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Sunday, February 14, 2010

You Gotta Be Kidding Me, Adam!

That was the first expression when I first read the particular post. I could not believe what I saw with my own eyes and I seriously read the post with a hanging mouth. At first, I just wanted to check out my followers. There are only eight and I think..wow, I am surprised because they actually want to follow my plain blog. So I tried to get to know my followers. The first name is Adam Johari. "Ahah, he was my classmate during primary school days. I remember him." That was what I thought once I saw his name.

I visited his blog and TADAAAA.. a post about me! What? And it is a new post. Well, still considered new since it was written in February 2010. After all these years, I finally knew that he was jealous of me! What????!! Why? Ahahahaha~ And it is not true when he says I'm the smartest kid in class. Adam, I was neck to neck with Faiz! And Adam, I kinda love your imagination as a kid..ahahahahaha~

I have my downs too, of course. Now I think I am the stupidest student in my class. As the only international student in some of the classes, I really feel the pressure. Besides that, my academic writing is so POOR that I feel ashamed of myself. After all these years, staying out from home for studies, this period is the worst. I actually called and cried in front of my father through the phone! It is frustrating to be the weakling in the class. SO FRUSTRATING!

Anyway, thanks Adam. It is definitely a surprising surprise. Hehe~ Hope I can see you one day when I am back in Malaysia.

This is his post dated 5 February 2010. (http://bigoobs.blogspot.com)

Chasing

When I was small, at the tender age of 7 till 12, I was in Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Bandar Baru Bangi (SRKBBB tercinta!). In school, there was this girl named Firuz Akhtar. She was the smartest kid in our class. Everytime we took an exam she would always be at the top of the list. Teachers would praise her, friends liked her, plenty of the guys liked her in a non-sexual way (come on man we were only kids) and then there was me - feeling envy towards her success. But my enviousness was quelled by the fact that she was poor.

Say what?

I was a messed up child. Somehow all the kids telling me that I was Chinese, and at times would tease me with the phrase Cina makan babi* got to my head. They created a pathway for my ancestral lines to forge this credulous belief inside of me called karma, the ying and yang of life if you may, that if you were up in one thing you had to be down in another.

Firuz's up was that she was smart. She was a top scorer in school. There had to be somewhere else in life that she was messed up in right? I was young, and don't tell me how I got to the conclusion that she was poor, but simply put it, I thought she was poor. Man she was so smart I thought she had to live in some kind of shed. With the tin roof above her head with all these holes in em. And that she would have to put empty buckets beneath the holes in the roof just to make sure that the water wouldn't wet the floor or hit her black and white TV.

Karma baby.

I think I remember telling you guys that kids are dumb right? I was a dumb kid. That fact doesn't make it a universal proof, but it didn't change the fact that I was one silly dumb kid. Anyways, my instinctive beliefs of karma were shattered to bits when I found out that she lived in a giant house on top of a hill (right beside Ikram's house <----- he's single ladies, go get 'im). The years of self-induced lies were basically... lies. I was lying to myself cause I couldn't believe that this world wasn't fair. She was smart, she HAD to be poor. She just had to. If she didn't that means she was up in almost everything. Mind you at that small age she wasn't fat nor unattractive, I have no idea what she looks like now. But that's the lesson in life that we all have to go through. Life is never fair. Most of your so called destiny was already written the day you were born to your parents, in your neighborhood, added with the chain of friends you so happened to meet. Some people are up in most things. And some people are down on others. And once you accept that fact, you will be happier. *Chinese like to eat pork
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The Fortune Teller by Nizar Qabbani

Salam

I am happy because this semester I am finally taking language classes again. (Well, that is the only field I'm good in. I'm kinda messed up in other fields) For Arabic class, I am having extra sessions with my instructor, Mr. Housni Bennis from Morocco. For the first session, he asked me to listen to the song 'Qariat al-Finjan' or 'The Fortune Teller' written by a Damascus poet, Nizar Qabbani and sung by Abdel Halim Hafiz.

I am excited since this is my first time learning Arabic through music. The poem is wonderful and so is the singer's voice. Nizar Qabbani is famous with his description of women in his poems. Actually I learned his poem first time in Damascus, Syria in summer 2005. It was just poem but now I could learn it through music. Oooo..i love it!

The poem is about a fortune teller who reads the 'life' of a man. I remember when I was in Damascus, I saw my friend reading fortune through a cup. It goes like this. You drink a cup of coffee and after you finish it, you put it upside down on a saucer. Let it for a couple of minutes. After that, the fortune teller will 'read' through the shapes in the cup. Mmm..weird but that's what I saw. Maybe they have other ways of fortune telling too.

At first, I thought the woman in this poem is 'Palestine' since she has no home, no land, no address. However, Bennis said that it might be the dunya or the world too. It makes sense too because the world does not remain forever. As a human, the man loves the world so much and keeps searching for it. He cannot gain the world because she can never be hers since the world is only temporary. That is why she has no land, no address, no home..

Here is the full poem of Nizar Qabbani in Arabic for those who can read Arabic and a translation in English. Credits to: http://knightjordan.blogspot.com

قارئـــة الفنجـــان
نزار قباني - قصائد متوحشة

جلست .. والخوف بعينيها
تتأمل فنجاني المقلوب
قالت : يا ولدي . لا تحزن
فالحب عليك هو المكتوب
.. يا ولدي . قد مات شهيدا
.. من مات على دين المحبوب

فنجانك .. دنيا مرعبة
وحياتك أسفار .. وحروب
ستحب كثيرا وكثيرا
وتموت كثيرا وكثيرا
.. وستعشق كل نساء الأرض
..وترجع .. كالملك المغلوب

بحياتك ، يا ولدي ، امراة
عيناها .. سبحان المعبود
فمها .. مرسوم كالعنقود
ضحكتها .. موسيقى وورود
لكن سماءك ممطرة
وطريقك .. مسدود .. مسدود

فحبيبة قلبك .. يا ولدي
نائمة .. في قصر مرصود
والقصر كبير .. يا ولدي
وكلاب تحرسه وجنود
وأميرة قلبك .. نائمة
من يدخل حجرتها مفقود
من يطلب يدها .. من يدنو
من سور حديقتها مفقود
من حاول فك ضفائرها
يا ولدي .. مفقود .. مفقود

.. بصرت .. ونجمت كثيرا
.. لكني .. لم أقرا أبدا
فنجانا يشبه فنجانك
لم أعرف أبدا .. يا ولدي
أحزانا .. تشبه أحزانك
مقدورك أن تمشي أبدا
.. في الحب .. على حد الخنجر
وتضل وحيدا كالأصداف
وتظل حزينا كالصفصاف
مقدورك أن تمضي أبدا
في بحر الحب بغير قلوع
.. وتحب ملايين المرات
.. وترجع .. كالملك المخلوع

And now for the translation in English:

The Fortune Teller
Nizar Qabbani

She sat with fear in her eyes
Contemplating the upturned cup
She said "Do not be sad, my son
You are destined to fall in love"
My son, Who sacrifices himself for his beloved,
Is a martyr

***

For long have I studied fortune-telling
But never have I read a cup similar to yours
For long have I studied fortune-telling
But never have I seen sorrows similar to yours
You are predestined to sail forever
Sail-less, on the sea of love
Your life is forever destined
To be a book of tears
And be imprisoned
Between water and fire

***

But despite all its pains,
Despite the sadness
That is with us day and night
Despite the wind
The rainy weather
And the cyclone
It is love, my son
That will be forever the best of fates

***

There is a woman in your life, my son
Her eyes are so beautiful
Glory to God
Her mouth and her laughter
Are full of roses and melodies
And her gypsy and crazy love of life
Travels the world
The woman you love
May be your whole world
But your sky will be rain-filled
Your road blocked, blocked, my son
Your beloved, my son, is sleeping
In a guarded palace
He who approaches her garden wall
Who enters her room
And who proposes to her
Or tries to unite her plaits
Will cause her to be lost, my son...lost

***

You will seek her everywhere, my son
You will ask the waves of the sea about her
You will ask the shores of the seas
You will travel the oceans
And your tears will flow like a river
And at the close of your life
You will find that since your beloved
Has no land, no home, no address
You have been pursuing only a trace of smoke
How difficult it is, my son
To love a woman
Who has neither land, nor home
مغناة بصوت : عبدالحليم حافظ


I like Abdel Halim Hafiz's voice. I think he is a legendary singer in Egypt, if I am not mistaken. The song version has some difference compared to the original poem. For your information, classic Arabic songs usually have LONG introduction. Sometimes, it gets too long that you just want to shout "start singing NOW!" Below are seven videos for ONE song only. So just imagine how long the introduction is, plus the repeating words over and over. So take your time to listen to this song. If you are in a hurry, just ignore this song. You will get frustrated when the introduction gets dragged and the singer keeps repeating again and again. Anyway, enjoy!




















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Mutiara Kata

Credits: Tmn2 Syurga

Jangan sekali-kali mengharapkan ucapan terima kasih dari orang lain.Cukuplah pahala dari Dzat tempat bergantung segala makhluk. Anda tidak perlu takut terhadap orang yang kufur, pendendam dan iri hati.

Jika anda sedang marah, janganlah berbicara. Mohonlah perlindungan Allah dari gangguan syaitan dan ubahlah posisi anda, jika anda marah sedang berdiri,maka duduklah, jika masih marah, berwudhuklah, dan perbanyakkan zikir pada Allah.

Jangan sekali-kali anda putus asa dari pertolongan Allah. Dan jangan
putus harapan dari rahmat Allah. Jangan lupa akan pertolongan Allah
sebab pertolongan Allah akan turun dengan dengan derita yang dialami.

Kebaikan yang tersembunyi di balik sesuatu yang anda benci terkadang lebih banyak daripada yang ada dalam sesuatu yang anda sukai, kerana anda tidak mengetahui akibat yang akan terjadi, Betapa banyak kenikmatan yang tersembunyi dalam kesulitan dan betapa banyak kebaikan yang tersembunyi di balik baju keburukan.
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Friday, February 12, 2010

Wish Upon the Star Drama a.k.a Stars Falling From the Sky

For pictures, credits to: www.allkoreandrama.com


No doubt I am a true K drama lover. Even though I am a student, I have an impressive record of K dramas that I have watched. Hehe~ Just imagine how 'good' I am in dividing my time between study and watching dramas. Of course I spend my time more for the latter..(Firuz, repent NOW! hehe)

However, I don't simply watch ALL K dramas. I also choose to watch them. Because I have watched a lot, I'm kinda good in guessing the story line. That's why if the drama does not catch my attention, I'll just jump from episodes to another. Merely browsing through the drama. Well, the last drama that really grabbed my attention was You're Beautiful. After that, I have some dramas (Don't Hesitate and Smile, you)that I follow up but not that eager like before.

Recently I accidentally 'bumped' into a drama and I eventually fell in love with it. At first I was hesitating to watch it since I didn't know the main actor and actress. Nevertheless, I was hooked deeply with the storyline especially when the main actress' condition is a bit similar to me in terms of being the eldest of six siblings.

The drama is called 'Stars falling from the sky'a.k.a 'Wish Upon the Star'. It's a drama about a girl who needs to take care of her 5 siblings after the sudden death of her parents. Before, she was a spoiled brat and she didn't care anything about her siblings. However, after her parents' death and especially when their house was pulled down, she became a 'new' person. No more 'crazy' girl who was drooling for the handsome lawyer in her company but merely a 'mother'.






Surprisingly I cried a lot watching this drama. This is not a melodrama but it brings tears to me. A new perspective of tears since it's not the stereotype tears from the pain of separating from your beloved. The tears are from the love between siblings. I really like it especially when I am also missing my own 5 siblings.



The hero of the story is seriously a 'jerk'. At first, I kinda hated him because of his stone attitude but then everything goes ok. hehe~

I know it's kinda late to promote this drama since it has shown 12 episode out of the full 20 episodes. But better late than never. And better than anticipating for the next episodes to come. Hehe~ I recommend you to catch up the drama at www.viikii.net. The channel team is SUPER fast. Kudos to them. And if you want to read awesome synopsis for each episode, read it at www.dramabeans.com

And now for a sneak peek:


Ok till we meet again next time! Anyong!
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