Rumi-dried up!

Entering Day 3.

It's really tiring. Even for me who has the option to go back home for lunch, it's not even soothing. We're expecting no-nonsense competition especially from UTM Skudai, USM and UKM today (Day 3: June 9). UIA and UM were nice, and I personally think that UTM KL's multimedia/montage/short film/which ever you prefer were good last night. However we sure hope that we can outshine them tonight.

So come and join us! Our movie for Rumi 2009, Beyond Eyelids, is premiering tonight at Dewan Seri Budiman, UiTM Shah Alam alongside our campus' performance. The event starts at around 9pm, so as we're lined in the last row our show should be around 10pm above.

I just hope that the judges will get a grip of our message, that's all. Insya Allah.

You'd be very kind if you come. See ya!

Posted in Shah Alam. Rumi 2009 lasts until Thursday morning, June 11 2009. Tomorrow's performance will line up acts from mainly USM, Taylor's, UKM, UTM Skudai, UiTM Shah Alam and UiTM Seri Iskandar.

Hush Now, Rumi Is Here

My own heart is filled with a million wonders.
Beholding this sight,
what madness now keeps me
from becoming totally mad?

-- Jalaluddin ar-Rumi (1203-1273)

Finally, it's here. Students, architects, artists and designers alike will flock to Shah Alam tomorrow for the 21st Architectural Workshop, celebrating all architectural schools in Malaysia and whatever they stand for under the theme Rumi. As for our team, Serangkai, all preparations are now put to its final phase, ready to be wrapped with anxiousness and hope.

Our short film is finally done, Alhamdulillah. I'm not so sure of the screening, in fact perhaps there will be no screenings at all if the organisers aren't concerned enough to show the submissions, but we just hope for the best, insya Allah. I have also submmited a photo for the photography contest, of theme is to interpret a Malay poetry of your own selection.

For everything else it's expected to be an eventful celebration of arts, with a week long of exhibitions, games, installations, performances and all that sort under the name of architecture.

I'm expecting to return to Shah Alam later tonight, insya Allah with some of my friends. The whole team will arrive tomorrow, as will the teams, observers, supporters and such from every known architecture school in Malaysia.

Dance, Rumi. Let the week begins.

Posted in Seri Iskandar. Rumi stands for both the Malay-Roman script used widely today, and the great Sufi poet Mewlana Jalaluddin ar-Rumi, whose poem and philosophy transcends all time and boundaries. www.rumi2009.com

Help Me!

I'm already dead behind schedule!

I was searching for a good video converter for Mac. Mahfuz suggested Xilisoft, in which I purchased but annoyingly the confirmation e-mail takes forever to arrive, and when I tried to troubleshoot the thing the internal server error keeps popping up in the end of the process. When I tried the other options the site insisted that the email I entered for the purchase was wrong, and that my credit card number I inserted didn't match the ones I sent earlier.

Like what the hell, right? Of course I inserted the information correctly!

Can anybody help me? If I don't convert my videos from MPEG to AVI, I can't continue my film editing works for our competition, and apparently there will be a review on Monday.

Help?

Posted in Seri Iskandar. Oh and while you're on it, Windows Live for Mac too?

Officially a Mac user!

After giving that Apple a bite, now what?

I love my new iMac. And I love to hate familiarising with it too. Things are kind of a hassle, anyhow (yeah me, not the Mac). It made me smile for days! (currently entering day two). Can't wait to do movie editing with this thing! Sound system is superb!

But now, sigh, baby steps.

p/s: the blog looks better in Apple!

Posted in Seri Iskandar.

To All, Happy Mother's Day

Do spend some time and watch it!

This is our batch's montage for the semester, meant originally to be screened at Archifest Ajar 2009 in March. However back then the video met with terrible technical difficulties, in which we regret the most. The video successfully premiered at Archidinner: Fusion 2009 in April, much to our relief.

The idea is simple, as 'ajar ' (teach) was the theme for Archifest this semester, I tried to bring everybody back to the beginning, the foundation, to who had taught us in the first place, in our very first moments encountering life. Parents still play a large role in our lives, whether we like it or not, and I tried to place their undeniable presence here in the video.

For everything else, this is our life as architectural students here in Perak. Just a tiny bit of it, though. Yes that's our workplace, our studio, our life. Yes that's Seri Iskandar: the weather, the roads, the houses, the people. We have to handle every piece of it, while facing the other challenges in life: family, friends, relationships, money. But then again I'm trying to not go too far so that everybody other than our realm can identify themselves with the video too.

I personally didn't expect people to cry, while some other went to the extent of wanting to call their parents, and wanting to go home immediately. What I intended was just this: just love your parents. Who ever they are, where ever they are.

For Ayah, Happy Birthday. For Mama, Happy Mother's Day. For everybody else, enjoy.

Posted in Seri Iskandar. Thumbs up for Jawa, Comet and Kamil's acting, with the assistance of KP, Peteh, Cemara and the studio people. Many thanks to Syith for the effects and assisting me in editing, and for everybody who supported us, thank you so much! And it has been a year since our dear sister left us, may she dwell amongst the souls of the faithful. Al-Fatihah. Most songs are from Kaki King, while the opening is from Peter, Bjork & John -- Young Folks, while the ending is Butterfinger's Mati Hidup Kembali from their latest album Kembali.

Once A Bug

Look who was once animated?

I just found out that the Hayden Panettiere we know, mostly known as her role in Heroes as Claire Bennet, is actually the voice of Dot, the little character in A Bug's Life. Thanks to none other than Ijai, the mini Wiki (who mainly asks, rather than answers).

Of course, who knew her the first time we watched Bug's Life ten years ago?

We just watched it again yesterday and yeah, the story's still beautiful. So, who's up for Toy Story?

And Happy belated birthday to the big guy, Ayah!

Posted in Seri Iskandar.

Ravaging Impatience

Status: half-sickened

Can't wait to get every final assignment to be submitted, can't wait to get every final paper finished, can't wait to get every project completed, can't wait to get every single review done!

I might have already made plans for the holidays. And though I prefer to stay at home for the rest of the leave, I'm open for any suggestions! But of course, we'll have to wait until after May 13.

Posted in Seri Iskandar.

Now, Chasing Papers

Approaching the reviews, and the end of everything.

We always fall to amazement thinking how fast a month can pass -- in terms of the landlady collecting our rent, that is. By the time you know you'd have to flip a calendar page, she'd always be unfailingly punctual to collect, which is sometimes irritating, but still mindfully alarming nonetheless, considering our lackadaisical attitude we have towards these things other than our assignments.

For now, time is measured by these mini submissions we have to cope, our very last paper for the semester this up and coming Friday and of course, a set of reviews after that. While at that, we stare with fullest envy to the 'normal' kids who had their papers finished today, tomorrow or anytime sooner than us.

Sometimes we just can't help to wonder how 'simple' their lives can be: study, take a paper, and when all the papers are finished, pack up and go home. Of course, 'simple' is subjective, but still we'll always sneer when we hear of how 'complicated' their lives can be. We, already unbalanced with the amount of drawings we have to finish for our projects, also have to study, take a paper and finish them all, plus we always have to go back to our drawings and finish them and hit the reviews sanely. Which will always take a few more extra days or maybe a week after our final paper (in which by the time, everybody else is already on leave).

It's easy to differentiate between a friend who really knows you and somebody who is just finding the correct pick-up line. A good friend who understands, will ask you "when is your final review?" which is suiting, as for us the end of the most final of final review marks the end of everything.

While somebody who just wants to loiter your Facebook page will ask you "when is your final paper?". As if we care. Don't worry though, "bila cuti?" is always appropriate. We all know we want it to come so badly.

Posted in Seri Iskandar.