Love Is Literally Blind

So the story goes, Hafez is going to work at sea, far far away from me. I'll see him like once every 3 months from now on, and this time there won't be daily phone calls or chatting online in between to make it a bit easier.

Tonight was our last actual date for a long, long time, so we decided to make the most of it. We went to Jusco Kinta, booked two tickets for the midnight showing of Night at the Museum 2, then walked around the mall. Had dinner, went to the arcade, played bowling, then watched the movie.

Afterwards, as we were driving back to UTP, we said our goodbyes. I hugged him and cried a little, because my last semester with him was over, and suddenly it felt so short. He was hugging me too, and... and...

ow. pedihnya mata.

I blinked. There were more tears coming out, but this wasn't crying from emotions. This felt... oddly like my contacts got dislodged.

Shit.

I quickly went for the mirror to check for the contact lens. I thought I could feel it there still, trapped under my lower eyelid. And as I looked in the mirror, I thought I could catch a glimpse of the light blue plastic there... But it was hard to tell, the car was moving.

Then I blinked, and then... the feeling of the lens being in my eye was gone.

Panicking, I made Hafez park the car, and I checked the mirror again. The lens was definitely not there.

Now in super panicked mode, I grabbed Hafez's handphone and used the light from the camera as a flashlight, searching everywhere we could think of. It was nowhere to be found, and after we had frantically searched for almost half an hour, we gave up.

Love had literally left me blind in one eye.

And now I'm dead. That pair of lens cost RM500. RM500, ok! That's one month's worth of scholarship allowance! I don't get any other allowance! T____T And even if they charge me less and make me just one side for the lens, that's still going to cost me a lot. Nooooooo...

sad because Hafez is going + sad that I lost my lens + freezing cold from being caught out in the wind and rain = emo

*sobs*

*cries*

*wails*

T_____T

End of Semester Break! Go wild, people!

To my kaki lepak this sem:
- DonDon
- Rezz
- Illy
- Reen
- Rusydi

THANK YOU for keeping me sane this semester, despite all the crazy projects and barf-inducing tests. You guys are the best! (Sila jgn marah bcoz I spelled out your names on my blog... hehe) One more semester to go and we're out of this middle-of-nowhere hole!!

Happy hols everyone! =)

P.S. budak2 yg intern can attempt to bakar us all they want sbb xde exam... bt at least we have cuti for 7 weeks kn? mwahahaha

To Blog or Not to Blog

If anyone were to ask me what I blog about, I really wouldn't know, actually.

I tend to just write whatever I happen to think of at the moment, that I think I would like to share. Some of it is interesting, some of it isn't. In between the excited, frantic typing on the keyboard and the moment where I click on the "Publish Post" button, I rarely think about whether I should or not actually click that button.

Should I?

Lately, I've had two non-blogger friends tell me that we shouldn't rant on our blog about things that are personal. Words may be just words to us, but words actually can hurt people if we don't think.

Writing about things on my blog, what do I hope to accomplish? Maybe I will ask myself this every time I post from now on.

Ranting on my blog about people I know is not cool, I guess. I read back one particular post where I ranted about cockroaches, I think although I intended the post to be humorous, I probably unintentionally offended some people. I apologize for it. The post shall, however, remain on this blog, to serve if nothing else, as a reminder.

Sometimes, we get so caught up in the syok-sendiriness of blogging, that we don't stop to consider what will happen if we publish a particular entry. While we do have the freedom of speech to write what we want, we also should be aware that what we write has its effects.

I was brought up with the basic and very general principle of "be good, and do good". Eventually, I came to interpret it in my own way as, "whatever I do is my own business, but if it hurts someone else, I should probably not do it". Essentially, I can blog about whatever I want, but if someone I know personally is hurt by it, then I shouldn't write about it. If the blog entry will trigger fights with people I know, then I shouldn't write it.

There are diaries for that sort of thing, after all.

I hereby apologize to anyone I may have offended in the past through a personal comment on my blog. And I hope that anyone who may have been offended by, or caused an offense through a blog entry, be it by me or any other blogger to just forgive and forget. Or at least settle your fights outside of the blogsphere. The whole world doesn't need to know about what and ass so-and-so is. Really, they don't.

Blogs are not a venue for us to launch our personal vendettas, be it in retaliation or otherwise. So hopefully, we will all think twice before publishing a post in future. And hopefully, some fights will be settled in a rational, calm and very non-public manner. Because I'm actually tired of reading and hearing about friends fighting publicly online. It's just ugly. And there are really enough ways of offending someone unintentionally or otherwise without adding blogs to that list.

Ummm... but everyone is still friends right? Please don't fight over blogs. Doesn't it sound just silly?? Peace, hugs and kisses, everyone?

In the meantime, I have no idea what to blog about if I can't rant. Umm. Kittens?

Owh wait. I already did that one. Ah well.

For the Love of Chocolate Cake

What happens when you're having your period, and you haven't eaten any chocolate in a long while --> an insatiable, uncontrollable, urgent need for chocolate cake!!

So because I'm desperately craving chocolate cake and can't get it any time soon, here are some pictures, because I have every intention of making you people crave it too.


Just look at it...


Imagine the taste of chocolate melting in your mouth...


When was the last time you had good 'ol chocolate cake, smothered with even MORE chocolate on top?


Dripping, melting with sweet, thick chocolate fudge?


Then again, chances are you'd be able to fulfill your chocolate cake urges easily with a trip to the nearest bakery. Or Secret Recipe, whichever works for you.


I, on the other hand, shall be left suffering until I go home. omg this post totally backfired. I'm craving chocolate cake even more now!!

Mummy, pleasepleaseplease have one of Aunty Zurila's cakes waiting for me when I get home... T___T

I Want a Pet

I want one, I tell you.

One I can cuddle and play with, and manja2 with, and layan when nobody else wants to layan me <--- sad =___=

And yes, I know I have to buy their food and clean up their poop.

I still want one.

Mummy won't let me have one. Wait la, until I move out.


Until then I'll continue going "aww" over every cat and dog I happen to see. And haunt lolcats and loldogs everyday until my eyes bleed.

If I could have a dog, I would want a yellow labrador.

Is cute! I don't like tiny dogs, but I don't like super-huge dogs either. Yellow labradors are average, I guess. And they're so cute and friendly-looking. Whenever I think "dog", the first thing that pops into my head is this:


My mum tells me she used to have a black labrador when she was a kid. huuu...

Golden retrievers are also cute. See how cute.


Alternatively, if keeping a dog proves to be too troublesome, rather than keeping a box full of sand on standby to wash my hands with whenever I touch my dog, maybe it's better to just keep a box full of sand for my cat to poop in. Or I could have both, and make sure that the cat cannot access at least one box of sand. =___=

I don't like Persians, though. Why does everyone like Persians? I mean, sure their fur is long and thick, but they have such snobby faces. That mouth is just weird. I wouldn't know how to manja2 with a cat that looks like that, however nice their fur is.


I like plain ol' tabby cats. Just because. Cute la. Brown tabby cats, mind you. Ginger cats are fine, but brown tabbies are the ones I feel cozy with.



And if I had to pick an actual breed of cat that I like, I think Maine Coons are kinda cute. Don't you think so?



Owh well. Enough with the kittens and the puppies. Back to Advanced Database Systems. I need to implement a complex datatype into a nested table, which should then ref to another table... or something. Ohgodhelpme. Does anybody know how to calculate database performance transparency? Pleasepleaseplease teach me, I'm dying here.

Owh wait. I can hear birds starting to chirp. Noisy things. What time is it?

Ah. Bedtime.

Course Registration

.. is such a pain.

Mostly because the Internet connection from my room has been total crap this past week, and I was unable to log into the student portal to register for courses.

My main worry, when I finally logged in this afternoon, was that my first choice of co-curricular course would be full up. (yes, laugh, I postponed that stupid thing until the final semester, and now it's actually counted into our CGPA, which it wasn't before, dammit.)

I wanted Modern Music I, mostly because it sounds like fun. I've made it a point to take only the Arts and Cultural electives for co-cu so far, because the others seemed so pointless and boring. Since I'd already taken up Drama I and II, that left Modern Music, Basic Dance, Gamelan (traditional instrument) and Caklempong (another traditionl instrument).

I'm not at all musically inclined, but I thought I'd try Modern Music as my first choice. Seems like fun, and it'd be learning something new. But it was full. Urgh. Had originally been planning on taking it with my friends, but somehow now we're all split up.

So then I tried Dance, even though I have two left feet. Again, try something new. But again, full.

Then I tried Gamelan and Caklempong, because everyone says those are super easy. Again, both full.

That left me with Recreation and Adventure, Peer Helper, Calligraphy, and Sports Science.

Recreation and Adventure = Camping = bugs, mud, sleeping in a tent. Ew ew ew. I am not an outdoors-y person at all. I HATE camping. Next.

Sports Science. Is boring. Which is what everyone says who has taken it. And I'm really not into sports. I am as much into sports as I am into monster trucks, which is NOT AT ALL.

Calligraphy is very dubious. I mean, there are various types of calligraphy. There's Islamic calligraphy (hard) or Chinese calligraphy (HARDER!)... among others. I don't think I'd be decent at any of them.

So Peer Helper it is, then. But, seriously. Me, counseling people? I don't know how to at all. I suicidal guy seeking help from me will become three times more likely to go drown himself in the UTP lake, if only to get away from my annoying babble.

>__>

So next sem, my registerd courses are as follows:
1) Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery (major)
2) Malaysian Studies (core)
3) Corporate Communication (minor)
4) Business and Cyber Law (minor)
5) Final year Project II
6) Peer Helper (co-cu)

Data Mining is hard, I've heard. And Cyber Law is killer. Like, you have to memorize everything word for word, and if you miss so much as a single word, even a pointless verb like 'a' or 'the', you lose all your marks for the exam question. Wtf. It has a fantastic track record of students doing very poorly in it.

Die next sem, I tell you.

Who said final year final sem very free? Who said? Huh? Who said?? Come here, I kill you!

T____T

American Idol

Final twooooo~

I reckon Adam Lambert is going to win. No-brainer there. His vocals are awesome, and his performances are better than the live performances of some current recording artists. The obvious winner. The series has been following him since the auditions. There is no doubt in anyone's minds that he's going to win.

style duduk tepi longkang tapi sexy. haha

American Idol is basically a singing competition - hence, the better singer deserves to win. That, of course, is Adam. He knows it. The judges know it. The audience knows it.

very syok sendiri wan

Besides, there hasn't been a gay/bisexual winner yet, and Americans love to vote the minorities/weird people. That's how some grandpa-looking guy won some random season (one of the seasons I didn't watch, but caught a glimpse of the guy's face somewhere. Or maybe everyone else in that season sucked?)

see, I told you he's gay. dunwan to believe me. fine, here's proof!!

Butbutbut. When their albums are coming out, I'm going to get Kris' album, not Adam's. Because his style of music is more or less what I like to listen to. I've already downloaded a few of his studio performances, and his cover of How Sweet It Is is my ringtone for Hafez =P

it is probably not a good idea to sit on rusty chairs, no matter how hot you think you are. kids, don't try this at home.

In the world of American Idol, first place is always the better singer. But in real life, first place is the one with the best album. Who did better, Ruben whatshisname, or Clay Aiken? Granted, Clay Aiken came out of the closet, went to Broadway and has no more new albums, but at least he did not disappear and DIE for all we know =___=

And David Chihuahua (Archuleta) did better than David Cook. Yes, I'm a sad and disappointed Cook fan. meh.

And Daughtry is infinitely more popular than... than... whoever won that season. =___=

ANYWAY. Whether he wins or loses, I still like Kris Allen better.

Plus I think he has a cute smile. Mwahahahahaha.

cute wat. you don't think so? =P

P.S.: Btw. What is a Tomok? A nickname for a pet cat, maybe? Certainly not a name you would give a human being, right? What kind of parents name their kid that? Or, rather, what self-respecting human being would name themselves that? >__> (Don't open an AF/One in a Million discussion here... I've never watched either, and I have no idea which one the Tomok guy is from. I just think it's a weird name.)

Annoyed

This time with the two girls in the room above mine. At least I reckon they're above mine, judging from the nearness of the sound.

It's 1:30 AM! I'm trying to study for my finals tomorrow morning! Can you please not karaoke at such an ungodly hour? It's not like you have nice voices, I'm sure several mirrors have cracked already.

Just bloody shut up!

Movie Night

Of the two or three Dan Brown books that I read, I always liked Angels and Demons the most (I think Da Vinci Code is a bit overrated), and was really looking forward to the movie.

So today, right after my first finals paper (next one is on Monday), Hafez and me went out to watch the movie.

Once we had settled in comfortably and were snuggling as best we could with the armrest in between (ipoh cinemas don't have couple seats), the ads began to roll. Just as the Harry Potter trailer had ended, I heard a familiar voice address me. I looked up, and there was... Rezza? o__O

And then Don came, and Rusydi. I mean, I'd known they were going to watch the movie too that same day, but the same theater, the same time, and the exact same row of seats..? =___=

Ipoh, you are too small. Somebody please develop more malls with cinemas in that poor desolate town.

Anyways. After the initial weirdness of it had blown over, we all just sat and watched the movie.

I think the movie was pretty decent. And I still like it better than Da Vinci Code. =P

Owh, and thank god Tom Hanks didn't repeat that mad professor hair in the second movie. haha! I don't remember the book that well, but one clear difference is that the Angels and Demons book took place before the Da Vinci Code book... the movies are the other way around. Not that it matters, it was still pretty good, except that they basically removed some of the romance between Langdon and that scientist lady.

Why are all female scientists in movies freakin hot? I somehow doubt that's really how it is in real life. To have both looks and brains seems a little unfair to me. Then what are the ugly people supposed to brag about?

Anyway. (Side-tracked yet again.) Other than Tom Hanks, I was not expecting to see any other familiar faces in the movie.

But. But. But.

==Shira's Thought Process During Movie==



omg... that guy looks a lot like Ewan McGregor...



wow... he even has McGregor's chin... and those gorgeous eyes...



WAITASEC. That IS Ewan McGregor!



==Thought Process Ends==

I squealed excitedly then and gripped Hafez's arm. "Baby, it's Ewan McGregor!!" I whispered excitedly.

haha. I really did not know he was acting in that movie. But that was definitely a very pleasant surprise.

I totally heart Ewan McGregor. ngee~~~

I don't think Hafez was too happy about me drooling over Ewan McGregor throughout the movie. I think he was probably secretly happy with the ending. hahahahahaha

Go watch la.

eh eh wait. Don't forget to watch Star Trek, too. It's totally awesome, even for someone like me who's never watched Star Trek before. Sylar-with-pointy-ears aka Spock aka Spocklar aka Sypock (evolution of Psyduck??) is cool. In fact, his acting was pretty decent. i even forgot he was Sylar after a while, and stopped expecting him to slice open Kirk's head. nyehehehe.

Sypock, I choose youuu!!!

and, no, I did not watch both movies in the same night. You think what, I'm crazy ah?

But I love going to the cinema~ =3

Pinball Legends

Behold my high score in Pinball. And I'm still on my first ball!


Mwahahaha... who knew even simple games like these had cheat codes?

To activate cheat code, start a new game. Before launching your ball, just type "hidden test". You should then be able to drag and drop the ball pretty much anywhere. Or you can just do what I did and maneuver the ball through the whole game.

I've always wanted to know what happens if you complete all those "missions". Whee~

Credits goes to Nina and Hasif for telling me about the cheat =P

Seasons

Some countries have four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, winter. Different temperatures, different weather, different fashions.

Our country on the other hand, has only two seasons: hot and HOTTER.

Currently, it's the latter. Even the nights are hot and humid now, and the daytime has us sweating like... like... ahhh you get the idea. I am doubting that there is a hell that can be hotter than this. But then again, at least hell wouldn't be humid.

OMGWTFIT'SSOHOTIFEELLIKEGOINGNUDEIFONLYICOULD

I miss my lovely, fully air-conditioned home. Screw global warming.

(Oh the irony.)

The Cake Metaphor

I was led to believe my whole life that cake had icing on it.

When finally I was given cake, little wonder I was surprised that the cake had no icing on it. The cake was delicious, and I liked it... but no icing. Having expected icing, and not getting it, I could not help but to feel that something was missing.

And as time went on, the cake which had no icing was served to me repeatedly, and I watched all around me as others were served cake with beautifully decorative icing. I wondered what it was like to have icing. My cake did seem a little plain and boring, always without icing. But it still tasted good, so I continued to eat it.

I finally decided to rebel a little bit today, and requested loudly for icing.

I was met with a hurt gaze and was told reproachfully to wait, that I would eventually get my icing. A long lecture was given, mostly regarding the high costs, the risks involved, the potential damage to my health and well-being. One day, I would get it, but not now. Wait. Wait. Wait.

And so I continue to nibble at my cake, wondering why all the fuss over a little bit of icing. I still don't really understand why. I wonder how long I would be willing to wait for just that tiny bit of icing on this cake, the only cake that I have ever tasted.

I am worried that if someone were to offer me a different cake with icing, I might accept. But I couldn't be so shallow, just over a little bit of icing, could I? But I like icing. And it's not my fault someone is being cheap with their icing. But I shall do my best to resist temptation.

In the meantime, the cake I have will do. I guess I can wait a few more years for icing (can I, really?). But, oh well. Cake is cake. At least it tastes good. After all, I'd probably eventually get sick of cake with too much icing on it. Right?

Food...

... It's midnight, and I'm craving nasi briyani. Particularly the one my dad will usually tapau for us, lord knows where that shop is. One day I'll make him tell me and then go and eat at the actual shop. hahaha

I crave random food nowadays, and always it's food I can't get here. The other night I was craving mum's spaghetti. aaahhh...

A sure sign the semester is coming to an end. I can't wait for sem break. Although the prospect of a one-and-a-half month holiday is marred somewhat by the fact that I will have to start developing my Final Year Project, which will involve doing actual work during a holiday.

At least there are things to look forward to, aside from all the obvious joys of being home. Rez, I owe you Tony Roma's. And Don, I owe you a shopping spree at Pavilion. Yes, people, if you want to hang out, cepat book your slot and give me more things to look forward to. =P

Topik lari. Title of post was food. wtf. =___=

I'm hungweeeee....

I'm Bored

It's actually quite fun. How long can you ogle without getting caught?? Perfect for all you bored boob-lovers out there! Click here to play!

It Has Begun...

It's that time again, my favourite part of the semester (srsly). Study Week!

No assignments, no classes, no projects, no deadlines.

Just study, study, study at my own happy pace, without anything to bother me.

Owh, and I never knew that MPH had a second floor until I saw the schedule. Since when??

I mean, sure I saw the stairs, but they're so narrow and hidden, tucked in that tiny corner... I always assumed they led to a control room of some kind for the stage... you know, that room those medtech-y people hide in during an event so that they can play with the lights and sound effects and screw up on the slideshows. Guess not.

And is it just me, or does UTP management magically pull out new exam rooms from out of nowhere every year? I'm amazed. And I thought the Undercroft exam rooms were a novelty. Now I get to take my exam in the mysterious 2nd floor of MPH! Whee!

Yes, I am so bored from studying that I had to find an excuse to sampat over exam rooms. And now, back to the books.

Lame joke of the day...

If we call Foundation students "foundies" (at least I do), then what does that make us undergrads? Undies..?

Cameron Highlands

Some photos to share with you people.

=D

This is Hafez's excited face at 10am in the parking lot.


This is Larry's excited face, because we're going on a road trip. Larry is my porcupine cd wallet, everybody say hi.


This is my excited face... nah. I'm horrible at camwhoring. All the photos I tried to take of myself looked buruk. Wait, that's because I'm buruk. hahahaha Here's a photo of Orange dancing, instead.


We arrived at Cameron Highlands around 12. First things first - breakfast!!


Here's me sipping tea, silently praying that I wouldn't get a stomach ache. Miraculously, I didn't.


Here's Hafez sipping tea. And for whatever reason, his arm looks ridiculously tiny in this shot. I so phail at taking photos. =___= (Hence most of the photos you see here are Hafes's work.)


Two bright, shiny, happy faces.


Hafez.


Me.


Some weird looking plants. Tea leaves?


Next stop.


Walking among the thorns. No roses yet.


Sampat person gawking at the cactus.


Another sampat person.


Fuzzy cactus balls.


Obscene statue with a misshapen arm.


Cute bunny.


Ju-on wants to pluck cute bunny's eyes out.


We get to where the flowers are. Here's one type.


And another.


I have no idea what they're all called, but they're pretty, hence I shall play with them all anyway.


"I'll put a flower in your hair..." But this particular flower is as big as my whole face. =___=


More pretty flowers.


Taking a short break.


Weird yellow fountain.


I like this photo. Hee.


Aaaand more flowers.


I sooo want one of these!!


I liked these flowers the most. Pretty!


Anybody know what they're called..?


Random photo.


"Ey, are you coming down here or not...?"


Weird bridge thing that's impossible to climb because it's so steep, especially when wearing a maxi. Nvm, just pose with it. =P


Went to a butterfly farm/park/garden next, or whatever they wanna call it. A bit scary for me... those things were everywhere! Note that I am scared of large, flying insects. Butterflies and moths happen to be large, flying insects, regardless of how pretty they are.

Flutterby bush.


He bravely poses with the flutterby bush.


There were other flying insects too, but it was mostly just those green and black flying insects. And I'm calling them flying insects because I suspect that they're moths and not butterflies. Because correct me if I'm wrong, but butterflies land with their wings closed, whereas the show-offy, perasan cantik moths like to land with their wings spread open. Ah well.

At least there were other animals to see there as well. Like these tortoises.


This guy wasn't very impressed by us, though. Look, he's ignoring me.


Hee.


Nest stop: the main reason I wanted to go to Cameron Highlands. =P


Fresh strawberries + whipped cream + ice-cream + chocolate sprinkles = heaven. I couldn't wait to attack it, so by the time Hafez managed to get the camera out, I'd already attacked half of it. hahahaha


This is where they grow the strawberries.


It was raining by this point, so it was kinda cold.


After that, we went off on our merry way back to Ipoh, with RM20 (4 packets) worth of strawberries. Yum!

All done with the photos~ Enjoy them, they don't come often on this blog of mine.