Who Run The World?

Assalamualaikum to you, you, you and you!

I admit, with the existence of micro-blogging websites (eyeing you, Twitter), photo-blogging websites (yep, that's you Instagram) as well as hipster-quote-cool stuff-blogging websites (don't think you can get away from this too, Tumblr), I have been terrible at updating this lovely lovechild of mine. I have no one else to blame but myself on the lack of updates. Sorry.

I have always been a stickler for women empowerment. I am an adamant feminist- meaning, that I have a lot of faith in us women, and that I want to represent the female population in a way that we can still show the rest of the world that we are capable of doing anything while retaining our feminine qualities.

Circa two weeks before, I was graced with information from a fellow classmate about EVE Summit. EVE basically stands for Empowering Venus Everywhere, and it is common information that the venus symbol is a depiction of feminism. Also, the abbreviation is a commemoration to the first female on the face of the earth, Eve (genius, I know right?!).

Basically, what EVE Summit is trying to achieve is to educate, inspire and empower female undergraduates, and they are willing to do it for free! We've got successful female icons in the Malaysia, like Datuk Seri Zeti Akhtar Aziz as well as Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah that in my eyes seem fabulous and flawless and need to be taken an example from. Thus, this makes this particular summit a great platform for you fierce ladies out there to shine brighter than Rihanna's diamonds.

But why would EVE Summit target female undergraduates only? Here's the breakdown. In universities, the number of female undergraduates is almost at par to male undergraduates. And it has been reported that the number of female undergraduates in the workforce are reducing, a contrast to male undergraduates who seem to increase in number every year. Not to belittle the guys or anything, but we girls need to step up and make sure that we are not going extinct! Besides that, there are numerous cases out there where women are belittled, not because of their inefficiencies, but because of what they are- women. They are belittled because of the gender prototypes the society has created. How is that even fair?

So this is where EVE Summit comes in. It is designed to inspire change in workplaces through us undergraduates. I mean, who else is going to generate change if it weren't for us?

This summit features three panel sessions about women development on self esteem, motivation and leadership. Besides that, there would be one luminary session with a partner of Skrine Malaysia and her husband, the executive director of PwC Malaysia.

If any of you are interested to participate in this golden opportunity of a lifetime, feel free to register yourselves here. For further inquiry, please do click here as well! The last page of that link will also lead you to the registration form, in case if you do feel interested to participate in this summit. 

Since all of you are rather awesome people who may or not sacrificed five minutes of your time reading my post word by word, feel free to listen to this awesome track about girl empowerment (of course) by one of my favourite mainstream musicians today (and do enjoy listening to online girl power mixtapes here) Enjoy!

Eighteen Thousand Words

1. SV Santai Raya 2. Belated 21st birthday celebration @ Hard Rock Cafe, Kuala Lumpur 3. Nouman Ali Khan in Malaysia @ Masjid Wilayah, Kuala Lumpur 4. Eid ul Fitr 2013 5. Masjid Putrajaya, Ramadhan 2013 6. Skytrex Outing with Fahimah 7. Volunteer for Being Me 2013 8. Mural art @ Stellar 9. Lunch and movie session with Farhan 10. Ribs @ Tony Romas 11. Light Ornament @ Kokopelli 12. Notebooks from Typo @ Setia City Mall 13. Charm bracelet made by Fahimah 14. Ana Ikan Bakar Petai with Farhan 15. Putrajaya at night 16. My new best friend 17. Happiness 18. Heaven on Earth

How Good Has Your Life Been?

Assalamualaikum.

I admit, I've lost my blogging mojo. I used to write lots and lots and for hours too, and in desperate need to find a reason to compensate the lack of that, I chose to blame it on other social media sites- Facebook, Twitter, and especially Instagram. I mean, snapping a picture which is undeniably worth of a thousand words seems like a viable option as to writing a lengthy post about the little things that has been happening in my life. And well, I'm pretty sure most, if not all of us, are more keen in staring at beautifully edited pictures instead of read words and words which in the end, may not contribute in one's self development or whatever.

So, since my last update (which is pretty much five months back), I can say that there are major and minor changes in my life:

• I moved out of my old apartment and moved into a new one. There's like a whole new story to tell (and honestly, it was really satisfying being able to retell the story again and again because it's just that appalling... might make a post about it though) but in a nutshell, I now occupy a house of seven people instead of six, I am roommates with a twenty-five year old puursuing her masters instead of staying alone, my territory now expands to the whole house instead of the expense of the tiny space I call my room, and I live with a bunch of loving girls- no, sisters who love each other for who we are and will definitely strike cold wars whenever their food in the pantry goes missing (oh yes I went there)

• I have now started my third year as a degree student, and I have about a year and a half (?) to finish, InsyaAllah. Life has been hard now that my subjects are getting harder and grades are tougher to maintain. This semester I've used up my credit hour quota which is twenty credit hours, due to a minuscule, university subject that I missed in my second year. Ironically, that subject has the most assignments and it took up most of my time. So, my campus life nowadays has been far from 'ideal' - in fact, most of the time, it's sleep-class-lunch-class-sleep. And the cycle goes on.

• I've been given a chance to volunteer as of lately. Sometime in June this year, I was given a chance to bring orphans and underprivileged kids to a recreational event in Shah Alam, and just recently, we organised another 'makan-makan' event with the same group of children at their centre.

• I was also given a chance to be a volunteer in one of Mercy Mission's biggest events, Being Me 2013. It wasn't my first time volunteering for such an event, thus it wasn't too big of an introduction for me. I was in charge in promoting Mercy Mission's ongoing projects, mainly Charity Right, which is basically feeding the homeless and extremely poor with leftover food picked up from restaurants.

• My housemates are such lovely beings- they help me in my self development. They make sure I never miss my prayers, they help me in reciting surahs that I'm usually poor at, and they encourage me to go to intellectual and spiritual talks. Within the expanse of four months, I have managed to attend at least five talks, which is indeed a self achievement for myself.

• Farhan and I recently celebrated our two and a half year anniversary a few days ago. We're still going strong, mind you. We're comfortable with where we are, and I believe that we've gained enough trust in each other (though we still fight over the stupidest things ever)

• I turned 21 last July! It's still hard to believe that I'm finally legal, and I'm an official adult. I've also had two birthday celebrations one by my housemates and another one by my lovely best friends. I've still not claimed my birthday present from my parents though. Currently formulating a mental wish list, don't you worry.

• I recently discovered new hobbies (outdoor activities. Yes, that's a shocker)

• And I also developed a new love towards thrift shopping as well as online shopping

Will be uploading pictures in a bit!

Wedding Plans Revisited

So there is this folder in my computer, entitled 'Wedding Plans', gloriously made by me. I have an on-off obsession with wedding planning- I tend to turn into my future bridezilla mode and scroll through pages and pages of wedding inspiration boards and I would save the pictures I like and then dream about it before I go to sleep.

It has been a while since I last thought about my future wedding, but for God knows what reason, I decided to click on the folder and look at the pictures that gave me my wedding inspiration.

I really hope that this stays in trend in about five years' time - I'd love to have a garden themed wedding.

p.s. I even made a wedding playlist god what is wrong with me

Seoul, South Korea pt 1

If you happen to be a close friend of mine and follow me on every social networking site I'm on (Facebook, Twitter, my favourite pal Instagwam), you'd probably know that I went to Seoul, South Korea about a month ago. If you didn't know... well now you know.

March 23rd, 2013

Upon arrival at the Incheon airport. It was around 6.00 pm, KST (which is basically +1 hour from the Malaysian time)

I was tired... and freezing. And hungry- tapi muka masih maintain.

I had this for dinner. It was basically spicy broth with seafood. It's similar to the Malaysian steamboat over here, but the seafood I had were probably a few times bigger than the ones we have here.

This is the typical way to serve rice in a restaurant- rice in a metal bowl with chopsticks and a long, Korean spoon.

The weather was really cold so we don't have a reason but to wear our jackets inside the restaurant. The water they served wasn't even refrigerated because it's just that cold. 

This is apparently a typical off-the-road restaurant and it's situated in Incheon - probably a fifteen minute drive away from the airport.

I don't know what this actually means, but it basically says Jeon Ra Do Jib. Best bet- seafood restaurant. And pardon me, Kwan is a really bad photographer.

March 24th 2013

Everyone forgot to mention how seriously cold the weather can get when you're by the seaside, early in the morning. Both my sister and I were not properly dressed, that's for sure.

This was the view from the entrance of our hotel.

This is apparently the paddy fields- the farmers only harvest it once a year, during the summer.

A snapshot of the Incheon airport from a distance.

We were at the mainland, ready to board a ferry to Namiseom (Nami Island). The people there were kind enough to light up a fire for instant warmth.

I'm not kidding- this place is dubbed as The Kissing Place.

Apparently, Kwan's not the only bad photographer in the family. My mum is one too.

I think it's almost compulsory for visitors of Namiseom to snap a picture along this lane of trees. I forgot what the name of the trees are- but it starts with an M, if that helps.

This was a memorial in the name of Park Yongha. Park Yongha was a cast member of Winter Sonata (the drama that made Namiseom a famous tourist attraction) and has committed suicide a few years back.

And I forgot to mention how explicit some of the statues on this island can be.

Koreans eat a lot of dishes in tiny portions. This was what we had for lunch besides claypot rice and seaweed soup.

We were on our way to Seoraksan (Mt. Seorak) so this was mainly the view when we were on higher grounds. Ethereal- yes.

There are many Teddy Bear museums in South Korea- one of them being here in Seorak. It's probably the cutest museum I've ever been to.

Charlie Chaplin teddy bears.

Ancient Hanguk village teddy bears.

Baseball teddies!

Mt. Rushmore inspired teddy bears.

Teddy bears in a German setting.

London inspired.

This is probably one of the best displays they have - Russian inspired teddy bears.

Gulliver's Travels!

In the middle of the display hall, they had two teddy bears in a hot air balloon. Very... Oz inspired.

March 25th 2013

We woke up to the place filled with thick snow, and as much as I despise snow, I have to admit that it was a beautiful sight to look at.

And I've concluded that I hate snowball fights.

There's one more thing I noticed about Koreans- they really do love their coffee.

So this is what kimchi looks like before it was preserved. Wait, no- this is how you make kimchi.

And I think it's a normal occurrence for tourists to dress up in hanboks and pose in front of settings like this. I didn't want to wear the hanbok and I hated the hat my mother made me wear, but I was forced to do it so here's an obligatory set of hanbok photos.

We also managed to visit Everland for a few hours. Note: never go to theme parks during the cold season. Never.

Of all things, I think I was the most excited to meet this furry friend. I've never seen a polar bear before.

March 26th 2013

This, is Itaewon Street, Seoul. It's the place where my hotel was situated, and it's near the American army base camp. 

We visited the Presidential Blue House, the official residence of the South Korean's First Lady. Buses were not allowed to park around the vicinity, so we had to walk a little bit further. In that cold weather. Not a pleasant thing to do.

Halal food options are wider in Itaewon, considering that there is a mosque and an abundance of Pakistanis and Indonesians around the area as well. We had Indian food most of the time. 

The Trick Eye museum was definitely similar to the one in i-City, Shah Alam. Very interesting, however they seem to appreciate nudity more than we Malaysians do.

I am often dubbed the photo ruiner of the family.

After dinner that night, we went to N Seoul Tower. If you're a fan of cheesy Korean dramas, you'd probably be familiar of this place- most couples come here at night.

Behind there, are locks. Couples write lots of love messages on them and then they would throw the key away.

A portion of the night life in Seoul from the N Seoul viewing tower.

By the way, the buses will load you at a certain point, and then you'll have to climb up the hill to the entrance of the towers. Very excruciating, I tell you. No wonder the Koreans are very healthy.