Token of Love part 1

My dearest Farah,

С ДНЁМ РОЖДЕНИЯ!

Thank you for being one of the best listeners ever, and for always understanding and putting up with my crazy ideas. May you find happiness always, wherever you are.

Me and Farah at the leaning tower of Volgograd

Azleen,

Happy birthday.

My Family and Kokoro no Tomo-tachi (Saiunkoku watchers ;p)

I thought to myself a few days ago, I wouldn’t write another cheesy birthday entry this year. But came my birthday, and I realised why every year I ended up doing it anyway. No, it did not have anything to do with reflecting on getting older and wiser (or not so) and responsibilities and all that boogie-woogie. Honestly, I didn’t the slightest bit care about the fact and when people normally asked, “How does it feel being so-and-so?” I would just say, “fine!” or give non-answers like, “hehe” or “hmm…” or trivias like “my mother got married at this age.” or this time around, “I’m forever seventeen!”.

As far as getting older is concerned, I just don’t think about that on my birthday. I ponder on that perhaps about every other day of the year except my birthday. If you noticed my birthday entries every year, they were all about thanking my family and friends, for this was the time of year for me when the word ‘overwhelmed’ became an understatement. As was the case this year, notwithstanding the feel seemed somewhat different. Perhaps it had to do with the flu I’d been having since the night before. Nevertheless, my birthday is a day to remind me of how I am blessed with such good people around me- one of the greatest blessings of my life.

I had thought before that if I were to treat my friends nicely, I would be treated the same way too. But I know a couple of very nice people who, by some twists of fate, always seem to encounter not-so-nice people who give them headaches in one way or another. Hence I consider myself truly blessed in this respect, for Allah has sent me some very good people to accompany me in this life, wherever I've been. The dinner feast, the homemade birthday cakes, the morning phone call from Sydney, the blog entries, the emails, the SMS-es, the wishes on Facebook/Geni/Friendster, the wishes at the lecture & back in hostel, the surprise gifts on my desk and bed when I got back, the second dinner feast… Yes, as I have tried to convince myself for a while, birthdays are not that big of a deal per se, but it is an occasion nonetheless- for people to wish you well, and for you to notice how fortunate you are, in this big wide world you live in.

Alhamdulillah.

Bon anniversaire!

To a beautiful person who turns 21 today. We haven’t met in two years, yet she is still the person I wish to share all my happy and sad stories with. It is still a wish, but I think we’re past all that nitpicking- no matter what happens, we will always have each other’s back to cling to. Be happy, and may Allah place us under His guidance always.

After yet another search for old pics and two CDs later, I found these, taken when we last went to eat sushi, which I believe was in 2005. That's ancient, kiddo.

Eid moments

I promised my parents some photos so here they are. I've been having a persistent sore throat for the past two days which can't be assuaged by almost a pack of Strepsils; the catalyst must have been all the rendang and laksa and soto up till last night. My bad. So today begins my 'detox' campaign- healthy food all the way... ;p

SUNRISE, 1st day of Eid







CLASS AND LECTURE, 1st day of Eid

with our Ophthalmology lecturer








with fellow 4th year students before lecture on Obstetrics

OPEN HOUSE, 3rd day of Eid

kuih raya

kuah kacang, a hit with everyone every year (which, unfortunately, I've never fancied)

Fatin and Naj digging out Farah's yummy laksa

Most of 4th year Muslim students with some of our non-Muslim friends

4th year girls

SUNRISE, 6th day of Eid









OPEN HOUSE, 6th day of Eid

Soto and Laksa at Anis's and Baya's house




Hosts and guests posing together

Cliche cliche

As far as I had wanted to avoid a birthday post cliche, I'm writing one now- a short one. I'm 22 today, and as far as I am concerned, I am but a small pea in a bowl of pea soup. The longer I live, the more I see of the world- the same world that I have lived in all my life is shedding more n more of its kaleidoscope of light, making me feel like a newborn every once in while. Sometimes, the world's like a dear old friend; often it's an intriguing stranger. I've been blessed, saddened, disgusted, elated, and lately purely amazed at the complex machinery of the world's most prominent property- the people. I won't delve further into it now, but for one facet of the amazement- people's kindness. I realise today that there are so many people who are kind towards me yet I do little to reciprocate the humanity. People talk about little acts of kindness. In truth there exists no such thing- every act of kindness is BIG.

To everyone that matters, thank you for making my heart swell so large from your kindness (this sounds like something I've written last year or something. haha). May Allah bless you all.

Twenty-two sounds nice

Dearest Faezar, happy birthday! Kullu ‘aamin wa anti bikhair, inshaallah…

I knew Faezar at the same time I got to know Azleen. Azleen was the class monitor, she was the assistant. She lived at the end of my road back then, though we didn’t really become friends till I transferred to their class. The earliest sort of acquaintance I remember between us took place one day not long after I entered my new school- I was cycling whilst holding an ice lolly, when it suddenly slipped from my hand and fell onto the road. As I was picking it up, I noticed someone was looking, and saw Faezar sitting by the gate of her house. We exchanged smiles but I had no idea who she was at the time. Hehe. That was the beginning of our friendship, I guess. :)

Throughout the years, she’s been a fantastic friend, and we had a very colourful relationship, perhaps slightly too colourful at times. Hehe. Indeed there were rough patches along the way, but at the end of the day, she is still one of the most wonderful persons I’ve ever met and befriended. You can’t find a better listener, and a friend more loyal than her. Every time I returned home during the hols., she would make time so we could meet- even if she had classes on Saturday, i.e. spending on a less-than-a-day-trip back home. It may not mean a lot to some people, but it does to me.

One thing I truly admire about her is her strong conviction in her actions. And if she had a change of mind, she really meant it. When she first told me that she was switching her course from Medicine to Law, I was very surprised, as was everybody else. Many thought she’d made a mistake, but never once I heard her being in doubt or regretting her decision (but maybe if she hid it from me, I don’t know. Hehe.). Now, seeing her all well and excelling in her studies, I know she made the right choice… And even if she’s to change her mind in the future, she’ll do great nonetheless. Because that's just the kind of person she is. =D

Hope this makes your day. ;)


Dahulu


Sekarang

New kid on the 20s block

To my dearest friend Azleen, a very happy birthday to you ;)

I first met Azleen when we were in standard five- I was the new kid in school, she was class-next-door's monitor. No, I wasn't being picked on and she the only one willing to befriend me- the story didn't go like that. ;p Anyway, I was transferred to her class halfway into the year but we didn't get really close until standard six, especially during the World Cup, when it appeared that the two us were about the only football fans in class. The bond persevered when we entered the same secondary school and became classmates for the entire five years of laughters, tears, sweats, and silliness.

Now I'm in Russia, she's in Australia. I'm studying to become a doctor, she an engineer. I was a Scout, she was a Red Crescent member. I joined Karate club, she was in Taekwondo. I was a prefect, she was a librarian (at some point).

We are very different, yet alike. We are writers. Debaters. Book lovers. Sports enthusiasts. Most importantly, we share the same values and ideals. And yeah, I still wanna travel around the world one day! You? ;)


Sorry aa, saya tak update koleksi gambar lama. ;p

ps: Whoops, I seem to be a li'l late. The birthday's on 16th October. =)

Friday the 13th

The title above spooked you? Haha... my sister playfully reminded me the other day of the star-crossed peculiarity that befell my birthday this year. Not that I care anyway. I had fortunate enough a day to make my smile stay on till now. =D Too many kind words, too many moving gestures, too many lovely presents- I have no idea to what extent do I deserve all this generosity. In short, thank you all- only Allah can rightfully reward you for your thoughtfulness. My heart can only swell with happiness. Hehe.

Note: The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia. Despite the supposedly-eerie effect, they sound rather funny, eh?

Another trivia: I share the same birthday as Garry Kasparov. But I suck at chess. =p

More celebration

Saturday, 24th February.

I promised my dad to write about my trip- sorry Abah, for the past 3 days I had been busy practicing my ribbon dance for our Chinese New Year celebration this afternoon. Or at least that was what I told everyone who asked about my whereabouts. Hehe. Actually I have become one of Wong Fei Hung’s disciples and traded medical books (pah! My laptop, more like) for some kicks and punches. *cue to roll your eyes*

When I was invited to join the group of nine people with utterly no knowledge of wushu (apart from the awesome Chai, who was our sifu) for a performance on that day, I didn’t skip a beat to say yes. That was before the fact that everybody who was anybody in town would watch us sank in, which by then was already a little too late. But I had a lot of fun, albeit having mere 3 days for training. It’s been a long time since I did this kind of thing, and I realised how much I’ve missed learning martial arts. Now all we need to do is goad Chai into opening a wushu club. Hehe.

Today also marked the first time I went to a party in a pair of track pants and not having a camera in my hand. Kinda cool actually, butting in every picture for once rather than clicking the shutter. I have to do this more often. Hehe. The food and beverage were top-notch, especially the pau. Yummy pau! There was also a little exhibition in the hall, featuring amongst others Chinese calligraphy, where you can get personalised inscription of your names, and the art of drinking Chinese tea which I somehow missed, being busy with our final rehearsal. Such a bummer for tea-lover me.

All in all- a festive occasion to be remembered. Once again, Xin Nian Kuai Le!

And Happy Men's Day (23 Feb) to every man in Russia ;)


One of our movements


posing for pictures after the show ended


From left: Sin Ye, Sin Wan, Kah Wei, Kak Haneem, Fatin, me.


Volgan bloggers edisi Chinese New Year: Zyryx gets greedy


This one had me in stitches- these guys were trying to burn firecrackers made of paper. Haha.

ps: pictures courtesy of Kak Haneem. Xie xie ni!
pps: Turkey trip coming soon...

Something(s) to celebrate

Happy birthday to my mother- may Allah grant you strength and courage and may you always be under His blessings and protection.

And Happy New Year to my Chinese friends- had a great 'Reunion' Dinner last night ;)

As for Russians, today is the 'Forgiveness Sunday', the last day of Pancake Week to celebrate the end of winter.

Me, I didn't sleep at all last night. It's been a long time since I did that...

... Ok, that is not something to be celebrated. I'm going to sleep now. Good day.

Snow's coming to town

Someone was late to lecture this morning because the electric juice dried in Hiroshima and, upon stepping on the maiden snow blanket in front of the hostel, she could not resist snapping several pictures. Selamat tak kena halau keluar lecture hall… hehe.


7 November aka 3 weeks ago


22 November aka 1 week ago


28 November aka this morning

We discovered a new route from the bus stop to hostel via Bakinskaya on Saturday. This is so old news for many, but do allow me to amuse myself for a bit. The two of us were a couple of cheats actually- we stalked a senior taking that particular route, hence the (not) grand unearthing. The fun bit was when we had to walk across a railway track, which brought to mind some comic scenes from a much-loved hobby (read: television) of yesteryears. Say, the Looney Toons, where the baddies would strap a damsel on a track with the train coming at breakneck speed, or a gung-ho fight scene on the roof of a carriage in Bollywood flicks. Alright I’m spouting gibberish. In short, we’re including the route in the chronicle of our great traveling (mis)adventures in Russia. *chuckles*

Speaking of which, I’m suddenly reminded of Anastasia. As in the Disney movie, which I loved very much, watching it years and years ago. Her romantic journey across the continent inspired my long-standing dream of backpacking around Europe. Paris on train this winter, anyone? =D

Today's a rainy day

Despite my being scared stiff of thunders and lightning, the boisterous clatters of the former pulsating through the hours of darkness last night almost sounded like sweet music to my ears. It has been six months and those were the first thunders and lightning I had ever observed on this good land (perhaps some took place whilst I slept, do excuse me) and I was strongly reminded of home- of the never-ending rain during the monsoon season. Of sitting by the widely open door to feel the cool brush of the wind… the fresh scent of the rain… the harmonious rumble of heavy raindrops. Disregarding the puddles-of-water-and-mud factor, rainy days are actually quite cool ;)

I can’t thank enough those who went through lengths to celebrate my birthday in one way or another. Thank you to the SMS-es (I especially dig the birthday song in German- danke sehr once again, dear Azleen =)); the Friendster testimonials; the blog entry =); the blog comments; the cards (got my only cards via airmail from my grandparents and aunt on the day itself, no less!); the four fabulous cakes (cream-caramel-icing cake, cheese cake, banana cake, and one micro-mini leftover cake *haha*); the midnight wish; the singing in class by classmates; the singing in lecture by lecture mates; the sushi feast with roommates and sister; the supposedly-surprise birthday bash by classmates (which was a bit obvious since they cooked in my floor’s kitchen. LOL.)… and my favourite part- the presents! Haha. The presents were all lovely and thoughtful (like the cat tabung for example… sangat bermakna *wink*).

To tell the truth, I had almost the same elated feeling as I had during each raya on that day (or every birthday, for that matter) =) And it’s all thanks to these people who really made me feel special that day. Lots of love to you people!

Missing something

It’s during times like these that your mind begins to traipse through the tunnel of time- back to the good old days when life revolved almost exclusively around the determinate compound of school (and the whole lot of crazy stuff crammed inside it for some good measure). For the past four months my springy eardrums have become accustomed to my fourteen-year-old sister’s daily chronicle of life that wouldn’t practically fit into the pages of your standard History textbook, within which involved some crushing episodes of backstabbing amongst so-called friends, or an atrocious act of injustice from a teacher, or an equally catastrophic teen love-triangle saga with plots and twists that would put Mexican telenovellas to perfect shame.

Before we jump into any conclusion, let me clarify that I wasn’t that deep during her age either (as if I’m so matured now. Heh) - similar scenarios surrounded my life as a fourteen-year-old, which unexpectedly is the exact reason that made me miss school all the more… the chaotic phase of growing up. The days when you were deep-fried in the process of learning and stupid mistakes were committed all the time.

Friendships were taken very seriously and when certain unwritten laws were broken, cold war would inexorably ensue- prepare for bitter words, dagger-looks, even exchanging letters (supposedly to hunt for the roots of the problem lah). Class parties were the very representation of fun with certain line of rules and regulations willing to be crossed- though nothing that screamed tragedy- in order to establish total success. PJ (Pendidikan Jasmani) was acknowledged as the all-embracing favourite subject and any attempt by teachers to displace the session with an hour’s dose of maths or science would be railed against with vigour. And school events were celebrated with the best of spirits (although we didn't get to have full say in many things, unlike students of residential schools).

We embraced the wheel of life and its grittier details wholeheartedly. We were at times silly, but nonetheless passionate in our endeavours (whatever they were ;p). These (amongst others) were life as I knew it. And I’m missing it, sorely.

School- where all the fun is.

“Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love”~ Charles M. Schulz