About a Book

‘When the sun is just above the last tree left on Little Nation, you must throw a spear at the big wrecked canoe,’ he said aloud. It didn’t make any sense, and nor did the ghost girl. But she had given him the spark-maker, although she’d been very frightened. He’d been frightened too. What were you supposed to do about girls? You had to keep away from them while you were a boy, but he’d heard that when you were a man, you got other instructions.

Sometime in the evening or late afternoon of November 29th, 2009 (a Sunday), I was in MPH, One Utama. As usual, I was in the Science Fiction section, eyes skimming the lines of books on the shelves, looking for one book in particular but not finding it (because I was looking in the wrong section; the book I wanted was under Horror, I just didn’t see it the first time).

Then one author’s name caught my eye like a frog’s tongue catches a fly out of the air (they do that right? They do in cartoons…) : Terry Pratchett; top shelf, to the far left.

There were a few of his non-Discworld novels lined up there, but the only one I can really remember (possibly because it is in fact, the book that I am about to talk about now, and I feel as though I can think of no other book at the moment) is a book I’d never heard of before, simply named: Nation.

Hmmm, I thought. Looks interesting. So I picked it up and read the back cover. Sounds interesting too. Of course, this was nothing to be surprised about because, come on, it’s Terry Pratchett, man.

And so, after picking out two more books (yes, including the book I’d been looking for earlier) I bought the book called Nation.

And what a tragedy it would have been if I hadn’t!

First off, I must point out that all the Terry Pratchett books I’ve read have been wonderful and amazing, and hilarious. His works are mostly fantasy, but they’re also very real. They take a spin on things and situations we experience in the real world, in a way that makes you go “Huh.” and smile, because it’s so damn true! And you’d never noticed it before… well, maybe you have, but not really, you know? Huh.

You can pick up any of his books and trust – and just know – with every particle in your body that you will enjoy it. You will read the last word, close the book, and look up with a grin on your face. Huh. And here’s the thing – Pratchett writes in a very humorous way, but they also make you think. About life, about love, about politics, about war, about peace, about… pretty much anything! They’re philosophical, but not boring. They’re deep.

Pratchett has this magical ability to continuously write really good novels. The awesomeness is maintained in every book, if not doubled or tripled. He has produced more than 30 tomes of awesomeness, with more to come! How in the world does he not run out of awesome?

So when I started reading Nation, I already knew it would be, yes, awesome.

But oh, was I wrong.

Awesome does NOT cut it. It’s too small a word to describe this book, this story, and its characters.

It blew my mind away. It really did. My brain is now floating around somewhere, somewhat numbed, and it’s a wonder I can even write this right now. But then, the words have been bouncing around in my (currently otherwise vacant) head since I finished the book at 4am this morning.

I’ve read Pratchett books (though not nearly enough of them!) and loved them, but this… masterpiece was so much more than I expected. It has all the things I like in a good story: a setting that draws you in as if you yourself are part of the story, a plot that keeps you turning the page even though you are muttering to yourself “Just one more, just one more…”, characters that grow on you like fungus and refuse to leave your heart long after you’ve finished reading (not that you want to forget them), humor that at times make you grin and other times make you flat-out guffaw, and emotions that are so real even you can feel them.

It is a sad story… No, it’s not a sad story. It… well, I can’t pinpoint it to just one field. It’s hard to think of the one right word to describe something this… um, brilliant, for want of a more effective word. As one of the reviews said, it is ‘a wonderful story, by turns harrowing and triumphant’. Sometimes it is so sad, so terribly sad, but the story does not dwell on the grief for long. Unlike some other books I’ve read (and loved), Nation is not the kind of sad that… lords over most of the book. It did not make me sob or cry buckets of tears, but it pulled at my heart strings and when the characters hurt, I felt their pain and wanted to cry with them. But then they stopped crying and moved on to something else. The story said, “Yes, it’s sad, but life moves on and the pig fence needs fixing.”

It is NOT a love story. No… not as such. It is a story with love in it, yes. Doesn’t every story, after all, have some sort of love in it? In Nation too, it is there, peeking out from among the other themes of loyalty, loss, grief and courage every now and then. Not so much as to allow the term ‘love story’ totally viable, but just enough to make you smile a tender smile and give you that warm, fuzzy feeling in your heart.

It’s not even a fantasy story. Not really anyway. Granted, it was in the Science Fiction section, but it’s really more real stuff than fantastical stuff, though it does have elements of fantasy in it. So even if you don’t happen to be into the fantasy genre (though I don’t really understand why anyone wouldn’t) Nation would still appeal to you.

It is… an adventure story. Yes. I think that covers many things: sadness, love, suspense, action, courage… It is definitely an adventure. Reading it has been an adventure. Even now, just thinking back to the story makes my heart literally beat faster… no exaggeration whatsoever!

The characters… oh, the characters! They are my favorite part of the book! They’re so unique and real that you feel as though you might just know them. The main characters, Mau and Ermin – I mean, Daphne, are just lovely. I am in love with them. …Well, specifically, I’m in love with Mau. Head over heels, fingers over toes, ears over ankles… in love! Read it, and I dare you to tell me I’m being unreasonable.

The ending… well, I don’t want to spoil it for you, but as Pratchett himself said, it is an appropriate ending. It is a real ending. It is a believable ending. But it broke my heart to finish reading it. I could hardly concentrate on the last few pages because I knew it was going to end. I put down the book and wanted more. It was four in the morning and I couldn’t fall asleep for at least half an hour!

Nation has skyrocketed past all the books I have ever read, and claimed the position of my favorite book EVER. I’d like to think there will be greater reads to come, that there will be another story that I will feel this strongly about, but at the same time… I don’t. Nation feels untouchable to me. If something else came along that is more… incredible, I might just go insane.

If you’ve never read any of Pratchett’s books… well, Nation is as good a start as any. Indeed, it is the best recommendation I can give you. I think that anyone who likes to read and who loves a good story will enjoy this book. In fact, at the risk of being wrong (and I don’t often fancy taking that risk; ask anyone who knows me well!), I say anyone who reads it will. Love. It.

So the next time you go to a bookstore… look for Nation. When you find it, GET IT. When you get it, READ IT. And when you’ve read it… tell others. So that it can turn their world upside down too.

Arina
12:35am
December 6, 2009

The Many Uses of Photobooth

Hafiz was surprised.

Lab 3A was usually occupied whenever he came to do his assignments. But this time, it was empty. When he'd stepped into the elevator and pressed 1, he hadn't expected the computer lab to be vacant, but had decided to check it out anyway, seeing as he had nothing better to do. But once he'd looked in through the small glass window on the door, there was no one around. Smiling at his luck, Hafiz took note of the day and time.

Khamis, pukul tiga setengah, lab kosong!

The door creaked as he opened it, and instantly, Hafiz realized that he'd been wrong about the lab being completely empty. At the computer right at the back, where his friend Redzuan usually sat, there was a girl.

His heart sank. If it turned out the lab was being used after all, he would have to do his work on one of the cyber cafe's computers, which were all infamous for being infested with viruses. Just earlier that day Redzuan had let forth a stream of colourful swear words because a virus had wiped out all the files on his thumb drive. He didn't want that to happen to him.

Bilalah aku nak siapkan kerja Pn Sofia ni...

“Ada kelas ke?” he asked the girl. 

After a beat, the girl shook her head, and Hafiz let out a sigh of relief. Now that he was feeling optimistic again, his male instinct prompted him to check the girl out.

She was one of those girls who, despite knowing that the university authorities didn't approve of dyed hair, had a headful of rainbow colours. Purple, red and green were the hues of this girl's choice. 

What an assembly of colours, thought Hafiz. And none of them were his favourite. His favourite was black. Black was a good, solid colour. Nothing wrong with black hair.

Her head was all he could see of the girl. She was leaning forward over the keyboard, and the computer monitor was hiding her face from view.

Hafiz decided that she wasn't his type anyway, and sat down at the frontmost computer to get on with his assignments.

It always took him a while to get used to the iMacs in university. He was used to using PCs, and was always rather frustrated that the mouse couldn't right-click.

Most students, when presented with a computer and internet connection, would consequently log in to one of the following: Facebook, Friendster or MySpace. Hafiz was no exception. Redzuan was online, and they talked using Facebook Chat.

Yo, bro! Ko kat mana?
Kat uni le... Lab kosong wei!
Ko kat lab buat apa? Buat project? hehehe
Byk la ko project. Buat keje le
...ko ni rajin sgt la bro

Before he knew it, it was already past 6pm. Redzuan had stopped replying in the chat box, so he was probably playing Yakuza Lords again. The guy was obsessed with Facebook games. Hafiz logged out, saved what work he'd managed to get done, and shut down the computer.

Getting up and slinging his bag over his shoulder, Hafiz looked at the girl again. For some reason, he felt another obligation to talk to her. It was probably his unrelenting hormones again.

“Tak balik ke?” he asked in what he hoped was a breezy tone.

After a second, the girl shook her head again. Hafiz began to think that that was the only reaction she could muster. 

After a moment's hesitation, Hafiz decided not to pursue, and turned to leave. 

“Balik dulu,” he said, to no reply. Hafiz could almost hear Redzuan in his head, sniffing in disdain.

Huh! Sombong!

* * * * *

The next day was Puan Amelia's class. She was one of those kinds of lecturers that all the students loved, even those she did not teach. She allowed them to call her Mimi, wear jeans, bring snacks to class, turn on music; as long as her assignments were up-to-date.

When Hafiz entered Lab 3A, where the class was always held, Redzuan was in his usual place right at the back of class. He had kicked off his scuffed Nikes and had his socked feet propped up on an empty chair.

“Yo, Hafiz my maaaaaan!!!”

Hafiz shook his head, holding back a laugh. Redzuan was such a clown. He was the first person to come up and talk to Hafiz, a kampung boy, during their orientation, four semesters ago.

Wei, tengok, Faci tu... muka macam beruk..!

They'd been best friends ever since.

“Busuk la kaki ko, Red,” he remarked, shoving Redzuan's feet off the chair and sitting down. 

“Mana ada! Kaki aku lagi wangi dari perfume D&G, ok.” 

“Ye lah, pergi lah jual kat Hugo Boss,” retorted Hafiz. 

“Kaki aku mahal sangat lah, diorang tak mampu punya,” snickered Redzuan, turning to the computer screen and launching Photobooth to check his hair for the hundredth time that day. You never knew how much the careful arrangement of your recently-straightened bangs could change within the course of a few minutes. 

“Wei, tengok!” exclaimed Redzuan. “Ada orang rekod video!”

He double-clicked on an undeleted video in the Photobooth panel. Recognition struck Hafiz as a head of purple, red and green appeared on the screen.

“Wei, tulah pompuan yang dok dalam lab semalam,” he said.

Redzuan's head swiveled to look at him, and Hafiz instantly knew he shouldn't have told him that.

“Ko dok dalam lab berdua-duaan ngan pompuan???” he said, hooting with laughter.

“Diam ah ko...” snapped Hafiz, and they both leaned in to watch the video.

Like Redzuan, the girl was also the kind of person who used the iMac's Photobooth application for grooming purposes. She arranged and rearranged her uneven bangs, striking poses every once in a while.

Suddenly the girl looked up from the computer, and someone else appeared in the video. Though only the lower part of the body was visible, it was obvious he was male. The two talked for a bit and the girl's expression gradually became angrier and angrier. 

“Ni mesti ex-balak dia,” observed Redzuan, always the expert when it came to judging people.

Suddenly, there was a flash of movement, and Hafiz's eyes recognized the glint of a blade in the hand of the boy. The two friends watched in horrified disbelief as the hand swung up and down, up and down, and the blade repeatedly punctured holes into the girl.

Hafiz had never been good at lip-reading, but he could see the words forming helplessly from the girls mouth as clearly as if he himself was saying them.

Tolong.

Then she was still. The boy – the murderer – stood there for a while. He must not have realized that he was being recorded, because he ignored the computer completely.

All of a sudden, the boy jumped, then dived quickly down and out of the video's view. All was still for a few minutes, and the two boys stared transefixedly at the girl's lifeless face. Then...

A bloody hand snaked up, seeming to come from below the girl's table. It grasped the girl's pale chin, and moved her head from side-to-side.

Ada kelas ke?
The girl shook her head.

The blood drained from Hafiz's face. Unlike Redzuan whose vocabulary was of the rougher and more vulgar range, Hafiz had never been one to swear, and especially not in English, but right now, he couldn't think of anything else to say.

Shit.

10 Things I'd Rather Be Doing Now

1o) making a video

9) singing with Dan

8) reading manga / watching anime

7) YouTube-ing random songs/videos

6) writing a story

5) sleeping

4) shopping at Kinokuniya

3) making up more stuff about my characters

2) talking about Angelfire with Dan

1) drawing Angelfire

There is always something we'd rather be, something we'd rather do. It's hard to be completely content.

Go-Dai

Just a little something

for yesterday's birthday girl. :)

Nobody Nobody but You

♥ HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUDA!!!♥

I wish it was a picture of me and you, but we haven't seen each other in person in centuries.

Wishing you all the happiness, health, contentment and most of all, GAYNESS, that life can grant you. You'll always be my baber!

saranghae,
Kach.

old wounds

Rahimah stepped out of the bathroom, wringing her hands out of habit even though they were dry. It was maghrib now, and the school was empty except for the old Indian security guard listening to his radio in the guardhouse by the main gate.

The school had not always been the elite kluster institute that it was now. It was the dumping ground for all the trouble-making students. It was a breeding pool of bullies, gangsters, thieves and liars. Sampah masyarakat, you could call them. More often than not, they came in bad, and left worse. Or, for the really unfortunate ones, didn't leave at all.

But slowly, starting with a principal with a vision of a better future, the school had shed its old skin and was now one of the top secondary schools in the state.

Rahimah turned left, towards the direction of the newly-constructed library. In the distance, she could hear a catchy Hindustan song playing on the guard's old radio.

Rahimah stopped walking. She'd suddenly heard another sound break through the general silence of the deserted school.

She cocked her head to one side, straining her ears.

There it was again: a low moan.

Eh, thought Rahimah. Siapa pulak tu? Dah senja dah ni. Takkan ada orang lagi kot.

Rahimah walked in the direction the sound was coming from. Eventually she came to a classroom not far from the surau and the old bilik sakit.

There, sitting at a desk in the middle of the class, was a boy. He was still in his school uniform and by his fair skin and straight black hair, she could tell he was Chinese.

"Dik," ventured Rahimah, stepping into the classroom. "Kenapa belum balik lagi?"

The boy was resting his forehead on the desk top. His hair fell over his face, hiding it from Rahimah's view. His arms were clamped around his stomach, as if he had a stomach ache.

The boy didn't seem to hear Rahimah's question. He was still moaning, and sniffling quietly.

"Dik," repeated Rahimah, stepping closer. "Kenapa ni? Sakit perut ke?"

The boy turned his head slowly to look at Rahimah. His nose was running and she could see the lines of dried tears on his cheeks. His eyes were red with crying.

"Sakit," he whispered hoarsely in a voice that sounded like it was more used to speaking Cantonese.

"Sakit? Mau Panadol?"

The boy shook his head.

"Mau balik rumah," he said tearily. "Saya sakit. Saya mau balik."

A lock of hair flopped onto the boy's forehead and he lifted a hand to remove it, and Rahimah saw that the front of his shirt was soaked in blood. The floor beneath his chair was shiny with a crimson puddle that smelled of iron.

The arm returned to the bleeding stomach, and the boy looked Rahimah in the eye.

"Sakit sangat," he whispered.

For the first time, Rahimah noticed that the boy's bloodshot eyes did not reflect any life. Rahimah knew that look. She'd seen it so many times already. She saw it whenever she looked into the mirror in any of the school toilets.

She nodded, and allowed a brief, understanding smile grace her tired face. She lifted her own arm and revealed a dark red patch staining the side of her green baju kurung.

"Makcik pun sakit," she said.

The Show

Photos from last Friday, October 16.

^Birthday present from Dan. Yup, it's hand-made. :)

^Farah came over for a bit. :)

^Haha, whattaloser. xD

^After a bit of studying on DLE's part, and some drawing on mine, I got sleepy, and so I went to lie down under the table. Pretty soon, everyone else was lying down there too, haha.

^Sez Nana: "Hold my leg! HOLD IT!!!"

^I'm doing the Junsu pose. Except I'm not cute, haha.

^The douchebag is driving!

^First there was one, then there were two, then there were three!

^We went to this bathroom shop thingie because Nana was choosing sinks and jambans and stuff for her new room.

^Removing just one SHOE would suffice, thank you.

^There are so many things to capture your reflection in!

^That jacket, btw, is a b'day present from Farah. I LOVE IT!!! :D

^ Hello? Operator? The line is dead.

^That shower head really looks like a phone.

^The pros and cons of sinks.

^NOW! RM8500 per set. Humans sold separately.

^Opah and Saira. :)

^Well, at least the cake is in focus here...

^Mmmm, strawberry cheesecake. It was SO good.

^The little girls sang Lenka's The Show. I'm beginning to tire of that song, but I sang along anyway. Imran sang the "I want my money back" part. :D

^The older girls were pulled (and pushed, on my part) out to sing too. For me. So they sang some lame Happy Birthday song. Boooooo! xD


Later, I was pulled up too, unfortunately. And all the cucus (minus Acap that bastard, and those who weren't present or too young) sang and danced to Dancing Queen. No pictures of that, thank goodness!!!

More pictures coming up, but I'm not sure when those'll be posted up.

19 Today

Happy Birthday, me! :D

Pat a Cake Pat a Cake

Got an early birthday present today. ;)

Sony Alpha A230, baby.
His name is Patrick and you can just imagine how in love I am with him, hee.

THANKS ABAH I LOVE YOU TO BITS!!!! <3

Satu hari di Hari Raya

Pictures from Raya. :)

^An impromptu photo of just SOME of the Mohamed ladies, on the blue sofa bed.

^Look at those 3 goofballs at the back, haha.

^Haha, I think all of us got a little distracted by Saira, who was not at all happy to be included in the picture. xD

^We had a birthday jelly cake for Acap. :) "Happy Birthday 16 Asyraf!"

^There was also a cake for Uncle Kamal, whose birthday is also nearby.

^The same cake was used for Auntie Sheraz, also a September baby.

^And Hannah too. xD

^We also sang for Uncle Anuar, for some reason... Later, Auntie Anum said that his birthday was way back in July. xD

^Last, but definitely not least (though he is of the least number of years), we had an early Happy Birthday song for Imran, whose 6th birthday is next week. :)

^DAL. Lisa came later. Nana is holding Arlina's beautiful DSLR. TT__TT

Now for pictures from Tampin! :D

^The Tampin cucus, minus 5.

^Abah did a close-up on Nanan, because at first the camera's face recognition didn't work on him. xD His hair is longer now than it was the last time I saw him. :O

^From top left: Arif Kecik, Amir, Arif (besar), Adzim, Nanan, Kak Aida, Adlina, Almas, Julia and moi.

^This... fine guy is Reza Arif aka Arif Kecik, who teaches Sarah the drums at Hartamas. :D

^Abah took this picture camwhore style, holding the camera at arm's length in front of him, which is VERY lame. But I like this picture.

^The Tampin siblings, minus Pak Anjang, and plus Pak Cik. From left: Mak Ngah, Mak Cik, Abah, Pak Cik and Pak Tih.

^The Tampin boys! Minus 2.

^And the Tampin girls. Minus 3.

^Bunga api time! :D

^I didn't really participate because I was too busy taking pictures and laughing at everyone, haha.

^The louder, more dangerous bunga api (mercun?) were executed on the street outside the house. :P

^I love the Tampin house. :) It's so cool. But hot during the day. :P ...But that's not the cool that I meant.

^Lookit all the smoke!

^A mercun-lighting conference.

^Who should light it? I think it was Amir, and it went off immediately, and he was like "Babi!" while hurrying away. xD

^Kak Aida (who is afraid of pop-pops) peeked out of the house to tell us to stop playing with the loud mercuns. xD


The next 11 photos were taken by Abah, while I was still sound asleep. :P

^That's my grandma. :)

^The aftermath of yesterday's bunga api fiasco. Oops, we didn't clean it up. Bad cucus. :P

^Haha, a bunch of clothes hanging on this pole thing in front of the gate...

^My dad took my grandma to the pasar.

^I love these pics. :) Morning hustle and bustle in Tampin.

^And this picture, I love! The shops are so beautiful to photograph. :)

^These charming gentlemen were the last 3 risers. (second last 3 risers were my brothers and I... -__-)

^We went to Tanjung Bidara again. :D

^The trees were beautiful. In their senget, wind-weathered, sea-smoothed kind of way. But I couldn't really get a good shot of them.

^This time, the two Arifs did not tag along, and were instead replaced by Adlina and Almas. And Mama.

^When Dan saw this pic, she thought that big rock was a whale, haha. Well, I guess it kinda does look like a whale.

^There are lots of big rocks at Tanjung Bidara, so it's fun to explore. But I've been there quite a few times, so there's nothing new there really, but it's fun all the same.

^I made the leaf more red using Photoshop. :P

^It looks as if they've reached the end of the world or something.

^Rock pools! I'd just stepped on some sharp shards of broken... shells, and was soothing my feet in one of them. There were little shrimps in it, and they were nibbling at my feet. :P

^A community of sea snails. I love rock pools. :)

^There were a lot of these circular holes in the rocks, with cracks radiating from them. They're cool.

^This tree was almost white, and it's sea-smoothed bark was beautiful. Not to mention fillind with them sea snails!

^Mother nature makes the most intricately beautiful things, no? :)

^Abah climbed that big rock! He was pointing at the adjacent beach. That we didn't go to. Because it looked boring. Later, I climbed the big rock too.

^And then he told me to take a picture of him, haha.

^That's Amir out there.

^There was this patch of sand with lots of crab holes, and you know how when they dig their holes, a lot of the sand gets displaced in the form of tiny little sand balls? Well, when you step on a whole carpet of them, your footprints turn out very distinct and clear. Looks like a crime scene.

^You can't really see the colours here, but the rock were slightly purple and green. Anyone remember Chemistry enough to explain why?

^I like this rock. It looks like a giant coin got stuck in between all the rocks.

^The other side of the big rock was a sheer drop. Scary!

^You can see the trampled crab community there. I was trying to show how high up I was... but I don't think it really worked.

^The big rock! It's higher than it looks. Especially when you're up there.

^That little hear-shaped patch of sand is another crab community, but fortunately for this neighborhood, they have a circle of rocks to protect them from inconsiderate human beings.

^You know Sandy Cheeks. Now I give you sandy toes!


Yeah, it is an odd way to end a series of pictures, isn't it?
More pictures some other time!