Short escapade with my petals

The last time I saw both Nana and Mayra was last year, and since then, it's getting more and more difficult to arrange our schedule to meet. After a few voice notes, disagreements, and shouting at one another, we finally agreed on spending three days and two nights in the heart of KL (di bulan Ramadhan pulak tu dimana kau tak boleh nak food hunt pun and too tired to do anything hanya mampu berhuhu pandang each other). The initial plan for our Petals trip this year was to visit Jose in Shanghai but since Mayra will be flying to UK this September (yaaaay so happy for her), we had to cancel it and met here instead. Alas, our last minute decision was what brought us here, which I believe was the best piece of idea that we could mutually agree on this year. Finally *sigh.

We had a blast of time and this had been the most relaxing + stress free weekend ever since I've started working last February.

There weren't many photos taken as we spent most of our time in the room, leeching on one another like a set of Siamese triplets hahaha. Felt so good to be surrounded by familiar faces whom are brutally honest with you and where you can just be yourself ;) 

On our last day, we watched the final episode of Game of Thrones together and it was so chaotic that we broke a glass haha. 

Let's do this at least twice a year, okay!

Last week, our uni eventually announced the date for our graduation and it suddenly became a wake up call for me. For the past few months, I have indulged myself in the leisure of staying at home, fully committed to the Holy month of Ramadhan (for one whole month!), spent one week of holiday with my family and a few weeks of back to back series which had been piling for the past few months in my 'to-watch' folder. Not to mention, my endless journey to the mall; virtually and physically, to spend every last penny I have in my bank account.

And now, I'm officially broke with no job and is about to attend my convocation.

What a life. 

Nonetheless, seeing the inevitable reminder (about our convocation) from my fellow classmates, I was suddenly made aware that my teenage years of freedom and insouciance will soon be behind me, as reality continuously tosses me with a heap of adult responsibilities *wailing OH NOOOO 96 harakat*

As I struggled to hunt for part time jobs, a close friend of mine, Kubis calmed the sudden storm that was raging inside me. For a few days, I kept on bugging her with my first-world problem, which to me, was like an ailment; not for long, will impoverish me.

In return, I received a very long reply from her. Most of the parts were telling me not to be daunted by people's expectation and I should carry on doing the things that I have longed to do for the past few years. "You always said you do not have enough time to do this and that, try this and that. Well, this is the time that God has given to you. Go and do them! Soon, you'll be working and Goodness knows if you will ever have as much free time," she said.

And as simple as that, her words made me went, "Why didn't I think of that?" because for a short period before that, I was worried of what would happen to me for the next few months, and most importantly, what would people think of a jobless version of Anis. I was worried sick of those insignificant perceptions.

Yes. She was right. I have only a few months left to do the things that I have always wanted to try. And for the next few months, I hope I'll be able to carry them on.

As for the things that I've been worrying about, they will gradually take place, sooner or later. Why should I rush them...

Oh well,

Anis being classic Anis. So overly INTJ on things, always wanting to have plans and backup plans and worrying about what's next. 

"It won't come out!"

Nana had been whimpering about her gained-weight these days and I couldn't tell how many times I'd reminded her about the law of attraction, that eventually I just decided to give up trying. Every time the I'm-so-fat-why and followed by long whine came out, I would just nod along with 'yeah yeah I can see that' hahaha.

You see, that woman is nowhere near the definition of overweight! She did outgrow all most of her clothes but WHO DOESN'T ? PEOPLE GROW UP. 

So last week, my aunty finally gave birth to her second son and I took the chance to pay her a visit in Butterworth, leaving Nana all alone in the house. Mayra was also unavailable. Not long after, a few texts chimed in and it sounded very intense with Nana urging

"I'm stuck helpppp"

As I was with my family, I decided to ignore the notification, thinking, 'If it's an emergency, she will call me,' and continued to put the phone on silent.
On my way back home, I checked my WhatsApp while waiting for the traffic and Goodness, I was in regret for not checking it earlier.

It was hilarious!

Even after we got back home, she was still upset because according to her, the whole incident was a sign;- a wake up call for her to lose weight.

"Biasa I basuh botol tak stuck pun! My hand must have gotten bigger," followed by another whine which sounded like a chocked lamb.

Again, we just nodded along. Okay, Nana. Okay. You're getting fatter.

So I made it to the final year!

Seems like only a few months ago when I created this blog after my SPM and now I'm in the final year of my degree. Was a curious kid back then; what kind of roommate will I get, what will I study and so on and so forth.
Five years later, here I am... with so many turns and changes in my life. It's a wonder on how very short period of time can change people so much.

Anyway, we (my classmates and I) thought that this semester would be the most free of all, with less subjects taken this year (we even took extra subjects for fun) but unfortunately, we're three weeks in and yet I feel like I can use some help from the oxygen tank! I was seriously restless, even my sister and my housemate said, "Why are you guys always busy, running here and there?" because we rarely saw each other. Only last week, I went to see a lecturer to drop one of the subjects because our schedule was super packed. On Mondays, we had classes from 8am-10pm. AM to PM. Had to run during the break for prayers and didn't have the time to eat ! And that's only for Monday. Kept coming home during Maghrib hours and night was left for assignment time. Plus, most of our lecturers won't be available for a few weeks next month and I guess those extra classes and extra readings took the soul out of us.

Nonetheless, I woke up every day with excitement to go to those classes. Yes, tiring it might be but the fun of gaining new information overpowered the fatigue. Semantics had been VERY logical but the lecturer made it easy and God how she loves The Big Bang Theory (finally someone who can understand why I love TBBT so much) and keeps using the linguistic examples from the series; I just love it and understood better hahaha. Urgh I aspire to be that kind of lecturer (although if I'm being honest, I obviously won't be teaching semantics. I mean... bro). 

Learned more about phonology too but quite scared with the upcoming tests and quizzes. With phonology, you might think you answered correctly but be prepared to cry haha. Always needed to second guess your instinct lol. If I happen to develop trust issues within me, I'm going to come at you, Phonology.

And my most favourite of all, Malaysian Literature. We studied literature across the globe for the past few years and only learn the literature of our own country in fourth year haha odd, I know. I thought the class was going to be boring with so many historical facts and figures involved but boy, was I wrong. Big time.
The lecturer revealed the truths behind the historical events which were not in the textbooks but researches proved otherwise and I felt bad for my lack of conscience. Should have done more readings on my own country before weighing the rights and the wrongs.
Plus, my tutor is Japanese. He's nice and his explanations on the literature in Malaysia were sooo on point. And he's a feminist too, even more than I am, I think. Haha. We were discussing a short story last week and he asked us to point out the gender discrimination issues from it. I noticed a few but it was not like it's a big deal. It was normal in the society. However, after he pointed out a few words used and the language described, I swear my ears were burning with anger (towards the character) haha. So yeah, can't wait to listen to his analysis in other oeuvres. He's now my third favourite lecturer hehe. Of course no one can beat Dr Rita and Dr Agnes. They're the bomb dot com. Ah I miss their classes. 
P/s: Would they notice it if in the future, after graduating, I join their classes for fun, just to listen to their lectures? 

Ivory 2015-2018

Has it been two years since we first stepped into our house in Ivory? Time surely flies.

Since we will be moving out next year, we texted our landlord, reminding him that by the end of April, all four of his tenants will be out of the house.

He's currently working in China and we've only met him once, so he's not the kind of landlord which would visit you very often to check on the house. We did most things by ourselves ; contacted the plumbers, bought a new washing machine and many more housing things. Still, we like it that way :)

After compromising that we don't have to sign any contract for the next Sept-April rent, he added "Send me the photos of the house. I want to start finding new tenants," and so we did.

His reply was

Even asking us to come back. Clingy much. Staahpp

Mind you, the house before we moved in was so bad. Previously, boys stayed there and God knows how many meters of dust they left for us. The furniture was all over the place and there's no curtains to cover the windows. Our poor landlord was not in Malaysia to clean the house and hence, the mess.

In fact, when the agent showed us the house, she was hesitant too. Intentionally, she wanted to take us to two houses and let us decide. She showed us the first one, expecting we would say no. hahahaha. But the rent was only RM1000/month and normally, places with walking distance to university would be more than RM1400. The place was a total bargain.

We just said yes without going to the second house and thank God we didn't :) Our landlord now is very considerate and nice, well most probably because his tenants are ! hahaha. Anyway, I am going to miss our memories in this house. I wonder what kind of house will I live in once I start working. Which state? Will the landlord be as nice? What kind of housemates will I have? Are they clean? (please God let them be. At least, clean. Please) Are they nice? Are they good? All of these questions made me scared of the future sometimes but that's life.

We move on.

May celebrations

It's finally May !

'May' can only mean two things :

1. Birthday of the awesome people :P
2. Submission month (plays the siren and sends heart attack to every group members)

Every year, these two could not be more annoying by coming on the same month *sigh.

Nana's birthday was actually last Thursday but we had classes till evening, so we kinda postponed the celebration to last Saturday. For almost a week, both Mayra and I had been looking for something that all of us can enjoy and we came down to the agreement of ... FULL BODY MASSAGE. Muahaha.

The plan in my head was :

Kidnap Nana from the demanding and clingy office (our workspace in the house lol), and had her blindfolded. I was looking forward to her screaming when the masseuse starts touching her.

Too bad she figured it out sooner than we expected. Haha.

Frankly speaking, it was the best massage I've ever had (speaking on the  behalf my masseuse only as Nana and Mayra whined that theirs were not as satisfying). When she started her session, rubbing my arm, she asked me if I like to take showers at nights... which was kinda true. Yeah, yeah. I know it's not alright, was constantly scolded by parents too but late night showers are soooo good, I wish the risks are worth it. The masseuse rambled about 'angin' and etc which only floated above my head. The massage was too relaxing that I just had to ignore small talks hahahaha. 


After a few minutes, she began to massage my shoulders and came the question,

"Nggak cukup tidur ya?"

"Ya iya dong. Kapan bisa tidur nya mbak? Lagi mikiran assignment aja terus dehhh," was what I wish I could reply with but I just responded with another nod of accordance. Of course, you don't want to be rude to the person who has her hands down your neck (or basically have access to my whole body). Really not hoping for the police to discover my dead body in a massage parlour.

Seeing my masseuse's skill in checking the nerves, Nana was hit by a pang of jealousy and so she asked hers, head pinned to the table, mouth mumbling, "Urat saya ada masalah tak?"
In return, she received a reply of, " Lah. Mana saya tau. Saya bukan doktor." Hahaha. Sis, why so bitter?

Anyway, we had a great 'work pause' and what's better was that all 3 of us could enjoy it!


Another week passed by and yesterday came with an annoying reminder from those two buffoons that it's my birthday. Could not be more discrete by stealing my phone and hacking my insta account -_-  Sometimes I wonder how do I have enough patience in tolerating these children.

The initial birthday celebration plan was, Nana and Mayra wanted to take me to the Hin Bus Depot as there would be some art fair there and gosh, it sounded so wonderful and so did the posters, they looked awesome. It said there that anyone can participate and they will provide the tools. How cool is that!

Unfortunately, after meeting Dr Rita a couple of days ago, we had no choice but to go out again and find more respondents for our research. So yeah, we spent one whole day roaming around Penang approaching Malays to help us. On my birthday. Lol.

Since we couldn't make it to the art fair, Nana and Mayra treated me with Chilli's lamb chop (lamb yaaaassss yaaaaaasssss yummmsssss) and we eventually called it a day.

Overall, the girls did so great and I couldn't be more thankful :). 

Our Educational Research presentation is tomorrow.

I'm so scared. Have we done enough ? What if we missed something or we overlooked certain aspects ?


The WHAT IF is sooo scary. Oh Lord halppp. Never been this scared for an assignment. I mean, this research is easier than the other one;- linguistic research.

If I am this scared , what will happen next week for that study ?

*hyperventilates




*hyperventilates more



Ya Allah please don't let this semester be futile


Updated : Alhamdulillah everything went well. Both Doctors were okay with it. I was so nervous in the hall as Ngoi presented before us hahaha (mannn he is one scary guy. His team is like the over achiever group of our batch lol). But we just presented and seemed like people paid attention and at the end of it, as I was waiting for questions and tembakan peluru from the panels, they said "No question. It is thoroughly planned and we like it." THANK GOD. Was definitely not expecting that. After countless sleepless nights, to hear those words coming out from Dr's mouth, I swear it's the most beautiful words I've ever heard. This viva had been going on for many days and seeing how they questioned other groups were scary, I kid you not. 

And to hear them saying they liked ours *cries a bucket. 

The feeling before and after the presentation was soooooo different. Ya Allah. Ease the linguistic research. We're still struggling with our data, hopefully everything is well. Amiin. Yang linguistic ni, tak harapkan dapat miracle pun in our findings. Nak settle and as long as we have enough proofs to support previous researches je :'(

Another update: On the next day, Dr announced that our group won the 1st runner up and Ngoi's won the 1st place. However, we weren't there because we didn't attend the lecture because we had to finish our linguistic research. I felt terrible. Dr wanted to show her appreciation by rewarding us with some cash and we played truant. I hope she knew we didn't have much choice, our group is so behind for linguistic :(

Nana and her Instagram feeds

Since Allia no longer live with us and Nana is very into a themed Instagram posts these days, the duty of taking photos inevitably fell into my hands. 

Nana's determination is as high as the famous Burj Khalifa in ensuring that her photos are insta-worthy and come with the package of hilarious captions. As effortless as the photos might have looked like, the 'behind the scenes' beg to differ. That woman could go from changing 3-5 attires (if we're home) to finding 3-5 possible spots (if we're outside) just for her OOTD photos. I tell you, it's nothing close to effortless.

IF AND ONLY SHE'S AS DETERMINED IN THE LECTURES. 

Just saying. 

Nevertheless, I don't think that I'm at par with her demand for good photos but of course, she had no other choice but to accept the fate that has befallen on her, as long as she looks thin and tall in the photos. 

For instance, this photo down here is not even centred but yeah, who cares. The lady looks smoking hot like the mother of dragons in it. That matters. 

Without doubt, after taking her photos, she would attempt me with the question "You want me to take your photo?" in order to return my small favour. Well, I couldn't be more grateful that she masters her etiquette very well. Your parents must be proud of you. 

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Of course. Thank you, Anis Farhana. I look very slim too, thanks to the angle. 
Just, ikhlas ke tak ambik ni?

Bountiful Hikmahful Path

I was browsing my draft from my old blog post earlier this morning in my desperate attempt to retrieve my photos. Gosh. So many memories, so many stupid things. Haha.

I remember when I first started this blog (after a few other blogs were forgotten), it was after my PLKN and I was so bored at home. A few weeks later, I received my SPM result (which post I've hidden)

Rereading on how I had a severe fever during the big exam and having my parents to come and pick me up from the hostel, I remember how I used to lie on the bed for two days straight, was not able to wake up, couldn't even call my parents. My roommates surely felt bad for me but they were in the battlefield themselves, yet I feel glad that they were the ones who called my parents. Since our last few papers were during school holiday, there was no warden at that time and their last resort was to call my parents.

I remember Mak telling me, "It's okay, you have tried," because I was so frustrated I couldn't make her proud. Crying was the only thing I did. All I could think of was, "after all of the effort I put in studying and going to tuitions, I flushed them all during the D-day."

But Mak was the best, she just told me to pray and to always remember that

no matter how hard I tried, it is for Allah to decide. 

Forgive me Allah, for the times I thought that my plan is better than Yours. 



Seeing the old posts, Mak was right. There are sooo many things that I have learned from the unfortunate event, or should I call,,, a very hikmahful event. I didn't get the chance to further the study in my favourite field like most of my friends because of the glitch but I learned a lot more important lessons at my own pace here in Malaysia. Sure, initially I felt envious of my friends who managed to pursue our drams; flying overseas, visiting one another from continent to continent.. and so on but I have come to accept that the path is not meant for me. My path here is as colourful and fulfilling as well. 

Mind you, I didn't even know how to do a lot of things before. But I discovered a lot of new fun things which I made into hobbies. 

Unlike my sister, I didn't think I spent a lot of time with my parents before because I was in boarding school but I have more chances to see them now :) and I couldn't be more blessed.

The people that Allah had encountered me with, taught me a lot about facing life. All of the small and big things around me, somehow made me feel glad that Allah has specifically chosen this beautiful path for me.
One insignificant thing in my life had led me to more major things.
And I couldn't be more glad.

Looking forward to unlocking more delightful obscurities :)

"I want to do something that defines me."

"Mayra, you should do Multimedia for your master's study."

"But Nana, I don't want to !"

"But you're so good at it."

"But I don't want to."

"Whatever . I'm just suggesting."

Those two continued to lay out their arguments and reasonings and I just kept on driving, heading home after our late dinner. Future plan. Sounds easy but can be life changing. I'm also not sure of what I really want to do. 

"Lucky you, Mayra. At least, you're good at something and here I am, still don't know what I'm capable of," Nana let out a long held sigh and gazed out of the window. The sky was pitch black despite the humid weather. The sight of the stars was barely visible from down here and the moon shone with a pallid slice of light, most of it covered by the clouds.

She slouched back in her seat as she continued, "I wish I don't have to do something I don't like ... but the thing is, I don't know what I like !" So, that's what had been tormenting her mind since dinner. 

The car decelerated as the traffic lights in front of us turned red and we queued behind other cars. I slowly shifted the gear stick to Neutral and replied, "There are a lot of things you can do,,,"

"Yeah, Nana. You write sooo well. I will buy your book if you write one !" Mayra chimed in from the back seats. That was undeniably true. Nana can write, she has passion for it. Her language is eloquent, her choice of words is unquestionable and her perspective is always refreshing although sometimes can trigger the minds of the norm; still, I find her notions to my liking. 

I listed down the jobs which demand for good writers/authors and she just shook her head, rejecting the idea of being a writer. Doesn't define herself enough, she said. 

I can understand that. We always want to do something that suits our personality and traits. Of course, we can always follow the route that people pointed us to but by the end of the day, happiness comes from being satisfied of what we really are, of what defines us. 

"Look at Vivy. She studied law, struggled and all but in the end, she ventured into fashion and she LOVES what she's doing. Dina, for example, she's a dropout but then, she began designing her own lines and jewellery. And now, she's acknowledged as one of the muslim fashion icons in UK. I mean, those people knew what they wanted." 

My lips curled into a smile. I have not known this girl for a year or two. I have lived with her the longest, after my family. She always worries about silly things, about uncertainty, of the oblivion and obscurity. "How about something related to directing ?" and my suggestion was replied with a frown. "I have seen you as a director. Twice. I have worked with you and I know how great you can be. And passion ? You have the drive. Once you set your mind on how you want the play to be, you will set it right. You will make sure it come out as what you have in your head."  She let out another sigh , followed by a sluggish "I don't knoooow..." and Mayra butt in again with , "Yeah Nana. I can help you with anything I can !" 

I continued, "You know what makes those people successful ? It's the people behind them, who has been supporting them through their ups and downs. Vivy has Fadza. They build the empire together. And Dina has Sid, supporting her from the very beginning with the shootings and all."

"So sekarang you nak I cari jantan lah ?"  she replied, forcibly laughing in her cracked voice. Nana's about to cry. I could sense she was. 

"Not what I was trying to say but boleh lah. Haha. Noo. What I was saying is, just know that you have us. We will support you. I will help you with all my might and Mayra will help you with all her might. You have your own version of Fadza and Sid. Just know that. You can rely on us."  

The cars in front of began to move and I hit the pedal again, making a turn to our destination. The discussion lasted for another good hour as the night went by and the rest is history, shared with the night and the invisible stars.
One day, we might forget this tete-a-tete we had  but one thing for sure,
I will remember,
we once had a dream.
A dream to become someone that brings out the definition of who we really are.
A dream, undecided but big enough, that we need one another to rely on...

I rarely keep our silly conversation in my blog but this one, I really have to. Blog has been my time capsule for years. If I turn 30 and reread this, still looking for the meaning of life, I wish I am happy with what I'm doing :) Hi future Anis, I hope you're doing just fine. And if you're not, know that this life is not ultimate. What matters the most is the afterlife. 

May you have Allah's blessings in what you're pursuing. 

'Jangan sampai terlalu sibuk mengejar dunia sampai lupa tujuan di akhirat .' :) 

My thoughts on Dangal

I have seen a lot of good reviews on my Facebook about this movie and yesterday, Kiki told us that she just watched it and it was good. 

So last night, we went out to watch this. 

Two seats left, just below the screen. Bought Shihlin, so we had no choice but to accept whatever was left for us. I didn't wanna eat my Shihlin outside the cinema. It would be disrespectful to it. I swear it's best eaten in a cinema. 

Basically, it's a movie about wrestlers. Based on true story but I'm not sure which part was depicted exactly like their lives and which part was not. Overall, it was good.  8/10 from me. 

The best thing about it was, it's not about the mushy lovey dovey kinda movie and it managed to touch our heart. I'm sure most of us can relate to this as it is narrated based on her father's dream. Every father wants the best from their child. 

Another important message being evoked is how important it is for woman to take charge and beat the stigma of the society. Being said this, Geeta and Babita learning how to wrestle was the turning point of this. They were objected by the society of course *rolling my eyes* but I like how this movie told the girls out there that they can be anything. Just anything. 

They're not entitled to get married and be in the kitchen and give birth only. They have more things to do, as much as the guys do. 

The rebels in nurturing two girls are normal and Amir Khan did a great job in depicting a love of an egoistic father. I learned that he has to gain weight just for this movie. Must be fun for him. Getting paid for gaining weight. How I envy him.

Their videography for the matches they had are awesome too ! In fact, I love those takes on how she smashed them boys. A.ma.zing.  *chef's kiss

So yeah. That's what I thought about this movie. Would recommend you to watch it :)

My New Year resolutions

Morning guys !

And happy new year !!!

Nothing new. 2017 and still stuck with these two buffoons. I tell you, there's no way out.
I gave up a long time ago.

Reflecting back on my last resolutions, didn't think I manage to blog as often as I promised. I mean, who was I kidding, right ? Fooled myself big time. Every single year.

So this year, I'm not gonna make myself a dum-dum with my silly promises yet again.
Blog more often ? Who has the time to do that these days ? Pffttt please.

And restrain-yourself-from-shopping ?

Oh gullible old Anis. Staaahhhppp. I am laughing so hard. You sweet summer child. You knew you can never do that. What a funny resolution.

It's okay, dear.
It's new year, so let's start with a fresh beginning.

Okay. Let's see what do we have ...
Other than the same-old,same-old resolutions "...to keep my iman, increase the taqwa, spend more time with Quran, make my parents happy, say Alhamdulillah more often, respect my friends and others and... yadayadayada.." , I also added a new one this year.

AVOID PROCRASTINATION. 

It went pretty well this morning, I must say. Quite proud of myself. Woke up early, made nasi lemak. Have the determination to study.
It's going to be a good year.


"Avoid procrastination as procrastination is the thief of time," I chanted to myself a few times. Plus, we have a linguistic paper in a few days and I haven't started anything.
Really needed the encouragement to flame up the fire to study.

"Avoid procrastination as.." turned on my laptop, still chanting, "procrastination is the thief of time. Avoid.." still chanting, cursor clicking on Google Chrome. Typed in 'USM e-learn' and logged in into our portal to check any last updates from the lecturer before I started studying.

"Avoid procrastina..." Actually, why don't I open my Facebook for a while and check my emails. Opened a new tab.

Facebook.
Gmail.
Zalora.
Esprit.
Carousell.
123movies.
.
.
.


11 AM in the morning and I have watched 3 movies.

You know what,
maybe I should postpone my resolution first. Add it for 2018. I should be able to do that by then.
Shouldn't I ?

A letter to 16 years old Ain Irdina

A letter to the past,

To my dearest cubemate, 

I'm currently writing from the future. I had a very peculiar dream these past few days.

Of you and me munching Hup Seng dipped in Milo , in the middle of the nights.
Of you and me, blocking the entrance of EO to watch movies together every time after exams.
Of you and me, going to surau together, iftar together, terawih together.
Of you and me, talking to each other from the other side of the toilet cubicles.
Of you and me, throwing socks and other things to the cubes beside us.
Of you and me, calling each other with weird names and eventually stuck with 'Kubis'. *God. I still think Lobak is way cuter.
And most of all, in my dream of the past,
I saw us, wondering about our future.
Well, let me tell you about that... I'm not really sure about other future but what I can say about us is; we are still going strong :) 

Past Kubis, don't worry. Things work perfectly fine. You thought you couldn't endure a few things yet here you are, in the future ; couldn't be more contented with what you have.

Thank you for surviving the past years and still be here today. And alhamdulillah, both of us are still alive to be celebrating another year of blessings. 

Dear cubemate, I honestly love you for all the peptalks and gentle reminders, I don't think I can thank you enough. I hope your past self is happy to hear this .
Happy Birthday, from your cutest cubemate (2016)

Swimming right was taken

These past few days during study week, I realized that I easily got tired. 

No joke, guys. 

Even climbing up a flight of stairs can make me run out of breath. You could see me telling the people in front of me, huffing and puffing with " Waaaiii..t." and followed by, "Tha..nk y...ou," as I gasped for more air after they opened the door (connecting doors from car parks to our lobby) for me. 

And, it's only a flight of stairs. 

I don't know why. 

Okay. We all know why. 

I'm no longer in shape ! 

My face is getting more round. And my tummy is not as flat as before. Well, it's still okay but not as flat. I don't want to go further but all I can say, I'm not as fit as I used to be. I used to be able to do more than 10 minutes of jumping jacks and now, I don't even dream of getting out of the bed. 

If before, despite not liking the track, we still went to jog around the campus. All we do now is counting how many more bags of chips left and when should we go out to buy more. 

With us being us, I have to cook more portions of rice too. 

Seriously,

Dear Lord, what has gotten into us. 

So this evening, as we came back from our grocery shopping (again! Oh the irony) and discussed on how fat we have became, we decided to go down for a swim.  

Also, when was the last time we went for an exercise ? Was it 3 months ago ? God. 

The pool looked quite empty with only a few Arab kids playing with each other, so it would be less embarrassing if I couldn't catch my breath after like ... 1 meter. Haha. 

Okay. Should be fine. 

And so we changed into the suit and went down, all giddy to get our skinny old-self back. 

Took the shower. Entered the pool and glided to the other side of the pool. And oh boy. Did.I.get.heavier?

I pedalled so hard and I moved only like a few inches ! Unbelievable. I thought a mermaid would always be a mermaid. Now I know why King Arthur rarely swim here and there. Must be hard for him. 

And man oh man, my prediction was true. I had to literally stop in the middle of the pool and catch my breath (not the while-swimming one. But the I-am-tired-let-us-pause-for-a-five-seconds). 

Seriously, 

Dear Lord, what had gotten into us.

Half an hour later, as these water bugs were doing some in-the-water exercises (gave up on trying to swim at this point) , the guard came to Nana and told her we should be wearing a complete suit. 

"But ,,, we are." 

"With a cap."

"But I'm wearing my tudung. Like a swimming cap, it covers my hair also. Same purpose."

"No. A cap."

Bruh. Are you for real ? 

We told him we're sorry and we won't do it again. He said okay and walked away. 

A few minutes later, another guard came and told us the same thing. But this time, he insisted that we have to go out. 

Okay. 

Whatevs. 

Not that I really wanted to swim anyway. Pffttt.

But seriously, 

Dear Lord, what has gotten into them. 

We used to come here almost every other week last time. And, WE LIVE HERE. When did they change the rule. Why is there no notice or notification? 

So that's it. I'm not gonna swim in a cap. Of course I have to wear tudung. 

Now, maybe we can try going to the gym in the common room. 

Or do we have to strip for the gym too ? 

Urgh. Seriously.

You guys should watch it too

Last night I couldn't sleep and was constantly questioning my state of mind. I mean, after watching Stonehearst Asylum , I'm sure everyone feels the same way.
It was greatly done and I would rate it as 8/10.

Watched it with my other two girls with lights off and I seriously didn't have a clue about what the story was about. Didn't even watch the trailer. 
We were wondering on what to watch and Mayra just popped out "Stonehearst Asylum best." and we're like, "Okay. We'll watch it tonight."

And so we did.
It was not horror.

But it was good.
Just my kinda genre.

Basically, the story is about an asylum and a Dr. went there for his kinda intern thing. I don't wanna spoil anything , so if you're planning to watch, don't even read the descriptions or watch the trailer. Just watch. I watched the trailer afterwards. So many spoilers.


Trust me and just watch it. Well, if you're in the same boat as my genre (thriller but not horror haha) , you will love this movie.  Byeee.

Postponed Me-Time

To be honest, I had to attend an event at SK Sungai Gelugor today. To make the long story short, I had a presentation for my class (also today) and gotta leave the program to others. Felt sooo bad as I really wanna go and join them. But yeah, couldn't avoid the clashes.
Alhamdulillah, everything went well. I wouldn't know even if they lied but yeah, it went pretty well. 

After coming back from our presentation, I was already tired and it's Friday ! Yay to Friyay ! Haha.
Anyway, we changed into our robes, switched on our laptops and started pigging. I was all set for my weekends.

Sepasang Anis.
Anis Fakhira & Anis Farhana

Just before I could hit the upload button on my Insta Story, I received a notification on my WhatsApp,

Deborah asked in the group; "Guys, where's the meeting."

And I was like...
"We have a meeting today ?"
*smashed my head on the wall
What. How. Why. Whennn did they decide this.
God.

"I don't think I can go, Deb," I told my assistant and she told me to rest because according to her, "You sound like you're sick Anis. Have plenty of rest." Yeah. I was so exhausted and worn out by this evening. It had been a super long week.
Thus, I updated Deborah on our department and asked her to inform me with anything new. Since she's my assistant, I'm technically there hahaha so I hope others would understand.
I promise this is the first and the last time, guys. I have never skipped any meeting before.

Just before I could put my head on the pillow, I noticed that Azim had not sent me any photos from the program earlier. *another gelabah itik moment.
I have finished writing the coverage for Utusan Melayu and they're expecting it by this evening. Can't send the write up if there's no photos. And we paid thousands for that. No no. What's he doinggg ? Why I can't reach him ? *gelabah leveled up *run here and there
I'd reminded everyone in the group for a few times already since last night.
And Azim himself agreed to do it.

I started to panic. We promised to submit at 3.

I texted Azim again.
.
.
.
No reply.

It's already past 3.

Texted Azim again.
.
.
Was ignored too.
So I settled other things first.

5.05 pm he replied me, "Why you didn't tell me earlier. I'm out since morning."

-_-  Bruh ? It's your job. I'm just reminding you here to make sure you did your job. 
.
.
.
And,
6.30 pm, I received the photos. . .

...

Oookaay. Thank you.


Nana had finished watching a few movies already by that time and I was just about to choose one. . .

Anis and Glasses

Again, I lost my glasses.

Here I am, sitting in front of my laptop, with flashbacks of my undertakings from half an hour ago. It sat still on my nose bridge , the last time I can recall.
Maybe it will come back again to me tomorrow. If I sleep. Like it always does.
Or just like most times, maybe Nana and Mayra will come to me with, "Anis. Glasses." like they always do. Well, I hope they will. Cos I can't find my glasses when everything around me is all blurry like a low quality YouTube video.

Last week, while we're on the ride from classes, Mayra wondered how would it feel if we can take off our body parts and have to reassemble them like how we have to put on clothes and tudung before going out.

"If so, you will not only hear me asking 'have you seen my glasses' every morning but also, 'guys, where is my leg?' and 'any idea where i put my ear?'"

I thank Allah for He did not make us do that. Because, me going to classes without nose is possible. Hahaha.

I swear I put them at one particular place ; our dressing table. Still, they're not there whenever I need them the most. I have three pairs (2 in Penang, 1 back at home) but as you might have guessed , their mysterious disappearance is one enigma I can't simply solve. There're times when I lost all three and there're times when I lost only 1 or 2 of them, so I can find the missing one with the available one. But tonight, with everyone being asleep, no one can help me to find them. And here I am, lying on my bed, head spinning to moments and sequences of my routines. Where could they possibly be ?

Are they in a secret meeting somewhere? Are they plotting something against me?Is there any unresolved revenge between us ?

God I wish no.

Or is there ?

Mayra's Birthday surprise

This is going to be lengthy. 

Our not-so-little-anymore chicken is eventually 21 ! 

Three of us are now legit adults. Finally. 

Planning birthday surprise for Mayra was not an easy one since the very beginning. 

1. We intended to make a small private celebration at The Alley. She loves the matcha tart there. Called the cafe, they didn't offer such service for party. Pfftt. It's not like we asked for a bomb. 

2. If we surprise her at our house, it required her away from us...which can RARELY happen. Impossible to throw this woman away. A total leech. Hahaha.

3. Got Sir Yasir agreed to take her out for dinner...and, he just had to cancel the plan all of sudden, at the very last minute. 

4. On the evening before, Mayra was upset on a few things. She wanted to cry. She's not happy. Me and Nana ? Nervous levelled up. 

Her birthday was on Wednesday, so on Tuesday, Nana and I had already started planning this and that. Knowing Mayra and her deep attachment with toys and child-like things, I proposed to Nana,

" Let's build a fort." 

and she said okay if I know how to. Duhhh. Fort ? Piece of cake. *flipshair. 

So that noon, we found ourselves arranging chairs and clothesline as we tried our very best to peg the bedsheets together. Took out sheets, pegged here, pegged there. Pegged, pegged, spread, sheets fell.
Straightened, pegged, clothesline falling down.
Okay.
Despite how easy they should've been, they kept on falling onto the floor like a drama queen trying to get attentions. Dramatic. And annoying. Can't these things defy gravity for at least once. Huh.
Tried again, still not working.
Okay. We're officially doomed.

"I swear it looked easy on YouTube !" 

I moaned towards Nana as she shot me with the are-we-really-making-a-fort look . I mean, those people just arranged the chairs, spread the sheets and voila, a sturdy fort right on your face. And not to mention, the video was only 4 minutes! God. How come ours looked like ... NOT even close to a fortress , or as Nana put it, "macam tempat sidai baju rumah setinggan". Urgh. It was. 

We stopped trying and decided that we would be happy enough if anything, anything at all, would stay in place later that night. 

Evening came and I was in charge of buying the decorations and food. I left casually to my class and headed to the mall to buy the bits and bobs of the decorations with Nana's desperate order constantly playing in my mind,
"If you find a tent, do not hesitate. Just buy. We are soo not building a fort."
Yea right. Like I was going to buy a freaking tent just because. Haha

As you know, or might not know, I'm currently on 'Shopping Detox'. We had been avoiding malls for almost a week now. I know right ! It's impossible! How do people even live!

I was very proud of myself for being able to go to Mr DIY only. And I picked a reasonable shop. One step closer to the 'Pengguna Bijak' trophy. This is going to be easy, I told my self as I swiftly jumped from one aisle to another, successfully avoiding eye contacts from the unrelated sections.

After half an hour, I had gotten myself  a few packets of scented candles, 3 wrapping papers and a lighter. Easy job. 

Humming 'This girl is on fire', I headed to the counter with a big smug plastering on my face, looking very pleased with my achievement.
Got my things.Was not distracted. Girl, you're on roll! *pats self on the back

And then,,, 

the Christmas ornaments just had to be there, in front of the counter. . .
I quickly texted Nana , "Hey, should we buy the Christmas lights ? It's super cheap." 

Or. 

Maybe we don't need the lights. 

Maybe we can use other things.
Should I buy tassels? Or anything shiny?

Oh .

I should probably go and just glance at the crafts section real quick. Like, super quick, it wouldn't do any harm.

.

.

.

An hour later, I texted Nana, "I'm weak :(" 

The washi tapes were seriously super cheap wehhh ! 

and the notebooks ! All cute and super cheap ! 

They even sell cross-stitch equipments ! I don't know why I was excited about that, I don't even cross-stitch. But now that I know they sell it, I might buy and start on you know, have my own yarn collection, or frames of cross-stitch collection.
Wooden alphabets? Might need them. 

and Gosh! Felt for beginners? Right into the trolley. 

Man, I was hyperventilating. 

Nana replied with "Anis ! FOCUS ! We gotta focus!" Oh Lord. It was hard. After some serious breathing controls, face fanning and sweaty palms, I ended up adding ONLY the accessories for the party. *plays victory sound effects *waves hankie in the air "I did it, peasants, I did it !"

Since I had spent so much time at Mr. DIY, I had to rush home for Maghrib and didn't have the time to get Domino's and J.CO. So yeah, I didn't get any food. Because of the crafty section. Not my fault. Their fault. For having cheap stuffs. 

Came home to the news of Sir Yasir cancelling on Mayra and she's gonna be home for the rest of night, I couldn't think of any other solution. How are we going to set up the fort with Mayra walking here and there in the house?
As usual, Nana worried so much, she was about to cry.
"Okay. If she is not going to be outside, we will have to kidnap her and tie her down in the kitchen. Lock the door and we will straight away do the deco."  Her eyes sparkled with 'Yasss let us do that' and I laughed. "I was just joking ! We're not gonna tie her. She's gonna be anxious !"
 "Or should we?"
Woman be crazy. I was only joking for the love of God and she was all, "I seriously agree. Let's do whatever it takes." for the nth time. Whoa whoa chill, lady.

Due to the fact that Mayra was quite depressed that night because of some work, I pestered her to take Xanax in addition to her other pills. Hahaha.
I didn't want her coming all depressed to her own party okay. I have gotten everything 60% ready, didn't wanna toss them into the drain haha #hadtobeselfish #thatkindoffriend #shouldhavegivenonetoNana #womanneedstocalmdown

Fortunately, she did and dozed off soundly as early as 11 p.m. And we began working on our small project. Weee.

Kiki came back home with Domino's pizzas and Banana Kaya later on while Nana and I were wrapping the presents (Your welcome, Haziq). We set the fort up and just used our bed frame and hanged the curtains instead, completely ignoring the instructions from YouTube. 

The idea just came out of nowhere and I instantly knew that I am just creative by nature. #flipskening 

                                      

The tassels and scented candles.

The fort ceiling was actually a curtain too haha

Birthday Pizza

Since Mayra was already on Xanax, no sound could bother her and we had to literally dragged her out of bed. We came into her room, brutally calling "Mayra, Mayra, subuh subuh." She couldn't look more clueless. We sang happy birthday and she straightly went "Ya Allah you guys!" with her shrieking voice. Hahaha. She was clearly high and happy (not sure if it was the effects of it or she really was. Couldn't decide haha) with the surprise and we were super glad it's finally over. Our effort was paid off. And more importantly, we got to chug down pizzas in a fort while having a good laugh. The night went by unexpectedly smooth and couldn't get any more wild, with Nana waking up to a glow stick in her armpit. We surely had a ball of time.

Your Highness, literally high.

One with housemates :)

Banana looks like a proud mom lol

And yasss , matching robes with my girls

No we don't love you

Mayra used to loathe her birthday so much but we managed to make her change her mind, or so a lil bit, I guess ahaha.

Happy 21, my chicken. May Allah give you the strength to face your days and make them a wonderful ride. I pray that you will stay sweet and kind like you have always been. And I pray that God will grant you with more sense of humour too but not more than mine. May you be blessed abundantly and know that I am super glad you are born into this world coz where else am I gonna hear a person screaming so much every single time.  Haha. We love you too and we will always do. 

Vietnamese Spring Rolls for the whole class !

So last year, we had a micro teaching class (well we have it almost every year haha but last year was more specific on lesson plan). I have been dying to upload our activities in my classes and found this one photo of our activity last year. If and only I am as determined as those people on Pinterest, I surely have a lot to share !

We focused on the topic 'How To Write a Process & Procedure Essay' last time... and what we did was, we actually brought the real ingredients to the class and taught them on how to make Vietnamese Spring Rolls live.

I don't wanna bore you with the hum drum part of how we conducted the lesson but here goes, our own recipe of the rolls and ah yes, I made our own signature sauce .

Ingredients for one roll ( frankly, you can just put the amount of the ingredients up to your liking. Sorry la. Saya melayu. Takda measurement) :

Vermicelli Noodles (hydrated/boiled until el dente)
Leaves Lettuce (1 or 2 leaves per rolls)
Mint ( no need to chop. Put a few leaves )
Sliced Carrots (1.5 tbspoon)
Chopped Coriander/Cilantro (2 teaspoons)
Chopped Basil (2 teaspoons)
Boiled Prawns (3 or 2 slices per rolls)
A few Rice Paper
1 or 2 dollops of Aioli (Can buy from the stores but we made our own. I will share below just in case) - aioli will act like a jam, so if you would like to have more savory taste in your rolls, you may put extra aioli :)


Aioli Recipe :
Click here
OR
Into 2 tbspoon of mayonnaise , put these :  a garlic clove ( finely chopped), sprinkle some salt and grounded black pepper, and squeeze a lime juice and sprinkle some of the mint


Steps for Rolls:

1. Boiled your prawns (with shells on) on the stove until its is cooked. Do not throw away the prawn water as we can use it later. 
2. Slice the prawn into half , then you can peel of the shell and the dirt. 
3. Wash your greens and start preparing a bowl of warm water. 
4. With your warm water ready, dip the rice paper into it for 1 second and gently lay it on a flat surface. 
5. In a row across the centre, put down your sliced prawns first, followed by lettuce and hydrated vermicelli noodles on top of the rice paper.  
6. Spread a dollop of aioli, place the mint, carrot and cilantro.
7. Fold the corners (the two sides) inwards and roll from the bottom over the ingredients. Make sure to be super gentle as you don't want to break the rice paper. 
8. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. 

You may refer this video on how to roll your rice paper :

Well , some people like to have the rolls with the peanut butter sauce but I don't really like peanut butter haha so here's another way to make the sauce ...


Ingredients for dipping sauce :

1 cup of boiled prawn-water from before
3 teaspoons of fish sauce (my ultimate secret ingredient haha)
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 spoon of sugar
5 nicely chopped chilli
2 lime
Salt (accordingly)

Steps for sauce

1. Reheat your prawn water on the stove and add the sugar. 
2. Pour the garlic , chilli and the fish sauce. 
3. Add sugar according to the taste. 
4. You may want to add some finely chopped shallot but it is not obligated to. 
5. Turn off the fire and squeeze your limes.
6. There is no harm in modifying the sauce according to your taste :)

Okay I guess that's all for the time being. Will try my best to post more recipes but knowing my inability to write down specific amount of ingredients, I don't think I'll be able to do so quite often 😂😂😂 This is why you don't ask a Malay girl about recipe. We like to 'agak-agak je' haha