The past few days bulletin from the world of F1 has been nothing but surprising for me, a fan. First, is the news that Petronas will become the title sponsor for Mercedes. The automatic reaction you'll get from any Malaysian would be, 'Aiyaa... Petronas sponsor Mercedes? Bukan kita dah ada Lotus F1 ke? Kenapa tak pergi situ je? Membazir duit je'. I was forming the same opinion initially, though team 1Malaysia F1 will be starting next year, it has been said that Tony Fernandes is still looking for major sponsors and since Petronas's contract with BMW Sauber ended at the end of this year's season, Lotus F1 seems to be the most ideal place to go next.
What we fail to see amidst all this hype of our country actually owning an F1 team (statements : numerous time Najib insisted that it is an investment by Lotus/Proton instead. truth : funding still comes from the Malaysian taxpayers), is that Petronas is still a corporation regardless of it being a state owned corporation. Thus with it comes the expectation of being sponsors for the Lotus F1. A reasonable expectation I thought.
Then... comes along Michael Schumacher. My favourite sportsmen, the most perfect guy that existed in my mind from the age of 7 till 12. I worshipped him once, and don't worry I have come to my senses now. My support for teams has always been moving with him. If he's with Renault, I'll support Renault. If he's with Ferrari, my never-ending loyalty with Ferrari that seems to end now marked by his departure is the reason why I got bullied everyday in sekolah agama by Fikril Afiq.
When Schumi signed with Mercedes, everything seems to make better sense. Reality check; Petronas maybe one of the companies in Fortune 500 and every Malaysian citizen has heard of it but in Europe all you can hear is crickets unless you're one of the technical crews for any F1 team. They need to penetrate the world's market and with the automative industry, branding is everything. For Petronas to be associated with Mercedes and 7 time world champion Michael Schumacher is a huge jump from the unknowns of BMW Sauber and definitely, an upper hand in terms of branding compared to Malaysia owned Lotus F1.
Of course the only way that this could go bad for Petronas is if Lotus were to score more points than Mercedes, which is very much unlikely. Regardless of that, the association with those 2 big names will definitely be in the best interest of Petronas, especially in promoting it's lubricant. Yes people, LUBRICANTS.
I shall be very optimistic now, and hope for only great things to come for Michael Schumacher and the Lotus F1 team. I hope that Petronas will organize contests that allows its participants to meet Michael Schumacher and with that, I wish for a little bit of luck (prediction : changing petrol usage from Shell to Petronas must be one of the criteria for the contest. Haha) .I hope that my final examinations will not clash with the date of the race so that for the first time in my whole life, I can actually watch my favourite game.
And please, cut Petronas some slack. It's nothing personal, it's just business.
In life we expect a lot of things from others and expect others to have a certain expectation on ourselves. That's how most of us lead our life now, from the moment we wake up till the moment we reach the same bed to sleep. In between all those expectations and dreams, we tend to forget about what we need in life and tend to prioritize on things that we want, which may have arisen from trying to fulfill all the expectations that people have on us and us trying to be the person that the expectations shapes us to be.
Amidst all these chaos, we have forgotten about ourselves - About Me. What kind of expectations have we put upon ourselves and have we realised it? Since when does other's expectations of us seems greater than that of our own? Does anybody remember the person that they want to be in the future when they were six or seven? Are you really being true to yourself at the end of the day or worse, when you look at the mirror you don't see yourself anymore.
I know what I want all this while, but am desperately wanting all that I need now to be a better me. I need to feel that urgency and purpose that I never felt before.
I love how utterly cool and flamboyant he appears to be.
He was one of France's infamous music producers who was known for directing musical plays and composing many songs decades ago. Of course, he was most famous for dating Jane Birkin (with whom they had a daughter together)
It's so hard to describe it but I just have a major major boy crush on him =P
I came to The Waterfront, Desa Park City which is only a 3 minute drive away from my place for only one reason - to get ice for the open house. Instead, I saw this huge banner saying that there is a 'once-in-a-month-MPH-sale' in The Waterfront and one event leads to the other - I ended up buying Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. I usually wait for hardcovers to turn into paperbacks (exception : the Harry Potter series) but there was a 10% discount so I just couldn't resist.
So now I'm RM 89 poorer, RM 89 less from the fund I created for a pair of spectacles that I wanted. Just hope that the book will be all worth it, according to my standards. I'm ignoring all the mixed reviews that the book has just now and am gonna indulge myself into it next weekend =)
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Hey guys,
I've officially moved to my old blog: www.xanga.com/purpleeyedmonster
SELAMAT HARI RAYA,EID MUBARRAK AND MAAF ZAHIR & BATIN TO ALL MUSLIMS AROUND THE WORLD!
IT HAS BEEN A GENEROUS YEAR AND I'M GRATEFUL TO ALLAH FOR EVERYTHING THAT HE HAS BESTOWED UPON US.
MAY EVERYONE BE REMINDED OF THE GREATNESS OF THE ALMIGHTY.
Have an awesome time with your family, friends and loved ones and please don't forget those in need =)
PS: I'm so emotional right now - I miss everyone back home. Raya abroad is just so sad without all my loved ones but hopefully it will still be a joyful one.
Have you ever met anyone with the same corak of baju kurung as your's?
I miss the days when Mama buys kain and then we go to the tailor
Close proximity without mask. Hazardous!
Lucky I got out of there in time
First day of the semester break aka Raya holidays. Thanks Myra for being the chauffeur for 2 consecutive years! To my friends abroad, it's not that long till you get to prepare for Raya at home ;)
My favourite Yasmin Ahmad Merdeka tv- ad. Everyone has different ways of showing their love and appreciation towards tanahair, Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan!
I like this song.Maybe because it reminds me of an incident that happened a few months ago - a bit personal to write about it here but let's just say that I'm thankful we didn't give up on us.For all it's worth, at least we know we've tried. Enjoy the song:
Girl im in love with you This ain't the honeymoon Past the infatuation phase Right in the thick of love At times we get sick of love It seems like we argue everyday
I know i misbehaved And you made your mistakes And we both still got room left to grow And though love sometimes hurts I still put you first And we'll make this thing work But I think we should take it slow
We're just ordinary people We don't know which way to go Cause we're ordinary people Maybe we should take it slow This time we'll take it slow
This ain't a movie no No fairy tale conclusion ya'll It gets more confusing everyday Sometimes it's heaven sent Then we head back to hell again We kiss and we make up on the way
I hang up you call We rise and we fall And we feel like just walking away As our love advances We take second chances Though it's not a fantasy I Still want you to stay
We're just ordinary people We don't know which way to go Cause we're ordinary people Maybe we should take it slow This time we'll take it slow
Take it slow Maybe we'll live and learn Maybe we'll crash and burn Maybe you'll stay, maybe you'll leave, maybe you'll return Maybe another fight Maybe we won't survive But maybe we'll grow We never know baby you and I
We're just ordinary people We don't know which way to go Cause we're ordinary people Maybe we should take it slow We're just ordinary people We don't know which way to go Cause we're ordinary people Maybe we should take it slow This time we'll take it slow This time we'll take it slow
As most of you know, I'm quite a fan of 'inspirational movies' and somehow good inspirational movies from the US is always based upon football. You have Remember The Titans as the benchmark and then you have Friday Night Lights the movie which was then made into a series which is not doing so good now (but the quality of the series is just as good and I don't see why its lacking behind). Anyway, the movie introduced me to EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY - a post-rock band from Texas.
They don't need words to express things. They just play it. From the moment I heard the 'friday night lights song' over and above The Coach giving out his speech during half time I was hooked(do you realise that sometimes coaches in movies are the best speakers ;p). After listening to some of their songs, I'm totally in love. Their songs are like novels, you can feel like a story is being told and better - you're the narrator. You get to choose how and what you want the song to be like since it's just good music all the way. I would recommend these albums as a must listen to, especially when you're studying and you need music to keep you alive yet not to the extend of distracting you. My favourite song so far would be 'Your Hand in Mine' . My vocab sucks, so I can't really explain to you what the music sounds like but can only explain what it meant to me. Cheers!
Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Live Forever
I wish I could turn back time to last Saturday evening. I wish I could have been given the chance to explain myself when I said those words to you; I didn’t mean it. I never knew that you took it seriously. If you know me well, it was just me being me. The fact that I said those words to you just means that I like you and maybe that’s just my way of showing some sign of acceptance(and of course.. not in a like like way). I wish I could turn back time just to say how I envy you for being so smart and resourceful – that you can get anything you want in life, your future (Azwan just got 4As in his A- Levels). For being one of the kindest person I’ve met to my sister and to a certain extend – my family. You may not know this but I admire you Azwan.
But what I want more than anything right now is that you, Azwan Ariff be able to recover from your accident and the grueling surgery that you just had. I sincerely hope that you’ll recover Azwan and I hope that everyone who reads this post will also pray for Azwan, my friend.
For you I was the flame, Love is a losing game Five story fire as you came, Love is losing game
One I wish I never played, Oh, what a mess we made And now the final frame, Love is a losing game
Played out by the band, Love is a losing hand More than I could stand, Love is a losing hand
Tho' I battled blind, Love is a fate resigned Memories mar my mind, Love is a fate resigned
Over futile odds, And laughed at by the Gods And now the final frame, Love is a losing game
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Listening to: "I need a miracle" - DJ Skribble
Okay, so here's the deal. About a week ago, upon returning to Melbourne, I made a pact to myself that I am really not going to shop this semester. Of course, not entirely cut on it but to wisely limit my purchases to only necessary items that don't cost too much, you know? In other words, sensible shopping. Anyway, everything seems to be going well - until I randomly decided to check out one of my favorite boutiques, To The Max.
As I first step foot, I realized that most of the stocks were cleared out (I'm guessing whilst I was away for my 3-week holiday) and to make things worse/better (depending how you look at it), the new collection's completely unappealing to me. Good on you, Nabila, I thought to myself. I decided to take a 360-degree look at each rack, trying to find at least something nice around that justifies my 500-metre-walk from my place on a rainy day.
All of a sudden, out of nowhere, I saw them standing nicely on the rack, almost too nicely.Yes, what stood there was a simple piece of short black-and-white-striped dress with metallic zip that runs from the top to bottom of the dress. Oh shit, that's very similar to the one I've seen in a fashion blog during the Milan Fashion Week, only it's navy blue with a different cutting, of course:
And next to it was an oversized 80's-inspired three-quarter top with a small zebra print.
What started out to be an innocent gesture developed into something undoubtedly more serious. I was having second thoughts though - the price would have to be at least $100 for the dress alone, right? I mean, most of their dresses are above $200 and up to $700!
Wrong. I couldn't believe what I saw. Ok, I knew it wasn't going to be THAT expensive since it was a simple summer dress yet $59? I smiled in rejoice!
The next battle was to try it on. Please god please let it fit me. After a slight 'technical' problem, I decided that those two were just perfect for me and how can you defy something like that?
You just don't.
So, I did what any average person in my (by the way, size-9) shoes would've done and got them - well, I truly believe that was sensible shopping - when I take the time and effort to try things on and think it through before buying it, and debating whether the price was reasonable and whether or not they're versatile enough - something I normally don't do all too well.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
After I paid and spoke to the sales girl (somehow she's always around when I buy my stuffs there), I opened my umbrella and headed outside to face the harsh winter rain. The weather sucks, I'm hungry and my flats were completely soaked in water. Amidst all that, I played the chicken dance in my head (something I habitually do when I'm happy) while placing my right hand on the umbrella and the other on the bag.
Had a night out with my friends a few nights ago for Mar's birthday and I must say it was so refreshing to be around them after sooooo long :)
And yes, the food was good (I especially like the Cajun claypot and the fantastic garlic king prawn with the panini bread) and I was so thankful to have worn my blue wool winter coat cause it was cold despite being indoor.Always can count on it in the cruelest winter days :)
Just started blogging on my old xanga blog again: www.purpleeyedmonster.xanga.com, after I completely abandoned it for almost 2 years!
Excuse the old posts that had a lot to do with what happened years back during my college days LOL.Nice memories though!
As of now, I'll be blogging back and forth but I suppose I'll crap more about my indulgences or fashion fantasies in my xanga one just to keep a reputable image of my buddy Afifah by not turning this blog into a fashion frenzy,for example,"things Nabila want but know she will never get".LOL.I suppose blaming the economic crisis for sticking back to my old blog is NOT a better excuse so there you go =P
Oh,and I do hope everyone's still alive and kicking.
Here's to new beginnings and abandoned blogs! Cheers!