The 11th And The Real Deal

The title has said it. Yes, this is the 11th post of my blog (yeay!). Why suddenly I choose to write this for the 11th post? Well, 11 is my favourite number since I was born on the 11th day of a particular month. 11 to me personally also signifies a certain maturity level that I believe I have achieved and the readiness for me to move on to the next level of writing. If you notice, I haven't done any proper introduction of this blog before. Hence, I think the 11th post seems to be appropriate for me to do so.

To be very honest, this is not the first blog that I have. I think I had created two blogs before this (see, I don't even remember the number of blogs I had). However, I was not too serious or let's just say, I was just not too passionate about it. I had it because it was more of a trendy thingy. Blogging was gaining popularity since the last few years, and I thought it would be cool to jump on the bandwagon. But alas, it did not last long after a while. I found that blog writing was just not for me at that point of time.

Years after that, which was the past few months, I suddenly had this urge of writing. It was more of like a 'calling'. "Is this for real?" I wondered. I have been postponing since then because I was not too sure whether this was what exactly I need to do. Nevertheless, I realised that the more I postponed, the more 'stressful' I became. It felt like something was not out from my system. So trusting my very own gut, I created this blog.

This blog is created with the hope that I could share my own piece of mind, my interests, views on issues surrounding my life or general issues and other topics that I find interesting to share. That's why this blog is titled as 'Life From My Perspective'. The first 10 posts were merely introduction of what you can expect my kind of writing would be. There were posts about restaurant and food, places that I had visited, my personal views and others. Actually, I have listed quite a number of topics that I would like to write for example like my solo travel, life issues and others, but I definitely need time to prepare for it. So tunggu dan sabar ya :) I will keep writing about the food I enjoyed, the places I visited and etc., but however, you can also expect frank, honest and possibly cynical writing from me too, which I would touch on certain issues or topics when the right time comes. 

Truthfully, since I started this blog, I felt really happy and contented. Never thought it would give such satisfaction, so I am very grateful for this wonderful feeling. My personal hope is that I would never give up writing and sharing, InsyaAllah.

I can also see the number of visitors and traffic to this blog is growing, not just from Malaysia but also other countries! Truly surprised with this. Thank you guys for taking your time to visit this humble blog of mine! While I like to express my own views or share my own personal experience in this blog, I also welcome ideas and feedback that could be topic for discussion if possible. I believe blog should also serve as a forum for interactive discussion or as an avenue for us to share happy and motivational thoughts and words to each other.  

Thank you again guys and I truly appreciate your continuous support for this blog. Love!

Not just any 11!

Curious Me And Galeri Seni Johor

I went back to my hometown in Johor since it was a long weekend due to Malaysia Day Celebration, which fell on 16 Sep, Monday. It was not truly an enjoyable long weekend for me as I still had to do work. Nevertheless, I made an attempt to complete the work as fast as I could and went back happily to my beloved family (yang setia menanti).

The Galeri Seni Johor (or Johor Art Gallery) has always been in my mind for so long. Every time I drove passing Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, I would never miss the glimpse of the gallery building. The curiosity grew on me for years, which have turned to a sort of pressure "I-must-go-and-see-this-time!" when I came back recently. Can you imagine, for years? Gila ke hapa. Sebelum aku 'meletup', baik aku pergi tengok kan.

I always wonder if this gallery has visitors. "Ada ke orang datang sini?" I asked myself. The gallery looks kinda 'lonely' from outside. But well, I finally came to the gallery with my sister to see if my assumption was right. When I arrived, I felt like there was a buzzer pressed to my ears with the sound 'tetttttttt!' to imply that I was wrong. There were visitors in the gallery. It may not be hundreds, but there were people browsing through the gallery. We came at the same time as a group of Japanese tourists.

This is how the gallery looks like from outside:

Minus the red old car, this is one nice and maintained historic building considering it is more than 100 years old

This is one of Johor's historic building and it used to be the official residence of Johor's Third Minister, Dato' Abdullah Jaafar. It was built on 1910 and in 1994, the state government decided to change it to an art gallery to house historical artefacts on Johor's art and heritage. In 1999 however, the Johor Minister announced that the Johor Art Gallery would also be the Arts and Cultural Centre for the State of Johor.

We went in and spent an hour inside the gallery to see our local artists' artwork (especially by Johoreans). Some of the photos:

My personal favourite as below:

Artwork by Hirzaq Harris depicting the late Sultan Ibrahim of Johor on a stamp

Artwork illustrating the Sultan Ibrahim Building at Bukit Timbalan

I like Hirzaq Harris' stamp artwork because of the very detail work. Looks like a simple stamp but it is not when you have a closer look. Combining the inches of details, it becomes an outstanding piece. I guess stamp alike artwork has become one of Hirzaq's artwork signature as I have seen other similar artworks by him as well.

Another one that I like is the Sultan Ibrahim Building at Bukit Timbalan. I can't remember the name of the artist but I like his idea of using brass, metal piece as the base of his artwork. His work details are pretty good too as the building resembles almost exactly as the actual Sultan Ibrahim Building. The Sultan Ibrahim building is the former state secretariat building of Johor and was constructed between 1936 and 1939. It was completed in 1940 as the British colonial government attempted to streamline the state's administration.  Honestly, the artwork looks better than in the photo that I snapped.

The rest of artworks that I also find interesting:

Zikir: Ar Rahim II by Jamil Mat Isa. Calligraphic based artwork on one of Islam's prayer recital. 

Peristiwa Bukit Kepong by Sabariah Omar. A historical based artwork.

Askar Timbalan Setia Negeri Johor Peristiwa 1915 by Baharim Khusil. Another historical based artwork.

Catatan Buat Cucu by Mohamed@Mohamad bin Hassan. A story-telling artwork, from a grandfather to his grandson.

Ketunggulan by Fauzul Yusri. One cynical artwork.

Actually there are more interesting artworks but these are all that I can share for now. My conclusion is, most of the artworks in Galeri Seni Johor are very much on Johor's culture and history. Not many mind-provoking artworks that you can find here but overall, it is fine and worth visiting. I think this gallery personally reminds me not to forget my own roots, no matter how far I have travelled in life.

So my Galeri Seni Johor curiosity is finally answered!

A Food Venture At Pizza Brava

I was first introduced to Pizza Brava by a friend, who frequents to the Sri Hartamas area. It is one of my favourite areas to hang out and chill out too but I have never discovered this place before. I found myself asking "How come???"

When I stepped in, I found that the ambience inside the restaurant is pretty pleasant to dine in. Clean and neat, it is also decorated with framed nostalgic images and two vespas at the front to make the restaurant look more Italian-ish. With these few elements combined, this place looks cool to hang out.

Anyways, I've been to Pizza Brava several times since that first visit and so far, the food has never disappoint me. The restaurant claims it specialises in Italian wood fire pizza but surprisingly, I did not go for the pizza (so happened that I didn't feel like eating pizza when I went there). I tried their pasta, soup and dessert. Some of the food photos:

Zuppeta Di Mare and Garlic Bread - one of the recommended appetisers. If you like tomato-based soup with seafood, you definitely have to go for this! Sedappp!

Aglio Olio Spaghetti with Turkey Ham and Zucchini - looks simple but taste delicious!

*Drum roll sound* Introducing the D dessert - Tartufo! This is my fav among all. It is actually vanilla ice cream wrapped with a layer of chocolate ice cream and choc powder, added with crushed almonds. Love it! Sedappp tahap menangis bila makan. Even looking at it made me feel like "awww I can't eat this...it's too pretty!"

I'm so gonna go to this place again and again, at least for that dessert!

Grandma - The Lady With Vision

The nerve-wrecking news finally came. I knew that it was not a good one when my mobile phone rang at 5.30 a.m. with the caller identified as 'Ayah' on the screen. Only on rare occasions that I will get calls at such time, but that has never happened before.

I was half dozy, but I really tried hard to swallow and stomach the news that I was about to hear. Finally dad revealed it. I felt my heart dropped, but it dropped even further when my dad cried out "Nenek kau dah tak ada!" My grandmother passed away on that Monday morning.

"Oh my God, what should I do?" I asked myself after speaking to my dad. I couldn't sleep after that call and after thinking for a while, I decided to go back to dad's 'kampung' (village) for the burial ceremony. My siblings and I just came back from dad's kampung the night before, but I didn't mind going back again. Although my dad had told us we did not have to go back there if anything happened to grandma, I decided to go against his words. I never believed those words. Above all, I really wanted to be there for him because that's what he needed most, moral support and love from his loved ones. So that morning, my siblings and I went back to dad's kampung to pay our last respect to our grandmother.

Grandma or 'Nenek' as we fondly call her is a woman of her own. For a typical Malayan 'kampung' woman who was born in the 1920s, she certainly set her foresight ahead from the rest of the mothers at that time. "Nenek kau ni kalau tak ada wawasan, tak ada la Ayah belajar sampai universiti," I remembered my dad said that for few times when the subject on my grandma was brought up.

Dad told us that life was not easy for grandma, him and family back then. Although dad had to chip in by working very hard at a young age, grandma was determined and ensured that he made it to high school and tertiary education. Since my dad was the eldest son, she had envisioned him to obtain the best education that she could get or send him to. She believed that only education will improve the family's life and dad is her best bet to become the 'agent of change'. She has never mistaken for that one. It will remain forever accurate. Terror betul nenek aku ni.

I knew that deep down, grandma is a source of inspiration to my dad. Due to her very own wisdom and vision that she has set upon my father since young, I believed dad was personally motivated by it when he decided to pursue for his Masters studies. He braved himself to apply for the course and scholarship. He took the challenge and finally, he was awarded with the Masters degree from a US university. I think since then, my dad had somehow became the icon in his kampung for his success.

Nenek, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for giving birth and bringing up a great son and father that I could never ask for. I will not and shall not change it for anything. He is simply the best and when a person is at his or her best, it is due (fully or partly) to the mother.

We may not be like BFFs, but I will never forget your last few words before, "Bila nak kahwin? Cari la yang 'lawa'! Hihihi..." Your naughty tease with that cheeky laugh is pretty memorable until today. Yes Nenek, your granddaughter here is still on the hunt for the handsome (or 'handsome') eligible bachelor. 

May your soul is blessed by the Almighty Allah. Amin.

Realism Meets Imagination - ABSURD(C)ITY

On a Sunday noon, I decided to venture out to an art exhibition, and Balai Seni Visual Negara (or National Visual Arts Development Board) came to mind! So I drove up to JalanTemerloh to explore what's new at the art gallery.

It was raining throughout the whole journey but I was not deterred by it. I finally arrived at the art gallery and believe it or not, my last visit to BSVN was like 8 years ago! I browsed through to see what's interesting but there was only one exhibition that captured my attention - ABSURD(C)ITY.

The entrance of the exhibition

The ABSURD(C)ITY exhibition showcases modern and contemporary artworks that features surreal elements since the 1950s until now. Realism added with creative, unusual imagination produces impressive artworks and this is proven true by our local artists, including the new ones. There are several types of artworks displayed, such as paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, installation and etc. My personal favourite is the one below:

'Dan Master Itu Sedang Bekerja' by Hamir Soib

'Dan Master Itu Sedang Bekerja' or 'And The Master Is Working At The Moment' in English is produced by the artist, Hamir Soib. I like the fact that this piece is deep and has slight dark element to it. It is not necessary the most beautiful artwork that I have ever seen but I love the meaningful impression of it! I have read some reviews about this particular artwork. Some interpret it as the clown is working hard to entertain and cheer up the audience. Well for me, I look at it as a clown (or more like a jerk) trying to act smart and 'teach' the students as if he knows the subject matter very well. This is the beauty of art, different people have different interpretation of an artwork.

Due to the tight ruling of BSVN, which is no photography for artworks, I am not able to post more photos. The ones that I posted here are the ones that I luckily managed to snap before being warned nicely by the security officer! I was quite dismayed by the rule. In fact, it is a loss for BSVN as it could be an online publicity for them when people blog about the art exhibition (like what I am doing now). As long as there is no flash (the flash light may affect the texture and colour of artworks), then it should be fine. Compared with the art gallery in Sasana Kijang, visitors are allowed to take photos but without flash. That's cool and most of the visitors understood it well. 

Another artwork that I like at the exhibition:

'Someone Forgotten' by Wong Woan Lee. Image taken from: http://goodenei.com/2009/12/23/wong-woan-lee/

This is one emotive piece for me. It immediately reminds me of my father and how I should not forget all the great things he did for me. Never stop loving him.

Despite the not-so-great photography ruling, I guess BSVN will be one of the spots that I would like to drop by to check out new art exhibitions in future.

Kemerdekaan 'For Granted'

Aku gagal. Untuk ke sekian kalinya. Gagal untuk bangkit dari lena malam dan janji manisku kepada diri sendiri untuk merasai gelora patriotisme yang diraikan istimewa pada 31 Ogos.

"Ahh lambat lagi! Macam mana nak pergi ke Dataran Merdeka ni?" getus hatiku ketika bangun dari kamar. Sejujurnya, aku tidak pernah menjejakkan kaki ke mana-mana sambutan kemerdekaan seumur hidupku ini. Jikalau pernah pun, aku tidak mempunyai sebarang memori mengenainya. Mungkin aku terlalu kecil ketika itu.

"Nampak gayanya tak sampai lagi hajat nak merasa celebration merdeka," keluhku dalam hati, seraya memandang ke arah tingkap yang telah mula ditembusi sinaran mentari pagi. Aku bingkas ke bilik mandi untuk membersihkan diri dan bersiap untuk aturcara berikutnya.

Usai bersiap, aku bergegas keluar dan memandu kereta ke pejabat untuk menyelesaikan tugas penting terlebih dahulu. Radiolah peneman setiaku ketika memandu. Aku menekan butang radio bersilih ganti untuk mendengar lagu yang sesuai dengan mood aku ketika itu.  Tatkala aku memutar siaran Mix FM, lagu Sudirman '31 Ogos' sedang berkumandang. Aku tersenyum sendiri dan terasa lebih bersemangat. Lagu itu seolah-olah meredakan perasaan ralatku yang terlepas peluang untuk merasai sendiri sambutan kemerdekaan di Dataran Merdeka. Kenapa aku teringin sangat nak pergi Dataran Merdeka?

"Kau takde kerja ke? And perlu ke nak pergi sana nak celebrate merdeka? Poyo la kau ni." Aku boleh membayangkan kata-kata sinis dan ejekan yang bakal dihamburkan kepada aku kelak. Aku ada jawapan aku tersendiri.

Merdeka. Dari aku kecil sehinggalah sekarang, perkataan itu tidak pernah lekang, baik dari percakapan mahupun penulisan. Ya, aku dilahirkan pada era post independence. Aku tidak mengenali erti kesusahan dan perjuangan untuk mencapai kemerdekaan. Aku tidak tahu perasaan getir atau berani apabila berhadapan dengan musuh-musuh bersenjata dan berperang demi mempertahankan tanah air. Aku tidak pernah merasa jiwa dan mentalku ditujah serta disogok bertalu-talu dengan kata-kata dan semangat patriotik untuk terus bersatu dan berhabis-habisan demi mencapai kemerdekaan nan satu, seperti generasi yang terdahulu. Pendek kata, banyak yang aku tidak tahu. Aku mungkin tahu kronologinya, tetapi aku tidak tahu perasaan-perasaan yang dilalui ketika itu.

Kemerdekaan bagiku dan orang-orang muda kini adalah kemerdekaan for granted. Kemerdekaan yang nikmatnya tersedia ada sebaik sahaja mata ini buat pertama kalinya melihat dunia. Aku cuba untuk menyelami perasaan-perasaan patriotik itu seperti 56 tahun yang lepas. Adakah kehadiran di Dataran Merdeka mampu mengembalikan perasaan itu? Aku tidak pasti tetapi aku fikir tidak salah untuk mencuba. Adakah dengan menghadiri pesta countdown atau ambang kemerdekaan ini membantu untuk menambahkan lagi rasa cinta dan sayangku kepada negara ini?

Fikiran aku melayang jauh. Aku beredar dari pejabat dan terus mencari tempat untuk mengalas perut. Sambil memandu, aku terpandang sepasang kanak-kanak yang memakai baju bercorak bendera Malaysia sedang berjalan ditemani ibu bapa mereka ke arah stesen KTM. Kaget. Aku terus memandu lagi dan akhirnya sampai ke destinasi yang ingin dituju.

Hujan mula membasahi bumi dan aku sedang duduk sambil enak menikmati minuman latte yang dipesan. Fikiran aku terus kembali kepada persolan terakhir. Aku mula mengimbang pro dan kontranya, tetapi nyata aku mempunyai pandangan aku tersendiri. Dentuman dan percikan bunga api yang berwarna-warni sejurus countdown pukul 12.00 tepat tengah malam menandakan 31 Ogos sememangnya menambahkan keceriaan tetapi mungkin belum cukup kuat untuk aku berasa lebih patriotik.

Aku membuat konklusi. Patriotisme aku mungkin bukan terletak pada fizikal atau serupa semangat juang generasi terdahulu. Patriotisme aku lebih bersifatkan rasa prihatin, usaha yang gigih, rasa syukur dan tidak lupa akan jasa pejuang-pejuang kemerdekaan. Aku prihatin dengan orang-orang yang terdekat dan sekelilingku, sama ada waktu senang atau susah. Aku prihatin dengan perkembangan negara walau dalam keadaan apa sekali pun. Aku akan sentiasa gigih berusaha untuk mencapai yang terbaik buat diriku, yang juga boleh mendatangkan kebaikan kepada orang lain dan masyarakat, walaupun ia mungkin tidak segah mana. Aku akan sentiasa beringat dan tidak akan melupakan sewenang-wenangnya segala kesusahan nenek moyangku dalam usaha mereka melepaskan cengkaman kuasa asing ketika itu. I may not be able to change the entire world, but I can improve myself for betterment. Aku akan cuba untuk menjadi aku yang lebih baik daripada sebelum ini. Orang Malaysia yang sebenar.

Ya, kemerdekaan yang ku rasai hari ini kemerdekaan yang for granted but it should not be taken for granted. Aku rasa aku tidak sekuat pejuang-pejuang dan rakyat-rakyat terdahulu yang berkeras dan berjuang habis-habisan menuntut kemerdekaan daripada penjajah. Sementelah mendengar kisah lama nenek ku yang pernah bercerita bahawa wanita-wanita ketika itu terpaksa mencoreng wajah mereka dan berpakaian serbah-serbih supaya tidak 'ditawan' oleh musuh ketika itu. 

"Here is your bill," lamunanku tersentak apabila pelayan warga asing itu menyapaku sambil menghulurkan bil yang perlu ku bayar. Terus aku keluarkan dompet dan membayar jumlah dikehendaki.

Mentari mulai terbit. Aku melangkah keluar dari kedai dengan jiwa yang lebih merdeka. Berada di Dataran Merdeka atau tidak, semangat patriotik dalam diri aku lebih daripada apa yang aku sangkakan, walaupun kemerdekaan yang aku kecapi hari ini kemerdekaan yang for granted. 

Selamat Hari Jadi Malaysia, tanah tumpahnya darahku.

"...merdeka itu bukanlah suatu benda yang mudah boleh didapat, melainkan ialah dikehendaki untuk mendapatkannya itu iaitu pengorbanan yang sebenar pengorbanan." - Tunku Abdul Rahman, Perdana Menteri Malaysia Yang Pertama