Days of Delirium

About two weeks back, I got a chance to finally see these two incredible movies based on true stories. Being a real-life movie junkie, I was thrilled to watch it and even more so after I had done both of them. Just don't ask me how I managed to get hold of them okay *wink*. Hint: Technology. I started off with Julie & Julia , a movie about a woman named Julie Powell (played by the incredibly talented Amy Adams) who started a blog back in 2002 with a very specific mission - she wanted to try each and every single 524 recipe in the famous cooking book of American cooking legend, Julia Child (played by Meryl Streep) in 365 days a.k.a a year. She was not a stay-at-home wife. She has a full time day job in the civil service, helping those affected in the 9/11 attacks regarding their insurance claims. Yes, she's a wife and has a cat. Yet, she wanted to do something more. She wanted to prove to people that she was more than just a poor 30-year-old woman, sitting in a cubicle handl...

Have you ever watched a chick-lit movie when a girl got a new guy and they're getting serious and started introducing him to her friends over a proper dinner-cum-night out? Like the ones in Sex and the City or Clueless. I totally had that moment last night and I was pretending to be Carrie Bradshaw - with a goatee. Sakina decided to invite the seven of us for dinner in Chilli's, Mid Valley Megamall to introduce his new Versace-wearing Kuwaiti beau Yusuf, which also happened to be her soon-to-be fiance and husband - in a matter of months. It was an impromptu rendezvous but surprisingly all of us managed to be there and get to know him, as well as their *ehem* future planning. It's so good to see your dear friend being happy with her man and will be getting hitched soon. Like, so soon. It's also a reminder on how old we already are. I've known Sakina for about five years - still remember being in the same class with her, walking back from our class to the 11th Colleg...

It is disheartening to see just how far some heartless people would go to protect their interests and ignite a fire by politicizing everything within their grasp, including the sacred, holy name of God. I need not tell you how it all went down. You probably know better than me and we are all well informed on how nasty the whole situation is. Demonstrations took place, protesters using vulgar words, churches being blown and set on fire - all in the name of 'protecting' God's name from being 'tainted' by other religion. Really, is it so? Because if it is, Allah SWT and the Prophet Muhammad wouldn't approve anything like this at all. Everything that had been done regarding this issue is just plain wrong. Time and again, Allah reminded us through the Holy Quran on how to treat others with compassion and not to resort to any kind of physical or verbal violence: "And argue not with the People of the Scriptures (Christians and Jews), unless it be in a way that is ...

We all know how the original idiom went right? 'Pot calling the kettle black' is an old idiom which means to accuse a person or a thing of being marked with or guilty of the very thing they are pointing out. In my case, the pot is not only calling the kettle black, but selfish, ignorant and insensible all at one go. It all started with this one person, asking out my friend and I to celebrate his birthday. When he texted me, I simply replied with a short answer, declining the invitation since I was too occupied with my work then. What, you really wanted to get caught texting away while you're on work? Then, when the real birthday came, I still sent him warm wishes since we were (somewhat) close friends and he thanked me - all through text. At that time, I was still working part time. It turned out, he let it all hang out to another friend, expressing his dissatisfaction of me, making a big fuss about my short decline (which happened weeks before that) instead of confronting ...

The next day after my big night of surprise, I had an early dinner date with Ayi and Ann Jie, since the latter insisted on going out and celebrating my day. The place du jour: Bubba Gump Shrimp at The Curve. It was New Year's Day and learning from precedent cases, I chose not to step into any shopping mall but since they have made their reservation there, I just followed. Traffic and parking was hell, no surprise. It turned out, Ann Jie had reserved a table for five. I relentlessly begged her to reveal the remaining two people who'd be joining us, but yeah, she was good in keeping her surprise. Minutes later, three familiar faces stormed in and loudly wished me 'Happy Birthday!'. It was Sakina, Hana and her guy, Firdaus. What a pleasant surprise man! So, the five of them happily took time off to come and sit with me at the Forrest Gump-themed restaurant. No need to tell, I was so honored by these fabulous people especially Sakina who had just return from Port Dickson fo...

Since I didn't have any plan for New Year, Firah invited me over to her place for a little barbecue with other fellow friends. So, on the eve, I tailed behind Hani and her beau Aizat to Firah's, way in Shah Alam. Beforehand, Hani already reminded me that she had to stop by her 'aunt's' place first so I just happily obliged. Her aunt? Yeah, right. When we pulled over her alleged 'aunt's' place, Hani came over to my car and told me that her aunt wanted us to go in for awhile. It wasn't until later when we were about to step into the house when I suspected something fishy. The place was august yet so quiet. I didn't have the time to think when I went in and was greeted by the loudest birthday cheer ever said to me by my dear friends, complete with the sign 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYE'. There they were, never failed to make me happy and put a smile on my face especially on this very special day. There was never an aunt involved and it was Firah's...