MPH Stock Clearance Sale 2008 and my 3 years worth of birthday presents

Thursday, 1st May 2008.

Mak Su, Unc Azim, and I went for the MPH Stock Clearance Sale.

It was about 8:30am,
Unc Azim was speeding.
Mak Su was encouraging him to go faster.

And I was at the backseat, gripping to anything I can reach for, terrified of the speed.

ME:
What’s with the rush? The sale is going on the whole day, right?

MAK SU:
a) We’ll get good parking spaces.
b) We’ll have the whole place to ourselves.
c) We don’t have to wrestle with other bookworms for our books!

Hold on tight, girl!
Azim, step on it!!!

Taking Pictures With His Schoolmate

Do you know how the world is really small?

After a few years of not meeting someone,
suddenly on that day, fate has brought you to stumble upon them?

This happened to my Uncle Azim.
We were all hanging around at Sunway Pyramid trying to search for keychains.

Then, he stopped walking and was looking at a particular guy.

He asked for me and Mak Su to snap a picture of him with his ex-schoolmate.

He went to the guy,
who was in charge of promoting a toothpaste brand, Sensodyne at the exhibition.

So I was expecting my uncle to strike up a conversation with that guy.
Instead, he only said,

“Excuse me sir, could you please move a bit?
I’d like to take a picture with my fellow ex-schoolmate here.”

Eih?
That guy isn’t his schoolmate?
So who is it?
I don’t see any other people around there.

It only dawned on me after Unc Azim posed beside a guy with his shiny teeth,
telling us to quickly snap the photo of him with his classmate.

Lorh!

His classmate was the Cardboard Cutout Image of the Sensodyne model!

Ceyh, buat suspense je!

Da Huang Pictures audition

With college coming nearer,
I’d avoid going to auditions unless I can gain something from the audition ITSELF.

And THIS is one of the few auditions that I’ll feel accomplished just by going there.

On Saturday & Sunday (3rd - 4th May 2008),
Da Huang Pictures had their Web Shop Launch on those days,
aside from also having auditions for their future films.

So I went there for two reasons:

• Purchase ‘Flower In The Pocket’.
• Go for the audition.

 

This was held at The Annexe during the Art For Grabs that weekend.
Too bad I didn’t pay much attention to this ‘funfair’ at first.
(Yep, I call these types of events- Funfair)

There was a lot going on there and so many things to do.
It would have been really fun.

* Click ‘read more’ for details of the audition.

 

To Matrics Or Not To Matrics?

The proper English for the title:
To Apply For Matriculation or Not To Apply For Matriculation?
(But that title would have been too long)

So here’s a post on some of my takes on matriculation a.k.a. matrics

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Matrics is like STPM/ Form 6.
You take them up for your pre-university course before going up for a degree.

The difference is, your chance to apply for matrics comes BEFORE you even sit for the SPM papers.
And it only comes ONCE.
So it’s a now or never chance for us then.

Most smart students went to apply for it,
regardless of what courses they are actually interested in or whether matrics is really relevant for them.

I, on the other hand, wasn’t a smart student.
I was a stubborn twit.
I didn’t apply for it for certain reasons.

Which most would consider stupid since:

• If you get matrics, at least you have a path to continue your studies if you’re rejected by the IPTA.
• You’ll have more options to choose if you get accepted by both matrics and IPTA.
• You have NOTHING to lose in applying.

Really?

Do you REALLY have nothing to lose by applying?

There was a rumor going around:

If I did get accepted by matrics, my IPTA application will be terminated automatically.

Not True!
I have friends who got both matrics and IPTA entries.

So matrics really have no effects on my IPTA applications whatsoever?

Aha! THAT’s the real question here.

There’s no official answer for this.
But sources have said that it DOES affect the IPTA admissions.
It makes them consider less of your application for the IPTA.

If you look at it one way,
it’s unfair as matrics and IPTA are two different institutions.
Why mix them up to have one affecting the other?

But looking at it from another way, it is somewhat sensible.

So let’s look at a very common case here:

Students who are interested in Science courses.
(Regardless whether it’s medic, biotechnology, farmacy etc)

They applied for the Science matrics and the Asasi/Foundation in Science for IPTA.
They got accepted for the Science matrics.

 

Now, if you are the person in charge of the IPTA intakes,
you will look at this applicant and you see that he/she already has a place in matrics under the same subject.
So would you prioritize so that this person will also get the offer for IPTA?

Despite having hundred thousands other applicants who are also fighting for this same course that have no placings in the matrics?

I’m not saying that it is fair to disregard IPTA applications after seeing their matrics results.
Nor am I saying that it is unfair that some have the luxury of getting accepted by both offers.

But I can see why they had to do that as it is necessary to sacrifice one’s OPTION to
offer another’s CHOICE.

Although you have two options, you can only choose one.
Thus, wasting one chance for those who have none at all.

 

So now, do you REALLY have nothing to lose for applying to matrics?

For Underestimating Your Brother

Last week, we attended the Bumi Armada’s Family Day at Botanical Park (Putrajaya).

Since it is afterall a FAMILY day,
they had a lot of telematches and competitions for kids.

Asyraf got to know that there will be a Coloring Contest on that day.
He packed up his color pencils eagerly and stuffed it into my mom’s handbag.

Jazmeen and I however, didn’t really think of it as a good idea.

His coloring skills are such a failure.
We decided to brainwash him into thinking that he’s 6 years old and pushed him into the kids category.
(He’s turning 7 this year)

And so we sat there with him for about 20 minutes until he finished coloring.

Yeap, absolute fail.

No fancy rich colors.
Just very very light colors with even strokes.

After submitting, we went rolling around in the fields waiting for the time to pass.

Then, it was the prize giving ceremony.

Asyraf’s ears perked up as he heard them announcing
“And the 5th place for the Kids Coloring Contest is…”

He left us and ran all the way to the stage,
right in front of the steps of the stage,
unconsciously blocking the winners from going up the stage.

After 5th, 4th, and 3rd place are announced,
Jazmeen and I knew to not hope for Asyraf going up on stage then.

JAZMEEN:
Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if Asyraf got 1st place.

JAZREEN:
(Laughes)
Yeah, impossible.
Look at his coloring! There’s no way he’d win.

JAZMEEN:
If he does, then it just goes to show just how low of a standard that contest is!

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Now, let’s switch to my mother’s point of view.

She was sitting with her friends, right beside the stage.
And she was surprised to see Asyraf blocking the way of other contestants to get on the stage.

“Eh, Asyraf! Tepi lah! Step aside!
Yours aren’t pretty, you won’t win.”

“Asyraf punye buruk, Asyraf tak menang!”

And she shooed Asyraf away from the stage,
oblivious that the announcer was about to announce the runner-up of the contest.

ANNOUNCER:
And the 2nd place winner goes to…

Ahmed… Asyref… Azmen!

My mother went numb for a second.
She froze in her pose of shooing Asyraf away from the stage.

Then she came to her senses and did the opposite of that,
she pushed Asyraf TO the stage this time.

“Asyraf menang! Asyraf menang!”

She looked back to the tables,
furious that the family’s photographer weren’t around to take pictures of her little baby boy winning the Kids Coloring Contest.

—- And that’s when I came back into the picture.

Running through the crowds,
rushing to snap a picture-
leaving Jazmeen at the table laughing her neck off at what just happened.

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After the prize giving ceremony ended,
I took Asyraf to the side to take pictures of him with his prize.
Still laughing at the whole ridiculous thoughts of him winning.

While I told Asyraf to pose with his prize,
Jazmeen left the table and came to join us.
She, too, was still laughing at the ridiculous idea of Asyraf winning.

“What just happened? He won?!”
“Yeah, I wonder how too. He had an ugly piece.”
“It just goes to show the quality of the contest!”

We talked bad about him in front of him (still posing),
like he wasn’t really there.

Then he interrupted us:

ASYRAF:

Heh! In your face! Tu lah~!

(Imitating a girl’s squeaky voice)
“Your colors are ugly.”
“You have horrible coloring skills.”
“You’ll definitely lose.”

“Asyraf punye buruk.”
“Asyraf punye tak cantik.”
“Asyraf kalah.”

Then suddenly,

(with a BOOMING voice)

AHMAD ASYRAF AZMAN!

6 YEARS OLD!

And even on our way home,
we still didn’t stop laughing at him for winning.