Pages

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Holiday Sweet Holiday

The holiday has arrived at long last (1 week- to celebrate the New Year, and Christmas on Jan 7th for Orthodox Christians)... My, I could definitely rejoice in all the magnificence if not for the nagging little fact that I'm having my exams in 18 days' time. The cold weather does not help my case, which makes for nice snuggling-under-the-covers sessions. Sofi wake up already!!! There. Haha. Laziness knows no ends. Though my spirits raised a little upon hearing my sister's splendid 9As for her PMR. Nice one, kiddo. Now I can't rest on my laurels, can I- time to stretch some muscles.

Selamat Hari Raya Eidul Adha to dear Muslims in the world. =)

ps:

Fauzan Al Anshori, from the militant group of Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia, said Bush, too, should stand trial.

"Given the crime blamed on Saddam, it is unfair if George Bush is not also put on an international tribunal," he said. "Saddam was executed for killings 148 people, Shiite Muslims, while Bush is responsible for the killing of about 600,000 Iraqis since the March 2003 invasion."


I couldn't agree more.


Feeding birds


A walk in the park


A lamb for sacrifice being brought down from the truck


Eid prayer; from left- Kak Naim, my sister Sarah, me.


Kak Haneem, Baya, Fahida, Kak Rita, me.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Snow, where art thou?

It has been quite a while since I talked about the weather. Winter’s late this year- the temperature’s been constantly above zero for the past few weeks and the snow’s playing a mischievous game of hide-and-seek with us. Menjelma, already! Some of my friends would get the kick out of spanking me every time I pray aloud for a white Volgograd the morning after. But hey, what is winter without snow? So the roadside gets a little slippery. You can’t have it all in one package, can you? I say let’s polish our sense of adventure a bit here, heheh.

The past few days were fine, a little dull even. If you discounted the part where I was stalked by an extremely friendly dog who walked alongside me and stopped when I stopped and scurried away only when I reached for my handphone (who on earth was I planning to call for rescue? 911??) and- no thanks to clumsy me- violently hurled it across the ground, or the part where I freaked over an unfinished due medical care report for credit only to find the teacher barely glancing at its cover the next day (a friend didn’t even pass it up and he never asked), or the part where I told my PT (Physical Training) teacher that I have been skiving his classes because I train for volleyball (and now I really have to take up volleyball as he said he might check on us), or the part where I was indirectly accused of shoplifting two cans of Fruiting apple and aloe vera juice at Ramstor (long story, but the security lady was extremely rude and if I was in Malaysia I definitely would have demanded to see the manager), that is. And now I’ve started to binge again. H-E-L-P.

ps: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. Can't wait!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Things we take for granted

Whenever I feel like the barbed wheel of reality is running berserk over the crowded canvas of my life, tearing it to shreds, some vibrant colours of hope would unexpectedly splash in and revert my entire outfit of emotions. To perceive my string of calamities as bad luck would be an act of ignorance- I practically attracted all those troubles to myself. I’m a trouble magnet. To settle for the notion still, is a crude act of cowardice- ruminating over a mug of hot chocolate won’t change a thing. Neither would blogging about it. Though the comforting thought of still having His blessings over and over again despite my constant stupidity keeps my spirit breathing... Alhamdulillah.

I owe a giant thank you to my parents, especially my father, for helping me through my bankcard ‘fiasco’. A thank you is never enough- some sense of gratitude can’t be easily expressed by a few clicks of keys. My friends and I had a talk recently on how much we rely on our parents to get by with our lives. Three friends of my friend had lost a parent each in the past week and even though people die every second of the day, the actuality of it hits you like a rock when it happens to someone you know (or someone you know, know). All of us realised that more often than not, we do not appreciate our loved ones enough, especially our parents. We call them when we need their help, or to wish them on their birthdays. It’s not often that we spare time for them just because. I’m saying we, ‘cause I would like to believe that I’m not the only person in the world who thinks he/she hasn’t been a good enough son/daughter, although these claims I know are directed exclusively at me, me, me. Once, a while ago, I called my mum and she mistook me for my sister. When I corrected her, she said that I hadn't called for so long she didn't recognise my voice anymore. It was jokingly said, I know, but it was true. In some ways I can steal the geographical factor as some kind of an excuse, but thinking back, I didn’t do enough when I was back home either. People keep saying not to take things for granted, but we do, we do... I do. I do it every single day.

At the end of the day, I thank Him for the host of opportunities laid before me in life- the gift of wonderful people around me who never get tired of my never-ending antics (maybe they do… maybe I’m being dense. Ouch.) , the doors to success just waiting for me to open ‘em (need to find the keys first though, hehe), the clarity of conscience to slap me back to hard reality from time to time, the ability to correct my mistakes, the gleaming torch of Ad-din to guide me when all other lights go dark…

Am I in one of those moods again, you ask? Truth is, I’m in this mood all the time. Most of the time, I just don’t feel like letting it out, so it’s slotted in between my chirpy babble-talk or lousy jokes. Deep inside, I’m kinda gloomy, yeah. Plus I like wearing black headscarf and has, since that day, been asked a few more times about it by curious Russians. Thinking of ditching it (already did actually, am donning white now).

I see I’m not making much sense at this point. Got to study for a test tomorrow anyways. Azleen, I need your pencahayaan agung.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Winter is not for hibernation

"This year I'm definitely going out! I don't care!"
"Yeah, we'll get revenge for last year!"
"Wanna go Moscow? We still haven't properly been there- airports don't count."
"But I've been to Mega!"
"Shopping malls don't count either."
"But I really wanna go out of Russia. Go to someplace new. Like, Europe."
"We are in Europe, dummy."
"OK, like, western Europe."
"What about Egypt?? I heard someone said about wanting to go to Egypt?"
"Let's have a look at my world map! See, from here, we can go here, and here, than circle back here, drop a visit here, and fly back from here..."
"Yeah, if we're planning on going broke for the next six months, we can."
"Ok then, what about here? We can take train from here to here..."
"Know what? There's a special promotion for Aeroflot ticket fares to selected Eropean cities now."
"Oh yeah? Till when?"
"Tomorrow."
"What the...??? Man, let's book the tickets now! Why haven't you told me earlier??"
"I just got to know last night myself!"
""Why haven't anyone-"
"Don't ask. Wondering the same myself."
"Here's my idea. We hit Frankfurt, then some of the guys I heard are going skiing in Vienna. We can join 'em there."
"Why not Munich? It's nearer."
""Know something else? S7 are also having promotion. Their Frankfurt fare's freaking cheap."
"Well then. But hey, hey, hey... I see Paris's not so far away from Frankfurt. Hmm..."
"And Prague too- Prague's beautiful. Well, in Mission Impossible, it is."
"I've always wanted to go to Paris."
"Do you know anyone there?"
"Er... (TKY came to mind) An old classmate is studying there. But really, it's not a good idea. We weren't exactly... close. (non-existent relationship more like)"
"Laa, just go and ask him! Do you speak French??? Exactly. He can help us get around. And you guys can rekindle your friendship."
"(ERRRRRRRRRRRR????????)"
"ERRRRRRRRRRRR????????"
""Heyyy.... no special price fare from Paris to Moscow! Not fair!"
"Well, well... We can go up to Brussels, fly Moscow from there."
"Or climb further to Amsterdam. Amsterdam sounds better."
"The price is also higher. Here, how about Zurich?"
"Man, this is too confusing."
""Alright, have you decided already? I've spent the night thinking and becoming more confused."
"No. You? How about her? And her? And them?"
"Ok, me and my sister are flying to Frankfurt and return to Moscow from Milan."
"Hah? Since when Milan came into the picture?"
"Milan?? Waaa I wanna go Milan!!"
""AC Milan's your favourite team right? Haha come with us then."
"Well... but my sister and I have decided to go to Istanbul."
"Right. And since when did Istanbul come into the picture.."
"And maybe go to Athens too? Don't know, if there's time."
""And what about you?"
"I'm going to Munich then to Vienna."
"You?"
"Berlin, then travel down, maybe to Munich, Prague, I don't know... the main thing is I have to get on the plane back here from Zurich."
"O-kay..."
"You guys are going to Madrid right?"
"Yeah, and fly back from Barcelona."
"hey has anyone seen the ad in the lift? A trip to Italy!"
"Ok, it's too late."
"I've always wanted to go to Italyyy..."

In the end, everyone's going separate places. Haha. Geli hati betul.