exam worries

haha, not that i’ll be taking any exams any time soon. just reminiscing moments of those days and nights spent reading and revising for exams. now that IIU mates will be having their exam around this week, take this as a tribute you guys. savour those exams while you’re still at it. sometimes we don’t realise how fun exams are. haha. not nerdy not geeky, just smart.

people have different ways of learning and studying for exams. i have friends who would write/copy down notes over and over again. that’s how they will remember the points. i don’t. in fact i hate writing down notes again and again, doesn’t matter if the notes i copied during class were a hell mess. but my impromptu notes are mostly readable.(puji diri sendiri nampaaaak)or better, i don’t write notes at all. like for Dr Wan’s Myth,and Research Methods classes, or Dr Fatimah’s Contemporary issues class, or Dr Fadzilah’s Evangelization. i prefer reading the textbooks and handouts, and write down comments and points by my lecturers on them.

and colours! colours are the most important study materials for me, highligters, coloured pens, they play major parts in my study. i remember through colours and pictures, even the layout of the page, if i want to recall important points. mindmaps also help alot.

and i love staying up nights and sacrificing weekends just to revise. baru terasa mcm budak universiti~

i learnt to not study last minute the hard way. seriously. i couldn’t sleep, i almost got a nervous breakdown because i realised i had more lots to cover. and exam paper will be the next morning at 9, past 2 am, i still haven’t covered half the topics. and this involved memorization of verses. i continued reading till 8 am, got ready, zombied and blurred, i knew i forgot 60% of the things i’ve read. and prayed all the way to exam that i would be able to answer the questions. but hey alas, i managed to answer two questions at mediocre, and leave out, with the utmost willingness 1 question because i remember 0 points on the question at hand. i was sleepy and i couldn’t think. kan chiong la weii…tapi rileks jer, tak payah nangis-nangis, i brought it upon myself, so face the muuuussiiicc.

but that was the last of ever trying to procrastinate studying. it was a scar, a knock on the head, a slap on the face that i will remember everytime it’s near to exam period.

i tried to study constantly after that. except if the subject disinterests me. i tried to because there were always other things coming through, programmes, tests and assignments to be done. but i tried to at least understand the subjects, if i couldn’t memorise them.

but i’m not a memorizing person, while there are friends who are able to memorize whole pages. i just don’t. and lazy to anyway. i read and read and hopes it stays in the mind.

and submitting assignments just days before exams. i remember doing two assignments (for research methods and myth subjects) back to back, two nights in a row, without sleep. and there’s one time, i decided to ‘ran’ back to singapore on a saturday morning, just so i could find books at the libraries here for my literary reviews on my assignments and research. but it was worth the impromptu decision(also for myth and res.methods). but it was the satisfaction and the relief of having known you put your best in your research. and when it’s all printed out and ring -binded, looking so fresh and cool to the touch. this is it. my hard work. the feeling’s euphoric sometimes.

and there was the assignment i did with much care and details, for Pak Aris’s Malaysia Society class, knowing he is notorious and strict with assignments, though his gentle and soft spoken nature belied all those. still, i did extra hard, double checked more, just so i could get some good grade from him. and it paid off. i got highest for it. such a huge relief taken from off my shoulder upon knowing my grade.

and there was social change’s research, with another strict lecturer, Mdm Pute Rahimah, head of Sociology department. i had the worst group. for one thing, we couldn’t agree to a topic till this one senior in class, decided to take up the research as his own. he decided everything on that. i was grateful for that actually, looking at my groupmates’ immaturity and non-initiativeness. i was grateful the senior planned out the research, designed the questioonaire and i helped him in doing the lit reviews, and editing the write-up. the grammar mistakes were just ridiculous. but these we learnt. we got through it. not our best but i learnt alot from the senior.

studying at the library. with the girls. was a motivational factor. you saw your friends all around you reading, you will start reading. though of course there were times, when we want to destress, we chatted, we joked around, or surf the net. or check out other library users. Zaimah, Fana,remember that arab guy we, or was it me, kacau2? we left anonymous notes at his reading corner? and checked out his expressions when he saw the notes? he’s cute right?? that was hilarious and everyday turning up atthe library just to see whether the arab guy will sit at the same corner wearing the same red shirt. haha!

exam day, i don’t like bringing my notes along, but sometimes i did bring them, i don’t know why. but actually, it’s more scary to read notes when you’re minutes away from the exam hall. but seeing other people reading them, it’s pressurising, and you ended up reading as well.

and my fave memory of all, getting the last seat, at the very back of the hall, next to the door. there’s people coming in and our throughout the two hour exam period! i don’t know what these people are doing?!! and the ultimate human avalanche when 500 students taking the same exam paper (though mine is a different subject and ended 30 minutes after theirs) pass my table. i had to stop writing, and thinking, just to let these people out. it took almost 10 minutes!! but alhamdulillah, i got through that paper.

there’s few more memories, but i’ve written much. time’s up peeps. submit papers!

All the best to those having exams!!

unsung ode

i apologise for feeling rather melancholic this fine morning. While most people would be wearing nice baju kurungs and kebayas visiting family and friends. i have a class to teach this afternoon. but that’s not the reason for this temperament.

but the sudden remembrance to those faithful departed. especially my nenek and atok, yayi and nyayi. always. always. when its syawal, our memories to the beloveds, never fail to greet me and family. and the whole of ramadan, our conversations would always include memories with them. it could be nenek today, atok the next day and then yayi. there’s always some memories to reminisce! me and family truly missed them alot. we lost our pillar of strength when we lost them, and losing my late uncle was the last straw. the only uncle, despite his flaws, the only uncle who truly cared about my family, my mom being his little sister. i just missed them. raya had never been the same happy days as when they were here. never.

in the past, there’s always a destination every morning. there’s always the two places that we must go without fail. there’s always something to look forward to. now, even years after they’re gone, we had not gotten over the fact that we seem to have no place to go. no one to turn to. the first days of syawal, usually spent at my grandparents houses, are replaced with great nyayi and grand aunt, and my father’s eldest brother and sister’s house. they could never replace the same sincere happiness. they just don’t. seeing other people with their grandparents, i always had this pulling effect, like something pulling my heart, squeezing it deep into the core. i wish my grandparents and uncle are still here. i wish. because they are the ones who truly care.

silently torn, deteriorating, communication breakdown, i grew up witnessing these. it hurts. it frustrates. it’s mental anger. but who am i to say.

i miss sleeping beside nenek, and her lifestory as my bedtime stories. her happy days, her sadness, her disappointments, her strength and independence, taking the bus alone to come to our house. her eagerness to see her grandchildren. her frail thin frame showing no signs of elderly exhaustion. accompanying her to the market or to religious class at a nearby house. and her last days, her high fever, my father bearing her on his back walking all the way to the clinic. and losing her.

i miss sitting beside my atok, watching the news from his small tv in his room, a cup of coffee a must, his thick specs. visiting him at his workplace at the old plaza singapura, celebrating his last birthday there, with a cake at mcdonalds. his eyes shining behind those specs, his true happiness being with us. and you know what, going to plaza singapura now hurts alot, because the place has changed, totally, there’s no more that small corner, where my atok usually sat, guarding the jewellery store, that one chair he sat, i could imagine now, him sitting there, but now, none of that. his stays at our house in his last years. and losing him.

nek, atok, your dreams and prayers of seeing me complete my studies. i did it nek, i did it atok. but you are not here to see me now. but i did it. for you.

i miss listening to the conversations of my nyayi and father. listening to him talking in javanese, and losing the chance of learning mother tongue from him. a respected man he is, i was so grateful and proud that he is my nyayi, that i’m his granddaughter. my mother sometimes reminded me how he used to hold me in his hands, when i was still a toddler, cradling me to sleep and reciting prayers to my ears and eventually falling asleep himself. i miss his silence. and losing him.

i miss my uncle. the only uncle who showed care and concern towards me and my brother. he had his flaws definitely, but he is still the uncle who fetched me from school, and as soon as i called him, when i was feeling sick, he would come driving his taxi, fetched and brought me home. i always argued with him because of his smoking. his last days. sadly alone. and losing him.

i’ll remember days with them. we will always remember days with them. and nothing can change the fact that they are not here. yet, they are still here with us. our silent tears every 1st day of syawal. always on our minds. always will. i never stop missing them. never will.

al-fatihah to my faithful departed.

your grace

my thanks to juniors who have made the time to visit my house, even though it was a last minute request from my part. i really am grateful, even though they can’t manage to stay long. and tetamu datang lebih awal dari tuan rumah lagik. (i had to take a cab to rush back from work) faham sangat, policy satu camera… this year kenyang mee siam tak?? hehe.

terubatlah sikit rindu kat korang. when actually there’s a lot of things to talk about with all of you. tapi happy la tengok you all semua cantik2, handsome2 jalan ramai2 naik bas.and oh yea, presiden lagik yang kasi ucapan raya! caya ah salman! terasa sungguh terharu.


a million secrets behind those smiles…..

p/s: still having purple fever~

Purple Fever

Zaimah posted an Ungu song, Kekasih Gelapku (which I agree is a NICE nice song), i me myself at the moment, is having Purple fever, translation : Demam Ungu. There’s 5 Ungu songs repeating on my phone, back to back, Demi Waktu – Kekasih Gelapku – Andai Ku Tahu – Tercipta Untukku- Sejauh Mungkin. Feeling ungu ah at the moment. It’s my indo mode these few days. and ungu rules!

….and they say love is blind….ungu..new age sensitive guy + deep in faith, listen to them sang the selawat, respect~

http://media.imeem.com/m/ZpLZkyF4i9/aus=false/

EID MUBARAK

Selamat Hari Raya!!! been taking a break from blogging. even though i so want to blog, i couldn’t take myself away from the pre-raya errands i had to do. we had a last minute shopping on the last day of ramadan. Seriously last minute, because of me working whole day and my parents working, even my brother, and what nots, and only on last friday, we got to gather all of us, and did some shopping for shoes and what nots. fortunately, my mother ordered the lauk-pauk, saved her the trouble of cooking all night, except(!), except for sambal goreng!! this dish, the whole family just love the sambal goreng with a mother’s touch~ especially me! benda lain takde takpe, sambal goreng mesti ada!!

and oh yeah, amidst the business, managed to bake some cornflakes cookies, in just an hour~ bukanlah expert sangat, cuma cara nak buatnya memang senang, so me and nuri, did it all in one hour. hehe.

and 1st syawal came, but alas, me and my siblings were somehow down with fever, or headaches, or stomachaches. none of us were really that well to go out visiting, tapi kuatkan semangat, pegi jugak, but to like 2-3 houses only.

even though we’re not well, we gave you our smiles~

The Ladies in da House!
The men in the house
my brothers with their antics!
with great-nyayi, the only one left~

tired faces…..
selamat hari raya from us!!!

my least fave post

what can spoil my mood during my early morning busride, 45 mins to 60 mins of bus journey to work….

1. number one anti, that can instantly spoil a good mood, or even when i’m still in just-wake-up mode, is when someone who sits behind me, or beside me or standing beside me, SNEEEEEZESSSS, like he owned the whole bus!!! without handkerchiefs or tissue at hand to cover the mouth, but just sneeeezesss open air. YUCCCKKKSSS. GRRROSSSS tahap max laaa!!! i could almost imagine the dirty molecules and not to say whatever small atoms of his or her you know what coming out of those dirty mouths and noses. how stoopid can some people be?? how unhygienic can some people be?? all those germs flying around!! especially when it’s coming from behind me, i instantly felt dirty and ‘germulated’!! (germ+mutilated) i know it’s healthy to sneeze, but not when you just sneeze like there’s no one else on the bus!!

bingit tau!!! geli ahh!! and the smell… bluekkkk!!!! boring seh!! spoiler betul laa!

2. when you think taking the busride early in the morning, people around you would be fresh and smell of shampoos and nice body showers. you’re so wrong maaannn. ada jugaklah yang macam tak mandi. i’m ok with it as long as they don’t sit/stand near me. or worst, men/old men who’s whole body and aura smelled of cigarettes yang busuk. menusuk ke hidung, rasa macam badan kita pun bau rokok tahu tak!! minta ampun, all these can give me severe headache and emotional breakdown tau!!!

membakar semangat untuk….beli kereta!!!

monday blues = happy = rainy day

oh i know why i’m feeling extra excited and anxious for this raya. (after an hour or so thinking about it…serious, sambil buat kerja, sambil terfikir2 the reason)

even though i’m working and got to shop for raya with own hard-earned money, dapat belanja adik2 lagik, that’s a fine and nice feeling really, but we are soo going simple this year. so takde la nak baju yang mahal2 la kan, and no real cuti exactly for raya, work as usual..it’s not like there’s new furnitures in da house, or new family members in da house..nnooo…but..

this is the first year i got to spend my whole ramadhan here in singapore with my family, straight on 30 days, after three years, back and fro to IIU and sometimes, almost the whole month fasting in IIU, and coming back to singapore for raya 2/3 days before raya.(remembered this one semester, i’m kinda tergolong dalam kumpulan orang-orang yang habis exam lambat, i got Creative Thinking paper, i remembered not really studying for it because dalam fikiran ni cuma nak baaaliiikk jer, and remembered, finished the paper within 2 hours out of 2 andahalf hours, ran back to my mahallah, grabbed my bags and terus, takde pandangbelakang lagik, balik!!! that was 2 days before raya!!!)

…and also, able to fast, this year, without worrying about exams and results afterwards!
(quote qzai, exam-exam pun ader jer yang nak buat video clip sdn bhd, kan, kan zaimah!)

so yeah, ’tis the reason behind the semangatness~

monday blues = happy

aisey mann, doing my tasks, which is not a very easy one to do. a tedious task i tell you. have to make sure the numbers are correct, miss out one, can die lehh….

there’s like only 5 of us in the office, and my bosses particularly are not around. mcm rileks sikit laa, and listening to raya songs, builds up the mood for raya laa!! tetiba jer semangat raya. this raya is simple for me and family. tapi macam terlebih semangat lak.

5 minutes

i shouldn’t be doing this at the moment but i need to.
most of my heads are either having a nap or mengemas their workspace(maklum ofis pun nak beraya)
tired la seii working~ ngantukz at the moment and need to find something that can at least make me wake up. and this is my sanctuary. always. favourite place of all.
and reading friends’ blogs always bring a mixture of feelings. happy, kelakar, sedih, sebak, apa lagi…takpe, yang penting stay awake sehh! oh by the way, iiu-mates bought scarves at masjid india!! i say maann, how can i forgot buying tudung at masjid india!! kat sini, macam susah nak cari tudung which is to my taste ah, balik2, tudung style Jelita boutique tu, hissh, dat kind of tudung, minta ampun, won’t wear it, licin sangat! (at the mo, i managed to get a tudung which suits my brown baju kurung, but that!! after hours rounding itu geylang!)

one thing for sure. i really miss days spent with my girls. i really do. i don’t know if it’s only me feeling/ thinking this way, but to the girls…we really should meet up, right???