This lil’ teddy bear has also graduated with a Masters degree =P
Today, I had my graduation ceremony and finally received my Masters degree, alhamdulillah. ^^
It was nice catching up with everyone and seeing my friends, most who had gone back to their home country after completing their studies. A couple of the Chinese girls, who were studying in the same program as mine, flew all the way from China for the graduation ceremony. I saw many of my Indonesian friends as well.
I missed my Changsha friend, though. She would have been at the graduation ceremony today if she decided not to go to Berlin, Germany to study advertising in a more in-depth level. *sigh*
Interestingly, I talked to some people that I had never talked to before. It always happens when I’m waiting in a line for something xD I usually end up making friends. =P
Since I’m in Australia, teddy bears are not the only ones that receive attention. Koala bears do too!
A teddy bear and koala bear in their graduation gown
Koala bears have koalifications as well (I should place the second pic. in my CV =P)
Listen to the koala bear… =P
True that!
The special speech by a journalist that was presented today was pretty interesting. It was more about how our generation is going to face a lot obstacles in the next few years because everything around us is changing at a very fast pace unlike before, or in comparison to what the previous generations had to experience. Thanks for showing us the “reality” of things. He discussed the economy and the political situation of today’s time in addition to mentioning the “middle class” and the elite. I clearly knew what he wanted to say.
Furthermore, he kept emphasizing on the following three words: risk, chaos, and uncertainty. It’s true that we might have to adapt ourselves to changing times or may be forced to accept what is to come ahead, but we can’t forget to have faith in God no matter how tough it is. If people do, then they will lose themselves in this world. Rather than accepting what is to come, why not work on trying to establish justice?
So, another graduation has gone by. I still feel like my high school and my undergrad. graduation will be the most memorable…particularly the latter. There was something special about them. I’m guessing it’s ’cause I spent four years of high school and four years of undergrad., which is much longer in comparison to one year of graduate school.
All that matters now, is that I’m done with my studies, alhamdulillah!
I’ll reply to all comments soon, iA. I’ve just been really busy lately. I’m kind of sleepy right now too, but I want to watch an episode of Rooftop Prince before going to sleep. I’m on Episode 10 at the moment. ^^
Madelineused to be one of my favorite cartoons to watch every afternoon after coming back from school. This was back in the 90′s! xD I loved the opening for the cartoon. <3
Madelinewas one of the reasons I had always wanted to visit Paris =P I eventually did in 2009, alhamdulillah. ^^
I feel like I could relate to Madeline and her opening song since she is petite too. ^^’
The following picture is of a newsletter that I had made for the Pakistani society at my undergrad. university. Working with this committee on events, preparing for the big performance, and being with my wonderful friends was perhaps the best part of my uni. life. So much has changed after grad… I am the farthest away from all of my friends. Even though I had the opportunity to meet up with my friends and some of my ex-committee members in January this year, I just wish there was more time to catch up and talk about life.
I still can’t believe that it has been almost two years already since graduating from my undergrad. Everyone goes their separate ways in life, but there’s not a day that goes by where I remember all the great times that I’ve had with the people that I was once with.
I’m really thankful to everyone that supported me during the elections and throughout my Senior year of when I was the Media Coordinator. It was tough due to the drama that came along during the campaign week and the fact that there were many expectations, but having the position that I ran for was definitely worth it!
As for the friends that were there for me, especially in the last two years of my uni. life…you girls are my angels! <3 I just wish that I wasn’t so far away from all of you in this land of kangaroos and koala bears =P
P.S. My picture is on the second left-hand side of the bottom row and is next to the title “Media Coordinator” in the above photo ^^ (there was only one other girl in this committee, who had left in the middle of the year, so it’s easy to spot me! =P)
At the beginning of this month, one of my close friends that I made in Sydney last year left for good. She has been in Changsha for the past few weeks and is now in Guangzhou for a short trip. She’ll be in Thailand by the end of this week, iA.
We have been keeping in touch on WhatsApp and she has sent me some wonderful pics. of her life in Changsha. The first pic. of course were of her plushies and presents that her parents had set up in her room. It had been one year and three months since she saw her parents and because she missed out spending time with them on the Chinese New Year, her parents gave her extra gifts. ^^ Her room is really cute!
A few days back my friend had also sent me a pic. of a place where one can get “Happy Lemon”, which is a drink that includes lemon in it. However, what really touched me most was the photo that she tagged me in on RenRen and the message for me underneath it.
I wish she could have stayed here longer. I miss her too!
Facebook Caption: “New Year at ___ =P No fancy dress or glamorous look to celebrate the occasion…just a hoodie and pair of jeans for the cold. That’s how I roll.”
Yes, I’ve been rollin’ ever since xD On a serious note, this picture was taken right after New Year’s Eve. The fireworks display that happens at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai can be seen all the way from my campus, so my friend and I decided to stay back at uni. to see it.
My uni. is widely known for its architecture. The Sheikh (Ruler) of the Emirate, who is also the founder of the university, has a fascination with domes, so almost every building on campus has a dome on it. The campus is really beautiful…something that I miss apart from the uni. life.
Last night I watched a wonderful documentary called When the Moors Ruled in Europe. The documentary discusses the major aspects of Islamic Spain and the Golden Age of Islam, which was present in Al-Andalus, also known as, Andalusia. To be more specific, Andalusia is the southern part of Spain in which Islam flourished for several years (711 – 1492 A.D.).
I have traveled to Spain in the Summer of 2009 and visited the cities of Madrid, Seville, Granada and Cordoba. Seville, Granada, and Cordoba happen to be part of Andalusia/Southern Spain and are absolutely breath-taking! The pictures that I’ve placed here in this post clearly do no justice. Since I had studied the history of Spain and learned about Andalusia in my high school history class, it was very interesting to see those places in real life.
Interestingly, much of the architecture that is present throughout Spain is Islamic architecture. So, even if one is not visiting the southern part of Spain, he/she will still see some influence of Islamic architecture in Madrid or elsewhere in the country.
Plaza de Espana, Seville, Spain
It is amusing to know that even video game companies send their staff to several countries to study the architecture of those places and obtain ideas from them to use in the setting of video games. Final Fantasy, particularly Final Fantasy XII, is one game that includes settings that are heavily inspired by Mediterranean and Islamic architecture. On another note, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones had a scene (click here to see) that was shot in Plaza de Espana in Seville. I’ve been to the place and loved it! Islamic architecture was noticeable over there as well.
My favorite tourist site, however, was the Alhambra in Granada. The intricate designs on the wall and the amazing architecture of the palace…phenomenal! The documentary that I watched also mentioned a special geometric trick that was utilized in building the mosque.
During the Golden Age of Islam, the Muslims had made many innovations, particularly in the areas of science (medicine, chemistry, mathematics, astronomy), and philosophy. Meanwhile, other European countries were struggling through the Dark/Middle Ages. Many of the scientific and philosophic discoveries made in the Age of Enlightenment, which bought Europe out of the Dark/Middle Ages, drew influence from the discoveries made in Islamic Spain.
It’s also amazing how the paper-making invention revolutionized the world and was perhaps considered the best thing since sliced bread during those times. Today, we have the Internet that has revolutionized everything!
Great Mosque of Cordoba (Mezquita), Cordoba, Spain
Anyhow, just like the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, Islamic Spain also rose and fell. This was primarily due to the reason that Muslims started to go astray from the Islam and were indulging in things that were forbidden. The fall was clearly a punishment. As the people of Andalusia became care-free, Europe was preparing for the Crusades. You can guess what happened next. The Crusaders had taken many of the scholarly works from the Muslims and brought them to Europe where people would suddenly be inspired to rise from the Dark Ages.
I watched the documentary, Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain, when I went back to my uni. after my Summer trip in 2009 (I had post-travel depression/post-vacation blues at that time >_<). I was inspired to watch the documentary when I took a course in philosophy during that semester. My trip to Europe helped me a lot in understanding the documentaries that the professor had shown in class. The documentary that I watched during my free time in the dorms, however, goes in-depth on what exactly happened from the start and end of Islamic Spain. Surprisingly, this was also the time I actually discovered Korean dramas and K-Pop! xD
A view of the Mezquita in Cordoba, Spain
Apart from watching historical documentaries, it’s nice to gain insight on historical moments through people that actually lived through those times and can share their experiences with others. One of my friends in high school was 1/3 French, 1/3 Saudi (Arab), and 1/3 Greek, and I remember her grandma attending our World History class in 10th grade to speak about her experience of living in France during WWII. This may seem off-topic, but I would like to share her brief account (no, not a fan account =P) of her experience (I had written about it in a blog that I used to have during my high school years).
My friend’s grandma, who I will refer to as the lady, used to live in a small town in France that shared a border with Germany. During WWII, the Germans soldiers crossed over the French border to take control of France. The lady vividly described the night she woke up and looked through the window of her home to see the German soldiers advancing through the forests that lined along the border of France and Germany. The French people in her town could not retaliate against the German soldiers, so they went about quietly doing their regular choirs and tried to avoid trouble. The little French children in the town, however, would stand up on the rooftops of their homes and tease the German soldiers. The elderly French people had to scold the children and warn them not to mess with the German soldiers.
Furthermore, the lady used to work at a bakery that her grandma had owned. There was a time when a few German soldiers barged into the bakery and demanded some food. The lady was angry and didn’t want to listen to the soldiers, but her grandma said that it was best to just hand over some of the food in the bakery.
There was also an incident when the lady and her grandma heard that Hitler was in town and that he was attending a party at a hotel to celebrate their victory of successfully taking control of some of the areas in France. The lady and her grandma decided to travel to the area outside of the hotel to get a glimpse of Hitler, the man that everyone had been talking about during that time. The lady’s grandma even bought her camera! However, in the process of taking a photo of Hitler, one of the 19-year-old soldiers that was accompanying him saw the camera in the grandma’s hand and kicked it. The grandma fell and the lady had to help her up. Can you believe it!? Flash-forward a little later on, the lady met her future-husband-to-be at a British military base in France.
That’s all I remember of her story. Pretty interesting, huh?
Alhambra, Granada, Spain
On a completely random note, my friends got to see Korean actor, Song Joong-Ki, at a fan meeting in Abu Dhabi today! They are the same lovely friends that met ZE:A at a fan meeting and saw my favorite member, Siwan, last year! I hope they had fun! ^^ They all had to appear when I left the U.A.E. =P
Just a typical quiet day…sitting and thinking deeply in the dorm room in my previous university and feeling the warmth from the sun…
My dorm room faced the courtyard and a lot of sunlight would seep in through the window and blinds. Dorm Room 240 C, which I had stayed in for four years of my university years (Fall 2007-Spring 2011).
Today, I went out to a cafe to help my friend out on an assignment. My friend is from Chongqing, China. I’ve mentioned her before since she has “Chris” in her name =P She introduced me to an iPhone application called WeChat. WeChat enables users to send text messages for free just like WhatsApp, but it also includes the option of sending voice mail.
I downloaded WeChat and made an account after I got back to the apartment. I was testing out some of the other options on the app. just a few minutes ago. There is an option on the phone where you can look around for all the people within your vicinity, who are also using the same app., and connect with them. There is also an option where you can shake your phone, and anyone around the world that is using the app. and shakes their phone at the same time, will be linked to your profile and can send you a message. What’s interesting, however, is that if you’re a female, the shake option will only link your profile to another guy’s. I tried it, thinking, “This could be the shake of destiny…” (I’m just joking =P) and 6 guys ended up sending me messages saying, “Hi!”, and this is WITHOUT a photo on my profile =P I logged out immediately.
I wonder what would happen if I did upload a pic. It would be fun to joke around with some of the people by giving them wrong information about myself such as, “I was born in Antarctica.” I’ve done it before in my previous university when any guy from the guys dorms would prank call the girls dorms for fun. Some of them would play along and ask, “How’s it like in Antarctica?” and I would often respond, “It’s amazing! Did you know that we have McDonald’s there?” xD
In my previous university, each dorm room had a LAN line and there would be no caller ID, so receiving prank calls from the guys dorms was very common. The guys knew the first two numbers in the extension for the girls dorms and would then randomly input any last two numbers to make a call to a specific dorm room. It was that easy. Whenever I got a prank call from the guys dorms, which would usually be while studying in the evening or at late night, I would often say, “you need to go back to studying,” and disconnect the phone. If I didn’t disconnect the phone, then they would keep calling. I didn’t tolerate any phone call from a guy that was calling for the WRONG reasons. Waking up from a prank call at 2 in the morning is not exactly the nicest thing either.
However, if I was bored and had some time to kill between studying, I would sometimes answer the phone and have a funny conversation. I think I’ve only answered the phone and had a proper conversation three times out of the several prank calls that I got.
There was one memorable conversation that I had in which I ended up convincing the guy to continue studying hard to achieve his goal ’cause he said that he didn’t feel motivated enough and that he was trying his hardest. I told him to think of the long-term benefits from studying hard. I mentioned that girls would be more attracted to him if he studied hard and landed a good job as it would show that he is responsible and driven. I kind of understood what he meant when he shared his problem. It felt good to be able to help someone out. Lonely hearts can sometimes bring a person down.
Another prank call that I answered was from a guy, who had his friends listening in the background to our conversation. LMAO! I gave him all the wrong information about myself when he asked me several questions. He thought I was “frikkin’ hilarious” and it was easy for me to hear his friends laughing in the background because of my answers. He asked me what major I was in and what I looked like, but I gave him all the wrong details so that he wouldn’t search for me on campus. I thought that it would be better to simply be mysterious =P He asked, “Is it okay if I can call you back some time?” I quickly said, “It was nice talking to you. Good luck with everything in your life! Bye!”
On a random note, I will always remember that conversation that I had when I stayed out at night with a group of friends. It was in my Senior year of university and just three months before my graduation. We decided to spend the entire night out as a celebration for successfully completing our performance on stage and everything. This was also the first time I was breaking the curfew rules because our dorm rules state that girls shouldn’t be out at night after 1 A.M. I informed my parents about it though, and they knew that I was going to be out with a large group of girls and guys that I was familiar with.
As a group we hung out at the beach for a little while, then went to a cafe, and then had early breakfast at a restaurant. Sometimes the conversations at the table would be deep. However, there was one moment that I remember very vividly. Some of the guys that were present at the table decided to ask me what I was planning to do in the future after graduating. A few of them were shocked that I was graduating because they thought that I was in a year below them (I’ve had Freshman mistake me for being a Freshman when I was in my Senior year =P). One guy asked, “Tell me…why were you born? You should have been born as a fairy that sprinkles happy dust everywhere!” I was so tired at that point ’cause it was around 5 in the morning that I couldn’t think of a good comeback. It was only after I got a good rest did I have a good answer which was, “To teach all of you guys a lesson!” Hahahahaha! Too bad that I couldn’t think of it there and then. I was kind of hurt by that question though, and I’m still not going to forget about it. It’s not nice to have someone question you about your existence like that. The other girls scolded him for asking him that question too.
So those are just some of the funny and deep stories that I remembered after using the WeChat app.
If interested, the WeChat app. is available for free and only people that are older than 17 can use it. Just don’t get distracted by the shake option =P
Next week, my friend is inviting me to a dinner in which several of her other friends will be attending. One of her friends is actually making an application for the iPhone that will incorporate blind dating with people that live nearby or in the same area. It’s nice that people are trying to create new ways of connecting with others, but I don’t know how that is going to work. I think there would be some sort of risk involved by using such an app., because you never know who is on the other end =/
The question is, does technology really bring people closer together?
I miss this game so much! The ending always gave me goosebumps…especially when Link goes back in time and meets Princess Zelda all over again at Hyrule Castle.
The music, the characters, the game play, the plot…PERFECT!
A quick post, which I will discuss briefly later on. A great movie based on a great book by the Australian author, Roald Dahl.
Pure imagination, indeed.
I don’t know how many have seen this movie, but it’s really nice. I personally liked it much better than the 2005 remake, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Tim Burton in which Johnny Depp starred in.
