Tahniah Syahir Yem a.k.a AA sebab dapat 8A untuk PMR 2010. Bak kate Pak Lang, lepas ni dah tak boleh panggil AA. Kena panggil AAAAAAAA la plak. Adoh, kalau dapat 10A plak SPM nanti letih la nak panggil AAAAAAAAAA. Panjang sangat tuh.
By the way, brother, I'm proud of you. Seriously.
*2008, lakaran kejayaan Angah.
*2010. Kejayaan berulang. Same place, same event. Same result.
Okay, cukup. Nanti abang bagi hadiah dari US okay.
Next, nyang a.k.a moyang aku yang tersayang;
SELAMAT HARI JADI YANG KE-99!!!
Haha.. yes, I know right? 99 tahun. Wow, dah sangat tua tuh.
Korang tak percaye? Kat bawah ni bukti kukuh.
*actually nyang boleh jalan lagi. yang ni just gimik je sebab Dato' Fauzi datang haha
(Dato' Fauzi: Presiden PKR Pahang)
*yang ni close up IC dier. 111223. Mane nak cari beb? Haha.
Okay, ucapan untuk nyang, jangan nakal2 duduk kat rumah tu. Rajin rajin mandi. Dengar cakap We dengan Aki. Jangan banyak cakap sangat, orang tak suke. Sori lah lame tak layan Nyang mengarut. Haha. Takpe2, taun depan kite buat grand2 punyer okey?
Dah jumpa satu lagi sebab untuk aku survive dan balik Malaysia hidup-hidup. Biarkan apa orang cakap. We have each other now. Winter break tak bosan sebab ada beliau. Thanks a lot :)
Millions of miles away tu terlalu exaggerating. To be precise, 9436 miles. Tak sampai millions pun.
Untuk sape2 yang rindu aku, mak, abah, angah, AA, tat, we, aki, nyang, pak epu, mak emi, pak lang, mak lang, muazim, moksu, poksu, addin, kori, yuman, wani, mak cik, cik amid, teh p, mokde na, nurul, imran, a'an, tirah, dan semua sedare sedare tersayang, ika yang gorgeous, member2 jamming, member2 gig, member2 ngeteh, member2 pecah rumah dan member2 yang buat2 member;
We see the same sun everyday. And we see the same moon. And we stand on the same Earth.
Oh, bilik aku syurga aku. Welcome to paradise!
*Malaysian flag. Aku junjung martabat negara di perantauan.
Untuk awak (mak sila jangan jeles),
*Irama klasik 80'an. Tak dimakan dek zaman.
p/s: hehs. Hope and promises. False hope, check. Yes, no promises. Fuck it. Thank you by the way.
Yes, I know. These two things doesn't come in any common.
Let me break it up to you first, one by one.
World Trade Center is a 2006 movie, where you can reach the link from IMDB here. It is a movie starred by Nicholas Cage, which has won two awards and other six nominations. The story shows a real-time plot from the massacre which happened back in 2001. This is the movie, if I had to name one, which have caught my eyes and penetrate right through my heart. Not every movie (I remembered a couple who have big inter-emotional impact on me, which is August Rush and 500 Days of Summer), but this one is the best. It taught us that the terrorist attack does not mean that we have to be vengeful, but instead, appreciate the life that we have now. I started to miss my family once I've seen this one. Damn it. But seriously, this one's a real good movie. Download it, stream it, rent or buy the DVD, any way possible, watch it.
The quote that I really loved from this movie;
"9/11 showed us what human beings are capable of. The evil, yeah, sure. But it also brought out the goodness we forgot could exist. People taking care of each other for no other reason than it was the right thing to do. It's important for us to talk about that good, to remember. 'Cause I saw all of it that day."
Here's a trailer to the movie;
So the place where once stood proudly the twin towers, now become a lifeless field, which we were about to build a mosque, a place where people repent for their mistakes, be grateful of their God-given life and responsibility to lead the other humans from strayed path, and learn to love each other. Put aside the conspiracy, this attack does not tell us only about the evil, it also teach us on how to love. How? Go figure. But seriously, Ground Zero is one of the place I want to visit when I'm hitting on NYC next year.
And now, what about Dawson's Creek?
Oh, this is another drama, another series, soap opera, or whatever it was called, which have caught my eyes, and my heart. Oh, I swear I could cry watching this. This six seasons series was a big impact on my teenage years, as the first season, first episode were out on 1998. I followed each episode, which back then were played on RTM2, every Tuesday and Thursday at 9.30 PM. Yeah, fuck homework, to hell with the computers, I'm off to watch my favorite girls on TV. For a 8 year old boy, what do I know huh? Right it's pretty simple and yet I can't explain myself. Got it, guilty as charged. Look for the information on the series on IMDB here. Oh, damn. My favorite girls. I can't believe I'm breaking it out for you guys.
*here's the intro part of Season 1, Episode 1 (I guess)*
Okay here I go. Joey Potter. Please don't put it as I like Katie Holmes or whatever, I just like Joey Potter. She was an average teenage girl back then, yeah, you know, before she got trapped in scientology with Tom Cruise. As Joey, she was an independent girl, an out-of-the-norm adolescent who lives with her sister, lost her mother to a harsh breast cancer and his dad got caught for transporting marijuana and got put into jail. She have been good friend with Dawson for her entire life, I mean since she was a little girl. They watch movies together, they play together, they act together, and they even sleep together. They finally arrived at one point where they both grown up to be 15, and it all start to get awkward. Dawson loves Joey, and she felt the same thing, but no one break it up. So everything is getting more and more and more complicated.
*and 12 years ago, I said to my mom, "When I grow up, I want to marry this girl.*
Damn you Tom Cruise!
All right, done with Joey. So here's about a girl I like more that Joey. Jen Lindley. A big city girl who were sent by her parents to Capeside to stay with her grandmother because of her wild behavior back in the New York city. A typical, yet stunning American Girl, which makes me wanted to go to America and here I am, haha. What else do you want? Beautiful blonde hair, above average sized boobs, red, moist pouty lips and long eyelashes. Perfectly tailored for perfection. The cast was by Michelle Williams, who if I was not mistaken, the wife of the Joker, Heath Ledger if you know him. But back then she was just an average small time actor, before she became a movie star the next following years. I love you Jen! Haha yes sure I do.
*Jen~ Speechless~~*
Owh, and I though I could finally come into conclusion here. On September 11, 2001, the time was something after 9.30 PM. I was about to get ready to watch my favorite show, Dawson's Creek when an emergency casting interrupted. It was about the WTC attack. I ran down to tell my father but he won't believe me. As I remembered, I said, "Abah, ada bangunan kat US kena langgar kapal terbang." But he was busy chatting, and he would just ignore me. Being also ignorant, I just continued watching the show afterwards. Well we were just a primary school student back then aren't we?
So here's the meeting point. It was all connected somehow. Dawson's Creek and World Trade Center. If I'm about to cry watching movies, it would be this two. No other could.
Someday, I'll watch these with my beloved girlfriend on a Saturday night. We'll fall asleep to the movies. Cool huh? Sabar okey?
Someday.
Till next time, jom sambung hibernate. Winter is cool. Well, I mean cold, thank you.
The first effect when I got here, is that I learnt to pay much more attention in class, as the fast-pacing teaching and learning process here requires me to work independently, no more spoon feeding. The first week of my Chemistry lectures, one chapter is covered in only one lecture session; which is only 50 minutes. The professor is going way too fast for me. I got to go home and study the chapter for a few hours before I got to understand it holistically. It was really tiring when you instructor crammed all the topics for your quiz in only a few days. I’ve started to regret my decision to study here. My pleasure time seems to be much more back in my country. However, to my surprise, I managed to follow the rhythm of the teaching and learning process here time by time. Now, after three months of struggling to keep up with the current study plan, I have been able to manage my time more effectively.
One other thing that I will surely get here, but not in my home country, is the whole new experience. The first time I was here, I was extremely excited. It’s a whole new world for me, new environment, new study atmosphere, new cultures and new faces. For the last 20 years of my life, I have studied and learnt how to live independently, but that was back in Malaysia. I never ever been outside of Malaysia, even the neighboring countries, and now here I am, at the other side of the world. In terms of study, back in Malaysia, we studied very hard and hardly have time for ourselves. We Asians are very rigid, very particular and thoughtful on our education and studies. But now in the States, I was amazed to see how those guys managed to have fun and at the same time, perform well in their studies. I was held spell bounded by the embellishment of their life. So now, as far as I can get here in the Land of Freedom, I have the advantage of studying hard like and Asian, and at the same time, have fun and party like an American!
I got everything in Malaysia. I good great house, a loving family, fun relatives, a loyal lover, a cute pet, even a good academic institution! So why would I give up all that just to get here in the United States? The country of the Star - Spangled Banner has taught me the lesson of life, which is to survive. I got nobody here; no parents, no relatives, no teacher, just friends. They won’t be able to guide me if I went astray. I learn to communicate with officials, do my own electric and gas billing, pay for my own telephone lines, and most importantly, manage my own financial standing. I even have my own Mastercard (which means I have to responsible for it, too)! As me with my friends, we have to help each other in any crucial times, as to survive. As the American says it, “You scratch my back, and I scratch yours. We will both be happy.”
I was only 20. I got another three year in the United States. This means that 13.04 percent of my life will be spent here. There is only two outcomes and lessons that I will probably brought back to my home country; either I will be good and contributed to my country, or I will be a spoiled, hedonism-stricken brat. Let’s hope that I will have the courage, the spirit and the faith to continue my survival here. So the answer to those who ask me these questions in the first line, I got here so I can have worthwhile experiences that no one else can get, adapt myself to a new high quality study environment and lastly, develop my skills of survival and be independent. There’s no regret in leaving my family for a better education, not only for a degree and a job, but an education for life.
"He, who wished to secure the good of others, has already secured his own." (Confucius)
Confucius said it all, so beautifully, I cannot say it better. Imagine a typical college student; he woke up every morning, exercise, have his breakfast and go to school. He went home that evening and as usual, cleans up and get ready for dinner. After dinner, he might do his usual chores, either play games, studying, or go out with his friends. These are the mundane, typical days for a college student. So what the college and the family institution are teaching him is the ordinary, technical stuff. He will not grow up to be a special, charismatic and important individual for the community. Ask yourself, is this typical person are we trying to develop in the students? My main point is, every college student should be required to give three credit hours’ of worth of community service a year because of its various impeccable benefits.
First lesson of community service for students; be grateful of your life. I still remember a few weeks before the last Thanksgiving; I joined the Collegiate Village group to go to Elderwood Senior Care in Buffalo. We are planning to play Bingo with the elderly there. Once we arrived, I was amazed seeing there is so many elderly who were on the wheelchair. I followed the caretaker who then took me to a room, who then assigned me to take a particular elderly to the community room to play Bingo. It was not my first time doing community service in the US, but it is the first time I went to an elderly nursing home. Looking at all those elderly, who some were sick (they got tubes and wires all over, and they can still afford to smile), some looked very tired and always fall asleep during the game, and some were even crying when we were about to left. This short trip has a very big effect on my mind, on my heart and my soul. As a college student, it makes me think how fortunate I am to have a happy family. Thus, as for the other students who will have to do the community service for their credit hours, this will help to instill moral and good values in them. It teaches them to think beyond ‘me, myself and I’. Some says that the community service done without sincerity, for the sake of their credit hour is not effective enough, but the effect will get to the students, sooner or later.
Is that all? Of course not, as doing community service will bring the students out of their own world to see the reality of life. This will also bring out some sense of humanity for the students. They will learn more than typical academic stuff and see the true ugly face of life. As mentioned by Charles W. Grant, the Executive Director of Clayton County Community Services Authority, “College is a place that differs completely from a shelter home or a nursing home. Sometimes, for students to join our program will definitely change their perspectives on life, widen their thoughts, and enhances their self-empathy towards the unfortunate.” Besides the latest trip to the elderly home, I have also volunteered for a fund raising event for the Pakistani Flood Relief last month. I can’t be there (I mean at Pakistan), but still I feel terrible for what happened for them. These good works were enjoyed at its best when we are truly sincere when doing them.
The last reason to make this compulsory for every college student is that we have to prepare them in their best condition to be ready for the post-college life. Everybody knows that being an adult is not easy; you will have to deal with massive responsibility and also numerous stresses on your life. These are not the things that were taught in the classroom, these are skills that you have to develop on your own as you live your life. Once the students go out of the college, they will have to work independently. Doing community service will teach them the skills of survival, the lesson that will worth for lifetime. For example, a student is pampered while in high school, while in college, given monthly allowance and secured housing for the whole semester where their parents were the ones who take responsibility for their life. However, when they were out of college and started the working life of an adult, they will have to work independently without the help from their parents. As what I understand, in the United States, it is a disgrace for a college graduated individual to stay with their parents. By doing community service, students will learn to develop the skills needed for them to survive, even in the hardest situation, for example, making difficult decision in a short time.
The truth is that you won’t see the importance of community service before you do it yourself. The experience, I dare say, would change your perception on this matter. Community service should not be done just to announce the completion. It should be done without looking for a reward or praise. It should not be looked at as doing something for someone, but assisting them in making life better and fulfilling. Community service is very important for the students to develop themselves into a better person, as well as a preparation for the challenging future.
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