Hello again

I report from the land of pokerfaced aloofness (for the most part), of everything pricey, of insipid cuisine, of freakish charm in a way I cannot aptly articulate. The dilly-dallying was due to the incurable holiday disease of dormancy. I have been busy! Eheh. And to be fair, our internet has just been plugged back in two days ago and my internet account has only been up and running (read: topped up) for two hours. Anyhow, my apologies.

A lot has happened lately, the most recent being the Crocodile Hunter guy’s death. I told my friends, and the unfailing response from each one of them would be, I’ve heard of his death like, 2 years ago. To which I would say, OK, this time he died for real. The guy’s massive popularity was discernible from the plentiful messages of condolences from many important people all over but his most striking legion of fans would always be the little ones who faithfully watch his show. It’s a bit gleeful really, to read this comment from a small kid- “why does it have to be Steve Irwin? Why can’t it be someone old, like Sean Connery?” Kids just have the uncanny knack of being transparent, don’t they.

Off to a different topic- unpacking stuff requires a strong dose of will, for which I had demonstrated from the day of arrival until… four days later. Especially if you have one big luggage, one proper hand-carry, one improper hand-carry (in the form of a paper bag wrapped up by the protective plastic service at KLIA), two HUGE container bags (left in hostel), and several paper bags with a couple still floating around one of the floors reserved for storage (unknown exact coordinates). I’m currently missing three of my favourite mugs- a Harry Potter, a Little Mermaid, and a Bayern Munich (Sorry, Azleen :(). Do remind me to do a checklist next year.

Amongst the smallest details to share is the encounter I had with this old Tatar lady down at Nevskaya yesterday morning. She personifies the characteristic friendly Russian mak ciks who counterbalance the preconceived notion of Russians being generally cold and standoffish. Beginning with the routine “where are you from?” question, she went on to asking our place of study, complimenting our ‘prowess’ in Russian language (haha. We’re terrible, really, I’m sure she was simply being nice) and wishing us luck in our studies. I found out that we share the same name, and that she’s a doctor. All in all, the conversation might not hold any indicative value for many, but it was enough to make my day.

The elder generation often exudes a soothing image of kindness to my eyes. I still remember an old lady who spoke to us on a tram handing us a banana as a small token- she didn’t have anything to give and insisted we have it. A simple, yet moving gesture. These people remind me of the small acts of kindness we owe others- from holding doors for the person behind you to following queues to throwing rubbish in the bin to a simple smile towards a stranger (where it’s appropriate, of course ;)). We never know when these little favours would circle back to aid us in future lives.

Finally.

I've convinced myself that this would be the temporary look for my site until I find one that I truly like, or at least be partial to. This revamped blog is still messy, with hiccups here and there, but it is and will always be up and running, make no mistake =D Good day, everyone!

Wake up, you people

Eloquently put by crimsonskye (thanks for the permission;)) on the prolonging issue:

How much do you care?

Nine days into the open war in Lebanon, with the crimes committed by the Israelis now far beyond their so-called anti-terrorist operations. Civilians are being murdered by the hundreds, their homes ripped apart and their cities torn to shreds. At the same time Palestinians continue their long fight against the occupation of their homeland, and against the atrocities of the Israel government.

Are we even aware of the pain and suffering of our fellow human beings? Or are we still wondering how in the world our darling Siti Nurhaliza chose to marry Datuk K?

Anyone with a heart couldn't possibly not be moved by the plight of the Palestinians, towards their strong and unwearied spirit to carry on their struggle - even without the help of the rest of the world, who tend to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear on the situation. Those Palestinians, they're just ordinary people like you and me, but they're all blessed with this unbelievable bravery to defend their homes and people from the Israelis.

The situation in Palestine can be confusing and misleading to the majority of outsiders, who are depending on the West-controlled media for information about Palestine. If Israel invades the Palestinian lands and murders civilians, that is 'self-defense'. But if someone responds to Israeli aggression with a rocket, that is 'Muslim terrorism'. How could anyone agree to this horrendous double-standard is beyond me.

When Hamas finally obtained victory in the Palestinian legislative election, which has been described by the officials and observers as extremely fair and transparent with a large voter turnout, many stated that the outcome was 'disturbing' because with Hamas in power it would encourage terrorism activities even more than before.

What the hell is this? The Palestinians went through a democracy process that was done with integrity and in line with international standards, then those very same people who claimed to uphold democracy refuse to recognize Hamas' right to form their government. They cut off all ties with the Hamas, reject truces and calls for ceasefire offered by Hamas, sanction blockings towards the aid and supplies brought to the Palestinians, while the Israel regime continues to massacre the Palestinians and razing their homes to the ground.

Suicide bomber/bombing are just terms coined by the West. Phrases like 'Islamic militants' and 'extremists' are used in liberal doses. Don't fall into these manipulating traps. Anyone with the basic knowledge of Islam would know that in Islam, suicide is forbidden to the utmost.

Suicide is done out of desperation, but the Palestinians who bombed themselves have nothing to do with desperation or losing the will to live. This is their last resort to defend themselves against the violence committed upon them. What do the Palestinians have to help themselves against the Israelis, who have a whole hoard of missiles, Apache helicopters, precision bombs, F16s and goodness knows what else?

And just who do we think we are to tell them what they should or never do? We're not in their places - we're sitting here in our comfortable homes, with our friends and family safe with us. We're not the ones who are being snatched away from our homes, watching our own mothers and fathers being murdered before our own eyes, our brothers and sisters assaulted and dishonoured. We're not the ones who are being starved to death and having bombs and bullets slammed into our own streets each passing day.

It doesn't make me feel any better to see anyone being killed, on whatever side they are. Anyone would wish for all of this just to stop right now, but of course that's impossible.

So what we can do?

No need to feel so helpless. The first thing we need to do is take a very firm stand against the Zionists (don't put the Jews all in the same bandwagon! Not all Jews are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jews!) and the regime of Israel. Be extremely aware of the history and the current situation of Palestine. Take every effort to increase our information about their issues e.g. going to talks. Whenever we could, engage friends and family in discussions about the Palestinian issue.

Another step further would be boycotting the products and services by companies that invest in Israel. There are so many, including Intel, Nokia and other brands that are still essential to many of us. We can't boycott all but we can do whatever which is within our capacities.

MacDonald's would be the easiest example. Just two days ago, a friend of mine suddenly told me she has decided not to consume McD anymore. She doesn't know it, but I felt a lump in my throat when I heard her saying that. I have so many people around me who are very sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, but only a few actually boycott something to show solidarity with the Palestinians. She told me, it feels very difficult not to eat anything McD anymore. To give up something that she had enjoyed very much - I pray that Allah will reward her efforts.

I have no idea whether these boycotts have significant economic impacts or not, but that's not my first and foremost reason for boycotting. It's all about taking a stand regarding something that's very dear to my heart. If my boycotting those products can get the message across about the Palestinian issue to other people, or at least make me remind myself of my brothers and sisters who are fighting for their very lives at this very moment, then these are reasons enough for me.

Two cents of an entry

Latest smack of reality: Suddenly felt inspired this morning to enter a writing contest. Retrieved the form and read through. And there, at the very bottom, two categories were listed- 1) 13-15 years old 2) 16-19 years old.

.......

Distressingly realised that I have exceeded the eligible age-range and was subdued for the whole of 2 minutes before switching to upset mode, bit chafed. Why 19? Why not 20?? (feeling a wee bit ancient also)

My dearest friend Azleen has gone Down Under, in the name of education. Haha. Wishing you nothing but the best, Azleen, and hopefully you'll bump into Heath Ledger as you climb up Brokeback Blue Mountain. =p


Me and Azleen

Definition of a holiday

My holiday so far is a classic case of a mishmashed scheme, which is actually a perfect scheme for a perfect holiday, but you get embroiled with the wonderful fickleness of thy brain in the process of executing thy plan, and end up playing spider solitaire in between reading Q Detective School whilst occasionally contemplating on the criticalness of the current languid state you are in (it has been decided that you have not reached critical point yet).

If I possess the ingenuity to engineer my blog template anytime at will, honestly I would change it every single week, with as many colours as I could scrape off my pallette. As luck would have it, I don't, and thus am left to leaf through hundreds of blah templates (OK, some of them are O-K but as it happens, I'm not searching for OK templates) before giving up for now. But no worries, as I go blog-hopping those pretty sites my green shade of envy shall deepen and I will definitely google the word 'free blog templates' and such in no time. Case closed.

We went fishing cum picnic this morning and whilst the others basked in the glory of catching 3, 4, 7 (8?) ekor ikan talapia (and a couple others of undefined type), I had to settle for, er, 0. I'm clearly not a fisherman. The other day my mother asked me to do a bit of weeding at the front lawn and despite meticulous reasonings, I ended up gaily mutilating her growing pokok cili and some daun pegaga. Clearly I'm not a gardener, too.

So self-discovery isn't doing too well this first week of holidays. Oh, perhaps a bit from the piece of advice given by my dad last night regarding my temper- with the classic Zidane headbutt incident as example. He said I would do just what Zidane did- right in wanting to defend justice, wrong in the course of action. Zidane might be provoked, but people's first impression would always highlight upon the fact that he had headbutted poor Materrazzi rather than directly questioning his motive for doing so. And, for that moment at least, he was the only bad guy.

I am not very good at making conclusions, but I think everyone got my point ;) Sailing off to cloud cuckoo land... *yawn*

Menu of The Year

1. Ikan patin goreng

2. Kari kambing

3. Udang masak merah

4. Ayam goreng berempah (yeke??)

5. Sayur umbut masak lemak

6. Sayur labu masak lemak

7. Sambal belacan

8. Sambal 'O' dengan tempoyak

9. Sambal tumis ikan bilis dengan petai

10. Ulam raja, kacang botol, jering dan petai

11. Limpa (yeke??) goreng

Pemanis mulut:

1. Puding buah-buahan (something berkuah, I forgot to try)

2. 3 biji kek Secret Recipe: Banana something-something cake, White chocolate macadamian cake, and Chocolate Indulgence cake

Minuman:

1. Jus oren

2. Jus kelapa muda

3. Air sejuk


I was one happy eater =D Thank you very much, Aki & co. !

Safely tucked at home

"Apa berita terbaru kat sini? Pasal Erra-Yusry tu, lagi?"

"Aaa pasal Mawi tu tahu??"

"Tahu2."

"Siti Nordiana dah kawin... Syura pun!"

"Anne Ngasri pun!"

"Ade show "One in A MIllion" tu, adik Siti masuk, dia tu... *not suitable listening for Siti's fans*..."

Alright, I'm definitely back in Malaysia =)

The writing mood's not there, probably mightily supplanted by the eating mood. Can't wait for the kenduri tomorrow!

On a different note, I managed to watch all the quarter-final games and the first semi-final (was on the plane for the second but didn't care much as Brazil was not playing. heh.). What can I say? France made a real comeback in the later rounds, and especially in the quarters. Well. Actually Zidane made a real comeback. A super-duper brilliant comeback. And they deserved that game. Only the fact that the game was against my most favourite team in the world thus... go Italy! Beat those nasty squirts!

And poor Argentina. As much as I am fond of Germany, Argentina didn't deserve to lose. Boo to Pekerman for not putting in Messi. The replacement of the 'keeper undoubtedly affected the whole outcome too. Uhuh. Better luck next time, guys.

As for the first semi, I think Italy did well to get through. Two brilliant goals for a riveting match! Although I could understand Klinsmann's frustration for the late goals as he must have been fervently praying for a penalty shootout. Another unexpected twist of fate, it seems. But well, it's just a game. And let's hope France doesn't win the Cup. Hehe.

Free-living Organism

As of yesterday, I'm a free man. And a free-living organism (classified myself as a temporary parasite during exam season). And everything went well too. Alhamdulillah! The cherry on top of the icing of the cake: my scholarship money has unexpectedly been banked in. Double hurrah! Now I can get to the main agenda before flying home- shopping! LOL.

Thanks Mak and Abah for your duas. And to my friends, especially those who had the unfortunate misadventure of becoming my temporary host ;)

ps: Definition of temporary parasite- A free-living organism but seeks its host from time to time for food.
pps: Collecting my visa at the academy today =)

Numbers and facts

10 more days before returning home.

9 more days before the United States’ Independence Day (not relevant, I know).

8 more questions to be done by today.

7 more questions of my ‘favourite’ topic (Darn! That many??).

6 more hours before Portugal-Holland match (I won’t be watching, of course ;p).

5 more days before this torture ends.

4 more games before Brazil wins the World Cup.

3 more days before my traditional Panic Day.

2 more Rubles before my credit expires.

1 more paper to go!

Bored me

I really really want to go home. No, it’s not simply the food anymore. It’s not even the World Cup.

… Ok, it is the World Cup. But it’s not just the World Cup. I miss my family and friends too. Baaadly.

Things that I miss most about home (in no particular order)

1. My family and friends
2. Malaysian food (an entry has been dedicated to this but I will spare some space for more ;p)
3. Free (well, almost… but free anyway cos my dad foots the bill. Hehe) internet
4. Television
5. Walking at the beach near my house
6. Sending my brother and sister to school (and picking them up)
7. Playing computer games (Nak go against my dad in C&C: General again- even though I lost every time)
8. Playing with our super-duper lovely cats
9. Breakfast outings around town =)
10. ‘Mapley’ outings around town =D
11. Kinokuniya
12. Cycling
13. Fighting with my brother
14. Trapped in the traffic jam whilst behind the wheels
15. Buah-buahan tempatan (Manggis, mangga, langsat… bliss defined! Yum!)
16. Curled up in bed reading a good book
17. Taman Gelora
18. Pasar malam (Yeah, I seldom went before, but now I’m missing it. Argh!)
19. Kenduri-kendara at Aki’s place (Great food! Cute cousins!)
20. My dad’s old car ;)

And I’m tired of poring my head into these textbooks. God please give me strength...