So it turns out that I might have told a little white lie to pretty much everyone I know in Malaysia. I said to them I would be back in December. Dates vary as I myself lost track of what date I fed them. It was 12th of December at first, then 8th, then 4th. These dates are lies, because, I am already back in Malaysia people. Came back 2 nights ago on the 26th of November. I apologize to the ones I lied to but it was too tempting not to attempt a surprise.
On the 26th, my domestic flight from Palmy to Auckland was at 8.20, and to my slight horror my alarm did not go off, and I only got up at 7.25. My plan to wake up, have breakfast, take a shower, snap a few pictures of the flat went out the window. After realizing the time, I jumped up, and went straight for Iylia's room to wake him up. Brushed my teeth, washed my face, and got dressed. No shower. Said goodbye to Imran, but not to Safwan and Wen Li as they were still sleeping and I was late. Got into the car and made our way to the airport. Immediately checked in. The lady at the check in counter told me the flight was delayed. If only I knew, could have taken a shower first. So waited for an extra half hour and finally they called to board. Said goodbye to Iylia, and made my way on to the plane. This is officially the first time I have traveled alone.
Arrived at Auckland domestic terminal at 10 AM, and made my way to the International terminal. Went straight to McD to get breakfast, then went to ask the info counter where I could get a shower as I did not shower yet. The lady said that I had to to go to the florist to get the key to the shower and to rent a towel. Thats what I did, and which meant it was the first time showering at an airport. After showering, went to the departure lounge as I still had an hour till check-in time. Went around buying souvenirs and then sat down and played the PSP for an hour. Made my way down to the check-in counters and found that there were already people lining up to check-in. I saw quite a few Malaysians and even saw Abang Harmi and family queuing up a couple of rows behind me. Check-in was fine, no hiccups and that made me happy because there is one less bag to worry about and I am officially one step closer to Malaysia. Went back up to the departure hall, and got a pizza and a lift plus, which was gonna be my last lift plus in 3 months. I am gonna miss that drink. Filled in my departure card, and after 20 minutes, it was time to board the plane. Made my way through the security check fine, walked at a leisurely pace towards the gate and sat down with Abang Harmi and family for a quick chat. 15 minutes later, the gate was open, and they announced that families get to go in first. So Abang Harmi and family went first, and I waited for 10 minutes, and proceeded to the gate myself. Handed my boarding pass to the lady, and that was it, on the plane, ready to leave Auckland and back to Malaysia.
The flight was good, got a window seat which was good, and the man sitting beside me was really nice. He was a kiwi named Lindsay Baker, heading for Miri to drill oil. He was friendly and talkative, which made the flight comfortable for me. The only downside to the flight was that I could not get any sleep, as it was an afternoon flight. That made the flight feel that much longer, as you tend to check how much longer the flight would be when you are awake. Finally, after lunch, tea, and dinner, we reached KLIA. The co-pilot announced that we would be landing in 15 minutes. I thanked god for giving me a safe and smooth journey from start till finish. 15 minutes later, the plane landed. While the plane was taxiing towards the gate, the co-pilot again made an announcement "Selamat Datang to Malaysia to those who are visiting and to the Malaysians, Selamat Pulang ke tanah air". That made me feel good inside. After 9 months away, I was back.
When we got off the plane, the terminal was pretty empty, I guess it was a weekday, and it was only 8 PM, but I think it was the emptiest I have ever seen it. Made our way to the main terminal via the shuttle, and to the immigration check. Said goodbye to Lindsay as he had to go through customs, when us Malaysians just had to go through the machine where you put your passport and have a thumb print check. I love that thing.
Quickly headed for the KLIA express counter and bought a ticket as I am planning to surprise my family, so no one waiting for me outside. The lady at the counter told me the next train was at 8.45, which was 15 minutes from that time, so I was hoping to get my bag and dash for the train. Thankfully that was what happened. Just caught the train with a minute to spare. The ride on the KLIA express was relaxing, with my mind wandering off, contemplating how I would surprise my family, and thinking of the what ifs. What if my family was not at home? They think i'm coming back next week, where would I go? Looking out the window, I knew I was home, as traffic jams in progress, and constructions of new developments apparent along the way. A familiar smell hit my nose along the way, a smell only a Malaysian would recognize, and a Malaysian would appreciate as a smell of home. Half hour later, the train arrived at KL Sentral.
Went up the steps, and straight for the taxi counter. Told the girl at the counter my adress and paid. Went outside and got a taxi. The taxi driver didn't know where Sunway Damansara was at first, but as usual, the curve would be the landmark. We had a brief conversation. At first he thought I was coming back from Sabah or Sarawak, but I explained the situation to him, about New Zealand, about surprising the family. Nice guy that uncle, and I was sorry that I did not have any small change for the penchala link toll. I asked him to stop at the mamak near my house, Nasi Kandar Spring. The plan was, to go online, and chat with my sister or brother for 20 minutes, and at the end of the conversation, ask them to pick me up at the mamak. The first hurdle was getting a seat where a wall plug point was available. The reason for that was that my battery for my laptop was misplaced, or in other words lost so I have to use my adapter. Finally found one after 20 minutes after the guys in the table ahead unplugged theirs. During that 20 minute wait, I got myself a Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng and a teh o ais, which I can safely say tastes the same after 9 months, which is always a good thing. Anyways, got the plug point, connected to the wireless network, but to my frustration I could not go into any website. This went on for another 20 minutes. Finally, I got into meebo, and noticing it was already late to play around, I immediately messaged my brother
me : bro, buat per?
abang: nothing much ah bro, just got back from picking up workers..whats up? (coz I almost never tegur him on YM)
me: oooo...takder, pick me up from spring...
abang: huh??? biar benar bro..
me: yeap..serious, i'm back..haha
abang: ya allah...ok2 I come now..
me: ok..I wait kat tepi spring
4 minutes later he came in his new car. Put my bags in the back seat, and went in the car. Abang was laughing, still in disbelief that i'm home, also commenting on my hair. Asked if Mak was still up, and he said maybe not. I hope I don't give Mak a heart attack or something when I wake her up. Reached home, and put my bags upstairs in my room, which looked the same. Went back downstairs to my moms room, and as my brother knocked, waited for her to open the door. As she opened the door, a definite shock came to her face, and I immediately embraced her, expecting tears, but thankfully did not come. But the expected "anak bertuah" comment definitely came out. Only my sister left, but I would leave that to the next day as she was not at home and I was sleepy.
Surprised my sister the next morning when I was the one waking her up from breakfast, went to see Mama and Opah, Mama also directing an "anak bertuah" comment towards me. Opah did not recognize me, which worried the rest, but did not worry me, because I do look different, and add to that being away for 9 months, and with her condition, its only understandable. Its all good. Went for lunch with Mak Yang and surprised my brothers that night.
I actually tried to surprise Hafiz that evening, me driving to his house, and calling him from outside his house, but he didn't pick up as it was a new number I just bought. So I tried again that night, this time getting a response, and I definitely surprised him. So that night, got to surprise most of my friends, and all wanting to beat me up for pulling this stunt. It was good to be back home.
Mission was definitely a success, and again I apologize to anyone that I lied to on many occasions regarding my arrival in Malaysia. It was really too tempting not to attempt.
So to anyone reading, I am back in Malaysia poeple!!..... for real
and on a side note, my Indoor Soccer World Cup Video is up on youtube.. the link is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-Bfqjdzj4I
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
At last, time to update..
There was supposed to be an update of the Massey Uni Indoor Soccer World Cup, that MUMSA and Merlion (Singaporean Students Association of Massey) organized. I even promised a few people of this update, but since it was almost a month ago, I think it outlived its lifespan but still, its worth mentioning. The video of that event however will be posted soon.
The main reason that it took me this long to update,is because of exams that came right after the World Cup, which made me unable to update on that event immediately. After exams, I started on the video, thinking I would update only after I have completed the video. Also, I have moved out of Wally D room 1.11, and into my new flat in town. That pushed back my updating another week.
The location of my new flat is actually superb, as its in the middle of uni, and town, petrol station 2 streets down, halal meat/grocery shop literally just 3 doors down and generally a very good street to live on. The house does not look like much from outside but is much more appealing inside, which is good for us, as it will not attract much attention. Its a 4 room flat with a double garage and more than enough storage space, which immediately made me come up with a business opportunity for the flat. I suggested to the others to use the garage as storage space...and charge em for it. The storage business was good. I got almost all the Malaysians that were going home for summer vacation to store their stuff at our new flat.
The storage business and the activity of moving our own stuff to the new flat and sending the Malaysians to the airport made the week hectic and sleepless. Our new flat became storage and sort of a rest area because if anyone was to leave the next day, they would sleep over at our flat first and we would send them the next day. The combination of the still messy and disorganized state of the flat, and extra people staying over made for an interesting week. It was all good though, always happy to be with good company.
Everything settled down 2 days ago, as the last of the "orang menumpang" was sent to the airport. Now its just the flatmates plus Imran the adopted flatmate. I am also considered menumpang because I rented the room to Wen Li for the summer, not for profit lah...but just so that Iylia and Safwan does not have to pay too much over the summer as me and Sammy boy are leaving. That means i'm sleeping in the living room which is all good tho, coz all the entertainment is in the living room.
One by one they leave Palmy, and in 2 weeks time so will I. Nasi Kandar Spring here i come.
Flat pictures on the next post
The main reason that it took me this long to update,is because of exams that came right after the World Cup, which made me unable to update on that event immediately. After exams, I started on the video, thinking I would update only after I have completed the video. Also, I have moved out of Wally D room 1.11, and into my new flat in town. That pushed back my updating another week.
The location of my new flat is actually superb, as its in the middle of uni, and town, petrol station 2 streets down, halal meat/grocery shop literally just 3 doors down and generally a very good street to live on. The house does not look like much from outside but is much more appealing inside, which is good for us, as it will not attract much attention. Its a 4 room flat with a double garage and more than enough storage space, which immediately made me come up with a business opportunity for the flat. I suggested to the others to use the garage as storage space...and charge em for it. The storage business was good. I got almost all the Malaysians that were going home for summer vacation to store their stuff at our new flat.
The storage business and the activity of moving our own stuff to the new flat and sending the Malaysians to the airport made the week hectic and sleepless. Our new flat became storage and sort of a rest area because if anyone was to leave the next day, they would sleep over at our flat first and we would send them the next day. The combination of the still messy and disorganized state of the flat, and extra people staying over made for an interesting week. It was all good though, always happy to be with good company.
Everything settled down 2 days ago, as the last of the "orang menumpang" was sent to the airport. Now its just the flatmates plus Imran the adopted flatmate. I am also considered menumpang because I rented the room to Wen Li for the summer, not for profit lah...but just so that Iylia and Safwan does not have to pay too much over the summer as me and Sammy boy are leaving. That means i'm sleeping in the living room which is all good tho, coz all the entertainment is in the living room.
One by one they leave Palmy, and in 2 weeks time so will I. Nasi Kandar Spring here i come.
Flat pictures on the next post
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Suasana Hari Raya
As the song goes, "Berlalulah sudah Ramadhan, sebulan berpuasa". The time came for us muslims to celebrate our victory. We did it. We got through the fasting month, and fulfilled our obligations, and we are rewarded with Hari Raya, or Eid Mubarak to everyone else.
Raya eve was celebrated by hanging out with friends eating kuih raya that Safwan's mom sent over from Malaysia, and playing video games till it was 3 in the morning. Eating those homemade kuih felt good, and fueled the Raya spirit. Can't wait for the day ahead, where good food awaits....I hoped.
Woke up, showered and got ready for the day ahead, I donned my baju melayu only semi-complete, because I had the sampin on, but not a songkok, which I regretted not bringing. Got Iylia, and we made our way to RSO, where all of us decided to meet up so that everyone had a ride to the town Masjid for Solat Raya.
I told everyone to be at the RSO at 7, but even I arrived at 7.15, and the rest at 7.35. This was expected, kata Malaysians. So, around 7.40, all of us convoyed to the Masjid in town. When we arrived, we saw the other muslims, all dressed up in either traditional costumes, or suits. Dressing up your best for Hari Raya, is one of the components in the guidelines of what to do on Hari Raya....something I read on LSG's blog. After parking the car, we headed towards the masjid, and was relieved that we were not late, as they were still reciting the takbeer Raya.
The takbeer raya for me was one of the things that made me miss Raya back in Malaysia, as the way it sounds here is different. Yes its the same words, but the way they recite it, its very flat, monotonous compared to the takbeer in Malaysia where we do it with flair and with a certain amount of "lenggok" if I may. After the takbeer was over, and the Imam gave his final announcement, it was time for the Solat Raya.
The Imam proceeded with the Khutbah Raya, which was good, and not too long. After he recited the final doa, everyone got up and embraced each other wishing each other "Eid Mubarak brother". We even had photo sessions with the Omanis whom we have grown closer throughout Ramadhan, smiles and laughter everywhere. All in the spirit of Raya.
After 15 more minutes of photo sessions, we got back to our cars and proceeded to Kak Hafsah's house. She is a Singaporean lady that has lived in New Zealand for 16 years if i'm not mistaken, and has invited us to makan at her house. Yaay..my first open house of my first raya away from my family, but most importantly, good raya food. And the food did not dissapoint. All the essential hari raya food was there for us to pick and enjoy. We were there for about an hour, which was equivalent to 3 rounds for me. I wanted more, but the tummy did not permit, as it was the first time in a month that it is consuming midday. Besides, we had another open house after that. After everyone had their share of the good food and hospitality of Kak Hafsah, we said our raya greetings, goodbyes and appreciation to her, and made our way to the next open house.
The next open house was actually a joint open house by the Malaysian Post-Graduates from Massey, but was held at Abang Zabidi's house. When we arrived, it was more of a Malaysian open house feel as there were little kids running around, lagu raya in the background and people laughing and enjoying the food. The best thing about this open house was they satay, as I had not had satay since Malaysia. Everyone was mingling around, and the spirit of raya was definitely there. True, it is not the same without our families, but its raya nonetheless when good people, and good food is around you.
After an hour or so, people started leaving, and so did we. We were one of the last groups to leave, and after saying our raya greetings, and goodbyes we went home and I think pretty much everyone slept off the good food we consumed that afternoon. I waited till 3 PM and called Mak to wish Hari Raya, and talked to Abang as well. Thought they were already at Opah's but no, Kak Yang was only just getting ready. So I asked Mak to tell Kak Yang to call me later. I then called my Opah's house, and wished my aunty, who then put the phone to Opah's ears and so I wished my Opah as well. She responded with a laugh which was good enough for me. She looked well in the pictures Abang Izad posted on Facebook, so I was happy.
Kak Yang finally called later when I was sleeping, and also got to talk to Kak Intan , Abang Izad and Kak Nani, who asked me "Shah, do you miss us?" which I replied, "No, I miss Mamak's more"....
That night it was another open house, which was actually like any other potlucks that the Malaysians have at Rotary Court, but now we had lagu raya in the background. Good food again, good company and more pictures. This was a good first day of raya, especially for my tummy.
Next day, another open house, this time at Kak Ida's place, a Sarawakian who is a lecturer at IPC. Her house is in Kelvin Grove which is like 10 minutes outside Palmy, and we actually got lost for a 20 minutes searching for her house. I don't wanna repeat myself, but good food again.
So, that was raya in New Zealand for me basically. The following is a video I made in an hour. Nothing special, but just wanted to do one because in youtube all the other students that study overseas in other countries have one, so I also wanted one.
So, every year, I look forward to this day of joy and forgiveness, for various reasons, which includes the Hari Raya food, but mainly because it brings people together. I love Hari Raya because it gives my family a reason to gather together and forget everything for one day and forgive and forget while eating good food. I probably mentioned good food too many times in this post, and I apologize for that. Lucky for me, it is Raya, So Selamat Hari Raya, mintak maaf, mintak ampun, zahir & batin, for any mistakes that I have intentionally or accidentally made.
Again, Salam Aidilfitri, from me in New Zealand, to anyone who is reading.
Raya eve was celebrated by hanging out with friends eating kuih raya that Safwan's mom sent over from Malaysia, and playing video games till it was 3 in the morning. Eating those homemade kuih felt good, and fueled the Raya spirit. Can't wait for the day ahead, where good food awaits....I hoped.
Woke up, showered and got ready for the day ahead, I donned my baju melayu only semi-complete, because I had the sampin on, but not a songkok, which I regretted not bringing. Got Iylia, and we made our way to RSO, where all of us decided to meet up so that everyone had a ride to the town Masjid for Solat Raya.
I told everyone to be at the RSO at 7, but even I arrived at 7.15, and the rest at 7.35. This was expected, kata Malaysians. So, around 7.40, all of us convoyed to the Masjid in town. When we arrived, we saw the other muslims, all dressed up in either traditional costumes, or suits. Dressing up your best for Hari Raya, is one of the components in the guidelines of what to do on Hari Raya....something I read on LSG's blog. After parking the car, we headed towards the masjid, and was relieved that we were not late, as they were still reciting the takbeer Raya.
The takbeer raya for me was one of the things that made me miss Raya back in Malaysia, as the way it sounds here is different. Yes its the same words, but the way they recite it, its very flat, monotonous compared to the takbeer in Malaysia where we do it with flair and with a certain amount of "lenggok" if I may. After the takbeer was over, and the Imam gave his final announcement, it was time for the Solat Raya.
The Imam proceeded with the Khutbah Raya, which was good, and not too long. After he recited the final doa, everyone got up and embraced each other wishing each other "Eid Mubarak brother". We even had photo sessions with the Omanis whom we have grown closer throughout Ramadhan, smiles and laughter everywhere. All in the spirit of Raya.
After 15 more minutes of photo sessions, we got back to our cars and proceeded to Kak Hafsah's house. She is a Singaporean lady that has lived in New Zealand for 16 years if i'm not mistaken, and has invited us to makan at her house. Yaay..my first open house of my first raya away from my family, but most importantly, good raya food. And the food did not dissapoint. All the essential hari raya food was there for us to pick and enjoy. We were there for about an hour, which was equivalent to 3 rounds for me. I wanted more, but the tummy did not permit, as it was the first time in a month that it is consuming midday. Besides, we had another open house after that. After everyone had their share of the good food and hospitality of Kak Hafsah, we said our raya greetings, goodbyes and appreciation to her, and made our way to the next open house.
The next open house was actually a joint open house by the Malaysian Post-Graduates from Massey, but was held at Abang Zabidi's house. When we arrived, it was more of a Malaysian open house feel as there were little kids running around, lagu raya in the background and people laughing and enjoying the food. The best thing about this open house was they satay, as I had not had satay since Malaysia. Everyone was mingling around, and the spirit of raya was definitely there. True, it is not the same without our families, but its raya nonetheless when good people, and good food is around you.
After an hour or so, people started leaving, and so did we. We were one of the last groups to leave, and after saying our raya greetings, and goodbyes we went home and I think pretty much everyone slept off the good food we consumed that afternoon. I waited till 3 PM and called Mak to wish Hari Raya, and talked to Abang as well. Thought they were already at Opah's but no, Kak Yang was only just getting ready. So I asked Mak to tell Kak Yang to call me later. I then called my Opah's house, and wished my aunty, who then put the phone to Opah's ears and so I wished my Opah as well. She responded with a laugh which was good enough for me. She looked well in the pictures Abang Izad posted on Facebook, so I was happy.
Kak Yang finally called later when I was sleeping, and also got to talk to Kak Intan , Abang Izad and Kak Nani, who asked me "Shah, do you miss us?" which I replied, "No, I miss Mamak's more"....
That night it was another open house, which was actually like any other potlucks that the Malaysians have at Rotary Court, but now we had lagu raya in the background. Good food again, good company and more pictures. This was a good first day of raya, especially for my tummy.
Next day, another open house, this time at Kak Ida's place, a Sarawakian who is a lecturer at IPC. Her house is in Kelvin Grove which is like 10 minutes outside Palmy, and we actually got lost for a 20 minutes searching for her house. I don't wanna repeat myself, but good food again.
So, that was raya in New Zealand for me basically. The following is a video I made in an hour. Nothing special, but just wanted to do one because in youtube all the other students that study overseas in other countries have one, so I also wanted one.
So, every year, I look forward to this day of joy and forgiveness, for various reasons, which includes the Hari Raya food, but mainly because it brings people together. I love Hari Raya because it gives my family a reason to gather together and forget everything for one day and forgive and forget while eating good food. I probably mentioned good food too many times in this post, and I apologize for that. Lucky for me, it is Raya, So Selamat Hari Raya, mintak maaf, mintak ampun, zahir & batin, for any mistakes that I have intentionally or accidentally made.
Again, Salam Aidilfitri, from me in New Zealand, to anyone who is reading.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Month of Ramadhan, di bumi Kiwi
When students study overseas, people back home always think they will neglect their obligations, obligations like fasting. I however don't get why that is, because I find it hell of a lot easier to fast here than in Malaysia. True, when you are overseas, there are no Islamic departments who are gonna catch you when you don't fast, there are basically no other muslims that will look at you funny when you don't fast, but of course like everything else we do, god knows, god always knows...
I admit, I am not the most pious of men, but I always try my best to make Ramadhan meaningful. It is such a special month, and a chance for all muslims to become better muslims. As I have said, fasting here in the land of sheep is really not hard, easier than in Malaysia. Here, the weather is cold, and we don't sweat, and therefore thirst is less. I even go on with my weekly football match, not at full force of course, but I wouldn't try that feat in Malaysia, Also, I played in a handball tourney while fasting. So really, no excuse not to fast, really other than that student herself or himself that want to or not.
As for the understanding of what fasting is amongst the kiwi's and my other non-muslim friends, they're pretty cool about it. They ask questions about it, and ask how we can function without food and stuff. After I explained, they understand better, and eventually fell that its not that bad. They think that its no food or drink for the whole day.
Probably the most challenging thing fasting here is the people here won't cover if they want to eat, because they don't have to. People in Malaysia, the tolerant ones that is usually try their best to not to eat in front of their muslim friends, but here, you cannot blame them really. Its not their culture to do so, and so we have to accept it as a test during Ramadhan, part and parcel of fasting.
As for buka puasa, I am thankful that the surau here at Massey holds break fasts every Monday till Thursday, where the Omani Students Associations donates food for iftar, and bloody good food if I may add. We eat "talam" style, where they put rice and meat on a single tray, and a group of 5-6 eats off it simultaneously. I can safely say, Malaysians are the champions when it comes to food, as we are always the last to finish, due to us having second servings all the time. "Masyallah Malaysians" one of the Omani brothers said as he saw how spirited we are when it comes to eating, smaller sized than them, but eat 3 times as much.
As for the weekends when there are no iftar available at the surau, there are always friends that invite me over to their place to eat. First week it was the Rotary Peoples, second week Imran's crib, 3rd week the MUMSA buka puasa event, and 4th week it was Safwan's crib. Alhamdulillah, all my ramadhan cravings were met, including teh tarik which I made myself, but not as "KAW" as the mamaks do, but ok lah.
So after 4 weeks of fasting, which went pretty fast, my first Hari Raya away from home comes along.
I admit, I am not the most pious of men, but I always try my best to make Ramadhan meaningful. It is such a special month, and a chance for all muslims to become better muslims. As I have said, fasting here in the land of sheep is really not hard, easier than in Malaysia. Here, the weather is cold, and we don't sweat, and therefore thirst is less. I even go on with my weekly football match, not at full force of course, but I wouldn't try that feat in Malaysia, Also, I played in a handball tourney while fasting. So really, no excuse not to fast, really other than that student herself or himself that want to or not.
As for the understanding of what fasting is amongst the kiwi's and my other non-muslim friends, they're pretty cool about it. They ask questions about it, and ask how we can function without food and stuff. After I explained, they understand better, and eventually fell that its not that bad. They think that its no food or drink for the whole day.
Probably the most challenging thing fasting here is the people here won't cover if they want to eat, because they don't have to. People in Malaysia, the tolerant ones that is usually try their best to not to eat in front of their muslim friends, but here, you cannot blame them really. Its not their culture to do so, and so we have to accept it as a test during Ramadhan, part and parcel of fasting.
As for buka puasa, I am thankful that the surau here at Massey holds break fasts every Monday till Thursday, where the Omani Students Associations donates food for iftar, and bloody good food if I may add. We eat "talam" style, where they put rice and meat on a single tray, and a group of 5-6 eats off it simultaneously. I can safely say, Malaysians are the champions when it comes to food, as we are always the last to finish, due to us having second servings all the time. "Masyallah Malaysians" one of the Omani brothers said as he saw how spirited we are when it comes to eating, smaller sized than them, but eat 3 times as much.
As for the weekends when there are no iftar available at the surau, there are always friends that invite me over to their place to eat. First week it was the Rotary Peoples, second week Imran's crib, 3rd week the MUMSA buka puasa event, and 4th week it was Safwan's crib. Alhamdulillah, all my ramadhan cravings were met, including teh tarik which I made myself, but not as "KAW" as the mamaks do, but ok lah.
So after 4 weeks of fasting, which went pretty fast, my first Hari Raya away from home comes along.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
The night I became P.Ramlee.
This past week was a fun week for me and definitely or my friends as well, as we were all working towards making Malaysian Night 2007 a success.
It all started when a committee was formed for the MUMSA Malaysian Night 2007 event that happened on September 8th. Everyone had their tasks to do, and mine was to help Razif with the slide show that Imran requested be made, showing all the events/activities that took place this year. Also, Imran decided that there would be a theme for the night, and the theme is the 60's. Straight away, images of P.Ramlee, and sounds of "Getaran Jiwa" came to mind.
Started working on the slide show with Razif down in Kairanga 5 days before the event. We kind of started at a leisurely pace and not until 4 days before the event that we felt the pressure. At that point, Iylia and Lutfi decided to join in and help. The room felt like a hackers hub, with 4 laptops running. We pulled all nighter after all nighter and took turns to nap at certain points in the wee hours of the morning.
3 days before the event however, Iylia decided to make a video for the committee, and asked Lutfi to direct the video coz he's fab behind the camera. I joined in the creative process, and suddenly the ideas were flowing. We finally decided on a plot, and the next day made it happen.
We filmed half of the plot that day, and proceeded by editing that half the same night till early hours again, also helping Razif with the slideshow. We were a fully functional multimedia team. Now I know how my Kak Yang feels when she has to work on production sets, and we're only an amateur team.
1 day to the event and we had to wake up early next morning to get some stuff with Audrey for decorations, and also get to the costume shop. I admit, I had an idea of what to wear, but thanks to Iylia, Audrey and Eugene for persuading me to go to that place. There were a number of choices of costumes and suits to choose from, but I only had eyes for a white dinner jacket. Sean Ghazi in his video "Ku Impikan Bintang" was inspiration for my outfit, and I must say, I don't look half bad wearing it.
After the costume shop and getting decorations, we decided to shoot the final scene and the rest of the movie. We managed to finish shooting pretty much all the footage we needed and would do the editing that night. We finished at round 5.30 and went straight for dinner because amidst all the preparation for Malaysian Night, we had an indoor soceer mini tournament held by the Singaporean club which was called the SEA cup, which consisted of 2 Malaysian Teams, 2 Singaporean teams, and 1 Indonesian team. At the end of that, Malaysia A came second to Indonesia, and Singapore B came third. It was good 3 hours of footy.
We still had the videos and slide shows to finish so, me and Iylia went back, cleaned up and got coffee, coz it was gonna be a long night. On the day of the event, at 4 PM, we finished all videos and slide shows, the main ones at least. So me and Iylia went back up, showered and got our suits and went to the venue to set up.
Wharerata (pronounced farerata) is the venue. It is a function center on campus. Its really a beautiful place, and as people say when the go in, it sure doesn't look like the rest of Massey. Its an old house, something like the old english houses in the small quaint villages in england. Its a real hotspot for small conferences, meetings, parties, and even weddings, so you get the idea when I say its beautiful. I hope.
After we finished setting up the audio stuff, and the visual stuff, me, Iylia and Eugene went to change. 5 minutes later, we were 60's baby!. Iylia and Eugene were transformed with the afro and the rest of their outfit, while I donned the white suit and became the Cabaret ish loung singer type person? Anyways, we got good feedback for our outfits and that made the night more fun.
At 7 PM, the VIP arrived, Pn.Satinah, our Director of the Malaysian Students Department in New Zealand, and that meant all of us had to be seated. 15 minutes later the event officially starts with Lutfi reciting the doa. Imran was next to give his opening speech which was short and sweet and even got stick from us guys when he mentioned Nana too many times in the speech..haha...all good bro. This was followed by a speech from Pn.Satinah. I have to say, she has a way with words, and knows how to include everyone in her speeches. A very good diplomat indeed.
After her speech, the next item on the agenda was the lucky draw. Cmon lucky number 7 !! because it was my ticket number. As usual, my luck on these kind of things never came through. Shortly after everyone settled down, the first slide show made by the multimedia team is next on the agenda. Me and Razif, who had the most input on the first 3 parts of the slide show, went up front, anxious if everyone would enjoy our hard work.
The lights dimmed till the room became dark, and the only light source was the light from the projector projecting our slide show. Lutfi's intro video came on, and everyone was impressed, and laughed at the ending "no budget" crack. Then it was part 1 of the slide show. It went great. Everyone laughed at the parts we thought they would laugh and clapped at the parts that we thought they would clap. Good start. Very satisfying.
Dinner was served next. It was good food. Worth the money we paid, most definitely. Most notable item on the buffet spread was the roast beef. So multiple servings of roast beef. Delicious. Everyone mingled around during dinner time, which lasted round 30 minutes.
After dinner, it was time for John the magician, once again performing to save our asses in these kind of events. As usual, he impressed us and the VIP's with his card tricks and illusions. Everyone was happy and impressed, and that means his tricks were successful once again. Lucky draw time once again. This time I actually won. Haha. Even though I already knew what the prize was, it was still a good feeling to actually win these things once in a while.
The next item on the agenda was fun. It was time to pick the Best Dressed Male and Female of the night. Everyone nominated had to do a short catwalk and I was one of the nominees. After all the nominees did their thang on the catwalk, it was down to Pn. Satinah to pick the winners, and she picked Audrey and Lutfi as the winners, who in my opinion deserved it.
Dessert was served shortly after, and after everyone got their piece of cake and coffee or tea, they settled down for the rest of our videos. The second part of the slide show got good response, but maybe we shouldn't have put in the soccer edition in haha...the girls really didn't get into it. Then it was time for the highlight of the multimedia team, the video we took 2 days to shoot and edit. A video called "Through Imran's Eyes". Enjoy....
Cracks me everytime I watch it. To Kak Yang if you're reading, I can understand a bit of how you feel on shoots. The crowd loved it. Even after the event, people were asking for copies of the videos, especially "Through Imran's Eyes" and Razif even got a request from Wen Li to make a video for the badminton club if i'm not mistaken.
Shortly after, the committee members of 2007 got presented with certificates by Pn. Satinah. and after that, the AGM commenced for the search for the new committee members. First position up for grabs was the Presidency, and right off the bat, I raised my hand to nominate Iylia. He accepted, and left the room. Next, Amy raised her hand, and nominated Eugene , who was in the toilet anyways. Then maybe to my surprise, maybe not, someone at the back nominated me. I went along with the process, and went out as well. They called us back in, and asked us to sell ourselves on why we deserve to be president. Iylia's was short and sweet, he said "I will continue what i'm doing all along, and have fun doing it". I was next, and said "I'm actually a first year student so I don't deserve to be president, there are more deserving people than me" which was true. Eugene had some beauty pageant answer, which i don't remember. So, went out again, and when we went back in, presto poof, Iylia is the new president of MUMSA and deservedly so.
It went on with the vice president position which went to Razif, the Secretary which Eugene retains winning unopposed, and the new treasurer is Sheng, which was my nomintation, and who I feel would do a great job. I got nominated for treasurer too, but again gave a depressing "i don't deserve it speech", because honestly, I like money, but not keeping track of it.
So that's pretty much the end. We stayed back for around 40 minutes to clean up and have photo sessions. The night I became , or was called P.Ramlee had ended on a good note. My bro got the presidency as he should, and our hard work with videos got great response. Maybe I should charge for every copy I make.
It all started when a committee was formed for the MUMSA Malaysian Night 2007 event that happened on September 8th. Everyone had their tasks to do, and mine was to help Razif with the slide show that Imran requested be made, showing all the events/activities that took place this year. Also, Imran decided that there would be a theme for the night, and the theme is the 60's. Straight away, images of P.Ramlee, and sounds of "Getaran Jiwa" came to mind.
Started working on the slide show with Razif down in Kairanga 5 days before the event. We kind of started at a leisurely pace and not until 4 days before the event that we felt the pressure. At that point, Iylia and Lutfi decided to join in and help. The room felt like a hackers hub, with 4 laptops running. We pulled all nighter after all nighter and took turns to nap at certain points in the wee hours of the morning.
3 days before the event however, Iylia decided to make a video for the committee, and asked Lutfi to direct the video coz he's fab behind the camera. I joined in the creative process, and suddenly the ideas were flowing. We finally decided on a plot, and the next day made it happen.
We filmed half of the plot that day, and proceeded by editing that half the same night till early hours again, also helping Razif with the slideshow. We were a fully functional multimedia team. Now I know how my Kak Yang feels when she has to work on production sets, and we're only an amateur team.
1 day to the event and we had to wake up early next morning to get some stuff with Audrey for decorations, and also get to the costume shop. I admit, I had an idea of what to wear, but thanks to Iylia, Audrey and Eugene for persuading me to go to that place. There were a number of choices of costumes and suits to choose from, but I only had eyes for a white dinner jacket. Sean Ghazi in his video "Ku Impikan Bintang" was inspiration for my outfit, and I must say, I don't look half bad wearing it.
After the costume shop and getting decorations, we decided to shoot the final scene and the rest of the movie. We managed to finish shooting pretty much all the footage we needed and would do the editing that night. We finished at round 5.30 and went straight for dinner because amidst all the preparation for Malaysian Night, we had an indoor soceer mini tournament held by the Singaporean club which was called the SEA cup, which consisted of 2 Malaysian Teams, 2 Singaporean teams, and 1 Indonesian team. At the end of that, Malaysia A came second to Indonesia, and Singapore B came third. It was good 3 hours of footy.
We still had the videos and slide shows to finish so, me and Iylia went back, cleaned up and got coffee, coz it was gonna be a long night. On the day of the event, at 4 PM, we finished all videos and slide shows, the main ones at least. So me and Iylia went back up, showered and got our suits and went to the venue to set up.
Wharerata (pronounced farerata) is the venue. It is a function center on campus. Its really a beautiful place, and as people say when the go in, it sure doesn't look like the rest of Massey. Its an old house, something like the old english houses in the small quaint villages in england. Its a real hotspot for small conferences, meetings, parties, and even weddings, so you get the idea when I say its beautiful. I hope.
After we finished setting up the audio stuff, and the visual stuff, me, Iylia and Eugene went to change. 5 minutes later, we were 60's baby!. Iylia and Eugene were transformed with the afro and the rest of their outfit, while I donned the white suit and became the Cabaret ish loung singer type person? Anyways, we got good feedback for our outfits and that made the night more fun.
At 7 PM, the VIP arrived, Pn.Satinah, our Director of the Malaysian Students Department in New Zealand, and that meant all of us had to be seated. 15 minutes later the event officially starts with Lutfi reciting the doa. Imran was next to give his opening speech which was short and sweet and even got stick from us guys when he mentioned Nana too many times in the speech..haha...all good bro. This was followed by a speech from Pn.Satinah. I have to say, she has a way with words, and knows how to include everyone in her speeches. A very good diplomat indeed.
After her speech, the next item on the agenda was the lucky draw. Cmon lucky number 7 !! because it was my ticket number. As usual, my luck on these kind of things never came through. Shortly after everyone settled down, the first slide show made by the multimedia team is next on the agenda. Me and Razif, who had the most input on the first 3 parts of the slide show, went up front, anxious if everyone would enjoy our hard work.
The lights dimmed till the room became dark, and the only light source was the light from the projector projecting our slide show. Lutfi's intro video came on, and everyone was impressed, and laughed at the ending "no budget" crack. Then it was part 1 of the slide show. It went great. Everyone laughed at the parts we thought they would laugh and clapped at the parts that we thought they would clap. Good start. Very satisfying.
Dinner was served next. It was good food. Worth the money we paid, most definitely. Most notable item on the buffet spread was the roast beef. So multiple servings of roast beef. Delicious. Everyone mingled around during dinner time, which lasted round 30 minutes.
After dinner, it was time for John the magician, once again performing to save our asses in these kind of events. As usual, he impressed us and the VIP's with his card tricks and illusions. Everyone was happy and impressed, and that means his tricks were successful once again. Lucky draw time once again. This time I actually won. Haha. Even though I already knew what the prize was, it was still a good feeling to actually win these things once in a while.
The next item on the agenda was fun. It was time to pick the Best Dressed Male and Female of the night. Everyone nominated had to do a short catwalk and I was one of the nominees. After all the nominees did their thang on the catwalk, it was down to Pn. Satinah to pick the winners, and she picked Audrey and Lutfi as the winners, who in my opinion deserved it.
Dessert was served shortly after, and after everyone got their piece of cake and coffee or tea, they settled down for the rest of our videos. The second part of the slide show got good response, but maybe we shouldn't have put in the soccer edition in haha...the girls really didn't get into it. Then it was time for the highlight of the multimedia team, the video we took 2 days to shoot and edit. A video called "Through Imran's Eyes". Enjoy....
Cracks me everytime I watch it. To Kak Yang if you're reading, I can understand a bit of how you feel on shoots. The crowd loved it. Even after the event, people were asking for copies of the videos, especially "Through Imran's Eyes" and Razif even got a request from Wen Li to make a video for the badminton club if i'm not mistaken.
Shortly after, the committee members of 2007 got presented with certificates by Pn. Satinah. and after that, the AGM commenced for the search for the new committee members. First position up for grabs was the Presidency, and right off the bat, I raised my hand to nominate Iylia. He accepted, and left the room. Next, Amy raised her hand, and nominated Eugene , who was in the toilet anyways. Then maybe to my surprise, maybe not, someone at the back nominated me. I went along with the process, and went out as well. They called us back in, and asked us to sell ourselves on why we deserve to be president. Iylia's was short and sweet, he said "I will continue what i'm doing all along, and have fun doing it". I was next, and said "I'm actually a first year student so I don't deserve to be president, there are more deserving people than me" which was true. Eugene had some beauty pageant answer, which i don't remember. So, went out again, and when we went back in, presto poof, Iylia is the new president of MUMSA and deservedly so.
It went on with the vice president position which went to Razif, the Secretary which Eugene retains winning unopposed, and the new treasurer is Sheng, which was my nomintation, and who I feel would do a great job. I got nominated for treasurer too, but again gave a depressing "i don't deserve it speech", because honestly, I like money, but not keeping track of it.
So that's pretty much the end. We stayed back for around 40 minutes to clean up and have photo sessions. The night I became , or was called P.Ramlee had ended on a good note. My bro got the presidency as he should, and our hard work with videos got great response. Maybe I should charge for every copy I make.
Monday, August 27, 2007
For Opah
When the date 31st of August is mentioned among Malaysians, we automatically know people are talking about our independence day. This year we are celebrating our 50th year of independence from the British. Despite the various discrepancies throughout the years, I am still proud of this achievement and proud to call myself a Malaysian, a fact that is sadly lacking in our youth these days. Anyway, every year, I celebrate 2 occasions on that date, m country's independence, as well as the birth of my grandmother or Opah as I call her.
Puteh binti Abdul Rahman, my Opah will be celebrating her birthday this 31st of August, and being abroad, this is actually the first time I won't be joining her on her birthday. So, I thought to myself, what would be something special that I could do for my Opah, with me being away, and on a tight student budget? Well, an opportunity presented itself 2 weeks ago when one of the committee members of MUMSA sent a mass text to everyone, asking for volunteers. They were looking for 3 guys and 3 girls that were willing to participate in a performance, a dance to be exact for the Unity in Diversity Week held by Massey in 2 weeks time. I was reluctant to join at first, but then it came to me, how special would this be if I dedicated this to Opah. Anyone who knows me personally would know, how unlikely it would be for mr to do these kinds of public performances. So, I volunteered, and the fact that Iylia joined as well cemented the decision. 2 fools on stage would be better than 1 fool on stage I thought.
The day came for our first practice, and after 15 minutes learning the first step of the whole routine, I started having doubts about my dancing career. That relatively simple first move took me a whole practice to get right, added to that people telling me that my body was too stiff.....of course lah stiff...i'm too macho you know.
Few more practices came after that, and I have to tell you, when you get the moves right, a feeling of accomplishment comes over you, and that leads to the whole performance being fun. Each practice, the choreographers add new moves, which seemed impossible to me at first but, as the saying goes, "practice makes perfect".
On the 22nd, we had our full dress rehearsal, and the last practice before the real rehearsal at the venue, which is at the Globe Theater. So all of us dressed, and I have to say, we don't look half bad. Me in "Hang Tuah" red, Iylia in "Hang Lekiu" blue, and Hadi in "Hang Jebat" Yellow all of us with matching "tanjak". The girls looked the part as well, with gold "sanggul" on thier heads, we definitely looked the part. We went through the routine with full costume on, and everything went well. Nothing dropped, and everything was flowing when all the moves were in motion. Feeling satisfied, we waited till the next day for the rehearsal at the Globe Theater.
We were one of the first groups to arrive and that meant we could rehearse early and go back early. The stage was just the right size, and coincided with how we practiced before. Although there were only maybe less than 20 people in the crowd that night at rehearsal, my familiar feeling of nervousness in front of public places came about as usual. Our song came on and we proceeded with the routine. Everything went well I guess, with a couple of mistakes from each of us, all down to nervousness again I suppose. Clare the coordinator asked if we wanted another run, and we said yes. Second run went better, with me being able to give some facial expression, something i did not do in the first run. Second went better, and all of were satisfied but also decided to go back to Massey to have another practice.
The day of the performance came. All of us reached the theater at round 6.30 and again we were the early ones there. We chilled out in the dressing room, they had those mirrors with the light bulbs all round like you see in the movies. At around 7, the coordinator informed us that we were the 12th group to perform. We all moaned, the tension was killing us, and having to sit backstage and wait would be absolute murder for our nerves. So we chilled backstage, watching performance after performance start and end. We only got fully dressed 3 performances before us. We recapped our routine once again in the crammed space of the dressing room. It was getting closer to showtime.
It was now 2 performances before ours and the coordinators signaled us to get into formation at our entry point. Butterflies fluttering in the tummy like it was going to explode. The last performance before us was about to finish. Everyone restless all muttering under their breath all manner of praises to god, praying that nothing too massive gets screwed up. And at last, the last performance before us was over, and the stage was dark once again, the crowd hushed, anticipating the next performance. It was showtime.
"Diciptakan seorang insan...." Siti Nurhaliza's voice came on. That was our song, that was our cue to enter. And we did. The crowd applauded, the loudest coming from the Malaysian's who came to support the team, as well as friends of our dancers. I think a visual representation is needed at this point....
So that was the nights performance. Feedback from the crowd was good, and also the coordinators loved it, maybe they tell all the performers that night the same thing, but it was good to hear nonetheless. We did have one thing that the other performers didn't get that night. The Omani Students Association, who had an opening event for thier Indoor Soccer Tournament the next day, invited us to perform and pay for our services. So we must have done something right that night.
That night was definitely a night to remember, because its probably going to be a long time before I do that again, and also, I achieved my goal to do something special for my Opah this year.
Puteh binti Abdul Rahman, my Opah will be celebrating her birthday this 31st of August, and being abroad, this is actually the first time I won't be joining her on her birthday. So, I thought to myself, what would be something special that I could do for my Opah, with me being away, and on a tight student budget? Well, an opportunity presented itself 2 weeks ago when one of the committee members of MUMSA sent a mass text to everyone, asking for volunteers. They were looking for 3 guys and 3 girls that were willing to participate in a performance, a dance to be exact for the Unity in Diversity Week held by Massey in 2 weeks time. I was reluctant to join at first, but then it came to me, how special would this be if I dedicated this to Opah. Anyone who knows me personally would know, how unlikely it would be for mr to do these kinds of public performances. So, I volunteered, and the fact that Iylia joined as well cemented the decision. 2 fools on stage would be better than 1 fool on stage I thought.
The day came for our first practice, and after 15 minutes learning the first step of the whole routine, I started having doubts about my dancing career. That relatively simple first move took me a whole practice to get right, added to that people telling me that my body was too stiff.....of course lah stiff...i'm too macho you know.
Few more practices came after that, and I have to tell you, when you get the moves right, a feeling of accomplishment comes over you, and that leads to the whole performance being fun. Each practice, the choreographers add new moves, which seemed impossible to me at first but, as the saying goes, "practice makes perfect".
On the 22nd, we had our full dress rehearsal, and the last practice before the real rehearsal at the venue, which is at the Globe Theater. So all of us dressed, and I have to say, we don't look half bad. Me in "Hang Tuah" red, Iylia in "Hang Lekiu" blue, and Hadi in "Hang Jebat" Yellow all of us with matching "tanjak". The girls looked the part as well, with gold "sanggul" on thier heads, we definitely looked the part. We went through the routine with full costume on, and everything went well. Nothing dropped, and everything was flowing when all the moves were in motion. Feeling satisfied, we waited till the next day for the rehearsal at the Globe Theater.
We were one of the first groups to arrive and that meant we could rehearse early and go back early. The stage was just the right size, and coincided with how we practiced before. Although there were only maybe less than 20 people in the crowd that night at rehearsal, my familiar feeling of nervousness in front of public places came about as usual. Our song came on and we proceeded with the routine. Everything went well I guess, with a couple of mistakes from each of us, all down to nervousness again I suppose. Clare the coordinator asked if we wanted another run, and we said yes. Second run went better, with me being able to give some facial expression, something i did not do in the first run. Second went better, and all of were satisfied but also decided to go back to Massey to have another practice.
The day of the performance came. All of us reached the theater at round 6.30 and again we were the early ones there. We chilled out in the dressing room, they had those mirrors with the light bulbs all round like you see in the movies. At around 7, the coordinator informed us that we were the 12th group to perform. We all moaned, the tension was killing us, and having to sit backstage and wait would be absolute murder for our nerves. So we chilled backstage, watching performance after performance start and end. We only got fully dressed 3 performances before us. We recapped our routine once again in the crammed space of the dressing room. It was getting closer to showtime.
It was now 2 performances before ours and the coordinators signaled us to get into formation at our entry point. Butterflies fluttering in the tummy like it was going to explode. The last performance before us was about to finish. Everyone restless all muttering under their breath all manner of praises to god, praying that nothing too massive gets screwed up. And at last, the last performance before us was over, and the stage was dark once again, the crowd hushed, anticipating the next performance. It was showtime.
"Diciptakan seorang insan...." Siti Nurhaliza's voice came on. That was our song, that was our cue to enter. And we did. The crowd applauded, the loudest coming from the Malaysian's who came to support the team, as well as friends of our dancers. I think a visual representation is needed at this point....
So that was the nights performance. Feedback from the crowd was good, and also the coordinators loved it, maybe they tell all the performers that night the same thing, but it was good to hear nonetheless. We did have one thing that the other performers didn't get that night. The Omani Students Association, who had an opening event for thier Indoor Soccer Tournament the next day, invited us to perform and pay for our services. So we must have done something right that night.
That night was definitely a night to remember, because its probably going to be a long time before I do that again, and also, I achieved my goal to do something special for my Opah this year.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
BERSATU 07 : Day 4
Started the day off later than usual, simply because I am not participating in the day's event, athletics. Still, had to wake up early to take Razif to the medical center again, for another checkup. If you read day 2, he got injured after being tackled by PETUNIA. So, me, Razif, and Iylia were off to the medical center while the others were at the rec center for athletics. We were actually late because of Iylia, and Razif had to reschedule the appointment to 40 minutes later. When we got back to the car, got a phone call from Imran, asking for help. He wanted us to get his football boots from the backapackers, because his running spikes aren't working on the grass track (another organiser doo doo,...grass athletics track? hari sukan skolah rendah ker aper?). So hustled back to the backpackers, got the boots, hustled to the medical center to drop off Razif and Iyllia so that Razif didn't miss another appointment, and to the rec center to send the boots to Imran.
When I got to the rec center, two athletics events were over and we lost both of them. I firmly believe that if we had the proper track, we would have done better. Anyways, 20 minutes later, Razif texted me, and said they were done at the medical center. Went to pick them up, and as soon as Razif got into the car, he said "Haram jadah nyer doctor, pegi second time just nak bagi surat suruh x-ray, bukan nak x-ray kan. Aku bayar 40 dollar untuk tuh jer?". Well, it's to be expected I guess.
Made for the athletics field, in time for the 4 X 200 event. It was probably our weakest line up, but our runners were up for it, and that was what we wanted, the fighting spirit. We actually did not come last in the event, which was good enough for us. The important thing no one gave up, and finished the race.
Next event was the 4 X 400 race. Runners were Imran, Amy, Jace, and Safwan as anchor. We started off great with Imran leaving the opposition behind. and when he got to the turning where MUMSA and of course Nana were sitting, he blew flying kisses and spread his arms out a'la Beckham celebrating a goal....then he turned around to see the opposition closing in, but he still smoked them, and was first to pass off the baton to Amy. Amy, who saw that what a big lead Imran made, probably was over excited, and didn't pace herself. She sprinted from the start, and by the second turning, was down to jogging pace. That dropped us back to 3rd from bottom. By the time the baton was passed to Jace, we were second from bottom. She maintained the position, but when the baton was in Safwan's hands, the leaders were too far ahead. We finished 3rd from bottom, but in front of PETUNIA.
The last event of the day came, and it was the 4 X 100 race. Runners were Jace, Is, Laili, and Imran as anchor. Jace started off the race, and was looking good despite running against mostly men on the first leg. When the baton was passed to Is, he made great ground, and took us to 3rd or fourth, This could be the first medal for MUMSA. Then it was confirmed, it was not our year. When Laili got the baton, started sprinting, but then tripped and fell, and with that trip also went our chance for a medal this year. But kudos to her, she got up, kept running, passed the baton to Imran, who finished the race off dead last. No luck at all.
So that was that for the events. Gathered our stuff and headed home and rested for the closing dinner that night.
Continued BERSATU 07 : Closing Dinner
When I got to the rec center, two athletics events were over and we lost both of them. I firmly believe that if we had the proper track, we would have done better. Anyways, 20 minutes later, Razif texted me, and said they were done at the medical center. Went to pick them up, and as soon as Razif got into the car, he said "Haram jadah nyer doctor, pegi second time just nak bagi surat suruh x-ray, bukan nak x-ray kan. Aku bayar 40 dollar untuk tuh jer?". Well, it's to be expected I guess.
Made for the athletics field, in time for the 4 X 200 event. It was probably our weakest line up, but our runners were up for it, and that was what we wanted, the fighting spirit. We actually did not come last in the event, which was good enough for us. The important thing no one gave up, and finished the race.
Next event was the 4 X 400 race. Runners were Imran, Amy, Jace, and Safwan as anchor. We started off great with Imran leaving the opposition behind. and when he got to the turning where MUMSA and of course Nana were sitting, he blew flying kisses and spread his arms out a'la Beckham celebrating a goal....then he turned around to see the opposition closing in, but he still smoked them, and was first to pass off the baton to Amy. Amy, who saw that what a big lead Imran made, probably was over excited, and didn't pace herself. She sprinted from the start, and by the second turning, was down to jogging pace. That dropped us back to 3rd from bottom. By the time the baton was passed to Jace, we were second from bottom. She maintained the position, but when the baton was in Safwan's hands, the leaders were too far ahead. We finished 3rd from bottom, but in front of PETUNIA.
The last event of the day came, and it was the 4 X 100 race. Runners were Jace, Is, Laili, and Imran as anchor. Jace started off the race, and was looking good despite running against mostly men on the first leg. When the baton was passed to Is, he made great ground, and took us to 3rd or fourth, This could be the first medal for MUMSA. Then it was confirmed, it was not our year. When Laili got the baton, started sprinting, but then tripped and fell, and with that trip also went our chance for a medal this year. But kudos to her, she got up, kept running, passed the baton to Imran, who finished the race off dead last. No luck at all.
So that was that for the events. Gathered our stuff and headed home and rested for the closing dinner that night.
Continued BERSATU 07 : Closing Dinner
Monday, July 09, 2007
BERSATU 07 : Day 3
The third day I was purely a spectator. Events for today were the continuation of Badminton, Volleyball, and the stress free bowling later that night.
Badminton was first, and we cheered the players on. We got a couple of wins, but were not enough to progress to the next level.
For some reason, I have no pictures of the team playing volleyball. We started off well with a win against UMNO. Then made a good effort with eventual finalist UMSA. Lost against PETUNIA, which still had the tension from the football incident, and lost against Otago in the last match. It was a good effort tho, despite our team not having a single spiker, which made the difference. We stayed until the final of volleyball, which Otago ended up winning, in an exciting match that went to sudden death.
Went back to the backpackers, relaxed and went walking around town with the Subang Saint's, Iylia, Ezim and Safwan taking pictures along the way.
At 7.30 PM, got ready for bowling. Convoyed to the bowling alley, and relaxed and watch the bowling team bowl a couple of frames. We didn't too bad, but never expected anything much from bowling. All the contingents were having fun and that is what it is all supposed to be about really.
After bowling all of MUMSA went to a 24 hour place called Denny's, a diner type restaurant for supper. We took pictures at the waiting room while waiting for our table to be ready. Good fun, and good way to end a day, having a meal as a family.
Got back to the backpackers at around 2 AM. Everyone got to bed, to rest up for the last event, Athletics.
Continued BERSATU 07 : Day 4 & Closing
Badminton was first, and we cheered the players on. We got a couple of wins, but were not enough to progress to the next level.
For some reason, I have no pictures of the team playing volleyball. We started off well with a win against UMNO. Then made a good effort with eventual finalist UMSA. Lost against PETUNIA, which still had the tension from the football incident, and lost against Otago in the last match. It was a good effort tho, despite our team not having a single spiker, which made the difference. We stayed until the final of volleyball, which Otago ended up winning, in an exciting match that went to sudden death.
Went back to the backpackers, relaxed and went walking around town with the Subang Saint's, Iylia, Ezim and Safwan taking pictures along the way.
At 7.30 PM, got ready for bowling. Convoyed to the bowling alley, and relaxed and watch the bowling team bowl a couple of frames. We didn't too bad, but never expected anything much from bowling. All the contingents were having fun and that is what it is all supposed to be about really.
After bowling all of MUMSA went to a 24 hour place called Denny's, a diner type restaurant for supper. We took pictures at the waiting room while waiting for our table to be ready. Good fun, and good way to end a day, having a meal as a family.
Got back to the backpackers at around 2 AM. Everyone got to bed, to rest up for the last event, Athletics.Continued BERSATU 07 : Day 4 & Closing
Thursday, July 05, 2007
BERSATU 07 : Day 2
Day 2 events were Football, Badminton, and Squash. Got up, got ready. Made our way to Ilam field laced up our boots and started warming up. Football was actually our best hope for a medal. 
Our first test was the home team, CMSA. Their team had Tengkuk, the guy whose name I have heard since I came to New Zealand. He was their star player, and was said to be fast, quick, pacy. He was tall, and was the one to watch. So everyone was ready, and the game started. Right off the bat, I could feel we were controlling the game, with a sturdy defence, and a pacy attack. Tengkuk had a chance down the right, and was coming with pace towards the ball, but I slid and got to the ball before him, with him tumbling down to the ground, hard. I guess, he wasn't all that after all. They say the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
The half ended with no goals scored, and MUMSA controlling the game. In the second half, we had a problem, when Iylia had to go to the rec center for badminton. That left our defence weakened. It showed immediately, when we were the one being attacked. Still we held on, for the draw, and left the home team starting off their football tourney with a draw. We were happy with the result and optimistic for the next match.
PETUNIA was up next. They were a team that we expected to beat, and after the draw in the first match against the home team, we had high hopes for a win. That didn't turn out to be the case though. A minute after the kickoff, Razif had the ball to the right of the field, with his back to the opposition goal. Then a PETUNIA player came running and tackled Razif from behind, caught his ankle, without getting the ball at all. To make matters worst, the PETUNIA player just walked away without a sorry or a hand up. That fueled Imran to confront the player when he ran from the other side of the field. Tension was now high. Razif went off for the half. A few minutes later, the PETUNIA player had the ball just outside my keeper box, and Is came in and tackled him from behind...all I could do was applaud Is for that, couldn't have done it better myself. Anyway, the player got up, and went to confront Imran, and a semi-fight broke out. Another PETUNIA player of a kells nature came running from behind and shouted at Imran "You don't touch my boy ah!" with the accent and everything. When everything cooled down, the free kick that started it all resulted in a goal. 1-0 PETUNIA. It stayed like that until the end of the half.
Despite being injured, Razif came in for the start of the second half, but after another cynical tackle by the same player, he couldn't continue. He was taken to the medical center near the Uni.The match continued, and due to the high tension created, my mind was only set on slide tackling any of the players. PETUNIA had the ball on my right, and was homing in on goal. Wanting to slide tackle him, I went out of position, but the player had a cool head, and passed across to his team mate, who had an open goal waiting for him. All that and I didn't get to slide tackle anybody. The game ended with a 2-0 loss, and also we had two players injured. Jahatnyer PETUNIA.
When Razif got back from the medical center, he was not the Razif we knew. He's the kind of guy that very rarely swears. But after that incident, it was swearing 24/7. It was "Anak Haram Jadah punyer PETUNIA", "PETUNIA memang shit","Jahatnyer PETUNIA". I know it doesn't seem like very harsh swearing, but coming from Razif, it was.
Morale was down, our star player, and probably the only player capable of scoring for us is now injured. We went through the two remaining matches with a loss and a draw. The last match was fun though, because both teams had already no chance of qualifying. So we ended the day, with 2 draws and 2 losses with no goals scored. It was a shame because, we were ranked top to challenge for a medal by the home team. They even joked, why didn't Razif get injured for the match against them. Oh well, we'll get em next year.
We made for the rec center after, and picked up the badminton players. We came up short on badminton and squash as well.
Continued BERSATU 07: Day 3
Our first test was the home team, CMSA. Their team had Tengkuk, the guy whose name I have heard since I came to New Zealand. He was their star player, and was said to be fast, quick, pacy. He was tall, and was the one to watch. So everyone was ready, and the game started. Right off the bat, I could feel we were controlling the game, with a sturdy defence, and a pacy attack. Tengkuk had a chance down the right, and was coming with pace towards the ball, but I slid and got to the ball before him, with him tumbling down to the ground, hard. I guess, he wasn't all that after all. They say the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
The half ended with no goals scored, and MUMSA controlling the game. In the second half, we had a problem, when Iylia had to go to the rec center for badminton. That left our defence weakened. It showed immediately, when we were the one being attacked. Still we held on, for the draw, and left the home team starting off their football tourney with a draw. We were happy with the result and optimistic for the next match.
PETUNIA was up next. They were a team that we expected to beat, and after the draw in the first match against the home team, we had high hopes for a win. That didn't turn out to be the case though. A minute after the kickoff, Razif had the ball to the right of the field, with his back to the opposition goal. Then a PETUNIA player came running and tackled Razif from behind, caught his ankle, without getting the ball at all. To make matters worst, the PETUNIA player just walked away without a sorry or a hand up. That fueled Imran to confront the player when he ran from the other side of the field. Tension was now high. Razif went off for the half. A few minutes later, the PETUNIA player had the ball just outside my keeper box, and Is came in and tackled him from behind...all I could do was applaud Is for that, couldn't have done it better myself. Anyway, the player got up, and went to confront Imran, and a semi-fight broke out. Another PETUNIA player of a kells nature came running from behind and shouted at Imran "You don't touch my boy ah!" with the accent and everything. When everything cooled down, the free kick that started it all resulted in a goal. 1-0 PETUNIA. It stayed like that until the end of the half.
Despite being injured, Razif came in for the start of the second half, but after another cynical tackle by the same player, he couldn't continue. He was taken to the medical center near the Uni.The match continued, and due to the high tension created, my mind was only set on slide tackling any of the players. PETUNIA had the ball on my right, and was homing in on goal. Wanting to slide tackle him, I went out of position, but the player had a cool head, and passed across to his team mate, who had an open goal waiting for him. All that and I didn't get to slide tackle anybody. The game ended with a 2-0 loss, and also we had two players injured. Jahatnyer PETUNIA.
When Razif got back from the medical center, he was not the Razif we knew. He's the kind of guy that very rarely swears. But after that incident, it was swearing 24/7. It was "Anak Haram Jadah punyer PETUNIA", "PETUNIA memang shit","Jahatnyer PETUNIA". I know it doesn't seem like very harsh swearing, but coming from Razif, it was.
Morale was down, our star player, and probably the only player capable of scoring for us is now injured. We went through the two remaining matches with a loss and a draw. The last match was fun though, because both teams had already no chance of qualifying. So we ended the day, with 2 draws and 2 losses with no goals scored. It was a shame because, we were ranked top to challenge for a medal by the home team. They even joked, why didn't Razif get injured for the match against them. Oh well, we'll get em next year.
We made for the rec center after, and picked up the badminton players. We came up short on badminton and squash as well.
Continued BERSATU 07: Day 3
BERSATU 07 : Day 1
The day began early for me and Razif. as we were appointed drivers for the morning, and had to send the girls to thier netball venue Villa Maria College an hour earlier than the game time, because Elun wanted to warm up before thier match started. So at 8 AM, sent the girls to Villa Maria, wished them luck, and returned to X-Base to pick up the rest for our Takraw and Basketball at the University Rec Center. Reached the rec center, parked, got out...and just when I wanted to lock the car, Hafezz came running, "Shah ! Jom, drive aku balik X-Base, aku tertinggal tag". I obliged, and rushed back to the backpackers, he ran up, then came back down cursing himself. Turned out it was in his jacket pocket all along. I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or smack him. Haha. So, back to the rec center, parked, and went to the takraw court (which was the badminton court, with a circle in the middle made with tape).
I got ready, and kicked around the takraw ball with the boys. A few minutes later. the match started. Ezim, Hafezz and Is played first, with me and Razif as subs. I have never played takraw before, and registered because no one else wanted to. I ended up not playing takraw at all that day because we actually had a chance to win and I wasn't ready to botch that up. So first match was against PETUNIA. Cute name huh? but they ended up being one of the most trash talking, annoying contingent of all throughout the games. Anyway, MUMSA ended up winning the match in a rubber set, which was actually the first team event win for MUMSA ever. Meanwhile, our were next in line for Basketball next door in the basketball court. We were going to have clashes between the two sports starting next game.
First basketball match was against PETSOC, who were favourites coming into the games, as they had a star player from last years game, and a new star player who Hafezz says was the MVP in MCKK for basketball. So our chances was thin to none, and PETSOC didn't dissapoint. They murdered us 37-0, and later it was known that was a record score. It didn't help that Hafezz, our only hope had to leave for the takraw match. Next takraw match was against WMSO, which we lost 2-0. Then came the next basketball game, against WMSO as well. We did a wee bit better, at least scoring, and we celebrated like we won when Ezim, shot a three pointer. Hhahahah....the crowd went wild, we went wild, we lost, but at least we lost with style. Then back to takraw, for the match against Otago. It was a good match. Went into a rubber set, but lost in the end. Then back to basketball against UMSA, the team from Auckland. They meant business. We put in Elun in, because apart from Hafezz, she was our best shooter. So we were on our way to getting trashed again, when just before the half time buzzer, Safwan had the ball at half court. and Hafezz said to him "shoot jer", and he did...the ball went up, went down, and into the basket, swish.....the crowd went wiiilllldd!!.. including me. Celebrated like we won the tounament. Hahahah. MUMSA oh MUMSA, gaya mesti ader. Nearing the end of the second half, Elun scored as well, resulting in the crowd going wild as well, as the only girl to score a basket in the tournament. The match ended in a landslide win again. But we certainly will be the team people remember.
So that was the end of day 1. We lost all events, but made a record by winning our first team match, and providing entertainment on the basketball court.
Continued BERSATU 07 : Day 2
BERSATU 07 : Opening Day
"Hello, Kia Ora and Salam Sejahtera", that was what the chairman of the 2007 BERSATU Games started off with when he gave his speech during the opening ceremony held at the University of Canterbury events center.
The BERSATU Games is an annual sporting event organised by the Malaysian Students Department in New Zealand. This year, the event was held in Christchurch, and organised by the collaborating team of Canterbury Malaysian Students Association (CMSA), Petronas Students Organisation of Canterbury (PETSOC), Lincoln Malaysian Students Society (LMSS), and UMNO Christchurch. Having prepared for the games for over a month, I was definitely looking forward to the trip, and the games.
The journey to the Bersatu Games held in Christchurch began with a 2 hour bus trip down to Wellington. The bus which was an hour late, meant we had to wait under the drizzling rain for an hour, finally came and we boarded a little annoyed for the delay despite the bus driver expressing his deepeest apologies. Arrived in Wellington at around 12 AM. Walked for 20 minutes to Nana's apartment which was where we were docking ourselves until our flight which departs at 6.50 AM. All were hungry so after storing our stuff, we set out through the streets of Wellington in search of food. Wellington is most definitely more alive than Palmy at 1 o'clock in the morning, with the streets still lit up, cafe's still operating, and clubs still alive and kicking.
We walked 10 minutes in one direction, towards a restaurant called Satay Kajang, but was dissapointed when we found it closed. Walked back in the other direction and settled for a kebab place callled " Abra-KEBAB-ra". We ordered, ate, and set out for coffee. Walked in another direction for 10 minutes, and stopped at a place called "Coffee's & Tea's" or was it the other way round?. So, ordered, drank and went back to the apartment. Got maybe 2 hours of rest, when Imran turned on the light, and told us to get ready. Took a shuttle to the airport. checked in, boarded, and off we went to Christchurch.
Flight lasted 40 minutes, which meant the only refreshment the flight crew gave us were fruit flavoured sweets. Touched down in Christchurch expecting it to be cold, colder than Palmy. Got our bags and had to wait at the airport fo around an hour for Imran to collect the rental car in town, and also to wait for Safwan, whose fight arrived 30 minutes after ours. Headed out of the airport and into town and towards X-Base Backpackers, which was where we would be staying for the games. Staring out the car window, I felt a sense of coziness in that city that I did not feel when I was in Wellington or Auckland. It had a certain historical feel to it. Anyways, reached X-Base round 9 AM, which meant we were early. Registration was at 10 AM, so having an hour to kill, parked the car and went into the cafe across the backpackers to get breakfast.
Registered with the organisers and got our room keys. I was in a six to a room room, and had bunk beds. I stashed my stuff on the top bunk and settled in. At round 2 PM, went out and got the other 2 rental cars. Driving in Christchurch was pleasant, unlike Wellington or Auckland. The parks in Christchurch were huge, there were even multiple netball courts on the park which I have not seen before. Usually you see multiple basketball courts, but being New Zealand, they would have to accomodate I guess. Got back to the backpackers at round 3.30 PM, and a bunch of us decided to walk round town before the opening ceremony.
After a quick stop at Starbucks, went back to the backpackers, and waited for everyone to get ready. At round 5.30 we were off to the University of Canterbury events hall. The trip took 15 minutes from the backpackers, and the venues of the games would also be around the university area. Upon arriving, we all waited in front of the hall, and went in together. We were greeted by the organizers and were allocated seats to the right of the stage. There were probably over 200 people in the hall, consisted of athletes, supporters and the organisers. Waited for 20 minutes for everyone to settle down, when the MC's started off the ceremony.
The event started with bacaan doa, then the singing of our national anthem, "Negaraku". Singing Negaraku overseas was a good feeling, and having 200 over people doing the same was even better. The chairperson of the event was next, and he started off with "Hello, Kia Ora and Salam Sejahtera". His speech was brief, and included the welcomes and thank yous and good lucks. Next was the VIP speech which was unsurprisingly boring but ended with "I now declare the BERSATU Games 2007, open". Then came the time for the "Roll Call". They put on a video, and when the contingent name came up on the screen, we were supposed to chant or have a war cry. Being the unprepared contigent that we were, we jumbled up a chant right there and then. We thought of a "300" style war cry, but then changed it to.."MUMSA !!!....FUIYOOO!!!" and Hadi was supposed to shout "Celah maneee". So the video was played, and the first contingent name came up, and a 300 style war cry was heard, then the next contingent....another 300 style war cry. Good thing we changed it. Then our name came up, "The White Masses" and we did our thing. After all the roll calls were done, The MC's announced that the ceremony had come to an end, which was a welcome thing for everyone, as it would be an early day the next day. Waited for El Presidente and our sports officer Razif to have thier meeting and while waiting, had our supper provided by the organizers. Went back to the backpackers, and went to sleep.
Continued BERSATU 07: Day 1
The BERSATU Games is an annual sporting event organised by the Malaysian Students Department in New Zealand. This year, the event was held in Christchurch, and organised by the collaborating team of Canterbury Malaysian Students Association (CMSA), Petronas Students Organisation of Canterbury (PETSOC), Lincoln Malaysian Students Society (LMSS), and UMNO Christchurch. Having prepared for the games for over a month, I was definitely looking forward to the trip, and the games.
The journey to the Bersatu Games held in Christchurch began with a 2 hour bus trip down to Wellington. The bus which was an hour late, meant we had to wait under the drizzling rain for an hour, finally came and we boarded a little annoyed for the delay despite the bus driver expressing his deepeest apologies. Arrived in Wellington at around 12 AM. Walked for 20 minutes to Nana's apartment which was where we were docking ourselves until our flight which departs at 6.50 AM. All were hungry so after storing our stuff, we set out through the streets of Wellington in search of food. Wellington is most definitely more alive than Palmy at 1 o'clock in the morning, with the streets still lit up, cafe's still operating, and clubs still alive and kicking.
We walked 10 minutes in one direction, towards a restaurant called Satay Kajang, but was dissapointed when we found it closed. Walked back in the other direction and settled for a kebab place callled " Abra-KEBAB-ra". We ordered, ate, and set out for coffee. Walked in another direction for 10 minutes, and stopped at a place called "Coffee's & Tea's" or was it the other way round?. So, ordered, drank and went back to the apartment. Got maybe 2 hours of rest, when Imran turned on the light, and told us to get ready. Took a shuttle to the airport. checked in, boarded, and off we went to Christchurch.
Flight lasted 40 minutes, which meant the only refreshment the flight crew gave us were fruit flavoured sweets. Touched down in Christchurch expecting it to be cold, colder than Palmy. Got our bags and had to wait at the airport fo around an hour for Imran to collect the rental car in town, and also to wait for Safwan, whose fight arrived 30 minutes after ours. Headed out of the airport and into town and towards X-Base Backpackers, which was where we would be staying for the games. Staring out the car window, I felt a sense of coziness in that city that I did not feel when I was in Wellington or Auckland. It had a certain historical feel to it. Anyways, reached X-Base round 9 AM, which meant we were early. Registration was at 10 AM, so having an hour to kill, parked the car and went into the cafe across the backpackers to get breakfast.
Registered with the organisers and got our room keys. I was in a six to a room room, and had bunk beds. I stashed my stuff on the top bunk and settled in. At round 2 PM, went out and got the other 2 rental cars. Driving in Christchurch was pleasant, unlike Wellington or Auckland. The parks in Christchurch were huge, there were even multiple netball courts on the park which I have not seen before. Usually you see multiple basketball courts, but being New Zealand, they would have to accomodate I guess. Got back to the backpackers at round 3.30 PM, and a bunch of us decided to walk round town before the opening ceremony.
After a quick stop at Starbucks, went back to the backpackers, and waited for everyone to get ready. At round 5.30 we were off to the University of Canterbury events hall. The trip took 15 minutes from the backpackers, and the venues of the games would also be around the university area. Upon arriving, we all waited in front of the hall, and went in together. We were greeted by the organizers and were allocated seats to the right of the stage. There were probably over 200 people in the hall, consisted of athletes, supporters and the organisers. Waited for 20 minutes for everyone to settle down, when the MC's started off the ceremony.
The event started with bacaan doa, then the singing of our national anthem, "Negaraku". Singing Negaraku overseas was a good feeling, and having 200 over people doing the same was even better. The chairperson of the event was next, and he started off with "Hello, Kia Ora and Salam Sejahtera". His speech was brief, and included the welcomes and thank yous and good lucks. Next was the VIP speech which was unsurprisingly boring but ended with "I now declare the BERSATU Games 2007, open". Then came the time for the "Roll Call". They put on a video, and when the contingent name came up on the screen, we were supposed to chant or have a war cry. Being the unprepared contigent that we were, we jumbled up a chant right there and then. We thought of a "300" style war cry, but then changed it to.."MUMSA !!!....FUIYOOO!!!" and Hadi was supposed to shout "Celah maneee". So the video was played, and the first contingent name came up, and a 300 style war cry was heard, then the next contingent....another 300 style war cry. Good thing we changed it. Then our name came up, "The White Masses" and we did our thing. After all the roll calls were done, The MC's announced that the ceremony had come to an end, which was a welcome thing for everyone, as it would be an early day the next day. Waited for El Presidente and our sports officer Razif to have thier meeting and while waiting, had our supper provided by the organizers. Went back to the backpackers, and went to sleep.
Continued BERSATU 07: Day 1
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Update
Have not updated this blog as much as I would like. It all comes down to laziness I suppose, and the fact that not much relevant stuff to write about....until now that is.
So, since the last post
1. Dato' Seri Ong Ka ting visited Palmy. Our Housing and Development minister is in Pamy for a conference, and has taken time to meet with the Malaysian students. Held the meeting at his hotel Rydges, and talked about his visit, and other stuff in an informal fashion. Very nice guy.
2. I am now the member of Massey Masochists Social Soccer team. I have no idea what Masochists meant, and after I searched the dictionary, the meaning made me laugh. It kind of means "like to dish out pain and punishment" which is okay, if we actually do that to the other team. Instead the other team always trashes us. But, am glad to have the weekly training and match.
3. Classes have started and ended for Easter Break + Mid Semester break. Classes are fine I suppose, with my Business Law subject being the least favourite, not because of the subject itself but more to the draggy nature of the lectures. Two assignments have been submitted and have been marked an collected, and both I must say, I got better marks than expected. Hurrah for me. One test done, and that as well went well despite the late, late revision.
4. We have 2 weeks of Easter Break holidays. The first week was spent by playing football in the hallways of Walter Dyer Hall. As only a handful of people staying in the halls during easter, no one to complain.
5. The monday of the second week of Easter Holidays, Me, Iylia, Imran and Nana headed off on a road trip to Rotorua. We departed from Palmy at around 9 AM and spent three and half hours on the road to reach Taupo. The bread and butter of this country, thier scenic views, did not dissapoint. Rolling hills, snow topped mountains, farmlands, huge lakes that look like the sea but is not. Yeah, definitely beautiful. So reached Taupo for a Loo stop. They had a public restroom called Super Loo. They had a reception area, and to enter the toilet, you need to put in coins and go through a turnstyle thing, the one they have at the entrance of amusement park rides. And yes, the toilet was clean.
Continued one and a half hours on the road to reach Rotorua. Upon arrival, we headed for Rotorua's i-Site. Each town/city in New Zealand has an i-Site. An i-site is the place where people go to find info on the town/city, the attractions and accomodation options. You can book, and pay for accomodation at the i-site, which I think is very effecient. We booked the accomodation, and paid for the Sky Gondola ride up as well as the luge which I will explain in a bit.
Left the i-site, and headed for our accomodation. We chose a backpackers called Treks Backpackers. Here, there are backpackers, motor lodges, motels, and hotels. So yes, backpackers are usually the cheapest. Its like a dorm like accomodation where there are common rooms, and communal bathrooms. It sounds dodgy, but the one we picked was really nice. We settled payment, and dumped our stuff and off to the sky gondola.
The Sky Gondola Station was 15 minutes from our backpackers. Reached there and proceeded to line up to board the gondola. Usually, upon stepping inside the gondola, a photographer would snap a group photo and you will have an option to purchase the pictures when you get back down. In our case, and only us, when we stepped in the gondola, a member of thier staff hitched a ride, and because of that, we did not get our picture taken which was quite frustrating. Therefore, we also did not snap pictures on the way up due the awkwardness of us + the staff.
We reached the top and made our way towards the luge. A luge is a go kart sized contraption, where it uses the downhill slope to move.
So as you can see, to luge, we have to control the handle bars so that you don't pull it all the way back, or let go. Pulling it all the way back will cause it to stop, and letting go of the handle bars would cause it to stop. Basically its maintaining the handle bars in a middle position. I'm not actually one to explain, as I got trashed by them when we raced down, 3rd twice and dead last three times. When we get to the bottom, we ride the chairlift back up to the starting position..
Towards the end of the 4th luge, It rained so, the last race was a wet race, which was fun but also made the luge faster and control of it less. I crashed on the barrier near the end but it was all good. No injuries.
We headed back down with the gondola, this time it was just us and snapped pictures
Reached the bottom, and headed straight for the car. We went looking for the Agrodome, which was a place with more attractions. One of them was the Zorb, which if you don't know is the big plastic ball rolling down the hill. Nana wanted to zorb, so we rushed to find the place as it was already 5 and there was a possibility it was already closed. And it was. When we arrived, the guy said the current ball rolling down was the last ride. So, we headed back towards town.
On the way back, about 5 minutes before reaching our backpackers, we stopped at the thermal park. Thermal pools are all over Rotorua. We learned this in geography, Datin Josephine pernah ajar. The thermal pools smells like fart. Its the sulfur. Anyone in Pn.Rogayah's chem class would know the smell. If i'm wrong and its not sulfur, I actually barely passed chem in school, so forgive me...
Headed back to the backpackers to relax and get ready for dinner. Showered and put jeans in dryer as each of us brought only one pair of pants. Waited for pants to dry, and headed off into town to get food. All of us agreed on Pizza. After Pizza, we cruised around town, stopped at Pak n Save for ice cream, and headed back to Treks. Settled in and relaxed. The best thing about backpackers is that there are usually hot women around, and they're foriegners who actually backpack through New Zealand. Slept to recuperate for tommorows activities.
Had to check out at 10.30 so everyone got ready. After checking out, headed straight to the Zorb place. Imran and Nana zorbed. It looks fun, but I was saving my money for something else that day. After they Zorbed, we headed back to town and snapped our last picture in Rotorua
On the road again, for 1 and a half hours, back to Taupo. I think it was me who suggested it, Imran obliged, and Iylia was threatened when Nana said who did not go through with it was a chicken and a girl. What is this feat we are doing. Bungy people. Yes bungy. Jumping off the edge and free falling 154 ft down the face of a cliff, dipped half way into the Wanganui river below. After parking, we went near the edge to see how far was the drop. I must admit, I had second thoughts about this despite being the hero who wanted to do this in the first place. The three of us looked at each other faces unsure, and heard another guy jump, scream echoing all around. Then I psyched myself and the guys up and proceeded to the office. Paid the guy, and braced ourselves.
The three of us walked towards the jumping platform, and I went through the barrier first. Then the guy closed the barrier. Told me to sit down and he proceeded by setting up the bungy cords. I think what happens next should be interpreted with a video
Wohoooo!...yes that was liberating stuff people. I highly recommend bungy jumping. Makes you feel alive. Hahha...
After the jump, settled down, and on the road again. Stopped at a Subway for dinner, and drove non-stop back to Palmy. Great Trip.
6. Classes started, and assignments are due within these 2 weeks. 2 tests coming up.
And thats it for now. Will update when anything exciting happens.
So, since the last post
1. Dato' Seri Ong Ka ting visited Palmy. Our Housing and Development minister is in Pamy for a conference, and has taken time to meet with the Malaysian students. Held the meeting at his hotel Rydges, and talked about his visit, and other stuff in an informal fashion. Very nice guy.
2. I am now the member of Massey Masochists Social Soccer team. I have no idea what Masochists meant, and after I searched the dictionary, the meaning made me laugh. It kind of means "like to dish out pain and punishment" which is okay, if we actually do that to the other team. Instead the other team always trashes us. But, am glad to have the weekly training and match.
3. Classes have started and ended for Easter Break + Mid Semester break. Classes are fine I suppose, with my Business Law subject being the least favourite, not because of the subject itself but more to the draggy nature of the lectures. Two assignments have been submitted and have been marked an collected, and both I must say, I got better marks than expected. Hurrah for me. One test done, and that as well went well despite the late, late revision.
4. We have 2 weeks of Easter Break holidays. The first week was spent by playing football in the hallways of Walter Dyer Hall. As only a handful of people staying in the halls during easter, no one to complain.
5. The monday of the second week of Easter Holidays, Me, Iylia, Imran and Nana headed off on a road trip to Rotorua. We departed from Palmy at around 9 AM and spent three and half hours on the road to reach Taupo. The bread and butter of this country, thier scenic views, did not dissapoint. Rolling hills, snow topped mountains, farmlands, huge lakes that look like the sea but is not. Yeah, definitely beautiful. So reached Taupo for a Loo stop. They had a public restroom called Super Loo. They had a reception area, and to enter the toilet, you need to put in coins and go through a turnstyle thing, the one they have at the entrance of amusement park rides. And yes, the toilet was clean.
Continued one and a half hours on the road to reach Rotorua. Upon arrival, we headed for Rotorua's i-Site. Each town/city in New Zealand has an i-Site. An i-site is the place where people go to find info on the town/city, the attractions and accomodation options. You can book, and pay for accomodation at the i-site, which I think is very effecient. We booked the accomodation, and paid for the Sky Gondola ride up as well as the luge which I will explain in a bit.
Left the i-site, and headed for our accomodation. We chose a backpackers called Treks Backpackers. Here, there are backpackers, motor lodges, motels, and hotels. So yes, backpackers are usually the cheapest. Its like a dorm like accomodation where there are common rooms, and communal bathrooms. It sounds dodgy, but the one we picked was really nice. We settled payment, and dumped our stuff and off to the sky gondola.
The Sky Gondola Station was 15 minutes from our backpackers. Reached there and proceeded to line up to board the gondola. Usually, upon stepping inside the gondola, a photographer would snap a group photo and you will have an option to purchase the pictures when you get back down. In our case, and only us, when we stepped in the gondola, a member of thier staff hitched a ride, and because of that, we did not get our picture taken which was quite frustrating. Therefore, we also did not snap pictures on the way up due the awkwardness of us + the staff.
We reached the top and made our way towards the luge. A luge is a go kart sized contraption, where it uses the downhill slope to move.
So as you can see, to luge, we have to control the handle bars so that you don't pull it all the way back, or let go. Pulling it all the way back will cause it to stop, and letting go of the handle bars would cause it to stop. Basically its maintaining the handle bars in a middle position. I'm not actually one to explain, as I got trashed by them when we raced down, 3rd twice and dead last three times. When we get to the bottom, we ride the chairlift back up to the starting position..
Towards the end of the 4th luge, It rained so, the last race was a wet race, which was fun but also made the luge faster and control of it less. I crashed on the barrier near the end but it was all good. No injuries.
We headed back down with the gondola, this time it was just us and snapped pictures
Reached the bottom, and headed straight for the car. We went looking for the Agrodome, which was a place with more attractions. One of them was the Zorb, which if you don't know is the big plastic ball rolling down the hill. Nana wanted to zorb, so we rushed to find the place as it was already 5 and there was a possibility it was already closed. And it was. When we arrived, the guy said the current ball rolling down was the last ride. So, we headed back towards town.
On the way back, about 5 minutes before reaching our backpackers, we stopped at the thermal park. Thermal pools are all over Rotorua. We learned this in geography, Datin Josephine pernah ajar. The thermal pools smells like fart. Its the sulfur. Anyone in Pn.Rogayah's chem class would know the smell. If i'm wrong and its not sulfur, I actually barely passed chem in school, so forgive me...
Headed back to the backpackers to relax and get ready for dinner. Showered and put jeans in dryer as each of us brought only one pair of pants. Waited for pants to dry, and headed off into town to get food. All of us agreed on Pizza. After Pizza, we cruised around town, stopped at Pak n Save for ice cream, and headed back to Treks. Settled in and relaxed. The best thing about backpackers is that there are usually hot women around, and they're foriegners who actually backpack through New Zealand. Slept to recuperate for tommorows activities.
Had to check out at 10.30 so everyone got ready. After checking out, headed straight to the Zorb place. Imran and Nana zorbed. It looks fun, but I was saving my money for something else that day. After they Zorbed, we headed back to town and snapped our last picture in Rotorua
On the road again, for 1 and a half hours, back to Taupo. I think it was me who suggested it, Imran obliged, and Iylia was threatened when Nana said who did not go through with it was a chicken and a girl. What is this feat we are doing. Bungy people. Yes bungy. Jumping off the edge and free falling 154 ft down the face of a cliff, dipped half way into the Wanganui river below. After parking, we went near the edge to see how far was the drop. I must admit, I had second thoughts about this despite being the hero who wanted to do this in the first place. The three of us looked at each other faces unsure, and heard another guy jump, scream echoing all around. Then I psyched myself and the guys up and proceeded to the office. Paid the guy, and braced ourselves.
The three of us walked towards the jumping platform, and I went through the barrier first. Then the guy closed the barrier. Told me to sit down and he proceeded by setting up the bungy cords. I think what happens next should be interpreted with a video
Wohoooo!...yes that was liberating stuff people. I highly recommend bungy jumping. Makes you feel alive. Hahha...
After the jump, settled down, and on the road again. Stopped at a Subway for dinner, and drove non-stop back to Palmy. Great Trip.
6. Classes started, and assignments are due within these 2 weeks. 2 tests coming up.
And thats it for now. Will update when anything exciting happens.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Tremors from Sumatra
This update comes after 2 weeks after the last. Over the weeks, the events worth mentioning are
1. The day I played senior and greeted the new Malaysian students to Massey University as if i've been here more than 3 days. Macam bagus jer...hehe
2. The trip to Wellington, which took one and a half hours from Palmerston North. Went to the Student attache's house first to meet her, and other new students this year. Proceeded to the city which I have to say, is more happening than Palmerston North. Beautiful waterfronts, high rises, and San Francisco type streets. Memang bandar habesh ah...
3. The trip back from Wellington, I had to drive. The trip to Wellington we had three cars, but the trip back, the car of the ambassador was not making the trip back. So we had to rent an extra car. On the 4th day in New Zealand, I drove long distance.
4. The Hall meeting was held in Monroe Dining Hall, which is approximately 50 steps from my hall. Had some activities including a general knnowledge quiz. Yeah, general knowledge my ass. To answer the questions, you had to be
5. The clubs and socs day. Lots of tables set up on the main concourse, where all the Uni clubs promote thier clubs and activities. I first went straight for MUMSA, the Massey University Malaysian Students Association. Met up with familiar faces, and even helped them sign up a couple of newbies. Non-Malaysians signed up as well, which was funny to me, coz I knew the main agenda of the club, which was to recognise the Malaysian contingent at Massey. Also signed up for the Massey Soccer Club. Thinking of trying out for the team, but gotta go to town and find some cheap boots first.
6. Signing up for the gym. The recreation centre offers gym services. It's 70 NZD for the whole year, which was really a bargain, because I paid that amount monthly when I went to Fitness First.
7. Crazy Sports day. The battle of the Halls. Despite having the biggest hall this year, only a handful of the "Walter Dyer Warriors" went down to the Oval that day. We came down that hill, and saw that we were really unprepared. Other halls had face paint, whistles , hats etc...and they had already thought up thier cool chants before hand, while we the Warriors, just had our banner. We won the first game, and lost the second, and drew the third. The fourth was the most fun. The slippery slide. They layed plastic covering on the side of the hill, watered and soaped it, and presto, they had a slippery slide. The objective was, that one team had to run up the hill with a cup, fill it with water, and slide down to fill the water in the bucket...while the opposing team, had to throw sponges at the runner to make him fall, or make him drop the cup. We won beacuse the other team cheated. But the best part was when everybody jumped on the slide, 20-30 people sliding round. Mucho Fun...
Then we had the chant and danceoff which was fun. Ours wasn't the worst, but the eventual winners were really good.
And the latest event worth mentioning, I experienced my first earthquake ever. The day before, my sister and brother had infomed me that they felt a eatrhquake back home. Nothing major, but they still felt it. They said sumatera suffered a new eartquake. Anyways, I was sitting in my room watching a movie, with my headphones on. Suddenly I felt my chair move. I immediately turned round to expect Iylia shaking my chair. But no one was there, and I remembered the eartquake in Sumatera, and concluded it was an eartquake I was experiencing. I verified it when I immediately buzzed a friend here in the Uni, and he said he felt the tremors too. Good thing, because, I thought I was getting a major headache or something.
So yeah, A brief summary of the last 2 weeks here in Palmy.
Oh yeah, classes have started too...hehe
1. The day I played senior and greeted the new Malaysian students to Massey University as if i've been here more than 3 days. Macam bagus jer...hehe
2. The trip to Wellington, which took one and a half hours from Palmerston North. Went to the Student attache's house first to meet her, and other new students this year. Proceeded to the city which I have to say, is more happening than Palmerston North. Beautiful waterfronts, high rises, and San Francisco type streets. Memang bandar habesh ah...
3. The trip back from Wellington, I had to drive. The trip to Wellington we had three cars, but the trip back, the car of the ambassador was not making the trip back. So we had to rent an extra car. On the 4th day in New Zealand, I drove long distance.
4. The Hall meeting was held in Monroe Dining Hall, which is approximately 50 steps from my hall. Had some activities including a general knnowledge quiz. Yeah, general knowledge my ass. To answer the questions, you had to be
- a kiwi
- rugby fan
- an american
5. The clubs and socs day. Lots of tables set up on the main concourse, where all the Uni clubs promote thier clubs and activities. I first went straight for MUMSA, the Massey University Malaysian Students Association. Met up with familiar faces, and even helped them sign up a couple of newbies. Non-Malaysians signed up as well, which was funny to me, coz I knew the main agenda of the club, which was to recognise the Malaysian contingent at Massey. Also signed up for the Massey Soccer Club. Thinking of trying out for the team, but gotta go to town and find some cheap boots first.
6. Signing up for the gym. The recreation centre offers gym services. It's 70 NZD for the whole year, which was really a bargain, because I paid that amount monthly when I went to Fitness First.
7. Crazy Sports day. The battle of the Halls. Despite having the biggest hall this year, only a handful of the "Walter Dyer Warriors" went down to the Oval that day. We came down that hill, and saw that we were really unprepared. Other halls had face paint, whistles , hats etc...and they had already thought up thier cool chants before hand, while we the Warriors, just had our banner. We won the first game, and lost the second, and drew the third. The fourth was the most fun. The slippery slide. They layed plastic covering on the side of the hill, watered and soaped it, and presto, they had a slippery slide. The objective was, that one team had to run up the hill with a cup, fill it with water, and slide down to fill the water in the bucket...while the opposing team, had to throw sponges at the runner to make him fall, or make him drop the cup. We won beacuse the other team cheated. But the best part was when everybody jumped on the slide, 20-30 people sliding round. Mucho Fun...
Then we had the chant and danceoff which was fun. Ours wasn't the worst, but the eventual winners were really good.
And the latest event worth mentioning, I experienced my first earthquake ever. The day before, my sister and brother had infomed me that they felt a eatrhquake back home. Nothing major, but they still felt it. They said sumatera suffered a new eartquake. Anyways, I was sitting in my room watching a movie, with my headphones on. Suddenly I felt my chair move. I immediately turned round to expect Iylia shaking my chair. But no one was there, and I remembered the eartquake in Sumatera, and concluded it was an eartquake I was experiencing. I verified it when I immediately buzzed a friend here in the Uni, and he said he felt the tremors too. Good thing, because, I thought I was getting a major headache or something.
So yeah, A brief summary of the last 2 weeks here in Palmy.
Oh yeah, classes have started too...hehe
Thursday, February 22, 2007
The Arrival
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, on the 15th of February 2007, Shah Baharuddin has officially touched down at Auckland International Airport. The captain of the flight, gives us the standard info, local time and temperature, which was 21 degrees celcius. In my head, that was quite hot, but then again, it was still summer in New Zealand.
When we got off the plane, we went straight towards immigration, for which already had a long queue. Standing in line, I looked around, and saw a handful of Malaysians queuing up as well. I shared this info with Iylia, who told me, none of them are going to Palmy (short for Palmerston North), which is kind of a good thing as it gives me more reason to mix with students other than Malaysians. So we got pass the immigration officer, who I have to tell you, would not cut it if he was working in another country as an immigration officer, because, he was too polite and nice, all the officers were. I can definitely say, that friendliness really comes naturally to them. Waited at the baggage claim to obviously claim our bags. We needed to be quick, and get to the Domestic terminal, as our flight was only 2 hours away. Got our bags, and went through the "nothing to declare" lane. So far so good.
Got to the domestic flight in time, and checked in our bags again for the trip to palmy. Our aircraft this time was a small airplane, of maybe 25 passengers, but nonetheless, the flight was smooth. The stewerdess didn't look have bad as well.
Arrived in Palmerston North Airport at 5.00 PM. When we entered the airport, our transport was already there. They were Ezim (Iylia's cousin) and Caroline, (Iylia's friend). We got our bags, and got into the car. When we left the airport, I had my own perceptions of what Palmerston North would look like. The three of them, sarcastically implied how boring the place is. To me, Palmy surpassed my expectations. I honestly thought that Palmy was a "pekan Koboi" and there were only 2 places to shop for everything. When they drove me around (yes it was a short drive round) I saw supermarkets, loads of different restaurants, shopping complexes, McDonalds, Burger King.....in short I honestly didn't expect much.
So we arrived in Massey University, which was 5 minutes drive from town. First impression was that I liked it. It felt right to me, the trees and buildings. Alhamdullillah, finally I get to experience a real university campus. We drove on, to the hall I would be staying in. Its called Walter Dyer Hall, which was just up the hill from the main campus. I used the electronic device for releasing the lock on the main door of the Hall for the first time, my thoughts at that point were "Giler Cool Sial !!". I climed the the stairs to the first floor, and searched for my room number. 1.11 was the second last room at the end of the hall. I put the keys in, and unlocked the door. Went in, and there it was. My room for the next year. It was an alright room. It's almost like my room at home, except without attaching toilet, so I was comfortable enough. Dumped the bags, and left for town to get Dinner. After Dinner, went walking a bit, into Downtown, which was what Ezim says the "OU" of Palmy. Hahah. The cinema was there, so definitely a future hangout place. Went to pack n save after that, which was one of the lowest priced supermarkets. Bought bread and nutellla for breakfast. Off to the hall again, and settled in for the night.
When we got off the plane, we went straight towards immigration, for which already had a long queue. Standing in line, I looked around, and saw a handful of Malaysians queuing up as well. I shared this info with Iylia, who told me, none of them are going to Palmy (short for Palmerston North), which is kind of a good thing as it gives me more reason to mix with students other than Malaysians. So we got pass the immigration officer, who I have to tell you, would not cut it if he was working in another country as an immigration officer, because, he was too polite and nice, all the officers were. I can definitely say, that friendliness really comes naturally to them. Waited at the baggage claim to obviously claim our bags. We needed to be quick, and get to the Domestic terminal, as our flight was only 2 hours away. Got our bags, and went through the "nothing to declare" lane. So far so good.
Got to the domestic flight in time, and checked in our bags again for the trip to palmy. Our aircraft this time was a small airplane, of maybe 25 passengers, but nonetheless, the flight was smooth. The stewerdess didn't look have bad as well.
Arrived in Palmerston North Airport at 5.00 PM. When we entered the airport, our transport was already there. They were Ezim (Iylia's cousin) and Caroline, (Iylia's friend). We got our bags, and got into the car. When we left the airport, I had my own perceptions of what Palmerston North would look like. The three of them, sarcastically implied how boring the place is. To me, Palmy surpassed my expectations. I honestly thought that Palmy was a "pekan Koboi" and there were only 2 places to shop for everything. When they drove me around (yes it was a short drive round) I saw supermarkets, loads of different restaurants, shopping complexes, McDonalds, Burger King.....in short I honestly didn't expect much.
So we arrived in Massey University, which was 5 minutes drive from town. First impression was that I liked it. It felt right to me, the trees and buildings. Alhamdullillah, finally I get to experience a real university campus. We drove on, to the hall I would be staying in. Its called Walter Dyer Hall, which was just up the hill from the main campus. I used the electronic device for releasing the lock on the main door of the Hall for the first time, my thoughts at that point were "Giler Cool Sial !!". I climed the the stairs to the first floor, and searched for my room number. 1.11 was the second last room at the end of the hall. I put the keys in, and unlocked the door. Went in, and there it was. My room for the next year. It was an alright room. It's almost like my room at home, except without attaching toilet, so I was comfortable enough. Dumped the bags, and left for town to get Dinner. After Dinner, went walking a bit, into Downtown, which was what Ezim says the "OU" of Palmy. Hahah. The cinema was there, so definitely a future hangout place. Went to pack n save after that, which was one of the lowest priced supermarkets. Bought bread and nutellla for breakfast. Off to the hall again, and settled in for the night.
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