Book Review : When I Was A Kid

Last month I went to Popular Bookstore to get some books before going back to my hometown. When I was at the counter to pay for the books, suddenly I saw a little girl holding a book and it looked familiar. As I got closed to it, I noticed that was the book which had been promoted in my favourite website! (www.iamboey.com) The cover looked nice and interesting but it's wrapped so I couldn't see the content inside. Since I were already bought 3 English novels which made me running out of money, so I decided to get that book at any bookstore in my hometown. Unfortunately all the bookstores in Kelantan were out of stocks! I was dying to get it! Later one of my friend gave me a gift. It was a book. That book, When I Was A Kid (childhood stories) by Boey.

Oh you must be wondered who is Boey actually. Well Boey is a Malaysia animator/ artist/ author based in US and he is best known for his art on Styrofoam cups. He is also handsome. *wink*

Okay back to the main point. The stories in the book are a reflection of Boey's childhood spent growing up in Johor Bharu and crossing the causeway to attend school in Singapore in 1980s. At 17, he packed his bags and headed to San Francisco to study and has gone on to establish his career there.

Fyi, the stories first appeared on his blog www.iamboey.com and the number of followers increased over the years encouraging Boey to compile some of the stories into his first book. Funny, poignant, honest, When I was a Kid is illustrated in simple stick figures accompanied by short descriptions. Each story is self contained and can be read in any order. You can check the info here.

Btw, let me show you some content (stories) in this book:

"These are the stories of my childhood. Of surviving school, siblings and parents. This is about imaginary heroes, the lies adults like to tell and the dangerous mix of boredom and curiosity. These are stories a little kid promised to never tell his parents. This is the book about my life growing up." - Chee Ming Boey


Whoopse! You must be getting curious now. Perhaps you keep asking yourself, why should you get this book? So I'm telling you, it's because:

• It's featured in What's Hot from MPH online.Ouh it's getting hotter!

• No. 2 on the best seller's list in Malaysia!

• The LANGUAGE use is so SIMPLE, EASY TO UNDERSTAND and RELAX. Even my youngest sister, a 7-year-old sister love to read it and she could understand the whole stories written!

• It is written by our local writer,Cheeming Boey whereby he reflected his childhood time in Malaysia.  Thus you can find his traditional believe, way of living in Malaysia, what he played when he was a kid and perhaps you experienced the same before!

• The stories came out with doodles/cartoon. So you will get clear image of what he's trying to said or what was going on. 

• It's cute and funny plus it can make you non-stop laughing out loud. Trust me you will =)

• It's a good start for you to learn and read in English. You won't feel that it is dull and bored as you'll get wonderful amazing stories as an extra! Hoyeah!~

So what are you waiting for? You can purchase it from here or any bookstore including POPULAR, MPH and Kinokuniya. Happy reading!

Already got one! :)

Owww before I forget, Boey will be back to Malaysia soon! Good news; you'll have a chance to meet him and get his autograph! Check the schedule below. See you guys there! Save the date =D

Like his fb page https://www.facebook.com/BoeyCheeming
Follow him on : http://www.iamboey.com/

First

"There'll always be that first true love. The one that never really worked out but you kept your hopes up too much. The one who got away. The one who taught you all you need to know about love. And the one that until now, is still the one you look back to whenever you try to love again."


Good night! :-)

A door to Exit.

Warning - This is an emotional post. Please do not read if you have a migrain or heart problem. I will not be responsible if you want to take this risk. Thank you.


Dear blog,

I've been thinking a lots before I write this entry. My life is changing. Totally change.

pic from Google

Every girl wants to be a beauty.  Every girls loves beauty things. Same goes to me. I always want to look good in everything that I do, everything that I wear and everywhere that I go. I want people to see me with words of "Wow, she's gorgeous!" or "Wow, she's beautiful!". Since that, I try to grab every single opportunity that comes into my life. As I love photography, I take a first step to be a talent. I love being the subjects for each photo that had been taken. Then I start to adore this field so much. I move from title of the talent to become the one who walk on the stage for several awesome fashion shows where people stare at me with an amazing looks and keep asking me 'Can I get your numbers please?". Oh I love to be a part of the stories behind the show and the photo shoot as well. It is such a great memories which I will never forget until my last breathe.

However, everything starts to change last two days. It was a dream. The same dream which was repeated for more than two times and it was not a good dream. It was a dream that totally harm my life. I remembered that I once asked my ustaz about the dream during the lecture last semester. Ustaz, should we believe in dream? How can we know if the dream is true or vice versa? How should we know that the dream is a message from God or a lie from As-syayatiin? My ustaz had mentioned that sometimes if you dream of something bad happens in your life and the dream is repeated for many times, it means something. The dream might have two conditions. First, that bad thing will really happen to you. Second, that bad thing will not happen but you get the dream because it is a sign from Allah. He wants you to change, he gives you hidayah through the dream. He opens your eyes and your heart through your dream so that you can see the truth. It is also a test for your 'Iman', how far it is, how strong it is.

I don't now which condition that the dream belongs to. The first or the second one? I..don't know what to do. I feel lost. Empty. Down. Everything comes up in a same time but not in a right moment. I couldn't carry it anymore. At last, I call a friend and ask for his opinion. Since he is older than me, I think I can get some advices regarding to the problem. Although he is not handsome, has a big nose and the big eyes like owl, he did tell me something that I never thought before.

Me: Bla bla bla bla bla bla.. So, what do you think?

He: Hmm.. To be honest, let me tell you something. Imagine when you get married. Then you leave all this things. You promise that you will stop joining this modelling field. You marry to one man, only one man, but don't you know that a lot of photographers (men) still keep all of your photos? They are men! Then what will you say when some day one of your grandchildren comes home and tells you that his friend brings your photos to school and show to other friends where his friend says that he gets it from the album of his grandfather which is a famous photographer a long time before. What will you say to him? How will you explain that? Will you say that  " Oh, granny was a model. " Would you be able to tell that?

No, I will not be able to tell that! I don't want neither my children nor my grandchildren to follow my step. Frankly speaking, usually it's very hard for me to listen to any advice although it is a good one because I am a stubborn girl. It is not easy for me to change. But I do listen and follow his advice well. Maybe because I feel like he's my own brother even though we come from different types of blood. The most important things here is probably God has opened my heart and guide me to follow what I think the best for me. He knows the best, so I pray for the best.

There is only one way. If I don't want something bad happens to me like the one in the dream, I must leave this modelling field. I have to quit. Or else I will find myself crying alone in the middle of the night at the back of the bed with the feeling of regret until the end of my life. Stepping away from this world will be one of the most difficult time for me. I know I'm not an artist, I'm not the one who always come up in famous magazines or television show. I'm only a small butterfly which only known by a few photographers. But I feel hurt. When you leave something that is the reason for you to be almost on the top where people know and adore you because of your performance, I tell you it is really not an easy thing to do! Trust me. It is so hard until I feel like I want to run away, hiding myself from anything and hoping for the Judgement Day to come. But I have no choice. This is the only decision I should take, and it is the best one for this moment.

Oh God..I don't want to be famous. I don't want to be the idol for other girls because of my style or my pose. I want to be the best woman, the best daughter, the true muslimah, the best wife and the best mom.. I don't care if I'm not special like the others. I don't care if people say that I'm a typical Malay or telling me that  I'm stupid because of the decision that I've made. But I do care of my life in the hereafter! What should I say when He asks me what have I done in this world since I was born until my last breathe?

Dear people, don't hate me for what I've written. My life will never be the same as yours. We are all given the chance and it is we, ourselves who will decide which road we want to take. For the first time in my life I realise.. All day long I had no time, to spread a word of cheer, no time to speak of Allah to friends, no time to give to souls in need, no time, no time. Too much to do, that was my constant cry. How if tonight is my last time, the time to die. Then I go before the Lord, I come, I stand with downcast eyes, for in His hands God held a book. It is the book of life. God look into His book and says, your name I cannot find. I once was going to write it down, but never found the time... :'(

I.. want to write it down..sincerely.. I want a second chance.....!

For my future husband, I don't know who you are, how do you look like, how Islamic are you, but I just want you to know. I'm not a good person in the past and I'm in the process of inhealing myself. I made a lot of mistakes. I have hurt so many peoples. I've being an annoying girl for a long time. When the time comes, I want you to know that Im really sorry for everything. Give me a chance to be myself, the real me. I pray that you are a someone who knows how to read Al-fatihah in a correct way, who knows 'hukum tajwid', who can be an Imam in all my solah, who do the pillars of Islam, who is willing to share whole of his life with me, who will love me until your last breathe. I know I may not be the best girl in the world, but I promise that I will be a good muslimah, wife and mom. Insha Allah..




p/s: Allah, You are my Lord, there's no God but you. You have created me and I am Your slave and I'm bound to Your convenient and Your promise to the best of my ability. I seek refugee in You from the evil of what I've done. I beg your grace on me and I confess to You my sins. So forgive me, for none is there to forgive sins but You...

Coming Soon

Will do the review on this book. Wait for the next entry okay! Have a nice day. XOXO

Book Review : Pak Samad Di Mata Kami

Selepas praktikum akhir bulan April lepas, uncle Sani mesej saya meminta alamat rumah. Katanya hendak pos buku. Lebih kurang dua minggu selepas itu, pada suatu petang saya menerima satu bungkusan kecil. Bila dibuka, sebuah buku jatuh ke tangan. Putih warnanya. Simple, tapi kelihatan seperti penuh dengan makna.

kulit depan dan belakang buku

Bila dibelek-belek buku itu sebelum membukanya, saya terfikir. Seingat saya kali terakhir saya membaca buku novel Bahasa Melayu adalah 6 tahun lepas. Itu pun buku Ramlee Awang Mursyid. Kalau novel-novel Melayu masa kini memang saya tak baca. Kebanyakannya hanya menceritakan kisah cinta yang saya sudah jangka pengakhirannya bagaimana. Agak bosan. Secara jujurnya saya hanya membaca bahan-bahan yang berkaitan dengan study saya dan English novel sahaja. Tetapi novel ini amat menarik perhatian saya. Kali pertama melihatnya pun saya mempunyai persoalan apakah kandungan yang ada di dalamnya? Kenapa uncle Sani susah payah poskan untuk saya? Tentu ada sesuatu di sebalik tulisannya.

Mama antara orang paling excited bila saya tunjukkan buku itu padanya. Sebelum saya sempat membacanya, mama awal-awal lagi dah cop nak baca buku ni. Memandangkan mama guru BM dan Pengajian Am, sudah tentu buku ni 'taste' dia. Jadi saya terpaksa tunggu mama habiskan dulu baru boleh saya menelaahnya.

Okay berbalik kepada buku ini sendiri. Untuk pengetahuan korang, buku ini adalah himpunan/ pengumpulan tulisan 30 para penulis tentang Datuk A. Samad Said termasuk Abdul Ghafar Ibrahim, Ariff Mohamad, A. Wahab Hamzah, Ku Seman Ku Hussain, Marsli N.O., Mohamad Yussop Ishak, Mohamad Saleeh Rahamad, Mohd. Shah Ibrahim, Sani Sudin (Kopratasa), Victor A. Pogadaev, Rebecca Ilham, Mawar Shafei, Nazmi Yaakub, Puzi Hadi, Shamsudin Othman, S.M. Zakir, Marzuki Ali, Mior Hashim Manap, Irwan Abu Bakar, Siti Zainon Ismail, Taheera Rosheena Mohamed, U-Wei Haji Saari, Zakaria Ariffin, Ladin Nuawi, Zaiton Ajamain, Rozninah Abd. Azib, Pyanhabib, Sharol Lail Sujak, Nisah Haji Haron dan Rahimin Zahari. Menerusi buku ini kita dapat merasai pengalaman dan pahit maung perjalanan seorang tokoh persuratan Melayu. Semua tulisan di dalamnya bercerita tentang Pak Samad dari jauh dan dari dekat.
Di antara petikan yang terkandung di dalamnya:

"Bukan semua pengarang layak digelar sasterawan.Bukan semua sasterawan layak digelar Sasterawan Negara. Namun, kekuatan dan inspirasi yang ada akan membawa keupayaan untuk berkarya berterus-terusan." - Ariff Mohamad.


"Mungkin orang pelik melihat dia, seorang Sasterawan Negara masih mundar-mandir di Kuala Lumpur tanpa menghiraukan apa orang lain kata. Pada saya, itulah jiwa dan karyanya." - Sani Sudin (Kopratasa)


"rambut suteramu
tidak pernah bertanya
apa yang tersembunyi di dalam naluriku
kerana
yang sarat terhimpun di matamu
adalah seribu tanda tanya
tentang aku
pasrah dalam pertapaan."
-Shamsudin Othman


"Ia insan biasa yang sering memilih menjadi luar biasa di luar dari kebiasaan." - Zaiton Ajamain


Setiap cerita mendekatkan pembaca dengan sasterawan yang mewakili suara masyarakat ini. "Penerbitan buku ini diharap dapat membuka satu lagi dimensi pandangan masyarakat terhadap tanggungjawab seorang penukil harapan bangsa, yang bukan semata-mata menulis mengikut rasa sedap hati. "(Mohd Khair Ngadiron, 2012). Rasanya kalau saya nak jelaskan satu persatu tentang buku ini mungkin tidak mencukupi hanya dengan satu entry.  To make it short, you have to go and get it, seriously you won't regret! Buku ini boleh didapati di Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia (ITBM) atau di kedai buku atau melalui pembelian di e-commerce ITBM. Selamat membaca!

p/s: Selamat Hari Lahir ke-77 Datuk A. Samad Said  ^_^

That's Me

Those who don't really know me have no idea about. This is just the typical side of me. Whether you like it or not, it will always be me. Because that's me, the only me. Peace! :-)

Situation #1 : "Innocent"
Sometimes I can be so innocent. In other words, we can call it dumb. Yes I can be, without any intention or any rational thinking. As example, this is one of many dumb innocent moments:

One night I was craving for Fresh Milk. Fyi, I couldn't sleep if I didn't drink at at least a glass of milk. It doesn't matter whether it's a chocolate milk, full cream milk or strawberry milk, as long as it's milk, I'll have it. Since I knew I would awake until the next morning if I didn't drink milk, so I asked my brother to buy it from any shop. Unfortunately all were closed except one. 7 Eleven. Haaahh... At last I could get it from 7-E! When I was going to pay for it at the counter, I asked the cashier:

I : Bang, what time does 7 E closes?
Cashier: Erk... *blurr face*
I : Oh seriously I'm just asking what time do you close this shop?
Cashier: Takkan tutup selamanya untuk you adik manis..! Hahaha *laughing out loud*


Then I went out with confused. I stared at my brother and asked him the same question. He did laugh and told me that 7 E opened for 24 hours! Don't you know that? Pfff...  How's on earth was I never realize that?? Okay. Okay. You can laugh at me now. (-_-")


Situation #2 : Blur
There's the moments where I could be blur, couldn't say anything or think of something although it was just a simple conversation. Actually it is always happened when I'm on phone call.

Friend: You know what? I went shopping2 yesterday and I saw this guy bla bla bla bla bla bla....
I: Oh really?
Friend: Yes! And there one makcik was holding her bag bla bla bla bla bla...
I: Owh... *start to blur*
Friend: Hey, what do you think if I change my wedding dress to the purple one? Is it better?
I: ......................*blur*...........
Friend: Oww but I think Farid will like the design that I'll show him. Don't you think so? 
I: ...........................*speechless*...............................

I was drying to pay attention. But seemed like there's a blockage stop me from getting the information. See how worst it can be when my 'blurry' is coming. Seriously. S***.


Situation #3 : Forgetful
To be honest, I'm terribly forgetful. I could remember very well the notes or formula that will come out in the exam, I could score and reach my cgpa target well. But I'm forgetful! Sounds crazy enough. I think almost every day in my life, I will forget some small things or generally things that we are already familiar with. As example, last friday I served for lunch before all my brothers (I have 4 big brothers) coming home from Jumaat prayer.

1st bro: I'm starving to death! I gonna eat now. Pinggan pinggan. Mana pinggan nye?
I: Hey wait! You cannot eat first! Have you perform solat Zohor? You cannot eat until you perform your solat first!
2nd bro: What? 
3rd bro: My sister is crazy. Today is Friday, we're just coming back from solatul Jumu'ah and now she's asking us to perform solat Zohor?
I: Oh. I thought today is Saturday. Okay. Never mind. Let's eat.
1st bro: Omg. She forget to 'switch on' the rice cooker. Again. Patutla nasi tak masak-masak lg dari tadi. *cry*

Huyyooooo. I'm 24 year-old-girl who has a memory of 67-year-old-granny. My bad.


Situation #4 : Repetitive
In life there's a lot of things which we will always remember no matter how good or bad they are. Same goes to me. But, I love to share and I like to tell others things that I want to share. So the victims are always my bestie and people around me. It's like this:

I: Hey the party was so great! You know the birthday girl had to sing a song as we all requested. Everyone gave her the big claps! Bla bla bla bla bla bla....
Bff: Dear, you already told me this last night..
I: Really? Ops sorry. Never mind. Did I told you that she sing a Bonnie Tyler's song? She looked nervous but she's beautiful! Bla bla bla bla bla...
Bff: Yes darl. This is the sixth times I heard the same story from you.
I: Don't worry, just pretend like it was the first time. Ok babe. Bla bla bla bla bla bla...

Yeah. I know. I can repeat the same story more than 99 times. Quite annoying. But I did. Don't know why. Forgive me God.


Situation #5 : Road Fear
Truthfully speaking, I have this kind of fear when I try to cross the road. I label it as the 'road fear'. Although it is just a small road with only one to two cars, I afraid to cross it. I would prefer to walk 10km rather than crossing that road. Pathetic enough right? There's one time, when I was in Mahkota Parade and I was trying to go to Dataran Pahlawan which was opposite with it (MP). So I needed to cross the road to go there. I was alone and there's one bapuk a.k.a pondan beside me who was trying to cross the road as well. When the traffic light turned into red, 'she' walked and I followed behind her. All of sudden (I mean suddenly) I grabbed and hold 'her' hands with closing eyes. I didn't know why and how I did that! But seriously I'm telling you I'm not proud with it. 'She' was totally shocked!

Shemale: Awwww...terkejut I you pegang tangan I! Baby you takut nak lintas ye *hold my hands tightly*
I: Just walk, don't turn and pretend like you're alone. Plz plz plz
Shemale: Owww da da kite da sampai dah syg. Eeiyyy kecik dan halus nye jari you. I suka klu dapat jari camni.. Sweett.. Your skin soft.. *with garau-garau manje voice*
I: Erk... emm.. hey thanks! Temkiu sbb tlg kite! Babai! *Smile*

Then I ran like there's no tomorrow. I felt like.... entah. Don't know how to describe but it's not a good feeling. *muntah*

Whoaaa~ Enough for tonight. Those are 5 of infinity of mine. I tell you, I'm not a girl that the guy always dream of. But I can be the girl that they can't forget of. Haha. Well, everyone is unique in different ways. We could never be the same, because we have our own uniqueness! So my advise to you is ; there's a time in your life where you have to decide or choose or find another part of you. I mean your life partner. Thus, please, please (a really please) find the one who can accept you as well as you are, not the one who want to change you into the different one or bad one. Till then, good luck! XOXO =)