2011- The Year In Pictures And Words

P:S//Sorry for the no-updates! Exams are coming up..so had to use my time to study. Hope you guys understand!

It's been such a fantastic- and agonizing year 2011 has been and I can't believe that i've gone through all these shit in a year.

Err..literally.

Lets see..what actually happened in 2011?

January

Back to Micet, one of the Universities which are located in totally rural area of Malacca were such a pain in the ass for me. I didn't particularly liked Micet as much as I would, since you're totally isolated from the outside world- where without your own transport you're deemed to be brain dead (not to mention that slowwwwwww free wifi in the dorms) and stuck with the horrible cafe's. I still miss Pak Ya's cafe and Kedai Puaka-(Don't ask why we name it), they had the best meals and were good value for the buck.  Me and my friends kicked start January with a dinner at Malacca's best seafood place, Umbai and went to Melaka Wonderland.

February

Still in Micet and staying strong. In the month of February Micet had a sports carnival and from all the games that we played, we won medals in Takraw, Ping Pong (a confirmed gold), Netball and a few which i couldnt remember. But the highlight of February was the sending of our roommate, Lee, which is due to study in Auckland, New Zealand at KLIA. There were a lot of families attending their childrens sending off and to tell you guys the truth, I was proud to see them flying off and was sad to see our roommate going to Auckland.

March

This was the saddest month that i've gone through. With assignments, tests and exams are due and during the night before my birthday, my beloved aunt passed away because of blood cancer. I can't fly back to Kuching the next day since I had a test on that particular date and there I lay down, crying by myself with disbelief. In short notice, Allah took her away from me and my family. Writing this still gives me chills and sadness and if only I've spent much time with her..

April

April was a slow and the most boring month i've ever had. Everyone was busy with their studies, as exams are just a month away and everyone wants to get their asses on the plane and fly to UK. It was also the month where me and my friends went to KL to take a look at the PC Fair and paid a visit to our good friends at iprom.

May

May 2011. This was one of the best month in the calendar where surprisingly I was nominated as one of the winners in an essay writing competition and met the ex-prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad. We also had our graduation dinner and it was a blast. Final exams were a breeze, but Engineering Design paper, made by Mr Law spoiled the mood where the questions were like- fucking hard. Finally I could go back to Kuching and relax myself after 5 months of studying.

June

June was the month where I had the chance to fully explore my hometown, Kuching. A few friends of mine from the peninsular came to visit Kuching where there was this cheap online flight tickets to Kuching from Airasia. The trip to Bako National Park was one of the best trips i've ever had. With tantalizing trails and hikes, we managed to travel half of the island but managed to see the wildlife in deep of the forest, natural waterfalls and rivers and few monkeys i've never seen before. In this month i've also managed to watch my local team, Sarawak, play against Kelantan at the Sarawak stadium but ended in bad blood; with firecrackers being thrown around in the stadium which were hugely entertaining than the match itself. Lol.

July

It is confirmed. It is confirmed that i've pass my exams in Micet and I was totally overjoyed. With the coming of the EPL giants- the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea to Malaysia, I thought this would be the most appropriate time to treat myself- with two match tickets (Liverpool and Arsenal), this is once in a lifetime experience. Booked myself a plane ticket and flew to KL on the day where there was this riot- BERSIH which intervened my journey to Hakim's house. Thanks to Muadz, i got a place to stay or it'd be damned to stuck in traffic in which major roads are closed. Liverpool won 6-3 and honestly, it was a very good game compared to Arsenal's, who won 4-0 simply because Safee and Safiq Rahim scored 3 beautiful goals for Malaysia.

August

Visa. Oh Visa. It's the holy month of Ramadhan in August and it was deemed to be the one to cherish as I would be leaving soon. But this month was pretty much fussy as I had to complete my visa application which I did twice. The first attempt was a disaster though, as the day before I wanted to send in my visa application, i've just realized that my passport will expire by 2012. And I was like.."Shit mangggggg..i've just wasted my money to buy plane tickets to KL and now I have to go here again next week!" On the day where I had to send my visa application, I had to take a taxi to Damansara and renew my passport on the spot. Took me like 5 hours to renew it since they were lots of people renewing and applying for a passport and oh, Eid was on 31st of August. Lovely date.

September

Celebrating Eid with friends and family, it was certainly the month to enjoy in September and saying goodbye to Malaysian food, lovely friends and caring family was really tough- with a new world and environment awaits, I am unsure about my capability to adapt to the english world- England, Sheffield. The first week itself has been hell, as I was caught with a flu and asthma and jetlag. The first week of lectures has been a breeze and had to do a little adjustment with my surroundings as I had to constantly remind myself that this is not Micet. In Micet we usually have class like in a group of 26 people and it was easy to ask questions with the lecturers. Now, its a different story.

October

As i'm trying to settle down in Sheffield, i've noticed that the shops here close very early, like at 5pm and they have this VAT tax- which is due 20% on stuffs, mainly on electronics which is a total rip off. In Malaysia they have 6% but its 20% here in UK! If any of you guys planning to buy laptops please buy at Malaysia, which is a hell lot cheaper. In October i've also went scurrying around in Sheffield and managed to experience a carboot sale which is pretty massive. A trip to Liverpool and Anfield gave October a month to remember; sad that we dont have tickets for the match, otherwise it would've been the perfect trip.

November

A lot of things happened in November and the main highlights was celebrating AidilAdha at Sheffield, my first time visiting Meadowhall (the biggest shopping mall in Sheffield) and ofcourse, the Malaysian Nottingham games and Malaysian food festival. The Malaysian Nottingham games were fun, and the organizers planned our trips perfectly and it was nice to see Sheffield grabbed the champions title in football. It was a pretty intense final though and i'm sure everyone who watched the final remembered what the Manchester university player did to the ref, right? Lol.

December

December is the final month of 2011 and to top things off me and my friends had a christmas dinner with my and other flatmates at Lawrencefield. I love the vegetable dish and gravy that my flatmate cooked. It was tha boombbbb. December was also the month where we had our final lectures and say goodbye to our flatmates as they were going back to their hometown. Me and my friends had a dinner ourselves where we tried to cook Nasi Lemak but failed miserably. But still the taste wasn't that bad though. Still eatable. Lol. And finally, December ended with style where I've had a chance to travel to Amsterdam, the city of Sins.

**********

Well, that's pretty much what 2011 was about for me- a simple words and picture summed up in a blogpost. Probably this year (2012) resolution is where i'll finally try to exercise and get a six-pack and some good grades for my masters degree.

Happy 2012 everyone! And no, I don't believe that there'll be apocalypse on 12.12.12.

Bullshit all over.

Photo Sharing: 30

Drizzles of rain trickling over at Amsterdam- by and large, so far this is my favourite photo from my recent trip to Amsterdam.

It feels..so..warm and intriguing.

Dream

I've always dreamed off being an engineer and my love for chemistry had given me the edge towards chemical engineering. But, when I've started teaching and worked as a teacher and a personal tutor to students that was when I've thought-

"Hey, teaching seems kinda fun..why dont I try becoming a real teacher or a lecturer some day?"

So i thought, yeah, why not? Doesn't mean that im going to finish my studies, obtain a masters degree in chemical engineering- i'll end up to become an engineer for life. Maybe I could become an engineer for a few years, set up my own tuition centre and be my own boss, and teacher.

You don't have to be someones slave and do everything that someone told you so. One day if im fortunate enough, i'll build a tuition centre that every students will love- a tuition centre with its own cafe, its own place to chill, a library or an internet cafe. That'll would be the best tuition centre ever. I know some parents would think that it would be much of a distraction for students, but as long as the students get their education and are happy- then i'll die being a happy man.

Thats my dream.

Dreams are never too late to reach. Even when you're almost dying.

Its never too late.

Boxing Day In Sheffield

They say that its the biggest event of the year.

Mark 26th of December on your calendar boys- because thats boxing day and that would be the only day where you could get a PS3 with a whopping 20-30% discount or a good ass bundle.

Apparently im dreaming.

That picture above were the only things that I've bought during boxing day- a Sherlock Holmes novel and the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (both for 11.99 pounds), a 100% cotton cardigan from primark (10 pounds) and a box of ferrero rochers (1 pounds; we ate all of them already).

I was left disappointed with the fact that I couldn't get a PS3..its been a while since i've been scouting for that console- heck, i'll just wait for next year's boxing day.

Woke up as early as 7am and walked through the treacherous winds and little bit of pouring rains were some challenge that me and my friends had to endure to go for boxing day and as we reached the tram station, I was left shocked to see that there were tons of people queuing to get a ride.

What's so special about getting early? Does that makes you an olympic gold medalist?

Well, from my humbled point of view, it does gets you to purchase dead cheap clothes, shoes and other apparels at shops and in Meadowhall, I was left awestruck with the swarm of human walking around and trying clothes on. Since there's limited amount of fitting rooms, some shoppers bravely put down their pants and tried their denims on. (And that damn long queue)

Cool. In paradise Malaysia you would get shot by a phone camera and got it posted at Oh! Media entitled

"Pembeli tidak beradab. Apa nak jadi dengan manusia sekarang"

Ahhh..whatever.

One thing I'm disappointed about this boxing day was the lack of discount given on electronics stuffs, like headphones, tvs, monitors, consoles, etc, etc- you get the drill. It's a shame really, since i'm not really a fashionista, but a technogeeko.

The clothes are really damn cheap I tell you, when I entered Primark at 10am something I saw this cool winter jacket which I thought was on a really good deal, like 10 pounds and thinking of buying it afterwards. But after a while, it's gone!!

To compensate my disappointment, that was the time when I thought-

"Dah lamak dah sik baca novel.."

And there comes those two new books in room. Reading internet posts saying people queueing up as early as 4am kinda put me on a perspective-

When it comes to shopping; especially discounts, "Get up early, grab that deal, be a happy man"

But today- I thought-

"Got up early, deal wasn't there, went home a sad man"

P:S// Why Cinema's in the UK doesn't have subtitles on their movies?! Sometimes its hard to understand complex storylines when you can't even understand what they're saying..warghhh. (And oh, sorry for the lack of pictures during boxing day, thought that it would be a good idea to enjoy myself and enjoice the shopping bonanza's. Heh)

This Is Winter. This Is Amsterdam.

Fuck this shit.

Seriously.

I've been such a couch potato this winter. There a lot of blog posts that i've wanted to write and share, but instead all i do is sleep, eat and surf the net. No productivity at all.

It's winter and i'm not going to brag telling you guys how cold it is. I'm sure you guys know how exactly COLD it is during winter, and how many layers of clothes are essential if you want to avoid getting frozen nipples on the street. (Or icicles)

Anyways, to fill up the "no productivity at all" slogan into the bin, my friends planned a trip to Amsterdam, by Ferry.

Ferry?! You fucking serious mate?

I tell you, the Ferry is freaking awesomeeeee!!! Top notch. Top Quality.

"Barang baik bai..5 stars aku bagi"

The price is not that expensive, where the tickets costs me 36 pounds and the experience it gave was overwhelming and worthwhile. But before the Ferry trip from Hull, we went to the Deep, a place which looks quite similar like Aquaria at KLCC and we were kinda disappointed with what the place had to offer. It's boring.

If i was a kid, most probably my face looks like this when I look at those fishes in the tank-

=D

But now..

=.="

Lol.

Inside the Ferry, we had hotel-like facilities and they were a lot of entertainments such as live bands, cinemas, sundecks, live football matches on telly and casinos- where we saw lots of people lost hundreds on pounds in one night. One thing that I didn't really like are those random checks that they did on us when we want to board the ferry though, which is kinda odd.

Once we reached Amsterdam, first thing that i've noticed is that there are sooooo many bikes on the streets. Like, a gazillion of them on the roads of Amsterdam. Never in my life I see bicycles hogging the road that many and feel intimidated that I could get hit by a random bicycle and die. Ok, I think i exaggerated that part a bit. Heh.

As we walk through the streets, we could smell weed. Weed, magic mushrooms, cannabis, or any kind of soft drugs are legal in Amsterdam and so is prostitution- at the Red Light District, or codename RLD. Amsterdam, the city of Sins- drugs, alcohol, sex and freedom- their motto, I suppose.

Weeds in Amsterdam are sold in local coffee shops and you can directly smoke it inside the coffee shop which probably costs you 10-20 euros a packet. I'm not a weed smoker, or a cigarette smoker myself but my tiny little brain does says that its a waste of money. Well, kinda.

Strolling away in the streets of Amsterdam, we saw river pathways in which you could see lots of small boats travelling around with tourists inside- not to mention that they're tons of ducks swimming around and swans too. It's my first time looking at a swan and it's a beautiful, elegant and enormous little creature.

The foods in Amsterdam are like..so fucking expensive. (Especially the Halal ones- cut throat prices; kebab with a few pieces of fries costs you 9.50 euros and a can of pepsi would do a damage of +2.50 euro to your wallet. Once we've found where's McD located in Amsterdam, its fillet o fish all the way baby. And oh, wanna use the toilet? That'll costs you 50 cents at Amsterdam's Mcdonald.

In Malaysia its free. Malaysia BOLEHHH!!!

Our Hotel in Amsterdam were a bit crappy and we had to share the toilet and bathroom with other guests, so its kinda inconvenient for us to have our sweet time in the toilet. Forgotten to take pictures of the hotel since we were busy taking pictures of Amsterdam but incase you're wondering, we stayed at Mevlana Hotel and costs us 72 euros a night. Quite cosy. But inconvenient because of the shared toilet and bathroom.

As the night blooms in Amsterdam, me and my friends thought of going to the Red Light District- a place where you can "hire" women for some services and based on my experience, errr...well, I can't really describe it though- all I can say that its full of women that you can "hire" and would costs you 70 dollars for 20min, so do the math. If Malaysia has a RLD of its own, i'm sure its the end of the world. Apocalypse.

At RLD, there's a museum, called Erotic Museum which costs you 7 euros to enter (nothing much inside- view youtube to check whats inside) and talking about museums, we entered one of the famous museums in Amsterdam, called The Torture Museum, which was kinda thrilling. A lot of weapons and unimaginable stuffs were displayed to torture humans and looks disturbing as hell.

Aside of all those nonsense, one of the highlights of my Amsterdam trips with my friends were the mosque in Amsterdam. From outside, you'll never thought that there's a big mosque inside the building, which looks like just a normal shopping lot. But when you come inside, its big, majestic, and so...mesmerizingly beautiful.

Before the prayers, there were Quran verses being read by the imams and the lights were all shut off except at the front of the mosque. Somehow it brought warmth and ease listening to Quran verses on such conditions and gave me chills at the back of my neck.

All good things come to an end and despite only a few days in Amsterdam and running short of budget, I can say that my trip was well worth the time, money and experience. If only we stayed a bit longer, which costs you a bit more money, it would've been the perfect holiday. Probably if there's another chance to go to Amsterdam again, i'm gonna ride that cruise and probably smoke myself some weed.

Lol. Slim chance.

I amsterdam.

Cheerios.

Bicycle

Hi.

I'm a bicycle, and I have a name. You can call me Dunlop. My full name is Dunlop Signature Series Realm and i have a skin color of blue, and black and I would like to share you my story.

2 weeks ago, there was two people, from Sheffield, who wanted to buy a bike from my home, Sports Direct. Two of my friends were picked up from home and sent to Sheffield to their rightful owners, named Buzz, and Saiklop. 

There were very happy to get their bikes and i'm happy for my friends too. I wished them well. Hopefully that their owners will treat them with love, care and lust.

Unfortunately though, one of my friends had a problem with his front gear, so he had to be exchanged. He came back to Sports Direct and Sports Direct sent a new bicycle, another friend of mine to his house and Saiklop, the owner who received the new bike, was very happy with it.

Then, a week after that, disaster came, my friend, who's owner is Buzz, had a problem with his gear and Buzz and his friends tried to fix it, but it was to no avail. So he called Sports Direct and asked wether he can get a new one, and Sports Direct said yes. 

This time, it was my turn, to adventure to a new world, outside from this big building and experience the wonders of nature, city and urbanization.

Sports Direct sent a courier service from Yodel to pick my friend up from Saiklop's house, but couldn't pick him up since nobody was at Saiklop's apartment. So Buzz took the alternative, by carrying the bike from Saiklop's place with Kuna, a friend of Buzz, up the hill to his apartment at Lawrencefield. It was tough. Very-very tough indeed. 

Buzz called Sports Direct and asked them to arrange for a new collection time and it was Tuesday last week. Buzz had to sent his lab report late, just because he wanted to make sure that Yodel picked the bicycle up. After my friend was collected from Yodel, Buzz ranged Sports Direct again to inform that the bicycle was picked up.

So, Sports Direct sent me to Saiklop's house last Wednesday, 30th of November since the order reference regarding the purchase was made at Saiklop's house. I was sealed in a box and it was so dark and gloomy, and I can't wait to look at the sunshine outside. 

When Buzz came, I can see the look from his eyes- he was so happy. Him and Saiklop put me up and assembled me quickly, but Saiklop forgotten that the pump's tyre was at Ecah's house; so Buzz had to walk me from Saiklop's home to my new home, Lawrencefield. On my way to Lawrencefield, I saw my friend and he said "Hi" and said that he was cold. It was Winter, said Buzz, so the temperature is very, very cold indeed.

Once I've reached Lawrencefield, I've been chained next to a staircase and on that night, Saiklop came up with the tyre's pump. Buzz pumped my tyre up and said that he will ride me up this weekend, probably this Sunday morning to the Botanical Gardens and on Saturday night, something happened.

There was a loud noise that night and someone kicked on my rims,  twisted 720 degree's on my handle and my handle bars were pulled off. I was pushed from the staircase and fell down to the earth. I cried in despair. I was going to die. 

I AM GOING TO DIE.

So I closed my eyes..and hope, that heaven would take me far away from this place..I was searching for Buzz, but he wasn't there..he was still asleep. He havent rode me up yet and promised to bring me to the Botanical Gardens but with this condition, I dont think I could make it..I'm sorry Buzz..I'm truly sorry..

*END*

P:S// I'm seriously devastated, angry and sad.