Oops I Did it Again! (Didn't I?)

Interframe part 1: The first pronoun "I" in the title above is referring to me (Maureen) and not her (Britney Spears).

I guess I have a mad habit of pretending that I do not understand Mandarin when consulting a stranger. I mean, Mandarin speaking stranger. There are reasons behind these actions.

1) I speak broken Mandarin.
2) I don't look like Chinese. (Before they speak Malay to me, I speak to Malay to them first so that both parties would not feel awkward.)
3) I am afraid people will speak to me in a jargon/deeper/fluent Mandarin. (Choose the correct adjective. Sorry my English sucks/is pathetic/needs emergency help)

Today, I went to Sungai Dua to print the pictures of my club's activities at the developing photos shop . Well, I had to rush to print out these photos because back in Sibu, the price to print one 4R size photo is 60 cents but at here, it is 50 cents and below. Yes, 10 cents count, my dear, especially when I want to print more than 10 photos (and also especially when I am a cheapskate).

When I arrived at the printing photo shop, I noticed the taukenio is a Chinese. So, spontaneously, I spoke Malay to her because I guess, if I speak Mandarin to her, she'll speak to me in a jargon/deeper/fluent Mandarin, and I may had a hard time pretending to understand though I just had a few clues about what she might say. So to be on the safe side, I did what I did --> I spoke Malay with her. It's easier to pretend that I do not understand something that I understand than pretend that I understand something that I do not understand, right?

She looked at me and smiled, and she said that she thought I am Chinese. I was speechless. In my 21 years on this earth, I could count with my one hand that only a few strangers who would thought that I looked Chinese when I do not walk with my Chinese friends. Yes, one hand. So, probably under five people.

Not that doesn't look like a Chinese is not a good thing, don't get me wrong. But when someone from a race thought that you are from the same race as them, you will feel honoured, right? You are indirectly being accepted into their clan, their clique, their family (okay, maybe I think too much) because you share something in common with them. I felt honoured too, last time when two Siamese girls thought that I am Siamese because they thought I looked like Siamese. I mean, when someone finds the similarities between him/her and you than finding the differences, you will feel that you belong to that similarities, right? You will feel welcomed right?

So, here, there was this mixed Chinese+Indian = Chindian girl working there and she is Mandarin speaking. I tried my best to cover my Hokkien slang when speaking in Malay with her. Yup, I had the typical lah, lo, etc, etc, at the end of my sentence when I speak Malay and this would make me terkantoi that I am actually Chinese. Thank God I can always say that I am a Bumiputra from Sarawak (which is half truth actually) if they asked me why I do not speak like Malay. After paying and promising her that I would come to get the printed photos around 6pm to 7 pm in the evening, I went out from the shop and went back to my sister's apartment.

Phew~! --> part 1. Mission half accomplished.

* * * * *

Around 6.45 p.m.

I went to the developing/printing photos shop and met the Chindian girl to take my photos. Now, it was another woman (not the taukenio) who was seated at the counter arranging photos with the Chindian girl and the taukenio was nowhere in sight. I asked for my photos from the Chindian girl by giving her my receipt. Then she gave me my photos complete with a photo album (just the simple plastic album which we always took for granted back in Sibu, fyi).

So, I thought photos with photo album was a common thing at any printing photos shop. I asked for my receipt from the Chindian girl and the woman (not the taukenio) said in Mandarin that "Actually hor, if she only wanted to print 19 photos, she has to pay RM1 for the photo album. Only those who printed 30 photos and above is eligible to have the photo album for free." and added " don't just simply give people photo album, it costs RM1 you know!" The way she said it, it was as if RM1 is the most valuable possession in the world. And the way she said it, was not as polite as the way I paraphrase it in here. She was mean to the Chindian girl for the sake of RM 1. RM 1! I know, I am a cheapskate too, and RM1 is big yeah, but scolding your employee [not sure if both of them are employees or the woman (not the taukenio) has a greater authority or not] in front of a customer is not appropriate, whether the customer understand the language or not. [I am glad I understood it.. ;) ]

I was quite surprised at the policy there, but since I pretended that I do not understand Mandarin, I had to hide my surprise and give my blur look (which is easy for me, and I can give a blur look as natural and natuREAL as possible since I am good at being blur). Don't believe? Ask me a Math or Geography question. Hah, add in History question too. You will get a blurrest look (trademark look of yours truly) from me ever!

But appropriate or not, I am glad that the woman (not the taukenio) did not demand RM1 from me though I took the photos with the photo album. Maybe if I gave them an impression that I knew how to speak Mandarin earlier, then I would have to give up my photo album since that is the appropriate thing to do because I know what they are talking about right? Oh, now I believe that some things do happen for a reason. I am glad I did it! :P

Phew~! -->part 2. Mission fully accomplished.

Interframe part 2: Actually, I don't know how to call a kedai cuci gambar in English. So, I just translate like in the post above. So bear with me.

Interframe part 3: Suddenly, I thought of learning Tamil so that I can do well in the English tongue twister challenge.

I am Not A Poet...

[Interframe part 1: The date is 29th April 2009, and the time is 12.02 am.]



Dearest Pei Lee,

If you are reading this, I want to let you know that I am thinking of you today. Because today is your significant day. The word significant reminds me of literature, and the word literature reminds me of poem. So here I am, trying to make a poem for you. I know that we both hate to connote the meaning of poems in literature, so the poem I am going to make for you has no connotation, just had the denotation, because 1) We hate making connotations, and 2) I am not a poet.. =)

It's almost a year since we first met,
Though I don't really remember the exact date,
It was during the orientation,
We made our connection,
I am glad I met you,
For if no I would feel blue.

You accept me as I am,
And respect me as your friend.
Though I don't deserve much respects,
From any kind of aspects.
You are a sentimental person,
I know this from my observance.

You always made me feel appreciated,
When I always feel that I am underrated.
So today I made a dedication,
to show you my appreciation.

Happy birthday Pei Lee,
My friend who is mei lee.. :)

Hope you have a great day because you deserved it, girl!!

And remember to do the legal stuff at the legal age... wo hoo!!

And yes, send my regards to your mother and sister.. (if you are reading this, hi~!)

Yours sincerely,
Maureen (is not a poet)

[Interframe part 2: If you think that this poem doesn't look like a poem, refer to the title of the post.]

Footnote: mei lee is the Chinese word which carries the meaning pretty -->for those who doesn't know the meaning.

A Very Special Day for A Very Special Girl...

I never forget that she was the first to smile to me when I first came to my hostel.
But I spoke Malay to her at first just to be on the safe side. :"

But after that I spoke Mandarin to her because she can tolerate my broken Mandarin like my friends back at home. Hehe.. Thanks, girl~!!

The four of us --> Lee Ying, me, Tina and Maton.

Our first time camwhoring together. Little did we know that was our same thing in common which will last for a very long time - Camwhoring.

Then, this was my first time eating with Lee Ying at Bali Bali. Such a cool place to eat for first year students on their early weeks here lah, katakan. Hehe. We always had tradition of ordering different food and exchange them. Sharing is caring, as the saying goes.



Why is Lee Ying special?

1) Lee Ying is always good at taking pictures. You see, the first picture of her up there was taken by her. She had a good angle in taking a picture.

At Penang Hill's birds' farm.

2) She is a daring person. Look at how daring she is by just taking the snake up with her left hand. I don't dare to do that, I tell you. [ That day, it was even hard for me to collect all my nerves to take picture with the snake's tail. Yes, I thought I am not really afraid of poisonless snake, but since I'd ever ate a snake, so I was afraid that the snake will take revenge on me that time for eating his/her species. I am not kidding, my senior told me that she ever encountered a snake, and from that moment on, she did not dare to eat snakes' meat.]
3) She has a smile that will brighten up your day. Look how bright the day is from the picture above when she smiled. ;)



4) She is photogenic when she did not even try. Proof? The picture above! I took it without her knowing, and voila, it became a masterpiece photo portrait.. (*-*) --> (ignore the exaggeration from the photographer, if it wasn't for the good model, this would not be a masterpiece at the first place)

But the most special thing about her is, she is a really good friend someone can have. Why? She can tolerate with everything, she is really patient, and really independent. Eventhough she looked younger than her age, she is really matured in her thinking. :)

So, Lee Ying,
on your 21st birthday,
I dedicate this happy birthday song specially for you!!

Happy birthday to you!!
Happy birthday to you!!
(Take a deep breath)
Happy birthday to Lee Ying~
Happy birthday to you!!

(suddenly the rain began to pour)

You see, Lee Ying can tolerate with my singing even when the nature could not..
I am really blessed to have you as my friend.
Hope you have a great birthday and a great day!! Peace~

[Interframe: Today is 28th April 2009 in Malaysia, fyi..]

Preserving My First Year Memories..(;_;)

[ Interframe: 'FIRST' is the Significant Word in this Post]

It's been days since the end of exam, and I finally had to say goodbye to my First Year status.

(which means goodbye koleksi khas status.. giggles with roommate on this joke we shared together..)

Therefore, I am going to preserve all my first year memories in this post.

Do I feel sad?

Yes!

Do I feel happy?

Yes, because I've made it!

I survived the first level of tertiary study!! {and so do a lot of people} But for a lazy bum like me, this is something significant. :) :)

Before I continue to crap a lot about my first year story, there's something you should know.


[Warning: This is a super long post, and no, this is not a vain post because some ugly photos were included! ]

Before stepping into the university, I was excited to leave home. Yes, seriously. It's not that I don't like home or what, but before I step into the university, I was a substitute teacher and I just could not stand the stress. I can't wait to leave the hectic moments and focus on my own life. --> How many time should I say I am not meant to be a teacher and teaching profession is not meant for me? I just resigned on the 27th of June 2008, and my flight to Penang was like 29th June 2008. Hectic moment was the most appropriate way to describe it. Have to pack everything rapidly and I remembered it was my sister who helped me pack my clothes. (;_;) Thanks, ya.. b-ut, but, she kind of took some of my clothes out from my luggage. She said we can go shop for clothes once we are in Penang. No wonder I kept wearing the same clothes over and over again during the lectures before we have any time to shop for clothes.

(-_-)

It was my first time on board alone. And I was excited. "Hello, adventure~!!" was all I could think of. (I even wished that I stepped into the wrong flight and went overseas to have a greater adventure than studying, haiz~ but the flight administrator did not do mistake in that kind of things.. Instead, they lost one of my luggage, which Thank God, was found the next day.. Because my slipper was in that luggage, I had to wear sports shoes to shower before the airport guy finally sent my lost luggage to me... What an unfortunate first week for a first year during her first time in her first university..) My sister would only go to Penang after the orientation week, and I went for my registration without anyone by my side. I thought this was common because my sister also registered herself without any family with her, but when I reached USM, the other students were asking me if I was accompanied by someone but I just gave no as an answer. And most of them like, felt bad for me, but I really don't feel bad for myself because I would like to feel equal to both of my sisters who did their registration without family members by their side. It made me feel proud(for the first time in my life) by doing this thing alone because back at home, I don't even dare to go to the market nearby my house alone. (Loser~! )
My first time stepping in Fajar Harapan, I spoke Malay to everybody, including Chinese people because I wanted to be on the safe side of not showing my shallow knowledge in Mandarin vocabulary. Plus, I stuttered when I do not know how to speak a language fluently and when I speak a language I am not fluent in with somebody who do not know my language standard. Oh, well, I thought I could escape form the busy hectic life during the orientation week, but obviously I was wrong. Since I arrived late at the university, I had to do so many stuffs,
e.g: Matric card photo taking session, Bank Islam registration, etc, etc. I got lost twice in the University just to complete all these stuff. Okay, if I am going to write everything I experienced out, then it's gonna be a long and continuous story like a Bible. So, to save the precious time, I uploaded many pictures to show how I survived my First Year as a USM student... (;_;) --> I am proud of myself. A lazy bum like me survived her first year? Unbelievable!!

FIRST SEMESTER, 2008

WANTED!! (for madness)

(See how blur I looked? So bulliable!! The hair, the facial expression, everything was so wroooooong!! Tsk.. Tsk..)

First picture ever with my first three friends during the first day I arrived (29 June 2008). Lee Ying was the first to smile to me, Tina was the first to speak with me, and Maton was the first person I met after I met the previous two. -->have to be fair mah.. I was having headache that time, and the pink jelly is not helping either. I felt nauseating just by looking at the pink jelly, and believe it or not, this statement came out from a girl who eats like a horse.

Tina and me posing near the DTSP building. Lee Ying was the photographer. I looked happy, because I finally found my way to the DTSP from Jabatan Hal Ehwal Pelajar and found these two girls after being lost in USM on the day we open our Bank Islam account!! --> proud of myself part 2..

A trip organized by the CUS trip to Bukit Larut, Taiping.

And later, on the same day, we went to the Taiping Zoo..

First time washing cars in a big group and for a good cause.. (I remembered me and my sister kept arguing that time.) And my skin becomes 20% darker after this activity. But it's okay, demimu CUS club activity..

My first ever adventure with Lee Ying (besides going pasar malamlah~!) This setting was located at the not-so-top part of Penang Hill..

Me and my friends during the Convocation Fiesta on 14th of August 2008. Maton (in pink), Dila and Azimah (both in blue) and Dila again (in brown)..

On the next day, me and Pizal went to camwhore around USM before the Raya holiday.

Me and Pizal taking nice picture here. Thanks, Maton for being the photographer! Pizal was a friend I met during orientation week. She's really helpful and sporting. She was the one who accompanied me to the Nibong Police Station to make a police report about my first handphone's loss.. (;_;) You're so nice, Pizal.. You won't accept it when I offered to belanja you ice cream Tesco... --> Maybe next time I should try offer Baskin' Robbins ice cream where no one would say no.. *wink*

2ND SEMESTER (END OF 2008 TILL 2009)

Then, the 2nd semester arrived. Getting older, but hopefully look younger.. ;)

The first activity of the year would be the CUS camp held at College General.. Can you spot me? Cannot? Oh, but of course. I changed my hairstyle. From long straight hair to short straight hair.(The reason for this so-called drastic change is because I want to jimat syampu, besides the niat tersirat to look younger than my elder sis..)

Then, move on to the 2nd activity of the year, Malam Bumi Kenyalang, held on 7th February 2009.

My first time becoming a protocol (and first time wearing make up in public at the university - the last time i wore make up in public was when I was a flower girl at 6 years of age.. ) for PERKASA (Perkumpulan Anak-anak Sarawak) activity during Malam Bumi Kenyalang. Had a nice time counting other people's money.. (Nice, if only the money belongs to me.. Cause they do not belong to us, our hands were sweating while counting them over and over again..)

First time visiting Little India. Me, Melissa and Hakimi at Little India. Photo taken by Hafiz using my sis's precious camera.

Personal note: Actually, Melissa Chua was the one who kind of promised to take me to visit Little India to look for Punjabi suit if we have free time. At last, it was Melissa Edward yang menunaikan janji Melissa Chua by going to Little India with me for our SHE group project.. :)

Thanks, Mel --> (Melissa Chua jangan perasan..)

Later that night, on the same day, went to church with seniors for Station of the Cross and then after back from church, we indulged in good food though it was lent season.. :"

Mellisa, Melissa and me.. (Melissa is such a popular name, huh? )

Xiao Yen and Angel >--> senior with the same birthday as mine!!

Then, one of the most unforgettable activities would be Masquerade Nite 2009. My first time joining the CUS Nite. Awesome experience.. :D

Me taking pictures with my seniors, including my sister.. Unforgettable night, indeed. By the way, that night was the Earth Hour night.. Hehehe.. *nervous laugh*

The last day of our first level Spanish class. Mr Omar Rodriguez (seated at the centre) was our Spanish teacher from Barcelona, Spain. He was the first Spanish person whom me and majority of my classmates ever communicate with. He made the class felt fun and alive. :D

Here comes 11th April. First time celebrating birthday apart from family and apart from home. Was celebrating my birthday combined with Kim Hong's belated birthday at KFC. After that, we went to Pasar Malam.

Later that night, camwhore inside the hostel's toilet. If only the mirror wasn't that dirty..

On 23rd of April 2009,

Make a date with my friend Hawa to go to cinema and shopping together. Guess we shopped till we dropped that day. We went to watch a movie titled "The Uninvited" at Prangin Mall cinema, and I uninvite you all to watch that movie because it was not that good, and not worth it. Just wait a few month and that movie will make its way to HBO channel.

Me and Hawa.. ;) Our first outing together..

Then, on the next day, 24th April, Lee Ying, Kim Hong and me went on an outing to Penang Hill. We got ready as early as 8 am. And we arrived at Penang Hill at 1o something in the morning. Thank God it was not raining that day. Phew~

Lee Ying and Kim Hong sitting on the old swing. Reenacting childhood memories, huh? ;)

"This is our kingdom"--> Two empresses looking down at the beautiful scenery from the top of Penang Hill.

This bird reminded me of home.. :)

Me and Lee Ying hanging out at the seaside in front of Queensbay, Penang.

So, those were the happy first year memories. Some of them may not be captured in photos but that doesn't mean they were less significant.. It's hard to let go our sweet memories, but we have to move on and embrace the second year. Haiz, whatever will be, will be.. (*=*)

Time to hibernate until the next semester.. (-_-) --> In this context, this look represents hibernating, not emo look, ya..

Bye bye, FIRST YEAR memories.. (;_;) --> Now this is emo + crying look..