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