Of the KL dUCk and Tun Dr Mahathir

On the remarkable  21^st of November 2015, I attended a dinner celebrating SAMURA’s 3^rd decade. SAMURA is actually an acronym for Sekolah Menengah Sains Muar (Muar Science High School). I was a student there and was one of the 29^th batch students (batch Penebus Maruah).

                                  

Batch 29 SAMURA. Attendance : 13/313. (Shasha wasn't in the picture cause she was our emcee of the night)

But here's a picture with my lovely Shasha. You did great for the emcee baby :*

The best thing about this dinner is that Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was our VVIP for the night. One of the ultimate reason I went for the dinner because I actually wanted to see him right with my own eyes. But not only that I saw him with my eyes, he even stood beside me!!! (A second beside him was stupefying enough for me, it’s Tun M!)  *can’t wait to jump to the climax of my entry here*

For this memorable night, I wished to wear something special for the moment I’d be seeing my idol. It’s really significant for me because this man has given impact not only to my ownself, but to the whole nation, to the Malay people, to our Islamic religion, to our beloved Malaysia and definitely, to the whole world.

  

Therefore, I decided to wear the KL dUCk. dUCk is actually a brand of scarves. dUCk’s printed releases are always the prettiest ever. Basically, the KL dUCk is one of their special printed releases, most importantly is that because it is illustrated with the  beauty of the KL skyline and… of course there is the Petronas Twin Towers!

The KL dUCk box. Picture was taken when I was entering a competition for FashionValet Merdeka Flatlay!

Can hardly see the Petronas Twin Towers T__T only one tower. But nevermind, present to you the KL dUCk (Rear view).

(Front view)

It’s reaaaaaally meaningful for me because the twin towers was inspired by our Former Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohammad. It was a very successful project lead by him. Let me tell you the parts that I love the most about the construction of the twin towers.

Firstly,  the floor layout plan of the towers were originated by Tun himself. Tun wanted a skyscraper for Malaysia because Malaysia was the least famous countries among the five Southeast Asean countries that time (Year 1992/3). He wanted a skyscraper that looks ‘Malaysia’, but how do you actually design a skyscraper that looks ‘Malaysia’? So he drew an image of interlocking squares that represents order and harmony in Islamic culture. After that, the design was further developed by the architect, César Pelli, where he added in semicircular scallops located at every corner of the original floor plan by Tun M. And there it is, a brilliant fundamental design that results in such fascinating twin towers!

Design development of the Petronas Twin Towers' floor layout plan. The first one was by Tun M (Photo credit to : http://shu1229.blogspot.my/2010_11_01_archive.html)

Second, two project managers were involved in the building of each tower. They were actually competing for who’s gonna finish their tower first. It was a very brilliant idea that this competition encourages the project managers to not take time for granted. They work hard 7 days, 24 hours a week with heavy workloads everyday.

Third, this project managed to finish on time! All the stakeholders’ hardworks really paid off! (which is one of the most important element for a success of construction project)

And now, Malaysia still holds the record of being a country with the highest twin towers in the world. It’d not had happened if it wasn’t for the brain and spirit of our beloved Tun M. He’s such a ineffable Malay man.

As a girl dipping in the construction world seeking for passion, I have been very inspired with the construction of skyscrapers and rail sectors especially. In my opinion, these two sectors include one of many reasons that benefit one’s country as they result to a more well-known and economically well-developed country. Skyscrapers are non other than that it represents  a country’s status in the world as it goes higher, reaching the skyline of one’s city. Whilst rail sectors make people more productive! I went to Japan and I’ve always most impressed with their public transportations especially the bullet train! If we have bullet train in Malaysia, we could be more productive because it moves fastttt that we can reach our destination quicker and we can also do our computer work while on our way to a particular meeting because it’s so convenience and comfortable inside! Getting to save time, money and energy to-and-fro for a long journey meeting location would be very economical right?

Don’t worry, as a future Quantity Surveyor, I’ll make sure that dreams don’t just remain dreams. “Pelopor kepada kemajuan pembangunan.” As the lyric goes in my SAMURA school song :) #feelingmotivated

 

Back to the dinner thing, I was in awe the whole time he gave us his speech about ‘Knowledge’. Like a facepalm, I never thought that an amazing man like him once felt what I have also felt throughout my learning days. The most unforgettable part of his speech was when he said, “When I was in the Medicine College, I got only 3As over 8 subjects in exam. I was the worst among my friends who most of them obtained 6,7,8As over 8 subjects. All my friends teased me for getting bad result. I know I need to do something to reach higher, so I work harder. I put more effort. I read the Pathology book for 10-15 times. I kept on reading and reading and reading, non-stop. Eventually when I was in the next exam, I got to remember which page of the book was that answer, and also the images in the book vividly appeared in my memory. As a result, I obtained the same result with those who got 6,7,8As.” 

I almost teared in happiness listening to his speech, was so touched and happy as well. Like a father-to-daughter advice, he gave me a bundle of joy and spirit without him realizing it. I always feel down in this kind of issue, where I’m not as smart as my friends are, so I know I need to work hard. But sometimes, I feel so stupid. I always ask myself, “Am I the stupidest? Why don’t they work hard also like me? Am I the only one who thinks that this subject is hard? Why do they take it easy? Do they understand this already? Why can’t I understand this if I don’t study?” I acknowledged that everyone has their talents and limitations. It’s just frequently I feel down and low-spirited. But as I remind myself to this part of Tun M’s speech, if you know you need to work hard, just work hard. “Belajar rajin-rajin,” kata Tun M. Thank you Tun for giving me motivations back. I need it so much T__T You are forever an inspiration.

So, I managed to get a selfie with him! Like always, at first I almost gave up in doing things. Even in taking picture with celebrities. I was once disappointed because I couldn’t get to take picture with Dato’ CT during the simplicity meet ‘n’ greet session because the security guards were annoying. But yesterday it’s unexpected that Allah gave me a chance to have a picture with Tun M instead, an idol to Dato’ CT herself! Hahaha. He almost got into his car, but my friend, Jiha said, “Go Rah, just go.” The crowd became lesser, I walked towards him slowly without pushing anyone, I said, “Tun, boleh tunggu kejap tak…” 


I think only my voice was heard because it was suddenly quite sileeent that time, or maybe it’s Allah who made everyone quiet hehe. And Tun M just smiled at me!! He looked at me like ‘Oh kesian budak ni, takpa saya berdiri je dekat sini.’ Senyuman macam senyuman atok kepada cucunya. Awwwhh. Then I stood right beside him and we took a duofie! My best achievement of the year! I had a duofie with a person who gave the best for Malaysia and I wishhhh I could be one of the young generations who will give the best to Malaysia and the world too! I wisshhh I could do lots of amazing things for our nation, religion and country just like how you did, Tun M!  :’)

  It was a great night indeed. Thank you Allah (swt) <3

Not pro enough

First of all, to be very honest with you, I'm not the kind of girl who actively involves in outdoor activities. Instead I'm the type that "You don't ask me to do any activities. I'm such a boring person." You ask me, rock climbing? Never do. bungee jumping? How to spell 'bungy' again? Marathon? Oh, I won a marathon 3 years ago, urm, 4 km? hiking? I have tonnes of courseworks due, exam is coming in two weeks. ice skating? Hmm, you better save that 25 MYR ice-skating fee for  for your car petrol to-and-fro to uni please. Many other things can be done with 25MYR.  

Hahaha no lah, I'm not that bad actually.

I have always interested to try new things in life. Actually if I have people who kind of force me, arrange those activities together with me, and I'll be free on that time you asked me to go for outdoor fun, I'd definitely say yes! It's not that I'm lazy actually, sometimes my energy, time and money don't allow me to do so. Seriously. 

So today, I did kayak! I knew it'd be fun, so I tried! After 2015-2007= hmmm 8 years since the last time I dealt with the paddle. That paddle! Ah, never listen to me last time. It's when I was at Standard 6, you know, the camping for UPSR thingy, at Tasek Utara, aktiviti merentas halangan and all,that was my last experience with kayak. I took the ONLY single boat, and my boat was far from everyone else, moved to the very edge of the lake, just because I couldn't control the paddle well. So embarassing.

But never mind, after 8 years, I am a pro already! (Hm, not really. Still got panicked and get lost to the edge of lake. I was about to win. Sigh)

We had a kayak competition today, organized by the HWUM Outbond Club. I had Arfah, Zindh and Retri with me in a team. We have one mission which was ; NOT TO TOPPLE. We all are not pro enough in kayak, some of us are just like me, did once like 10 years ago. Today we're gonna kayak-ing seriously, in a competition. Can you imagine how could we look like?  "Just don't topple, guys."  That was how we motivated each other.

Pre-kayaking faces of the #letsnottopple squad. So, who's going to topple?

"You can do it, Arfah!"

Nice view to kayak-ing. Just near my university. :)

After a few hours of playing, none of us toppled! We did well and made it to semi-final for single game! We even got the 4th place (not bad for a beginner, right?). But it was funny all the way in the activity. None of us toppled, but yes, other participants in another team did topple. Basically, a player toppled at the beginning, and even the finalists toppled when they're making a turn to go back to finishing line (even pros did topple, makes me realize that even the best also do mistakes). 

 It was funnnnnnn to see all the teams kayak-ing. They played like they don't have any problems in mind. Just like us too. Outdoor activities make us so so so happy (despite all the assignments, exams). Today, I got to learn that even if you don't know how to do something, how scared you are in start doing it, don't give yourself up. Get out of your comfort zone. You know you WANT to do it. You know you will be happy if you do it. Those negative feelings are just a challenge for you. Success aren't delightful enough without challenges. 

I almost gave up, you know. Thank God I didn't. Eventually, I felt so satisfied and happy, all of us did.  

So, here we are, #letsnottopple squad who didn't topple. We made it !

Now, let's deal with the sunburnt...

It's the first!

Helloooo! Today I decided to officially initiate my new blog. Pardon me, this blog is still empty. It has been quite long since I decided to restart a new blog as the previous blog is so last time already. It’s even embarrassing for me to re-read those stories again. But there were wonderful stories too! My high school friends were amazing but I think they’d probably be shy too if somebody out there who read about how funny (and naughty) they were back then. I was so young when I started writing on blog, a very young and quite immatured version of me (but that’s what made me for who I am now, don’t be scared of history, Nadzirah). 

On a side note, some stories are meant to be written, because it needed to be forgotten (If you read the very last post of my old blog. Memories guys hahaha I’m a better person now inshaaAllah). 

Me today ;)

Now that I’m a grown-up (oh really, is 20 a grown-up?), I’ve realized that some memories, both good and bad ones, should not be taken for granted. So many wondeful things have happened in my life mashaaAllah, and I really wanted to write them down like the moments with my beloved family, sister, university friends, high school friends, my interests, challenges I’ve faced, aaaah so many stories I’ve missed to write down guys! I might have forgotten the bad stories too, I feel bad, because you know, we have to remember the bad history in order for us to not repeat them again. But nevermind, start now!

So back to main topic. Today is a special and historical date of my life (too) as my blog will have a birthday which is 10.11.2015. There are a number of special reasons why I chose this date :

 

1.       10.11 - Just the opposite numbers of my birthday (11.10) heee.

2.       2015 - This year has been amazing for me. Probably the best year of my life (told ya, you all missed out many stories hahaha). But sokay cause I will post a special entry, about my 2015!

3.      10 – I have always waited for the 10^th month every year, October. It’s not only my birthday but also the birthdays of many of my beloved friends too.

4.    I need to start this before turning 21. 20 is a nice number to start. Say in the next 10 years, you'll just have to say 'At the age of 20, I started all this...so 30-20, oh it's 10 years already!' I mean, it's easy for me to calculate how old this blog is later hehe. 

5.     They say, value the life you have now. So, I need to write those events down, for me to remember, keep it safely, at least here.

6.      I love writing. 

7.     Writing is the best medicine, at least for me.

8.     Sometimes it’s hard for me to express feelings verbally, so I better write them.

9.    Twitter also limit words to write long-long one, and Facebook is too public.

10.  I don’t have to write long caption on Instagram, no more. (Some people don’t read it, but I hope most of them do hehe)

p.s : All the words ‘Write’ I used are literally ‘Type’. You know, I don’t write it guys, I type it. Hee.

See ya on future posts! xx