Bangi and Kajang people are nuts!!

Seriously!!!!!

OMG I’ve no idea what’s wrong with them!!

And to think that I thought after 21 years of living and following my mother to her office (okay fine, I haven’t followed her everyday, but, you know… I should get used to it somewhat, right?), it still surprised me how crazy those people drive!!

Nonetheless, there wasn’t even a scratch on our new Vios, alright? No teasing!! I can drive a bloody manual car okay!! Smoothly at that without the engine suddenly loosing power. I bet I could outdrive most of you who’ve gotten used to driving auto any time!!

But really, urgh!! I really think the government should discriminate according to where they come from when it comes to exams; for those from Bangi and Kajang, it should be harder for them to pass their exams.

And make a lot of turnings to be taken by them during exams. Sure way to fail them.

Because they hardly look left or right before they cross the road or whatever. Seriously!!

Anyway, back to my driving.

I have absolutely no idea what to do with my left hand now that I don’t have to change the gear. Doesn’t help that my steering wheel control have always been bad. I know it is a bit weird, but I feel more confident with turning the wheel with one hand and the other at the gear most of the time. It’s been since forever (okay fine; 3 years) since I drove with a driving instructor next to me, thus needing to put both hands on the wheel. I know it’s not really a good habit. And it’s a wonder of power steering!! You don’t have to use both hands!! I was fascinated! And it became a bad habit. Haha.

My left side feels neglected when I drove the auto. Seriously; think about it. We don’t have to use the clutch, and we don’t need to change gears, and don’t even bother lying; you would hardly use the handbreak now. All the work is done by your right side. Only your poor right brain is not being used.

Sigh. Sucks to live near KL; my mother insists that the jam would drive me insane if I drove a shift stick. Oh yes, she knows how impatient I am. Maybe she’s right. And I might not think when I am driven crazy with road range; forgetting I’m a female or just grabbing the umbrella and hitting the other driver.

Oh, gotta go now!! Lunch!!

Speed limit

I will finally learn how to drive an automatic tomorrow.

I know, I’m that dumb. I find manual easier; it is comforting that regardless of how much you press the accelerator, if you don’t change the gear, the engine would just make a lot of noise. Heee.

Yeah, that’s my biggest fear with driving an auto; I’m afraid if I’ll step on the accelerator too much.

My mother thinks it is worth paying someone to teach me; a proper driving instructor. So I’m following her to her office, to be taught by her former secretary’s husband.

So that got us talking about speed limits.

You see, my mother learnt how to drive in the US; just automatics though. She only learnt how to drive a manual car when she came back to Malaysia for good; we don’t recognize American driving license. I think we still don’t, since it is not commonwealth anyway.

She was telling me, those days the speed limit on a freeway (highway/ motorway) was 55miles per hour (mph; yeah, they use miles. How backwards. Couldn’t they use metrics? Seriously!!). Decided to calculate it; I used the Google calculater and got the figures:

55 miles per hour = 88.51392 kilometers per hour

Seriously!! We could drive 90km per hour (kmph) on normal roads in Malaysia!!!

So I decided to wiki it, and discovered that the speed limits on the mainland (i.e. excluding Hawai’i) are between 50-75; with some places in Texas having up to 80.

Lets assume the maximum speed limit in the whole of US is 80mph, which is 128.74752 kmph; about 130 kmph.

My mother was driving 72mph on that 55mph stretch of road. My mother who never goes above the speed limit in Malaysia.

So it got me recalling, in Twilight, where Edward Cullen drove at 100mph, and then going higher… I don’t remember it hitting 150mph though. However, I’m too lazy to check; the book is already arranged on my bookshelf, no longer next to my bed on the nightstand.

Maybe it’s because of the use of mph instead of kmph that I thought, well, maybe it is fast. And the way Meyer wrote it; as if it was just a blur outside, with everything flying past you.

100mph is equivalent to about 160kmph.

I had a psycho friend who I tell people wants to kill me, drives on the NKVE from the Subang toll to Damansara toll at that speed. Those toll plaza are the next from each other, might I add. A short distance. Didn’t stop him.

And he’s human who wears glasses. And sings along to Muse while he’s driving.

The same psycho also drives 200kmph on the new East Coast highway to Kuantan.

Seriously, I’m not impressed with the Twilight Saga anymore.

It deteriorates day by day.

I’m getting worried; I still want to own the books.

Oh well, when I arrived in London, I realize what a big lie JK Rowling did with the train platforms and all… And I still want to own the books.

Maybe because the memory are just too fresh.

But, yeah. I have a crazy friend. He now has a girlfriend.

I feel like telling her, “you know, you boyfriend tried to kill me by inducing a heart attack everyday when we were in college.” And embarrassed the hell out of me when I was in University.

Goddamn him.

On another note, I must must remember to bring sunblock tomorrow. Argghhh!! I am hating the ridiculously hot season on the West Coast. I absolutely abhor the sun. I absolutely don’t get why my skin is sensitive to it. Oh, thank God I don’t get burnt though; it skips that part and goes straight to peeling, which is just as bad. Urgh…

I should really make a proper plan of entrapping a Scottish man into marriage.

Anywhere which is constantly cloudy and rainy would do, I would think. Heee.

Cousin’s wedding

I couldn’t resist it anymore; the one question that have been in my mind since I discovered that my newly weded cousins live separately still.

Both of them were sharing houses with friends of their respective genders.

Also, my cousin will be relocated to Terengganu in November. So it didn’t make sense to find a house, only having to move out of it after only 3 months.

So they stay separately, even though they have been married for 3 months.

To be honest, I think that the only semblance of privacy they had together since they were married was when they sent me home after our side of the family’s reception ceremony and when my cousin was in the hospital, where his new wife took leave to take care of him.

It just boggled me. Why didn’t they wait once they were stable? After all, my cousin knew of the relocation quite some time already. They could have waited. Why made it so close to the fasting month?

I mean, isn’t having sex a little bit troublesome during that time? Needing to perform a full ablution before dawn so that your fast would be accepted? Who in the right mind would actually bother waking up to have shower in the cold water just to have one night of sex?

I find it rather too troublesome to believe anyone would actually bother doing it.

Anyway, it is not just food you’re supposed to abstain during the day in the fasting month. I would think sex would be included.

I’ve pondered on my own and I gave up. And since today my cousin came to help me get my racks from IKEA, I decided, why the hell not?

So I asked him, why did he decide to have the wedding when he did?

The answer was because of me.

Okay fine, he wanted as many family members as possible to attend it. However, since I was the only one who was overseas for a long period of time when I do leave the country, it made sense to try have it when I was in the country.

They didn’t know I was going to reject the offer anyway. Heck, even I didn’t know till I was going back to Malaysia.

The irony was that my mother was not in the country for the reception on our side. Hahahaha.

So, yes, I’m touched.

He’s really not like my former cousin (I decided I didn’t want anything to do with her. And since we weren’t tied by blood anyway [both her mother and my mother were adopted], I really didn’t think it mattered) who, my aunt told me, wanted to have the ceremony while I was away. Total opposite, huh? She didn’t want my mother or I to be present. Looking at how extravagant they went, I wasn’t surprised why they didn’t want us there. And I didn’t think I lost anything by not attending anyway. I generally hate weddings.

If I were to marry, I would elope.

Seriously.

No fuss, no embarrassment, and very economical.

And like Amni, I rather splurge on the honeymoon.

Hahaha.

Murakami

I started reading Murakami’s Norweigian Wood.

I got it last Monday at MPH for RM39.90.

Got me thinking, he should change his name to Mahalkami instead.

Hehehe.

Alarm clock

Waking up early today–7am!!–reminded me of my last Easter break. Sniff sniff.

Anyone who knows me knows what odd hours that I keep.

It gets worse when I have courseworks to do. I sleep whenever I feel like sleeping.

However, “lucky” me, a robin one day decided to be my alarm clock. About the time after I came back from Lake District.

And I really didn’t appreciate it.

I mean, it came chirping at my window at 6am!! It doesn’t help that the sun rises early in April-May; this silly bird decided to elect itself as my alarm clock.

Okay, to be honest, I don’t know whether it is the same bird or not.

However, without fail, from that day on, at 6am, it will be at my window, chirping happily.

Oh, I don’t draw my curtains when I sleep. Find it too stuffy in the spring and summer months.

When it chirps, I threw the nearest things at it. And being the coward that it is, it didn’t wait to make sure I was awake.

Having watch Avenue Q on the first weekend of my Easter break, which is shown at the Noel Coward theatre, I started to call the stupid bird Noel Coward.

Oh yes, gay men have a special place in my heart; gay men who writes plays a special place in the special place in my heart. Haha.

I threw all sorts of  things; cushion, eraser, pens, pencils, my notes, library books.

My glasses even.

And all these I would have to collect when I wake up from outside before the people threw them away, thinking it’s trash.

Now, in Malaysia, I miss Noel Coward the cowardly robin.

Sigh.

Petrol

When we got our new car, my mother decided that we should only put RM20 worth of petrol since the petrol prices would go down. I’m not sure if they have adjusted the prices yet though.

I know I should read the newspapers, but I’m stuck in the fiction world, I don’t want to leave it!!!!!

Anyway, yeah, RM20 worth. Maybe we had about RM8 worth still in the tank, I’m not sure.

She insisted that she will drive to work using that car at least twice; she works abaout 45 minutes drive away from our house.

4 45 minute trips, with going around the area because she just wanted to get used to the feeling of driving the car.

Huh.

I laughed at her when she said she will be driving the Vios again today. I told her she’s crazy; she’ll be out of petrol on the way back. Just wait and see.

She said she doesn’t think so. After all, I don’t drive. And the car is much lighter than the Merc we have.

Fine. Up to you, I thought. If she got stranded, she couldn’t call me anyway since I don’t drive. And would unlikely be driving the Merc unless I have to.

And you know what? She started panicking at about 15 minutes more to reach home. Because the petrol indicator showed that it was using the reserve.

Hah!!

See, I was right.

*smug*

Seriousness Guideline

I was looking through the files in my My Documents, and I saw a file named “seriousness guideline”.

Got me wondering, am I that bad that I need a guideline to be serious?

Then it hit me; it was one of the reading for Criminal Justice.

Haahahaha.

How stupid of me.

Heee

Sony Ericsson

I am rather fed up with my k850i.

Okay fine, it is a good phone, good camera (reasonable anyway compared to my p5100; but good for a camera phone) and has an mp3 player with comfortable earphones.

However, the biggest problem I had was that it sometimes dies for no reason. Suddenly, out of the blue, it dies. Or restarts itself.

And the record is really bad since… I remember using my Samsung phone when I was in Dublin…

And even better… it died.

Or more like, it refuses to start.

Okay, it lights up when I press the on button, but it stays that way. The screen doesn’t light up.

And it is so annoying that the phone numbers are in the phone; not the simcard.

Urgh…

However, it’s a good thing that most of my friends are in the UK anyway. No one to text or call. Just family.

Still, next time I’m not getting a Sony-Ericsson anymore.

Hrmph.

Twilight movie poster

I was wondering why I found the poster rather familiar.

Oh, I do find Kristin Stewart in that poster looking a little bit like Blair Waldrof/ Leighton Meester. The current picture of the wiki article of Leighton Meester suck, by the way. Maybe I’m just biassed since I hate tanned skin tone; the paler the better is the case for me. I absolutely abhor the sun, which never ceases to amaze my mat saleh friends

Sometimes I wonder how sunny Nashville is.

I really should move to Scotland; rainy, not much sun Scotland. Heee

Oh, it is this poster. Couldn’t find another one but the wiki one. Oh well. Doesn’t the character Edward Cullen look rather disturbing there? And why do they make Robert Pattison have such gray makeup anyway? (Faliiiqqqq!!!! Hahaha. Gray makeup. Heeee. But this one much better and nicer gray ) When there’s pictures of him with the rest of “the Cullens” looking much less, gray? Actually, he looks like he have a human skintone there…

Okay… The cast of Twilight, quite a few of them remind me of characters from Gossip Girl. Err…

Anyway, yes; I, too, hate the fact that wordpress doesn’t allow me to load pictures. Some error would appear. Bleurgh.

Well, here anyway. Maybe I’ll try going to Starbucks and see how.

However, I’m too lazy now.

I also curse the fact that I don’t have a scanner here. Man, I miss my life in England. Yes!! I prefer the pathetic drizzles we get in East Midlands!! Waaahhhhhh!!! More reason to wear a cap And my super bright turquoise coat. Nyeh nyeh. I miss my coat. Sigh. Just sitting in my wardrobe. Sigh…

Anyway, yeah, why I complain the fact that I don’t have a scanner is because I finally figure out why it’s so familiar…

The pose and expression is somewhat like a cover of one of my comic books.

Hahaha.

Different faces, of course.

PS: I did wake up once saying out “Blair”, of all things. You know who you are, the person I mean this PS for

I know Fatin doesn’t read my blog; the IP addresses that I get that’re from Ireland are from towns which I don’t know anyone there.

Nonetheless, little did she know that I am counting down the days she’s leaving Dublin/ arrives in Malaysia (I didn’t ask and I realize that it should be separated, and emphasized the difference, just in case “someone” stumbles along this entry and see the difference between the two); 23rd Dec.

Reason why?

Coz I am too stingy to pay the 3 euros more for the CD and the delivery when someone from Ireland is coming back in December to get Lynn Hilary’s album to be parcelled all the way to Malaysia.

Though I’m still thinking whether I should get the album.

However, I am certain in December I would ask her to get it.

Nonetheless, for now… I’ll just… do what I do best; procrastinate.

Heee,

Glad that you’re coming home, regardless of the fact you might not see this post!!

(Waahhhhhh. Yesterday daylight saving ended!! )

Oh yes, I couldn’t sleep. I’m disturbed. I wonder if I would be able to sleep soon… I’m soooo sleepy, but I’m a chicken.

Twilight book binding

Oh yeah, about the binding.

Of all things I’m going to talk about on this post.

I like the binding!!!! Haha. Regardless how I hold it, no creases appear at the spine of the book!!

Maybe it’s because of the size. However, my textbooks which are about the same thickness as it, which uses bigger paper too gets the spine creased. And that’s even when I hold them carefully!!

I wasn’t the type of student who tried to make his/her book looks like it falls apart to show his/her fellow students or parents or tutors how much (s)he has studied; shown by the amount of damage that the book has gone through.

Anyway; Twilight. Yes. The binding. No marks on the spine.

However, it is the first book that I’ve torn the cover. Oh, not the sides where you can flip.

No, it is the front cover, the side of the cover; top left.

No idea how it happened. Must be during one of the times when I was holding it with one hand; which is all the time anyway. Hahaha.

Oh, the fear of it being thick was silly. The book is amazingly light for its thickness. If only Chalmers was that light; I might have read it more often. Haha.

The book feels lighter than The Amber Spyglass!! However, it is thicker and bigger in size. I know right!! It’s crazy.

Oh, how did I know? I brought Twilight with me to a wedding…

Yeah I know, really ridiculous. However, it was a wedding hosted by my mother’s former colleagues. I wanted to be ignored as best as possible.

Nonetheless, yeah, they should produce more books like Twilight; the binding, I mean. No creases!! OMG!!

I haven’t finished reading it yet though. I don’t feel as captivated as I was with His Dark Materials, so it’s easy for me to find something else to do, or read another book in between. It’s rare that I read one book continuously without reading another in between. Haven’t had the enthusiasm as I had for His Dark Materials for a long long time. Not even when I was reading Round Ireland with a fridge. Actually, I had a lot of pauses with Round Ireland. It took me about 3 months to finish the book. Haha. I know, quite ridiculous. However, if I actually did read it continuously, I think I would have died of a heart attack; my heart wouldn’t have been able to take the amount of laughter that book caused me if it was done in a short period of time.

I do find Twilight is easy to read though. Quite fast to move through the pages. Even though it is on the large size for a book, don’t be deceived. The margins are quite big and the space between lines seems bigger than other books, though I doubt it is 1.5 spaced. I still think it is single spaced; but with a font that has a big single spaced, if that make sense?

Oh, I don’t know what to say about His Dark Materials, to be honest. I mean, to give a synopsis of it. It’s like Lord of the Rings, really. A lot of characters. Just, don’t watch the movie to judge the book. The book is good. I likey it. Hard to believe that Pullman got a 3rd class in English. Oh well…

Really have to read Chronicles of Narnia soon. Just that, the book is so unaccessible under so many other books. I still haven’t gotten a bookrack. Sigh. The package was too long and I would need the help of my cousin. If he can’t, I would have to fork out the RM65 for the delivery, I suppose. The annoying thing is that it cost the same for the whole Klang Valley, and my house is just ridiculously near to IKEA. Sigh. Annoying!!

Anyway, Edward Cullen annoys me quite a bit. Such a Byronic hero. Blah.

However, at the same time, he reminds me eerily of myself. Minus the gracefulness; I have Bella Swan’s clumsiness, except when I wear heels. As ridiculous as it might sound, I’m more clumsy when I wear flats; sneakers, ballet flats, flip flops. Anything that’s flat would trigger my clumsiness. I know, I’m nuts. When I wear heels I’m more balanced.

Oh, which bits of him that I found so like me? Huh… Go read the book. I would list the several that I definitely am not; I don’t drive ridiculously fast (I don’t drive at all, if it’s possible), I don’t have good vision, and I can’t run or play sports. A lot more are not me anyway, but yes, it is eerie. Though I’m so not a Byronic hero. Hahaha.

Seriously, check the wiki article on Byronic hero, and you would see that Edward Cullen hits almost every typical characteristic of one; maybe except the social or sexual dominance part. Or maybe he does qualify for that as well; you decide. Yeah, I think he does; dominate over Bella Swan, definitely. He leaves her flustered often. Haha. And that, I don’t have, I’m pretty sure.

I can see why girls go crazy over Edward Cullen though. The book is written through Bella Swan’s point of view. She later falls in love with Cullen and through out describes his perfection and somewhat rebutts his rebuttal of his perfection (though he sometimes basks in it). I do find books which writes through the point of view of the protagonist, the readers tend to fall in love with the protagonist’s love interest. After all, it is written as if you’re telling the story, you’re Bella Swan. I fell into the trap as well. Not gonna announce the book though.

I have a feeling that the Twilight Saga would be like Harry Potter to me; I have no problem with it, I don’t hate it (okay maybe it is too harsh; dislike would be the word more suitable for it), I somewhat enjoy reading it. So since I already have the first book, I would buy the rest of the Saga. Once the price of all the books go to RM39.90. Haha. Less, if possible. I have no problem waiting if the book wouldn’t change the cover, and especially if there’s a possibility of the book price going down. Hopefully USD would depreciate against MYR soon… Like… drop super badly like AUD. Australian Dollars, for the ignorant. Yes, I am a bit nuts over monitoring exchange rates.

Ahh… Truly a book collector, aren’t I? Haha. I don’t really fancy Harry Potter that much, to be honest. However, like I mentioned, since I bought one book, I’m going to get all. And I’m getting all paperback with the same cover style. I got a hardcover copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for half price. However, I have big regrets since the book didn’t look nice on my bookrack; it was the odd one out. I also hate hardcovers, by the way. I prefer paperback even with the risk of creases in the spine. Hardcovers are heavier than paperbacks; thats pretty much the only reason why I hate hardcovers. Haha. Okay, and the fact that it is more expensive. Though I have been known to buy the paperback version even when the hardcover is less priced. Hehe.

Oh, if anyone–that I know personally anyway–that wants a hardcover version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I would gladly give you for free. I want to give it away actually. Just haven’t got around to it. Oh, it’s the adult cover, with the black background. Not the kiddy2 one. I want the kiddy2 one in paperback. Haha. If you want to trade, get me the paperback one, kiddy2 cover.

I thought I would keep this for a full review of the book. However, I think it is unlikely. I am not crazily bonkers over the book after all. I write reviews for books I’m crazily bonkers over, apart from His Dark Materials, which is too complicated and my lousy writing might make people think twice before reading it. Sometimes I feel that my vocab is not wide enough. However, it is very rare that I even find one word in the novels I read that I don’t understand or have not came across. Oh, the reading of the dictionary has stopped indefinitely. Hahaha. Horrible, I know.

Anyway, here’s the bit; don’t you think it is ridiculously annoying that Stephenie Meyer keeps reminding us of Edward Cullen’s “perfection”? Those who have read it anyway. I find it absolutely annoying. Yes, I get it, she finds him perfect. Move on already. We don’t need to be told so many times. Does she has so little confidence in our memory? I mean, it is a thick book; the readers need to have quite a good understanding and grasp of the English language and good memory. However, there’s not that many characters, considering the thickness of the book.

Now that I think about it… There’s quite a bit of padding through that in the book. No wonder it’s so thick and so easily read.

To me anyway.

A matter of principle

So, for the first time, my mother decided to be the one to do something as a matter of principle, even if we would loose economically.

That’s usually me. Oh, I do lots of such things, which annoys her to no end.

So it was quite a surprise when she yelled my name and called me down, and showed the bean sprout we got at Tesco just moments before that.

It was grossly overpriced.

Later, I found out, we were overcharged by RM2.40.

A lot, for bean sprouts anyway.

She insisted that we drove all the way there and get a refund.

I was reluctant as I was tired. We went around IKEA the whole day, only to discover that the stuff I wanted to get wouldn’t fit either cars we had; I had to call a cousin of mine for help.

Oh yes, we got the new car; a Toyota Vios.

And I’m hating the smell of the car. I never liked the smell of new cars anyway.

So it’ll be quite some time till I enter that car, if I can help it. Or if I do, I’ll make sure the windows are down.

So, my room is still bookrack-less, with my books everywhere.

Am reading Twilight by Stephenie Meyer now. Slowly giving it a chance… I’m only on the 3rd chapter… Though I have to say, it is a great book to flip through. Haha. Of all things. And despite the thickness of it, it’s bearable to hold while you’re lying on your bed.

It might be even lighter than The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman; the last book I read. Which I strongly recommend for you to read. Of course, read Northern Light/ The Golden Compass first. And don’t even think of judging the book by the movie; I didn’t watch it, but from the trailer I could see a lot of things were changed. And from wiki, the change wasn’t for the better.

Still, I’m skeptical as to whether I would like the book. Hmmm.

We’ll see, we’ll see…

Dreams

I’ve been getting vivid dreams since I got back from England. Maybe not since then; I exaggerate. About… I’m not really sure, actually. However, it’s been happening quite often.

And I realize that I don’t know what is true and what is isn’t; seems like the two worlds are merging somewhat in my mind.

The main reason why is that so is because most of the time, I dream about people that do exist in my life. And the events are somewhat similar or that it is very possible that it has happened. However, our location makes it rather impossible for it to have happened.

And some of the events… the time frame… Yet it is also so possible.

And some of it, it’s as if that the dreams are trying to rewrite history; a retelling of what has happened.

No, not a retelling. More like, erasing an old memory and putting a new one.

And I keep dreaming of people in my past. Which is sooo annoying. Urgh!! Can’t they just remain there; in my past??? I find my past embarrassing and annoying.

God!! Those time when I actually had crushes. Man, that was a long time ago; the last time I had a crush was when I was 13, form 2 (my birthday being in December). Since then, poof, no more baby!!

Who would have thought; the time people hit puberty–when guys hit puberty–is when I became disinterested in them.

And that 13 year old me, is so not me.

Oh, whoever the school-going period was definitely not me. And I want to forget about my past. Why can’t I? Urgh…

Why are my dreams doing this to me?

It’s disquieting that I can’t be sure what is real and what was in my dream.

I think for the time being, I better not see anyone.

PS: My iTunes likes U2 and Christmas songs. Don’t know why it keep playing their songs. Hardly any other songs. Weird.

PPS: Food poisoning (damn KFC) and then whole night of burping and a day of fever. Blah.

PPPS: No eating cabbage ever again. Bleurgh.

ER

No, not emergency room, silly. Exchange rate. Hehe.

OMG GBP is not only less than RM6 but it is RM5.7837!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What the helll!!!!!!!!

And Euros!! It’s RM4.6092!!!!!!!

Amagad!!

It better stay that way or go lower by the time I get to Belfast!! Both of them!! And make my cross border expenses much lower.

And the plane tickets for inter-island travels great.

No, I don’t want to take the ferry.

Well, maybe if I’m going to North West Coast of England. Apart from that, BIG NO.

Blek.

Urgh unbelievable man…

Religion

One thing I definitely know, with all my heart of hearts, regardless how I don’t fast and not pray, not wearing the hijab blablabla, I do know that my faith in Islam would never go, regardless how much I question it.

Because when I question it, I have a slight doubt, just a slight one. Okay fine, I’ll be honest here; I’m skeptical about all religions, mine no exception. See, I try my best not to favor or discriminate. Heee.

What’s the difference is that, all in all, I’m a believer in Islam; my heart is open to the religion.

So regardless how absurd I think the rule is, or how I agree with a non-believer’s opinion of it, I would still be able to find sense in the religion.

Because I see the questions as a believer, and not a doubter.

I am the latter when it comes to Catholicism, which is why I doubt so much to the point I call myself a Catholicist. I can’t and won’t be able to accept the religion. No way.

A friend said that blind faith is the best faith. My religious (but I find it rather hypocritical since he swears more often than I do) uncle would be able to cite which verse of the Quran where in Arabic means to God wanting us to have blind faith.

However, I believe God gave us the ability to choose for a reason. Adam and Eve made the decision to eat the Fruit of Knowledge. It is not a sin; yes, God “banished (to use the word loosely) from the Garden of Eden, but who are we to say that it wasn’t in His plan anyway? He is out creator for goodness sake!!

He gave us the ability to choose; and choose you should, I think. Nonetheless, I’m no learned person in the area of religion, so don’t trust me so much, I think.

Nonetheless, this doubt, has made me try to find reasons why. And like I’ve mentioned, I’ve found satisfying answers that satisfy even my skeptical self.

Have I mentioned, I would absolutely refuse to marry a Catholic? The least I could take is a very doubting one; however, if you doubt your religion so much, why didn’t you leave the religion?

I find it easier to accept an Atheist than a Catholic.

Oh, I have friends who are Catholics, of course. Just, we don’t talk about our religion.

Friends are different when it is compared to people you’re going to marry. When you marry, you’re going to spend the rest of your life (supposedly anyway) with the person, raise your kids (if you have) and what nots. Rather confusing, especially for the kids, if their parents have different religions, no?

Probably the reason why I’m thinking this is because I’m reading Pullman’s His Dark Materials.

Oh yeah, I can see he pushes your understanding about religion, especially when you don’t know things about well.

However, not Islam. Maybe the understanding of Islam in Western Society; but not what I understand of it.

I can’t say much about Judaism since I’ve absolutely no idea about the religion. Nonetheless, the Christianity part of it, oh yeah. Catholics, especially, with their Pope being able to decide on things.

How silly is it in allowing a supposedly celibate unmarried man to decide on contraceptives? Seriously? And no divorce, so those who “practice” their religion commit adultery most of the time when in the situation they should just divorce and marry the new partner. Absolutely silly.

Oh, key to His Dark Materials is bringing down the Authority; the first angel who lied to everyone that he is the Creator; God. There’s a bunch of people who wants to bring him down, the Church being their arrogant self wanting to protect it. Ladida…

Gotta read it. I’ve no idea how to explain it. There’s wikipedia after all.

I know my mother would hate me reading it.

Me? I like the book!! It is something, really. Such imagination.

Religion vs Rousseauist? Why not a combination it? I am living it, if I say so myself.

Need to read CS Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia.

Oh, well, erm, I should say; for me, bring it on, freedom of expression, even if it supposedly “criticize” religion (Pullman doesn’t do it as obvious as others; people put 2 and 2 together and got 5; his atheist self and the “killing” of the Authority). Let as many creativity flows; it is, after all, fiction. And it is between the author and God Himself. They can’t be pushed to the light anymore anyway, what can you do and what benefit is there to threat to kill him (which would constitute you killing another of God’s creation and ruined the good name of the Religion).

Also, regardless of what they say, hey, we know better than that!! If those people who are ignorant would like to believe a work of fiction, it is really their problem. With information so easily accessed, it is their loss, really. And pulling an argument from above; God gave us the ability to make judgments and choose for ourselves; read, open up your mind, try finding out if the work of fiction is true, and make your own judgment in that.

Really, believing and making such a big fuss about works of fictions is absolutely silly. There’s plenty of work of non-fiction that you should criticize instead!! And those… if people believe it, well… After all, they’re supposedly well researched, no?

Oh yes, I’m a pro-choice person, generally; not just abortion.

So goddamn it, America, don’t you vote for McCain-Palin!! That woman is nuts!! And they’re going to turn America to some medieval place where you no longer have the right to choose which was guaranteed by Roe v Wade!!!! Who knows, even no contraceptives even. Scary…

2 hours

Was all it took for me to get to 1Utama and back. I was there for only about an hour. I surprised even myself.

I have no idea why but every time the cab driver asks me where should (s)he drop me, I would say old wing, even when I know that the only place I am heading to is in the new wing.

Went to MPH and got myself five books.

Oh yeah, five books.

Would have been six if I still bought Obama’s Dreams from my Father. However, I decided against it.

Barely keep to my budget. Was surprised that I was only short of 5 sens to bust the book budget after giving up Obama’s book.

Why 5 books?

The original plan is to get Obama’s and Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight. Oh, I was too lazy to sit down and watch a movie, even if it’s a musical. So I decided to just buy books. I have to say that the binding of Twilight makes it nice to flip. Heee. Of all things to consider. However, I am still reading The Amber Spyglass from Pullman’s His Dark Materials.

I got myself a dream dictionary, which is dirt cheap, and being a MRC member, I got it 30% off. Just got it for fun, and to answer some of my weird dreams. Though I can hardly separate dreams from reality nowadays, it’s scary.

I am quite grumpy over the fact that the movie tie-in of Cecelia Ahern’s PS I Love You is about RM4 cheaper than the normal covered one. One freaking Euro more; ok less than one Euro. Whatever.

And not only that, it is amongst books which MPH is selling 3 for 2. The movie tie-in, I mean.

However, the normal one is not included.

Arrggghhhh.

So I begrudgingly picked up the movie tie-in one, with the sequel to The Curious Incident of the Night Time Dog by Mark Haddon and A History of God by Karen Armstrong, which all qualify for the 3for2 offer.

Being used to the British tills where they automatically minus the offers with the lowest priced item, regardless the sequence which the cashier rings the item, I was surprised that the cashier had to do it manually. And the best bit is this; the cashier ringed Ahern’s, then Haddon’s, and then only Armstrong. The price goes higher following the sequence. And she minused the price of Armstrong’s book. *squells!!* So, I paid less RM49.90 instead of less RM31.90!! Wow. Hahaha. I am so happy!! I got a cheaper price than the price I was willing to pay!! Hahahahahahah. I am absolutely delighted!!

Which is how I got to keep within my book budget. Oh, and the fact I gave up Obama’s book. Maybe I shouldn’t have given it up. Hmmm…

I went into several shoe shops; being the typical shoe addict I am. However, surprise surprise!! I didn’t get any. I don’t know why but I just didn’t feel like it.

Have I lost the joy of getting a new  pair of shoes?

Or is it because I have so many sensible pumps already?

Or I can’t think of a reason why I need new shoes?

After all, I’m not working; I pretty much stay at home all the time. I try to refuse following my mother to open houses to avoid seeing people who asked me when will I be working, and just avoid people generally. Unlike last time where I wear heels all the time to college.

Sigh.

Now I miss my A-levels times. Though it sucked as well. Still, I got to wear my heels all the time. Hehehe.

Oh, I was surprised to see Lisa Kelly’s album in one of the music shops there. Though I know they carry quite a wide range of music. So I have till about December before deciding if I want Lynn Hilary’s album so as to ask Fatin if she could please please go to D2 to get it. Which is not far anyway. Hee

Now, I sooo need 2 bookracks. The first one would definitely be full by now. Ladida.

Car is arriving either tonight or tomorrow. Weee!!!

Search results

I am wondering why amongst my search result is Tasha’s name; her full name at that. I tried searching for her and have not found even one mentioning of her full name; I always always refer her to Tasha (and the only one who has the same first name I call that; the other one I call her various names but Tasha. Haha). And I am pretty sure she doesn’t read my blog anymore; nonetheless, I am going to say it here anyway; Tasha, you need to get yourself a new blog. I know that you have reconnected yourself with Facebook, so maybe the people searching for you through search engine might lessen. Nonetheless, good idea to have another blog, no?

And I would advocate the use of wordpress again, of course.

Biological clock

So, anyone whose seen me online sure have realized that my biological clock has the timezone of British/Irish summer time. No surprise, since most of my friends have that timezone.

However, unlike them, my surrounding time is not British/Irish summer time (to be honest, I can’t remember when daylight saving time change back to normal time anymore) but Malaysian standard time; GMT +8, not GMT+1. Sigh.

So, with the help of the many sleeping pills that I’ve no idea what I’m going to do with, I’m going to correct my timezone. Oh I know I was given it to help me sleep, period. However, I also know that if I were to be talking to my psych, she would tell me to get to the correct time zone and move on with my life.

And I suppose I should. Unless I physically move to the BST (by then would be GMT already, I would think) or any other timezone will I change it.

So Amni, Faliq, I think I’ll keep in touch with you guys via email, or the occassional MSN, if I see you online. Or Facebook. Would do you guys good, I would think, since both of you are in your final year.

Faliq, I expect you to get first class, or at the very least a high 2.1, where you can go “Hah!! Who said I was chasing an impossible dream” to your useless-to-you personal tutor (or maybe you can write to the Irish President and get him fired from his UN post, if he hasn’t retired, like his personal tutees in my batch always imagine to do, just to spite him. Heee).

Amni, ho hum, don’t procrastinate so much on your Economics/fashion thesis. Kutuk je Primark tuhh!! Hahaha.

Oh Beda, I better reply your email. Hahaha. And remember to copy it before I hit send. Hish, so annoying man. Can’t believe it.

So here’s to sleeping pills!!

On a connected topic of sleeping pills… Isn’t it weird that an effect of the sleeping pills is that you get high, when the main job is to put you to sleep, and anti-depressant, which is in a way is to help you to be “happier”, have the side effect of putting you to sleep. Total opposite of what they should do? Weird eh? What were the pharmacists thinking?

Oh, I still want Beep the rabbit. Just to tell ya, in case, you know, you forget.

Email

Beda, I don’t know whether you read my blog or not still. Nonetheless, gonna write here.

I’m so used to wordpress saving a draft of my posts that I forgot my habit of copying everything before I hit sent.

Yes, I wrote a long email to you and it got lost.

How very the annoying.

I am fumingly angry with hotmail… So I’ll write it again tomorrow.

Okay fine, when I wake up. Blek.

Do take care in London!!

Don’t worry about food intake. Just don’t take the tube or bus and walk.

Hahahaha

Best friends?

On a random note; I can’t believe Sarah Palin really appeared on SNL. Hahaha. Gotta love the clip with Tina Fey immitating her and then Alex Baldwin whispering to her that the real Palin was there. They wore the same outfit and had their hair done the same way. Hahaha. They really look alike; though Palin’s jaw’s more square than Fey’s. Respect for her rises up a notch, though she’s a Republican; me no like Republican’s ideas. Nonetheless, as if I would ever be able to vote for her anyway. Hahaha.

By the way, yesterday I made chocolate cupcakes!! Haha. This recipe. It’s so soft and light but at the same time is able to satisfy my chocolate craving. Oh, didn’t make the frosting though; used the leftover frosting. Just as nice. Okay, I admit, it was more of a cake craving than chocolate. I’m rather bitter about it, to be honest. Hmph.

Anyway, my mother went to an open house, which was somewhat like a reunion for her and her schoolmates. There was a lady who came up to her and told her that her daughter and I were best friends when I was in college.

Err… okay… I was quite surprised. I know that the only possible person who could be considered my best friend when I was in college was an Indian girl. My mother went to a boarding school; only for Malays. Impossible that it was her. Plus, I’ve met this girl’s mother, and I think it is very unlikely she would be able to go to a Malay boarding school.

So she told her daughter’s name to my mother.

That girl was my best friend?

Please, I tried contacting her, messaging her on MSN and what nots, she never responded.

And now her mother is saying that we were best friends?

She wasn’t even in my class!!!

:S

Absolutely confused. :S

Baking frenzy

I feel like baking again. Seriously. The cake is finished waaayyyy too fast, thanks to my mother bringing two thirds of it to her office. It was great and satisfying. And I have frosting to spare. Quite a bit of it as well. So I thought of baking another cake again to use the frosting. This time an 8 inch one, and I’m keeping it to myself!! Yeah, as if my hips can take it anymore.. Doesn’t help that I haven’t run for quite some time. No surprise I get tired super easily. Sigh.

It was something; baking and frosting the cake. I used green for the wordings, because it was the only color available. And I need to throw it away because the cap is hard to open. So, green frosting for the Environmental lawyer and the Irish-trained soon-to-be-doctor. Drew a boat for the environmental lawyer since she is doing soooo many Marine Law modules; and the ugliest ever 4 leaf clover for the doc; for good luck!! Too bad that wordpress refuse to let me load my ugly masterpiece. Haha.

The cake is nice; not sweet. On the light side. Would have been great with layers, as the original recipe intended. And I love the icing; not too sweet (mainly since I only used 3 cups of icing sugar!!). Would be better if it was more chocolatey though!!

I’ve been hooked on His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. Finished Northern Lights and is now halfway through The Subtle Knife. I don’t know why I’m hooked, but I am. Just can’t stop reading it.

Nonetheless, I still feel like baking!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m thinking of making this cupcakes recipe. Hmmm…

Likely I will be making it tomorrow.

Yum yum.

Make-do women

I got an email from a friend… It’s about a woman advising another woman not to ever be a make-do woman.

Plenty of us women make do.

However, very few, or possibly none at all, men make do.

Maybe I should show you the email.

Here it is:

one of the most interesting “lessons” came from a woman I met for
the first time,
She said, “Honey, whatever you do,  DONT ever let yourself become a
make-do woman”
I had no idea what she meant, but, of course, she was about to explain.
She continued,

“men don’t deny themselves anything.
Whatever they want to buy, they buy.
Whatever they want to do, they do.
Meanwhile, there is the wife,
making do with her hair not being done,
her clothes from yesteryear,
her nails in need,
never had a pedicure,
scraping the bottom of her tube of lipstick!
Oh, I could go on and on with how we make do.”

And why? She continued,
“Because the car needs fixing, this bill is behind,
we have to use our time to take care of this,
or take care of that;
we’re saving for this, working, cooking, cleaning, raising, etc.”

She warned me to never become a make-do woman, because she says if you
start, it is hard to stop and one could easily find themselves making-do
for the rest of their lives.
I vowed it would never happen to me.

I didn’t think much more of the conversation until one day,
I began to take notice, she was right.

Men are a lot better at being good to themselves. Some call it being
selfish, there has to be another word for it. Tell me if you know.

Whatever you call it. It does have it’s place.

When they want to play ball, or golf, or fish, they go!
When they want to buy clothes, or equipment, or video games, or whatever
their thing is, they buy!
Have you ever tried to stop one?
Has anyone ever been able to stop one? Let me know!

When I look around, I see a whole heap of make-do women, married or not,
with or without children, they are all over the place!

I have decided that I am going to make my best effort to become a
“make-time” woman!
I will make the time to do what I need to do to be good to myself,
whether that’s a trip to the salon, or the gym or the mall.

This time I’m gonna take a lesson from the guys!

All right ladies, single and married…
Let’s NOT be “MAKE-DO” Women.
Let’s LOVE OURSELVES and ENCOURAGE each other!…..

I don’t know about you, but I don’t really consider doing the things the lady listed out as “making do”. It’s more of being practical and not wasting. Of course, I also hate shopping and try to buy in bulk as often as possible. I am the person who, if possible, only shop in August for her toiletries. Make-up? Hah!! Same time as well. I may look, but it is very rare that I buy.

Also, on why men don’t really make do?

Well… when it comes to buying things, men just generally want less things than women.

Though if you compare, say, me and Faliq, I am pretty positive he has more wants than I do.

There are exceptions; of course there is.

However, if you look at things generally, you would agree that men just have less wants.

Also, men are more decisive compared to women. Just see how long it is that a man takes when it comes to shopping compared to women.

As for doing things they want to do… Well… Those doing the hair, putting on make up and having a pedicure… That takes time, right? Those extra time men have; they go fishing and play golf and what not.

You might understand why I am not a feminist… Or why feminists might hate me.

Hahaha.

Also possibly why I don’t agree with this article is that… I don’t make do. Hahaha. Once I’ve decided I want to do it and I wont regret it, I’ll do it.

However, before I have a firm decision, I “make do”, I guess?

Nonetheless, I am content with things!!

OMG.

Beda, you so wouldn’t believe this.

The person you named my goat (hah!! I only have one!!) after left a comment on my blogger blog. You know, the one I called you busuk on?

The one which is no longer me, to be honest.

Didn’t read the comment; too long. The only part I read was the shortest para on how I should use white background ladida.

I somehow suspect what you’re going to say would be along the lines of…

Pengsan.

Yes or no?

I might be wrong anyway.

Anyway, I drew what must be the ugliest 4 leaf clover ever. However, due to its uglinest, I declare it the luckiest four leaf clover.

Even if it was made in Malaysia.

Hahaha.

As usual, wordpress still doesn’t allow me to post pictures.

Blek.

Too bad. Facebook did allow it. Hahaha

Cake (refer previous post, which I can’t remember the title)

It was easier to hit “Write New Post” rather than finding the previous post I wrote, since I am now in the kitchen instead of upstairs, where the internet connection is weaker. Belatedly I continued reading the comments on Smitten Kitchen and saw, crap, the author said that it’s not the best chocolate cake alone.

To be honest, I should have realized when the recipe only called for three quarter cups of cocoa only. Plus, with the frosting that intense… well, the cake should be light, right?

So I decided that I’m going to frost it. Not with that same frosting, mind you. I don’t have all the ingredients. Hehe. However, my next favorite website for baking, JoyofBaking.com, did provide a chocolate frosting which sounds yummy. And I have all the ingredients. Haha. Oh, I’m ignoring all my mom’s written recipe and trusting the internet. Haha. How unlike my mother. She doesn’t trust recipes on the internet. I, however, trust these 2 websites a whole lot more than my mother’s written ones because, one, she admits she hasn’t tried every single of her written recipes, and two, every recipe that I’ve tried using those two websites turned out great. Except one chocolate cake from Smitten Kitchen that turned out tasting like eggs. Probably because of the different egg size, who knows, eh?

So, I’m going to frost it with the chocolate frosting recipe that I’ve linked above. And I’m going to write on the cake; wishing Fatin and Shan a happy belated birthday and sending a picture to each of them in Ireland and England respectively. Too bad that they’re so far from me. If not I’ll be posting a piece of the cake for them, however crazy that is.

Oh yes, these 2 are worth baking the cake and frosting it for. Even though I’ve known Fatin for less than a year… I don’t know. Maybe sharing the same first name has made me biassed.

And Shan. What can I say? She listens to all my grumblings and kept me sane in my first year and lent me eggs after I just arrived back from Malaysia. Also, I am embarrassed to admit that I forgot her birthday, the 29th of September. Yikes!! Been taking it for granted of her birthday, since I was always around her the pass 3 years. Sigh.

Oh yes, eggs were very important when I was in England. Hahaha.

Oh, the written frosting, I will be using this recipe. From JoyofBaking.com. I’ve never written using frosting ever in my life, and on top of that, my mother always says that my writing is illegible, well… Too bad!! It’s the thought that counts!! Haha.

Also, of course I would be using butter for my frosting!!! After complaining about Wondermilk not using butter for their frosting, I can’t be doing the same thing now, right? Would make me a hypocrite!! Nothing I hate more!! Anyway, the recipes that I chose did call for use of butter, right?

And my mother would not forgive me if I used margerine or Buttercup anyway!! Haha.