Of Mukabukuholicism

Mukabukuholic versus Facebookaholic. And I think the former wins big against the latter. It's so much easier to pronounce, don't you think so? Try to pronounce Facebookaholic. It is a tongue-twister, don't you think so?

Manglish Boleh. Malaysia Boleh!

LAME

You see, even facebook could hit a kind of wall after which it just doesn't seem to be very interesting. I got pretty bored of it. But then, friendster sucks more, and myspace is just like another lame dating site so where can I turn to now? ;(
Talking about myspace, it makes me LMFAO to see so many girls (and, disturbingly, guys too!) put up pictures of them with disturbing cute-wannabe poses. Lots of them tended to think that by bigging (or literally popping) their eyes out and disastrously pouting their lips, they'd look cute. But hey, you ain't no Tyra Banks or Miss Jay Alexander, okay! It's fugly at its best! I have nothing against anyone with any poses, but seriously, you can easily differentiate between some normal, natural poses and the fake, pretentious ones. And these people would add strangers and they're inundating facebook nowadays, making it more tedious for the normal, sane, users to keep on clicking 'ignore' from what seems to be incessant and blatant friend requests from them.

But well, I can hate facebook as much as I want, but I still have to admit that I can't live without it. There needs to be a rehab for Mukabukuholicism, I believe!


p/s the post was written just after I found out that I had nothing to do after having facebooked for the whole night.


Faizal Hamssin

You're So So Lame

You call me a hick yet you can't differentiate a "cook" and a "cooker"?


Boo Shame Shame

At least I'm not a "cooker" LOL

Faizal Hamssin

Music of the Night

Norah Jones doing her thing. Awesomeness ;)




Faizal Hamssin

The Epitome of Frog-Singing

If there's such thing as a singing frog, I think I must be it.




We sang our stress away. We sang our lungs away. It seems that the pathetic frogs finally found some digs to do their 'thing'.

I sang "One Sweet Day" in the end; so much for a happy day.

Not only the singing skills do we lack, we're certainly the biggest loser when it comes to camwhoring. Where the hell was half of my head?

But well, I love you all. Without you, Bintulu would've been bleak. And I'm being honest here.

I wanna do it again.

p/s pictures courtesy of Doro and Emmi.

Faizal Hamssin

2009 2010 2011

2009 go away, don't come again another day, little Faizal wants to stray.
Life seems to be full of promises now that this great year is going to end.
When a being is happy, his soul will definitely yearn for the flavors of challenges,
And I know that 2010 will be full of them.
As the shadow of the nightly past peters away.
And the endless nights of slaving myself to cast those negativities away seem to be a million light years away,
A new day beckons,
Turning hope into a magical star.

I have nothing but optimism.


Random rambling on a Sunday night. Everyday is weekend now that holidays are in charge. What Monday blues?

Enjoy this classic. Good night ;)


Faizal Hamssin

Of Uneuphoric Relief

iThe 2nd Semester results have finally been released and yay, I've officially survived the first year of uni ;)

Here the 'gory' details go;
Chemistry 2: 88 H1
Linear Algebra: 71 H2B
The Earth, Atmosphere and Oceans: 82 H1
Introductory Macroeconomics: 76 H2A

Total WAM: 79.3/100

[Another kind of so-close-but-so-far-away drama struck me again. Just 3 freaking marks- that's all I needed, and I could've gotten an 80 WAM straightaway. Dammit]

Overall mood regarding the results: Relieved, but not so happy.

But hey, at least I did pass my Linear Algebra and scored respectable okay in the subject. Lord knows how much I hated the subject, and its syllabus being totally irrelevant to my major (Geology) just exacerbated that feeling. Seriously, I never hated a subject that much, what more with the annoying MATLAB component of the subject that didn't help much. With that in mind, I kinda left everything till the very last minutes, and voila. God had been nice to me this time around. Thank you ;)

And yes, that 76 in Macroeconomics really disappoints me. I really didn't know what went wrong, actually. The paper wasn't, at all, hard, and I loved the subject so much that I really hoped I'd ace it hands down.

With that being said, my result this time around ain't as great as my first semester's, but well, I can tell you all that I had THE time of my life on the second sem. That was the period when I started to learn more about life and got closer to like-minded people who made the uni hardship bearable and colorful. The study meetings we all had in Baileu, Old Eng, ERC - they were all fun, and not at all strenuous.

Well, life is not all about getting straight As, I guess. Life's about living the moment.

May the good vibes keep on rolling in next year. Melbourne peeps, I miss you. Really.


Faizal Hamssin



p/s to my well-performing friends, congratulations! Especially to that alien-brained juwie Farouq who managed to score straight H1s. Seriously, that's fantastic ;)

Reincarnation

I'm in Malaysia now! Gonna be here for all through my summer break. 3 months, baby!

Feeling: Refreshed. Upbeat.

I miss Melbourne! I guess I'm pretty much a workaholic who doesn't know when to stop working. I kind of miss the smell and characteristic ambiance of unimelb's lecture halls. Anything that's got anything to do with uni, including the putrid sushi lunches back in those busy days, and the crowded Bailleu Library that caused claustrophobia-related feelings to flush through my veins seem intriguing now ;p

I guess I should not treat my summer break the way polar bear treats its 6 months of wintry darkness. I gotta do something. Any ideas, out there?


Faizal Hamssin

Honeydays Are Over, Reality's Looming

Well, back to serious business here. I'm having finals in roughly a month's time, so I guess I'll seriously need to buck up for the papers while I still can.

Since I've made a promise to upload some pictures I'd taken in Canberra/Sydney during the trip last week, voila. Here we go!



*Off to studying for finals! Wish me luck cos I need it bad.


Faizal Hamssin

Greetings from Canberra!

Hey there. I'm here yay! It's a so-called getaway retreat to a city I once knew as a mere ghost town. I now know I was wrong all these whiles. Canberra is small, but I just couldn't think of a city more livable than it is. Its air is clean, its arts and cultural scene is vibrant, its streets are spotless and amazingly pedestrian-friendly, and its mall ain't bad at all. Canberra is just fine for me, it's simply a peaceful spot right in the heart of Australia. I'm staying over Pau's place here in Unilodge. It's a decent studio, smaller than my College Square unit, but spacious enough for single occupancy I guess.

I also went to Sydney for a day-trip on Saturday. The bus journey from Canberra to Sydney took me around three and a half hours, but it was simply worth my time and money. I wished I had more time to spend with Fyda and Ju Anne there. The city was pretty cool, too, but I got a feeling that it was too hectic to my liking. It also lacked the charm that made Melbourne such a wonderful city it's always been. The three of us took a hell lot of pictures together, and we just had great fun catching up with each other and stuff. A fine dinner was had at Pancake on the Rocks, and great memories were left to be kept for a long, long time.

I also had a free lunch at Pn. Zaidah's Open House in Sydney! Well, best things in life are free, aren't they?

I'm flying back to Melbourne tonight, and I can barely wait for that. Home sweet home, as one may put it. I'll try my best to spare some time uploading some of the of pictures I've taken throughout my spring trip onto my blog after I get back. A few days ahead will surely be a busy one for moi, as I'll have to juggle between finishing the bunches of assignments I have and working on the annual dinner, for which I'm acting as the chief organizer. Well, being an important person doesn't always ring coolness I guess :p

Faizal Hamssin

Bon Eid selamat hari raya wot wot!

It's over. Yeah the auspicious month of Ramadhan, with its fasting and holydoings is over. It's time to celebrate!

HAPPY EID TO EVERYONE OUT THERESELAMAT HARI RAYA tout le monde! yes everyone, as God's love is universal. So, let's spread the love this Eid in the spirit of humanity. For love and friendship is a prerogative of every being who walks upon the face of Earth.

The cool 'Happy Eid' greeting picture above was taken from here. Merci beaucoup!

And no Eid is cool without your family by your side. Seriously. This is making me homesick out of a sudden. Thank goodness we have Skype nowadays!

Faizal Hamssin

The Silent Killer

Cellphones are very much the 'must have' stuff that are had by simply everyone in the world today, be him a peasant from Bangladesh, or a Sydneysider who twitter frequently using his more-advanced PDA or Blackberry. They're just so important that we can never dream of getting rid of them, regardless of the known side-effects that these gadgets are carrying to us users.

Being well-informed of the apparent danger of shortwave radiation, which cellphones can easily emit to us everyday without most of us realizing it, I got freaked out a little, but there seemed to be nothing I could do to help me alleviate my anxiety before.

But I just found an extremely useful website that would make it easier for me to protect myself and the ones I love. The site contains a comprehensive list of thousands of mobile phones available in the market, together with the descriptions with regards to the phones' respective "Specific Absorption Rates (SAR)", which is a "measure of how much radiation is absorbed by the body when the phone is sending a signal to the network." Apart from having detailed descriptions on the level of hazard that each phone model exerts on us users, the site is also amazingly user-friendly. It has been designed to make it easier for us to make comparisons between a phone model to another. The is also a list of 'the Safest Phone', and vice versa. Therefore, it can be said that this site gives you proper guidelines on the most 'harmless' cellphone options out there; something that sounds trivial at first, but it can indeed increase your lifespan for a few years, I guess!

I took the opportunity to check for my phones' SAR, and the results left me terrified. I'm currently using two cellphones; Nokia 6500 slide, as well as Sony Ericsson s500i, which I got as my birthday present 2 years back but still functions well.



The results shows that SAR while held at the ear for my SE phone is 1.35W/kg, with the hazard bar being


You might think that my older SE phone must've its hazards explained by its relative age compared to my newer Nokia, but the result for the latter didn't seem to be comforting, either. Its SAR while held at the ear is 1.28W/kg, which makes it meekly safer to use compared to my SE. Looks like another trip to a mobile phone store is truly justified this time around.

So, if you feel like purchasing a better, safer phone, Samsung Impression SGH-a877 is for you. Not only does it look sleek, it exposes you to the least amount of SAR among its peers. With its SAR value while held at the ear being as low as 0.35W/kg, it's just the safest bet for the people out there, whose safety is put at their highest priority.

The worst phone out there is clearly Motorola's MOTO VU204. Its value of SAR is as high 1.55W/kg while held at the ear. A clear no, no.



And it is, to be honest, ugly, too.


Faizal Hamssin

Of Perceptions

Just got on a train of thought leading to some random musings of my mind. Don't read this if you're expecting something light and cooler, which the following text just isn't.


It's not my fault that your mind is constricted. It's not my mistake that your view is veiled. It's not of my valor that your brain stays behind the bars. It's not my power to shed some light to your dark alley of life.

They say perception is powerful. Some even say that perception is more important than reality. I say that Man can only live when they manage to overcome the power of perception and the needs to please others to perfect the dimension on which their views are centred. If one is unable to be emancipated from the greed of human eyes that culminate into others' perceptions toward him, there's no doubt he's dead inside. Void of soul.

So for those people out there, stop doing things for the mere sake of pleasing others. Stop barring yourself from expressing yourself along your quest of garnering approval from others. Stop playing sinuously on the phony stage to feed your incessant insecurity with regards to how do others view you. It's their visions, not yours. Life is too short for us keep running for the mirage of perfect public perception towards us, since it is part of people's instinct to keep on peeping for every single imperfection that you have, so stop camouflaging who you are, and be yourself. You can't change the way others view the world, but you can surely change your inner self to be more appreciative to who you actually are.

There's no need to keep explaining everyone out there for everything that we've done to our heart's content. Right or wrong are subjective. There's nothing you can do to change that.

And I'm not scared if people think of me being somebody I am not. Cause I know who I am, and so do the ones I love.


Random ramblings on a Friday night :)

Faizal Hamssin

Irrevocable Mess

If you guys don't know how weird my biological clock is, here it goes;

your afternoon is my midnight. your 3pm is my 12am :)

yeah it's true. that's me. nocturnal me!

And yes, Happy Ramadhan to everyone out there! May Lord's grace fall upon you guys! Let's spread our love and affection towards humanity in this holy month. Let's make this month a heath for deep thoughts to thrive and flourish. Let's celebrate the power of human kindness in overcoming adversity throughout this month of greatness.

This will be my first month of fasting in the foreign land. Pathos are here, there, and everywhere, but well, it's pretty good an experience, either. No one knows how badly do I miss the sinful murtabak and refreshing ABC that I'd always had during Ramadhan. If I happened to have had enough of those, there were always other treats like satays, nasi ayam, mihun sup, and kuihs to tackle my desire. So, for Malaysians out there, be thankful that you guys are still able to live in such a heaven of food, with its plethora of gastronomical greatness. OMG I think I should've included Laksa Sarawak on the list, too! Now I can't wait for summer to taste it all!

Being a polar bear is downright cool. Trust me.

Faizal Hamssin

of An Epic Reunion :)

Liying was in the town baybeh! So yeah, we had a reunion dinner at Sofia. The food was, as expected, downright awesome, and the portion was HUGE that we all went home satiated as hell (yeah seriously). Will definitely dine there again next time. Here are the pictures (courtesy of Zara)

Sham's Japanese girlfriend who happened to be in Melbourne at that time for a visit was also present.

After dinner, we all went to crash at Aggie's place, hanging out there. Some of us played cards while the rest camwhored and lounged around, feeling the bliss of being in each others' company. That was very cool. Too bad little Zara was so tired that night (menstrual pain, I suppose!) that she had to sleep in Aggie's room while we all had a blast outside at the living room.

When the party was over and everyone was on the verge of leaving the place, all eyes were on Sham who was also to leave the place for her girlfriend's digs. It was a cold wintry night when someone gave him words worth of advice. "Play safe," she said. We all laughed naturally :D


Faizal Hamssin

Pardonnez-moi, mon blog!

Hey there. I love my blog. It's been the journal of my life; I started this blog just a few months after I started doing IB, so it's nearly 3-year-old by now. The 3 years filled with moments of immeasurable depth, with regards to its impacts towards molding the current me. The 3 years that have been my most exciting and inspiring years I've had, after all the relative lethargy of my highschool years. The 3 years of transitory period, the years in which my real self was finally found. The period of metamorphosis, as we may call it, the process that made my life as interesting as it seems today. It's just great, and this blog will remain here forever, as it is an important tool to remind me where I came from, and how far have I gone through the seemingly incessant sinuosity of human life. I just love it.

So dear my lovely, adorable blog, pardonnez-moi if you feel ignored or neglected these days. I really wanna write new posts, keeping you updated with my fruits of thoughts etc, but inspiration has yet to stream towards me at the moment. Yes, I seriously wanna update my blog regularly, but the mojo seems to have petered away at this very moment; I just don't know what should my next post really be all about.

But above all, at least I'm very happy with my life currently. 2nd sem seems to be awesome so far, with the new challenges and perks that it offers. I've also regained my passion in reading, and I have several unread books sitting in the case, waiting to be read soon. Studies have been fine, and friends have been awesome, so far. My Friday nights are always full of fun-filled dinner, gathering, party, or whatever that occupies my time and makes me happy, and I'll always find some time for myself (my real friends know how much do I cherish my privacy). It's just fine. Not much of a rollercoaster ride, whatever.

Perhaps when you're truly contented with your life, you'll find that it gets less interesting and pretty monotonous by day. And when life gets less interesting, there's no way that you'll come out with personal posts on your blog. Trust me it's true.

Quote of the day: Acquaintances come and go, but true friends stay.

Enough with my life story. I just got 'The Pianist' DVD from Rowden White a few days ago, and went on to watch it yesterday. The movie touched me so much it made me cry. It's a shame that I didn't get to watch this wonderful movie earlier (it was released in 2002, I guess). And it's a bigger shame for those who have the hear to deny the atrocities inflicted towards the innocent public during the World War II and Holocaust. What's wrong is wrong, that's it.

p/s I'm planning to write a personal journal to sum my 3 years up. That'd be nice, indeed. The journal will, of course, be private :)

Faizal Hamssin

It Must be the Weed, It Must be the E

The news of Yasmin Ahmad's demise really surprised me, but nor did it shock me greatly, given the critical situation she had been through after the stroke attack she'd had. She's such a person of great talent and sheer intelligence, a true Malaysian, whose works have transcended the seemingly opaque veil of racial and religious divide in the country. She'd directed numerous television advertisements, most of them were dedicated for certain cultural festivals in the country, and her Petronas 'Hari Raya', 'Deepavali', and 'Chinese New Year' advertisements will always be missed in the years to come.

One of my favorites among her repertoire of great works is the ad produced for the Independence Day last year, if I'm not mistaken. It's called Tan Hon Ming, and it projected the undisputed innocence of children with the multicultural Malaysia as its background.



Kids know nothing of skin colors; racism is nothing in their lives' dictionary, or perspective. The downward spiral this country is experiencing, with respect to its inter-faith and inter-racial relations amidst its past image as a 'harmonious' melting pot of people of different faiths and creed is undeniably due to the roles of the people who pride themselves as adults or 'mature' people who've all these whiles brought our children up to be the ones with corrupted heart, racist mind, and myopic eyes. Many parents nowadays seem to be trapped into their own utopia cage; kids of different backgrounds should mingle separately, and polarisation should be the way to go. They simply believe in the notion that Malaysia can survive with only their single race being its single dweller. Children are sent to vernacular schools, where they'll only mingle with other kids who speak their language and do everything their way. Malay parents who don't allow their kids to play at their Chinese friends' place/home for the baseless fear that their kids will be fed with non-halal food; even plain water, or 'Ribena', served in these 'non-Muslim' homes are funnily considered as non-halal by these parents. Pardon me if I'm wrong, but I thought such things are just not Islamic. Even in our so-called national schools, polarisation still exists with staggering intensity. Just go to any of our school's canteen, and you'll see that happening in front of your very eyes.


To make me hate typical Malaysian media more (not all of them, though), a cheap tabloid, Kosmo didn't take any chances in cashing in from Yasmin Ahmad's death. An article of defamation towards her was released short after her death, and the article was shamelessly written as to portray it as a 'sincere' obituary, which it just wasn't. Yucks. The writer must've disregarded the feeling of the demise's family. Speaking on some Malay tabloids, just flip through any of them and you'll find articles on sex, pigs, traditional mysticism, black magic and witchcraft, and some disgusting scandals of some unknown local so-called celebrities. Disgusting at its best.

"It must be the weed, it must be the E" lol

RIP Yasmin Ahmad

Faizal Hamssin

Of Hackers and People Who Need to Get a Life

I just came back from Malaysia after spending a month there. It was awesome, with those homecoming stuff and explosive fun, but I'm not gonna talk about those.

I reached Melbourne 2 days ago, had a sound sleep that night after a long and tiring flight just to wake up to Syed's phone call. It was something like this; "Faizal, I think your facebook's just been hacked." I was like, "What the f**k. (I was really shocked that I cursed) and why the hell must someone do that to me?", and the conversation went on and on and my anger grew and peaked when I found out that my YM and facebook password had also been changed, making it impossible for me to get my access to those two things to do some quick damage control. I panicked a great deal, and managed to change my password and regained access to those sites a few minutes later (I had to answer a few questions to be identified as the owner of my own YM and facebook, and that was pretty annoying yet a relief, indeed).



When I got onto my Facebook, I was like, "OMG". The pathetic hackers seemed to have changed my profile picture into an image of a fugly vagina, and my status had also been changed into something that was so disgustingly vulgar and racy. That lame guy did also add a link (something like indonesiamerdeka.com, whatever, on my facebook). He also sent messages like "Let's make love at my place" to my friends, using MY facebook account. ewww. He did GREAT damage to my facebook, I'd like to say, and that was so so so not cool.

I struggled to do damage control and reverted everything into the way it used to be in a few minutes. I also changed my YM and facebook password instantly. Thanks to Syed who informed me about that stupidest thing that ever happened in my life quickly; you saved my life. The hacker who did that to my Facebook must've been the most pathetic person on Earth; hey, get an effing life, please! May you rot in Hell for eternity.

Everything finally turned back to normal.

The stupid thing didn't only happen to my Facebook alone. The hacker did also use my YM to send some silly messages to my friends. How desperate can one get! He must've struggled a great deal when it came to English; he mixed his 'fuck you' this and that with Indonesian, for God's sake! Therefore, for those who happen to have received any weird and lame messages that clearly didn't reflect me as a person, you guys are the luckiest bunch of people in the world for having been able to witness such idiocy at its legendary form.

However, it was pretty surprising a fact that some of the ones whom I believed to be my friend did actually think that it was me writing those hordes of rubbish to them. Well, those who thought so were clearly not my 'real' friend who understood me and who I was. My truest friends would always know that I won't have degraded myself into the act and ethics of a subhuman that the hacker did clearly reflect from his language use. For those who thought that I'd have done that to them, you clearly hadn't known the real me. That was it.

Lesson of the day: Guys, the ordeal I faced yesterday was funny, weird, but it certainly didn't turn out into something embarrassing, to be frank. This could happen to anyone out there. My perception towards internet and the safety and privacy issues behind it has certainly changed dramatically due to this very occurence. Never, ever, use your birthdate as your password. People, in general, can easily get your birthdate from your Facebook profile, and they are certainly smart enough to use it to gain entry into your Facebook, Email, and even E-Bay accounts. Try changing your password periodically- don't use the same, ol' password for too long a time. That'd make you more prone of being the next victim of these growingly-sneaky hackers out there. Last but not least, keep updating your anti-virus frequently. Yesterday's drama happened when my Kaspersky was pretty outdated; I hadn't downloaded its update for as few weeks at that time.

Dear hackers around the world, please. Get a fucken life, you F.tard. You guys stink. I'm so not gonna be your victim again in the future.

Dear Lord, save me from any future attacks on the net. Amen.

Faizal Hamssin

Of the Indulgence of Sheer Euphoria

I was so indulged in the burning anxiety as I waited for my first sem result to be published online last night. Having thought that the result would be released at exactly 12.00am Melbourne time, I checked my student portal to relieve the killing curiosity and nervousness inside straightaway when the watch showed me the time. It didn't come out still, and I got pretty pissed when a friend suddenly told me that result would be published at 9.00am, rather than 12.00am I initially thought of. Waiting was excruciating, and I hated sleeping with uncertainties, so I applied for the result to be e-mailed to me straightaway by the uni. The process would take around 2 hours, so I filled up the time with Zuma! yeah Zuma! Haven't played that for so long! The 2 hours passed by instantly and I finally received an e-mail containing my first sem result. Trust me, with the ordeals I had with my student number and the cold I had while answering Global Environment, the prospect of flopping in this exam was real. I panicked.

And I got this:
Intro. Microeconomics: 84 H1
Chemisry 1: 80 H1
Calculus 2: 79 H2A
Global Environment: 88 H1

I was like, "wow!". The result petrified me at the moment. I know some other students managed to get better result, yada yada, but my result really made my day. Especially the H1 I got for my Global Environment. It beat my expectation, to be honest, what more with the modest result I got for the practical component of the subject. It seemed like those sleepless nights of reading, reading, and memorizing the geological processes were not in vain. I couldn't help but feel blessed and tremendously thankful for my that.

May the vibes remain for the rest of my uni life.

p/s just had an evening with Dex and Farid. OMG I haven't seen Farid for so long! And he looked different, seriously. From their conversation, I could easily grasp that they had their time of their lives in UTP. Can't wait for a mini-reunion next time.

Faizal Hamssin

ovah

Guess what? Sem 1 is OVER. Final exams are history, and I have five more semesters to go before my uni life ends. lol I'll try my best to abstain myself from thinking about that. It makes me feel old.

Malaysia is just 2 days' away from me, and I'm just back from an awesome retail therapy, shopping for good stuff, and blowing the stress away. Loving it.

MJ has just passed away yesterday. I was in total a shock when I got to know about that. It's such a big loss to music as a whole, I guess. Millions grieved, as the news of his passing filled headlines across the globe. Fans showered their affection and appreciation towards him, and the entertainment media and tabloids, whose keys of financial lucrativeness lie on their skill in fabricating stories, finally granted him with some good obituaries in memory of MJ's life as a performer of sheer intelligence in music. This comes as a contrast to what these tabloids used to write of him previously. Even Perez Hilton wrote a strangely compassionate remark on his death. It's a shame that us humans are so into indulging ourselves into taking everything around us for granted. We will, apparently, only cherish something when the subject is finally gone. We blatantly and desperately show the world how appreciative we are of the 'lost' thing, but it's simply too late. I doubt anybody will even remember of the tales of MJ's 'oxygen chamber' or 'elephant man's bones' in the years to come. But his music will live forever, being an anthem of his era. His songs will make people happy for many years to come, and that's the only thing that matters.

On a lighter note, Fyda is in Melbourne right now! Seeing her and hanging out with her really make my day. Can't wait for a dinner with Zahra and Fyda tonight :)

Watched Tranformers 2 with fyda, zahra and syed. It was awesomessss. Seriously. And watching the movie at IMAX was so impeccably mesmerizingly astonishingly cool. I mean, the screen is the 3rd largest in the world, so basically the robots were all looking really big and everything was so real. I'm so looking forward to watching Harry Potter at IMAX again next month. Well-worth the money spent.

By the way, what should I be doing in Malaysia during this holidays apart from sleeping and eating my mom's legendary food? well...got to think about it tonight!

Michael Jackson, rest in peace! I'm very much a 90's person when it comes to music, and this video is simply awesome.



Faizal Hamssin

Of Randomness. Again.

Just spent my Friday night in the library, studying for next week's exam. OMG I need to get a life, but to look at the whole situation in a wider dimension, it's pretty cool that exams are gonna be over by the end of this month, and I'll certainly be free after that. Can't wait for that, seriously. The whole ordeals that I've had this particular week have been pretty draining. It was revision, revision, and revision, with those past year papers being my bestfriends. *and facebook, too lol

Being a busy bee this whole week doesn't stop me from updating my playlist with newer songs and this particular song by Alexander Rybak has totally amazed me. No schmaltz, nothing. It's just a plain song with simple lyrics and understated yet addictive musical arrangements. Love it bunch.



And I also took my time to read the whole text of Obama's speech in Cairo. It was just awe-inspiring, and pessimists should watch, or at least, read his speech as it is an indication that hope does exist these days. At least I'm having something different in the news today; daily updates on Swine flu make people sick, to be frank. It causes panic and fear. Especially if you live in a state where 900 people have been diagnosed with the flu. Pretty scary, right? Gosh looks like my Dettol hand sanitizer will surely be my best friend for many months to come.

23 days to go before I bid hi hi to Malaysia. Can't wait for the sunshine!


Faizal Hamssin

Of Euphoria...

Words can't describe how happy I am. Rapturously happy. Dangerously in Euphoria. Aww just bloody happy okay!

Malaysia, here I come! Can't wait.


Faizal Hamssin

When Kawan(s) Beat Kilometres

It was an ordinary Wednesday night when I suddenly had Pau knocking on my apartment door. Damn you, Pau, it was bloody great a surprise! Kudos to his accomplice Sasha. You guys were so convincing that you guys should consider a career in soap-opera acting!

Pau came to meet Sarah, who is, in fact, still in Melbourne (until this Saturday, I guess) for a post-IB holiday. It was so great a feeling to meet my two friends at a time. Together with other friends, we did what buddies would do; chatting, having lunch together, going around the city, and pillow-talking at yvee's dig (this might sound a bit weird, but yes, it really happened and we had bunches of fun!). The sleepless night we had (I only slept the following morning at around 6.30 am) before Pau touched off for Canberra was just full of blissful gossiping and we really had a blast. Certainly made me miss those good ol' IB days.

Pictures tell more than words do, so yeah:




*Pictures courtesy of Pau

By the way I've certainly found a perfect spot to gossip; under the tree that fronts the Old Arts Building. Awesomeness (as you could see [on the second picture] Zahra and I was so into those sizzling gossips as Pau snapped the picture of us in act).

p/s Liying was on the phone with us all (look at the second last picture). She was so excited as she talked about her upcoming moviecatching-cum-date with our another friend. That was so LOL-able :)

Coolness!

Faizal Hamssin

One Down, Millions More to Go

The Global Environment prac paper is a thing of the past!

yippieness in the air amidst the unexpected questions and some slight yet apparent changes of format of the paper. The questions edged into requiring us to explain some theoretical stuffs that certainly didn't resonate its supposed practical nature. The predicament ironically casted glory to me; at least those sleepless nights I'd had studying complicated extra stuffs on the textbook really paid off. At least I didn't have to get out of the exam room feeling guilty or anything, right? I know my friends bitched about the questions being too difficult yada yada. For me, it was pretty fine, to be frank. Uni life ain't a bed of red roses, so yeah.

I'd consider today's paper as a good, if not glimmering start for the whole exam drama that's gonna last for at least a month to come. Talking about my finals schedule, I have to say that it sucks comprehensively; I'll be having papers on the 10,11,12, and bloody 26th of June. So long a wait for one, I mean ONE paper! Longer exam period = shorter winter holidays. OMG and the whole world should know how badly do I need a holiday. I want it right here, right now, okay! LOL. I think I'm starting to mumble aimlessly now that I better stop. Bye!

Faizal Hamssin

So Much for The Love of Rocks...

My target for the night: read lecture notes for Global Environment
Total number of page read: seventy four 74

ACHIEVED!
after having faced the laptop and notes for, well, 6 hours! (2000-0200)

That was SO 'efficient"! duh. so much for being a so-called 'nocturnal animal'. Double duh.

Written pracs exam for Global Environment (aka Geology), which will contribute a whopping 40% to our final score is gonna be held next week. 7 days to go. We had our first proper discussion with regards to the format and types of the questions that are typical to the paper today, and yes, it managed to surprise me big day. Hooray, there we go (the fear was shared by the whole class rather than me alone), knowing that we'd had a million things to cover, one week before the real thing. Hence the enthusiasm and caffeine-fixed night.

Well, I need a nice, hearty supper right here, right now! Instant pasta, perhaps. Chow!

oppps by the way, I've been listening to this pretty aged song these days. It's amazing, listening to Madonna cooing 'Frozen' while I read the notes on 'Future Ice Age' and 'Deglaciation of Polar Ice'. Well!




Faizal Hamssin

Of Visitors...

Having spent my time revising for the upcoming exams next month, a retreat would be a need, rather than a desire. Therefore, I decided to come up with this short post just to write my stress away!

Wow, looks like my friends, a lot of them, are planning to come over Melbourne for a visit in the coming months! Sarah's coming in, like, 2 weeks' time, together with Pau, while Osem and Liying are coming in July. JuAnne and Fyda might also be coming around the same time. Looks like my apartment will always be a scene of rapturous laughs and meteoric vibes, which will be very very cool. After all, a house is not a home without spirit and life being breathed upon it ;)

For my friends in Malaysia, do save up and get a ticket to Melbourne to see us next time, okay! Jiha seems to have garnered enough inner enthusiasm to come over, so far!

I'm not going back Malaysia for winter, by the way! ;( but it's not 'that' bad since I'll be back in Malaysia this summer, so yeah *winking to Fatin, Leens, Meens, and other drivers to bring me around KL to EAT* fyi I always drool and salivate wildly as I gaze at the pictures of food that Fatin has constantly and mercilessly uploaded on her facebook. I'm really yearning for AUTHENTIC Malaysia food right now, okay!


p/s can't wait for an awesome weekend when both Pau and Sarah are in town!


Faizal Hamssin

Bonne Fete des Meres!

I know it's kinda late, but yeah:

Happy Mother's Day! Bonne Fete des Meres Selamat Hari Ibu 跑马母亲节

to all mothers, wherever you are, for the incessant love and care that you've always shown to your children, for the edification of Life that God has breathed upon your children, for the patience in braving against the storm as you search for a rainbow for your children, and for the warmth of your love. May your sincerity end with solid redemption from the Lord above.

I love my mom! J'aime ma mere!أحب أمي我爱我的妈妈 אני אוהב את אמא
Nous devons aprecie les dedications et l'esprit des nos meres! cette tres inspiritionelle!
p/s Late is always better than never, okay ;)

Faizal Hamssin

Of Reincarnation

I'm back, people! I know my blog's gotten lame with lack of updates these days, so this post should actually act as a symbol of the return of my blogging mojo! I'll try my best to update my blog more regularly after this, okay?

Well, the past few days was really hectic for me as my cousins were here for a very brief visit. It was quite cool, indeed (it never came across my mind that I'd actually be able to hang out with them in Melbourne!). We did what cousins would do; chit-chatting, gossiping, taking pictures, shopping, and dining out together. The feeling was great, indeed, but I couldn't help but to feel extremely exhausted after they left; well, just imagine having juggled yourself between attending lectures and tutes and bringing your cousins out and having fun- they came when I wasn't in a holiday, so yeah. Effa and Shasha, do come again ;)













*Just got to know that Effa might be doing her postgrad here next year. Hell yeah, can't wait for that!

Enough with the fun part. My finals are, like, 1 month's away and I know I'll need to buck up if I really want to stick to my straight-H1 target. I know I've been having my sweet times since I came here- life in IB was hell (and it could've been worse had my friends been less cool, so yeah), so those honeymoons were justified. Perhaps the syndrome can be called 'Post-IB Blues' or even 'Post-IB Lethargy' or whatever (I know this might be lame lol). Therefore, I've set my starting point to be next week- no more sweet times from then ahead, okay! I know I can do it! ;)

p/s can't wait to meet up with pau, fyda and juanne this winter! love you guys to the max! Not to forget Sarah and Liying who are coming over soon-i just can't wait to spend time with you guys.

...and,
this might come a little late, but
GOOD LUCK TO MY IB FRIENDS who are currently sitting for their finals. OMG you guys are gonna be free soon, so just torture yourself until you die, just to be alive again when everything is over and life can't get better. Remember, the fruits of your labor are going to be immense; so just don't lose hope, okay!

Mr Lawrence has finally had his facebook! omg i really miss his chemistry lessons and pracs when Aggie and I always sat next to each other, helping each other to remain awake during the long, seemingly-incessant intensive classes a month before the finals. Those were the days :)

Lesson of the day (a bit off-topic): I can never please everyone, so yeah.


Faizal Hamssin

Of Lethargy...and its sweetness

here i come *feels like being reincarnated to another form, better form, perhaps*

It's been a long time since I last posted something on my blog. There are reasons behind the total reduction of my blog into a piece of internet junkie that's floating in the blogosphere for the sole reason of causing more disruptions to the already-clogged internet traffic. My mind is seriously void of any thoughts right now, seriously, and I felt of further elongating my break from the blogging scene when I suddenly felt somewhat obliged to write something here (regardless of whether it's gonna be read by anyone or not)

Uni life's been okay so far. Just OKAY, and I've started to feel the pressure of being an international student. Being independent is simply the key to my survival here. No one knows how badly homesicked I was when I first came here - and the feeling remains till now, for some inexplicable reasons. I really miss the time when I could easily hop to deli for a decent, yet reasonably-priced meal - I bloody miss Malaysian food, including my favorite Asam! I miss the time when I mixed so cordially with my IB friends that I didn't ever need to camouflage my real self with a more pleasant outer self, and I miss spending my time with my family and friends in Malaysia. It's also to my pleasant surprise that my uni life has turned out being less hectic than my IB life. There are not as many assignments, and I've so far had my weekends reserved for the purpose of doing non-academical stuffs. I'm also incredibly free on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I've also had time to cook my own lunches and learn some really nice recipes that make me feel very much at home. Everything seems nice on the surface, but I still somewhat find that something's really missing along the way. I miss Malaysian food!...and I'm still clinging on my Monash Sunway friends to bring me to some of the nicest eateries that they've all frequented to all these whiles while we're all suffering from serious hunger here in Melbourne (you can ask Farouq, who has been whining incessantly on the 'scarcity' of food here.)

I've been here for a month, and believe me, it's not as rosy as what most people think.

I don't seriously have any ideas on what to talk about, actually. I'll come back to blogging later on when I've finally found some cherries of inspirations that deserve to be translated into a string of floating words. I miss English A1, by the way :)

p/s to my Sri KDU juniors, good luck! the clock's ticking tick tock tick tock :p

...and I'm doing Microeconomics as my Breadth, which is bloody interesting! Jeff Borland's simply the best :)


Faizal Hamssin

Melbourne (or Melbie)

Yes I'm here. Uni life's gonna start very soon, with the first lecture to be held on March 3rd. The idea of me being a university student is so intriguing and frightening at the same time (especially when the thoughts of the multiple subjects that I'll be taking for my 1st Sem twirl in my head). After a deep contemplation, I've decided to choose Microeconomics and Macroeconomics as my breadth subject for my first and second semester, respectively. My complementary subjects will consist of Chemistry and either Environmental Studies or Physics, which will come hand in hand with my major Earth Sciences-related subjects that I'll be taking throughout my 3-year studies here. Sounds complicated aint it? yes it is. Thanks to the Melbourne Model that has succeeded in making my uni experience considerably more hectic than anything I've ever hoped it to become. But well, I've suffered IB, so another three years of sleepless nights and caffeine-generated nocturnal activities will hopefully be quite tolerable.

Speaking on Melbourne city, I'd love to say that it's just lovely. The city aint too hectic but it's not too sleepy and boring either, so the people can basically enjoy their city living without having to wade through the problems that have always been associated to big cities like traffic congestion, rampant crime, etc. The city is also very pedestrian-friendly, making our daily 5 to 10-minute-long trip to the University a safe and hassle-free one. The trams are a good mode of transportation around the city, but the tickets are pretty expensive, so walking (and burning calories in the process) is actually the best way in exploring the city. My 1-room-apartment also beats my prior expectation; it's clean, quite spacious (for a single occupancy) and well-equipped.















































*my unit is also facing the cemetery, but believe me, it's not half as scary as what you might think!

Feeling bored in our new digs, my batchmates and I went for a night stroll around Melbourne city. It was quite chilly at that time, and Zahra, who's so infamous of her inability to withstand cold of any kind whined throughout the night for the chilly air that was just unbearable for her. She even covered her head with her sweater's hood just to mitigate the effects of the chilly summer (not winter) air. I couldn't help but thinking that there's no way that she's gonna survive the chillier winter air. We had time to take some inevitable pictures that night, and looks like I've only got the arse to post one of those this time around:














*I've got tonnes of pictures to upload, but due to the bloody-expensive internet rate in Australia, austerity in bandwidth usage is just my way to go. More pictures have been uploaded to my Facebook, though. Courtesy to Syed for taking most of the pictures that night, and Yvonne, who brought Sri KDU name all the way to the streets of Melbourne by wearing her universally-dreaded blue house Sri KDU tee. Mrs. Chan must've been very proud had she looked at her SriKDU-spirited look that night.

Speaking on the Australian accent, I have to say that I don't like it, but I know with intense surety that I'll have to live with it for, like 3 years to come, so I should try getting a hang on it as soon as possible.

Basically, I have nothing to complain or whine about, which comes to a surprise since my whining addiction has really gotten some sorts of infamy from my friends all these while. Life's been good, so far, and I've got a free phone, too! (Nokia 6500 that I'm not looking forward to using soon since I'm still in love with my not-so-old SE s500i, which is still functioning perfectly). The seniors have been amazing, and they've gone great length to help us solve many settling-down-related problems. Thank you so much!

So far, the odyssey has just begun. I know that my 3-year-long journey in attaining excellence in life through the medium of university education is going to be thorny along the way, but with the fullest faith in everything in which my destiny is determined, everything is going to be fine. I'm really excited and nervous right now, and that's all I can say. Since I've started using schmaltzy and corny-inclined language, which signifies my sleepiness at the moment, so I guess it's time to stop with this post and get myself some sleep that I really need. See ya!

Faizal Hamssin

Of Randomness

Tick tock. The clock is ticking. It's nearly 3 and the dawn is gonna crack in a matter of a few hours, and I haven't even plunged into the state of peaceful slumber. I'm sleepy but the night has been so pleasant that sleeping early is just a waste of opportunity. The opportunity to blog! Yeah, it is. As the saying goes, "make hays while the Sun shines". And here I am, breaking my own promise to stop being a nocturnal animal. The phletora of memories I've had with my friends keep on streaming to me as I look into my IB graduation (or prom, or pseudo-prom as some might call it) picture. It gives me peace of mind thinking of the good time I've had with my friends that the bad memories of the sufferings we've all had while doing IB is starting to diminish. Therefore, this post will be written as randomly as possible, to give ways for the random thoughts of my mind to waltz.

*WARNING: This post is not to be written in accordance to the conventional laws of plot, so do bear it's complicaticity.

News have been buzzing about the latest political crisis that's currently happening in Perak. The change of government in Perak has been described as a 'coup' by some, and the events that have followed have really left a bad taste in the mouth. It's a shame that such incident can actually happen in our country, as the people are increasingly aware of their current economic problems and their looming financial gloom. While many countries in the world have started with the implementation of their respective stimulus packages to mitigate the worst that might just happen, it seems that our country is taking a sweet time with our 'tidak apa' (carefree) attitude. We're all so occupied with playing our incessant political game that does nothing but further exacerbates the public discontentment of their ailing situation. Our own apathy in this matter seems to nauseate me, actually. Do you still remember who's the one who initiated the idea of lompat-melompat (crossovers)? As far as my feelings are concerned, the use of crossovers to form a government can never morally justified. Neither PKR nor BN should resort to using political defections as a mean of clinging to power. It's just unacceptable, and the very person who first started the game of crossovers does not deserve to say that it's "a big blow to democracy and insults the wisdom of the masses". I'm aware of my shallow knowledge in politics that bar me from talking much about it, but I'm definitely in a position to voice my views as a Malaysian who's sick of the inconsistencies that have recently been a sad feature of our politicians. I'm not against the government nor the opposition party. I'm just judging them based on their actions, and I want honest people with the rare sense of accountability to lead our country out of these shameful episodes of political drama.

Okay okay enough with politics.

Pau and Siangie are gonna fly off to Canberra tomorrow! So, good luck guys! Do keep in touch okay, and remember of our upcoming Australian trip. The same goes to my other friends; Osem, Fida, Juanne, Amirul, and Khairul. Don't you dare having me perished from yr memories!

To my dearest girlfriend's' Zara, Yvonne, and our very own Miss Mongolia Universe Aggie Sia; let's stick to each other okay? Let's have fun together in Melbourne! And Syed too!















To my unforgettable IB friends A'lenns', Fa'teens', Jiha, Aiman, Amin, Apit and Kay, good luck for yr campus life! Remember me always, since this Faizal is too good to be forgotten lol. I don't wanna be like stray cats. I know you guys can make it, and let us strive to get excellent degrees so that we can reunite in klcc later on, god-willingly. All the best!















To Mary, Abg Ling, and Chan Hu, good luck for yr maths paper! I know you can kill it :)

To JonMah, good luck for yr uni life in the states. To Winson, I think you're well aware on the path that you should take. Just follow your heart, and let yr efforts be blessed accordingly.

To Liying, Kim, and other retakers, good luck! I know our IB path has been thorny, but the ending will surely be rosy for you guys. Just keep on having faith in yourself.

Let me end this post with the song that we've and will always love, Love Story by Taylor Swift. This song brings back memories. Good memories of us, people in Fida's car!


Speaking about cars, I can't help but reflecting back on those 'eating out' moments that I had with my IB mates. I can never thank Syed, Apit, Teens, Amin, Fida, and other 'minor' drivers enough for the driving me to Deli, Naina, JCM, and even Ichi Banto!














En route to makan (eating)!



I miss my IB friends dearly!













Us at the Bintulu Airport

Oopss...


















p/s thank you my dearest one and only kakak for bringing me out on my last Sunday in Bintulu that's gonna be my last for months to come, at least. Nothing can stop me (not even the minor scratch you've made on mamak's (my mom, not that mamak's stall) car) from perceiving you as an excellent driver :p I will surely miss Bintulu sorely after this.


And I need some sleep. Turn off the lights please.

Faizal Hamssin

A Glimmer of Hope in Khayelitsha

First of all, I would like to thank everybody for several congratulatory messages that I've received with regards to my recently-amended IB result. Thank you.

Having had enough time to spare, I decided to dig deep into the archives of BBC News, and one particular story did manage to really capture my heart. The story was about an ongoing tale of a woman's determination to make her living in the poverty-ridden Khayelitsha, which is one of the townships that can be found on the outskirts of Cape Town. The population of Khayelitsha varies from the low of 500,000 to the high of 1,000,000, making it the third largest informal township in South Africa. Vicky Mtozini, whose character is where the story revolves, is a strong and resourceful woman who works hard to build her bed & breakfast business amidst the backdrop of apparent poverty that has been the feature of any disadvantaged townships in the post-apartheid South Africa. Having lived in her tin shack for 16 years, Mtozini is determined to move into a more proper house in the future. Being a woman with a big ambition, she says, "I want to see a chain of Vicky's all over the country, wherever tourists go. Just like there are Holiday Inns all over the place." Isn't that inspiring, people!

The Vicky's Lounge














One of the B&B's guest rooms. Not too shabby right?














The View of Khayelitsha as seen from the lounge














Khayelitsha with the mighty Table Mountain as its iconic backdrop:













Oh god, bring me to Cape Town please =)


Faizal Hamssin