Jacques Chirac giving his New Year's speech on tele.

Bonne Annee

Bye bye 2004 and Hello 2005. Who knows what lies ahead this year. Perhaps it's full of surprise.

If there's a song that could describe 2004, it would be Celine Dion's 'Ce n'etait qu'un reve' (It was only a dream)

Dans un grand jardin enchanté
Tout a coup je me suis retrouvé
Une harpe des violons jouaient
Des anges au ciel me souriaient
Le vent faisait chanter l'été
Je marchais d'un pas si léger
Sur un tapis aux pétales de roses
Une colombe sur mon épaule
Dans chaque main une hirondelle
Des papillons couleurs pastel
Ce n'était qu'un reve
Ce n'était qu'un reve
Impossible a oublier
Comme un jour qui se leve
Ce n'était qu'un reve
Un sourire sur mes levres
Un sourire que j'ai gardé
Au-dela de mon reve
Le soleil et ses rayons d'or
Les fleurs dansaient sur un meme accord
Des chevaux blancs avec des ailes
Semblaient vouloir toucher le ciel
Vraiment j'étais au pays des fées

In an enchanted garden
Suddenly i found myself
A harp and some violins playing
The angels in the sky smiling at me
And the wind singing the summer song
I walked, taking small steps
On a carpet made of petals of roses
A pigeon on my shoulder
A bird in each hands
Some pastel coloured butterflies
It was only a dream
It was only a dream
But it's impossible to forget
When the day finally comes
It was only a dream
A smile on my lips
A smile that I kept
Beyond my dreams
The sun and his golden rays
The flowers dancing to a same tune
White horses with wings
Seemed as they would want to touch the sky
I was really in the land of the fairies...

My wishes for this year:
+ Get my Titre de Sejour
+ Go back to Malaysia
+ Get my CAF
+ Get an MP3 Player
+ Lose some weight
+ Get good grades... better grades
+ Stabalize my emotions
+ Super U would not stop giving free plastic bags
+ Train tickets go cheaper
+ No more 7 hours of Maths
+ The price of De Caun et Garcia's DVD would go down to 15 euros
+ And last but not least, Find that green socks i've always wanted.

Have a nice ney year!

2004, A year in review

2004 will finally close its curtains in a few days. A lot of things happened to me. Good and bad.

2004
1. Started college, doing Ausmat in Sunway College
2. Got 10A's in Spm
3. Met my old friends from primary school again, Amalia, Zufar, Nabilah, Irda, Azlan, Nadiy. And got in touch with another 2 Syafeeq and Faiz
4. Along came back.
5. Nervous breakdowns through out the year... and am still having it.
6. Drove for the first time. The Kancil felt more like Unta
7. Attended the PNB, Petronas and JPA interviews
8. Got PNB and Petronas
9. DECIDED to take the Petronas offer to continue my studies in France
10. Met 9 new lovely people, each with his character.
11. WENT to France
12. Learnt a new language. French
13. Wasn't listed in the PKN programme
14. Got my first handphone, digi-cam, and my first swiss watch

In all, this year changed my life a lot.

Downloaded a nice song today. It's much more better that the English version

Et j'ai tant besoin de toi

Et j'ai tant besoin de ta voix

Je veux tomber dans tes bras

Je voudrais marcher dans tes pas

On invente les règles du jeu

Quand on est tous les deux

Ensemble nous irons jusqu'au bout du chemin

Je tiendrai dans ton ombre

Si tu me prends la main

Retiens moi si je sombre je suis ta prisonnière

Si loin de notre monde j'ai la tête à l'envers

J'ai vraiment besoin de toi

Si demain commençait ce soir

Il était une fois un homme amoureux

Peut-être un p'tit peu trop rêveux

Tant pis si j'en pleure tu as tous les droits sur mon coeur

Si demain commençait ce soir

Can't wait till class start again. Missing Toh and Brian already. Luckily they're coming back tomorrow.

Alone Again, Naturally...

Woke up to see that i've downloaded 99% of 'Spanglish'... but it stopped there. Ate breakfast while watching Jimmy Neutron. Surf the net while watching Totally Spies, and played Civ 3 while watching Power Rangers. Hey, there's nothing else on TV. It's either that or some stupid soap opera. I have to say Power Rangers have evolved so much since i last watch them... like 10 years ago. And i pity the actors. Have they no shame?

I rented La Boum from the main Stop Video today. I watched it last sunday,and i watched it again. It's the french version of Love Story, only that this time, instead of a love story between 2 collegemates, it's between 2 teenagers aged 13. It was nice, and Sophie Marceau was nice too. She looked so pretty in that movie. and FYI, it does not have any unnecessary scenes so don't jump into stupid conclusions.

I'm feeling lonely today. It's funny to feel such way since i'm living in a building full of Malaysians. I tried to ask them out, but noooo... they want to stay at home. I ask them to watch a dvd together, and i even offered to rent it myself, but noooo... "we're just too selfish"......

Chatted with ehem ehem. It was nice of her to 'layan' everything i said. She's so cool. I like her (as in like like, and not the other meaning of like). To that person "what i asked you just now, i'll ask again in a few years time ;) "

There's this french song that i quite like :'SOS d'un terrien en detresse' 'SOS of a distressed earthlink'

Pourquoi je vis, pourquoi je meurt,
Pourquoi je ris, pourquoi je pleure....

Why do i live, why do i die,
Why do i laugh, why do i cry....

Those are the questions that i always ask myself when i'm feeling down even before i knew this song exists. And i always hope to find the answer...

Wasted

Went to laundry today. I went to another one, that is nearer to our residence. The drying service was 20 centimes more expensive and you have to spin dry for 15 cycles to have all of your clothes dried. Aihh... i wasted almost 10 euros on laundry today.

Yesterday was christmas. Nothing happened. Rented Cheaper by the Dozen. I was quite surprised to see a long queue at the machine. How can they be bored on christmas? I mean, shouldn't they be with their families and do whatever they have to do?

Selamat Hari Natal
Merry Christmas
Noyeux Joel!!!

Joyeux Anniversaire!

I'm yet to receive my pics from syazwan since all the pictures of my visit to lille was taken with his camera. So a blog on my visit to Lille will have to wait.

Today is our 6th month anniversary of being here in France, and guess what? we're still alive. Didn't celebrate though. Toh and Khairul are not here. We watched Les Fabouleux Destins d'Amelie Puolain while eating the chocolates that i brought back from belgium. And that's about it. I was quite sad since it was not like how imagined it would be. But hey, you can't have everything you want can you?

Tired, Sad and yet Happy...

Bruxelles

I've always wanted to go to Bruxelles (Brussels) since i was a kid. Back then, i used to play a computer game 'Railroad Tycoon'. And Lille and Brussels was among the 2 nearest city that is easy to start off a railroad company apart from Amsterdam-Utrecht or Paris-Reims. (Computer games do have big impacts in life)

Our TGV departed at 7.20 and we arrived at around 8+. When we arrived, we were quite lost and knowing where to go. We got a map from the info tourisme counter, the we took a metro to the city center, had our breakfast at the station, and ventured of like 2 blindmen, not knowing where to go nor what to do. We walked and walked and not realising we passed the Palais de Justice. It was nice, and resembles much like St Bastia in Vatican. It's situated beside a cliff. If you can imagine a cake of 4 inches thickness, sitting next to a cake of 2 inches of thickness, then you can imagine how brussels looks like in term of topograhy. And the funny thing is, they have a lift to connect the two different levels.

Then we walked and walked, and we passed the office of BeNeLux (Like EU but only for Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg), we passed the Royal Palace and also a frozen pond. Then we walked down hill, to the senate, and it was slippery enough to make you fall. I had to hold to the railings to help me walk properly. It must've been minus 5 then. Then we walked to the Grande Place, where they used to have a huge carpet in the middle of the square, but it was replaced by some artistice work for christmas. While we were taking pictures, i saw a sign that i've been looking for ever since we arrived. Godiva. One of the finest Belgian chocolatier. Inside the shop, or shall i say, gallery, it looks like a jewellery shop, everything was under a glass display. It was quite surprising to see the prices weren't that expensive. I mean, i imagined the number would be at the least 2 digits for a pack. But you can easily get a nice pack for less then 5 euros. Of course, compared to ordinary chocolates, they're expensive, but by how many percent? 30? I bought SOME but syazwan only bought ONE, and the one he bought was the least nicest chocolate i've ever tasted.

We went to the i and found out where the heck is the Mankenpiss. We've been learning about it in class, and i imagined it was at least as tall as my brother. But i was wrong. It was only the height of my knee. It's a statue of a boy who piss. That explains the name. Man can Piss. I think. And then there's a female version. But this one is situated in a back alley. I'm so confused with Brussels. You have a street of fine restaurants and turn left, you have a suspicious looking alley. Anyway this statue, Jeankenpiss or whatever, looks like it's forgotten. And if Mankenpiss is standing, Jeankenpiss is squatting.

Syazwan bought some postcards, and i took one, and we wrote to our family while we had lunch. And guess what, after all the things that we've done, it was only 1130. Time doesn't seem to fly in Bruxelles. Maybe that's why the EU parliament is seated here. Syazwan even said that we might get back to Lille and 3 days have already passed. What? He believes in Gullivan's travel? We went to a post office, to find a horrible looking man behind a counter. If that is how a plump man looks like when he becomes thin, then i don't want to become thin. Ewww...... And syazwan bought a bag of stamps. I wonder why did he buy it. He doesn't collect stamps.

Then we went to Atomium and Mini Europe. It's at the other end of the Metro. I wanted to visit the Tintin museum but it was closed. Because it's Monday. Atomium was closed too, but not only today, but until 2006, for renovation works. So we took some pictures from far, and went to the Mini Europe. It was superb, except for the fact the the lakes were frozen, the roads and rails were covered with frost, so the small things that's uppose to move like ships, trains, and airplanes, didn't work. We took picture of everything from Eiffel, to Big Ben (who needs London huh?), to Pisa, to Parthenon and to Vesuvius. This is where we stayed the longest. why? because when you push the button, the mountain will errupt and the floor beneath you will vibrate. We pushed almost 20 times. We played some games at the Euro Centre and i found out that i've lost 13 kilos since i came here.

Bruxelles or perhaps Belgium is aweird place. Everything is bilingual. Everything. From signboards, to names of places, cities or stations, to even your first name. A guy might call you Charles, and another calls you Karel. It's bilingual between french and either flemish or dutch. Hey, i can undertand an advertisement. Niu in de bioscope (new in the cinema). It must've been a 'pening kepala' thing to have this bilingual thingy.

When we finished Mini Europe, it was only 2, so we rested for a milkshake in Quick, and walked again at 2.30. We had nowhere else to go, so we went to the EU's parliament. There was nothing. Then we looked at the map again and saw a 'Natural Museum' with a picture of a kangaroo at the side. I was tired but syazwan insisted that we visit it since he had never seen a kangaroo before. When we got there (it was on top of a hill), we realized that it was not a picture of a kangaroo but of a T-Rex, and the museum was closed. My watched showed 3.45, and we couldn't spend another minute in Bruxelles, we decided to change our tickets and took the soonest train possible. We begged the guy behind the counter 'S'il vous plait monsieur, on ne peut plus passer une autre seconde ici'. Ok we didn't say that. Luckily the next train was 30 minutes away. It was a Eurostar. Who needs London huh? There wasa passport check. Luckily they didn't see my visa has expired. Anyway EU is a borderless block, only UK and Ireland are still 'mengada-ngada' asking for passports.

On the train, we met a group of malaysians. They were the noisiest group of people ever. And there's this one pakcik ' Ni kawan pakcik yang ajak ni. Bayar 5000 sorang. Mahal ni'. I almost wanted to say' 5000 pakcik? saya tiap-tiap bulan dapat 3500 (700 euros) tak bising pun'. But i didn't. Got off quickly from the train in Lille and had dinner altogether at KFC Roubaix again. Went back and watch a hindustan movie and dozed off.

Est-ce que je serai un lillois un jour?

2nd day in Lille

Went out with everyone. First we went to FNAC. Then to Euralille, a shopping complex that is full of people. Went to a comic-collectors shop, then to Carrefour, then to Saturn, and then back home. You can say that nothing happened, but i was eyeing for something to buy, and i was checking the price out.

Then syazwan and i went out again. We went to the gare to buy the tickets for tomorrow to Bruxelles. Then we went to eat at Quick. And he bought a kiddy meal, and got an apron, and he wore it. Urghh... tak malu. Then we went to H&M to buy some stuff, and we went to the Marche Noel. Oh, i never thought that that much people could think of going to the same place at the same time. We decided that it was not worth the struggle and Colmar's is much better, we went to the Citadel, by foot. It was already dark when we got there. And i don't know why but they didn't turn on the lights so the citadel couldn't be seen, and it was too dark to venture in, so we cancelled out visit to the citadel, and went back home. We watch 'Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam'. It was quite good and quite scary. I have to say that i might have problems going to the toilet when i 'balik kampung' the next time. Abu came to send toh's bag. Now i have to carry mine, brian's and toh's back to Colmar.

Lille

Arrived in Paris at 640. Caught the TGV to Lille at 7.50. Stupid SNCF told us the platform 10 minutes before the train departs. Everyone was rushing to the train. And my theory on the french was right, they can queue but in the end it's the barbaric act of pushing took place. No one's sitting beside me so i took the sit. When i bought the ticket, i strictly demanded for a seat in the direction of the train, but they said it's not possible. Now i know why, because 95 percent of the seats are facing in the same direction. Meaning if someone wanted a seat opposing the direction of the train from Lille to Paris, he has a very thin chance of getting his seat.

Arrived in Lille at around 9. When i got off the train, and walking towards the main hall, i was imagining how would syazwan 'sambut' me. I was quite taken aback when i realised that he wasn't there. I tried to call his house, but no one answered. 10 minutes later he appeared from the metro station, looking sleepy, and said that he had forgotten that i was coming. How dare he!

We walked to his house, crossing the centre ville. Lille is not a very big city. Compared to Strasbourg, i think it's a bit smaller. But when you combine the other 2 city, you'll get the Lille-Roubaix-Tourcoing Metropolis. And it's huge i tell you. I was surprised to see the streets deserted since syazwan's been telling me that Lille is a 'lively' town. It turns out that the 'lively' businessmen of 'lively' Lille, still have the same mindset like the rest of France. Business from 10 to 6, Mondays are half days, and closed on Sundays. Well... ok, they do open on Sundays, in Lille that is... and Paris as well. Ok so only in those 2 cities.

I imagined that syazwan's house is more or less the same as Rod's in Paris. But i was wrong. It looks more like the Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam. Old, gloomy and made out of wood. But at 200 per month, with electricity included and near to almost everything, there's nothing to complain about. Except for the fact that it is in a suspicious looking quarter.

Rested for a while, then i met with Goh and Farid ( 2 seniors from La Rochelle), later i met Ajak (also from La Rochelle), and then Zarul, the one i met at Rod's place a few months ago. Syazwan and i then went to his campus, by metro. I totally believed the fact when they said PUTRA is the longest driverless train in the world. But when i saw the one in Lille, i have my doubts. I stretches from the end of Lille, until the end of Tourcoing, which is a few baby-footsteps away from Belgium. There was nothing much in syazwan's campus. But it was big. Some 10 different institutions (as in like 10 different schools, totally unrelated to each other) were sharing the same ground. After that, we went to Roubaix to eat KFC. It's weird that i've never liked KFC in Malaysia, and it took me 8000 miles to actually like KFC. Tak pernah-pernah suka KFC, tiba-tiba datang France, suka pulak. Then we went window shopping at an arcade. It's like a factory outlet, buy 2 stuff and get the 3rd for 1 euro. Nike, Reebok, Quicksilver, Lacoste, everything was there. But since this is not Germany, it's expensive, and they don't have my size...

Went back to his house by tram. God, it took us so long, that i slept on the way. After resting a while in his house, we went out again this time with goh. We went to Furret du Nord, the biggest bookstore in the world. A building, 8 stories high, full of books. I was in heaven (just like toh when he enters Migro). And you wouldn't believe the crowd inside. It was packed with people, and the amazing thing is, almost everyone carries a book (to be bought i presume). I mean, when you're in MPH Mid-Valley, yes there are a lot of people, but they were not fascinated to see the books, they're just there to pass their time. But these people in this bookshop are totally nuts about books. We're like.... like.... brothers. I know i couldn't explore every corner of this wonderful world of books, so i went to the english section. But since prices are about the same as in amazon.fr, i might as well buy it online.

They cooked steamboat tonight. But i was full. I ate kebab before that. Just to jaga hati, i ate some. The crabstick was nice, but the soup or water or whatever you call it, to boil the stuff was too 'pedas'. We watched dozens and dozens episodes of Shin Chan that syazwan downloaded until finally, everyone dozed off.

To Lille

After 7 hours of Maths, the holidays are finally here. I'm going to Lille tonight. Khairul will follow me until Paris. He'll be going back to Malaysia (jelesnye). We ate some ice cream together in Dinie's room while watching Star Academy. At 1045, i left the residence to catch my 1120 train.

erk...

We don't have any french class this afternoon since they couldn't find anyone to replace Rosy. I was happy to hear that, but i know it's inappropriate since it's because Rosy broke her shoulder (dislocated maybe). So i spent my afternoon going to the laundry since i'll be going to Lille this weekend. When i arrived there, there was a group of teenagers (15 y/o) in the laundry. They were smoking and puffing smoke like a pro. I was quite scared but i said bonjour anyway. Nothing went wrong. After putting in the coins, i decided to go somewhere else. I took my bike and went to the bank and to a supermarket.

When i got back, there's this old man, looking quite dangerous, with an empty glass bottle in his hand. He asked me if he could 'tumpang' his pants in the machine. Even if it was possible, i wouldn't want to. i told him that it was impossible since my machine has already started. then he asked me if i could spend him awashing cycle. I said no, and i went straight to the door to get the hell out of there. but he stopped me and asked me if i'm chinese. i said no, i'm indonesian. ahaha. then he asked me if i study here. and i said yes. then he began to give me a lecture on how i'm not thankful to the french since they're the ones who pay for my studies bla bla bla... Then i turned myself towards the door. Again, he stopped me, but this time with a little more force. Then he began to speak to me with a higher voice. He said he was just realeased from a prison and he said he won't harm me if i just help him with his laundry. I look at his jeans and i saw a spot of blood.

Now this is where i'm weak at. I never know how to react to things. When i need to decide something quickly, it would be the first thing that came in mind. and at that time, the first thing that came in my mind was.... you're life is worth more than 4.30 euros. So i agreed. He took off his pants (urgh... pandangan aku tercemar tidaaakkkk!!!). luckily he had something else underneath. Then he put it in the machine and i inserted the coins. luckily my machine was about to finish the cycle. While waiting for my machine to stop, he started talking about the french social problems (look who's talking huh?). Then he offered me a porn mag, that he stole from a shop. First: it's a porn. 2nd: it was stolen. That's a double sin. I said no, and my machine stopped. Despite my clothes being wet, i put them in the bag and left. I went to another laundry to have them dried. I was out of coins (thanks to that old b*s*ard). I called irfan, and he was kind enough to come to the laundry to give me some coins and he even waited with me. (remind me to belanja him a kebab one day).

Alas the day finally arrived. I'm wearing that 'museum' thingy tonight. But when i put it on... mmm... not bad. I might look like renee blaise, but hey it's still a style. The 10 of us walked across the centre ville and had everyone staring at us. Taufiq even wore a songkok. Ahaha. They said he looked like a guru besar. To me he looked more like a Bruneian delegate. A full costume with songkok.

Maggie, Mary-Claude and Martine (wow...now i realised that their names all start with 'm') were already at the town hall. The JPA's arrived and we were surprised seing them not in a formal dressing but their normal clothes. The event started with the deputy-mayor talking about how proud she was to have the 5th batch of malaysians in Colmar. Then Renee Blaise had his turn. And so did Maggie. And suddenly, out of nowhere a guy started giving his speech. He told us he used to work in Malaysia and he converted to Islam (while flashing his PERKIM card). Then we began to eat. Don't get me wrong. It was not a dinner. It's just a cake, some crackers and juice (well, there was champagne also). When i asked Maggie who that guy was, she herself was not sure (the next day she and renee blaise forbid us from having any contact with this guy).

We took some pictures (around 30... yeah we just love ourselves), fooled around, and went back home.

Today i thought someone somehow knew my biggest secret. When i asked him he said he doesn't know. But something tells me that he knows. And i hope he doesn't. This is MY secret. No one else knows. Not even my mom. Yeah mom, you don't know ;) Everyone has his own garden of secret hasn't he?

Oval office? rather a square one...

The Malaysia-China delegates?

This picture was published in the newspaper the next day

Petit papa noel...

Today we had a small noel fete. The profs prepared some christmas cookies. Brian made some too, and it was nice of him to give a packet to everyone; the profs, the iut people, and to us. Rosy couldn't join us today. She broke her shoulder while chasing Max, her dog. Everyone were in red... well, almost everyone. Aihh... i'm gonna miss everyone when i leave Colmar...

Noyeux Joel!

Sfere est venue... heureusement

2 représentatives de la Sfere sont venus nous voir aujourd’hui. M Pierron et Mme Lerond sont arrivés vers 10 ~ 10.30 quand on était en train de copier les notes que M Voltolini nous a donné. Avant qu’on les voie, on avait eu l’impression qu’ils seront stricts, mais on avait tort parce qu’ils sont très gentils et sympas. Pendant les 2 heures, on a discuté les choses qui ne sont pas très claire pour nous, et surtout on a rit beaucoup.

D’abord, Georges ( Pierron) nous expliquait le système d’éducation de la France et quelques fois, sans savoir comment, on a appris quelques point d’histoire de Napoléon jusqu'à la révolution. Eh oui, c’est loin mais c’était assez intéressant, au moins pour moi, je ne sais pas si les autres avaient le même sentiment. Donc, on a appris qu’on a 2 possibilités, aller aux Grandes Ecoles ou continuer aux IUPs. Les Telekoms n’auront pas de problème car leur patron leur a demandé d’aller aux Grandes Ecoles après l’IUT. Mais nous, les Petronas, on a pas de chance comme eux. Notre patrons, il est… comment je peux le dire doucement…. il n’a pas compris l’importance d’aller aux Grandes Ecoles. Maintenant, notre programme est ; finir le Pre-U, aller á l’IUT, et continuer 1 an ou 2 á l’IUP (et ça, ça dépend á l’Union Européen. Comment ça ? Parce que si l’UE décidera de connaître BAC+3 comme un ‘Degree’ on ira á l’IUP pour un an, mais s’il décidera de connaître BAC+4 comme un ‘Degree’, on y ira pour 2 ans.). Le problème est quelques uns de nous veulent aller aux Grandes Ecoles. Parce qu’un diplôme d’un IUP est très facile á avoir. Tout le monde peut le faire. Mais un diplôme d’un Ecole est très difficile á avoir. Mais je croix que Petronas ne vas pas le comprendre parce qu’on est le premier group qu’il envoie en France. Le système d’éducation ici, n’est pas le même comme l’un d’Angleterre. On a demandé á Georges et Sylvie, de demander encore une ou deux ou même vingt fois á Petronas d’être d’accord de nous laisser continuer nos études aux Grandes Ecoles.
I believe, even if my French’s perfect in this post, Patricia will still give me 15/20. =)

A few days ago i posted a blog entry with a footnote that caused some of my friends to contact me and asked me ' You really think that way?' and some even said 'you guys are really kampung-minded'. I don't mind them saying that, because to me i believe in what i believe and if they don't... tant pis... too bad. I got this short anecdote from a friend to better explain what i meant when i said 'hold to your beliefs, even when they say that you're primitive and back-minded'

Seorang guru wanita sedang bersemangat mengajarkan sesuatu kepada murid-muridnya. Ia duduk menghadap murid-muridnya. Di tangan kirinya ada kapur, di tangan kanannya ada pemadam.Guru itu berkata, "Saya ada satu permainan... Caranya begini, ditangan kiri saya ada kapur, di tangan kanan ada pemadam. Jika saya angkat kapur ini, maka berserulah "Kapur!", jika saya angkat pemadam ini, maka katalah "Pemadam!" Murid muridnya pun mengerti dan mengikuti. Guru berganti-gantian mengangkat antara kanan dan kiri tangannya, semakin lama semakin cepat. Beberapa saat kemudian guru kembali berkata, "Baik sekarang perhatikan. Jika saya angkat kapur, maka sebutlah "Pemadam!", jika saya angkat pemadam, maka katakanlah "Kapur!". Dan diulangkan seperti tadi, tentu saja murid-murid tadi keliru dan kekok, dan sangat sukar untuk mengubahnya. Namun lambat laun, mereka sudah biasa dan tidak lagi kekok. Selang beberapa saat, permainan berhenti.Sang guru tersenyum kepada murid-muridnya. "Murid-murid, begitulah kita ummat Islam. Mulanya yang haq itu haq,yang bathil itu bathil. Kita begitu jelas membezakannya. Namun kemudian, musuh-musuh kita memaksakan kepada kita dengan perbagai cara, untuk menukarkan sesuatu, dari yang haq menjadi bathil, dan sebaliknya.Pertama-tama mungkin akan sukar bagi kita menerima hal tersebut, tapi kerana terus disosialisasikan dengan cara-cara menarik oleh mereka, akhirnya lambat laun kamu akan terbiasa dengan hal itu. Dan anda mulai dapat mengikutinya. Musuh-musuh kamu tidak pernah berhenti membalik dan menukar nilai dan etika. "Keluar berduaan, berkasih-kasihan tidak lagi sesuatu yang pelik, Zina tidak lagi jadi persoalan, pakaian seksi menjadi hal yang lumrah, sex sebelum nikah menjadi suatu hiburan dan trend, materialistik kini menjadi suatu gaya hidup dan lain lain." "Semuanya sudah terbalik. Dan tanpa disedari, anda sedikit demi sedikit menerimanya. Paham?" tanya Guru kepada murid-muridnya. "Paham cikgu... "

A picture... taken somewhere far far away... probably Kaysersberg...NOT

Kaysersberg some more...

Kaysersberg...

Not My Day

Woke up late today. At 10. Did the usuals. Online, breakfast, shower, dishes and read at least a chapter from that book (a new book i bought from amazon).

At around 11.30, i went to the gare to cancel out my tickets to London. Saddd. I waited for almost an hour to find that only my inter-france ticket could be reimbourse. My eurostar's is not reimboursable and they didn't even bother to cancel it. They rather have an empty sit, than actually having someone on the train. Then i bought my tickets to Lille. I'm taking a TGV from Paris to Lille, a TGV back, AND Teoz from Paris to Strasbourg. Teoz!. A train that even the 2nd class feels like a 1st on a normal train. It's 10 euros more expensive, but hey, it's worth the experience, and furthermore, it's the only train before noon.

I went to l'Office du Tourisme to ask how to get to Kaysersberg. There's only one bus possible today, and it's at 4.10 pm. Fine. Brian, Toh and I went to the gare and arrived there at 4.05. We asked a bus driver and she said that the bus we're looking for is at the other end of the street. Luckily we made it just in time before the bus departs. The driver looked clueless when we asked about the last bus from Kaysersberg. Having confidence in him, we bought the tickets, and the journey began.

On paper, it takes 30 minutes to get to Kaysersberg from Colmar. But since everyone's going to the Marche Noel, there's a 3km traffic jam, and it took us the whole hour to get there. Arriving at 5.15 in Kaysersberg, we knew that we had to rush ourselves in order to catch the last bus which was at 5.40. So we descended the bus, walking quickly to the centre ville, went straight to the marche, to find it was only a short street of stalls, and took some pictures, and rushed back to the bus stop. Hardly enjoying our stay in Kaysersberg.

Went we got back to the bus stop, it was already 5.40. No bus. We asked the policeman and he said that it's impossible for a bus to stop there. He suggested that we go to another stop. We went there and it was already 5.50. No bus. Oh oh.... There was a couple waiting as well. And we waited and waited, obidiently, exchanged stupid remarks, and waited again, sang, and waited, and waited some more. Until 6.40. No bus. And our adventure... or misadventure... commenced.

We went to all the tourist busses. No one was willing to help. 'Oh, i'm not going there.''Oh, we're going to Germany' and there's one guy who, without asking, shook his head and we could read his lips that he was saying the plain old 'No!'. Though it sounded dangerous, we even tried asking the people if we could hitch-hike back to colmar. But no. No bus, no car, only 2 options left. At least 2 options that we managed to think of. Hotel or call someone to pick us up. First we wanted to call Maggie, but no one had her number. So no Maggie as well. Brian's friend... no one answered. Professors... no number as well. Last resort: stay one night, and walk the whole 10km the next morning. We managed to find 3 hotels. The first one costs 90 euros per night per person. Definitely not a choice. The next one, looks pretty cheap, 50 per room of 2. Full. The next one is slightly more expensive, and it's secluded form the busy main street and it looks more like a brothel from the outside. I don't know if it's fortunate or not, but it was full as well.

Suddenly, as if by chance, the god-blessed Brian saw a restaurant. La Chine. (why am i writing as if i'm writing a mystery novel?). Then he said 'orang cina mesti tolong orang cina'. I was like... erkk... But he was right. The lady did help us. In a way. She called a taxi for us. While waiting, Brian and Toh had a soup while i had a nice sip of ice peach tea. My favourite. Nothing helps you calm down more quickly than a nice cold drink of ice peach tea. The taxi costs us 21 euros. Expensive, but it was way lower than the expected 100. It was surely a history that doesn't need to be repeated.

To resume the visit to Kaysersberg in a word: Waste!. Why? waste of time and money. Paid 3 bux to get there, 3 bux for the drink, 7 bux for the taxi, just to visit a short street of stalls, and it took us 5 hours to do just that. But i have to say, Kaysersberg is a nice town to visit.

Arrived back home at around 9.30 to only find the others watching Star Wars. Cisss. We called them to tell that we were stuck in Kaysersberg, and the best thing they could do is watching some weirdos shooting lasers that's not even close to look realistic? Sheesh. Nvm.

Discussed about Sfere's visit on Monday until 12.30. Well, until 11 actually, then we started to talk on other stuff. Read the book ( the prologue to Da Vinci's Code) until 3 am, and slept, and dreamt that i killed Giovanna for suggesting that we go to Kaysersberg. Ok ok. Not true.

Suddenly the world seem such a (somewhat) perfect place...

It's damn cold today. I turned on my 3 radiators straight away after waking up.

Today we had our 2nd electricity class. I couldn't register much of last week's class. I mean, i was so tired that i don't even remember the prof's name or how he looks like or even what happened in class. The only thing that helped me remember was the notes that he gave, and my notes and his homeworks. Luckily i could still remember what we learnt. Today's 4 hours class felt a little more longer than usual and i don't know why. Maybe it was the subject, or maybe because noel's holidays're coming. If that's the case, I can't imagine how tomorrow's 7 hours would be. The prof had a weird name. Wojdyla. I thought he's from Germany, or Swiss or one of the BeNeLux countries, since his name sounded german, but he can speak french really well. So i pronunce his name as Woidyla. But then Martine pronunce it as Wojdyla. Anyway who cares. At first, he looks like Afif, my junior in MRSM, but when Toh and Brian said he looks like Robin Williams, I couldn't agree less. He does look like him, he acts like him, and he even sounds like him. And guess what? He charges his handphone in the classroom!

It's been quite a while since I last saw Martine. As soon as we entered her room, she instantly said " Quel est le probleme?". Yes i know that usually we go and see her to tell her our problems, but can't we once in a while come and say hi? Anyway, we did went to see her to tell our problems; radiators, time table, old students (not really a problem actually) and everything else. And she told us that we're invited to the Town Hall for a... can't remember what. But it's something about Colmar being proud of having Malaysians students here. Whatever! And we have to go with our full costume. Shirts, slacks tie and all. I hate it! especially when my suit is old-fashioned. It has two lines of buttons when the in thing is to have only 1 line. Uuurgh. I don't care. Even if I'll freeze to death, i won't wear it! And stupid Toh said ' ooohh, wear la... i want to see all those clothes that they usually keep in museums'.

Me and Toh arrived early for our french class today. We went in the classroom, and Giovanna was in. We said 'bonjour' and my bonjour was more joyous than usual, but she only replied a simple bonjour with a smile. Usually her bonjours are like.... those from a 5 year old. Full of energy and happiness (what am i babling about?). We didn't dare to stay in class, and we waited outside until around 2. The class started seriously. We got our evaluation thingy. We're at level 4 of our french programme out of 9 levels. The furthest we could get is level 8, and that's next to impossible and it's not until Aout next year that we'll arrive there... if we arrive there. I got a 4+ 4+ 4+ 4+, which i doubt was a sincere evaluation. But why despise a good thing? Sometimes i don't undertand myself. Low marks: sad, High marks: doubtful. Giovanna said that i speak well without any accent. Meaning, i don't sound malaysian when i speak. Which is a good thing. But i don't sound like a frenchman neither. So i'm accentless. So... i must work on this. Making those sounds that the french does... boeuf...Ben...Dis-Donc (brian's good at this one)... or even the ever popular ... Phwrt ( idon't know how to spell it.. but it sounds something like the sound you make when you try to imitate a farting sound). And she told us somethings that.. i don't think we should know, but we're interested to know... about the administratives. And furthermore Sferes's coming this monday, so we should be ready for whatever that might happen.

Today i learned that drinking alcoholic drinks before 18, and having pre-marital sex are normal in KL, but peeing while sitting is something that is unacceptable.... KL people are weird.

'Antara petanda kiamat kecil :kamu berpegang kepada agamamu, dan mereka memandang kamu sebagai orang kampung, yang tidak tahu dan tidak mahu maju.'

It's yesterday once more...

I was emptying my wallet when I came upon a picture of me when i was 6. I was 7 when i found that picture, and i've kept it ever since. I wrote something at the back of the picture. I wrote what i hoped to be in 10 years time. Some of them might sound stupid, but that was what i sincerely had in mind. When i read it just now, i knew that i have failed myself. I have failed the Hakimi that i was when i was 7. Today, I'm exactly 17 years, 4 months and 10 days old. When i look back at what i've become, i could understand why people say: Regret of doing something is bad, regret of not doing something is worse.

In 10 years i will:
excel in my studies
be a good son
be good looking
have a lovely partner
be a friend to my brothers
be happy

Alas, none of them were fulfilled.

Yesterday when I was young,
The taste of life was sweet as rain upon my tongue,
I teased at life as if it were a foolish game,
The way the evening breeze may tease a candle flame;
The thousand dreams I dreamed, The splendid things I planned
I always built, alas, on weak and shifting sand;
I lived by night and shunned the naked light of day
And only now I see how the years ran away.
Yesterday When I was young,
So many happy songs were waiting to be sung,
So many wild pleasures lay in store for me
And so much pain my dazzled eyes refused to see,
I ran so fast that time and youth at last ran out,
I never stopped to think what life was all about
And every conversation I can now recall
concerned itself with me, and nothing else at all.
Yesterday the moon was blue,
and every crazy day brought something new to do,
I used my magic age as if it were a wand,
and never saw the waste and emptiness beyond;
The game of love I played with arrogance and pride
and every flame I lit too quickly, quickly died;
The friends I made all seemed somehow to drift away
And only I am left on stage to end the play.
There are so many songs in me that won't be sung,
I feel the bitter taste of tears upon my tongue,
The time has come for me to pay for Yesterday
When I was Young.

Today is a gift, that is why it is called the present.

Today, Sunday, 5th December 2004.

1) Woke up at around 3 AM to find my bed trembling, and my wardrobe shaking for 5 seconds, and it continued to vibrate for a minute

2) Got chased by a dog on the way to the laundry

3) Found something that i bought a few weeks a go and i've forgotten all about it. It's no longer edible.

4) Spent 2 hours on tele, watching a talk show on Nicolas Sarkozy. I don't know if it was 2 hours well spent or not.

5) Called home, and realised that i only have a minute left on the card after the call

6) Put too much garlic in my mushroom soup. I think I'll stay away from mushroom soup for a few months.

7) Watched the news, and found out that what woke me up last night was an earthquake with 5.1 on reichter scale with the epicenter in Fribourg, Germany. I went there yesterday. Freaky.

Other than that, nothing much happened today!

Marche Noel; Christmas Market; Pasar Natal?

Freiburg (Fribourg)

Went to Fribourg again today. The third time in three seasons. I guess the next one would be in Spring. Only Me, Toh and Brian went. As usual, we waited for the bus at the train station at 7.50. The bus was there, but the door was closed. So we waited outside... talking and chatting, witing for the door to open. But suddenly, at exactly 8.05, the bus just went. We were like.... what was that for? That was the stupidest thing ever happened to us in France. Okay 2nd stupidest for me. So we decided to take another bus which was at 10.05. We went to the centre ville, had a croissant and waited for the bus again. And it was the same driver. He smiled, but we didn't give a damn, and just paid him.

Arrived in Fribourg at 11.22. We went straight to the Marche Noel. It's something like pasar malam, but it's from late morning until late at night, starting from 5 weeks before christmas. Colmar has one, but we were already bored with it. We tried the potato pancake with sour cream. Mmmm........ and then i ate a slice of mozzarella pizza, while they ate the german foot long sausages. Yummy.

We went shopping as usual, i bought a paper organizer, 2 t shirts, 5 hangers, a pair of gloves and some pens. We went to a supermarket that is famous for it's chocolates. I only bought a bar of cafe-cacao, and chocolat noir, while toh bought dozens and dozens of chocolates. He said it was for his brother. Yeah, right! You should look at his face when we got there. He was like in paradise. Sometimes i feel sorry for the owner of that supermarket. He has a huge supermarket, like Tops or Cold Storage in Malaysia, but people only buy chocolates from his supermarket, and nothing else.

On the way back we bought kebabs, only because it was cheap. 2.50 for a yufka compared to 4 euros in Colmar. It was quite nice, but not as nice as Helmi's. We caught the 4.05 train to arrive in Breisach at 4.30. We didn't know what time was the bus, but we know that we always took the 4 something train. Either the 4.05 or 4.35. So when we got there, we asked a bus driver, and he said it's at 5.05, then at around 5, i looked at the timetable, and i saw 5.15, but at 5.15, the bus wasn't there yet. So i checked again, and it was 5.45. Urgh.. wasted almost an hour there. And surprisingly there was a traffic congestion when we got back to Colmar. Traffic Jam in Colmar? Huh, pigs do fly don't they?