I Miss You, SoHo

They don't call it Crossroads of the World for nothing.

Observers on Rockefeller Center's Top of the Rock, sunset December 29. Notice the crescent near the spire second from right -- a new moon for a new year.

New York has SoHo, where you can shop till you drop (quite literally), alongside NoHo, NoLIta and TriBeCa. Fifth Avenue is somewhat overrated though it is fun to stroll along, however with the holiday crowd things aren't so smooth. Whatever it is, this is the place to shop (much to my parents' dismay) where bargains reside side by side with pretty much everything snuggled in one tiny island -- it's better than London!

A shopper passes by one of the shops by a street in SoHo, December 28. More and more shops are opening in the increasingly trendy Downtown areas, leaving out the department stores of Midtown to the mainstream shoppers.

I'm sorry for the gap in between updates. All photos in DC are already uploaded into Flickr, a rare self-efficiency if you know me well. New York photos have to wait because both of my computers are lacking space (sigh), and I'm getting another (yes, the current one's full too) external hard disk for the mean while.

I'm planning to not to write any so-called review about the year. I've been searching for words, yet all I got was 'exciting'. Quite a cliche, eh? I might say 2008 was revolutionary, ground-breaking to the least, but that would sound like a TIME or Newsweek review.

But I can't help but to recall. I loved 2008. I don't care (in a diplomatic way) if you don't. At this point, at this eve of another new year, all I want to do is to breathe a sigh of relief -- not really a satisfactory one, though -- for a year is finally coming to an end. With that, a sigh of anxiety too, for another year is lying out for us to go through.

I had a lovely moon sighting -- a Muharram moon, that is -- at the top of the Rockefeller Centre, and the view was spectacularly lovely. Happy New Year too, a Hijrah one, at that. People tend to forget it amidst all the holiday frenzies -- Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa. Well, what a way to finish a trip -- the world's greatest city spread before you like stars twinkling in the sky, set against a majestic orange canvas of many hues.

It gave birth to skyscrapers, and after all these years of outside competition from cities like Hong Kong and Dubai, Manhattan is still pulling it off. The city that never sleeps falls into darkness -- not really, though -- December 29.

New York charms stole my love. And I'm home -- surprise, yes -- ushering into 2009 in a place greater than the greatest city in the world: Malaysia.

Posted in Shah Alam. Just arrived this morning, my flight deliberately forwarded three days earlier as I preferred to be in KL for NYE. And for some other reasons too, of course. SoHo, in New York, stands for South of Houston St., while NoHo is for the northern side of the street. NoLIta stands for North of Little Italy, while TriBeCa stands for Triangle Below Canal St., in which all of these places are tucked side by side in NY's Downtown. I don't know what Malaysian Soho, Tribeca imports stand for...

A Night in New York

Making our way in Manhattan.

New York is cold, cold, cold and cold. It's 8 below zero Celcius now outside but no snow, only leftovers on the rooftops and sidewalks from last Friday's snowstorm. Despite the extreme chill, the grandeur of the city is still invigorating, the holiday lights and colours adding up to the already vibrant picture. I understand now why they're so proud of this city, it's because the city itself is boastful of itself, it possesses its own character.

Despite the briskly weather last night we went to Rockefeller Center, which was charming, but the images of it are rather oversized from its original size. It's something you'll notice in New York, that even something small tends to look big. And navigating around is easy, thanks to the excellent urban planning -- you don't really need maps to guide you around.

We tried the famous yellow cab upon our arrival at Penn Station, in which the driver seemed to have summed up everything along the way of making it to our hotel -- he looked as if he just passed by everything by accident; the Times Square, the New York Public Library (best noticed in The Day After Tomorrow), the Grand Central Terminal (best noticed in Madagascar), the Empire State Building, the Chrysler building, and even the U.N (best noticed in world-standard arguments).

Our hotel is a bargain! The interior's excellent, we got a room that's conveniently near to the bathroom, a TV for each bunk, an iPod deck, and the best of all -- a breath-taking rooftop view, all these with a surpisingly cheap price for a hotel tucked in the middle of Manhattan. But the hotel's price is understandably (and sadly) increasing as it gets nearer to the New Year, so we're planning to hit Ariff's friend's place in Jersey when we get back to New York after we go to Washington today.

I just don't agree with the weather much. Winter here is different from what you'll get in Europe or Australia, it's mentally freezing you. It's like you trying to sip an ice blended drink quickly, and a very quick one at that, so basically that's how you'd feel when you walk around at night with the uninvited winter wind blowing around you.

I want snow, but warmer weather. Can I?

Posted in New York City. PHOTO Midtown's skyline from Pod's rooftop, morning December 23 2008. For more pictures, see Ariff's Facebook album here. The next time you come to New York, sleep here! Unless you have so much money to waste at Warldorf-Astoria...

Destination: The Big Apple

Off to the States!

A flight from KL to New York would mean 20 hours or more sitting in a plane. Imagine being at the same spot for a day -- I can't even think of doing that at home or my room -- it's insane. I'll transit at Sweden before moving on crossing the Atlantic to New York's Newark, where Ariff will be waiting at the airport. We'll spend a night in Manhattan before heading down to Washington, D.C the next day, where we'll be staying at his cousin's place together with Ariff's other friend from Arizona who will also be joining us for Christmas.

I'm fully relying on Ariff to control me around during Boxing Day. And for those whom I had the chance of meeting for the last time in 2008 in KL, thank you for the great time. And for those whom I haven't had any chance of meeting last weekend, well, Happy Holidays and have a very happy New Year!

For everything else, there's Flickr.

Moving On... to the Seventh!

Despite having the lowest attendance ever (as lots are currently studying or on vacation overseas), we still rocked!

Six successful installations! See you in 7athering Seven next year, ...in June before everybody that will fly.. flies? Shazwan has booked himself to be the host, so book your flights, don't go into any vacations and join us again! For full set of pictures captured last night, click here. For the Facebook album, click here.

Congratulations on the exam results, people! So who's up for some pre-holiday shopping? p/s: Blogs and photography should be left out in the tiring, never-ending, unproductive discussions of what's indie/hipster and what's not. Seriously.

The Gathering Is Back!

Liyana's, Atiza's, Haziq's, Aqeela's, Haziq's and this year, it's back at Liyana's.

Click on the flyer to enlarge it, or get it in various sizes here! Or here for the Bahasa Melayu version. Feel free to put it up in your websites and blogs, and be sure to anticipate and participate -- this Friday!

*UPDATE* Aqeela insists that everybody wears semi-formal. So you better cope up with her demands or else. Tasks are already divided, so if you are not asked to do anything you might want to prepare some cash to pay the claims.

If you're in the overseas, WE'LL GET ONLINE WITH YOU provided that you turn on your Skype (http://skype.com/intl/en/), YM or MSN in between 8:30PM and 12 midnight (GMT+8) MALAYSIAN STANDARD TIME. That would be

• GMT+0,12.30PM til 4PM in LONDON: Nazreen.
• GMT+1,1:30PM til 5 in PARIS: Zainal and Zikri.
• GMT+3 3:30PM til 7 in MOSCOW and NIZNIY NOVGOROD: Sarah and Azli.
• GMT+4 4:30PM til 8 in DUBAI: Izwan.
• GMT+11 11:30PM til 3AM Dec, 20 in SYDNEY: Shazwan.

For everybody else, we'll see you there at Liyana's!

Medan and Beyond

Tales of a city so near but constantly avoided.

Our routes

MEDAN IS ONE of those places that will give you surprises that you won't expect it will surprise you in the first place (other places would include Adelaide, Melaka and Wangsa Maju). You'll be surprised on how your friend is surviving the city -- alive. You'll be surprised on how good the food are, though you have been forewarned of mencrit, local for diarrhea. You'll be surprised on how secretive some things are, the hidden gems that are actually underrated. We came to Medan with very low hopes, and the moment we're checking in our kek lapis on board our flight back to KL, we were actually pleased.

An airport officer walks near LCC's International terminal

I don't worship Tony Fernandez and AirAsia like most Malaysians do. So I see many bad things in their way of handling flights, which may seem to be biased in a point of view (with me being traditionally Malaysia Airlines). But seriously, LCCT is a hassle. Check in counters all shuffled, with security being very low and careless (but fast). And all that small space for a very big crowd, packed with the crowd you usually see at LRT and Komuter stations -- lining up at first and then losing their mind next when the door opens. Only that it's an airport.

A few confusing entry forms and a late 1901 Hot Dog later, we reached Medan. Medan is reachably quick, quicker than Langkawi by flight and for clarity's sake, driving up to Perak. Uzair brought us around his area with this becak -- a modified trishaw, attached to a motorcycle -- and eventually taught us how to ride it (in which we faithfully practice it later in our stay). A ride would minimally cost us Rp3000 (that's around RM1) but usually we're charged over Rp10,000 due to our long distances. Whatever it is, ask and deal first!

This is lele Penyet and the one near Haziq is ayam penyet. Both, as the names suggest and as far as I concerned, are compressed. While I definitely still find no understanding of why these things are compressed first, I think that would contribute to the crispy factor. That, added with a super hot sambal on top of them would send you crying (literally) with joy. Their penyets are lot tastier and of course, cheapier, than those in The Curve (and SS15, I heard) penyets, so hands down -- this one's a winner!

This bapak-bapak are hanging along Jl. Dr. Mansyur, a main road where Uzair, Shwada and Hanisah's university is located, the Universitas Sumatera Utara or USU (pronounced ooh-soo). Malaysian students have made a sizable community here, and their presence in the area practically brought billions of rupiahs to the locals. I mean, that's quite a lot. Quite unquestionable restaurants and cafes are sprouting along the road, plus they're safe and clean and again, the food's good.

Vehicles pass through the main thoroughfare in front of Medan's Mesjid Raya. Islam is prominent in Medan -- depending on how the way you see it. Mosques and churches roam side by side just like how an halal eaterie is sitting next to a babi panggang stall operated by the Bataks. People practically live in harmony, with each and every communities alive and free to make their faith to the public, banners everywhere expressed this -- whether it's a plead for Idul Adha prayers attendance, or just another mass for this year's Hari Natal.

A long-closed shop in Medan's main road Jl. Merdeka (located at the nearby Merdeka Walk). Medan was reputed to have derived its name from 'Madinah'. Today it's the biggest city on the island of Sumatra (which is a big island itself) and is home to more than 2 million people -- a population bigger than KL itself. After Jakarta and Surabaya, Medan is Indonesia's third largest city, fast catching up with urban problems like rampant overpopulation, pollution and sanity concerns, traffic congestion and unplanned development.

Lele bakar

Anyway, when I say food is cheap and delicious in Medan...

Ifumee Goreng

Dim sum at Merdeka Walk

Sosro, bottled tea

nasi Minang at Simpang Tiga

...they really, really are! However food-hunting in Medan falls to great common sense and precautions, which would include a friend's advice. Even the medical students here can't stand the notorious diarrhea, and the torturous long hours in the kamar kecil if they've picked the wrong makan place. Search, choose and eat wisely and if you must follow the lead. A friend's recommendation is the best -- believe me, they know. If they're truly your friend, they don't lead you to have nasty things which will end you rushing for the toilet -- just like the Uzair and his housemates when they had that wrong teh tarik.

We're safe anyhow. Whatever it is, consider having vast amounts of nasi Minang and nasi Padang while you're in Medan, alongside nasi uduk, bakso, and other food which are well-prepared. The lele bakar in front of Uzair's university (pictured, top) is simply one of the best on Earth. Ifumee goreng (below it) makes a great supper, something cuddly tucked in between kuey teow, mee and bihun goreng that makes you want to lick the plates and the chopsticks. Medan has its amount of deliciously-prepared dim sums (also pictured), though a bit pricey. A durian pancake even cost Rp20,000, beautifully crafted into soft bun-looking slices but tastes just like, well, a regular durian.

Night falls in central Medan.

If you listened to your mothers -- Edzmir's and mine, that is -- they might want you to bring back some kek lapis from Medan. While we find this quite funny, it's actually serious business. Hardcore Malaysian kek lapis fans really bought a lot of it, and I mean a lot, from what we have seen at the airport. This kek lapis -- layered cake -- known affectionately as bika Ambon, comes with lots of flavours and one of the many bakeries in Medan, Zulaikha, is a big hit. We tasted it only when we got back to KL. It was good. We only brought back three. One for each. Well...

We actually panicked when we thought we're not going to survive another two days in Medan. Driven by a taxi driver who sent us to Uzair's hours upon our arrival who said that 'kalau di Medan ngga lengkap kalau tidak ke Danau Toba," Edzmir and Haziq insisted that we should go there and experience it ourself. Even Uzair himself hasn't been there. I didn't agree at first, until I met Shwada and Hanisah.

Thanks to their help, we got ourselves a supir. And to Danau Toba we go.

To be continued. LAST PHOTO Walking along Jl. Kemuning in
Taman Setia Indah Budi I, Uzair's neighborhood.
Other photos are uploaded in Facebook in

Medan & North Sumatra 2008 Album One, Two, Three and Four. No edits.
(c) Syukrishairi Medan 2008.

Opened Gates

One step further in Obamaland.

I HAVE ALWAYS been avoiding the United States in my list. For me -- personally -- it was distant, sordid and rough, plus entering the country demands too much hassle. I thought I might have been turned down, as the visa guy I'm being interviewed to seemed hard to crack -- he turned down few applicants before me without not much mercy. In the end it all became down to just a chat -- a jovial one, that is -- about the places I've been to, what I do here, and what I'll do there.

"So this friend, is it your girlfriend?" He asked, nonchalantly. I didn't even get to see his name tag.

"Er..., he's a boy?" I think I raised a brow.
"Ah, a guy-friend. So where is he studying?"
"Le--Lehigh University. It's in Pennsylvania,"
"Okay, so tell me about your friend."
"He's my good friend since Standard Five--"
"--since when?"
"The year 2000. We went to school together"
"So you went to high school, Form One until Form Five together?"
"Yeah." Actually, no. Ariff made a great disappearance for everyone when he went to boarding school in those years, making only a comeback after SPM. But I guess I was so confident it won't matter.

My previous travel records helped a lot, what my father does helped a lot and what I'm majoring in now helped a lot too, and before I knew it every thing's done.

"Well, enjoy visiting your friend in the United States! I guess you'll be having fun driving around,"
I stroked a faint laughter. "No, I guess that's not going to happen,"
"It's already snowing, you'll see snow -- wait -- you've seen snow before right? You've been to Switzerland."

Before I could give an answer he proceeded with later explanations, which include sending the information to Washington, D.C would take some time.

I have expected that. I was late, anyway, for many reasons. Other than that, I passed the interview with flying colours! If I knew it was this smooth I would cancel the earlier plans (which failed, anyway) and would just make a move to this one. I should have listened to Ariff when he said the interview was easy.

So if hopes are held high and things went according to our plans, I will be flying to New York City via Stockholm on December 22, spend a Christmas in D.C, and usher into 2009 at the Times Square. But I better hold the hopes low, for the moment.

I have been forewarned by my travel book that NYE in Times Square is a no go. You know, millions of drunks and winter stark cold. Well, Ariff said its the experience that matters...

Selit-selit

This is what you call sandwiching.

SORRY FOR not updating. I've been quite preoccupied with some stuffs, most of it travel-related while others are simply stuffs you do during holidays. I just renewed my Flickr account yesterday, trying to catch up with Facebook-ish stuffs, giving out photos and Insya Allah the latest of photos will get to you as soon as possible.

Alhamdulillah things are going my way these days, with this and that to be looked forward to, I hope everything will work as planned. What I can reveal here is I'm still up to the idea of getting the blog a new domain (and a new refurbished layout altogether). The blog is in a serious need of touching up and catching up, both in terms of design and content. One of the reason is competence.

In the next few days I can expect myself to be dealing with a lot of papers, forms and bureaucracies. Some stuffs to be looked forward to be owned, too! And a list of friends to be ushered around this holiday season, and what else?

Photos of Medan and the STE Gathering are already put up in Facebook. Full sets will be up in Flickr soon, alongside with procrastinated photos that weren't up since June.

Condolences to the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide victims, the issue is heating up it's starting to be politicised by some parties. It's still not to late to wish you all a Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha. It's a rainy Eid this year, a low-key one too but thankful enough to be celebrated.

Take care, everybody.

Posted in Shah Alam. Happy belated birthday to Uzair and Lala, Happy upcoming birthday to Shwada! *UPDATED* Facebook albums: Medan & North Sumatra 2008 Album One, Two, Three and Four, plus STE 05/06 Gathering 2008 One and Two. You CAN open the albums even if you don't hold a Facebook account.

Medan, It Is

"Jay, sana ada wireless tak?"

"Starbucks ada, McD ada, rmh aku pn ada.tp x byr lg laa.heheh"
"Wowee ada starbucks! Bagus bagus"
"Ada laa.pikir kuno sgt ke -_-"

"Jay, rm**** cukup bukan, 3 hari?'
"Wow! Tu sbulan pn cukup! Xpe, blanja aku skali kay? Hehe.jgn **** rupiah dhla"

YEARS BEFORE TODAY, I only heard of Medan from Mak Cik Ana, who always comes to our house weekly to iron clothes for years now. Medan is her kampung in which she always took a ferry from Penang to reach there. When I was small I first noticed Medan in a map at the back pages of Malaysia Airlines' in flight magazines -- the letters were bolded, indicating that it was an important destination -- then on a signboard by the street showing 'Medan Letak Kereta' in front of Kompleks PKNS.

Other than that, Medan is just another city in Indonesia, that it's on Sumatra, it's big and it rarely has earthquakes. Nothing more. The impression given of the city wasn't of any distinction -- expectedly crowded, congested, unplanned, full of pollution, smog, heavy traffic and funny people.

I still owe Uzair a visit, anyhow. I didn't meet him ever since I went to London in end-June, I missed his send-off meeting-up, and most definitely missed his send-off at the airport. I barely noticed that he was going to leave soon as I was eaten up by work and I wasn't online for quite a while (this was before the ages of portable broadband). Early plans to Medan were made as early as August, but was delayed greatly until November.

Medan was disputed amongst ourselves, of course. Given that Bandung and Bali were much interesting options, some of us withdrew from the plan just because Medan is really out of the question. This is true even to Uzair, but given that the poor guy has his own tight schedule, he can't really fly off to Java just like that -- not now.

So yeah, it's decided. Let's go to that city with a population more than KL itself. As long as I can meet that short guy, seeing him in one piece, I'm more than glad.

"And another thng," he said, "please expect fr the worst, nt the best.okay? Hahaha"

We got you, brother.

Off to Medan tomorrow with Haziq and Edzmir. Mama just sounded me off for not packing yet, as usual. Love you, Ma!

Sensitivity Is Optional

"There is another world, here... in the darkness of our closed eyes" -- Bertha, played by Faridah Merican from the play 'Bottom Top', KLPac.

SEX AND DRUGS are taboo things if to be touched on openly in our society. And so are racial and religious differences issues -- which are frequently, sometimes harshly, dubbed as 'sensitive issues'. The same goes for political ideologies, sexual orientations, freedom of speech, some basic human rights, and many other things you can't really shout out loud. Come to think of it, there are many things that we can't ponder about, our mouths shut up under the name of sensitivity.

We're sensitive all right. So sensitive we can go crazy, too.

Most Malaysians are driven away by these questions simply by being told to go study and work, with some becoming even more blinded simply by being fed scholarships and contracts. To discuss about all things sensitive would equal to being shushed and given weird glances, resulting in many of us plummeting ourselves with unanswered questions and indulging in perplexing solutions, risking ourselves whilst living double lives shrouded with guilt and paranoia.

Maybe a woman giving out free condoms in the streets would spark a little change, but that would rarely happen here. But it's a true scene that has inspired a movie, Life Support (2007) that lingers around Ana Wallace (Queen Latifah) who is an HIV-positive woman struggling to survive her disease while coping to keep her family from falling apart, grasping to regain the custody of her teenage daughter whom she had lost due to drug addiction.

Set in Brooklyn, New York, the movie magnified the social problems that lurked particularly in the black community -- touching smoothly everything from gangsters to poverty. Ana, who is now devoted to an AIDS outreach group by the name of Life Support, got the virus through his husband Slick (Wendell Pierce) while taking up cocaine before they were married.

One of Ana's ways of reaching people, is simply by giving out free condoms while wandering around in the streets of Brooklyn. Ana's daughter, Kelly, is under the care of Ana's mother, Lucille, whom has take extra precautions as to avoid her granddaughter from becoming like Ana.

The story goes as Ana tries to save one of her clients, whom while she struggles with HIV, are suffering from domestic violence -- something she didn't tell Ana until she was murdered by his own husband. Ana came to crossroads when she had to cope with her illness while at the same time she has to grab the chance of persuading her daughter to move in with her, instead of following her grandmother to move to Virginia.

Alarmingly and simultaneously, she also has to save his daughter's gay friend Amare, who is also critically suffering from HIV and, worryingly, ran away and is nowhere to be found.

Less-stereotypically, the movie pokes around the balloons of prejudice and discrimination against people who are infected with HIV, while blowing up the usual questions in life which centered on trust and belief, playing them around the characters we know best that are both ordinary and extraordinary -- family and friends.

Strongly 'Life Support' lifted a pinch of awareness that it is vital for us to wake up and realise that some 'sensitive' issues, if let away and flushed down into the holes of ignorance, can really tear ourselves apart.

Back to our soils, many have tried to stand up and speak up for these issues. Some has succeeded and some definitely has failed. However due to the sensitive-minded people still living out there at large, the efforts and commitments done by far have been clouded by stagnancy. Making things worse, some of these issues has been taken clumsily into the political race as means to secure greed and power than to bring prevention and cure.

However some efforts by some Malaysians, such as the comedy 'Bottom Top' which was on from November 27 until November 30 at the KLPac -- starring Feridah Merican and Mark Beau de Silva and directed by Joe Hasham -- can be considered as a surprising (and hilarious) opening in the local arts scene, if not Malaysian mentality (read here). Another play directed and written by Mark, 'Oh My God!' -- strictly for the open-minded -- will run in KLPac from December 18 till 20, which will also touch on the so-called sensitive issues, something not to be missed.

But things are still not sufficient enough.

This drought full of nonsensical 'sensitivities' has made a lot of Malaysians thirsty in dire of something refreshingly revolutionary. We can still be grateful, however, that we still can bear a bit of our rationalities albeit the wave of craziness over the much taunted sensitivities, and that piece of rationality has helped us redeem our awareness about things that really matter, things that we should really reach out and inject a remedy or two.

Maybe what we really need is some real maturity.

December 1 is World AIDS Day. An exhibition, One Life Revolution is on-going at Berjaya Times Square, organised by World Vision. PHOTO Amare and Ana, Life Support (2007). (Got myself a new tripod!)

Some Things In Life Are So Decisive

It's war zone again in Malaysia, a season to forbid this and that, with rebellions and ravage surface. We'll see how the drama unfold itself.

A few months back, I have got to know this chatty particular girl (no, not the girl above) -- a friend of a friend -- during one of the many Hartamas sessions, whom at that time were so passionate about her newly-drenched yoga class she just registered herself into. She, it seemed, happened to be so clueless during the holidays, and she thought of indulging herself into something new, plus healthy activity. My gullible self thrown away, I was still impressed by her efforts.

Until recently, I discovered that one of my female bestfriends also have taken part in yoga. Another friend, whose family was mildly conservative, caught me by a slight surprise by telling me that his mother too, practiced yoga. I never knew of a male yoga practitioner so far, however my views of yoga being practiced only by the open-minded and the liberal ones are basically proved untrue.

I've no time to label these people as heretics. Nobody did, not until recently. As if people are not preoccupied enough with the economy steering into bumpy rides, we're now served with a new controversial fatwa, issued shortly after a previously controversial one: yoga is haram. While the fatwa is issued at a federal level, it is put on hold in Selangor and Perak, with the Sultan of Selangor wanting the fatwa decision to be consulted first with the Rulers' Conference.

Things are getting hefty.

When the issue was raised nearly a month ago, I actually raised an eyebrow, chuckled. "Yoga? Haram? Pulak!" I said to a friend. Hence when the ban was declared last Sunday, we all knew it was coming along. Still, it left me stirred and intrigued. I personally think that the yoga these people are practicing are of a secular one, nothing religious.

I'm not defending yoga, nor my friends who are into it. There are lots of people already defending it now, including some very daring liberal Muslims who opened up, stood up, and challenged both of the fatwas. I believe I don't have to go against anything, as I think the men in the council, being certified ulamas, would be very well wary of what they are doing with their intelligence.

I'm more interested of what will happen to these fatwas, in the near future.

Chances are, they will be forgotten just like that as things have always do -- a characteristic particularly common in Malaysian media: sensational at first, toned down the second you know it. '[Issues just] swept under the carpet', to quote Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah, the Regent of Perak. Unsolved. That is, until a new controversy is found, to continuously distract us away from what we are supposed to be concerned of -- our quality of living, for example.

Nonetheless, controversial fatwas are not new. Coffee was haram in Islam, as haram as pork and alcohol during the times of the Ottoman Empire. Of course, what is haram and what is halal, if it was not stated in the Qur'an and the hadith, came from fatwas issued by ulamas -- 'the learned ones' whom at that time thought the drinking of coffee would 'dull one's intellect'. The ban of coffee, whom origins of the word found itself in the Arabic 'qahwah' and Turkish 'kahveh', eventually (and obviously) was lifted.

Then there was an interesting fatwa on forbidding smoking. There are many reasons to why smoking is haram to Islam, according to the issuing ulama, one of the reasons was based on a Quran's verse that 'one should not harm oneself', referring to the diseases the habit would bring. The fatwa proved unpopular. Many smokers today insist that smoking is just makruh, a degree where a habit is nowhere sinful or good, but 'God will just dislike what you're doing'.

Perhaps one of the shocking fatwa so far was the banning on TV3's event-carnival SureHeboh (present-day JomHeboh). Though the so-called carnival being lame and constantly filled with boyans, the ban on the event which was issued by the Mufti of Perak caught attentions of many parties. The reason was classic, with the 'casual mingling of members opposite sex' and 'excessive Western hedonistic influence' being the pivotal points.

But here is the most daring ignorance shown by a very big media company to the local ulama institution -- the same thing the people who are so behind the fatwas issued today are against to: they just pretend that there's no fatwa, and they just went on with the show.

So, no yoga?

From what I've carefully read regarding the issue; the opposing and rebellious ones, Muslims, especially -- whom I think are just speaking their mind at the wrong place to the wrong people -- are being counter-attacked, with statements such as "it is what God wants it to be, so be it". Or "Islam said so." And, "yang haram tetap haram!" (all in capital letters). Funnily, none of this were said before the fatwa was issued.

One thing for sure, this habit of forbidding and not explaining is driving many young Malaysian Muslims to be indifferent about their faith. Yes, it is. There's no point of praying for 'our younger generation to be at the right path' every Friday when there are no actual steps done to guide us to the right path. Fatwas cannot solve everything.

Ponder this: so what if she's a lesbian and then you condemn her for being one, issue a fatwa and do nothing else about it? So what if your buddy is flying high every night with his grass, and then you condemn him, pursue somebody to issue a fatwa and in the end do nothing else about it? Many of us youngsters are condemned, shooed away from the center of our faiths into the world of our own, given no clear solutions to our so-called strayed away lives.

In short, we don't need another set of fatwas that are merely fatwas. I don't think that the highest offices of clerics have actually asked the youngsters -- out of their realm of understanding of 'younger generations', that is -- of what they think, what do they see, what do they feel. No, I don't think so.

But a decision's a decision, and somebody, apparently, has been decisive about it. As for the meantime, to those who have chosen yoga out of decency while trying to fulfill the intention of filling the ample time you have, consider something else. Like chess? Oh wait, doesn't chess came from...

Finishing The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini while finding Soraya Yusof Talismail's potraits breath-taking. PHOTO from jason.l.ryan

You Know You're An Architecture Student When... (Season Two)

Curtain is yet to be closing.

Ah, sorry for the recent emotional wreckage. Which, I think, had scared you off a bit. However less things are to be worried now, as we're heading to the final stage of everything -- this Wednesday's final review. Final, if I don't get myself selected for the next week's. After Wednesday, it's off we go -- holidays, freedom, everything.

Part 03 is coming to and end and with that, in continuance with last semester's version, here's another series of 'you know when you're architecture student when...'.

1. you start to use your studio desk as your bed.
   (yes, gives you the pain you really don't want to know)
   
2. You total up three meals of the day to your breakfast.
   (sometimes, much to my dissatisfaction)
   
3. when its time for your birthday, you ask your parents for architecture supplies.
   (er, half of the birthday allowance goes for buying supplies for my final project model)
   
4. you hear the same song on the radio seven or more times in one night.
   (true!)
   
5. You can stay alive without sunlight, communicating with people nor having foods but you would commit suicide if the plotter doesn't plot your work right.
   (instant death! especially in last-minute works)
   
6. you've lost your house key and you realized week later.
   (I've misplaced my laptop at the faculty's parking lot. Didn't realise it until my lecturer gave me a call the next day. Not critical enough?)
   
7. you sleep more than 16 hours at weekends.
   (don't you just love revenge...)
   
8. you dance madly at 3 am when everyone's asleep.
   (things do get out of control sometimes..., we have occasional shows for ourselves really)
   
9. You are an expert and Photoshop, auto cad but you don't know how to use MS excel.
   (never good at it, seriously -- but neither I'm a pro in Photoshop, hehe)
   
10. you spend more time in studio than in your own bed.
    (sad situation, seriously)
    
11. your parents are complaining that you're not having enough fun.
    (oh I find it the other way around -- "you're having too much fun, Syukri!")
    
12. you only leave studio to buy supplies.
    (yes, and we risked ourselves for it! Meals are a good excuse too, anyway)
13. you see showering as a waste of time.
    (sometimes)
    
14. you've ever dreamed about your models
    (sadly I've dreamed about it once. Not a good one, though)
    
15. you always finish your work last minute.
    (absolutely!)
16. you consider using broccoli for your models.
    (I've considered using many things for my models! Onions, included)
    
17. you know all the 24-hour food places in the area.
    (yeah but this area sucks)
    
18. You consider 3AM an early night.
    (yes! especially if its the eve of submission)
    
19. the only building on campus with its lights on is your studios.
    (high-five, kids!)
    
20. you know which pak guard is evil and which one is nice.
    (pain in the ass bastards, always)
    
21. you say "It's only midnight- I have plenty of time to finish."
    (yes, every deadly second matters!)
    
22. you ask what time it is, then ask "AM or PM?"
    (sounds impossible to some, but seriously we've been in this situation -- and it wasn't even funny)
    
23. you slice your finger, and the first thing you think of is if you'll be able to finish your model.
    (very, very true)
    
24. you understand why architects have glasses and white hair.
    (poor fellas...)
    
25. You call some great architects as if they are your friends.
    (yeah that right, Koolhaas?)
    
26. you can listen to all your CD's in one night.
    (YES)
    
27. certain songs remind you of studio.
    (YES -- a lot! Silliest of songs, seriously)
    
28. you dare not to have a girlfriend/boyfriend because no one can accept for what you are.
    (hahaha)
    
29. you can conceptually compose the food on your plate.
    (a freaky thing to do, but I hate my nasi and lauk to be here and there)
    
30. you have to wait for breakfast shops to open.
    (yes, and for the past few days Restoran Taman Maju are mysteriously closed -- why? why???)
    
31. you go to the food shop, and order the "usual", and they understand.
    (yes, yes, yes!)
    
32. you bring your friends to studio to keep you company.
    (aww)
    
33. you refer to outside studio as the "Real World.".
    (a much breathable world, that is)
    
34. you confuse today and tomorrow.
    (YES)
    
35. you tell time by when other people leave studio.
    (YES)
    
36. you hear "Didn't you wear that yesterday?' followed by "and the day before that?".
    (YES)
    
37. you start using words your instructor uses.
    (yeah, but we don't really know what we're saying most of the time)
    
38. your bed has collected a layer of dust on it.
    (YES)
    
39. concept of time is not forward, but a countdown from the time a project is due.
    (absolutely)
    
40. you contemplate dropping your major 3 times a day.
    (YES! haha. But for the mean time, nah...)
    

I'm getting all excited about finishing all these..., and of course anticipating for the upcoming Medan trip and still-under-planning the Christmas trip, of course! Holidays -- lovable!

Posted in Seri Iskandar, while contemplating on whether buying a French phrasebook is necessary.

Will There Be A Halt To This?

In the Name of God, the Loving, the Forgiving.

Whoever saves the life of one human being,

"I've prayed for the wrong person,"
"You did?"
"I thought I could change things..."
"--then?"
"I was wrong."
"What brought you to say that?"
"I don't know. I just don't know..."
"You know...,"
"What?"
"...that God wouldn't change a person, unless that very person changes himself?"
"No. I mean, yes. Damn it. I've prayed for the very wrong person."
"No.., you didn't..."
"--what was I thinking? An asshole, like me, changing another person's life?"
"a special person, that is. Well...at least you've tried."
"What for? Can I at least know what for? Praying for something impossible? I was dumb, I tell you! Stupid! Ignorant! I was blinded..., even in the holiest of Houses!"
"Regret not, fret not. You know...,"
"--damn it"
"...you know, God asks us to not be sad, as He is always with those who are patient..."
"...but patience comes only with His Grace. Now where is it?"
"You'll find it. I mean, aren't we all?"
"I thought I've cared. I thought I've done everything for love. I thought that I can fight the love...,"
"but you can't fight what's already in the Quran..."
"I thought there's a way"
"but I don't think there is.."
"there should be!"
"What for? Which future do you hold in it? That thought? No future! Nothing!"
"Oh, God."
"Have patience. Take this as a test... God tests those whom He loves."
"I've made a mistake. Loving a person who didn't even care to love you back. And to even think of things to change my way--"
"--have patience. Now, pray."

...it shall be as if he had saved the whole of humankind...

Qur'an: 5:32. Posted in where things, maybe unfortunately, have started.

And Another Maghrib Came By

"Truly, those who believe and do good works, the Compassionate will grant them love." -- God

It's a recent world of uncanny tablighs, exaggerated nights and always mind-boggling relationships, alongside unthinkable coincidences and hefty ironies. Questions budded, from inside leaked exam questions to the many tables of Murni, and remained unanswered even if they have entered the sidewalks of Bangsar, remained lingering without confirmed points as I passed through tollgates of highways.

Another shisha puffed. I wondered -- again and again -- how amazing it is, when I got to know more and more about my best friends in my present life, it'll lead me back to my life (read: the people) in the past. I see everything about it as a very psychotic overlapping, a life-changing path-crossing. As I let the waters flow down my head during the long showers, I pondered, lurked. About how different could things be if I haven't been there, chosen that.

From the rainy evenings and late nights at R&Rs, to the comforts of the cool lights of Starbucks and striking Pelita lights, I wondered greatly about how God makes things work in many ways. Cliche? Nah, I don't think so. I sighed that in the end everybody seems to know each other -- for better or worse, they occupy both of my lives -- and I looked at my close friends here in Shah Alam studying at other places, and I funnily asked myself: why didn't this occur to them?

I gave up speeding. I discovered that no points are gained with loud radio volumes with all-the-same songs with insane DJs while speeding with a non-performing national car. Highways, roads, streets and alleys -- along with their names and acronyms -- invade my life as if they're really important as I trot in between cities and neighborhoods. In the drives, there were the same conversations with rarely the life-changing ones together with messages I don't want to reply, and calls I have to repeat my 'hello's coping with my phone that's rotting away.

I feel guilty as I spoke of unfamiliar names. I feel guilty of my wild thoughts about the very person who I'm trying to trust but at times -- many times -- makes me feel washed away like an unwanted piece of laundry. My thoughts are often misplaced like my laptop, cameras, keys and important documents. It makes my mind sore, thinking of things once alien but now commonplace. How they roam my head makes me heal exhausted breaths.

I don't call cigarettes and tobaccos as my friends. I do call my camera a friend, though, I have to send the sick parts of it somewhere. Maybe everybody needs a non-human friend at times, because you don't really have to laugh at them. Humans, on the other hand, I enjoy laughing at. I enjoy laughing or at least smirking cynically jumping to pages and blogs, reading stuffs that people write. Some of them think that I think that they matter in my life. Some of them think that I will feel aggrieved and agitated of what they thought of my life. Some of them think I care about them. Some of them think that I have the time to think that they mattered to me.

No, sayang. You don't matter. I believe in respecting others' thoughts. Sadly, I don't believe in respecting rubbish. No, not anymore.

Nobody is exorbitant when they know what to do in their life. Stop farting in your dreamland, will you? Fart in the real world, where even the smelliest of farts can be the most desirable. It's about taking chances and opportunities to fart. You missed them, you lose and the fart will accumulate in your body, exploding itself in vain. You want that, huh?

Another shisha puffed. Another Maghrib falls. One advice: please realise that we're all leading double lives, just in case you didn't notice that. Some of us pretends to be sober. Some of us pretends to be straight. Some of us pretends to be devout. Some of us pretends to be all-knowing.

Who we are, and what have we become... become yet another set of questions to be asked as I swipe my Touch'n'Go with insufficient amount, hoping for a refreshed balanced the next time I gaze the ATM screen. And there goes another journey.

Truly, those who believe and do good works, the Compassionate will grant them love. And I hope You know that I know, that my love is always unrequited.

Posted in Shah Alam, listening to South Jordan - Fatal Flaw. PHOTO road leading to Parit, Seri Iskandar. October 10, 2008. Qur'an 19:96 excerpt translated by Reza-Shah Kazemi, from My Mercy Encompasses All: The Koran's Teachings on Compassion, Peace and Love. 2007.

Suddenly, America Wakes Up

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." - Martin Luther King Jr. August 28, 1963

I'm quite amazed. The majority of Americans -- the world superpower whom our society loves to shun as 'evil' -- has astonished the globe by voting across racial and ideological lines for hopes of a better future.

What now, Malaysians? Still insisting on playing by the racial cards?

Posted in Shah Alam. PHOTO Barack Hussein Obama, from www.welt.de

Waduh...

The destination is Uzair. The place, well, decide -- fast! Medan? Jakarta? Bandung? or Bali? Haziq!

(Currently failing to subscribe to Dira's 'pemakanan sihat' advice as I'm already scourging through the pasar malam leftovers)

My Work in 50+1

Est arrive!

This picture was taken nearly ten months ago during the eve of last year's Aidiladha. It appeared in the book 50+1 Malaysia thanks to quachee.

I'm so glad to be part of the work, which collects hundreds of very fine captures of Malaysia done by talented ordinary people who are equally fascinated of our country as much as I do. It's an amazing book, my kudos to quachee again for having the diligence to compile such work done just to share and promote Malaysia.

I 'accidentally' bought the book, having not knowing that a copy of the book has already arrived at my house. Thanks to my parents, who were keeping it away. Cheh.

50+1 Malaysia is now available at all major bookstores (as it was published in August). The Flickr set of the photo is here. This is quachee's blog, and this is his homepage.

PHOTO Selangor State Mosque, December 19 2007. No edits. Flickr.com/photos/syukrishairi for more photos.

Our Wheels Are Clamped

Pak guards turning wild.

Some time around this month we were fined by the pak guard because we were wearing slippers into the campus. This happened on a Sunday afternoon, and all four of us were inside my car, returning from doing a site report at our site. Yes, we wore slippers in a construction site and we weren't even scolded. We didn't even have our Green Card yet (anybody related to the building area should know what a Green Card is).

It was a Sunday afternoon. If it was a Monday, we wouldn't call it a scene.

As it was too silly we argued (heavily) about it with the pak guard(s). We're glad we did. The summon went on anyway, but at least we didn't accept it like some unresponsive yes-men. Come on lah wei! Pak guards has never been making such 'significant' presence in my life before. Because they shouldn't! Their powers are getting so overwhelming!

We're becoming non-residents next semester as,
i) Unit Kolej is now asking for pay-slips for college applications,
ii) They're taking away our privilege to drive cars into the campus, unless we're NRs.

As our mobility are limited within the campus anyway, I think we'd fare off better living outside. Even though -- reality check -- Seri Iskandar has nothing.

As they're retracting our vehicle privilege all five of the batch's cars are now officially refugees. Submission seems to be over, but sometimes we still need to go outside to buy supplies and at many times the pak guard are giving us really, really torturous headaches. I'm still at OK level because I still have the old sticker stamped on, but for others who don't have any old stickers their cars can't go out -- what more in. To flee, it's best to exit when it's raining -- though it won't work every time -- or whenever the traffic is heavy, usually during class hours.

I hate that place. If it's not for the people, the studies..., sigh.

Posting from Shah Alam, arrived earlier this evening to pick up some stuffs left at home and escaping the heat. Got to rush for BC this Sunday! PHOTO by zetty yada

Afterparty,

Thank you so much for coming!!!

Recaps

Stutter, stutter, stutter.

My open house will be held on Saturday. I'll be back tomorrow, as I've told my parents I will go back out of confirmation that everything will be done by tomorrow. Unfortunately there will be another re-submission, kononnya giving us the time to touch-up or redo, improve, develop, or anything that we want to do with our design (which was submitted and evaluated today, just now).

I'll take my time.

Anyway, whenever you're in despair, give your parents a call. It's a cool thing to do.

Posted at a CC. Like what the heck, eh? Celcom Broadband's giving me a hard time, really!

Celebrating Submissions

For us, there's no 'study' week.

Final submission has been moved to this Thursday. Tomorrow is Internal Review, maybe, and we might be having some little jamuan for ourselves as tomorrow is also will be the last Studio for the semester. Yesterday we had a plain OK time at the Dinner down at Teluk Batik. However I and the rest of the others are of course doomed because our submission is coinciding with many other submissions from other subjects, not to mention Structure and Construction Technology (and maybe History and Arabic) tests.

Internet connection has been bumpy, so there's no 'A Week in Seri Iskandar' post last week. Sorry for that.

I hope everything can be settled by Friday. CTU Finals on Monday!

Posted while waiting for Jawa to arrive to the studio with my Kinder Bueno. Anyway, have you ever wished that you could never know that particular somebody in the first place? I really do, now.

I Thought Being Nineteen Is Easier

....well, it obviously is not. It would be very stupid for me to think of that way anyway, if I did.

Thank you for those who remembered the day. The wishes were very thoughtful.

My days after being a year older were spent with much model-making and mixing myself up with piles of rubbish, and lamenting about staging a rebellion against the increasing power of the pak guards.

I nearly lost my laptop, anyway. As usual I brought everybody into the trouble of searching. Fortunately things turned up to be, well, not unfortunate.

Submission's on Thursday. Gotta run!

Updated from Jawa's laptop. Jawa is my favourite Javanese.

A Week In Seri Iskandar

Weekly picture series picked randomly from a week's life in Seri Iskandar, updated every Thursday. Starting today.

1. Rows of car lights as traffic jam occurs at the North-South Expressway (south-bound) last Sunday, as the festive revellers are heading back into KL on the last day of a week-long Raya leave.
2. Accumulating Facebook requests, a result of a lazy approver. Just now
3. Kuih keria sold at the campus own Uptown, priced at RM1 for four pieces. Tuesday
4. Attendance sheet as the semester is heading to its two last weeks of study period. Just now
5. Sarawak's kuih lapis, brought by Fiq from her hometown Kuching. Tuesday
6. Excessive numbers of motorcycles parked near Uptown, yesterday. The parking crisis inside the campus is getting worse as numbers of cars multiplied due to non-issuance of the university's car stickers since the beginning of the semester.

I hope the acceptance for my Design idea proposal will continue until the Review. I mean, you can't really assume things with our lecturers. You might find yourself eaten up by the situation if you find yourself flattered easily at an early stage.

Photos captured using K770i. All photos captured between October 5 and October 9, 2008.

It's an Emergency!

*Half* of the assignments done.

No, not a slight sigh of relief. And I'm wondering whether I'm able to finish up my final project before attending this event:

This event deserves compliments even before it's going to take place, because as far as I'm concerned, a historically-based event is such a rare case for us Malaysian youngsters. Well, obviously not anymore. With the rise of guys like Fahmi Reza, Amir Muhammad and the rest of the gang, the hidden side of Malaysian (rich) history, which has for long been biased and one-sided, is on the rise too.

And for you so-called budak indie who are planning to attend (read: ruin) the event just for the sake of being seen -- it's better for you to plan to appreciate the whole thing or you might as well make a move to anywhere else. Of course, for other budak indie who knows what indie actually stands for and aren't actually posers, well, what would the event mean without everybody sharing?

Anyways, good job. I'm 'Maybe Attending'.

Posted while eating Uptown's kuih keria and rushing to class.

The Massacre Has Begun

Because the word 'model' for us is just a big turn-off.

(Read while nodding academically).

I see. So that's why our lecturers are giving us more, more and more work. They must've thought they're making our works (and sufferings) lesser. Unfortunately, things in reality are quite the contrary. In terms of giving out assignments, our lecturers don't really believe in Le Corbusier [correction: it's Ludwig Mies van der Rohe].

(I'm desperately hoping they will in the near future)

We're having multiple submissions that are due two days from now. The post-Raya blues is off and the lecturers have run amok during our Design class this morning, desiring for our assigned tasks to be completed as soon as impossible. Yep, we're doomed.

That's why I have to sign off -- now!

Posted from Seri Iskandar with a growling stomach. p/s: our final project is about building a one man sanctuary. Any ideas out there?

I'm Afraid It's Spring Cleaning Time.

...though it's summer all year here. Heh!

(One day these people will get very organised and irritate us for good with their so-called anti-establishment -- that is, us, bloggers -- sentiments. Nothing significantly related to the content of this post, though.)

I was given a wake up call by Abu during our YM session just now, about how I'm not updating frequently (and how his friend here, among other bloggers too, updates regularly). At the same time I was also reminded about my intentions of getting a new domain for this blog. I've asked a few friends before, but as usual when I'm started to be preoccupied with something else that's more important, the plan will go down to a stall.

I'm afraid that promises to 'refurbish' this blog -- giving the whole thing a new look -- will end up being cakap-cakap kosong. However recently I did came to a realisation that my blog is, well, regressive. I'm still choosing the best options to make this blog more interactive and up to date! Any ideas, kids?

This year saw a notable decline in terms of my numbers of posts. Yeah, duh. I even let the second anniversary of this blog slipped away just like that (OK, not important.. but still). I went through the archives and of course I bumped into certain stuffs that really make me sound silly, alongside with some posts which makes me impressed myself. Good job ey, dude?

Being in a post-Raya and pre-submission mood (which, in my opinion, sparks a spirit of renewal?) I'm giving the site a space for improvement. As nobody else wouldn't. Logical, really. Haih, what the hell am I trying to say? The site is undergoing serious refurbishments. And I'm giving a long timespan on this one, so don't expect the blog to go pink tomorrow.

No, that's not even a slightest hint on what's the blog's going to look like.

It must've been my rigidness that contributes to lesser postings this year. Rigid, because I would spend many hours on a single post, and if you're aware of things each of my recent posts can be quite lengthy. Something I prefer, sometimes. Give 'em long posts and leave the blog for two or three weeks before you post something new again. Which didn't work much for you guys, I guess. I discovered myself that I don't like to read a blog that, well, stalls in terms of updates.

I find photo-less posts to be breathless. So if I write a post without an appropriate photo to go along with it, I find the post to be quite lazy. Too much text, I thought. Then again, sometimes I find it OK (this would happen if I'm not semangat enough to upload pictures and all the mess, or I just don't have the time). Texts are fine enough. However if I don't find any of those mentioned satisfactory, well, make way for procrastination (best example: London trip, amongst many others).

A classic reason would be blaming the Internet lah. But it's true. The wi-fi connections back there is slow. The BlueCube has been much a problem for the past few weeks. And I don't have a BlackBerry (OK, so what's the connection here? Plenty.) Simply said I don't have the liberty to log on from everywhere. Most posts are from home, only some of them are posted elsewhere.

During my free time this cuti, instead of figuring out something for Design (in which I will think of it later, archiheads) I've spent a lot of time hopping around people's blogs. Which are, well, A LOT! My, lots of blogs have sprouted in this country since the last two years, man! I mean imagine clicking to this link that will lead you to another site that has another bunch of links you've never heard of. Do spend a little of your time and you'll find amazing stuffs people nowadays are posting to the net. Anyway, yeah, I'm quite easy to be impressed. But, the amount of blogs are huge!

You can't say it's because of the March 8 Elections, as much of these blogs are not really political. Some are still cute, typing with SMS languages posting all that diary-ish stuffs. Some are already matured even though they're only beginning. Many of them are of the local ones, some of them are from our students studying/working overseas. It's phenomenal. Can anyone go and conduct a survey and find out how many Malaysian blogs are there?

I don't know about you, but blogs actually have brought Malaysians to do something they consider really taboo before. Okay, learning about sex is one of them (but that would be credited to the Internet alone). But most importantly blogs make Malaysians read. From the worst politician's ravages to your ordinary neighbour's daily whinings, you're actually reading -- like it or not. Who says reading is all about reading books? Thanks to blogs, reading is being one of Malaysian's most favourite activity. Thanks to Tun Dr Mahathir's blog -- which reaches 6 million visitors in just five months -- even more Malaysians are starting to read, both in English and BM.

I'm not actually running away from the topic (..yes..trying hard here) but sometimes I feel like I want my blog to be contributive too. It tells stories... it has photos, yes. But at the same time I do want it to be part of the society.

I'll try to update regularly, amidst my upcoming franticness. Anyway, why didn't I go anonymous? Some asked. I blog with an open identity, even about the most sensitive issues, because we all are responsible of what we write, correct? So yeah. I write with responsibility. Freedom of speech is not all about saying what you think but to consider what others are thinking too. I'm not saying I'm all that, but I'm trying to hold on to the phrase.

Got to do the same thing for Flickr too (it's updated now!).

Stay tuned, readers. For this month, this blog is featuring my old friend, Azli, who is updating us from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia with his great reminders for us forgetfuls. Check out NutGraph, a relatively new site with a new breath of excellent updates of Malaysian politics and culture. Anticipate for Revolusi '48, a new documentary from Fahmi Reza -- director of the ground breaking 10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka -- which is to be screened at the Emergency Festival taking place from October 16 until 26 at the Annexe, CM.

Going to hit the roads again, tomorrow. I wonder if the OpsSikap is still on today.

Currently eating: those spicy McDonald's fries. And what's so in with Stephanie Meyer's novels, anyway?