the most dangerous poison is idle time

the most dangerous poison is idle time

and too much entertainment

the most important vitamin is MOTIVATION

to set up OBJECTIVES in life

the most difficult trait to acquire

is sometimes the WILLPOWER

the hardest way to CHANGE

is actually the easiest thing to do

but without motivation, objectives and willpower ...

without ENLIGHTENMENT

change will forever be the trickiest thing to realize

Madai Baturong Forest Reserve Nature Centre

Madai Baturong Forest Reserve Nature Centre or Pusat Sejadi Hutan Simpan Madai Baturong or also known simply as Madai Waterfall, is located just by the roadside of Jalan Tawau - Lahad Datu, somewhere around 50 km from Lahad Datu and 15 km from Kunak, Sabah. My colleagues and I always pass by this place whenever we are on our way to and from Lahad Datu for our work trips but never once we stop at this place. It always seems to be deserted, and I've never seen a car parked inside the area before, therefore the assumption that this place was not open to public. I didn't even know and give any thought about what was inside it. Then again, I think we have never passed by this place during the weekends.

One day, while we were on our way back from Lahad Datu, we saw a police road block set up at the road just in front of the centre. Slowing down, I saw that there's actually a few people sitting at a food stall inside the centre. Thinking out loud, "I wonder what is this place..." and my colleague suggested to stop and take a look inside. It's actually a nature centre and there's a waterfall in it.

Information board at the entrance

Oh, by the way, we have to pay an entrance fee of RM 2 (for adult Malaysians) each. The first thing I noticed was how unkempt the little landscape was as we walked further inwards. At the entrance there's quite a spacious parking space, a surau, toilets and showers and a couple more buildings, one of them was the Information Centre. I didn't go inside that building though. The built pavement was really muddy. A huge butterfly greeted us and it was playing hard to get; fluttering its wings around my colleague while following him as he walked yet it did not allow me the chance to snap a photo of it. I was mesmerized though by its size and (if I may say) playfulness.

a kind of forest plant, I presume ... 

not a good idea to swim

The waterfall was not even far from the entrance. We have to walk down quite a long flight of wooden stairs to reach the river and there's the waterfall with its height of about 10-15m tall standing before us. It was a really nice view. The water falls into what looked like a pond of about 15-20m radius before flowing down the river. The water in the river was quite brown in colour although it seemed pure and clear from above the fall. There's a signboard that clearly warns the visitors from swimming and diving. Yeah, we could see with the rocks all over, it is surely preferable to stay safe.

the waterfall and the pond 

the river

The waterfall aside, as nice view as it could be, I couldn't say the same about the surrounding area. Of course I know it's a nature centre in a forest reserve but the place could be more beautiful, accommodating and safer with a little bit of maintenance. The wooden stairs were old and some parts were really soft and could break if a person bigger and heavier than us stepped on it. Some planks have already been missing from its place that we need place our foot carefully. Fallen leaves and branches were left accumulated on the stairs. There's a gazebo but I didn't feel like resting there.

repair and maintenance long overdue

I spotted a hanging bridge but from where I stood I could see the piles of leaves accumulated on it. I doubt that I could walk on it without fearing my safety. It seemed that the bridge leads to the forest where people could trek and climb hills and mountains. We went up to look for the bridge and found out that the bridge was closed. Oh, well, what a shame. My excitement was cut short. There's nothing more we could do here. I hope the reason it's closed is because of renovation or maintenance work is in progress but if it is, there's no notification whatsoever about it there.

it could have been nice to be up there

the hanging bridge is closed ... huhu

This place is really nice but I was feeling quite sad with its conditions. I'm sure if this place is maintained well, it could attract a lot of visitors who love to be in natural surroundings, walking in the forest while enjoying the environment, the view and the various species of flora and fauna. The plus side of this place, in my opinion, is that it is really easy to access, no need to ride a pick up to reach here. This place should be a hit. I hope this place will be maintained and promoted well in the future. It's such a shame to see a good recreational place like this reduced to shambles or being appreciated for the wrong reasons. Surely, there are a lot more to be discovered here.
 

the stairway to heaven .... ha ha ...nah, it will be stairway to death
if you are not careful!

it's all about chemistry

you and me, we have the chemistry. the thing that i miss the most is having an eye to eye conversation with you. we can talk about everything. we have mutual understanding. we support each others' ideas. we don't just talk to each other, we listen too. we never have to pretend, we just be ourselves and trust each other. we share our insights, and our deep secrets, no matter dark or white. having that kind of trust, interaction, and communication with you, is liberating. being with you, it's like getting a full dose of confidence. with you, i feel beautiful. you are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and i cherish our memories together. i am ever so thankful that we met, my friend.

a memoir, a chick lit and a mystery

Footprints In The Paddy Fields is what the author, Tina Kisil, regards as the family portrait and childhood memoir of hers. This captivating book is the author's reminiscence of her earliest life with her Dusun family in Sabah, Malaysia during the 1950s to 1960s era.

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For me, the book is an eye opener for the customs and traditions of the native Dusuns, related by the author through her family's roots and lineage, their life journey, values of life, relationship with other natives, survival and sustenance methods, crafts and skills, sources of entertainment, sadness and joys and everything else under the sun in an engaging way and all through the eyes and the perspectives of Tina Kisil, the young Dusun child at that time. Written as a memoir, this book is more interesting to read because of the honest narration of personal experiences. I was taken back to the times when I flipped the pages of serious books about Sabah and saw those old black and white pictures of native people in their traditional attires and holding baskets of their trades. I had thought nothing of them, until I read this memoir, and suddenly I realize that each and every faces in those old black and white photos has a story, a personality ... a life of their own. It is something to be appreciated and respected. It is a refreshing read.

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I picked up The Men's Guide to the Women's Bathroom purely because of the interestingly curious title. I had a sense that it could be a light and easy chick lit and I was not wrong. The narrator of the story is Claire St John, a 30-something woman who had just lived through a painful divorce, quitted her lawyer job and moved from New York to her mom's rental house in Austin, Texas. The whole story is about Claire's emotional journey to get over her post-divorce era and try to move on with her life. She decided to become a writer and her junior effort is to write about the women's bathroom. It's quirky and funny to read her notes about women and their association with the ladies room. As the author said, the women's bathroom is a sanctuary where every deep, dark secret is revealed... Of course, Claire found herself a new romance, experienced a few embarrassing moments, had a gay male friend and several other girlfriends who were as quirky and funny as she is ... a typical setting. The story doesn't have much of a depth but interesting enough to kill away time with light entertainment.

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In Death In The Clouds, Hercule Poirot solved a murder that happened right under his nose. It was in the airplane of Prometheus, where an old moneylender, Madame Giselle was murdered by a snake venom pricked to her neck via a blowpipe dart. Naturally, everybody in the rear car of the plane were the suspects and it's up to the brilliant work of M. Poirot to find the murderer ... and somehow arranged some matchmaking works in the process! As usual, the obvious question to be answered is who had the highest probability and possibility to kill, when everybody denied having seen anything related to the murder? But it is also important to learn about the victim herself. Madame Giselle is not the real name, an estranged daughter came to light, or perhaps it's one of the clients? In the end, M. Poirot caught his murderer in his usual grand 'moments-of-truth' speech.

Chin up!

CHIN UP!

"Chin up!" was one of the popular phrases when I was in secondary school. Specifically for us 'bandgirls' aka the members of the school's marching band. It's what I was being told by my seniors during my junior years, and it's also what I told my juniors when I was their senior.

Chin up, girl. Don't let your head down. Chin up when you bask in the glory of the glaring sun in the middle of the field coz we have to look proud and smart standing in our reds and blues.

When you feel that your self-esteem is degrading, chin up!

When you feel people mock you for your lack of ability, chin up!

When you feel bullied by people who think that they are better than you, chin up!

Don't ever wallow in self-pity and let them get the better of you. Do not let the negative things catch up on you and anchored you to the bottom of the ocean. Sometimes, certain things might not work out for you, it's inevitable but you can never let it affect you so much. Because you still have a full life ahead to live.

Chin up, go forward and never look back.  

The Long Walk

My encounter with this story started when I saw the movie, "The Way Back" (2010) last year on the movie channel. From the movie, I learned that it was actually inspired by a true story written in a book titled "The Long Walk". The movie gripped my attention till the end. It's one of those adventurous story of prison escape that I have enjoyed after The Great Escape (1963) and The Shawshank Redemption (1994). So, when my eyes caught the book on one of the library shelves one day, I didn't hesitate to pick it up for reading.

The Long Walk is a story of Slavomir Rawicz's adventure of escaping the infamous Siberian Gulag camp during the Second World War (WWII) and traveling about 6,500km south on foot from the camp in Siberia down to India, traversing harsh weather and difficult terrains including the Gobi Desert, Tibet and the Himalayas. His arduous and gruelling mission for freedom was shared together with six other inmates consisting of two Polish soldiers, a Latvian landowner, a Yugoslav clerk, a Lithuanian architect and a mysterious American engineer from the camp and later on joined by a young Polish girl, all were victims of the war. Rawicz himself was a Polish cavalry officer. Of all in the group, only 4 people including Rawicz succeeded in reaching the British India, while the rest succumbed en route.

I have also learned that this story's claim as being a true story that occurred to Rawicz has been debated by many, due to certain parts inside the story that were deemed inaccurate or questionable. Another fact that being brought to light was that the story actually happened to another Polish soldier, not Rawicz. However, as far as I know, none of these debates were definite in confirming whether the whole story told by Rawicz was really true or not. After all, it happened during one of the biggest war in human history, where the world was in chaos.

For me, true or not, this story is an ultimate tale of human perseverance with gripping adventure, exploration of different cultures and tragic disasters before freedom is finally accomplished. A captivating story.

Title : The Long Walk

Author : Slavomir Rawicz (ghost-written by Ronald Downing)

Published:  First published 1956, this edition was published in 2011 by Constable.

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recent indulgence

Hola ... oohh, it felt so wonderful and nice to be able to indulge myself in some books after so many months of not doing it. I don't know why I deprived myself from reading ... maybe too much distractions coming my way. However, it's time to hit the library and let's take a look at my recent accomplishments in the reading department, which consist of  2 very familiar authors in my book archive, Jeffrey Archer and Agatha Christie.

Honestly, I have never read a full novel from Jeffrey Archer, but I have enjoyed several of his short stories collections instead. New additions to the list are "A Quiver Full Of Arrows" (1980) and "A Twist In The Tale" (1988). Most of his short stories are inspired by true events, while a few are his own creation. The most common experiences of reading these stories are (for me) are, one, it's like reading a person's whole life biography, where a story could tell a tale encompassing decades of years, and two, the tales are often normal and bland in the beginning but smack you with a twist or something surprising or unexpected in the end. In these two short stories collections, I have several favourites i.e. from the "A Quiver Full Of Arrows"; The Luncheon, The Coup, Old Love, The Perfect Gentleman, One-Night Stand, Henry's Hiccup and A Matter of Principle. In "A Twist In The Tale", my favourites would be The Perfect Murder, A La Carte, Just Good Friends, The Steal, Honor Among Thieves and A Chapter of Accidents.

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Next, my favourite crime novelist, Agatha Christie. I have read so many of her books, yet there are still many more that I haven't read. Hallowe'en Party (1969) might not be as grand as her other stories that I've read, but it's still one of the best. And it's a bit dark story, when the victim is a child. Now that is quite different because there's never been a child victim in the books that I've read so far. In this book, Hercule Poirot is helping his novelist friend Ariadne Oliver to figure out who and why a 13-year old Joyce Reynolds is murdered in a Hallowe'en party.

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There, those were my recent conquests. And right now, I'm just starting to read a fourth book, all in one week. Perhaps, I'll write about it in my future post. Till then, au revoir.

merdeka di tawau

Normally on every August 31st, I would be glued to the TV for almost the whole morning, watching the live telecast of the Merdeka Day parade in KL. It's a must because it's a very important day in the country's history and I looove parades. Last year, I made it to Dataran Merdeka on the day itself for my first time experience of the live event (and I've blogged about it in here). This year, I just stayed home in my base and decided to see how the Tawauians celebrate this M-Day.

The Dataran MPT

Unfortunately I arrived an hour late, and the parade has just finished  :( . So I stayed on to see what was in store for the rest. The location, the square in front of Majlis Perbandaran Tawau, where in any other day is just a big parking space. I wondered why they didn't do this in the big Tawau Sports Complex.

As in any M-Day celebration, there are always .....

the flag bearers ....

the marching band ....

the VIPs ...

and the Merdeka oath ...

uniformed and security agencies ...

the people ...

Another thing I enjoyed other than parades and marches is military tattoo. The following photos are some of the silent march tattoo from the navy youngsters. It was a small scale one but still entertaining.

Ok, that's it for my M-Day report from Tawau. Wondering where will I be next year, in shaa Allah if I am still around .... Perhaps I should see in other places. Till then. To my country I wish you Happy 56th year of independence.

it's all about trust

My Facebook status updating behaviour is a combination of many things. One of them is venting. And sometimes I vent on a certain topic more than once. One of that is TRUST.

For me, and I am sure it is the same for all of you sensible and mature folks out there, trust is like a china glass. It is so precious and fragile that you wanna hold it with so much care and gentleness. Coz you know, once you let it slipped off your hands, it will fall down and crash and it can never be the same again.

That is how all of us should treat trust. Not just be cautious in trusting other people but also be a trustworthy person yourself. Trust is a major thing in building relationships with your life companion, family, friends, and co-workers. Of course you expect more on spouses and immediate family members. When trust is gone, who is going to back you up when you really need the support? Who will believe you?

Throughout our life we can been hurt because of many things. Some of those pain can be forgotten, can be forgiven, can be mend ... and that's what we should do. But the pain that's caused by  violated trust  by someone that is close to us by blood is something that is very hard to be digested by our mind. It is something that would still linger at the back of our minds even though it has passed on for some time.

*********

I have trusted you coz you are my family. But every time all you did is break it. You gave lots of promises but you never keep it. Don't promise something if you are going to break it later. What more can I do, when you have drained it all, my love, my affections, my hopes for you to become better, my money, my trust? You know what's right but you chose to be weak. You know you've messed up a lot, but you never learn from your mistakes, you never step up to win the big breaks. Instead of making your past mistakes as your drive to success, you chose to whine and wail over them like bad music. Throughout your life, you have been given so many second chances, yet you failed to appreciate any of them, always landing yourself in trouble.

But the most heart-broken thing for me that you are still doing... is you turn your back to Allah... if you ever wonder why everything and everyone seems like failing you, it is because you have failed yourself. All that I have left, is my prayers. You are an adult, no more a child. Your parents have failed you when you are in need of love and guidance, but you have other family members who have helped you and advised you a lot all these times. Why can't you appreciate?

My prayers for you is about everything....be strong and cut the crap once and for all.

Aku Melayu di Kota Inggeris

I like reading travelogues, especially the ones written by a Muslim traveler. I like travelogues because I always like the idea of traveling although I have not done it as much as I want to. I really wish I can travel more in the future, to more distant places and doing much more different things. I always enjoy reading a Muslim traveler's story because I always want to know how to manage oneself by being a Muslim in places where everything is different from my home country, a country where there's no problem in living my life as a Muslim. I like to see the 'other' world from the traveler's perspective and learn how 'the others' react to the traveler. Having my own little share of travel experience when I lived in a foreign country for almost a year several years ago, and though I have collected many wonderful moments and learned a lot of new things there, I wished that I could do more than what I had done in seeking experiences from the aspects of Islam.

 

From my old posts, perhaps you readers have read some travelogues that I had read and reviewed here, like here, here, here and here. Recently, I found this book while waiting to board a plane (most of my travel books I bought while I was on a journey to other place, such a thematic purchase...). Aku Melayu di Kota Inggeris is a book in Malay language written by a Malay scholar, Dr. Muhaimin Sulam, about his experiences while studying in University of Wales Trinity St. David, UK. He divided his story in three parts. In the first part, he shares things about the community around him and the country in the cultural, socioeconomic, historical and political aspects. The second part touches more on the life of Muslims in UK and his experiences and involvement in the Muslim community activities there. The poignant memoir of his late father is evident in the third part, showing how important he is in the author's life. Although there are three parts in this book, I don't feel that there's any distinct differences between them. I feel that there's everything in every chapter and it is full of values.

 

I don't have prior knowledge about Dr. Muhaimin but from this book, I think that it is quite obvious that he is very knowledgeable of the nation's politics and is involved in it at a certain level. However, this author is pretty fair in his comments and presents his discussion in a way that make the readers ponder about it without misconceptions or bad impressions on anybody.

 

All in all, Dr. Muhaimin's travelogue is enjoyable to read. It is always good to learn things that others have learned and to be mindful or aware of the things that happen to ordinary people like us but who lives so far away, and also of the things people take as their values in life.

 

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Miss Simplicity

There are some things in my life that I like to be perfect by my own standards or up to the quality that I wanted. But for most of the other things, I don't mind being simple. I like to be simple for things that need to be simple. Over the years, especially the years of growing up, I might have made some mistakes in choosing what I need. But as I grow older, I learn more.

Being simple in your life has connections with good prioritizing. And after all of the complexities that we have to deal with in our marriage, our work, and the various systems that we are involved in, it's better to cut down the stress level on other things that we can manage to be simple.

The idea of simple can be translated in many ways. For a woman like me who doesn't care much for high-end fashion, it doesn't matter not having tudung Fareeda or Ariani to cover my hair as long as the affordable ones that I wear can cover what it's supposed to be covering. For Hari Raya self-preparation, it doesn't matter to me that I don't buy new clothes, new shoes and new scarves for myself, as long as I can spend my money on something more deserving such as my mom's needs and home supplies. And if I have kids of my own, I would spend it on my kids in a way that I can also teach them the value of money.

Being simple is not the same as being a cheapskate. That's two different things. It is something that I am always teaching and reminding myself. In the financial aspect, if we have limited resources, we have to manage it well so that we won't be landing in great debts. If our resources are abundant, we still have to manage it well so that we can help others more. Sometimes when we have more, we can invest on something good that can last long. Just for example, if we spent it on a pair of shoes, let them be a pair of shoes that we can wear for at least the next Hari Raya. 

Outside of the financial aspect, being simple is just being who you are, being comfortable, being moderate and being able to concentrate your time and mind to other important things in your life. In the end, if your personal taste is in good harmony with the average thickness of your wallet, then it is no problem to lead a simple life.

stepping stones

..... sometimes i think that i am the kind of person who gets bored easily. after doing the same thing for some time, or after being at the same place for some time, i would always wish for something different or something new. i would welcome new changes. i would wish for doing different things, being at different places, meeting different people. i'm not sure whether it's because i am nomadic by nature or .... maybe i haven't found the things that i'm meant to be. maybe i haven't found the things that would plant me to the ground and start "growing hedges around my lawn" rather than keeping everything "portable and open".

..... so far, in the 8 years of my career, i have moved around about 5 times. all of them just happened almost effortlessly, they weren't really my choices, they were just .... how should i say it....., the needs of the service. and when it happened, there were no reasons for me to object or deny them. so, i'm kinda "go with the flow" here. along the way, i met many kinds of people, had many kinds of moments - memorable and embarrassing ones, all included. i had my experiences and from that, i know that i don't want to be in some situations ever again, and some .... i wish i could relive it again and again, and every time i relive it,  i want to make it better.

but, what has passed would stay in the past. right now, i am reaching the second year of the latest 'move', and i am already feeling 'itchy' to leave. however, i have a feeling that i might have to stay here a bit longer than i expected. it's a darn large stone to step on. maybe my next move will be of my own choice and will be under my control. and someday i will find that fertile ground where i can grow my beautiful hedges.

Monsters University & Despicable Me 2

I'm an adult and I'm a fan of animation movie. Never mind that, coz there's a lot like me! Quite recently I watched Monsters University and Despicable Me 2. One is a prequel while the latter is a sequel. In 2001, we have enjoyed so much of the hilarious Sully and Mike and the over-the-top cuteness of Boo in Monster's Inc. Now I would never imagine that 12 years later the Disney/Pixar studio would make a prequel of it, hence the production Monsters University this year. And yeah...it's also great!

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 In Monster's Inc., we have established the relationship between James P. Sullivan and Mike Wazowski as best buddies personally and one of the top scare teams in Monster's Inc. And we also established the fact that both of this monsters have a mutual arch enemy, Randall, the scary and bitter monster with a chameleon-like ability. In the prequel, we would see how these three monsters started to know each other and what made them as they were in the first movie.

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In Despicable Me 2, the story picks up from where the first one left off in 2010; Gru is a now a willing and loving father of the 3 girls he adopted in the first movie and already retired from being 'the world's greatest villain'. But when the world is threatened by a formidable villain that 'came back from the dead', there's no one who can stop him other than Gru, the notorious thief who once had stolen a moon! Or at least that's what the Anti-Villain League (AVL) thought when they send an agent to recruit Gru for help. It's fun to watch the minions, they are adorable even when they become purple with evil. And Gru, while still having his villainy instincts intact when pursuing his mission, still has to dwell with his daughters teenage love and mother figure issues. (Agnes is sooo adorable!) And love is in the air for Gru as well.

 

Overall, both movies are entertaining and so fun to watch. I can't help but noticing how strong the message in Monsters University in teaching the audience, especially young people about how important it is to know who they are and be who they really are, and not be someone else that you are not just to be accepted by other people. Also, each person has their own unique strength and ability. And in Despicable Me 2, it's all about family.

 

Aaaah..I wish I have children of my own whom I can teach all this while watching such fun movies....haha!

 

 

the war inside

 

We are always in constant battle with our own self. We have a lot of inner demons to fight. There are some days that we won, but there's also some days that we lost. We have to check and re-check again our iman, our morals, our self-control in order to not lose so much, so frequent. Or we'll lost ourselves. What's important is self-realization. If we always keep in mind about how good or bad we are each day, we will always make an effort to improve. We are humans, so as long as we are still breathing, we are all exposed to the attractions of lust and excessive desire.

 

The key to do this successfully is to do it slowly, bit by bit, but continuously. We can't just do a little and stop, or we'll never get pass that transformation gauge level. Try to leave the source of our lust and desires bit by bit, and exchange it with positive materials. Don't ever let your mind be idle, fill the void with the positive things. And the most important thing is never let our prayer down. Always keeping it up, and hot, and continuous. Keep our relationship with Allah swt warm, if we never forget Him, He will never forget us.

 

An insight to ponder on, if we are a good person, we will always feel bad and guilty if we realize that we have made a mistake. So, if we are still able to feel that guilt, we still have our iman close to our heart but it really need to be revved up. The problem is when we don't feel any guilt or worry or something amiss when we leave our responsibility as a Muslim. Then we won't realize our mistakes.

 

Every day is a battle day. And this piece of writing is an effort of self-motivation to remind ourself to keep fighting, for whatever wins or losses that we get each day, we will bring them all with us, after we stop breathing, that's when it all stop.

 



it's epic!

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Today I watched a very fun and entertaining new animation film, epic, which was directed by the same man who directed the hilarious Ice Age. It's a fantasy film with comedy and drama elements in the package, adapted from William Joyce's children novel entitled The Leaf Men and The Brave Good Bugs (1996).

The teenager Mary Katherine aka MK went deep into the forest where his estranged and eccentric scientist father lives to stay with him after her mother passed away. Apparently MK's parents divorced many years ago because her mother couldn't stand her father's tenacious-to-the-point-of-madness study about a world of tiny people living in the forest. After giving up on discussing with her father about stopping to pursue his study, MK decided to leave the house when his father's dog, Ozzy, suddenly ran out of the house into the woods. MK then also ran into the woods to find Ozzy.

Meanwhile, deep in the forest, in the Moonhaven kingdom, there exists a group of little soldiers called the Leafmen, who are the only creature in human form that function as the protectors of the Queen, and that also means, the forest. The Leafmen is led by Ronin, their leader. Nod, is Ronin's dead friend's son whom he tried to mold into becoming one of the Leafmen soldiers but Nod just not interested and insists to live independently. Queen Tara, is the queen of the forest and the main power who controls and protects the various life and creatures living in the forest. On the other side is the Boggans, the hideous creatures led by Mandrake who oppose the kind of balance the Queen is protecting and do nothing but rot and kill the forest.

So all these characters will soon have their paths cross one another when it's summer solstice and the time comes for the Queen to choose the new heir for the forest. The first part of the ceremony is for the Queen to choose a suitable leaf pod from a lake. These pods are nursed and guarded by a pair of slug and snail, Mud and Grub. When the Queen finally made her selection, the Boggans ambushed the ceremony, intending to kill the Queen and the pod. In the process, Mandrake's son was killed and the Queen was fatally wounded. On her last moment, she fell near MK who's looking for Ozzie and managed to transfer her powers to the pod and gave it to MK, at the same time shrinking her into tiny size and told her to take the pod to Nim Galuu.

From this part onward, it's a spectacular journey for MK to get the pod to Nim Galuu, assisted by Ronin, Nod, Mud and Grub while she tries to come into terms of being tiny and then surprisingly thrusted into the world that she didn't believe before and that her father has been searching for so long. The group has to dodge and secure the pod and themselves from the relentless attacks by Mandrake and his Boggans who after the death of his son, now wants to steal the pod for himself to create his own Dark Prince.

This is a very fun and entertaining story and you couldn't help but laughing at Mud and Grub with their funny dialogues. And watching this movie in 3D is really awesome. This film encompasses some good morals to discuss with your children. The first being the relationship between family members as shown in MK and her father's relationship. The second being the importance of protecting the environment and maintaining the balance in the nature's cycle of life (at one part Mandrake told his son that the forest is not built in one day, and his son replied that they can destroy it in a day...which is so true..). The third is about teamwork and even though everybody lives as individuals, no one should be alone. There's quite a lot of wisdom quotes in this movie. You can never go wrong with this type of movie, although this one is not the rolling-on-the-floor kind of funny but it has a nice amount of humour in it and the story is good, sensible and entertaining. The animation is also so beautiful. Recommended.

 

UTube : Inspector Mislan & the UTube Serial Rapes

Title : UTube : Inspector Mislan & the UTube Serial Rapes

Author : Rozlan Mohd Noor

Publisher : Silverfish Books, 2012, 298pgs

ISBN : 978-983-3221-41-7

Genre : Crime-thriller, fiction

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As I was browsing the English fiction shelves in a bookstore, among the loads of James Patterson, Jeffrey Archer, Dan Browns et cetera, my eyes caught one local name, Rozlan Mohd Noor (funny that I caught the smaller fonts of the author's name first before I saw the book title's bigger fonts...), and I was thinking...an English fiction book from a local author? That's nice! Picked it up and I remember being so much more intrigued when I found out that it's a crime-thriller, detective story-like...just my thing! Of course, I would give it a try.

The author - Rozlan Mohd Noor was a police officer with the Royal Malaysian Police for 11 years as an Investigating Officer and a Magistrate Court Prosecuting Officer in Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan. This info is available on the book cover. Being fascinated with the evolution of crime solving technology, he became passionate in writing crime stories, hence the production of some crime novels under the character 'Inspector Mislan' series. After leaving the force, he worked at several major corporations and multinational companies, before starting his own human resources and security consultancy business.

The story - The story started with a rape case of a woman at her own home whereby the rapist videoed the rape act and later uploaded the video in 'UTube'. The case is thus put under investigation of the D11 (Sexual & Child Abuse Investigation Division) where Insp. Sherry is the lead investigator. When another woman was raped with the same MO and her housemate was murdered at the same time, Insp. Sherry has to put up with the challenges of working with the tenacious Insp. Mislan under the D9 (Special Investigations) division. Along the way, 2 more rape videos went viral in UTube and the teams are hellbent on solving the crime although receiving a lot of heat from many aspects; bureaucracy, politics and smart-ass hard-to-get criminals.

Apparently, they discovered that the crime wasn't just a simple rape case but involving a more serious issue of hate crimes regarding the gays and lesbians. The author is tackling a what was once (and maybe still) a real-life issue of the nation in this book in such a way that I think he is maybe fictionalizing a non-fiction or maybe parts of the story was very similar to what really happened in real-life investigations.

The review - It's a good crime story, especially if you are a fan of such genre. The book is written in English but there's also a glossary of the local language and speech expressions at the back of the book to help non-Malaysian readers to understand certain terms that are used. The ending, however, is quite subtle. It left me with the impression of 'so is he the real culprit or not?'. A little annoying I suppose, in leaving suspense on the reader's mind at the finale. I tend to think that Insp. Mislan really nab the culprit but what's left hanging is the actual nabbing act and the question of 'will the criminal be prosecuted'?

As much as I admire this book for being one of the non-mainstream genre of novels written by a local author, I couldn't help but questioning the author a little bit about this; why should he needlessly portray local  'hero' characters as persons who embrace 'faithless' lifestyle as if all personnel in the crime solving department are like that? (I don't know if you readers can understand what I mean, 'coz it's difficult to try to explain a certain thing without being specific.) Maybe because I had hoped a local author could do the nation prouder by writing good stuff without the influence of a culture that does not come from this region. Anyway, this book is still a good read and entertaining.

The Great Gatsby

Gatsby. Who or what is Gatsby? To me, the name is quite familiar when I first heard of it. The first thought I had was the famous hair gel brand ... and also, Takuya Kimura (remember the interesting commercials he did for the brand?).

So, this Gatsby I'm talking about is not about the hair gel. It is actually a film currently showing in local cinemas near you. The film is basically adapted from a novel of the same name, authored by F. Scott Fitzgerald that was published in 1925. What a long, long time ago. Anyway, I haven't read the novel before but since this is an adaptation from a popular book, I won't write a lot about the story. Just a simple 'googling' and you can read the whole story in a jiffy.

Firstly first, I didn't know that this movie is from a book. So, I just watched this with zero anticipation and expectation except hoping that it would be a good movie. In a nutshell, I can simply say that this story is about hope, specifically, the hope of a man to rekindle his long lost but not forgotten love towards the girl of his dream. That man is Jay Gatsby, a mysterious young millionaire who owns a great mansion by the lake in the West Egg. He became friends with Nick Carraway, a young Wall Street hopeful, who rented a small cabin just beside his mansion. Across the lake, in the East Egg section, is the mansion of Tom and Daisy Buchanan, and Daisy is the 'second cousin once removed' of Nick (can someone tell me what's that supposed to mean?).

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The love story brewed since 5 years back between Jay and Daisy. Difficult situations ensued and drifted them apart. Since that, Daisy married Tom and Jay ... is mysteriously hiding in his many tales, but when Nick knew him, he is already a big millionaire who throws extravagant parties every weekend. How he came to possess that many fortune, no one really knows but it is demystified as the story unfolds. Everything in the story is about Jay. Who is he? What does he do? What is his motivation behind all the fame and fortune? This story is about a man so driven to re-possess the love he once had but had to let go because of some difficulties and hopes that he can return the time (and everything else) back to how it was before. In the end of the tragic finale, we can perhaps sympathize with Jay, or perhaps Daisy ... We might feel sorry for Daisy, who finds herself torn between an old flame or an infidel husband, or maybe we feel even sorrier for Jay, as he sacrificed everything to the one love he has but it led him to his doom. Sad love story, isn't it?

Anyway, the movie is also available in 3D. With all the extravagant colours of the festivities portrayed in this movie, it might be exciting to watch it in 3D (I didn't, just sticking to 2D). One last comment before ending this piece...why on earth Amitabh Bachchan was cast to play a Jewish character? I am so not getting it...Anyway, overall ... I am just liking the story, though it's sad, and it was enjoyable to see the acting ... but, I think some parts are just way too dramatic and maybe too weird. It's like a musical but not a musical. Modern era songs in a 1920s era movie, I don't know..maybe it's the director's style. Anyway, still...an entertaining film.

alone

alone in my room, feeling uninspired,
time is in my hands, but my mind is tired,
listening to Bruno Mars, It Will Rain to be exact,
made me think of you, and know that it is a fact
that I might be wishing for the stars and the sky,
but if i dare not make that jump so high,
i might never call you as my own,
and my heart will always be alone ...


The dreamer©2013
~ htd, kk 2034hrs

randomly speaking ... boredom

 

boredom is hazardous

 

but before that, what is boredom?

why do you feel bored?

 

you will feel bored when you have nothing to do. no activity, nothing to look forward to, nothing to expect...nothing, NADA!

 

but sometimes it's not because you really don't have things to do. you may have certain tasks. you may have something that you ought to do but ...

 

you don't feel like doing it. there's a heavy feeling about it. you may not like it. you may feel that the things you have to do are not compatible with your nature that you don't really enjoy them.

 

boredom must be cured because if you leave it unattended, boredom can make you feel bad. when you mind is idle, it's easy for unworthy or kinky thoughts to creep in and your mind tends to go sideways. when you are bored, your lose motivation. when motivation is down, you won't feel happy, you don't feel highly spirited.

 

when you are not happy, there will be symptoms, depending on what actually bores you. you might not have the mood to face the day and you sleep late. you wake up late in the morning, and dreading to go to school/work. when at school/work, it's difficult for you to focus on something and wish that the day will soon pass. you may find reasons to ditch classes or work. you tend to be mindless of the rules or in other word, undisciplined.

 

with the above scenarios happening without control, you may lose sight on what's important, and you may lose yourself. plus, you may affect other people too. therefore, boredom is hazardous.

 

it takes a lot of personal effort to overcome boredom. finding the cause would be the first step and would probably be the hardest part. a strong will to change is also essential. if you don't have it, it will be only talk and no walk. fighting boredom is a challenge when the root cause is not known. seek enlightenment because maybe you lack barakah in your everyday life. return to your prayers and seek motivational materials. go get 'em!

 

randomly speaking ... diary

I was once a diarist, I mean, a person who keeps and writes in a diary. I started keeping diaries since my pre-teen years. This conservative diarist wrote everything that happened in her personal life on daily basis in those thick hardcover diaries year by year until she decided that it was enough and stopped. I guess that happened at some time before finishing her first degree. 

 

To me, writing in a diary is a huge emotional matter. Some people might just write chronologies of their day-to-day events or their monetary spending details just for keeping tracks of things. As for me, I wrote my heart out.

 

The things we write in our diaries reflect on who we are as a person and our thinking behaviour. I am not making a study out of this but I think those who keep diaries are sensitive people who thinks too much. But I can't say that people who don't keep diaries are not sensitive and not thinking too much, right? It's not right. So why do some people don't keep diaries?

 

To answer that, I ask myself why did I write before and why I stopped. I guess I have a few reasons for starting to write in diaries. First, I want to let out my feelings and thoughts about things but it's so personal so I can only do it in writing and write it somewhere relatively safe. Second, I like to document things and that include what's going on in my mind. Third, simply because I like reading, hence I like writing. So, maybe some other people do not prefer these ways and opt for a different method.

 

And so, why did I stop doing that? Well, when it's personal, there's happy stuff and sad stuff. Normally we don't get tired reading of happy stuff, do we? Reading back those parts would always make me smile. However, the sad stuff is a different story. After passing some stages in my life, I just thought that keeping sad stories in my life 'sucks'. I didn't want to be reminded of the painful feelings and sad memories anymore. I thought, I should let those parts go far away from my mind. And so I burned them.

 

Burning old diaries. Sounds dramatic to you? Hah, maybe. Can we 'delete' the unwanted parts in our life just by doing that? Of course not. But I did it because of a combination of reasons. First, I didn't want to keep things that I didn't need anymore, in this case, the reminder of unhappy things, but since they were downright personal, I also didn't want any other eyes to see it. Then, as I never stay in one place for too long, transfering thick old personal diaries became quite a fuss. So, with peace in mind, I said goodbye to all those rantings in a small fire at the lawn.

 

Since then, I never write personal stuff 'religiously'. But I guess I can never change who I am. I am that person who like to express things in writing. I found blog. I became more open. With blog I don't just write for myself, but I allow other people to read too. Now it becomes a 'contained' personal stuff, or generalized personal matter. And then it's facebook era. Believe it or not, as much as it is a social media, it is somehow a kind of diary too, depending on how a person use it. I guess I am always a diarist, now with a 'publishing' sense.

 

In the end, I guess whatever I write now, wherever and however I write it, it will be a legacy to someone who matters, someday.

   

Lavender dari Rochester karya Fatihah Pauzihal

Tajuk : Lavender dari Rochester

Pengarang : Fatihah Pauzihal

Penerbit : Jemari Seni Sdn. Bhd., 2012

ISBN : 978-967-0508-07-8; 612 ms.

Harga : RM23.00 (WM)/RM26.00 (EM)

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Lavender dari Rochester merupakan novel penuh kedua nukilan Fatihal Pauzihal yang telah saya baca habis dalam satu malam. Kisah di dalam novel ini berkisar tentang 4 watak yang menjadi tunjang utama iaitu Lutfiyah, Hadi, Zakir dan Wardah.

Lutfiyah yang dibesarkan oleh babahnya dan Ibu Sumaiyah di Rochester pulang ke Malaysia bagi menjalankan amanat babahnya untuk mencari ahli keluarga mereka yang telah lama ditinggalkan. Malang yang bertimpa-timpa ke atas dirinya menemukan dia dengan Zakir, pemuda kampung yang bekerja di KL dan terkenal dengan sifat kasanova. Walaupun begitu, Zakir adalah pemuda yang baik dan bersama-sama Wardah, seorang gadis naif, guru tadika dan kawan sekampung Zakir, mereka membantu Lutfiyah dan membawa pulang Lutfiyah ke kampung mereka. Di situ Lutfiyah bertemu Hadi dan bermula lah satu episod permainan 'tarik tali' dan konflik emosi serta perhubungan antara mereka berempat dan manusia-manusia di sekeliling mereka. Lutfiyah dan Hadi masing-masing mempunyai sejarah duka mereka sendiri. Pertembungan hati watak-watak muda ini banyak dibantu dengan panduan watak-watak yang sudah berusia dan telah lama 'makan garam' seperti Nek Mah dan Ibu Sumaiyah.

Berjayakah Lutfiyah dalam pencariannya dan merungkai persoalan yang menjadi tanda tanya sekian lama? Dan bagaimanakah kesudahan 4 jiwa yang hebat diuji Tuhan dengan pelbagai cabaran pada akhirnya? Apakah hikmah di sebalik semua yang berlaku? Semuanya terjawab usai membaca novel ini.

Komen saya:

Saya bukanlah peminat novel melayu yang rata-rata temanya sentiasa klise dengan kisah cinta terhalang kerana perbezaan taraf keluarga, hubungan kekeluargaan yang terpisah, perhubungan cinta terlarang kerana hubungan saudara atau kisah hidup anak melayu yang belajar di luar negara dan terbawa-bawa dengan arus kemodenan. Novel ini juga begitu, tiada kelainan yang ketara. Namun, novelis ini mampu  mempersembahkan ceritanya dengan baik dengan gaya penceritaan yang lancar, bersahaja dan mudah difahami.

Dari segi isi, kisah ini sarat dengan cinta dan kasih sayang, samada yang membahagiakan mahupun yang menghancurkan; kasih anak terhadap ibu bapa, kasih nenek terhadap cucu, kasih antara 2 saudara, kasih penjaga kepada anak angkatnya - dalam erti kata lain, kasih sayang di dalam hubungan keluarga. Selain itu, kisah ini juga menyentuh tentang kepentingan memajukan diri sendiri, peluang kedua (second chance) dalam kehidupan dan hikmah sebuah kemaafan, seperti tagline novel ini, kemaafan adalah dendam yang terindah.

Kesudahan bagi cerita ini tidaklah sukar untuk dijangka, lebih-lebih lagi jika si pembaca sudah terbiasa dengan jalan cerita soap operas di kaca tv. Bagaimanapun saya cuba untuk tidak membuat jangkaan dan menerima apa sahaja kesudahan yang disampaikan novelis ini. Bagi saya, ia kesudahan yang agak baik dan teratur cuma mungkin sedikit kurang mencabar minda, hehe.

Apapun, novel ini baik untuk dibaca kerana banyak perkara positif yang boleh diambil daripadanya, jika si pembaca tidak hanya membaca untuk hiburan dan melayan mainan perasaan.

di hadapan marlin biru

Di hadapan marlin biru
aku bertamu mencari ilham
ketika suria beransur pulang

dan suria beransur pulang
sinarnya berlabuh bak kilauan permata
di atas China Selatan beralun tenang

Di hadapan marlin biru
si mata hitam, hijau dan biru
sama-sama dibelai bayu borneo
ketika suria beransur pulang

dan suria beransur pulang
hari yang cerah beransur kelam
namun bukan bermakna segalanya hilang
sinar suria berganti kalimantang


apa lagi, jom ke pasar malam ....


The dreamer©2013
~ kk, 2 april 2013

amour

 

Last night we had a rather deep conversation about the future. After all these years of knowing each other and having this really long distance relationship, we really need to have this discussion. It was quite tough. I have my hopes and expectations, and so does he. But in the end, we want the same thing. However, there's a lot of things that we have to put up with if we really want to build a family together. Our families, our base, our financial means, and our way of life. In the end, we agreed to take this one step and see how it goes. If both of us can sort things out afterwards, Alhamdulillah. If not, maybe we're not meant for each other, and that will break my heart.

 

Such huge mountains on my shoulders, I don't know if I can withstand. Sometimes I doubt myself , can I pass these hurdles in my life? I have a lot to do to improve myself, to be better. I have a lot of mending to do. Mending and 'repairing' myself to seek His blessings, to ask for His guidance. And I know I can't break down and cry before really trying to succeed.

 

Years ago, I'd never have thought that things will be this way, that I would meet this man and fall in love.

 

All this roller-coaster feelings....because I fall in love.

 

 

my postcard moments in Mabul part 3 (end)

Location: Mabul Island, Sabah, Malaysia ...

it's a long long story ...

The Lahad Datu intrusion by the Kiram's army has been on-going for nearly a month now. I've been following the updates since I first heard about it in mid-February, a couple of days after the first day they were reported landed in Lahad Datu. At first, I wasn't really aware about it and had no idea that it would come to this stage...well, who did? I was even in Felda Sahabat on the 12 Feb. with some colleagues for maintenance work on our system's equipment there. We didn't stay in Felda Sahabat but at Lahad Datu town, and left the town on the 13th, and all that while we didn't hear any related news. However, we did notice a few road blocks on the way, but we had no idea and didn't think much about it as road blocks are quite usual.

The days after that, the news were all about negotiations and the case were still within the Kg. Tanduo-Lahad Datu area. At that stage, I decided to postpone all work activities related to that district area, but still  ... I wasn't really alarmed and I thought it was still alright to go to other places such as Semporna - the place that a friend of mine and I had planned to visit. My friend from KL was going to visit me at the end of February. We were already in Semporna when the news of the Kg. Tanduo's shootout broke. It was on Friday, we spent the whole afternoon in Mabul. It was actually an unplanned decision to catch a boat to Mabul that day as our initial plan was to enjoy the river cruise in Semporna but we were informed on the last minute that it was cancelled. At night, we went out for dinner quite late, around 8.30pm ... and most of the restaurants was closed. Finally we ended up buying KFC for dinner and when the KFC staffs started to prepare for closing shop a couple of hours early than the designated time, I asked one of the staff what's going on. Then and there I heard the news, still unconfirmed, but possible, that there might be some of the intruders already in Semporna, and for security reason they had to close early.

I took note of that info. I sensed that the whole town retired early (except for Giant Hypermarket and a few shops next to it) because of the rumours. No one dared to say it as confirmed, at least not to us that night. Since our pre-booked island trip the next day was still on, I decided we should just proceed with it and see how things would be going on the next day. On the next day, Saturday, our island trip was proceeded as planned, but with a changed location. Initially, the trip was supposed to go to Sibuan Island, but boats were not given clearance to go there as the island is near to Lahad Datu. So, we ended up going to Mabul Island, and the day went on well. We came back to Semporna around 5.00pm and after considering the time (as I didn't want to drive back to Tawau when it's dark), we decided to stay another night in Semporna and take off early the next morning.

That night we took our dinner early, and we noticed that many shops and restaurants that were closed the night before were open. Around 7.00 - 7.30pm, just as we were finishing our last spoonfuls of delicious dinner, we noticed the people around us, mainly the other customers and the restaurant staff were nervously moving around ... again the sense of a shop going to close early... A young woman came to us and told us to hurry up with our dinner as the restaurant is going to close. Apparently, there's news spreading about shots fired at a village about 3 km from where we were sitting. Of course, we didn't hear any gunshots but after hearing that, we did as the woman said and returned to our inn. I checked the updates all night but only the next morning the news were confirmed that there was a shootout between the police and the intruders at Kg. Sri Jaya Simunul. 

Alhamdulillah, we made it back to Tawau safe and sound and I was relieved that I could send my friend back to KL without any untoward incident. Right after that, there's no secret ... we all know what had happened related to the intrusion from that day until today. I'm keeping tabs on the updates, reading related articles and stay put in Tawau and staying calm. Day to day, the security is tight in certain places. I happened to witness the apprehension of suspicious persons by the armed forces one day. Surely everything that needed to be done is being done right now and we can do nothing except supporting our forces with our prayers and have faith in them.

Sad and silent anger. That's how I feel about all this. The decision to make the eastern part of Sabah as the Special Security Area (SSA) is really something that should be done a long time ago, given the fact that this is not the first time the peaceful nature of our country, Sabah specifically, is put to test. Although the details about it is not yet known, I hope that this thing will be executed swiftly and properly. If I were a native Sabahan, I wouldn't want my land to be terrorized and I wouldn't want my family and I to live in fear. And I also don't want to belong to any other country than Malaysia.

Whatever speculation arises, the main thing now is to avoid the immediate threat first. I wish the intruders would surrender and go home. If they are serious and honest with their intentions, they should make their claims using the proper way, not like this, not what they did to our fallen heroes. No one should be 'singled out' this time. My sympathy also to the villagers who have to evacuate their homes, the fishermen who cannot go fishing, the children who cannot go to school. Usually in this country, people live in shelters because of natural disaster like flood, but this time, it's to avoid eating free bullets in a crossfire. After all this end, they will surely need help rebuilding their damaged homes and crops.

When a problem is solved in hostile manners, then no solution will ever be found. There'll only be revenge and retaliation. We are a nation who loves peace. We say war is crime. We don't want this. We cannot live forever in the past, instead, we have to find ways to live harmoniously from present to the future.

To the fallen ones, may them rest in peace. al-Fatihah.