Must-watch movies

I know I've missed a few great movies this year... No, I haven't watch Inception yet (gasp!!!), and I watched 'How to Train a Dragon' way after everyone already seen it. But fortunately, it's almost the end of the year where so many movies have come out ... and here's some that I think are a really-must-watch~!

1. Let Me In

Ok, to be honest, I only agreed to go watch this movie at the cinema with Yana cause I thought it was rated U (I mean how terrifying can it be if it's rated U right?! =P)... turns out it was actually 18PL. Anyway, I don't regret watching it.. I only don't enjoy the gore parts, but other than that it's a really really good story. And those kids are amazing actors! It's a definite 4.5/5!

2. Megamind

Picked by my dear. Nice story, I think it's kinda cute =) A 3.5/5.

3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I'm a self-proclaimed Harry Potter fan, I've read every single one of the books, and re-read some of them again... but honestly I don't think the movie is that great. I find the movie to be slow (so I'm not suprised if anyone almost fall asleep during those scenes where they were at the forest). Since there's a bit more drama to it, you kinda realise they could have done better with their acting (the kids in Let Me In acting performance are better than Harry's and Ron's), and I think Voldermort need to be more evil~!!! He looks kinds nice in the movie... he is supposed to be the most feared one where no one even dare to say his name... he should be more evil looking~! Anyway, my favourite HP movie is still the 3rd one... as for this one, I guess it's a 2/5.

4. Rapunzel

I think in some countries they call it Tangled. Just watched this with my dear yesterday... love it~! Every character is cute and charming... it's such a sweet Disney movie (reminds you of the old Disney cartoons) and it's funny! I just find it kinda weird to have them singing out of nowhere (it's because it's a Disney, I know). Overall, an almost 5/5.

5. Social Network

I enjoy watching this. I know it's not really 100% based on facts (you can easily Google and find out more), but there is still truth to it. It's cool to see how Facebook started out, from just an idea and expanded so fast. The guy playing Mark is great... he looks cooler (or even more of a jerk) than the actual Mark Zuckerberg~ huhu. It's a 4/5.

Count your blessings...

There's a resturant at Taman Universiti at Skudai where we like to go here... its mee hotplate is quite nice (I think I'll do an entry on food while I'm here~=P). We got to know the place thanks to one of the staff who took us there after our games of badminton (our normal activity every Tuesday and Friday night~huhu... my bit of exercise to make up for a whole week of eating and being a nerd~).

Anyway...
There's a pakcik selling otak-otak there. The first time I saw him I felt like crying (maybe I was just being emotional). His tactic was quite smart really... since not many would buy otak-otak from gerai for dinner...so what he did was put a few of them in a small basket on your table...so obviously some people would eat at least one or two while waiting for their order. And yes, the otak-otak are really nice, plus they are served while still hot.

What really touched me was his effort. He sells the otak-otak alone. So he would be membakar them... them go around seeing who would potentially eat and put on their table... then go around surveying again seeing who eats, who doesnt and collect back all those baskets and his money. He moves around non-stop the whole night working and surveying... and for all his hard work, he earns 50sen per otak-otak.

I know some ppl might sell otak-otak at cheaper price (so his profit might not be so bad), and there are ppl in worse condition out there... but I still felt so ashamed... I can sit comfortably and know that my salary would be banked in at the end of the month. I'm not saying makan gaji buta... but the thought that I don't need to do what he does, I earn more and yet I still complain sometimes... hmm...

Count your blessings... if Allah give your more rezeki than others, don't forget to give back. Your money and knowledge are not really yours...

korean love songs mode ;)

At home for the weekend... I miss the good times listening korean songs with my rumet and the rest of the housemates in UTP. Gta would go to the extent of annoying me with all the latest suju news, while faezah and jann would be so bersemangat to try out wonder girls' dance.... I miss you people so much, and your insanity too~

Anyway, back home now for the weekend and definitely not in the mood to read papers... soooo... hehe... I wanna share 3 of my fave korean love songs for now (which I wouldn't mind listening to again and again... for now la)... note: english subtitle provided.

1. No Other by Super Junior

2. Can't Let You Go Even If I Die by 2AM (I know...sounds a bit too dramatic, but it sounds real good)

3. Unforgettable by DBSK (old song... but still nice)

huhu... OK, off to bed... bersemangat kene rajinkan diri baca papers esok~!

From UTM...

Currently in Johor for my attachment at AMTEC UTM for 3 months. What's AMTEC? It's advanced Membrane Technology Centre. What am I doing here? To get exposure on membranes.

Do I like it here? Yes... Prof, the staffs and all the Masters and Phd students are so friendly and willing to teach and share. I learn so much about membrane materials and fabrications, eventho it's just been 2 weeks. And there's even more to learn... dope formulation, all the different treatments, effect of additive, casting and spinning rate, etc etc etc... I honestly think it's impossible to learn all within just 3 months!

But, I do get terribly homesick. I miss my mom, my dad, my brothers, my meow, and my dear a lot. I know... Johor je kot~ haihh...~

Anyway, might as well take the opportunity to get the best out of the attachment~! Hopefully I get to fulfill paper writing KPI too... and... pergi berjalan2 around here. Singapore maybe??? ;)

Songs I grew up listening to...

I've been listening to westlife since they first debut. Not a die-hard fan...but I do enjoy listening to them. Yes, they do tend to make covers of other ppl's songs...so what... they still sound great. =P

Found this clip on youtube the other day. It's kinda like a walk down memory lane growing up listening to this boyband. (Tu blm kira bsb, spice girls, nsync, britney lg =p). Cant believe it's been more than 10 years since they debut! Oh dear... I feel old. I guess this is what it's like for my parents who love those oldies stuff... I can totally relate nw! =p

Anyway, this performance clip is really nice cause it's just acoustic...n it's a mix of their popular songs. The last one is quite recent (i just found out too~! Haha...told you im no die-hard fan). Love this part of the lyric:

"Everyday's another first, another chance to fall in love with you...and I do"...

Aww... jiwang mode??? =P

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A pleasant suprise

It's great to know that there are still many good people in this world... (after the fact my bag got stolen in a surau, kinda hard to believe! huhu) ...

I was stuck with the stupid parking machine rejecting my money...and complete strangers, a korean auntie and her daughter helped me out.

I am truly suprise and grateful. Thank you...

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Testing

Just got new phone~!!! I so am in love with it... Although bkn la iphone or htc or blackberry but it has all the features I need for just RM700! So what is it???


It's the new Galaxy 5 by Samsung~!

Love samsung for making it affordable to all :-))

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Negaraku #3 - 10 tahun sblm merdeka

Well, for this one, no more quiz, but I really want to share this documentary I saw recently. It was my colleague who showed it to me (thanks Mira~!) ... and I want you to watch it too.

It's about the other side of the story... you know there are always 2 sides to a story (of even maybe more)... well this is the left-wing side of story. How they too tried to fight for merdeka. And no... this is not something you'll learn at school. Here, I've put the 1st part of the documentary. The complete documentary is only about half an hour long and available on YouTube...

You may agree with it... or you may not... but at least it opens up our mind~ =)

P.S.: Met, this is the one I wanted you to see...

Negaraku~ kuiz #2

Let's play another kuiz! huhu... since today at the office they were talking about kuih, let's see how well do you know kuih-kuih melayu?!

Since I stay at sempadan Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, with parents and relatives orang Melaka and Perak... so I'm not well exposed to kuih-kuih from negeri-negeri pantai timur (except for those yang Gta ajar when I was in KB... thanks met~!), and those from Sabah or Sarawak. So this list is limited to only those that I actually know hahaha... and please note, there may be more than one name for each type of kuih.

So, let's staaaart~~~ ... Namakan kuih-kuih dibawah:

And again... hadiah kuiz is the new-found knowledge!!! huhu... at least, if you go bazaar ramadhan now, you know what it's called :P

P.S.: The pictures were taken from all over Internet... and they're for illustration purpose only, dan bukan untuk menguji kesabaran anda yang berpuasa :P

Negaraku~ #1 ... kuiz merdeka!!!

Teringat balik what we did semalam... I was helping my colleagues out preparing for this month's Bakti session (which was today, tapi sorry sgt turns out in the end tak dpt join~). Anyway... they were preparing questions to give out to the kids masa kuiz nanti.

So, in conjunction with the upcoming Merdeka, let's learn more about our beloved country. See if YOU can answer ALL these questions WITHOUT GOOGLING (which I doubt you can, coz we had to google them up too =P):

Beri / namakan....

1. Nama-nama 4 sahabat Hang Tuah
2. Negara-negara bersempadan dengan Malaysia
3. Sungai terpanjang di Malaysia
4. Warna jalur teratas pada Jalur Gemilang: merah atau putih? (no googling~!)
5. Peristiwa yang menyebabkan terbentuknya Rukun Negara
6. Wanita yang menjatuhkan sumpah selama 7 keturunan di Langkawi
7. Negara-negara yang pernah menjajah tanah kita ini
8. Gunung tertinggi di Malaysia
9. Tun Hussein Onn digelar sebagai Bapa ______________
10. Jumlah bilangan orang bergelaran Tun dibenarkan (yang masih hidup) pada sesuatu masa
11. Beza Datuk dan Dato'
12. Negeri-negeri Melayu Bersekutu
13. Definisi orang Melayu mengikut Perlembagaan
14. Negeri-negeri yang sekarang tidak mempunyai Sultan
15. Tema bagi Hari Kermerdekaan untuk tahun ini (2010)
16. Berapa jalur yang ditutupi oleh bulan dan bintang pada Jalur Gemilang
17. Sungai terlebar di Malaysia
18. Tahun kereta Proton dilancarkan
19. Nama bermula dengan Wan adalah berketurunan / asal dari negeri mana?
20. Pada PETRONAS Twin Tower, tower mana yang lebih tinggi?

Hadiah kuiz??? It's the new-found knowledge that you get of course! huhu...

P.S.: Would like to thank a certain TP at the office for making us read through the slides on kemerdekaan (complaining we don't have jati diri sebagai warga Malaysia =P)... thank you~!

Flood in Pakistan

"Pakistan’s worst-ever floods have killed 1,600 people and displaced as many as 20 million. As many as 17 million acres (6.8 million hectares) of farm land have been submerged and billions of dollars of crops destroyed. - Bloomberg, Aug 21st."

It's a pity that people have to endure such hardship, especially in Ramadhan. They won't even get to celebrate Eid (makes you feel very grateful huh?).

So, let's help out... Mercy Malaysia has launched Pakistan Relief Fund recently (click here for more info) and a team has been sent to actively help out on the ground since 4th August. There are other organizations that are helping out too.

P.S.: Every contribution, no matter how small counts... =)

Complete...next~! =P

Met schedule to get my crossstitch done by June!!! huhu... and finally it is framed! Uncle yg buat frame tu pun baik je layan nk warna merah la, frame warna brown la... sgt happy k! Now dah tergantung kat living room ... klau nak tengok jemput datang raya nnti =P hehehe

My next project (target complete by end of this year~ =p):

P.S.: Met, klau kamu nak design bunga tu ckp je k. I wld love your fruit basket by the way.

Book Reviews....

Let's just cramp everything into one entry~! haha. Here's my review of 5 books that I have read (either this or previous year). Please understand that these are just my personal view, you may agree with me... or maybe not, best you give the book(s) a try yourself ;)

1. Quran Saintifik (by Dr Danial Zainal Abidin)
Rate: 5.0 /5.0

I would honestly recommend reading this book. Very good for self knowledge. You'll see the significance and advantages of the things that we do as a Muslim (such as tahnik, avoiding pork and alchoholic drinks, etc.). And most importantly you'll discover the beauty of the Quran itself =)

2. A Thousand Splendid Suns (by Khaled Hosseini)
Rate: 4.5 / 5.0

A nice novel really - the story of Laila growing up in a middle of war time, and all the hardship and sadness she gone through. You can kinda feel the horrors of being in war zone area, not knowing who would end up dead the next day... Anyway, I prefer this book compared to Khaled's Kite Runner.

3. Ajaibnya Sedekah (by Muhammad Muhyidin)
Rate: 1.5 /5.0
I think the author started off with good intention and good idea of writing this, but somehow I can only manage to read it only uptil half of the book (the reason because I find the writing style is annoying). IMO, the concept of the more you give the more you get can't be explained logically by mathematical eqn or economic model (it's just magic~ could be your rezeki or a test)... so for the book trying to explain it, I'm just lost. Plus, I'm just annoyed that there's no proper referencing done (I expected to see list of references at the back or at least footnote on which Surah or Hadith it is taken... En. Azizan just said that I was being too much of a researcher =P sorry~)

4. Lost Symbol (by Dan Brown)
Rate: 4.0 / 5.0
The first half of the book is just slow and almost boring... but towards the ending it gets really good. I'm amazed that the book in the end emphasizes on the importance of Holy Books to humankind (although they think the Books are written by early geniuses and not from God - they must have been atheist then rite?). What I love about this book is not it's story (I think Da Vinci Code is much better) ... but I love the impact it made on me... thinking how lucky I am to be born a Muslim.

I know this kinda run out of the topic, but try imagining living the whole life not believing in God (as an atheist). What would motivate you to do good? What would be your whole purpose of living really? As a Muslim, we believe in heaven and hell, we understand our role on this earth, and the need to do good and we know our Quran is protected until the end of time. So true, it is the saviour to humankind... if we were to follow it's teaching closely.

Yeah... Mr. Brown might have just put bits and pieces of facts together just for the sake of a bestseller novel... but I would have to applaud for writing books that are controversial, but encourage ppl to think (although that might not have been his intention~! who knows).

5. Enjoy Your Life (by Dr. Muhamad 'Abd Al-Rahaman)
Rate: 4.5 / 5.0
This is a motivational book on how to be a better person, based on examples from our Prophet. Quite light reading. Below are a few good points picked out from the book.

• Perhaps just a smile at a poor man would raise you in rank in the sight of Allah.
• Respond to mistreatment with kindness.
• Do not interfere with matters that do not concern you.
• Be content with what Allah has apportioned for you.
• If you are obliged to do something or forced into a situation then you might as well enjoy it!
• Do not burden yourself with what you cannot do
• Be careful to not allow yourself to be pressurized by others
• Whoever is humble for Allah's sake, Allah elevates him. Allah only increase the honour of the one who is humble.
• Intelligence is not to win an argument, it is to avoid it
• Put yourself in the shoes of the one critised & think from his perspective. Only then pass a judgement on him.
• Help by your speech if you cannot do so in any other way.
• Piety is to show good manners
• Why should we continue to torture ourselves over something which was over & done? Do not pay attention to small matters.
• Steady on principles
• Remember names
• Worship in secret
• Smile and keep smiling
• Be concerned about others
• Be optimistic & have good opinion on ppl.
  

July...

I haven't update for sometime now... even thought of giving up blogging altogether, but then I like the thought being able to express my feelings or views to the world... although I don't do it much anyway.

1st half of the year been a roller coaster ride. There've been way too many things happening. Things that made me so happy. Things that made us cry and feel meluat. Things that made me completely lost my loyalty and changed my view towards something. Things that motivate me. Things that made me love you even more. And things that brought the family closer. Hmm... very vague I know...

Still another the half year to go... I'm looking forward the end of it. Hope the plan jadi =)

Anyway.... here's what I'm reading now:

My verdict: Not as good as Da Vinci Code... but I still have a quarter more to go. Hope the ending is good.

Fruit basket, cats and goodbye~

Hahaha... weird title kan! Evil minded people (yes, I'm referring to you, En Azizan) would be thinking of putting the cats into fruit basket and sending them off goodbye! =P well... too bad I'm not (and won't!!!) be doing that.

Ok... let's start off with fruit basket...

I had to help my mom pack these fruit baskets today, since my parents wanted to go visit a family friend and my aunt who are not well. Everything was ready...baskets, fruits, wrapping papers, ribbons... sadly, no talent was available! haha. So, below are the outcomes after a long time of trying... I need your opinion... so, please rate them both based on the scale below:
1 - Please for the sake of humanity don't ever attempt doing it ever again!
2 - Kesian those people... yang sakit jadi lagi sakit seeing that
3 - Boleh la tu... at least the fruits can still be eaten
4 - Good = )
5 - Boleh bukak business!!!! hahaha

Next... cats! I've always thought people who write or post pictures of their cats on their blogs or facebook are as somewhat coo-coo =P haha... now, I'm infected. For those who do not have pets, you have no idea how adorable and stress relieving they can be =) here are the three cats that are currently dominating the house now:

1.

Name given by mak: Selamba
Name we call it: Meow... or now also known as Gemuk :P
Personality: Ma'am besar dalam rumah, starts to mengamuk klau tak dpt ikan (ikan tenggiri tak makan...preferbly ikan kembong and will even attempt to steal), penakut, busybody (penyebuk klau kucing2 lain kat luar bergaduh).

2.

Name given by mak: Sally (but since it might be jantan...it could be Sam or Salim =P)
Name we call it: Putih... or Hitam... or Gemuk2
Personality: Sleeps a lot, sangat manja (will sleep on your laps or tummy anytime), not afraid to kene mandi, likes menghancurkan tissue, and will sit on the newspaper everytime you're reading it!

3.

Name given by mak: Kathy
Name we call it: Kucing kecik... or just Kecik
Personality: Loves ikan too, peneman setia (will wait until mak is done cooking or sidai baju), ada ciri2 hunter =P (but afraid of En. Azizan)

Lastly... I want to say goodbye to my dear Swatch...

Dearest Swatch,

I first had you on my wrist back when I was in Form 4, I was damn happy. You were blue at that time. Later when your strap was getting worse, I had to change it to pink and later to dark brown. I even made sure your face was scratchless...

I'm sorry I had taken you along for swimming... your time stop right at about 6pm, when you were submerged underwater.. I didn't know you were not fit to be underwater at that time.
You've been my true companion and best assistant... being there through my SPM and every single exam in UTP. You were also there to remind me of my interviews and meetings. Thank you...

Love, Syafiqa.

P.S.: I sound crazy! haha

Note #2

=P

In Progress...

Target to be completed by June (this year I mean!!!):

I found 5 more designs that I really really reaaaaally want to do (yes...5!!! hahaha)!!! Got them from the DMC website (link). I love this site since it provides designS for free, and they come with the colour codes too. Plus, if you sign up as member, which is free anyway... you get access to more designs (hence me ending up with that 5!)!!!

I've also became fascinated with arabic calligraphy. I found these through Google image and would really love if these arts below can be converted to cross stitch design... (more projects!!!=D) ...