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Currently reading Sophie Kinsella’s Remember Me e-book, and I’m halfway through. Thank God for technology, I say. I mean, it’s not even much, it’s an e-book, but it’s the only way to satisfy the need to read Kinsella’s novels without having to wait another day.

How’s the book? So far, it isn’t as funny as her other books, but I love it anyway. It doesn’t clutter up my mind with words I don’t know, so that’s always good. In addition to that, I don’t have to reread certain paragraphs to make sure I understand what’s going on, especially when my mind goes to a temporary blank and I don’t know what I’m reading. Don’t mind me. I’m such an airhead when it comes to reading, that’s all. Can’t wait to finish it. (I’m getting back to it after this post.)

Anyway, in response to her comment, I have watched Iron Man. I watched it on a Saturday night with my mom, sister, and the maid. Yes, the maid. We doubt that she understood the whole movie especially with the absence of Malay subtitles, but she said it was good fun anyway. I’m guessing she’s basing it on the action scenes. Haha. What I thought about the movie is, as usual, unimportant, but I’m going to say it anyway: I LOVE IT. It’s like Transformers all over again. I expected it to be not so great mainly because of the high expectations I had when I went to see it (what with the rave reviews, how could I not have?)

But really, I loved the movie, and I initially wanted to watch it again with my girl friends on Sunday like how I planned at first, but something came up, so I told the girls to just watch it whenever they’re free (which really is whenever since their exams are over.) It’s two thumbs up. 5 out of 5 stars. OK, maybe 4.75, but I’ll round it off.

If only I can make the boyfriend watch it. Hmph.

I want to watch What Happens In Vegas, but I have a feeling I’ll miss out on watching it in the cinema.

My Mazda is currently at the workshop, my uncle said that it’ll probably be done by tomorrow, and I hope so. It feels so weird to not have it around. I miss it already, so to say. What’s funny, though, is people come to me (online and offline) and they express their frustration at how I couldn’t get the girl to pay for damages. I’m over it, I tell them. I have to be anyway. As my mom said to me, “Semua yang di dunia ani kan binasa jua, so jangan tah luan dipikirkan.” Well said, babu.

Anyway! Sophie Kinsella’s book beckons.

Internet-less for the past 24 hours. I couldn’t check my e-mail, couldn’t blog hop, and I was agitated. Like her, I had withdrawal symptoms. I had restarted my modem and my router countless times, thinking that it was just my connection. Until her message arrived, then I knew it wasn’t just me.

However, thank goodness for TV. I spent a good 2 hours and a half watching Idol Gives Back, and spending half of it crying my eyes off, a quarter of it laughing, and the rest just enjoying the performances. I quite loved the opening performance by the contestants with their rendition of Rihanna’s Don’t Stop The Music. I also loved their performance on “Season of Love”.

I want to download the performances on iTunes, but there are some pages (including Blogspot blogs) that are inaccessible at the moment. (Internet still recovering in this part of the world, I guess.)

But tonight’s episode caused an upset in this household. One of my favourites had the least number of votes, and that sucks. I hate seeing my favourite go while some other not-so-good performers *coughKristyLeeCookcough* are still in the running.

I am glad, however, that Jason Castro did a brilliant cover of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”. I’ve never really thought he had beaten his Daydream performance during top 24, until now. BRILLIANT! Love, love, looooove Jason Castro and his $600 ukulele.

Back to last night, after Idol Gives Back closed, I spent some time trying to connect to the Internet as if my life depended on it. LOL. In retrospect, it was quite all right. Because I ended up reading up on a few books. I finished just one, titled Hex And The Single Girl by Valerie Frankel. Loved it, light, and funny. Just the right ingredients for a good book, in my opinion.

Going to have an early night tonight, so I better start right on it.

OH NO! Just watched ending of episode 4, second season Ugly Betty! And I say: WHY?!

Small (but major) spoiler! (When you click, it will appear, so be warned, and don’t be so curious. ) [spoiler]THE BABY IS HIS! NOOOOOO!!!![/spoiler]

Been busy. I will reply to comments soon.

Just can’t believe what happened in the most recent episode of Ugly Betty that I had to update, that’s all.

One other thing that was surprising but doesn’t beat the UB episode, is how Albus Dumbledore, yes the character, is gay. Supposedly, as J.K. Rowling said, it was Dumbledore’s “great tragedy.”

[bookcover:1401303277] I just finished reading the book a few minutes ago, and it was great. I might be biased as Mitch Albom is one of my favourite authors.

A few chapters into the book was a bit slow.. Tuesdays With Morrie had more touching moments, and also moments when you look back in your life, and think.. think very hard.

What I loved about this book was that it teaches us about our childhood, and how to be better people, better grown-ups, better parents. It teaches a lot about regret, and valuing your life.

The ending was hard.. saying goodbye is always hard. NB: A tiny spoiler ahead. [spoiler]Even more when saying goodbye for the second time. I cried so hard when it happened.. it just brings back to the moment where I wished it was even possible to say goodbye to my dad when he left. But with Chick, he was given the opportunity to properly see his mother go..[/spoiler]

For One More Day is more like The Five People You Meet In Heaven.. by the end, then you see the bigger picture. I still maintain that Tuesdays With Morrie is my favourite book out of those I’ve read from Mitch Albom. But you can’t miss this novel for the world. Spend time on your own and read it. It will be worth your time.

On a different note (nothing to do whatsoever with the book), I feel so lost.

I just remembered that my family will not be opening up the house for Hari Raya guests this year. We will still be celebrating, but just not at home. I don’t know when it will feel okay to celebrate at home without my dad.

About For One More Day, Mitch Albom’s book I just bought.. truth be told, I’m quite scared to read it. I’ve been reading a bit of it, and I’m so scared it will talk about someone’s loss of a loved one.

I would like to say HAPPY TEACHERS’ DAY to all the teachers out there, teaching locally and internationally!

Also, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO KA ETY!

In other news.. What a packed day yesterday was..

My mom, my sister and I went shopping after school and work ended for the both of them. We bought a fair share of things, after walking around The Mall for about 4 hours or so. Who would’ve thought that there were so much stuff to look around? Well, if you’re a Muslim lady, then there’s a lot of things to browse through. There are tudongs, shoes, books, clothes.. okay, maybe a small range of clothes.

I bought tudongs, my mom bought shoes, my sister bought herself a purse for upcoming Hari Raya.. I also bought a book by one of my favourite authors, Mitch Albom, called For One More Day. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet because I had work last night, and when I returned home, my time was completely wasted on playing Super Granny 3. It reminds me of playing Sandman back in the day. Was it called Sandman, where you dig a hole so that the enemy will fall into it and be buried alive?

Back to the book, it seems really interesting, and hopefully it’s another tearjerker. My life is in dire need of drama, it’s been boring. Haha. I told my mom of Mitch Albom, and she wanted to read Tuesdays With Morrie, but I still don’t know who I lent it to last.

I want to be baking, but I lost my copy of the baked Oreo Cheesecake recipe, and I can’t find it online anymore. The woman who had it online took down all of her posts.

But never mind. My sister and I bought violet, blue, and green food colouring, so we’ll be decorating mini cupcakes soon. Haha.

I’m still alive! After a grueling weekend, I made it alive.

Fine, it wasn’t grueling, it was just a bit too long for my liking.

I was at Izzah’s for a little baking session on Saturday afternoon, joined by Amani and Amni. Had a great laugh, especially on having crushes. Hahahaha. I thought that was hilarious. Left early, since I had to pick my sister up from school, and my mom from work. (This reminds me. Zah, I didn’t get to eat the muffins, my family vacuumed them all! LOL.)

After I picked my sister and my mom up, I picked a copy of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows that I had deposited B$20 after I watched the fifth movie. I delayed the reservation because I told myself that I didn’t need to reserve a copy, because after the fifth and sixth book, I reckon the seventh book will be in abundance by the time it arrives in Brunei. But I didn’t take my chances. LOL.

So I picked it up, and my mom brought us somewhere to have a drink, and I started reading there and then. It was a shocker to read that the book got straight down to business. (More on Harry Potter later.)

I had work at 9 that night, and only finish at midnight, so there goes my opportunity to finish the book the same day it came out (I’m weirdly obsessed that way.) I had a good show, nonetheless. It was new. Saturday’s Nite Tune on Pilihan FM is no longer called The Lounge, it is Technologic. All about tech and gadgets, and we had to find a new name. And it suited well! The show went fabulously great, and I had copious amounts of fun. (Please don’t comment on my selection of adjectives early this morning. LOL.)

I bet the closing sounded weird, though, because my bladder had chosen the wrong time to go for a bathroom break. I will make up for it on the next show.

So when I drove home after midnight, I changed, and straightaway pried open Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows once again. I was on chapter 23 when I realized that it was already 6AM! And I had a show to do at 11AM! The horror of having to put the book down! But I knew I had to have a little sleep. I tell you, after what I’ve gone through on Saturday, three hours of sleep was simply not enough.

So I went to work, at 10AM, because I thought the road closures for the get-together ceremony in Bandar in conjunction with His Majesty’s 61st birthday anniversary celebration would be very difficult to get around. I got to the studio in time, with 30 minutes to spare, so I opened my book once again. I swear, it was a very gripping read. I have to say that this seventh, and final, book is my most favourite. I thought, by the time I finished the book, I would still prefer Prisoner of Azkaban, but no.. This last book was the best I’ve read.

WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD! (Work, by the way, was uneventful.) Read the rest of this entry »

I feel drained. I haven’t been doing much, yet I strangely feel so.

Went to the movies with more than a dozen people today, and it was so much fun. We booked the tickets on Friday, and this afternoon, we went for our movie outing. Some of us have watched the movie more than once, and only a few have never watched it. I don’t really think I need to mention the name of the movie, I might make people sick of the thought itself. Haha.

I just can’t believe that I’m exhausted now. After reading the tahlil for my dad after I’ve done my Maghrib prayer, I dozed off on the living room floor, right on my praying mat. Funny thing was, I kept my head on the place where I sujud so that it wouldn’t seem so stupid of me to put my feet on the spot. It’s something that comes naturally to me. Where your head goes, isn’t supposed to be where your feet go. And vice versa.

I sidetrack all the time, don’t worry.

Anyway. I finished reading Cecelia Ahern’s P.S., I Love You. It really wasn’t my cup of tea. I had finished reading this two weeks after I had started. I love chick-lit, but I don’t know, I don’t think any other author could beat Sophie Kinsella’s books when it comes to this genre. Or maybe I’m more into the lighthearted content.

I could relate so much with Holly Kennedy, the book’s main character, but it shows just how much Islam is such a beautiful religion. As Pablo once mention in his post, the tahlil and the recitations of the surah Yassin is so good for the soul. I believe that Allah has helped me so much through this, by the people He has surrounded me with and the new ones He introduced me to. They are people who believe so much in Him.

When I was reading P.S., I Love You, I was disappointed in Holly. I wished she could pick herself up halfway through the book, but then I think to myself that I can’t expect others to be as strong as I am, or for those who are stronger than I am, I can’t expect them to be more vulnerable.

If I hadn’t gone through the death of my beloved dad, maybe I would have loved this book. Maybe my heart would go out for this character. Because I know not how it feels to go through such thing. But now, especially when she said that her late husband, Gerry, was too young to die, I just couldn’t accept that. Your time is up, when your time is up, you may be 5, or 50, it does not matter.

But that’s what I’m talking about. Islam is a beautiful thing. It teaches us how to move on, how to accept that we will all return to Him one day.

Ness once posted about — and it goes something like this, because I remembered it like so — that if Allah decides you are strong enough to go through a situation, thus He gives you that situation, because he knows you can get through it. I’ve come to terms with that now. And I wish Holly Kennedy was a real person so I would stop thinking too much about this. Haha.

Anyway! I had spotted Ahern’s other book, If You Could See Me Now, a paperback, on Liz’s bedroom. The cover looks real pretty, and I was reading random pages on the book, and asked Liz, “Is she in love with an alien?” She said she didn’t know, then I asked, “Oh, don’t tell me, she’s in love with a ghost?” Liz said maybe.

Maybe I’m weird, yes? But I do like the cover. Makes you feel like walking barefoot in a field full of flowers. Only, the thorns of some unknown growth might poke the soles of my feet, which, in the end, might ruin the great, euphoric feeling that the picture seems to show. Pfft. Book covers. Always misleading.

I will post Colbie Caillat’s songs in the next entry. And maybe slip in a Plain White T’s song. Stay tuned.

I am trying to re-read Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix to refresh my memory for tomorrow’s movie. I repeat: trying. I don’t know why it’s hard for me to complete a book in a day, like I used to in my yesteryears. It’s hard for me to stay focused on the book, and when that happens, I find myself wanting to do other things. I used to love re-reading my favourite books.

I used to love reading, full stop. Now, I can’t even finish the Cecelia Ahern book I mentioned (in previous posts.)

Guess I’ll have to not remember every detail of the book and enjoy the movie! It’s about time I enjoy Harry Potter movies anyway.

Can’t wait for tomorrow!

I just got my duty roster yesterday afternoon. I’m happy with what I’ve been given, but I’m so anxious to start. Every time I think about going to work, my heart beats so fast, and I have to try and think hard of something else to divert my thoughts of messing up in the studio. This is what one month of time off does to you, people. It’s not good.

I’m excited to be working again, but.. yea, read the above paragraph.

Yesterday was a Friday, and I couldn’t visit my dad. My mom and sister went, with the usual entourage. I have never felt like I was missing something in my whole life. It’s as if I depended on those Friday visits. I went with my mom and sister, but I stayed in the car, in the parking lot.

I switched on the radio, changed the channel to the recitation of the Al-Quran station, which made me feel a bit relieved, like I’m not forgetting to read surah Yassin for my dad, or neglect to sedekah to him the tahlil. I then dozed off, in the blazing heat of the sun. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t like mosquitoes or anything that stings and make me itch, so I didn’t roll down the windows. Imagine that.

Then I woke up to my mom’s sharp rap on the window.

My mom then proceeded to tell me that we need to sedekah my dad something every time we remember him, of course, unless we can’t. She gave an analogy that goes something, like, if we sedekah to him every day, it’ll be like providing him with loads of gushing water. If we forget, or become lazy, then he will be thirsty, as if he was only given one drop of water. Something like that lah ah.

Which then made me feel like I had forgotten him. But, there will be next week. I will at least read him something once a day when I am , ahem, clean. I just have to. I need to keep him happy, wherever he is.

In other news, I bought the book by Cecilia Ahern, the one titled P.S., I Love You. A little behind the times, but better late than never.

Ooh! That reminds me. You know, these days, I feel like I am a different person now. I’ve been doing some thinking as well, and by the end of these thoughts, the voice inside my head comes up with these old sayings, like, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

Yea, I feel like I am a stronger person now. A lot of it has to do with the coping of my dad’s death. I do not wish it on anyone, not even my worst enemy. A death of a loved one is so, so hard. It’s like when someone else’s loved one dies, you feel for them, but there is nothing like going through it first-hand. Not that all this while I had thought coping with death to be easy, but I never knew it was going to be this hard.

You know, at times my mind drifts off in a split second, and I go back to that emergency room, looking into my dad’s eyes, willing him to look at me when he was no longer breathing. Then when my eyes start to water, I stop and get back to the present. It happens more when I am doing nothing.

Being the lazy bum that I am, it happens a lot.

Anyway, I was doing a little blog-hopping, and I found this blog. I find it.. interesting, and I’m making it one of my daily reads. Most (or even all) of what she wrote are true. I agree most on how blogging used to be fun. Blogging used to be just that: blogging.