Pheww..today was a day...

The city is sweating. The heat is unbearable. Fee, fi, fo, fum, I smell the odour of a human's armpit. oooo, NASTY!!Buy some Rexona or sumthing people!!

I was struggling to get through the crowd. They were moving like eels trying to get out of a small tank! Hello, people, make way for humankind please! OWWWW!!!My foot!! Watch it!! A slight throbbing can be felt.Then after much huffing and puffing, I finally reach the stairs of the store I wanted to go to, pheww, like they say, a small step for mankind, a huge leap for me. So I bought what I needed and hopped outside, only being greeted by the huge crowd again. Ok, fine, no problem, lets just go through the adventure again.

On the LRT, I had to stand next to this guy with another pair of not-odourless-and-needs-Rexona-kinda armpits. Maybe I should bring one sometime and offer it to anyone who doesnt have any smelling ability. All right, thats gonna get into the To-d0-list first thing when I get back. The guy stopped at the next stop, thank God, he knows I cudn't take the smell. I love you Allah.

Two stops later, I was stuck between another two pairs of armpits. Allright, I probably didnt thank Allah enough. O Allah, I hope that these two people would stay abit away from me, so that I can respire normally and have enough oxygen in my haemoglobin, because o Allah, these odour stick to the proteins of my haemoglobin much much more stronger than oxygen do. Ameen.

Three stops later and only 50% of oxygen left, they got out. I am blessed.

While waiting for my mum at the nearest McDonalds, I sat at the table next to the table where a couple were sitting. Actually, Im not sure if they were still a couple, because from what I cud see and not to mention hear, the girl wasnt so pleased with her once-upon-a-time-omg-i-want-to-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-with-u boyfriend. In fact, she was using vulgar words that it made her sound like such a umm,umm, vulgarian person? O well, who cares about the vocab, she didnt. So after constant swearing and shouting, the guy looked up at her and said, "umm, sayang bleh ulang balik tak apa yang u cakap tadi, i x focus sangat, tadi Manchester United kalah dengan Manchester City", and so with that, ladies and gentlemen, he got a nice tight slap and cold coke splashing all over his pink shirt saying "I have a hot bod". Well not so hot anymore brother, with all that cold coke on you. Laughing to myself, laughing out loud, didnt help their situation. I got such an evil stare that I swear everything froze to a temperature lower than -10 degrees. Ouch, that was scary. I got up. And left of course. What else was there to do when an evil witch was sitting at the other table, having nothing but too much energy to pounce on you at anytime.

I think they broke up.

Reaching home, I caught my maid staring, mouth wide open, at the Indonesian working at the construction site next to our house. She didnt realise that I was staring at her, until she farted her lunch and I said "EEEeeeeewwww!!!!". She was blushing so red even tomatoes looked orange. I was left with 25% oxygen. O god, I need oxygenated water. Talk about drama today.

At night, I was soo tired, I couldnt do revision. Well, the reason I say this is that during reading transition elements, I was suddenly at a road and tripping, then with a sudden jolt, I was back at the sentence "the jumping of electrons in d orbitals through an energy gap causes it to absorb a quantum of light that gives the metals its colour". Wow, that was fast. Which road was I at? Oh yeah, the lets-go-to-bed-and-sleep road.All right, Ill do just that.

On bed, with oxygenated water on bedside table, I thought to myself, pheww, today was a day.

Si, si, todo recto...

What in the world is she saying??!!! I need a dictionary! Fast!

OK.It started off like this.


"Umm, hi, could u please tell me how I cud get to Royal Costa Hotel?", I asked.

"Si, si, todo recto, derecho bla bla bla bla izquierdo", she says with her hands flying up in the air in many directions, in which not even one of it I understood. Honestly, I understood nothing.


Nada.


So repeating my question again, thinking she might have heard me speak Spanish earlier when I asked, I asked the same question in English again. Only this time, she was speed talking and her hands flying even faster.

All I could say.."Ermm, GRACIAS"

She smiled, seeming very pleased that this non speaking Spanish girl said thank you. Well at least one of us understood what the other was saying!

So as a result of the micro-only-two-words Spanish understanding I have, we ended up driving an extra hour, only to find ourselves back at the same place where we asked the lady. And guess what, she was still there, saw us, smiled and put her thumbs up. My reply, thumbs up, dumbfounded and extremely tired. Did I tell you that not only did I not understand a word of Spanish, I also didnt understand how the road system works. I mean, every five minutes there'd be a roundabout with a signboard Torremolinos(the place where I found the hotel eventually), and then just ahead of it, was another signboard saying Torremolinos! So tell me people, which roundabout should I be taking!!!

So once at the hotel, I cried relief because the reception guy could actually speak pleasant-to-the-ears English. I ran for the room, the bathroom, and the BED.

Next day, breakfast. The hotel fees included breakfast and dinner, so we went for breakfast. We went through the food provided, and found out that we couldnt eat any one of it except boiled eggs and bread. Good enough. We're ok. Thats what you get when you go to a secular country.

Speaking about secular, I dont think Spain is secular at all. I dont know if its my eyes, but I cant help but notice that these Spanish people adore my headscarf. Im saying adore just so it sounds nice for my ears. I mean, everytime I walk or pass them in anyway possible, be it crawling, running, jumping, or which ever way, they always seem to stare at my head gear. Its like their mouth opens wide, literally gawping, and they never blink. And considering Spain and its Islamic history, you should think they'd be accustomed to such head gear, but instead its like they've never seen such a thing before. So, just to make myself feel good, and also to bring Islam's cloth of pride to the limelight, I wore different types of head gears with colourful patterns, some patterns being so nice that their eyes bulge out when they see it. Im satisfied. Good Job Alia!

The rest of the days, I spent most of the time staring, not at headgears, but at the beautiful scenery and landscape. God really is an exceptionally good artist. Its like each and every mountain coincides with each other, not a single flaw in the arrangement. Magnificient, Enchanting. Masha Allah.

Spain was great!!!Awesome!

Meowy much....

LOLA.

Lola kebola. Lola bebola. Lola my little petunia. Lola my little petola. Lola bola. Lola kola,and other things that goes nice with Lola.

Lola is a cat. A very fat cat. A cat that weighs 4.6 kg. A cat that was brought into this world to sleep. Yup, sleep, nothing but sleep. O, how I envy her sumtimes. You see, this cat was born in January and has two other siblings. However, unlike her siblings, her genes got badly mutated and she ended up getting a really bushy tail and furry fur. She has this wierd throaty meaow, and of course, she does it very often. She meows when she doesnt get her 6 hour sleep in the morning. She meows when she doesnt get food, even after she gulfed down the whole bowl of catfood just seconds ago. She can sleep even if you put her at the piano and press her little paws on the keys. She makes her own music. Her harmonious croaked snores.

Everytime I come back, she would be on the chair, yawning, as if she didnt just sleep through her life enough. And not suprisingly, goes back to lolaland in seconds.

I like bullying her. She doesnt care. Im not quite sure if she is actually aware of the fact that I am bullying her. I can throw a bomb, and she wouldnt twitch. I think the cats in Darfur should set her as their mentor and have this attitude, seeing as how the place there is bombed like no ones business.

Lola likes anything that has chocolate. Milk, white, dark.Chocolate cakes, milk, brownies, ice cream, truffles. You name it, she'll eat it.

She's so adorable, I could squeeze her, which I do sumtimes. She doesnt care.

I love her. So Meowy much.

She lived because of HIM....

2.50pm, 17th January 2008- My grandma passed away...

"Alia, cepat siap. Tok Enda sakit tenat.", my mum told me when we were having lunch at home.

I blazed upstairs to change. What did I pick out? My black aybayyah and black tudung. Why the colour for mourning? I didnt know why I just picked up that outfit. 5 minutes later,

"Alia, Tok Enda dah meninggal dunia...", my mum whispered in hushed tones.

????????
What did I feel? NUMBNESS.

My beloved grandma had passed away to return to her Most Loved. Sadness overwhelmed me as we rode to the hospital. My mum making calls to inform her friends and relatives. Me, speechless.

When I arrived at the hospital, my grandma laid there lifeless, with the repiratory machine making her seem alive as her chest rose up and down. For a moment, I thought she was still there, until the doctor said, "Sorry, Its just the machine."

Her heart rate: ----------
Her blood pressure: -----------
Her oxygen uptake: ------------

Her mouth was open, blood oozing out. The respiratory tube that had been forced into her mouth for weeks made her bleed and her lips extremely dry. Her head had marks where tapes had been sticked on, tapes that held tubes going into her nose and mouth. Her blood was smeared all over the bed, lots of syringes and needles messing up her anatomy. She just laid there. Silent. Cold. She was gone....

How am I ever gonna stop my eyes from swelling up? However was I gonna be strong. Writing this post itself is making me weep and my hands shake.

I loved her. But now she was gone.

She used to take care of me. She used to feed me. Her small hands used to comfort me. Her shoulder was there to stop me from crying. Now they're no more there.. O Allah, help me be strong, for this is another big test Im going through....

The nurses cleaned and removed all the wires attached to her body. Then she was taken to the room where she was to be bathed. I bathed her. I couldnt take it. She was so ill. She had marks everywhere. A straight red line down her chest because of the bypass, and another from her thigh to her ankle because of biopsy. Her back had bedsore, due to the fact that she had been on the bed for a month. It was sore. Really sore.

I washed her. Her face, her hands, her legs. Her back. Her beautiful smile was still there, but her beautiful laugh was not heard. She was puffed up due to excessive amounts of drugs.
Then we wrapped her with white cloth. We covered her head. She was wearing the symbol of piety. The unsown cloth that looked like a scarf. She looked sweet. She looked at peace.

We prayed solat jenazah before bringing her back home. Once at home, her friends and many relatives came. A sign of love. A sign of brotherhood. A sign that only Islam can provide.

The saddest part came when none of us could kiss her for the last time. Her mouth was bleeding and so the cotton that covered her face stuck to it and we weren't allowed to open it. After another round of solat jenazah, she was lifted up into the van and brought to her grave at Jalan Ampang.

On her way there, I passed the buildings that I always passed everytime I visited her. Now, she would see no more of them. They were now nothing. Nothing compared to what she has to go through after this in alam barzakh.

The cemetry faced the tall KLCC and the leisure hubs that surround it. People were laughing. People were socializing. People were lost in this world. And here, someone had just passed away, symbolising that life ends and that life with Allah is the eternal life. Suddenly, KLCC seemed worthless. KLCC didnt stand as tall as it stands. Because I realised how great Allah is and how small KLCC is in HIS eyes. Maybe even micro. People were forgetting him everytime they step into these leisure hubs. And its not worth anything. I feel now that life is nothing but a temporary visit. A visit for us to collect as much points so that we can be beside HIM for eternity. A visit where modern technology and entertainment are not at all necessary. A visit where living up to the trend is not at all important. Whats the point in going astray when you know for sure that death awaits you?

O Allah, I thank you for another beautiful reminder that you have sent to me. For verily I have gone astray from you for so long. O Allah, make me hate what YOU hate, and make me LOVE only the things that YOU love. O ALLAH, tonight I have seen how great YOU are, and I have seen how ad-dunia is nothing compared to what YOU have promised me, my brothers and sisters, Al-Jannah. Lead us there O ALLAH, and if the world ever brings us away from you, please bring us back to our religion, so that every minute on this Earth is for Islam and YOU O Allah..

As we lowered my grandma into the hole, and covered it up. It gave me another reminder. You were born into this world because of Allah, and to HIM you shall return. Now I pray that my grandma will be placed amongst those HE loves and that she will be waiting for me and the rest of my family members in Al-Jannah. Insha Allah. She has worshiped Allah. She had devoted herself to Him. She had loved HIM like she loved no other. O Allah, I witness that my grandma has done her best in practising Islam and following the Sunnah. She has carried out her job as a mother and grandmother very well. Always reminding us about YOU, and always reminding us about our Prophet. O Allah, her doings have been sincere. Please make every suffering she went through, a step towards removing her sins O Allah. Verily you are Most Loving, Most Forgiving towards your servants.

She will continue to stay in my heart. My memories with her forever embedded in my thoughts. She will be my voice, my thoughts, and what she always said, "Never forget your Lord." will stay with me forever.

She lived a full and successful life. I should too. She lived because of HIM. I should too....

Segenap hatiku luluh lantak,
Mengiringi dukaku yang kehilangan dirimu,
Sungguh ku tak mampu tuk meredam kepedihan hatiku,
Untuk merelakan kepergianmu.
Ingin kuyakini cinta takkan berakhir,
Namun takdir menuliskan kita harus berakhir...

Grandma, I hope you hear me,

I LOVE YOU, AND I ALWAYS WILL. SEND MY GREETINGS TO MY LORD, AND TELL HIM THAT I WILL DO MY BEST FOR HIM, FOR I AM SURE YOU WILL MEET HIM AND JOIN HIS LOVED ONES IN JANNAH.

Thank You for all that you have taught me. You are my inspiration. Forever more.

Life. My Gosh. Beautiful...

God tests individuals, making them more stronger than ever everytime...



Problems, tests, stress, tension.

People hate them, but yet it surrounds us. We can't run away from any of it. We own the problem. Therefore, we are responsible in making them stepping stones, to make us much more mature and tolerant individuals.



I have had a big share of problems in my life so far. And I guess there's gonna be more. No not I guess actually, its more like, there's gonna be more problems FOR SURE. Everytime things seem to go good and well, BOOM, a problem comes crashing down on me. And yes, I suffocate. I cry. I feel helpless. I tell myself so many times, "Why? Why me?". The problem is, how ever many times I chant that, it doesnt get any better.



God promised that he would not burden a soul more than they can bear. Therefore, it literally means that every problem I have, I can bear. Its just new different problems that scare and make me feel that it cant be solved, and that life is nothing but a mess.



There have been some problems in my life that I couldnt go through. It was intense. It hurt. I turned to Him. I cried in my silent bows to him. My heart felt the pain. O Allah, I am too weak to handle something I should be able to bear. I can't do anything without your help. Please help me. I love everything you have destined for me. I love my life plan that you planned for me. However, my weakness has taken control of my thinking. I need you O Allah, at all times. I have strayed so far from you, but yet you love your servants however bad they have treated you. It makes me cry everytime I think of the times my devilish self turned to other things for help. Music, poetry, stories. With people, I feel the comfort. But yet, from all of them, I have found no answer. It is then that I realise, you have the answers. All of them. Everything everyone doesnt know. O Allah, please never leave me. I love you too much. More than my words can express. More than my actions can show. Only you know best. O Allah, I cannot afford to lose your love, your help, your watchful eyes on me.



Peace. Peace at heart. Nothing should be a problem. Life is short, too short for us to waste. Too short for us to press the stop button on the lifeplayer, just so we can rewind and contemplate on the past. We should keep the mode at play, whatever happens, happens. And no matter what happens, we always have Gods promise at the start of our movie.

"I shall not burden more than my loved servants can bear"

People may hurt us. But God never will. Music mess the emotions up. But God soothes the soul. Problems will come and go. But God will always be there.

I believe that whatever problems we have out there for us, it is nothing but a short test for us. A reminder from God that He's watching over us. A reminder that He still loves us. So now, even if I still huff and puff at the problems that come, I guess my mind is more at peace thinking that it is nothing but a beautiful reminder from My Lord.

Love whatever happens to you. Love whatever comes your way. Its problems that makes us better individuals. Its the problems and the way we solve them that differentiates us from the rest.

So I guess, Ive found the answer to this very little parcel that comes with life. I hope each and everyone of us will be blessed and be given bountiful rewards from Him. Everyday, is another chance for us to improve ourselves. Improve the way we look at life. There's no use swearing at the problems. Its an ugly habit. I'd like to see people swear their problems off. It'd be so funny seeing how stupid they look. Ive been like that before. And I know it looked absolutely horrible. There's no use trying to look all cool being so emotional. I know people who tug at people's feet, just so that people sympathise them, pulling long and sour faces. Its your problem, solve it.

Its HIM that loves you most and wants to hear from you. HE waits day and night, just to hear a whisper of thankfulness or forgiveness from HIS beloved servants.

Smile. Laugh. Love. Hope. Dream. Believe. Devote your souls To Him.

Nothing else can top what you feel when you practise these attributes.

Life. My Gosh. Beautiful.

the cast audition for mission impossible 4...

" OK. NEXT!!!"

Nisa, Alia and Aidid looked at each other and sayed their prayers. And God, did they say them real loud. They were next in the casts audition.They were gonna go for a mission impossible task!

They started their act like this.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Nisa, ada orang tak kat dalam tu?", said Aidid.

"Ada!!Pak Hasni tengah meeting!!", Nisa answered.

"Alamak, macam mana ni? How are we ever gonna get past him?" Alia said.

So they went the other way. The longer way. Instead of entering through the door facing the conference room, they went thru the way that passed the teacher's toilets and the main office. Then, they crawled!!

"Eh, mana Fattah?", asked Nisa.

"Tuu!!!Dia lari!!", Aidid whispered.

Fattah was meant to be in this audition as well, but I guess he backed out. Poor him. Missed out on all the superb fun!

"K, k everyone cepat!!" Alia said.

They rushed into the small room that had the reuter. You wanna know why? Well, because they were good students and needed to use the computers for revision that night, but then found out that the internet was out. Ustaz Zul without realising, gave them an essential clue.

"Well, normally, if the whole internet system fails, you just have to restart the reuter." He told us in class.

"Kat skolah ada reuter ke ustaz?" Alia asked innocently.

"Ada.", he answered.

"Kat mana?", Nisa asked.

"Kat bilik sbelah Kak Aishah punya desk.", he answered.

That was all we needed to know. And now, we're actually in the room with the reuter. Except, we cant find it. Why?? Because it was absolutely dark!! Yup, Alia, Nisa and Aidid were in a dark room together. Not good considering the fact that the principal is just centimetres away and that theyre students of an Islamic school that carries the name of a heaven. Seriously not good. And to add to all of that... Alia's slippers were rite outside the room, and facing the room too. OMG!!

Then creeek.... The door where Pak Hasni was having his meeting opened. We stopped breathing, i think even our hearts stopped beating.
We sayed our prayers again and again. The head prefect and two other prefects were in the same room, the room where "no entry" is pasted right across the door. Then we heard footsteps leaving the hall. The outside lights were switched off.

Hooooh!! Saved we were!

Then we started rummaging thru all the boxes and papers that were in the room. Where's the reuter? Where is it!!!!!!!!! Then after thorough search, we found it behind the computer.

"Ok, ok, remember what Ustaz Zul said. Just switch it off and then on again.", we reminded each other.
The lights on the reuter went off, and then on again.
Pheww!! wE did it!!!!!!

So we went out as quietly as possible, and only our stammering heartbeats could be heard. It was G.I.L.A. stuff!!

Then we went up, blamed Fattah because of his cowardly act, and started the computers. We smiled. THE INTERNET WAS WORKING. Mission completed....

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"CUT!!!!!!That was awesome!! Where'd you learn all that acting skills from?", the guy who auditioned us asked.

"Well, thats secret", we answered simultaneously.

Then out of nowhere, TOM CRUISE entered with a huge smile. Shook hands with Aidid, and not Alia and Nisa. Obviously because they were girls. Then he said.

"Welcome to the Mission Impossible cast. You did well and deserve a spot in the film. Congratulations"

WUHOOO!! We made it!!!

PS: This is true story here. Please dont tell the school management about this. Eventhough they cant do anything about it anymore, we'd still like to remain in good terms with our school. Thanks for your cooperation. We appreciate it. If we ever found out you told them, then you're gonna get it from us. After all, you never know what we'll do to you, seeing as we're so good at this mission impossible stuff. Watch out ppl! hohohohooo

Swiish swoosh!!

Presentations.
Speeches.

Nervous?
Panic?
Scared?
Shy?

I have seen so many people presenting in front of crowds. I have seen so many people giving speeches. I have done it a few times myself.

What do I feel? I have to admit, scared to my deathbed!!

But how come he or she looks so calm. Theyre not even shaking! Not even sweating! That is so unfair.

The other day, we had to present some facts in class. I started panicking of course. My ears were hot. My cheeks could make water boil. I looked at the rest. They were so relaxed. What happened to P.A.N.I.C people?
So one by one, we were called out. The first person who was called out was the most relaxed. But, when he stood in front, the paper fell out from his hand, because it couldnt stand being shaken so badly. The guy was trembling I tell you. Boohoo. So much for SuperRelaxman.

The next girl was babbling, stuttering and was talking nonsense. She was just blah, blah, blah non stop. Earplugs! I need earplugs!! Quick!!!

The next girl virtually ate all her words. She was not heard. Perhaps the girl who went before her stole her voice. No wonder she was loud. She was like ummm,umm,umm,umm,umm. Thats all.

The next boy, moved his hands a lot. Even Karam Singh something (dont really know his full name) just had one move. He, he was pointing upwards, downwards, right, left. Everywhere!! His hands were flying! swiish swoosh!

The next boy just stared at us. It was soo scary. He looked like he was going to faint. He was breathing rapidly. I guess the teacher noticed. So for fear of any unwanted incidents, she kindly asked him to sit down. Thank God.

The next girl, talked so calmly, so smoothly, no stutters. She nailed it! I felt like giving her a standing ovation! She was GOOD!

RRRRIIINNNNNNGGGGG!! End of class. Thank god I didnt have to present today. But I have to for the next class. I rushed to the girl, and forced her to give me tips. I always believe in "learning from the wiser", if that makes any sense.

The girl just said, " Well why should I be scared. Its just talking. Its something we do everyday rite?."
I was flabbergasted. My jaw literally touched the floor. Is that it? Is that what she thinks its all about? That's totally nuts!

So not satisfied with the answer, I asked her again. Umm, sorry, but u saw all the drama that happened just now, I dont think they'd accept that answer. I mean one of them nearly fainted for heavens sake.
Her answer, "Well, I dont think about it too much, I just do it because its my duty to present my work, and I feel that by sharing knowledgeble stuff, it benefits all of us. So when I think of it in that way, I say to myself, why the need to be so scared and feel such panic? I normally take in deep breaths before I start, and then when I'm in front, I own the stage. They're just people in the end. No need to be so scared of rite?"

Yeah Rite.

Great answer. Its so true. Why the need to panic? We are supposed to share knowledge. When we present, or give a speech, we are basically sharing our thoughts and views. We should feel honoured when chosen to do such things. We're giving something back to society. Sounds so huge, but it really is so true.

Our prophet peace be upon him used to give speeches to massive crowds. Never was he scared. He conveyed his message in the most clearest way. If he stuttered or ate his words, do u think his teachings could have been passed on to many future generations. I dont think so. He was a man of wisdom. A man of words. He didnt panic. It wasnt necessary. It isnt necessary actually.

So from now on, Im gonna try to be as coonfident as I can. Its gonna take buckets of courage and guts, but with strong will, I will get over my fear. I will speak with full confidence. I will not let myself be laughed at for no reason. I shall follow the prophet. He was so calm. I too must be calm.

I know it sounds so hard. Many people have stage fright. But once we tell ourselves to not be so nervous, we wont be. Our mind is so powerful. U talk to it, it will follow u. U say " Hey, Im so scared and nervous", ur mind will do the exact thing u said. But if u say " Hey, Im so confident, Im gonna breeze through this whole thing well, and Im gonna present what im supposed to present". Well, people, ur gonna knock the audience down real hard.

Try it. For your own good. Goodbye my fears. Bring on the speech!!Yea yeah!!

hmm, im loving it...

got ur thinking caps on?...

I had to go through Thinking Skills for my A-levels. The questions hurt my head real bad. I nearly had extremely high intercranial pressure. Very painful. So anyways, I guess brothers and sisters are one. When one is happy, the others are happy, when one is at pain, the others feel it too. So I guess its only fair if u feel my pain. So feel it people. HOhohohoooo...

OH yeah, you need to have a pencil and paper. In my case, I needed the whole pack of examination pad. If you do it in your head, ur just inviting unnecessary migraine. Trust me, real killer migraines. No joke.

1. George’s journey home from work involves travelling by underground railway to Euston Station and then by overground train. It takes him 5 minutes to change platforms on arriving at Euston.
Overground trains leave Euston at 20-minute intervals and the train journey takes 8 minutes. His house is a five-minute walk from his local station. If he arrives at Euston at 4.15pm he gets home at 4.50pm.

At what time will he get home if he arrives at Euston at 5.00pm?

A 5.18pm
B 5.25pm
C 5.30pm
D 5.33pm
E 5.35pm

2. Ben hires a motor van to help his friend move house. He knows that the round trip is 350 km and the van hire company tells him that the van does 100 km per $10.00 worth of diesel fuel (the diesel costs 70 cents per litre). He asks them to put $36.00 worth of diesel into the van. However, the pump is faulty and actually puts in 51 litres of fuel for every 50 litres shown on the pump. On the return journey he encounters a fallen tree across the road and has to make a detour. There are no filling stations on the remainder of his journey, but he decides to get as near to his destination as he can.
What is the maximum distance the detour could have added to his journey if he still manages to
make it back?

A 7.2 km
B 10 km
C 17.2 km
D 72 km
E 82 km

(o My God rite?)

3. There is a two-way express train service operating between Kuala Lumpur Central Station
(KLCS) and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), 64 kms away.

Which of the following pieces of information is not required in order to calculate the minimum
number of trains needed to operate the service each day?

A) The first train leaves KLCS at 5.30am and the first train leaves KLIA at 6am.
B )The journey between KLCS and KLIA (and vice versa) takes 28 minutes.
C )On arrival at its destination each train stands for ten minutes before commencing its return journey.
D) In peak hours (5.30am to 10.30am and 4.00pm to midnight, when the service terminates) trains run every 15 minutes.
E) During off-peak hours (10.30am to 4.00pm) the trains run every 20 minutes.

4. A designer is commissioned to produce a carton which will hold at least 1 litre (1000 cm3) of
liquid. The carton must have a square base, be twice as tall as it is wide, and all dimensions must
be a whole number of centimetres.

What is the minimum width of the square base?

A 10cm
B 70cm
C 7cm
D 8cm
E 9cm

5. A man is given two ways of investing $100. The first option will increase the investment by $20 every year (after one year $120, after two years $140, after three years $160 etc…). The second option will increase the investment by $30 the first year, and then by $29 and so on, by $1 less each year (after one year $130, after two years $159, after three years $177 etc.).

For how long would the man have to invest his money in order for the first scheme to be more
profitable than the second?

A 15 years
B 20 years
C 22 years
D 25 years
E 30 years

6. Harry visits his mother every Sunday. He catches a train from Newtown Station to Oldtown
Station which is a 10-minute bus ride from his mother’s house. There are two trains an hour. One is a stopping train taking 35 minutes and the other is a direct train taking 20 minutes. Both buses and trains run half-hourly. He finds that whichever train he catches, his journey time from catching the train to arriving at his mother's (including any wait for the bus) is always 55 minutes.

Assuming the trains and buses run on time, which of the following would account for the above?

A) Both trains and buses leave on the hour and half past the hour.
B) Buses leave Oldtown 15 minutes after trains leave Newtown.
C )The direct train arrives at Oldtown 20 minutes before a bus leaves and the slow train 5 minutes before a bus leaves.
D) If he catches the fast train, he just misses a bus at Oldtown.
E)Trains leave Newtown 20 minutes before buses leave Oldtown.

7. A three-dimensional shape is made by taking a cube and cutting off each of its corners. Assume
that the cube is large and that the cuts are relatively small (extending to less than halfway along
each edge).

How many edges does the new shape have?

A 12
B 18
C 20
D 32
E 36

8. Genetic discrimination is likely to become a real problem as more people undergo genetic tests. Children may taunt each other in the playground on the basis of genetic differences, and adults continue such behaviour in the workplace. People are likely to be denied appropriate life
insurance, health care insurance and possibly even employment if they have a gene which
predisposes them to particular illnesses. For example, an American woman with a gene which
makes her more likely to develop breast cancer, has been denied cover for all forms of cancer.

After hearing the above argument, a student summarised the conclusion as follows:
'We need new laws to deal with genetic discrimination.'
Has the student:

A) expressed the conclusion fairly and accurately?
B) expressed the conclusion too strongly?
C) not expressed the conclusion strongly enough?
D) drawn a further conclusion?
E) identified the wrong part of the argument as the conclusion?

9. A group of 5 men are able to load a pile of 90 logs onto a truck in 15 minutes.

How long would it take 3 men to load 120 logs, if they load them at the same rate (answer to the
nearest minute)?

A 12 minutes
B 18 minutes
C 33 minutes
D 35 minutes
E 42 minutes

10. Bess and Charlie start picking peas at 8 am and finish at 8 pm and take the same lunch
break.
Bess picks peas at the rate of 25 kg per hour while Charlie only achieves 20 kg per hour.

Which one of the following would be sufficient to determine the length of their lunch break?

A) The difference in total weight of peas picked before and after lunch.
B) The difference in weight of the peas picked in the whole day by Bess and in the whole day by Charlie.
C) The starting time of the lunch break and the weight of peas picked by Bess before lunch.
D) The sum of the weights of peas picked by Bess before lunch and by Charlie after lunch.
E) The total weight of peas picked before the lunch break.


11. Wesley and Eamonn live 5 kilometres from each other, both on the main road that runs through
Longtown. They both left home at 11.05 this morning in order to meet each other at Longtown
Library, 2 kilometres from Wesley's home. They both walked at the same pace throughout, and at the same pace as each other. Wesley spent 4 minutes in a shop on the way, but still arrived at
the Library 7 minutes before Eamonn.

At what time did Wesley and Eamonn meet?

A 11.26
B 11.31
C 11.33
D 11.38

12. Photographs of pupils are taken and offered for sale in various packages:

2 large and 3 small: $8
3 large and 2 small: $9
4 large and 2 small: $11

These prices include the same amount for post and packaging.
What is the cost of postage and packing included in these prices?

A $0
B $1
C $2
D $3
E $4
E 11.45

ANSWERS TO THESE SUFFOCATING QUESTIONS:

1) C

2) C

3) E

4) D

5) C

6) B

7) E

8) D

9) C

10) B

11) D

12) B

THERE ARE LOADS MORE DIFFERENT TYPES OF QUESTIONS, BUT I'LL JUST GIVE THIS MUCH. I WAS NEARLY BRAIN DEAD WHEN I DID IT THE FIRST TIME.

If you guys could do it without any problem, and got all of it right the first time you tried, then you are genetically, unexplainably smart. Bravo! Tell me how in this spherical world you managed to do that k!

my daffodils during winter, my fudgy brownies during summer....

-Alia.Nisa.Tira.Maya.Mary-

It started in the year 2005, ended, never. 5 names that make a pentagon, a pentagon.Makes sense I hope, because I never really do make sense at times.Huuu..They were my daffodils during winter, my fudgy brownies during summer. The 5 of us used to cause havoc in that blue top building. Every morning, it became like a routine for us to sneak out of class, strut the hallway looking as innocent as possible, and as soon as we hit the door near the library, "ACTION!" Nisa wud be looking to the left, me to the right, tira to the front, mary to the back and maya to the top. Actually until this very moment, I havent quite figured out y she always looked upwards. Well, at least she was taking precautions rite? Any teacher could jump out from nowhere. So with our hands out like we were carrying M-16s, slowly one by one we ordered...KARPEEPS! (karipap for normal sane ppl)

Mmm,Mmm, D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S!



Now the next act, Scene 2 Part 1.

How do we escape with these miraculous creations without being found guilty of ummmm, smuggling foreign nice smelling objects?? The answer people, is by walking two by threes. The first two, without the karpeeps, will walk as slowly as possible, checking every corner making sure there are no teachers. After making 100% sure that the situation is clear and safe enough, the next three would come, with the one in the middle holding the karpeeps. The journey back to the class is terrifying! Its like ur life is on stake. Either ur safe, or ur caught. So it really starts our hearts pumping fast. Yup, and this is every morning we're talking about. So when we reach our pink present-like class, we sit at our seats as if absolutely nothing happened. Then me, being the one that sits near the door with the huge window (the teachers put windows on doors i think because of this!) would check out constantly, just incase Puan Akmal didnt jump out of nowhere. So then the one with karpeeps would say, "Karpeeps anyone?" and we all literally dive under the tables, scoff the whole piece down and sit up again like nothing happened. I tell u, we ARE PROS at this! Except the occasional times when Pn Akmal or some other teacher would stare us down after the dives under the table, and question us, and say "dont do that again girls, its against the school rules, you have to set an example for the juniors, especially the both of u prefects, Alia and Nisa." . Yup, we always listen and of course, do it again. Hey,cant blame us, we just love the excitement and the attention of our teachers.

So thats the part where we try to get and eat food. Then during hafazan class, me and Tira would literally start memorising the five lines we were supposed to memorise yesterday. And we would always fail at doing so. Everytime Ust Shamsul Bahri said " Ok Alia, Tira, nak baca?", we would give our sweetest smile and say, "kejap Ustaz". Of course again, we never did read the five lines to him. Maybe tomorrow.

After hafazan, nisa would join us from upstairs, and the first subject teacher will enter. We look at each other and simultaneously say, "did u do the homework?", one would say, " I couldnt, had too much other stuff to do", the other, "i didnt know there was homework", the other,"omg, i totally forgot!". So we say our prayers, hoping the teacher forgot, and then start thinking again of reasonable excuses the moment she says " so did u guys finish ur homework?". Of course being good girls we are, we didnt always not finish our homework.Occasionally only. Never was it a routine.

Then the next class is teacher Muthla's class. We L.O.V.E her! She is a bundle of fun. She understands us, always giving cool advices. And she makes us understand the subjects real well. We could drink, dine, whine, chat, laugh, and even sleep. Yes sleep. According to Teacher Muthla, when one sleeps, they absorb the most. The person is at alpha stage, the best stage. Didnt I tell u how great she was! She has an explanation for everything. Good good...

The next class, Ustaz Zul.Wuhoo! That man is full of wise words. An example " to err is human, to forgive divine". The whole class would be chanting the words, and of course copy his accent in the same time. He is so enthusiased, and alert. He would translate everything he said into English just for Maryam. So sweet of him. In the lab, he would be talking the whole time, not stopping once, and us, being teenagers,( yup, thats the only excuse we have ) would start opening different websites that have nothing to do with IT, and hear nothing he says. Poor Ustaz, we love him alot. And to prove that we love him, everytime he stopped talking and says "did u hear what i said" or " do you understand?" we would all say "YES WE DO!!". Sometimes though, when we were too absorbed with what we were doing, and didnt say "YES, WE DO!!", he would repeat everything he said AGAIN, hoping that everyone will hear it the next time. We groan.

He cares about his students. Its a good thing.

Next, Chemistry class, Teacher Mimi. She is so cute and adorable, and sensitive too. She was our Secondary 5 class teacher. She bought us this cute cake just before our English exams. Very sweet. So caring. We love her tonnes.

Teacher Mimi always made sure we understood the laws of Chemistry. Sometimes she'd get really upset or angry if we got in trouble with the school management (which we always did), or didnt do our homework. We would all be really out of mood after seeing her like that. So we learnt our lesson, and finished our homeworks, unfortunately, we could never stay away from trouble with the school, so we had to finish homework.

There was once, when we went to the mamak stall to get some drinks, we saw this tortoise in the drain. All five us stopped, shrieked at each other, and said, "we've got to get that creature!". So with the help of abang canteen, we scooped that tortoise up, (now the part where we tried to scoop the toroise was real drama I tell you!), and brought him to our class in a big yellow tray. The boys were as excited as we were, and soon we were making up names for him. We settled with Bayhaqi, the class tortoise. Soon news spread, and the whole school came and looked at him. Of course, Pn Zaiton found out and ordered us to get him out, because students were starting to ask whether they could bring in animals or not. O the students of Adni, always following us, seeing as we were the trendsetters of the school. So we moved him out into the small pond outside. So sad we were. A word to Bayhaqi, we love you wherever you are!

After Bayhaqi, we bought hamsters! We had a little blue cage, and we played with them all the time. During Teacher Muthla's class, they would be all over the place. Sometimes they would be rolling around in the hamster ball we bought them. So cute! But word again spread, and we had to bring them out of school. First I took care of them, then Tira, then Nisa. Again, so sad we were.

When exams were coming near, we all panicked, and studied together. We had our share of fun too. We helped each other and asked alot of questions. The boys would help too. Such good teamwork we had. The teachers would constantly ask if we had any areas we were weak at and always dedicated their time towards teaching us. Nearing the end, we slept at school and studied until 3 am. Sometimes not sleeping at all. We were all in it together, it was so special.

During exams, it would be gud luck here and gud luck there. We entered together, went out together, bombarded each other with questions like " What was ur answer for question 3?", and when each others answers were different, we would scream and say " lets not discuss!!". Then 2 mintues later someone asks again " What was ur answer for question 2?" and the whole scenario started again.

There are loads more I can write about these special people in my life, but hey I will write more when I have time. No words can explain how much I treasure their friendships. They were there through everything. Its so sad that neither of us could further our studies in the same place together, and so we have parted ways. But the memories we had were priceless, and can never be replaced.

I love these people to bits, and always will, for they truly were, my life buddies! I quote Whitney Houston's song,

"If tomorrow is judgement day. And I'm standin' on the front line.
And the Lord ask me what I did with my life. I will say I spent it with you.

Cause your love is my love, and my love is your love. It would take an eternity to break us, And the chains of Amistad couldn't hold us"

Where should i be buried?

5.4.3.2.1. Exam!!!!!!!!!

Countdown starts as soon as ur heart beats faster when u think about exams. The thought of exams just makes u want to puke. The problem is, why do we get so tensed up about it? Isnt it supposed to be just a small thing that'll be over in 2 hours?

Umm, i dont think so!

I know the feeling when ur just about to enter the exam room. Suddenly, u need the toilet even when ur bladder is basically zero in content. Ur stomach starts rumbling, ur heart starts making fast lub-dubs, and ur hands start to shake. On the front paper, u even fuss about if uve spelt ur name properly! I started checking my name like 5 times, making sure every letter was present, just incase i would end up not getting my paper just because i missed an A in Alia, and some guy named Ali would be getting my paper instead. Then i flip the pages, counting it slowly, and when it counts to thirteen, im like, "o my god, the examination board is so cruel, evil-spirited, and ruthless! How can they ever do this to me? How am I supposed to finish all that?" But nevertheless,I pick up my pen, read the first question, put down the pen again, and sigh, "umm..wat was that all about?", then i read the next question, and say "umm, never learnt that before, so cant say i can answer that". And when i finish reading all the questions till page 13, I think to myself "Where should i be buried?, Shah Alam or Ampang?"

I thought i had finished revising the whole Bio book. Thought I had memorised all the important facts. Hang on, ok, maybe i skipped the small bit about plants, just a small bit, hey, cant say i like plants all that well to indulge in their evolution and wonder how the sugar travels from leaf to root. Maybe thats why i cant do the exam! Because i missed out the plants section, but then again, thats not really why. Maybe its because I was learning, but wasnt focusing enough. Maybe its because of the wrong things Ive done to my parents, brothers, and people. Maybe its because i called my cat fat. (Ok, that was abit extreme)

As i sit down and ponder, where and what my mistakes were, I realised that it was because I didnt ask and plea to God enough. I guess thats really it. I endulged in Bio so much that I forgot my Lord. The other main reason was, umm, i was lazy? I thought i did enough, but actually, i didnt. I thought I read the book way too much, when in fact, I was looking at the cover with the DNA molecule in the front, pondering why it was green and not blue more than i read about the DNA molecule itself. Ok, so now I know where Ive gone wrong. I need to be closer to God, and simply not be lazy. I need to stay focused, understand and reflect what I read, and not fuss so much about things that dont matter. My job as a student is to study. Its not that hard. I just have to read and understand. That's it.

So now when my minds all set and geared up, I actually enjoy learning. I enjoy finding out. Im happy when i know why this and that happens. I enjoy explaining what i know to people. Besides the part where i get happy when people say, "really?i didnt know that.ur so clever!", I basically just feel good. I love studying. I love exams. From now on, Im gonna make sure that i make my knife very sharp(the knife meaning my revision), so that i can kill the exam papers real well. When the knife's not sharp, how can i ever kill the paper rite? So that's what I'll start doing from now. Anyone care to join me on this knife sharping journey? Lets go for it! Lets kill the paper!!!!!!