Cry me a river..

Well, as expected, I woke up with swollen eyes this morning.
This is what a girl gets when she cries her eyes out before going to bed.

Not getting enough sleep coupled with endless tears just before sleep time (the wet facial-tissues in my dustbin would bear witness), now that's a sure-fire formula to get me looking my worst.

No no. Nothing horrid or heartbreaking happened to me. I just decided - even when I know that I would DEFINITELY cry non-stop - to watch Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. (hahaha! I can hear some people going: "*gasp!* Yam layan cerita Hindustan?" :P )

Even though I exclaimed and muttered "Tak logik betul." and "This is soooo not making sense!" and "Tipu nya cerita ni!", I was still glued to the sofa in front of the TV. Granted that I missed the first 10 minutes, this is actually the first time I've seen like 95% of the movie. I have watched the movie before - not complete movie though.
The first time: I started the movie where the 3 of them sang the song 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' in the field (during their college years). The second time, I think it started from when Anjali (Kajol) was running towards Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan) to tell him 'I Love You', but instead discovered that Rahul was in love with Tina (Rani Mukherjee) - BTW, this scene ALWAYS gets me crying.

Unrequited love is so painfully heartbreaking.

A 'selingan' :P

Am in the middle of writing today's post.
But, I simply cannot resist sharing these posts with you! Brilliantly written by Acat, go ahead and read them.

the unconventional wisdom of the average acat. part 1..

the unconventional wisdom of the average acat. part deux.

the unconventional wisdom of the average acat. part 3.

Enjoy!

AF3: 'Pengkritik' - And you're helping how?

I've been trying to refrain myself from blogging about AF3. Apparently 4 weeks is the max that I can manage. *sigh*

Last Saturday night I was watching Konsert 4 AF3. I'll not comment on the students (save this for later concerts eh? Hehe..). Right now, it's time to check out the 'professional' commentors / 'pengkritik'.

Normally, we'd have Kudsia Kahar a.k.a 'pengkritik tetap'. But for some reasons she couldn't make it to Konsert 4, so Adlin Aman Ramlie was re-invited instead. He had already made an appearance as one of the 'pengkritik', I think it was Konsert 2.

I thought one good thing about him was: he's not afraid of being honest in his criticism - no such thing as sugar-coated half-truths with this guy.
But that's it on the good part.
The bad things?
He picked his favourites and unashamedly praised them (despite one of the faves not so outstanding performance - although she did better this week compared to previous 2 weeks - hmm.. maybe I should take back the 'sugar-coated-half-truths' bit..? :P).
He was a bit long-winded in his explanation - and most of the things he said were kinda vague. Directionless.
He criticised, yes, but yet he didn't offer any suggestion / solutions. I suppose that's one way to get the students independant - discover their mistakes / weaknesses, and learn from them. But be specific lah. You don't go and say: "No man, that didn't do it for me" and stop there. The students must be wondering: "Where? My voice? My acting? My dancing? 'Feel' of song? Pitching? Where?!"

I loved Syafinaz. Of course, her being a music / vocal lecturer contributed heaps and bounds. I thought the criticism and advice she gave to each student were brilliant! Hopefully the remaining 11 students will be able to make use of the tips / advice Syafinaz gave during the concert. I'd love to see Syafinaz again as a 'pengkritik', 'cause I thought this lady sure knows her stuff. This is not some 'pengkritik' who was invited because she was famous, or because she has her own column in some magazine, or some movie producer 'indirectly auditioning' for his / her next movie stars. She was there because she knows music.

I thought Fauzi Marzuki too was good. He did throw out some good advice to the students. Although, one thing that irked me was when he mentioned something like: "Saya ingat saya datang ni nak hentam awak (Mawi)...". I went: "What the heck? You don't come here with preconceived ideas man.." Yes you're allowed to take with you the students' past performances, but not to the extent of basing your entire comment on those performances. I thought previous performances should only be used as comparison with the one you were watching. Better? How? If worse, how?

Hmm.. well, not that I will ever be a 'pengkritik' LOLs. I'm just a listener, and I enjoy music. Well, songs mostly :P

Oh yeah, I'm also a consumer.
The bottom line is, if I don't think highly of the singer, I don't buy the album. Simple, kan?

I've been tagged!

By Acat. Sorry lah, lewat sikit coz I was stuck at Question 4, hehe..
So beb, cheers! :)

1) Total number of book(s) I own:
Lots. And lots. I've lost count dah. Started from secondary schooldays when I learnt to save my pocket money and bought Sweet Dreams, then Mills & Boons, and then some other publications which for the life of me I can't recall the name LOLs.. And after that books by Judith McNaught, Julie Garwood, Johanna Lindsey (OK, I used to be a 'historical romance' buff, BIG time!). Lately have been enjoying Dan Brown, Susan Andersen, Sophie Kinsella (I've yet to buy books by her other 'name' Madeline Wickham), Mark Billingham, Elaine Fox, Marian Keyes, Karen Fox. Yes, I do read 'Chic-Literature'.

Don't read Shakespeare though. Or any of the classics. Which is bad of me. I've got Pride and Prejudice and Great Expectation faithfully collecting dust in my cabinet. adeih.. OK, OK. I promise I will read them up. Hopefully soon.

My rough estimate would be somewhere between 150 to 300 books (hahaha!! I said rough estimate kan?). Many of which have gone missing, or misplaced. Or borrowed by someone until I've lost track of the "who/what-book/when" details..
*sigh*

2) The last book I bought:
Scaredy Cat by Mark Billingham. This is his second book that I've bought, the first being Sleepy Head (Still can't believe I'm reading Mystery / Thriller). At first I found Sleepy Head a bit on the slow side. But it gets better as the book goes along.
Plus, imagine my immense pleasure when I realised that CSI: New York's premiere episode is exactly Mark Billingham's Sleepy Head.

3) The last book I read:
Sushi For Beginners by Marian Keyes. Hilarious, touching, sad, revenge-ful, betrayal - a mixture of emotions while I was reading it. Thoroughly enjoyed the book :)) Which means I'll be in Kinokuniya pretty soon to buy The Other Side Of The Story pretty soon.
Currently reading Scaredy Cat.

4) 5 books that mean a lot to me:
This is a toughie. Only 5? Choices, choices! OK lah.. in no particular order..
(a) Remember When - by Judith McNaught
Honestly, I should list like a dozen other books by this author, but among the lot, Remember When is my fave. Hmm, others that come a close second place: Once & Always (I always cry when I almost reach the ending!), Until You, Kingdom of Dreams..

(b) Sejarah Nabi - author: I can't remember
Read this major thick book during my schooldays. Basically, some of the Sejarah Nabi & Rasul from this book kinda stayed in my head until today.
Still can't find a book that compares to this one. I was hooked from the start. And imagine that, considering I was only 11 or 12 at that time.

(c) Books by Sophie Kinsella - Can You Keep A Secret, and The Shopaholics Series (all 4 that I have): Confessions Of A Shopaholic (a.k.a. Secret Dreamworld Of A Shopaholic), Shopaholic Takes Manhattan (a.k.a. Shopaholics Abroad), Shopaholic Ties The Knot, Shopaholic & Sister (yeah I know it's cheating - this alone completes the "5-book" thingy. But boleh la kan?)
I actually started reading Sophie Kinsella with Can You Keep A Secret - which I absolutely loved. Then I started collecting the Shopaholic Series. Oh yeah.. I noticed her new book The Undomestic Goddess" and it sounds too interesting to pass!

(d) Permata Hati - by Ma Lee Chuswan
Love it. Simply love it.
However... her other books.. well, I suppose since I have this book as a benchmark, her other writings kinda fall short.
Although, Selamat Tinggal Sayang is good actually. Only that.. I couldn't stop crying everytime I read it. Sedih tau!

(e) The Bride - Julie Garwood.
I've read this book for like a dozen times. And each time I fell in love. I think Ms Garwood writes excellent, excellent stories. Her newer ones are contemporary romance-suspense, compared to previous historical romance - but all in all, I adore her books.

5) Tag 5 people and have them fill this out in their blogs:
Or if you don't have a blog, you can email your replies to me :) If you have done this before, hehe.. share with us the link :D
(a) Sheils
(b) RoZy
(c) Ijun
(d) SunFlora
(e) Teek

Now, you people go and crack your heads, and answer the questions. :)))

Fashionable? Who? Me?

I've never fancied myself as a highly fasionable person. As a matter of fact, I'm not. I wear comfy clothes, and I would think a million times before buying clothes with glitters (admittedly they ARE nice, but they just don't look nice on ME).
I'm certainly not qualified to talk about fashion or giving any advice dressing up (or down).

But for goodness' sake, you don't go wearing a white pump shoes with your black dress!!
Nor do you wear a bloody red shoes with your BLUE baju kurung - and your baju kurung has NO red flowers whatsoever.

Is it just me? Or maybe I'm out of touch with the current style of dressing.

But.. (dengan penuh tak puas hati)
COME ON LADY!
A bright green tudung when there's like only teeny-weeny green dots for your baju kurung's patterns?
I can only see the designs when you're at an arm's distance. Otherwise I'll assume your baju kurung is red colour.
(Now come to think of it, perhaps green-and-red combination is not so bad eh? NOT! It makes you look like a Christmas tree. Hey, seriously!!)

I give up lah.
Call me un-stylish or whatever you wish. But I still maintain that one should dress up with a dose of common sense.

More on movies. And that thing called 'chemistry'

OK, I actually DID go out with the friend on Saturday. Believe it or not, I think there's a part of him expecting me to stand him up (probably that's the reason of him wanting to pick me up from home :P).

We watched 2 movies, Madagascar and Mr & Mrs Smith (again! Yahoooo!), although not back-to-back (thank goodness! Penat tau). Met him close to noon, and the first movie started at 12.15 noon. We watched Madagascar, then had lunch, then Mr & Mrs Smith.

* * *
Madagascar
This is a funny one. Voiced by Chris Rock (Marty the zebra), Ben Stiller (Alex the lion), Jada Pinkett-Smith (Gloria the hippo) and David Schwimmer a.k.a Ross "from F.R.I.E.N.D.S" Gellar (Melman the giraffe), the movie - in short - is about 4 animals from New York's Central Park Zoo.
A few things I could note from this movie:
(1) The grass always seems greener on the other side
(2) Sometimes it's good to go back to your roots. Sometimes it's not.
(3) True friendships will help you get through your horrible times.
(4) Lions can actually learn to like fish. Or sushi. And so can you.

Mr & Mrs Smith
I just realised that I've missed the beginning of the movie!!! Bloody hell. I can't believe I actually missed out how the Smiths met. Rugi rugi! Must tell Lene about this..
But.. thank goodness for second time around eh?
OOooOohh.. NOW I understand.. Jolie & Pitt's chemistry while they danced..
Yummmy!

* * *
My IM session with Anne (condensed version. VERY condensed LOLs)
Anne: So? How was the date?
Me: No lah! Just friends. There was no chemistry..

Apparently we both think that 'chemistry' is important in a relationship.

I don't know what you name it, it's that feeling that makes you comfortable & wanting to open up with the other person, make him comfortable too.
At the same time you feel wicked and wanting to 'sakat' him always - and you'll grin like a Cheshire cat when he's uncomfy and squirms. FROM YOUR JOKES AND SENSE OF HUMOR!! (oi! Focus people, focus!)

I'm supposed to finish up my meeting's minutes, yet all I can think about is my next vacation - somewhere on a sandy beach with waves crashing and salty air..
Pretty much sums up how exciting my Monday is, eh?

Conversations with Mak

Mak attends a few religious classes - some nearby our house, some others at Masjid Negara. Most of the time, after those classes she would share with me what she had learned in the class. Or at times, what happened at the class.

One day...
Mak: Yam, Mak nak cerita pasal ustazah yang ajar mengaji tu.
Me: Mengaji yang mana ni? Masjid Negara?
Mak: Tak. Kat belakang ni jer. Dia cerita kat Mak, ada sorang anak murid dia tu, one makcik la, mintak tolong ustazah tu carikan someone untuk anak sedara dia.. (anak sedara makcik tu la)
Me: Okayy... (still waiting for the punchline)
Mak: Ustazah tu kata kat makcik tu, "InsyaAllah. Apa-apa boleh tolong, saya tolong la". Pastu tadi lepas kelas, ustazah terus tanya kat Mak "Kak Normah, Yam tu dah ada sesiapa ke?"
Me: ..... (speechless sambil terbeliak mata)
Mak: Mak kata lat kat ustazah "Entah lah ustazah. Saya pun tak ambik tahu sangat. Biarlah dia cari sendiri"
Me: ..... (still speechless...)


Anyway, I didn't pay much attention to that piece of conversation. I didn't think Mak was hinting at anything. Of course I thought that was the end of it.


Yesterday.. (while I was having dinner. Mak was watching TV)
Mak: Yam! Ingat tak Mak cerita pasal ustazah tu nak carikan jodoh untuk one student punya anak sedara?
Me: Aha.. ingat. Yang Mak cerita haritu, kan?
Mak: A'ahh. Ustazah tu serious rupanya.
Me: Serious? Serious camner?
Mak: Tadi kat kelas, ustazah tanya lagi.
Me: Ha, tanya apa pulak?
Mak: Yelah. Something like "Kak Normah, Yam tu tak nak ke kak? Saya ada 2 orang ni ha. Sorang tu umur dekat 40 tahun. Kerja manager" tapi Mak tak ingat lak Manager Bank ke, Manager apa. Pastu dia cakap lagi "Sorang lagi tu, umur 30 lebih lah. Tapi takde la tinggi pangkat Manager".
Me: Ha??? Wah.. she is serious.
Mak: Itulah. (laughed a bit) Tak sangka pulak ustazah tu ber-iya benar.
Me: ..... (terus rasa cam tak lalu nak makan..)

Today, on occassions, I still lapse into moments of disbelief, speechlessness, and sudden desire to grin silly.

* * *

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!
Don't worry if you suddenly feel like grinning silly. Just give in & show people that happy face!

More on movies

Someone asked me to watch Madagascar with him.
(No no, not the one who SMS'ed me the Usman Awang's puisi..)

After giving it some thinking, I decided "Why not?". And so I said yes. OK, so this is going to be a blind err... meet-up. I'm not considering this a date.

He said he hasn't watched Mr. & Mrs. Smith. And I guess I sounded excited when I told him I watched it, and how I loved the movie, and how I loved seeing Angeline and Brad.. (hehe.. go read my 'review')

I ended up agreeing to watch that movie with him. Yahooo! Get to watch Angeline & Brad again! (teek, jangan jealous tau! LOLs.. )

So, for our outing this Saturday it'll be a morning movie (Madagascar), then lunch. Then another movie (Mr. & Mrs. Smith).
He had the balls to asked: "You sure you don't wanna go for 3 movies?"
Aiyah! Nanti by the end of the 3rd one, I'll be sooo blur I wouldn't remember what scenes go with which movie! LOLs..

So, 2 movies it is.

But there's one thing that bugs me.
You see, at the time we made the deal for the movies, I wasn't sure if I could use the car this Saturday. So he offered to fetch me at home & send me back afterwards.

Me being me, I'd rather drive there.
But this guy macam insistent pulak nak jemput. He doesn't know where my house is (but he does have my address. Whether or not he has came by before, I have no idea lah).
How?

Hmm.. so I'm thinking.. maybe I should drive to Mid-Valley on Saturday. Somehow I'm not ready for him to know where I live.
(Wonder why..)

Oh yeah, another plus point of driving is.. I can leave the place whatever time I wish.

Erm, suddenly I feel like going to Shah Alam to see Darls.
Maybe I should do so after the Mid Valley movie outing.

Movie.. reviews?

Went to watch Mr & Mrs Smith at KLCC yesterday, with Lene.

OMG...

Angelina is sooooo gorgeous. And Brad.. (((sigh..)))
I think they both made a really beautiful couple together. Just think of their babies.. (((sigh again)))

OK, movie review:

A seemingly normal couple. Morning - out to work.
Evening - comes home in time for dinner (which wive 'cooks').
Reality? Both are hired killers. Highly professional.

Until one day they were booked for the same job.
And discovered each other's secret identities. (It seems that he has a weird habit when he wants to take a leak.)

So.. they have to eliminate each other. Being the professionals they are, they both planned to deliver a job well done. But somehow along the way, their personal feelings for each other took over their business side.
Determined to kill. And yet... tak sampai hati? (Note: Brad's monologue at the high-class restaurant - well, it looked high-class to me :P)

And then the fun begins!

LOLs..

Go watch!

* * *

OK, OK. I'm guilty for writing a biased (read: fun & highly recommended) review on the movie.

You see, I love seeing Angelina and Brad on the big screen together.

And I thought Mr. Smith was too adorable when he 'merajuk' when he found out that Mrs Smith has killed more people than he has.. (This one you gotta see, girls!)

* * *

The last movie I watched was on V-Day, with the SchoolGirls. And I wasn't comfortable being in crowded places after the hospital episode. Guess I missed quite a number of good movies for the past few months eh? (Note to self: go get some VCDs laa.. eventhough screen at home is much smaller.. hmmm..)

I could probably use Ijun's list as a guide of the latest movies to catch (see his sidebar!).

But I think I'll refrain myself from Star Wars: Episode 3 for a while - until I can get hold of the other 5 episodes.
Yes, it's true. I haven't watched any of the Star Wars movies. Don't ask me why.
No Ijun, don't ask :P

Read this up!

I've just got to share this.

I think it's hilarious!
Go read it up!

:D

(Note to teek: I'm still gonna borrow your line :P)

I was asked..

... THAT question again.

* * *

Day/date: Sunday 5th Jun'05
Venue: Felda Palong, Gemas, Negeri Sembilan
Time: Around 1.30pm
Event: Cuz Du's wedding. (The newlyweds were having their "makan beradab".)

Question was asked by: Pak Ngah, Mak Ngah, Mak Andak, Mak Teh... (can't remember who else asked me THAT question..)

"Yam bila pulak nak kahwin ni?"


(((((sighhhh)))))


My answer(s):
(a) Smiling sweetly (although at times, forcedfully. eheheh)
(b) "Ntah lah.."
(c) "Nanti sampai masa kahwin la"
(d) More smiles (I swear it, I could've won an award!)

* * *

When Pak Ngah asked THAT question again (for like the 10th time!), and this time Mak was within hearing distance, I only 'sengeh' at him.
So - not getting the response he hoped for, I think - Pak Ngah turned to Mak (Mak is the eldest sister with the same father) and asked her instead.

Mak answered this:
"Nikah kahwin ni kerja Yang Di Atas tu, kerja Allah. Kalau Dia kata esok, esok pun boleh kahwin. Tak payah rancang-rancang. Kalau Dia kata tahun depan, tunggu jer lah tahun depan."
(Tu diaaa Along bersuara dah!)

Terus Pak Ngah diam.

And no one asked me that question again.
For the rest of the time we were in Gemas.


Hihihihhi.. isn't Mak the best?!?

From Amazing Race 7...

If you've been following Amazing Race 7, you'll probably recall the 3rd place couple - Ron & Kelly. Ron used to be a POW (prisoner of war), and Kelly was a beauty pageant contestant (or was she the winner?).

I somehow can connect with Kelly.
No no, I never was a contestant in a beauty pageant, let alone a winner.

But I can relate to her feelings.
Of loving someone who cannot commit. One who is not ready to settle down. One who is not 100% there in the relationship.

It saddens me to see Kelly in tears and so heartbroken whenever she talked about her feelings for Jon. It breaks my own heart to see Ron admitting that he's just not ready for that kind of commitment to Kelly.

I cried for Kelly at the finish line. I don't think she's able to wait around too much longer.
(An advice I'm giving myself...)

And I cried for Ron too. For he does have someone who truly cares for him, and yet he's throwing her away.
(Is that what you're doing?)

* * *

Suddenly I'm feeling way too tired, a bit too old, and often ungraceful in life.