People are just people, okay?

So Malaysia is a multiracial country, and because of that, I am used of seeing various people of different races on the streets. There are a lot of foreign workers and international students here as well, so the prospect of seeing a foreigner isn’t terribly exciting.

*unless they’re European/American/British/Australian/all those people with white skin then you’ll probably hear coarse, creepy whispers of “orang putiiiih oraaang putiiiih” or “mat saleeeeh mat sallllleeeeeeh”*

*orang putih = white people = mat saleh*

*I really don’t get how white people got the mat saleh nickname*

*but there you go*

Imagine when a Malaysian decided to travel outside and realize that;

1. You’re a Malaysian. Wahaha!
2. You’re not that surprised to see so many people of different races so close to your eyes.
3. But apparently people are surprised to see how different you are.
4. Makes you wonder how different you are exactly, in terms of eyes/nose/lips/face structures and so on and so forth.
5. I mean sure, now that I think about it, we don’t resemble them that much. We don’t have such gorgeous eyes with amazing hues, small yet high nose, sculptured lips, prominent jaws, high cheekbones, sharp features, smooth like egg skin, curves, voluptuous figures bla bla bla…
6. OMG WE ARE SUCH A CONTRADICTION. lololol
7. What are we exactly? The Asians? I mean we look so…small and vulnerable next to them.
8. Not to mention they’re all that and they’re stinking rich! What gives?

*I might have observed that while drinking copious amount of Jeddah tea (I have no idea what the difference between normal tea and this special blend tea is, not a tea expert, you see) and they gave me such a huge chunk of sugar, I think it worth four cubes in total, and well, I lost track of how many cups I drank, and I might, as well got sugar rush. DIABETES! NO.*

*I was at a function you see, so that’s why I can observe all these gorgeous Arab women in all of their glory.*

*Funny thing happened at the function. I sat at the table. I don’t know anyone there to be honest. I know just one person but she hadn’t come yet. To make it worse she was the host so I can’t possibly spend the rest of the night mingling with her. I look Asian. Southeast Asian to be specific. All of these people were giving me strange glances. Because Southeast Asians in general only come here to work as a maid/labor.*

*Then their maids entered, and seeing me at the table, the maids decided to join me.*

*Bear in mind, all these maids are Asians.*

*They thought I’m a maid as well. Everyone did. Of course, I didn’t wear luxurious evening gown (!!!) or thick Arab style makeup (!!!) I think I wore baju kurung and a makeup so light people can barely see it under these dimmed lights.*

*Not that I went to functions all that much to know how functions really are, you know.*

*Especially not where women dressed like Academy Awards winners. Or nominees. Or attendees. Or whatever.*

*But that’s just the way I am. I’m very understated, you see. I don’t like bright colors. I don’t wish to cause temporary/permanent blindness on people.*

Back to the maid topic.

Seriously, I really don’t mind at all. I met a whole lot of maids here, and they are generally nice people, with a lot of stories to tell, and to tell the truth, I’m no better than them anyway. It’s not easy making money in this world, okay? I need to work my bones for a couple of bucks, and even if I have finally earned some, I love my money too much to spend it on unimportant things.

*what if I need to use the money to buy a super duper miracle itch cream that my mother wouldn’t let me because it is super duper expensive??? You’ll never know.*

*And what if I need to buy a new hard-disk??? Again, you’ll never know.*

I don’t think working as a maid/driver/nanny or anything is as low-class as some people put it. A job is still a job. Better than nothing, better than sitting on the street, begging for money. You still have your bones, you still have your skills, you’re still earning money in the right way, who cares really?

I mean, what gives these bosses to treat their maids cruelly, anyway? They take care of the house for you, they cook for you, your children are in their hands. They could, and I mean they could, sabotage your house for all you know, steal your belongings, poison your food, abuse your child, same way as you abuse them. If you want them to do your errands properly, the least you could do is to treat them properly, like human, for instance.

*though my mother’s ex-maid used to steal something from her. I mean, my mother was nice, she tried to make the maid felt at home, cooked nice food for her, provided shelter for her in our home, but the maid was in desperate need of money I guess*

At the end of the day, we are all humans, aren’t we? No matter if you’re a Caucasian or Arab or Asian, just because some people are from those third countries, it doesn’t mean that they deserve to be treated like that.

And some people, even if they look typical, could very well be richer than you. Who cares really? But some do.

This reminds me of something I once witnessed. Me, my mother and this aunt were talking to a bunch of Asian maids (similar language and what not), they chatted about their workplace, their bosses, their humongous three-storey houses located at one of the most elitist places in Jeddah, wherever that is, and the aunt said, “Hey, I live there too!”

And then they asked, “Really? What’s your mistress’s name?”

Cue for awkward silence.

I kid. The aunt instantly lashed, “What- I’m the mistress!”

Sure. I mean, the aunt’s probably the richest Malaysian in Saudi Arabia. Her husband is the second most important man at this bank (and here, the number one person must be an Arab, so a Malaysian to be the second man is a HUGE deal), and her son is the prince’s freaking classmate lol

But we still look Asian. And by looking like an Asian, it probably means that we are deprived of money and could do nothing but cook and tidy for a mere penny.

Oh, the misconception towards Southeast Asians in general.

One look at me, and they’ll think I’m from the Philippine. (what? Come on I have Thai blood lol)

*scoffing, nose up in the air*

If they heard me talk, they thought I’m Indonesian.

*still scoffing, examining their nails*

When I said I’m from Malaysia, out of the sudden, their reaction is…

“Malaysia? Oh my god you’re my best friend!”

I think KLIA is a great first impression for tourists. I guess. Maybe. Thank you KLIA. lol

But it seems to be the opposite in Switzerland, though. I didn’t get any strange stares from the locals, even though I look Asian and wear a hijab.

Apparently it’s because, “If you’re a tourist then you probably have a lot of money.”

lol what kind of logic is that. Okay, understandable.

Anyway, I just wish people wouldn’t jump to conclusion that easily. I might have contradicted myself somewhere, I might have written something that proves otherwise, but I’m trying very hard to not jump to conclusion and look at it from every aspect before finding a conclusion.

So people! As a Malaysian who grew up in a multiracial country, I can say that;
1. I don’t care how you look, I might be curious of what you’re talking about, because you’re talking in a different language and I’m the type who gets fascinated with languages in general, but all people, no matter what race, are just that, people.
2. Other races are not alien, people! We are people too. We meant no harm.
3. Their races might be infamous of inflicting harm on other people BUT it doesn’t mean that all of them are the same!
4. So what if our job is not as classy as you? So what if we worked as a maid, it’s not as if we’re robbing your money or anything. The maids work for their bosses, same as your husbands who work for their bosses. It’s just a job, come on.
5. And there’s also the case of family names. This tribe, that tribe, honorable family, ancient family, low-class family…

I heard of this happened to my mother’s Malaysian friend’s dear daughter, she couldn’t marry her boyfriend because she’s not from the same background and her ancient ancestors were supposedly the family’s enemy. How very Romeo and Juliet. Minus lust/love thingie of course. Or maybe not. I wouldn’t know.

And you thought racism only occurs when people of different races are together! Ah, how wrong.

Come on people, we’re just people! Ah. He’ll die, she’ll die, you’ll die, I’ll die, then the world will die.

Then you’ll see that you’re not that different from us anyway.

Hiiii blog long time no see :D

So I figure I’ll take this chance to explain about my disappearance from the internet realm/world in general.

I was sick.

I can’t play the computer or I’ll end up sick again.

So I was in bed. Almost all the time.

Bear in mind that’s typical of me. :D

Actually I’m not sure what I did back then, pretty sure I did almost nothing. :D

Then my brother and sister came to visit! Hooray.

I was still not touching the laptop or else I’ll end up puking at my screen, maybe. Let’s not take the chances, shall we? :D

Then I returned to Malaysia! Hooray.

Except not too hooray here since Malaysia is the land of ghosts and mystical powers (ehem) so I was even more sick. :D <- fake smiley face

I did nothing but watched countless of dramas (English Chinese Korean Japanese Indian Malay Indonesian Philippines Spanish you name it) and played a lot of games (on the PSP PS3 xbox360 NDS what have you).

Then I slowly opened my facebook.

And youtube.

Then I returned back to Saudi Arabia.

And resume my studying. :D

Do you know how peaceful Saudi Arabia is? You can scarcely find any ghost here (ehem).

Months passed by, and I was recovering (the healer here is really good and very nice), and still studying like mad…

When I suddenly remember…

My twitter, and the fact that one of my last tweets is I’m sick or something.

Some people might think I’m dead or something! Not that anyone would, but I don’t wish to disappear forever.

So I decided to update it.

Walla. :D

What kind of post is this? I don’t know. I just thought maybe I should post it. :D

P.S. I still hate doctors.

P.P.S I mean, why would they blame me if the medication's not working? Seriously.

Palestin

Quite hard to imagine that the country isn’t that far from where I am.

Miles from here, people are being attacked, killed…not only did they barely manage to stand up after the previous attack, Israel decided it wasn’t enough, and attack those who lend a hand as well.

As mentioned by Queen Rania of Jordan:

Every ship that tries to break the blockade is a Ship of Hope for the people of #Gaza.

But Israel attacks them, and according to Malaysiakini, there are approximately twelve Malaysians in that ship. But the national news didn’t report that.

Not sure if the news is false or they didn’t feel the need of publishing that particular information.

I’ve met a couple of Palestinian in Mecca and Medina. As you might have known, those two places are holy cities for the Muslims, and I was often touched by their level of devotion and compassion to our God. They prayed for their safety, for the sake of their country, for their people, anything at all, to escape from the cruelty of Israel.

This is their trial. How are they going to overcome this? How are we going to help them overcome this? Going there and fight along with them?

The only logical thing we could do now is pray for their safety.

Let’s raise our hands and pray.

Amin.

To think that others' trials are bigger than us. Compared to them, ours are just so simple and not at all life-threatening.

Study? You can study. Exam? Figuratively lethal but doesn't really cost you your life. Work? Relationship? Love?

Do you find yourself sitting outside without a shelter, begging for money, no idea if you'll get the chance to eat today, traumatized by gunshots, and things like that? If you somehow have the chance of surfing the net, then I dare say not.

So stop saying your life is meaningless and boring for once. Ton of things to do in this world, things to learn, people do everything in their power to live.

You still have the chance. So wake up and don't take your life for granted.

I'm quite pissed at people who say that life is boring, when people are fighting right and left for their lives, and I myself am struggling for the sake of my own life.

Please, pray for them.

And pray for yourself.

May God bless all of you.

Checklist?

I’ve always loved Hilary Duff. Kids nowadays grew up with Hannah Montana, but I’m from the Lizzie McGuire era, so you can tell that I’m not that young, but not that old either. I suppose.

But after Lizzie McGuire, Hilary Duff kind of lost her sparks and quietly she faded into the background, and I found myself no longer interested in her movies and life, so I drifted away.

Recently, she did a television movie based on a book by Daniella Bronsky (The Diary of a Working Girl) under the title Beauty and the Briefcase.



Now, I don’t watch chick-flicks all that much. The last chick-flick movie I’ve seen is The Devils Wear Prada, and that is only because my two fashion-lovers brothers tagged me along.

See I have four brothers. Two are fashion lovers and another two are game lovers. But all four are technology lovers. So my life was rather influenced by them. It was nice to talk about fashion and game to them, but sadly, they are unknowledgeable about makeup and girly games, as most guys do. But that’s fine, because I got to tag along into designer stores and gaming stores! Yeah. But I can’t buy anything though. I have no moolah. I couldn’t ask them to buy anything for me either, because then my mom would say, “Why would you waste money on this shirt when it’s exactly the same as the RM20 one?!” Yeah exactly.

I’ve read the Devil Wears Prada book as well, but that was ages ago. I associate chick-lit books with my middle school years, so truthfully I am quite out of the loop.

But I haven’t seen Hilary Duff’s acting for…years. And the synopsis kind of sounded like The Devils Wear Prada + How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days + Confession of a Shopaholic.

Now, I haven’t actually watched the latter movies, but I’ve read the entire Shopaholic series, and How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days was often played on TV so I kind of get the gist of it even though I’ve never watched it entirely.

Oh wow a such long introduction. Anyway, I watched it, not too impressed with Hilary Duff’s acting, rather swayed by the entire cast, had a good time with it, and it kind of made me think.

Her character, Lane Daniels (Lane Silverman in the book) didn’t have much luck with men, because she lives in her own fantasy world where she expects her dream guy to have these kinds of specific criteria. And because of that, she misses the potential Mr. Right while keep searching for the imaginary Dream Guy. In the end, the Mr. Right might not be your most ideal type, but he is the most ideal for you.

And that is true. I was flummoxed and sometimes amused as people list the criteria of their ideal partners, and that includes, curly, straight, has dimples, clear skin, exciting, spontaneous, romantic, fair, tan, NC15, NC40, bla bla bla…

I don’t mind if your list has these attributes: kind, gentle, caring, religious, and again, bla bla bla, because you’re going to live with them for eternity and it won’t do to have an evil and cruel partner right?

But as long as you’re comfortable with your significant one and as the infamous phrases go, “I want to wake up everyday next to you,” and “I want to see your face first thing in the morning,” then that’s fine, I think. Well, I don’t have much knowledge about this either because I tend to gloss over ewwy pukey things like this but sometimes people seek for the oddest things in their partners.

So, I don’t believe in checklists. That person may be short or tall or dark or fair or whatever he is but as long as he looks nice to my eyes and strikes me as the right one then that’s the most important, right? I think so.

But I’m not going to think more into this because I’m not too interested in this anyway. It’s fun to see people’s preferences though.

Ideal Clothes for Muslim Girls

As days go by, I am more convinced that these types of clothing are definitely ideal for a female Muslim.

This is how a female Muslim should typically appear.



Loose clothing and a scarf that covers your head and chest. Saudi has a rule where everyone must wear this kind of garments in its country, and the real reason behind it, or so I was told, is that Muslim females should wear clothes like those admirable women in the prophet's time, because that is the most ideal.

Niqab/burka isn’t a necessity in our religion, but from my observation, people wear it for these reasons:

1. Different beliefs – there are those who interpret God’s messages differently than us.
2. Sun and sand – sunscreen isn’t readily available, and sands could always get into your eyes and nose, and thus this black veil is a protection for their skins and nose.
3. Family tradition – family’s honor is a huge concern here, and one mistake could ruin the entire clan. So to make sure that the family members wouldn’t be talked about around town, female members must cover their identity. It’s fine for men because they can still marry even if their reputations are ruined, but most women cannot. So better to hide than take the risk.
4. Safety – there is a higher risk of a sexy girl to be raped than a veiled girl who’s probably ugly and has no asset underneath those black garments.

So as you can see, niqab is not restricting a woman’s right, but rather, it is protecting them from potential dangers and so on. There is a research here that says Arab women seldom get nasal cancer, simply because they wear niqab.

And truthfully, they need the niqab. Or else the sun will burn their skin and they will be exposed to the risk of nose cancer.

You might not see the men cover their faces in pictures and so on, but actually they do. They wear this scarf calls shmugh on their heads like typical Arabs do—this is to protect their heads from the heat of the sun, and they would wrap the ends of their scarf around their mouth during sandstorm.

So all in all, it is not a necessity in religion, but highly recommended if you wanted to visit the Middle East someday.

That, and you wouldn’t attract the attention of you being a foreigner.

Anyhow, the point of this post is about the ideal clothing for a Muslim female.

I found that many Muslim girls were turned off by Saudi’s clothing rule.

It’s actually convenient, really.

One: Hijab.


(this is a long hijab where you wrap it around your head)


(this is a khimar)

Although many adult women like to wear khimar for the simplicity of it, young women tend to love wearing long scarf and wrap it around their heads.

It is convenient because you don’t have to unlatch your pins and so on if you need to perform your ablution.

It is not as convenient because sometimes it tends to slip off.

But the reason why many people love this is because…

It covers the chin. So you don’t have to wear a separate hijab for praying.

Two: Abaya



Sure, abaya isn’t as fashionable or pretty as jeans or skirts or blouse or so on…

But it is beautiful, and the looseness of it could double up as your praying clothes.

So again, no need to wear separate praying clothes. It’ll save some spaces in your handbag from carrying your praying clothes, right?

Three: Gloves

(I suppose you know how gloves look like and I'm lazy to upload pictures...if you can't tell XD)

Our ablution will be invalid if we touch a guy who has no relation to us.

Such a waste of water to perform ablution again, especially in the Middle East where water doesn’t come by as easily as say…oil.

So saving your ablution is important, and it’s better to take precaution.

Four: Socks

It’s self-explanatory.

But in case you didn’t get it, then feet is also part of the body that needs to be covered, and it’s convenient to wear it instead of wearing long skirts. That way, if the skirt was blown by the wind or something, your feet still weren’t visible.

As for the black? Well, the guys have to wear white, which reflects heat, while the girls have to wear black, which absorbs heat.

If anything, it tells you that girls should always stay at home and don’t go outside too much. Or be prepared to live in your personal sauna.

Restriction or safety?

Depends on your view I suppose.

But anyway, the real reason for the blackness and whiteness is because they want everyone to be treated equally. Surely if you wear sloppy clothes, those shop assistants won’t spare you a glance, but if your clothes are all high-ends from head to toe, they will treat you like you rule the world.

So it’s nice to wear like everyone else, at least people wouldn’t question the amount of money in your pocket.

The only thing they would question is your bag.

But who cares. Maybe she likes the pattern of that cheap bag…right right?

Uhh…yes.

So yes. This is why, my fellow Muslim sisters, abayas are better than jeans and whatnot. It’s convenient.

Okay maybe not so when running.

But you can always wear pants inside and run when situations demand it.

Treat it as a cloak! Or a robe. Then you’ll be like someone from Harry Potter.

Interesting, isn’t it? >:D

Oh God, give me strength.

I think one of the reasons why I constantly switch blogs and had various nicknames was because I am always ashamed of my own self. Reading the archives made me realized how naïve and foolish I was, despite how those said entries aren’t even a year old. To be honest, this blog hasn’t reached its first anniversary yet. But already I felt as if I’ve grown far mature than the first post of this blog, and if I can, I want to escape from the reality of it and start anew. But that’s cowardly, isn’t it?

From the moment I started this blog, I had different goals in mind. Then a thing led to another, and I found that instead of becoming a blog catering to people, it’s more of a rant space where I can randomly drawl and write whatever on my mind. And for once, my entries are honest because frankly, I don’t want to write stupid things and signed it off with my real name.

Although, most of my entries ARE kind of stupid, but you get the point. At least I no longer am a hypocrite. Freedom of speech/write, so to speak.

I almost never discuss my everyday life, because really, if I were to do that, then I’d be writing, Today I ate cereals, like yesterday, but instead of sugar, I put honey, unlike yesterday, then I did aerobic, like yesterday, then I studied, like yesterday, then it was the listening test, while doing yoga, like yesterday, then I studied some more, like yesterday…

My father always said that always, in a day, the sweetest thing would appear, and if a person is perceivable enough, he would notice. No day is ordinary, and no day is the same.

But I don’t think that particular sweetest thing is worth blogged about. It is sweet alright, but only to me, since I am the only one who can understand it.

I believe that an hour later, I will be smarter than the previous hour, tomorrow I will be smarter again, and next year, I will know a ton of things compared to last year, and experience a whole lot more, more intelligent and mature that I will look down at the old me and feel ashamed of my naivety and stupidity.

But that’s not the most admirable way to go, isn’t it? So yes, I’m trying to accept my flawed past, because without my past, there is, after all, no me.

So now I will continue the hobby that I like best, instead of hanging down my head in shame.

I may not have the talent, I may be wasting my time, but it is my passion, after all.

And so, I will start writing a book again.

And I will NOT, do things for the sake of impressing others. I will do this for my sake, for teaching myself the hardness of life, for preparing myself of things to come.

Because you can't always live under your parents' wings. Or rely solely on your husband. You need to be independent, like it or not, for your own sake. You need to have something that you cherish, something that you love, reminding yourself of how precious you are, so that your life won't be a monotonous line with zilch excitement.

So, I will start being creative again.

Allthewhilestudyingandprogrammingand*insertrandomandtimewastingstuffhere*

Oh Allah, give me strength.

P/S: I think this post is slightly weird. I don't know. My light bulb lights up and my eyes are blinded I think.

Heya Fawda!

It seems as if most of the news I read nowadays are related to the police corruption, for example, the case of the police shooting a 15 year old boy to death because he illegally drove over the limit. The shooting might happen because he didn’t stop when the police ordered him to (which according to the witness—his friend who went with him but managed to escape early—they were chased by a motorcycle gang because they crashed onto one of their members’ car, so they were scared to stop). Lesson learned, whenever a police orders you to stop, you MUST stop.

Yet, even if you stopped, even if they were cops, it wouldn’t guarantee your safety at all. A girl was caught overspeeding in the middle of the night and she was stopped by the police. But instead of giving her a summon and let her go, the police ordered her to strip her clothes and pose aggressively.

Now…not stop, and you’ll probably get shot. Stop, and there goes your virtue, probably.

(these two cases happened in Malaysia, by the way)

The world is not a happy, safe place anymore. Not only do you have to be aware of criminals, the force isn’t even by your side either.

This reminds me of an Egyptian movie titled “Heya Fawda” (The Chaos). I was ecstatic about this movie at first since it starred two of my favorite Egyptian actors in it, and honestly, this movie didn’t let me down at all.

It portrays the image of a troubled, corrupted policeman and how the power of the community can throw him down.

Sometimes, all you need is a little teamwork. Or as the English-cartoon-which-was-dubbed-in-Malaysian-language-which-was-insanely-popular-with-the-kids-and-grown-up-people-as-well-I-suppose say, “Apa yang penting? kerjasama!”

Okay I don’t know what the exact English phrase in the cartoon is but roughly the line means, “What’s important? Teamwork!”

TRAILER OF THE CHAOSNESS OF IT ALL

OMG THE TRAILER SUCKSSSSSSS

Seriously, just watch the movie straight ahead and ignore this trailer above. English subtitles are available so you don’t need to know Arabic to understand it, which is why I recommend it in the first place. :D You can find it somewhere in the virtual world yeah the net of course did I say torrent? Nope. :P

Some says the movie is not the greatest work of Youssef Chahine, but I haven’t watched lots of his movies, so I can’t comment. One thing I’m positive—this movie is awesome. At least to me.

Anyhow, please, may there be no more corruption in this world.

…sounds too good to be true huh?