Be, & it is...

It has been raining all day. I feel like munching something now. Maybe due to the cold weather, my stomach seems to be empty. However, since I rarely feel this way, I have nothing to munch here at my home. No biscuits or whatsoever. So, to distract myself, here I am, typing something for my blog.

"For me, my thing is my whole life I work very hard for everything & I succeed because I really put my mind into it. I work day & night, I'd do whatever it takes to win & I try to be a winner. This is something I can't win, you know & I just don't understand. I don't know. I just don't understand why it hasn't happen for us..."

- Giuliana in Giuliana&Bill S3E4

I don't follow the show but now & then I happen to watch it like last nite. I understand how she feels. Yes, there are things in this life that we could (simply) achieve if we work very hard like getting a degree, climbing a hill, running in a marathon, traveling around the world & shedding a few kilos. However, for this one thing, hard work & determination or even money are not the key to make it happen.

Luckily, as a Muslim I believe that life & death are Allah's affairs. Some things are just beyond our control. It'll only happen solely with Allah's will no matter how healthy & normal we are or how many efforts we put into it. It's not like driving a car to our desired destination where we ourselves could steer the car following the route that we have planned to take. Even so, still we arrive safely at our destination with Allah's will.

"And Allah has full power and control over His Affairs..."

(Qur'an 12: 21)

So, just be grateful as for every trial, there will be reward for those who are patient. :)

"Peace be upon you for that you persevered in patience!" 
(Qur'an: 13: 24)

I just remember that I have a box of Coco~Crunch in the kitchen cabinet.

Blurry

Yesterday I had meetings for the whole day.

*Pause*

Eh, apa yang aku nak cerita sebenarnya ye? Hilang ingatan sekejap.

Oh yer, today I guess I have ruined my diet. I ate a lot! Fine, I just have to try to start over. If I had done it before, should be no problem lah to repeat the diet regimen again kan... but I was wrong. It needed a very strong determination before & it is now which I'm certainly lacking of. Ok, I don't wanna talk about this. Not now.

Actually something is weighing on my mind now. I'm quite certain before, but after the meeting yesterday, I kinda have doubt. But think about it again... whenever I'm stuck, somehow, InsyaAllah, I'd find the way. Hopefully sooner or later, I will. So I guess just take it easy. Oh, it's not just 'something', there are some things actually. Hmmm.

Ok, I hate this kind of post & now I'm typing it. Rather than straight to the point, it's just a blur. Yes, I'm criticizing my own post. Alrite, I'm off to watch TV.

Paling comel

Ditag oleh Akak untuk letak gambar paling comel. Well pada usia sekarang, aku rasa macam tak sesuai untuk bergambar sambil membuat mimik muka 'comel' seperti membuntangkan mata, memuncungkan mulut atau pun menjelirkan lidah. Zaman aku muda remaja dulu, takde plak trend tangkap gambar buat mimik muka macam tu. Rasanya lah. Kalau ada pun, muka tak cukup comel untuk berbuat demikian. Kalau buat gak, bukannya nampak comel. Nampak buruk ada lah. Bukan merendah diri, tapi sedar diri.

Walau bagaimanapun bagi melunaskan tanggungjawab sebagai seorang 'blogger' (why don't I feel like one? Maybe sebab langsung takde income kot, hiks) yang telah ditag, setelah puas menggeledah every folder dalam hard disk laptop, aku letak lah gambar yang aku rasa ada unsur cubaan ingin menjadi comel :P.

Tapi setakat gambar cubaan menjadi comel yang tak berjaya ni, pasti kalah kalau masuk contest.

How true

While browsing the internet, I came across these 'sweet' quotes...

"Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving."

- Dale Carnegie

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

- Maya Angelou

"Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. Love me and I may be forced to love you."

- William Arthur Ward

& last but not least, a quote from the same author as above...

"A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities."

Sunway~Lagoon, continues...

 

Alrite, let's continue the post on Sunway~Lagoon. So, here's a bit info (or complaints!) about the place.

• There is deposit RM10 for the wrist band. RM50 will be charged if we lose the wrist band. What an easy money since there might be a chance of losing the wrist band. Why don't they just use the standard paper-but-water-resistant wrist band (I don't know what it's actually called) like Genting. However they do use it for tube & photo taken.


• Inefficient so called e-wallet. I deposited some money in my wrist band, but turned out to be frustrated because not all the food kiosks accept it. So what's the point of doing so since I still need my real wallet. I wanted to cash back the e-wallet, but can only do so at the main entrance, meaning I have to exit 1st. Guess what, if we don't return the wrist band before 7pm, they'll strip any remaining credit on it. So yeah, it's unwise to use the e-wallet.


• Talking about food, the food is expensive alrite, but I don't mind if the taste is good but I seriously doubt it especially after reading reviews on the place. Thank God, there was a Pizza~Hut kiosk. But as I stated in the previous point, it didn't accept e-wallet.


• Ridiculous locker rental. The charge is RM5 & we can only open the locker once. The locker has key (& we have to keep the key with us) but we can only use it for 1 time. Another easy money.


• On our way out, a number of staff promoted a few items to be exchanged with our wrist band. I don't like the way they promoted the stuff by saying that the stuff are FREE, just exchange the wrist band. Hello, the wrist band's not free. We'll get our RM10 back if we return it. So they should drop the word 'free'. I think it's very unethical for a big company to practice misleading promotion.

In conclusion, it's definitely a fun place (well, I give credit where credit is due) where obviously too serious in making money (that hardly impossible for us not to be aware of it).

Selamat Malam

Banyak pos terbengkalai dalam draft folder. Ada yang dah bergambar, tapi ayat tak karang lagi. Ada gak yang dah berjela-jela ayat, tapi gambar belum edit. Memang tak ada sape yang kisah kalau aku tak update blog, tapi aku kisah since my favorite website is my blog. Ahaks :P.

Ok, serius. Ini gambar aku masa di SFO, sementara tunggu check-in pukul 8:00pm. Flight was at 12:05am, Dec 14. Pukul 6:00pm dah sampai airport.

Handling 2 big luggage was quite challenging for me. Awal-awal dah siapkan $5 bill untuk sewa troli. When I arrived at SFO domestic terminal from Eugene on Dec 11, I had to ask a stranger change for a $10 bill to $5. Somehow, masa sampai di international terminal, banyak troli yang terbiar ditinggalkan penyewa asal.

I was so sleepy. Sementara tunggu check-in, one of the big luggage dijadikan alas kaki. Sebelum tidur, selit dulu strap hang luggage (the brown bag) kat kaki... dengan harapan kalau ada yang berniat ingin mencuri, akan tersedar. Tapi bukan boleh tidur lena pun. Dalam flight pun sama. Long journey really is tiring. However, the experience is priceless.

Oh yer, this is not a drafted post. But this is one of the reason kenapa pos yang terbengkalai kekal terbengkalai.

Feel like I have a good instinct now...

...that If I buy a lottery ticket, I might win a jackpot! :P

Tak sangka tekaan aku tepat untuk Vokal~Terbaik & Lagu~Terbaik. Actually I don't have a favorite song for this year A.J.L, but as I said to my sis on Saturday, if I have to pick one, I'll pick Ana~Rafali's song. I think the song is soothing. For the Best Vocal, I picked Hafiz cos I think he had done a good job in delivering the song based on what I've listened on the radio.

I have to admit that AR's performance sucked though. What a waste, such a beautiful song was overshadowed by an over-dramatic performance. I had informed JD about my pick before the show. So after the sucked performance, JD condemned my pick. Sabar je lah. Takpe, saje suka-suka teka. Not that the result will affect my life.

Actually I know nothing about the lyric, I'm only attracted to the melody. I don't have the mp3, not even any of the songs in the final. Dah tua ni (sedar diri), I hardly update my mp3 player. Fortunately, we have internet. So, just search & enjoy.

The day before I grew older (I berendam sampai hitam)...

Here, I went!

Well, my assumption in the earlier post was wrong. The place was not too crowded. Still lots of people, but just nice. No need to queue to get on the rides except for the slides at waterpark, easy to find an empty chair to have a rest & enough space for us in the pool.

We spent time at the waterpark from ~11:30am until 3:30pm. Before & after spending time at waterpark, we tried the rides out. I though I was invincible to sunburn but I was wrong. I went home with red cheeks & nose. My arms got really tanned. Luckily the weather was great. Not too sunny.

I left our tube to get on the snake slide, being optimistic by thinking that all the visitors could afford a 2-hole tube which was RM30 (RM15 price + RM15 deposit). Actually I didn't plan to leave the tube unguarded, but somehow Fir changed his mine to try out the slide. Turned out, the tube went missing. We searched around for the tube by looking at the number. Finally, Akak & Adik found it. It was taken by a Malay man with a kid. Fortunately, Akak was wearing a tag with the tube number written on it. Here, we only got the RM15 deposit back for the tube if the one with the identical tag number return it. Akak said the man didn't even apologize. Just something to ponder - among so many visitors which most of them were foreigners & Chinese, was it coincident that a grown up Malay man took the tube?

Ok, will continue later. Good nite.

San Francisco: Hop~on Hop~off

Well, I traveled to SF alone. So I think the best & safest way to go around SF for sightseeing is by riding a bus tour or  hop-on-hop-off bus. At 1st, I planned to buy the tix online, but I couldn't decide which day should I have the tour. Luckily, I decided to buy the tix at SF itself.

Union Square, SF is very suitable for those who really love shopping & have big pocket. Those who crazy about high-end labels, this is the place. Just name it, mesti ada. On the same nite I arrived at SF (which is on Saturday, Dec 11), after having dinner, I went out to browse the place. Unfortunately, to my disappointment, there was no grand sale & I certainly didn't have a big pocket to spend. I guessed shopping wouldn't be my main activity there. So that was it. I decided to buy a 2-day pass of hop-on-hop-off for $35. It was cheaper too compare to the cheapest one I found on internet. There were many bus tour companies actually. I found out about the one that I chose from a brochure I got at the hotel.

The hop~on hop~off bus.

This was actually the 1st time ever I rode one. I have to say I was glad to choose this bus tour. The service was good & reliable. There were 20 stops altogether & for every stop, the frequency of the bus was 30 minutes. So I could just hopped off, took a walk around the stop then hopped on the bus back. The 1st bus arrived at Union Square was at 9:30am & the last bus was at 5:30pm.

Views of SF city from the bus.

Since I had nothing more interesting to do besides window shopping, I used the service thrice! Twice on Sunday & once on Monday. Hence, I crossed the Golden~Gate bridge three times!

Crossing the famous Golden~Gate bridge.

It was a fun experience. I love sitting on the open upper deck & feeling the cool breeze swept across my face. I guess I was so lucky that the weather for the 2 days were great.

Enjoying myself.

The journey to climb up the hill

(The sneak peek)

We started climbing up the hill at ~8am on Christmas day. I couldn't exactly remember when we arrived on the top of the hill. Might be ~9.15am. Of course on the way up we stopped for a few times to take pictures. Got to admit that I wasn't really fit & I did feel a bit exhausted. However, as we stopped to take pictures, my heart beat slowed down as well.

On the way down, we stopped at the 2nd peak to have breakfast & took more pictures. Yes we climbed the hill with an empty stomach. At ~10:45am, we were already inside the car, ready to go home. Alhamdulillah, I'd say the weather was great & our timing was right. The rain only started pouring on our way down, just a few meters to arrive at the foothill.

On our way up to the 1st peak + 1st peak + On the way up to the 2nd peak

Actually I'm a bit confused on which the 2nd & 3rd peak. Better call them the intermediate peak.

Finally, we were up on the hill. We were on top of the world. (Baru 400m dari aras laut, dah feeling lebih2 :-P) Ok, we were (just) on top of the Broga~hill.

Yes, we did it!

The day I grow older...

I'm blessed with good health, even though the doctor who checked me up said that my BMI is considerably quite high for Asian women & I was (just) ~58kg at that time!

I'm blessed with a caring, very supportive & understanding family who always be there for me.

I'm blessed with stable income, not much but enough for me to splurge once in a while.

I'm blessed with good friends who I can talk to about anything, guide me & respect me for who I am.

I'm blessed with a wonderful life, unpredictable, not as expected yet bearable.

My list could go on & on.

I feel truly blessed indeed. Alhamdulillah.

Happy New Year 2011!

Thanx D for the cake. Love ya!

Ehem, I'm just turned 20.