the curious case of benjamin button

a blind man, named Gateau was a clockmaker

he was commisioned to create a clock

to hang in the New Orleans train station

one day, he received the news of his son's death in World War 1

devastated,

but he continued to work on his clock

finally,

his job was done

the hands of the clock moved backwards

instead of forward

he intentionally designed it so,

in the hopes of bringing back those who died in the war.

That was the introduction to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

It took me two days to finish it, the story was long.

I started at 12.30 am, stopped at 2.

The next morning, i continued it again.

the movie was.................

unique.

there's no other words for it.

to be sure, the movie is a bit draggy.

but i think it was because the director tried to stress on the emotions and expressions of the characters.

and i think, it was a good try there!

No fun if i tell you about the movie here, you have it watch it yourself.

I am going to tell you about the gist of the story though. =)

Mind you, the movie can be a little disturbing to some.

A boy, born under unusual circumstances.

His mother died giving birth to him,and he was born ugly.

His father thought him a monster and abandoned him

on the porch of an old folks home.

This boy named Benjamin was unlike any other.

He was born old instead young.

To say that he was matured beyond his years was an understatement of the century.

"I'm seven, although i look a lot older." said Benjamin.

He meant it literally.

Well,that's all.

i know i don't write brilliant movie reviews, but i'm not gonna give anything away here!

The movie is not even out in the cinemas yet.

But if you're lucky, go find the dvd.

It's worth watching, trust me.

Uhm, when i say worth watching, i didn't mean that you will necessarily love it.

Or like it, even.

But the movie will make you think.

It opens your mind and make you grateful for what you have.

Some people don't have it easy.

Some people are born handicapped, lame,blind or dumb.

Some are born old.

And i know i'm lucky to be growing in a normal condition and environment.

But it astounds me how some can't even sympathise or empathise with those who are unlucky.

I guess some people just can't relate to other people's feelings.

'Nuff said!

Now i got to go do a mountain of homeworks.

They have been abandoned for days now.

Time to get back to them!

Ciao~

uh-oh! one spoiler coming.

SPOILERS.
one.short.word.
one.simple.annoying.word.
Okay, now who doesn't like spoilers, raise up your hand!
What about you Mr. Derrick?
Do you hate it as much as i do?
Does anyone here despise, loath, resent, and dislike it immensely as much as i do?
Because i DO.

I hate any form and any kind of spoilers.

For instance;
The setting- Your bedroom.
Activity-Reading a new book you just bought. It was a best-seller mystery.

Then SUDDENLY, your friend barged into your room when the plots were getting reaaaally good. Adrenaline was rushing, heart almost jumped out of your chest,sweaty palms. You were fidgetting so frequently, you resembled a twitchy bird.
Your friend said, "Hey, isn't that ------! Why, i've read the book! In the end, the bla-bla bla died and then whatshisname the main character committed suicide, oh, and the murderer got away."


um,HELLO!!!


Puh-lease!
Uh, thanks for giving a complete book review including the ending part!
Very kind of you.
Next time, i'm going to tie you up and chop you into 88 pieces with a chainsaw, make a barbeque out of you, put some mustard in, and then feed you to the piranhas.

Serious matter here, no kidding.
You do not mess up with me with spoilers.

I do not like spoilers.
Spoilers are gigantic NO-NO for me ya.

I mean, what happens next is what keeps you going! The anticipation!!
Do NOT take the fun out of it by throwing the spoilers to my face, you sadistic cow!

I mean,for instance
where's the fun in living your life if you know what's going to happen at the end of your life, right?
There's a good reason why the ending is written, indeed, at the ending.
Or else it wouldn't be called an ending.
It'd be called the introduction,
or,
the body,
or,
perhaps, PLAIN CONFUSING???
Listen, put what you've learnt in english class into practice.
The head must come first. Next, the body. Finally, a nice pair of legs. Right??

Telling spoilers to your friends are not going to make you anymore superior than they are.
On the contrary, you'd look like a fool,who cannot think before you speak.

So, i think that's about it.
I just wanna stress out the importance of not busting your friend's anticipation and excitement.

After all, no one likes a party pooper.

not the Adam's family

Hey, it's me again!

So, some might wonder why i'm posting this since it's not even friday yet.
I can explain - the wi-fi connection is EXCELLENT-A, and i have quite an ample time on my hands (it's sunday!! ), so i thought "Why not?"

Now, i'm going to introduce you to my family! The living room's through here..haha


Now, see that man at the top of the ladder, pruning the trees?
No, no, he's not a bodyguard, although given his big and tall stature he definitely can pass as one. (or more accurately, a bouncer!)
That's my father!
His name is Ahmad Hisham bin Long and he likes to garden.
Physically, he's tall, big, and bald.
He looks like a Chinese, so, many many times when he goes shopping alone, the shop owners will talk to him in Mandarin...
He always just smile at them.
My father, he may look fierce,but when it comes to his daughters, he becomes as meek as a lamb....

Oh, and he can be very very sarcastic anytime he pleases!
For some reason, he likes to single me out for his target of sarcasm.
Perhaps it has something to do with how i always seem to have something to say back at him.
My siblings say i'm his favourite. My mother says i have him wrapped around my little pinky.

Well, i have nothing to say to that.


Next, is the queen of the house, my Mother.
My mother, Sa'diah binti Atan is one strict lady.
She is loving and a very good mother, but believe me when i say that you do not want to get on the bad side of her.
It's scary........................... *shiver*
While i can argue back whenever my father scolded me for something, i always get tongue-tied when my mother lecture me.
She has a very sharp tongue and the look she gave me when she's angry at me...

Oh, if looks could kill!

My mother is half-Chinese. Her mother, my grandmother was one.
All my relatives say i am a spitting image of my mother.
Like mother like daughter, no?

Did i also mention that both my parents are doctors?
You should join us at our dinner table.
It's extremely interesting and also disgusting to hear them discuss about medical cases while one is eating.
Once, i was eating spaghetti when they talked about venereal diseases.....
I thought, "Well, i'll skip dessert."
Not very appetising!!!!


The first child in my family is my brother, Ahmad Ikram.
He is currently doing TESL in Uitm. Soon, he will be teaching English at school.
I really cannot imagine my brother as a teacher!
He is like the artsy fartsy sort, always carrying his guitar around and wearing odd T-shirts.
He likes to go jamming and he also has his own band.
Being the eldest, he always bully his little sisters.
Twisting our arms, pouring a bottle of Coke on our heads,farting in our presence, and mimicking our high-pitched voices... The list goes on and on, it's practically endless!

He is the typical annoying big brother, but he is supportive and he always believe the best in us.
He's an imp, but i have to admit that i do love him very much. (I hope he doesn't hear this from me.)


Next, my sister, Nadiah.
If you have read Falling leaves, then i should let you know that Nadiah is to me what James is to Adeline.
She's the best sister i could ever ask for, and i admire her so much!
She always inspires me to be a better person.
She is everything i'm not.
Her demeanor is quiet and calm. While i always give trouble to my parents with my wayward ways, she is submissive and obedient.
She is my security blanket and i depend on her whenever i need comforting or a listening ear. She would patiently listen to my ramblings of problems and her advice is the only one i would actually listen to.

I should let you know that i have a serious problem when it comes to Mathematics,
and since i was little, Nadiah was the only tutor who was patient and determined enough to put up with my irritating questions.
I would cry to her and throw my Math books away in an angry tantrum, then she would say
"Here, let me see what the problem is..." in a very gentle way.

In a way, she is like a second mother.

However, one thing about her that really gets to me is she could be so insecure sometimes!
I would patronise her and tell her to get a hold of herself because she seriously has an issue of self-esteem.
How i wish i could make her realise how special she is!
She is now studying in Bandung, Indonesia as a medical student in UNPAD.


And last but not least, is my youngest sister, Sofiah Hanis.
No one in the family ever call her by her name though. To us, she is 'Yayang.'
Being the youngest and the prettiest, she is the apple of my parents' eyes.
She could get away with almost anything.
Maybe that is why when she was little, i always bullied her.. hahaha..
She was always left out whenever my brother, my sister and i were together.
That's just the way it has always been.
She was the closest to my mother, and for that reason, we never involved her in any of our mischief.

But Yayang is also the aloof type. She likes to do things on her own.
When we were little, we were like cats and dogs.
Not a day would go by without us quarelling and making on or the other cry.
Fortunately, now that we have all grown up, we have none of that occuring anymore.
She is now in her final year in a secondary school.
Of course, i am not as close to her as compared with my brother and sister, but now we treat each other with civility and cordial.

Come to think of it, i do love her. But sometimes she could be so difficult, if you know what i mean.


Aaaaand, that's that!
We are just a small family of six. Nothing really special about us really!

Adios-a~
Till we meet again!

6 questions!

Hello everyone!

Who knew we would be given blog writing as a weekly assignment? Not that i’m complaining. The novelty of doing such assignment is interesting enough.

First and foremost, i would really like to say that writing this learning log is a bit unnerving to me. The questions asked instantly made me think, “Oh,no!”. To answer these questions honestly would mean that i would be telling bits and parts of me that no one would really know of unless of course, if they had known me for quite some time. I’ll try my best though, to give substantial answers because i do tend to talk nonsense, and a long-winded one at that.

Now, let’s get down to it shall we?

I do most of my reading and studying in my room. To be specific, anywhere in the room except at the studying desk. So far, my favourite spot for reading and studying is on the bed or on the floor. Obviously they aren’t the most comfortable place for doing revisions on any subjects or even for completing assignments, but somehow the idea of manning a desk while reading a thick reference book on Physics does not seem appealing to me.

In my case, the best time for reading is in the morning, right after my visit to the slumberland. I think the mind is at its freshest condition right after a good night’s sleep and therefore, can readily absorb anything that is hammered into it. The only problem is 'sometimes' i sleep late, so i wake up in the morning feeling groggy. Reading, then, would be the last thing on my mind.

As for the third question, i can study up to half an hour before i needed a break. Yes, i know half an hour hardly seems long but my brain simply loses focus after thirty minutes of studying! The main reason for this is because i am easily distracted by my surrounding. Once my mind starts to wonder off on its own accord to some other places or events.... well, it’s a sign that i should take a break of about 5 minutes. After that, i’m good to go! So, when having a class,you might catch me automatically glancing at my wristwatch after every 30 minutes because my mind is telling me that it’s going elsewhere. It is also unfortunate that i am bothered the most by distractions in a form of questions asked when i am concentrating. Worse, if the question asked is totally unrelated to what i was concentrating on. For example, i was concentrating on writing an English essay when my friend suddenly asked me for a mathematics equation. In an instant, all train of thoughts evaporated - ideas stopped pouring in and the brain suddenly ceased to function. I was able to neither answer her question nor continue writing the essay....

I usually work on two different assignments on average in one evening. Anything more than that would mean burning the midnight oil and difficulty in waking up the following morning. (evidently, as in this morning’s incident.) As for rewards, i really don’t need much. The sight of a simple “good” and comments scribbled at the corner of my work sheet when they are handed back to me is quite sufficient as it lets me know that my efforts were not wasted. It also gives a boost of confidence that with a little bit more effort and hard work, i am capable of getting better at it and thus, successfully achieve my long term goals and my ambition.