Excuse my ignorance, but I only just found out about Ms Nadiah Amirah Jamil who managed to obtain 19 A1s in SPM. (Hehehe, this goes to prove how often I update myself with the Malaysian news!) For my foreign friends, SPM is equivalent to GCSEs…and yes, 19 A1s in GCSEs. This brilliant lady managed 19 freaking A1s.

I have a whole lot to say about this girl, but term just ended and I am in no mood to argue intellectually. If this was a novel case, i.e. in the last 20 years or so, nobody has managed to get such remarkable results, then perhaps I might be impressed. But pardon me if I’m not even slightly interested. After hearing students move up from 10 to 17 A1s in the last 5 years or so, 19 is hardly impressive. I mean, c’mon, that’s just 2 more extra subjects.

Hehe, if you’re not Malaysian, you might not understand why I’m so cynical. It’s just that, the marking system in Malaysia is crap. Let’s be honest – when you give statistics like 70% of the nation managed to obtain all A’s, you have to question the credibility. The intellectual growth of a nation cannot be that progressive. Are you seriously saying that today’s generation is about 2039580346803985435 times smarter than the generation 20 years ago? You’ve gotta be kidding…

 Either the exams are getting easier, or the marking is getting more leanient. Either way, it’s a dumb system. Convincing students that their smarter than they really are is just plain stupid. But anyway, I’ll leave that arguement for another day.

If we were to truly believe that Miss Nadiah Amirah Jamil really is that smart and managed to get 19 A1s, it really is something to shout about. But, there seems to be too much of a focus on academic excellence. Having read through how dilligent and hardworking Miss Nadiah was – leaving a school in a town/city to study in a rural school just so that she can take 17 subjects… what comes to my mind is… “no life”. If someone can be that obsessed about academics at the tender age of 16, there is something seriously wrong with this person. Obviously she must have dedicated countless hours of her life to studying – and it states nowhere in the article about any other aspects she has developed. What about her social skills? Or her leadership skills? Or musical talent? Academic excellence isn’t the only thing we should strive for – we should strive to be well-rounded individuals, perhaps excelling in certain aspects, but we shouldn’t be downright hopeless in any.

Malaysians in general, be it parents, peers or teachers, seem to over-emphasise the importance of good grades. It’s not even an emphasis on learning – it’s an emphasis on good grades. Doesn’t matter how you get your grades, just get them – that’s our motto. Memorize – even if you don’t understand – it’s the former that’s important, not the latter. Getting that shiny certificate at the end of the course, with a big fat A. That’s what matters. Who cares what you remember after that? Or what memories you have? You got your A! Give yourself a pat on the back!!

 And this leads back to the stupid marking system where above-average students are recognized as genius, and the below-average students as average. A viscious cycle..

I wonder, what made us this way ??

Here’s a quote from my entry dated Aug 17, 2006 :

” Besides that, I’ve been working on the MNite script. As expected, writing a whole drama is completely different from simple writing. A lot more challenging and I’m constantly running out of ideas to amuse the crowd. Thank goodness for Faez, Suelynn, Logan & Swen who have helped me brainstorm. I must admit, brainstorming really gets my adrenaline pumping and everytime after an MNite-brainstorming-session in Midvalley, I feel so inspired. I feel like fast-forwarding life to see what MNite will really be like. (Yes, I recently watched Click, hehe.) But this sizzling enthusiasm dies down quickly in the 20-minute drive home. “

It is weird to read it now – after seeing how much of MNite has unravelled around me. Now the script isn’t simply a script – but I see the extremely talented cast live out the characters. I see Sue Lynn and Logan sharpen their talents with encouraging remarks – and when need be, constructive criticism. I see the awesome props Chee Wei & his team have created … I see so much.

In the weekend, Jason & Jun Ai (from Dublin) came to visit – and they were relating to me their experience with their Malaysia Night. At one point, we all agreed that we wouldn’t have traded anything to have given up working on MNite. Despite the long hours, draggy rehearsals and very time-consuming and energy-draining meetings, it is all worth it. Having worked on the committee in the 2nd year, I realize how much the previous committee had put in. There is so much to be done behind-the-scenes that nobody ever really notices – but MNite wouldn’t be half as great without all those things.

Just 2 hours ago, Seemat (my housemate) asked me what I would do after MNite. I quote :

“You guys spend practically every free time on rehearsals and what noughts. What are you going to do once MNite is over?”

My answer? Catching up! I think I speak for everyone on the committee when I say : we’re terribly lost in class!

Although I don’t really want the next 2 weeks to fly by too quickly, I can’t quite help being curious what the night of 3rd March will be like. Would the cast feel the same adrenaline rush I felt last year? Would the audience laugh at the oddest things? Would lines be messed up? How would it feel like to sit in the crowd and watch the show you’ve been working on?

And really…what will I do after MNite? There is only so much studying one can do…!

LOVE IT WHEN YOU CALL by The Feeling

I found a switch, You turned it on
I hit the ditch, You carried on
I was so near, Now you’re so far
Are you quite sure, Just who you are?

Oh, I…know you could use a friend
But you don’t seem to have the time
Oh, and I…I wonder if you ever get to say what’s on your mind
Well, take a little time, Oh, take a little time

 I love it when you call, I love it when you call
I love it when you call, but you never call at all
Say what’s the complication, It’s only conversation
I love it when you call, but you never call at all

Oh..he loves you when you call, he loves you when you call…

Remember me? I used to be
Your best-time buddy that you couldn’t wait to see
But getting old, it takes a toll
And hearts getting broken leads to people growing cold
Oh, I…I’m flipping with a coin that’s got a tail on either side
And I…I’m gonna be the one who makes you stop and realize
You can have it all, Yeah we should have it all

I love it when you call, I love it when you call
I love it when you call, but you never call at all
Say what’s the complication, It’s only conversation
I love it when you call, but you never call at all

He loves you when you call, he loves you when you call…

I wonder where you’ve been
And I wonder who you’ve seen
Yeah, I hope you find your dream
When you do, I really hope it’s all it seems

I love it when you call….But you never call at all.

 

Sometimes I feel this song is so true – whether I’m the person singing it, or the person it is sung to.

 

 

It’s 2007. Can you believe it?

 I sort-of can and sort-of can’t. In a sense, the whole talk of Christmas and New Year has prepared me for the actual arrival of 2007. But when I actually think of what 2007 means … it does take me by surprise.

It’s very strange what the New Year does to you. In actual fact, it’s just another day .. we just decided to start the Gregorian calendar on this day to make life more systematic. So what’s the big deal?

I guess it just gives us time to reflect, pause and remember where our life was and is heading to. During these times, it always gets a little sentimental. Cards from distant friends wishing you their best, random texts and messages from people you haven’t heard from in yonks… and of course, the well-wishes of everyone close to you, whether emotionally or geographically. The one thing that always surprises me each year is that random message.

It’s always from someone unexpected, every year from someone new. And it always teleports you to a time in your life you have long forgotten. This year it was from a childhood friend who went to the same primary and secondary school. Our paths had long seized to cross. We literally lost all sense of touch straight after high school – unless of course, you count Friendster. In that case, I’ve been in touch with almost everyone, haha!

Well anyway, I bumped into her at the airport when I went back in the summer. I was on my way for a holiday – and she was on her way back to uni. She was studying in Indonesia, I was studying in London. And you know how you have that awkward moment when you don’t quite know what to say? Well, that was there too. We seemed to be living in very different worlds – man, my Malay is so rusty… it sometimes takes me a whole 5 minutes to transalate a word… and here she was, studying at university level in a sunny and tropical country. (Hmm…. damn the London weather.)  Ok, bad example of how exactly different our worlds are… but if you knew the difference between Indonesia and London, I’m sure you would get my drift!

The funny thing is, once upon a time, we knew each other relatively well – and here we were, trying to figure out what you say to keep the conversation going!

I got a message from her – asking me how I was and how we never heard from each other – and probably never would have, if not for that airport encounter.

It makes me wonder…in 5 years time, will I be doing the same with someone – say, from uni ?

Happy New Year! And I hope 2007 means seeing your dreams closer to reality.

Hello beautiful ppl!!

Sorry sorry for neglecting my blog-posting duties!! Been really busy and have simply not had the time to write anything worthy enough for you to read! BUT..I have uploaded pics to keep you entertained. Just click on “My Photos 3″ on the links on the right.

It’s not a complete compilation of photos as everyone’s internet sucks and basically… it’s hard to send photos online

The other day some British friends asked me what I thought about the whole new idea of banning veils(/scarves/tudungs.) 

As you probably would – or might not – know, there is this whole debate here in London on whether Muslim women should be asked to remove their veil. At first glance, especially me coming from a Muslim country, this seems like a gross infringement of human rights and religious freedom. And it probably is. And please, before I continue to elaborate on this topic, I want to say that I don’t know where I stand on this matter. Honestly, I don’t think I really need to decide anyway. It’s not my country. But it is an interesting topic to discuss, innit?

The sad thing about reality is that when a few of us mess up, the innocent masses end up being punished alongside. For example, due to the terrorist attacks by radical Muslims, Muslims all over the world are subjected to a significant amount of suspicioun. Because some politicians have rather questionable morals, the integrity of any politician is viewed as rather discreditable. And on a milder note, why is the first impression of an American teenage girl  that comes to mind a ditsy blonde saying “oh like totally”.

The truth is, it is human nature to be slightly more apprehensive about Muslims considering what events have taken place in the span of the last five years. But the intellectuals inside of us remind us that one doesn’t represent all. I remember my host-dad in Holland saying that the veil (covering the entire face except the eyes) hampers education. (He was a school teacher.) He said this simply because with a veil, it was very difficult to judge the emotions and level of understanding of the student. In other words, a teacher cannot tell for sure if the message is getting through. Which is a fair arguement, I would say.

Besides that, a number of people have related to me stories of their horrific experience with ‘women’ who are completely covered from head-to-toe. Most times, they weren’t even women! (In the stories, I mean.) And to be fair – wouldn’t dressing so guardedly draw suspicion? I know the arguement is that they are not to attract the attention of men – but honestly, are men so weak that even the slightest hint of a waistline can turn them on??? As aware as I am of men’s phenomenally unbelievable high sex-drive, I really don’t think it’s that uncontrollable. And, personally, I think men should be taught to control their eager desires instead of shoving the responsibility to the fairer gender.

On the other hand, going to the extend of removing the veil completely seems rather harsh. I mean, how different is a veil from a hat or a hood? It covers about the same amount – but one is for fashion (or neccessity) and the other religious. Telling someone they can’t wear a veil is practically telling them “I don’t respect what you believe in.” While we may not understand the reasons of their habit, who are we to tell them how to dress? It’s just as bad as imposing your own values on others.

Oh well anyway, back to the point. I don’t know where I stand. But I reckon freedom of religion and freedom of dressing and freedom to simply believe in something is very important, so perhaps I’ll lean more toward the conservative stand.

Just wanted to put this up so that you guys could get an idea of how ridiculous we must’ve looked! And this doesn’t even show you how long and low our pants go! (Oh sorry, over here we call it trousers.) Too bad Bear wasn’t ard to join the pic

It’s hard to imagine that just last week I was still in Malaysia. Really. Summer holidays seem now like such a long time ago. My London life took such short a time to get into gear that it’s hard to imagine just last week, I was kicking back and relaxing in good ol’ sunny Malaysia. Good ol’ sunny Malaysia indeed – where the weather is predictable, and if it rains, it pours for a good whole hour or so and then leaves you to enjoy the warm sun again. Damn English weather. I actually forgot how cold and dreary London is till I got here. The winds are so strong and the sky is never a lighter shade than grey.

There are a few things I forgot about London actually. Like how weird the British accent is – and how I tend to speak with an accent as well when speaking to foreigners.  It’s a really strange phenomenon – I don’t have a consistent one. It keeps changing depending on the nationality and accent of the person I’m conversing with. Weird weird. But nevertheless, I still haven’t truly mastered the art of communicating with the British. Today I said something to Harry (who is a British guy) and he politely nodded and smiled in response. That gave it away immediately. He had no clue what I had just said.

Since I’ve gotten back, each day has been exhausting. I guess it’s probably due to the fact that I came back so late. It was straight to classes, dinners, meeting up, sorting bills, organizing events (mostly MSoc), etc.  Even I’m surprised! I thought at least the first week would be slow. Unfortunately, my department hasn’t changed very much. They insist as always to keep us on our toes. On the first day itself, we had lectures from 10 am right up to 4pm, followed by a mingling session with the juniors/seniors till 7pm.

Today I had my first Manufacturing Technology Lab. It was quite fun actually, doing all the drilling, cutting, bending, etc. Not to mention fulfilling. You do get a sense of joy from creating something with your own hands. So what if my metal  box looks a little dodgy -it has “GurlWithCurlz”embossed onto it man!!!! Talk about tailor-made equipment. We all had to wear these green jumpsuits for safety reasons. They were pretty cool actually, with the words “Bioengineering” embroidered accross. Unfortunately, the jumpsuits were all too big for *The Girls & I, considering our ‘petite’ stature. (Don’t you dare try to use the more common term.) We even concluded that it’s probably more hazardous wearing the jumpsuits ’cause we keep tripping on the trailing legs & sleeves! Haha, speaking of which… when we had our short morning break, all of us were just too damn lazy to take off our jumpsuits that we walked into the *JCR decked from head-to-toe in our very conspicious green uniforms. We turned a lot of heads. Seriously… they didn’t even pretend not to stare. They literally pointed at us and giggled. Ok ok. So we looked like a bunch of morons in dire need of some fashion help, but that doesn’t mean you have to be rude about it.

Anyway, tomorrow starts off early with another Manufacturings Technology Lab, so I should get to bed. Goodnight.

* The Girls = Alina, Vanee, Veronica/Hoiga, Abeera
* JCR = Junior Common Room

Before I start sumarizing how exactly the hols have gone by, I have to say something. It’s almost as if you guys comment more when I don’t blog than when I do! Not that I mind, hehe. Ok, I do a bit. But anyway, I’m sorry to have ignored everyone’s comments. Just that connecting to the internet is so mahfan over here… and to be honest, my mind has seriously not been intellectually stimulated the entire 3 months. I gave my brain a true blue no-questions-asked holiday. So, ppl, if I did come accross as slightly daft recently … Right now I am facing a rather severe problem. I was sadly mistaken into believing that my brain would come enthusiastically running back to work once term starts after having such a long break. Unfortunately, Ms Brain figured that she likes the good life and wants to stay there! Grrr. I dowan to go to uni!!!!

But anyway, I can’t believe how time has flown. I remember the first few weeks of my summer break. I was complaining about how unproductive I felt. Time passed by sooooooo freaking slowly and I literally was bored out of my skull. I actually wanted to go back to London and get on with life. But somehow between then and now, Time turned up its speed and, as usual, forgot to inform me. So here I am, baffled with how fast the race went. It’s time, once again, to move on.

I seriously hate this feeling. Such a familiar one, and yet I’m still not used to it. It’s like choosing between 2 different lives when you want both. And knowing that no matter how hard you try, one will be forgotten. Sometimes I wish London was just around the corner, and that on some weekend, I could just drive home. On the other hand, there are many times when I’m really glad London is 600 miles away and nobody back home can really keep a proper tab on me. Lol.

Anyway, before I get too melancholic, I’m gonna let a song summarize exactly how my summer went. Twas listening to it on my playlist last night when I realized it was the perfect theme song for any bummer. So all you other bummers, this one’s for you

All The Time In The World By Lazlo Bane 

Well it’s a lovely day under the warm sun

Sit back and soak up the rays, there’s nothing better to do

Well it won’t be too long until I get burned

So much for fantasy lay
It can’t protect me from you
That’s right, we’re near the afterlife

We’re inching closer to extinction every time that we turn

Well alright, we’ve been acting like

There’s nothing wrong as long as we’ve got

All the time in the world

We’ve got all the time in the world

We’ve got

Another day, another week and one more year goes by

Would you just please make up your mind?

Don’t wait to procrastinate

Let’s take a holiday ‘cause we’ve got

All the time in the world

We’ve got all the time in the world

We’ve got all the time

California sinks into the sea

I know that you’re waiting for your real life to begin
Well that’s the problem with people like you and me

It’s a lovely day under the warm sun

You know it won’t be too long until we really get burned

But that’s life, and this is my advice

That you deserve what you get most all the time in the world

We’ve got all the time in the world

We’ve got all the time in the world

We’ve got all the time in the world

(repeat until you really run out of time!)

For some weird reason, I can’t log into my old blog. It’s almost as if it found out that I had found a new one and was merajuk-ing. I’ve tried like 5 freaking times or something and it keeps telling me “Error.”

merajuk : to throw a tantrum