Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010

There is still few hours remaining for the year 2009, and after that the world will say 'Goodbye' to 2009 and 'Hello' to 2010. A lot of things has happened in the past one whole year. Some are good, and you might as well say some are 'not-so-good'.

During the early months of 2009, I lived in a university students' hall - Whitworth Park. It was a nice place, and is really close to the medical school. I could even popped out of bed 10 minutes before my class starts and still managed to attend it on time. Plus, it is also located near to John Rylands Library and Mcdougall Mosque which made my life as a student a whole lot easier.

Then, it was summer. The 3 months of holiday - no hassle and I was completely free from any burden of medical studies. I've done so much travelling during that time with my friends who is studying as well in Manchester. We went to all sort of places, mainly in Malaysia, where we have friends to visit and show us around. For instance, we went to Penang where Afif and Klone, who were the hosts became our 'tourist guide' and brought us to the fascinating places in "The Island Of Pearl". The yummy taste of 'kuey teow longkang' and the stunning, picturesque scenery of Batu Feringghi is still vivid in my memory.

After a long holiday, it's back to the books again and I started my second year as medical student in September 2009. Currently, I live in a house that is located quite near to Rusholme and my medical school. There are six of us in this house and we came from different backgrounds. Believe me, it is not easy to live in a rented house together because there are so much that needs to be done. But our long-lasting friendship that were built when we were in first years has unite us together to live under the same roof. Lots of things has happened in this house - from the endless teasing and joking around between Nageb and Apip, Muslim's loud and vibrant singing in his room, Icam's wonderful cooking and to Klone's never-ending business. All of these has lit a spark of light in 'Manar' and colours to my life.

In all, I hope that the memories of 2009 will stay on forever in my mind and may there be a wonderful future ahead for me in 2010.

Malaysian Students & Curry Mile

My house was really crowded with people for the past few days. There was like more than 40 people came here. It is a holiday for students studying in Europe. Some came here to visit friends, to visit the 2 major stadiums in Manchester and shopping as well.

But, the main reason for this crowdedness of Malaysian Students in Manchester is due to the presence of PMS participants who decided to take a pit-stop before they proceed their journey back home from PMS. For those of you who don't know what PMS is, PMS stands for Perhimpunan Musim Sejuk a.k.a Perhimpunan Main Ski (according to Apip).

These people could not stand the attractions in Manchester - Jazeera's half chicken with rice, Moonlight's falooda and sundaes, Krunchy's lamb ribs and lots more. And also it's not often for them to go up north of England just to taste the tantalizing delicacies that the Curry Mile in Rusholme has to offer.

These guys came from different parts of UK - London, Southampton, Portsmouth, Keele, Lancaster, Surrey and Plymouth. There's even a group of people who flew from Ireland, Germany and France just to feel the 'food atmosphere' in Rusholme. Frankly speaking, they were really amazed by the fact that in Manchester, there is a whole mile of fast-food stores which serves halal foods. There's this one guy, who I managed to be acquainted with, said to me:

"You are so lucky to have a whole bunch of halal food stores just in front of your door steps. At my place, you can barely find one."

I had a mixed feelings at first when he said that to me. I don't know whether I should be proud or felt sympathy for his unfortunate situation. But, I guess I do feel a little bit proud because I'm studying here and Curry Mile has attracted a lot of Malaysian students for generations. I know for a fact that the existence of the Curry Mile has nothing to do with me, but somehow deep down inside I felt a sense of belonging to this place. I have been for for almost a year and a half now, and this place and the halal foods has never failed to amazed me. =)

Shopping!!

It’s a common knowledge for all of us to know that 25^th of December each year is Christmas Day. But, do any of you guys know what the day after Christmas is all about (26^th December)?

26^th of December means it’s Boxing Day in UK!! And when I say ‘Boxing’, it has nothing to do with the kind of sport that you have to punch your opponent until they knocked out. It simply means that on this eventful day, all of the shopping mall, clothes stores and designer outlets will have sales on most of their products. As much as 70% price reductions on most products will be sold to consumers on this day only. Yes, you read it correctly, 70%!!

I guess those of you guys who are living in UK and Ireland are familiar with this ‘tradition’ each year. Boxing Day is the most highly awaited event of the year for shopaholics and girls who are still not satisfied of what they have in their wardrobe.

And actually, it is also my first time to experience first-hand this year to shop on Boxing Day as I was not in Manchester last year.

I woke up as early as 6 am in the morning and geared up quickly for that day. My seniors suggested to me to get up early as possible on Boxing Day because some of the big shops will open at 7 am. Shops that have big brand names products such as NEXT, River Island, Topman and ZARA are main targets for shopaholic on that morning.

When I arrived at Arndale Shopping Centre, there was already a huge crowd of people outside NEXT. And when the metal gate that separates the restless customers and clothes rose completely, the huge crowds rushed into the shop like a stampede of elephant running from predators. They grabbed any clothes, jeans, t-shirts and anything that they could lay their hand on without even looking at their price first and bring all of it to a corner to try it on. I was utterly speechless and amazed by this phenomenon. I know that it was a mega sale and it would receive great response from customers. But I don’t know it would be this MASSIVE!!

What disappoints me the most is that the shops that I hope will have huge discounts on Boxing Day apparently DO NOT. Apple and Fossil do not have any sale on their products. And if there is, the discounts were not much and it is only for the non-popular products. After a little bit of pushing and thorough search, I finally bought a pair of shoes from Adidas, a White Musk perfume at The Body Shop and a Superdry jacket. It’s not much I guess for Boxing Day. What the heck! I’m not into shopping as some of my girl friends are. Buying the things that I need is already sufficient and satisfying for me. And there is still next year.

See you again next year Boxing Day!

The Beginning of Something New

Semester 3 means less time for play, and more time for academic stuff. for medical students in Manchester. Neurology has always been the 'killer' subject for medical students (well, maybe not for some, but certainly most of us). A full block in second year has been allocated for this particular subject which means that this subject is really dead serious. Even the brightest minds may succumb to the amount of workload that have to be done for this semester.

However, not all are as bad as most people think. Within this semester, I am able to explore the wonders of the most important organ in our body - the brain. Have all of you ever wondered how a do we obtained memory capabilities? How even the slightest damage to your brain can cause your limbs to be paralyzed? Something to ponder upon.

Anyhow, I knew that I had long ago lost my way. People do make mistakes. and there is no more time to fooling around and wasting time. I must dedicate the rest of my life to righting my course of life. Now, the moment is fast approaching.

It is always darkest before the dawn. Stay strong.

Bloggerz!!

The reason i'm writing this entry is that I accidentally came across a very attractive and appealing phrases. Here, I present you some of the phrases:

"Bloggers are the new journalists of this era". Ever heard of this phrase before?

Another one which sounds catchier- "Keyboards are mightier than swords". Now, this one I heard it the first time being said by our Minister of Home Affairs, Dato' Seri Hishammuddin Bin Tun Hussein.

These two phrases are very sweeping, and very revealing also. It is true that blogs have the power to influence and change other peoples way of thinking. Just look at Raja Petra's blog for instance. The government is so afraid of his entries in his blog, that they had to find him and wants him to be remain detained.

Hmm...but what makes a blog becomes succesful and popular? I know most of you veteran bloggers measure success and popular in terms of website traffic of your blog (the number of people who visit your blog, regardless by accident or on purpose..hehe ;p).

I think, if you want to be a successful blogger, you have to write something you enjoy and interested in. It doesn't matter whether you blog about the current condition of the political world or even write an entry about your day-to-day activity in your university. As long as you love writing about it, just proceed.

When you do something you enjoy, the ideas and passion will come through in your writing. And passion is what gives your writing the edge and an extra spark. It is that one special ingredient that captivates people and draws them to your blog. Plus, obviously, when you are passionate about something, you naturally will be good at it. Without even you realizing it, you'll be writing the things that you know, and giving people an even more compelling reason to read your blog.

So guys, what are you waiting for? Blog on!!

Manglish is Malaysian lah...

"What's the problem ler?"

"Today we got Math class arr"

"You online not tonight?"

"Why you not contact me lorr? I miss you leh"

"Don't play-play arr"

Above are few familiar sentences that we could hear everyday in our daily life as a Malysian - a Malay or Chinese, trying to speak in English (the Malaysian way, of course - Manglish). The words in the sentence are usually arranged according to the Malay Language grammar with an addition of few words at the end of the sentence, such as 'lah', 'maa', 'arr' and 'lorr'. There's a lot of debate regarding this issue, and it seems that this dispute is far from end.

For me, it is utterly amusing to hear those sentences being spoken everyday between my friends. Once, I have asked one of my Chinese friends why she didn't use proper English when conversing or writing a message on Facebook's walls to other Malaysian colleagues. She simply answered that she felt comfortable and fit-in with the others by using Manglish. I know that all of my friends are capable in writing and speaking excellent proper English. Otherwise, all of them would not be studying in respected higher education institutions all over the world. Thus, whenever I talk to my friends, I will also use Manglish because I do not want to sound like a pompous cow - trying to sound British or American when I'm actually 100% Malaysian!!

I, personally, am totally against anyone or any idea that criticize Manglish. If some people got the guts to say something against Manglish, why don't they criticize Americans for speaking American English and UK for using the Queen's English? I think it is common knowledge to all that both of these countries speak different versions of English. So, which community in this whole wide world that is using the most correct and accurate English? The Americans? Or The British?

In all, the purpose of me writing this entry is merely to approve the existence of Manglish. My TOK teacher once said that language defines us and therefore, Manglish is a symbol of unity among Malaysians. It is what makes us Malaysians. Don't you all realised? We have made our own version of English!! A splendid achievement!! So, be proud!!

The Other Side

I had an affair last night. It was just a one-off, though. Just once. And it certainly didn’t mean anything.

That’s right! I went to see City play Hamburg in the UEFA Cup. Why? Well, tickets were only £5 and for one reason or another I have only been to Eastland of Manchester once before. And I admit, part of me was utterly curious to see how the Blue half life of Manchester feels like.

In fairness, the City fans generated a decent level of noise the whole evening. For any of you who are not so into football, this was their first appearance in the quarter-finals of a European competition since 1979. A thousand congratulations I dedicate to City for their finest achievement so far.

After taking my seat, it took only a minute to register a full house on a checklist that I’ve made about things that might I found that evening. Inflatable bananas? Check. Fans wearing City head dress? Check. City’s blue flag? Check. Anti-Manchester United chants? Check. I could swear that I even heard a few London accents, although I must be wrong on that one because everyone knows City fans only come from Manchester, don’t they?.

As for the action on the pitch, it was refreshing to watch a game of football that I’ve never seen before since I came to Manchester. The atmosphere was completely breath-taking; City’s fan singing their traditional song for their team endlessly, thousands of City’s fan waving their flag at the same time, and everyone would stand up from their seats when there was a shot to score a goal. Watching as a neutral, not being a fan of either sides, allows me to analyse the game with an unbias head, to acknowledge and appreciate good football no matter who’s playing it.

That night, there was a surprising amount of good football on show. Maybe not so much in the first half – both teams’ decision to defend high up the pitch, combined with City’s lack of out-and-out wingers, led to over-crowding in the midfield – but in the final 45 minutes the match opened up and the likes of Zabaleta, Elano and Hamburg’s midfielders were allowed freedom to express themselves. Robinho, as expected, produced moments of magic and always looked capable of unlocking the Hamburg defence.

Ultimately, however, the gulf in class between City and United is massive. For me, Rio and Vidic are cool under pressure and always attempt to play the ball out of defence, Dunne and Richards were nervy and usually opted for long punts forward.

Manchester City’s midfielder such as Ireland and Elano are all capable of turning the game, but they’re equally prone to a sloppy pass or a half-hearted tackle by Hamburg’s defender. Meanwhile, Caicedo, City’s huge striker, reminded me of Filippo Inzaghi and not because he has a superb finishing touch, but the comparison was made due to the fact that he was continually getting caught offside throughout the game.

Despite dominating in the second half and going close on a number of occasions to forcing extra-time in the tie, City found themselves out of Europe when the final whistle blew. Tough luck City. Maybe all of you would be more victorious in the years ahead.

On my way back home, I overheard some lads saying that in a couple of years time, City would conquer Europe’s football and would laugh when they look back the defeat they had that night. I wonder who would be in charge at that time. Maybe Jose Mourinho or Carlo Ancelotti? That might happen due to the large amount of money that the City’s owners have which could lure other excellent managers who could make a change to City.

Overall, the experience was absolutely great. Now I know how it feels like to watch a football game in the UK, live in the stadium itself. Everything that happened that night, was completely unforgettable.

p/s: I am a Manchester United fan. The views expressed in this blog are personal to me and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Manchester City’s fan. It also does not mean that I’ve betrayed my loyalty to United.

It's been a while...

Hi everyone!!!

Ok...i know....i know.... it has been a really long time since i posted anything on my blog. It's not surprising if some of you thought that my blog account has been deleted. Well, the thing is, i always intended to write something for my blog. However, my intention has always been brought to a halt by other important things i have to do (pbl notes, lecture notes, anatomy workbook, etc.). Prioritize is really important in my current situation. If not, i'll be left behind by all of my friends and have to act like a know what my pbl-mates are explaining during pbl session. For now, i'm glad all of that is over (at least for a while) and finally i have a relaxing time to write in my blog without distraction.

It is in my understanding that most of you guys out there have already finished your first ever exams in a university (including me). So, how was it? Mine was kinda okay. I mean, there were a few questions that i totally have no idea about it and don't even have a single clue on how to answer it. And there were also questions that i am really certain that my answers are correct. Overall, the my first semester test went quite well. My endless effort of studying till 3 am in the morning with my MP3 player, as my faithful companion was really worth it.

It really amazed me how time pass by so fast. Before you know it, you are already half-way through your first year here. A lot of things happened in the past few months in my life. MCOT (Malaysian Community of Old Trafford), the most prominent Malay organisation in Manchester has organized a lot of fun activities for its members. For instance, the Hari Raya Haji, Futsal, etc. But, the highly awaited event of the year is yet to come, The Manchester Games, which will be held in this February. Well, this event is not completely being planned by MCOT, as it also involves collaboration with MSSM and KUSMA. I dont mind about that because the most important thing is that Manchester will be the centre of meeting for Malaysians from all over parts of UK. This will be the most suitable time to develop friendship and an extensive network of new friends.

As exciting as Manchester could be, i still miss my beloved country Malaysia. Honestly, I cant wait to finish the other half of my course for this year and pack my stuff and board the flight to Malaysia. I miss Malaysia a lot, especially the foods. You cant get roti canai, nasi lemak and teh tarik in Manchester. All the foods that are in abundance quantity here are halal Pakistani foods,such as kebabs, lassi and milkshake. However, these dishes are not as good as Malaysian food. Come on!!! i want Malaysian food. I guess i cant do anything about it and have to bear with the foods here for another 5 months. I really envy some of my friends who got the chance to go back home in Malaysia during the winter. I was hoping that they would bring along some of the scrumptious delicacies from malaysia. However, things didn't turn out the way i expected it to be as they only showed up with packets of Berahim's and instant noodles..hahaha..

I guess that's all for now guys. I'll write again if i have any idea what to write about next time.

Peace out. Bye.