The increasingly bleak visage of this blog, fueled by the occasional words of reminder from a few people which are noticeably becoming frequent (thank you), I feel like I should finally write a word or two. Presumably I’ve been busy, although looking at the things that I do every day, one might have a hard time telling apart a medical student from a standard-fiver. However, final exams are almost here and everyone’s all gung-ho about it (actually more about the part that comes after it, where we’re going back home, but let’s skip the details.), so I think I’m gonna wash my white coat soon and come out brand new- literally and metaphorically speaking. Hehe.
Last week we held a fundraising campaign for the construction of a new mosque in the Kirovskiy region of Volgograd. Some of the activities included a talk, clip show, charity sale, and a trip to the current mosque adjacent to the construction site of the new one. We had all been made aware of the cause last year but not many really understood the dire need of it (me included). I thought, so they were building a mosque, good, good… I’d be glad to donate what my wallet could offer at the time.
But that day I decided to participate in the trip, and I finally understood, wholeheartedly... I was rendered speechless at the sight of the humble mosque which was about the size of a three-person room in my hostel (which we still complain about from time to time). We'd been shown a video interview of the elders who frequented the mosque earlier during our talk at the hostel, and I thought they were showing a part of the praying area, but really that was about the whole of it. The place itself was a picture of utmost calm, with comfy rugs and comforters over wooden benches where the elders sat, but it was nowhere sufficient for local Muslims to pray, especially during Friday prayers. The only other mosque in Volgograd (where Malaysians usually frequented) was also reported to be barely adequate during Fridays.
The cost of building the new mosque is estimated at 15 million Roubles (roughly equivalent to RM 2 million) and the accumulated sum so far is approximately 2 million Roubles (13.33% of the required amount)- 1 and a half years after the fund’s initiation, from what we were told. So you can see that we’re in quite a fix here. The project didn’t receive financial backing from the state government, although apparently talks are under way (which I imagine won’t be a walk in the park, not in very secular Russia). I feel like I need to do something besides giving a few wads of cash, and spreading the word seems about the only thing I’m in power of doing at the current ‘minion’ state of mine.
I thought I could do a decent job, perhaps with beautiful flowing words to attract people to the plea, but I guess this can get no plainer. Nevertheless, it’s an honest plea on behalf of Muslims in Volgograd who will tremendously benefit from the building of this mosque/Islamic centre, and you and I can be part of the barakah attained within it. I may not even be here when the mosque is finally completed, but building a mosque (especially where it's urgently needed) is a lasting heritage, a grounds for mercy in the hereafter, so that’s enough motivation for me.
If anyone would like to find out more about the project, please visit here. Contact persons are given at the site, but if you would like to make donations through me, you can email me at thescientist02@yahoo.com.
“And the likeness of those who spend their substance, seeking to please Allah and to strengthen their souls, is as a garden, high and fertile: heavy rain falls on it but makes it yield a double increase of harvest, and if it receives not heavy rain, light moisture sufficeth it. Allah seeth well whatever ye do.” (Al-Baqarah:265)
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
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.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Living zombie
Here I am again, about to apologise to my sorry self for not keeping up with my resolution. It seems like I’ve been doing a number of fancy pirouettes with my circadian rhythm lately that I’m entering some sort of zombie mode now. And I might look like I’m about to fall into a state of anarchy at any moment, but that’s normal, because I’m sitting for my ‘certification exam’ for therapy and surgery next week, with a skimpy 3-day gap between one and the other. Charming, a student’s life, isn’t it? It’s bad enough that we get so few holidays here; they also conduct exams during regular schooldays, amidst neck-breaking classes. Alright, I’m exaggerating (the neck-breaking part, not the exam-during-school part. That's true.). A little random ‘experiment’ the other day pointed me to verse 112 (and the following verses) of Surah Al-Mu’minun which translate as follow:-
He will say: "What number of years did ye stay on earth?"
They will say: "We stayed a day or part of a day: but ask those who keep account."
He will say: "Ye stayed not but a little,- if ye had only known!
"Did ye then think that We had created you in jest, and that ye would not be brought back to Us (for account)?"
Therefore exalted be Allah, the King, the Reality: there is no god but He, the Lord of the Throne of Honour!
If anyone invokes, besides Allah, Any other god, he has no authority therefor; and his reckoning will be only with his Lord! and verily the Unbelievers will fail to win through!
So say: "O my Lord! grant Thou forgiveness and mercy for Thou art the Best of those who show mercy!"
Al-Mu’minun: 112-118
Happy birthday to my father, who turns 47 today. May Allah bless you always. I love you very much.
He will say: "What number of years did ye stay on earth?"
They will say: "We stayed a day or part of a day: but ask those who keep account."
He will say: "Ye stayed not but a little,- if ye had only known!
"Did ye then think that We had created you in jest, and that ye would not be brought back to Us (for account)?"
Therefore exalted be Allah, the King, the Reality: there is no god but He, the Lord of the Throne of Honour!
If anyone invokes, besides Allah, Any other god, he has no authority therefor; and his reckoning will be only with his Lord! and verily the Unbelievers will fail to win through!
So say: "O my Lord! grant Thou forgiveness and mercy for Thou art the Best of those who show mercy!"
Al-Mu’minun: 112-118
Happy birthday to my father, who turns 47 today. May Allah bless you always. I love you very much.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Good grief
Last night snow revisited- unforeseen by, well, me at least. I never checked the weather forecast anyway. Spring was already manifest for the past 2-3 weeks, so to suddenly see pearly white patches on the ground this morning, was sweet. Of course, the sun melted all of them over the course of the day, and a ditch of water had me all over the edge of my trousers, but three cheers for three-degree’s worth of winter nostalgia. =D
So what’s new after one month of absence from writing? To sum it up in one sentence (‘cos I really need to get on with the picture-editing from my UK trip)- my sister and I received a fantastic parcel from home, I launched a ‘bring bentou’ campaign in the process to become, er, frugal, which proved to be rather successful, we operated on a cat, I finally got hold of a handphone (a friend lent me his old one) so people elsewhere on planet earth can communicate with me, my first attempt at making kek batik failed miserably (and after Flutterby said, “Don’t worry, nobody fails at making kek batik” too. Sob.), had a haircut, my 2nd attempt at competitive scrabble (3rd, if you count the one during matriculation) failed again (I’m such a pretender, I don’t even play scrabble), went to watch an orchestra (Mozart & Rossini), celebrated Women’s day in pink (haha), rekindled my passion for knitting (now the flame’s diminished again), and Russia elected their new president (‘Medved’ from Medvedev means ‘bear’, by the way).
From home, I learned about Malaysia’s revolutionary election, my 14-year-old brother’s triumph in state-level photography competition (do visit his flickr, he shoots brilliant pics with his point-and-shoot camera), the birth of new offspring (the cat’s, mind), and the latest pet to roam home sweet home- a tarantula. Way to go, guys!
There. As Charlie Brown would say, “Good grief”.
So what’s new after one month of absence from writing? To sum it up in one sentence (‘cos I really need to get on with the picture-editing from my UK trip)- my sister and I received a fantastic parcel from home, I launched a ‘bring bentou’ campaign in the process to become, er, frugal, which proved to be rather successful, we operated on a cat, I finally got hold of a handphone (a friend lent me his old one) so people elsewhere on planet earth can communicate with me, my first attempt at making kek batik failed miserably (and after Flutterby said, “Don’t worry, nobody fails at making kek batik” too. Sob.), had a haircut, my 2nd attempt at competitive scrabble (3rd, if you count the one during matriculation) failed again (I’m such a pretender, I don’t even play scrabble), went to watch an orchestra (Mozart & Rossini), celebrated Women’s day in pink (haha), rekindled my passion for knitting (now the flame’s diminished again), and Russia elected their new president (‘Medved’ from Medvedev means ‘bear’, by the way).
From home, I learned about Malaysia’s revolutionary election, my 14-year-old brother’s triumph in state-level photography competition (do visit his flickr, he shoots brilliant pics with his point-and-shoot camera), the birth of new offspring (the cat’s, mind), and the latest pet to roam home sweet home- a tarantula. Way to go, guys!
There. As Charlie Brown would say, “Good grief”.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
The Naivety That's Me
Today, reality has faded away and fierce delusion is filling the void. The world can’t get more paradoxical than it already is, and I, even I, have begun to question the path I’m treading, the round earth I’m gravitating desperately so to. Yes, I am aware of the grey patches underlying every predicament there is, yet I can’t ignore the absolute truth that governs every existence, the black and white keeping the nature in balance. I see grey, but I see it only natural to make everything as white as they can possibly be.
When something so misguided is so blatantly served before my eyes, I’m often torn between going all out to set things straight, or just let it be because there’s no point in changing things already spoilt rotten. People toying with my faith, for example. I will by no means fall for their ‘rational’ reasoning and arguments, but should I persist in explaining the wisdoms of my belief, or stop engaging in a presumably fruitless discussion? On one hand, what’s the point in a debate when you already know the results, right? On the other hand, I fear of being a hypocrite- pretending to be all devoted when I do nothing to defend my faith being ridiculed.
Recent discoveries made my stomach crawl at how naive I actually am in facing the many facets of the world. Prejudices abound, people fearing things they don’t even understand, and it’s only deemed politically correct for people to show respect to my religion. I knew about all these already, but the extent of it almost blew me away. I now really do feel like a tiny pea in a giant bowl of… pea soup. So insignificant.
Deep inside though, I’m trying, and hoping to be strong enough to rise against the tides someday. I have one thing which I can hold tight to my chest: my writing. My humble way of conveying thoughts- I wish to make something good out of it, something that will at the very least compel people to think. And now it appears as if I’ve almost forgotten about it. Amidst this so-called busy life of a medical student, ignorance has crept in.
A lot of things happened, but as of this moment, the world is still spinning. So no more excuses to myself, I hope! Nothing quite like writing to disentangle the knots in my head (except perhaps a cup of excellent tea); here’s wishing for better days to every writer out there (that’s about everyone, I guess;)).
Daripada Ali bin Abi Thalib r.a., "Bahawasanya kami sedang duduk bersama Rasulullah saw. di dalam masjid. Tiba-tiba datang Mus'ab bin Umair r.a. dan tiada di atas badannya kecuali hanya sehelai selendang yang bertampung dengan kulit. Tatkala Rasulullah saw.melihat kepadanya Baginda menangis dan menitiskan air mata kerana mengenangkan kemewahan Mus'ab ketika berada di Mekkah dahulu (kerana sangat dimanjakan oleh ibunya) dan kerana memandang nasib Mus'ab sekarang (ketika berada di Madinah sebagai seorang Muhajirin yang terpaksa meninggalkan segala harta benda dan kekayaan diMekkah). Kemudian Nabi Muhammad saw. bersabda, "Bagaimanakah keadaan kamu pada suatu saat nanti, pergi di waktu pagi dengan satu pakaian, dan pergi di waktu petang dengan pakaian yang lain pula. Dan bila diangkatkan satu hidangan diletakan pula satu hidangan yang lain. Dan kamu menutupi (menghias) rumah kamu sepertimana kamu memasang kelambu Ka'bah?". Maka jawab sahabat, "Wahai Rasulullah, tentunya di waktu itu kami lebih baik daripada di hari ini. Kami akan menberikan penumpuan kepada masalah ibadat sahaja dan tidak usah mencari rezeki". Lalu Nabi saw. bersabda, "Tidak! Keadaan kamu di hari ini adalah lebih baik daripada keadaan kamu di hari itu".
H.R. Tarmizi
When something so misguided is so blatantly served before my eyes, I’m often torn between going all out to set things straight, or just let it be because there’s no point in changing things already spoilt rotten. People toying with my faith, for example. I will by no means fall for their ‘rational’ reasoning and arguments, but should I persist in explaining the wisdoms of my belief, or stop engaging in a presumably fruitless discussion? On one hand, what’s the point in a debate when you already know the results, right? On the other hand, I fear of being a hypocrite- pretending to be all devoted when I do nothing to defend my faith being ridiculed.
Recent discoveries made my stomach crawl at how naive I actually am in facing the many facets of the world. Prejudices abound, people fearing things they don’t even understand, and it’s only deemed politically correct for people to show respect to my religion. I knew about all these already, but the extent of it almost blew me away. I now really do feel like a tiny pea in a giant bowl of… pea soup. So insignificant.
Deep inside though, I’m trying, and hoping to be strong enough to rise against the tides someday. I have one thing which I can hold tight to my chest: my writing. My humble way of conveying thoughts- I wish to make something good out of it, something that will at the very least compel people to think. And now it appears as if I’ve almost forgotten about it. Amidst this so-called busy life of a medical student, ignorance has crept in.
A lot of things happened, but as of this moment, the world is still spinning. So no more excuses to myself, I hope! Nothing quite like writing to disentangle the knots in my head (except perhaps a cup of excellent tea); here’s wishing for better days to every writer out there (that’s about everyone, I guess;)).
Daripada Ali bin Abi Thalib r.a., "Bahawasanya kami sedang duduk bersama Rasulullah saw. di dalam masjid. Tiba-tiba datang Mus'ab bin Umair r.a. dan tiada di atas badannya kecuali hanya sehelai selendang yang bertampung dengan kulit. Tatkala Rasulullah saw.melihat kepadanya Baginda menangis dan menitiskan air mata kerana mengenangkan kemewahan Mus'ab ketika berada di Mekkah dahulu (kerana sangat dimanjakan oleh ibunya) dan kerana memandang nasib Mus'ab sekarang (ketika berada di Madinah sebagai seorang Muhajirin yang terpaksa meninggalkan segala harta benda dan kekayaan diMekkah). Kemudian Nabi Muhammad saw. bersabda, "Bagaimanakah keadaan kamu pada suatu saat nanti, pergi di waktu pagi dengan satu pakaian, dan pergi di waktu petang dengan pakaian yang lain pula. Dan bila diangkatkan satu hidangan diletakan pula satu hidangan yang lain. Dan kamu menutupi (menghias) rumah kamu sepertimana kamu memasang kelambu Ka'bah?". Maka jawab sahabat, "Wahai Rasulullah, tentunya di waktu itu kami lebih baik daripada di hari ini. Kami akan menberikan penumpuan kepada masalah ibadat sahaja dan tidak usah mencari rezeki". Lalu Nabi saw. bersabda, "Tidak! Keadaan kamu di hari ini adalah lebih baik daripada keadaan kamu di hari itu".
H.R. Tarmizi
Sunday, February 17, 2008
A sorry post
Little can soothe these ruffled feathers at the moment; it’s like one of those bad hair days- stuff that won’t literally curse you to eternal doom but enough to make you feel like shaving your head off and start fresh. (Ahem). I’ve been in quite a scuffle with my time management lately, wanting to do this and that, but end up watching a super lousy film in between wasting away several empty DVDs (long story) and dealing with a suspected virus-infested laptop (scans came out clean- but then why is it painstakingly slow and lagging here and there? After I’ve deleted a lot of unused programs too). Starting of the new semester had me reeling with mixed emotions- of relieved farewell to a dreary subject, excitement on a new one, and pure repulsion at the timetable which had us have most of the lectures in the afternoon, in between two classes. It won’t rob me off my naptime; however, I’d prefer to be spared the guilt.
Back to my bulldozed state of mind, even now I can’t help but write junk, teetering away from my original intended piece of writing, which should be, of course, about my recent travel to UK. I will write about it, the soonest I can get after restoring some gravity back to my flailing, sorry self (and closet).
It is still winter in Russia.
ps: Happy 46th birthday to my mother (18th February)! Hope you'd had a wonderful day, one filled with joy and blessings from Allah. And happy belated birthday to my sister Aliah, who turned 17 on 14th February. I love you both.
Back to my bulldozed state of mind, even now I can’t help but write junk, teetering away from my original intended piece of writing, which should be, of course, about my recent travel to UK. I will write about it, the soonest I can get after restoring some gravity back to my flailing, sorry self (and closet).
It is still winter in Russia.
ps: Happy 46th birthday to my mother (18th February)! Hope you'd had a wonderful day, one filled with joy and blessings from Allah. And happy belated birthday to my sister Aliah, who turned 17 on 14th February. I love you both.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
One down, two more to go! I’m about to be thrown into the super-zigzag world of Philosophy (my next paper), so I better write something sane here now as proof of my existence. Hehe. (ayat pun dah mengarut dah).
When I started to write in my own blog in April 2004, I didn’t really expect it to last until now. There were the issues of venturing into my personal thoughts, meeting new people, honing my rusty writing skills, fueling creative drive- all of which made me think for quite a long time before starting to blog, almost as long as the time spent to pick up the colour for my very first template ;p Sometimes I may look carefree, but I’m actually at a constant alarm of what people may think of me. So when a few people left comments in my first few entries, I was on cloud nine for a good while. These people encouraged me to keep writing, and so I did.
Some of them seem to have not written in their respective blogs for a while, so to afie, ayumi, crimsonskye, wiTcHh4Z3L, F3154L, inositol- I’m giving you guys my vote of confidence to update your blog! =D And to pycnogenol and hiyoshi too- thank you for the support all this while, if none of you guys read my blog and left positive comments, I would not have been stuck with this blogging business and cause my mum, dad, uncles and aunts to become curious and eventually jump on the bandwagon as well :) Thank you.
Pose berasa manja. 31st December 2005.
Merpati dua sejoli (?) 27th April 2006.
Merajuk dah kawan tu... 27th April 2006.
When I started to write in my own blog in April 2004, I didn’t really expect it to last until now. There were the issues of venturing into my personal thoughts, meeting new people, honing my rusty writing skills, fueling creative drive- all of which made me think for quite a long time before starting to blog, almost as long as the time spent to pick up the colour for my very first template ;p Sometimes I may look carefree, but I’m actually at a constant alarm of what people may think of me. So when a few people left comments in my first few entries, I was on cloud nine for a good while. These people encouraged me to keep writing, and so I did.
Some of them seem to have not written in their respective blogs for a while, so to afie, ayumi, crimsonskye, wiTcHh4Z3L, F3154L, inositol- I’m giving you guys my vote of confidence to update your blog! =D And to pycnogenol and hiyoshi too- thank you for the support all this while, if none of you guys read my blog and left positive comments, I would not have been stuck with this blogging business and cause my mum, dad, uncles and aunts to become curious and eventually jump on the bandwagon as well :) Thank you.
Pose berasa manja. 31st December 2005.
Merpati dua sejoli (?) 27th April 2006.
Merajuk dah kawan tu... 27th April 2006.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Exam mode
Happy New Year 1429 to all Muslims out there. =D
I’m sitting for my finals, starting this Monday. Ain’t winter exams the greatest… haha. Not. I have many other things to contend with- the weather, for example. And my acne. Hehe. And then there’s this little matter of me not being that keen on all the coming exam subjects for different reasons. But I’m trying to cope, so yet again, please, Mak and Abah, no lecturing here.;p Another point worth mentioning- my mind keeps dallying around the thought of my upcoming trip to the UK- not the trip per se, but the puzzling donkeywork prior. We have to return all library books, get some signatures here and there, blabla, more signatures, before we can finally collect our visa. I forget about the details of the procedure every time, but I do remember that it curiously resembles a treasure hunt, with all the scattered checkpoints. So good luck to me this time; I’m lucky to have two days after my final paper before leaving.
About the trip: my sister and I are visiting our icky li’l bro, who is currently studying in Bristol, for 10 days. Hopefully we can also meet up with Aunty Farah, our father’s cousin, who is doing her masters in Cranfield. Anyone else in the UK who wishes to extend their courtesy to us travellers, I thank you in advance.:)
ps: with regards to exams, I'm posting some pics that we managed to take with some of our lecturers last week of the semester i.e. two weeks ago. ;)
Assoc. Prof. Alexei Vladimirovich Smirnov, our Pathological Anatomy lecturer cum favourite lecturer this sem (great teaching, great sense of humour)
Diana Vladimirovna, our Surgery lecturer. I thought female surgeons might be a li'l bit skema (as opposed to male surgeons who mostly have this couldn't-care-less attitude), but well, I guess she's still one of 'em! Haha.
Valentina Andreyevna, our Russian lecturer. Very kay-poh, but lovable.
I’m sitting for my finals, starting this Monday. Ain’t winter exams the greatest… haha. Not. I have many other things to contend with- the weather, for example. And my acne. Hehe. And then there’s this little matter of me not being that keen on all the coming exam subjects for different reasons. But I’m trying to cope, so yet again, please, Mak and Abah, no lecturing here.;p Another point worth mentioning- my mind keeps dallying around the thought of my upcoming trip to the UK- not the trip per se, but the puzzling donkeywork prior. We have to return all library books, get some signatures here and there, blabla, more signatures, before we can finally collect our visa. I forget about the details of the procedure every time, but I do remember that it curiously resembles a treasure hunt, with all the scattered checkpoints. So good luck to me this time; I’m lucky to have two days after my final paper before leaving.
About the trip: my sister and I are visiting our icky li’l bro, who is currently studying in Bristol, for 10 days. Hopefully we can also meet up with Aunty Farah, our father’s cousin, who is doing her masters in Cranfield. Anyone else in the UK who wishes to extend their courtesy to us travellers, I thank you in advance.:)
ps: with regards to exams, I'm posting some pics that we managed to take with some of our lecturers last week of the semester i.e. two weeks ago. ;)
Assoc. Prof. Alexei Vladimirovich Smirnov, our Pathological Anatomy lecturer cum favourite lecturer this sem (great teaching, great sense of humour)
Diana Vladimirovna, our Surgery lecturer. I thought female surgeons might be a li'l bit skema (as opposed to male surgeons who mostly have this couldn't-care-less attitude), but well, I guess she's still one of 'em! Haha.
Valentina Andreyevna, our Russian lecturer. Very kay-poh, but lovable.
Monday, January 07, 2008
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
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
Friday, January 04, 2008
Winter goodness
Note: the following accounts were separately written according to the time frame.
Three weeks ago.
Forlorn grey cloaked the sky for the past week; no more rays of evanescent warmth for you sun-lovers. Haha. I’m quite the sadist. Although now I’m actually the one having a jolly hard time contending with the frosty wind that keeps finding their shrewd way into our already-sealed windows. So by right I should be shuddering at this turn of weather and pray hard for spring to come to light. But I’m not, because… well. I love winter. Even if I did fall last week on the icy slope and got a brilliant green bruise on my thigh, or that my fingers were this close to getting frostbite (hyperbole) from dusting snow crumbs off my bag (inside out, too) due to evil works of a classmate (I got him back big time; don’t ever mess with the snow queen. Hoho). Because, because, because… the sight of pure white grounds beneath your feet with sparkling diamonds of frozen canopy above your head on the way to class is simply worth it. It’s like something out of Narnia, as someone puts it; enough to make anyone’s heart spouting poetry (a bad example in my case as you can see).
A fortnight ago.
When snow melts, there goes all the fun. In fact, that’s when trouble beckons. Picture streams, not just puddles, of mud that bar you from crossing the road to get to your hostel, and so you keep walking upward to find a better way out. The trouble is, there is no better way out, and you keep swaggering further and further from your destination until you’ve had it and decide to cross anyway, even though it means drenching the kain of your baju kurung, and yes, it is eid morning. Silver lining? It snows afterwards! And thank God for black baju kurungs =p
Last week.
Too slippery for words. Numerous wobbly moments. (Fall-o-meter: 0. Yay!).
Last night.
Temperature: 20-something degrees below zero. expected to reach 30 during the coming weekend.
Remember Balrog from the mines of Moria in The Lord of The Rings? Remember the dum-dum sounds the Fellowship heard before that fiery ancient demon appeared (did those come from him or the Orcs before that, btw? Argh, must have a rerun again sometime soon.)? Well, the sounds banging against the window of our room at this moment eerily resemble the aforesaid ones. Outside, you can even see violent swirls of wind as they fuse with traces of snowflakes (I saw but a glimpse from the kitchen window, a friend related the more violent ones). Luckily it’s a one-week New Year holiday now, so I don’t have to experience this vicious side of Mother Nature firsthand. But then, being cooped up in the hostel isn’t such a cozy idea either, since our condition here is nowhere near the word cozy, or even acceptable. We’re living in a giant freezer. Imagine me wearing long johns, two woolen jumpers, an over-sized sweater, two pairs of socks, and shivering after half an hour typing on the laptop…(?!!) And they forbid us to buy our own heater because we may whack the circuit dry, which is the case every night because almost everybody secretly owns a heater anyway (not me, though. I’m an Eskimo wannabe). And can anyone blame these people after seeing those feeble, metal thingies they suspiciously call heaters? It’s come to a point where I have to sleep either with my headphones on or by cocooning my entire body inside the blanket because my ears can’t stand the cold. Sad, sad, sad. I already lodged a complaint to our rep so, well, I guess we can only wait. And wait we will, do count on it.
Both pics: Frost on glass. 9th February 2006.
Motifs on the wall of the central market. 8th April 2006.
Impressive facade of a bank, somewhere nearby the academy. 17th July 2006.
Messing around with fallen leaves. 15th November 2005.
Three weeks ago.
Forlorn grey cloaked the sky for the past week; no more rays of evanescent warmth for you sun-lovers. Haha. I’m quite the sadist. Although now I’m actually the one having a jolly hard time contending with the frosty wind that keeps finding their shrewd way into our already-sealed windows. So by right I should be shuddering at this turn of weather and pray hard for spring to come to light. But I’m not, because… well. I love winter. Even if I did fall last week on the icy slope and got a brilliant green bruise on my thigh, or that my fingers were this close to getting frostbite (hyperbole) from dusting snow crumbs off my bag (inside out, too) due to evil works of a classmate (I got him back big time; don’t ever mess with the snow queen. Hoho). Because, because, because… the sight of pure white grounds beneath your feet with sparkling diamonds of frozen canopy above your head on the way to class is simply worth it. It’s like something out of Narnia, as someone puts it; enough to make anyone’s heart spouting poetry (a bad example in my case as you can see).
A fortnight ago.
When snow melts, there goes all the fun. In fact, that’s when trouble beckons. Picture streams, not just puddles, of mud that bar you from crossing the road to get to your hostel, and so you keep walking upward to find a better way out. The trouble is, there is no better way out, and you keep swaggering further and further from your destination until you’ve had it and decide to cross anyway, even though it means drenching the kain of your baju kurung, and yes, it is eid morning. Silver lining? It snows afterwards! And thank God for black baju kurungs =p
Last week.
Too slippery for words. Numerous wobbly moments. (Fall-o-meter: 0. Yay!).
Last night.
Temperature: 20-something degrees below zero. expected to reach 30 during the coming weekend.
Remember Balrog from the mines of Moria in The Lord of The Rings? Remember the dum-dum sounds the Fellowship heard before that fiery ancient demon appeared (did those come from him or the Orcs before that, btw? Argh, must have a rerun again sometime soon.)? Well, the sounds banging against the window of our room at this moment eerily resemble the aforesaid ones. Outside, you can even see violent swirls of wind as they fuse with traces of snowflakes (I saw but a glimpse from the kitchen window, a friend related the more violent ones). Luckily it’s a one-week New Year holiday now, so I don’t have to experience this vicious side of Mother Nature firsthand. But then, being cooped up in the hostel isn’t such a cozy idea either, since our condition here is nowhere near the word cozy, or even acceptable. We’re living in a giant freezer. Imagine me wearing long johns, two woolen jumpers, an over-sized sweater, two pairs of socks, and shivering after half an hour typing on the laptop…(?!!) And they forbid us to buy our own heater because we may whack the circuit dry, which is the case every night because almost everybody secretly owns a heater anyway (not me, though. I’m an Eskimo wannabe). And can anyone blame these people after seeing those feeble, metal thingies they suspiciously call heaters? It’s come to a point where I have to sleep either with my headphones on or by cocooning my entire body inside the blanket because my ears can’t stand the cold. Sad, sad, sad. I already lodged a complaint to our rep so, well, I guess we can only wait. And wait we will, do count on it.
Both pics: Frost on glass. 9th February 2006.
Motifs on the wall of the central market. 8th April 2006.
Impressive facade of a bank, somewhere nearby the academy. 17th July 2006.
Messing around with fallen leaves. 15th November 2005.
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