exaggeration and tall tales galore

Sunday, August 30, 2009

FIGHTING!

To be honest, I really just want to get this semester done with and go home. There's so much stuff I need to do but I find myself stubbornly refusing to do any of it, even when I've sat myself down, cleared my table, and have my pencils at the ready. Where did my motivation go? I find myself reluctant, and it scares me.

Come on, ayang. Hidupkan enjin, vroom vroom. Doraemon, could you give me a hand?

Doraemon whips out some nifty device from his pocket. Alat menguatkan semangat untuk belajar!!!

Alat menguatkan daya menumpukan perhatian dalam lecture!!!

Alat menguatkan initiative untuk berkawan!!!

Alat menguatkan kebolehan untuk prioritise, seperti mengutamakan pelajaran sebelum membuat kek atau biskut untuk dimakan!!!

I give Doraemon a big thank-you hug and sew some new ears for him out of felt (because I'm not an ungrateful prick like Nobita).

HANANI I MISS YOU TOO. A dose of your offbeat humor and your rational approach would be good for me at this very moment. When you come here, I'm going to take you to my favourite bakery and belanje you makan a chocolate croissant.

I found this very awesome instrumental called Adam by Meshell Ndegeocello(how cool a stage name is that?). It's dark and melancholic and kick-ass.

Leave the party for a joyride
Cause baby time is on our side
Or so we'd like to clai-ai-aim.

-Whitest Boy Alive, Fireworks

Come on, motivation. Inspiration. Semangat. Hit me in the face. Knock me out cold. Batter me senseless.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

And mouths gaped open in horror at this tragedy of words

You're 24!you're 24!
So blow the horns and slam the door
on 23, it's now too late
You're 4 years short of 28
And I solemnly wish, and I hope
That you'll have strength to bear and cope
With 24, oh gosh! that age
Seems to proclaim a turning page
For good, you've passed the boundaries of 'child'
And now you're there out in the wild
Where relatives will ask time and again
"Haih Shazana, bile nak kahwin?
Dah ade orang, dah ade pakwe?"
And you'll be grimacing, thinking 'aku tak kuase
nak jawab semua soalan ni wei'
But of course your thoughts wouldn't be in malay
Nevertheless, I'm sure we'd agree
The future isn't all bright and twee
For 24.It has begun!
The race against the moon and sun
To live your life as best as you can
To follow the course that you have planned
Or perhaps to just go with the flow
After all, with life, we don't really know
If things will work out as we think
something something something pink.
You're 24! It seemed to me,
That an adult, you would never be
But the number contradicts my claim
You're grown up now, it's not the same
You've started work, you're earning pay
(and you better belanje me, I say!)

So 24 might seem a bit sad
But then again, I am quite glad
that you're this age, if only for
the fact that it can't be ignored
That you're AWESOME!
And that won't change
Despite the increase in your age range
My God, susahnye nak rhyme semue ni
I see now that it is NOT easy
to be a poet. (even a bad one)

Anyway

Sorry I didn't give a cool present this time
All I could do were these horrible rhymes
But I'm so proud of you, from now till the end
I still brag about you to all of my friends
You're 24, and from what I see
You're a year wiser than 23
And stronger and smarter and more mature
Which adds all the more to your allure
(allure? sounds dodgy, but you try rhyming 'mature')
You're all the better at 24, I think that's true
and now I can say you have great hair too
So have some cake, and eat good food
And don't feel down if your boss is rude
It's your birthday today, hip, hip, hooray!
I wish you all the happiness, more than I can say
So have a great birthday filled with fun and wonder
From you sister who's stuck all the way down under.


**I do not claim to have written this poem. I don't think anyone in their right mind would. However, it IS my sister's birthday today, so I believe a lot of cheer is in order. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAKAK! Bile nak datang sini?

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Paleolitik

Adoi, nak jiwang-jiwang pulak. Ketuk kang.

I can't wait to wear my baju kurung raya, mom sent it via Kelly and it's super orange and deliciously comfortable.

The weather is definitely staying warmer for longer stretches, so I don't think it would be imprudent to say spring is just about here. I telepathically urge any bald trees I see to start sprouting new leaves and flower buds, I'm sure all they need is a bit of encouragement. Today was another particularly nice day, of the ridiculously-blue-skies kind. Such a travesty to stay indoors!

I got The Whitest Boy Alive's new one, Rules, and I'm happy to say I like it a lot. There is a mellow vibe about the music, something light and...I don't know, cool? For lack better adjective, I'd call the music very,very cool. Recommended tracks: Intentions, Promise Less or Do More, Courage.

Speaking of Erlend Oye:

Jangan lupe! Coming out soon.

You can obviously see this is one those posts with no intent or purpose but to wander around. I haven't been doing much(except being all jiwang and shit), so there's nothing to report on the home front.

Selamat bersahur, berpuasa, (and especially) berbuka.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Nota jiwang ke-44:

I want to slow dance with you.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Peristiwa Pemberontakkan Medulla Oblongata 2009

Doing an assignment that requires an essay:

1. I start a few days later then when I should have.

2. Reading the question. Heavy use of highlighters, scribbles in the margins of tentative points, sketchy ideas(both written and imagined) of how to go about answering it.

3. Brainstorming. Moderately easy, once you get the flow going. Lots of scribbles, mostly in incoherent form, because after all, it's brainstorming. Plenty of time to sort trough the rubble that is my illegible handwriting and mold it into a coherent and concise essay.

3. Attempt to start writing. Don't know how to begin, I jump to the middle. I start on a point, am stumped on how to elaborate,fit in examples or integrate references, so I start a new one. If I'm lucky, the document will soon be full of one-line 'paragraphs'.

4. Often struggle to make a decent sentence or to write down what I want to say, and find myself thinking "What the hell do I want say anyway?". Fail to switch on the lightbulb that is my thoughts or my (non-existent) academic intellect.

5. Coherence and conciseness commit suicide. Incoherence and long-winded ramblings throw a party to celebrate.

6. I start thinking how much flunking this assignment is going to cost my overall grade.

Aku dah mengantuk la wei! Katil aku dah tunggu aku. Apa pasal otak aku tak boleh keluarkan ayat-ayat yang bernas? Tengok, sampai dah blog dalam melayu, padahal kena tulis essay dalam english. Nampak sangat tengah memberontak.

Friday, August 07, 2009

Well I guess I'm trying to be nochalant about it

Female singers.

1. Bjork(sorry I don't know how to type the trema over the 'o'. Fail)

I have mucho respect for her, even if I haven't explored even a third of her song repertoire. The few songs that I have listened to are amazing. The emotion she puts into a song and the fact that her lyrics are deceptively simple but profoundly meaningful makes it sublime. Been listening to All Is Full Of Love and Pagan Poetry.

2. Lykke Li



3. Mariah Carey.

I think her stylist should be shot. And I didn't really fancy the Touch My Body song. But! Think back to the Mariah Carey circa 1997, when her Butterfly album came out. Specifically, think of the song Breakdown that was in this album. The one reason that still redeems Mariah Carey in my eyes. Such a good song! So well-written, musically and lyrically.

4. Catcall

A Sydney-sider.She was the opening act for Phoenix(who were awesome, by the way!). Haven't taken to many of her songs, but there is one particular tune that went straight to my head and stayed there.


5. Regina Spektor

I haven't listened to her new stuff yet, but it always makes me chuckle when I read a review in a music magazine and they mention how she makes dolphin noises on one track.

6. Sarah Blasko

Australian as well. Very famous here I think, since her new album came out, her face is everywhere; in magazines, in Borders punye windows. Belum dengar many of her songs, but I am smitten by this one from one of her previous cds.

I have an assignment due! Hope you're all doing well.