the journey ahead

Flickr

2010-01-18T01:49:00.001-05:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/atmostfear/

:-/

2009-04-02T15:32:00.004-04:00

Hellooo..

I apologize for the lack of updates, didn't really have anything interesting to write about. been a bit stuffed up with work and assignments.

however, had a chance to visit Michigan State University last Friday for their Malaysian Night at East Lansing. it's a 1-hour drive from Ann Arbor. the Malaysian Student Organization of their university organized an event with a 'Kenduri' theme. it's like a dinner event. everyone is seated at a dining table and get to enjoy Malaysian food while being entertained with Malaysian cultural performances. good job guys! an American couple seated next to my housemate and me seemed to have troubles enjoying the nasi lemak and roti jala served to them. so we kinda assisted them in showing which dish goes with which and so on. and then later they started asking where in Malaysia are we from, were we affected by the tsunami, et cetera. :)

we on the other hand, held a similar event on February 9 in University of Michigan. joined the Dikir Barat performance. it was a great sucess! gave out satay, nasi lemak, teh tarik to the guests to let them enjoy the Malaysian delicacies.

on the other hand, don't ever fall sick in the US. seriously.

after going back from work on Monday, I suddenly felt really exhausted, and cold. went straight to bed as I barely have any energy to do anything. waking up late the next day, I've been going in and out of the toilet frequently. diarrhea. :( as I have an exam the next day, I decided to go to the hospital that night, around 9-ish. went to the Emergency Room, as the clinic is already closed. they checked my temperature, asked about my medical history, yadayadayada, and was sent to the waiting room which was full with people. tick tock tick tock. it was already 11pm, and my name was still not called. told my friend who came with me to go back first. a few people in the waiting gave up. complaining they've been waiting since 3pm, and their names were still not called. talk about making others feel more motivated in wating eh? I guess I didn't have any choice, I need the doctor's letter for my exam tomorrow.

1am. my name was called. but just for them to take my blood test. the moment the doctor inserted the needle to my hand, a sudden feeling of nausea rushed into me. "I'm gonna vomit." the nurse instantly asked his colleague for a bucket. "Don't get it to my hand." said the nurse. "No, I'm joking", he added. and then bluekkkkkkk. I threw up. didn't stop for a minute I think, I don't know. time seems to move slowly when you're in pain eh? I was so busy throwing up that when I was done, the nurse had already finished putting a bandage on my hand without me realizing it.

I was then sent to the waiting room, again. 2.30am. when the same nurse came to me and said "We have a room for you." at lasttttttt! I was told to wait on the bed. 3.30am. nothing. I got bored and fell asleep. around 4.30am, a doctor came and introduced himself. asked what's wrong with me, blablabla. told him I think I have a food poisoning, was asked what I had eaten. he said it could be the sushi I had. blablabla. my blood test was fine. just a normal diarrhea. make sure you drink a lot of water. but no medicines for you. and you're all set now.

whattttttttttt? I waited 6 hours just for that? he said it's just a normal diarrhea, unless the symptoms continue for the next couple of days, then it could be a different case.

so, the doctor gave me the medical leave letter, and a prescription in case I need it. it was already 5am. I decided to take a cab instead of asking my friend to pick me up as it's already way too late. went back home feeling better. especially after throwing up and the long 6-hour wait. >:(

anyhow, I'm getting better now. don't worry. will be taking my placement exam on Monday. hope everything will turn out fine. :)

enabor

2009-01-31T19:57:00.003-05:00

if last semester a Rob Schneider's movie was filmed on campus, guess who's coming next?

Hillary Swank! the girl from 'Million Dollar Baby' and 'The Next Karate Kid'. and the best part is the shooting site is gonna be somewhere within the building I'm working at (at least that's what my supervisor told me). not really a big fan of her. but c'mon, who doesn't get excited when a Hollywood star comes to campus?

http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2008/12/ann_arbor_to_be_site_of_filmin.html

and..Spring break is on 21st February til 1st March. a friend of mine asked me to join him for his Mexico City trip.

ahhh..if only I have deep pockets..

nyc3

2009-01-02T23:25:00.003-05:00

nyc2

2008-12-31T02:08:00.006-05:00

metropolitan art museum.

a mummy's tomb.

night at the museum.

radio city.

rockefeller centre.

one of the paintings by picasso.

view from empire state.

statue of liberty.

manhattan.

nyc

2008-12-27T04:25:00.003-05:00

times square.

grand central.

snow flakes at macy's.

m&m's store.

inside trump tower.

nuyok

2008-12-22T13:27:00.002-05:00

sooo..I got an A for the subject that I went into the wrong exam room :D

it was -30 Celcius last Sunday. gila.

going to New York City on Wednesday til 2nd January.

hooorahhhhhhhh!

kaunselor

2008-12-09T22:46:00.003-05:00

Cik Salmah baru saja memulakan pekerjaan barunya sebagai seorang guru kaunseling di sebuah sekolah.

Dia sangat bersemangat untuk memberikan nasihat kepada pelajar-pelajar di sekolah itu.

Pada waktu rehat.. dia melihat seorang pelajar yang sedang berdiri seorang diri di hujung padang...sedangkan kawan-kawannya yang lain asyik bermain di tengah-tengah padang ....mengejar bola antara satu sama lain.

Salmah cuba mendekati pelajar itu dan bertanya apakah dia ada masalah... Pelajar itu menjawab bahawa keadaannya baik saja.

Mendengar jawapan itu Salmah lalu meninggalkannya.

Beberapa minit kemudian Salmah memerhatikan lagi pelajar itu masih bersendirian di tempat yang sama... Salmah kini yakin bahawa pelajar ini sebenarnya mempunyai masalah....

Lalu sekali lagi Salmah mendekati pelajar itu dan berkata penuh kelembutan...

"Apakah kamu mahu kalau saya menemanimu?"

Pelajar itu menjawab..

"Okey.. boleh saja...!"

Merasakan bahawa pendekatannya berhasil Salmah bertanya lagi..

"Kenapa kamu berdiri seorang diri di sini?"

"Kerana ..." jawab pelajar itu dengan penuh kehairanan...

"... Saya adalah penjaga gol!

bizi

2008-12-06T04:35:00.002-05:00

hahaha ok dah dapat balik exam paper thermodynamics yang salah bilik mase tu. ok la not that bad.

going to NYC this new year's eve!!

will be leaving Ann Arbor on the 23rd December til 2nd January. :))

periksa

2008-11-25T22:15:00.005-05:00

so, I had Thermodynamics I paper today.

went to the exam room 30 minutes early.

a few people were already there. some of them were chatting, while the others revising the purple-ish Thermodynamics textbook.

I decided to just sit back and relax. can't wait to get this over and done with.

the professor came in. he's the guy who authored the textbook. :O

he passes out the exam questions...I was sitting on the second last row, so it took some time for the exam paper to reach me.

'Ok, you may start now..'

A Brayton cycle blablablabla...

Holy crap, wtf? I've only learned Carnot cycle in this subject, and I only missed one lecture for the subject. takkan banyak sangat tertinggal kot?

checked the header of the exam paper.

Subject: ME 336

wahahaha crap salah exam room. I'm supposed to be taking ME 235 exam, not 336. that's like a 100 level higher than what I've learned. sama macam suruh budak form 4 ambik subject form 5.

luckily the 235 exam room is just next door.

*terus keluar bilik itu dengan muka tebal*

note to self: check the exam schedule properly next time.

professor ni pon satu, buat exam time sama, guna buku teks pon sama. nasib baik tak terberak kalau cuba jugak buat exam paper tu..

gaji

2008-11-25T05:01:00.005-05:00

I got my first paycheck without even realizing it. :-/

$121 for a 2-week job. not bad eh?

got my JPA allowance today. you're 1 month late JPA. tahniah!

screw exams. I can't work this week because the paper clashes with my work time.

Thanksgiving break in 2 days. I just wanna sleep..

on the side note, if you wanna buy handbags (Coach, Aigner and such), you can get it from shoppingwithayu.blogspot.com . It's managed by my senior's wife. I'm too busy (and lazy) to buy and send stuff back to Malaysia.

gobama

2008-11-23T23:59:00.012-05:00

I think it's universally known that if we want a change in something, it should start with us.

No matter how many times we tell people to change, or force them in any way, either physically or emotionally, they won't do it.

We don't make people change. It should start with us. By understanding what's good and what's not. Knowing if it'll help us in building the foundation for our future. Realizing if it'll affect anyone in any way.

But hey, some people mature earlier than their peers. We can't expect someone to be in par with us in everything. It takes time and effort to grow up. To taste the bitter side of life. To sometimes feel inferior when all this while we thought we're the best. The creme de la creme kononnya.

But still,

we refuse to change. Hesitating from going out of the comfort zone. Still insist on people following our ways of doing something. Guess ego and pride plays a big role in that. We're just stubborn. Obstinate. We hate giving up our ways of doing things.

Yeah, we'll get satisfied when people obey us. But that's all temporary. They'll get tired and turn things around again. Then what's the point? We're back to square one again.

I need to stop demanding. I'm stubborn. I have two hair vortexes.

How many hair vortexes do you have Ain Zulaikha?

Congrats Abang and Kak Yussssssssssss.. :)))

ceritera

2008-11-16T17:47:00.003-05:00

al-kisah, sang kancil jalan beramai-ramai bertemu sultan firaun..

ok tak tak tak.

diriwayatkan pada suatu hari, 3 pontianak sekawan sedang melepak di kedai kopi bersama-sama.

Pontianak A tiba-tiba bersuara,'Hey hey, korang tau tak, antara kita semua, aku lah pontianak yang paling hebat sekali'.

Pontianak B mencelah, 'Ahhh, apasal pulak?'.

'Ok, korang nampak tak rumah tu? Tunggu kejap' jawab Pontianak A.

Zasssss, Pontianak A terus ghaib dari kerusi kedai kopi.

Selepas 20 saat berlalu, Pontianak A kembali dengan mulut yang dipenuhi darah.

'Haaa korang tau tak, aku dah hisap semua darah penghuni-penghuni rumah tu tadi', kata Pontianak A dengan bangganya.

Pontianak B dengan tidak puas hatinya mencelah, 'Hek eleh, ok, korang nampak tak kampung tu? wait seminit'

Zasssss, Pontianak B terus hilang dari pandangan.

Hanya selepas 15 saat, Pontianak B kembali dengan mulut dan tangan-tangannya dilumuri darah.

'Hulamak ko memang best la, satu penghuni kampung kau hisap darah' kata Pontianak A dengan perasaan kagum.

Pontianak C dengan sangat tidak puas hatinya terus mempertahankan dirinya. 'Eleh tadehal la, korang nampak 3 buah kampung tu? ok sat aaaa'.

Zasss Pontianak C menghilangkan diri.

Tidak sampai 5 saat berlalu pon, Pontianak C sudah kembali dengan mulutnya, tangannya, bajunya, dan boleh kata seluruh badannya dipenuhi darah.

Pontianak A & B tersentak. 'Perghh, kitorang memang respect habis kat ko la..'

Pontianak C termengah-mengah menjawab, 'Korang nampak tak pokok kelapa tu?'

'Nampak, nampak, kenaper?' kata yang lain.

'Aku tak nampak tadi..'

yes we can.

2008-11-11T01:29:00.002-05:00

it started snowing last weekend.

I need to start learning to love winter..

Obama won the presidential election.

Current US gas price is $2.19 per gallon, although some of the areas are selling it for $1.99.

1 liter equals to 0.26417205124155846 gallons. and the current exchange rate is $USD1 = MYR3.581.

0.26417205124155846 gallons x $2.19 x 3.581 MYR/USD = RM2.07 per liter, while the current gas price in Malaysia is RM2.15 per liter. take note that there is no such thing as gas subsidy in the US. but still Malaysian gas price is higher than US's although a 30cents subsidy is included in every liter.

whateverlah.

2nd midterm starts this Wednesday. and the Fall semester is coming to an end in a month. New York here I come!

keje

2008-10-29T21:00:00.002-04:00

so..

I got my first job! as a Building Manager at one of the student activities buildings. it pays $8.50 per hour, and the shift is from 4pm til 12am. I can only work once a week, so the wage will total up to $272 per month. and after deducting the 30% state tax, I'll only get $190, urghh.

as a Building Manager, all I have to do is make rounds every 2 hours, where I have to count how many people are in each place, and shoo them away when I have to close the building. in between that, I just hang around in the office, and wait if any people having events in the building needs my help.

talking about easy money. heh heh heh.

jumper

2008-10-22T21:24:00.003-04:00

dc

2008-10-21T23:55:00.009-04:00

DC was fun, while Philadelphia was awesome.

but for a 9-hour drive, I think everyone would have a second thought about driving to get there. went there on Friday night, and arrived at Embassy of Malaysia at 9-ish in the morning. was the first group to arrive there. the raya celebration will only start at 10. so, asked the officers inside if there's a shower room inside. ada!

so many people came. peeps from NY, Pennsylvania, Tennessee. and even the soon-to-become 1st Son and Daughter were there. bagilah duit raya! ur dad got 500million for commission what..one of Md Zin's son was there too, but tak kenal.

later, we went to White House. didn't know we could actually get into the compound from the side, so we did!

went to Lincoln Memorial Park the next day. and later in the afternoon headed to Philadelphia. Philly was nice. how I wish Umich is located in the middle of the city. they have everything there. a cinema right in front of their campus. subways. every major fast food that exist. and a police booth at almost every block. apparently Philly is one of the cities with the highest crime rate in the US. a month ago, a cop was shot 2 blocks away from my friend's place. at least you feel a lot lot safer in Ann Arbor. not many gagak wandering around and looking suspicious. ngohoho

break

2008-10-17T19:11:00.001-04:00

having my 4 days fall break.

going to washington dc.

will update later, hopefully.

tired.

2008-10-07T02:39:00.003-04:00

it's gonna be a hell of a week.

and when you're tired of everything, you'll try to cut loose.

raya

2008-10-05T18:37:00.007-04:00

ann arbor celebrated raya on tuesday, 1 day earlier than Michigan State Uni at East Lansing although we're only 1 hour drive away. most of the seniors did their open house the first few days of raya. there's this once, during the first day of raya, went to Kak Ayu/Azni's (they're married) raya open house, and while enjoying their ketupat and rendang (see, I didn't miss anything, except lemang), other people arrived to break their fast. it's because they're staying outside of ann arbor, so they can only celeberate Eid the next day. in US, you celebrate Eid according to the nearest mosque. so siapa duduk luar ann arbor kesian lah. at first I thought Eid celebration is synchronized by state, but no, it's according to the city you live in. so if your mosque announces Eid earlier than others, lucky you! hehe

went to Chicago on Saturday. there's an open house organized by Malaysian Student Department Chicago. was held at Puan Rohana's house, the director of MSD. met so many people from INTEC. people from Michigan State Uni, Uni of Minnesota, Uni of Wisconsin, Uni of Pittsburgh, Purdue Uni, Uni of Illinois, Uni of Chicago, semua lah.

it was just a 1 day trip to Chicago, which is a 4 hours drive from Ann Arbor. went to Chinatown for dinner before heading back.

penat.

another exam on Monday. urgh.

Uni of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

INTEC peeps.

Uni of Minnesota. sila compare dgn gambar uni saya. hurmm..

enjin

2008-09-24T03:41:00.003-04:00

today I realized I am actually in the right field. I love what I'm currently learning. thermodynamics, solid mechanics, dynamics and vibrations. it's really interesting. learning is always fun, especially when the things that we learn apply to our daily activities. it's really exciting to calculate how fast we could run without spilling our drink in a cup, how fast we can drive at a curve without going off track, how gravity affects every force that we produce, etc.

but when it comes to exams, boy don't you just feel pressured.

I am in the right field, but I'm not sure if I'm at the right place now. period.

laju.

2008-09-23T02:53:00.003-04:00

maghrib is at 7.30pm these days. and subuh is at 6am. greattt. better than breaking fast at 8pm.

been breaking fast at the mosque all this while, makan free siapa tamahu? they serve rice with lamb, chicken and salad. urghh too bad I'm not really into lamb. malaysian student department people from Chicago came to umich last Sunday. majlis berbuka puasa together2. they have been touring around midwest region to meet up with malaysian students at different universities.

something just hit my mind lately. I've been wondering why all this while I like to read other people's blog. even those who I don't know. not blog-hopping, cause I've been visiting the same people's blog every now and then. constantly. maybe I'm just curious to know how other people's life have been. and it sometimes scares me how big of a stalker I am.

but what's the harm kan? it's not like I'm doing something else out of it. it's just like reading the newspaper. just to know what's going on.

hurm.

I wish I'm in aussie or NZ instead, so I can go back home whenever I want to. come on lah AirAsia, bring a flight to the states!

9/16

2008-09-15T21:00:00.002-04:00

Legend has it that George Washington, America's first president, chopped down a cherry tree in his youth. The story goes that George gives the tree a good swing and chops it down with an axe. His father sees the damaged tree and asks his son if he knows who did the deed. George is quoted bravely admitting the truth: 'I can't tell a lie, Pa; you know I can't tell a lie. I did cut it with my axe.'
Below is a satire of how some Malaysian politicians circa 2008 may have reacted to the same question:

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi - 'I did not cut down the tree, I was just taking a nap underneath it.'

Najib Razak - 'I swear that I have never MET that tree.'

Hishamuddin Hussein Onn - '...but I only own a keris, not axe, how to cut down the tree?'

Dr Mahathir Mohamd - 'Apa nama cherry tree, yes, I chopped it down because, I don't like the idea of Pak lah sleeping under it.'

Chua Soi Lek - 'Yes it was me, I resign as caretaker of this orchard.'

VK Lingam - 'It could be me, it might have been me but I don't think its me.'

Anwar Ibrahim - 'I did NOT do it, and I am not giving any DNA sample for you to plant on the axe handle.'

Mohd Khir Toyo - 'The new state government should just trim the grass and not waste time asking who cut the tree.'

Ahmad Said ( Terengganu MB ) - 'I chopped it because cherry trees are more expensive to maintain than durian trees.'

Azalina Othman - 'The cherry tree is not included under my tourism MOU so I cut it down and besides there were unauthorised signboards put up around the tree.'

Shabery Cheek - 'I challenge you to a debate on tree cutting.'

S Samy Velu - 'I chopped it because Hindraf members were using it as a meeting point.'

Wira Ali Rustam - 'We have planted durian trees for 50 years and we will plant them for another 50 years, we do not need cheery trees, apple trees, pear trees and all these other foreign trees.'

Rais Yatim - 'You must see the bigger picture, Ahmad said cherry trees are expensive to maintain, Ali Rustam said that are against our national identity and I needed to test my new axe, so you see, it is a WIN-WIN situation all around.'

Sharir Samad - 'I cut the tree because we could no longer afford to subsidise it.'

Karpal Singh - 'The bigfoot creature did it.'

Bung Mokhtar - 'The big monkey did it.'

Pandikar Amin Mulia - 'There is nothing in the standing orders against chopping cherry trees. Kinabatangan duduk, Bukit Gelugor duduk.'

Khairy Jamaluddin - 'I did not do it, neither did the Mat Rempits. By the way, what's a cherry tree?'

Lim Kit Siang - 'Cherry tree also you don't know, you are an insult to Oxford !'

Nazri Abdul Aziz - 'Racist, racist, racist! When we cut down durian trees nobody made a fuss. Now...'

Ahmad Ismail - Cherry trees are immigrants and deserve no equal rights!

Malaysian Citizens - 'Oh for heavens sake! Somebody plant something before we all starve to death!'

how to charm

2008-09-09T20:42:00.001-04:00

Girls just need someone to listen to. Let them talk about themselves. About their classmate who keeps annoying them, their parents who keep nagging them, anything. Just be there to listen, and then give appropriate replies. And you’ll definitely be one of their close friends.

Guys, they really like to be praised. It is because we, the Adams, tend to have low self esteem about ourselves. Tell us how nice we made up our car, how good our English have proven, how nice our new hairstyle is, or basically anything that makes sense. And make sure it’s sincere. Sometimes, little things aren’t that tiny to us.

willowtree

2008-09-08T01:38:00.005-04:00

hello!

it's been 2 days since the internet was set up in my apartment. so now I don't have to go to my friend's room to use their wifi. shopped for furniture at Ikea. and today I got my bed which I bought from someone at craigslist.org. before this I only get to sleep on the futon :-/

class just started last week. and boy, I'm starting to wonder if I'm in the right field.

it's starting to get cold here. and I have to walk around 15 mins to get to class. must. get. a. car. before. winter.

Subuh is at 5.50am, and Maghrib starts at 8pm. walaweh lama gila. and next year it's gonna be longer as fasting month will be during summer!

last night berbuka at senior's place. almost all malays were there. was held by one of the seniors whom already has a family here.

and and I don't have to share my room anymore, which is a good thing. :)

see, an apple tree right on the doorstep. and today I saw a squirrel dragging an apple back to its "home".

tick tock tick tock

2008-08-19T17:03:00.000-04:00

so, Michael Phelps is a U of M alumni.

coolness.

too fast too furious

2008-08-07T17:45:00.006-04:00

A: kenaper tak berhenti eh tadi?
B: oh, tak nampak..
A: (asshole...)

it was a Monday morning, I still remember the detail as I had to wear the formal shirt with a necktie to class. woke up with a text from Nadeen on my cellphone saying she's not riding with me to class.

10 more minutes to 8 o'clock, I had to rush as it takes approximately 8 minutes to get to Intec from my home. I timed the duration by checking how many songs finish playing on the radio by the time I arrive, it takes 2.

had an express breakfast, took my keys, and went straight off. it was a long straight main road, so I was on 90km/h. no other cars were visible. plus, I'm late. and that's when, this one freaking blue wira from the opposite side of the road, suddenly came out from a junction as if it was his father's road, and banged the right front side of my car.

head to head collision is not good. trust me.

knowing that it was already too late too honk, I still did it while hitting the brake. it all happened in slow motion. I still remember thinking that this asshole is gonna make me come even later to class.

a big white balloon suddenly popped out from the steering wheel. I think my head bumped into it (thankfully not the steering), I'm not sure. but what I'm sure of is that my hand hit my head, and that's where the swelling on my head came from later.

it all happened in like 4 seconds? hah. longest 4 seconds of my life. I didn't have my seatbelt on. the airbag must have saved my life. thank you Proton.

anyhow, the moral of the story is, no matter how safe you think you drive on the road, buckle up. you'll never know when an asshole will suddenly shows up.

back home

2008-07-28T14:57:00.003-04:00

LA trip was a blast. having trips with friends are definitely fun, especially when they're as crazy as you. went to Disneyland, Universal Studios, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Beverly Hills, and should I mention Hollywood? saw Tyra Banks at the red carpet during the night of BET Award (and some other American Idols who I have no idea who is who).

and the theme parks in US are so awesome. Sunway Lagoon's roller-coaster is no way comparable to theirs. it's like comparing a beemer and a perodua (no really). they bring your adrenaline rush up to the most extreme level to the extent that Genting's Corksrew's freakiness is just like riding on a ferris wheel.

in short, LA trip was cool despite a few things that have been bothering me til now.

oh well.

being back at home is so pleasant. having nothing to do. going out everyday with friends. wasting every minute and every hour. but hey, you're not wasting time when you're enjoying doing it right?

skate skate skate. I wanna go ice-skate everyday. but noone is willing to accompany me. have only skated twice here. there's no use of being good at something if you seldom do it, hurm hurm.

people here suck. from the drivers, cashiers, random people at the crowd, all of them suck. go to the US and you'll be the most disgrace person there.

I like the attention I'm getting from people because of my hair, lol.

4 more weeks to kill here, and I don't know whether I should be excited or sad.

if you watched A Lot Like Love, this picture might ring a bell. it's the apartment where Ashton Kutcher played his guitar in front of Amanda Peet's room.

jalan-jalan

2008-06-23T05:06:00.003-04:00

in exactly 12 hours, I'll be on a plane to Los Angeles, where I'll be spending 8 nights there before heading back home to Malaysia. will be going to Universal Studios, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Malibu Beach, and perhaps Broadway again. :)

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

just wait for the pictures!

good bye Ann Arbor, I'll see you again in 2 months time.

mengemas

2008-06-19T16:05:00.004-04:00

I'm sorry for the lack of updates, been busy studying :P

so, this morning was the last paper for the Spring term. it was Econs. urghhhh who the hell in the world would do an exam 8 in the morning. that just makes the exam 50% more difficult than ever.

anyway Happy Father's Day Abah!!!

better late than never kan? :)

hehe so I have 3 more days to spend in Ann Arbor before heading to LA this monday. wohooooooo. *perlu mula mengemas*

crap.

I should've taken Summer class. Spring term was dull. I think yesterday was the orientation for Summer term or something, that explains the huge crowd at the campus. arghhhhhhhhh I wanna I wanna I wanna take Summer class nowwww.

hurm but it shouldn't differ much from Winter term should it? oh well. the winter weather in Ann Arbor is seriously crazy like nobody's business. you only care about keeping yourself warm when you're outdoor. tiada masa untuk pandang-pandang renung-renung.

but Spring term? :DDDDDDD

anyway Ann Arbor ni kadang-kadang bodoh juga. 3 hari lepas panas gila, the temperature was like 28 degree or something. and hari ni boleh 16 pulak? urghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it's summer for god's sake.

:D

2008-06-02T21:51:00.004-04:00

I'm sorry fayyadh. this thing is too heavy so I've decided not to bring it back. it's too much of a hassle. you still have your PSP whattt :P

anyway, this is why I LOVEEEEEEEEE summer!! after chemistry discussion, I've decided to have my lunch during the 10 minute gap before the next lecture. and while on the way back to the lecture, guess what I saw??

:D :D :D :D :D :D

this wasn't at some park or other isolated area, this is at the MAIN aka central campus of University of Michigan.

still can't see anything? look closely..

woot woot!!! now who needs a beach when you have this in the campus area itself!

LA

2008-06-01T21:51:00.002-04:00

exactly 23 days, until my trip to LA! wohoooo. will be spending 8 days there, then the next stop will be Malaysia.

:D-/-<
:D-|-<
:D-\-<

anyway, recent news. Universal Studios in Los Angeles on fire! WTF?? oh well. hope they'll manage to fix it back by the time we're there.

can't wait can't wait can't wait.

kaka & kiki

2008-05-28T21:32:00.002-04:00

as requested.

so to anyone else who wants to kirim any stuff, kindly send your video and I'll think about it. and that includes you too Fayyadh!! hantar video cakap Faiz baik lapan juta kaliiiii..

ferret

2008-05-27T00:13:00.003-04:00

wawawa comel giler.

Faiz dah order

3 x 8in1 Ferretvite Daily Vitamin Supplement Treat (Pouch), 3-Ounce

3 x 8in1 Ferretvite Vitamin Paste (Box/Tube), 4.25-Ounce

1 x 8in1 Ferret Fruit & Crunch Treats (Canister), 5-Ounce

cukup kan? kalau nak paper lagi bagitau jer. asal ada duit semua jalan~ hehe

atom ant

2008-05-21T03:38:00.006-04:00

you've never failed to annoy me, ever since I was a little kid.

you, coupled with your husband, can sometimes be the most annoying person ever.

but,

you're the one who first let me experience driving a car, eventho it's just an auto, and the car only moved like 50m down the hill. and ONLY because of that, my mum is already freaked out that I'm gonna take out and drive the car secretly. (oh c'mon lah)

you didn't treat me like a child when I'm already a grown up. and I really appreciate that.

SO..

Selamat Hari Tua..
Selamat Hari Tua..
Selamat Hari Tua Along!!
Selamat Hari Tua~

hehe I'll see you in another 1 month.

MPs

2008-05-19T22:03:00.004-04:00

I didn't know MPs have such great sense of humor. it's far more hilarious than reading shin chan or dr slump while doing your business at the loo. this is taken from the hansard, the log of parliament dialouge.

Tuan Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar [Rembau]: Duduk Yang Berhormat Taiping. Tidak faham bahasa ke? Saya kata tidak bagi laluan. Nanti saya bagi.
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Ronald Kiandee]: Dia tidak bagi Yang Berhormat.
Tuan Nga Kor Ming [Taiping]: Tapi aktanya kata ini memang... ini saya beli kamus you boleh faham. [Menunjukkan sebuah kamus] (wtf? bwahahaha)

----------------------

Tuan Zulkifli bin Noordin [Kulim Bandar Baharu]: Tak usah jadi Ahli Parlimenlah kalau takut.
Tuan Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar [Rembau]: Ini soal kesuntukan masa Tuan Yang di-Pertua.
Tuan Zulkifli bin Noordin [Kulim Bandar Baharu]: Fotostat sahajalah.
Tuan Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar [Rembau]: Kita boleh bincang bila-bila masa.
Tuan Zulkifli bin Noordin [Kulim Bandar Baharu]: Cakap dekat CD sahajalah.
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Ronald Kiandee]: Sila duduk Yang Berhormat. Peraturan mesyuarat.
Tuan Zulkifli bin Noordin [Kulim Bandar Baharu]: Buat kaset sahajalah.

----------------------

Tuan Zulkifli bin Noordin [Kulim Bandar Baharu]: Duduk bawah dalam selimut pak mertualah.

----------------------

Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Ronald Kiandee]: Yang Berhormat...
Tuan Zulkifli bin Noordin [Kulim Bandar Baharu]: Saya hendak bangkitkan Tuan Yang di-Pertua, 36(4) apabila Yang Berhormat Rembau, dia pasang kaset sahaja. Tuan Yang di-Pertua...

----------------------

Dato' Dr. Mohamad Shahrum Osman [Lipis]: Siapa yang pasang kaset ini tiap-tiap malam? (ahahahaha)

----------------------

Tuan Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar [Rembau]: Tuan Yang di-Pertua, biasanya akronim ini, kita ambil huruf-huruf yang pertama. Projek Khinzir Raksasa (PKR). Apa susah sangat. [Tepuk]
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Ronald Kiandee]: Baiklah Yang Berhormat. [Tepuk] Saya rasa dia tidak menyentuh pada mana-mana pihak.
Tuan Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar [Rembau]: Mungkin itu satu coincidence. Saya tidak tahu.

----------------------

Tuan N. Gobalakrishnan [Padang Serai]: Itu projek babi, projek UMNO juga.
Tuan Haji Roalan Shaharum [Bukit Gantang]: Projek Barisan Nasional juga.
Seorang Ahli: Barisan Nasional punya mimpi sama...
Tuan Haji Mahfuz bin Omar [Pokok Sena]: ...boleh dibatalkan tetapi tidak dibatalkan. Tuan Yang di-Pertua, bukan projek ...PBN, projek babi negara.

----------------------

Seorang ahli: Babi negara duduk.
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Ronald Kiandee]: Ahli-ahli Yang Berhormat sila duduk Ahli-ahli Yang Berhormat
Tuan Ooi Chuan Aun [Jelutong]: [Bangun]
Tuan Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar [Rembau]: Apa dia? Tuan Yang di-Pertua, dia sebut babi negara tadi. Saya minta penjelasan minta diulangi siapa babi negara, siapa babi negara? Cakap sekarang siapa babi negara. [Beberapa ahli bangun]
Beberapa Ahli: [Menyampuk]
Seorang ahli: Projek babi negara.
Tuan Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar [Rembau]: Cakap sekarang siapa babi negara! :O
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Ronald Kiandee]: Yang Berhormat Rembau, Ahli-ahli Yang Berhormat sila duduk. Cukuplah Yang Berhormat. [Dewan riuh]

----------------------

Datuk Haji Yussof bin Haji Mahal [Labuan]: Songkok sahaja ada tapi tak ada otak.
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Ronald Kiandee]: Yang Berhormat Rembau sila habiskan.
Tuan N. Gobalakrishnan [Padang Serai]: Dia cakap kita tidak ada otak, mahu penjelasan. (uuuuuuuuu politeness)

go to Parliament one day when I'm back in Malaysia, I must.

lol at the oxford graduate

2008-05-14T17:27:00.004-04:00

when it came back right at your face, then only you know it's painful to utter such words.

I couldn't help it but to just LOL.

maresmart

2008-05-14T01:48:00.005-04:00

(during assembly)
Shahril : so, nak pergi tak?
me : wtf? taknak ah, taiping dekat giler, macam kat kajang, baik stay shah alam jer.
Shahril : taiping kat perak la bahlul.
me : ohh.. :O

how could you forget, those remarkable decisions that you've made in life, especially those that you don't think you would've ever done. and that's what I did, accepting the admission to MRSM Taiping. lol. why would one even think of going to a boarding school when he/she is already comfortable living at home? plus, he/she is doing just fine in the current school. oh, maybe one wanted to challenge him/herself. but that wasn't my reason.

I went to MRSM Taiping for the most silliest reason one could ever think of. because most of my friends are going to boarding school too, and I don't wanna be left alone in SMSSAAS.

going to MRSM Taiping, one would have to be ready to face the smart, genius and bright peers all around them. in this case, "if you can't beat them, join them" doesn't apply as even joining them would be an ardous job.

at least that's what I thought that time. when I arrived in MRSM Taiping, there were already other students who were admitted early. these students are those from other MRSMs. people like me, who only enters MRSM in form 4 are called budak-kemen (they call daily school as sekolah kementerian). fine with the budak-kemen calling, I don't mind.

the principal always stresses about getting 3.5 for our GPA. she made it sound like getting it is like achieving Nobel Prize (prestigous, and challenging at the same time). I was scared. what if I fail? I have to learn to cope with the boarding school living environment and compete with these other cream-of-the-top-creams (at least that's what they've been telling us) at the same.

but somehow, it was easy-peasy. I don't know why. not because I'm brilliant, but because I never fail to do the homeworks. I repeat. I'm not genius/brilliant/(put whatever words here). those flying colors result came solely from the homeworks/tips of the teachers in MRSM.

so if you want your son/daughter to get good results, without the need to send them for tuition everyday, just send them to MRSM. but obviously you'll have to make sure they're qualified enough to get accepted into MRSM, and make sure they get into the top MRSMs only. (Taiping, Langkawi, Jasin, Beseri)

plus, MRSM students have a whole lots of advantages compared to daily school students. we get to apply for scholarship as early as SPM trial exam. that explains how I got into UTP, where I also rejected the scholarship to Japan because the duration of the program sucks.

anyhowwwwww, I am actually writing this post cos I suddenly bumped into one of videos of MRSM Taiping at YouTube. sumpah rindu gilerr!! spot me if you can. :p

MRSM Taiping school song v1.

MRSM Taiping school song v2.

Ikrar MRSM Taiping.

Ini bumi yang kupijak
Ini langit yang kujunjung
Taiping bertuah bersejarah
Sungguh indah dan menghijau

Di sinilah gedung ilmu
Generasi berwawasan
Harapan masyarakat dan ummah
Bakal pemimpin nusa bangsa

Wawasan MRSM Taiping
Suci ideal dan realistik
Memupuk kemuafakatan sejati
Citarasa inovatif dan kreatif

Lima jari digenggam dijulang
Lima cabaran seiring harapan
Bersama doa restu semua
Kecemerlangan pasti abadi

cannoe

2008-05-10T03:16:00.006-04:00

went cannoeing today. :)) went there with putt, jen niece and carol. the weather's really nice today, just that it got colder as the evening gets late. I didn't know I actually know how to paddle. talking about first time. lol.

si gagah.

cracking up the sky.

besaarrr gilaaaa.

and celebrated carolyn's birthday at night.

my hair is so longgggg. hohohoho

monsun

2008-05-06T01:53:00.004-04:00

and that, is where I'm gonna be in another 2 months. :D I didn't know Google Maps has already updated the satellite version for Shah Alam. you can't zoom in at Shah Alam area before this.

and by the way.

Happy 25th Birthday abangkuuu!! I'll get you your ferret's food. hehe

holland

2008-05-06T00:00:00.005-04:00

so, I went to Holland last weekend. Holland, Michigan. not the country Holland tho :p they were celebrating Tulips Festival. the city was filled with beautiful tullips flowers along the road side. sangat lawa.

tari-menari di tepi jalan.

spring sem

2008-04-29T05:28:00.004-04:00

having picnic with the malaysians. the guy beside me is pete, he's gonna be my roommate at my new place I'm moving in this September.

last saturday was the graduation day for class of 2008 university of michigan. went to the event and met Putt, the malaysian senior who's graduating, and a few other malaysians whom I barely know. the graduation here is so simple and brief. they just congratulate each department one by one, not by each person.

you know you're spending too much when..

2008-04-18T01:49:00.001-04:00

your teddy bear needs its own Bose headphone.

nyummy

2008-04-09T16:29:00.001-04:00

i know i know..and you can only crave for them. muhahaha >:)

til you drop

2008-04-08T23:38:00.004-04:00

why they call it Birch 'evil' Run. you buy things not because you need them, but because they're cheap. who could resist a $9 Guess shirt lah? :P

speechless

2008-04-06T20:44:00.003-04:00

smileeee.

friday

2008-04-04T00:57:00.007-04:00

last saturday was South East Asian Night. every SEA country has to perform. so UMIMSA, the malaysian student association decided to make a short drama, with cultural dances injected into some of the scenes, to show how multi racial we are. I joined the indian dance. huahuahua. sila lah lihat kalau dah bersedia nak muntah.
the indian dance team.

the whole malaysian team.

my crazy partner.

and here's the video of it. find me if you can.

night

2008-04-03T01:46:00.002-04:00

was on my way to get myself a bubble tea when I saw an ambulance in front of a club. there were people crowding around the area. apparently, someone was too drunk that an ambulance have to take them away. some of them were saying 'dont fight dont fight' to the girl who's lying on the ground while the paramedics were trying to get her up on the ambulance.

damn. it's not even Thursday night, and people could still have fun when I'm stuck in the room trying to get myself ready for 2 quizzes and 1 test tomorrow.

pray for me. I don't need luck. I need a miracle.

intec

2008-03-30T19:01:00.004-04:00

leaving INTEC asap was part of the goal.

but now I miss it.

how I could go back home everyday because INTEC is just 10 minutes away from my house.

how I could hang out with friends who are not as kiasu as the people here.

how easy it was to score physics under Ms Rabeah compared to Professor Gidley.

how cool mr kamal could be altho at times he's in his PMS mode.

oh well. 2 more weeks of class, and then it's already finals.

being random

2008-03-26T19:37:00.003-04:00

Depart:	Detroit Wayne County Arpt			05:10 PM
		Detroit, MI USA		Monday, June 23, 2008

Depart:	Los Angeles Int'l Arpt			11:45 PM
		Los Angeles, CA USA		Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Depart:	Hong Kong Int'l Arpt		08:50 AM
		Hong Kong China	Thursday, July 03, 2008
		Terminal 1

Arrive:	Kuala Lumpur Intl Arpt			12:30 PM
		Kuala Lumpur Malaysia	Thursday, July 03, 2008
		Terminal M

thank you Abang Long!!

haii..

2008-03-24T15:26:00.004-04:00

alahai..we used to have a minister who barely knows how to speak english..and now we have an MB who's so "soft spoken".

a wise leader uses wise words.

looks like we have none left.

what's wrong with the world..

membosan

2008-03-23T03:26:00.007-04:00

*knocks on the door*

random girls: oh hiiiii..today's the last day to vote for *&@$*@#$ election thingie, please visit www.yadayadyad.com
me: oh yeah sure, I'll try.
random girls: (trying to make conversations) oh I love that sauce!! (while pointing to a thai chilli sauce in my kitchen which I have no idea where it came from)
me: yeah it's nice.
random girls: so are you a thai?
me: NO. I'm Malaysian.
random girls: oh cool..

and that's how far people will respond when you say you're from malaysia. I bet I would've done the same thing too if someone told me they're from a Ive-never-heard-of-the-country-youre-from.

so yeah. people have asked me if I'm Hispanic, Arab, Indian, Filipino Malaysian (which doesn't make sense at all). let's see how ridiculous their guesses could be.

"yeah I'm Filipino, and Thaksin is my father. I'm here to take your government's money".

"yes I'm from Saudi. I'm one of bin Laden's children. don't come in, I'm working on a bomb right now."

how I wish I could just reply as above and don't get weird stares from people. hurm.

anyway, although being swamped with endless assignments, and finals that are approaching in less than a month, this April 5th, I'm going to Birch Run, a warehouse outlet filled with cheap branded stuff such as Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, Guess, Banana Republic, Nautica and also other brands that I've never heard of. (too bad they don't have armani)

It'll definitely burn a hole in my pocket. oh well. anyone who wants to kirim something, do send me a buzz or something, and CASH too. kirim air liur dapat air liur. SERIOUSLY. I'm not living a luxurious lifestyle here so don't expect me to work part time or whatever just to buy something for you guys. try taking Chemistry, Physics 2, Economics, Differential Equations and work part time. you'll know what I'm talking about.

ok lah that was a bit exaggerating. but well, as long as my point is clear then I guess it should be alright.

anyone who feels sorry for me can wire transfer me some money with the following details.

1) Intermediary Financial Institution
Central Credit Union of Michigan
Routing Number 2724-7807-5
20800 Civic Center Drive
Southfield, MI 48706

2) Beneficiary Financial Institution
University of Michigan Credit Union
Account Number 2724-7564-3
333 E. William
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

3) Beneficiary:
Muhammad Faiz Ab Malek
Account Number 0000686386

:p

semi-value

2008-03-18T11:24:00.002-04:00

oh. md zin became the new menteri kerjaraya. damn yang kaya bertambah kaya yang miskin papa kedana.

right before I flew to Ann Arbor, I had the chance to meet his son, at the local mamak stall. he was my schoolmate back from standard 6 til form 3. we're not that close now, I guess the transition from primary to secondary school changes most people.

me: weh, lama tak nampak.
him: mana ada, ko yang menghilang.
(ok la, I can't really recall how the conversation started, my bad)
me: study mane skang weh?
him: sunway college.
me: buat ape?
him: culinary.
me: oh. :O
him: ko plak kat mana skang?
me: aku kat INTEC skang.
him: OOOOOOOOOOOO....INTEKMA kan?
me: -_-"

hurm. most people don't know wtf INTEC is. let's just be ignorant shall we?

short post

2008-03-11T01:09:00.002-04:00

baby phat.

it'll make sense.

soon.

tungguuu~

bee.zee

2008-03-10T01:41:00.003-04:00

I have an exam every week for the coming 3 weeks. that explains the lack of updates. or maybe I'm just pure lazy.

I'm joining the South East Asian performance night. menari katanya. tengoklah.

7 more weeks. til this term ends.

I'll most probably be coming back on 2nd July. Spring term ends on the 20th June. heading to LA on 23rd until 30th. then Shah Alam (which recently was taken over by PAS, lol) here I come.

bye bye Sammy, now you have to pay for tolls too.

march

2008-03-05T00:31:00.003-05:00

it's already march. stop snowing for goodness's sake. there was a snow storm today, out of a sudden. I almost tripped when there's a big bunch of snow right in front of my apartment.

econs and chemistry quiz, and physics test on the same day again. crap.

anyway, the new gen2 looks absolutely fabolous.

yummy.

happy happy birthday

2008-03-01T18:33:00.004-05:00

happy birthday to u..
happy birthday to u..
happy birthday to shal..err mira...
happy birthday to u!!

ohoho. happy birthday my dearest sister!

there's still another 6 hours to 2nd March here, but I know it's already past 7 hours there back in Malaysia. sorry I couldn't be there. I guess I'm gonna miss everyone's birthday except Fayyadh's..lol. hehe study smart okayy..study smart so you can play hard at the same time too. do your best for SPM so that you can go anywhere you want. when you have good results, people will be chasing after you to give scholarships instead of the other way around. *wink wink*

nanti faiz kirim snow okayy? :P

holiday is over

2008-03-01T03:58:00.005-05:00

had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. and then went to arcade to waste our time. had dessert at Bubble Island. we had 2, yeah 2 chocolate fondue while playing Taboo and Uno. was a lot of fun!

and I just had a chat with a friend at Australia. 15 degrees is not cold, dear. *tampo kang* you'll be very lucky to get even 0 degrees here :P

illinois - you're nothing without chicago.

2008-02-28T01:55:00.014-05:00

as if ann arbor is such a big city in michigan. lol.

just got back from chicago. sangat seronok. watched broadway, went to coyote ugly, went to hershey's chocolote tasting, cheesecake factory, millennium park, navy pier, the aquarium, planetarium, and so much more. didn't buy anything tho, trying to stop spending too much.

at Broadway.

watched Broadway. how cool is that? the current show is Wicked. reminds me of the Puteri Gunung Ledang theater. just that this one is hell lot funnier, and it's far more advanced in terms of facilities. in PGL people have to tarik and tolak the gunung-ganang and all, but this one it moves by itself, lol.

finding our way to Navy Pier.

we always get this strange stare look from people whenever we ride on the bus or train. maybe they're just wondering who the hell these people are. who wouldn't? there's a guy who looks mexican, and there are some asian looking people, and also with a bunch of indians. and plus us who are so animated and close to one another, anyone would've wondered the same thing too.

we're from Malaysia lahhh. multi-racial country. period.

it was snowing like crazy, a snow storm I guess. so the outdoor ice skating rink was almost empty. the snow on the rink was so thick that you can't even see the ice underneath. brought my ice skate shoes all the way from ann arbor, was totally worth it.

sorry lah saya beginner lagi. ohoho.

at Millennium Park, Chicago.

the bean.

chinatown.

Nasi Lemakkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. at Penang Restaurant at Chinatown.

Penang Char Kuew Teow in Chicago!

the lake behind is frozen. gila kan?

at planetarium.

ferris wheel at navy pier.

cheesecake factory. it's not really a factory lah, it's just the name of the restaurant.

who could resist? mari menggemuk seperti fayyadh.

at hershey's.

hershey's cupcake. yummmy.

chocolate tasting. we tasted milk chocolate, and all dark chocolates from 10% chocolate percentage til up to 70%.

yuck. not a big fan of dark chocolate.

Coyote Ugly.

the atmosphere in chicago is like in kl, especially at night. you don't feel safe walking alone. there are a lot of beggars on the street. and the people aren't that friendly. and and, there are more blacks here compared to ann arbor.

at giordano's.

oh yeah. guess what happened in chicago? and it happened twice! hoho. people spoke in spanish to me again. once was when I was skating with Carol, this random guy suddenly stopped beside me and starts speaking in spanish. apakahhhhh. and obviously, all I could reply is, "sorry I don't speak spanish".

random guy 1: oh sorryyy. how long have you been skating?
me: here? about a month.
random guy 1: *&$@#$^*@#^$!)(@ are you for real? you didn't broke anything in that period of time?
me: not really, just some bruises.
random guy 1: you're good man.

:D

hahaha and another one was at the bus station, when we were about to leave Chicago.

random guy 2: espaneola? (it sounds like that)
me: no sorry. *smiles*

poster of one of the unis I'm supposed to apply to. no thanks, I got a better deal :D

did you watch My Best Friend's wedding? if you do, you'll know where this is.

oh yeah. the day we arrived at Chicago, we were welcomed by the Malaysian Student Department (MSD) of Chicago. they served us Nasi Lemak, Meehun, Ayam goreng, and other malaysian kuihh!!! sangat sedap and seronokkk!! rindu rindu rindu. the MSD people were very very extra nice. two thumbs up for them. :)

umich

2008-02-21T01:09:00.004-05:00

$15,648.44.

that's the tuition fee for studying at U of M per semester.

gila.

U of M is a public school. meaning part of the fee is covered by the state government. but because I'm an alien, so I don't think that applies to me. still, even the americans think the tuition fee here is expensive. $15k. that's like 9 times the tuition cost at UTP, and that doesn't include the living expenses yet. tetapi saya masih prefer library UTP over UofM's. lol.

actually the motive of this post is, I watched a video by AI recently, which condemns about the deterioration of local universities' quality. in his speech, he compared University Malaya with India Institute of Technology which he said is ranked no 3 in the world.

hoi. pandai-pandai jer.

*seperti ayah mempertahan anaknya*

what you're trying to say is U of M is ranked lower than IIT? what does your fact based on? rank 3 is Yale. and U of M is 38th. mana ada India.

and, I've found this funny group at facebook.

'U of M - Making Smart Kids Feel Stupid Since 1817'

I know it, you know it, we all know it.At some point in our academic career here at glorious U of M, a class, homework assignment, GSI, professor, exam, or any combination of the above has made us feel completely and utterly stupid. Despite the fact that most of us came in with a very solid educational background, where we were among the best of the best and were at the top of our game, at Michigan sooner or later we inevitably end up thinking: "What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I get this? Why doesn't it make any sense? I'm so stupid..."

and this was one of the funny comments I found in the group.

I studied so hard for my last math midterm.I almost cried as I was sitting there, taking that test. That feeling of being "defeated" by an exam. A piece of paper.I had never had that feeling before, and it felt scary and alien.

lol. true.

it's a strange thing how the schedule in university life is less packed than school life, but still it's more stressed being in university.

wee.urgh.

2008-02-19T20:40:00.006-05:00

my skate shoes have arrived.

wee.

prison break has finished.

urgh.

and, who would have thought that getting above 80 doesn't guarantee you an A? what more if it's math we're talking about here.

even a 10 year old boy would have cried to sleep if his math teacher says he needs to get at least 90 to get a solid A for his math.

*sits alone at the dark corner of the room*

engrish

2008-02-18T02:36:00.003-05:00

the government should've implemented math and science in english long time ago. if that's the case, we, the university students now, wouldn't need to re-learn back everything that we've learned before in BM. we could've also avoided the confusion in translating BM science terms to English, which just makes the study progress slower.

and here's another reason why most people need to learn english. I know I'm not proficient at all when conversing in English, but when you're appointed as a minister, at least go and join some english courses please. it's such a shame to our country.

I bet his SAT wouldn't even reach the 1000 score. the americans here sometimes ask me to repeat back everything that I say, cos they can't really grasp what I'm talking about because of my accent or me swallowing the words. well, I bet the americans would just give up if they get the chance to talk to the minister. period.

hari matahari

2008-02-17T20:58:00.005-05:00

went to Yost Ice Arena today. should really avoid going there on weekends next time. the rink is full with kids. some of them skate in the opposite direction of the crowd, and don't get surprised if they suddenly throw their body to the front and fall just to enjoy sliding on ice. there's this one cute little boy who sits in the middle of the rink and makes snowball from the ice. cuteee. after the ice rink was closed he was still holding the snowball. owwww.

oh, my friend here got into The Star. :O
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/2/17/focus/20117767&sec=focus

kak nurul! cepatlah saya mahu masuk Sinar pula.

green

2008-02-16T20:11:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to figure out how to make money, without working, but to no avail.

people in lowyat.net(LYN) are offering paypal account as low as rm3.10 for a dollar, while the current exchange rate is rm3.221 per dollar.

so if I buy a hundred dollar from LYN and transfer it to my US bank account, I will only make a profit of RM12.10 for every hundred dollar transaction, which is equivalent to only US$3.76. so I have to make at least a $1000 transaction in order to get $37 bucks. once all my money in malaysia are transferred to the states, I will then need to pay a service charge everytime I want to transfer the fund back to malaysia to restart back the loop.

it's freaking tedious, and requires a lot of time. and it's not that profitable.

I failed again in trying to make money and being lazy at the same time.

bag

2008-02-16T19:18:00.006-05:00

hari ini, saya telah membeli sebuah beg sekolah. hal ini kerana beg silang saya sangatlah tidak kondusif untuk dipakai di sini. maka saya akan memakai beg silang tersebut untuk membawa laptop saya sahaja.

damn.

perlu lebih berjimat.

going to chicago next week. habislah duit.

and planning to go to LA before going back to malaysia this july. habislahhh.

oh, saya baru mendapat sebuah teddy bear semalam sempena UMIX. semua pelajar mendapat sebuah teddy bear yg sangat aneroxic dan kami perlu memasukkan sendiri bulu-bulu tersebut ke dalam teddy bear tersebut. sangat menyeronokkan, dan memenatkan rupanya.

nama teddy bear saya beruang.

beruang who is so full with mardi gras spirit.

hahaha ok that's the most girlish post I ever had.

I'm having trouble saying the 'th' word. apparently all malaysians do. and I didn't know the letter 'h' is pronounced as 'eychhh' instead of 'heshhhh'.

ngeng.

ace

2008-02-16T19:14:00.004-05:00

when you love someone, you gotta trust them.
there's no other way.
you've got to give them the key to everything that's yours.
otherwise what's the point.
and for a while, I believe that's the kind of love I had.

period.

go and watch Casino (1995).

random

2008-02-15T19:41:00.008-05:00

cook: yada yada yada yada spanish?
me: voule vu couche ave mua?

ok I didn't actually say that, cos it's french. today, a cook suddenly spoke spanish to me, and I didn't even look at him at first, thinking he was talking to other people. then he repeated again, while coming nearer to me. all I could reply was, "no?".

cook: oh you don't talk spanish? I thought you do.
me: err no, I don't know spanish.
cook: ohh, everytime you come here I thought you're one of the mexican guys.
me: haha no, I'm from malaysia, somewhere in asia.
cook: oh I didn't know that, I'm david by the way. *continues preparing my food*

hehe. a good thing about being a malay guy in the US is that people here would think you're a mexican. that's kinda a relief. at least we don't have to worry about people thinking we're a foreigner. for a malay woman, it's a bit different. they won't have any idea where you're from. the best they could guess is philippine. americans tend to generalize asian as people who have those chinese/japanese look. that's it. hurmm.

and I bought this! for $20. sangat murah. it's a clearance item anyway. will be arriving next week. one step closer for me in becoming a professional ice skater. wahaha. thinking of buying another backpack. hurm let me check my account balance first.

midterms

2008-02-12T05:32:00.001-05:00

just finished my midterms. I guess having maths and econs test back to back in a day isn't that bad after all. hoho. next week is the last week before spring break. planning to go to chicago.

currently, I think I'm addicted to ice skate instead of pool now. :D

Slyvia's CNY potluck party.

UMIMSA (UniofM Malaysia Student Assoc.) CNY dinner

jen niece.

UMIX night! free skating til 2am.

pawned

2008-02-12T04:18:00.002-05:00

I couldn't help it but I really have to post this.

While walking down the street one day a Malaysian Boleh Minister is tragically hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the man.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."

"Really, I have made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the Yang Berhormat

"I'm sorry, but we have our rules," says St. Peter.

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down,down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and dressed in the finest batik there is. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They play a friendly game of golf and then indulge themselves on lobsters, caviar and the most expensive food there is.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.
Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises.

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

"Now it' s time to visit heaven."

So, 24 hours pass with the Yang Berhormat joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."

The Yang Berhormat reflects for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I am better off in hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.

He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.

"I don't understand," stammers the Yang Berhormat. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning just like you during an election......Today you voted."

gong xi gong xi

2008-02-07T02:04:00.001-05:00

so, it's chinese new year today. gong xi gong xi.

had dinner at a chinese restaurant with almost half of the batch, hoho. a while after we finished our food, a random american lady suddenly came beside me and started talking.

the lady: Oh my god, I'm a RAT!!!
me: errr.. (with an awkward face)
the lady: see it says here 1948!! (while pointing to a paper) I'm born in 1948, so I'm a rat!!
me: ohh, okayy..
the lady: (starts going away and continue telling other people in the restaurant that she's a rat)

haha now that's funny. it's amazing how you get to meet different type of people at different places. I wish I was born in the year of cat so I can say to that lady "I'm a cat for god's sake now shut up you little rat!". muhaha.

then I took 2 fortune cookies! it tastes like some malay kuih, but I can't recall what's the name. hurm hurm. you do know what fortune cookies are don't you? it's like a biscuit, and inside it will be a small piece of paper with some motivating quotes or something. the first one I got was "You will have many friends when you need them". that really reminds me of my friends. :) and the second one was the one I like the most. "Someone is interested in you. Keep your eyes open". wahlaweh. please please please let that 'someone' be a latina girl with a hot bod like the girl in Transformers. everybody has their own dreams right? hehe

ek zem

2008-02-06T02:33:00.001-05:00

i flunk my physics test. reallyyyyyy bad.

damn.

my chemistry test just now was fine. hope it will make it up for my previous blunder.

economics and differential equations tests are coming up next week. then it's Spring Break for 1 week.

yeay.

sengal

2008-02-05T17:36:00.001-05:00

hari ini, saya mendapat lab partner yang sengal. bukan sahaja pemalas, tetapi bengap juga hinggakan dia tidak tahu bagaimana untuk melukis graf berdasarkan data daripada eksperimen. disebabkan itu, kami habis eksperimen lambat menyebabkan masa untuk saya menelaah kimia berkurangan.

pengajaran hari ini: jangan pilih lab partner yang lebih hitam dari anda.

apa namaa..

2008-02-04T19:45:00.001-05:00

this post has nothing to do with ann arbor, so if you tak suka, you keluarrr..

I wish I'm still in malaysia so that I could get a clearer view on what's going on with the VK Lingam's case. I'm so interested with it that I've been viewing quite a number of videos about it. correct correct correct correct...there's always something going on in malaysia's politics. there's always people who wants to get others down.

here are some of my favourite videos.

pity TDM. nobody's on his side after his resignation. I guess it's the nature of people to butter up only people with powers. and AI, his words really make sense, a lot. he doesn't have to raise his voice to captivate people's attention, but just with meticulous arranged words. you see, a wise man doesn't have to use his voice, but just words to capture one's thought. jadi tuan penceramah kem BTN, tak payah la nak memekik sampai orang nak pekak, we are witty people, so at least try to act like one. meanwhile KJ and NTR, they only know how to shout and mumble. PL, tidur. where's your credibility?

jadi sempena pilihanraya ini, buanglah undi dengan bijak. muhaha.

ngeng

2008-02-04T16:39:00.001-05:00

at a sports bar, having dinner with pete. sorry saya malas ambik gambar la sejak kebelakangan ini, ohoho.

Korean Drum Festival 'Sinaboro' that I went to last Saturday.

do you know that internet is a very dangerous place? for instance, I know who's visiting my blog, where you are from, what PC are you using, which page were you viewing before coming to my blog (in this case, mostly from familyabidin's website), what keywords did you use to search my blog on google and so on. there are many other things you could do, if you know how.

ahhh..the wonders of internet. :)

I have chemistry exam tomorrow, "YEAY"! -_-"

hope

2008-02-01T00:53:00.001-05:00

Hoping too much is a shortcut to depression.

It's like waiting for a detonating bomb in front of you to somehow malfunctions by itself, which rarely happens. It's never a waste to try to defuse the bomb. Albeit it might still fail, but at least you know you've tried.

mungkin kita semua juga perlu berfikiran begitu.

berhenti berharap.

tetapi susah bukan?

hari hari

2008-02-01T00:45:00.001-05:00

pada hari-hari yang saya bangun lambat (yakni setiap hari), saya tidak akan mandi sebelum pergi ke kelas. oleh itu, saya cuma membasuh muka dan membasahkan rambut sahaja. hari ini saya bangun lambat juga, dan hanya membasahkan rambut. setelah sampai ke kelas, saya mendapati rambut saya telah keras seperti air batu kerana air yang saya letak di rambut tidak sempat kering lalu membeku.

begitulah cerita saya tentang betapa sejuknya bandar Ann Arbor ini.

tensi

2008-01-31T02:18:00.002-05:00

chemistry quiz, economics quiz, and physics test in one single day.

what more could you ask for?

crap.

I'm so dead.

I wonder

2008-01-28T00:23:00.002-05:00

how come people who lost their memory could still communicate with other people verbally? I mean, they can't figure out what their name is, where they are from, and so on, but, they still know what 'where am I' and 'who are you' means. it's weird. if you lost your memory, you shouldn't be able to know anything at all, just like a baby, who doesn't know how to talk, booomm just like a new formatted computer.

they said humans are the first creature to be created. but how come dinosaurs could extinct million years before the first homosapien exist?

if you put a big hot air balloon in the air, and leave it there. will it move with respect to the earth gravity? or will it just stay at the same spot? if it's the former, so basically airplanes travelling to the east would require less energy to move as it is also dragged by the earth's movement to the east. if it's the latter, does it mean that you can travel around the world without even moving at all? wait I think it's the former. even satellite moves with respect to earth's movement, so a hot air balloon shouldn't be a problem for mr gravity.

hurm hurm. it's just some of those questions that tend to make you ponder more about life.

oh, I fail badly in using Mac, seriously. first time using it, I can't even figure out how to print a PDF document without asking the person next to me. luckily that person did a good job in making me feel not so bad about it by mentioning it's ok, he doesn't use Mac either. lol. the thing is, almost all the computers in UofM are Macs. really need to get used to it. there was even once that I can't figure out how to do a simple task in Mac that made me switched to another computer which run Windows. grrrr.

I managed to transfer 41 credits from Intec. yahoooooooo!!

economics

2008-01-27T00:59:00.002-05:00

last econs class was very interesting. firstly, is because I didnt fall asleep at all. haha. thanks to emma for accompanying me. had a video chat with her during the lecture. the lecture is always boring, mostly because the lecturer kept repeating the same thing from previous lectures all over again. basically two third of every lecture consist of the same content as previous lectures, only one third of the whole lecture is a new thing. that's the reason I brought my laptop together with me. seeing student bringing laptops to lecture hall is a common atmosphere here, to take notes actually. but it's also useful to kill the time when the lecture is dragging and soporific.

okay, the unique thing about last econs lecture that made me create this post especially for it is because the lecturer did something extraordinary. he was teaching us about this consumer value thing, which is how much consumers will be willing to pay for a certain product. so he gave us this example of a chocolate cake. a double layered chocolate cake, with raspberry sauce on its side, plus with whipped cream. and out of a sudden, he paused, and said, 'well I think it's easier if you could actually see the real thing'. so he took out a real chocolate and showed it to the audience! wahlaweh. he then made an auction for the cake. it's to give an example what is consumer value, the highest price people is willing to pay for a certain product. so the bidding starts. from $1, and up until $30. gila betul. someone actually bought it for $30. he even mentioned that he's willing to pay $50 for it as he's damn starving. once he got his hands on the cake, he went out of the class with his peers. gila betul americans nih. hehe. but it was funny. at least that made the whole class awake for a while. usually, you'll be able to see half of the class either sleeping, bored, talk to each other and so on.

ok lah I'm bored actually. that explains this out of nowhere post. -_-"

weekend, yeay!

2008-01-26T03:22:00.001-05:00

so, I just got back from the Michigan Union again. it was FUN! played pool (oh yeah, it's compulsory), karaoke, and laser tag (it's like a paintball, but using laser, and the whole room was dark, so it's fun+scary). we went to Pierpont Common first, there's a small meeting to make a petition for JPA & MARA to ask them to increase our allowance. hurm hurm. ok, don't wanna talk much about that, I don't wanna end up like copykate. haha

so after that, had dinner with Carolyn Dian Kartikha and Sutha. yeah, I'm the only guy there, so hearing 'girl talk' is so much "FUN". haha ok kidding, it was fine lah. so after that, we went to the Union as there's this UMIX thing going on. it's like an event where you have many free things and activities going on. so we had karaoke, on a stage. sang hey there delilah, which turned out terribly bad, but still we had fun. and the others had other songs which I can't recall the title. boleh lah. luckily we came early, so there weren't many people around yet.

Judy Dian Kartikha and Sutha on stage. not a best shot tho.

some random people karaoke-ing Summer Lovin (crap I've never heard of this song before and I already fell in love with it, hehe)

after that we went for the free pool, again. yahoo. after that, had this laser tag thingy. was very tiring. it's been a while since I last ran around like crazy. it was just for like 10 mins and I'm already sweating. thanks to the cold weather, so it's not that hot. we went to the karaoke room again, but it was just about to close :( planned to sing hate that I love you with soon yi, haha. well, I guess we'll just sing it to ourselves in our room.

a day before that, I went skating at Yost. $5 dollars for it. $3 for entrance and another two for shoe rent. fun fun. lama tak skating. need to brush up my skills back. went with soon yi, carolyn and another singaporean girl, sing yi (not sure how to spell her name). we plan to make it a weekly activity, we'll see how it goes. :D

skating partners.

semua tekun menunggu untuk ring dibuka.

al-fatihah

2008-01-25T12:27:00.001-05:00

al-fatihah to my grandmother..

rindu

2008-01-22T22:59:00.001-05:00

sumpah rindu!!

snow

2008-01-22T13:12:00.002-05:00

woke up, and it was snowing. someone up there must be very generous to shake the snow shaker furiously. it's snowing, but the temperature is warmer than yesterday, that's good. but it just annoy you that the snow keep hitting your face, and even goes straight into your mouth. I don't wanna eat ABC for breakfast! :p

everyone has different ways of interpreting what other people say. but when you have exactly no idea what that person is trying to say, sometimes it's better to be silent than giving out rumours that might worry some people. I'm tired of explaining what it is about. for a note, it's not as bad as you guys think it is. it is completely harmless. don't worry. I'm extremely fine.

anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAK! love you always. *winks* :)

people who suck.

2008-01-21T23:29:00.001-05:00

some people are just born retarded.

does it ring a bell? yes, you. why don't you go play somewhere else before I do something that you will regret.

windy

2008-01-20T16:05:00.001-05:00

it's -21 pulak today. wow bestnya! it's like being inside a freezer in another freezer. brrr check out the video, you can even hear the sound of the wind. and that, was taken with my window closed. imagine what will happen with the window open. my camera will freeze and break into million pieces of ice. muhaha ok takdela sampai camtu.

the wind sound that demotivates me to wake up every morning.

brrr

2008-01-19T19:14:00.001-05:00

it's -20 celcius today, plus the wind chill and all. thank god it's weekend. even the americans are shivering. hehe. at least I don't feel that embarassed hugging myself trying to stand the cold.

and this goes to emma, who taught me how to play piano professionally, haha.

alarm

2008-01-18T21:38:00.001-05:00

was in my room, in the usual position, in front of my laptop. and suddenly the fire alarm of the whole University Towers went off. it has this annoying *bzzzz* sound, not like the fire siren back in Malaysia. asked my roommates what should we do, they said just ignore it. okies. but still, I went out of my room to chek if there's actually anything going on. everything looks fine. then, saw several people walking down the stairs. huuu do I have to go down too? the building looks fine tho. then just went back to my room and do my things. out of nowhere my roommate came to me and told me to get my passport and go down to the lobby. fine...so I took my important stuff, and went down the stairs, 10 floors down. many people were behind us in the stairways. the lobby was full with the residents. and then I realized some of them came out from the elevator. crap! should've taken the lift instead. so we waited. eager to know what's going on. hurm hurm. then the lobby receptionist told us that the sprinkler on the 8th floor was turned on because someone didnt close the window. what the hell. and because of that, the carpets on the 8th floor, 7th and 6th I think was all wet. that's when the people from the carpet cleaning came, 4 vans of them. so itu saja, fake fire alarm, ngeng.

but, did you know that there has been a murder in Ann Arbor last 2 days? and the murderer is a U of M student. the news said someone tried to rob him in his house. but then, why are you running away when you're defending yourself lah? oh wait, he could be owning the gun illegally. but still, you'll only get fined for it kan? self defense what..or just say that it was the robber's gun lah, habis cerita.

*link to the murder story* www.wwj.com/Murder-Near-U-of-M-Campus/1494240

just got back from Michigan Union. tonight is free pool night, so we played until the place closes, hoho. then there's a room where they play musics and all, just like a club. Joshua and Carolyn were there earlier, so I joined them for a while. saya kayu, tak reti menari. hahaha. damn need to learn how to dance. I don't know why but there are so many activities tonight at the Union. there are free photo booth, free food, free video games etc. didn't get the chance to try them all cos the place was about to close when we finished playing pool.

monday is a public holiday. Martin Luther King's day. mengapakah? saya taktahu. dah lupa time belajar american cultural studies. sorry mr kamal. hehe, I really look forward to every weekends cos that's the only time I could get assignments out of my head.

muhaha

2008-01-16T16:59:00.001-05:00

apart from the cute and chubby squirrels and where pedestrians get the priority first to cross the road rather than the cars, this is the thing I love the most about the US! everything here is so cheap, even if you convert it to RM. (betullll)

bought these stuff online, and it arrives around 4-5 days after that. sangat efficient! plus, you can return it if the size is too big/small, or even if you don't like the design.

best gilerrrrrrr..

ok I should be studying now. :p

monday

2008-01-14T17:23:00.002-05:00

had Physics discussion in the afternoon. well it's not so bad at all if you actually READ the textbook. hahaha ok2 will study next time. nothing special today. boring boring boring.

Economics class! hoho I'll conquer the market after I've mastered engineering..(or in this case Physics first, haha)

gatal tangan

2008-01-13T21:23:00.002-05:00

to anyone who has nothing to do and would like to wire transfer me some money you may do so by transferring your cash to

1) Intermediary Financial Institution
Central Credit Union of Michigan
Routing Number 2724-7807-5
20800 Civic Center Drive
Southfield, MI 48706

2) Beneficiary Financial Institution
University of Michigan Credit Union
Account Number 2724-7564-3
333 E. William
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

3) Beneficiary:
Muhammad Faiz Ab Malek
Account Number 0000686386

kerjasama pihak tuan/puan amatlah saya hargai. ngeh ngeh ngeh.

MIRA pergi bagitau MAK & ABAH!

nooo

2008-01-13T18:51:00.001-05:00

it's monday tomorrow. nooooo. I hate class. I even have assignment that is due tomorrow morning, and it's Physics. I'm so blur with Physics II, entirely to be exact. that's the effect of learning Physics I in Intec (no offence to anyone, haha).

they said I look Hispanic, yeker? could be because of my curly hair, which is getting longer. or maybe people here just generalize asians as people with chinese look.

I have jaw dislocation, and it's getting more annoying as I tend to yawn more often here (could be because of the cold climate, I get somnolent easier, cewah SAT word tuu). my mouth won't shut if I open it too wide. I'll have to somehow push it to the side with my hand to fix it. it sucks, really, especially when you're in front of a lot people. one of my friends noticed that I tried to fix my jaw when we were in Dhinesh place last Friday and she said it's cool! NOOOO it's not. emma emma you're supposed to be a doctor and fix my finger and jaw lah, but you're becoming an economist now. ayoyo.

Muhammad Faiz

2008-01-12T14:34:00.002-05:00

what's your name? "Muhammad Faiz." cool, which one is your first? "both of them are my first name." wow, what's your last name then? "Abdul Malique (hehe)". *another wow* would your parents mind if you marry an American? hahaha and the questions shift from one to another.

had a gathering at Dhinesh's place last night. there were some seniors, some Americans and a whole bunch of us. sangat best. we played a game, a simple one, but it was fun. it was just about introducing ourself, but in an interesting way. too lazy to explain.

on the way back, dropped by Michigan Union to play pool. it was fun. played with Carolyn and Sheng Hong. I miss playing pool with my friends. hurm hurm.

oh yeah, people call pool as billiard here.

and lookie lookie! sangat comel.

hurmm

2008-01-08T17:57:00.001-05:00

the wind was so strong last night. sheng hong and I were in our room when we heard our room window vibrated light hell. hahaha dua2 freak out. it turns out that it's just rain that hit our window, but because the wind was so strong, the impact of the rain was like rocks being thrown to our window.

and it was raining heavily this morning. I didn't wore a jacket with hoodies, so basah la masuk class. sociology lecture was soooooooooooo boring. macam belajar sejarah. then I'm supposed to go to sociology discussion class in the afternoon. but when I arrived in front of the class, I had second thought about it. yeah, I'm dropping the class. haha. so I went to Angell Hall instead to use the computer in the Fishbowl (computer hall). dropped sociology and took up Economics class. hahaha main bantai jer. so now I have Physics II + Lab, Chemistry, Differential Equations, Economics and Pronunciation II class that I'm taking with Sheng Hong for fun. we wanna speak like americans yo. and it's only a 1 credit hour class, so I guess it won't add that much of load for me. hehe

the snows are goneeeeeeeeee, for now. bagus lah, tak sejuk sgt. makin kerap nampak mat saleh pakai shorts. huuuu.

class

2008-01-07T14:59:00.001-05:00

today I just had Differential Equations and Chemistry lecture. chemistry was fine, it's just like SPM's chemistry, but in english. the coolest thing about lecture here is that you have to buy a device called Qwizdom, which looks like a calculator. it connects to the server inside the lecture hall and when the lecturer asks any question, we will have to key in our answer in it and it'll be automatically saved to the server. so if you key in the right answer, you'll get 5 marks, 3 marks for wrong, and 0 for not answering at all. and it'll add up to the final grade, 5%. basically, it also acts like an attendance checking for the lecturer. soooo you can't skip lectures that use Qwizdom. the lectures that I have that will be using it so far is just Physics and Chemistry. hurm hurm.

how the Qwizdom looks like.

Differential Equations (DE) class was fine too, so far. just basic differential and integration. hope I won't have any troubles in the class, not like Cal 3 in intec :p

the snows are gone, almost. it's 15 degrees celcius today. most of the students here doesn't wear any jacket today. some of them even wear shorts. and I've been reducing the amount layers of cloth to wear day by day. konon dah get used to the weather la. or maybe it's just that it's getting warmer for now. but they said January should be the peak of winter? entah la.

window shop.

2008-01-06T12:55:00.001-05:00

so yesterday, we went to Briarwood Mall. it was good, although practically I didn't buy anything. there were GAP, Abercrombie & Fitch, Banana Republic and everything was soooo cheapppppppp. ok lah not that cheap, but still freaking cheap if compared to Malaysia.

inside Briarwood, there's a department store called Macy's, which I really likeeeeee. they have CK, Ralph Lauren, Levi's and everything. it was so tempting. you can get CK and Ralph Lauren for as low as $40 there. and that's still cheap compared to Malaysia price which is RM400 and above. wah la weh. Levi's jangan cakap la, $30 and there's even lower for a jeans. takpe2 I'll buy it later.

then we went to Meijers to buy our apartment stuff. bought kitchen utensils, toiletries, groceries and all. lama giler kat situuuuuuuu. I didn't buy a lot of stuff but others did! then out of nowhere met Dian. how long was it when I last saw a Malay (other than those with me). hehe then at night, Dian dropped over our apartment, had some light dinner which was prepared by the others. gave Dian her stuff, haha. how freaking surprised she was when she got the whole carton. guess it was worth it.

so today, we're supposed to be having a gathering with the UMIMSA, (University of Michigan Malaysia Student Association). not sure how it'll go, but hope it's gonna be good.

and it's very warm today. the snows are melting, and it's wet everywhere. I thought it's gonna be cold as it was foggy, but I was dead wrong. huhu

class

2008-01-03T17:20:00.002-05:00

so, I might be taking Physics II, Chemistry I, Differential Equations and Sociology this semester which sums up to 16 credits. huuuuu wanted to take Psychology instead but it seems that most of the available class for it clashes with my other subjects.

warghhh not in the mood to write. I still don't have internet in my room yet. have to come down to the lobby everytime I want to online. hurmm

move in.

2008-01-01T18:56:00.001-05:00

so, I just moved in to my apartment today. it's nice, just that its hot shower is not working, gilerrr sejuk nak mandi cold shower...but the weird thing is, other hot tap water in the room is working fine, hurm hurm.

the snow is soooooo nice today. here's a view from my room. cantik kan? :P

tomorrow's orientation is at 11am. but there's gonna be an english academic evaluation at 8am. pergh awal giler. and, bathing..hahaha im not gonna say anything about that.

and here's something worth checking out.

housing is done!

2008-01-01T00:51:00.001-05:00

today, settled my housing stuff! so I got an apartment, 2 rooms, shared with 4 people. it has a kitchen, 1 full bathroom and a very nice view as it's on the 10th floor. plus, it's just 5 minutes away from my uni campus and the city. so, it's very location wise! the rent is around$1350 per month, divided by 4 should only be around $350+ per person. definitely better than the on campus housing that I got from UMich, University of Michigan (which cost $1076 per month, ngeh). gonna share the room with 3 other engineering guys as we will have to shift to North Campus (currently in Central Campus) next year, so it'll be easier if we stick together.

slight view of the kitchen. with a stove and fridge.

the living room.

study table in the bedroom.

how the bedroom looks like.

from another angle.

after we're done with our apartments as in paying the security deposit and insurance, we headed to T-Mobile store to get our cellphone lines. on our way there, we visited the uni central campus. can't recognize what building is what (yet), so we just wandered around.

one thing about US is, they have cute squirrels!! they're like so fat, and you just feel like hugging them, lol. and and, there are lots of them! chomelll gilaaaa..feel like taking them as a pet, hoho.

Angell Hall. one of the important buildings in my uni. but not sure what it is for yet.

at the T-Mobile store. Sheng Hong could actually fell asleep there. Puan Ruzela would definitely not be surprised, lol.

we were just finished shopping at Meijers, buying our apartment stuff (pillows, kettle etc.), and snows were coming down from the sky! besttt..but you'll get wet after that, huhu..

had dinner with others, and then jumped into the snow outside. it was so freaking cool. went out without my sweater and jacket and went back in freezing cold.

they said the snow is gonna be nice tomorrow morning after it stops. and the weather forecast mentioned it's gonna be 8 thick inches of snow tomorrow :O

hope I'll do fine with it and not get sick. and tomorrow I'll be moving in to my apartment. been staying in a senior's house for two nights. greatly appreciate the accommodation. don't wanna trouble him more.

and hey! Happy New Year from Ann Arbor, Michigan! miss you guys (you know who you are)..

dah sampai.

2007-12-30T02:16:00.001-05:00

thank you to those who came to the airport. thanks to my very supporting and 'sporting' family :p and to my friends too :) your presence definitely made the farewell easier for me (yeah right, lol).

si kacak.

queuing up to get into the plane at KLIA.

the flight from KLIA to LA was ok. took 4 hours to get to Taipei and another 12 hours to reach LA (supposed to be 14 hours, but we experienced some turbulences during the flight which made the journey faster, according to the pilot lah). the best part about the flight is the plane was half empty! in average, there are only 4 persons in a row (in a 3-4-3 seating). so basically we got the seats all to ourselves. I took a window seat altho I'm supposed to be seating in the center near the aisle. had 3 seats to myself, sedap giler tido, macam kat first class, hoho.

at Taipei International Airport.

freaking empty seats from KLIA to Taipei and from Taipei to LA.

before touch down in LA.

first view of LA.

typical Malaysians at LA International Airport.

all of us were actually waiting for Haidar Aizat who was interrogated when we were about to pass the immigration. he was suspected a terrorist so the airport people did a full background check and interview on him. cost us around 3 hours for that. luckily our next flight to Chicago was 5 hours away after we touched down in LA. pity Haidar, he's so innocent. should've been me instead, lol.

Chicago O'hare Airport.

flight was delayed for half an hour, bangang betul. and biler dah naik on the plane, it took another half an hour to wait for them to carry in the luggage into the plane. lembab. oh, we flew with United American Airline by the way. sempit giler seat dier. MAS is definitely a lotttttt better.

and, found some magazine lelaki main on the racks of the bookstore in Chicago airport. 'someone' suruh kirimkan untuk dia, haha. nanti nantila.

waiting for our next flight to Detroit, Michigan.

on the bus on our way to our hotel in Ann Arbor.

so all of us are staying in a hotel for 1 night before checking out tomorrow to go to our own respective housing. we wandered in Ann Arbor for 2 possible housing today. the 1st one is too small for 7 of us, and it's kinda far from the campus. and the 2nd one is very very nice, but it's too expensive and unfurnished. so entahlah, will be checking out another house tomorrow. if we can't find an off campus housing on time, I think I'll just stay on campus which will cost me $1076 per month, ngeh.

it's so freaking cold todayyyyyy. was 0 degree celcius kot? and still the people here say it's warm today. takde otakkk aper...hahaha I really can't stand the cold. now rase macam nak demam sket, but baru je makan panadol, so it's getting better. :)

important dates

2007-12-13T01:31:00.002-05:00

Flight date - 28th December 2007

KLIA - Los Angeles (via Taipei) 1515/1650
Los Angeles - Chicago 2300/0451
Chicago - Detroit 0735/0950

Estimated Departure Time/Estimated Arrival Time (according to local time)

then will be heading to University of Michigan - Ann Arbor by bus with another 39 people + 1 JPA officer. might be spending some nights in the uni hall (if we're allowed) as on campus housing will only be opened on 2nd January. andddd I haven't settled my housing yet, lol. visa is done, finally.

University orientation - 2nd January 2008

Class starts - 3rd January 2008