Updates from Malaysia: random topics of the day

So, its been quite a while since I last showed up in words. Hihi. Really I don't have much to write about, like REALLY! So, today I decided that I need a little hair cut, of course fuzzy hair frustration came into mind when I had a little trip to the Monique Bay Beach a few days back, and try imagining the sweet, crisp beach breeze came into a synchronizing lullaby with my pretty darn long hair, haha.

OK! OK! Haircut! I used to have my haircut right by Tan Chong Eng, but today, my mom suggested her regular service, and so I did. Well, the shop isn't too shabby from the outside looks, but hey it's pretty comfy inside, owh and not to mention it's a saloon, not a haircut and shaving hut. I was introduced to the owner, a young Chinese lady, looking sweet in her dress. I thought she was really a successful owner, as I learned soon after that she has 7 workers, currently working for her. First thing that came to mind as I came in is that, this place is anything but unsuccessful. There, laid a white Benz just by the car lot, my inference is, this lady really is a money maker.

Ok, so I had a haircut over there, a little facial and cleansing, and the cost, isn't so bad at all. I would definitely come again. (^^)

So, talking about holiday eh? Time really flies my dear. It's been almost 3 weeks here in my hometown. I have this little plan of having a little reunion thinghy with a couple of my ex school buddies, was wondering how is Alex, Aeeron, and the rest of the gang doing. I would be heading to KL again sometime next week, and on initial plan of spending 2-3 days over there, of course meeting arif, marina, farah and bla bla bla.

Had a message the other day, from Prabu, well, he's already off to Melbourne, haha. It's been 2 years since I last met him after SPM and in a pretty darn good coincidence, we found out that we have the similiar holidays by 2 weeks, except that his is winter's and mine is summer's. Prabu's a humble guy, and he deserve to e recognized, we've been friends for almost 7 years now, plus minus a few days, haha.

So, we had some good time fishing and yum cha-ing. Owh, Did i mention that we met Hafiz, Pei Liang and Yong Jie too? It's funny that Yong Jie and I, we both study in the states, but we never bother to go visit each other, haha, I would definitely pay him a visit sometime soon, as soon as I'm done with my "well-planned" Europe trip. The question is just the matter of time though. And of course m.o.n.e.y. ^^

Speaking of money, I've been saving up to treat myself with a little surprise, jeng jeng jeng (SFX)... (-_-") probably a nice motorcycle, or an upgraded gaming desktop, please don't mind the name, I rarely play games on my computer. Except the Sims 3 of course. I'm a crackhead when it comes to simulation games. Haha

Hurm, I was wondering how much does it cost to get myself a Yamaha R6, or R1, but a Honda CBR is not a bad idea too, or a kawasaki Z1000 ninja. I just hate the insurance that comes along with it though, Urghhh, need to get myself a nice hot tea to cool down when it comes to machines, :p.

This is how they look like:


Yamaha R6, isn't she sexy? :p


Yamaha R1 Raven, pure beauty!


Honda 1000RR, menacing!


Kawasaki Z1000, melting!

So, let's just leave these things on fate, of course, I would still be craving everyday and night for these.

きたああああああ！！

It was as funny as crap at Nashville's Airport. The limit for luggage was 50 pounds, but both of my bags exceeded the very number, namely one being 83 pounds, and another being 63 pounds. I had to get myself a new bag, but it was rather anticipated for since the day before. So, we arrived at Newark Airport a few hours later, hurm, honestly I prefer LAX, this one looks really like a mess. Heck, it’s not like I’m gonna be here for more than a day, toleration took place.


~New York Airport~


~Arlanda Airport, Stockholm, Sweden~

Soon we boarded the Malaysian Airlines flight (MAS). We had to stop for a drop-off at Stockholm (Arlanda Airport) and for the couple of hours, at Amsterdam Airport for refueling. My Uncle was supposed to be with us, I mean piloting this MH 91 back to Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately something came up, but hey, we managed to secure three great seats with ample space of leg room. Heck, it was fun. Owh, did I mention that the steward and stewardess are superb too? One of them steward by the name of Ridzuan is a miraculously friendly. I soon found out that he is the uncle of one of us Vanderbilt Students. So, we were being shown around the cabin, and of course, we did not miss the cabin crew rest place on the upper deck. Heck, I mean how often can you be here? Haha


Noel and me


Special Tour of the crew's resting place (Had to squeeze myself to be able to fit in)


Hanis looks menacing (-_-")


The cool stewardess


And the stewards too!


Stockholm snapshot, a glance of Arlanda


In the canteen, with the cool Abg. Ridzuan

We touched down sometime around 10.30 ish, minus taxiing to the aprons. Boy it was a good flight, i mean, despite MAS having so much trouble this days with the newly elected Idris Jala trying to turn around the economic plan, MAS still live its name with the best Cabin Crew airline. I mean heck, I couldn't ask for more :p

So we were welcomed by the thermal cameras on our way out, 3 of them in fact, in total. However it may be, we survived all that and made our way to the baggage claim area. To my horror, none of our bags were there, until Billy Jo (B.J) secured his, and everybody sighed in relief. Hehe. (This scene is made dramatic according to the guidelines by Warner Bros. Company)

With the baggages claimed, I strolled down the aisle to the airport exit. There, my parents and little Syasya and Imi were waiting, looking rather impatiently. I was greeted with a bouquet of flower and a box of chocolate with greeting card attached to it. Hey, it was a really warm welcome indeed. Thanks all! うれしかった！ So, we hugged each other for a while and made it to the car.


The flower, the chocolate and the greet card! :p うれしい　:p

That day, we had lunch at the local Thai restaurant. Being in the states for 2 years, I was almost clueless of how my taste buds might react to the food. There were fried soft shelled crabs, wonton, jumbo shrimps, fried sweet sour fish, Ranchai crabs and a lot of cold juices! Urgh, I love Malaysia's food. I think they should establish a foundation of the chefs around here. Haha

So, I'm now in Kemaman. Zurriya, Syera, Fawwaz are coming down sometime next week. Prabu is off to KL for his Taylor's reunion or something. Me? Staying home getting fat and fatter. So far, I had Hai Peng coffee and kaya buns, owh, not to mention mom's chi fan (Chicken rice), Li's fried dry noodle and Tong Juan's stuff crab. Yet in the lists are Patani's Red meat rice (Nasi daging merah), Teratak's wonton noodle, and Chinatown's Mata Kucing drink, Cherating's Fried Chicken rice, Kuantan's sizzling hot plate, KT's fried ice cream and much much much much more!


Li's fried dry noodle


Yummy!!


Stuff crabs!!! :p

I wish the people from Japanese Hall are here too. Probably one day in near future. I heard Makiko's coming down here to Malaysia, but i wasn't sure of the date. Haiz..

It's been a while since I was last here. There are a couple of noticeable changes here and there. Here are a couple of snapshots of our home.


A little white rack with rose ends


?? Some random clock attached to the main pillar. Rose ends


Our living room - with Syasya and Imi lost in the slumber


The humble computer and reading section


Living room, left wing


Kitchen to living room view


The chinese-retro style kitchen (The table is of the same design as Tong Juan's), I was to be blamed for the mess. Hihihi




Our new rabbits! Well, our Guby died a couple of months back. So, here's the replacement. I missed the big ol' fat Guby though :-(

Summer updates

Hye y'all.

It's been a while since I've been away, away for this very blog. Reason? More like excuses, hehe. But let's just skip that part, yeah?

So far summer is hanging by with boredom, with all days filled with nap, one after another, and another... Urgh... I'm actually looking forward to go back to Malaysia, to see my family. See how are they doin'. My sister's off to college finally and my brother was accepted into MRSM (Boarding school) a few months back. The two kids, well, let's just say I'm left with them now.

I wonder what would I be doing back home? Just chillin' all day in the room watching TV and getting fat? However it may be, i'm sure on keen on my little trip to Hai Peng and Ton Juan's stuff crabs! Yummy! Hurm, I have the least possible idea of what might be in store there other than stuffing myself all day. So, my mom wanted this Victoria Secret thing, and my dad, being an electronic-die-hard-fan like he is, decided to get a Cobra laser detector instead. Owh, Hafiz, begged me for the J-shirt, with "Looking for japanese girlfriends" imprinted on it.

I wonder if my friends in high school is like now? Everybody is busy busting their asses with college, etc etc... Everybody's busy while being so far away from each other. I kinda regretted for being so busy when i was high school with inventions and stuffs and not spending most of my time in class with you know, the rest of the people. But hey, that's a little history now.

Should I go back and do internships instead? Owh, or, i think I could do some stock market thinghy online too. That ought to be fun! Making some cash from far away sounds cool too! Alritey, let's do this jose!

Urgh,

Some updates during the summer

May 9th was the day that Mctyeire had to be evacuated for the summer. I didn't manage to sleep that day in particular, as it will be 3 more months before it will be open again. Truthfully, i do not really look forward for summer, as for one reason, namely I would be yearning to experience the days in Japanese Hall that I used to reside in during the semester.

Here's a couple of photos to commemorate:


Belem-chan and Cole-san


Max-kun, Andrea-chan and Belem-chan!


And our drummer who never fail to show up in his boxer (-_-")


さよなら、まきこさん


Not forgetting, Thuy!


For the good old time in Mctyeire ほんとにありがとうございますりえーさん！　：ｐ



Our last photo　（さいごのしゃしん）

That morning, I was wide awake. Thought of knocking on Rie's door, but she's probably sleeping. Haha. Anyways, most of my stuffs are all packed. Thanks to Clay and Amy for their help the night before. I appreciate the help! So, it was finally 10 am, and I was kinda helping out Amir right across the hall and Rie with her stuffs. She's moving to Texas Tech soon, and the next appointed coordinator would be one of her acquaintance, hopefully as あかるい as her.

So Dale had to leave at around 12. It was kinda sad to send him off. We hugged and bid each other farewell, before he promised me that he would be around sometime soon for visiting. Owh, and Rie too. When? God knows. ahaha.. Soon after we're done with Rie's stuffs, Blaine came to pick me up for lunch. It's been a while since I last hang out together since the last Friday Night Friend dinner, and so we had Korea House for his treat this time. We kinda talked about Russell Peter's joke of racism and those kinda craps, and made quite a noise in the small, not too shabby restaurant. Boy, it was a good chat over lunch. After all, Blaine never failed to entertain me. :p

Subsequently, we headed to our place.....

Argh, sleepy, I'll update the blog later. ZZZZZ

Chicken a la Carte

This is how someone laughter bring me close to tears. Masyaalah, such a good video. In some part of the world, some people just never been so fortunate

A bit of sarcasm, by Usman Awang, whose words signify the truth

Melayu itu orang yang bijaksana
Nakalnya bersulam jenaka
Budi bahasanya tidak terkira
Kurang ajarnya tetap santun
Jika menipu pun masih bersopan
Bila mengampu bijak beralas tangan

Melayu itu berani jika bersalah
Kecut takut kerana benar
Janji simpan di perut
Selalu pecah di mulut
Biar mati adat
Jangan mati anak

Melayu di Tanah Semenanjung luas maknanya:
Jawa itu Melayu, Bugis itu Melayu
Banjar juga disebut Melayu,
Minangkabau memang Melayu,
Keturunan Acheh adalah Melayu,
Jakun dan Sakai asli Melayu,
Arab dan Pakistani, semua Melayu
Mamak dan Malbari serap ke Melayu
Malah mua'alaf bertakrif Melayu
(Setelah disunat anunya itu)

Dalam sejarahnya
Melayu itu pengembara lautan
Melorongkan jalur sejarah zaman
Begitu luas daerah sempadan
Sayangnya kini segala kehilangan

Melayu itu kaya falsafahnya
Kias kata bidal pusaka
Akar budi bersulamkan daya
Gedung akal laut bicara

Malangnya Melayu itu kuat bersorak
Terlalu ghairah pesta temasya
Sedangkan kampung telah tergadai
Sawah sejalur tinggal sejengkal
Tanah sebidang mudah terjual

Meski telah memiliki telaga
Tangan masih memegang tali
Sedang orang mencapai timba
Berbuahlah pisang tiga kali
Melayu itu masih bermimpi

Walaupun sudah mengenal universiti
Masih berdagang di rumah sendiri
Berkelahi cara Melayu
Menikam dengan pantun
Menyanggah dengan senyum
Marahnya dengan diam
Merendah bukan menyembah
Meninggi bukan melonjak

Watak Melayu menolak permusuhan
Setia dan sabar tiada sempadan
Tapi jika marah tak nampak telinga
Musuh dicari ke lubang cacing
Tak dapat tanduk telinga dijinjing
Maruah dan agama dihina jangan
Hebat amuknya tak kenal lawan

Berdamai cara Melayu indah sekali
Silaturrahim hati yang murni
Maaf diungkap senantiasa bersahut
Tangan diulur sentiasa bersambut
Luka pun tidak lagi berparut

Baiknya hati Melayu itu tak terbandingkan
Selaga yang ada sanggup diberikan
Sehingga tercipta sebuah kiasan:
"Dagang lalu nasi ditanakkan
Suami pulang lapar tak makan
Kera di hutan disusu-susukan
Anak di pangkuan mati kebuluran"

Bagaimanakah Melayu abad dua puluh satu
Masihkan tunduk tersipu-sipu ?
Jangan takut melanggar pantang
Jika pantang menghalang kemajuan;
Jangan segan menentang larangan
Jika yakin kepada kebenaran;
Jangan malu mengucapkan keyakinan
Jika percaya kepada keadilan

Jadilah bangsa yang bijaksana
Memegang tali memegang timba
Memiliki ekonomi mencipta budaya
Menjadi tuan di negara Merdeka

Usman Awang

Of rich and poor

Today seems to be the kick-off for another class, after a long spring semester, and not-so-long break. Maymester that is. I'm here, stuck in Nashville, yearning to do something, I hate to be stuck here during the holidays it's just so plain boring, with foreseeable daily activity, which includes, but not limited to, a long hibernation that leads to dizziness, stuffing everything and yearning for food and never-ending hunger, missing friends all day long, IMing, SKYPE-ing, waiting for Rie to come back, or waiting to spend some time with Clay, Uyen and whoever lives around Nashville.

Put that aside shall we, and let's think of what others do at this very moment of time, on the other part of the world. I remembered the last trip I went to L.A, It was my third time (三回) as far as my memory doesn't fail me. It was the last day of my winter break, that I was catching a flight back to Nashville, Danny and I were about to return the U-Haul truck back to where it belongs. It was a dull morning on 7th st. with people gushing here and there getting ready for daily concerns or jobs, whichever goes with them.

I was driving the jumbo truck, with Danny looking like a pimp on the co-pilot seat. We're about to enter the rather secluded U-Haul office, when a gang of Mexicans (illegal immigrants, i presumed), came running in our direction with signboard, crying out "Labour! Labour!". Now, i had never seen any of this scene in my life, which surprised me at first, when Danny giggled and explained that they're just immigrants trying to make some money for food to survive yet another day. I sighed, in relief. I remembered back in the days when I was in Malaysia, Danny called us from L.A whenever he had the chance to, talked about his work, etc etc, leaving me wondering what kind of city L.A is like. Initially, when somebody would mention L.A, I would thought of Hollywood, people cruising in Beemers, with convertibles parked in front of the mall, and things like that and not having a single thought of people begging for alms, not to mention homeless. Well, that's what I thought, thousand miles away, until I made my way here, and to witness the truth of life.

Bla bla bla. I remained in front of the office, for like quite a while, standing by quietly, with every bits of seconds, observing these people. There were probably like 20 people, no, more like 30 people clustering in a small gathering at the main gate. Some, with hair rather unkempt, ragged clothes, and tired eyes. I did not have any expectations that some people in L.A lead such life, since statistically California holds the largest growth in economy standing, compared to other states, with 10% of Fortune 500 companies residing at the very hub of L.A, allocating tremendous job opportunities to the 12% Americans, making it the eighth-largest economy in the world.

Screw the statistics, However it may be, this scene doesn't convey anything like it at all. Now do you know how it feels to be like them? It came to my attention that some people are just less fortunate. They came into this world in poverty, rarely able to eat breakfast every morning and still not complaining about the food they're having, while me, wasting food every single day and yet, full with complaints.



What does it feel to be them? Is it pleasant to live such live? Is it pleasant to live solely on the uncertainties of tomorrow? What does it feel not being able to eat when you're hungry but merely watching the passer-by with delicious hot dogs in their hands, stuffing their faces? What does it feel no to be able to eat cheese and know what they even taste like, not to mention to acknowledge the difference between mozzarella and cheddar? How does it feel to wear rugged, smelly clothes and least to say, in their life to ever heard of Converse, or Old Navy or ....... (name your brand) and regardless, still be able to joke around with their fellow friends waiting for uncertain work opportunity and smile every now and then? How does that feel to go to the beach side, and as you take stroll along the beach of L.A, found a little child begging for alms in the middle of the people sun-basking.



A bit eccentric if you ask me, but to my amazement, such thing does exist.

A bit of thing to ponder upon, of being poor material-wise and rich at heart. I'll leave the answer to you to decide. But one thing for sure, it won't hurt to change this sign right?




A bit of reminder to myself, to be grateful of what I'm having and stop becoming a complainer. I hope that one day, I could make a difference. Insyaalah, I could make these smile even more meaningful :P