Saturday, December 14, 2013

Love at First Sight? You're kidding me, right?

No music yet today, if you count out the TV3 jingle coming from the television.
Last Friday night, I experienced something I never thought I would ever experience all my life.

I attended the annual OPA-MGC/TKC OGA Debate/Dinner.
But trust me, I didn't even know what I was getting myself into until I got there.

Maka, siapakah yang sepatutnya dipersalahkan for this unexpected event in my almost-18-years of living?
Three words: Qistina Syasya Maslan

The night before my sisters and I went to the Big Bad Wolf with my roomie a.k.a MakCik. At the same time I was trying to cook up a plan how I could get myself to Sunway Lagoon on Friday to meet up with a friend from Kedah. After much thinking and coming up with yilek solutions, I took the plunge and TEXTED my Dad asking, "Is there any possible way for me to go to Sunway tomorrow? Just asking. Kalau takleh, I'm fine:)" 
His reply: Not possible
So I'm like: K

Party-pooper. Pfffffffffffffffttt.

So I spent my Friday morn' reading James Patterson's Daniel X: Armageddon which I purchased for RM8 rather than the initial RM40 in your local MPH or Popular bookstores, which is an amazing deal because I learnt from reading his Maximum Ride series that Patterson could really break your heart at the end of an EIGHT BOOK JOURNEY and make you feel the roller coaster ride of jumbled up emotions was just not worth your money. Faham tak?

Sedang aku bergolek-golek dalam arena kebosanan, WeChat alert tiba-tiba memecah kesunyian. It was Qisya. I'm like, "The hell does she want from me?" 
Dia mengajak ke dinner rupanya. Tambah interesting lagi apabila dia kata ada debate between RMC dan TKC. TBH, I had doubt and thought she was just messing with me. Fikir punya fikir punya fikir route nak ke Lake Club tengah-tengah KL daripada Bangi ni, dapatlah aku bodek Daddy hantar ke KTM station, naik train sampai ke Segambut, waited over 30 minutes for Faje to pick me up, and zoomed our way to Lake Club to meet up with Qisya and family for the dinner. Up til then, I still had no clue what the dinner was all about. Boy, was I in for a surprise.

Punyelah masin/kelat/payau taik hidung si Qistina Syasya tu tak warning awal-awak pada aku dan Faje bahawasanya tak perlu pun nak pakai baju kurung macam perempuan melayu terakhir masa dinner tu. Kira syukur la aku tak terfikir luar alam nak pakai heels malam tu. Nike flats selamat tersarung pada kaki. Tudung bawal pun boleh tahan off color sempoi habis la tu takat pin butterfly je. Dress code dinner tu lepak je kot. Ada je manusia yang pakai jeans! But I somehow managed to steer my head to the positive view of things. Tah macam mana tah boleh terasa cool pulak dressing ala-ala remaja riang-ria pakai cukup syarat nak ke kenduri kahwin saudara mara. 

Baru terasa macam budak STF di tengah lautan alumni TKC dan RMC yang majoriti dah bergelar mak/bapak budak!

Diyana Taib ni masalah sikit bab jumpa parents member sendiri. Awkward tak terkata! Syukur yang teramat sangat Cik Farah Najwa yang sememangnya mesra alam tu was present. Masuk-masuk hall, nampak banner di atas stage terang tang-tang bertulis: 
Love At First Sight
OPA-MGC/TKC OGA Debate
And I'm like, "Daaammmmnnnnn..."

Apa-apalaaa...janji makan sodap, aku ok!
At the opening of the debate, I had started to reach into my bag for my Patterson but I decided not to stuff my ears with Linkin Park - to be respectful of the event. And I was glad that I didn't. Otherwise I might have missed some of the funniest adult jokes I had ever heard all my life.

The topic was: THBT Love at First Sight is a Reality.
RMC was gov and TKC was opposition. 
I kind of snorted and made a face at the topic. Seriously? That's all these highly achieved Tan Sris and Datuks could think up?
The points brought up by the men were shallow in my opinion. Or maybe it just felt that way because of how skeptical I was towards the topic. Either way, TKC's win was obvious since the beginning.
But I think what made the debate all the more fun was thanks to the moderator. A used-to-be debater from Malay College. Cocky was practically his middle name but it was super entertaining to watch. If I was to vote for best speaker, I'd choose him simply because he made me laugh so hard just when I thought I would be miserable throughout the whole debate.

Who knew men had two heads? New knowledge. Thanks for that, oldies.
And one of the Wong Brothers really got me on the 'Love is an umbrella for lust' joke. It WAS a joke right?

After the dinner, I followed Qisya home and gained a lot of ideas for my bedroom. And we just dished out on so much until 3 a.m. 
Night well spent, I'd say.

#Sedikit perkongsian ikhlas dari hati, out of pengalaman orang sekeliling dan diri sendiri:
Sisters, if a man extends his hand our way, are we to take it as to not be viewed as disrespectful?
Absolutely not. Even if he is older than us or someone of a big name in society. 
Niat tidak dan tak akan pernah menghalalkan cara, am I right?
If you just give a small smile, bow your head a little while mildly shaking your head when offered a hand to shake, it's already enough of a show of respect. And you yourself will gain their respect as a muslim woman, InsyaaAllah. 

An alien horse named Xanthos from Patterson's book just taught me: 
"Never give sway to the negative way."
Well said. I'd love to make a pit stop at your hometown in the Dark Horse Nebula to pick up some nice quotes:)




Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Bahasa vs Language

Currently listening to Alex Goot's version of Bon Jovi's "Living On A Prayer" and I am loving it. Who says classics can't be made new? Some say, "It's just not the same." I don't see it as making a new of the old or even improvising. It's more like adjusting those old school masterpieces so that the new generation could learn to love it too. Sebab tu wujud Light&Easy dengan Hitz.fm. Lain-lain generasi taste pada muzik bukannya sama. But I salute Dads like mine. Layan je lagu orang-orang muda. Tapi bab rap hip hop melampau buat serabut jiwa raga memang aku pun mintak tukar radio station.

Judging by the way I write my old entries, you'd think I'm those budak melayu who prefer to converse in English, write in English and laa-dee-daa. To be honest, I was that kid. In fact I think I still am. Speaking in English gives me that push of confidence I always lack when I'm in a situation that requires social skills. My parents are great in English, I'm guessing due to the fact that they used to study in the US, and perhaps it just rubbed off on us. Plus, Disney was practically a large part of my childhood. Up to this day, with only about two months left of being 17, if you ask me what's my favourite TV channel, I'd say Disney Channel. Favourite movie? Perhaps something from Pixar. But I don't like to be specific on that. Because my interest keeps changing. Frequently.

But it really gets to me when some people see me as 'budak bajet speaking English berabuk sekali dengan accent'. Accent kebenda? Bukannya aku tiru gaya Harry Potter cakap pun. Aku allergic dengan mentaliti orang yang rasa those who prefer to speak English as BAJET. Tegur baik-baik cakap, "Sorry bro. Aku tak berapa nak faham la. Kita speaking Melayu jom?" kan best? Masa form five, bedmate aku (belah kiri) budak Kelantan. Suka sangat sakat aku panggil "British Girl" dengan accent dia yang teramat sangat dahsyat tu. Kalau aku bawak balik food yang rare sikit pun dia panggil benda tu 'biskut mat salih'.

Don't get me wrong. I love this girl. She's one of my 'mom replacements' while I'm at school since I'm horrible at taking care of myself. But although I might laugh every time she mimics me when my English just pours out, especially when I'm on the phone with family, it bugs me up to the point that I wish that language didn't matter to a race or nation. So what dengan bahasa kebangsaan? English boleh bawak aku pergi jauh.
Tapi bodoh jugak cara fikir mcam tu. Kau orang apa Ting? Ayat first kau cakap sejak lahir dalam bahasa apa Ting? Dah kalau bukan kau yang nak martabatkan bahasa nenek moyang sendiri, siapa lagi? The other races in this country don't give a damn about my language. And I'm grateful that it's while in school I realize this. Nak tunggu sedar bila umur dah meningkat dewasa, kira wassalam la kalau nak ubah diri waktu dah sibuk dengan kerja dan kalut fikir hal keluarga. True, it's never too late for anything. Tapi aku sangat bersyukur kesedaran tu datang lebih awal.

Boleh tahan geram bila member sendiri pandang pelik bila aku nyanyi lagu melayu dengan segala feeling bagai. Hafal lirik sebijik-sebijik pulak tu! Setakat lagu Jesnita-Exist tu...heh! Hujung lidah ni je lah. Let's make this clear: I am no minah salih celup. Tapi itu tak bermakna novel melayu bersusun atas rak dalam bilik. Ooohooo... tidak sama sekali. Hlovate sahaja boleh digest. Novel Melayu cintan-cintun balik-balik pasal kena kahwin paksa memang allergic.

Macam dah jauh tersasar dari niat sebenaaar je. (Awek Legoland epic!)

Actually I just wanted to say that I plan to continue telling my life story (as if it's any interesting) like a Malay novelist would. I've had enough essay writing in this SPM year thanks to dearest Sir Rashid and I'd like to experiment with my writing just a bit. I've long had a desire to write a novel but it's difficult to describe completely Malay settings and situations in English. It doesn't serve justice to the background. The closest example I could give is the south zone literary component, The Curse. Its setting is in a Malay village but even the word 'village' throws out the thrill and awesomeness that the word 'kampung' would provide, don't you think?

In this case, saying, "It's just not the same" is valid.


Never a Breeze

Setahun. wow. Dahsyat.
Currently listening to a cover of "Let Her Go" by none other than Kurt Schneider and Tyler Ward.
Amazing how music and a bunch of words can get to you, huh?
Dah lama aku tak terfikir pun nak tanya khabar blog ni. But obviously, being absolutely free of any kerja yang menyerabutkan jiwa, I have ample time in my hands to post entries.

As the world probably knows (bajet satu dunia kenal Diyana Taib), I'm not interested in keeping posted about what others are doing which has nothing to do with me. (The NBA has plenty to do with me, so itu wajib follow. How else am I supposed to know when Lin's coming back from his injury?) And I definitely have no interest in letting people know what I'm up to. Which brings me to the topic of my not getting the concept of twitter and these people getting tweet limits. What are they tweeting??? "Hold that thought, I need a potty break"?

 Kay. Tu lawak. Ada eh orang nak pergi tandas pun bagi tahu satu dunia?

But it's up to them laa. Who am I to say they're being ridiculous? Silakan wahai rakan-rakan di Twitter, Facebook dan sebagainya. Knock yourselves out and tell the world what colored underpants you have on today!

This past year had been a series of roller coaster rides from various different theme parks. You name it; Universal Studios Singapore, Sunway Lagoon Adventure Park, Legoland Malaysia, Genting Highland Theme Park, Cosmos World Times Square, heck, even Disneyland Hong Kong. Naik atas, turun balik, loop-de-loop, corner kanan, corner kiri, gostan pun ada. Gila ah. Nak putus nafas aku tahun ni. Air mata jangan cakap lah. Mahu tiga baldi penuh.

How about we tell this story from the angle of a Malay novelist eyy?

Mulanya hikayat apabila hanya tinggal beberapa hari bergelar budak form four. Studies memang tak tentu hala sejak awal tahun. Mana tidaknya. Kepala dah tak boleh nak fokus pada pelajaran. Aktiviti kokurikulum yang jauh lebih menarik jika dibandingkan dengan duduk menghadap buku pagi, petang siang, malam sememangnya cukup memenuhi ruang minda yang pada hakikatnya tidaklah seluas mana. Tambah pula menjadi seorang pelajar yang sentiasa berada di kelas paling hadapan sejak form one. Alhamdulillah setiap kali peperiksaan akhir tahun, keputusan boleh tahan warna melayang. (Flying colours. Saja hyperbola. Sue me kalau tak puas hati.) So naturally, my confidence that I would manage throughout the whole academic year even when piled up with extra curricular activities was sky high.

Dah memang salah diri sendiri kalau niat tak betul hari pertama menapak ke sekolah untuk mulakan sesi persekolahan tahun 2012. "This year, I really want to focus on the team. Kekalkan kejuaraan yang seniors tahun lepas tungkus-lumus dapatkan. Break a few rules maybe? I've been too good for too long. Bukannya aku ni prefect pun nak berlagak buat baik bagai. Yang penting, aku dah form four. Aku nak suruh juniors berus tapak kaki pun takde hal lah."

Bagus kan niat? Satu azam pasal nak maintain grades gempak pun tak ada. Elok punya perangai. Betul lah orang kata. Dah cecah 16 tahun, rasa diri sendiri je betul. Kata orang lain dah tak boleh pakai dah. Aku rasa perubahan dalam diri aku. Senang naik angin, senang tak puas hati dan susah nak terima kata-kata orang lain yang sebenarnya nak memperbetulkan apa yang dah terang lagi bersuluh tak betul. But I managed to contain the rebellious side of myself that was growing. Alhamdulillah persekitaran waktu tu membantu tahan diri daripada asyik nak memberontak. Mentaliti orang sekeliling masa tu masih kira boleh pakai. Empat tahun kut dengan orang yang sama dalam satu kelas. Dah selesa. Tapi semua orang membesar. Setiap manusia yang meningkat usia mengubah perspektif mengikut keadaan semasa. Kira tak adil lah kalau nak samakan pemikiran pemuda zaman dolu-dolu dengan anak muda sekarang kan?

*****
It's maghrib. Uhh, to be continued?