Dear Void

I do have an open mind..... but it is temporarily close for repairs.




I need an escape... a temporary break from reality.




I am waiting patiently...to unleash beast within.



I need a reminder. I need a constant reminder. This is my reminder.


"Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life - well, valuable, but small - and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around? I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void"










I need something... to fill the void.

NATRAH

I love theater. It is one of my favourite form of art that I really appreciate and value very much. I may not know a lot about it but I do know the amount of hard works involved in producing and presenting a good play. I love the idea that a group of people working closely together for months (or years) to perform 2 to 3 hours long play. All those sleepless night, all the research and character studies involved. It must have been emotionally and physically demanding. The audience then will be rewarded with a live performance. The raw energy in a live performance, I think is something so incredibly awesome to experience and it is exactly what I want to feel when I am watching a play.

However, it is rather unfortunate I must say that I did not really get to feel it when I was watching Natrah last night at Istana Budaya. Natrah is a play directed by none other than Erma Fatima, a power house name in the industry with Maya Karin in the lead role as Natrah a.k.a Uberdina Maria Hertogh.

Natrah is one of those name that is quite close and familiar to Malaysian and I do believe she needed no further introduction especially for some of us who read law. To some, the story of Natrah is a tragedy while others may look at her story as a landmark in a Malaysian history that not only sparks controversy legally but it involves serious question of faith and religion.

So based on this basic idea alone one can expect that this could be the premise of a really good story. It has all the potential. But, sadly, I am of the opinion that the play last night have failed to live up to the big potential it had. I am quite disappointed as I think the story of Natrah could "easily" be translated into a masterpiece. It has all the elements of a good story. Love, Sacrifice, Religions, Conflict, Tragedy etc but somehow the play lack something. It is as if, a chef have all the right ingredients to prepare for a grand feast but somehow the chef decided to order take-out instead. That is exactly what I feel after watching it.

The whole thing seems a bit rushed. It was as if they did not do a proper and thorough research on how to tell this story. As a result, the play is quite bland and quite straight forward. Not that this is wrong or bad but I was hoping that this play will tell us new things about the life of Natrah. Not merely regurgitating all the well known facts of her life.

Erma Fatima as the director just presented a story that majority of us already know. She offered no new perspective on the story, no new interpretation of what truly transpired behind all the conflicts that surrounded the legal battle between Natrah's biological parent and her foster mother and the life of Mansor Adabi after Natrah's was brought back to Holland. None of these were in the story. So, I was quite disappointed.

I think maybe the production team was in a hurry to produce this play because of the recent demise of Natrah a few months ago. Perhaps they wanted it to be shown to the public while people are still talking about it. This is probably why this whole thing seems a little bit rushed and slightly ill prepared.

One thing that I have to point out is that the use of the spirit of Islam among the Malays in this story. Yes, I know for a fact that the story of Natrah mainly is about conflict in religions between Islam and Christianity and I truly understand what Erma Fatima tried to do when she deal with this subject matter in the play. I applauded her for that as I am all into the sanctity of Islam. However, I wish she would have done it in a different way especially in the demonstration scene so as to give a better view on why Muslims in Malaysia at that time did what they did. This is crucial because she needed to explain why Natrah's faith was extremely important to her foster's mother. Nevertheless, on this note. I can see that in her direction, at least she tried to be impartial in this whole Islam-Christian conflict but I wish she would have dwell on it further.

Having said all these, to be fair this theater is not entirely bad. I was just a little bit disappointed that it was not what I had expected it would be. I was hoping to know about her life after she went back to Holland but this part was not shown.

The other good things is Sofea Jane. The opening monologue by Sofea Jane is quite good. Her monologue was clear and she presented it neatly. It is quite haunting to see her in a white dress surrounded by lots and lots of white flowers alone in the dark stage. She appeared only twice in the theater as the old Natrah. I particularly love her monologue at the end of the play where she asked the audience what her life means to all of us. She asked the audience, as Natrah, whether her demise was accompanied by our prayers and talqin or whether her demise is already long forgotten. It is a sad thing for Natrah to had to go through what she went through in her life and Sofea Jane in my humble opinion seems to deliver Natrah's heartache and confusion perfectly. , But, my only little complaint of this section is that why she had to have an Indonesian accent?? Is it just me who notice this?? Is anyone else out there felt the same way too about her accent?? hmmm...

Meanwhile, Maya Karin is suprisingly quite believable as a 13 years old Natrah. She play the character with such naivete and charm that you almost forget that she is pushing 30 in real life. Umie Aida as the foster mother is as usual, believable. But, I personally would have liked if a real life old actress is cast for this role instead of a young actor playing it. But since she is good at it, I have no further comment about it.

But, most of all, the best performance in my opinion was from Samantha Schubert who play Natrah's biological mother. She is so convincing and believable as the mother who believed that she was betrayed by a friend that she trusted and will do anything to get her child back.

As a whole, the play is okay for me. It was not bad. It was just not what I had expected or hoped it would be. That does not make it bad at all.

Apart from the story, speaking of the real life event of Natrah, I personally agreed that she should have been given back to her biological parents. Yes, as a Muslim it is unfortunate that she will no longer practice the religion but she was just 13 at that time and her parents have all the right to raise her as a Catholic. Just imagine if your Muslim daughter who had to be given away temporarily is suddenly raise as other than a Muslim? You would have done exactly what Natrah's parents did and would have feel what Natrah's parents had felt about the whole situation.

Missing

It's 5am in the morning and I can't sleep. I miss some things. A lot of things actually.

I miss going out for early breakfast with my dad. Eating roti canai at our favorite spot together. Reading newspaper together. Him with his Utusan and Berita Harian and me with my Star. Listening to him talkin about the current state of our government in his extremely thick mamak-penang "accent"....

Miss "debating" with him on whether we should watch the latest Tamil movie in cinemas or should we just subscribe to Astro Thangathirai to watch them....

Miss watching Rambo 1,2 ,3 and 4 together for the gazillion times and trying really really hard to mimick John Rambo's dialogue in a very crucial scene in Rambo 2 where Slyesvester Stallone, in his classic/signature "mulut senget" uttering the words, "Murdoch, Im coming to get you!!!"

I miss trying to convince my dad that WWF is NOT real and they were just a bunch of actors/stunt-man putting up a show. I miss the look he gave me, a look of disbelief every time I said that it was not real and how he will strongly argue that every punch, every kick and every fight in WWF are real.

I miss listening to the stories of him growing up in Melaka back in the old days. How he knows every single part of Bandar Melaka through his numerous exploration with his friends every day after school. Listening to how good of a footballer he was and how he celebrated his victory after each games with his best buddies.


I also miss my mum. Terribly..

I miss how she knows when something is not right with me and I miss how she would know if I was trying to hide something...

I miss how she will try to wake me up for Subuh prayer by tickling the sole of my feet and by telling me the same story again and again of how a man loses almost half of everything the world offered him because he did not perform his Subuh prayer. And I will pretend to continue sleeping until my dad had to intervene....

I miss how I have to always tell my mum that there will be no sequel to Winter Sonata and the hero in that tv series, Bae Yong Joon have no plan to marry Choi Ji Woo, the heroine. She will disses me off and asked me to stop meddling in her fantasy... I miss my mum, the hopeless romantic.


Most of all, I just miss talking to my her. Miss listening to her inconsistent view on my weights and her denial of my ever increasing tummy. Miss listening to her white lies comforting me that I am not fat but I was just a bit plump. But, I also miss how at certain time she will remind me that my face will looks like a kueh pau that is about to explode if I do not stop eating. hehehe.


I miss them. I need them. My heart and soul. My everything.

p/s: Can't wait to go back to Penang to meet them soon. Big hugs n kisses awaits you two

Instinct v Common Sense

This is a totally random post. I don't really have anything in particular to blog about and yet I find myself hitting the "new post" button and here I am. Today is 24th November 2009. 24 days after I officially end my pupillage. I am on my holiday or to be exact I am in this transition phase from a pupil to an advocate and solicitor.

I think by now some of you might have already knew that I was not retained in ADC. The fact which I have grown to accept rather easily I must say. I was really really down when I first learn about it though. I was only sad for one day to be honest. The day after that I was actually okay. This may be due to the fact that I was already informed that they are not taking any people in even before I started my pupillage and because of that, I was sort of prepared.

So, in this so called holiday or should I say the period of lazing around and doing nothing which I find myself getting significantly good at it, I was supposed to be actively pursuing for a job. Having said that, I must say that I have not been "actively" seeking for job. The so-called attempt that I made was not in any definition suit the phrase "actively seeking for a job". I was not aggressive and I, unfortunately procrastinate thing as usual.

I do have a few firms in mind but somehow my instinct or should I say the voices in my head that I have been fondly been listening to all these years has yet to give me any signal. I am in desperate need of some sort of signs. I need that voices in my head to lead me, give me clues and drop me some hints. Basically, i need the voices to tell me which are firm(s) I should send my application to.

I could be stubborn at times and this is one of the time my stubborn ness choose to show its face. I insisted to only listen to this instinct of mine and after some interrogation with the voice within, you know the bad cop/good cop tactic and all the other hooplas, instinct finally DROP major hint so based from the hint given, I send two applications at these small but reputable firms. I crossed my fingers, baca Bismillah and click the "send" button. Praying really hard that they will at least call me for an interview.

My instinct told me this may just be the perfect place for me and being the obedient listener that I am, I believed them. I figured since all this while they have pretty much led me to where I am now....which so far is a good and blessed life, I assumed that I have no reason to doubt them. They are trustworthy."They" here is of course referred to the voices in my head a.k.a my instinct.

Then, the "impossible" thing happens....

Almost two weeks have passed and I have yet to receive any reply from this two firms. I started to doubt my instinct. Something tells me this is not the first time.*sigh* Suddenly the voices in my head are not making any more sound. I began my frantic search all over my head. I even sent a Special Branch detectives (together with Starbucks and Donuts) and Special Weapon and Tactic S.W.A.T unit to find them. I force them to make a noise or at least to whisper something to me but to no avail. They won't budge and the silence is killing me and sudenly the future looks so bleak to me and without further ado, I approach my other friend, my other confidante who is, my common sense.

Here is a snippet of our conversation that day....

Common sense : Yes the Gorgeous Iskandar, why are you calling me? It's been a while since we last talk.

Iskandar: Oh, something is seriously buggin' me. Instinct stopped talking to me for no apparent reason. The last time I talk to Instinct, he suggested I applied to this two firms and now it has been two weeks and still no progress. Why huh?

Common sense: Ermmmm... (a long pause). Iskandar, when instinct gave you this "brilliant" suggestion of his, did it ever occurs to you that you should have at least check the Malaysian Bar website first to see if there is any firm out there that actually in need of new L.A? I believe this two firms that Instinct asked you to apply did not even advertise any vacancy. Am I right?

Iskandar: Errrr...I guess so. I just simply send my application to them and hope for the best. Tak boleh ker?

Common sense: You #$%&*@#$% foooool!!!! Of course la they didnt reply or even bother to reply when they are not even looking for people to join them in the first place!!! How can you be so ignorant and just listen to Instinct bla bla bla bla bla @#$%$#%&#@* bla bla bla bla @#$#@%&#*&#!!!!!!!!

Iskandar: Ouch! FINE!!!!!! I'd go check the Malaysian Bar website and see if there's anything.

So, after being told off by Common Sense, I send my application to this one particular firm in Damansara which actually did advertise for a vacancy. and true enough, they called me the day after for an interview

But then....

Gosh, I think I should have just listen to my instinct. Common Sense is not making much sense. When I reach the place for the interview, I could not bring myself to the office. I was stuck in my car for almost 40 minutes collecting reasons and strength to actually get the hell out of my car and just go for the interview.

It does not feel right and I had a strange feeling that I will not like it. What a negative thought!!! I tried to shooosh them away and I was so in need of some tough loving and some motivation so I called Bary and asked her to knock some senses right into my head so that I could just go for the interview. After a few minutes of rambling about my not so stable emotion, I then found the courage to get out of my car.(eleh..chill la, macam nak pegi perang jer, interview aje kot) Still, I didnt feel good about it.

Haish!!!!! I should have just listen to my instinct. I was right. I didnt like it. The firm was not bad though. It just that it does not suit me. I can tell. I so can tell okay. Suddenly, the voices that have disappeared a couple of days ago slowly creeping back to my head. Slowly and slowly it is getting louder and what at first was just like a blurring echoes of a phrase... starting to get clearer and clearer. The voices kept chanting this phrase as if it is some sort of powerful mantra and it's getting louder and louder. They chanted the phrase "I told you so", "I told you so". I feel so overwhelmed and started to feel as if I am now drowning in this "pool of noises" which by now starting to sound like it's mocking me. Not cool man. So not cool. In fact some of them did laugh at me. Kurang asam btol. When you are at the receiving end, this phrase can be so freaking annoying. Urgghh.

I need to have a serious conversation. Face to face. I called both Common Sense and Instinct for a serious meeting. After a lengthy discussion with both of them, we have decided to consult Mr Practicality. Mr. Practicality is also one of my dear friend that I have been in contact with for quite some time. When he make a visit, we tend to come out with quite a few good decision. He rarely makes an appearance nowadays though. Wonder why.

Anyway, Mr. Practicality suggested that I combine both Instinct and Common Sense ideas. Mix them up together, create a balance mixture of those two and see the result. Why should I abandon my inner voice and why should I discard Common Sense. Who said that I can't have both? Who said that it should be one or the other. Thus, I mixed them up together. I am now hopeful of what the result may be.

It has been 2 days already and I am still hopeful. Finger crossed. If tak jadi jugak, Mr.Practicality is in dire need of some serious whipping!

The Story of Ebenezer Scrooge

I am not a big fan of animation or cartoon. Growing up, apart from Sesame Street, Thundercats and a few others, I don't really watch that much cartoon. I am into movies but somehow, the idea of watching animation does not seem too appealing to me. The reason being is I can't seem to convince myself that they are real. Being animation, it is not supposed to be real anyway but that is just what I think.

As a self-proclaimed movie fan, it is quite embarrassing to admit that I have not watch some of the highly acclaimed animation movie in the past decade or so. It could be a shocking discovery to some people that I have not watch animation movie like, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Monster Inc and a lot more.

On my defense, I did watch Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, The Ice Age trilogy and Finding Nemo. I know it is a crime to say this but I didn't like Finding Nemo. I don't understand what the fuss is all about the movie. Okay, maybe the colorful animation is quite something and the vegetarian sharks is kinda funny but other than that it is kind of forgettable to me.

So, I was quite surprised last Thursday when I found myself reading the review of the latest animation movie by Walt Disney, A Christmas Carol in New Straits Time and The Sun when suddenly I felt a tinge of curiosity and a slight excitement to watch it. I wonder why. So, when Kak Mie suddenly asked me to join her for a midnight movie at Sunway Pyramid last nite, without hesitation I suggested we watch A Christmas Carol.

Throughout the duration of this animation, my eyes was glued to the big screen. From start to the ending, the animation is beyond amazing. I know that the word amazing is loosely used nowadays but it is indeed amazing. I could not believed my eyes sometime because it looks so friggin real. The opening scene itself is worth all the praises.

I have a basic idea of the storyline but it was just in bits and pieces. I found it to be quite engaging and very thoughtful. It was after all a classique literary story so it is sort of expected to be up to that level.

The story of a supergreedy man named Ebenezer Scrooge is presented in a slightly dark and edgy mode. Too dark and too edgy for animation I think but it is not a bad thing at all. I would not want it any other way. The mood needed to be dark and hollow. There are quite a few scenes in this movie that just gives me the goose bumps. I like it when that happened.



The scene featuring the Ghosts of Christmas Present is my favorite and the scene where Ebenezer took a journey back into his past is worth the RM11 you paid to watch this movie. Please go and check it out.

The journey of self redemption has never looks so friggin cool. I like it. Wait, that is wrong. I f**king love it!! oops!! pardon me!

p/s: The voice of Mr. Scrooge is by Jim Carrey and with that thick English accent I almost didnt recognize it. Two thumbs up.

Coolness

Dang Baby!!! A brand new lay out for my blog! Im loving it.

Hope you guys love it too :)

3some

Three is a charm
Two is not the same
I don't see the harm
So are you game?


Never would've I thought that a song about threesome would make my day. Haha. Im lovin' it. I've been listening to it non stop for a few days and I still do not get tired of it. Yet. Simple (but suggestive)and repetitive lyric and very very catchy tune. Mindless fun.

Love the video too. Britney looks hot in it. Im not sure whether my taste in music is gettin more and more superficial but hey, as long as I am enjoyin it, who cares rite?? Two thumbs up Brit. Im lovin it. and yes Britney, the more is indeed the merrier. haha

Reality Check

Masa berlalu dengan sangat pantas..These past few weeks was like phew!! Looking back, I was not so sure myself what did i do? Thus..I am now in the mood to recap some of the things I have done this past few days. This is what I call "reality check".hehe

Tuesday 27th October 2009
Initially, I planned to serve my papers to KL Bar, Bar Council and AG on the 28th October 2009 but since I was free that day, I decided might as well do it now. So I texted Shikin about my plan and she agreed to be my chaperon for the day...hehehe.

Around 9.45am I fetched her from her new house..wooot wooot. As usual, I need to alas my big (cute) perut and Kin suggested we go to this one mamak at USJ3 called Sri Melur. According to Kin, TheStar Newspaper cakap this is one of the best place to go for breakfast and the roti canai is really sedap. I was like.."Eh, sedap eh?? Jom jom makan, teringin nak cuba tempat baru". Then, when we reached there I was like, laaaa ni ke restoran tue. I've been here like gazillion times already. My aunty used to stay sumwhere over there. Chiiit!!! What a bummer. I was expecting a new cool place.heheh. However, that does not stop me from gorging 2 keping roti canai anyway..hihihi.

And then..in the afternoon it was Convo Time. Not our convocation obviously but it was our dear frens' convocation. Saiful, Bary and Lovely. Owh Lord, how fun it is to be able to meet and talk to Lovely after so long. We even managed to squeeze in our mean session in between all the craziness of convocation in Uitm Shah Alam. (Those who had their convo in Uitm will agree with me on how crazy it can be)

Of course, a few hours with Lovely is not enough so we extended our time together at Delicious MidValley later that nite. Aisya, Cindy, Fido and Chaos joined too. All in all, it was a great day. I managed to served all my papers to the respective bodies and I have managed to be with my fren on their happy day. Mind you, this is the third convocation for Bary that I have attended. Rajin sungguh budak ini menuntut ilmu. heheheh.

p/s: Feel bad didnt managed to take a pic with Ros Adleen who also graduated on that day :(

Thursday 29th October 2009
I was scheduled to go to Ipoh High Court with one of the senior lawyer in ADC, JM for a matter regarding Bill of Costs. (Owh Tuhanku, I despise Bill of Costs). I fetched her from the office at 7.45am and we went straight to Ipoh. Before i tell you any further of my journey there, let me tell you a little bit about JM. She is a very loud person and she talks A LOT. A LOT. Imagine a very talkative person who talks as loud as it can get. Whoaa!!! The result is I was not sleepy at all through out the entire journey pergi balik Ipoh ok!! haha.

She shared a lot of things about life as a lawyer with me and she gave me quite few pointers on how to survive and how to make it in this field. See...this is what I love about talkin to older people. They are so wise and their perspective on life is, naturally, different from us. I love different ideas and different views. It makes me want to think or it forces me to think.

One of the things that strikes me the most is when she said something about the problem with young people.She told me that young people nowadays wasted so much time thinking but at the the end of the day, we did not get anything done. This is what she said to me;

"Sometimes in life, you just have to do it. Think about it for a while and then just do it. Do it. Execute it. If it works, bravo but if it doesnt, move on".

Haish..I wish I could do just that!

p/s: Guess who I met at Ipoh Court?? Yana!!! so syiok dapat jumpa kawan lama. she suggested us to go have our lunch at the infamous Hainan Chicken Rice in Ipoh Town. Not bad. Not bad at all.


30th October 2009
My last day at ADC. I spent my day talking to people in the office and busy answering questions on where and what I'll do next. I just basically tell them that I want to take some time off and think about it later. In actual truth, I don't even know where I will go after this.

I had a superb and fantastic time at ADC throughout my pupillage period. It was so far the best working environment that I have ever been exposed to. I admit, I don't really have much working experience but for a normally stressful job, ADC is a relax and fun working place. Too bad I didnt get retain there. Takpela, takda rezeki.


31st October 2009
I went out with Justine to refund our Beyonce tickets. I was not really dissapointed that the show was postponed as the reason I wanted to go in the first place was just to hang out with some of my fren so Beyonce, no hard feelings ok? If you nak datang next time, datang la ok? I tak halang. Maybe we can meet up for a drink or something? Ajak Jay Z sama k kalau dia free.

Justine took me to this supercoooool place called Kedai Makanana Raju dkt PJ. Ya Allah, sedap and bestnyerrrr. Why didnt I know or heard of this place before sedangkan I was in Shah Alam for almost 5 years already!!!! Why why why. I loveeee the place. The roti canai especially. (Errrr..I have yet to try anything other than the roti canai so I assume yg lain tu sedap jugak la). The roti canai is thick and crispy. Makan atas daun pisang. Banana leaf roti pisang with 3 types of kuah. Got meat curry, dalca and fish curry and the best thing is the sambal. Memang superb the sambal. The price is slightly mahal but it's worth it.

Later in the afternoon, I went out with Bary, Epul and Fido. We bought our bus ticket to Singapore. (Yeay!!! We are going to Singapore!!!!!) and we go makan at the infamous Sate Kajang Haji Samuri at PKNS, Shah Alam. Yummy.

p/s: makan je keje aku ni

1st November 2009
I reached Penang. All the issues that have been buggin' me does not seem so important anymore. P.E.N.A.N.G. never ever fail to make he happy. Gotta go have my happy pills now. First I need to have my Nasi Kandar at Line Clear and Hameediya, then I gotta go have my Roti Canai Daging at Transfer Road. Not forgetting I need to have bubur kacang at Jalan Dato' Koyah and bubur gandum behind the old Cathay Cineplex and I gotta meet Faisal and Izzah pronto!

p/s: why didnt I include Sup Hameed as well?


All in all, I had fun. Thats the most important thing. We MUST have fun. hehe

What A Lovely Co-incidence

I went out with my chambee mates last Friday. We just want to hang out and catch a movie after that. I suggested watching 500 Days of Summer as I had a feeling that it might be a good movie. All of us knew nothing about the movie and we want to keep it that way. I only know that Zooey Deschanel is in it and thats about it. Some of my friend wanted to first read the review from imdb to know whether it will be worth watching but I insisted that all of us should just take a chance and watch the movie without any expectation or any pre-conceived idea about it. I told them, if the movie is good, you will enjoy it more and if it isnt..jeng jeng jeng...matilah aku kena marah dgn diorang..hahaha. They, however give in to my suggestion. hehe.

We decided to watch the movie at a slightly later showtime so that we can really have a proper conversation with each other. Good ole way of gettin to know each other. Although we meet each other every day in the office, but due to workloads and our busy-ness, we didnt really get the chance to know each other. Hence, the dinner plan. We chose to have our dinner at San Francisco Steak House at KLCC.

There were 5 of us. Me, Sean, Hanna R, Ainaa and my "apprentice", Natalie. My my owh my, what a dinner conversation. We really talk and we really had a greaaaat dinner conversation. Remember watching one of those Woody Allen movies?? Yes, the conversation that we had was just like that. We really did talk! The topic of our conversation that night was of love and relationship (no surprises there) and it was so refreshing to hear them open up and really talk about it. All of us really did open up. We practically talked about every things that revolves around relationship.

Sean was in my opinion is emotionally mature for a 24 years old guy. His opinions and perspective about life and love is very Dr Phil like.hehehe. Too much Oprah I guess. His insight about relationship amazes me and if it does not change me, at least it makes me want to reconsider some of my own perspective and some of my own view of certain things. I cannot emphasize enough how much about relationship between guy and girl that we have explored that night. 5 people with 5 different personality and with even 5 totally different views of life shared their thoughts and a piece of mind. I must say the dinner was not only gastronomically satisfying, it was also emotionally fulfilling.




Then, we go watch the movie. I have only one word to describe the movie. *drum rolls* AMAZING!!!!! I was having so much fun. I really really really loveeeeeeee the movie. My goodness, it was fantastic. We were so glad that we watched it. 500 Days of Summer is sooo freakin good and I can't wait to watch it again rite after I step out of the cinema.

There is nothing new about the story line I must say. Boys meet girls. Girls meet boys. But the director Marc Webb managed to delve into the soul of the characters and make us root for them, understand them, care for them and most importantly, love them. We cheered for the character when they succeed and we cried when they failed. That's in my opinion is the benchmark of a good characterization in a movie. The audience need to feel for the characters potrayed and this movie excels at that.

The other thing that I really really like about this movie is the cinematography. It is so serene at times and so wonderfully "bright" in another. It implements the script very very very well and I am so glad that none of those shaky camera trick that is currently seem to be the in thing in recent movies was not in this one. Phew!!

Another great things about this movie is the soundtrack. Usually, when you watch a movie, the music and the songs used were heard but ignored. If the movie is not musical, the music was just there and thats it. It was entirely different with this one. I am loving the soundtrack so much. I can't help but wishing and thinking that I'd have to get the soundtrack cd of this movie even while I was watching it in the cinema.

I love the fact that this movie is so natural ( maybe due to the superb acting by the both leads) and it does not feel forced. You can't help but dream about certain thing (at least I do) while watching this lovely and beautiful movie.

The funny things is, or maybe the reason why me and my colleague seems to be enjoying the movie even more was that almost every single thing that we discussed during our dinner, ( yes, almost every single thing!!!) was potrayed in this movie! No kidding!!! We were basically looking at each other in the dark cinema thinking.. "Hey, we just talked about it!! " and "OMG!!! Thats exactly how you said that just now!!!" Pretty weird huh? It was as if, somebody recorded our dinner conversation and turned it into a screenplay!!! haha. What a co-incidence!! Life imitates art or art imitates life???

So, if you want to know what we talked about during our dinner, just watch this movie.hehehehe. I promise you, it will be worth it. While writing this, I promised myself that I will watch it again in the cinema. Sooooon. Mind you, it is on a limited release and you can only watch it in KLCC.

I could not stop talkin about this movie. It is the current IT movie in my mind at the moment. My housemates (Fido especially) is getting bored with my non stop rants about it. I am so sorry peeps, I just can't help it.

Above all, the number one reason why I am so in love with this movie is that I think it gives me hope. Hope of the O.N.E *wink*

*here are some of the screen caps from the movie*

The Accidental Tourist

Yesterday was one of my best friend's birthday. There was no big celebration, no party. We just went out for dinner at our favorite spot. The three of us. No fuss, no big deal. Come to think of it, it was just like any other ordinary outing of ours. But, truthfully, it was not. He is now a year older. Officially a year older.

Maybe the sentimentalist in me or what, every time important days like this came along, be it mine or someone else's, I am forced to re-evaluate my life. Most of the time, it happened unwillingly. Have I achieved enough? Have I done enough to achieve what I want out of life? The questions kept popping in my head. The questions kept coming. I am always flooded with a series of endless questions in my head. Unfortunately, I do not have any answer. None at all.

Have you ever wonder whether are you really living your life? Experience every single second, breathe in every single moment, suck the energy of life in you and live and live? It is my attempt to do this. Waking up in the morning, I remind myself this is what I have to do, this is what I should do, this is what I will do.. but there are times when I wondered, is this just way too much to ask for? I don't think so.

Like a movie I once watched, The Accidental Tourist, where the character, Macon Leary said, "Less... is invariably more". I wonder, does the same principle applies in life as well? Would we be happier in life with less things? less issues? Or is it entirely the opposite? all the things and issues that we are dealing with in a way enrich our life. Make us a better person. Keep us occupied?

In the end, I consoled myself to think that be it less or more...I'll just travel through life. Let's not be a tourist in our own life. Let's be a traveller. We may fall, we may pass through things we dislike, we may just hated something we stumbled upon but the thought of the endless possibilities of being able to find something or someone that we may just love and cherish with every single fiber in our existence thrills me to the max.

Sometime maybe less is indeed more but there will be a time when more and more is all that I want and is all that I need.

Kasih Tak Kembali

One of the saddest or probably the hardest thing in this world is to say goodbye to our loved ones. Be it your parents, lover or partner, losing someone you love is not easy. Time may heal the wound but the scar will always be there.

Imagine losing someone you loved so much. Someone special. Knowing fully aware that there is no way to get that person back in your life. Wishing you could see her face. Wishing you can talk to her even if it is just for a while...Wishing you could call her in the middle of the night just so you can share your secret thoughts with her... But then you realize that you can wish all you want, cries all you want, but the fact is.. they are no longer with you. They are now gone. How heartbreaking that must be.

I was feeling all these when I was listening to Atilia's song the other day and the pang of sadness hits me. Maybe it is because of the lyric of that song or maybe because of the melody. Both of which I must say is rather simple but they manage to hit every emotional chords of mine. I don't know why but listening to it make me feel rather sad. There is a certain sense of longing that I feel when I hear the song. Atilia's soft and gentle voice singing (or should I say mourning) for the lost love/deceased lover haunts me for days. I can't stop listening to this song even though in a way it kinda make me sad.

It is a very simple song but maybe because of that, I like it even more.There's a classique feel to it. I swear I could imagine my late grandmother listening to this song from her old dusty gramophone and lovin' it too. *sigh*

The song is called "Kasih Tak Kembali" and here is the beautiful beautiful lyric.

Menantikan dia kembali
Melamun hatiku sedih
Hati gelisah bermimpi
Memadukan kasih

Kusampaikan ratapan jiwa
Dihembusan angin lalu
Harapan ingin berjumpa
Menyampaikan hasrat rindu

Tapi hanyalah bayangan
Tak kunjungmu kembali lagi
Tetap suram pemandangan
Binasalah diri

Remuk redam rasa hati
Tak tertahan menanggung rindu
Kasih tak mungkin kembali
Musnahlah harapanku..

Can't Hardly Wait

I simply can't wait. Not anymore.I need them pronto!! I'm superexcited!!!

*Number Five*
To end my pupillage soooooon!!! This is self explanatory. A new chapter of my life is about to make a debut. haha. How cool is that?? Ok. Thousand of people get called to the Bar but hey.. it is still nonetheless cool kan?? More responsibility and less free time. Hmmm. Doesn sound too interesting plak... But i think it is exactly what I need at the moment. More responsibility and challenge myself.

*Number Four*




To buy "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" novel by David Wroblewski. I heard and read so many great reviews of this supposedly soon to be classic. I truly deeply madly wanna buy this book. I've heard some people read this book in one go because it was too good and they just can't put it down. Plus, Oprah also recommends this book and select it for her book club. So it shud be good. (Yes, people. I do watch Oprah) Now u can shut up. haha.

*Number Three*
My friend is gettin married on the 17th October 2009 in Johor Bharu. That means = Road Trip!! wooooot woooot. It's gonna be the four of us. The usual four. Me plus kin,aisya n fido. 5 hours of driving. There will be a lot of singing and (screaming)session. (Fido however for unknown reason rarely join our sing-a-long in the car session). Apart from that, I am pretty sure that we will be eatin non stop throughout the 5 hours journey. Will buy lots n lots of tidbits la nampaknyee. Hahaha..I cudnt be more happier. Hopefully, Zuren will be able to spend some time with us after the wedding to hang out and catch things up. When Zureen is around.. what else could i expect other than a brand new collection of "ayat-ayat jimat" and her (funny) encounters with the male species. haha.

*Number Two*



The Time Traveler's Wife movie adaptation. Oh Holy Mother of God!! I so cannot wait for this anymoreeee. Do you people know how long I have been waiting for this movie??? Err...I also don't know exactly but I know it's been waaay too long. Ever since I know they cast one of my fav actor (Eric Bana) to be the star of this movie, I was hook!! Why why why this movie is still not out yet in Malaysia??? Haish...It shoud've been out by now. It's October already. All the rave reviews about it is makin me sick. Please please please take me out of this agony. Release this movie in theatres now.

btw *SPOILERS* I heard there is a "new" ending in the movie. It's different from the book. Loyal readers usually hate if the movie change anything from the book but rumors has it (Yes, I do listen to rumors sumtimes..heheh)that it's sooooooooo gooooood.

*NUMERO UNO*



I can't wait to be the proud owner of the ever immaculate, the ever great, the one and only..the First Lady of Pop..Madonna's new album. haha. I can't wait to get my hands on the new Greatest Hits Collection plus 2 new songs! There will be 34 songs in this collection. 34 songs that change the face of music. 34 songs that change the world. Let's face it, those people who dismisses her as just pop singer are in denial. She is the most succesful female artist of all time. Period!

This is a double cd set plus a double dvd collection of her stellar music videos catalogue. Gosh, given the fact that this is no simple ordinary collection, the price is quite expensive....I will have to wait a while before I can proudly declare myself as the owner of this "Celebration". It's definitely an ear ecstacy...

Life Greatest Advice Part I

I have always believe that the best advice is advice we've given to others. But, a dear friend of mine forwarded a lovely email to me a couple of days ago which contain a collection of what I think are sound and good advices.

So,in this Holy Month of Ramadhan, the "saint" in me would like to share some of them with you!! hehe. There are.... *drum rolls*
(p/s: they are not in any particular order..so they are equally important ok)

1. Never deprive anyone of hope; it could be the only thing a person owns.
***(seperti kata bon jovi, keep in faith ppl.. keep in faith. hehehe )

2. Don't make decision when you are angry.
***(I personally think that if you speak when you are angry, you will make the
best speech you will ever regret)

3. Don't pay for a job until it is finished.
***(Im guilty of this one..so a lesson well learnt)

4. Beware of those who has nothing to lose.

5. Learn how to say "NO" courteously and promptly.
***(Never ever commit to something you don't want.. it is emotionally and
physically exhausting imo)

6. Don't expect life to be fair.
***(I guess it's easier that way rite?? )

7. Don't hesitate to lose a battle if it helps you win the war.
***( I likeeee )

8. Don't procrastinate. Do what needs to be done when it needs to be done.
***(One of my biggest problem... This is sooo in my to do list)

9. Don't be afraid to say "I don't know" and "Im sorry"

10. Watch the sun rise at least once a month.
***(alahai..romantic nyer advice nie)

11. Look people in the eye.

12. Say "please" and "thank you" often.

13. Spend less than what you earn.
***(Hahaha...bet lotsa ppl are guilty of this one!!)

14. Do onto others as you wish others did onto you.
***(A good all around advice)

15. Learn how to keep secrets.
***(I can always trust my bloody buddies to keep secrets)

...to be continued

The Time Traveler's Wife

I am currently re-reading The Time Traveller's Wife. Oh my goodness. What a fiction and what a fantastic "fantasy". I just looooove it. People always think that writing a fiction or a fantasy is easy. You just have to make the stuff up..they said. The truth is, it's not. It's hard. Really hard. You have to make the unbelievable believable. Man, thats a super tough job!!!

Well, back to the book. It is a story of Henry and Clare. Henry was born with a strange genetic condition that sort of force him to time travel even without him wanting it. He can't control his "ability" to time travel and we are transported together with him in his exceptional journey of life. He first met Clare when he is in his 40s and Clare is just 6 years old!! It is a beautifully crafted love story. I also have to say that i found it to be very very very authentic and original. It offers a new and fresh perspective on time travel. Smart interpretation.

The story is told through the narrative of the two main characters; Henry and Clare. So, we will get two different point of views of their life. The narrating is quite easy to follow once you get used to the style of writing. It is brutally honest at times and I am certain this novel will evoke an "unknown" kind of emotion from you. At least thats how I feel while and after Im readin it. I describe it as "unknown" because I don't even know how to describe what I felt. It gets under my skin.

After I finish reading this book Im basically emotionally exhausted. I may sound like I am exagerating it but what can I say, I am a sucker for love story. Great love story and mind you, this is one of them. Go check it out.

There's also a movie adaptation of this book coming out in Malaysia sometime in October and needless to say, I can't hardly wait for that. But let's talk about the movie in another post yea?? In the meantime, I want to revisit Henry and Clare again. hmmmm.

Prologue

A chapter is about to end and another is about to begin. I am tryin to keep it real. I am tryin to keep it simple and above of all, I want to keep in faith that what ever it will be, it will lead me to a happier and a better version of me.

I am not afraid of what I'll face but I am afraid to stay.

Life is a series of choices. And Im about to make one. Finger crossed baby. What are you waiting for?? Let the ride beginnn!!! In the true spirit of cowboys..let's holler with me. Yeeehaaaaaaarr!!!