Lepas re-run Hot Guys Who Cook (2 episod sekaligus.homaigadd!!) dekat Diva tadi, tiba-tiba keluar iklan promo Downtown Abbey.Aku tak tertarik sangat pun dengan drama tu,tapi yang bestnya lagu time promo drama tu.lagu tu memang fuhh...
Ni lah Milos Karadaglic.tang yang milo tu je yang aku ingat,sebab tu aku boleh hafal nama dia.wakaka..oh ya,abaikan tango dance yang super seductive kat video ni.aku dengar lagu dia je.
Anyway,bagi aku lagu ni memang best dan disebabkan aku tak de la minat sangat lagu-lagu pop sekarang yang sedap didengar kat melodi je tapi bila teliti balik kat lirik,pergh..paham-paham sendiri je la.Sebab tu aku lagi suka dengar muzik macam ni.Instrumental.Tak pun orkestra.lagi fokus bila nak buat kerja or mungkin sebab aku dah ada music background yang genre macam ni agaknya.
Kadang-kadang kalau aku nak mentally torture roommate aku atau Hani yang suka bertandang ke bilik aku,aku pasangla lagu-lagu macam ni.
Lepas tu sure diaorang buat muka pelik ala-ala gaya macam aku pasang lagu orang asli. =.=
*kalau dengar lagu ni dekat Besancon,lagi feeling kot.pfftt..dedicate Yan.and dedicate to Mai yang memang pro main gitar
Sebenarnya...dah lama aku rasa jealous dekat kakak-kakak senior aku.Ya,jealous atau dalam bahasa melayu, cemburu.Yang memang sure,aku memang jealous dekat senior-senior aku merangkap seniors aku jugak waktu dekat STF.Kak Liyana,mantan naib ketua pengawas and straight A's student.Sekarang cantik dengan bertudung labuh.Bukan tudung bawal yang kononnya tutup melitup aurat yang memang jadi trend dekat Malaysia ni tu ya,ini tudung labuh bidang 50.Kak Wardah,senior aku jugak kat sekolah dulu.Hmm..seingat aku dulu dia ahli PKBM (L) a.k.a kadet laut a.k.a PK.Nak jadi PK ni bukannya senang,kira tough gilala siapa yang masuk dan stay sampai grad.Kak Wardah ni pun straight A's jugak time SPM dulu.Sekarang,Kak Wardah ni ahli IPI,Ikatan Pelajar Islam kat KMS dengan Kak Liyana.Nampak tak bezanya tu?Kak Farzana,pengawas,staright A's student dan juga seorang STFian.Dia memang cantik,friendly..memang prefect yang perfect la.
Kenapa aku jealous?
Dulu time sekolah,kenal pun sebab memang senior..dan kebiasaannya aku memang tak rapat dengan senior.Sebab aku bukan kaki kipas mungkin.Tapi masuk je KMS,bila lihat dengan mata sendiri transformasi senior-senior aku ni.Masyaallah!Kak Wardah,Kak Farzana dengan Kak Liyana memang lain sangat-sangat.Serius,aku terkejut sebenarnya tengok dia orang masa mula-mula masuk KMS dulu.Cantik sangat dia orang bertudung labuh.Serius.Sungguh tak tipu.Bersihnya muka dia orang,dah lain daripada yang aku pernah kenal dulu.
Masa time nak daftar dulu,biasa la.Gaya STF la,selempang tudung.Muncung tudung kena sharp weh,gaya tradisi turun-temurun tu.Tapi bila dah masuk sana,semacam rasa malu pulak bila biarkan tudung berselempang tak menutup dada.Sekarang ni dah masuk dunia baru,fasa baru.Dulu sekelas dengan perempuan je,sekarang sekelas dengan lelaki perempuan.Kot ye pun dulu tiba-tiba datang angin malas nak pakai tudung,boleh je free hair melenggang ke kelas tapi sekarang dah tak boleh.Serius,aku rasa malu bila aku selempang tudung.Rasa macam tak pakai apa-apa padahal bertutup.
Bagi sesiapa yang membaca entri ni dan berjantina perempuan,pernah tak rasa macam tu?Bila mana kita ingat kita dah tutup aurat setutupnya padahal sebenarnya tak sempurna lagi.
So, sejak tu aku dah tak selempang dah.Aku tukar gaya tudung aku.Dari selempang ke butterfly.Korang taula butterfly tu gaya apa so aku tak payahla nak kena buat hijab tutorial pulak kat sini.pffftt..Tak pun bila aku malas sangat nak berpin bagai,aku biar lepas ke bawah je tudung aku.Confirm sesangat boleh tutup apa yang patut.Boleh jugak search kat google kalau tak tau tudung tu apa.Kalau tanya kat UAI pun lagi bagus.
Dulu pernah aku stop kat kedai buku,nak singgah kejap beli majalah.Iyalah,stop la kan kalau naik kereta.Dalam duk aku tengah tengok majalah-majalah yang ada kat situ,tiba-tiba je ada motor lalu..
"Peeewiitt!!!"
Mak aii,takkan Harimau Malaya turun main bola dekat sini kot sampai dengar bunyi wisel tak pasal.Aku pandang kiri,memang sah bukan Rajagopal yang tiup wisel tapi ada dua ekor (may i say "ekor"?) malaun yang tengah mebonceng motor,pandang tepat kat aku.Aku pandang lagi kiri kanan aku.Tak de orang lain..memang aku la yang kena ni.Tapi aku fikir lagi sekali,waktu tu bukannya aku berseluar jeans ketat ke apa ke,aku pakai baju kurung siap tudung lepas bawah lagi.Ayu gitu..ahakss.Tapi keayuanku bukanlah di tempat pertama yang aku fikir waktu tu.Tempat kedua mungkin.
Waktu tu aku rasa malu sebenarnya,nampak sangat even aku pakai baju kurung dengan tudung gaya macam tu,still ada lagi orang yang durjana merendah-rendahkan martabat keperempuanan aku ni.Nak middle finger ke apa??Ingat aku pakai macam ni,aku ni ala-ala gadis pingitan yang hanya mampu tersenyum malu ke?Tapi dari situ,aku sedar yang aku ada kurang lagi kat gaya aku.Tak cukup lagi syarat-syarat menutup aurat baju aku ni.Cuba kalau aku pakai baju kurung yang longgar sikit,dan tak bertabaruj,ada ke lelaki-lelaki yang tak bertamadun tu nak buat macam tu?
Dan sebelum tu,dah ada beberapa insiden yang lebih kurang sama...teguran dari-Nya,mungkin.
Alhamdulillah bila dah bertapa nak menghabiskan A-level dekat KMS ni,bukan ilmu dunia je aku dapat.Nak dapat peluang belajar ilmu agama tu banyak sangat.Tinggal nak dengan tak nak je.Antara nak melayan marathon movie dengan mendengar ceramah agama dekat surau.Antara nak bukak novel dengan surah Al-mulk je.Antara nak kuak lentang dengan selesa atas katil atau join solat jemaah kat surau.Serius surau KMS ni best,banyak pengisian yang super best antara waktu Maghrib dengan Isyak.Rugi gila la tak datang surau.
Dan sememangnya aku jealous bak hang dengan senior-senior aku tu.Aku nak berubah ke arah yang lebih baik,sekurang-kurangnya aku nak start dengan pakai tudung yang sepatutnya.Bagi yang sudi baca,doakan aku berjaya untuk berubah.
May Allah bless you as well.Amin
Okayy...Izyan dah nak fly.Looks like it's going to be in less than a month that I'd probably set up a Skype account for myself.Khas untuk Yan yang akan berada di France tak lama lagi.hukhuk T_T
Bab-bab buat akaun untuk social network ni sumpah aku malas nak buat.Yang ada sekarang ni pun sebab lepas banyak kali kena tanya dengan kawan-kawan.Kfine la..aku buat supaya "tak lost contact" bak kata diaorang tuu
Twitter : twitter aku haram jadah...bahasa tak bertapis langsung,iyalah nama pun twitter.Segala ayat yang aku rasa aku bakal di'condemn' kalau post kat fb,aku twit.It's twitter bambino!
Facebook : khas untuk stalk orang.hahaha..stalkering never gets boring
Tumblr : dah lama tak bukak.apa password pun dah lupa.
Whatsapp : ha,ni pun untuk...
and the list goes on...
tapi tak pe,once kau dah ada kat France nanti,aku buat akaun Skype k :)
kerepek yang aku tak jumpa raya tahun ni |
#malamnifreesesangatsoiwantedtodropbyafewwordsheresincedalamatakbukakblog#
ni untuk Izyan since dia dah lama tak tengok aku merepek ;)
Dulu time kecik-kecik,aku memang suka buat biodata tak rasmi ni kat mana-mana page kosong yang aku jumpa.Buku latihan sekolahla,diarila,buku notala..bla bla..Memang dari kecik dah mind set untuk jadi seorang doktor.Dan dekat part cita-cita tu aku memang akan letak "doktor".heh,aku memang obses nak jadi doktor..dulu.
21 MAC 2012
Tarikh result SPM 2011 keluar..tarikh yang ramai peramal-peramal tak bertauliah duk teka,agak.Tarikh yang bila mana result yang keluar tu akan jadi a major turning point dalam hidup seseorang pelajar.Hari yang aku memang dah totally heartless pasal result.Point aku datang sekolah just untuk ambik slip and tangkap gambar je,(haha..yela tu)
Dalam tengah kawan-kawan aku yang lain(mak aku pun) berdebar-debar nak tunggu result keluar,aku duk snap gambar.Sumpah,memang rasa kosong time tu.Apa nak jadi,jadila..and result pun keluar.Alhamdulillah subjek yang aku memang target A aku dapat A.Overall result : OK.Grandiloquents yang lain dah sebak campur gembira dapat keputusan masing-masing.Great.Aku senyum n teruskan aktiviti aku meng'snap' gambar.
7 MEI 2012
Result UPU keluar.Aku dapat course yang aku letak sebagai pilihan pertama masa mohon dulu.UIA.Hoho..bakal student UIA la aku nampaknya.Tapi..still tak dapat apa-apa scholarship or pinjaman.Macam mana ni..
Dan lepas tu permohonan pinjaman boleh ubah MARA keluar..
Pinjaman boleh ubah??Dah tak de scholar ke?hmm..apply je la..
UIA ni..UIA tu..ok.semua dah settle.Tinggal nak daftar je 3 hari bulan nanti.Beli tu beli ni,masuk group CFSIIUM dekat FB..research tu,research ni..memang dah semangat UIA la.Nak-nak pulak dah terlampau boring kat rumah,tak buat apa-apa.Dah rindu nak bukak buku balik..
1 JUN 2012
TAHNIAH!!
PERMOHONAN ANDA BERJAYA
Itu yang keluar bila aku check status permohonan kat website MARA...
Alamak..mana satu nak pergi ni??UIA=doc,MARA=lecturer/cikgu.Hmm..dua-dua ada saham dunia akhirat.Mana satu nak pergi??
Aku ada masa yang singkat je untuk decide nak pilih mana.
At the end,I chose MARA..
Hopefully apa yang aku dah decide ni memang betulla untuk aku.Aku tak strong subjek sciences walaupun aku science stream student sejak Form 1.So art-based course yang aku dapat dari MARA ni memang sesuailah untuk aku.Dan bila aku dah decide nak pergi MARA,memang aku takkan bergelar student UIA la,dan tak bergelar doktor yang aku dah memang obses time aku kecik.
Bila kawan-kawan aku yang lain dah masuk u and tanya aku pergi mana..Soalan typical,u mana course mana.Aku jawab jela "KMS.Tesl"
Tapi aku rasa Izyan lagi sadis kot experience dia..
"Masuk mana nanti"
"INTEC"
"Ouu,ambik chemical engineering ya?"
*krik2
"Tak,Tindikan French"
Izyan pernah cakap kat aku bila dia mention yang dia study kat Intec,mesti orang-orang yang bertanya tu akan respond nama-nama course yang gempak-gempak macam medic.eng,sc aktuari yada yada...sedangkan dia hanya ambik French kat sana.Padahal result si Izyan ni boleh je kalau dia nak apply course yang gempak-gempak tu.Inferior to another science students?maybe
Aku ingat lagi dulu kat sekolah..
Masa: Kelas ....
Lokasi: 5 JOVIAL
"Fadha,awak nak ambik apa kat U nanti?"..dan Fadha pun jawab Komunikasi Massa.
"Ha,Aina!Awak pulak?" tu dia dah seru-seru nama."Psikologi,cikgu"
"Psikologi??ouu you all ni semua science students,kenapa nak ambil bidang-bidang picisan macam tu..
Picisan cikgu?hmmmm...
Aku rasa tak salah pun kalau science students nak further study ke bidang sastera.vice versa,,kalau nak study dan berjaya maintain score,tak ke rasa ohsem.hahaha
Half the time,when you feel scared,
The monster is actually just in your head
Not under your bed
Neither in the closet
If you can conquer your inner demons
You're already halfway pursuing your destiny's diamonds
[@] Hlovatesays
Assalamualaikum!!!!! Yan's homey!!!! Walawey *hukhuk, x der motip XP*
Orite okay, dah lame gler org x bukak port kt sini, coz Aina dh slalu share citer beliau...
Firstly, I just came home from UTM...KL.... Why?????? *sad intonation*
Okay2. before I jump into the saddest part of this entry, I just wanna say
Boleh dikatakan hampir setiap hari jugakla aku check website eduloan mara,sama ada dah boleh log in untuk tengok surat tawaran penuh dari MARA tu ke tak..,dan setiap kali jugakla bila dah klik ke page tu,masih tak dapat-dapat jugak surat tu..
So,dalam menunggu MARA,aku buat research tentang course yang aku bakal ambil kat KMS nanti,(eceh,,research gitu)
Kalau nak tengok secara overviewnya dari website KMS memang tak banyak sangat info bagi bakal Teslians untuk refer,just subjek-subjek yang akan diambil dan FAQ pasal keseluruhan course Tesl di KMS.So ada beberapa cara untuk tau dan buat mental preparation serba sedikit sebelum menjejakkan kaki ke KMS;
1)Call office KMS
2)Call/jumpa/im/twit pensyarah-pensyarah yang berkaitan dengan subjek-subjek dalam course Tesl.
3)Crash KMS and bercamping kat sana dalam 3 hari 2 malam(abaikan guard)
4)Random research on Google about Tesl
5)Blogwalking ke blog-blog yang memang diakui blogger-bloggernya adalah Teslians under MARA(ini bukan racist ya,hehe)
Out of 5 ideas 'kerepek' yang aku terfikir,yang nombor 4 tu aku dah buat tapi resultnya still samala.Tak banyak sangat yang dapat aku faham tentang Tesl so aku pun memulakan aktiviti blogwalking tu..dan hasilnya memang ohsem.Memang aku dapat apa yang aku nak tau tentang A-level Tesl di KMS.
1)bawangmerahsquared.blogspot.com
-Blog ni memang best nak dibaca.Sangat membantu,banyak info,.shows me what reality is when taking up Tesl
2)Milly's
-Ada banyak information yang boleh dijadikan rujukan,tauladan,peringatan,pengajaran..yada,yada tentang A-level Tesl
3)Nota Kehidupan
-Pandangan someone tentang someone(???!)haha,bagus..tak rugi pun kalau baca.a REAL REMINDER for us.
Ni antara blog-blog yang aku dapat tau..kalau ada,insyaAllah aku update,untuk peringatan dan rujukan diri sendiri dan kepada sesiapa yang sudi singgah kat blog nih :)
Pic yang keluar kat google image bila aku search pasal A-level,tak tau apa kena mengena dengan course ni. *agaknya lepas kena psycho kat kms,jadi camni kot.kihkih.>.< |
Wokeyy..so last morning off I went to MARA office for the PILN interview.Aku sampai awal..dalam pukul 10 pagi (bersama mak terchenta) dan lepas tu kami pun dudukla kat tempat menunggu yang disediakan.Dalam duk tengah tengok orang lain daftar,mak aku pun start tanya pasal sijil tu semua.So aku pun keluarkanla file holder yang berisi sijil-sijil aku yang dah "tersusun rapi" ikut cara aku.Bila dia tengok susunan sebegitu rupa,apa lagi memang kena kat situla..dan2 je kena susun kat situ..haish..tengah-tengah membuat gerakan reformation dekat fail sijil tu,ada someone ni datang kat aku.....
"Aina!"
"Izyan!!"
Time tu Izyan dah habis dah sesi interview dia tu,so muka berseri-seri + relieve dia tu.Macam ada spotlight kat atas kepala dia tu.Haha..thank Allah,dengan datangnya Izyan ni dah kira macam ada supporter n motivator la sebelum melangkah ke interview tu *mood sebelum yan datang - dispoiled oleh mak sebab sijil-sijil tu
Yada...yada,dah daftar dan lepas tu semua calon tesl kena jawab satu soalan esei,soalannya adalah kalau anda diberi peluang untuk kembali ke masa lampau dan boleh ubah 1 hari,would you change it and why
Entah macam mana pulak time tu aku jawab aku tak akan ubah apa-apa (tipu je nih,,actually ada je yang aku nak ubah tapi macam personal sangat je so aku pun came out with that answer).Lepas tu,sesi berkenalan dengan groupmates..semua ok,friendly.Nice la having them as my groupmates.Tak lama lepas tu,sampaila turn kami untuk sesi interview..secara berkumpulan.(pheww..relieved jgak).
Interview tu berjalan dengan lancar and agak laid back,semua cooperate dan bersaing untuk bagi pendapat masing-masing.Sampaila kat satu soalan,
"What was your biggest conflict in your life?'
Soalan tu nampak macam soalan biasa je.iyalah just kata and state the reason.Tapi bagi certain,soalan tu agak susah jugak untuk dijawab.Salah seorang groupmate aku jawab yang konflik terbesar yang dia pernah alami adalah bila parents dia bercerai.Macam mana dia go through cakap-cakap orang sekeliling yang paranoid yang judge situasi dia dan family dia.Hampir-hampir menangis kot dia..
Sampai ke turn aku,aku kata major conflict yang dalam hidup aku setakat ni adalah time Form 5.Start dari awal tahun lepas lagi..,I was struggling to get just D for Add Math.Memanjang je fail sampaila pertengahan tahun 2011,Pak Yem a.k.a. cikgu favourite Izyan push aku betul-betul dalam subjek nih.Memang konflik betul time tu,time orang lain start sorang-sorang naik dorm sebab dah siap homework or nak tidur,aku still stay up kat study room sampi pukul 2,3 pagi just untuk siapkan homework Add Math.Sampaila study room kosong..(kadang-kadang emma teman aku)aku still buat Add Math.Kalau tak siap jugak,bangun awal pagi walaupun malam sebelumnya berjaga tahap saraf mengantuk macam dah putus kat otak.Tak lama lepas tu,markah Add Math aku naik sikit-sikit,walaupun tak banyak tapi tak de la teruk macam mula-mula dulu.Ada waktu aku dapat A untuk Math dan dia lempar macam tu je kertas aku sebab tak dapat A+.Itu jangan katala,dia keluar je kelas,tiba-tiba mata aku masuk taufan habuk.Dan trial SPM,aku tak berjaya dapat apa yang dah Pak Yem target..kenala aku dengan dia.Sampai warning kalau mana-mana student yang tak dapat gred paling cikai pun B+,dia tak akan mengaku murid tu dia yang ajar.Serious..pressure kott time tu..boleh pulak kata macam tu.Time tu aku sedih sebab orang yang aku respect cakap macam tu,tapi dia just nak yang terbaik untuk student dia kan..so I took that as a challenge..Alhamdulillah STF 0711 dapat 100% A dalam subjek Add Math.
So taraa,conflict solved..sebak kot time kata konflik Add Math tu (eceh..)
All in all,interview tu okla dan boleh tahanla.Just tawakal and waiting je sekarang.Aku tak mengharap sangat..(mungkin sebab tak nak frust)tapi kalau dapatla PILN tu,memang awesome and alhamdulillah.Haha
Habis je interview,mak aku pun ajak ke SOGO dan Jalan Masjid India,dengan alasan tak jumpa kain untuk baju raya lagi..hahaha.rasa penat berjalan lebih dari penat interview..haiyaa mak ni..
Holaa!!I've just cooked my very own version of yong tau foo this evening.Here are some 'irresistible' pics..haha
Thanks to Khairi for the idea..,haha,actually ini projek sebab dah terlampau banyak sangat masa lapang sampai tak tau nak buat apa.So I came up with this dish and grabbed my cam for the food photoraphy.It may not be the best pics but I think these pics just nice(lol,masuk bakul,angkat sendiri).
Cara nak membuatnya sangat senang.Tak payah bukak mana-mana buku resipi.All we need is chicken soup..any soup will do too.(haha,tatau and tak sure)and different kinds of tofu,and leafy vegetables.Campur semua dan voila!
The night before,I've made this
First time try buat sambil mak tolong sikit.Boleh tahanla..tp next time nak try buat yang Meng Monera's version plak:)
Right. Before I start this post, I'd just like to remind all you readers that these are just my honest thoughts. If you don't find it very likeable, I suggest you skip any of my blog entries (I'll add the tag #hikarinaito to each of my entries from now on). These are all experiences from my point of view; other people have different feelings and thoughts on the exact same events. I place importance on sharing exactly how I feel about things, and being honest and open about it. If brashness bothers you, then skip this.
And to those who wish to read on, thank you for your support. =) I appreciate that deeply.
Hey, Naito here. =) Or Mai, if you prefer to use my real name.
A heck of a lot of things have been going on in life lately (just graduated from National Service, Kem Sinaran Suria, Sungkai, Perak on the 17th of March), and I've only (almost) reached the point of rest this week. Hopefully.
A lot of my friends, both from my old school and from STF are already taking courses in university, while my parents and I sit at the long dining table downstairs, feverishly filling out scholarship applications and writing lengthy essays that might just save my life, the way sponsorships saved Katniss' life in The Hunger Games {it's a movie now, not for the faint-hearted mind you}. Seeeriously, we stayed up until 3.00 am on one occasion...
How's life? Basically I'm enjoying it, filling my time with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Dance Central 2 on my birthday-present Xbox 360. Helps keep me fit after training. =D
As for the National Service training itself, it was fuuun! I designed the flag for the coolest Company around (go Alpha Wolves! =D), and painted it with an awesome team of guys, and together we won the Kontrak Kita Janji as overall best company...
Then there was the Flying Fox, and the water activities (canoeing and rafting!), and the Kembara Halangan (roughly translated as Obstacle Adventure), and the performances, and the Indian Dance that I did on the finale night (yeees, I danced to an Indian song. On stage, okay?) and all those amazing people who made me laugh all the time. And the wonderful trainers, they're so willing to help and committed to their work that initially I got a little bit of culture shock. I mean, compared to the STF wardens (and some of the teachers too), these seasoned army retirees were waaaaaaaaay better at taking care of us. There was a time when I went crying (and I rarely ever do) to a teacher in the middle of the night, asking if I could sleep with her (dorm problems, you see), and instead of turning me away she said nothing, allowed me in, and opened a mattress for me next to her bed. She listened to me cry, and she listened to my story, and kept silent till the very end, after which she gave me advice to help me back on my feet. I'm not talking about those black-suited counselors and psychologists who give you oh-so-professional comments, I'm talking about people who really have a lot in common with you and years of experience, who are not afraid to sit in their pyjamas with their students(?) and laugh the whole night off until 3 in the morning, even though there's a huge camping event the next morning. And no, they didn't let me sleep with them for security and moral reasons, but they did impart me with a piece of advice that inspired me a lot:
"No, you can't sleep here. That would be breaking the law, and also running away from your problems. And if you do that, the problem will haunt you no matter where you go; the only way to end it is to face your problem and beat it like a champ."
And she was right. The remainder of the night I stayed up writing a letter straight from my heart (because I am NOT a vocal person...). The best part? All the hurt and the hate was gone, and I felt like I was complete somehow. I really, really did. There was no presumptions, no prejudice, no ill feelings towards my dorm mate. Thank you Cikgu Rokhaidah, you helped me through a turbulent time in my life and gave me inspiration to move on.
Another thing that happened to me in camp was a one-on-one with one of the male trainers there; he told me how he noticed that I wasn't very close to the girls, the Malays in general, and how I'd rather spend my time with non-Muslims, with guys, or with no one at all. Initially it bugged me; until I wrote it down, and realized that I didn't have a problem with it at all. What they are doing - forming groups, alienating others not of their race, clichés, not even bothering to mix in with others, and oh, the endless gossip - they're doing what people expect of them. They're repeating high school. And usually they're a lot more close-minded than the non-Muslims. Why does it bother people that I, as a Muslim and as a Malay, am not ashamed/afraid to mix with others not of my race and religion?
Why do I do it? Here's my opinion; non-Malays rarely ever talk bad about their own people. They are united in a way that is on a whole different level than us. Even if they don't regard someone highly, they don't go around spreading rumors. They look out for each other. Non-Malays are also very supportive. No trash-talk, no discrimination, no prejudice. And National Service is probably the only time I'll be able to get exposure to other races before university. This happened to me; the Indian Dance in my particular camp is close to hip-hop in terms of speed and the moves as well as the song itself. The crew was initially all-Indian, since they were the only people interested and skilled enough to pull it off. During the closing ceremony the trainers made it compulsory for all performances to include members of all races, which was a challenge to them. They made their selection based on skill, and only that. No such thing as barring a person to join because of their being a different race, or because of personal issues, or things such as 'dengki' (to translate to English would mean envy/jealousy, but that's not the full meaning of the word) that so often influence the Malay society. How did I get in? I sneaked up on the main choreographer while he was bustin' some moves and copied him. They wanted me to join, and I didn't ask for anything.
The support they gave me was amazing. Even the ones not involved in the actual dancing helped me out with the moves I had trouble with, the energy the whole group had was really positive, and we even played a game or two, just goofing around, to let off some of the steam and the pressure that built up (hey, practicing for a whole song in basically 5 days, minus 2 for choreo is NOT easy). Even when there were problems and everyone got frustrated, there would always be someone to say, 'We can do this, it's not easy, but we can do this' and the whole team would get psyched up again, unlike in some teams I've been in where someone would say the same thing, and get a million death-glares from the other members. So thank you to my dancing team - Sasi, Raja, Priya, Acap, Nash, and all the rest! You guys are the best team I've ever worked with! You guys were so committed I thought we'd be doing a National-level competition =)
Aaanyway, back to the topic. So the trainer met me again a second time, and here's how it went:
"So, have you thought about what I said?"
"Yes, teacher. And you're right."
"How do you feel about that? Don't you feel like you're missing out on things?"
"No, sir. Not at all."
"And why's that?"
"Because I know that not all the Malays are like that. Because I know that wherever I walk, there's always someone who will say 'hi' to me, someone who wants to talk to me, someone to hear me talk. Because I don't need to change myself to conform to just a single group of people who might not have your back when you most need it. I've been in the situation where I thought a certain group was the best for me; by the time I realized what was going on and wanted to change, it was already too late. This is my chance to build relationships with people 'out of the box'.
"Sometimes I don't need to go to anyone, they literally come to me to have a chat. They respect me and I respect them, and they know that 'respect' doesn't mean you have to follow whatever the person says and accept everything they do. They are willing to respect me because they can see that I respect them. We don't have to be together all the time. But what matters most is that we'll be there when we're needed most, and that's why we're friends.
"The thing with this whole 'geng' thing is that they're limited to just a few people out of the 422 potential friends you could have. Nobody else bothers about them when they need help, and they don't bother to help anyone else. Nobody else knows them, or only knows them by name or by face, and that's it. And they can't see past their flaws, since they don't care about people's perception of them, and in time it only grows worse; you can never be sure that the person who's in the same group you're in is your actual friend or a person who's been spreading negative rumours about you behind your back. How could you, when you don't mix with others?
"Last of all, these people have, at the most, less than 10 friends; I have almost 422 at the same time."
My answer definitely caught him off-guard. Okay, so maybe it didn't go on as long as that and it wasn't that formal, but the essence of it is there (see why I prefer writing to speech? You tend not to leave out details when you write it down). He then told me that he saw me as a sort of 'Avril Lavigne' figure - completely comfortable doing my own thing and following my own head, but at the same time not the kind to make a fuss out of it. I'm not the 'follow-me' kind of person. If you want to come along, then that's good; but if you don't, that's totally fine.
He also said something that inspired me as well: "There is no wrong or right. It all depends on what you feel, deep inside your heart."
Which is also essentially the same thing Bosz told me in a letter she hand-wrote (in response to a letter I wrote her, about a month into the programme).
Haha, I think I was probably among the people who had the most drama in the NS life there. Being Penghuluwati doesn't help either. But if Cikgu Ang hadn't chosen me for that part, I'd never have mixed with all those people, and would probably never get the chance to do that for the rest of my life.
Involved myself a lot. Painted murals, did the logo and the flag for the Alpha Wolves, had my first real experience being a leader (and of such a big group), got disciplinary punishment the military way, broke people's perceptions that a 'normal' girl can't play guitar, had my first experience with guys since leaving Grade 6 (and they were a really great bunch), got picked as Wirawati Terbaik Keseluruhan under Kompeni Terbaik Keseluruhan (go Alpha! =P), and basically had a kick-ass time. {Well, the camping trip could have fared better if we didn't have to take down our tent mere minutes after spending 1 1/2 hours putting it up, but a real-life war won't save any late soldiers out of mercy, right?}
Phew. Now that was a loooong entry....
Actually, I felt a lot better in the camp than when I did at STF. Too much pressure, too much peer pressure, such high expectations, and nary a reward for doing your best. I always felt helplessly overshadowed there, and it didn't help that people put me down even further. Thanks a lot for drilling the self-confidence out of me, guys. If it hadn't been for the band and Bosz and a few good friends, I'd have quit long ago. Same goes to all you people who act nice in front of my face but don't bother to help me out when I need it the most. I know that you're a lot more comfortable spreading rumours about me than actually helping me fix the problem. Of course, you can't see past your own flaws, so I really shouldn't be too judgmental, right?
It was you guys who made the problem worse, because you left me nowhere else to turn to.
None of you even care to know how empty I really felt when I was around you guys, ever since the first year. Are those how good friends really act? Are you still playing your pretending games with each other? Pretending to care while leaving each other in the dark?
Are you still playing your flute?
Thank you guys, because you made me realize how important my few friends are. And how important it is to never associate yourself with just a set group, with no desire to extend your friendship outwards, to other people who, sometimes, go to sleep dreaming that tomorrow, they'll be able to feel appreciated.
Unity doesn't mean spending every last second of the time you have together. Unity means that you'll be there for each other because you really want to, no matter what, when you need each other's help. Everything in between pales in comparison to that rule.
Oh, yeah. And guys? I know you believe I ain't straight. Believe what you want; both God and I know who I am, and there's really no point in me trying to prove anything to anyone. So enough of the bad-mouthing already, if you haven't stopped yet.
Thank you guys, for helping me slowly rebuild my independence. I no longer need someone's nod to do something, or someone to follow me everywhere I go just to make sure I'm doing 'the right thing'. I can live on my own now.
Right. Before I end this post, I'd just like to remind all you readers (again) that these are just my honest thoughts. If you don't find it very likeable, I suggest you skip any of my blog entries (I'll add the tag #hikarinaito to each of my entries from now on). These are all experiences from my point of view; other people have different feelings and thoughts on the exact same events. I place importance on sharing exactly how I feel about things, and being honest and open about it. Again, if that bothers you, don't read this. Thank you for your support.