Wednesday, November 30, 2016

A Beautiful Writer

I read a long essay yesterday, about the danger of over-consuming sugar in our dietary intake, that almost riveted my mind to the level that I've rarely experienced nowadays.

Some writers have this heavenly gift of weaving their mind into words that could gently blow you towards whatever direction they are leading you to; a very talented writer could even turn your mood from downright sorrow to perpetual happiness.

Writing is a dying art. Of course everyone can write, but not everyone can write beautifully. Having the opportunity to read a well-written essay is like discovering a treasure trove; you are excited to know what's inside it but at the same time, you do not want to know where it will end.

I've read many scientific articles which were severely lacking in souls. Many science writers nowadays focus too much on the scientific side of the argument; they either ignore the importance of attracting people's attention through persuasive words, or maybe they are too lazy to do that.

Science and literature is one, there's no two ways about it. You cannot do without the other.      

Monday, November 21, 2016

My Workplace

I arrived at my workplace as usual today.

Since late 2014, when I started working, I was never ever been given a proper working desk to work with. My request for a desktop PC was frequently shot down. I was never even given a working phone line to begin with.

The usual reason?

The PC was still under repair. The phone line needed a working phone...which was not there.

So I used my own mini laptop to finish all my work.

 My old desk, before I moved to new department two weeks ago

I usually have a cup of coffee upon setting up my desk.

Anyone who knows me well is well aware that I'm a coffee junkie. I'll become extremely moody and erratic when I'm not having my usual sip of coffee (as exemplified today). 

But once I had my daily coffee on schedule, all is well. 

I don't know what's the point of writing all these down, but I just feel the need to write something down, even though it's pointless and useless.

Maybe this is how I vent my frustration/boredom/tiredness to the outside world.

Things are slowly getting better but something is lost inside me.

Maybe it's there, but I'm looking in the wrong place.

So I'll keep looking.

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Have Faith & Stay True

I was reading an account of a young woman who said, among other things, that she was currently residing in a land where all the people there spoke "perfect English".

Where is that land would be?

Nowhere.

There is no land in this world where the people there speak perfect English

Not even England.

The same thing goes for the Malay language. 

There is no land in this world where all the people there speak perfect Malay.

Not even Malaysia.

It was not long before I came to a conclusion that she was indirectly insinuating that she was currently living in the land of the English...England.

England, for centuries, has been associated with a high-status society.

So this woman wanted to be associated with that.

Some people have this insecurity within themselves that they need outside influence to further elevate their status.

Some do it for ego, while some do it for attention.

Some need other people's approval before doing or deciding to do something.

A black pen will still be a black pen, even though a thousand other people say it is a blue pen. 

Have faith in your own ability. And stay true to yourself. 

Saturday, November 19, 2016

A New Dawn

It's been a hectic week.

I've been devoured by mounting new information to chew (yes, chew...it's not yet been wholly digested). While it's definitely true that I love challenging myself to the highest level, my age is fast catching up with my ability to cope with new knowledge as rapidly as before.

I have ten more years before my mind starts deteriorating (research has shown that in average, human mind reaches its limit of intellectual capacity at age forty), so I'd better pulling up my socks fast before my mind starts dragging me down.

Flicking through the web-pages, I took a quick glance at Pancasara and, lo and behold, it's been a mess. It's sluggish, saggy, and full of half-baked writings (figuratively speaking, it's heavy in light writings, and light in heavy writings). There are two or three "hanging" (or unfinished) articles (USM Convo Finale and Dido, these two sprang up in my mind), and lots of movies. 

I actually intended to make Pancasara, apart from its other purposes, as my movie's repository (I'd already stressed in the past that Pancasara is an entity in itself, it's existence is independent of me). I usually forgot movies that I'd already watched, so Pancasara serves as the perfect platform for me to sift through all these movies, in order not to watch them twice (for some excellent movies, I did intentionally watch them twice or more).

I will invest more time in Pancasara beginning this week, if my time permits.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Movies...and Work





As usual, I will update my progress on movies that I've had the pleasure to watch last week (I've already reported for formal duty last week, so my time is severely limited now).

The Shawshank Redemption, rated as one of the greatest movies of all time, is head and shoulders above the rest. Based on Stephen King's novel of the same title, the movie is moderately-paced with a beautifully-built plot twist towards the end.

The rest (the other three movies) are ok, particularly Need For Speed, which I skipped during my happy time in Unimas due to unfavourable reviews (now I know that not all reviews are good).

I don't have much time, hope I could write more this coming weekend. Till then.    

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Bukan Untukku


Malam ku tak berbintang
Siang ku hanya berlari-lari Apakah tanda makna mengenalimu Sekadar mimpi
Jari ku sentuh dingin ku rasai Kosong tiada makna Diamnya tak berkata
Hanya aku yang tak pernah Mengejar kejora kau janji bersama Walau diri mu berharga tidak kau bahagia Jika ku bersama denganmu Tanpa sayap cintamu Takkan ku terbang setinggi ini Ku tuju langit cerah Rupanya kelam kabus menanti Percaya kasih kucuba sedaya
Namun tiada beza Biar ku undurkan diri Hanya aku yang tak pernah Mengejar kejora kau janji bersama Walau diri mu berharga tidak kau bahagia Jika ku bersama denganmu Hanya aku yang tak pernah Mengejar kejora kau janji bersama Walau diri mu berharga tidak kau bahagia Jika ku bersama denganmu Mungkin kecewa mencari Gelapnya berteman ku rindu selama Namun harus ku mengerti kiranya kau di sisi Cinta mu bukannya untukku

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Read :)


Tuesday, November 1, 2016

My Second Coming

1. I formally reported back for duty today in Ipharm after a long hiatus (I love to call it sabbatical).

2. I was informed that Yana (my partner) refused to come back. She understandably threw in the towel and decided to walk away.

3. Yana was my closest friend during our first stint in Ipharm last year. I heard reliable stories about how she missed me and used to talk about me during my absence (she is married by the way...what we have is real friendship).

4. Whatever I do, she's not going to come back. What I have of her now are the remnants of our memories together.

5. I was escorted by Myra to meet Dr Adel. She greeted me with her usual smile, and she read to me an important message from my supervisor, Prof Madya Dr Zafarina.

6. The message was simple; try my level best and complete all the work as soon as possible. I'm still unsure whether I could do it or not...what I'm very sure is I will give my best.

7. From this day onward, time is going to be very scarce for me.