The Amazing Race Asia 2 (TARA2)

I should start editing my personal statement for other 4 universities that I'm gonna apply... but until right now... yeah, it's already 12am... I didn't start yet. I did read some of the prospectus but every time I want to edit the personal statement, I'll get distracted by the internet... when I reach the point where no more to surf on internet, I'll start blogging... just like now. How I'm gonna to focus on my study then if I'm easily get distracted??? That's the problem that I need to solve later. Now, I need to write about The Amazing Race Asia 2 (TARA2). Hehee... here it goes.

I'm not a true fan of The Amazing Race (TAR). But once I follow the show, I'll be a die-hard fan. I'll get emotionally involve... which is not good because I'll end up feeling disappointed due to the winning of other team instead of my favorite one. Yeah, I've got used to it that my favorite team always manage to last until the final but somehow they failed to win.

The 1st time I ever follow the show was when Rob and Amber were one of the team. I'd rather say that I am a true fan of Survivor. I prefer the show than TAR. So when Rob and Amber participated in the reality show, I got attracted to watch it. I didn't like Rob and Amber in Survivor, but in TAR I have to say, they were good and I supported them till the end. They should be the winner. However, in TAR lucks play important roles... you need good luck to win, not just skills and brain. That was why I hate TAR at the 1st place. Then, in TAR All-Star the couple joined the race again. However they only lasted until the 4th episode after being the 1st team to arrive for 3 episodes in a row. So, I stopped watching TAR of that season... I didn't even know the winner of TAR All-Star.

However, I like TARA... maybe because there is Malaysian team, which I can relate to. I watched the 1st season and as usual got disappointed because my favorite team didn't win. Ok, I was not that proud when the 1st all-girls team won the show. Maybe, I'm not feminist enough.

Now, there are 5 teams left in TARA2. Both Malaysian teams are still on the show... however, maybe I'm not feminist... I'm not patriotic enough as well. I vote for Marc and Rov - the Pinoy team! They are good looking all right, but that not the reason why I like them... I'm not that shallow ok. I like them because they are so terer. I think they had been the 1st to arrive at least 5 episodes in a row! Yeah, I like the strong team. I want the strongest wins... because of their strength mentally and physically... not because of luck. Maybe that just the nature of the game... you do need luck to win which hard for me to accept it. But since I'm just a fan, not that I'm the one who racing for a big cash (which I'll pray for luck continuously - good luck for me, bad luck for other teams)... I want them to win because they deserve to win. However, who am I to say that one team deserves than the other team... but since this is my blog, I have right to say who deserves to win and who's not. Eventually, I'll accept the result. It's just a TV show anyway... with big bucks as a prize... and I don't have any share in it, not even I have any connection to any of them... yeah, I knew it.

For those who follow the show, these 5 teams are their bets to win the race. I arrange them following my favoritism from most to least...

My bet goes to them - Marc and Rovilson from Philippines. They are strong... yeah just look at their muscles... funny, got brain, easy going and energetic. Believe me, not because of their good looks. However, being the strongest team doesn't guarantee of being the most favorable team. Many fans of the show hate them (from what I read in one of Malaysian forums)... one of the reason is because they're always the 1st team to arrive at the pit-stop... so it's boring. Hello, what do you expect? Each team takes turn on arriving at the pit-stop? Please... this is TAR ok. They are competing each other to win big bucks!

Collin and Adrian from Singapore... they are not bad, quite strong, always come 2nd. I don't mind if they win because they are almost on par with Marc and Rov. Adrian is deaf, but he can speak... I'm impress...

Pamela and Vanessa... the team from Malaysia. They're Vince's sisters. Van always had nervous-breakdown... it's irritating but sometimes can be funny. I like them as well, but sometimes I really get annoyed with their stupidity and carelessness. Hard for me to support the team which always make me tense. However I'm glad they're still on the race.

Ann and Diane... yeah another team from Malaysia. Even though I'm not patriotic enough, I'm proud because both Malaysian teams are in top 5. Yeah, you go girls... now I sound feminist, am I? Of course I'm proud. However, I don't understand why other teams hate them. Maybe something they did behind the camera. In front of the camera, I didn't see anything wrong with them so far... ok they are very competitive, but who doesn't in the race like this.

Paula and Natasha from Thailand... I don't like them. I want them out from the game. They were the last team to arrive at the pit-stop... they should have been eliminated already... but lucky (see...) for them it was non-elimination round. I hate them because they like forming an alliance with other teams and expect the other teams stick to it... apa depa ingat ini Survivor ker? This is TAR ok... kalau Rat Race ok lagi nak buat alliance... not so amazing of them to depend on alliance to win the race. If they win, the race certainly isn't an amazing one for me. However, there's a rumor that they'll win the race. I don't mind if one of the above teams wins, but please not them. See, I get emotional.

(All the pics were taken from the official website of TARA.)

Actually before typing this post, I was surfing for spoilers. The 3 teams that will be on final are Marc and Rov, Pam and Van; and those Thai ladies. The final pit-stop is at Bangkok... make it easy for the Thai ladies to be the winner. Since the show is on-going, i guess the spoilers are only rumors because no one can confirm them. We'll see then.

Ha... amik ko... panjang plak aku bercerita pasal TAR. Blogging is surely very distracting. But I think, it's enough for now... I should concentrate on the universities' application. I feel sleepy already... esok lah start buat personal statement. There's always tomorrow, right... ;-)

Sweet Taste

Cakes from Secret Recipe...

Vienna Brownies... never have it before... gonna be the 1st I would eat.

Raspberry Cheesecake... I told Saira that I don't have specific favorite cake at SR... but think bout it again, I think this is one of my fav. Actually, I just had this cake a week ago... but I just couldn't resist it this time.

Lemon Cheese... looks yummy isn't it?

Classic Cheesecake... urghh... tak sukanya bila kek kene letak mcm ni. But still looks yummy, rite...

Mango Delight... adeiii... apa dah jadi? Harus disaman the girl yg packing this cake.

Edisi makan macam-macam

I'm organizing pictures in my hard disk... byk sgt amik gambo, tp dok diam jer dlm KIV folder... buat semak hard disk... so, it's time to delete those unnecessary pics. Rajin amik gambo ni pun bukan apa, aku cuba mengmaksimumkan penggunaan kamera Canon yg aku baru beli (actually xde lah baru sgt)... gara2 credit card lah ni... tak pk panjang, terus swipe jer. Kamera Olympus yg ada pun dah x terpakai. Bila pk balik, beli hp lg baik kot...

So, kali ni nak letak gambo makanan... x penah letakkn b4 this... or maybe not exactly 'food', anything related to food. Cthnya gambo bwh ni...

Perancah nasi goreng almost segera...

Gambo ni ditujukan khas buat Saira yg klu nak buat nasi goreng kene ada perencah Adabi. Ni nasi goreng yg aku buat sehari b4 amik exam IELTS... dok umah, perut lapo, nak kuar malas... actually nak buat apa2 pun malas, tp sbb perut dah minta diisi, so aku pun masak lah nasi goreng. Ingat nak campak jer everything, malas nak tumbuk2 ni... tp rasa mcm ok plak menumbuk utk exercise tgn. I don't need to mention one by one the ingredients right, just see the pics. Simple jer... you sure can do it lah. Tp rasa x jamin... ok utk aku, x semestinya ok utk org lain kan...

Lauk makan malam

Dua hari b4 exam IELTS tu plak, ni lah dinner aku. Ayam goreng berempah, cendawan (x tau nama) masak lemak cili api + ayam & telur dadar. Cendawan masak lemak cili api tu is one of my family's favorite dish. Cendawan ni kene rendam dulu bg lembut b4 masak. Ada org maybe ingatkn asam keping sbb kaler and kdg2 bentuk dia mcm asam keping. Container merah tu plak my favorite bekas lauk sbb size dia yg sedang elok utk hidangan dua org and easy to handle. Lebih drp 2 org pun bleh sbb selalu tak abis. Tp x per, bekas ni bleh masuk dlm microwave utk heating... not for cooking yek. So senang, klu lauk x abis... tutup, masuk dlm peti sejuk, then reheat dlm microwave dgn penutup yg sama. Just pop open the vent cap (yg kaler kuning bulat tu) and keeps food splatters in. Takde lah kotor microwave. Ada org kata x elok pakai plastic/melamine container utk microwave, kene pakai something like Corningware tp Tupperware claims the sets are microwave safe plactics. Dah lah x pecah, stain-resistant plak. Boleh dibeli drp agent Tupperware... nama dia Rock 'N Serve Small Round Set. Iyer-iyer promote tp aku bukan agent Tupperware ok. However, in fasting month keluar gak lah mangkuk Corningware. Saje nak naik mood bukak pose. Tp Corningware ni susah nak handle sbb kaca kan and berat skit... tu yg tak suka sgt nak pakai tu. Pastu klu nak reheat dlm microwave, tak leh pakai the glass cover, kene pakai plastic cover plak. Beside size yg aku ada agak besar... sesuai utk hidangan yg lebih besar gak.

Mangkuk Corningware and pinggan Corelle (corak Country Rose)

Last but not least, hidangan masa farewell party Isnin lepas. One of the staff in my unit will retire. Selain drp ni, ada cheese cake, kuih cara, puding dan kuih ntahapa-nama-dia... kaler kuih tu coklat. So, apa lagi makan macam2 la...

Cloverfield

I watched this movie last Saturday night. Either you'll love it or you hate it. Me? I managed to be in between.

Before watching this movie, I already knew that the movie was 'made up' by using a camcoder by an amateur. Masa tau tu, terfikir lah... patut lah tgk iklan kat TV mcm huru hara je gambonya. Takde lah terasa nak tgk pun but since it was recommended by Saira, and I did need to chill-out after the IELTS exam, so I picked this movie.

It was too predictable for me... ok fine... the movie was not made in usual manner... what else? I didn't get really excited. The first half hour agak memeningkan... since the shot was very amateur. Hmm... I have to say, quite bad even for an amateur. In a wedding for example, usually an amateur which might be the relative will record the occasion... and the shot is OK... not too fast or unstable.

I don't hate the movie... I just wish it could be done better. If I was the director or the script writer (yeah right... hehee...), I'd make Hub was the one who was eager to record the event, not that he was pushed too. Hub would promise that he would do his best, maybe just because he loves camera. Therefore, it would justify if the the shot was great, at least OK. It was OK if he was distracted by the girl that he had a crush on. If Rob was so determine to save Beth, Hub should be portrayed determined as well to record the disaster... maybe by saying that he'll make million bucks if he sold the videos... and recorded as much as possible... like the scene on the bridge and at the open road should be longer. Hub could be the one who stopped and tried to record the chaos... instead of Rob the one who stopped just to talk to Beth. Lastly, I wish the story would be longer... not just about 1 hour and 15 minutes. I don't know for sure the length of a recorded movie by using a camcorder or how long the battery will last... but if it happens to be less than 1 and 1/2 hour, Hub should take extra tape or nowadays DVD and battery in the electronic store while Rob was searching for the Nokia's battery. However, somehow after the attack started, the shot was great... at least for an amateur who was trapped in the city with a raksasa mengganas.

I won't review on the illogical things... biasa lah kan dlm movie mmg ada jer yg tak logik. At least, yg tak logik tu tak menyakitkan hati, it would be fine with me.

While I watched the movie, two couples at my row left the movie theater. So I guess, they really hate it, it didn't even worth their time. While went out from the cinema after the movie was over, I heard a group of boys condemned the movie as a stupid one.

After all, it made me think, what if the movie was done in a usual manner? Would it be less interesting? Or would it be better? I give the movie 3.5 stars out of 5.

My experience on IELTS

I'm too lazy too write actually... I guess all the distractions to my focus lately were over since IELTS is over, for now... (hopefully it's really over). I even too lazy to surf on Internet. But since it isn't everyday or every year we have the experience on sitting the IELTS exam, I think I better document it while it's still fresh.

Ok, IELTS is divided into 4 elements:

1. Listening (30 minutes of 40 questions + 10 minutes transfer time)
2. Reading (1 hour of 40 questions)
3. Writing (1 hour of 2 essays)
4. Speaking (11 - 15 minutes)

Most people said Reading is the hardest element due to the length of passages itself. My friend told me, generally we cannot finish reading the whole three passages. 1 hour is just not enough. I've practice doing the test, and to my surprise I had 10 minutes left. So, I guess my reading speed is just fine... I have no problem to read the whole passages and answer the 40 questions. It just my comprehension that I should be worried about then because the passage is very confusing as well as the questions. I do think that the Reading test is tougher compare to Listening. However, I was more nervous on sitting for the Listening test since we can only listen to the record once... Once we miss the answer, then we just have to forget it. I'm afraid if my ears don't function very well during the test. My friend told me that at British Council the Listening is done by using a headphone for each candidate... to my surprise I guess BC don't practice that anymore... guna speaker jer. I became more nervous then because sebelum ni practice guna earphone. Dah lah orang kat belakang aku selsema... macam2 bunyi yg keluar. Fortunately, during the test, the girl behind me was paying attention too and the annoying sounds disappeared. I think 4 soalan dah sah salah since I missed the answer or became confused with the answer.

Then, we did Reading test. I didn't feel really nervous because I knew that I don't have to be afraid if I missed the answer... it just a matter whether I could find the answer in the given passage or not. But I did feel nervous at the beginning because I was desperately needed to go to the wash room. I had raised my hand but I've been asked to wait for my turn. So a few minutes after the test started, I couldn't focus until the lady escorted me to the wash room. After that, lega rasanya. I thought I've wasted nearly 10 minutes. However, I managed to have 5 minutes left before the time was up. Some would say that we have to find the keyword since it's hard to finish reading the whole passage. But for me it was hardly any keyword, at least as I understand. For example, in the fill-in-the-blank question they used the word 'clear' and then blank... we might try to find the word clear in the passage so that we can fill in the blank with the right answer. No, there was no word of 'clear'... instead in the passage they used the word 'distinct'. In the question, they used the word 'very small', but in the passage it was 'tiny'.

Writing test was OK. First essay, we had to summarize the given table at least for 150 words. I was relief to see the table because I think summarizing a line chart or something similar is more difficult. The second one was an argument. We had to write the second essay at least for 250 words. No, I didn't count the words... I guess nobody did. Agak2 jer lah... 3-4 paragraphs might consist 150 words, meanwhile 4-5 paragraphs will be more than 250 words. I never practice for Writing test before but not just I have good reading speed, I have good writing speed as well. But of course, if we have been given extra time, we should capable of writing better essays. There was no time to draft your essay, at least for me... I just wrote whatever came into my mind at the moment. So the challenge is thinking as fast as possible and write it down as fast as you could.

After the Writing test, we were allowed go out from the hall and took our belongings and had to be ready 1 hour before the scheduled Speaking Test. I heard one girl told her friend that she couldn't manage to answer all the questions in the Reading test. Tak sempat katanya... and her friend agreed. So I guess, yes... many had a problem of reading the long passages and answering the confusing questions.

Last but not least, the Speaking test. Now I understand why paper-based TOEFL doesn't practice this test. I don't think it's practical and it's time consuming. I had to wait about 1 1/2 hour before my turn just to have 15 minutes session of speaking... I was lucky enough though. Ada yang turn dia pukul 4 pm! They did asked to have the test sooner, but the time is fixed already. I think there were 8 rooms, maknanya ada 8 penilai, but still since ramai yang going to take the test, sampai pukul 5 lah kot. Waited for 1 1/2 hour made me feel a little bit sick... I lost the mood already. I managed to answer all the questions and I did manage to speak about the given task for 2 minutes but in my mind I did say to myself, "Apa yang ko merepek kan ni Labu...".

After the exam, I walked to KLCC. I wanted to reward myself with something, and that something was Hayley Westenra's CD. I went to Tower Records, asked the guy about the CD... the guy answered, yes they do have it. Turned out, it was already sold out. :-/ Takkan satu album je yang depa jual. Yer lah kot sebab memang takde langsung. I didn't bother to find the CD in other music stores.

Now I'm counting the days... about 12 days before I get the result. Isk... tak sabarnya. Then, kalau rajin I'll drop a few tips on the exam.

Maal Hijrah 1429

Live in a place where the community is all Malays which means Muslims, I'm lucky to have a very prihatin and active neighborhood especially in running the surau activities. The surau's name is Surau al-Hijrah. They even have a bulletin for the surau as representative for community in Fasa 1... so basically the name of the bulletin is Suara al-Hijrah... sort of like flier exactly since the bulletin is printed on a piece of A4 paper. However, the material isn't important, the content that's count. The articles are simple yet meaningful... direct to the point without need to berhujah panjang2. Sometimes, or maybe most of the times... feel like terkene batang hidung sendiri. Here's I snapped a part of the article as renungan kita bersama.

A snap from Surau al-Hijrah bulletin.

Since, I didn't make any resolution on New Year 2008, but now I feel like to make one, I guess this is the perfect time... my resolution for New Year 1429H is (apart being a better Muslim as stated in the above pic) to have a healthier life style and healthier body. Now, been suffering from fever, flu, headache and sakit badan... had taught me a lesson to more appreciate a healthy body. Bad health seriously spoils everything. It even spoils my deria rasa kat lidah. I can't really taste the food. The bihun from nearby restaurant was tasteless, pizza from Pizza Hut tasted salty... so automatically spoils my appetite. So, selagi demam ni tak baik, tak yah lah tiba2 ngada2 nak belanja makan ok... if you do so, what a very cruel joke!

Hate them... wish I can stop take them asap.

Selamat Menyambut Maal Hijrah 1429!

Yes, Purple!

I answered the quiz and was very surprised at the result. Yeah, purple indeed... I'm speechless. What a coincidence!

Your Blog Should Be Purple

You're an expressive, offbeat blogger who tends to write about anything and everything. You tend to set blogging trends, and you're the most likely to write your own meme or survey. You are a bit distant though. Your blog is all about you - not what anyone else has to say.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

The color might be correct but I'm just a humble innocent blogger... totally far from being a blog trend-setter. Only a very few people read my blog... have I told you that I'm a humble blogger? Well, let's read what kind of blogger I am...

You Are a Social Blogger!

Your blog is more of a semi-private affair for your friends. It's how you keep in touch... sharing stories, jokes, and pics.

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

However, only selected friends have the privilege to read this blog - friends who are special, kind-hearted, lovable... (kasi kembang sikit) and most importantly, they blog too!

Goodbye 2007, Welcome 2008!

Last night, I felt like I just couldn't wait to write in my blog. I felt like I have so many things to say... but now, I'm not in the mood anymore. Maybe due the tiredness after walking around KLCC for about 4 hours. I just want to finish this post as fast as possible. So here's the shortcut on how did my year 2007 rate.

You Had an Average Year

While you had some setbacks, your year also brought some good things. All in all, things mostly evened out. That's just how life works. Focus on what went well for you - and what you can improve. A new year is a perfect reason to give yourself a fresh start!

How Did Your Year Rate?

In my personal opinion, 2007 hadn't went very well for me. In fact some suck-events did happen. However, I've learned great deal of lessons. On the other hand, some great things that will affect my life in good ways did happen too. So overall, yes I had an average year.

Actually I have totally forgot my resolutions for 2007. Maybe actually I didn't even have one. So, I guess for this 2008, I'll just go with the flow and try my best in everything I do.

I don't know how to say this... but I like the way I feel about year 2008 that has just came. I feel good... :-)