Saturday, January 24, 2009

What I Learnt at PLKN Part II

Shazwan Azizan says:
tgh dload lagu patriotik

Liyana Zakaria says:
eh please la i dh muak dah lagu patriotik dkt plkn

Shazwan Azizan says:
i dah rindu

Liyana Zakaria says:
bangun siren pagi2 pun lagu patriotik

Shazwan Azizan says:
ibu pertiwi is the bomb

Liyana Zakaria says:
eee u bgn pagi2 siren apa?

Liyana Zakaria says:
bukan lagu2 cibai kan?

Liyana Zakaria says:
kalau lagu2 mcm i kena mesti dh taknak dengar bila habis plkn 3 bulan

Shazwan Azizan says:
siren biasa

Liyana Zakaria says:
haa ok la tu

Liyana Zakaria says:

u tk rasa apa i rasa

Shazwan Azizan says:

i met a girl who thratened me just because i was looking her direction

Shazwan Azizan says:
i met a guy who told us how he and his friends drugged and gang raped a girl

Shazwan Azizan says:
i met a guy who told us he helped a girl yg kena histeria and was posessed by some jin yg mati tak dikebumi betul2 so he had to ask his friend to kapan and tanamkan dia to appease the jin

Shazwan Azizan says:
i met kids who have no ambition in life

Liyana Zakaria says:
T_T

Shazwan Azizan says:
whether or not i tak rasa apa u rasa is irrelevant

Liyana Zakaria says:
u menang plkn siapa paling cibai

Shazwan Azizan says:
bukan cibai

Shazwan Azizan says:
but

Shazwan Azizan says:
kecewa

Shazwan Azizan says:
manusia mcm tu

Liyana Zakaria says:
T_T

Liyana Zakaria says:
its the experience we get


Right-O

Thursday, January 22, 2009

My Apologies To My City

I know for sure there was a time when I hated this place. The weather. The public transportation. The not-too-big, not-too-small-ness of it (planes from our airport fly to Chicago via Detroit, to Detroit via Chicago, once even to New York via Detroit). It's too hilly (pedestrian unfriendly), lacks parking (too car unfriendly), and has a subway system that doesn't quite serve the areas you would think it should.

It did have some awesome sights though. I remember my first view of Pittsburgh. Coming from the airport, as you exit Fort Pitt tunnel, the city's skyline takes up your whole view. Downtown; the shiny PPG Place; Heinz Field in all its glory, looking like an alien spaceship; PNC Park; Carnegie Science Center. The rivers add a nice touch to it, too. I rarely say this about anything, but the view was breathtaking, as I sat in the 28X, trudging slowly beside the Monongahela. Later on in my first week I was introduced to the quaint neighborhood of Squirrel Hill, with all its shops and al fresco cafés.

But I guess that was it. The cold soon came and I became a hermit staying indoors. I blame the buses (canceled trips), I blame the cold, I blame me being hung up, I blame the lack of shops nearby CMU, I blame the difficulties of fitting in, I blame CMU, I blame a lot more; I blame a lot.

But maybe it's the friends I made. Maybe it's the Steelers. Heck, maybe even the Pirates! I'm sure it wasn't Mt. Washington: I've yet to get a nice view up there. I doubt it's CMU; I'll only love this place the very day I have to leave for good. Maybe it's the unveiling of a million different things to eat by choosing to go katok? Maybe it's the fact that some people actually think this place is awesome (albeit compared to their 'rural' campus towns). Maybe it's the independence of living in my own place. The myriad of bridges, possibly?

Someone joked that a friend of his said it was "a bore" over here--"nothing much, really". And that hurt. It struck home. But I am not moved by the fact that someone could say something like that and know that I can't say much in defense. Or that someone thinks little of The 'Burgh. What surprises me is that I am affected by those mere words. And that can only mean that I actually love my city. I love Pittsburgh.

This is long due, Steel City: I am sorry.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

A Winter of Reflection

In three weeks I bummed around, was a tourist guide, was a parent to my parent, saw close to 30 movies, got my first-ever speeding ticket, saw the Amish, paid back a friend, and befriended a friendly cow.

I have learnt:
+ that I throw like a girl (I am big enough to admit this, Dian)
+ that listening to my favorite tunes makes me speed (Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas; the fine was $167.50)
+ that I apparently like cleaning and am quite okay with the idea of a surarumah
+ that cows are cute (or atleast they can be)
+ that US highways are quite confusing (an Interstate route can be a highway, yet a highway isn't necessarily an Interstate?)
+ that speeding tickets can be a bitch (I could've gotten a lovely camel coat from Banana Republic with that money)
+ that I love Pittsburgh despite all its shortcomings
+ that I don't quite like weed
+ that stand up comedy can be quite funny

2008-2009 Holiday Merayap List:
+ Niagara Falls, NY
+ Pocono Mountains & Milford, PA
+ Strasburg and Lancaster, PA
+ Ann Arbor, MI

2008-2009 Holiday Playlist:
+ Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
+ Australia
+ The Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
+ Happy Gilmore
+ Saving Silverman
+ Back to the Future 2
+ Back to the Future 3
+ Shrek
+ The Piano
+ I Love You, I Love You Not
+ Tropic Thunder
+ Batman
+ Something's Gotta Give
+ As Good As It Gets
+ Mamma Mia
+ The Prestige
+ Moulin Rouge!
+ The Family Stone
+ Family Guy Presents Blue Harvest
+ Before Sunrise
+ Frost/Nixon
+ The Shining
+ Doubt
+ One Fine Day
+ Before Sunset
+ Prelude to a Kiss
+ The Green Mile
+ Vicky Cristina Barcelona
+ Yes Man
+ The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2008-2009 Holiday Book List:
+ A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
+ Angels & Demons - Dan Brown (pointless to read if you haven't read the previous book)
+ The Gathering - Anne Enright

2008-2009 Holiday Bakar Duit List:
+ $360 Phenom X3 PC
+ $4 shirts at Banana Republic
(Both so cheap, in the wise words of Mama: berdosa kalau tak beli)


As interesting as it all may have been, it would've been pointless without the people I shared it with. Remember that, and don't ever forget =)