2007

Exactly a year ago, I was busy packing and trying to walk on my twisted ankle after having missed a step on the stairs on Christmas, praying that I will be well enough for my flight the next day. Miraculously, I was able to walk and my 2007 started off at the airport, wondering if I could survive being overseas on my own for the very first time. On hindsight, I need not have worried, for perhaps I was meant all along to be overseas. No culture shock, no homesickness, I felt right at home.

In any case, 2007 has been unexpectedly a fantastic (fantastic being an understatement) year of firsts and wonderful experiences. 2007 was the year that I went for exchange in France, learnt that I can actually cook, visited 28 European cities, made friends from all over the world, spent my birthday in Versailles, obtained a Diplôme de Français des Affaires avec un mention très bien, lugged over 45 kg of things alone over 2 flights, did an internship, got published with my own byline, went to Brunei where I stayed in a 5* hotel and felt like a princess, appeared on national TV, learnt a new language, got my very own workstation and a perfect term score, among other firsts. Of course, there were downs but there were definitely more ups than downs. How can I ever thank my friends and family for always being there for me, for those long-distance calls, conference calls, chats in the twilight zone, MSN chats and sms-es? Reminiscing about the entire year leaves me feeling extremely blessed and for that I am constantly grateful to God for being so kind to me.

2007 has been such a great year that I hope 2008 will be as good, if not better. Yet I know that 2008 could possibly be a difficult and unpredictable year for it is the year when I graduate, insya-Allah, and yet, my post-graduate plans are still hazy. Nonetheless, what would life be without its unexpected twists and turns? Perhaps I would fall in love, get a job, go overseas, further my studies, learn another new language, all of which do not necessarily have to be in that order. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

That said, have a great 2008! :)

Waiting

- Eiffel Tower, Paris -

"What if I end up an old maid? We all assume we are going to meet someone, but what if we don't? What if I end up a bitter old lady who sits on a brown sofa stroking my spoilt cat which I feed fresh prawns? Or I start pushing around small yappy dogs in a pram because I never had children and went completely potty? That could be me in years to come. It's that 'What am I doing, where am I going?' question which quietly nags me during the day but screams at me at night."

- Katie in Look the World in the Eye

Holidays

Was out yesterday night to take photos of the Xmas lights in town. Among other news, I have been pretty much bumming at home, thanks to the rainy weather. Many thanks as well to my library books, Arabic and photo processing for keeping me occupied these holidays, all in all a huge difference from my previous holiday.

500th Post

- Return of the Baby Monster -

Exam Week!

- Nice, France, Winter 2007 -

Exams are finally here and what better way to make oneself feel better than to change the look of one's desktop. :) 1 down, 2 more to go!

Please pray for me!

Currently Feeling Pensive

- Lyn's Wedding, July 2007 -

Tu dimmi quando, quando
non guardarmi adesso amore
sono stanca
perché penso al futuro.
Tu dimmi quando, quando
siamo angeli
che cercano un sorriso
non nascondere il tuo viso
perché ho sete, ho sete ancora.

- Quando, Laura Pausini

You Know Your Life is Sad When...

You completely understand and worse, empathize with jokes like this:


3-4 more weeks to Submission of Final Papers,
5 more weeks to Exam Week,
6 more weeks to Holidays,
i.e. do what I've been doing this whole term without feeling guilty about it. :D

Salam Aidil Fitri :)

Last Day

- Venice, Italy -

The last day of Ramadhan is here; time flies so fast and before you know it, yours truly will be graduating come May 2008. My post-grad plans are still fuzzy but looking at PhD Comics comforts me that I will not be alone. (Some of the topics they touch on are so close to the heart that you can't help but laugh at yourself!)

In any case, 1 week of midterm break would end tomorrow and as usual, the procrastinator in me would have done nothing by then. My gazillion readings are a-waiting; what will happen to my mid-term assignment and exam studying? At least I can finally see my floor and my table after extensive cleaning, wiping and vacuuming for 5 hours. It is still not as clean as I would have wanted it to be but in dire times like these, I'll take anything.

Montmartre, Paris

- Birds of a feather flock together -

I'm still wondering if I should upload these photos on my currently inactive France's blog or here. What do you guys think?

On another note, it's midterm break! Even then, I have assignments to do, a test and a midterm to study for, long overdue articles and reports to write. :(

io canto
le mani in tasca e canto
la voce in festa e canto
la banda in testa e canto
corro nel vento e canto
la vita intera e canto
la primavera e canto
l'ultima sera e canto io
per chi mi ascoltera`
voglio cantare
sempre cantare

- Io Canto, Laura Pausini

I Miss

Nice, France, 2007.

I miss France.

I miss speaking in French.

I miss waking up 30 minutes before class starts and still be on time for it.

I miss the 15 minutes' walk to school. I miss walking in the cold.

I miss wearing winter clothes. I miss having a reason to wear them.

I miss cooking. I miss my cooking. I miss cooking for other people. I miss cooking for myself. I miss taking photos of the food that I cook.

I miss grocery shopping at Carrefour. I miss taking the bus to Carrefour. I miss the 10 minutes' bus ride to Carrefour. I miss running for the bus with my heavy groceries that usually weigh at least 7 to 12 kg. I miss the 25 minutes' walk from the bus stop to my hostel, stopping at times because the groceries were too heavy.

I miss taking bus no. 4 to town. I miss taking bus no. 4 to the train station. I miss taking bus no. 4 to buy chicken from the halal boucherie. I miss making mistakes with the change and have them return me the extra change I'm always giving them.

I miss my hostel neighbours. I miss my classmates. I miss my classes. I miss my teachers. I miss my friends. I miss chatting with them in their rooms.

I miss having to go to school, do school work, do group projects, do my laundry, cook, grocery shop, clean my room, have at least 7 hours of sleep a day and still have the time to travel.

I miss not having to worry about grades but still get good grades anyway.

I miss taking photos of everything.

I miss the beautiful sunset I see every evening from my hostel window. I miss looking at the sky which never seemed to end from my hostel window. I miss taking photos of it.

I miss my bed. I miss snuggling under my comforter because the central heater was not working properly. I miss having to collect new sheets every 15 days and change them. I miss the cheery orange pillow cover that I bought for 2 euros.

I miss everyone who has been nice to me one way or another.

I miss France.

I've never missed being here a single day I was there.

You Know You're Graduating When...

You receive "designer" invitation cards to talks and job applications - got one in the mail today from Citibank. MAP seems to be the in-thing for companies nowadays; even the civil service has one.

"Hi, I'm Siti and I'm working at Citibank." Haha.

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Catch me and my lovely friends on Arts Central, 17 Sept, 10 pm.

Ramadhan Mubarak

Here it comes yet again,
A month of devotion and reflection;
Will we pass the tests and earn our gain?
Or fail to even grasp the notion?

-----

School

I have been trying to improve my photo-taking skills of people, simply because I'm terrible in people-photography. It's difficult to capture the naturalness, for the lack of a better word, of people on camera. It's even harder to do it with a point-and-shoot digital camera. Thank goodness for lovely friends who are sporting enough to pose for you in your school campus. :)

Life

Jame'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque

Tomorrow will mark the beginning of my 3rd week of school. Many would know that I missed my first week for some filming in Brunei, so I've only been in school officially for a week. People warned me that there would be nothing to do or see in Brunei - shops close early, there's no nightlife and that Bruneians are generally boring people. With such low expectations, how could their wonderful hospitability, beautiful mosques and eating places that close at 1 am not be a pleasant surprise? Perhaps it's me or perhaps it's the idea of being overseas that makes me feel blessed no matter the circumstances. I was blessed to have the opportunity to be a guest in such a homely country and to have the experience of being a part of the media industry. More friendships were forged in yet another foreign country. Even then, one thing that I regretted would be that I didn't get the time and chance to enter their grand mosques and take more architectural photos.

Life has to go on, as usual, with my readings of which their thickness can be measured by the inches, learning a new language - Italian, and my long overdue internship and community service reports. Not forgetting the 2 articles I owe my editor! Well, let's hope I clear my backlog of work and get through this semester, alive and well.

A presto,
Syuhada. :)

Back!

Hello hello,

My blog is finally back up! Didn't know what exactly happened to it but all my posts no longer appear.. had to redo the template! Let's see if I've the tenacity to upkeep this blog..

On other news, out of my 13Gb of photos (not incl. videos) taken during exchange, I've only managed to process 3 Gb! Not sure how I'm going to do the rest but let's hope I do it before I leave for Brunei... :P

Take care! :)

2007

Heading to Rouen via Doha and Paris in about 9 hours to kick off the new year, hence it's only befitting that I start the new year with a blog specially for my exchange in France. Do visit http://syuhada-in-france.blogspot.com .. will still update this blog from time to time though.

2006 has been a year full of ups and downs, firsts and lasts (hopefully), wonderful experiences and great friends as well as family; I pray 2007 will bring joy and satisfaction for everyone. (World peace would be a plus. ;))

That said, Have a great year ahead. :)

Till the next time,
Syuhada.