Don't just be yourself!!!

Do you realise that everytime you come up to someone for advise when going for your job interview or going out on your first date or presenting in front of the lecture theater, more than often, the advise is "Be Yourself'"?

Is it really that simple? Be ourselves? First and foremost lets define what is ourselves. Take me for instance. I am indeed the epitome of kentalism (Hey, I am proud of it. At least I have a tittle. Do you?). So, does it mean that I have to be kental for my job interview or when presenting my work or worst still, going on my first date. Will things work out just fine? I don't think so. (although some chicks find kental charming)

We have heard it too often. Don't judge the book by it's cover. But we can't deny that the most colourful book with pictures (esp pictures of women) get the most attention. So what i think is that being yourself is just not enough. Externally (ie what you wear) and internally (ie how you behave) we have to change to adapt to the stituation.

Lets do some case study.

Externally:

If you were a "mat" going to the mosque for Solat Aidiladha for instance, it will be more appropriate for you to wear the traditional baju kurung and songkok even though you miss your tapered jeans already and worry that your spiky hair not be so spiky anymore.

If you were a geek going for prom. Well, u better get those big round glasses off and your flat hair standing if you even want to enter the ball room.

Internally:

If you were the joker of the class and, I dont know why, happened to like the quietest girl in school, please do not laugh loudly during your first date. You will just scare her off.

If you were the "speaking London" kinda person, you will just get kicked out if you happened to do community service at the Boys home. (ok i exaggerate alot but you get the point)

Ok. It is not that I am saying you should not be yourself at all. What I feel is that there are many sides to yourself. Like me, I do have my "cool" moments you know. Once in a while. Choose the side that is best for the stituation and shine it out a little more than the others. Therefore what i think is the better advise is suite yourself best to the stituation.

Dreamz

Ok. Shikin was talking to me about her dream (not exactly about about her dream but she mentioned dream) so I am going to talk about my dream then.

I used to have this recurring bad dream. Ok don't laugh. I dreamt of frogs chasing me. Big ones. With sharp teeth jumping around. There's like hundreds of them. I was younger then of course. I was like running and running away from these ugly creatures. But it seem that there's no place to go or hide. The whole world was infested by these creatures and I am all alone. Maybe "I am Legend" was inspired by this. I would run and run until I wake up; usually in the middle of the night.

I was quite disturbed by this dream. And every night before I go to sleep I make sure that I wash my feet many times and recite Al Fateha before I actually close my eyes and try to sleep. Still, the dream occur. Every night I would wake up in the middle of the night and sit on my bed until i doze off if I was lucky.

The dream continued until one particular night. As any other night I was running away from the frogs then suddenly, I have this enlightening thought. "This is insane. There's no such things as big frogs with sharp teeth. I am DREAMING!!!" As soon as I had this thought, I looked up and flew... Yes I flew... I realised that I was dreaming. And now, in the realm of dream, I can do anything.

I looked at my hand and a sword appear. And on the other, a shield. Across my chest a golden armour. And the best thing, I was flying. Well, I shall not elaborate what I did to the frogs. (it is something similar in the lab).

So, what I am trying to say is, a dream is just a dream. I am no expert but I know that we shouldnt really believe in dream. "A dream is the experience of envisioned images, sounds, or other sensations during sleep" as quoted by the trusted wiki. So if you have a bad dream, make it good. And if you have a good dream don't wake up. Haha.

---------------- To achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep------------------

The Right One

Ok this blog is not all about love. But apparently these kinda topics attract the most attention. And on top of that, Fana really like to think deeply about these issues. So here goes...

As told by Fana, we actually talk about finding the right person on our way back from our meeting. Well, she started the discussion. Haha. Anyway, in my point of view, you would not be able to know for sure that the person you are with is the right one for you until you are not together with her. What I mean is that only after you broke off the relationship with her only then for sure you find out that the person is not the right person for you.


So how do you find the right person then? Well, you can't really find the right right person for sure but you can actually filter out your candidates and come closer in meeting the right right right person. For me, how I actually carry out the filtering process is to use a little bit of imagination.


Firstly I imagine bringing her back home and showing her off to my family. I imagine how my parents will react and especially how my nenek will react. She is very picky you know. Maybe it's because I am her favourite cucu.

Secondly I imagine introducing her to my group of friends. It is not to see whether my group of friends accept her but mainly to see whether she can accept the "Sekapur Sirih" (that is what we call ourselves). Haha...

Thirdly, I would imagine myself growing old with her. I don't imagine her looking old, of course! But the feeling of growing old with her.

But is it always about what you want? Is it always about you? As much as you are looking for the right person, it is also important for you to be the right person for that someone.

Depressed not

Yet another mass shooting and suicide by another depressed gunman. Arent we just glad that it is illegal to carry firearms here? Anyway, why do people get depressed? I dont really know why. But I know how not to get depressed.

I am going to share with you my "how not to be depressed" tips.

1)Be happy.
Life is a choice. And you choose how you want to live it. How you want to feel, how you want to react, how you want to respond. So if you dont want to be depressed, choose to be happy. Life, as many people say, is like a wheel. But living, as I say it, is the work done turning the wheel. Sometimes, we may be at the bottom, but it is up to us to turn it around.

2)Be happy with what we have.
Often people get depressed because they do not have what they want. In life we do not always get what we desire. If we do, there's no fun living any more isnt it? To not be depressed is to be grateful with what we have. Be grateful that we have our irritating little brothers, be grateful that we have our spongebob slippers, be grateful we have our B-s in our report cards. It is not that we shouldnt strive for greater things. I am saying that we should not feel so bad with what we dont have.

3)Be happy with ourselves.
It is always good to be happy with ourselves. With how we look especially. Be happy with our eyes no matter how small it may be, with our funny hair or with our blur look. When we are happy with ourselves, life will naturally be brighter and less suckier. I am not saying that we do not need to go for diet or exercise or bathe, but if we were to do it, do it because we want to do it and not because of what other people think.



So ya. It is simple really. Don't worry be happy... And stay away from guns.

Boo???

How afraid are you to ghost stories? Have you ever encounter any weird, unexplainable experiences? Do you believe in ghosts?

Personally, I do not really believe that ghosts exist. Why? Well, have you ever wonder why Malay ghosts can fly and yet Chinese ghosts hop and Japanese ghosts can only crawl? And have you heard of Indian ghosts??? Do ghosts have different races like us? Or fashion statement? Or different scaring tactics and strategies?

Exactly why I do not believe in ghosts. However, I do believe in setan and jin though. How ghosts appear on trees, is what I believe to be the gameplay of these creatures. They are having a little fun toying with us, humans. You have to admit, it is funny scaring humans. We do it all the time in Just For Laugh.

Another reason why some people see things floating may be because of the manifestation of his own fears. Since we were young we are exposed to scary ghosts stories .

Kids should not play hide and seek at night because they might be hidden by some "hantu" you know what. Actual fact, it is just logical not to play at night because it is dark and kids might get lost.

Kids should stay home on Thursday night. Many ghosts come out to play at that time. Actual fact, Thursday night (malam Jumaat) is the best time to read the Quran and do our prayers.

What initially was a deterrant, may evolved into this fear of the unknown. And because of this intense fear, images appear in people's mind.

So if you do encouter things floating and flying around, maybe it is just in your head. But please do run first just in case.

Greatness

I learnt something interesting today. I was watching Night at the Museum and, if you realise, Teddy Roosevelt played by Robin William (one of my favourite actor), said "Some men are born great, others have greatness thrust upon them".

Wow... That's deep. Really really deep. Then I checked the internet and found "Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em." Guess who said this. William Shakespeare.

Well, what do i make of this? I believe that some people are indeed born great. With great talents or abilities or maybe born in great families. Lucky for them then. Some achieve greatness. For these people being great is not as easy compared to the ones born great. But with shear determination and perseverance and commitment, they are able to achieve this greatness.

What I am more concern is with the last group of people. People having greatness thrust upon them. In the movie, Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), an ordinary person, has greatness thrusted upon him. He is given the opportunity to be great. In which he took the chance and eventually became a great night watch, a great father.

Which group do we belong to then? Not all of us are born great. I dont know about you but I am certainly not. And not all of us can achive greatness by ourselves. You know with all the shear determination and perseverance and commitment, it still wont confirm greatness. So our only hope of being great is to have greatness thrusted upon us. Here comes the tricky part. Are we able to recognise this opportunity? And if we did, are we going to open the door and welcome it or shy away from this chance to be great.

Love somebody set them free?

Exam over!!! Let's talk about love. People say if you love somebody, set them free. Can this statement get any more wrong. I mean if you love somebody, why would you then set her free. Abit dumb right.

If you really love somebody, wouldnt you NOT want to set her free? Wouldnt you want her to be in your captivity? Wouldnt you want her to be there with you?

Well, maybe some would say that if you love somebody but that somebody does not love you back, you should set her free. In the first place, ask yourself. Are you really in love? How do you define love? Love is having a great affection or liking. Well maybe. But to me, love is an emotional relationship between two people. Yes two people. (Maybe more for some). You can only love somebody only when the somebody loves you back. If she does not love you, you are not in love to begin with. It wouldnt be neccessary to set that somebody free then.

What if you are with her and now she loves somebody else. Well, the same thing apply. The love is gone. The emotional relationship between the two of you isnt there any more and she has foster another emotional relationship with another somebody. So is there a need of setting her free?

What I think is more appropriate is to set yourself free. Free from the delusional thinking that you are in love.

Hang On

One more paper to go. For those who still have papers... HANG ON!!!




Things are getting weird, things are getting tough
Nothing's making sense but you keep on looking up
They tell you to be true, you're trying every day
You keep it on the real, still you gotta find a way
To make your mama happy, to make your papa proud
You gotta turn it up but all you hear is turn it down

So gather round I'm here to say
You'll never make everybody's day
But while you're around you might as well
Catch the tiger by his tail

And hang on hang on hang on
Everybody just
Get on get on get on get started
Just go on go on go on
Everybody just hang on

Sometimes I wanna cry and throw the towel in
They try to beat me down but I'll take it on the chin
And everywhere I go the people are the same
They just wanna know that everything will be OK
Things are getting rough, turn it back around
You gotta turn it up when they tell you tone it down

(Someone tell me the meaning of catch the tiger by his tail)

Why do we fall?

"Why do we fall, sir? So that we might better learn to pick ourselves up". A phrase by the famous butler Alfred Pennyworth (the old man that took care of Batman). I agree with Alfred totally. If we do not fall, we would not be able to learn this important skill of picking ourselves up.

When we were younger and learning how to walk, what is the first thing we learn; To pick ourselves up. Only when we fall and get up, we can try again. We fall again and pick ourselves up again and fall again until we finally walk and then run.

This should not only be applied to when we are learning how to walk but in every aspect of our lives. When we learn to pick purselves up we are not afraid of falling and this enable us to achieve anything that we desire.

So, for those who are not up there but down there, listen to Alfred. Learn to pick yourselves up and fear of falling you shall not.

(But falling in love is an entirely different thing though...)

After the rain...

Rainbow comes only after the rain...

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone... I can see all obstacles in my way... Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.

It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day. It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day.

Oh yes I can make it now, the pain is gone... All of the bad feelings have disappeared... Here is the rainbow I've been prayin' for.

It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day.

Look all around, there's nothin' but blue skies. Look straight ahead, nothin' but blue skies...

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone... I can see all obstacles in my way... Here is the rainbow I've been prayin' for.

It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny dayIt's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny daybright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day.

It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny dayIt's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day.

Prayers

It was raining really heavily. And the water began to rise. The whole village was to be evacuated. Everyone hurried and left the village except for this man. He said, "I prayed to God and God will save me".

The water rose to his ankles and a van came to rescue the man. However he refused and said that “I prayed to God and God will save me".

The water rose higher to his hips. Then, a boat came to rescue the man. However, he refused and said, "I prayed to God and God will save me".

The water rose even higher that the man had to climb a coconut tree. Then a helicopter came to rescue him. However, again, he refused and said, "I prayed to God and God will save me".

The rain kept on pouring and pouring. And the man climbed higher and higher and soon there is no where for him to go. The man drowned eventually.

In heaven, the man asked God. “Dear God, I prayed to you, why didn’t you save me”? God replied “I sent a van, a boat and even a helicopter but you refused them. What else do you expect me to do?”

God answer prayer in three ways.
1) You pray for something and God say yes and gives it to you.
2) You pray for something and God say wait, I will give to you when the time comes.
3) You pray for something and God say no. But I will give you something better.

Then again, sometimes we don’t realise that our prayers are being answered. Just like in this short silly story where the man refused help sent by God. Are we the same as this man? Well, ponder about it. God does not answer prayers like a genie granting a wish. God answers prayers by opening up opportunities. If you pray for the love of a girl. God does not put this tingling feeling in her while she is sleeping one night and fall for you the next day. God creates opportunities for you to get close to this girl. Well, then it is up to you to realise God's answer to your prayers.

Kental eh

Sejak dari sekolah rendah lagi, aku sering dikaitkan dengan perkataan "kental". Mengapa ya? Adakah ia kerana rambut aku yang sering rapi disikat berbelah tepi ataupun muka aku yang sering di dalam kebinggungan ataupun baju aku yang dimasukkan dengan "smart" di dalam seluar aku yang lebih ketat berbandingan dengan mereka yang bukan "kental". Ataupun kerana aku tidak ambil tahu tentang trend terkini dan pakaian-pakaian aku tidak berjenama ataupun kerana aku tidak melakukan apa yang dilakukan oleh mereka mereka yang bukan "kental"?

"Kental ah kau tak hisap rokok. Kental ah kau gi belajar kat library. Kental ah kau tak gi clubbing." Inilah antara dialog-dialog yang sering kita dengar apabila perkataan "kental" digunakan. Apakah maksud "kental" di dalam konteks ini? Seringkali ramai yang mengaitkan "kental" dengan maksud "uncool".

Walaubagaimanapun, pernah tak seseorang itu fikir tentang apa yang membuat sesuatu perkara itu cool ataupun uncool? Mengapa hisap rokok itu cool, clubbing itu cool dan pulang rumah awal dan pergi ke perpustakaan dianggap uncool.

Ia memerlukan sekumpulan orang untuk membahagikan apa yang cool dan apa yang uncool. Pembahagian ini berbeza di lain tempat oleh lain orang. Sebagai contoh, permainan baseball diibaratkan uncool di Singapura dah permainan bola sepak pula dipandang cool. Di Amerika pula, bola sepak tidak mendapat perhatian berbandingkan dengan perhatian yang diberikan pada permainan baseball. Pada sesetengah kaum, volleyball itu cool tapi bagi sesetengah kaum yang lain, cricket itu cool. Senang kata, cool itu mengikut citarasa sesegolongan itu.

Orang yang tidak mengikuti trend sesegolongan ini pula dianggap uncool dan digelarkan "kental". Tapi mengapa perkataan "kental" yang digunakan. Mengikut kamus, perkataan "kental" membawa erti kukuh, tegas, kuat. Ataupun di dalam bahasa Inggeris, tough, strong. Aku rasa memang cocok perkataan "kental" digunakan pada conteks ini. "Kental" bukanlah membawa erti uncool yang dianggap ramai tetapi kental menyifatkan peribadi seseorang itu yang tidak senang terpengaruh oleh sesegolongan itu.

Dengan ini, janganlah kita ambil hati apabila digelar "kental". Anggaplah ia bagai satu pujian. Ia menunjukkan bahawa peribadi kita itu kental dan tidak senang digoyangkan orang.

motorsikal ku

Entry ku yang pertama.
Hari ini aku dan kawan kawan merancang untuk pergi ke rumah cikgu. Oleh kerana mood raya masih ada lagi dan setiap tahun kami mengunjungi rumahnya, kurang complete lah sekiranya kami tidak pergi ke rumahnya.

Aku meminta izin ibu untuk menggunakan motosikalku untuk ke rumah cikgu. Sudah masuk 3 bulan aku tidak menunggang motorsikal itu atas sebab sebab tertentu. Mula mula ibu seperti berbelah bagi untuk membenarkan aku munggunakan motorsikal itu. Tetapi setelah pujuk rayu, ibu tergerak hati untuk memberikan keizinan dia. Seronok betul rasanya. Sebelum aku melangkah keluar rumah, ibu berpesan supaya aku meletakkan kupon meletak kenderaan dan mengisi minyak motorsikal sebelum aku pergi ke rumah cikgu.

"Leceh betul ah mak! Tak payah lah. Bukannya jauh. Sekejap je per..."

Aku mengendahkan kata kata ibuku. Takkan letak motor sekejap je kena saman kan... Aku pun mengambil kawan ku dan terus ke rumah cikgu. Sampai sahaja di sana, sedang aku mencari tempat yang kosong untuk meletak motorsikal aku, aku ternampak sekumpulan "mat" bersembang di bawah kolong. Ini "mat mat" bukan sembarang "mat mat" ini "mat mat" berbaju putih berseluar biru. "Mat" parking lah. Alamak macam mana ni "mat mat" boleh ada ni. Dah lah aku tak ada kupon. Haiz, terpaksa aku dan kawan aku keluar dari kawasan itu dan terus pergi kedai yang terdekat untuk mendapatkan kupon.

Pengajaran pertama: dengar cakap ibu. Ibu suruh beli kupon pergi beli. Nasib baik nampak mat mat tu. Kalau tidak kena saman baru padan.

Setelah membeli itu kupon, kita pun naik lah ke rumah cikgu. Haha... Lama tak nampak anak cikgu. Sudah besar pun. Cute semacam... Haha ok. Balik cerita. Oh lupa makan pun best. Setelah makan, bersembang, berbual, mengenangkan kisah kisah di zaman persekolahan, kita pun balik.

Setelah menghantar kawanku balik aku pun apa lagi, balik lah. Sedang seronok aku melepaskan rasa rindu menunggang motorsikalku, tiba tiba, motorsikal aku seolah olah tidak bernyawa. Tiba tiba, bunyi nya senyap, lampu nya padam, asapnya pudar. Apa dah jadi ni. Apa lagi!!! Minyak dah habis ah. Haik, tidak kusangka, nasib aku betul malang ah malam ni. Motorsikal aku mati di tengah tengah ekpressway. Apa nak buat nasib badan. Aku cuba menghidupkan motorsikal aku. Tendang punya tendang, asap pun tak ada. Apa aku nak buat? Aku menelefon ah bapa aku untuk mendapatkan petunjuk. Ayah, motor tak hidup. Rasa rasa minyak dah habis. APASAL NAIK MOTOR??? KAN DAH KATA JGN NAIK MOTOR!!! Haik... Ohh lupa aku nak kata, bapa aku memang tidak membenarkan aku tunggang motorsikal itu atas sebab sebab tertentu. Sebab itulah mak aku berbelah bagi. Haiz bukan pentujuk aku dapat, dapat tengkeng ada ah. Bapa aku terus meletak talifon. Really on my own now.

Aku tendang dan tendang itu kick start. Ahhh... Hidup pun. Cepat cepat aku naik, and perah minyak yang tidak seberapa. Motorsikal itu bergerak walaupun tidak jauh tapi sampai ke persimpangan berdekatan dengan rumah aku. Dekat pun tak lah gitu dekat. Dalam tiga perhentian bas. Apa lagi terpaksa lah aku tolak. Aku naik ke atas pavement masih duduk di atas motorsikal aku sambil mengayuh menggunakan kaki aku. Dari jauh, aku seolah olah menaiki basikal memakai helmet. Aku mengayuh dan mengayuh motorsikal aku menuju ke stesen minyak yang tidak begitu jauh dari rumah aku. Sedang aku mengayuh ada apek tua ini menaiki basikal lalu di sebelah aku. Ini betul betul mengingatkan aku akan adegan Mr bean dimana dia menaiki basikal dan megayuh lebih laju daripada sebuah kereta.

Akhirnya sampai juga aku di stesen minyak. Dan alhamdulillah dapat juga aku balik ke rumah.

Pengajaran kedua: dengar cakap ibu ayah. Ibu suruh isi minyak, isi minyak. Ayah kata jangan naik motor, jangan naik motor.