Goodbye 2012!

Wow, I've been away from here for quite some time, no? Yeah, been busy with life and work and stuff.

But I've told myself to make some time to write something on the last day of 2012. So, here I am, pressing my keyboard, writing another typical nonsense unworthy to be read by whoever happens to came or stumble upon my blog. 

Well, we're reached the end of the road for 2012. Looking back at it, I've been through a lot quite frankly. Some ups and downs, tears and laughter. Same old routine for the past 28 years I've been living on planet Earth. The only difference is the cause of those ups and downs and tears and laughter. But that's just how the world works actually. 

So what have I achieved for 2012? The first thing I crossed on my my to-do list for 2012, which is the only thing I've set earlier this year, and the year before that, and the year before that, is to graduate on time. Ha ha. I myself found this funny. Although I've been trying and trying and trying to earn that piece of paper that supposedly meant to justify one's ability for the past 10 freaking years! Yes, 10 freaking years! But, what makes it meaningful to me is that, the smile on my parent's face when I went on stage, shake that guy's hand, took my certs and walk back to my seat. Of course I didn't see their face, but I can tell. I'm sure most of you felt the same way too. Other things that I got are merely bonuses for me.

So what have I lost? Well, since I've graduated, I lost the time of being a student. God, student life sure is the best time in my life. That's why it took me 10 years to get my degree. Haha. Formal classes and lectures and what not, I do miss those things despite all the piling pressure of workloads and assignments and presentations, yes. But I miss the time spent with my friends even more. Going places, doing this and that, go crazy, get busted, or something. Because now most of us are miles apart. Even if we're close, we still got our own matters to attend to. Plus, the situation has changed and so are our responsibilities either towards ourselves or others. Just part of the cycle of life.

All in all, 2012 was (despite still having 20 more hours before officially entering 2013) a great year for me. Wouldn't trade it for anything else. Too priceless, too meaningful. Well, I guess that's all for now. I wanted to write more but I think this will suffice for the time being. So 2012, thank you for all the memories. With this, I bid you farewell...

Translate Translating Translator Translation.

I'll be entering the fourth month now, working as a freelance translator for a company. So far, I think the job suits me well. Not much hassle to deal with. Working at home, on my own time, as long as the assignment is submitted before the deadline. But even if I can't make it before the deadline, I only need to send an e-mail, informing and requesting for an extension from the company.

Basically my job is to prepare the Malay subtitle for a half hour or one hour English variety show, series or documentary. The company will give me the assignments and I have to download the videos and scripts to help me out in performing the translation and type the subtitles using an application specifically made by the company.

Performing translation is not as easy as it seems. Especially when your language ability, in my case, Malay and English, is not at par in terms for word choice. I admit, I have a very limited vocabulary for Malay compared to English. It's a shame, isn't it? To master foreign language more compared to your own mother tongue. But through this job, I somehow able to improve my Malay words capacity.

Where do I refer to when I'm stuck or have no clue of the meaning of the words? There are a few sites that I'm very fond of. For Malay language, of course Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. This link to be exact, http://prpm.dbp.gov.my/. I only knew about this site after I started working. Suggested by the company. A very useful site because I don't think there are any other site than can provide a more accurate translation in Malay other than this. But there are still a few English words that have no Malay translation. Therefore, I will give y own meaning in which way I see fit.

Next is http://urbandictionary.com/. I discover about this site after reading The Prodigal Tongue by Mark Abley. Very informative. Bought for only RM8 during Big Bad Wolf Book Fair last year. Here, you can find almost every slang or terms used by people on the streets. Because the definition is made by us. People can submit any word with their own definition. Pretty much like Wikipedia but better because they actually have staffs to check whether the definition is valid and can be published. I refer to this site when translating shows in British English or Australian English or street slangs for drugs or people. For example, in a show that I recently translated, the casts are British and in a scene, he said, "That is rank!" after tasting his cooking. For your information, the word "rank" actually means "disgusting." Odd, isn't it?

For a quick option of words that carries the same meaning, I'll go to http://thesaurus.com/. Sometimes it's hard to give the exact Malay translation for an English word. The use of synonyms is probably the best way, from my point of view. Plus, it'll help a lot when the word belongs to more than one word class. I'll cross check the words between these sites to gain a more accurate translation and ensure that mistranslation does not occur.

The pay check. The most important thing looked upon in accepting a job offer. Primary numero uno! What I can say is that the pay suits the job, which is as a freelancer. So, yes. I'm still looking for a job. A steady job with a steady income. As for this job I'm currently doing, it is merely a side job while I'm still in search for a real job. But if I can't find any, maybe I'll ask to be an in house staff for the company. Working as a translator and editor. Anyway, let's see how it goes. Only time will tell, right?

Rains of life.

It's raining out there. Along with thunders and lightnings. Though not too loud nor too bright. I can barely remember the last time the clouds shed its tears of blessing upon this land. Looking at the falling rains in the darkest of night, I felt calm. Yes, a feeling forgotten for quite a while now. All the things that has been coming towards me lately somehow had made me feel dejected and lost within the darkness of my own creation.

But here I am, sitting at my window. Alone. Staring at the rains with nothing running through my head. Such a soothing feeling. Such a missed feeling. As if all the unpleasant things had been swept away by the pouring rains. I know it won't last forever. But for now, I'll enjoy it. I'll enjoy it as much I can. For the rains has brought me life tonight. Even just for a moment.

Blogger New Interface.

It seems that Blogger has activated its new interface. Yeay? Well, I'm not so sure about that. Frankly saying, I'd prefer the old one. Because I'm used to it. LOL. It's not that I don't like the changes. It's just that I don't want to spend extra time trying to understand it. I've already had my hands full with all the work piling up every single day. Although I'm only freelancing but I work in longer hours than normal people. I'll tell you about it some other times. 

Anyway, I don't really have much to say about this new interface. Like I said, I've yet to browse through it thoroughly. And it would take me quite some time to fully understand it. But what the hassle anyway, it's not like I've fully understood the old one. LOL. 

Okay, now I'm out of ideas. Got nothing much to write this early in the morning actually. Just filling some time while waiting for the video files for my work to finish downloading. Well, I got to go. I'll post something else once my brain can produce something or anything to say about something or anything that probably would interest somebody or nobody. LOL. Till we meet again, fellow readers of the virtual world. Bye.

Marriage.

“Marriage is a bond performed between a man and a woman (or women) as a symbol of their love towards each other.”

I think most people will agree with this statement. But I’m not so sure about the part in the bracket though. Especially by women. Haha. Anyway, putting that aside, it is what we, normal human beings, with a perfectly healthy and sane mind, have waited so long for. Yes, I’m no different than you guys and girls out there. I’m normal, okay. I want to get married just like everybody else. And just like you, I have my own opinion about marriage. My knowledge upon this matter is very small and shallow. It is only based on my experience and the experience of others around me. So, in this post I’ll share my understanding of it with you folks out there because as they say, sharing is caring, right? Well, not really actually. Some things are allowed to be shared with others but there are certain things that we have to keep it to ourselves. It is what we called ‘privacy’. And it doesn't mean that we don't care about other people, it just shows that we care about ourselves more.

Now, when we reach a certain level in terms of age, our family, our friends and those around us will begin to ask the 1 million dollar question that they’ve been longing to blurt out.

“When are you going to get married?”

Yeah, I’m pretty sure you are familiar with this question either from your own experience or from others’. Some even hate this question and reply with a rather common question.

“Don’t you have any other question to ask?”

I don’t deny that I’ve been asked that question in quite a number of times mostly by my friends. I neither hate it nor do I enjoy it. But usually I will reply with a completely short, precise, sweet, polite, understandable and straight to the point answer.

“When the time comes.”

Yes, when the time comes, I’ll ask the queen of my heart, for her hand in marriage because to me, marriage is not a child’s play. It is not something that you can simply do just to gain experiences or because people want you to get married or because you can’t stand people asking that 1 million dollar question. No, that should not be the reason for your marriage. Marriage is a bond between a man and a woman as mentioned in the statement earlier. Moreover, it is a responsibility.

The life as a married person is way different compared to being single. A lot of thoughts need to be put into it before deciding whether to get married or not because personally, what marriage means to me is not the big and long awaited day WHEN the knot is tied but rather what you have to do AFTER the knot is tied. Being a man, the obligations and responsibilities are far greater. Towards yourself, your wife, family from both sides and all other things.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that marriage is a burden. But rather something that people should look forward to. This is purely a personal opinion. I'm merely projecting my thoughts. Because I know, I'm not yet ready for marriage life. But I’m preparing for it, taking one step at a time, slowly but surely.

The road to joy and happiness is never easy. It will surely be bumpy with all the holes and hurdles. It always has and always will. But the difference of it is that once you are married, you have someone to support you, to care for you, to help you get through all the obstacles and challenges in life. What else can be more joyful and meaningful than having someone to share your life with? Yes, your soulmate, your other half, your knight in shining armour or your queen in glittering gown.

Marriage is a wonderful thing. Many strive for it, but not all succeeded. If you are given the chance to receive such blessed gift, take it. But only if you are ready. When will we be ready?

When the time comes...

I walk and walk and walk.

I walk and walk and walk.

And walk and walk and walk.

With nothing in my head.

With nothing in my heart.

I walk and walk and walk.

As I walk and walk and walk.

And walk and walk and walk.

Suddenly, I stop.

I stop and I stand still.

I wonder why I stop.

I look to my right.

Nothing there.

I look to my left.

Nothing there.

So I walk and walk and walk.

And walk and walk and walk.

Selamat Hari Raya

Di kesempatan ini, aku nak ucapkan,

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI

MAAF ZAHIR DAN BATIN

=D

Inspired by Pandelela.

In celebrating our nation's first female Olympic medal winner (Bronze), Pandelela Rinong (10m platform event), I give you Stunt Dive. An exciting diving game where you can perform tricks and score points. I've been playing it for a while now. It is fun and the music sounds so cool. My highest was only around 650 points. About half the points that some players earned. You can check the rankings. Lol. Give it a try. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. And congratulation to Team MALAYSIA for the success that they've achieved in the London 2012 Olympic Games.

MALAYSIA BOLEH!

Women Football (or Soccer)

Football is no longer a man's game. The emergence of female football team has somehow provide a fresh spark to the most entertaining game in the world. I'm no experts on football and I'm not much of a player either. But I do enjoy watching it.

Just finished watching the women semi final football match of the Olympic between France and Japan. I never watched a full women football match. And for this match, I only watched the second half. Out of boredom to be honest. But to my surprise, the game was actually good. Especially, France. They we're trailing 1-0 at the interval and Japan doubled their lead with a fine header from a set piece a few minutes after the start of the second half.

But after that, they basically controlled the ball. Performing numerous attempts towards the goal and finally able to get 1 goal to put them back into the game. They manage to get a penalty but the player who took the penalty sent the ball wide at the left post although the Japanese goalkeeper already went the other way. The match ended with Japan winning the match with 2-1.

Seeing this match has definitely provide me with new insights. It is different than football played by men. There aren't much power when they blast the ball, or speed when they chase or run with the ball. But they do have skills.

Earlier, I saw one of the French player dribbling the ball, did a spin while being surrounded by 3 Japanese players and she manage to get away with the ball. I was like, Whoa!!. Never thought that a woman can do that. Lol. But I guess it is to be expected since they're playing at an international level. The set pieces were good too. Should have gotten a few goals from it. It's a pity that they lost. Anyway, next up is Canada versus USA. I think I'm going to watch the full match. Let see if there are any more surprises for me.

France Olympic Team. That No.2 is freakingly tall. :p

AI am Noob!

Been playing with Adobe Illustrator tonight. Googled for some vectors. Add up a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Mix and match, twist and turn, and made this..

Took me around 1/2 hour to actually finish this. I'm such a noob in AI. Noob! Noob! Noob! Haha..Anyway, happy fasting to all Muslim out there. May this holy month brings joy and blessing to all.

Grim

Day by day,

night by night.

Solemn creeps,

and sorrow frights.

Darkness shone,

not once nor twice.

To bits and pieces,

coal and ice.

Brilliant bright,

aglow no more.

Grims the soul,

battered and sore.

"I'm back" (pronounced 'Terminator' style only without the 'be')

It's been a very loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time since the last time I wrote anything here. Like 3 months or so, right? What's with the long hiatus? Simple, I'm too lazy to write. Plus, I prefer wasting my time on other less beneficial activities. Why now? Because I don't want to go back to sleep after 'Solat Subuh' and all the less beneficial activities I've been doing seem even less beneficial than updating my blog.

Entering the third academic week in my final semester of my final year in UPM, the assignment keeps on piling up. My To-Do list will, for sure, be getting longer and longer in the coming weeks. My number 1 priority, Final Year Project. Despite supposedly being the most important thing for me to successfully graduate, I'm way behind schedule on my FYP. Entering the second phase for the project, I'm 3 chapters behind and I got nothing to show to my supervisor in our next meeting. Hopefully I'll have something for her to babble on by the end of this week. Well, I guess I better start cracking my head straight away.