kept on smiling towards us. Sejuk hati bila tengok dia senyum. Hehe.

Anyway, we've tried our best, we've spent hours of making script and practicing but in the end, Allah decided the rest. Let's just have faith in Allah.

And in the end, instead of forever feeling stressed out about that, we ended up laughing upon thinking about that particular incident. :D

I think I'm more suited to become the timekeeper, haha. Kena turun pangkat from Quiz Moderator jadi timekeeper. :P
When I entered the lecture hall, the first face that I saw was of Prof. Noriah's. She saw me and asked

'Eh, you're the timekeeper?'

I grinned and said 'Yes!'

She asked again 'Oh, so you're the timekeeper'.

I laughed and said 'Yes, Dr.'

And she went off laughing.

The reason for that...Oh well.. there's a back story to that. I'll tell it next time, insya-Allah.

Right now, I wanted to watch 'an episode of How I Met Your Mother', get some good night sleep and get ready for my job tomorrow.

With that, may peace be upon you!

Of many things and almost everything

2011-11-17T15:47:00.015+08:00

Yeah, I know, the previous post was supposed to be the last post this week but somehow, the urge to blog, the stimulation of the creative receptors and thus, the secretion of the so-called creative juice due to the activation of 2nd messengers (bla bla bla) is becoming quite overwhelming. Something is wrong with the whole sentence but who cares.

Of proving and improving my abilities and capabilities

Alamak, going to become the mc for rx quiz's dinner on saturday night. I wanted it to be an impromptu mc-ing, with jokes and words that spontaneously came out from your mouth. Natural gestures, as if you were a TV host in the TV show. I've done this with Amiirah before, but somehow, the intended informality went back to formality due to some unavoidable circumstances. I just hate everything that is formal. And besides, this is a dinner, man! Formal hosting of dinner? Boring! Where's the fun??

Oh, it's not just me. Gonna pair with a guy from my class. I just hope we will 'produce' some chemistry while emcee-ing together to make the whole thing looks natural and professional, not fake. Let's just hope everything will be okay, insya-Allah.

I guess I just wanted to show my true potential to others. And to show them that I'm capable of becoming an MC or a moderator (though not as good as Amiirah of course :P). To redeem the honour and respect that I've lost after that so-called catastrophe of the previous year's RX Quiz final, where I've committed so-called serious blunders in the first half of the session. Most of them are not my faults anyway. First, I was really sick. Then, as there were only 4 quiz moderators at that time, not one of them was available to replace me (one became the timekeeper, the other 2 were involved in the closing ceremony). Second, the final text that was given to me was of the PREVIOUS year's final text, full of scribbles and notes from the previous quiz moderator. Then there's the third, fourth and fifth reason. Maybe even 6. But of course, almost the entire fault were placed on me, the quiz moderator because I was the one on the stage, in front of more than 100 audiences, conducting the whole quiz session. Pfftt.. Anyway, it's been a year now. Time to open a new book, write a new chapter of my MC-ing life. :P

The thing is, I wanted to become a better speaker and presenter. An entertaining host. Oh yes, TV Al-hijrah might cover the rx quiz dinner(not confirmed) so, I must do my best albeit the TV crew people are going to be there or not. :P

I once thought of making vlogs like Anwar Hadi, Mat Luthfi and the rest but I looked weird in front of the camera and I'm an extremely shy person who did not even posted a single picture of mine on facebook. :P

So I guess the best thing that I could do now is to make use of what I have. MC-ing opportunities and talking in front of the class, presenting about the topics of my assignments. And speak more English! :P

Of uncertainties and indecisiveness over what I really wanted

Another thing is, I've been thinking of pursuing my studies to a higher level. Masters and Ph.D perhaps but somehow, I realised that I'm not suited to be in these kind of fields (science, technology, health). Science is not my real passion. So maybe, I take Pharmacy because oh well, when you're taking any of these 3 courses (Medic, Dentistry, Pharmacy), it indicates that whoa, you're something, you're someone! Maybe it's not really me who wanted to take this. I've been influenced by the environment and the public perceptions. But really, I guess that all these thoughts will be resolved once again. I know that there's a reason on why I'm here in Kulliyyah of Pharmacy. Oh well, study je lahh... It's really hard and hectic here, up till the point that I'm not really enjoying the things that I learned :((

My personality test shows that I'm a 'Sanguine' person. Someone cheerful, talkative, high spirited who loves meeting new people and doing new things, the one who loves interacting with people. You know, that sort of thing. Deep inside my heart I know that I should be doing the things I love most, the one that appeals to my true characters, but somehow..I know there's a reason. Anyway, Alhamdulillah I'm in Pharmacy.

Of being a woman

I feel that it is such a bother to become a woman. As a woman, you're more vulnerable towards all kinds of dangers and threats and difficulties, emotionally and physically. The pain of menstruating every month (though there's not much pain for some of us), the pain of childbirth (though of course, there's a reason for this) Fear of getting kidnapped and (you know what). You can't even walk alone to go wherever you wanted to go. You can't go backpacking alone. It's hard to do stuffs you wanted to do like swimming in public, singing, making vlogs (LOL).

Women can't become a leader above the males. Full stop. No argument about this. Because Islam says so. But that doesn't necessarily means that men are better leaders. Google Tan Sri. Zeti Akhtar and you'll know why. It makes me angry when people associated the Prof. Dr Zaleha Kamaruddin's (IIUM's rector) gender with what happened to 'Prof. Aziz' in IIUM Gombak recently. And THAT is the reason why I write this very statement.

And when you get married, you have to obey your husband's orders. If the wife talks back to his husband, she is labeled as 'isteri derhaka' but when the husband hurts his wife's feelings it's not considered derhaka, pfftt! Of course, there are reasons on why women should not oppose their husbands. But does that make the husband free to do whatever he wanted without consideration?

Even Rasulullah s.a.w said that 'the best of you are those who are the best to their women.” (Al-Tirmidhi)

Women are being oppressed everywhere. I don't like that!

But somehow, I know that there's a reason of why I was born a female. A woman. Maybe I could justify women's rights or do something that will make the life of women better. Who else could defend the women other than the women themselves? Have you ever seen a MAN defending and justifying women's rights? It's a rare sight, isn't it? I LOVE being a woman. It's just that those dangers and threats (most of them are posed by those (insert any appropriate word) MALES) outside made me afraid of being a woman, made me feel it's really hard to be a female/girl/woman/lady.

I think I'm born a feminist. I seriously think that schooling in an all girls school for ELEVEN solid years had influenced me into becoming a so-called defender of women's rights. I feel that my future husband will not be pleased with this behaviour of mine, unless he is an educated, untypical, not-so-conservative Malay man who does not stick over the principle that 'MEN have to overpower the women in everything and that includes social status, salaries, public achievements, etc' . That's it. I need a really supportive husband who is willing to negotiate and discuss properly, not to just direct, bossing me around, making sure that I obey all of his orders (no matter how irrelevant they are) without objections. Okay why is the topic about husbands now?

So, for my UNGS assignment, I've taken the liberty to choose my own topic. The others have to do the topics given by the lecturer. :P My topic is 'Islam Honours Women: Theoretical and Practical'. I wanted to highlight that Islam is a religion full of love and understandings, and how some of the sunnahs and quranic ayats had been manipulated by those irresponsible Muslim men out there for their own benefits. I wanted to at least, enlighten the brothers in my class about women's rights in Islam. And of how they should treat women. Maybe I wanted to write a book on this later on, to delve deeper into this issue, to search more about this matter. yelah, as if. I still haven't finished writing my NaNoWriMo novel. >__< Ok, insya-Allah.

Whoa, so long. It's been quite a long time that I've written something that really express my thoughts and ideas. This is quite therapeutic and it kinda feels good! I should do this more often, writing really long posts where nobody bothers to read each word (thus commenting about my grammatical errors) up till the end. I have an experience on this as I rarely read other people's long winded blog posts.

Okay, that's all. I need to get back to my Pharmacology notes and textbooks. Millions of thanks if you're reading up till this point. May Allah bless you all. Please pray for my success in this world and hereafter. Thank you and may peace be upon you! :)

The Beginning of a Story

2011-11-14T14:34:00.013+08:00

In the name of Allah, the most graceful and most merciful,

Once upon a time, there lives a very lonely girl. She is indeed, the loneliest girl ever in planet Earth. Well at least, in her college. No friends. Lives alone in her dorm room. No siblings.Her parents have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the various crimes they have committed.No relatives. No pets.To say it again, she is the loneliest girl you could possibly imagine.

One day, she went to the shopping mall. A child's voice called upon her. By instinct, she quickly went to the toys department, seeking for the voice. She finally stopped when she saw a small, cute toddler with blonde hair and blue eyes looking and smiling at her from the inside the beautiful flowery box with transparent plastics at the front. The one that stood out among the other children in boxes.

She bought the child. Named her and raised the child as her own.

P.S. I love the fluffy and big sized bathroom towel which I got for free from OSC. :P (okay, random LOL)

P.S.S. I've just discovered an awesome female journalist. Saw her name from a journalism student's blog, and googled it. :P

Nellie Bly (May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922) was the pen name of American pioneer female journalist Elizabeth Jane Cochran. She remains notable for two feats: a record-breaking trip around the world in emulation of Jules Verne's character Phileas Fogg, and an exposé in which she faked insanity to study a mental institution from within. In addition to her writing, she was also an industrialist and charity worker.

(wikipedia, n.d.)

She's really amazing and inspiring, isn't she?! :D

You could read more from wikipedia or any other sources.

With that, may peace be upon you and me! (what am I doing here when I'm supposed to study for quiz this Thursday. Okay last post this week. BYE!)