A moving castle, anyone?

Well, as always, my weekend entry is going to be about movies. This time it's Hayao Miyazaki's (the guy who did Spirited Away) new anime movie, Howl's Moving Castle. I've always admired Miyazaki's work and loved them. His animes like Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbour Totoro all had significant meaning behind them.
HMC is no exception. This time he subtly put an anti-war message in it. There are scenes of war and it's effect on people. . Of people having run away because of the war. Of a city up in flames from bombings..

The movie centred on Sophie, a girl cursed to become an old woman by a wicked witch, and her relationship with Howl, a powerful wizard who was the reason for her curse. In order to lift her curse, she went to work as Howl's cleaning lady and as usual, fell in love with him. As Sophie tried to find the cure to her curse, she first had to uncover the mystery of Howl's secret between him and his fire demon, Calcifer.I guess it could be a love story, with magic, war, and fantasy all thrown in together.
This anime was based on a book of the same title by Diana Wynne Jones. And to tell you the truth, the book is better. Hmm maybe because there was a lot more magic stuff in it while the movie focused more on the 'real world' part i.e. the war. However, it's still a good watch. If you haven't read the book, you'll probably enjoy it more. For me, I keep comparing them both to find out what's different.

I also watched Meet the Fockers, and what can I say, the first one's better. Going to watch Closer tomorrow. Hope it's as good as some people say.

hampehnye budak..

Aaa geramnye aku ngan budak sebelah ni. Tensi2. Suka-suki die je amek gune harte mende orang cam die punye. Dahle dok ngn boyfren. Buat nyemak je. Adeke patot. Nak g toilet pon susa skang. Ade skali tu nak g mandi tgk boyfren die ade kat dalam. Kurang asam sungguh. Nyebok2. Aku bakar kang bilik tu..Aiseh nanti fire alarm bingit tu plak. Hahah. Suke lak tu smoking dalam bilik. Aih tensen aku ngn bau asap. Apsal la x pernah pulak fire alarm sebab die merokok. Bagi kene denda sikit baru padan muka. Memang sakit hidung la kalau bukak pintu bilik nih. Eee aku nak je belasah dak ni. Name je orang British..yang kononnye sangat bersopan-santun le kan. Ni asek mencarut je. Kalo die cakap tak kuar f**k tu memang le tak sah kan. Ngan muke yg asek mandang slack je kat orang. Waah panjang juge aku ngumpat. Nak buat camne, dah tensi. Naseb baek la die tak paham. Kalau paham pon takpe la. Bagi sedar skit. Duduk berkongsi tu cubela hormati sket orang seblah...hehh geram2...

Err..16 going on 15?

You Are 15 Years Old

15 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Did the test a few days ago and it was 16. Now it's 15? What the heck? Am I regressing into childhood? Hahhahaha. I guess the bit about still finding myself is true...

Of ghost, daggers & desperation..

First, the ghost part. I watched a Korean ghost story entitled 'The Face' yesterday together with Kasya and Yat. Actually, we barged in into Yat's room to watch the movie because my laptop was not 'behaving' itself by refusing to play the dvd. Heh I have to figure out what's wrong with it later..Back to the story, it's an almost typical Korean/Japanese ghost story with the ghost being a woman with long black hair and only one visible eye. Very similar to Ju-On and Ring. Plus the ghost also behaves similarly, crawling around in the same style,popping out of the floor(this one is very similar to Ju-On2). No originality at all. But the storyline's not so bad. Put in some twist a la 6th Sense, then you get an enjoyable movie to watch. But not that scary. Well, at least for me. Since Kasya didn't notice the ghost on the ceiling, I guess she was closing her eyes at that time. Hahah.

Secondly, the daggers part. Kasya and I then continued our movie marathon by watching House of Flying Daggers which, fortunately, my laptop was able to play. Again a nice movie to watch. With great acting by the cast and totally gorgeous scenery, it was certainly a feast for the eyes. Plus, I quote Kasya, "Handsomenyee Takeshi Kaneshiro!" hahah. And we hated Andy Lau in his role. If not for him, the story would then have a happy ending instead of the tragic one.

And lastly, the desperation part? Heheh..No it's not about me or anyone I know. It's just that Kasya and I then proceeded to spend today watching 4 episodes of Desperate Housewives back to back. I think if not for the fact that she had to go back to Mile End, she would have continued watching the show up to the most recent episode. If any of you guys have not heard of the siries, check it out. It won this year Golden Globe award for best comedy miniseries, if I'm not mistaken.

Then on the walk across Millennium Bridge today, I watched one of the most beautiful sunset in my life. I admit I haven't watched enough sunset to make a valid comparison, but it certainly was beautiful for me. The sky turned rosy pink with shades of blue and purple scattered here and there. And then it turned golden; yellow and orange coloured the sky. It was certainly gorgeous . Subhanallah..

Received my return flight tickets to Malaysia today. It was again in the wrong letter box. Won't the reception people ever learn that my surname starts with A? Haih..Suddenly feeling homesick. AAaa nak balik rumah! :P

Selamat Hari Raya..

Eid mubarak to all.
Today's got to be the most boring Aidiladha ever. There's no makan2 like at home. Nothing special to eat. I even attended a lecture out of boredom..but still fell asleep in the lecture. Haha. Nothing else to write about. And I have to finish all my homeworks today. Doing homework on hari raya..how sad..



Sometimes we don't really see what's happening because we did not take the time to see.

PNB..

Had a meeting with my sponsor for these last two days. Yesterday was an individual session where I had to wait like 4 hours for my turn. Huh it did remind me of my interview during the scholarship application process where I had to wait a whole day to be interviewed. They certainly lack time management skills. Each 10 minutes session turned into 20 minutes..Haih so irritating. Today, we had to listen to the CEO's speech in the morning. That's all and I had to wake up early just for that. Thank goodness they provide free breakfast and lunch. Plus, I could claim my travel expenses.

The CEO kept reminding us to do well in our studies or we risk getting our scholarships revoked and would be sent back to Malaysia. Truth be told, I'm quite scared because I haven't done proper studying at all. Watching way to many movies & animes plus reading a whole lot of mangas certainly doesn't leave enough room for studying. I have to cut back on those. I hope I'll be able to start studying during easter vacations tho the prospect of doing that looks slim. With the plans of travelling to Barcelona going into effect, there probably won't be enough time for me to study when I come back.. AAaaaa..cuak2..hahah..

All in all, it was a nice weekend where I had the chance to meet other PNB's scholars especially the 7th batch(that's my batch). Had a nice time borak2 tho gossiping was kept to a minimum (maybe because I didn't join the dinner last nite..hummm..). Hope to see you guys again soon.

On to other things, I just heard that Spider won the best song for Juara Lagu with the song 'Relaku Pujuk'. It was quite a shock for me (probably because I don't even know they were in the final..heheh..). Congratulations to them (I know..I know.. they don't even read this blog la..) and thanks to Yatie & Shaza for keeping me informed.

curik test yatie..

Ha kali ni aku plak amek test dari Yatie. Malas plak rasenye nak tulis dalam english hari ni. Tengoklah ni resultnya. Korang rase btol ke tak? Komen aa..x best plak rasenye xde orang yang nak komen ape2..haha..

You Are a Retrospective Soul

The most misunderstood of all the soul signs. Sometimes you even have difficulty seeing yourself as who you are. You are intense and desire perfection in every facet of your life. You're best described as extremely idealistic, hardworking, and a survivor. Great moments of insight and sensitivity come to you easily. But if you aren't careful, you'll ignore these moments and repeat past mistakes. For you, it is difficult to seperate the past from the present. You will suceed once you overcome the disappoinments in life. Souls you are most compatible with: Traveler Soul and Prophet Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Start of term..

Aagh classes and lectures have already started since Monday. And I think I've broken my personal record of falling asleep in lectures. Heh the new econs lecturer is still as boring as the old one. And there's no lecture notes to refer to. No wonder I fell asleep after a couple of minutes.. heheh..

Hm the term is only beginning and I'm already thinking of where to go during the easter vacations. I want to go to Barcelona. Or specifically, Universal Studios Mediterranean. Looks like I have a compulsion to visit every theme park here in Europe. heheh..So anyone got any suggestions for what to do in Barcelona other than going to the theme park? Any good hotels/hostels there?

If you have any extra infos, do tell me..

Oh and I've booked the flight tickets to go home on 29 June. I think I'll be on the same flight as Arfa, Yatie, Azrin, Shira and etc. For less than 400GBP people said it's cheap. Just hope there's no problem on that date (LSE's summer term hasn't officially ended yet. We end on 1st July). I've asked around and the seniors said everything should've been over by middle of June. So I guess it's ok..

Have to think of finding a house. That's gonna be expensive and put a strain on my allowances. Our education minister, Datuk Seri(is it?) Hishamuddin Tun Hussein will be giving a talk tomorrow. Still not sure whether I'm going or not. Free food but there're the fares to think of. I need to budget because of the flight tickets & plans of Barca. Oh, my sponsor PNB will also be coming to visit this weekend. Heh I hope they bring some good news. A raise in allowances, perhaps?

Compare these...

Okay, this is my old phone, Sharp GX27


and this is my new phone, Nokia 7610


What do you think? Am I going backwards? I mean, people nowadays are going for the flip phone type, but I'm back to using non-flip phone. I admit using a flip phone does have its advantages eg it's easier to take your own pictures because the front screen act as a viewer(is this the correct word?) and not forgetting the fact that my old phone have a flash. And a macro lens. And a better, sharper display. And the flash light can change colour. Damn.
Now why did I get that Nokia phone anyway? The megapixel camera? Still couldn't beat the pics from Sharp because of its better screen. Games? Zero. Have to download it myself I guess. The up side of having this phone? An alarm clock that would function even when you turn the phone off.Hahah..Plus, it's a smart phone which means I can install applications. But what? huhmm..If anyone have any ideas where to get apps for this phone, do tell me. Looks as if I'm pretty attached to my old phone.. :P

A phone at last..

Yeah! I finally got a contract with o2. But I didn't get the phone I really wanted, Samsung d500. Instead, I got the Nokia 7610 because it's on sale and it's free..heheh..Kini aku bukan lagi orang ulu..Yatie ko bile lagi? Haha. But I hate all the hassle I have to go through just to get a phone. It took me more than an hour to get everything done. Plus, I still have to pay £200 in deposit. Good thing it would be returned to me after 3 months..

Oops I haven't done any of my homework at all. Ergh what a procrastinator I am. Never mind, there are still a few more days before classes actually start. Hopefully, I could finish them all before classes. One thing I love about LSE is the fact that we don't have any exams till the end of the year. Heh actually that could be a bad thing because now I'm not concentrating on my studies at all..

So what have I been doing during the holidays. As far as I can remember, I slept, ate, went to Paris, went shopping, slept, ate, slept again..hahaha..Oh not forgetting watching a lot of animes and movies. I finally managed to finish all the Hunter x hunter episodes..heheh..Now I'm watching Full Metal Alchemist, thanks to Arfa..

another quiz..

I'm alone in my room..So with nothing else to do here's another quiz I took:

What LoTR Character Are You?

You are most like Galadriel. There's just something about you that people like.(Really? I thought most of them hate me..haha). A sort of aura. You're very kind to people, and you like to help others succeed.(Erm..I think you got the wrong person here). You're not as candid as most people would like. You don't have to share your deepest darkest secrets, but be more honest about things!(okay this could be true..). You're more mature than most people your age, so don't worry!(What?? Are you really sure??)

Oh before I forget, fotopages is updated with pics from Arfa&Yatie's visit

last day..

2004 is leaving. Another new year is beckoning. Hm how about new year's resolution? Do you have any? I don't. I never keep any. My reasoning is if you want to change for the better or achieve something, why only state it at the start of the year? Factor in some plain laziness on my part, no wonder I never keep a new year's resolution.

Everyone must have heard about the earthquake and tsunamis that wrecked havoc and destruction in Asia and Africa. Indonesia and Sri Lanka were the two countries with the most casualty. Even our beloved country, Malaysia was not spared from the disaster. And I thought we were safe from major natural disasters because we are not in the Ring of Fire. That event showed me how wrong I was.

On a lighter note, I had an enjoyable time with Arfa and Yatie. They came from Southampton on 28 Dec and just went back this afternoon. We visited London Dungeon (not scary at all..that place stinks!), Madame Tussaud's (Arfa got a romantic date with George Clooney..), Tower Bridge, National History Museum (it's so huge and there were too many things to see), Chinatown and of course, Oxford Street. My third shopping spree...hahaha...Okay I must control my urge to shop because my monthly allowances wouldn't be banked in for another 2 weeks.

Ooh and we managed to cook laksa asam. It's delicious! hahaha...

Snow falling in the Emirates?? Read here