A Writer

I watched 'Full House' (2004) again, for the umpteenth time.But it is only this time that I managed to relate myself with the main character, Han Ji-Eun, played by Song Hye Gyo.

Han Ji-Eun is described as being an 'aspiring scriptwriter'. In the drama, she said that she had written internet novels. She is portrayed as being rather dramatic, often using exaggerated plots and dialogues in her stories. Her works are often rejected by the publishers,and at one time, she had received a severe criticism from one of them regarding her works. 

In this drama series, I love the parts where they showed her writing constantly until late at night when she slept at the computer table just to finish her stories. And how her stories had to be revised and edited many times before she could produce a masterpiece that was eventually adapted into a movie. 

I love to watch the stories about struggling artists, especially about writers. I was always cheering for them, knowing that things will turn out great for them one day (or at least, in the last episode!) And it suddenly dawned into my mind that I could also be perceived also a struggling writer. Hahaha. 

The funny thing is, I had never called myself a writer. I said that I love writing, and that I write some stuffs. But to call myself a 'writer'? Never. To me, the word 'writer' is something sacred, and that you're not worthy to be called/call yourself a writer unless you are JK Rowling or that you had published at least an article in a major newspaper/magazine. Thus, I had never introduced myself as a writer to anyone because the first question that they would ask is 'Oh, which newspaper company do you work for?', 'Do you write anything?; 'Did you publish a book or something?'

When I checked the dictionaries (online) on the definition of a 'writer', these are stated:

Free Online Dictionary 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary 

Both defined the word 'writer' as someone writes stuffs professionally. Like, as a job. 

The definition of a 'writer' in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is more broad, saying that a writer is 'someone who has written something'.

'Someone who has written something'? Well, I had written something. 

Fine, if you insist on asking questions on things I actually achieved as a writer,  I could say that I once wrote for the University's newspaper 'The Torch', in collaboration with New Straits Times, that I was the assistant editor for my kulliyyah's pharmacy students' society annual magazine for 2 years, and became a chief editor in my final year. In a less impressive note, I had also written a novel and won NaNoWriMo in 2012 (trust me, anyone could do this). And oh, I had been blogging since 2007 with less than 10 loyal readers (I think) and that I am currently earning RM16.99 from Nuffnang. LOL.

And now, I'm in in the midst of writing a young adult novel about school life with the time settings of the late 2000s. I had written 40 full pages already. So there!

I had written something. I am a writer!

No no no, these things are not worth bragging for. These things may not be that significant, and that I might have achieved them by chance. Just to justify the point that I am actually a writer.

I am a writer!

I am also a struggling writer.

I had never won any major essay/fiction-writing competition throughout my school years. In 2008, I sent a soft copy of my first completed novel to a publishing company after which I had yet to receive any feedback from them, until this day, hahahaha. I also sent an article to Reader's Digest and they did not contact me. I had faced so many rejections but here I am, strong and determined. I'm still struggling to finish my novel.

I can't believe it! I could call myself as a struggling artist.

A struggling writer! :D

I supposed that it is because I treated writing as merely a hobby, not a job, that I did not consider myself as a writer. I'm writing just to occupy my free time and just for fun! Unlike other real struggling writers, I don't feel that sad when my works were rejected. I don't feel extremely compelled to make them gain recognition. Thus I didn't really take writing seriously. I never felt the urgency to finish writing my novel or producing something big. Even if I didn't manage to get my book published (or becoming a best-seller), I'd still survive, with my Pharmacy degree in hand, insya Allah. Thus, I am feeling complacent just the way I am now. 

I guess that the only way for me to take writing seriously, and to get the work done, is to actually regard it as a real job. I shall pretend that I'm a writer ( I am!). I shall introduce myself as a 'Writer' rather than a 'Pharmacist'.

So, hello there. I am Sarah. I am a writer. And a keyboardist who's still trying to master Pachelbel's 'Canon in D' to the utmost perfection. 

I am a writer. This feels so good....:D 

IIUM's 30th Convocation Ceremony p/s KJ was here!

Not that I was excited to see him or what. But since everyone had been raving about how awesome it is that KJ joined in the convocation ceremony to deliver to scrolls to us, and that our batch is the first and only undergraduate batch who received the scrolls from him, and that our friends from other programmes were jealous of us muahahaha, I guess KJ coming to the convocation ceremony is quite a significant deal after all. 

All right, I was wrong about 2 things:

1. We weren't the first undergraduates who received the scrolls that day. Students from Kulliyyah of ICT had that honour in the morning, receiving them from the HRH The Sultan of Pahang
2. Dato' Seri Dr Rais Yatim wasn't with us. It was only YB Tuan Haji Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar (lol this was stated on the TV screen in the CAC Hall)

The day before, on the 10th of October 2014, my family and I went to UIA Gombak to meet my brother Syafiq there. He had been entrusted with the task of collecting my convocation robe on my behalf. 

I was very excited to see the pretty, fragrant, freshly laundered(dry-cleaned) turquoise robe with white embroidery along its sleeves and front. Plus the mortarboard with IIUM logo engraved on piece of metal fastened at its tassels!

Cream hood for the Pharmacy Programme. Never underestimate the power of the Cream-coloured hood, until you see the icky yellow(according to Jem) or orange hoods (sorry!!!) 

Among the presentable colours of the hoods are black (for Law programme), Dark red/Maroon (for Engineering), silver(forgot for what), gold (Islamic finance I guess) and of course....CREAM!!!! (Drug dealing programme-legal)

You were also given an invitation card for your parents/guardians to enter the procession hall (only 2 people can enter) together with a multimedia card with your name on it to be swiped when you were on stage. 

Invitation card and multimedia smart card

So on that day, we went to IIUM Gombak earlier to get our batch pictures taken. Then, ready to perform the Zuhur prayer and gather at the assembly place by 1.30 pm. 

credit for this photo goes to Akram

Oh God, it was such a havoc over there. The guy in charge had to personally come and call out our names one by one to arrange us into our respective rows and seat numbers. 

We also took pictures! Oh, you couldn't bring your handbag into the procession hall. But you can sneak in your handphone into the quite large pocket of your hood. You'll know when you see it haha. 

We were the first to enter the hall, two people in a row, walking along the red carpet, with the camera zooming into our faces, and we turned to the right and left sides of the hall in an orderly manner, walked and took our seats at the back of the hall.

Credit for this picture goes to Kak Radhi :) 

After all the graduands had entered and took their seats in the hall, it was time for the VVIPs and VIPs consisting of the Rector, the Professors, Deans, Lecturers and ahemm.. Mr Minister of Youth and Sports to enter the hall. 

Oh, I love it when the soothing and melodious Qasidah 'Ya Rabbi Bil Mustafa' was being played/or recited? when our honourable guests entered the hall. 

Emerged KJ, all tall and gallant in the IIUM convocation attire, walking to the stage together with other honourable guests. Some of the guys took this chance to shake hands with him. 

Everyone, I mean almost everyone was excited. Hahaha. 

First, we sang our beloved national anthem 'Negaraku' and also...our most beloved university's song, 'Leading the Way'. There were lyrics on the screen and they showed KJ constantly looking at the screen on his left to read the lyrics and sang the song together with us. 

I love these parts of the song where everyone had been singing with gusto aka the chorus part. 

Together, we make the world a better place,

Forever, expand the culture of Iqra',

IIUM is to realize, the meaning of Rahmatan lil Alamin (mercy to all mankind)

I do not mean to be biased. But I've listened to and sang to USM and UITM songs before (when joining in inter-university programmes) but IIUM's song is the best, hands down!

And oh, on each seat, there was a convocation programme book. 

So I flipped through the book, looking at those esteemed award and prize winners, excellent in both academic and co-curricular. Oklah, I wasn't that excellent but the mere thought of having a star next to my name is good enough, hahaha. 

Oh, what's that? A star? 

It's a kind of recognition IIUM had given us for all the efforts we've put into our studies. 

So yeah, one star for Upper 2nd Class Honours with above 3.0 CGPA while 2 stars for First Class Honours with above 3.6 CGPA

Note: 

First Class Honours: CGPA >/= 3.6 (with 2 stars) 

Upper Second Class Honours: CGPA >/= 2.80-3.59 (3.00-3.59 with one star) 

Lower Second Class Honours: CGPA>/= 2.00-2.79

I flipped through the book and saw that for other courses there were quite many students (as many as 5) who got the 2 stars and majority of the batch got one star. 

Whereas for us drug dealers, only one student out of 99 (including seniors) achieved a first class honours with a CGPA of more than 3.6, while 43 students (11 guys and 32 girls) got one star with CGPA ranging from 3.00 to 3.59. Mind you it is really difficult to maintain our CGPAs within that range, what's with up to 11 subjects per semester *shudder*. 

But heyyy who cares about stars we're all going to receive our scrolls from KJ lololol. Alhamdulillah for everything. :) 

Okay, back to the convocation. A speech by the rector, a speech by KJ, then the commencement of the convocation ceremony. As we were at the back, we only managed to clearly see the whole thing through the television screen. 

credit for this photo goes to Miss Liyana Banyamin xD 

There were some unprecedented funny moments whereby some of the graduands took selfies with KJ on the stage while receiving the scrolls! Hahaha. Some even looked straight at the camera and smiled. It's supposed to be a candid moment, when you received your scroll. 

Soon, after 2 intermissions, it was finally our turn. Oh man... we were so nervous. I was nervous. Last minute preparations of straightening and pulling our robes to the correct position, pinning the mortarboard to our tudung and wahhh now it's our turn!

I walked up the stage and saw the Dean of Kulliyyah of Pharmacy. She smiled at me. I smiled back nervously. .I looked to the front and soon it was my turn. I gave the multimedia card to the person in charge. The MC called out my name. 

I walked to that spot, my eyes looking down. I held the green file /scroll tht was to be handed to me and looked up for a second or two, KJ smiling at me and saying 'Tahniah!' . I smiled and said 'Thank you!', turned and walked away. 

And when I looked at the picture the next day, I was flummoxed. What a weird shot!!! My bro asked 'Kakak malu dekat KJ ke?' and I responded 'No laa!' Why la the photographer had chosen to take the photo at this moment... 

Oh anyway, after I got my scroll, I went back to my seat to look at my friends accepting the scrolls from KJ and a classmate of ours made us laughed with her courage and tenacity!

Fearless Dibah selfie-ing with KJ (and the Prof behind) hahaha..

Credit for this photo goes to Miss Adibah Mazlan. xD

Soon after everyone had finished accepting the scrolls. The award winners for each programme were announced. For our class, Aina the First Class student got the overall best student, Amiirah the Band 6 cum my best emceeing partner got the best student for academic (her CGPA is next to Aina's) and Kak Timi comel got the best student for co-curricular!!! I am immensely proud of them!!!! :D

Iira then delivered the valedictory speech. She had asked for my help regarding the speech a few days before and she had voiced her worry about not being able to deliver it perfectly with some emotions like what she had been expected to do. 

Iira in action! 

But she did great!!!! There was an emotional moment when her voice croaked when she mentioned about her parents huhu...  anyway, weRx9-ians cheered for her at the back! 

Convocation ceremony was finally over! (For that day), and soon after the guests of honour left the hall, we scattered around and scrambled for the exit door, lol. So much for graduated students with degrees. 

By then it was already raining so  most of us just went back home without taking any pictures with friends or lecturers *sobs*

The next day, we came to UIA again to take pictures. Syafiq's convocation ceremony was on the 13th and we were going home on that same day so let's take pictures while we were still free (the day before, on the 12th). Among the pictures taken: 

In front of the 'famous' Keris Fountain, hahaha. 

And oh, we went to FRIM to take photos. This picture below is one of the photos.

 Not-so-little Blue Riding Hood. 

So I met my childhood friend Jem on the 3rd day of convocation and also one of my good friends since school Malizah, and we took pictures together. I returned my convocation attire, got my scroll and convocation was finally over! 

And oh, flowers and teddy bears!!! Thank you mom, dad and Malizah!!! :D

Dean (I named this Teddy 'Dean' as in 'Dekan', and that it's also a real name geddit?) presented me with beautiful roses!!! 

Mom's Handwriting

Malizah's 

The back of the car was filled with bouquets of flowers-mine and Syafiq's. 

So, end of convocation ceremony. Wah, can't believe it. Finally done with my 4 years of studies! So many things had happened throughout these 4 years; emotional breakdowns, stress, bad experiences but amidst all those bitter memories, I'm glad I had my shares of sweet ones too, especially when you share them with your friends who are always sticking by you side, supporting you and assuring/reassuring yourself that you are unique in your own way, and that you have many plus points that should not and could not be compared with others.

All in all, everything that happened was worth it. 

Definitely worth it.

My Boarding Pass to Mars!

By Mars I mean the nearest PLANET to Earth ! Not the chocolate bar! xD

Checked this out:

'Over 5,000 Malaysian names on their way to Mars' (click on the link) 

So I thought, why don't I join in the fun? I didn't get my ticket to Hogwarts (yet) but at least I could go to MARS! :P It's like riding a TARDIS! 

So I clicked on this link to submit my name on the Orion Flight Test

http://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/orion-first-flight/ (click!) 

Fill in the details and submit. LAST DATE is on the 31st of OCTOBER 2014!!!

And voila! I got my boarding pass to Mars!

You can print your own boarding pass. 

Time by time, you can check/search for your boarding pass on the same website. 

The site might be overcrowded with other potential 'passengers' wanting to 'book their tickets to Mars' so this message might appear on the screen.

Don't despair, don't give up. Keep on trying! 

Tell your family/friends about this awesome piece of news. Together, let's embark on a journey to Mars! 

The last date to submit your names is on the 31st of October 2014! Don't miss the chance! 

P/S Convocation turned out all right. I shall blog about it and show a picture of KJ giving me the scroll. :P 

Pre-Convocation Day

Convocation day this Saturday. 

First Day of Convocation. 

First Undergraduate Course (Pharmacy) to receive the scrolls for this year's convocation ceremony.

Dato' Seri Rais Yatim will be there, the same goes with YB Khairy Jamaluddin. 

I still haven't collected my convocation robe, aha!

Baju Kurung, Turquoise Robe, Cream Headscarf, Cream Hood, dark/black court shoes. Cream, cream and black? Why so schematicus letronicus? LOL

Nevertheless, watching these videos had managed to make me feel all jittery, nervous and at the same time, proud and happy! Hehe

First video: How to wear the IIUM Convocation Robe. 

Second video: IIUM Convocation Ceremony. This one is awesome! I love it when the IIUM's song 'Lead the Way' was played when the graduands entered the hall to take their seats. 

IIUM's song 'Lead the Way'. The last time we sang this song was during the Taaruf Week 4 years ago. This brings back memories, seriously. This song is very soothing and inspiring. I remember that the video they showed us back then had a 'convocation ceremony' scene in it. It's just so inspirational. It gave me the motivation to study hard.I couldn't find that video though. :( 

A convocation video my Rx6 senior Shamel made, of which I last watched it a few years ago. The same goes with the previous videos, this video had left a pretty big impact on me. xD

I'll be graduating with my younger brother Syafiq. But his convocation ceremony will take place on the 3rd day. And oh, even though I've finished my studies a few months earlier than him,it seems that he's the one who got employed first. Hahaha. 

After convocation, it seems like I will be needing to hit the books. The posting letter will be sent any time now. *shudder*. 

I hope everything will go on smoothly, insya Allah. 

To those of you who are still studying, all the best to you! Those gruelling years of studying will be worth it, insya Allah. Stay motivated, stay strong, study hard, make more memories! :)

May Peace be Upon You! 

Jalan-Jalan Penang: Penang Interactive Museum and Fort Cornwallis

This is an outdated post. The following events took place on the 16th and 17th of September, whereby I had a short vacation to Penang, which is located within 30 minutes journey from my hometown.

I had once lived in Penang when I was a kid. I don't remember much about my time there, but somehow, I feel so connected to this place.

So, in Penang, where did we head to for this very short vacation? 

First Stop: Penang Interactive Museum

You probably had heard all the raves about this 'First Interactive Museum' in Malaysia. You probably had seen the pictures taken inside the museum.

This museum  mainly comprises a series of mega-sized paintings that gave a 3-D portrayal when taken at a certain angle. Based on this, I think that this place is more of an interactive 'gallery' rather than a museum.

The main reason of why it is called a museum might probably be because the paintings are all about Penang, with a timeline from about 300 years ago until the present day. And oh, each painting comes with a short to lengthy descriptions of what the painting is all about. 

Why it is called an 'interactive' museum is due to the reason that you could ahemm... 'take pictures' with the 3D paintings, which like I said, can seem real when you captured it at the right angle. Those paintings are also accompanied with some props to supposedly enhance the 3D effects.

As much as I'm sceptical with it being a 'museum', I like it though. The paintings are beautiful! I hereby present to you, some images captured in this 'Interactive Museum'.

Ticketing counter.

It was pretty crowded, because it was Malaysia Day at that time. 

Entrance Fees

You can minum kopi with Lim Guan Eng. 

The notice above 'him' stated 'Please Respect our Chief Minister'. LOL. 

Okay, tak pandai tangkap gambar

The spot from where you should take the picture

Okayy...barulah nampak 3D! Bolehlaa

Random Person #1. You could step into the 'mirror'. Hahaha. Brilliant, isn't it? 

Random People #2 and #3. 

It's like a gallery, I tell you! 

Rocky Waterfall 

Random People #4 and #5. Scuba Diving. Sort of. Hahahaha. 

Random People #ohIlostcount

This is Haziq. 

Spiderman is saving Haziq!

Haziq meets Dr Sun Yat Sen 

He's really good in posing! 

Also, there's the 'miniature museum'. Okaylaa museum la..

Spinning Gasing

Selling and Buying Nasi Lemak

The Port 

Ships 

Chinese worker reading Nanyang Siat Pau (random guess) 

Basically, that's it. There are more pictures, of course. There are 'outdoor scenes' where you can take pictures as well.  

Sorry for the low image quality. Merely using my galaxy note (tab) and plus, it was quite dark in certain areas there. 

Second Stop: Restoran Kapitan

This is one of the famous Nasi Kandar Restaurants in Penang. Here, I got to try:

THIS. Briyani!! Served in claypot. Well,ceramic pot! It was delicious! 

Street Art along the alley. Title: Minion si Penarek Becha 

Third stop: Chowrasta Market (Bookers' Heaven) 

I was looking for books. It had been 3 years that I last set my feet to this place. Found that it had been renovated and the layout had changed. Plus, I think that the number of books had reduced as well. :(

As usual, I was looking for Sweet Valley Twins books. I'm a collector of this beloved childhood/teenhood series. I shall make a post about my love of Sweet Valley books. :) 

Anyway, I found out that the book dealers/sellers had gotten more persuasive that they had scared me, hohoho... I still hadn't gotten over the 'Bargaining Trauma' experienced at Silk Street, Beijing and now I actually had to bargain for books? 

Luckily I have parents who know how to/ love to bargain. My mom actually loves the thrills of bargaining, and I couldn't fathom this. 

Sadly, not many of the Sweet Valley Twins books are available. The bookseller initially wanted to sell each one of it at a high price because he claimed that these books are out-of-prints already (true) and that many people are looking for these books (saying that someone from KL came to Chowrasta with a long list of Sweet Valley titles). 

I picked up Sue Townsend's 'The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year' because I am familiar with her works on the 'Diary of Adrian Mole' series, Nicole Krauss' 'The History of Love' because the bookseller recommended it to me (Plus, I have faith in the Penguin/Puffin books) and...Sweet Valley Twins books! You can see that those are second hand vintage library books. LOL

Fourth Stop: Gurney Drive Food Court

Gurney Drive Food Court is divided into 2 sections, the non-Muslims/non-Halal section and the Muslim/Halal Section. It's an open-air food court, overlooking the sea and once in a while, the soothing sea breeze would pass through the court, ahhhh

I love this place so much! Devouring over my Char Koay Teow in just a few minutes because I was so famished :P and that the Char Koay Teow was so heavenly delicious! 

If you come here, be sure to try out Penang Laksa, Char Koay Teow, Rojak Pasembor and Air Kelapa!

I didn't manage to capture any picture because it was quite dark and I was very very hungry! Hahaha.

And at night, my dad bought warm, fresh Cow's Milk from the Restoran Kapitan. They only sell the milk from 6 pm onwards. I wanted to try almond milk but unfortunately, it was not available at that time. :( 

Fifth Stop: Bangkok Lane 

We went for Breakfast at this roadside stall located at Bangkok Lane (Lorong Bangkok). I had no idea on the origin of this name.Probably back then, there were many Siamese residing in this particular lane? Or a significant number of Siamese merchants carrying out their trades here? *shrug* There are old Baba-Nyonya style houses on both sides of the streets. I love Baba-Nyonya houses. They are so beautiful! 

What we had for Breakfast: Teh Tarik, Roti Bakar, Telur Separuh Masak and  the famous Mee Goreng Sotong. What a hearty breakfast! xD

I love to dip the heavenly buttered toast into the half-boiled eggs. Sedap!!! 

Sixth Stop: Fort Cornwallis

I've always wanted to go to Fort Cornwallis. I've read a section in Tan Twan Eng's 'The Gift of Rain'  about how Philip Hutton, the main protagonist had to visit his father who was captured by the Japanese here in Fort Cornwallis. So, I tried my best to imagine the scene here. :P

This Fort Cornwallis, served as a Prison during the British Colonial Era and Japanese Occupation.

Main Entrance

Francis Light 

I don't know what this building is, but it looks like a Chapel. 

Yup, it was a Chapel. 

The prison cells

Imagine how many people had suffered throughout their duration of imprisonment here. D:

Old bricks 

Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower 

I had captured many old pictures of Penang displayed here, with the intention that I would look at the pictures and read the descriptions in my free time. A History Buff, I am. :P 

I seriously think that the Japanese must have beheaded the prisoners at this area. 

Old cannon 

Lighthouse 

The Armory

Basically, that's it! End of Post!!!

To conclude, I love Penang and I would like to go there again and again! :D

One of the important day of my life is going to take place next week on the 11th of October 2014. Convocation Day!!! Can't wait!!! :D

Till then, adieu!