The Dream Pick Up

Saturday night at some hot spot downtown. Awesome music playing, lights down low, drinks everywhere, and the crowd filled with a higher ratio of ladies to gentlemen. I find some space at the bar and get my preferred mix. As my mouth took in the chilled beverage, my eyes were taking in the tantalizing moving landscape. Like a Terminator, I scanned each potential target from head to toe, collecting vitals and calculating probabilities. My recon of the perimeter detected a desirable object across the room. Lustrous black hair flowing down to a striking red bandage dress enveloping a gorgeous body. "WHOA", I thought to myself.

I struggled to avoid staring and keep my jaws from dangling, then suddenly the devilish beauty turned my way and looked straight at me. Almost as if she was saying "hi" with her eyes. I didn't really have any intention nor hope of picking up any lovely lady from the scene but this girl just made me want to try my luck so bad. I chugged down my drink and took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing", I said in my head. "Getting rejected like usual is better than never trying anyway". I made my way through the crowd to where she was, feeling more and more nervous with each step closer.

Successfully swimming through the sea of people, I made it to my destination. And so the risky pick up attempt commenced;

Me: Hi. I couldn't help but notice that you saw me stealing glances at you. I'd like to apologize for that. I mean, if you saw what I was looking at, you'd get why it was hard NOT to stare. I'm sorry.
Girl: Hey. I was staring at you too wasn't I? Chillax. So tell me, what exactly were you looking at? hmmm?
Me: Errr...well. I was looking at this beautiful girl in an equally gorgeous dress, making heads turn.
Girl: Really? Just the girl in the dress? Nothing specific? (rolls eyes in disbelief)
Me: Aha. Well yes. Just the girl in the dress. Nothing....specific. Ehem.
Girl: Oh. In that case, I'm disappointed. You're lying to me even in the first five minutes.
Me: Hey hey. I'm not lying to you. Okok. Honestly, I was looking at how wonderfully this dress wraps around your god's-gift-to-man body. I actually went 'whoa' just now.
Girl: And?
Me: And? And what?
Girl: And? Come on. I know what you animals are thinking when you step into a place like this.
Me: Wow. That's quite direct. Well yeah, I was thinking of how nice it would be to actually get into you. excuse me! I meant get to know you.
Girl: Yeah right. The former sounded more accurate.
Me: I'm sorry.
Girl: You said sorry twice in 10 minutes. One more sorry from your sorry ass you're buying me a drink.
Me: Sorry I didn't even offer to get you one.
Girl: Holy mother. You really are a sorry ass. I'll buy YOU a drink instead. We both need it.
Me: Thanks. That was the plan. (smiles cheekily)
Girl: Ugh! You pig! That was smooth. I gotta admit that was smooth.
Me: So, what's a girl like you doing in a place like this? Cheesy. I know.
Girl: Well, I'm looking for a good time. I'm here with a couple of friends. But they left me here to get busy with themselves.
Me: Yeah, same here. I usually just tag along with my friends too. Hoping for good times.
Girl: Good times. Yeah. I'd rather be at home snuggled on my couch watching DVDs of my favorite movies. With a couple of good friends maybe. With a special someone preferably. But even alone is just nice.
Me: Wow. That's your idea of a good time too eh? I'm a dvd and movie lover myself. But my friends aren't really into that stuff.
Girl: I know right? What kinda movies ur into?
Me: Haha. All kinds. But honestly, I find myself constantly enjoying love flicks more. Like P.S I Love You, A Walk To Remember, 500 Days of Summer, that kinda stuff. Err...gosh I just realized how gay that sounds. I'm straight ok. 100 percent.
Girl: Hahaha. You did get me wondering about your sexuality even before u started talking to me though. Thanks for the confirmation.
Me: Yeah yeah. Laugh it up. I've got all kinds of jokes about how gay I look before.
Girl: Hey, I'm kidding alright. Haha. But its ok to look kinda gay, I mean, it kinda makes you approachable.
Me: Yeah. Like in a "will-you-be-my-best-gay-friend" kinda way right?
Girl: Nonono. Not to me at least. I like the way you look. Its metro. Clean cut kinda thing.
Me: Ok. Thanks I guess. Anyway, what are you doing now? I mean with life?
Girl: Well, I'm on three months holiday. Just finished a diploma, waiting to start degree. You?
Me: What a coincidence! So am I. No, I'm not trying to tell you these to get into your pants. Not yet at least. But really, I just finished a diploma in hotel management. I applied to get into UPM, still waiting for results too.
Girl: What a coincidence indeed. I'm culinary arts diploma holder. But was thinking of doing mass communication at UPM. Heard its good. I mean that's the best I can get. No such thing as private unis in for me.
Me: Ok. I'll be looking forward to seeing you then. Believe it or not, I applied for mass comm too. And I know how you feel. STPM didn't turn out well for me. Public unis only ever since. Culinary Arts eh? that's hot. you're a hot chef.
Girl: Aha. Thanks for the compliment. I love cooking, but I've always wanted to be on TV.
Me: I've always wanted to be a MTV VJ, or some talk show or game show host.
Girl: You know what? This is getting weird. We're having too much in common for a first time conversation.
Me: I know right. Haha. Freaky. But kinda cool. Gosh, I haven't even introduced myself. How rude of me. Hi, my name's Iylia. Iylia Kamal.
Girl: Iylia? Isn't that a girl's name? Haha. I'm Selena. Selena Gomez.
Me: Yeah, I've got that same response for the past 23 years now. Glad you're amused.
Girl: Haha. That's cute la. You're cute. Its nice to meet you, Iylia. (handshake)
Me: Its nice to meet you too Selena. Gomez. Wow. Beautiful name.
Girl: Thank you. Well, there's my friends. Means I gotta go now. I'm always the designated driver.
Me: Ah damn. Things were just starting to get really interesting. Designated driver eh? I'm never the designated driver. Its always my friend's ride.
Girl: Oh? Why so?
Me: Errr...its a long story.
Girl: Haha. My friends can wait, you're interesting. (flutters eye lids at me) Go on.
Me: Well, I kinda got my driving license late. And once I got my license, I had to study in Penang for almost 3 years. Means no driving for almost 3 years. So yeah, I'm kinda rusty at driving.
Girl: Oh, that's ok. You'll get there. You can ride me sometime. I mean ride with me. (winks)
Me: Wow. You're actually cool with that. You're my dream girl. Haha.
Girl: Yeah, everyone is different. Some are naturally good at driving, some are slower. You'll be fine eventually. Till then, I'll do the pick up. (smiles sweetly)
Me: Wow. err. ok. wow. This has been great. Really. I look forward to seeing you again sometime.
Girl: Yeah. I had a nice time with you. Thanks, Iylia. Kamal. Haha.
Me: Haha. Thank you too, Selena. Gomez. Take good care yah. Drive safe.

Selena walks away with a flirtatious wave goodbye. My head slants to the view of her majestic rear luggage as she struts through the crowd. Suddenly, she stops, turns around and looks straight at me with a serious, kind of angry face. I gulped. Thinking maybe she had eyes in the back of her head watching me scan her lady curves from behind. She stomps right up to me, right in my face. *smack* She slaps me. Not really hard, but hard enough to make me blink in shock.

Me: Ok. I'm Sorry. I guessed I deserved that.
Girl: Oh you sure did. What kind of a man would let a girl whom he's had a nice time with, just walk away without asking for her number? Geez.
Me: (Stunned) Oh....that. Oh gosh. Hell yes. I deserved a nice slap. I'm sorry. But its partially your fault I forgot to ask for your number anyway.
Girl: My fault? Ugh! You got some nerve. And how is it my fault?
Me: You blew my mind away.
Girl: (shyly looks away) Stop it already. So are you gonna be a man and ask for my number or not?
Me: Of course I am.

We exchanged numbers. She walked away once again with same flirty wave goodbye. Only this time, she turned to face me and smiled as her hair whipped past her face. A gong went off in my head and I was genuinely blown away. Holy lord. This girl is awesome.

Oh if only this all wasn't a dream. Sigh.

I Miss You

You. Me. So apart we've grown. So distant. So alien to one another. Such strangers to each other.
You. Me. I can't believe what we had before. I can't accept how we are now.I can't understand why this happened between us.

You. You were always so good to me. Always there when I needed you. Listening to every word, patiently taking my shit. Never judging, ever encouraging.
You. You were insignificant to others, but oh so significant to me. You understood me in ways others never could. You made me understand myself better.
From the very first time we connected, I knew this was going to be something special. I knew, so deeply, so truly. You made me want you above others.
You. You made it so easy for me to come to you. You made it so easy for me to care for you. So easy to just be with you.
You. You gave my life purpose. A goal. Something to look forward to. Someone I could share with. Somewhere I could run and hide. Some time for myself, and my troubles.

Me. Appreciated you at first. Cherished you in the beginning. Gave you my all at the start. But that all didn't last till the end.
Me. Noticed things changed. Realized things were different. Insisted we were no longer the same.
Me. Letting other things shift my focus off of you. Letting other things get my attention over you. Letting other things be more important than you.
Me. Gradually started to let go of you. Slowly began to neglect you. Eventually started to forget you.
Me. So foolish I was to let others come between you and me. So oblivious I was to let time come between us. So selfish I was to think you would care about me through all I put you through.

You. So wonderful you were to me, yet I have wronged you. So close to me, yet I have neglected you. So patient and understanding, yet I have taken you for granted.
Me. Feeling sorry for all I've done to you. Feeling regret for how I've treated you. Feeling remorse for neglecting you.
You. Me. Shared something special. Had something different. Experienced something unique.
Me. Enduring the emptiness felt inside. Admitting the fact that this was all wrong. Swallowing my pride to make things right. Struggling to say what I've been holding within.
You. Have no idea what this has put me through. Have no clue to what has been on my mind. Have no sign what my heart yearns to tell you.

Now, here we are again. Face to face. I have finally found the courage inside, to be honest with you, once again. Once I tell you the truth, I can only dream things will turn out better from now. I can only hope you will stay the same. I can only imagine how things will be for the both of us.

But alas, dream, hope, and imagine is all I can do. Faithfully, I wish you will feel the same way too. So here comes the truth without any further ado.

I MISS YOU
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MY BLOG.

Gotcha peeps. Crap master is back, BIYATCH. Thanks for viewing.

Maslow Was Right

I hate it when people are right when I don't want them to be. Makes me feel pathetic and frustrated.

For those of you who are wondering who the hell is Maslow? Maslow was the man yo.

Abraham Harold Maslow (April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was a professor of psychology at Brandeis University who founded humanistic psychology and created Maslow's hierarchy of needs.^[1]

Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs is a subtopic in the subject MANAGEMENT I took in my second semester here. This dude, came up with a diagram depicting the basic human needs and their levels of attainment in one's life. He states that all humans need, first and most importantly, food, water, air, clothes, shelter and all those basic survival needs. These needs are the basic needs of human life, known as Physiological Needs, and is at the base of the pyramid because without it, one cannot survive, and thus struggle to satisfy those needs before any other.

Once physiological needs are satisfied, humans need to feel safe and secure. Can you live comfortably in a place that gets shot up everyday by drive-bys? Can you work at some place where your co-workers are psycho killers? Yeah, that's what Maslow was trying to say when he said humans need to satisfy safety needs after getting enough food, water and so on. Humans needs to find safe places to live, safe environments for themselves and family, secure work that does not endanger its workers one way or another.

With house and job secure, humans then realize another level of needs. Social needs. As humans, it is our biology to need affiliation, a sense of belonging, and love. We need family, friends, reference groups, spouses, soul mates. Even the grumpiest of all grumpy lonely people, has a pet dog, or bird. We can't avoid it, we humans need something to get emotionally attached to whether we like it or not.

Further up the pyramid, we have self-esteem needs like getting a high position at work, searching for recognition for excellence, seeking fame and fortune, anything related to making oneself feel good about themselves.

And at the top, the need that humans often find much much later in their lives, self-actualization needs. Its about people realizing their full potential, their true calling, who they really want to be, doing what they really want to in life, finding their meaning and purpose in life.

That ends the lil MANAGEMENT tutorial, which brings me to the purpose of this entry today. It sucks knowing I need a social life. Its frustrating knowing I need friends. Its depressing knowing I need a sense of belonging. Sometimes I feel i don't want all that. It just leads to unmet expectations, and disappointments. But at the end of the day, I lie in bed wanting to talk to someone about my day or at least have something interesting to talk about. Maslow was right, all humans NEED a SOCIAL LIFE.

I just feel very frustrated that lately (or more accurately, most of my life here in Penang) I don't have a social life. I've been finding myself alone a lot, completely ignorant to anything that does not have direct contact with me. I feel the urge to get out and seek company, have a drink with friends, enjoy laughing with people over dinner, but I don't get that. I know I have that urge but I don't know why I can't seem to do anything about it. My friends here say, anything just message or call, but I can't bring myself to do so, out of worry about how they may react when I suddenly ask them out for dinner out of the blue. There was this one time, I decided to have dinner with my friends here. I texted them inviting them all for dinner at a nearby stall. They replied "ada apa2 ke nak dinner 2gether?" ("is there any reason why we're having dinner together?") sigh. Must there be a reason for guy to fulfill his social needs for friends and sense of belonging?

I feel rather sad and left out knowing its easy for them to meet up and have meals together because they live together and quite near to each other. Even where I stay becomes a minor obstacle to having a social life, the same way it applies to me back in KL. My friends are in Seputeh, Ampang, other sides of KL, and I'm in Serdang, the far edge of the city. Its way easier for them to meet up cos they're nearer to anywhere fun, and they can get around easily, they got transport. I'm always living far away from a stable social life, and I can't even drive to save my life yet. Joy.

Factors out of my control aside, I resort to other means to reach out. Still disappointing.

Facebook or MSN? No personal laptop. Going online for pleasure at my own free will is a rare commodity in my circumstances. Thus leading to being left behind and left out in the latest issues among the people in my community. Not knowing jackshit about what's going on with these people I call friends. Even if I do eventually find out, its already decomposing by the time I hear about it.

Texting or calling? I often attempt to create nice conversations through sms. Sometimes I get nice conversations, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I don't expect any replies, sometimes I do (and get disappointed when the replies don't come). Overall, texting gives me only 50-50 chance of havin a stable social life. Not reliable enough.

Blogging? (Iylia grins widely) Seems to be the only means for self expression that hasn't let me down. No expectations, no worry on how it may respond, if i don't like something I can just delete, and also, seems like there are loyal readers who still frequent my blog, which puts a smile on my face every time. Thank you viewers (however few you may be). Blogging even helps me connect with other friends that blog (although it does still require internet connection, but its not barred until 5pm on campus computers. sheash). You know who you are.

And lastly, on my lucky days (which aren't that much anyway), I do occasionally get invitations to hang out (YEAY! I have a lil bit of social life!). Those few times I get to hang out do mean a lot to me and usually make my week. Sometimes even my month. You guys have no idea. Sad isn't? With all that being said, it can be concluded, my social life is rather pathetic. I have no one to blame but myself. Too high expectations, too concerned what others think, too lazy to get out more, too stubborn to move to a place nearer to these people I call friends.

I once confided in my friend about my feelings of being left out. She said there's a reason for everything. I couldn't agree more. I have academic and co-curricular success, but no social life. They've got loads of social life and fun, normal student performance. God is fair I guess. But I always want the best of both. Can't I have the best of both? What does it take? Sigh. Will I ever get that small group of friends I see on Dawson's Creek? The O.C? One Tree Hill? FRIENDS? For me, it seems like a never ending search. To those close enough to me, know this, I appreciate you guys. I love you guys. I guess I just gotta lower my expectations, and be more active in my pursuit for a social life.

Soundtracks

I wish my every moment in life had a suitable soundtrack. I love music. And I'm quite the day dreamer. I often find myself sound editing my life. For instance, when I'm feeling all pumped up to complete an assignment, The Eye Of The Tiger plays in my head. When I'm working out, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus's False Pretense, and Kanye West feat Daft Punk's Stronger is buzzing.

When reminiscing my school days, Backstreet Boys, Third Eye Blind, The Calling, The Goo Goo Dolls, Good Charlotte's earlier albums, fill my thoughts.

I Don't think there's a day in my current life that I don't think of music or a soundtrack to moments in my day. Its just so easy to put a smile on my face when I'm checkin out some nice thing walking my way and imagine Justin Timberlake's Senorita in the background, or when there's something sweet infront of me with nice luggage, I think of Kelis' Milkshake. Hey hey, just cause I used these two examples doesn't mean that's all I do all day.

There are also times when I sound edit my down times. Like when something turned out bad from what I had expected, Simple Plan's Untitled is on my mind. When I wake up and start my day with just no mood, I imagine the soundtrack to be, Ludacris' Move Bitch. When I'm in an oh so boring class, I imagine everyone suddenly getting up from their sleepy poses and break out into dance to Highschool Musical 2's What Time Is It? (ok, excuse me for having a kiddy imagination sometimes...but is it wrong for a guy to imagine happy stuff like that? haha)

But most of the time, my imagined soundtracks are usually happy. What can I say? Music makes me happy. I could continue giving examples, but there's just so many. Like my latest awesome moments, got these few songs stuck in my head, Paradiso Girls' Patron Tequila, Usher's DJ Got Us Falling In Love Again, Taio Cruz's Dynamite, and Jay Sean feat Lil John's Do You Remember. There I go again. I guess you guys got the idea. I just really wish these songs could automatically play in the background of my life to the right moments. Thanks for viewing. Teehee (gawd..this line a catchy closer)

Of Birthdays, Special Occasions, and Gifts

Hi, my name is Iylia. I am a cheapskate. I care about others, I'm concerned, I give a shit, but I'm just not a present/gift kinda guy. I even have problems remembering to wish people on their birthdays and special occasions. Why am I saying such things?

Well, when I was in high school, being in an all boys school, not many people gave a shit about birthdays and special occasions. The only reason people in my school so looked forward to anyone's birthday is the cheap thrill of "LAUK" (singing the happy birthday song and beating up the birthday boy ramai-ramai). Oh good times, good times. Even when it comes to my family, I won't say that birthdays don't matter, but in my family, a simple wish, a birthday angpow, and maybe a dinner is enough for my siblings. Of course if its my mum's birthday, there have been times she made a big fuss for not having anything special, but to the rest of my family members, birthday is just another day in our life. We don't expect much, neither do we give much. Simple.

However, when I started Uni, I feel like an alien because everyone else is so into the whole birthday/special occasion gift and giving craze. Planning big parties, secretly planning pranks, showering the celebrated with wishes and gifts and many other fruity acts. Like today, I was sitting at my friend's table. On her table was a birthday gift she received today even though her bday was like last week. Hmmm ok. Sweet. Cute. ok. I thought in my head. I wished her the other day, enough right? Then later, I checked out her blog for fun. There was this one entry about her birthday, got la mention about the birthday wishes, and also the gifts she received. It was nice to read that she appreciated all the wishes and gifts, but still, hmmm ok. sweet. cute. ok. I thought in my head. I wished her already, enough la.

Moving on to my girlfriend, for my birthday last year, she got me a brand new ADIDAS sports watch worth approximately RM300. I was like wtf. Why she get me such an expensive gift? No doubt its nice and all, but that puts a personal burden on me to figure out how in the world should I repay the deed or what should I give you in return on your birthday. FYI, to get rid of my own uneasy-with-expensive-gifts feeling, on my girlfriend's birthday, I took her on a little shopping spree that totaled to almost RM300. Not exactly of equal value to what she gave me, but at least it made me feel fair enough (considering she got that ADIDAS watch using money she saved from working after SPM while waiting for results and I'm using my raya money only).

I'm a guy who doesn't like to feel in debt to anyone. Some people say, people give you stuff, you take la with an open heart. I do. But this silly part inside me feels like I should do something of more-less equal value in return. That's just the way I am. Especially among people other than my family. Don't get me wrong. I like gifts. But just not expensive ones. A simple breakfast, lunch, or dinner treat would be nice, a simple card would do, simple gifts less than RM50 would be fine. But anything more than that, from anyone who's not my family, I actually feel shy la wanna accept the gifts. In fact I'll feel in debt to you. I'd rather not. I'm sorry.

I also get kinda guilty when special occasions like Valentine's Day, anniversaries, reunions, and farewells come around. You know, times when gifts may be expected to be given and/or received. Where most people would be giving gifts, I would just smile with my thick-cheap-face and empty hands. Where most people look forward to receiving gifts, I would be hoping to get something cheap or nothing at all. Yeah, I've got issues you must be thinking. I know. I can't help it. I do hope this peculiar behavior of mine doesn't offend or hurt anyone. I do hope to get rid of this dislike for expensive gifts feelings someday.

But until then, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell yallz that, I'm not really a gifts person. I mean material items. I prefer treats for meals and experiences. I prefer to treat people to a nice lunch, dinner, dessert or fun experience. So if you people give me expensive material gifts, don't expect equal in return, but you may expect a treat of some sort though. Oh yeah, and about birthday wishes, just because I don't wish you on your birthday doesn't necessarily mean I don't care, its just that maybe I had more important things on my mind. I don't mean to hurt anyone because of my carelessness. I'm just...well...me. Thanks for reading another load of my brain waste. Teehee!!

SHAZ...a.k.a My Bonnie

Rules & Regulations

Firstly:

If you've been tagged, you must write your answers in your own blog and replace any question that you dislike with a new, original question.

Secondly:

Tag eight people. Don't refuse to do that. Don't tag who tagged you.

*****************

Who sleeps in bed next to you?

i sleep alone....all alone...

Have you ever lied to a teacher to get out of a deadline?

hell yes...rules of student survival

What kind of books do you read?

Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps by Barbara and Allan Pease.
Facts at Your Finger Tips, a Reader's Digest Production.
(I don't even read much actually...I barely get to finish reading my TEXT books)

Best day of the week?
For some reason, I like Fridays. Maybe cos its the end of tiring weekdays, and beginning of awesome weekends.

What's really creepy?

being inside a crowded room with the whole crowd NOT looking at me. haha.
just kidding. What really freaks me out is the thought of being completely ALONE....I mean really ALONE.....kinda like Last Man On Earth sorta thing.

What's your current fandom/obsession/addiction?

Paradiso Girls feat. Lil John - Patron Tequila

What are you listening to right now?

The sound of the fan blowing left and right.

What did you eat for sahur today?

5 glasses of water.

What websites do you always visit when you go online?

facebook. blogger. youtube. 4shared.com.

What was the last thing you bought?

A RM 10 Celcom Reload Coupon

What was the cutest thing you've seen today?

My family cat, Crystal jumping onto my bed to cuddle with me and purr.

Does the weather affect your mood?

Only sometimes.

What is your zodiac sign?

virgo.

Do you want to learn another language?

Fluent Japanese and Spanish.

5 things you can't live without?

My SIGHT, My HEARING, My TOUCH, My SMELL, My TASTE

If you could meet anyone now, who would you meet?

her

What's something you'd like to say to someone right now?

i love you....but you gotta lighten up.

What are you looking forward to?
My mum's Raya Rendang.

Say something to the person who tagged you:

SHAAAAAAAZZZZZ!!!! I MISS YOU, BONNIE!

8 persons I tag:

am, zeera, gosh...i don't actually have many ppl toblog tag..sigh

August 2010

wow wow wow. its been a whole damn month since my last post. I'm ashamed of myself. I'm not doing justice to the treasure trove of mind shit in my head. my apologies to my mind, and my readers (oh whoever you may be). To make up for lost time, here's a hellavalongpost.

AUGUST 2010....has been awesome...

For some reason, this month I've been able to hang out quite a lot with my friends. McDs la, gerais la, Utara Burgers la, overnight-ing at friend's house la. The occasional "Iylia, free x mlm ni?", or "mlm ni ETR kat mcd ok?" definitely puts a smile on my face every time. It feels great to just hang out over supper and late night drinks, just chit chatting away (I used to wonder what all the hype was about with staying up late and mamak-ing till wee hours in the morning, now I know...silly me).

Beside those fun happenings, this month is also fasting month for those who didn't know and so far this has been my most pleasant Ramadhan here. Breaking fast with my whole class in the dark (the food court we chose suddenly blacked out right before we started), finishing off whatever couldn't be finished (to avoid wastage..ehem), having an awesome break-fast at a friend's house with a bunch of my classmates, where we were served Shaz's Special Spaghetti with Cheese and Oatmeal Meatballs (thousands of thanks to the cooks for that day, Shaz a.k.a my Bonnie, Am a.k.a Pingu, and Cha Cha a.k.a The Food or Dance) The joy and pleasure of combining great food with a fun and joyful crowd is deeply memorable. I don't know why I've only had such fun with my college friends at my last semester here. So I wanna make the very best of it while I can.

Another awesome thing that made this month great was Black and Red Parade, A Gathering for HM110 Students. It was my last freaking gathering as a HM110 Student, here in UiTM Penang. I must say, Part 4 July - Nov 2010 did a hellavagreat job. The deco made me feel like I was at some Prom Night or something like that. Musta cost a BOMB. That night, it was so nice to see my batch mates all glammed up to the theme of the night. We even had this mencapub (mencari publisiti murahan) idea to gather at 1 particular spot first and later enter the hall together as 1 batch, for the dramatic effect. Heads turned indeed, but not because of the dramatic idea, but cos my batch was the latest to arrive and register (plan backfire if you ask me..but what the hey). The Gathering itself set off to an awesome start with a cool opening gimmick, the VIP had to shoot an arrow at a rolled up scroll which was hung from the ceiling, then the scroll dropped open releasing confetti rain...clap clap clap. The presentations and activities they organized were also quite interesting and remarkable. But alas, nothing is perfect, half way through the show, there was a problem with the AC, and the hall turned into an oven. There went the crowd's mood. Regardless of the discomfort, the show went. Due to time constraint, many presentations were cut short, but as rushed as things were, the most awaited activity of the night was not left out. BEST DRESSED AWARDS. Why is this caps locked? well, because, yours truly, was

declared BEST DRESSED for HM110 Gathering Jul - Nov 2010.

Aha. The one semester I really put effort into dressing up for the gathering, I win best dressed award. Maybe it was the all black mafia godfather persona, maybe it was the shades at night effect, or maybe...it was just cos the most fashionable guy in my batch didn't dress up that night (that's the reason preferred by the public...sigh). WHO CARES!! I was once BEST DRESSED!! haha.

Self praising aside, the biggest, most awesome, highlight of the month so far has to be...

ISLESCAPE 2010

My first ever Pulau Perhentian experience. Unforgettable. The journey to Kuala Besut, Terengganu, was an agonizing 8 hours bus ride, with cases of mother-f**king slow and poor service at the gerais we pit-stopped at, dining with Charlie and other flying insects, and dissatisfaction from DVDs getting stuck halfway through. Luckily the crowd in the bus was fun and sporting all the way. Reaching Kuala Besut around 2300 hours, with a brief scare that we might have to sleep in the bus due to complications, I was relieved that we actually got to stay at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu for a night. The next day getting up at 6am, to be on the bus by 7am for another 2 hours bus ride to Jetty Kuala Besut. Hoping that was the end of agonizing travel for the past 24 hours, shit didn't stop there. We had to wait for about 2 more hours till our designated boat was available. On the positive side, I got chance to buy a I heart Pulau Perhentian T-shirt while waiting. When the boat finally arrived, I was expecting a speed boat transport, but to my surprise, a shabby tugboat like vessel was awaiting us. HAHAHAHAHAHA I though in my head.

Quite the unforgettable experience I must say. Stepping into the creaky boat, passing bags along a human chain as if we were smuggling goods, heaping up the bags at the front part of the boat, finding "comfortable" spots anywhere we could on that Tongkang (Malay term for fishing boat), reluctantly sunbathing under the open sea sun, feeling the sea breeze and occasional moist in the air from splashes, watching the shoreline get smaller as we moved deeper into the sea, seeing the clutter of islands getting bigger along the horizon. Suddenly, the torment of long travelling hours just seemed worthwhile. It was a remarkable experience. After about 1 and a half hours, the water gradually turned clear blue. A clearness I have never seen before. So beautiful. We're here. Our Tongkang had to stop far away from shore because it was too shallow to get to the beach. So we had to take turns to ride a smaller speedboat to be taxied to the beach of Perhentian Island. Another unforgettable experience (cos me and 2 other guys were left to deal with the bags..hmph) Setting foot on dry land again, the sand was white like salt, and it felt so smooth underneath my feet. wow. That was my first ever experience entering Perhentian.

Over the 3 days 2 nights at Perhentian, I had many activities such as, exciting Explorace, Free Time on the beach (I actually picked up a sea cucumber. Weird creature), hilarious Truth or Dare, full day snorkeling at 4 diving spots (I almost drowned out of exhaustion at one spot, but the experience was breathtaking, seeing so many fishes swim right pass your face, snatching bites of bread from your fingers, all the different types of fish, the corals, the sea urchins, even a brief encounter with a baby shark....awesome), hitting the sand at beach volleyball, on the last night we had BBQ, Games, Award Presentation Ceremony, Present Exchanging Session (getting scolded by the resort owners for being too noisy), and ended it with sitting at the beach while gazing at the night sky that was beyond any other I have personally seen. On the last day, we had to wake up early to go for jungle trekking (which was totally nothing great, in fact it was shit tiring especially after snorkeling the day before), after that, we cleaned up, packed, and had to wait for out transports back to the mainland and later endured almost 10 hours journey back to Permatang Pauh, Penang with more less same issues as the journey from Penang (except the journey back was awfully quiet cos everyone was worn out and sleeping). I am now officially 3 skin tones darker from the Perhentian trip (despite nearly finishing a tube of SPF 50 sunblock). All in all, it was definitely a wonderful experience. Thank You Islescape 2010!

Well, I warned you guys this would be hellavalongpost. haha. And this is only for half a month. At the end of this month, I'll be going to Kelantan and Terengganu for my ENTREPRENEURSHIP subject Field Trip. Looking forward to greater times. God Bless. To those who made it this far, thanks for viewing. Crap Master Out.