inferiority complex thy suffer…

Its a common knowledge i never cared an iota about resolutions because i will  guarantee it will all end up on next year’s list of resolution
( moved forward because they were not accomplished within the particular year)
But,embarking  life with the ‘adult’ title now , i felt that maybe, just maybe it CAN be done.
I finally figured that whats all adults  do. Being mature and focused and sensible.(konon)
Besides,the new year resolution vibe is bugging me in the back of my head, therefore i’m assuming this might be a calling for me to get it out of the sytem.
Who knows, maybe i’m about to discover and unleash the forever elusive " malaysia boleh " spirit inside me.
Due to time constraints and priorities issues, this post will be sweet, short and frank.

My Grandoise New year resolutions

1.Sleep at 12.00 p.m not 9.30p.m.

2. Spend less money on food and channel them to buy ‘things’ for a change

3. Improve former uneligible handwriting ( its easy to read though,you  just  need to refer my writings to the nearest doctor in the neigbourhood first) up to the standard of ‘readable’.

4.Constantly remind myself that i cannot  survive trickking the guards for another 6 months without a hostel card.Get one pronto.

5.To remember that 9 is 3 to the power of two not three.

6.Read more books, not watching ANIMAX

7.Actually doing something else when at home other than cooking.( studying for instance)

8.Not losing anymore waterbottles

9.Polish back  tennis and basketball skills which have been ebbing since 2005.( i will be mightily surprised if there is any left)

10.Yong Tau Foo is not lunch

11. Write the number 5 properly without looking like the letter ‘S’

12. Find ways to not getting allergic to dust

13. Stop abusing my backpack with heavy loads and treating it with more care.

Hm. I think i just booked myself all year.

Writer’s say: the penang series may not be continued because her trusted laptop currently was quarantined at sick bay.

Once upon a time,a family of seven agreed to investigate an island fabled as the " crown jewel of north".If truth be told, the family was more eager to embark on  such a journey duly to distant rumours spreading that rojak, pasembor, laksa,ABC, and cendol are  at theyre lip-smacking best up north rather than the jewel reputation.

Past travellers spoke about a gargantuan bridge which sprawled across the sea connecting the  mainland and the island. Dangers lurks within its vicinity;one must be well-equipped with defensive driving skills as the bridge boast a high mortality rate.Realising lives are at stake, one member quipped in a warning.

" father, father, my inner eye insist on you slowing a wee bit the family vehicle"
" my dear, evidence suggest that i no longer need to persecute the inner commands deliberately. The traffic jams seems to magically slows us down."

The penang bridge and its huge tentacles. Vehicles can be seen fleeing from its two poisonous stings.

The legendary laksa penang is out there, father. I can feel ( or rather, smell ) it.

The day was getting dark.The family was worn out because of the long and arduous journey.Hence, they set foot upon a place name Gurney Drive to regain their strength and replenish their resources.Its nearing full moon, a season where travelling is the most ideal because of unobtrusive weather. Therefore, the family was not surprised to see the place was congested with fellow travellers thronging the area.They all seem at lost; due to confusing attack of food signs, titillating smell and hawker’s fare.

Taking a considerable amount of time to reach a consensus, the family settled upon a dish called pasembor and " char kuay teow".

                 Two galleons and 5 silvers per serving.

A form of attack which causes confusion, indecisiveness and dizziness. ( the family successfully repels similar attacks by just looking at the price tag)

Well fed and watered, the family braved on to conquer a 3000ft hill in the middle of the island.History has it that atop of the hill lies a quaint village complete with a mosque , a temple , a police station and assortments of eateries.The birds eye view of the island can be seen at the peak which iwas fairly useful to target cannons at oncoming enemies.

Being an adventurous lot, the family desires to ascend uphill by foot was met with a resounding nay by the officers guarding the hill, protests nonwithstanding.

" No sire, you musnt walk up, its way too far. Ride on our special carriage instead."
" Is it strong enough to withheld us all the way?"
"You have my word that this red beast can carry 20 at one go.Now, 4 galleons please,"

     People cant wait to get out of this highly-uncomfortable beast

This beast is slower than a tortoise therefore colliding is not a serious issue

                      One of many Bukit Bendera signage

                The road to perdition which takes nothing less than forever

The temperature on top was much more cooler and the air was fresher.The family quickly found out wether history reads right or wrong.

      This view makes you want to shoot dwellers down there with an arrow

                    Place of worship in high-definition and true-colour

                           Sun-inspired mosque ( agaknye.)

Hill dwellers staple food             Chak! ade rumah!

Highly inquisitive and brazen, one female member of family stumbled upon a ruin erecting magnificently; hidden at the very end of the hill. Much to her dismay, the sign emblazoned" NO TRESPASSING,PRIVATE PROPERTY" was fixed just nearby.

                Gotham Palace.Bodohnye tak kunci pintu lalulah saya masuk

          Half-wishing a dashing young prince will come and save her.:P

                 Descending to lower ground in 45 degree angle

Having enough of higher ground, the family resume their conquest to the lower ground afterwards.Mission : Find the beach where one colossal wave once reduced the area into shambles, sweeping away 5 lives and devastating the livelihood of many.

to be continued..

next up: tsunami beach and durian galore.

writers’ note: ok kawan-kawan sekalian. friendster blogs yg pelik wont let me upload anymore photos ( yg ade banyak lagi ) for this month. Therefore , the story will be continued on New Year.

A word of caution: IT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA TO WATCH ERAGON IF YOU HAD WATCHED THE LOTR TRILOGIES UNLESS YOU HAVE A LOT OF SPARE TIME TO BOOT.

Or else, you’ll end up carrying a barrage of complains like me.

Of course, Eragon boasts credible actors like John Malkovich and Jeremy Irons, but what use of fine assets if they’re not fully utilised.John Malkovich needs more screen time, his presence was titillating and his potrayal as this disturbed king is chilling.Yet, as i, gripping my fingers and pondering, " we’re going to see more of his terror unleashing, ohmygaaawd", have to correct my thoughts a bit a while after that because well,the dreaded moment never comes.

There you go ,we have the supposedly terrifying king Galbatorix but his antiques in this movie only includes intimidating his sorcerer from the comforts of his seat and doesnt even move more than 100 metres square radius from his gallant chair.

Gile menakutkan.

We knew he’s more than that , more terryfying ( John Malkovich did a splendid potrayal of the evil-kenevil king especially the way he speaks, aaaa~~), but the limited screen time left him subdued.

And it proves that this movie was a case of high buildup of tension and suspense but huge letdown when the anticipated moment materialise. Its like covering your face because we know a ghost is going to appear,but mocking yourself for getting spooked in the first place after that because the ghost, after all, is not that terrfying.Or worse, eleh,  theres no ghost at all pon.

Like when Eragon( kire Frodo ) and his guide,Brom ( like Aragorn, only older and he’ll be dead halfway) went on a journey to reach the Vaders ( separatist group ), i expected suspenseful, unaware, jolting ambush  scenes ( this is when i cover my face throughout the whole journey, dammit) by the enemy partisan but hey, the dragon Saphira is always there to forewarn enemy’s whereabouts shouting " Watch out Eragon, Urugals are coming!"
Indeed, the bright side is our hero is always ready and safely guarded to keep him alive and we just reduced the chance of getting jerked out of our seats which nobody liked.

This is when its starts getting predictable as i know, that the hero will stay alive.
Now, we know the hero will ALWAYS stay alive in any heroic epics but the absence of any prospect, at all, that the hero will not survive is seriously getting in my nerves.Theres no near-death experience by the hero with substantial intensity that can make me grip my seats and pray. No attempt whatsoever to at least heighten the possibility that our earlier predictions can turn out to be false.

The lines , to put it succintly, are awful for an epic story’s standards. Its like watching a Disney movie, where cheesy lines are the starring role.Even Disney’s production nowadays are more contemporary and upbeat in delivering lines. Why Eragon want to relive the melodramatic and grandmotherly of past Disney productions i dont fully understand.It was too direct, where there is another way to get around it in a more witty and interesting manner.
Faithful to the book is one, but competence in entertaining sceptical audience is another.

Believabality is priority number one concern in this movie.

1. The dragon transforms from a cute, senget-senget flying  dragon into a full grown one only in one flight.

2. The Vaders look like a bunch of Arab tribes during Tutankhamun era.Blame it on the costume.

3.The Vaders should have shown more excitement when finally it dawned to them that a Dragon Rider was born. After all, they’ve  waited for 1000 years.But no , the leader only says,
" which one of you is the dragon rider?"
"me"
"call your dragon and if it attacks, we’ll kill you"( right, these vaders is willing to kill the very thing the’ve hoped for .ridiculous)
" raaaaaah.( the dragon)"
The leader smiles.

okay, i hoped for something more majestic introduction of the dragon to the Vaders. This is too businesslike.I want the Vaders to be completely at AWE.The legend had come true for goodness sake, why are they acting like theyre asking "why are you late?" ( basically i’m pulling my hair out at that time)

3. The battle was won too easily.The dragon blows some fire,Eragon kills the leader of the enemy’ s soldiers and thats it. They won.But i have to say the dragon duel in the sky was spectacular.

The final verdict of this movie is that its not THAT bad.In fact, it’ll be highly entertaining and the amount of tension is suitable if i were still in school reading The Phantom of the Opera.If i hadnt watched LOTR, there might be a possibilty i will be sharing the children enjoyments but since i had, well thats too bad.

For ardent fans of Eragon out there, you are allowed to get stiffy on me because of my reviews but please, dont blame me.

Blame LOTR instead.

Writer’s note:  cuti = duit habis.

    I just knew it she would win the gold.

Even in the 100m i thought she would have run away with a more exciting colour of medal if not for the unbelievably poor starting push by athletic standards, ( seteruk-teruk me, takdelah selambat tu start ok?)

She runs from last to third in 100m finals with blistering speed, tiada halaju sekata here, she did a pecutan bertambah all the way.In 200m finals, distance was on her side therefore her late momentous push works to her advantage.Watching her sprint was so pulsating; the experience almost resembled the ones when i saw once young, unknown Ian Thorpe swimming in Commonwealth Games before he went speeding and smashing world records along the way in the Olympics.

Ruqaya stands out because she is the living proof that even in top level competitions , she obediently adhere to strict Arab code attire in which she proudly flaunts complete with the trademark Nike ’swoosh’ .It didnt dampen her movements at all, which was proven just yesterday. In fact, she claimed that being all covered up motivated her to sprint better (and faster too) just to prove the critics wrong that hey, Islam DOES NOT menyusahkan hidup.

My mom, the ‘garang’ PK HEM, always dread Sports Day in her school.On that particular day, she wore on a moral officer shoes, because participants in sprints take off their hijab under predictable excuse of ‘ menghalang pergelakan’. This of course, turns her livid.
Saddened in fact, that fundamentals of religion can be effortlessly traded by a lame excuse of less aerodynamicy in speed.

Of course, she went on threatening to disqualify anyone who dared to take off their hijab during sports in true PK HEM fashion.

In a different light, i personally thought that Nike is smiling.
No, they’re laughing.

We all know how Arabs just hate, hate , hate American brands.
The various banning movements of Coca-cola, McDonalds,KFC  and notable other American brands under pretext that supposedly these companies supply money to the Jewish toops in Palestine had in some way hurt their income turntable.

Now, i do not now how much ounce of truth there is in these speculations (since muslims have this tendency to get overeactive over the smallest of things)but i do know the bannings spanned few business flagships taking advantage of this movements.
Hence, the emergence of Mecca Cola.

Now, i suspiciously thought Nike executed a brilliant marketing strategy to counter the banning missions. By endorsing  Arab atheletes, even more wise a hijab clad is actually an act of ‘ mengambil hati’.( winning the hearts and mind )
With Ruqaya winning the title, not only Nike had succesfully won the hearts of the oil rich ( thus money rich )Middle East dwellers, it might had somewhat increase their sales in the Middle East when their American compatriots are struggling to stay alive and unloathable.

Oh yes, Arabs will still hate, hate, hate American brands but no, no, not Nike.
Because Nike now sells ‘tudong berjenama Nike’.

Ingenious i might say.

" Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!"

-Ruqaya
      " Yeaaaaaaaaahhhh!!"- Nike

Writer’s say: This is a personal opinion. Even the ones about Nike is her personal thoughts, not necessarily a true  occurence.
Just in case .
Any Nike officials would have read this and threaten to sue her of " spreading lies,malice and rumours".

The journey to Sabak Bernam can be aptly described as going for a 3 hour of horseback riding.

The uneven roads were seriously testing the family car’s suspension system, i was actually quite amazed that my head escaped scot free from bump bruises.

However,the journey to Sabak Bernam also provide a feast to the roaming eyes.
The vaaaaast paddy fields were a magnificent view, and from afar coconut trees danced with the winds while white birds flew low in search for fish near the water channels. Dotted among the birds eye view of paddy fields, lies timber kampong houses, still maintaining the original designs of elevated steps and zinc rooftops.The only sign of progression is the current designs of automobile albeit being parked side by side the ‘ basikal tua’ and ‘motor kapcai.’

                                       Cloudy and windy

                                           Backyard

     This  picture  doesnt  do justice
of what my eyes feasted on

My cousin is getting married,at last, after a series of botched engagements.His father, my uncle, is a household name in kenduris.Well, he’s the chief cook. Cooking for 1000 people is his specialty.There’s something different in his nasi minyak and i conscpiciously thought that the Bottle of Sprite and Susu Ideal has something to do with it.

Erego,whats the use of catering service when you have a pro in the family, right?

Not quite. Because at the end, this is inevitable.

                                 There was me , behind the white shirted guy.Really.

  "  tak payah tolong kaklong, sikit lagi nak habis nih."
     Well.
     If you insist.

The wedding was vintage Malay wedding with all the works. Theres kompang and marhabban,

   The mobile dikir barat assemble

And of course, the silat pulut.

                         "Ho!( u bet i sure look good today)"

yeah. That is a sunglasses all right. The jeans too. You should check out the shoes.Its Adidas.

If you’re guessing to whom they were performing the silat, its to these two lovebirds.

  The ‘kepanasan’ bride/groom/bridesmaid.Please use an umbrella other than Ambank next time ye?

The guests gracing the majlis was hungry.However,the newlyweds were even hungrier, if not famished after all the buckets of sweat produced under that elaborate ‘songket’ assemble. Since we are all sympathetic,endearing bunch of people, we gave them something to eat on a equally ravishing high table.

  "Why are you sitting here mom? Malulah nanti my husband nak suap you tengok.."

Like any other weddings, the one’s whos looking from afar is always the nervous father.

  "Anak laki aku ni mampu ke jaga anak dara orang.."

Since its been a long time we havent get together as a family,i decided to do some catching up with my anak2 saudara.

  "Eh, eh jangan la larii..". ( in case u were wondering, i’m chasing a kid–see his head?)

Even though some of them seems not as enthusiatic as I do.

"Ayaah, takmoh tangkap gambar dgn akak niiih..~".The least i could do was forced a smile.

After lunch of nasi minyak, theres the tea break of teh tarik and kuih kaswi among the hard-working family members.

        The Men. " Sokonglah Pak Lah, depa ada banyak tolong kita.."

The Womenfolk." Akak boleh buat teh tarik lagi sedap dari yang ini.."

Before heading home,i decided it would be such a waste not to fully utilise the amazing backdrop for some snapshots.And there goes my attempt at being ‘photographic’( is there such a word?)

The mother, the sister and the double sister at a sorry attempt of absorbing the atmosphere.

The toilet among the scenic view

Saving the best for the last, there was the writer.

     Cik farah hanani si gadis kampong di tepi parit

Then we went all through the 3 hour horseback ride again towards home.

Writers note: The roads have drammatically improved since last time the writer went to Sabak Bernam 3 years ago. Do not be discouraged not to go there as it is extremely picturesque.The only drawback is the lack of phone coverage.:P

*Prominent political analyst and country’s think tank, A Razak Baginda is prime supect of bombing and killing a  Mongolian native, Altantuuya which had hogged headlines and front page spreads for weeks.

*Yahya whoever-was-his-last-name; Golkar representative and Indonesian Cabinet member resigned after his sex tape with dangdut singer circulated among the commoners.And he was supposed to be leader of moral and religious affairs department.

*Sigh.
These, I mean THESE are brilliant, intelligent,charismatic figures in their respective fields. They are supposed to be country’s leader and were previously held in high regard because of their position and important role with regard to nation building.

Take A. Razak Baginda ,who boasts a near perfect credentials.A Kings College graduate, a doctorate from Oxford and some might say, he also scores in the looks department.
Every morning, when you turn on the TV , there will be at least 60 % chance you’ll see him get invited as guest speaker in shows like Selamat Pagi Malaysia, Sehari Bersama Pemimpin, Malaysia dan Ekonomi and tall sort of these serious, mind -boggling shows.
He was  the guy on TV  who’s engaged in discussion about potential economic downturns , intellectual talks about future market predictions, and answers questions in economic forums.After being too used to the fact seeing him on intellectual TV,  you could say i was deeply disturbed that he’s being accused of bombing people around in his spare time.

Zakaria here needs no introduction after all the hogging of headlines he had managed to achieved. And boy how he has nerve, after snubbing the titah sultan, he called for a press conference and pleads;

" I have 11 grown children.And theyre all living with me.The space is not enough"

Ehem. Cant you just wait Mr zakaria?, Just wait a little bit untill the permit is given.After all, you helped created that law and you are the one who governs it.

What is exactly wrong here? I mean theyre all fully grown, matured public figures. The kind of people we respect and look up to in the society strata.Whatever it is, we can count education out.Hey, Razak Baginda has an IQ of 165.Nothing short on brains there.
People come to them when in doubt or uncertainty which they brilliantly thought of a solution and provide answers.Unfortunately it seems that they cannot think when a moral question was posed to themselves.

They cannot think that having an affair when you’re married is a clear cut wrong .

They succumb to stupidity when temptation came seducing to broke the very law they swore to protect.

And certainly people have the most clue that its code red to commit adultery when you are the leader of religious department for heavens sake?

Its frustrating to see all the brains and talents wasted on such stupid failure to control own lust for brief euphoria. It made us wonder, does dizzying high education is really the answer? Or do we need to create a balance, a more holistic approach which also emphasis on character building and strong moral values.

I believe our increasingly narcisstic souls displays a certain poverty of the basics; being nice to people around you, never to smear family integrity, and defending precious little thing called honour.

I’m no think tank nor a municipal council but what i can safely say is,

Uphold what religion tells you and yes, it might be good to start listening to your parents . ( yah,yah ,i just realised this)

Insya-allah, there will be light accompanying the whole way.

Writer note: The writer might sound oh-so-bagosla-kononnye but trust me, she’s flawed, like any other human being. This post also double up as her own reminder, so she wont be a bitch when shes’ all grown up and powerful.Now she  just feared for her friends.

Trivias

* Still using a handphone which is insipidly dull,colourless, camera-less, mp3-less, a non GPRS compatible and still emits a blue light  when turned on the black, grainy ,LCD screen.
Point here: It is still functioning efficiently in receiving and making calls, receiving and sending messages like any other over-the-toply , ridiculously expensive Sony Ericcsons and Nokia N series.Mind you, this is my latest handphone, apart from the ancient 3310.

* Come into possession with a digital camera just recently in the end of the year 2006. A cheap bargain.Before this, the household relies on an old-fashioned roll film camera while everyone was snapping fancy , shiny,  coloured LCD screened cybershots.

Point message: I experienced a conscience when realised i had enough of squeezing my right eye into a tiny little screen while my left eye was squinting when making a snapshot. Also had enough of ‘pembaziran’ of my precious 36 film capacity by my trigger-happy brothers who shot at anything from the ceiling fan to the floral prints on the curtain.
Any more or less,digital or not, they all function just the same. Capture pictures.

Its not i could not afford more technological advanced handphones or bought the digicam earlier. I just could not see the point of buying them untill desperation calls for swift action.If the old ones cannot function or become obsolete, only then i fork out my cash.

* I use the stairs to go down, not the lift. ( hanim can testify to this)

    I simply refused to be part of the current global obsession who’s mission statement of life is to grab of the shelf anything the slightest sophisticated than one currently posess and discard the former.Say, John has a perfectly functioning digicam with " image stability mode". Meanwhile, manufacturer A, being the vintage chauvinistic key player in the sales and marketing department decided to release cameras with
" dual image stability mode" into the lucrative market.
By then,our friend John is already heading to nearest electronic store, money in pocket .
Says John, " Why,the new one was..well, more stable than my old one"

    Along the same sentiment,we create technology and it seems that technology is ruling us like the idiot box had succesfully done.And it’s sad that people is having this misconception that technology also acts as this great problem solver.Like computers,its frightening that more people are getting confused that the advancement of computers are the yardstick of one’s own basic cognitive skills.Which explains the pheomenon of throwing computers at problem areas as a quick fix.
I applaud current developments that the rural schools are now getting  computers andfully-furnished labs to lessen the digital divide.

    Granted, one should draw the line between information and knowledge. The thrill of easy access  to information does not necessarily mean more knowledge. Knowledge is needed to make sense of information;therefore if we keep inundating the generation with context-less information without having the objective of knowledge in mind, it’ll be utterly meaningless.

    To start thinking that technology is not really that God-like after all seems like a smart move.Also to stop dismissing that electroic equipments are just harmless, neutral , man made copper creations might be wise.Their mere existence,actually had major impact on human emotions and relations. Specifically in terms of inducing behaviour of humans. Human acts and decisions are highly dependant on a boxy little thing called computers.

Wouldn’t it be better if one excercise more caution, to look at technology with condensed suspicion rather than as a best friend.Their capablities of not just creating but destroying too is no longer questionable.

To put things into perspective, decreasing reliance on technology can potentially reduce that long overdue bank draft.

Writers note: the writer would like to thank ENG4U final paper questions for providing inspiration,also the question’s writer too.

If ever a blog court law exists in cyber space ,I could be sued for multiples charges; maltreatment,abandonment and contempt. If blogs are parliament members , rest assured i will be ousted from the so-called bloggosphere with a ‘no confidence’ vote.If any effort is to be done to commensurate my blog with anything, it would be " now you see it, now you dont" Chipsmore Chocolate Chip Cookies.
So let us thank God that ‘if’s’ cases are not in the least realistic, but more of impossible probabilities.

Some had dropped hints that they realized my prolonged absence but feigned ignorance that they knew because they insist on me saying it out loud and clear.

Allright.

Yours truly here HAD NOT POST ANYTHING SINCE APPROXIMATELY TWO MONTHS AGO WHILE HER PEERS HAD ALREADY ADVANCED TO THE NEXT STAGE BY MOVING TO BLOGSPOT FOR GOODNESS SAKE.( you satisfied ?)
Save for being stuck on a meagre amount of non moving 80 posts ( Hah! How about that?), i’m just glad friendster does not have a policy where they shut down blogs inactive for more than a month like most e-mail providers do.

Peculiar eh? The top spot honour in my "to do" lists had always been given to blogging untill new waves of changes had forced me to go through some serious priorities rethinking.Who wrestled the top spot from blogging? Mari kita lihat..

Priorites list ( not in order of preference or hatred )

1. Final exam
2. Sahabat Annual Dinner
3. Assignments and ISU’s ( Independent Study Unit)
4. Checking e-mail ( handphone-less phase )

which inevitably turned into this,courtesy of constant external pressurings and own high expectations.

1. Final exam  Sahabat Annual Dinner
2.Sahabat Annual Dinner Final exam
3.Assignments and ISU’s Checking e-mail everyday ( waiting for orders from anuar and delivering orders to comrades)
4. Checking e-mail everyday Assignments and ISU’s

There now, notice that blogging had not only been stripped off the top spot title , it didnt even make the list.
See how serious and collected farah hanani now.
Finally i realised theres more to this wondrous and beautiful world than staring at the computer screen while typing nonsensical thoughts.

…….

Yah right.

Writer’s says: The writer would like to assure her loyal followers ( uhuk uhuk ) that shes back allright. Just to dim any light of sceptipism, she is determined to reach the mark of 100 post before end of this year. Cheer on her vision and stay put.cheerio~

"I dont see any trace of Annual Dinner’s Committe actually doing work, who is program director?"-Sir Suhaizal

"Er *gulp*, Fiqry ( confidently pointing forefinger to his direction)"-classic denial case here

You bet i was practically fuming as Mr Suhaizal actually shoots where it hurts the most- my fragile integrity.

"Guys, listen up,Friday’s committee meeting pronto, and please, its 3.00 o’clock not 3.30. Do NOT pretend that u guys have class. I simply have no mood, i just lock u guys outside. Fiqry, go book room G4 from the maintainance by tomorrow"

Boring meeting(s) took place.******

" What?, u SAID.,( deep breath) u SAID just last week, let me rephrase your exact words, " do not worry about money". How the bloody hell we’re going to raise RM 2000 in four weeks?"

" Sell doughnuts, i’m telling you.Fast, clean, easy, profitable. I’m willing to be Mr Porter.Go type a proposal and give to Mr Eugene from SSD A.S.A.P"-anuar

Doughnuts sold for 5 days.****

" farah, so cruel-lah you. We skip classes, sweat ourselves carrying these doughnuts and we cannot have one for free?"-faeez

" ok, just take one. And not one of those Chocolate Puddings. theyre in demand."

Money still not enough.

" No choice farah, have to kutip from the juniors. And seniors cannot be touched. I received an early warning from Pn Hanisah.they’re approximately  80 of us, we can pull this off. we’ll excercise force this time."-mardiana

" Ali, lets go to RSB( Restoran Seri Bidara) this evening. Business matters.At least beg for RM50. You still have the sponsor letter dont you?"

The Souvenirs Saga.

Time:( In the middle of maghrib. No possession of hp)

"hanim, can u gv the phone to farah? *****  farah, three choices,tupperware, towels or rattan baskets "-aizad, faezz or rizzal ( i forgot which one, maybe all )

" take both towels and rattan baskets.we’ll work something out.u make sure theyre all under RM5"

"relax , the towels cost only RM1. uh-oh, we counted only 30 rattan baskets. where to get another 40? dont fret, we’ll request for an order from the Carrefour manager"

Eventually the rattan baskets were bought at Mydin.

The Zapin and Britney

" i need manpower. Anyone, anyone who is not embarassed to make  fool of themselves onstage"

" hayatul farah can do zapin.i think we can drag brian, suraya,faeez,kay, amar, rizzal,atiqah,.… why dont you participate?"-hanum

"Oh no. Who’s going to choreograph u guys? besides, i’m on a models hunt here."

" Atiqah, have u memorized ur Britney lyrics with Rizzal?"

These MUFY guys ended up practicing untill 10 p.m to get the moves right.*Wow*

The Catwalk.

" I have six baju here. Can me and hanim wear all of them onstage?"-farah MUFY

"Like u have time.Now, practice walking with these ( holding up a 5 inch heels)"

" Faeez… Firdaus…, no, no, not like that. Thats not macho at all. Put your shoulders UP. Yah, yesss…."

Superb music, superb makeup( courtesy of atiqah ), superb models. What more i can ask for.Thank you Amir for costume contribution.

The Backbreaking Backdrop

" Muaz, list down all the things u need. we’re going to greenwood industrial park to buy stuff"

" muaz, have u recruited manpower to finish this backdrop? Mix the glue with water alright?"

"(meek reply), yes, midin and farouq"

"good"

" muaaazz, where is the photoshop design outline? have u printed out the wordings?"

" muaz, u keep the backdrop.give the kain to ustazah"

"muaz..the VIP tables, where are they?"

"muaazzz.."
"Muazz…."

The backdrop was a spectacular sight. So was the hall array. Thank you so much Muaz and the gang.

The Nearly-Botched Food

I see everything. the guest, the registration, the hall,the music, the MC’s.Perfect.

Wait.Where is the food?
Sight of food still in huge containers and tupperwares at the back among the throngs of impeccable dressed guests .

"( grabs anyone within reach, hushed tone ). See that? Have u guys seen shukie?"
" shes’ mixing the drinks.Shes’ pretty whipped. GUYS!!! HELP US OUT HERE!!!"

" Thank u Akmal, Fiqry and Zali. You too hayati, hanum and you( a girl with black rimmd glasses, cant remember her name ). Lets cut the dessert cake together."

It ended up the teacher advisors preparing the food. Had to practically coax them to stop and sit quietly in the VIP table.

The Dinner

" Nice MC-ing shamir"
" Nice banner, atiqah"
" Nice performances, rizzal"
"Nice multimedia presentation anuar"
"Nice backstage coordination, akmal,"
" Nice handling of lucky draw, mardiana"

Nice was the word of the day.No doubt

The Cleanup

AUSMAT students, MUFY students , teacher advisors forming a line and passing tables and chairs, still fully dressed.

" I never knew that rolling tables and playing pass-me-the-chair was fun "-ustazah yazil

" yes, whoever drop a table will be fined carrying the table all the way to the back"-pn hanisah

" oops"-ms norashimah

at the end of the ‘game’, the MPH was ready for an external exam at that exact time.8 rows on the front, 15 rows to the back.
Dinner? theres actualy a full-fledged dinner hosted yesterday here?
We were THAT efficient.

I would like to extend my apologies if ever i was too domineering, frank or blunt. obviously, you should realise by now that i have serious insecurity issues.Really guys, without you, would there be any dinner?

Writer’s note: A lot of things were left unmentioned here, yet it doesnt necessarily mean ur contribution was any less important.U guys all deserved a looong, clear "WHOA". No less.Please remember that.

" Allahuakbaru, Allahukabaru, allahuakbar,

Laaaailaaahaillah, huallah, huAkbar,

Allaaaaahuakbar lillaaahilhamd "

( God Almighty 3x, There is no God other than Allah, as He is The Almighty,

God is The Almighty, thus upon Him, we extend our thankfullness )

I cant wait.

Omen 1-Received my first Hari Raya card from a non-muslim, Vonesha, who were to celebrate Deepavali.

Omen 2-Bumped into both lecturers who extend warm wishes for Hari Raya on the way back to condo.

Omen 3-A good friend bought me dinner for buka puasa (Thanks Atiqah and Rizal)

Omen 4-Annual Dinner plans currently in full swing

Omen 5-Assigned with mountains of workloads and having absolutely no mood to do them.

Omen 6-Never before i am looking forward to all the carbonated drinks in miniature glasses, laksa sarawak, mi kolok and colourful kuih lapis in Kuching.High calories be damned.

Omen 7-My trusted, ancient ,dull and boring 3310 handphone broken beyond repair.Good riddance.Currently handphone-less.

Interpret them any way u prefer but i would have sworn that Lady Luck was definitely smiling over me.I could not ask for a more perfect closure before greeting Aidilfitri with a big Hello rather than this amazing sense of contentment, satisfaction, being blessed and excitement all intermingling in a nice perfume.One could liken it with the musky, warm , feeling of smelling caramel-like aroma of raya cookies baking in the oven.( Its chocolate chip by the way)

Or the sensation when Suasana Hari Raya ( Anuar and Ellina ) blasting on the radio while driving.Even the feel-good buzz when all family members finally gather together as a unit taking advantage from the break fom college, work and boarding school.

THAT feeling. Wafting the air with festivity and joy .Injecting ordinary routine like learning how to cut the freshly-baked chocolate cake all the right size without destroying it with humbling exhilaration.Worthily noted that i suspect the chocolate cake will not last to see the light of raya’s sun rise judging the speed of cake’s fast disappearance. Acting out of experiece, mom must have sense what was forecoming because she ingeniously made two.

Two or three days before countdown of raya was considered as the most hectic days of them all.Other than the usual hari raya shopping where consumers could spend exorbitant amount of cash then patting themselves on the back of a job well done,there is the BIG communal spring cleaning and decorating the family’s dwelling.

I am the fan cleaner cum glass/mirrors/frame/ceramic/anything reflective dust buster.My weapons includes the blue-ish glass cleaning liquid and toilet paper. Occasionaly,i would fill in the shoes of fridge scrubber armed with Jif ( multipurpose cream clenaser ).Mom’s the vacuum personnel also the mopping specialist.Dad’s the organizer and in charge of disposal affairs.Brother’s conjoin forces as the perfect duo of car washer while at the same time honing their scrubbbing skills while washing the carpet. Mind you, we could not afford the luxuy of a maid a.k.a bibik but our effifacy in completing the task of engineering the rebirth of a cleaner, newer,and livelier house is passable.

As always, the champion of multitasking had always been on the helm of womenfolk.I admired mom juggling abilities and stamina of doing her bit in house cleaning while assuring her wonderful cookies survived unburnt in the oven.Only God knows how she squeezed the time to cook for our sahur and buka puasa meal.

This was part of the reason why many would concur that assigning mountains of assignments or worse, exams, during hari raya as downright an act of cruelty.On behalf of all noblefolk who are determined to preserve the spirit of raya,i heed the summotion of these heartless people to be held accountable the gravity of damage done in marring the beautiful moments supposedly to be filled with happiness and gay.Robbing the rights of innocent population who cannot balik kampong for raya due to exam constraints should be halted.(Theme song : Dari jauh ku Pohon Maaf-Sudirman)

Stop this injustice.

Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin

Writer says:In line with her campaign, the writer felt for her MUFY and matriculation compatriots who were struggling for final exams as opposed to enjoying themselves under family comforts and Rendang Tok.

Despite the looming final exam, the writer refused to be discouraged by this and insist that nothing can stop her from  enjoying her raya this year and receiving loads of duit raya.Good luck everyone!