1. i just hopped to a bro's blog, and suddenly it occured to me to click on his first month of blogging. back in 2005.

macam kelakar gitu~ i mean, we, readers, are able to read thru say, 5 years of a person's life just by clicking the archives. March 2005, October 2005, January 2006, June 2006...... September 2009, January 2010. it's like, in two days we can finish reading their past stories. macam buku cerita. padahal, that person took 5 years, updating his or her blog every other day. sometimes funny entries, insightful, sometimes with pictures, sometimes just plain boring. don't you think it's amazing, reading about someone's life in a matter of days? hmm.. macam unfair pon ade jugak.

like i said, macam story book. but, blogs seldom have reviews, kan? so, we dont know where to have a good read. i think the main publicity is word of mouth. e.g. oh, i know this kakak, blog nya best. cara dia tulis creative. so i tell my friends and friends of friends about it. if im lucky, i'd stumble on some 'foreign' blogs that turn out to be awesome! then, i would tell my friends and friends of friends about it. personally, i find it hard to search for The Interesting Blog, y'know? i want to find bloggers yang kat luar negeri.. say, Europe ke, Africa ke.. it'll be nice to know that people out there are living a life just like me. nak tahu jugak kehidupan mereka camne. a local's perspective ah.

having said that, i dont know of any 'overseas' blog. maybe im not searching enough. kawan-kawan, klw korang tahu blog2 yang best, beritahu kite eh? =D

back to reading a person's blog history - as you turn to newer posts, you can see the gradual changes as the person grows up - cara dia tulis, the content or theme of his/her posts, the thinking process that the person goes thru. for example, the bro's blog that i just visited, the early entries banyak nah '... ... ...'. nampak sangat tulis malas2, meleret2, typical of teenagers gitu ah. tapi as he matures, postsnya lebih to-the-point. succinct. more to nasihat untuk diri.
another example, a sister's journey from when she's in secondary school.. undegraduate kat luar negeri.. sampailah dah kerja sekarang, dan dah berumahtangga.

blog ni boleh jadi macam drama series. klw our favourite blogger tak update, gelisah kita dibuatnya. haha.. mungkin perumpamaan ni agak exaggerated lah, but im sure it rings true for some people.

2. i watched The Soloist about a week ago. quite disappointed lah.. ceritanya mendatar. it doesnt really show what's exactly wrong with the character. i mean, what's the main plot, really? is there a major conflict? i did not feel the emotion and inspiration at the end of the movie.

tapi, yang strike a chord in my heart is the state of the poor people. macamane mereka hidup hari2, penampilan mereka, macamane mereka tidur on the streets tanpa segan silu. it's their home. it's the only place they know. ape2 plastik, tilam lusuh yang mereka ada, they make it as a makeshift bed. then, zZZZzz... tak kisah sgt lah klw ada tikus, lipas lalu kat depan.

Anyway, have you seen Patch Adams? Best sangat2 cerita ni. a doctor-in-training who treats patients the unconventional way - lots of humour, laughs and love. with his stubborness, never-give-up attitude. sounds like a typical inspirational movie, kan? but, nah. the plot is good. plus, with Robin Williams in it, pasti mencuit hati. yup yup. inspiring!

pictures from my handphone (part 1)

Ahh, yes, after nearly 5 years, I finally bought a new handphone set.

And apparently, it was not easy. choosing the Right model. haha.. mind you, I have never bought a handphone before. My first handphone was given to me by my brother. a Siemens. small, simple. couldnt save a lot of messages. but it was the one that got me attracted to Silent Night. i cant remember if the ringtone was polyphonic or not, but i like the tune very much. it sounded familiar, and eventually, i managed to recall that it's from the popular Christmas carol.

My second model was Nokia 3100. mum upgraded her handphone. but instead of using the new one, she gave it to me. she herself continued to use her old handphone. *sigh* i always think it was very sweet of her. terharu gitu. mengalah untuk anak. i'm forever grateful.. and this phone has, over the years, become such a precious thing to me. banyak berjasa! i didnt even change the handphone set colour, although there were a few times in that almost-5 years that i thought of buying a purple one at pasar malam. ni kes sayang duit, dan sayang nak tukar ape2 pon ttg handphone nih.

Then, since 2 or 3 years ago, my address book became full. and i needed more storage space for messages. and sometimes, i envy those cameraphones. and THEN, my lovely lovely 3100 started to have bad reception.. asyik kena switch on and off je. the battery life became shorter *sedih sedih.. signs of old age ke?* anyway~ at the beginning of last year, i started to become aware of the current models in the market. maklum je lah, selama ni cukup puas hati dgn apa yang ada. tak heran dgn yang lain. when i got my first pay, lagi lah semangat mencari.

Like i said, it wasn't easy. i was picky about the design (i dont want touchscreen!), and size (i want something small, like my 3100), and brand (i prefer Nokia and Sony Ericsson). i even listed down the functions i want (i was especially adamant about getting a 5-megapixel phone. no, sir, not less than that!) oh, good thing webbies like Nokia have the product filter for you to narrow down your search for the ideal phone. very very helpful!

Dalam banyak2 handphone models kat dunia ni, turns out that i only like 4 -

Sony Ericsson C901 Greenheart
Nokia 6700 Classic
Nokia N79
Nokia E75

C901 and N79 are not sold in singapore (yet?). i like the design of E75.. but since it's 3.2 megapixel, and the physical phone looks a biiiit wide, so, no..

To find the perfect time to buy was another problem. im sure im not the only one with the habit of waiting for The Promotion, The Best Price, and of course, having enough money at the right time. 6700 without a mobile plan is quite Ex. which means, i had to buy one.. oh tidaaakkk! part ni sungguh tak best. why cant i convert pre-paid to post-paid, yet retain the same number??????

The Promotion came in November 2009. Starhub. $0. k, im for it! kena beli mobile plan pun, beli je lah~ BUT, i wanted the student plan (who doesn't want the UNLIMITED SMSes?) haha.. so, i asked my sister's help.

wheee~~ akhirnya..



Nampak sleek and slim gitu kan? ^_^ unfortunately, the first thing that came to mind when i first held it was.. 'alamak, berat uh'. the casing is steel, not plastic like my 3100. haha.. just gotta live with it!

So far, so good. albeit this particular handphone set does not have Calculator. *suprise suprise!* i was bewildered when i couldnt find that function. penting lah.. i need it to count the cells. kadang2 lupa nak bawak calculator from the lab to the cell culture room, so i usually use my handphone. pfftt.

I was mostly excited about being able to bluetooth music files and e-books into my phone! more excited about the latter, really! i've read Dan Brown's Angels and Demons and The Lost Symbol, and J. R. R. Tolkien's LOTR The Return of The King. Of course i dont get the same pleasure as when i hold and read physical books. but okay lah, comfortable enough to keep me occupied during train or bus rides.

Whoopsie! look at the time! i'll continue next time, inshaAllah. with the content that i had initially intended to post. kira, ni macam prologue ah.. or, 'background information'. heh.

Til the next post..! see ya!

music to the ears~

Just got to know that We Are The World has been remade, in aid for the Haiti Earthquake.

The song's been given a very fresh makeover, i must say. *love it!* although i think there's just tad too many artists involved, oh well, it's the music that matters.




There's also a sort of remake of The Earth Song at this year's Grammys. When I heard Michael Jackson's singing.. whooaa.. I cant help but feel strange.. almost chilling.. to think that he's underground right now, yet there was his voice, so strong, so into the music. i wonder if he stirred in his grave..

The Earth Song has been a favourite of mine ever since I heard it when I was a kid.


(i notice two of MJ's nephews look like him! Dont you think so?)


Of course, not forgetting this one --




Say the words, I'll lay 'em down for you
Just call my name, I am your friend
See then why do they keep teaching us
Such hate and cruelty
We should give over and over again

What have I got that I can give
(We should give over and over again)
What have I got that I can give
(Oh my God, oh my God)
See, to love and to teach you
To hold and to need you
What more can I give