IT'S A PANDAN LIFE ...!

Anybody can read the al-Quran whether one is a Muslim or a non-Muslim and the al-Quran is not owned by the Malays or the Arabs. ~ Nik Aziz (Chief Minister of Kelantan) I don’t know what to make of Facebook nowadays. There are days I regard it with disdain. I mean, who cares if you just bought a Coach bag. There are days however, I regard it with such esteem. I mean, meeting an old buddy after losing contact for 15 years because of Facebook is downright amazing isn’t it? And I’m not talking about those old school or childhood friends who didn’t waste time adding you as a friend but never made any effort to say hi or reply your message. Recently I was invited by an old buddy to come over to Kelantan. She is none other than Miza, my housemate back when I was doing my matriculation. We got along well, I think. After all, she was the one who introduced me to nasi kerabu. Hehe. After graduation we went separate ways but that image of a petite, tan, long-haired girl in baju kurong never s

I say if you're going to take a chance on something, you just go full balls to the wall. ~Toby Keith I could see the ball On the other side of the court It's beautiful Colourful even And here I am Always waving And anxiously waiting For it to be passed But all it does is bounces And I could only follow The trajectories Which never reach this side of the court.

It seems sad that an issue regarding whether or not we need a dam still has to be debated. ~ Jim Metropulos You want a dam It can't help but affect the water That flows further along the way I find myself downstream Was I properly considered? It is truly debatable.

I came across this very interesting note on FB. I could definitely relate to it but as usual, since it was written by a man, the woman in me just had to respond (not react, mind you). My response is in italics. 30 Perkara Perempuan Tak Sempat Bagitau Lelaki.. Bukan tak sempat, maybe derang harap org lelaki faham sendiri la, buat homework sikit... 1. Bila sorang wanita mengatakan dia sedang bersedih, tetapi dia tidak menitiskan airmata,itu bermakna dia sedang menangis di dalam hatinya. Mungkin. Sebenarnya nak attention... 2. Bila dia tidak menghiraukan kamu selepas kamu menyakiti hatinya, lebih baik kamu beri dia masa untuk menenangkan hatinya semula sebelum kamu menegur dengan ucapan maaf. Betul. Ucapan maaf tu boleh menyejukkan hati yang panas! 3. Wanita sukar nak cari benda yang dia benci tentang orang yang paling dia sayang (sebab itu ramai wanita yang patah hati bila hubungan itu putus di tengah jalan). Kalau dah suka, yg hodoh semua cantek.. . 4. Sekiranya sorang wanita jatu

1. Patience is a virtue. And a curse. 2. Friends can be disowned. 3. Finishing a run within the time given can give a high that lasts for a few days. Well, two days, actually. 4. Cooking with love is one of the most wonderful feelings in this world. 5. Reading academic books is white-hair inducing. 6. Spending time with my loved ones is therapeutic. 7. Baking is 100% chemistry. 8. No matter how much I care, some people just don’t give a damn. Damn. 9. Having my cat fall asleep in my arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in this world. 10. How I react to what happens to me is only 10%. Positive attitude makes up the 90%. 11. The more I jot down about things I need to do, the more I can get things done. 12. A call or a text or a message that I get on my birthday is a gift, indeed. 13. Giving is noble. Receiving is pure luck. 14. Who I have in life is more valuable than what I have in life. 15. It’s not the amount of time I spend with someone that matters; it’s the quality of that ti

For you I try to be graceful about it Even if it stretches my heart into disquieting places.

"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that." ~Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder. That I finished it. This is what I talk about when I talk about running. Nothing else. How I do it, the time I clock in, and did I get a medal or not are largely irrelevant to the present discussion. Earlier this year, having heard multiple accounts of running from my muse and my buddy, Intan, I decided to take part in a race. There must be something really satisfying about it, I thought. If not, how come two of my favourite people in this world are addicted to it, eh? Hehe. When another buddy asked me if I’d be interested to run in the Cyberjaya Night Race, I was ecstatic. I’ve always wanted to experience it firsthand but wasn’t really keen at the idea of having a go at it alone. My buddy and I were in the same boat, we’d never ever done this befo

Aku dah lalui semua perasaan itu. Perasaan itu wujud dalam pelbagai dimensi dan ada pasang surut dan aku dah lalui semuanya. Dan aku tak takut lalui semula sebab perasaan itu boleh menjadi perkara yang terindah jika kena caranya. Kalau aku takut untuk lalui semula lebih baik aku berhenti jadi seorang manusia. Tak perlulah aku kupaskan ciri-ciri seorang manusia tu kan.   Kadang kadang aku benci dengan perasaan ini. Sebab perasaan ini tak pernah membawa aku ke mana-mana pun. Aku pun heran kenapa aku tak putus asa lagi. Kalau lah ada ubat anti-biotik untuk perasaan ini, senangnya hidup aku sebab  perasaan yang telah lama bersarang ni akan terus terbantut dan jumud untuk kesekian kalinya. Tamat. Jadi aku pasrah. Aku malas nak tanya dari mana datang perasaan ni sebab aku percaya otak kerdil aku ni takkan dapat mencari jawapannya. Walaupun perasaan ini buat hidupku kadang kadang jadi tak tentu arah. Walaupun aku jadi separuh gila cuba untuk memahami diri kau. Bersabar dengan keegoan kau.

Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to. ~John Ed Pearce Everytime I drive home from my place (Bangi) to Johor (Mom’s place), my mom or sis would be calling, asking where I'd reached. This ritual would start even when I’m still at home and if I were, they’d be asking me when I’d leave. When I said I’d leave in the morning, my mom would take it to literally mean around 8. But being the relax-and-no-need-to-rush person that I am, morning could be anytime between 8 -12. 10-12, to be more exact. Hehe. I’ve gotten used to this ritual for years. Those calls mean quite a number of things to me. One, I feel like they really miss me. Two, they can’t wait to see me. Three, I feel like I’m really wanted. And four, I feel like I’m important to them. Clearly, I enjoy this ritual and look forward to it every time I drive home. I’d be somersaulting inside when I get calls from my mom or sis. Hehe. This ritual stopped, however, the second last time I dr

“The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.” ~ Charles R. Swindoll. Besides acute attacks of loneliness, the downside of working at home is that it gives me plenty of time to mull things over. Call it sentimentality but this is strictly a self-reflection report and a follow-up to my “Bring It On, 2010!” entry. 1. Earlier this year, I applied for two things. PHD and Promotion. I got accepted to UM within 2 months after I applied, which was like a dream come true. I had planned to go on a study leave in July and there were chances that I might not be able to do this since I was h

Jostle and shove, Birds and bees, Be strong my love, In time of adversities. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jingle bell, Jingle all the same, Fare thee well, For I'm not the same :( ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Belly belly, Pow wow, I am happy, In the here and now. *Certain things that my muse does or say affect me. Naturally. Sometimes things that happen to him also affect me, for days at times. Enough said.

Land rover, Land mower, Can't get over, Vacay is over. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Stomach crunch, Pot belly, Had lunch, But still hungry... ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hot bun, Pizza pan, Run run, As fast as we can! ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hold up the glass, Cheers to everybody, Last day of class, And I am happy!!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rumah urut, Belum bukak, Kenyang perut, Ngantok la pulak... ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Naik beskal ke Kuala Muda, Jarak jauh menguji mental, Hati gembira dapat banyak offer, Masalahnya boleh kah aku handle? ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tigers roam, Preys rally, What is home, If not a sanctuary? ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Weather bad, Hard rain, Neither glad nor sad, Am a student again! * My thoughts, normally crossed my mind when I was in the office.

Silence echoes, Everything's a bore, Putting on kilos, And still wanna have more! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bells clang, Heart racing, Hey Penang, I'm coming! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dancing petunia, Playful bee, Hail Korea, Hail to thee! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Stiff gait, Swing and sway, Can't wait, For the vacay! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Give me a kiss, Give me a whisper, Oh what a delight it is, To bask in the glory of Old Melaka! *The excitement of a vacay, or a trip out of town begins as early as the idea is conceived.

Low perk, Heart sinking, Back to work, Tomorrow morning! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I don't like it here, Something about this place A discouraging atmosphere, Like an evil grin on an unfriendly face. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Diamonds bling, And girls glee, This ISO thing, Is killing me! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Buah kuinin, Atas kapal, Hari Isnin, Memang sengal! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An apple a day, Keeps the doc away, What is Tuesday, If not a stressful day? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Love is bliss, War is woe, Whatever it is, I can't wait to go. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boy and girl meet, Boy and girl vomit, So many forms to submit, Packed with hope and shit. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sambal petai ikan bilis, Makan dengan lemak kobis, Asyik baca tulis baca tulis, Bila la kerja aku nak habis? *Nothing beats bitching when it comes to work-related stress. Or boredom.

Long pier, People gather, Weekend is here, I can't be happier! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Barn and hay, Horse and shoe, Lazy Sunday, I welcome you! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Iron rod, Hard clay, Thank God, It's Friday! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hot bod, Makes me sway, Thank God, It's Friday! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Keropok lekor keropok tamban, Masuk perut jadi lumat, Dalam hati ada taman, Berbunga indah di hari Jumaat. *The thought of weekend is always euphoric!

Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth. ~ Benjamin Disraeli Recently, I developed an extraordinary liking for pantuns. I think pantun is lingusitically and aesthetically pleasing and challenging. It's not simply a short poem or a stanza of four lines. As we know, pantun has its own structures; based on four lines of cyclically repeating lines based on ABAB rhyming scheme; with the first two lines serving as the foreshadow of the meaning contained in the remaining two lines. This is a Malay heritage, and shall remain such, I hope.I'll see to it :) Recently too, I discovered that pantun was indeed introduced to the West by Victor Hugo in his book Les Orientales (1829). I guess he tried to infuse pantun into the literary culture of Europe then, but he was not that successful. Nevertheless, because of him, The West was introduced to this unique form of poetry, and pantun became pantoum . Lately I've been updating my status in FB using

If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting? ~Stephen Levine Waiting. Nobody in his or her right mind would want to do this, I’m sure. If it's two or three minutes, it's probably nothing. But 18 years? It's surely exhausting, torturous and nerve-wrecking. Especially if the outcome is a big let-down. But what if it’s the opposite? Is the opposite possible? And if the outcome is positive, is it worth all the heartache and trials and tribulations? These were the questions that I had in mind when I was reading Waiting by Ha Jin. I had seen this book a couple of times in the bookstore but due to other pressing reading engagement, I resisted the urge to buy it. But the blurb really had a brain-itchy effect that eventually I gave in, picked it up from the shelf, went home and straight away started reading it. It was awesome, simply unputdownable! Set in communist China from

I shall make that trip. I shall go to Korea. ~ Dwight David Eisenhower (34th USA President) Phewwww!!! It's been a while since I updated my Travelogue. By right, I owe a couple of entries already. The 2009 US trip, for instance. The 2009 Bangkok trip. OMG! But then, I think there's nothing much to talk about where the former is concerned. Other than the ecstasy of shopping and ga-ga-ing over the super-sexy chippendales, what else is there to talk about? As for the latter, I can't remember much other than the sinfully delicious food and the bubbly Indian professor I met at a conference. Plus, it's not like it was my first time in Thailand. I have been toying with the idea of visiting Korea for a long3 time. The reasons are plainly obvious: 1. I need a vacay! 2. KBS has romanticized Korea way too much! 3. I haven't been to the Far East! 4. Japan is way too expensive! 5. Aida has volunteered to be my traveling partner! I am overly overwhelmed about the idea of writing