reflection on 2008: ke utara, selatan, timur dan barat ku jejaki...

I started 2008 with a lot of new things in my life...new house, new roommates, new subjects and a lot more of new things that some I considered a bless and some...maybe one day I'll realize that they were blessing in disguise. But to sum up the year, what I am going to remember the most is how much I've traveled around. I've touched and stepped every corner of the peninsula, from north to the south to the east and west. What's more remembering, is most of the holiday vacation was planned and executed by us and we survived through all of it

My first journey started on February when the four of us, midah, kak nora, aliaa and me went to east coast peninsula, namely Kelantan and Terengganu. I was made the semi-official leader of the vacation because I had the experience because my dad is a Kelantanese. If I am not mistaken, our budget was RM250 per person including gas, accommodation, food etc...I remembered how excited all of us, especially Aliaa, for never being to Kelantan for her whole life. She flew all across Asia to UK, she's seen the beauty of France and Spain but never turn to look at her home's own backyard, talk about irony huh? what makes us very eager to be there is the shopping!!! although we know that not being local, we were bound to be charged more expensive but for us, being there by ourselves, survived through the bargain, the havoc and uncertainties...made the experience to be worth priceless...even to the fact that sometimes people said that we could have done it better with the help of locals could never bring us down.




us singing January after the the mad 'Pengkalan Kubor' shopping...

hanging out at PCB: from left: me, midah, kak nora and aliaa...

After that, I went to Pangkor during the semester break, if I am not mistaken it was in June or July. I went there with my TESL friends and I loved the vacation because I had a lot of first time during the vacation, first time I went to Pangkor, first time I went to Ipoh, first time to snorkel, first time to see sunset at the beach, a lot of first time. The trip was quite a sudden planned trip so there was sometimes activity lagging and loitering time unlike trip I've had with my PBSM friends because we always create a schedule and stick with it but nevertheless the trip was great and plus, it was the best trip for us because we were just finishing our exams before the vacation so Pangkor becomes our de-stress after the hectic semester!!!

the beach boys and girls: from left: marina, lala, fattah, zahid, hana, k-role, embek, me, mami, nadia and zaza...

me in my inner circle....

the next trip is the one I considered to be the highlights of my vacation...the nearly one year planned langkawi trip...the trip was very special for all of us because we've been doing our own stuff for too long and the trip is the one thing that we can really unwind and see each other again!! another best thing about the trip is i feel the trip is like our little reunion because I cannot remember for how long i really hang out with Azrol, Shimi and Kak Su! The trip is perfect in every sense, from the evening we step on the plane, me taking care of azrol and aliaa taking care of shimi in the plane, to the part we fueled 200 ringgit in our rented van, and the rest of it, the island hoping, the driving around, the humor, the shocking RM140 seafood for 7people restaurant down to the craze of fighting over the roche and chocolates. It is really good and fun!!

Us after hanging out at Tasek Dayang Bunting from left: Kak Su, Midah, Azrol, Saufi, Aliaa and me. At the back: Shimi

Me and kak su with the monkey. (I love them!!!)

The next trip, Penang is quite the unplanned trip for us because there are so many changes towards the end and the trip main purpose is actually to celebrate one of our friend wedding, Midah. The trip feels just like the one in Kelantan because we drove ourselves (actually abg azizan drove all the way by himself) just like in Kelantan. The trip is quite the rushed one trip but nevertheless, I haven't touched Penang for almost 15 years so it is very fun indeed. What all I can say about Penang is the road is scary and so small but the architecture of the temples and shrines mesmerize me to the end. It's a pity that I don't own a camera because if I had, I would have snapped the beautiful pictures on the shrine doors that I've seen there.

I just loved all the trips that I've been through for the year 2008. for 2009, i reckon my trip will be less due to my time spent for the practicum and thesis. but i think one thing is certain, although physically i cannot journey as far as i can like 2008, the no limit of how long my mind can travel as long as i remember to keep on the light in my heart and in my mind...

Especially to ayoi, sorry for being so late!!! Tonight, I'll enter everything until I am beaten by sweat and tears!!! First entry: KARiSMA, Perak

Sorry, I know it is the semester break for all UiTM students and supposedly, I will have a lot of time to update my blog. But being a nosy and can't-stay-in-one-place-for-a-long-time kind of girl, I spent my holidays doing many jobs that honestly...making me poorer than I'm already am but at the same time, giving me a lot of satisfaction. Why? because most of the jobs are volunteering jobs so I ended up having fun, helping and seeing all sorts of things around me. Plus, what I did not gain for in material aspects, I hope to gain them in spiritual aspects.

The first job I did was to help Pusat Sukan UiTM in handling KARiSMA 2008. KARiSMA is an annual event held by UiTM whereby all UiTM campuses competing in several sports competition. The main reason for UiTM for doing so is to find potential athletes to represent UiTM for MASUM the following year. So for this year, KARiSMA was held in UiTM Sri Iskandar, Kampung Gajah Perak. I accept the job for 3 reasons, A: Because of the nosy thing I've mentioned above, B: Visiting another UiTM campus is always a joy for me and C: Perak is one of the country that I am not that familiar with (which is a shame since Selangor and Perak is next to each other) so an opportunity to be there without worrying of accommodation cost is simple irresistible!!

But before I can pack my bags and went to Perak, there were things that needed to be settled in Shah Alam first. So the first 4 days were spent in Shah Alam. There were 4 of us being committee for KARiSMA and I was the only girl. But they were nice guys and working with them is kinda fun but one thing...they do make me feel quite old because I was at least 3 years older than them and all of us were supposedly finish our degree next year!! And to think that they first thought that I was actually same age, well actually, that made me feel good...

There were 3 of them, Fazrey, the rather sarcastic but 'soft-hearted' one, Farhan, the quite reserved but full of surprise one and Syah, the energetic and dominated one. And me, the moody, quirky and loud one. So, the combination does not feel like the best one but it works pretty well for me.

from left: me, farhan, fazrey and syah

So while we were in Shah Alam, we were given the most annoying, boring, tiring and constantly feel like vomiting job ever, to create the program book. What makes it so dry and annoying is the fact that it had to be done repeatedly over and over again until there's no errors left. What's more, the errors are not corrected one at the time but rather, one copy, one error corrected kind of thing. Remember that I've mentioned that we killed 22 trees only for newspapers? I feel like I had killed more than 22 trees just for a sake of a program book that is only for the circulation of the Pusat Sukan. Gosh, talk about asking others to save trees while I am responsible a lot of their deaths....

But thank god, we all managed to survive and live through the tree massacre. After that, we're off to Perak!!! First impression of the campus is it looked clean and well groomed, no rubbish and the trees are trimmed properly. It was located quite deep within the city, 1 hour away from Ipoh and surrounded by forest. I guess the isolation create the opportunity for UiTM to make the students to focused more on studies because there's not really much to do outside the campus. Arriving, Syah and I help the girls to register to their respective hostels, Anggerik and Bakawali. Honestly, the rooms there are much better than the ones in Shah Alam campus. It is quite spacious and the locker is taller and I bet we can insert like 4 AF sized bad into the upper locker compartment. The toilets are also better, more showering rooms and bowls compared to Shah Alam. But the best part of the hostel is the space allocated to hanging the clothes for laundry. It's as big as one and a half badminton court and it is under the sun!!! So, the space issue can be less hassle compare to Mawar and Melati hostel in Shah Alam. Just imagine in Shah Alam hostels whereby the students staying there is about 3 times more than the ones in Perak but the hanging space is like 6 times smaller!! even a retard can see that there will be a problem...

My journey in KARiSMA is rather a constant driven one. I was fixed to wake up at 630 am, get dressed and ready and reported to our operation room at about 8.30 pm. Then, usually, I went to the field to watch matches and recording their results and at 12 or 12.30, I went for lunch and stay at the operation room to do the daily newsletter for Shah Alam circulation in my own version of Perak dialects which end up looking like a Perak + Kelantan dialects... and sometimes I stayed on until to 12 to 1 am...but if my works finished early, I played computer games, hanging out with other athletes usually with the Takraw guys (thank you for making my life easy over there...) so all in all it was a fine experience...but there is one or two memorable ones that I will share...

Other than the four of us committee, we were also joined by the physiotherapy teams, Apit and Azura. And in our computers, there was Monopoly. We love that game because it's a multiplayer game and all of us can join in at once and it has a novelty of our childhood 'Saidina' in it. So the evening approaching the rugby final match between Shah Alam and Penang, Apit was so bored and he challenged me for a Monopoly. The previous night, I lost to him and I had to buy him ice-blended as the consequences. So for that day match, he said the loser will have to wear the lion mascot suit for the rugby finals. So we make a bind for the promise, with Syah being our witness of the deal.

Remember, when we play 'Saidina' back in the old days, we can make houses or hotels at any lot that we had bought. Computers Monopoly does not work like that. Unless you have all the lots in the row, you cannot just simply make houses. So, the battle to snatch the rows flames between us and guess what? Turns out I got two rows, one the pink rows which is the 5th expensive row and the best one, the teal rows which is the Fenway Park and Times Square lot, the most expensive rows ever!! I did not waste my time and quickly built 4 houses on each lot that I have and for the teal rows, if you ever step on any of them, the rent is 20 million dollars!!! and continuing my lucky streak of the day, Apit stepped on it 3 times and he was forced to declare bankruptcy and I was the winner. So for 10 minutes, Apit got down to the field dressed as the lion which is pretty embarrassing and tormenting because it was hot that evening that the costume is actually the last thing that you ever wanted to wear outside...just look below, Apit with his suit...you see he is smiling below, but actually he was sweating like a p**.... (can't make myself to type it...if you know, you know)

So basically I loved being there despite all the hassle and bustle and I am also proud that Shah Alam won a lot of events but UiTM actually expected Shah Alam to do well, having to be the main campus and the best sport facility among UiTM. But I don't think the other campus can make that as an excuse to just give up. One: Some of you guys had done it: you've beaten us in football, futsal, tennis so if they can, why you can't? Secondly: facilities does not make a champ, you make a champ for yourself...But in the end, whomever wins, they are UiTM students so everyone is actually a part of the winner and also a part of the loser.

Next entry will be about the second memorable memories: journey to Sekinchan. I do hope that Aliaa had posted the photos online because the pictures were great, I think...but I'll end this with the glossary just like I've promised Azrol to make a glossary for him...if there any other words, do tell ok?


1. massacre - (MA-SI-KER) : an act of total destruction
2. novelty - (NO - VEL - TI) : something (as a song or food item) that provides often fleeting amusement and is often based on a theme —often used attributively

P/s: Fenway Park is actually a baseball for the Boston Red Sox team, so it is a very expensive lot in the U.S... (figuring that we are not familiar with Baseball League)

Human Footprints and Kudos on the One Piece animation team!!!

I couldn't sleep last night and as I flicked on the channel, I stopped at the National Geographic Channel and watched Human Footprints, the documentary to send message about greening our planet and it presented some amazing statistics that about how much we have produced or used and its toll on the planet.

According to the statistic, we vomit at least twice a year mostly because of the parties and too much alcohol can cause nausea and vomiting. Well, I don't drink alcohol but I think I vomit more than twice a year, mostly because of my migraine and gastric. And taken twice vomit per year and accumulated that, it is said that for our whole life, we will produce 5 full bucket of vomit. That's a lot of gooey stuff in the drain isn't it. But in my case, I think I'll produce more than that though.

That's about vomit. The other stat that I remember is the distance we walked. According to the stat we walk about 4000+ miles per year which is equivalent of walking from Britain to Bali and return to Britain. If I had truly walked that far, why would I need jogging? Isn't that distance pretty far for exercising? But better stat is the amount of journey we made by car per year. According to stat, we drive per year is equivalent to the distance of driving from Earth to the Moon and go back. Wow, so technically, all of us have driven to the moon though. But think about its toll on Earth, if a person contribute that distance per year, how much fuel has been used? And how much smoke has been produce from the fuel. I might start thinking of reducing my car usage although now I'm pretty much stay at home and haven't driven for about a week. But perhaps I should just walk if I want to go to 7-11 next time.

Now the next stat is the silver lining that I had hoping for. It is said, on average people will fall in love 3 times in their lives. I don't remember how many crushes I have but I do remember the times that I have truly fallen in love, twice. Once when I was 19 but it only lasted for about 10 months because it just doesn't meant to be and again when I was 21 and it lasted for nearly three years because, well the politest way to describe it is three makes a crowd and may I state that the three happen twice. So if I am in the mode zone, I should have another shot of falling in love and believe me, the next time I fallen in love, I am hoping that it would be the last. I know love is not supposed to be simple but complicated but I don't want the complicated part of is he really loves me or am I worth his love kind of thing. Let the complicated part be like where we're gonna live, what car should we buy and how many children kind of stuff. But I am also prepare of the consequences that it might not happen to me again. I figure that either alone or companionship, it is not the thing that should defy my happiness but rather what I am doing in my life in the consequences that God has given me will be my happiness. God can give me love or let me alone, but I think it is up to me to make the choices whether to be content with it or blame it and keep living in the dark. The key is to make choice.

But there is one stat in the documentary that bothering me. It is said that on average, we will vote 50 times in our life. Ok, let's say I've lived to 66 years, the average lifespan of women in Malaysia. Ok, I voted first time this year and I am 24. General election happen every 4 years so I'll vote again when I'll be 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 62 and 66 years old. So I'll have 11 chance of voting, that's about 1/5 of the average that the documentary has shown. So why it said that we vote like on average 50 times in our life? Maybe it's according to the Britain's political system in which the documentary originated, but I don't know, maybe it included the time we vote for class monitor or PTA head or anything for that sort. Maybe it also include vote like the hottest bachelor contest or Playboy playmate sort of thing. If that's the case, I voted more than 50 times in my life because I love to vote on the net like on OMG web, f1 sites sort of thing.

But in the nutshell, the documentary is very interesting. Too bad, I didn't watch it from the beginning but I intend to watch it again if I can on NatGeo channel. There's also other stat like how much garbage, how much furniture so it makes us think again about our actions, how much it really takes the toll on Earth. And I am a believer of the global warming thing so caution must be taken. I've got to remember to switch the power off this laptop after I'm done to conserve energy and that's a start.

And the best thing happen today is finally One Piece episode 377 is out!!! I've been waiting on this episode for so long because this is the episode of Zoro sacrifices himself to save the crew. The episode was amazing!!! I knew it would be an amazing episode from the start because I've read it in the manga but what makes it even more amazing is the animation. The angle is brilliant and they really utilized the advantages of using animation in this episode, enabling us to see the point of view that cannot be taken from camera in live action. Another worth noting is the music, it's amazing (but the opening song is still not good) the music that they used when Zoro tries to cut Kuma and finds out he's a Pacifista is amazing. And the last one worth noting is the delayed moment between Zoro and Kuma after Zoro had offered his life in Luffy's stead. You can cut the tension there with the knife!!! It's so intense and the last part when Sanji meets Zoro and the blood spatter around him, amazingly done. It's creepy, like Texas Chain Massacre spatter but nonetheless is amazing. Can't wait for the next episode because I'm dying to know how they create the tune for Bin's Sake song!!!And I understand that this is the new One Piece animation team so Kudos!!! They really done a great job!! Amazing episode and amazing animation!!!

Introduction

Well, since this is my first post, I could never think of a better fitting than starting it with

bismi-llāhi ar-raḥmāni ar-raḥīmi...
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful...

Actually, this is my second blog host, I actually almost never updated the first host until eventually I have forgotten the user name and password and since I've been thinking about posting another blog for quite some times, I'd just decided to chuck away the first host and start with a new one.

All right, let's begin with about me. Well, my name is actually Izzati but online, I always used Nico Izzat as my name. Why Nico? Because two people that I admired begin with Nico. Actually, one person and a character. The person is Nico Rosberg, my favorite F1 driver and secondly a character in One Piece, Nico Robin which in my opinion, the hottest female character in manga. Izzat because that's my name without the other 'i' in the end and since most of my friends called me izzat, I've grown to like it.

Right now, I'm a student, studying TESL in Uitm Shah Alam. Approaching my 7th semester, big step because practicum is coming soon. I don't consider myself as tall but also not consider myself as tiny either, at least among my friends. I also don't consider myself to be fair or dark but purely Asians. And like everyone, I have strengths and weaknesses in me so I'm pretty much like everyone except that I am one of a kind...well, everyone is one of a kind...

What do I like? Almost everything but I particularly fond of movies, books and animes and mangas. I also like to travel too but being a full-time student with 100% financial support from my folks, I guess you understand if I say that particular passion is not something that I can usually indulge on. But if I have the money, believe me, I'd conquer the world now...

And why my reflection? Because I always believe in Locard's principle of exchange. Locard said that anything that a human or a creature touches or passes by, it will leave exchange(s) that can be traced and analyzed. I'm not copying word-by-word but only the gist of what Locard said. Actually the principle of exchange is related to crime investigation like CSI stuff but I believe the essence of the principle is true in everyday life. I believe that anything that I touch, I can make a reflection out of it. Not only but touch, but I also believe in anything I brushed on, stepped on, looked on, hear from, ponder and wonder on can bring a reflection, not only to me, but to anyone around me.

My reflection is simply reflection in anything that I find interesting, like mangas I've read, films I've seen and many others. Maybe the film part will be quite serious because actually I have a dream of becoming a film critic. Not a notable one but at least on a small column in a newspaper will do. So sharpening my critique skills maybe can help me paved my way to become one good critic!!

Actually this is my dad's laptop so I don't have any pictures to show. But if you want to look or interested, you can always visit my friendster and facebook account, both go with the name of Nico Izzat. P/s: I don't look like Beyonce or any other hot women so don't get your hopes high...but actually I'm quite fond of how the way I look...

Ok, tomorrow I'll throw in my first reflection, perhaps about the manga Rouroni Kenshin. I know it's pretty old manga but I've just finished my 3 days marathon of reading it and I just get the itch to write about it. So, bye for now...