My Loot

I, have been keeping myself busy. Well, 'busy' as in, I've been doing enough stuff so as to not let my brain cells rot due to sheer boredom. Yeap. I hang out with friends and cousins, bought some books, read them, play the piano alot, watch movies, drive around :) The usual. Just, living.

Speaking of books, this is my loot. From the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale in Amcorp Mall. Went twice. With Mai mai & Adi then with Mom and auntie on the last day because all the books go at RM5 on the last day hehe.

My Loot:

1. Bright Shiny Morning (James Frey) - RM8

2. The Gone-Away World (Nick Harkaway) - RM8

3. Two Little Boys (Duncan Sarkies) - RM8

4. Penguins Stopped Play (Harry Thompson) - RM8

5. Fairyland (Paul J. McAuley) - RM5

6. Silverhorse (Lene Kaaberbol) - RM 5

7. The Raw Shark Texts (Steven Hall) - RM5

TOTAL = RM47.00

Of the 7 books, I'm done with Two Little Boys by Duncan Sarkies which I picked up from the 'Children's Section'. Clearly, the staff judged the book by its cover and deemed it to be a Kid's books. That book is ANYTHING, BUT, suitable for kids. Uhuh. Yeah. I'll describe it in four words: CRASS, TWISTED, PSYCHOTIC, FUNNY. It's funny alright, in a dark, obscene (plenty of this =_= 'F' word all over the space) kind of way. I've never really liked dark humour but I get the stuff in Two Little Boys. Duncan Sarkies the author, is definitely mental I think :-/ But still, I shall keep an eye on his future books.

Two Little Boys...gosh, I can't put the plot into words. Egh, anyway, it's about uh, two guys, a dead Norwegian backpaker, a Maori dude, an absolutely SCREWED up friendship, and New Zealand. Haha yeah. The story is set in New Zealand. Specifically in Otago, Dunedin in NZ. Which is also EXACTLY the place I'm heading to early 2011 (University Of Otago, insya'Allah). So, it creeped me out A LOT the book. EGhhh.

Enough of that.

I've also read a bit of Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey. It's like...well, so far, I deem it a books without a beginning or an ending (perhaps). Just the relentless drumbeat of multiple lives of the people in metropolitan L.A. Their, hopes, dreams & fears. It's like a painting in words. This book is also thick as heck, so I'll treat it like an old friend. You know, the kind of book you can read, then just leave it a while. Once you start reading it again, the story can still be grasped, the kind of book that greets you with open arms. No complex, twisty yada yada plot.

At the moment though, I'm reading The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall. So far, I find it very intersting indeed. Quoting Mark Haddon (He wrote 'The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time'), "Very entertaining. The bastard love-child of The Matrix, Jaws and The Da Vinci Code." Get the picture? Haha. Oh yea, this book will be turned into a Motion Picture soon, I think. Well, it says so on the last page. Just noticed that. :-/

Hm, I feel like mentioning this. You know, when I read a particular book that I kinda can relate to, or I think is awesome, I'd write a letter to the author. Yes, I do. And I never post it or e-mail it or whatever. Lame huh? I don't know. Somehow, by the time I'm done writing what's on my mind, they end up being, kinda personal. *sigh*

Anyway, what else?

Nyee, I don't know. Life is pleasant in general. I'm happy :) and I'd like to keep thoughts of 4th of January 2010 far far away from my mind. Yeah, I've still got 5 weeks of holiday and I can already feel the blues skirting at the edges of my mind. It's annoying.

One more thing, my little brother Adi got circumcised today haha. He's a real 'boy' now.

Big Bad Wolf

Need I say more?

MWHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHA.

I'm going tomorrow.

Update:

I had an awesome Aidiladha in Terap, Kedah over at my grand parents' (Mom side of the family). Went to Penang Island and did some shopping at the Pasar Malam in Gurney Drive with my 'suku sakat'. Hehe. Will upload some pics later, Abang :)

Bakat Baru Gempak Starz 2009

ADILA got first place for Under 18 (B - The Orange heading)!

Click the pic to make it bigger~ :D Wheeeeeee~

Yeap, Adila, one of my bestie, won first place in the manga drawing competition organized by Gempak Starz called the 'BAKAT BARU GEMPAK STARZ 2009'. It's her first time EVER entering this Bakat Baru thing and she won 1st prize. Yes, she is THAT wonderfully talented.

Bakat Baru 2009 is Adila's 2nd manga drawing competition she's entered, her first was the Kinokuniya's in which she also won first prize. I am oh so freaking proud of her. There was not a shred of doubt in me that she's going to win first place. :) Wanna know what she won? Here:

1. RM1800

2. A scholarship

3. Bonia watch

4. Indiana Jones Figurine

5. A plushie

6. A glass TROPHY

Since Adila is already on a MARA scholarship to do engineering, of course she can't (and 'won't' anyway) accept the scholarship to do some diploma in arts or whatever to some unknown college. She's artsy AND brainy, wicked huh? Undoubtedly, if Dila ever wishes to pursue a career in manga drawing, she'd be pretty darn famous in Malaysia.

I'm going to sound like a rabid fangirl writing a resume or something if I expound more on her brainyness =_=' So uh, let's just say she always gets No.1 since kindergraten haha.

As for the money! Ho ho ho. Adila, kau wajib belanje aku dan Mai. (Mai, die cakap OK! da heh)

That aside, yeah yeah. The Indiana Jones figurine and plushie is kinda random but whatever haha. She said the trophy is small but real heavy! (Man, I so wanna see it but she's in college now T . T, Mai mari kacau dila ble die cuti nanti).

Oh, how I wish I can post up a page of the 6 page one shot she drew for the Bakat Baru!! But she did the thing in like I dunno, less than a week? So, she didn't even got to scan it! So, if you wanna read it, you'll have to wait for Bakat Baru 2009 to be published. *sigh* But here, if you wanna see a glimpse of what she's capable of...

OH! hm, about the other participants. They're all very very talented too. Dila was all "Aku takkan menang punye!" because their artwork is very detailed and stuff. Typical fantasy/adventure manga, with all the flashy backgrounds and stuff.

But really, all those kinda stuff is DULL & STEREOTYPICAL compared to Dila's style. Her's is a breath of fresh air and the funny plot makes hers stand out from the other participant's. Not that Dila's oneshot isn't detailed and all that! ANyway, Dila's oneshot is about an 18th century ( I think) vampire's misadventures when he came to visit Malaysia :D No, the vampire is NOT Edward Cullen-esque. I assure you. ^_^'

I think I've rambled enough, so, what I was trying to say anyway is:

CONGRATS DILA!

P.S: Pesanan dari Mai :) ...um, Mai you spelled 'Noorfatin' wrong haha.

Roti Bakar.

My laptop is toast. Yep, brand spanking new barely one month old lappie is toast.

It's over at low yatt at the moment. -_- Sucks huh? Something wrong with the hardware. Thank god for my 1 year warranty, thus they'll be fixing it up til it works while not costing me anything. Worst comes to worst they'll replace the motherboard which practically lands me with a super brand spanking new unit, again. I'm good with that :)

In the meanwhile, I'll just cozy up with my dad's ancient fujitsu S series lifebook. It ain't too bad. It works and that's what matters I guess.

Confessions Of An Honestly Brooding Heart

Love,

What is it?

If not merely a play,

On a fool's mind.

Hate,

I deem it fleeting,

As the pain of a broken limb,

Lingering yet fading.

Grateful,

I should be,

I wish I could always be,

I almost never am.

Longing,

For things I don't understand,

For a beautiful end,

That will never come true.

Always two faced,

Are the things of great significance,

I wish to contemplate,

Their volatile existence.

Thus again...

Love,

More than that of lovers,

Is those of blood bound,

Or ones of divine grace.

Hate,

Whom without love can't be,

Burning within some,

A promise of destruction.

The courage I can't muster,

To say what I want to say,

For fear of no return,

From a misleading pathway.

I've no wish of falling,

Or to tear things apart,

I've no wish of following,

All the whispers of my heart.

May light be shed onto,

The day that we all wait for,

When you, I and they merge,

Into an entity of eternal peace.

To be grateful for,

To stop longing for,

A beautiful fall,

Into an oblivion;

Of things that truly matters.

Neverland

Enough of me trying to create drama by writing a post about drama (Okay, kelakar, HAHAHAHA! Note: No, you don't know what I'm talking about because I deleted it :P). I'm just whining because I can't get onto the roof. Yeahhh. I wanted to get onto the roof and snap pictures of the moon, stars, sky. Whatever's up there anyway.

In life, I tend to seek hidden beauties. In any form. Which is why I love art. I've always had this 'I WANT, I NEED to create things. With my own two hands.'...thing...in me. So, this sem break I would like to accomplish a list of things:

1. Paint.

(Flowers, clouds, rivers,horses...etc.)

2. Snap pictures of the clouds in the sky.

(Which I find enigmatic as heck. Heaven's up there, no?)

3. Write a piece of music.

(Not just start playing a melody that's in my head randomly on the piano but actually WRITE them notes down on paper. Maybe even put lyrics on em')

4. Finish reading all, okay some, of the books that I left halfway.

(Ye mai mai, aku masih belum habis Clockwork Orange *sigh*)

5. NOT buy a camcorder.

(I've a thing for gadgets. Y'know, stuff like cameras, laptops, camcorders etc. Oh, excluding cellphones and media players. I feel nothing for those.)

6. DRAW.

(This I'm going to start tomorrow. Went to Kino today, my cousin bought this interesting book on 'fashion design drawing', as in, how to draw poses & clothes.)

7. Study MATHS, Biology & Chemistry for next sem.

(I need to drag myself out of my personal hell called 'Failing Maths' and maintain my grasp on Bio & Chem. I don't have a choice. Gotta do this.)

8. Watch my little brother 'grow up'. ***

***Call me a freak but I have this irrational fear of missing watching my little brother grow up. Like, if all goes well with my AUSMAT, I'm flying to New Zealand in 2011 and come back in 2016. I know that I'll be coming home for summer break and stuff but...boys grow up real fast!

He's gonna be 16 when I'm done. That's just PSYCHO. =_= I can't pinch his cheeks, hold his fist in mine, act smarter than him, mess up his hair, and hug him. Eghhh.

Anyway, I actually talked to him about this:

Me: Adi, nanti kalau kak Yana gi NZ, ble kak Yana balik, Adi dah besar. Form 4. Nanti Adi jadi bosan. *makes a sad face*

Adi: ... Tapi, sekarang kan Kak Yana dah besar. Kak Yana best je. Nanti Adi pun best la jugak. Kite bleh main games sesame lagi~ *grins*

Me: ..........................uhm.

I know that's not the case. He'll grow up, became his own person. People change. When it comes to little brothers, I wish that is not the case. We can go to Neverland and not grow up...I wish.

My lovely SIGMA

Yeap, it has arrived. My birthday present. It came all the way from Hong Kong :)

Guess what?

Egg Carton. Yeap I got EGGS for my birthday. From HK :/

Some freaky looking eggs huh?

HUAHAHHAHAHAHAH. YEAP. I got a new lens for my DSLR.

Thanks to Abang & Papa! :D I took it for a test drive too~

Here are some pics I shot using my lovely new SIGMA:

Hoho. I introduce to you guys MY RIDE~ Yeap. It's mine.

Mom and Dad refers to it as "Kereta Adik" nowadays.

MINE.

It has snazzy new sports rims too~

This plant is as tall as my house. No kidding. o.O

Rambutans from my neighbour's tree.

The branches reach all the way into our side of the yard.

A lil butterfly. AND a cricket. Can you spot the cricket? ;)

Alrighy, I'm done here. Can't put up every single pic I snapped now can I hehe.