After a long hiatus... and how the story began..

I took a long hiatus from blogging. Actually, as I remember, this should be my first post in France. Moving into new house, I had stuffs to be settled first. I got my internet 3 weeks after moving in, then all the classes which obviously far to be harder than my first year in France, and the main reason, I didn't have enough momentum to begin from where I left with.

But, now, I was obliged to write a post about what was happening in my life for the past two-three weeks. It has been a marvelous experience for me and deserved to be put in this blog so that as long as this blog exist, the memory remains forever.

Part 1

Even before my long life friend flew to India, he had mentioned about his dream of going for a trip in Paris, just for the sake of that old steel in Champs de Mars. I could still remember the day when Ihsan (my deskmate in MCKK) came back from Paris and recounted to us of his experience in each and every single place he visited there. (He managed to convince me that Catacombe the Paris was a nice place to visit and I believed him until I found out myself it was a well done nonsense statement) I who had been eager to Paris, made a pact with Goda that one day we would be visiting Catacombe de Paris together.



And Paris didn't seem enough for Goda. Right before he left from India, he mentioned to me his willingness to do a tour around Europe while I was still here.. It seemed quite impossible at that moment for a JPA scholar from a country like India to do a tour in Europe, which even myself, had trouble to do so. But at that time, I just crossed my finger and hoped things would happen..

On the other side of the globe, specifically in Indiana America, my other buddy from school had made plan to visit her sister in Manchester during his winter break as he didn't make plan to return to Malaysia during that holiday. It thought that it would be nice to hang out with during the holiday, as it seemed to me that it had been a long time since we met each other. The last time I saw him was of course when I sent him to the airport in my Waja with 7 passangers, driving 180 km/h in Sepang (not the circuit) , and even being hit by a cab driver. Even all these efforts, it wasn't enough for 7 of us to bid farewell to him for the last time (God bless whoever who wanted to go somewhere else before going to the airport). And since that, we never had a chance to see each other, even during summer.

I saw his plan to visit her sister as an opportunity for me to have a small gathering in my place, to have some xoxo gossip boy moment in my room, and maybe to have a small tour around Lille (since Lille is the center of Europe, you can visit lots of place around here). I asked Goda to come the same date as Alim, so that our gossip boy session would be merrier. Meanwhile, Alim dreamt also seeing his favourite club (second favourite club I guess) stadium in Nou Camp, Barcelona whereas Goda begged me to bring him to Milan to visit the boutiques there (He never heard of Champs Elysees I guess)

I had to make a important decision though. Considering that I was only closed to Alim since I was in form 4 (shame on you Alim, we even gossiped about you a lot when we were in form 3) , I should just ignore Alim wishes and granted Goda's desire (We've been good friends since form 3, he was one of my "shaver"- I had this problem of phobia with the shaver since the 1 ringgit in KK caused me pain a lot, and we only had fight once, of which we called the Milo moment) But at the same time, Alim made a very huge deal with me when we were in high school about how we would be partner in business in the future and patati patata , and the other obvious reason why I thought of abandoning Italy, was simply just because, I've been there once . (Pity Gona who had to visit Spain twice - chill man, I've been to Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris for an uncountable time too) So, there went my plan, to gather as many friends as possible, to make a get together activity and visit as many place as possible, so that, for my two best buddies who came from the other side of the world, would profit their stay in Europe... Who knows, this might be the last time we get along together...

-It's amazing to see how one day you were one's closest friend and just to find out that five year later, you would never talk to each other-

End of part 1



- Dedicated for those who spent more than 2000 euro just for the sake of seeing friends-

Hari Raya

Yesterday, had a little chat with Goda on YM. I can feel his eagerness to celebrate Hari Raya, probably, more than mine. It seems to me that being away for three years from Malaysia, deteriorate my hari raya excitement. People here have started to buy new clothes, new shoes, new songkok, new jeans, new t-shirt, pattati pattata.. But for me, i've just bought a songkok, since I don't have one and my last songkok was the one that I wear in MCKK. My father bought me a baju melayu since I left mine in France. So that's all about my hari raya preparation.

Today is my last day of training in Kumpulan IKRAM Sdn Bhd. It always occur to me that I had such a hard feeling to be away from something, even if I was just with them for two months. The last time I had the same feeling was two days ago when Izhan went back to Terengganu, which means I have no more friend in KL. (Before, I had the same feeling when Amir left me, ayub.. ajib n matno, abang ipan, the telekom guyz... ) And I clearly remember the last day of my practical training in SNCF France, I almost cried going out of the gate although it was me before who cursed the stupid company policy which needs me to wake up at 6.30 a.m in the morning (Which people don't do there during winter). Well I guess, that's life.. few days from now, I'll be leaving for Lille (KL-Bandar Seri Begawan-Dubai-London-Lille). I am quite excited to be back to my normal life again. My ex-lab-partner have just found me a new lab-partner since he terminated school and changed courses to more IT specific courses. I guess I will be having another sensitive-emotional-wanna-cry feeling knowing that this guy that have been teaching me life as a francais (all the dirty words and I even went to his house one), will not be around me this year. Thanks for everything mon cheri and I wish you all the best in IUT. What can I say about hi, he respects me a lot, not only as a foreigner, but only as a Muslim. For example, when I went to his house, I told him that I was a vegeterian who ate fish ( a common reasoning for those who don't want to waste your time explaining things) Having seen me cooking a chicken in our common kitchen, he secretly asked some Muslim people here (I mean, the real, practical one which is not common in France), and as I arrived his house, I was shocked to find a packet of Halal chicken which was bought by his father from a nearby-biggest-town. (which is about 60 KM from his house)

My lab partner is the smallest guy of all. During his suprise birthday party which I baked a cake for him

So guess the coming days will definitely be different without him around. Just like to remind my own-made-quotation

Friends come and go,
but brotherhood lasts forever..

(this is the answer for Shamil's friendship forever question that he asked me when I was in Dublin)

Tomorrow, I will be leaving for Ipoh for a typical family gathering in Gerik during hari Raya. This year, will be a memorable one for me. not only will I be spending hari raya in Malaysia, but the good news is, I will be having my solat hari raya back in my old town, Kuala kangsar. Looking forward to see few teachers that might be praying in the same modque, and maybe some collegians that had to stay..

So, I leave by attaching three youtube movie for this hari raya festive. The first one is a petronas hari raya eid, which goda found it touching. The second one is from TV3. I find it has no sense at all but as the commercial took place back in my alma matter, I find it interesting to share it with MCKK guyz around the globe.. And the third one, is a scary one by proton..

Selamat hari Raya
Maaf Zahir Batin

Some special message to the guys in Rue Manuel, ajib, matno n eijas :nantikan kepulanganku ngan resepi baru, MC gay gay around the world : Jangan sedih2.. korang baru setahun 2 je merasa.. aku dah 3 tahun x raya kat malaysia, last year raya siap exam agi tu.. abang ipan ngan raiz: smoga saudagar-saudagar kad raya (tiru ayat cik padil) mendapat keuntungan yang lebih besar hari2 akan mendatang, ex-larochellian (telo, gowe, jeri, mariani, pesa, dhirah) : rindu gak sambut raye ngan korang .. see u in la rochelle.. hahah .. lillois n ex lillois- rindunye bakar sate, masak lodeh banyak sayur, kek yang last2 ada orang sorok kat rue manuel, makan rendang yang eijas kate the best rendang in France... Orang2 yang menjayakan dinner MASAf (baik yang membantu mahupun yang datang) : Thanx banyak2.. slamat ari raya ye.. pembeli2 kad raya: thanks.. trime kasih sbb beli.. supportle kami agi. kitorang akan blajar dari kesilapan nxt year... Malaysian in France: have a wonderful hari raya... sorry for everything

Sebulan yang cepat

It was the fastest one month of the year.. sekejap je dah sebulan aku cuti kat Malaysia ni.. n sedar x sedar banyak dah mende yg aku buat dalam masa sebulan ni.. kalau dalam masa2 yang lalu.. sebulan tu memang sangat lama n rasa sangat tertekan nak tunggu sebulan cuti kat malaysia ni habis.. tp untuk tahun ni.. aku btol2 le isi cuti ni.. tp ada dua bulan lagi.. i bet that this two months akan jadi sangat lame ..

Prank Goda.

As aku balik, Goda dikenakan oleh aku.. dia tak tahu pon sbnarnye aku balik.. jadik aku cakap ngan dia yang ada kawan aku dari France nak datang.. nama dia Jim.. mintak dia tolong amikkan.. so masa aku mendarat.. nampakle goda melopong carik2 si jim ni.. pastu nampak muke aku.. terkejut beruk die.. kalah amir terperanjat tgk aku kat dublin.. rupe2nye sume orang dah tau aku balik.. goda je tak tau n blur.. kire sume org berpakatle ni dalam rancangan aku mengenakan goda..


Kami pon berkumpul2 n kluar2 kat kl reramai.. ngan geng2 lame le.. tanpa sebahagian rakan2.. tapi kitorang menghormati ketiadaan mereka2 seperti alim, matoque, tiket .. ngan mencipta imaginary mereka..


Back to College..

Haha.. jangan jeles.. Back to college ni idea aku.. tp xdele aku smangat sangat terlibat ngan mende2 ni... aku cume pemerhati je.. n tukang slam idea orang .. "devil advocate" kirenye..

Basically mende ni ialah kami pulang semula ke MCKK dan berjumpa dengan form 1 form 1 kami dulu.. n beri mereka guide untuk pembelajran lepas spm.. a level.. ib sume.. blajar kat non english speaking country sume,... adale module2 yang menarik2 sume..

pastu in the end ade forum.. dapat le jumpe our form 5 99, budu n aleq.. aku jadi pengerusi majlis mase tu.. ade gak le watak penting kat back to college ni..

mase back to college ni ada dinner batch sume.. alhamdulillah ada 70 orang gak yang datang.. x sangka lepas 4 tahun .. ade banyak perubahan ngan member2 batch sume.. ada yang makin membesar.. ada yang meninggi... ada jugak yang tak berubah2..

at the same time.. dpt jugak jumpe adik2 aku mase form 5 dulu.. chehh.. x sangka diorang ingat agi kat aku.. haha.. dapatle tgk perubahan sorang2.. aku then just realize how much cepatnye junior2 dan kanak-kanak ni membesar.. rase cam tetiba hati ni cam touchy sket.. balik2 kat umah lepas tu cam tiba2 ada keinginan nak jumpe adik2 0206 yg aku jaga dulu.. aku pon dptle kontek sket2.. n ntah.. rase cam terharu je.. tgk masing2 dah membesar n ada kehidupan masing2

MASAF's dinner

Minggu pertama, jumpe member, minggu kedua uruskan back to college tu n dalam minggu ketiga n keempat ni lak.. aku uruskan seminar n masaf's dinner.. it was really a challenge.. n aku rasa aku nak buat entry special untuk masaf dinner ni.. banyak benda yang aku blajar .. paling penting .. time ni le dpt nampak member2 aku yang mane sanggup berkorban sume nak tolong aku.. sanggup bersenkang mata sampai kul 3-4 pagi melipat kertas2 sume.. ada yang sanggup berpeluh2 waktu dinner x makan sume... ada yang sanggup meredah sesat barat lalu lintas utk menolong aku uruskan mende.. trime kasihle bebanyak.. n dapat jugak aku jumpe budak2 pekom baru ni.. yang slame ni x nah aku sedar pon kewujudan diorang ni.. hahah chill gak.. insya allah kalo aku free.. aku buat entry baru utk yg ni..

Bermulanya STAGE

Dan pada 13/8.. maka bermulalah sesi persekolahan aku utk tahun kedua kat telecom lille 1 ni ngan rasminya.. dengan praktikal aku kat group IKRAM.. engineering leading company kat Malaysia ni.. aku keje kat finance department.. menguruskan bayaran2 yang dibuat kepada IKRAM dan bayaran2 yang IKRAM buat.. xdele aku happy sangat buat stage kat ctu.. sangat computerized n aku x nampak sangat apa yang aku buat kat entreprise ngan apa yang aku blajar kat ecole.. lepas tu lebey kurang ari2 buat mende same je.. masuk bende dalam pc dari paghi ke petang.. aku rase stage ouvrier aku lagi best dari ni.. tp tak tau le.. dalam mase 2 bulan lg ni mcam2 boleh jadi..

Berhibur

Tetibe rase sunyi le pulak.. majoriti member2 aku yg kat kl ni dah balik.. goda dah balik india.. lepas je goda balik kami dah x aktif dah kuar2 sume ni.. budak2 lain x balik (alim sume.. tiket) .. n budak2 france pon dulu awal2 kami ada gak kuar2 .. skang ni musim2 stage dah abis.. dioran pon sume dah pulang ke umah masing2 menikmati sisa2 summer holiday.. n member2 pekom yang same2 aku berpenat lelah buat seminar n masaf dinner dah balik france.. sian diorang kene blajar.... ni baru awal.. aku tak tau le lagi 2 bulan nak merasa camni kan..

Buku wajib

Aku slongkar buku wajib aku (autograf book) mase kat koleq dulu..n x sangke ade quotation yang aku dpt dari mane ntah aku masukkan.. tp mende yg aku quote dlm buku wajib aku ni aku nak dedicate kat mereka2 yang telah menghidupkan bulan pertama aku kat malaysia ni...
trime kasih banyak2 sebab wujud..

"As long as we have memories, yesterday remains.
As long as we have hope, tomorrow awaits.
As long as we have friendship, today is beautiful."

the one where Shamil doesn't like dog

Shamil ada tulis satu poem kat aku sempena kedatangan aku ke Dublin. Bile bace, terharu x terkate lak aku.. aku nak balas.. tapi apekan daya, aku tak mampu nak tulis seindah dan secantik dalam bahase inggeris.. so aku ingat aku akan tulis dalam bahase pranchis.. Since shamil cam x paham, so lagi misteri dan bermakne le poem ni..

Cher Shamil;

T'etais la tt le temps pdt ma visite à Dublin,
T'as sacrifié le plus important jeu de Manchester,
juste pour etre sur que t'etais la, pdt mon arrivée,
Tu m'as accompagné partout..
Dans la ville, à l'école, au station de bus..
t'etais la.. tout le temps..
meme t'etais à l'état critique pr l'examen..
Merci shamil..
De mon coeur.. je peux rien dire..
Sauf..
Merci...

Un jour..
tu vas te rendre compte..
comment parfois...
l'amitié est plus important pour les hommes,
on ne s'en rend pas compte lorsque on est près l'un ou l'autre,
mais lorsque l'on se separe..
Tu vas realiser ça...

Gambar nite in Dublin dari friendster Shamil

Ok... itu sahaje untuk kali ni.. nampak macho tak? pandai-pandai le ko cari translator untuk ni.. hint: mamat sebelah bilik ko.. kalo pakai voila.fr ke, online translation ke takkan jadi sebab aku dah letak banyak short form supaye online translation x leh detect.. baru digital fortress sket.. huhuh

Tell her that I am exteremely allergic, and I will sue!

The one with all the cheesecakes

Dublin merupakan salah satu bandar di mana terdapat ramainya students Malaysia kat situ. Aku decide untuk ke Dublin, bulan 2 lalu selepas chat ngan amir apis, one of my friend kat MCKK dulu. So what I did was, aku beli tiket Ryan Air 58 euro pergi balik dari Brussels Charleroi - Dublin, and then call Shamil (MCKK gak) n bagi tau ttg kedatangan aku ke Dublin. And the trick is, aku x nah kasik tau amir yang aku akan sampai ke Dublin.

So, there I was, perjalanan dari Lille ke Charleroi amik mase lebih kurang 1 jam stgah, 20 minutes bas and then check in. Dengan hanye bawak beg komputer yg aku sumbat ngan baju-baju kat dalam, aku pon berlepas ke Ireland. The trick here is, dengan Ryan Air, kalo kite takde luggage yang letak dalam perut kapal terbang, kite akan dihadiahi ngan satu pass (priority pass), benda ni membolehkan aku naik kapal terbang awal, banding orang2 yang lain. Ergo, aku leh duduk sedekat mungkin ngan pintu kapal terbang, in case flight ni tetibe meletup ke, ade terrorist mengamuk ke etc..

Nothing interesting on the flight, perut lapar tp aku ade beli coklat sket kat duty free sblom berangkat. As aku sampai kat dublin, ade immigration check. Normally, passport malaysia aku berjaye melepaskan aku ngan selamatnye kat sempadan. Untuk future2 visitors ke dublin, make sure when u are visiting dublin, ade name member tempat umah korang nak menetap (n make sure member tu x buat jenayah ape) or name hotel tempat stay n tiket balik.. Semua ni necessary utk kastam kat tmpt tu check yg korang ni nak nak yang berjambang tu bukan terorist.

As aku arrive, shamil dah menunggu walaupun aku baru confirmkan yg aku nak sampai tmpt die malam sblom tu. kitorang naik bas ke city centre . 1 euro 90 sn je tau.. jangan le terpengaruh naik bas2 ekspres yang charge kat ber euro2 ringgit ke dublin cty centre. ade satu bas lompat2 yang ok n cheaper to dublin (no 16A)

kitorang naik bas n borak2 psal kehidupan masing2. cammane ngan harapan kami nak chelsea n manchester masuk final champions league. shamil tlah korbankan game manchester die malam tu ngan bawak2 aku jalan. sampai2, aku btol2 kat berhenti kat tempat idaman aku nak lawat, dublin sphire, apparently, the highest monument in the world. aku pon sgt jakun le tgk mende alah ni, walaupun budak ni cam talk heran ngan tak bangge pon ngan mende alah tu. Tempat pelancongan kat dublin ni boleh dikatakan semue setapak2 je. and on the way nak gi RCSI, tempat diorang blaja, boleh dikatekan aku dah cover hampir 50 % kawasan pelancongan kat sane. Trinity college, O' Connell street, bangunan Heineken, St Stephen Green, Ha'penny Bridge and Dublin City Hall. And as aku jalan2 melihat alam, ternampak le berpuluh2 starbucks, burger king n TGI fridays, things yg korang xleh jumpe kat france bersepah2 kat tepi jalan. Even Kat RCSI tu pon ade Starbucks.

So, as aku arrive kat RCSI (Royal College of Surgeon in Ireland), university tu memang totally berbeza ngan u kat france. dalam satu banggunan cam limkokweng, die ade bilik mayat, lecture hall, tempat main basket, gym, starbucks n tempat blajar. Ade gak tmpt tgk tv sume. Berbanding kat france, waktu aku sampai kul 8 camtu, budak2 masih lepak kat sane, be it Malaysian student mahupun orang putih, n sangat beza ngan bebudak france yg slagi boleh nak habiskan scepat mungkin kelas. n kitorang tgk Man U lawan Milan yang time Man U masih menang.. Malam, tidur kat umah budak2 malaysian, name die 218 kat depan dublin mosque. It is quite astonishing camne rumah yg biasenye 5 orang duduk kat france (T6) disumbat dgn 15 org Malaysian n semua ni sebb rumah2 kat dublin mahal gile. Sian gak diorang n some action must be taken berkenaan problem ni as they recieve only 700 ++euros (penerime euro plg sdikit)

The next day, aku bangun awal n keluar ngan my imaginary friend utk pusing2 around dublin. I just realize camne dublin ni adelah sebuah shopping paradise yg mahal sket. Debenham, mark n spencer, lv, benetton bersepah2 kat bandar ni. Walaupon separuh hari aku window shopping, aku akhirny pulang ngan sebuah plastik beg hard rock cafe je. Situated kat temple bar, kepade pengumpul2 baju hard rock cafe, next time kalau nak gi ke cni carik dekat2 trinity college n kat ctu ade sign gi temple bar.

For the rest of the day, aku jalan2 n cover lagi 30% bandar dublin. dublin castle, dublinia, masuk trinity college, melawat dublin business school.. it is interesting 2 have someone from Trinity College bersame anda kalau melawat Trinity college sebab ade tmpt2 kat dlm tu yg hanye student trinity college je ade access. That's what I missed..

Problem utk melancong kat sini sket ialah makan. Agak susah nak cari makan halal. But the trip in any europe big city is always the same. Kalau nak cari makanan halal, try masuk2 jalan2 yang ceruk2 n lorong kat ctu n normally, u will find kedai makan arab yang halal. N the trick still work in Dublin. However, makanan kat cni agak mahal banding kat France, n jauh mahal banding negara2 europe lain (German especially). I paid 7 euro for a kebab (tanpa fries) n kat France, it's only 3-5 euros. Considering yg students kat ctu terime lbh kurang 700 euro.. susah kehidpn..

However, a must visit kedai makan kat cni ialah briyani masjid. Tak terlalu mahal, jusk ask for dublin mosque n kat ctu ade satu kedai brianil No doubt, the best briyani in Dublin. Alang2 dah gi mosque tu leh le smayang kat mosque tu skali. and at one time, btol2 lepas aku makan briyani ngan amir ngan shamil kat kedai tu, kitorang2 tgh lepak2 dlm bilik smbl menernak ttb ade housemate shamil dtg n jerit2 briayani free, briyani free.. aku pon ape agi.. tak baik tolak rezeki.. perut penuh pon penuh le.. aku gi aje

Slain tempat2 makan ni, nowhere else interesting to eat. I tried the bagels (donut) . UK is very popular for its donuts and visitors should give it a try. It's totally differents from the 30 sen donut kat kantin skolah. Selain tu, the rest of my trip, i spent in Starbucks, eating cheesecake and chocolat frappucino. ca fait longtemps j'ai pas mange des cheesecakes..

Well, itujelah pengalaman jalan aku kat ireland dan aku cam nak kasik markah untuk perjalanan aku kalik ni..

tempat melawat 3/5 (Tmpt lawat sesuai utk daily trip, mudah utk accessible tp xde wow)
tempat makan 1/5 (X bnyk makanan halal n sgt mahal kalo ade pon)
shopping 3/5 (Mengingatkan ko ngan tmpt2 shopping di Malaysia tp mahal sket)
communication 4/5 (dpt jumpe kawan2 sume, cume ilang 1 markah sbb kali ni jln sorang)
easy access 3/5 (x byk problem kat airport n org dublin sgt friendly)
Perbelanjaan 3/5 (X mhl utk pergi, souvenirs sgt murah, tak byk hbs duit sgt)

Contribution: Utk shamil yg menjadi tulang belakang dlm projek utk mengsurprise kan amir ni, amir yg kasik tmpt tido, najlaa yang memberi makanan sgt sedap n enak, penghuni2 218, ade yg masakkan makanan, kasik tido, borak2, ajak gi makan kat masjid... trima kasih bebanyak

-boyfriends n girlfriends can come n go but this (friendship) is for life-