2wenty-2wo

End of an old week.
Start of a new chapter.

Alhamdulillah, praise be to Him.
You are still here.

Happy March 6, boy. :)

*cue that Taylor Swift song*

LTdL 2016

Hola holi semua...! :3

Alright first & foremost, I would like to wish all of some of you a happy mid-sem break :P. Dapatlah melekukkan sofa kt rumah tu lagi (like what I'm doing right now).

OK, agenda kedua. Dah alang-alang tak ada apa-apa kerja besar (read: assignment) nak dilunaskan, eloklah saya memenuhkan semula kuota blog ni yang macam hidup segan mati malu *eh*. Nak cerita apa pula ea kali ni? Hmm... tak tahulah saya (OK, that was so lame; tengok tajuk pun dah tau kot :3).

AHAD (28 FEBRUARI 2016)

Disebabkan hujung minggu, sementelah tugasan kolej dah beres *yeay!*, saya pergi ke Dataran Merdeka yang pada hari tu ialah garisan penamat bagi peringkat ke-5 Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2016.

Rasanya rakyat Malaysia (I mean, Semenanjung *sorry Borneo (T_T)*) mesti pernah sekurang-kurangnya sekali melihat konvoi berbasikal ni lalu depan mata. For me, it was during 2003, 2006, & 2010. Masa 2006 tu lagi meriah gitu sebab ada satu peringkat dari Yong Peng ke Segamat. Sanggup ni tunggu kt dataran walau pun hujan agak lebat masa tu. Lepas tu dapat topi lah, bendera lah.. err, where was I? Oh ya, Dataran Merdeka.

Dalam jam 10 pagi dah sampai (early bird, as usual). Lepas tu, berhuhuhuhu lah kita sebab tak ada apa sangat nak dibuat melainkan meninjau aktiviti sampingan yang ada. Maka, saya masuklah ke Muzium Muzik. Alah, sebelah Galeri KL jer.

Masuk percuma, & walau pun ruang pameran agak terhad & tak berapa nak varian, tapi sebagai peminat muzik, tak ada hal lah. Lepas tu saya ke Dataran Underground & rasa menyesal tak sudah sebab baru sekarang nak masuk sini. Sungguh kondusif; ada surau & tempat makan.. (meratap sesalan sampai lupa nak ambil gambar :'3).

Kita fast forward je la ea ke jam 2.30 petang. Semua dah siap sedia dengan konvoi yang dijangka tiba 30 minit kemudian. Ramai VIP yang sampai. Oh ya, speaking of which..

Jumpa kawan lama kejap :P

Cuaca hari tu memang AMAT panas (lagi panas daripada isu politik negara *eh*), dengan sedikit selingan angin sejuk. Nasib baik ada payung kt dalam beg.

This pic is the result of a struggle (pegang payung + pegang H/P) :'3

Tepat pada masa, jam 3 petang semua konvoi tiba di titik akhir. Agak krik krik jugak la rasa lepas tu yang tidak diketahui kenapa (or maybe that was just me).

Penyampaian hadiah kepada yang menang (obviously)

Dah habis semua tu, acara pun bersurai. Namun macam biasalah, selaku pemburu selfie terkemuka di seluruh mukim, saya menyusup ke ruang pelumba untuk mencari peluang. Nasib baik dapat.

The great Mr. Langkawi (I meant the person next to me, OK)

Bukan senang nak jumpa Andrea Guardini ni depan mata, sampaikan penganjur LTdL pun cakap "it's a rare photo opportunity" bila ada wakil BSN dapat bergambar (for the record, I've tried to find that pic with that exact caption, but I couldn't seem to find it :'3).

Apa-apa pun, sebelum balik..

Selfie yang sungguh tak semenggah dengan Hafizal Hamad dari Astro Arena

Usai segalanya, marilah kita balik & tidur (OK, makan dulu baru tidur).

End of story.

Sudden Friends On Board

(NOTA: Harap diberi izin untuk bercerita dalam bahasa global *wah gitu*.)

People who live in Kuala Lumpur will most certainly know what it feels like to be inside an LRT at least once a week. The LRT (which is only almost 3 years younger than me 😂) has been an integral part in KL's continuous development & in some way, it has changed the way regular people go through their daily life.

I am one of those 'regular people' & this is my story about it.

It has been more than 2 years (3, if I include my days in PASUM) since I called KL my second home. Hence, going around KL via the LRT is like a weekly routine (if not daily) for me. And every time I do so, there will always be a unique story for me to remember.

As our country's capital (& the main transportation hub for the Malaysian peninsula), it's no surprise that you can find so many foreign tourists in KL. Backpacks, cameras, & hats.. it's not really that hard to instantly recognize them 😝, especially once they're inside one of our many rail networks. 

Being a TESL student, it's obviously important for me to have an excellent English proficiency. However, being surrounded by an almost-totally Malay environment, for sure that itself presents a challenge for me (faham-faham je lah kenapa *ngee*). Hence, most of the time when I bump into any tourists (especially those from the West), I would utilize the exact moment to put my linguistic knowledge to the test & learn something along the way.

As usual (being a typical Malay) the lack of confidence would always be there to hinder me from having the courage to initiate a warm conversation with them, but I put that aside in order to gain experience. Just ignore what other people inside the LRT will perceive, as long as I can talk to them, that will be awesome enough. Just a simple "Hi!" or "Where do you come from?" or even "First time visiting Malaysia?" shall be a good way to start communicating with them.

Not just that, I get to be their unofficial tour guide, even for less than 5 minutes. Since I've been an avid explorer throughout KL 😁 & also a fan of Malaysia's general knowledge, I can share related info about KL with them. On one occasion, I even explained about the Wilayah flag (!). 

And just like that, you will be able to get connected to many parts of the world. Also, by listening to their stories, you will appreciate more about the diversity of our human race. Soon-to-be banker, musician, & community tutor are among those people I've come across with.

From top right [clockwise]: Germany (& Skudai *tetiba*); Lithuania; Germany (again); Wales & England; the Netherlands; the US

Every time I encounter with these kind of people (especially Western travelers), it gives me a great chance not just to brush up my English skills, but also to be an ambassador in my own country.

It's always a fantastic feeling to tell them about the ingredients of nasi lemak and also what they can find around Masjid Jamek.

Nothing at those moment can beat the satisfaction upon seeing them smiling, knowing for that brief moment (at least) I can be assured that they feel welcomed here.

There's nothing wrong with trying to show them just how friendly we are as Malaysians (or KLites to be specific). That's the least we can do amid our local.. political.. well.. you get it 😁.

Don't be afraid to slip of your tongue, because that's a part of learning process. Keep on trying & eventually you'll master it.

2016: Too Late to Say Hi

Hai hai hai!

OK, secara jelasnya kalau dilihat kepada tajuk (which is self explanatory), apalah sangat motif untuk saya membebel pada hari terakhir Januari ni kan? Tapi disebabkan nak memenuhi kuota bulanan seperti biasa (walau pun...), maka digagahkan jualah jari-jemari ini untuk berzapin di atas papan kekunci ni. 

So, as late as it sounds, happy 2016!

Baiklah, tahun ni rasanya ada banyak benda yang boleh kita jangkakan (& lebih banyak yang takkan dijangka). Kalau dalam arena sukan, tahun ni kita akan lebih bertumpu/berkampung di Brazil & Perancis.

"Vejo você lá!" & "On se voit là-bas!"

Kalau di dalam Malaysia pula, kita berkampung di bumi kenyalang nanti.

OK, itu pasal acara sukan. Kalau secara politiknya...

err...

malaslah nak cerita. (-___-)"

Baik di dalam mahu pun luar Malaysia, aspek yang satu ni dah jadi macam makin gila-gila (typically it is crazy, but currently it's getting crazier than ever).

=> Kalau di dalam Malaysia, well... kita semua fahamlah siapa yang jadi tumpuan utama (mentioning his name would be considered to be an extremely sinful & despicable act). Itu belum masuk cerita panas di sebalik sawah padi.

Whatever. PRU14, I'll be happy to see you later.

=> Kalau di luar pula, cerita hangat dah mestilah perlumbaan ke lokasi beralamat 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Antara calon yang paling kontroversi tak lain tak bukan ialah Donald Tramp Trump. Malas nak taip panjang-panjang pasal dia -- Google lah sendiri ea.

Dari segi hiburan pula, mestilah acara-acara besar macam anugerah Grammy & Akademi yang kita tunggu. Tak lupa juga, filem-filem best yang ada potensi untuk untung besar. Kalau di Malaysia, kehangatannya dah pun bermula bila kita dengar dua perkataan ni: Ola Bola.

Yup. You will be so out of the loop if you haven't seen it yet. Pergilah, memang terbaik. The bar has been set pretty high this year for our local cinematic scene. Sinematografi, muzik latar, plot, lakonan... semua aspek hampir sempurna. 7.3/10. Kalau ada filem Malaysia yang nak dihantar bertanding ke Oscar, ini adalah antara calon utamanya.

OK then. Itu sajalah agaknya, bulan depan serita yang lain pula kan. Chao.

2015: #Throwback

Helo semua!

What goes around comes around, huh? :P

OK, baiklah. Memandangkan cuma ada kurang daripada 3 jam saja sebelum 2015 bertambah 1 lagi nilai, baik saya rangkumkan segala yang berlaku pada tahun ini dengan seberapa cepat yang boleh.

(Nampaknya azam untuk berblog secara aktif tak kesampaian :'3)

Draf-draf yang tak sempat dikarang. A LOT of them. (T_T)

Let's start the recap!

JANUARI

- Hello Semester 3!

- Having the honour (& fame :P) of being featured in a local website (thanks Cilisos!)

FEBRUARI

- Tiada apa sangat yang berlaku secara peribadi

- Kehilangan 2 ikon

MAC

- Selamat datang ke usia 7665 hari

- 2 hujung minggu yang gila-gila

APRIL

- Jumpa kawan Abah (& not just any kind of friend)

- Beli buku & memori bergambar

MEI

- My first adventure at Asia's best attraction

- Cuti sem!

- Menyambut Hari Guru dengan penuh gaya (& karya)

JUN

- Fulfilling my 2015 travel bucket list (walau pun cuma seberang tambak)

- Masih bercuti

JULAI

- Hello Semester 4!

- The silver Eid Mubarak

- Menjadi saksi undian 42-40 demi Olimpik

OGOS

- Mula gila dengan hal kolej

- Beberapa hari yang penuh aktiviti

SEPTEMBER

- Getting critical at this moment

- Kehilangan salah seorang keluarga RTF :'(

OKTOBER

- The D-day! ". . This is... Diakrino."

- Jadi penonton Super Spontan All Stars

- Mandi di PD, makan di Melaka

NOVEMBER

- Naik feri

- Cuti sem!

- Jamuan SAMURA 3 Dekad

DISEMBER

- Masih bercuti

- Antara Putrajaya, Dengkil, & PWTC

Wowh! Akhirnya dapat juga siapkan. Secara ringkasnya, 2015 adalah tahun yang amat gila-gila terutamanya pada penghujung suku ketiga. Still, I survived them all & that should a good indicator of how my spirit have to be OK. 

Akhir kalam, semoga 2016 menjadi platform ke arah kehidupan yang lebih baik & makmur buat kita semua. Kepada sesiapa yang berkenaan, terima kasih atas kemunculan anda & mohon maaf andai terluka.

And to end this very last post of mine from 2015, here's a compilation of my selfie moments throughout the year (:P) :

Hafiz Hamidun, Fauziah Nawi, Takahara Suiko, Nico Rosberg (!), Ustaz Kazim Elias, Azizah Mahzan, Fynn Jamal, Eman Manan, Sabri Yunus, Ooi Tze Liang (!), Sazali Samad (!), Arja Lee, Ajak Shiro

Terima kasih & thank you, 2015.