Miscellany Mid-August.

So here I am again being guilty for deserting my bloggie for more than a week again and I can't believe it's already a few day passed Mid-August. A couple of things happened in my otherwise cloistered life. Let's see, where shall I start...

-Campus Ramadhan Survival Log - Week Two-

Sambungan daripada entri blog terdahulu seminggu yang lalu! Mari kita mula dengan juadah yang saya bungkus dari Gerai Nasi Campur Fajar Harapan sepanjang seminggu yang lalu!

Selasa 9 Ogos: Gulai Daging dengan kacang panjang. Ingat gulai daging tu cuma ada daging sahaja, rupa-rupanya ada pulak hati yang memang saya rasa mual setiap kali saya makan. Antara isi perut daging yang saya tidak tahan.

Rabu 10 Ogos: Gulai Daging dengan dalca/ulam/campuran timun, nanas dan bawang merah.

Khamis 11 Ogos: Gulai Daging dengan Telur Dadar.

Jumaat 12 Ogos: Gulai Daging dengan sayur campur yang saya tak pasti namanya.

Isnin 15 Ogos: Ayam kunyit dengan kuah kari SAHAJA. Entah kenapa lauk habis awal pada hari itu walaupun cuma pukul 6:30 petang iaitu masa yang saya biasanya tiba di kafe untuk bungkus nasi campur sebagai makan malam.

Selasa 16 Ogos: Daging masak kurma (kalau tak salah) dan campuran timun/nanas/bawang merah ditambah lagi dengan seceduk kuah kari.

Tidak ketinggalan juga, kunjungan ke Pasar Malam Sungai Dua tempat yang menjadi tumpuan penduduk kawasan Sungai Dua terutamanya warga kampus Universiti Sains Malaysia setiap hari Sabtu untuk mendapatkan juadah yang enak dan barangan yang murah! Saya pergi ke sana tu cuma nak makan saja!

Akhirnya jua aku dapat menikmati juadah pantai timur yang sudah dua minggu ku idamkan semenjak bermulanya bulan Ramadhan: Nasi Dagang! Nasi pulut bersama dengan ikan dalam kuah dan telur rebus~ Ada apa lagi ya yang saya belum makan untuk Bulan Ramadhan ini? Kebab daging dan Roti John! Tapi ke mana yang perlu pergi untuk mencarinya?

Kerepek kulit ayam yang saya beli sebagai hidangan sampingan untuk makan malam saya.

Donut RM1 dari Kedai roti King's Confectionery sebagai makan lewat malam! Kali ini saya beli dua!

-Random snippets and sights-

Buffet Ramadhan! *salivates* Where exactly is the USM Staff Sports Club building anyway? There are two possibilities: one is over USM Stadium side and the other would be over Redhouse/Swimming Pool all the way over Batu Uban gate side. If it's actually over Redhouse, then whatever food that I devoured over the course buffet will be cancelled out with the long arduous walk up and down the hill!

More APEX related news: the academician slate of USM Senate had their first ever direct election as per provided by the new USM Constitution and with larger membership. USM Senate is the highest regulating body with regards to academic matter from course structure to examination and award of degrees. While cynics somewhat remain skeptical about whether this change actual bring forth actual improvement of university's autonomy or not, I would think this is a start (albeit cautiously and frustrating at time.) for more good thing to happen in USM. When I look at the list of professors elected, I can't help to think this: do we the Arts, Humanities and SocSc have so little professors that we were only allocated four directly elected seats? (Forgot to mention, only tenured professors and associate professor are allowed to participate and vote in this election and I guess the proportion of seats allocate to the Arts are proportionate to the number of tenured professors and associate professors.) So there we have it, liberalization of some sort. What about the students then? The official Student Consultative Assembly website is still painfully lacking in information on how an ordinary student can participate in the session as observers.

Behind the shiny gold coloured can of Golden Churn Creamery Butter lies a "dangerous threat" to well being (The word is Akidah) of Muslim: it has been alleged that its contaminated by-hear this out-PIG'S DNA. *CUE DRAMATIC MUSIC with THUNDER AND LIGHTNING* Ok, overtly melodramatic theatrics aside, as a almost everything goes god-forsaken heathen of an atheist, I will never be able to understand what's with the fixation of religious dietary requirement (with specific reference to the two most famous one, Halal and Kosher.) of monotheist Abrahamic religions followers with emphasis on "purity". The whole Golden Churn Butter fiasco started all the way back in my home state of Sarawak (not the best way to push my often forgotten home state into limelight) when Islamic Affair Department of Sarawak or JAIS declared it as HARAM which basically spells doom for all Kek Lapis Sarawak manufacturers because Golden Churn has always been the mainstay in the magic ingredient of Kek Lapis dan now the expression sinfully delicious has taken an overtly religious overtone. Just a couple of days earlier on 15 August (Monday), JAKIM (Federal Islamic Development Department) too declared Golden Churn as HARAM bringing the ban to national level (which is weird because it's HALAL a month ago.) (Incidentally, this picture was taken on 13 August Saturday before the announcement by JAKIM, displayed proudly on Tesco Extra shelves. I guess it's gone now.) What I am puzzled about the whole fiasco is what exactly is the SCIENCE behind Halal Certification anyway? How do one determine the existence of pig's DNA? (I left most of my Biology knowledge in STPM so I could use some refresher course.) And most importantly, how much PIG is in a PIG'S DNA (or rather, what makes a PIG in dietary term?) What's painfully lacking in the whole fiasco is the scientific angle of it namely the actual report made by Jabatan Kimia Malaysia to JAIS regarding Golden Churn Butter. Or this is just a conspiracy among other dietary product manufacturers to slander Golden Churn Butter to sell their own product *paranoiac mode ON*. Or there is nothing SCIENTIFIC about Halal/Haram certification at all as it is based on Holy Scripture "guideline" only? One can definitely understand about cleanliness guideline because it's Science but religious dietary requirement?

I HAZ A NEW FLAVUR. To be precise, TomYam flavoured Cintan noodle. The promotion price RM3.30 has triggered me to buy three more five packets pack as my rations. I have a veritable collection of instant noodle in my room especially Cintan Mee with FIVE DIFFERENT FLAVOURS (Still have one last packet left for Curry and Mushroom Chicken flavour). I am mummifying myself with all the preservatives.

-SISTAHood-

Over a bowl of YeeMee, SISTAHood Penang Chapter has finally met after months with one of us has a stunning revelation of being in a new relationship. While I won't divulge much information about her new relationship (all of us should be updated by now I think) here to respect her privacy, this revelation actually bring a wedge between two of the SISTAHs especially on the issue of how the previous relationship ended. Personally, I am nonplussed by the revelation because as much as I feel sad that her old relationship to end, it's great too that she found herself a new companion that she can rest her shoulder on.  At the end of the day, it's not for us to judge whether her new relationship is right or wrong and if the previous has really come to that end, then there's nothing that we can do about it as much as we want everything to be cordial and happy like it used to be. It used to be, but it isn't now. As for myself, I am not exactly sure seeing all the drama with romance actually convince me to fall in love at all and I might remain foreveralone.jpg til I am withering old. (The Monotheist-Abrahamic-Religion-follower one of the SISTAHood actually had the temerity to ask the question whether this whole revelation inspire me to settle down with a woman. Which I replied: NO. I am not exactly sure how serious she is with this question.) Last but not least though, in a way it is indeed true that the SISTAHood is slowly drifting away somewhat especially with reality of working life and all of their new romance (especially the Penang Chapter. Who else is still single in the SISTAHood?). WE NEED MORE OUTING AND INTERACTION and BRING THEIR BOYS OVER because DADDY wanna judge.

That's all for things happening in my life I guess. I will blog...when inspiration and motivation comes (which both of them are in low ebb at the moment.). I need more brain juice to kick start all the writing and such!

Epilogue: Oh yeah, about myself. Mom called. "When are you going to graduate?" is the one question that I personally not sure how to answer and when this thing happens, it triggers my depression switch which force me to retreat into deep thought of despair. Yes, it has been a year now and I am still trying to fit myself in the new reality of postgraduate especially on the reality that I am not scholarship funded any longer (with THIS as first news in month) as well as failing to be fiscally responsible despite being a young adult (I had enough talk already from all over the place.) with parent teetering closer to retirement age while there are two more sibling waiting for further their education. In a way, filial piety FAIL, balancing reality and personal desire FAIL. Am I really happy about this? Anyway, gotta start actual writing and planning. I think I read enough reference for literature review...right? What else am I missing?