Minda Otai

Halu semuanya!

Seperti biasalah, sebab tak sempat punya pasal terpaksalah ditunda segala cerita bulan lepas ke bulan ini . So, let's get straight to the point.

25 MAC 2016 (JUMAAT)

Seperti biasa kalau Jumaat pagi saya akan bermastautin di kolej 'coz I have no life sebab senang nak buat kerja & solat Jumaat, tapi hari tu lain sikit. Ada taklimat latihan industri (or in my case, teaching practicum). Dah habis tu, kembali ke rutin biasa sampailah ke petang. Lepas tu, bergeraklah saya ke Platinum Sentral sebab dah diajak Redza (my classmate) untuk menonton beberapa filem pendek anjuran Kelab Seni Filem Malaysia. Dah alang-alang tak ada nak dibuat, layankan je lah.

Sampai kt situ (& selepas menunggu dalam setengah jam), dapatlah juga mengambil tempat. Lepas tu mata saya tertancap (<--- i="">a legit word; tengok kamus) kepada satu figura ni. Muka macam kenal. Bila ditanya, betul tekaan saya (more on that later). Sesi tontonan (percuma, BTW) bermula kira-kira jam 9.15 malam. Kalau ikutkan ada 4 filem pendek yang nak ditayangkan, tapi tak sampai 10 minit filem pendek pertama (tajuknya lagi panjang daripada jangka hayat serangga) dipaparkan, terus tergendala. Wakil penganjur terus datang & memaklumkan yang sesi tontonan ni terpaksa dibatalkan sebab belum dapat kelulusan LPF. Hanya 😑 yang mampu dizahirkan. Why lah you didn't ask for their clearance first? Nan hado. Nasib baiklah, pada penghujung acara yang 'maha' pendek tu, sempat juga saya berselfie.

Dain Iskandar Said

Ingat tak saya cakap pasal muka yang macam kenal tu? Well, this is the man behind the award-winning film Bunohan. Agak teruja bila dapat bersua muka, lagi-lagi sebab filem arahannya Interchange akan muncul tahun ni.

26 MAC 2016 (SABTU)

Paginya tu, ada kenduri di rumah saudara Syuhadah (my college friend) di Kajang. Lepas tu saya bergerak pula ke Maju Junction sebab ada Kota Kata anjuran Perbadanan Kota Buku (again, Redza yang ajak). Ada banyak jualan buku indie dan persembahan pentas. Namun, satu-satunya antara sebab utama saya datang ialah kehadiran Sasterawan Negara, Datuk Dr. Zurinah Hassan. Mendengar deklamasi sajak beliau cukup mengujakan.

I think she should be called 'Sasterawati Negara'

Dah habis segalanya, maka tamatlah hujung minggu terakhir saya untuk Mac.

Maka kesimpulannya, err... perlu ke ada kesimpulan? I don't know.

Just look at this post's title, & you might get it.

Chao.

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.