Below are the most recent 6 friends' journal entries.

Thursday, December 17th, 2009
mistressnaoko	12:32p	Muallaf When I find a friend who has turned away from religion… it usually means that he’s angry. So who were the Christians who made you angry at Christianity? Rohani to Brian, Muallaf. The thing about Yasmin Ahmad films is that I usually walk away from them pensive (Gubra). Sad (Sepet). And in some cases, heartbroken (Sepet again). Yasmin Ahmad movies rarely end on a good note, but they are usually slow, gentle journeys that make you ponder, lazing on the river with a random pop in the water you’d expect now and then from the water lifeforms. At the end of such expeditions, I would usually be saddened that it’d come to an end, no matter what the ending was. Not so with Muallaf. Muallaf left me feeling that the lazy ride had been a motorboat, with the occasional stop to refuel. It felt fast, was a little monotonous, but ultimately funny and thought-provoking. I squirmed in my seat hearing Rohani say the above quote to Brian. The lines were true. They described me. I could not though, remember what it was that made me stop going for Mass. Rohana and Rohani were in a world of their own, but not in the self-deluded kind. They were secure in their faith; strong women in their own right. Rohana was a precocious young girl; mischievious yet ultimately looking out for her sister. She spoke when her sister could not, or did not want to. Rohana, the older one, was a woman of strength, and not just because she was raising her sister on her own. She had this firm, unyielding but gentle core of faith. I envy that. Brian Yap made me uncomfortable. He’s a pervert, but perhaps not that different from other men I know. He’s an introvert, but I find it hard to excuse his behaviour to his mom, mainly because of the way he speaks to her. If I’m not wrong, he’s also a typical Hokkien Penangite when it comes to money. I admit that I would make Mrs Yap pay the extra RM2, simply because she’s the type who likes to show off. What made me uncomfortable about Brian is that I am very much like him, spiritually. He’s not going to Church because the so-called Christians humiliated him. I abandoned the Mass service because I could not stand the hypocrisy of my family. I stopped going to Church because while I believed there was a God, I found it hard to believe that this same God would disallow love between two men. To condemn those who needed Him the most. The same God whose followers killed each other because of self-importance. The very same God who said He gave us free will, yet demand that we surrender it for a reward that was vague at best.  It is not God who is on trial though, but our interpretations of Him here. Yet while Muallaf may come off as preachy to some, I found the film thought-provoking. At the most basic level, it’s a fun film, a typical Yasmin Ahmad film with its share of tender-hearted moments and funny scenes. Scratch the surface and there’s so much more to discover. Muallaf makes me uncomfortable, and for all the right reasons. It makes you think, makes you reexamine what it means to be a Muslim, Christian, a child of faith. It is a movie of faith. Muallaf was sponsored by the All Malaysian Bloggers’ Portal. Thanks to Michael and sponsors for the tickets to catch the Gala Premiere last night. Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
mistressnaoko	2:10p	[Copywriter's Chronicles] Do you hear…? The Wind Goddess switches on some Michael Jackson music to drown out Chris talking in a high-pitched voice. This then follows: Chris: Is it me or is it stuffy in here? Me: It is. You’re not imagining it. Don’t tell me they switched off the aircon to fix the next door’s aircon (busted since yesterday). Chris: But don’t you hear the aircons in our office humming? Ian: I only hear Michael Jackson. Me: *hi5s* ~~~~ While trying to correct a typo: Me: Wind_Goddess, Nominated under the table… (describing graphic elements) Ian: Nominated under the table? Me and Wind Goddess: *smack forehead and laugh* Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.
mistressnaoko	1:49p	Today’s sarcastic commentary… AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH~ Damn good joke, Hishamuddin! I’m glad you have a sense of humour! Some bloggers are unethical, claims Hishammuddin KUALA TERENGGANU: Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein claimed that some bloggers, unlike local journalists, do not adhere to the rules and ethics of journalism in their bid to garner popularity. Local journalists adhered to ethics but these bloggers did not, and this was what differentiated the journalists from these bloggers, he said at the presentation of the 2009 ExxonMobil Journalism Awards here on Monday night. Hishammuddin claimed that journalists in the country would have nothing to fear so long as their reports adhered to the ethics of journalism, adding that they would be accepted by the people. He also claimed that journalists who reported the truth would not be penalised and those who spread slander would not be successful. — Bernama So… that means Utusan must have damn good ethical journalists AND editors right? After all, provoking others, making threats, promoting racial superiority, being biased and overall behaving quite the opposite of journalistic ethics as defined by international “Western” standards must mean they are ethical, right? Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
mistressnaoko	10:14a	[Quote] Change the system Ela, a good LJ and Gaia Online friend, wrote this beautiful piece: I wont hide who I am, I wont tone it down and I wont compromise. I’m not the one that needs changing. The solution to me wearing my pentacle at school as a teacher is not to not wear it or hide it under my shirt; the solution is to make it so that the pentacle is an acceptable symbol in the larger society. The solution to my feminism, passion for the environment and other social issues is not to tone it down or shut it up, but to make it so that the problems I feel so strongly about are GONE. I am not the problem. I’m going to change the system. Are you? Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
mistressnaoko	3:23p	[Meme]Do you remember me? If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, (even if we don’t speak often or ever) please post a comment with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL memory of you and me. It can be anything you want – good or bad – BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE. When you’re finished, post this little paragraph in your LJ blog and see what your friends come up with! Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
mistressnaoko	1:22p	[Travel] Penang Trip! I definitely have the writing bug bad. Stay away from writing for a few days and already I can feel the itch. So here, have a brief report of my trip to Penang! Pictures to follow later, cause I was lazy and tired during the whole trip. Bro and me didn’t really get much sleep the night before the flight. A 6.55am flight usually means that you need to be at the airport by about five thirty, so we were up by three and out of the house at four thirty. Landed at Penang Airport at around eight am and what a difference! Even though the weather was a bit cloudy, there was a hint of a gorgeous sunrise that greeted me. I missed the sunrise, and more importantly I missed the sun. Klang Valley’s been shrouded in clouds the past week. I dropped off my baggage at the Sunway Hotel in Seberang Prai and had a late breakfast with Raven and Seo at a nearby McD. Then we visited the new Sunway Carnival Mall with the two boys insisting that it was much smaller than the one in Bandar Sunway PJ. I tend to agree. With two hours I managed to get myself a nice pantyhose for my dress and thigh high for the other dress. I also found a nice pair of shoes from Hush Puppies. The shoes were brown and in my size. I’d first seen them in One U, but they did not have the colour I want (bright pink is kinda hard to match, don’t you think?) So after a while, we picked up YY from her work place, had lunch and then rushed to the hotel to check in. A quick shower, clothes testing and few hours later, Raven picked us up to go to Zero’s bachelor party. I’ll say this: The discussion about duties at the wedding reception on Sunday resembled a war meeting. Seriously, the way Zero, Raven, Seo, Kenny, Brian and Steven leant into the table while talking made it seem like a tactical meeting. We finished midnight, then Raven sent us back to the hotel. Slept till six, got up, showered, put on make-up, got dressed, and then we were off to Zero’s place. We reached there around eight and sat down to wait while the groom got ready. I like Zero’s house; it’s large and comfy (he’s something of a mecha fan while his wife is a Doraemon otaku, cute right?). The house was done in cottage style- I don’t think it will remain too empty for too long. I went with YY to SS’s room once we reached the bride’s place. You see, YY’s BF, Raven, was part of the groom entourage while YY’s one of SS’ good friends. So once we reached the house, we left the boys downstairs to settle the wedding games and we came upstairs. SS was really looking forward to her marriage; she even said once while we were waiting for the boys that she was ready for this; she was ready to be his wife. The wedding party left the house rather late, but we got there ok. By that time, most of us, including me, Seo, YY and Raven had minor headaches from standing in the heat too long (I think it was humid+sun that did that). Well, in between running errands, getting harassed by random people during the errand and then going back to the hotel to rest, I think I was ill. I had a massive migraine and it wouldn’t go away till dinner. After parking the car for the reception, I threw up whatever little I had eaten throughout the day into the drain. After the third round and seeing myself throw up something red and round, I realised I felt much better. Dinner was an interesting affair. I like the Ricoh camera one of the girls was using and I had some really nice yummy and mushy brains (aka otak-otak in Malay). We then adjourned to Zero’s house for random chatting sessions, more pics, and figuring out what was happening the next day. Monday (yesterday) woke up to have breakfast, then checked out, watched 2012, wrote part of this entry at the airport and took the flight back home. The night lights in KL and Penang are nothing short of gorgeous. I miss Penang already. Wanted to try a lot of stuff (which I didn’t get the chance cause most of the time I was at Zero’s or SS’ place and there was food heh) like the wet Char Koay Teow and the nasi lemak goreng. Ah well next time. Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.