Year's End Post

It's the start of the last year of the first decade of the 21st century. There was a Lunar Eclipse as well. I'm not sure how many people knew that though. Even though it's only partial, it was still something else.

I have quite a few things to do next year. Not things I want to do, but things I HAVE to do. First off:
EXAMS! I'm going to have to do them, no matter what. IGCSEs too! How lucky am I? There's so much preparation to do before them as well; Mocks, studying, homework, revising, more revising, relaxing, more relaxing, eating... (yeah, I'm not too worried)

Next there is the important task of thinking of resolutions. Hmm... I want this year to be amazing. It's TWENTY TEN! THE LAST YEAR OF THE 1ST DECADE OF THE 21ST CENTURY! It'd be awesome-r if it was 2100 but most people aren't even convinced we'd see 2012 -.-'. To make this year amazing, I have no idea what needs to be done. So, I have decided to just go with whatever flow takes me.

3rd, I want to have my brain work logically while working with my gut feelings. That means trying out extreme sports! Or maybe just going on super awesome rides in some fair. The ones that make everyone's stomach do back and front flips. Both of these makes me think: somethings going to go wrong, I shouldn't be doing this! (Gut feeling) Then my brain has to calm me down somehow. It'll work when the time comes. Right now.. not so well.
I plan on making some people go on them with me. There's actually a list of people in my head but I don't wanna list them since they're going to plan against me if I do.

There's also the fact that each of these posts take me more than an hour to write... I need to be quicker. And more precise as well. Most of my posts are all over the place! Abstract thinking.. go figure.

I wonder how much is going to change in this year. Going to have to wait and see for myself.

Happy new year, everyone. Let's enjoy it together.

Routine

Anum said she wanted to get a 4 pack but it's too hard to do without any help. So, I surfed the net and I came across this:

• Start with performing 3 full body weight training workouts every 48-hours.


• Multiply your body weight (in pounds) by 15 and use this number as an indicator of how many calories you should consume per day.


• Drink carbohydrates and protein in a 2:1 ratio after your workouts.


• Write a workout journal to track your daily progress. This is a good motivator and also helps you better understand the way your body functions


• Drink at least 4 liters of water per day (and more is always better!).


• Change your repetition and set schemes frequently. This will force your body out of every plateau.


• Do not build more than 5 pounds of lean muscle mass per month (anything more will be not muscle but fat gain!).


• Focus on compound movements for 80% of your workouts.


• Only change an exercise if you are stuck on a plateau on two workouts in a row.


• Eat a lot of high quality protein (whole eggs, chicken, lean beef, fish) through the day


• Find a training partner for motivation and an extra push (it really helps).


• Never train hungry if you want to build muscle fast.

This is from http://www.squidoo.com/taylor-lautner-abs?utm_campaign=lensmaster-discovery&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_source=rmoore#module54516872

A website where they asked TAYLOR LAUTNER how he gained all that muscles in such a short amount of time! Hope this helps you Anum!

Congratulations.

Today, the PMR results came out for the Malaysian students.

I woke up and was lying in bed, trying to remember something I was supposed to do (aside from, of course, bathing and having breakfast). After a while, my grandma came into the room, sat down next to me and told me: Hai'i dapat 8 A (My cousin got straight As!). I was like: wow... His brother told me that he was smart and all, learning the guitar and solving the rubix cube, both of which he learned online, so I wasn't really surprised.
Then, I went to facebook and I saw that I had a new post on my page: Aida wrote (quote):

Faidhiii! I tried to call you but x dapat laaaaaaaaa! huh! >:P(this is her happily frustrated face)
anyways, i got my results!
and I got straight A's! haha, YAY (:(:

At this point, I was 50% sure that I was still asleep. Aida had gotten 8 As too! Not to say that she's not smart or anything, but she never came across as a super intelligent person in my views. She even forgot to pay for the books which almost led to her not getting her results! -.-' I'm sure she's over the moon happy right now. I wonder what her parents will get her as a present.

Congratulations to the both of them. I'm sure that they both worked really hard for it.
Ma sha' Allah.

To anyone that reads this post, please wish them a good future and give them a congratulations shout-out.

Rain Dance

There's a saying that old people used to say in Malaysia whenever it rained, which became a bit of a joke between the new generations: Ni mesti *put name here* tengah nyanyi ni! It practically means: *put name here* must be singing right now!

The reason they say this is because they are comparing that person's voice to a frog's croaking and since frogs croak before there's rain, they're saying that the reason it rained is because *person* sang!

Yesterday, I went out with a 9 other Malaysians (putting their name down would take too long and it's unnecessary for this post) to Mamzar Park because one of them whined that she's going to miss us and wanted to do something special. After a 24 hours worth of planning, arguing and messing about, they landed on the idea to have a barbecue in Mamzar Park. To those who've actually lived in Dubai, you may think this sounds a bit lame compared to the other things we could have done but... you have no idea how wrong you are. You don't need to do anything extreme to live life - something to a friend of mine in school.

That morning, we all woke up to the sound of light rain drops on our windows. It was so.. random! The day we had a plan was the day it began to rain! Completely out of our calculations. Almost simulatneously, I got one phone call and 2 text messages asking if we're going to continue. Well, it wasn't my plan to start with, but what the heck, rain or no rain, we're going to have a barbecue!

Some people need to revise on how to give directions... The people who got there first told us that the beach was on their left hand side and that they were at the very end of the barbecue line. The rest of us spent so much time looking for them while carrying heavy luggage that our joints began to creak! -.-'

A lot of stuff happened between this and the next part of the story - We tried to start a fire, found out that one of us is a Pyromaniac, finally started a nice flame, played cards, cheated while playing cards, went to walk on the beach, girls screaming after guys shouting "CRAB!" and some other stuff.

After all of those stuff, we had something to eat. Our chef, a new friend of mine who's going to New Zealand soon, started cooking chicken for us and since we kind of misplaced our utensils, we had to use his pocket knife to do everything. The end result was A- material (so said by the chef himself) and greatly satisfying (said everyone else).

Now, this is when the beginning of this post comes in. After we ate, we played 'Truth Or Dare' but we only got dares and no truths. However, the dares were amazingly, awesomely stupid. One dare was to jump like a frog to our neighbor-barbecue-ers, one was to ask for a massage from them, and one was to scream out loud that they liked someone. However, the two dares that are connected to the beginning paragraph are:
1.to sing 'Love Story' by Taylor Swift. Performed by a guy.
2. to dance and go OO HAA OO HAA OO HAA HE! around a circle of rocks 5 times. He only managed twice before we told him to stop with tears in our eyes from laughing.
You can most probably guess where I'm going with this...

Soon after we played the game, around Maghrib time, it started to rain. Not light, no slight drizzle but a total downpour. We were camped underneath a good patch of trees that stopped nearly all the rain but still some got pass and our stuff got all... wet. (Couldn't think of a better synonym).

Then, still raining, one of us suggested we take a walk down the beach. This was most probably the best memory of the night. Imagine walking in the rain alongside the beach peacefully... and then some jerk(me) goes into the water and splashes everyone! Anyone heard of the chain effect? One person does something then two people follow, then four and so on...

Soon, everyone started splashing each other and they began to take some really questionable pictures like guys acting girly and girls acting guyish. Mind you, it was still raining even after nearly an hour on the beach. And to all those who don't know: this is the first day Dubai rained this year. I can safely say that all of us were drenched at this point. One person had sand all over their head.

Time to head home. The park closes at 11 and it was 8 something and we still needed to pack up all of our stuff. This... took quite a bit of time. Okay, I'm lying... this took a crap load of time! For some reason or another, most of us stopped in the middle of nowhere and made the others wait. This ate up so much time... But it was worth it in the end: we reached a grassy area and a genius threw a football there.

It was so much fun! There's just something about watching people falling about and chasing after a ball in the hazy view of a rainy condition. Especially since most of the ones that fell over were girls who, no offense meant, sucks at playing football. I have to say: they were so cute! It was tremendous exhilaration! Everyone was shouting, cheering, and laughing... An event worth remembering.
Exhausted, we packed up again and moved on. Only to stop after a few meters to watch one of us jump on a trampoline and then hurriedly escaping from the keeper of the trampoline. Then, I hitched a ride with another friend and safely got home.

Owh, throughout this whole event, there was only a few moments that someone didn't burst into song! From a military march to the UAE national anthem to the Numa Numa song, we sang it all!

Not-Being-Able-To-Sleep Post

Arrggghhh! It's the third night in a row that I haven't been able to sleep properly and NO, it has nothing to do with anything from the previous post.

It's just that whenever I do get to sleep, I feel like its only been a couple of seconds then I wake up again... to find that it really has been only a couple of seconds. Every couple of hours, this happens. I don't know the cause of at all. Psychological reasons may be there, but I have no clue what they are. Physical reasons aren't there. My body is in good shape, aside from the slight flu from the weather change. (Oh, that reminds me: people kept asking me if I cut my hair, I'm just like blank: I haven't cut it in so long... My hair changes with the seasons or something).

I've read Bismillah 20 times, read the Do'a, read a couple of Surahs from the top of my head(not in the literal sense), tried exhausting myself to sleep and so far, it's been the same result. I can't even doze off in class! Not because of the insomnia, but because students actually need to study when they're in the 11th grade.

I've tried pinpointing the possible causes... maybe I'm starting to miss Saif and now that he's coming back, I'm excited? Or is it since all the Bodoness are back? It could possibly be the fact that a lot of my family members are coming here.

Then, I tried to logically reason why these aren't the causes: I do miss Saif, but even if he was here, we don't actually interact much with one another. Usually, when we do, it's to bully Muhaimin, or a family fun gathering. The only thing we do all the time together is watch T.V. together. I like watching T.V. with him... He's one of the only family members I have that doesn't have the urge to comment on every single bit of every single second of each and every single show! Yeah, I have T.V. complexes.

The Bodoness might be all here in Dubai... but it's just not the same. And plus, I'm wrong when I say all of them are here... Najwa isn't. Everyone's so busy. Well, maybe not but it just feels like we're not as close as we used to be. Maybe that's a side-effect of growing up or meeting new people, but I really hate whatever it is. I like all of them - Anum, Najwa, Aida, and Haziq - but things got simply complicated. And no - this is not the cause as it was complicated even before I had insomnia.

The last point could be the main reason. In Dubai, we've never really had that big of a family gathering before. Some anticipation of what's going to happen may be disturbing my mind; what are we going to do together, where should we go, how would they feel after their visit... Well, if these weren't in my head before, they are now.

But yet again, I found a solution to my problem as I'm typing this post. I like blogging... it clears my head. Giving advice to other people is so easy, it's just like giving out candy but it's so hard when you need to take your own advice. My brain just told me to roll with the punches and enjoy every last minute of it. We're a family, everything works out somehow. Where can we go? WE'RE IN DUBAI! One of the biggest tourist vacation spots in the world! Pfft.. waste of time worrying.

Hmm.. I just tried to sleep since I've already reasoned out the possibilities, but nope.. still not happening. (Real-time posting) I'll be possibly awake if anyone can come up with a suggestion.

Wow.. The posts are a lot more messed up when I don't get sleep.

Do you Believe In Balance?

Ying and Yang. Karma. Nature's Balance. Whatever it is, it's there.
I know of 5 things that will come before it's equal. These can be considered rules of living:
1. Life Before Death.
2. Young Before Old.
3. Rich Before Poor.
4. Healthy Before Sick.
5. Leisure Before Busy.
These things apply to life on Earth as we know it and has been the rules since time began. Of course, none of these rules apply in the Life After Death.

Each and every one of these rules are certain truth. Number 1 is of course really obvious. So, you know what you have to do: make sure to do the right things as long as you are alive because none of us are going to live forever.

As a Muslim, the main reason I do good things is because I love Allah and I fear punishment from Allah: a punishment that's unimaginably horrifying. Jahanam (Hell): the worst case scenario possible. Nabi Muhammad (salalah hu a'lahi wasalam) paved the way to pleasing Allah, all we have to do is walk it. And it's really easy to do so too. The only hard part is becoming completely oblivious to the distractions and temptations of the Devil. You'll fail sometimes, but what you have to do is to make it up simply by apologizing sincerely for failing or giving out charity to pay for your sins. Allah is the most Forgiving. But you have to be completely sincere, with all your heart.

Even if I was looking at it from a non-religious point of view, you have a lot of reasons to do good things in Life. One of the biggest reasons I can think of is: Legacy. Everybody wants to be remembered. Even if it's just a person who you gave your seat to in a bus he will remember you as a good person, someone they'll tell about nicely. Isn't that a good enough reward for doing something good?

An even faster reward is the knowledge that you made someone's life easier for them even if it's
just for a few minutes. Don't you think you'll sleep better knowing that no one had to suffer because of you own selfishness? Hmm... this one applies really closely to my own life. I guess I need to work on being selfless.

The second rule is a bit more complicated. Old people will look at their younger days and say: man, I wish we could go back to that time. Young people, however, may not be respected and as such, they feel that they need to grow up quicker, and they think once they are older, they'd be able to do anything they like. Truth is, young people have a lot more advantages. Young people are just that: Young. They have a bigger capacity to learn, more time to spend doing things - even if it doesn't look like it - and certainly they have more Health. The first man in the world, Adam, was prostrated to by the Angels not because they were worshiping him but because it was a sign of respect: he was newly created and he already knew of the names of everything. That was the first gift: the ability to Learn. Use it well, young people. Don't say you can't learn something like Physics or Geography. Say something more honest like: I don't want to learn Physics or Geography. (this is just an example. No offense meant to Geography and Physics) Because you CAN learn it! That is if you have the Health to do so.

Which brings us to the 4th rule (Yes, 4th, not 3rd and yes I can count). Healthy Before Sick. Everyone gets sick. No exceptions. Some people may get sick less often than others, but they still get sick. It's horrible being sick. You can't do everything you want to do. Your body is in disarray, your mind isn't at 100% working speed, and worst off: you have to sit there and make other people worry. I really hate that part. Plus, you are restricted to only a number of things you can eat! That's a major downer. Do everything you can to not become sick, but do not become paranoid either: that's just a waste of time. You will get sick somehow or rather, even if you spray everything with sanitizer. Honestly, I think people who use sanitizers are more prone to becoming sick. Their immune system will not be able to adapt to diseases, which makes it really weak and unable to fight a common flu as effectively as someone who's more open to the environments.

And we'll go back to the 3rd rule now: Rich Before Poor. Yes, Bill Gates is counted in this. Scientifically speaking, products like Microsoft has a life cycle and it will end eventually. It is possible to prolong it's life but it wont last forever. Money is fluctuating really, really quickly. Some people get bankrupt all of a sudden, most probably because they used up their money on something completely useless in one swoop. Other people lose money slowly. Maybe their expenses just crept up with time, I don't know, but I do know it happens.

This is not to say that you can't get rich when you are poor. The rule simply states that wealth is not forever. So be careful.

And lastly, Leisure before Busy. Holidays always end. But the important thing is what did you do whilst you had the leisure? Maybe you wasted time going on the computer, playing games while you could have gone out and played with your friends. Even better, go out there and do something good for the community! Everyone has either had the time to do it, or they still do. If you waste your precious free time, you won't ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever get it back.

And that's final. The clock ain't ticking backwards (unless you count Mr. Gutteridge's old one). For people who are in school, don't call it a waste of time. The only way your time can be wasted is if you are ignorant enough to waste it yourself. Use every bit of education they throw at you. I know this sounds absurdly crazy but why don't you try listening to the teacher? If you already do, then well done! None of your time in class has been useless. If you wait patiently, then you'll eventually see how those petty little bits of information you learned in class will be so helpful for you.

For those who are working, I know I am not in any position to give you advice but well, I just want to say: I really believe that if you diligently work really hard at whatever you do, you will be rewarded. I mean, if you do something really well even if you hate doing it, you are bound to be noticed.

And as usual, I'll end with a useless note: I don't really know why I posted this... I just had those five rules stuck in my head for such a long time. Hope they get stuck in yours too!
Longest post in a long time huh? Getting the mood back.

Home/House Work

To be straight up honest, I like doing homework. I like all the writing, editing, pasting, cutting, cropping etcetera, etcetera... I have this obsessive side of me that comes out every time a challenge surfaces. It's like a self-defense mechanism that my mind created so that I'm not asleep all the time. Too bad it doesn't apply for exams though... The defense switches off during exams...
The bad thing is, once I stop doing the thing I was obsessed with halfway, it just feels weird to continue. It's hard to get into the same mood you were when you started the project. A good example of this is blogging.
Loads of my friends started blogging around the same time I did, some even before I did, but now, they just gave up on it. All because they stopped blogging for a while but couldn't find the same attitude they had towards it when they started. I was like that - stopped blogging and didn't want to continue - but some inspirations came up - mainly movies - and I slowly regained the flow of blogging.
Anyways, that was a huge-off-topic topic. Homework! The best type is the ones where they let you use computers to do it in. Google PhD has yet to fail me. Each and every one of my questions can be answered just by typing the question down on a little white box. How awesome is that? Praise goes to Sergey M. Brin and Lawrence E. Page. To whoever that do not know them, go Google them!
Even though I prefer teachers to not give homework at all in the first place, homework DOES help. I know! It surprised me too! Who knew that what teachers have been saying to us were not a bunch of turd after all! The thing about homework is, when you do it, you're using your own style of learning, making it more comprehensible to yourself. This means that your brain absorbs this and imprints it in your mind as a memory. Thus, you have revised! Simple, right?
Once you get into the exam and you see the questions laid down in front of you, your brain will automatically search for anything inside itself that is related to the question, and since you've got the memory of the homework in your head, it'll be as easy as eating marshmallows. (Maan... haven't eaten those in a looooonnngg time!)
Housework is nearly the same. Chores are challenges. If you do them, you win, if you don't, well, you don't win.
In learning Martial Arts, the student is asked to do some apparently-mundane chores like washing dishes or throwing out the trash repeatedly. In truth, these are muscle-memory exercises. It's the easiest and simplest way to have a healthy life. See? Even Bruce Lee had to do chores!
So, do your chores people! It'll help out a lot.
*sweating* (Just finished stuffing a mattress into a really tiny covering.)

Celebrate What?

2009. November 27/Dhul Hijjah 10th. Eid ul Adha.

It's so weird living in this time of the Earth's life. A few hundred years ago,you have people celebrating some guy being electrocuted while flying a kite. Go back another few hundred years,you have people being blamed of being witches and people celebrated when they were burnt alive. Dotted between these two are people celebrating their victories in wars. They all had something to celebrate and they all knew the reason they celebrated - finding electricity, destroying evil and triumph over their enemies. You can hardly say the same for this era.
People celebrate things because they see other people celebrate it. They don't have an inkling of why those people were celebrating it in the first place. Some people skip all the ritual doodahs and only appear when they see something in it for themselves. This is exactly what's happening in Eid.
I've always thought that Eid was a time of happiness. At first, it was just a thought, but then my parents told me the real reason we're celebrating Eid ul Adha and I was actually happy. The reason was that Nabi Ibrahim (aalaihisalam) saw a dream that he was going to sacrifice his son, Nabi Ismail (aalaihisalam)-a vision from Allah- and both Prophets agreed to it. The moment Nabi Ibrahim's knife went up into the air, preparing to sacrifice his own son, Allah stopped him saying: O Ibrahim! You have fulfilled the dream(Ch 37:99-111 Quran). He stopped him and instead sent a great ram down to be sacrificed instead and eaten by the Prophets as a reward for having complete faith in Allah and following his orders without question.
The reason Nabi Muhammad (sallallahu aalaihi was salam) asked us to celebrate the 10th of every Dhul Hijjah was to remember Nabi Ibrahim's unwavering obedience to Allah.
Now, I'm not saying people do not know the history of Eid ul Adha, rather, they tend to celebrate it without the real reason in mind. They celebrate it because there's loads of food, people gather in huge numbers and the tea is exceptional. I just find it really sad that Nabi Ibrahim's obedience is no longer a cause of celebration. I really want to see how the people of Old celebrated it and compare it to this time. I'm sure there will be noticeable differences.
The Takbir is just words if you don't mean any of it. And I don't think that saying it beautifully is the reason we actually recite it. Umi said that the reason that the people of Old recited the Takbir was to show the strength of the Muslims and not their beauty. This means that we're meant to say it loudly and proudly and with power that scares the Kafiruns.
The cause, the mindset and the methods were changed over time unwillingly, maybe not hugely but still significantly.
This was one of my only posts that I had put thought into. I hope anyone that read this finds it helpful for next year.

Good. This is very Good.

Once upon a time, not so long ago, 4 boys named Ala', Faidhi, Nasa and Muaz had gone to watch a movie and play bowling. Rather, they played bowling first and then they watched a movie.
During the bowling match, it was needless to say that Faidhi won, with Ala' closely following behind on points. Muaz and Nasa were left far, far, far behind. We all wish them a better luck next time.
Off to the movie, Faidhi stayed behind to get a quick bite at Hardee's - some nuggets dipped in cheese - while the others went to claim their movie ticket seats. Having finished his meal, Faidhi quickly rushed off to the cinema, not wanting to miss out on any important bits of the movie.
He hurriedly passed through the security points and was very relieved when he saw that the cinema was still showing some advertisement. The only one he could remember afterward was a preview of a Jackie Chan movie. Apparently, he didn't remember it because it looked like it would be fun to watch but because the commentator had said some of the lamest cliches in the history of movie-making; "He tried his best to protect life, but was repaid.... with DEATH!" (cue sad music)
When he got to his seat, his friends gleefully told him that they had managed to sneak in some drinks from outside the cinema by stuffing it down their bags. They were very clever friends of his. A few more commercials after the Jackie Chan one, the movie started...
Now, Faidhi does not want to spoil the movie for any one who hasn't seen it yet, so he has chosen to skip the movie synopsis and go straight to the lesson learned from the movie.
When I say ''learned'', I meant more of what came across his mind when he saw the movie. He thought: well, if the world was going to end, might as well head to Makkah and pray, asking for forgiveness and do the Hajj. But what he saw from the movie was people still caring about each other and trying to save each other. He wondered:if the world was really ending, people would be really selfish, trying to save themselves and not caring about who lived or who died. This seemed more logical as once you know the world is going to end, even if you save someone, you won't be there to see them again. There is just no way all those people were that unselfish. Those were his thoughts about the movie's plot.
His thoughts on the movie itself, however, was slightly different: he thought they portrayed the plot really well and that it hooked the audience by using so many different nationalities at it's core. They used a fat wealthy man from Russia to accumulate comedy into the story as well. It was all very well done. Although, he would have preferred it if there were subtitles included during the movie; he had to translate the Arabic subtitles to understand the Mandarin spoken which really messed up his head.
Then, satisfied with the movie and each with their own say about the movie and the scores of the bowling match, they headed back to their respective homes.

The Not So Black Limousine.

Yesterday, I had to wake up early in the morning since I had to prepare to go to a Dikir Barat practice, in which we practiced how to clap with style and for some reason or another, an Auntie just told me to join the kid’s dikir puteri as a Putera! Believe it, or not.

After practice, Ala’, Nasa and I went with uncle Nik to pick up Haziq. Some event occured in the car which I hope will remain with the people in the car. However, the reason for us picking Haziq up was: so that he can join us in an hour long, fun-filled, ear-deafening, exotic limousine ride all the way to Dubai Mall. (Why Dubai Mall, don't ask me).

The limo was to pick us up at my house, where Anum, Amjad, Nabil and Amanie were waiting with Umi, Auntie Sharifah, Auntie Faridah and Uncle Mustafa. Of course, the aunts and uncle were not to be joining us. Then, the limo came.

The first comment about the limo that I heard was: I thought we ordered the black one!  -.-‘ As long as it’s a limo, Anum, I don’t think anyone minded… :p

Once we got into the limo, the first thing we attacked was the radio/dvd player which was currently playing some Arabic song… Yeah, we’re gonna have soo much fun with that aren’t we?  -.-‘

With the music fixed, we switched it on to loud, and the ride started!

It felt like a short ride. What with the excitement of being in a limo, the sugar rush from the colas, and the fun of just us being together, I don’t wonder why. The pictures in Facebook tells a much better story than I can.

One thing I can tell you is that inside the limo, we were sweating buckets! At one point, we accidentally switched off the AC and had to get the driver to pull over and help us out! He also warned us not to stick our heads out the window… I wonder who’d do that…

Owh and Haziq left his glasses inside the limo and had to ask the limo driver to drop it off for him… Weird thing was: he was just reunited with his glasses before getting on the limo.

At Dubai Mall, we finally understood the major flaw in our plans: we didn’t have one.

So, for the next few hours, we decided to go watch a movie, which didn’t happen, then went to go bowling but that didn’t happen either since it was a Virtual Bowling alley  -.-‘ However, since we already bought the card for the games area, the others decided to spend it all since we were already there.

Game after game after game, they finally finished the credit up by going Karaokeing… Ala’ and Haziq enjoyed karaokeing… but I can’t say that people enjoyed their Karaokeing… Anum and Amjad did a bit of a duet in which Anum was waaay more dominant, seeing as how she actually knew the song…

Then, we went to eat. I wanted to get a Mrs. Vanellis’ Spaghetti Bolognese with extra cheese, which is my usual. Buuuut! When I asked the dude can I have Spaghetti Bolognese this is his reply: what is Spaghetti? We only have pasta.  -.-‘ I gave up right after that and went to get a McDonald’s Ice Cream Sundae. The others had Subway, Squid Pasta, Shrimp Pasta, and McDonald’s.

After that, we pretty much walked around aimlessly. No wait… we at first wanted to go ice skating buut… after a brief discussion, we decided not to. On the other hand, Nasa and Amjad decided to ditch us, and go ice skating together. We left them so that they could enjoy their date.

Then we saw Ala’ win in table tennis against some other guy and Haziq losing in table tennis against an extremely skilled girl.

Time to go home.

Umi, Muhaimin and I then dropped off Amjad, but not before making a stop at McDonald’s to eat.

A Review.

Basically, this post is about what I've been doing while putting blogging off.

1. Learned how to do Dikir Barat.
This. Is. Fun.
Those 3 words can sum up everything about Dikir Barat! For those who don't know what it is; Dikir Barat is a form of singing sang with the Kelantanese Dialect and Local Drums. It is usually sang in groups. Trust me: its not as easy as it sounds. Learning how to speak in that dialect was like trying to learn a different language all together! And then understanding it was a whole other topic. But as soon as you get the hang of it, everything just... flows. A simple demonstration of Dikir Barat can be heard from here.

2. Rode the Metro.
Okay, in Malaysia, we have the LRT, which anyone can ride in. In Dubai, we now have the Metro; a more complex version of the LRT. The setting is a lot more colorful, is a good, simple way to describe it.
Ala, Nasa, Muaz, Muhaimin and I had a trip on it to go to MOE which was one of the last stops for the train. Anum cancelled -.-'.
The first thing I noticed was that they had a song that was supposedly played to not keep the passengers bored. Well... It wasn't that great a song-classic orchestra type thingy- nor did it do anything to heighten excitement level..
For some absurd reason, the train didn't move for about 5-8 minutes at one stop, and we saw the people who worked there come in and checked the engine or something. I guess it was just our luck to witness the breaking down of a train. Fortunately, the train was fixed, and we zoomed on. Slowly. Wild guess: since the Metro is still young, the RTA is being really careful with it.
Coming back to the Rashidiah Station was a bit more eventful. We decided to take a video of the trip... minutes later, we noticed other people doing the same thing. Like they say: it takes only one person to start a trend -.-'.

3. Played around with a Mercedes Benz.
An uncle left this Mercedes Benz with us for a while and we needed to heat up the engine for a while. However, with just one look at the key, my mom was confused at how exactly is she going to start the car?! You know how keys have the teeth and the body right? The body being the usually black part at the back. Well, this ''key'' only had a back part.
I think my mom asked another uncle to come and help out because there was another uncle that came along and started the engine for us. Apparently, we start it like any other car: just stick the ''key'' in the ignition and twist. So why did they have to take out the teeth part for?
The fun starts now: since we're so used to other cars that weren't so... technical with all the buttons, I wanted to, no wait... I HAD to try all of them. They had a wiper for the head lights! I don't know if that's normal or not but I just find that really weird! I got squirted by it -.-'. Then the real wipers for the windows were on the same side as the signal lights but instead of twisting the handle, you press on it. Umi tried grabbing the right-side handle but since there was no handle... Owh and before we even drove the car around, my mom couldn't reach the pedals so we searched for the lever that is usually found in other cars to pull the seat forward... Turns out... it's also a button! Man, those people at Mercedes Benz really wanted to make life easy, didn't they?

4. School as normal.
Even though I say it's normal, can you name me one school that's normal? There's just no such thing! So I guess all schools are normally abnormal.
I am going to be helping around with the badminton club though, so that's kinda cool.
Homework is piling up. I guess being in the 11th grade has it's downsides too huh?
Muhaimin and I also got really lucky: We got on this taxi one day, and after a trip of chatting with the driver and joking around with him, he gave me his work number and told me to call him anytime I need a taxi! How cool is that?
What else about school.. Hmm...
Aside from the fact that a certain someone was supposed to come but didn't come, nothing much really.
Oh. I got nominated and am currently running for the position of Head Boy. I didn't want to do it at first because I thought of it as a popularity contest rather than a real election but since they changed the rules around so that the school's Senior Teachers are going to be choosing the Head Boy/Girl for their abilities instead of how many people know us, I agreed to the nominations.

Fa4idhi Out! - The 4 is silent.

And Here Comes Raya/Eid.

Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar	الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر
laa ilaaha illAllaah	لا إله إلا الله
Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar	الله أكبر الله أكبر
wa li-illaahil-hamd	ولله الحمد

Selamat Hari Raya Abah, Umi!

Tomorrow morning, Muslim around the world gather and, together, we're all going to Takbir as a signal for the end of the month of Ramadhan and the start of the month of Shawwal, to thank Allah for giving us the Blessed Month and all of its benefits.

To celebrate even further, everyone is going to pick out their best clothes, be it a Baju Melayu-customary for Malaysians- or an Abaya and don it on for the day and visit friends and family to enjoy their company AND the marvelous arrays of foods that are available at each house. To go one step further, we can also receive Eidiah or Duit Raya (note the 'we' and the 'receive').

Spending a lot of Eids in Dubai, I can only vaguely remember what it feels like to Raya in Malaysia. (thinks for a second) Really vaguely. And I just want to say sincerely to Jadah, Opah, Abah Ri, Mak, Mama, Bapak, Kholati, Ami Khairi, Ayah, Ibu, Ayah Cik, Cik Lin, Abang Yong, Muhaimin, Kak Durra, Abang Azmi, Kak Nun, Abang Mizi, Kak Teh, Abang Cik, Kak Uya, Kak Ada, Abang Che, Abang Rid, Kak Ida, Kak Ita, Kak Ruiyya, Wajdi, Abang Yun, Ubai, Khaliq, Haiy, Hafi, Saadullah, Hannah, Hamdah, Kak Yong, Danial, Iffah, Ishraf, Shamil, Auni, Rayan, Adam, Izni, Aimee, Batrisya, Ayisha, Alya dan Amsyar: Selamat Hari Raya Eidulfittri Dan Maaf Zahir Dan Batin. Eid Mubarak likul kum. (Selamat Hari Raya Semua)

You know, the Eids I've had with Jalil, Najwa, Ali and all.. seems so distant. Like right at the back of my head where its clearly there but I just can't get a proper grip on it. I just really want those memories back... Times were, to say the least, simpler. Even now, I'm still in a bit of shock that a lot of close friends moved away and that even more are moving away! I will miss all of you. Stay in touch.

Owh and I don't have a Baju Raya planned out yet...

Selamat Hari Raya. Saya mintak maaf zahir dan batin daripada semua.

Oh anyone noticed that tomorrow is 20/09/2009???!! That's 20092009!! heh thanks Anum =P

Here It Comes!

Yep, school's about to begin! Heaps of changes this year starting with: My older brother, Saif, is now no longer living with us in Dubai, which would lead to the next major change: me being the eldest child in the house(more responsibilities).
Actually, I don't think Saif and I have ever lived separately for more than a couple of weeks, tops. And you know, the stuff that makes it all more... noticeable, are the smallest of things. For example: the Internets faster, I get to sit at the front seat without someone fuming at the back, and there's more food than usual. Of course, this is me speculating, not yet living far away from Saif for more than a few hours. But I know for a definite fact that I am going to miss him. Maybe more than I expect to.
Another twist this year: I'm going to be a senior in my school! FINALLY is the word here. Honestly though, I can't imagine myself being a senior. Our predecessors at least LOOKED the part of seniorhood. With the beards, mustaches, super heights... I mean, they appeared as adults.
I don't know why, but none of my classmates seems to have that quality, maybe because I grew up with them for the last few years, I don't know. But it's just weird thinking we're going to be the oldest students in the school! And yeah, Kinza, if you're reading this, can you please comment on whether this is true for you as well?
This also brings up the question of life after high school... Which I don't want to think about yet. So I bid you adieu.

Amazingly, Life Can Be Boring.

No School.

No transport.

No place to go.

The holidays huh?

Lotsa free, unused time.

Brothers in the other house.

Parents have gone back to Dubai.

Umi will come back soon though.

Holidays are nearing an end.

Cousins have school.

Boredom strikes.

As you can see.

Laptop left.

Byebye.

Imh.


Sorry... ranting. In a stylish manner.

Do the Dino Dance

The makers of Ice Age really did outdo themselves with the last of the trilogy: Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.
The plot of the movie is simple: Save Sid, who stole 3 dino-eggs and hatched them, thinking that he is now the 3 dino-babies mommy. Of course, the real dino-mom doesn't like that.
The story has a new character who's whackiness is unparalleled: Buck, short for Buckminster and long for Ba. Just with this one new addition to the cast, the story becomes unimaginably hilarious. He leads the team through the underground world of the dinosaurs and has tons of adventure which ranges from almost being eaten by a dinosaur to inhaling laughing gas.
But of course, the greatest applauses go to the acorn-loving squirrel, who has his own adventure throughout the trilogy, all to do with his beloved acorn. In the last movie he has a nemesis: another squirrel. A she-squirrel. This new nemesis tries to steal his acorn from him and together, they have unbelievable fights which did make me choke on my popcorn.
To top it all off, the movie was in 3D, making the whole experience just that much more enjoyable.
Seriously, watch it.

'Half Blood' Magic

Yes, I haven't posted in a month. I noticed, thank you.
For the past month, this is what happened: I came back to Malaysia. I met Amsyar and Aimee, my two newest and youngest members of my family. I saw Transformers 3 which was awesome and Ice Age 3 which made me laugh until I choked on popcorn. I saw Harry Potter 6, and that movie is going to be the main topic today.

The movie differs in many ways to the book. The main difference is of course that the movie has moving pictures and the book doesn't. But the movie has it's own unique captivating 'magic' which enthralled even my limited-English-Vocabulary younger brother, Muhaimin.
'Half Blood Prince' is the 6th movie in the Harry Potter series and the fact that the series has such a high recommendation rate after all these years surely points to the powerful charm that the talented J. K. Rowling has conjured with her spellbinding words and her virtuoso writing skills. The marvellous cast, espescially the main trio - Danial Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson - has the applause of the whole cinema.
The most interesting performance for me, however, was by Tom Felton a.k.a. Draco Malfoy. He brilliantly showed a mix of remorse, anger and fear, though hiding it under a mask of certainty. The scenes with him and Danial Radcliffe was unequivalently epic acting on his part. Now that the Harry Potter series is about to end, I can't help but wonder what this talented young actor is up to next.
Just like any number of movies, Harry Potter 6 has been greeted with all kinds of replies: the good, the bad, and the exceptional. An example of the exceptional: ''Dumbledore looks like he's wearing Olay!'' Yes, this is a real comment from a real person that I really know. You know who you are. ;P
As for me, this movie has both my thumbs up.
I'll soon post on what the Ice Age finale experience is like.

Experience Week

Ooops! Sorry, completely forgot to update on how the week went!

Well, from Saturday to Wednesday, the days went by very, very, VERY slowly, major emphasis on the VERY. Everyday I had to sit there, waiting for someone to get hurt. No, wait... it was more of HOPING someone would get hurt.
When someone did get hurt, it was more or less all of "I fell down" or "My stomach is 'paining me' ". The "I fell down" patients had cuts or bruises that we put ice on or bandaged it. Or, we had the more frequent "I fell down" and yet has no cuts or bruises but still want's the ice pack. I think they're falling down on purpose to escape the scorching Dubai heat. I don't really blame them. Actually, I thanked them for faking; at least I'd have someone to "heal".
The last day(Thursday) I asked to be placed as a teacher instead. Most of my friends had chosen(or were chosen) to be teachers and they often bragged and complained about their classes to me. From all the complaints and brags, I gathered that KG students were the best to teach since the classes are the most eventful classes in the Primary section. So I headed to the KGs where I met Jake, Karen A and Karen K-seriously hilarious kids! Karen A(or was it K) has a ''thing'' for Michael Spriggs, another student-teacher who was my predecessor. She actually told him: I will marry you! I don't know how Michael reacted buut.. I'm going to guess he was quite happy.
They told me I had come at a good day: it was one of their birthdays! I GOT CAKE! It was a Power Rangers Cake too!! Man, am I lucky or what?!
Afterwards, they allowed me to come and watch a show that they made. It was about animals in the jungle, all of them with the ability to dance-Lions did Tango, Hippos did rock and roll, Monkeys did Salsa- except the Giraffes. It was their first rehearsal ad it went quite well! The hippos LOVED their part. Maybe a little bit too much.
So, the things I learnt from this week was: how to do medical check-ups, basics of First-Aid, how to paint and draw a monkey, and that Lions can dance reaalllyy well!

Work, work, work, Snooze....

As most other schools, the students in my school have a tendency to injure themselves by completely random casualties. That fact helped me decide what I wanted to do for my work experience week: I applied for a job as an trainee in our school's medical department. Basically: a murse(man-nurse).

The first day on the job. All I had to do was learn the basics of a medical check-up when a patient comes in. The first thing I should do when a patient comes in: ask them their name. The injury can wait, the name comes first! Then allow the patient to complain. If its a stomach injury, always ask: would like to go to the toilet first? After they have done their business, check their temperature. This is one of the main symptoms of a disease: change in temperature.

Then I studied basic first-aid. You know: CPR, what to do wit a fracture, not to attempt to suck snake poison out of a victim. The usual. They handed me a handbook on this too! However, I left that in the office.

The Patients! The first patient I had was a little girl who had ringing in her ear. When asked how did it happen she replies: my team-mates shouted at me for letting a goal in. And the girl who had shouted was the one who accompanied her to the clinic!

The most memorable patient award, however, would go to a 4/5th grader boy who had grazed his ankle while playing indoor-hockey. He came in all calm, smiling and everything, but as soon as I told him we have to clean the wound his face went: O.O! He suddenly said he was fine, no problems, stood up, fell back down -.-'. We managed to clean the wound in the end, and bandaged the small graze.

The main timings when patients came in was right before break and lunch time. Other times.. its so quite I was able to catch some shut eye until the end of the day!

Tomorrow, the doctor's coming in. This should be interesting...

Tango!

Ayisha and Aliya doing a Award Winning Dance. My Nieces! >_<

Passing The Time

You know how irritating it gets when you finish the exam too quickly? Well, WikiHow tells me these are the best ways to pass time:

1.Daydream every once in awhile. Think about meeting your favorite celebrity or being in a movie. It can wake you up by making you think about something you actually want to do.
2.Think of a song you like and picture you and your friends doing impossible dance or gymnastics moves. It can seem pretty cool. Be careful not to sway to the music or you'll look weird. Also, you could imagine rocking out to a song with your friends.
3.Think of a funny joke or something your favorite comedian said. Be careful not to laugh loudly or you will look weird again. You may also get kicked out of the room for distracting others.
4.Be prepared ahead of time, whether this means bringing a book or paper to doodle on.
5.If you still have your test, but are done with it and you notice that there is still time left, then check your answers again. If you have already checked your answers then try to write extra or include facts and opinions. It will help pass by time and who knows, maybe even get you some bonus points.
6.Ask the teacher if you can listen to your MP3/I-Pod/Etc. That is really time consuming. If you aren't allowed to, just think of a few songs to sing in your head.
7.Take out a piece of notebook paper after you have turned your test in and draw or doodle on it for the remaining time. This is entertaining, and can make time move a little quicker

Do You Dare?

Hmm... It's strange what people can come up with nowadays. A person came up with 50 things to do during an exam. The list goes:
1. Bring a pillow. Fall asleep (or pretend to) until the last 15 minutes. Wake up, say ``oh geez, better get cracking'' and do some gibberish work.
2. Get a copy of the exam, run out screaming ``Andre, Andre, I've got the secret documents!!''
3. If it is a math/science exam, answer in essay form. If it is long answer/essay form, answer with numbers and symbols. Be creative. Use the surface integral symbol.
4. Make paper airplanes out of the exam. Aim them at the instructor's left nostril.
5. Talk the entire way through the exam. Read questions aloud, debate your answers with yourself out loud. If asked to stop, yell out, ``I'm SOOO sure you can hear me thinking.'' Then start talking about what a jerk the instructor is.
6. Bring cheerleaders.
7. Walk in, get the exam, sit down. About five minutes into it, loudly say to the instructor, ``I don't understand ANY of this. I've been to every lecture all semester long! What's the deal? And who the hell are you? Where's the regular guy?''
8. Bring a Game Boy. Play with the volume at max level.
9. On the answer sheet find a new, interesting way to refuse to answer every question. For example: I refuse to answer this question on the grounds that it conflicts with my religious beliefs. Be creative.
10. Bring pets.
11. Run into the exam room looking about frantically. Breathe a sigh of relief. Go to the instructor, say ``They've found me, I have to leave the country'' and run off.
12. Fifteen minutes into the exam, stand up, rip up all the papers into very small pieces, throw them into the air and yell out ``Merry Christmas.'' If you're really daring, ask for another copy of the exam. Say you lost the first one. Repeat the process every fifteen minutes.
13. Do the exam with crayons, paint, or fluorescent markers.
14. Come into the exam wearing slippers, a bathrobe, a towel on your head, and nothing else.
15. Come down with a BAD case of Turet's Syndrome during the exam. Be as vulgar as possible.
16. Do the entire exam in another language. If you don't know one, make one up. For math/science exams, try using Roman numerals.
17. Bring things to throw at the instructor when he's not looking. Blame it on the person nearest you.
18. As soon as the instructor hands you the exam, eat it.
19. Walk into the exam with an entourage. Claim you are going to be taping your next video during the exam. Try to get the instructor to let them stay, be persuasive. Tell the instructor to expect a percentage of the profits if they are allowed to stay.
20. Every five minutes, stand up, collect all your things, move to another seat, continue with the exam.
21. Turn in the exam approximately 30 minutes into it. As you walk out, start commenting on how easy it was.
22. Do the entire exam as if it was multiple choice and true/false. If it is a multiple choice exam, spell out interesting things (DCCAB, BABE, etc.)
23. Bring a black marker. Return the exam with all questions and answers completely blacked out.
24. Get the exam. Twenty minutes into it, throw your papers down violently, scream out ``**** this!'' and walk out triumphantly.
25. Arrange a protest before the exam starts (e.g. Threaten the instructor that whether or not everyone's done, they are all leaving after one hour to get drunk.)
26. Show up completely drunk. (Completely drunk means that at some point during the exam, you should start crying for mommy.)
27. Every now and then, clap twice rapidly. If the instructor asks why, tell him in a very derogatory tone, ``The light bulb that goes on above my head when I get an idea is hooked up to a clapper. DUH!''
28. Comment on how sexy the instructor is looking that day.
29. Come to the exam wearing a black cloak. After about 30 minutes, put on a white mask and start yelling ``I'm here, the phantom of the opera'' until they drag you away.
30. Go to an exam for a class you have no clue about, where you know the class is very small, and the instructor would recognize you if you belonged. Claim that you have been to every lecture. Fight for you right to take the exam.
31. Bring a water pistol with you. 'Nuff said.
32. Try to get people in the room to do the wave.
33. From the moment the exam begins, hum the theme to Jeopardy. Ignore the instructor's requests for you to stop. When they finally get you to leave one way or another, begin whistling the theme to the Bridge on the River Kwai.
34. Start a brawl in the middle of the exam.
35. If the exam is math/science related, make up the longest proofs you could possibly think of. Get pi and imaginary numbers into most equations. If it is a written exam, relate everything to your own life story.
36. Come in wearing a full knight's outfit, complete with sword and shield.
37. Bring a friend to give you a back massage the entire way through the exam. Insist this person is needed, because you have bad circulation.
38. Bring cheat sheets FOR ANOTHER CLASS (make sure this is obvious. . . like history notes for a calculus exam. . . otherwise your're not just failing, you're getting kicked out too) and staple them to the exam, with the comment ``Please use the attached notes for references as you see fit.''
39. When you walk in, complain about the heat. Strip.
40. After you get the exam, call the instructor over, point to any question, ask for the answer. Try to work it out of him.
41. One word: Wrestlemania.
42. Bring balloons, blow them up, start throwing them around like they do before concerts start.
43. Do the exam on your laptop. Make sure the simulated keyboard noises are on.
44. Play frisbee with a friend on the other side of the room.
45. Bring some large, cumbersome, ugly idol. Put it right next to you. Pray to it often. Consider a small sacrifice.
46. Get deliveries of candy, flowers, balloons, telegrams, etc. sent to you every few minutes throughout the exam.
47. During the exam, take apart everything around you. Start with your calculator, move on to your desk, your chair, anything you can reach.
48. Complete the exam with everything you write being backwards at a 90 degree angle.
49. Bring a musical instrument with you, play various tunes. If you are asked to stop, say ``it helps me think.'' Bring a copy of the Student Handbook with you, challenging the instructor to find the section on musical instruments during finals. Don't forget to use the phrase ``Told you so.''
50. Answer the exam with the ``Top Ten Reasons Why *insert teacher's name* Sucks.''

Try it. See what happens. ;P

Teacher-sitting.

I've gone to a lot of gatherings before, but this one was absurdly unique..

So, our favourite teachers were getting dismissed by the end of the semester. 3 girls thought: hell, if they're going, might as well make it a big thing! A few weeks later, we ended up in a completely booked TGI Friday's. The financial parts of this planning wasn't perfect but it worked.
There was no particular planning for the night; it was more of: go there and plan on the spot. But it turned out to be an eventful evening. I arrived late to the place because of a series of unfortunate adventures which included a taxi and waiting ages for one. The TGI Friday's was located near DCC, opposite the Aviation College. Go there people! It's Fun.
Anyways, by the time I reached there, everyone had arrived: teachers and students alike. I was asked by a couple of friends to give out certificates for the teachers, saying that they had graduated from the school. It was exactly the same as our report cards but instead of subjects, we marked them on attributes e.g. fun, education, strictness. As soon as we had finished handing them out, we all realized we didn't know what to do next! Super luckily, the appetizers arrived! Then there were no longer teachers and students, just friends. We joked, we laughed and we bonded. Weird, maybe, but fun.
After we ate, my friends decided it was time for a dance -.-'. They plugged in an ipod to the store's sound system and started playing songs. We convinced all the teachers to dance and well, let's just say that we were entertained from various forms of dancing: Belly dancing, salsa, and a baby hopping about.
Oh yeah, the TGI Friday's manager went up to us and told us that they would like to put on a show for us! That was completely unexpected and wasn't part of any of our plans but it was perfect: it kept the teachers entertained and they even let some of the students joined in on the dance. Dinner and a show!
It was a gesture from all of us, created by three from our numbers, to show how much they meant to us. After three years with them, we can all honestly say: we'll miss you. Thank you.

Right Before It Begins

Okay, so the exams are less than a day's time away. English IGCSE. Well, the night before the exam, what better way to chill then watch your little brother kick ninja butt on the PS2 right? Oh, and not to mention the awesome meal at Aden Restaurant! If this is what its like to have important exams, then I want an exam every week!
Anyways, I am actually looking forward to this exam; not only does it mean I'm almost there until the graduating finish line but it also means I've been doing quite well these last few years. Even better: my friends are graduating with me!
Of course, some amount of stress has been accumulating over the past few months as the exams seem to loom closer and closer, but now that it's just one day less away, all the stress just seem to be swept away. It's not like I can do anything to prepare now, is there? The only that could go wrong is if I overslept and missed the exams, or that I forget to bring the admission paper with my candidate number on it.
So, best of luck to my friends with their upcoming exams!

Exams: The Beginning

Fuuuh... Exams huh? Not a pretty thing. Specially if it's as important as the IGCSEs... I've done IGCSEs past papers before but never really got full marks. Came close, but not quite there.
People are doing alot of stuff in preparation for the arrival of Exams: they're having tuitions; they're taking in more homework; they're actually paying attention in class and they are stressing over it. Of course, teachers emphasising everyday how close the exams are isn't going to take the stress off but it's helpful if you want a good, high mark in the exam.
Me? Well, I'm still blogging, I'm almost always online, and I still don't know when the exams are- You tell me if I'm stressed. I just simply made a schedule for my brain to keep up with the schoolwork. It's alot better than going with the human paranoia of exams. I still do have to study, yes: there's no one in this world who can get a super great mark in exams if they don't study, but I'm not going to accept tuition offers, I'm not going to stay up all night just to learn about how E-MC(2) is a great finding and I'm definitely not going to pay more attention in class then I already am. I sit in the front row of almost every class! How much more attentive can one get?! Not saying I concentrate in class much though...
Anyways, today I had a 3 hour exam or survey for the PISA thing. It's the survey of how good a country is by measuring and comparing 15 year olds marks in the country. I thought since they said it was going to take 3 hours long, it'd be a good way to skip school lessons but, as usual, I was wrong. It was so, so, so, so, so, so, sooooo boring! Except for one question about spiders being drugged. Hahahahaha! Spiders high on weed...
After the exam part was over, which took 2 hours long, the last hour we spent on doing a questionaire about our life in school. I have never yet responded on a questionaire properly. For example: they asked me at what age I graduated Kindergarden from. I answered: Between 1 and 15.
Moving away from Spiders high on weed and Kindergarden, I think my exams are quite close and there's one of them in particular that is really important to myself: my IGCSE english exam. Out of all the IGCSEs, I place English and Biology as the most important ones. They're important because if some old dude in England thinks that I have very good understanding of the english language and that I have an excellent understanding of the human body, I would be able to become a doctor in a foreign country. I don't know yet if that is certainly my aim as a career but for now, I want the Dr. in front of my name. It makes me sound a bit more... Sophisticated ;p
As my closing paragraph, I'm going to give out a warning: Don't put yourself under too much stress or expect too much, it'll just make things worse if you DO get a low mark. Aim reasonably and try harder than you thought was possible. If you get a high mark and you were expecting something less, wouldn't that make you even happier?

Memories

Just a few moments ago, my brothers, my mum and myself were looking through old pictures of us in Dubai, and there was this feeling of strange memories coming back. For one thing: Muhaimin was SUPER thin! I just can't believe how much he changed. Plus, his large ears dissapeared, somehow or rather. I'm sure my mom missed them.
Then I saw Saif and myself and WOW! There was this picture from 2002... just shocking how much we grew up. 7 years ago; a very long time! I was SHORT! I was just about Saif's shoulders in height back then but just like Muhaimin, I had skinny arms with no meat or muscles.
I couldn't help but smile as pictures of my past friends came up: school friends and not school friends. A few pictures brought back so much memories that I have a headache right now. One of the pictures is the one with Ali and Najwa's family and Jalil's family when we went to the MBC stationplace. Najwa, Ali, you remember that? Stupid question, of course, you do! It was a major event: we went to a TV STATION and got a tour AND a souvenier t-shirt! Remember Muhaimin's tooth? *wink*
Right next to that picture was a picture of me dressing into the F1 costume! Man, that brought back soo many memories... That was, I think, my last time riding a Go-Kart. And it was also the time when my Kart blew up on my 3rd round! hahahaha! Then, Najwa crashed into the wall right infront of me! She said she was trying to see who's Kart blew up. A reminder to all: Keep your eyes on the road!
Flicking through the album, I saw pictures of us when we were even younger! It was the 2nd year here;2001. Saif was being the Imam for Ala', Nasa and myself. It was horrible how young we looked! There was that overall resemblance-I wa still dorky; Saif still with that hair; Ala' still a bit rounder than the rest of us; Nasa with his long arms and legs- but we all grew up into something much different from what we were then.
There was alot of family pictures as well. Most of my family also did change in appearance; Ayahcik looking like a teenager, Danial looking like Ishraf, Wajdi looking chubby and round, and loads more! I was just laughing at the pictures and felt weird at looking at my family in the past.
The point is, taking pictures is a great thing. Even pictures that seemed useless at that point of time. Heck, I saw a picture of Muhaimin on the pot! So, don't be shy of the camera as they keep your memories alive for a very, very long time.

The Calm After The Storm

That was just plain old FREAKY! There was absolutely NO warning! Sure there were rain clouds, but I just figured it'd be like always and the rain clouds would clear themselves out. Big mistake!
Never, ever underestimate the weather in UAE! For the past month or so, there was all sun and heat and clearly no rain. Yesterday night, however, rained so hard that my house actually got flooded! Some parts also had HAIL! That is awesome Rare. There was obviously ligtning and thunder, and I heard SOME people were scared of it;P
Ok, how I knew my room got flooded.
I was actually watching T.V. when d rain started. First it was just a few pellet-like drops, then it came down harder and with more reinforcements! Before you know it, the T.V. is on maximum volume and I could still hear NO sound! It was SuperRain! Coming down on Earth with all its might! Flash! Lightning! BANG! Thunder!
So, I decided to make sure the window in my room was closed. I was intent on making sure it was closed so when I heard the water crashing down louder than it should, I thought the window was open. I rushed into the room, saw my window was closed and was completely dumbfounded when I finally noticed that my roof was leaking!
One event led to another and soon enough, there was no T.V., no internet, and Abah, Muhaimin, Saif and I were sitting down in a circle, playin Scrabble. At least some good came out of the storm.
Forecasts: storm will happen in the next 5 days. Basically, we're going to have to endure storms until Sunday! Insha'Allah nothing too bad will happen.
I'm going to try to update as soon as I can on the storm.

Aqad Nikah

My first ever experience of a Muslim style Wedding! First impression: Awesome! Of course that migh just be the fact that I hung out wit my greatest friends...It felt right! This was where I completely fit in.
Anyways, Aqad Nikah is translated from arabic to english to mean Marriage Contract or Bonding Agreement. And it's the vocal agreement of the bride's dad and the groom on the marriage that basically takes place. And this wedding took place at one of my best friend's house. The reason wh is still a mystery to him.
First, we wait for the Qadi(Judge) to come and pray Maghrib with us. Then, he gives a ceramah(speech) of the wedding and Islam. Then he asks the groom something like: Do you agree with all the terms and responsibility of this marriage? He has to reply: I (name) agree with all the terms and responsibility of this marriage. And of course since there is no paperwork, the Qadi and the audience becomes witnesses of the event.
Afterwards:FOOD! There was like awesome loads of food including CHICKEN and rice and CHICKEN and oh yeah cake obviously. Ayam masak merah...sedap!
After we were bored and full, we(me and my friends) decided to play some basketball, and just in case anyone's wondering; we are all horrendously terribly at it excluding the house owner. But of course my team never lost once! *grin*
We spent most of the night playing basketball, but once we started getting hurt and tired, we went inside, and inside is where I met two more friends, one of them a friend I missed a lot. The rest of the night was spent laughing and joking around, just like the good ol' days. *grin*
P.S. I'm bald now!

Monday- First day of secondary sports
Today included: football, basketball, netball, wheelbarrow race, ball-and-spoon race, hula-hoop race and some sort of sports trivia.
As Topaz house captain, I was in-charge of nearly everything that had to do with Topaz as my vice-captain didn't even bother to show up. Everything was splited up into boys/girls and different years. So, basically, the year 8 girls played with year 8 girls, year 8 boys played with year 8 boys.
The football team wasn't too bad but we didn't win much and the same was for basketball. It was all a big mess for Topaz House and I accept the responsibility and blame. Netball, I'm not too sure about as I tend to distance myself from that sport. The other picnik activities were out of control as everyone was halfway-to-eternal-sleep and no one wanted to do any of the activities. Well, that was the year 10s at the very least. As for me...I had to stop at the wheelbarrow race: I burnt my hand going just a bit too fast. Now, I have a disturbing sight in the side of my palm. Hopefully I'll be able to heal by the end of the week.
Oh yeah, I also had a very interesting encounter: before the burnt hand, the principle came out. He was watching silently for a while then said out loud as soon as everyone was quiet: 1000 housepoints for Sapphire for being the first to quiet down! That just clicked something in me. I walked up to him, and told him: sir, isn't that against the rules?! You yourself said teachers are only allowed to give 20 housepoints maximum for one thing. He was calm towards all this but once I said: You can't do that, he said: go sit in my office.
First time in the principle's office. Kind of weird but not scary as I was confident that I had every right to stand up to him. Plus the other 5 kids that were in there who was in more serious trouble than I was boosted my spirits up a bit.
He made me wait in his office for almost 30 minutes, then called me out, then had a talk with me which went kind of like this: What was that thing you said to me? I can't do that right? Well, this badge of mine says I can. And I don't want you to tell me how to do my job. How should you have come up to me do you think?
Without even having to think hard, I answered: I guess I should have said: You shouldn't have done that sir. It's against the rules! He smiled at that. Guess I hit the answer spot on.
Then he said something like: well, if it wasn't for gatekeepers like yourself, I can get away with murder! The difference in those answers is that the Can't is harsh and more commanding while the Shouldn't is calmer and people would be more willing to listen to your argument. I CAN'T believe that he had thought me an ethical lesson on a sports day!
I don't know if I had earned his respect or he was just trying to take the mickey out of me, but he then said: another 1000 housepoints for sapphire for again being the silent house! Then he said: as a reward for such a great day, I'm giving Topaz, Emerald, and Ruby 2000 housepoints each!
For some weird reason, which I laughed at, people actually cheered. What they didn't notice was that he had just taken back his words of making Sapphire first! From now on, I have a lot of respect for that funny man in the black suit: Mr. Campbell.

Sporty Day...s.

Sunday: KG1-Grade 2
On this day, I had to be a help to the other teachers who were organizing the Early Primary Sports Day. Came to school in a non-outstanding fashion, just the same as usual, always dreary of course. Then one of my best friends, who had also accepted the task to help out, reminded me about the volunteer jobs that we took.
At 9 something, the games was about to start. Parents flooded in all at once. KG1 was up first. Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, all came neatly out of their classes, each representing their own Houses. It annoyed me to no end that the children all seemed unmotivated at all. I had to take matters in my own hands. Kind of regret it now... lost my voice for a while: I readied a hard voice, steadied my vocal cords, and screamed: What team's gonna win?!!!
HUGE effect on the kids!! No wonder I love kids! Instantly their passion to not lose woke up, igniting flames inside of them, answering my taunt by screaming: RUBY! RUBY! SAPPHIRE! SAPPHIRE! EMERALD! EMERALD! TOPAZ! TOPAZ!!
There was another reason I became tired after all that: Laughing my head off at their desperate attempts to stay in first place. Especially the Obstacle Course! There was this one kid who stuck out more than the rest: A Topazian, chubby and always searching for his parents. The obstacle course included jumping over stuff, climbing others and balancing on another. This kid fell like 3 times on the first obstacle, chubby feet stomping slightly on the climb and couldn't balance what-so-ever! And he did all this still waving at his parents!
I was in charge of motivating the kids and keeping the overall scores. The results of KG1: Topaz first, Sapphire second, Ruby third, Emerald last and lots of sore throats.
KG2 was also similar but with double the cheering. There were lots of shouts and encouragements from the other volunteers like me and I guess the sight of much older kids trying to motivate them just, well, motivated them. The scores were somewhat similar as well.
Then came the slightly older Grade1s and 2s. OH... this was definitely one of the funniest and exciting events. The rules were slightly different but the atmosphere was the same: The obstacle course had an upgrade and they added a sack race as well. Now, the obstacle course included a crawl through a tunnel like thingy which me and the other volunteer had to keep in place. There are no words loud enough to describe the intense cheering coming from the different teams which almost never died down. It was a much better air than the one in the football match before! The results were complete opposite but with sorer throats and 2 pairs of dead arms.

Sudden Adrenaline! Weeee...

For the last month, I've been complaining how suddenly the whole world started to get absurdly dull. Well, thanks to these past couple of days, I'm prepared to eat my words.

First off: sudden invitation. One day off from school and the school kicked into top gear! As soon as I came to school on Thursday, friends swamped me with questions on whether or not I was going to Dubai Festival City that evening. My answer: What? Apparently, after all that *cough* hard work *cough* in school, everyone needed a break, and what other place to celebrate than the place-to-be, DFC? So after much consideration which took a whole packet of crisps and 3 Oreos, I decided to tag along with them.

Party time! As per usual, I was first to arrive, and had to wait for everyone else. As not per usual, I met an old acquaintance! What is it with meeting people we used to know this year? Well, I actually saw the person from far so I wasn't one hundred percent sure it was that person so I waited a bit until i could see the person's face completely. Yep, it's a friend. When I decided to go say hi, precisely at that moment (what astoundingly perfect timing my friends have) 3 friends just happen to pop up! So we had this whole big reunion thing...nothing big, 10 minutes long maximum. The other 3 came over here riding a taxi: one from school, one from Sharjah, and one idiot from Ajman! For those who don't know their UAE Geography: That's a HELL of a long way to come! They were starving from sitting in a taxi, the ''idiot'' hadn't eaten for the whole day, so... I bought them all a Pepperoni Pizza! Of course there was a few slices which went into the buyer's stomach as well.

After they ate, came the girl with all the connections. She was the main host for this outing apparently. She had invited friends from school, outside of school and friends who don't know their friends yet. By the end of the day, there was like 13 of us. Quite a gathering. Well, the hostess had VIP coupons for the rides outside DFC. DING DING DING! Enter Main Event!

There were two main awesome rides: a corkscrew and a huge bouncy spinning bowl. Just from thinking about it now makes me noxious.

After much debating, we decided to get onto the Bowl first. Crap loads of fun! We were the 1st in the bowl so we were able to pick our places without any squeezing or pushing. Then...around and around and around it goes! I fell off my seat and remained on the spinning floor for the whole of the ride! Main reason for falling: Laughing.

After we had gained the ability to stand on two feet again, the Corkscrew was waiting to give us another ride of adrenaline. We should not have had that pepperoni pizza. At All. 

The thing started slowly...rocking side to side...then...SWISH! 90 degrees off the floor and into the sky! Screaming our heads off, feeling like our stomachs had flipped upside down, falling like a dumbbell in water: just a few descriptions of what came with the ride. All this...while going round, and round, and round, and round and round... I distinctly remember some girl screaming: WE'RE DEAD! WE'RE DEEAADD!!

After a while, the school friends all had to leave except the hostess and I was fortunate enough to have Uncle Fendi who was in DFC that day until 10+. So, now there were 10 of us left. I barely knew any of them except the hostess and a friend who came AFTER all the rides. We just decided to go walk around DFC dor a while, hang out. I also kept with my new year's resolution and had 8 new friends after that day. Of course, few names have been forgotten...

Oh, and on that same day, while I was getting the adrenaline rush of a decade, my cousins and their super-energetic daughter had already arrived here from Malaysia. They were knocked out cold by the time I had arrived home so it was a few more hours until I could enjoy their company.

Morning: Woke up and saw my cousins' faces. I'm not a morning person so you'll have to understand why I didn't do a sing-and-dance routine when I saw them. Their daughter(my half-niece) was already awake. Oh God, she's so cute. The whole day was spent with the whole family visiting Dubai's sights and listening to my endlessly talking 6 years old niece. 

Then, we went to the gathering at Auntie Yati's house. We prayed sincerely that her daughter is safe and that they'll be together again soon. I won't go into details. 

I also saw two of MY outside school friends. It's amazing how much pressure can be put off just by looking at old friends. I haven't seen them for a really long time. I can honestly and sincerely say: I miss you people...a lot.

I ate my words. The world's not gone boring...There was just nothing to make it exciting.

Birthday Spook

On Friday, I was invited to go to a friend's birthday party. He said that he plans to take us bowling and ice-skating at Al Nasr Leisureland, behind the old Nasr Cinema. However, my family and family friends had already made plans to go to the Dubai Cares Help for the Children of Gaza. Thankfully the party was postponed until 6pm that night. 

At the Dubai Cares, we arrived to a city of boxes; the volunteers who had already arrived were making boxes for the necessities to go in, and they had piled the small, white boxes on top of each other by the road. Since we were new arrivals, we decided to go help make the boxes as well. 

Logically, "making boxes" doesn't sound like much fun does it? Well, during our systematic production of boxes, I managed to have heaps of fun! There were hundreds and hundreds of boxes to be made! The making process was simple: take uncreated boxes, make it into a box, tape it and then pile it. I was in charge of taping it and making sure the tape was... well, basically neat. After we ran out of boxes, I went and searched inside the building for more unfinished boxes and buh-lieve me, it was like a whole other city in there! It was completely crowded! I made my way through the maze of people and stopped at a gallor of boxes! There were enough to fit more than enough rations of food to feed a whole country! (Obviously Dubai Cares had done their maths!)

After making uncountable boxes, it was finally time for the party!

I was dropped off at 5pm infront of the Leisureland. Of course there wasn't anyone there; my friends have a knack of coming to parties or anything of the sort late. Or maybe I was just dropped off too early. Either ways, I was fortunate: I was walking aimlessly through the building when I saw a sign saying: Ice rink and Bowling will be closed from 4th January. 

Guh-reat! I had to call up the birthday boy and tell him the news and trust me, he was astounded. The dude hadn't checked if his plans were full proof or not! *Sigh* So after careful consideration which involved me doing nothing, we decided to go to Wafi, where there is roller blading, Virtual Roller-Coaster and best of all, The Tomb! Basically, the Tomb is an ancient-egyptian-based maze. I've never been in there ever before but Saif had and he said it scared the crap out of him and his friends. Enough reasons to go right? C;

So I waited for B-Day Boy and the others to show up and what-do-you-know? An old friend of ours just coincidentally shows up! It was a huge reuninion! At first it was only me, her and her friend for the better part of 40 minutes and when I left to pray Maghrib, another friend shows up. The best part was that this Friend and the Old Friend had a hilarious history together. They didn't forget. By the time the others came, I was crying from laughter.

When we finally got to Wafi, (I rode with my best friends and one of theirs' singing Mom and Dad) we played Pool first. I think there were only 2 people who were actually playing Pool! The others(including me) were playing around like samurais with the sticks! 

After Pool, we went Roller Blading. My history of roller blading is just that: History. I haven't even touched a roller blade in half a decade! B-day Boy was worse: he's NEVER been in roller blades and even in shoes he falls over! We had splendid amounts of fun! I finished with a bruised buttock, a burnt ankle, and a headache from laughing.

Virtual Roller-Coaster! This is one of the best parts of the night. I don't think any of us got out of it with a non-sore throat! I went with the B-day boy and I attempted to make it more scary than it really was by screaming whenever the fun part comes around. He seemed happy so I'm satisfied.

Next: Food! Spaghetti Bolognaise. Just the sound of it..ahh... so delicious! 

Afterwards: The Tomb!! No doubt the main event of the night, it didn't dissapoint! 5 people were allowed in at the same time, and we were fortunate in that manner as one of our numbers had to go as he had another party to attend to. So all of us were allowed in at the same time.

The people took our mobiles, watches and anything else that might provide light or sound or anything really. Then we knocked. 

Bang! Something slammed itself on the door. I'm lucky I don't have very good reflexes because everyone else jumped back and fell over each other! Then this creepy hunchback opened the door. The guide.

No more details. If you want to enjoy it completely, you'll have to go in yourself. But I can gurantee you one thing: no matter how prepared you are, no matter how many times you go in there, you'll be coming out of there running.

Under Construction!

As planned beforehand, we went with Ala' and Nasa, Haziq and Yahya, and Muaz to a place far away to watch AC Milan play against Hamsburg. I was in a car with Saif, Haziq, Nasa and Yahya with Uncle Afzar while the others rode with another Uncle. The traffic Jam was looong! But only on the main roads. Uncle Afzar decided to use a backroad, which got us there faster than the others did. Lucky break for us! 

To tell you the truth, I wasn't interested in the football match. Rather, I was more interested in the yelling and screaming to the players more than what was goin on in the match. And unfortunately, it was really dissapointing: the match had a really slow tempo, which meant not that much yelling! We did get to shout at the referee a few times and we did get to scream the players' names as they played quite a dull game. We all expected Milan to dominate but it was the reverse: Hamsburg played a better game and they certainly didn't deserve to lose.

The score was 1-1 by 90 minutes and the game went into penalties. The penalties had the most yelling in it! There were boos and chantings of the shooters' and goalkeeper's name as they went into their respective places. It was 5-3 to Milan as Dida saved a penalty and another hit the crossbar. Then there were people dancing queerily, shiny things floating in the sky and my hoarse voice going along with the music and finally, the whole thing came to a stop. See? Boring match! But...that's my opinion. Me, the guy who doesn't even care abut football much. Ask the others for a more..."professional" opinion!

But the title says Under Construction...what does that have to do with football? The Stadium. The Stadium wasn't even complete! There weren't even WALLS! Or Chairs!! We had to sit on green floor! There were tunnels under these green things to let people walk through and these were lined with construction posts! A match which everyone was looking forward to in an uncomplete stadium. What a Rip-Off!! 

Hahaha. I have to say this: Who cares? At the very least there WAS a football match and people were there with family and friends! That's what I thought being in a huge gathering like that was about: to have serious amounts of fun! It would have been a lot more fun if it was in a real stadium, true, but (the corniest saying) life gives you lemon, you make lemonade! We might not have made lemonade, but we were still satisfied. 

P.S. this was all written in the middle of the night...when I just got home from the match...So it may not be the greatest post you'll read! 

2k9's First Day

It was one of the most exhausting day I've ever had, I'll tell you that! A series of events made me sleep late, even though I knew I had to wake up early. I know...stupid. Well, After I did wake up, we already misses most of the fun Family Day that was planned, so we went to eat breakfast at our second kitchen: Al Nasr Restaurant. Even the uncle who works day shifts and lamost never laughs, was in a really cheerful mood! Good omen for a good year. C=

Then we went to salvage whatever fun was left in the Family Day, and we hit gold. It was absurdly fun!  By the time we reached there, they had already done the Wheelbarrow and were just starting to play Tug-O-War. I lost. No need to put details into that.

Afterwards, we played football and rugby/american football (I still don't know which!). I really did miss hanging out with all my friends like that, but as a start to my new year's resolution, I have made a new friend(awesome or not I'm not yet sure), Ash. Hopefully I'll learn her real name soon. C=

We went to have a BBQ night at Unc FND's house. It was Auntie Sue's birthday! On the 1st of January! How incredulously lucky! All of her birthdays are holidays which everyone's celebrating! Anyways...Nasa and I were in charge of the fire-starting. I am proud to admit I am terrible at it! After lots of fanning, we managed to get the fire to start. Not to mention I couldn't use my right arm for the whole night afterwards!

I can't tell you how amazing yesterday was because I am at lost for words to describe it. I saw Ala', Nasa, Haziq, Anum, Amanie, and a pack of kids, all of whom I really missed. We played UNO, then there was something like a pillow fight which then turned into a wrestling match between me and the kids. I came home at 10pm with more brusies than a boxer does after a match. All in all...It really was a gold mine.

Finally...My Resolutions!

I've made my mind up. My New Year's Resolution will be:

1)To Make Some Awesome New Friends!

2)To Stay Friends With My Old Awesome Friends!