I hope this is a STRAIGHT to the point post.

One of the few tv ads that have caught my attention was the New Straits Times ad about secondary school boys who belittled their friend who was reading an English newspaper(NST of course) on the bus. After watching it, I couldn't help feeling a bit flabbergasted. Lol. Pardon the choice of words. Do people (us,Malaysians to be precise) in this modern era still view the English language negatively? Looking at the ad, I suppose there are still a few of us who feel that way. My guess is that they have yet to realize how important the language is. People need to understand that being proficient in both writen and spoken English is no longer a mark of 'how far up you are in the social class' but a NECESSITY if one wishes to survive in this ever competitive world of ours. Where would 'You straight... you don't belok-belok' lead you? Certainly not to the path of riches and glory. LOL.

So, back to the ad. The ad reminded me of myself approximately 10 years ago whe I was in primary school. I first received my primary education at a private primary school in KL. Naturally, I could speak in English fairly well as everyone used it. This is not to say that I am absolutely useless when it comes to BM because I do speak in Bahasa Malaysia at home especially to my grandma. She speakes in loghat utara some more! So, hampa jangan kuang ajaq na...sat ni aku bubuh cabai dalam mulut baru hampa tau! Lol.

One fine day in the month of May, my parents(I suspect my grandma was also involved in this) decided to transfer me to a sekolah kebangsaan. I was in standard two at that time. I'm not quite sure what made them do it but I think it was because of the longer school hours at the private school. And so I went there. The school was also much closer to my home. I guess I adapted pretty well for a new kid because I don't remember getting into trouble with the other kids in my class. Either that or my memory has indeed gone faulty. I think I prefer the afforementioned statement. Hehe.

Everything when well until I decided to talk in English. Immediately, a few of the girls in my class hissed at me and my other friend. Both of us were merely doing what we were told to by our English teacher (whose name I've forgotten) which was to practise speaking in English. 'Eleh... speaking konon'. I don't remember if I had actually reacted to their statement but given my shy and non-agressive nature, I suppose I didn't. Yup, I'm not much of a fighter. But the weird thing is, none of these girls (may I call them bitches?lol) have any problems coming up to me whenever they have problems with their English homework. Haih...humans..

So thanks to you girls my English has deteriorated! Lol. Joking. Joking. I fully hold myself accountable because unlike you people, I am an angel. LOL. No matter, all is not lost. I will continue to improve my grasp of the language for as long as my memory is intact.

*Rumput is ashamed to admit that she has never been to the National Monument. She has also yet to reach rumah Cik Maimon.

(Car)efree Soul

The coffee drinker is proud of herself. Up to this hour she has driven the Viva for almost 4 hours. It woudn't mean anything to anyone else but to the coffee drinker, this was something great, an accomplishment. She has managed to conquer or rather hid her fear of manouvring a 4-wheel vehicle. The roads looked less terrying to the bespectacled coffee drinker.

However, anxiety always manages to seize the coffee drinker's mind, body and even soul whenever her mother and her mother's mother asked the coffee drinker to venture on to the roads. As the coffee drinker was determined to put a stop to all this 'anxiety' nonsense, she recalled a very usefull advice from a woman who has gone through a great deal of things in life, Janice Dickinson. She recalled an episode where Abby, Janice's Liverpoolian protege, was in a state of panic when Janice said...

' You're not scared. It's adrenaline.'

The words are not entirely accurate but that was the important message. And so, the coffee drinker always tell herself that it is adrenaline and not fear that was seeping into her mind about 1 or 2 hours before she trades the comfort and safety of her home for the vehicle that is almost never parked in an approprite fashion.

But today was different. Today, the coffee drinker has a reason to smile for she had managed to stay calm and collected as she drove to Ampang Point where her sister goes for Violin lessons.
The coffee drinker even managed to find a parking lot without almost crashing herself into other cars and parked the Viva. The parking was not excellent but for a timid young adult such as herself, it was more than enough. At least that was what the coffee drinker thought.

The coffee drinker made 2 stops before heading home. One, was at the supermarket and the other at the clinic. The coffee drinker and her family had ran out eggs yesterday, depriving them of making cucur udang so that was where she went. The clinic was where the coffee drinker went next for her grandmother was in need of some medication and since the pharmacy was closed (The coffee drinker actually had the nerve to forget that it was a Sunday), the clinic was the next best thing.

Rat - tling Experience

It has been a month since my family and I moved from the 3rd floor to the ground floor of the apartment that we rented. Although I don't deny that I much preferred living 'up above' than living 'closer to earth' for the living 'environment' was slightly better compared to down here. But so far, things have been alright up until a few minutes ago. An uninvited guest took the trouble to 'surprise' me during one my 'finest' moments.

Picture this. I was busy doing my 'business' in the toilet (On second thought, don't trouble yourself) when a rat decided to make a grand entrance via the gap between the toilet door and the floor, making squeeks which I assumed to be cute in nature before proceeding to hide behind the erm...kolah air. What do you call a 'kolah' in English? I do not know who was more terried. Me, who fear all animal species, insects included...or the rat who caught me offguard.

Anyway, the rat's appearance was a huge put off to my toilet experience. Before this (on the 3rd floor), the only visitors that I get were from the roaches(They still do visit me from time to time) and lizards which after awhile I come to being accustomed to. I don't know how long it will take me to grow accustom to the visit or visits(I pray not) of the rodent or rodents (Yipes!) around the house. It would be easier if the rodent is cute and exceptionally talented like Remy from Ratatouille. Imagine the many dishes he and his buddies could whip up. I wonder if he can make Nasi Lemak?

A Date with the Tour Guide

Eventhough I was still on the bus and was a few good metres away from the bus stop, I could easily tell that the 'mak cik' who was waiting for me at the bus stop was Tiqa. As I disembarked from the bus, I couldn't help feeling that my stripy tank with matching ear rings, grey hoody and tight jeans seems to be a little bit too dressed up compared to her modest long-sleeve grey shirt and 3 quatre length jeans. 'Ko nampak berbelang', she said. 'Yep, macam zebra' I replied. Sigh... Tiqa, Tiqa. Ever the critic.

Since I haven't been to the place for ages (I think the last time I went was during my early primary school days), Tiqa was more than happy to be my tour guide. First up was MPH. Haha. What a way to start the itenary. After a few more sight-seeings (more like window shopping) we stopped for lunch at the Arena where I had Tiqa's most recommended dish, pan mee. I never knew what pan mee is. Turns out it has the physique of the keoy teow noodle only slightly smaller in size and the texture is somewhat doughier? Lol. No idea how to describe it. I can only guess that the other dishes taste as great as my pan mee soup as people were making a beeline for the stall.

Lunch was proceeded with dessert. I bought two pieces of kueh nyonya which costed me RM 1.80. Tiqa didn't want to miss out so she bought herself sotong balls. Or was it prawn balls? Hmm...yang penting balls la. And so the both of us continued our journey, entering some of Tiqa's favourite shops. Many of them were souvenier shops. We fooled around at the clothes section for awhile, taking expensive clothes on the rack and trying them on in the fitting room before...jeng jeng jeng...out comes the phone. Hehe. It was at this point that I finally come to the realisation on how old I look with my long hair. Haih...never mind. I'll chop it off before the next sem starts.
Our touring brought us to another food outlet which is the Big Apple. I wanted to give their doughnuts a try since I've had J.Co a few days before. I randomly picked half a dozen of them and Tiqa bought 2, a kiwi and a very chocolaty flavoured one. We sat down for a while on the many chairs that were available at OU ('See, this is wat's great about OU, we have plenty if sits'..haha..nak jugak promote) and enjoy the doughnuts. At least we tried to. Tiqa's chocolate doughnut was so chocolaty that she gave up and had me eat it instead. As a result, I have chocolate all around my mouth. We entered a few more shops and then it was time for me to head home but not before having another snack. The tour guide was so eager for me to try this Japanese food. What's it called...erm.. Tako tao? Yup, I think that's it. Correct me if I'm wrong for I have a bad memory. They were 3 balls (Tiqa seems to like ball shaped foods) filled with prawns and topped with fish flakes and some sauce which I could not identify. Oh, and of course there's mayonnaise. To top it all of, we each bought ourselves chocolate milk at the JJ supermarket. Surprisingly, it was I who bought the cheaper milk and not Tiqa. Haha.

Wow, looking back, it seems that the tour guide and I spend our money on food rather on items! In fact, we didn't buy a single thing besides food and drinks! What can I say, we both love food. And we're both stingy! But Tiqa is more kedekut compared to me. Hehe. Wouldn't guys be lucky to have us Tiqa? All we need is food.

Holidays!

I'm having my holidays now. I won't go back to college till 2nd August... or so they say. So for now, I'm just gonna enjoy myself by doing the little things that I love like reading the newspaper( I've already read 3 newspapers today) and watching the tv(EURO people! Go Netherlands!). Of course, like any other belia berwawasan I would not let my free time go to waste. Therefore, I have come up with a list of 'productive' things to do so to avoid being involved in social ills. Hehe. First up...

• Practise my driving, especially my parking skills(if I have any that is). I tell you ar, my driving is like shit but I'm getting better...I hope I am...I'm starting to wonder how I get my driving license in the first place. Mind you, I didn't bribe the JPJ guy or anything. Like, everyone knows... bribing is like totally WRONG ;). See, even I know that and I don't need a 'Saya Anti-Rasuah' badge.


• Typing. Sounds stupid but yup I'm actually going to practise typing...without looking down at the keyboard and at a super fast speed that is. It's not that I really can't type without looking but I sometimes hit other keys so alittle bit of practice won't hurt right?


• Write or blog more. I hate to admit it but I think my writing skills have gone rusty. Wait a minute...do I even have writing skills to began with? Guess I'll just have to find out myself.

and Finally.........
Find out why guys are so obsessed with JESSICA ALBA!!! Every guy I know seems to be crazy about her - even my Design Study lecturer! Tak boleh jadi ni... Kene cari jawapan sampai ke lubang cacing!

I think that's all for now. Anything else you might want to propose? I'm open for suggestions. Anything except getting drunk and laid ar Vinod...;p

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I was bored just now so I went around my block and took some pics...

Flying colours...

Despite all the negativity that has been surrounding the 'Speed Racer' movie due to the excessive use of colours (they used a hell lot of bright colours) I must say I enjoyed it very much. Heck, I wouldn't mind watching it again eventhough there was nothing spectacular about the story line. It's like a mature version of those Disney movies but I enjoyed the movie nevertheless thanks to the really colourful world of racing. Lol..I love colours!The effects were really superb that it made me wanna drive a Mach 5! Yeah right. I can't even drive the bloody Viva! Tinggi betul cita-cita. Another thing worth mentioning is how the story started. I was hooked right from the beginning thanks to their effective opening. Sounds familiar Mass Com/English students? Lol. They certainly know how to jump start the movie. This movie has definitely passed with flying colours in my book. Gosh, I love puns! :)














p.s.: I just realized how hot Matthew Fox is.

'Dramatik' Expression

One of my dearest friends, has been pressuring me to update my blog and so I shall. Nah, that is dusta belaka. Tuan hamba would never do such a thing for that would be mean and a sahabat sejati would never do anything mean to another sahabat sejati... Bukan begitu tuan hamba? Mwahaha... In order to show my patriotisme towards our country, I shall post this in our national language. Lol.

Tanggal 7 bulan 5 tahun 2008...

Tarikh yang amat keramat sekali bagi hamba. Kenapa hamba berkata demikian? Tuan hamba di luar sana bersungguh-sungguh ingin tahu? Baiklah, hamba akan ceritakan. Tarikh ini amat penting bagi hamba kerana pada hari tersebutlah hamba telah menemui jawapan kepada satu persoalan yang agak selalu bermain di fikiran hamba. Tuan hamba ingin tahu jawapannya? Soalannya saja belum dikasi tahu gi mana mau tau jawabannya? Maaf, hamba tiba-tiba sahaja teringatkan si Mela, rakan hamba dari Indonesia. Apa dia masih ingat gak bahawa kita ada presentasi pada hari Isnin minggu depan? Ah! Apa saja yang aku mengarut ini??? Maaf, maaf. Dimana kita tadi?

Oh, ya. Persoalannya. Ya, pada hari Rabu itulah hamba benar-benar mengerti mengapa filem-filem dari Hong Kong(terutamanya filem-filem Stephen Chow) begitu lawak dan hebat sekali. Hal ini kerana(macam buat karangan SPM la plak) orang Cina memang lawak dan gila sekali. Bak kata si Mela, 'Lucu banget'. Ingin hamba tegaskan disini bahawa perkataan 'lawak' dan 'gila' dalam konteks ini bukan membawa maksud negatif, tetapi positif . Dan ingin juga hamba tegaskan bahawa ini bukanlah satu 'stereotype' kepada orang Cina kerana sesiapa sahaja, tidak kira bangsa dan agama boleh menjadi lawak dan gila. Lagipun, hamba bukanlah seorang yang mengamalkan perbuatan 'stereotyping' yang bodoh lagi tidak munasabah itu.

Pada petang Rabu itu, hamba bersama ahli-ahli kumpulan yang lain telah berkumpul di 'ampitheatre' kampus bagi mengadakan perbincangan mengenai drama yang akan kami persembahkan dalam masa 2 minggu lagi. Drama ini merupakan salah satu projek bagi mata pelajaran 'Pengajian Malaysia' atau 'Malaysian Studies' kami. Si Tiqa, atau lebih manis dipanggil 'Opah' telah awal-awal lagi gila kuasa(haha lame tak pakai ayat ni) lalu bertindak sebagai ketua kumpulan. Sungguhpun dia gila kuasa, dia mempunyai kemampuan untuk mengatur segala perancangan dengan baik oleh sebab itu hamba tidak kisah jikalau dia menjadi nakhoda kapal. Anak-anak kapal yang lain juga nampaknya tidak mempunyai sebarang masalah dengan kepimpinan rakan hamba yang seorang lagi ini.

Jadi kami semua telah berbincang dan telah mengadakan satu sesi latihan yang amat singkat sekali. Si Tiqa telah menerangkan kepada hamba dan rakan-rakan yang lain babak-babak yang terdapat dalam drama kami serta menyuruh kami berlakon secara spontan just to get the gist of the story. Macam test drive la. Eh?Ape kejadah keluar bahasa omputeh? No matter. Kita tukar gear.... Proses 'test drive' ini amat penting kerana bukan semua ahli kumpukan kami orang Malaysia. Ada yang datangnya nun jauh dari benua lain iaitu Afrika dan ada seorang yang datangnya dari Indonesia iaitu si Mela. Tapi si Mela tidak berlakon. Tugasnya lebih kepada hal-hal dibelakang tabir.

Dek kerana kami diberi sepenuh kebebasan untuk melakonkan watak-watak kami, berbagai- bagai aksi telah ditonjolkan dan hal inilah yang telah membuatkan hamba membuat 'thesis statement' seperti di perenggan kedua tadi. Ya, hamba tahu 'thesis statement' sepatutnya berada di perenggan pertama tapi apakan daya. Hamba telah banyak merapu dalam perenggan pertama oleh sebab itu terpaksalah thesis statement tersebut ditolak ke perenggan kedua. Stanley, sebagai watak utama memang gila nak mampos! wakaka... cara penghayatan wataknya amat dahsyat sekali sehingga hamba dan rakan-rakan yang lain tidak kering gusi. Penghasilan air liur kami oleh kelenjar air liur amat aktif sekali tatkala melihatnya berlakon. Suasana bertambah gamat dengan kehadiran Jimmy dan Chen Wern(maaf jika ejaannya salah), sebagai pengganti kepada dua orang ahli kumpulan kami yang tidak menghadirkan diri sewaktu perjumpaan tersebut.

Lakonan Nasa dan Farid juga boleh tahan cuma lakonan Ly Vern, Sky dan hamba sendiri agak hambar berbanding yang lain. Ternyata kami bertiga bukanlah Raja Lawak. Tidak mengapa, kami masih mempunyai waktu untuk berlatih. Dengar kata, Opah mahu mengadakan 3 sesi latihan pada minggu depan. Ah... tidah sabar rasanya untuk kami beraksi di atas pentas Hall of Fame nanti. Nantikan kemunculan kami! Wakaka...

* Hamba sengaja tidak memberitahu tajuk drama yang akan kami persembahkan kerana takut dipancung oleh si Tiqa.