Perhaps I will never understand how the game works
Maybe I'm being too naive
But this is the reality
That one has to face
At a certain point in life
This could possibly be why I find it hard to trust people
I've seen enough of loved ones being betrayed
Even by their own blood relative
Why are they so blinded?
Don't they realise that 'all that glitters is not gold' ?
I wonder if they ever stop for a moment and ask themselves
'is it really worth it ?'
Thought this particular section in my bookshelf is an apt background for this piece inspired by the current events as well as happenings in my personal life
Eating chocolate, listening to Bach, singing in the shower, spending time with Kemi and cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
A family friend taught me to make Cheesy Potato Bake when he came over for dinner yesterday. I improvised by adding Chilli Padi for that 'extra kick' and some tomatoes. #AsiansWillBeAsians
The past month has been pretty uninspiring I must say. I've got 5 posts in the draft, each touching on different topics yet I can't seem to find the inspiration to write until the end. It's probably the mixture of stress from the upcoming exams in early June, being kept busy with business matters and the current state of affairs in Malaysia. My mind has been occupied with all sorts of questions like where I'm planning to head to after I graduate (nowhere near it yet but one has to plan kan?). Do I venture into the business/corporate world, try something different like voluntary work or working with a not for profit organisation ? All I know is I want to inspire people through what I do, make a positive impact in their lives and help in any way that I can. What happened to the whole singer/songwriter thing you may wonder? I guess that will remain as a hobby for now. My main priority is to complete ACCA, get some work experience and see how things go from there.
Recently, I got in touch with a lower secondary tuition mate that I have not contacted for many years. Although we are FB friends and follow each other on Twitter and Instagram, we hardly talk. It all started when I clicked the 'invite' button to a Writing Masterclass event which I thought might interest her and we started chatting on FB chat. It's nice to know how people are getting on with their lives especially when they tell you things they don't publish on social media. Since we've got some common interests, I asked her to inform me of any classes/events that we could attend together in the future. I look forward to meeting her at the Masterclass in a week's time.
It's only been 4 months since the start of the new year and to my surprise I'm seeing my friends (and I) embark on a completely different journey from the ones we thought we'd pursue. One of my close friends is about to start her own fashion label that focuses on plus sized clothing, another one of them is in the process of applying for a volunteer programme overseas and I am currently learning the ropes of the business world with an old family friend (something like an informal internship with no fixed working hours).
I'll leave you with a video of Sada Borneo, Malaysians who got all 4 YES-es at Asia's Got Talent. I love how they combine traditional musical instruments (in this case the 'sape') with modern ones and create such beautiful music. I appreciate their passion for wanting to promote traditional music which is slowly becoming unpopular amongst the younger folks. Sada Borneo, kamek sayang kitak !
While I was at it, I found this other video with the 'sape'. Such a calming and peaceful tune. Doesn't it make you feel like you're in a place faraway from the city?
Last week, I received my exam results for the two papers that I sat for last December. Results via email was supposed to be sent out at 12am UK time but there was no sign of it in my mailbox after countless refresh attempts and checking the junk mail folder. Some of my friends were already announcing their results on our Whatsapp group chat, it made me restless for the next few hours (I eventually got the email at 4pm Malaysian time). I passed the Performance Management paper and failed the Audit paper (again!). Alhamdulilah, I can finally bid goodbye to my F5 notes !!
If there's one thing that ACCA has taught me it would have to be perseverance. I started the programme in July 2011 and until now (I took a gap semester here and there to pursue my interest in music and to travel) I have only passed 3 papers while some of my other batch mates have graduated and worked for quite some time. I've seen some people who decide to quit halfway, tempting me to just walk away and try something different but I keep telling myself that I must finish what I started. So here I am a few years down the road, still keeping my spirits high and looking forward to the day that I will eventually graduate from ACCA together with a few other friends who are on the same boat as me.
All I need to do right now is to put in even more effort, get back on track and stay focused. If Mum was still around, I bet she wouldn't be too happy that I'm taking so long to complete ACCA. I'll keep the promise I made to you, Mummy. For the next exam session in June, I will be repeating the Audit and Financial Reporting paper and if I pass, hopefully proceed to do the remaining 6 papers in UK insyaAllah.
Since it's the Chinese New Year season now, I'd like to wish all of you Gong Hei Fatt Choy. May the year of the Goat bring you and your family good health, prosperity and happiness. I spent 'Chor 1' catching up with relatives over vegetarian home cooked lunch, yummy kuih kapit, pineapple tarts, mandarin oranges and collecting 'hong baos' from the elders.
A video of me singing a classic Chinese New Year song 大地回春 'Da Di Hui Chun'
In conjunction with the Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs' 5th anniversary tomorrow, which also coincides with the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj's birthday, a public event was held at Memorial Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra this morning. I knew about IDEAS since it's inception as I have been religiously following Tunku 'Abidin's article since he first started his column in 2008. Somehow I seem to miss their public events year after year so when I saw the announcement of this year's event, I immediately registered as I did not want to miss the chance of being part of their anniversary event.
My two cousins were supposed to go with me but they couldn't make it last minute so I went to the event alone. Those who know me would agree that I'm that introvert who is uncomfortable being in unfamiliar places, meeting new people but this time round I thought I'd give it a go and see how I'll cope with the situation. Funny how I can sing on stage in front of a few hundred people in the audience without being nervous but when it comes to being alone in a public place, I tend to get a bit too anxious.
I arrived at the venue at 8.45am and made my way to the registration counter and later had light breakfast at one of the tables with a group of Marketing students from Inti College Subang. At about 9.30am, we entered the auditorium and I found a seat next to a girl whose name is Shanuja. Coincidentally, she came alone so we introduced ourselves and exchanged ideas on issues such as the education policy and shared travel stories too. She is in the midst of writing a paper for the IDEAS Autism Centre together with a few other people. While waiting for the arrival of the VIPs, we were entertained with traditional Malay music by Pusat Kebudayaan UKM.
Right after the VIPs arrived, we sang the Negaraku in the original 1957 Merdeka Day version as in this video below. In secondary school, I led the 'Negaraku' and Lagu Negeri Selangor 'Duli Yang Maha Mulia' at the school assembly every Monday together with an alto, tenor and bass singer from the school choir. I have never sung the song as emotionally as I did on this particular day.
Opening speech by President of IDEAS YAM Tunku 'Abidin ibni Tuanku Muhriz
Welcome remarks (IDEAS' activities throughout 2014) by Wan Saiful Wan Jan
A moving tribute to her Tok by YM Datin Sharifah Menjalara Hussein which brought me to tears especially nearing the end. Click for the full text of YM Lara Hussein's speech : "Tunku : A Voice from the Heart"
' He would always say to the millions of Malaysians, "Take each other as you are. Accept your weaknesses as well as your strengths." '
Dr. Razeen Sally, IDEAS Chair of Political Economy and Governance
Panel discussion comprising Dr. Razeen Sally, YB Datuk Nur Jazlan, Dr Sufian Jusoh and Datuk Noor Faridah Ariffin moderated by Wan Saiful Wan Jan
The event ended with the cutting of cake by the VIPs namely Tunku Besar Seri Menanti YAM Tunku Ali Redhauddin ibni Tuanku Muhriz, YTM Dato' Seri Tunku Ahmad Nerang ibni Almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al Haj, YTM Dato' Paduka Tunku Khadijah ibni Almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al Haj and Tun Mohd Dzaiddin to commemorate Tunku Abdul Rahman's 112th birthday.
During lunch, Shanuja and I met even more new friends (Dr. Helmy who is IDEAS' Health Advisor, a few A Levels students from Taylors Subang, a girl named Umi who just graduated from New Zealand and Farah who is doing TESL in MSU). Meeting young and enthusiastic people from different backgrounds (Law, Actuarial Science, Education, Medical) was really interesting because the people I normally meet up with are in the Accounting field so the conversation gets kinda boring at times. Later, we went over to Tunku 'Abidin's table to get his autograph and a picture with him.
Tunku 'Abidin Muhriz, writer of 'Abiding Times' , 'Roaming Beyond the Fence' and 'Conservatively Speaking Freely' columns which I have been reading since I was in Form 4. Talked to him about family history and I found out that his ancestors are of the Alhabshi branch of the family (I assume on his mother's side) from Hadhramaut, Yemen. We went on to talk about music and how I think it plays an integral role in being able to unite people after I mentioned that I am a singer songwriter.
COO of IDEAS, Tricia Yeoh. Congratulations on your wedding!
What are the odds of meeting a person who was born in the exact same hospital as you? This is Henry, 3 years my junior. Hospital Pakar Puteri JB represent.
Shanuja and I left to explore the Memorial hurriedly as my dad was already waiting at the lobby and she had to rush back to Seremban to do some last minute preparations before she flies off to Jakarta the next day. We said our goodbyes and hope to meet up over coffee one of these days.
The Proclamation of Independence
The Dining Hall
Shanuja and I
Met these girls during lunch, I was very impressed by them. Netusha and Shanuja (orang Soghomban) and Amanda (Klang Mali)
EDIT :
I have always wanted to write a song about Malaysia but most of the time it's left unfinished in my lyric book. The next morning there was this melody in my head when I woke up, I knew I had to get a pen, paper and my guitar to pen down the lyrics and figure out the rest of the melody. It took me about 5 hours to finalise the lyrics and melody, then an additional 8-9 hours to record the audio, video and find photographs of amazing Malaysians that I have crossed paths with to give more meaning to the song. I present to you a gift for my fellow Malaysians, a song entitled 'Tanah Tumpahnya Darahku'.
Music has always been my way of expressing my thoughts on certain issues as I'm not quite a good writer (you can tell when you read my blog heh) so I tend to write lyrics instead. This is my way of contributing back to my fellow Malaysians hoping that they would be inspired by the message that I'm trying to convey through this song.
Nuwaira told me about the Big Bad Wolf Fire Sale the other day and we thought we'd give it a go since there's no harm owning more books kan? It is my first time at the sale whereas Nuwaira has been an avid fan of the sale since it first started. We were supposed to meet for brunch but these 'wanita Melayu terakhirs' woke up a tad bit too late so we ended up having lunch at a nearby cafe. Yummy Mexican beef tacos and Chicken Burrito to fill our stomachs before we go book hunting.
Tempted to borong the books but had to control myself as I know I won't be having much time to read them once semester starts
Went for cake and coffee before going back home
Cleared my book shelf and ta dah ! Welcome to your new home!
One of my 2015 resolutions is to travel to the states that I have not visited in Malaysia. Since I already have an interest in Malaysian history then why not visit these places to see it with my own eyes I thought. The Three Musketeers (Nuwaira,Shahriman and myself) decided to go on a road trip to a neighbouring state. Our first two options were : Melaka (Shah just came back from Melaka with his family) and N9 (in Nuwaira's own words : "Korang nak buek apo kek kampung den????"). The three of us are 'hantu' Chinese food so we agreed on Ipoh mainly due to this famous Restoran Hollywood that I've been hearing about from a family friend hailing from Perak. After asking around and doing some research online, I prepared our itinerary and packed my bag for a sleepover at Nuwaira's place. Alarm rang at 5.30am, mandi, bersiap, left the house, pumped petrol and picked up kekanda Shahriman.
We borak borak all the way, tested each others' general knowledge and sang along to songs chosen by DJ Shahriman and before we knew it, we were about to arrive at our first destination ; Ipoh.
Ipoh Pekan Orang Handsome?
We arrived at 9am, just in time for breakfast. Restoran New Hollywood in Canning Garden, about 5 minutes away from the Ipoh toll exit, is your typical Chinese corner shop with many different stalls that serves Halal Chinese Food. The shop was filled with locals ; office workers, mak cik with tongkat, Chinese apek retiree, you name it semua ada.
Restoran New Hollywood
38, Jalan Lee Kwee Foh, Taman Canning, 31400, Ipoh
Open from 7am to 5pm
The long drive was worth it after we tasted the Chee Cheong Fun.
Ordered two plates of Chee Cheong Fun with prawn filling to share
We also ordered wantan mee, yong tau foo, kopi and roti kaya
Kenyang faces! Time to hunt for the Wall Art Murals by Ernest Zacharevic in Ipoh old town and burn off some calories
Paper Plane on Jalan Tun Sambanthan
Old Uncle With Coffee Cup near Oldtown White Coffee Padang Ipoh
Girl with Bird Cage on Jalan Bandar Timah
Tinggi bebenor. Tak sampai laaa
Evolution located along Jalan Bijeh Timah
The Three Musketeers at the Kopi O wall art mural on Jalan Tun Sambanthan
And lastly the Trishaw on Concubine Lane 3. We nearly gave up on this one cos we couldn't find it and the weather was too hot. We got in the car and was on our way to the next place when we saw it. Thank you Waze for the slight delay or we wouldn't have stopped at the side of the road and noticed the Trishaw.
Went to have a cold drink at Plan B to escape the scorching hot weather
Shahriman reading a quote about Love
Loving these quotes by Arwah Yasmin Ahmad. Pinjam kasut boleh? Hehe
These two trying to do a 'berlari berkejaran...lupakan segala duka' pose
P/S : Bits and Bobs is closed on Tuesdays so no Ais Kepal for us :(
Seat belt on, air conditioning full blast, pakai sunglasses and we're off to ......
Akhirnya kami menjejakkan kaki di Kuale Kangsor demi Pau kegemaran ramai and also to take photos of the beautiful Istana Kenangan. Arrived at Kuala Kangsar at 1pm, looked for parking and walked over to Yut Loy. It was 1pm, we kept our fingers crossed that we'd be able to pre book the pau.
Playing 'Chor Taai Di' at Yut Loy while waiting for the Pau to be ready. At this point, we still didn't know whether we would be getting any Pau. Kalah perasaan tunggu result SPM hehehe
At exactly 2.30pm, we got them Paus ! 5 of each : Chicken, beef, kaya and red bean to be shared between the three of us. That was the most we could get, nak lebih pun tak dapat. Oh wells, we'll have to come back for more la next time.
Apparently they only produce 200 - 300 paus daily so first come first serve. We were really lucky to get to try them.
Yayyy! Alhamdulilah dapat jugak akhirnya
We've talked about road trips for quite some time but never thought it would actually happen.
Muzium Diraja Perak or previously known as Istana Lembah / Istana Kenangan was built in 1926 for Almarhum Sultan Iskandar Shah (30th Sultan of Perak). The palace was the official residence between 1931 and 1933 before the completion of Istana Iskandariah ; the official residence of the Sultan of Perak until today.
It is currently closed for restoration so I only managed to take pictures from outside. The design and colour combination is beautiful. I'm not sure if the colours chosen were to coincide with the colour of the Perak flag (Black, Yellow and White). If you appreciate history and traditional Malay house designs like me, Kuala Kangsar should be your next destination for a road trip.
This is Baitul Anor, an abandoned mansion located right next to Masjid Ubudiah in Bukit Chandan built under the instruction of Raja Kechil Sulong Raja Harun Al Rashid in 1912 for his wife Raja Mentera Raja Sir Chulan. It is named after his eldest son, Raja Anor Shah. I made it a point to visit this place as I knew there is a wealth of information on the family history of Almarhum Sultan Idris I.
I myself have my family's salasilah that was passed down to us for generations and can be traced back right up to our beloved Prophet Muhammad pbuh hence the interest in family history. In fact, my own great grandmother named Raja Habsah could probably be related to one of these families in Perak (or not) but unfortunately there is nobody in my late grandfather's family that has knowledge of it.
View of Masjid Ubudiah from Baitul Anor
Portraits of Almarhum Sultan Idris I
Family history and family tree
Old photographs and a list of Cucunda Almarhum Sultan Idris I who are still alive
Photographs of the current Sultan of Perak and his predecessors. Daulat Tuanku!
This road trip is to celebrate our 10th anniversary of being friends. It all started with a simple 'Nama awak siapa?' back in 1 Anggerik.
I hope old mansions like this one would receive funds in order for it to be restored and made into some sort of a museum or gallery for the good of the future generation as a point of reference.
We left Kuala Kangsar at 4pm after a failed mission to find an ais kepal stall and also contemplating whether we should singgah at MCKK or not (Nuwaira : Nanti aku nampak mamat hot, aku tak nak balik pulak HAHA) for Kuala Sepetang to have Mee Udang Banjir and headed back to KL afterwards.
RM 12 for this bowl of Mee Udang. This is the first time I ate that many prawns in one sitting! I'm not going near prawns for the next few months!
Alhamdulilah, bucket list nak pergi road trip in 2015 terlaksana within the first two weeks of the new year. I hope to go back for a longer trip next time so that I can slowly explore the state of Perak.
EDIT : Came across an interesting travel programme video focusing on Kuala Kangsar (ignore bits of the subtitles that do not match the voice over)
