Back after 3 and a half years? Is this a good idea?

Hello.

Well, this is awkward. I literally feel like I'm talking to myself in an empty dark room where my voice just echoes.

My last post was on July 9th, 2013. It's January 29th, 2017 now. That's 3 and a half years apart - a long hiatus. If you were a follower of this blog since 2009, welcome back! Are you dying to know what has changed and what hasn't? *Still hearing echoes*

A lot has changed. That means you need to read my blog on a regular basis because I can't cover everything in a single post.

First things first. I'm 27 this year. Don't even mention "O-L-D". I mean,  this blog started when I was 19 okay. Major flashback when I was skinny and had twice as much hair! I work at a local bank, undisclosed company of course. My job basically revolves around Foreign Exchange. And before you get creative, no I am not a money changer. I do not count cash. I do not work at the branch. Other than that, I do a lot of adult things now like comparing which ceiling fans are good, pay my mortgage, worry about car loan and credit card bills lol. Don't worry, my CCRIS and CTOS are squeaky clean.

Let's talk more soon.

xx

Going private

Privating this space. Thanks blogger, for all these years!

Super brief 'Draw My Life' & 4 years life in Canada

Lama nya tak menulis. Sorry I've been busy. Right after my 10-day trip, I had to sit for an exam to qualify for an honors. Alhamdulillah, all is a-okay now! Tinggal naik stage je esok amik sijil.

We had a small graduation dinner on the 26th of May. There weren't many people but I am so surprised on how they can pull it off in a short period of time. I smiled the whole time. So thankful to have these wonderful people around me. And hadiah also got. Thank you very much :)

Here I have a 17 minute youtube clip (I know it's a long one). I drew my life super briefly at 4:30 and at 13:30 is a sedih but sweet video clip to show our appreciation :) Enjoy.

This girl is no longer a student!

I've finished school.

Like, really finished. Like graduated finish.

Alhamdulillah, results are out and I'm happy to say that I passed all subjects.

But my graduation ceremony, a.k.a The 184th Encaenia ceremony will be held on the 29th May 2013. Believe it or not, it will be my first graduation ceremony InshaAllah. I didn't graduate from kindergarten (explains why I could neither read nor write during the first 3 months in primary school), I didn't attend my highschool (did we have one?) nor my college graduation ceremonies. I was travelling :)

My ootd for the ceremony would be an old kebaya that I adore dearly. My family will not be present on the day to see me walk and potentially do a stupid pose on stage, unfortunately. I don't mind. I mean, it would mean a lot to me to have them there to celebrate my little success but Canada is extremely far from where I come from. Imagine far. Add another 14.5 thousand kilometres. Because that's the distance. Imagine 16 hours flight, plus another 8... plus another 3. plus transit hours that could go up to 7 hours. It's a really, really LONG way to come here. I don't think my parents should go through all of that just to see me walk for 15 seconds on stage holding a scroll.

Anyway, I have a month before Encaenia. I'll be travelling within Canada & the US InshaAllah. We're going to Nova Scotia again, then to Quebec City, then to Toronto and Hamilton in Ontario, then to Niagara Falls (and shop!) and to Buffalo in the US. Excited! MashaAllah I am very blessed. I have to control my spending or else I won't be able to pay for my Europe trip. Aiyaya!

O Allah, please ease any difficulties and grant me safety in this journey. Amin!

Corelle & COACH for cheap (CLOSED)

*no longer taking orders*

Just a quick update before I practically glue my hands onto the keyboard and pen (it's exam month). I will be returning to Malaysia for good (Yeeeehoo!) in 2 months, inshaAllah. I will have a cargo shipped from the nearest harbour to Port Klang. Taking advantage of the cheap prices that I get here in Canada and US, I started this small inchy winchy business to finance my trip to Europe happening this summer. It's going well alhamdulillah so I thought maybe a good idea would be to share it here?

Mainly, I take dinnerware and cookware orders. Kindly view my Album for affordable Corelle, Corningware, Chicago cutlery, pyrex, Tefal, etc. ALL information is in the DESCRIPTION BOX.

I apologize for not uploading all photos. If you have a specific model, do not hesitate to PM me via Facebook. I also take various kinds of orders (as weird as a pair of wall climbing shoes and body hair wax lol). There will be taxes and shipping charges imposed of course. The cargo is estimated to arrive by the end of July or mid August the latest. I can deliver your items if you're within the Damansara area. Pick-ups are greatly appreciated. If a courier service is needed (for those who reside outside KL/Selangor), customers are reliable for the postage.

Last but not least, my roommate D takes orders for those who want to kirim COACH handbags. Click here to view ONE of the albums. There are several, I'm not sure how it works but you can PM her via Facebook or check out her blog for more info.

Have a lovely day!

Cultural Night 2013

We had our MCN on February 23 at the Student Union Building. Tickets were sold out! There were even people trying to get tickets at the door. Even without tables, there were some who just wanted to get in. I'm so amazed :)

I had a great time. We're a small community here at UNB, so to prepare a big event like this wasn't an easy task for us. To be lacking members was a serious challenge but we proved to everyone that with cooperation, team work and mutual understanding, everything gets better :)

Performances - I love the zapin dance and silat. Check it out!
Food - nampak nya our kek bakar (pandan) was the star of the day. Banyak minta resepi -_-
Decoration - super amazed with the backdrop (boys are so artsy!) and the kampung setup is better than I expected

Watch via Youtube:



Silat full performance:



Dikir barat full performance:

Dikir Barat is so funny! and fun! Never imagined myself performing this 4 years back.

Our hard wark has paid off. We got what we deserved. Alhamdulillah. Now we can focus on more Malaysian Student Society activities! (Next post: snowboarding and skiing).

Roses and thorns

MasyaAllah! I've seen and I've touched many beautiful things recently. From the small and trivial, to the breath-taking paint like scene from a moving gondola. The rekindled and strengthened bonds,  the birth of a new cousin sister through IVF, and many more. Syukur alhamdulillah :)

Unfortunately, while we enjoy our bread and rice, there are struggling lives out there. So many heart wrenching current news that are happening as we speak. The blood spilling crisis in my very own country, in particular. I hope peace will soon be restored in Lahad Datu and the rest of Sabah, inshaAllah. Cruel world we live in they say, but we ought not to forget its beauty and what it has got to offer.

Have a good day, everyone.

Next up: MCN 2013

One of the activities that takes up most of my time apart from school:

University of New Brunswick Malaysian Students Society (MSS) proudly presents Malaysian Cultural Night 2013.

There will be performances such as zapin, silat, tarian cina, joget kurik kundi and dikir barat. I will be performing for both kurik kundi and dikir. Fun! Meals range from sweet and savoury deserts to scrumptious nasi berlauk. I am given the trust to become head of decoration for this year's MCN so I hope everyone will enjoy the exhibition setup and the kampong ambience that I wish to recreate. 

11 days left.

Of Time

Time - the most valuable. It teaches us that in time everything will make perfect sense. Of why events are coordinated the way they are. In time you will realize that what is there today, may not be there tomorrow. You'd wish you can turn back time, but time is powerful and it has no mercy. Yet we still continue to take everything, especially those that matter to us, for granted.

Take some time to realize what you have for it will not always be there the next time. A friendly reminder for myself and my readers. inshaAllah.

Yellow wristband

[...Hectic month I must say]

Thank you for all the donations and support. It means a lot to me and definitely to the cancer society. The RFL event will kick off this Saturday at 7pm and ends at 7am the next morning. I'm excited :)

In support of the event and Lance Armstrong's Livestrong foundation to help cancer survivors, we got ourselves the yellow wristband to be worn along with our costume - of Malaysian flag colours.

I don't usually do hashtags outside Twitter (what's the purpose?) but this time it just seems right.

#Livestrong

"Do not mistake my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance and my kindness for weakness."

The uncertain

Another cliche entry but no less important.

Why does one over worry about what's to come? The future is unbeknownst to all. Plan for the best at the present time. Execute it with full effort, with the belief that God will guide your way through. And then tawakal. If in the future things don't go the way you wanted them to, at least, you have nothing to regret for. Yes we all get sad when things don't turn out well but that's life lah. Because you knew that was what you wanted and you tried your best. The common mistake that we all do is that we back off too easily. We are too risk averse. We fear too much about the uncertain. A wise friend of mine told me that if you hold on to the certain, the immortal,  the One, you will never worry. You will know when the things you wanted don't happen, after trying your best, that means it's just not meant for you bro. There's an alternative plan for you bro. The key is: trying your best & have faith. Don't go all fate blaming when you just sit, wait, do sikit-sikit aje while expecting for a miracle. Ain't gonna happen bro.

Bro. Just my two cents.

Smart asian paradox

4th year Finance class is a total bore. Like always lah, I would look right through the professor with a face displaying utter agreement as if I understood whatever that was taught. Second class and I'm already slacking. But yesterday, instead of looking into space, I made an observation.

ASIANS.

What is it that makes asians smart? Is it a mere stereotype or is it a legitimate claim?

I myself am asian. I don't find myself any smarter than any other people. When asked, I'm not embarrassed to tell my friend about my grades. Even with a grade of below C+, my Canadian friends still insist on believing that I am the smart one. WHY.

In that brief 1 hour 20 minute class, without any statistical proof, but through observation and experience, I came to a conclusion that most (not all) asians that are schooled locally are almost always just book-smart.

Back in school, we are taught to write notes properly than to listen carefully. That explains why in class, especially in a western setting, we see asians typically come to class with a set of glasses (as a result of long hours of reading and studying at night I reckon) and a pencil case. A case filled not just with pencils, but with pens of different colours, highlighters, markers, a stapler, bullets for the stapler, ruler, an eraser (sometimes they carry more than one just in case one eraser disappears), pencil lead, mechanical pencil, stickies, glue, and whatnot. I have to admit that my pencil case contains all of the above. Because we write a lot. Our notes are always clear and also got colour-colour sometimes. Our lines are straight sebab pakai ruler. Bila tak cantik, kita padam atau kita 'liquid'. Kita tak cross.

We asians take note-taking seriously. It's a serious business. Dulu siap kena hantar buku nota untuk cikgu cek. Pelik pula bika fikir balik. Fulamak, dapat markah untuk nota 10/10. But it doesn't necessarily mean that we understand the notes. Agree?

On the other hand, we see the mat salleh who come to class, carrying just a pen and a sheet of paper. Ada time they don't even carry a pen. They borrow orang sebelah, or they just sit and listen. They can listen so carefully that they don't need to jot down anything! - well that also depends on the class you attend lah. Anyway, these paperless people also ask a lot of questions. Many times, they ask stupid questions tau. So straightforward but still tak understand. Kabut je rasa kadang-kadang. But once they get their questions answered, they understand on the spot - and they store that information in their heads instantly. You see now the power of asking questions. The power of listening. That's a skill we asians don't usually have - because we have this kebiasaan in us that when we don't understand something, we read lah! If still tak understand, we hafal. So that we can just pass the final exam. Our high school education system kan memang exam-oriented, so many people just hafal but don't necessarily understand. Our mat salleh friends pula, the way they are brought up and schooled is totally different. They are encouraged to ask and to listen, sejak baby lagi.

Dalam LRT tahun lepas dekat Malaysia kan, ada anak melayu ni berumur dalam lingkungan 4-6 tahun duk tanya "Ibu, ibu, tu apa?" Ibunya lantas menjawab "Haish duk diam-diam!". Opposite seat, ada foreigner dengan anaknya yang berumur lebih kurang sama. "Daddy, where are we going? Why are we on the train? Daddy why is the tree moving fast? Daddy!"Ayahnya dengan tersenyum riang, tak putus-putus menjawab setiap soalan tu. Lepastu dia pulak tanya anak dia, "What do you think?" Ha nampak tak? Or is this just me generalizing based on one situation? Entah. Macam selalu je nampak situasi tu. Dekat sini pun anak diorang suka tanya banyak soalan. Kadang-kadang saya yang rasa macam nak suruh dia diam. Mungkin saya pun dah ada that mind-setting?

Back to the asian school setting. We were also taught to question less - indirectly lah. Kalau tanya banyak soalan, mesti orang rasa eh apa dia ni banyak lak tanya. I'm pretty sure, throughout primary and secondary school, there will be at least one time that your question was belittled by the teacher. Culture kita memang begitu ke? Suka memperkecilkan orang lain bila seorang tu tak tahu? Fikir sejenak.

Relay for Life 2011: Donate to Team Malaysia

Relay For Life is back! Kali ni ada option online pledging.

MY PERSONAL PAGE: VOLUNTEER NADA RAHMAN 

Why I Relay

A good friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer few months ago. She's a healthy girl, who doesn't smoke and eats clean. It's true that cancer can happen to anybody. It doesn't choose. I relay for the strong people who survived the battle against cancer and for those who did not make it. I am small girl with a big dream to make the world a better place. I speak for Team Malaysia in participating in this year's Relay For Life (RFL). Every step taken in Relay raises money to help save lives.

Any amount of contribution will be accepted. Big or small - it's the thought that counts! Remember, what you give you get back.

Many small people,

in many small places,

do many small things,

that can alter the face of the world.

- Anonymous

Join us in the battle against cancer by supporting me and my team link: RFL TEAM MALAYSIA. You can click whichever link, team's page or my page - the fund goes to the same account. It's simple and secured. Simply click on the orange "Donate (my name)" button near the upper right side of this page (above the thermometer). Each donation is automatically receipted :)

Wang dana hasil kutipan tidak akan saya salahgunakan. Inshaa Allah, pahala kita semua dilipat gandakan walaupun kecil sumbangan :) Thanks for your support and haaaave a good day!

Winter break 2012 - Ontario

Assalamualaikum! It's been a wonderful winter break. It was one hell of a car ride to Peterborough. 19 painful hours! The journey should have taken only 14 hours max but the roads were too slippery (icy like a hockey rink) due to freezing rain. So we had to maintain a speed of 60 to 90 km/h. Passing by Quebec city, our car termasuk gaung/parit kecil. Kecil je tak besar. Jangan cemas. A truck had to pull the car out while we waited outside in the cold weather. Though, I wonder what happened to our winter. It's been above (-15) degrees Celcius, which is odd. It should've dropped lower by now.

halfway out

at MySukan aka MyCanada Games with team Jangoks @ Scarborough, Ontario.

Anyways, I'm having a good time with my girlfriends. It's been ages since we last gathered like this. Like the old times, when we were all in college, so havoc I tell you. 

We spend most of our times in the kitchen like the makciks we are, watching horror movies while munching on jajan, discussing about marriages, household stuff, sometimes cakap harga pinggan mangkuk and emas lol!

Let's go through a week of my winter break briefly, shall we?

Boxing day sale was bizzare as always. No surprises there. But it was satisfying! I did my shopping at the Toronto Eaton Centre, Toronto's top tourist attraction. Located at the timesquare of the city, the place was crowded forcing people to sit and rest on the floors. Even in the food court, in stores, people had to sit on the floor - and that mall, is a huge mall.

Cannot tahan one, had to take off my boots.

inside Toronto Eaton Centre

Nathan Phillip Sq - Toronto City Hall

Christmas deco inside Toronto Eaton Centre

Christmas trees in Toronto

Went to the Riverview Park && Zoo at Peterborough, Ontario. They've got some North && South American, Himalayan and African animals such as yaks, serval cats, llamas, donkeys, barbary sheep,  and Asian ones too such as the Bactrian camels, wallabies, pythons and many more. Most of them are new to me because they definitely can't be living in our local zoos in Malaysia. To replicate their natural habitat would cost too much, methinks.

Playing Bella in the woods feeling-feeling Twilight. But really I was just in the zoo.

Huge male Bactrian camel

fresh snow!

ready to dive!

Tomorrow, we're going ice skating :)

Don't leap. Make baby steps.

Whereabout: Peterborough and Toronto (Ontario, Canada)
Weather: (-7) degrees Celcius

Bismillahirrohmanirrohim! I wish my readers a blissful day. I am delighted upon setting a new life goal. I hope this paradigm shifting goal will bring joy and barakah. Tolong aminkan? :) Also, this blog will undergo major changes again because I'm the boss of my blog! How much I like posting is how much I like deleting :)

Mass shooting in Connecticut

What did I say about rights? Rights should stay restricted.

Many are expressing their prayers and thoughts after this morning's heart wrenching news of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in, Newtown, Connecticut, USA and stabbing in Henan, China. And many are forcing the US government to revise the second amendment. The second amendment of the United States Bill of Rights: protects the right to possess and use firearms - for individual use such as self defence - and the collective right to bear arms in a militia. I won't go deep into politics because I am not even remotely credible to be talking about politics. But I still hold my ground strong. The belief of having many rights as a citizen, doesn't lead to a freer, a happier country. Sungguh jelak bila dengar diorang mencaci dan mengutuk negara-negara lain yang tak punyai hak dan kebebasan seperti yang diorang ada. Clearly, ignorance dictates their minds. I fought back several times, expressing my belief that things could've been better with regards to rights. Some value my thoughts, and some just prove that to argue with a fool proves there are two. I don't mind people disapproving my point, but to say that they are better than others is just BS.

Newtown is (or should I say was) the safest place in America. Now that the tragedy has poisoned that claim, we all know now, there isn't really a safe place in this world. Bersyukurlah kat Malaysia orang active tembak burung gagak je - that's what abah said. Funny kan but nasib baik.

My condolences to the victims and to the affected families, in Newtown and Henan, China. No child in this world deserves to be traumatized. My prayers go out to suffering children around the world, who are in wars, abused at home, abandoned, etc. I wouldn't know how to react if I was in their place. Ya rabb, jauh kan lah. Not forgetting my young muslim brothers and sisters, who don't even know what it's like to live in peace, to live without war. They are the true soldiers. “La Tahzan Innallaha Ma’ana” - Don’t be sad. Indeed, Allah is with us. [Qur’an 9:40].

Our last winter

I'll be graduating in May 2013, Insha Allah. Pray for my success!

It's my last winter. The fourth and the final. This was on day 1, Sunday. I was never really into snow, unlike the others. I never did any snow activities. Well, last year, I did sledding and snow shoeing. That's about it. I never made snowmen. This season, I think I should try skiing or snowboarding.

The weather: It stopped snowing but we're having freezing rain now. Final exams scheduled on Monday were cancelled due to that. Freezing rain means the ground is covered with ice - not just snow. It's really dangerous for pedestrians because the way UNB buildings are designed, they're located along the hill. So we have to be extra careful not to slip. I and D hold hands all the time :p I saw a car driving up the hill, struggling. The tyres were spinning fast but the car couldn't move up. I thought it was funny so I recorded a cinemagram gif of it - then the app crashed and I lost the video. Boohoo.

Still above -15 so that's good, for now.

We're a ball of tangled spaghetti

I just have something brief to say that may cause a stir to some people, especially to those firm believers of individualism, feminism and freedom of choice. Not too sure why I'm creating this entry. Maybe because I am particularly annoyed by some cultures. Cultures yang over semangat memperjuangkan sesuatu yang simple, tetapi diputarbelitkan, dikomplikasikan.

The western influence has undoubtedly brought many positive contribution to the rest of the world - not forgetting ourselves, the more 'conservative' side of the map. But like how Aristotle put it,

"the virtuous habit of action is always an intermediate state between the opposed vices of excess and deficiency: too much and too little are always wrong; the right kind of action always lies in the mean."

In simpler terms, it means that even good things, if you do them too much, become bad for you. With all these endless fights for rights, it is no wonder that even the biggest, most influential economy is in perpetual chaos.

Here are some controversial issues that I personally agree on, usually of discrimination and civil rights:

Gender gap must exist. Men and women can't be equal.

Love does not feed the stomach - it is not 'all you need' - it does not make the world go round.

Women and men were not created to be independent of each other.

Men should be the head of a household, the breadwinner, the provider, the protector. Women should know how to work the kitchen, no matter how modern you are.

People can't have too many rights. Because people are greedy by nature.

There is no absolute freedom, and there shouldn't be any. Rights should stay restricted.

-

The world today is like a ball of tangled spaghetti. Go back to basics. Don't complicate stuff.

Video of Davy

I know I've been posting a lot of photos/instagram/cinemagram of David lately but... you guys don't mind, do you? Hee!

Atas permintaan, ini dia video pendek kucing demok. You're welcome.