so which way is ‘it’ again..?

owh i went crazy over the tiny setting thingy of this blog..i’ve been changing the fonts, deleting some media i didn’t use and bla bla bla..decorating in short and suddenly i found editing css script is not that hard..haha..believe me, you can’t trust me..i say it’s easy, but how come it consumed one whole afternoon of my day..? 🙂

i talked to my housemate last night about what i want to do on our summer break this december and i can’t make up my mind yet as to whether to stay here in NZ and tour parts of south island that i haven’t covered yet, or go back to Malaysia and spend time with my family, friends and good food.. 🙂

i was thinking..that, by staying in NZ over summer will help me saves up some money for future use..em, imagine how can i do the saving if i make that tour to south island..because i’ll need to pay for accommodation, house rent, groceries/food, transportation & souvenirs..*doing my math*..

and,

if i go back to Malaysia, i will spend some money on flight and house rent..owh, are these all..?sounds like i save more if i go back to Malaysia! but, going back to Malaysia means i wont be able to go to those places with my friends..this summer will be our last summer here because we’ll go back to Malaysia for good next june..but anyway, i still have easter break to do the travel if i wish..owh well..

i want to go back because i need to rejuvenate myself..i need that short break with my family and closest friends just to prepare myself for the coming semester..this semester will be long and hard for me because seemingly i’m doing a heavy linguistics paper, gonna need to prepare for final exam, go for teaching experience and a summer course to attend to..therefore, a short, meaningful and fun break with my family would really help to re-create myself..

so, should i go back, or should i stay..?hu~

owh, i found this article this morning..i that’s why i really want Malaysia to be named Tanah Melayu..so they know who they are..help yourself, read it..and say what you think too..

fancy fencing..?

i always want to do martial arts but i know i’m not the kind of girl who can handle rough training, bruises and of course, a fight..i’d rather not involve in anything alike..i survived athletical trainings but no, i can’t survive rough, martial arts trainings..

but yesterday a friend of mine promoted fencing to all keen & interested VUW students and yeah, he just rang the bell to me..i think that’s what i’ve been looking for..so, i’ve got the form now, and may be i’ll submit it tomorrow, and start training this wednesday..i’ll need to share all the utilities but hu~just have to bear with it i guess..

i know i would have problem to train when ramadhan comes, but yeah..see how i manage to cope soon 🙂 wish i could handle training and fasting at the same time..

so, see if i find fencing interesting when i get to try it..

mild, medium or hot..?

i don’t know there’s this thing called ‘writer’s block’ which is a state where a writer just couldn’t think of anything worth writing..and i just found out that wordpress actually has this site, where it gives you some of prompts, so you can eventually produce something worth writing..so i’m trying it now..

owh, ok..what i did was, i signed up to that site..so from now on, i can just turn to that site if i really feel like writing but i couldn’t think of anything to write, and get some prompts 🙂 try it!

so what can i write about the prompt that i found interesting..?here’s the prompt “mild, medium or hot” .. the way i see it, this question is asking about my preference(s) for food..be it mild, medium or hot..and there’s no other way of seeing this question as asking about something else..guys might want to think question is asking about which type of girl would they prefer but nah~is there any mild type of girl..?you could look at it as asking about weather preferences but nah..i’m sticking to food..yum food 🙂

as an asian, specifically a Malaysian, i love hot food..imagine mee goreng mamak (indian style fried noodle) being mild..it is not as mouth watering if it is made hot..because the smell of the egg *from the fried noodle* is fishy enough to make you lose your appetite..therefore, the paprika/chillies needed to be ‘a lot’ enough to mask the smell and taste of the fishy egg..and some lemon as the finishing touch..

ok..imagine seafood..say boiled clams (all brothers and sisters of clams like big mussels and small mussels, fat mussels and skinny mussels, yeah, paua too)..ok say boiled clams..eating them simply with something sour like tomato sauce would be plain boring and stops you even before you’re full..what i suggest..?try chilli..that’s the secret..you should try frying the clams with 2 pieces of lemon grass, some tiny chillies (cili api), onion and garlic..and squeeze some key lime to it..then only you find the clams are never enough..of course there are more ways to enjoy clams and seafood with chillies but hey, try this simple recipe first..

owh, and my favourite masak lemak cili api (i give up translating the names)..you can use seafood or white meat to go with this dish but i would recommend grilled/smoked quail..combined with potato or some juicy and sour belimbing kecil *i don’t know it’s proper name in malay – it’s a smaller version of star fruit*..the combination of meat & coconut milk would be very thick in texture and bland in taste..thus, you need that belimbing kecil & chillies..the sour taste of that belimbing kecil masks the strong-meaty-taste of the grilled quail (but does not drain the sweetness of the meat) and the chillies bring flavour to the tasteless but thick coconut milk..to make the taste of this dish lingers longer in your throat, combine lemon grass with tumeric leaves in this dish.. 🙂

p/s: sorry i cannot upload any photos..it’s the university again..sobs..

sink or swim..

praises to the Creator, for i’ve now arrived in wellington safe and sound..the school has re-opened, and it’s time to get busy and serious..i wanted to post a few series of entry about my previous trip to some European cities but i couldn’t find time for that..i was a bit busy restarting my life over here..i’ll write about it soon, when course-works are more demanding, that’s when writing a good entry is at its most intriguing..can’t wait for that time to come 🙂

all in all, i’ve had a very long and tiring trip to eastern europe..the travel time (including transit) were 36 hours and 15 minutes..but if i were to count the total time (customs check, luggage’s out, boarding, getting to the airport, getting home etc) it might have been something like 48 hours..and it took me 2 weeks, to get rid of jet lag..luckily, the trip was worth it..alhamdulillah..

so, what’s with school..?em..i was a bit determined to drop LING 324 (linguistics : language variation & change) before the start of this new semester..but when i got into this particular class yesterday, the lecturer captured my interest with the content of this course..and she got me into thinking, as to take or drop this course..huhu..

here’s the situation..if i were to take it this semester, i’m done with linguistics as soon as the end of this semester..so next year, i will only take two courses before graduating..i might not be able to take psycholinguistics that i wanted so badly, but no psycholinguistics means no exams to worry about..there will be another class tomorrow, so i’ll see if i can get the sense of belonging in that class..i just don’t understand, as to why i’m refusing to stick in this class..wuwu..

three-sixty-degree (I): zagreb, croatia..

what’s good about croatia..?would you want to consider to visit croatia if you’re given a choice..?so here’s my suggestion..why not..?

there’s so much history in this country, from being a kingdom, to creating a union with Hungary, to creation of kingdom of yugoslavia, founding the second yugoslav and eventually becomes an independent country in early 90’s..

this country’s main attractions are the capital (Zagreb) and it’s Old City of Dubrovnik..much of it’s buildings & monuments tell the story of the previous wars from the history (17th up to 20th centuries)..

there are just so much information to tell and i don’t know which one should be told first..haha..so, it’s better for you to see this place first hand..:) owh, the currency, they use Kuna..

the cathedral; located in central zagreb..just a few meter walk to the centre square..

the square..

this is the background building of the square..not really a shopping mall, more like a business center..

it's a war worrior's statue..when this city was reconstructed, they changed the position of this statue..instead of showing/heading to hungary, it now shows the other way around..it's the statue of ban jalacic, riding a horse, in the middle of a war..

in front of the square..mainly the road is built for tramps but it's also open for other vehicles..so for those who are not used to driving on such roads, make sure you read the road signs carefully..

zagreb city from a higher point..at the back of the parliament/administration building..

it's a concert house..there's another concerthouse, just in front of this building..

here's another concert house..a bigger one..and more beautiful..

this place used to be a mosque..and during world war, the pillars were taken off from this mosque..the photo of the original shape of this building is exhibited at the new mosque..

the shortest cable car in europe..60 m..

the walking mall..look at the road/railways..

along the street..in the parliament area..