Special Topics In Calamity Physics

Cést La Vie

2010-03-13T20:32:00.004+01:00

While packing all my stuff into boxes, so that dust won't settle on them for the 6 months that I'll be away, I found this notebook. A close friend gave it to me before I flew here to Germany. A simple cover, in fiery red, with a list of 11 sort-of commandments to living life, written in bold capital letters. It's a pleasant little reminder that it's not that hard to live life right.

And the list goes :

Live with intention.

Walk to the edge.

Listen hard.

Practice wellness.

Play with abandon.

Laugh.

Choose with no regrets.

Continue to learn.

Appreciate your friends.

Do what you love.

Live as if this is all there is.

The timing couldn't have been any perfect. I need the reminder, now more than ever.

I think I really need to work on appreciating my friends, I mean, they are great, and me, I'm such a lousy friend, even lousier at returning phone calls, messages, and sometimes *not proud* keeping promises. My bad.

Another field that could use some improvement is my absent-mindedness, so that I can be a better listener, and more importantly, remember whatever information I've heard. I've always forgot things they told me, sometimes even as soon as five minutes after the friend told me something (sorry!). I forgot birthdays (now, not as bad, thanks to Facebook), events, etc it's kind of a wonder why they stick around. They must be really good people.

The only thing that is missing from this list is, in context of my life, to 'Be good to yourself'. Be a great cheerleader to myself, eat my veggies, eat more fruits, exercise, and give myself a pat on the back when I'm treating myself right.

No more undermining my every effort and spirit with my limited self-esteem, not even occasionally. Let's be fierce for a change! Grrr.

UCLA Cutest Graduate

2010-03-13T13:42:00.007+01:00

Boyfriend, I promise, the reason I posted this video has nothing to do with my obsession with James Franco (maybe a tiny, tiny, tiny bit) but he is sooo funny! He should do more comedies, definitely, Pineapple Express is a good start.

"For the fucken applause, asshole, this people fucken love me."

"This is where I get my jetpack, fire it up, fly out over the audience..."

"I'm going to do a quote from my favourite author....R.L Stine."

"I mean, we have all these knowledge, what's there left to do? Go out and make babies."

FTW!

It's my 200th post!

2010-03-12T19:49:00.005+01:00

A poster on the front door of a room we crashed while we were in Bayern.

Photo serves no purpose whatsoever to this post commemorating how much crap I've since blurted here, other than, this is another one of those craps.

Follow-up

2010-03-11T08:38:00.007+01:00

It was a happy ending!

And I slept like a baby after savoring the last page...

I'd make a summary of the novel here if not for the reason that it'll do no justice to the intricate, carefully crafted storyline. There's no short way to telling it; you have to get into the minds and feelings and understand the previous lives of the character for their actions in the novel to make sense.

This novel should be turned into a movie. Eric Bana and Matthew Mcconaughey would fit into Ralph Truitt's two very different extreme characters well. Plus they have that classic, timeless good looks which suit the 1900s setting. Need more reason? They look uh-mah-zing shirtless.

Oh oh and James Franco could play Antonio's character! He'll make a very believable Italian! Or not. I just want him in the movie.

This is pretty random but I think I'll make a good wife someday.

*****

The weather has been unreliable for the past two weeks. One day it'll be so sunny promising the definite start of spring, the next day it'll snow like winter has never left. Though I can't wait to go home, I'm definitely going to miss being here watching as the spring unfolds; it's my favourite season of all. With flower bulbs sprouting from the ground, the sign of the first leaf on the bald tree, the sound of birds chirping welcoming themselves home after a long winter journey, it spells a new beginning. Every new beginning is wonderful.

*****

Been on the hunt for items to put in our upcoming blogshop. Of course, I only pick anything that caught my fancy (when I can't choose, then he'll step in). So there's a constant itch to order everything extra so that I can have one for myself. Bankrap la camni! Right now I'm currently in love with this bag but I've bought bags in the last month so I'm trying sooo hard to hold myself back. Grrr.

Although it's a pretty good buy since it has both studs AND fringe which is like totally a must for a bag right now...

Notice the headband trend that has been going on for a while now? Sooo in love with them. Feathers, flowers, pretty lace, appliques... I think it's a perfect accessoire for your t-shirt and jeans day.

Absolutely adore these, from Free People :

I went out and bought myself some, wore it over my tudung. Boyfriend isn't a big fan of it. Says it makes me look like I'm wearing a swimming cap. Him and his never-ending swimming cap theory lol.

But yeah, I'm stubborn. I might just wear it on our first date when I got back.

A Reliable Wife

2010-03-10T22:59:00.003+01:00

It feels like my heart is breaking with every word I read. For some reason, I am emotionally attached to the plot in these pages after pages as I have never been before. Will definitely look up his other books.

Please let there be a happy ending.

Castles In The Air

2010-03-10T15:17:00.004+01:00

Neuschwanstein Castle

Hohenschwangau Castle

Finally, got around to visiting the Neuschwanstein castle.

I find it's easier to pronounce Neuschweinstein rather than Neuschwanstein.

Neu(new)schwan(swan)stein(castle)

Neu(new)schwein(pig)stein(castle)

No matter how delicious pork might taste (though I have no idea), nobody would name a castle after that creature. They are fat, short, and butt ugly, seriously. The closest a pig has ever came to looking partially cute, in history, is maybe the teacup piglet in How I Met Your Mother. Or maybe the talking pig Babe.

So anyways.

The castles were built by King Ludwig II who apparently was a little more than eccentric. He was a nutcase who committed suicide by jumping into a lake before his second castle, the one he spent lots of money and time on, was completed. Not a graceful, sophisticated way to leave the world for a king, I must say. He should take a cue from Cleopatra with the snake or Queen Mary with her red dress.

King Ludwig built the castle in 1868, as a sanctuary from his very public royal life, during which he lived in Hohenschwangau castle. He was obsesses with the Middle Age culture, hence the interior of the castle was embellished with wall paintings depicting famous literature during that time, like Tristan and Isolde, which is in my opinion, technically, not a love story at all because they both fell in love after drinking the love potion, not by force of nature, like love's supposed to be. Plus, James Franco in the movie never flashed his 100 megawatt smile which adds to the overall letdown for such a slow movie.

I thought the castle was older, you know, I kind of imagine kings whose mean of travel is by carriage pulled by horses, that women wears corset all the time...that kind of stuff. So to find out that they were relatively new, that the king who lived in there actually had in fact used a telephone, is quite an anti-climax.

During this age, the queen and king had separate bedrooms. Sometimes the queen even lived in another city altogether. Senang king nak berfoya-foya eh?

I guess that's why all fairy tales end right after the sentence '....and they both got married and lived happily ever after'.

Quickie

2010-03-09T09:59:00.005+01:00

The thing I miss the most about those I love is their smell.

If I can smell them, that means they are near.

Been on hiatus for quite some time. Semester break. Looks like everyone except me spent their holiday at some fancy place like Italy. SIGH. But they say, save the best for the last eh?

My holiday wasn't all that bad.

It managed to distract me from counting down the days. It's 9th of March already! Will be sitting for my last paper in 6 days, which I haven't even started on. In about a week, I'll be back to home sweet home.

Sweet.

Which reminded me there is still a lot to be done. Need to find a house (that's near the office AND cheap) asap. RM 350 for a room? There goes half of my hard labour...

You Don't Need To Be Coy, Roy

2010-02-25T20:06:00.003+01:00

The drums in this song is just mad sexy. I'd rather much prefer putting up a live version of this song but the drums part was overwhelmed by the singing; as much as I love Paul Simon's voice, I just love Steve Gadd's drums more.

Ranting 101

2010-02-25T11:14:00.002+01:00

It is vile that religion is used as a tool to create hate and terror. You don't need to search far for the proof. Look around. Or better still, google in a few words and braze yourself into a world of spite.

History has witnessed many times how a crisis needs to reach a tipping point and burst into a state of chaos in order for the tension to even out; though its presence might not be totally driven into extinction thereafter. May 13th, Holocaust, 9/11.

But why are we still here? Haven't we knocked over the tipping points more than we could ever keep track of? What more do we need to see happen before we can all finally see eye-to-eye without wanting to claw each other's eyes out?

I can merely give opinions as I do not have answers.

Is it religion that makes people pit against each other?

Is it religion that causes all those suffering and pain and killings?

Is it religion that has been the main hindrance for all of us to get along?

Is religion the main problem here?

If the human race were to unanimously decide to all become atheists/freethinkers/whatever term you want to put on it, will evil vanish from the face of the Earth?

Will war, starvation, greed, and poverty end?

Will everyone love every other like their own family?

Will the Earth turn into a Utopia finally, a heaven before death?

Many believe that science and religion cannot walk side by side; that if you want to move forward in the world of science you need to leave religion behind. I beg to differ. Though I do think that we shouldn't rely anymore on great Muslim thinkers and scientists during the much celebrated Muslim era to serve as proof; sure they are geniuses and deserved to be forever remembered but that's ancient history and it's time to create a new one.

If changing the world by coming up with a new mathematical formula or discovering new scientific concept is quite a feat to achieve in this lifetime, I think we can still play our part in rebuilding the image of Islam by being a good Muslim, a Muslim who tries to live by the book but goes against all the stereotypical images that West has painted; a bunch of terrorist who oppress their women.

Superstitious

2010-02-24T14:36:00.004+01:00

Can you jinx a bad event? Does it work the same way; that by announcing it out loud it won't actually happen?

The 5-Second-Rule

2010-02-23T20:46:00.003+01:00

"Eh kenapa train nih dah jalan, patut ada lagi 5 minit," gelabah sambil tengok luar cermin keretapi....5 saat kemudian baru sedar yang bergerak adalah keretapi sebelah sebenarnya. Teman seperjalanan hanya mampu menggeleng-gelengkan kepala.

"Tiga b cent tu apa? Accent orang Bayern ka?" sambil menunjuk kepada iklan di pintu hadapan sebuah kedai roti...5 saat kemudian baru sedar tulisan itu bermaksud 36 cents, di mana font untuk iklan tersebut membuatkan huruf 6 kelihatan seperti huruf 'b' kecil.

"Saintis buat kajian, kalau kena sembelih lagi tak sakit daripada kena tembak."

"Macam mana saintis tu buat experiment tu, dia pasang sensor kat orang lepas tu tembak dan sembelih orang tu ka?"

"Kat lembu la......."

*But at least I've came as far as figuring out about the sensors...(-.-'')*

There's more embarrassing blonde moments during the last week but thank God I can't remember all of them.

Talk is cheap baby.

2010-02-23T13:36:00.006+01:00

I wasn't that good when it comes to sharing. And I'm still not that good at it now. I blame that on growing up in a small family. And being a single child for quite a long time.

Though I do think some good things have came out of it. For instance, if I want something, and that something is worth having, then I want it all. Send anything half-hearted my way, that's as good as nothing to me.

*****

Right now I'm reading this and I don't want to put it down since I started the first page. Being informative, compact with all the business jargons without being boring to someone who does not have any formal education on business makes this book a winner. Highly recommended as it helps you to ask yourself important questions that you might have missed amidst your enthusiasm of starting a business.

My first dip into the world of enterprise was at the tender age of 8 or 9. I remember at school, I would buy stationeries (pencils, pens, erasers, rulers, glues, etc) from the school's ko-op, and then re-sell them in class. I made cute little tags and paper bags to put the stuff in when people bought them. I decorated my table with name stand (can't remember my shop's name) out of paper that you fold in three to form a pyramid, y'know, the kind that teachers ask students to write their name on so that they can learn the names better during the first week of school.

My shop attracted quite an attention, when the teacher's not around, 'customers' would start to flock to my table. One time, a teacher on patrol saw the little commotion so she came into the class to find out what's happening. I told her I was only selling stationeries.

"Beli barang-barang nih kat mana?"

"Kat ko-op Mama Bosan (the name of the uncle yang jaga ko-op tu, don't ask why, but everyone called him that)"

"Pensel tekan nih jual berapa?"

"Seringgit."

"Beli kat Mama Bosan berapa?"

"Seringgit."

"....."

Entrepreneur skills fail.

I probably spent a lot more money that I ever earned, what with all the nice packagings and tags. But I enjoyed the process. Buying the stuff. Re-packaging them and re-selling them. Dealing with people.

Now I know that there's more to starting a business than just the fun part. And I find that learning about all of them is more exciting than daunting. This idea may or may not fly, but you won't know until you try.

After all, this year is all about actions, actions, actions.

Nenn Mich Nicht Jenny Don't Call Me Jenny

2010-02-22T18:38:00.005+01:00

by Jennifer Rostock

Malas nya nak tulis. Tapi nak tulis jugak. Teringat pulak ada quote that goes on something like this;

The problem with blogging is that now, there's a lot of people with nothing much to say who says a lot. Or something to that effect.

Hmm.

14 hours of train ride. Bosan gilaaa. Bontot, peha, belakang, tumit, tengkok, semua lenguh. Nasib baik tak pakai boots. Pakai sneakers putih yang dah buruk lagi tak bergaya. In those circumstances, I'd choose comfort over fashion in a heartbeat. Period. Skinnys and pretty dresses and boots can wait for some other time.

There was this old refined lady who sat on the opposite seats from mine. She wore leopard prints without looking cheap. Red lipstick, meticulous hair and nails. It was late in the night and there wasn't many passengers around so she lighted up a smoke after smoke. Usually I would get pissed when people do that but there was something about this lady that made me want to keep hearing her stories. She speaks with a coarse voice, it gives me the impression that she gets that voice from too much smoking over the years. It's not pretty, not even sexy ála Scarlett Johansson. More like, a female version of Freddie Kruger. So girls, another reason to stop smoking if you do. She thought I was 15, 17 at most, and couldn't believe it when I told her that I am actually 22. Really?

If I have 15 wishes, my 12th wish would be that God will send an Arab man my way who is respectful, charming, and not leery to the point of evoking disgust. It's important that I meet him, someone like Tariq in 'A Thousand Splendid Suns', to banish all of the negative preconceived notions of mine towards Arab men. It was destined that a man who reminds me a lot of Din Beramboi to pick a seat in front of me, just to add more colour to my already colourful journey. He said he was from Cairo, and claimed to be an electrician on a business trip. We exchanged opinions on a lot of thing from the on-going winter season, to the language barrier for us foreigners, to Malaysia politics. Nothing out of ordinary. But then, as the train was approaching the final destination, he asked for my contacts; I asked him for his instead of giving mine. I was being polite, I wasn't really thinking of keeping in touch. But then he proceed to ask me if I have a Skype (he pronounced it sky-pee, how lame is that?) account. And if I have a webcam, that works well (he added the last part, as if the first part is not scary enough). And if live with a roommate or if I have the room all to myself. Pakcik-Din-Beramboi-look-a-like-with-a-gold-earring-on-left-earlobe, you truly give me the creeps. Dah la suruh panggil Sam, padahal nama Samir. Haihh.

The highlight of such long journey was meeting this cute little boy who is beyond adorable! Eyes of the bluest blue, bright pink cheek, skinny with a smile that lights up his whole face and messy dirty blonde hair. We had fun counting the street lights outside the window in the pitch black night and he made up his own really big numbers that don't even exist. I want to be his babysitter for free!

And then there was a drunk cow (it has 6 mammary glands) who follows me around which is so funny.

Gosh. The moment I reached home, it felt like hitting home-run. Slept throughout the following day.

P.S : Regensburg Hbf adalah train station yang paling awesome dekat Germany yang pernah saya jumpa setakat nih. Deggendorf that they claimed to be a really small town is actually a nicer town compared to mine. Lagila terasa Gelsenkirchen nih sangatlah kampung. Yang 5 kali ganda banyak anjing. Maybe that's why we up north are not that bothered by bear-sized dogs anymore.

P.P.S : I think for quite a while, I'll keep naming the post after whatever song I was hearing the time I was writing it. Have ran out of ideas of clever titles.

Wer haette das gedacht? Who would've thought of that?

2010-02-21T16:41:00.004+01:00

Please please plissss. Jennifer Rostock on New Moon's soundtrack? Tokio Hotel boleh la weh.

I bet the team in charged of picking out the songs for the movie's soundtrack won't go any near than 10 metres from the movie if it's not part of their work.

14 hours of train ride, alone, should be on my 50-to-list. When you travel alone, you are more aware of your surrounding, and not to mention, the people that tend to strike up conversation with you. Will update a bit later. Need to sleep off this fatigue. 2 XL cups of coffee didn't make that much of a difference.

Thoughts On Thoughts

2010-02-12T23:24:00.002+01:00

I don't mind my ideas and ideals being challenged. I don't mind being simulated intellectually (wah canggih sungguh bunyinya). I believe that's a good thing. The longer our mind stays stationary in a comfort zone, the more force it requires to start it into motion the next time we need it to. Or worse, it'll get rusty enough that we would be inclined to choose the easier way, by rejecting about every new thoughts blatantly and becoming offensively defensive without a good reason. That's the idiots way out.

I always admire those who society deem as 'thinkers'. How cool is that to have your name written down as, "(insert name here), 19**-present, anthropologist/biologist/(insert other impressive job), thinker." I mean I think too, like, only all the time. Should I write that down in forms when I need to apply for a bank loan in the future? Hah. Haha. Ok punchline fail.

See I got distracted again. What I want to say is, there's a very thick line between challenging people intellectually, and being downright unnecessarily provocatively rude. Those who act like the latter remind me of kids in playground, you know, how the little boys go round and annoy the little girls and tease them with creepy crawlies. No hidden agenda or point whatsoever besides inciting reaction. And screams and tears.

To those who take time to put real thoughts into sensitive matters without preconceived discrimination (a tinge of cynicism is not all that bad I guess, we are wired to feel that way), I appreciate that.

OK so now I really really need to start packing. Mp3 fully charged and I'm good to go. Gosh I need to stop saying mp3 soon!

Have a nice weekend all!

If I WereRich Like Trump, I'll Hire Someone To Pack For Me. And Make Sure Everything Fits Into The Bag. But Whatever, I'm Not Carrying The Bags Anyway

2010-02-12T20:24:00.009+01:00

One of my close friend has landed in Malaysia today. Safely I hope. Imagine the heat, the humid air, all the Vitamin Ds she'll be getting from the sunray (for the desirable effect, let's forget about cataracts and skin cancers just for this time). Imagine being able to go out in T-shirts, jeans and cute sandals...

Bukan niat nak mengada-ngada tapi all these snow should really stop, it's February already for crying out loud.

It's 4 hours to midnight. 4 hours till I will embark on a 14 hour journey to Munich by train. And being the cheapskates that we are, we will be going using the cheapest ticket there is, so that means we have to change trains for like 7-8 times. Meaning no sleep for the whole night, or risk missing our train and getting stranded in this icy cold weather. Hell! A cold earthly-bound kinda hell. Haven't finished packing yet because it's a daunting task to choose which outfit to bring with me since I'll be staying there for about a week. I'll be bringing my backpack because it's really not wise to travel with trolley bag in this circumstances. Backpack (not the huge ones like backpackers use, mine is like a schoolbag) equals limited space for clothes. Malasnya nak pilih! So I'm procrastinating doing it until the last hours...now I know why I tend to miss my trains.

It's just that I get distracted easily. Like right now. I still have dishes to do before leaving the house for one week, and not to mention, all the packing. But right now I'm writing this pretty pointless post because I suddenly remember about my blog and how I haven't updated it for like 2-3 days I can't remember. And just about three minutes before this, the download of Survivor Heroes vs Villains episode has completed and I HAVE to watch them before I go. I'm all for team Tyson! I mean, he's a mean guy but he's funny! I guess those two traits kinda cross each other out so he's neutral, neither the bad guy nor the good guy.

I just hate packing. Blerghh.

Feel Good Time

2010-02-09T15:14:00.004+01:00

There are times when your confidence level just shoots through the roof and into the sky. You notice that a slight smile seems to permanently attaches itself to your face, that a bounce out of delight accompanies each of your step, and it feels as if the noise around you just fades away, that all you can hear is the soundtrack of your favourite happy song. You feel as in an invisible camera is following your every move, that you are playing yourself, the main character in the next destined-for-box-office movie in which the plots revolve around you. If it rains and you don't have an umbrella with you, you won't run searching for the nearest shade but spread your arms wide and look into the sky, letting the droplets hit your face instead, relishing the moment. You feel as if you can rock the runway fiercely along with other supermodels with to-die-for bodies and stand as tall as them in your 5'3'' frame. There's hardly anything in the world that you can't handle.

If only such magical days could occur every other day.

And there's also the dreadful bad 'everything' day when your fierceness stoops to an all-time low. Bad hair day, bad tudung day, any way you like to put it. On these days, it's like every element in the world has conspired to make your life miserable. The wind seems to purposely blow in a certain way to mess up your tudung/hair. Your clothes must have, though unnoticeable to the naked eyes, deformed themselves because no matter what, they don't seem to want to sit right on your body. The mirror fools you into thinking you have gained several pounds. The milk you are pouring into the glass takes its own course and spill itself onto the floor. The pile of mess in the middle of your room moved a couple of inch to the right, so that it strategically trips you when you are already running late to somewhere. You feel like not getting out of bed at all and wait until another brand new day arrives.

But that's life. Since you don't have the privilege of a pause, skip, or fast-forward button, you just have to face it.

To help me get through these crappy days, I usually rely on certain songs in my mp3 (see it's so not cool to say 'mp3' anymore, it sounds so ancient, I need to get myself an iPod soon), guaranteed to uplift my mood just enough for me to make it through the day alive.

So I thought I'd share my 'Top 12 Must Have Feel Good Songs' with you readers.

I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're never gonna keep me down~ Gahh that never gets old! (though the rest of the lyrics don't make much sense haha)

Living It Up

2010-02-08T08:16:00.003+01:00

You know how some prodigy when asked would nonchalantly answer that they've been doing what they're doing since they were like urm 2 years old? Sheesh what a show-off! At 2 years old I still pooped in my diapers and my mom was still teaching me to use my pink training potty. I think that might as well be my biggest accomplishment at the time.

Another proof that life's unfair huh?

Yeah whatever. I'm content with being semi-ordinary. ('semi' implies my reluctance to conform to ordariny-ness, even though up until now I'm still in a limbo regarding what's not-so-ordinary about me but I'm trying I'm trying)

But that's not the point of this post. Introducing...Tavi Gevinson!

She's 13, she's a fashion blogger, she kicks ass at what she does, and during the recent fashion show, she sat in the front row, along with Anna Wintour and the likes! How about that for a resumé at the tender age of 13 huh?

After All Is Said And Done, More Is Said Than Done

2010-02-07T12:43:00.008+01:00

Blogging itch blogging itch.

I haven't written any proper post for quite a while because the thing that I want to write the most, the thing that has been the centerpiece of my thoughts lately, is the thing I restrain myself from writing.

It's like when you make a wish after blowing out the candles on your birthday cake, or when you have a pleasant dream that you really want to come true, you can't say it out loud or else you'll jinx it. Hah. Me the superstitious.

So let's talk about the third utmost thing that I feel like writing. My 50-to-do list. Last year has been very unproductive. I only managed to cross out one thing, and half-a-thing. Yawn yawn. But at least it's better than nothing I guess.

This year should see some improvement. It's a must. Have my eyes set on no. 3 which is to swim with dolphins. After some rummaging through the internet I found that the opportunity might be closer to home than I thought. No need for any exclusive holiday vacation to the Carribean islands or anything. Apparently you could swim with dolphins in Batam Island, which is 45 minutes away by ferry from Singapore. And together with transport, food, the entrance ticket and everything, it only costs about RM 350. I think the price is pretty fair.

Since I've learned swimming I haven't got the chance to practice it in seawater yet. This beautiful place seems like a great way to start, innit?

Lookie here, you can dance and kiss them too :

A double big smack on the cheek!

One stunt I don't see in the photos with this bunch of dolphins though is one where you stretch your legs inside the water, as if you were standing, and then the dolphins will pick you up on your toes with the tip of their mouth and they will swim you out of the water on a tangent; so to the people watching from above the water it would seem as if you are emerging out of the water, while standing. Cool huh? I guess that requires a lot of training kot.

Besides being well-known for their intelligence, these adorable creatures are also known for their unusually friendly bond with human. There has been one recorded case in which a man is saved from an attack by a shark when a group of wild dolphins formed a protective circle around him and chased away the angry shark. And so far, there has only one case of a man being killed by a dolphin in the wild and even that was accidental. The poor man was drunk when he accidentally literally brushed the dolphin the wrong way during a play fight; the dolphin, feeling threatened, instantly turned into a self-defense mode and knocked the guy into the water and drowned him. The dolphin was actually well-recognized by the locals as it had frequented the shore for a long time to play with human.

As for the safety in this island, which as Fudye said has been featured on 360 for gaining its popularity as a booming prostitution midpoint, other crimes involving tourists are pretty unheard of. As long as we stay away from any brothel, we're practically safe. See I've done my research. Plus, that's why we need a strong protective male on the trip to take care of us, wink wink.

So yeah that definitely tops the plan. Hope there'll be time between work and before going into the month of Ramadhan.

To be frank, I'm tired of planning. I have lot of plans running through my head and up until know, they are still just buzzing in my head like annoying flies in the summer. No actions taken. Boo myself. I don't want to wait around anymore; if there's any resolution worth having, then this year is the year of taking actions.

Notice that I've skipped number 2 and went straight to number 3? No? Well, ok now let's take a step back and hear me rant about the second utmost thing I want to write about. It's about being straight-forward. I doubt that everyone wants to hear the honest truth each single time. I personally don't. Though I agree that there's always only one truth that is the truth, there's a handful of ways to verbalize it. Either you choose to tell it the way that would drive a knife through the heart of the person on the receiving end, or you could be careful with your choice of words so that the truth won't sting that much without compromising the core of the message. In both cases you would get your point across. That's all that matters right? Hardly.

You can go about life trampling on everyone's foot without having a care in the world, but who's gonna be left in the end? Apart from your parents. Technically they don't count, because your parents will love and pray for you and still think that you are the most wonderful beautiful thing ever, never mind if you turned out to be the biggest loser or the most horrible person in the entire planet.

Come on people, what's so bad about what we have? I won't call it lying. It's more like the ability to cushion the cold hard truth a little here and there now and then. The world is harsh enough as it is already.

Conversations On Mars

2010-02-04T20:45:00.002+01:00

"You were supposed to be superman."

"But y'know, even superman can't read minds."

No Man Is An Island

2010-02-04T19:38:00.001+01:00

Though My Dream, It's Never Quite As It Seems

2010-02-03T08:49:00.005+01:00

This morning I definitely woke up on the right side of the bed. Happy doesn't even quite describe it. I feel...light inside.

Last night I had the most special dream ever. Even better than James Franco! (though he never did appear in my sleep, so much for sabotaging my dreams, you evil cerebrum)

In my dream I was asleep. When I woke up I realized that I was in a strange bed but somehow I knew I was home. I saw three different cakes lining at the foot of my bed. There were all for me, to celebrate me being home.

I walked out of the room. And I saw papa. He was busy painting the house in guess what...yellow! The single colour that my mom hates the most. She would literally pay me not to wear yellow haha. But I guess ibu was okay with it since she was painting the walls too. We were in a new house. I remember asking, "Are the cakes for me?" even though I sorta knew already that they were. No words escaped his mouth. Nobody else in the dream even spoke except me. But it didn't seem weird to me at all. It's like we have this silent understanding.

Even if the dream doesn't mean anything, it's okay. It doesn't need to. I'm just really glad for it.

Corong Radio

2010-02-02T23:46:00.002+01:00

It's almost impossible nowadays to listen till the end of a song without hearing the word bitches or whores or hoes. Or maybe just bleep because of the censorship.

Most songs we hear now on the radio are full-blown sexually-charged; they idolize one night stands and women seems to be only as good as her body. Those songs that ask women to take their clothes off because it's getting 'hot in here', to lick lollipops (waddehel), to jump on a stranger and do all sort of dirty things to him. Grrrrrrrr. I don't know why I said that haha.

Call me a hopeless romantic or prude or old-fashioned but I would love to hear more songs on celebrating real-depth everlasting true love, on treating women with the kind of respect they deserve.

I mean, with lyrics like this : "Forget about your boyfriend and meet me at the hotel room oh and bring your girlfriends too",....

...compared to this :

"Said I love you but I lied, cause love could never ever feel this strong"

"When a man loves a woman, he'd trade the world for the good thing he's found"

"When somebody loves you it's no good unless he loves you all the way".

...don't they sound rich?

But then again. It's not fair to compare kanak-kanak hingusan hip hop like Soldja Boy Tell 'Em (I mean, really? Putting 'tell em' at the end of your name? Really?) to real gentlemen like the sexy oh-so-romantic Michael Bolton.

If Hercules was real, I bet he would probably look a lot like Michael Bolton, time dia rambut blonde panjang macam ni :

Sekarang rambut dia dah kurang padat. Biasala. Dah tua. Still, he would win my vote over Soldja Boy any day. I dunno what I have against him really. He just looks like an annoying twat to me.

Oh now I remember why.

Because I wasted 30 minutes of my life that I would never get back watching MTV Super Sweet 18 starring Soldja Twat Tell 'Em (back in the days when I still have a TV). What a brat he was.

Maybe that's the main requirement MTV has set for the show, if you're not a spoiled rich brat you can't appear on it.

Another Retail Therapy

2010-02-01T20:33:00.001+01:00

People, especially girlfriends, I need your opinion.

It's that time of the year again. To plan your wardrobe for spring!

I know that it's still snowing out there, but as modern-day career women (as Hawe put it hehe), we must think ahead. Taking cues from Spring/Summer 2010 runway trends, this year it's all about nude (colours, not going bare nooo!), studs, bold prints (floral, animal, tie-dyes, geometrics), lace, sheer fabric...and shoulder pads...

....but let's leave that to Lady Gaga, shall we?

So let''s get some inspiration.

1. NUDE/NEUTRAL COLOURS.

Runway inspiration.

Exhibit 1.

Exhibit 2.

Exhibit 3.

Exhibit 4.

2. FLORAL PRINT

Exhibit 5.

This one is very similar to what Topshop now offers in their latest collection.

Exhibit 6.

Vintage vibe. But a bit too 'English-style' for my liking. Could work for tea with the Queen maybe.

This one is from Ralph Lauren. Inspiration for Exhibit 7 and 8.

Exhibit 7.

Exhibit 8.

Topshop Rosebud Skater Dress.

Exhibit 9.

Love the dress, hate the PVC-belt-thingy in the middle.

3. HOUNDSTOOTH PRINT

This one is from Preen. So expensive you can't touch 'em (that is, if you have a modest shopping budget like most students including me)..

Exhibit 10.

But luckily for us, you can find a knock-off like this, which makes shopping accessible even when you are always stretching your budget for clothes!

4. STRIPE

Black striped dress from Miss Selfridge.

Exhibit 11.

Exhibit 12.

One of my personal favourite, but this leaves no room for extra kgs anywhere SIGH...

Exhibit 13.

Maybe stripes that are far apart will lessen the 'larger-than-life' effect.

5. LACE

Urban Outfitters Lace Mini

Exhibit 14.

6. CHECKERED

This trend might stick around for a while.

Oversized checkered boyfriend shirt from Topshop.

Exhibit 15.

Exhibit 16.

The lace layer at the bottom adds a feminine touch to the outfit.

7. SHEER FABRIC

If you like long flowy tops, you should look under Free People (you can check them out through Urban Outfitters's website), they have a wide range of selection.

Exhibit 17.

Exhibit 18.

Demure and sweet

Exhibit 19.

Exhibit 20.

Blouse from MNG.

Exhibit 21.

8. STUDS

Studded sweater from Miss Selfridge.

Exhibit 22.

Exhibit 23.

9. OVERSIZED T-SHIRT/TOP

Exhibit 24.

Exhibit 25.

Forever21 is big on grahic tees now, you might want to check them out. Ranging between 10-12 USD , they are pretty affordable too.

10. MISCELLANEOUS

These might not be to-watch-out-for trends for 2010, but they are cute nevertheless!

Exhibit 26.

Exhibit 27.

Exhibit 28.

I love long-sleeved dresses because I can pair them with skinny or slim fit jeans without having to think about layering under or over it. Suitable in humid Malaysian weather.

The exhibits, despite not carrying any recognizable brand names, are very chic that from the style point of view, they are more than decent enough to be compared to other respectable mainstream brands; think MNG, Zara, Topshop, Urban Outfitters, Forever 21.

Can't say for sure about the quality though, but from the pictures they look decent enough. I've bought tops from Esprit and H&M that got rips/discolorations on them after wearing it a few times so there you go. Should be more careful washing them next time.

Being a shopaholic like me who just can't seem to have enough clothes, the fun lies in mixing branded items with low-key items to create your own personal look; think fashion icons Sienna Miller and Alexa Chung who are known to wear designer items together from pieces from thrift stores.

What I would love to know is that, if these items go on sale, carrying a price tag ranging from RM35-RM65 (approximately equivalent to 7,00-13,50 Euros or 6.50-12.00 GBPs), would you, personally, buy them?

Any comments would be much appreciated!

Also, I would like to know which one is your personal favourite trend and how would you wear it! ;)

Sweet Dreams

2010-01-30T20:57:00.005+01:00

I want to sleep early tonight. Staying up won't do me any good since I'm not being productive since 6.00 p.m. I remember watching in a documentary about a 'dream creator' some Japanese scientist invented. Leave it to the Japanese to be the first in coming up with the wackiest craziest ideas. Basically, you put a picture of the person/thing you want to dream about in a slot, and you go to sleep looking at the picture accompanied by music or something...I forgot how the machine works actually. But the main idea was there. So...

James : So..you wanna go shopping again?

Me : Nahh I'm kinda broke..

James : *laughs* Hey of course I'm paying for it silly, I'm the frigging movie star.

Please Brain, since you never let me dream anything pleasant, or if you ever did, I never seem to remember it when I woke up, you owe me this dream.

Good night.

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Sweet Dreams

Nenn Mich Nicht Jenny Don't Call Me Jenny

Wer haette das gedacht? Who would've thought of that?