Life Is A Climb

I really like the quotation from Hannah Montana The Movie... Life's a climb, but the view is great!  It is true that life aint always sunny.  To be able to achieve greatness, you're gonna have to struggle real hard.  There will always be an obstacle.  Something that will put your effort and passion to the test.

"There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose"

Like myself, I've already managed to reach the top of one mountain.  My SPM.  And trust me, it's a climb alright!  But after that's done, there's this other mountain that need climbing.  I got 5 letters....I.N.T.E.C!  One semester is already gone so there's only another 2 semester that I'll need to work my ass off-excuse the expression.  Since it is now the last day of the year, it is safe to say that I am now writing a very motivational post for myself and anyone who eventually became motivated after reading this....

So people, let us acknowledge that a whole new year is coming!  Let us be prepared to climb maybe one of the highest mountain in our entire life for we will not regret if we fail....and if we fail, we fail with great honor knowing that we did our best not to.....


.....here is a video of the song The Climb that I was inspired to play.....hope you'll like it^_^

....with that,

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL AND MAY ALLAH BLESS US ALL....AMIN

Merlin Season 4

after a struggle watching it on youtube and several other websites, I finally manage to feed my curiosity on how Season 4 of Merlin ended! I really don't have the patience to wait until they air it in Malaysia since currently it's only the beginning of season 4 whereas in UK it's already the end.  I can't believe that I would go through all the troubles to get to watch it before it airs in Malaysian television.  I even had to watch it upside down on youtube before finally discovering how to switch the screen  upside down instead of having my head twisted up.  But it was worth it.  I really can't wait for season 5.

There are many possibilities on how the series will go on.  I mean, Gwen is at last the queen after the whole mess in Lancelot du Lac episode.  Arthur still think Merlin is an idiot.  Merlin's identity as Emrys is still a secret from everyone especially Morgana.  And Morgana, well the series ended with her somewhere in the woods.  But the interesting part is that the dragon in which Merlin had previously named Aithusa presented itself to Morgana.  I'm guessing that Morgana is going to make it listen to her so that she can take over Camelot.  But then, isn't it only the Draganlord that have control over a dragon? I guess I have to wait for Season 5 to find out....  

Yummy Che Mek

Che Mek is a Kelantanese dessert and it is one of my favorite.  It's very popular in Kelantan but most people in other states don't know it. It taste really good and the ingredients are simple.  Just sweet potato, flour and sugar.  Only the making part is a bit tedious.  This is my second time doing it and I'm only posting it now because the first one wasn't much of a success.  So if you don't know what it looks like, I've provided a picture.  If you're curious to taste it, then you should go and buy it.  If it's possible to get it from where you'reliving.  If not, well you'll just have to stare at my delicious looking picture of che mek....

TOEFL

My last exam for the year.  It's finally over! Now  I can finally enjoy the remaining holidays.  It's hard to describe my feeling about the test.  Okay I guess.  For those of you who have absolutely no idea what TOEFL is, well it's an English exam.  It stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language.  It is divided into four sections.  Reading, listening, speaking and writing.  In total, the whole test took approximately 4 hours with only a 10 minute break in between the listening and the speaking section.  The test center was in Damansara Utama so me and my dad went out at around 7.15 am which is quite early as we weren't familiar with the place.  We ended up arriving early so we had to wait for about half an hour before the reporting time.  My dad decided to wait with me until then.  we waited and waited until it was pass the time for the supposed reporting time.  I was kind of nervous at first but the waiting for too long just annoys me so I was more annoyed than nervous by the time the exam started.  

What's left to do now is to wait for the result.  Hopefully it's good enough.  I don't really know what to expect. The writing part was okay I guess because I watch this video on youtube like sort of a class for the writing section and it was really helpful.  However, I can't say the same for the speaking part.  The topics weren't so hard but I didn't think I did that well.  The other two part, well I can only pray for the best now and nothing more.  I really hope the result will be a good one since my SAT was just average. Insyaallah....

Roti Jala

Today for the first time ever, I made my own roti jala from scratch.  And it was a success! I am so proud of myself ;-) don't I sound cocky??? LOL.  But the curry's not me.  I just help my mom made it.  Maybe I'll try making it myself next time.  I still got a lot of dishes to learn before I go to United States....

Tadaaa

YUM!!!

INTEC Fall 2011

I admit...I haven't got that much time to write on my own blog for the past few months.  To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what I've done that's really worth telling.  Day in and day out, it's all about getting my assignment done bla bla bla....Anyway I'm still writing a review of what had happened throughout the semester.  It's actually my first semester at INTEC.  For the first time in five years, I actually get to go to school where my house is about 15 minutes away! Yay me! 

The first week was kind of blur for me because I was still kind of jet lag and our flight from Heathrow was delayed and I missed a couple of days of orientation.  Class was cool.  I got five subjects and three of them are English.  And here they are:

• USEL 15 - Writing & Language Awareness
• USEL 13 - Oral Communication
• USEL 11 - Reading & Study Skills With Critical Thinking
• CTIS 10 - Fundamentals of Islamic Studies
• USMT 12 - Precalculus  

Out of these five, precalculus was the subject that I had to wrestle my way through.  I know it shouldn't be that hard but somehow I felt it was-excuse the expression- one hell of a subject.  And I don't mean that in a good way!  That's all I've got to say.  If you're reading this and you're a prospect student of ADPF at INTEC, I really hope you'd manage your time better than I did because you're gonna regret it if you don't.  Fall semester may seem easy and all, but trust me you'd be surprised of what you may experience.  The system is holistic so you gotta stay focus all the way.  You can't expect to excel just by studying for your finals because finals is only 30%.  That is what college will be like and it's completely different from secondary school.  

Owh and then there was SAT... (notice that I bold it-means it's very important) It's short for Scholastic Aptitude Test which is a test that is required prior entering US colleges plus MARA (my sponsor) requires me to take them.  I took it on October 1 at Metropolitan College and scored a total of 1170 for Reading and Maths.  It's an average score and not the outstanding one.  But I'm thankful enough.  However, I did think of retaking them but thought that it'll probably turn out more or less the same.  

Another big test for the semester would of course be the finals.  Like I said, it's all about focus and consistency.  You got this two and you're good to go.  I'm a bit embarrassed to share my scores or my GPA because I just managed to get a little bit above the border line set by my sponsor and being near the border line is not something to be proud of.  Let's just say that I could have done better than what I did.  

And just when I thought I get to rest, I had to get my applications ready.  All the documents that needed to be translated and certified.  The statements that need to be written.  After that was done, I still got TOEFL to think about which I would be taking on December 18.  So basically, that is my Fall semester at INTEC...     

   

Big Bad Wolf

My parents and I went to the Big Bad Wolf sale on last 16 October which was the last day of the sale.  It was awesome! I had never seen so many books on sale in my whole life  Not to mention that the price is incredibly cheap.  There are new books and old books which covers almost all genre.  It was great.  And good thing we went early because by noon, the line to get in is so long that I assume it would take almost half an hour just to get in plus it would be too crowded once inside.  So after two hours wondering around a maze of books and human, we pile up up to 30 book in which we checked them out.  The price range of the books that we bought was from RM 8 and up to RM 20.  It was so much fun and the exciting part was when you get to have the books that you wouldn't buy on normal occasion because it's ridiculously expensive.  Unfortunately, I haven't manage to finish a single book since the day we bought them.  Not one!!  But I'm working on that.....  

Totally wiped out...

We're finally done...

Welcome to Heathrow, London

Touchdown at the Heathrow airport was at 9.12 am (local time).   But, it took us almost an hour to get through the immigration because the line was insanely long!  By 10.53 am, we had already managed to get ourselves an Oyster card to be used throughout our days in London.  For those who plan on travelling a lot around London, the Oyster card is highly recommended as it is a whole lot cheaper compared to buying a single ticket every time you wanted to go somewhere.   



Me and my mom at Heathrow Airport

So from Heathrow Terminal 4, we hopped on the Piccadilly line and went all the way to Earl’s Court where we changed to District line that should take us to our destination, Bayswater.  However, due to some technical problems, we and all the other passengers were forced to get off the train at High Street Kensington.  Fortunately, there’s a Circle line service there and also at Bayswater so we took the Circle line that was heading to Edgware Road and got off at Bayswater where our hotel, the Berjaya Eden Hotel was located.  The London Underground is very convenient except for the part where most of the stations don’t have elevators for tourist like us with huge and many bags to carry around.

By the time we checked in our hotel, it was already noon.  And since the long hours of flight were tiring, we took a shower before heading out again.  After shower, we head out to King’s Cross by the Circle line to get the tickets that my dad had purchased online for our trip to Edinburgh the following day.  Then from King’s Cross, we went all the way to Westminister to take pictures of the Big Ben, the Eye of London and many more.  At first, we thought of walking the whole way from Westminister to Tower Hill, which is where the Tower of London is located.  But we were already tired because of the jetlag and the walking so we decided to take a train from Temple station back to Bayswater.

Me and Big Ben

The Eye of London

Bayswater Station

The Beginning of a Wonderful Vacation



Me and my mom at KLIA

After a year of planning, the day of our Euro tour finally arrives.  We went on the Royal Brunei Airlines which was the only airline that recites a prayer before taking off and doesn’t serve alcohol on board.  Our flight from KL to Brunei departed at 5.50pm and took about 2 hours and 50 minutes.  On board, we had our dinner which was fantastic!  I had grilled chicken with potatoes while my parents had beef with briyani rice.  For desert, we had cheese cake and it was the most delicious cheese cake that I had ever tasted!  I am definitely looking forward to our next meal on the Royal Brunei Airlines bound to Heathrow London via Dubai after a 2 hours transit at Bandar Seri Begawan

Fortunately for us, the transit doesn’t require us to check in our bags all over again. And the 2 hours passed by very quickly.  After another 7 hours, we arrived at Dubai for another transit but since the plane is running a little bit late, we don’t have to get off the plane.  Only those who wanted to go to Dubai got off.  From Dubai, our flight continued for another 6 hours.    

In the plane and just had dinner





One of our flight attendents

Europe here I come!

It's 3.35am and me and my parents are still awake. Normally, at this hour, we would be sleeping soundly. But since our europe vacation is around the corner, we're all awake. Packing our bags, making sure nothing important is left behind. This would be one of our longest vacation ever! A total of 23 day with 9 countries...Out of 23, I will be spending 15 days camping. So cool. My family are going with Kelana Convoy. So we'll be travelling by bus during that 15 days and sleeping in sleeping bags-except during certain time that the weather doesn't permit us to do so. Hence, we'll be sleeping in cabins. For now, that's all that I can say. Wait for my post after my return from the trip. It's going to be a long one....till then, bye^_^ 

ipad 2 mania

Hot FM-a radio station that me and my family listen to-are having this contest. And for every contest, there's always a prize. What makes this contest special is the prize. That would be...IPAD 2!!!! I normally am the kind of person who would show no interest whatsoever in this kind of of thing. But since the prize is the amazingly cool and not to mention expensive ipad, I am sooo in. Except at this point right now, I'm starting to feel irritated. It seems like the chances for me to get my hands on those ipads are inches away from impossible...I just wish that ipads would just fall out from the sky...LOL

Patch Test Part 3

It's finally over!! The doctor said I have allergies towards some things... and now I have to be extra careful of what I touch, wear and etc. Bummer!

Patch Test Part 2

Yesterday I went to the hospital...again. The nurse removed the patches and and examine my back. Then that was it. I was told to go home but can't wash or scratch my back...at least not untill my next appoinment that is tomorrow...

Patch Test Part 1

I went to the hospital early this morning with my parents to get a patch test done. I got this problem with my skin. It's a little bit sensitive. But the weird thing is that for the past 17 years of my life, I've never encountered any skin related problems. So the patch test is done to identify what exactly my skin is sensitive to. They stick quite a lot of stuff on my back. Tomorrow I'll need to go back to the hospital to get the patches removed and to know the outcome of the test.... Hope it's nothing weird...



Waiting at the hospital...



Kk and me

Yesterday I went out with one of my bf...people just call her kk. it's just a nickname that kind of stuck on her. My dad picked her up at her house and dropped us off at Jusco Bukit Raja. We planned to catch a movie...Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides. It was awesome! For one thing, the tickets are cheap coz it was only 11.30 and secondly, the theatre was practically ours. there was only a few people so it's like we had the screen all to ourselves.. then we walked around the mall before we headed towards mcdonalds for our lunch. I was hungry even after the popcorns so I had a bigmac and it was marvellous. then with a full stomach, we sat at a nearby bench and talked and talked until my dad was ready to pick us up. my outing with kk was a lot of fun. it was sort of like a farewell outing coz she's going to start schooling by tomorrow and I'll start mine in about a month and when school started, it's going to be extremely hard for us to meet. So all in all, it was great meeting kk...I think I'm going to miss her...

I'll Be There

Hey guys...if you're not familiar with I'll Be There, well I'll tell you that it's a song by Micheal Jackson.  A very nice song actually.  I aleady posted it on my facebook but I'm posting it here anyway...hope you like it^_^

Complete dilemma

Yesterday, the result for UPU was out.  And I got the course that I wanted.  Diploma for Actuarial Science at UiTM.  People mostly don’t prefer diploma because of the period of studying.  But my dad said that if I can score good result I can shorten the time.  So it really doesn’t matter.  Only the problem that I’m facing now is that the campus is not where I hope it’ll be.  I was hoping it’ll be UiTM Shah Alam which is very near to my house.  You can get there in like 10 minutes by car.  But apparently, my fate had decided that I get UiTM Tapah.  All the way I Perak.  I’ve already spend 3 years of my high school life in Perak and I really have no intention on spending the next 2 to 3 years of my life there…

So right now, I’m really hoping that I’d get the MARA scholarship to further my studies abroad.  To me it’s either I study at local universities somewhere near my house or abroad somewhere across the world….But worse come to worse, I’d still have to go to Tapah.  So I really can’t complain can I?  Hopefully MARA have some good news waiting for me coz boy do I need good news right now….

A Sad Goodbye...

I was organizing some of my stuff and I found the essay I wrote for my trial examination.  It was my favorite out of all the essays that I had written and I wanted to share it with you guys.  To be honest, this is not really what I’m used to write.  I’m more of a happy writer with the happily ever after ending rather than a writer who prefers a sad genre who cried while writing their own essays- in this case; I’m guilty for I did cry a bit while writing this… Anyway, this essay was inspired by a song called ‘When I’m Gone’ by Eminem.  So here it goes…

                My mind went blank.  The only thing that I could remember was the sad look on my mom’s face.  It all started with a phone call that m dad had received during breakfast.  At that time, I was only seven.  It was Father’s Day.  My sister and I had gotten a special gift for him.  We had been waiting for Father’s Day ever since we bought that gift.

                Only, we could not predict what fate had decided for us as that day didn’t turn out to be as planned.  Apparently the phone call was not from work.  It was from daddy’s girlfriend.  That day, the truth about daddy’s secret relationship was revealed.  Even though I was still very young at that time, it wasn’t difficult for me to understand the situation.  What surprised both me and my sister was the fact that mom wasn’t surprised at all.  It turned out that mom had been suspicious all along but she never really showed how she felt.  When dad went to the balcony to answer the phone call, we saw how mom followed him from behind and secretly heard his conversation.  I guess the phone call confirmed all of mom’s doubt since the next thing I knew, they were fighting. 

                I went out to see what had happened but at that time, dad had already gone upstairs so I followed him.  I saw him took out a luggage and he was stuffing it with all of his clothes that his hand managed to grab a hold off.  “What’s going on dad?” I asked.  Silence.  He kept on grabbing more and more clothes from the closet without even glancing at me.  I put on a big smile and wished him Happy Father’s Day hoping that this would draw his attention to me.  But there was no luck.  So I went closer to him and reached out my hand.  On my palm, there was a coin and on it says ‘Number 1 dad’.  He paused and took a look at it.  For a short while, a smile flickered across his face even though the smile wasn’t his usual crooked smile that I loved most, as he put the coin in his pocket. 

                Then he crouched down and held my face in his big hands.  “I’m sorry,” he whispered.  And then without saying anything else, he went for the door and out to the front lawn.  I heard a loud sound from his car and then he was off to someplace that the tree of us would never know.  After that, it was all just miserable days.  Each day I waited for him to come back home.  How I wished that daddy never received that phone call.  None of us know what the phone call was about until daddy had to leave us.  All we know was that he had already left us wishing that he never had. 

                But that was ten years ago.  Even so, the memory is still fresh as it flooded back into my mind and replayed over and over again as I saw this man lying hopelessly on the hospital’s bed.  At first my mind went completely blank, but then as memory started to fill in, everything seemed to fall back into place.  The hopeless man in front of me was the man that had left my mom, my sister and me.  The man that I had hoped to be united with for the past few years.  Never have I thought that the reunion would be this way.

                That morning, I received a phone call from my mom and she told me to go to the hospital.  She told me to go on her behalf as she had some errands to run.  And since my sister had just left for collage, I had to go alone.  It turned out that my mom was told that dad had been warded into the hospital and someone had called my mom and told her to visit him.  But I never knew who I was visiting at the hospital until I stepped into the hospital’s room. 

                Even though I never blamed him for leaving us, but at times like this, no words came out of my mouth.  As I stood next to the bed, he signaled me to come closer.  I did as I was told.  Then it was like déjà vu.  He took out a coin from his pocket and held it out for me to see.  It was the coin that I gave him a decade ago.  He whispered in my ear “I’m sorry,” and then there was a loud beeping coming from the machine next to him.  Suddenly, doctors and nurses rushed into the room! They said he was gone.  Then without warning, tears fell down my cheek.  It was just like what happened when I was seven years old.  There was only a sorry and then he was gone.  Only this time, it was forever…

My interview for MARA's scholarship

So the big day when I would go for an interview finally arrive…yay! To be honest, the waiting really gets on my nerves. Partly because I already knew the fact that MARA had changed the format of the interview… If you’re wondering how it goes, then just keep on reading.

My day started at 6 am which to me is quite early compared to my days for the past few months. It started off with the usual routine; showers etc. Then I took off with my parents at about 7 am to send off my mom at the commuter station. Then me and my dad went for our breakfast, the most important meal of the day especially when you’re having an interview on that same day. After breakfast, it was time to head to Anggerik Mall where my interview was held.

Since it was only 8.30 am when we arrived, I had to wait until at least 9 am to register. And after registering, it was time for some action…

Location: interview room A

Note: Below are not actual conversations. It was according to what my brain managed to remember.  But it’s close enough.

(Outside - we lined up according to the numbers on our badges which was given upon registration. I was the first one… lucky number one. And we were told to leave our original certificates that we had with us outside the room together with our bags…)

(Inside)

Chief panel: You are given a task to build a bridge using what was provided in front of you which are 1 kg of spaghetti, threads and a pair of scissors. You are not allowed to use other materials. Your bridge should be build across the two tables and must be strong enough to support its own weight and a can of sardine that will be used later to evaluate the strength of your bridge. You are given 30 minutes to complete the task.

(After 30 minutes)

Our so called bridge can barely support itself. I was positive that the moment the can touched the bridge, it would go down straight to the floor. And I’m right. So after we were done with this, the chief panel told us to line up like in the beginning. Then, it’s time for some questions.

Well practically, it’s just one question. Each. I was up first. They told me to step forward. Front and center. Then they ask me a question that I needed to answer within 1 minute. After I was done, then it goes on until the 8^th candidate which would be the last one. All the questions are related to the task that was given to us. Here are the questions:

1.       Do you think your team is effective?

2.       If you were to repeat the task, what would you suggest so that you would have a better outcome?  

3.       Who do you think is the best leader among your teammates?

4.       Are you a follower or a leader? And how did you contribute to your team in completing the task?

There’s supposed to be 7 questions (mine and candidate number 8 are the same) but these are as far as my mind can recall. Once everyone was done, they asked us if we have any questions that we would like to ask them and that was it. The whole interview took approximately one hour to complete. So that’s how my interview went on….

My day

Today, for the first time in quite a long time I had a proper breakfast. Yup. Me and my dad went to this place that sells delicious nasi lemak. Yum...And since I was in the area, I paid a visit to an old friend of mine. And she is exactly like how I remembered she is even after two years.

Unfortunately, she was working so we couldn't talk much. Of course I already know that but still wanted to give a friendly hi. The rest of my day is as dull as the other days. I'm practicing a new song for my next class and one of it is I'll Be There. It's a nice song actually.

Oh and earlier tonight, I found out from my friends that MARA had changed the way they interviewed people for the scholarship. Oh boy! They said something about building a spaghetti bridge...?? say what!!!! And they only ask just one question each! Bummer. I was hoping I could manipulate the panels with words something I'm better off doing than building bridges... Well since Monday almost comes to an end, I'll just have to wait for another two days for the big interview to know how the interview is really done. Until then, I'll just have to pray and hope for the best....^_^ peace out

Interview alert: Frequently asked questions during interview

General /personality:

1.       Tell me about yourself

2.       Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

3.       What have you learned about yourself as you've been a student at MRSM (e.g.)?

4.       Can you tell me about an academic class, project or other projects that are meaningful to you?

5.       What is the achievement you are most proud of?

6.       What is your greatest strength or weakness?

7.       Tell me about a mistake that you made and what you learned from it.

8.       There are many obstacles and challenges that you need to face when studying abroad; do  you think you are ready for that?

9.       Who is your role model?

10.   What is your favorite book?

11.   What is your favorite subject in school and why?

12.   What do you do for fun when you're not studying?

13.   How have you been a leader or displayed leadership?

14.   What activities are you involved in?

15.   How have you contributed to the community?

16.   What kind of music do you listen to?

17.   Your philosophy in life

18.   Have you traveled abroad before? If so, where? What have you learned in your travels?

19.   Why is education important to you?

20.   What is the most important issue to you?

Major/career and university:

1.       Why did you select your major?

2.       Which country do you prefer to study at and why?

3.       Why did you choose a certain collage?

4.       Why do you want to pursue this career?

5.       What are your career plans?

About scholarship and organization/company:

1.       Why did you choose Mara (e.g.)?

2.       What do you know about our organization/company? - Mara is under ministry of? Who's the minister?

3.       Why do you deserve to receive the scholarship?

4.       What would receiving the scholarship mean to you?

5.       Why will this scholarship help you in your career goals?

6.       What would you do if you didn't receive the scholarship?

7.        What is the mission of the organization offering the award?

The wait is over

After for what seemed to be an eternity, the wait is finally over as the SPM result will be announced just days from today. I’m so nervous right now that there’s no precise word to describe how I’m feeling. I’ll be taking the first flight to Kelantan with my family that day to go to my school and get that one piece of paper that determines my future from tomorrow onwards. I really hope my result would meet my expectation. As for now, there really is nothing more that I can do but to pray and hope for the best…

The Weirdest Test

This entry is kind of late but I’m still posting it anyway. So it’s about my driving lesson. You see, to get a probation license, I needed to pass this JPJ Test. But before that, there’s this other test that I needed to pass. It’s like a trial exam or something like that. I took that test last Sunday. But because it was Sunday, the wait felt like eternity. I had to cramp my butt watching Mr. Bean before my name was finally called to drive the car. But what I didn’t know was that it was a disaster just waiting to happen.

I can’t say that I wasn’t nervous because I was. So in that nervous mode, I accidently releases the clutch in one go when I was supposed to release it slowly. So the car went dead. Then I tried to start it again like I normally do when the car went dead. Unfortunately, it just won’t start. “Ok Aqeela, calm down! Just try to start it again,” I told myself. But nothing happen. That was when I started to freak out. The instructor who was supposed to observe me saw that something was up-because I’m still not doing what I was supposed to do-since he got up from where he was sitting over to the car I was in.

He was like, “What on earth did you do to the car?” And I was like, “I didn’t do anything. It just won’t start!” Then he told me to get out of the car. Later some other instructor came over. I waited and waited while they tried to start the car. The weather was very hot and everyone was looking at me. It was so embarrassing! Then I found out that it wasn’t totally my fault. The car’s battery was out so that’s why it won’t start.

That’s a relief! Anyway, after that, the instructor drove and parked the car near a building and told me to sit still in it while he went out. It was minutes later that he showed up again and told me to drive to the main office. I thought I would definitely fail the test because I didn’t get a chance to do any of the required stuff to pass the test. But to my surprise, I passed!!! Without doing anything. My theory was that either he had consulted with my instructor and thought I’m qualified enough to pass the test or maybe he just pitied me. Either way, I passed the test. So now I’m waiting to take the JPJ Test next week. Hope I pass^_^

Driving Class 101

My entry last year, ‘Day 1 of Driving Class’ is not comparable of my entry this time. Because this time, the driving part is at a whole different level!  This time, it’s where the horror begins… Well I don’t know about you guys, but it’s horrifying enough for me… I’m lucky to actually live to tell the tale (ok now I’m just exaggerating)

It all happened yesterday. It was the first time in ages that I haven’t wake up as early as yesterday. Normally I would just go back to sleep after the Subuh prayer, but not yesterday. Because yesterday was no ordinary day. It’s the day I’m getting behind the wheels. It’s not that bad the last time I was behind the wheel. That was actually the very first time in my whole life. So I didn’t worry much about it.

Apparently, it turned out to be a disaster that crushed the immense spirit of a young driver-to-be. All it takes is just one small accident. Well almost accident… It all happened so quickly that recalling the situation in exact detail is kind of hard. Anyway, I consider myself lucky since nothing was broken or even scratched. But one thing I know is that my confidence level started to hind down a little bit. I noticed it because I started to feel a bit hesitant while driving after that incident occurred.

I know driving is not hard. In fact almost every can drive these days. If driving is so difficult, there won’t be that many cars on the road, right??! I kept telling myself that it’s all about the rhythm. It’ll be as easy and as naturally as breathing once you get the rhythm in your feet (to push those pedals and everything). It’s just like when a dancer first learn the choreography of something new or a pianist getting a new set of score that was never played in their whole life. Of course the dance routine wouldn’t look as beautiful and the song wouldn’t sound so amazing. But when they finally get the rhythm in their body or fingers, it’ll be spectacular!

And so this is what the optimistic part of me kept repeating over and over again. Hope it’s the same with my driving…

Perception

For those of you who already read my previous entry, you would probably know what this entry would be all about. So as the title goes…’Perception’. It may not involve any beauty as what I already wrote before, but the concept still applies. So have you got the numbers figured? How old do you think the lady is? No need for precise number or anything. A range is good enough.

Ok…Since it’ll be easier to explain with the picture, that’s why there’s the picture again as you can see on the right hand side as you read this. You know when I first saw this picture, my guess was that the lady couldn’t be more than 20 years old. To me, she looked lovely, although I can’t seem to figure out why she looked away. It made her seem kind of like a snob to me. Anyway, when I showed this picture to my mom, it really shocked me when she referred her as an old lady saying that she’s 70 or maybe even 80 years old.

   

I was like, “Are you sure coz she looked pretty young to me?” If you ask me, I would say that she’s a lady from the upper class back in those days judging from the fur coat she’s wearing, the feathers and necklace and everything. So then I asked my mom what is it that made her see her as an ‘old lady’. You want to know?

First, look at the ‘necklace’. Apparently, from what mom sees it, it’s the old lady’s mouth! Then there’s the ‘ears’. Looks like an ear is not just an ear because it’s the old lady’s eyes! If you can already see the picture of an old lady, then I guess you would know that the ‘chin’ is actually her nose! Surprised??!

So there you go. That is how perspective of one person differs from the other even though when looking at the same subject. In the book, it also said that one’s perspective will influence their attitude and behavior. Let’s say if you, like me, saw the lady as a lovely young lady, then you would undoubtedly found it difficult to think about helping her cross the street. If you’re a guy, there might even be a slight chance that you’ll try to get number or something. But since I’m a girl, what do I know, right?

I found that this might be one of the reasons why people with no appreciation for art like me find it difficult to enjoy any art piece that some called it as a ‘masterpiece’. To me they’re just colors on a piece of paper. But I guess perspective is what makes things a lot more interesting. If not, maybe the human species would be very dull and are no different from the other species that inhabited earth. I guess perspective really make us human special. Although I don’t deny the fact that perspective can also lead to disaster when leaders don’t see eye to eye on important matter.

Well that's all for now. Hope I had just enlighten you with this entry...Peace out^_^

Perception of Beauty

If anyone asks you to define beauty, how would you describe it? Does it take account to how expensive it is (if it’s an object that is)? Or would you have described it as something very valuable that nothing is a match if it were to be compared to it? Or is it simply the dance that Billy Bell performed on So You Think You Can Dance? Oppss I guess that's just me. Anyway, if that question were to be asked to me, I’d say, “Boy that is one tough question!” LOL

If you can understand the true concept of beauty, then you would understand why I would have given that response. I don’t know if you’ve heard this before but there’s a proverb that goes “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. This is because beauty in things and people exists in the mind that observes them. That is why a beauty to one may not be a beauty to another.

This concept also applies to a society. Ever heard of foot binding that was practiced by the Chinese girls and women? If you haven’t, well let me just put it this way. It’s a custom in which the female have to bind their feet for a period of time (years normally) to get a feet of the desired shape. Due to this, they are disable for their whole life. However, the Chinese interpret this as a sort of beauty. To me, it’s just plain torture. Who would want small foot that can get you nowhere? Not me.   

So can you get what I’m trying to say here? Beauty is very subjective. It’s no math where the outcome is definite. 1 + 1 would equal to 2. Obviously. Even a 4 year old would know that. But beauty will never have an exact characteristic…And that's the beauty of it.

Ok so one last thing is that I found this picture when I was reading this book my mom forced me to read. Take a good look at it. Try and guess how old is she. I’ll write my review on this picture in my next entry so be sure to take a real good look of this picture. It’s related to the topic of this entry but I’m having a serious headache so I’m not going to force myself to write any more. So I’ll stop here and here you go. The mysterious picture…

The Ugly Truth

So today I watched Mentor. Well precisely, it's only the audition of it. I think most of us who lives in Malaysia would know that Mentor is one of those reality TV shows like Akademi Fantasia, Malaysian Idol and etc. It was actually my dad who turned on the channel so I just joined in to watch it since there weren't anything else that was fun to watch.

When I watch, I realize how the mind of our nation works. Apparently, it's too easy. What am I talking about? Well get this....

I found that almost a quarter of those who went to audition said that they are from a poor family and life had been tough for them. And so, their solution was to try out for the audition. Unfortunately, their singing was clearly not what the mentors-as they call it-are expecting in the competition...So at the end of the day, they went home with tears and crumbling hopes and bla bla bla....

To be honest, even I, who have no expertise in that area, know that they're definitely not made for the show.
But my point is that, those people are the young generation, aged not more than 25. Although they lack of experiences in life-not that I have a lot more than them, because hey I'm only 18- they should know what's best for them and what's best to solve their problem.

I seriously think that they are too addicted by the fame and fortune portrayed by the celebrities. The fame and fortune clearly had got them blinded hence they couldn't see the situation with the right state of mind. We all know that even celebrities have their ups and downs. If their songs or movies can sell in the current market and keep on selling, sure they'll make it big time for themselves. But if not, they are history. Adios. Au revoir. Sayonara. Goodbye. Sure they'll have some hardcore fans that will support them no matter what, but then that's all there is to it.

Singing is something that comes naturally. Believe me I know because I'm not that good of a singer myself...Oppss...guess the cat is out of the bag. LOL. Anyway, I think what they really need is a good education. For one thing, it's something you can actually learn and it's something that can take you beyond boundaries. I believe that the people in our country still lack of realization towards the importance of education. Take example of the people I just mention. They wanted to make big money through what seemed to them to be the easiest route to the so call success.

But I'm not saying, "Oh screw all those celebrities. They're just good for nothing". That's a big NO. I'm not saying that it's wrong to be a celebrity either. That is if you have what it takes to be one. And I don't deny the need of a good entertainment that they give, I really don't, but everything has to have a limit. Not all of us can be a singer or astronaut or the prime minister. Sure that's what we all wanted to be when we were in kindergarten. But the truth is, someone got to be the teacher, the policeman and even the garbage man. Even if those positions in the society isn't as important as they seemed compared to the others, they are still respected as an individual who have the gut to make a difference in the world even in their own unique way. That's why they're not just a teacher or a policeman or a garbage man but they're 'the' teacher, 'the' policeman and 'the' garbage man Just try to imagine if everyone become, for example a singer, then who would become the fans? And what about the trash? Who would take care of them if there are no garbage men? If that's the case, the world would surely be a stinky place to live in.

So that's the truth that we all have to face. It might be ugly but then it is the truth...

You are what you eat

So last night I went out for dinner at this restaurant somewhere near my house. And as I waited for what I ordered, my eyes caught a glimpse of the opposite restaurant which is owned by a non-Muslim. If I were to describe the scene in a business-like way, I would say that the owner sure is making a lot of money...

My point is...there were a bunch of people, which majority are Muslims (sadly to say so) eating at the opposite restaurant owned by a non-Muslim. It really break my heart to actually witness that scene with my own eyes. I for one, as a Muslim really care about what I eat. Whether the food is halal or not. That is how my family brought me up. So it got me thinking, doesn't those people parents taught them about the importance of eating halal food from a halal source? And then I thought, if they were taught about it, then maybe they don't know that particular detail about that restaurant being owned by a non-Muslim. Maybe...But then again, how could they missed that since it was very obvious.

When asked about it, most of them admit the fact that the owner is a non-Muslim. But they said it was ok since the worker are Muslims and so are the cooks. Somehow they seemed to forget another important detail that would allow the food to be considered halal.

What is that you ask? Well it's non other than the source of that food. Take a very simple example. A chicken. It's a halal food since Allah didn't say that it's not in the Al-Quran. But it didn't stop there. In order for it to be halal for us the Muslims to eat it, it must also come from a halal source. If a halal food come from a non-halal source , then the food become non-halal for us to eat it. It's just like math. When there's positive and negative, what would the result be? Negative.

What I'm trying to say is that since the owner is a non-Muslim, what is the guarantee that he would buy his supplies from a Muslim? I'm not being prejudice here if that's what you're thinking. I'm just being conscious of what I eat and hoping that all the Muslims out there are too. It is true about what people say. The stuff about 'You are what you eat'. If you're a Muslim who portray the image of one yet you don't even give a damn to what you eat, then it would clearly reflects what kind of Muslim you are...

P/s: The stuff that I wrote in this entry is not a criticism. It's my thought that I would like to share with the hope that people would reflex on it for the betterment of all including myself....wasalam