AF lagi....

*Before I begin, I'm obliged to give a word of caution to anyone who reads this : What is written below is MY OWN OPINION. It may be unpleasant to you, especially if you're one of the avid viewers of the show. So, if you are very sensitive about the subject, ABORT! ABORT! (i.e. Please exit this page NOW!!)*

I guess this topic does not need an introduction. AF = Akademi Fantasia. A group youngsters aspiring to be the next big discovery of the entertainment industry are 'enrolled' into the academy, where they are taught by a team of people on the art of singing, dancing etc. Reality tv style. Every week the students perform, and each week one student would be expelled. Whether a student stays or goes depend on how many votes received via SMS from the public.

AF is in its 3rd year now. I followed AF quite closely in the first year, watched a couple of the concerts in the 2nd year, and tonight was the first time I watched the concert for this installment. Ever since the first year, one thing is evident : It's all about looks. Talent is secondary (or even further down the list).

Oh, I don't deny that some of the winners deserved what they got. Vince was good (he was blessed with a complete package of talent and looks). Zahid was undeniably a very deserving winner of AF2 due to his versatility. Some others...well, the fact that they went so far despite their inability to carry a tune to save their own skins is the eighth wonder of the world to me. Huge talents like Sahri AF1 and Bob AF2 were pushed aside because 'package tak complete'; when it came to physical attributes they didn't inspire admiration in screaming girls and their mothers, the same people who spend RM50 a week just to make sure their favourites reach the finals, regardless of talent.

Malaysians are notorious for preferring things based on face value instead of real quality, so it's not really a shocker. Because of that, the fact that some people said Sepet didn't deserve to win the Film Festival over another lavish and yet inferior production didn't exactly make me go into a cardiac arrest and collapse on the floor.

But I'm going off at a tangent here. Ok, back on track. Some of my objections towards AF are as follows :

1) The whole crying thingy when someone is eliminated out of AF. Malaysian crowd has always been very emotional, but I think reality tv has brought the meaning of the word 'emotional' to greater heights. I don't know if those people even cry THAT much if their children get expelled from school. Or follow as closely of their children's progress; if parents are as interested and as passionate in their children's education as they are watching AF, I can assure you, we can stop worrying about the quality of tomorrow's leaders.

2) And hugging between men and women? I think this subject has been exhausted by many people; in newspapers, on the internet etc. The fact that many of the people involved are Muslims, they should know better. And please, don't give me that he's-like-my-brother/son/father/grandfather (and vice versa with females) rubbish. The fact is, these people are NOT your relations (to be specific, your muhrim) so PLEASE behave accordingly. The sight of tudung-clad women, even, behave in such a way on national tv makes my heart bleed. Youngsters nowadays are very impressionable, and they always follow by example. At the rate tv shows are going with this new 'trend', I'm starting to feel that the only channels I feel comfortable showing to my niece (and my not-yet-existing children) are Animal Planet and Discovery Channel (no, not even cartoons, but that's another story...).

3) SMS voting. Whoever came up with the idea is a pure genius. What better way can there be to make the public willingly give their money? But I guess I can't say much about this subject. What people do with their money is their own business...just wish that they have more sense to put aside that money spent for their children's education, instead of complaining that the government doesn't give enough scholarships (without realizing the fact that our country is possibly the only country that gives out scholarships on such a large scale and amount, and yet they are not thankful...but again, that's another story....).

AF3 will reach its conclusion next weekend. The winner of this season is fairly obvious, for some reasons, whatever they may be. The interesting bit is guessing who the runners-up are. Undoubtedly, this whole week, fingers will be flying on mobile phones to submit votes; tongues wagging, talking about the finals; and plans are being made to keep Saturday evening free. One thing for sure, on Saturday night, there will be a lot of crying and hugging, on a larger scale than before, befitting the finale of Akademi Fantasia 3.

Azureen's song...

Whenever Azureen cries, I'd pick her up and sing her this song : "Under the Bamboo Tree" from Meet Me in St Louis. I know, it's not exactly the most imaginative song you can sing to a child to soothe her or to get her to sleep, but the first time I sang that song it was the only one that came to my mind. And it seemed to work. And since it does, I don't see why I shouldn't continue singing it.....

::Under the Bamboo Tree::

Down in the jungle lived a maid

Of royal blood though dusky shade

A marked impression once she made

Upon a Zulu, from Matabooloo

And every morning he would be

Down underneath the bamboo tree

Awaiting there his love to see

And then to her he'd sing

(To her he'd sing...)

If you like-a me

Like I like-a you

And we like-a both the same

I like to say, this very day

I like to change your name

'Cause I love-a you

And love-a you true

And if you-a love-a me

One live as two

Two live as one

Under the bamboo tree

It's a little silly, but she seems to like it, so, what the heck....

Back at last....

It's been a week since I've been back....lots of things have happened...here's a gist of what had happened so far:

1) Exams were tough. Written papers were killers, I actually had thoughts of repeats in September.

2) Packing my things out of the room was a bigger killer. Note to self : DO NOT buy anymore things!!

3) Met abah & mak at the airport. Saw Azureen for the first time since March. Mak aih!! She's chubbier than her pictures!! I definitely recommend breast milk for any baby....

4) Met up with a certain someone I've not seen since my last birthday. Had a great time (as we always do, even when doing nothing..)

5) Had a majlis cukur jambul & berandoi for Azureen today. Penat giler.

6) Oh yeah, my exam results came out! I PASSED!!! Fourth year, here I come!! *ehem* What I mean is : Alhamdulillah....God is certainly very good to me....

7) Okay, now for some pictures (Azureen punya la, saper lagi....):

Now THIS is how chubby she really is

Beautiful girl....

Azureen (trying on her baju kurung the night before majlis bercukur) and Kak Sih

Azureen and (bits of) her mak ngah after all the guests went home

When my sister wanted to get the headband, I said "No, you're NOT gonna put that on my niece's head!" Tapi dah pakai tu comel la pulak..(which goes to show adorable babies can pull off anything - or maybe, just my niece...hehe)

Terror in London

The sound of the radio-alarm woke me up this morning at about 10 a.m. Over the radio I vaguely heard the news about two underground trains colliding with each other. "Hmph. Such a great impression this city is giving after winning the Olympic bid," I thought as I drowsily turned off the radio.

Not long after that I received missed calls from home and smses from my mom. She sounded worried ('worried' is a gross understatement) and urgently asked me to call back. Mobile network was bad in the morning, and when the call from home finally got through, that was when I realized what had happened.

A bus blew up in Tavistock Square in central london. 3 other explosions happened on the London Underground, one of it happened near Algate East station, not very far from where I live.

After September 11, 2001, many expected London to suffer the same fate as the US. Almost four years down the line, it finally happened.

With the G8 Summit happening today and Londoners still unrecovered from the exhilaration of being chosen as host for Olympic 2012, the timing is almost impeccable that you almost have to admire the twisted minds behind this. They could not have chosen a more perfect timing.

After the phone call from home, I spent the next hour receiving calls from friends and making calls to others to find out if everyone's okay. Alhamdulillah, no one was involved. Then another friend called to say that they needed help from medical students at Royal London Hospital, where most of the victims from Algate East were taken to. Our halls of residence is just behind the hospital, so it did not take long for us to get there.

Almost 300 people were sent to Royal London Hospital, and the hospital cafeteria had to be converted into a temporary A&E Minors. Doctors, nurses, hospital staff were everywhere.

Security was tight, they only allowed hospital personnel and medical students with IDs onto the premise. We were directed to the lecture theatre where we sometimes have our teaching sessions, and there were quite a number of students already there, watching the BBC news projected onto the screen. After about half an hour, one of the doctors informed that they had enough manpower as all the staff were sent to help out at the A&E, and told us we could go home.

Madness, absolute madness.

A group of people calling themselves the Secret Organisation Group of al-Qaeda of Jihad Organisation in Europe claimed to be responsible for the attack.

When the terrorists launched their attack on America in 2001, it felt to me more like a horror movie on television. Turn the tv off, and things would go back to normal. When people asked about my opinion of it, like other people, I condemned the actions of the terrorists, saying that the usage of violence wasn't in the teachings of Islam. However despite that, secretly I actually thought that America received its come-uppance for their policies regarding the Middle East.

I know better now. And I am very ashamed for ever thinking that way. In all these attacks, innocent people were victims, and nothing in the world can justify such actions. Hutang darah tak boleh dibayar dengan darah. Every life is precious, and no crime in the world can be atoned with further violence.

Countdown : Four (and a half) days to go..

It's Wednesday afternoon, approximately four and a half days to go before exams (I'm too lazy to work out the details, i.e. number of hours and minutes and seconds, my math's atrocious these days..).

Revision's going slow....I have this tendency to cross-reference almost everything I read, opening books and stuff (which is not very ideal at this stage), but my brain absolutely refuses to remember anything it doesn't understand (it used to be more obedient before). It's good in a way though, after three years in medical school I finally understand the mechanisms of lipid metabolism and bilirubin synthesis (hehe a bit of a confession there...*sheepish grin*).

Oh well.....

Almost everyone in my year is stressed. Whenever I bump into any of them, he/she would tell me "Omigod! I can't remember anything! I've only gone through the lecture notes three times, and I'm SO gonna fail this exam!"

My reaction? "Well buddy, you've done revision THREE times; I'm barely covering it the first time, and you're telling ME you are gonna fail??"

Hah. Well, at least THAT'S what I would like to say. But I don't, obviously.

For the past week I've been locking myself in my room, going out only when necessary, to avoid people as mentioned above. Am not one of those people who can function very well when stressed, let alone study, and so I separate myself from the civilization as much as possible to prevent contact with external stress factors. I like to keep my cool, thank you very much.

Having the EMQ (extended matching question) exam on Monday, Data Interpretation on Tuesday, short OSCE stations on Wednesday and the long OSCE stations on Friday. After 10.30 a.m. on Friday next week I'll be free!!

I hope the exam will be okay for me. God, give me strength.

After the exams, have to pack in a frenzy! Will have to clear all my belongings, and put them for storage by Sunday morning. Flight back to Malaysia is at 10 p.m Sunday, will touch down on Malaysian soil by 5.30 p.m. Monday, insyaAllah.

Can't wait to go home....

But, in the meantime, I shall have to persevere and try to revise as much as I can, and so this site will be on hiatus until I'm back in Malaysia.

Ciao!

p/s :

Thanks so much for the comments about the new layout. The credit, however, goes to Silent Whimpers, the creator of this awesome skin (you can check out her designs at blogskins.com). However, don't you DARE use THIS skin!

Kidding. Do what you like. I'm not one of those people who's very bothered abt these things. Who am I to say, anyway, since it's not my creation in the first place...

Taaa!