Seven Years Of Wonder

Scenario 1:

My sister, Cik Qist and I got into the car. I was about to drive. 

Me: "So Qist, are you ready? ARE YOU READYYY???" I asked as if I was a rock star asking fans if they are ready to see more performance. For my case, if she was ready to go for an adventurous drive, with the hope she would answer "yeahhh!"

Sekali answer aku dapat...

Qist: "Ready for whatttt??" Tu dia, jawapan selamba tanpa rasa bersalah.

"Potong stim betul budak ni," kata aku dalam hati sambil berasa boring. Aunty Tzar gelak sampai tak sudah.

Scenario 2:

It was first day of Hari Raya and my sister, Tzar was with Cik Qist in the living room. Cik Qist was happily running and hopping around.

Aunty Tzar: "Qist, nak raya tak? Jangan lompat-lompat sana-sini. Duduk diam-diam."

Qist:"Ok, ok nak raya!" *terus stop, tapi cepat jer sambung* "But wait, isn't it Hari Raya already?" *bagi statement bijak lepas tu terus melompat balik*

Aunty Tzar terus speechless. Tepuk dahi tak terkata apa dah.


Scenario 3: 

I went to my brother's (Qist's father) house one late afternoon to visit him and family. On the way, I stopped by at a shop and bought something for Qist. Sayang anak buah kan. So beli la ole-ole sikit to surprise her and make her happy.

Me: "Hey Qist, guess what? I brought something for you." I was hoping she would react happily and eager to get the surprise.

Sekali yang aku dapat...

Qist: "Well, I know." Perghh ayat confident.

Me: "What?? How did you know???" Dah start patah hati ni, but still curious nak tau. 

Qist: "It's just a hunch." Penuh relax dia menjawab.

Kau mampu? Budak 7 tahun dengan selamba reply "it's just a hunch". Menangis aku kat situ dengar and terasa bagaikan ada satu rak buku besar kat belakang aku yang mula tumbang dengan buku-bukunya jatuh menghempap diriku sambil mengejek yang surprise aku tak jadi. 

Cik Qist, Cik Qist. Ya, memang kau boleh buat aunty menangis tapi menangis dalam kegembiraan. Melayan keletah mu yang bijak and sentiasa pantas memberi respon. 

While most of my generation (including myself) at the age of seven could be friendly but not the 'muka tebal' type, you are the opposite. You are really confident for a very young lady. Kalau kita dulu-dulu time Raya, tengok uncles or aunties kita keluarkan angpau or duit raya nak bagi kat kita pun kita dah rasa seronok. Berharap jer dalam hati  yang dalam paket tu, duit kaler merah. Or hijau. Biru pun not so bad la, janji dapat. Lepas tu ngada-ngada buat-buat segan dapat duit raya sambil cakap terima kasih, tapi dalam hati teriak "Yahoo! Aku kaya!!".

But Cik Qist? Suka hati jer bagi statement kat Tok Ibu dia: 

"Can I have 50 dollars for duit raya please?" 

Kau mampu? Takde Cik Qist ni nak segan silu bagai, siap demand upfront lagi. Yang best tu, dia dapat pulak tu! Untung, untung Cik Qist ni. Kalau time aku dulu, jangan harap ler. 

Cik Qist just turned seven yesterday. Cik Qist, seven years is really fast. Watching you grow up from baby until you are in school now just made me realised how time flies. 

You are smart, funny, friendly and kind. Keep it up, young lady. You have the potential to become a great personality. 

Here's to a greater life pursuit:

Happy Birthday Cik Qist!! Muahh muahhh!

And here is something for you to reflect in the next 20 years:

I love you Cik Qist.

BERSAMA In Collaborating Art

Doing things together can be beneficial and this is proven true with the BERSAMA Art Exhibition, which was officially launched on 12 December 2013 at Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery (MAG), Sasana Kijang.

BERSAMA or 'together' in English, is an art collaboration between Malaysia and Indonesia that aims to foster stronger relationship between the two countries by illustrating the richness of cultures that inspires and influences the daily lives of the people in the nation.  

The BERSAMA exhibition has actually been on display since October this year but they just officially launched it as there are additional artworks included for public's view. So this means, I have been here twice :D

It was pretty pleasing to see the artworks of our local and Indonesian artists' on display. I dare say this is one of the most satisfying art exhibition and the outcome is not disappointing at all. Malaysian and Indonesian artists certainly have the advantage in terms of richness in culture. That expands the idea and transform it to make it such as 'walla!' outwork. I love most of it.

This exhibition too, is difficult for me to highlight my personal favourites because there are just too many to admire with. There are over 40 artworks in this exhibition by 20 artists (11 Malaysian and 9 Indonesian).

Sharing some of the artworks in the exhibition:

Keluarga Cantik / Tiga Dara by Basoeki Abdullah, an Indonesian artist. 

Penari Jaipong by Basoeki Abdullah. 

There's something about Basoeki's artwork that attracted me. I would never get bored looking at it.  His artworks somehow felt 'alive'. The "Keluarga Cantik / Tiga Dara" (Beautiful Family / Three Ladies) artwork that features the lady in red is said to be the mother of the Central Bank's Governor. She is the late Sharifah Azah Mohammad Alsagoff or fondly known as Azah Aziz, Malaysia's culture expert. According to Indonesian source, the painting was produced when Azah was 26 year-old. However, she only saw this artwork more than 40 years after it was produced. She was above 80 years old at that time. This artwork was discovered at Istana Bogor, one of the presidential palace in Indonesia. 

Basoeki passed away in 1993, leaving his precious artworks behind for appreciation.

Kandang Penyu by Affandi

Petarung Sejati by Affandi. 

Ikan-ikan Dijemur by Affandi

Affandi is also another notable artist from Indonesia. I am usually not very much fond of abstracts but his abstract artworks are amazing and meaningful indeed. I truly appreciate his work. 

Merapi Setelah Meletus by Kartika

Kampung Di Penang by Kartika

Kartika Affandi is certainly one talented artist. Following her father footsteps, Affandi, she puts her very own personal touch in her artworks, which differs her from her father. Very good. She is not under her father's shadow and it is something to be proud of. 

Untitled (Zain) by Ahmad Fuad Osman, a Malaysian artist. Unity without prejudice, even if you are Spongebob. 

Another artwork by Ahmad Fuad Osman - Leap Of Faith. Ok I super like this one because it has emotion sentiment to it. I was just touched and I thought this is one deep, meaningful piece of artwork

Chairil Anwar by Syed Ahmad Jamal, a famous Malaysian artists

Kalamukara Prambanan (top) and Garuda Disanggar Affandi (below) by Siti Zainon Ismail, Malaysian artist.

I had the opportunity to speak to Siti Zainon about her artwork and involvement the art scene. "Did you know that Affandi purposely poured water on my artwork?" Siti Zainon explained to us while pointing to her "Garuda Disanggar Affandi" artwork. "Seriously???" my colleague and I were shocked to hear that. I looked again at her artwork and yes, I could see there were water marks on it. The artworks were the very few of Siti Zainon's early work, which was in 1970. I guess Affandi was probably mocking or challenging Siti Zainon at that time. Somehow, I thought it was actually a good move by him. The water marks added more character to the artwork and I quite like that.

Siti Zainon shared with us that when she was still young and studying arts, she and her mates worked really hard and it was compulsory for them to produce such artworks (as per in the photo above) to pass. They were required to produce about 500 pieces a month and must be of high standard or it would be rejected (in a very mean way, trust me). Gosh, 500 per month? Hands down to you Madam Siti. Kagum sungguh.

Three Heads by Ahmad Zakii Anwar. Ok, I have to admit this had never failed to amaze me. Everytime I look at this photo I will automatically be in awe. Zakii, a Malaysian artist produced this artwork using charcoal. Awesome piece of work. I snapped this during my first visit to this exhibition. Unfortunately, this piece has been removed to give way for other artworks to be on display.

And what do you know? Of course I had to take a picture with the talented artist himself, Zakii Anwar! One of the happiest day in my life. The artworks behind us were by Zakii as well.

A photo with Siti Zainon Ismail and her artworks

Last but not least, with Kartika of Indonesia. What a day :)

The BERSAMA exhibition will run until 5 January 2014. If you are into arts, do drop by and visit the art gallery. You will love it :)

Art With Love - From Paris To KL

Balai Seni Visual Negara (BSVN) or National Visual Arts Gallery has certainly become one of my favourite spots to drop by (although I am not a fan of its no-photo-taking rule in galleries) and my recent visit proved to be worthwhile.

I found out that there were few exhibitions running in BSVN. The ABSURD(C)ITY exhibition is still running, which I have written about it earlier (click here to read). There were another two that I was interested but I want to write more about this particular one for this post - 'Paris to Kuala Lumpur', a solo art exhibition by the artist Ken Yang.

Truthfully, I've never heard of Ken Yang before until I stepped in into BSVN. "Hmm who is that?" I wondered. The royal yellow entrance (His Majesty The King officiated this exhibition) to the gallery signified how 'big' it is. I was still not too sure though what to expect. Without thinking much, I walked in straight away to view his artworks.

Wow. Yes, I had that 'wow' moment when I first set my foot in. You know, the feeling of not over thinking when making decision and being rewarded when you least expect it? That's exactly how I felt. The first thing that came to my mind is "he is so freaking talented!"

Ken Yang is a Paris-based Malaysian artist who travelled to Paris, France 10 years ago, pursuing his passion in arts. Inspired by the Western European arts, specifically the Renaissance style, his far long journey is certainly not a waste. His advanced technique in the 'sfumato' style and wide exposure from European and Parisian culture is well reflected in his artwork collection. He boost it further in his Malaysian artworks with such skill. This artist certainly has an eye for details. His detail work is very, very, very impeccable I must say. I super love detail artworks and Ken Yang exceeded that expectation. He captured the tiny, micro details and illustrate it professionally in his artwork. Looking at his artwork piece is like looking an actual life photo. Cun!

I normally love to highlight my personal favourite artworks but it is just difficult to do that with Ken Yang's artworks. I love most of it. There is none to be disliked.

My hands were super itching to take photos of Ken Yang's artworks but I was like under BSVN's microscope. The personnel kept on watching my movements all the time and it is not comfortable at all. I was not able to take any photos in his gallery :(

Luckily, I was browsing through the net and found out that the artist himself has a Facebook page with the photos of his artworks. Happiness! 

Some photos of the artworks from Ken Yang's official Facebook page:

"Ivory"

"At Night Under The Sakura Tree"

"Winter"

"The Cheater I". The artist was self-portrayed on the right.

"The Cheater II"

The Three Graces (Satu Malaysia)

The artist himself in an exclusive, sort of vintage photo shoot. 

Some portrait artworks on Malaysian royal family:

There are more interesting artworks but the best is to drop by at his art exhibition in BSVN and see it for yourself. The exhibition will run until 31 January 2014. Like myself, I'm sure you will not regret your visit to this exhibition :)

Ken Yang is definitely one of the artists to be watched out for. With his skill and talent, I think he can go far and produce more significant artworks. 

If you are interested to know more about Ken Yang, you can visit http://www.kenyang.info/ or his official Facebook page here.

Jar Full Of Hearts

Dear readers, if you still remember, I conducted a simple survey last month - Do You Believe Love At First Sight? I personally would like to thank to those who participated in the survey. Not that many but still, the responses were precious to me. Thanks so much for taking your time to answer :)

I should have written about this once the survey ended but I was occupied with other commitments. But not to worry, the survey will not go to waste for sure. I indeed intend to write about it, and who doesn't love the subject of love? *dreamy mode*

Phrases like "love is in the air", "love is blind" and "till death do us part" show that how love greatly impact us as human beings. We cannot live without love, as how we cannot live without air. I am not surprised if some may snort upon reading this statement with expression like "How cheesy. I can live without love and I'm independent" or in Malay "Eeeii geli lah baca ayat dia ni, macam poyo jer! Mencik!". Well, ok let me ask you this. Weren't you born from love? *making 'duh!' face*

So when more respondents declared 'Yes' as the answer for the survey question, I was in awe. Wow. Seriously, I envy you guys. You guys must have met the love of your life in a glance with full of love! How amazing.

Not to mock my fellow readers who answered 'Yes' because I truly respect your life choices, but it is just different for me. I personally do not believe in love at first sight. Well, to have crush on someone at first sight is possible but love? 

I believe I had my first crush when I was very, very little (around 5 years old). Very young huh? Yes, I thought the same too but it just happened and it was nothing anyway. I remembered I followed my mum to one of our neighbour's house. While my mum was chatting with our lady neighbour, I noticed her son was sitting on a bench in front of the house, reading a book diligently. He was in high school I guess. With pleasant facial features, proper combed hair, spectacles and a book in his hands, I have no idea why but I was just mesmerised with the whole visual. I couldn't stop staring at him. He probably noticed that I kept staring at him which after a while, he looked at me, had a second pause and gently smiled! Oh that feeling. Can you imagine? My heart melted immediately. I blushed and felt embarrassed after that for my action. I just smiled sheepishly to him in return. 


That was the only memory I had about this person and we have not met after that until about two years ago when I saw him at our neighbourhood. I just looked from far. He didn't notice me and I was very sure he did not remember me at all. It's alright. I was not hurt at all. Well, after not seeing this person for decades, let's just say he looked irrelevant to what I first saw when I was 5. I quietly smiled to myself but deep inside my heart, I was laughing out loud wondering what was I thinking back then??? But hey, in my defence, he looked pretty descent and quite good looking when he was young.

So yes, that is my little crush story. I had relationship which began with crush before, but it didn't last long. We separated and moved on with our lives afterwards. The truth is, I have never experienced love at first sight. I don't know how it feels like. So readers, is it fair for me to say that I do not believe in it because I have not experience it? Or is it because of my unsuccessful experience with crush-to-relationship that made me sort of denying it? In fact, based from this experience, I had actually make a point to really know someone well or be friends with the person first before moving on to the next level of relationship.

To me, the world is like one big jar with billions of heart shapes in it. The heart shapes represent us, the human beings. It comes in various pink-reddish shades and tones. The sweet pink represents normal feeling, either waiting or seeking for love. The hot pink represents the beginning of love with much fondness of the partner. Flaming red represents the feeling of passionately in love. The ultimate feeling of true love.

Nevertheless, in between the billions of vibrant heart shapes, there are also pale pink hearts, which represent sadness or loneliness. The heart shapes broken into two, which mean the heart-broken feeling. Don't be surprised to come across with black hearts too, which represent total hatred or resentment.

It is just one unique jar with various colours of heart shapes. Pretty subjective to describe everything in it. It is intense with different level of emotions.


Although I had made a point to be friends first and etc, I will not lie to myself. There is one tiny part in me feeling curious to know the feeling of falling in love at first sight. Will that ever happen to me?

Maybe it will. Maybe we will get to see another two heart shapes in the jar turning to flaming red from the strike of love at first sight.


Who knows?

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage" - Lao Tzu (Image taken from popchassid.com)

The Lonely Playground

I recently went back to my home town after so long. It felt really good to forget about work for a while and enjoy the moments with loved ones.

"Cik Adik, jom pergi jalan-jalan tengok taman ni, especially dekat playground. Lama giler tak pergi sana," I got my sister to accompany me touring the neighbourhood one late afternoon. I suddenly felt like going to the playground area and wonder what happened to it. I've seen it from far but I've not stepped my foot there for more than 10 years. Nah, at least 15 years. How does it really look like now? I tempted to go for closer look.

My sister had warned me earlier that the playground was no longer like how it used to look like. "So be prepared with the 'new look' Aida," I cautioned myself. 

We drove around the neighbourhood and finally reached the playground. I got out from the car and entered the playground to look closely. Thanks to my sister's early warning, I was less shocked to see the current condition of the playground.

It was absolutely different. Instead of the soft, sandy surface, grasses are wildly outgrowing the whole area. The swings are upside down, broken and unfixed. The colourful paints that used to cheer the whole playground and attract the children to come and play had certainly faded. The used-to-be white, clean slides were just too filthy. In conclusion,  the playground is in an abandoned state, wrecking from day to day. 

Every time I go back home, childhood memories will automatically replay in my mind. Where did I generate most of the memories? It was from this playground.

I would like to believe that my sister and I were the first to 'attack' the playground, and we were accompanied by our late grandmother. Don't get me wrong. My late grandmother didn't play the swing nor the seesaw. Since we were just too young to go on our own, she accompanied and monitored us to make sure we were alright. 

I noticed after that, more and more children from the neighbourhood came out to play at the playground. It was normally behind the fence kind of communication or play outside the house, but with the playground, we had the entire space for us to play. How awesome was that? The playground was like the world to us.

Besides playing the swing, seesaw, slide and others, we utilised the space and equipments to play police and thief and 'kejar-kejar' (it is sort of 'catch me if you can' kind of game). It was pretty adventurous back then. The girls played hopscotch, which was pretty cool and less painful since it was on sandy surface. The bigger boys played soccer since there is a field in front of the playground. I also remembered that we had competition on who can swing the highest, jump out from the swing's seat at the highest peak and land while standing (like a gymnast!). Well, I was one of the naughty kiddos who loved to do that! Thank goodness I can still stand and walk normally until today.

In short, the playground was like the ultimate rendezvous for all of the children in the neighbourhood to meet and play. The playground was at its peak of popularity before mid 1990s. 

Yes, that was extremely long, long time ago. Too long that day by day, lesser children came to the playground. And now, there are no children at all seen playing at the playground since the last few years. 

It used to be full of laughters but now it is just so quiet and lonely. Cats and dogs are the new 'residents' of the playground. I guess everyone has grown up and moved on with their lives. The same goes with me. I moved out from my parents house to further my studies and now I am working in the capital city of the country.

I believe most of my childhood neighbours had also left the neighbourhood to pursue their passion and life commitment. Perhaps there are lesser children in the neighbourhood now. Well, if there are anyway, it would probably not be the same. Nowadays, Ipads, tablets, game consoles etc. have become the 'playground' for most children. The art of playing with mates outside the house seems not to be very attractive any more, sadly. 

I left the playground with my sister. As much as I was dismayed to see how abandoned it was, I, however, felt glad that I got a chance to play, used it and created memorable moments from it to be remembered for the rest of my life.

This used to be my playground. It was 'the' playground and it was a happy one. 

But now, it is nothing more than a lonely playground. The wind that blew the dried leaves away ratified it.