Hurrah!


After an excruciatingly long wait...

I got my last result for last semester's papers.

Alhamdullillah!

You can't even being to imagine how ecstatic i am to see that my cgpa has risen.

Tak sia-sia gi class 8.30am and duduk kat depan.

Heheh, dptkan berkat.

I have my grandparents here today.

They spent the night at my house and it was nice to have my grandfather boss my sister around.

It was definitely a nice change.

Anyway, i will have to make my way down to IMM to get my ex-roomies those retractable poles to hang their curtains up.

I really pity them cos their room has an unpleasant view of the construction site.

Im glad to have gotten the same room again.

Have a good weekend!


Fin.

Denial.


Yes. I am home.

Why?

Cos on the 26th of april it was designated the coronation day.

Therefore public holiday for us.

And i took the opportunity to ponteng my class on friday.

Hoho.

Mc-lah...

Why am i in denial you might ask?

Because it has finally sunk in.

Yes, like Duchess once mentioned:

Yeah, one day then you'll know what it feels like to be a biiig kakak.

People are calling me kak Mary these days.

I can't believe that Anuar called me 'Kak'.

Which was why i purposely didn't respond when he called me kak to share some of his mentos.

Hohoho.

I love coming home.

Cos that means that i get to see the love.

I missed him so much!

Cos i haven't seen him since last thursday.

Tomorrow must meet him for a quick lunch before friday prayers.

On the menu tomorrow...LAKSA!

Yum.

Did i mention i got locked out from my room last night when i got home.

The sister wanted to keep my brothers out and didnt count on me coming back so soon.

So i got a crick in the neck cos i had to sleep in the living room, on the floor on a very uncomfortable little pillow.

So tonight i'll get some proper shut eye.

Good night.


Fin.

49 Long Days


I have this feeling that this semester is going to be a LOOOOONNNGGG one.

I should say that ONE of the lecturers is not being very receptive to students from my programme.

I don't understand why he had to do that.

I didn't think it was completely necessary.

I somehow feel insulted.

But then again he may have his reasons.

But i didn't ask to take that class okay.

It was forced upon me.

-Sigh-

Am i obsessed with the English languge?

Is it my fault that my parents taught me how to speak English first and not Malay as it should have been?

Why am i more fluent in English then?

So is it my fault that i am able to comfortably understand and express myself in this language?

Is it even a bad thing?

Then if he did mean to say all that, what about all our other Muslim brothers and sisters from other parts of the world that learn and come to understand the faith better in their own language?

I can't even understand religious books in Malay.

Aaaaarrrggghhh!

Why is it now that seeds of self-doubt seem to be sown?

Was it a mistake in the beginning to take this course at all?

I feel like im going to come down with my second panic attack of the week.

And possibly the semester.

And its not going to stop here either.


Fin.

Report Card Day


Gone are the days that i had to show my parents my report card to get it signed.

These days, i print them out and decide that whether i should show my parents.

*Fat hope*

Ouh well, at least the results show the amount of effort that i've continuously put in.

And alhamdullillah, i passed arabic with a respectable B-!

And amazingly i gained an A for my LE 4000. Considering the amount of times i always kene tekan by the lecturer.

Like i mentioned in my blog months ago, she only meant well and only desired for us to get the marks that we worked for.

So really slaving away at my paper that i spent countless of night worrying on paid off!

On the flipside, i haven't gotten my grade for Research Methodology.

I've already made the calculations, even an estimation on the RM grade, and i'm not getting on that dean's list.

It just goes to show i'm just your average student.

But at least i know that i've worked hard on the grades.

Thanks to family and friends for support.

And Baby, thank you for being there always. Although your methods of making me concentrate on my studies left me a bit perplexed, i'm glad you did.

I love you.


Did i mention WE turned ONE on Monday?

Just for the kick of it, i prepared his lunch from Monday right thru till yesterday.

So it was lunchtime lovey dovey picnic for us. Hah.

I'm sure i made someone puke their lunch up after writing that.Hoho.

No grand presents, just quality time spent with each other.

I'm going to hate leaving this Sunday.


To my babes:

Really? We've known each other for 10 years? Gawd, i feel OLD.

I want CHALET, forget that i'm even broke.

Heheheh...


Fin.

Hmmmm...

I will never have peace writing this knowing that my father is behind me, watching me type this.

I made my second attempt at lasagne, and i am getting pretty good at it.

Hohoho.

I made chicken rice yesterday and the day before, i took my very first attempt at making asam pedas.

Honestly, malay cuisine is VERY difficult.

So is indian cuisine.

It is a perfect blend of spices and control of heat that make the food good.

Trust me.

Whatever Nigella and Jamie Oliver do, i can also do.

But to do an Asmah Laili is BEYOND me.

I have been trying to put my pics frm my hp into the pc/laptop but using the SD card adapter and plugging it into the pc also not working.

I dunno why the pc cannot detect my memory card.

So that is why there is a complete absence of photos in my blog as of late.

So i have no pics to show of my lasagne...

the already half eaten lasagne

Less than 3 hours to my exam results.

I feel like defecating just thinking about it.

Well enuf talking...more pics i say!

Arian gerls bday outing

LJS dinner...satisfied a craving

at sarah j's wedding

meet the newlyweds: sarah j. and erwan berori

Exco, exco and exco-ed

(thats me all red in the face suffering frm heat rash)

I hope this put an end to the monotony of all that writing.

Enjoy!

Fin.

Get OVER it.


Someone should realli be listening to katharine mcphee's song, Over It.

Realli,realli.

Stop living in the past and start living for today.

Some people instead of trying to rectify something, it becomes even more worse.

Grow up.

If it aint broke, you don't have to meddle with it.

Stop giving other people grief.

Even they've moved on.


Fin.

Copycat.


Sesetengah orang kat alam siber ni mmg suka sangat "men-copy" style orang lain eh?

Lepas tu, she tries to pawn it off as her own.

And coincidentally, she has names of friends that are just too similar to my ms. morientes.

And then she has so many spelling errors.

Maklumlah. Aku ni kan budak BENL, mata pun merah membaca.


I mean seriously, whoever buys a person a gift of a "heart pedal"

Cmon lah. Kalau tak tau spell pun, cuba sebut dulu, lepas tu spellchecker kan ader?

Option kan banyak.

Tak tau spell in english, spell it in malay can?

Comprende?

Oh better yet. Write it in MS word and then when u see the squiggly red line u can make the proper adjustments and then copy and paste to blogger.

See, who says im so bad?

I am sincerely trying to help the nation to improve the standard of english.


Wat i mean is...


BACK OFF *****!


Ok dah penat.

p/s: i do believe that congratulations are in order for the newly wed couple sarah jamaludin and erwan berori. Don't forget to come back after your honeymoon hor!


Fin.

Please help me!


Unbeknownst to some people. i am actually tucked away safe and sound at home.

Till the next week at least.

I have 7 days till the release of my results.

Oh god.

I am starting to feel all the butterflies in the tummy.

Anyway, i just wanted to see what was happening on the blogosphere.

On the contrary, having the wireless at home really has made me very lazy liao.

Cos its very leceh/ troublesome to have to pack and unpack the laptop.

So i just wait until the pc is free.

The birthday was bleargh

It doesn't get better as you get older.

The best things to happen was the surprise dinner party my roomies had for me.

Nice and tasty tomyam to go with my nasi goreng yongchow.

Yummy!

And then it was the movie date i had with my fellow Arian, Kho (aka my lesb partner) as she so affectionately put it. Harhar.

Thanks dear for that gorgeous and notty looking flower hehehehe.

I hope you enjoyed the chocolate cake!

All in all, i enjoyed the movie.

We caught The Namesake, a Jhumpa Lahiri book that both of us read.

It was made into a movie by Mira Nair.

I enjoyed her Monsoon Wedding but i wasn't particularly impressed with her take on Namesake.

Well, partly because i felt that the focus was shifted from Gogol to Ashima Ashok.

So i guess it just took the whole feel of the namesake away.

Well that is my personal opinion.

But i did enjoy Tabu's acting.

She's a real gem.

And Kal Penn, well, i feel that his role as Kumar in Harold and Kumar go to White Castle really immortalised Penn's character. So his take on Gogol didn't really envelop me.

Again, my personal opinion.

Maybe the whole problem is because i already read the book.

So there was a certain expectation that i needed from it.

Besides the movie, i have pretty much been at home and reading and cooking and watching tv and looking after the brother at home.

I went to Jurong East's library. I remember sneaking a peek at the Narayan range there and i felt that it deserved another look.

So this time, i picked up one chick flick and 3 Narayan titles.

The Guide rocked my socks so im hoping that the other books do the same for me too.

So, there's one more week till i get the results.

Oh darn.

Just one more week.

Then its less than 2 months that i'll be graduating!

Yikes!


Fin.

Bodoh sombong.


some people donno wat they say.

really.

i really wonder what the dictionary was made for.

SOMETIMES,

kalau dah salah tu salah lah.

arrrgghhhh.

and den padahal takde kene mengene dengan hidup orang tu.

wah kao. jeles ke pe tak dikutuk.

really frustrating!


that aside,

i met gorgeous katya from bavaria (thats in germany, for the rest of the population).

i rushed back by train last night.

i made it by a hair's breadth.

phew.

i didn't even meet katya until this morning when we woke up from (my-very-little) sleep.

somebody was really ROARING aka snoring!

the bunks on the train were really nice.

I hope to see u tomorrow katya!

auf wiederzein.


Fin.

Countdown...


4 down, 2 more to go.

BUMMER.

Oh well.

Whatever that gets me through this week.

Oh, the non-sleeping episodes are back!

Grrrrrr.

I can barely shut my eyes at night.

Time for Mr. Xanax to pay another visit tonight.

2 more days till the school holidays.


Sweet, sweet ecstasy...


Fin.

All the things i love...


Yes. i have made it back to kl again.

Nothing new.

3 more days of exams.

then i'll be free for 2 weeks.

hopefully 2 weeks of bliss.

my bday, then me & kho's bday movie treat and bday celebration

my anniversary (yipee!)

and a whole list of reading that i've already prepared to occupy myself with.

i've planned out some dishes that i'd like to try.

but right now, its those 3 papers i have to occupy myself with.

bummer.

oh well.

its back to the books and notes for world lit.


Fin.

Transmitted...


Al-Ghazali mentioned in his theory of mean (mean being the middle)

that to be a complete and whole person then one would require 4 things:

wisdom, justice, temperance and courage.

To my friends having a hard time out there, take these pearls of wisdom and use them to better your life.

InsyaAllah you will be rewarded.


On another note

i don't noe how to say it for fear of retaliation and harassment.

So i shall just keep quiet.

It is better to keep silent than say bad things at all.


Fin.

So much for...


the Xanax episode.

Once i got home i was sleeping like a baby.

Yeah, im home amidst the examination period.

Who couldn't do without a respite during an examination period?

It just so happened that i have a 7 day break in between.

So it was nice to come home and rest and relax and finally sleep like a proper human being.

I need sleep.

I am unable to function if i don't get at LEAST 4 hours of sleep.

Its called beauty sleep.

And the brain needs sleep to function at its best.

And i do so pride myself in being a brainiac.


Hah. Masuk bakul angkat sendiri nampak...no komen.


Its exhausting being back.

I havent been studying (baaaddd gerl)

I have been staying put at home though, save for yesterday when i went for an impromptu shopping trip with my mom.

I have been slaving away at the stove.

Okay maybe not slave.

I just enjoy being in the kitchen pottering around.

Too much of the Domestic Goddess in me.

When my mum's away at work i just naturally fill in that spot.

And Huda was (and still is) right. I am turning into my mother.

Don't know whether its too much of a good thing or too much of a bad thing.

At least if i am turning into my mom, im comforted of the fact that i'll be able to deliver a baby on my own.

Now that's another story for another day.

So i have been cooking for three days inclusive of today.<>
Wednesday: rice, kuah sardin and an omelette with fried veggies

Thursday: rice, tomyam, fried chicken and fried veggies again.

Today: Lasagne.

My virginal attempt at making lasagne. Not bad. I will have to practice boiling that pasta though.

Tomorrow i will relinquish and relegate all cooking duties back to mother dearest.

And now, back to my supposed study time. Tee hee hee.



Fin.

Xanax-ed


I know i said i would be away for some time but i just couldn't resist this very strong urge.

Especially when one has been sleep deprived for like 3 nights.

And mind you, i'm having sleepless nights during examination not by choice.

I'm definitely not the type to keep late nights and burning the midnite oil but unfortunately since i got to UIA, my body has reacted to examinations in this kooky manner.

I've only started to see the doctor as of last sem to get rid of the insomnia.

Trust me, you wouldn't want to see me.

I look worse than a wreck.

Lets see now


Xanax: noun
an antianxiety agent (trade name Xanax) of the benzodiazepine class.


Anxiety. Geez...

I wonder why i never ever felt anxious when i had to sit for the O's and A's.

I am so looking forward to get some shut eye tonight!

Bedtime will be at 10.30pm

That's the earliest i've been to bed.

Oh well, anything to keep me from falling asleep at my examination desk.


Fin.

Hello. Goodbye.


No its not goodbye, like forever.

(God forbid that i'll get sick of blogging)

Its more like so long.

I noe i havent been updating for a while now.

I mean can you really blame me?

Being a senior SUCKS okay?

I mean yeah you get the best lecturers as you go on up

-which has been a complete disappointment with the exception of Dr. Noorharun that is-

Argh.

Yes it really does suck.

The amount of time that you spend facing the laptop or pc is way longer than the time you see all your friends.

I remember reading Suli's blog griping moment about the tests and the assignments.

Yeah. it just consumes you to the point of no return.

The movie "NeverEnding Story" comes to mind.

Oh well. At least the ones that keep me sane are around.

And thanks girls for that lovely time just chilling around at Starbucks.

That made my day.

It was lovely.

Oh and i am so mad at that pathetic excuse for a man.

I can't believe him.

To do that to his gf and azimah.

And i heard he's heading to UIA.

I am not going to give him an easy time.

Sorry.

Not for the stunt that he pulled the other day at campus.


Well im here to say tht the exams have rolled around again.

Yes. The lovely and wonderful exams.

So i wont be around to blog much.

I'll probably come back after my birthday

~8th April people!~


So, au revoir and see you soon.


Fin.

Ta-daaaaahhhh!


i have made my come back y'ALL!

Ugh the last 2 weeks of february were a killer.

It was assignment after assignment after assignment right after coming back from the CNY break.

It feels like a chore going to class these days.

I can remember how many times i actually turned up to class.

Cos i skipped a tad too many times over the week.

But next week i hope that i don't do that same disappearing act again.

Too close to the exams.

Need those precious exam "study" tips from the lecturers.

Yes for some people i see you have your mouths open wide.

Yes close them before a fly gets in.

I can hear you all saying:

Eh? MARYAM tak Balik?

Hey at least i tak balik you know. Some people EVERY week also balik.

But of course they have their own reasons.

I just want to get all the assignments over and done with.

I've finally gotten the LE 4000 draft done.

Just needs a bit of tweaking and then it will be perfect.

I'm just worried about all the sources that i used.

She thinks that they are too outdated.

What am i supposed to do when the current trend of research is NOT what im working on?

Ugh.

I really wanna do well for this paper.

Ok...lets see.

What have i been doing these past 2 weeks that i've been here?

The weekdays aren't so bad cos you have classes to pre-occupy you but then when the weekend rolls around im like stumped.

Especially when you have a paltry student budget.

Last week i just stayed put in campus.

But this weekend, i mean today, i did a little grocery shopping before the exam period starts.

I hate going out during the exam period to look for stuff.

It minimises the revision time.

So tomorrow i have a movie date with Kho.

That gerl is simply elusive.

Very difficult to see you in campus these days you know!

Finally. A decent day out with some good company.

I can't wait to hang out with my friends this coming Saturday!

Especially the miss who is finally doing her last 10 weeks in practicum.

Yeay-ness.

And then a senior and close family friend Kak Yaya is gttg married on the 17th!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

At last!

Congrats Kak Yaya! Tak sabar nak tgk you naik pelamin.

You will definitely look gorgeous (even more so!) on your wedding day!

So before i bore you people out of your mind, i think i'll sign off.


Fin.

Psychologically manhandled.


People who know me really well will really know how my family dynamics work.

Huda knows this well, cos she seems to be the only one who is petrified by my mom.


My grandparents are psychologically trying to press me into staying in Malaysia.

They do this by offering to pay for my Master's degree.

Yes.

Plus, my grandmother says that once i complete it then she will treat me to an all expenses paid trip.

Very tempting.

But i think NOT.

She is trying to psycho me into staying and working in Malaysia.

This is not the first time that i have been 'used' like this.

I am not going to be controlled like this again.

Both my grandparents have even been telling other members of my extended family that im furthering my studies.

What the hell are they trying to do?

This is not fair at all.

And she likes to play the trump card:


"Kalau Maryam anak yang solehah, tentu Maryam tak kecewakan nenek dengan atok."


Why is everyone trying to pressure me like this.

I. HATE. BEING. SHOVED. AROUND. LIKE. THIS.

I dislike being the first grandchild on both sides too.

Too much pressure.

Have they forgotten that i have been born and bred in Singapore?

Nothing can change that.

My friends are there.

And most of my family members are there.

Save for my maternal grandparents.

I know why they're doing this.

They don't want me to be with him that's what.

I don't get it...

Don't they want me to be happy?


Fin.

Pooped.


What was supposed to be a 5 hour journey turned out to be 7 hours instead.

The bus that was scheduled at 1.30pm left early JUST as i arrived at the platform at 1pm.

I had to run from Pudu right up to the front of the Ancasa hotel to catch that bus.

As if the scare that i got in my EAP class wasn't enough.

By the time i reached singapore, my grandmother was much better.

In fact we proceeded with the bbq.

They started already.

I on the other hand was late. And famished.

I had bbq'd fish, otak-otak, salad.

However, the chicken completely escaped me.

And the whole family played charades.

I was in stitches as were the other members of my extended family.

My brother became the unsuspecting star of the whole show.

From acting out a peribahasa, he went on to 'puji-diri-dier-sendiri'.

Humpphhhfff

"Aku handsome!" kata dier lah. I have no comment.

He actually acted it out a couple of times till we all said it in unison and said thank you perfunctorily.

My mom choked on her drink.

We all laughed till we almost peed in our pants.

After leaving the bbq pit, we headed back to my aunt's house for the final proceedings of the evening.

Our annual gift-exhange!

I love this family gathering the most. Heheheh.

I got a Liz Claiborne 'Fly Me To The Moon' cosmetic set.

Courtesy of my Maklang. Thank You!

My Maklong gave me a bag.A baby blue tote. I love the colour.

And all of us got 'hong bao's' a week in advance from my grandparents.

It wasn't just for the grandkids but also for my aunts and uncles.

Everyone was happy.

I love happy days like these.

Oh and my grandma dropped a bombshell on me.

I just don't know what to say.

I mean i love her to bits BUT she can be a bit pushy sometimes.

She even dangled a lovely carrot.

But unfortunately it isn't enticing enough.

I'm sorry.

But i just don't feel at home there.

I want to come back where i belong.

Truly.

-sobs-

Allah please give me the strength i need. Amin


Fin.

Dare I say it?


I feel like its been the longest week ever.

Classes skipped.

-nothing new-

Classes cancelled.

-a rarity these days-

Quizzes and tonnes of errands to run.

But the longest day HAD to be yesterday.

I went to Menara Maybank at the Pudu area to draw money to pay my tuition fees, then go to Pudu to buy CNY tix and also to accompany my very MAD friend to go and buy her Liverpool 'oldskool' zip-up sweater.

Which cost RM329.

From Pudu, me, Zaimah and Farhana walked all the way to BukitBintang in scorching HOT weather.

Go up and down BB plaza searching for the sweater.

Buying the size 'S' sweater for herself and then making an ass out of ourselves at KL sentral and getting pissed at the guy who served us cos it was the wrong size sweater.

Yes she didnt just buy the sweater for herself.

She also bought another one sized 'XL' for someone special as she calls it.

Secret lor.

How can I tell you?

Hohoho.

So it was the wrong sweater so we made our way to KLCC to go to the Adidas store to get it.

At last, 'XL' was on the rack.

Mind you i left campus at 11am and this was at 4.30pm when we finally got the sweater.

And i had a big cock-up with my money withdrawal.

My father neglected to tell me that my mom cashed in a cheque the day before.

So i was at Menara Maybank having a fit.

THANKFULLY i was not arrested.

And i managed to get it all sorted when daddy called the maybank branch in singapore to have them clear the cheque.

So i did manage to withdraw the money after 2pm at the Bukit Bintang branch.

I had to withdraw RM4300.

A successive 3 times at the atm machine.

So we went from KL Sentral to KLCC with RM4300 in my bag.

I felt like a bank robber.

Oh don't think i left KLCC without anything.

I bought a pair of Gold Ipanema sandals.

From the Gisele Bundchen collection.

Pretty pretty sandals.

I must keep them stashed in KL for the time being.

My mom will KILL me if she sees a new pair of sandals from me.

Gonna retire to bed soon.

Have a 9am class tomorrow.

And i have to prep for LE 4000. Arrrgggghhh. Nothing done yet!


Fin.


p.s. : remember mr. os. the bucktoothed malaysian comedian of yesteryear? i saw him on wednesday too. since hes a retired actor, he's now a taxi driver in the gombak area. hitch a ride with him if u see him there. :D

Buzzzzzzzzz.


I hear a buzz.

But its okay.

I dun really want to know.

And.

I heard that someone really pulled off a great birthday surprise!

Congratulations Hayati.

Your taliban-like skills were really put to good use.

Hahaha...gua takleh tahan beb.

And to the belated birthday boy...


Happy Birthday Rock!!!


Sorry i couldn't be there to help pull off the surprise.

Babe, you salah sms my number lahhhh.

I wish i was there to see the look of pure surprise on his face.

I wish i was there to see the look of surprise on YOUR face when you bumped into the towel-wrapped face of hayati. heheheh.

Aaarrrggghhhh and i think THAT paper blew up in my face.

Wah piang.

It was damn hard for me ley.

By the way, thank YOU girls for livening up my wednesday night.

And a Happy 21st Birthday to Zhahirah! Dun do anything illegal tau!

Ole, ole, ole, ole!

Can't wait for the second leg of the match.

Oh, and we actually watched tv till the tv exploded.

That was a complete RIOT.

I am disappointed.

Disappointed that my family didn't inform me about the annual gift exhange earlier on.

Damn.

Dunno what im gonna do yet.

But you'll find out next week.

Fin.