there are so many things left unsaid. sometimes couldn't find the courage. sometimes couldn't find the words. sometimes self-esteem gets in the way. and sometimes the brain is busy, or the heart is heavy... and needs to let off some steam. ha!
Salam & Good day to all... I hope you'll have fun reading and probably collect something useful here. I welcome all comments & commends. Be kind and please don't be anonymous. I'd like to know my visitors :)
"La Tahzan, InnaAllaha ma'ana" (Al- Quran: Surah At- Taubah- Verse 40) Translation: "Be not sad (or afraid), surely Allah is with us." "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." ~Edmund Burke~
I can't wait for this movie to come out in November 2013.
I love the first movie so much and I hope the second one will be much better.
Who doesn't love a tough beautiful kind girl kick-a** and winning a game with a strategically brilliant kind boy who has a crush on her since forever?
I love it. Don't tell me that you don't :P
My favorite my scene from the first movie was when they decided to eat the Knighlock berries.
Such a rebellious underdogs! Brilliant! Just brilliant!
Anyway... for now, I'll just have to be patient and accompany myself with the second book while waiting for the second movie. And, to lure you to flood the cinema the end of this November, I present to you the trailer of the 75th Annual Hunger Games - Catching Fire.
I got a chance to travel to Shanghai last September. I've always loved traveling to China... I don't know why. I think it's most probably because I think that the country is so BIG... so many places to explore. In this case, I think I would enjoy traveling to Russia & USA too...
Anyway, Shanghai is a big city. Bigggg... they can afford to have big roads complete with a special lane for 2 wheels and another special lane for pedestrians.
And they have a lot of trees! Big big trees! I like!
My experience:
Honest taxi drivers. Even though a few people warned me to be careful with the taxi drivers, I didn't feel cheated at all. They all used the metres for the taxi fare. I searched on Google map how long it would take for me to reach the hotel from airport so that I'll have some ideas if I was being cheated. Google map said it will take about 30 minutes... I reached hotel in about 35 minutes. No cheating there right? Nope!
Food... I've always loved Chinese food. The canteen at the plant served vegetarian food. Nice... and there was a HALAL stall just across the Radisson Blu hotel. Lucky me!
A lot of handmade items... clothes, bags, table cloth, table runner... things like that... and cheap imitation products. But, as usual... bring your bargaining skill with you :)
The city is clean... Yup, clean... I'm impressed.
The city is full of modern architecture... and also I didn't get to go to The Bund. But, I'll go there next time I go to Shanghai. From pictures, The Bund looks awesome!
The weather on my third & fourth day there was so lovely... the sun was shining, the wind was blowing, the air was cool, the trees were dancing... I was definitely smiling... Happy!
All nice people.. not so friendly but the ones I met, were nice people. So, it all comes to that. The people are the ones that makes a traveling experience a wonderful one :)
But... the driving... Fast & Furious like driving... I kept hitting my imaginary emergency break at the passenger sit. OMG! I just hope they don't drive like that if they came to Malaysia.
I didn't take much picture during my time in Shanghai... Why was that??? I was busy soaking in the view of the trees, the sky, the rivers and the buildings... I'll remember to take more pictures in my next trip :)
For now, I hope you'll enjoy these few pics that I managed to take.
I was in Hong Kong last week, when Utor typhoon passed over it.
It was a new experience for me since I've never seen a typhoon before...
It was also one of the times when I feel so lucky to have a country like Malaysia. Geographically strategic, we are still safe from natural disaster like this (so far...)
Fortunately, Utor typhoon didn't do damage to Hong Kong.
I arrived in Hong Kong without having any idea that there was a typhoon approaching. First information I received was when I read an alert at a shopping mall entrance.
'Utor Typhoon' alert level 3.
'Ehhhh... what's this?'
So, I ignored the warning (this is what lack of experience did to me... not even a typhoon alert can scare me of :P)
But then, the hotel started to hand out information on the communication for the typhoon. All I remembered was the alert level can reach up to level 8, where everyone had to stay indoors & shops will be closed.
So, that was what happened on Wednesday, 14-August-2013. The alert level reached to level 8. Since the meeting that I was attending was conducted in the hotel where I was staying, sad to say that I didn't get to go outside when it happened and kept wondering where all our Hong Kong colleagues were :) On that day, flights were cancelled, schools & offices were closed & public transportation were stopped.
I can't tell you guys how is an alert level 8 typhoon feels like.But, at level 3, the wind was so strong and it kept raining on & off. The clouds were thick & moved so fast like someone was pressing the fast forward button. I was in awe because it was like watching a documentary on tv. It was a nice experience (since nothing really bad happened).
My flight back to KL was delayed because of the typhoon... but I don't have anything to complain for since Cathay Pacific compensated me for being a cooperative customer. It was one of the days when I think my patience paid off & there are silverlinings to everything :)
Here are some of the photos during Utor typhoon alert level 3. I'll share the video later.
I can't say much... I'm not a politician nor a political observer... I hardly watch news to avoid breaking my heart. I'm more calm staying under my peaceful 'coconut shell'. Peeking out once in a while just to get some updates from the world around me... Then, when the news starting to break my heart again, I quickly get back under the coconut shell.
But, despite my once in a while peeking, all the news that I received of President Mohamed Morsi, are all good news. An Islamic leader from Ikhawanul Muslimin... an educated person, a president with a humble and sincere heart... so as his wife & children...
How come people refused to have this kind of person as their president?
This is sick!
What happened to Egypt today, reminded me of a documentary by John Pilger entitled 'The War on Democracy'. You have to watch this documentary.
JOHN PILGER's 'THE WAR ON DEMOCRACY'
The same thing has happened before to Hugo Chavez... but at that time, the people of Venezuela had gotten back the President that they elected via a democracy process, even after a coup.
To President Morsi, his families, all his cabinet members and the people of Egypt who had elected him, keep praying. Allah is always with those who are defending the truth.
And in the end, the truth will prevail.
Do not forget to pray for the safety & unity of all our fellow Muslims, where ever we all are.
How are you guys doing? Hope you guys are doing fine and are in good health despite the hazy weather. Please wear your mask when you're outdoor... We can't see the dust particles, but they are there in the air... If we keep collecting them in our lungs, maybe we don't get sick now, but we might in 10 or 20 years...
Age do that to our body you know...
To smokers... isn't the haze enough? Do you still have to smoke?!
If you still do, please do not do it in public. Have some respect & compassion for other people for God's sakes!
Anyway, when I look at the haze... all I can think of is, how we human can do so much harm to our environment... to our Earth... to Earthlings...
As if all the carbon monoxide from the cars we drive (I'm included), all the CFC we released from our homes & buildings and all the pesticides haven't done enough harm to our Earth...
The ozone layers are still not thin enough! It's still protecting the Earthlings from the harmful UV rays! There must be something else that we can do to to expedite the process!
I know! Open burning! Lot's of open burning!
The thick smokes will cover the sky in 3 countries! So, much carbon monoxide! That's it! So much harm can be done! From just a simple action!
We want to blame our neighbour for the smoky sky... and our neighbour fought back saying that companies from our country also to be blamed for the open burning.
All the fingers pointing here and there... still no solution was found. The smokes will come every year... we will fight and blame each other every year for the same reason. We are a sad bunch of people...
I'm rambling... but I don't have any idea on how to solve this problem... except maybe one...
Maybe our neighbour should pay us compensation when the open burning in their country causes the Air Pollution Index (API) in our country to reach the unhealthy level. I think, this way our neighbour will impose a more strict rules to the relevant companies (whether it is their own or their neighbours').
Other than that... we need to do more research on how to handle the plantation industries so that it is more environmental friendly and good for the economy. Homosapiens are creatures with the best brain. We should be able to find a solution to this (once we stop blaming each other).
Before I go... a few photos of the hazy skies taken when I was on the road last Sunday.
Oh how I miss the blue sky... the sunshine... the RAIN!
After listening to this song over & over again from TM advertisement, I'm hooked to the chorus... and then I'm hooked even more after listening to the whole song. This song will be my driving song for a while :P
It's time to begin, isn't it? --> YES!
I get a little bit bigger (not literally, please... no bigger than now)
but then I'll admit
I'm just the same as I was
Now don't you understand
That I'm never changing who I am --> but, I will always improve myself!
Hope you'll enjoy this song.
*****
So this is what you meant
When you said that you were spent
And now it's time to build from the bottom of the pit
Right to the top
Don't hold back
Packing my bags and giving the academy a rain check
I don't ever wanna let you down
I don't ever wanna leave this town
'Cause after all
This city never sleeps at night
It's time to begin, isn't it?
I get a little bit bigger, but then I'll admit
I'm just the same as I was
Now don't you understand
That I'm never changing who I am
So this is where you fell
And I am left to sell
The path to heaven runs through miles of clouded hell
Right to the top
Don't look back
Turning the rags and giving the commodities a rain check
