Saturday, October 24, 2009

The questions that you can't avoid.

My friend, Aisyah, got married today. I'm still trying to adapt but it's kinda weird that many of my friends are getting married, the same friends who were childish when I got to know them but are now more mature by the time that I see them when they're married. I guess I just have to get used to it that my friends are getting older and are now settling down. In my 20s, the questions that people usually ask is when am I getting married. That made me thinking, what would be the questions that would be asked in 10 or 20 years time? I guess it would be like this.

In the 30s - how many children do you have now?
In the 40s - where are your children studying?
In the 50s - are your children married yet?
In the 60s - how many grandchildren do you have?
In the 70s - what medicine do you take now?

Whatever it is, I just hope my friends who are already married will be happy with their partners while for those who havent, dont forget to send the invitation cards,ok? :D

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Friends who made it complete.

I was bored and figured that I needed to spend my time with some activities. So I asked my friends for a trip to Penang and because they're oh so obliging, we went for our trip to Penang last weekend.

On the first day, after checking in into the hotel, we went to Batu Feringhi for some Baywatch-esque activity, minus the slow mo actions.


A bad imitation of Titanic.


On the next day, we went for a sightseeing around the town of Georgetown, including the Masjid Melayu Lebuh Acheh Pulau Pinang,




and also Masjid Kapitan Keling.

We also went to the Toy Museum, Gurney Drive, Gurney Plaza, Fort Cornwallis and Queensbay Mall.


From left : Ijan - the most clueless guy during the trip, Haris - the newbie of the trip, guard at the Fort Cornwallis, Taufiq - the driver who likes to SMS while driving, Husin - the Kedah lad who was as clueless about Penang as we were, and last but not least, yours truly who booked the hotel and managed the financial stuffs.

Being unemployed, for the time being, is tiring. But to have friends who will jump and say yes the moment you ask them to join a vacation trip, really makes it all worthwhile.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Men and despair.

A hopeless romantic.

That's what I can conclude of what I am after watching 500 Days of Summer. But the thing is, the movie is not a love story where boy meets girl and both live happily ever after, just like the trailer had forewarned.



It is a story of heartbroken. Heartbroken in a sense of being unsure of where the relationship is heading and getting the result that you have never wanted. It is a story of a boy getting heartbroken which I assume is not covered too much by other movies. The despair of a boy in love doesnt really appeal to the masses compared to the despair of a girl. When you have been through the phases of being heartbroken and faced it first hand, this movie will surely rob the feeling of sadness that has been kept all along. The Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind and the Science of Sleep are two good examples by the brilliant director Michel Gondry that coincide with the theme of this movie. I guess music video directors like Marc Webb and Michel Gondry can really make good feature film that is true to their style of directing.

You will cringe, you will laugh, you will smile. But most of all, you will feel the despair of a heartbroken boy bouncing from an uncertain love.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Finger licking good.

When I heard about the death of Yasmin Ahmad, I told myself, there would be no other filmmakers who could make me feel like what Yasmin did.

I must have forgotten about Afdlin Shauki at that time.

After waiting weeks for Papadom, I watched the film today. The film won numerous awards during the 22nd Malaysian Film Festival 2009, including the best film. The film is about Saadom who becomes an overprotective father after the demise of his wife. A character in the movie Juno said that a woman becomes a mother when she is pregnant while a man becomes a father when he holds his newborn child. Well, in this movie, Saadom only becomes a real father after the death of his wife as he was too busy with his work before that. He missed many important events which eventually led to his wife's death. Ever since that, he made sure that he would be involved in every part of his daughter's life. Well, just maybe too much.

This film discusses few aspects of life on whether should one amass wealth to the extend of ignoring one's family eventhough the wealth was intended to ease the burden of the family's financial woes and also how far would a father go to make sure of his child's happiness (or safety). I guess being a father means more than giving you a present during your birthdays when during other times, he would be flying all around the world and not being by your side when you need him the most. A supportive father is what a child needs. Like in the film, Saadom was too afraid that his daughter would make mistakes and only realised later that mistakes are there to teach his daughter about life. The film shows that being a father is more than whipping the children when they did something wrong or reading the newspaper while drinking some tea. A father must have the emotion connection and being supportive of his children. I know, men are not known to be emotionally expressive but trying doesnt hurt, right?

Papadom includes the joy of laughter and the string of emotions that bond a family together and because of that, it is a must watch movie that should not be missed.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Plastic.

I was listening to the radio when a caller called the radio station and she was asked few questions about Beyonce. I guess it is a competition for the Beyonce's concert later this month. One of the questions was how Beyonce affected her. Without any hesitation, she answered that she has a higher self esteem now and was not afraid of her looks. She told the dj that she has a big backside so she was cautios at first of its size. But then, when she noticed how Beyonce has a big backside too, she was not afraid of her looks anymore. Beyonce embraced her looks and accepted her size.

I have girl friends who keep on complaining of their weights and sizes when actually they are just a little bit thicker than a plywood. This obsession with model-like body makes people to suffer more, actually. You dont need to have a size 0 dress to feel confident of yourselves. It is ok to weight a little bit but not to the extend your weight hampering your effort to go on with your daily lives. I found that women who are confident of theirselves somehow help people to be at ease with them without other people even bother about their sizes. I guess it's true that the real beauty comes from the inside after all.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

For betterment.

From the window of my room, you can actually get to see more greenery than bricks and stones. The huge tree that I tried to climb when I was a kid and the fruit trees that my parents planted add more scenery to it. But now, development came and destroyed most of it. The new flyovers and the smell of newly-tarred road just overwhelmed the greenery scenery.

The road at the back of my house is just one part of the Seremban Outer Ring Road that would connect the whole Seremban. Flyovers are also built to complement the new roads.

The flyovers led to a huge road where the cars are driven faster than before. Better roads=faster cars=more accidents?



The railway track is the path that I took to go home whenever I missed my bus to go home during my primary school years. It is a short cut that people nearby use to get to my neighbourhood. But the track isnt being used anymore now, as the train from Seremban to Port Dickson has ceased its operation.

On one hand, I'm a bit sad that the places that I used to go to are being taken down and cements and tars are replacing them. But on the other hand, development is a must and there are things that have to be sacrificed in order for something else to prosper. Without some sacrifices, I guess most of us would still live in the 50s.