Rombongan Meminang

Delaqroux Inc Updates!

Now this blogpost was supposed to be made this morning when i was so friggin pissed at something (Anger - fueling blogpost since... blogs were invented). But it's 6.34pm in the evening and the anger's pretty much all put out by today's awesome rainy weather.

And then, i watched some Bro Team episodes and i think i can get my rage back on.

To start it off, it was a Sunday morning, aka a weekend morning. Considering the fact that i have LDP (stands for Latihan Dalam Perkhidmatan) the day before, Sunday's pretty much what's left of my weekend. And because there's only two days on a weekend, Sunday's pretty much what's left of my weekend. And being a 23 year old gentlemen living an active, adrenalined fueled lifestyle, i wanted to stay in bed at least til 12pm. After all, Sunday's pretty much what's left of my weekend.

That is, until a hear some really effed up, infinite honking outside my house. Like, seriously, super loud honking of hundreds of cars all at once. Now, it's either something really awesome was taking place outside (like someone thought of a flash-car-mob revolution) or something really terrible that the people inside those cars cant do anything else but to honk for help. So, me, woken up from my sleep, peeked out of my window.

And what do i saw?

Rombongan meminang.

Yeah! Fucking ZING! I dunno what sort of happy pills these people are taking but somehow, they replaced the ol' graceful, poetic slammin' between the rombongan meminang and the house's host with dumbed-down, highly retarded, chain of endless car honks - and all at 7am in the  morning! It's that supposed to be cultural? Or you guys are so happy that everyone else's happiness (of sleeping on a weekend) doesnt matter anymore to you? Seriously, death of a Malay culture? Happy pills? All their cars are belongs to theirs? I dunno what the hell these people are thinking but I invite the whole world to agree with me that what ever they were doing was retarded.

Frankly, married people are not so much in my favourite people list.... well, yeah, okay, i dont have a favourite people list. But the point is; i often see married people (or those related to married people or a marriage) can be quite ignorant in aplenty of scenarios (i'll cover that sometime later in the future). And this case, just topped it all.

Til then, Sunday's pretty much what's left of my weekend.

Delaqroux Out

Moving out IPBArians?

Delaqroux Inc Updates!

Without having this blogpost to be unecessarily long winded, let me begin with several basic things you need to know; I am pissed, IPBA is asking us to move out of the students accommodation, and i have a good idea to have us not succumbing to this immature, inconsiderate demand. Also, I am very pissed.

First of all, I regard this to be highly immature demand of the IPBA administration because, as much as they claim that they have put quite a lot of thought in it, i think this is a consequence to poor planning and failure to walk that talk they made so much noise of. The call for us to be moving out of the students' accomodation was made a few weeks ago in April. As we are to move out during our second semester, this leaves us only with two months to find for an accomodation outside. This is not only absurd but considering the fact that they expect us to be able to find a place that can only accommodate us for less than six month in Kuala Lumpur - that is stupid. To tell you the truth, the rumour of us having to find a place outside went around as early as last year. At that time, i regarded IPBA's accommodation as being quote shitty end quote (i'm staying in the living room atm.. duh!) that i wouldnt mind staying outside. But that was only when we still have two semesters in IPBA. It is possible to get a place for rent with a minimum contract of a year. But now that we are looking for a place to rent for less than six month, how is that possible for us?

Thinking that it was a good head-start to have some brief idea on where should we be renting, me and my practicum teammates did go for a small house-search around the KL area. Phone calls were made and house prices were surveyed only to find disappointing results. Places advertised for rent are either occupied or the price for renting is insanely high (homes in prime zone of KL, what do you expect?). I mean, if we are to move out of IPBA's accommodation, the only monthly financial advantage we have is just by RM80 a month. A place with three bedrooms costs so much that we figured that only by cramming more people than the house is meant for us was the only solution. Then again, if the house is so crammed, has it ever crossed any mind of IPBA administration that this might affect our studies? Especially we're on our practicum years where C5 IPBArians should have enough matters in their hands already. Also, when we tried to request for a block in IPBA where we, desperately, claimed that we dont mind cramming alot of people in a place as long as we dont have to move out, they responded that over-cramming might be psychologically dangerous (whatever fuck that means?) and might affect our well-being and studies. Huh... so it's alright to have us squatting in a house of 10 people outside? Oh, and if they expect us to find a place for one person or two person stay (like in Vista Angkasa for example), how can they be guarantee that it'd be safe for us? My sister used to live in Vista Angkasa before due to the reason that it's the only available and affordable accommodation around KL (she was studying in UM at that time). How did it turned out? Well, she moved out a few months after. The reason being; too many cases of house break-ins in the area, perverted, wolf-whistling mat rempits hanging about the place, she got pick-pocketed while waiting for the bus, and, ONCE AGAIN, she had to squat in a house of two rooms with six other housemates and she think life was really, really fucked. How is this ideal?

I would like to quote that statement made early in this year that says "asramaku rumahku" and i will like to highlight how ironic it is that we are being chased out of our own 'house' despite we did nothing wrong to break the students' accommodation act or commit any crime. The blame lies within the management that failed to reject new intakes of students despite being obviously clear that IPBA's students accomodation is reaching its accommodating limits. Regard this blogpost as a provocative heads-up to instill anger and fear if you will, because i believe this is exactly what we need to show to the management - of course, not to the extreme, barbaric level; but enough to know that we are standing firm with our rights. This demand of having us to move out on such a short notice, without considering our physical, emotional and financial well-being is a sign of immaturity and poor management skill - things that we are taught in IPBA to not succumb to as future teachers. For those who disagree with me, just regard this blogpost as an angry rantings of someone who has spent hours with his practicum teammates discussing, making phone calls, and searching  for a house to rent outside, and wasted those hours, failing. Ignore this blogpost.

For those who think otherwise, are you still looking for a place to move out?

Delaqroux Out.

Of Beggars and Preachers

Delaqroux Inc Updates

While i was typing the blogpost title above, something struck me. Should i use capital for the nouns in my blogpost title? Did i ever use capital for nouns in my blogpost title before? Hmmm... Anyways, back to the topic.

Just a few hours ago, i was having my dinner when an old guy dropped by my table and he started asking for donations. As usual, they're those unfortunate people who are not exactly as wealthy in supporting their own expense and they drop in restaurants to restaurants, table by table, asking for you to be generous. (Yes, i'm avoiding the use of the word Beggar here coz i think it sounds a lil too harsh.) Of course, there's always the people who drop by your table, selling some stuff that, apparently, are of no use to you. And then, there are those people who uses elements of sympathy or whatever to get you to be generous. Now, as useless as the items offered by the former, i dont really mind them. At least, they're using some effort to get the money they need. Heck, sometimes, i dont mind buying those stuffs they offered coz they're pretty useful... *hides shiny LED bouncing ball and wooden key-chain the shape of a heart* ..like a packet of tissue papers.

But, what really grinds my gears (Family Guy reference.. wtf) is the latter who... how should i put it delicately... friggin cheats to get your money from you. Now here's what happened; the old guy who dropped by my table was wearing jubah and turban, carrying a recycable bag and a walking stick. He didnt really held out his hand and ask for donations. Instead, he gave me a greet. Acceptable. But what he did next was TOTALLY not acceptable. He started preaching about God and doing goodness and stuffs. I wasnt able to really hear him as the place was a lil noisy though. However, I manage to hear him uttering how i should start doing goodness because God knows when i will die. Okay. Then he started pointing upwards and start uttering some arabic phrases (probably from Quran i guess) and said something about, God knows what i do and didnt do and more stuffs. Also, he said something about he is a humble servant of God and his arrival might be God's reminder for me to do good things. All while closing his eyes, talking in smug tone, and pointing occasionaly skywards. So, yeah, why is that unacceptable? Read on.

Due to the fact that i couldnt really hear him with all the noise in the restaurant, i was freaked out for a moment. What exactly is this old man talking about? Is he asking for donations or he's just dropping by to preach something and only that? Should i take out my wallet and give him something, or should i continue listening? (Note that i didnt opt to ignore him entirely. That's something). So, being in such state of confusion, i took out my wallet. Then i thought, "wait, why am i taking out my wallet? Is he hypnotizing me or something?". Then, i just decided to just take out my cash. If he is just using all those talks to just get me to give him some cash, then he should be giving me some attention by now. If he's generously preaching, then i suppose he would reject the cash. Surprisingly, he did not held out his hand to take the cash or pay any attention to it, but continues talking. That was when i thought it's a nice change to have people who are actually devoted to God to shamelessly preach reminders on people without any hidden agendas. Perhaps, we do need some reminder every now and then.

My next move however, proved everything wrong. Yes, we do need reminders every now and then. That in some people, God is just another tool to get what you want. Pessimistic as that sounds but this old guy who has been preaching for the last 8 minutes is just that, someone who claims God wants you to give him cash. What. the. fuck.

My next move was asking him "Pakcik kutip derma ke?" (my question might have not exactly be like that but it's exactly the same gist). Apparently, people, there's a distinct difference between derma and sedekah. Derma is when you collect money for someone or a charity organization. Sedekah is when you give the money to the person needing it in front of you at no catch. If the guy is collecting derma, then he will say yes. Maybe he's been preaching on behalf of some mosque that is really in need of funding. If the guy is a con, he will also say yes. However, IF the guy's a real preacher, he will say no. This guy said..... *drumroll* no. In fact, this was his answer (something like this); "WTF man! No, i'm not collecting derma, i'm in need of sedekah! Werent you listening to what i said?" Yes, aside the "WTF man!", everything else is exactly what he said. I tried to explain myself but he cut me off and started preaching more things about doubting a person who's in need. And he said something like, he's looking for a sincere giver, if i'm doubting him then my gift for him is not sincere, thus, God shall not be amused. He said that whether if he's lying or not, that's his issue with God. the question now is whether am i sincere with what i'm giving him or not? Well, friggin obviously i'm not.

Finally, after assuring him that i am 'fucking sincere', i gave him the cash, he thanked me and went off to the next table and started preaching again. Yeah, so that's how the story ended. There were times when people asked me for donations and i wondered if that person is really using the money for any good later on. This time around, i dont care if he's using the money for good or not, i just want him to get struck by lightning right there, right now. What he did was basically using God's name to get him the money. Maybe he is using the money for a prayer mat or a new Quran but i dont think that money would ever be halal. It is a form of sedekah, i know, but using God's name for that? I dont recall God saying anything about quoting any holy scripture to get money so you can do good with it, nor preach about him to get yourself some money. Have God ever told me to give people money sincerely and generously? Yes. Have God ever told people to ask for money in His name?

Okay, i'm not being a religious smug here but what he did really ticked me off. If you disagree with my point up there and you believe that it's alright to bring God along when you're asking for donations, then i believe you have to agree with the next old lady who came to me afterwards, bringing in a small little girl with her and letting the girl ask people for donations. Both the old guy and the old lady did the same thing. I believe both is just as wrong.

Delaqroux Out.

How Creative is Creative?

Delaqroux inc Updates!

How do we measure creativity? Okay, so that was random wasnt it? Well, this is the thing that i've been pondering since day one of my enrolment to Macq Uni's ENGL201: Intro to Creative Writing class. We have weekly seminars in which, from what it says in the unit outline, i figured it's gonna be fun coz we'll be doing writing workshops every week (workshops are practically sessions where you have people reading out their writing for the week and other people give their feedbacks on them). But after a couple of workshop sessions, i've come up with this question; how do you measure creativity?

There was this Australian girl in my classroom who came up with this writing about her 'other' self. People liked it. I thought it was boring. I mean seriously; "who is that in my room?", "why is she crying?", "how come she looks so familiar?". Well, friggin OBVIOUSLY, she's you in mirror. I figured that out on the first 10 seconds of her reading (though, of course, i didnt say anything). Everyone else claimed that, after she finished reading, that it was the best writing ever. One guy, not sure whether he was trying to hit on the girl or what, straight ahead claimed that he had no idea that the writer was talking about her own reflection. Wait, i figured that out before the first paragraph even manage to come to an end. So, we're having conflicting opinions here. Everyone, including the lecturer thought it was creative. I thought it was predictable. I dont want to call a writing in which i can predict what will be going on after reading the first line as being uncreative so i just kept my opinion to my own self and, like others, claimed that it was a good writing. It was a good writing after all. Just slightly too predictable for me. But, yeah, let's skip ahead to a couple weeks of workshops.

There was this another girl who shared a really emotional poem. And then there was this another short poem about self-discovery which was never found. And then they were a few more others of almost the same kind of mood. Everybody loves them though i am starting to fast lose my interest in listening to their works. I dont know why but people tend to associate creative writing as some kind of sad self-loathing pieces of writing work. Poems have to be sad and emotional and one liners. Essays have to be about not being able to uncover your inner self. Writings are about being self-loathing and talking about things that you cannot get or be. Seriously, what the hell? Finally, there was this one lady who is not of Australian origin who wrote a poem about her family in rhymes. The fact that her English wasnt that good didnt stop me from thinking that her poem is nice. Something happy and positive for a change. I mean, it's about her family; her husband and son and herself - what is there not to like? I find that she enjoyed doing it. I thought she really put herself in the poem. Well, everybody hates it. The lecturer said the rhymes were out of place and some lines were unnecessary. Everybody else hardly commented anything on it. During the feedback session, everyone just pretend they're not in the class. Seriously.

Then, during this another workshop, another friend of mine wrote a short story on gender stereotypes in an Indian family. I thought it was brilliant. Others didnt comment on it. The lecturer said that the whole introduction paragraph was unnecessary. She said; go straight to the point so that your readers dont lose interest. She said; there was too much details and the word choices overlaps one another (apparently, you cant say things "illuminous, bright lights" coz illuminious and bright means the same thing). I thought the first paragraph was as necessary as the whole writing itself. So I said; what the hell?! Since when does creative writing has to be constrained by what the readers want or do not want to read em? I thought writing creativelywas about expressing yourself, creating the mood, bringing your message across, writing like you mean it. But cut out a paragraph coz long, winded paragraph about the setting of the storyline will bore the readers out? Since when did i sign up for being a publisher in a teen manuscript publishing company?

Finally, the moment of truth finally came (Double "finally" there. Sorry :p). It was my turn to present something. I chose my best writing; a poem with rhymes in it and it talks about my philosophical idea of questioning people's mentality. To tell you the truth; it sounds abit hippie-ish, but still, i thought it was my best work. I loved it. But i guess those people are as predictable as some write up about yourself in the mirror. Coz they hated it. Their comment was hardly meaningful. The lecturer said i did a stupid move by writing in rhymes coz writing in rhymes are hard and you shouldnt do it. Yes, i know writing in rhymes are hard but i thought i sign up to this course coz i want to improve my writing. If my attempt to try something risky is replied with a comment " dont try risky things", then how am i to improve my writing? After some reflecting, i realized no one else tried writing in rhymes. Their poems are mainly one-liners which doesnt contain any rhyme - just sad tones. So those writing reflect a true attempt in writing creatively but mine doesnt? So those poems are creative and mine isnt? Is that it?

And about lines in creative writings being unnecessary or too beating-around-the-bushes-like, how do creative writings differ than formal writings then? I thought Stephen King wrote his novels with a hell lot of sentences just to describe one thing super-small but that is his style. Shakespeare wrote reference to the Phoebus and Errebhus and Arthemist in his writing and does that mean that guy is just beating around the bush? I heard people complaining about Watchmen and Fight Club to have a really slow pace in its storyline narration - shall we tell the author to speed things up abit so they dont lose their readers' interest? And i know i normally cite this source for all the negative reasons but personally, i thought Stephanie Mayer's Twilight is slow as hell and it was not realistic at all. But people liked it. People liked her style. As a reader, i can comment but i cant change the fact that Twilight is Twilight. No. That is just how those authors' style are! And if you dont want to call them of being creative, then call them boring in front of the thousands of fans who says that their writings are awesome. And if i am going to write my poem starting with the first line "I like candies" and the second line "I like to fuck", and the following lines is the word "quack.... quack.... quack...." then no one should be able to stop me. Coz there is hidden annotation in both of those lines and if you dont get it; then you're the one not being to think beyond the text, arent you? SInce when does creative writing has to be readers-oriented? I am writing my own piece of work here so if being creative means that my reader couldnt understand what i am writing about, so be it!

So here's my final say for the evaluation to my ENGL201 Unit. I hate it.

Play Feed the Head. People call the game shitty. I call that creative.