of sweet dreams and reality...

my deadly weekend :(

2011-06-02T10:43:00.000-07:00

assalamualaikum, hi people!

So I drove back from Madison, Wisconsin as we had our Midwest Game held there this year. It was an eight hour drive and I took the second shift driving from Chicago to Ann Arbor which was around four hour drive.Without getting enough rest after the long journey, I attended my review class for calculus that I'm having my midterm on the next day at 8 am. So after the review, I went to my Bio lecture and ended sleeping after the class which ended at 4pm. I remember setting the alarm to wake up at 5pm so that I could freshen up and start studying for my Calculus midterm. I also have a senior friend that was willing to help me studying. But when I woke up, I looked at my phone, it was 5am in the morning!! I had around 3 hours to study for this deadly exam. I came out of the exam hall promising myself not to do this stupid thing again.damnn.. Anyway, the exam wasn't that bad and the midwest game was good. I mean like, this was the first time U of Michigan had ever sent a women soccer team before and we managed to proceed to semi final, which was good enough for newbies. Anyway, I gotta get back to my Bio work, which I have a midterm on tomorrow. Pray for my success please!

P/s: 26 more days!! :D

Assalamualaikum :)

This people.. is what I call courage.. Not..

2011-05-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

So I am supposed to study for my Bio 172 this evening but I am gonna take a break and write this just because it is too good.

I had my first Bio 172 lecture yesterday and it was a class of 100 ish people. I think. So my professor was trying to get everyone to participate so she asked a bunch of questions and offered chocolate to those who got the answers right.

So there was this question about two atoms of very different electronegativities, what kind of bond would you say happen between these two atoms. Everyone was really quiet. So I raised my hand and answered polar attraction. I was 80% sure that my answer was correct but a weirdo sitting in front of me abruptly say out loud 'No, you're wrong!' and he answered the right answer which is ionic bond. Still, a class full of 100 students were looking at me while that guy was saying 'No, you're wrong?' .

That was the award winning most awkward thing that had happened in my life. And my new life goal now is to beat this guy in Bio 172. Like seriously, I'll take any chances that I have to embarrass him back.

:(

2011-04-29T00:29:00.001-07:00

i'm not writing this blog to impress anyone nor i'm writing this to gain any attention. I'm doing it to let out what I've been facing or what I've faced before.. Not all of them are fond memories or thoughts. Let's just say that this blog is where I just throw all my feelings out..

Today was a very sad day. A friend of mine lost her father. My deepest condolences to her and her family. Innalillah wainalillah hirajiun.

It was raining the whole day too. I helped my friend pack his stuff. He's going back to Malaysia in a few days. I am not though. I am staying in Ann Arbor for Spring semester, then I'm heading back home.

So tomorrow Phi Rho Alpha is going to have a barbecue. All the sisters are more than welcome to invite their close friends and family. I invited two of my girlfriends over because most of them are going on a road trip. So, the road trip got cancelled and I felt bad about not inviting the others. I went through a lot of trouble trying to get them on the list for the barbecue. Then, they decided to make another road trip at the same time and just ditch this whole thing. Then saying something like ' I could pay if you can't get me off the list'.

I was quite disappointed. I went a whole lot of trouble and all you could think of is that I want your money. Hell to the no. I might sound irrational or overly emotional but this thing means a lot to me, this whole sorority thing and you, young lady as my friend, I would like you to know what I got myself into and all I need from you is your support. I was there through your ups and downs. Why can't you be there for mine?

I don't know, it just hurts me a lot. :(

my blog new design!!!

2011-04-27T08:35:00.001-07:00

This might sound a bit lame..

But my blog has a new design!!and also a new name!

'of sweet dreams and reality..'

which is true because all my posts were based on my life, thoughts and dreams:)

and the new design is a lot simpler than the previous one..

Also, if you noticed, I removed all my gadgets including my photos. Not that I don't like the photos anymore, I just feel that it was too crowded.

I have also added a few new features that instead of just commenting, you guys could also rate my posts be it lame, awesome or so true.. I just feel that it would be a lot more fun this way :)

Enjoy!

failure.

2011-04-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

assalamualaikum and salam sejahtera,

It's been awhile since I posted my last entry. I think it was about my limitation and how the potential in me is never ending. I know I didn't say much in the my last post but I really think that it is very true. First of all, we must know our own limits. Well of course, everyone wants to push themselves and bring themselves up to a whole new level. But when the thing that they were working on is not keeping up, it will soon lead to failure. Failure is the root of success, but if we are assigned to succeed, failure is never an option. What do you feel about failing? Truth be told, no one likes failing. And the secret is, failing is the best secret weapon that we need in order to succeed. The one who fails the most is the one who succeed. I don't know how I feel about this right now. I want to be able to fail and get back up at my own pace. It is not a sin, it's a learning process.

:)

2011-03-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

well of course i have limitations. But pssstt.. here's the secret.. the potential in me to improve is endless... just saying..

unreasonably stressed out :(

2011-03-20T12:40:00.000-07:00

So why do I disappear when you come near,

It makes me feel so small,

If I could read your mind,

Boy would I find, any trace of me at all.

This could be the funniest and the most unreasonable thing ever but I can never be with someone who is sooo much smarter than me. It creeps me out somehow. So, I have a really good 'friend' that I kinda like and we've been to my sorority's Date Party together (him as my date) last weekend. How do I know him? Well, he's my study group leader for organic chemistry honors section and he is majoring in neuroscience (super genius guy) He's a cool and fun guy, all my sisters likes him (including my sisters' dates too) So this thing has been bugging me because my sisters kept on telling me that I should go for him because he's so much fun and very good looking guy too. They were quite surprised when i told them that we're just friends. It'll be super awkward because he IS my study group leader so no. Jessica, my future roommate, said that 'he's not gonna be your study group leader forever, you know' . That makes sense but he's just too smart.Not that I don't like smart guys but really he makes me feel so small whenever we were discussing about organic chemistry , I feel kinda dumb around him (i'm not, really, i'm pretty smart, but he somehow makes me feel like I am) So , I've been really stressed out lately, and it's all because of him , I studied so hard to somehow impress him? I don't know what I was doing but I know that I didn't wanna look dumb. In a way, it's a good thing but it's sooo stressful . I love smart guys but Chemistry is my thing!

Please ignore this post if it makes you think that I'm paranoid.

Finals are OVERRRRRR!!!!!

2010-12-17T08:20:00.000-08:00

I am now done with Organic Chemistry, Ancient Greek and Anthropology Archaeology! yay me!! I am so happy right now.... Not Really..

I have to admit it.. I kinda did some silly, irresponsible things. Like forgetting to hand in my Summary for lab, which would significantly affect my grade. Damn, I'm such a moron. I finished my summary, peer reviewed it and the only thing that I had to do was to change minor mistakes and send it in. But I forgot, totally. I think I have Alzheimer. Now, I have to face the consequences. NO MORE PROCRASTINATING ZERA! NO MORE! urghhh.. i'm a dead meat right now! and I didn't have to take my final paper for Archaeology because even if I have scored full mark 50/50, I wouldn't have increased my grade. The exams are only weigh for 30% and the projects are 40%. I did two projects. I did pretty good in my second project until my laptop made really scary noises and I kinda shut it off right away and lost my project. So I spent the last 5 hours before the due redoing my project and I got a really sucky grade for it..darn. Organic Chemistry? I don't wanna talk about it:( it was really hard and it's the most failed class in U of M. damn it.

So, we just have to wait for the results to get in probably next week? and I have already registered for the classes that I'm gonna take for Winter semester. My schedule is pretty packed. I'm going to take Organic Chemistry II, Calculus 3, Inorganic Chemistry and Roman History. We'll see how it goes. :)

religion differences.

2010-12-02T13:50:00.000-08:00

So we had our discussion during lecture today about Alexander the Great.

As we all know, Alexander the Great received ' the Great' title when he conquered Persia as the kings of Persia were known for their greatness. He was married to Roxane when he fell in love with when he conquered Sogdia. After he had conquered Persia, he got married to a Persian princess ( Darius' daughter) so that they could produce a mixed hire to unite the different nations.

one of the student raised up his hand: So he married twice?

professor: yes, they pro-polygamy back then which is very barbaric.

me: barbaric? wtf?

i have a new play date! :)

2010-11-26T15:01:00.000-08:00

haha.. okay, the topic to this entry might sounds wrong to some but really, I am talking about the real play date! yay me!

As I mentioned earlier(in my previous entries), there is a few Malaysians working and having family here. So, one of them is Abang Azmi, with his wife, Kak Ayu and his super cute daughter, Qistina.(she's four!)

I met them during Aidilfitri but Qistina was so shy back then. She only played with the seniors and she couldn't even remember my name well.

We had thanksgiving yesterday and Kak Deng cooked us turkey and a lot of other awesome thanksgiving meals. Qistina was there too! She brought her coloring books and barbie dolls with her. We had a chit chat and she started to call me Kak Zera.. like super cute in her american accent. lol.. her parents were trying to teach her Malay ever since she started talking but she'd rather speak in English. so i kinda tried to make her speak in Malay but she refused to talk in Malay and make me look like a retard talking alone.. lol

There's one time Qistina came to me:

Qistina: knock knock

me: who's there?

Qistina: Qistina !

me: Qistina who?

Qistina: Qistina monsterawrrrrrrr

me : huh?? what??

Abang Azmi: you're supposed to rawr back at her and scare her away..

me: really?? hahahaha

haha.. yup, i forgot my childhood. anyway, when I was about to leave the house, Qistina run and hugged me..it was super cute! Kak Ayu was glad that she's close to me now and she wants me to spend more time with Qistina in the future. FO SHO Kak Ayu! how can i say no to something so lovable. :)

I believe that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

2010-11-16T20:26:00.000-08:00

The first time I came to the states. This question always pops up on my mind ' Am I gonna fit in? ' and my heart went 'hmm.. give it a try.. you got nothing to lose'

So I decided to join a Taekwondo club and rush for a sorority. Not only that I love the martial art and the sisterhood love, I wanted to meet new people and make new friends.

Phi Rho Alpha was one of the best things that had happened to me. I love the sisterhood and the sisters here are very nice to me too. It feels like I have my own family here. Besides that, it's a very chilled sorority with no hazing at all. I have a 'Big' and I love her so much; her name is Daniela and we call her Dani; I'm glad that we have so many things in common. She loves science and working out, works in the lab and sucks at being creative. We rock!! lol.

Anyway, I have some friends in Taekwondo too. I love the babies!! (white belts) They're really really awesome people! but there's some sort of clique in this club and I don't even wanna get involved with. It's pretty bad that the old folks don't like having *coughs* me *coughs* new black belt kids in the team. so I guess that I just have to live with that. It hurts but I'm not gonna worry about it.

I didn't know that the second I stepped into Phi Rho Alpha's mass meeting, it will be such a significant thing for me. I'm all in for my new family. As for Taekwondo, I would try to get along but I'm not gonna please anyone. I'm gonna kick butts if I have to. :P

game face. time to get serious!

2010-11-08T12:44:00.000-08:00

i'm putting my game face on.. hell yeah i am.. grrrr

Bring it on Fall term!!!

jgn buat keje bodoh boleh x?

2010-11-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

I've been really effed up lately. Organic chemistry exam was such a bitch. I had a job interview at the Vector company like a few hours before the exam and I was dead tired when I reached the exam hall.

Well , the good part is, I got the job! it pays $14.25 per appointment which is not even an hour.

What kind of job? It's a sales marketing where I have to market this cutlery set which I myself am impressed with it. But to do so, I have to join this training seminar for three days and I might have to skip classes and miss exams. Not good.

So I decided to step out of it. Yeah, I just wasted a few hours of my life being interviewed. But hey, it's a good experience. yada yada yada. Okay, so orgo exam had made me crash for 12hours straight, and i'm not even kidding. So, I have to rush to do my Ancient Greek essay, which had to be previewed the next day. a 5 page essay! and i didn't sleep. gahh!! so, in class, joe previewed my essay and he was like 'which question did you do?' and i was like 'aren't we supposed to develop our own idea?' and he was like ' no zera. that was for the formulating questions. You have to do the essay based on these questions(showing me his paper)' . 'You're kidding me right? ouhh, come on joeee. tell me you're just fooling around' joe: 'i'd like to say that i am , but i'm not, seriously' me: 'i just wasted the whole night doing an essay that could just gimme a F' joe: ' chill zera, you have til tomorrow to get it done' me: 'yeah, another sleepless night for me.' :(

ouhh yeahh, and after that my GSI, Karen came up to me and handed in my test result and she was like 'Congrats!! 100% quiz! why the sad face?' and joe was like 'i just crushed her dreams.' hell yeah you did.. nah, it's my effing fault. damn it.. keje bodoh sgt.

So, I stepped out from the job at the Vector company and now, I applied for a job as a Lab Assistant in biological chemistry research.I'm so excited! I hope i'll get it! it pays $10-$12 per hour, which is really really good :))

I'm in love with a car! volkswagen beetles classic, green color. i'm really considering buying it.

i get a lot of questions asking why did i join a sorority?as if it's something bad? because i love the sisterhood! my sisters are awesome and i'm loving every bit of my life as a sister. if you're thinking that i kept on going parties and socializing too much? hell yeah i did go to parties. but i know my limits and i didn't do anything that could embarrass myself .

so i'm just gonna indulge myself in this essay for tonight. :(

p/s; faker is such a harsh word.

who died and made you king of anything huh?

2010-11-03T23:52:00.000-07:00

You’ve got opinions, man
We’re all entitled to ‘em, but I never asked
So let me thank you for your time, and try not to waste anymore of mine
And get out of here fast

I hate to break it to you babe, but I’m not drowning
There’s no one here to save

Who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?

You sound so innocent, all full of good intent
Swear you know best
But you expect me to jump up on board with you
And ride off into your delusional sunset

I’m not the one who’s lost with no direction
But you’ll never see
You’re so busy making maps with my name on them in all caps
You got the talking down, just not the listening

2010-10-28T08:46:00.000-07:00

The girl who seemed unbreakable broke, the girl who always laughed cried, the girl who never stop trying finally gave up. She dropped a fake smile as a tear ran down her cheek and she whispered to herself "i can't do this anymore"

Christian & Muslim

2010-10-25T16:50:00.000-07:00

I had lunch with my friend after Chemistry class today; lets say her name is B and she's a Christian and this is how the conversation went:

B: I'm going to this Muslim-Christian dinner tonight. It'll be interesting.

me: Really? I got that invitation too.

B: What are you?

me: ohh, I'm a Muslim.

B:Ouh, so are you going?

me: I dun think so.

B: Why? Is it that you just don't care or you have something going on?

me: I do care. But I have a meeting til 7:30 and I dun think I could make it on time.

B: They sure do a lot of events. If not, we could just talk about it.

me: yeah, we could. and that's the reason why I kept on having seafood and vegetarian meals. I can only eat Kosher meat.

B:What is actually Kosher meat?

me: Well, kosher is basically the way of the animal slaughtered to get the dirty blood out of the body system. So, you will only get good meat.

B: Is that only for precaution or is it part of the religion?

me: It is part of the religion.

B:Islam has a lot of rules. We do have these rules too in the Old Testament but now, we'd like to think that everything in the world that the God gave us, is for us to enjoy. It's more like you worship God not because of the rules but simply because you love Him .

me: I believe that the God made these rules because He loves us.

B: Why is that so?

me: Well, the rules in Islam are actually for the good of the humans themselves. You have to have Kosher meat because He wants you to have good food. You're not allowed to have alcohol simply because it's bad for your health. Everything's there for a reason. The God loves us, that's why he made those rules.

B: That makes sense. But why do Muhammad had many wives? Isn't that wrong. In Christian, when two human beings were married to each other, the souls will unite. and you can't have a union of 3, 4 and 5 souls right?

me: That's true. But in Islam, the men are only to have more than one wife for some reasonable reasons. Let's say if the woman is sick and needs the help to go through her life.

B: Than why don't just help her? why do you have to marry her?

me: I think that in this case, that woman might need an intensive care and without marrying that girl, rumors and lies will spread and that won't be good. Another reason would be, to have a continuation of generation, you know, if the wife can't have babies.

B: than why not just adopt? I f you weren't meant to have babies, than that's what the God have decided for you, you should accept it right? that's selfish to want the continuation of generation so that the last name would last? There's a lot of children that need to be helped. Seriously, zera? would you want your future husband to marry someone else?

me: No, I don't but if he has a really strong and valid reason, than i might have to. If it's just for the sake of lust, that's just completely wrong.

Personally, I was quite stunned when the last question spurted out.

Dear Allah, I am lack of knowledge and weak. Show me your guidance for me to stand up for my religion in this very foreign piece of land.

i'm a fool again :(

2010-10-17T06:36:00.000-07:00

I should have seen it coming
I should've read the signs
Anyway...
I guess it's over
Can't believe that I'm the fool again,
I thought this love would never end
How was I to know?
You never told me,
Can't believe that I'm the fool again
And I who thought you were my friend,
How was I to know?
You never told me.

he's so bright like matahari :)

2010-10-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

and I was like.. ' WHAT THE EFFFF??'

2010-10-07T21:39:00.000-07:00

eff -ed up doee.. i knew that I signed up for Chemistry honors section. I knew that the work load will be heavier.. what i don't know is, you need to get at least 94? to get an A?? what the eff?? i dun mind the workload ouhh.. but 94 is just too much.. :( siot T.T

kookoo

2010-10-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

hey there, hi there, how do you do??

sorry, i was being a bit kookoo.. if you know what i mean..

it is now 2:21 am and i am still in the undergraduate library trying to figure out my project paper for Archaeology.. it should be 6 pages long and i haven't even finished one.. gahh.. this is so sad.. i am really2 tired right now and would LOVE to go back and sleep but looking at the temp indicator on my iphone, it's 5 degree celcius outside.. and i dun wanna freeze my butt off.. HAHA..

well, anyway, being kookoo and kiasu for another few hours won't harm much.. i can still work on my paper.. it is due this Friday. I hope I can at least finish half of it before 9 am.. hmm.. and still, i have some readings to do for my Ancient Greek Quiz and by some , i meant LOADS.. gahh.. i really could use a break right now :(

my first quiz in umich!!!

2010-09-21T15:36:00.000-07:00

So the quiz is for my first year writing course. it was regarding the ancient Greek! super cool!!

It wasn't that bad.. it's good but not great.. well, i did burn the midnight oil for this quiz..

after we were finished with the quiz:

Karen: This quiz will take up to 2% of your total grade.

me: Whattt?? 2%?? I worked my butt off for this..

Adam: 2%? you can just ditch this and still get an A.

me: I know right.. urghhh..

it was quite disappointing, but I can answer all the questions! so it's good thing all in all.. right?

-.-"

math!

2010-09-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

Shada and I went to the Math Lab to ask questions about Math 216 &217.. We were pretty confused on which tutor's teaching which Math.. so we asked around..

us: Are you teaching Math 216 or 217?

tutor 1: no, i'm teaching Math 215. but if you have any questions, I would help you figuring it out. Not your homework though. You have to find the respective tutor.

us: ouhhhkayyyy.. err.. we have a general question regarding the R1 R2 R3. How do we know which is which?

tutor1: clearly, you're not quite sure about the question you're asking.

us: err.. okay.. for example, if we have a matrix..

tutor1: matrix doesn't work that way , so the question is invalid.

us: err.. tell you what, we'll ask the Math 216 or 217 tutor.

So we went to another desk, our tutor's name is christopher baik.

us: Hey, are you doing Math 216? do you mind if we join you guys?

christopher: yeah, sure.. have a seat.. so what's up?

us: regarding these matrix number, how do we find R1 R2 R3?

christopher:that's Math 217, i'll try though. well, basically, it depends on the columns and rows..

* writes the matrix and equations.*

us: cool.. we got it..Thanks.

christopher: no problem.. drop by anytime you have a question..

the first tutor was wearing formally, like seriously . and he looks soo nerdy.. christopher was wearing a long sleeve and a 3/4 pants. he was very friendly too.. unlike the first tutor..

get what i'm trying to say?

*pretty annoyed with the first tutor*

READ THIS!!!

2010-09-14T20:05:00.000-07:00

"It's impossible." said pride. "It's risky." said experience. "It's pointless." said reason. "Give it a try." whispered the heart.

:(

2010-09-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

i have been kiasu-ing the whole day.. like seriously.. library is my 2nd home (it is near to my apartment though) ...

gahh.. i really could use a break right now!!

but i can't stop.. even for a moment.. huhu.. MATH 215 is full so i have to skip it and do Math 216 which is wayyy complicated compared to Math 215.. I feel like shedding tears now :'(

and i need to submit my assignment which is due this thursday ( now i wonder why i'm wasting my time blogging ) urghh .. you suck zera!

the professor said that i should have no prob doing it coz i got pretty high score for my math placement?? dude! i dun even know how to use my graphing calculator.. haha..

i will take my Math 215 in winter term.. till we meet again .. muahaha..

p/s: this is what happens when you put too much pressure on an immature weird geeky juvenile.. :(

salam eid mubarak

2010-09-12T11:45:00.001-07:00

This year is my first time celebrating Eid without my beloved family. The truth is, there's no more excitement like before..I used to go back to Seremban, my grandparents' house and celebrate eid with the whole family..

Well raya was not that bad.. I guess... the suck-ish part is that I had classes till 5pm on the raya day itself .. Fortunately, Chemistry lab was cancelled so my classes ended around

1pm? Most of my friends skipped their classes.. No, not me.. I didn't skip classes.. I went to my classes.. IN BAJU KURUNG!!..kiasu me .. hehhh..

Anyway, I arrived at Nuha's place at around 3pm? The house was empty, rendang finished.. The girls( Shada and Syiqin) were waiting for Aqmal and Ian to finish their friday prayers. Luckily, Afiq came and gave us a ride to Kak Andeng's open house. And the awesome part is, she served kuah kacang and laksa sarawak.. I didn't get my rendang though.. :(

Well, on the 2nd raya, Kak Ayu invited us to her house and we reached there at around 2pm.. It was raining though, on our way there :(

The house was full with guests .. There was a lot of food: rendang:), ketupat, soto, kueh raya, roti jala, kari and lots more. Sangat2 meriah. and2... I wore my green kebaya with my black jeans (malas wanna wear kain) :P

I met my friends and some awesome seniors.. even though they dun want me to call them KAK? haha..

BTW, Kak diyana and kak ikha can drive.. yay!! so most probably we'll drive to chicago ..:) in a minivan? haha.. that would be next weekend, for another eid open house.. :))

so what?

2010-09-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

yes.. i'm turning into a nerd... that's a statement and i'm proud of it !!!!

well, basically, classes have started and assignments are piling up..

and yeah.. i have to know my knowledge before the lecture or the discussion starts

and maybe sometimes, i overdo it.

haha.. i was called a nerd in my first ancient greek class by Jenn..which is cool though..

*coz i know she was kidding*..lol..

gotta make a good impression in class..

hahaha... loving it.. :)

share your genius :)

2010-09-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

Classes start tomorrow !!!

2010-09-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

weeeeeeeehoooooooo!!! :)

i'm looking for a girl with a cemented leg.

2010-09-06T13:51:00.000-07:00

So I went to the Islamic Center last night for buka puasa and while I was lining up, I saw a girl.

Yeah, her leg was cemented, she was not in line. But she was helping people to get their food. She helped me to get my plate and drinks.. it was really nice of her.. she was about 12 years old?

And her friends were like fooling around with her asking when she's gonna get in line..

and her answer was ' there's no place for me'..

So I asked her.. would she like to stand in line in front of me..

thn i saw the most sincere smile..

no sister, there's a lot more people to be served.. dun worry.

man, i was really touched.. she's a kid... and she's helping out at the masjid and yes, with her cemented leg..

I wish I could be more like her.. sungguh mulia :)

crazy night :P

2010-09-06T09:31:00.000-07:00

We had our UMix Rock the Night party at Michigan League last Saturday night. UMix Rock the Night is one of the welcoming event organized by one of organizations here.

It was not much of a party, there are activities such as Airbrush tattoo ( i didn't get that though)

board games, Toy Story 3 movie under the star, and KARAOKE!!!!

So , we (Shada, Syiqin, Sinyi, Girish , Pauline and i) went to the basement for the karaoke event. There was a stage and people will go on the stage to sing in front of the crowd.

So, all of us sang "It's my life " by Bon Jovi on stage. Oh yeahh.. and not to forget, our group name was 'Girish and the Girls' .. HAHA..

I do believe we got the crowd rocking with us.. It was very loud, and people were cheering..

You can watch the video on this link :

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=465030580947&ref=mf

HAHA..

There was this awesome guy, Nick danced to our karaoke music.

He was quite friendly with Girish..

The group after us sang 'You spin my head right round, right round, when you go down, when you go down down.. LOL'

and Nick started dancing in front, and Girish followed him,

Josh (another American joined them) and so do two other mat saleh girls..

Then Nick was like 'Don't you wanna dance with us in front? ' and I was like 'nahh..'

then he said ' ouhh comee onn... ' reaching out his hand..

and I was like.... what the heck... why not... :PPPPP

yeahhh... I danced...

We're like a bunch of awesome people dancing in front . LOL

yup, this is a picture of us (captured by syiqin) dancing to that song..

from left: idunnohim:p, girish, me, nick, americangirl1 n josh( yellow shirt)

Girish was dancing funnily, he kept on saying "I can't dance" !! and we were like " no one cares "

haha.. Nick 's legend... wait for it... dary man.. he's awesome..:P

At the end, baru kiteorang wanna introduce ourselves

nick: you were awesome ..

me: you were awesome too man.. i'm zera..

nick: i'm nick..

me : cool. *high 5*

Well, we went to play bingo and Pauline won two boxes of cookies (oreos and famous amos)

gahhh!!!... i'm soo gonna get fat...

On our way back, we were like totally shivering coz it was like 6 degree celcius??

seriously, freezing M.A.O...

it's a memorable night though.. :))

=P

2010-09-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

=PPPPPPPPPPP

i know my face looks pretty ugly at this time..

but........ heeeheeee :PPPP

ballroom dancing !!:)

2010-09-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

okay , so from my previous post, I've mentioned that one of the things that I wanna do before getting married is to take up ballroom dancing . HAHA.. I know right.. So I went for 'escapade' which is a welcoming event here in umich and there's a lot of organizations trying to gather people to join their clubs or so.. and.. guess what I saw??

"BALLROOM DANCING CLUB!!!!"

So I went to the booth and listened to them giving out details about the mass meeting and stuff..and some of them started dancing to the music.. they danced ballroom dancing to a very modern music..modern music as in eminem, rihanna modern music.. which is uber cool!!!

i'm soo gonna sign up for this.. even though i know nothing about ballroom dancing. no harm trying right. well, at least I can cancel out ballroom dancing from the list. teeeeheeee.. :P

New friends :)

2010-09-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

I was lining up to check in. Nan and his friend , David(my friends from China) were in front of me. Thn, David left to the restroom kot.

Nan : Hi, how's it going ?

me: pretty good. it's a long line though.

Nan: Yeah.. Anyway, I'm Nan.

me: I'm Zera, nice to meet you. Where are you from?

Nan: I'm from China .

me: wow, I'm from Malaysia.

Nan: Malaysia? some of our ancestors migrated to Malaysia a long time ago.

me: Yeah, there are chinese and indians in Malaysia.

Nan: So you're the native Malaysian?

me: Yeah, sort of. I'm a Malay.

Nan's friend , David came back and Nan excused himself.

Nan: This is my friend, David. David, this is Zera. Would you excuse me for awhile.

me: sure, hi David! nice to meet you.

David : hey, nice to meet you too. So, how long have you been here?

me: Three days or so.. *checking out the date on my phone*

David: So, you've gotten your US number already?

me: errrr.... yeahh??

David: Can I have your number?

me: errr... i'm not pretty sure..

David: emm, sorry, it's pretty offensive to ask for your number now right?

me: yeahh.. i think we should just talk first. see how it goes from there.

David: sure, I'm really sorry..

me: no worries, no harm done

Nan joined us later on. We started talking bout some cool stuff around campus. and about our origins :)

When we're done checking in.

David: Zera, we should hang out sometime.

Nan: yeah, it'll be fun!

me: Sure!! find me on facebook!

David: so it's Zera Arika eyt?

me: yeah, gotta go. bye ! :)

p/s: they're really nice people.

my first semester in UMICH :)

2010-09-01T22:43:00.000-07:00

So, I can transfer up to 41 credit hours from Uniten, which is quite surprising coz i tot i signed up as a freshman. Anyway, that's not bad at all. I don't have to face the same Chemistry , Physics and Calculus course. Since I only took up till Calculus II, my advisor advised me to take Calculus III although it's not in the engineering requirement. AND.. I still need to do my Chemistry 210 and 211. I saw the instructor's name list and I spotted 'JENNIFER ANNE MCNEIL', she graduated from Cornell and did her post grad at MIT! and her research field is very wide but her classes are fully reserved for Honors students only. So, I decided to email the Honors section for the permission to join the section because I want to be in Ms McNeil's class. The person in charge said that she will look at my records and placement results to see if I'm eligible for it.and guess what? i got in!! "I hope you enjoy the challenge" that's what she said.

So, I took up some classes to fulfill my Humanities and Social Science requirement which is up to 16 credit hours . I decided on Biology( Animal Behavior) , COMPLIT( Travels to Greece) , GEOSCI (Natural Parks and monuments) and a DANCE class.

BUT..

I found that there was just one opening seat for a First Year Writing Course and the topic was Ancient Greek !!! and I was very excited of the topic !! so I just sign up for it. But taking up soo much classes is not a very good idea so I have to cut down some.

Since GEOSCI and BIOLOGY are natural sciences, I have to let them go. I signed up for a social science class: ARCHEOLOGY!! (wanted to take political science but the time clashes ) huhu.

and for some unknown reasons, I can't sign up for a dance class. (reserved or something) .

So.... I ended up having Math (Calculus III), Chemistry 210 and 211, Archeology, COMPLIT(Travels to Greece) and Writing ( Ancient Greek)

I'm thinking of dropping COMPLIT if it's too much.. we'll see how it goes :)

my first semester schedule :)

Things I want to do before I get married??

2010-09-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

1) graduate? duhh :P

2) with at least double major or more ( chemical eng/biomedical eng)

3) do my own research

4) work with awesome professors

5) do a post grad at an awesome research school ( princeton? :P)

6) travel !! (states+europe+ everywhere)

7) own a mini cooper

8) bungee jump ;p

9) do something really HUGE for mama&papa

10) do lomography:)

11) stick the whole house's walls with lomo pics :P

12) take up some dance class.

13) do ballroom dancing? :p

14) learn piano

15) rock climbing !

These are the things I could think of right now.. I'll add up my goals from time to time :P

Merdeka in Ann Arbor

2010-08-31T21:18:00.000-07:00

I know it's not the same between celebrating Merdeka in Ann Arbor and in Malaysia. Most people would say that you won't get the feeling of Merdeka-ness if you celebrate it elsewhere. So I am here now to prove you wrong mister. You're utterly wrong. Living in Ann Arbor for the past week has taught me how to appreciate my own country and stand by it. We, students are representing Malaysia in other countries and we have to stand by each other in whatever conditions. This is when the 1-Malaysia spirit is badly needed. Be it here or there, Malaysia or elsewhere, I will stand by my country, Malaysia. Happy Independence Day Malaysia ! love ~

From US with love :)

2010-08-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

After the fatal 24 hours flight, Pauline and I reached Ann Arbor on Tuesday , at around 12.45 pm (A^2 time) which is exactly 12 hours later than Malaysia.

I'm writing this blog at 12.17 a.m,so it should be 12.17 pm back in Malaysia ( i know, i'm lame)

whatever, ok, besides that, the puasa time here in A^2 is from 5.30 am (sunrise) till 8.30 pm (sunset). yup one hour more than Malaysia ( nah, not a problem, i'm a strong kid :p)

So, for the past three days, Pauline and I have been buying things to settle into our apartment. Well, the apartment is fully furnished but we still need to get our own pillows and food (coz we planned on cooking instead of dining out) . We also did our student ID( to get free bus rides lol) , and opened our new account ( just to clear our check). It takes around 5 days though to get the money. Far too long dude. HEH ! -.-"

The main reason why we took around three days to go shopping and settle down is because the bus stop is far away from our apartment that we have to walk for about 300 meter with our hands full of heavy groceries. gahhhh!!

Okay, the alphabet A is the bus stop, which is at the michigan union and our apartment is at the other end, near the pinball thingy..

imagine us carrying heavy loads of groceries along that road..

man, that just killed me..

Anyway, my apartment is AWESOME

and yes ! that is a statement. muahahaha

i know, get a life right haha

you can find the pictures in my photo album on facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2078313&id=1439504673

ngeeee... you can find AWESOMENESS by clicking the link to my photos in A^2

IPHONE4!!!

yes!!! i do own an iphone4!! lol.. and it's super-awesome!!

yeahh, iphones are overrated, but seriously, who cares?? LOL

and here's a picture of my lovely iphone :)

so, let us continue with the awesomeness,

I COOKED!! i made my own waffle for sahur !!

made some for pauline as well ... weeee :))

picture!!

Orientation was awesome too !!

i made some awesome new friends,

Hern, from Korea

Melissa, from Spain

Nan and David , from China.

I don't have pictures of them though, maybe tomorrow :)

and i learned some new lines from Melissa

:hola :)

which means hello ( duhhhh -.-")

and..

: no ablo espaniol

it means, i dun speak spanish :)) cool huh?

Nan and David told me that they also have durians in China and..

i was like , FOR REALL?? *quiet embarrassing though*.. heh -.-"

Anyway, during buka puasa, Kak Midah and Kak aisyah brought me and a few other muslims to buka puasa at Kak Andeng's house (i hope i spelled her name right :) )

She lives and works in A^2 , and there is a few others who work here as well.. with families.. with kids .. you know :))

Maybe we'll celebrate Aidilfitri with them :)

I wonder if I'll end up having a family, and working in A^2.. hehe

p/s: A^2 means Ann Arbor, Michigan. HEHE :P

kecewa

2010-08-20T01:27:00.000-07:00

During my last semester in Uniten , I had a lecturer who taught us Islamic Studies. Frankly speaking, I don't fancy him.. at all... He always favors the guys. The girls in the class are invisible, all the time. There was a session with the non-muslims, and he shows attitude towards the non-muslims and being racist all the time. I don't feel comfortable during that session , I can see that none of us was too..

I tried to go along and show him some respect that an educator deserves.. but as time passes by.. I just lost them because he really favors the guys * i mean like really2 tried his best to gain their attention* and even the guys are freaking worried about him.. being him.. frankly speaking, i really think he's gay.. well, that's not for me to judge.. but at a point where he scolded me because I talked to one of his favorite students *a guy*.. i was really pissed off..

A month later, he was hired to work with a politician and he quitted teaching us. An ustaz replaced him, I felt more comfortable learning.

Well, today , he posted something on facebook:

Wahai Bangsa ku MELAYU ! Kite kene bantu ekonomi kaum Cina dan India kerana mereka ini bangsa yang MUNDUR, hampir MATI KELAPARAN, MEREMPAT tepi jalan xde RUMAH, kita kene MULIAKAN TETAMU ... BUKANKAH ITU ADAT MELAYU !

I was quiet pissed.. Who are you to say that? ape kau rase mulia kah? posting something like that? during Ramadhan lagi? menghina bangsa lain sedemikian rupa? secara terang-terangan kau menzahirkan kejahilan kau.. What happened to menghormati setiap insan di dunia.. lain bangsa? lain agama? even though you loathe them so much, it doesn't give you the right to degrade them..

i'm not surprised..

'Melayu Mudah lupa' - Dr. Mahathir

Leaving in like 4 days?

2010-08-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's approximately 94 hours before I leave Malaysia on the 23rd.. gahh !!

bags are packed =)

things are ready=)

documents are settled =)

online surveys etc.. done =)

all that I need to do now is my Math Placement yang aku sgt2 malas nak buat..huhu

and... print out my e-ticket..

thn i'm ready to go..

wow.. okay.. I dun think I'm set for that yet..

adeyhh.. I still have to work on my mental strength.. ;(

sappy me T.T

2010-08-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

I came across this quote in fiki's blog ( my cool, awesome sis ;p)

"If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they're yours; if they don't, they never were."

Letting you go is the hardest thing for me to do..

and I've been there,

Watching you slipped away from my thoughts..

Even when I dun want you to..

You never really left..

But I do really have to let you go..

And now you're back,

it's bittersweet, to see you again.

I miss you.. A lot..

Though I know that the word 'us' is no longer a probable..

If they come back, they're yours, if they don't, they never were.

It will only be another goodbye..

and both of us will go our separate ways.

All the best is all I can say. :(

Gahhh ! I'm sappy !!!

and pathetic.. urghhh..

bukan terhandal, bukan terkuat, cuma terhandal dalam apa ku buat ! yeahh !

2010-08-18T22:34:00.000-07:00

How do we measure success? Is it by comparing our achievement with others? Most people do this. But personally, I feel that you can't just compare your achievement with other people. Let's say that I just received my results for my mid term test, my classmate scored better than I did. Does that mean that he is more successful than me? Maybe.. But, what if he only scored because he is lucky enough that the questions asked were studied the day before. What if he scored because the mid term test was tested on his specialty subject?No, you can't measure success like that. Each and every one of us has our own specialty. Maybe , my classmate is good at comprehending the subject theoretically and I on the other hand, prefer to get my hands on the subject. I might not know the scientific names or the history of the process but I may know how to explain the process to the very bits of it and apply the process in our every day life . What if I can even invent something new out of the process through my own understanding?

If you're an athlete, you can't have speed, strength, agility and consistency all at the same high par. Someone else might be faster than you, even though you are stronger than him. Someone else might be more flexible than you, even though you are more consistent than him. Everyone has his own specialty. You know yours so unleash it, because you are the most successful person if you know how to use the gift given by God wisely. =)

Everything is 'good' but not 'great'. :)

2010-08-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

Everything is GOOD , but not GREAT !

well, GOOD is better than OKAY

and..

OKAY is definitely better than NOTHING

GOOD is pretty impressive. But I will make sure I will reach

GREAT soon. =)

you immature punk!

2010-08-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

i'm leaving for the states on august 23rd, monday, at 11.40 pm . Will be in KLIA 2 hours before departure. Will depart from kl to london (that will take around 13hours) and arrive at 5.50am london time. Transit for 3hours and 30 mins before continuing my journey to detroit via delta airlines . This part of journey will take about 8 hours . The ETA (estimated time of arrival) is at

12.40 pm. i'm lucky to get 30kg allowance for my luggage. God knows how much stuff I wanna bring along with me. (noob me, explaining the e-ticketing thingamajingy)

Yeah, I FAILED miserably at packing. I didn't even know what the hell was i thinking to not give a damn about packing. Man, I 'm terribly screwed up. I tried putting aside all my clothes which I wanna bring with me and I ended up getting the whole closet cleared out. gahhh ! you suck zera ! Why? Why do you have to jeopardize yourself with your rebelliousness and immaturity??Why are you having second thoughts? You're supposed to be excited silly! Don't you wanna chase your dreams in the states? in Michigan? Don't you wanna do well and go Princeton for your post grad? Don't you wanna work at a large force and make huge differences? Don't you wanna own that damn mini cooper?

I need to change.. I need to be more mature.

gahh !!

welcome ramadhan. :)

2010-08-10T22:16:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning for sahur.. thn tak taw mcm mane, i went back to sleep.. gahhhh !

FAIL!!

have to be more disciplined.. bukan budak kecik lagi adeyhh..

quiet pissed with myself for that.. I have to change.. be a better person , kalau kat sini dah liat.. sana nnti lagi lah teruk.. adeyhh, zera2.. yoshh.. ganbatte ne..

Hopefully, this ramadhan will be better thn the previous ones.. amin..

love?

2010-08-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

mama= you ran in your heels?

me= yes, i did..

mama= and you fell , flat on the ground?? HAHAHAHA..

me= maaa... that was last year, learnt my lesson.. sakitt.. T.T

mama= stupid things people do for love..

me= i know.. it was idiotic.. ;(

mama= never mind, you'll find someone who would fall flat on the ground for you.

me= really?? gahhh!

mama= haha .. u fell !

me= (=.=")

pic: mom and dad :)

sicko ;(

2010-07-12T09:57:00.000-07:00

i was really sick for the past two weeks.. like really sick.. and i still am.. first was the tonsil infection that i got from my sister, after i recovered from that, i got some rash.. which is pretty common for me cause my skin can't tolerate the hot weather. after a few days, my head started aching and i had really bad stomach.. i vomit for about 7 to 8 times that day.. and the doc i went to gave me the medicine for gastric... when the aching and vomiting didn't ease... i decided to go to a diff doc to get 2nd opinion and my mom showed the medicine i've been taking.. and the doc was quiet surprised that the other doc had been given me gastric medicine when my main problem is headache.. after taking the new medicine for headache.. i got better, so i went to ref a game in klebang and got my eyes infected.. my eyes were red.. and my throat was aching.. after taking the medicine for that.. my head started spinning AGAIN!! i went to the same doc and he said that it's no longer just a headache, it was a migraine attack.. i'm, still 18 and i had a migraine attack.. he said that it may be caused from stress etc.. i sound so old.. and yes, i have to depend on the medicine.. i hate that!! damn... i'll try to figure out the cause of this attack.. funny coz i dun have any problems.. sobs..

ukelele

2010-07-06T08:09:00.000-07:00

have you guys ever heard of ukelele? it's similar to a guitar but only smaller and it has 4 strings, compared to a guitar which has 6. The first time I heard about ukelele was from a friend, my uniten friend, Zhaf. He explained about this guitar miniature with 4 strings and how similar the methods of playing with guitar. Afiq, another friend of ours, plays it quiet well. He performed during events and i saw some of his videos.. impressive.. haha.. and now, my another friend, Aliff bought it too.. haha. and i'm not surprised if people started to play ukelele instead of guitar, it's cheaper and pretty cool stuff too..:DD

just for laugh.. NOT TRUE though!!

2010-07-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

housing!!

2010-06-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

i finally confirmed the housing for pauline and me!! It's on the 10th floor, Apts 1001..

i bet the view would be superb.. one thing that i really like about this apartment is that i think it's really spacious.. expanded bedroom with two desks and expanded living room.. more spaces to study and lepak..haha.. the building also provides a lot of facilities like gymnasium , swimming pool and it's near to starbuck too!! haha..can't wait..;))

our room floor plan!! ;))

found it!!!

2010-06-29T05:44:00.001-07:00

OMG!! OMG!!

i tot i really lost my bracelet !! hahaha..

man, i'm so relieved..

it's gift from a friend.. a really good friend..

cuak!! of coz lah.. i was looking for this bracelet for the past few months.. i did a lot of spring cleaning kat apartment in ilmu.. but still x jumpe jugak.. so i tot i dropped it smewhere out of my apartment..huhu

end up jumpe this cool bracelet in the drawer at my home in ipoh!!

woooohhooo.. now i feel great!!

well, my mom said that i'm not good at keeping stuff..

"x pandai jaga barang".. well, can't argue on that..

but i really2 dun wanna lose this thing.. it's a gift.. ;))

awesome knight and day!! ipoh style

2010-06-29T00:27:00.000-07:00

i had a great knight and day with my fellow friends from uniten

yeahh, sorang from kajang and another one from setiawangsa..

they came to ipoh atas urusan2 tertentu so we sort of enjoyed ipoh's awesomeness after that..lol

so zhaf and me from ipoh, aliff from kajang and fidh frm setiawangsa..

so we just detour around ipoh and had lunch in mee rebus ramli and 'lepak' at this new park called eco park.. *never went here b4 haha.. the place is so beautiful and very peaceful..cool place for recreational purpose..lol;pp

and when it started raining, we went to jusco and watched a movie!!

"KNIGHT AND DAY" awesome huh? haha.. then the g

uys went shopping.. pretty much like girls even though they didn't wanna admit it..haha

aliff bought an ukelele which cost around 48..pretty cool stuff... i think i have a pic of it down here.. just hope that he has the determination to play ukelele, coz it needs loads of practice..;p

so the next day, we had our lunch at 1.10, and i'm the victim coz i promised them that i would

belanje them if they came down to ipoh.. man, they're serious ..

haha.. things went well.. and they left for kl at 1.30

thanks for the awesomeness guys!! ipoh mali!! ;DDD

fear of blood?

2010-06-23T00:17:00.000-07:00

i studied in uniten , i'm taking engineering in UMich when i really hate physics.. funny huh?

yeahh, i think it's funny coz i can barely survive my physics test..

man, this is suicide... i wanted to become a medical stuudent, treat people, wear cool white coat and other stuff... read big books, wear thick glasses.. and become a nerd.. okay.. maybe i over-exaggerated it.. haha.. but i really think it's cool..

you know, being a doctor.. but the sad thing is , i'm really scared of blood , only the sight of it makes me sick.. seriously, bukan mengade ke ape.. haha.

so one day, there's this blood donation event being held in uniten's library... at first, i just wanted to check my blood type.. so the nurse poked me with a needle and test in on the board and yay!!! i'm in the 'o' group.. a universal donor.. so i was thinking what the heck.. just donate it.. who knows when I lost some blood, maybe there's no one there to donate any for me.. what goes around, comes around kan..

trust me, it's not the needle that i'm afraid of, i can feel my blood flowing through the tube and into the bag.. man, i felt like screaming but when you awesome friends around, you can't help but just laugh at yourself, even when your friends made fun of you..

the awesome part of the blood donation is when the nurse put the whole pack of my blood on my legs.. i think it's pretty cool LOL

i guess that's the first step to overcome my fear of blood.. and i'm pretty much proud of myself for that..;)

FRIENDS THAT HELPED ME THROUGH IT =))

FIFI

ATUL AND ALIFF

SHAO SHEN

YANG YANG

ZAKI

THE BLOOD PACK ON MY LEGS..

MY BLOOD PACK

MY LIL PACK =)

DONATING =) *IRWAN KAREN AND ME *

the debt that all men pay

2010-06-18T21:16:00.000-07:00

i miss you.. badly..

since you got your new job.. we seldom talk to each other any more..

you used to be my mentor, my coach, my bro..

help me out during training, in rink and my everyday life..

i remember you came to uniten once to bring me out for dinner..

coz your boss had some issues to be handled around that area.

we talked about stuff.. about life..

but that was last year.. than i did not hear from you..

until last week, when i heard that you were brought in to ICU..

heart problem.. i remember when you told me that you have difficulties with your heart, plus your work made it worse.. the stress and all.. i can see the miseries through your eyes.. i wish i could have done something about it..

i was in camp when i received the news.. you're no longer here..in the world..

no more "abg amir!!" no more "lambat lah zera" no more "telinge zera dah merah" and no more " zera busuk!!" from him.. you know.. i'll miss that.. soo much..

i wanted to see you for the last time.. but i can't .. the person in charge won't let me go off the campsite.. i was thinking of driving back, hopefully to see you for the last time.. the next day, my friend told me that his friend was brought to ICU

so yeah.. i followed him to visit his friend.. the place is full of sorrow..

the situation could have been the same with abg amir.. i felt sad.. even though i dunno him.. he reminded me a lot of abg amir..

in the evening.. he left the world too..

two lost in two days.. that's a lot to handle..

i hope i will be fully prepared when the time comes..

abg amir, till we meet again..

bitchiness? yeah, it's a part of me.. when situation calls for it.

2010-06-05T22:29:00.000-07:00

well, i tried my best to give and take..

tried my best to be patient ...

tried to care..

tried to be a good friend...

what did you do?

all u care about is you, you and you..

you ditched your friend..(even when you know that she's out there in danger)

you think that everyone is at your service..( WTH?)

so i'm done trying..

i ignored you.. but the hatred got piled up when you did the same thing over and over again..

sorry i lashed out at your face..

ouh wait, i dun feel sorry..

helping the needy ones.. ;)

2010-05-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

dear blog,

after two weeks of planning a charity event, ( picking a venue, contacting the admins, collecting donations, buying the stuff needed, planning the activities) ,we've decided to go to sabak bernam to pay a visit to an orphanage. The orphans are around the age of 12 till 17 and they looked very excited to see us coming. But the funny thing is, there was a lot more facilitators(us) than the participants( the orphans). Imagine 3 of the facilitators guiding a participant during the tuition slot. My 'brother' ( the one that i guided along with iqbal and yusuf) , looked so unease with that situation, maybe he's a bit shy. To avoid the oddness, i've decided to join the other two groups and play a few games( buaya/biawak, capkilicap, number). Playing these games reminds me of my childhood (ngeng ;p) and yusuf lost the number game and got jentik-ed 40 over times by the orphans. It was fun seeing him suffer ( i sound soo evil) haha.. and the kids enjoyed jentik-ing him too.. lol... knowing the fact that these kids don't have parents, i tried my best to give them my full attention and love.. they should know that there are people who still care about them.. the world is full of love.. lets share the love together.. ;)

only i can punch his face.. u punched his face too? i'm gonna break yours..

2010-05-21T02:33:00.000-07:00

mama received a phone call from seratas( my brother's school) this morning. so they (mom and dad) rushed to taiping to see what's going on.. the principal told my parents that a form 2 boy wanted to dismiss himself from that school because he was always bullied by a group of seniors ( which is normal in boarding schools) but before he left, he brought his brother, ( a final year student in uniten) to meet the group of seniors (including my brother) , and they argued and that guy gave a one solid punch to my brother's face... so the principal was worried that my brother would make a police report regarding that matter so they called up my parents...

whoever you are dude.. i know what my brother did was wrong but i dun think he deserved a punch from YOU!! come on, you're 24 and he's only 17.. i tot you can think better..

only i can punch his face.. u'd regret doing that ..

tears..

2010-05-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

am i a baby? a cry baby i suppose.. i dun get emo that often especially over small matters.. some say i look dull( in the sense that i dun look that i have any feelings at all) just a plain cloth.. i shut up when people treat me badly .. laugh along when people make fun of me or anything.. i mingle with everyone.. be as zealous as i can be.. but the thing is, i get hurt in the process.. yet i still put on my smiley face , deal with emo people even when i'm really sick of their unreasonable actions.... the sad, hatred and evil feelings got piled up over time.. and today, the smallest matter ever has triggered it, the tears that have been carefully hidden for long .. T.T

p/s: sorry dude , didn't mean for you to face and witness this.. it's not your fault, really.. :)

knock YOU down

2010-05-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

target...locked... no one can ever say anything about this anymore.. no more making fun of this thing... ingat bagus sangat?? hah!!! bring it on!!

just do it zera!! hahaha..

p/s: jgn layan this post, i'm self-motivating.. ;)

good bye Minnesota.. hello Michigan..=)

2010-05-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

good bye Minnesota.. hello Michigan...

it is hard to let go of something that you really like for something that is good for you..hmm...

It is undeniable that Michigan is better thn Minnesota.. but I always see myself going to Minnesota.. the place where I think is good for me.. One of the best school for Chemical Engineering studies.. and less Malaysians go there since JPA have dropped out ths uni from the list because of their insurance policy... if i have been given the choice to choose.. it's Minnesota.. it's just my preference...

Since Minnesota is not preferable by sime, i can't do anything about it.. and the offer from Michigan is like my life savor to study in US... plus, my besties, pauline and aqmal (from sime) are going there too... i bet it will be so much fun with them around.. can't wait for US !! ;DDD

will update you guys with the housings and stuff..(sorry, i get a lil bit excited over insignificant stuff).. ;)

Michigan campus;DD

Michigan beach ;DD

Michigan city ;DD

Play your cards well..=)

2010-05-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

i'm supposed to prepare for my chemistry presentation but can't help it , so here goes my blog.. recently, i've mentioned a phrase to my guy friends when we were playing cards, 'it's not all about the cards, it's how you play the cards'.. come to think of it, it's quiet true.. you can't change what you have, you can only plan well to get the best of what you have.. because a person with 2 spade can lose the game and not only that, a person with three 2s also can lose the game... same goes with chess... you can't get back the pieces you have lost (unless your pawn made it to the end) .. but what you can do is, play by tactics (pin, castling, dragon, fairy tale tactics etc..) .. when you really use up all the things you have, even a pawn can checkmate the king...

All i'm trying to convey here is.. don't lose hope just because you don't have what others have.. see the best in yourself.. play your cards well .. love, zera =)

just STAB Caesar!!

2010-05-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

Why should Caesar get to stomp arnd like a giant, while the rest of us try not to get smushed under his big feet? What's so great about Caesar? Hm? Brutus is just as cute as Caesar. Brutus is just as smart as Caesar. People totally like Brutus just as much as they like Caesar. And when did it become okay for one person to be the boss of everybody, huh? Because that's what Rome is about. We should totally just STAB Caesar!

stop thinking that everything in this world is at your service... get lost punk..

love cougar =)

2010-05-06T01:38:00.000-07:00

'nobody touches the hat kay?'

i heart you cougar!!!

;)

2010-05-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

Don't cry when the sun is gone Zera, because the tears won't let you see the stars. =)

I love Jason Mraz!!!

2010-04-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

Jason Mraz.. I just love him.. his personalities, his music, his dressings.. everything about him is interesting.. i love acoustic.. maybe that's the main reason why i like him? plus, his songs are all very easygoing and fun.. his voice is superb.. although he always does casual performances or perform by the roadside in France, his casualty is what makes him attractive.. If you realize, all his songs were referring to a girl (his best friend) who he fell for.. i mean , ALL his songs.. were referring to how difficult it was to confess to his best friend that he likes her more than just friends... i just find that really interesting and sweet.. and the way he dresses up is very casual, his hat suits him so well.. and i really like his spontaneous attitude, the way he brings out himself and the way he looks at the world that it should be fully enjoyed.. I have to admit this ,

I AM A JASON MRAZAHOLIC..;p

check these songs out, superbly cute, fun and sweet..

-i'm yours- make it mine- the remedy- live high- if it kills me- beautiful mess-you and i both-

Mark Twain was cool!!

2010-04-30T06:22:00.000-07:00

Samuel Langhorne Clemens was known by his pen name 'Mark Twain'. He was an american author and humorist. I love almost every single thing he quoted. They're meaningful and funny at the same time. I can always take his quotes to motivate myself and get myself back on track with my life instead of whining and those mushy mushy sort of things.. His novel, 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' was called 'the Great American Novel' , so we know that he's not just an ordinary american author.He is also called the 'father of American literature' by William Faulkner..

These are some of my favorite quotes:

1) A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.

2) It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

3) All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure... =)

World War III??

2010-04-30T04:22:00.000-07:00

enough craps about myself... i think it's about time for me to be mature enough to write things that I care enough that is just not about myself eyhh..

world war III?? hmm.. i feel that there's a war going on .. a silent war.. a war towards the Islamic world.. don't you think so? more and more muslims are called terrorists.. but as far as i'm concern, the Islamic countries are being taken over by the bigger power.. how

could the muslims be blamed as terrorists..

as we all know, islamic countries are rich with oil. so that could be one of the possibilities why they wanna take over these countries.. i dunno that

for sure.. however, the sad thing is.. even the islamic countries are not united.. and OIC that's formed doesn't help much.. world warr III huh?? i have a feeling that it's gonna be a nasty one.. i'll write more about this soon enough..

Hope and Faith

2010-04-30T03:58:00.000-07:00

okay, so here's the story.. i don't think i got the approval from sime to study in minnesota.. even if i get it, it'll be too late coz the deadline for the confirmation of enrollment is tomorrow.. but.. i did mention to them about my pending admission to michigan and sime darby said that it's possible for me to go to michigan for engineering.. so i guess that's a hope there to study in US.. although it's painful to accept the rejection from sime.. i know there's still hope.. so.. i'm keeping my faith in check and hope for the best.. US, i WILL be there in august .. just wait and see..

babes huh?

2010-04-24T02:10:00.000-07:00

Yes, I was from an all-girl school, I was from convent. I grow up surrounded by different kinds of girls and I learned to share things and respect others.I won't say that I was comfortable with all of them, I avoid being close to the girls who I can't get along with, I know it's not worth the heartache. But still, we know how to respect each other, no matter how diverse we were. When I got back to my hometown (Ipoh) , I see some of them around, and we chat, laugh and make a lot of noise. Well, when I saw the unfavorable one, I just smiled and they smiled back. I grew up in that kind of environment, a close knit sorority of convent.. although most of the girls don't really like me at first( i used to be a really serious prefect), we went along well throughout our years in convent.. Growing up, I was transfered to mad jiwa, and I met a lot of nice people.. and I learned how to mix with guys..(haha, not a new thing though, mixed with guys in taekwondo too).. and, I found myself a bestfriend, Naimah, she reads me like a book.. I dunno, maybe coz she was from an all-girls school too? hmm.. i'm glad to have her.. going through a new kind of environment, where girls are not as loud as the convent girls and they were more , how should I put this, they were not as crazy as the convent girls.. well, at least in convent, i can shout

' I LOVE YOU!!!'

to my friend in the other building.. and I have to really restrict myself from doing crazy things , like my friend, Sarah kissed my cheek on my birthday in front of the class and everyone would laugh at that, I can't do that in mad jiwa can I?? or when I danced on the table with Mei Yee and the other girls on class party day? or on our graduation day, it's like a prom party with just girls and we can dress up really pretty, nice and sexy (i saw a lot of bare shoulders and bare backs, dun lie about wearing decently hah) i didn't get the last one though, I graduated from mad jiwa.. it was nice though.. and now, i'm out of school and meet a lot more people.. girls.. well, different kinds of girls than the one who I was used to.. I dunno girls can be selfish and care less about others... I dunno that they can really be such a pain in the ass.. like, seriously.. well, i know that i expect too much from a friendship.. maybe I'm all used to a loving society where friends don't back stab each other or friends who care about others' well being more than themselves.. I don't understand this behavior.. I have to admit it.. I can't stand it.. I really hope that i can avoid these people.. that's life I guess.. full of different kinds of people..

i will fight and defend..

2010-04-20T06:46:00.000-07:00

I GOT INTO UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA!!!!!

Alhamdulillah..

how bittersweet is that??

i jumped around the room when i received the admission through my email this morning..

and it was 6.30 am!!! rise and shine zera!!!

i felt like crying my eyes out.. this is the first university i applied to.. one of my dream school.. and i got accepted!! ranked 2nd for chemical engineering and first for research university in the US week News..

well, the bitter part is that it's not in the sime darby list.. damnnn...

why?why? why??;(

me and my other sime darby friends will discuss with our dean tomorrow to sort this thing out..

i know what i want.. and i'm gonna fight for it..

pleasseeeeeee simeeeeee.. let me go to minnesota.....;(

this is killing me......

2010-04-19T02:29:00.000-07:00

yes, i was offered sime darby scholarship to study in US. yes, i thought that the preparation program will aid me in the application to US universities. yes, i thought that UNITEN will find me a place to study in US as the program is named 'American Top Universities' program. yes, i am aware of the fact that there are only 6 US universities in the list. yes, i know the fact that i have to pay back Sime Darby if i don't get admitted to any of the universities in the list. but some that i thought were wrong. no, the program in UNITEN does NOT do any good to me. it's just a normal Malaysian foundation program. it is not even recognized in US. unlike A levels, American Degree Program or even IB. it can only be considered as a 12th grade high school examination. yes, we are the first sime darby batch sent to UNITEN, the first batch to US. yea, they should have sent us to taylors instead, taylors have more experience in handling students to US. yes, there are 2 ivy league and 4 ivy standards in the list for engineering. they are MIT, Princeton, Cornell, CMU, Stanford and UC Berkeley. *sigh*. yes, i did apply to several other universities as backups, even universities from AUS and CAN. no, i didn't get admitted to my dream school, Princeton. even Stanford,CMU or any of them in the list. i am still waiting for Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and UC Santa Barbara, US even though i know that appealing these universities means that i really have to convince sime darby to allow me to go there. they are ranked top 10 for world engineering schools for goodness sake, even better than the ivies. there are other methods to get myself into my dream school, I could try for my sophomore year or for my graduate study. AUS on the other hand, had offered me an admission to UNSW(in the sime list), one of the member of Group of 8. i know it's awesome. plus, i was offered a double degree in bachelor of chemical engineering/ bachelor of science and will be there for 5 years. i am now stuck in a situation where my heart wants US badly and my mind thinks that AUS isn't all bad. should i wait for US admission even though it's not in the list and fight for it? or should i decide now and be happy with what i have? i dunno. confused. not cool. july for AUS? or august for US? this is killing me.............

typical girl? dun think so..=[

2010-04-11T00:30:00.000-07:00

well.. me n my friend, nigel were talking about this birthday party that we were invited to.. and we started to talk about gifts.. he was suggesting bracelet, flower, chocolate blahblahblah until he realized that the person-to-be celebrated is a guy..LOL.. and all the excitement went down the drain coz he said that buying present for guys is 'no-fun' .. well, of course he said dat.. he's a guy.. "buying presents for girls is easier, they like nice and pretty stuff", "well, not necessarily" i replied, "well, you're not a typical girl" he said .. and i was like "whattt???".. "chill zera, it's a compliment"... hahaha.. well, that got me thinking.. really..

i dun really do girlies stuff, i joined taekwondo for goodness sake..haha..

what are the characteristics of a typical girl??

soft spoken? nope, not me. makeups?? eeewww..;p

cook? i'll burn down the kitchen.. lol.. i do bake though..

what else?? high heels?? occasionally..

fake eyelashes, hair extension, hair color, colorful lenses, cosmetic surgery?? no way.. i hate fake stuff..

lets just say that i'm not a plastic material that you can shape into anything..

i'm gonna be ME... be it a typical girl or not.. i love ME.. and there's nothing you do can change that..=)

i will be your lifeline, i will never miss a phone call

2010-04-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

it's okay if you had to go away .. ohh, just remember the telephone where they work in both ways, and the more you find those through,

coz there's always more leftovers, not too much explaining to do

and if you ever ever ever ever find your love,

" i will be your lifeline, i will never miss a phone call"

but if i never never never never hear them ring,

if nothing else i think the bells inside, will finally find you someone else

and that's okay...

coz i remember everything you say....=)

throughout our 8 years of friendship, i know i couldn't ask for more..

thank you for the birthday parties, the late night consultations during sleepovers,

the movies, the crazy times doing crazy stuff , the AAR concert, the trips to the river near my house..

most of all, thank you for always being there for me.. no matter how insane the situations are.. coz you know i'll do the same for you guys..

love, zera arika zulkifli =)

unexpected relationship..

2010-04-03T01:20:00.000-07:00

it is funny how you can suddenly jump into a relationship without knowing it's coming.. well..i knew this gentleman through a close friend, under the same sponsorship about a year ago and eventually, we have a lot of mutual friends... most of his friends and schoolmates go to my college under the same preparation program as me.. and.. most of my schoolmates are doing the same preparation program as his in kmb.. he's a nice, funny person and i would say that he has a crazy mind like mine..

so one fine day, he asked whether i want to do this crazy thing by messing up our relationship status on facebook.. this will inevitably cause chaos to our friends coz me n him in a relationship is like pigs can fly.. i was a bit blur at first and agreed to this madness a few weeks later when he had totally forgotten about it .. *yikes* .. and there goes the horror.. as soon as our relationship were changed, all of our friends kept asking us whether it's for real.. even the close friend of mine asked whether we're playing around or whatt.. and one of my schoolmate actually confronted him at their college... hm, not confront, sounds so aggressive, well, he asked him face to face.. hahaha.. i was waiting for april first to actually say " APRIL FOOL" to you guys when i realized that it's a good idea to say that after all.. so we decided to cut the madness off and face the consequences of our action.. "kerja gile" as he always said.. i can never comprehend the reason why i agreed to this.. most probably coz i've gone mad , crazy and got out of my mind?? i'm afraid soo.. well, the best people are too .. (quoted from alice in the wonderland) .. =).. gotta say this guys :gotcha!! hahaha=)

mommy!! mommy!! what?? nothing..=p

2010-03-06T21:02:00.000-08:00

Saturday, March 6th 2010..

text messages with mom..

mom: Akak buat ape hari ini?

me: Pwtc, sign up for aust unis. Why?

mom:Saje tanye.. aust u intake bile?

me: July.

mom:Ur US results eligible 2 apply?

me: Yeah, why?

mom:Just asking! Can u not ask why. Semua ade kat pwtc ke?

me: Eat dinner at mid valley now. Why? Haha =p

mom:Dgn sape?... why? :(

me: All the Sime fellas.. Why? =p

mom:Why is 2nd name now?!! For heaven sake, u r my first born & i’m still learning how to cope with ‘letting go’ & u asked me why all da time...

me: Awwww, no mum, i was just fooling around with u. Sorry ;(

mom:Apology accepted.. Take care, ok.

me:Ok mum, i love u. =)

These texts made me question myself... how do I cope without my mom? yeahh, i’m that kinda lousy, playful and annoying daughter ever.. =p..that’s just how i show my love for her..=) but still, what will happen next?.. i have not really stayed at home for the past 4 years.. and plus another 4 years when i study abroad in US or AUS.. *sighs*.. a whole new kind of life, far away from home.. far away from my mom.. i dunno.. my mom said to take one step at a time.. no rush.. coz speeding kills.. LOL.. and i’m gonna do just like what she said.. take one step at a time.. enjoy life.. but dun forget ur purpose and responsibility there or wherever... aiyaii captain!!! oops, aiyaii mom!!=)

p/s: mom n me, when i was 11.. i guess??=P

betrayed by the love of your life?? ;(

2010-03-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

Have you ever loved something so badly and when at certain points, things just go wrong.. you kinda give up on it.. coz you feel that it somehow betrayed you.. betrayed the love and loyalty you had given to it..

I DO....

well, in my case it’s the love of my life: chemistry.. i can still remember, back in 2007.. my first chemistry teacher was Miss Yamini.. i remember my first lesson on chemistry.. i was introduced to the periodic table of elements.. at the end of the class.. Miss Yamini told us that our first test will be on the next day about the symbols of the elements in the periodic table. i remember burning the midnight oil, memorizing every single elements in the periodic table. i was overwhelmed yet ecstatic when I scored 100% for my first chemistry test.. From that day on, i know that the love for chemistry is inevitable..

This went on when I was admitted to Sains Kedah...my mind was all set on chemistry.. Moreover, I was taught by one of the most respected teacher, Mr Harris.. His seriousness in teaching had indirectly pushed me to be more serious in his class ( i did sleep in his class.. not always though =P) I was really glad that i was able to actually understand the concepts in chemistry rather thn just memorize the steps to answer the questions..

Without any doubts.. Chemistry is the major reason why I took Chemical Engineering..

Preparing myself for oversea studies, I took Chemistry for my test application(SAT subject test)and scored fairly good score compared to my other subject tests... However, sky ain’t always blue.. For my foundation chemistry , I was taught by an Oxford graduate .. full respect.. he’s good..and i can understand everything he taught me.. i participated well in his classes.. (didn’t sleep in his class.. seriously=P)..but things are just soo wrong .. i made silly mistakes constantly.. during tests and quizzes.. my carry mark wasn’t that great.. and the finals.. was not as wht i’ve expected.. it’s a huge disappointment .. i scored physics better thn chemistry.. n the truth is.. i never really did anything for physics.. n now chemistry is like an anathema to me.. i hate it.. i want to be able to love chemistry back.. i really do.. ;(

unconditional love!!

2010-02-14T23:47:00.000-08:00

I'm the eldest among the three, yet I'm still the shortest... funny huh? lol

Do you know how it feels like to be the eldest? having your siblings following you wherever you go and imitating every single thing you do.. yeahh, that irritating stuff.. And whenever you wanna do something forbidden, you have to really watch out cause your lil sis or your lil bro would tell your mom?? Been there, done that...

and guess what? that was years ago, now, it's like I can't live without them..

They're a part of me.. Living far away from them taught me to love and value them more.. that whenever we get back together, we could spend the whole night, staying up, chit-chatting and making fun of each other.. and sometimes, we would sneak out at night to the nearest mamak store for a couple of drinks.. I love them... unconditionally..=)

ziqha afiqha, zera arika & alif zachary

alif zachary, ziqha afiqha & zera arika

love,

your big sis,

zera arika zulkifli

C.O.L.O.R.S~ What is your color?

2010-02-12T08:27:00.000-08:00

colors?? I know that the topic is very random.. i just feel like putting it up here..hmm.. i really really like white.. ouh wait.. not whitey white.. light colors.. not completely white.. a bit earthy.. more like beige.. i dunno why.. i just like it.. most of my stuff are beigey white in color.. my sweater, shoes, handbag etc.. i go for light colors.. light pink is not bad either.. it has this soft touch.. i like the combination of several earthy colors: green n brown.. hmm.. kinda give the authentic look or smthng.. u guys might consider me as nature lover freak or something but really , i find earthy colors very amusing.. just give me the authentic, old and original aura... miahaha.. share with me about YOUR color..ngeee..=)

lots of love,

zera arika zulkifli..

lemons lemons..

2010-02-03T15:01:00.000-08:00

okay2.. enough with the mushy2 thingamajingy.. eating my damn lemons right now, but guess what.. it's not bad.. blah! hahahaha.. btw, my taekwondo tournament is on this Sunday at MMU Cyberjaya, feel free to come and support eyh!! hahaha.. and..... finals are starting this Monday!! to all Uniten PPOU, PPC and Foundie students.. Best of luck yarr.. You guys are gonna need that.. haha.. PRINCETON university phone interview is within this week!!! cuak seyh!!! huhu one more thing.. to aliff, zhaf, fifi, syahir and the others, there's this futsal competition organized by a friend of mine.. check it out.. aku da post kat u guys nye wall... join arrr.. =)

yosh!!! ganbatte ne!=)

love happens??

2010-01-31T04:43:00.000-08:00

'Name us three person that you had a crush on in this school?? ' urghh I always hate this game.. especially the truth one.. Why that question? Why can't it be anything else? I 'd rather tell which teacher do I like the most or my childhood dream to go to Neverland.. hmm, I remember, he was in the game too.. How could I ever say his name.. It's just absurd.. not in my dictionary at all.. Finally, the names that were out of my mouth were the names I thought the others would believe were true.. 'You only mentioned two, who's the other one?' I remained silent and looked up at the others with a crooked smile..'none'.. *sigh*

It was all a rush at the airport.. he's leaving!! I was way happy for him.. He got what he wanted.. I somehow feel like an invader.. there were no other friends besides me.. just family..it's like i'm vandalizing his moment with his loved ones.. after wishing him luck, i made my way to the exit real fast.. good bye isn't one of my specialties.. on my way back home, my handphone rang, it's him! ooohh no!! battery!! sh*t!!....... *sigh*

Back from the SD camp, I told him everything about it.. the jungle, the trekking , the river, blablabla.. I noticed some funny things on his wall.. when I asked, he said he was fine.. well, i insisted and he started talking about darth vader? and how he got into the dark side.. I remained silent as usual, and read his posts in disbelief, he admitted something.. i'm pretty sure it is what it is.. maybe it's the moment for me too? yeah, I confessed.... we freaked out.. agreeing on one thing..friends.. yeah, friends are cool.. =)

Day after day.. it's getting pretty ugly and weird.. it's just not the same anymore.. I wish I could just turn back time and change things... ignorance is bliss.. but I'm not sure if this is.. *sigh*

He's getting closer to a girl.. jealousy?? maybe.. call me selfish, unreasonable, paranoid, mean and cruel.. but i just can't stand it so I deleted him from my contacts.. from any social networks.. out of sight, out of mind.. i just don't handle heartaches well..sorry.. *sigh*

Dun Drive When You Dun Have The License =)

2010-01-25T15:37:00.000-08:00

This was June 25th last year's incident but I just feel like putting it up here.. I dun have any licenses at this time, not even a L license.. I panicked, and I pressed the gas pedal instead of the break pedal and I bumped my house gate, silly me..kinda regretted it though.. The punishment was, not to touch my mum's car until I have the license, which I already have it now.. haha.. I am now a better driver..no worries.. miahaha..

bitchiness???=)

2010-01-25T03:08:00.000-08:00

Bitchiness?? Is that really a bad thing? Sometimes, girls don't even realize that they're being bitchy ... Some are just playing nice while deep inside they are really sick of their plastic world where the people around them vandalize their kindness. Being bitchy isn't nice but in this hostile world where everyone, specifically girls isn't always nice and respectful, being nice and kind is definitely last on the list.Personally, I think that bitchiness is vital in every girl's life. It can be considered as a skill for self-defense because unlike guys, girls don't usually use their physical power to argue , they accosted each other. However, I wouldn't say that being bitchy is good either. It may hurt others. What I'm trying to imply here is; when the situation calls for it, BE BITCHY!! haha

brownies lover =)

2010-01-19T18:39:00.000-08:00

Why brownies91? If you asked my girlfriends, they would probably say, "She's a brownies~holic!!" I am indeed. When I was still little, my mum used to bake brownies on weekends. My siblings and I helped by finishing the brownies!! hahaha... It's a good thing that my dad is not really a huge fan of brownies. At the age of 8, I found my true soulmate!! "Sarah Alia!!"

She's a brownies~holic too!! We used to bring brownies to school and share it with our friends. To us, brownies are like heaven.. You can never get enough of brownies!! During my senior high school years, I was transfered to Kedah.. Far awayyy from home,.. okay, i over~exaggerated it. My school was 2hours away from home. I did

n't get as much brownies as I used to. Living without brownies is hard. So, whenever I got the chance to go back home, it's brownies what I asked for.. haha. Sadly, since my dad doesn't like brownies as much as I do, my mum only baked brownies once in two months? huhu. Tortured, I took my chances baking my own brownies, I had my sis helping me out though. Unfortuna

tely, it doesn't taste like my mum's , it doesn't even taste like any other brownies I have tasted before. Thus, I ended up buying brownies whenever I'm out with my friends.. ngeeee =)

*pic from left: Jason(can you see his cheek?lol), me, Iswari and Pauline.

i'm just another 'convent' girl =)

2010-01-17T02:42:00.000-08:00

Have you guys ever heard of Convent?? Convent, Ipoh? Tarcisian Convent, Ipoh? Convent Sentul? ouhhhh okay, maybe you guys know this one CBN, Convent Bukit Nanas.. I was not from CBN though.. just Convent Ipoh. Since my elementary and junior high, I had been in Convent for 9 years. Living in a world full of girls is not just scary.. It is somehow fun, annoying , full love & hatred and a lot more random things.. During my 10th grade in Convent, I was offered to pursue my 10th and 11th grade in a government boarding school which is located in Sg petani. Even though I graduated my high school from a boarding school, I am still proud to call myself a Convent girl. It doesn't matter what happened, Convent will always be a part of me. Growing up, I met a lot of friends graduated from other Convent schools. Surprisingly, it was freaking easy to be close with them. Whenever people ask me, Which school are you from?, I would say ' F4 SMUJI, before that was Convent Ipoh'. A friend of mine, a Sime Darby scholar, Aizat asked the same question and I said the same thing. His response was like 'ouhh, you're a Convent girl'." Convent girls!! " It's like a stereotype of lively girls , who have the same mind set , plus, the sorority bond between them are strong. When you try to find similarities between Convent girls, you can find these values. During the Sime Darby camp.. I was surprised when my roommate, Hidayah told me that Pauline( from Convent Sentul), Liyana (CBN) and I (Convent Ipoh) look the same in the sense that we have the same interest and the same point of view. The same 'Convent attitude' I would say... One thing I know, Convent girls know how to respect and have fun... Long Live Convent!!! =)

*picture~ from left, Pauline, Liyana, me and Aizat. =)

all is fair in love and war..

2010-01-07T11:20:00.000-08:00

what happened during world war one? who won? It's a huge war between the two great powers, the Allies against the Central Powers. By the end of the war, no one won. Lots of lives were killed back than and still, the four major imperial powers-the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman had been defeated. "All is Fair in Love and War" . Nobody wins and nobody loses. The same goes with relationships. You cannot just drop out just because your friend likes the guy/girl you like.. "Let the best man win" true i would say.. where in another situation where the guy/girl is taken. You cannot just give up on the one you fell for. Fight for the one you love. That is what my friend did. He fought for the one he loves. Although at first, he may seem like a jerk, destroying other people's relationship, but he did a very brave job to win the girl's heart. "All is Fair In Love And War" . It's either he lives with regrets not trying to be with the one he loves or fight for her and surprisingly, I 'm glad he did that. Thanx Faizal for the advice and great insight on the quote. Congrats to him and Sofea.. Love u guys to bits.. miahaha

When life gives you lemons, shut up and just eat your damn lemons..=P

2010-01-07T07:06:00.000-08:00

okay... that doesn't sound rightt.. hahaha.. well, my point is..

it is undeniable that our life is imperfect..

inevitably, things will go wrong at some points...

well, when this happens, it is up to us whether to give over or not..

yeahhh... the strong one will win and the weaker one will lose..

but.. some zeros turned to heroes.. these people didn't lose faith when their life went wrong..

take it as a phase.. and make sure it ends real fast...

yeahh... stop whining, and start amending the wrong parts.. like NOW!!

my life is filling up with lemons rightt now! i have to study AP courses.. a year course which i would take in 5 months time.. it is equivalent to Alevel..since UK universities require A level..

yup, you heard that right, i'm applying to UK, US, Australia as well as Canada.. More countries means more courses.. making my life more miserable in this miserable place called UNITEN..

miahahaha..

I ain't gonna stop now, so why should you guys??

people change, things go wrong, but remember, life goes on..

lots of love,

zera arika zulifli =)

2010-01-03T06:11:00.000-08:00

My Application Essay!!

2010-01-03T06:02:00.000-08:00

THE TRINITY OF TAEKWONDO

I look at her footwork, it was fast. She shifted her body and footwork as if she intended to approach from the left side. My right leg was ready to counter attack any approach from left. I secured my injured left hand right in front of me as my so called defense. She moved as predicted but she didn’t attack the scoring point. Pang! a full impact kick to my hand. Pang! another full impact kick to my jaw line from the right side. The image of her in front of me went blank, I felt my body stumbling . I cannot feel anything except for the blood flowing out of my mouth. I knew it was blood from the taste of it. All I heard from the noises around me were “ yeol!(ten), ahop!(nine), yeodul!(eight), llgop!(seven)” , “Stand up Zera! Fight back!” and “ Are you okay Zera? Can you still fight?”. I knew that the referee was counting down, my teammates were cheering for me to fight back and my coach was asking me whether I was alright.

Taekwondo is more than just adrenaline rush or smashing boards. It is a way of life, mine at least.

Every morning, at around 5.00 a.m, when everyone else is sleeping, I pull myself together to get off the bed even though my body doesn’t want to. Despite of the lethargic feeling, I stand straight on the ice cold marble floor and straight to the bathroom, where I wash my face and brush my teeth. I walk out the house, put on my favorite Nike sport shoes, plug in my Mp3 earphones and start running along the streets of my neighborhood. The neighborhood is quiet but my mind is as loud as the fireworks explosion. I am the only one who manage to run when everyone else is still in the unconscious state of mind, I praise myself for my little accomplishment.

Most of the people around me seem not to believe that a girl like me could have a dream of being an Olympic Taekwondo fighter. Even though I proved them wrong by securing a few medals from national and international championships over and over again, they still cannot accept the fact that a girl of my age wants to be a fighter rather than a model or a dancer. During the weekends, instead of hanging out with my friends at the mall, I went to the gym for my sparring training. I met various people who have the same goal as mine, to become a true Master of the Art of Taekwondo. Every time I go to the gym for my sparring lesson, I apply the Korean greetings and traditions such as bow to the Grandmaster and the black belt holders , thus demonstrating respect for their accomplishments and the rich Korean traditions I am privileged to have learned. With the diversity of the Taekwondo practitioners and instructors, we share knowledge and experience in order to expand the philosophy of the true Taekwondo , which is to build a more peaceful world.

A true Taekwondo martial artist must master the three main aspects of Taekwondo which are the Body, the Mind and the Spirit. These three main aspects are called the trinity of Taekwondo. In order to achieve the trinity of Taekwondo, I trained hard to develop a strong physical condition, to focus on my concentration both in combat and in the real world and to believe in an idea, other people, myself and God. The Spirit aspect changed the way I approach life. I learned to be at peace with myself. I started to believe not only in myself but also in the people around me; my teammates who have faith in me even though I was at the edge of a knock out and my coach who cares for my well being in combat. A true student of the Art is what my goal is; to become one with the tenets and the teachings of Taekwondo, who applies the tenets of Taekwondo to her work, family and friends, and yes, even to her enemies. The five vital tenets of Taekwondo.

Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control and Indomitable Spirit.

“Yosot!(six), dasot!(five), net!(four), set!(three). Are you in or are you out?” the referee asked “Spirit. Of course I’m in!” “Aaiyaa!” I yelled. My teammates echoed my yell and started cheering again. I tried to control myself and avoided myself from using any dirty tricks as revenge even though I was pissed off with my opponent as she deliberately attacked my injured hand and took advantage of it to score by attacking my head. I endured the pain and blood, only focusing on my target: her. I have 30 seconds left and I was out of 3 points. I saw her fast footwork again, but guess what? mine was faster. I tricked her by faking a front leg turning kick and kicked a real full impact head shot turning kick, followed by a back thrust kick which led her to the floor. “Gomon!(stop)” the referee stopped the game as the time ended. By gaining 4 points from the attack just before the time out, I won the game. The crowd cheered, my coach smiled and positioned his hand as in Kwang-Gae, which symbolizes the trinity of Taekwondo. Deep in my heart, I know that the grand achievement is not the gold medal but indeed, the trinity of Taekwondo.

NeW YeaR 2010!!!

2010-01-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

HaPpy NeW YeaR GuYs!! unfortunately for me, I was on bed during the countdown, had a bad flu.. huhu.. i'm glad it's all better now.. btw, pray for my Cornell University's interview this evening... =)

week off!! =)

2009-11-09T20:42:00.000-08:00

another one week off.. nice huh?? think again, i have to study japanese for my level 4 on the 1st of december, sat1 n 2 which i will retake in december and january to get maximum score, and i'm stuck with the application to us universities process which the deadline's due till the end of this year.. man.. i can't wait till these sufferings end.. after all these, i have only 6months of foundation n to enjoy my life here in malaysia.. hopefully , i'll get accepted to one of the universities listed in sime darby's list and there will be no more controversies. huahua..back to my application, US awaits.. huhu

SINGLE EARLY APPLICATION TO YALE

2009-10-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

URGH, HEADACHES!!! deadline~ 1st NOV!!!

The All American Rejects!!!

2009-10-27T04:13:00.000-07:00

Hope it gives you hell!!!! hahahhaa... yup2.. lulu, paan, mira n me are gonna rock the AAR concert on the 31st october!!! jealous?? hell yeah you should!!! hahahaha... can't wait though!!!

I'm eighteen!!!

2009-10-27T03:48:00.000-07:00

Yup, you heard that right!! I'm eighteen guys!!! Although it doesn't make much different, realizing the fact that I'm old enough for 18 movies, smoking and other things that were not allowed before just made my day!

It's not that I wanted to try those things but it feels sooo right to be eighteen, young and zealous.. haha

well, I celebrated my eighteenth birthday with my beloved taekwondo buddies which made my special day even sweeter!! we drove around ipoh town, and 'lepak' with awie at his burger stall where he made me a very delicious burger!! I nearly got eggs thrown at my face though.. The sweet memory of being eighteen will be cherished in my heart forever..<3<3

of sweet dreams and reality...

my deadly weekend :(

This people.. is what I call courage.. Not..

:(

my blog new design!!!

failure.

:)

unreasonably stressed out :(

Finals are OVERRRRRR!!!!!

religion differences.

i have a new play date! :)

I believe that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

game face. time to get serious!

jgn buat keje bodoh boleh x?

who died and made you king of anything huh?

Christian & Muslim

i'm a fool again :(

he's so bright like matahari :)

and I was like.. ' WHAT THE EFFFF??'

kookoo

my first quiz in umich!!!

math!

READ THIS!!!

:(

salam eid mubarak

so what?

share your genius :)

Classes start tomorrow !!!

i'm looking for a girl with a cemented leg.

crazy night :P

=P

ballroom dancing !!:)

New friends :)

my first semester in UMICH :)

Things I want to do before I get married??

Merdeka in Ann Arbor

From US with love :)

kecewa

Leaving in like 4 days?

sappy me T.T

bukan terhandal, bukan terkuat, cuma terhandal dalam apa ku buat ! yeahh !

Everything is 'good' but not 'great'. :)

you immature punk!

welcome ramadhan. :)

love?

sicko ;(

ukelele

just for laugh.. NOT TRUE though!!

housing!!

found it!!!

awesome knight and day!! *ipoh style*

fear of blood?

the debt that all men pay

bitchiness? yeah, it's a part of me.. when situation calls for it.

helping the needy ones.. ;)

only i can punch his face.. u punched his face too? i'm gonna break yours..

tears..

knock YOU down

good bye Minnesota.. hello Michigan..=)

Play your cards well..=)

just STAB Caesar!!

love cougar =)

;)

I love Jason Mraz!!!

Mark Twain was cool!!

World War III??

Hope and Faith

babes huh?

i will fight and defend..

this is killing me......

typical girl? dun think so..=[

i will be your lifeline, i will never miss a phone call

unexpected relationship..

mommy!! mommy!! what?? nothing..=p

betrayed by the love of your life?? ;(

unconditional love!!

C.O.L.O.R.S~ What is your color?

lemons lemons..

love happens??

Dun Drive When You Dun Have The License =)

awesome knight and day!! ipoh style